Life is a Bitch or You Live With One

JPOV

I hung up the phone from explaining to Rose that I was heading out to feed and then we would get a plan together. I raced through the woods, watching for movement or a smell that would tell me a prey was close by. I spun around as I picked up a scent.

The scent had made me stop short. It wasn't human. It had an earthy and musky smell. The smell was like the woods. The bark on an old tree. The smell of old grass withering away into nothing. I followed the scent and reached out with my emotions.

The feelings weren't human or anything resembling it. It was animal. I was about to turn away when I stopped. What could be the harm in trying a Kindred's meal? Maybe it would help me to understand my enemies more. Maybe I could find a way to be closer to my Alice.

My Alice? Since when did I have the right to claim her? Sure, I love her. Something inside me couldn't deny that feeling. I was still her enemy. I would always be her enemy. When she found out I was here for Bella, her sister, she would hate me. I would never be able to look into her beautiful, perfect face ever again. She would never want me.

She is free. She is like a bird soaring on the wind. I am an old soldier who knows nothing but war. I am dull and boring while she is light and charming. Lovely and carefree. Is it possible that I used my ability against her and didn't even know it? I couldn't have. I wouldn't hurt my gorgeous angel in such a hateful manner.

I continued on my hunt. I decided that whether it would make Alice happy or not, I wanted to try this. The least it would do is give me an advantage against the Kindred. I would be able to feel the effects of drinking non-human blood. I stalked my prey.

As I rounded a tree, I found myself at a small stream. An old deer was drinking some water from it. I moved carefully. The deer twitched its ears in my direction. It was then that I realized that the animal was more sensitive to my movements. Any sounds I made were a warning for the animal. Human hearing was not as fine tuned. They hadn't lived thousands of years as prey to more dangerous animals. Not the way deer had.

Deer had an internal radar that listened and waited for sound. They could sense whether the sound was friendly or enemy. They would react to each situation depending on the outcome of the sound. I needed to be more cautious than with humans.

In a way, the hunt and, eventual, capture of the deer had been something I had been missing for a long time. A new war. Something different to spark my interest. As I drank the deer dry I took in the taste, the feel, the smell of the blood. It was thicker than human. It was raw tasting, more natural. Animals lived off the land while humans didn't. Everything either animal or human ate made their blood unique. No one human tasted the same but they all tasted human. This animal was different. I felt empowered by the blood as I swallowed it.

After I finished and had tossed the carcass I realized I wasn't satisfied. I was still hungry and craved more than when I started. It was a strange sensation. Normally one human could carry me for a few weeks but one deer left my on my knees begging for more. I needed to feed again. I needed nourishment.

I looked around and sniffed. I caught wind of another scent. This one was something I was use to. Something I knew would cure my pain. I hunted for my prey, hating myself for not being strong enough to resist the temptation. There would never be a way for Alice and I to be together. I just wasn't strong enough.

I entered the house to find Rosalie pacing back and forth. For a vampire to pace it must be bad news. I looked at Emmett who had his head in his hands.

"What's going on?" I asked immediately getting into soldier mode.

Rosalie looked in my direction and her face twisted. "What the hell happened to you?"

"What?"

"You look different. I've seen that look before. You didn't?"

"What?"

"I can smell it." Emmett said as he raised his head. He got off the couch and walked towards me. "You smell like deer."

"Oh that. I tried to act like a Kindred. I thought it would give me an insight as to how to fight them." I lied. I didn't buy it and figured they wouldn't either. I was wrong.

"Well, don't do it again. God, you reek."

"Whatever." I hissed. Rosalie and I didn't see eye to eye on a lot of things but she was still a friend in a sick way. "What's going on?"

"I got a call. Someone broke into a Hunter's storage unit." Emmett answered.

"Where?"

"One of the industrial buildings done by the water dam."

I thought about it. I knew what was stored in that unit. I silently hoped that is wasn't Alice. If it was, she knew the truth. She knew why I was in Forks. Something deep inside told me that it was her. It was too convenient that Bella and Alice had been snooping around in Seattle the same time as me.

"We need to go."

"What about the plan?"

"We need to know what was found or taken from the unit before we decide on our next step. Let's go." I was forceful with my answer. Even with our differences in opinions, Emmett and Rosalie obeyed when it came to military engagements. I was the leader, after all.

We arrived a short time later at the storage unit. It was obvious from the scent that multiple vampires had been here. The call itself had come from a watcher. The watchers never approached the areas that had been broken into. It was important for the sake of the trackers.

I needed to know what had been taken, if anything so it was necessary to contaminate the area but only one of us would be entering. Because Emmett wasn't wearing perfume like Rosalie and hadn't just finished feeding like I had, he was the obvious choice.

Rosalie and I waited in the car as he headed for the front door. After unlocking the padlock, he entered and disappeared from view. All we could do now was wait.

"Rose, can I ask you something personal?"

"What?"

"Can I...."

"I heard what you asked. I just can't believe you want to be personal with me. I thought I was on your long list of people you didn't get personal with."

"Look, you need to understand something. I have a long list so it doesn't interfere with me job. I would like to have friends but I can't afford to be associated to closely to anyone. If something happened to me I afford the emotional attachment that comes with that price."

"Bullshit."

"What the hell do you mean 'bullshit'?"

"You don't want to become emotional attached because it means you have to show emotions other than hate for someone."

"Whatever, will you answer or not?"

"I guess."

"How do you feel about your family choosing to walk away from you?"

She didn't answer at first. The look on her face was full of pain which went perfectly with the hurt and anger that was in her emotions.

"They didn't walk away from us. We walked away from them."

This statement was not what I expecting. Rosalie came across as the type who would be anger at someone walking from them not the other way around. She was definitely a difficult person to understand.

She continued, "I couldn't handle the idea that Edward had chosen a human."

Every time I turned lately I was being surprised. Rosalie was being honest about being self-centered. I pushed a little with my ability and made her pain lessen just a little.

She looked at me and shook her head. "Don't numb the pain, please. I appreciate the effort, Jasper, but I need to feel the loss for my family. I am a bitch, I know that. I want Alice and Edward back but I can't accept Bella. She is the cause for my loss. I have lost so much because of this war and it all comes back to her."

"So, when we find and capture her, how will you deal with your family?"

"Same as I am now. They will hate me as I'm sure they do now but it will be the price I have to pay to make Bella suffer like I have."

She was a complicated individual whose emotions were conflicted. I hadn't realized that before. We hadn't been in this situation before. Her family hadn't been involved in any of our assignments before.

Rosalie turned and stared out the window of the jeep. I felt Emmett's angry worry emanating from just inside the building and turned to see him storm out of the building. He had found something. The way he was moving was obvious.

He got in the car and grumble so low I couldn't catch anything he was saying. "We need a tracker." He said in a loud voice.

"Em, what's happened?"

"There's one file missing. Ours and our current assignment."

Damn, this was not good news. "Any idea who."

"No, whoever they were didn't cover their tracks. They left in a hurry."

"Rosalie, we need to see James."

"I don't think that's a good idea." Rosalie stated with a slight fear in her voice.

"It may not be a good idea but if we don't follow protocol all it will do is put us on the radar with HQ. At this point, I don't think any of us need that."

"What's this 'us' shit? You're the one that isn't being trusted. Marcus is tracking your relationship not ours."

"Except that it isn't Marcus who went to the stronghold."

"But you said...."

"I know what I said but I lied. Marcus sent a message through someone else. Somehow I am a threat because of my connection or possible connection with someone to do with our assignment....."

"And you know who it is. Right?"

"I think so. It doesn't matter. I have a job to do and I will complete it no matter what."

"So, who went to the stronghold?" Rosalie hissed.

I paused and braced myself for the uproar her name would produce. "Renata."

Rosalie's emotions went volatile. She had a history with Renata. Renata had an interest in Emmett about fifty years earlier and had tried to convince him to leave her. Rosalie had tried to finish the woman off. It hadn't been a pretty sight.

"So this isn't just about you, Jazz." Emmett said softly.

"I don't think so. I think Renata has a hidden agenda."

"I wish you had just been honest to begin with. We need to see James. It's still not a good idea but we go rogue now and we're all in trouble." Rosalie snarled.

None of us liked where this was going but we needed to know who was trailing us. We needed answers. I was certain Bella was our target but I would have to wait for Peter to call with the details from Maria.

We pulled off the road a few minutes later. With Rose's driving that's all it took to travel the twenty miles outside Forks. James had been assigned the tracker position for Washington and the fact that he was so close to Forks didn't go unnoticed by me.

There were only two reasons for his sudden appearance three months before our arrival. Either he was sent to watch us or he knew that the Shifters were here. One or the other made it a dangerous situation. James enjoyed the hunt too much. He loved the torture that came with war. It made him very unbalanced.

We stepped as a team out of the jeep. I realized that as reluctant as we were to be together, we had a common goal. To protect the ones we loved. Rose and Emmett had each other and I had Alice, even if she didn't know it.

I knocked on the door and waited. After too long, Victoria opened the door. It was a disgusting sight. She was covered in human blood. Behind her, I could see Laurant playing with his latest hunt. James was nowhere in sight.

"Jasper, what brings you here?" Victoria's voice shrilled.

"Don't play stupid. You know I would only come for one reason. Where is he?"

"Jasper, my old friend, come in." A voice sounded from within the shadows.

"One, I'm not your friend and two, paranoid as always."

"Part of the hazards of being a tracker, I guess."

"I know, know who your enemy is before they know you. That statement doesn't work when someone knocks on your door. If I was an enemy, I wouldn't have knocked. Now, can I come in."

"Yes, yes, do enter. We were just having supper. Care to join us?"

Emmett spoke, "Sorry, we don't enjoy our food like you."

"Pussy. You're soft. You always have been, Emmett. One day you'll enjoy the hunt like I do."

"Over my dead ashes."

"Enough. Can we just get on with it?"

"Rosalie. Still the bitch as always."

"Victoria. Still as ugly as always."

"Now, girls. This isn't a social call. I'm certain that Jasper wouldn't have come here if it wasn't important." Laurant answered from the corner.

"Thank you, Laurant." I didn't like Laurant anymore than the others but he was, at least, civilized compared to them.

"James, we're in need of your skills."

"Hunter's orders."

"Due to our current assignment, yes, it is orders."

"Damn. And here I was starting to enjoy the down time."

"Sure you were." Emmett charged.

"You'll dig your hole one day, Emmett. I promise you I'll be there to watch you burn for it." James hissed and then turned back to me. "What's the assignment?"

"The warehouse down by the docks was broken into."

"Anyone been in it since?"

"Just me." Emmett offered.

"How long ago?"

"Couple of hours at the most."

"This will be easy. I'll have them tracked down before morning."

"Cocky, aren't you?" Rosalie asked.

"Bitchy, aren't you?" Victoria answered.

"Scank."

"Whore."

"Tramp."

"Slut."

"Okay, that's enough. Emmett, take her out of here. James, control your dog."

"Dog! Why you son of a......"

I reached out with my emotions and laid a heavy blanket of terror on the vampire. She fell to her knees and curled up in a ball. I carefully walked over and leaned down.

"Don't fuck with me. One day it will be the cause of your burning." I knew that James wouldn't attempt to stop me. He was scared of very little but he had been on the receiving end of my anger once to often to try and stop me.

I stood up and walked to the door, throwing another burst of terror in Victoria's direction. "You have my number. Call me when you have the information."

"Is that all you want?"

"Just the information. No bodies. I need them alive."

"Party-pooper."

As I walked back to the jeep, I shook my head at the evil, twisted insanity that lived within the house.