AN: Greetings all!

Huge thanks to my readers, followers, favouriters, and the reviewers for Chapter 20!

sweetsouthernsongbird, kouga's older woman, alklucio, Stargazer1364, 01Katie, bakerusaf, ForrestersWitch, CentauRita, and FaithAnne95! You all make me want to keep writing! x3

Here's a treat for everyone! All of our POV characters get a turn in this chapter!

Chapter 21: New Recruits at Home, Phase 2

Major's POV

Separate our souls? I didn't know how to feel about that. It had always been me and Jasper for as long as I could remember. Maybe it was time to find out more about the whole thing.

"Kelsey, I know I said my past life stuff an' everythin' was to be on a need to know basis and if it wouldn't help us knowin' it, I didn't need to know...but I think I need a little more information about my soul and Jazz's before I can figure out what to do about all this prophecy stuff," I informed her.

"Gladly, Major," Kelsey smiled. "It's kind of an awesome story," and she sat down to tell it.

"The Jasper Whitlock who now goes by Jasper Hale and whom we all know as Jazz, was born in 1844. When he was three years old, his father, Jasper Whitlock Sr. was killed in the Mexican War. But he never found peace and his soul was never reborn. Because his son was his unfinished business. The powers that be, knew that Jasper Jr. would soon have need of his father once more. After Maria turned Jasper Jr. he had to witness as well as participate in many terrible things. But Jasper Sr. having watched his son from the great beyond, knew that Jr. was emotional and not cut out for the hardships of Maria's war. Which was a much more gruesome war than any human war had been.

"So, his soul entered Jasper's body and took over. Sending Jr.'s consciousness retreating into the confines of his mind where he would be a bystander not a participant and was only distantly aware of what was happening. Jasper Sr. the hardened soldier...made himself his son's protector, and did whatever was necessary to keep his son safe. You, Major, are Jazz's father." she revealed, to the shock and wonderment of all.

I could feel Jazz freak out then in our shared mind. For the most part, his emotions mirrored my own. Shock, awe, confusion, love, concern, a multitude of things. But there was also an added embarrassment factor, which inevitably came with the knowledge that yer father had witnessed ya havin' a whole lot o' sex over the years. I had to laugh at that one.

"Well, it's no wonder we have different mates then. It'd be awfully awkward to say the least, if we shared the same mate," I chuckled.

And then, it was Alice and Bella's turn to freak out. "Wait, my father-in-law has seen me having sex?!" Alice squealed.

And Bella was just like, "Dammit! I don't want Jazz to be my mate's son. I have sex with his wife!" I didn't want to laugh 'cause my mate was probably gonna kill me if I did. But really, I just couldn't help it. This...was some funny ass shit. Pete, who's sense of humor was much akin to mine, was already snickerin'.

Kelsey interjected and put the whole thing in perspective. "If you want to get technical, other than the soulmates among us, most people here have been both family and lover to one another over the centuries. For example, the Denali sisters, were once a part of Eleazar's harem, when he was King Xerxes of Persia. Now they are essentially his daughters. It's really only as weird as we choose to make it."

"Easy for you to say," Alice frowned, "you're not the one whose father-in-law watches you have sex!"

Okay, to that one I did laugh. "Alice, ya make it sound like I sit there takin' notes. I'm not a total perv you know," I reassured her.

"Well, you do practically take notes when I'm with Bella!" She huffed.

I scoffed. "That's different, Bella is my mate," I reminded her.

"Yes and I am your daughter-in-law!"

Kelsey interrupted. "Aunt Alice...I'm gonna stop you right there," she said and took Alice's hands.

The vision that followed must have been pretty shockin' for Alice, 'cause her eyes went all buggy then.

Alice's POV

I saw a vision of myself sitting at the side of the road, my face covered. A man, whom I knew to be my father-in-law, did not recognize me and thought I was a prostitute. He propositioned me, and without him being able to see who I was, I allowed him to impregnate me, later giving birth to his twins. I did this because my husband had died and could not give me any children, and then his father had failed to give me to my husband's youngest brother, as was promised.

My eyes regained their focus after the vision. "I was Tamar? Daughter-in-law of Judah?" I confirmed incredulously.

"Yes you were," Kelsey nodded. "Carlisle was Judah."

"Wait! What?" I shuddered. "So not only did I trick my father-in-law into sleeping with me, but it was Carlisle?!"

That's when Emmett burst out laughing. "Dad, you slept with Alice?"

Kelsey groaned, throwing her hands up helplessly. "So have you, Emmett! This is why I keep telling you all, it doesn't have to be a big deal. Most souls live many lifetimes before being recalled to Heaven permanently. And once two souls have known one another in any capacity, they tend to be drawn to one another thereafter.

"It's why sometimes, when a human goes to Starbucks they may feel compelled to talk to the barista but other times they don't. That barista may have been their teacher in a former life, or the child of their friend, or a distant uncle they met a few times, etc. The eyes are the windows to the soul, and when we look into someone's eyes we either feel a connection or we don't. And when we do feel a connection, unless that person is our soulmate, the connection may take any form. Sometimes it might be romantic and sometimes not," she tried to explain.

Of course I was only barely paying attention, because I was still stuck on the fact that I had apparently slept with both Carlisle and Emmett before. "Kels, is there anyone in this family I haven't slept with?"

"You haven't slept with Peter, Charlotte, Maggie, Everest, Darcy, or Jack," Kelsey said slowly, looking around the room as she named them, careful not to miss anyone.

"That's it?!" I squealed.

She looked around again. "Yep, that's it."

Wow.

"Oooh, do me!" Emmett grinned.

Kelsey laughed. "You haven't slept with any of the men."

"Are you saying I've slept with all of the women?" he smirked excitedly.

"Yep. Every. Single. One." she nodded.

"Alriiiight!" Emmett chuckled, like a little boy with a Christmas present.

Rose smacked him.

"What? I'm allowed to be excited," he pouted.

Bella stood up then, and left the room, stating that she needed some air. I decided to follow her. She ran a perimeter check of the property, then perched in a tree in the yard.

"Bella," I asked her, "are you okay?"

"Yeah, fine. I'm just getting a little frustrated with all the past lives bullshit. I've told her that I don't want to know about all that stuff, at least not right now. But she doesn't seem to realize that depending on what she's telling other people, she's inadvertently telling me things too. Like how she just told Emmett he's slept with every girl in there. Without asking any of us if we wanted to know that. You really think Esme wanted to know that? I can't be the only one who doesn't want to know this shit. Besides, how do you think Rose felt to hear that her husband has had sex with every woman in the room? Bottom line...Kelsey's gift is dangerous. The last thing we need right now, is to be stirring the pot with any of our family and friends. We need allies! We're not gonna have that if everyone is too uncomfortable to be in the same room!" she reasoned.

"That's true," I nodded. "Would you like me to have a talk with her?"

Bella sighed. "Well, I think we need a set rule. It's one thing to give people their memories back. Which I know she is working on, and hoping to perfect. It's another to discuss their relationships to others in front of those people, without knowing if they want to know. Or in some cases, knowing that they don't want to know. I think, that unless both parties come to her wanting to know their connections to one another, that part should be kept to herself. For example, she could have told you that you were Tamar without telling you Carlisle was Judah," she insisted.

"I agree. I think that is an important distinction. I learned long ago with my visions to be careful what I tell people about their futures. I will talk to Kelsey about being more careful with what she shares," I assured her.

"Thanks Alice," she nodded. "And...if the whole thing with The Major and Jazz being father and son, freaks you out too much, I'll understand if you don't want to be with me going forward."

"Bella, no! Sweetie, you're not the part that freaks me out. It's The Major that freaks me out, it always has been. And now at least I know why. He was intimidating enough before I knew he was my father-in-law," I sighed, shaking my head. "But there's no way around that, they share a body."

Bella was quiet for a moment. "Maybe they don't have to. Share a body, I mean. You heard the prophecy."

"Yes but what kind of powerful spell could split them? And would they even want that?" I pondered.

"I'm not sure. But we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. The more immediate issue is Maria. We have to survive that threat before we worry about anything else, Alice."

I nodded. "You're right. She isn't on the move yet, but who knows when she will be. And really nothing has changed with us. The Major has always been my father-in-law. I just didn't know that before."

"So, we're okay?" she confirmed.

I smiled and kissed her cheek. "We are definitely okay."

"Good, then let's go back in so you can talk to Kelsey and I can help the Major come up with a strategy," she suggested.

"Okay, sounds great."

"Kels, can I talk to you?" I asked my great, great niece.

"I heard everything, Aunt Alice. Remember, vampires can hear for miles."

I giggle. "Yes, I know. But hearing and understanding are two different things. Do you see Bella's point, Kelsey?"

"I do, but in every life she says she doesn't want to know, and in every life she changes her mind. It just seems logical not to waste time on ignorance. Time is not a wise thing to waste," she justified.

"Kelsey, I thought that as a human, you were only able to see the lives of others where they intertwined with yours?" I questioned.

"That's mostly true, but not with older souls. The more lifetimes a person has lived, the easier it is to see their past memories. Because the more times a soul comes back, the more the person realizes that they have lived before. When a soul dies for the last time, and retires to Heaven, they get all their memories back anyway," Kelsey stated.

"Okay how do you know that?" I puzzled.

Kelsey smiled. "Aunt Alice, I don't only have my memories from each life you know. I also have all of my memories from in between lifetimes."

Now there was a concept that hadn't crossed my mind. "In between? What happens in between?"

"In between, you get to hang out in Heaven, waiting to be reborn. And you get to talk to other people there. Some of whom are already retired souls," Kelsey explained.

"Oh." What else do you say to someone when they tell you they've seen Heaven?

"Yeah. But Bella is right. The last thing we need is to be fighting right now, especially within our own coven. So, if it upsets her so much to know, then I will be careful not to reveal anything that involves her. The rule about not sharing the connections is a good one. I will follow it whenever possible," Kelsey promised.

"Thank you. I know Bella will appreciate it. And so do I," I smiled, pulling her into a hug.

Bella's POV

I headed into the house after talking with Alice, happy to have at least one thing resolved. "Major," I said, climbing into his lap. "Can you brief me on what our plan is going forward?"

"Gladly my little filly. Our plan goin' forward, is to enroll in Forks High for Senior Year. The town will be expectin' those of us who were enrolled as Juniors last year, to attend as Seniors, and it wouldn't do to raise their suspicions at present 'cause we can afford to have to move. We're set up very nicely here an' we've done so much work with the wolves, it'd be a shame to lose their assistance by havin' to leave the geographic area."

I nodded in agreement. He had a valid point. It had been summer for so long, and we'd gotten so much accomplished having everyone home to train, it was easy to forget that we still had an image to maintain with the locals.

Of course, that meant we had another problem. "Major, what about all the newborns? Forks High presents a huge bloodlust problem, doesn't it?" I inquired.

"Not necessarily," said Pete from across the room. "Jill, do you think you could siphon some of the bloodlust from the newborns?"

Jill thought about it for a moment. Her channeling had gotten better to the point where she could siphon. Channelling was temporary, siphoning was permanent. "It would have to go somewhere. Draining that much bloodlust and just leaving it in the earth or atmosphere would be a bad idea for everyone involved. We would need someone capable of handling that much bloodlust."

Pete laughed. "We have someone," he reminded us, and looked at The Major. "When The Major fought in Maria's wars, he was surrounded by the emotions and bloodlust of an entire army o' newborns. And with his empathic gift, he was absorbin' it all. Yet his control was perfect."

The Major frowned. "Yeah, but Pete, my control ain't been so perfect in recent years. I've struggled with bloodlust since then. Probably because I'm not used to havin' to do that anymore. Use it or lose it, I guess."

"Forgive me, Major, but that's bullshit. You've struggled 'cause you ain't been properly fed. The Cullens have turned you into a Bambi muncher, an' no disrespect to the doc intended, but while that diet works just fine fer the run o' the mill veggie vamp...ya just can't take the most powerful military entity in vampire history, the God of War, and expect him to subsist off of grass and leaves. The Major I fought alongside, coulda handled all o' our bloodlust and another twenty or thirty newborns an' never waivered. An' I might be outta line sayin' so, but that is The Major I want in our corner when Maria comes," Pete insisted.

There was a long pause while The Major thought about it. Then he called Alice over. "Alice I know, Pixie, that you worry about Jazz. That you fear what would happen to him if he drank from humans. And you probably had some visions once upon a time that gave you cause to be worried. But this wouldn't be Jazz drinkin' from humans. It'd be me. And I protected him from their emotions durin' the war just fine. It wasn't until he tried to take over permanently and put me away for safe keepin' that he started havin' problems. So can ya do me a favor, Pix, can ya search yer visions? Can ya please let me know if it would cause Jazz any problems fer me to take over our diet again?" he asked her, more gently than I seldom ever saw him be.

Alice nodded and went into vision mode. When she came out of it, she was grinning like crazy. "Major, please drink from a blood bag right now, I want to show you all something."

And so, Carlisle brought The Major a blood bag and while he drank it, Alice spoke. "Ever since Maria's War, until we learned about Bella, Jazz tried to keep The Major suppressed. They never shared equal control before. I don't know why it never occurred to us to try it, but if they have different souls, and different mates, why shouldn't they have different diets. Now that The Major has fed on human blood...notice his eyes are slightly red. Mostly still dark, because that wasn't very much blood, but slightly red. Major, how do you feel?"

He smiled. "Much better. Like a drownin' man, gettin' his first breath o' fresh air."

"Can you call Jazz out please? I want to show everyone something." Alice asked. I stepped away from The Major, and he took an at ease stance, allowing Jazz to take over. When he did, we were all shocked to see...his eyes were gold!

Kelsey facepalmed. "I dunno why I didn't think of it. The eyes are the window to the soul. Different souls, of course, have different windows! The Major's eyes have always been black, but it's not because his soul is irreparably stained like some people thought. It's because he has been starving for many decades!"

"That makes sense," Jazz agreed. "I feel awful that I didn't realize he needed to eat separately from me. I can't believe I spent all this time starving my own father and never even knew." He shook his head.

"Don't worry, Jazz, he didn't realize it either. None of us did. And Alice was so worried about what human blood would do to you, it didn't occur to her to search her visions for what it would do to The Major," I shrugged. "At least we know now."

Alice wrapped her arms around Jazz's neck and looked into his eyes. "And I don't foresee any problems with The Major feeding. He'll keep you far enough back that their emotions won't affect you. And you'll still be able to hunt animals with me and attend school because your eyes will still be golden," she promised him.

I had to ask, "If The Major is going to be hunting in the city, does that mean I can be an omnivore? Don't get me wrong, I'd still like to hunt in the forest with Alice sometimes and have wild, sapphic, girl sex. But I think I'd have better luck with progressing my shielding abilities if I had some human in my diet and I'd really love to hunt the primal way, in the city with my mate," I asked them.

"Bella, you can hunt however you want," they all told me.

As soon as Billy and Charlie had become vampires, the treaty had been amended further anyway. It now stated that feeding from the terminally ill, hardened criminals (especially predators), anyone whose mind was gone, or anyone who wanted to die, was acceptable, as was drinking from blood bags. And it wasn't the color of a vampire's eyes that determined whether or not they were an ally or an enemy, it was their actions, intentions and motivations that decided it. So, while we still went into the city to feed, because it was easier than covering up small town deaths, we didn't have to worry about the tribe where changes in our diets were concerned.

"Well, in that case, Jazz, may I have my mate back now please? I'd like to take him hunting!" I beamed.

"Sure thing, Bella," he nodded. And then after a moment, much to my pleasure, my mate was standing before me once more.

"Come on, Major. Time to teach me how to catch a criminal!" I smiled happily.

Jazz's POV

The following week, the fall semester began at Forks High. Which meant that Alice and I, Bella,Edward, Pete and Char, were all going back to school. Kelsey opted to come with us, as did Mandy, Jack and Jill. All the newborns had been given the choice, since none of the townspeople had seen them yet, but most of them wanted to come. Except Everest and Darcy who opted to stay home, because they were trying to put space between Everest and Edward anyway. And Billy and Charlie, who were obviously far too old.

And having The Major properly fed, made an enormous difference. He had a much easier time staying calm while we were at school, and even though he stayed very much alert, he didn't seem anxious or on edge. And because he wasn't starving, our shared power worked much better too. I was able to dampen the emotional output I received from the other students, making it easier for me to focus and function during the day.

And all of these improvements to our wellbeing, meant that it was safe for Jill to siphon some of the bloodlust from the newborns and give it to The Major. Which meant that it was safer for all of us, and for the humans, while we were at school.

Kelsey made a request after we had been back to school for a few days. It made good sense, in fact, it was rather brilliant.

"I think we should stay in the cafeteria for lunch today," she suggested. "I'd like to have access to the entire student body as a whole, so that we can all use our gifts on them. Now that Jasper's power is working properly, and Edward is enrolled, and Alice's visions aren't hampered by anything, and I am here, it might be wise to do a full assessment," she recommended.

And so, we settled into the cafeteria with trays of food. We got a lot of stares from the student populace at first, until Pete suggested I project disinterest. So I did and it worked like a charm. Hardly any of them looked our way again. There was one girl, however, who continued to glance at us. And I surprisingly didn't recognize her from last year at all. "Who is she?" I asked my siblings.

"Sitting with the Queens? That's Dinah. She's new here for Senior year," Edward said. He and Kelsey had taken to calling Jessica Stanley and Lauren Mallory the Queens, because Jessica had been Hatshepsut in a previous life and Lauren had been Nefertiti.

"Was Dinah ever a Queen?" I asked, out of sheer curiosity.

"Yep," Kelsey nodded in an exaggerated fashion. "And trust me when I say...we're gonna need her."

I looked at Edward. He listened to her thoughts and then agreed, "Yeah Jazz, based on what Kelsey saw and Dinah's thoughts, we should probably pursue this."

So, I turned to my wife, to see if she had been able to glean any sort of vision and she just smiled like a cat who ate the canary. "We definitely need her. I can't tell you all very much, without altering the future, but she will be important to the future of our coven."

So I reached out my own gift. And was surprised to find...happiness. A whole lot of it. And it seemed to be radiating off of Dinah, affecting the Queens and the others around their table. Really anyone she spoke with.

Another empath? Well, I'll be damned!

"Alright, who among us do you think should talk to her?" I asked.

"Bella. From one former queen to another. But, not with those two around. We should track her down after school and have Bella invite her to the house," Kelsey advised.

I turned to Alice who searched her visions. "Yes, that seems to go surprisingly well," she agreed.

"Great, let's do it," Bella nodded, and with a plan in mind, the bell rang and we all headed to our afternoon classes.

AN: Well, what do we think of our new girl, who is she? Thanks to those who suggested historical people! I'll still be taking suggestions going forward so be sure to speak up with your favourites!

Hugs and Blessings,

-BMW