DISCLAIMER: I do not own Twilight. It belongs to Stephenie Meyer.

CHAPTER 24

Preparation

ooOoo

Jasper's PoV

The moment she fell asleep, an urgent knock on the window pulled me away from her. I rushed towards it and found Emmett hanging on a tree branch near Bella's window, waving at me. I opened the window slightly and went outside into the night, to speak to my brother without waking Bella.

'Carlisle said you need to hunt. Man, he's right. Check your eyes! Go, I'll stay here. And come by our house before you come back here. Carlisle wants to sort out the patrolling and such.' Emmett said, giving me a pat on the back.

I was still reluctant to go. Would he defend her as I do? Although, in my current state, I would become a threat to Bella soon enough. Thirst snuck into most of my thoughts, painting them all in red, dangerous colors; I knew that my love for her would stop me from harming her, but I may scare her. I didn't want that.

'Just go, Jazz, she'll be safe. Trust me.' Emmett insisted, and I nodded at him, knowing that my brother would defend Bella at all costs. He was attached to her too, although in a different way than I.

I ran to the nearby forest and fed, purposefully overdoing it. That way, I'd last longer before having to hunt again; I wouldn't have to leave Bella's side for a long time.

I didn't feel like coming back home again; I'd only been there a few hours ago, and I didn't wish to leave Bella alone, but I respected Carlisle's request and showed up.

Rosalie's angry screams appeared within my hearing range about two miles away from the house, piercing the pleasant silence, which meant she must've been completely furious. What could possibly be the problem this time? Has she ran out of nail polish? My anger hit me with a new force as I approached the house, immediately sensing a lot of negative emotions contained within the three members of my family that were in it.

'NO. I'm not doing it,' Rosalie shrieked, pacing around the room at vampiric speed. Hearing her voice only added to my annoyance.

'What is the matter?' I asked, stepping inside. Carlisle turned towards me with a worn out expression on his face, while Rosalie continued walking in circles, shaking her head in disgust.

'I only just came back from this stupid Find Poor Little Alice mission. Now you're trying to make me patrol the area day and night? What the hell, I can't have any time to myself?' Rosalie whined before my father could answer my question.

Her selfishness simply stunned me, and I knew Carlisle and Esme felt the same way – the spikes of shock were coming from them, too. I was fed up with Rose and her childish ways at that moment, and decided to put an end to it. I grabbed her wrist, making her stop pacing, and although she tried to break free, I held her firmly in my grasp.

She glared at me with rage in her eyes, but I could still sense the consuming guilt she felt and hid deep down under all the other negative emotions. Rose was not one to admit her mistakes, so instead she blamed us all for her own stupidity.

If not for the hint of guilt, I'd probably treat her much worse.

'Listen to me. You will do as Carlisle says – NOW. You've caused this, now live with it and stop being a goddamn martyr. Take the consequences of your stupidity, as we all are!' I shouted, and her mouth fell open at my sudden outburst.

'Jasper…' Esme began, but I shook my head, interrupting her.

'You both know I'm right, even though you wouldn't say it,' I said, 'Rose has to stop playing a little princess and own up to her own actions. You're getting on my nerves, Rose. You called the Volturi, now do something useful for a change,'

Rosalie glared at me once more, but I sensed a change within her. When she attempted to break free from my grasp, I let her go; she shook her hand off as if she touched something disgusting, and then turned to Carlisle.

'I'll do it.' She said simply, in a shaky, uncertain voice, and then left the house.

'Jasper, you have been too harsh,' Esme said in a displeased and worried tone. I hugged my adoptive mother, sending her a calm wave in an attempt at soothing her.

'Jasper is somewhat right,' Carlisle said, 'We cannot let Rosalie control the whole house. Not when Bella's safety is in danger.' He sighed. 'There will always be two of us patrolling the area, and you, I assume, will stay with Bella at all times.' I nodded. 'I spoke to Sam Uley. The wolves will help us. We should begin the training tomorrow.'

I agreed with him. We spent about an hour discussing different options and tactics. Carlisle remained calm and relied on me – the years of endless wars have made me a very good tactician, and since I was so involved in this case, I would not let anything go unnoticed; everything will go according to plan, regardless of the course of action our enemy will choose.

Bella will be safe. Until my existence ends, I will protect her with my life.

So will Rosalie, I thought to myself with a hint of satisfaction, when I saw the shadow of her figure outside Bella's house.

ooOoo

Bella's PoV

A few days have passed, and my life was almost back to normal. If you can call the life I've been living in Forks normal, that is.

The Cullens were back, and I came back to school. Charlie was still in Seattle, but he would be back soon, because their investigation was not moving forward at all, and Forks could not do without its' Chief of Police any longer. Yeah, with all the crimes happening around here… Probably the worst thing this town has ever seen was a gas station robbery four years ago.

Of course, they weren't aware of all the vampires.

Irony aside, I was happy that Charlie would be coming back. I'd been worried about my father, a lot, all the time. Whatever the cause of those murders was – and I'm pretty sure I knew what it was, but if I told Dad, he'd have me sent to a psychiatric ward – I didn't want Charlie to be anywhere near it.

I didn't want anybody to get involved, to be honest. I wished for Jasper to just change me right away, that way, they'd have nothing to worry about.

He didn't agree with me on that point.

'I know how important this is to you,' he murmured in my ear, and I nearly forgot what we were talking about. 'I want it to happen like you imagined it. Not in a rush because you have some… enemies. Besides, you're actually easier to defend like this,'

'How so?' I asked, looking into his golden eyes curiously.

'When you are changed… You will be pretty reckless for a while. You'd get yourself killed,' he replied casually while playing with my hair.

'Will I be like Alice?' I tried to make my voice sound as casual as his, but I failed miserably. He pulled me closer, comforting me.

'No,' he said, 'You will learn everything in time, and I will let you make all the mistakes you want, because I know they would not be vital. Not like Alice.'

I dropped the subject, unable to forget Alice's and Edward's bloodthirsty eyes.

Once the day comes, I will make sure not to become like them.

Graduation was coming close, and I found myself rather busy with studying for all the upcoming exams. Jasper helped me when I asked for it, but did not try to help me otherwise. Another contrast between Jasper and Edward – Edward would probably offer to pay the school and allow me to pass all my exams without any trouble, while Jasper allowed me to make my own choices. He treated me like a young woman, not like a little girl, and I really appreciated that.

After school, I followed Jasper to his house, where the entire Cullen family prepared for the upcoming battle. They were convinced that it will happen, no matter what, and everytime I observed them, I felt fear creep into my thoughts, suffocating me. Jasper helped, but did not try to lie to me or keep me away to make sure I don't see or hear anything that might frighten me.

To my surprise, the wolves attended the training sessions, and after a couple of days, Jacob joined us in human form. He was a welcome distraction from watching my friends and family fight; a welcome distraction from imagining all the horrible things that could happen to them.

Once again, it was all my fault. All for my sake. What if one of them would get hurt? What if one of them would fall in battle?

Jacob joined me when I sat on the cold ground, observing Jasper explain something to Sam Uley, sort of lost in my own, rather grim thoughts. Jake studied my expression for a little while, and then ruffled my hair playfully.

'So, Leech Girl, what's up? What's with the grave looks?' he asked jokingly, and I smiled at him in reply. Being friends with Jake finally felt right – no hidden feelings, no hurt, just pure friendship, although he still got on my nerves every now and then.

'I don't want you to do this. None of you,' I replied seriously, 'I don't want any fights, or anybody getting hurt, or anything…'

'It's sorta unavoidable, Bells. I think Forks will see a lot of vampires in the near future. I mean, if they tried to kill you once and failed, why wouldn't they try again? They're vengeful bastards. All of them. Besides, your favorite leech seems to be expecting an audience from some sort of vampire kings or something…'

'Volturi,' I whispered. I really hoped the Volturi won't show up until I'm a vampire. They made it quite clear that the next time we meet, I should be dead, or things will get nasty.

'Why would they visit all of a sudden?' he asked with curiosity, without a shade of fear or worry.

I sighed heavily.

'Rosalie called them on Edward, Alice and them… And they're most likely going to do something about them, but they won't do anything without coming to check on us.' Jacob turned around to look at Rosalie, who was reluctantly practicing some fighting moves with Carlisle.

'That one?' I nodded. 'Not bad, for a leech,' he commented on her looks. I didn't know whether to laugh or frown, so I did neither.

'She's married,'

'Me too. Well, not really, but sort of. Smitten for life.' Jacob smiled an honest smile, and his dark eyes shone with love for the girl he imprinted on. Once again, I sighed, but this time with relief. Jacob's feelings for me were really all gone.

'Jake, quit slacking and get moving! We've got to practice!' Paul shouted, shifting into his human form briefly. I turned my eyes away, and Jake gave me a quick, supportive hug.

'Bells, don't worry. Can't you see we've got a big army? Your fortune teller and mind reader ain't got nothing on us.' He said, looking me right in the eyes.

'I can't shake off the feeling this won't end well,' I muttered, looking down to the ground.

'Girls always worry about stupid things,' he half-joked, and then went to shift into his wolf form.

His words, although friendly, did not make me feel any better. I really couldn't stop worrying.

My worry for Jasper was the greatest, but I tried to keep it in line, knowing he would sense it. I waited patiently, observing them practice with my weak, human eyesight, and silently wished I could be of any help to them.

I've got a bad feeling about this whole thing…

ooOoo

? PoV

I smiled with satisfaction. Things were going according to plan. I never make the same mistake twice, so from now on, I relied only on myself; the outcome will be spectacular.

I had everything planned out in my head. Every move, every order, every possible counterattack.

Resistance is truly futile when you meet a force like the one I have created with my own hands.

Some of them didn't share my enthusiasm, but I didn't care, as long as they did their job. The two biggest gems in my collection were the only ones I somewhat cared about, aside from the one who has been with me from the start.

My two gems. One of them believed without any questions asked, the other one was a constant struggle, but I did not mind the challenge.

The challenge only makes the victory taste sweeter.

As for the third person, she was all nagging and worrying and all that was irrational.

'It won't work! We aren't prepared for this!' she insisted day by day in her savage voice, with those bewildered eyes staring into mine. I shook it off.

I had an argument that always shut her up.

'You do want revenge, don't you, sweetheart,' I spoke sweetly. 'This is the only way. One skilled blow, one easy victory, followed by another, the ultimate win.'

'You are too confident,' she whined, and I growled at her, exposing my perfect fangs. She shrunk visibly.

Power. Power feels good.

And more power can only feel better…

So more power is what I shall have.

I made her leave and then summoned him to my bedroom, he came to me, as obedient and loving as always.

He kneeled in front of me and I graciously allowed him to kiss my hand. His lips lingered on each finger, and when his eyes finally raised to meet mine, I saw exactly what I wanted to see – complete obedience, total adoration.

I was just that good.

'We are ready. You will lead us. Show us the way. Let us waste no more time.' I commanded, and although he flinched ever so slightly, he nodded.

'Anything you wish for,' he whispered, and got up to follow me, soon joined by all the others.

Whether they like it or not, the day of victory is close, and I will be the one to bring it upon us.

ooOoo

Bella's PoV

Another day of their training was coming to an end. He drove me home, talking to me about all sorts of things to draw my mind away from the expected battle. I appreciated his effort, and the soft touch of his hand on mine, and the way he did not attempt to hide his Southern accent around me; the way he opened up to me as I did to him.

I loved Jasper, but that fact made it all so much worse. I had to worry about the possibility of losing him.

Expect the unexpected – that's what they were trying to do. None of us knew when they would come, but they all were rather certain that, sooner or later, they will strike.

I wanted them to change me, but they all refused, saying I'd be of no help – and Jasper wanted things to go as I had planned them to. I wanted them to stay out of this, to run away, but they refused, saying that they can't run away forever.

Why not, I wanted to ask. Why can't we run, why must you risk your lives?

Now I lied in bed with his cold arms around me, and although it felt like heaven, I couldn't shake off the feeling that this is borrowed heaven, that something terrible may happen and take him away from me.

'Bella…' Jasper's voice was low, enchanting, exciting. 'Stop worrying. Don't make me use my ability to keep you half-conscious for the next few weeks.' He was joking, but his worry for me was true, I knew that.

'How can I not worry?' I cried softly, 'I don't want you to get hurt…'

'I would never. It would mean losing you, and that is something I cannot bear,' he drawled, and attempted to drag my attention away from my worries in my favorite way.

He pulled me closer, and his cold lips brushed mine softly, moving along my jaw line to my neck, then traveling down to my collar bone. I gasped quietly when his hand ventured under my shirt; something he did not dare do before. His cold fingers caressed my bare skin, each and every touch triggering a new fire within me, skillfuly dealing with all my worries, and for that short moment, I forgot everything, as my mind was occupied with wanting more Jasper.

When his lips once again touched mine, I dug my hands into his hair and kissed him passionately, deeply.

That kiss could last forever.

But it didn't.

When his fingers brushed the sensitive skin of my stomach, he suddenly froze, and seconds later he was gone from the bed, standing by the window with a very worried expression. Shocked, I sat up and waited for him to speak.

He didn't have to.

A desperate, extremely loud howl pierced the silence.

I started trembling and observed Jasper. He gave me a short look; he seemed worried, but not panicking like I was.

'We have to join them,' he said shortly, and grabbed me in his arms, jumping outside the window and rushing towards the Cullen residence.

So it has begun.

They were here.

A/N: Kudos to you if you catch the Star Wars reference in this chapter! Expect the next chapter to be rather exciting – at least I hope it will be!