I own nothing, everything belongs to Stephanie Meyer.
A/N I would like to thank from the bottom of my heart to every one of you that reads and reviews my story.
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Chapter 29
The Warlord's Mate
Jasper POV
"No one reassembles the bastard! Not while my mate is in that state!" I roared to the two members of my guard in front of me, who took a step down, unwilling to meet my fury. My roar echoed throughout the walls of the War Room, and bounced around the vast cave that worked as the headquarters of the Whitlock House. The idiots had come to me - while I worked with the members of my inner circle, drawing out a strategy to bend to the new order and power. Several rogue covens in Nicaragua, Honduras and Paraguay are involved in a territorial war. They were asking if they could reattach Edward's arms to his body; saying that Edward was in too much pain, and that even the human blood was not managing to give him the strength that he needed and that he was slowly fading away. As if I could give a shit about his suffering. What about my mate's suffering?
Twenty five fucking days! Twenty five fucking days of watching my woman's dead eyes. Twenty five days of feeling her sorrow, her regret, her misery because of him. Almost a month of doing everything in my power to coach her out of it with no results; of sending my love and my comfort to her; of seeing her non-responsive even to the care of her mate. Twenty five days of feeling her heartbreak and pain. A month of feeling completely helpless. This was not a physical wound that had afflicted her; this was not something that my aqua di amori - that I have religiously been storing into hermetic containers - could help.
No, this was not a wound of the body. This was a wound of the soul. My mate's soul and mind were trapped in a huge bubble of pain and grief.
I was slowly going insane. I had to get her out of it but I couldn't, she had sunk within herself and what was left, was only a shell with the semblance of a person. Carlisle and Eleazar's opinion was to give her time to heal. Yes, in my despair I even called Carlisle. That last three week's events had been too traumatic – being kidnapped, drugged, kept in subhuman conditions, and abused by someone she had once trusted. Learning about the death of her father had been the final straw on her already frail state of mind and she had finally shut down. Everyone told me that her brain needed time to come to terms with all that had happened and that I had to leave her be, to give her time; and I did that, what else could I do?
That night, after I broke the news of her father's death, I took her to bed and I waited for her to regain consciousness, giving her body and mind time to adjust. She slept for hours indifferent to night or day, and when she finally woke up, she was not there anymore. She ate little, slept a lot and spoke to no one. Bastien went into a rage at her behavior and managed to land a few good kicks to Edward's prone body before Demetri and Peter got to him. All my mate could say was, no, no, it is not true. What a sick joke you guys are playing on me. If you love me…please let me talk to my father. She just could not believe it.
We could not do what she was asking, but I managed to get a copy of Forks newspaper with the story of hers and her father's death and gave it to her. The shock was so big that I thought that she was going to be the death of me. The anger and the despair that she felt a few moments later was so great that I had to get out of the house and give her to Carmen and to the girls lest I killed someone. When I got back, the room was destroyed and she was almost comatose. Her depression started that day and she seemed to have lost the will to live. I knew what was going on as did Carmen, Peter and Eleazar. She was grieving.
Finally, three days later, I could not postpone anymore going to Montana anymore. Everything was ready and just waiting on my approval to become operational. We had my announcement ceremony scheduled for September and we had problems arising in South America. I needed to get to work. As much as I wanted her to be well and in a stress free environment, I had my responsibilities, and I would not leave her in the care of another coven. She belonged to me and she would stay by my side. I never left anyone behind, much less my own mate.
I told Isabella the news of our move trying to interest her in something more than her depression or her loss. I told her about our house in Montana, a comfortable rustic home with four bedrooms, built on the shore of the blue ice cold lake that was on our private land. The lake, named, the Cristal Lake, by the guard, due to its clear, crystalline waters, was fed by the streams and rivers that came down the mountains that housed my headquarters.
I had designed our house with all the commodities of a modern home while thinking of her in there. I told her that for the human world, we were acting as a private consortium of ecologists and protectors of wild life, and that we had built on the surface, one of the most advanced research and preservation centers in the world, which was true. A part of the Whitlock House was indeed working for the preservation of animals like tigers, panthers, lynx, cougars, mountain lions and other big felines. As we worked to preserve endangered species we had all kinds of wild animals in place. So, the 'Montana Wild Life Reservation for Preservation of Menaced Species' was in truth the cover up and the headquarters of the Whitlock House.
I told her that I had built an immense library in the main research compound, situated on the other side of the lake. The library was equipped with all the most modern technologies, and filled with all kinds of literature in all languages known to man, and that I needed someone, hinting her, to take care and organize that space.
I told her with pride that everything that pertained to the vampire world and with the Whitlock House: the training grounds of newborns and rookies in the guard, the headquarters, the private quarters of the guards who were not mated, the mess hall – where we served the donated human blood that our blood banks recovered, to feed those who did not want or could not hunt in the traditional way, and the War Room were subterranean, and that we had used a vast and complex cave system in the mountains and turned it into a fortress that is therefore, almost invulnerable to attack.
I described to her the great ceremonial temple that acted, depending on the venue, as church, court house, and auditorium, that I had build deep in the forest facing our house, on the other side of the lake along with the quarters of the House of Women and House of Men facing it.
I told her, while holding her in my arms, that we were moving in together and that it was the start of our eternity together and how happy that made me. Me and her, my consort. The Lord and Lady of the Whitlock House. This was the culmination of my effort, my commitment, my loyalty, and my ambition. I told her that only having her by my side made everything taste of victory, that only her as my mate gave meaning to what I had accomplished.
But all to no avail. Only those lonely, sad, dead, red rimmed eyes, looked back at me with so much gut-wrenching pain and emptiness.
As the news of our impending move did nothing for my mate I just had to take the reins of the situation. I ordered Demetri and Bastien to prepare the jet that was already waiting in Anchorage. Peter took Edward to the plane and locked him in with the cargo; I did not want that miserable creature near my woman. Peter had gone to great lengths to keep him out of my sight during this time, because the idiot still let his mouth run, claiming that he was the one that could help Isabella and that he did not know that Charlie had been hurt badly. I sent the Denali girls to buy some comfortable clothes and shoes for my mate, and in a few hours we were ready. We left Alaska, leaving behind a worried coven and first mother, all promising to come to Montana for my announcement ceremony in September.
Settling in Montana did not help my mate. Even though the landscape was amazing, and we had had a royal greeting, with everyone, guards and servants, waiting outside the plane to meet her, she was not roused from her depression. Charlotte and Alexis immediately took it upon themselves to help her get settled and to try to help her get better. They were thrilled to finally have her with them.
I forbade any contact between Isabella and the remaining Cullen's that were being held in one of the guest houses on the far end of the valley, awaiting their trial, under the watchful eyes of my guard. Marcus had returned to Italy with Alice, taking the remaining Volturi members with him, to solve some problems with my Warlord brother and Africa's governor, N'Gahlo, who was having big trouble with a several groups of sorcerers that were manipulating native tribes all over the central part of the continent to hunt down and kill any nomad vampires that crossed their paths, and was in need of counseling and help. His house was not ready to take over and govern yet. Demetri followed suit as soon as we got down there. But Marcus and the rest of the Masters would be back in September for my ceremony and for the Cullen's trial.
I showed Isabella our house and the grounds and she did not even blink. It broke my dead heart even more to see her so non-responsive to everything and everyone. Not even Charlotte's motherly care and Alexis easy going and kind nature managed to get to her. She entered our room and just lay down on the bed, closing her eyes trying to sleep. Seeing her state of mind, I decided that it would impossible to leave her alone when I was at work.
We, in the Whitlock House tried as much as possible to give the mated couples space. So each mated couple, who belonged to the Whitlock House, had their own small but comfortable houses scattered around the immense property. But knowing how thin I had to stretch myself for the foreseen future, between my duty as governor and my obligations, both Peter and Bastien moved into the main house with their mates. Both females would take care of Isabella and once she stopped her mourning they would take care of her education and training. But they too were feeling helpless, and Alexis had come by earlier in the morning to tell me that Isabella did not want to eat.
Show her who is in charge. Let her mourn, but mourn alive, not like this, my beast growled at me.
I kept working with my inner circle, my top advisers drawing a strategy to stop the rebels, but I had most of my focus on Isabella. I was lost at what to do with her.
"You may go; we will reconvene at 17.00 to study the latest Intelligence reports that your undercover agent has sent." I dismissed my inner circle and got up the stairs heading for the surface.
I went through the spacious training room where a group of ten rookie guards were being instructed in Kung-Fu defense moves by Draco, my fighting instructor, one of the most complete warriors that I knew of and a mean bastard in battle. I stood there for a few minutes watching them. This Greek Adonis had saved my neck a few times already. He was one of the most beautiful men I have ever put my eyes on, and he had an aura of sex and power around him that made everyone just want to fuck him. Eleazar had deemed him to be a part incubus as he had a past similar to the Denali sisters.
He had taken complete advantage of his looks and of his ability in his 900 years alive – he had shared my bed one steamy night - until he mated unexpectedly with a kind and sweet Spanish fisherman much older than him that was supposed to be his lunch. He had turned his Antonio ten years ago, and they had invited me to their binding ceremony. They lived in one of the houses on the main grounds. Antonio had no gifts and behaved much like a woman is supposed to behave in our world. Their couple was a model of happiness and love. It always left me feeling all giddy with the feelings that they had for one another. I took the elevator and arrived at the main hall at the surface.
I went to the window and looked down to my domain. I should be reveling in my power, but all I felt was emptiness. Isabella was not here to share it with me.
I felt a hand on my shoulder. Charlotte. Concern and determination flowing from her. My house's first mother. My sister in all but blood.
"You have to come to the house. She does not want to get up, Jasper. This is going too far. She seems to want to die, to give up. She does not eat, or speak, and we have been obliged to bathing her. I think you need to take harsher measures, as much as that pains me to tell you that. She must shake that depression for the healing process to begin and you have to take charge now. I have done all that I can and know but I can't get through to her." Motherly feelings of worry and unease hit me like waves on a rocky shore coming from the first mother of my coven.
I felt something snap in me. The anger that I had been struggling to contain just rose in me and I growled as I lost control of it. I will not have a mate trying to give up life as a cowardly way to flee her problems.
I ran straight to the house, only to be stopped at the door of our bedroom by a very protective and scared Alexis.
"Sir, you must calm yourself, she is not…." I just grabbed her by the neck and removed her from the door. I walked in and as expected my Isabella was huddled in the bed in the dark room, no lights inside. This is going to end today!
"Get up Isabella. Now!" She just looked at me before sniffing and huddling further into the covers.
All semblance of control that I had was gone. In three strides I was by the windows ripping the heavy drapes off and flooding the room with light. She just closed her eyes and hid further under the covers.
"Get out of there. It has been a month and you have done nothing but be miserable and wallowing in self pity. You are not mourning, you are giving up life. You feel alone in your pain and despair and you don't even take the time to see that everybody in here is trying to help you. You are being a selfish bitch, my mate, and that ends today. I won't allow you to waste away; I will not allow you to dishonor your father's memory." I ripped the covers from her body and in a split second I had her in my arms. She just stayed limp, shock the only emotion floating from her. I went down the stairs, passed the sitting room where Charlotte, Peter, Alexis and Bastien were gathered and left the house. They knew better than to cross me now.
I crossed our front lawn and went to the small pier on the left in a heartbeat. Not a move or a sound came from my mate as I walked to the end of the pier. I looked down at her. Her eyes were closed to block the still bright sun, and tears flowing freely from them. The emptiness in her emotions just killed me.
"This ends today Isabella! You mean too much to me for me to allow you to hurt yourself like this!"
And with that statement I just dropped her in the icy blue waters of the lake, jumping in after her a few seconds later. She came to the surface coughing and spluttering and I held her to me as she screamed. It was like a dam being open.
"You are alive, Isabella. You are alive and I need you. Come back to me my love. Don't do this to us." I whispered in her ear.
All the pain, the hatred – which I never thought she could feel – the anger, the grief and the sorrow burst from her. She clutched to my body impossibly tight as I swam with her in my arms to the shore where Charlotte was waiting with a fluffy towel. I wrapped her in it and held her to me as she screamed her pain.
I shut down the panicky feelings coming from the house and concentrated on her.
"Shhh…it is alright...scream my mate…scream that pain away until your voice hurts…yes, scream…let go…let it all out…" and she did, she screamed and cried and begged as I rocked her , until she was a quivering, sobbing and panting mess with no more tears to cry.
"I will take charge of the meeting with Bastien and the guard. Stay with her."Peter said quietly walking from the house and stooping a few feet away. I could not leave her now, so I nodded.
I continued to hold her as her body shook with sobs and as she started the healing process. A quick assessment of her emotions told me that while the grief and sorrow were still dominant, there was also relief and although the pain was still almost overwhelming, there was resignation in there too. It would take some time but she would be fine now.
I felt her emotions quiet down and realized that she had cried herself to sleep.
"Charlotte, I am going to put her to bed."
"Do you need my help?"
"No, I am just going to dry her off and put her in bed. Later I will try to make her eat something." She nodded and walked off, stopping by the entrance door.
"Jasper, I know you to be a gentleman. I know how your mama raised you. I know how much you want to claim her, how long you have waited. But you can't now, she must heal first…" I rolled my eyes at her insinuation, took a deep breath and interrupted her.
"Charlotte, I know this is your first mother instinct talking so I will let it slide. I will tell you this only once. I won't take advantage of my mate's weak condition. I won't claim her until she is ready for it, and I will do it by the book. Just…let me feel her, touch her skin, cuddle with her. I need that today." She looked at me thoughtfully for a moment and walked out, sending me her acceptance. I was thankful that she was much younger than Carmen in both biological and vampire age, and that her morals were a bit more tolerant. She was a lot easier on the eye too!
"I will look away this time, but you better behave Jasper Whitlock." Her voice drifted through the corridor.
Carefully I took my mate to our bedroom, taking off her wet pajamas and underwear, drying her body and hair before laying her down naked on the bed, covering her with the blankets. I took off my wet clothes, dried myself quickly and joined her, pulling her into my arms. I needed to feel her soft warm body against my own even if only for a few minutes. The room was warm, the heat working at maximum and my mate did not shiver when I held her tightly. It made my heart soar when she even snuggled closer to me.
I held my mate for hours. She slept steadily throughout the night well wrapped in thick blankets, and snuggled into me. In the early morning she woke up and looked at me, tears falling from her eyes. I kept silent, and just held her as she mourned. I could finally breathe when I felt that the numbness that she had been feeling for so many days was gone, leaving in its place the sorrow and the grief mingled with acceptance and resignation. And guilt, so much guilt! I was expecting it and I would deal with it once she was feeling less overwhelmed. She had come back to me.
"I am sorry…" her voice was raspy and it was almost a whisper. These were her first coherent, deliberate words in almost a month. I smiled softly at her and kissed her forehead, reveling in the sigh that left her at my gesture.
"It is okay, my mate. You are suffering. You are in pain. I am sorry for what I did but I had to shake you out of it, Isabella. You may grieve and mourn your father, but not by shutting yourself off from life, not by wallowing in misery and being consumed by your pain. You need o react, grieve, mourn and move on."
"It was my fault…If I had not allowed Edward in my life Charlie would be alive…"She was crying now overwhelmed with her regret and guilt. That was going to stop now.
"No, stop that. How can this be your fault? It is many people's fault, even mine, but it is not yours. You had no idea of how fucked up Edward and the Cullen's were. Were you supposed to stop Edward? Could you? You are not responsible for his immature and ignorant mind. You are not guilty of his lack of respect for others. As sad as it is the world does not revolve around you, you are not the cause or the center of everything for you to take the blame, or be the cause of everything bad that happens. You were almost unconscious when this happened. If you want to blame someone, put the blame on the right people."
"But he died, Jasper…he died…I never got to say goodbye…or to say that I loved him…and now…"Her sobs pained me but they helped her. I just held her more to me as I kissed each tear that flew from her eyes.
"I know it is sad, and you will never forget him, but you must honor him and move on with your life. Remember him Isabella. Remember the strong, kind and good man that he was. Celebrate the great man that he was by living your life to the fullest. He was loved by everyone and he loved you, his only daughter more than life itself. He handed you to me, Isabella with his last words. He asked me to take care of you and I will honor that promise to him. You are mine and I will never let you go."
She just held me tighter and cried into my chest some more. She fell asleep half an hour later absolutely exhausted.
I heard a knock on the door and I smelled Charlotte.
"Enter."
She was relieved and a small wave of happiness flew from her. She was happy that I had my mate and that she was finally on her way to get better. She looked at Isabella with a found smile in her lips and then at me.
"Jasper, thank you. She needed this. She needed you to wake her up to life. Maybe you can get her to take a bath; it would be good for her. After her bath you could try to make her eat something. It is good to see her reacting; I believe that she will be alright now." I nodded, smiling at her and her worry for my mate. She steeped further into the bedroom speaking quietly.
"You know, Jasper, I remember when I lost my father, a few days before you found and change me; it is one of my strongest memories, the pain, the sorrow, the loneliness. I had no one else but him and I felt so lost. It did not help me that he had killed himself working in the fields for me to have money and a good life. I was so overwhelmed with guilt when you found me. I did not even know that he was so sick, until the doctor said that there was nothing he could do. I believe that it is how she feels now, that she could have done things differently." I nodded again and sent her my sympathy. I had been drawn to her guilt, sorrow and regret that night when I changed her. They were so strong, that she managed to awaken pity in me for her suffering. I entered her house and almost drank her down before deciding to give her a new life. I have never regretted that decision and neither did she.
"She did not only lose her father, Jasper. She lost her mother and her friends too. She loves and knows you, but this is all new to her. She even knows that she cannot trust the Cullen's anymore, and she saw them as family. She will need closure from that life to be able to start again." She looked at my mate fondly, like we would look at a small child, protectiveness and love radiating from her.
"We were talking last night while she slept, and thought that maybe you could suggest visiting her father's grave in Forks. We can arrange it with the wolves. It will give her the chance to say goodbye. She won't be able to interact with anybody else, but at least she can say goodbye to her old life." It was a good idea. Even though we had faked her death, with the wolves help, she could be protected and be with her father's friends and say goodbye.
"Very well. It is a good idea. I will speak to her about it. We could go before my investiture." She nodded thoughtfully before continuing.
"We also have the bag with the mementos that we took from her house; you can give it to her. It may help her to have some of her things back. We collected some of her clothes, shoes, books, pictures, Cd's and childhood video tapes. It will be a great help to her to have things that are familiar to her."She came closer and gently smoothed some of my Isabella's hair, a small smile playing on her face as she looked at me.
"It is good to see her here; we have waited so long for her. We will all help her and she will be fine." She kissed my forehead and floated out of the room. Somehow her words managed to bring some peace and calm to my soul as they always did. Sometimes it was so difficult to go on.
Isabella slept almost all of the morning. At about 11.00 am she started to wake up. She stayed silent for a while, but her eyes remained dry. The sadness and the grief were still there, as were the determination and resignation. I decided it would be good to start now.
"Good morning, my Isabella. How are you feeling?"
"I don't know." She sighed deeply." It feels good to not be in that empty dark place anymore, but it hurts much more now. It hurts so much Jasper."I felt my chest wet with her tears, and was all I could do to not go to Edward, forgetting my job and honor to kill him on sight.
I felt it before she opened her mouth. Hate. Rage. Hatred. Need for revenge.
"I want to know. I need to know Jasper. How did he die? When? Why?"
"Isabella…"
"No. Don't sugar coat things for me please. He was MY father. He tried to protect ME. I need to know the truth. I deserve to know the truth, no matter how much it hurts me. I can deal with it now. Don't deny me this, please Jasper." I sighed, she was right. Had it been the opposite I would want to know. I took a moment to look at her. Really look at her. In my arms laid a woman. Not the childish, shy, unsure teenager that mere merely a month ago had been ashamed of letting me know that she loved me. The hardships of the last weeks had matured her.
Tell her! She needs to know so that she can come to terms with it. We will be here for our mate! My beast purred.
"Okay. But first you need to take a bath and eat. Then we will talk and I will let you know all that we learned. Is that good?" She looked at me as if she was about to protest but then she closed her mouth and nodded. Good!
I got her up and walked with her in my arms towards the shower. I turned the water and slowly, with all of my love and care I washed my mate. It was good to see that she did not object, or shy away from me. I think she was slowly losing her shame around me and getting used to being naked in my presence. It took all that I had to control my thoughts and my body around her but I managed it.
I heard Charlotte approach the door of the bedroom room while I was drying Isabella.
"I will leave her food here in the cart. We will be downstairs in case you need us."
"Thanks honey."
"Please need me, brother!" I heard Peter's guffaw's from downstairs making me chuckle at his antics. He too had been worried and sad at my mate's condition.
Suddenly I felt a huge wave of irritation. I looked at my mate to see her frowning at me.
"I am right here you know! I am tired of you guys talking behind my back and treating me as if I am useless." She spat. My eyebrows shot up. What did I do?
I swallowed the wave of anger at the way and tone she used when speaking to me and took a deep breath, she was emotionally a wreck, and I had to be patient for now.
"I am aware that you are here. And I was not talking behind your back. I was thanking Charlotte for the food she has just left outside our room because she did not want to disturb us. The rest of my friends and family is downstairs. We are vampires in here Isabella. We do not behave like the Cullen's and their pretenses of being human. So, we will sometimes speak at our normal speed and we will walk at our normal speed. You will have to get used to it."
"As for treating you as if you were useless, you are wrong. You were bed ridden until a few hours ago and you have not been eating properly for the last few weeks. We all like to take care of you, and we thought that you liked it too, but if you do not want it I will let you be. I just would like to ask you to not to speak to me in that tone. I have done nothing to deserve it." I shot her a small burst of hurt and sadness, turned my back on her, and walked out, leaving her in the alone in the bathroom.
I heard her gasp and felt her immediate regret, followed by panic and guilt. I smirked at her reaction.
It never fails.
"Jasper…wait…I…" I turned towards her, keeping my face blank.
"I am sorry. I just feel all over the place. I should not be lashing out on you. Forgive me." I opened my arms and she launched herself into them, wrapping herself around me tightly. The fact that she was naked and I had been without sex for a while did not help me to keep my cool.
"It is okay, I understand. Just remember that I am not the enemy in here. Now dress up and eat. Then we will go to the lake and sit there. Afterwards, you will get to meet Peter, Bastien, Charlotte and Alexis. They are anxious to meet you, now that you are feeling better."
I felt her small wave of fear and panic, but it was gone in a second and she just nodded. I went to get the cart that her food was in and placed it by the table near the balcony door.
She walked to our closet and put on a deep green sweat shirt and black jeans. She put on some black sneakers and sat by the table, served herself and started eating. It was some kind of vegetable soup with what it seemed chunks of meat in it. As complement she had bread as well as some kind of cheese. The smell was foul so I decided to take my shower and get dressed.
When I got out of the shower, my towel wrapped around my waist she had finished her meal and was on the balcony looking into the distance, sadness wrapping her like a shroud. She heard me and turned around. The lust that burst from her at the sight of my body stroked my ego. She raked her eyes all over me until she heard my chuckle. She blushed furiously and lowered her eyes, embarrassed.
I walked towards her and wrapped my arms around her.
"It is okay to lust and to ogle me, my mate. My body is yours. You have every right to do it. Don't be embarrassed. It feels so good to know that you want me as bad as I want you. Don't hide that from me, sweetie." I kissed her neck, and pecked her lips twice. I knew that she was not ready for much more, so I turned to go get dressed.
When I finished dressing, I walked towards her and, pulling her into my arms, I jumped from the balcony to the grass, earning me a squeal from my mate and the delicious wild drumming from her heart. I snorted when I heard a muttered 'damn vampires, always showing off!'
I ran to the colonial swing that I had installed in the front lawn, facing the lake and the mountains and sat her in it. The garden side table had been set, and a jar of freshly made ice tea was there. There were also a plate of biscuits and a glass. Charlotte or Alexis!
She made herself comfortable and I felt the calm and peace that rocking on the small swing gave her. I left her alone with her thoughts while I installed myself on an armchair that was near the swing.
She looked at me with her doe eyes and her jaw locked. Expectation and determination swirling from her.
Here we go!
"You have the right to know Isabella. But you must understand that I am not privy to all information yet. Peter and Charlotte managed to get some things out of him though. Only once Master Aro gets here is when we will have the entire story, as he will scan all of his thought and memories with his gift. I already told you of what my relationship with Alice was. You know also that Alice had a mission to pretend to be mated to me to better fit in the coven. She always was a devious little thing, but she decided somewhere along the line that I was really her mate, even though she knew that I was meant for another. She had a vision on that weekend that pushed her over the edge, and she decided to take matters into her own hands to separate us. All I know is that Edward was manipulated by Alice into thinking that you were in danger." I heard her sharp intake of breath at this news. A small burst of hurt flowed from her. She had considered Alice her friend. I continued.
"You know that Edward has a hero complex. He wanted to save you from the evil monsters and from the demon, represented by me. He realized that Alice and I were not mates, and that I had my eyes on you. He went insane when he smelled me on your body because of the aqua di amori, but he did not understand what it was, he has never smelled the mating scent of a male vampire. The Cullen's always went away to mate and he was never taught of what it was. He is a spoiled, arrogant, ignorant boy that due to his upbringing as a human and his gift, thinks he is better and knows better than anyone. Carlisle never educated his coven on the ways of the vampire race and Edward developed a superiority complex and a complete disregard for the opinion of others." She was nodding, agreeing with my assessment of Edward.
"He sees himself as a savior, a hero, as a pillar of strength in the coven and of a morality above anyone else. He loathes what he is and this life with a passion, as does Carlisle. He wanted you perfect and pure and submissive, and could not think of you with anyone else. It is not you that he loves, you must understand this. He loves your blood – he said several times in the last weeks that your blood had been tainted, spoiled by a foul smell."She nodded.
"Yes, I remember him saying things like that to me when we were in the cave. He could not stand my smell. He…oh my god…I wasn't conscious but I felt it…he…he washed me…"Horror engulfed her as she remembered.
"Shhhh…it is okay…he only washed you. He did nothing else…he will pay for everything he did to you. You will get your revenge."I manipulated her emotions and managed to calm her down after a few minutes. Loathing and hate were her main emotions. I decided to not tell her about the pictures on his phone. She will know about them later. As she calmed herself down, I continued speaking.
"You have to understand that he sees you as a puzzle. He never met a human who was silent to him before. In his head, your blood is in your body and it is what makes you special, so all of it is his as you are. He believes with all of his soul that you are his, and he fancies himself in love with you. He believes that you are his property. Do you understand?"
She was looking at me a frown in her face. The rage, loathing, anger, hatred increasing and fuelling my own.
"So, you mean that he thinks of me as a thing? As a bag of blood made for him by God, that he managed to come across and that he can't let go?" She was feeling a bit sick at the thought.
"Exactly! When your father tried to stop him from 'saving you from the demon', he did not care that he was your father. He just wouldn't allow anyone to thwart his plans and take you from him. So your father became an enemy and a victim. Edward was always allowed to do everything and was always forgiven – remember that he is the golden boy of the Cullen's. Even if he is only seventeen, he is very good at manipulating Carlisle and almost rules the coven - he thought that there would be no consequences of his actions, that he would be forgiven because he was saving you by taking you away. He did not even think that your father could be badly hurt or dead because of what he did. It was of no consequence to him because he already had what he wanted. He has never faced consequences for anything before, Isabella. Carlisle is much to blame here as Edward is." The tears were washing down her face as she pulled her eyebrows together frowning.
"I saw my father advance on him with the gun, because he would not let me go. He barged into the house when we were beginning our breakfast and he seemed maniacal. He wouldn't leave, even when I tried to explain. He was hurting me, grabbing me, and he just threw my father through the air and he fell. I saw him hit the base of the stairs and stay there unmoving, Jasper. The rest is a blur. I would wake up from time to time, and try to talk to him but he did not listen. He was completely delusional, but anytime I tried to reason with him or I got angry he would drug me. When I was conscious I tried with all my might to concentrate so that you would find me."
"I know. And it worked; we could feel the flickers of your location from time to time. Everyone helped search for you and what you were doing helped us to close in on you. Even the Quileute man helped – they are our allies now – as long as we stay away from their land. We found the cave where he kept you in Alaska, and I fought him. I defeated him and we rescued you."
She lifted a brow at my mention of the Quileute's. I had forgotten that she did not know that they were wolves. That stay's for another time.
"How did you find my father?" I sighed.
"I went to see you in the morning as we had talked, and as soon as I reached the house I knew that something was very wrong. Charlie was still alive, but barely conscious. I called Rose and Emmet, as well as Carlisle and the Volturi. They were already in town to deal with Alice. I tried to make your father comfortable while we waited for 911. I knew that he was bleeding internally but there was nothing I could do for him. Rose came and we helped in any way we could. We did not leave him alone for a second. He managed to find the strength to tell us what had happened, and asked me to tell you that he loved you and for me to find and to take care of you." She was crying harder now, having pulled her knees to her chin to hug her legs. I sat next to her and pulled her to my body, sitting her on my lap. She held on to me like a life line.
"They did all they could to heal him but he was too far gone. He died on his way to the hospital. He was a brave man, Isabella. He faced death in the eye without blinking. He was a man that I would be proud to call a father. His last words were for you and his last thoughts were for you too." Her wails broke my heart. I waited until she calmed a bit.
"You could have…you know…bbit him?" Oh, honey…if only it was that simple. I sighed.
"No, my love. His heart was not in a good condition. He would not have made it. He was badly wounded internally and his heart had already been damaged. If I had bitten him, his last hours would have been of excruciating pain. I managed to take most of the pain he was in and he even managed to find the strength to talk to us."I was greeted by a new wave of salty tears and I just let her roll in her pain. She needed to feel it to become stronger.
"He was given a hero's burial as he should. Marcus and the Quileute's organized everything. Everyone was present. The Cullen's, Marcus, the Quileute tribe and the whole town."
"And me? Are they looking for me?" she asked frantic.
"No. We faked your death and you were buried next to your father. Only the Quileute know the truth. To Forks, you died in a car crash the same day that your father did. We manipulated the medical records and Carlisle performed the forensic analysis so that this would be considered a robbery gone wrong perpetrated by someone passing through town. The investigation will lead in a few days to a Seattle inhabitant that is guilty of several very brutal murders but was never caught by the police. Unfortunately he will be dead by overdose when the detectives get to him."I snickered, Peter and Charlotte had offered to make it happen.
She looked at me her mouth hanging open incredulously. I smirked at her knowingly.
"My father, Marcus, handled the whole affair knowing that we needed to solve the mess Edward made, and to give you some peace. We cannot have an open murder investigation on someone of our race. What you must focus on is that we caught the killer, that you are safe, that he will be put to trial and that for the human world Isabella and Charlie Swan are dead."
She sighed deeply, and I felt with her the weight on her shoulders and the pain.
"Who am I now?"
"I made you Isabella Marie Whitlock. You have a whole new set of documents and a whole new identity. I have also changed your age. I made you nineteen. A closer match to my real age of 20."
"Thank you. I really don't know what to think."
"There is no need to thank me. You are my mate and it is my duty and my honor to take care of you. I may not tell you this many times, but I love you Isabella. I love all of you and I am so proud that you are my mate." She looked deeply into my eyes with her swollen, red rimmed ones and I felt her love and adoration for me. She leaned in and shyly touched her lips to mine. The kiss was chaste and full of love, pain, sorrow and hope. I kissed her back, putting all my love and devotion for her in that kiss, making it a kiss of healing, of new beginnings, of hope for the future and for our life together.
We stood there for a while, lost in each other, kissing and just healing each other's pain and sorrow. When twilight came, she stood and walked towards the water.
"What will happen to Edward? To the Cullen's?" I walked towards her and embraced her from behind.
"He will be put to trail for the murder of your father and almost exposure of our kind. He will also be judged for stealing another vampire's mate. Carlisle will be judged for not teaching his coven the rules of our kind and therefore contributing to the almost exposure of our race by his fledgling, amongst other things."I could not stop thinking about Cecilia. What was it? A person? A place?
"I want to be there. I want him to pay. I cannot forgive him for what he did to me, to Charlie. I am not the same person. The old Bella would have forgiven and forgot, but I can't. I don't care that he is ignorant, I don't care that he is a misguided child. I want him to pay for my father's death, Jasper. I lost Charlie way before I was ready and he was taken from me while he tried to defend me. I will never forgive this. Never!" Peter was right when he said that Isabella would despise Edward. Her emotions towards Edward held nothing more than hate, disgust and anger. She loathed him with all that she had.
"He will pay. And you will be there to see him pay. Now we should get in, it is late and you must eat something. You are too thin and I like you with a bit more of meat on your bones." I smiled at her and she blushed. She was feeling shy, insecure and worried.
"They already love you. You will have a hard time to make them go away." I chuckled as we walked hand in hand towards the house.
"Charlotte is first mother, isn't she? Like Carmen."
"Yes, and she will kick my ass if I ever hurt you."She chuckled slightly for the first time in weeks and it was amazing.
We walked into the house. Bastien, Alexis and Peter and Charlotte were standing by the fireplace. Their excitement was so great that I started feeling giddy, all of a sudden, and had the urge to jump up and down. I scowled them.
"Cut the shit out." They immediately put a damper on their emotions.
Peter and Charlotte approached us.
"Isabella these are Peter and Charlotte. My brother and sister by venom and the only two other persons in the world, besides you and Marcus that I consider like blood family. Peter, Char, this is Isabella, my mate." They both looked at me, asking permission to talk to her. I nodded.
Peter stretched his hand and took Isabella's planting a soft kiss to her knuckles. Isabella blushed furiously making the amusement in the room to escalate. Charlotte was next. She just pulled Isabella into a gentle hug.
"Nice to meet you. Jasper told me a lot about his brother and sister." She said shyly to them, quickly leaning into me for strength. She was not afraid of them, just insecure. Charlotte held a hand to her and she took it.
"It is nice to meet you all. Thank you for what you have done for me. I am sorry for the last…"Charlotte did not let her finish.
"It is nothing. Don't speak another word about it. Welcome to our family and to your house, Isabella. I know that you will be happy in here with your mate and with us."
Isabella had tears in her eyes when she finished meeting Bastien and Alexis. We all sat in the living room just talking while I observed their interaction, letting them getting to know each other. No one talked about her breakdown and nobody pressured her into anything, giving her the time she needed to be at ease with them.
The girls went to the kitchen to make food for Isabella some time during the night.
"You were right Peter. She loathes Edward." Peter smiled.
"I know. It was set in stone. But the trial will be hard on her."
"We will get her through this. We will help." Bastien's determination washed through me. He had a strong connection to my mate. One laced with protection and care. I looked at him inquisitively.
"She is like a little sister to me. Elle me…sorry…She reminds me beaucoup of my little soeur Jeanie." He always slipped into his native French when he was emotional. He smiled when he remembered his long lost sister. In the kitchen we could hear the girls talking. Char and Alexis were filling Isabella on the latest gossip of the guard and explaining her how things worked around here. Wonder and belonging were her main feelings.
I took her to bed around midnight. Charlotte and Alexis gave me the usual warnings but all I wanted was to have her by my side again. I organized my agenda for the next day, making sure that I was with her in the morning, at lunch and dinner; she needed me to be present now. The rest of her day would be spent with the girls, learning about our world, and about her place in it.
Days turned into weeks and soon almost three weeks had passed. She still mourned and cried a lot for the loss of her father, but she found some happiness and contentment in her new life. Oddly enough she decided to open the bag with her things with me, Peter, Char, Alexis and Bastien a few days later. She wanted those who she already considered her family with her to help her with this step. She cried and laughed at some of the things that the girls had brought as she explained them to us. Bastien took upon himself to make picture frames from several materials and now Isabella's pictures from her childhood and from her parents were hanging all around the house. Her clothes were put in her closet and not once was she pressured to go and purchase more by the girls, who understood the need for her to do things at her own pace.
She almost cried in happiness when she saw that Peter and Bastien had put all of her books and Cd's in the shelves of the living room. She caressed the old, tattered book covers before thanking both of them with tears in her eyes. She confided later to us that she thought that we would throw away her old books to buy new and more expensive editions. We explained to her that those were the ways of the Cullen's not of the Whitlock's and that we knew that she needed the comfort of familiar things at this moment of her life.
In the mantel piece stood a silver framed picture of her and Charlie. She was little in it, maybe six years old and she was missing her front teeth, it had been taken in the summer when she visited Charlie in Forks, and they were both grinning brightly to the camera. We could see that it had been a good day. I loved to look at it, seeing my mate as such a beautiful, happy child. None of us possessed such precious things like pictures of our human life, so her pictures were cherished by all. Next to it stood another picture of her with her mother and Phil, taken not long before she came to Forks. She missed her mother, but strangely she missed her father the most.
I made sure that she contributed to the decoration of our house. She personally picked out many items and rearranged the house to suit our taste and needs. It was slowly becoming her house too. The girls were excited with the chance to decorate and they helped her any way they could. She managed to surprise me one night when I got home and met her in the kitchen. I saw that we had a second fridge and a new microwave oven.
"Well, we have our friends and family all the time here and I am the only one that can take a drink. It is rude not to offer something to the other's so, taking into account that you cannot drink alcohol, I talked to Char and Alexis and together we came up with this. It is a freezer for blood. We can put several containers in it and I have separated the shelves for human and animal blood. They told me that you like lion's blood from time to time. Char said that Carlos will come every two days to refill the containers. They said that you don't get into bloodlust when you are well fed and you won't get into frenzy and can drink socially. Alexis said that the Volturi do it all the time. It is kept in the same conditions of the ones in the mess hall but it has all of your favorites. You can warm it on the microwaves and then serve our guests." She was so excited when she pulled me to the living room.
We stopped in front of the ancient cupboard that stood under one of the main windows. In it, on display there was a strange contraption that looked like an antique Russian samovar. The craftsmanship was amazing and I knew that this had been bought in an antique shop just for my mate.
"Alexis and Bastien arranged this. Bastien electrified it and it will keep the blood at the correct temperature to be served for many hours. All you have to do is fill it with the warm blood and then serve yourself by this little tap. Of course I won't be going anywhere near it and you will open the windows when you drink it…but…" I stood there gob smacked while she looked at me with pride and satisfaction radiating from her. This was the same girl that fainted at the sight of blood?
I had no words so I showed her my appreciation by kissing her senseless until we were interrupted by the clearing of a throat coming from the doorway.
"Save that for the binding ceremony." Peter smirked at me and got out of the room before the orange that I hurled at him could reach his head. I looked again at the girl in my arms before kissing her again. She was my world and I had her in our house, with our family and she was living and moving on.
A/N Long chapter to compensate the wait.
Did Jasper rise to the task of helping his mate in her hour of need? Only two more chapters to go my friends. Read and review, it makes my day to read your opinions.
