Thank you all for the reviews and alerts - I really appreciate them and love hearing from all of you.

I also want to thank my team of wonderful ladies who have helped with this story. AlexisDanaan, JamesRamsey, JaspersWoman and DarkNNerdy. They all rock and have played a role in making this story look good and make sense.

I am not SM so I don't own these characters.

Chapter 35

APOV

For the past few weeks now, I spent my nights wandering around the area near Coeur d'Alene. I still couldn't find her but I continued to wait.

I was near the resort when I suddenly saw a flash of red out of the corner of my eye. It was early morning and not quite light out so I ran to see if it was her. I went down alleyways and up fire escape ladders until I finally saw her feeding on a teenage boy she had pressed up against a concrete wall.

I watched in morbid fascination as she held him almost in a lover's embrace until the boy's heart ceased to beat. I jumped down from the roof of the building, landing gracefully as I walked slowly towards her.

"I've been looking for you for a while now," I said quietly as I held my hands up to show her I meant no harm.

"You!" Victoria hissed. "What the hell do you want, yellow eye?"

"I have a proposition," I began. I took a breath and explained that I understood her loss and that she had every right in avenging James' death.

"I had... a friend go look for the girl," Victoria mumbled afterwards. "I hadn't heard back from him so I figured I'll just wreck havoc out here. Now, are we done?"

"Not quite," I said. "Look, I saw that Bella, the girl you referred to, is dead."

"Well, then what? Are you here to gloat? Well, just fuck off. I've got to run." She turned and started to walk away from me.

"Wait!" I said and went after her.

She led me down a couple streets until we were near the edge of the lake.

"What?" she growled out as she turned towards me. "What do you want? Just explain and then leave me alone."

"I think I have a way where you can get your revenge but it will take some planning," I said with a sly grin. "You can either come with me and we can talk more or just walk away. Your choice."

With that, I turned and walked casually back to my suite at the resort. It wasn't until I was halfway there that I heard and recognized her scent. She was following me back.

Brilliant. Now to just convince her of my plans.

JPOV

"Ouch! Jasper! Leg cramp!" Isabella gasped out as she gripped my arms.

I rolled off her and sat up against a tree before taking her in my arms and holding her against me. Her body was still flushed from our activities and her breathing was just starting to slow down.

"Is it your calf?" I asked and she nodded and whimpered against my neck as I started to massage her legs, feeling a knot on her left.

She sighed in relief after a few minutes and brought her hands to cradle my face as she kissed me.

"Thank you, it is much better now," she said softly and I nuzzled her new mark I gave her just a few minutes ago.

"How is your neck? I think my nail pierced your skin a little harder than last time," I asked as I blew my cool breath against it.

She shivered slightly at the sensation and looked up at me. I saw and felt her love as she smiled. "It doesn't hurt at all. It made everything feel more intense than before."

"It was," I replied, recalling the perfect image of her body arched up as her keening cries of my name echoed into the air. I could still taste her drops of blood on my tongue which heightened my own release. I smiled as I stood up with her still in my arms. "Thank you baby girl for letting me have another taste of you," I whispered and sent her all my love and affection.

"I wanted it as much as you," she replied and returned her feelings to me. We kissed for a few minutes as her legs wrapped around me and our hands roamed over each other's bodies.

"Come on, let's clean up in the water before we get carried away again. Not that I'd mind," I said, breaking out of our impromptu make out session and walked us over to the edge of the stream.

We spent the next hour or so playing in the water. Even though it was near mid-October, it was still warm and sunny. After drying off and putting our clothes back on, we walked back to the ATV that I had parked outside the grove of trees and continued riding around, showing her the land that I grew up on. I showed her where the house once stood and the barn. The buildings were long gone and all that remained were random weathered grey pieces of wood laying on the ground.

"Would you ever want to build a house here?" she asked.

"I didn't at first but maybe after your change if you'd like, we could design a house here?"

"Yeah, I would like that. We wouldn't have to worry about a kitchen either by then," she replied and wrapped her arms around my waist as I turned the ATV around and headed towards the flattened rock where I had set the basket of food earlier.

"I'd like that too," I replied. "Hungry?"

I felt her head nod. "Yeah, I sort of got worn out earlier," she said and laughed as I grabbed the basket with one hand and steered the bike with the other, never slowing down at all.

I found another shaded area and spread a blanket out so we could have a picnic. I took a small thermos of blood out and drank while she ate her sandwich.

"Hey, have you thought more about that Halloween party on campus?" she asked after taking a couple gulps of sweet tea.

"Not really," I replied and shuddered. "I don't want anything cutesy, you know?"

She laughed. "No, I was thinking something cool. Maybe I can order some red lenses for me so you won't have to hide your eyes. We can make it appear to be a part of our costumes."

I watched as she scrunched her face up in deep thought. "Oh! How about demon pirates?"

"Pirates?" I chuckled. "I knew you were ogling that Depp actor when we watched that pirate movie."

She shrugged as she put the trash back into the basket. "I just thought I could be your demon pirate wench."

I looked up at her immediately and growled low. "Oh baby girl, I don't think I would mind." I let my eyes roam over her body as watched as she blushed and her breathing picked up.

"Will you be my demon pirate then?" she whispered huskily as she continued to look at me.

I nodded and she immediately bounded up to me and straddled my lap as we made out on our picnic blanket for a while.

"I love you, Jasper," she said in between kisses.

"Mmm, I love you, Isabella," I replied. "We need to stop though, I can feel Peter and Char up there on their land and unless you want them to see us butt naked, we'll have to put this off for later."

She sighed as she ran her fingernails down my back once more. "Alright, I'll stop. For now."

Two weeks later...

I was watching her as she continued to stare into the bathroom mirror at her red contacts. I knew she was curious about how she'd look with crimson eyes and I could feel the sense of excitement as she started to line her eyes with kohl.

She looked up at me and smiled. "How do the eyes look? Do they look real?"

I smiled. "I could tell because the red isn't exactly the same shade as a vampire's but it is close and it is incredibly sexy, baby girl. Not that you're not when you've got your beautiful human eyes." I winked at her and watched as her eyes roamed over my pirate costume as I tried to create a stubble effect using the make up spread on the bathroom counter.

"Are you going to wear a robe as part of your costume?" I teased her as she finished putting on her makeup.

"I have to get the makeup done first. I'll get changed in the closet. No peeking." she said and gave me a wicked smile before walking to the closet and shutting the door.

I heard rustle of clothing as I finished with the pirate beard and went back to the bedroom to put on some scuffed up pirate boots. By the time I finished, I heard her switch off the light and the door to the closet opened. I sat still watching as a high booted leg stepped out and then Isabella emerged lookin' fucking sexy as hell with bedroom hair, heavy makeup, a barely there outfit and her crimson contacts. I growled and felt my eyes darken as I drank in the sight of her. She was all woman with just a hint of innocence as she nervously looked at me and bit her bottom lip. I was tempted to tease her about that and fuck her against the wall at the same time. I didn't though, I knew she wanted to go to this party as part of her human experiences so I tamped down my lust and took a couple deep breaths in order for my eyes to go back to red.

"You look incredible, Isabella," I whispered huskily against her ear as I circled around her. "So fuckin' sexy." I took my phone out of my back pocket and took a couple pictures of her before she grabbed it from me to snap pictures of me. I grinned at her as we walked downstairs and got her camera out and snapped a couple shots of us before we headed to campus.

"So did you ever dress up for Halloween before this?" she asked as I pulled out of the driveway and headed towards campus.

I nodded and held her hand. "Yeah, but it was always something asinine that I was forced to wear - George and Martha Washington, JFK and Jackie O, Mickey and Minnie," I replied, mumbling the last bit.

"Wait. Mickey and Minnie? As in Mouse?" she asked as she whipped her head around, looking at me as though I sprouted wings.

I nodded and made a face. "I had no say in it. Believe me, I would have vetoed that idea."

"Wow," she said and shuddered. "I am sorry you had to endure that." She turned her head and I could see from the corner of my eye that she was shaking and her emotions were telling me that she was very amused by it.

"Isabella," I growled out indignantly. "That wasn't that funny. It was torture."

She turned around with tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry Jasper... it... mouse ears..." she sputtered out in between her laughter.

I shook my head. Inwardly I was kicking myself for even mentioning it to her but I also had to admit, I really liked seeing her laugh like that. I guess, even at my expense.

Her hands brushed up my arm as she started to catch her breath. "I know I shouldn't laugh but the mental image I have is just silly. I just don't... why would she have thought it was a good costume?"

"I have no fuckin' idea. I even plotted to send nasty emotions out but Eddie caught on and tattled. It was probably one of the most humiliating things I had to do in my long life but it made her happy and that was what I tried to remind myself while wearing a fucking tail and mouse ears," I gritted out.

"This, what we have on is okay, right?"

"Oh hell yeah, it isn't some wimpy costume and you're not wanting to hide my eyes but rather incorporate it into the costume. I love it," I said and kissed her hand.

We were near campus now and I knew the party was nearby.

"Now, I won't tell you about the dangers of drinking and stuff, baby girl," I said as I turned to the street where the fraternities were. "But I want you to be careful."

"I will be," she replied and sent me her trust and love.

I found a parking spot nearby. The music was already thumpin' loudly as I got out of the car and helped Isabella out. Together we walked towards the house - it wasn't hard to miss with the huge crowd gathered and I almost wondered if she was able to smell the liquor that was obviously flowing freely. I could tell already I was in for a long night with the drunken emotions everywhere. I was grateful for having hung out in rowdy bars to build up a bit of a tolerance for the emotions. It didn't hurt that I had fed last night either.

When we arrived, the whole scene was just surreal to say the least. The women there were dressed scantily, obviously trying to get the attention of the frat boys. This was definitely different than the high scene that I had to endure. While it wasn't the most ideal place to be, at least the human watching was interesting.

The first thing Isabella did was grab a red plastic cup filled with beer and I grabbed one as well for show. We walked around and I heard some people complimenting us for our outfits as well as mumblings from some of the females about how they wished they were Isabella.

After one large circle around the party, Isabella grabbed my hand and led me to a makeshift dance floor. She put her arms around my neck as I held her close against me and we swayed to some slow song that was playing. Ever since her birthday dance outside our patio, it had become almost a regular occurrence with us. She admitted she had always hated dancing until that moment and now it was like second nature to be dancing close to me. I didn't mind at all and ran my fingers down her back and nuzzled against her neck. When the song ended, she gulped down her beer and grabbed mine that I was still holding.

We danced a couple more songs before the crowd's heat got to Isabella and we stepped out to the back patio for a few minutes, grabbing a couple more cups of beers between us on the way out. I watched as she climbed sat on one of the concrete ledges and I stepped between her legs and kissed her.

"Hello Jasper, I'm glad you made it," a slightly slurred voice interrupted us causing Isabella to growl and mutter curses under her breath.

I turned around to see Mindy wearing a cowgirl outfit but with short shorts and leather chaps. I suppose she was trying to attract attention but it really didn't do anything for me at all, especially when I had a sexy brunette who was currently sending daggers at her with her red contact lenses.

"Yes ma'am," I replied. "Isabella and I decided to check out the party." I turned back and kissed Isabella again as I squeezed her hips causing her to moan softly in my mouth.

"So Jasper, you wanna dance?" she continued even after I dismissed her and started paying attention to my girl.

Her words pissed Isabella off and she actually pushed me away so she could hop down from the ledge, setting her cups on the deck floor. I stepped aside but was just close enough to intervene if necessary.

"Okay, that's enough," Isabella seethed as she stepped closer to Mindy. "I have watched you try to get your hands on my Jasper since day one and you just don't get it. He's not interested in you."

Mindy opened and closed her mouth like a fish out of water as Isabella glared at her. I noticed her hands starting to curl into fists. I wanted to send calm to her but I wasn't sure how she'd take it so I stepped behind her and placed my hand possessively on her hips.

"Just stay away from him, you got that? Just go," she said to the now mute cowgirl in front of us.

I felt the defeat coming from her as she blinked a couple times. I was almost certain she was going to leave us as she started to turn. Just then, she turned back and raised her hand to backhand Isabella. Since she was drunk, her actions were slowed and Isabella, who was not quite tipsy yet, caught the movement almost immediately and was able to duck to avoid the slap. I was so happy she had taken to boxing, I didn't think her reaction would have been so quick had she not.

"Go away, crazy bitch," Isabella growled and pushed her hard causing Mindy to lose balance and fall on her ass. We walked quickly back inside as she gulped down our beers and some guy immediately handed Isabella a plastic yellow cup with some sort of alcohol concoction in it. I noticed I didn't get a cup and then I noticed some sort of chemical scent that should not have been in the drink. I quickly grabbed the drink from her hand just as she was about to take a gulp.

"What the hell, Jasper?" she said, still fired up from the incident outside.

I whispered low in her ear, "I think the drink is tainted. Spiked with something." I took a sniff and it was faint but there was some sort of chemical in there that wasn't supposed to be in there.

"What?" she said incredulously, a little louder over the voices and music. I could tell the beers were starting to hit her as she swayed a little. I pulled her close to me so she didn't turn her ankle in those high heel boots she was wearing.

"I think the drink is spiked," I repeated, a little louder this time and heard gasps and murmurings as word got around.

"What? Why? Why would someone want to do something like that?" Isabella asked in a slightly slurred whisper as she looked at me.

I shrugged and could only think the motive for adding something to drinks was for devious reasons.

"Wait, it is the guy who's dressed up as Urkel," a female voice cried out and immediately, a crowd began to search for this person.

I heard a someone calling on the phone and realized they were talking to the police.

"Come on, baby girl," I said and took her hand so we could get out of the house. The last thing I needed was cops showing up and all hell breaking loose. The party had grown in size since we had spent a portion of it outside so getting to the front door with a slightly drunk Isabella was harder to do. I turned and pulled her into my arms just as she finished chugging another cup of beer.

I shook my head as she started squirming around indignantly.

"Jasper! Put me the hell down!" she hissed out as I hurried us out the front door. Once I got down to the driveway, I could hear the sirens coming in our direction and put her down to see if she could walk. I watched her as she stumbled a bit before standing upright.

"Want to tell me why you just dragged me off from a party?" she griped.

"Someone called the cops, baby girl, I need to get us out of here," I said quietly and hoped she didn't become an ornery drunk.

She hiccuped and nodded, understanding the situation. "Okay, we can leave then," she said and took a couple steps before I felt her dizziness. "Whoa," she said and stopped moving her legs but her body continued to sway slightly.

"I've got you," I said and pulled her into my arms again, this time, more gently.

I walked us back to the car and set her in. Just as I turned onto another street, five patrol cars came whizzing by me causing Isabella to gasp.

"Wow, those are going to the party?" she asked still drunk but less angry now.

"Uh huh," I replied. "It is why I wanted to get us out of here. I don't know what they'd do about the guy who spiked the drinks but there was other shit going on that we didn't see but I could smell." I took a deep breath knowing she was going to ask. "I smelled cocaine and it was fresh but it must have been in one of the rooms."

Her mouth formed an 'O' and her eyes widened in shock. "Shit, I... I didn't realize." Her brows furrowed as we headed up the street to our house. "I was a little out of control tonight, wasn't I?

I nodded slowly. "Yeah, it was hot as hell when you told Mindy off though."

She laughed at shook her head. "She was just out of control and it needed to be said. I didn't hurt her, did I?"

I shook my head, "No, you hurt her pride for sure though."

"I can live with that. She was pissing me off," she admitted. "Jasper? I'm not a really good drunk, am I?"

I pulled the car into the garage and helped her out. "No, baby girl. You were better than last time but you get stubborn as hell. More so than when you're sober," I replied and winked at her as we headed into the house.

"You ready for bed yet or what?"

"I want to dance with you some more," she said and walked outside.

I ran into the kitchen and grabbed a pitcher of water for her as music started to stream from the patio. We spent the next couple hours dancing as she slowly sobered up.

"Thanks. Jasper, for taking me to a college party. I know it must have been hard for you but I appreciate it," she whispered against my ear as we headed back inside.

"You're welcome, baby girl. I hope you had some fun before it got crazy."

"Yes but I don't think I want to do that again. I'd rather hang out in the bars with you."

"Sounds good," I said and kissed her as I carried her up to our room.

APOV

It didn't take much to convince her to listen to me. All it took was a nice warm bath and then we sat by the roaring fireplace in my hotel room as I told her my vision. Right before dawn, Victoria took off saying we'd be in touch.

I sat there looking out the balcony as I waited for the phone to pick up.

"Alice? Where have you been?"

"Carlisle, I... I just needed some alone time to think," I whispered quietly and hoped that I sounded broken enough to fool him. "I'm ready to come home now."

"Alright. We've all been worried about you but understood that you needed some time to mourn. Just talk to us, we want to help. We all do."

"I know," I said softly. "I needed this and I'm ready to move forward."

"Get back to us as soon as you can, your mother has been worried."

"I will," I replied and pressed the end button.

Now all I had to do was wait and see if Victoria would follow my plan.

NOTES:

So, what'd y'all think? Well, other than Alice is cray-cray.

And yeah, don't ask why I thought Mickey and Minnie were good Halloween costumes for vampires. I'll just blame it on bourbon. :) Until next time... sushi