Hiya Everyone! I'm sooo sorry that I haven't updated in so long but I had computer problems and then I went on holiday again and then there were more problems and now I'm coming to you from a new computer which I love! Now just to warn you, unless I do an epilogue, I'm pretty certain that this will be the last chapter. But I will probably do an epilogue so it's not quite finished.
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BPOV
Utterly content I snuggled deeply into Jasper's arms as the cold night air whipped around us. I turned my face up to watch him.
"Jasper?" I whispered, "What time is it?" He carefully shifted me to one arm and examined his watch.
"It's just coming up to one in the morning." He replied before examining me closely, "Are you sure you're alright?" His concern washed over me and I sighed.
"Jasper I've told you I'm fine. I knew everything was going to be alright when Victoria came in and told us you were outside." His face was carefully devoid of any emotion but his eyes were tight and his mouth was thinner than usual.
"I'm so sorry that happened to you Bella." He whispered as he shifted me back into both arms and then he leaned down and kissed my forehead softly. I sighed again and relaxed in his arms as I thought about what had happened when I'd come round from my stupor.
I didn't know where I was when I woke up and all I could see was blackness. I wondered what had woken me when suddenly a sound similar to metal tearing shrieked through the air and I cringed. There was a small thump from somewhere next to me and my eyes widened as the door opened.
"Bella!" Edward had come hurrying over to me. The door swung around until there was only a small crack visible and through it I could see what looked like fur. Edward pulled out a knife from his pocket and I flinched away from him.
"Calm down!" He whispered quickly, "I'm going to cut you free." He explained and I relaxed slightly. The next thing I knew Edward was hovering over by the wall and a vampire in black was crouched over me clutching Edward's knife in his hands. He tore the dressing off my neck and I screamed around my gag. There was a huge crash and I looked over the vampire's shoulder to see two huge wolves standing on top of the door that had been knocked to the ground on their entry. A snarl brought my eyes away from the huge wolves and towards Edward who was still hovering by the wall.
"He's got a power." He grunted with some difficulty, "Binds vampires. Doesn't let them move." The vampire standing before me let out a scary, evil laugh and I winced. The bigger of the two wolves moved forwards with a growl building and I examined him carefully. He was covered in long-ish russet fur and he was absolutely huge. His eyes jumped out at me and my own eyes widened as I realised that this was possibly my adopted brother standing before me as a wolf.
"Mm?" I mumbled through my gag and then cursed mentally. I had been trying to say 'Jake?' Stupid gag. The huge wolf paused and looked at me with what I imagined to be an incredulous expression. Yes I was almost certain I was looking at my brother. A snarl sounded from the wolf and he began to come forwards with his eyes on the vampire in front of me. The vampire moved suddenly and I found myself with a knife at my throat for the second time in one night.
"Ah, ah, ah." The vampire wagged his free finger at the frozen wolf. "You take one more step and your pretty little friend here will spill her blood for all to see." He said and nobody moved. I could hear footsteps getting closer and closer and then a woman I didn't know burst into the room. A familiar smell of rust hit me and I looked down to see that there was blood dripping from the woman's finger. I didn't focus on what she was saying and I wasn't even aware that the knife had left my throat until a small crack sounded through the room and the blood, and therefore the smell, disappeared. My eyes widened as I realised the woman who had been human a minute ago was now a vampire and she had the vampire in black in a headlock. Edward was suddenly in front of me with the knife in his hands. One swift movement and my ankles and wrists were free.
"Are you alright?" He asked me and I rolled my eyes, "Oh sorry." He cut through my gag and I sighed.
"Thanks." I said softly, "Is Jasper here?" I couldn't help my eyes from straying to the giant wolf every so often and I saw he was watching me too.
"Yes he's downstairs. You don't have to be afraid anymore Bella. It's all over." Relief washed through me and I felt a huge smile appear on my face.
"Thank goodness." I exclaimed and then turned to the unknown woman who was still struggling with the vampire, "I don't know who you are but thank you so much." I was already more focused on the giant wolf than the woman but I did hear her say she was Angela's mother.
"Jake? Is that you?" I whispered and he nodded. His eyes were regarding me questioningly and I could almost hear him saying, 'How did you know?'
"Your eyes." I smiled, "Your eyes always give you away. I've always told you that." My smile widened as I carefully stroked his head and my eyes grew round.
"Your fur is really soft." I chuckled and continued stroking him but then he flicked his head backwards and I stopped in confusion. "What?" I could hear the incredulous tint to my voice but then I remembered Edward and turned to him, "What does he want?"
"He wants you to ride home on his back." He explained and I giggled happily. A small part of me realised the vampire was no longer there but there were large chunks of something I didn't want to see at the woman vampire's feet. I was still giggling as I turned back to Jake but they stopped as I wondered how I was going to get on. He'd crouched a little but I still couldn't get on. I felt hands on my waist and suddenly I was sitting safely on Jake. I laughed as I saw Edward grinning cheekily at me.
"Thanks Edward!" I laughed and then we were moving.
"Bella?" I was interrupted from my reminiscing by Jasper, "What are you thinking about?" He questioned as I smiled up at him.
"I was thinking about how I was rescued and how my brother is now a wolf." On hearing this Jake, who had been running at my side, let out a strange bark that I assumed was him laughing. Edward suddenly whispered something in Jasper's ear and he frowned. To my surprise he started to slow and soon we were alone.
"Jasper? What's wrong?" I asked him. I felt emotions swirling around me that were familiar but I couldn't place them at that moment.
"Jacob is your brother." He stated and I nodded, confused, "But he has feelings for you." He seemed angry and I frowned too.
"He had feelings for me before we were brother and sister." I said slowly, still not sure what he was getting at.
"What do you mean before you were brother and sister?" He asked and I felt the suspicion in the air. A flash of hurt jolted through me as I realised he was doubting me.
"My parents adopted Jake when his father died in a car crash." he was still frowning and we had stopped altogether now. I could see the wolves up ahead glancing back at us uneasily and they too had stopped.
"I don't like it." Jasper admitted and I felt another flash of pain.
"What's not to like?" I cried and the wolves' ears pricked up, "He used to have feelings for me and then he was adopted into my family and he cared for me as a big brother!" I was getting angry now and my voice was raising which meant the wolves could hear us. I saw a form get up and pace away into the darkness and I knew Jake was upset by something.
"Bella! Edward can read minds! Do you not remember that?" Jasper was angry too and I twisted until I was standing on solid ground rather than suspended in his arms.
"What do you mean by that?" I cried as we scowled at each other.
"I mean that Edward can see how he's thinking about you and I can feel how he's feeling as he thinks about you. Trust me those are not brotherly feelings!" We were both getting close to yelling now and I cringed away from him.
"I don't believe you!" I shouted, "How could you say that about Jake?" I accused him and glared at him once more before running off in the direction Jacob had gone. I could hear voices behind me, crying for me to come back but there was no sound of pursuit.
"Jake!" My breath caught in my throat and I realised tears were pouring down my face. Jasper and I had never fought before. "Jake! Where are you?" A figure stepped out in front of me and I skidded to a stop.
"Bells? What happened?" I threw myself into his arms as I cried and he soothed me and stroked my hair gently.
"Jasper and I were fighting and he was accusing you and I was defending you and now I don't know what to do." I sobbed and he held me away slightly so he could see my face.
"Well first you need to stop crying." he said as he wiped at the tears on my face, "And then you need to stand back so I can phase without you getting hurt. You're going to ride home on my back." He explained when I looked confused. I sniffled slightly as he wiped up the last tear and then I stood back like he'd asked. I closed my eyes and a minute later the huge russet wolf stood before me. He crouched lower than before and I climbed clumsily onto his back. I was fighting tears again and Jake waited until I was settled before running back the way we had come.
"Bella!" Edward suddenly appeared in front of us and I looked at him carefully. "Everyone was really worried. Are you okay?" His voice dropped lower and became quieter as he asked and I assumed he didn't want anyone to hear.
"I'm fine but I think we should get home fast." I said. I could see a messy head of blonde hair behind him and I looked down at the back of Jake's head.
"Bella I'm so sorry." I didn't look up at his voice, "Please. I didn't mean to insult you or your brother." I ignored him and told Jake to get us home.
During the journey Jasper was constantly beside me and apologising but I didn't listen to a word he said, instead focusing on the scenery that I could barely see in the darkness. Finally the familiar house loomed out of the darkness and I felt Jake slide to a stop. The door slammed open and Esme, Alice, Rosalie, Emmett, Demetri, Carlisle and, to my surprise, Angela poured out of the house and into our midst. Alice reached me first and she pulled me off Jake with surprising strength.
"Bella!" She sobbed into my shoulder, "We were so worried! Don't ever do that to me again!" She cried and continued sobbing on my shoulder until she was pulled off me. Rose's arms immediately replaced hers.
"Bella!" She cried like her sister, "Are you alright? It was so scary!" She was sobbing too and then Emmett hugged me around her.
"She'll be fine!" he boomed, "She's Bellabear" She's tough!" His voice broke on his nickname for me but he didn't let it effect him. Esme then pulled me away and into her motherly embrace. She said nothing and we just stood there crying together. Behind us I could hear Carlisle checking everyone was okay.
"What injuries does she have?" His soft voice carried and I turned out of Esme's arms to see him facing Jasper.
"We don't see any injuries on her apart from a cut on her neck." He responded stiffly. He wasn't looking at me and I wondered whether he was angry at me. Alice noticed this and her eyebrows turned down.
"Bella what…?" She started to ask but Rose shushed her hurriedly and I realised that she too had noticed that something was amiss.
"Bella let's get you inside. I know you won't want to talk about what happened yet but we should at least get you warm." I nodded blindly and was lead into the house. Someone pushed me down onto a sofa and a hot mug was pushed into me hands. I sipped it and immediately felt better. I looked up to see my friends and family looking at me with concern. Alice was beside me with Demetri at her feet and Rosalie was sitting on Emmett's lap beside Alice. On the next sofa Angela and Edward were sitting together with Jasper at their feet. Esme and Carlisle were sitting with Angela's mother and the wolves who had phased were sprawled in various positions on the floor. I finished my drink and they looked at me expectantly.
"Jasper dropped me off at home at the end of school and then left and I made myself a cup of coffee before going upstairs to put my stuff away and take my shoes off. My window was open even though I hadn't opened so I closed it and then turned around to see a person in black lying on my bed which caused me to drop my coffee on my foot." I paused, frowning, and pulled my sock off to examine my foot.
Alice winced as she saw the burn on my foot and several others hissed. I wondered how I hadn't noticed the pain of it before. Jacob stood up and went through to the kitchen and we heard him rummaging around a bit before he came back with some ice wrapped in a towel. He sat at my feet and pressed the ice to my foot.
"Thanks Jake." I sighed and looked at Jasper. He was staring at Jacob with a murderous expression. I stood up swiftly and Jake jumped aside.
"Jasper?" I asked sweetly, "Can I speak to you outside please?" Without waiting for an answer I hobbled out of the house and onto the porch. I stopped at the top of the steps, confused about how to go further. A sigh broke the night silence and Jasper lifted me into his arms.
"Hey!" I cried, "Put me down!" he rolled his eyes but didn't say anything. He set me down on a bench a couple of hundred metres from the house. Then he sat next to me and waited.
"I'm sorry for earlier." I began, "But you have to understand that what you said upset me a lot. Though Jacob did have feelings for me before he doesn't feel that way anymore." Jasper started to interrupt but I held my finger up and silenced him, "Let me finish. Even if he does still feel a tiny amount of love towards me I don't care. I will always think of him as my brother because he cares for me like no-one ever has. When our parents fought he would comfort me and if I ever got bullied at school he would stop me crying and make me feel better. If I fell over he would be the one standing with an ice pack on whatever I'd hit and he'd be teasing me. Nothing you tell me can change that he is my brother." I finished and we sat in silence for a bit. Suddenly Jasper's hands found my waist and he pulled me onto his lap.
"Bella I'm sorry that I overreacted." He said softly, "After nearly losing you forever tonight you can understand that I'm a bit on edge. I just worry that someone's going to take you away from me again." He whispered into my hair and I relaxed into him.
"No-one will ever part me from you again if I can help it." I promised and he pulled back to smile at me.
"No-one will ever be dumb enough to come between us again." He chuckled before kissing me sweetly.
Eventually we pulled away from each other and Jasper stood up with me in his arms.
"Come on." He said, "I'll bet everyone is wanting to hear the rest of your story. Me included." I giggled and he carried me back into the house. Everyone smiled at seeing me in Jasper's arms apart from Jacob who averted his face. We sat back down on the sofa next to Alice and she grinned at me. Jake picked up his towel full of ice again and pressed it back onto my foot but he refused to look at me.
"You were just saying how you dropped your coffee on your foot." Alice piped up helpfully.
"Right. Well I tried to get away from the person on the bed but the door had been locked and then I fell over my bedding and got tangled in it. The person tied me up and took the ring off me." At this I stopped and looked at Jasper, "Where's the ring?" I asked and he looked at Alice who opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by Carlisle.
"Which ring is this?" He asked curiously and Alice frowned.
"Jasper I thought you had it?" She questioned.
"I think I put it back on the bedside table." He said thoughtfully.
"I'll go and get it." Alice struggled to get up but Demetri was already standing.
"I'll go. You stay here." He said and disappeared.
"I'm still confused. What ring are we talking about?" Carlisle asked again and Edward explained how Mike had been annoying me at lunch so Jasper slipped his ring onto my finger and made it sound like we were engaged. I'd never taken it off.
"It's not there." Demetri came back down the stairs and took his place in front of Alice. We all frowned but Jasper shook his head and nudged me.
"Go on Bella."
"Well after the ring was gone the person lifted me up and flew through the window; causing it to shatter. I caught my arm on a jagged piece of glass which caused me to bleed and I eventually passed out from the smell. When I woke up I was tied to the bedpost and Victoria was in the room holding a knife. She was going to question me but then three other vampires showed up and said they were there to take over." I paused here, not sure how to continue.
"Bella?" I jumped as Carlisle spoke, "What were the names of these three vampires?"
"Kate, Jane and Alec. Why?" I asked as his face scrunched into a frown.
"What did they do to you?" His voice was very serious.
"They questioned me about you and Edward and Jasper." I said quietly.
"Did you answer their questions?" Carlisle seemed intent on a certain answer and I frowned.
"I did answer after some…persuasion." I replied uncertainly and his frown deepened even more if that was possible.
"Who?" He demanded and my face scrunched up in confusion, "Who was the one to…persuade you?"
"Kate mainly." Jasper was very tense and I put my hand on his cheek to try and calm him.
"What do you mean mainly? What else happened?"
"Alec made a knife move through the air of its own free will." I whispered, "That's how my throat was cut. He got angry because I refused to answer his questions. They had stopped breathing but Victoria came in to tell us that jasper was outside and she wasn't holding her breath. She tried to attack me but Kate stopped her and she and Jane got her out of the room. Somehow Victoria had managed to scratch my head and I was bleeding badly and Alec started to react to my blood. Jane came back in and slapped him and then she put bandages over where I was bleeding. They started questioning me again and this time it was Jane. Kate came back in and told us that Edward and Jasper were very close and Jane decided to make me scream more. The pain was unbelievable. The images." I closed my eyes as a tear escaped and buried my head in Jasper's shoulder. He gently me at arms length and examined my head carefully before kissing the wound. We were all silent for a bit until Emmett broke the silence.
"What happened after that?" I was surprised to hear that his voice sounded strangely cracked and I looked round to see that the women who could cry all had tears pouring down their faces.
"They made me scream more and then they injected me with something. Jane noticed I was still conscious before she left and she made me feel the pain once more, worse than before. I blacked out and then I woke up with Edward in the room." I couldn't speak anymore so I let the others tell the rest of the story between them. Jasper skipped out our fight and soon enough we were all sitting silently. Esme stood up and stretched.
"Who wants a drink?" She mumbled sleepily and everyone made noises of assent. Jake jumped up to help but before he disappeared entirely from view I caught a glimpse of his face and it was wet with tears.
So this chapter was shorter than the last by a long shot but I think it's, I don't know, sweet? That's the word that springs to mind. There will be an epilogue and then an A.N after that thanking everyone and telling you whether or not there's going to be a sequel.