A/N: Ok, super fast update just because I got a minute to get this chapter down. Thanks for the feedback on part 2, just so you know part 3 will come with reviews for chapter 53. Love to you all and enjoy the weekend!
Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight
[JPOV]
I tossed the keys to Paul as he came out of the house. He stopped for a minute, staring at them before giggling and leaping behind the wheel. He gunned the engine noisily and the revs made a little shiver run down my spine. I did so love this car, and the thought of having to give it back today made me a little sad. I kissed Bella on the top of the head. "I want you to go with Paul, I'm going to run there. I think I need to try and talk to Sam". Bella frowned "Are you sure?" This surprised me. I was used to Bella seeing the best in everyone. "Look, I mean I know it's your duty, but they are fighting over Leah like she's a shiny new toy. She's a grown woman for goodness sake. There's something about this that makes me really uncomfortable. I know Sam is your friend, but I just don't like this at all, and it's going to tear her apart if it continues. I don't want to sound mean, but perhaps it's better for Sam and Emily to be away for a while, like you told them to be". She looked at me intently, "Really and truly, he disobeyed you by coming back here today, and he clearly hasn't got over his issues. It just doesn't seem fair that he spoilt such a lovely day for Leah and Michael, and now Embry and Jared are all uncomfortable with Michael, and all because Sam couldn't do as he was told. It's just not fair". She pouted her lips. I stood back and ran my hand through my hair, feeling quite thrown by her outburst.
I nodded and gave her another hug as she climbed into car. "I don't want you going in there until I get there" I said meaningfully. Part of me really didn't want her anywhere near this leech, but I knew she'd end up trying to see him anyway. She nodded her head. "I mean it, promise me". She gave a little smile and held out her finger "Pinkie swear". I kissed her hand as we swore and then headed round to the wooded area. I phased in slowly, trying to give Sam time to get used to my presence. I could feel his anger, his jealously and his shame. "Sam, talk to me, what the hell is going on with you?" He snarled in response. I could see his was on the run back to the cabin. "Sam why did you come here today? You promised you'd stay away for a while". I felt him skid to a halt "Stay away? Look what happened, you have a whole new pack now don't you, I step out of the way and you have her all cosy and a new second-in-command, no need for good old Sam now is there?"
I was getting angry "Why do you care?" I bellowed. "He imprinted on her, not you!" I felt the shock course through him. I realised that he hadn't sensed the imprint, or perhaps he'd been too blinded by his own issues. "This isn't just a crush, or a casual fling you can get in the middle of. The spirits have spoken, they have decided. You have to let her go now Sam, you have to!" His anger was overwhelming, he hated Michael, he hated imprinting, he hated me. His anger stabbed into me "I did nothing to you! That's not fair!" I shouted at him.
"You made everything happen, everything was fine before, then you and Bella start this whole tornado and my life gets torn up" he spat back at me. "Everything was not fine and you know it Sam. It wasn't fair that you didn't get to imprint on her, it wasn't fair on either of you, but what happened since wasn't right, you should have let her go. You are loosing everything because you can't let her go. It has to stop Sam, you have to stop this". I didn't know whether to plead, or demand, or issue an order. He was my guide and I had believed in him, but now I didn't know what to do.
"I'll tell you what to do!" He retorted angrily, "Leave me alone, don't come looking for me with that sick connection of yours, stay out of my head and I'll stay out of the pack's". "Sam, you don't mean that, you are part of this pack, you are a Protector, this is your duty". Then in a tired, aged voice he spoke again "Please Jake, just leave me alone. I just need to be left alone for a while". I felt him phase out. He wasn't all the way to the cabin but obviously would prefer to walk human style than spend any longer talking to me.
I lowered myself to the ground, he didn't want me to talk to him, that really hurt. He had called my connection to him 'sick', did he really feel that way, did the others? I know that being able to talk to people in their heads was a bit weird, but I didn't think any of them thought it was a bad thing. I realised that time was getting on and began the run to the leech place. I honestly never thought I'd be going there of my own free will.
As I arrived at the house, the smell of them made me gag. Despite the fact that most of them had been gone for many months, the cloying sickly sweet smell hung in the air. I could see Bella sat on the step. The hood of the car was up and Paul and the leech were immersed in discussion over fuel injection systems. I smirked to myself, fine bunch of Protectors we were, all the next coven would need to do is distract us with nice cars and we'd all roll over and wag our tails.
I settled on the ground next to Bella and she wrapped her arm around me. I loved how it felt. I felt safer like this, in this form. We were on enemy turf and I didn't want to let my guard down. The leech straightened up once I was comfortable and walked over. He stood straight in front of me, his eyes not flickering from mine and I appraised him carefully. I also remembered a key point from last night, he had the ability to control the human form, possibly contributing to Paul's very relaxed demeanour, I was definitely staying wolf then.
Paul wandered over and dropped down beside me with a lazy smile on his face, he gave me a cheery wave and I rolled my eyes. "Tell him to remove the mind control". I snapped. Idiot! Paul looked at me confused "Jake wants the mind control removed" he repeated. A mischievous grin played across the leech's face and Bella began to giggle. "As you wish Alpha Black" he nodded and turned his attention to Paul. Paul leapt as if his backside was on fire. He looked around in disgust "What did you do to me?" he yelled. "You…You…I felt like we were best friends…what the hell?" Bella held her arms out "Come and sit by me Paul, I'll protect you from the mean vampire". Paul walked behind us as if he was afraid to get too close to the leech again and sat close to Bella, his forehead creased and his eyes slitted in annoyance.
"Jasper can manipulate emotions, that's all, he was just helping you to relax". Paul began muttering all sorts of cuss words under his breath, and continued to eye the leech suspiciously. The leech took a few steps back and then sat down, he seemed calm, controlled and very aware. I could tell that the sitting was to appease me, as if to show he meant no threat. I pushed my head against Bella. I knew she would have lots to say. I would let her have her time whilst I tried to work out the leech's angle.
Bella smiled happily "So Jasper, how is Alice?" He leaned forward resting on his elbow. "She misses you, a lot. She buys you things. She has a Bella box. She gift wraps, then she changes her mind and gift wraps again – different paper, different bow. She does that a lot." Bella sighed "I miss her too, maybe we could write? Could we write Jake, would that be allowed?" I snorted, I didn't mean to honest, but it came out before I could stop it. The leech spoke for me luckily before I got my paw stuck too far down my throat. "That's probably not a good idea at the moment Bella dear, not as things stand, perhaps later, once problems are resolved".
"What problems?" Bella quickly asked. Straight to the flame my little moth. He leaned back then, staring at the sky as if it would guide him somehow. "Bella, how much did Edward tell you about himself?" I felt my skin crawl, it was as if his name was some kind of poison to me. Bella shrugged, "What do you mean, things he liked, his music, where he had travelled, that sort of thing?" The leech shook his head. "Bella, did you ever talk to him about sin, or damnation or anything like that?" She stroked my fur as she thought. I remembered some of the things she had said, mostly to Leah about the reasons he had given when he left. "He believed he was damned, soulless, that sort of thing. What does that have to do with anything?"
The leech seemed to contemplate, and I realised that he was struggling to say things in a way that didn't offend Bella. I smiled again, well as long as he felt as uneasy as we did around him then it was all even. "There were lots of things that Edward chose to keep to himself, like the thoughts he had about humanity. Don't forget, a hundred years being exposed to every single thought the world has will take its toll on a person's mental state". He paused, gauging Bella's reaction, and as she remained silent he continued. "After a while, he began to separate the world in very simple terms, good and bad, right and wrong, the virtuous and the damned. Most of us see the grey in the middle, as I know you do by the love that you extended to the family, despite what we are. But for Edward, it became quite absolute. He became quite enchanted with Dante, and the religious works of Pope Gregory. Are you familiar with Dante?"
I shrugged, now I was definitely pleased I had let Bella come, last night I hadn't had a clue what he was waffling on about most of the time, but Bella seemed to be following it clearly. "The Divine Comedy, I have read some of the translations of Inferno but I didn't really like Purgatory". The leech nodded "Do you remember the cardinal sins?" Bella smiled "Oh this was on one of my papers – Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Wrath, Envy, Pride…Oh what was the seventh?" Paul cut in suddenly, "I saw this movie! It's sloth, remember Jake, that movie where the woman's hand is glued to the phone and the bottle of pills and he mashes her face up and she has to decide whether to call the ambulance but be disfigured, or top herself." Paul seemed very pleased with himself but my blood was running cold. I remembered that movie and it ended with the good guy's wife's head in a box in a desert. I really didn't like this conversation at all.
The leech continued "Bella, according to Dante's rules you were perfection – you didn't get angry, you didn't want people to spend money on you, you didn't want to be the centre of attention, you kept yourself busy taking care of Charlie, you were kind, and gentle and…" he paused for a minute and took a deep breath, I found that odd, he was dead, surely he didn't need to breathe? "pure" he finished carefully. "Oh!" Bella said quietly "but I'm not perfect, just like everyone, I would get mad and wish that Alice would stop buying me things, or I'd wish that I was a pretty as Rosalie, and I was definitely envious, I mean I wanted what you had, I wanted to be like you". I stiffened. The nightmare I had had of Bella with blood red eyes flashed through my mind. She gripped me tightly "I mean I don't feel like that anymore of course", she kissed my nose tenderly. The leech smiled "Of course you did, we all do, it's just human nature. But the difference was Edward couldn't hear your thoughts, so the only proof he had of how virtuous you were, were your actions, which you have to admit were definitely self-sacrificing."
Bella said "Oh" again in a little voice. Was that it? I thought there might be ranting and ravings, how could he? I thought he loved me? That sort of thing, you know kind of Maury style. She shrugged "Well, it's not as if it really matters now does it?" Wow, this girl just blows me away, I hope she has an idea of how much I love her. "Unfortunately, it sort of does. Do you remember in inferno, the animals that Dante encounters" the leech asked. What was this a pop quiz or something, it's Saturday, I don't want to think this much until school on Monday!
Bella breathed in deeply "wow, erm..was it a panther, or a lion maybe, a leopard…and a she-wolf". Bella gasped "No he can't possibly believe that?" The leech nodded. Ok I really hate it when people do this "Explain" I shouted at Paul and he winced. "Jake wants an explanation and he's shouting so please break it down simply". I huffed a little, I'm not stupid but this was getting to be a bit of a theme, talking amongst themselves,'ah-ha' and 'I see', first Paul's reading, then I'm sure there was something else after that, and now this.
"Dante wrote about a she-wolf who prevented him from finding the 'diritta via', the path to salvation. A wolf who might have pulled Bella to the path of damnation?" The leech answered slowly. "Well, that's just ridiculous, I mean utterly ridiculous, can't you just explain it to him Jasper" Bella fussed. He shook his head "Don't forget I'm one of the damned, I'm a sinner – too much wrath, too much pride, too much gluttony. My word is meaningless." "What about Carlisle? I mean, in Edward's eyes Carlisle must be ok?" The leech nodded sadly "But Carlisle won't intervene in this Bella, Carlisle believes we each must find our own way. Don't forget that Carlisle allowed him to reek his vengeance on the 'sinners' for nearly ten years without intervention. Do you have any idea how many people Edward killed over ten years, ten years, three hundred and sixty-five days in each year. Even if he fed only once a week, and that is very very doubtful, that's five hundred and twenty people Edward killed, with Carlisle's full knowledge.
I saw Bella go pale, and I understood, those numbers were horrifying and I would imagine very conservative, but she needed to understand. She gripped my fur tightly and held onto Paul's hand until her knuckles were white. "What is he going to do?" Bella asked in a small voice. The leech looked to the floor "I wish I knew Bella, I wish I knew". I turned to Paul "What is he proposing to do to prepare?". I played the possibilities over in my mind as Paul relayed my question. The leech looked directly at me. "As you know I have offered to join your army and serve under your command, in return for the benefits of that allegiance". Bella gasped "army? you mean you plan to fight him". The leech answered her calmly "Not exactly, I just wish for us to be prepared for every eventuality".
I spoke through Paul again "The Elders are not in favour of this, they do not trust you". The leech nodded, "as well they shouldn't. I am what I am, but I will prove to them that my presence can be tolerated in your army's best interest". I nodded for him to continue. "I request that you allow me to train your soldiers. I am highly skilled and what I have to share will benefit them greatly." I considered this, the training would be useful. But it would allow him the opportunity to learn their weaknesses, and even misguide them should he turn against us as some point. I stood up, shaking my fur, being careful not to unbalance Bella. I phased on the spot. I made no attempt to cover myself and I saw Bella blush deeply. I had nothing to hide from this leech. "I will consider your request but will need further information about your plans, location, numbers, timing. When you are ready you may contact us". He smiled. "I will draw you up an outline by the morning."
He made a movement towards Bella and both Paul and myself bristled. He stopped and looked towards me for permission before extending his arms to her. I rolled my eyes as she hugged him. I pulled my shorts from the binding and slid them on. I was probably going to have to carry Bella, it was a bit of a walk back. Paul handed over the keys to the leech and phased in. The leech chuckled and put the keys back into my hand. "You might as well consider it part of the gesture", he winked at Bella, "after all, you never can shift that wet dog smell from the upholstery". My jaw dropped and he turned on his heel and entered the house.
