AN: I love reading all the reviews y'all give this story, and it makes me feel justified for picking it back up again. Please continue to feel free to send in your praise (and criticism) as it fuels each new chapter.

As always, I do not own Twilight.

Jasper learned very quickly how stubborn his mate could be.

Despite any argument he attempted to dissuade her from going to Seattle with him, she was quick to come up with the perfect rebuttal. Which is how he ended up here, in their Volturi provided private plane, Bella curled up in the seat beside him with her head propped on his shoulder as she napped.

Peter was staring at them, wiggling his eyebrows any time he so much caught Jasper's eye. Jasper considered if it was possible to rip those eyebrows off of his smug face, but in the end settled with just baring his teeth once before attempting to ignore Peter completely.

Honestly, Peter was just lucky that the 'former' Cullens decided to tag along making it so Jasper couldn't do too much to show any dissension in ranks.

Which unfortunately included throwing Peter out of the emergency door for annoying him.

The 'former' Cullens were a surprise to him. He expected them to be more standoffish towards his coven, quick to judge even if they were smart enough not to verbally say anything. Instead, he had only detected positive emotions from them since their initial talk. They were hesitant around him, and in conjunction with Bella, as if they didn't know what to say or how to say it. Yet that hesitation did not extend to the rest of the vampires in his territory. He often caught Peter playing video games with the large male, Emmett, trash talking and rough-housing as if they had known each other for years. And while he had an air of regret and melancholy anytime he glanced at Bella, that was the only negative emotions Jasper could tell Emmett ever had. Otherwise he was a giant full of happiness the likes Jasper was hesitant to say he had ever come in contact with before.

On the other side of the equation was Rosalie, the blonde who was so quick to practically beg Jasper for his assistance. She radiated so much relief that Jasper wondered on a daily basis if the others could feel it; even without his gift to help. She smiled freely and brightly, and every time she did so Jasper felt Bella's spike of shock and confusion, which told him that the Rosalie he was seeing now was not the Rosalie that Bella remembered.

He considered, briefly, if the two were putting on a show for him in an attempt at subterfuge.

Nothing of their emotions even hinted at such.

So, eventually, Jasper decided on a tentative trust. Perhaps he was getting soft…

"Major, eta thirty minutes. Garrett says he's meeting us on the tarmac with some cars."

Charlotte's voice broke him from his thoughts, and as if she had an internal alarm Bella began to stir.

He turned his head just in time to watch her blink sleepily at him, a slow smile spreading on her lips.

"Well hi there cowboy." She mumbled the words but Jasper could still decipher them clearly. He pressed a brief kiss on her forehead before pulling away slightly, allowing her to sit up completely.

"Hey there, we're 'bout to land."

Bella's brow furrowed and a slight down tic of her lips indicated her displeasure.

"Shit. Alright, time for super secret covert-op mode. Ultra stealth."

Peter laughed at her words and Emmett's echoing laughter could be heard from towards the back of the plane. Jasper's lips quirked up at her words.

"Ultra stealth, kitt'n?" He asked, trying to keep his obvious amusement out of his tone.

Bella stretched her arms above her head, causing every vampire present to flinch slightly at the sound of her popping joints. She rolled her neck side to side before turning about to look at them all, a puzzled expression on her face.

"Well, yeah. A dead girl can't necessarily be seen three hours from where she used to live. I mean, it hasn't even been a year yet."

Jasper threw his head back and laughed, grabbing Bella by her waist and pulling her into his lap. She fell with a soft exhale of breath, and he tucked his head into her neck, running his nose across the length of her throat.

"Such a practical little mate I have." He murmured into her skin. Bella shivered before relaxing completely against him.

"Honestly, for being all knowing immortal beings, you vampires tend to forget about the most basic of things." She chided gently, gripping Jasper's thigh tightly as he went from basically scenting her to lightly licking at her skin.

Peter grinned at her from across the aisle.

"Just human things though, little one. Those ain't very important."

Bella rolled her eyes at him, instead choosing to turn her attention to Charlotte in an attempt to ignore the very...distracting attention Jasper was paying to her neck.

"Are we meeting Garrett when we land? I'm still surprised that Alistair chose to stay back, it will be nice to see a familiar face." She paused and grinned cheekily. "Even if it is an obnoxious one."

Jasper sighed lightly, seeing that Bella was hell-bent on ignoring his attempt at a little fun before they landed. He propped his chin on her shoulder, surveying the group in front of him. At some point Rosalie and Emmett had made their way to the front, and Jasper could feel the special blend of anticipation and excitement that always filled the air before a big confrontation.

"Alistair is actually doing me a favor, kitt'n." He could feel Bella's surprise at his words and he wondered if it was because he had waited until now to mention his plans. However, she didn't make a response outwardly.

It made Jasper a certain kind of proud to know that his mate wouldn't question him in front of others.

"Garrett is goin' to meet us at the airport. He'll give us a quick brief 'bout what he knows before I decide how to handle it." Jasper met each vampire's eyes, making it very clear that no action was to take place without his say so. He was pleased to see sharp nods from all. "Now hold on tight, kitt'n. We're 'bout to land."

"Wait how do you know we're about to-" Bella's sentence was cut off as the heavy bump of the wheels hitting the tarmac interrupted her. She huffed in annoyance. "Stupid vampire hearing."

~pagebreakwhatisapagebreak~

Garrett's face was grim when he met them outside, but he gave Bella a quick wink when he caught her eye.

"Ah Princess, what a gift it is to see you here."

Bella could hear Emmett's mumbled 'Princess?' behind her, but she wasn't sure if she heard it because she was getting better at catching vampire speak or if it was just because Emmett tended to be so loud. Either way she ignored it in favor of smiling at Garrett as he held the door open for her.

"What a gift to see that you have found some manners in your time away from us." She quipped lightly before sliding into the back seat. She could hear Peter's loud laughter, and could swear that she felt a trickle of amusement from Jasper.

Peter and Charlotte slid in, followed by Garrett. It seemed as if Rosalie and Emmett were having to take a separate car.

Garrett pouted at her from his seat.

"You're so cruel to me, Princess, when all I live for is to serve you."

Bella rolled her eyes, an indulgent smile on her lips.

"Oh I'm sure that is your life purpose, Garrett. Now, let's quit this sad show and get onto more important matters."

She noticed that Peter had a phone in his hand. He put it on speaker and then nodded at Garrett.

"Alright, well, I got good news and bad news for you." Garrett's gaze was fixed on Jasper as he reported. "Good news, they aren't actually newborns. They just act like them since they seem to be so woefully unprepared and uninformed of this life."

He paused and his expression turned grim.

"Unfortunately, most of them seem to be gifted. A lot of lesser level gifts, but still. One of them almost managed to get the jump on us while we were surveying their camp, but luckily Randall was able to charm his way out of a fight."

Jasper hummed low in his throat, the hand that was attached to the arm tossed on Bella's shoulder tapping an inconsistent rhythm.

"How much do we know about these gifts? Any that will cause problems?"

Garrett frowned, adopting a thoughtful expression.

"Nothing should be an issue, but I would remain cautious nonetheless." A pause before he hesitantly continued. "They won't welcome any interference, Major. Whoever made them really did a number on them. They are hostile to anyone who isn't one of their own."

Bella could hear a sharp, bitter laugh echo over the phone before Emmett's voice filled the space.

"Tell me, Garrett right? How many are women?"

Bella blinked in surprise at the question, a growing sense of horror blooming in the pit of her stomach. Garrett's expression told her all she needed to know.

"More than half, probably around seventy-five percent."

Muffled cursing over the phone before Emmett spoke again.

"That's what I was afraid of. You're probably going to want a woman to go talk with them if you plan on making contact, Major."

Jasper hummed again before speaking up so they could hear him over the phone.

"I'll send Char in as a courtesy warnin', but we'll be right behind. These type a things don't tend to be peaceful."

"The Princess will have to stay guarded, Major," Garrett spoke up, "These vamps, they have no control of their bloodlust. They smell something as sweet as her and we're going to have a problem."

Bella scowled, hating that she was being talked about as if she wasn't a part of the decision.

"Peter will stay with me if we feel like it's needed." Jasper glanced at her but nodded in agreement with her words.

"We'll send Char in with Rebecca." A sharp grin spread across his face. "They won't know what hit 'em if they try to play dirty with those two."

Garrett nodded, eyeing Charlotte and Peter and shifting just a smidge away from the two of them.

"Understood, we'll arrive at the homebase in about another ten minutes or so. From there we are only a five minute run from their camp." Garrett rolled his eyes. "The poor things don't even know how to run borders, so we've been able to sit right under their noses."

Bella turned to look out the window, trying to get a bearing of where in the city they were.

"They set up in the industrial area?" She asked, surprised.

"Gives them space." Peter answered her, "New vamps get territorial, they want to claim an area for their own. It's smart of them to use an old warehouse, I wasn't expecting that."

He gave a quick shrug and smiled at her.

"Then again, it turns out they aren't really newborns, so I guess they got more brains than we thought."

Bella nodded, leaning into Jasper's side as they turned a sharp corner into an alley that was clearly not meant for vehicle use.

"Alright kitt'n," Jasper spoke quietly, practically a whisper in her ear. "Things are 'bout to go real quick. Peter's got cha back, so if you need anything, turn to him. I might hafta step away from ya more than I'd like, and things might get messy."

Bella reached over and squeezed his thigh in confirmation. She could feel his eyes on her, so she turned to look at him. Jasper's gaze was tender in a way that she wasn't used to seeing outside their bedroom, and her breath caught in her throat at the sight. His eyes flickered over her face as if to take in every detail before he leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss to her lips.

That was the last kiss she got before all hell broke loose.

AN: Okay, okay, I know. I said action would happen this chapter. I'm sure you all have trust issues because no one lost their head here, despite the length of this chapter. BUT! I have a gift for you all. The next chapter is being uploaded as you read this probably. That's right! A double upload!

As always, enjoy.