Disclaimer: Only the new storyline is mine, the characters and recognizable passages are Stephenie Meyer's.

Previous chapter:

I give her a quick kiss and watch as she makes her way into the house. I turn to look at Peter and Caius, and I raise my brow as I notice the worried look on Peter's face. "Captain, what's wrong?"

Peter turns to stare at the house and says: "There's something not right, Major. I just don't know what."

Jasper – JPOV

I follow Peter's stare and sigh frustrated. I hate it when Peter goes all cryptic on me. Since when is 'there's something not right, but I don't know what' a useful sentence. I send him a large burst of annoyance, and he raises his hands in defense as he says: "I know, Major, I only know that we're going to find out soon."

I nod and look back at the group as I say: "Run another perimeter, Peter. I'm not taking any chances." Caius nods in agreement and adds: "Join him, Felix. If there's someone out there, I want them brought to me." Felix bows and follows Peter as he runs into the forest. Caius turns to me and says: "Time to talk tactics, Major. I was thinking in the line of the plan we used to end Maria's army and to clean up that mess."

"We need a large open space if we want to use that plan, otherwise it would be impossible to keep track of everyone. We need the oversight, and I can't lose sight of Bella. I know that she is capable of defending herself, but I need her close."

Caius smirks as he says: "Understandable, Major, and I wouldn't expect anything less from my future son-in-law than total devotion. My daughter deserves that after all that she has been through. Now, do we have such a space nearby?"

I nod as I say: "Yes, there's an abandoned military airbase nearby. We can use the landing strips to fight. We just need to lay down a scent trail to lead them there."

Demetri gives me a respectful look and says: "If you don't mind me saying, Major, Bella is their main target, so a clear trail with Bella's scent would drive the newborns crazy. It would enrage them and make them lose focus. An unfocused newborn is more likely to make mistakes and therefore easier to kill."

I growl loudly, even though I know that Demetri is right. The thought of using my Bella as bait, however, makes the Major more enraged than he's ever been, and I have to use all my strength to keep him from tearing Demetri apart for even suggesting such a thing. I take a deep unneeded breath to calm myself down and say: "I hate that you're right, Demetri."

"I don't like it either, Major. Bella is special, she touches the heart of everyone she meets so easily. She is Master Caius's daughter, and therefore she's family. We will keep her safe."

I snicker as Char surprises the hell out of him by hugging him, right when Peter and Felix return from running the perimeter. Char rolls her eyes at her mate as he says: "God, woman, you're terrifying the poor lad. What did he do to deserve that?" Caius shakes his head as Peter and Char start bickering and turns to Felix to ask: "Anything out of the ordinary?"

"No, Master, we did a full run and didn't encounter any fresh trails. Everything's clear for now."

A horror-filled scream from inside the house freezes the venom in my veins, and I can help but think the worst as I run into the house while yelling: "Bella!"

Bella - BPOV

I hum a tune as I take fresh bed linen out of the hall closet and make my way to the spare room at the back of the house. It's a beautiful light room due to the large window overlooking the forest, with a private bathroom. I smile because I know that Emmett will love it. I just hope that Rose will like it too. I open up the large window to let in some fresh air and wonder if Jane and Alec are still playing chess. I make my way downstairs to check, knowing that the rest will be talking about tactics for quite some time.

Jane gives me a tentative smile as I walk into the living room. I move to sit next to her and take a look at the board. Alec looks up and smiles brightly as he says: "Do you want to play, Bella?" I shake my head and say: "No, don't mind me. I'm happy just watching the both of you play. I might even learn a thing or two. I don't know how to play chess, to be honest." Jane grabs my hands and says: "I can teach you how to play if you want."

"I would like that very much, Jane. That's very sweet of you, thank you." Jane looks shocked as she whispers: "You think I'm sweet?"

"I don't think that you're sweet, I know you are. Now, tell me what all these pieces can do."

Alec snickers, as his sister finds herself unable to form a coherent sentence, and starts explaining the use of all the different chess pieces. Jane chimes in after a while and helps me while I play my first game against Alec. He is really good at this, and I wouldn't have lasted long without Jane's help. I give him a loving hug as he wins, and shock everyone, including myself, as I say: "Well played, son."

I swallow inaudibly as Alec and Jane stare at me with wide eyes and wait anxiously for them to say something. I don't regret calling Alec my son for one second, and I would love to call Jane my daughter. They're both incredible, but they were so young when they were turned. I can feel that they're missing some kind of mother figure in their lives, and I would love to be that for them. They give each other a strange look, and my heart sinks as Jane shakes her head no. I look down at the floor as I whisper: "I'm sorry, Alec. I didn't mean to…"

The rest of my sentence gets lost as Alec throws himself into my arms, and I can't help but smile as he whispers: "Mom." I hug him tight and stroke his hair lovingly until he turns around to look at his sister. The bright smile on his face could light the night's sky easily. Jane smiles at him, but it doesn't reach her eyes. I hold out my hands to Jane and say: "Jane, sweetie, come here."

Jane walks over hesitantly, and I pull her into my arms the moment she's close enough. I place a kiss on top of her head and say: "Now, tell your mother what's wrong, sweetie." Jane gasp for unneeded air, and I shake my head as she hugs me tight while sobbing and says: "I thought that you didn't want to be my mom."

"Oh sweetie, that was never an option. I love you both so much already. I will always be there for both of you. Even when you go back to Italy after the battle, I'll be only a phone call away." She gives me a bright smile and hugs me tight. I open my arms and motion Alec to join us. I laugh as he runs toward us and hugs us so tight that we topple over. Jane slaps her brother against the head, and I find myself separating my children before more damage is done.

"Oh no, you don't! I won't have you two fighting in my house. Jane, apologize to your brother, he was just being overenthusiastic."

"But mom..."

I raise my brow as Jane starts to argue, and she looks down at the floor with a scowl. I tap my foot as I wait for her to apologize to Alec. After a few minutes, Jane mutters something incomprehensible and says: "I'm sorry, Alec."

He gives his sister a quick hug and says: "I understand, Janie. I'm terrified as hell that someone will hurt her too. We'll protect her together."

I shake my head and hug them again as I say: "You two are the best. I'm so glad that you want me to be your mother."

They both smile at me, and Jane leads me back to the chessboard for another game. I look over at Alec and see him standing by the table with an envelope in his hands. He walks our way and says: "That's right. I almost forgot, this envelope was on the table when we entered, it has your name on it."

I take the large brown envelope out of Alec's hands and raise my brow questioningly as I see the name 'Bella Swan' instead of 'Bella Whitlock'. I turn the envelope around to open it and take the contents out. The first thing I see is a photo, and I scream out in horror as I realize what's on it.

Jasper - JPOV

I crash into the living room and rush to Bella's side as I see her slumped down on the floor. Alec and Jane are both looking at her with tear-filled eyes as they try to comfort her, and I raise my brow as I hear Alec say: "Mom, what was in that envelop?" What the hell happened in here while I was outside?

I pull Bella into my arms and stroke her hair as I whisper softly in her ear: "I'm here, pumpkin. What happened?" Bella is shaking all over, and I send her a wave of calmness and love as I continue to stroke her hair. "Please darlin', tell me what's wrong?"

Everyone else makes their way into the living room as well and gathers around as we wait for Bella to say something. After a few minutes, Bella points to the floor as she whispers: "Photo…" I look down and see that Alec is picking up a stack of papers and photos. He is feeling rather guilty, and I wonder what's that all about.

I pick up my Bella and carry her to the couch. Bella grabs my arms as I try to put her down and whispers: "No, don't go." I kiss the top of her head and sit down next to her as I say: "I'm not going anywhere, pumpkin. I just need to see what's on that photo."

Bella closes her eyes, and I can feel her shaking like a leaf as Alec hands me the stack of papers. Peter and Caius move behind the couch to look over my shoulder, and the three of us hiss as we look at the first photo. It shows the two dead bodies of Bella's mom, Renee, and her stepdad Phil. The signs of torture are clearly visible, and someone wrote 'they tasted delicious' across the photo in red ink. I hand the picture to Peter and pull Bella close against me as I whisper: "I'm so sorry, darlin'. She'll pay for this."

Bella nods against my chest and holds on to me while I quickly work my way through the rest of the photos and papers. I find a few newspaper articles documenting the murder of baseball player Phil Dwyer and his wife in suspicious circumstances. The police don't have any leads, and we all know why. This was Victoria's doing. At the bottom of the stack is a photo of Bella's dad, Charlie. The words 'tick tock' are written across, and I growl softly. Who does this bitch think that she's messing with?

I look at Jane and Alec angrily and hiss: "Where did this envelope come from?"

Alec takes a step forward and says: "I found the envelope on the table and gave it to Bella. I didn't know what was inside, the damned thing was here when we entered. I would never do anything to hurt Bella. I love her, she is my mom."

Peter raises his brow and says: "Mom? When did that happen?"

I growl at him and say: "Really, Peter, that's what you focus on? How the fuck did that envelope get into our living room? It was hand-delivered! Someone was in our home, and we didn't notice. I want to know how the hell that was possible when we were all here the entire time!"

I know the poll showed that most of you wanted Bella and the twins to have a sibling bond, but I followed my gut here and I love how this played out.

Thank you so much for reading my story!

The next update will follow soon.

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