The Mating Dance

by Xavier2163

AU Edward Cullen and his adoptive family moved to Forks to start a new life, but Edward’s life suddenly changes when he’s drawn into Bella Swan’s strange and dangerous world. Vampires mate for life, but what happens when that mate is human? OOC Lemons ExB

16. You've Kept Me Waiting

Disclaimer: Written under the derivative fan works act. All rights reserved to the original creator, Stephanie Meyer.

Title: The Mating Dance

Rating: M for sexual situations, lemons, and hot, steamy, angsty vampire lovin', underage drinking, smoking, drug use and overall bad behavior.

Premise: Alternate Universe. Edward Cullen and his adoptive family have moved to Forks to start a new life, but Edward's life suddenly changes when he's drawn into Bella Swan's strange and dangerous world. Vampires mate for life, but what happens when that mate is human?

Alternate Universe: Canon pairings eventually, pretty much OOC, ExB of course.

POV: APOV (Alice), Alice's turn, but Edward might continue the story in the next chapter. Bella may have a say later on as well.

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Author Notes:

Please note that this story is rated M for a reason, if you'd prefer not to deal with mature themes, please do not read this story.

Sorry about the delay in getting this posted. I thought I was going to have it up last week, but here it is now.

If you have time, please take a look at my other story, "Shades of Gray". I'm always interested in hearing about what you think of either story.

Updated for minor edits to punctuation and grammatical errors.

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Chapter 15 You've Kept Me Waiting

APOV (Alice)

"There you are! You kept me waiting a long time, Jasper Whitlock!" I exclaimed as Jasper stopped on the next step down in front of me on the stairs.

"My apologies ma'am, but I had responsibilities I had to attend to before I could follow my heart. Can you forgive me, darlin?" Jasper said as he moved in front of me and wrapped his arms around my waist as he looked down into my eyes.

"Just promise me that we'll be a team from now on. I want to help, and you know I can. You could have trusted me to help you, you know." I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled his head down to me, and Jasper rested his forehead against mine.

"I promise, Alice. From now on, darlin, it's you and me together. Whatever happens from here on out, we're a team."

"C'mon, Jazz, let's get out of here and go someplace to talk…"

"Just talk, darling…?" Jasper asked with a lascivious grin on his face as he swept me up into his arms.

"Maybe not so much talking…" I chuckled with my arms around his neck holding him close.

We disappeared back down the hallway the way I'd just come, and the door opened and slammed closed behind us. I had left the lamp in the corner in the room on when I went out earlier, and the room was bathed in a soft glow. Jasper carried me to the couch. He set me down, and then sat down beside me.

"The couch? Don't you think we've waited long enough, Jasper?"

"At least allow me to be enough of a gentleman to talk to you first, Alice. I understand what we're both going through, but I'm not going to simply carry you off to bed and ravish you with out so much as a by your leave."

Well, I guess I was lucky to draw the southern gentleman, but I could do with a little ravishing about now. I'd been waiting weeks for this, and my body was craving Jasper. I needed him. All of him, and I wanted him now, but I could be good and wait if it made him more comfortable. I would do anything for him, and if it was what he needed, it was ok with me.

"Ok, I suppose you're right. So, tell me a little about yourself."

"What would you like to know?"

"Well, I know you were a Major in the Confederate Army during the Civil War, and Esteban recruited you to help him settle in the North. Bella told us a little bit about the Southern Wars but she didn't go into too much detail."

I scooted closer to Jasper, and cuddled into his side. He wrapped his arm around me and it just felt so right to finally be close to him. I needed more, but I could deal with this for now.

"So you want the story of my life? It's not a happy story for the most part."

"None of our stories are. That doesn't mean I don't want to know more about you."

"Ok. Yes, I was the youngest Major in the Confederate Army in Texas. I don't really remember much of my early life before I was turned. I know I had a family. A mother and father and I had brothers and sisters, but most of that is vague and muddled now. It doesn't even seem like my life when I try to dredge up any of that past."

"I know I was the oldest, and my family felt very strongly about the war. My father used his connections to get me a commission as an officer, but it was my own ability at connecting with people and understanding them that allowed me to progress so rapidly through the ranks."

"I had been assigned to escort a column of women and children that we were evacuating from Galveston. They were settled in for the night, and I was returning to report in when I thought I'd stumbled upon a group of stragglers that had been separated from the main column. I immediately went to offer them my aid, but they weren't stragglers, and they weren't from our column of evacuees."

"That was the night I met Maria. She ended my human life and I was reborn to this existence. I was nineteen years old when my human life ended. You said Bella told you a little about the Southern wars. How much did she tell you?"

"She told us that at first the wars were fought for territory and hunting rights, but later it devolved into an endless series of vendetta and retribution as one Clan or another tried to avenge the deaths of their clan mates to settle the score. She said you were in the middle of all of that, and you led Maria's armies for nearly fifty years before the Volturi finally stepped in and ended the wars."

"I suppose that's a delicate way of explaining the chaos and turmoil that pervaded the times. She didn't explain how we fought those wars did she?"

"No… I assumed they'd be fought like any war…"

"No, not like any other war… We fought those wars with newborn armies. My troops were better trained and better equipped than a lot of our foes, but the fact remains that we used primarily newborn vampires to fight for us."

"How are newborns different and why is that significant?"

"Vampires are strongest and most violent and ferocious during their newborn year. Their human blood still lingers in their bodies and fills their tissues until it is slowly consumed and converted to venom. Mature vampires are more cunning and skilled, but they are easily overwhelmed by the brute force of massed newborns. When we were creating newborn armies, we relied more on quantity than quality. We would create masses of newborns and just point them in the direction of our enemy and they would destroy everything in their path."

"Many of the vampires we created counted their new lives in days or weeks, not centuries. We never let them live past the usefulness of their first year, unless they were special and had a gift we could use. That's why Maria kept me and let me live, because I could help her control her army and make them more effective. It was my responsibility to eliminate the few that survived to the year mark and were no longer useful to us."

"In time the wars started to attract the notice of the human authorities. The Southern Clans became a danger to the secret, but the wars were more important than maintaining our anonymity. The leaders in the South became arrogant and thought they could stand up to the Volturi with the armies they had created. They were wrong, and most of them paid the ultimate price for that arrogance."

"Most of them?"

"Some of them escaped or went into hiding. The Volturi had the resources to hunt them all down, but they felt it was better to leave some alive to spread the stories and remember what had happened so they wouldn't repeat the same mistakes again. Often the worst offenders that they let live become the strongest voice in favor of enforcement of the letter of the law."

"Maria took that route. She was always smart and knew when to act to benefit herself. I wouldn't call it foresight or seeing the future, but she had a heightened sense of self preservation and made the right decisions to stay out of trouble. We destroyed our army before the Volturi arrived, and then she made a deal to work with them to hunt down the other Clans. Esteban claimed me from Maria and took me into his service as the price for her life. I've been with him ever since, and I recruited and run his household guard."

"After the Southern Clans were suppressed and the wars ended, Aro released Esteban from formal service with the guard and sent him north to supervise the new changes to how they enforced the secret. We had to change to adapt to the changes in modern technology. Vampires had been supplementing their diet with animal blood for centuries, and it was obvious to most that a diet of primarily animal blood allowed larger groups of vampires to live together peacefully. The vampires in the North were already experimenting with clubs and humans that worked for them to supply their needs. We sanctioned the process and brought it under the formal enforcement of the Volturi."

"Esteban and I recruited Esme and opened our own club. It became the model for how the rest of the Clans operated and ran their businesses. Our kind has always operated on the fringes of society, so it seemed inevitable that we would become linked to the human underworld. Organized crime seemed tailored to how we live and it's been a very lucrative enterprise for us."

"So you're the boss now while Esteban is in Italy?"

"I suppose so, for all the good it does us. I've done my best to try and maintain what Esteban and I built over the last century, but I don't have all the resources Esteban had at his command. The other Clans had to have enforcers and crews running their operations, but our family operated mainly as a core management team. We ran the Club, kept up internal security, and I ran special operations with the household guard, but Esteban contracted out most of the day to day operations to his friends in the Volturi guard and their retainers. I don't have that resource, so I've been cutting back operations while recruiting heavily for the past five years to build up the kind of muscle the rest of the Clans already had in place."

"It's not a newborn army by any means. We're not sweeping the streets for homeless kids and turning them. We recruit mature vampires, although a lot of them are very young. Now that Bella is trained, I'm going to need her to step up and carry her weight if we're going to make it through this."

"We can discuss our future later." I climbed onto Jasper's lap, and straddled his hips. "Right now we just need to get to know each other better. You have certain responsibilities you need to take care of first."

I rubbed myself against Jasper's lap, and I could feel the hard bulge in his pants grinding into my core. I placed my hands on the hard planes of his chest caressed his body as I leaned in and kissed the side of his cool neck.

"God, Alice, that's so good…" Jasper moaned. "You're not afraid of me at all are you?" He asked amazed.

"Why would I be afraid of you? You're my mate and my future. We're going to be together from now on, and I know you won't hurt me."

My fingers found the buttons of his shirt and opened them to expose his chest. His hard white skin was crisscrossed with scars. Some were long and straight from swords and weapons. Others were the smaller jagged half moons of bite marks. I kissed the scars that marked his neck and traced the long straight scar that ran across his jaw and up his cheek to the corner of his eye.

"That doesn't disgust you? I carry the scars of a hundred and forty-five years of near constant fighting. Somebody died for each of those scars. A lot more died that weren't good enough to leave their mark."

"You carry your scars on the outside. My scars are on the inside. Maybe not so many but give me some time, and I'll see what I can do about that."

"I like you the way you are now. I feel that I have to be honest with you, Alice. I've been with other women in the past. I lived with Maria for fifty years. We weren't exclusive. There were other girls too, but we were together most of that time."

"I might be seventeen, Jasper, but I'm not a virgin. I don't have a happy past either."

"Ok. At least we're even on that score. I know you've probably considered this too, but I've killed a lot of people, Alice. It's kind of what I do. It's what I'm good at. I solve problems for Esteban, and mostly that means eliminating obstacles. Usually those obstacles are people that won't go along with what we want, or are just in the way. Sometimes they're people that just know too much."

"I'm not an innocent little girl, Jasper. We're still even. My hands are bloody too. I won't hold your murders against you if you don't hold mine against me."

"Your hands are bloody? Now I'm curious, darlin. Who have you killed?"

"I told you I wasn't a virgin. I was raped before I was ten years old. The Cullen's adopted me after that. I started training in the martial arts for more than just self defense and therapy. Carlisle and Elizabeth never knew, and I think I hid it from Edward too, but I hunted all of them down. The boys that did that… I made them pay for what they did to me. They're all dead, and they won't hurt anyone else ever again."

"I saved Derek for last. He was supposed to be my brother, but he set me up and held me down while they did it. You have to get up close and personal to kill with a knife. I could see the fear in eyes as I held him down. I had to break his legs so he couldn't run away, but there was more fear than pain in his eyes. Then the fear went away as his eyes turned flat and glassy. It was too fast and easy for him. I should have made him suffer more, but I was pressed for time."

"Maybe you are suited to this life after all. Esteban told me you were, but I didn't really believe him. I guess I was trying to protect you from what I am all this time."

"You don't have to protect me from what you are or the life you lead. You're my soul mate, and I'm bound to you now as you're bound to me. I've been waiting for you for a long time. The first time I saw the future, I saw us together. I saw you Jasper Whitlock, and I knew you were my future. Now you're finally mine…"

Jasper's big hands were tracing up and down my sides and my arms snaked around his neck as I leaned in and my lips found his. I tangled my fingers in his hair and pressed my open lips onto his mouth as I pressed up against him. My lips parted and the tip of my tongue traced along his lower lip. I felt his lips part and then the tip of his tongue met mine. The feeling was incredible. It was slick and sweet and velvety as I reveled in the feel of Jasper's tongue exploring my mouth. His scent was intoxicating and I lost myself in the moment as the emotions that were surging through me swept me away.

An immeasurable time later, he broke the kiss to allow me to pant against his neck as I tried to catch my breath. I was moving on his lap grinding against the hard bulge in his pants that pressed into me. He kissed along my jaw to the hollow beneath my ear and kissed down the column of my neck. I shuddered against him in pleasure as his cool lips moved on me.

I felt his hands on my hips, and then his fingers found the hem of my shirt below the small of my back. I felt him start to tug it up, and I leaned back and let him pull it up my body. I raised my arms and he pulled it off over my head and tossed it onto the floor. I felt his cool fingertips trace up the smooth skin of my back, but I reached back behind myself, and unclasped my bra. Jasper's hands continued up to my shoulders unimpeded and he slipped the straps off my shoulder as I stared into his eyes. He reached for me and lifted the cups away from me. I let my arms slip out of the lacy piece of fabric, and then it joined my shirt on the floor.

Jasper cool finger traced onto my stomach and I felt his hands encircle my waist and then move higher as his thumbs traced a line up the center of my stomach and them on to my chest.

"You're so tiny Alice. So perfect, so beautiful… and finally mine now…"

His hands cupped my breasts, and I gasped and arched my back as I pressed into the cool palms of his hands. The feel of my nipples grinding into the hard palms of his hands was incredible as he gently squeezed. The sensation felt like it was hard wired to my core and I felt the tight coil in my stomach wind tighter as the desire pooled in my panties. I felt the low rumble of the growl in Jasper's chest and I knew he could smell the scent of my arousal.

I leaned into his hands, pressing harder against his grip as I ran my hands up his chest. I kissed up his neck to his ear. I nipped at his earlobe between my teeth and breathed into his ear.

"Take me to bed now, Jasper, unless you're going to claim me right here on the couch…"

I felt the growl rumble through his chest again, and then he was sweeping me up into his strong arms like I weighed nothing at all. His lips found mine again, and then we were moving into the bedroom. It was darker in the bedroom. There weren't any lights on, but the soft glow from the living room filtered into the room so it was darker, but bright enough for me to see once my eyes adjusted to the light. I expected him to rush and be at the bed in an instant, but he walked slowly at a human pace as his mouth moved on mine and our tongues swirled and danced while he explored.

He swept back the covers with one hand and then gently deposited me on the sheets. I thought he'd join me, but he moved down and reached for my ankle. Jasper opened the buckle on the ankle strap of my shoe and slid it off my foot and then took my other leg and removed my shoe for me as I leaned back on my elbows and watched him work. He slipped out of his shirt, and then sat and removed his boots and socks.

I scooted over to make room for him and caressed the hard muscles of his back and broad shoulders as I waited for him. He lay down beside me, and gathered me into his strong arms as he moved over me, and then his lips found mine again. My arms snaked around his neck. My hands caressed the back of his head to tangle my fingers in his hair as I pulled myself closer into the kiss.

Jasper's hand moved onto my chest and he cupped my breast and tweaked at my nipple as it hardened into a pebble and the areola crinkled around it. I gave myself over to the sensations coursing through my body and we moved together in rhythm as we caressed and touched. Jasper's lips moved on mine and our tongues danced back and forth, circling and teasing and exploring. I knew his teeth were sharp but I was daring and careful and I did my share of exploring.

His hand trailed back down across my stomach and onto my hip. Jasper's hand stroked up and down my thigh, and then dipped between my legs and stroked across my crotch. The feeling was wonderful, and I knew he could feel the heat and dampness even through the fabric of my jeans. His hand moved onto the button of my jeans, and deftly flipped it open, and then his fingers were on my zipper pulling it down. He started to ease my pants lower, and I lifted my hips so he could pull my pants down past my ass.

Jasper slid a little lower and sat up. He reached for the cuffs of my jeans and pulled them down off my legs and dropped them over the side of the bed.

He leaned back over me, and his nose and lips dipped into the valley between my breasts. His lips trailed to the side as he kissed onto my chest, and then his cool lips wrapped around my nipple as he sucked it into his mouth.

His hand caressed down my stomach, across my mound, and cupped my sex through the triangle of my panties between my legs as the heel of his hand ground into me. I knew he could feel my heat and my panties were wet under his firm cool fingers. The tight coil in my stomach wound tighter as his hand stroked between my legs.

His lips moved across my chest to my other breast and his cool lips found the hard pebble of my other nipple. His cool wet tongue swirled around my crinkled flesh and the coil in my stomach wound tighter still as I arched my back into him.

Jasper's hand slid under my ass between my legs, and then I felt his fingers hook into the elastic on my panties and pull them down off of my ass. I raised my legs and bent my knees back as he pulled them down my legs and off over my feet.

His hands hooked behind my knees spreading my legs around his body and pushing my legs back so my feet rested flat on the mattress. His nose and lips trailed lower across my stomach to the top of my hips.

My heart was racing and my breathing was hitched. The intensity of his delicate touch sent electric jolts down my spine and hot twinges ricocheting around my pelvis. I took in a sharp breath and tried to calm myself down as I felt his nose trailing back and forth across the top of my pelvic bone before slowly going further south into my pubic hair.

His cool hands moved onto my sex, and I felt his cold dexterous fingers trail along my lips and spread the folds apart. His finger trailed circles around my clitoris and I bucked involuntarily into him as I moaned at the intense pleasure of finally having his hands on my body.

His cold probing fingers trailed up and down on my sex spreading my slippery fluids around. My breath shuddered from between my lips and I laid my head back onto the pillow. My body was screaming for penetration and I fought to keep myself from bucking my hips up into his hand.

His fingers slid down to my entrance, slowly teasing me before pressing his middle finger inside. I felt myself shudder with pleasure, and I groaned and let out cry of delight at the new and intense sensation. I had touched myself before, but it felt so much better when Jasper penetrated me. I was ready for this and I wanted it. I needed this and it felt so right.

I felt Jasper quickly shift between my legs and lean in, and then his tongue was moving on me. I gasped at the cool wetness as it lapped flat against me from just above where his finger was penetrating me, and then up to the throbbing peak where my clit was poking out of it's hood.

I heard and felt his smooth moan vibrate against my heated flesh. He circled his tongue around my clit, flicking and teasing the sensitive bundle of nerves. He began lapping his tongue up and down between the folds, going in circles around my clit, up and down, flicking back and forth lightly, and moving from where his finger pumped into me then back up to circle and tease my clit.

I grasped the back of his head and tangled my fingers in his hair, holding him against me. He was causing such delicious sensations to course through me. Just a little more, a little closer and I knew I'd reach my peak…

"Oh god, that's incredible… Jut a little higher… Yesss, yesss… Right there…"

Oh. My. God. He was right on target and my legs clamed around his ears as his glorious tongue pushed me closer to the edge. My god, he was like a machine… He didn't have to stop to breath and he never got tired. Once he found the spot that gave me the most intense pleasure, he honed in on it and drove me closer and closer to the edge.

I was panting hard I was so close as the coil in my stomach wound tighter and then I reached my peak. I fell off the edge as my climax flashed through my core, and my orgasm crashed through me.

I wanted to scream and I shrieked Jasper's name as I clenched tight around his finger buried deep inside me. He pressed his tongue flat against my clit as it throbbed and pulsed under his touch. I felt a flood of wetness, my toes curled into the sheet and my eyes rolled back in my head as I plunged over the edge into the throes of my orgasm…

I was panting hard and trying to take deep breaths as awareness returned and calm flooded my senses as the heavenly bliss spread through me. This was so much more incredible with Jasper than anything I had experienced before.

My legs unclamped from around his head and I lay back against the mattress enjoying the contented bliss that flooded through me. Jasper took the opportunity to shed the rest of his clothes, and then he moved back up the bed and gathered me into his arms to cuddle me. He pulled the covers up over us and I nuzzled into his chest as his strong arms wrapped around me.

He gave me the time I needed to enjoy the contented bliss and pleasure that flooded through me and I relaxed into his arms. I was stroking his hard chest, and started to plant small kisses on his chest and nipples. Jasper was aware that I was ready for more, and he started by stroking my short hair and planting light kisses on the top of my head.

Jasper eased me onto my back and then leaned in to kiss me. His open lips found mine and his tongue was in my mouth. We move together between the sheets as I caressed his neck, his shoulders, his back, his tight ass. His hands were on my body driving my arousal higher again as he stroked and tweaked and caressed every inch of my flesh.

He broke our kiss and I panted against his cheek as he nuzzled against me. Jasper placed open mouthed kisses along my jaw line to the hollow beneath my ear. His tongue flicked out tasting the shell of my ear and I felt his cool sweet breath against me.

"You know what I have to do, darlin…"

"Yes…" I moaned into his ear.

"I have to make you mine. I have to claim you as my mate."

"You already own my soul, take my body too. I'm yours Jasper. I love you…"

"You really do. I can feel the intensity of your love. It amazes me that you can love me as intensely as I love you, Alice. You truly are my soul mate."

His open lips moved back onto mine and our tongues danced as he deepened the kiss. I lost myself in the sensation of his lips moving on mine his tongue circling and the intense sweetness of his taste the slippery strength of his velvety caresses. He literally took my breath away and then I was panting again as he broke the kiss and slowly planted open mouth kissed down the column of my neck.

Jasper lifted my chin to tilt my head back and give him better access. His lips pressed a kiss onto the pulse point in my throat and then his lips opened against my neck. I felt his tongue swipe across the artery in my throat, and my pulse hammered in my veins as my heart pounded. Calm washed over me and my heart slowed as I relaxed, and then I felt Jasper's teeth brush against my skin.

There was a short sharp pain as his teeth sank into my skin and I felt the spurt of hot liquid that surged out of my throat and into Jasper's mouth. I felt him suck at the wound in my neck, and I swooned, light headed as the flow of blood was redirected away from my brain and into his mouth. I felt his cool breath from his nostrils flow out against my heated skin, and then his body became rigid and hard as he inhaled my scent. His hands clamped down on me and it was painful as I was locked in his iron grip. It went on longer than I had expected, and then I felt fear wash through the room. His grip on my shoulder and jaw relaxed and Jasper's tongue was pressed against the wound in my neck staunching the flow. His tongue swiped against my flesh, and there was a tingling sensation before he pulled away.

Jasper turned away and wouldn't look at me as I lay back against the bed. I turned to him and leaned on one elbow as I studied his back.

"Jasper, talk to me. What's wrong?"

"You could at least try to pretend to be curious when you ask a question, Alice."

"Huh," I sighed. "That's going to take some getting used to. I'm not used to people knowing what I'm feeling when I talk to them. Ok, I know what's wrong, but I'm not going to let you wallow in self pity and ruin the mood. Now turn over right this instant, Jasper Whitlock, and face me when I'm talking to you."

"Yes, ma'am." Jasper rolled back over to face me and he looked remorseful. I could read the self loathing on his face, and I knew what was wrong.

"You were not going to hurt me, Jasper. I know it, and don't think I'm just trying to make you feel better."

"I could have killed you, Alice! I shouldn't have inhaled. I caught your scent and I didn't want to stop!"

"But you did stop. You're stronger than you give yourself credit for, Jasper."

"I'm sorry, Alice. I don't spend a lot of time in the Club like the others do. I was raised as a traditional vampire, and we didn't feed on animal blood in the south. In my line of work, I'm often free to indulge my appetites, and I don't have as much practice as the others at controlling my bloodlust."

"You knew I wasn't really curious when I asked you what was wrong, because you have an ability. You can read and influence emotions. I have an ability too. I can see the future, and I know you weren't going to hurt me. You're not going to hurt me, so just get over it. You've got more responsibilities this afternoon."

"And what exactly would those responsibilities be, ma'am?" Jasper asked, but I could already see that his mood was improving. I'd have to see what I could do to make him feel better.

"Well, to begin with, you can stop calling me ma'am, and get started insuring that your mate is perfectly satisfied and loved."

"I think I can handle that responsibility, darlin." Jasper said, allowing me to change the subject. "I've only seen one mating happen before this, with Rosalie and Emmett, and it still amazes me how fast it happens and the intensity of the emotions involved. I'm amazed that Edward held out as long as he did."

"I knew he'd give in eventually. He wasn't going to be able to resist much longer anyhow."

"So Edward really thinks he fell in love with Bella on his own, and made a conscious choice to choose her?"

"If it makes it easier for him to accept all of this, then it's in our best interests to go along with that story and let him think that's what happened."

"You are a devious one, aren't you, Alice."

"If it makes Edward happier to think he chose Bella over Katy, then so be it. You and I both know it's more instinct than love. He hasn't known Bella long enough to have fallen in love with her on his own. The only decision Edward made was to stop fighting and let the mating bond work its magic on him. It's not like they won't be happy together, they're mates. They were made for each other. They're like the two halves of the same life now, but enough about my dear brother, and my new sister."

I pushed Jasper's shoulder back, and he let me push him down so he was lying on his back. I scooted closer throwing my leg over his hips, and scrambled on top straddling his waist.

"We have more important things to take care of right now."

I could feel his hard cock pressing into my crotch, and the folds of my slippery sex parted around his hard shaft as it pressed down flat against his body. I ground my hips into him, and the feel of his hard erection sliding between my lips and rubbing up against my clit was exquisite.

I knew all I had to do was rise up and reach around to line him up with my opening, and he could be inside me instead of rubbing up against me. This was nice, but I wanted him inside.

Then Jasper's hands were locked on my hips, and I couldn't move. I reviewed what I knew about today, and then it hit me. Yes, it would be like this, but we needed a condom. Why did we need a condom?

"Alice, I don't mean to be indelicate, but are you using birth control?"

"You mean, am I on the pill? Birth control pills? No, I haven't wanted to be with any other guys since I saw the vision of us together. Should I be on the pill?"

"I think it would be advisable at this stage in our relationship. I don't think either of us is willing to abstain from having a physical relationship, and I don't want to take a chance on getting you pregnant."

"I could get pregnant?"

"Well, as much fun as this all is, darlin, that is the usual expected outcome from pursuing this type of activity to its logical conclusion."

"I know how it all works, Jasper. I mean you could get me pregnant? Is that even possible?"

"Very possible, and almost inevitable unless we're very careful. You should start taking birth control pills as soon as you can get a prescription, and your cycle allows. In the mean time, we need to use condoms to keep you safe."

Jasper reached over the side of the bed and retrieved his pants. He reached into the pocket, and then handed me a foil packet.

"Do you get a lot of opportunity to use these in your line of work too?" I asked as I turned the packet between my fingers.

"No, but I knew I was coming up her to see you, and I felt it was prudent to be prepared considering you're my mate."

I glanced at the package. "Magnum? Are we just a little proud of ourselves? You know statically, one size fits all usually applies in this situation."

"I'll let you be the judge of that, Alice." Jasper said with a smirk.

I'd been grinding back and forth on his shaft since he'd released my hips to reach for his pants, and I could feel his hard shaft sawing back and forth between the lips of my sex, getting us both aroused as my free flowing juices lubricated his cock. I slid further back onto his hips and really looked down at his cock for the first time. It sprang up erect at full mast as I slid back off of it.

My god! That was going to split me in half! I knew he was in the cavalry, but he was supposed to be an officer, not the horse! It couldn't possibly fit. It had been incredibly tight with just his finger inside of me. Now it was my turn to be afraid.

"What's wrong, Alice? Is the magnum too small?" Jasper asked with a smirk turning up the corners of his lips. "You said you'd seen this. Are you having second thoughts?"

He was right. I had seen this. Not every single detail so it played like a movie, but enough bits and pieces to have an idea of what to expect.

"No second thoughts. I was just startled. It's one thing to see bits and pieces and get an idea of what's coming, but really living it can still be a shock sometimes. My god, is that real?"

"The change does tend to enhance certain parts of the anatomy, but I was fairly well endowed before I became a vampire. I've never received any complaints."

"Can I touch it?" I asked, intrigued by this new experience.

"Of course, darling, please indulge your curiosity."

I reached out to touch it, and Jasper's erect cock twitched under my fingers. I wrapped my hand around his shaft, and there was a wide gap between my thumb and fingertips. I dropped the condom onto the bed beside me, and wrapped both hands around Jasper hard cock and stroked up and down his length.

"Oh god, Alice… That's very nice, darlin…" Jasper moaned as my hands stroked him.

Jasper's cock was hard like a slightly flexible steel bar but silky smooth and velvety soft to my touch as the skin covering his cock moved with my hands. It was well lubricated with my juices and my hands slipped up and down the length of it as Jasper shuddered under my grip.

I could see a glistening drop of pre-cum lubrication ooze from the slit like opening in the tip of the bulbous head, and I was overcome with a desire to taste it. I leaned down and licked the head of Jasper's cock, and then swirled my tongue around it. It was slightly salty, but sweet, and I wanted more. Jasper moaned at the contact, and then locked his wrists together behind his head while I continued my exploration.

Well, I was this far, and besides I seen snippets of visions of this happening. I'd watched my share of porno videos on the internet, and read enough smutty stories to have a pretty good idea how to do this and what Jasper would like. I decided to just go for it, and sucked the head of Jasper's cock into my mouth.

My lips wrapped around the head of his cock, and I swirled my tongue around the head as I moved on him. Jasper was moaning loudly with each downward bob of my head. My hands were wrapped around the base of his cock, squeezing and stroking his shaft in time with my oral attention.

"Oh my god... Jesus, Alice… That feels sooo good..."

I hallowed out my cheeks, and increased the vacuum in my mouth, sucking harder. Jasper moaned and his hips bucked gently as I flicked my tongue against the underside of his shaft and then circled it around the base of his head.

"So good… You're so hot… God this is fucking incredible…"

Jasper moaned loud, as he lost himself in the pleasure. My lips wrapped around him, and my head was bobbing up and down. My hands wrapped around the shaft of his cock stroking him and milking his cock. He let go his death grip on his wrists, and his hands lightly stroked my short hair as it slipped between his fingers.

His eyes were closed, and his head was thrown back, thrashing from side to side on the pillows. His whole body was shaking with the pleasure I was giving him and I knew it was an effort for him to hold back and not thrust his hips up into my mouth and possibly hurt me.

I tried taking him deeper into my mouth, but he was so big. I couldn't fit much more than his head and an inch or two of the shaft in my mouth. I could feel the head of his cock brush against the back of my throat, and I wanted to gag, so I backed off. I swallowed involuntarily with Jasper still full in my mouth and it eased the sensation in my throat. Jasper moaned as my muscles constricted around him. I knew what to do when the time came.

I reached down with one hand and hesitantly touched his scrotum, and I heard him moan louder. I gently palmed it for a moment, before rolling his balls around in my hand. A startled moan escaped his lips at the amazing new sensation this apparently generated. I caressed his balls and gently tugged on his sack. Thank god for the internet and deliciously smutty stories. There was so much I wanted to try, but I didn't think he was going to last much longer.

"Ooh God!" Jasper moaned out loudly, totally startled by how good the gentle tugging felt.

I felt Jasper tense up, and I sensed his imminent release.

"Alice... I... Oh god… So good… Darlin, I'm going to... Ooh! Alice!"

He lightly tapped my head in warning, but I wanted this and I held tighter and sucked harder. With a tremendous groan he exploded down my throat, panting, twitching and moaning in ecstasy.

I felt Jasper's orgasm splash into the back of my throat and I didn't even think of pulling away or spitting it out. His cock was deep in my mouth, and I locked my lips around him and swallowed. It tasted kind of like the drop of pre-cum, but it was cool and salty sweet and filled my mouth as I tried to swallow all of it down. I got most of his cum, but a little dribble escaped and ran down my chin.

I gave him one last lap of my tongue up his shaft, and wiped my chin before placing a quick peck on the head of his cock. I sat back on my heels with a smug, satisfied grin plastered across my face. That was almost as incredible for me as it had been for Jasper, and my sex was literally drenched as my juices ran down my legs. I was so turned on and horny right now, I was ready to go, but Jasper would probably need some time to recover...

Jasper lay there limply on the sheets in post coital bliss, grinning like a fool, but his cock was still hard. I was pretty sure a normal guy would have gotten soft after shooting his wad like that. At least that was how I thought it was supposed to work, but Jasper still looked like he was ready to go.

"Jazz, dear, are you ok?" I asked as I tentatively reached out and touched his cock again. It twitched against my hand but it wasn't getting any smaller.

"More that ok, darling, thank you, that was amazing."

"Your cock is still hard… Isn't it supposed to get soft after you shoot like that?"

"If I was human, yeah it would, but I'm not human. If I concentrated on cooling down my mood so I wasn't so aroused right now I could make it soft, but where's the fun in that? I could stay like this for weeks if you were capable of keeping up."

"So, you're saying I don't have to wait, and you're ready to go again?" I asked as I felt around on the mattress and found the condom package.

"No, sugar, I don't need to wait. I'm good to go if you're up for it."

"Well you certainly are." I smiled at Jasper and held up the condom. "So am I."

"Do you know how to put that on?"

I just nodded as I carefully tore open the foil package, and took out the condom. I studied it for a second to see which side was the top then I pinched the little receptacle tip between my fingers and placed it over the head of Jasper's penis. I rolled the condom down over his shaft, and it encased him snuggly like a thin second skin.

"That's pretty good, Alice. Have you had much practice using condoms?"

"They teach us in school. It's part of health class, but we didn't get to use real cocks though. There were an awful lot of excited bananas that day." I said seriously, and Jasper laughed.

I scooted forward onto Jasper again, and resumed my position with his hard shaft pressed flat, and ground it into my sex as I humped back and forth on his lap.

"Those lucky bananas couldn't be nearly as excited as you are right now, darlin."

"Oh, you think?"

"Even if I couldn't feel how excited you are, the way your heart's poundin' would give you away. Just relax, sugar, and take it at your own pace."

I nodded with a serious expression on my face. Oh god, I was really going to do this…

But I wanted this. I needed this and I craved Jasper. I needed him more than air to breathe right now. I needed him inside me. I needed us to be one, and only this act of love would complete me.

This would be easier for me if I let jasper take the initiative and he was on top, but we both knew this was safer. I had more control like this. Jasper could still hurt me, but if we took things at a pace I was comfortable with, he was less likely to lose control.

His hands were back on my hips, but they weren't moving me or controlling my actions. It felt nice. He just wanted to touch me, and I liked the feel of his cool hands on me.

I rose up onto my knees, leaning forward so I was squatting over Jasper's hips, and I reached back and grasped his hard cock in my hand. It felt huge and my fingers wouldn't reach all the way around it.

I stroked his cock through my folds a couple of times, spreading my slippery fluids around, and ground the head of his cock against my clit. Then I moved it back and I felt the head of his cock pressing against my opening. I held him steady and let my weight settle onto him, and I groaned as the head popped inside.

"Unhhh…Oh My Fucking God… Fuck fuck fuck…It's so big …" I panted. I had to stop right there and froze as I adjusted to the feel of the head of his cock inside me splitting me open. I was clenched tight around his cock head, but I knew I had to relax.

I reached down between my legs and started to finger and stroke my clit. The coil in my stomach started to wind tighter as I relaxed my death grip on his cock head and let myself adjust to Jasper's cock pressing into me.

"God, Alice… You're so tight…" Jasper moaned as his strong hands caressed my hips.

I was panting hard, but I adjusted to the feel of Jasper's monster cock invading my most intimate opening. I moaned as I let my weight settle back, and I slipped lower an inch at a time as more of his cock moved inside of me.

"Unhh… God! … Unhhh… You're so fucking big… Jasper… Unhhh…" I panted.

I was moaning almost incoherently and panting hard as I eased back onto Jasper. My pubic bone hadn't reached bottom yet, but I could feel the head of his cock pressing against my cervix deep inside of me. I stopped again to let my body adjust to the feel of his cock.

"God, Alice… I love you, darlin… Just take it slow and easy, sugar…"

I nodded as I bit my bottom lip. My hands were resting on Jasper's chest as I supported myself above him. I eased my hips upwards a little and slid back down and the sensations that shot through my body made me shiver with pleasure and another groan escaped my lips.

"Unhh… God! … Unhhh… Jasper… Unhhh…" I panted and moaned as I took him inside of me.

I started to move on him, and waves of pleasure shuddered through me with every movement as I lifted my hips and then thrust back against Jasper's cock. I was more adjusted to having him inside me now and I thrust harder and deeper onto his invading cock.

"Unhh… Unhhh… God…! Unhh… Unhhh… So fucking big… Jasper… Unhhh…" I panted.

My arms were too weak to support me anymore, and my bones felt like they were turning to jelly as waves of pleasure shuddered through my body. The coil in my stomach wound tighter as I drove myself closer and closer to my peak. I felt my chest pressed against Jasper's as I lay panting on top of him.

"God, darlin… You are so fucking hot and tight… Don't worry… I'll be gentle with you. Just relax and enjoy the ride."

Jasper's hands were on my hips gripping me tighter, and then I felt him rock his hips upward driving his cock into me. It went in so deep, and then it was sliding back out. He rocked forward again driving it deep, and I could feel every ripple and vein on his cock as it slid so very deep into me.

"Unhh… Unhhh… God…! Unhh… fuck… Unhhh…" I panted and moaned.

Jasper was rhythmically pounding into me, driving his massive cock deep into my core and then sliding it almost all the way out again. It hit bottom with every stroke and I could feel the head of his cock pushing deep inside of me driving me closer and closer to the edge.

"Fuck… Unhhh… fuck… Jasper… Unhhh…fuck…" I was panting hard I was so close as the coil in my stomach wound tighter spiraling higher and faster towards my peak.

"Unhhh…Oh God… Fuck… God, I'm so close… I'm gonna cum!" I screamed. Jasper thrust hard and fast once, twice, again, and then suddenly I was at the peak. My climax flashed through my core, and the orgasm crashed through me.

I screamed Jasper's name as I clenched tight around his massive cock buried deep inside me. He held himself still, buried to the hilt as my clit throbbed and pulsed against his hard shaft.

I felt a flood of wetness, all the muscles in my body contracted, my toes curled tight and my eyes rolled back in my head as I plunged over the edge into the throes of my orgasm…

I was trying to take deep breaths as awareness returned and the heavenly bliss spread through me. I realized I wasn't on top of Jasper's chest anymore. I was on my back on the bed. Jasper was above me now between my legs. His cock was still buried deep inside my core giving me an intense sense of fullness that radiated through me.

"Welcome back, darlin," Jasper drawled in my ear. "Are you ready for more?"

His open lips pressed down onto mine and then I felt his tongue in my mouth as it circled around mine, dancing and teasing. My arms snaked around his neck and tangled in his long honey blond hair, pulling him closer. The sensation was incredible, as though every inch of my body was touching some part of Jasper.

Our lips and tongues danced and explored as he made love to my mouth. His chest was pressed to mine gently pressing me down into the mattress, but I knew he wasn't letting his full weight pin me down and crush me. His hips were pressed to mine between my legs with his cock buried to the hilt inside of me. I raised my knees and wrapped my legs around him so my ankles were hooked behind his thighs.

"You didn't cum?" I asked breaking the kiss and panting against his neck.

"Not yet, darlin, I wanted to make sure you were taken care of first." Jasper raised his hips, sliding out, and then thrust back into me. "Ready for round two?"

"Oh God… Yesss…" I moaned.

Jasper's hands were fisted in the sheet on either side of my body as he supported his weight on his elbows, and I felt him rock his hips upward sliding his cock into me. Then it was driving back into me, so deep inside. He rocked back and forward again driving it deep and I could feel every inch of his cock as it slid so very deep into me.

"Unhhh… Oohhh God…!" I groaned as the waves of pleasure rocketed through my pelvis and shuddered through my body,

Jasper was rhythmically pounding into me again. It was like when he was licking me, he found the perfect rhythm to drive my pleasure higher, and then he was like a machine, driving his massive cock deep into my core and then sliding it almost all the way out again. Never tired, never missing a stroke. Over and over as he drove into me hitting bottom with every stroke.

"Unhh… Unhhh… God…! Unhh… fuck… Unhhh…" I grunted and moaned.

I could feel the head of his cock pushing deep inside of me driving me closer and closer to the edge. The feeling was surreal as wave after wave of intense pleasure rolled through me. I felt my awareness drift away into the trance like state where the present and future were the same and the pathways to all the possibilities were laid out before me.

I was panting hard and grunting incoherently in time to Jasper thrusting into me. Words were lost to my awareness as the coil in my stomach wound tight again and I spiraled closer and closer towards my peak again.

"Unhhh… Unhhh… Unhhh …" I panted hard as Jasper thrust hard and fast into me, and then my climax flashed through my core, and another orgasm crashed through me.

I was beyond screaming as I clenched tight around his massive cock buried deep inside me. He held himself still, buried to the hilt as my clit throbbed and pulsed against him and I lost myself in the orgasmic bliss.

The hormones and chemicals coursing through my blood were like a drug enhancing my awareness far beyond what I had ever seen through meditation or smoking pot to reach the dream state, and the future that lay before us had never been so clear. I knew what we had to do, and I could guide us through this if I could convince the others to listen…

Jasper waited until my heart stopped pounding and my breathing calmed down, and then he was thrusting into me again. My eyes rolled back in my head as his cock hammered into me again and I grunted and moaned in time to each thrust as he stroked deep into my core on every thrust. My god he was like a machine and he never got tired. I was beyond speech and incoherent in my bliss as the waves of pleasure started to flash through my body again. God, I wasn't going to be able to walk after this if I lived, but oh what a way to go…

…It was later… I stretched languorously as awareness returned and I drifted awake from my deep peaceful sleep. Jasper sat down on the edge of the bed and then slipped back under to covers next to me. He wrapped his arm around my waist and spooned into my back.

"Where did you go, Jazz?" I asked groggily, half awake.

"I called down to the restaurant, and told Esme that we wouldn't be joining them for dinner. If you feel like it later, we can go down to the club for a while."

"Ok, dancing might be fun if I can still walk…"

Jasper chuckled. "Oh I think you'll survive. Sleep now and we'll see the others after you've rested."

"Ok…" I cuddled closer to Jasper and let him cradle me in his strong arms. His cock was finally soft again, and I could feel it pressing into the crack of my ass as I drifted off to sleep…

!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i

Jasper had his arm around my waist as the elevator car dropped down to the club level in the tower. I was wearing a purple knit mini-dress that came to about mid thigh with three quarter length sleeves that reached down to mid forearm. Of course I was wearing my Moreno medallion around my neck outside of the dress, but it would have been visible anyhow with the low neckline that showed off some cleavage. I had a black accent belt with a silver buckle around my hips, and matching five inch stilettos with a one inch platform sole. I didn't really need a purse, but I had a matching clutch with a few makeup essentials and my cell phone in it.

Jasper looked dashing in black Armani with no tie, but a couple of buttons left open on the dark dress shirt. I'd been a little surprised when he shrugged into the shoulder holster harness over his shirt. He checked the big automatic combat pistol and then slid it home into the holster. I guess it went with the territory and it was a part of my world now. I didn't really like guns, but I supposed I'd have to learn eventually.

The elevator doors opened, and we stepped out into the anteroom. We started down the long hallway with doors on either side, and I could hear the pounding beat of dance music from the end of the hall. The lights were turned down in the club, and bright flashing colored lights pulsed to the rhythm of the music in time with the beat.

Jasper kept his arm around my waist and guided me across the crowded room. I'd been here before, but it was shockingly different tonight. The last time I was here, Jessica and Angela had been with me, and everyone had been warned to maintain the human façade for the new girls that were visiting. Tonight was different. Everyone here knew, and there was no holding back or acting. Everyone could be themselves and the dancing was more intense and energetic. There were still humans mixed into the crowd, but it amazed me to see so many vampires gathered in one place.

We were halfway across the room when I saw where we were headed. Carlisle and Esme were curled up in a booth in the corner. They had drinks in front of them, and Esme was smoking a cigarette. The privacy booth was far enough from the dance floor and the speakers pounding out the dance beat that you could talk without yelling to be heard. I didn't see Edward and Bella but I knew they'd be joining us in a little while when they were fit to be back in public around pleasant company again.

Jasper led me to the booth. I slid onto the seat, and Jasper slid in beside me. He wrapped his arm around my waist pulling me into his side and I snuggled up close beside him. Jasper caught the eye of a cocktail waitress, and she started to head towards us.

Esme smiled warmly at us but Carlisle seemed a little more reserved and ill at ease. I knew he understood all of this on and intellectual level. He was going through the same thing with Esme, and he knew how intense all of the desires and emotions were. He knew we couldn't fight this even if we wanted too, but I was still his seventeen year old daughter, and another part of him was telling him that he should be protecting me from this. It didn't help matters that Esme had finally come clean, and told him all the gritty details about the Family.

"What can I get for you tonight, Major?" the waitress said as she walked up to our booth and stood there with her pad in her hand.

"The usual, Denise. Can I get something for you Alice? Carlisle, Esme, do you need your drinks freshened up?"

"Patron, make it a double, straight up and no lime." I said. Carlisle didn't comment but he raised an eyebrow as he stared at me.

"I think we're fine for now, dear," Esme said, addressing the waitress directly.

She nodded and trotted off to order our drinks. Jasper reached into his coat for his cigarettes, and I sat up a little straighter as he took one out and lit it. It was a Camel wide no filter and he offered me one from the pack, but I shook my head no, and he put them away. I knew I'd pick up that habit eventually, but I could wait until after I was changed when it made sense and I'd need it.

"Hey, Carlisle, Esme, how are you guys tonight?" I asked.

"So I'm Carlisle now? When did I stop being dad?"

"You'll always be dad, as long as you want to be…"

"Carlisle, dear, don't make this harder for her. You know what she's going through."

"I'm sorry, Alice… I'm good, all things considered. Are you ok?" Carlisle asked, and then turned a hard look on Jasper. "I'm trusting you with my little girl. She'll be treated with respect. If you hurt her, I don't care who or what you are, you'll answer to me."

Jasper nodded. "Yes, Sir. I wouldn't expect anything less. Alice is very special to me, and I won't allow anyone or anything to hurt her. I'll be dead before any harm ever comes to her."

Carlisle nodded back at Jasper. Ugg, men! You'd think they were trading horses or something, but at least they seemed to have come to a silent agreement. That would help if we could get all the caveman bullshit out of the way and move on.

The waitress came back to our table with out drinks on a tray. She set out cocktail napkins and set a straight double shot of bourbon in front of Jasper and my tequila in front of me. Then she disappeared back into the crowd. I picked up my drink and took a healthy drink before I set it back on the napkin.

"Really, Carlisle, I'm fine." I said. I had to get this out of the way now if we were going to be able to move forward on the timeline I was working with. "You've got to understand that things are going to be different now. I'm going to be with Jasper now, but you'll always be my father to me."

"Alice, darlin, I'm not going to be able to go back to Forks now. I might be able to slip away for a couple of weeks. Maybe a month tops if I make trips back and forth, but my responsibilities are here now. We made a special exception so I could get Bella up to speed and get her trained, but we always knew I wasn't going to be able to stay with her the whole time she was there. I need to be here in Seattle."

"I know. I'll be wherever you are now. I told you we're a team. You're going to need me to help you get the Family through the crisis ahead of us. A month should give us the time we need to clear up my affairs in Forks and setup a plausible story for people to spread around."

"What, are you just going to drop out of high school and run off to live with this… this man … this gangster!" Carlisle asked, totally flabbergasted by the sudden bombshell I'd tossed in his lap. He didn't look happy and I knew he didn't approve of the Family business.

"You're not required to participate in that aspect of our Family business if you find it objectionable, Carlisle. Esme runs the Club and restaurant for us, and she's usually fairly well insulated from the day to day operations of our more clandestine activities. We can find something for you that suits your abilities and temperament, but it'll be years before that's even something that we'll need to consider."

Carlisle made an almost imperceptible nod to Jasper to acknowledge his comment, but he was still staring at me.

"No, I'm not dropping out of school. That's why I said a month would allow us the time we needed to set everything up. The Moreno's have sent teams to Paris in the past, and they participate in some other high profile tournaments. We'll tell people that I've joined a new martial arts team in Seattle, but it's too far to travel back and forth for practice. We'll say that I'm moving into the city to be closer to the team, and they're setting me up with an apartment. I'll home school to finish high school and get my diploma. I already talked to Rose about that the last time I was here, and she manages home school classes for some of the other girls here that want to get their high school diplomas."

"I don't see why you can't just stay in Forks with us. Esme and I are planning on staying there for at least another eight months until Edward turns eighteen…"

"Could you stay away from Esme and just visit her on the weekends? Besides, you won't be in Forks for eight months, Carlisle. Edward and Bella will be there at least that long to keep up appearances, but you and Esme will be traveling a lot. Edward and Bella will be busy making some trips too, but they'll be in Forks most of the time." I turned and looked at Jasper. "Has Esteban brought you up to speed on everything we discussed on my last visit, Jasper?"

"No, bit's and pieces, but he was pretty cryptic. He told me to trust you completely, but I knew I would anyhow. He told me to follow whatever plan you laid out, and you'd guide us through this…"

"Good. I knew he was sensible if he'd managed to build all of this."

"Where are we going to be traveling to, Alice?" Esme asked.

"You need to start looking at property in Chicago. You're going to relocate the Club and restaurant there as soon as possible. Within the next six months tops. Sooner if possible, but you need to attract as little attention as possible. You'll need to arrange for housing for the all of the guard, the crews and talent. When the time is right, we'll pull our people out and let the rest of the Clans rip themselves apart, fighting for control of Seattle."

"That's a bold move, Alice. There's a strong human underworld element to consider, and they might not appreciate us moving into their territory." Jasper said a little apprehensively. "Are you sure we aren't just trading one war for another? At least here we have a secure base of operations and we know the territory and all the major players."

"We'll take a couple of trips out there and negotiate an arrangement. We'll make them an offer they can't refuse. They need us right now and we can provide services that will make us welcome for as long as we need to be there. By the time they get uncomfortable with us around, we'll be ready to make our next move. We'll be doing some recruiting while we're there, and we'll get stronger as the Clans here get weaker."

"I know some real estate brokers in Chicago that can help me get started." Esme said. "We'll have to sit down later, and we can discuss this plan in more detail."

"What about Alaska?" Carlisle asked.

"It's still a possibility, but it's uncertain now. Someplace in the Midwest seems more likely, but I'm not completely sure yet."

We talked a little more about plans and possibilities, but Carlisle seemed resigned to accept my advice once Jasper and Esme accepted what I told them without question. Esteban's endorsement of my ability and Jasper's trust in my judgment carried a lot of weight. After a while, Carlisle and Esme excused themselves and made their way out onto the dance floor and lost themselves in the crowd.

I sighed. "Well, that went about as well as can be expected."

"Your father is just worried about you. He really loves you, Alice. He's worried that you're trying to take on more responsibility than you can handle. You're only seventeen."

"And you were a Major in the Confederate Army when you were nineteen. That would have required you to be fist a Lieutenant and then a Captain at even younger ages, and neither of those positions was without considerable responsibility. From a psychological perspective, most people stop developing by seventeen, and they're the people they're going to be pretty much for the rest of their lives. The rest is all just maturity that comes as a result of longer experience with life. How old were you when you received your commission?"

"Sixteen, but those were different times. People had to grow up faster and take on responsibility younger. People were old in their thirties then."

"I might not have a ton of experience like the rest of you, but I've got my share of maturity, Jasper. I had to take on responsibility at a younger age than most people in my generation, or give up and let life crush me down. I chose maturity and responsibility over wallowing in self pity."

"Lucky for me, I've got an edge. I can see where we're heading, and I know what we need to do to get there. I think knowing what to do because I can see it makes up a little for knowing what to do from experience because I've been through it before. As long as I can get all of you to trust me and stick to the plan, we should live through this."

"How much can you really see, Alice? A lot of what happened today seemed like a surprise to you. I know your power will become stronger once you're changed, but where does that figure into the picture? You said you're moving to Seattle to be with me. Are you planning on having me turn you next month?"

"No, I know the newborn period is a traumatic process, and it'll affect my abilities, my moods and my ability to make rational decisions for too many months in the beginning. We don't have time for that now until we get settled in a safe place and have some breathing room again. I still see myself as human for a fair piece down the road. Our path is still unwinding before us, and everything still isn't clear, but I know the major decisions we need to make to set us up to come out on top. Random chance is still a big factor, but we'll have to make our own luck."

"Ok, I'll accept that. I've always been a betting man, and I'm up for a challenge."

"That's good, because we have a lot of hard work ahead of us if we're going to pull this off."

I looked out around the room, and it still amazed me that this could all be happening. That a club like this could even exist and the human world was completely ignorant of it. It was even more amazing that this wasn't the only club like this in the city, but there were probably half a dozen similar establishments scatted throughout Seattle.

"You know, it still amazes me that this whole sub-culture can even exist and the human world is completely oblivious to it."

"Oh, I wouldn't say they're completely oblivious. Certainly we aren't mainstream news, and we actively maintain the myths that surround our culture as a primary means of misdirection. Most humans don't want to believe that we exist or that we're real. There are a lot of humans that suspect, and some that know the truth that we pay off, but they know they're only safe as long as they keep their mouths shut."

"We're fairly safe from infiltration by law enforcement. Our senses are good enough to pick out humans trying to penetrate our inner circle. Besides, real life human serial killers are a worse threat to the general populous than we are for the most part. The Volturi actively hunt down any vampire that makes too big a spectacle of themselves. There are still a lot of vampires that live the traditional lifestyle, but they're discrete if they want to survive."

"So that's the traditional lifestyle? Mostly solitary nomads that prey on human victims for survival, but they keep on the move to avoid detection?"

"Yes, mostly solitary individuals or mated pairs. That was the extent of our society for literally thousands of years. Vampires learned that we could survive on animal blood a long time ago, but it's nowhere near as satisfying as human blood. Those of us that have extra abilities often find that we need the power of human blood to maintain control over our extra gifts."

"We figured out a long time ago that a diet of primarily animal blood allowed us to live together easier and form larger groups. That's what has allowed us to build all of this. The Southern Clans didn't follow that pattern, but then they weren't looking to coexist with anyone. They kept their armies well fed on human blood to make them stronger, but they were intent on wiping out their competition. The core groups of leaders were usually relatively small in comparison to the modern Northern Clans. They were essentially nomads that had staked a claim to a territory, and were willing to fight to defend it. I can appreciate the merits of what we've built in the North. It's a much more fulfilling lifestyle than how we lived in the South."

"Earlier when we were upstairs, you said that your culture had to change to adapt to the changes in modern technology. What did you mean by that? What changes have you had to make?"

"Probably the biggest change is our numbers. We've undergone a population explosion in recent centuries that roughly matches human population growth numbers. You know we're currently the only active predator that feeds on humanity. There's a school of thought that we evolved as a control for human population growth, but we're subverting our natural purpose for existence by abstaining from human blood. Unfortunately, intelligence has a way of trying to ignore nature. It's more lucrative for us to co-exist and skim the cream off the top than try and run the show ourselves. We leave humanity to their own devices for the most part and simply take what we need to survive."

"That's an interesting philosophy, and I suppose I can see the truth of it, but how does that relate to improvements in technology?"

"Improvements to medicine and agriculture over the last seven hundred years have made it possible for you to feed six billion humans on this planet. The only reason that there's still famine isn't because you can't produce enough food, but limitations in infrastructure and distribution techniques."

"Huh, ok. That makes sense. What other ways has technology affected your society?"

"Well, modern weapons technology has finally advanced to the point where humans can finally be a serious threat to us. That's been rather sudden and has changed drastically in the last hundred and fifty years. There was a time when the weapons that humans could craft and wield were a joke to us. Swords were always dangerous, but our speed and reflexes only made them dangerous in the hands of another vampire unless the humans were willing to sacrifice hundreds to take out one of us. Firearms, even large caliber handguns are powerful enough now that a well aimed shot can incapacitate one of us long enough for even a human to finish us off. Machine guns are just as deadly to us as they are to humans, if they realize they have to burn the pieces to kill us. Explosives can be bothersome as well."

"Hmm, ok. I've always considered guns dangerous, but I guess it would be worse to go from being almost invincible to suddenly having the playing field leveled."

"I wouldn't call it level, but it's possible for humans to hurt us now. They still need to know we even exist, and then take the limitations of their weapons into consideration to have a fighting chance."

"Ok. What other changes have you made because of technology?"

"How we govern ourselves and the decentralization of authority is another big change for us. We're less independent than we once were, and our leaders have more… I guess you could call it oversight. Even a century or two ago, a relatively small group could have a huge impact on our society, but they left us alone and we all minded our own affairs. The Volturi could sit in their castle in Volterra, and rule the vampire world while leaving most of us alone. They could respond to threats at their leisure and send out the guard to make examples or mete out punishment. They have to be able to react faster today because of modern communications and transportation technology. Modern technology has also made it easier for them to monitor the activities of the Clans, and tighten their grip on how we operate."

"It started off with viceroys in different regions to react to threats without waiting for word from Volterra, but then the guard needed fast reaction teams. They were forced to cover smaller and smaller areas, which required more teams. For the most part, we still police ourselves, but there are always those that want to buck the system or break the rules. The Volturi presence has become more oppressive over the course of the last century, but to your modern point of view, you'll probably not even notice it."

"What about Aro keeping Esteban in Volterra because he wants Bella? Isn't that against the rules?"

"No, not yet. Esteban has only been gone for five years. He has five years to go, and everything is still playing out according to the rules. Esteban is within his rights to serve in place of Bella if he wants to keep her, and Aro is within his rights to claim service from our Clan. It depends on what happens when Esteban's term is done. If Aro tries to force the issue at the end of Esteban's term, then he's breaking the rules."

"So what will happen then?"

"That's what everyone is waiting to find out. A lot of Clans are watching to see how this plays out. The Moreno's are an old and respected Clan, and there is a lot of discontent because Volterra is trying to break us to their will. If they can do it to us and get away with it, what's to stop them from taking what they want from any other Clan? If Aro makes a play for Bella after Esteban has served his term, we can probably expect a lot of support from the other Clans. Of course no one stands against Volterra and survives. Nobody has challenged their rule in nearly fifteen hundred years. Not since they broke the Romanians."

"Ok, that's useful information. Who do we have to worry about now? Who else want's a piece of Seattle?"

"Well, you know about the Fu's and the McCormick's. The Fu's are our biggest rival. The McCormick's used to be number three, but the Somerset's and the Blaine's are busy dividing up their territory now while what's left of the McCormick's try to hold onto something. That's been giving us some breathing room to recruit while they squabble for turf. The Marceau Clan, the Harrison Clan and the Sangier Clan are all biding their time, waiting to see what happens while they wait for an opportunity to strike to present itself. There are some smaller players and the independents, but eventually they'll align with one group or another."

"They're all just waiting for a chance to attack? That doesn't sound like a very stable society."

"I never said it was. Peace in our world happens when everybody else knows you're too powerful for them to fuck with you and survive to see some benefit from it. I'm sure Esteban told you, the Volturi only offer the right to rule. They don't enforce that right and they'll accept whoever comes out on top. You're entitled to as much as you can take and hold onto. If somebody else is powerful enough to take it away, then it's theirs. In our world, possession is more than nine tenths of the law. You can have as much law as you can make happen."

"So you're constantly squabbling for territory and fighting for turf?"

"No, these turf wars happen every couple of decades or so when something like this stirs things up and make us readjust to a new balance of power. For the most part our society typically stabilizes quickly and new lines are drawn."

"Quickly? This has been going on for five years, and it'll be five more years until it's settled."

"Ten years is 'quickly' to people that count centuries and live until someone kills them."

"Ok. So what's the deal with the Fu's then? Is this just a case of the two biggest kids on the block seeing who's toughest, or is there more to it? It's almost like they have some kind of personal grudge against us."

"How do I put this…? The 'public' reason the Fu's are challenging us is the fight for control of the territory. Eventually that'll stabilize and the power structure will get redrawn to the new realities. On the other hand, the Fu's always end up wherever we do so they can fuck with us."

"It is personal, but they can't come out and call it a vendetta. Two hundred and fifty years ago, Fu Chang Hong's brother aligned himself with the Romanian's against the Volturi. There was an uprising, and the Romanian's tried to assassinate Aro. Esteban was with the guard and killed Fu Chang Hong's brother. The Fu's can't come out and say they want us dead for what Esteban did without looking like they support the Romanian's, but they want us dead all the same."

"So they're harassing us while they look for an opening to take us down."

"Yeah, that's about the size of it, but Bella's a little sensitive to calling what happened to her harassment."

"Well, that backfired on them. They tried to fuck with us, and ended up giving Bella to us. She's our ace in the hole, and the key to all of this."

"I hope so, we're pinning an awful lot on what she'll be able to do for us. I wouldn't have let Aro have her either, but this whole conflict has erupted over her."

I finished my drink and set the empty glass back down on the napkin. Maybe I should have told Jasper to order some appetizers. I'd skipped lunch and dinner. Now I was drinking on an empty stomach, and it was going straight to my head. All this information was cool and necessary if I was going to help Jasper pull us through this, but I wanted to have some fun too. The DJ was playing some of my favorite songs now and I wanted to get up and move to the music.

"C'mon, Jazz, let's dance. We've spent enough time plotting and discussing the politics of our world. Let's have some fun."

"Dance? To this music? I don't know, Alice…"

"Jasper Whitlock! Do not tell me that you don't dance!"

"I dance… I've just never been comfortable with the music and styles of this era…"

"Well, suck it up Mister! Now march! We can begin acclimating you to the twenty-first century."

"Yes, Ma'am!" Jasper said with a grin, and slid out of the booth.

He wrapped his arm around my waist, and led me out onto the dance floor. Jasper was a little awkward as he walked beside me and I knew he was feeling self-conscious and thinking too much as we made our way onto the dance floor.

"Just let everything go and let the music move you." I spoke into his ear as I reached up wrapping my arms around his neck and pulled him close for a minute.

We moved through the press of bodies surging against us to the center of the room. I held Jasper's hands and helped him to move with me as the pounding beat of the loud music throbbed through us.

"Try and feel the rhythm and just let it move you." I knew he could hear me even over the steady rhythmic beat of the music.

I ignored of the crowd of people writhing around our bodies as Jasper finally let go and surrendered to the dance. I knew he could sense my emotions, and he let my mood influence him as he opened up and had a good time. He rocked his hips to grind against my back side, and I smiled at his antics.

The DJ kept the music coming as one song flowed into the next and Jasper's body moved in rhythm with mine as we moved like one creature to the influence of the music. Sweat dripped from my body and Jasper's white teeth glinted in the flashing colored lights as the beat pounded through us and moved us.

The coming war in Seattle, Carlisle's reservations about Jasper and his Family, my pending move to the city, the responsibilities I was taking on, all were forgotten for the moment in the sheer exhilaration which swept through my body as we twisted and turned together. We moved together, touching, and then moved apart teasing as I danced with Jasper

My arms coiled lithely as the music led them and I quivered and shuddered with the pounding beat from the speakers. I twisted panting moving to the rhythm of the music in the press of bodies. The music reached deep into the core of my being and I let myself go and have fun with Jasper.

The song ended and Jasper gathered me into his arms and held me close. He leaned down and spoke into my ear.

"Are you ready for a break, Alice? I realize I've been neglecting you. You need to eat, and you skipped lunch and dinner. Aren't you getting hungry?"

I realized I was famished when Jasper asked, but I was having fun, and didn't want to leave yet.

"Yes, I'm hungry, but I don't want to leave. This is so much fun. I'll be alright."

"C'mon, let's sit down for a bit, and we can have something sent up for you."

"Ok," Jasper led me back to the booth we'd sat at earlier where I'd left my clutch. The booth was still empty, and I slid back into my seat as Jasper called the waitress back over.

"Hey, Major, Cutting loose a little tonight, huh? You looked good out there. What can I get for you and your friend?" the waitress said as she walked up to our booth and stood there with her pad in her hand.

"Another round, Denise, and we need to have something sent up from the kitchen for Alice. What can I get for you darlin?" Jasper asked as he turned to me.

"What are they still serving at this time of night? What would you find least offensive? I don't want to be a bother or cause any problems."

"Order whatever you feel like having, sugar. What sense does it make to own a restaurant if we can't order what we want when we want."

"Umm… How about a club sandwich and a green salad with French dressing? And bring me glass of ice water with that, please."

"Sure, Alice, It's no problem. I'll call this down to the kitchen." She walked back to the bar with our order, and was back in a minute with our drinks. She set Jasper's bourbon and another tequila for me on cocktail napkins. Then she set down a tall glass of ice water next to it.

I was sitting there sipping my ice water when Emmett came over to our table. He smiled warmly at me, and then leaned down to whisper in Jasper's ear. Jasper glanced at me for a second, and then looked up at Emmett.

"Ok, bring him over and I'll introduce him."

"What's going on Jazz?" I asked.

"An important visitor has arrived, and he'd like to meet you. Be careful and don't mention any of our plans."

I nodded and looked past Jasper to see who was coming. Emmett was escorting a trio of people over to our table.

The figure in front looked like a boy or young man of about seventeen or eighteen. He had a slight build, not muscular but well defined. He was very handsome but didn't have the dazzling ethereal beauty I had come to associate with vampires. His straight shoulder length hair was a startlingly shiny black. I was studying him intently, but I was astonished to realize he was looking back at me with piercing blue eyes. He was wearing an expensive tailored suit, but the cut looked odd like a styling from an earlier era that didn't quite match more modern fashions. He was wearing a dark black cloak over his suit, but the hood was thrown back and it was open down the front. It was almost like he wore it more as a badge of authority than a necessary accessory.

The crowd parted easily before him as people moved out of his path when they realized he was moving towards them. His two companions, no not companions but guards I realized, followed silently behind discretely watching the crowd as the party moved toward our table. The two guards were big burly brutes with pale complexions, orange hued eyes with flecks of red in them and the startling good looks that identified them as vampires. They were both wearing dark gray cloaks that were almost black, and their wary eyes constantly searched the room and the crowd for the slightest sign of danger.

Jasper stood up when they reached our table and one of the guards stepped forward. Jasper opened his coat and slowly reached inside and then handed his pistol to the guard, butt first. The guard looked him over closely, and I saw his nostrils flare, but he never touched Jasper. He seemed satisfied and then stepped back to stand at the edge of the booth. The other guard took up a position at the other edge of the booth, and then the young man in black stepped in front of Jasper.

"Hello Major Whitlock, It's really been to long since we've had a chance to sit down and talk. I heard you had taken a mate, but then I was in the club tonight, and I realized she was still human and I was intrigued. I was hoping that you might introduce me"

"Certainly, I'd be honored to introduce you to my mate."

Jasper reached out for my hand, and I took it and slid out of the booth. I knew Jasper was putting on a good show, but I could feel that he was less than honored that this was happening, and I could read the tension in his stance.

"Alice Cullen, I'd like to introduce you to Darius Giordani. Darius, this is my mate, Alice Cullen."

I reached out to shake his hand, but he gently clasped my fingers firmly and bent over to lightly press his lips to the back of my hand just above my knuckles. A little thrill ran through me at the old world display of courtesy, and I heard and felt a low rumble pass through Jaspers chest as he stood close behind me with his hand around my waist. I was surprised at how warm Darius's hand was, almost as though he was running a fever, but his complexion was pale, and his soft lips were hot and rosy pink.

"Hello Darius, it's a pleasure to meet you. Will you join us for a while," and I indicated the seat on the opposite side of the booth.

"I'd enjoy that very much, thank you." He sat down and slid into the booth.

I sat back down, and then Jasper sat back down next to me. I was just getting comfortable, when Denise came back with my sandwich and salad. She stopped a couple of steps back from the table and looked at the guards. The one next to Jasper nodded, and she approached the table and set my food in front of me. Then she turned to look at Darius expectantly.

"Can I bring you anything from the bar, Sir," She asked.

"Certainly, dear, please bring me whatever the Major is drinking, and bring another round for the table as well."

I hadn't even started on my last drink yet, but I felt it was prudent not to protest at this point until I learned more about our guest. The club sandwich was cut into quarters, and I picked up a piece of the sandwich and started to eat it.

"Please excuse me for intruding on your evening together, but unions such as yours have always intrigued me, and I find the opportunities that they pose so exciting to consider. Tell me Major, have you made any decisions yet about when and how you will share your immortality with young Alice here?"

"No, we haven't made any particular plans yet, but I'm assuming we'll be waiting for a while yet. We have a lot of arrangements to make to insure that we don't endanger the secret of our existence. We can't simply make Alice disappear. She is quite prominent in certain circles."

"Yes, of course. I'll leave the details of the logistics as a private matter for your Clan. I was more curious if you'd discussed certain family planning aspects of your relationship with your mate."

"No," I said. "We haven't had an opportunity to really go into any detail on that subject yet, but I'm curious. Why are you so intrigued by what we're planning on doing together in our private life? I don't see why our relationship is any of your business, but then I guess I don't really know anything about you Darius. I don't think you're a vampire, but then you're not quite human either, are you?"

"She doesn't even know what I am, Major. You two do have a lot to talk about, don't you? Please excuse me for being so forward, Alice. I didn't know how little the Major had explained to you yet." Darius said as he glanced at Jasper, and then he turned back to me.

"No, Alice, I am not fully vampire or fully human either for that matter. My father is Marcus of the Volturi, and my mother was Didyme, my uncle Aro's sister. She was human when I was conceived, but she was turned to become a vampire upon the instant of my birth. It was the only way she could survive."

"That's amazing. I've never heard of anything like this before. You seem very human, but you're immortal like a vampire. What other characteristics do you share with each species?"

"Jasper didn't tell you that somebody like me was a possibility for the two of you? Generally, beings such as myself are very rare in our world."

"We haven't had an opportunity to discuss everything yet. He did tell me I could get pregnant if we weren't careful, but I hadn't considered all of the implications yet."

"I can enlighten you on some of the specifics if you'd like, or I can leave that as a private matter between the two of you if you'd prefer not to discuss it with me."

I glanced at Jasper, and he didn't seem upset. Possibly resigned to the fact that I was going to find out about this, but he just smiled back at me and squeezed my hand warmly.

"Please, I'm intrigued by the possibility. I'd like to hear more about you."

"Alright then. I was born almost three thousand years ago, when my mother was still human. She was bonded to my father, Marcus, as his mate while she was still human and they decided to wait until she was delivered of the child that they had conceived before she was turned. She almost died when I was born. Children like me do not undergo a normal delivery like a human baby. If the child is not taken from the mother's womb in time, they use their teeth to tear their way out."

I blanched at the description, and suddenly I was no longer hungry. I picked up my tequila and took a healthy swallow to try and settle my nerves. I felt a wave of calm flow through me, and I reached over and held Jasper's hand again as I leaned into him for support.

"I'm sorry Alice. I don't mean to upset you. I'll stop if you don't want me to go on."

"No, please I need to hear this. Please continue."

"Alright then. My mother survived the delivery as a vampire. My father, Aro, Sulpicia, Caius, and Athenodora were hard pressed to get enough venom into my mother's system fast enough to save her, but they succeeded. Children like me grow rapidly. I was as I am now by the age of seven years, and I have not aged since then."

"Your hands were warm. Warmer than a humans, and your eyes are blue, what else is different?"

"Yes, my body produces heat like a human, because my heart beats and pumps blood through my veins. My skin is almost as tough as a vampires, but I can be cut more easily. I heal as fast as a vampire, and I share their immunity to disease. My senses are more enhanced than a human, but not as powerful as a vampires. I can move like a vampire in bursts, but I tire out. When I was younger I slept like a human, but the requirement waned as I grew older, and I haven't felt the need for sleep for almost a thousand years now."

"That's truly amazing. It's like getting the best of both worlds."

"Some would disagree, but I suppose I can't complain. I'm surprised you haven't asked me the most important question."

"And that would be?"

"Usually it's the first question I hear. Aren't you even curious about my diet?"

"Ok," I chuckled, "what do you eat?"

Darius leaned across the table conspiratorially, and crooked his finger beckoningly to me so I'd lean closer to him. I leaned across the table to share the secret with him.

"Little girls," he said with a grin on his face and then licked his lips.

Jasper growled as Darius flirted with me, and the guards glared at him warily. I sat back against the seat and squeezed Jasper's hand to reassure him before things got too serious.

"Not this little girl. Seriously, though, I am curious. Is you diet more like a vampires or a humans?"

"Ok, Alice, I'll play nice. I suppose my parents spoiled me as a child. They didn't make me eat my vegetables." He smirked at me, but then sighed and went on when I didn't react.

"My diet was the same as my parents for many centuries, but I can eat many human foods as well. I am not limited to a liquid diet and I can metabolize solid food. I could probably share your sandwich with you if we were so inclined, although the carbohydrates in the bread aren't very palatable to me. Meats, most proteins in fact are ok. Raw meat is actually rather more appetizing than cooked to me, but I suppose that has something to do with the affinity for blood. Surprisingly, a lot of different fruit is appetizing too, although most of the citrus fruits rank up there with carbohydrates."

"So, can you survive on human food alone, or do you need blood?"

"I don't really know. I tried to see how long I could go once, but I only lasted a couple of months before I cheated. I heard stories about a girl like me in Eastern Europe once that lived like that for years, maybe decades even, but I never found her to ask her first hand."

"So there are more like you?"

"Yes, I'm hardly unique. We're very rare, but we exist. We share a special place in the vampire world."

"Ok, you've got me. Why are you so rare and why are you special apart from your rarity?"

"Well, to begin with, a child like me can only be conceived by a mated pair when the vampire is male and the human partner is female. There was a vampire in South America that created several half vampires with different human partners, but it turns out that was an ability that unique to him alone. Every other child like me has been born to a mated pair."

"Ok, that explains why you're rare, why are you special?"

"You know that some vampires have a special ability that manifests when they're turned."

"Yes, I've heard of that."

"Every half vampire that has ever been born has had a special ability."

"So you're saying that you have an ability. Are you going to make me guess?"

"No, after three thousand years it's hardly a secret. I have the ability to sense the emotional connections between people that join them together like my father. I and sense the connections between mates and their relative strength. I also share an ability similar to the good Major here, although the ability I inherited from my mother is more limited. My mother could broadcast happiness and joy to all around her and make people happy. My ability is the opposite. I can broadcast sorrow and emotional pain, but don't worry. I don't do that much. Half vampires are physically weaker, but our abilities are almost always more powerful than regular vampires."

"This is all amazing, but why are you really telling me all of this?"

"Your union with Major Whitlock presents an extremely rare opportunity. Should the two of you so desire, it would likely be possible that you could indeed become pregnant and have a half vampire child. There is also another reason that you might want to consider. I told you I can sense the connections between people. The connection that you share with the Major is very strong, but it will only grow stronger when you are turned. You're aware of what happens to a vampire when their mate dies?"

"Yes, I know. They go insane and either suicide or sometimes they'll channel their rage into an endless vendetta of revenge to hunt down those responsible, but it's really just another form of suicide."

"Yeah, that's usually what happens. Most of the time. You know, my mother was assassinated almost two thousand years ago, but my father is still part of the ruling council of my Clan. He didn't go insane or suicide. Are you curious why?"

"I don't know. Is he special like that? Is it something he can do?"

"No, it's not him. I guess you could say it's me. You see, even though we lost my mother, the bond my father shares with me was strong enough to let him go on because he still had me in his life. Instead of a pair, it was the three of us, and when he lost Didyme, the two of us were able to go on. I just thought it was something you might want to think about."

We chatted with Darius for a little bit longer, but then he took his leave and left us in the booth together. I saw him heading down the hallway back into the privacy rooms with one of the human girls a little while after that, and his guards stayed in the anteroom at the security desk to wait for him. I had a lot to think about after everything he'd told me tonight. I sat and ate my late dinner as I considered the possibilities.

I'd never really ever given any thought to having kids or being a mother. I'd blocked my own childhood out of my memories and it was going to stay locked firmly away. Hopefully those memories would be burned out of existence with the fiery venom of the change. As far as I was concerned, my life started when Carlisle and Elizabeth adopted me. At first my focus was the revenge that had consumed me. When I was past that I had lived for the future, but I realized I had been viewing the future through a kind of tunnel vision as I single mindedly focused on the path that would lead me to Jasper.

There could be more if I wanted it. I had Jasper now, and I could have more if I was willing to reach out and take it. There could be a baby in our life, and that act of love, the creation of a new life could be my insurance to protect Jasper if anything ever happened to me. I would do anything to keep Jasper safe, and if having a baby increased his chances for survival, then it was something I had to do.

"Jasper, would you want a child if something like that was possible for us?"

"To be honest, Alice, I haven't truly given the idea much thought."

"If you hadn't given it any thought, then why did you tell me you had to wear a condom so I wouldn't get pregnant?"

"I didn't say I hadn't given it any thought. I said I hadn't given it much thought. I knew you could get pregnant, but I hadn't given the idea of a child much thought. I was more concerned with keeping you safe."

"You're avoiding the question. Would you want a child if we got pregnant?"

"Yes, if 'we' got pregnant, I would want the child, and I'd love it as dearly as its mother, but that's not going to happen. It's too dangerous, and we're going to practice safe sex until we're ready to change you."

"Don't you think that's a decision we should make together?"

"Darius only told you the parts he wanted you to know. He has ulterior motives and his own agenda. To begin with, one fact that he failed to mention is the survival rate for the mothers of those half vampire children. Only about one in three of the mothers survive the birth of the child. Darius's case is more the exception than the rule because his mother survived his birth. I'm not willing to trade your life for a child, Alice."

"Ok, that could be a problem. Dead is never a good thing. What else did he leave out, and what do you mean that he has ulterior motives and his own agenda?"

"Are you sure you want to hear this?"

"Yes, if it affects our decision."

"When you're pregnant with a half vampire child its vampire nature needs to be addressed. The child will crave blood, and you'd have to drink blood while you're still human to satisfy the child's needs."

"Eww! That's gross! Would I have to drink blood for the whole nine months?"

"This kind of pregnancy doesn't take nine months. I know they take a lot less time, but you should talk to Rose for the details. She's done a bunch of research on the topic."

"Ok, I'll talk to Rose about it. What did you mean that Darius has ulterior motives and his own agenda?"

"He's hoping we have a daughter if we have a child. He didn't elaborate on his own mating habits, but I've heard the stories. He's never found another half vampire female to try and breed with. He told you about the girl in Eastern Europe. She died before he could track her down. He spent decades in South America looking for the half vampires that are supposed to live in the jungles there, but he never found them."

"Why is he so desperate to find a half vampire girl?"

"He can mate with human women, but all of his children have been human. Some have been turned, and he keeps in touch with some of them. Female vampires can't bear children. He has this idea that if he mates with another half vampire that they will be like him, and have abilities like him. If we had a child, and it was a girl, he'd be chasing her for the next thousand years, and he has the weight of the Volturi to back him up."

"Just because some guy might have a thing for our daughter someday isn't a good reason for us to not want to have a child, Jasper. Every human father has to worry about that someday if they have daughters. We need to think about what's right for us. The death thing is a bigger concern for me, but I'll tell you right now that I'm going to research this and talk to Rose before we make a decision."

"Do your research, Alice, but I'll tell you right now, I won't put you in any danger, and I won't trade your life for a baby."

I finished my sandwich and salad, and one of the tequilas. I dragged Jasper back out onto the dance floor again, and we danced through another set of dance music. Jasper talked to the DJ, and he played some slow romantic songs for him. Jasper seemed to enjoy this more because he could hold me close in his arms as we swayed to the music. I laid my head on his chest and let him wrap his arms around me.

Edward and Bella came back into the club while we were dancing, and joined us on the dance floor. The romantic set ended, and we went back to the booth to talk. Edward and Bella told us about the discussion that they'd had with Carlisle and Esme and the plans that they had made.

"You're not going to be able to stay in Forks until graduation," I told Edward. "You should be able to finish this school year, but you'll need to relocate sometime during summer vacation. If you really want to wait until after graduation, then we'll get you setup in a safe house so you can finish senior year someplace. You'll probably be someplace in Illinois or Iowa depending on what we can get setup."

"Bella and I will have to discuss this now that we have a better idea what the plan is."

"We're gonna need you guys to run some ops for us in Chicago." Jasper said. "You can fly in and out for some weekend trips, but you're going to need to get going on your crew, Bella, so you have some backup and people to run leg work for you while you're in school."

"Ok, Jasper. I have some prospects I want to interview. We'll be ready when you need us."

We talked some more, and Bella discussed her prospects for her crew with Edward and Jasper. We had another round of drinks, and then decided to call it a night. All of us knew that just meant couples alone time, but we didn't have much planned for Sunday before we drove back to Forks tomorrow night.

!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i

Knock, Knock, Knock…

Jesus Christ! Who in the hell was banging on our door at this hour in the morning?

I stretched, and then sat up in bed as awareness returned and I was rudely jarred awake from my deep peaceful sleep by the banging on the door. Jasper was sitting on the edge of the bed pulling on his pants. Then he got up and went to the door.

"Who is it, Jazz?" I asked groggily, as I sat up in bed awake, while rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.

I pulled the covers up to my chin to cover myself as somebody stepped through the door into the living room.

"This had better be good, Edward." Jasper said. "Alice was asleep, and it's been a short night."

"I need your help, Jasper. Bella was gone, and I'm not sure where she went. I got a phone call from Katy's mom. Katy's disappeared and nobody's seen her since yesterday afternoon. I need to find her, Jasper. If anything happens to her, it's my fault."

"Ok, Edward. Bella is down in the club interviewing prospects for her crew. Give me a minute to get dressed, and we'll go down to the security office and see what we can figure out."

"Thanks, Jasper, I'm sorry to be so much trouble."

"Don't worry, this is what I do. Why don't you get a drink while I get dressed?"

"Ok."

Edward disappeared into the living room and I heard glasses clink. I got out of bed and went to the dresser and started to get dressed.

"Alice, why don't you go back to bed? You haven't had much sleep tonight. This shouldn't take too long."

"No, I'm coming with you. Edward will need me. C'mon, let's go."

We walked out into the living room, and Edward was pacing in front of the bar.

"Come on, Edward, Let's go downstairs and see what we can figure out." Jasper said.

"Alright." Edward said.

"Have you tried to call Katy's cell phone?" Jasper asked.

"Yeah, but she won't pick up. It just keeps going to voice mail."

"Ok. There are a couple of things we can try. Does she have a GPS in her phone?"

"I don't know for sure. It's a newer phone, so it might."

We were on the club level now, and then we were hurrying through the club. Bella was seated at a table talking to a couple of vampires. The girl looked too young. Maybe fifteen or sixteen, slender with shoulder length dark hair. The male looked about seventeen or eighteen and had a slightly Hispanic cast to his pale features. His black hair was cropped short in a military style crew cut. Bella looked up at us we came into the room and kept going. She excused herself and came over to follow us to see what we were doing.

"What's going on, Edward? Where are you going? I thought you'd still be asleep."

"Katy's mother called me. Katy has disappeared, and Jasper said he'd take me down to the security office to see what we can figure out."

"Ok. Maybe she's gone and solved all of our problems for us."

"I still care about Katy, Bella. I love you, and we're together now, but if anything happens to Katy it's my fault. I don't want her to get hurt because of me. I need to help her if I can."

We had left the Club room, and took the other elevator up a level to the offices. Jasper led us down the hall, and we went into a slightly darkened room. There were computers on the desks and tables, and it looked like a crime lab like you'd see on TV. Like something out of CSI or NCIS. There were a couple of guys in the room dressed in the standard issue black suit that all the security team seemed to wear.

"Robert, have there been any notifications of sanctioned hits on the Volturi news feed?"

"Not in Seattle, Major. It's been a quiet night so far."

"Ok, thanks. Well, the Volturi haven't sanctioned a hit on Katy, or it would have been on the news feed out of Volterra. Let me see your phone, Edward."

Edward still had the phone in his hand, and handed it to Jasper. He quickly opened it, and scrolled through the contacts to Katy's cell number.

"Robert, see if you can get a trace on this cell number." Jasper handed the phone to him. "It keeps going to voice mail when we call it."

"Right, let me check it out." He was busy for a minute, and then turned back to Jasper. "Ok, I got it, but you're not doing to like this."

"Just put it on the screen, Robert."

A map of Seattle appeared on the big flat screen on the wall, and then a flashing dot appeared on the screen.

"That dot is where the GPS in the phone is pinging back from."

"Shit!" Jasper swore.

Edward stepped closer and looked at the map.

"That's not too far from here. We need to go check it out and see if Katy is ok."

The dot was flashing on the map a couple of blocks east of Quest Field. West of the I-5 freeway, about half a dozen blocks south of China Town in the International District.

"That's Fu turf, Edward," Jasper said. "If we go in there, we're fair game. The Fu's haven't done anything to us to provoke us. We'll be in the wrong if we get caught in there."

"I've got to check this out. I'm not abandoning Katy. This is my fault. I have to find her."

"Edward," Bella said, "that's about three blocks from The Mandarin Garden Tea Room. That's Fu Chang Hong's headquarters. Are you sure this is worth it?"

"I have to do this. Katy wouldn't even be involved in any of this if I'd kept my mouth shut. I have to fix this if I can. You don't have to come with me if you don't want to. I'll handle this on my own."

"You've gotta let go, Edward," Bella said. "You made your choice, now live with it. You knew something like this was going to happen. You're with me now. You can't keep chasing after Katy to save her. Forget this and stay here with me."

"I can't do that, Bella. I love you, but I have to do this. You don't have to help me. I understand." Edward turned to Jasper. "Just take me down to the street level, and I'll call a cab."

"No, you're not going alone." I said. "We need you alive. Jazz, go with him. We need to end this."

"Are you sure, Alice?" Jasper asked.

"We need closure on this issue so we can move forward. It'll be ok. Take Emmett and some of your boys and end this. Go do what you're good at."

Jasper looked at me, and then nodded.

"Come on, Edward. Let's go. Robert, call Emmett and McKenzie, and tell them to meet us in the garage. We've got a job."

"Yes, Sir, Major."

Edward turned to Bella. "I'm sorry. I have to do this…"

"Go on, finish this. Come find me if you're still alive when this is done. We need to talk."

Edward nodded and followed Jasper and Robert out of the room.