Previously:

I turned my head, and I screamed.

My left arm lay half a foot away from the rest of my body.

Carlisle had disarmed me.

Jasper

Edward proved to be very useful, which wasn't surprising. He had helped me identify a number of recruits in Texas who had been very outspoken regarding Damon's trials.

"They're angry," he had said. "They watch the demonstrations with dangerous thoughts. Resentment. Disgust."

When night fell, and the bonfire flamed high, a small group of them lounged by the fire. As I approached the gathering of eight, I recognized a familiar face. Claudia.

Some sat on the logs, some were directly on the dirt. Claudia laughed at something one of them said, but their conversations fell quiet when my shadow overtook them.

"Good evening," I began.

They simply stared at me, and I immediately blanketed them with a dose of calm.

"I wanted to reach out on behalf of the delegates about some concerns that you might have."

"Are we in trouble?" One man asked.

"No," I said, which was probably a lie. I wasn't entirely sure what the repercussions could be for a disagreement like this. "What kind of leadership would we be if we didn't have open communication?"

Claudia crossed her arms. "What is this about?"

"The experiments."

Looks were exchanged, but no words.

"Well?" I pressed, glancing quickly at Edward who was sitting with Esme at the other side of the bonfire. If they didn't want to speak to me, that was fine. I'd already have a full report of their immediate thoughts.

"What's being done is unnatural," Claudia said finally. "How do the delegates not see this?"

"It's weaponry," I said easily.

"You'll stash them away once you're done using them for a fight?" She asked. "Is this the strategy? Spawn them and then kill them off?"

Dangerous thoughts, indeed.

"They won't kill them off," a male recruit next to her spoke up. "They'll remain. How you'll control them is beyond me."

"Why would we need to control them?" I asked.

A female looked up. "You're creating a new generation of vampires. All gifted, all powerful—with possibly even dual gifts. Not all of us have powers. Not all of you in the delegation have powers either."

That was the real concern. An imbalance. But I knew I could push a little more.

"The trials are a method of providing a catalyst," I said. "All vampires could be gifted, but perhaps didn't have the right…" I thought for the right word, "…push during their turn."

"There will be a divide," Claudia said. "There already is. I'm not lucky enough to have powers. I can't read minds or control the weather. But that doesn't make me any less important to this organization."

That wasn't entirely true. Power generally equaled value, unless you had the connections that Maria did.

I swept my gaze across the group. "I appreciate you sharing this with me."

"What's going to change, Mr. Whitlock?" Another asked.

It was highly likely that nothing would change. "I'll inform the rest of the delegates of your concern when I get the chance."

A male recruit shook his head. "We should stop this before it has a chance to take a hold."

I took a momentary pause. Maria's spiders began crawling. Why did the Volturi stop the experiments?

"Thank you for your feedback."

"You're not at all bothered by this," Edward stated as we distanced ourselves from camp.

I glanced at him, annoyed. "It's rude to read minds."

"It's rude to influence emotions to your advantage," he said pointedly. "I bet those recruits wouldn't share their thoughts that easily to any other delegate."

I sighed. "Our powers make us dicks. Let's move on."

He shrugged. "That's probably also why we wouldn't want an influx of gifted."

I looked at him. "Where do you stand with this?"

"I think their reaction is reasonable. The delegates surely know."

Maria certainly did. "It hasn't been discussed."

"Surprising."

"No," I said. "Predictable. Internal unrest is a threat, and no one wants to deal with this mess."

"Again, you don't seem worried."

"No." I glanced down at my phone and poured over the text that Peter had sent. "Interesting." I pocketed the device. "Isn't it interesting that none of those recruits are gifted?"

"Interesting or predictable? Power divides and discriminates."

I nodded in agreement. "And we're dividing them further. It wouldn't be long before the ungifted became the minority. What would happen then?"

Edward didn't respond, but I felt his unease. Could the alliance indirectly impose a new class system?

Claudia was right—not all delegates were gifted. And only two out of three Volturi kings had powers.

Why did the Volturi stop the experiments?

Because they weren't ready for a social change. Too much power was uncontrollable.

"I think—"

And then there was pain—burning and instant. I was…shot? I felt a strong recoil as I lost my balance.

As a human, I had been shot many times. I recalled the feeling very clearly—the onset of the force, the halt of the bullet in muscle, and the dull pain beneath the surface. Adrenaline would take over to diminish the pain, but not for long.

I grasped at my chest. Had it missed my rib cage and went straight into my heart? No. Impossible. We were impenetrable.

"Jasper?" Edward had grabbed my arm. I had sunk to my knees.

I couldn't breathe. No. Fuck. I didn't need to breathe.

The pain centralized—a burning, pulling feeling.

"I need to get to Arizona," I gritted out. "Elise is hurt."

It was a blur. I hardly recognized Edward next to me as we ran for miles. My mind raced with possibilities, fears, and pessimism.

Would I feel if she were dead? How was I certain that she wasn't?

That was a stupid thought. She was too valuable to be killed. Damon would never. Could never. She meant something to him.

As we were close, I honed in on her scent. The forest surrounding the Arizona cabin was filled with her essence. Edward and I dove through the door.

The hinges broke off, but it didn't seem to register. I walked in and caught sight of Elise sitting on the worn couch with her feet tucked beneath her. She wore a deep blue cast on her left arm, and it looked ridiculous on her pale skin. Carlisle stood behind her.

The room was quiet as I approached her and knelt, my eyes searching hers for any indication of discomfort. She grasped her left shoulder with her hand and looked down at me, solemn.

"You knew," she said in a small voice.

I scanned her carefully. "Just your arm?"

She nodded, then looked back at Carlisle—a knowing exchange went on between them that wasn't easy to decipher.

"Carlisle," Edward stated, and I felt his confusion.

"Perhaps you could take Edward to the lab, Carlisle," Elise said quickly.

I stared at her. "What happened, Elise?"

"Carlisle," she urged, ignoring me.

Behind her, he nodded. "Avoid complex maneuvers. Keep still has much as possible, and you'll minimize the pain."

I watched as Carlisle joined Edward as they walked out, and soon they began running. My eyes followed their forms as they eventually disappeared. "You don't need a cast."

"Don't I?"

I turned back to her. "What the hell happened?"

"I pissed off Damon."

It wasn't easy to control the anger in my voice. "And he ripped off your goddamn arm?"

Elise fell quiet, her eyes fixated on the carpet. I placed a hand on her knee, and the contact helped ease the anxiety within. She was here in two barely attached pieces, but here nonetheless.

I rose and sat beside her, pulling her into my lap and tucking her head beneath my jaw. I avoided any contact with her left arm.

"Thank you for coming," she whispered.

I flexed my chest warily to see if any of the pain remained. It hadn't. Not with her this close and well. "I didn't have a choice."

She looked up at me. "Were you doing something important?"

I placed my hand on her cheek and pulled her closer. "No."

Her presence eased my temper, and I was glad for it because I wasn't sure how I would explain the sight of Damon's limbs scattered across the state of Arizona.

I grasped her chin with my fingers, tilting her head back to examine her eyes. And their shade told me all I needed to know. "You need blood." I frowned. "Carlisle put you in a cast but he didn't think of the one thing you actually need?"

Elise closed her eyes, and she almost looked asleep. "He didn't want to leave me."

"But he could find a cast?"

She laughed quietly against my chest. "What gripe do you have with the cast, Jasper?"

I eyed it with displeasure. "It reduces you to a human quality. It's worse than drinking blood from a glass."

"Hm," she murmured. "Maybe you should acknowledge that you have irrational and emotional thoughts like the rest of us."

"You find my thoughts irrational?"

She shifted her shoulder slightly, winced, and then looked up at me with a little smile. Then her lips were on mine. Slow, gentle, and sweet. My question went unanswered, though I didn't mind.

"I feel a little better," she said.

I lifted her off and placed her beside me. "You'll feel a lot better with some blood. Make this easy on me and tell me you'll drink from blood bags."

"Is that a command, delegate?"

"A request," I said. "Perhaps a plea."

She looked down at her shoulder, then at the cast that kept her arm in place. "I barely feel my arm. If I as much as acknowledge it, I might just break the cast."

"Good," I said. "It's useless anyway."

"Carlisle said it was more of a mental safeguard than physical support. I shouldn't move my arm until it's sealed better. If the cast breaks, we'll know how incapable I am of following orders."

Carlisle always had his human solutions to vampiric problems.

"The blood bags, Elise," I pressed.

"Just one to get me started. I'll hunt after."

I stood. "You shouldn't have sent Carlisle and Edward away. I don't want you alone right now. Especially not with Damon out there."

"Jasper…" She hesitated and was quiet for a moment. "Damon didn't do this to me. Carlisle did."

I wasn't sure I perceived her words correctly. "Excuse me?"

"Carlisle disarmed me. Not Damon." And then she was up on her feet. She took steps to stand before me, and I could tell that the weight of gravity added to the discomfort in her arm "Carlisle acted under Damon's order."

"Carlisle hurt you?"

"Not because he wanted to," she insisted. "Do you really think he would harm me otherwise?"

My hands clenched and unclenched in and out of fists. Elise grabbed one of them. "I sent Carlisle away because I know just how irrational you can be. Carlisle is not a threat. He will never be a threat."

No one hurts you and lives.

Yes, it was irrational—but the feeling boiled just the same. It wasn't just a move against Elise—it was also a move against me.

"Jasper?" She pleaded, and it was wrong. There wasn't anything she should feel sorry for.

"Things are different," I said firmly. "Now sit and rest that arm."

"Things are different. What does that mean?"

I paused. "I don't know how Carlisle did it—but the fact that he could disarm you should be a lesson. How did he get behind you? Why did you let him? What were you thinking? Were you thinking at all? These are the questions that should be running through your read—not what will Jasper do?"

Her brows furrowed. "I think I'm rightly concerned."

"About your inattention?"

"About you tearing Carlisle to shreds."

I sighed, frustrated. "And what will that teach you?"

"Nothing!" She yelled. "Absolutely nothing."

I smiled at her slowly. "So it wouldn't make a lot of sense, now would it?'

She pushed me with her one good hand and headed back to the couch, shaking her head. "I sent them away for nothing."

"Not nothing," I disagreed, following her.

She turned around sharply, with her finger pointed straight to my chest. "This is coming from the man who held me back from training, who—"

I grasped her hand and pulled her to me, careful to avoid the cast. "I'll spare you the trouble of recounting my shortcomings."

"So you're admitting that you were wrong?" She looked up at me with her eyes narrowed.

"I was passionate."

"And wrong. Do you know how scared I was for Carlisle?"

I tilted her head up with a finger and urged her to think outside of her emotional ties. "The Cullens are our unfortunate allies. Is that also something you didn't think about?"

"No, I knew that. I just wasn't sure how far your power trips could go."

I leaned down and kissed her, and she almost let herself fall into it, but she broke it off painfully quickly.

"I can't believe you."

"Believe me. I'm more upset that you're starving. Sit. I'm getting you blood." I headed directly towards the door on the ground.

But before I could leave, she stopped me.

"I think I'm disappointed," I heard her say.

I turned around. "Why?"

She looked down at the carpet—dirty and dusty, ripped and stained. "I thought there would be…more. I thought I'd have to pull you off of Carlisle. I thought I'd watch you dismember Damon."

"Such violence."

"Is that such a surprise? Do you even know yourself?"

I considered that for a moment, but we both stiffened the next second. An intruding scent, a disturbance of the nature around us.

I returned to her side, but I already knew who that woodsy scent belonged to. And I couldn't fathom how he had dared to step foot into this cabin.

The front door was uselessly on the ground, so Damon stood just outside with a backpack thrown over one shoulder.

"May I come in?" He asked pleasantly.

I glanced down at Elise, who glared at him. The silence went on until she spoke. "What do you want?"

He pulled off the backpack. "I have a serum for you."

"A serum?"

"For your arm."

"How dare you?" Elise leaned forward, but made the wise decision to not get up.

Damon only looked at her arm. "Why are you wearing a cast?"

I placed a hand on her thigh to send her the message to stay put. I hoped she would listen, because I couldn't sense any ill feelings from Damon and this wasn't the time for any sort of redemption.

"You should leave, Damon," I said calmly.

He shrugged off the backpack, unzipped it, and pulled out a small glass vial filled with cloudy liquid. "I'll just give it to you, then."

"What is it?" Elise demanded.

"A healing serum to accelerate the venom binding. It's a simple solution, and it works well." He placed the vial on the ground next to the door. "I thought you'd see some benefit from it."

"Get out," she bit.

Damon straightened, grabbed his backpack, and simply did as he was told. Elise just stared after him.

I went over to the vial on the ground. "Do you think it's worth trying?"

Elise scoffed. "It'll probably burn my skin off."

I picked up the glass and examined it, murmuring, "I doubt that."

When I turned back, she wore a sneer on her face. "Is this betrayal? I can't tell."

I smiled at her. "No, just dramatics. Damon has no reason to cause you more suffering than he already has."

"I don't trust him."

"You shouldn't." I moved to sit beside her, holding the solution. "But the science shouldn't lie. Tell me, is Damon the type of man to risk scientific integrity?"

"I don't know, and I don't care."

I put the vial down on the splintered coffee table.

When I turned to her, she was watching me closely.

"I was going to kill him," she told me bitterly. "I made the decision, and I was going to do it."

"And Carlisle stopped you," I said.

"Yes."

Her anger was warranted. Definitely. But Carlisle had made the right call, no matter how devastating the outcome. An attempt on Damon would be messy, and if Elise had succeeded, it would derail the delegates' plans.

I stared out beyond the fallen door, murmuring, "I'm sure you'll kill him one day."

"So, you're on my side," she pointed out sarcastically.

I turned to her, brows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"You're never what I expect. Actually—maybe you're just all talk, but no action."

This was making no sense, and I was once again keenly becoming aware of her need for blood. "I'm always on your side."

She leaned back on the couch. "I thought you'd tear his arm off."

I then completely understood what she was trying to say. "I'd like to see Maria's head twenty yards away from her body, preferably burning soundly in a fire. That doesn't mean I can't be civil. And in this world of corrupt politics, you smile at those you want dead, and ignore the ones you really want to do business with."

"Well, that doesn't make sense."

"I agree." I squeezed her knee, and she placed her hand on mine. "But I need you to be strong. You need to feed and heal."

She reluctantly withdrew her hand. "I have so much I want to tell you."

I kissed her hair. "After."

A/N: Elise is as baffled as I am by the lack of violence in this chapter.