The Major made sure the two Cullens were gone before he went over to Maria. He knelt on the ground at her side and brushed her hair off her face as he came to straddle her.
And then he slapped her. Hard .
The thunder of the impact echoed across the forest.
-Wake up. - He ordered and as she gasped awake he was quick to grab her wrists and hold them right above her head.- Howdy.- He smiled at her as he bend down.
-You--
-Shush. 'M the one talkin' this time. Ya listen ta meh.- He grinned at her as her mouth clicked shut. Rage swirling in her remaining eye. He took it to hold her wrists with one before bringing the other down to grab her jaw.- You've no idea how lon' I've been waitin' for this.
Maria tried to move and his grip tightened until he was digging his claws into the flesh of her marred face. A snarl tearing out of his throat.
-Ya will not figh' against meh! Ya came ta threaten what's mine an' ya will pay for it! - He smirked then.- Ya should be happy Miss, 'm doin' what ya taught meh. Kill the threat so it has no chances of comin' back.
The terror in her gaze filled him with glee and he gave her a cruel fanged smile.
-Gotta hand it ta ya Miss, though' ya would've let us go after what happened last time ah was 'round.- He told releasing her jaw and dragging his claws across the ravenous scar on her throat for a moment before bending over.
All until he was brushing his lips against her throat. Hand pressed against her forehead without care so as to keep her from attempting to bite.
-Ya deserve such a slow death Miss... But ya dun't deserve our time.- He pulled back to meet her gaze.- Innit funny how yer most prized weapon will be the one ta kill ya at the end?
And with that he dove down and tore her throat out. Sinking his fangs into the marble flesh and sucking at her venom. Her struggles were pathetic and he made sure to make her feel it until the last moment. Feel how pathetic and alone she was at the end. Pitiful. Nothing the world would miss.
As he pulled back he found himself licking at the venom around his mouth. Something about her venom had always struck him as addictive. He dove back down to suck more. Both because he needed a lot of venom if he was planning on doing what he would do. And also because it was sweet and cold and glorious.
When no more venom would come out he pulled back again and stared at her vacant eye.
And without an ounce of regret he began clawing at her face and throat and every single inch of skin he could get his hands into, tearing her to shreds. He shifted into a wolf and tore at her. Into a fox. Cat. Back to a wolf. He wanted to rip her until no one could ever know it was her.
When there was nothing but a mass of multicolored bits of marble and silk he sat back with a sigh. Head falling back as he stared up at the clouds. His chest heaving up with his ragged breathing.
Tears poured out against his will. She was gone . Gone to never come back again. Finally there would be peace for them.
Then how come he didn't felt peace?
He felt nothing at all. It changed nothing. Those memories still made him want to slaughter an entire town to prove he wasn't pathetic. He sprung up with a growl and put his clothes back up (couldn't he keep his clothes when he shifted like in the movies? Was it too much to ask?) . He glared at the mountain of bits that had been Miss a few minutes earlier.
A few branches and rocks later the bitch was burning in flames like the devil she was.
And a few humiliating and disgusting squirrels later he was walking back home. He felt lightheaded and while the anger was still burning it wasn't as intense as earlier.
Part of him worried what would the coven leader do.
Another part of him couldn't bring itself to care.
Whatever he did it couldn't be worse than what Miss had done to them.
Nothing could be worse.
~~~~~~~~~
Carlisle knew that what he had done was a mistake.
Plain and simple.
He should have let Jasper kill her.
But in the heat of the moment he hadn't been able to allow it. Not when there was such hatred in their hearts. He knew it was unfair but it was wrong . He couldn't let it happen no matter how much he knew he should have.
All he had wanted was to keep Jasper from falling back into that life.
But at the end that had gained him nothing but his family's anger.
And Edward's words ended up topping this situation as an absolute mistake that could shatter what he had worked so hard to get.
He had been able to read Jasper's thoughts.
None of them had been good.
He had been confused and angry, but most of all
He had been hurt.
He felt like Carlisle had betrayed him even after all he had done. By choosing Maria over him.
And that was not what Carlisle had intended to do.
He knew Jasper had left and if Edward and Emmett's face were something to go for he knew where his newest son had gone to and what he did.
Alice came downstairs half an hour later and not even a minute later Jasper's scent reached him.
-Go on.- Alice said looking at Carlisle with her arms crossed over her chest and a raised eyebrow. Even Esme was giving a look.
He stepped out into the porch in time to see Jasper emerging from the forest. He came to a halt right at the bottom of the stairs and met Carlisle's gaze with a familiar darkness in it. Like staring at the void.
Or the void staring back.
It would forever be unsettling.
-Can ah come in?- The thick southern drawl along with that near abnormal echo in his voice made Carlisle's instincts reel and for a moment he could have sworn that the person speaking to him wasn't Jasper.
The one reason he didn't step back was due the anger and resentment swirling in his gaze like a storm waiting to happen. The pain. It made Carlisle's chest constrict.
-Of course. You don't have to ask me that, this is your home too.
-Is it though? Last ah checked this was yer house. Where ya can do whatever ya want whether others lac it or not.
Ouch.
-Jasper-
-Ya had no right ta let her go .- He cut him off. Voice resentful and harsh.- I've done nothin' but follow yer stupid rules ta the letter. I've been obedient an' well behaved an' good . An' still. Ya chose ta spare her? You've any idea 'bout the things that bitch did?
The anger was flaring back up. Hot and unforgiving.
Because after all Carlisle had said he had gone and betrayed them.
He had betrayed them in the worst way possible.
And it hurt. God how it hurt.
-I understand now that what I did was a mistake. It was never my intention to hurt you, I just wanted to protect you.
-Protec' meh? How were ya plannin' on doin' so by lettin' that bitch go?
-I-
Carlisle's words died down when Jasper decided to pull his shirt off.
The sight he got almost made his knees give in. He heard horrified gasps behind him.
He had known there were scars if his arm, neck and jawline were something to go by but God . God how could a vampire be that scarred? There was no inch of skin free of scars. All of them half moon-like bites that littered his skin like the cruelest mosaic to ever exist.
But there were a handful of them that were not bites.
Burns .
Stabs. A red hot rod. Fire.
And as he turned around Carlisle felt his dead heart drop.
The amount of bites were nothing but a handful. Yes. And while once upon a time the bullet or shrapnel scars would have gotten Carlisle's absolute attention what stole his complete attention was the scar on his nape as Jasper grabbed his hair.
It was thin but he knew that scar's meaning. He hadn't lived long enough as a vampire to not have seen it.
That's the only scar one particular loss of limb would ever give.
Beheading.
-Have ya ever had a grenade explode near ya? That's how it feels lac. The world becomes a slow motion show of nothin' but muffled sounds an' a piercin' ringin' that could've very well blasted yer eardrums into next week.
He turned back to face Carlisle with a humorless smile. He wanted him to see. See what that bitch had done and see what he had turned his back to by defending her.
-Ah killed her, sir. And you know what? Ah enjoyed it more than ya could ever possibly understand.
He should shut up. Reign himself back in because the coven leader was making a weird face he couldn't process and he should stop. But he couldn't nor he wanted to.
Because this man had chose their torturer over them. He had chose her after assuring them over and over again that he was good. That he loved them and that he would never hurt them. He betrayed them. This man who called himself their new father had betrayed them.
And rather than hate him for it it was tearing his chest apart like nothing has ever done in his entire life. A pain greater than being stabbed with a burning rod.
-Go on now, git it over with, ya can hit meh all ya want but that's not gonna make meh regret it.- He told matter of fact. Voice challenging and anger bleeding into his voice.
But as much as he was seething in anger the emotions that ruled him over were betrayal and pain.
Betrayal that this man had chose that bitch over them.
Pain over how much said action was ripping his chest apart.
They should have never trusted his words.
And for the first time in his life he didn't tense at having a coven leader move forward.
"End it ya traitor."
Even if he said that part of him was giving him one last chance to repent before deciding to slaughter them all.
Traitors don't deserve to live.
-Carlisle!- Esme's voice fell on deaf ears the second he felt Carlisle grab him.
But rather than hit him or even bite him as expected all the man did was hug him.
He.
Hugged him. Him .
And while Jasper would had crumbled and accepted the comfort despite the initial roaring rage. Because how dare he comfort him with such lies and hypocrisy?
All The Major did was freeze.
And then he sank his fangs on the leader's bicep as his claws dug on his chest. The growl that tore out of his throat merged with a sob into a pitiful sound as his throat closed.
But the arms around him didn't lose their firm grasp.
They didn't let go no matter how much he bit.
And no. No. No. He had to let go. He wasn't suppose to do that. A coven leader wasn't suppose to do that. He wasn't suppose to do that. He tightened his bite even more as panic seized his chest. Because no. No. What was this? What the hell was this?
But the man didn't let go.
He.didnt.let.go.
He injected venom into his bite as a last resort but the hug didn't disappear. It.didnt.disappear.
And at the end he could do nothing but yield.
Yield under something as stupid as a hug .
No one hugged him but the angel. He wasn't huggable. Hugs weren't something he was given. That was Jasper's thing not his. Not even Peter would dare to hug him.
But this man knew nothing. He had no idea who was he holding. Who was biting him and who could end him right now if he so much desired to.
This man had no idea.
He knew this hug wasn't for him. It was for Jasper. That all those emotions of guilt and sadness. Regret. All of it was for Jasper not him.
The Major was a demon to them. Evil. One who was dead and made them glad for it.
And still. He decided to steal it and make it his own.
Because even if just once.
He also wanted to know what peace felt like.
~~~~~~~~
-You took a great risk by taking your shirt off. What would have you done if they saw?- Alice told with her arms crossed over her chest as she sat on the bed giving him a look.
-They didn't. Ah made sure of it.
-I can see that.
He glared at her and Alice held his glare. She wasn't afraid of him for she knew that he wouldn't hurt her. No matter how temperamental he could get he would never hurt her.
She still couldn't believe he had gone and taken his shirt off. Risking the Cullens seeing the black co-web that branded his lower back. And she knew that if he had managed to hide it it had been because he drank her venom.
-Come here.- Once upon a time he would have given her a wary look and refused to go any closer, now all he did was obey. Coming to stand right before her with his chin held high. Arrogant .
Alice stood on the bed and looked down at him. Meeting the void he had for a gaze before bringing her arms around him. One thing she knew was that he did not like bending to her level for the sole fact that by doing so he would be putting himself in a vulnerable position.
So if she wanted him closer she had to get creative.
-You won't hurt them right? Carlisle made a mistake and he realized it. I know it was a dick move but even the greatest men make dick moves once in a while. No one is perfect.
-Ah know. Ah won' hurt 'em. An' ah do know he didn't meant ta be an ass 'bout it. Y'all pacifists can be such a hassle.- He told with a scowl. Alice smirked at that.
-Even I?
-Yes angel, even ya. But at least yer a good hassle.
Alice laughed.
As stubborn and explosive as he was he also had his moments of niceness.
~~~~~~~~
Carlisle sat at his studio looking out of the window at his newest son. He had gone back to his usual self and was now having a rock fight with Emmett.
As Carlisle watched him he couldn't help but for the first time since he arrived wonder if Jasper had told them the truth.
Because something didn't add up. Something about his attitude from earlier had been wrong and that air had been near foreign.
It hadn't been the first time he had seen Jasper go dark but it certainly was the first time it had ever lasted for so long.
Now, much like always, it was all gone and he was back to normal.
The person from earlier had looked like Jasper but it hadn't spoken like Jasper at all. Jasper had never back talked like that nor behaved so hostile. So... arrogant .
And while he could understand the reason he would act like that it still didn't add up.
Something about his demeanor had been wrong. Foreign. Not Jasper.
It had been crushing and dangerous and overwhelming. His voice alone demanding submission in exchange for one's life.
And he hadn't missed how Maria had seemed to grow wary of the sudden tone, almost... frightened.
Something didn't add up.
But as he remembered the pain in his gaze. The scars. The betrayal. He decided to not dwell on it too much.
It didn't matter if it didn't add up.
All he cared about is that he was safe now. Without that woman to torture his nerves.
He was safe.
At least from the outside world; he couldn't help but think as he watched a rock hit Jasper straight on the face courtesy of Emmett.
Children .