All characters from The Vampire Diaries belong to L.J. Smith as well as all characters from Twilight belong to Stephanie Meyer. I own nothing except my version of events.

Chapter 32 Make it Count

"We're all going to miss you Bella." Felix said sadly.

"Thanks man." Paul teased.

"Of course we'll miss all of you." He corrected himself quickly.

I laughed at his predicament and moved away from him to say goodbye to the brothers.

"Please stay in touch, Dear One." Aro asked of me.

I nodded my head and hugged him "Of course! Now that Emmett and Jeremy have updated you on modern technology we can video chat all the time and you can call me whenever you want." I looked at the other two brothers. "All of you can."

"So we can continue your piano lessons via the internet?" Caius asked eagerly.

"Definitely and thank you for getting me one of my own." I thanked him as I hugged him tightly.

"Oh it was nothing." He said as he hugged me back, picking me up off the floor so he wouldn't have to bend down to my level. "It should be delivered in exactly two days. Let me know if it doesn't."

I sure hope they delivered it on time or else they would get an earful from King Caius. I saluted him and he laughed at me. "Ay yay Captain."

I was still amazed at how fast our relationship had grown since arriving in Volterra. After I'd revealed I was a witch he'd opened up to me more. I think he realized I didn't have any secrets to hide and I had earned his trust by my actions and words. During my stay in Volterra I had given him his space and he was the one who sought me out most of the time. I wanted to be his friend but I also did not want to impose, you can't force people to be your friend and so I had let him come to me and I was glad he chose to do so. His wife was so excited he had made a friend, it was kinda funny when she ran up to me the first time I met her. It startled me but laughed when I realized she was just too excited at the fact that I was bringing him out of his shell after centuries of being so uptight. Of course he still was to most but with me, it was like we had been friends for eternity.

I then turned to look at Marcus. I was going to miss him so much. I ran up to hug him and he lifted me off the air and twirled me around as I laughed at his antics. "I'm going to miss you, Saint Marcus."

He set me down on my feet and mussed up my hair in retaliation.

Once I found out he had a holiday especially made for him in Volterra I cracked up, for being someone who had been mute and in the shadows for such a long time, it surprised me. He insisted it was not of his making but I waved him off and pretended not to hear him since it was much funnier that way. Marcus and I were incredibly close, he was like the uncle I'd never had. He was filled with so much knowledge which he was more than willing to share. He taught me so many things and not just about the world but also about myself, helping me understand myself on a deeper level but what was even better was that he was also fun and adventurous. Because of the loss of his mate he hadn't lived much outside of the castle so he toured around with me and we also toured the cities surrounding it. I have to say that this was one of the most beautiful places I had ever been to. Not that I had explored much of the world yet but I couldn't wait to explore more of it in the future. Maybe when I found my mate I could do that one day… it was an exciting thought.

"I will miss you too, so much Little One." He said sadly.

"You guys do know you can come visit me whenever you want to right? I know you guys can't leave your castle often, especially together, but maybe you guys can take turns?" I asked hopefully.

They all smiled at me as Aro said "Maybe." Always the party pooper, that one. I mean I understood, he had the weight of the vampire world on his shoulders. Any chance I got I tried to destress him but it was a difficult thing to accomplish. I admired his mate daily, how she could bring him at peace and also find the energy and dedication to do so was completely awe-inspiring.

"Come on B. We gotta hit the road if I want to make it back to Forks for work." He reminded me.

"Right! Love you guys!" I yelled as I waved to the brothers and jogged into the private jet.

Yeah, can you believe the Kings of Volterra willingly came to say goodbye to little old me? I was just as surprised but accepted it as one of the many things that have changed during my stay here in Volterra.

As it turned out, our few days stay was extended to a few weeks.

The next day I spoke to the brothers about my leadership, Jasper came with me as we'd discussed. He admitted that the brothers were all honest and genuinely cared about me. That same day I requested a meeting with the pack and my friends in Mystic Falls.

I let Jasper, Damon and Paul speak about their experiences in Volterra so far before I spoke a word. I wanted to join the war but I was not going to force anyone else to do so. I wanted each one of my friends and family to hear all points of view and make a decision for themselves. Once they had finished I then told them I wanted to help the Volturi but that no one was obligated to join me in the fight. I might be considered their leader of sorts but in no way was I going to make this life altering decision for them. Once again they all said they trusted my judgment and agreed with me that they would join as well if I agreed to an alliance with the Volturi. I informed the brothers as soon as it was decided and they were happier than I'd ever seen them. They also practically begged me to stay longer and so we did, no one had any important plans to return to so the guys agreed to stay as well.

The atmosphere in the Volturi quickly changed and so did my interactions with the brothers and the guard. I commented how cool it would be if we could have a get together so that I could fully meet everyone that lived in the castle. Aro hearing this informed his wife of my wishes, who quickly took the reins and planned the most amazing party I had ever been to in all my life. After that, it was like everyone openly welcomed me and my friends, Aro even offered to fly my friends and family in from Mystic Falls and La Push for the event. A lot of them actually came for the weekend and then flew back Sunday to return home. I got to see all of my brothers from La Push including imprints. Aro sent the Denali clan to guard both Forks and La Push while they left their homes unprotected. It took a bit of convincing but Sam agreed after he heard the Denali were animal drinkers. Most of my friends from Mystic Falls came as well and we partied for almost a full day. Once my family and friends met the Volturi they understood why I wanted to help them. It made me even happier to know that the Volturi did not only want our help but they also wanted to get to know all of us and welcome us with open arms.

After the long flight from Rome we finally arrived in Mystic Falls early in the morning and I thanked the heavens above the Volturi had a jet with a private room where we could sleep.

"I hate to see you go." I said to Paul sadly as we disembarked the jet. The Volturi had scheduled a pit stop in West Virginia to drop off Jasper, Damon and I but it was going to continue on to take Paul back home to Washington.

"I know." He replied just as sadly, crushing me to his body in a tight hug. "And it never gets easier." He admitted, as he breathed me in deeply.

I pinched him on his butt to let go, apparently making it a tradition now.

He chuckled and pulled away from me "Alright, alright. I'm going!" He said as he turned around waving at the guys and getting back on to the plane.

We stayed to watch the jet depart and then made our way to the parking where my Jeep had stayed the entire time. I let Jasper drive since he was the only one completely alert since he was still in his vampire form.

"You know you can put your ring back on right Jazz?" I asked him, wondering why he hadn't put it on yet.

"I left it in your bedroom before we left." He answered.

Well ok then, I did not even know that. "So that was a crazy trip." I commented.

Damon and Jasper laughed loudly.

"I'll say!" Damon replied. "You had the Volturi eating out of the palm of your hand."

I scoffed. "No I didn't and they're great guys." I said shrugging my shoulders. "I knew my powers told me to trust them but I also never expected for all of us to form such a strong connection. I mean, I wanted to be their friend but… it's still crazy to me how far we've gotten." I said, shaking my head in disbelief.

"There is one thing Bella." Jasper started. "Why didn't you tell the Volturi about the cold ring?"

I remained quiet for a minute, trying to gather the right words to explain it. I had thought about it during my stay in Volterra but ultimately decided it was not the right thing to do. "It's not that I don't trust them… but think about the repercussions. If I were to make rings for the Volturi, then every vampire out there would be looking to get one as well and let's face it, not every cold one out there would use it for good. Cold one's already have a great advantage to humans. Imagine what they could do with a ring like that in their possession?" I asked, not needing a real answer. "Not only that but if it got out that I was the one who did it, my secret would be out. Every cold one out there would know about me and my anonymity would be completely gone… When I transformed into a witch my grandmother warned me about exposure. She said that there were supernatural beings out there that would come after me and use me for their own selfish greed. That's why she bound my powers when I was little, she knew she wouldn't live long enough to protect me and she wanted me to live a normal happy life. I didn't tell the Volturi about the cold ring not only to maintain the humans safe but also myself. My powers are a gift not only to me but to the world. I want to bring only good into this world and not be used as some pawn for supreme power. I don't want to be hunted down Jasper, I want to live my life freely and make my own decisions."

We all stayed silent with the impact of my words. I don't think they'd ever thought of it that way but for me it was something I worried about. My grandmother had lived for so long and she knew how dangerous this life could be, especially for those who were gifted. So far I had only met people who welcomed me and accepted me, well except for three of the Cullens and Victoria and her posse but I was able to defend myself in those cases. However, what if I encountered someone more dangerous? One that I wouldn't be able to defeat? It was a terrifying thought and I hoped I would never encounter that.

Jasper snapped out of it first and grabbed onto my hand tightly, sending me feelings of love and comfort and then I felt Damon's hand take hold of my bicep from the back of the car.

"I would never let anyone hurt you Bella. I will protect you with my life." Jasper vowed, his words cementing a promise he would never dare break.

"Me too and Jasper's right. No one will ever get their hands on you Bella, especially while we're around." Damon promised.

I bit my lip at the amount of emotions flowing through me. I tried to keep my tears from falling but it was no use. "I don't want anyone to risk your lives for me." I admitted.

Damon scoffed. "Well too bad because we will. You mean more to us than anything in this world and I'm sure if Paul were here he would say the same. You are worth fighting for Bella."

I let my tears fall and wiped them quickly away with my hands and chuckled shakily. They didn't know how much their words meant to me but I was struggling to accept that the people I loved were more than willing to risk their lives for me. I didn't want them to but a part of me understood that when you loved someone there was nothing in this world that you wouldn't do for them… because that's what I would do.

I shook my head trying to shake off the influx of emotions, I never expected this conversation to take such a sudden turn and I wanted to go back to happiness. We were finally going home and I was excited to see everyone again. "Let's not think about the 'what if's' right now. It won't ever happen so let's forget about it." I said.

They both nodded at me and let it slide for now.

Everyone remained silent on the drive home. I knew they were still thinking about it and as much as I wanted to deny it, I was too. It was a terrifying thought, I didn't want to be hunted down for my powers. Not only that but if I were to I also didn't want my family and friends to be hurt or worse, die because of me. Everything I ever did was to protect them and to keep them safe from any harm. I would never be ok with letting another person trade their lives for me. I was incredibly powerful but not at all invincible. If someone powerful enough tried to come after me… I didn't know if I would be able to defeat it.

Luckily that was not a problem I had to worry about today. So instead of thinking about what could be, I decided to focus on the present.

"Fucking shit!"

I thought being one with nature would help me teleport again but I have been sitting out here in the maze with my eyes closed, crossed legged and trying to harness the energy of nature but to no avail.

I've already lost track of time and honestly I was getting both annoyed and frustrated. How the hell could I not be able to do this again?

"You know for someone who looks completely at peace, you're feeling a lot of turmoil inside that little body of yours." A southern accent spoke.

I released a long breath, frustrated with my failure and opened my eyes looking straight up ahead at Jasper. He was sitting cross legged right in front of me, imitating my pose. I hadn't even heard him come near.

"Still can't do it?" He finally asked when I didn't answer.

I gave him an annoyed look. Like no shit! Did he honestly think I would be feeling this way if I had?

"Ok ok! Stupid question. Let me try again… need help?" He asked instead.

I sighed again and felt bad about being so rude when all he wanted to do was help me, like he always did. "Sure… Sorry I'm being rude. I just want to make it happen but I don't even know where to begin." It reminded me of the time back in Forks when I was trying to tap into my powers, and just like that day I had someone trying to help me as well. Except this time, instead of Paul it was Jasper.

I smiled at him and leaned forward, placing my hands on his knees to shift my weight and lifted my head up to peck him on the lips. I had so many good people around me, always trying to help me. I should be grateful instead of being a rude bitch.

He smiled softly at me and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear that had fallen out of my ponytail. "It'll come to you eventually. Don't put too much pressure on seeing results. You're still practicing your magic and you need to be proud of what you've already accomplished in such a short amount of time."

I nodded at him. He was right, I never thought I'd pick up on things this quickly but I have. I should be proud of all that I have accomplished so far instead of focusing on my failures. "You're right. Thank you Jasper."

"Anytime Darlin'. So what have you done so far?"

"Nothing." I huffed out. "I mean, I've been trying to harness the energy from the earth and I'm at max capacity but still nothing has happened. It's like what I need to accomplish it is locked inside my head and I have no access to it… if that makes any sense."

"Hmmm…. well you said your grandmother gave you your memories slowly. Do you think that maybe your're not ready to do that yet?" He asked me.

I thought about that for a second but shook my head in denial. "No I don't think so. If that were the case then I wouldn't have been able to do it at all." I reasoned.

"Yes but when you teleported it was because you knew Damon was in danger. It was not conscious." He said.

We stayed quiet after that, thinking about everything until Jasper broke the silence.

"Maybe that's it!"

"What's it?" I asked confused as to what he was talking about.

"Maybe it was because of how you were feeling. You said you felt a tugging in your chest and knew something was wrong, in your panic you teleported to reach us quickly. Maybe you have to tap into those emotions to do it again." He suggested.

It wasn't a bad idea and what would I lose in trying. I mean, it did suck at that moment in time. That feeling I felt I would never want to feel again, just the idea of my loved ones in danger brought a pain to the pit of my stomach but if I wanted to tap into that ability I was going to have to try and relive that moment.

"Ok." I said. Closing my eyes I started thinking about how I had felt at the time. It wasn't hard to do as I quickly started feeling those awful emotions but something inside of me was stopping it. My own subconscious didn't want me to go through that again. "I can't. It makes me panic and I can't force myself to feel that way."

Jasper nodded in understanding but then looked at me with a serious expression on his face. "I felt your emotions Bella. If you want… I can replicate it for you."

I was nervous about his suggestion, I really didn't want to relive all of those negative emotions but I figured it was that or admitting failure, so I agreed.

I closed my eyes and opened up to Jasper so I could receive the cocktail of emotions. I started to panic as I felt the desperation to go help Damon. The feel of him in pain and in danger sent my emotions into a tailspin. I needed to get to Damon, I needed to…

"What the fuck!" Damon shouted.

I blinked my eyes open as my heart was racing. I was breathing heavily.

"Bella?" Damon asked, reaching his hands down to me to cup both of my cheeks and making me look up at him.

I hugged him fiercely without saying a word. I was trying to rein in my emotions before I could speak. Damon sensing my distress tightened his arms around me.

Finally when I was calm again I became aware of my surroundings. I was in a bathroom, that much I could tell. Then as I focused on Damon I realized he was naked and wet, the water from the shower seeping into my clothes and making me shiver.

I pulled away from him when I realized what I had accomplished and smiled excitedly at him. "I teleported and you're naked!" I announced. "Damon I did it!" I screamed happily as I jumped up and down celebrating my victory.

That is until we heard Damon's phone ring. He turned off the water quickly and reached an arm out to grab his towel. He dried himself as quickly as possible and wrapped the towel around me and made his way out the door completely naked. He had a really nice ass.

I followed after him and into his bedroom. He reached the bed and answered his phone.

"Hello…. Yeah she's here… It definitely worked. She scared the shit out of me, I was in the shower when she teleported." He said as he turned around to look at me and walked over to his closet to get another towel for me which he used to replace the now soaked one. "She's fine, she was a little shook up at first but she's all good now. She even did her happy dance." He said, chuckling. "Alright, see you in a bit."

Once he was done he hung up and looked at me. "That was Jasper and he's on his way..." Then he frowned at me and pulled me down onto the bed. "Are you ok? You look tired."

I yawned and nodded, feeling supremely exhausted. Well that was unexpected. "I'm tired. I feel like my energy was just zapped right out of me…I'm sleepy." I admitted, following it with another yawn. I blearily looked at Damon as he moved around his room. He instructed me to lift my arms up and I did, I felt him slide my wet shirt over my head and slide a long black t-shirt over me. I felt him undressing the rest of me and pulling down his covers and then coming to me to pick me up. He laid me down on his bed and pulled the covers over me.

"Sleep tight." I heard him say as I felt a whisper of a kiss on my forehead, I was too far gone to acknowledge anything else and welcomed the peace that came with the darkness.

I felt a light brushing of my hair as I blinked my eyes open and found Jasper laying next to me.

"Hey sleepy head."

I smiled at him and snuggled into him, breathing in his scent. "Morning." I said.

He chuckled at me and pulled me away from him. "It's not morning Bella. It's still 7 o'clock and barely getting dark out."

I frowned at him and sat up, looking around me and realizing I wasn't in my room. I looked down at myself and realized I wasn't wearing my clothes but instead wearing a black t-shirt. I lifted it up to my nose and smelled Damon's scent. It suddenly hit me like a lighting bolt and I quickly turned around to get confirmation from Jasper.

"I teleported?!"

He smiled brightly at me and nodded. "Yes you did… but soon after you fell asleep. You depleted your energy Bella. You've been asleep for 6 hours."

"Really?" I saw him nod again looking worried. "Woah, that's awesome… but also worrisome. The first time I teleported I didn't deplete my energy, I was just emotionally drained."

"Maybe because it was an artificial emotion?" Jasper asked.

"Could be but I don't think so." I remained silent thinking. "Maybe I did something wrong, I'll have to keep practicing. I kind of have an idea of how to do it now, I need to read through the journals in my study to see if there's an explanation for the energy bit."

Jasper agreed but remained silent as he looked at me in consternation.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing." He quickly answered.

I arched an eyebrow at him, now was not the time to be evasive.

"I just don't like Damon's shirt on you." He finally admitted.

I chuckled. "That's easily fixed." I said as I lifted the shirt over my head, sitting there in just my bra and panties.

His eyes darkened and I suddenly felt mischievous. "You know Jasper." I said as I reached behind me to unclasp my bra. "I seem to not be wearing many clothes but you seem to be fully clothed… Now does that seem fair to you?" I asked him.

He'd been mesmerized at the sight of my breasts but once I'd asked him the question his eyes snapped up to me and he gave me a devilish smile. "My apologies ma'am." He said as he stood up in front of me and slowly removed his clothes, letting me watch his body shift and move, seeing his abs and muscles moving with his actions.

He stood in front of me completely naked, until one of his hands slowly reached up to take hold of his member. He slowly started to stroke himself as I sat there and watched, now I was the one mesmerized.

"You know Bella." He started. "My hand seems to be quite busy but yours is sitting motionless atop of your lap. Now does that seem fair to you?" He asked, throwing my own words back at me.

I smiled at him and smirked. "My apologies… Major Whitlock." I responded, knowing exactly what calling him that would do to him. I caught the sight of his eyes as they immediately turned darker with lust.

I laid back down in bed and slowly slid my panties down my legs. I lifted my hand up and gently bit my fingernail, throwing him a slightly shy smile as my hand slowly began its descent lower. Trailing my fingers down the valley between my breasts, skipping my nipples so he wouldn't get distracted. My eyes watched him as his strokes progressively got faster the further down my hand went. I delicately trailed my fingers down my stomach until finally reaching my mound, stopping my movements there as I slowly spread my legs open. I could feel Jasper's eyes burning a hole into my hand, waiting in anticipation for my next move. I waited until he couldn't take it anymore and his eyes looked up at me to see what was taking me so long. Once we made eye contact I licked my lips and then looked back down to my hand. He followed my line of sight and watched me as I slowly touched myself.

Jasper's quick intake of breath let me know I was doing something right. "You are utterly bewitching."

His words pulled a moan out of me, making me get even wetter. Jasper continued to stroke himself and the idea of watching him pleasure himself as he watched me do the same sent a thrill through my body. It was a heady feeling.

How could it possibly be this good when we haven't even laid a finger on each other?

His eyes turned darker than I'd ever seen them when he saw two of my fingers dip into my core, I threw my head back in delight as I moaned out my pleasure.

"Fuck this!" I heard him exclaim.

Faster than my eyes could see Jasper was on his knees flicking my hand away and devouring me like a starving man. My eyes closed automatically but I quickly pried them open, wanting to watch him pleasure me. I leaned up on my elbows to look down at him and that's when I realized he was still stroking his length. My eyes almost rolled to the back of my head from just the view but I resisted, not wanting to miss a single second. My breathing had become so ragged that I didn't even know how I was managing to stay conscious with the lack of oxygen filtering into my lungs.

"Yes Major! Fuck me with your tongue." I commanded, watching as his own strokes became erratic. "Come for me Japer, let me see you explode for me." I begged him.

He let out a ferocious moan at my words that shot straight to my core, sending me to the high heavens but I kept my eyes open long enough to watch him do the same.

He pressed his temple to the inside of my right thigh as he gently lapped me up. Cleaning me gently, I twitched as his tongue touched me in certain areas, feeling extremely sensitive.

He lifted himself up and reached for Damon's t-shirt as he cleaned himself up. I laughed loudly at his action, Damon was gonna be so pissed if he ever found out.

He shrugged at me and then threw the t-shirt to the floor. When he was done he climbed into bed with me and hovered over me, trailing his eyes over my body.

He let out a deep hum in his throat as he trailed his index finger along the length of my body. "Damon is gonna be even more pissed when he finds out I fucked you on his bed too."

I chuckled at his words but it was cut short as Jasper entered me without warning. A loud gasp left my mouth and I held onto his forearms as Japer fucked me into the bed.

"Fuck Jazz!" I half moaned half whined. His pace was relentless and I could hear the slapping sound of our bodies connecting. It reverberated around the room along with his grunts.

Jasper suddenly lifted his left arm up to hold onto the headboard and his right hand lifted my leg up his body as he straightened himself up on the bed forcing my body to curl upward and I yelled at how deep this was making him go. It was both pleasure mixed with a little pain and I suddenly lost who I was and where I was, all my brain was focused on was the all-consuming pleasure I was feeling at the moment and when I felt it all join together in one place I exploded, releasing all sensation from my body. I barely registered Jasper coming as well, it was like I was in a cloud all on my own.

Finally after who knows how long I came to and felt Jasper laying his head on my chest breathing heavily.

"That was…." Fuck I couldn't find the words to say how that felt.

"I know." Jasper said breathlessly.

Once he finally gathered himself he lifted himself onto his elbows to look down at me. The look on his face produced a loud laugh from me, he looked high as a kite.

"Damon's gonna be so pissed." But I had zero regrets, his anger would be worth it.

Jasper hummed in agreement and bent down to trail wet kisses all along my chest. "So let's make it count." He said as he captured my nipple in his mouth and slid two fingers inside of me.

I moaned out pleasure. Fuck it, I thought, I'll just buy him a new bed.