A/N: Will wrap this up next week, all my ducks in a row or should that be swans lol xx Alexis

"No, No, NO!" Alice screeched,

She had slowly begun to settle into her lower-income lifestyle, stopping herself from wasting what little money she had, she had plans; Alice always had an insane plan! Happy in the knowledge that she had ruined everyone's chances of true love, because of Carlisle. If he had just done what she saw, shat she wanted and expected. Well, that would have been fine and everyone else would never have existed, except for Edward and Jasper! Her whole plan was unravelling now, they were all starting to move on and meet their mates after all this time. That's when the little flickers of visions started to present themselves. It wasn't fair and it wasn't right! How dare his children get to have what she was deprived of! She, who had taken years making sure it would never happen.

She had been too late to stop him from meeting his mate though. But why should they have what she could not, she was supposed to be the good little wife of the doctor. But he just couldn't wait, Carlisle had to finally do something out of character or should that be the character Alice had decided he was. It was Carlisle, not Jasper she saw upon waking, but Alice mistimed it all, missing her chance to get between him and Esme and blamed him! Luckily for him, he found Esme or he would have spent his vampire life doing what Alice and only Alice wanted, hell even Edward would have been shown the door. Eventually, she would have forced him to join the Volturi where he would become the fourth ruler and Alice his queen, something he would have hated!

So her plan changed and she would ruin all the peace he'd worked for, making his children selfish and mean. Never once did Alice think that fate would find a way and that way was Isabella Swan. She was the fly in the ointment for both Alice and her puppet Edward. It was easy to get him on her side, all she had to do was dangle money as the carrot and Edward followed along, like the pathetic fool he was. Rose's greed, vanity and hatred of Carlisle for changing her, worked in Alice's favour too. The one thing Alice hadn't understood or refused to understand was about mates. Once met it's impossible to leave them, you don't have to be with them as such, but near them, oh yes! That was why Carlisle found Esme again because subconsciously he was in the area she lived with her brute of a husband.

Why Alice decided to punish him for finding his mate is unknown, what isn't unknown is her mate died after changing her, but she was and maybe still is insane. Alice had told everyone a truly fabricated story, but the truth was worse. She tried to kill her whole family when she was a human child and her mother would go on to die saving Cynthia from Alice and that's when she was committed! Why, because they wouldn't do what she wanted them to! After all who wants an eight-year-old psychopath in their family? She was hidden from polite society by her father. Seeing Carlisle should have given her a place to live, a refuge, not an elaborate getting between mates or any takeover of the Volturi, plot. But Alice couldn't separate her gift from her fantasies once she was changed.

That's what makes them all the more decision based, unpredictable and highly dangerous! The decisions should be hers but she lacked the ability to tell fact from fiction and always had, hence her long, very long stay in an asylum! She had waved away the thought of telling Edward he was being set up, that was a huge mistake. She should have helped him, he held her future in his hands, even though he was too stupid to realise it. Had Alice forgotten he had read every last thing in her mind and if Aro read him, he knew all about her and her sins! Her sins, which included breaking almost every law of vampirekind!

HLMWAINS

"Alistair, what do you think about this material for the master bedroom? It's not too dark, but has all the elements you mentioned" Bella asked with her arms full of swatches and paint charts,

"Bella, which do you prefer?" he asked with a raised eyebrow and Bella looked down and took a deep breath,

"This one, it's so similar to one of the paintings you have. Not exact but as close as it can be, centuries apart" She tells him as he wraps his arms around her,

"Then that is the one we will have. Did you hear that? I said we, that room will be ours, not just mine!" he explained and she hugged him back,

"Thank you, you're so patient with me and I love you for that" Bella whispered,

Alistair sucked some unneeded air into his lungs and bent to capture her lips. He put all his feelings into the kiss and Bella couldn't help but feel them.

"I love you too my Dark Swan and I will wait until hell freezes over if I have to! But remember this Bella, I will never abandon you even if we are not physically intimate, that's only a small part of being someone's mate. We are tied together for eternity, how we spend it is up to you, my heart" he told her and she knew he meant it,

"I'm letting them, all of them colour my outlook, I know it and can't help it! Everything I've been given always had strings and I hate that they affect how I feel about us! But I don't want to leave or you to go either, I need to be with you Alistair and I do love you. Please, give me a little more time to talk this out with Sofia" she says guiltily with her head down,

"Hey, don't do that! You take all the time you need and stop feeling like you've done something wrong. Mating takes time, we'll get there and it will be spectacular!" Alistair informs her and she sighs with relief,

Her family and the Cullens really screwed her up, more than she realised. Sofia was helping her work through this too. It was so annoying and unfair, that because of them she had trust issues. Sofia could help with everything except that small sliver of dark anger that crossed over the change with Bella. It wasn't something that was seen in day-to-day life, but when Bella talked about her mother it reared its ugly head. That was why she'd contacted Phil before her change and jokingly told him to watch the money around Renee. This in turn had sparked his interest just exactly where it did all go. Then a quiet word about separate bank accounts, plus the truth about how much she made as a teacher. Bella had the details for them and handed it all over and Phil.

Thus he found out his loving wife was a thief and a liar. So of course, predictably a divorce ensued and Renee had no one to blame but herself this time. Bella's final dig at her mother was a telegram from Malta, congratulating her on her second divorce and wishing her a life of rotting in hell on her own! She doubted very much Renee would understand and see her actions cause her daughter to do this to her, but it had made Bella feel so much better! Then a little word in the school board's ear about pot smoking, heavy drinking and the possibility of child endangerment! Renee was suddenly let go, mostly due to others knowing these things were true and they had covered for her in the past. Therefore her lack of offers was enough to make Renee pack up and move on to pastures new.

Bella didn't care where her mother went now or what happened to her, but if she tried to con another man. She'd be there to ruin it for her as long as Renee lived! Alistair knew and he was happy to back her, in fact, he asked her to get something of Renee's so he could keep tabs on her for his Dark Swan. He saw nothing wrong in her righting those things done to her by that pathetic excuse for a mother! Hell, he even offered to go there and snap her scrawny neck if Bella wanted, but she declined saying she'd rather her mother suffered than died.

HLMWAINS

"Maestri, la congrega di Londra รจ arrivata!" (Masters, the London coven has arrived) Heidi informed the brothers,

"Ah, welcome Mathias and you loyal coven mates" Aro simpered,

The four who accompanied him were disgruntled, finding Sulpicia was dead. Heidi had informed them of her gruesome suicide. The fact that Aro was happily smiling and laughing jovially didn't go down well with them. But what could they do, she was dead and nobody else would play their games. Incurring the wrath of Jane once before, for trying to rope in some of the female guard was funnily enough not to their liking. Dishing out pain was what got them off, not receiving it! Mathias had always turned a blind eye to this sadistic side of them, but now was not the time and he ordered his hapless prisoner to be dragged forward.

"This piece of shit tried to rob my coven's headquarters, Aro! He's been rambling the biggest load of horse crap since we caught him! Voices in his head told him to do it the usual pass-the-buck codswallop!

The Lord above, alone knows what the hell is going on in his pea-sized brain or what's wrong with him! As far as I can make out he thought Tobias was the London coven's leader. As if I would bypass these four for Toby, eh, no not happening. Christ, Bartholomew would kill me if I did something that insane.

Apparently, he's Carlisle Cullen's firstborn! I insist you read him, because as I'm the sire, of his sire's sire and therefore overall leader. I have the right to terminate any instability within the coven and Carlisle and his lovely mate Esme are semi-reintegrated as of recently, I feel I must intervene, insanity must be stamped out!" Mathias expounded and all three brothers were just staring at Edward as if he'd grown a second head,

"His bonds are all broken, no they are nonexistent!" Was all Marcus said before turning away,

"Felix, bring the fool forward please" Aro commanded and Edward was handed from one strongman to another,

Felix and Arthur nodded to each other as they passed the idiot between them. Edward was looking slightly dazed, he couldn't grasp what had happened to him, never imagining someone else could get the drop on him mentally. Especially since he could read minds, but never once did he consider someone else could be smarter than him, while in fact, almost everyone was! But he was playing in the big leagues now and failing miserably to boot!

"My my Edward, what have you done? Theft from another coven is unacceptable and as you should know against our laws!" Aro said taking his hand forcefully,

As the whole of the imbecile's mind was open to Aro he was beyond disgusted. He saw it all, emotional blackmail towards Carlisle for years, the coming between mates instigated by Alice and then finally telling a human of their species and letting her live. Here at least Major Whitlock and his Captain had dealt with her somehow, this Edward didn't know, but Aro would find out. Was there any law he hadn't broken since his change? But this last was totally ridiculous in its stupidity. Why would he who heard people's thoughts listen to one singular voice? A voice which was clearly his own leading him to destruction. There was nothing in his head to say anyone else had a hand in Edward's plan to rob who he thought was Tobias and consequently Carlisle. But what made him think Tobias would hand his coven over to Carlisle?

To someone who'd been estranged for three hundred years from him! Nothing made sense and even the map he had was very old, didn't he see that?

"Mathias, did you give Carlisle a floor plan of your house?" he asked a crease between his brows,

"No, but Tobias gave him an old one from one hundred years ago. It was to show how we built both conservatively above ground for the humans to see and lavishly below for ourselves!" Mathias explained,

"Very good, thank you" Aro murmured,

"Demetri take the fool away while we discuss this in-depth" Caius exclaimed now, sounding disgusted by the mere sight of Edward,

Retiring to the three brother's office Aro explained everything he'd read in Edward's head! The whole time he was with Carlisle it was one blackmailing scheme or another until Alice arrived and she, well she took it to a whole new level!

"Felix! Tell Demetri to find Alice Brandon now!" Caius shouted and Mathias smirked,

"Marcus, would you speak to Major Whitlock? You know he hates us and his brother will already know all of this by now!" Aro asked trying to be casual,

Mathias and his coven mates all looked at each other wondering who could make Aro so nervous.

"Why would the God of War, talk to Marcus?" Caius spat,

That name was known to them all and now they knew why Aro was passing the buck, so to speak.

"Because we have written books together over the past fifty years and he likes me!" Marcus said snidely, enjoying getting one over on Caius,

HLMWAINS

'Heads up! Call from Volterra comin' in for you' PW

Peter's sudden text startled Jasper who was just kicking back and enjoying the peace and quiet. Ah, too good to be true he guessed.

"Jasper my boy, how are you? I need to ask you a couple of questions if that would be okay!" Marcus asked politely,

"Certainly Master Marcus, if I can help you, of course, I will" Jasper replied and Caius growled at the respect in his tone,

"So you know son, we're on speakerphone! Yes, well it's about a human girl. A human who knew our secret" Marcus says now and Jasper sighed,

"Ah, the lovely Miss Swan, Isabella was brought into our old coven by Edward. He told her all our secrets, told her she was his mate! She wasn't but he convinced Carlisle and once Edward spoke that was all Carlisle ever heard!" Jasper explained to them,

"What did you do about it?" Caius spat nastily,

"Well Caius, I advocated she should be killed in the beginnin', but was outvoted, I'm glad about that now. Then later I saw her as my sister and realised she was bein' glamoured by both Edward and Alice, so I got her out and left myself with Emmett," Jasper told the grumpy brother,

His lack of respect for Caius didn't go amiss to Mathias and the others. They decided they would like this vampire if they ever met.

She was sent home you might say, Isabella, is one of Luca's descendants! He has since changed and trained her, he sees her as a long-lost daughter and she has the whole coven at her back!" Jasper said with pride and love for his newest sister,

The whole room felt it and that scared Aro and Caius more than they wanted to admit. Over the phone and he could still project his emotions, that was really a way to powerful gift.

"I feel your love for her Jasper, that's a powerful bond you have with her" Marcus admitted to him,

"She's a shield then Major, since Edward couldn't read her mind even as a human!" Aro demanded and they all felt the wave of contempt that swept the room,

"She is Aro, a very powerful one by all accounts, possessin' the same combination as Luca, he's ecstatic about it as you can imagine! The first in centuries to have his specific traits" Jasper said with undisguised glee,

"Why did you send her there and not here? Shouldn't you have sent her to your rulers?" Caius demanded,

"Where better to send a shield than to an island of shields? I was helpin' my sister, not sendin' a lamb to slaughter!" Jasper growled and this time only Caius quailed,

A newfound respect was seen in everyone's eyes, except Caius and Aro's. Jasper had directed his gift to target only Caius and they began to realise just how dangerous an enemy he could be! His voice was also what projected the emotions and not just his mind, together they could be devastating and his name made much more sense.

"Thank you, Jasper, my boy, you did the right thing and saved everyone a lot of trouble! Do you know where everyone else is?" Marcus asked kindly,

"Ah, Rose has met her mate Randall and they are still in Rochester. Emmett to has found his mate, she also is one of Luca's so he'll be headin' to Malta soon. Alice is in Biloxi Peter informs me, that's about it" Jasper says sounding disinterested,

"And Miss Swan is she still in Malta?" Caius snaps, Jasper laughs loudly,

"I believe someone in your office knows that answer!" Jasper adds before disconnecting the call,

"I hate him!" Caius growls,

"No, you fear him, Caius, that's a different emotion altogether!" Marcus sniggers,

"Mathias, I assume he means you?" Aro sighed, he too was wary of the Major,

"Ah, yes! I believe he does. Miss Swan has also met her mate and is in England as we speak" he says hoping they won't ask, but knowing they will,

"Who! God damn it who is her mate?" Caius asks exasperated,

"Alistair!" Mathias answers trying not to laugh at them,

HLMWAINS

"I was thinking Carlisle, the house on the island would benefit from the plans of Mathias' old place. If our main abode was below ground then it would be protected from the elements and any nosey intruders. I think it should be our main home from now on!" Esme mused and Carlisle nodded,

"Yes, I think I'll take a serious step back from the human world. Maybe write or do research for a while" He replied smiling,

"Good idea dear. I'll start on the plans for the house and the surrounding garden area. I'm looking forward to it, something new and exciting" Esme said as she tidied up and the phone rang,

The next few minutes were fraught with tension and Carlisle missed Jasper at that moment more than ever. Aro laid out everything for him, Edward had been found trying to steal from Mathias and he wanted retribution. He almost tried to help him and then stopped!

"Do what you think is right Aro, it's none of my business. I threw Edward, Rose and Alice out, they are all users, not worthy of being in anyone's coven! They cheat, lie and steal, so I really don't care what happens to them now. My mate is all I care about and that's the way it will stay from now on. I will never have a large coven again. Only Emmett will be allowed to rejoin us if he wants, I wash my hands of the other three and Jasper never really needed me!" Carlisle said with conviction,

Esme stood behind him and said,

"We gave them every chance and far too many years, now it's our turn to do as we please! It just won't be illegal and on someone else's dime!"