Jaspers pov
I zoned out. I couldn't help but watch her. She seemed happy for once. As she chewed some poor fucks dead leg? She did a small happy dance. Or is it an arm? What is that? Whatever. It's been so long since I've seen her happy... it lasted for a mere minute and forty-seven seconds.
I was currently speaking to Carlisle about our whereabouts. Telling him what I knew about the book. He and Esme were inspecting it closely. They couldn't get it open either. I was mid-sentence. Right when I spoke that creature's name. Louis...
The sound of gurgling distracted us all. The horrible memory of watching my mate flip flopping around burst forward. I franticly ran to her side. My emotions sent everyone into hysterics. Bella was sobbing again at the thought of witnessing.. no. I can't lose her. Not yet!
Her phone rang just as I reached her side. She was on all fours trying to wretch. It kept buzzing and buzzing on the counter. It was an unknown number. I ignored it in favor of attending to my love. I lifted her up. She leaned against me for support, Her nails clawed at my arms. She appeared to be choking on something.
I led her to the kitchen sink, she immediately stuck her fingers down her throat. Her stomach was pressed so deeply into the edge of the counter. I'd be concerned about it bruising her ribs. No matter how hard she tried to gag and force her stomach to expel its contents. It wasn't coming up!
I was panting and worryingly trying to help. Carlisle was yelling at me. His words were lost in my ears. Oh! He was yelling out how to do the Heimlich. Still nothing! Emmet barrels over to us, pulled my mate's ponytail, yanking her head back harshly. I immediately went into attack mode. Beating along his back. Trying to pry his hands from her.
Emmet was struggling but shoved me off him. The force sent me into the hard granite countertop on the kitchen island. I tried to scramble for his leg. When I realized he held no ill will towards her I ended my assault.
He grabbed the dish soap. Fate was blue-faced but still holding on. He squirted the substance down her gullet. In a matter of seconds, it all came up. Every bit of rotten half-eaten meat she consumed within the last few hours. Sat in the kitchen sink.
I was still on the floor in horror. My weight as I crashed into the kitchen island having cracked the stone. It crumbled in on itself. The wood splintered and cracked under our combined weight. The phone rang once more, I kicked it away from me. Stood up and grabbed hold of her. Rubbing her back. I was trembling in fear.
"Are you ok?"
Her breathing was ragged and wheezy. Around her mouth scabs were beginning to form where the vomit touched. The ringing stopped. The sound of Edward's voice burst into the air. He anxiously inched closer to us.
"It's for you?"
Edward's eyes trailed across our faces. His emotions were bouncing all over the place. I took it from him and placed it to my ear. Emmet was keeping his distance from me. Now investigating the meat. The remains of some human woman were strewn all over the place.
"Took you long enough."
The usual bounce in the voice on the other line was long gone. It usually sounded chipper and upbeat, now, it was severe and monotonous but something else was there. Something... strange. Like she was speaking to me but not really. It sounded distant as if it was echoing.
"Who is this?"
"You can't tell? Oh... I see you've forgotten me already. Why am I surprised? Has she gotten my present yet?"
A giggle burst through the receiver. I'd know it from anywhere. For decades it brought me the greatest joy. Now? It filled me with the most horrible dread imagined. It was Alice.
"What did you do?!"
"Oh.. don't be mad. I didn't mean to hurt her... or did I? Has she choked yet? Suffocating on her bile?" Alices tone was playful and mocking as she spoke of Fate.
"We saved her in time."
"Pity. You were always such a party pooper."
"Alice, I'm sorry, just come home. We can get you some help. Okay?"
"Do I seem like I need your fucking help!" Her tone rose so loudly I had to pull the phone away from my ear.
"I'm sorry! I never meant to hurt you."
The phone was ripped from my grasp. I turned to see who it was. The scarlet red-painted xl square claws attached to the hand of my mate. I jumped at each tap her pointer finger made on the back of the iPhone. Her head rolled as she attempted to calm herself before placing it near her mouth.
"Mary?"
The phone was on speaker mode. A malicious giggle burst out. Filling the empty space. I looked to every member of my family. Rosalie was storming off outside. Esme chasing after her. Carlisle listened intently to the conversation and Edward was soothing Bella.
"Destina."
"What are you doing?"
"You were right. I hated you for it. I did see him. I knew he was coming here. You should have seen his face.
He recognized me but didn't say anything. It was the other that wanted to play with us. Laurent. I think he would have liked you. While James? Wanted to run as far away as possible!
It was Bella. Sweet. Sweet. Isabella. He just couldn't help himself. Needed to taste her. Fill himself with her. Did you know I watched him? I watched every bit of his violent assault on my family. Too weak and afraid to put an end to it. He defiled my mothers' corpse. Putting his... ugh, I can't even say it!
He meant to do the same to Renee. You see. Edward triggered him. It set off his memories of me. Of how I escaped his clutches. I was the only one. The only one that got away! You see, I saw him coming for me, killing my family and getting me sent to the loony bin wasn't enough.
He still needed to have me. I knew the only way to survive. Was to remove myself from the equation.
I had known that one of them. Well, Us, whatever we are. Vampires. Demons. Carlisle isn't really sure... that's beside the point. It would sneak inside the crazy house... it's almost laughable now. I begged it. Begged to be saved. So it bit me. I'm sure you know the rest well.
I planned every step. I saw it all. Him going to Florida. Him ripping into Renee. Licking her juices off the walls. He was an animal! So of course. I put him down. I danced on his ashes with glee and that night? I fucked like a madwoman enjoying every single slam.
A vision today set me off... watching, you and him. I will get you too! For taking him! Jasper was mine! Oh, it will be wonderful!"
She manically laughed. The sound cracked with glee at the thought of hurting Fate.
"Oh, I wish I could have seen your face. Watched it turn blue and pucker like a fish! All bug-eyed!"
"Are you done?"
"Oh. Is someone not happy? I wasn't sure if I should go with arsenic or rat poison... there were a few nastier choices but decided I wasn't ready to kill you yet."
"Hmm. How did you get Peter to it? To deliver it?"
"That was easy. You see. He didn't know. I met some friends of yours... a particularly interesting group. Especially that Damian. He's so friendly. He said hello by the way.
He knew your little bitch would be leaving soon. To bring your things. He hasn't been able to prove his betrayal. So Damian agreed to help me with my plan. We switched out the... meat.
I never liked Peter, I met them a few times, Charlotte is nicer. More forthcoming. She told me a story.
One filled with love and death. You see, I was always told, it was Maria that clawed her way inside Jasper. But no! No. No. No. It was you!"
Fate closed her eyes and held the bridge of her nose. She was losing her patience. I adjusted her emotions to optimal levels. Those beautiful blues were now pasted on me. Taking in every dip and curve of my face. She wasn't angry but empathetic. She ended the call.
It rang almost immediately. Alice wouldn't stop no matter how many times she hit ignore. So I took it and smashed it!
"I'll get you a new one. We get them for free. Carlisle has been a silent partner to apple since its beginning..."
"That's alright. I have a feeling she'll just get ahold of that number too. I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault. Are you ok? Do you need anything?"
"I need to go see Ben...Fuck! Peter! We have to stop him. As soon as he gets back into that territory, they will kill him."
"He's not going back, love..."
"How are you so sure? Huh? This is my fault!"
"Shh. I'll take care of it. Okay. Just go lie down. I'll be back with some food."
I watched my mate slink up the stairs. She looked defeated. She was blaming herself for what was happening. Just as she moved out of sight. The counter fixed itself removing any evidence of its destruction. Carlisle came to my aid. The poisoned meat is now long gone. Emmet went after Esme and Rose.
"Why would she say those things? Was that true?" Bella's voice called out to me.
My eyes leveled to hers. For so long I couldn't stand this girl. Now I felt nothing but guilt. Well, I'd be lying if didn't I state, I've felt that for a while. I never meant to scare her...
"Yes. It's true. Alice knew James from her past... it was Fate that told me. I didn't believe her at first but. I'm sorry, I never meant to hurt anyone, let alone you or her."
"She used me... Alice used me.."
Bella got up storming out of the house. Edward follows after her like a lost puppy. She turned to him. Her anger was evident. It rolled and boiled from every pore on her body. The scent was gag-inducing. Her veins throbbed in her neck as she strained to control her volume.
"Did you know?" She accused Edward.
"No! I swear!"
"How? You hear everyone. All the time! How could you have not known? She's your best friend! Your sister and she... stay away from me. I don't want to see you!"
"Wait one damn minute..."
Bella stormed off. Edward went to grab her hand and she jerked away from him as if she had been burned. He let her storm out of the house. The door slammed behind her. His head jerked towards the steps. Carlisle appeared before him, stopping him from dashing up them and disturbing Fate.
"That girl is under my protection until otherwise stated. Son. It's not her fault! She wasn't even around when it went down. Take a walk! Now."
Edward contempt-fully gazed at me before disappearing. Probably to run after Bella. Her truck was just starting up.
"How are you feeling?"
"Torn. I just got her back. I can't do anything to jeopardize my budding relationship with Fate. But... I feel a desire to find Alice. To save her."
"I'm not sure she's the one that needs saving. As much as I love her. I'm not blind, Alice is, well. Fate might have been more right about her than we knew."
"I'll say. Hell, I didn't even know that about her. The first time hearing about it was that night she showed up. It was confirmed the night before the battle. She and Alice fought up on that mountain."
"I heard. Where did you go that night? I recall you leaving just after Alice calmed down."
I didn't know if I should answer. After that conversation, I needed to be away from them both. Memories of my life with fate were spilling and my guilt for betraying my wife was consuming me. So I left and went for a hunt. I just didn't come back until the sun came up.
"I was avoiding them. I went for a hunt... I killed indiscriminately that night. No humans but still. I ended up in Fates house, well the one she was living in while here."
"Really. Why? If you don't mind me asking."
"Carlisle, I didn't mean to hurt her."
"I'm not blaming you. It's very clear of that. I'm just trying to make sense of how my family got so broken so quickly. Had we always been this weak? I thought our bond as a coven was much stronger than this."
"It was. She was the glue."
"Ah. Yes, Alice was something, a delight. An annoyance at times but mostly a delight."
"I needed to understand her. I was looking for something. I found this..."
I lifted a chain up. It was 24-carat gold and draped right over my heart, on the end of it? My ring. Not the one from my marriage with Alice. But Fate... she kept it all these years. On the inside written in Latin, an inscription was engraved.
'Militat Omnis Amans'. Love is warfare. Fitting for our lives…
"Is that your band or hers?" Carlisle's dark curious tone brought me out of my thoughts.
"Mine. We wore each others. It wasn't practical to wear them on our fingers... the constant fighting, they would have broken. Hers is upstairs locked away. I tried to part with it... I never could.
After I found it? I just sat on the couch looking at it. Holding in my hand. Trying to come up with another reason as to why she had it."
"Why another?"
"I kept mine because deep down I knew. I knew I still loved her. Hell, I think I even knew she was still alive. Something deep in my bones just wouldn't let me go."
"Edward brought up something. That when you saw her, you believed she was a hallucination. That you experienced them before, when you drank human blood, is that true?"
"Well, yes. I have 'seen' her before. It hadn't happened since switching from human to animal blood. What Rosalie was talking about that day, was, um, I raided a blood bank.
We were living in Utah at the time. Just after Alice and I were married. It was after we made the trip to Colorado... on our way back home. I caught a scent. I could have sworn it was Fate... it was all over the blood bank.
I gorged myself on every bag that held it. I was delirious.. but now I think I might have actually seen her there. Alice was so worried that day, she called Rose and they helped me detox. Again."
"Where was I during all this? Why wasn't I called?"
"Alice believed you would kick us out. They starved me for three days. Had me somewhere up in the mountains away from humans. I was later told she called Esme and said our stay in Colorado would be longer than expected. Edward later found out what happened and confided in me about his issues and slip-ups."
Carlisle was processing the information. He was currently keeping his distance. Just leaning up against the wall. The front door was still wide open. I went to go shut it. A heavy rain began to pour, the wind was blowing water into the house. He hugged me.
"I accept her. She's strange. But I see it. I get why you love her so much. She's courageous and loyal to a fault. She's beautiful, and bright, exceptionally so.
All Edward can talk about is how smart and talented she is. I think he's jealous of her? You need to fix this. Fix the damages, okay? I love you and I understand, love is... it has a will of its own."
He left after that. Shutting the door behind him. Leaving me alone with her. I was supposed to be going out and getting her some food but... I just trudged on up behind her.
A deep sadness pooled as I went past Alice's room. It was empty now. The broken pieces of our bed are long gone. Even the pink fur... it must have been Esme that did it. Stripped all evidence of her existence. She's hurt most of all. Having lost yet another child.
I shut the door. As I walked down the long hall and up the steps I tried to clear my mind. Keep myself calm. The door to Carlisle and Esme's room was wide open.
All Fates things were missing still. She has yet to move back in. When I realized she wasn't in there I began to panic. I searched everywhere for her
No! Not again! I refuse to do this with her! Her leaving me when it gets too tough... the rage subsided once I found her curled up on my chaise in my office. A blanket wrapped around her, the little memory box clutched tightly in her hand.
She found it. Her ring. The box wasn't opened. It was locked. The key was long gone... I tossed it.
I felt dizzy so I sat down. Sliding down the wall. Just watching her sleep. She was past out. Her chest slowly rose and fell as a slight snore drifted into the room. She must have taken a shower. Her natural texture showing. Pretty wild ebony ringlets sat around her now flawless doll-like face in a lion's mane.
I used to twirl one around my finger, listening to her breathing as she slept. I crawled to her. Needing to feel her warmth. I sat in front of her now. Slowly raking my fingers through her tresses.
The rain pounded against the windows. It was slightly soothing. It reminded me of our old life. When we lived and slept under the stars of the Lacandon Jungle. I could almost hear the sounds of wild animals rustling about. She always looked so beautiful in the moonlight.
I allowed every memory to wash over me as my eyes never moved from her face. Protecting her. Watching over her as I used to. It's my fault she's in so much danger. I never! Never! Should have left her side. I hope one day she will forgive me for my mistake.
In the back of my mind, I hoped, prayed, she could forgive Alice too. To have mercy. Let her grieve... but I knew. That was too much to ask of her.
Fate has never been one to turn a blind eye to someone fucking her over.
With Alice consorting with her enemies... The way she's behaving, she's looking for blood! This time. I'll have to kill. I'll have to kill to protect her. As I should have then... please. God. Please... I pushed thoughts of Alice out of my mind and laid my head right on Fate's breasts. My eyes drifted closed as my other hand clutched the ring around my neck in hope.