Chapter 4: Shifting Allegiances
Only three days later Peter called me once more.
In a typical Peter greeting he stated, "Charlotte needs a credible job, story, and a way to hide the red."
"Done," I agreed, as all three were easily solvable, and a drop in what I would be willing to do. "Job preferences?"
In the background Charlotte said, "Less people the better."
"I'll work on it. Call you back with options in no more than a week," I told them and then promptly disconnected the call for Peter's sake.
Apart from the technology being new for him, he and I were moving into something new, so wanted to take special care.
Sitting on the ground with a purposeful decision to do so, it took Alice only thirty minutes to show up. She sat in her regular position across from me. Any human job I knew about that could potentially work for Charlotte I made the decision to get her set up, then Alice made noises of agreement or disagreement.
After I had run out of ideas, I questioned her, "Any suggestions?"
She stilled once more and ran through whatever options she considered. "Bail bonds," she decided. "Greatest risks are over use of force, and killing too many that she needs to bring in. Everything else requires too much knowledge of the human world and too much chance of exposure."
"I'll relay the message," I told Alice, glad that some of the crazy shit Emmett and I had tried over the years would be useful. Then after some stillness enquired, "Anything new?"
Her emotions were disappointment, regret, and frustration. Clearly things weren't going the way she had expected them to. It was satisfying to see her in this state, since she was usually the master craftsman at getting her way, and thus a relief to see that she wasn't all powerful. Naturally, I hid my feelings from her completely.
"I'd rather it be me, but at least someone is keeping an eye on Bella," she finally said. There was truth in there, but not even close to transparency.
"Any ideas yet of why she was even on your radar?" I wondered.
"Not yet," she replied indignantly like my question was pointless, "but I'm still hoping to find a way for her to meeting Edward."
That certainly would be a way of ensuring the human became a vampire and stayed firmly in Alice's circle and thus grasp. Edward was attractive enough and skilled enough to woo a female human. Moreover, Alice would certainly be able to convince him that the girl was destined for him. The girl would be duped, mesmerized by Edward's charm, looks, money, and gentlemanly ways. Then, with those feelings being central during her turning, she would wake up completely enamoured and besotten. They might even start with a stronger connection than Emmett and Rosalie. Oh the joys of newborns!
Needing an outlet, I decided to take Alice in our rough playful manner.
"Not the Dior," she exclaimed, running away, taking off her clothes as she went.
It was more fun to pounce on her anyway, so I gave chase, giving myself almost entirely to hunting her.
Once she was in my field of vision, I decided to capture her in such a way that I would enter her midflight and then us land, so she was in the bottom prone position. She didn't move to avoid me, so I took that as her consenting. It was a beautiful manoeuvre. Holding onto her hips, I thrusted with as much force as possible without hurting her. She screamed in ecstasy and her top emotions were satisfaction, happiness, and appreciation. When her emotions shifted into a vision I created physical space between us ending our romp. The chase combined with the constrained violence and orgasm had been helpful in centring me.
As we walked back to the house, collecting her clothes along the way, I noted that even after all these years she still didn't desire me in a carnal manner. Sure, she liked orgasms and would emit desirous feelings generally. However, the other feelings that usually were combined with desire to indicate sexual lust were not directed at me. It was possible that she didn't find me physically attractive. Then again, in our first couple of months with the Cullens I realised that Alice never felt carnal desire towards any one in the house nor towards any visitors, including the Denalis. The recent psychological term for something similar in humans would be asexual. Maybe she was the vampire equivalent. If Carlisle could exist, a vampire who seemed born with slight bloodlust, then a vampire who had little sexual lust wasn't out of the realm of possibility. Not that it mattered to me, as what we had worked for us.
A few miles from the house, Alice reminded me, "Thank them for me."
The fact that she appreciated Peter and Charlotte's efforts, despite her feelings towards how events were unfolding was one of my favourite qualities about Alice. She was sweet and thoughtful and able to see the good in others, even when she didn't get her way.
Once Alice and Edward were off to school, I did my research about bail bonds in Phoenix, and then went to Seattle and got Jenks on the job. All the paperwork, job description, expectations, story background, etcetera along with content lenses and another $100,000 in cash was sent via courier to them three days after Jenks had everything ready.
A month later Peter reported that Charlotte had moved in, but had told Bella she worked often, allowing her to be rarely seen by Bella. Hopefully one day they would tell me the story, so I could learn how Charlotte pretended to meet Bella, and then convince her for them to live together. Charlotte could be charming, for sure, and humans had no defense against our lure, but it was challenging for me to imagine the soldier I had known completing those tasks.
By Christmas, Peter sounded like a proud big brother when he reported that Bella was applying to colleges. It was odd. I would have said that Peter was the one person in this world who could never have surprised me. We knew each other so well, that like Edward and Carlisle we often did not need words to know what the other was thinking. Thus, having Peter act in a manner that was strange for me was very disconcerting. Unsure of how to respond, I said little. Despite the disorientation his tone created in me, I was glad for him. Having Charlotte in his life had altered him in ways that allowed him to enjoy his life more. Hopefully this big brotherly thing he had going on with a human would have similar results. Nevertheless, the fact that these reactions were towards one of the creatures that he fed from bent my brain.
It had taken a few months of travelling with Peter and Charlotte, after they had persuaded me to leave Maria's camp, to have an opportunity to speak to Peter privately.
"Charlotte is scared to leave you alone with me," I commented sending my curiosity.
"She is afraid of you," he answered softly.
"That is clear," I agreed, "but not of which I am speaking."
He sighed, sending me reluctance, but I wasn't letting it go. It was a long silence before he admitted, "The time she walked in on us lingers with her."
Taken aback, as that wasn't the answer I was expecting, I enquired, "How did you convince her to stay quiet about it?"
He hung his head and radiated grief. "I took her to one of the empty corrals and ordered her to strip. She complied immediately standing there one part defiant and one part afraid. I examined her, as you taught me, and sucked the venom out of her bites. Once done, I stood up, looked down at her, and told her that as a punishment for her disregard of the rules, from then on she was not allowed to receive the relief I had given her nor from any other male until she was had proven herself able to follow the rules. After ordering her to get dressed again, I took her to the pit, scolded her for taking liberties, but low enough that no one else could hear my words, told her to undo her shirt and move it so that her right collarbone was visible. When she did so, I bit her deeply right at the top of her tit pumping as much venom as possible into the wound, and then reminded her of her place along with the requirement that she keep her tongue or she would find herself fighting me in the pit."
The complex feelings he had at the time were just as strong. He regretted what he had done, but was resigned to it, as there had been no other choice.
"It worked," I reminded him, sending him assurance and comfort.
"She still doesn't know why I did everything possible to scare her into silence, but she knows that it has to do with you," he explained. "If your camp persona weren't enough, it added to it, so of course she's scared."
"Better than her ash, which you could have done," I reminded him.
"She knows that," he agreed, the feelings still weighing heavily on him.
His answer made sense. However, her feelings when evaluated in light of this information almost fit, but something was missing. Contemplating the options based on what my ability had picked up from her, I created some estimates.
"Does she see me as a potential rival?" I wondered, voicing the one at the top of the list.
He looked me square in the eyes, sending me his feelings about me, told me in full earnestness, "She knew from that day on that if asked to choose between you and her, I would choose you."
Nodding, I said nothing more about it, and we chatted about the boundaries of the territories and how they had changed since he had left.
When Charlotte returned she radiated relief, and as if in a reflex she stood at attention exposing her neck to me.
"At ease," I told her. After she complied I looked at Peter and sent him my concern and curiosity while asking Charlotte, "How much can I trust you?"
"Completely," she answered reflectively while her emotions were apprehensive.
"Would you be willing to die to protect me?" I queried.
This time she paused and thought about it, while the emotions she emitted swirled in a form of reluctance to affirmation. When she answered, "Yes," her emotions were firm and had solidified into an affirmative with a hint of fear.
"Your presence in Peter's life changed him in core fundamental ways," I told her holding her eye contact. "Peter's happiness and state of being matters to me. How you changed him was something I believed to be worth protecting. The first time I noticed the change was after the two of you had become intimate, although he started behaving oddly from the first time he chatted you up. All your year I kept it secret from Maria, and then I didn't have the desire to take what you offered to Peter from him, so let the two of you go, as Maria would have never allowed you to stay."
Through my words she moved from awed to impressed to confused to curious.
Peter sent me appreciation and assurance.
Looking at Peter and sending him a mixture to ask him if he had any reservations in my proceeding, he nodded at me in confirmation and radiated gratefulness and trust.
Then, turning to Charlotte, I asked her, "Do you swear your fidelity to me, above all, even your sire, knowing that if you utter what you will learn about me beyond us three that you are offering your life as forfeit with no ability to seek reprisal or shelter from another irrelevant of the means another might use to loosen your tongue?"
Her emotions turned afraid and she seemed to be searching Peter's face.
He gave nothing away letting her decide on her own.
After a moment and her fear becoming apprehension with a touch of nervousness, she uttered, "I swear."
Watching her carefully and ensuring her emotions matched her words, I focused my ability to move beyond picking up what she sent out and purposefully entering into her emotional sphere.
She froze and uttered softly, "What is that?"
"My extra ability," I answered, eyeing her carefully. Then, after a minute asked, "Do I have your permission to continue?"
She looked at me concerned, "Will it hurt?"
Peter answered, "No, baby, it doesn't hurt."
"Go ahead," she replied, despite her apprehension.
Closing my eyes, I explored her, passing these top feelings. Underneath were fear, acceptance, and devotion. Sitting at that level, I tried to use the opportunity to learn more about my ability to see if I could determine if the emotions were directed at anyone. Her devotion seemed to be regarding Peter, as it contained aspects of the cocktail she usually felt when in Peter's arms. Her fear seemed interwoven with her general feelings about me. And then there were some feelings that stood on their own and didn't seem connected to anything I could discern, including acceptance in a general sense.
Deeper still was contentment, satisfaction, gratefulness, care, tenderness, and joy. Below that was a mixture of feelings that were tightly bound together, containing the devotion I had previously sensed, and seemed to be interwoven with her feelings for Peter. When I focused on these feelings, it was almost as if they exited her and were directed towards Peter. The possibility that my ability was increasing in capacity or that life was finally calm enough for me to pick up something so nuanced was high. It also made sense that through the ability to read emotions, I would be able to determine how someone felt about another person. With focused determination I attempted to send this emotional cord my care and tenderness. Then, I withdrew from her and opened my eyes.
"Wooh," she muttered.
"What you experienced is why I know Peter so intimately. Also, I am his maker as well as his Master and for years his commanding officer. I am not your rival," I told her softly, making sure my tone was gentle.
She looked at Peter and then me briefly, her eyes resting on the floor. Her embarrassment and shame were apparent.
"He has helped me in ways that cannot be named or measured. He has suffered greatly to aid me. If he would call on me, I would be by his side in an instant. He matters to me Charlotte, and since he cares about you, I do as well." Then, I sent her a cocktail of emotions intended to convey my wishing for her to be happy.
She nodded, and after a moment promised, "I'll do better to remember that. I am afraid that one day you will ask him to fight in a battle where he would not return."
"Look at me," I solicited. Once her eyes met mine, I told her, "There might be a day when I would ask him to fight by my side once more. I cannot promise his return, as it is not in my power. I can promise that I would fight every living creature that was a threat to him, as my world would be a far darker place without him in it. And I can tell you with true earnestness that I have had more than my belly full of war. I wish to retire forever more, and slide into obscurity having people believe that The Major died an honourable death."
She smiled unsure, but her feelings were relieved and glad.
Turning to Peter, I asked him, "Did I disrupt anything between you two?"
"Nah, better than good," he replied smiling.
"What the two of you have is worth preserving," I told them both. "It was then and still is."
Once I had come to believe the Cullens and their odd ways were also something worth preserving, my brain had began creating possible attacks and defenses. Shortly after we parted ways with James' coven, these mental battle strategies focused on the particular ways they could become a risk to us. These increased in frequency and type, as a human hiker or two had been found every few weeks drained and discarded. What was most disconcerting was that each husk was found closer to the Quileute's land as well the land borders we had declared as our territory to James' coven. Despite the increasing nearness, since all of the bodies were left out of the area we claimed, Carlisle did nothing, and like a good soldier I stayed in line. Carlisle seemed emotionally conflicted, but Alice stated no alterations in his decision.
I suspected that James' coven was testing us, but kept my opinions to myself, especially when Edward's ability picked up my contemplations once and commented quietly just between us, "You're seeing enemies where there are none."
Rather be wrong than unprepared, I answered, believing him absolutely incorrect, but let it go.
After the human's decision to stay in Phoenix, Alice had been in a flurry of activity telling me nothing about it. As her senior year progressed she did inform me that we were going to attend the University of Washington in the fall. Alice's focus moving away from me felt liberating, even if there were also drops of envy. These minuscule feelings were dissipated by the sense that my clipped feathers were growing in. Thus, unlike in times previous, I did not push Alice for answers and to be included in the snippets she was seeing.
Because Alice lived in the future, she wasn't one to recognise the change in my patterns. It tore at me some, but the rewards were worth keeping my mouth shut, while keeping to my wait and see strategy. She might not have noticed alterations in the present, but my ability made it apparent to me that her actions were causing the tides that ran between her and I to diminish in strength. No one else in the family indicated that they noticed a change in us, and our sex life was just the same as ever. It secretly pleased me that my ability gave me more of an insight to the changes she had predicted than her's.
A few times I watched Alice and Edward have their silent conversations. At the end of one, I asked him, She trying to rope you into going to the University of Washington also?
He looked me dead in the eye and nodded.
At least you can say no, where she has already applied for me, I reminded him while mentally chuckling.
Alice was, once more, trying to construct the future she wanted, and I was glad to have it confirmed by him. She was truly meddling and each time I watched her do so, my feelings of distrust and resentment grew fraying our connection, but as she never noticed, I decided to let it fray. On top of that, whatever she had seen from her visions and her interpretation of what that meant and how she was acting caused her connection towards Edward to strengthen. Maybe the girl was nothing more than a catalyst of the ending of what Alice and I had shared. It would be an ironic twist if that possibility showed itself to be true.
February Alice informed me that Bella got into the University of Washington, not that I was surprised, as it was my assumption that was why she had enrolled us there.
Added to her announcement was a soft, "We're almost there," whatever that meant.
I didn't ask, continuing with my strategy of waiting, watching, collecting intelligence, and letting the emotions change, not to mention that I liked the changes within me in not being the gleam of Alice's eye.
In March's update Peter informed me, "Charlotte enrolled also. They're going to get an apartment together near campus."
This surprised me immensely. Charlotte, to the best of my knowledge, never expressed a desire to live in the human world, learn from them, or interact with them, except as a meal. Her moving in with Bella had, in my mind, only been a smart move to make the job they had taken on easier. And watching humans myself, there were occasionally those that caught my interest, like the Chief. But it was like watching a tree. I might admire its life and even enjoy its company for a time being, but that didn't mean I formed a connection with it. My only guess was that observing Bella had been such a novelty that Charlotte didn't want to have it end.
How my battle-hardened soldier had become fascinated enough with a dull food source to go to college rocked me. Alice's warning that change was coming came to mind. Hopefully these changes in Charlotte and by extension Peter would bring good things, because as it looked, I wasn't so sure.
Despite my internal reaction, I ensured that my tone sounded even, like this was a predictable choice for Charlotte to make, "Send me the back story with details she wants."
"Done," he agreed before hanging up.
Rosalie, Emmett, and Edward were going to attend Whitworth University.
At hearing our plans Rosalie and Edward were particularly disgusted.
"I told Alice to enrol you both to go to Whitworth with us," Edward stated disdainfully.
"We've gone to the posh schools, my dear brother. This time we're going to try slumming it," was Alice's retort, clearly referring to some aspect of their previous arguments.
"They're cutting edge in gaming and technology," I answered with a side look to Alice wondering why she was showing so much of her cards. "I need to keep my skills fresh."
No one argued with my logic, and selfishly I was grateful that Alice and I would be separated from the rest without a fuss. Alice might imagine a way that Bella could live with Charlotte and date Edward, but I couldn't, and I'd take Charlotte over Edward hands down.
Charlotte found out Bella's freshman schedule and signed up for as many common classes as she believed she could without Bella becoming suspicious, while Alice placed herself in Bella's other classes, with the three of them having one in common. I hacked the scheduling system and made sure they were all in the lab together.
September Bella turned nineteen and the four of us started college together while Peter hung out on the campus.
I was still digging at uncovering whatever angle Alice was aiming for, except drawing the girl into her circle.
Then there was Charlotte.
Clearly, the girl must be something other than a blood bag.
The first time Charlotte, Peter, Alice, and I got together Alice told them a blow by blow of our encounter with James, the growth of the Quileute pack since then, the dead in the peninsula, and the stance of the family.
The whole time Peter, who stood beside me, would touch me briefly sending me incredulousness. I returned it with a "yeah, I agree" vibe.
Charlotte was the most changed out of the two of them. It was subtle, but in the deeper emotional layers she had greater contentment. It was less in Peter, but it was there. It was like this food bank had healed them in some immeasurable way.
I was confounded.
Peter and I told the girls that we were going to go do "man stuff", which Alice was disgruntled about, but that was her problem.
After some running, I took him to a watering hole where humans could not come.
After a swim, we sat on rocks both watching the sky sans clothes. After some time passed I asked Peter about Charlotte wanting to go to college he shrugged his shoulders and muttered, "Women."
But it was more than that.
"You've connected with Bella," I accused him.
He turned his head to the side to look at me and wearily confessed, "She reminds me of my little sister. The one that died before you found me."
Saying nothing, I sent him my sympathy.
"Well, she's been dead a long time ago now," Peter grumbled, turning his head back to the sky. Then, after some silence he added, "This girl has the same fire. She falls, literally, and gets back up. She stands up to her mother and step-dad, demands her own choices, gets them, and then lives alone strongly. She's small and looks like she needs rescuing, but underneath that is a fierce warrior who doesn't know how to stay down. She would have made a fantastic officer, and maybe even given Maria a run for her money."
"Which meant she would have never been allowed to live," I pointed out.
"Agreed," he concurred, "doesn't change the point." He paused, and then after a minute continued. "Outside she doesn't seem like much, but she's made of steel, and any woman made of that kind of stuff reminds me of my sister."
"She was a good woman who did you proud," I reminded him.
"Even got two offspring squirreled away from the bastard that was my father, so she lives on," he mused.
"You keep tabs on them?" I wondered.
"Here and there," he admitted. "Charlotte's too."
Whether he meant it as a subtle reminder of Charlotte's vow to me or not was impossible to tell, as he could have simply been making sure I never picked up even a drop of deceitfulness from him towards me. Or, knowing Peter, he could have been testing the waters.
Indirectly conveying my trust that Charlotte had kept her vow, I didn't react in the least, and instead enquired curious, "And mine?"
"We tried," he confessed, "but the records were worse then, the war, and sickness. There's a few Whitlocks about Texas or about them parts, but they don't seem to be under your father's line."
"I'm glad your sister lives on," I told him.
"Out of her two, only one had kids. That kid only had two, those two only have five between them, and those five only have three thus far. It's a small bunch, but they did her proud."
"Bella?" I questioned.
"Didn't get far, except that the family is small, even more than mine. She has the Chief, Renee, and Phil, but that's it. No aunts, uncles, grandparents, no siblings, no first cousins that I could find, three second cousins that she might not even know about. Chief's family settled in Forks when they came to America, but I can't say from where. One of Chief's female ancestors is probably Native, but can't find out which tribe. Renee's tree is a mutt, but nothing that tells me much."
"Thanks for looking," I told him. We stayed in a comfortable silence for a while before I spoke, "Alice can't or won't tell me what's so special about Bella, but she's attached herself to the girl, claims that she loves her, even though they only met once for less than an hour."
Peter shook his head. "You ready to let go of the puppet master?" he teased.
"I'm enjoying myself. It's fun keeping up with her and trying to get ahead of her. I've learned a lot, made a lot of money, enjoyed the rhythm of life, and the emotional atmosphere. It's a good life, and they're good people. Without doubt they have strange ideas and are living some sort of half-vampire, half-human life, but we need all kinds to make the world go round, Peter."
"Yeah, yeah," he joshed. "I've heard it all before." Then, he lightly punched my shoulder. "Just don't let the fun and games mould you too much."
"Heard loud and clear," I declared, sending him my mixture of how much he meant to me.
"You're getting soft in your old age," he teased uncomfortably.
My tone serious, I reminded him, "I would have been lost without you." Then pausing briefly, I went on, "I want us to move beyond those years. We are brothers bonded through true fire." Then turning my face towards him, I vowed, "You have nothing to fear from me. Nothing. And even if you faced the wrath of the Volturi I would stand by your side." Sending him the complex emotions that made up how much I missed him and yearned for our dynamic to change, I moved my face back towards the sky and continued in earnest, "I faced Maria's wrath rather than tamper with what you and Charlotte have. You have nothing to fear from me, brother, truly. You know me better than any creature that walks this earth, so the fear you hold is well founded. I cannot and do not hold it against you. But please know that you have always been the exception, Peter. Always."
His top emotions were in turmoil.
"May I?" I asked at a whisper.
He sent me acceptance.
Searching below his top emotions, I kept going deeper in the way I would before the Cullens, as that was what he was familiar with until finding the deepest level where our connection dwelt. Fortunately, when I compared it to the last time when we were together, it was no different. It pleased me that our time apart hadn't frayed it in anyway.
He said nothing appearing content at my intrusion.
We stayed like that till the sun rose, at which point I removed my ability from him sending him appreciation and affection when leaving.
In a quiet, yet solemn voice he told me, "I'll work on it."
Saying nothing more, I sent my acceptance and gratitude.
In return he sent me his feelings for me, which even though included fear, also included longing.
"I know, brother, I know," I assured him. "Who knows what the future holds?" I offered.
"Not with Alice," he pointed out.
"I know that too," I conceded and stood up regretful that our time together was ending, but pleased at how he had responded, and sent it all to him hopeful he would understand my meaning.
Charlotte might enjoy Alice's company, but Peter didn't. He tolerated her and was respectful and kind to her, but there was no connection. Peter wouldn't trust her and they were simply too different. Maybe that's what Bella was about, but it seemed unlikely that Alice would have a vision of Bella joining the Cullen snapshot if she was meant to mean something to Peter, Charlotte, and myself.
Like usual in my life with Alice, I would wait and see.
The rest of our time together was light-hearted and fun.
In July two Quileute high school girls' husks were found right at their southern border, nearly the furthest distance from our shared border. So, it was to Alice's, and thus our, great surprise when Sam asked for a meeting. Worse still Alice could see nothing about it, as if we all disappeared off the planet just like the last time we met up with Sam. It officially went from a strange occurrence to a pattern.
This time there were three wolves with Sam still claiming the Alpha position, as he was the only one of them in human form. Immediately upon our arrival it was clear that he assumed these Quileute girl deaths were due to one of us, but when our eyes showed him wrong, he became even more flustered. And Alice did nothing but radiate discomfort and fear, which between the two set me on edge.
"We want to modify the treaty in order to go beyond our own borders," Sam declared.
Sending Carlisle my acceptance, Edward must have agreed also, as Carlisle conceded that they could come into the areas the treaty declared as neutral territory if they were tracking a non-Cullen vampire.
They reluctantly agreed, clearly not trusting us to kill our own kind if they ventured into our land.
"Did you find a scent on the girls?" Carlisle asked clearly saddened by the deaths.
The two wolves in attendance growled and Sam collected a sealed bag. He threw it over the line towards us. Carlisle picked it up and sniffed at it, then handed it to Edward, who gave it to me. I gave it to Emmett, who handed it to Rosalie, and then she to Alice who lastly shared it with Esme.
The shapeshifters scent overpowered almost everything, but there was a hint of Alice and Esme in the bag. No wonder they thought we had harmed the girls. When Esme held the bag she examined it longer than anyone else. Then, she stilled her emotions screaming suspicion and fear, but she said nothing. Seconds later Edward stilled and became angry and concerned, but as with most things with Edward they were dulled by his melancholy.
"We donate clothes to shelters in Port Angeles in order to give back to the community. It seems that somehow the girls were wearing some of these items," Carlisle offered as an explanation.
"These were not described by their mothers or siblings as any clothing that they owned," Sam argued. "Any other excuses you have?"
"I cannot explain how these girls have our scents on them, but as you can see with your own eyes, our family did not kill those girls," Carlisle replied.
The two wolves growled again.
"No more donations," Sam demanded.
"How about Seattle?" Carlisle offered.
Carlisle was well aware of the volume of clothes we donated, as wearing the same outfit messed with the precision of Alice's visions, according to her, anyway.
Sam considered this and replied, "Vancouver, British Columbia, as our tribal members sometimes shop in Seattle."
"In the interest of ensuring our continued cooperation and good will we agree," Carlisle stated, ever the diplomat.
Sam grunted, but turned to leave.
As we ran back to the house together, I told Carlisle lowly to not be overheard by the others, "It is tantamount to a declaration of war."
"War?" Carlisle repeated his voice terse and his emotions in disbelief.
When we got back to the house we sat at the dining room table for a family meeting.
"Esme," Edward encouraged her.
"Under the wolves scent and ours was a hint of Victoria and James," Esme said softly, as if hesitant.
She had the best sense of smell in the family. I believed it was one of the reasons she was able to cook human food. Where I only smelled something unappetising, she was able to distinguish it in ways that allowed her to safely make food for the humans.
"James is playing a game," I declared.
They looked at Alice, but she shook her head no, clearly upset.
"We shall need to be careful," Carlisle decided after a minute, "especially being in Seattle for college. We do not want to imply that we protect Seattle. As much as it might grieve me, we will do nothing unless they encroach into the area that we detailed to them."
This speech differed little in what he had said before. Alice's assurances that he wasn't altering his mind, despite the taunts, showed true. On one hand I agreed with only defending a set boundary. On the other hand it surprised me some how steady on his course he was being.
Emmett primarily seemed excited at the prospect of a fight. Rosalie's emotions were mostly scared, but otherwise indifferent. Esme and Carlisle were firstly worried, Edward melancholy, and Alice frustrated.
"If they play games for fun and have done for a while," I hypothesised, "then there might not be decisions, leaving Alice blind."
"What about Laurent?" Emmett asked.
"The wolves have caught glimpses of James and Victoria," Edward stated, "but there was nothing of Laurent in their memories."
"If we move, will the humans be safer?" Esme wondered.
Rosalie glared at her for suggesting such a thing.
"Probably worse off," I voiced. "We and the wolves are the only thing holding them at bay."
"But if we weren't here, then there would be no game, and they would leave," Esme countered.
Unwilling to disagree with her when I really couldn't say one way or another, I shrugged.
"Voting for moving?" Carlisle offered.
No one voted in the affirmative.
"Seems that for the time being we would all prefer to stay," Carlisle concluded. "Please travel to cities in a manner that doesn't leave a scent trail and stay on the campus. We shall all take these reasonable precautions."
Later that night I hunted, attempting to rid myself of all the emotional residue from the meetings. It helped, but too much lingered. It caused me to miss the intimate ways Peter knew me that Alice didn't. Peter had this way about him that allowed him to be aware of what was needed without words, and even in fifty years I hadn't found the way to explain this part of myself to Alice. Usually deciding what I needed was enough for her to offer. And it wasn't like things were problematic with Alice. Nevertheless with him back in my life reporting to me like the old days, my mind kept comparing my life as Maria's Major before Charlotte and my life with Alice and the Cullens. In each life there were parts of what I needed that were left unfulfilled, and expecting anything else was folly. Yet, the comparisons kept a comin'.
Knowing Peter would appreciate being kept in the loop, I texted him the situation, key information, as we knew it, included the base scents of the three along with descriptions. Without doubt he would debrief Charlotte.
Making a decision to find Alice in order to have sex, I waited. It was more than four hours later, which had increased my struggles some, but after using her ability once more to let her know what I wanted, and releasing, my inner world calmed. Her sounds as well as her emotions indicated that she also enjoyed our time.
"What took so long?" I wondered as we redressed.
"Edward," she answered with a sigh, her top emotions being frustration, compassion, and hope.
"Thank you for coming before sun up," I commented while exploring her more as we returned to the house.
Her feelings towards Edward were shifting some and her wishing and hoping directed at him were increasing. Tucking that away for later, I continued my analysis of her until we were in Edward's range.
Even after my 'chat' with Charlotte, she struggled to adjust to me travelling with them. As she had promised, she worked at not seeing me as a rival, and most of the time her jealousy interwoven with fear was not present. On my end, I worked at getting to know her as a person in her own right, rather than her being Peter's blond. As I had expected, she had come from a poor family who had lean times, and as a result she had left them, venturing out on her own, and taken to stealing or prostituting for her food and shelter.
When I asked her how come she thought she had taken to this life well, she answered, "The burn sucks, but it's no more intolerable than the stomach pains from not having eaten for weeks on end. I've always been strong-willed, in that I've refused to allow events to get me down. I didn't wish for death, but I wasn't afraid of it, and while I burned, in the moments when thoughts were possible, I decided if given another chance, what I would have liked to do differently."
Smiling at her answer, it was clear in it how compatible she was for Peter. His answer when I had asked him had most of the same elements.
"What about you?" Charlotte asked me.
Grinning maliciously I answered, "I hate being out of control of myself combined with Maria being a demanding taskmaster."
"What Jasper means is that Maria is a vindictive bitch who gets off on others' pain, and none more than his," Peter spat out.
Charlotte looked at Peter shocked and disturbed.
Sending him my cocktail of chastisement, but to a gentle degree, I amended with a naughty smile, "And I'm a thick headed bastard who even a hundred years later still argued with her over camp rules."
Peter shook his head in disagreement, "That's because she was wrong, and you were fair. Maria has a thirst for power that will never be quenched and a ruthlessness combined with a cunningness that makes her extremely dangerous."
"The rumours say that the Volturi three are worse," I reminded him.
"Maybe," Peter allowed, "but they're in Italy and don't care about little ol' me as long as I keep the secret. Maria, on the other hand, I had to share a camp with. Forgive me for loathing the devil I lived with over some ghost stories."
Allowing his perspective, I, nevertheless, sent to them both a tone of menacing and terror and told them, "This is what Maria felt when she told me of the one time she saw the Volturi guard from a hill top." Withdrawing the feeling back into myself, I continued, "It was before your time, but a part of why we were able to hold the land we did was that two other warlords Francisco and Jorge and their armies had disappeared from the face of the earth. According to Maria, she had been scouting and was attracted to the area due the sounds of war. They were fighting each other when these black cloaked wraiths flew across the space. They stopped near the battle, and immediately Francisco and Jorge took turns writhing on the ground, as if they were being turned again, and then a fog emerged from the Volturi four. She claimed that within seven minutes both armies, with a combined force of almost one-hundred, were burnt and Francisco and Jorge captured and hauled off."
"So, not imaginary creatures meant to scare us straight?" Peter joked.
"Maria's not afraid as a rule. She revelled in battle. Even when she's lost limbs and seems like she's going to be beaten she's not afraid, worried maybe, but not afraid. She wasn't afraid of Lucy and Nettie. Even when she's met other warlords twice her size on the battlefield she hadn't been afraid. Maria is many things, but fear is not in her make up. No, if Maria was afraid due to what she observed, then they are some scary ass mother-fuckers," I declared.
Peter got more serious, "Did she ever say why they showed up?"
"She wasn't close enough to hear the charges, or she just wouldn't ever say. However, according to her the south wasn't always a warzone. In fact, she said that her sire had claimed his area and lived in relative peace for a couple of hundred years, and she was turned before the wars began. Then, in the 1820s a guy named Benito created the first newborn army, but he didn't have control over his troops and the humans started finding out about us and living to tell the tale, so the Volturi came in and wiped Benito out along with every creature he had turned and his coven.
"Maria's sire and his wife turned others as a form of protection, but they were also considered members of the coven. Then, Jorge came for the land her coven claimed and killed them all, other than Maria. He had done the same to Lucy and Nettie's covens, and so the three of them joined together to take their covens' lands back from Jorge, which is about the time they came across me. Her sire had told her that the Volturi had ruled our kind from the start of our existence and for our protection had created the laws. The most critical of them is to keep our existence a secret from humans, which includes that newborns are the sire's responsibility until the initial strength has waned. The others have to do with coven expansion, etc, but those ones don't apply to newborns."
Charlotte looked at Peter and then me her curiosity increasing, "Are we a coven?"
"We would declare ourselves as such, if we encountered others, even though technically no," I told her. "If you were to travel alone that wouldn't count, because the classification is for any more than a singular vampire."
"What are the rules governing coven, then?" she asked.
"Do you have any desire to increase your coven size?" I wondered.
"No," she answered emphatically.
"Then it doesn't apply," I answered dismissively.
She looked at me questioning and her emotions were mostly confusion.
Frowning, I explained, "I don't agree with them, and so disregard them generally."
"What he means to say is that he thinks the coven rules were made to ensure the strength of the Volturi, are archaic, and go against his beliefs," Peter added with a cheeky smile.
"You don't have to," Charlotte told me, even though her curiosity had increased.
Wanting to continue gaining her trust, I relented and told her, "One is that agreements between covens can only be made between coven Masters. In the rare chance that a coven is made of more than one male who have agreed to share leadership, then a consensus between them must be made, and thus it is the opposing coven Master's responsibility to ensure that the agreement reached has that consensus." She said nothing and seemed to be waiting, so I continued. "Later disagreement regarding these accords between covens can be brought to the Volturi for evaluation and judgement."
It took Charlotte a few minutes to ask her next question, "So if that were needed, then who would be considered the coven Master?"
"In our case without me here, Peter would tell others that he is. Presently I would, because I sired Peter and he is claiming you," I told her my unease with the answer clear in my tone. "But in the most technical sense we can't be a coven, as we are still members of Maria's."
The smallest sliver of fear came from her, which was an improvement; nevertheless, she didn't press it.
"Coven Masters have complete authority to dole out whatever punishments within their covens as they see fit, including death, and themselves are only punished for any coven member breaking the rule about exposure," I told her, even though that should have been clear from her time with Maria. "A coven member who is not a newborn can choose to leave a coven without appraisal, but must verbally state the intention to do so, and the coven Master must verbally acknowledge the request. This severs all legal bindings. Afterwards, any consequences of the former coven member are not the responsibility of the Coven Master."
"You permitted us to leave," Charlotte stated as if building an argument.
"But, technically, I am not your Coven Master; Maria is, and you did not request to leave, so would still fall under her purview, if Peter stopped claiming you," I pointed out. "If Maria were to die, then I would be a Coven Master by default, since I sired Peter, and he is in my coven until such time as he requests to leave me, and he claims you as his companion. Otherwise, if your Coven Master dies, then you are considered a nomad until such time that you request to become a member of another coven or you sire your fledglings."
Charlotte frowned.
"Also, those covens who have permanent locations have the freedom to make whatever rules they see fit for the area they manage, including allowing other covens to hunt in their area, stay with them, etc," I stated with a tone indicating my desire to say no more on the topic. Ready for a change of conversation, I asked her, "Can you satiate my curiosity and tell me how you convinced Peter to become a one girl show?"
She smiled widely exuding pride in herself and Peter groaned, but was content.
"So the first day he chatted with me," Charlotte started her tone happy, "it was clear to me that he was a smooth talker. I was definitely interested, but didn't want to ruin my chances at this new life, so was being cautious. I asked some of the other girls, particularly those who seemed to have been around longer. No one said anything distasteful about him, but there were jokes about him being the camp bicycle. I didn't want that and told him so. He swore that wasn't the case, but was transparent about usually having one girl from each group that he enjoyed. I told him that I didn't want trouble, and girl envy and jealousy were not worth a joy ride, irrelevant of how good his might be. After that he left me alone until after some of the older ones were killed in a patrol. That was when he told me all his previous flings had been killed and he vowed to take no others until my year was up."
"Good for you," I commended her.
"Thanks," she answered, glowing under my praise, while Peter lightly hit my arm.
For the first time since they had come back for me, she sent out genuine affection and appreciation towards me.
Later I would take the time to ponder what these changes within Alice and her connections meant, especially for my coven, because even if Peter, Charlotte, and I hadn't been a coven when the memory had occurred, we had become one, even according to Volturi laws.