WARNING: In the second flashback there is an explicit scene in regards to the tactic Peter did to Victoria. As such, it is a seduced and thus coerced sexual act.
Chapter 7: Arranging the Chess Pieces
Given Peter's desire to wash vampire ash off him and Charlotte joining him in the apartment she shared with Bella, I decided to deter Bella.
Good plan. I'll join. Meet you at the library came in from Alice.
Slightly annoyed at Alice for how she dictated things to me, as if she were my general, I nevertheless went along with her idea. As irritating as she could be, Alice and I were a good team between my strategising and her ability. The library really was the best way to keep Bella away, at least until she got hungry, as it didn't require any falseness on my end.
Adding to my fun, I walked past her a few times to see how much she was paying attention to her environment. It was the fifth pass when she spoke up, "Jasper."
Looking over to her making sure my features showed surprise I replied, "Bella."
She moved towards me and I reeled her in. "I need to go to the library and study, and was hoping for a buddy. Then, here you magically appear. Would you mind joining me?"
She raised her eyebrow like she couldn't believe what a stupid idiot I was making of myself while her emotions were dubious, intimidated, and relieved.
Eventually the relief won and she answered, "Sure, sure."
"Thanks," I told her, making my appreciation clear in my tone and wavering it a bit to indicate that I was nervous.
Immediately she had a sense of needing to assure me and told me, "I was going there anyway."
She was a terrible liar, but since she was only doing it as a reaction to my lies, and saying anything would out me, I didn't call her on it. It pleased me though to know that despite my limited time in her physical presence that I had her pegged.
A small part of me wished that she were more unpredictable. It was definitely one of the things I enjoyed about Alice. That girl always left me on my toes, ever since our first meeting. It was like our games of chase. I never caught her unless she allowed me. There was something within me that revelled in Alice being just the bit out of reach.
Bella, on the other hand, was entirely predictable and thus easily manipulated. She was just too kind hearted, caring, and self-sacrificing to be any kind of challenge. Yet, it was Bella's emotional presence that I craved. There was probably something wrong with me. I just couldn't ever admit it to Peter.
I found a round table that was fairly secluded. As soon as I laid eyes on it, my mind calculated if I could empty her completely before someone would randomly come looking, given the distance and projected trajectory of surrounding humans. Deciding that it would only work if it looked like we were in a lover's embrace, I decided on my approach and sat down smug. It only took Alice twenty-two seconds to round the stacks with a look of panic on her face before it morphed into fury and then disappeared for Bella's sake. She nevertheless sent me her indignation and disappointment to which I responded with repentance and guilt, neither of which I truly felt, but would get Alice to change her feelings faster.
"Alice," Bella exclaimed when Alice sat down with a huff. Then, after a few seconds asked, "What are you doing here?" Her emotions were suspicious.
"I wanted to see if you and Charlotte wanted to go out tonight," Alice lied smoothly sounding genuine.
But unsurprisingly Bella's suspicion increased, even though she didn't call Alice out on it. Instead, she replied softly, "Jasper and I were going to study a bit. How about we get dinner later?"
"Sure," Alice said as if she were agreeable, even though her emotions were frustrated tinged with fear. She probably wanted to stay. Sure enough she then asked, "Mind if I study with you."
Bella turned to me. "It's your study session."
Needing to placate Alice a little, I answered my tone welcoming, "Sure."
Taking out her books, Alice pretended to study, while she looked like she was searching the future. Here and there Bella would look up at Alice. Her worry would increase with each glance, but then she'd feel reluctant and lower her eyes focusing on her own work. Choosing to use the time the way I had told Bella meant that my eyes were on my reading, my notebook, or staring up at the ceiling. At regular intervals I felt Bella's eyes on me her emotions curious and intrigued. After about an hour Bella's eyes settled onto her own work and her emotions evened out into the soothing rhythm that I basked in. Eventually there was nothing more I could do without my laptop, so brought it out and started on an essay. Being with Bella's emotions lulled me into a calm meditative state. I was jarred from it by Bella's searing heat soaking through my jacket. Looking over at her, our eyes locked. Clearly she had been watching me.
She pulled back her hand and her cheeks filled with blood. It was incredibly tantalizing in how it promised the flavour that lurked right below the skin.
"Sorry," she mumbled. "I know you prefer not to be touched. You were in the zone, though, and I didn't know how to get your attention, since whispering your name didn't work."
"It's okay," I told her surprisingly not wanting her to continue to be embarrassed, particularly since she hadn't made skin to skin contact.
Her knowledge about my preference not to be touched was a little puzzling also. Had Charlotte mentioned something? It didn't seem like her. The only other option was that she was unusually observant, which unnerved me. Observant, smart, clever humans had a way of discovering our secret and then needing to be killed.
"Alice and I are going to get something to eat," Bella informed me.
"'K," I answered. "I think I need to walk and see if I can get my head around this essay, so I can finish it."
It was only a partial lie.
"Of course," Bella told me with a shy smile.
Standing up, she walked away and Alice followed behind.
Alice's feelings were sadness, exasperation, and determination.
To me my joke was a good reminder to Alice for her to not act like she dictated my movements. I was not one of her chess pieces. Walking and thinking, it didn't take long for me to realise that the idea of Bella becoming or already being one of Alice's pieces disturbed me. My capacity to manipulate Bella didn't mean that I would do so for my own ends. It was fun, sure, but too easy, and like today the only time I did any such thing was when telling her the truth would have been to her deficit. Had she somehow seduced me into becoming her champion? That was an unsettling thought. Being Alice's was enough for me.
Going to the entrance of Charlotte's and Bella's building, so that my location would be easily traceable, I walked to a nearby park and sprawled myself onto the ground, closing my eyes, and immersing myself into the sounds and feelings around me. It was well after the sun went down when Peter's unique signature came near. He sat down next to me leaning back, his arms and legs crossed.
Despite my expectation of some of the fall out, my underestimation of the ramification of how skin contact during our one sexual exchange had altered Charlotte bothered me. She had counted the cost of knowing me more as best as she could have, but it wasn't close. Peter had seen it all the best, unsurprisingly, given his canny ability.
On my travels after leaving them, I had to wonder if she had any previous experience with the cost of knowledge.
Both in my human military career and in Maria's army the cost of a lack of information or incorrect information was often paid by the troops. Maria might have not given two shits about them, but I had, although with more strain each batch. Each time her information gathering had led to severe losses I saw it as a sign of my failure to prepare them properly.
In comparison, it seemed likely that Charlotte's human experiences were more like Peter's. She understood costs related to survival, but had never paid the penalty of other people's lives hanging in the balance based on the information you held. I had been proud of her decision for me to reveal myself, and even how she had handled what I had thrown at her. And then there had been her offer of sexual exchange.
Peter understood me better than I knew myself at times, so I was not concerned regarding him, but Charlotte was different. My leaving had upset her emotional world. Thus, in my care for Charlotte, how her struggles would impact Peter, and their connection, once Alice had officially become a Cullen, I bid my time, but eventually found a moment alone with Carlisle when no one else was in the house apart from Esme. The others had gone into town to shop, for which I had declined.
"Permission to approach?" I requested at the top of the stairs.
"Granted," Carlisle agreed, his tone even, while his emotions were desire mixed with yearning and disappointment.
My best guess was that he wished for me to be less formal, but until I completely understood the dynamics of his coven I would not alter it.
Standing in front of him, I did so as his equal. "Permission to speak?"
Alice had told them straight away about her ability and her past, but had said nothing about me. I expected that my warning to her of needing to end Edward if he were to discover my past also meant that she kept what she knew about me out of her thoughts. Thus, none of the Cullens knew much about me, which might have added to Carlisle's unease.
"Anytime that I am in our common spaces you have permission to enter and speak without requesting it," he stated in an even kind tone, as if speaking to a delicate woman.
It irked me, but I remained impassive.
"My description when you and Alice first moved in that if I am in my office with the door closed that you would knock and wait until I have verbally given my consent, and that if a bedroom door is closed that you knock only if it is urgent, was so that you were aware of our customs. There is no need to be formal otherwise. We are a family."
Upon Alice's reveal of her ability, Carlisle had also explained the expectations of abilities in the family and how privacy, respect, and consent were valued. Thus, keeping with his expectations, I hadn't searched them out using my ability, only picking up what they discharged into the space, except for that one time with Emmett, and he hadn't seemed to have picked up anything unusual.
A few days after our tussle Emmett had asked about my scars, as I had changed clothes and those on my arms had been a little visible through the fabric. My response had been that I had fought in the southern wars, but had run away.
Even though my words clearly conveyed to Carlisle that my Coven Master was alive and I had not formally declared leaving, he had yet to say anything about it.
Remaining silent, I waited. My stubbornness against Maria was proven. Irrelevant of Carlisle's words, I would follow my formality until he proved that he meant his words. I wasn't willing to risk begin on the wrong side of the law with Aro's friend.
With disappointment mixed with hope he stated, "Permission granted. Please speak your mind."
"I would like permission to have my friends visit. They fought with me in the south and are a couple," I told him.
"You don't need to ask, Jasper," he replied.
"You stated that you requested notice?" I asked curious regarding his answer, as his emotions seemed contradictory to the rules he had stated previously.
He looked at me squarely as if trying to gain a measure of me. His emotions were curious and hesitant.
Maybe he was less than a Volturi adherent than I had initially assumed.
He took his time, as if measuring his words carefully, which told me that he was a man of strategy and that his words, although truthful, would be layered.
"Yes, but you did not give notice, you deferred, and requested. Do they not say that the coven leader has complete jurisdiction over the land he claims?" he asked.
He already knew the answer. Thus, it was a rhetorical question, so I simply waited.
His emotions were nearly at annoyance tinged with disappointment when he spoke once more, "In my family any of its members are free to have connections with others outside of the family. Anyone can invite those they wish into our claimed domain. Of course, it goes without saying that those visitors are expected to adhere to the coven expectations, the most unusual being that the humans within the territory are not prey. And it is only polite to inform the others of the time and date in which they might arrive, as to not create any surprises and thus miscommunication."
In one paragraph he informed me that he presented all appearances of being a good adherent to the Volturi rules, while using them for his own benefit. Which in his case, according to his previous explanations of how the coven worked, was to create a coven of democracy and respect among equals while living as if a family. At the same time, he also made his expectations of such a visit clear. Acknowledging to myself that he was more skilled with words than I, and thus I could learn a lot from him, also meant that there was something for me to gain in being a guest of his coven, at least in the short term. He probably was aware that I was testing to get the measure of him as much as he was I.
"Thank you for that clarification." Then after a brief pause I added, "I set up a system with Peter before we parted ways where I would put in a notice in the major newspapers. Any suggestions of how to most humanly go about that would be appreciated," I told him even though I didn't actually need assistance, per say. I was probing to see if he had a suggestion beyond what Peter and I had assumed would be needed.
He radiated being impressed, which irritated me. Did he think I was some illiterate scum? There were many things I insisted the newborns learn in Maria's camp that she initially had thought was ridiculous, but permitted me, primarily after I told her the strategic advantage. One of those things was reading, writing, and arithmetic. When she went into the towns and cities she brought back newspapers for my purposes, and occasionally when we raided villages beyond the clothes, shoes, and other belongings that we kept, we would find a few Bibles or other reading materials, which were always brought back. When a newborn had shown him or herself capable, they could earn time in the library.
"Next opportunity when Esme or I go into town, we shall acquire all the newspapers. Each of them has different ways of placing an advertisement. The quickest way would be by phone, and you're welcome to use the phone box here in the home," he permitted me.
"That would be much appreciated," I agreed as it saved me interacting with humans, particularly having access to the house box.
However, he had given me no new information, so I bowed a little and left the sitting room, going outside in order to run off my aggravation.
It was late the next morning when Esme knocked on the door to the room that Alice and I had been given.
"Enter," I allowed.
She brought in a pile of newspapers and looked around, and then reluctantly placed them on the bed.
She was cautious of me, but also radiated a kind of mothering care. Gaining courage, she told me, "We'll be moving in a few years. In the next house I would like to create an office for you. Would that be useful to you?"
Demonstrating my gratitude with a smile, I told her purposefully increasing my drawl, "I would be much obliged, ma'am."
Interestingly my answer caused a surge of happiness in her. "It's settled then," she told me, and turned to leave. When she went to close the door, she added, "If you need any further assistance, I would be glad to be of service."
"Thank you," I replied, even though it was highly doubtful.
Going through each paper, I made note of the department it indicated to contact and the number. Then, I went downstairs and one by one called into the operator who connected me. It was almost dusk when the job was complete. Most would have it in the paper in two days time, but two had said four or five days. It was good enough. Afterwards I found Esme and paid her the sum that the advertisements had totalled from the money Alice and I had acquired at the casino before arriving. My original plan had been to mail in the money, but Esme had previously recommended using their family name. Since Carlisle was respected due to being a doctor, the newspapers extended credit, which expedited the process. Somehow Esme would pay them. It was way too complicated, and her assistance with that portion had been appreciated.
Later that evening when the other couples were occupied and Edward had run off somewhere I spoke to Alice too lowly for another to hear. "Please tell me when Peter and Charlotte decide to come visit."
She nodded in agreement.
"And I must meet them before they enter Carlisle's claimed territory alone," I clarified.
She pouted and stilled, her emotions saying that she was looking at possible outcomes.
Disappointed she agreed.
It was seven days later when she informed me of their impending arrival. Even though everyone in the house had heard her announcement and Edward had probably seen the vision, I went to Esme, since Carlisle was at the hospital, "Peter and Charlotte will be arriving soon. I shall circle Carlisle's territory and then wait for them, so that they will seek me out before they enter."
"That sounds fine," Esme told me with a smile her emotions excited and anticipatory with a touch of nervousness.
After circling I found a tree with good shade cover and waited. It was close to thirty-six hours later when their emotional signatures came into my range. Peter radiated excitement and being pleased, while Charlotte emitted repentance and fear.
When they came into view I stood at my full height and at attention. Charlotte's eyes were cast down as they moved towards me. I sent out acceptance and my joy at seeing them. Then, Charlotte threw herself at my feet, her legs tucked under her and her arms spread out in front with her head close enough that she could have kissed my shoes.
She radiated grief and a request for absolution.
My eyes met Peter's and he indicated his submission to whatever I chose. Valuing his trust of me, it deepened how much I had missed him.
Squatting down I touched Charlotte's head, so that her emotions might enter me, and thus allowing me to understand her behaviour more. "Tell me your errors."
"I did not count the cost well enough," she stated speaking into the earth. "In my arrogance I thought that what I offered would help, but I miscounted. I cannot say that I completely understand the years before me, but my assumptions, ignorance, and arrogance led to you leaving. Please forgive me. Peter misses you. I miss you. I wish that I had never offered, so that we would still be together."
I sent her my acceptance, care, trust, and tenderness, which according the Peter was amplified through touch. "Look at me," I instructed.
Her face lifted from the ground.
"You are absolved," I told her. "You did not send me away. I was well aware of how lacking your estimate was and the potential outcomes. Even still Peter estimated the best. Yes, you were wrong in how it impacted each of us, but that doesn't alter that your offer came from your care of Peter and myself. You are a sweet caring person, and what we shared was magnificent. I did not leave because of what happened between us. I left because you were not ready and it was fraying your feelings with Peter. What you and Peter have is worth protecting, even from me. I shoulder some blame for keeping so much about myself from you. Not to mention that my leaving has brought me here. Perhaps we shall come together again. Maybe even one day we will be a place to try such a thing again. Till then, enjoy your time with Peter, strengthen your connection with him, and visit me anytime you wish. These vampires even have a phone box in their home. Now stand and let us greet one another properly."
She was reluctant to stand and at a whisper asked, "Did Peter really service you all those years?"
"Do you doubt him?" I answered with a challenging growl.
"No," she retorted with strength. "I meant something more like did what Peter do truly help you?"
"Yes," I answered softly, "without Peter I would have never learned how to manage myself."
"Why did his service help and what I offer didn't?" she wondered finally getting at her true question.
"Because what Peter did for me in those years was not the joining of two bodies in a mutually beneficial exchange, while that was what you offered me. Your offer was more sublime," I assured her. "I appreciated your offer and it still means the world to me. I am too disappointed it didn't work the way you hoped, but we have centuries ahead of us. Perhaps one day."
With that encouragement she arose and smiled bashfully, "I will hope for that, Major, for Peter's and my sake. We do miss you."
"And I you," I confirmed stepping forward to wrap her in my arms sending her the emotions behind my words.
After embracing Peter also, I warned them of Carlisle's rules, Edward's ability, the technique I employed to hide my memories, how any thought in the moment cannot be hidden from his ability, and then uttered softly, "They are a strange bunch. Remember your training and give nothing away."
"Are they an enemy?" Charlotte asked quietly, her nervous pouring from her.
"Everyone is an enemy unless you know for certain otherwise," I replied.
My words soothed Peter and his emotions settled once more.
Despite Alice meeting Peter and Charlotte, her visions of them never improved greatly, at least how she told it, unless they decided to come visit us. I suspected this was in part because I warned them regarding how her ability worked, but also because they lived by instinct and where the wind took them. Adding Bella to their life had changed that, which meant Alice was more privy to their lives, much to their chagrin.
Like times of old I relaxed completely next to Peter allowing everything that entered me to flow outward, sharing all of me with him. The most attractive part about Peter was how he became a part of the background. He didn't naturally absorb what I sent. He didn't reject it or send it back to me. The emotions that left me touched him and flowed through him. In this way, it seemed as if he were an extension of me, while also grounding me. I also could truly rest, knowing that he could easily defend us both.
Peter insisted that he didn't have a ability and for the first decade I thought he just knew shit, but as time progressed I came to believe that Peter's ability was his capacity to become a chameleon. He intuited what was needed in the moment or for the future and became that. For me he became part of my background. It took me years to figure out that was why I had risked my neck to convince Maria to allow him to live past his year mark. I often wondered what he became for Charlotte and what about her called to him above all the others.
Laying near him, his words about me needing to get my own shit together reverberated within me. Whatever he saw I didn't, and even though it irritated me, any blindness, especially of myself, could become a weakness. Thus, I was unwilling to ignore it, which Peter was plainly aware.
Eventually I asked him, "Tell me what you see Captain."
Reverting to the tone he was used to report, he stated, "You were one of the scariest, rage-filled, demanding motherfuckers of the South. You were a weapon forged by that bitch and all you knew was how to be that weapon. Everything else was irrelevant, which aided your survival and back then that's all that mattered. When you came with us you were like a lost boat on the ocean trying to find north. Sure, Charlotte wasn't ready for the impact your ability had on her, and Charlotte and I were still new, which didn't help. She was ignorant about too much and I was trying to make sense of it all.
"But the biggest problem was you. You didn't know your ass from your elbow. Now you've become a Cullen with their high-falutin language and self-recrimination. You went from one extreme to the other. Charlotte and I can't be there for you the way I want us to until you can be both the Texan Empath and The Major. It's not one or the other. You don't have some split personality or some other bullshit. The Major isn't dead. You don't need to bury him or cage him. Maria fucked with you everyway to sundown. No doubt you needed time to find that Texan Empath and shed her bullshit, but you were the guy who as a human snuck into the Civil War. Fighting had always been a part of you. Carlisle's pacifist propaganda is no better for you than Maria's, sir."
My immediate reaction was to defend Carlisle, but other than a slight rumbling in my chest, I did not respond. Closing my eyes once more, I tried to see myself as Peter did.
"Picture me in the camp," I commanded.
"Yes, sir," he replied a smirk coming through.
His emotions were just as I had categorized them back then.
"And now," I instructed.
That also gave me no new information.
I trusted Peter with my life. So many times in the camp he could have taken his chance and run or tried to topple me, but he didn't. He protected me in so many ways. He wouldn't lead me astray. So, instead I began to analyse how I viewed those years. After a few hours I had to agree that I had begun to see them, and thus myself, through Carlisle's lens. Peter was correct. I didn't fit into Carlisle's worldview, never could, and never would, simply because I agreed with violence. Sure, it might be the last resort, but sometimes there are nasty motherfuckers that need ending and not only was I equipped with the skill set to do it, but I enjoyed knowing that I made the world a little safer as a result. Carlisle would rather be ended than violate his morals. I believed that morals were a construct and guilt only useful as a tool to learn that you had crossed over into something unacceptable. His diplomacy was a useful tool, no doubt, but where his skills ended mine began.
Peter said nothing through all my internal rearranging, but he emitted being pleased and relieved.
The sun was nearing the horizon when Peter spoke once more. "James will come looking."
Sending him my acceptance and gratitude, I waited sensing that he had more to say.
"Depending on how successful you were in altering him, it might take his focus off of his game in Forks, but then it could put Bella in the firing range," he surmised. With a sigh he added, "Charlotte thinks I should stay away from campus and the apartment until he comes looking."
"We know how come he's able to work around Alice's ability. That's something," I reminded him. "Do you want company?"
He took some time before letting me know, "I'd rather you protect the girls. Charlotte can take of herself, Alice is hopeless without her ability, and Bella is a liability. Two civilians would be safer with two warriors in tow."
Through all his words I continued to allow him to receive my appreciation and, as he carried on, pride. He was becoming a fantastic tactician in his own right. Perhaps it was one of the gifts that our time apart had offered him.
The sun was just peeking over the horizon bringing a showy light hidden behind the layers of clouds filling the sky.
Carlisle might have been an aristocrat, but he was a tactician in theory. Even if he had served in the guard and trained with them, like Peter wanted to believe, it wouldn't be the same as the fire Maria had put Peter and I through. The Volturi might win in the politics, but I doubted anyone was as ruthless and cunning in a brawl than Peter and I. And instead of taking a back seat to Peter and Alice, I needed to step up, take all that I had been learning with the Cullens, and put it into action.
Peter was right. I was an empath and a warrior.
"Any additional intelligence after you took her deeper into the trees?" I questioned.
His emotions nearly crowed as they pulled on my ability to enter him, while outwardly he was unchanged.
"Laurent is around gathering information, but unwilling to take much risk," Peter reported. "They let him do some of the less risky stuff and then let him share a little in the reward."
After a long stretch of silence indicating that he had nothing further, I confirmed, "She bit you?"
"She definitely had some kind of sneaky shit going on, and yeah," he replied growling for the first time.
"Charlotte upset?" I checked.
He waved his hand. "Nah," he drawled. "She says it's my sexiest one yet, because it was gotten protecting her friend." By the end he had a little smile at some memory, but the rest of him was tense.
"I would have done the same," I reminded him, transmitting to him my apologies.
"You were always better at the seduction routine," he joshed.
Shrugging, I agreed, my tone mocking, "It's a gift."
Chuckling he argued, "No, it's your gift."
Chuckling with him I couldn't disagree. However, we both knew that the girls in the south were untrustworthy edgy bits and the only reason it worked was my ability. As long as they felt some lust or attraction towards Peter or I, then my ability could be used to get the information out of them. It was far better and usually more effective than pain. Humans and vampires seemed hardwired for pleasure making it an effective tool.
I had often wondered if sex between Alice and I fit in that pattern. Did she use sex to keep me around? The sad thing was that even during sex she struggled to stay in the moment, so what she felt never truly matched events as they were happening. It was extremely rare for her to be congruent, so much so that I could count the times in the last fifty years on one hand.
"It seemed to last longer back in the day," I teased.
He smirked and then reminded me, "That was before Charlotte."
"True words, true words," I agreed, sending him as much appreciation mixed with my 'I'm a dangerous motherfucker' cocktail that I estimated he could withstand, which was almost at my strongest level, the smug bastard.
Peter had been at the camp about two decades when we were running patrol with five newborns. They were getting close to their year mark, so not as strong in a fight, but more controlled, and so more useful for jobs such as this. As usual Peter set the pace and I took the rear. Our standard procedure was to run a circle around our camp about a mile out. After that was complete, we would run Maria's full territory, until we looped back again. Lastly, repeating our circle around the camp. We did it often enough that no enemy could claim to be unaware of what territory was being claimed.
As we were nearing the last part of the loop, something was off. Whistling to Peter 'Wait for the Wagon', he slowed and came back to me, as if this was a natural part of our routine. The eight hundred yards between us closed and I began to examine him as well as the troops. One of the girls looked not quite right, so I brought to mind the image of five we brought out. Like the child's game, four matched exactly and one wasn't the same. Sure, she was small, petite with black hair like the newborn we had left with, but that's where the similarities ended. This one's skin was slightly darker, her features were more Spanish-descendant than Native-descendant, and her eyes were just a touch darker red. It was a decent enough match to fool anyone that wasn't looking closely.
Pointing to the four that matched, "Back to camp. Wait beside the southwest barrack for us to return."
And just like the good soldiers I trained them to be, they did exactly as I had commanded.
"Now, you sweetheart," I told the girl walking closer and sending out lust, "did an excellent job and should be rewarded." Then, turning to Peter, I asked, "What do you think?"
Examining her like she was being auctioned off, he declared, "I like my women a little fairer and with a touch more of the local in them."
"Glad my preferences are towards the older girls," I concurred. Keeping my eyes on her, I lowered my voice an octave, "Good thing you caught my eye, then."
At my words her determination with a touch of fear began to be overwhelmed with lust. Taking her lust into myself, I then sent it back to her. Of course, as Peter had come near to her, standing on her right side, while I was in front slightly to her left, he also received what I was sending out.
He licked his lips and uttered in a low tone, "Perhaps I can be persuaded to change my mind."
Stepping towards her, I ran my hand down her right arm starting at the shoulder until I reached her wrist, using my touch to amplify what she was receiving. Her emotions entered me, and I used the increased information to formulate my approach. Simultaneously, I asked her ensuring my tone was sultry, while adding more lust towards her, "Would you like to be rewarded for your hard work?"
Her body's scent began to alter indicating arousal and she nodded in the affirmative. Her fear was nearly gone. Her determination had morphed, binding itself with the lust. Gleeful anticipation and the mixture for accomplishment had also been added.
Peter stepped behind her, grabbed her hips, and slowly began pressing his johnson into her back. Then, slowly bringing his hand around her torso, fingering and massaging her body seductively, he countered, "I'm not sure if she's earned receiving pleasure from us both."
Examining Peter like he might be on to something, I began sending out trust, acceptance, fidelity, and submissive yearning to please. While leaning towards her right ear, I put my arms around her placing my hands on Peter's back, practically trapping her arms, and pressing my johnson into her stomach ensuring that she felt every twitch. "First, you'll have to tell me where you stashed Peter's favourite."
There was a momentary spike of fear, but I pulled it from her exchanging it for my truth cocktail I had been working on with Peter's help.
In a tone she no doubt thought was seductive, she told me, "Behind the ridge four miles before here."
"Burnt?" I breathed into her ear and then onto her skin
"No," she mouthed while moving her hands and mouth on top of my clothes, as she hadn't reach any skin yet.
Then, despite her limited movement, she managed to tear through my shirt and her skin touched mine. Her internal world began to enter me in a constant manner. Her emotions bombarded me and as the seconds passed there began a cocktail. It was craving mixed with possessiveness and hope. It created a great force within me that pulled on me to submit to her wishes, unsurprisingly, as it was close to the mixture that Maria felt towards me. Its familiarity increased the strength of how my ability internalised her emotions. To stem the tide and to keep my head, I pressed holes through Peter's top in order that his inner world could anchor me, as he almost always was calm and excited interwoven with fidelity.
Peter licked and sucked on the left side of her neck and moved his hands up her sides so that his hands where massaging directly below her breasts.
He asked breathing into her hear, "May I?"
"Please," she replied, opening up her neck more to him and tearing through the front of my shirt with her teeth before licking my chest and nipples.
In response to her action, I dug my hands deeper into Peter, even though my fingertips felt his skin being opened by my nails. I imagined his feelings as a shield protecting me from hers. Too bad he couldn't do the same when Maria called me into her bed.
In a movement that seemed perfectly choreographed, I loosened my grasp, Peter pulled the interloper's shirt up, she lifted her arms willingly, and then as she dropped her arms, we sandwiched her again. He used her hips to lift her so that her centre was over my johnson. As per Maria's rules, everyone wore pants, and as this girl wore our newborns clothes, there was solely this fabric between us. Peter lifted her breasts from the under part so that the nipples were higher, and I bent my head down licking and sucking on each of them, keeping my ability focused on the mirroring and grounded in Peter in order to ensure her inner world was something that lightly crashed into me like small waves, rather than pulling me under.
Increasing the lust along with the truth cocktail, it began being reflected back to me. The fact that Peter had learned how to recognise what I sent and then purposefully mirror it back to me when necessary had become a powerful tool. It allowed anyone between us to be trapped in the emotions I sent.
She began rocking her hips.
"Peter said that he was willing to reward you," I reminded her. "Would you like that?" Pausing for effect, I told her, "He'll take you from behind and me from the front."
There was a small spike of worry and shame, reminiscent of her human morals most likely, but I quickly exchanged them with excitement and anticipation.
We continued rubbing, licking, and sucking on her bare skin until she uttered, "Please," as despite the tactic, neither Peter nor I wanted to do something without at least a persuaded request.
Peter lifted her, I unbuttoned her pants, pulled them down, Peter placed her core on my stomach, undid my pants, and then undid his own.
When he entered her, her back arched and she moaned in pleasure.
"See what rewards you get from us," I uttered dropping my tone even deeper and increasing her desire to please me.
"Yes," she agreed, her head back.
Peter kept up what he was doing with his mouth on her neck, as I entered her. Taking her feelings of euphoric pleasure, I sent them back towards her. Loosening my grasp slightly, he put his hands on her hips and moved her body up and down just enough so that the tips of our johnsons never left her holes.
Her organism impending, I asked my voice the lowest octave it could go, "Who sent you?"
She paused less than a nano-second before telling us, "Lucas."
"She is definitely deserving her reward," I told Peter and then moved my mouth so her and my lips were joined.
He increased the movement of her body. She screamed her orgasm into my mouth, which was a sure way to ensure that no one heard her cries. Then lightning fast Peter bit into her neck and detached her head.
Sending him what she had felt at her climax along with my pride, we quickly spent our loads into her. Grinning at each other, my release had helped some with her emotions within me. I leaned over her oozing neck and lightly touched my lips to Peter's. This action we had learned was the quickest way for me to stay focused on the task on hand, rather than the feelings swirling within me, while also allowing me a form of physical ending to this form of information extraction. I suspected that it had to do with how Maria never kissed me in this way, but there was no way to say for sure. Without doubt this kind of touch meant Peter's emotions entered me, which if nothing else, helped immensely.
Pulling out, we did ourselves up. Peter grabbed her body and I her head along with her clothes. We ran to where she had said that she had left our newborn. Sure enough, there she was. We put our soldier back together, clothing her once more, burnt the interloper, and carried the newborn to the camp.
Entering the barrack where I had sent the other patrol members, I commanded, "Attention", and they all stood in a line. Putting her at the end of the line sitting down, as she was unable to stand yet, I barked, "Explain to me how your fellow troop member was ambushed and torn apart without any of you noticing."
Amplifying their fear, no one spoke.
"Arms and legs Peter," I commanded.
He removed the four appendages from each newborn.
"You will get them back when you have answers for me," I yelled. Looking at Peter, I told him, "Watch them while I report to Maria."
He nodded saying no more.
Eventually they confessed that they had allowed more than the hundred yards between each troop member as required. They spent five days with their limbs attached in the pit without blood. At the end of the five days I yelled one of their numbers and tossed in a human. They already knew that if they took blood not offered to them their punishment would be even more severe. It was a quick cure, as that error never occurred again before Peter left.
Peter looked at me sideways.
"I'm remembering Lucas' spy," I told him with a smirk, sending him the feelings that accompanied that kiss.
He smiled at me in longing. There was a touch of missing in his emotions. Bantering back he reminded me, "That's when we learned that vampire pussy's kept contracting from orgasms even if their heads are removed as long as they stay in a blissful state."
Smirking, I agreed, "That we did."
It was odd after fifty years with the Cullens to be so crass, but at the same time it had a familiar sense. Maybe this is what it meant to be an officer who had come from the underclass and risen in the ranks. Carlisle had taught me to understand the aristocracy, but I would never be one, and for the first time I was glad. The likes of Peter and Emmett, for all their crassness, were far better company, in my estimate, than the likes of Edward. Like Charlotte they were people who spoke their minds and whose words and emotions matched. I'd take that over trying to uncover the complexity and contradiction that was Edward any day.
After a while Peter became serious once more. "Did you ever tell Maria how you had been practicing with your ability?"
Shaking my head and my fear oozing out of me automatically, I answered, "Never."
Nodding as he expected this, he asked, "Alice?"
"Some," I told him with a touch of regret. Then, with a need to explain myself, I stated, "Sometimes I can't help what bleeds from me. You know that. The Cullens prize choice, self-control, and the ability to act without coercion. I send out calm when the occasion needs, but otherwise they experience little of my ability. Carlisle has asked some questions. My answers are as brief and limited as possible. They've learned a little about it over the years, and have volunteered to have me test new theories I have at times, so they've helped me learn new things about it. But the fullness of what I can do, no, they fear me enough."
Letting that information settle a bit, he then declared, "I'm glad."
"They wouldn't understand the need," I tried to defend them.
He put up his hand. "No need. I get it. I do. There are many things I used to do back then that I don't anymore. There's no need, and I don't want there to be. But Carlisle is buddies with Aro. If you could do what you did back then, there's no doubt you can do more now."
"I'm out of practice," I confessed.
He contemplated that. "Maybe we could find some way to practice on the humans in a way where no harm would be done and no one would be the wiser."
"And there's always you," I reminded him.
For one nanosecond there was hope from him and then it was gone. "Sure," he agreed easily like it was no big thing. "I'm a big boy. And if it keeps Charlotte safe, it would be well worth it."
Humbled by his willingness, as our practice sessions during our time at Maria's had been less than enjoyable for him by far.
Having the need to offer him something in exchange, I told him, "Carlisle claims that Marcus of the Volturi can see bonds and that there are rumours of a Volturi member able to undo bonds, create bonds, or alter their strength."
He whistled under his breath. Then, he looked at me, studied me closely, and understood without words what I was saying.
"Redundant doesn't mean they'll pass you by if they were to find out," Peter disagreed.
Shrugging, I told him, "Alice believes that Carlisle's relationship with Aro will keep the Volturi from accusing without reason."
"That just means that they will be searching for a reason," Peter argued.
"And now Alice is all about Bella," I uttered simply for the need to say the words out loud.
"That's a huge risk," Peter huffed out.
"Absolutely," I agreed, "and if there's even a hint, we're changing her."
"Without pause," he concurred not missing a beat. After a second he added, "James and Laurent must go, preferably before discovering Charlotte and Bella."
"Yeah," I agreed. "Alice and I are scheduled to return to Forks tomorrow afternoon. I will begin scouting the area for Laurent, assuming they're keeping him near."
"And if James was bonded to Victoria, he will come hunting for me," Peter stated.
"My alterations might have increased that likelihood," I reminded him.
"Better than stirring the pot," he stated emphatically.
"Nothing fancy," I insisted.
"Grab and burn," he told me with a smile, "Got it Major."
Clasping his shoulder and sending him my gratitude and camaraderie along with excitement, I then stood and walked back to campus to attend my nine in the morning class. As I did so, it came to my attention that my gait had changed. It seemed like I was one step closer to being what Peter suggested: both the Major and the empath.
Once more Peter had pushed me into being more. The reality was that no one was able to get through to me like Peter could. This was only one of the ways in which our connection could never be surpassed. And, it seemed, based on what my ability told me, the same was true on his end. Charlotte was dear to him, certainly, and he wouldn't want to live in a world without her, but nevertheless it held a candle to what Peter and I shared. Over my years I had overheard human soldiers talk about the others in their squadron that had watched their back. There was something about being close to death together and living to tell the tale that made connections like no others. And Peter was more than that to me. He had guided me into finding an anchor in the storm of the camp's emotions when I was certain that living in a hurricane was the most I could ever achieve. In doing so, he had freed me from my belief that the only calmness I would ever attain was in Maria's bed. And I was more than that to Peter, as I was his maker and Coven Master.
Maybe it was the nature of my ability, but I had always been dreadful at knowing my own emotions. There was no way to use my ability on myself, so it made my inner world the most obtuse. Peter's rebukes had allowed me the increased clarity on myself that was needed, even if it was irritating beyond belief. Hopefully I would be able to see myself as well as the situation well enough before James struck, allowing me to be at least one step ahead of him. He needed to die, if nothing else, for his obsession of Alice. The question was if I could convince Alice and then the Cullens to go on the offensive. Regrettably, both were highly doubtful.