Chapter Forty One

Meanwhile back at the ranch…

Carlisle

I had been a little nervous about attending a bachelor party thrown by Peter Whitlock but it seemed that Emmett had been in prior contact with him and things had been arranged between them. He had brought with him his paintball equipment and it soon became clear that we were going to split into two teams.

The object of the game was for the two teams to attempt to capture Jasper in a set time. If he could remain free then he was safe from any tricks. If not, well, that decision would be left to the team that captured him. It didn't sound very fair to me but Jasper seemed happy enough. He was either very confident of his ability to remain free or he had a plan.

"What about Hugo?" It was Emmett.

Peter grinned, "No tracking dogs allowed, Cullen. We can't make it too difficult for the Major. I've locked him in the barn with a bucket of water, a blanket and a couple of huge bones. I woulda got him a girlfriend too but I didn't have the time."

Peter waited but Emmett seemed happy enough with the arrangements outlined so he continued.

"Right, Emmett, you take Edward and Gabriel. Carlisle, you'll team up with me."

I glanced at Peter to see he was grinning mischievously.

"Any particular reason for the groupings?"

"Yeah, Carlisle. The way I see it, if you capture the Major and that's pretty fucking unlikely without help, you'd be too easy on him and I know Emmett and Edward would listen to you. This way if we capture my friend I know we'll make him suffer and if they do, then I'm guessing Edward will come up with some interesting punishment."

He was right of course, I would have suggested something simple while Edward might be tempted to make Jasper pay for the slights he felt his brother had subjected him to over the years. There was also the dark horse, Gabriel. Alice's mate might not object to his wife's ex-husband suffering a little before his wedding day.

Well, there was nothing I could do but to play along, try to enjoy myself and hope that poor Jasper managed to stay out of our clutches for the next twelve hours.

"I woulda made it twenty-four hours but we have the small matter of a wedding to get ready for and my dear wife has left me yet another fucking list at least a foot long so all you strong lads will be working up a sweat while the Major here gets a spa day."

Jasper stared at him apprehensively, "A what?"

"A spa day. It's what all these fucking brides to be seem to get so I figured we should stand up for the neglected men of the world."

He slapped Jasper on the back with an evil grin on his face, "So, my friend, you are going to get a spa day too. The full fucking works, massage, manicure, pedicure, moxibustion…"

"Moxi what?"

Peter shrugged, "Fucked if I know, but it was on the list so I booked it too."

I opened my mouth to explain that it was a Chinese heat therapy but a warning glance from Peter made me shut it again without speaking. I figured a little suspense wasn't going to hurt Jasper too much.

"Good move, Doc."

I nodded, coming from Peter this was a compliment.

While we were giving Jasper his half-hour head start, the only rule was that he had to stay on the ranch property, I asked Peter about this spa day.

"Just where is this spa, Peter?"

"What spa? Oh, you mean the one I booked for the Major. Right here, Doc. On the ranch. Fuck paying their prices for a bit of a sauna and a rub down with a dead mouse."

"A dead mouse?"

"Yeah, well that's what it looked like in the brochure and the staff were either nice-looking boys if you get my drift or girls with chests so big they looked like they'd topple over if they leaned forward."

I wondered just what kind of spa Peter had been looking at but decided to leave that particular subject alone.

"Anyhow. I had a word with a couple of friends and they agreed to set up a spa day here. I remodeled one of the rooms upstairs in the house and they're bringing the rest of the gear with them."

For some strange reason, nothing I had just heard made me feel any better about this plan of Peter's.

"Who are the friends? Anyone Jasper knows?"

"Oh yeah, but no one you know, Doc. they don't move in such rarefied circles as you. Now, come on, times up, let's go hunt us some prey."

Peter sounded much too excited at the thought of hunting his best friend down but I decided if we caught Jasper at least I could attempt to soften Peter's punishment even if I wasn't totally successful.

He headed west as the other party went south.

"Do you have an idea where he might hide out?"

Peter looked at me for a second then shook his head, "Fuck me, Doc. I thought you were intelligent! The Major isn't going to hide out anywhere. If he did I'd be on him in a minute. He'll keep moving, hoping to stay one step ahead of me but if we're lucky the others will push him right into our laps."

"Peter, I'm not sure this is really in the spirit of a bachelor party. Aren't we all supposed to have fun? Including the groom to be?"

Peter stared at me, "Sure, aren't you having fun, Doc? Let your vampire side out to play. It's what we do, hunt our prey. The excitement of the chase is all part of it. I guess hunting down poor defenseless animals just doesn't hold the same thrill."

I decided not to allow Peter to get under my skin. I knew that was what the barb about hunting animals was intended to do. I would be the bigger man.

"I was thinking of Jasper, actually. Where's the fun in running from a group of people eager to torture you?"

"I would think that was obvious. It's more fun to stay out of their clutches than to find yourself stripped naked, smothered in honey, and tied to a tree beside a fucking ants nest."

I shook my head, "Is that what you plan on doing to your friend if we catch him?"

Peter sighed heavily, "Fuck me! This is gonna be a long fucking night. Of course not, what good would that do? Ants couldn't chew through his hide. Sometimes I wonder how you got to be a doctor. You sure as hell don't know much about vampire biology."

I opened my mouth to argue then shut it again as I saw the gleam in his eye. Peter was right, it was going to be a long night with him baiting me at every opportunity. I reminded myself to refuse any further invitations to the Whitlock ranch. That way I might just preserve my sanity.

As the hours wore on I followed Peter, actually finding that I was enjoying myself. The hunt was good, I felt my senses straining to find any sign that we were getting close to our quarry. I knew Jasper was a warrior and would therefore be good at concealing himself and his passage but surely vampire senses should be able to catch a hint of him.

We ran into the others a couple of times and I was relieved to see that they were having no more luck than us. I even began to hope that with Peter's help I might be on the winning team, a thought that pulled me up sharp.

Peter and I split up for a while and I ran into Gabriel whose eyes were shining with excitement.

"I'm glad I came. Alice wasn't sure I would fit in but this is fun."

I had to agree although hunting animals was fine by me.

I also ran into Edward who stood frowning as he glanced around.

"Have you seen anything yet?"

I shook my head, "No, although I'm not sorry. I'm rooting for Jasper."

I noticed the red spot on his arm, "I see you got tagged."

He scowled, "Yeah, I was so busy concentrating on finding Jasper I missed Whitlock creeping up."

As I added a mark of my own he cursed, "Not fair, Carlisle. We're supposed to be chasing Jasper."

"And tagging the opposition. Don't forget that, Edward."

I took off before he could tag me in return feeling inexplicably pleased with myself. This was fun!

When I met back up with Peter he noticed the look of satisfaction on my face and

smiled broadly, "Feeling the thrill yet, Doc? There's nothing quite like it, now is there?"

I had to admit it was certainly exciting as I explained my run-in with Edward.

He nodded his approval, "I knew it was there inside you. Hidden deep beneath that stuffed shirt exterior. Maybe you aren't so bad after all, Doc."

"Thank you, Peter, for that gracious appraisal of my character."

The sarcasm went straight over his head, "No problemo, Doc. Now come on, we don't have much time left if we're gonna catch us a Major."

He seemed to know exactly where he was headed and I suspected that the hours struggling through thickets of bramble and boggy areas had been his idea of a light workout before the main event. If I was right I swore I would find a way to get my own back if it took me decades!

Jasper

Knowing the way my friend's evil mind worked I had decided that there was no way I was going to get caught tonight. I was determined to be there for my wedding without any body parts missing or rearranged. His other favorite trick was to arrange for the poor schmuck who was the target to find himself on a plane or train, hundreds of miles from his intended destination at zero hour. I loved Peter like a brother, but right now, I was running for my life and I'd fight him for my freedom.

It wasn't difficult to keep ahead of the others, they weren't human hunters although Gabriel showed his greater skills. Once he became a little more experienced he would be someone to watch if he was on your trail. I wondered if he was a tracker in the making.

I was pleased for Alice, he was quite obviously head over heels in love with her and she felt the same way about him. He was more her type too, more a victim than anything. It would be interesting to see if he could keep his loathing of Sasha under wraps for the wedding. He had acted the part of the gracious pardoner but his rage and thirst for revenge were still there under the surface. I decided that I liked Gabriel. He reminded me a little of myself, able to keep his true feelings under wraps when necessary.

Sasha, however, was a different proposition. There was just something about her that I couldn't pin down. Her gift, or curse if you prefer, made it more difficult to decide whether she was a woman struggling to be better than her nature allowed or if she was the trouble maker she sometimes appeared.

I hated making snap decisions about people but in her case, it was difficult not to. She had caused a lot of trouble for my family, especially Esme and Carlisle who both deserved better but she had apologized and tried to make up for it. She'd been very helpful finding out what was going on with the King family, doing more than we had a right to expect of her. So why did I still feel so uncomfortable about her?

I'd confided my unease to Charlotte and she'd promised to keep an eye on Sasha and Bella while they were away from the ranch. I knew both Rosalie and Esme would protect their new sister/daughter with everything they had but it never hurt to have extra eyes on the job.

Still, I wouldn't feel easy until Bella was back in my arms again.

For now, though, I needed to keep my wits about me. Peter was still out there and although I knew I could keep ahead of the others I couldn't treat his skills with equal aplomb. Whatever he had planned for me, I wanted no part of it.

It would be dawn in a few hours and I could relax then. Whatever else Peter had planned for me I could rely on Emmett and Carlisle to keep him honest.

As I watched from my perch high in a pine tree I could see Emmett's group now all together checking a small wooden shack, as if I would trap myself in such a structure! It amused me to muse on how they would have fared down in Mexico with Maria. I guess it had something to do with hunting animals as a food source. They weren't as unpredictable as people, more instinctual but they reacted in a set way to danger while people could throw you with unexpected actions. I didn't miss my old life although I did miss the feeling that drinking human blood gave me. That cessation of thirst, the thrill that ran through your body. The downside was the pain and fear of my prey, feeling everything over and over again. It was like dying repeatedly and not to be recommended.

I wondered whether to meet the groups back at the ranch house or was that what Peter would expect me to do? Should I give them half an hour to congratulate themselves on the tags they had managed and argue over the validity of each? Maybe I should just head for Boulder and join the girls. At least I would be safe from Peter's evil schemes there.

I sighed, no. I would throw myself at the mercy of my friends. After all, it was only another twenty-four hours and Bella and I would be married and setting out on our life together.

I had a surprise ready for her. I'd arranged a trip to Norway for our honeymoon.

She had once talked of how she would love to see the fjords and mountains and there was plenty of hunting for me. I'd booked a log cabin close to one of the glacial lakes for a month. A whole month by ourselves in the peace of the Norwegian wilderness, it would be paradise.