"They're not going to agree as easily as you suggested, will they?" There was light laughter in Bella's tone as she directed the question at Jasper.
He hated to admit it, but she made a too good point. They certainly wouldn't be so easy to agree, the Cullens, in their eyes, were the cause of the separation between them and him. But even so with Bella also wanting them here he may be able to spin it, especially as the two they had always had the most problem with wouldn't be here. He didn't share his full thought process with her though, simply stating,
"They'll come around." Again, she let out that laugh. It still had that chesty quality from when she was human but with a higher, more musical lilt. An infectious sound that saw him smiling along with her, smoothing out the worry lines that had formed.
"If they're arriving in around two days should we not ask Charlotte and Peter soon?" The worry was back in Bella's tone, and it was clear that she was extremely nervous. Maybe partly about asking Peter and Charlotte, but mostly about the reunion between her and the Cullens.
"Hmm, maybe not yet. I told them to go have some fun, and we won't want to interrupt that for a few hours." She nodded at his advice, pulling a funny little face. Suddenly his mind went back to earlier in the week. She hadn't fed in a while. "We could go hunt. You turned it down earlier in the week." He expected her, being a newborn, to jump at the chance, but instead she threw him a disgusted look.
"I'm not feeding on animals." He'd already been aware of this. She'd made it obvious with the meal Peter had brought her and the question she had asked him earlier in the afternoon.
"I know, Darlin'. I was thinking we could start testing your control, it's impressive you've gone this long without feeding." Relief spread across her features.
"Won't it be uncomfortable for you though? You'll be able to feel their emotions?" It was warming to Jasper to know that neither the change nor Edward had altered her deeply caring personality.
"It'll be fine. Don't worry about me Darlin'." She nodded, appeased and obviously ready to hunt.
It wasn't long until they were passed the barrier of Charlotte and Peter's property. Bella let her hair race behind her as she practically galloped through the trees. She adored the freedom of racing through the forest, knowing she was going at incredible speeds but with the natural reflexes to avoid all the trees. Her brain was so turned on now, she could take note of everything even as she focused on where she was going. She could smell all the plants, hear all the animals a good few miles away going about their lives, she could feel Jasper beside her, strong and steady. It was definitely one of the perks of her new lifestyle.
They had run for a good ten miles before she sensed a change in the air. It was still faint but there, the air was sweeter, enticing, calling to her. She no longer ran aimlessly, she followed the sweetness, like a dog following the scent of chicken. As she slowed, so too had Jasper, his presence there more as a comfort than a lead at the moment, it was holding her steady, allowing her to concentrate rather than letting the scent overwhelm her.
"You've caught the scent?" It was phrased as a question, but Jasper was quite sure, it was written all over her face, the concentration, the almost heady smile. She nodded swiftly, continuing on her path, her nose up in the air trying to focus on the scent.
Another mile and she knew she was close. The scent was stronger, and further than that she could hear the faint hubbub of the city, it sounded like the sea, but with voices and traffic rather than flowing water. It was comforting to hear sounds of life again, it had been so long she had been cooped up on the Whitlock estate and while she knew that it had been for her own good, it didn't mean she hadn't missed some resemblance of life.
The closer she got, the more her throat throbbed with the desire to feed. She had gone too long she knew, and it was now mixing with the lure of the sweet human blood she could feel on the air. But her resolve would not faulter yet, she would not allow it. She needed to find the seedier parts of town, find the criminals. While she was positive, she would not murder innocent animals just so she could feed, her resolve was just as strong towards innocent humans. She turned instead to Jasper, hoping his knowledge of the area would aid her.
"Do you know where the seedier parts of town are?"
Jasper was astounded by this newborn's resolve. She had been an outstanding human in many respects, and it had passed over to her new life. He was glad she had decided to take a pragmatic approach to human hunting, then again, he would have been more surprised if she had been comfortable with mindlessly murdering humans.
Still she was a newborn and it had been at least a week since she had properly fed, he couldn't imagine she was comfortable right now, and yet she found the strength to question him about where to hunt, rather than just following the scents on the air. He took her hand, running down the fill they had found themselves upon, passing widely around one town before he drug her to the outskirts of a particular area.
"Here's your best bet Darlin', some of these building have been used for drugs, some for mob assignments and others for sex trafficking," He let go of her hand, pushing her towards the area as she growled, "Do your worst Darlin'."
She did not rush down as a mindless beast, she kept in the shadows, stalking the area, trying to find the worst of the worst, or someone that smelt satisfactory to her, Jasper could not be sure. She was lithe, making the most of her increased speed and the lightness she had on her feet. It was less than five minutes later that she pushed a metal door in. The material bent to her will, crumpling with a crack. He heard the distinctive sound of gun shots, and then the clatter as they fell to the floor, their speed and power nothing in comparison to Bella's marble body. She stood silhouetted in the doorway, light peaking around her into the dark room, only with his enhanced sight could Jasper see the terrified faces of men staring at their death in horror. Their guns were momentarily still raised before clattering to the floor.
After that, their death was quick. She came upon them as an avenging angel. Her deft hand twisted their necks before latching on drawing as much blood from their throbbing veins as she could. Jasper was amazed with the grace with which she managed in her newborn state. Her final act as she left was to set the building alight, removing the evidence and making Texas three criminals safer. She returned to his side, watching the building burn with satisfaction in her eyes.
"Let's go home." Her words came as the last smouldering ashes danced in the light breeze.
Their journey home was more reserved than whence they left. Bella seemed reverent, not relishing in the kill but accepting its necessity, nonetheless. And of course, now her mind was less fogged with the fire of the desire to feed she focused more on the upcoming days. Both asking Pete and Char for permission and what that would mean if it was granted.
Apparently, Jasper and Bella had been gone long enough for Peter and Charlotte to be done with their activities. They were sat in the lounge, Charlotte curled into her mate's side, the TV on but by the way they turned to the door, they had not truly been watching it.
"It's good to see you again, Little Lady." Peter kept all the judgement out of his voice. He could guess at her reasons, and even then, his judgement would help nothing. By the way her face turned sheepish she was already feeling enough guilt on her own.
"I'm sorry. I was really foolish. We've talked, I'll stop hiding. I missed you both." There was sincerity in her voice. He remembered that she had been through trauma, one that was fresh in her mind at the time of change. It was not something he imagined would just disappear overnight. He opened his arms to her where she gladly joined. Charlotte joined too in the group love, whispering to bella a reminder to talk to them in future, to which she nodded emphatically.
Peter looked to his brother, sending a wave of gratitude to him for taking the leap to make things right. As they broke away, the air felt considerably lighter, as if the reunion between Jasper and Bella had sucked the tension out of the household.
"That was one Hell of a chat I must say." It must have been for Peter and Charlotte to have returned first.
"We sorted things a while ago, I took her to hunt." Peter's eyes flashed with surprise, before turning a grin to Bella.
"Atta Girl, I knew you'd be ready soon. But even after not eating earlier in the week? With your control improving we can focus on your fighting more." Excitement laced his tone. Bella had been the only newborn other than Charlotte that he had seen as family. He was immensely proud of the leaps and bounds she was making, despite what had led to her transformation. She grimaced in response, remembering just what had happened last time they had trained. But she knew she needed to learn.
"Maybe we could teach the Cullen's a few tricks while we're teaching Bella?" Jasper sounded distinctly uncomfortable as he made the suggestion. And with the questioning daggers Peter was sending him he felt rightful in his discomfort.
"Firstly, Bella is our responsibility, while I won't discourage your advice Major, we will be training her. Secondly of all, just why would the Cullen's be here for us to train?" There was a warning in Peter's tone. Jasper may have the senior rank, but he hadn't trained in a long time, this wasn't his territory and he knew when the cards were in someone else's hands. He was saved from answering though by Bella.
It was truly masterful, she sent Peter big sad eyes. He watched and felt as the disgruntlement left him to be replaced for sympathy as she spoke. Jasper was sure he wouldn't have been so lucky.
"I thought they hated me. But it was all Edward and Alice. They were my family; I need the truth. And if they lied to all of us there may be some other plan. It'll be safer if we're all together and they're strong. Please, Pete?"
He let out a put-upon sigh, ran a hand roughly through his hair once. He looked to Charlotte, his eyes pleading with her. She merely rested her hand on his shoulder giving him a slight nod. Again. he sighed.
"Well then Little Lady, I guess tomorrow we will be preparing the guest rooms." Both Jasper and Bella slumped in relief. Soon the Cullen's would be here.