Struggling to be Honest

JacobxBella

Rated M

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or the franchise, as it belongs to Steph Meyers

Struggling to be Honest

Chapter 20

"Hello, Aro," Carlisle said taking a step forward. "I wish we were meeting under different circumstances this morning."

"As do I, my old friend. But unfortunately the promise you gave us was broken. I already know why young Isabella did not marry young Edward, but I would like to hear it from you. Tell us Carlisle, tell us why the wedding was not gone through with," Aro said, he hands folded neatly in front of him as he stared at the group across from him with his red eyes.

Bella looked at Carlisle and saw him take an unnecessary breath before speaking. The Cullen coven leader nodded before saying, "At the wedding Bella had a realization that she could not marry Edward because her heart belonged to another. Therefore she decided to forgo the wedding and a marriage to my son."

Aro nodded and said, "A pity, especially since she was so certain about her love for young Edward. And who is the young man that she ran away to?"

Jacob stepped forth with Bella in his arms, squaring his shoulders as he said, "That would be me."

"And who would you be, young man?" Aro asked.

"Jacob Black," Jacob answered, holding Bella closer to him. He watched as Aro looked them over, his nose scrunching up as he got an obvious whiff of his scent. The vampire took another smell of Jacob before looking at the other wolves standing with the rest of the Cullens. He also noticed a group of young men standing with them and noticed they smelled rather sweet. He wondered why that was.

Turning back to face his brothers Aro said, "Caius, Marcus, answer me. Don't you notice anything strange about these "werewolves"?"

Caius nodded and answered, "They are larger than normal and are in wolf form while it is daylight."

"It does not matter; I refuse for werewolves to exist," Marcus said.

"We aren't traditional werewolves, though. That prick lied to you," Jacob said, cutting in on their conversation while glaring at Edward. Edward glared back at Jacob as well before his eyes shifted back to Bella. It was then that Bella noticed his eyes weren't the amber that they had been just days ago. No they weren't gold, but they were red.

Bella gasped and said, "Edward, you didn't."

The rest of the Cullens noticed what Bella seemed to be surprised about and they gasped as well. Well, everyone but Rosalie and Jasper; Jasper suspected it and nothing Edward could and/or would do would surprise Rosalie anymore.

"Edward, how could you feed on humans again?" Carlisle asked, hurt evident on his face and in his voice.

Edward turned away from his sire before turning back to Bella saying, "Don't worry, my love. Once this is all over we will be back together again."

"Fuck you, Edward! There is no way, especially now that Jacob Imprinted on me!" Bella shouted, shutting her mouth immediately when she saw the murderous look that appeared on her ex's face.

"You let that filthy dog Imprint on you?" Edward growled. He took in a deep breath before saying, "You're not a virgin anymore. You let that beast take you? You are mine!"

Jacob and the rest of the Pack growled at Edward, Leah, Paul, Sam, and Jared stepping forward to defend their Alpha and his Imprint in case Edward decided to attack. Aro saw this and signaled for Felix and Demetri to restrain Edward. Once he was restrained he stepped up to Bella and Jacob, the Cullens, Pack, and Sleuth all tensing as he did so, and he asked Jacob for his hand. The wolf Shifter warily handed it over to Aro, watching as his eyes seemed to roll into the back of his head as he hummed in thought. When he finally opened his eyes he chuckled and said, "Well, it seems that there has been a misunderstanding about the nature of you "Shifters". Edward claimed that you were traditional werewolves and that you young Jacob have brainwashed Isabella and taken her. However I see that is not the case."

Marcus stepped forward and asked, "What do you mean, brother?"

"I mean that young Jacob and his Pack are spirit Shifters, the wolf being their tribe's spirit animal. They are not Children of the Moon and never have been. They do not need the moon to be in their wolf forms. And it so turns out that young Isabella cannot marry Edward because she is not his true mate. She is Jacob's true mate and they have already "mated", so to speak."

Bella flushed at Aro's words, causing the old vampire to chuckle. Truly he was fond of Bella but he did have to do things in accordance to vampire law, unless he decided to make an exception. Turning back to Edward he said, "Edward Cullen, you have lied to the Volturi for your own selfish needs. As you know this is punishable by law. As I recall, you wanted to die when you originally thought that Isabella had died, yes?"

Alice gasped and ran forward, wanting to try and stop what she had just seen in her vision. Jasper grabbed her and stopped her, holding her tight as she struggled.

"No!" Alice called out. "Please don't, Aro!"

Esme and Carlisle realized what was about to happen as well, Esme turning her face into her mate's shoulder as to not witness what Aro was about to order. Carlisle had a pained expression on his face as he held his wife, looking on as he began to grieve the would-be loss of his son.

"Well now you may have your wish," Aro said, frowning as he thought about what he was getting ready to instruct. Edward read his mind and began to struggle again, trying to escape Felix and Demitri's grip. Aro watched as the young vampire struggled before turning to Alec, saying, "Alec, you know what to do."

Alec nodded with a sinister smile on his face. Oh, how he hoped this day would come. Facing Edward he released his special gift, the black mist slowly and eerily unfolding from his palms and creeping along the ground towards Edward. The mist wrapped around Edward's legs and traveled up his body until Edward couldn't feel or sense a thing. Aro nodded and motioned towards the two vampires holding Edward, saying, "Demetri, Felix."

Demetri and Felix nodded before Felix grabbed Edward by his head, twisting his neck until his head broke off from the rest of his body. Bella gasped and hid her face in Jacob's chest while Jacob watched on in shock, holding Bella tightly as he witnessed the murder of Edward Cullen.

The two vampires continued to rip Edward apart before Demetri lit a match and dropped it on the pile of limbs that had once been a Cullen son and Bella's ex-fiancé.

"Dude…" Caleb said softly, a look of disturbance on his tan face.

Jane had watched as her brother cut off the Cullens' golden child's senses before Demetri and Felix finished him off. She had observed how the Cullen family grieved and watched on in horror while the puny human hid in her mate's embrace. The wolves had all adopted uncomfortable looks and whoever the other tan men were looked just as disturbed. Though her face remained emotionless inside she felt, well bad. It was strange but she did, considering she's never felt this for as long as she's been a vampire. Truthfully she had been having what humans call "feelings of regret and remorse" for everything she had done while being with the Volturi guard. She and Alec had been changed when they were young, about thirteen or fourteen (she couldn't remember) so experiencing life as a human and experiencing human emotions was never a choice for them. And now she was feeling them while her brother was not. Jane had not told anyone about what she was suddenly feeling, not even her own brother. She had not even told him that the one thing she wanted in the world was to experience love. Sure she had Alec, but she had come to terms that even though they were twins, he wouldn't die for her like most siblings would. And as she watched the Cullen family, Bella, and that Jacob, she knew that that love she saw between them, romantically and familial was what she wanted. Her red eyes traveled over the wolf Pack and saw how they stood together like a family and seemed to lean on one another, not at all like the Volturi. Her eyes assessed them a bit more before resting on a sandy colored wolf. Said wolf looked at her and suddenly stood upright, staring intently at her. Jane suddenly felt a pull in her chest, right over where her heart should be beating, a pull so powerful it made her release something she hadn't released in years: a gasp.

Seth whined a little at seeing the one Cullen and vampire that had first showed him any kindness be dismembered. He knew what Edward had done was wrong, but that didn't mean he wanted him to die. He looked away as one of the vampires that had taken part in killing Edward drop a lit match on the pile of body parts. He felt Leah nuzzle his neck in comfort but it wasn't really helping. Oh, how Seth wanted something to just take his mind off of what he had just seen.

He suddenly felt as if someone was staring at him. Looking over to where the he feeling came from he noticed a little light brown haired female vampire staring at him. Seth wondered why when he looked into her red eyes and suddenly felt as if he was lifted off of his feet, well paws. It was almost like he was floating. And suddenly all Seth could see what his future life before him, this female vampire by his side in all of them, only she wasn't pale and her eyes were blue instead of red. Seth suddenly realized what had just happened; he had Imprinted!

Seth flinched when he noticed that the Pack was staring intently at him, Paul and Jared growling at him and advancing on him. Leah, who was just as shocked as her Pack mates, immediately jumped in front of her brother and growled at the two advancing wolves. Bella and Jacob turned to see what was wrong, wondering why in the world Leah was protecting Seth from Jared and Paul. Turning to Aro Jacob said, "Excuse me for a moment, Mr. Volturi. Something is wrong with my Pack."

"Not at all, young Jacob. This has taken an interesting turn to see your own turn on one another," Aro said, his amusement evident on his face. Jacob and Bella hurried over to the wolves, Jacob saying, "Someone tell me what's wrong right now."

Sam phased back, not at all minding his nakedness, and said, "Seth Imprinted on that little leech over there."

Bella gasped and turned to see Jane staring at Seth, her usually stoic face now expressing concern, her red eyes filled with worry.

Kai stepped forward and said, "I hate to break into this, but is Imprinting on a vampire wrong?"

"It is unheard of and what makes the matter worse is that the vampire chick Seth Imprinted on feeds on humans," Sam answered.

"So the puppy Shifter Imprinted on Jane, big deal," Rosalie said crossing her arms.

"It is a rather big deal, Ms. Hale," Marcus cut in.

Caius nodded and said, "Aro, you cannot allow this. One of those dogs cannot be mated with Jane."

Marcus nodded and asked, "What should we do?"

Aro looked intently at the Pack, more specifically at the sandy wolf that was claimed to have found his mate in his weapon. He then looked over at Jane and saw that she seemed to be worried, an expression he had never seen on her face before. To be frank, he did not like it. He wanted his weapons to feel no emotions or feelings for anything and anyone; it helped to make them some of the deadliest he's ever added to his guard. And if one of them was not on the same page as the other, whatever was affecting them had to be eliminated.

Turning to face Carlisle Aro said, "I'm sorry, my old friend. But as you know I cannot have anything interfering with my guard."

"Aro, please. We can talk about this," Carlisle pleaded, but Aro shook his head. Turning back to face Demetri he said, "Demetri, eliminate the pup."

"Yes, Aro," Demetri said before sprinting forward to kill Seth.

Leah immediately ran and jumped in the air, meeting Demetri half way as he tried to jump over her, and crashed into him, her jaws clamping down on his arm. Demetri began to punch at Leah's head, making her whimper and let go. Just as Demetri threw her away, the sound of a yell was heard before it turned into a roar. The Volturi watched in shock as Kai phased on the spot, transforming into the oversized grizzly bear that he was and rush Demetri full speed. Felix jumped in, followed by the rest of the vampires that had come with the Volturi guard while Aro, Marcus, and Caius stood back and watched, neither of them noticing that Jane was still standing still.

The Pack immediately jumped in immediately, followed by the Cullens and the rest of the Sleuth once they phased into their bear forms. Jacob quickly ran towards the woods with Bella, telling her to stay put. When Bella began to plead with the Shifter to stay, he silenced her with a kiss before running back towards the action, phasing mid-run and jumping on Felix who was about to take out Esme.

Bella looked on helplessly, not wanting this fight to be happening. She watched as the battle take place, furry and clothed blurs the only things she could see. Brown eyes left the battle and noticed the kings of the Volturi standing and watching the battle, seemingly uncaring of whether or not people died. Bella then looked towards Jane who was standing and staring at the battle as well. But what really caught her attention was that she was clutching her chest right over her heart.

A loud yelp brought Bella's attention back to the battle and she gasped when she saw Felix gripping Seth around his torso, beginning to crush him. She was about to call towards Jacob or Leah or somebody to help him, when the air was suddenly pierced by a loud screech.

"No!" Jane screeched before staring intently at Felix, her chest heaving as she did so. Felix yelled out in pain, immediately letting go of Seth. Jane then began to look at the other members of the Volturi that were fighting, putting them all through the same agony she was inflicting on Felix and doubling it. As the Volturi vampires writhed on the ground in agony, Jane ran to Seth's side and checked him over, ignoring the growls of the Pack and the screams of her fellow vampires.

Aro couldn't believe what he was witnessing. Jane had used her abilities against his guard and was using it on all of them at once. She had never been able to do that before and that amazed and worried him at the same time. Stepping forward he said, "Jane, stop it."

Jane turned to look at Aro, glaring at him before focusing her powers on Marcus and Caius, making them both cry out in pain and crumple to the ground. Aro looked behind him at the sight before turning around looking livid.

"Jane, enough! Now!" Aro yelled.

Jane continued to glare at him as she released everyone from her gift. While everyone was recovering Carlisle stepped forward and said, "Aro, let us take in Jane. We can teach her our ways and she will be able to adapt. Also, the Imprint won't allow them to be apart, so you have no choice."

Aro snarled and replied, "Which is why I want that dog dead."

"No such thing shall happen," a deep, mystical voice spoke suddenly. Everyone turned to see Jacob, who was back in human form, glowing a bright gold and floating off the ground, his eyes glowing white. Bella ran forward to try and get to her boyfriend but Emmett stopped her, holding her back from whatever was happening to Jacob.

Carlisle stepped forward, recognizing the voice that had come from Jacob's body. He hadn't heard that voice in many years. In an almost questioning tone, he said, "Ephraim?"

"Yes, it is me, Carlisle Cullen. Taha Aki has allowed me to bring a message do an act of reformation on young Jane," Ephraim said through his great-grandson. Turning to Jane he approached her and said, "Jane, you have been blessed with one of the best things that could ever happen to someone. You have been Imprinted on by your one and only. The spirits and gods have been watching you, noticing your hesitation and remorse for everything you have done in your life as a vampire. You are beginning to feel human emotions and have human desires, as well as having the desire to love and be loved. Imprinting not only allows you to find you life mate, but allows you to love and be loved unconditionally. Unfortunately, it is impossible for a spirit wolf to mate with a vampire. Therefore the Quileute gods would like to give you the gift of humanity once more."

Before Jane could do or say anything, "Ephraim" touched her on her forehead and began speaking in Quileute language. As he did so, Jane's body became engulfed with the same glow that Jacob's body was engulfed in. She floated into the air and began to turn in circles in the air, everyone watching in amazement and confusion. The glow around her grew brighter and brighter until everyone was blinded by the light, even the vampires. When the glow finally died down and Jane's feet touched the ground once more, everyone was astonished at her appearance.

Jane was no longer pasty pale with reds eyes. Standing where the deadly vampire once stood was a teenage girl with fair, cream colored skin and blue eyes, her light brown hair still the same as before. The black robes that were adorning her made her look small and her cheeks a very healthy blush. But the one thing that everyone could hear (except Bella) was the sound of her heart beating for the first time in years.

"What is this?!" Aro exclaimed horrified at seeing one of his best creations transformed back into the girl he had once turned.

"Ephraim" turned to face Aro and said, "This is work by the Quileute gods and it cannot be undone." Turning to face Jane once again, he said, "You have been given a second chance at a human life. You will now learn love, family, values, and anything else that your heart desires. Use this chance wisely, young Jane."

He then turned to Seth who was still in his wolf form and was staring at Jane in awe. Getting his attention he said, "Seth, the gods have allowed you Imprint on Jane because you will undoubtedly love and take care of her. Help be her guide as she explores her new life and protect her at all costs."

Seth nodded before bowing down to the wolf ancestor. The rest of the wolves bowed as well before looking back up at him. "Ephraim" turned back to Aro and the rest of the Volturi guard that were now standing behind him, Marcus, and Caius. Coming almost nose to nose with Aro he said, "There is nothing you can do about this situation. Now I suggest that you and the rest of your vampires leave Forks and these people alone. And do not come back for any reason concerning Jane. She is free from your bondage." He moved back from Aro, smirking at the shocked and insulted look on his face, glowing bright before the light went out and Jacob dropped to the ground.

Bella rushed to Jacob's side, helping him sit up a little and lightly tapping his face. Shaking him a little she said, "Jake, Jake, wake up."

Jacob groaned and opened his brown eyes, looking up into the worried face of his love. He smiled and reached up to stroke her face, smiling more as she let out a sigh of relief and hug his head to her breast.

Carlisle stepped forward and said, "That's that, Aro. There is nothing you can do about any of the situations that have occurred today. Jane is now human and will be staying with us, and you know the current situation concerning Bella. And now that you've killed Edward, your presence is no longer welcome. Please kindly leave."

Aro could see that he was fighting a losing battle. Carlisle was standing firm with what had said, not to mention he had wolf Shifter and apparently bear Shifters on his side. He nodded and curtly said, "Fine, we will leave you all alone for now. But rest assured old friend, we will be in touch."

"I don't doubt it," Carlisle said before Aro and the rest of the Volturi turned around and ran back into the woods, on their way back to Italy and Volterra. The only Volturi member that had not run off with the rest of them was Alec. He was still standing there staring at his twin. Jane noticed this and gave him a small smile before lifting her hand and whispering, "Goodbye, brother."

Alec's face took on a bit of a pained expression before he said, "Goodbye, sister." He then turned and ran off into the woods, leaving behind his twin forever.

Everyone let out a collective sigh before hugging each other, or nuzzling in the Shifter's case. Bella helped Jacob to stand before hugging him close and kissing him passionately. Jacob returned the kiss with just as much passion. Despite everything that had occurred, they were still alive and still together. And that was all that they could ask for in their lives.

Author's Note: I've been contemplating this chapter for the longest time, but I wrote it out anyway. If there are aspects of it that you did not like or thought that could have been better, I am sorry that they did not turn out that way. However, this is how I saw this chapter playing out in my mind and I wrote it as such, so I hope that you like it. Love, SehunsBae37.