Jasper's POV
"The horrific murder of Bella Swan."
Immediately after Alice's declaration wild emotions started running rampant through the room, overwhelming me in their intensity and I struggled to concentrate on who was the most important. Alice and Edward definitely needed my attention right now.
Alice's emotions were border-lining frenzied and Edward seemed past the point of all reason. I was holding Alice so I worked on sending a second shot of calmness into her system and this time it worked. Her breathing slowed and her eyes slowly cleared so I knew now when she was looking at me she was actually seeing me and not Bella's death.
I didn't want Bella to die, really I didn't, but right now I had priorities and they involved calming my family out so Alice's vision wasn't important right now. Edward needed my help first.
"No!" I yell, as his emotions rocket sky high. I can see he's planning on breaking the treaty and going after Bella. His emotions show me that he's beyond the point of reasoning.
"EMMETT!" I roar and my shout is echoed.
"Emmett!"
Emmett immediately rugby tackles Edward, never slow on the uptake, who has begun a fast sprint to the door, catching his arm and throwing Edward to the ground. I breathe a sigh of relief as I realise Alice was the one who had shouted with me. She'd been using her gift to foresee Edward do what I'd guessed. Relief filled me again as I realised this meant that Alice was functioning again, keeping herself together while we attempted to sort out this mess.
Brave to the very end, that was my Alice.
With a feral growl, Edward threw Emmett off him, sending Emmett flying into a wall and we all turned to stare at Edward in astonishment. Since when had Edward been stronger than Emmett? Edward was faster but certainly not stronger.
One look of his emotions answered my question. Edward was full of rage, his emotions off the scale and I knew from experience that the strong an emotion a vampire felt, the more apt they were to be able to do things they wouldn't be able to do under normal circumstances.
Alice is a blur as she instantaneously throws herself at Edward, her eyes glassy and collides with him before anyone else can react. He snarls and lunges for her, presumably to throw her away from him as he had done Emmett but she gracefully dances around his reaching hands in a blur of movement.
No giggles from her, like there would normally be when fighting Edward; so I knew she wasn't completely back to normal but at least she was using her gift to keep Edward from doing something really stupid.
I came to the realisation that I probably shouldn't be watching my wife, the love of my life, fight our brother even if she were perfectly capable of defending herself. Edward's mood was borderline murderous and I was filled with an insatiable need to protect Alice from it. Without a further thought, I jumped into the fray and neatly caught Edward's arm, pinning it to the floor.
Alice dances out of the way of his next one handed lunge and pinned his other arm. Edward immediately kicked out with his legs, sending me and Alice flying backwards with the force but we both landed on our feet, going after Edward as soon as we hit the ground.
He growls loudly as Emmett joins us and as one we grab him around the middle and throw him to the floor. Alice jumps on his legs and I help Emmett keep his upper body pinned which was no easy feat since Edward was thrashing around like a man being electrocuted.
Emmett turns serious eyes to me for once, his expression grim. "Is Edward usually this strong?" He asks curiously, tightening his grip and forcing Edward back to the floor as he pushes against us, his eyes wild. "It's taking three of us to keep him pinned."
"No." I say calmly. "But he is so angry his rage is heightening his strength. It's not uncommon… Try and hold him still for me." I close my eyes and concentrate on challenging calmness and peace into Edward, now I knew my gift would be stronger whilst I was touching him.
He jolts as I begin to alter his emotions and growls furiously, fighting me every step of the way. "Leave my feelings alone Jasper!" He roars.
"You don't mean that." I soothe, pushing even more calmness at him. "You don't want to be angry; you want a clear logical head."
"No. I. Don't." He spits between clenched teeth before his panic hits me like a steam train.
"Edward?" I ask uncertainly, peering down at him. He's not looking at me but his emotions are escalating, down a different route this time. He's becoming calmer, more level-headed but it wasn't my gift causing it. He had rejected my calmness.
I look to see where he's looking and am somehow not surprised to see it's at Alice, who has her head cocked to one side, gazing steadily at him. Edward was watching her back, his emotions growing calmer by the second and I suddenly realise Alice was silently communicating with him.
Edward nods suddenly and slumps back to the floor, instantly stopping his resistance, his emotions finally contained and under control. "Em, Jazz. Let Edward up." Alice commands quietly, climbing off his legs.
Emmett is instantly wary. "But Alice he'll…"
"No, he's calmer." I explain. "I'll keep an eye on him." I release Edward and climb to my feet, Emmett reluctantly following my lead. Edward gingerly stands up, his eyes still fixed on Alice. Now I can finally concentrate on the other emotions in the room I find everyone staring at us in shock.
I sigh and send a wave of calmness at them and they all blink and come back to reality. "So," I say when no-one speaks, "do you want to explain what the hell just happened?"
"I had a vision." Alice says slowly, calmly watching Edward. "Bella was murdered by another vampire called James. There was blood everywhere." She shudders and I automatically reach out to quench her fear.
"She bled again when attacked?" Carlisle asks softly, speaking for the first time.
"Yes. James' teeth ripped out her throat. And then she was dead." Alice says distantly, her eyes still fixed on Edward.
I could feel tension beginning to creep back into Edward so I calm him again. "What are you telling Edward, Alice?" I ask, when the room falls silent. "He's so much calmer now."
Her eyes flicker to me. "Something simple really, just something he needed reminding of. My visions can always change. Bella was alone in my vision, so as long as she isn't alone, it won't happen like that. We can protect her."
"But she's with the dog." Emmet points out and I shoot him a warning look. If he got everyone riled again then…
"Then we have to get her back." Alice says fiercely and Edward nods, his approval completely distracting me from Emmett.
"What?" I ask, although I had heard perfectly fine. "Are you suggesting we break the treaty to get Bella back?"
"Yes." Alice says instantly.
"Yes." Edward echoes.
"We cannot break the treaty." Carlisle says instantly. "We'll be declaring war."
I felt a wave of anger from Edward's direction. "Well I'm not leaving Bella to die, Carlisle!" He shouts.
"I'm not suggesting that. Of course not." Carlisle says calmly. "But don't you think that the wolf can protect Bella just as well as we can?"
"No. I don't." Edward says flatly.
"They seem… capable to me." I admit reluctantly.
"Right." Carlisle says, relief radiating from him at my agreement. "So we get in touch with Sam, tell him to make sure that Jacob stays with Bella and brings her back immediately. That way she's not alone and we get her back here quickly."
Edward was scowling but I could sense that he was attracted to the idea. "And then we keep her here." He insists. "She doesn't go out. Not anywhere."
I turn to look at him. "Are you suggesting what I think you are Edward? To keep Bella as some sort of prisoner? To not allow her out?" I demand.
I can feel the desperateness radiating out from him. "She'll be safe here Jasper! Imagine if it was Alice! What would you do?" He snaps.
I steadily meet his eyes, pushing calmness at him. "I'd be scared, of course I would." I say firmly. "But I wouldn't confine her to the house. That's not right."
"As if you could confine me anyway." Alice says, a ghost of a smile appearing on her face. She turns to look at Edward. "And I don't think you can confine Bella either. She's not an object Edward."
"So you want her to be killed?" Edward yells, rejecting my calmness once again.
"She's not saying that!" I growl in frustration. "Quit shouting at my wife!"
"I think you all need to stop now." Esme's voice, harder than I've ever heard it, stops us all in our tracks, even Edward who had opened his mouth to retort. "Edward, Bella is very important to us. I love her like she's my own daughter, how could I not? But Alice and Jasper are right. You cannot keep her confined."
"But…" Edward begins, his voice slightly calmer than before.
"No Edward." Esme says gently. "She would grow to resent you in the end if you kept her trapped. Give her freedom, it doesn't mean you can't remain with her and protect her from harm."
"Fine." Edward mutters, his face dark. "Get the mutt to bring her back here now."
Carlisle nods and speeds out the room, his phone already in his hand. "Carlisle has the wolves' phone numbers?" Eleazar asks Esme, a puzzled look on his face.
"Only Sam, their Alpha." She says softly. "Just in case."
"Can you explain to us about the wolves?" Carmen asks, her Spanish accent thick. "I always thought children of the moon did not hunt in packs."
"The werewolves aren't children of the moon. The transformation into wolves was just by chance, they were shapeshifters right at the beginning and wolves were the form they chose." Esme explains softly.
"How did you come across them?" Carmen asks curiously, a small smile on her face.
"We were hunting." Rosalie tells Carmen, her lips pursed. "Apparently they were going to kill us all but then Carlisle used his charm and got them to sign a treaty with us."
Esme sighs at Rosalie's flippant attitude. "That's not exactly how it happened but Rosalie has covered most of the main points. The thing is we actually outnumbered them in the beginning and therefore Carlisle had no need to offer a treaty which is why they stopped in their attack…" I tune out her soft voice and Rosalie's bitching as I hear Emmett's booming laugh from another conversation taking place.
"So you can sense vampires' gifts then Eleazar?" He asks.
Eleazar smiles at him. "Yes Emmett. It is my gift."
"Do I have a gift?" Emmett asks eagerly and I have to smile at his childish mentality.
Eleazar laughs. "No Emmett. But your strength is above that of the average vampire. You should be pleased with that."
"Oh I am." Emmet grins, flexing his muscles. Emmett couldn't remain serious for long, it just wasn't in his nature.
"I don't have a gift either." Irina says, moving away from Kate and Tanya to join in with the conversation. "But I'm perfectly content."
"Really?" Emmett asks, with some interest. "Are you not bored yet with our eternal damnation?" He smirks.
Irina looks puzzled, as she pushes her straight blonde hair behind her ears. "Eternal damnation? What a strange way of looking at it. If you mean our immortality, then no, why would I be bored?"
Emmett laughs at her expression. "No. I was just thinking that I would be mightily bored if I didn't have my angel to keep me company. But neither you or your sisters haven't mentioned a love."
"Emmett." Esme chastises. "Irina may not want to talk about it." She and Rosalie move to join Emmett, Eleazar and Irina in a loose circle. Carmen takes Eleazar's hand as Rosalie wraps herself around Emmett, highlighting the point Emmett had just made.
Out of the corner of my eye I notice Tanya and Kate quietly move away from the group but I don't pay it much attention, listening to Emmett's conversation. "It's fine Esme." Irina smiles awkwardly as Rosalie and Emmett become reacquainted with each other.
"I'm not going to have to tell my own children to get a room, am I?" Esme laughs softly and Emmett instantly releases Rosalie.
"Later baby." He promises, laughing loudly.
Irina laughs too before growing contrite. "You are all very lucky. The issue with humans is that they are very breakable, not like us vampires. We haven't been lucky enough to find a vampire mate so we consort with humans. And to be honest, we've fallen in love with many over the years but their lives are so very short and they are so very fragile. We've killed many." Her voice was glum and I could sense the grief radiating from her.
I longed to help her, perhaps sending a soothing emotion or two her way but the talk of killing humans was making me uncomfortable. My eyes sought out Alice who was talking quietly to Edward in a corner. "Jasper," Edward says when he sees me approaching, stopping whatever conversation he was having with Alice, "thanks for trying to calm me down a few minutes ago. You were right to try and stop me."
"No problem." I say easily as Alice slides her fingers into mine. "How are you feeling?"
Edward lips turn up at the corners. "You should know, brother."
I grin at him. "Just keeping you on the ball. Speaking of which, what were you and Alice talking about before I came over?"
Edward's eyes flicker to Alice's and he hesitates. "Love." He says finally.
"Love?" I question, having not expected that answer.
"Yes love." Alice says softly, her voice like chimes, her eyes fixed on mine. "I was reminding him of his love for Bella, how he should feel when he thinks of her, how his stomach should twist with butterflies when he sees her, how he should never want to stop kissing her when he starts. The rest is just semantics."
"Hmmm… you sound very knowledgeable on the subject." I tease her.
"Well… I was taught by the best." She grins, stretching on her toes and pressing her lips to mine. I kiss her back for a few seconds, lost to the feel of her and then pull back as I realise something is different.
I turn to look at Edward in astonishment. Whereas before I tried to keep my feelings about Alice under wraps around him because I could sense his envy and loneliness, today, even after kissing her right in front of him, I felt nothing but light amusement from him.
Edward grins as he hears my thoughts. "That's because I have my own Alice, Jasper. Bella is everything to me. I love her with every single part of me." His feelings for Bella hit me like a train and I couldn't help but laugh at the unexpectedness of such a positive feeling.
"I'm glad you've found her Edward. She's changed you so much already and you've only known her for a few days. Love is the one everlasting thing; it never fades once you've found it." I tell him happily.
His golden eyes light up as he laughs. "Oh I know. Just look at Em and Rose." Alice and I turn, still hand in hand to look at Rosalie and Emmett who are in the middle of what looked like a makeout session.
"Gross." Edward mutters but he winks at me.
Alice giggles. "Yeah but they're much more physical with their love." She sings, finally back to the same old Alice I knew and loved so much.
"We could put them to shame." I grin at her.
Her eyes glitter with mischief. "I'm sure we could." She agrees.
I lean down to kiss her again when I hear something, a very quiet voice, trying hard not to be heard. I only hear it because I was in a strange position, my head half inclined to Alice's.
"All this attention over Bella again." The voice says. "I bet she set this up for Edward's attention. Like she hasn't paraded him in front of me enough already." My whole body freezes as I whip my head around to find the source of the sound.
Tanya.
She was in the furthest corner, a strong feeling of resentment emanating from her, quietly talking to Kate. I fix her with a steely look and her panicked feeling tells me she knows I've heard her. Of course, we'd both completely forgotten about Edward, who luckily hadn't heard her comment.
Only he was a mind reader.
And my mind was completely open to him.
His eyes lock with mine for a split second before a feral growl escapes his lips and he blurs past me, lunging for Tanya. He took her completely off guard, pinning her to the wall. Anger explodes from Kate but I blur over to her before she can attack Edward. "No." I say firmly. "You heard what Tanya said about Bella. Let Edward talk to her."
Kate is furious but fortunately she keeps her hands to herself. "There's talking and then there's that. Edward is pinning her to the wall."
"I can see that." I say calmly. "But I don't think Tanya understands it yet. Edward loves Bella, anyone with half a brain can see that but even more I can feel it and guess what Kate? I've never seen my brother like this. Never. So perhaps Tanya should stop being so spiteful about Bella. If she really feels so strongly about Edward and this has nothing to do with his rejection, then she should be happy that he's happy with Bella."
Kate hesitates before Irina speaks. "Jasper is right." Irina says quietly. "Tanya has insulted Edward's mate and therefore Edward, yet again, so she must face the consequences of that decision. You wouldn't let a human get away with insulting someone you loved. It's the same principle here." She tells Kate.
Kate nods and reluctantly leaves Tanya, striding across the room to stand next to Irina. I notice Rosalie bite her lip but fortunately she does not say anything. The room goes silent as we watch Edward. Alice slides her fingers into mine again, suddenly by my side as we watch Edward.
He's lifted Tanya off the ground, holding her against the wall. "When will you learn Tanya?" He asks in exasperation, unware of anyone else in the room. "I've been nothing but polite and truthful with you but you do not give me the same courtesy when you insult my mate!" His face darkens as his grip tightens. Tanya is staring at him in fear, although he's not hurting her, just holding her in place. "I've said this to Rosalie so it's not like I'm treating you any different, but leave Bella alone. I love her." Tanya flinches and Edward sighs, his face softening. "I'm sorry. I know that hurts you to hear but we can't help who we fall in love with. You know that from experience with your trysts with human men."
"They are not trysts." Tanya says fiercely.
"Exactly my point." Edward agrees, loosening his hold on Tanya. "You fall in love with them and that love remains till the day they die. It's the same concept here except I won't even stop loving Bella when I'm dead. She's my soulmate Tanya. That's a thousand times more powerful than love. Do you understand that?" He asks gently.
Tanya looks down. "I get it." She says quietly.
Edward stares at her intently. "I can see you mean it." He says finally. "So I'm going to let you down. By all means, have your own opinion about Bella and now even about me, but please, hold your tongue. I would hate it if we had to have this conversation again. Next time I won't be so accommodating." With a sigh, he gently places Tanya on her feet and she instantly blurs out of the room.
"Don't worry about it." Edward says calmly as Kate and Irina start to speak. "She'll be back shortly. I've hurt her and she needs some time to think, perhaps change her opinions and preconceptions about some people."
"I have good news Edward." We all turn to see Carlisle hovering at the other door, smiling broadly. "I've just got off the phone to Sam. He's going to call Billy and get Jacob to bring Bella back straight away. I've explained the situation and he understands its importance."
Edward's relief smacked into me so suddenly me legs nearly gave out. Alice grins as she steadies me, her eyes already glassy. "It's going to be fine." She says in relief.