A/N: I'm sorry this one's a little late.

You know, I love to write. It's one of my favourite things to do. But sometimes you get to a chapter that's just a right pain in the butt! This is one of those chapters.

I think I'm happy with it. Hopefully, it answers some questions.

Let me know what you think. Your reviews are awesome and all those likes and favourites make my day. :)

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Enjoy!

– Bella's POV –

Growling under his breath, Jasper prowled around the living room like a pissed-off lion. With his golden hair and dark eyes, I could imagine him roaring like a lion as he savagely took down his prey. Right now, the Cullens were in his line of sight and, with any luck, I might just get to witness my mate in all his fierce glory.

But first, we needed answers.

Pete and Char had been here almost two hours and we were no closer to having answers than when they'd arrived. Right now, the girls held their attention and I could feel my mate's impatience coming to a head.

I was hoping the girls would nap, but with all the excitement and last night's almost kidnapping, there was no way they were going to sleep unless Jasper and I lay down with them. So, instead, I suggested Lego. Lego is awesome! Keeps them entertained for hours. Char was happy to sit on the floor with them and play.

An hour ago, dad returned from Denali. The boys were staying with Irina, Laurent, and their kids. To help with whatever was coming our way Eleazar, Carmen, and Kate had run back with dad. As my midwife, having Kate here was essential right now, and I was glad she'd come.

Everyone had been introduced and Peter's gift was explained to dad and Vic. Eleazar even confirmed that it was, in fact, a gift, though Peter continued to deny the truth.

"Come sit with me, Cowboy."

Jasper joined me on the sofa, wrapping his arms around me as his lips brushed across my temple. Then he looked back at Pete who was watching his mate with the girls. "Start talkin' Pete. What do you know?"

Pete looked back at Jasper and nodded. "What I have to tell ya ain't good, Major," he said. "Let's start from the beginning." His eyes shifted to Vicky. "This pertains to you too, Sugar."

Her eyes widened.

"Alice Cullen." He stated. "Known in her human life as Mary-Alice Brandon." He told us. "At the age of thirteen, she was convicted of murderin' her parents, her older sister, her aunt, uncle, cousin, and the Yankee who'd been having an affair with her father. She was sentenced to life in an insane asylum. Can you guess who her doctor was?"

"Carlisle Cullen." Jasper hissed.

"Or as he was known back then, Dr. Carl Nell." Peter nodded. "From nineteen fifteen until her change in nineteen twenty-one, Carlisle brutally raped, tortured, and experimented on the young seer."

What? Carlisle did what?

No.

No.

It's just . . . no.

He couldn't.

He wouldn't.

Not Carlisle.

He's a freakin saint compared to most vampires.

"No." I shook my head in disbelief. "Not Carlisle. And how is that even possible? He was in Chicago in nineteen eighteen to turn Edward. He'd been working in the hospital there for a few years before the Spanish Influenza broke out. He volunteered as much as he could to help all those sick, dying people! Why would a murderer do that?"

Jasper leaned into me, pressing his head against the side of mine. "A murderer wouldn't," he said gently. "A psychopath would."

I leaned back and turned to look at him. "Carlisle Cullen is not a psychopath."

"How long have you suspected, Major?" Pete asked.

"A while." He sighed. "There were just a few things that didn't add up."

Carlisle Cullen. A psychopath. Killing, raping, torturing.

Pete shifted in his seat. "Carlisle found Alice and Edward almost at the same time. A telepath and a seer. He had to have both. So, he split his time between Mississippi and Chicago, not hard to do when you travel as fast as we do."

"He was living a double life." I realized. "But wouldn't the hospitals know?" I wondered.

"Not back then," Pete answered. "The two hospitals were so far apart, it's unlikely either one knew he was working for both at the same time. And he probably only worked a part-time shift at the asylum or only had minimal patience at the hospital until the Spanish Influenza outbreak."

I guess that made sense. "But why?" I asked. "Why did he need both of them?"

"Their gifts." He answered. "While he was traveling through Mississippi, he heard rumors of a patient who believed they were having psychic visions, and, knowing it is possible, he went to check it out. When he realized what he'd found—a human with a powerful gift—he wanted her for himself. But he wasn't alone." His eyes moved to Vicky. "Carlisle is James' Sire."

Holy crap!

Vicky hissed. "You're fuckin' me, right?"

Pete shook his head. "I wish I were, Sug." He admitted. "The compassionate, warm, gentle man we all know as Dr. Carlisle Cullen is nothin' but a disguise. He's a charlatan!" He shook his head. "He's worse than James! He taught James all of his favourite games, turned him into a brutal killer, and then unleashed him on the world. Hell," he sighed, "the Volturi have been after them both for centuries, havin' no idea it's their good friend Carlisle Cullen they're after!"

I couldn't wrap my head around this. Carlisle Cullen: a brutal, uncaring killer. It didn't match the image I had of him in my head. He portrayed himself as never having committed a single sin. He was a fuckin' saint compared to all the others.

Although I have to admit, that did bother me. He was so unbelievably good! Kind. Compassionate. Gentle. An amazing doctor! My God, he's a vampire who's never, not once in his almost four hundred years, tasted human blood! I'm sorry, but that's just not normal. And on top of that, he's a doctor.

I don't know. Maybe it's me. But Carlisle seems almost . . . too good.

Feeling my acceptance of what Peter was telling us—having been on the emotional rollercoaster ride with me—Jasper pressed his lips to my temple and took my hand in his.

"When Carlisle couldn't be in the asylum with Alice, James was there." Peter spat. "Together they tortured her, tormented her, experimented on her mind, fed from her blood, raped her . . ."

Oh, poor Alice.

"Who's her Sire?" Jasper growled.

"Carlisle," Pete answered. "She was James' singer. He was allowed to drink her blood but Carlisle wouldn't risk his future Seer by allowin' the boy to drink directly from her."

"Small mercies," Kate hissed.

"When Alice became a vampire, she lost all of her human memories, including everything Carlisle and James did to her," Pete told us.

"Was she with Carlisle before she found me?" Jasper wondered.

"No." Peter shook his head. "Everythin' she told you, Major, was the truth." He sighed. "Carlisle and James abandoned her in the basement of the asylum while she was in transition. God knows why; maybe it was another sick, twisted game. I don't know. She woke alone, with no idea who she was or, more importantly, what she was."

Uh-oh.

"As soon as she woke, she was like any other normal newborn. And I don't think I need to tell anyone in this room what happened to those poor crazy fuckers in the asylum with a newborn runnin' around trapped inside the building."

The word massacre came to mind. It must've been a bloodbath. All those innocent lives. Doctors. Nurses. Visitors. Patience. There must've been hundreds of them.

"When it was over, that's when she had her first vision. And, as she told ya, she saw you, Major." Pete explained. "I can't tell ya what she saw, but it put her on this path and led her here."

"So, when she joined the Cullen's with Jasper, she had no idea she'd known Carlisle?" I asked. "Or all the awful things he'd done to her?"

"No." He shook his head. "She was blissfully unaware. Until recently. In the last few years, Carlisle has made three very grave mistakes."

"Which were?" Eleazar asked.

"One: he turned Edward. Bad judgment on his part. The boy is nothing like James and has only caused Carlisle problems since he woke to this life." Peter told us. "Two: not only did he encourage Eddie to play with Bella, but he also helped him. He knew that her blood called to Edward, the same way Alice's blood called to James. And, like Alice, Bella has a powerful gift, one that Carlisle wants more than anything. A gift that, along with The Major's empathy, will make him virtually unstoppable."

"My shield."

"Correct. That's what all of this is about. Power. Carlisle has no power of his own. But all those around him are incredibly powerful. A telepath. An empath. A Seer. A shield. Emmett's newborn strength. Esme's uncanny ability to make anyone who comes into contact with her feel warmth, acceptance, and love."

Eleazar nodded. "Esme can project an aura of compassion and motherly love. But it's useless, lest her target touches her. With physical contact, the victim is drawn to her and feels a sense of peace and calm, as if being embraced by their mother."

Huh. That's how she does it. I always thought there was something off about her. The first time I met her, I shook her hand and she wrapped her arm around me. As soon as I was in her embrace, I felt like my mom was right there, holding me and comforting me.

"Even Rosalie is gifted."

Eleazar frowned. "No. You're wrong there, Peter. Rosalie doesn't have a gift." He stated firmly. "If anything, I'd say she's completely innocent in this mess. That poor girl has been through so much. Nobody as stunningly beautiful and loving as Rosalie Hale could ever—" he slapped his hand over his mouth, "oh, dear God!"

"What the hell was that?"

"Eleazar, explain yourself!" Carmen hissed.

Peter chuckled. "Eleazar here has just demonstrated part of Rosalie's gift."

"Part?"

"A limited form of mind control."

Oh, fuck me. Mind control!

"Mind control?"

"Limited," Pete stressed. "It only works on those who're attracted to her."

"So, pretty much the entire male population." I rolled my eyes.

"And a few females," Kate added. "I know Irina's always had a thing for Rose. But Rose has never reciprocated."

"Mm." Eleazar sighed, "she is so beautiful and . . ."

Carmen growled and smacked him upside the head. "One more word about how pretty that little witch is and I'll start removing limbs, Eleazar!"

"What's the other part of her gift, Peter?" Dad asked, looking a little uncomfortable.

"Ah, that would be somethin' much, much worse. Enslavement."

Yep. That's worse.

"But she can only enslave a victim through a kiss." He went on. "I'm not sure how it works. I think there's somethin' extra in her venom and fluids that react to her victim's venom or brain chemistry. I ain't a doctor, so I couldn't tell ya." He shrugged. "Luckily, this part of her gift only works on one victim at a time. And if she kisses someone else, or swaps fluids with another partner, her hold on her previous victim breaks."

That didn't sound good. But I guess if you avoid kissing her, you should be safe, right?

"How much control does she have?" Dad asked.

"Total," Pete said. "With one kiss the Ice Queen can mentally control and manipulate the mind of her victim, effectively makin' them her slave, rendering them completely helpless and at her mercy."

"That's why Emmett is so loyal to her!" I realized. "It's not that he wants to do these things, or that he's evil! She's controlling him."

"I believe so." Pete nodded. "But he's also been under her manipulation for the last, what is it, ninety years? Who knows what effect her gift has had on his mental state? By now, he could be loyal to her on his own."

"Like Stockholm Syndrome."

Pete shrugged. "Maybe."

"You said Carlisle made three fatal mistakes," Jasper said, "turnin' Eddie, playin' with Belle, what's the third?"

"Ah, yes. The mistake that will lead him to his grave." Peter grinned. "Carlisle knew, all along, what Edward was doing to Lil Bit. It was all planned. From the very beginning. Putting you in the same biology class. The van incident that almost killed you. The near rape in Port Angeles. All designed and planned to make you fall for Edward."

"Carlisle even told Edward to begin dazzling you. Which is why you were so complacent and allowed them to dominate you. By the time they left Forks, Edward had dazzled you to within an inch of your sanity!"

"Dazzling someone is that bad?" I frowned.

"Dazzlin' is a hunting tactic, Darlin'. We only ever dazzle a human when it's necessary." Jasper explained. "Prologued exposure can have devastatin' effects on the human mind."

"Causing such things as depression, mood swings, insomnia, lack of appetite, nightmares, hallucinations . . ." Pete said, eying me.

I nodded. "I experienced all of that."

"I imagine, when Red Hot over here returned and found Charlie, she, at some point, dazzled you . . ."

Vicky's eyes widened. "Well, yes. But it was necessary. Charlie and I had just mated and Bella was freaking out! She thought I was going to kill her! It was just a little jolt to snape her back to reality, nothing bad, I swear."

"I know, Sugar," Peter assured her. "You did nothin' wrong. You saved Lil' Bit's life that day. Giving her that little jolt, snapped her back into reality and, essentially, restarted her brain."

"You broke Edward's hold on her mind." Jasper realized. "If you hadn't . . ." he shuddered and shifted closer to the girls, who weren't paying any attention, they were far too invested in whatever they were building with Char and Kate to care what we were discussing.

"I was ready to commit her," Dad admitted. "What she was going through, it wasn't right! I couldn't understand it and her mother was no help. I wanted her to see someone, a shrink or a doctor. There was talk of psychiatric help." He turned to look at his mate. "And then you found us," he smiled, "and suddenly Bells was . . . alive again! You did that, Angel."

She smiled and leaned into him, sighing in relief.

"I believe, they planned to return to you, Bella," Peter told us, continuing with his story.

"So, what happened?" I asked. "Why didn't they come back?"

"That's what brings me to Carlisle's third mistake," Peter said. "The baseball game. I guess Carlisle wasn't happy with Edward's slow progress with you, so he thought James would light a fire under his ass, so to speak. Force Edward to react, to protect his singer. Maybe to turn you or lay claim to you physically."

"He wanted that boy to rape my daughter?" Dad hissed as a low growl came from my mate.

"Yes!" Peter nodded. "That's exactly what Carlisle wanted. He even tried ordering Edward. Now, usually, a command from your Sire and Coven leader can't be ignored, but Edward has far more willpower than any of us know. He outright refused to hurt Bella that way."

"I think we can all be grateful Edward isn't Carlisle," he went on." Compared to all the others, Edward's a pussycat. Don't get me wrong, he was more than happy to play with you, manipulate you, use you, and toy with you, but his old-fashioned morals would not allow him to cross any sexual line."

I don't think I've ever been so pleased that Edward is . . . well, Edward! Thank God he never gave in to my pleas or did something worse. I was just another Alice to Carlisle. A human with a gift he could use and add to his menagerie of gifted yes men.

Edward, in his own way, had protected me.

"Not gettin' what he wanted from Edward, Carlisle called in James." Pete went on. "Bad, bad move. Because although Carlisle believed Alice's memories were gone, they were only blocked. And once she saw Carlisle and James together, the floodgates opened and every awful atrocity they did to her came rushing back."

Oh, God. "So, she remembers?"

Peter nodded. "Every detail. It was at that moment, on the baseball field, that Carlisle's death was set in stone. He would die at Alice's hand and she will do whatever it takes to see him burn."

"Oh, that poor girl." Vicky sobbed.

"Poor girl?" I snapped. "As tragic as her story is, she kept me from my mate! She tried to kill me! She tried to use you to finish me off. She ensured I would have Jasper's children and—"

"Lil Bit," Peter said gently, taking my hands in both of his, "you have to remember, Alice's mind has snapped. She's utterly broken because of what Carlisle and James did to her."

"In her mind," Charlotte sighed softly, leaning into Jasper's legs, "it was better to kill you and lose her best friend than to allow you to suffer the way she did in the asylum."

"I think if she'd known you and Jasper were mated, things might've worked out differently," Peter said.

"But you don't know that for sure," Jasper stated.

"And you can't say for sure that she doesn't know we're mated," I added. "That she hasn't known this whole time!"

Yes, her past is horrible. And I feel bad for her. But it does not excuse all the awful things she's done.

"You're right. I can't say for sure, and I don't know if she knew about the two of you mating before yesterday." Peter admitted. "It's not easy to predict the movements of the mentally unstable. Add to the fact that she's out for vengeance and it's taken her almost eighteen years to act on her plan . . . I've got no clue what her end game is if she has one."

"Looks to me like she's sitting back and letting Carlisle dig his own grave," Dad grumbled.

Peter grinned. "I think that's exactly what she's doing, Chief." He nodded. "She may be broken, but stupid she ain't, Major. She has to know you aren't gonna let them take the twins or harm Lil Bit."

Jasper nodded.

"Carlisle relies on her visions. Everything she tells him, he believes." Pete told us. "Why wouldn't he? She's never lied to him before. She's never led him down the wrong path. He believes she's completely and utterly devoted to him."

"She's already killed James," Jasper said. "She ensured I'd be in place to end him. Fuck, Carlisle never even batted an eyelash!"

"He wouldn't," Carmen told us. "Psychopaths don't feel emotions the way we do. It's possible James meant nothing to him. He could've just been a pawn in whatever Carlisle is planning."

Thinking about it, I suppose Carlisle did present all the classic signs of a psychopath. Takes pleasure in causing others pain. Pathological liar. Charming. Charismatic. No remorse for their actions. Use relationships for their own gain.

I never saw any of this while I was in Forks. But then, why would I? I was seventeen. I saw what they wanted me to see.

"What about my birthday?" I wondered. "Why was that necessary? Why put Jasper through that pain?"

"That was Alice's first attempt to take your life," Peter said plainly. "In her eyes, she believed killing you was a mercy. She couldn't bear to do it herself. And she couldn't risk Carlisle or Edward finding out what she was up to, so she planned your birthday party. All she had to do was distract Jasper so he wouldn't have time to hunt, and then ensure you'd be hurt."

I sighed. "And with my track record that was likely to happen."

He smiled. "Then, it was just a matter of sittin' back and waitin' for the fireworks to begin."

"But they didn't. Rosalie and Emmett dragged me outta the room and Edward had enough control to walk out on his own." Jasper said.

"This is where the gorgeous Redhead comes in; Alice saw her going after Bella. Mate for a mate. And did nothing to stop it." Pete continued. "When Bella's future disappeared from her sight, she took it to mean her friend was dead. She had no idea about your shield or Red's mating with the Chief."

"For the next seventeen years, Alice genuinely thought you were dead, Bella. You were safe. Nobody could hurt you the way she'd been hurt. She protected you by ending your life."

I can understand why she'd go to such extremes. Supposably, she wanted to protect me from the kind of pain she'd suffered at Carlisle and James' hands. In anyone else, I might I'd feel grateful she'd risked her safety to protect me.

It's a very selfless thing to do. Even if it did mean my death.

But . . . I don't know. I'm not convinced she didn't know about me and Jasper. There's something niggling at me. It's . . . I don't know. I just don't believe she 'killed me' to protect me. Nor do I believe she had no idea Jasper and I are mated.

Although, maybe she really didn't know. Her visions are decision-based and neither of us made any such decisions.

Well, that's not entirely true. I had made decisions, but by that point, Alice thought she'd succeeded and I was dead. With my shield getting stronger, she wouldn't have seen anything after Vicky and dad mated so, she wouldn't have known I'd figured out Jasper is my mate.

Did any of that make sense?

My brain is starting to hurt.

"What about the house?" I wondered. "They knew I was the one coming to look at their house, right? Alice must've seen me coming . . ."

But then again, her surprise did look genuine.

"Getting you into that house, keeping you and The Major apart, the twin's conception and this pregnancy is all down to Carlisle, Esme, and Rosalie," Pete told me.

I closed my eyes and leaned into Jasper. Is it possible for your brain to explode? I feel like mine's going to.

"So, the house . . ."

"Just a means to get you back in with the Coven," Pete answered. "If you'd agreed to buy it, they would've had access to you and the children. Along with twenty-four-seven surveillance set up by Emmett, as ordered by Rosalie."

I nodded.

"They went to a lot of trouble to steal my children." I hissed.

"More than anythin', all Esme and Rosalie want, all they've ever wanted is to have children of their own," Jasper told me.

"In this day and age, they can do that!" I snapped. "They don't need to steal my children!"

I could feel my temper beginning to rise.

"That's what the girls want," Pete said before Jasper could attempt to soothe me.

I was way past soothing at this point.

"Carlisle could care less. He wants only one thing. Power." He grinned. "Now, let's say the opportunity arose for him to keep Esme and Rosalie happy and get what he wants . . . three little girls whose parents just happen to be an empath and a shield . . ."

I frowned. "I don't get it. What difference does it make that Jasper's an empath and I'm a shield?"

I looked down at my girls, who were now fast asleep between me and Jasper. They were so tiny and sweet, why were all the vampires in the room suddenly tense?

What the hell is going on?

"Oh, dear god." Eleazar hissed, his eyes going from my girls to my bloated belly.

"Eleazar?" I worried. "Would someone please tell me what the fuck's going on!"

A low, dangerous growl came from my mate's chest.

Peter smirked. "What do you get when you cross an empath and a shield?"

Is this a joke?

"I don't know, Peter, what do you get when you cross an empath and a shield?"

I was in no mood for jokes.

"I think I can answer that," Eleazar cleared his throat. "Lottie has the ability of Extrasensory Perception, like Peter. They both just know things. It's a gift that, I believe, stems from Jasper's empathy. But, given time, she will become more powerful than Peter." I already knew this. "She also possesses your mental shield, Bella."

"Yes."

"Jas is empathic. But she will become more powerful than her father, given time." He went on, rehashing information I've known for years. "She also possesses a physical shield, again, like you Bella."

"I know this already, Eleazar." I snapped.

My temper was holding on by a thread at this point.

He held up his hand. "This little one, though . . ." His eyes went to Jasper. "May I, Major?"

Jasper shifted closer to me and the girls but nodded his head. Eleazar came closer to me, gently pressing his hands against my bloated belly.

"Ah, yes. I see now." He nodded.

"See what?" I demanded.

"This little one can break through any shield." He told us.

Okay. I'm still not seeing the reason everyone is suddenly on edge.

"Do you see anything else, Eleazar?" Jasper wondered.

"Oh yes," he sighed. "Not only will she be able to penetrate any shield, mental or physical, but she can suppress or completely negate emotions."

I nodded. "So, she does the opposite of what Jasper and I can do."

Yeah. I still couldn't understand their worry.

"So, you have one child with the ability to block out all mental gifts. One who can protect you physically from any attack. And one who can break through any shield standing in your way." Kate said, her eyes shifting to my belly.

"On top of that, you have one child whose extrasensory perception will be beyond what Peter can do now. One who'll be more powerful than The God of War. And one who can completely suppress or negate emotions entirely." Charlotte added.

Nope.

Still wasn't getting it.

Who the hell cares what their gifts are?

"Okay. Why the look?" I asked, looking around the room. "It's not like we're raising mini Hitlers! They're little girls, for crying out loud. Jasper and I are their parents. And so help me, nobody will take my children from me!"

"Darlin'—"

"No." I snarled. Me. Snarled. "They are my children! And if that bastard thinks he's going to take them from me, he's got another thing coming!"

And there went my patience . . .

It was too much.

Alice. And Carlisle is a psychopath. And James. And now this. All on top of being in labor! No! It was too much.

"Belle, Darlin'—"

"I said, no!"

Unlike anything I've ever felt, a power ripped through me and then swept out into the room. There was a loud boom—like the air suddenly cracked!—and everything exploded!

The whole fuckin' living room exploded!

Everything inside the room flew out in all directions.

The furniture.

The television.

Pictures.

Side tables.

The rug.

All the girl's toys.

The vampires!

It all went flying through the air. As the vampires collided with the wood walls, there was another explosion as they burst through the house, tearing it to shreds.

When the dust settled, the only thing left in the living room was me and my girls, wrapped up in my bubble, perfectly safe from the carnage around us.

"Momma, what dat?" Lottie whispered, rubbing her eyes as she woke. She looked down at my lap and frowned. "Why you all wet, Momma?" She wondered, looking at my lap and the couch.

I was dizzy and my head hurt. I was only vaguely aware of someone talking to me, calling my name. I couldn't seem to focus on anything. The room . . . well, the rubble, was spinning. There was a whole lot of pain in my abdomen and I could taste something weird in my mouth, like pennies. That can't be good.

"Momma!" Lottie called.

Why did she sound so far away?

"Momma!" Jas cried. "Daddy! Help!"

I couldn't . . . I had to . . . umm . . . something was . . . something was . . . I needed to . . . focus on . . . umm . . . what was . . .

My eyes rolled into the back of my skull as the world around me went black . . .