Sweet Serendipity

Chapter Twenty: Tactical Stepping

A. Brandon

Major J. Whitlock

"What the hell were you thinking?" his stone cold voice demanded in a practically feral tone as Alice flinched at the iciness of his words. She refused to look at him as suddenly, within a flash he was standing directly in front of her, her jaw in his rock hard grip while he pulled her chin up to meet his eyes. This close, Alice could smell the musky cologne and the mind blowing essence of him. And she hated every second of it. His cool breath washed over her as his nostrils flared and she fought the goose bumps that battled back and forth to dominate her skin. His touch, though painful, sent sparks flying under her skin, electrifying any and all of the nerves she still had left that were functional.

But despite being dazzled by his looks, and his smell… Alice still couldn't resist the urge to slap him for just being him. With a sigh and a shake of his head, he turned to Alice with a different look in his eyes that she hadn't seen there before. "Look, Alice… I-"

"I was thinking, Major… that maybe it'd be nice to be around someone that was finally starting to treat me like a person… and not just a sad excuse of a filthy, pathetic, blood bag." she spat angrily, wrenching herself away from the Major's grasp and storming past, trying to get under control the pathetic stream of salty tears that threatened to overtake her vision and smear her makeup.

Alice knew she'd over-stayed her welcome. At this point she was honestly just waiting for him to walk up behind her and drink her dry, or snap her neck… whichever would work better for him in the end. She'd been more of a hassle than she figured he needed, and as far as she was concerned, it would have been easier for all of them if she just dropped off the face of the earth. No more pain, no more solitude. If death was everything that her mom used to tell her it was… Alice was seriously considering all her options at the moment.

After a while, Alice felt like she'd been walking around for hours when she'd finally managed to calm herself down. Taking a deep breath, she shook herself out and tried to roll her shoulders to relax the tension that had set in her upper body. After the night she'd had, and the confusing emotions still battling back and forth within her, Alice just wanted to curl up in her own bed, in her own home, knowing her mom and dad were downstairs, and disappear. Shut herself off and away from the world under the covers that smelt like home, and just stay there forever.

This was the most dramatic night she'd ever had out. She certainly didn't remember any dates being like this in the past, and there was no way even in the movies, that directors would dare try and fit this much commotion into one evening. It was just unrealistic, and unbelievable. And yet… here she was… living the nightmare that just wouldn't end.

Now that she thought more about it… Alice took a second to realize just how much she really did miss her family. Her dad, and his everlasting faith in Alice. How he never missed a birthday, and was always there to lay down the law when her dates would pick her up for the evening. How his hugs were incomparable to anyone's anywhere, and that she'd never felt a safer place than in his arms. She missed her mom, waking up every morning to the smell of coffee down in the kitchen. How religiously, she'd wash and press her cheerleading uniform before a big game, or competition, and she never forgot an appointment. Alice missed how she stumbled around clumsily in the morning until she had her morning coffee, and how she used to bring home little surprises for the family like a movie, or a special dessert, just because she could.

Alice even missed her siblings, no matter how they disagreed sometimes. She missed teasing her brother about girls and school, and he'd retaliate, but always listen when she'd give him style pointers to pick up girls. And she missed painting her sister's nails, talking about cute actors, and up and coming music and movies. She missed Christmases, and Sunday dinners, and movie nights, and camping out in the living room after they'd spontaneously decided on a movie night.

She missed her life, and everyone in it.

She missed getting up for a run every morning, and the rowdy music her family played when making lunch on the weekends.

Alice missed home.

Unknowing to her, she'd managed to stumbled upon the ballroom, and in doing so, had began descending down the grand staircase towards the crowd of blood sucking vampires below her. Much to her surprise, she felt every eye trained directly on her, and as she stopped only a couple of steps down, Alice found her breath caught within her throat.

The ballroom was grand and intimidating. The oak wood floor in the center was drowning in classy dressed men and women slowly swaying back and forth to the styling's of an orchestrated band to the left of the dance floor. Tables and chairs littered with expensive silver and dining wear scattered around the edges of the room, and as her eyes peeled upwards, Alice noticed the balcony that lined the room, one story up, filled with onlookers clad in thousand dollar dresses and tuxedos, holding crystal glasses filled with a thick red liquid she knew wouldn't be wine. Twinkling lights fell from the banister of the balcony around the room, and the ambience of the entire ordeal screamed class and riches.

Standing atop the staircase, Alice felt every eye on her. She felt like the world had stopped, and they were frozen as such… and she knew that it wasn't the first time such a scenario had played out before her. She'd seen all this happen before. Seen the shell of a girl she would become of herself, seen the way she would shut down, shut off… seen the way she would give up. And that sparked something inside her. Alice Brandon never gave up. Not when she'd lost all hope, not when she felt homesick, not when she was broken down and beaten. It just wasn't something she would go. Perhaps her birth mother, and her mother's mother before her had… but Alice was a fighter.

So why did it feel so hard? Nothing she'd fought for had ever been so hard before. Sure the dress and surroundings were a little different… but she'd been in this exact same position before in a dream, only with-

"Don't you ever walk away from me again." a masculine Texas voice drawled out as her shocked and slightly surprised eyes found the Major's as he stalked towards her front, a set look on his face as he walked in, eyes blazing and grabbed the back of her neck and her right hip, pulling her flush against his body aggressively as he smashed his lips against hers. Unsuspecting the action, Alice was practically swept off her feet. She, of all people wasn't counting on him to just waltz in and take her in front of everyone… she'd assumed he was so reserved. Didn't like public displays of any kind, but as his cold, soft lips continued to smother her's, Alice had discovered she'd ended up being anything but right. She wanted to hate him, to hit him, and scream at him until her throat went raw. He'd treated her like less than a person, and locked her away from humanity. But as her lips shaped to his, everything slowly began to fade away into blackness.

Wave after wave of frustration, temptation, adoration, and lust hit her like a ton of bricks as eventually… Alice felt her body respond and kiss him back. Her hands pressed against his firm chest, he stood steps below her and still had to duck to reach her height. His body was hard, and strong against hers that had melted into his embrace, and his cool, soft lips moved like molasses against hers. Smooth, and sure. Bending and moulding with her own.

Pulling away, Alice gasped for air as she tried to get her bearings straight. So her vision/dream hadn't been correct. In no dream of hers had she even been kissed quite like that… there was no way she would have forgot it. "You wouldn't believe how long I've wanted to do that." he whispered against her lips.

The Major leant close to her again and Alice feared, for just the slightest moment, that he'd kiss her again. She was scared that with another, her resolve would crumble completely around her. And she couldn't afford to lose it anymore. "You cannot understand, Alice Brandon… what it is that you cannot see is right in front of you." he whispered, reminding her of their conversation from earlier that evening as he slipped something cool and weighted on the ring finger of her left hand. "With this… you are my property. No one else will ever place another hand on you, they'll know which power it is that you, and you alone belong too… You will never doubt who it is you belong too." he whispered as she shivered at his words. She didn't want to be owned, branded like cattle or staked like property. But at this point… she doubted she had much of a choice. Looking into his eyes now, Alice saw the deep underlying layer of terror burning within her soul and quickly shrunk back into the safety of reservation and submission. If it kept her alive and out of trouble, Alice was willing to wear the ring for the night.

With shaking hands, she took his offered arm and descended the grand staircase, eyes boring holes deep in her as she tried to hold herself together long enough to get to the dance floor.

Much to her surprise, instead of escorting her to the table where Peter and Charlotte had clearly taken up residence… the Major spun her out onto the dance floor. Gracefully twirling her around the other couples to the band music as she fought the grin that was just itching to break out onto her face.

Alice loved dancing. It was one of the few things in life she truly enjoyed over all else.

She kept up with him easily, his level of grace and ease was unfathomable, but Alice managed to hold her own as she held her breath and tried to calm her racing heart. With every dance they shared, Alice lost more and more of the anger and resentment she'd spent weeks building, and that scared her. It scared her how easily he was able to erase the damage he'd caused… and she wondered if that was her mind allowing him some lineage because of that feelings she harboured for him, or if it was him… playing with her emotions through the night.

"I meant it when I said you looked beautiful this evening." he said quietly all of a sudden, breaking the silence as Alice ignored the urge to roll her eyes. Some of her anger was still there, scratching the surface with every twirl while the rest of the resentment simmered down. "And I apologize for my earlier actions and words, I fear I have offended you and that was far from my intention when I began the evening. You… you confuse me. You're different, difficult for me to read. Unpredictable. And I really am sorry. Being… patient, isn't really my strongest area." he added as she finally let her scoff slip, to which he didn't flinch or tense, or even get angry over, he simply stared at her face as she avoided meeting his gaze, infuriatingly so as he seemed to stare right through her. "You don't believe me." he called out as Alice sighed and turned her head away, eager to avoid eyes contact as she shook her head. Another song coming on as their dancing slowed to a soft waltz.

"It doesn't matter." she finally stated with a small shake of her head as her eyes wandered around the room, desperate to hold onto her crumbling control and ignore the obvious distraction currently holding her as if she were the most delicate flower in the bouquet.

Silence passed through the two as they continued to glide across the wooden floors of the ballroom, Alice finding more and more red eyes picking their form out of the others to watch. Which only succeeded in making Alice more nervous as she tried to keep her footing in check as the Major swung her around as if she were a feather drifting in the wind. After a minute of silence, the Major finally spoke in an oblivious voice. "On the contrary I find it matters very much to me."

"I don't know what you want me to say." she offered quietly after thinking over his statement. "Y-you confuse me… you're cold and uncaring one minute, then attempting to sweep me off my feet the next. You chance tactics too quickly, and I can't keep up." she sighed as he twirled her out before spinning her back into his bold chest. Sweeping the breath from her lungs as she gasped slightly while he smirked at her reaction.

"I won't apologize darlin'," he answered with a shrug. "you haven't exactly been a saint… and I won't have you runnin' off and around… but I know where yer comin' from, but yer gonna have to remember this is all new to me as well." he stated as Alice just shook her head and took a step away from him the second the music ended, acting as if his skin had burned hers. He looked momentarily surprised at the movement, but quickly righted himself under all the staring eyes, his face returning to an impassive stare as his eyes searched her's.

"You have to remember that you're the one that took me away from my life. That you're the one that brought me here." she whispered as he watched her, his eyes hardening with every sharp word that left her mouth. "You took me away from everything I know… and despite what you'd like to believe, and what you want… I'm not about to make this easy for you." she stated with a shake of her head as she stepped further away from him.

"Y-"

"Major… what a pleasure." a voice called out to the left of them as both Alice and the Major's attention turned from one another to a seemingly tall, gorgeous, blonde haired man in his late twenties, and his obvious mate latched onto his arm, a beautiful brown-haired woman with soft golden eyes that surveyed the room with such alarming adoration Alice wasn't sure it was possible to pack so much compassion into one person.

"Carlisle… an honour, as always." the Major stated formally with a respectable nod as he shook hands with the blonde haired man.

"Much appreciated… it's been too long." he smiled as the southern vampire simply nodded in response. "I don't know if you've met my wife or family." he offered as Alice followed his gesture to see four more beautiful people behind him. A huge, bulky muscular man with a beautiful blonde hanging off his arm, and a lanky, bronze haired vampire holding hands with a chestnut haired woman, a smile on her face as she looked between the Major and Alice, an unreadable expression on her pretty, pale face. "My wife, Esme, and my family. Emmet, Rosalie, Edward, and Bella." he grinned with pride as the Major nodded his respect's towards all of them.

"A pleasure." the Major offered as Alice watched him survey every single one of the new people in under a few seconds. As if he were sizing them up… looking for weaknesses or reading their strategies.

"If you'll excuse me." Alice stated suddenly as she nodded towards the new family before turning away from the group and heading towards where Charlotte and Peter had been standing before the Major could undermine her any further.

Alice cursed herself, and the Major inwardly as she dodged between the couples still dancing on the ballroom floor. Before she could make it to her destination, she was soon stopped by a velvety voice that sounded as if it'd been taken from the very confines of heaven and placed on earth just to make the ladies swoon.

"Excuse me miss… might I have this dance?"

EriksAngeldeMusica - hmmm... maayyybbeeeeee... hahaha glad you're liking this story ;p it's actually a crap ton of fun to write, hahaha. and health issues?! oh no. hope you're okay! this chapters dedicated just for you! haha. hope you liked this chapter as much as the last!

danny2631 - lol, I WILL continue this 'awesome' story. haha thanks for saying it's 'awesome'. your AWESOME! glad you're liking it... and I guess you'll just have to see what goes down with the Major! enjoy!

Guest - glad you're liking it... you'll be able to figure out soon enough why she was attracted to dorian, but part of it is also, that she's still human... partially. so she'll still be able to feel a bit of the bond, but not as strongly as the Major will right now... annnddddd there is another reason. but I can't give away too much just yet ;) and I know what you're saying about the updates... but I'm not lieing when I say you'd be surprised at the busy schedule I have outside of writing, if it was up to me I'd update and write EVERYDAY, ALL THE TIME! just because I love it so much! haha. i'll try and update more often though! hope you enjoyed this chapter!

lowe101 - hahahaha a good looking stud? that actually just made my entire night! lol! hahaha. too funny! well, the major and alice got their dance, just as you hoped for... not exactly picture perfect, but it happened ;p lol. and you never know... the night is still young... kind of ;)

The-Strange-Case-Of - that is an epic penname to start... hahaha, I'm glad you like it so far! I had to laugh at your hate for Dorian, I was actually going for more of a charming appeal, but I guess having you hate him will work out just the same as well. and I sure as hell got a kick out of it! your review! definitely one of the best for the chapter! hahaha. hope you enjoyed this chapter as well ! lemme know what you thought!

ElizabethandDarcy - haha, no doubt. i'll see what I can do about that!

BlueSkyMornings - I see where you're coming from, and you're definitely justified, it's a funny concept, so it makes sense for you to feel that way. glad that other then that completely major aspect of the entire story you're still enjoying it (lol, that just makes me chuckle) haha. I'm glad you like it so far, and hope you enjoy this chapter as well! (p.s. the Major is the host personality of the body, and Jasper barely makes appearances, so you won't have to put up with much split personalities... hopefully that'll be a little easier on your opinion of the split/mate/non-mate concept!)

BlueSkyMornings - yes... many men are... especially those in love... or kind of love I guess. hahaha. I'm loving your response to this chapter in particular... absolutely hilarious! glad you're liking it so far! and hopefully you enjoyed this chapter as well!

LilaDanes - LOVED THAT YOU LOVED THAT CHAPTER! hahaha, why thank you, I'm glad you thought it was capital letter/review worthy. haha, and I know... could you imagine him as a father?! LOL! crazy! haha. hope you liked this chapter as well!

thanks for all the reviews! you guys are awesome!