Bella's POV

"What did you do?" I roared as I grabbed Peter's ear and ripped it off. "And cut the bullshit because I don't want to hear it."

I held Peter's ear in my hand, but there was one big difference right now. He wasn't crying out in pain, it was as though he didn't even feel it. I could still see pain on his face, but it was emotional pain not physical pain. What the fuck was going on?

"Speak, now," I told him. "What did you do to Edward? Answer me or I will not hesitate to kill you."

"I crushed him," Peter said simply, but his voice sounded dead.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because I was ordered to."

"By whom?"

"The Bringer of Darkness."

And there is was, the obvious answer. Peter had spent so much time trying to convince me otherwise and I wondered why he was being so forthright now. What had changed?

"Fucking Jasper," I muttered. I expected Peter to react at my admission, but he never did. "You fucking knew this whole time, didn't you? You've been playing me from the moment you met me and all because of him. Tell me, tell me now."

"I didn't know," Peter said. "I had my suspicions. You never caught him, he would mention you from time to time and ask silly questions about you, but I didn't know all the facts. I knew that he went away for a year, but he never told me where. I only knew once he came back that something had happened. He was so rattled, so not himself and there was only one answer, he had to have met his mate. He had met you."

"Why did you seek me out in Volterra?" I asked. "Did he order you to?"

"No, that was all me. I wanted to know who had his heart, I wanted to meet you, I wanted to try and… Fuck, I don't know. I love Jasper so fucking much and he's struggling. He has been ever since he ran from you. He won't admit it to himself and he tries to convince himself otherwise. He tells himself that he's protecting you, but he's not. He just doesn't know what to do, how to handle this, how to give himself to another. He's damaged Bella and that hurts me so fucking much to see him like that. I knew if I could get close to you I could, I don't know, get the two of you closer together. This is all going to get worse the longer you stay apart and I can't allow that to happen to him."

"Why are you telling me all this now? What changed?"

"Things have been set into motion," Peter said. "There's no turning back now. Things will be ending soon, one way or another and I hope that it doesn't end in bloodshed for you, but Jasper can be unpredictable. I've tried to minimize the damage, but I can't be sure and I hate that."

"What's your gift?" I asked.

"I am a sponge. I can absorb other people's gifts. Your shield, Edward's mind reading. The longer I am exposed the more I can figure it out and replicate it whenever I want. The only gift I can control fully, from anywhere is Jasper's and that's only because I've spent too much time with him."

"Why did you do crush Edward? Or was it solely Jasper?"

"It was Jasper, but believe me when I say that I've tried to minimalize the damage. I didn't want to go through with it, but I'm loyal to Jasper and that will never change. Edward will be fine, I just know it, he has to be."

This was information overload even for a vampire. How could Peter be playing this many games and keep them all straight?

"Why do you need Garrett?" I asked. "What role does he play in all this?"

"There's something you don't realize, something no one realizes," Peter said. "Garrett is not the enemy here, he's a friend. He's known Jasper longer than I have."

"Why are they always at each other's throats then? Why are they playing their stupid game of cat and mouse?"

"Simple," Peter said, "they've been friends for two hundred and fifty years, they're bored. They do it to keep themselves entertained, to keep themselves sharp. In the wars we were constantly battling and using our minds, but now, it's a ghost of the life we used to live. It's so mind numbingly boring. We constantly feel as though we're wasting away. I was sure we would have started up another army by now, but ever since Jasper met his mate, his human mate, he was firmly against the idea. I guess killing thousands of humans for war is no longer his idea of fun."

"But what about Sesco? He killed over three hundred employees."

"No, he didn't, that was Garrett, he poisoned their water, but don't worry Jasper will get him back for that just you wait and see."

"How have you stayed out of this?" I asked him. I still didn't like that I had never heard of him especially if he was running with Jasper and Garrett.

"I'm not stupid," Peter said. "Their antics don't concern me. I'm a big picture kind of vampire. It's all about the endgame. Sure I've helped Jasper out before because I'm loyal to him, but I'm not stupid enough to get myself recognized let alone caught. I'm a ghost and I like it that way."

"You were a ghost," I corrected him. He had revealed too much to me now. I had just cause, I could nab him and lock him up in Volterra for good.

"You're not very smart," he told me. "I thought you would be smarter than this. We can only hope that Jasper's absence in your life has stopped you from reaching your full potential."

"What are you talking about?" I asked him.

"You're too selfish. There's been one real victim in this game and you're not even concerned about him. I thought Edward was your friend."

"He is." What was Peter getting at? Of course I was concerned for Edward, but I was also a firm believer in not helping Edward out unless he asked for it. Edward needed to make his own mistakes even if it came at a cost.

"I see," Peter said. "So you don't care that Edward just go finished killing his sixth human?"

"What are you doing to me?" I asked. "You can't read my mind with my shield in place."

"That's where you're wrong," Peter said. "I understand your shield better than you do and Edward is able to read your thoughts he just doesn't know how to yet, but I do."

"Tell me one fucking reason why I don't turn you over to the Volturi right fucking now?" I roared. He was starting to piss me off.

"Because you need me," Peter said. He wasn't even scared by my threat. "I have access to the one thing you want most, Jasper."

He was right, but I doubted that I needed him to get Jasper. He looked at me, cocking an eyebrow and I could tell that he was reading my mind again. Stupid motherfucker. He laughed at that one. My phone rang and I pulled it from my pocket.

"What?" I asked.

"Geez, who's fucking you up?" Jane asked and I sighed.

"What do you want, Jane?" I asked.

"I was just in the area and I heard you were in the area and I wondered if you needed any help. Who do the brothers have you chasing this time?"

"The Bringer of Darkness," I answered.

"What? Again?" Jane asked. "Well count me out then. You know that vamp gives me the heebie jeebies."

"Yeah, Jane, I know your stance on all this. Now's not a good time, I'm in the middle of something. I'll talk to you later." I disconnected the call and focused back on Peter. His face was pale. "What?" I asked him.

"That was Jane from the Volturi?" he asked. "Alec's sister?"

"Yeah, what of it?" I asked. Peter seemed so rattled.

"She's lying," he said, "when you mentioned the Bringer of Darkness I felt her deception and her fear. She knows who he is and she cares for him."

What? That can't be true. Jane was a good friend, but she knew Jasper? How? Peter had to be wrong, but one look at his face and I knew he was telling the truth.

"What does this mean?" I asked him.

If Peter was rattled then it wouldn't be good.

"It means that my plan will no longer work," he said. "I didn't account for Jane, I didn't account for anyone loving Jasper aside from you. This will not end in our favor, not anymore."