Bella's POV

"I don't see why were just sitting here," Garrett said. "We should be taking action."

No wonder Jasper always got annoyed with Garrett. Did he ever shut up?

"We're waiting for Peter," I said for the millionth time.

"And if he doesn't make contact?" Garrett asked.

"He promised," I said.

"And if he's dead?" Garrett asked next.

"Jasper didn't kill him."

"Of course not, but that doesn't mean that someone else didn't."

I turned from Garrett and walked away. I couldn't deal with him anymore. I almost hated the thought of being stuck with him for an eternity… It had been days since Peter left and Garrett had taken the time to tell Edward and me his story. How he was in the civil war under Jasper's command and then tracked him down in the Southern Wars and fought underneath him again. They had known each other Jasper's entire vampire existence, so I knew we wouldn't be able to ditch him. I was still hoping that he would grow on me, but so far no good. If he wasn't Edward's mate I would have sent him away already.

I sensed someone incoming and fast, but I couldn't hear a thing. It reminded me of when I used my shield. I hoped it was Peter with my gift and not some unknown vampire. He broke free from the trees with Jane at his side. What the fuck was going on? He didn't drop his shield, but he extended it to include me.

"What the fuck is going on?" I asked them.

"This is Jane from the Volturi," Peter said and I wanted to slap him. "I found her with Jasper, so I took her and ran."

My eyes went wide at the mention of Jane with Jasper, surely he wouldn't.

"Bella, don't listen to this idiot," Jane said. "We're mated, he's my mate… Can you believe it?"

"No," I answered honestly.

"Ow, Bella, that hurts," Peter said, clutching his chest. "Why can't you picture this little spitfire as my mate? We're perfect for each other."

I looked at them, really looked at them, and started to line up what I knew about them and I could agree that they were evenly matched.

"Is that why you took so long to return?" I asked.

"Yes… No," he said as he looked at Jane without her knowing. I guess he wanted to talk in private.

"Why are we even with Bella right now and not Ness?" Jane asked and I scrunched up my face, who was Ness?

"Because Bella's my friend," Peter said simply, "and I promised her something and I'm not about to go back on that. Go and find Edward and Garrett, they're around here somewhere and I will finish this with Bella and then we can go wherever we want."

"Even back with Ness?" she asked.

"Whatever you want my mate," Peter said.

They shared a passionate kiss and I was forced to look away. The moment Jane left the safety of Peter's shield, I was on him.

"What the fuck is going on?" I asked him. "Why did you take so long to make contact?"

"Jasper missed me, like really missed me," Peter said, "so I had to stay and reassure him that I was on his side. Then after I mated with Jane things started changing, he started changing, so I stretched it out a little. Seeing me and Jane together, that we didn't destroy each other, well it was starting to convince Jasper that being mated isn't the worst thing in the world."

"This is good news," I said. "Why aren't you still there helping him understand it further?"

"He gave me a choice, Bella, you or him and I chose you."

"Are you crazy?" I asked. "That's the worst decision you could have made."

"Bella, you know me, I'm not stupid. This was the decision that needed to be made. Jasper is trying to change how he thinks about you, but it's not going to work one hundred per cent. He's spent a century running from you and convincing himself that he didn't need you. There's no way he's coming after you, we're going to have to go to him, but he needs a little more time."

"Why does he need more time?" I asked.

"If we run in now he's likely to relapse and run away," Peter said simply, but I didn't think he was giving Jasper enough credit."

"Okay, fine," I accepted. "So what now?"

"Now we sit and wait and we make a plan."

"Okay," I accepted. "Go back to the others, Garrett is pissing me off, so I'm trying to clear my head."

Peter let out a knowing laugh and left me be, taking his shield with him. I kept a hold on him and made sure he went back to the others before covering myself up with my own shield. I didn't care what Peter said, I knew my mate better than anyone else and he didn't need more time. All that would allow is time for him to convince himself why he doesn't need me. No, I needed to track him down and force him to accept our mateship. Whatever it took, whatever the cost may be. I made sure I was completely shielded and took off for Oregon, never looking back. I knew it would take a while for them to figure out I was gone, hopefully it would give me enough time. I was going to see my mate and I wasn't going to give him up without a fight. One way or another this was ending.