A/N: This chapter is dedicated to the anonymous reviewer Jen, who recently informed me that someone plagiarized My Beautiful Rescue and translated it to French without asking. Not cool dude. Anyways, thanks for reading!
I was hoping to get some feedback as to where you guys want this story to go…so here are a few questions! Feel free to answer them in a review or PM.
1. Should Maria die? Or be turned over to the Volturi?
2. If she dies, who should kill her? Bella? Jasper? Someone else?
3. I'm going to introduce an OC that will become Bella's ally…would you guys prefer it be a man or woman?If it was a man, it would obviously bring out possessive Jasper, which is always fun.
Thanks for the reviews, favorites, etc. Happy Reading
"If there's no one beside you when your soul embarks, I'll follow you into the dark."
-Death Cab for Cutie
She entered the dimly lit building warily, unsure as to what she was walking into. Jasper had said that some of Maria's followers frequented this place, so here she was. It had been two days since she had last seen her mate, and Bella was anxious; but, she didn't want to risk Maria catching his scent on her. That would only end in disaster.
Forcing a calm façade as curious eyes roved over her, Bella simply smiled as if she was completely at ease in a seedy place like this, and didn't have a care in the world. The last thing she needed was to look suspicious or as if she had ulterior motives. Everyone was depending on her to be successful; she had to do this.
After sitting at the bar for a few minutes, Bella decided being upfront was the best way to go about this, seeing as no one even mentioned anything about Maria or newborn vampires. After speaking with the bartender and a few other patrons, she garnered the attention of a vampire who seemed to be a body guard or bouncer...not that the place was busy enough to warrant either one. She had to admit, it was pretty sad for an underground vampire bar. Then again, it was the middle of the day. This came across as the sort of place that became busier after the sun went down.
"What brings a girl like you here? An' lookin' for Maria of all people? I think you'd better leave; this ain't the place for someone like you." The rather large vampire snorted, eyeing Bella with amusement. He was dressed in dark clothes that were clearly meant to display his impressive, and menacing, physique. He bore some sort of insignia tattoo on his upper arm, and Bella briefly wondered how that was possible. Wasn't the change supposed to heal all scars and imperfections?
The smile not slipping from her face, Bella stepped closer to the man who decided she looked too weak to be a threat. "It's too bad you feel that way. I was honestly hoping you would make things easier for yourself." She sighed in false exasperation.
"You'd better move along now 'fore I kick you outta here." The man repeated, standing tall in an attempt to intimidate. His red eyes weren't very inconspicuous, especially when any human could enter and see. But, they would probably be drunk anyways, so she supposed it didn't really matter.
Just as Bella was deciding on which shield to use, another vampire slipped in between the two, an easy smile on his attractive face. "Whoa, what's going on here?"
"This little lady refuses to leave." The larger man replied, scowling at her.
"Little lady?" She scoffed, unsure as to whether she should laugh or be offended. If only he knew how much power this little lady had; he would be running in the opposite direction.
"She wants to see her." He continued, ignoring her comment.
The second, younger man let his easygoing mask drop, as surprise flickered across his face for a split second. Bella felt his eyes on her, seeming to appraise her in a different light than before. It was an almost calculating stare. She said nothing, but met his gaze head on. Then the charm bas back. "What's your name?"
"Isabella." She replied easily, choosing to forgo the shortened version of her name she tended to give people.
"Adam." He replied, his red eyes meeting her orange ones. "Why don't we take this conversation somewhere a bit more…private?"
Adam motioned for her to follow as he walked towards the back of the establishment.
Well, shit. What had she done?
He had led her into a sparsely decorated office room, with a metal desk along the center of the back wall. There were no windows, the only light coming from a fixture on the ceiling. From the lack of clutter, Bella determined that no one really used this room permanently. Either they went through management positions quickly, or this was used as a meeting room.
"Drink?"
Fearing he would drag an unsuspecting human out and expect her to drink from the vein, Bella politely declined. The truth was, Jasper had warned her that she would have to drink a minimum amount of human blood. It would serve two purposes: keeping her strength up, and maintaining the orange or crimson eye color that she needed to blend in.
Thank god Jasper had connections to getting human blood from hospitals and blood banks, so that she didn't have to hunt humans. Despite the fact that it was natural for a vampire, she just couldn't reconcile biting a person. She didn't mind that Peter and Charlotte preferred to hunt, it just wasn't the way she wanted to feed.
Shrugging her refusal off, the man motioned for her to take a seat. Forcing her face into a mask of nonchalance, Bella slid into the chair and met the eyes of the vampire sitting across from her. Once again, she was unnerved by the blatant way he stared as if she were a puzzle he was unable to solve.
"Why are you here?" He questioned, straight to the point.
Meeting his gaze straight on, Bella let a tight smile slip onto her face. "I think your henchmen over there already mentioned that earlier."
The aforementioned vampire glared at her nastily, stepping forward as if to answer her antagonism with violence. Adam held up a hand, stopping the larger vampire in his tracks. He motioned for the other vampire to leave, ignoring the displeased look on his face as the door slammed shut behind him.
"I apologize for his behavior." Adam said politely. "He's a bit of a wild card."
"Understatement." Bella replied wryly, shooting the shut door an amused look.
"Where did you say you were from?" He questioned curiously, clearly noticing her lack of a southern accent.
"I didn't." She replied, quirking an amused eyebrow at the other vampire.
"Someone clearly doesn't want to give any answers." Adam said pointedly, eyes sharp with mistrust. "And so neither am I. Feel free to stop by the bar, but here's a bit of advice: If I were you, I would stop asking about things you know nothing of."
Sensing she was fighting a losing battle, Bella sighed in resignation. "Phoenix."
Raising an eyebrow in interest, he sent her a smirk. "See, that wasn't so hard was it? Arizona? That's quite a sunny place for a vampire to live."
Mentally annoyed with his prying, Bella attempted to give as little information as possible. He was just wasting time that she didn't have to spare.
"I managed."
"I see that. Well, Isabella from Phoenix, why are you here?"
"I have something to offer Maria…And I don't think she would refuse it." Bella replied confidently, shoving her insecurity to the background. She had to come off as if her whole life wasn't riding on this conversation. As if her ability to pull this off wouldn't affect everyone she knows and loves.
Adam's red eyes narrowed in suspicion, and his gaze seemed to drill through to her core, holding her immobile. The dark haired vampire stood suddenly, walking over to her side of the desk.
"Well then, I think it's time you come with me."
Jasper stared at the book in his hands, his mind unable to focus on the words he was attempting to read. Honestly, he thinks he's read the same sentence seven times without registering it. How is he supposed to go about his day when his mate, his other half, is risking her life at this very moment? How is he supposed to sit and read this goddamn book when his Isabella is out there up against evil incarnate, alone?
It's not that he lacks faith in Bella. He knows she's driven and tough as hell, but he isn't used to being the one sitting back in a fight. He isn't used to sitting around and waiting for news, whether it is good or bad.
Running a hand through his blonde hair, Jasper barely notices the novel slip from his hand. It's barely been one full day and he already wants to go out and bring his mate back.
Then, his phone is going off from the other room. Answering it, Jasper is not surprised to hear the other voice on the line. "Jacob. No, she's not here."
The shifter on the other line paused, hearing the anxiety in Jasper's tone. Immediately, Jacob was filled with a sense of foreboding. He held the phone tightly in his hand, just barely holding back his strength from shattering it as the vampire spoke the words he dreaded hearing.
"She's going after Maria."
A/N: Not really happy with this chapter because of the lack of Bella/Jasper scenes. I think I might throw some flashbacks with them into chapters where they don't interact…because there will be quite a few of those chapters. Anyways, I hope everyone liked this chapter! Sorry for the shortness…I just thought this was a good place to end it.