AN 12/13/18: Just some minor edits…nothing more than that…Enjoy

Song list for Ch. 2: Natural by Imagine Dragons

Friction by Imagine Dragons

Too Good at Goodbyes by Sam Smith

The Devil King's Desires Ch. 2: Home Again...for Now

*Bella POV*

The drive to the Cullen's house was silent, Jasper interrupting the silence only to tell me that my diploma and new legal papers would be at Charlie's when we got there. As we entered the long driveway, I asked, "Any suggestions on how to deal with Charlie? I mean, I was allowed to come home to make sure he is completely safe and then go to Italy for good. There are only two ways to do that Jasper and neither are great options."

We had almost reached the house when he said, "Indeed. You can either tell him the whole truth, which could result in him using whatever power he has to either keep you in Forks or have you committed." "Which is bad because Caius would just come here and take me back and God help anyone who gets in his way." He nodded and said, "So, technically, you only option is…" Sighing, I said, "I tell Charlie a believable, yet bullshit story about having been accepted to a prestigious art school in Italy, hope we can talk often and then, at a much later date, fake my death and hope it doesn't put him in an early grave."

Snorting, I said, "You're going to have to help me Jasper. I can't lie for shit and with all that's happened since I met Edward, Charlie won't be easy to convince of anything." Jasper chuckled and said, "No shit darlin'. No worries, I'll help all I can." I laughed a little but stopped as we parked behind Charlie's cruiser.

I knew that Charlie would already be in a bad mood because of how I'd left and who with. It would be even worse because Carlisle had called with news about me. Charlie had never forgiven the Cullens for leaving like they did. He and I had talked about it not long before Harry's death and he helped me realize that I wasn't hurting solely because of Edward's leaving, but also because of how the whole family had left without even saying goodbye.

So, if Charlie was already worried and mad at how I left, hearing from Carlisle about me must have pissed him off and worried him even more.

Selling the story I was about to spin was going to be a lot harder if I couldn't get Charlie calmed down and keep him calm.

Then another scary thought popped into my head as I briefly caught Edward and Alice's scent.

Before getting out, I asked Jasper," Where are you staying?" "A hotel in Port Angeles, why?" "I don't want to give Alice or Edward a chance to try anything to keep you from taking me back. Will you stay at Charlie's with me?" Jasper seemed to realize what I meant, because he nodded and said, "I agree. Let's get this done." Nodding, I got out of the car and followed him inside.

As we walked through the front door, I could hear Charlie yelling at Carlisle, accusing him and the rest of the family of kidnapping and other ridiculous scenarios. Taking a deep breath, I walked into the living room and shouted, 'Charlie Swan!"

That got his attention, as well as everyone else's.

Charlie took a good long look at me and I could see the relief in his eyes at seeing me alive and well. I also didn't have to have Jasper's gift to know that he was curious as to where I had been the last 3 days and why I was with Jasper of all people. Sadly, all I had for him was a complete bullshit story that I hoped the immortal family next to him would help me pull off.

Once I saw that he was slightly calmer, I walked over to him and said, "Dad, I know that you're worried and probably very pissed off. I will explain everything, but only if you calm down and control your temper."

Charlie nodded and sat down. I joined him, followed by Jasper, whose low growls towards a whining Alice gave me the feeling that she and Edward had already begun spewing their lies. However, by the way most of the family was standing, not everyone believed whatever they said before we arrived. Emmett, Rosalie and Carlisle's body language alone told me that it was bad.

Taking a deep breath, and hoping that Charlie would believe me, I said, "I'm sorry for disappearing like I did, but I have a very good reason for what I did."

Charlie snorted and asked, "Isabella Marie, what possible reason could you have for running off with another woman's husband?"

I was confused at first, but then shock and anger hit as I processed his question.

Did Alice and Edward actually tell everyone that Jasper and I were having an affair?

Trying to keep my temper in check, mostly due to Jasper projecting his own, I asked, "Is that what they told you? You actually think me capable of having an affair?" Charlie hesitated for a few moments before he said, "No, I don't Bella. Still, I have to ask. Where were you and why are you with Alice's husband?"

Rolling my eyes, I said, "I've been in Italy, doing an entrance interview for art school. Jasper was there with me because he was one of the people that recommended me to the school." Confused, Charlie asked, "Art school?" I nodded and said, "Well, you know I sketch and paint. Well, the director of the school in Italy is a friend of Carlisle's and he mentioned to Carlisle that he was in search of a scholarship student. Jasper contacted me and asked for a few pieces to show the director. I sent a few and a couple of days ago, I got a call from Italy, offering me the scholarship."

I took Aro's card from my pocket and handed it to Charlie. He nodded and then asked, "Why did Jasper have to go with you?" "Well, when I got the call, they told me that they had been able to get Carlisle's recommendation on file, they hadn't been able to get Jasper's. So, I called him and he went with me." Charlie nodded again, leading me to believe that he was accepting the story I was telling him.

Suddenly, Charlie looked madder than hell as he turned to Alice and Edward and asked, "Why did you lie and to a cop no less?" Carlisle stepped forward and said, "I'd like to know the answer to that as well." Edward and Alice both tried to leave but were easily and quickly restrained by Emmett and Rosalie. Edward, I could tell, wanted to talk, but Alice didn't and was being a stubborn bitch about it.

Carlisle finally said, "Answer Chief Swan now!"

They both remained silent, Alice glaring at everyone.

I looked at Jasper and, getting a nod to my silent question, faced Alice and Edward and said, "I know why they lied. They wanted Jasper and I to look bad in order to cover up their own affair, which Jasper discovered right after they left Forks. Jasper told me when they showed up in Italy and tried to get us back." Charlie's eyes went wide as he asked, "Is this true? Edward, did you cheat on my daughter? Alice, did you cheat on your husband?"

Alice shook her head, trying her hardest to get Jasper back. Edward however, nodded as he said, "Yes Chief Swan, I did."

Charlie's face immediately went red with anger and I squeezed Jasper's hand, telling him to use his gift. I felt it flow out and saw Charlie's face become calm and the red lessened. He turned to Carlisle and said, "Unless my daughter says otherwise, you keep the both of them away from her. Do we understand each other Dr. Cullen?" Carlisle nodded and said, "You have my word Chief Swan, it will be taken care of." Charlie nodded and asked, "Bella, you ready to go home? We still need to talk about this art school a bit more."

Shaking my head, I said, "Not yet. I have to talk to Dr. Cullen about his recommendation and travel stuff. Jasper will bring me home if that's okay." Charlie hesitated, but nodded and kissed me on the forehead before leaving the house and driving home. Once I was sure that he was gone, I turned to Carlisle and asked, "What do you know about what happened in Italy?" Carlisle sighed and said, "Aro called. He alerted me to what happened. He also told me that you are Mated to…"

"Caius, I know. His distaste towards me was belied by that protective instinct all you vampires seem to have. Did he tell you why Jasper and I were allowed to leave?" Carlisle shook his head, so I said, "Well, since you and your family left me and my father with no means of protection against Victoria, you are going to help me find and catch the bitch before she has the chance to hurt Charlie. We have one month."

Edward snarled, "Why should we?!"

Snapping towards him, I said, "Not talking to you Edward, but since you're so curious, I'll tell you why. You provoked James into hunting me, which resulted in his death. Victoria believes that you dealt the death blow to her Mate and wants the life of your Mate in return. It doesn't matter to her that we aren't Mates. She wants a life for a life."

Carlisle asked, "How do you know this Bella?" "Let me ask you something first. What do you know about the Pack?" If it was possible, I could have sworn that Carlisle went deathly pale at my question. He asked, "You know about the wolves?" Rolling my eyes, I said, "Yeah, I found out about them the same day Laurent showed up, red eyed and doing Victoria's dirty work. He's the reason I know what Victoria wants to do with me."

Carlisle looked worried at my revelation of Laurent's return and he asked, "What happened to him?" "What do you think happened Carlisle? The Pack saw the red eyes and Laurent's teeth at my neck and did what they do best. They destroyed him." Carlisle groaned, turned to Emmett and said, "Call Eleazar. Let him know we found out what happened to Laurent." "What do you mean?"

Carlisle said, "After what happened at the baseball field, Laurent expressed an interest in our diet. So, I sent him up to our 'cousins' in Alaska who are also vegetarians. According to Eleazar, he became Irina's Mate. She is one of three Succubus sisters. Eleazar had his doubts about the Mating Bond, due to Irina's nature, but allowed Laurent to join his coven on the condition that he kept to the animal diet. You spotting him here with red eyes and his death via the wolves will cause problems."

Snorting, I said, "Cut the bullshit Carlisle. Basically, once this Irina chick is told that I, a pathetic human, indirectly caused the death of her 'Mate', she'll come after me. Which is something I don't need, another psycho bitch trying to kill me for something I didn't do. So Carlisle, you do whatever is necessary to make sure she doesn't. If she does come after me or the Pack, I will get the Volturi involved. Do I make myself clear?" He nodded and asked, "So, how do you want to handle Victoria?"

"Coordinate with the Pack. She's been getting too close to the Rez already and they believe she was the reason behind Harry Clearwater's death. He had a heart attack, but Sam smelled Victoria all over him. I don't think they'd reject your help at this point, but tread carefully. Sam was the one that found me after Edward bailed on me out in the forest." Carlisle growled and glared at Edward as he said, "I'll give Sam a call." Nodding, and with Jasper following, I started to leave. At the door, I turned and said, "Carlisle, the only time I want to see or speak to any of you is during meetings with the Pack. Anyone shows up outside of that, I'll light a pyre. That goes double for Alice and Edward." At his reluctant nod, Jasper and I left.

It was a quiet ride home and a slightly awkward homecoming. At least until Jasper used his gift to break the tension. Charlie was totally cool with Jasper staying until we left for Italy. I guess he understood the awkwardness of being in the same house as your ex. Charlie and I talked and by the end of my first week home, he was totally on board with me going to art school. The supposed scholarship helped a lot.

Two weeks later and neither the Cullens or the Pack had come close to catching Victoria. Carlisle and Sam had realized her gift of evasiveness and had coordinated to hunt her. Unfortunately, she would tease them by running on the treaty border, which made her untouchable to both sides. Sam had appealed to the Elders and the council to temporarily suspend the treaty line in order for the Pack and the Cullens to be able to hunt her better, but the Elders refused.

That meant that as long as she used it to tease the hunting parties, neither party could go on the others land.

What no one could figure out was how she knew where to run to avoid capture. Jasper's newest theory was that she was listening when they were planning patrols in order to avoid those spots. So, they tried random patrols every other night to see if that would trip her up. So far, it hadn't worked and everyone was running out of ideas.

As far as 'normal' life went, things were okay. Publicly, Jasper's divorce went through and was finalized quickly, but only because Carlisle had ordered Alice as coven leader to give Jasper what he wanted so that they wouldn't have any more attention brought to them. As for Jasper, he's been the best friend I've always wanted and needed. He didn't push me to talk and since he had no romantic feelings for me whatsoever, hanging out with him was fun.

Unlike with Jacob, who keeps trying to kiss me, ask me out and, last but not least, tell me how much he loves me.

Even after I told him that I was Mated to a vampire, as well as who that vampire was, he still wouldn't let up. Unfortunately for Jacob, I knew all the legends of the tribe and even if I wasn't Mated to a sadistic asshole of a vampire, I still wouldn't be with Jacob. So, my friendship with him was hanging by a thread and I honestly didn't care if it snapped.

With all the other crap I had to deal with before I left for good, I could care less about a lovesick teenage wolf drooling over me.

YUCK!

Things were still tense with the Cullens, but not as bad as before. Emmett had quickly and easily broken my rule, but in a way I couldn't really fight against. He had brought his Xbox over to hang out with Jasper and after a few days, I joined them. By the end of my second week home, I was laughing and attempting to kick their asses at every game. Rosalie also came by and we were slowly becoming friends. It was easy because she didn't drag me shopping. No, Rosalie and I bonded as she taught me everything she knew about cars and motorcycles.

Now, I was in my next to last week home and completely freaking out that I'd have to return to Italy without knowing if my father would be safe after I left. Jasper had suggested that I call Aro and request more time, but I quickly reminded him that my life wasn't in Aro's hand, but Caius' and I seriously doubted that he'd allow me to stay beyond the month I'd been given. Plus, it wouldn't work with the story that I'd told Charlie about school.

Right now, I was at the Cullen house, using Esme's kitchen to make Charlie's birthday cake. The Cullens were in the next room, trying to come up with a plan to catch Victoria. The random patrols hadn't worked because she would just avoid that area and cause havoc in another area far away.

So, while they planned, I baked.

Charlie had requested my Crazy Color cake with chocolate icing. It was his favorite cake ever since the first time I'd make it by accident when I was little. I had been helping Sue Clearwater make his cake and had accidentally put a bunch of different food colorings in the mix. Charlie had loved the taste of it and had requested it every year since.

I was about to pour in the red food coloring when Emmett made a loud noise, causing me to jump and spill it all over my hand and in the bowl. I put the bottle down and went to the since to rinse it off. As I moved my hand towards the water, I took notice of how dark the red actually was. If I didn't know that it was food coloring, I would have thought that my hand was gushing blood. Placing a towel under my slightly dripping hand, I walked into the next room.

Carlisle, Jasper and Emmett were gathered around a large table, looking over a map of the surrounding area, trying to find a better vantage point to catch Victoria. Esme and Rosalie were looking at home décor magazine, no doubt trying to pick things for their next home. Edward was brooding at his piano and Alice was nowhere to be found.

Probably shopping and spending an obscene amount of money

I stood on the steps leading to the room and simply said, "Carlisle."

His head popped up and as soon as he saw the red on my hand, rushed over to examine me. As he discovered no cut or wound of any kind, a look of confusion came upon his face. I wiped my hand clean and asked, "It looked like blood didn't it?" He nodded and asked, "What are you thinking?" Walking over to the big table, I said, "First, no set decisions about this. Since Alice isn't here, she doesn't get to know." Everyone, including Edward, agreed. Sitting, I asked, "If I mixed food coloring with some of my blood, what would a vampire smell first?" Jasper, figuring out my plan, smirked and said, "The blood Little one, definitely the blood."

I turned to Esme and asked, "Do you have any more red food coloring?" She nodded and said, "A few more bottles. I'll finish up the cake while you get ready." I nodded, turned to Emmett and said, "Text Sam and the Pack and tell them to meet us at the baseball field. Carlisle, I need you to draw enough blood to cover me, you guys, and make a trail for her to follow. Rose, I need you to make me look like I've been attacked and gone through the woods."

Everyone nodded and we got to work.

While Carlisle drew the necessary amount of blood, Rose, who had once been a makeup artist for a horror movie, used her skills to make me look bruised, broken and cut up. Carlisle then took the blood and mixed it with the red food coloring and then went to start the trail that would end in the baseball field where it all began.

The Pack got there quickly, ready to end this once and for all.

Once we all got there, Carlisle covered me in the mixture and used another batch to cover himself and the family. With any luck, Victoria would think they'd attacked me and smell only the blood, not the Cullens or the Pack. I 'ran' into the middle of the field and collapsed, making it seem as if I passed out from exhaustion and pain. The Cullens disappeared into the trees and we waited.

And waited…

Finally, after what felt like hours of waiting, I heard a rustling and a scent I'd only smelled once enter the clearing. I opened my eyes just a little and saw her. Flaming red hair and blood red eyes that sparkled with madness and hunger. She spotted me and was on me in the blink of an eye. She smirked and said, "Stupid pet, coming out here all alone and bleeding. You must have a death wish."

Picking up a 'bloody' wrist, she sniffed it and licked her lips before saying, "Pity you had to waste so much of it. Oh well, I'll enjoy draining you of what is left. So, any last words pet?" Faking the pain, I lifted my other arm, flipped her off and said, "Burn in hell bitch!"

In shock, she dropped my wrist and that's when the Cullens pounced. Jasper got to her first and hit her so hard that she flew up in the air and landed right in the middle of the Pack, who didn't waste any time getting rid of her. They jumped on her and began to rip her to shreds.

Something fell off of her and I quickly picked it up. It was a cell phone. So, that's how she was getting her information. Someone was calling her, but who? Soon enough, Victoria was in pieces and on the pyre. As she began to burn, I flipped the phone open and looked at the call log. There were multiple calls, but from just one number.

With the Cullens and the Pack surrounding me, I hit redial.

A phone went off not even a foot from me in the trees. When Edward pulled the person down and pushed the ringing forward, I wasn't even shocked by who it was.

Alice had been treating me with a cold disdain since I had outed her and Edward to Charlie and the rest of the Cullens. She had been furious when Carlisle had ordered her to give Jasper the divorce and blamed me for that for some reason. To be honest, I had never acted the way she wanted me to, so her conspiring with Victoria to kill me wasn't totally out of the spectrum of possibilities.

As I looked at her, I realized that I no longer had the patience to hear any of her bullshit. It didn't matter what she said, she had violated Aro's command. Jasper could end her without question or trial. He did just that. No objections came as he ripped her apart, not even from Edward. Her parts joined Victoria's and we stood together as they became ash together.

It was over. Charlie and I were safe.

I cleaned up at the Cullens and then went home with Jasper to celebrate Charlie's birthday. I spent my last week of 'freedom' with Charlie and packing for my move to Italy. The Cullens left Forks for good, but were not far away and we would always be in contact. Our familial relationship wasn't great, but I had no doubt that I'd be keeping them forever this time.

A week later, it was time for Jasper and I to leave. Charlie took us to the hanger where the Volturi jet was waiting. Jasper made sure all of our stuff was on the plane and then waited for me inside. I hugged Charlie hard and said, "I love you Daddy." Charlie's breath hitched and I felt him hug me closer before kissing my head and saying, "I love you too my Bella." He released me and I could see the tears he was trying so hard not to shed.

I said, "I'll call you when I land or when I get to my rooms." He nodded and said, "Make sure you do. No matter what time it is, I want to know you got there safe." I gave him one more hard hug before getting on the plane.

As we pulled out of the hanger, Jasper held me in his arms and let me cry my eyes out. I cried as I said a final, silent goodbye to my father.