AN: So yeah, it's been a while hasn't it? Got no excuse really, this chapter, much like the next few in front are already written. I just need to edit it and stuff lol.
Anyway, a massive thank you to Laura for doing her thing and checking it all over.
Thank you to those who reviewed, faved and put it on alert. Means a lot. See you at the bottom!
Coming out onto the rooftops of the castle, I moved silently and effortlessly across the ridges, heading to the spot I knew he would be. Leaping up onto one of the turrets, I stopped, smiling as I saw him perched on the rooftop. He sat there, long legs stretched out in front of him, and hands by his sides, as he gazed at the night sky.
This was the first time I had been up here since I'd returned home and I had missed it; missed coming up here with him and just being together. Talking about anything and nothing, and just watching the world go by for a bit.
It was sometimes hard to have quiet time with one another, without ears listening, and there were always ears. Guards covered the king's chambers, just in case shit ever went down. They were well protected; something that amused me.
It was all fair and well, but it meant there was always someone there, lurking around the corridors. That, and he would often get summoned.
Coming up here was our spot. No one interrupted us up here, and no one was lurking around. In all the years we had been together, he had only been summoned once while we were up here, and that was because of an immortal child.
"You coming over, or you just gonna continue to stare at me?" he mused, still looking up at the sky.
"I like the view," I answered, before leaving the turret and making my way to him. Coming to a stop next to him, I sat down and bumped his shoulder. "What you thinking about?"
"The evolution of life," he snarked, lacing his fingers through mine. "Honestly? You mainly."
"What about me? How you think I'm just amazing?" I teased, seeing him roll his eyes at me.
"More like if you'll ever be right in the head," he joked, eying me slightly. "And people wonder why I'm always in a foul mood. I have a mate who is off his rocker."
"But you love me, regardless," I whispered softly, kissing his lips.
"Hm, I do," Caius murmured before looking back up at the sky. "I was thinking about how unbelievably happy I am to have you back home."
"I'm glad to be home, babe."
"I was worried about you," he admitted softly, a slight shiver running through his body. "That coven you told me about, then those possible wolves. It was hard not to worry about what could possibly happen to you. If I lost you..." His eyes closed for a second as he shook his head slightly.
"Caius," I breathed, bringing his hand to my lips and kissing it.
"I know I'm not the easiest person in the world to live with, and I don't show it enough, but I do love you and I'd be lost without you." Caius rested his forehead against mine, taking a deep breath and breathing in my scent. A purr left his chest as the feeling of contentment touched my senses. "You ever die, and I'll follow you."
"Aro would have you bound so tightly to him, you wouldn't be able to," I murmured, squeezing his hand. "Don't talk like this, babe, I'm home now."
"I'd find away, trust me on that," he said with a smile.
"I know, I can feel it," I admitted, feeling the weight of his declaration.
"That gift of yours is both a blessing and curse. I'm glad I don't have one." Caius smirked.
"You have an immense capability to hate, that's a gift all on its own babe." I chuckled as he rolled his eyes at me.
"You say it like it's a bad thing," he pondered, turning his head back to the sky. "And I don't hate everything, just most things are below me."
"There you are. I wondered where you had gone for a moment," I teased, causing him to smirk and shake his head at me.
"How is the baby?" Caius asked, "I know you've been near her, I can smell her on you," he stated, a slightly disgusted look crossing his face.
"I love it when you get jealous," I teased, causing him to shove my arm playfully. "She's...yeah." I frowned.
It wasn't going well with Bella. I did feel for her. She had thought it would be so different, and the reality of it all was falling massively short of her fantasy. She hated that she felt so out of control with her emotions, that so much was confusing. No matter how many times I had told her that it would settle, she refused to believe me.
Somewhere, somehow, she had just assumed that this newborn phase would pass her by; that she wouldn't go flying off the handle at the slightest thing, unable to get a grip of the raging emotions that now plagued her. It would be funny if I wasn't having to deal with it all.
Bella was less than a week old, stuck in a constant crave for blood, and then hating herself for feeding off humans. I know that Edward had forewarned her that blood would be mainly all she would think about for a while after she was turned. Though, like most things that fell to Bella, she believed differently.
Not to mention, the complication of her instincts to mate with Demetri; something that I really didn't want to happen for her just yet.
"Jay?" he prompted.
"She's not handling it well," I confessed, seeing him raise an eyebrow at me. "She hates human blood, and wants to feed off animals. So much so, that she's willing to ask for an audience."
"Is she now? And she feels that it will be granted?" I nodded my head, causing him to snicker. "It won't be."
"I told her this, but Edward happened to tell her about Carlisle spending time here, and how he'd maintained his eating habits." I told him, "She thinks that she should be able to, too."
"Carlisle was never part of this coven, and he already had his eating habit when he arrived here," Caius stated. "Does she really think she's so special that she will gain preferential treatment?"
"Yeah, she sorta hopes that because she knows me, since I'm her sire, and you're my mate, it will be granted." I shrugged. "I've told her it doesn't work like that."
"Wonderful," he rolled his eyes, "So, at some point, I'm going to have sit through her whining about human blood?"
"The chances are high, babe," I said with a shrug. "The joys of being a king."
"I think I'll be sick that day." I chuckled at him as he smirked and continued, "I'm being serious though. I will not sit through that, and then have to hear how she wants everyone to be her friend."
"You heard that then?" I chuckled, hearing him growl slightly. Bella had wanted everyone to be her friend. Trouble was, there were some in the castle that would never be her friend, and others that would only be nice to her because of certain reasons.
This wasn't the Cullen's little family where we all loved each other. Sure, we all protected one another and worked as a unit, but not everyone was friends. Groups had formed inside the coven, and some were closer than others. Again, Bella's perception of vampire life was jaded to what it actually was.
"It's pathetic," he said in disgust. "And to think she's mated to Demetri as well..." He shook his head. "I actually feel sorry for him, a rarity, I know," he said with a smile.
"Yeah, she's not actually mated to him yet. She's still all levels of hung up over Edward," I admitted, causing Caius to sigh deeply.
"Even better, a love triangle," he remarked. "Tell her that she will feed off humans and humans alone. She needs to accept what she is, and get this stupid warped Carlisle Cullen theory out her head."
"I'll let her know you'll think about it," I joked, causing him to growl at me. "Love it when you growl. You're so easy to wind up and cause you to lose that sweet little temper of yours." The darkening look on Caius's face caused me to chuckle at him. "Did you get told off as a child over your temper? Wait, can you even remember that far back?" I laughed, seeing his eyes narrow at me. "Did you look at the moon and wonder what it was back then?"
"Shut up, Jay." he growled, moving quickly and pinning me under his body on the roof.
"Aw, does the big bad vampire not like being reminded that he's older than dirt?" I teased, slowly starting to kiss along his jaw. "Do you remember that one time up here?" My hands roamed the sides of his body while I nipped his ear.
"You mean when I fell off?" he asked, pinning my hands over my head.
"It was fun, though," I moaned out, feeling his teeth scrape across my neck. "It's a good thing no one saw where you landed."
"Very," he breathed as his lips trailed to my ear, gently rocking his hips against mine causing me to moan. "But, it's not happening again."
Caius was suddenly off me, sitting back on the ridge of the rooftop, smirking. A perfect blond eyebrow raised at me, as the feelings of his playfulness flittered around my senses. Glaring at him, I sat up grumbling under my breath that he was a tease, making him chuckle.
"Aww, don't look like that, Jay. You didn't really think it would happen up here again, did you?" I pouted at him, hitting him a heavy dose of lust. A shiver rippled through his body, his eyes darkening slightly. "Not gonna work, il Mio Amore." His voice was slightly strained though, and I knew I could crack him if I continued.
Moving closer to him, I nuzzled his neck while running my hand down his smooth, hard chest. "If you just hold on," I purred in his ear, "you won't fall off."
"No," he said with a kiss to my nose, "I won't be lucky this time. Most likely, I'll end up, pants around my ankles in front of Aro."
"Oh, you'd never live it down!" I mused as he shook his head, a light laugh leaving him. "He'd torment you for all eternity over it."
"He already does," Caius mused. "But let's not give him any more reason to antagonise me."
"Aw, babe. Does he bully you?" I teased, earning a playful punch in the arm.
"You're delightful tonight." He rolled his eyes at me, as he brought my hand to his lips. "I've missed this."
"Me too."
For a while, we just sat there in a comfortable, relaxed silence; shoulders touching, fingers lightly linked. Every now and then, we would hear the odd vampire moving around underneath us, having sneaky conversations in the dead of night, thinking no one was listening.
The sky soon began to change, lighting up slightly as the sun slowly began to make its way back up into the sky. Inwardly, I groaned, knowing that soon we would part and go back to our daily routines. Sometimes, I wished we could just disappear for while; leave the castle and his duties behind, and just be us.
"What is it?" he gently asked in my ear, his arm snaking around my waist.
"Just thinking how it would be nice to go away. Just us for a while, you know?"
"Well, if someone hadn't have decided he wanted to play dad, we could have," he replied. "But, considering you now have your own little brat to look after, it'll be awhile."
"You serious?" He nodded his head.
"Of course." He nipped my neck. "Get her sorted and we'll disappear for a bit. Where ever you want to go."
"Hmm," I mused, moving so I now straddled his thighs. "Anywhere, just away from everything and everyone. I'd take a remote island."
"A remote island?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at me. "And we would feed how?"
"Wildlife," I commented. "Remote normally means no humans reside there," I teased.
"You'd expect me to eat that?" He grimaced. "You would, wouldn't you?"
"I would love to see you try it, just once." My fingers began to play with the ends of his hair. "Your face is a picture," I laughed before yelping as he pinched the back of my thighs. "Ouch."
"Don't torment me, then." He smirked, his fingers running up and down my thighs. "I got a letter from Dora the other week."
"How is she?" I asked.
"She's good, travelling the world again." He smiled. "She always asks how you are."
"That's nice of her. I always liked her, despite everything that happened."
Caius snorted and shook his head. "She always liked you. I think I argued more with her about you than I actually argued with you about you," he mused. "She warned me I would lose you if I wasn't careful."
"Well, she was wrong because I wasn't going anywhere without you," I admitted, squeezing his hand in mine.
"She was. You just found me too Irresistible to leave," he said with a smirk. "You wouldn't have gotten very far, anyway."
"No?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him. "Pretty sure there, aren't you?"
"I'd have dragged you back here, back to where you belong."
ATW
Sitting in one of the libraries in the castle with Bella, I watched her try and turn pages on a blank notepad, trying to learn to control her new strength. I felt her growing happiness at almost turning a page, seconds before she growled as the page tore yet again.
"This is pointless!" she whined, throwing the notepad away from her. "I feel like a Goddamn baby!"
Chuckling, I pushed back on the chair, balancing on its back two legs. "The point is control," I reminded her. "It will get easier, but it's easier if you try and do this. Focus, gain the right amount of pressure, and you'll be turning the pages in a real book soon."
"Oh, gee, thanks." She rolled her eyes. "Do I get a gold star for it too?"
"If you wanna go down the gold star route, I'm sure I can find some laying around here." Bella looked at me slightly shocked, unsure if I was serious or not.
"There isn't really gold star stickers in a vampire castle, is there?" she asked, leaning over the table and speaking low.
"You'll be surprised what's in this castle," I mused. "I'm almost certain that Aro has some."
"Aro? Why would he have them?" Bella frowned, the feeling of her being unsure licked at my senses, causing me to chuckle.
"Fucked if I know. But considering he always seems to have everything, he's the best person to ask." I shrugged. "Did you think he gave them out to guard when they were well behaved?" I snickered, the image of Aro doing just that played around my head.
If Aro could get away with it, I wouldn't put it past him to try it. Though, I was pretty certain it would end up in a fight if someone got more stars than someone else. Competitiveness ran high in the castle, sparring, fighting, games - everything became a competition.
Collecting gold stars, no matter how childish it would be, would be no different.
"I dunno..." She shrugged, another growl ripping in her throat as she once again tore the page. "Mother fucker!"
"My, my, what a dirty mouth, and to think Edward would have a heart attack if he heard that." The moment, I said his name, I regretted it.
Bella's face screwed up and her pain slammed into me, causing me to take a shaky breath. A dry sob left her lips as she buried her head in her hands. Fuck, I hadn't meant to make her cry; no conscious thought had passed through my mind when I said his name.
"Bella…" Moving around the table, I pulled out the chair next to her and sat down.
Gently, I rubbed her back, slowly pumping out a stream of calm, while she worked through her emotions. I knew she still loved Edward; knew that despite everything that had transpired, she still held a slim sliver of hope that he would come for her and they could be together. The notion wasn't possible. And deep down she knew that.
She just needed to admit it to herself.
Bella was now a vampire and had found her mate. She had those instincts now, knew who she belonged to, and it wasn't Edward.
"I love him, Jasper," she croaked. "I always thought that it would be him, you know?"
"I know," I whispered, pulling her to me and kissing the top of her head.
"Why, Jasper?" she whimpered into my chest. "Why did he leave me?"
"I don't know, darlin'. Only he knows that," I murmured against her hair.
"If Caius see's this…" Bella pulled back and pushed herself into her seat. "You'll get into trouble."
Taking hold of her hands, I gave them a gentle squeeze. "Don't worry about Caius, darlin'." Bella looked at me unsure. Clearly, she could remember her encounter with him in the throne room.
"I'm not so sure. He's protective of you."
"He's possessive of me," I corrected her. "Besides, it's not Caius you should worry about, it's Demetri."
"Why? We're not...I mean…. We haven't," she stammered, embarrassed. No doubt if she was still human, she would be blushing scarlet now.
"Doesn't matter, he'll see another male holding his mate close, and without that bond, he'll lose his shit pretty fast." Bella frowned at me. "It was why Caius was there when you woke up, in case Demetri lost it."
"Protecting you." It wasn't a question, it was a statement. "Should I bond myself to him? I've gotten pretty close to it." Her face screwed up again. "Can't believe I've just said that."
"I can." I smirked, watching her place her face in her hands and shake her head in embarrassment. "I'm you're sire. You feel at ease talking to me about this, and you will continue to do so until you fully mate with Demetri. However..."
"This isn't going to be good, is it? I can tell by the tone of your voice," Bella said, beginning to panic.
"Bella, relax." Pushing out some calming vibes, I waited for her to settle. "Don't mate with him."
"What?" she breathed, shocked. "You told me he's my mate, and now you're telling me not to mate with him? Don't you want me to be happy?"
"That's why I don't want you to complete that bond...not yet anyway," I stated. "Listen, Bella, I want nothing more than to see you happy. I don't want you to carry this hurt around with you, but I know if you complete that bond with Demetri, it'll cause a whole world of pain, not just for you but for Demetri too."
"How?" she questioned, pulling her hands out of mine and crossing her arms over her chest. "Demetri said it will bring contentment, peace, the complete opposite to what you've said."
"It will, but…"
"So which is it?" she cut me off. "You're talking out your ass!"
"Isabella," I growled. "Listen to me."
"Why? You've said one thing and now you're saying another," she huffed at me.
"Bonds are complicated. They grow, they live, they feel," I stated calmly at her. "Being bonded is one of the most precious things a vampire can have. They're sacred. Mates are sacred, not every vampire finds their mate. Most settle for the next closest thing. Entering into a mateship is something that you shouldn't take lightly or rush into." I paused, watching her process the information before continuing. "You'll feel it in here." I placed my palm in the centre of my chest. "Feel."
Opening up my gift, I allowed Bella to feel what my bond felt like. The warmth in my chest that was always there, the contentment, the love, the knowledge that Caius was safe and well. That he still walked this earth. How my life was now entwined into that bond.
I thought about my time away from him, how my bond had felt then. How lost I had felt, feeling my soul call to him and knowing he was thousands of miles from me. The ache that came with it, that grew stronger and stronger as the days passed by, until I couldn't stand it any longer. My joy at seeing him, at reconnecting with him once again, knowing I was home to stay. How everything suddenly made sense in my world once more. I thought about how our bond strengthened via venom, the feelings that it brought forth. How we nuzzled, slowly scenting each other and bringing forth a deep rooted connection to one another.
And lastly, I thought back to the first time Caius and I had created our bond. The impact of those emotions, how I felt our bond suddenly blossom into life, connecting him to me forever. The depth of emotions that seemed to never end, and how my world, my life changed completely.
"Wow," Bella breathed. "You feel that? Through a bond?"
"Yes. As I said, they grow, they live, they feel," I offered. "But this is where they are delicate. You go into this still loving Edward, and it will hurt that bond. Damage it, you'll never be completely free until you let him go."
"But surely that bond will override any other feelings?" she asked hopefully.
"No, it doesn't work like that. What it will do is cause pain to you and to Demetri. He'll feel that you still love Edward, that your heart belongs to another." Taking her hand, I squeezed it reassuringly. "Don't get caught up in your instincts."
"Are you asking me or telling me?" Bella asked. "Because I'm capable of making my own choices," she said with a slight sneer to her voice.
"I'm not telling you or ordering you. I'm advising you as your friend, Bella," I said with a sigh. "Let me ask you this. If Edward walked through that door now and begged for forgiveness, would you take him back, or would you reject him because of Demetri?"
"I….I…" she stuttered, swallowing rapidly. "I'm drawn to Demetri."
"That's not what I asked you."
"I don't know. I love Edward, he meant everything to me and none of this is fair," Bella whispered, her red eyes casting down.
"Life's not fair," I offered. "But take my advice."
"It could be wrong through," she hedged. "These instincts could be wrong."
"Instincts don't get it wrong, the mind does." Slowly, I rose from my seat. "Take my advice and do with it as you will, but trust me when I say that your instincts aren't wrong. They're built in. Be happy, be thankful that you found the person that's made for you. Not everyone finds that, Bella. Don't be a fool."
AN: Yeah, you know the drill. Thank you!
