Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns all.
Rated M for a reason.
Chpt 30 Re-Bonding
BPOV
"Not quite the small scale assault Rutilio is expecting." The Major scoffs.
"Perhaps we can turn that to our advantage?" Pete suggests.
"Whoa." I interrupt. "Wait a minute. Excuse me. We're just gonna accept all this?"
The Major an' Pete turn their eyes to me as tension seeps into everyone again.
"What if he's lyin'?" I ask.
"My father never lies . . . ." Matthew shouts leaping to his feet an' towering over me threateningly.
"What are you?" I snarl springing upright an' getting in his face. "Fuckin' deaf? Which part of the story he's just told us didn't you understand numb nuts?"
"Bella!" The Major an' Gus snap in unison as everyone surges to their feet.
"What?" I demand, fingers itching to sink into Matthew's neck.
"Bella." The Major continues quietly. "We have some very powerful enemies comin' after us. Fightin' amongst ourselves is kinda counterproductive."
When I don't back down, Gus adds. "I know you are angry and have every reason not to trust me. But I am telling you the truth and we are all in this mess together. Please try to calm down and relax, we have much to do."
The Major captures my hand an' pulls me against his chest which helps to calm me while his gift washes over everyone else.
"We mean no offence." The Major says carefully. "But my mate has a point."
"Of course." Gus responds graciously. "I completely understand. Matthew, you know how proud I am of your loyalty to me and strong desire to defend me but I ask you in this instance to think carefully before you act. The Whitlocks have every right to be cautious it is not every day you find out you have accidentally made friends with someone you believed wanted to kill you. We have no right to automatically expect their trust and support under the circumstances."
Matthew aims a silent snarl at me an' then withdraws to stand beside Harry who takes his hand and gives it a reassuring squeeze.
"What do we do now?" I ask The Major without turning.
"I think we should release Caius Volturi for the time being." He replies. "I ain't comfortable about the idea of holdin' him prisoner."
Gus an' Jonathan laugh.
"If we get out of this alive my friend." Gus chuckles. "I think we should send Caius Volturi to join The Major in the annuls of history, it is about time the world was rid of that hoary old goat."
With a sigh I release him earning another proud smile. I do trust him. I think I probably shouldn't an' it doesn't mean I won't watch him like a hawk but for now I will still think of him as Gus.
"We need to come up with a plan, S . . and quickly." The Major says.
"Let's make sure the fire is out an' then pack up our stuff." Pete suggests. "I think we should get further away from New York for the time bein'."
The Major raises his eyebrow.
"My BFF is tellin' me that stayin' around here is a mistake." Pete shrugs. "That's all I can tell ya J."
"I usually trust him Si . . ."
"Very well Jasper." Gus agrees with an amused smile. "Where would you suggest we go?"
"We have a place in Phelps County, Nebraska, Jenks didn't know about." Char offers.
The Major regards her quizzically.
"You were playin' at bein' a Cullen at the time J." She shrugs. "An' we didn't think you'd be interested in farmin'."
"A farm?" I ask, surprised.
"Yep." Pete chuckles. "How could anybody pass up ownin' a house in a place called Funk? Neighbours farm the land, rents good too. Locals think the place is an FBI safe house."
"Is it a shithole?" I demand, suspicious.
"It's almost state of the art sugar." Char smirks. "I had it fitted out again just before your, ahem, 18th birthday party. Pete had a feelin'."
I open my mouth to ask the obvious question an' then close it again with a snap. Sometimes it's better not to know.
As we walk an' Char describes the house, The Major an' Gus fall in behind, heads together, voices a low murmur.
The fire has done its dirty work so some of us brave the embers to kill it off. Everyone is back to operating as two separate covens, which saddens me because we'd been getting on so well.
With a heavy sigh I stamp out the last couple of smouldering piles using far more force than is strictly necessary. People want to kill me. One of the people who I thought wanted to kill me has turned out to be someone I admire. My family is in as much danger as ever. The last fight I was in ended with my sister losing her head an' me almost losing mine. Some asshole totalled my wedding dress and the only outlet I have for my frustration is stomping on the ashes of people I helped to kill.
You couldn't make this shit up.
"Bella." Harry's quiet voice interrupts my furious stomping. "Would you like to take a walk with me?"
I look up, surprised to find her sans Davis an' holding her hand out for mine. With another sigh I take it and walk with her out of the clearing. We amble along the shore of the lake in silence enjoying the quiet an' the sound of the water lapping at the bank.
"How did you cope with Jasper's past?" She asks suddenly.
"I decided it didn't matter." I shrug. "I can only judge him for who is now and how he acts now, not the things he's done before. It was surprisingly easy to let it go, I admire his strength, the way he resisted what others wanted him to become and found another way. Nobody who can create a loyal lovin' family like us could be as bad as he thinks he is, was."
She nods but doesn't speak.
Oh. How do people like Jasper, Gus an' Harry do that? Is it a vampire talent or a product of being around a long time?
I sigh. "So you're tellin' me that Gus is exactly who he claims to be. A better man than he used to be, a different man to who he was?"
"Yes." She says quietly. "Like Jasper he had the strength to overcome his start in life and become someone he could be proud of. That I can be proud of. Caius died a long time ago, or at least he tried, it saddens me that circumstances keep resurrecting him."
"I feel the same way about Jasper." I admit. "This whole mess, it's so unfair. He's fought so hard for so long to get some peace an' some devious sack of shit keeps tryin' to take it all away from him."
"If it helps." She chuckles. "I feel the same way about Aro that you do about Rutilio. If I could sleep I would dream of tearing him limb from limb and throwing the parts into a volcano. He has wanted his Caius either back by his side or dead for a long time, every time Gus holds up his end of their bargain that scheming old bastard tries to find a way to make it happen. For our whole life together I have been afraid that he will either take Gus away from me or me from him."
I squeeze her hand. I understand her perfectly. And I feel sorry for her, she's been living this situation a lot longer than I have.
"Gus is a good man, a fair coven leader and head of a loving family." She assures me intently. "Bella he is everything he has claimed to be and no longer any of the things you fear him to be. Please give him, us, a chance."
I sigh again. "Then we'd better make sure two good men get what they deserve."
Harry smiles showing her razor sharp teeth an' for the first time looks less like a mother and more like an avenging angel, vampire style.
I return the gesture with a toothy grin of my own.
"Then we'd better get back and make sure the menfolk don't start planning something dumb." She laughs, back to her usual self. "It will take a woman's touch to resolve this situation."
We return to the clearing to find Jasper an' Gus still nose to nose. Jonathan, Carla, Pete an' Char engaged in a lively discussion of their own about battles and tactics with Matthew hovering between the conversations like a fly with two lumps of sugar. Davis is stretched out on the grass snoring lightly.
"Ah." Gus greets us warmly. "The ladies are back. Everything is done here we should make a move."
Harry wakes Davis, who climbs onto her back muttering about loss of dignity and we head back to the inn at a fast run. We pack our meagre possessions quickly, sneaking out in the dead of night an' hitting the road for Nebraska in our non-descript SUVs.
Somehow we've ended up with the women in one car and the men in the other, Pete an' Char driving as only they know our final destination. Well, all except Davis, when he wakes up I doubt his dignity is gonna be helped by finding himself in the Babemobile as Char has already christened it.
"So." Harry says rubbing her hands together as we turn onto the I-81. "While the military men are planning the downfall of the world as we know it we have something far more important to deal with."
"What's that?" Char asks.
"Bella's wedding of course." Harry giggles.
"Brillant idea!" Char starts bouncing up an' down in her seat causing the car to veer across the road.
"Char." I growl. "Human in the back."
"Sorry sug." She laughs. "It's excitin', you've got three sisters now to organise your weddin'. Me an' Pete, we got married in less than salubrious surroundings, mainly because it was our first chance to have J there an' we didn't wanna do it without him, an' I loved it. But sug I want better for you an' J, the four of us can really do it right!"
I sneer at her in the rear view mirror an' she rolls her eyes but a little shiver of excitement stirs within me, an echo of the Bridezilla moment I had when he proposed. Marriage has never particularly excited me but how could any woman resist the idea of becoming Jasper's wife?
"Excellent." Harry says, sounding suspiciously like Monty Burns. "Char, I don't want to step on your toes and I don't know what you guys had planned already but since we've got the best part of a day in the car what say we start at the beginning?"
I groan an' Harry reaches back to pat my knee. "Don't worry Bella. We'll plan the perfect wedding for the two of you, something romantic and intimate that you can remember for ever."
Still trying to hide my excitement I grouch. "Then you'd better be quick before some asshole massacres the whole weddin' party."
"Oh Bella." Harry sighs in mock exasperation. "Nobody gets between me and a good wedding. Nobody. Do you have any idea how many times I was a bridesmaid during my human life, ten! Ten times Bella. I was a spinster by the time Gus found me, an old maiden aunt, surrounded by the children of my sisters and brothers and resigned to my fate."
"But why didn't you? I mean, why?" I ask thoughtlessly.
"My mother died shortly after the voyage from England." She explains without bitterness. "I became defacto mother to my brothers and sisters. I did fall in love, once, he was a Captain of the guard who came with us to defend our settlement. He asked my father for my hand but he was so busy with the business of running our new township he couldn't afford to lose a stand in mother for his children so he refused."
"That's . . . ." I exclaim, outraged.
"Perfectly normal for the time and place." She interrupts me gently. "I've had plenty of time to come to terms with it, Randall was a good man, and he tried many times to change my Father's mind. And then, one day, he led a raid against one of the local tribes and he never came back. I was devastated but my brothers and sisters needed me and so I resigned myself to my fate, there were worse ones after all. Whenever I could I would wander away into the woods to indulge my self-pity, which is how, of course, I came to almost meet that worse fate. Gus saved me from many things and death was only one of them. I consider myself to be a lucky woman."
My mouth opens an' closes without any sound escaping so I lean forward and squeeze her shoulder. She pats my hand an' then returns to the attack.
"So. Dress, venue, service, theme, flowers, transport, guests, honeymoon." She chuckles, ticking them off on her fingers. "Let's get started shall we?"
A/N Why didn't anybody tell me Lake Placid isn't in Vermont? I feel like a right eejit . . . . Damn you Google Maps! And your faint state lines!