AN: Alright, so not many of you seem to like Maria so far. I doubt your opinions will improve with this chapter. So, we get to see a little more of Maria and the Major. And I think this is the point in the story where Bella gets a little OoC, but hopefully I made it fit in with the character I had developed. Let me know what you think because I'm just rambling now.
Disclaimer: SM owns all, still. But I'm borrowing her Major in cowboy boots and a Stetson! *Drool*
Jasper growled lowly beside me tugging me a little closer to his side as Maria spoke, but the comment which she addressed to me did not go over too well with either of us. Little friend, indeed!
"Maria, this is my mate, Bella." His tone was hard and icy, and not one I had heard before, it scared me a little even though it wasn't directed at me.
"What happened to the psychic? Did you tire of her?" Maria asked in a sing song voice as she strolled towards us. She stopped just out of arms reach and her eyes traced over me. I stood beside Jasper, gripping his hand but showing no other sign of discomfort, and I could feel his pride.
"Be careful young one, my Major does get tired easily. You won't hold his attention long, even if you are a pretty little thing." She smiled sweetly at me. I let her words wash over me for a moment before I spoke.
"Just because you couldn't keep his attention doesn't mean no one can." I smiled sweetly, Peter and Char tried to cover their laughs behind me.
"Watch your tongue child." Maria said icily, losing her welcoming persona. "You don't know anything about him." I laughed at that comment, unable to help myself.
"Maria, I'd suggest you watch your words around my mate." Jasper said his voice still cold and hard as he looked at her, his eyes were steely but still golden. She waved him off and turned to Peter and Charlotte, looking them over once before giving a satisfied nod.
"Come, I'll show you to your accommodations, then we have a lovely meal prepared." She smirked the last part at Jasper who didn't react. I tried not to, but my grip tightened on Jaspers hand at what her words implied. She led the way into her home; it was decorated the same way throughout, plain light coloured walls with terracotta details. It was lovely, if not a little boring.
Peter and Charlotte were directed into one room while we, well Jasper was shown to one opposite them. "I suppose I could have another room made up for your mate." Maria sneered, looking at me.
"That won't be necessary." Was Jaspers curt reply as he walked into the room, pulling me gently after him and shutting the door.
"Dinner will be served in an hour Major." Maria called through the door before leaving us be.
"I don't like her." I sighed petulantly as I fell onto the bed, which was also dressed in white.
"Neither do I Sugar." Jay said softly, sitting beside my head, his fingers playing with my hair.
"Little friend." I scoffed making Jasper chuckle. "Can you say 'jealous ex'?" I rolled my eyes, keeping my eyes fixed on the ceiling and trying to ignore my dread at the thought of 'dinner'.
"Talk to me Bella." Jasper whispered quietly as he shifted up the bed until he was directly behind me, his legs parted. I sat up and shuffled backwards into his waiting embrace.
"I'm fine, just a little concerned about 'dinner'." I sighed, my fingers tracing patterns over the backs of his hands which were resting on my stomach.
"We don't have to go." I scoffed. "Seriously Darlin', I can tell her we decline her invitation."
"That would be rude." I mumbled, leaning my head back on his shoulder. "Besides Pete and Char will probably enjoy the spread." Jasper laughed at that.
"They won't eat without us. They aren't her newborns anymore, and she knows better than to press the point. This whole dinner façade is for me."
"For you?" He nodded, pressing a kiss to my neck, nipping it slightly.
"She wants me to change my diet. She knows we're not as strong surviving on a diet of animals compared to human blood." He breathed against my skin, feathering my neck with light tender kisses.
"Do you want to change?" I whispered, almost losing my train of thought thanks to his talented lips as he sucked gently on the sensitive spot behind my ear.
"I won't deny that it's tempting Bella. Nothing compares to the taste of human blood, and nothing satisfies our thirst like it either."
"I wouldn't mind if you did you know." I muttered though the words were true; I wouldn't blame Jasper for choosing to feed off of our natural food source.
"I made the decision a long time ago not to feed off humans Sugar."
"Yeah, but that was different, that was for Alice, for Carlisle. Sure you didn't want to feel their pain but you still did it for Alice."
"I did it for me Darlin', I couldn't keep feeding from humans and feeling their pain and terror. It was driving me insane. Alice saved me from that; she showed me another way."
"So, what if you couldn't feel them? If you could feed from humans without feeling them, would you?" I asked, pulling my head up and shifting so I was knelt between his legs, our eyes level.
"I might." Was his response. "Especially in this situation, it would be beneficial to be at full strength." I thought for a moment before nodding.
"Guess we should get ready for dinner then." I sighed sliding off the bed and wandering over to our suitcase which had been brought up by one of Maria's lackeys. I rummaged around for a moment before finding a fresh pair of jeans and an emerald green corset top with capped sleeves. I vanished into the bathroom to change while I thought over a few things.
When I came out Jasper had changed into a white button down, leaving the top couple of buttons undone, and had on a pair of light blue jeans, along with my favourite piece of his wardrobe, his cowboy boots. Nothing on this earth was sexier than Jasper in his cowboy boots and his Stetson, though he had left the hat at home for now.
"Ready Major?"
"Always Colonel." He smirked at me as his eyes travelled over my body, they darkened a little, but he snapped himself out of it as a knock sounded on our door.
"Come on lovebirds. Major, you can eat your dessert later." Peter called from the other side.
"Can't we, like, gag him?" I laughed as I took Jay's hand and led him out of the room where we were faced with Peter, in an outfit similar to Jaspers, and Char in the same outfit as me except her top was a deep purple. We hadn't planned this - much. I smirked at Char as we passed them and made our way downstairs to the dining room.
The room had white walls like all the others but instead of having a table and chairs held a selection of plush sofas and armchairs, in various shades of beige. Each one having a couple of terracotta throw pillows, I was noticing a theme in Maria's home decor skills. Find a colour scheme you like and stick to it like a fly to shit.
Maria was already sprawled out on one of the couches as she beckoned us into the room, waving a hand at the furniture. "Take a seat; you must be hungry after your journey." She purred, her gaze fixed on Jasper as her hand came to rest on the seat beside her. Expertly Jasper manoeuvred us to the couch opposite Maria, whilst Peter and charlotte took the one beside us. I don't think any of us missed her pout at being so blatantly rejected.
She recovered quickly.
"Well, Major, it seems like this new friend of yours follows the same diet as the rest of the Cullens. It must be tiresome trying to keep her happy by going along with Carlisle's harebrained idea." Jasper said nothing. "I thought you might enjoy some of your old favourites now that you've come home." I bit back a growl as she molested him with her eyes.
As she'd spoke one of her minion had led in a row of seven human girls, the youngest was around seventeen while the eldest wasn't more than twenty five. All of them were blonde, with sun kissed skin, but obviously not local. They were all terrified; I could smell the adrenaline in their blood and could feel the venom pool in my mouth as I did something only Char, Edward and I knew I could do. Concentrating on the tight ball of energy in my mind I opened it out and forced it to cover myself and Jasper. We all knew I was a mental shield and we'd worked on expanding that, but what Jasper didn't know was that I also had another shield, it wasn't physical, but it did stop some physical gifts, like Alice and Jasper's.
He glanced at me briefly, confusion on his face but I simply smiled at him, all too aware of Maria's attention being focused on us. "Enjoy." I whispered, resting my palm against his cheek for a moment. I had always known that Jasper didn't agree with Carlisle's ideas about human life. Humans were a food source, first and foremost. Even I had been in that category at the beginning of my interactions with the Cullens in Jaspers mind. It had taken a while for him to think of me as anything else. The final change came about when we mated. Then I was simply waiting to be changed. I was no longer food. He had explained all this to me before my change. Telling me the only reason he abstained from humans was because he couldn't bear feeling their emotions as they died.
I wasn't sure what my thoughts truly were. I agreed with Carlisle to an extent, but then my rationale came into play stating that if humans ate animals, placed themselves higher up on the food chain, then why couldn't we eat humans? It was confusing, but for the sake of family harmony I had gone with the rest of the Cullens. Jasper knew this too, we had discussed it after one of our hunts.
As soon as Jasper realised what I'd done he smiled gratefully at me before rising out of his seat and wandering up to the line of girls. My compassion made me feel sorry for them, but a part of my brain was comparing them to lobsters at seafood restaurants where you pick the one you want to eat while it's still in the tank, alive.
I watched with fascination as he prowled up and down the line, taking time to choose his meal. All of his muscles rippled under the fabric of his shirt, tantalising and teasing. I knew I wasn't alone in my ogling and suddenly the need to stake my claim rose within me. I knew Jasper felt it when he turned to me with a smirk and held his hand out to me; I was after all the only person he could feel while under my shield. I rose from my seat and Peter smiled happily at me as I passed him, sliding my hand into my mate's.
He brought me to his side without a word before running his fingers almost lovingly over one of the girls' faces, she looked to be about twenty, give or take a year and she smelled delectable. We moved as one, each of us moving to either side of her neck before piercing her skin with our teeth. It was like a hot knife through butter.
Then the blood hit my tongue and I was in heaven. It was sweet, rich and so full of life. The adrenaline made it even tastier I was sure, and I greedily pulled mouthful after mouthful of the red liquid into my mouth, feeling it soothe the ache in my throat better than anything else ever had. As we drank I felt Jaspers hand wind into my hair, and once the girl had given us everything she could we dropped her between us.
Our eyes lock together and Jasper pulled me to him, our bodies pressed firmly together as his lips devoured my own. His tongue seeking out any remains of blood in my mouth as mine did the same to him. Eventually our kiss slowed and with a final chaste peck and a smirk I withdrew my shield from my mate and we returned to our seat.
I had been completely oblivious to Peter and Char feeding alongside us, but sure enough there were three lifeless bodies left behind as the remaining girls were led away. I felt different. Stronger. More in control. More focused. I was revelling in the feeling when Maria burst my happy bubble.
"Point taken, Major." She huffed, folding her arms over her chest in a rather childish show of petulance whilst I happily rested against Jaspers side. "I would like to go over what is required of you during your stay."
"In the morning Maria." Jasper sighed, obviously as disgruntled by her behaviour as I was. And he was definitely as frustrated as I was, I could tell without looking at him by the way his fingers rhythmically squeezed and stroked my side where my top and pants didn't quite meet due to my position.
"Very well, I shall expect to see you and your Captain at eight."
This was the moment Peter chose to speak up.
"What about the Colonel?"His voice was full of mischief and his eyes were sparkling with joy.
"Colonel?" Maria arched a delicate eyebrow.
"Yes ma'am. The Major's found a Colonel, and it just wouldn't be right to meet without them." Maria looked a little ruffled for a moment before she composed herself.
"Very well, Major, your Captain and Colonel may accompany you to my drawing room at eight tomorrow morning. I trust you remember where that is?"
"Of course Maria, now if you'll excuse us." Without another word he stood up and escorted me out of the dining room, followed by a giggling Peter and a spluttering Charlotte as we returned to our rooms.
"Peter." Jasper barked, calling him into our room after us.
"Major." I let go of Jasper's hand and sat on the edge of the bed, being joined by Charlotte while Jasper paced the floor in front of us, facing Peter. He had closed the door behind himself and was now stood at ease, his hands behind his back and his head lowered, all traces of jocularity wiped off his face.
"Did you find that amusing?" I recognised my mates' voice, the rough, controlled questioning of the Major. It was nice to know he'd joined us, comforting somehow.
"A little, sir." Peter mumbled to the floor. Jasper continued to pace, and I could see Peter begin to shake in fear. For goodness sake, it wasn't like he'd done anything which put me in a compromising position with Maria. In fact he's helped as far as I was concerned.
Just as I started to stand up Charlotte rested a hand on my arm shaking her head slightly, a look of worry in her eyes. I rolled my eyes and shrugged her hand off, if there was one thing I was certain of it was that no matter what Jasper would never hurt me. Major or not.
"Jay?" I questioned as I moved into the way of his pacing bringing one of his runs short. He looked up from his track on the floor and growled deeply at me. My hands rested on my hips as I cocked my head to one side and arched an eyebrow at him, daring him to do it again. He took a deep breath and his black eyes stayed locked on mine while a little of their colour came back, though they were an orange hue now. I guessed mine would look the same.
"Are you going to leave Peter alone?" My answer was peter falling to his knees his body wracked with fear.
"Jasper, so help me if you don't let him up now." I waited a moment; no change except Peter had managed to straighten his back, his jaw clenched against the screams I know he wanted to release.
"Fine." I sighed, stepping out of Jaspers way and in between him and Peter being brought to my knees instantly by the wave of fear and pain Jasper had directed at his brother.
It felt like an eternity of being lost in pain and anguish, terrified of the feelings coursing through me but I couldn't stop them. I had locked my jaw, and now the fear kept it shut, my body collapsing under the weight of the emotions. A few seconds later it all vanished. And I looked up from my foetal position on the floor into the familiar caring eyes of my mate.
"Never again." He warned me, making me laugh weakly.
"Every time." I breathed as I got to my feet glancing at Peter who looked angry, but I wasn't sure who it was aimed at.
As soon as I was upright though Charlotte was on me. Hugging me tightly and speaking so quickly I couldn't understand what she was saying, it sounded like she was humming continuously. "Char, take your husband to your room. I'll see you in the morning." I said softly, prying her off me and handing her to her mate and watching them leave the room before turning to my own.
"As for you Jasper Timothy Whitlock, you have some explainin' to do."
To give him his due, Jasper did have the decency to look apologetic.