(Peter)
"I can tell it's bad Char, worse than ever." I frowned. "He's in a worse place now than he was when we got him away from Maria, and that is something impressive."
"Don't beat yourself up. We thought we were doing right sending him off on his own. He needed something more than we could give him. It seemed like the right thing to do. He was so broken, nothing we were doing was any help."
"I know, but this just feels wrong."
I couldn't feel emotions like my sire, and I wasn't a psychic like the woman he ran off with, but all vampires had a bond with their makers. The strength of that bond varied greatly, but for Jasper and I, it was intense. It rivaled the depth of the bond I shared with my mate, not that I would admit that outloud ever. I guess it figured that with as many vampires as the Major made, one of them would have a special bond, and that was me.
Venom was venom on the whole, it changed a human to a vampire and that was that. One vampire's venom worked the same as another's. A powerful vampire didn't make powerful children. Powers didn't pass from father to son. The only side effect that seemed to be universal was an aversion to harm your sire and to be a bit subservient to them for the first few years with very few exceptions, it wore off and most people weren't even aware of it.
With Jasper and I, it was something else entirely. Mostly it just made it so I could find him when we were separated and I had a general inkling of his state if he was distressed. That's how I knew I needed to come visit. And this time, I wasn't leaving him here unless I got some answers.
Char had gotten sick of my worrying and we had headed to where I knew him to be a week ago. Now that we were close I was debating on what to do next.
My mate tossed me my phone, rolling her eyes at me. "Just call him, worst case he doesn't answer and we go anyhow."
"You're right, you always are." I kissed her softly and dialed my brother.
He answered and we made plans to visit, the few details I got over the phone were disturbing. The Cullens had broken the law by revealing themselves to a human and didn't seem to care about it. I knew the coven leader Carlisle was in good with Aro of the Volturi, but I doubted that would give him a free pass. What had my brother got involved in?
"We have to get him out of there Char, before he goes down for that coven's mistakes. I don't doubt for a second they will leave him out to dry on this one."
She nodded and we took off at a dead run for the Cullen home. When we arrived we could hear an argument going on in the upper floors. Sounds like not everyone was excited to see us. I smirked at my mate, glad to be causing some discord already. It would make it easier to find out what was going on if they were fighting amongst themselves.
Char and I hugged my brother and Emmett, who were waiting for us on the front porch. I had always liked Emmett. Of all the Cullen coven, he was the only one of them that was worth knowing. He was a genuine person and had a sense of humor. The rest of them were either pretentious as all hell or miserable. I felt bad for him being saddled with that blonde harpy. She was a looker, but her beauty only went skin deep.
Char and I looked up toward the noise coming from upstairs. There was Emmett's little cream-puff now, and it sounded like Eddie as well, trying to convince Daddy we were too low-class to be allowed in their mansion.
"Welcome as always, I see." I said, letting the sarcasm roll out freely. My voice cut their whining and there was stomping and door slamming, followed by the good Doctor making a dignified entrance. He made excuses and a half-hearted welcome. Ever the missionary, he accepted us here only to try to tame us of our heathen ways. I had no illusions of that.
His wife on the other hand, was glad to see us. If she wasn't so deeply sad all the time, she would be great to be around. I don't see how the rest of them could look in her eyes and not want to cry. "I have a room done for you, let me show you to it so you can clean the road off you." She beamed a huge smile at us, almost hiding her grief momentarily.
"Well now, little lady, it's always a pleasure to visit here and see your lovely home. Char and I would greatly appreciate your hospitality!" I patted her arm, using a carrying voice so I could be sure Eddie and Rose would hear every word. I winked over my shoulder at Jasper and Emmett. "We were just thinking we could sure use a rest from traveling, that is, if you wouldn't mind us staying for a time, my dear?"
"Oh! Of course not!" Esme gushed. "You are always welcome, stay as long as you like."
I heard low growls from the third floor rooms and chuckled.
"Mighty kind of ya, ma'am. We might just take you up on that."
I didn't actually intend to stay any longer than it took to figure out what the hell had been going on with the human and lawbreaking, hopefully getting Jasper out of here before his tiny wife returned from Alaska to cause more difficulties. It was fun to play it up for now however.
I squeezed Char's hand, letting her know that I was just playing along and felt her relax. She wasn't comfortable around such large groups and only came because it was for Jasper. After leaving Maria, we kept mostly to ourselves for good reason. She may have only spent a year in the camps, but for a female it was a hard year. There was only so much I could do to protect her while keeping our relationship a secret.
I hated myself for it, but she forgave me. She told me time and again that if I had acted differently then neither of us would have made it out alive and we wouldn't have had all these years of happiness together. She claimed she'd do it all over again just to have me. How could I argue with that?
Even with her assurances that she didn't regret our past, it didn't stop her anxiety at being around so many unfamiliar vampires. I probably should have helped her get over her fears and acclimated us to groups, but barring the Volturi there weren't a lot of options around and I was much happier just basking in solitude with my mate. Most vampires were solitary or traveled with a mate or companion. It was just as common to find a third or even a pair of mates traveling together as a coven. The Cullens were abnormally large at seven, the largest coven besides the Volturi themselves.
Even in the south, there would only be between one and four permanent members of a coven. The newborns were not considered members, more like assets to be used and disposed of. It was rare for one of the chattel to become a coven member like I had done when Jasper saved me, bringing our numbers up to three plus another twenty-odd newborns.
I took the time to comfort my mate in the shower, making sure that after we were clean I rubbed my scent on her again before we dressed and returned to Jasper's side. I was eager to find out everything and to get him to come with us, willing to do whatever it took to make it happen.
"Captain." Jasper greeted me when I walked back into the Cullen living room. He winked at my Char and she smiled at him.
"Major." I answered back, standing straighter.
"Peter, Charlotte... what brings you to the area?" Dr. Cullen asked, interrupting our staring contest.
"I just knew there was something I needed to do here." I said, inserting mystery into the word knew. I liked to play it off as some sort of gift, premonition of a sort. It wasn't nearly as much fun with the evil pixie away, but I had an image to uphold. The Cullens had no idea of my true gift, I liked to keep that information strictly need to know.
"Ah, your gift!" Carlisle's eyes gleamed. "Someday you must meet my good friend Eleazer. Perhaps he can help you expand it, use it to its full potential."
"Anything is possible, you never know." I said, noncommittally. "At any rate, I had this feeling that there was trouble. Trouble with a human."
I felt a stab of irritation from Jasper and I sent him trust and patience back. I needed the story from Carlisle first, then I'd get the right of it later. I got another stab of irritation followed by acceptance.
"Yes, there was some trouble." Carlisle paused, his gaze going to the upper floor in sadness. I wondered if Eddie had eaten some townsfolk. I had a burst of inspiration, a sure-fire way to get Carlisle to sing for me. I just hoped it wouldn't take long or Char would never forgive me.
"Perhaps you could show me and my mate what there is to eat around here Carlisle and tell me more about it? I suppose if we are to stay for any length of time we could try it your way." I shot him a smile. Char stomped on my foot.
Carlisle looked excited. "Of course! That would be excellent, I have just the place in mind."
Charlotte looked ready to murder me, but I pleaded with her silently and shot looks at my sire and she gave in, allowing me to drag her out.
"You owe me." I whispered to Jasper. Causing him to laugh at me. I flipped him the finger.
Carlisle was oblivious to all of this, going on and on about the benefits of living vegetarian and how he was sure that we'd adjust given time and patience. I tuned him out, using the journey to reassure Char that I hadn't in fact lost my mind.
I followed the Doc's example and drained some sort of deer, nearly retching it back up in the process.
"I should have started with a carnivore." he muttered. "The boys always liked them better."
Charlotte at least got a black bear which smelled slightly less revolting, but it was hard to tell from the look on her face. I was pretty sure sex was out of the question for the foreseeable future for putting her through this, despite it being part of the mission to help our sire.
Once we had fed, I shuddered at the thought, it was time to get the story from the good Doctor. I told him I had to think about the diet more, but gave him enough hope to placate him for now, resisting the urge to wipe my tongue off on some leaves or spit. Char merely waited until I had Carlisle distracted before cleaning her palette.
"Tell me Carlisle, what happened with this human. I know only the basics and I'm concerned." He was still hesitant so I told him a few things I had gotten from the brief call with Jasper, not revealing my source.
He chuckled. "I should know better after living with Alice and Edward's gifts all these years. There is no point hiding things around the gifted! I suppose it won't hurt to fill you in." He then told me a tale that was almost insane. I wouldn't have believed it from anyone else.
"What of the Volturi?" I asked him, thunderstruck.
"Oh, I don't believe the dear girl will tell anyone. She knows of the Volturi and how dangerous that would be."
This keeps getting better and better. Not only was there a loose human who knew of vampires, but the fool had told her details of the royalty. I'm sure the kings would be delighted if humans stormed their castle with cameras and torches.
"I see." I said, holding in my thoughts with effort. "Still, maybe it would be a good idea to check up on things. I know you are friends with Aro, but even a good friend would want you to do your due diligence." I pretended to think on it. "Do you think Jasper could accompany us back to Forks, just to make sure things are as they should be? He could help us learn more about this new way of living on the way."
"I don't know. Jasper isn't the best example of sticking to the diet. His last mistake nearly cost dear Bella her life after all." Carlisle looked skeptical.
"Yes, but that is the beauty of it. If anyone could understand our struggle, it would be Jasper. Besides, my mate and I trust him the most out of anyone here. It would make it easier for us to learn to change." I dug deep. "I'd like to change, I think." Insert puppy dog eyes.
Carlisle caved, believing me faster than I expected. The man was living in fantasy land.
"Of course, Peter. I didn't realize, forgive me. He is your sire after all, you would want to learn from him." He grasped my hand, pulling me into a half hug. "You have no idea how much it means to me that you are willing to try." He smiled like an angel.
"We will do our best, sir." I placated, trying not to crack.
"Just make sure not to get too close, we don't want to interfere in her life any more than has already been done. Just make sure the secret is intact and that she is safe." he sighed. "Actually it is a great favor to me that you would do this. We could all use a break from Jasper's gift as well, he has been projecting more than usual and it has been a trial."
"It's no problem, we are used to his gift. We spent many years with him before he joined your... family."
Carlisle patted me on the back and gave my mate a squeeze on the shoulder before taking off to the house. I shrugged and looked at Char, a bit confused with how easy it turned out to get Jasper free. We didn't even have to pull off any heads!
As soon as we got back, Char went to our guest room and got together the few things we had unpacked while I got Jasper to get a duffle together.
"I'll explain on the way, brother." I told him when he questioned me. It was a testament to how beaten down he was that he didn't demand answers, following me almost meekly. The whole process took just a few minutes, during which Carlisle was too busy talking about his success at converting us into veggies to go into the rest of our conversation.
"We'll call you from the road!" I called out, dragging my mate and brother away before the rest of the Cullens could object to our destination. We ran straight through to New York City, deciding to find a real meal there. I felt like I still had fur stuck in my teeth.
"Ugh... Major how do you get the fluff out of your teeth? That was absolutely rank. Never again, not even for your sake!" I complained.
He laughed at me and told me that I needed to flood my mouth with venom, it would dissolve. "Make sure to spit the hair out though, you don't want to swallow that stuff. End up like a cat with a hairball."
My eyes bugged and he almost hit a tree from laughing at me.
"So where are we going?"
"To get a real meal first, you interested?"
"Might be, depends where else."
"After that, we go to Forks via a flight to Seattle." I scowled. "Not like you to leave lose ends."
"Bella isn't just a lose end, I can't even explain it. The girl is special somehow." he said, shocking me.
"Well either way, we can't let her wander around on her lonesome. Seems to me from what the Doc said, the girl gets herself into a lot of trouble for a human."
"You don't know the half of it." Jasper muttered.
"So tell me brother." I shot him a look.
"Not yet, but I will."
I nodded. "Fair enough, I can wait. How about instead you tell me what has had you tied up in knots then? I could feel it from Montana. How is it you were feeling worse with the Cullens than you were with that crazy bitch Maria?"
"I don't even know how it happened. I guess it was so slow, by the time I realized it, I just didn't care anymore. Alice just controls everything and I let her, I have to, she's my mate." he sounded so defeated it hurt.
"Mate? Who told you that? Alice?" I snorted. "If she was really your mate, she wouldn't be off in Alaska right now with you sitting at home all tore up about your human pet. The pull wouldn't let her go."
"Second time you mentioned the pull now Peter. Explain yourself."
"Don't you know nothing about mates? The pull! The draw, the string that ties you together. If you don't feel it, it's cause it isn't there to begin with. Alice isn't your mate Major, same as Maria never was. She's been lying to you, controlling you, manipulating you for sixty years. You've been the Cullens very own guard dog, keeping the bad vampires away so they could play house."
"I don't believe it."
"Oh, believe it! You've been her personal Ken doll, or maybe GI Joe is more apt a description." I growled. "This here, this is a rescue mission. I've always had your back and I always will Major. Believe it. I don't want or need anything from you but your friendship and I never will." I punched his shoulder and grabbed my mates hand tightly as we approached the city.
I offered to take him with us on our hunt, but Jasper had a lot to think about and decided to stay near the airport and wait. Sensing he would do just that, Char and I found some shady characters that wouldn't be missed and were back in a few hours. It was a relief to get that taste out of our mouths and our eyes back to the normal deep crimson color they had been for almost as long as I could recall.
We hopped a non-stop flight to Seattle, riding first class for the extra privacy and Jasper filled us in on how things had been for the last decade we had been out of contact. Things were worse than I thought and now that he was with us he was actually examining things with his whole mind for once.
"Your lawyer in Seattle?"
"Yep."
"Get him on your finances then. Don't want that little demon cleaning you out when she gets word you left town."
"Good idea. I kept most of it hidden from her anyhow. I'm not nearly the idiot I've appeared to be."
"Could have fooled me!" I joked.
He sent me his amusement, so I knew he wasn't offended.
"As for Alice and the Cullens, I want to sever ties with them in person. I owe them that much. It hasn't been all bad, and I'd hate to burn my bridges there. Especially with Emmett. He at least deserves to understand why I'm leaving."
"I feel bad for the big guy. You sure that he's really mated to the blonde?"
"I thought so, but it seems I'm the last person to judge." he said ruefully.
"Right, well we can get a hotel room in Seattle first to deal with the lawyer. Then head to Forks to check on the human girl when that is all sorted. We call in every few days with the Doctor and report all is well on our cross country run, make sure we are ahead of any trouble."
"Good plan. Should work as long as Alice isn't looking for anything specific. As soon as she hears she might start checking and that will throw everything up in the air." Jasper said.
"Can't be helped." I nodded. "At least we have a head start."
It took almost a week for Jasper to finalize his legal situation. Instead of the hassle of a divorce, he just had Jasper Hale declared dead and reverted to using his true name Jasper Whitlock. It would make things easier in the end if Alice tried to fight him on it and Hale was now a penniless bastard. Anything that was in both their names, Jasper left in just hers which I thought was generous of him.
We decided to stay in the Cullen's Forks house and pick up the things Jasper had wanted and had been forced to leave behind in the process. His guitar, his motorcycle, his pickup, his restored civil war uniform, a few things that had meant something to him over the years. Not a lot, just enough to fill a box.
Char and I hunted in Seattle before leaving but Jasper decided to stay with the wildlife for now.
"I would like to speak with Bella if I get a chance." he explained. "To tell her I'm sorry, to explain myself. I don't want to frighten her with my eyes."
"Is that the real reason you are staying veggie brother?"
"Mostly. I won't lie and say it's not a relief to feel nothing from my prey, and I probably will feed on some of both in the future." he paused. "Just not yet. I can't face her with red eyes, not when I need her forgiveness."
I wanted to tell him that if this girl was worth it, she'd forgive him any wrong he did, no matter his eye color, but he seemed so fragile I held my tongue. I sent him a wave of support and brotherly love instead.
Char and I hung back as we ran from Seattle to Forks, letting Jasper hunt ahead of us. She had been quiet most of the trip. My mate had never bonded with Jasper like I had, never getting past seeing him as Maria's Major. She accepted him as our coven leader, and as my brother, but that was all. She'd fight for him but she didn't love him like I did. It saddened me and I hoped one day she could see past his shell.
He did care about her, but in a way that she was an extension of me. If it wasn't for me, she would have been culled with the rest without a second thought. I knew he would die for her, but for my sake, not for hers. Maybe things would be different if we had stuck together for the last sixty years. Not for the first time, I wondered if I had made the biggest mistake of my life letting him go with Alice. I saw hope in his eyes though, and I couldn't deny him the chance to explore it.
"Charlotte, sugar, tell me you're okay with this." I held her close, purring softly to comfort her.
"You know I am. I'm sorry to worry you." she sighed. "I'm actually really happy to see you with your brother again."
"But?" I asked.
"Not really a 'but'. I just have a feeling things are going to change."
"Change can be good, you know."
She smiled up at me, kissing my jaw.
A whistle ahead broke the moment and we ran to catch up. Jasper had finished hunting and we ran together toward the Cullen place. As we got closer, we started picking up fresh vampire scents and slowed.
"I got three of them, fresh." I said quietly. "Anyone you know?"
Jasper sniffed the ground carefully. "Yeah, Eleazer Denali, his mate Carmen and Laurent of James' former coven." he straightened. "Can you cover us? I don't know why they would be here. Last time I called Carlisle he didn't seem suspicious."
"Yeah, we'll go in quiet, see what we can find out." I nodded. "Char and I will stay out of sight unless you need us Major. No need to tip our hand unless there are more than the three of them."
I was confident that my brother could handle three vampires with ease and being that his eyes were still golden it wouldn't set off any alarms with the veggies from Alaska. This Laurent fellow was a wildcard though and I didn't like it. Even without a Cullen living there, it was bad manners for someone to be in their home uninvited.
"What's the range on Denali's gift?" I asked, not wanting him poking around, revealing my secrets.
"He has to be looking at you, eye contact helps." Jasper answered. "If he doesn't know you're here, he won't be able to read you."
"Good." I snorted.
I reduced my scent, extending the ability to my coven was a tricky thing requiring a great deal of concentration. I could only do it for a short time, but we only needed it for a little ways.
Once we were in hearing range we slowed and listened in to the conversation. The entire back wall of the Cullen place was glass, so I could see the vampires clearly as they tidied up the downstairs, removing dust and airing out the rooms.
"Laurent, you didn't tell me this girl who needed help was a human!" Eleazer said, surprised.
"Yes, my friend, she is quite extraordinary however. You may have already heard of her. She was Edward Cullen's pet for a while before they abandoned her. Quite a pity and quite illegal. I have agreed to assist her, the law must be upheld as your coven learned the hard way long ago." The vampire, Laurent, replied.
"I was most upset to learn Carlisle left the girl. I was considering doing something about it myself. I was torn between my loyalties however, and I hadn't broken any laws personally."
"The Volturi don't often make allowances for technicalities, you know this."
Eleazer nodded, but didn't speak.
"The girl seems willing to be changed, and willing to go to Voltera to attest to her transformation in person. Normally this would implicate the Cullen coven and all who knew of her and didn't act, but she displays remarkable talents for a human. That is where you come in."
"You think she is gifted then. That could very well change things."
"Yes, she has the ability already to block Edward's mind reading."
"As a human? Remarkable. That amount of latent talent is indeed incredible. I will meet her if she is willing."
Jasper got my attention and whispered to me, "She deflected my power on a few occasions as well."
My eyes widened. Impressive, this certainly wasn't some measly human the Major got involved with. She was a force to be reckoned with. I'd never seen anyone resist the Major, not even myself and I was very familiar with how his gift worked.
"The protectors of this region want to discuss it first, Bella said she'll come here after meeting with them and let us know how it went. It shouldn't be long until she comes here to work on her gift."
"Protectors?" Eleazer asked.
"The less you know, the less you have to worry about."
Eleazer accepted that, nodding. "Carmen and I will get some human food for the kitchen while you finish cleaning up the house then. I want her to feel comfortable while we work. It can be a difficult process if her gift has an active component to it."
Jasper tapped Char and I on the shoulder and we melted back into the forest, running until we were well out of range.
"That was interesting," I said when we were away from detection. I let my scent come back, sighing in relief.
"Very. Laurent was smart to keep the wolves out of this. It seems they have quite the scheme going, I'm not sure I like where it's heading." Jasper said, thinking hard.
"Wolves? Fill me in."
"Shape shifters, not werewolves. There were just a few at first, but likely more by now. The size of horses, mean as hell and able to kill vampires. They claim this region by birthright, attacking red eyed vampires on sight and killing them."
Char hid behind me.
"Don't worry sugar, I've got ya." I soothed.
"They hold their meetings on the beach at La Push. It seems Bella is going along with a plan to become a vampire, most likely to save the Cullens from the Volturi and possibly the wolves as well. I don't know what their angle is, but I'll find out." Jasper growled nodding his head toward the house.
"What do you need us to do?" I asked, a bit worried at the thought of a pack of wolves coming after my mate.
"You two need to stay in Seattle. I'm going to say hello to the dogs at their meeting and find out what Bella is really up to."
"Umm... didn't you say these wolves kill vampires?" I asked. Perhaps the veggie diet caused insanity.
"They do, but I'm Major Jasper Whitlock." he grinned.
I sighed, knowing there was little point to arguing with him.
"Just help me get my bike before you go. I might need normal transportation."
I covered our scent again and we silently went in, removing the ride from the garage without alerting the vampires in the house before splitting up.