Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, but I do own this story. Please don't steal it.
A/N: Someone asked me if Esme or Rosalie will play a part in this story. I never write a character in unless they serve a useful purpose. I am a bit of a minimalist as a writer. I won't add filler just to show that all the Cullens are there. Charlie wasn't in ALIR at all, but when he showed up in ALIF, there was a reason, so unless you see them taking in active role, assume they're just floating around in the background somewhere. :) Someone else asked if this story was going to be a polyamory story, and the answer is no, most definitely not, although the lines may seem blurred at times. ;)
Many people have asked about Manhunt, which thrills me to no end! It came in first place in the voting round of the contest and is the highest rated story ever on textnovel, thanks to you! I am slowly taking it down from textnovel for a number of reasons. One, the contest is over and I am prepping it for submittal and the publishers frown on publishing a story that is widely available online for free. Two, I have had some recent issues with plagarism, and while stealing a fanfiction story hurts my feelings, stealing Manhunt could hurt my wallet. If you are a fan of Manhunt, please let me know! I have created a restricted blog where I will post the remaining chapters for readers' critique. The site is restricted, which means there is a maximum of 100 authorized readers. I will send out those invites on a first come, first serve basis so if you're interested, don't hesitate to let me know via PM or in your review for this chapter. I will keep you posted on Manhunt's publication status on my blog; lillie-cullen-blogspot . com and via Twitter where my user name is Miss_Lillie.
Chapter 2 - Jasper's POV
The first couple of attempts were rather non-eventful. Bella would take her seat on the throne, with Edward and me standing on either side and slightly behind her. I could tell just the act of sitting there made her uncomfortable. One by one, Gianna would bring men in as part of a 'behind the scenes tour' of the castle. Bella would do what she could to focus on them, making eye contact, concentrating very hard on whatever she was trying to project towards them. For Edward's sake, I was thankful he couldn't hear her thoughts. After Gianna had walked them around the room, pointing out various artwork and artifacts that had been staged throughout the room to give Bella more time in her attempt without it becoming awkward, she would lead them to the marble platform and introduce them to the 'historical society benefactors.' Bella would shake their hand, initiate conversation with them. While most had some sort of positive thoughts and feelings from their interaction with her, and many were downright lustful of her, Marcus had yet to see one with whom her powers had created an irreversible bond.
Then, it happened. An unassuming young man named Trevor followed Gianna into the throne room, took one look at Bella, and fell in love. I could feel it immediately, Edward's face was pained from the thoughts running through the boy's mind, and most importantly, Marcus could see the bond. He would later describe it as stronger than Felix and Demetri's bonds in intensity, but not as strong as anyone else's.
Unfortunately, Bella had no idea how it had happened. She had barely had a chance to even make eye contact with the boy, let alone put conscious thought into it. It had happened that fast. He ignored Gianna and headed straight for Bella, intent on making his introductions while he strategized a way to ask her to accompany him to a nearby cafe for coffee. Aro gave Gianna the signal, and she took him by the elbow to lead him away. Gianna had been put in charge of personally "disposing" of the men such as Trevor, on the hopes that her beauty would be enough to distract even the most ardently enamored enough to make their last moments pleasant. They had asked Heidi first, but she respectfully declined, not wanting to go back to feeding from humans after a two decade abstinence. Everyone had confidence that Gianna would give Trevor a pain-free death.
In the days that followed, the Main Hall was transformed into a war room, complete with a detailed hierarchy Carlisle and Marcus created of the strength of the bond each man had with Bella and bullet points that explained the nature of the relationship and any potential contributing factors, with spaces anywhere Marcus felt there was a drop in the intensity of their bond when compared to the person above them. It was quite bizarre.
BELLA'S BONDS
1. Edward
a. Spouse
b. Singer
c. Nature of Bond: Romantic, Protective, Lustful, Possessive
i. strongest bond known to date
d. Possibly influenced while B. was human
e. Bond felt immediately upon meeting B.
i. cannot neglect to consider singer influence; romantic/protective instincts were not immediate and once felt, were at odds with bloodlust
ii. Feelings grew quickly over time (may have occurred naturally)
f. Felt strong increase upon first seeing B. after change.
2. Jasper
a. Former lover, current bond considered that of brother-in-law/very close friend
b. Nature of Bond: Romantic, Protective, Lustful, Possessive
i. Second only slightly to Edward in strength of bond
c. Possibly influenced while B. was human
d. Bond felt after first significant time spent 'alone'
e. Feelings grew quickly over time (may have occurred naturally)
f. Felt strong increase in bond upon first seeing her after change
.
.
.
.
.
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3. Adrian
a. Best friend, brother-in-law
b. Nature of Bond: Completely platonic, Familial, Extremely protective
c. Possibly influenced while B. was human
d. Recalls strong protective feelings for B. upon first meeting
e. Felt no significant increase to bond upon first seeing B. after change
4. Emmett
a. Brother-in-law
b. Nature of Bond: Mostly familial, Protective
c. Possibly influenced while B. was human
d. Recalls protective feelings for her upon first true meeting, although spent time at school with B. prior to that meeting with no known effect. Feelings grew quickly over time (may have occurred naturally).
e. Felt significant increase to bond upon first seeing B. after change
.
.
.
5. Carlisle
a. Current relationship - father figure
b. Nature of bond: Paternal, Protective
c. Felt brief lustful feelings, but not permanent, upon first seeing B. after change. Has felt strong increase in bond since change
.
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.
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6. Marcus
a. Current relationship - father figure
b. Nature of Bond: Paternal, Protective
c. Felt affectionate upon meeting B., but not strong bond
d. Felt significant increase to bond upon first seeing B. after change
7. Aro
a. Current relationship - father figure
b. Nature of Bond: Paternal, Protective
c. Felt affectionate upon meeting B., but not strong bond
d. Felt significant increase to bond upon first seeing B. after change
.
.
.
8. Trevor
a. Relationship: none
b. Nature of Bond: Romantic, Lustful
i. Not enough time spent with subject to determine Protective/Possessive/Obsessive possibilities
c. Felt immediately upon seeing B.
.
.
9. Felix
a. Relationship: Friend
b. Nature of Bond: Protective, Lustful
c. Affected when B. was human
d. Felt increase to bond upon seeing B. after change
10. Demetri
a. Relationship: acquaintance
b. Nature of Bond: Romantic, Lustful, Protective
c. Affected when B. was human
d. Did not feel increase to bond upon seeing B. after change
Off to the side were scribbled notes about James, Michael Newton, Tyler Crowley, and Jacob Black. Carlisle could not add them to the main graph since Marcus had not seen them interact with Bella to understand the strength of their devotion.
After Trevor, there was another draught where no one else brought before her was affected. We convened in the War Room to discuss the latest news on the Romanian front. It was not good. It only served to frazzle poor Bella's nerves even more. Edward caressed her knee with his thumb and tried to soothe her. It calmed her a little, but not much.
"Bella, let me help you, please? This is too much for one person to handle," I pleaded. Bella nodded and I sat down on her other side, taking her free hand in mine so I could relieve as much of the stress as possible. Bella's facial features softened as she let me ease her, and Edward smiled at me in gratitude.
"Perhaps Bella just needs to be more of a seductress, play the part of the vixen," Carlisle hypothesized.
"You've got to be kidding," Edward replied tiredly. He was receiving the residual effects of my relaxation of Bella. Otherwise I was certain Carlisle would have gotten an earful.
"I wasn't acting like a whore when they," she waved her hand blindly in the general direction of the board, "were affected, and I'm not about to start now."
"No, no, that's not what I mean. What I mean is that, with a few exceptions, your interactions with those you affected were pleasant to you in some way. You were enjoying their presence. That's not the case with these strangers we're parading in front of you."
"I see what you mean, Carlisle," I replied. "It's hard to feel a connection to the livestock at the county fair, knowing that they're headed for the slaughter." Carlisle nodded in agreement with my analogy. "But there are some very definite holes to your theory. With James or even with Aro and Marcus, Bella's first interactions with them were far from pleasant for her." I looked to Aro and Marcus briefly. "No offense. Even the rest of the Forks teenage boys -- they met her on her first day at a new school, where I can assure you she was stressed and overwhelmed and most definitely not enjoying the attention. Trying to get her dolled up and acting like a fisher is not going to make her get more enjoyment from this."
The door opened and Heidi walked in just in time to hear the last part of my speech. "Not even a fisher likes acting like a fisher," Heidi said in support before looking at me. Her eyes flickered down to mine and Bella's hands entwined, my thumb rubbing soothing circles on her skin. She looked back up to me, then to Edward, I'm assuming to gauge his knowledge or reaction to the situation. Edward met her eyes and smiled sadly at whatever thought crossed her mind.
"It is what it is," he stated softly. She shrugged her shoulders and plopped in a chair further to the front of the room, facing away from us. "Bella, it's not a foolproof theory, but it is one worth exploring. What can we do to make this more comfortable for you?"
"I don't know, not kill them after, maybe?" she replied a little snarkily and Carlisle tried to hide his laughter with a cough. Brilliant plan, except vampires don't cough.
"Allriiight..." Edward continued, a small touch of amusement dancing around him for the first time since we'd left the airport. "What if we took a chance in an open setting?"
"What if it works? I'll ruin their lives with one look!"
"No, you can't think of it that way. Remember that guy when we were walking around Ohio Stadium? He fell victim, I mean, under your spell. While I have no doubt that if you ran into him at 85, he'd still profess his love for you, you have no reason to believe that, while he may be carrying a torch for the beautiful stranger he passed on the street one night, he hasn't gone on to resume his happy life without you."
"And even if his life sucks now, you'll probably never see him again to know the difference," Demetri chuckled.
"Not. Helping," Bella groaned at him.
"I've got a thought. I can't imagine it's fun for you to try and make some stranger fall in love with you while flanked by your husband and former lover," Felix said. "Maybe if you went out for a night with the girls, go to the clubs or something. You say you don't dance, but we all know better. It might do you good, even if no poor schlep ends up with Cupid's arrow in his ass."
"One of many problems with that idea," Edward replied, "is that Jasper and I WILL be with her when she goes on this crazy mission. That is non-negotiable. She will either need to learn to use her power with us there, or we will need to find another way to resolve this conflict."
"You're right, of course. I still think the setting is too clinical, nonconducive to romance," Felix replied, nonplused, exaggerating his Italian accent on 'romance' for dramatic emphasis.
Kelly rolled her eyes and smirked at him. "So I suppose you think Bella subscribing to your old 'love them and leave them' way of life is a better suggestion? Seriously?!" Everybody got a good chuckle.
Edward had apparently decided it was time for a break. "Bella, love, why don't we go for a walk? A little fresh air might do us all some good."
Bella nodded and squeezed my hand in thanks before standing up and following him. When he reached the door, he turned around and looked at me. "Are you coming, Jazz?" Dazed and a little confused, I mutely stood and followed them out the door.
A/N: By request from the wonderful Sxkitn, may I present Emmett covered in strawberry and whipped cream for your reviewing pleasure!