Thank you to twilightcrazyxX, Lindsabelle, Tilli Roxs, taramisu100, Smiley Alice, deltagirl74, Marshmellow, ja4ever, sarah, musica1514, twilight'sTAtu, Ice Jazz, note4, usagiharuka, aurike, and Cashman 626 for your reviews.
I'm sorry it has taken me so long to get this update posted. I've made it a little longer than my chapters normally are so I hope you enjoy.
XXX
Alice followed Jasper's retreating back deep into the forest until he finally stopped and turned to look at her. She let out a gasp as she felt the flood of strong emotions from him and she knew her lies had hurt him deeply this time.
"Why Alice?" Jasper gasped, like it physically hurt him to speak to her right then.
"It was wrong," Alice murmured. "I know that. I even knew it when I was doing it. I really thought you were going to kill Brandon the night we caught them at the club. I thought if I could handle it you wouldn't have to. But they don't listen to me."
"Of course they don't Alice," Jasper sighed. "You haven't taught them how to be responsible adults. You taught them to lie to get out of trouble."
"I didn't mean to," Alice gasped. "I punished them, every time. I swear Jazz. They have been grounded and they have lost important things. I was trying to be fair, to everyone."
"Everyone but me," Jasper whispered.
"Oh Jazz," Alice sobbed, realising he was right. "I know, I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry."
"I know you are," Jasper sighed and stepped closer to her. "We have to stick together sweetheart. No secrets, no lies. It hurts me that you felt you had to hide things from me."
"I just wanted us to all be happy," Alice whispered. "But keeping things from you was so hard. It didn't make things easier."
"And it won't," Jasper smiled sadly at her. "I know I overreact. I did it with you and now I'm doing it with the children. But that doesn't mean you can shut me out. Pull me up on it but don't lie to me."
"I won't," Alice promised sincerely. "I swear Jazz, I will never keep anything from you again."
"I know you won't," Jasper nodded, feeling how awful she felt about the whole thing and even though he wanted to stay angry at her he still had his basic innate need to dispel any negative feelings coming from her. "Let's forget it. I love you sweetheart."
"I love you too Jazz," Alice gasped and flung herself into his arms and they held each other tightly.
XXX
The next morning the house was quiet, and most of the children were avoiding their parents and each other. Late in the afternoon Stella decided to get some fresh air and walked out onto the back patio and she sighed when she noticed Letty sitting sullenly next to the pond.
"I guess your birthday sucked," Stella said softly as she walked over to her.
"What?" Letty frowned and shrugged her shoulders. "Not really. I enjoyed the baseball game and dinner. The rest was kind of bad though."
"It was," Stella agreed as she sat down beside her. "How bad were you and your sister punished?"
"We're grounded until we go home," Letty sighed. "We can only go out if we have Mom, Dad or Uncle Jackson with us."
"Well that isn't too bad," Stella smiled at her. "Your Uncle Jackson is pretty fun."
"He is," Letty agreed. "Do you know him well?"
"He's good friends with Oliver," Stella grinned. "And when I first joined the family he was the first one to befriend me. We used to spend hours just talking."
"I wish you had married him," Letty said and then her mouth went wide. "Oh, I'm sorry."
"Don't be," Stella assured her. "I love Oliver, I wouldn't be with anyone but him but Jackson is a wonderful man. I hope deep down that one day he will find himself an amazing woman to be his mate."
"Me too," Letty grinned.
"So you feel better now?" Stella asked her softly.
"A little," Letty smiled and then turned her eyes up to look at Stella. "If you knew someone was doing something that could harm them would you tell?"
"Definitely," Stella nodded, her brow furrowing with concern. "Letty, what's wrong? You can trust me."
"I know I can," Letty sighed. "When we were at the club last night Sierra and Brandon were doing something that I think could be dangerous."
"Drinking?" Stella gasped. "Drugs?"
"No," Letty admitted. "Nothing human like that. They were using their gifts. But the consequences for how they were using them could be bad. Especially for See."
"How were they using them?" Stella asked worriedly.
"They were having a competition between themselves," Letty told her. "They do it all the time according to Lucas. They manipulate the feelings of humans to seduce them. It's a game to see who can seduce the most. But that could be dangerous couldn't it?"
"Very," Stella nodded. "Don't worry Letty. You did the right thing telling me. I'll take care of it."
"You won't tell them it was me who told you will you?" Letty asked fearfully.
"Of course I won't," Stella promised and got up and walked inside.
XXX
Oliver was sitting in the living room with Jackson when Stella walked into the room. They both glanced up at her and Oliver immediately frowned when he saw the serious expression on her face.
"What have they done now?" Oliver sighed.
"You've seen it?" Stella asked.
"No," Oliver admitted. "But lately whenever you or my mother get that expression on your face I know it has something to do with my younger siblings."
"It does," Stella sighed.
"I knew it," Oliver groaned. "What have they done now?"
"We should discuss it privately," Stella murmured as she glanced at Jackson.
"We don't have any secrets from Jackson," Oliver shrugged.
"It's okay," Jackson smiled as he jumped to his feet. "I promise Angel and Letty I would take them hunting. They are probably impatient to get out of the house without Rose or Emmett." He flashed Stella an understanding smile and slipped out of the room and once they were alone Stella walked over and sat down beside Oliver.
"So what have they done now?" Oliver asked outright.
"I've found out why they enjoy going clubbing so much," Stella sighed. "It isn't just for the dancing like Sierra claimed. It isn't alcohol or drugs but its something just as dangerous, if not more so."
"What?" Oliver demanded angrily.
"They have a game going," Stella murmured. "They use their gifts to seduce people and they have some kind of sick competition between them."
"That's a little immature," Oliver sighed. "But I don't know that it is really dangerous."
"Trust me, it is," Stella said firmly. "Your gift doesn't have the same consequences as something like they have. Messing with people's emotions is a dangerous thing. Especially lust. I of all people understand the consequences of that."
"Of course," Oliver groaned. Although he didn't like thinking about it Stella had always been open with him about the things she had done when she had been with Vincent, including what they had done to Jasper and Alice. "Do you think we should tell Mom and Jazz?"
"I don't know," Stella sighed. "Jasper will overreact, we know that. But after everything yesterday I don't think we should keep any more secrets from him."
"You're right," Oliver nodded. "We have to tell them." He stood up and held his hand out to her and helped her up off the couch and they walked outside and into the forest in search of Jasper and Alice. They found them sitting on a rock together near a stream and without even turning around Alice spoke to them.
"I was hoping for a little leisure time before they did something else," she murmured.
"Who did something?' Jasper frowned and glanced between Oliver and Alice.
"You've seen it?" Oliver asked.
"Of course," Alice smiled wryly. "I see nearly every little detail of all my children's lives."
"I don't think I want to know," Oliver laughed.
"What have Sierra and Brandon done now?" Jasper asked. "They haven't gone to a club again have they?"
"No," Oliver answered quickly and glanced at Alice.
"It's their behaviour at the clubs that is the issue," Alice sighed. "Letty told Stella about it this morning."
"But I promised Letty I wouldn't let on who told me," Stella added.
"Tell me," Jasper demanded.
"They are seducing humans in a competition," Alice sighed. "With their gifts."
"Manipulating their emotions," Jasper groaned.
"Specifically lust," Stella nodded.
"And we all know how dangerous that can be," Alice whispered as she glanced at Stella.
"I'll speak with them," Jasper growled.
"Jazz, that might not be a good idea," Alice gasped, seeing that Jasper would overreact and it wouldn't end well for Brandon and Sierra.
"We have to address this Alice," Jasper said firmly.
"And we will," Alice promised him. "But I can see that blazing in there yelling and screaming at them will not change things. It could make everything worse."
"Then what do we do sweetheart?" Jasper sighed.
"I have an idea," Alice murmured and turned her eyes to Stella. "I know we have never told them everything but maybe it is time we do."
"Everything?" Jasper frowned.
"About how we met Stella," Alice sighed. "And about Vincent."
"They can see the consequences of what they are doing," Oliver nodded. "That could work."
"I don't know," Stella whispered softly.
"If you share your story with them it might make them see how dangerous what they are doing is," Oliver suggested. "Would you be willing to talk to them?"
"I would," Stella nodded. "But what if it changes what they think of me."
"It won't Stell," Oliver smiled. "They love you and they know the real you. What you did before they were born won't change that."
"I guess," Stella murmured.
"You would do this for us?" Jasper asked. "For them?"
"Of course I will," Stella nodded. "If you think it's for the best I'll tell them everything."
"Thank you," Alice smiled.
XXX
Later that evening Sierra and Brandon were sitting in the living room of the upstairs attic rooms with Angel, Lucas and Letty when the door opened and Jasper and Alice walked in with Oliver and Stella behind them.
"Lucas, Angel, Letty," Alice murmured. "Could our family have a little privacy please?"
"Of course," Angel nodded and jumped to her feet. Letty quickly joined her sister, noticing the solemn looks on the adults' faces. Her eyes linked with Stella's and she immediately knew why the family needed privacy. Lucas followed the girls out of the room and they all walked downstairs to find their parents.
Back upstairs Oliver shut the door behind the other teenagers and then turned and leaned against it. Jasper and Alice had sat down on the couch Angel and Letty had vacated and Stella had grabbed a small armchair and dragged it closer to where Sierra and Brandon were sitting.
"What is going on?" Sierra asked warily.
"Your sister in law would like to speak to you," Jasper said firmly.
"This sounds serious," Brandon murmured as he glanced at the adults and he could feel a myriad of emotions coming from them.
"It is," Alice sighed and looked at Stella as she nodded her head in encouragement. "Stella, you have the floor."
"Okay," Stella murmured and glanced at Oliver who offered her a soft smile. She smiled back at him and then turned to look at the two young teenagers.
"Your Mom and Dad and your brother thought I was the best one to speak to you about something we have discovered," Stella started. "It has come to our attention that the reason you enjoy going to nightclubs is because of a little game the two of you like to play."
"Who told you that?" Sierra demanded angrily.
"That doesn't matter," Jasper interrupted. "Listen to Stella." Brandon frowned, surprised his father wasn't physically punishing him if they knew the game he and Sierra had been playing.
"We could yell and scream at you if that is what you prefer," Alice added with a knowing smirk.
"We'll listen to Stella," Sierra murmured and turned back to look at Stella.
"There are things that happened before you were born that you haven't been told about," Stella sighed. "You know that Oliver and I got together when I came to help the family fight to protect Brandon from the Volturi. What you don't know is how I originally met the Cullens."
"How?" Sierra asked, sensing an interesting story.
"The one who made me was Vincent," Stella told them. "He immediately found out I had a gift."
"But you don't?" Brandon frowned.
"Yes, I do," Stella sighed. "I keep it well hidden and rarely lose control of it. But that wasn't always the case. Back in the 1950's Vincent and I used my gift the way the two of you are using yours."
"What is your gift?" Sierra asked with interest.
"Similar to yours," Stella smiled. "But my gift only applies to one emotion, lust. I can sense it, project it and most importantly, manipulate it."
"And you did what we do?' Sierra asked, not realising that for the first time she was admitting that she and Brandon had been playing the game.
"We did," Stella nodded. "Vincent and I worked together. He could incapacitate his victims, freeze them I suppose you could say. It was just a bit of fun, something to do to alleviate the boredom of living for eternity. We had left behind us a path of destruction and mayhem. In 1955 we moved to Grand Forks in North Dakota and found our next victims. A married couple, our favourites. I started manipulating the husband while Vincent worked his charms on the wife."
"What happened?" Sierra asked, intrigued.
"I became good friends with the wife," Stella sighed. "I didn't want to keep up the game but Vincent insisted. He invited the husband to our house and I waited there for him alone. I seduced him while Vincent went to their house to seduce the wife. He incapacitated her and was going to rape her. At the last moment I felt remorse and quickly confided in the husband what Vincent and I had done. He hurried to his wife's aid. I followed. When I got to their house Vincent had both of them and their brothers and sister frozen and he was about to hurt her. I used my gift to sidetrack him and the husband killed him."
"Who were these people?" Brandon frowned, sensing there was more to the story. Stella let out a soft sigh and glanced at Oliver, Jasper and Alice before she finally responded.
"Your Mom and Dad."
"You did that to our parents?" Sierra gasped.
"I did," Stella murmured and Sierra, Brandon and Jasper all felt her guilt flood them.
"But she has changed now," Jasper said softly. "Stella had learnt to control and hide her gift and she learnt from her mistakes."
"We are hoping you will do the same," Oliver added.
"We didn't think about the consequences of it all," Brandon sighed as he glanced at Sierra and he was sorry he had ever let his baby sister put herself in such a dangerous situation.
"We won't do it again," Sierra promised.
"Good," Jasper smiled. The two teenagers got to their feet and left the room and Alice snuggled into Jasper.
"I'm proud of you baby," she murmured. "You didn't yell or scream at them."
"I could feel they are truly sorry," Jasper whispered. "They won't do it again."
"No, they won't," Alice smiled surely.
XXX
"Do you have any idea who told them about our game?" Sierra demanded as she walked down the stairs with Brandon.
"It doesn't matter See," Brandon sighed.
"Yeah, it does!" Sierra growled.
"Maybe Mom just saw it," Brandon shrugged.
"Nope," Sierra said with a shake of her head. "They didn't say Mom saw it, they said they had been told. Someone dobbed us in."
"Just drop it See, it doesn't matter," Brandon sighed.
"It wouldn't have been Lucas," Sierra mumbled, her mind now set on discovering who had told on them. "He has been clubbing with us before. He's your best friend. He would keep our secret."
"And Angel is your best friend," Brandon pointed out.
"Yeah, she wouldn't dob us either," Sierra nodded. "Which means it must have been Letty."
"See, leave her alone," Brandon sighed. "Maybe it's a good thing she did tell them. We didn't think about how dangerous what we were doing was."
"That's beside the point," Sierra snapped and as they reached the bottom of the stairs she saw Lucas sitting alone in the living room.
"Where's Letty?" Sierra demanded.
"Out by the pond," Lucas shrugged. "Why?"
Sierra turned and stormed off towards the back door and Brandon let out a long sigh as he watched her go.
"What's that about?" Lucas frowned.
"My little sister is about to go off," Brandon murmured.
Sierra stepped out the back door and she immediately saw Letty sitting by the fish pond Esme had built years earlier. Letty was running her fingers through the cool water but she looked up as Sierra approached her.
"See?" Letty whispered as she jumped to her feet and Sierra could feel her guilt and fear flowing from her.
"You dobbing cow!" Sierra hissed as she lunged towards her cousin, grabbing her by the throat, and the two girls fell to the ground as Letty let out a scream.