I Felt Hope: An Alice & Jasper Story

by IntoTheTwilightRPG

The story of Alice and Jasper's first meeting all the way up until finding the Cullens. Rated MATURE for a reason. :

15. Chapter 15

15. Taken

No sooner had he made the decision to open the window than he found himself careening out of it and landing with a soft thud on the ground below. Alice's scent hovered in the air, still fresh. Drawing in a breath, he took off in a dead run into the trees beyond the house. "Alice!" he screamed over and over, his gaze flashing around as he blurred through the undergrowth, going so fast he thought his feet might come off the ground.

Her scent led him deeper into the woods as his panic became tinged with confusion. Where had she gone? Why? He pushed himself harder, running as fast his legs would allow, but somehow he didn't feel as if it were fast enough.

He drew in another breath of her scent and slammed on the breaks. His eyebrows knitted together in confusion as a barrage of other scents suddenly overlapped Alice. Vampires. Twenty two of them to be exact. Every alarm bell in his head went off when it suddenly dawned on him that Alice hadn't gotten lost nor had she left. No, she'd been taken. Without a second thought, he changed directions, barreling through the trees in pursuit of this new lead.

They hadn't killed her. This fact was both a relief and a reason to be even more afraid. If they weren't planning to kill her then for what reason did they want her? And would that reason be more horrible than death? Would she be begging for them to kill her by the end?

The large male vampire was carrying her as he ran. She peered around his arm at the others, so animalistic in their behavior it was as if they had never been human. They fought constantly and Alice had watched with wide, frightened eyes as a few of them had even been killed in the conflicts which seemed as though they could erupt without a moment's warning. There were no longer twenty two of them. There were now nineteen. The newest pillar of blackish purple smoke rose over the trees in the gray overcast sky.

With an overwhelming sadness, her thoughts again turned to Jasper. What had he thought when he had found her missing? Did he know she had been kidnapped? Would he find her? As much as she wanted to be back safely in his arms again, she hoped he wouldn't attempt a rescue. The thought of him fighting these vampires sent a shiver up her spine. Whatever fate she was destined for, she would face it if it willingly if only it meant that he would be safe.

Memories of him flashed through her mind causing her bottom lip to quiver uncontrollably. Jasper holding her umbrella for her in the rain, Jasper trailing his fingertips down her face, Jasper slipping her wedding band on her finger, the way his lips had curled into a lopsided smile when he had said "I do"... She tried to push them away but it was a futile effort. She could no more banish him from her mind than she could escape the muscular arms that held her now, keeping her from running back to him as quickly as she could. A sob escaped her lips followed by another and another until she was lost in a sea of despair.

The large male shifted her weight into one of his massive arms, grabbed her by the throat and held her out in front of him, her feet kicking uselessly in the air. "Stop it! I'm not going to listen to that! I'll rip your head off first!"

Alice's sobs broke off into a startled whimper. He glared at her a moment more before he resumed carrying her, a snarl rising up in his throat that made her believe he meant it despite the fact that he could have done so at the beginning but hadn't.

It had been nearly two weeks. Her vampire mind had been keenly aware of every one of the 1,176,345 seconds that had passed. She had no answers, only more questions and as hard as she had tried to discover anything by using her gift the only thing she could see, over and over again without fail, was Jasper running and screaming her name...

Another male vampire, this one much smaller but no less evil looking, ran up next to them, his lips curled back from his teeth. "Twist her head off?" he asked, incredulously. "She'll kill us all if we don't do as she says! If you can't handle this little one then give it to me. I'll gladly accept her rewards on your behalf, Sam. Maybe it's time she had a new favorite anyway. How many have you lost since we left on this mission? Six! And before that in the north? Ten! You can't control them! You can't lead them! You're losing your edge..."

Sam spun on his heel, crashing to a halt with a vicious snarl ripping out of his throat as he came nose to nose with his challenger. "Do you want to be the next one who burns, Carlos? Do you want to be the next one that's torn apart, piece by piece?"

They stared at each other for several moments before Carlos, as Sam had called him, back down and slinked away. Sam watched him move toward the back of the group before he turned and resumed running toward a destination unknown to Alice. Another vision flashed into her mind, the same as always, torturing her with its implications.

Jasper, the forest flying past him in a blur, her name tearing from his lips in a heart wrenching cry...

Two weeks had gone by without a trace of her. Nothing except the scent trail left behind by her kidnappers. Jasper had religiously followed it, not even pausing to hunt.

He pursued them across the Mississippi line into Louisiana. Keeping close tabs on the newborns, Jasper never faltered, never stopped. Because to stop for anything could mean that'd lose them. Alice's safety was far too important to worry about thirst. He would worry about that when she was safe in his arms again.

They were slowing down. Alice pulled herself from her visions to look around her in the darkness. She had been with Jasper in her mind, watching him as he hunted her. It was the only way she could see him now and though the thought of him being successful filled her with dread, the sight of his face and the sound of her name on his lips were things she couldn't deny herself.

Before she could wonder as to what was going on, Sam dropped her to the ground. She immediately jumped to her feet and turned to run but all hope of doing so was quickly cut short by Sam's hands closing around her shoulders and forcing her to her knees.

Alice's eyes darted in every direction, taking in the cruel faces of the vampires around her, the landscape which had yielded to what appeared to be desert. Where were they? How long had she been in her own little world and how far had they come? She listened to the voices of the vampires around her, trying to discover any clue as to what would happen now as her mind struggled to make sense of the time that had elapsed, finally deciding on six weeks.

Six weeks...

A coyote howled in the distance and Alice felt the burn begin in her throat again. The thirst was still manageable but just barely. Of course, for all she knew, she wouldn't be thirsty much longer. Maybe this was to be the end...?

She closed her eyes against a swell of sadness, conjuring Jasper's face into view behind her eyelids. If she were to die, she wanted this to be the last image she would ever see.

"Jasper, I love you..." she whispered, her voice breaking under the weight of truth in those simple words.

Laughter reached her ears, malicious and mocking. As it grew closer, everyone around her grew quiet until the laughter was the only sound. Alice opened her eyes to find a woman standing before her, her hands on her hips, her black hair flowing over her shoulders, wild and untamed.

"Hello, Alice," she said, her lips turning up in a sneer.

Alice stared at her for a moment, stunned that this woman should know her name, her red eyes more bright than any she had ever seen.

Confusion was plain on her features as she continued to look up at this unfamiliar vampire. "How do you know my name?"

"We have a mutual acquaintance," she purred in response. "I don't believe we've met but perhaps you've heard of me. I am Maria."

Sam's hands were around Alice's arms in a second but still she lunged forward in an effort to attack her, spitting and hissing at the memory of all the stories Jasper had told her about what this horrible woman had done to him.

"What do you want?" Alice screeched, struggling against Sam's restraining arms.

Maria took the few steps forward needed to trail a finger down Alice's face, pursing her lips thoughtfully. "I only want what is rightfully mine..."

Jasper tried to keep up his spirits with the hope that at any moment he would find her. His eyes were coal black, darkened by the thirst. His throat burned mercilessly, calling out to a hunger that he'd denied for so long. For over two months he'd been searching, following, tracking... Now, as he crossed the Chihuahuan desert in southern Texas, he felt his hunger burning his throat just as hot as the sun. He knew he needed to feed but doing so would subtract away from his hunt and every time the scent burned closer, a new wave of hope flared through him that he would find her soon.

His eyes, deep set into his eye sockets and underscored with deep purple bruising, scanned across the horizon. Somehow he summoned enough strength to burst forth into a run, driven once again by his undying devotion and need to track the newborns down and save Alice.

A familiar, yet distant scent traced across his trail, halting him in his path. Maria. Jasper's eyes widened in horror as the sudden realization set in that Maria was behind this and probably had been all along, even with the newborns in the north. He ground his teeth and cut loose a deep growl tainted with anger and rage as he sped off in a new direction.

Alice's throat burned with a thirst more painful than she had ever felt. It was far worse than the first time when she had opened her eyes to find herself alone in that forest 28 years ago because she couldn't make it go away with hunting. She could barely even move. Instead she sat chained in the dirt, her head tilted back against the rough wooden wall behind her as Carlos and another vampire whose name she didn't know kept a watchful eye.

She had broken her chains once before. That had been the easy part. Chains were nothing to a vampire, metal easily broken with a flick of a finger. Still, escape had eluded her. She had gotten as far as the door to the old, abandoned barn but had quickly been overcome by Carlos who had dragged her back by the hair, kicking and screaming and hissing like a wild thing.

Alice's brain calculated the passage of time as she concentrated on anything else besides her thirst. It had been eleven weeks now. Eleven weeks since she had seen Jasper. Eleven weeks since she had eaten. The chains that had at first felt like feathers against her skin now were heavy as she grew weaker and weaker with each passing day. Could a vampire starve to death? She didn't know. That was one thing she had never asked Jasper. She feared, though, that she might find out.

It had rained a few nights ago and Alice had caught sight of herself reflected in a pool of rain water. Her eyes were black, the circles under them resembling dark bruises. Even her cheeks had looked hollow and sunken under the smudges of dirt. The effort it had taken her to pull herself away from the horrible sight and collapse back against the wall had left her exhausted and broken and it was there that she remained now, eyes closed, barely breathing.

Alice heard the screams long before the door to the barn creaked open. She mustered every ounce of strength she had left to lift her hands to her ears in a futile attempt to drown them out, her body already trembling in anticipation of the torture that was to come.

Maria entered accompanied by Sam, her lips twisted in a sardonic smile. A third vampire, a female, was dragging in a screaming human male by the throat behind them.

"How are you today, Alice?" she asked, her voice as cheerful as though she had simply stopped by for a friendly chat.

Alice whimpered, not even daring to open her eyes. "Please, don't..."

"What manners you have! Even still after all you've been through! It really is quite commendable, don't you think, Sam?"

Sam chuckled ever so slightly at her side. He always seemed to enjoy this just as much as Maria did. Alice curled herself up into a ball, the sound of her chains rattling with the effort, but she knew that escape was impossible. Maria wouldn't leave until she was satisfied.

"Oh, but my dear, you look so thirsty!" Maria lamented, kneeling before her. She trailed one talon-like nail down the side of Alice's face. "Won't you just be a good little girl and eat? All the pain would go away if you would just accept my present."

Alice clenched her teeth together against waves of both overwhelming thirst and undeniable disgust as the female vampire shoved the human male to the ground in front of her. She could hear his heart beating, the wet sound of the blood coursing through him. The burning in her throat increased until she feared she would burst into flames. She opened one eye, chancing a look at him, his eyes filled with terror, hers black with overpowering thirst. Almost as if by instinct, she found herself crawling towards him before her revulsion won out and she cringed back against the wall with a hiss, turning her face into it and shaking with the effort it took not to give in.

Maria howled with laughter. They had played this game many times and it never ceased to amuse her. "Kill him," she commanded, eyeing Alice with a sadistic smile.

The female vampire descended on the human without hesitation, ripping him apart limb by limb as his blood curdling screams mixed with Alice's wails in a macabre duet of sound.

Jasper spirited across the sands of the Chihuahuan Desert in search of Alice. His spirits were renewed by the rage fueling him on Maria's behalf. Her scent remained light in the breeze, easily recognizable and deceptively sweet, so much so that he felt sickened by it.

The fresh smell of water caught his attention up ahead. The Rio Grande River cut a line between Texas and Mexico, a divider of sorts. He pushed himself forward as he approached the river's edge and flung himself across with ease, landing in a dead run on the other side.

He continued his course, chasing Maria's scent with unfailing determination. He'd lost track of the weeks as days faded into months. Now, for the first time since he'd begun his journey, he felt a real flicker of hope as a large, apparently abandoned barn came into view and a familiar scent found him underneath that of Maria and the newborn army.

"Alice..." he breathed in relief as he dug his heels into the ground and increased his speed.

Sam leaned against the side of the barn, waiting. Maria had said he was drawing near and she hadn't been wrong. Sam easily recognized the blond vampire he had been trailing at her request from their encounter in the forest near Canada. Maria had warned he'd be difficult to capture and she hadn't lied. Still he'd been determined not to return to her without him, that was until Sam had found him with the little female vampire, Alice. He had brought news of this back to Maria, seeing her as Jasper's weakness. The way he had protected her had told Sam all he needed to know and after Maria's anger had faded, a plan had been formulated and now successfully executed.

He shrugged off the side of the barn to stare Jasper down as he approached, his lips twisted in a satisfied smile.

Jasper slowed his pace as he approached the dilapidated barn. The vampire waiting for him did not escape his sight as he leveled his eyes on him, unwavering as he gauged the level of threat. He was quite confident he could take him, the little smirk on the other vampire's face causing a growl to rumble up Jasper's throat.

"It's about time you showed up," he chuckled, flexing his massive hands in anticipation of a fight. "Maria would like to speak to you."

Jasper's eyes sparked in fury at the vampire's sarcastic remark. He recognized him instantly, tilting his head as he eyed him and determined the level of threat. He let loose another throaty growl as his muscles tensed in anticipation for attack. If he had to get through him to get to Alice, then so be it. "Maria," he said spitting her name as if it were acid, "can go to hell... Where's Alice?"

Sam smiled. "I knew when I saw her cowering behind you that day that she was the key," he sneered. "She's with Maria. You want to see her, then follow me. And unless you want her dead I wouldn't try anything stupid."

The black depths of Jasper's eyes smoldered in rage as he recounted the attack. He should've killed him, would have, had it not been for the distraction of keeping Alice safe at all costs. His stomach lurched as he suddenly came to the realization that had he in fact killed them all, Alice might still be safe. He growled in response to Sam's threat but said nothing further.

Sam turned his back to Jasper and slipped inside.

Jasper had to fight to reign in the pure, unadulterated anger spreading inside of him. So tempting was it to lunge forward and take Sam by surprise. He could twist his head off rather quickly, make short work of him, and in a blind rage, kill every vampire he got his hands on. But they had their leverage. Alice. They could just as easily and quickly kill her thus ending his very purpose of existing. He set his jaw and followed him inside.

Alice lay on her side with her eyes closed. She never wanted to open them again. Any time she did all she saw were leering faces, screaming humans and blood…blood everywhere. Blood her body hungered for but her mind wouldn't allow her to drink.

There were humans somewhere nearby. Even far away she could hear their hearts beating, each beat in her ears its own separate torture of unbelievable proportions. She had heard Carlos talk of them an untold number of seconds ago. Time was blurring together now, her mind foggy. But she remembered him saying that they were kept in a cage. Like chickens in a coop, Alice thought. She was too weak to even shudder.

Deviating from her usual amusements, Maria had shown her herself in a little mirror yesterday, the sight of which still haunted her. Her hair was matted and sticking out everywhere, her satin and lace slip ripped and dirty from lying on the ground. But it was her face that had been the most horrifying. There was nothing of herself in the lifeless black eyes that had peered back at her, deep bruises underneath them marring the pale skin that clung to her cheekbones as sharp as knives. For the first time she resembled the living corpse she truly was. For the first time she resembled the monster lurking within her that she had always denied…

How long had it been now since her last drop of blood? Months? Years even? It felt possible. Her whole body ached with thirst, consumed by the fire of it until now she felt like no more than a smoldering pile of ash.

Her breaths came in quick, desperate gasps as she tasted the scents on the air. Too weak to even think of opening her eyes it was the only way she could keep track of the other vampires and their position in the room as she lay in a crumpled heap, her cheek pressed into the dirt. When they came closer, she knew to prepare herself. When they stayed away she knew she had a reprieve from their tortures.

Sam. She scented him as he entered. Was Maria with him? No. Alice would have breathed a sigh of relief had she been in possession of the strength it would have taken to do so.

Another scent reached her nose and she groaned. It almost smelled like...

Jasper.

Her eyes weakly fluttered open as she scanned the room.

The walk through the barn seemed as if it had taken forever, not moments. The thick odor of blood in the air burned Jasper's throat in such a manner that, for a moment, the revulsion and anger he'd been feeling became replaced with a hunger that ached all the way down to his bones and rattled him from the inside. He stopped his breathing to fight off the sudden urge to feed.

Then, as if by magic, she was there. Alice. The spark in her eyes was dull, lifeless. Her perfect, flawless face was dirty, defeated and sallow from lack of food. He felt the rage that had been steadily building inside of him explode into something tangible at the very sight of her. He burst forward, speeding toward her, all sense of hunger gone and replaced instead by his innate need to protect her. The vampires surrounding her were merely obstacles, obstacles that he would destroy if they stood in his way. Jasper's lips curled back into a menacing snarl as he advanced on the first vampire in his path towards her. They would pay. Maria would pay, that he would make sure of.

Carlos had not survived the last nine months by being stupid. Next to Sam he was the oldest of the newborns and if he had any say in it Sam wouldn't be around for much longer. Ambitious, clever and able to control himself better than most, he was instantly able to assess the situation he now found himself in and the solution to it was simple. In one quick movement, Carlos reached down and snatched Alice up by the neck to swing her in front of him. His other hand grabbed her by the hair as he twisted her neck to an unnatural angle, daring Jasper to take another step.

The anticipation rolling off of Jasper was thick in the air, fueling his rage as his muscles tensed, readying himself for battle. However, when Carlos suddenly snatched Alice up and threatened to twist her head off, a surprised hiss escaped Jasper's lips and he immediately skidded to a halt.

Alice hung limp in Carlos' grip without even the strength to kick her feet in protest as they dangled off the ground. She couldn't take her eyes off Jasper's face, still trying to process if he were real or nothing more than a hallucination brought on by the ever present hunger. She hadn't had a true vision since coming here. Her mind was as weak as her body, just drifting aimlessly and giving her only snippets of images…flashes of Jasper's face, forests, scenes from movies she loved, everything a broken jumble of nonsense. She stared dumbly at Jasper now, not even able to believe what her eyes were showing her, her face blank and empty.

"Carlos, darling, is that any way to greet our guest?"

The voice cut through every other noise like a siren's song. Jasper would have recognized it anywhere. Maria. The very sound of her voice cut loose a barrage of mental images through his mind. Images that he'd fought to block out for so long but never seemed to be able to banish...

Her voice was a melodious purr, echoing from the back of the barn. The newborns gathered there parted like the Red Sea, allowing Maria to pass. Her slender thighs were clad in tan pants which disappeared into a pair of riding boots, above which she wore a loose white shirt tied at the waist with her raven hair tumbling around her shoulders. She looked as though she were fresh from a lover's arms and dressed in his clothes.

Her gaze fell on Carlos first, a smile curving her lips before it flicked over to Jasper. She took him in, her eyes roving over him from head to foot with a thoroughness that spoke volumes.

Jasper returned the studying look she was giving him with a slightly more acidic edge. He didn't like the way she looked him over as if she were purchasing a horse or as if she still believed she owned him. His lips curved down in disgust, not wanting to give her the satisfaction of thinking she'd won.

She walked towards him, coming to stand mere inches away as she leaned in, her breath dancing across his skin as she spoke in a seductive whisper."Though I suppose 'guest' isn't exactly the right word to use on such a happy occasion. Not when my Jasper has finally come home to me at last."

Jasper eyed her warily as she stepped forward to stand merely inches away from him. The feel and smell of her breath against his skin sent a shiver of false desire through him, the very same feeling that so many years ago she'd used against him to manipulate him, to control him the same way she controlled these newborns. Repulsion flooded through him as his expression shifted to reflect that which he truly felt. "You say it as if I belong to you..." he said softly. "I don't."

"Really?" Maria chuckled.

"Really," he assured her, grimacing. The seductive way in which she spoke was manipulative, deceiving.

Maria took a step back, smiling at him for a moment before she walked over to Sam, smoothing her hand over his chest as she looked up at him with adoring eyes. "Who made you, Sam?"

"You did," he answered, his voice rough with desire.

She narrowed her eyes as she surveyed him. "And who do you belong to, dearest?"

"You and only you."

Maria's smile grew as she turned her attentions to Carlos. "And who made you, my love?"

Sam hissed and glared at Carlos, their rivalry for Maria's affections evident. Carlos stared him down a moment before turning his face to her, his expression softening. "You, Maria, and I belong to you to do with as you will."

Jasper's stomach lurched in revulsion as Maria turned to her loyal subjects for affirmation. They were pawns, created to do as she pleased. She held no love for them and once they'd served their purpose she would destroy them and create more. Without his gift and skills in battle, he would have shared the same fate.

Maria swept her gaze across every vampire in the room. "Are there any here who would answer differently?" she asked, her voice deceptively pleasant. "Are there any here who would question the gift I gave to you by granting you this life, who feel that loyalty is not therefore owed to me?"

There was no sound of dissent among them, all of them standing at attention as though ready and willing to die at a moment's notice or at her simple whim.

"So you see, Jasper, you do belong to me just like all the rest. Just like all that came before you and all that shall come after." She approached him, leveling her gaze with his as she ran her fingers around the collar of his shirt. "Why must you fight me?" she purred.

Jasper shuddered as she caressed him as though she had the right to do so. "Don't touch me…" he muttered, sickened, and took a step back. "Belonging to you would have meant staying here tending your every whim as you manipulated me into bending to your will just like the rest of your pawns because honestly, that's all they are. I should know, I killed hundreds just like these loyal subjects after you were done with them," he said, grimacing in disgust. "So no, I don't belong to you. I have my own mind now…not some false reality you've created," he hissed.

Maria didn't attempt to deny or discredit his words. Her hold over her newborns was so absolute, so complete that Jasper's words didn't even elicit a response from them. She ran her hand down his chest, her nails dragging against the fabric of his shirt. "There is no false reality here, only the truth of our world. Perhaps you've forgotten in your time with this confused little creature. Feeding off the blood of animals? It's enough to make me sick."

Jasper cringed. The way she trailed her fingers down his chest, her nails catching on the fabric…the intimacy of the simple action was all a ploy of manipulation, something he knew of her too well. He made a bold move when he tentatively lifted his hands and removed hers from his shirt front, an action that clearly told her he wasn't buying it. "There are things beyond war and bloodshed, Maria," he explained, trying a more civil approach, reasoning with her.

"The life of a vampire is war and blood!" she spat. "There is no room for weakness or love, which are much the same thing! There is no room for creatures like this!" She stabbed a finger in Alice's direction, turning to glare at her a moment before her expression turned to one of mock pity. Maria motioned to Carlos and he tossed Alice to the ground. She landed in a broken sprawl of arms and legs without flinching or bothering to catch herself, her eyes closed and defeated. "See? Look how unhappy she is, cowering there in the dirt."

Jasper's angered flared at seeing Alice being handled so cruelly, the way her body crumpled like a rag, almost lifeless. He felt his frozen heart twist and rip in two at the very sight. He loved Alice so much and seeing her so weak and helpless caused a stab of pain to sear through his body. "She's not cowering, she's starving," Jasper replied softly. His voice cracked on an underlying a tinge of helplessness, so full of pain to watch his beloved so defenseless and broken.

"Why not put her out of her misery?" Maria whispered harshly. "It could be your gift to me to celebrate our little reunion."

Maria's next statement caused Jasper to set his jaw as he shifted his gaze on her, eyes sparked with fury. "No," he hissed, in a low voice.

"She's weak and you would have killed her without my even having asked it of you had she been under your command."

He pursed his lips, choosing not to answer her last statement. He would have, without question, and not for all that was holy could he bring himself to speak the words. The thought of it burned him to even consider it. His expression turned pained as he pushed back the sudden image of him taking Alice's life.

Satisfaction flashed in Maria's eyes. "You don't argue it because you know it's true. Look at it, Jasper," she commanded cupping his chin and turning his face back toward Alice. "Frightened and helpless...defective. Do you know how easy it was to steal her away? She barely even put up a struggle! She didn't know what to do but cry out for you. She's pathetic, Jasper... The kind of vampire you and I killed to make room for more."

The sharp clarity of Maria's words cut through him like a knife, efficient in bringing to light the dark acts of his past. "That wasn't me," he hissed, his voice acid. Maria's fingernails bit into his face from the firm grip she held on his chin as she forced his gaze to Alice, lying on the ground broken. He jerked his face away from Maria's grasp and flexed his jaw. Fixing her with a glare of pure loathing he growled low in his throat. "Don't," he warned. "She's not pathetic…"

"Her creator should have simply recognized her for what she truly was…a meal. He should have just drained her, cast her corpse aside, and moved on. How many have you killed just like her? Why this one, Jasper? Why pretend and fool yourself into thinking you feel anything for her? You want to know what I think?" she asked, her voice an insidious whisper in his ear. "You were running away from who you really are and along came this pitiful child and she saw in you everything you wish was true about yourself. She foolishly loved you and you felt it through her with your gift and convinced yourself that you felt the same. It's all one big lie. The truth is you're not capable of feeling love for anything except war and conquest and blood..."

Jasper remained silent throughout Maria's speech, taking everything she said with a grain of salt. Despite his heroic attempts he couldn't smooth out the scowl contorting his features. Each word she spoke was a masterfully crafted lie designed to manipulate him into believing her. He had to give her credit where credit was due. She was good at getting those around her to do what she wanted, no matter the cost. But, he'd made the decision a long time ago to leave this, leave her, and now as she twisted her words into a pleasant melody of sweet seduction to try to turn him in her favor he found them completely empty. "You're wrong…" he hissed, acid dripping in his tone.

"Am I?" she laughed, lightly caressing her trailing fingers over his chest.

It was true. For the longest time he'd not believed anything of himself except for the monster lurking inside of him looking for an endless supply of blood. Love was a farfetched notion he'd known nothing of like any other emotion that was not anger or greed. Alice had brought with her a world of peace, opened up a floodgate of emotions that he didn't believe he could possess…emotions like love, happiness, the need to protect that which was so dear to him. She also brought with her an avenue to feed, despite the taste, that would bring him solace and no more would he have to suffer through his meals. "You don't know what I'm capable of," he murmured, fixing her with a glare.

"Oh, but I do. I know everything..." she growled. "I know you. You always wanted to believe you were different somehow. You clung so hard to your precious human morals even as you ripped and burned your way through armies of newborns. It was laughable, comedic even. Almost as amusing as the way you initially resisted me even though you were dying to give in like all the others..." She leaned in to whisper in his ear, her voice breathy and full of ice. "But I'm not laughing anymore..."

"Why are you doing this?" Jasper growled.

Maria shot him a challenging glare tempered by her icy demeanor. "Because you need to learn your place. You always have..."

"That's never set well with you, has it?" he questioned, a slight air of challenge and mockery coloring his tone.

"What's that?" she asked, placing her hands on her hips with a smirk.

"My strong will…" He set his jaw, his words colored with contempt.

"I've killed others for less," she admitted, with a shrug.

"But not me," he hissed. "You'd never have the courage to do so because you need me. You always have. You'd be nothing without me and you know it."

Anger flared in her eyes for a moment, finally subsiding into a confident calm. He had found his mark. She was weaker since his departure. She had even lost territory because of it. The neighboring covens weren't as afraid now that she didn't have him commanding her army. Her newborns weren't as well trained or organized. Jasper's loss had cost her in many ways and it was for that reason she had been seeking him with a vengeance these past sixty four years.

"I may need you but you need me just as much...you're only fooling yourself to think it isn't so," she snarled. "What is life with her? What is it really? A watered down version of what you had here. Feeding on animals like a pathetic cripple, living some peaceful, boring existence... You can have anything you want here. You can be a god... And you can have me, my love. An equal, not some pitifully confused child..."

Jasper's gaze lifted to Maria, dead, flat, no spark in eyes. "Don't call me love," he growled. "You'll never have me. I'll always belong to her."

Alice had been helplessly listening to every word and she could hear the pain in Jasper's voice. She couldn't even open her eyes but somehow she found enough strength to speak.

"Jasper..." she squeaked.

Maria turned her head at the sound. "Ah, it speaks!" she declared, making her way over to Alice at a leisurely pace which clearly signaled who had the upper hand. "It hasn't made a sound for so many days that I was beginning to think it had forgotten how! And Alice and I have had so many wonderful conversations, haven't we, precious?"

"She's not an it!" Jasper growled, taking a bold step forward. "You will not speak of her that way!" he ordered, rage smoldering in his eyes.

Maria cupped her hand under Alice's chin with a cruel smile. Alice shuddered and closed her eyes, attempting to turn her face away from her captor and tormentor.

"Get away from her!" he snarled, anger flashing across his face and contorting his features. "Don't touch her…" he hissed in a low, dangerous tone.

Maria turned a malicious smile on Jasper, enjoying his anger. "Come back to me and I'll let her go. Come back to the life that you were meant for."

The words buzzing on her lips were oddly tempting, so much so that he considered it. He would return to her services in exchange for Alice's freedom. He swallowed, casting his gaze longingly to Alice, prepared to do anything to ensure her safety, even if it meant giving up his own freedom.

She moved away from Alice and drifted over to Jasper, something sinister sparking in her eyes. "Don't you miss the battles, taking cities for our own? Don't you miss all the blood?" She shamelessly pressed herself up against him. "Don't you miss this?

Maria's words were deceptively sweet, hiding the poison tainting them. Jasper's gaze swiveled back around to Maria, taking in the way she looked at him, the calculation in her burgundy eyes, the deception hidden in the depths of them. A part of him missed the battles, the rush of adrenaline coursing through his veins. But despite his natural instincts toward human blood, he held no desire to kill a human lest he lose control. The emotional feedback was too great, too intimate each time he took a victim and having experienced their terror personally, he preferred not to indulge in it. "No, I don't," he replied, coldly. He cringed at her sudden boldness and firmly pushed her away. "I don't," he repeated simply in an icy tone. "You hold nothing that I desire."

"Nothing?" she asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"No," he replied quietly, plastering a sickened look on his face.

She stared deep into his eyes for a moment before she turned toward Sam. "Jasper looks thirsty I think. How long has it been since you fed, darling?"

Jasper's gaze flashed to Sam briefly. His eyes were conflicted, longing. He was starved, having not eaten since Alice's kidnapping. The thought of human blood appealed to his instincts, but not his conscience. "Long enough…" he replied in a clipped tone.

"Well, we certainly don't want to be rude, do we, Sam? Why don't you go find someone for Jasper to drink?"

Sam went outside and Maria clapped her hands together in excitement. "Tell me, Jasper. Does Alice really know you? Does she really accept you for who you are? Why don't we show her your true nature?"

Jasper's eyes grew wide as Maria ordered Sam off to find him a meal. His self control was shaky as it was and having not fed for over two months he knew that he would not be able to resist it. The smell, the blood running through the juicy veins and the pulse humming delectably under the skin would be sure to send him into a frenzy. He swallowed a mouthful of venom at the mere mention of it. "I won't do it," he objected. He refused. He wouldn't let himself crumble in front of Maria and let her see his second greatest weakness. She didn't deserve the satisfaction.

Sam returned with a hysterical woman dressed in rags, her unkempt hair wild around her face which was marred with tear stains. He threw her in the floor at Jasper's feet, eyeing him with a sadistic smile.

"No?" Maria asked, arching an eyebrow. "Don't pretend that you don't want her..." She took a deep breath and closed her eyes before opening them again to level Jasper with her taunting gaze. "Smell that blood...so sweet. Can't you hear her heart beating, calling out to you? This is who you really are. Even while you were off playing husband and wife with this thing you didn't truly share her affections for humans. No, because you know, just like I do, that they are nothing to us... Just food. Blood for the taking..."

The dull ache in Jasper's throat flared into a raging fire, scorching it and leaving a parched feeling that screamed to be quenched. The terror the human felt, the confusion and the trembling shaking her frame all conformed together, thick in the air around him and sending him into a state of panic on what he was about to do. Her heart sung to him, hammering wildly against her chest, humming a sweet song of seduction. The blood pulsing just underneath the surface of her skin called out to him as he took a step back and swept a conflicted look to Maria. "I can't," he choked, his voice broken and mortified.

"You can't?" Maria spat, her eyes flashing anger.

"I won't. I'm not like you," he replied, coldly. "You've chosen your life…and I've chosen mine." His voice remained unwavering and layered in conviction. If Maria wanted to continue to live a life of conflict and greed then she would and he cared very little about it. But he'd chosen to no longer be a part of it, to pursue something better and that was of his own free will.

Maria sputtered, thrusting an accusing finger at Alice. "What has this little bitch done to you? You can't? I gave you a gift! I gave you this life and you are going to waste it feeding on animals and slinking around in shadows like some impotent version of what you really are with this thing who doesn't even know what it means to be a vampire!"

"A gift?" he scoffed, shaking his head. He would never consider this life a gift. A curse, maybe, but never a gift. "I was forced into this life against my own will," he explained, anger flashing in his eyes to match her own. "This is hardly a gift."

"A matter of opinion," Maria said dismissively, her anger increasing. "But one thing is for certain. This creature is pathetic and beneath you, beneath what I made of you!"

"You view everyone who isn't power drunk and driven by greed to be beneath you..."

Maria regained her composure, her expression turning sinister as she eyed the human female. She tapped her lips with one pale, slender forefinger. "If you don't want her then I would be happy to show you my new favorite game. You see, as much as I loathe her existence, little Alice has been quite entertaining in her refusal to feed off humans. We've all been taking bets on how long it would take to break her. So far she's held up much longer than any of us thought possible."

"You're sick," Jasper hissed, feeling a sudden knot twist in his stomach at the sudden realization of Maria's sadistic intentions. The way she spoke about it, the way she described it as a game...

Maria waltzed over to Alice, bending to yank her up by her throat. Alice's head lolled to the side, her eyes opening part way to stare at Maria with a blank expression. "I'm sick!" she asked, her tone disbelieving. She regarded Alice with a sneer. "She's the one who is sick, sick and damaged…"

It was with horror that he watched as Maria danced over to Alice. Pure joy and pleasure radiated off of her, so much so that he felt the knot in his stomach twist again in revulsion. Jasper stiffened almost immediately when Maria grabbed Alice. He didn't trust her and he prepared himself to defend Alice if necessary, even if it meant being torn apart in the process. "Get your hands off of her," he warned, growling to add emphasis.

"Look how starved she is," Maria cooed, turning Alice's face this way and that as though examining her pitiful appearance with an outpouring of sympathy. "Poor dear hasn't had even a drop of blood, animal or otherwise, in almost three months. Can you imagine what that must feel like, Jasper? Can you imagine how much pain she must be in?"

Pain, anger and hatred flared within him as he watched Maria manhandle Alice. He wanted to rush her, to sling her across the barn, but his body remained locked in place. His mind calculated the level of threat of each newborn, taking in their advantages and disadvantages. If it weren't for their close proximity to Alice, he could have made short work of them. All of them. Maria's words cut through his thoughts, clouding out everything else but her own musings. "Yes, I can..." he murmured, flicking his gaze across Alice. Her pain and suffering were as tangible as something that could be touched, tormenting him to the core of his being.

Maria cast her feline gaze back to Jasper. "Let's see if we can ease her suffering, shall we?"

She let Alice drop back into the dirt and flashed out a hand to grab the human woman by the arm, dragging her over to Alice and forcing her to the ground in front of her. Alice hissed and scurried back against the wall, hiding her face in her arms and moaning against the fire raging throughout every fiber in her being.

"Now Alice, you know what will happen if you don't eat, what always happens when you insist on being stubborn," Maria chided.

A whimper escaped Alice's lips and a trembling overtook her fragile frame.

"If you don't kill her nicely and eat like a good girl then the others here will kill her slowly and painfully right in front of you and you'll have to listen to the screaming you hate so much," Maria reminded her. "You don't want that, do you? Haven't you had enough of the screams? You don't want to make this poor human suffer…"

Alice sobbed and attempted to bury her head even deeper into her arms, bringing her hands up to clamp down over her ears. But it wouldn't be enough. It wouldn't ever be enough to keep those nightmarish sounds from penetrating her mind like white hot poker stabs of pain.

Maria sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "Fine then. Sam? Kill her."

Before Sam could grab the woman, Alice's hand shot out and grabbed her wrist. Her breath came in short, hard gasps as she slowly pulled the woman towards her, the trembling in her body increasing until she looked as though she might shake apart. She couldn't believe she was actually going to do this thing but she couldn't stand another torturous death. If she did it quickly perhaps the woman wouldn't have to suffer so. She couldn't allow her to suffer…

Jasper's eyes remained transfixed on the scene in front of him as Maria's little game unfolded before his eyes. The revulsion of it and the heavy cloud of conflict and pain emanating off of Alice stabbed him mercilessly, as physical as a knife wound cutting through flesh. His face contorted in pain.

Maria's eyes were focused on the scene in front of her, wide and dancing with mirth as she leaned forward in anticipation. This had never happened before. Alice had never come so close to giving in and the pain radiating off of her was simply delicious. She turned to glance at Jasper, his horrified expression an added bonus that made her shiver with delight.

The woman kicked and screamed but Alice's grip remained firm and steady as she pressed her forehead to the dirt, trying to gather both the strength and the courage for what she was about to do. A few moments passed before she turned her head toward the woman, careful not to look in her eyes lest she lose her resolve.

The woman's heart sang out to Alice and the flood of venom in her mouth was a promise of the relief to come if only she could get past her revulsion. She had to. The woman was going to die, by her hand or Sam's, and hers was the far more compassionate route. She had to kill her to save her she told herself as her lips parted over her teeth. She hesitated only a moment more before she gathered all that was left of her paltry strength and lunged, sinking her teeth into the woman's throat as Maria's laughter echoed in her ears.

The taste was far better than anything she had ever experienced…smooth and sweet and satisfying in a way that animal blood would never be. Alice drank, dragging her chains forward so that she could grab the woman's neck and greedily pull her in closer. She had almost lost herself in the bloodlust when the woman gave a pitiful cry and Alice immediately let go, hurling herself away and into the wall with a gasp.

The woman was not dead. She writhed and screamed on the floor, burning from the inside out as Alice's venom swept through her veins.

"Well this has taken an interesting turn," Maria said, walking over to nudge the human with her shoe.

Alice fell to her hands and knees, retching and choking, desperately trying to get the taste of the woman's blood out of her mind and wishing for all the world she could purge it from her body. She felt a little stronger but not by much. She was still weak from hunger and worse yet she felt weak with despair. She had done something she had sworn not to ever do and she hadn't even done it correctly. Who knew what Maria would do now? Kill the woman by ripping her slowly apart piece by piece as she had originally intended? Or would she allow her to become a vampire for her army, a vampire that Alice had created and sent to a fate worse than death?

For too long Jasper had watched the charade as Maria forced Alice to drink, as he'd dealt with the emotional repercussions of both she and the human as well as taken in the pleasure from the others in the room and he couldn't watch anymore. The partly drained woman, now flooded with vampire venom, lay writhing on the floor in agony. Jasper gritted his teeth, trying to push away the thick fog of emotion trying to overtake him and finally snapped, flinging himself across the room in a frenzy.

He couldn't let this woman suffer through this and he wouldn't allow Maria to gain the satisfaction of having another newborn. He threw himself down on her and quickly sunk his teeth into her neck, his eyes dancing with mocking as he cast them toward Maria. The once sweet blood was now tainted with venom, making it bitter, hard to drink and spoiled but he'd drank worse and so it was with greedy determination he secured his arm around her and pulled her closer.

"Jasper…" Alice breathed as she sank back into the dirt.

Maria's contemptuous gaze was fixed on Jasper. "I suppose you think yourself very clever. But what is one newborn to me when I can always make more?"

Jasper's gaze hardened in contempt but it was also fraught with conflict as the woman's terror and pain enveloped around him in a cloud and threatened to consume him. Her expression was wide eyed and paralyzed with fear, unable to move, unable to scream, but her awareness didn't escape him. It only felt as if he were being ripped in half, his mortal emotions and his inner monster clashing in a battle of wills to separate him from reality.

Her terror waned, flickering until it snuffed out completely like a candle. With the last few drops drawn from her body leaving her lifeless, Jasper ripped himself away. Almost immediately after the guilt set in washing over him in waves so powerful he felt helpless to stop it. He crouched next to her and slid a hand over her eyes to close them in respect for her before he turned a contemptuous glare on Maria. "One less for you to manipulate and one less to kill humans."

The pain was evident on Jasper's face and Alice felt a sob rip its way from her throat as she lay panting on the ground, her lips red with blood. "Jasper…" she gasped, her voice rough and strained. "Jasper, it's okay…" She fought to make her muscles obey and finally succeeding in stretching a hand out to him before it fell back into the dirt.

Jasper had done what she could not and whether he realized it or not he had saved that woman from a living hell. Whether he had killed her or not, she had been captured by Maria and her newborn army and her fate had been sealed from that moment. Now her suffering, her terror, was over.

Alice's words were weak and barely audible, but they'd reached him. His gaze snapped in her direction only to catch her feeble attempt to comfort him. Even now she was trying to console him. She was pushing through her pain and suffering to comfort him.

The blood coursed inside of his body and despite the horrid taste it had made him stronger, more alert. He felt renewed on the inside, satisfied. The burn in his throat was reduced to where he was barely conscious of it. But the satisfaction came at a price and that only increased the feeling of guilt warring with a multitude of other emotions inside of him.

"I find myself growing bored," Maria sighed, crossing her arms over her chest in a graceful movement. "Alice doesn't seem near as entertaining now that I've gained what I wanted, but of course you harbor some misplaced affection for the little fool so my original deal still stands. Stay with me and I'll let her go, unharmed. Well no more harmed than she already is…."

He blurred up, turning to face her head on and his hands balled into fists. He felt strong, strong enough to possibly fight her if he had to. This new realization and a wave of determination flooded through him. He ticked his gaze over her in calculation, flicking a fleeting glance to Alice and then in turn to each newborn around her. If he could get to Maria then he would have a chance. Without warning, he rushed forward at a blinding speed and caught Maria by the neck, all the rage inside of him from times past and for what she'd done to Alice boiling over to the point of no return as he hauled her backward into the wall, the sound like that of a thunder clap.

A cacophony of hisses rose up from the gathered newborns as Maria snarled in surprise to find herself colliding into the wall, Jasper's angry face mere inches from her own. Her eyes shifted to just behind his left shoulder and a wry smile played upon her features. "You had better rethink this," she warned.

Jasper growled. He was fully prepared to rip Maria apart and would have done so had Maria not held the ace card. Alice. His gaze shot over his shoulder as her words formed in his mind and brought him back to his senses.

Sam already had Alice by the throat dangling her in front of him with one hand, the fingers on his other flexing with threat as he took up a handful of her hair and gave it a vicious yank. Carlos tossed a lit match onto a pile of gasoline soaked boards and it roared to life in flame. Alice gave a few feeble kicks before giving up any chance at escaping, eyeing the fire with wide eyes. She knew what this meant. She had helped Jasper with it when they had killed Sam's first group of newborns.

The sight of Sam dangling Alice by her throat over the fire sent a rush of sudden panic through him. His eyes drew wide in horror and he almost considered lunging at him, as his need to save her kicked in and threatened to take over, driving him beyond reason.

Maria low ripple of laughter was enough to chill anyone to the bone. "A bold move on your part when I hold the ability to rip everything away from you along with each of her limbs." A malicious smile curved her lips. "Do you want to hear it, Jasper? Do you want to hear her screams, the way they will abruptly cease and give way to the metallic screeching of her frail little body being torn apart? And then there's the fire," she mused. "Could you stand it to watch her burn?"

"No…" Jasper's voice was defeated as he relented and let slack his grip on Maria's throat. His hand fell to his side as he cast a pleading look to Alice. He couldn't allow harm come to Alice, not in any form, even if it meant his own death or giving in to Maria. If it meant her safety he would it. He would do anything.

Maria reached up to trail her fingers down his face in a possessive gesture. "You belonged to me and you left without permission. Did you really think there would be no consequence to that? But I don't want to kill you, Jasper. I just want what is rightfully mine back. And we don't even have to kill your precious Alice."

Jasper grimaced as Maria traced her fingers down his cheek. The sensation sent a chill down to his bones as he turned his gaze away from her and tilted his head away from her hand. "You speak of me as if I'm your property. You don't own me…and you never will." He cast a longing gaze to Alice, sadness and guilt mixed in his eyes.

"We'll see…" Maria snapped her fingers and Sam moved away from the fire though he didn't relinquish his grip on Alice. Carlos hovered nearby, his eyes narrowed into slits and bright with the desire for violence.

Sweet relief flooded through him as Sam moved away from the fire. Alice was safe for now and that was all that mattered. He didn't care what happened to him so long as she wasn't harmed. His gaze shifted to Carlos, the overpowering emotions of greed and desire radiating off of him. If he wanted a fight he would give him one but now wasn't the time.

Maria began to prowl around Jasper in a lazy half-circle, her gaze still fixed on his face. "The only reason she's suffering is because of you, because you inflicted yourself upon her, because you insist on forcing something unnatural by trying to have a life with her…"

His gaze ticked back to Maria as she began circling him in a predatory fashion and his muscles tensed, preparing for an attack. He watched her in calculation, roving his gaze over her as her words came in a smooth melody, igniting a fire within him. "You're wrong!" he growled. He quickly worked to regain his temper. Slipping up and attacking her would mean Alice's death and he couldn't have that. He drew in a sharp breath, shifting his gaze back to Alice. His eyes were pained, saddened and conflicted.

Maria narrowed her gaze. "You want me to let her go? You let her go. I'd love nothing more than to rid myself of her but if she leaves, she leaves alone. You stay." She crossed over to where Sam stood with Alice and ran one, long talon-like nail across her cheek. "So what's it going to be, Jasper? Does she live or die?"

"She lives," he murmured, defeated. He felt his soul rip in half, at the thought of separation from Alice but if it meant her survival then he'd do it.

Satisfaction radiated off Maria at her victory. "I'm so glad you're finally seeing reason. A life with you would be nothing but pain for her anyway. She's far too delicate..." In a flash she was at his side, wrapping her arms around his neck, the hunger in her eyes sparked by something more than a lust for power and blood. "I, however, am not."

The smug look on Maria's face reflected the way she felt. Triumphant. His lips curved into a scowl, sickened by the very sight of her. "If you want to keep your arms... you'll remove them," Jasper replied, flicking his gaze over the way she hung on him, like she owned him.

"Now, now, darling," Maria chuckled, paying no heed to his protest. If anything she pulled herself closer to him, her lips mere inches from his own.

Jasper's expression turned to one of disgust. The way she molded herself to him as if claiming him for her own, the way she stroked him, talked to him like some kind of pet, caused his stomach to lurch. Now as she leveled her gaze on him, with eyes full of lust he understood what kind of desire burned there and he cringed inside.

"We're going to be spending quite a bit of time together. It doesn't have to be that way. Though I seem to remember that you like it rough," she purred. "Does he still, Alice?"

A strained hiss ripped from Alice's throat as she kicked and twisted furiously in Sam's grip, struggling with a strength she didn't even know she was still capable of as weak as she was. Quickly tiring, however, she fell limp again, barely holding her head up to fix Maria with a murderous glare.

"Enough!" He growled low in his throat, turning a withering glare to Maria. "You do not speak to her that way!" he commanded.

Maria returned it, not looking at Jasper but daring either of them to defy her. "I do think she's jealous, love."

Jasper growled in contempt, turning a withering glare to Maria. "Hardly. She already knows what I think of you."

Maria waved her hand dismissively at Sam as she pressed herself against Jasper. "Take her away. I can't stand to look at her anymore. Hopefully she'll be strong enough to make her way out of the desert. Maybe she'll find a stray prairie dog to eat," she said, her voice ending on a mocking cackle. "Or better yet, maybe she can eat one of the vultures that come to perch on her pitiful carcass!"

"No, not the desert," Jasper interjected. "Somewhere where there's wildlife..." he said, casting his gaze to Alice with a look of sadness and loss in his eyes. He would be separated from her, possibly for good. No, he couldn't allow it. He would find a way out. He had to. Alice was far too important, her safety was everything. He cared nothing for his own suffering so long as she was alright. He couldn't allow Maria to drop her off in a desert.

Alice's bottom lip quivered. This was it. The last time she'd ever see her only reason for being, the one ray of hope in her lonely existence, her husband…her Jasper. With great effort she lifted a hand, stretching it out to him in desperation. One last touch, one last moment…

He didn't have to test the mood around Alice to know the sadness she felt at their upcoming separation. He could see it in her eyes and the way her bottom lip trembled. His soul was already ripping in half, just a hair line fracture, but the moment she left his sight it would tear completely in two. She would be gone. His life, his love, his hope and optimism ripped away... The swell of sadness radiating off of her grew within him. He had to do it. There was no other option. He either gave in or she died and he could not allow her to be harmed.

Maria scoffed. "I said I'd let her go, Jasper. I never said where." Suddenly an idea occurred to her, a sadistic gleam in her eyes as she considered it. "I'd be willing to make an exchange, though. I'll have Carlos set her free with the guarantee that he will personally ensure that she's fed and fed animal blood in the manner to which she is accustomed if…you'll seal our little bargain with a kiss. A show of good faith on your part that you will strive to please me in her absence…in every way."

Jasper reluctantly tore his gaze off of Alice and turned wearily toward Maria. Her suggestion was many things, with vindictive being at the top of the list. She was going to hurt Alice in other ways besides her hunger before she let her go. Jasper felt sick and he shifted a conflicted look to Alice, unsure of what to do. Maria was promising to release Alice in an area of plentiful wildlife and she was going to ensure she was fed, not left starving and helpless. His expression turned apologetic. He knew it would hurt Alice but he loved her too much to see her be killed and if this meant her safety, then he'd do it.

His gaze shifted back to Maria and he nodded in defeat. "Fine…" His voice was low and hurt colored his tone.

Maria's long fingers floated up to ensnare him in her grasp, tangling in his hair and slowly pulling his face to hers. "Just like old times," she whispered, her voice ringing with satisfaction. Her lips closed on his, moving with great skill as she molded every contour of her body to his own.

Jasper cringed inwardly when she slipped her fingers through his hair and pulled his face to hers. The moment her lips touched his he couldn't help but grimace as his began to mechanically work against hers. Having kissed Alice and felt true love he could now see how Maria's kiss, something he'd once craved, was instead empty, vile and disgusting.

Alice clenched her teeth against a wave of pain, her eyes closing as she turned her face away. Even though she knew that Jasper was only playing along to save her the way his lips had moved against Maria's, however slight, had cleaved her frozen heart in two. She didn't have to be an empath to know that Maria meant for this to be the very last thing that would break her completely. Her unbearable months of pain and hunger, her guilt at having fed, however little, off a human…they were all just petty amusements compared to the malicious torture taking place before her, rivaled only by her overwhelming despair at losing the man she loved more than her own life.

The sudden wave of hurt formulating in the air and clouding the emotional climate around him undoubtedly came from Alice. He didn't fight it as it infiltrated his own senses and moved in to overwhelm him. He deserved it. He deserved to feel her pain, to know the last image she would have of him would be this. If only he could reassure her that he'd be with her again. If only she could know that this wouldn't be forever. But in order for his plan to go smoothly, this was how it had to be and he deserved to feel every bit of the pain. He felt himself crumbling inside as the overwhelming stabs of betrayal seared through his body.

Maria pulled Jasper in even closer, deepening their kiss for a moment before she released him and took a step back. "Well Alice, as much fun as you've been, a deal is a deal," Maria purred, never taking her possessive gaze off Jasper.

He squeezed his eyes shut in response to Maria's sudden possession of him, staggering back when she released him to cast a scowl in her direction before turning a heartbreaking look to Alice. He mouthed a silent apology and reached out to her in an attempt to touch her one last time before she would be ripped away from him.

Carlos grabbed Alice and threw her over his shoulder. Even if she weren't weak and exhausted from hunger she doubted she could have made a move to stop him. The crushing weight of her despair was enough to take all the fight out of her. "Jasper…" she whimpered, her eyes frozen on his face, determined not to so much as blink until she couldn't see him anymore. After that she didn't much care what happened. If Carlos went back on his word and killed her once they were clear of the barn it made no difference to her.

"Alice..." he whispered, reaching out his hand as Carlos slung her over his shoulder. The overwhelming feeling of hurt and despair was so thick around her that he hated himself and he hated Maria even more, hated her for what she had done, hated her for ruining his happiness, for taking away the one thing that he cared most for. The anger boiling up inside of him, matched with a wave of guilt, contorted his features and surely if he could produce tears they would have stung his eyes. Instead his bottom lip trembled uncontrollably as Carlos turned to carry Alice off.

The look on Jasper's face was so heartbreaking that Alice silently hoped Carlos would kill her after they left. She didn't want to go on living anymore with this image burned in her mind. She couldn't bear it. She watched with horror and grief as each step Carlos took, ripped her away from Jasper by inches, the space between them growing more and more with each torturous second. Her little fingers stretched out in front of her to close some of the distance. She couldn't reach him but she could make the space between them that much less, she could tell him with her eyes what she didn't have the strength to say…

Jasper's eyes never left Alice as Carlos started away with her. Taking his eyes off of her, even for a moment, would have lost him some time with her. He couldn't bear it, knowing that Alice would be gone. Maria was going to rip her away from him, even if not for eternity for long enough that he could feel his heart ripping in half at the very thought.

Maria would never be able to control him, Jasper resolved. After Alice was gone he'd get free if he had to turn every newborn she created against her. He'd escape and he'd find Alice. Maria could never hold him and if she thought she could, she was wrong.

"Wait!" a voice called from the back of the barn. The newborns parted to reveal a young female vampire. She stepped timidly to the front of the group, keeping her head down and trembling with fear as Maria glared at her.

Jasper's gaze instantly shifted towards the voice. The young newborn coming through the crowd was terrified and nervous as she came to stand in front of Maria.

"What is it, mind reader?" Maria hissed as she played with Jasper's shirt collar, impatient to be left alone with her newly reclaimed toy.

Jasper was completely horror stricken. She knew. His face, torn by sadness, now shifted into one of a mixture of fury and horror.

"He's lying," the newborn declared in a shaky voice. "Once you let the woman go, he's going to turn all of us against you, against each other. He's going to destroy everyone and go after his mate. He can't be trusted."

His eyes widened as he leveled a terrifying glare on the newborn girl. She had heard everything and now she was laying it out to bear in front of Maria.

Hearing this Sam hissed at Jasper, closing his position to stand near Carlos where he was holding Alice.

The united snarls and hisses coming from around him placed him on alert. He tensed for a fight, his gaze flicking over to Sam and Carlos. It seemed they were going to get their fight after all.

Maria's eyes narrowed into dangerous slits as she turned to Jasper, her lips pulling back over her bared teeth. "Is this true?"

Jasper said nothing. Instead he glared mercilessly at the newborn who'd given him away.

Her eyes remained dark and full of malice, a rage exploding inside of her that she was barely able to keep in check. "I think I've changed my mind," she said, her voice cold and calculating and burning with the threat of violence.

'I think I've changed my mind.' Those words registered with him almost instantly and the sudden fury he felt melted away into terror. He knew exactly who those words were aimed for and knew what Maria was capable of. His breath caught in his throat as he turned a terrified look to Alice. No, she couldn't do this. But she would and she was going to.

The newborns drew back against the far wall, many of them bearing the scars of her displeasure. "It seems you'll be staying with us after all, Alice."

In a blur Maria flew across the space between them and snatched Alice from Carlos by the throat, shaking her until her teeth rattled and tightening her grip until undeniable pain flashed across Alice's features.

Jasper's face froze in horror as Maria ripped Alice away from Carlos by the neck. He wanted to protect her and defend her, he wanted to keep her safe, but he felt as if he couldn't move. His gaze turned pleading as Maria shook her and squeezed her hand around Alice's neck so tight he could feel the pain radiating from her. "Please stop," he choked as Maria continued her attack.

Maria wasn't playing a game anymore. Her eyes narrowed on Alice's shocked little face as she brought herself nose to nose with her, her lips pulling back in a snarl. "Because Jasper is being so difficult, I'm going to make things more difficult for you until he realizes who is in control here. You think I tortured you before?" She threw her head back, her laughter dark and terrible. "Just wait. I'm going to make you beg for death until your pleas drive him insane. I'll rip you apart myself just to put you back together so I can do it again and again. You think you were thirsty after three months with nothing to eat? Try a year… Try two. Better yet, try an eternity. Vampires don't starve to death, you see. They just writhe in pain and wish for death. I won't even need the chains to keep you subdued. You won't be able to move, trapped inside your own wretched body, unable to even make a sound as you scream your silent screams inside your head! And if that doesn't convince our dear Jasper to see things my way then maybe I'll throw you to the newborn males. Let them have their way with you while he watches." She tossed Alice to the ground like so much garbage where she fell in a pitiful heap before whirling on Jasper, her eyes ablaze. "Would you enjoy that, love? I rather hope you push me to that point actually. I have so loved the sound of her suffering ever since I brought her here!" Her lips curved in a vicious snarl. "I tried to be merciful. I tried to be nice. But no, you just wouldn't have it, would you? Fine! We can do things your way. Starting now…"

Alice's fear and pain bounced off of him, clawing into his skin and searing his body. Each thing Maria inflicted on her was like a cut to him, another scar added to his collection. He could feel the fear shifting to rage. "Stop," he said in a level tone. "Stop!" he shouted as Maria whirled on him with her brilliant ideas.

"You are not in a position to give orders!" Maria screeched, her hands curving into claws.

Marching back over to Alice she grabbed her by her foot and drug her through the dirt to the center of the barn. Alice was paralyzed with fear, her mouth hanging open, her eyes wide with terror as she clawed at the dirt with trembling hands, trying in vain to get away.

"How about a taste of the horrors to come? What shall it be, Jasper? An arm this time? A leg? Maybe her pretty little head for shock value? I can hold it up and show her her own headless body before I reattach it!"

"NO!" Alice screamed, her voice hysterical.

"STOP IT! NO! STOP!" he pleaded with a sharp cry and reached up to grip the hair at his temples like a madman. His fingers tightened, clenching to the point of ripping it out. He couldn't watch her tear Alice apart. "Please…" he begged, choking back a sob. The emotional climate around him barraged him, everything in overload. Anger, pain, fear, pleasure, anticipation, betrayal...all of it combining into a near lethal concoction that he felt helpless to push away. "Don't hurt her," he whimpered.

Maria turned eyes wild with rage on Jasper, letting go of Alice's leg as she stood in a semi-crouch, her face contorted in pure fury. Alice sobbed as she pitifully tried to crawl away, her body still so weak that she dug her fingernails into the dirt and attempted to drag herself out of Maria's reach. She didn't get far before Sam tore her away from the ground. She screamed in terror to feel a hand upon her before she came to rest against Sam's massive chest, her shrieks dying into hushed whimpers.

He felt his will breaking within him, just how Maria had wanted it. Squeezing his eyes shut, Jasper attempted to blot out the emotional climate around him. Alice's fear stabbed through him, searing his flesh and bone in torment. His breath came in short, hard gasps of desperation as he clung to the few remaining shreds of his sanity. He needed to pull it together for Alice. Letting her see him crumble in weakness would only increase her fear. He wasn't weak and he wasn't going to show it now. He clenched his teeth as a wave of determination swept through him, attempting to blot everything else out.

For a long time Maria stood eerily still as her eyes bored into Jasper's. When she finally spoke her voice could have frozen the fires of Hell. "And why should I stop? What is my motivation to do so? What guarantee can you give me that would be worth anything in light of your betrayals? You don't seem to realize the situation you find yourself in. This isn't a game. I want your absolute obedience. I won't stop until I have it." She advanced on him, her chest heaving with rage. "You either give it to me or I will take it from you and if you force my hand I will do so by employing every manner of torture I described for your little Alice and many, many others I haven't even mentioned yet."

Jasper lifted his gaze to Maria, his expression completely wiped clean of any emotion with the exception of an odd determination sparking his eyes. "Because…" he spoke slowly, carefully, "hurting Alice will drive me insane and you need me too much to allow it. If I'm a broken, useless madman then I won't be any good to you. How many newborns have you lost since my absence? How many herd lands have been reclaimed? You need me. Much more then you let on and if you drive me insane by bringing harm to my mate, then I'll be completely useless in battle. I won't be able to function," he continued, his voice low and direct. "You want me back, fine. But she's not to be harmed. You kill her, I leave. You do anything further to harm her in any manner, I leave. I'm the only reason you're going through all this…am I not?" he questioned, flicking his gaze across the faces of her newborns. "What is the driving force behind your desperation, Maria? How many herd lands have you lost now? How many covens are moving in?"

Though her eyes flared with a new burst of rage, her expression remained calm, her face so still it could have been carved out of stone. She straightened, lowering her head to glare at him, danger pulsing around her.

Jasper's gaze didn't waver as he straightened his posture as well. His confidence was coming back in small increments as he tested the mood around her. Her desperation was every bit as strong as her rage. Still she wasn't bluffing. Her desperation had driven her to a point of no return. It was all or nothing.

"Yes, if I kill her you'll leave and probably not before you kill me as well. I'm not stupid," she spat as she stared him down, unflinching. "But I don't have to kill her to control you. The threat of harm to her will keep you in check. You might very well go insane if I carry out all the dark and evil things I would love to do to her just to watch you squirm and yes, that might render you slightly ineffective in your uses but are you willing to call that bluff? Are you willing to watch her endure it just to prove yourself right? If you aren't going to do as I say then I have no problem destroying Alice and you along with her because if you don't belong to me then you won't be allowed to exist. So either way, I win. Even if you leave or kill me, right before you do I'll be able to watch the horror on your face as I tear apart and burn her and with my last breath I'll know that that will be your hell to suffer for the rest of your miserable existence."

His gaze remained fixed on hers, unwavering and completely resolved. "Blood and greed mean more to you than anything…" he replied, in an oddly calm voice. "Are you truly willing to throw it all away?" he said, quirking a smile as a plan began to formulate in his mind. He took note of the mind reader in the room, keeping his thoughts flickering so quickly they would be confusing to pick up on. "We could be equals…" he drawled. "You and I. What was it that you said? Gods amongst immortals?" he soothed, stepping toward her. "Partners…" he murmured, softly and leaned in to whisper in her ear.

Maria watched his approach with eyes that were wary but clearly intrigued. When his breath stirred against her ear she couldn't repress a thrill of desire. The prospect of once again possessing him in every way imaginable was incredibly gratifying.

Jasper tested the mood around her and cautiously weighed his options. She seemed to be buying it. She was still rather suspicious but her mood was becoming infiltrated with thrill and intrigue.

"I could give you what you want…" he promised, reaching out to take her hand. "Let her go...and I'll make it happen. We'll wipe out all of these useless pawns and create a superior army with skills that will win battles, not lose them," he said sweetly, flicking his gaze to her mind reader. "Ask your mind reader if I'm bluffing."

Maria looked down at her hand in Jasper's, interested at the sudden turn of events but still cautious. She wasn't accustomed to trusting anyone and she wasn't about to start now. Her eyes darted to her mind reader as she lifted an eyebrow, silently asking her for the truth of the matter.

The newborn woman shook her head, her forehead creasing in confusion. "I…I can't tell," she stammered. "He's keeping me out."

Maria narrowed her eyes as she glared at Jasper, distrust simmering there along with an undeniable lust for his promises. "Of course he is. Jasper has always been remarkably clever. Unfortunately for him, so am I."

Jasper's gaze slid to the mind reader with a look of indifference, keeping his expression swept clean of any emotion. She didn't confirm nor deny it so there was still a chance.

She extracted her hand from his and began to pace, tapping a finger to her lips in thought. Jasper's hand fell to his side as he followed her pacing with his eyes. She was considering it, wanting to believe him and all he had to do now was to seal it, do something that she would have no choice but to believe. His gaze shifted to Alice briefly knowing that what he was about to do would hurt her beyond words. But, he knew she'd understand in the end. He ticked his gaze back to the mind reader, still keeping his thoughts scrambled as he tried to force his focus on past battles with Maria to throw her off while he planned what he was going to do.

The mind reading newborn knitted her eyebrows together as she tried to force her way into Jasper's mind. She was young yet, only weeks old, and her gift had not yet reached its full potential. So far he had been all too successful at holding her back from accessing his mind once he had been made aware of her ability and if she didn't discover the truth, if her failing allowed him to betray Maria or derail her plans, she knew that she would pay dearly a thousand times over before Maria had had her fill. She growled quietly in frustration as she pushed forward, gritting her teeth in concentration.

"If only there were some way to make you prove your newfound loyalty to me. Yet I find myself coming up short with ideas…" Maria drifted casually over to where Sam held Alice and stroked the back of her fingers down her face. "I find this to be the most effective way of assuring your obedience and I'm loath to give it up."

He mechanically followed her over to Alice, focusing his gaze unwavering on his creator. His lip lifted at the corner into the heartbreakingly sweet smile he normally reserved for Alice, the smile that dimpled his cheek. If he were going to be believable he had to go all the way. He lifted his hand, stroking his fingers affectionately down Maria's cheek.

Maria's fingers fell away from Alice's cheek as Jasper's fingers sought out the marble smooth skin of her face. She turned to him with skepticism, her eyes searching his for any hint of deception.

Jasper's eyes remained vacant, swept clean of any emotion except for a hint of desire, a desire that she would surely misconstrue as something far different than his true intentions.

Alice stared at Jasper as though she had never seen him before. He was nothing but a stranger to her now as he turned an adoring smile to Maria, the one that had so often graced his lips when he had looked at her much the same way, the one that she had fallen in love with twenty eight years before she had even met him.

Jasper allowed himself to become engrossed in Maria, making sure his mind never focused on Alice, only revolving around the battles and bloodshed. She had to have his full attention and if he paused to consider the hurt he was causing Alice, all would be lost.

"Do you want me to prove my loyalty, love?" he murmured and leaned in to press his lips softly against hers. He released a small dose of his influence on her to make her believe him as he did so. Just enough to be effective without tipping his hand…

Maria melted underneath Jasper's kiss, her mind swimming with a thick fog of desire. Suspicion beat at the back of her brain even as she wrapped her arms around his neck with a passion she felt helpless to deny.

Jasper fed off the ample desire Maria exuded and channeled it, returning it back through his own lips and pouring it into the kiss as he pulled her closer. His thoughts remained heavily focused on past battles. Victories that hopefully the mind reading newborn would assume he was looking forward to once again.

Alice didn't have to worry about Maria killing her, or Sam or Carlos, or any of the frightening newborns in the room. She was already dying inside. This was not the kiss he had given Maria earlier to save her life where he had grimaced and remained unmoving under her greedy lips. This was something else entirely. Jasper held nothing back as he clutched Maria to him, his lips seeking hers with an unbridled passion that chilled her to the bone. Her mind reeled as she tried to make sense of what was happening. Had he truly changed his mind? Had everything they had shared been nothing more than a lie as Maria had suggested? Had he ever felt anything for her or had it simply been that he had felt her feelings for him on the day that they had met and had convinced himself that he felt the same in order to run from his past? She stared on in horror as her heart broke into a million jagged pieces.

Jasper's mind remained focused unwaveringly on Maria as his lips parted ever so slightly so he could nip teasingly at her bottom lip. He left a feeling of want in the air to completely consume her suspicion as he pulled back with a wild gasp and a smile spread across his face. "There's more where that came from..." he promised. She was taking the bait and even so he still couldn't bring himself to look at Alice. Instead he acted as if she didn't exist. Looking at her would blow everything, to view the expression behind the hurt and confusion swirling around her and threatening to consume him.

Maria lifted a hand to fist it in the fabric of Jasper's shirt. She pulled him back to her, rubbing herself against him as her eyes flashed with a mixture of lust and caution. "How do I know that this isn't a trick?"

"A trick?" he chuckled dryly. "I'm not that smart..." He underestimated himself, giving her the air that she held the control. She would be pleased to hear that he was sure.

A smile twitched at the corners of Maria's mouth but she only narrowed her gaze, knowing that the exact opposite was true. Jasper's cunning had always been evident, even before she had turned him. "What about your precious little Alice that you've been trying so hard to save?"

Alice's eyes remained locked on Jasper's face, her whole entire world hanging in the balance as she waited for his reply.

"And what about her?" he asked. "She means nothing to me." His voice was cold as he flicked a far too quick glance in her direction. "You were right all along. Her influence was simply a trick my own gift created… I searched within myself just now and saw it for the lie it was."

Alice gaped at him, all the air leaving her lungs in a ragged gasp. Jasper's voice had a cruel edge she had never before heard from his lips, the sparkling warmth she had always seen in his eyes whenever he had looked at her gone, leaving them cold and flat. She pressed her lips tightly together to keep them from trembling as his words found their mark and she sagged against Sam under the weight of them.

Jasper's words had hit their mark, shattering Alice's world. The repercussions for such an act was a barrage of emotions so powerful that he felt his knees wanting to buckle under them. He kept a smooth face as he turned an icy, unfeeling stare on Alice, his eyes completely vacant and unseeing as he took in her pitiful state.

Maria tilted her head as she took in both Jasper and Alice's expressions. "Are you sure?" she asked, narrowing her gaze in on Alice with a predatory air.

"Positive." His voice rang with finality as he shifted his gaze back to Maria.

One solitary sob broke forth from Alice's lips before she bit the ones to follow back. She wouldn't let either of them see her cry if she could help it.

A sadistic gleam lit in Maria's eyes as she took in Alice's sniveling. "You've come to your senses then?"

"Finally, yes." His words still carried a cruel edge as a thoughtless smile touched his lips. "I know where I belong now."

"She believes him," the mind reader confirmed, pointing a shaky finger at Alice. "She believes everything he's saying."

Jasper's gaze flashed briefly to the mind reader as a feeling of satisfaction spread through him.

Maria considered this for a moment. If his own wife was convinced he was telling the truth, then perhaps… Her eyes narrowed as she contemplated the situation before her. "If you care so little for her, as you say, then why should I let her go? Why not just kill her and have done with it?"

Jasper chuckled. "She's not worth the effort," he stated with a cold efficiency. His gaze remained fixed on Maria, discerning her expression as she considered this piece of information.

"True," Maria mused. "However, I find it would be worth my amusement." She advanced on Alice with murderous glee, already planning which limb to tear off her miserable carcass first.

"Wait!" Jasper interjected and held up a hand to halt Maria. "I want to do it myself..." he hissed with a wickedly amused smile.

"Really?" Maria asked, clapping her hands together with delight at the idea. It simply was too delicious to imagine! Maria's gaze devoured them both, her thoughts turning triumphant as she stood on the verge of victory.

Jasper nodded once as a cruel smile touched his lips. This was it. This was his one and only chance to get between Maria and Alice and he wasn't going to waste it. As long as he kept his thoughts focused on the battles he and Maria had once fought together then the mind reader would be detoured, just in case she had decided to keep checking for any deception. He turned to swivel his unyielding gaze on Alice, taking in her pitiful appearance and began his advance on her, taking slow, deliberate steps, as if he were sizing her up.

Alice closed her eyes. If she had hoped for death earlier to see the heartbreaking expression on Jasper's face when Carlos was taking her away then she craved it now. She had realized in the moment before her eyes had fluttered closed that she was seeing Jasper as he had been before love, however false, had touched his frozen heart. And if this was the truth, if he had never really been hers and would never be again, then she didn't want to go on living for another second. She lifted her chin, hoping he would make it quick when he ripped her to pieces. It couldn't hurt any worse than the way he'd torn apart her heart.

Maria took in Jasper's every movement with avid interest, venom flooding her mouth as her victory drew ever closer with each of his measured steps. The newborns behind her hissed and growled, their eyes narrowing to hostile slits as they anticipated the violence about to take place.

Jasper's eyes gave away no intentions as he stepped forward and wrenched Alice out of Sam's arms.

Despite her exhaustion, despite her weakness, Alice felt a vision threatening to push its way into her mind. She desperately tried to hold it at bay, not wanting to witness her own death at Jasper's hands, but it was insistent and though she resisted it with all the strength she had left to her it blossomed inside her mind's eye, making itself known.

She and the mind reader gasped in astonishment at exactly the same moment.

"It's a trick!" the mind reader shrieked, but she was already too late.

The moment the mind reader gave away his intentions Jasper quickly flung Alice behind him and slipped into a protective crouch. His gaze roved over the newborns beginning to converge on him and a calculating smile curved the corners of his lips, as he focused intently, unleashing a powerful dose to influence the newborns to riot and turn on each other. "Surprise," he scoffed, mockingly and turned his dark, glittering eyes in Maria's direction.

Maria howled in rage at Jasper's betrayal, emerging as though from a fog that had rendered her docile. She realized then that that was exactly what had taken place. Her precious little empath, her creation, had turned on her in a way he never had before. He had used his ability to gain the advantage and her fury knew no bounds. "Kill them both!" she screeched, waving her newborns forward.

Alice had fallen to the ground as Jasper had swept her behind him, unable as she was to stand in her weakened state. She did, however, manage a broken smile to know that he was still hers. His words, his actions had all been a carefully constructed ploy to save her and even if they both died right now, they would die together as husband and wife. Not even Maria could take that away from them.

Sam was nearest to Jasper, followed by Carlos, and each of them lunged for him. Whoever killed him was sure to claim the coveted position of Maria's favorite and ambition fueled both separate attacks.

A cacophony of sound erupted behind Maria full of snarls and metallic screeching. She whirled to find her newborn army tearing each other apart, dismembered body parts flying through the air. A few were tossed bodily into the raging fire and they caught fire, their screams disappearing in sickly clouds of purplish black smoke.

"NO!" Maria's voice ripped from her throat in a cry of disbelieving fury. She wheeled on Jasper, finding him occupied with Sam and Carlos. In the next instant her gaze shifted to the ground behind them. Alice…

Jasper growled viciously as Carlos sunk his teeth into his arm and wrapped both hands around it, pulling with a vicious yank. The searing pain of the bite paled in comparison to the fury raging inside Jasper as he drove his elbow into Carlos's face and sent him flying into the fire. His screams cut through the moment he came in contact with the flames, then abruptly cut off.

During the distraction Sam had taken the advantage and flung himself onto Jasper's back, wrapping his arms around his neck and biting him repeatedly in the shoulders, trying to incapacitate him with the searing pain as he worked to get a grip to twist his head off. Jasper hissed in pain and spun around trying to sling him off. He wasn't budging.

Alice mustered the strength to raise her head and instantly felt a scream rise in her throat to see Sam latched onto Jasper's back, his hands desperately seeking purchase in order to decapitate him as he savagely bit his shoulder. However in the next second, before Alice even knew what hit her, she was across the barn. She could feel the heat from the fire but more terrifying than that was the cruel pair of hands that forced her down onto her knees, yanking her hair to tilt her head back. With a shock of pure fear, Alice found herself staring up into Maria's vengeful face.

Jasper growled in exasperation and slammed himself backward into the wall with a deafening crack. During the sudden impact Sam's grip slipped and Jasper flashed his hands up and flipped him over his shoulder, twisting off his head in the same movement and flinging it into the fire along with his body. He then turned on Maria with a resolved look in his eyes.

The grief-stricken scream that tore from Maria's lips was not for Carlos or even for her favorite, Sam. It was for herself. As what remained of her newborn army continued to fight around her, the sounds of ripping marble flesh signified the end. There was no help for her now. Jasper had somehow managed to destroy everything and her mind raced as he came for her, the murderous glint in his eyes unmistakable.

Alice's face was still turned up to Maria and while Maria kept her eyes focused on Jasper, Alice felt one talon-like fingernail trace a sharp path down the column of her throat. She set her jaw, trying to be brave in the face of possible death for the second time.

"Another step and I'll kill her," Maria hissed in a menacing tone. "I've nothing left to lose…"

His form appeared like a ghost against the haze of the smoke, half enveloped, half visible. He allowed a low rumble to work its way up his throat in the form of a growl as he took a deliberate step toward her. His gaze roved over the desperation in her expression and somehow underneath all the rage he felt toward her, he managed an amused smile, in regards to the situation she now found herself in. Jasper stalked forward carefully, gauging Maria's expression as she considered her options.

Maria weighed her options of which she had few. If she killed Alice, she would be dead before she could sling her broken body into the fire. Jasper would undoubtedly see to that. There had to be a way out of this, she thought. Not even the Volturi had been able to end her during the mass executions they had imposed after the southern vampire wars had raged out of control. She'd be damned if she were going to die at Japer's hands.

The fire… Maria eyed it for a moment, an idea forming in her mind. Without warning she lifted Alice, kicking pitifully, above her head and flung her toward it with a savage snarl, spinning on her heel in the same second and fleeing the barn.