A little while later Jasper, Garrett, Izzy and I were in the only building on site, maps and plans spread out on the table in the midst of an argument over the best way to go about this shit; well the three of us guys were, Izzy was just there so I could keep an eye on her. There was no way in fuck she was leaving my sight at any time for the foreseeable future. I knew the minute I turned my back, the Cunt Mater General would use it to her advantage and put me in an even less desirable position that there wouldn't be a way out of and there was zero chance that I was hanging out any longer than I was already being forced to.

While the three of us guys were trying to figure out where to start, Izzy peaked at the map and pointed at the furthest point from where we were, "Why not start here? If you get this area under your control, couldn't you then use that battle tactic, I don't know what it's called, but when you come at an enemy from both sides so the opposition can't retreat?"

There was a growl from my left as Jasper plopped down in a chair, a really nasty look on his face. I knew what he was thinking about; the last battle that lost the civil war for the Confederacy; something that the former confederate was still a little salty about. This was a tactic that worked well for his side of the war, but just a little better for the, wait for it… "stupid fucking Yankees." Ah, there it is.

It was the snarl he said that in that had Izzy about jumping out of her skin. She slowly turned wide eyes on the Major before she blinked at his posture and looked up at me, "Did I say something wrong?"

I smiled at her, "Naw, you're alright, Sugar. The Major here has had some less than pleasant experience with that particular scenario, that's all." Looking at him out of the corner of my eye, "and apparently 151 years, seven months, two weeks and four days ain't enough to get over it."

He just glared at me but didn't say anything about it, just growled once more before looking at Izzy, "it's a right fine idea Darlin'. The only problem with it is the vampire that holds that area of land has allies on the far side, putting us in that position instead. We would have to go farther out for it to work and the further south you go, the stronger opposition you have to face."

She scratched her head before looking at the map of the area we were enlisted to retain and sighed, "Oh, never mind then." Then she pursed her lips before cocking her head to the side, "what about calling Aro? He said if we needed anything to call him."

I nuzzled her temple with my nose a little before pressing a kiss to it, "can't do that either Sugar. Even under duress, I still agreed to break the law and create a newborn army. I can handle this, done it before, but I have zero desire to serve on the Royal Guard with you so young. It's best he stay in Italy for now." Once she nodded a little, I turned to look at Jasper, "the only option we have is to go old school; turn and train."

He groaned a little as his head dropped back on the headrest of the chair, "God damn it."

I grunted a little. I wasn't a fan of the idea either, but we didn't have a choice. We had forty square miles to take back over and there wasn't any other way to do it than to take it back by force; one mile at a time.

Once the sun set that night, I took my mate on a run to get her out of the camp where she was able to calm down and fuck shit up without getting in trouble for it. This was literally the longest day of my fucking life, having to stand back and watch her get her ass handed to her by this person or that one and discipline her for retaliation. I knew that she understood what was going on and I knew that she didn't blame me for my part in the pain and shit she dealt with today, but that didn't mean I didn't blame myself and hate my unlife just a little more.

It was only because Jasper kept me from feeling the emotions I was supposed to at seeing, or having a hand in, her getting hurt that I'm still even a little sane at the moment. My mate was pushed to and past her limits of hunger and toleration of others making her snappy and overly pissy, putting me in the worst position of my life when I had to, for the first time, force her submission through actual force. Before I could simply restrain her until she complied. Now I had to cause her pain to do it through either bites or nearly ripping off a body part because, believe it or not, it was the lesser of two evils. I would rather deal out her discipline than have the other newborns gang up on her because they resented her due to special treatment.

Every time I let her go, there was always understanding in her eyes when I looked at her, but I really would have rather saw anger, borderline hate or loathing, because then it wouldn't hurt as bad.

Once we reached the edge of the city, I decided to take my chances with my starving mate among the masses because I wasn't leaving her with anyone else, not even Jasper or Garrett. All four of us were playing a part and none of it could look to others like that was what was going on. I knew this area just as well now as I did then so I took her straight to where she could kill however many she wanted to in any way she wanted to and it wouldn't matter. Death and destruction run amuck so much that the humans would never know what caused it and really wouldn't care anyways.

She killed ten humans, only eating four, before turning her blood covered face my direction, her eyes bright red and curious as she cocked a brow at me, "why are you being so stubborn?"

I raised a brow back, "about what?"

She snorted and crossed her arms, "calling for help? I know you don't like this and I sure as fuck don't. There isn't anything wrong with calling in reinforcements, Peter."

I sighed a little as I crooked a finger at her, wrapping my arms around her waist when she was within reach. "Told ya Sugar, my ass is on the chopping block for…"

She shook her head, "there is a huge difference between agreeing to do something and actually doing it. You haven't done anything wrong yet."

Setting my forehead against hers, "I certainly…" Seems she's still a little pissy.

She growled a little before pulling back a bit, "will you just fucking trust me and make the Goddamn call? You want me to trust my gut but why should I when YOU won't?"

I pushed her out and held her at arms-length, staring her dead in the eyes, "what are talking about?"

She shook her head, "I don't know. All I know is you HAVE to make the call. I can handle getting my ass kicked for now but I cannot handle the possibility of you getting sentenced to death for your part in whatever's coming. You said that…"

I clasped a hand over her mouth as I was once again aided by her words. Mother fucking god damn bitch. I really was going to kill the cunt when I got the chance. I was going to make a call alright, but it wasn't going to be to Aro just yet. I pulled my phone out and called the Major. He needed to know the army we were training wasn't going to be used as we thought; it was going to be used in something far more fucked up and I walked right into it.

*X*

Jasper and Garrett showed up that the warehouse as I was hanging up the phone with Aro, who was surprising understanding of the situation, telling me to do what I had to for my mate and he will deal with it on his end. Slipping my phone into my pocket, I cocked a brow at him, "you weren't followed, were you?"

He shook his head, "for a bit, but when dealing with children…" Then he crossed his arms, "so, this shit sucks."

I snorted, "Just a bit. For the very first time, I have no idea what to do here."

He cocked a brow at me, "I can't imagine the position you're in, Peter, and I know it can't be an easy one, but you gotta deal with it. This situation is a sticky one. The little cunt got you by the balls, no two ways about it, Captain. However, your main focus should be the safety of this little Darlin here, and that lies in your ability to be the asshole that I raised you to be. You can't be a mate right now, you HAVE to be my Captain or it ain't gonna fuckin' matter. You have to teach her to be a soldier or she is goin' to get hurt or worse."

I slid my eyes over to my Sugar and saw her looking back at me, her arms crossed behind her back, eyes soft and warm. A little smile tugged at the corner of her lips as she nodded, "I can handle it, Petey. You do what you have to, it ain't gonna change anything. Plus, if it helps, think of it this way; if you teach me to defend myself, you will have less to worry about when the time comes to actually have something TO worry about." Then she giggled a little as her eyes darkened, "personally, I think scars are all kinds a sexy anyways."

There were two snorts from somewhere in the room as I cocked a brow at my minx of a mate, my own eyes darkening as I watched her eyes rake over my uncovered chest, her bottom lip between her teeth, a throaty little hum in her throat before a purr kicked up in her chest.

I had her pressed between me and the wall before she made it to my belly button; my lips dominating hers and demanding full compliance and submission. I didn't give a fuck about an audience, let 'em watch. I growled into her mouth when she parted her lips for me, grabbing her hips and lifting her off the ground. She wrapped her legs around me, pressing her hips harder against mine when I rolled into her, my growl growing in volume and pitch because that shit felt great.

Somewhere in my desire clouded mind I heard the doors close but I didn't pay it any fucking mind as I reached down and undid my belt and jeans before removing hers too. Looks like I'm gonna have to have Jasper run to the store to get her something to wear since in my haste, I rip the shit out of 'em.

Oh fucking well.

In one forceful thrust, I was sheathed to the hilt, hip to hip with my mate, her gasp of intrusion ringing in my ear since I wasn't quite as willing to give her the time to adjust as I would have been any other time. With her hands once again held above her head, I dipped mine and took her nipple between my lips, giving it a light tug before scraping my teeth across the mound itself as I set a semi-fast speed with my hips but using quite a bit of force.

Her words from right before we started rung in my ears. 'I can handle it, Petey' bounced around my brain driving my actions and movements. Pulling away from the wall, I twisted on my heel and dropped to my knees before laying her on her back, renewing my attention on her chest, her head being thrown back and her back arching into my mouth electing a purr from me at the action.

I switched between pulling out to the head and thrusting back into rolling my hips against her; her moans and grunts music to my ears. Then she switched up the game. She rolled against me and because I wasn't expecting it, she was able to roll us over so she was on top. She pulled at her hands and I let her go. She put her hands on my chest and pushed herself up to a sitting position, lifting up to her knees before dropping like a bomb back down, her crying out at the feeling and pulling a growl from me.

When she rolled her hips, I put a hand on her chest, pushing her back a little and changing both the angle and depth reached with each one of her movements while a reached the other around her and pressed against the small of her back to help her keep her balance. She went back and forth between rolling against me and lifting herself up a few times before her inner walls began to clench around me telling me she was getting close.

Pushing her to lean just a little farther back, I ran my nails down her torso, making her quiver before reaching where I was going, and rubbing my thumb over her clit a few times before
pressing hard against it, finishing her off and just like last time, the sheer force I was squeezed with pulled me with her over the edge when she pulled up one more time.

With a snarl, I shot up to a sitting position and sunk my teeth gums deep into her neck, once again reaffirming the connection and adding just a little more of me into her; the pain from the bite taking her pleasure a little higher and over the second cliff, her scream getting caught behind my teeth and making her cry of my name just for me.

Milked for all I was worth, I fell back to the ground, taking her with my since my teeth were still in her skin and just stayed that way for a few minutes before letting her go and licking and nuzzling and kissing and showering my mark with affection.

My attention was pulled from that mid-lick when there was a knock on the doors, only my eyes moving that way before simply turning away again and finishing doctoring the bite I just gave my girl before rolling slightly to take her from view when the door creaked, catching the bag that was thrown at me with a 'thanks'.

I had just finished redressing Izzy when Jasper came back in with a smirk, "You really need to work on your timing, asshole."

I just shrugged as I was running my fingers through my hair in preparation of putting it up. "I'll fuck my mate whenever the hell I feel like it." Tightening my ponytail, I glanced at him, "If I gotta be a dick and shit in front of others for the time being, you can be positive that I'm gonna make up for that shit later."

Izzy was bent at the waist combing out her hair too, but she paused and looked over at Jasper with a cheesy looking grin, "Don't you dare fuck up his apology either Jazz. If he feels he needs to make up for something, let him."

Jasper snorted and walked over to her, taking the hair tie from her so she didn't break it and helped her put her hair up, "Wouldn't dream of it Darlin'. By this time tomorrow, he gonna have some shit to make up for. Today was cakewalk for you, Izzy. You got away with a lot of shit you shouldn't have and tomorrow, you are going to be a soldier just like every other newborn. You're gonna git your ass kicked and it's gonna hurt, badly. I hope you understand that." She nodded but he shook his head, "no you don't, not yet anyways."

She cocked a brow at him, a clear sign of challenge, "I'll handle it, Major; don't you worry 'bout it."

He just sighed as he pushed her over to me, "hope so, Darlin'. Just don't get mad when I say I told you so."

*X*

Daybreak the next morning found Jasper and I pairing off the babies getting ready to assess the work we actually needed to do to get them in any kind of shape to do anything at all. Izzy was paired off with a big mother fucker that was about a week older than her forcing Jasper to once again cap my emotions to near comatose level so I didn't get involved in any way I shouldn't have. All I could do was bark orders and instructions to her, but at the same time, when she got the upper hand, I had to call out corrections to her opponent.

Fifteen minutes into their spar, Jasper grabbed me by the back of the neck and shoved me to a different section of the pit, telling me in hushed tones to take a break from watching her because it was getting nearly impossible for him to keep me from overstepping my boundaries; him taking my place overseeing her training for the time being.

I didn't like it, one ear staying on her until I found out that Jasper wasn't afraid to backhand the dude for doing something stupid, warning him that he knew the girl was mated and if he didn't knock off the shit, Jasper wouldn't hesitate to give me back my protective instincts. The guy looked over at me and one glance at my black as pitch eyes told him just how close he was to dealing with me if he didn't stop actively trying to kill my girl. This was a sparring session to assess their worth, not an actual battle so any death that occurred during this was seen as treason and handled the same fucking way.

Any deal made with the Cunt Master General was void if something to that extreme happened to my girl.

At the midday sun we called a break for an hour to let the bites and other injuries heal before they changed opponents and we continued. The only time that training of some kind didn't take place was during the night hours. If the sun was up, we were in the pit running different scenarios and situations, fixing mistakes and fuck ups, weeding out those that weren't gonna cut it to be disposed of at the end of the week when everyone was fully assessed.

And during that week my mate got her ever loving ass kicked. Everyone she faced had a month of battle training on her, her being the youngest we were assessing, and the only one not working on her fighting skills since the day she woke up. Had I fucking known that that was going to be needed, I wouldn't have hesitated to teach her more than I did way sooner than I started.

However, for the fact that she was at a complete disadvantage, she kicked as much ass as she got kicked. My little Sugar wasn't afraid to fight dirty nor was she scared to face off against any one she was pegged against. Unlike the others, she didn't need to be told more than once to fix something, barely needing the guidance that the others needed in spades.

It was the night before the final assessment where the little kiddies faced either me or Jasper to decide who lived and who died and I didn't have the highest hopes for a lot of them. Izzy, however, because she was part of this entire 'hold the officer's balls in a vice' game Maria was playing, she wasn't on the block for death if she couldn't hold her own in a fight against a seasoned opponent. That didn't mean that she wasn't going to be facing off with Jasper in nine hours, it just meant that she wouldn't die if she lost in under a certain amount of time that would be decided in the morning.

The thing I was having the hardest time understanding and couldn't for the life of me figure out is why the cunt was allowing me the opportunity to train my mate at all and not hold her hostage to force my compliance in this matter. The bitch has to know that with my mate WITH me, I can leave anytime and she couldn't really stop me. If I wasn't afraid to skip out before I have to wonder what makes her think I won't do it again. The only difference between then and now is I'm older and more experienced, therefore, more dangerous, making me really wonder about her mentality because this was really stupid on her part.

I was drawn out of my thoughts by a giggle before I took a bony, pointy elbow to the ribs making me turn and glare at my girl as she continued to giggle. "And just what was that for, Mate?"

She just kept giggling as she rocked from her toes to her heels and back, bright eyed and bushy tailed, "You're overthinking things again, Captain. You should really try relaxing a bit before you give yourself a complex. Get drunk, get high, get something because you are about to make the Major over there rip his fucking hair out and, to be honest, I would probably point and laugh and then get in trouble and it would be all your fault."

I turned my attention to Jasper and came face to face with the glare of death before he pointed to the south and told me to get the fuck out and take my girl with me until I chilled the fuck out, giving me until day break to make it happen. So, I dressed my girl up for a night on the town and took her south, out of Maria's territory, to get nine kinds of wasted and just pretend that this shit wasn't happening.