Chapter Twenty Two

At dusk the next evening, they packed up the few things they had with them and walked out, hand in hand to the limo that would take them back to where Jesse had parked his car in the VIP lot at the Bellagio. When they were dropped off, Jesse tipped the driver and led Tanya to her door, unlocking and opening it for her. As she slid in, he kissed her hand and grinned before releasing her and closing the door behind her. He walked around the car and slid into the drivers side.

Putting the car in gear and sliding it out of parking spot, he drove them toward the edge of the city, leaving the neon lights behind them. Glancing over at Tanya, he gave her a grin before opening the car up to the freeway. The drive went by without incident. Tanya was worried about telling everyone else what they had done. On one hand she knew that it should be her day and she should have did whatever she felt like, but on the other... the others were going to be pissed they weren't included. She voiced her worries to Jesse.

"Tanya, don't worry, doll. It'll all work out fine," Jesse told her.

"I know..." she replied. She looked far from convincing though.

-

The place they picked to meet with Amanda and Kelli was about 40 miles from Seattle, in a wooded clearing. Jesse had parked his car at a convenience store and they made their way into the woods beyond when no one was watching. Once out of sight of the humans and the convenience store, they took off at a run. Jesse had dropped the shield on himself as he pulled into the parking lot, letting himself be found.

The clearing was empty when they reached it. Tanya stood still, letting her senses range out, listening for anything out of the ordinary. So far, she heard nothing. She turned to look at Jesse, who was doing the same thing. "I don't hear anything yet," she said quietly.

He nodded, watching the shadows surrounding the clearing. "They'll be here," he replied.

They didn't have to wait long. Their approach was nearly silent, but since Tanya and Jesse had been expecting them, the sounds of their swift movements through the woods didn't go unnoticed. When the two had nearly reached the clearing they stopped. The silence was deafening as they waited.

Kelli stepped out first, Amanda on her heels. Tanya took in the appearance of the woman she hadn't met. Her height alone was impressive at nearly six feet, and her honey golden hair made her one gorgeous woman. Amanda stepped around from behind Kelli and stared at Jesse.

"This is it Amanda. I'm done with the games, and I'm finished with hiding. I don't know what you want with me, but we're done. It's been done for a long time, you are just too damn stubborn to realize it," Jesse said, breaking the tense silence that had filled the clearing since their arrival.

Amanda looked ready to lunge, but Kelli put a restraining hand on her arm. Her red eyes took in Jesse, and then Tanya, and they missed nothing. "You married her," she hissed. "You went and married the bitch!"

This time it was Tanya fighting the restraining arms that encircled her. "Yes," she said triumphantly. "He married me. Get the picture, Amanda?" Tanya replied.

Amanda tore herself free from Kelli's grasp and leaped at Tanya. Jesse roughly threw Tanya out of the way and took the brunt of Amanda's attack. He stumbled back a few steps but kept his feet under him while Amanda started pummeling his chest. He didn't attack back, he only took her punches, kicks and scratches, defending only when her razor sharp teeth got near his skin.

Tanya picked herself up off the ground where Jesse had thrown her and dropped into a crouch. Muscles coiled to spring and she pushed herself up, leaping at Amanda. Her path was blocked in mid-air when Kelli dodged in front of her. Tanya growled at the other woman. "My issue is not with you. Get out of my way."

Kelli shook her head. "I can't do that. If you want her, you will have to go through me."

Tanya's smile was chilling. "So be it." She leaped once again this time at Kelli, taking her down to the ground. She punched the other woman's face, straddling her, and trying to block the swipes Kelli was taking at her. A few times, Tanya was able to get her teeth close to Kelli's skin, but the woman always seemed to snatch it away at the last second.

Once more Tanya was pummeling Kelli's face with her fists when she felt herself yanked away by the hair. Snarling, Tanya whirled to find Amanda standing there. A short laugh bubbled out of Amanda's chest and she lunged at Tanya, tackling her at the knees and taking them both down.

Jesse sprinted toward the women and found his path blocked by Kelli. Roughly, he shoved her out of his way and was surprised to find her wrapped around his waist and pulling him away from the two. He knew Tanya could fight, hell she was older than every single one of them in this clearing, but to see her having to fight with Amanda... this was his fight.

Jesse reached down to unclasp Kelli's arms from his waist and found himself airborne as she basically belly to back suplexed him. Landing hard on his back, he was thankful he didn't have any breath to knock out of his lungs. In the blink of an eye he was up, and advancing on Amanda again, when Kelli once more grabbed him, spinning him out of his chosen path.

He blinked, looking at the other woman and was surprised by what he saw in her eyes. He wrenched his arm away from her and turned, running for Tanya, intending to take Amanda out by rushing and tackling her. He was quick, and had just reached Amanda when he felt the full force of Kelli running into his side. They both went down in a heap, and Jesse literally threw her off him. He got up just as there was a sickening snap.

Amanda screamed in rage and pain as Tanya took off part of her left arm. The fury fueling her movements made her quick, and she jumped on Tanya's back. She grabbed a fist full of strawberry blonde curls and yanked her head back. Baring her teeth, she shot Jesse a triumphant look as she was about to run their razor sharpness over his wife's neck. Tanya was still fighting to get Amanda off her back, reaching back and clawing at the other woman.

To Jesse, the moments seemed like it was slow motion in a movie. He was moving as fast as he could, but there was no way he would make it to Tanya before Amanda's teeth grazed her throat. Just as Amanda lowered her lips to her throat, Tanya and Amanda both went flying to the side. The sharp sound of vampire teeth on vampire flesh filled Jesse's ears in the sudden silence of the clearing.

-

Tanya felt the sharp nick of teeth on her neck and she knew she was going to die. Her last thought was of Jesse. She was thinking how happy she was that she had decided to go ahead to Vegas and get married to him instead of having that big wedding everyone would have wanted her to have.

Just as she had finished that thought, both her and Amanda went flying aside. The sharp pain of Amanda's teeth was gone, and suddenly she heard the scrape of another set of teeth gliding across a different throat. She rolled herself to the side and looked over to see Kelli tearing Amanda's head off her body.

Her hand went to her throat where Amanda's teeth had cut her, and she knew she'd have a scar there for the rest of her existence. But she was alive. She pushed herself up off the ground just as Jesse reached her and helped her up. Her hair was a tangled mess, her clothing ripped in places, and she was smudged head to toe with dirt, but she was alive. It was a euphoric feeling after knowing she would die only seconds ago.

Jesse crushed her to him, murmuring words in her ear, and it took a moment to register that he was saying I love you, I love you over and over. She reached a hand up and cupped his cheek, smiling at him before pulling his head down so their lips could meet.

The kiss was broken by someone clearing their throat. Kelli had torn Amanda to pieces and lit a bonfire. Tanya wasn't sure how long that kiss had lasted but she figured Kelli must have worked fast. Turning in Jesse's arms, she offered her hand to the other woman. "Thank you, Kelli. You saved my life."

Kelli smiled slightly and shook Tanya's hand. "You're welcome. I wouldn't let her do to Jesse what she did to me. I have waited for this moment for nearly a century. I've plotted and planned how I would get back to Amanda, and make her pay for what she did to my sister. I'm sorry you were the excuse I needed, but it's over now. For all of us."

Jesse looked at Kelli, and there was a bit of awe in his eyes. "I owe you... everything Kelli. If there's anything I can do for you... Anything at all, let me know."

Kelli just smiled at him, and reached out, touching his arm. "Thanks, Jesse. But it's over now. It's time for both of us to move on."

Jesse released Tanya so he could place a kiss on Kelli's forehead. "Thank you. You know where to find me if you need anything." He smiled before taking Tanya's hand again.

"Kelli if you are ever in Alaska... look us up," Tanya said.

"I'll do that," she replied before turning and leaving the clearing.

Tanya looked up at Jesse and smiled. "We should get out of here too. I'm sure Alice saw that, and if we don't get back to the Cullen's soon, the cavalry will show up here."

"Well we don't need that. Lets get out of here," he replied. Throwing one last look at the purple smoke rising into the air, they took off, hand in hand through the woods, back toward where the car waited.