AN: Longest chapter ever, over 8000 words! Don't worry, Maria couldn't delay the inevitable any longer.
Chapter 63 - Mangling Maria
Third Person POV
For the first time since speaking privately with Maria, Elena and Ana were close enough to look each other in the eye. They were hunting, used to taking down prey together. Maria and her minions were searching the city streets for prey as well. The girls had been sent off in different directions originally, but the force of habits learned over the course of many years in which they'd been drilled that it was safer to hunt in pairs than alone, had the two naturally gravitating together until they were running side by side again.
Now that their eyes met, they both felt something strange snap in their minds. Dropping their now dead dinner on the ground, they both shook their heads, as if trying to get water out of their ears or flies out of their noses. Their eyes widened at the same time as both remembered what had happened to them and their family.
"She hypnotized us!" Ana hissed in dismay. "To make us loyal to her, even more loyal than we are to each other! We need to run, while we still can!"
"No!" Elena protested, grabbing Ana's arm. "If we run now, they will simply chase us down and kill us. Remember the guns? Remember Beatriz? They are stronger and faster than we are, we'll never make it."
"We have to try," Ana whimpered. "I don't want to stay with this horrible woman."
Elena nodded grimly, "I know, sweetie, but there are only two of us against trained, experienced, armed, brainwashed soldiers. We'll die. No, we need to be patient and use our intelligence and lack of brainwashing to come up with a plan."
"Like what?" Ana wondered, pouting. "If only Nahuel was here."
Elena grinned. "Perfect. I've still got my phone, so I'll text Nahuel and ask for his help."
Ana grinned too. "Oh, I hope he can get here soon."
Ana went ahead and took care of disposing of the dead bodies while her sister communicated with their brother. Nahuel had never gotten along with their father, but he didn't hold that against his sisters. Being the only hybrids in existence, the siblings were all rather close, even if they didn't see each other all that often. Actually, Nahuel was the only one that didn't live in the family home with Joham.
Ana had asked her father once about why Nahuel didn't live with them, and Joham told her it was a male thing. He explained that when boys became men, they felt the need to be head of their own household and would go out on their own to prove to themselves they were competent enough to survive without their father's protection. Joham had postulated that Nahuel would return to the family once he had finally located his mate, as he would desire his family's strength to keep his mate safe.
Ana returned to her sister's side as Elena was tucking her phone back into her pocket. "Well?" she inquired expectantly.
Elena smiled and nodded. "He's on his way. He had some good advice too. He recommended we pretend to still be under Maria's influence. If she knows we've broken her hold on us, she'll either take us under again, or simply kill us, deeming us a threat."
Ana nodded in understanding. "We'll take our cues from the other guys."
xxxxxxx
Edward had gotten a good head start on his pursuer, which was the only reason he was still alive. He had darted off initially at full speed, but the venom loss was steadily draining his energy. It was now significantly affecting his speed. He could hear the vampire behind him gloating and rejoicing that the chase would soon come to an end.
Edward concentrated on the mating pull, knowing he was getting closer to his mate with every step. The speed at which the bond strengthened even told him she was running to him at the same time he was running to her.
For Alice. This is for Alice, he chanted in his head to keep himself going. It was getting harder and harder to ignore the fear, pain, and hopelessness building up in his torso. He desperately wanted to stop and hunt so his body could begin the healing process, but he knew it would be the last thing he'd ever do. He'd be fried the moment he stopped running.
His ass is mine now! David gloated. Just a few feet closer, and he'll be toast. There's no way he'll be lucky enough to get away twice.
This is it. I'm not going to make it, Edward moaned in despair. I've given it my all, but I can barely even stay upright as it is.
Just when he was ready to give up, to fall to his knees and welcome the flames, he finally heard Alice's mental voice up ahead.
Hang in there, Edward! Alice was shouting in her mind. We're almost there, just a few more seconds! Keep running! Please, baby!
Thank heavens! Edward cheered. The knowledge that she was so close gave him a burst of energy and speed, delaying the end just a little longer.
Shit! I almost had him! I thought for sure he was done, David cursed. This must be his second wind, his last reserve. He'll burn through it soon enough, and then I'll burn through him.
Edward knew David was correct and hoped the cavalry Alice promised was indeed only a few seconds away. He caught a brief glimpse of Eleazar's mind coming in from the side, but he was too weak and exhausted to process anything more than his friend's presence. He was focusing the remainder of his energy on getting to his mate, knowing she would die if he did, that she would throw herself on his pyre rather than face the world without him.
JUMP! NOW! EDWARD! Alice screamed mentally, slicing through his fear and fatigue.
His body followed his mate's command on autopilot, jumping even before his own mind could issue the order to his legs.
Finally! 29 feet away! David calculated. Time to roast this asshole.
He pulled the trigger and watched the ball of flame shoot out at a thousand miles an hour. Impossibly, the one armed boy jumped just before the flames reached him, clearing the path of the flame by inches.
"Noooo!" David screamed angrily. How the hell did he do that? He should be ash now!
Edward reached up to grab onto a tree branch and watched as the flame passed right below him. His eyes widened in horror as he saw one of his shoe laces was untied and dangling down about 8 inches below the bottom of his shoe. Desperately, he pushed the shoe off with the toes of his other foot before the flames could climb up the shoestring. Kicking his foot, he flung the shoe away from him.
He watched the flaming shoe flying through the air and gasped in terror when he realized he'd just sent it right toward his advancing mate. Moments before the shoe would have hit her, she jumped to the side, landing against a tree and pushed off from there, knocking down the tree and propelling herself forward.
You can't run forever, David mentally snarled, racing forward to get within range again.
Forgetting completely about the enemy behind him, Edward lunged toward his mate, thinking only of getting her in his arms, even though he only had one left. He was now weak enough that his gift didn't register any of the thoughts around him as anything more than an unintelligible buzz.
Luckily for him, Eleazar was now in range and sent a blast of his own gun at David. David stood in the flames as they passed harmlessly around him, smirking at Eleazar, who watched dumbfounded.
"Fool! Fire cannot kill me!" David gloated smugly. "I was a firefighter in my human life and brought immunity to fire into this existence as my special vampire gift. I can never be destroyed!"
This prideful session had successfully distracted his attention away from Edward, and as he raised his gun to cook Eleazar, he was surprised to find his head suddenly separated from his neck.
Edward had been shocked when Alice dodged him, easily eluding his attempts to capture her in his embrace. He'd felt confused and rejected as he whirled around to watch her retreating form, only to feel foolish when he saw her efficiently and effortlessly decapitating their enemy. Maria's goon had been about to kill Eleazar, and Edward was relieved that Alice hadn't gotten as caught up in him as he was in her, or else they'd all be dead now.
He groaned in pain, finally allowing himself to collapse now that they were safe, relatively anyway. Eleazar took over the dismemberment, and finally Alice was beside him, comforting him, touching him, and easing his pain.
xxxxxxx
Jasper POV
Everyone was tense on the plane as Demetri kept us informed of the whereabouts of the different parties. The grief was palpable when he revealed the snuffing out of Laurent's and Irina's minds. We knew when Maria killed more vampires and was joined by others too. We were aware of Edward's reunion with Alice and Eleazar, as well as the death of his pursuer.
During our flight, Carlisle received a call from Alice. She'd obtained a new phone and warned us that the old ones were all destroyed by the ocean water. She told him of Edward's injury and the chance she and Eleazar wouldn't be able to reach him in time to save him. She begged for Carlisle to come and help her heal him, since there was no arm to reattach, and she didn't know how to tend to such a large, gaping wound. Normally, Eleazar would have been able to help her, but he was too distraught over the loss of his longtime daughter and new son-in-law, and the impact that would have on his new granddaughter to focus on anything but avenging their loss.
She'd later called again, to inform us when she could no longer see Maria in her visions. Demetri confirmed it was with the addition of two new members to her team, so we knew there was something strange about them. We wondered at the possibility of them being shifters, having heard a few legends of humans changing shape associated with that region, though the most common involved becoming a dolphin.
How could that possibly help in a fight against vampires, unless perhaps Maria intends to stage an attack in the water?
The most important decision now before us was who would go to help Alice, Edward, and Eleazar, and who would go with me to take out Maria permanently. Surprisingly enough, it was easier than I thought it would be. Carlisle volunteered immediately, and I was privy to Rose's and Emmett's disgust and sense of betrayal, though their faces remained stoic. I didn't mention anything, knowing they were trying to be supportive of Carlisle, despite their feelings toward their former siblings.
I had been thinking mostly about Alice's pleas about Edward and his injuries, so I was briefly startled when Tanya and Kate both stood to volunteer themselves and their mates. Sensing their emotions, I was instantly reminded of the grief they were still harboring for the loss of their sister, the woman they'd lived with and loved for a thousand years. I knew then they were going for Eleazar's sake, to comfort him and grieve with him, as well as keep him from doing anything foolish to risk himself during this trying time.
Our covens were unusual for the level of bonds we shared. Most vampires only bonded to this extent with their mates, so I was unsure how volatile Eleazar might be. I knew a vampire who had recently lost their mate was highly unstable and obsessed with avenging their loss. They no longer cared about maintaining their own existence and thus were less careful to avoid exposure or attention. Often, they would snap and fight anyone they perceived as getting in their way or preventing them from carrying out their mission of revenge.
If Eleazar was feeling the same kind of grief and loss the sisters were, then as a male, he would feel responsible, like he should have protected Irina somehow. Without his mate there to calm him, like Tanya and Kate had, he could easily go off the deep end in his reaction. Edward wouldn't be in any position to stop him, and Alice would be too concerned with her own injured mate to be of any help either.
"Yes, thank you ladies. Eleazar will need you now, especially since Carmen is so far away. He needs the physical reminder that he has so many others who still need him and love him, so he doesn't do anything foolish to alleviate his grief and guilt," I declared. They nodded, hugging each other a little closer, while also pulling their mates in closer as well. I was glad they all had each other as a support network. I could feel the understanding and sympathy directed their way from the rest of the group, and Rose and Emmett moved over to them to offer comfort.
The rest of us began going over various scenarios, trying to come up with various contingency plans in an attempt to anticipate the four new people she'd added to her group along the way, some of whom were likely not vampires, but something else entirely. It didn't help that whatever they were, Peter's gift warned would knock our socks off and boggle our minds.
What could they possibly be that would have vampires and wolf shape shifters reeling in shock and awe? Witches? Unicorns? Space aliens? Just how weird would they have to be to be weird to us?
xxxxxxx
Third Person POV
Maria froze and issued orders for her team to assume a defensive formation when she heard rapidly approaching footsteps. She watched curiously as a male hybrid approached cautiously, assuming a nonthreatening demeanor.
Just how many of these things are there? She wondered. She thought about how warm the sisters were and snickered as she suddenly had a whole new idea of how useful this young man might be. I wonder what it will feel like to have his hot hardness inside of me, his body warming me from the outside and inside at the same time?
Her sly smile turned to a scowl when her eyes fell on the female vampire who followed him so protectively, adoringly.
"Who are you and what do you want?" Maria growled at the newcomers, glaring hostilely at the female in particular.
"I heard the heartbeats of my sisters and came to visit with them," Nahuel calmly replied. "I am surprised to see them so far from home without our father."
Maria raised an eyebrow in challenge. "Your father is dead, so your sisters decided to join me for their own protection."
"I see," Nahuel responded thoughtfully. "I must thank you for caring for them then. Where is Beatriz?"
Maria narrowed her eyes, sure she was being played. "She decided not to come with us."
"Hmm, she always was a homebody," Nahuel declared with a shrug.
"You don't seem upset about the death of your father," Maria quietly accused.
Nahuel shrugged again. "I'm not. I never liked the old bastard. He killed my mother and left me alone to raise myself. Why should I shed tears over someone who considered my mother, who truly loved me, nothing more than a guinea pig and me a living experiment?"
Maria smirked. "Why indeed?" She liked his attitude, having no use for sentimental saps in her army. Looking over to the female beside him, she growled again. "Is this your mate?"
Nahuel raised his eyebrows in surprise and gave a startled laugh. "No, of course not. I doubt a creature such as myself, caught between two worlds, could ever find a mate. This is my aunt, my mother's biological sister, who took care of my mother after my father abandoned her with his monstrous spawn growing inside her, draining her of her life's blood and breaking her bones with each wiggle or kick. I accidentally changed Aunt Huilen the day I was born, biting her in my newborn hunger. She got away and I ended up drinking the blood of my dying mother instead. When my aunt awoke to this existence she somehow forgave me and raised me as her own, while never letting me forget my true mother and how my monstrous father had deceived her, used her, and then tossed her aside, knowing she would die giving birth to me."
"Hmm, fascinating, I'm sure," Maria drawled. "As long as she's not your mate, you two are both welcome to join me. I have no use for mates." The word 'mates' was dripping with scorn, making no secret of her abhorrence of the whole institution. "Stupid mate bonds," she muttered under her breath, underestimating Nahuel's hearing. Smiling, she proceeded to hypnotize Nahuel and Huilen into doing her bidding.
Nahuel came out of his trance as soon as his eyes met Elena's, but Huilen didn't respond to either of the girls. She only recovered when her gaze met Nahuel's.
The four of them speculated on the reasoning why they were able to break the mind control. They now knew it wasn't because of them being hybrids, which had been the first theory. It had seemed to be confirmed when Huilen didn't respond to the girls, but her subsequent recovery due to Nahuel had tossed that theory aside.
Nahuel remembered what Maria had muttered under her breath. Bonds. Mate bonds. Everyone knows mate bonds are the strongest bonds that exist between two vampires. That's it! Mate bonds must counteract the mind control, but she doesn't know that familial bonds do that too! I doubt she has ever encountered vampires who are related by blood in addition to venom. We can't let her discover our immunity or she'll kill us for sure.
He related his conclusions to the other three, and they agreed to play along until the opportunity presented itself to make their escape.
xxxxxxx
Jasper POV
Demetri dropped our team off in northern Guatemala, then took off again with Heidi to bring Carlisle, Billy, Tanya, Chief, Kate, and Garrett to the rendezvous point with Alice, Edward, and Eleazar. It was decided he would fly them to their home in Alaska, where Carmen would be waiting for them, before coming back for the rest of us.
It didn't take long to find Maria. She had her minions scurrying around, setting up camp. She liked a certain level of comfort and was determined to have it regardless of the location. She wasn't as alert as should have been, and I knew she thought she would have more time and reinforcements before she would have to face us. To my knowledge, Maria had never flown on an airplane, and her information on the subject was limited to commercial flights. Since most planes didn't go over 600 mi/hr, she was certain running was still the fastest way to travel.
Knowing the cell phones didn't survive the trip through the water, she would expect it to take much longer for word to get to us that our initial phase of attack failed. She was hoping she had killed all the witnesses too, giving her even more time before we would realize we needed to send a larger group. No doubt she expected to have at least one more day to prepare, by which time Gregor would have joined her with the rest of her army.
She is really in over her head this time, I thought smugly. Did she think none of the Volturi survived, that none joined us against the brothers? The guards have beaten her before, taken out entire armies of hers. Why does she think she'll be able to prevail this time, when she never has before?
We were watching Maria from a mile away, using binoculars to pick out the smallest details. Three of the newcomers to her team stood out immediately. Their tan skin was much too dark for a vampire. Even vampires from Africa and Asia were unable to maintain their melanin. Under the influence of the venom, even human skin the rich color of dark chocolate became a dusky gray, as if coated with ashes. Skin in various coffee-colored hues, like cappuccino and mocha latte, became the color of root beer foam.
In addition to their skin color, their eye color screamed 'human'. All three of them had some variation of brown eyes, dark to light, none of which possessed any of the crimson or amber we've come to associate with vampires. If that wasn't enough to convince us, their beauty was still supernatural in nature, their bodies in prime health, like the wolves were, and their speed and strength were far beyond the capabilities of a human. The absolute clincher were the heartbeats Alec, our scout, could hear from his closer position.
With Maria cockily inattentive and the rest of her team distracted, we moved within 600 feet, joining Alec and being careful to keep silent and stay down wind. Our shifters were still in human form, so they could help strategize.
"They are definitely shifters of some kind," Jake decided. "Though they don't smell anything like us."
"If they are water creatures, they wouldn't, would they?" Leah suggested.
"All I'm detecting are vampire scents mixed with human scents," I reported to the rest. "Though the humans don't smell edible, oddly enough."
Quil nodded, "Well, that's the proof then, right? Why would they smell inedible if they weren't shifters?"
"There's all kinds of proof that's much more solid than that little tidbit," Leah muttered condescendingly.
"Whatever," Quil sneered, rolling his eyes.
Bickering was a matter of course between those two, so we simply ignored it.
"There are falsely created bonds, like the ones I can make, between the three male vampires and Maria," Chelsea announced. "The shifters and the female vampire are not tied to Maria. Their bonds are already broken somehow. The male shifter is tied to both female shifters and the other female vampire with strong familial bonds, but the female shifters only have a tentative bond with the female vampire."
"Do you think the vampire is his mate, like Jane is mine?" Jake wondered. We looked at them more closely trying to figure out their relationship.
Charlie was the first to answer. "Nah, they're all related. Police officers who spend time studying mug shots and missing persons reports, are taught the skill of facial mapping. We learn to recognize the subtle similarities and differences between features. The female shifters share DNA with the male shifter, but not the female vampire. Yet, the female vampire does share DNA with the male shifter. So the shifters are all part of the same family, but the vampire was biologically related to the male as a human through the other side of his family, not the shifter side."
Peter's gift kicked in just then. "They are family, that's why Maria's gift failed on them. We've always known mates can dissolve the false bond, but it appears other strong bonds work the same way. That's why the Major and I became disillusioned and were able to break free of her mind control once we came to love each other like brothers!"
Hmmm, that makes sense, I thought.
"How about I just knock them all out with my gift and we can deal with them all one at a time," Alec suggested.
"No, you have to get too close," Jane protested. "I was thinking about it, and it takes too long for your gift to reach them. They would have plenty of time to fry you if they caught sight of you. By the time the fog hits them, you could be toast."
"That's too dangerous!" Chelsea squeaked in alarm. "I didn't endure Aro's crap all these years just to lose you the moment we're free of his tyranny!"
"It wouldn't work anyway," Peter interjected before Alec could reply. "They're standing too far apart. As soon as the first victim fell, Maria would kill the shifters, and we can't have that, because they're important to us for some reason. They are our allies, not our enemies, so we can't risk their lives in this altercation."
"That's going to make things much more difficult, isn't it?" Em whined.
I snorted. "Well, we can't just run in bashing heads willy-nilly, if that's what you mean. However, as long as we're creative in our approach, I'm sure we can prevail. Peter's right, by the way. Their emotions are hostile toward Maria. They are clearly here against their will."
Quil growled. "Has anybody else noticed that she and her men are all armed with those blasters, like we are? I may not be a vampire, but I'm not sure I wouldn't be just as cooked if one of those fireballs hits me."
I nodded and sent him some calm assurance. "Yes, we're aware. Thanks, Quil. We all need to get gooped with mud from head to toe. Not a single shred of skin, hair, or fabric should be left uncovered. We also need to pool our venom into the empty guns, so we can still use our guns against them."
"Oh, no way! There is no way I am putting an inch's worth of mud in my hair!" Rose instantly shrieked.
"Would you rather your beautiful hair catch on fire?" Leah sneered. "I'm sure bald would be a good look for you."
"Shut up, bitch!" Rose growled.
"Make me, whore!" Leah snarled.
Rose rolled her eyes. "How many times do I have to tell you no matter how much sex or what kind of sex you have with your husband, it doesn't make you a whore?"
"Fine, you're a nymphomaniac," Leah challenged in a sweet tone.
"That's better than being a frigid fleabag," Rose retorted.
"You're just jealous, because you know you want some of this," Leah taunted, sweeping her hand down her body.
"Hell, yeah! I need a heating pad for my sore muscles," Rose teased back.
"Oh, can I watch?" Em asked excitedly, rubbing his hands together.
"Um, vampires don't get sore muscles, do they?" Quil pointed out seriously. Poor boy. Utterly clueless.
"On that note, I think it's time to get down to business," Char declared. "Time to wallow in the local mudhole."
We retreated to a small pond we'd found along the way and began the disgusting process of applying smelly swamp goo onto all our exposed body parts.
"It wouldn't be so bad if it didn't smell like shit," Em commented, squishing the mud between his toes.
"Yeah, don't even think of coming near me smelling like that," Rose disparaged, wrinkling her nose in disgust.
"C'mon in, Rosie, the water's fine," Peter called over to her with a smirk. He was splashing around in the muddy pond with Charlotte, pulling up handfuls of mud and smearing them on Char's chest playfully.
"Screw you, Petie," she retorted.
Bella and I were having fun painting mud on each other too, so I was barely paying attention to the others. Suddenly, I felt a huge wave of mischievousness and quickly looked to pinpoint the source. Realizing it was coming from Leah, I directed my mate's attention her way to witness whatever prank was about to unfold.
Leah and Quil were working together, piling a huge mountain of mud on Quil's discarded shirt. Bella and I snickered with amusement as we watched them sneak up behind Rose, carrying the mud mountain between them. As soon as they came with reach, they worked in tandem to turn the shirt over, right on top of Rosalie's head. Rose froze in shock at the feeling of roughly twenty-four pounds of mud landing on her head and sliding slowly down on all sides. Leah and Quil made a run for it while she was still in shock, which may just have saved their lives.
"My hair! My skin! My clothes!" Rose wailed. Then she started screeching, "Ruined! They're all ruined. When I catch whomever is responsible I'm going to rip off their pieces of flesh slowly, a little at a time. You'll be praying for the mercy of death before I'm through with you."
Boy, Rose sure could be scary when she wanted. Good thing she's on our side, I thought to myself.
"Aw, hun, you look good in brown," Emmett attempted, but stopped when she growled ferociously and snapped at him. He immediately went on the defensive, "It wasn't me!"
"Let's go put that rage to good use," I recommended.
xxxxxxx
Somehow we made it back to Maria's camp without any loss of life or limb, though I was sure Rose would lose it a few times and go on a destructive spree. I made liberal use of my gift to keep her from hurting anyone, knowing she would regret it later.
After Leah's confession that, "I'm not going to lose you just because you're afraid of a little dirt, so get over it, princess," Rose calmed down and accepted her lot.
Unfortunately, Maria must have heard some of Rose's death shrieks, as the three male vampires with her were now coated in mud, just like we were. She hadn't bothered to cover herself with mud, taking the vain route like Rosalie had tried, which will only be to her detriment.
Too bad nobody cared enough for her to coat her in mud against her will, I snickered to myself. Yeah, somehow I think her men are more worried for their own skin than hers right about now. Her selfishness is shining through, weakening her power over them. They're starting to doubt themselves and her, wondering why they're risking their lives for such a mean, self-centered bitch.
Gathering my friends and family around me, I was in full war mode, strategizing with my company like days of old. "Leah, Quil, Jacob, Jane, and Alec will all circle around behind her and come at her from that direction. Fan out enough to be able to cover each other. When I give the signal, you will all advance to within fifty feet of her location. They should get a strong whiff of you, with the way the wind is blowing, which should make them extremely antsy as their instincts take over. You'll pretend to charge, but don't get close enough to actually get hit. Jane and Alec, you are not to attack if it will put you in danger. The key is to get them to point the guns away from the shifters and give them the opportunity to rebel and escape on their own. I can tell by their emotions they are simply waiting for an opening."
After obtaining their agreement, answering their questions, and handling any objections or concerns, I moved on to the next group I needed to address. "Rose and Emmett, you will circle around and come at them from the right. Charlie and Chelsea, you will circle around and come at them from the left. Don't get too close. Make them come to you. You are going to prevent the escape of the wrong people and provide cover for the right ones. Be prepared to be attacked. If more come for you than you can handle, we'll move in to help. All of us will be close enough to come to the aid of any other within seconds."
They agreed, made sure they understood what was expected of them, and then waited for me to reveal the last part of the plan. "Peter and I will wall down the center, straight toward her. Char will be to Peter's side, and Bella will be on mine. It will be immediately obvious to her that we are mated, which will surprise and enrage her, particularly since the mating of Char and Peter was kept from her all those years ago. Once she sees that I am also mated, she will be disappointed, rejected, jealous, and desperate. She will then know she cannot use her gift on any of us, no doubt ruining whatever plan she has concocted. She will need to change her game plan on the fly, not one of her strong suits, which will leave her at a disadvantage, and she knows it. Do not underestimate the destructive power of the desperate."
Everyone departed to carry out my orders. The anticipation was bubbling up inside each one of us, but particularly for the three of us who had been subjected to her cruelty before. Soon the Wicked Witch of the South would be nothing more than a legend used to scare newborn vampires and human school children.
I will never forget the look on Maria's face when she saw Bella walking with me, my body language declaring her to be my mate. So many emotions flashed through Maria's eyes as her mind struggled to come to grips with the decimation of her dreams. She had always believed I was hers, even though she knew were weren't mates by vampire standards. She'd always thought I'd come back to her someday when I tired of playing domesticated vampire.
I loved even more the way Bella stood up to her, wordlessly dismissive and condescending, saying without need of spoken language that my Bella found Maria unworthy of her attention. The fact that Bella was still just a newborn, barely half a year old, made it all the more poignant. Jealousy reared its ugly head, and I knew Maria had taken in Bella's unmarred beauty. I was the only one aware of Maria's self-consciousness about her own scarred body, as she usually passed it off with confidence as the evidence of her fortitude and experience in battle, enjoying the fear it inevitably caused the newborns. Seeing my beautiful Bella eyeing her with disdain, uncaring and unafraid, was a bitter pill to swallow. For a moment, I found myself wondering if Maria's head would explode with all the disappointment, hate, and rage she was projecting.
I chuckled with smug amusement when I realized she was trying to manipulate me by projecting her emotions. That had worked all too well in the past, especially with Alice, but thanks to my Bella, I was immune to such shenanigans.
The wind blew through the clearing, and I knew immediately when the stench of the werewolves hit her and the others too. They all stiffened and began silently panicking, looking hastily all around them to see what this strange new threat could possibly be.
With a single word, Maria sent two of her remaining guards running off to the sides, one toward Charlie and Chelsea, the other toward Rose and Emmett. The battle had begun and the moment of truth had come. I knew we would win, but I couldn't guarantee we wouldn't suffer any losses on our side. I could only hope all the planning and forethought we put into this would suffice.
The guards were confident as they raced toward their opponents. I could see the way their eyes moved over the unblemished skin of the couples and rightly concluded they were unskilled in hand to hand combat. Both guards had their guns holstered, knowing they would be useless against the mud covering all of us. As soon as the guards got within the thirty foot range, my team sprayed them with venom and then lit them on fire. The lava beasts they became as the mud melted into magma were some of the scariest things I'd seen as a vampire. Their agonized screams echoed throughout the clearing, sending shivers down the spines of all who witnessed their painful struggles. The seconds seemed to drag on for hours as we all watched the formerly intimidating guards reduced to steaming piles of rock.
Maria's fear was at an all time high, and she was beginning to doubt her own survival for the first time in all the years I'd known her. Just as Peter had predicted, she and her last supposedly loyal minion grabbed onto the humanoids and attempted to use them as human shields. I wondered why Maria's only remaining guard still supported her now that Chelsea had freed him from her control.
A careful analysis of his emotions revealed he didn't give a shit about her after all. He was trusting her to keep him alive, since experience had taught him she always managed to escape, even when the rest of the army was lost. She always knew when and how to retreat. Sadly for him, we had them both well surrounded. Maria wasn't going anywhere, and neither was he.
Maria was just now figuring out the truth as well, as her eyes darted around every which way, looking for a weakness in our tightening net. Just as we'd planned, I began pouring fear, paranoia, and anxiety into the clearing, swamping Maria and her guard with the overwhelming alarm and panic. Unfortunately, the humanoid family was affected as well, but there was no help for that. It was necessary to save them from Maria's evil intentions.
"Devon, use your gift, you idiot!" Maria hissed to her comrade.
"Don't you think I've been trying?" He growled angrily, frustrated and frightened. "It's not working!"
"Why aren't you turning on each other?" she demanded, glaring at me.
I chuckled. "Oh, is that his gift? My sweet, powerful mate is a shield, strong enough to protect our entire team. Anything he's throwing at us is simply bouncing right back off again."
As I taunted them, we were all closing in on them, each of us moving within fifty feet of Maria and Devon.
"Oh, Maria, you aren't still waiting for Gregor, are you?" Peter drawled. "I'm afraid he and the rest of those you left behind have been permanently detained. But don't worry, their ashes are now fertilizing the grounds of your former camp."
Maria began snarling, hissing, and grinding her teeth. It was obvious she had indeed been hoping for rescue.
"How on earth did nice people like you get mixed up with scum like those two?" Char asked, smiling at the humanoid family. "We have no quarrel with your family, unless you are a threat to us."
The humanoids exchanged speaking glances, and I felt their understanding of what we were trying to tell them. They knew we would not attack them, unless they attacked us first. We were granting them asylum with us, and I could feel the relief radiating from them.
With the formalities out of the way, the wolves began their intimidation techniques, growling and howling, crouching and snarling, bearing their sharp teeth and drooling. They were incredibly distracting to vampires whose only experience with such creatures were Children of the Moon, unreasonable, irrational, bloodthirsty, violent creatures whose hatred of vampires is unmatched.
Jane, Alec, Charlie, Chelsea, Rose and Emmett began throwing rocks at Maria's and Devon's heads. It didn't hurt them, but it was annoying and distracting, interfering with their concentration and focus. The enemies eyes were darting around desperately, trying to be everywhere at once, to anticipate the direction of attack. To further mess with their heads, Peter, Char, Bella, and I simply stood there smirking, completely relaxed and unhurried, unfazed by the proximity of our enemy.
I carefully withdrew my influence from them, knowing they no longer needed my help to be paranoid and anxious. As I deliberately met the eyes of each of the members of the humanoid family, I sent them a small burst of courage, confidence, and determination, one at a time, wordlessly informing them I expected them to aid in their escape. I needed them to be ready when the time came to seize the opportunity, not wait around for us to get close enough to take out their captors. They all exchanged speaking glances again, and I felt their acceptance and understanding of the situation.
It was time for the next phase. "Now!" I yelled to the wolves, causing Maria and Devon to tense further and crouch behind the humanoids, frantically trying to determine the direction of attack.
The wolves worked together perfectly, crouching down and lunging. Their arc was perfect to have them land right behind the enemy, which was easily calculated by those two. Maria and Devon swung around and fired their guns, knowing the wolves would land right in the flames. What they didn't expect was that this was all part of my plan. The wolves expertly halted their lunges mid-air, twisting their bodies around and dropping down to the ground 32 feet from the enemy vamps, just out of range of the guns. By the time Maria and Devon figured out it was a trick, it was too late.
As soon as the guns were pointed at the wolves instead of the humanoids, the male pushed his sister toward Rose and Emmett urging her to run. He then grabbed the gun right out of Devon's hand and raced for the side on his sister's heels. At the same time, the female vampire pushed the other humanoid toward Charlie and Chelsea, sending her racing away from Maria. The female then carefully placed herself between Maria and the shifter, ready to cover for her, so she could make a clean getaway.
It turned out not to be necessary, for hearing Devon's cry of distress, she swung around toward him to see the humanoids escaping. Taking advantage of Maria's distraction, the female vampire began running backward toward Charlie and Chelsea, putting as much distance between her and Maria as possible. She never took her eyes off of Maria, knowing she was armed and not wanting to get shot in the back.
Devon had been momentarily shocked when the male grabbed his gun, not realizing Maria's mind control was no longer working. As soon as his mind processed that the humanoids were joining the enemy and leaving him defenseless on the battlefield, he roared in rage and dashed after them.
Meanwhile, Maria instinctively shot at the 'traitors' who were running away. The only one still in range was Devon, and the flames from her gun licked at his backside. Feeling the heat, Devon looked behind him to see the baked mud on his body, steam rising from it.
"You shot me, you bitch!" he screamed at Maria, stopping and facing her.
Maria's face twisted with hatred, and she attempted to fire again, only to find her gun was empty. Devon stared at her in shock, knowing she was deliberately attacking him. Maria threw the empty gun at him and grabbed another from her pocket. Devon began to panic, looking around wildly, seeing guns pointed at him from two sides, and me waiting on the third.
Not wanting to tangle with any of us, he decided to take his chances with the wolves. When he was halfway there, he hit Alec's fog and promptly keeled over unconscious. Maria never got a chance to pull her gun all the way out of her pocket, for Jane had calmly and quietly stepped within range and now had her writhing on the ground, screaming in pain and begging for mercy.
Peter, Char, Bella, and I claimed 'dibs' on Maria, intending to torture her before killing her for all the things she had done to us in the past. The wolves cheerfully ripped Devon apart and burned the pieces before he even woke up from the fog. The others gathered together to exchange information, and Charlie began a thorough interrogation of the newcomers. The wolves joined Charlie's group in human form shortly thereafter. Leah's eyes locked with Nahuel's, and the world disappeared for both of them.
I was caught up in the satisfaction of tearing my creator up into little tiny bits, so was only mildly distracted by the powerful emotions coursing through the new soul mate pair. This was a day I had hoped for and imagined for so long. Finally, I would be free of Maria, no longer needing to check over my shoulder to make sure she hadn't tracked me down, hoping to drag me back to the hell of her life of war and destruction. It was cathartic to hear her yelps, whines, and screams as she had inflicted on us so many times over the years we were with her. Not only did I bear my own painful scars from her torture of me, but I had been subjected to the pain of every single victim she tortured, unable to block their emotions from affecting me. For decade after decade, I had endured the pain of flesh being ripped off of me and her venom burning me, both literally and through sharing the pain of others. She had tried her best to break me, but she hadn't succeeded.
We had separated her arms and legs, hands and feet, fingers and toes, from her body and then began biting them and ripping small chunks from them. All the separated parts were wriggling and writhing around, so none of us noticed until we searched through our memories that one of the fingers was steadily working its way toward the gun we had tossed aside from her pocket. It moved like and inchworm, but at last it reached its destination. We never even saw it working to rotate the gun so it was facing us, never considered we were all now soaked in Maria's venom just as much as she was. We didn't notice that lone finger work its way around to the trigger and squeeze it.
Thank heavens for Peter's gift, because when he suddenly shouted out of the blue for us to "Roll away, now! Roll in the dirt!" none of us hesitated in the slightest, instantly obeying his panicked command. It wasn't a moment too soon either, for we barely got the wet venom covered by a layer of mud and dirt before Maria's gun went off, sending her soul straight to hell, or wherever evil vampires go.
xxxxxxx
AN: *sigh of relief* There, we finally got rid of her. What did you think? Did I do it justice?