Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of your reviews, faves, and alerts. I truly appreciate it and I'm so excited that you're all enjoying this story so much. We'll start this chapter off where we ended the last chapter. I have to warn you that the story takes a bit of a serious turn from this point on.
By popular demand, here's an image of Tony: www (dot) viva (dot) org (dot) uk/celebs/josef_interview (dot) html
Here's Rex the Sex: www (dot) all-pictures (dot) org/celebrities/v/models/male/Nathan+Kamp/Nathan+Kamp+e1 (dot) jpg (dot)html
For Claude, google Gerard Butler. Keep in mind that Claude and Tony are older than everyone else.
This story is AU/OOC.
All characters belong to Stephanie Meyer. No copyright infringement intended.
Mature readers 18+ only please.
A/N: We no longer have the ability to respond to reviews unless your Private Messaging system is turned on. If you would like a response and your ability to receive messages is turned off, please click on "Account," then "Settings," and "enable" your Private Messaging capabilities. :)
Alice's POV
Oh God! Oh no! I had just gotten off of work and was about to get into my car when I was hit with a vision. Jasper, I needed Jasper. No, I needed the Major. I started running as fast as I could. Where is he? Okay, I can catch him while he's driving to Savannah in about five hours. I ran as fast as my legs could take me. The pain in my chest became increasingly stronger, the further I got from my mate.
Jasper pulled over as soon as he spotted me, and Felix held me until Mike and Edward caught up tom the vehicle. Apparently, they had been following me. They were both very fast so I'm not surprised they were able to make up for the difference in time.
We had settled into our hotel room and I finally gained enough composure to whisper, "It's Maria, she's coming. We have thirty months to prepare." Then, I burst out sobbing into Mike's arms.
"Bella put your shield down," Jasper ordered.
As soon as she did, I was hit with another vision. Edward, who was reading my mind, looked horrified. I nodded to him to go ahead and translate because I couldn't talk.
"She's coming three January's from now. She's on vacation at Disneyland in California, I think. She's with two men, one named Manuel and the other Rodrigo. I can tell because the three of them are wearing Mickey Mouse ears with their names embroidered on them. They're moving on to Guatemala tomorrow, after they feed. She's decided to search for some guy named Michael Edwards and she plans on having a woman named Lolita Barrientos go and check up on Jasper, Peter, and James in Amherst because she asked Amber Putain and she refused to go out of fear of Victoria."
I slipped into another vision a different one and spoke as the vision came in. "Oh God! She's on the phone with Amber Putain and she's checking up on our family dynamics. Amber's told her that James is definitely still alive and with Victoria. She wants me and Edward, too. She plans to kill Charlotte first in order to get Peter, then Victoria to get James. She doesn't know about Riley. Maria wants all of the succubus sisters too. She wants to make them slaves to serve her newborns sexually. Everyone else is of no consequence because Amber assured her that there were no other vampires with powers in the house. She's asked Amber to go to California and look for Michael Edwards, but I can't get a read on him."
"That's because Emmett, Pete, Vicky, and I made up Michael Edwards. He doesn't exist," Jasper said. "How many casualties on our side?"
"I can't see that far ahead. She's still in the planning stages. If you, me, Mike, Edward, Amanda, Charlotte, and Pete go to Amherst in a month along with Vicky and Emmett. You can throw her plans off considerably. Lolita Barrientos will be by to confirm that Amber's story is true. Vicky is going to say that James is away on business in Italy. Maria's not going to want to check there. Bella, you need to stay put with Claude, Tony, and Rose in New Jersey. Mike you need to tap into Lolita Barrientos' essence because you'll need it to track her later. Jasper, you need to flirt with Lolita Barrientos—make it seem like you're interested, but you have your 'companion' living with you at home. Lolita Barrientos will call Maria and report her findings. Maria will, then, continue on with her vacation for eighteen months. Then, she'll put her plans into motion."
I paused for a bit. "So far, her plan is to take Edward, me, Jasper, Peter, and James only. She doesn't want to be burdened with weak vampires. She doesn't think Bella is Jasper's mate because he didn't protect her from Amber. Lolita will confirm that by saying that you called Bella a companion rather than a mate. That's the biggest plus we have going for us. On top of that, she has no knowledge that we have former Volturi fighters with us. The other one is time, we have thirty months to train and prepare. It's July now so we have this coming January, the one after that, and we'll face her in the January following that one. She'll have five hundred newborns ready for you, Peter, and James to train. I still have no idea what her reaction will be when she finds out that you killed James, Jasper."
"Fuck me! Five hundred?" Felix asked.
"Yes," I confirmed.
"Okay, Major, I would say that you and me lead the tactical training and have Peter and Tony assist. Frankly, sir, Tony is the most experienced in terms of warfare is concerned. He spent more than half of his military career in a warzone and you know as well as I do that he has a phenomenal brain when it comes to strategical maneuvers. We also need to train everyone in the use of grenades when dealing with vampires. We'll be able to wipe out a good chunk of them with that. The key is for our team to stay safe."
"I agree with you Felix." Jasper looked at all of us, determinedly. "Don't worry. If we combine our whole family, we're stronger than the Volturi. Remember that most of us have gifts and those of us that don't have proven to be resourceful. We can take Maria."
I was terrified, but I had no choice, but to believe in Jasper's words. It was the only thing that would keep me going for the next thirty months.
One week later...
Jasper's POV
"Major, I think you and Felix are going about this the wrong way," Tony stated flatly. "You need to be thinking about what Maria's goal is after she procures you and Peter."
"I've told you, it's territory. Feeding grounds along the Mexican Border."
"Yes, I know, but say she has you and Peter and you've gotten her newborns battle ready, who does she plan on fighting next? He or she is the one we need to eradicate first, then work on Maria. We need to take care of it without her knowledge."
Fuck me. Why I didn't think about this, I have no idea. I was more concerned with keeping everyone safe during the fight with Maria. I didn't look at the entire scenario as a whole.
"Peter, use your fucking gift."
"I don't have a gift, Major."
"You have a fucking gift! You're a goddamned clairvoyant and it's high time that you admit it. If you don't, I'll beat you to shreds and rip you up into eighty pieces until you admit that you have one and use the fucking thing. Is that understood, boy?" Eleazar looked pissed off and had a deranged look upon his face. He had flown down to New York as soon as he heard about Alice's vision.
Peter started cackling. "Okay, I'll admit that I'm a clairvoyant. I just wanted to see if you were really going to go off on me and call me 'boy'."
Eleazar stood up and ripped Peter's arm off. "You can have it back after the meeting."
"Owwwwwww!"
"So, where were we? Peter use your gift." This wasn't a fucking time for jokes. I agreed with Eleazar's actions.
Eleazar started instructing Peter, "Clear your mind and concentrate on Maria and her territory. What is her ultimate goal?"
"I can't clear my mind, I need my arm back. The pain is prohibiting me from thinking."
"Fine!" Eleazar slapped Pete across the face with the detached arm before reattaching it. He didn't like people fucking around when we were trying to be serious. How the fuck he was able to make it to the rank of Captain in the US Navy is beyond my comprehension. I mean, that's right before Rear Admiral. By the look on Tony's face, he appeared to be thinking the same thing.
This meeting was only being attend by myself, Felix, Tony, Peter, and Eleazar. Not even Rex and Garrett were here. This meeting was about strategizing and planning; Rex and Garrett did not have any experience with newborns and, while Tony didn't either, he had more on field military experience as an officer than any of us.
We had turned one of the rooms in Peter's house into a soundproofed board room. We had computer equipment, whiteboards, a board table—everything we needed to strategize for the upcoming battle.
Peter, who had his eyes shut tight in concentration, suddenly, opened them and spoke, "The key is Victoria. We need her up here and we need every bit of information that she can give us about her last days with Maria."
"Call her."
Tony spoke into the intercom, "Victoria, we need you."
She was upstairs in an instant. "How can I help you, Major?"
"I need to know if there were any vampires encroaching on Maria's territory just before you left?"
She thought for a minute. "Well, there were two: Ignacio Toledo and V...v...ito G...g...guerra."
This is odd. Vicky never loses her composure, but that second name seemed to frighten her immensely.
"Ignacio Toledo no longer exists, sir. The Volturi wiped him out and seized his territory. Chelsea was part of the team that took care of him," Felix informed me.
"Get Chelsea up here."
Tony called Chelsea. I asked her immediately what she knew of Ignacio Toledo.
"He controlled territory bordering Mexico in Southern California. We were able to wipe him out in one go using grenades, we didn't even have to fight. The Volturi seized the territory and sold it off to a bunch of hotel developers. This was roughly thirty years ago."
"So, the Volturi no longer have an interest in that region?"
"No, they got involved because Toledo couldn't handle his newborns and they were becoming careless."
"Vicky, what parts did Vito Guerra control?"
"The southern portion of New Mexico bordering Mexico. He was trying to expand into Texas as well as Arizona. He might have done so by now. I'm surprised you don't remember Vito Guerra. Maria is his sire and he was around when you and the captain were there. He's brutal and sadistic, sir."
"Are you talking about the trout-skinned douchefuck?"
"Yes." Victoria looked like she was thinking about something painful from her past.
"Huh, I didn't know he had a name. He was Maria's favorite torture expert."
"Yeah, well, I'd like a piece of him," Victoria growled.
"Okay, we're going to need to scout his territory."
"I'll go," Chelsea volunteered. Felix and I can go in wearing Volturi cloaks and crests. They'll think the Volturi are checking up on them. We can also check on Maria."
"I don't mind, but I don't have a cloak or a crest," Felix stated.
"I can sew a cloak and the crest can be replicated. Any jeweler will do it for a price," Vicky pointed out. She seemed determined to get her claws into the douchefuck.
"That's not a bad idea. How many guard members do the Volturi generally send?"
"Four," Felix and Chelsea replied at the same time.
"Okay, then we send..."
"It'll have to be someone who speaks flawless Italian; Tanya is out—she sounds like a Russian general belting out orders when she speaks Italian. It'll have to be either Katrina, Edward, Irina, Carlisle, me, or Carmen," Eleazar interrupted.
"In most cases, a scouting committee consists of two men and two women. If the situation is bad, they send out three men and one woman. Generally, Jane is among the group because of her ability to inflict pain."
"Edward and Kate, then. Kate can inflict pain and with Edward, we have the added bonus of him understanding Spanish and being able to read minds."
"What the hell is a trout-skinned douchefuck?" Tony asked.
"Hell if I know, one of the newborns made up the name and it stuck. He's a fucking asshole. Alright, call Edward and Kate. When should we do this Pete?"
"Sometime next week, first we need to get some covert recording devices. Also, Chelsea does all of the talking. Chelsea, Felix, Kate, and Edward need to feed off of humans. It'll look suspicious if they went down with golden eyes."
"That's a good point." Felix stated.
I called Kate and Edward and explained the situation. They were more than happy to assist. Edward even knew of a company that dealt with spy equipment. "We can have recording devices implanted into the Volturi crest and in the lining of the cloaks."
"Chelsea, can you get the cloak over to Vicky so she can start sewing and the crest over to me so I can have it copied?
"No problem."
"Alright, you four go hunting so you can get reacquainted with human blood." They left right away.
Alice walked inside as they were leaving. "Jasper, you're going to be purchasing property in Cheboygan County, Michigan. 2,545 acres for 1.78 million dollars, do it in Bella's maiden name. You two will be moving there by the end of the year along with Claude, Tony, Garrett, Kate, Felix, Chelsea, and Carlisle. The rest of us will follow by the beginning of next summer. It'll give us an opportunity to quit our jobs and close our businesses. Newton's will expand and take over the space occupied by Amanda and Tanya's store and Laurent's studio. They'll hire a trustworthy manager that'll manage the store and go back and forth between Cheboygan and Connecticut, Oregon, and Washington."
"Where the heck is Cheboygan County and why are we moving there?"
"It's about an hour from Sault Ste. Marie and four hours from Detroit. We're going there to train and because that's where Maria is going to come for you."
"Peter?" I asked for confirmation. He nodded his head, but had an odd, pained expression on his face.
"Alright, let's make this happen."
Three weeks later...
Felix, Chelsea, Edward, and Kate returned from their scouting trip a week ago. The four of them found out that Vito Guerra had been pretty complacent these last few years. Maria had been inactive and he saw no need to regroup until there was activity on her part. He had become wealthy and reclusive from all of the property he had seized in Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Lousiana. Essentially, he had built a ring around Maria. She still had most of Texas and Northern Mexico, though.
With this information in mind, and after watching the live feed of Chelsea interrogating him and his six minions plus his companion, we were able to find out that there were only eight of them in total and he had no newborns. Edward read his mind and was able to find out that his important documents were locked in a safe located in the basement of the home they interrogated him at.
Edward also said that his past was twisted, sordid, and sadistic. I knew that Maria used him to torture female newborns; he also took it upon himself to rape them-frequently. Fortunately, Char was under my protection so he couldn't approach her. Victoria wasn't so lucky, she had been raped repeatedly by him. In fact, Edward said he was sickened by some of the things he did to our sister and to his companion. The companion was a good person, the only thing that she wanted was death. She had seen and witnessed too much and she had been used as Vito Guerra's personal sex slave for nearly a century. She just wanted to die.
The next day, Pete, Felix, Chelsea, Victoria, and I flew down to New Mexico and took all eight of them out. I took mercy on the companion and took her out immediately and painlessly, knocking her out before killing her. After that, it was a matter of just taking his minions out. We saved Vito Guerra for last so that he couldn't run from us. He begged us for mercy. I ordered him to transfer all of his assets to my name if he wanted his life spared. He did so quickly. Then, I handed him over to Victoria who looked into his eyes and told him that she didn't promise him jack shit. She took him apart piece by piece and made him watch Chelsea burn each of his body parts starting with his dick. We returned to New York after that.
Vito Guerra's assets were being sold off and used to fund any and all costs associated with the campaign against Maria. It was worth an estimated 2.8 billion dollars. This fund is what I used to purchase the property in Michigan. Anything left over after the fight would be divided equally between each mated couple with about a hundred million held in reserve in case we encountered another situation like this. In a couple of days, Bella and I were flying up there to check out the property and meet with builders so we could have housing all set by December.
Today, we were at the Amherst house, waiting for Lolita Barrientos to show up. Esme had left the downstairs furnished so it was just a matter of all of us trimming overgrown shrubs and mowing the lawn so it looked like the house was lived in. We arrived in three separate vehicles and purposely parked them outside so it appeared as if we were coming and going like a normal functioning household. It was, then, that I noticed the Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York State license plates on our cars. Edward, the fastest runner, quickly ran to one of our neighbor's mansions, broke into his covered garage, and borrowed three New Hampshire state license plates fully intending to return them afterwards.
At precisely four pm, the doorbell rang. Lolita Barrientos arrived. She was a friend of Maria's. Although she never served in her army, she did provide some of us, mainly the males, with some valuable services for a fee. She also served as a spy for Maria. She fed her information about opposing covens, also for a fee.
"Majorrrr," Lolita purred. "It's so good to see you."
I remembered what Alice said about me needing to flirt. "My, my Lola, it's been ages. How did you find me?" I ran my hand down her arm.
"Oh, I ran into a friend of yours—Amber. She said that you were now living here with your new family." She batted her eyelashes at me.
"Of course, let me introduce everyone to you. You know Peter and Charlotte already. Do you know Victoria?"
"Yes, yes, James' mate, correct?"
"That's right," Vicky stated. "He's actually on a business trip in Southeast Asia right now. He'll be sorry that he missed you."
"Oh, well, please tell him that I send my best wishes. What does he do?"
"James?" she asked. We weren't prepared for that question.
Emmett piped in, "He and I run a small business making computer chips. We're not that big yet. He's in Southeast Asia seeing if we can have one of the factories over there manufacture a chip for us."
"Oh, wow. I didn't realize that he was so talented. Who are you, by the way?" she asked Emmett, seductively.
"I'm sorry, babe...ahem...Lola, I'm such a bad host. This is Emmett, the beautiful brunette over there is Alice and her husband Mike. Right here is my brother Edward and his gorgeous wife, Amanda."
"Well, so good to meet you all. Major, perhaps we can step outside for a few minutes to...um...talk?" Lolita suggested.
"What time is it, Edward?"
"It's about 4:20."
"Sure, I have about ten minutes until...well...I have ten minutes."
"Ten minutes until what?" Lolita asked.
"Ten minutes until his wife returns from work," Edward guffawed, then blew a kiss at Lolita.
"Oh." Her face fell, but she soon got excited at the sight of Edward and licked her lips. Perfect, we didn't want her taking Amanda so we needed her to appear weak and insignificant.
"Let's sit outside and talk." I walked outside and sat on the porch swing in front of the house. Lolita followed. "So, what really brings you here, Lola?" I ran my fingers through her hair.
"I missed you Major. I was hoping to spend some time with you, but seeing that you have a wife..."
"Oh, her. Yeah, I guess I do have a wife." Dear God, I'm going to hell. I'm sorry Bella, I love you so much, but I have to do this. I kissed Lolita on the lips. Alice told me that I absolutely had to in order to reinforce Amber's information to Maria that Bella was a non-entity in my life.
"Oh, Major, how I missed you." Lolita kissed me and ran her hand up my thigh and onto my cock. I'm positive that it's receding into my abdomen. "I might just have to give you one for free." Shit. I need to get out of this quick. Where's the decoy?
Right on cue. An Audi R8 screeched into the driveway-the brunette driver having donned sunglasses to disguise herself.
"Who's that?" Lolita asked.
"My wife," I stated.
"Well, it really was wonderful to see you. I have to get going now. Call me when you're no longer married. She gave me a lingering kiss on the lips, then smirked at the driver who put her hands over her mouth in abject horror and started bawling. She, then, got out of the vehicle and silently took off after Lolita into the woods with Felix and Mike on her heels.
I walked back into the house. "Did Chelsea come through?"
"Yep, she was perfect. Felix's hiding spot in the tree was perfect, too. I couldn't detect a scent from either of them. Edward we need more of that Scent Away. How many come in a case?"
"Twelve."
"Okay, we need two hundred cases. Will that be a problem?"
"No, the company will be delighted."
"Okay, let's head home. I miss Bella."
We arrived at Peter's house by 9pm. I got to test out Carlisle's Audi R8. Damn! I'm really liking this car. Hmm...I wonder what Bella would say if I picked one up for myself...but, then again, we are moving to fucking backwoods Michigan by December. Bella was pissed off. She didn't like being told where she had to live, but, more importantly, it annoyed her to all hell that Sault Ste. Marie was the closest city to us. She liked being close to a major metropolitan area. She understood the necessity for seclusion, but the fact that Maria was the one uprooting her rankled her nerves.
Bella, Rose, Gianna, Claude, and Tony were watching a movie when we got home. It looked like the four of them were having some sort of beauty day. All four of them had bits of tin foil in their hair and they had some pasty green shit on their face.
"Ooh! Highlight my hair, too!" Charlotte exclaimed.
"Alright, go change into a ratty t-shirt just in case this stuff spills onto you," Claude advised.
Charlotte stripped out of her clothes and plopped down on the floor in front of Claude. "I'm ready."
Pete rolled his eyes. He didn't feel threatened by Claude nor Tony. None of us really did. How could we? They thought we were hot, not our women. Emmett, Pete, and I were soon sitting on the living room floor with green crap on our faces and tin foil in our hair. Ever since Claude joined our family, this kind of shit has been happening a lot. He and Gianna were thinking of opening their own beauty salon after they both attend beauty school. This would, of course, be after we get rid of Maria. In the meantime, we were all their test pilots. Even Alistair had no reprieve. His sandy blonde hair was currently a platinum blonde and poor Vicky was sporting blonde locks that looked like shit on her. They had to wait six weeks to color it back to her normal red so they didn't damage her hair. You see, I shouldn't even know this shit.
We hung around waiting for Chelsea, Felix, and Mike to report back to us. Edward, Amanda, and Alice were back in Connecticut. Carlisle popped in around midnight to wait with us. He didn't seem too worried about Chelsea, the fact is, she could take care of herself. After witnessing her interrogation of Vito Guerra, I agreed. She was all business and she knew exactly when and how to intimidate and the precise moment to use Felix's strength and Kate's power. Thank God, she was on our side.
Forty-eight hours later, Chelsea, Felix, and Mike finally walked inside Peter's front door.
"We got her," Chelsea stated flatly. "Lolita met up with Maria on the balcony of her hotel in New Orleans so we had a clear view. Neither of them detected our scents with the Scent Away. Lolita confirmed Amber's story to Maria that Bella was weak and insignificant. She told her that Bella was just a companion—if that; and that you're sowing your oats everywhere. She assured Maria that Bella wasn't worth the effort. She said that neither the mind reader or the seer used their powers, but that she would take them just because of their powers. She added that she might want to take Emmett because he appeared manly and mouthwatering."
Rose and Bella both growled at hearing that news. Emmett pulled them both onto his lap to comfort them.
Felix, then, took over for Chelsea. "The good news is that she told Maria not to bother with Mike or Amanda because they were weak like Bella and that Emmett appeared to have no mate. That should keep Rose under the radar."
"Phew," Emmett breathed a sigh of relief.
"What happened next?" I asked.
"Lolita said that she missed James because he was on a business trip, but she was positive that he was in the house because his scent was still lingering." We went to Yankee Candle and found some scented candles that replicated James' scent. We kept those burning in the house until just before Lolita's visit so that she would notice his scent in the air.
"Did Maria say anything?"
"Not really, she thanked her and handed her a thick envelope and Lolita went on her way. She, then, called her two companions, Manuel and Rodrigo and had them service her on the balcony. One of them whined about wanting to go on another cruise, she promised them that they would and held him to her bosom which he sucked on while the other one ate her out. It was mind boggling," Chelsea stated.
"Anyway, Lolita ran to Lea, New Mexico where Vito Guerra's compound was when she realized that he was nowhere to be found. We followed her, of course. She grabbed her cell phone to place a call—that's when Chelsea, Mike, and I nabbed her. Chelsea interrogated her. We found out that she had been working as a double agent for both Maria and Vito. She admitted that she was about to hand over information about us and Maria to Vito Guerra. We informed her that Vito was dead and that it would be in her best interest if she provided us with information about what's been going on before we handed her over to our master's in Italy. Chelsea broke her down and she started talking. Maria, apparently, only holds a small portion of Texas from El Paso to Del Rio now because Catalina Cuevas and Regina Bower overtook her about twenty years ago. They know that Maria's planning on regrouping with you, the Captain, and James. They want your heads. They have a moderate-sized newborn army of about fifty that they refresh yearly always on alert in Brownsville."
"Fuck. This is all we need. Okay, what did you do with Lolita?"
"First, we had her place a call to Catalina Cuevas and Regina Bower and inform her that she followed Maria's lead and that the Major, the Captain, and James are dead by Vito Guerra's hands. They were pissed off that they didn't get the chance to take you out. She, then, informed them that Vito Guerra was now dead at the hands of Victoria. That may have been an error on our part because if there's anyone they hate more than you, Peter, and James—it's Victoria. They asked her where Victoria is. Lolita said that she didn't know, but she could look for her for a fee. They offered her a million dollars for Vicky's whereabouts. She accepted the offer then told them to wait for her call. After she ended the phone call, Chelsea took her out and turned her to ash."
"Excellent job. I think we need to pay a visit to Catalina Cuevas and Regina Bower. With them out of the way, that'll just leave us with Maria. I want you, Chelsea, Peter, Charlotte, Eleazar, Victoria, and me to handle this."
"Excuse me for overstepping my boundaries Major, but I disagree. Fifty newborns plus two experienced fighters is nothing. This will provide everyone else with the opportunity to fight a newborn. I think we should go, but let everyone else handle the fighting."
"Felix is right, we'll never be battle ready unless we get to fight real newborns. You have to let us go," Tony agreed.
I sighed, Tony had a good point. "Okay, we'll all go. Bella and Rose, you two stay here and man headquarters."
"What?" they both burst out simultaneously.
"Uh, Major, they need to be battle ready too, especially Bella—and if Bella needs to be battle ready so does Rose."
Fuck it all to hell! Pete's right. Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! "Alright we all go—all of us. Experienced fighters stay on the sidelines ready to jump in. I don't want any casualties. We plan this week and execute on Saturday."
"One more thing, Major." Chelsea held up a rather, large Louis Vuitton handbag. "This was in Lolita Barrientos' possession when we destroyed her. Her iPhone is in here, as well as, her laptop, wallet, a change of clothes, make-up, Rabbit, and other items."
"Okay, Emmett see what you can find on her laptop and iPhone. Go through her wallet and see what you can find as far as banking information is concerned. Is that the envelope from Maria?"
"Looks like it. Whoa. There's about two hundred thousand dollars in here."
Bella started chuckling.
"What's so funny?" I asked.
"Well, those bitches in Brownsville offered Lolita a million dollars for Victoria's whereabouts, you, Peter, and James were only worth two hundred thousand dollars combined."
"They must really hate Vicky," Rose noted.
We all had a good laugh. It's true. Vicky must have been ruthless with them for them to want to shell out a million big ones for her head.
"Okay, can I throw out the Rabbit, her make up, and her change of clothes?" Emmett asked.
"No." Chelsea said.
"Why not?" I asked.
"Her scent is all over those items. We might need them."
"Good point. Put them in a large ziploc bag and store them," Tony ordered. "I'll go find one."
"Okay, then, I guess, throw out the purse," I said.
"Jasper! That's Louis Vuitton's newest design. You don't just throw it out. You worship it. Now give it to me, I'll use it!" Gianna looked feral and she was about to spank me. I handed the purse over to her immediately. Gianna was scary when she was angry and her spankings were painful.
One week later...
Brownsville, Texas
"I can't believe you have me smelling like that whore Lolita. How the fuck can you do that to me?" Vicky moaned.
"Hey, with her sunglasses on, you can pass for her—especially in those clothes. Besides, you and Rose were the only two tall enough to pass for her and you're the only one with the fucked up blonde dye job like she has."
"That is a quality hair coloring job, I just over-processed it, that's all!" Claude complained.
"Fine, whatever. Why the hell are you sitting next to me, Vicky?"
"If I have to smell like a hundred percent pure eau de whore, you're gonna absorb some of this shit."
"Get the fuck off of me!" Vicky had climbed onto my lap and had me in a bear hug.
"Fine!" She climbed onto Peter this time.
"How the hell were you two able to fuck that?" Charlotte asked, sniffing Lolita's used Rabbit. "Pew!"
"Char, why are you carrying around Lolita's Rabbit?" I had to ask.
"You'll see," she chuckled.
We were in a caravan heading towards Heroica Matamaros, Mexico. From there, we planned on running the twenty miles or so to Brownsville. We were staying about three hours away in Monterrey Mexico. This was the best way to approach the compound. Catalina and Regina wouldn't be expecting us. Peter and Felix had run up to the compound to scout it. Lolita's information was accurate. There were fifty newborns plus the two whores.
We arrived at about one am and had everyone hide in trees. The compound was quiet. Everyone seemed to be housed in one enormous building-an old, rundown school building ensconced by trees and bushes. Vicky knocked on the door. A newborn, probably about eight months old answered the door.
"Diga a sus amos que Lolita Barrientos están aquí verlos." Vicky told the newborn to tell his mistresses that Lolita was here to see them.
"Espera aqui," he told her to wait where she was. The newborn came back outside a minute later and asked her to come inside. She told him that she'd rather conduct business outside.
Catalina came to the door a minute later, fuming that Lolita refused to come inside. She always did have a temper. It doesn't compare to Gianna's. I mean, she spanks when she's angry. I've actually seen her bend Felix over her lap and start spanking him. Of course, Chelsea thought it was a game and started spanking Felix, too. As soon as that happened, Gianna threw Chelsea over her lap and spanked her.
Vicky removed her sunglasses. "Hello pet. I heard you were looking for me." She smiled maliciously at the two whores.
Catalina started shaking on the spot. Regina came out with a worried look on her face. "Catalina, darling, are you okay?"
"They're mates," Charlotte whispered seeing their bond.
"Aww...two pets for the price of one. Today's my lucky day. Lolita said that you've both been very bad. She said you were messing with my James, is that true."
"No...we swear it. We haven't seen James in twenty-eight years."
"What about the Major and the Captain?"
"What interest do you have in them?" Regina asked. She did a double take. "Did you do something to your hair."
Slap! "Shut the fuck up. This is a quality coloring job. Now what do you want from me?"
Catalina suddenly got a burst of confidence and sounded out an alarm to her newborns instructing them to attack.
"Chelsea! Break their bond!" I ordered.
She nodded and did so immediately. Catalina and Regina stared at each other dumbfounded. That gave Vicky just enough time to run out into the clearing we had found. Peter, Char, Chelsea, Felix, Eleazar, and I joined her there just as the newborns started coming into sight. I gave my family the go ahead and they came barreling out from behind bushes and jumping down from trees.
Bella and Rex both jumped down from a tree on top of newborns and decapitated them instantly before running to find more newborns.
Catalina and Regina came thundering into the clearing shouting out orders. They stopped abruptly when they saw us.
"You're supposed to be dead!" Catalina shouted at Peter.
"Sorry, sweetheart. It takes a lot more than Vito Guerra to take down me and the Major."
The two women snarled and started attacking our group. Charlotte shoved Lolita's Rabbit into Regina's mouth and duct taped it shut. There really wasn't much of a fight. It was six against two and we were all stronger than these two bitches. We took out a loyal newborn who came to save his mistresses. We charred the three bodies, then turned our attention to the melee surrounding us.
Esme was having a lot of trouble, but she was determined. Alistair had her back. He was an extremely strong fighter. Carlisle was, well, he was shitty. Chelsea jumped in to help him. Rose was doing fine as was Emmett. Actually, everyone else was fine. Laurent was an ass-kicker combining his karate with the techniques we taught him. He and Claude partnered up for the fighting and they were ripping apart newborns left and right. Then, there was Tony, okay, the guy can't fight. He can strategize, but dang it—he was only a little better than Carlisle, which means he sucks. Fortunately, Amanda was ripping apart newborns for him. Riley, Mike, and Edward were fast and I mean, really fast. None of the newborns could keep up with them and by the time they realized what was happening, they were in pieces.
Bella and Rex. What can I say? They partnered well together. I was kind of jealous. The two of them were quick and lethal and they, instinctively, knew what the other was going to do. It was like dancing to them, I think. Rex suddenly dipped Bella. What the fuck? She reached down grabbed a newborn's legs and held it in a locked position while Rex took his free arm and ripped his head off. Fuck me. How the hell did they figure that out?
The rest of us jumped in to help them. We wanted this done and over with. We still had to search the compound and we had about twelve newborns left. We easily shredded the newborns, Felix and I taking out over half of them. Then, we made sure that we collected all of the body parts and burned them. Carlisle and Riley checked everyone over for injuries. Esme had her leg half ripped off, but other than that—everyone was fine. Her leg was easily reattached.
I knew one thing, we were able to evaluate everyone and we now knew that we needed to double up on training for some or leave them out of the fray altogether. Carlisle, Esme, Tony, and Tanya were the four that most likely wouldn't survive in a fight against Maria's newborns without more training. My mate was fine, Vicky and Irina had trained her from the time she was human and she was a force to be reckoned with.
We scoured the compound and couldn't really find anything until Mike sniffed out a hidden office underground. Bingo! The office was chock full of information that was of value—there were two laptops plus a desktop, as well as, maps and blueprints of all of Maria's territories. We boxed up the entire office, Chelsea was excited because she found a DVD copy of the eighties sleeper hit 'Valley Girl'. Pete was equally excited because when he opened a recently delivered package from Amazon, it contained Lauren's latest DVD, 'Ashlay Bendover: MILF Extraodinaire'. Apparently, motherhood didn't stop her. He had become Lauren's biggest fan. She was a gracious star, she even sent Peter a silicone mold of her pussy—which he had professionally encased in a glass frame. It was now hanging prominently on his living room wall next to the family portrait of him, Bella, and Riley.
After everyone left the compound, Felix and Tony torched it and made sure it burned to the ground. They, then, ran to our hotel in Monterrey to meet us. We checked out in the morning and everyone made their way back home. Bella and I flew to Sault Ste. Marie so we could tour Cheboygan, Michigan.
Sault Ste. Marie in Ontario and in Michigan were connected by The International Bridge. Both cities were cities on a much smaller scale than New York or Boston. Okay, they were tiny. I tried using the term smaller scale to appease Bella who was not happy at all. The major industries in the areas are fishing and logging on the US side and steel on the Canadian side. After about an hour drive, we arrived in Cheboygan to our land.
The realtor and the groundskeeper for the previous owner showed us around the property. It was extremely secluded with tons of trails throughout the property, as well as, numerous creeks, streams, and ponds to swim in. It was abundant with wildlife, both in the water and out. I could smell that it was teeming with bears, deer, coyotes, and is that turkey? We definitely wouldn't starve out here. The realtor showed us around the main hunting lodge—I guess the previous owners, odd millionaire types according to the groundskeeper, used it as a summer and winter vacation home. They had left behind two snowmobiles, as well as, cross country skis and a brand new Weber grill. What the fuck are we supposed to do with a fucking grill? Oh well, it'll be good for maintaining a human facade, though, I planned on gating up the area to restrict public access to it.
After touring the grounds, the groundskeeper handed me his resume and offered to stay on. I felt bad for the guy he was losing his job. I told him that, unfortunately, I had no real need for one, but I'd like to compensate him for maintaining the land between the time I purchased the land and now—which was roughly a month. I wrote him a check for five hundred thousand dollars. Yeah, I know it was a bit much, but I needed the guy away from my land. He took the check without any hesitation, thanked me, and got into his truck. I heard him calling his wife saying that they could finally retire in Florida. Good.
The realtor gave us a tour of the city of Cheboygan. He told us that we could have flown into the airport there, it was only fifteen minutes away and US Airways operates multiple flights going in and out of the city. This is how much research, I actually hadn't done. Generally, I don't buy property sight unseen, but in this case, I really had no choice. I had Jenks check on the realtor to make sure he was on the up and up, though.
Cheboygan, Michigan had a population of roughly five thousand people. It was slightly larger than Forks, but not by much. As far as shopping was concerned, there was a Walmart Supercenter, a Kmart, an auto parts store, and smaller mom and pop operations throughout the city as well as numerous car dealerships, a hospital, schools, and banks. One thing was for sure, anyone without a truck or SUV would have to put their vehicle into storage. They wouldn't make it on the rough terrain of our grounds. The realtor ended his tour at his office and told me to call him if we needed help with anything and we went our separate ways.
"Okay, Bella, you haven't said a word all day. Aren't you going to say something?" She had been giving me and Alice the silent treatment. Alice for coming up with the vision of Cheboygan, Michigan and me for going along with it. This was the type of place that Bella liked the least. Bella? I shuddered to think of Rose's reaction to the area.
"Come on, babe, I already told you that this isn't my first choice as far as location is concerned. It's too secluded. This is only temporary. We'll be here for two years, then we can move to wherever you want except for Cambridge and New York. Bella?"
"Jasper, just let me pout and be spoiled for once, okay. I know I'm being immature. I just hate this place. It reminds me of Forks except there's no Daddy here. Oh, and I'm not living in that hunting lodge. There are heads in there Jasper—heads."
She was referring to the several animal heads mounted on the wall by the previous owners. Frankly, they creeped me out too. I planned on using the lodge as headquarters anyway.
After touring the area, Bella and I decided to call a company that specializes in luxury modular homes in Cheboygan and have them put sixteen up on our property. We met with the owner that day and told him that he had six months to do it. He asked me how I would be financing this. I told him cash—half up front, half on delivery. The guy gave me a hug. He said that this project alone would boost the economy of the county giving about a hundred unemployed workers jobs. We, then, checked out the property and customized each house—I told him that we didn't need a large kitchen in any of them, but to make up for it by installing a show shower and a jacuzzi tub in each one. He asked me what a show shower was so I brought up the website of the company that specialized in them.
The homes, itself, were kits and were two-storey, 1500 square feet with three bedrooms, a wrap around deck, and a loft. We reworked it so the second floor contained one large master bedroom and a spa bathroom with the show shower. Since the homes came 90 percent pre-assembled, it would only cost us 150,000 dollars to build each one plus the cost of permits. I wrote him a check for 1.2 million dollars as a down payment and told him to get to work. After that, Bella and I drove back to Sault Ste. Marie and headed to the airport and left the area. She still wasn't talking to me.
When we got home to Manhattan, my pissed off wife slammed the door to our room shut and locked it. A few minutes later, Bella came downstairs with a packed bag. "Jasper, I'm going away for a week or two to think. I'll call you as soon as I get to where I'm going." Clearly, I wasn't invited to go along.
"Okay," I said. What else was I supposed to say? No? You're not allowed to be pissed off. I knew that relocating to Cheboygan wasn't what was on her mind. It was the upcoming fight with Maria. Everyone had basically told her, "It's on you, Bella. You're our only hope." That was a ton of stress for her to have to shoulder.
She left without even hugging me and I was alone again, the pain in my chest increasing as the distance between us grew.
Three quarters of an hour later, a worried looking Rose came barreling into the house with Emmett, Pete, Char, Claude, and Tony on her heels. "Bella! Bella!" she screamed, then ran upstairs to check all of the rooms in the house. "What happened? What did you do to her?"
"I didn't do anything to her, Bella just saw where we'd be living next and she wasn't happy."
"Is she still not talking to you? It's been over a week."
"She wants me to let her pout until she gets it out of her system. I think this bullshit with Maria is getting to her. Alice, Sush, and Peter have all basically said that the whole thing is on her and she's scared and she's pissed off about having the responsibility. Edward told me that she's terrified. On top of that, she loves living in Manhattan and she's being forced to relocate to a town that's just slightly bigger than Forks, and even worse, the property we'll be living on is even more secluded than Carlisle's house in Forks. She snapped as soon as she saw Cheboygan."
"Shit!" Peter groaned. "Where the hell is she going? Why aren't you following her?"
"I'm not following her because it'll do more harm than good. She needs to think this through for herself. She said that she'd call as soon as she reached her destination."
We all sat down and waited, that's all we could do really. Alice came rushing over with Riley, Edward, and Vicky a few hours later. "Her shield is down. Edward can read everyone's minds and I can see into the future. She'll need a week, Jasper. Then, we have to make sure that we don't stress her out so much over the Maria thing. She's pissed off that Peter, you, and I basically have been telling her what to do without consulting her. She hates all three of us right now."
"Beautiful, just fucking great! Any idea where she's going?"
"Nope, she hasn't made a decision yet. She's running."
Three hours more and Alice fell into a vision. Edward relayed the vision to us. "She's at Charlie's grave. She's talking to him. She's saying that she'd rather be dead than have to face Maria, but she'll do it if it means keeping the family safe. She's willing to die for all of us. She wants to know why she has to be the one to shoulder all of this, though? Now she's sobbing."
Bella sobbed for about an hour at Charlie's grave, then she kissed the grave, got up, and started running again. As soon as she got to the airport in Seattle, she threw her shield back up. Twenty-four hours later, everyone was gathered in my living room. Those who worked had come directly from their jobs. Those that didn't work sat waiting for Bella's phone call. Twenty minutes later, my phone finally rang. "Bella?"
"I'm in Athens, Greece." Click.
"Athens, Greece?" everyone yelled out at once.
Bella's POV
I needed to get away so I could think. My husband wasn't giving me a moment to myself—everything was about the upcoming battle with Maria. He was consumed with it. So was everyone else. Apparently, it was all going to come down to me. Why? No one had any idea. Everyone was depending on me to come through so they were encouraging me to "train for the fight, train for the fight, train for the fight." When I wasn't training, it was, "mentally, you have to be battle ready" over and over again. This has pretty much been going on for the last year. Sure, we had breaks during which we would go on vacation, but increasingly it's been the Jasper, Alice, and Peter show. It's been all about what Alice and Peter see in the future and how Jasper interprets it. It's been "Bella, you have to do it this way, you can't do it that way" the entire time. Well, fuck, if I'm supposedly their savior, shouldn't I be the one to figure shit out on my own? I know I don't have experience in battle, but I'm not an idiot and I can think for myself.
I decided to put my shield down so the fucking pixie could have a vision. I imagined Jasper, Alice, and Peter fucking donkeys on the steps of the Parthenon with me dressed in a toga, giving them the finger, and telling them to fuck off and leave me the hell alone. I'm sure Alice has seen it by now.
I checked into the Westin Athens Astir Palace Beach Resort—just a standard room; I didn't need to stay in a suite. I decided on this hotel because it was beachfront and every room had a view of the gorgeous, blue Mediterranean Sea. I left my shield down for the most part because I wanted to relax and it was draining whenever I was under stress. Besides, this way, Alice could see what I was doing and let everyone know I was safe.
I spent most of the days sightseeing and wandering the streets of Athens. I was in love with the city. Oh my God, it was so beautiful! Unfortunately, it was super sunny here so I had to purchase an abaya to wear to shield myself from the sun so that I wouldn't sparkle.
As soon as it was twilight, I would throw on my bikini and hit the beach. I relished in the feeling of the sand in between my toes and more so in the feeling of freedom and independence. That feeling would always be shortlived, though. I knew that I had to return home to prepare for the upcoming fight with Maria. I knew that my family meant more to me than anything, I was prepared to die for them—that much was for sure.
A week passed and I knew it was time for me to go home. I put my shield up, packed my bags, and flew home to New York City. I walked inside of the house. Jasper was sitting on the sofa watching TV.
"Hey, babe, did you have a good trip?"
"Yeah, I'm going to take a shower now, okay?"
"Okay."
I showered, got dressed, and climbed up to my rooftop oasis to think.
"I love you, Bella." Jasper wrapped his arms around me.
"I love you, too."
"Did you get a lot of thinking done?"
"Yeah."
"Bella?"
"Yeah?"
"Maybe we can go to Greece together sometime?"
"Maybe." I'd have to think about that. Greece was my special place. I didn't want anyone, not even Jasper, coming with me.
I moved to a lounge chair and watched the sun go down, then come up again. It was around that time, that Jasper finally spoke again, "Say something to me, Bella, please. Don't shut yourself off from me."
"I'm not, Jasper. I'm just preparing myself mentally for what's coming. You're the one that said that I have to be ready mentally and physically."
"Let me help you."
"No, because all visions point to the fact that I'm going to be the one helping you. I have to do this on my own, Jasper."
"Try me, Bella."
"Okay, then I think that moving to Cheboygan is a bad idea. I think we're safer here. Maria's not going to come into an area as populated as Manhattan."
"I disagree, Alice said..."
"Alice said...hmm...are you sure her visions are reliable? Because if Maria's been in touch with Amber, then surely she knows how to get around your ex-wife's visions."
"Bella, I have a lot more experience with battles than you do. Why don't you just let me do the planning with Tony, Felix, Peter, and Eleazar? Their experience combined with Peter and Alice's visions will help you defeat Maria."
"Well, then, I guess there's nothing more for me to say. This is your show, why don't you just run it however the fuck you want to without listening to my opinion."
"Come on, Bella, you're being ridiculous. You know that what I'm saying is true."
"Truly, Jasper, I have nothing more to say to you. If you're not going to at least take what I have to say into consideration, then why should I even tell you how I feel?"
"Bella, please!"
"I'm sorry, Jasper," I said, simply. It was true, he wasn't going to bother with even hearing me out. Besides, all of the preparation in the world wasn't going to get me ready for Maria so I might as well just live life and enjoy it while I can. I had a little over two years before I had to face the bitch and the outcome is going to be either I die or she dies. Maria was obviously vacationing and rebooting her brain in the process. Jasper always said she was a smart woman. Why not take a page out of her book and do the same?
One year later...
Cheboygan, Michigan
Nothing's changed really, Jasper, Peter, and Alice are still running the show and I'm going stir crazy. I tried to talk to Jasper about my feelings. I told him that I felt overworked and that no amount of preparation can prepare me for meeting Maria. All he said was, "Bella, preparation is the key to success." It's his new mantra.
My new mantra is a quote from Jane Austen, "Why not seize the pleasure at once, how often is happiness destroyed by preparation, foolish preparations."
He just disregards me and I do the same with him. I barely talk to him anymore and I'm definitely not on speaking terms with Peter and Alice.
Sex is another issue. He can follow me around looking like a lost puppy all he wants, he's not getting any. I have no desire to sleep with him when he's unwilling to at least hear me out. Everything out of my mouth has been shrugged off. I suggested that we bring in Rex and Tony's powers as incubi to destabilize Maria and her minions. He disagreed that it would work, and actually told me to stay out of business that doesn't concern me.
Pfft. Right. Sure it doesn't concern me. I'm just going to be saving your ass, but apparently my opinion doesn't matter. Maybe I should just side with Maria and forget about his ass, Peter's, and Alice's.
"Bella! I can't believe you could even consider that!" Alice said. "She's considering letting Maria have us instead of saving us."
Fucking snitch! I should have burnt you to a crisp when I kicked your head off that one time. I've been ordered to keep my shield down so that Alice could "see."
"Bella!" Alice screeched.
"Fuck you," I stated flatly and left.
Jasper followed me out. "Bella! That's it! We're all under stress here and you're making it worse! You want to know what it's like to be under Maria's control. Here!"
Jasper sent me pain and frustration—loads of it, but I didn't feel it. Not because I had my shield up because I didn't. It was because I was feeling the same pain and frustration that he just sent from him, Alice, and Peter on a daily basis.
"Put your fucking shield down!"
"It is down. Now you know how I've been feeling with you three asswipes controlling the Cheboygan Prison Camp!"
"Bella!" Jasper yelled and grabbed my arm when I tried to return to my house. Rex came outside and punched him in the face. I just ran home and hibernated in our room, away from all of the bullshit.
Rex's POV
"Leave her the fuck alone! She's been trying to talk to you, but you've been so reliant on whatever Alice and Peter see that you're not even giving her the time of day!"
"Who the hell made you an expert on my wife?" Jasper had his hands on his hips and looked furious.
"Fuck you, man, I've been hearing her out and listening to her. This has become the listen to Alice and Peter's visions and then follow the orders of Jasper, Tony, Felix, and Eleazar show. We all need a break man! We still have eighteen months until the whore shows up which means you have eighteen months to rebuild your relationship with Bella. Char! Tell him what you've been seeing in their bond!" I ordered.
I'll be damned if I allow Jasper to boss Bella around anymore. She was taking the brunt of it from all three of the fucking dictators. Jasper and Peter felt they were 'all that' because they have experience with newborns and Alice and Peter felt they 'knew it all' because of their gifts. What neither of the three assfucks plus Tony, Felix, and Eleazar failed to take into consideration is the fact that we weren't a newborn army. We were vampires with lives, families, and jobs that we had put on hold all so we could save Jasper, Peter, and Victoria from Maria. They were running the show as if it were some sort of military boot camp—no, prison camp. Jasper, Peter, and Alice kept stressing to Bella that it was all going to come down to her, oh, but please stay out of it because we'll figure this shit all out so you know what to do. Bella kept stressing that we can't plan for the unknown or unplanned. We can only be mentally and physically prepared, but overworking us was going to do more harm than good. Peter and Alice kept insisting that they'll know and Jasper agreed with them, so did Felix, Tony, and Eleazar.
"What do you see, Char?" Jasper questioned..
"Your bond is still strong, Jasper. Bella's...well...Bella's is...weakening...by the day."
"What do you mean by weakening, Charlotte?"
"Well, at this point, she's still your mate, but not nearly as strong as it was around this time last year. Each time you, Peter, or Alice shout out an order or you don't listen to her—and you don't, Jasper; the bond gets weaker. It really plummets whenever the three of you demean her or any of us."
"I don't demean her or any of you!" Peter yelled.
"Yes, you do Peter. All three of you do. Whenever you brush off our opinions, you demean us. Bella's made some very good points, but do you listen to her. NO! You never do! You think she's naïve, but she's not. Oh, and by the way, she doesn't have a familial bond with you anymore, Peter Piper. Nope! With me, yes; but with you, no. And you Alice, whatever the fuck you built up with her is gone. She plain doesn't give a fuck about you anymore and Peter and Jasper are headed for the same fate. I guarantee to you that she's going to snap like she did last year and this time, it's going to take a hell of a lot more than her unwinding in Greece to bring her back. So, you three fuckers better pull your goddamned heads out of your asses and bring some humanity back into whatever fucked up show you're running because Bella ain't gonna be saving your asses anytime soon. Oh, and Peter—I've had it up to here with your shenanigans, you're no longer invited in my bed!"
"By the way, Jasper, if you burn in hell, Bella's not going down with you," Chelsea added. "I'll break her bond with you before I let her feel the pain of a dead mate; but, then again, you're doing a damn good job breaking the bond yourself!"
"I'm sorry, didn't Sushmita say that everyone's bonds had to be strong and secure in order for us to survive the fight—especially with Bella?" Rose pointed out with a smirk. "Oops, looks like you three are dead. Chelsea maybe you should break their bonds with their mates now so they don't have to suffer on account of these arrogant pricks. I'm sorry, Alice, you don't have a prick—I keep forgetting."
Jasper had a stunned expression on his face. So did Alice and Peter. They just had their asses handed to them from Charlotte, Chelsea, and Rose. Well, Peter and Jasper had their asses handed to them, Alice had no ass to hand to her. Peter and Alice's expressions soon turned from stunned to dismayed to angry.
Bella walked out of her house with two packed bags. "Where the hell do you think you're going?" Alice asked.
"Answer her, Bella!" Peter ordered.
She put her bags down and relieved both Alice and Peter of their heads within seconds. "Sorry, Mike, Charlotte."
"No skin off of my back, I don't like the fucker," Charlotte clearly stated.
Bella picked up her bags and started walking away from the prison camp, I mean from our property. We were, suddenly, all brought to our knees with an enormous amount of pain radiating from Jasper. "Bella! Bella! You can't leave me! Bella! Please!" The great Major of the South was groveling. He caught up to his wife and got down on his knees in front of her, begging her not to leave him. She stopped.
"Why, Jasper?"
"If you go, what's going to happen to us? You're the one that's supposed to be saving us."
"That's my decision, isn't it?"
Alice's head, which no one had bothered to pick up yet, reacted to what Bella said. The eyes turned wide as saucers and it was attempting to say something, but couldn't because the vocal cords had been severed.
"If the only reason that you want me to stay is because I'm supposedly your fucking savior, then I'm making the right decision. I won't be far, I've rented an apartment in Cheboygan. My family can visit me, you and your minions may not. Don't worry, I'll be at training everyday, Major Whitlock."
With that, Isabella Marie Swan walked away from Major Jasper Whitlock. She didn't even bother looking back.
So, are you surprised at the turn of events? Jasper, Peter, and Alice have become a little full of themselves, don't you think? The sad part is that Jasper is well aware of the amount of stress on Bella's shoulders, but he's just adding to it. We do know, however, that our group of vampires can handle themselves as exemplified by the way they dealt with Lolita Barrientos and with the two female vampires in Brownsville. Speaking of which, did you enjoy Char's creative use of a slightly used Rabbit? The prison camp leaders just need to let up a little bit. Now, I know you don't like it when Jasper and Bella are apart, but do you think she was justified in her actions? He's not the only one without a mate, Charlotte has cut Peter off, too. Let me know your feelings about this chapter. I will always respond to your reviews. :) XOXO