Thank you so much for your very emotional responses to the last chapter. Without further ado, I hereby relieve you from hanging off of the cliff that I threw you on. Your triceps must have gotten a phenomenal workout. I know mine did.
This story is AU/OOC.
All characters belong to Stephanie Meyer. No copyright infringement intended.
Mature readers 18+ only.
The Major's POV
"I'll be right there, baby," I said, as I stepped into the flames and let them consume me. Death would be a welcome respite compared to the pain I was feeling in my heart right now. "I love you, Bella."
I was immediately pulled into the flames. It was actually comforting. It almost felt as if warm arms were wrapped around me. I imagined them to be Bella's arms. I opened my eyes to see a terrified Maria, sitting in the fetal position, cocooned in an invisible forcefield. Flames were flickering around her. Oh, great, I'm in hell and Maria's here, too. I don't even get a fucking break in the afterlife. Ah, well, at least my mate's in heaven. She deserves it. Like Sushmita said, she has a pure soul.
"Jasper! Jasper!"
"Yes, my love?" I asked. They brought Bella to hell? Now, that's odd. I thought for sure they'd send her to heaven.
"Major!" Warm hands turned my chin and I found myself eye to eye with my beautiful mate.
"You're here," I said.
"Of course, I'm here. Where else would I be?"
"You should be in heaven, you should..."
"Baby, we're not dead."
"We're not?"
"Of course not. Try and touch the flames."
I reached out with my hand and attempted to touch the fire. My hand expanded out, but the flames flickered around me.
"It's your shield," I stated in astonishment, then excitement hit me. "Baby, it's your shield! Um, what are you doing hanging out in here?"
"Oh, I was pretty sure you'd dive in after me so I was waiting for you."
"Why would you assume that?"
"Uh, duh, cause if I thought you had died, I'd dive in right after you, too."
"Baby, I think that's the sweetest thing that you've ever said to me." I kissed her full on the lips, then pointed to Maria. "Why is she still alive?"
"Oh, she's not getting off this easy. She's a gift."
"A gift?"
"Oh, yeah."
"For whom?"
"You'll see," she smirked. With that, the two of us rolled the cocooned Maria out of the flames. By the time we hit fresh air again, Maria's soldiers had all been culled and everyone was picking up stray body parts and tossing them into the fire. We had a few injuries on our end. Carlisle and Riley were looking over them now. Esme seemed to be in the worst shape out of everyone. Alice looked just as bad.
"See, I told you they'd be fine," Char stated to a relieved looking Peter. "Wait, what's she doing here?"
"She's a gift for you, the Captain, the Lieutenant, and the Major. I thought that you guys might want to play with her," Bella stated with a smile. "I mean, she got to play with the four of you for years."
"Take the shield off of her, baby," I instructed.
As soon as Bella released her, Vicky grabbed her and sunk her teeth into Maria's neck. Maria started shrieking in pain. "Hello, pet," Vicky drawled maliciously while Charlotte took her venom coated fingers and plunged them into the fresh master's bite.
Pete grinned at Maria. "My grandbaby gave me a gift and I want to go play with her. Did I ever tell you that the Major's mate is my great grandbaby? She has my blood and my venom running through her veins."
"N...n...no, you didn't," Maria stuttered.
"Well, hell, you've got to meet my two grandbabies. Come on over here, kids. Maria, this is Bella, she's my great-granddaughter and the Major's mate. And this here is Riley. He's Vicky's mate. Aren't they gorgeous? They're smart, too. Riley here's a doctor and Bella has a Master of Arts in History from Harvard University. They get their beauty and brains from me, you know."
"I...I...I thought James was Victoria's mate?"
"James," I laughed. "No, no, no. I killed that fucker twenty years ago. You see, he tried to kill my mate. I didn't like that."
"B...b...but he's alive, Lola said she detected his scent. She confirmed it."
"You've been getting careless Maria. Why the fuck would you send someone that's a known double agent out for information?"
"Please, have mercy on my soul. Just kill me now."
Something in me clicked, then. I was done with this, I didn't need to torture Maria, I was at peace with myself, my mate, and with my personal relationships with everyone in my family. I didn't need to blacken my soul further by inflicting pain upon Maria because torturing someone really isn't fun for me. It was a learned art, taught to me by Maria. It wasn't me. My mama raised me better than that.
"Maria, only God can make that judgement," I said, then moved away from her.
Peter, Charlotte, and Vicky all stared at me completely stunned. Maria took the opportunity to attack me and in one fell swoop, she ripped my head off and lobbed it towards the fire. "If I have to die, so do you, mi amor," were Maria's words to me. So, this was it, then. I had made my peace with God and this is how he is choosing to end me.
The Major's Mate POV
My Major's head was flying through the air. I saw my brother speed by towards the pyre and catch my Major's head just in front of the flames, as if it were a pass thrown by a quarterback. He tucked his head under his arm like a football and rushed back to my mate's headless body. Thank God my brother was a skilled football player.
Meanwhile, I was seeing red and I jumped on the venomous bitch in front of me and attacked. The whore was strong. She got out from underneath me and started running. This time, I didn't hold back. I tackled her to the ground, taking her leg from her. With one arm, I tossed it into the flickering flames. I ripped both arms simultaneously off of her body, her venom started spraying all over me. I didn't give a fuck. I was completely enraged.
"What have I ever done to you?" the bitch had the nerve to ask. Is she fucking with me?
I became feral and started pounding her head into the earth beneath me. I ripped her hair off of her scalp and her other leg clean off of her.
I picked her up by the throat and had her dangling in mid-air in front of me. "You tried to take my loved ones from me. You fuck with my family, you fuck with me," I growled. "But the worst thing you did was to hurt my mate. My mate. He's my Major. And I'm gonna teach you a lesson that you'll never forget!"
"Please, just let me die. Show me mercy," she pleaded.
"I thought my mate already told you that only God can show you mercy," I replied, then dropped her body to the ground, kicked it for good measure, and ripped her head off of her torso. I proceeded to sit down pretzel style, picked up Maria's head, and placed it on my lap facing the flames. I was going to make the bitch watch her body parts go up in flames.
Amanda appeared from behind me and said, "Let me help you, Belly Mama."
"Sure, sweetheart," I stated, as she threw each of Maria's limbs into the pyre for me until only her torso remained. Amanda stopped, pulled out a Sharpie, and started drawing on Maria's stomach. She drew a big giant heart and inside it she wrote the word's, 'Bella's Bitch.'
"Do you like it?" Amanda asked Maria.
"She can't talk, honey."
"Well, she can still blink," Amanda pointed out.
"Blink twice if you like your new tattoo," I commanded.
She blinked twice.
"Don't ever fuck with my mother!" Amanda yelled, slapped Maria across the face, and hurled the newly decorated torso into the flames before walking away into Edward's arms.
"Let's have a chat, shall we? I'll talk and you listen. After all, my husband once told me that 'two great talkers will not travel far together.' So, obviously, you messed with the wrong family, I think you know that now. You see, I think that your problem is that you've never been loved, therefore you never gave love a chance. If you had given yourself the opportunity to love, you would have seen that amassing all of this territory for feeding grounds was pointless. Money, property, and territory may have made you a rich woman, but in my eyes you're the poorest woman that I've ever met. Why? Because you never understood that simply allowing yourself to love someone could have opened up the gates of happiness for you. If you look behind me..."
I turned her head so she could see my family.
"Well, that's my family. I love each and every one of them, even Alice. I can't wait until she goes back to work at Walmart because it keeps her sane and you can't beat that employee discount on top of their already rolled back, low prices, but that's a story for another day. The point is that I love my family and they love me also. I know this because they prove it to me day after day by their words and their actions. Sure, sometimes we get into little spats, but in the end, we're all aware that we'll all love each other for all of eternity. That's why, when you took our loved ones from us, we came to rescue them because that's what family does. We go after the ones that try to harm our loved ones because they mean the world to us. Look around you, Maria. What do you have? I would say, you have nothing, absolutely nothing. I'm going to leave you here to ponder my words now." I got up, walked to my loved ones, and tumbled into their waiting arms.
It was over. Maria was no longer a threat to our family. Her army was nothing, but a pile of ash and she had no one that loved her enough to save her. All she had left was her battered head.
A few minutes later, I saw the Major pick up Maria's head and speak to her. "That was my mate, Maria, she's intelligent, isn't she? She loves me and her love is all I need to keep me going. You know what's sad? There was a time in my life when I loved you and I would have followed you to the ends of the earth, but you didn't have it in your heart to return that love. Heck, you couldn't even love yourself, let alone someone else. It's unfortunate, really. I'm gonna put you out of your misery now, Maria. But first I have to thank you. I have to thank you for giving me this life and for giving me the tools to survive for so long in it, because if you didn't give me this life, I wouldn't have everything good and wonderful that I have now. Most of all though, had you not changed me, I would have never met my mate and I would have never known what's it like to be loved so thoroughly and unconditionally that everyday feels like a day in heaven. So, for that, Maria, no matter what your transgressions were against me and my family and no matter how hard you tried to break me, I forgive you. Good luck in the afterlife. May God have mercy on your soul." With that, the Major placed Maria's head in the pyre. She was gone for good now and my Major was finally able to free his soul.
He watched the head burn, then started walking back to me. I met him halfway. He pulled me into his arms and held me, sending me copious amounts of love, joy, and adoration and filling my heart with warmth. He loved me. I loved him. Nothing else really mattered.
Sushmita's POV
What I had seen when I read Bella and Jasper's souls all those years ago had finally come to fruition. What Jasper needed to do in order to free his soul was forgive his sire for all of her transgressions against him and admit to her that he did, in fact, once love her. By forgiving Maria, Jasper was finally able to let go of the past so he could live peacefully with his beloved Isabella now and forevermore.
As Sahil held me, I watched Jasper and Bella doing the same. The adoration that Jasper held in his eyes for his mate was contagious. They had no idea that with Bella's destruction of the evil that was Maria, many changes were coming to our family. Oh, they had absolutely no idea. I had to chuckle at the thought.
I heard the man that I had come to think of as my father, Eleazar, make an announcement. "Everyone, we can reunite later. There's still work to be done. We must make sure that there are no lingering body parts and we have to clear Maria's camp. We have a couple of injuries that need to be taken care of immediately as well. Riley will return to Bella's new house to handle those, while the rest of us stay to take care of everything here."
"What new house?" I heard Jasper asking Bella.
"I'll tell you later."
With a sigh, we all went back to work. With Mike's tracking skills, the grounds we fought on were cleared in minutes. The fire was still raging, though. It was only a matter of time before firefighters approached the area.
We went back to Maria's encampment to sweep the buildings of any lingering vampires and to find her personal documents. Except for the power neutralizer and the incapacitator having sex in the saloon, the buildings were clear. Maria's documents were all organized in one file cabinet in an office in the brothel. We found three laptop computers there, presumably belonging to her and her two lovers. We took those along with us and torched the entire camp including the two remaining vampires in order to rid the place of all evidence of any recent inhabitants. We quickly ran back to Bella's new house in Telluride as we heard fire engines approaching the area.
We immediately separated from each other and went off to our rooms to spend time with our mates. Seventy-two hours later, we all gathered in the living room for a meeting led by Jasper.
"I did some accounting together with Amar. Between Maria, Regina Bower, Catalina Cuevas, and Vito Guerra's assets, we've amassed a total of roughly nine billion dollars. As you already know, Vito Guerra was worth roughly 2.8 billion dollars. Catalina Cuevas and Regina Bowers were worth roughly 1.2 billion dollars combined. Their assets were mainly in the form of property which I took the liberty of liquidating when we seized their territory nearly two years ago. Now, Maria is worth about five billion dollars. Her assets are mainly in the form of cash with roughly a billion dollars in property. Everything else is being held in a Swiss bank account. Her account number is the same as she's had for decades so fortunately that's something that I've retained in my memory since I set the account up for her. Why she never changed it, I have no idea."
Jasper took a deep, unneeded breath before continuing. "So, here's what it comes down to. Out of the nine billion dollars, we've used five million dollars to purchase the property in Cheboygan, build sixteen homes, maintain the property, and fund this operation. I'd like to keep the property plus a hundred million dollars in reserve on the off chance that we run into this type of situation again, which I highly doubt. In any case, the property in Cheboygan is great for hunting, fishing, and all types of winter sports. The interest earned on the hundred million will cover the taxes and upkeep of the property. This leaves us with roughly eight billion eight hundred ninety-five million dollars to be divided equally amongst sixteen couples after we liquidate Maria's property and assuming we get our asking price, of course. So, after all is said and done, each couple should have approximately five hundred fifty-five million dollars coming to them."
"Fuck me," Tony gasped. I think that's exactly how most of us felt except for Jasper, Amar, Peter, Eleazar, and Carlisle. Those five were already worth much more than that, Jasper, alone, having at least triple the wealth of the latter four combined.
"Just another day in the office," Peter joked.
I was, of course, blown away by the amount. Sahil and I had some money, but Amar had always taken care of all of our expenses for us. We didn't even have our own bank account. I would have to talk to Bella about this. There were other things that I needed to discuss with her anyway. For one, Sahil and I have been talking about living away from Amar and Amrita for a few years. We wanted to live life on our own terms for once, but we knew that we needed help in accomplishing this.
"I have a request," Amar announced.
Everyone turned their attention to him. "I need help harvesting tea again this year. Would any of you be willing to assist?"
Every single person in our family volunteered to help. It was nice knowing that we had such a wonderful family to rely on for things big and small.
A couple of hours later, everyone was doing their own thing. Most of the men were down in the basement, either bowling or playing in the arcade that came with the house. Esme was working diligently on the landscaping of the house, planting new flowers, trimming the bushes, and spreading new grass seed. Amrita and Rosie were busy threading body hairs off of each other while Claude and Gianna took care of haircuts.
Bella was sitting in the living room reading a book. Now was a good opportunity for me to speak with her. I tapped her on the shoulder and asked if we could perhaps go for a walk.
"Sure, I have to go pick up more contact lenses for us anyway. We'll have to walk since we don't have a vehicle anymore." That's right, Jasper's beloved Tahoe was blown up in our efforts to take out the bulk of Maria's army.
After we were a few miles away from the house, I finally got the courage to speak. "Bella, Sahil and I want to live away from Amar and Amrita, but we've never been on our own. We don't even have our own bank account and, quite frankly, we don't know how to do it. On top of that, I'm pretty sure that Amrita will try to stop us and I don't want to live too far from you, but I don't know how you'd feel and..."
"Shh, let's take this one step at a time. First of all, calm down."
I did as Bella asked. "Second, I'm not surprised that you two want to live independently. You've been with Amar and Amrita for four hundred years, you need a change and you need a chance to grow on your own."
"Would you help us, Bella?"
"Now, why would you even think that I wouldn't help you, Sush? You know I love you."
"I'm just afraid. I want to go to school Bella. Do you realize that I have no education whatsoever? I can barely read, Bella. They just didn't educate people of my caste in India four hundred years ago. And I don't want to go to Charlotte's school."
"Uh, yeah, I wouldn't recommend Char's school either. Come here." Bella opened up her comforting arms to me and hugged me. "We'll make it work, okay? I promise."
Her words were a comfort to me and I felt sure that everything was going to work out.
Jasper's POV
I saw that Bella and Sushmita were finally home. I needed to talk to my mate so I jumped out of our window so that I could greet them. I felt intense anxiety coming from Sushmita so I gave her a hug and sent her feelings of peace. She gave me a kiss on the cheek and walked inside.
"Let's go for a walk, baby," I suggested. We had made love for two days straight, then I was holed up in my office going over finances with Amar so I hadn't had a chance to discuss anything with Bella. On top of that, we had to figure out what we were going to do from this point on.
"Sure."
I put my arm around Bella as we walked. "I can't believe we've been together for twenty years," I noted.
"I know, me too."
"I still love you as much as ever, maybe even more."
"I can never stop loving you, Jasper."
That thought alone warmed my heart. We came to a little coffee shop, purchased two coffees for show, and sat down.
"We haven't talked about what happened the other day, yet," I said.
"No, we haven't. We probably should, though."
"Bella, I just want to say that I'm proud of you. Chelsea told me how you and Rex came up with most of the plan to rescue us and included everyone in the decision making process. You two were fair, creative, and you utilized every single resource you had. In hindsight, we should have used your method of inclusion from the beginning. I was pigheaded, an asshole, and..."
"...and you did the best you could because your method of taking command was all you knew, Jasper. I only did things the way that I did because it was the only way I knew how. I knew that I didn't have all of the answers, therefore it would have been unfair for me not to include everyone. For example, using sex as a weapon wasn't my idea at all. It was Mike's."
"Still, Bella, I'm sorry for the way I acted. I really am. I know one thing, I will never, ever underestimate you again," I stated. "By the way, how did you know that you could shield yourself from fire?"
"I didn't know. I saw Charlotte thrown into the fire so my gut response was to throw my physical shield over her. After that, I just walked into the pyre to go and retrieve her. I couldn't let her die, you see."
She had a heart of gold, my wife. She threw her life on the line for Charlotte and she would do it in a heartbeat for anyone in the family, even Alice. Okay, maybe not Alice.
I slid my hand across the table and offered it to her. She placed her hand in mine and squeezed.
"So, what are we going to do now that this is all over?" I asked.
"Well, I don't know. I was hoping that you had a plan."
"I don't do plans anymore, they can get pretty hairy," I chuckled. "I'll make it easier for you then. Let's start with tomorrow. What do you want to do tomorrow?"
"Buy a new vehicle," Bella stated nonchalantly.
"Why? What happened to your Ferrari?"
"The Ferrari's fine. It's in our garage in Michigan. The Tahoe kind of died though."
"What do you mean the Tahoe died? That's the best vehicle I've ever owned. Rose just had to fix the steering column."
"Oh, she did fix it, then we drove it here."
"Did it die on the way up here?" This really hurt. I loved that SUV. "Maybe it didn't really die. Maybe Rosie and Pete can take a look at it."
"Honey, the Tahoe's not coming back."
"Why not?"
"Because we kind of used it as a giant molotov cocktail so that we could take out a few hundred of Maria's vampires."
"M...m...molotov cocktail," I whimpered. "Oh, my poor Tahoe."
"I'm sorry, Jasper. It was for a good cause. We can buy another one tomorrow."
"Couldn't you pick up a rusty old used truck and do the same thing?"
"We were in a rush, baby," Bella soothed.
"I could have waited another hour," I said. I know I was being ridiculous and unreasonable, but I really loved that Tahoe. "Wait a minute? Was that huge pyre in the middle of the clearing caused by my Tahoe?"
"Yes, and you got to sit in the middle of it so, in a way, you got to say goodbye to it," she offered brightly.
I sighed, "I'm just glad we're all safe and this is all over with. Come on, let's go home."
The two of us started walking back home. "Hey, you never told me why you bought that house? Don't get me wrong. I really like it, but what made you buy it?"
"Well, we needed a base camp. Riley knows the area well because he's from here. He found the vacant house and suggested that we rent it for a month. I spoke to the realtor, the owner only wanted to sell, so I decided to just buy it."
"How much was it?"
"Twelve million, fully furnished. I used the money I won playing slots in Las Vegas that one time. Did I do the right thing? I wasn't sure, I've never purchased property before."
"Hell, yeah. That house is like a luxury resort. Who was the previous owner?"
"Some big wig executive of a Fortune 500 company. The realtor told me that he used it as a corporate retreat, that's why there are so many rooms in it and the additional guest house."
"Well, hell, the house is perfect for us. Did you know that there's a huge wine cellar in the basement? The guy left most of his wine and whiskey behind."
"Nope, I had no idea. I didn't even know there was a wine cellar."
"We're throwing a party. I mean, come on, we've just been to war and back. I think we deserve one."
"I agree, baby, but not tonight. I just want to spend time with you," Bella cooed.
"Okay." I pulled her chin up and stared into her blood red eyes. Her contacts had dissolved. "What made y'all decide to feed off of humans?"
"Ah, that all started because of me and Rex."
"Why?"
"Jasper, when we went to visit Rex's mom, she was taking her last breaths. It was weird, she awakened all of a sudden and she recognized Rex. She was completely lucid for once. Anyway, to make a long story short, for some reason she knew. She knew that we weren't human and she asked Rex to help her get to heaven while she still had her own mind. He couldn't say no. So, he bit her. The only problem was that he couldn't finish the deed. She looked at me and asked me to help him, so I did. We ended her life together. After we got back, we saw you guys being taken by Maria. We got to discussing why Rex and my eyes were red, Chelsea suggested that human blood will make us stronger, we talked about it, and we all ended up drinking donated human blood to fuel up for the fight."
"Bella, are you okay with what you did? I mean about Rex's mom."
"Oddly, yes. I'm at peace with it because I helped her find peace by letting her die on her own terms. Does that make any sense to you?"
Rex and Bella gave his mother the ultimate gift. Death with dignity. She no longer wanted to suffer, she was competent, and had made her peace with God so they let her end her life on her own terms. "Yes, Bella, it does."
One month later...
None of us could make a decision about what to do so we ended up returning to Cheboygan, packing up our belongings into moving trucks, and moving everything to Colorado temporarily. We also needed to pick our vehicles up, for now, Bella and I were using the Ferrari, but come winter we'd have to pick up an SUV because we were smack dab in the middle of ski county. Personally, I couldn't wait until winter so I could go skiing with Riley and Mike.
Eleazar, Carmen and our Indian brothers and sisters had all returned to Darjeeling three days ago. Bella told me about what Sush and Sahil wanted to do. I already knew, though. Sahil had talked to both me and Emmett privately. I didn't blame them for wanting to live independently one bit, they couldn't live as Amrita and Amar's servants for all of eternity. Even though, they were extremely close and there was no mistreatment between the couples, there was an injustice with the way Sahil and Sushmita took care of all the cleaning, the laundry, the maintenance of the palace, and even washing the couple. I'm sure that Amar and Amrita have just settled into their ways because that's how it's always been, but it needed to stop. The fact that Sush and Sahil could barely read or didn't even have their own bank accounts was unsettling. Emmett and I vowed to make it better for them when we go to India in two months to help with the tea harvest.
I walked downstairs and walked into the kitchen. "What in God's name are you fuckers doing?" I asked. Bella, Rex, Tony, and Mike were wearing aprons and screwing around with measuring cups and mixing spoons. The kitchen looked like a chemistry lab. They had blood in different containers and they were mixing different types to see what they could come up with. "I thought you guys had given up on blood play twenty years ago. Why the sudden revival?"
"Are you kidding? This kitchen is awesome. Come here, Jasper, feel how smooth this granite counter top is. Don't you just want to make love to it?" Tony asked while pulling me over and making me run my hand over the surface. "How could we ignore such a work of art?"
"Tony, you're such a fag," I chuckled.
"Yes, and proud of it. Now, sit down and try this. It's moose, mountain lion, a touch of grizzly, and a smattering of Merlot."
I sat and stared at the bowl and spoon in front of me. "Um, Tony, can't I just have it in a mug?"
"Of course not, you're not a neanderthal. I swear, you and Rex are like two peas in a pod. Dining is a sensory experience, food is meant to be indulged slowly, not inhaled."
"How the fuck did you survive in the army?" I asked.
"No, shit," Rex agreed.
"At least I wasn't a jarhead like you," I heard Tony mutter under his breath to his brother.
Great, not this again. I saw Bella smack her forehead. The two were growling at each other in the middle of the kitchen. Meanwhile, the blood in the bowl was looking pretty tasty so I took the opportunity to chug it down and, "Holy shit! This tastes like steak!"
"Oh, good, you like it," Tony said with a smile.
"Can I have more?"
"Yeah, after I beat the shit out of this grunt."
"Take it outside!" Bella ordered. "Rex, remember to go easy on your little brother, he can't fight for shit!"
Mike held the front door open and soon Rex and Tony were rolling around in the grass smacking each other silly. "Man, that Tony can't fight," he commented.
Claude and Tanya came to the front door, took a look at their mates, and turned back around and went back to whatever they were doing. About ten minutes later, Emmett and Felix went out, grabbed one brother each and threw them into the indoor pool and told them to cool off.
A few minutes later, Tony arrived in the kitchen wearing jeans and no shirt, there was a line in the kitchen waiting for steak. Mike handed everyone jugs. "We need one more moose and several mountain lions." Several of the men dashed out to go hunt.
"I know what we're going to attempt next," Bella said.
"What, wifey?" Rex asked. He had shown up in the kitchen wearing nothing but a towel and his hair was all wet.
"Ooh, yummy," Bella chuckled seeing Rex. I growled at her. "Um, anyway, how about Chicken Tikka Masala. The four of us have discussed how much we used to love Indian food."
"I like that idea, it's challenging," Tony said. "But I want to try and replicate your lasagna."
"Why don't we do both?" Mike suggested. "I've had Bella's lasagna when I was human once, it's definitely worth replicating."
Rose walked into the kitchen covered in engine grease just then. "Ooh, aren't you a sight for sore eyes," she stated upon seeing Rex. "Tony, your Jetta is done for, you need a transmission, water pump, timing chain, clutch, brakes, and rotors. I can do it for you, but it isn't worth fixing. The car is eighteen years old, it's time you said goodbye to it. Trust me, I know it's not easy."
Rose had just junked her beloved BMW, Peter and I had to hold her back from nearly ripping apart the tow truck driver from the salvage yard when he came to take it away.
"But, I love that car. It was my first new car. I bought it when I graduated from college," Tony whimpered.
"Bro, you've got to let it go." Rex gave Tony a hug.
"I swear, there's something oddly arousing about that sight," Irina commented as she came to sit with us in the kitchen. The three women had lustful smiles plastered on their faces as they stared longingly at the two shirtless incubi.
"Oh, fuck me," Vicky commented as she and Charlotte arrived in the kitchen. I could smell their arousal instantly.
"Hey, you two. Put a fucking shirt on!" I yelled.
Tony finally recovered and turned to my wife. "Bella, would you go car shopping with me?"
"Wait a minute! Why the fuck are you asking Bella to go with you?" Rose asked, angrily.
"Because she's not unreasonable when it comes to cars."
"What the fuck do you mean by Bella's not unreasonable? She went out and bought a fucking Ferrari on a whim!"
"Yeah, but she was under extreme duress, then. Besides, she doesn't drive it."
"That's cause she can't drive a stick shift!"
"Hey, maybe I can trade the Ferrari in for an automatic one," Bella mused.
"NO!" Everyone in the room yelled at once except for Rex. Of course, the dunderhead couldn't drive a manual transmission car to save his life.
"Geez, I was just thinking out loud. Sure, I'll go with you, Tony."
The next day...
I ended up being the one that went with Tony to buy a new car. Bella insisted that I pick up a new Tahoe because she was sick of being stranded at home with nothing to drive. Of course, there were thirteen other couples in the house, most with two vehicles, but everyone hated loaning their car out to Bella because they thought that she couldn't drive for shit. It simply wasn't true, though. She was just a careful driver that obeyed traffic laws, and always drove at speed limit. Rex, Felix, and Garrett drove like she did, too.
Tony ended up purchasing a brand new manual transmission, Volkswagen Beetle, fully loaded and special ordered in purple. That's right, purple. He was actually going back and forth between hot pink and purple, but ended up settling with purple because hot pink would be just too obvious, in his words. I ain't borrowing that car, that's for sure. It was being delivered next week at the same time as my Chevy Tahoe. They didn't have a red one available on the lot, but that's the color that I wanted so I'd have to wait.
Claude was waiting for us when we arrived at home, "What did you end up with, Tony?"
"A purple Volkswagen Beetle. It'll be delivered next week."
"Did you have to be so obvious, honey?"
"He almost went with hot pink," I informed Claude.
"I'm not sure which is better. Couldn't you go with a nice red?"
"No, and it's my car. Bella and I researched the special edition colors online and it came down to hot pink and purple."
"Did you get it?" Bella rushed down excitedly.
"Yep, I got purple."
"Awesome, though I wish you would have gotten hot pink. It was so cute!"
"Bella, stop encouraging him," Claude said.
"Oh, shut up, you. It's his car!" Bella chastised. "Besides, at least he's not so obviously gay like you are."
"Touche, my dear," he chuckled.
An hour later, Esme came to talk to us. "I'm wondering if I can toss an idea at you both," she said.
"Sure, Mom, what's up?" I said.
"Okay, follow me." She led us to the very back of the house. "Do you see this hallway, leading to the back door?"
We nodded our heads acknowledging that we did. Esme continued, "Now, many of us are planning on skiing this winter. This is obviously the entrance that leads to the ski slopes, but it's too narrow. Picture yourselves in ski boots, carrying your skis, trying get in and out of this entrance."
Huh, she's right, it is too narrow. "I see your point, what are you proposing?"
"Well, with both your approval, of course, I'd like to expand this hallway out about twenty feet and put in double doors. I'd also like to turn this into a mud room slash locker room of sorts."
"That's a great idea, Esme. I don't ski so I wouldn't know, but what you're saying is logical," Bella said. Which way would you expand out?"
Esme took us outside and showed us her idea. It would work for sure and would improve upon an obvious design flaw.
"Well, Bella and I are on board. Are we hiring contractors?"
"No, it's too easy a job. Emmett, Riley, and Felix can handle it." I noticed that she didn't include me in the group. Hell, I wouldn't include me in the group. I'm man enough to admit that I suck at this stuff.
I pulled out my Home Depot card from my wallet and told Esme to go nuts. That made my mom happy. She was clearly bored and needed an outlet because she ran out of the house and took off.
My cell phone started ringing at that moment, "Hello?"
"Mr. Jasper, this is Jenks, I need to speak with you about something important if I may. Would you be available to come to my office sometime this week?"
"Uh, sure. I'll catch a flight out in the morning," I stated before ending the call.
It was a little unsettling. Jenks never asks me to come and see him. I decided to leave tonight so I could be at his office first thing in the morning. I jumped on my laptop and found a flight that left Telluride at four pm with a connection in Denver that would get me to Seattle by eight pm.
I was about to book the ticket when Bella leaned over me and changed the number of passengers to two. Phew! She was coming with me.
By nine pm, we were checked-in to our waterfront suite at the Four Seasons Hotel in Seattle. I wasn't sure how long we'd need so I booked the room for three nights, just in case. For some reason, I was jittery and jumpy all night. Something didn't feel right about that phone call.
The next morning, we were at Jenks's office, waiting for him to show up. I was about to tell him off for making me feel so jittery when I stopped myself. The last time I saw Jenks was right before Bella and I got married. Since then, all of our transactions have been conducted by mail. He had aged considerably and was now using a cane.
"Hello, Mr. Jenks," Bella greeted him with a friendly smile.
"Ah, Miss Isabella, how are you, young lady?"
"I'm doing well, thank you. How about you, sir?"
"I'm getting old, as you can see, which brings me to why it was urgent that I see Mr. Jasper."
I decided to be nice for once. I didn't need to intimidate Jenks, he looked like he was one step away from keeling over dead.
"What did you need to see me for, Jenks?"
"Mr. Jasper, for the last ten years, you and your extended family have been my only remaining clients. I retired the rest of my practice at that time. I have handled all of your transactions from forged documents to Miss Isabella's most recent real estate purchase for many decades now. I'm also taking care of the sale of Maria Asesina de la Noche's properties. They're all pending, by the way, so you should have your money soon. Here's the thing, I'm getting old, Mr. Jasper. Clearly, the end of my life is approaching and I'd like a chance to fully enjoy my retirement and the last few years of my life before I die. It's also clear that you, Miss. Isabella, and the rest of your family have better genes than I do because you don't age at all. The point I'm getting at is that you will outlive me. Where will you go for your papers then?"
"Um, I never thought about that."
"That's what I thought. So, as my last act as your lawyer, I'd like to teach you everything I know about document forgery. As you can see, my hands are too shaky now. It would be impossible for me to fulfill your request for your newest set of documents. I'll tell you what to do and we'll do them together with me guiding you. After that, you'll have to handle any future needs yourself because I'm afraid I won't be around to do them for you."
Well, shit, I wasn't expecting that. I keep forgetting that Jenks is only human. He's been around for so long that I thought that he'd be around as long as we'd be around.
"Now, let's get started, shall we?" he suggested.
"Sure, and, uh, thank you, Mr. Jenks."
"You're welcome. Perhaps it would be prudent if Miss Isabella learned the trade as well. You do have a rather large extended family."
And so we got started. We worked all day with Mr. Jenks and even treated him to lunch and stomached human food so he wouldn't have to eat alone. He said that we'd have to meet again for the next four days. He taught us everything he knew about the craftier side of his business and urged us both to attend law school. At the end of the four days, he boxed up all of his forgery equipment, gave us every single document related to our family, and wished us well.
I tried to offer him a million dollars in payment, but he wouldn't accept it. His response was, "It was an honor to serve your family Mr. Jasper. You've made me a very wealthy man and I have more than enough to retire comfortably. I'll be living out the rest of my days in Hawaii in case you need me, but if you or Miss Isabella run into any snafus, call upon Miss Rosalie first. My father taught her everything at the same time he taught me. She'll know what to do."
Well, that was a surprise. Rose? I looked at Bella and she wasn't shocked at all. In fact, she flashed me a brilliant, knowing smile. My wife leaned over and pecked Mr. Jenks on the cheek. "Thank you for everything, Mr. Jenks. Good luck in Hawaii."
"You know, Mr. Jasper, I think that Miss Isabella is the best thing that ever happened to you. I was never a fan of Miss Alice. She was too annoying."
"I agree. Thank you, Mr. Jenks."
"Goodbye, Mr. Jasper."
We left the office and went back to our hotel. We had human food to bring up, after all.
Later, while we were lying in bed watching TV, I asked Bella how she knew that Rosie could forge documents.
"You'll have to ask her yourself, Jasper. It's not my secret to tell." She kissed my mark and it sent electricity churning through my system. I tilted my head so I could kiss her lips.
"Mmm..." she moaned, as she slowly pulled my t-shirt up over my head. I inched my hand under her shirt and started fumbling with her beautiful breasts. I heard her gasp as I grazed my hand over her nipples. We made out like that for a few minutes before we finally started making love. It wasn't frenzied and crazed like our usual sex, this time it was lazy and drawn out. Neither of us in a rush to go anywhere. Occasionally, we'd stop to take in the beautiful view of Elliott Bay from our bed. Other times, we'd just stop to kiss and I, for one, bathed in the beautiful feelings of love emitted by my mate. In the morning, we were relaxed, fully sated, and completely in love with each other; just like we had always been and would always be.
By mid-afternoon the next day, we arrived back home in Telluride. I was looking forward to having a chat with Rosie about how she knew all about forgery. It was when we were living in Vancouver, Canada. She told me about how Jenks's father taught her how to forge documents in the early seventies because she pretty much begged him. He taught his son at the same time so he could get it over with. Rose wanted to learn because she was feeling stifled at home with Carlisle, Esme, and Emmett being so overprotective, Edward reading her mind, and Alice looking into her future. She couldn't make a decision on her own without either Edward or Alice finding out and informing Carlisle, Esme, and Emmett. So, one day, she got the courage to shield her thoughts and go to the only person that she felt could help her—Mr. Jenks, Senior. And, to make a long story short, he helped her learn his art over a period of one week during which time Alice thought she was in Seattle browsing around auto salvage yards.
Rosie seemed relieved to be able to get everything off of her chest. The only person she had ever told was Bella and she had sworn her to secrecy. I told Rose that Jenks essentially left the three of us in charge of taking care of the forgery from this point on and that he suggested that we all attend law school so we could get to know the different laws. Then, we opened up the box containing Jenks's forgery equipment together and went through everything. He even gave us his laptop which contained all the updated software for his forgery operation.
My sister then turned to me with a serious expression upon her face. "Jasper, what are you and Bella planning on doing now that this is all over?"
"We haven't made a decision, yet. The only thing we know for sure is that we're going to help Amar out with the tea harvest next month. Why?"
"Jasper, I just don't want you guys to go away for four years like you did when you moved to Dubai. That was really tough for me."
"Rosie, I can't give you any concrete answers right now. I know that you and Pete want to re-start your business and I don't think your fear of being away from Bella should stop you from planning your future."
"Oh, this is so hard. I hate change so much."
"Think of change as a new adventure, sis." I pulled Rose onto my lap and held her. "No matter what happens or where our lives take us, one thing will never change. You and Emmett will never, ever be far from our hearts."
Darjeeling, India
One month later...
We were done harvesting this year's massive amount of tea. I didn't mind helping at all, I was used to hard work. It brought me back to my human days when I used to toil on my Daddy's farm. This was a little different though. We were vampires so a job that would normally take humans close to a month was completed in two days. This is why Amar's tea farm was such a big money maker. When I first had the idea of the family helping Amar with the harvesting, he protested. I argued that if we could harvest the tea quickly, we could prepare the soil for next year's crop that much faster. So, we decided to give it a try. Amar was able to double his harvest in one year, therefore making him even more of a profit.
I was helping Amar with the business end of things, having invested in twenty percent of his tea business that first year when I met him and he asked for help. It was a huge money maker and most of the high end tea purveyors purchased their crop from Amar.
We were all relaxing in the living room of his massive palace smoking hookah's and having drinks when I decided to make an announcement. "I received a call from Jenks the other day, it was his last order of business with our family. As I explained to you before, he is now retired and will no longer be handling our family's legal business. Paperwork and identity papers will now be handled by me, Bella, and Rosie. Edward has agreed to assist us with any type of legal quagmires since he's the only lawyer in our family so far. I think that between the four of us and all of our vast knowledge combined, we should be able to swim through life without any problems. In any case, Jenks called to let me know that Maria's property has finally sold. Our initial estimates that her property was worth one billion dollars were wrong, we ended up taking an eighty million dollar loss due to unpaid taxes and poor maintenance on her part. In the end, her property sold for nine hundred twenty million combined. It was mostly large tracts of land throughout the southwestern United States. The good news is that her property was sold in her name so any capital gains tax was taken care of in her name."
I paused before continuing. "So, our initial estimates were obviously too high. After paying the capital gains tax, we made a profit of seven hundred and thirty-six million dollars from her property. Anyway, our total profit was eight billion, six hundred thrity-one million dollars in total from the three seizures. That leaves each couple with five hundred thirty-nine million, four hundred thirty seven thousand, five hundred dollars."
"Still not a bad day at the office, Major," Peter commented.
"Okay, so now the question is, what do you want me to do with the cash. My recommendation is for each of you to open an offshore account. If you hold that money in the United States, you're just going to get taxed until there's nothing left. Carlisle, Peter, Eleazar, and I have accounts in Switzerland. Amar has one in Singapore. I think both places have sound banking systems, my worry about Singapore is that they may sign the Tax Information Exchange Agreement with the United States soon, but there are ways around that. Amar is safe because he's an Indian citizen, I highly doubt that an agreement of that sort will ever be signed between the two countries. The choice is up to you."
Edward spoke next, "I did some research and my opinion is that the most prudent choice is Switzerland. Their banking system is the most fiscally sound. They're also top notch when it comes to financial privacy."
"Jasper, you can transfer both my money and Sahil's into my account in Singapore. I will handle it for him."
"No," Sahil said, all of a sudden. Aw, hell, here it comes. "Amar, I appreciate the fact that you want to take care of me and Sushmita, but it's time we started handling our lives on our own."
The look of shock and worry on Amar's face was palpable. "Why so suddenly? Have I done anything to offend you, brother?"
"No, it's not that at all. It's been a pleasure being in your household. The thing is, we've been together for four hundred years with you making all of the decisions and handling everything from the business, to the household, to finances, and even vacations. Sushmita and I would like to make those decisions for ourselves now."
"But what of the business, the tea farm?" Amar asked.
"This is not a permanent separation by any means and we will return to help whenever you need us."
"Wait, by separation, do you mean you're leaving?" Amrita asked with tears in her eyes. "Sushmita, you're my soul sister. Please, don't leave me."
"Amrita, the time has come for us to go our separate ways. I can assure you that this is only temporary, though."
"I can't Sushmita, I can't do it with you."
"Yes, you can. You and Amar need to spend time together without having to worry about Sahil and me. You also need to learn how to run the household by yourself. I no longer wish to be responsible for all of the household chores alone, you must share in the responsibility with your mate. This is your house, not mine and Sahil's and it's high time that you learned how to maintain it by yourselves. Amrita, you don't even know how to launder your clothes or sweep the floors. And Amar can't even bathe himself without someone's assistance."
Amrita's mouth was hanging open. She was unable to say anything as she took in the hard truth handed to her by her sister.
"I say this, not in a vindictive way, but because I love you. You need to learn to take responsibility for all facets of your life just like Sahil and I do. Our brothers and sisters in America do it everyday, we need to learn from their way of life."
Amrita broke down and started sobbing. Carmen held her, all the while telling her that Sush's words were reasonable.
Amar took a deep breath. "My brother and sister, I thank you for your honesty and for your years of service. When you do choose to leave, you leave with my blessing and as equals, not as master and servant."
We all breathed a sigh of relief. The four of them handled the situation beautifully and with maturity. There was an uncomfortable silence permeating the air. We all decided to go for a hunt. We needed to savor the tigers while we were here.
Amar asked if he could hunt with me. Bella, who overheard, took off with Rosie with a wink. Amar and I ran deep into the jungle away from prying ears before he spoke. "Jasper, do you think that I've offended Sahil in any way? I'm concerned about him wanting to venture out on his own."
"I don't think so, Amar. I think that, to him, you'll always be his closest brother. I think it's just as Sushmita put it, they need to venture out on their own for a while. Amar, you have to admit that it can't be easy for the two of them. They're in an odd situation. Sahil and Sush are your brother and sister yet they still serve you and Amrita. Put yourself in their shoes. How would you feel?"
"I don't know, I was born to be a Maharaja. I've known nothing else my entire existence, but I realize that times have changed. When I think about it now, I should have released both of them from service years ago. Do you think that they'll ever forgive me?"
I was about to speak when Felix appeared out of nowhere. "I'm sorry for interrupting you both, but I overheard your conversation. I hope you won't mind if I offer my opinion here.
"No, please, go right ahead," Amar said.
"Thanks. Amar, like you, I was born into a life of privilege. We had slaves for everything, from running the household to working the fields. For my entire childhood, I didn't have to lift a finger. Heck, I didn't even have to feed myself until I became seven years old. The thing is, in our family, we treated our slaves like family members. We gave them beautiful living quarters, a stipend, and days off. They were all given an education, too. I thought that was enough, but once I was forced into service with the Volturi and not allowed any freedom, I realized that while we gave our slaves the wings to fly, they were never given the freedom to do so. No matter how much freedom we gave them, we still held their ownership papers. You allowed Sahil and Sushmita to have the same opportunities that you and Amrita enjoyed, but at the end of the day, they were always your servants. That's why they need the opportunity to go out and find themselves."
I'm not adding to that. That was perfect. Felix, of all people, would know better than anyone because he has been in the position of both master and servant. I can't improve upon his speech any further.
"Thank you, Felix. I think I understand better now."
"Good, glad I can be of use. I actually came here looking for you because Gianna wants to go dancing. Are there any places in Darjeeling that we can go to?"
"Not really, Darjeeling shuts down by seven pm usually. What if we run to Delhi? There are many nightclubs there and it's only a three hour run. It'll take nine hours to drive. I think Amrita and I can use a night out, too."
"I'm all for it," I piped in. I could use a night of unwinding. After working the fields, a night out on the town sounded like a blast.
"Alright, let's hunt quickly, bathe, then go."
The three of us quickly took down two tigers each before running home. We ran into the bathing chambers, ready to rinse off and dive into the massive communal tub, when we saw that the women had beat us there. Amar put two fingers to his lips and motioned for us to follow him. He led us to a different entrance where we ran into Sahil, Emmett, and Garrett. The three of them were peering through a door that was slightly ajar watching they're mates bathe.
Like the perverts we were, we watched our mates soap each other down so they could climb into the tub.
"Ow, Gianna!" Bella yelped as she had her ass smacked. Now, that was hot.
"When are you going to learn to brush your hair?"
Rose and Gianna were working on brushing the tangles out of Bella's hair simultaneously.
"Move," Sushmita huffed. She worked some kind of oil through Bella's hair with her fingers. "Now try."
This time, Gianna was able to comb through Bella's hair easily. "What did you put in her hair?"
"It's coconut oil and some herbs. I've been making it myself since I was human. Many women in India use this infusion for their hair. But Bella, you must brush your hair daily. I don't understand how you can be so lazy about it! A woman's hair is her crowning glory. I've told you time and time again and you keep ignoring it."
"Oh, if you think her hair's bad. Wait 'til you see Charlotte's. This is horrific!"
"Oh, I agree. If you think Bella's hair is tangled, this is bad. My comb has been stuck in this position for the last three minutes," Claude complained. Charlotte was yelping as he tried to comb out her tangled locks.
Claude? What the fuck is he doing bathing with our women? All six of us looked perplexedly at each other.
Sush passed her infusion to Claude who ran the oil through Charlotte's hair. He took a sniff of it. "Ooh! This smells yummy," he gushed as he easily combed through Peter's mate's hair. "Who's going to do my hair?"
Tanya shampooed Claude's hair for him, then worked some of that supposedly yummy oil through his hair. The women and Claude were completely rinsed then sat in the tub and talked.
Suddenly, my mate inhaled a deep breath and nudged Katie. The two of them turned toward us and yelled, "Perverts!"
"Jasper Whitlock! I can smell you! I know you're there!" Bella screamed.
"I smell you, too, Garrett!"
"Fuck!" we all yelled. We tried to run, but Bella threw her physical shield on us. Kate got out of the tub, held my mate's hand, and suddenly we were all writhing in pain on the floor. I wonder when they learned that trick?
The women and Claude all got out of the tub and wrapped towels around themselves.
"You know, I feel completely violated!" Claude complained. He feels violated? He's a guy bathing with our mates. True, he's a flamer, but he still has a working dick.
"You should feel violated!" Amrita stated. "Whose idea was this?"
None of us wanted to place the blame on anyone so we all stared at our feet.
After five minutes of being yelled at, the six of us finally made our way back out to the living room where the other guys started laughing at us.
"You dumb fucks!" Edward howled. "Why the hell would you think that you could get away with watching the women bathe? Did you forget they were vampires with a heightened sense of smell?"
"I don't know, we were about to walk in to take a bath and they happened to be in there. The next thing we knew, we were mesmerized," I explained.
"Yeah, Claude is kind of delicious looking," Tony mused.
"Not Claude, you shit. Katie! Amrita was scrubbing her down and her titties were all soapy," Garrett noted..
"That was a beautiful sight, my friend," Sahil patted his back.
"Personally, my favorite part was when Gianna spanked Bella," Amar piped in.
"Yeah," we all sighed.
"But why was Claude bathing with the women?" Emmett asked.
"Oh, he doesn't like bathing with us. He feels out of place," Tony explained. "He discussed it with the girls and they invited him to bathe with them."
"Say what?" Mike asked. "Why does he get to bathe with them? I want to bathe with them."
"No shit!" Rex joined in. "It's completely unjust!"
"I don't know what the big deal is? They told me that I could join them too. They even offered to scrub my back," Tony noted.
"Excuse me? Who said that you could join them in the bath?" I asked.
"Bella and Rose."
"Why those dirty, little vixens!" Emmett cried.
Speak of the devil, our two perverted wives came strolling into the living room. "The bath is all yours," Bella announced.
We all folded our arms in front of our chest and stared down the two hypocrites.
"What?"
"How come you invited Tony and Claude to bathe with you and not us?" Rex asked.
"Duh, they're males of the non-threatening variety, that's why."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"We're gay. We're not attracted to women at all," Tony explained. "Personally, I think Claude's being stupid by bathing with the women." He wagged his eyebrows at all of us.
Oh shit. All of us men dropped our jaws in shock at Tony's statement.
"Well, go on, get to bathing," Rose giggled.
Great. Now I'm gonna have to guard my ass while I bathe. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I actually want Tony to bathe with the women.
Five hours later...
We were at a hopping nightclub in Delhi called Elevate. I swear, every single woman in here must have hit the genetic lottery. So did the men, come to think of it. Bella was on the dance floor dancing with Tony. Rex was sitting next to me getting pissed off. He really hated sharing her.
I was about to order another drink when Amrita pulled me onto the dance floor. She started combining that bhangra dancing with hip hop. So, I just joined in and tried to mimic her. She started chuckling, then showed me some moves.
I looked over and Rex and Tony were arguing about who should be dancing with Bella. Edward snuck in and started dancing with her while the two brothers had their ridiculous argument. I mean, come on, she's my mate.
Soon our entire family was on the dance floor. No one was dancing with their mates really. It dawned upon me, just how at peace we all were. It was a beautiful thing, and I'm glad that we all survived Maria so we could be here tonight, just to be together. Together as family.
Hi Guys! I just want to let you know that this is not the last chapter. We have a few more loose ends to tie up and some questions that need to be answered, so there are two to three more chapters plus the epilogue. This story was never about Maria and the battle, rather about how Jasper and Bella cope with their family.
What did you think of the battle? Do you think that Maria was given a fitting end? Was Jasper's apology to Bella appropriate? Mr. Jenks was a pretty cool guy, don't you think? How about Sushmita and Sahil wanting to part ways from Amrita and Sahil? Do you blame them? I'd dearly love to hear your thoughts on this chapter. I promise to respond to your reviews. XOXO