This chapter is rated 'T' for references to torture, one or two instances of strong language, and dark themes.
Edward's P.O.V. (2391 words):
"It is a man's own mind, not his enemy or foe, that lures him to evil ways." ~Buddha
.:!*!:.
I was wandering the streets of Huston, listening to the thoughts of those that would pass me by. It was well after dark. I was waiting for Alice to finish her shopping. She said that she'd had a vision. She insisted I come with her while she bought thousands of dollars worth of clothes. When I tried to get her to show me what was going on, she started remembering stories that Jasper had told her about his past. She definitely knew how to get me out of her head. I didn't want to hear about Jasper's past anymore than I already had.
We'd left Forks a little over eighteen months ago. Leaving Bella was hard, but I felt it was best for all parties involved. She was in constant danger in our world. Plus, her birthday had changed everything.
"This one's from Esme and Carlisle." I told Bella, handing her their gift. She took it with a forced smile and nudged her finger under the wrapping paper to open it. Jerking her finger sideways to rip it open caused her to get a paper-cut. My blood-lust went skyrocketing at the unexpected bloodshed. I saw as Jasper tensed, and I threw Bella back and away from both of us. I hit her a bit hard, my blood-lust clouding my control over my strength. She went tumbling into the china that Alice had set out. My attention was then shifted to Jasper, who it turned out was now leaping at me. I tried to get a read on his mind, but he wasn't thinking clearly enough for me to know his next move. His thoughts were the same as they had been when he'd been in the South. The infamous, feared Major had his eyes set on me, and he was going for the kill.
Emmett and Carlisle grabbed him from behind just as Alice got in between us and crouched down to defend me. Her protective growl was unlike any I had ever heard from her before. It stopped Jasper in his tracks. His thoughts returned, but the shock was written all over his face. His thoughts were stuck in disbelief. He glanced at Bella and pushed Carlisle in her direction before letting Emmett escort him out the back door. Alice kept her growl up until Jasper was out of hearing range, and then she took my hand and pulled me out the front door. When we made it to the garage, she began to run her hands over my body, checking for injuries. I just stayed still, uneasy with the sporadic way her thoughts were jumping around. When she was finished, she pulled me to her in a hug and started inhaling my scent.
"Alice, are you okay?" I asked, not understanding what was happening to my best friend. At my words, her mind went clear as crystal.
"Why didn't I see this coming, Edward?" She asked aloud while her thoughts screamed the truth to me. We were mates. We always had been. I could tell by her thoughts that she wasn't lying. Suddenly, I understood. Carlisle had known Esme was his mate because she'd been in danger of death. Rosalie had known Emmett was her mate because he'd been in danger when she'd found him being mauled by that bear. Alice and I hadn't had that moment until tonight, when her husband had moved to attack me. "Jasper's going to be ruined."
"Of course it will hurt him, but he'll understand. I think he might already know." I said, and Alice's eyes glazed over. Her vision proved my theory. He was raging about it in the forest.
"You're right. It still hurt him though." Alice whispered.
"It's not your fault, Alice. We didn't ask for this. We don't mean to hurt him." I replied, feeling the need to pull her to me and comfort her.
"He's going to leave the family." She said, sobbing into my shoulder.
"It would only make sense. After all, he's Major J. Whitlock once more." I whispered back, hearing him roar in the trees, his dark and clouded thoughts entering my mind from three miles away. Tightening my hold on Alice, I knew that there was no going back.
Jasper had left soon after. Amazingly, he had kept to the animal diet, although I suspected it was for selfish reasons. He couldn't handle the emotions of humans when he fed from them. I was sure that was the only thing keeping him from a more natural food source. I wasn't sure where he went or what he did with his time, but it didn't really matter. I hated to say it, but I didn't really care. I left Bella, and we all moved. We needed a break from playing human, and we thought the old plantation house near Corpus Christi, Texas would be a nice change. Jasper came to visit every once in while. He had actually just arrived two days ago.
My thoughts were suddenly interrupted when I smelled a scent I thought I'd never smell again. I turned to walk down the alleyway that the scent was coming from and saw a battered and scared Bella on the cement of the ground. She's been knocked unconscious. Without thought, I picked her up and began to run towards the house. Alice came out of a store and began running alongside me silently. This must have been what she'd seen.
"Will you run ahead and tell Carlisle that I'm bringing her to the house?" I asked Alice. She nodded and took off toward the house. I made sure not to run very fast, as not to jostle her, just in case she was hurt worse than I could see. I couldn't help but wonder where these scars came from. They had obviously been sealed with venom, but they hadn't been created with vampire teeth.
When I stepped onto the front porch of the house, Jasper was there right away, looking her over. His eyebrows came together, and his thoughts found their way into my mind.
Punishment... reminds me... claimed by Warlord... learned to obey creator...
I shook my head, trying to get Jasper's fragmented thoughts out of my mind. They were even more disturbing recently, closer to the way they'd been when he first arrived with Alice. He was constantly running patrols and using his gift to search for anything out of the ordinary. He was more paranoid than I'd ever personally seen him. It made me sick to listen to 'the Major's' thoughts.
"There's more goin' on here than we know, Edward. We need to be cautious." Jasper whispered, and his messed up thoughts hit me again.
I remember... hypervigilange... don't use first name... just in case... can never know... never be too careful... Second-in-commands... temperamental... I remember...
"Jasper, stop remembering." I hissed at him, and he growled at me lightly in annoyance before moving aside so that I could carry her into the house. I went upstairs and put her on the guest bed. Carlisle walked in and began to examine her the moment I set her down.
"I've never seen anything like this before." Carlisle whispered in horror, mostly to himself.
Only in the South... find scars like her's... these domesticated vampires... blind to the rest...
"Cut it out, Jasper!" I hissed from between my teeth. "There's only so much I can take."
"I can't help my thoughts, brother." Jasper replied mockingly from downstairs, and I couldn't help the eye roll that escaped. "I'll warn you again though. You're gettin' into somethin' that's beyond you."
"You said yourself we are no longer brothers, so there's no need for the sarcasm." I countered, returning my gaze to Bella.
"Be civil towards one another please, Edward. He's here to visit Emmett and Rose. It might be better for you to avoid him if all you will do is cause contention." Carlisle told me calmly before returning to the issue at hand. "Three of these scars are less than an hour old. I recognize the scent, but I don't know from where."
Victoria... Carlisle is sharp... I smelled her too... inside the scars... torture?... must be more... deeper... over my head... need information... Peter might know... Victoria... when to... Bella's scars...
"How long until she wakes up?" I asked Carlisle, trying to ignore the nonsense in Jasper's brain.
"She's already waking up. Don't you hear her heart picking up?" Carlisle replied. At his words, the rest of the family gathered around to wait.
"I will kill her." Bella mumbled in her sleep, causing the rest of us to look at her in shock. "The moment I get the chance, she will die for my suffering."
Her words evoked predictable reactions in the majority of the family. Their thoughts were filled with questions of who Bella was talking about. One mind, however, was different. I was thrown into his memory, which is not a place I particularly enjoy.
"You think my loyalties lie with her." I stated, standing in a military stance as I watched the activity on the field before me.
"I don't believe I follow you, sir." My second-in-command's voice replied quietly from his usual place, slightly behind me on the right-hand side. I could feel his apprehension. In another situation, it would have made me smile to feel the know-it-all so uncomfortable and unsure.
"I feel I should warn you, Captain. For me to do so, you must ask your question now." I pressed, waiting for him to say what had been bothering him.
"Then warn me, Major. Where do your loyalties lie?" He asked, and I finally turned my head to look at him. I raised an eyebrow. That was not the question he wanted to ask. I could tell by his emotions that he was holding back. "Alright. What are you goin' to do about it?"
"I'll kill her." I replied, keeping my face stoic. It was simply a fact. "The moment I get the opportunity, she'll die for my sufferin'."
"When that moment comes, I would like a hand in Maria's death, my friend." Peter said, understanding completely. He knew now that my loyalty was not in her hands. Revenge would be sweet.
"Jasper?" I asked, disturbed by the likeness of Jasper's voice in his memory and Bella's voice in her sleep. His thoughts kept comparing her emotions to emotions from his past in the South, and it was not helping my sanity.
"She's been through a lot." Jasper hissed though his teeth, and his eyes darkened slightly. "It has been a long time since somethin' has managed to anger me to this extent. Her emotions match the Major's to near perfection. I don't think I want to know what she's endured to get to this point."
Punishment... brandin'... intense thirst... limb removal... but she's human... strange... I remember... flashes behind my eyes...
"Can you try to stop the images, Jasper? It really isn't helping right now." I begged, pinching the bridge of my nose.
Suddenly, Bella's breathing changed. She sat completely upright and was scanning the room within mili-seconds. It looked nearly inhuman, the way her body instinctively reacted as she awakened. A smirk that would have had no place on the old-Bella's face, slowly came to life on her lips.
"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Bella said, and although she looked the same, her tone had changed along with the rest of her demeanor. I didn't know what to think about the Bella in front of me. "The ones that handed me to my keeper end up being the ones to save me from her presence. I must say, when her latest punishment offered me into the blackness, and I felt myself lifted by cool arms, this group was the last that I expected."
"Who were you expectin'?" Jasper questioned, watching her closely.
I knew it... punishment... her emotions... I wonder... have a second?...
"Riley, of course." Bella replied, a slight smile pulling at the corner of her mouth. "I don't know how much y'all know about the South, but I've been hanging out down there since you guys left. Riley, for all extents and purposes, is my second-in-command." Every face, save Jasper's, fell into disbelief at her words. She saw our reactions. "Your lack of confidence in me is almost offensive, but I can't say that I really care at this point. It's not like I'd work with or for tame vampires. That's what they call sedentary covens, like yours, in the Wars. The accuracy of the description never fails to humor me."
"You can trust us." Jasper whispered, watching her almost cautiously.
Although she will not... she'll return... connection to Victoria... her Warlord...
"I know I'd be one hell of an ally, but it would take a lot more than words for me to trust you, guero." Bella said, not breaking eye contact with Jasper. He smirked in response, and it was the same smirk from his past.
A real second... lookin' for allies already... she'd know my name... ally myself with her... seems powerful...
"You are only human; therefore, not much of an ally, so it's not like I care if you trust me, puta." Jasper insulted, and Bella's smile grew in turn.
"I'm not surprised that you don't see class when it's in front of you, naco." Bella replied, making Jasper chuckle. He offered his hand, and she looked him up and down once before taking it. They shook and let go quickly. She gave him a look that said she knew that there more was going on than was being shared. "I can see now that you know more about the South than I originally thought. Who have I just joined forces with?"
Moment of truth... see if she fears... I remember... tell her my true name... her ally... never betray...
"Major J. Whitlock, ma'am." Jasper replied, his trademark smirk still in place. Bella's smile disappeared. She went completely still except for her pulse. After a short pause, she inhaled and exhaled slowly. For the first time, I was glad I could not read her thoughts. Jasper's were bad enough.
Slight fear... not for me... she knows my name... anger... doesn't matter... allied now... South is home... help her escape her Warlord... revenge... for us both... for our sufferin'...
His thoughts were back to the way they'd been when he first showed up with my Alice: instinctual, dark, and confident. If Bella wasn't more careful, she'd see the worst of the vampire world... if she hadn't already. I wasn't about to get involved. I had my mate to worry about.
A.N.: Chapter one is now up! This chapter should shed a little more light on where the story is headed. Next chapter will spell the majority of it out. You'll all get the flavor of OSDU by chapter three. Thanks for reading, and tell me what you think by showin' a little love to that link below.