This chapter rated 'M' for strong language and suggestive comments.

Previously: Peter and Char showed up, Riley leaves to scent the borders, Jean takes the army to hunt, Jasper is an ass, and Bella tells him off.

Peter's P.O.V. (1873 words):

"What follows will swallow whole." ~Girl's Not Grey by AFI

.:!*!:.

Aw, hell. She just told off the God of War again. I was frozen in disbelief. The moment my gift told me what she was going to do, I had turned to watch. I had a strange feeling that the Major was peeved at me as well. Why? I had no idea.

"Captain." The Major drawled slowly, causing dread to well up inside my chest. He hadn't called me that for 96 years. I took a step forward to stand on his right side.

"Major." I replied, praying to whoever was up there that he wasn't too pissed off.

"Who does she think she is?" He asked, and I nearly sighed in relief. His anger was directed at her. Thank you, God!

"She thinks she's Boss Swan, sir. She thinks she's the Major J. Whitlock of the modern South, and she'd be correct. She's high caliber, J." I answered honestly with a shrug.

"What is your relationship with her?" He questioned nonchalantly, but I knew he was serious.

"I think she's cool. My gift is tellin' me she'll be like a sister to me someday, but I don't know her well enough for that yet." I told him, concentrating on the way I felt about her, so he'd know it was the truth. I'm not takin' your mate! Down, Major! I thought to myself.

"She knows you already." He said, his voice turning darker. Shit! He wasn't happy with the fact.

"Yeah. I intercepted her after she left the Cullens' place. She didn't believe you were the Major, and she needed to know. My gift told me how to convince her without givin' away who I was and freakin' her out." I explained. "We had a two minute conversation before I heard her third approaching and got out of there."

"Tell me what's goin' on. There's somethin' you're not tellin' me." He ordered, and I felt the dread fill me again. Why did he still have to be so good? Couldn't he be a pansy for five seconds? Oh wait, he'd been doing that for eighty years with the flat-chested, little girl he used to call wife.

"Charlotte's gift revealed a mate bond."

"Whose?" He pressed.

"Yours." I answered truthfully.

"Why don't you want to tell me?" He asked, and I sighed.

"She's not ready for you yet." I told him. "If you found out, you wouldn't be able to stop yourself from actin' on it, and the two of you don't need that right now. Frankly, Char and I don't need that right now either. Maria's goin' to stage something unlike anything we've seen in a long time."

"As long as I'll find out soon so that I can protect her." He said, finally meeting my gaze. I nodded right away.

"That's nothing you need to worry about right now. Besides, if anyone can survive Maria, it's your crazy-ass mate." I said, shaking my head. I had no doubt that Isabella would be just fine, if not better off, after finishing Maria. "My gift is assurin' me that all will turn out fine for the Whitlocks. Someone you've grown to respect will die a noble death. I just got that one."

"I don't like the sound of that. I've come to respect Swan." The Major looked more haunted than I'd ever seen by his own words.

"It's not her."

"You know who it will be?"

"I don't need to. It's not her. She will survive, Major. We'll make sure of it." I spoke with all the conviction I had, and he nodded once. He looked toward the stairs. "Go on, Major. Make things right. You might want to tone down the ego though. The two of you are equals, even in the South."

"Watch yourself, Peter." He replied in a warning voice. I just smirked and hit him lightly on the arm.

"Char watches me enough for both of us. Isn't that right, baby?" I said, turning my smirk to her. She hit me upside the head, and I'll admit it. I liked it.

Riley's P.O.V.:

I was nearly done scenting the new borders, and I had already hunted as well. It was when I was passing by the San Antonio Bay that I could smell another vampire on the wind. I paused, looking in that direction. There was a vampire standing there, staring at me. He spoke right away when we made eye contact.

"Chief Victoria's land has expanded again, huh? The Mistress will be interested to hear it." He commented with a completely American accent like my own, tilting his head slightly. "I must say, I never thought I'd meet you."

"Oh, and who do you think I am?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. I knew that he thought I was the boss, so I was determined to play it right. The boss needed to stay in the shadows, and if I had to pretend to be her to make that happen, I would.

"Come now, everyone knows that Boss Swan can't really be a human, and you lead the army. You're Boss Swan." He said, smiling as if he was a genius. I smiled back slightly, amused at how little he actually knew. He walked toward me slowly in a non-threatening way. I still didn't trust him passed my nose, but I was determined to seem confident. He stopped three feet from me and offered his hand. "I'm Mistress Maria's second-in-command, Staff Sergeant Welsh."

"She really likes her soldiers, doesn't she?" I asked with a laugh as I shook his hand.

"Ever since the infamous Major." He said with a shrug.

"I don't blame her for wanting another like him. The Major's a beast. Even being close to him, he scares the hell out of me sometimes." I replied with a smirk, waiting to see his reaction.

"Excuse me?" Staff Sergeant Welsh questioned, looking disbelieving.

"You don't know? I would've thought word had gotten to Mistress Maria by now. Major J. Whitlock has allied himself with Boss Swan." I stated, pointing to myself to keep up the charade. If he thought I was Boss Swan, I wasn't going to tell him otherwise.

"I have a hard time believing that." He replied, seeming unfazed.

"No matter." I said with a shrug of my own. "I've got to finish scenting the new borders. Do you need something, Staff Sergeant Welsh?"

"I'd like to know where my scouts are." He replied seriously.

"One is dead, and the other two are enduring the worst pain imaginable. You aren't getting them back." I told him, expressionless.

"You never met the fourth one, then? I sent her out yesterday. She got back an hour ago and reported to me. I know everything." He said, grinning.

"I'm calling your bluff, Welsh. Even if one did get around our camp undetected, you obviously didn't learn anything of consequence, or you would have known about the Major." I countered with a smug grin of my own. "I'm a busy man, so I'm going to leave now. It was interesting meeting you."

"Before you go, you might like to hear that the Mistress is thinking about making a deal with you. If she decides she wants to, I'll be stopping by Freeport." Staff Sergeant Welsh said as he began backing up. "Imagine it, Victoria and Maria, with us leading the best armies the South has to offer. I'm sure I'll be seeing you soon."

"I'm looking forward to it." I agreed, and he turned tail and ran. As I finished scenting the borders and approached the camp from the north, I ran into Jean and the army.

"Hey, Riley. We're just coming back from our hunt up in Dallas and Fort Worth." I saw her inhale, and she looked at me with question, smelling the Staff Sergeant's scent on me.

"Later, Jean. We need to get back. The Major stayed with the boss, right?" I asked as I began running. I needed to talk to the boss... urgently.

"Yes, sir. His second and third are still there as well. I have a feeling they won't be leaving anytime soon." Jean replied.

"Good." I answered, and she gave me another worried look as the farmhouse came into view. "Keep the army occupied, Jean. Celebrations might have to be put off for a few more hours. I need to wake the boss up and talk to her. She'll need to go back to sleep though when I finish talking to her. You can handle that, right Jean?"

"Of course, Riley. Are we going to be okay?" She whispered too quietly for the newborns to hear.

"I don't know, Jean. I don't know." I replied truthfully, uncharacteristically giving her a hug. "Keep the army calm. I'll talk to the boss and get everything taken care of."

I ran into the house and into the boss's room without knocking. I was the only one that had permission to do so. I was surprised to see Ares standing near her window, his back to me. The boss was sleeping peacefully on her bed where I thought she'd be.

"You're anxious." The Major whispered too quietly to disturb the boss's sleep.

"With good reason, sir." I finished, moving over to wake the boss up. I wasn't looking forward to this. She was... irritable when she was woken up. I gently touched my finger to her nose, and she shot into a sitting position. The moment she saw me, her eyes flashed dangerously.

"This had better be good, or I swear... being my second will not save you." Boss Swan threatened. I straightened automatically at her tone and delivered my negative report.

"I ran across Staff Sergeant Welsh on my patrol. He assumed that I was you, and I let him believe it. I helped to spread word of your alliance with the Major, and he hinted at something that I find terrifying... to be completely honest." I paused, glancing at Ares. I was worried about his reaction, but I was also determined to finish my report. "Maria is thinking about sending Staff Sergeant Welsh here to strike a deal with Victoria."

There was silence. No one moved. I didn't back down, but I was growing more and more nervous as the time passed. Suddenly I felt calm, and I peered at Ares out of the corner of my eye. He was staring at the boss without blinking, but I knew that he was the reason for the out-of-place calm. His eyes randomly widened, and he leaned toward her slightly, in anticipation to her emotions, I assumed.

"If he comes tonight, Riley, your orders are to kill him." The boss commanded with lethal calm, literally. I nearly shivered at her cold tone. "However, he is to meet the Major and I first. Do you understand?"

"Yes, ma'am." I replied, also using my deadliest voice. To say I was shocked by her orders would be an understatement. She must really be aiming to make a statement if she was going to kill off Maria's second-in-command without so much as a 'fuck you'. I wouldn't question her though. I never would. "Is there anything else you need, or should I leave you to sleep now, boss?"

"Go, and then come back with Jean in five minutes. I must speak with the Major alone." She replied, waving me off. She had not been this reserved toward me in a long time. I bowed slightly and took my leave. I had a really bad feeling about all of this.

A.N.: There you go! It's short, I know. It is very important to the plot though. Tell me what you think is going to happen, 'cause there was a whole lot of foreshadowing in this one. Next point-of-view is Bella. I'll be updating again just before February! Thanks a ton, and please review!
P.S.: I've started a playlist for OSDU, so if anyone would like me to put it on my profile, let me know. =D