A/N: Have I told you how awesome you are? Thank you everyone that has reviewed the story. I appreciate all of the support. To my readers, followers, and people that have favored the story, you rock too! Thank you everyone. Here is the next chap and Victoria may be ready to make her move. Let me know what you think.

Chapter 12 – The Wait Is Over

No one goes through life knowing what every minute of every day will bring. If someone would have asked Bella a year ago what she saw herself doing in a year, who she would be with, and what she planned to accomplish, she would have given a wrong answer. A year ago, she thought she was going to be with Edward for the rest of her life. Now she knows that he is not the one for her. She needs someone who will stick by her side through the good and bad, not run at the first sign something bad may happen under the guise that it is for her own good. She thought she would be working on school and applying to colleges and although she is going through the motions of applying, school is not on the forefront of her mind. She just wanted to make it through high school and maybe go to college, be with Edward. Right now she is hoping she stays alive and away from a red headed psycho. Yes, the last year has changed a lot for Bella; she just hoped that no one had to pay with their lives.

Bella woke up with a funny feeling that morning. She couldn't describe it and she didn't know what it was, but she had a feeling that today was going to be momentous. She was not sure why and in the end decided to brush it off. It had been four weeks since the vampire had broken into her house and so far, nothing has happened. She hated the waiting; it was setting her and everyone else on edge. She wondered if Victoria's plan was to make everyone crazy with the waiting.

Alice had sent another missive to the Cullen's two days ago with one sentence on the paper, "Soon and she has help." Carlisle called Sam and told him to be prepared. Bella and the Cullen family met and decided that it was best to have more than one person with Bella at all times. If Bella thought that she was feeling confined before, she was more so now than ever. Jasper still stayed with her in her room, but in addition to whatever pack was in the woods, at least one other member of the Cullen family would be close to the house and ready to defend when the time came.

Jasper's main concern was Bella's safety. He wanted to make sure that she was safe. He needed to know that nothing would happen to her. He was realizing that the thought of her getting hurt was not something he could live with, not only because of who she was to the family but because of what she had become to him. He couldn't lose her and would rather give his own life than to see anything happen to her.

Jasper was pulled out of his thoughts when Bella walked back into her bedroom. She had on sweats and an old t-shirt and he thought she looked quite comfy and cute. It was a Saturday, so that meant no school and no one would have to worry about something happening in front of a lot of innocent people.

"So what is the plan today, Major Sir?" Bella said sarcastically.

He smirked, she had started calling him that upon occasion when she found out his position with the confederate army and that he had been called that in the vampire wars. Normally he didn't like the name, but he seemed to make an exception for her, "Well, nothing actually. I thought we would just hang out here and keep it low key. If you want to go for a walk, I think we have enough backup that it would be safe enough."

Bella rolled her eyes, "You mean I can be ungrounded and actually leave the premises?"

"Has anyone ever told you that you are a smartass?"

"Not recently they haven't," Bella said laughing. She had fun teasing Jasper. She had fun period when he was around. He somehow made her feel like nothing would touch her even with everything they were going through. She was still scared, but knowing he was there made her feel better. Never would she have thought that Jasper would be the one she was turning to and leaning on right now. He was the one that she needed in her life, and she had a feeling that was more than just for this current threat.

"Ok, let's just go before I change my mind," Jasper grumbled and stood up from the seat that he occupied. When he stood up he saw the photo album on Bella's desk, "How long has it been since I looked at those pictures? In the beginning I looked at them all of the time, but it has been a few weeks since I opened that album."

"Hey are you coming or am I going for a walk alone?" Bella said as she poked her head back inside her room. She had already walked out of the room and realized Jasper was not with her. She saw him looking at her desk and especially the photo album. She wondered if he itched to look at the pictures of him and Alice again and why that would cause a pang in her chest.

"Yah, I'm coming darlin'. Hold your horses will you!" He gave her a sideways smile and followed her out of the bedroom.

Jasper called Emmett and Rose and let them know what the plan was. By the time he and Bella had made it downstairs, the other couple was waiting for them on the porch. They walked towards the woods and started to follow the trail Bella had found soon after moving to Forks. It was a quiet walk, but not an oppressive quiet like sometimes happened. Jasper, Emmett, and Rose were using their senses to make sure that nothing was wrong or that there was danger, the problem was they could sense the wolves and it put them on edge. Bella was lost to her thoughts. It had bothered her to see Jasper looking at the photo album and it shouldn't. Alice was the love of his life and he missed her, but for some reason it had made her jealous and she couldn't explain why.

Bella was pulled out of her thoughts when she was thrown behind Jasper's back. She didn't see or hear anything, but she could see that her friends were very much on edge. Something was coming and it was not good. She wondered if Victoria was finally making her move.

Suddenly, two strange vampires appeared before their small group and Bella was truly afraid. They looked wild and the look in their eyes was not that of the other vampires she had seen such as the calculating look in James' eyes. They just wanted to get to the human and they looked like they would do anything to do that.

"Give her to us! The Mistress said we can have her!" One of the two said.

"The Mistress was wrong. You will not be getting Bella today or any other day," Jasper said in a quiet and controlled voice. He had to protect Bella and he would not let these two heathens have her. "Rose, take Bella. Emmett you and I will handle these two. Don't let your guard down there could be more."

Rose grabbed Bella and pulled her away from Jasper. She moved her back to where she knew the wolves were waiting ready to pounce if the need arose. As Rose watched the front, the wolves moved forward and made sure that Bella was covered from the back. No one was going to take her from them.

The two new vampires looked at the two vampires in front of them and didn't understand why they just stood there looking back at them. Finally one of them yelled, "We will take her and you will regret keeping her from us!" Both rushed forward and this is what Jasper had been waiting for. He eyed the two crazy eyed vampires and smirked, training took over from there.

The first vampire tried to grab Emmett, but Emmett was able to hold him off. Emmett wrestled around with his foe and a few times the vamp was able to get his arms around the big guy, but Emmett was always able to break the hold. The vamp jumped and landed behind Emmett and got his hands on Emmett's head. With one hand on top of the head and one on the chin, the vampire started to twist attempting to decapitate Emmett. Although some small cracks appeared in his otherwise flawless skin, he was able to break the hold and grabbed the other vampire's head and swung him overhead so that the lunatic landed on his back in front of him. Emmett didn't waste time and twisted the head off of the vamp before he could make another move. This one was down and would be permanently gone once burned.

The second vampire ran towards Jasper but at the last second leaped over him and started to run towards where Bella was. He didn't get far. Jasper was able to grab one of his arms and pulled hard and fast. The vampire was brought down by that simple move, but was quickly on his feet again. Too bad jasper wrenched the arm off before the other vampire got up. The vampire was at a disadvantage and he knew it, but something inside would not let him stop. He wanted the human and he knew that he would have to defeat this vampire to get to her.

Jasper saw the shock and indecision play across the vampire's face. If he had to, he would take apart this vampire before he set him on fire. No one was going to touch a hair on Bella's head, she belonged to him and he protected what was his. The second of hesitation was all that Jasper needed to get behind the vampire, "No body touches her!" With that said the head was torn off the body and thrown into the fire that Emmett had already started. The rest of the second vampire followed the head into the flames.

Bella had watched Jasper fight with a sense of morbid fascination. She couldn't take her eyes off of him and when he was done, she made her way around Rosalie and to him. She needed to know that he was alright. She tripped on an exposed root and Jasper caught her before she could hit the ground, "Are you ok?"

"I think I should be asking you that Darlin'. I am fine," he confirmed when he saw her looking him over. "I think Emmett got it worse than I did. Don't worry, that vamp wasn't able to get to me. I promise."

She nodded and put her arms around him waist and hugged him. She pulled back and looked at Emmett, "Are you alright?" When she received his nod that he was indeed fine, she buried her face in Jasper's shoulder and started to cry.

"It's alright. I told you that nothing or no one was going to hurt you," Jasper said in a soft caress. He sent out calming vibes and soon he felt her start to calm down.

"Well isn't this just lovely. You killed my helpers and it looks like that bitch has moved on to another one. What was Edward not good enough for you?" Victoria said jumping from a tree.

Jasper felt Bella stiffen and immediately pushed her behind him again, "You will not get to her and you will not hurt her!"

"Oh I don't want to hurt her; I want to kill her for what she did to James!" Victoria yelled.

Jasper smirked knowing it would make Victoria madder and hopefully she would slip up and give him an opening, "James? Bella had nothing to do with that one. In fact it was my brother and I that tore him apart and burned him for what he started and did to our family. She had nothing to do with it. Isn't that right Emmett?"

"That's the way I remember it," Emmett responded keeping his eyes on Victoria, ready to act if she did.

"See? James brought everything on himself and he deserved what he got! He was weak anyway," Jasper taunted her some more.

"NO! I will have my revenge and she will pay for what happened to my mate!" Victoria screamed enraged by the taunting she had just received, "She will pay!"