Chapter Thirty Five

Jasper

By the time I reached the Whitlock place I was beginning to appreciate the peace of an animal blood diet and that's what I had been looking for, peace. I had kept to wilderness areas, finding a good choice of prey and while deer were fine and elk even better the best of all was wild cat and bear. Both these gave me a fight, they didn't just freeze once caught and accept their death. I guess I'd been trying to forget the girl I'd saved and thinking of my new diet helped with that but I would find myself gazing into space some times and wondering how she was coping with her new life as one of the dammed. Luckily she was with the Cullens and hopefully she would never need to feed on humans. Still she wasn't my problem although I felt a certain debt to her, after all I had made the decision to turn her. Maybe one day I would go back, find her and see how her life had panned out. For now though I was looking forward to seeing my old friends again, Peter and Charlotte.

When I arrived they greeted me as warmly as ever and we sat catching up on news of mutual friends and I found to my sorrow that Amber, a girl I once had a short fling with, was dead. She had always hated being a vampire and when depression set in she spiralled out of control and the Volturi had been forced to act. After all they couldn't have a string of drained bodies left across the country.

"I guess we should be happy she's at rest."

"I guess so but it still hurts when we lose a friend, we don't have that many we can afford to lose any."

I agreed with Charlotte and suddenly wondered how I would feel if I lost either of these, my best friends.

"I think I should tell you that I'm on a new diet."

Peters head snapped up as I knew it would,

"So you made it to the Cullens and now you snack on Bambi, great! I just hope no one finds out or you'll not only be the laughing stock but you'll have a string of would be Major slayers beating a path to your door. You do know you're not as strong on animal blood?"

"Yes Peter I do but to get some peace I'm prepared for that. Besides who knows except you and Charlotte? I never actually got to join the Cullens."

"Really so what happened? You had a sudden conversion on the road? The God of furry creatures appeared and told you to help yourself to a few bunnies?"

I had learned to ignore Peter over the years when he was in one of his moods so I turned to Charlotte.

"Would you like to know about my adventures with the Cullens?"

"Hey, you just said you never got to the Cullens."

"No Peter I said I never got to join them. We had a slight difference of opinion."

"Didn't want someone with so much blood on their hands tainting his sainted family? Fucking hypocrite."

Again I ignored him and relate the story of the Quileutes and Bella Swan."

"Those devious little fuckers. So, what are we going to do about it Major?"

"Nothing Peter, its not our fight."

Charlotte

Now I was officially worried, it had been good to see The Major again looking more relaxed than he had ever done but there was still an inner tenseness, something was niggling at him but for now that would have to wait.

"I think you could possibly be wrong there Major"

He looked puzzled,

"Why?"

"I was speaking to Diana yesterday and you know she keeps an eye on all the guardian tribes?"

"Yes I know her."

"Yeah paranoid fucking Polly. Always convinced the guardians are about to rise up and destroy us."

"Shut up Peter. She told me there were ripples radiating out among the guardian tribes. Something about a broken treaty and an almost decimated pack which would fit in with what happened in Forks."

"And what's the feeling among them?"

"That the Cullens betrayed the Quileutes trust."

"It was me who turned the girl not the Cullens."

"I don't think truth is necessarily their strong point Major. From what Charlotte says I think the remaining mutt spun a great tale."

"Is that true Char?"

"Yes, the remaining Alpha has asked for the help of other guardian tribes to find and kill the Cullens as revenge for all the deaths."

"And they agreed?"

"Word isn't back yet but Diana seems to think it will be in the Quileute favour and that means wherever the Cullens are, they wont be safe."

"Yeah well killing a bunch of vegetarian vampires isn't such a bad thing, they lower the tone for the rest of us."

Jasper

So Sam Uley and the elders had altered the story to make themselves look better and now they wanted help to destroy the Cullens? It really wasn't my fight, I wasn't one of them and if there had been any word of looking for me Char would have warned me by now, so why did it disturb me so much? I thought initially it was the injustice of it all, I hated liars and I hated those who spun a tale for their own ends even more. Charlotte was watching me with interest,

"Something bothering you Char?"

"No, but some thing's bothering you I sense."

Peter looked between us frowning,

"I don't know what you mean."

"Don't you? I think you do, you just don't know how to say it."

"Hey you two, stop with the fucking code and spit it out. Why should The Major be worried about the Cullens becoming wolf kibble? The guardians wont start an all out war over this, just kill, eat, and move on."

I knew Peter was right, even Johnny H wouldn't start a full scale war over one packs loss but I didn't like this at all. The Cullens could look after themselves or not, probably not from what I'd seen, but it wasn't my problem, they'd more or less thrown me out as it was.

Charlotte

When it hit me I couldn't help a smile, so The Major had finally met his mate even if he wasn't willing to admit it yet. He was worried about the Cullens not for their sakes but for Bella's and he was right to be. If she were with the Cullens when the guardians found them then she too would die.

"I think you need to seriously consider at least warning the Cullens."

"Why the fuck would he want to do that Char? They didn't give him a warm fuzzy welcome, let the mutts have them."

"Peter, enough. This is serious. Major you need to warn them, tell them to find somewhere well away from guardian lands and stay there. The guardians wont go looking for them like the Quileutes did, it would soon come to the notice of the Volturi if they started scouring the place for vampires and don't forget Carlisle was Volturi at one time. If the guardians don't start a war then maybe Aro will if he's pushed and none of us want that."

"OK, Major ring the fuckers and warn them, that way you're free and clear."

The Major looked at me troubled,

"You think I should do more don't you?"

"Yes and I think deep inside you know why."

He closed his eyes and a pain flickered across his face,

"You think I need to save Bella don't you?"

"What again? You'll be investing in a suit of armour and a white fucking horse next."

We both ignored Peter and The Major sighed deeply,

"I'm not good for her Char. She has Garrett and he's a good man."

"It doesn't matter if he's the most wonderful man in the world Major and you know it."

Suddenly Peters face cleared and he laughed loudly.

"Now I get it. This Bella, she's your mate isn't she? Well there's a turn up for the books, The great warrior loses his heart to a newborn who doesn't even know he exists".

"You don't know that Peter, of course she knows he exists even if she doesn't remember and after the transformation she might not."

"So, find out where the Cullens are and let's go get your mate."