Betrayal

"So, what are we going to do to stop Alice's plan?" Rose asks Jasper.

"Nothing. We're going to let the mating occur the way she wants," Jasper informs everyone.

"What? Why? I thought the whole plan was to stop her?" Emmett protests, confused and upset.

Jasper frowns and replies, "We still need to know who the double agent is in Volterra. He or she clearly knows how to get around Aro's gift. We also need to know who is calling the shots. If we take out the lackeys but don't get the people in charge, this whole thing will just start over again, only next time we won't have any idea of the plan or who to watch. Remember, someone was already gathering people for this war before Alice even became a vampire. She and James are merely pawns, important ones, but pawns nonetheless. They are hoping to gain favor in the new regime, but there's no way of knowing if she knows everybody who is running the show or not and whether or not I'd be able to get the information away from her if she does."

"Okay, you've lost me, because I thought this confrontation tomorrow morning is what we've all been working toward for the past five weeks," Leah growls, frustrated.

Jasper shakes his head. "No, it's merely the trigger for what is to come. I need for them to believe their plan is working, to call in their troops and set their plan in motion. I would've taken Bella and run at that point if need be, knowing it would throw a wrench in their plans and possibly screw things up, making the leaders too cautious to show themselves. However, this way, I don't need to do that. I can finally fully claim and protect my mate, which is what I've wanted to do all along, and as an added benefit, Edward will also get to be with his mate."

"And by fully claim you mean . . . .," Jacob asks.

Jasper nods, confessing, "Yes, I intend to change her so she's not so vulnerable any more. I won't have to fear leaving her side or exposing us once I'm able to be open with everyone that she's mine."

"I hate to have to ask this," you offer hesitantly. "but what if Vicki is on their side? It wouldn't be good for Edward to find his mate only to lose her in the war shortly thereafter. If she stands against us, if we can't trust her, then she'll have to be killed though, right?"

"No! No! That can't be!" Edward wails. "I can't lose her, when I've only just found her! That's not fair, not right!"

Jasper calms him and questions, "Think back to her reaction in Alice's vision to finding out she had been deceived all these years by James. Will she side with them once she knows the truth?"

Edward whimpers but does as he asks and looks back at the vision. "She's absolutely furious - she hates him for lying to her and putting her through all that, though she doesn't say what that is. Alice cuts the vision off fairly quickly after Vicki turns on James, trying to rip him apart. Alice jumps in to protect him and the scene abruptly changes to her and James being subdued by our family on the way to see Aro. Vicki is standing with me scowling at them hatefully though, so I'm pretty sure she won't side with them."

You nod and comment, "Nobody wants to find out what they thought was a forever love relationship has been nothing but a lie so they could be used and abused for decades simply for the sake of their gift. James is a sadistic asshole who like to play games with humans and vampires alike to see how much physical and emotional pain he can cause. He's forced Victoria to go along with these games all these years while belittling, oppressing, and hurting her so he could control her. She's been convinced she has no choice but to stay with him and take whatever he gives, does, and says because she thinks he's her eternal soul mate.

She's a battered wife who's had no way out for decades, believing she deserves whatever happens to her, that it's her fate, her eternal destiny. So she's had to come to terms with it, had to try to find what joy and pleasure she could in her painful, loveless existence. It will take some time for her to learn to relax and trust you, Edward, just as it did for Esme when she found Carlisle after all the shit her human husband had put her through. Unfortunately for Victoria, her abuse occurred as a vampire, so she'll never be able to forget any of it. Hopefully your mind reading will help you avoid some of the triggers and land mines you'll encounter with her, and you'll be able to address her fears and insecurities immediately, knowing just what she does and doesn't need to hear you say. At least she'll be able to talk to Esme about her feelings too, knowing Esme understands the way only a woman who has lived through it can."

Edward nods his head sadly, thinking about Esme's initial time with Carlisle and her memories of her human husband and his treatment of her.

Jasper sends him a wave of understanding and support, causing Edward to give him a tremulous smile.

"Okay, so here's the plan for tomorrow," Jasper addresses the group, explaining everything he expects and how they should respond accordingly.

Leah promises not to move back to the reservation until tomorrow, not wanting to risk anything going wrong before the meeting.

Only one more night of hiding, and then I can be with my Jasper in front of everyone, you think to yourself.

xxxxxxx

You walk determinedly into the clearing between Jasper and Edward, resisting the urge to clasp onto Jasper, with Rose and Emmett leading the way, walking directly in front of you protectively. Alice smiles triumphantly, certain her plan is working flawlessly. Carlisle and Esme come over to greet you. Esme smiles beautifully, welcoming you with open arms, and you easily accept her hug.

"Hey, Momma C! It's so good to see you again!" you enthuse, noting the way Alice rolls her eyes and stares off into the woods. "Sorry I haven't made it over to your house to see you, but I've had a houseguest who really needed me. She was suffering from a genetic medical disorder, and I had to give her my full attention for the past few weeks."

"That's okay, honey, I completely understand," Esme gushes, oozing empathy and understanding. "I think it's wonderful you were able to be there for you when she needed you. Thank you so much for joining us here today."

"My pleasure," you tell her truthfully, a hint of a blush on your cheeks from the excitement of what's to come.

She smiles happily and gestures to Carlisle. "This is my husband, Carlisle."

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Bella," Carlisle greets you, exuding charm and compassion. "I've heard many wonderful things about you from my wife and children."

You giggle and tease, "It's all lies. They're exaggerating."

He chuckles and squeezes your hand gently. "Somehow I doubt that, my dear. You've already brought so much joy to my family. I can't wait to get to know you myself as well."

"Aw, shucks, Doc," you continue teasing. "If you keep that up my head soon won't fit through doorways. Just imagine how bad it would be if my ego were the size of Emmett's."

He laughs and wraps his arm around Esme, squeezing her into his side.

"Hey!" Emmett pouts playfully.

You shrug and wink at him, causing him to grin.

Suddenly, the vampires become alert, their heads all pointing in the same direction Alice's has been for the past few minutes. A few moments later, James steps out of the woods, flanked by Victoria and Laurent. He pauses and addresses the group, "Ah, gold eyes. You must be the Cullens. I've been looking for you."

Carlisle steps forward and greets, "Yes, I am Carlisle Cullen and this is my family."

Before he can continue the introductions, James sniffs the air conspicuously and states, "You have a human with you? She smells delicious." He takes one step in your direction, and Jasper is immediately in front of you, growling ferociously. At the same time, Alice moves directly in front of James, crying, "No, you mustn't! She's with us!" As these are occurring, Edward takes a deliberate step toward Victoria, calling her attention and causing her to fix her roving eyes on him.

You watch as Victoria's eyes widen upon meeting Edward's and see her take a deep breath, causing her mouth to drop open in surprise. James and Alice are now smirking at each other, looking deeply into each other's eyes, and the next thing you know, Jasper has turned around and sunk his teeth into your neck.

You whimper and lean into him, clinging to him to hold yourself upright. He pulls back and licks the wound closed, purring and wrapping you in his embrace. "Mine!" he declares, purring loudly.

Edward takes that as his cue, opening his arms for Victoria and moving quickly toward her. She freezes, taking one step forward, then back, then forward again. He's on her in seconds, wrapping his arms around her and purring. She starts to relax and he quickly marks her. Her teeth sink into his neck at the same time his enter hers. She seems conflicted, as if she wants to attack, but can't bring herself to go further than biting. He pulls away, licking her wound closed, and then kisses the mark, murmuring, "Mine, my mate, my beautiful, precious, darling mate. I adore you! I will protect you and take care of you forever."

Vicki winces and pulls away, leaving his neck dripping venom and looks over to James with a frightened, haunted demeanor. She is shocked to see he has turned Alice around so her back was to his chest, holding her tightly against him with one arm and pulling her head to the side with the other hand fisted in her short, spiky hair. His teeth were buried in Alice's neck to the gums, and he was moving his mouth back and forth, tearing the wound deeper and wider. He was growling rather than purring and had her in a completely vulnerable position, not allowing her to mark him while he was marking her.

Alice is whimpering and purring at the same time, her feet dangling and kicking against James's shins, her hands pulling at his head trying to get him away from her neck.

"What are you doing? Let her go!" Carlisle demands, attempting to approach James, but kept away by a confused Laurent.

James lifts his head, finally removing his teeth from Alice's flesh and growls ferociously, "She's MINE! MY mate!" Instead of licking the wound closed, he spits his venom into it and holds it open to keep it from healing smoothly.

"James, please!" Alice whines and begs. In response, he growls and bites down again, tearing her neck further, pushing his venom into the wound with his tongue.

Upon hearing James's declaration, Carlisle and Esme swing around to face Jasper, their expressions horrified, but gasp in confusion upon seeing him nuzzling and embracing you. They then swing toward Edward, once again horrified, only to freeze in confused disbelief upon seeing Edward purring for Victoria.

"What the hell is going on here?" Emmett yells, playing his part with his eyes twinkling.

It's a testament to Esme's own feelings that she doesn't bother scolding him for his use of foul language. Instead, she simply nods her head in agreement, looking lost.

"I-I don't know," Alice sobs, sounding realistic due to the pain her mate is deliberately causing her. You know this isn't what Alice was expecting and wonder why Alice didn't see this part in her visions. Laurent shrugs and holds his hands up in a gesture of surrender, having no idea himself.

James reluctantly pulls his mouth away from Alice's neck so he can say his lines. "All of a sudden, I no longer felt a pull toward my mate Victoria and felt pulled to this little vampire instead."

Victoria practically collapsed in relief, sagging back against Edward, who happily wrapped her in his embrace again. She piped up in her high-pitched voice. "I don't know what happened, but I felt an overwhelming pull toward this vampire. Somehow I sensed he wouldn't hurt me, even when he came at me and bit me."

James cast her a disparaging look, and she quickly dropped her eyes, pushing herself even closer to Edward and wrapping her arms around his on her midsection.

"I felt the need to claim Bella as my mate to protect her from the danger these nomads represented and to keep her safe from all possible harm," Jasper drawls, trying to hide a smirk. "I could feel that Alice was drawn to the leader of their coven just as strongly as I was drawn to Bella, so I had no problem letting Alice go, knowing she wouldn't be hurt or betrayed by me choosing Bella. Not when she was choosing the nomad in the same way."

"But how is this possible? Mate bonds can't be broken," Carlisle protests, deeply disturbed by the turn of events. He pulls Esme behind him protectively.

"I came across the scent of Chelsea of the Volturi a little while ago on the way here," James announces, looking at Carlisle curiously, tilting his head slightly to the side, as if studying the Cullen patriarch. "I have heard about her gift of breaking bonds and reattaching them to others."

Carlisle swiftly shakes his head in denial, "No, she cannot affect the bonds between mates."

"She couldn't before, but gifts grow and expand with age," Alice points out, wincing and gripping her wounded neck with her hand. "Do you think it's possible she's gotten strong enough to do so now?"

Carlisle frowns heavily and shakes his head again, remarking, "No, it doesn't make sense. Even if she could, why would she? What purpose would it serve? She isn't the type to play around with people's lives for no reason."

"What if she had a reason?" James challenges. "I was coming to find your coven because Aro wants my gift and my ma - Vic's gift for the guard. He was unhappy that we refused to join him, and I overheard him telling some of his guard that he was tired of not getting what he wanted. He said he was going to come after those whose gifts he wants and make them part of his guard and not let anything stand in his way any longer, including his longstanding friendship with you, Carlisle Cullen. He said he would have the gifted members of your coven for his own no matter what he had to do to get them, even if it meant destroying you and the others in your coven. I came to warn you. It seems like he's finally gone off the deep end."

Carlisle gasps and protests, "No, he wouldn't do that to me!"

Alice fakes going into a vision trance, letting it play out the way she'd planned. All eyes are on her as she stares unseeingly, seeming lost in her vision. She hangs her head and sobs afterward, not saying anything.

"Well, what is it?" Carlisle prompts impatiently.

She lifts her head to stare at him with fake tears shining in her eyes. "I'm so sorry, Carlisle. I just saw Chelsea calling to report to Aro that she'd broken the mating bonds of all the gifted and bonded them with others, throwing us into chaos and confusion. She said we should be easy to take out now that we're all thrown together with new people, dividing us up and breaking our loyalties to one another."

Carlisle gasps, covering his mouth with his hand and looking to Edward, as if begging him to deny it.

"I'm sorry, Carlisle, it certainly appears that way from the vision I've seen in Alice's mind," Edward offers carefully.

"I don't understand," Carlisle murmurs sadly. Esme wraps her arms around him, trying to comfort him.

"Why would they try to hurt my family?" Esme whimpers, clinging to Carlisle.

"We can't let them destroy our family!" Alice declares after nobody else says anything. "We may be with new mates now, but we're still family, right? We can combine our covens instead of breaking apart like they were expecting us to do. We can use this to bring us closer together instead of allowing them to drive us apart!"

"Oh, yes, of course," Esme offers, smiling tremulously at the nomads. "You're welcome to join us, though you'll need to hunt animals or else hunt far away from this region. We have a treaty that doesn't permit hunting humans in this area."

James sneers, but holds his tongue.

"A treaty?" Laurent asks.

"The local tribe are shape shifters. They take the form of wolves to protect their people and are just as lethal to our kind as werewolves are," Carlisle warns. "We can coexist with them in peace because we do not hunt humans."

"A dangerous decision, Carlisle," James jibes, baring his teeth in an evil smile. "I don't think the Volturi, particularly Caius, would appreciate your choice of companions."

Alice pretends to go into another vision, then announces, "Oh, no, Carlisle! It looks like someone has informed the Volturi about the treaty, and they are going to use that against us!"

Carlisle stares at her in shock. "Who would've told? How could they have found out about that? Nobody other than our family knows."

"Well, the Denali know as do the Quileutes themselves. What if the new wolves came across a nomad and said something about it while trying to determine if the vampire was part of our family or not? If the vampire then escaped, it's highly likely he or she would've immediately gone to report the presence of werewolves in North America," Alice suggests.

Carlisle appears horrified. "Surely they would've told us if they encountered anyone . . . ."

James raises an eyebrow and accuses, "Why would they inform their mortal enemies about it? Why would they admit to failing to protect their tribe as they are supposedly designed to do, when it would expose their weaknesses to you? Have they met your whole family? Would they recognize your scents compared to another vampire's? If they did make a mistake, why would they come running to confess it to you? How would that benefit them? What purpose would it serve in their eyes?"

Carlisle frowns and shakes his head. "They are our friends and allies. We have a good relationship with them, don't we, Rose? I know I haven't met them myself, but I thought you were making good progress in befriending Leah?"

Rose nods and assures him, "Yes, they are our friends and allies. Leah would've told me if they encountered other vampires during their patrols."

James glares at Rose, looking angry. Jasper smoothly adds, "Though there are some members of the tribe who are strongly against vampires of any kind and resent the friendship that has arisen."

James nods and insinuates, "With the internet, a few careless words written by an angry old man could be spotted by those of our kind whose jobs are to troll through cyberspace watching for any mention of the real supernatural."

Carlisle's phone rings unexpectedly, startling the group. He apologizes and quickly answers. Whatever is said has him looking like he swallowed a cobra. He listens without speaking for a minute or two, then slowly lowers the phone back to his side. Esme starts sobbing into his chest.

"What happened?" you whisper to Jasper, knowing all the vampires had heard the conversation. You see Alice flash you a superior look, before Jasper has your full attention.

"Caius just called and said he'd received word that Carlisle had a treaty with werewolves. He called Carlisle a traitor and said his entire coven would soon be standing trial for treason," Jasper murmurs softly.

"Well, Carlisle, seeing as my coven is now irrevocably bound to yours due to Chelsea's shenanigans, we will gladly stand with you to help protect your family from the Volturi threat," James magnanimously offers, a sly sleazy smile on his face.

Shell-shocked, Carlisle thanks him graciously and leads the way back to the Cullen house, trying to absorb and understand how his life had changed so drastically in a matter of moments. He doesn't even seem to notice the way James commandeers the 'family meeting', presiding over the group and making the decisions about how to handle the situation. In fact, he doesn't even blink when James starts issuing orders to various family members, telling them to call everyone they know for help and promising to bring in all of his own friends and allies to assist.

Your heart aches for Carlisle and Esme, knowing how betrayed they feel, but knowing the feeling will only get worse when they realize the true depth of the betrayal they're facing. You bide your time, watching them carefully, waiting for the opportunity to tell them the truth.