Chapter Seven

Bella

Charlotte's phone rang and she checked caller ID.

"Its Peter. Lets hope he's got good news for us."

She listened as he spoke rapidly and I was the only one in the room who didn't know what he'd said but from their expressions it wasn't good. Before she'd finished Rose was picking my bag up and Emmett took me by the arm.

"We're off now Bella. According to peter The Major and Nathan have split up and Nathan is headed this way while The Major caught your scent and is racing him. Peter thinks Nathan might beat him to you so we have to keep moving."

We left Charlotte's car in Carlisle's parking bay and took Emmett's truck, it was far more noticeable but we could now go off road if necessary. I felt safer with Emmett around, his huge body seemed to shield and protect me.

As we drove, headed I knew not where, Rose tapped my shoulder,

"Bella, please be careful if you meet up with Jasper if he's gone back to Maria..."

She saw Charlotte's glare and started again,

"He has gone back to Maria so don't expect to see Jasper Hale. Sad to say Jasper Hale was an invention of Alice's. When they first arrived at our house we were all scared by the thing Alice had with her and he was a thing, not a person but a half tamed wild beast. He didn't speak unless he had to, he struggled with our way of life and his reputation was pure evil. Satan on two legs. I don't condemn him any longer, once Alice had explained that he was not responsible for his actions, he'd done what he had to in order to survive in a world filled with bloodshed and violence. It worries me that our attitudes and condemnation pushed him back to her, that he lost himself again and there's no one there to pull him back from the brink this time. Alice was a bitch to him but she did what she could for him at first.

I thought about her words, "there's no one to pull him back from the brink this time" is that why fate had brought me together with Peter and the Cullens again? Was I the one? His only chance at salvation now Alice had forsaken him? It was a nice theory but I could see one tiny problem with it, she had been his mate, they connected on a deeper level than normal relationships while I hardly knew him. So why would he listen to me? My head told me to go, get out now, let the others deal with Nathan and The Major. Go home and try to restart my human life.

"What happens if he wont listen?"

Emmett turned his head to me and spoke with a cold finality,

"Then we kill them both. Once Peter catches up we'll have the numbers, especially as they've split up."

"And if you don't kill them? Will they keep on looking for me?"

Emmett shrugged but it was Charlotte who answered me,

"Maria won't let them stay away indefinitely, they're too valuable to her"

"So if I could keep ahead of them for long enough I'll be safe anyway?"

"If she doesn't hear from the Volturi soon she'll know they didn't hear about you and then she'll call the attack dogs off."

She sounded callous to me, calling a friend an attack dog but she knew what she was talking about and I didn't so I kept my peace with regard to that.

"Then lets keep running, no fighting, and no one needs to get hurt. Once Peter tells us they've gone back to Mexico you can go back to your lives."

"What about you Bella?"

"I keep looking for Jasper Rose, only this time I'll be the one doing the hunting."

"Bella, you can't hunt a vampire, especially one as good as The Major, he'll know and he will kill you."

"I still have to try Charlotte"

Rose cut in then,

"God you're stubborn, but I like the new Bella much more"

I smiled at Rose's words which told me she too wanted to help find her missing brother and bring him home again.

"I think I might be missing something"

Emmett sounded puzzled.

"What makes you think he'll even recognize Bella let alone give her time to speak? He had hardly any contact with her when she was part of the family."

Charlotte told him about the photograph and his eyebrows went up in surprise.

"The sly dog! Lusting after Edwards girlfriend"

I shot him a look that stopped him in his tracks,

"Well its true, you were"

"It's the lusting after I object to Emmett. Edward is ancient history."

"Well Bella do you think its normal behaviour for a man who just tried to kill you to destroy himself after running away with your photograph if there aren't some feelings there? Because I have to tell you its the only explanation that makes sense to me."

"You think Jasper had feelings for me? You are crazy Emmett."

I saw Emmett and Charlotte exchange a glance,

"All of you, barking mad."

Why would Jasper be interested in me? It was guilt that made him run, guilt he shouldn't have felt and the only feelings he harboured towards me now were rage, fuelled by his leader Maria.

Peter caught up with us the next day and he looked really worried. Charlotte ran to him, throwing her arms around his neck while the rest of us waited for the next blow to land. Eventually he freed himself and came over to me,

"Bella, Maria's called off the search."

"Why isn't that good news Peter? Because your attitude tells me it's not."

"Because Nathan at least, is ignoring the order. He thinks if he can get you it will increase his standing with Maria."

"And Jasper?"

"He's ready to go back but he won't leave Nathan, he doesn't trust the evil scheming little fucker."

"So what happens now?"

"We stand and fight. It's all we can do. Either that or you run for the rest of your life"

"There is another alternative"

Charlotte broke in hesitantly and Emmett's eyes widened as he understood what she meant.

"Change Bella now? That's suicidal. They'll be on to us before she wakes up and as a newborn she stands no chance against those two."

"I thought newborns were almost unbeatable?" I said intrigued.

"They are under normal circumstances but these aren't normal circumstances. Nothing about this is fucking normal. Both Jasper and Nathan have spent years training newborns, they know all the tricks, you'd be dead in seconds."

"Do we wait here for them or find somewhere to make a stand?"

My question was barely out as I tugged on Peter's shirt and he turned to me grimly,

"I think that decision's already been made for us."

I turned to follow his gaze, standing in the centre of the road about 200 yards away perfectly still, was a vampire. His face like all the others I'd seen was beautiful but marred by a cruelty. He smiled at me as he walked very slowly and deliberately forward.

"So you're the human I've been chasing. You don't look much to me but you've been troublesome to locate"

His gaze went from one to the other of my companions, lingering a moment on Charlotte before finally settling on Peter.

"Captain Whitlock, its been too long. I might have known you'd be mixed up in any trouble. Why don't you just leave while you can, run away like you did before. We're headed back as soon as this little business is concluded, you'll be safe."

Peter sighed dramatically,

"Now Nathan when did I ever run from trouble with you? As I recall you did the running, tail between your legs the last time. Scurried off to tell Teacher that I kicked your skinny ass for messing with my mate."

"Oh yes, the beautiful haughty Charlotte. Perhaps we'll have a return match."

While those two were busy sparring verbally I saw movement to the right of Nathan, Emmett noticed it too. Stepping out from the trees came another vampire, one I didn't recognize at first but seeing Emmett's expression I studied the figure more closely. He stood like Nathan, cool and relaxed but unlike Nathan his eyes roamed across us constantly. His eyes were a vivid red and his face a mask, devoid of all expression. If Jasper Hale were inside this body then he was buried deep because my brain recognised nothing. Not so my heart though, it beat fast recognising something of the man who had attacked me, the one who had changed both our lives and not for the better.