Chapter Twenty Three

Peter

As I was running I got the emergency call from Bella's cell phone and cursed knowing we were going to be too late. Alice heard me and skidded to a halt

"I'm going back to the Cullen place if the Volturi are about"

"Good idea. I'll see you back there later."

AS I ran on it occurred to me that I should have asked Alice if she could see anything. She'd been looking out for Bella's future for me but she'd not seen this, and I had to ask myself why? It must have been planned sometime ago and how did the Volturi know where Bella would be tonight? Something smelled rotten and goosebumps rose on my skin. We'd been betrayed or the Volturi were extremely fucking lucky and that didn't seem likely to me.

When I reached her truck I knew I was too fucking late. The driver's door was hanging open and her phone was lying dead on the passenger seat. I saw skid marks on the road and knew she'd tried to escape before being stopped. The Volturi had her now and there was nothing I could do about it. I cursed and rang Charlotte

"Slow down girl, we're too late. They got her and now I've got to let The Major know."

"I'm sorry Peter, do you want me to?"

"Nah, let him take it out on me for now."

Jasper

I'd got the emergency message from Bella's phone and tried ringing her but the call went straight to voice mail, then I tried Peter's but it was also on voice mail. What the fuck was going on? I cursed myself for being too far away to help and waited for the call I knew must come eventually. When Peter got through I knew what he was going to say.

"How?"

"She went to the bonfire and Char left her as arranged, for some reason she must have left early. As soon as I got the emergency call I started out and so did Char. I found her truck on the road between the Res and Forks with signs of a struggle."

"Any blood?"

"No. They took her intact."

"So we can be thankful for small mercies. Its been an hour now so if they plan on flying her out she'll either have to come through Seattle or a private airfield somewhere. Find out where"

"How the fuck am I supposed to do that Major?"

"Just do it Peter and get back to me. I'm on the first available flight to Italy, and Peter"

"Yeah?"

"Try to keep Alice safe"

"Fuck you Major."

In the event I was lucky, there was a flight leaving within the hour and I managed to get a seat in first class, not that I cared where I sat, the wing would have done fine as long as I got to Volterra before something bad happened to Bella. My only real chance was to intercept them on their way, once there she stood no chance at all, and I would have nothing to bargain with to get her out. The flight was long and tedious and the flight attendant took rudeness to leave me alone. I needed to think and be clear-headed when I got to Italy. At the moment I felt almost panic and that wasn't good. I needed The Major to take over with his cool clear head, so much as I hated to I let him take over from here on out.

Peter

When I got back to the Cullen house it was to find Alice hadn't arrived and I thought we'd lost both of our clients in one night but then Rose told me she'd seen Alice the night before packing a small flight bag. When Rose had enquired Alice had told her she might have to leave for a few days. I smelled something and it certainly wasn't perfume. I couldn't alert The Major until he landed but I wondered if Alice was on the same flight, on a flight with Bella and the Volturi Guard, or running for her life unaware that Bella had actually been taken? I wanted to believe the third but I asked Rose to check what was missing from Alice's room. She wasn't happy but she did it and my worst fears were realized. The only things missing were her favourite clothes, her jewellery, her passport, and cash. Alice Cullen was headed home to her father in Volterra. All this time she'd been a mole working for Aro and waiting for his most coveted child to appear in Forks and we'd led her straight to Bella.

Jasper

When we finally landed there was a messenger waiting for me at the airport. The message was from Peter, Alice was Volturi and she'd run home or was running this way. So that's how they'd known about where Bella was. Alice had kept them informed all down the road. I cursed as I tried to hire a fast car. We'd been protecting a sleeper all these years. Aro must have contacted his daughter before we turned up and asked her to stay undercover until his last and most precious daughter appeared then let him know. We wouldn't be a problem because we had assumed Alice was a target. How stupid we had been in assuming anything, we had become lazy and Bella was paying the price for it. I knew it would be next to impossible to save her once she was in Volterra but I had to try. Something in my chest was telling me I had to try, for my own sanity.

Peter

I wanted to follow The Major but it would be useless and far too late. Char arrived at the Cullen house and she was as angry as me about Alice's duplicity.

"Peter he has to get her back."

"Well he's going to try but if she's in Volterra I don't know what he can do Char"

"You don't understand and neither does he, she's his mate Peter."

"What? Why didn't you say anything?"

"I could hardly send The Major a text could I you fool. Neither of them realized and it wasn't my place to point it out before either of them knew."

"So let me get this straight. After fuck knows how many years The Major finally meets his mate but he doesn't recognise her as such and she doesn't recognise it in him either. Now she's in Volturi hands and he's gone to try to get her back and neither of them really knows why? Fucked up or what! We have to contact him."

"No. If he's too late he'll know anyway and if he's not I think it will sink in to one of them. If you tell him now it just puts added pressure on him and he needs a clear head. Anyway let's get away from here, we can wait at a hotel near the airport. That way we're ready to move if he needs us."

I gave her a look but she ignored it and we left driving towards the airport in Seattle to await developments.