Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. No copyright infringement is intended.

Special thanks to Gredelina1, Augustmoon and Mary-Alice-Brandon-Cullen for pre-reading this. This was beta'd by Maxipoo1024 from Sparkly Red Pen.

Chapter Sixteen — Introductions

Isabella POV

I walked toward the throne room in silence. Jasper trailed behind me, his eyes fixed on the ornate doors at the end of the hall with a frozen expression. I was so caught up in what I was about to do when I saw my brothers, I had forgotten just how daunting this may be for him. Taking someone else's needs and feelings into account was a new experience for me. Unexpectedly, I found I liked it.

"It's okay," I said, giving him an encouraging smile. "Don't be nervous. They are more scared of me than you could ever be of them."

He huffed a laugh. "You are an incredible woman."

My smile grew even wider. "Oh, I know."

They knew I was here and had no doubt heard me coming back, but their expressions were still something to savor as I swung open the doors and entered the throne room. They quickly schooled them into something a little more dignified.

"Isabella," Aro said as he glided towards us, "your return soothes my heart. And Jasper too. It is so good to see you."

Jasper nodded curtly. This was perfect; I had no doubt he was remaining silent as he didn't know what to say, but to the witnesses it would look as if he was treating Aro as an equal. As my mate he would draw attention from those that knew of me. This would all help to build up an image of him as a fierce man not to be trifled with.

The guard was congregated in the room again, watching our exchange carefully.

"You can leave us," I said, forcing my features into a smile.

They trailed out one by one, Jane last. She gave me a searching look as she passed, and I shook my head. As tempting as it was, I had no desire to keep her here to use her gift for myself. In truth, I had no desire for her to exist at all; she and Alec were unholy beasts, but I accepted that they were necessary for our cause.

When we were alone, and I was sure there was no one listening in I turned my attention to my brothers and dropped my false smile. Aro visibly stiffened.

"I am angry," I said simply. "But I apologize for the way I made my exit before. It was thoughtless of me. Has it cost us anything?"

Aro shook his head. "Their loyalty is as strong as ever, especially to you. You have given them plenty to talk about, though."

I nodded thoughtfully. That was good. They could talk all they liked to each other. It was the news reaching our enemies that worried me. I gestured to Jasper.

"This, as you know, is Jasper Whitlock. He is my mate, and you will treat him and his coven with the same respect you would me."

To his credit Aro did look a little abashed at my not-so-subtle reminder of his manipulations.

"Of course. Welcome, Jasper. I apologize if recent… events, caused offense, I was merely hoping to hold you and your coven members here for Isabella's return. It would have been a terrible waste if you had missed one another."

Just as I suspected, he was finding a way to turn it in his favor already. He really was a master manipulator. Aro's hand twitched toward Jasper. I knew what he wanted, but he was not going to get it. Jasper's memories and thoughts were his own and not trifles to entertain Aro. I took Jasper under the protection of my shield and blocked Aro's reaching hand. He frowned but didn't protest.

"Have I missed anything of importance?" I asked.

"There have been developments," Caius said, casting Jasper a cautious look.

"He will not be leaving," I said firmly.

It was unheard of for anyone outside of the four us to be in these discussions. Even the guard didn't know half of what was happening until we had decided a plan of action. Jasper was my mate, though, and I realized this was an important moment. My insisting he be present for this set his place at my side in both his mind and my brothers'.

"We destroyed a Romanian vampire a month ago that had been sent as a spy," Aro said. "He was gifted and they hoped we would want him for the guard, but the gift was of no value to us. He didn't know much of their plans. Stephan was careful for once, but it bears watching."

"Stephan and Vladimir lead the Romanian coven," I explained, seeing Jasper's confusion. "They are the only two of the original coven that we warred with for a millennia. We could have destroyed them centuries ago, but Aro finds it amusing to see what ideas for our destruction they come up with next."

Jasper frowned. "So they are constantly attacking you and you let them?"

"Once a century or so we sweep in, destroy their army, and leave them to try again," Caius said. "It serves as a warning to other hostile covens. And Isabella enjoys it too."

Jasper gave me a searching look, waiting for me to disagree, I wouldn't; I enjoyed the occasional all out war.

"I have to find my entertainment somehow," I said lightly. "I have news of them too. I checked into Romania before I returned and found they are building an army of newborns. I saw thirty, and they were very young."

Jasper's eyes widened. He was shocked at the number. He was used to the numbers of the southern wars, small covens building small armies. Vladimir and Stephan were capable of creating ten times that number and managing them well. They were once the rulers of our kind. Just because their number had been decimated, did not do to forget that.

"How many mature vampires did you see?" Caius asked.

"Only one, a female, but I did not see Stephan or Vladimir. There could have been more inside their lair."

The last time we had fought them they had taken to surrounding themselves with a guard a lot like we did with our own. We had destroyed their guard then, but they had plenty of time to form a new one. I wondered if they had learned the value of psychic gifts yet, or if they still relied on physical strength alone.

I held out my hand to Aro and when he took it, I showed him the small female.

He laughed delightedly. "But this is just too perfect. That is not just any vampire, Isabella. That woman is Maria."

Jasper visibly stiffened. "Maria?"

"Yes, indeed, your creator had evidently returned to her old ways. She is managing Stephan and Vladimir's newborns for them. I would have thought she had more sense than to return to the battleground.

The Southern Wars ended over eight decades ago. The humans had become too vigilant to allow the practice to continue, and we were forced to step in more and more often to cover exposure. The territory wars ceased, and the old armies were destroyed or disbanded. I had not met Maria at the time, though I had my part in dealing with the armies. She must have belonged to one of the groups that saw the end coming and moved before our arrival. It was a strange coincidence that the female I had been so close to today was the one that made Jasper who he was.

"I don't understand," Jasper said quietly. "Why would she return to the fight after so long."

Aro gave him an assessing look. "You would know her mind better than any. Why do you think she would join with Stephan and Vladimir?"

He was quiet for a long time before answering. "She misses the thrill of battle. She was always happiest in the midst of the action; retirement would not have satisfied her."

I would have felt the same way, and yet it was a choice I too was facing. I loved my life, but my tie to Jasper was stronger. He could not stay here with me. The place would destroy him, yet the idea of joining him in his sedate coven was not tempting. It was not a question for now. I needed to deal with the Romanians first.

Caius nodded contemplatively. He enjoyed a fight as much if not more than I did, and he could sympathize with Maria's need for action. "I suggest we prepare a hunting party," he said with a cruel smile. "Scout the area first, and then move in for the kill."

"I agree, but I think we should…" I trailed off as the sounds of thudding hearts and muffled voices reached us from the tunnels. Heidi was returning with a meal.

"We have to leave!" I said frantically.

"I apologize, we didn't know you would be here," Aro said as I glared at him.

I hurried Jasper towards the door. He looked offended at my obvious panic, perhaps he thought I was doubting his control. I wasn't. It was myself I was worried about.

We made it to the reception area before we encountered the group. Heidi's steps faltered as she saw me, her tour guide spiel paused for a moment, before she hurried on. I would deal with her next time. There were people in that group that were still practically children. It was not acceptable, but now, I had to get out before the blood started flowing and the hearts stopped beating. I led Jasper back to my quarters and slammed the door behind us.

"I can control myself," he said angrily. "You didn't need to drag me away like a wayward child. I would have resisted."

I was caught off guard by his anger. "I know that!"

"What will your brothers think of me now? I understand you have the power here, and that affords you a certain expectation of the way you are treated, but just because I am not Volturi, it doesn't mean I don't deserve respect too, Isabella. To drag me away like that will have voided any chance I had at gaining their approval as your mate. They will think I am nothing more than a pet."

"Jasper!" I shouted, my own anger was rising now. "What just happened has nothing to do with you and your ability to control yourself."

"Then why did you behave like that?"

"Because I am the one with the problem," I growled. "I could not be there while they fed because of what would happen to me."

He gazed at me, his eyes searching for answers I did not want to give. I did not want to, but I would. I thumped down on the chaise lounge and hid my face my face in my hands.

"I cannot feed from humans." I said. "Or rather I cannot feed directly from humans without terrible suffering."

"I don't understand."

"Have you heard of the human phenomenon of life flashing before your eyes?" He nodded. "I see it," I said simply. "When a human dies with me I am forced to relieve their life with them in those last few moments. Just like you feel their fear, I see their life. It is unbearable. My early months were spent in near constant state of horror. The burn of the thirst drove me to feed, but with each feeding I would see another failed life. I almost went mad with it all."

"That why you have so little opinion of humans."

"Indeed. Every single one of them regrets something as they die, and it is usually something petty and pointless, then I see the next person making the same mistakes. It is maddening."

"I imagine it is painful too," he said, giving me an assessing look.

I opened my mouth to argue, but realized there was no point. He alone of anyone understood how this felt.

"Agonizing. I would stop myself from feeding for weeks at a time, and then the thirst would become too much to bear. When they discovered the problem they look to draining the blood for me, and I would feed from a receptacle, but, as I'm sure you can imagine, that was disgusting. It wasn't until I discovered that animal blood could sustain us that I began to enjoy my life again."

"I am sorry you suffered," he said, raising a hand as if to caress my face and then dropping it again. "And I am sorry for my anger, I misunderstood."

"It was understandable," I said. "Perhaps I should have explained it to you sooner. You are the first outside of the coven and Eleazar to know this about me. This is my greatest weakness."

Or rather it was. Jasper was now my greatest weakness. Such was the nature of mating.

Thanks for reading. If you would like a teaser of the next chapter let me know in a review or a PM.

Simaril x