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

Special thanks to Gredelina1 for pre-reading this. This was beta'd by Maxipoo1024 from Sparkly Red Pen.

Sorry about the long wait for this chapter. There was a problem with Gmail and my beta didn't get the chapter until recently.

~ Chapter Twenty-Four — Waiting ~

Jasper POV

All day I had a sinking sensation in my stomach. I knew at any moment Isabella could be facing the Romanians, and I was powerless to do anything to help her. She was unconcerned by their fight, but I was terrified for her. I knew just how dangerous Maria could be. She would not have allied herself with the Romanians if she was not certain she would be the victor.

Isabella… my Isabella. She seemed indestructible when I was holding her, but when apart from me she seemed so vulnerable.

I called her cell phone for what felt like the hundredth time, but there was no answer. She hated cell phones. She had complained bitterly when I had forced one upon her before she left. The only way I had been able to persuade her to take it was when I told her the pain I would suffer if not even able to speak to her.

"Jasper," a voice behind me called.

"What?" I snapped wheeling around to face Carlisle.

"I apologize for interrupting," he said, seeing the silver cell phone in my hand. "I merely wanted to tell you we have arranged a meeting with the wolf pack."

"No, I apologize, Carlisle. I should not have been so short with you. I am anxious about Isabella, and it has me on edge."

"That is perfectly understandable," he said in his usual calm tone. "Have you heard anything from Volterra?"

"No, nothing. She said she would call me when she was finished in Romania."

"I am sure she is fine," he said. "Isabella is well equipped to protect herself. This is what she does."

"That's what worries me," I said, raking a hand through my hair. "When we were facing the werewolf, I wanted nothing more than to attack. If you are correct that it is because I have taken on some of her traits, it worries me that she will be doing the same. It was only Alice's safety that stopped me from fighting; Isabella has no such pull."

"You are forgetting yourself. Isabella now has reason to defend herself for you. You said she is fearful of mating because of how it could hurt you. She will be thinking of that even now."

It was a good theory, but I knew Isabella better than Carlisle. She would become lost in the action and forget about her own safety.

"Perhaps when Alice returns she can search for one of the Volturi to ease your mind," he said.

We had found that Alice was unable to see Isabella with her gift, but she could clearly see others of the Volturi. If I could at least have news of them, I could gauge Isabella's situation.

I had remained at home today rather than going to school with my siblings as I was too tense to manage my gift. At times, my fear would project from me, affecting others around me. It was too much to hope that the human would not notice their sudden waves of crippling fear when in my vicinity.

"What were you saying about the wolves?" I asked.

"I have been able to contact the tribe elders," he said. "Billy Black, a descendant of the last pack's alpha, has agreed to meet with us to discuss what happened with the wolf and to reaffirm our treaty. I was hoping you would come with us. Your gift would be advantageous in keeping it a calm exchange."

I nodded readily. "Of course. I will be happy to assist." It would also serve to distract me from my fears.

Carlisle sensed my need for solitude and went to seek out Esme. I decided I needed more than visual solitude; I needed to be away from others so my emotions were only my own.

I called out a farewell to Esme and Carlisle and made my way out into the forest. My feet moved without direction leading me to the cliff Isabella and I had been to when she was here.

I sat for awhile at the top of the cliff looking out over the ocean. From my vantage point, I could see the shore of the La Push territory. My thoughts turned to the wolves and the approaching meeting. I was sure I could keep the exchange sufficiently calm to avoid violence from the wolves, but I could not be certain my own emotions would stay in check. The last time I had come across a wolf it was all I could do to stop myself attacking.

I mulled over Carlisle's theory again. If this was Isabella influence over me, did that mean she always felt the same urge to fight? Did she spend her life in a constant state of alertness, needing action? I hoped not. I would never be able to satisfy that need. Especially not if she was to join me in my life with the Cullens.

When it grew late enough for my siblings to have returned from school, I made my way home again.

Alice was waiting from me on one of the plush couches in the lounge with Edward.

"You want me to search for Isabella?" she said by way of a greeting.

"If you wouldn't mind," I said. Alice was still a little irascible on the subject of my mate. I didn't fully understand it, but I suspected jealously played a part. Alice was accustomed to being my closest confidant, and Isabella had usurped her position.

She closed her eyes obligingly, and her expression became concentrated as she sought out Isabella. With a frustrated huff she opened her eyes again. "I can't see her."

I hadn't expected her to be able to. Isabella was a shield; she blocked Alice's gift automatically.

"Can you search for another?" I asked. "Aro or Caius. If she is still fighting, she will be with them."

Once again she searched, this time remaining immersed in the sight for longer. She gasped and her emotions reeled with shock.

"What is it?" I demanded, gripping her forearms and shaking her. "What did you see?"

Edward's anger surged, and he pushed me away from Alice.

"I know you are concerned, Jasper, but if you hurt Alice again–"

"Never mind that," I said waving an impatient hand to silence him. "Tell me what you saw?"

"They were running," Alice said. "I searched for Aro, but I saw more of the guard. They were running away from something. They looked scared."

Scared? The leaders of our world were running scared. It was impossible…or was it? Mere hours ago I had been considering Maria and her ability to gauge a cause. She must have known something the Volturi didn't. And my Isabella. What had become of her?

I couldn't stay in the house. The rest of the family had joined us in the lounge, and they were discussing Alice's vision with the enthusiasm of commentators analyzing a particularly exciting football game. Their words and emotions were overwhelming me. I ran from the house and to the garage. Bella had left her bike here when she left, and now I swung my leg over it and gunned the engine. I shot out of the garage door and onto the drive. What I needed now was a distraction. When I made the highway, I pushed the engine to its limit.

My thoughts moved as fast as the tires against the asphalt. Why would the Volturi be running? Was Isabella safe? What could I do to help her?

I wanted to go to Volterra now, but the last time I had done that I had created even more of a mess for Isabella to fix. I could not do that again. Impotent in my fear I forced all thoughts away and focused only on the road disappearing beneath me.

I rode for hours. It was fully dark by the time I pulled into the drive. I made my way into the house with a heavy heart. I was almost afraid of what Alice could have seen in my absence. She was waiting for me and did not wait for my request before immersing herself in the future.

When she came back to herself it was with a giggle. Edward was grinning too. Whatever they had seen, it was amusing them greatly.

"Well?" I asked anxiously. "What did you see?"

"I didn't see Isabella, but I heard her," Alice said. "She, or at least I think it was her, was having a tantrum of epic proportions."

"A tantrum?" I said blankly.

"Yep, she was screaming at someone about being a coward. She sounded positively enraged. Aro looked terrified."

Alice had seen Aro fleeing from the battle, was it him that Isabella was accusing of cowardice? In my human life, to be a coward was the worst possible crime for a soldier. By shirking your responsibility to fight, you were leaving another at risk. Isabella would not accept that from another, not even Aro.

I dialed her number again, and yet again there was no answer.

I threw the phone onto the couch in a temper tantrum. It bounced off and landed on the floor. I was tempted to crush it beneath my foot, but I resisted the urge. If she was ever going to contact me I needed the phone.

"Don't you have a number for the castle?" Alice asked.

"They are a ancient society of vampires protecting the secrets of our kind," I said irritably. "I don't think they have a listed number."

"I know that, idiot, but when we were there that woman on the reception had a phone. I doubt that was just a dummy. And someone called Isabella when we first met her; that was what summoned her home. Someone there has a phone."

I grabbed up the phone again and began dialing rapidly. If anyone would know a way to contact them it would be Eleazar.

He answered on the first ring. "Jasper, how are you?"

"Fine," I said curtly. "I need to contact Isabella, and she is not answering her phone."

"I'm sure she is fine," he hurried to reassure me.

"I know she is physically well, but I would like to speak with her. Do you have a number for the castle?"

"There is a number for the receptionist," he said, confirming Alice's theory. "But none of the ancients would come to that. Aro had a telephone when Isabella was here last, let me just see if I can find the number." I heard the sounds of shuffling paper in the background and then the dialing of a keypad. A moment later he returned and reeled off a telephone number.

I said a hurried goodbye and dialed the number had given me. Before I could hit the call button the home phone began ringing.

Edward picked it up and then held it out for me. "Jasper, it is an Italian number."

I snatched it away from him. "Isabella?"

"No, it is Aro," a smooth voice answered.

My heart dropped to somewhere in the region on my feet. What had happened to her?

"Is she… is she okay?" I asked, not able to complete my first thought.

"She is well, but I rather think we are going to need you."

I exhaled in a whoosh; my relief was overwhelming. "I'm on my way."