~ Chapter Twenty-Seven — The Treaty ~

Jasper POV

We made the journey back to Forks at breakneck speeds with me clinging to Isabella's waist as she twisted and swerved around the corners. She was happiest riding her bike, and I soaked up the ecstatic emotions radiating from her.

All too soon, the journey was over and I was directing Isabella to the concealed driveway that led to our house.

I knew that our arrival was clearly audible to the family, given the roar of the engine, but instead of meeting us on the porch as I suspected they wanted, they remained respectably inside.

"It's not what I expected," she said, pulling the bike to a halt at the front of the house.

All sounds in the house cut off as everyone waited to see what she would say. Esme was very proud of the work she had done on the house and if Isabella insulted it, there would be five very unhappy vampires inside.

"I imagined from what you said of your human lifestyle you would live closer to them. This is nice and private, just like Eleazar's house."

"We only pretend to be human when we are with the humans," I said patiently. "When we are alone, there is no need for the pretence."

"Apparently not. It's really quite beautiful," she said looking at the delicate woodcarving on the porch balustrade—a hobby of Emmett's.

I felt a surge of pleasure from the house that I was sure was Esme's. I was glad she was happy. I wanted them all to see just how wonderful my Isabella was, and if she had begun by insulting our home, it may have complicated matters somewhat.

I proffered an arm to Isabella and she took it. Walking side by side, we entered the house. As I looked around the room, I noticed someone was missing. Rosalie. She was undoubtedly waiting for the right time to make her entrance. If she thought a sweeping arrival down the grand staircase was going to impress Isabella, she was very wrong.

Carlisle rose to his feet to greet us. "Isabella, it is lovely to see you again," he said with obvious sincerity.

She smiled beautifully at him. "You too. I would apologize for the way we parted last time but you all know I wouldn't mean it. I am, however, glad that we have a second chance to get to know each other."

Everyone looked to me, unsure how to react. Isabella was, to them at least, still a mystery. I smiled and held her a little closer to me.

Isabella was looking around the room with interest. She spied Edward's baby grand on the plinth and gave it a look of longing.

"Do you play?" I asked. I hadn't seen any sign on musical instruments in the castle, but I was still learning about Isabella and the fact she had a hidden talent for the piano would not have surprised me.

She shook her head. "No, I have never learned, but I enjoy the music. Do you?"

"No, Edward is the musician of the family."

"I could play for you sometime," he offered tentatively.

Isabella unleashed one of her dazzling smiles at him in return. There was no preparing oneself for one of her smiles, and I was amused to see Edward fell victim to it as easily as I did.

"I've got something for you!" Emmett announced, not to be outdone by Edward. "I'll be right back."

In the blink of an eye, he was gone from the room; a moment later, I heard the sounds of fabric rustling. Whatever he had for her, he had hidden it in a closet. He came downstairs holding a poorly wrapped package in his arms. He handed to it Isabella with flourish.

It was clear from the musky scent that it was a bear skin, but Isabella pretended to be oblivious as she took it from him and tore into the gift-wrap. It was of course the skin of the bear she had brought home the day we met her. Emmett had turned it into a beautifully crafted rug.

Isabella held it up in front of her and stoked her hand across the fur. "It's beautiful," she said. "Thank you, Emmett."

He beamed with pleasure. "I have found a nice looking black bearskin for you too," he said eagerly. "But the bear is still wearing it. I thought we could take a hunting trip while you are here."

"That will be nice," she said. "It has been a while since I hunted."

That was not strictly true, we had both hunted just a day before, but I realized she was pretending otherwise for Emmett's benefit. It was unexpectedly kind of her, and I really appreciated the effort. The choice to have her live among the coven was dependant on the family's ability to accept her as much as it was about her own sacrifice. She was off to a good start.

"So, how are things in Volterra?" Esme asked carefully.

"Busy," Isabella said with a sigh. "It is very crowded there at the moment. I am glad to be away. That's not to say it is not exciting to be there. The time spent preparing for a fight is almost as good as the fight itself."

"You're preparing to fight the Romanian coven, yes?" Carlisle said.

The tension in the room increased palpably. Carlisle had met the Romanians in his travels before he changed Edward. Though he would not class them as friends, he cared for them as he did all vampires he came into contact with.

"Their army," she said.

"Is there a difference?" Edward asked.

"The army they have created are the threat, they must be destroyed, but I don't think Stefan and Vladimir have done enough to warrant destruction. We usually show them… I suppose you would call it professional courtesy. Unless they openly attack us, we will leave them plot again. It's more entertaining that way."

Emmett guffawed. "You rock! You know that, right?"

Isabella looked to me with a raised brow. "Is that a good thing?"

Her ignorance of modern phrasing was amusing and endearing. I supposed there wasn't the opportunity to learn slang when living among the Volturi.

"It is a good thing," I whispered.

"Oh, well in that case, yes I do know," she said, smiling at Emmett.

"Personally, I don't find destroying others of our kind to be a reason for adulation," a snide voice said from the staircase. Rosalie had decided to make an appearance.

"Of course you don't, dear," Isabella said, with a kindly expression. "We can't all contribute to the world as greatly as you. We must take our opportunities where we can."

"Carlisle is a doctor!" she spat.

"Indeed, and I admire him for it, but we were talking about you. How exactly do you contribute, other than by keeping the school system supplied with willing minds?"

Edward swallowed a laugh poorly. Emmett was looking cautious. He sensed the change in Isabella, and though he did not fear for his mate as he had before, but still he was concerned.

"Jasper does the same thing as I do," Rosalie said, jumping to the defensive. "And you don't seem to mind him not contributing."

"Actually, Jasper had spent the last few days training our guard to fight. Thanks to him, we have a good chance of coming through this fight without casualties. I would say that is a significant contribution."

Rosalie didn't reply. Instead, she thumped down on the couch beside Emmett and scowled.

Isabella seemed supremely unconcerned by Rosalie's bad temper. She was gazing out of the back wall of windows with a peaceful expression. When she spoke, it was in a soft, thoughtful tone. "Alice, would you mind if I utilized your gift for a moment?"

I was surprised Isabella asked; she never had before. Alice clearly was thinking the same as she gaped at Isabella before she regained the power of speech.

"Um, sure."

"Is there a way to focus on a specific person?"Isabella asked.

"Yes, if you concentrate on the person you want to see, you should be able to see their path."

Isabella nodded and then her eyes fell closed as she concentrated. I knew when she found what she wanted as she smiled. Her eyes snapped open again and she answered my unspoken question.

"I was checking on Tomas. He is fine; Aro is speaking to him."

That didn't sounds particularly fine to me, but if Isabella was happy so was I.

I could feel the curiosity in the room. The family were unaware of Tomas. I thought this would be a good time to demonstrate the softer side of Isabella.

"Tomas is one of the Romanians' newborns. He was captured and Isabella has been taking care of him."

"He misses his mate," Isabella explained.

"If you are taking such good care of him, why haven't you sent him back to his mate?" Rosalie asked, bitterness dripping from every word. She had no concern for Tomas; she was just using the opportunity to aggravate Isabella.

"Because if we allow him to go back to his mate he will also be going back to Stefan, Vladimir and Maria, and they will use him for information."

"So you're scared of working with an even playing field?" Rosalie said cuttingly.

Isabella fisted her hands in her lap. She was struggling to control her temper.

"No, you nitwit," she said coolly. "I am worried about the means they would use to get the information from him. I don't imagine Tomas would sell me out willingly, but there is only so much pain one can take before you tell all.

Rosalie started to respond but Emmett — bravely in my opinion — clapped a hand over her mouth.

"How about we give you a tour of the rest of the house," Esme said enthusiastically, jumping to her feet.

Isabella smiled, and gripping my hand firmly, she stood to follow.

xXx

"Look at them," Isabella said in an awestruck tone. "They're magnificent."

We had finally rearranged our meeting with the werewolves. We were standing at the edge of the river that marked the boundary line between our land and the Quileute territory, and the wolves were slinking out of the trees.

Isabella had been with us a week and other than occasional spats with Rosalie all had gone well. She had dazzled the rest of the family as completely as she had me. Even Alice was forced to see the good in her now we were all together.

I recognized the grey wolf that had attacked Alice and me. It stood at the right of the biggest black wolf that I assumed was the leader. On its left side was a deep brown wolf.

"There are three," Carlisle whispered. "Just like the last pack."

"Three is enough," Edward replied.

"Not enough to go around," Emmett said with evident disappointment.

Carlisle shot him an admonishing look, but Emmett seemed supremely unconcerned. He was thirsting for a chance to fight a wolf. He saw them as worthy challengers.

Isabella seemed unconcerned with their obvious power; she was staring at them as if they were a rare work of art. I recognized the expression, having seen it on Aro before. They evidently shared the same love of curiosities.

Carlisle stepped forward and opened his arms in a show of greeting. "Thank you for coming. I'm afraid I do not know your names."

"Our names are unimportant," Edward said in a monotone voice. He was apparently speaking for the wolves. When he spoke again, it was in his usual tone and he sounded a little irritated. "I am not going to repeat that. In fact, if you won't do us the courtesy of speaking politely I won't be speaking for you at all."

The wolf in the centre growled and then walked back into the trees.

"Well that didn't last long," Isabella said, sounding disappointed.

"He's coming back," Edward said. "He is changing into his human form so he can insult us for himself."

Isabella laughed. "Well, this should be interesting."

A moment later, an enormous man stepped out of the trees. He was barefoot and wearing only a tattered pair of shorts.

"I am the alpha of the pack." He crossed his arms over his chest. His expression was hard and did not inspire confidence in this going smoothly.

"It is a pleasure to meet you," Carlisle lied shamelessly. "I am Carlisle Cullen."

If Carlisle hoped to gain some ground with the introduction, he was wrong. The man seemed irritated by our presence alone."

"He is Sam, and the others are Paul and Jared," Edward said, picking their names from their thoughts. "Paul is the one that attempted to attack Alice and Jasper."

The grey wolf growled and the one called Sam bristled. "You were on our land."

Isabella smiled. It was not her usual dazzling smile; it was a mocking smile that was better suited to Caius than to her. "That is a lie, and you know it."

"And who are you?" Though Sam's voice was even, his emotions betrayed his unease.

I grinned, enjoying the moment. "This is Isabella, one of the leaders of our world."

"You have leaders?" Sam asked.

"Indeed we do," Carlisle said with evident enjoyment. "Our leadership is a little more complex than that of your pack. We have four leaders and they have a hierarchy of their own. The four leaders are called the Volturi, and they have a guard of sorts."

"A guard," Isabella said in a musing tone. "Carlisle you do us wrong. We do not have a guard; we have an army. An army that is in fact about to wage a war."

The man, Sam, visibly paled. I could see that he thought Isabella was referring to his pack. As much as I would have enjoyed fighting his wolf, seeing my mate intimidate him was far more entertaining. "A war?"

Isabella smiled again. "Indeed. A war. A group has been working against my coven. Soon we will go to war with them. There is an army of over fifty vampires training as we speak. Their role is to annihilate our enemies." She tilted her head to the side and examined the wolves with an assessing expression. "Are you my enemies?"

"We have a treaty," Sam blustered.

"Not with me you don't. Your treaty protects you from Carlisle and his coven; as you have heard, I have my own coven." She paused for effect. "And you attacked my mate."

This was extraordinarily satisfying for me. I could feel the fear rolling from the wolves in waves. They were scared out of their wits. The grey wolf that had attacked Alice and I whined and rocked back on its haunches. It was apparent that it was regretting its hasty attack now.

"We are not your enemies." For someone fighting outright panic Sam did a good job of maintaining a calm façade. One day, if given time to grow into his role, he could be a great leader.

Isabella clapped her hands together in an eerie impression of Aro at his happiest. "Wonderful. I never like making enemies; it is always tiresome to destroy them."

With that enigmatic statement, she threaded her arm through mine and pulled me away from the clearing.

"Isabella, what are you doing?" I whispered in her ear.

"Leaving so Carlisle can make his apologies and reorganize your treaty, of course." She smiled brightly. "He can explain that I am a little touched in the head, but powerful, and they can go away happy but respectful. It's the soundest solution for us all."

"And you don't mind?"

She laughed. "Not at all. Coven dynamics are important and Carlisle needs a chance to reinstate himself as the leader before the wolves. I wouldn't have spoken up at all if they hadn't been to obstinately stupid."

I turned back and saw Carlisle was shaking hands with Sam. From the low voices I could hear that she was right. Sam was agreeing to maintain the territory lines and to avoid contact between the family and the pack as much as possible.

I smiled and pulled Isabella to me and pressed my lips to hers in a searing kiss. "You are a remarkable woman."

"Oh, I know." She smiled.

I laughed. I had no memory of ever being happier than I was in that moment. I had the love of my life with me, my family, and the conflict with the wolves was resolved. Life was good. Life was also unpredictable. At the moment phone rang in my pocket.

"Hello?"

"Jasper, it's me, Peter."

"Hey, Pete. How are you?" My tone was amiable. I hadn't heard from Peter for some time and I was hopeful that the phone call portended a visit. I wanted him to meet my Isabella.

"We're fine; it's you I'm worried about."

My brow furrowed. "What have I done?"

"That's what I'm wondering," he said cryptically. "Maria is looking for you."