9. HE KNOWS

It wasn't much later that the Volturi pulled out of Monterrey to move onto other cities that had broken the one rule. Maria had proven that she had done things right and that her newborns were not causing any trouble. There had been speculations about vampire existence published in Mexico but these sightings were never in Monterrey or in any other territory owned by Maria. The Volturi had no reason to punish her or her coven. Maria was able to sigh a breath of relief when Aro was gone yet she was unsure how she would face Jasper. She decided to pretend that nothing happened. She walked back into the Pueblo and Jasper was still standing in the same spot she had left him.

"Where did you go? What happened?" Jasper started laying on the questions.

Maria rubbed her forehead. "I don't want to talk about it, Jasper."

"Why? Did something happen?" Jasper pushed.

"I don't want to talk about it!" Maria snapped.

Jasper's eyes widened. It was the first time she had ever lashed out at him. She pushed past him to go further into the house. A scent caught in Jasper's nose.

"What is that? That scent… Why is Aro's smell all over you? Maria… What have you done?" Jasper's voice cracked.

Maria closed her eyes and wished that this could all just go away. "I did what needed to be done."

The hurt was breaking Jasper's heart. "How could you do this to me? I thought… I thought you loved me?"

"What do you know of love?" Maria snapped at him. "Everything I do, I do for THIS coven! Creating newborn armies? It was for THIS coven! Killing Nettie and Lucy? It was for THIS coven! Everything is for THIS coven!" Maria felt as though she would cry even though no tears came.

Jasper gritted his teeth. "What coven, Maria? Everything you do, you do for yourself." With that, Jasper turned and walked out of their home.

Maria was left alone with her sadness and guilt. Jasper was right. There was no coven left. There was only Maria and she felt more alone now than she ever had. Several days passed before Jasper came back. When he did he had a few more newborns with him. He tried to act like nothing had happened but Maria could feel the tension. She knew that things would never be the same.

One of the newborns was Peter. Jasper seemed to get along with him the best. He took extra time with him, showing him how to be a better soldier. Peter was more civilized than the other newborns and he did not enjoy the fight, though he was good at it.

Three years went by and the relationship with Maria and Jasper did not get any better. Instead of being a couple they were more like business partners. They needed each other to thrive in the south.

Peter had somehow managed to survive the years, against the odds. The newborns were usually disposed of once their usefulness had worn off but Jasper insisted on keeping Peter around. He was the only real friend that Jasper had now. Jasper put him in charge of the newborns, he was like their babysitter. It was a full-time job.

The time had come to purge again. The newborns were outgrowing their strength; they were due to be replaced. Peter was supposed to help Jasper dispose of them. The newborns were taken aside individually, one by one. In the process, Peter tried to convince Jasper that a few of the newborns had potential.

"Jasper, I don't see why we have to kill them all off tonight. There are a few who I truly think could be useful to us, even without their newborn strength." Peter said.

Jasper was throwing in the last bits of flesh from the newborn they had just torn apart into the fire. It smoldered and sent sparks flowing into the night sky. "Peter, you have to understand this. A newborn's usefulness is only its strength. Once that is gone, then there is no point to keep them around. They're just another mouth to feed."

"Am I just another mouth to feed?" Peter scoffed.

Jasper stopped what he was doing with the fire and looked at his friend. "You know that's not what I meant. You're… different."

"One of them could be different too! How will you know unless you give them a chance?" Peter seemed almost desperate.

"Look, we have our orders. Maria wants us to get rid of all of them. No exceptions." Jasper was tired of debating. He wiped his hands off onto his pants and walked a few steps towards the house. "Charlotte, come on out here will you?"

Suddenly Jasper became very aware of Peter's feelings of anger and ferocity. He spun around to look at his closest friend and eyed him cautiously. From behind he heard the sound of Charlotte's footsteps approaching. She was just past her year mark. Peter's feelings changed when he saw her, feelings of fear, and desperation, and love. They gave him away.

"Peter, what are you doing?" Jasper asked carefully. He knew that Peter was a good fighter, but he was no match for Jasper.

"Run!" Peter yelled at Charlotte. She took off in an instant and he bolted after her.

Jasper thought about chasing after them but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He realized that he wanted Peter to get away. He was taking the escape that Jasper had never had the courage to do. He wondered if he would always be trapped under Maria's influence.

When Jasper told Maria about the escape, she was furious with him, blaming him for letting them get away. It only drove the wedge harder into their relationship, worsening the split. As time went on, Jasper grew more and more depressed. The life that he was leading brought him no pleasure. Maria was mystified by his deteriorating frame of mind. She couldn't understand why the killing was now getting to him. After all, he was the best at it.

Jasper began to notice a change in her emotions when she was near him, fear and malice. They were the same feelings that had given him advanced warning when Nettie and Lucy were about to strike.

The reason Maria began to feel this way was because she could feel Jasper slipping away. She knew that it was only a matter of time before he left her and she would be all alone. She needed Jasper. He was the rock she held on to. How could she live a life without him? She remembered Nettie telling her that she was not Jasper's mate. She was jealous at the fact that there was someone else out there who was meant for him. She wondered if Jasper had already met her. She wondered if Jasper was sleeping with her. All these thoughts and suspicions began to drive Maria mad. She became more and more cruel, especially towards Jasper. It was only a matter of time before she acted on her malicious feelings towards him.

Because of this, Jasper was preparing himself to destroy his only ally, the core of his existence. So when Peter returned five years later, his timing could not have been more perfect. Peter told him about his new life with Charlotte, told him about options Jasper never dreamed he had. In five years, they'd never had a fight, though they'd met many others in the north. Others who could co-exist without the constant mayhem.

Jasper was convinced. He was ready to go and somewhat relieved that he wouldn't have to kill Maria. He walked away without a backwards glance.

When Maria realized that he had left her, her world came crumbling down. She didn't bother trying to replace newborns and the existing ones eventually left her as well. She made no effort to protect her territories and lost all of her holdings. Everything Maria had and everything she had ever wanted were now ripped from her. The pain in her heart was too much to bear. So she sealed it up, put walls around it, and vowed never to love again.