Chapter Twenty Five

Alice

I had realised that staying with Carmen and Eleazer would be hard on Edward and I, the girls were genetically unable to leave any male within their view alone but I was used to that and they knew I would see any moves before they made them, I would be ready. What neither of us were ready for however was the questioning, the endless questions about Bella Swan. If only I had seen her coming to pick Jazz up and warned him then Tanya wouldn't have seen her but once she had the questions were never going to stop. It wouldn't have been quite so bad if he hadn't insulted Tanya just before hand. She was livid that he had refused her for what she saw as a skinny, unattractive human child. I thought she was being terribly unfair, Bella wasn't a child and she was very pretty besides we didn't choose our mates consciously and I thought Jazz and Bella made a nice couple. Edward had taken himself off with Eleazer out of the firing line leaving me with the three sisters all equally curious about Bella.

"Where did he meet her?"

"How old is she?"

"Who are her parents?"

"What colour are her eyes?"

"What dress size is she?"

"Can she even read and write yet?"

I answered the first few questions but refused to get involved in Tanya's catty character assassination.

"Irina, you should have seen her. Long dank dull mousy brown hair and cow eyes. She dressed like a matchstick draped in cloth and she's round shouldered. She looks like a timid little mouse. If she knew Jasper's history she'd run screaming, probably wet her pants. She's a child, barely out of diapers so what he sees in her I can't imagine. He can't possibly find her sexually alluring, it would be like going to bed with a dead fish. He'll soon wake up when he gets her training bra off and sees what she's got to offer him. I've seen bigger bumps on an ant."

"So, why is he following her round like a puppy Alice?"

I ignored Kate's question but of course Tanya had an answer, when didn't she?

"He fancies some young meat perhaps. It must be years since he took a human girl. She wont last long when he loses control. All they'll find is a lump of bloody flesh. Maybe he wants to drain her while he fucks her"

Carmen who had come into the room unnoticed wasn't having that kind of talk in the house and Tanya was sent out to clean her mouth and head.

"I'm surprised at you girls. Jasper is a friend, family, and you talk of him like this. I don't want to hear another word about him or the human girl Bella. Do you understand? If not you can go now."

Kate and Irina went quiet, they knew Carmen meant her words. She rarely got upset but when she did you'd better watch out.

When Edward reappeared with Eleazer he looked much better and came to hug me,

"I think I can control myself now. I just have to think about something else, a kind of visual side track. I didn't think it would work but I really feel I might be getting somewhere Alice."

I asked him to go for a walk with me, anything to get away from the house and the atmosphere but of course he'd read the girls thoughts.

"They really don't like Bella do they? Its crazy being jealous of a girl they've never met. Jazz wouldn't look at them twice anyway."

"They think they are Gods gift to men and don't understand one who doesn't fawn over them"

"They scare the crap out of me, I don't know how Eleazer puts up with the sexual tension in the house. Why don't they just find themselves men and get out?"

"I think their gift is also a curse Edward. All men want them and they want all men. One will never be enough but a thousand wouldn't satisfy them either. I'd hate to be like that."

He pulled me close and kissed my cheek,

"I'm sorry I forced you up here Alice. I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough to control this urge, I really tried."

"I know you did and I never saw you actually attack Bella so maybe you were stronger than you thought but it couldn't be easy for Jazz either and he needs time with Bella. They have a lot to learn about each other and he can't relax with her if he's worried about you all the time. Anyway she's going to be joining the family sooner or later so this break with Eleazer might be just what you need."

"Have you seen her join the family? Become a vampire?"

I shook my head,

"No because nothings been decided yet, I have to wait until she finds out our secret and I think Jazz will keep her in the dark a little longer. He wants her to love him thinking he's just a normal guy not that our brother ever was just a normal guy."

Edward looked at me with a wry smile,

"I really believe you have a soft spot for him Alice. Should I be jealous?"

"No, I love you Edward. I just admire his inner strength, the way he broke free of the hell Maria kept him in and made something of himself. I don't think I could have come back from that, could you?"

He hesitated and then shook his head,

"No I don't think any of us could, he's a very special person Alice even if he annoys the hell out of me sometimes."

We stopped talking about the others after that, instead finding a quiet spot to make out for a while before heading back to the house.

The closer we got the more agitated I felt although I couldn't say why, I hadn't seen anything to concern me but I got the impression that trouble was coming, serious trouble but not who it concerned or where it was coming from. Maybe I was still under the influence of Tanya's temper tantrum although I didn't think she was dangerous. Just a bitch when she didn't get her own way. Back at the house we found they had visitors, vampires I'd never met before and Carmen hurried to introduce us to the three newcomers.

"Alice, Edward, these are friends of Eleazers from Alabama. Connor, Siobhan, and their friend Olivia."

We shook hands and then sat down talking about the Cullens, every time we met a new vampire they always asked about our diet and the famous Dr Carlisle Cullen. Some thought we were crazy, others admired our perseverance and strength of will and of the three here it was a two to one split in favour of us but then as these were friends of the Denali's it was pretty much what I expected. The quiet one was Olivia who had only joined Connor and Siobhan recently. Before that she had been a nomad travelling with her mate mainly in Southern California, New Mexico and just over the border.

"What happened to your mate?"

"He was captured and killed by one of the crazy Mexican covens. We'd heard of them and usually stayed well away from their territory but this time we got a little too close. They give you two choices, join them or die. I knew Sean wouldn't join them, so they killed him"

Neither Edward nor I said very much but we both wondered if Sean had been captured and killed by Maria. Edward stared at her for some time and I wondered what, if anything, was upsetting him about her but I had no chance to ask him until they left the next day. We spent the night talking about singers and Edwards problem in Forks. Siobhan had met a singer once and understood the terrible need. She seemed impressed that Edward hadn't killed Bella straight away and drained her on the spot.

"Its almost impossible to stop yourself once you get the scent. The kill is worth it though Edward, the taste of a singers blood is like no other, I can still remember it now even after all these years."

Of course Tanya couldn't help regaling them with the news that Edwards singer was supposedly The Majors mate. She never called him The Major normally but did it to emphasise how ridiculous she thought the idea. I hadn't realised just how angry Tanya was at Jasper's attitude to her but he had made a bad enemy there, not that the knowledge would upset him at all but even so I thought Carmen and Eleazer allowed her too much free rein considering Jasper was family.