AN: Everyone's either in Volterra or on their way to Volterra. The only exceptions are those with the Hybrids; Demitri, Leah, Felix. The Healers will join them in South America soon.

S. Meyer owns twilight

CHAPTER 18

BPOV - Volterra

We ran back to the plaza and checked on the Volturi coven, they were badly shaken and needed time to heal. Char and I left our mates to tend to them as her and I ran through the streets, searching for any enemy soldiers. We came across a scent trail leading out of Volterra.

When we passed through the city gates we saw Aro and Picia dismember the last two enemy fighters. They saw Char and I approach and piled up the bodies for me to burn. Char quickly briefed them as I incinerated the attackers. They ran through the gates of the city. I drew the fire back into me, a pile of ash was all that remained from the attack. I quickly scooped up the ash in my cloak and ran back to the plaza. I caught up with Char, Aro and Picia quickly. Aro and Picia were looking at their city in horror.

Char was consoling them as best as she could. I dumped the ash from my cloak with the piles of ash from those burnt within the walls of Volterra and dusted myself off. I returned to Aro, Picia and Char. Picia was sobbing against Aro's chest, his eyes were glazed with venom. "We're here for you, Aro. Together the Horsemen, Volturi, Werewolves and Spirit Walkers will ensure this will never happen again." I said firmly. He nodded stiffly, still shocked by the scene in front of us.

Esme limped over to us and hugged me. "Thank you." She sobbed, she moved to Char and thanked her as well. Aro and Picia led her back to the others, she was walking oddly. Char and I followed behind them. I could hear Esme gasp with each step, Aro picked her up and cradled her gently, heading towards Marcus. She gripped her side, a few of her ribs were broken.

I looked at the coven in front of the castle. The others were healing slowly. Char and I joined Aro, Picia, Mark and Alec as they helped reattach limbs and assess injuries. Aro asked Jane and Evan to retrieve the wolves, Theresa, Jake and Eliza from the airport. They headed for the garage and I heard them drive away.

Caius was beginning to recover, he had deep gashes around his neck, his pendant was missing and his cloak barely held on. Dora was covered in dried venom, but she looked in better condition than her mate. There were deep wounds along her arm and I could see cracks slowly healing in the skin around her shoulder. Her dress was in tatters. Marcus' face was cracked from his fore head, down his right cheek to his chin. There were a few bite marks on his shoulders, he'd lost his cloak in the battle. The black t-shirt he wore was torn.

Looked over the rest of the Volturi coven. Alistair's sleeves were ripped in places and Alice was trying to reattach a few chunks of skin. I was surprised to see her white hair and blue eyes. Like Jane and Alec, she wasn't trying to hide her appearance, she was too concerned about her mate. The young girl from the guard looked exhausted and was tending to the Human as best as she could, he was writhing in agony in her arms. There was a deep gash down her leg. A few of the lower guard were having limbs reattached and the elite guard were looking worse for wear, Chelsea was tending to Afton, Renata and Corin.

Aro stepped out in front of our group. "I wish to speak to you." He addressed the crowd, we hushed. "Thank you for defending our home, I'm grateful for your efforts. Thanks to you all we will endure." He paused for a moment and hesitantly announced. "We'll be receiving guests very soon. I beg you to accept them into our world. They are good people who aim to lead a life free of prejudice." He looked at Alice and Jane and smiled. "Vampires aren't the only creatures in the supernatural world. There are many species who enrich our lives. I guarantee your safety and the safety of our species among the guests who will arrive shortly. I ask that you welcome them and accept their presence in our world."

Caius stood up, his jaw was tense from pain. "I'd like to thank our friends, the Horsemen, for their swift arrival and assistance in our hour of need." Many in the coven cheered. There were a few wary faces among the group. One girl put up her hand, "they have heartbeats?" She asked. Aro nodded, "they do, they are also part of the supernatural world. They are part vampire. When you were first introduced to them you would have seen them as vampires, they had red eyes, but no heartbeat. On their travels they joined with the other species. It is their job to follow the guidance of Fate with total impartiality. They are guardians, protectors." He explained.

"Will we be forced to change, like they were?" Another member of the lower guard asked. Aro shook his head "definitely not. We are vampires and we will remain vampires."
"What other species are there?" Another guard asked, I recognized him as one who joined the Volturi after being captured by us in the Vampire Wars. "There are powerful humans who connect with the spirits of their ancestors and the spirits of their animal guardians, there are witches, healers, protectors and werewolves." Aro said as calmly as he could.

A few of the guard looked scared while others looked fascinated. Aro continued. "Please give them a chance before you judge them. They have every right to exist and we cannot tolerate those who are quick to condemn others because of their species." Aro said. There was silence. Marcus looked to the guard and said "if you have any concerns please raise them with us directly. If you feel you cannot accept them for who they are you may leave us. We cannot insult our guests by forcing you to be civil to them if there is hatred in your hearts."

Marcus looked at the guard, he squinted his eyes, searching for a change in their loyalty. I saw J touch Aro's hand, passing on the details of the guards' emotions. Marcus repeated the gesture, informing Aro of any change in loyalty. Aro's eyes narrowed as he singled out a few of the lower guard. "You have a problem with our alliance?" He asked them.

Another member of the lower guard we'd captured in America nodded, "we're supposed to be a master race." He spat. Aro growled. "If that is truly what you believe you have no place in our world. There is no master race-" The lower guardsman interrupted Aro. "You're deluded. No wonder we were attacked. Those rebels saw your weakness, how long before the rest of the vampire world revolts against you?" The man growled. His eyes turned black.

"Let me make this clear to you all. Any attack on an honored guest will be met with immediate death. I see a few of you agree with this fool, that line of thought nearly wiped out the human race millennia ago. The reason you exist is because we got rid of the old tyrants who exterminated many of your ancestor's communities."
"I will not stand by while you let our world be overrun by weaker species." Another guard yelled. The Elite Guard looked at the arrogant guards in disgust.

Aro lost his temper, he swooped over to the mouthy little shit and gripped his neck. "Do you see? Do you see what kind of hell your ideals cause?" I gaped, Aro was showing the little shit his past. Those who had been unsure of the alliance move away from those who were against it. They seemed horrified at the prejudice of the vocal protesters. "Aro, they will not be swayed." Marcus announced. Aro let go of the arrogant shit and stepped back.

"What is your decision?" Caius asked. The Elite Guard were unanimously in favor of the alliance. A few of the lower guard agreed while most were hesitant to decide without meeting the guests first. There were seven in the lower guard who were against the alliance.

Pete touched Aro's hand. Aro growled. The two of them moved forward, Aro offered his hand to the Elite and Lower guard. In groups of five they touched Aro's hand to receive the message from Pete. The mouthy guardsman who was vocally against the united races smirked. "You lose. The vampires will rise against their pitiful leaders. Your pets won't be safe." He sneered.

"Death" Caius called, he gestured me forward. I ignited my shield and watched the vocal guard burst into ash, the flames were attracted to him like a magnet to metal. Pete walked through the group and threw a couple of others toward me, they exploded against my shield.

He walked back and nodded at me. I withdrew the flames from my shield. Marcus spoke softly, "is this what I can expect? Has our race grown so blind as to think of themselves as masters of the world? You reap the rewards of our hard work. Will you turn against us now without even considering the welfare of other creatures? Do you think us soft in the head?"

One by one the Wives stood by their mates, Alice and Alistair joined them announcing "we respect the new world order. We trust in the Masters to bring us into an era of peace and compassion." Kachiri from the Amazon Coven echoed Alistair's words. One by one the Elite Guard stood and repeated the pledge. The lower guards men repeated the gesture and bowed to the kings. J stepped forward and announced, "the Horsemen will work with the Volturi to ensure the safety of all supernatural creatures. Fate will guide us in our duty."

Two limos came into view, Jane, Eliza and Alec had returned with the wolves, Theresa and Jake. They parked close by and Theresa ran to us, looking over the guard and their wounds. She rushed to the human who was screaming in agony and opened her bag. "Death, I need your assistance." She called. I knew she needed living flame, she stacked a pile of leaves near the human, I brought out my warmth and ignited the shield around my fingertips, it was so easy to control now. I knelt and the flames jumped to the leaves. Sweet smoke drifted into the air.

"Aro, could you get more blood, please?" Theresa asked, he nodded and walked into the castle. Fred, Briggita, Brenna and Aaron joined him. She turned to Pete. "Conquest, I need your gift." She said. Pete's eyes crinkled, he was smiling behind his mask. It appeared that his name had changed since our transformation. He walked forward, Jake added a few more leaves to the small flames. Peter stood next to Theresa and held her hand. Theresa's hand glowed similarly to dad's. The human calmed. They had managed to take away the pain of the change. The guard was watching them in shock.

Caius stepped forward and bowed to Theresa. "Thank you for travelling to meet us, Alpha." He said, smiling. Theresa chuckled, "just call me Theresa. You must be Caius, it's great to meet you." She said. Dora approached her and thanked her for her help. Marcus and Esme introduced themselves, they moved to Jake and repeated the gestures. Jake looked a little flustered and asked they call him Jake.

Aro and the werewolves returned with bottles of blood. Theresa brought the thermos I'd put in her bag, she turned to me "this came in very handy. I was able to make a healing tea. Thank you for your foresight, Death." I waved her off and felt my cheeks heat up. Fuck! My blush is back! "No problem, Theresa. Happy to help." I murmured. Fred tipped a little of the blood out of each bottle and into an empty bottle to make room for the healing tea.

Briggita topped up the bottles with the tea from the thermos and passed the bottles to Brenna and Aaron to distribute to the wounded vampires. The guard accepted the bottles gratefully and thanked the werewolves. I saw Marcus smile. They'd done it, the wolves, Theresa and Jake had won over the guard with kindness. The Masters led us into the Castle. The wives and guests behind them and the guard following. Esme looked much better, she wasn't hobbling or in pain. The wounds were closing among the injured guards and the cracks disappeared from Marcus' face.

There had been more than one victory today. Alice and Alistair walked with Jane and Alec, we joined them, marching as representatives to the Hybrid species.

JPOV

The suspicion the guards had felt turned to shame, they had watched Theresa in awe and felt moved by Jake and the werewolves' compassion. The guard took turns introducing themselves to the guests. We were surprised as a few pushed past their fear to thank us for helping them defeat the Rebel Army. The Masters dismissed everyone for the night and led the wolves, Theresa, Jake and us to their quarters.

Alice, Alistair, Jane, Evan, Mark and Alec went to their rooms in Marcus' quarters, the werewolves were in Aro's quarters and Jake and Theresa were in the rooms next to ours, Bella and I were back in our bedroom. I closed the door and slumped in relief. Bella removed my shoes, socks, cloaks and masks. I kissed her deeply, undressing her. Her hands gently unbuttoned my jeans, she lifted off my t-shirt. Her lips kissed my chest, directly over my newly beating heart. I felt it flutter in my chest and smiled. I felt human.

I picked Bella up in my arms and carried her to the bathroom. A large, deep, bath had been added along the eastern wall, jet's lined the tub. I lowered Bella so she was standing next to the tub and turned on the taps. The room filled with steam, Bella opened a draw under the sink and pulled out a cotton bag, it was full of sweet smelling leaves. She dumped the cloth bag into the water. I sat down and lifted Bella onto my lap. I could feel myself relaxing. The tension oozed out of our muscles.

Bella turned carefully in the water, her legs gripped my hips. She kissed me deeply and ground her hips against me. I felt myself harden and grazed my fingertips over her nipples. She shuddered. I moaned as she sucked on my neck. I felt her trail kisses down my chest and stomach, her lips wrapped around my cock and I growled lowly as her head bobbed up and down in the water. It had been a while since we had time to ourselves. This was our first time being intimate in our new bodies. I felt my heart speed up from adrenaline and I felt a mix of euphoria and desperation. She sucked harder and bobbed her head quicker. This felt so different.

I could taste the salt on my skin from the sweat. I panted, but it wasn't from lack of oxygen, it was from the changes in my body as my mate pleasured me. My hips moved against my will, thrusting into her mouth. My back arched and I felt my muscles tense and release and I came hard. Bella surfaced with a gasp, I pushed her back against the side of the tub and lifted her hips, her arms and legs hung over the side of the bath. I licked up her slit, increasing the pressure against her clit. She gasped and jerked. I supported her weight, cupping her arse in my hands as I licked. Her muscles tensed and released with each movement. I plunged my tongue into her, she pushed against my face, needing more.

I gently moved my finger to her arse, adding slight pressure to her hole. We hadn't done this before. She moaned and asked for more. I slowly moved my finger inside her and kept running my tongue up and down, in and out. My finger was half an inch deep into her. She rocked her hips, pushing it deeper. Her muscles clenched and she panted heavily, pushing harder onto my finger. I moved it in and out slowly. Her back arched and I felt her clench around my finger as she came. I pulled out and lowered her back into the water. She sighed happily. "I wasn't expecting that to be so good." She breathed. I grinned.

I was starting to feel a little sluggish, my eyelids felt heavy. We got out and dried each other before lying on the bed naked. I cuddled up to her, she wrapped a leg over my hip and nuzzled into my chest. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the feeling of her breath against my skin.

I was in the Throne room. Something felt odd. Aro, Marcus and Caius were there, as were the guards. I looked next to me and saw Bella, Pete, Char and Demitri. Wasn't Dem in South America? I was confused. I felt weird, unsettled. I looked around the room. Jake was lying along the Master's laps in his wolf form, Caius was giving him a belly rub. What the hell was going on?

The scene changed, Bella and I were skinny dipping with all of the male vampires we knew. Edward and Carlisle were at the back of the group, splashing each other and laughing. I was relaxing against the wall of a swimming pool with Bella beside me. The men were groping her tits. I tried to growl, but nothing happened. "I think something's wrong" I said to Bella, "I don't like how they're touching you." I was trying to stay calm, but the frustration was building. "It's Thursday J." She said, I had no idea what that meant.

The scene changed again. I could hear laughter. I saw Maria, she was dressed like a child and skipping rope. Charlie was smiling at her, encouraging her to jump higher. "You won't kill any humans if you don't learn how to jump." He said cheerfully. I looked around in shock "I can't believe it's not butter!" I screeched. For some reason I expected the Volturi to understand I was not happy with Maria and Charlie being friends. They turned and laughed at me, I looked down, my cloak had been shortened, it ended at my hips and I wasn't wearing any pants. I started to run. I opened the doors to get out of the Throne room and walked onto a beach.

The sun was hot, I was so thirsty. Rose and Em were sunbathing, their skin glittered. There were humans staring and pointing. I ran over to them and covered them in sand to hide their bodies. It wasn't working. Rose raised her eyebrow "are you finished, Jasper?"
"Rose, something's wrong."
"Of course something's wrong. I haven't got a lobster." She huffed and lay back down. Em ignored me.

I kept walking and started to cry, none of this made any sense. I decided to lay back on the sand and give up. Something tickled my skin, I looked down and saw small beetles crawling over my naked body. I tried to lift my arm to brush them off, but I couldn't move. I was trapped and covered in beetles. I tried to call for help, but no noise came out. I felt the ground shake, my heart thudded in my chest and sweat dripped into my eyes. Something soft touched my lips, but I couldn't see. The shaking got worse, there was a rumbling. Was there a storm coming? I felt myself calm down, I could feel the soft mattress below me and Bella's body close by.

I was breathing heavily. My fingers twitched, the movement felt normal. I opened my eyes. My head felt odd, groggy. Bella was looking at me in concern. Her eyes were puffy. "Were you crying?" I asked her, my voice was a little husky, I needed to drink something. "No, J. We were asleep. You were having a nightmare." I looked at her in shock. Information bombarded me as I put together the clues. I had been dreaming. I groaned "I don't like sleep." I grumbled. "It's not that bad when you can't remember the dreams, mine were really vivid. It wasn't as pleasant as it was when I was human." Bella said.

My stomach grumbled, Bella and I looked at each other in shock. "You're hungry." She gasped. I thought about drinking blood, but my throat didn't burn. I wasn't thirsty. Bella grinned excitedly. "Let's get dressed and try some human food." She rejoiced. I nodded and flitted around, changing into yoga pants and a tank top. Bella grabbed a similar outfit and we walked into the Hall way. Aunt Dora was already there. "Hi Dora." I grinned. She looked at me confused. "Hi Jasper, I saw you five hours ago. Is something wrong?" I felt strange, time felt different. I was confused. Bella patted my shoulder and let me think.

"Sorry Dora, J just woke up from his first nap in almost two centuries, he's feeling out of sorts." She explained. My stomach grumbled again. Dora looked at my abdomen in curiosity. "I think J's hungry, we're going to try and eat human food." Bella explained cheerfully. Dora looked worried, "okay, I can cook something if you'd like." She offered. I thanked her and we followed her to the kitchen.

Bella was inspecting the contents of the refrigerator. Her excitement grew and she brought out a white cardboard box, whatever was inside smelled pleasant. Dora stood back and watched as Bella opened the box and pulled out a cannelloni. She took a large bite and moaned with pleasure, I felt myself begin to harden. Damn blood supply! I subtly sat down at the table, hoping they hadn't noticed my pants begin to tent.

I watched Bella stuff another pastry into her mouth. Dora chuckled in amazement and turned to me, "is there anything in particular you'd like for your first human meal?" She asked, I shrugged. Bella mumbled something while her mouth was full. We didn't understand it, she swallowed and said "pancakes please." She winked at me and helped gather the ingredients.

Pete and Char entered looking bewildered. "Did you fall asleep too?" I asked, they nodded grimly. "The Ancestors told Pete to go to the kitchen. I decided to follow." Char explained. "Apparently we can eat human food now." I said, I was still very confused. Bella smirked and pushed a cannelloni in my mouth. I was surprised by the flakey pastry, the creamy custard and the sweet chocolate. I groaned, it was fucking fantastic. I force fed Pete and Char some pastries. I wanted to share the experience with them.

Pete's stomach grumbled and he looked down in shock. "You're hungry." I said smugly. This was how Bella felt when she informed us of the weird things happening to our bodies. Bella was foraging through the refrigerator again. She pulled out a can of whipped cream, chocolate syrup and strawberries. If pancakes were anything like the cannelloni I'd trust her opinion. She was our official guide to modern food.

Dora was watching us in amusement as she started handing out plates with a stack of pancakes on them. Pete handed his plate to Bella so she could 'modify' them. She covered them in whipped cream, chocolate and a few sliced strawberries before handing them back to him. Bella modified the next plate for me, then did the same for Char and herself. I waited until they all had their food. I had manners after all.

Pete poured us cups of coffee and added a lot of milk to three of the cups, handing a cup of black coffee to Bella. She thanked him and grabbed the whipped cream, spraying it in my, Peter and Charlotte's cups. I looked at her in confusion. "Trust me" she said, grinning. I licked the cream. It was sweet and pleasant. Bella gulped her coffee and groaned in pleasure, I felt myself start to harden again and cursed my new vascular system again. Pete took a big bite of pancake gawked at Dora in awe. "You're amazing." He said, crumbs falling from his mouth. She giggled at him "don't chew with your mouth open." She scolded playfully.

I cut a square from the pancake, dabbed on some chocolate sauce and cream and cut a sliver of strawberry. I put the mixture in my mouth and chewed. This was even better than the pastry. I swallowed and took a sip of coffee, it was kind of nice with all the milk and cream. I remembered the taste of 'coffee' from my human days, back then it hadn't been made from coffee beans, but anything else we could find. Our town had minimal resources. Modern coffee was infinitely better.

Bella was staring at me, I grabbed a napkin and dabbed my mouth. "What's wrong?" I asked. "You're such a dainty eater." She gasped. Huh? I looked at Pete and Char, they were almost finished their food. Pete had rolled up the pancake and added a thick layer of whipped cream. He was struggling to open his mouth wide enough to fit it in.

I laughed softly and endeavored my second bite of pancake, I cut a square, dabbed some cream and chocolate sauce and cut a sliver of strawberry. I chewed, swallowed and sipped my coffee. I looked up from my plate. Pete was trying not to laugh as he chewed, Char and Dora were frozen in shock and Bella was grinning. "You're so fucking adorable, J." She gushed. "I don't see what the big deal is, I'm enjoying the food and trying to get an equal ratio of chocolate sauce, cream and fruit." I explained. Pete started to choke, Char slapped his back and glared at him "eat like J is." She ordered. I smirked, I had mastered eating properly.

Bella began to laugh. "I'll be back." She said as she raced out. I shrugged and cut another square of pancake, covering it with the appropriate mix of condiments and ate it. Pete calmed down and tried to copy me. I rolled my eyes and prepared another mouthful of pancake. He took a bite which looked similar to mine and huffed, "fine, you eat better than I do." He conceded. Char smiled at me. I heard Bella return, we ate in silence for a bit, enjoying the food.

"Did you guys dream?" I asked Pete and Char as we finished eating. "Yeah, it was disorientating." Char said. Pete and I cleaned up as Char and Bella talked about their dreams. "I thought I was back in high school. We were in the cafeteria, I could remember the taste of the cafeteria food." Bella said, she cringed. "I dreamt Pete and I went horse riding. He fell off and broke his arm." Char said. Dora was watching us with total interest. "Thank you for cooking for us, Aunt Dora." I said politely, my human manners had returned. I saw Bella blush and began to laugh, she hated blushing.