Disclaimer: SM owns Twilight and the characters contained in this story – I own nothing.
Warning: Some darkness in this one.
Well this is it, the final chapter, folks! I promised I'd finish - even if it did take forever and a day!
I just want to take a moment to say how amazing my readers are! Seriously, I've seen other authors get some pretty nasty reviews for taking far less time to update and I've never gotten that from you guys! I'm not sure what I did to deserve such great readers/reviewers but you are all the best and I am so thankful for all your kind and encouraging words! I wouldn't have been able to finish without them. Much love to every single one of you!
Some instrumental mood music to go with this ending chapter (links on my profile): Future World Music - "Quest for Freedom" , Future World Music - "Eternal Love" , Audiomachine - "Eternal Flame"
Okay, so last we left them they were about to engage the Volturi...
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Carlisle, Eleazar, Carmen, Bella and myself were positioned the closest and to the left side of the Volturi, while Edward, Esme, Rose, Emmett and Alice were to the right side. Leaving Kate, Tanya, Garrett, Peter, and Char positioned behind the Volturi.
The plan was for our group to move in first, drawing their attention, while the others then moved in as quickly as possible. If done correctly, we would form a semi-circle behind the Volturi – covering both sides and behind.
They had been arrogant in their approach -just as Carlisle had predicted they would- and they hadn't left any guards patrolling the surrounding forest. All of them were there in a massed group, facing towards Maria; right where we wanted them to be.
Our group made our way down to the ground slowly and carefully. They wouldn't be able to hear the creaking of the branches, but they could still catch a glimpse of movement and then our entire element of surprise would be lost.
Once on the ground, I took Bella's now shaking hand into my own. "What's wrong?"
She stared at the earth beneath her for a moment before finally answering,"You, Peter, Char...you deserve vengeance for all Maria's done to you. But I need to be the one to kill her," she pleaded. "And I don't think I'll be able to stop myself when the time comes, Jasper."
I lifted her chin. "It's okay," I reassured, staring into her eyes.
"But..."
"Rest assured, we will have our vengeance, Bella," I interrupted. "When she burns today, we will be free. It doesn't matter how she gets there; just that she does," I said, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.
"Ready?" Carlisle addressed us.
Bella smiled and squeezed my hand in return. "I am."
With that, we moved toward the Volturi still cloaked by Bella's shield until we were a bit closer. Once in range, Bella dropped the part of her shield over our group that kept us silent and scentless. It was almost comical watching the switch go off as Demetri detected us first.
"Aro! Over there!" he exclaimed, his nostrils twitching and eyes wide. The guard and Maria turned to face the direction he pointed in response.
Perfect.
As all eyes were on our approach, the rest of the groups moved still silent and scentless into their positions.
The Volturi glanced warily around them, taking in the new faces surrounding them. Concern was but a fleeting emotion, as they arrogantly assumed we were no match for them, no matter our current positions.
Aro's mouth opened to speak then, only to shut quickly as the silence was rather loudly broken...
Sexy vampire, I'm falling in love
So just bite me baby and drink all my blood
Oh yeah...
Peter's hand snapped down to his phone and snatched it out of its holder, fumbling with it like a human for a moment. Aro turned and narrowed his eyes at Peter, looking beyond fucking pissed.
I might have said that was a concern, if they weren't here to kill us anyway. However, Char looked like she could burn him with just her eyes – and that just might come back to bite him in the ass after this is all over.
"I have to take this, one minute," Peter told Aro, holding up a finger and turning slightly around. "You've reached Peter's emergency advice hotline..."
"Peter! Oh, Peter, thank God! You have to help me!" a female voice cut him off with a shrill squeal.
That voice was so fucking familiar...
"Betty?" Peter questioned immediately. Ah, yes. Good ol' psycho Betty – fucking wonderful. I wonder if she ever did go donate blood?
"You remembered! You are so sweet; not like the others at all," she mused for a moment. "Anyway, I need some legal advice."
"Legal advice?" Peter asked in confusion.
"That guy I told you that broke up with me? He got a restraining order against me! Can you believe it? I mean that's just...crazy!"
"Why did he get a restraining order?" Peter inquired, although he rolled his eyes as he did so.
"Something about me stalking him. I am not a stalker, Peter! Sitting in a tree and admiring him while he sleeps is not stalking," she explained. "It's...love."
"Yeah, I'd say he's clearly the crazy one," Peter commented, shaking his head.
"I know, right?" she gushed. "Wow, you really get me, Petey. Hey, where do you live?" she asked in a very strange tone – like in those horror movies where the murderer calls them up before killing them.
Peter opened his mouth to comment when she cut him off, "You know what, I can find out myself. I'll just pull up my cellphone satellite tracking system, that I used to keep track of my boyfriends, and then..."
Peter gasped and started poking at all the buttons on the phone before putting it back in the holder at his waist and running a nervous hand through his hair. He scanned our surroundings, almost as if he expected Betty to come running at him with a large butcher knife.
Char pinched his bicep to pull him from his Betty induced hysteria. "I think you were right about the hotlines, honey," he cooed to her. No, her expression did not bode well for him if we made it out of here alive today.
Aro continued to glare at Peter, speechless by what he'd just heard.
"Go ahead," Peter urged, his hand giving a nonchalant wave. "Continue on with what evil things you were about to say."
Aro's nostrils flared before redirecting his attention back to our group. "Such deception, old friend. What is the meaning of all this?"
"Cut the crap, Aro," Carlisle growled, causing jaws to drop and Esme to smile proudly. "We heard everything you and Maria were discussing. And even if we hadn't, we're no fools. You came here to kill us. So let's just drop the act, yes?"
"I had hoped we could remain civilized. At very least you could have introduced me to you newest member," Aro replied in disappointment. "Bella, is it?" he asked, his scheming eyes turning towards my mate.
Bella raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
"That was quite the display; keeping yourselves hidden. Tell me, Isabella Swan," Aro said smugly, emphasizing the fact that he knew her full human name. "Was that all your doing?"
Bella gritted her teeth and her grip on my hand grew stronger before she finally let it go and balled hers into a fist instead, not wanting to hurt me.
She continued to ignore Aro and instead addressed someone else, "Chelsea?"
Chelsea's eyes widened nervously, but she forced herself to not look in Bella's direction.
"Chelsea, we can help each other," Bella tried again.
Aro laughed. "She won't speak to you, nor fight on your side if that is what you are hoping. She is quite loyal, you see," he mock whispered. "And you are all the more gifted, aren't you?" he contemplated, appraising Bella once more. Appraising the fact that she was trying to use his own against him. The admiration and lust in his gaze made me sick.
"Chelsea! Don't you want your freedom? Fight with us today and you can finally have it! This is your opportunity! There won't be a better one," Bella tried a final time.
"Do you know this girl?" Afton whispered to his mate. Chelsea shook her head urgently, glancing up at Aro briefly.
"Afton?" Bella tried another route.
Afton's head snapped up, his pure confusion evident within his eyes as they found Bella's.
"Afton, you are being held against your will. Your mate is being held against her will! She is using her gift to keep you from harm."
Afton looked to Chelsea for a moment before answering. "Lies!"
"How do you feel about Aro?" Bella prodded.
"Aro is a fair and honest ruler," Afton responded automatically, devoid of emotion.
"Is that how you really feel?" she pushed. "Think. Push hard at that thought. Is that truly your feeling or one that's been placed there?"
"Aro is a fair and honest ruler," he repeated, shaking his in confusion at his robotic words.
I glanced to Edward to see what he could read from him, but he shook his head negatively. Afton still wasn't wavering enough.
"Shit. Jasper, what now?" Bella whispered, fear lacing her words. We needed Chelsea. Without her, this was not a fight we were very likely to win even with the newborns.
I studied Afton, his stance protective and fierce beside his mate. I racked my brain for something, anything, that would turn his loyalty or expose it for the lie that it truly was, without Chelsea removing it herself. In the end, it was Chelsea's growing worry and uneasiness that finally set the light-bulb off within my head.
"Would you die for him, then?" I asked bluntly. "If Aro is such a "fair and honest ruler", would you give your life in place of Aro, like all his other guardsmen today?"
Chelsea gasped, her eyes frantic as they searched her mate's. "No. No, no," she whispered.
"I..." Afton began and stopped. He couldn't say that he would give his life for Aro, and the simple reason was that Chelsea wouldn't let him. She had used her gift on him, surely, but she hadn't allowed him to be 'that loyal' that he would ever give his life for Aro, or any of the others.
"Why?" Afton gasped, having finally figured it out himself and turning towards his mate for answers.
Chelsea's shoulders slumped. "Because I had to," she told him sadly.
"I don't understand. Why would you do this? Use you gift on me? Your mate," he asked, his voice full of pain from her betrayal.
"I had to keep you safe. I had to. Please. Please understand," she begged him.
"These people, they tell the truth?" he asked, alarmed. "Aro is holding you prisoner?"
"Yes."
He stood there a moment with his eyes closed and his body unmoving, a war waging within him; his love for her versus her gift.
"Stop it. Stop it right now," he breathed. "Remove your influence from me."
"You don't understand! They'll kill you if I do that!" she exclaimed, shaking him roughly.
"Then so be it," he resolved, opening his eyes and looking deeply into hers.
"No," she whispered, gripping his shirt tighter. "Please!"
"We'll be together again in heaven..."
She scoffed and dropped her hands. "Our kind does not go to heaven, Afton. Don't be a fool."
"You are wrong," he argued, cupping her face in-between his large, pale palms. "End this now, my love. If it is really our time to leave this world, then let us do so freely," he urged passionately.
"Afton," she choked, shaking her head in denial. "Promise you won't leave me," she pleaded desperately.
"Never, my love. I could never leave you for long."
He kissed her then with so much love and intensity that it was hard not to look away from their extremely private moment. "Set me free, my mate. Let me have vengeance for what has been done to you," he whispered against her ear.
"Chelsea! Think before you act, my child. Have I not given you everything you've ever desired?" Aro growled, panic finally lacing his tone.
"You have," she nodded to him, taking a step from her mate's protective embrace to face Aro fully.
Aro began to relax his stance, relief seeping through his body.
"Except for the one thing that I have desired the most," she hissed.
Her arms raised into the air and a gold mist began to swirl upwards from the ground, weaving its way in and out of the guard, touching some and completely passing by others.
"Our freedom!" she growled, giving a sharp nod to Bella in acceptance of her offer. Bella nodded back, a victorious smile gracing her face as Aro gasped.
Aro's anger filled the air. "You and your mate will burn for your traitorous actions!"
The mist continued to whip around the guards, coiling around some like a snake from head to toe before finally stopping at her mate's feet. In all, about half of the guard had been affected by her gift in some way. But the biggest shocker was when the mist touched upon both Marcus and Caius – it was no wonder Aro could never have let her go.
She remained facing Aro as the mist surrounded Afton completely, covering him in a golden blanket.
"You first," she hissed at Aro as her mate's growl rose from behind the golden mist. Afton's loyalty to Aro had finally been stripped away and his clarity had returned.
Today, Afton would have his vengeance.
My eyes looked over to Maria to find her watching intently, a small victorious smile appearing on her own face. This is what she had been waiting for – a crack in the Volturi. Her eyes found mine then, knowing there was no way in hell that I would willingly let her walk away from here today, but unable to resist the opportunity placed at her feet; just as we had predicted.
Afton's growl grew louder as the mist completely fell away and Aro, the man who had kept his mate captive for almost three hundred years, was finally revealed before him with unclouded eyes.
Maria turned then to face her newborn army. "Change of plan, my lovelies. We will help them."
Aro arrogance filled the air at her words.
"Help them kill the Volturi!" she commanded. Their red and black eyes instantly trained on their new opponents obediently, ever hungry for the fight. They didn't care who they fought; they were mindless creatures just as she wished them to be.
"No!" Aro yelled as he took a sudden staggering step backwards in panic, causing his personal guard, Renata, to move off to the side to avoid colliding with him. Renata's hand left Aro's back but for a brief moment.
But it was with that brief moment of vulnerability that the battle for freedom began, as Afton lunged for Aro's throat.
As Afton and Aro fought, thunder erupted as bodies collided and the next phase of our battle plan was put into motion.
Peter, Char, Garrett and Kate pushed their way towards Alec, while Edward, Carlisle, Esme, Eleazar, and Carmen pushed towards Jane. We needed them eliminated first just in case for any reason Bella's shielding were to drop. The rest of us were to help clear for them until they reached their targets.
A large guard took a swipe at Bella, which she neatly dodged. His next swipe, however, took a small piece of my shirt.
His responding grin as he flicked my piece of shirt to the ground at her feet was a huge mistake on his part.
"Oh, you really shouldn't have done that," Bella said, her voice chilling.
I turned and protected my mate's back, his screams of pain the last I heard from him.
The next guard in my path stood still as a statue on the battleground and his confusion slammed into me. Without Chelsea's gift influencing him, he had no idea why he was supposed to be fighting for Aro. His eyes flashed in alarm then as he finally took in my proximity and aggressive stance. His hands raised quickly in surrender and he took a slow step back.
"I...I...," he stuttered, his panic and fear slicing through the air as his eyes darted around for an escape. He just wanted to run, not to fight.
I growled; I would show him no mercy.
He took off in a flash, glancing back only once before picking up speed like his ass was already on fire.
There were many others like him and confusion, panic, and fear swirled heavily throughout the battlefield. Some ran, and we simply didn't have the numbers to chase them down. Some let their fear overtake them and they unwisely chose fight instead of flight. And some, the newborns got a hold of first.
"They're both dead!" came Peter's loud shout.
Jane and Alec were dead. Bella's body exhaled in relief behind me. Her shield was still strong around us, but she had been fearful that one of them would be able to get through if she was distracted enough.
A loud roar just then filled the air.
Afton stood in the center of the battlefield with Aro's head clutched by the hair, arm extended heavenward while he roared his victorious revenge for all to see and hear.
With the death of their brother and leader, Caius and Marcus cast a frantic glance to one another before individually surveying the battleground to assess their remaining guard.
It was then that I too scanned the battleground to check for any casualties of our own and noticed Edward to the far side. He wasn't injured, but he wasn't moving; simply standing still, staring into the eyes of a girl – one of Maria's newborns.
What the hell was he doing? Jesus fucking Christ, why can't these people take care of themselves!
I motioned to Bella that I needed to leave her back for a moment. She nodded, although in confusion as to what I was doing. Chelsea was beside us and saw our exchange. She nodded to me and moved closer to Bella to help protect her while I took off trying to save Edward's useless ass.
As I fought my way through to reach him, I wondered why the hell I was bothering. Once I reached him, his emotions practically swept my feet out from under me.
You have got to be shitting me!
"Edward," I growled, knocking a guard away that was about to pounce on his back.
No response.
For fuck's sake!
"Edward," I growled again, this time shaking his shoulder roughly.
He turned his head toward me finally, his eyes glazed over. The girl's eyes were wide as she focused on my hand on Edward's shoulder. I removed my hand and snapped my fingers in front of his face.
"Only you, Edward, I swear to God. Only you would find your mate when we are fighting for our fucking lives!" I yelled at him.
"She...she...Jasper, she...," he stuttered.
"Yeah, yeah. I know," I said hurriedly. "You need to take her and go, Edward. Get the fuck out of here."
"I...I can't leave," he argued, looking around at the fighting all around us.
"You can't fight like this; you're just endangering yourself, your mate, and everyone else. Take her. Go to the main house and stay there until this is over," I told him.
Mentioning his mate being in danger seemed to wake him up. "Jasper, I'm sorry," he apologized.
"Just go. But, Edward," I said, stopping him a moment. "You're responsible for her. If she hurts any of our family, I won't care if she's your mate – understand?"
He growled in response but nodded anyway, grabbing the girl's hand and leading her away from the battle quickly.
There was a chuckle beside me and I glanced over at Peter and Char finishing off a guard. "You've gone soft, Major," Peter snickered, while tossing some parts into the nearest fire.
"Shut the fuck up, Peter."
"The girl! Focus on the girl!" Caius commanded then.
"Fuck," Peter remarked, his fear hitting me as we watched some of the remaining guard seek out Bella's position.
I watched in terror as four of them closed in rapidly. Chelsea tightened her position against Bella's back and I could see her saying something to her over her shoulder. Bella nodded at whatever she said, continuing to face her opponents – alone.
Two of the guards rushed towards Bella just as a thick gold mist rose from the ground and shrouded her from head to toe.
Char gasped and my panic rose. Was Chelsea betraying us?
It took but a moment to receive our answer, as two of the guards grabbed for Bella through the mist...and then froze.
We watched in awe as they stopped, turned and started to fight against the other two, protecting Bella instead.
"Jesus. I'm glad she's on our side," Peter commented lowly.
I hummed my agreement as I watched Chelsea take care of mate in my absence. An absence that never should have fucking happened. Fucking Edward.
It was at that moment that Marcus and Caius decided that they were losing the battle and both ran. Peter made to chase after them but I stopped him. Even if they hadn't run opposite directions, we simply didn't have the numbers needed to chase anyone down. We would have to deal with them another time.
Fighting my way across the battlefield on my way back to Bella, I was about halfway to her when I noticed that Chelsea was no longer by her side. She was quite a distance away helping Afton with some remaining Volturi guards. I couldn't blame her for that, I would do the same. Mates always came first. Unfortunately, that left Bella alone.
My eyes snapped back to Bella's position in panic, only to find my worst fears become reality. Bella was face to face with Maria.
My feet began to move once more, but there was no way I'd reach her in time through the throng of moving bodies. I watched in horror as Maria's eyes locked with mine, the corners of her lips drawing up into a wicked, vindictive smirk.
My growl was heard easily over the battle as it took possession over my entire body as I watched my mate fight against Maria alone. My gift welled up inside me, causing those near me to stagger. I made the decision to circle around behind Maria, as it would be faster than continuing to fight my way through. Maria had anticipated this move, however, and had one of her more seasoned fighters waiting for me. It didn't take me long to tear him apart. Quite frankly I was insulted that she thought he'd be a challenge at all.
I disposed of him the best I could and then moved in silently behind Maria. Catching Bella's eye, I motioned for her to push Maria towards the tree beside me. She hesitated for a moment in deliberation but made no movement to clue Maria in that I was behind her, waiting. Then with precision moves she pushed her back little by little as they fought. I leaped up into the large evergreen beside me, centering myself on one of its larger protruding branches.
Once Bella had her positioned underneath the branch, I locked my thighs around the branch and I swung down and grabbed Maria around her neck. My other hand found purchase in her hair, wrapping it around my fist tightly. She shrieked as I suddenly lifted her off her feet, dangling with her feet kicking frantically.
"My mate's going to kill you now, Maria," I cooed down to her. I felt her growl against my hand as I squeezed her throat tighter. I refrained from using my gift to incapacitate her; I wanted her to feel every single second of her death.
"Jasper...," Bella drew my attention. Her body was almost vibrating as she tried to control her need for vengeance.
"It's okay," I reassured her. "Tell her who you are, Bella."
Her responding growl made my body tingle. "Fuck. That's right, baby. Show her who my true mate is..."
The last word was still leaving my lips when I felt Bella's first strike. She tore Maria's arms off one at a time and threw them to the side. I'm pretty sure that was because Maria had been still fruitlessly trying to pull my hand from her throat.
"The name's Bella and I'm his mate, bitch," my mate spat at her as Maria continued to struggle in my hold, her eyes now wide with fear.
"And you will never, ever hurt him again!" Bella growled fiercely and then kicked at Maria's remaining torso with such force, it took everything I had to keep hold of her head and stay situated on the branch.
As the rest of Maria's body flew through the air detached from her head, a loud cry of anguish tore through the air. It didn't belong to Maria, and it was a sound unlike I'd ever heard before – so much pain, so much grief. The pain encompassed me, slicing through my whole body and causing me to let go of Maria's head. It tumbled onto the ground below, rolling a short distance before coming to rest. My eyes searched for her body, finding that it had landed in a tree some yards away where it flailed haphazardly, caught among its limbs, unable to free itself without its arms.
I jumped down from the branch and landed next to Bella, whose eyes were frantically searching. I grabbed Maria's head and searched myself. What I saw made my breath sweep from my lungs.
My family.
Battered and nursing their wounds, some worse than others. Carlisle staring down at someone on the ground, his hand tugging at his venom soaked hair while Alice tried to calm him. It was then that he shifted when Alice stood up. Esme was wounded. Her leg was severed at the hip; a gruesome injury but not a fatal one, and not the owner of that cry.
My eyes reluctantly left that scene, searching for Peter and Char, only to find them across the clearing. Peter was fretting over a scratch on Char's cheek, as she tried to reassure him she was fine.
The anguished cry followed by a roar of anger pierced the air once more and Bella took off in a sprint towards the sound as we also heard the distinct sound of a vampire being torn apart.
I quickly tossed Maria's head unceremoniously into the nearest pyre and took off after her. Bella was still much faster than me, and when I finally caught up to her, it was to hear her pleading with the woman she now had pinned to the ground beneath her; the woman who was responsible for the cry of agony and the roar of vengeance.
"Chelsea...no, please," Bella begged, tightening her restraint as Chelsea tried to pull herself forward. She wasn't trying to fight Bella off, merely trying to move forward from beneath her.
Forward towards the fire.
Next to the fire were scattered remains of a vampire; a very large Volturi guard if I had to guess from what was left of him.
"Afton," Chelsea sobbed, her body shaking beneath Bella's. Chelsea's hand managed to slip out from under her own body and her arm extended out, reaching towards the fire.
Some of Afton's ashes were settling at the bottom of the fire, while some of them were still being tossed about in the angry, consuming flames.
Bella looked to me pleadingly, her eyes glassy as she continued to plead and beg Chelsea to stop trying to get closer to the fire. I stared at the fire for an immeasurable amount of time, frozen in place. I'd never witnessed a vampire lose their true mate before. The battles I fought, if there were any mates, they were always eliminated together. The pain, my God, the pain she was enduring at this moment.
"Jasper! What can we do?" Bella pleaded with me, realizing her pleas to Chelsea were having no effect.
My eyes left the fire and I looked down at Chelsea; her fingers clawing through the venom and dirt, desperately trying to reach the fire, to reach her mate. Her cries and sobs of grief piercing the air.
How can she survive this?
My mind raced. Her pain raced faster.
Both came to the same finish, however.
She can't.
I crouched down next to my mate and Chelsea, my hand covering one of Bella's restraining ones.
"We can let her go," I told her in resignation.
"Wha-? No," Bella answered frantically. "But she'll...," her voice trailed off as she realized what I meant. Bella's head shook back and forth in denial as she looked down at our hands.
"I can't just let her... she helped us. She helped me," she choked, her hand beginning to tremble beneath mine. "Jasper," she begged me for another solution.
"Let her go, Bella," I said softly, squeezing her hand in reassurance. "If there is a life beyond this one for our kind... Let her go to him. Let them be together."
Bella reluctantly let her go and we watched as Chelsea crawled towards the fire, stopping at the edge of its flames. I reached my arms out to my mate. Bella quickly sought comfort in my embrace, her face hidden in my chest.
"Afton," Chelsea cried, her palm skirting the flames. "I can still feel you, my love."
The ashes stirred violently at that and the flames reached out toward Chelsea, reaching but never touching.
Chelsea looked back at us then, before slowly standing upright.
"Isabella," Chelsea called to my mate and Bella turned in my embrace to face her.
"I'm so sorry!" Bella cried.
"It is not your doing, young one," Chelsea answered. "But there are others who will come for you. You must not allow them to do to you what the Volturi did to me. They will use whatever weakness they can find," she said while glancing to me and then back to Bella. "You must not allow it. Do you understand?"
Bella glanced up to me before answering Chelsea, "I understand. And I am sorry, Chelsea. If you hadn't help-"
"It was our time," Chelsea interrupted her with a shake of her head and gentle words. "I must go now, he's waiting for me." As she said this, Afton's ashes stirred faster in the fire and the flames grew higher.
"Always so inpatient, my love," she laughed softly before walking into the flames. Her body was gone in an instant, dissolved to ashes and mixing with Afton's.
Bella turned and hid her face in my chest once again, her tearless cries making me hold her tighter still.
As I stared at the fire with my mate in my arms, I saw something that I could not describe; something that made me question everything I had believed for so long.
"Bella. Look," I said, urging her to turn in my arms.
"Jasper," she gasped after having turned, her hand covering her mouth. "How?"
Carlisle and Edward had argued over the years about the fate of our souls. Edward believed we were damned, but Carlisle held to his belief that there was more for us beyond our death. Sure his belief had wavered over the years; being a vampire was not a fairy tale existence, but in the end, he always came back to there being something...more. He just wasn't sure what that something more was exactly.
When I found Bella, I truly thought that had to be everything – mating was our slice of heaven in this existence just as Carlisle had always described. After all, what more could any God offer us – forgive us – cursed beings that we were. I may have come to accept my fate over the years and what being a vampire entailed, but I wasn't delusional about where that left me in the grand scheme of things.
Eternity. The word implies a never ending existence, and yet, we can, and do, die. One thing I knew the moment I touched Bella for the first time, eternity simply would never be enough for me to share with her. My soul wanted her beyond this eternity; beyond all limits of time.
And as I watched Afton and Chelsea being reunited after their existence in this world had ended, their curses finally broken, I drew comfort from the fact that I now knew without a shadow of a doubt, that mates are eternal - not just for eternity on this earth. No matter what our fates, we will always find our way back to one another.
"Because it was meant to be," I answered her.
We watched as they flew from the flames with bodies of ash and wings of fire.
We watched until they flew so high, we could no longer see them.
Someday that would be Bella and I.
Someday our souls would soar together as one.
But not today.
Because today, against all odds...
We had survived. We had won this war.
~O~O~O~O~O~
Some things have changed since that day one month ago...
"Ow! Christ, Rose, that fucking hurts!" Emmett bellowed, flinching away from Rose as she tried to lick another wound on his back.
"Stop being such a baby!" she bellowed right back, gripping his shoulders and pulling him back. Taking a deep, shuddering breath, she bent her head and carefully began licking the wound once again.
"Rose?" Emmett questioned when he began to feel her trembling lips against his back. She stopped her licking and pressed her forehead against his back gently, her body shaking with quiet sobs.
"Rose," Emmett whispered softly as he turned around quickly and caught her against his chest, her body sagging fully against his.
"Shh, honey, I'm okay. Everything is okay," he cooed into her ear while she gripped onto him tighter still.
"You could have died," she whimpered, curling her body into him. He picked her up and looked to me, his eyes sad as he sat down on the ground with her. He held her and rocked her, holding her together while she felt apart.
Rose... strong, confident, sometimes bitchy, Rose... fell apart that day.
Emmett and Rose's relationship changed. He's more protective of her emotionally and in return, she is more forgiving of his antics. Instead of slaps to the head, it's a run of her fingers through his hair and maybe a slight tug to show her irritation. Rose realized that she couldn't live without him, and he realized that she couldn't live without him – he had already known he could never live without her but he always thought deep down that somehow she would be fine without him. Neither of them had truly understood the bond they shared, until now.
And Edward, well, he finally found his mate. His mate, Bree, was doing well integrating into our extended family, though she was a bit overwhelmed at first. Out of everyone besides Edward, Bree seems most drawn to Bella. Maybe because they are both still newborns, or because they are the next closest in age. Whatever the cause, it's really helped her overcome the hell she has been through.
Carlisle and Esme's relationship changed as well after that day. Esme had suffered a severe injury during the battle, her leg severed viciously. They had become overwhelmed with newborns at one point during the fighting. Peter and Char had come to their aid just in time to save Esme from complete dismemberment, but not before two newborns had torn her leg from the hip. Carlisle fought fiercely to get to her, but with three newborns between him and her, he simply hadn't made it in time.
Carlisle tended to her as best he could, trying everything in his power to help her heal, but the wound was quite painful. He went hunting and brought her deer after deer, fed her, and bathed her wound in venom – but it wasn't enough. Finally after weeks, he realized that it was human blood that she needed - much to our relief. Peter and I thought we might have to intervene if he didn't figure it out soon. Peter and Char took him hunting earlier this morning.
Rose stepped out of the doorway, her face grim.
"How is she?" Bella asked.
Esme's sobbing cry answered before Rose could.
"I thought he brought her human blood?" Bella asked in confusion, looking to the rest of us for an answer. We had made her and Bree stay far away as Peter, Char, and Carlisle brought back two humans for Esme. "Is she still in that much pain?"
"No. She's doing much better now. It looks like she'll be healed by tomorrow even," Rose answered.
"Then why is she crying like that?" Bella prodded.
"Carlisle left," Rose scoffed, "And Esme thinks he left because he's upset with her..."
Rose didn't get to finish before Bella was running.
"Shit! Bella!" I chased after her along with Peter and Char.
"Back off, Jasper!" she yelled but continued to track Carlisle's scent trail.
It didn't take long to reach Carlisle near the small waterfall. He was sat beside the water, looking at seemingly nothing. His emotions reeked of guilt and shame.
Bella made no move to slow down and charged him, pushing him into the water before looping back around in a crouch in front of him, so she was between us.
"What the hell?" Carlisle yelled in bewilderment, before eyeing us all behind her.
"You son of a bitch! You don't deserve her!" Bella growled.
"What...?"
"Do you know that your mate is crying? While you are out here throwing yourself a little pity party!"
"Esme is crying?" he gasped. "Is she in pain again? Does she need more human blood?"
Bella shoved him before leaping back into a crouch.
Carlisle growled and I made a move to intervene but Peter placed his hand on my shoulder. "She's fine. He won't touch her, trust me."
"She thinks you are disgusted with her. All because you needed to hunt a human for her! All because she had to drink human blood to heal!"
"What?" Carlisle gasped. "I would never...could never...feel that way about her!"
"Well that's exactly what it looks like," Bella growled. "Why else would you leave your still wounded mate to come out here all upset?"
Carlisle held his hand up, his eyes closing briefly as he sighed. "Please let me explain. I was upset, yes, but not at her - never at her."
"Go on," Bella urged, her posture rigid.
"I was upset with myself. I have been playing human for so long that I have forgotten the most basic instinct: how to care for my mate. My mate suffered because of it. She suffered for weeks because I was clinging to something I haven't been for centuries. I'm disgusted with myself. I wasn't lying, Jasper, I really would kill thousands for her. That's why I'm out here. You're right, though, I don't deserve her."
"Maybe you should have told her all of this instead of hiding out here," Bella chided
"Again, you're right. I need to go talk to her," he said before trying to move around Bella.
She stood in his way, her palm out. "No. Not before you promise that you will never make your mate feel like that again! Or so help me, Carlisle, I will tear you apart and then help Esme put you back together later."
Carlisle glared at her for a moment but answered, "I promise. Now I need to get back to her."
Bella lowered her hand and turned towards me, dismissing him. He took off, careful to give her a wide berth as he passed by us.
Char grabbed Peter's hand and tugged, causing Peter to wag his eyebrows suggestively at her. She rolled her eyes and Peter nodded to us and then they took off as well leaving Bella and I alone.
Bella sighed and was silent for several moments staring off in the distance after them.
"Jasper, Aro had to have known that Chelsea would go against him someday. He had to have seen her thoughts at some point over all those years he kept her prisoner. So why was he so surprised?" she asked suddenly.
"I don't think he ever thought she would get an opportunity good enough to take. He was extremely arrogant and, quite simply, I don't think he ever planned on you," I mused.
She cringed at the last part and my arms extended, reaching for her in response. "Hey, what's going on inside that beautiful mind of yours?" I asked, concerned.
She stepped into my arms immediately, her head lay against my chest. She was silent again and my concern grew.
"Bella?"
She shook her head against my chest. "It's not beautiful. It's dark, Jasper," she whispered, her voice haunting. "What if Eleazar is right? What if I can't control it?"
I pulled away at that, tilting her chin up to look at me. "He's not."
"But it felt good. So good."
"It was understandable to feel good killing Maria. It was your need for vengeance for what she did to me, that's all. It felt amazing for me, too," I tried to reassure her.
She sighed, closing her eyes and reopening them slowly. "You're right. Of course, you're right," she said before reaching up and touching my face; her touch soft and full of love. "What color were they?"
"What?" I asked, confused as her change of topic.
"Your eyes. You know what color mine were, but I still don't know what color yours were," she explained, her gaze piercing and her question distracting. Intentionally distracting, I noted.
"Blue."
"Blue," she repeated before pressing her lips against mine.
We kissed, wrapped up in our own bubble for some time before it was finally burst.
"YES! YES! YES! YES!" the yelling echoed through the forest.
Bella's responding laughter caused her body to vibrate against mine. "What the hell?" I asked incredulously.
"She must have given him the phone," she responded between giggles and more exuberant yelling by Peter in the distance.
She noticed my confusion and after a final giggle she explained, "Char bought him some top of the line phone. One that can't be traced – real spy tech stuff. She must have just given it to him, from the sounds of it."
"Oh Lord." I rolled my eyes. "I really thought she'd make him quit."
"That reminds me, though. I got you something, too," she said sweetly, biting her lip.
"You did?" I gasped, my inner-child coming out.
"It's back at the tree-house," she told me with a wink.
With that I scooped her up into my arms. "What the hell are we still doing out here, then?"
I ran with her in my arms back to the tree-house. The entire way her lips explored my neck and nearly had me stopping several times to take her on the forest floor.
When we reached our bedroom, she laughed at my expression. "You really are excited about this present, aren't you?" she teased. "You didn't even stop and fuck me once."
I growled and tossed her onto the bed, leaping on top of her. "Did you want me to fuck you, Bella?"
"Always," she moaned, her body grinding up against mine. "But not until after I give you your present," she added after a moment, pushing me off of her with ease and standing up.
I shook my head. "Are you teasing me?" I pouted pitifully.
"If I was teasing you would I...," she started before reaching into a dresser drawer and pulling out my present. "Give you this?" she asked, waving the present in the air.
It was my turn to bite my lip in anticipation.
"You are too cute," she laughed.
"Here," she said with a brilliant smile while placing the perfectly wrapped present into my hands and curling my fingers around it. Her smile was infectious and so very beautiful, that I couldn't help but grin back at her with the same intensity.
"What is it?" I asked excitedly, turning it round in my hands and realizing very quickly that it was a book of some kind – it didn't take a genius to figure that much out.
She chuckled. "You aren't very good at this present receiving thing, are you? Just open it and find out."
I ripped the paper, staring into her eyes the whole time. She held her breath as I peeled away the very last piece. I still hadn't looked down to see what it was.
"I hope you like it," she breathed, glancing down at the book herself. I glanced down after her.
It couldn't be. How? How did she know about this? My cock stared in bafflement at the book before he excitedly wagged his pubic eyebrows at her.
My God, so they truly were soul mates all along. I fucking knew it.
I then realized that the Kama Sutra book had some pages already tabbed for reference. I flipped it open and found one of the tabs quickly. My cock almost fainted at the sight. Fuck yes. We would definitely be trying that one. She was staring at me apprehensively, waiting for my reaction. As if I wouldn't love anything she gave me, regardless of what it was.
"Thank you. This is...perfect, actually," I said, still a little shocked and clueless as to how she knew about it at all.
"It's my pleasure," she replied happily, her lips then pressing to mine ever so softly, and far, far too innocent for what I had planned for her.
"It's about to be," I growled against her mouth, quickly pulling her onto my lap and my very happy erection.
She moaned and set the book beside us still opened to the tabbed page, while my cock crumpled his wrinkled and worn position list before tossing it behind him with unbridled glee.
While there were many uncertainties in our future, there was one thing that I was absolutely certain of... We would fight again if the time comes. Because in all my many years as an empath, I'd finally learned what a vampire's most powerful emotion is...
Love.
I'd always thought it was the thirst; for blood or power. But I was so very wrong.
Love...
The very promise of it is what keeps us going; what pushes us towards our destiny. It motivates us, can save us, and can just as easily damn us.
"I love you, Jasper!" Bella cried out as her body arched against mine.
And its power was never to be underestimated.
~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~
"Ending credits" music (link on profile): 30 Seconds To Mars - "Do Or Die"
AN:
~ "That's how the story goes..." ~ ;)
So... How did Bella know about the book, you ask? Did Edward tell her? Is she Jasper's 'cock whisperer'? (hehe)...You get to fill in that explanation yourselves!
Thank you all for sticking with me through this long, long...did I say long?...okay, very long, journey! xoxo
If you are interested, I still plan on posting a chapter of deleted scenes so that you can see what I had originally intended. I also have a scene that I had written for the not-happening sequel that I'll be posting with that as well.
As always, I'd really love to hear your thoughts. :)