A/N: Sorry for not updating in a while. I had meant to update sooner, but I stayed at my sister's house longer than expected and only wrote periodically instead of everyday like I normally do. I am back now and will be going back to my normal updating schedule. Now for the story… with Maria arriving, this could make this complicated. We'll see. CrazyKitCat, thanks for the help. Enjoy!
PS…For those interested, I have finally published my first novel. It is titled, Another Chance by Maria Vickers, and is available on Amazon as a paperback and an e-book. Thank you!
Chapter 53 – Controlling
"Maria," the word escaped from Jasper's mouth. This was the last person he expected to see. It could have been anyone, but her. In the past, she had tried to convince him to come back to her, and he had always managed to escape her clutches – of course, she hadn't really been trying. Now she was here and he could feel how much she enjoyed this confrontation. This wasn't good.
"As you can see. It's me in the flesh. When James told me that he needed help, I thought about turning him down, but now I'm glad I didn't. As soon as I saw Edward Cullen, I knew you would be there, my darling Jasper," Maria cooed, her eyes solely focused on her former underling and lover. She didn't care about the others, she only wanted him.
Fear coursed through Jasper's body, and if it was still beating, his heart would have been going a mile a minute. With his family and his mate standing with him, he shouldn't fear anything…at least, not when it the odds were in their favor; however, Maria's presence complicated everything. Before she had turned him, she had already won a great amount of territory in the South, and with him, her power had grown, but she had not truly needed him because she had her own set of gifts. Gifts which helped her to defeat the enemy, get rid of those who opposed her, and kept people loyal to her – though they were mainly loyal out of fear. While he could influence and feel emotions, she could control people on a different level. It wasn't quite like Chelsea of the Volturi, she didn't bind people to her, but sometimes you found yourself doing something without realizing how it all began…and it only happened when she was around. That was how their whole affair had begun. One minute he had been inspecting some of the training that had been going on in the holes; and the next he could remember, he was hovering over Maria and thrusting into her. After a while, he accepted his fate and became her true lover believing himself in love with her and deluding himself into believing she felt the same. The missing blocks of time, stopped happening once he willingly gave in. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew fucking her had been going on longer than he could recall.
When Peter and Charlotte left, Maria could have easily gone after them, killed them, but they were nothing more than extra baggage to her. In her eyes, they were not needed, especially since one of them had been scheduled to die. As long as Jasper remained, she was happy. Her gift could only be used on one person at a time, his could be used on her whole army. Maria did what she could to hold Jasper even closer to her, making him feel claustrophobic and antsy; and just as he was about to blow, she turned her back and left him for a moment, and he broke free. He ran as far as he could, not stopping for days, before he felt he was far enough away from her. He waited for a short period of time to make sure she had not come after him before he went looking for his friends.
Jasper had to admit that he was a little surprised that she had not come after him immediately, but at the same time he had felt relief. That is until she suddenly appeared days after he had split the first time from Peter and Charlotte. It was like she had been watching him. He had refused to go with her, and she accepted. Maybe she could see his determination, or maybe it was all a game to her and she was toying with him like some animals with their food. He never knew. She popped up a few more times, and even tried to convince Carlisle to give him up, and yet, he always managed to stay out of her clutches. If she was waiting on something, he never knew what it was; and to be honest, he was a little afraid of what she was planning.
Alice used to tell him that she couldn't see Maria making any moves in the future, so he should be safe, and Edward would say he saw nothing untoward in her mind, but there was always something in the back of Jasper's mind that told him all was not as it appeared. Would she make her move today? Stepping in front of his mate and family, he would not take the chance and allow her to do anything to them.
"JW? Who is that?" Bella questioned curiously. This woman appeared to know her mate, but his posture, the way he stiffened, and the fear he was feeling told her this stranger was bad news. Maria? She knew that name. And then it dawned on her. Could it be that Maria?
Laughing, the woman across the field spoke in a mocking voice, "I'm his keeper. Who are you?" She breathed deeply, momentarily closing her eyes, "You smell of him."
"Stay back, Bella!" Jasper ordered and thrust one of his hands behind him to push her backwards. He didn't trust Maria at all. That small observation could mean Maria wanted Bella dead, and he would do anything it took to keep his mate safe.
"Major, be careful," Peter warned. He too remembered what it was like to serve in Maria's army, and Jasper hadn't been the only one who upon occasion found themselves with a small bit of time missing from their memory, nor was Jasper Maria's only lover. Any male she decided to keep beyond their first year of life, would find themselves in her bed at some point in time. Jasper was her favorite and the most willing, but she did not discriminate. She called it their initiation and no one could refuse her. Peter had tried, however, somehow he still wound up coming out of a trance, lying on his back, with her riding him from above. He won't say it wasn't pleasurable…it was. After all, he was a guy with a healthy libido, but there had always been something about her that made him wary. Plus, his friend had considered himself in love with her, so why would he even consider doing something like that behind Jasper's back.
Charlotte was on guard. This was the woman who had wanted her dead, had planned on killing her after a year, and thankfully she had failed. Maria was dangerous. There was a reason the woman had survived as long as she had, and Charlotte was pretty sure it was more than just luck.
Growling to her left, drew Maria's attention and she laughed again, "Jasper, did you find new playmates? Did you tame them like the animals they are?" She did not fear the wolves who were snarling at her. They would not be able to touch her. Narrowing her eyes, she sneered, "Woof, woof."
Sam and the rest of the pack were not in a pleasant mood. Their plan had gone awry from the start and now this bitch had shown up. He wanted to kill her, to rip her to shreds and then he would decide what to do about the Cullen coven. They were supposed to attack Paul, to kill him, and instead, Sam and the pack had to take care of the rogue wolf on their own, and Paul had not gone down without a fight.
The wolves snarled and snapped at the cold one in front of them, and before their alpha could give the order, Jacob leaped into the air with the intent on slamming is prey down to the ground. He missed. The sing song voice coming from above him told him that. Jumping back, he lifted his head to look upwards and found her. Those red eyes were mocking him, laughing at him for missing. A rumble started in his throat and then spread to his chest, coming out of his body as an echoing growl. The growl led to a loud bark and he jumped towards her, but she was about four feet out of reach, taunting him.
"I don't think so little puppy," she smirked. Her eyes widened and then, she jumped, and would have landed directly on her foe if another one of those wolves had not knocked her out of the air. Grabbing one of the legs that pinned her down, she looked into his eyes and said, "Let me go."
Sam saw the leech jump upwards and then come down towards Jacob, and he acted on instinct. Leaping into the air, he knocked her down to the ground and pinned her. And then everything went blank.
Hearing her command, Sam walked backwards. "Sit down," she ordered. Sam sat. "Roll over," she said, and he did exactly that. "Good doggie. Now protect me from your friends." Sam spun around and growled at the pack.
The other pack members were in shock. How had this happened? What kind of vampire was she? If they tried to attack, Sam would either get in the way and get injured, or they would get injured. "Stand down," their alpha's command rang in their heads. They could not fight it, as much as they wanted to do something, they couldn't. Not with the way things were. They would have to bide their time.
"Peter, take the others and git the hell outta here," Jasper demanded. He would not leave his coven within arm's reach of Maria.
"Major," Charlotte tried to argue.
"Out!" He shouted.
"Char, don't argue. Carlisle, we have to go," Peter barked.
Nodding, the coven leader helped Peter to herd everyone away from the clearing. This whole situation was turning more dangerous as each second ticked by.
When Peter grabbed her arm, she wrenched it out of his grasp, "No! JW!"
"Leave, Bella!" Jasper snapped.
"No!"
He spun around and grabbed her shoulders, "You have to go. I don't know what the hell is gonna happen, but she's more dangerous than anyone else we have ever faced til now. You need to get the hell outta here or something might happen. I don't want you hurt."
"I don't want to see you hurt either!"
"I need you to leave so I can take care of her. Peter, Charlotte, take her with you," he pushed his mate towards his friends, trusting that they would keep her safe and away from danger. Jasper turned around again to face Maria. He could hear how Bella fought against them, but just as he did, his friends knew how to deal with newborns.
Another laugh, "Scared of what I may do to her? I have no interest in her. I only want you."
"Well, I hate to tell ya this, but I don't want you. In fact, I think I would rather go through the burning or deal with a rattle snake than to go back with you."
"She's your mate. No?"
He crossed his arms and tried to appear bored, but he felt more on edge than he could ever remember feeling in his lifetime. "No. She is just part of the coven."
"Don't try to fool me. I know who she is. Edward and James fought over her. Each one thought they had the right to her, that they would take her away from you. Edward lost many times from what I understand. I hear he was even emasculated by James and enjoyed being fondled by him."
"You assume."
Her smile widened, "No, I know exactly who she is to you. Do you really think you can protect her by sending her away?"
"I'll do whatever I can to keep her away from you. So were you the one that created James and his fire wielding friend?"
"Me? No. That was not me. My brother on the other hand, yes, he did that. Right before we found you wandering around, I killed him because he was no longer of use to me. And yes, it was my real brother, born of the same mother. Different fathers though because from what I can remember, she would spread her legs for anyone. I was taken away, kidnapped and raped and then I was changed. My brother followed and tried to save me and was bit himself. He was left for dead and then woke up to a new world the day after I was bitten. He was subdued by the man who had taken me, and we stayed for two years, and then we killed the man who made us."
"And you killed your own brother."
"Of course. He was no longer of use to me, so why not?"
"What do you want, Maria?" Jasper had to give the others time to get away, and he had to bide him time, to look for an opening. He knew her better than most, and eventually, she would drop her guard at least a little. Once she did, he could control her. With her guard up, he may be able to influence her emotions, but she would not succumb to them.
"Isn't that obvious? I want you to come with me."
"That's not gonna happen."
"I think it will. It's time. You were meant to be with me, to rule with me."
He laughed, "What do you plan to take down the Volturi?"
"I would look good sitting on a throne, no?"
"Commit suicide on your own. I won't be a part of it."
"Oh I think you will."
Finally able to break free, Bella ran towards the clearing. She had to help her mate. She had to save him if necessary. There was something about Maria that gave Bella the chills and she would not leave Jasper alone. Breaking through the tree line, she saw Maria run towards Jasper. He was able to block the hit, but had to take several steps backwards. Bella saw red. Hissing, she ran forward intent on killing the bitch who dare attack her mate, however, she never made it. She fell to the ground with Jasper's weight over her. "JW? JW, it's Bella."
Jasper heard nothing. Instead, he started to rip off Bella's arms and to make sure he made the most impact, he turned up the amount of fear and pain she felt emotionally. Next, he bit off a piece of her neck before he started to separate her head from her body, but he did not finish. Maria suddenly cried out and called for his help. Sam had attacked her again. Jumping onto his feet, he ran towards the black wolf and punched him hard in the side, sending him flying into the air. The other wolves were running towards them as well.
"Come. We need to leave," Maria order and pulled Jasper with her, disappearing into the woods.
Peter and Charlotte, with the others following close behind saw Jasper leaving, but they also found Bella lying on the ground and struggling, "Bella!" They called out to her together.
"JW…JW…" she kept mumbling, still feeling the after effects from Jasper's gifts. Her own mate had attacked her.
Looking at his own mate for a moment, Peter's eyes then darted towards Carlisle, "Take care of her. We'll go after the major. There's only one way to beat Maria." His eyes returned to the newborn, "Bella, we'll bring him back. He didn't do this on purpose. He didn't want to hurt you."
"And what if Jasper attacks you too?" Rosalie demanded.
"We've sparred with him countless times. If anyone can fight him, we can," Charlotte answered.
Emmett stepped forward, "I'll come with you."
"No, Emmett," Rose shook her head.
"I have to, Rose. Don't worry. We'll get him and take care of this Maria bitch," he insisted and leaned down to give her a hard kiss before following Peter and Charlotte to the edge of the woods where Maria disappeared.
Seeing them go, Carlisle took charge of the scene before him, "Let's get her put back together. I'll go check on Sam."
"They tried to kill us!" Charlie snarled.
"They're still a living being. Focus on Bella right now." His eyes found the place where the others had slipped into the forest and he silently prayed they would all return in one piece, that they would be alive. This was something they had not been expecting. Why hadn't Alice seen anything?