Disclaimer: Violence and gore

I must apologize in advance for any emotional damage this chapter is about to cause any readers x

Emmett ran his fingers through Bella's long hair, soothing the girl as she lulled to sleep beside him.

After another visit to the hospital, Carlisle finally gave the 'ok' for them to take Bella home. Yet another unclear answer as to what's causing Bella to have these seizures, and less inclined to diagnose her with epilepsy when they've been so infrequent. The entire thing was...odd.

Wrong.

She'd clung to Emmett as soon as he picked her up to help her out of the Jeep, face buried in the crook of his neck and wrapping her thin arms around his shoulders tight enough that if he'd been human it would have been uncomfortable. He didn't see a point in extracting himself from her when his sister clearly needed the comfort. Not when she had refused to be touched by any of the Cullens since Peter and Charlotte had been here and Jasper left with them.

It was a win, or at least that's what he wanted to believe.

That's what he hoped for anyway.

He smiled slightly as he carried her into the house, picturing her as the little girl he'd once held her so many times just like this. It was almost a relief to see that this side of Bella hadn't really changed even as she became a teenager. Still needing love and affection, wanting to feel safe with her older brother.

Upon her request, he carried her to the living room before tucking her in with the warm fleece blanket draped over the armrest.

"Esme and the others will be home soon. She just had to go to the grocery store before coming home. Want anything from the kitchen? Maybe some hot cocoa? I think I can make that without burning the kitchen to the ground," Emmett said, trying to make her smile. To bring back some light into those warm brown eyes of hers. It didn't work.

Bella burrowed into the pillow, half of her face covered by the blanket. Her complexion still too pale for his liking.

"Okay, little sister. I'll let you get some rest," With a sigh, he rose and made to leave. After her argument with Jasper, after the betrayal that had been written all over her face, Emmett didn't really know how to get close to his sister. Not after she'd been so heartbroken by all of their secrets and failing to tell her about the nomad.

Emmett wondered if Bella would ever trust them again.

A small warm hand reached for his before he could walk away. Her index finger wrapping around his pinky with a slight tug.

He paused, surprise clearly showing on his face before he closed his fingers around Bella's hand, gently squeezing her silent plea for him to stay. He closed his eyes in relief before turning back around and kneeling beside the couch so he could see the vulnerable expression that could only belong to his sister. Such honesty pouring out of this girl, it nearly broke his heart.

"Want me to stay?"

Bella nodded before letting him take a seat on the couch, letting Emmett pull her legs over his lap as she got comfortable. She curled up beside him, resting her head against his shoulder. Emmett sighed as he ran his fingers through her hair, "You're still mad at us, aren't you?"

Bella didn't say anything.

He continued, "It's okay if you are. You're entitled to feel hurt. We didn't lie to you but keeping things from you is the closest thing to it. I get it."

"You're not mad at me for being a problem all the time? Doesn't it get tiring being with me? Taking me to the hospital all the time? Seeing me...that way?"

That way.

Having seizures. Being sick while he can't do anything to save her.

The way she referred to her illness is almost shocking to Emmett. Such contempt and disgust. Not towards anyone other than herself.

It makes a small painful hole in his chest whenever Bella fails to see herself the way he has always seen her. A resilient, incredibly kind and strong kid that brought such light into other people's lives. Emmett's heart ached for her. This is really how she thought of herself...as a burden to their family. The same family that loved her so much. Who couldn't imagine a world without this small human girl that left such an enormous dent in their seemingly perfect lives—ridding them of the cold and dull world they'd allowed surround them for so long.

He wrapped his arms around her to pull her a little closer, "You've never been a problem, Bella. You're the only one keeping this house warm, full of life. You're our light. No seizure or anything will ever change how we feel about you. We love you so much."

"Emmett?" She asked, sounding lost and as if she hadn't heard a word he'd said just now. He hated seeing her like this. So void of all emotion except for the self-loathing and sadness. When will it end for her? This cycle of sorrow and loss...

"Yeah, Bells?"

Bella's arms tightened around him as she seemed to curl into his embrace. Seeking shelter.

She whispered, "I'm so scared."

He frowned at her admission.

"What are you scared of?"

Bella didn't say anything at first but when he felt her warm tears land on his shirt, he knew her fears ran deeper than he originally thought.

"I see things when I'm having a...seizure. Bad things. Scary things. I can't control them. I can't stop them. It's like a nightmare I can't run away from. I can't look away."

His arms wrapped a little tighter around her, careful not to crush her small bones by accident when worry takes over his senses.

"What do you see, sweetheart?"

Bella shook her head, burrowing closer to his chest as if he could keep all the very bad things she mentioned away. If only he could do that. Emmett held her closer to him, asking her again what she meant.

But she only said, as if she were telling him a secret just between them, "Everything."

Bella started out of her sleep.

It was an odd, frightening sensation that started from her right arm to her legs. It felt like every muscle in her body was going numb while also feeling hundreds of shocks running through her. Her eyes darted about the room in the darkness, realizing that she was in her bedroom and Emmett must have brought her here once she fell asleep on the couch.

She broke out into a cold sweat as she rolled onto her side and struggled to turn the lamp atop her nightstand on. Her fingers were trembling so much she grew frustrated and whimpered when she finally managed to switch the light on, dousing the bedroom in a warm glow.

Her panic only amplified when she realized her arm was now dangling off the edge of the bed, but she couldn't feel it. She couldn't feel anything. Taking a shaky breath, she opened her mouth to call out for Carlisle or anyone who was in the house. Anyone. For some reason however, all she could manage to do was breathe shakily, feeling her mind slip into a constant state of fear. Something was happening, something she didn't understand.

It was like her consciousness was waging a battle to stay here—present—and being pulled to be somewhere else.

She whimpered again, trying to form the words to speak and growing frustrated when she failed again.

The girl was alone. This was going to happen while she was alone without anyone here to help guide her back from whatever hellish seizure she was about to experience again. She hated it.

All of it.

When her arm started to jerk, Bella's fears only amplified when she realized she was losing whatever battle she attempted to fight against the seizure. An impossibility, but one she wanted to win. So badly.

Bella was terrified of what she would end up seeing this time when she was spiraling in an endless cycle of...memories? Visions? They couldn't be like Alice's visions surely, she wasn't gifted like any of her siblings. Especially not since she was a human. However, what else could it be? Was she losing her mind?

"D-ad..." She heard herself mumble, trying to call out for Carlisle once more. Even to her own ears it sounded like a breath. Was she slurring her words? It was so hard to hear anything now, to feel anything.

Just as her eyes started to flutter uncontrollably, Bella did the one thing she thought she could do.

She screamed before her mind vanished, and the world went dark all around her.

"What's wrong?" Edward questioned Alice as they all sat around the table to discuss whatever Jasper had told his mate over the phone earlier.

The hunt for the nomad, James, was taking far longer than any of them could have anticipated. With each passing day, the household seemed to grow restless without a member of their family here. Bella experiencing another seizure didn't help ease the bubbling anxiety any of them felt.

Things with Bella haven't been the same since Jasper left. Once she realized they'd been keeping secrets from her, Bella closed herself off from everyone completely. Not even Esme could get the girl to talk to her like before. However, if Bella resented any of them, she didn't show it.

There was no anger or animosity—none that Edward could tell that is—but she certainly didn't come to any of them the way she used to. As if refusing to ask for her, guidance, or company at all. Edward supposed he was grateful Bella still had Flynn by her side, maintaining some semblance of normalcy despite how unpredictable her life was at home. It still hurt that she'd drawn into herself so much. It hurt Carlisle and Esme to see the youngest and kindest member of their family turn her back on them if only to protect herself.

Alice placed her cellphone down with a sigh, her brows furrowed as she looked around the table, "They tracked them down to a small town in France, southeast. Peter got wind of where they would be and they should be there soon."

"What's making you feel so uneasy, sweetheart?" Carlisle asked her, his hand settled over Esme's on the table.

Alice shook her head, "I don't know. I haven't gotten any visions and it's all a bit of a blur when I try to see what Jasper's plan is, hell I don't think he knows yet."

"What plan? All he has to do is kill the bastard," Emmett scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest with nothing but pure vengeance in his eyes and the set of his jaw.

Edward agreed with his brother, "That is the only plan Jasper should be considering."

Alice nodded too with a slight grimace, but Rosalie murmured with the same unfeeling gaze she always sported when discussing the nomad that hurt Bella, "If he has a mate with him, it will complicate things for all three of them. They shouldn't be facing off with one nomad, let alone two. No matter how experienced Jasper is."

"Jasper won't want to wait for one of us to get there. Not if it risks losing James and Victoria again," Alice sighed, trying to smile to lighten the air around the room, "All we can do is wait."

The sound of Bella's heart beating a little faster caught his attention but it wasn't uncommon, especially when she was sleeping. There were often times that Bella had small doses of nightmares throughout the night or dreams that made her talk in her sleep. They'd grown more than used to the girl's endearing mumbling. Sometimes she'd bicker with Emmett in her dreams, other times she'd murmur his or Jasper's names as if searching for them in whatever realm she wandered into. He smiled slightly at the times she'd blushed furiously whenever one of them teased her for it.

Back when they were her fierce protectors and annoying older brothers.

It seemed like a lifetime ago...

Edward couldn't wait until Jasper ended James' life so that he could return to help rectify the fraying bonds between Bella and the rest. Jasper was, in all honesty, the structure of the entire family. They all had a role to play in the coven, and in Bella's life. Esme was all heart—a parental figure and confidant to her children—the same as Carlisle. That would never change. Emmett and Alice could always embody the sun itself to bring a lightheartedness that would have been missing long ago in all of the vampire's lives. It took a long time for Rosalie or Edward to find a place in their found family. A lot of anger, frustration, and growth between both of them. Jasper was a big mix of all of these traits, he realized. The one who understood them all thanks to his patience and empathy.

Carlisle and Esme loved Bella like a daughter, but there's no mistaking the fierce protectiveness, the loyalty Jasper expressed for his sister. Long ago, the only other person he'd behave this way towards was Alice, and for him to allow another person into his life—beyond his hard exteriors and traumas—it was monumental.

It explained why he was the first to jump at the chance to hunt James down personally.

A low whimper upstairs made Alice trail off mid-sentence, making them all turn their heads up to the little human upstairs. Edward frowned as Alice stood abruptly, her hands clutched at her sides and her face...stricken with whatever vision she was seeing now, her eyes fluttering closed.

Before any of them could utter a word, Alice snapped out of it and bolted towards the stairs, just as Bella released an earth shattering scream that sent everyone rushing to her aid.

Jasper could hear the screams inside the townhouse.

They were agonizing screams reserved for only the worst of deaths.

In an alpine town somewhere in southeastern France, Jasper and his companions followed every possible scent that could lead them to the nomads. It hadn't been easy whatsoever, frustrating beyond what his already fraying patience could handle at the moment, and only thanks to Peter's gift that they managed to pinpoint where James and Victoria could have ventured.

The news of bodies found in bad parts of town always reaching them. Odd deaths that resulted in the corpses found being drained of all blood or mangled beyond recognition. At this rate, he wouldn't be surprised if the Volturi became involved.

On another note, the news of Bella's visit to the hospital again hadn't been pleasant, only serving to amplify his need to get this over with and return as quickly as possible. He needed to be with his sister, needed them to sort through their troubles and make her understand that what they'd all done had been to protect her. Lying, even if it was with good intentions, had still caused her pain in the end.

After this, Jasper would vow to her to never keep such important matters from her again.

There was still so much she needed to know. So much about her past that was still doused in shadows and uncertainty thanks to her mother Renee and that "so-called friend" that sent waves of rage and disgust through his body. Then there was also the matter of discussing what Bella's future would look like with the Cullens and what would ultimately happen to her humanity, should her existence be discovered by the Volturi.

Too much to think about at the moment.

He needed to focus on the now.

"She had another seizure," Peter turned his head towards Jasper, brows furrowed in concern as he heard his friend utter the words with a sigh. "I don't know what's going on, only that she's back home now."

Charlotte looked to Peter with a concerned pinch of her brows, as if expecting him to have some sort of reaction to what Jasper had said. But he'd effectively shut down all emotions from his face.

They stood in the alleyway, waiting for the last of the group of humans on the street to vacate the area. All of them oblivious to the screams in the house a few floors above them. It was too late to stop it anyway, Jasper thought. He could also feel the disgusting emotions coursing through the man and woman being killed at this very moment. They were not pure whatsoever, possibly even lingering on evil. Jasper wasn't a mind reader, but he knew there could only be a select few actions that could lead to all the hateful, jealous, and cruel emotions oozing from the townhouse.

Again, he thought of Bella being hurt by the friend and he made a note to hunt that man down next. It had been years since Bella told her brother about the man that had...touched her as a child. Thanks to his connection to Jenks, they'd managed to locate the bastard overseas. Working as an English teacher of all things. After managing to contact the authorities there, it was more than a relief to hear that he'd been fired from the school. Disqualifying him from teaching anywhere all together. Good riddance.

"She has them often? The seizures, I mean." Peter asked Jasper as his eyes narrowed in on the drunken humans that stumbled down the street, going at a snail's pace. If Jasper didn't know any better, his friend was tempted to chase them all away with a vicious growl. Just to hurry them along. Just as eager as Jasper to kill James it seems. Wether it was because he was Bella's mate or due to his loyalty to Jasper—the latter wasn't sure.

Jasper blew out a sigh, "A few months ago she would have them all the time. Lately however, it was less. I don't know what might have triggered it."

"Stress is always a big factor isn't it? Maybe you leaving sparked something." He said in a tone that wasn't at all condemning—just a question.

Jasper glanced at Peter, taking note of the vampire who kept his focus across the street. "Alice," He shrugged, as if that was answer enough to explain how he knew about Bella's condition. Jasper almost shook his head, not at all surprised that his wife knew Peter was Bella's mate this whole time and gave his friend snippets into the girl's life.

"And yet, you researched her...illness. Why?"

Peter arched a brow while still not looking at him. Neither of them really needed to hear the answer.

It was as clear as day. Peter wanted to understand her humanity more. To wrap his mind around his mate being a fragile, human girl. Understand the obstacles in her health that up until recently hadn't been a problem for him to consider. Could that possibly mean he's serious about meeting her again someday? Getting to know her...

Jasper suddenly felt sick to his stomach.

God, help him if Bella agrees to be in the same room as Peter.

"They're moving," Charlotte finally pointed out. Sure enough, the group of humans made their way towards a pub down the street, disappearing around the corner and leaving the neighborhood empty.

The screams had also stopped.

"Lets get this over with."

"Music to my fucking ears," Peter muttered as the three of them made their way into the townhouse.

The stench of booze and blood filled every inch of the residence the moment Jasper stepped inside. He was vaguely aware of his phone buzzing in his jacket pocket and considered checking if it was Alice calling to update him on news of Bella. But thought better of it.

Right now he needed to be focused and end this once and for all.

They stepped into the open space of a sorry excuse for a living room, a spiraling staircase a few feet away. It was on the second floor where death reeked the most. It was also where Victoria was leaning over the railing above, peering over them. Blood dripping from her red lips as she tossed the body of a man over it as if he were trash. His limp body making a loud bang sound as he landed right in front of Jasper, Peter, and Charlotte.

They ignored the droplets of blood that poured out of the bite marks she'd made on his neck and shoulders.

Jasper lifted his gaze up with his lips curling in disgust.

"Why, hello there. Come to join the party?" Victoria mused, grinning with savage delight as she took the three vampires in. Her long red curls swaying as she rested her arm over the railing, placing her chin in her palm. Her tongue licked up the last of the blood on her lips before saying, "I'm afraid he's all out. And my mate is still working on his. If you want to stick around, we could go hunting. Make it a party."

As if hearing her sultry voice, a strangled cry reached Jasper somewhere behind Victoria. James was there, still working on killing his latest victim. He looked towards Peter and Charlotte and they nodded. When he looked towards the female nomad, he grinned, "Who are we to say no to that?"

"Wonderful," Victoria vaulted over the railing and landed on her bare feet, her fur coat settling over her shoulders as if it were a live animal. Her eyes scanned Peter a little too much, and Charlotte sidled up next to him with a scowl.

Peter merely kept an amused grin on his lips, "See something you like?"

"Oh, I see a lot," Victoria hummed, too distracted and high on blood to notice that Jasper was already making his way up the stairs, ignoring the way his cellphone kept buzzing in his pocket. Worry trickled into his subconscious, but he ignored it. His jaw set as he wandered down the hall where he heard the muffled cries that gradually died down. A heart beat slowly coming to a halt.

The door of one of the bedrooms was slightly ajar, light spilling towards him as he stepped closer. Whatever calm he forced himself to maintain slowly slipped from his grasp when he pushed open the door and saw the monster that had taken Bella's family from her. The one who left her scarred.

But it wasn't the blonde man he was staring at from the threshold. It was the woman laying on the floor, her back leaning up against the bed while James feasted upon her neck. Her lifeless eyes dull and dark brown, stared right at him over the nomad's shoulder. Her dark brown hair matted with her blood stuck to one side of her face. Tear tracks staining her pale cheeks.

Her clothes were...shredded.

If he could have been sick to his stomach, Jasper was sure he would have been. Repulsed beyond belief.

He knew it wasn't her.

Knew his little sister wasn't the one laying there dead on James' arms. And yet, it sparked such unabashed fury inside him. He knew what James was doing. Why he'd picked the brunette. Laurent's advice still ringing in his mind. This was obsession in its purest form. He was obsessed with Bella still.

Jasper's phone buzzed again, this time it sounded loud enough that it made the nomad suddenly straighten. Finally alerted to the newcomer who decided to join him. By the time James turned around with a revolting expression of pleasure on his blood-soaked face, Jasper was already lunging for him.

The two rolled around on the ground, snarling and snapping at each other like vipers. Jasper's teeth managed to sink into his shoulder, ripping out a chunk of his hard flesh. James screamed loud enough to shake the house.

"Does it hurt? Good, you fucking deserve a little pain after what you did to her!" Jasper snapped as he threw James across the room, his lack of control surprising even to himself. He stalked towards him, not wanting to let him get the chance to get back up when someone rammed straight into him from behind.

Jasper's back slammed against the wall as footsteps flooded the room.

"Get away from him!" Victoria shrieked.

Behind her, Peter and Charlotte cornered James.

Jasper grabbed Victoria's arm to keep her from gouging his eyes out, gritting his teeth as she went crazy. Gone was the drunken look in her eyes—replaced with fiery protectiveness in those red irises. Before she could do anything else, Charlotte was behind her, wrenching her away from Jasper by grabbing the nomad by the hair and yanking her away.

"I'm not done with you," Charlotte growled before the two entered a full on brawl. Jasper took a step in her direction to help when she yelled, "Help Peter!"

Jasper didn't hesitate to take her order, knowing the strongest of the two had to be James. If he got away now, there was no telling what he would do.

"I didn't realize I pissed off so many of you. What? Did I kill your grandmother or something?" James chuckled darkly, not caring whatsoever that Peter had him pinned to the wall with his forearm. He was strong though if Peter couldn't handle him on his own. Jasper was upon him in an instant, reaching for his other arm before ripping it clean off. The nomad howled in pain, trying to kick them off when he realized just how set these two were on killing him.

"Maybe this will ring a bell," Jasper whispered into his ear, "Isabella Swan. Sound familiar?"

James stilled despite his agony. His red eyes stared at Jasper in muted shock before he said hungrily, even in this state, "Where is she? Tell me where she is! Now!" Jasper felt the longing and hunger radiating off him in waves and he saw red.

Peter moved then, digging his fingers into James' gaping wound, courtesy of Jasper and dragging them down to his chest, cracking the skin there. When James screamed again, he sneered, "You're never going near her again you sick fuck."

A pained cry from Charlotte made Jasper hesitate before he could attack James again, feeling the unmistakable pain that washed over him coming from his oldest friend. His eyes shifted to the area where Charlotte now lay in a heap with the red-headed nomad and...a newborn holding her down. His eyes were blood red, his hair a disheveled mess, and clothes tattered.

The way he revered Victoria, it appeared as though he were infatuated with her. She'd probably made him.

Victoria paid him no mind as she arched up, venom spilling from her fangs from where she'd sank them into Charlotte's neck. The newborn held her down to prevent her from scrambling away or lashing out, grinning as he did it.

It all happened so fast.

Before he or Peter could react, Victoria gripped the sides of Charlotte's head and twisted viciously. The porcelain skin cracking and shattering as her neck broke and...her head was clutched between the nomad's long fingers. As if it were a trophy, the red-headed viper grinned wickedly up at Charlotte's pained expression permanently etched on her features.

"No!" Peter roared his devastation while James chuckled beneath his and Jasper's hands.

Another snap made Jasper whip his head around in time to see Peter scream next. Somehow James had gotten his arm loose and took the opportunity to snap the bone above Peter's elbow. Jasper growled and moved to sink his teeth into James' neck only to be stopped when he felt two hands wrap around his neck. Two more hands pulling his arms hard behind his back.

Peter's eyes widened as a feral bellow made its way out of his parted lips, but it was too late. They both knew it.

Jasper closed his eyes, his thoughts lingering on Alice—his sweet Alice—and the little girl that was waiting for him to return.

I'm sorry I couldn't keep that promise my darlin' girl.

With a single twist of his head, Jasper felt his immortal life slip from his very grasp, along with the life he'd come to love.

As the chaos unfolded, all of them were utterly oblivious to the screaming girl witnessing it all from the corner of the room. Unheard and unseen in her own form of torture. Falling to her knees as she watched the vampires tear her brother apart before tossing his body into the fireplace. The flames dancing wildly as if happy to consume him.

Having to watch as Peter fought even with one good arm to shatter James' jaw in before the other vampire did the same to him. Before the newborn and Victoria went for him next.

Bella had to watch all three of them die fighting for her.

Because of her.

Bella jolted out of her bed, screaming with tears flooding her eyes. Her vision was blurry and she couldn't see, couldn't even hear any of her siblings or parents calling her name over and over again in a desperate attempt to calm her down.

Jas...Jasper!" Bella sobbed in the most heartbreaking of ways, her hand clutching the hand that had taken hold of hers. Trying to steady her when she shook her head furiously, the sobs making her chest tremble painfully. Her whole body was trembling. "Jasper! Jasper!"

"What do we do?" Esme called to someone in the room, sounding terrified, "Carlisle!"

Cold hands cupped her cheeks, unable to stop the stream of tears that ran down her face.

She was drowning.

Drowning in horror.

Drowning in outrage and paralyzing fear.

Drowning in grief.

An ache so raw in her chest and stomach that bile rose.

"Jasper...Jasper. I want Jasper!"

Alice knelt by her side in an instant, worry in her features as she ignored everyone else who seemed at odds on what to do for Bella. They'd never seen her like this before. Blinded by fear so potent it made Carlisle rush out of the room in search for a sedative. She'd never reacted this way after having a seizure. This was not normal whatsoever. If this kept up, she would surely injure herself or hyperventilate.

"I want Jasper," Bella whimpered in between shallow pants, starting to find it difficult to breathe. "He's dying!"

Alice held Bella's hand in a vice, "What happened to Jasper, Bella? Tell me!"

"H-he's...they're...oh god, no! No! Go save him, now!"

Her sobs turned into frantic screams, her eyes so wide and hair sticking to her wet cheeks, it was as if she'd gone completely insane. Because she'd seen her brother die right before her very eyes.

She saw Peter and Charlotte be ripped to shreds. Peter—who'd fought all on his own even when they were gone too. The pain on his face, it had been like a stab to the chest. Raw, mournful, and full of wrath.

"They killed him! He's dead! There were three of them, please Alice!" Based on the looks Esme and Rosalie were exchanging she wasn't making any sense to them. But Alice's eyes were trained solely on her little sister, as if she believed this wasn't the aftermath of another horrendous nightmare.

Before anyone could say anything else, Alice shot up from the bed and whipped her phone out. Hurriedly dialing Jasper's cellphone.

Carlisle didn't waste any time before he plunged the syringe into Bella's arm, whispering soft reassuring words even when his own eyes were flooded with unshed tears. Emmett cradled her on his lap to hold her still when she continued calling out for her brother until her sobs quieted down.

Jasper.

Jasper.

Jasper.

His name was the last thing that slipped from her lips before she fell into an agonized sleep, one last tear rolling down her cheek.

Jasper took all but two steps into the house before his phone buzzed in his pocket. At first he considered ignoring it, but something nagged at his mind. If it had something to do with Bella, if she had another seizure—

Peter clutched his shoulder suddenly and pulled him back before he could make a decision.

"Stop!" He hissed as he backed up, pulling Jasper out of the entryway until they were in the courtyard again. His black eyes scanning the windows of the townhouse on the third floor. "Something's not right."

"What do you mean?" Charlotte asked, on high alert as she too looked up.

"It's too quiet. Way too quiet. We have to go," Peter demanded, turning on his heel before saying over his shoulder, "Answer that call, Jazz. Now."

Jasper, still frowning at Peter's interference, did as he was told as soon as they crossed the street. He wasn't expecting the frantic voice of his mate on the other line, and Bella's heartbreaking cries somewhere in the same room. It took him a moment to realize what Bella was saying.

His name.

Over, and over, and over again.

"Jasper," Alice breathed out in relief so obvious that he could almost feel it through the phone. "You can't go in there. Something...something's happened with Bella. She needs you."

"What happened?" He asked, louder this time once they were far from the townhouse. "Is she okay?"

"No, she's not. I don't know how to explain it but...I think she had a vision or something during her seizure. She said..."

"What, Alice? What did she say?" Peter and Charlotte looked at him, waiting with bated breath to hear what Alice would say next. Jasper couldn't make any sense of what she was saying. What vision?

"She said there were three of them. James and Victoria aren't the only ones in there. And that they were...that you..." It was evident in the shake of her voice that it was difficult for Alice to say the words out loud, only keeping Jasper's barely controlled panic from bursting to the surface. "She said that you died, Jasper. She thinks you're dead."

Thanks for reading x

Did I get you with that scene? *laughs in evil*