Chapter 44: Espionage
Peter and Charlotte arrived in the middle of the night, a few days after Jasper announced their plans. Louisa had been at her own house at the time, but when she arrived at the Cullen's in the morning, she decided that she was rather glad to have missed out on some of their time together.
Peter was fine. He was around Jasper's height, with a thin, reedy build and constantly shifting eyes. His hair was even fairer than Louisa's, almost silver, and fell in thick, silky sheets around his pale face. Like Jasper, Peter bore similar crescent-shaped scars from his time in Maria's army; however, unlike Jasper, he made no effort to cover them up. He gave her an odd smile when she finally arrived—not necessarily because of her, she deduced, but because he didn't often smile, and the action felt unnatural to him. He was pleasant enough, talking in a slow, thick drawl that was difficult to understand at times, and he watched her with unblinking red eyes as she spoke. He had also been a bassoon player in his human life, but that bit of information was irrelevant.
Charlotte, on the other hand, was nothing like Louisa had expected. When she first saw the delicate-looking woman, Louisa was instantly reminded of a blonde Alice. But where Alice was bubbly and enthusiastic, Charlotte was standoffish and disinterested. Not just in Louisa (which might have been expected, given that she was a human), but in Jasper too. For someone Jasper described as a friend, she didn't seem to like him all that much. She certainly didn't look thrilled to be sitting in the Cullen's sitting room talking to them. In fact, it felt like she was going out of her way to exclude Louisa. For instance, whenever she had to reply to one of Louisa's questions, Charlotte would say it too quickly and too quietly for her to hear. As the hours dragged on, Louisa got the sneaking suspicion that Jasper had exaggerated when he said that Charlotte was excited to meet her.
You didn't have to be a psychometric detective to pick up on Charlotte's evident dislike for Jasper. Louisa wondered if her boyfriend knew about it. Certainly, he must? After all, he could feel emotions. Surely it wasn't Louisa's imagination creating the frosty attitude that surrounded Charlotte. She wanted to ask him about it, but even if the woman in question wasn't sitting a few feet away, she couldn't figure out how to bring it up.
Louisa almost cried with relief when Leah called, giving her the opportunity to excuse herself from the lounge. Not that it made any difference, really, with the vampires' super-sonic bat ears able to pick up their entire conversation. Still, she wandered into the kitchen and stood before one of the massive windows that overlooked the forest to create the illusion of privacy.
"What are you doing tonight?" Leah asked before Louisa could say 'hello'.
Louisa pursed her lips. "I'm not sure," she said slowly. "I'm meeting some of Jasper's friends at the moment." Louisa could have sworn she heard Charlotte scoff at this, but it could have just been her imagination. "I think Dottie and I were going to—"
"Wrong," Leah said, cutting her off. "You're staying with me tonight."
"Not that the thought displeases me," she said slowly. "But does it have to be tonight?"
"The elders are having a council meeting," Leah explained in a low voice. Clearly, this was information that Leah was not supposed to have, and she didn't want to be overheard by her father. "We're crashing it."
Recalling the distrust in Billy Black's eyes the other day, Louisa thought this was a bad idea and told Leah as much.
Louisa could practically hear Leah rolling her eyes. "It's not like we're going to waltz into a room and take a chair," Leah explained. "Besides, they hold the meetings outdoors in the summer. There's a bonfire on the cliffs—"
"I'm out."
"We won't even have to get that close," Leah reassured her hurriedly. "We can hide in the woods and listen in. Nobody will even know we're there." When Louisa hesitated, Leah continued. "Come on, girly. Where's your sense of adventure? I thought you wanted to know what was going on."
Louisa let out a slow sigh. Truth be told, she was insanely curious to know what was getting the Quileute elders so antsy. Still, something itched at the back of her mind, making her feel like this was a terrible idea. She knew that she was missing something. It was as if she had all of the pieces to a thousand-piece jigsaw puzzle, but she was missing the reference image to put it all together. A wave of anxiety clenched her stomach. "I don't know," she said at last.
"You owe me one," Leah replied. "Or maybe I should tell your dad where you really were last week." There was no real threat behind her words, but they were effective nevertheless.
Despite the situation, Louisa let out a little laugh. "I didn't think you were a snitch."
"I'm desperate," Leah explained.
"You could investigate this yourself, you know," Louisa reminded her.
"Sure. But it's more fun with you," Leah said. "Please? I'll pick you up and everything."
"I'm at Jasper's house at the moment."
"Send me the address," Leah said. "I'll be there in an hour."
There was little else to do other than hang up and pack an overnight bag. Although she kept some clothes in Jasper's room, she still had to steal one of his hoodies suitable for nocturnal sylvan camouflage. He didn't appear to mind when she walked down the stairs wearing it. He pulled her into his lap and buried his face in her hair, breathing deeply. Louisa absently reached up to scratch his scalp, eliciting a gentle purr from deep within Jasper's chest.
"I'm sorry that I can't stay longer," she told Peter. This was a lie, of course. She wondered if Peter or Charlotte picked up on it. Or if they even cared.
Peter gave her another stiff smile. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Miss Louisa," he drawled. "I'm sure we'll visit after your change."
"Are you leaving already?" she asked. Jasper had never said how long his friends were staying, but they had only arrived that morning. She had at least excepted them to stay for a few days.
Peter nodded, the movement jerky and too fast to look natural. "Unlike Major Whitlock and his coven, we're unused to staying in one place for too long." There was the unspoken addendum that Charlotte wanted to leave as soon as possible, but Peter was too polite to say so.
When Leah finally made an appearance in the Clearwater's station wagon, Jasper walked Louisa outside. He took a moment to kiss her as if he were savouring the taste of her, his eyes closed even after he pulled back.
"You'll call if you have a problem?" His words were half a question and half a command.
She nuzzled his neck and hugged his waist. Behind them, Leah catcalled out the car window and told them to hurry up. Louisa rolled her eyes and ignored her friend, choosing instead to pull Jasper back for another kiss. Leah honked the horn.
"I'll text you updates, even if there isn't a problem," she promised when she pulled away. She took her bag from Jasper and tossed it into the backseat before she clambered into the car. She was barely able to call out a quick 'love you!' before Leah was speeding back down the Cullen's driveway.
"Impatient, aren't we?" Louisa drawled, pulling the sleeve of Jasper's jumper over her hands and watching him disappear in the rear-view mirror.
"We don't have much time," Leah explained as she turned onto the highway. "The council meets at nine."
"It's not even four, Leah!" Louisa groused. She could have spent at least another hour with Jasper, even if his weird friends were there.
"Yeah, but my curfew is at five," she explained, looking rather sour about this fact. "My dad was pissed when he found out I broke Paul's nose."
Louisa pinched the bridge of her nose, hoping to fight off the impending headache. "Do I want to know?"
"Even before he tossed you off a cliff, he was acting too cocky for his own good. Someone had to teach him a lesson."
"He technically didn't throw me and—" Louisa paused, finally registering Leah's appearance. "What the hell are you wearing?"
Generally, Leah could be found in athleisure wear, her running shorts traded in for colourful leggings only when the weather got too cold. Today, however, Leah was dressed in head to toe black, wearing a pair of black sweats, a long-sleeved black shirt, and a ski cap over her braided hair. Considering the hot weather, Leah was practically begging for heatstroke.
"Are you robbing a bank?" Louisa asked.
"Espionage!" Leah cried with excitement. "It's for tonight. We don't want to be seen."
"So you felt the need to dress up like a cat burglar?" Louisa asked, trying to contain her giggles.
The glare Leah shot at her was impressive. "We weren't invited," she snapped. "You don't just show up to the bonfire. It's for the elders only."
"Right," Louisa said. "I get that, but you don't wear black, babe. Dark colours, sure, but black will make you stand out against the shadows. Besides, you look hella suspicious walking around like that in this heat."
"Your hair will make us stand out," Leah grumbled, but she nonetheless pulled the ski cap off her head.
"I tried to dye it, but Jasper burst into tears," Louisa quipped, wondering idly if he could still hear their conversation. "You're not worth a sobbing boyfriend."
Leah rolled her eyes before giving Louisa the itinerary for their evening. Dinner was always held promptly at seven at the Clearwater house, regardless if the council was convening that night. When there was a meeting, Mr Clearwater left the house at a quarter to eight and walked to the designated meeting place. There were generally twenty or so minutes of pleasantries exchanged before the elders got to the juicy stuff, which would give Louisa and Leah enough time to follow Mr Clearwater from a distance and situate themselves before the meeting began.
They ironed out other logistics as they drove to La Push, such as informing Mr Collins that Louisa wouldn't be home that night and how they could convince Mrs Clearwater to leave them alone for several hours whilst they snuck out of the house. Leah pulled into the Clearwaters' driveway three minutes before her curfew, earning a displeased look from Mr Clearwater and an admonishment about keeping better track of time.
Fortunately, Mrs and Mr Clearwater were unbothered (although surprised) by Louisa's appearance, especially considering that Leah was technically grounded. Seth, meanwhile, was thrilled to see Louisa and spent the rest of the afternoon following her around, chattering away. He only really stopped talking when he had to breathe or eat. This left precious little time for plotting, although Louisa managed to sort out Leah's cat-burglar costume for something more suitable for hiding in the woods.
Just as Leah had predicted, Mr Clearwater kissed his wife and children goodbye at seven-forty-five, with instructions not to wait up for him. Leah sent Louisa a knowing look and nodded in the direction of her bedroom. Mrs Clearwater noticed their less than subtle departure and tried to rope them into baking cookies with her—no doubt to keep an eye on the teens. If it had been up to her, Louisa would have jumped on this opportunity (Mrs Clearwater's cookies were even better than Esme's), but Leah managed to pull Louisa out of the kitchen before she could agree.
As night fell, the two girls locked Leah's bedroom door, turned on the longest movie Leah owned (which turned out to be Titanic, much to Leah's chagrin), and slipped out the window. They crept alongside the house, ducking beneath Seth's open window where the sounds of Mario Kart could be heard blaring over his television and made a mad dash to the woods. Fortunately, the forest paths were well maintained because they decided it was too risky to pull out a torch to light their way through the darkening trees. If not for Leah's knowledge of the forest paths, Louisa was positive she would have become hopelessly lost, even with the light of the full moon shining overhead.
At last, their path took on a steeper incline as they approached the cliff, and even though she couldn't see the bonfire, Louisa caught the acrid scent of the smoke. They couldn't hear anyone over the roaring wind that blew off the ocean. Louisa had half a mind to tell Leah as much, hoping they could take Mrs Clearwater up on the cookie offer instead. Alas, as the trees began to thin, Louisa caught sight of the bonfire, which was alight with blue and lavender flames.
They dropped to the ground as the tree line thinned, and army crawled through the dense underbrush as close as they dared. They flattened themselves against the ground behind a moss-covered log big enough to hide behind, and within seconds, Louisa was shivering as the damp earth seeped into her clothes. She almost suggested that they turn back then, but when Mr Clearwater waltzed into view, she knew it would be pointless—the intense, hungry look on Leah's face promised that they weren't going anywhere.
"Can you hear anything?" Leah hissed into her ear.
Louisa pressed a finger to her lips, ears straining to pick up the elders' conversation over the crackling bonfire and the howling wind. It wasn't an easy feat, and it took a lot of concentration even to process what she was hearing. The fact that the men sometimes spoke in Quileute didn't help matters, either. When she mentioned this to Leah, her friend attempted to crawl closer to the group, only to somehow find every crackable stick as she did so. Louisa pounced on her friend to keep her from moving when one of the council members—Mr Black—turned to stare suspiciously in their direction.
"Thank you for coming tonight," a man said, calling the meeting to order. The man was positively ancient, with shoulder-length, snow-white hair and more lines on his face than a topography map. "We have much to discuss."
The other men nodded gravely, shooting each other uncomfortable looks.
"As I am sure you are all aware, there are Cold Ones near our land," the old man continued in a hoarse and papery voice.
Louisa pursed her lips at the unfamiliar term. She wasn't sure what it meant, but it was said with enough disgust to know that this was a bad thing.
"The Cullens have vacated the state for the summer," Mr Clearwater interjected with a frown. He glanced at Mr Black. "You said that Dr Cullen called you."
Mr Black nodded. "All but his newest son," he agreed. "The Soldier."
Jasper, Louisa realised with a jolt. They were talking about Jasper.
"He knows not to come onto our land," Mr Clearwater continued. "Has he broken the treaty?"
This wasn't the first time Louisa had heard mention of a treaty between the Cullens and the Quileute people.
The old man shook his head. "Thankfully, no. But it appears that he isn't alone."
"Their…cousins from Denali?" another man interjected. He was noticeably younger than the other men. "I thought they went with the Cullens?"
The old dude continued. "It appears that the Soldier invited his…" the man searched for the word, his thin lips twisting with disgust, "friends to join him."
They had to be referring to Peter and Charlotte. How the fuck did he know about Peter and Charlotte? But it seems that this was not the only thing he knew about Jasper's friends.
"Friends that do not share the Cullen's diet."
"They murder humans?"
Something icy settled in the pit of Louisa's stomach at this exchange. She had suspected that the elders knew the Cullens' true nature, although it was hardly a relief to hear it confirmed. Cold Ones must be their word for vampire, she figured.
"The Solider and Dr Cullen have assured me that they have been informed of the treaty. But I fear that they are not the problem," the old dude said, raising his hand to settle the council members. "Harry has informed us the Soldier has taken a human for a mate."
Disgusted murmurs rippled through the air, carried to Louisa on the wind. They were talking about her now, she realised, panic fluttering in her chest like a caged bird. They knew about Jasper and her. But how?
She suddenly recalled the day she had broken her arm and how Mr Clearwater stood behind his car door—and firmly on Quileute land—as he watched them with terror. She hadn't thought much about their interaction at the time, but had Mr Clearwater recognised her and Jasper for what they were? He must have if he reported Jasper's and her interaction back to the elders.
But how did he know so much about vampires and their mates? And why?
"You believe they will break the treaty, then?"
The old dude considered the question for a moment. "Undoubtedly," he said, his lined face growing sadder, more ancient as he admitted this. "Cold Ones are possessive over their mates. But that is a matter for another time."
"What could be more pressing than the Cullen's breaking the treaty?"
"The human mate," the old dude began, looking around and making eye contact with each council member. "Has access to our lands."
"Louisa poses no threat to us," Mr Clearwater interjected swiftly. "She's headstrong and nosey, but she's harmless."
"And to your son? Her presence could be enough to trigger his transformation."
She had completely lost the plot of this conversation. Now Seth was somehow involved? And he was going to change, somehow? Louisa found that she had more questions than answers. Her brain gave an irritating itch somewhere deep behind her left ear. If only she could get close enough, lay her hands on Mr Clearwater or Mr Black or the old dude who seemed to be their de facto leader.
"He's not yet thirteen," Mr Clearwater replied, although a ripple of doubt crossed his face as he spoke.
"What about Sam Uley?" Mr Black asked. "He's on the cusp of manhood. He could phase if he smells a Cold One's scent on her. And once the pack has begun, others will follow. It is not in the wolf's nature to be solitary creatures."
Wolf? Sam Uley and Seth Clearwater might turn into wolves just because Louisa ran around with the Cullens?
"Louisa is a human." Mr Clearwater was beginning to lose his temper, his hands gripping his knees as he sat forward in his seat. "If anything, we should be encouraging her presence here if it keeps her from those vile things!"
"What is he saying?"
Louisa nearly jumped out of her skin when Leah hissed this into her ear. She had entirely forgotten that her friend was there—which seemed impossible, considering Louisa was still sprawled out across Leah's back. She tried to school her expression into a blank mask of bored indifference, and she scrambled to think of an explanation that didn't include anything about vampires or that her brother and boyfriend might turn into wolves.
"It's mostly boring stuff," she lied, hoping Leah hadn't noticed her split second of hesitation. "Like taxes. And something about relocating the school?"
"The 'Move to Higher Ground' project," Leah explained, nodding slowly. "Our school is in a flood zone."
Louisa hummed with understanding, glad that she had chosen a satisfactory lie.
"But why would they call an emergency meeting for that?" Leah asked, frowning.
Or not.
"I wouldn't suggest asking," Louisa said, motioning for Leah to follow her back deeper into the woods.
Leah gave her a withering look. "Obviously."
Louisa forced herself to grin when in reality, she wanted nothing more than to puke.
Her thoughts were in tangles as they crawled back through the underbrush and retraced their steps, traipsing back down the forest path that led to Casa de Clearwater. Louisa put her advanced height to good use and boosted Leah through her open bedroom window before swinging herself in. The second Louisa's feet hit the carpeted floor of Leah's bedroom, there was a knock on the door.
"I thought you girls could do with some snacks," Mrs Clearwater said when Leah wrenched open the door. She was wearing a searching smile that all parents wore when they suspected their children were up to something, and she presented them with a tray ladened with popcorn and freshly baked cookies. "Why was your door locked, Leah?"
"I didn't want Seth to come in," she answered at once. "Louisa is having boyfriend troubles. Girl talk, ya know?"
"Trouble is a strong word," Louisa corrected, picking up on the lie at once. She dove for the plate of cookies as she spoke, hoping that Mrs Clearwater missed how her hands shook. "More like friendly advice."
Mrs Clearwater fixed Louisa with a penetrating look, and Louisa had to resist the urge to fidget under her scrutiny. Whatever Mrs Clearwater found, though, was grim enough for her nod, set the tray down on Leah's desk, and close the bedroom door. She then proceeded to give her and Leah a very clinical and extremely detailed sex talk that only a registered nurse could give. Louisa liked to think she bore it better than Leah did, although she had to admit that even she had reached her limit of awkwardness for the day after an hour and a half.
Still, the Talk™ was enough to distract Mrs Clearwater from the fact that Leah and Louisa were both soaking wet and covered with the forest floor. Plus, there were snacks.
The conversation also had the added benefit of distracting Leah from interrogating Louisa about what she had overheard. By the time it was over, Leah refused to make eye contact with anyone and promptly declared it to be bedtime. After changing into their pyjamas, Leah pulled her blankets over her head and went to sleep.
This worked out just fine for Louisa, who located her mobile and shot off a quick text to Jasper.
Can you pick me up at the border in the morning?
Jasper replied within seconds. Of course. Has something happened?
Louisa started to type out 'yes', only to delete it. The last thing she needed was for Jasper to panic and cross onto Quileute land. She settled on the vague platitude of 'I'm perfectly safe.' She almost sent a follow-up, 'we need to talk', before deleting that too. Jasper would call her if he got that text.
What happened?
We crashed the council meeting. Learned all of the juicy gossip
Such as?
Louisa hesitated for a moment before typing, I'll tell you tomorrow. I'd rather not leave a paper trail.
You're paranoid.
I'm using my street smarts. Like Dad always says: say it and forget it, write it and regret it!
In response, Jasper sent her a rolling eye emoji, which made her feel strangely proud of her Victorian boyfriend. She didn't even know he knew what those were, let alone where to find them. He sent her a picture of his middle finger when she told him as much.
They moved on to lighter topics, and before she knew it, it was three in the morning, and Jasper was reminding her that she needed her beauty rest. To enforce this, he refused to reply to any of her texts. She made it to 107 before she admitted defeat, tucked her mobile back into her bag, and went to sleep.
No Stone Left Unturned
"You look like shit."
"You say the nicest things to me, Babe," Louisa replied as she slipped into the passenger seat of her Prius, which she had left at the Cullen's the day before.
Jasper closed the door behind her and walked around the car at a human pace, waving at Leah before sliding into the driver's seat. "Are you ill?"
"It's just a headache," she replied, slumping into her seat and closing her eyes. "I slept on the floor all night."
Jasper leaned over the centre console to kiss her, one cold hand massaging the throbbing spot at the base of her skull whilst he stroked a patch of skin on her hip where her shirt had ridden up. When he pulled back, Louisa realised he had also buckled her seatbelt.
"Does Leah Clearwater not have a bed?" he teased. He pulled onto the road and took off at double the speed limit.
Louisa considered her words. "She does," she admitted slowly. "She even offered to share hers with me."
Jasper shot her an undecipherable look. "It doesn't offend me if you shared a bed with her. No more so than it does Dorothy."
Despite how awful she was feeling, she couldn't help but laugh. "That's where your mind was going?"
"Why else would you choose to lay on the floor? A bed would be more comfortable."
"If I wasn't psychometric, perhaps," she reminded him gently. "It's not exactly comfortable to sleep next to someone. Other than you, of course," she added when Jasper's panic coursed through her body.
"Do I hurt you?" he asked, his voice suspiciously flat.
Louisa made a noise of disagreement. "It's not uncomfortable. But sometimes, I pick up memories from you," she admitted. "They take over my dreams."
Jasper frowned. "Why have you never told me?"
"It feels like an invasion of privacy," she said, sighing and closing her eyes. "You've never really minded when I've accidentally used my power on you, but Dot and Leah can't consent to that." Well, Dottie could, she supposed. But Louisa liked to keep her sister's knowledge of the paranormal to a minimum.
The car slowed to a stop as Jasper pulled off onto the side of the road. When she finally looked at him, she saw childlike curiosity in his eyes.
"What sort of things do you see?"
"It depends on our moods, I think," she explained. "Last week, I saw your first girlfriend. Does the name Edie Buttons ring any bells?"
It took some prompting and reminding him of Edie's appearance before Jasper slowly nodded, his eyes clouding with confusion and annoyance. "I think so," he admitted after a moment. "I always got the impression she didn't actually love me."
Louisa smiled and reached over to stroke the bridge of his nose, laughing when he wiggled it in surprise. "She was madly in love with Sarah Carmichael. After the war, they moved to Boston, and they raised Sarah's orphaned nephew together."
"How do you know that?"
"I was curious about your former lover," she replied with a nonchalant shrug.
"Are you telling me that you tracked down a woman who's been dead for a hundred years?"
"I was curious," she repeated. When he didn't reply, she continued, "It's a girl thing."
Jasper looked like he wasn't sure if he wanted to be terrified or impressed. "The FBI is sleeping on y'all," he proclaimed at last.
"And that's without magic hands," she teased, wiggling her fingers. "Dottie's even better at online research. She can find an arrest record in twenty seconds flat."
"I think the term you're looking for is 'stalking,' dearest," he replied with a chuckle. "What else have you learned?"
"That you had the most adorable freckles as a human," she replied at once, eyes fluttering shut as she recalled his lanky, adolescent and human frame. "Your mum hated them, though, and always made you take milk baths. And your eyes were the most gorgeous shade of brown—like sunlight filtering through a whisky bottle."
Jasper was quiet for a long time, and when Louisa finally looked at him, his expression was pensive. "Why have you never told me before?"
There was something akin to hurt in his tone, and Louisa reached out to card a hand through his hair. "There are a few reasons, I guess. Like I said, it feels invasive. You might be my boyfriend, but you're entitled to your privacy. Also, I didn't want to be turned into a lab rat by Carlisle and Eleazar if they find out."
Jasper growled and shook his head. "I apologise for not stepping in sooner. I know their questions make you uncomfortable."
"Their lack of belief in my own agency makes me uncomfortable," she explained. "They forget that I'm in the room—especially if you are there. They can't seem to remember that women know how to speak for themselves."
Jasper scowled and pulled at her hand in his hair, kissing the inside of her wrist. "Tell them to fuck off next time," he replied. "I guarantee that will get their attention."
Louisa laughed before sighing. "I know I should be patient with them. They're products of their time."
"Bullshit," he snapped. "I was a major in the Confederate army—I used to be racist as fuck. When I re-entered human society after Maria's army, I was terrified by the state of the world when I learned that women had been granted the right to vote. Even if we are products of our times, it's no excuse to be raging assholes. Vampires might not age or mature, but we are more than capable of learning how to behave in modern polite society."
"That was surprisingly woke for an old guy."
Jasper blinked then turned his face away, eyes closed and lips pressed together as he suppressed a smile. "Will you tell me next time you have one of your dreams?"
"About you?" she asked, threading her fingers through his. "Like, the psychometric ones specifically? Or do you want to know all of them?"
Jasper ran a finger along her jaw. "The thought embarrasses you," he stated.
"They can get rather dirty."
"Then yes," he said, starting the Prius back up and continuing their drive. "I would definitely like to know about every dream I appear in."
Louisa grinned and rested her head on his shoulder.
"So, what was it you were too afraid of to share over text?" he asked as he drove, one hand on the steering wheel while his other held hers.
Before she could respond, her phone chimed.
Manic Pixie Dream Vampire: not in the car. Tell him at home.
Manic Pixie Dream Vampire: Cullen's house.
Frowning, Louisa looked up and noticed that Jasper was already pulling onto her street.
"Alice says we should go back to the Cullen's house," she told Jasper.
Her boyfriend frowned as well but didn't question the order.
"Did she say why?" he asked.
Because that's where she was, Louisa learned ten minutes later. Alice was standing on the wrap around porch, her expression uncommonly grim as they pulled to a stop in front of the Cullen's house.
"You're home early," Jasper said as he helped Louisa out of the car.
Alice nodded. "Just the two of us."
It was then that Carlisle made an appearance beside Alice, looking just as confused as Jasper and Louisa. "Alice said it was serious."
"It's about what Louisa heard," Alice explained before Jasper could question her. "If this had taken place over the phone, the Denalis would have heard."
"They're our family," Carlisle said, looking slightly hurt. "Whyever would we keep secrets from them?"
Alice's lips disappeared as she pressed them into a firm line. "We should move this inside. It's about to rain." In true Alice fashion, no sooner had the front door closed behind them did it begin to pour outside.
Jasper led Louisa to the sitting area, pulling her down into his lap as he took the loveseat in the corner of the room. "Alice," he began in a commanding voice.
"Louisa, please explain what you heard at the bonfire," Alice said.
It was only after Jasper soothed the anxiety that had begun to buzz in her chest that she recounted what she had learned the night before. Carlisle seemed saddened by the revelation that presence in town could trigger the change in the Quileute boys. His sadness only deepened when he learned that their scent on Louisa could get her banned from the reservation.
"Why did you never tell me about this?" Jasper snarled at Carlisle. If Louisa hadn't been sitting in his lap, arms wound tightly around his neck, she had no doubt that her boyfriend would have lunged for Carlisle's throat.
It had never occurred to her that Jasper was as in the dark about the Quileute wolves as she was.
"Louisa has been going there for months, and not once did you think to inform me of the dangers. She could have been killed."
Louisa laid a hand on Jasper's forearm, giving it a comforting squeeze. He growled and bumped his nose against her jaw to calm himself down.
"The Quileute warriors wouldn't harm a human," Carlisle replied, keeping a safe distance between himself and Jasper. "They pose no threat to her."
"They also haven't phased yet," Louisa pointed out, massaging Jasper's scalp. "There's no wolf pack roaming the reservation."
"Yet," Jasper corrected, levelling a fierce glare at Carlisle. "There aren't any yet. But apparently, there will be soon if Louisa crosses paths with children who carry the gene."
"Louisa is friends with Leah Clearwater," Carlisle said in a pacifying tone. "Women cannot carry the gene that allows them to turn into wolves."
"And what of her brother?"
"Seth is a boy—far too young to undergo the transformation. The wolves we met were clearly men. By the time Seth is old enough, we—and Louisa—will have already moved on. There is no threat to her in the Clearwater house."
"What about Sam Uley? He's Leah's boyfriend," Louisa asked, remembering Mr Black's concerned words. "He'll be eighteen in December, and I know for a fact that the elders are watching him."
"The wolves pose no threat to humans," Carlisle reminded her. "You are perfectly safe around him."
Jasper growled, and Louisa wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. A grumble vibrated in his chest at these words, and he began rubbing his head along her neck like a dog nuzzling its owner. His actions might have been cute had he not also been projecting an aura of agitation and possessiveness.
"It's not me that I'm concerned about," Louisa explained.
Jasper let out another growl. "I am."
"I know, love," she said, stroking the hard plane of his cheek. She turned her attention back to Carlisle. "It's them that I worry for. What if I inadvertently trigger their change just by being there?"
"But you are a human—"
"I was wearing Jasper's jumper last night," Louisa said before Carlisle could brush off her concerns.
Jasper froze at her words. "And I marked you before you left," he said, his spine straightening as he pulled away.
Louisa glanced down at her exposed skin, half expecting to see something written on her body. Jasper shook his head and pressed a swift kiss to her lips, mouthing, 'later', before returning his attention back to the Carlisle. "What if that was enough to trigger something?"
Carlisle let out a heavy sigh and ran an exhausted hand over his face. If she wasn't so overwhelmed and didn't have to comfort an agitated Jasper, she might have jokingly told him that he needed a vacation. "I suppose it's possible," he agreed finally. "Although her scent would quickly break down yours…but if she was wearing your clothing as well…." He sighed again. "I suppose it requires further testing."
Jasper, whilst clearly not having forgiven Carlisle so quickly, discussed the logistics of these 'scent tests' with him. He spoke slowly and loud enough so that Louisa could feel included, which was sweet of him, but she could admit she was a bit out of her depths with this vampire matter. She glanced over at Alice, who had been strangely silent for the entirety of the conversation, and found that Alice was staring directly at her.
She wondered what Alice could possibly be thinking about as she stared at her with that intense, expectant expression. It was almost like she was waiting for Louisa to do or say something.
…was that why Alice was here? Why she had cut her vacation short and dragged Carlisle home early? She must have seen something—something to do with Louisa. And it couldn't have just been the wolf bombshell, or why else would she be trying to drill holes in Louisa's head with her eyes?
Whatever it was, it hadn't happened yet. No, she hadn't done it yet, Louisa realised. But what was she supposed to do?
Confused, Louisa retreated into her mental library, plucked out the memory from their most recent conversation, and rewatched it. She scrutinised everything: every facial tick, every syllable uttered, every movement the three vampires made. She remembered what she had said, how she had said it, how they had reacted to it. It was only when she rewatched the memory for the third time did she catch it: a sharpening of Alice's intense stare as she spoke of her Cold-Ones-are-Vampires revelation. It was so fast that Louisa almost missed it.
And at once, she knew precisely why Alice had come home early.
Jasper broke off his conversation with Carlisle and cupped her face in his hands. "What troubles you?" He asked, sensing her tumultuous emotions.
There wasn't even a moment she considered not telling him what was on her mind.
"Are we safe here?" she asked, opening her eyes at last.
Jasper's frown deepened. "You're worried about the wolves?"
"Not the wolves, really," she explained slowly. "It's more the elders that worry me."
"They won't hurt you," Carlisle replied. "Or keep you from your friend."
Her gaze darted between her mate, Carlisle, and Alice. "I'm more worried about you and their knowledge of what you are."
"They wouldn't willingly expose us," Carlisle said, though he looked troubled by this. "It would harm them far more than it would us."
Ice cold dread settled in the pit of her stomach. "I'm not so sure about that."
"I'm not following."
"Edward told me once that your kind has one major rule: keep your existence secret from the humans." According to Edward, humans were expressly forbidden from knowing about vampires by their Italian, mafia-esque rulers, the Volturi. In fact, the only reason Louisa was allowed to know as much as she did (besides the fact that there really wasn't a way to keep secrets away from her grubby, psychometric hands) was because Jasper was planning on changing her.
The council's knowledge about the Cullens' peculiar dietary habits… they were neither vampires nor psychics nor mates of a vampire. They weren't even wolves themselves. They had no reason to possess the knowledge in the eyes of the Volturi. And yet, they did.
"The elders' knowledge violates the law," Jasper replied, his eyes growing wide.
It appeared that this was the moment Alice had been waiting for, and she leapt to her feet, stepping deliberately between Jasper and Carlisle. Louisa suddenly found herself sitting alone on the loveseat, staring up at Jasper's back.
"Get out of my way, Alice," Jasper commanded in a tone that brokered no arguments. This was the voice of the man who led armies and conducted battles before he was even a man, one that gave orders and expected them to be followed.
"No."
"He's broken the law."
Carlisle looked horrified at even the thought, and Louisa had the strange urge to cross the room to comfort him. At that moment, she realised how painfully young Carlisle was, forever frozen at twenty-three. Physically, he wasn't that much older than she was.
"No," Alice replied again, just as firmly and unflinchingly as before. "I won't let you hurt him."
Louisa didn't envy Alice's position of staring down a furious Jasper on a warpath. She was either the bravest vampire on the planet, had an absurd amount of faith in her visions, or trusted Jasper so implicitly to know that he would never hurt her, even when Louisa's life was in danger. Perhaps it was a bit of all three. Either way, it was awe-inspiring to witness.
"It's fine, Alice," Carlisle said, his voice soft and so, so sad.
"No," she repeated for the third time. She didn't turn to face Carlisle as she spoke. "We're going to discuss this like rational beings."
Jasper let out a terrible laugh. The sound of it sent a shiver down Louisa's spine, but still, Alice didn't flinch.
"The time for rational discussion is long gone," Jasper snapped. "He's hung a death sentence over our heads." He addressed Carlisle next. "Strange—how your compulsive pacifism has condemned us all."
Carlisle recoiled as if he had been slapped. Despite her fear and anger toward the man, the sight pained her. Despite his flaws, Carlisle was a good man. He was kind and loving and inhumanely compassionate. Whatever sins he had committed were not done with malice—she doubted he was even capable of it. Perhaps trusting the Quileute Warriors to keep their secret had been a naïve mistake, but it was just that. A mistake. And mistakes could be fixed.
"Jasper, that's enough," Louisa said, rising to her feet.
Jasper let out a warning growl, though she wasn't sure who it was directed at. He reached behind himself and wrapped an arm around Louisa, pulling at her and pressing her against his back.
"We're safe, Jasper," she murmured, resting her head between his shoulder blades.
The growl Jasper released told her that he thought otherwise.
"We have a treaty with the Quileutes," Alice reminded Jasper, still in the firm, authoritative voice.
"We had a treaty with the pack of wolves who happened to be Quileutes," Jasper snapped. "A pack which no longer exists—just humans who know about vampires."
"Who are descended from the original warriors. Who carry the gene that could turn them into a wolf at any moment," Alice said. "It only makes sense that their elders would pass down this information."
"I think the Volturi will disagree with your reasoning."
"What do you propose we do, Jasper?" Carlisle asked, speaking at last. "Storm onto the reservation and slaughter the entire nation simply because they might know about vampires? That's madness—and it would most certainly attract the Volturi's attention."
"Besides, everyone knows about vampires," Alice pointed out. "Nosferatu, Dracula, the guy on the cereal box—vampires aren't exactly a new concept. By your logic, we'd need to kill the entire human race."
Jasper remained resolute. "Their elders then."
"Leah's dad is an elder," Louisa reminded.
"I wouldn't give a fuck if he was the reincarnation of Jesus. He's a threat to you."
Louisa tried to squirm around Jasper so that she could see his face, but he seemed determined to put his superior strength to good use, and she remained pressed firmly into his back. "Babe, listen to me. How would you even kill the elders? Few of them ever leave the reservation, which you can't go onto."
"I'll break the treaty. I don't care."
Clearly, she thought, exhaustion overtaking her. Damn, it wasn't even noon yet, and she felt like she could sleep for a century.
"Jasper, look at me," she said, switching tactics. When he (albeit reluctantly) turned around, something loosened in her chest. This was a good sign, she knew. Jasper would never turn his back on someone he considered a threat. This meant that Jasper was now closer to 'seriously pissed off' than to 'downright murderous.' She could work with that. "Okay, so you go onto their land and kill the elders. Then what? One of the boys with the gene catches your scent and phases. Then we'd have a wolf with a grudge coming after you."
"So we lure them off their land," Jasper replied.
"The safest option is to uphold the treaty, Jasper," Carlisle said.
"You never should have made that treaty to begin with!"
"To be fair, he made it with other supernatural beings. They're the ones who spilled the beans," Louisa pointed out, Jasper's panic squirming in her gut.
Jasper glared, although it wasn't really directed at her. "Don't defend him when he has been this careless with you. He has a duty to protect his coven," Jasper snapped. "Fuck, I can't believe I didn't—it's not—you're not safe here. If the Volturi find out, they could kill us all."
Louisa placed her hands on his waist, rubbing her thumbs against his hipbones. "But how would they know?"
"Aro possesses tactile telepathy," Jasper reminded her. "Every thought you've ever had is his to take and peruse."
"Yes, but we've given them no reason to investigate us," she reminded him. "And I've gotten the impression that Carlisle hasn't visited Volterra in, like, a million years."
"Louisa," Jasper said. "Do you honestly believe Aro won't want to meet you?"
The question brought her up short. "Eleazar said he wouldn't want to collect me."
Carlisle gave a little cough. "Collect, perhaps not. But I should think he would certainly be interested in a human with a supernatural gift," he said, shooting Jasper an uncomfortable look. "He sought out Alec and Jane when they were human."
Thank you, Carlisle, she desperately wanted to snarl.
"That's it. We're leaving," Jasper said, taking Louisa's hand and gently, yet firmly, pulling her towards the staircase. "I'm not letting you get mixed up in this."
"Jasper, stop!" Alice commanded, flitting before him faster than Louisa's human brain could process. "You can't kidnap her."
"I'm not kidnapping her," Jasper replied through gritted teeth.
"Oh, so you weren't planning on taking her to a remote cabin in Iceland?" Alice asked sarcastically.
"He better not be," Louisa said, shooting her boyfriend an annoyed look. "I'm not dropping out of high school to live on a freezing rock in the Atlantic."
If Jasper hadn't been holding her hand, Louisa was sure he would have destroyed something already. "We never should have come back to Forks!"
"We had to!" Alice yelled back. "You had to meet Louisa, and Edward still has to…" she trailed off, shooting an uncomfortable look towards Carlisle.
"I don't care about Bella Swan," Jasper replied. "She's not my concern. My mate is."
"Look, this is getting nowhere," Louisa said before Alice could send back a scathing reply. "Can we all just take a breather and think for a moment?" The three vampires looked at her like she had grown a second head, but they weren't shouting, so that was progress. "First off, Jazz, we aren't running away." When he tried to protest, she held up a hand to silence him. "No, that would make it worse."
Carlisle nodded, his lips set into a grim line. "If the Volturi found out that you ran away from the Quileute problem, rather than fixing it, it would be a death sentence."
"As opposed to the situation we find ourselves in, you mean?" Jasper snarked.
Louisa rushed to regain control of the situation before anyone rose to the bait. "Look, I agree that your fears aren't unfounded. We've got a big problem if all the Quileutes somehow know about vampires." Jasper snorted at the understatement but didn't interrupt. "But we don't know how widespread this knowledge is. It could be a closely held secret that only the elders—and those who have turned into wolves—possess. Before we act rashly out of fear, why don't we just…I don't know…ask?"
"Ask?"
"Yeah. Let's ask the elders who they told. How does that work out for us, Alice?"
Alice's eyes went unfocused as she browsed their futures. "It's just the council that knows," she confirmed after a moment. "At least that's what they will tell Carlisle—we would need Edward there to confirm it."
Louisa nodded, smiling between Alice, Jasper, and Carlisle. "See? No need to fuck off to Iceland quite yet," she said, giving Jasper's hand a comforting squeeze.
"We could modify the treaty," Carlisle said, hope evident in his voice. "And have them write in that they are never to discuss our nature with anyone who isn't supernatural. It could work…."
"If this can't be settled, I think we should involve the Volturi," Louisa said, cringing premeditatively, knowing the reactions her proposal would garner. The three vampires didn't disappoint her.
"Louisa, you don't know Aro—" Carlisle began.
"I know him better than you think I do," she replied firmly, raising a hand to silence him. "I know he's power-hungry and manipulative. I know he's incredibly clever and highly intelligent. I know he sees people as pawns, and he has no need for friends. I know he sees you as an amusing aberration to the norm—a science experiment or study in psychology. And I know he will do anything to protect the survival of vampires."
She had been studying the Volturi leaders—Aro in particular—for months now. Ever since Carlisle had pointed out the similarities between their gifts, she had taken to haunting Carlisle's study when he wasn't home, trailing her fingers over ancient artefacts, desperately searching for a spark of information within the animate objects. Secretly, of course, guessing that the Cullens—Jasper in particular—would disapprove of her interest. She was pretty sure that Edward was aware of what she was up to, but he could be relied upon to keep his own counsel.
"I think Aro would appreciate being kept informed, if not involved, with the situation." He'd like it that Carlisle would have to rely on him—to be indebted to him—more specifically. She chose to keep this tidbit to herself. She doubted Carlisle, for all of his compassion and kind-heartedness, would be able to understand the cold calculations that ran through his so-called friend's head.
"Louisa, that could spell the death for Mr Clearwater—for Leah."
"I know." And, God, did she feel wretched for suggesting it. But if she had to pick between her best friend and Jasper…it wasn't even a choice. Carlisle could get on his high horse if he'd like, but Louisa knew he'd make the same call if Esme were the one in danger.
With that cheery declaration, Louisa figured it was time to go. She pulled Jasper up the stairs to his bedroom and helped him pack an overnight bag. She didn't think Jasper would still rip Carlisle's head off, but she would rather avoid that unfortunate situation by having her boyfriend stay with her for a little while. She just needed to think of a good excuse to tell her father.
She was already cringing at the thought of how that conversation would go.
"Three may keep a secret if two of them are dead." ― Benjamin Franklin
A/N: IDK if you noticed, but I changed my pen name. Not by choice, but there was a security problem with the old one. So, I'm rebranding as alonelysock. Hope you don't mind. I also hope you enjoyed the chapter! Leave a comment and let me know what you think :)
