38: Part Three, Chapter Ten: Endgame

Word Count: 5958, First Published 21/1/2024 Australian time

As always, thanks to Ms Meyer for permission to play in her sand pit.

This is the last chapter, with an epilogue to come.

Chapter 10 – End Game

Marcus entered the clearing moments behind Bella, and instantly took in the state of play. He had never personally met the so-called God of War, but there was no doubt that Bella had found her mate—alive, as he'd suspected she would ever since their conversation on the plane in New York. He couldn't fathom what had kept Jasper from being drawn to Italy for the last two months, but there must be some explanation.

He did know Jasper's sire by sight and reputation, and quickly realised what was happening. He allowed a moment of pride in Bella and her shield.

But recognising the Denalis and some of the Cullens, it was immediately obvious that their side would soon be overwhelmed.

"Alec!" He barked out, as the siblings caught up, sweeping out a hand to indicate the whole clearing. "And Jane: anyone attacking a wolf or a vampire known to be friendly with Calisle or Eleazar."

They needed no further instruction, and nor did Felix or Ariana who were already leaping into the fray, one towards Tanya and her large friend—he was almost the size of Felix!—and one towards Carlisle. They would both likely be caught in Alec's mist, but it wouldn't be the first time.

"No flames till it's over!" Marcus added. "There are clearly friendly limbs to be found and attached. And no harming the wolves."

All four members of his guard had centuries of experience in battle, and Jane and Alec were well practised in working together. Whenever Alec's mist reached someone on Carlisle's side, Jane's power disabled any opponents that were nearby but not yet anaesthetised. Marcus stayed by the two of them to provide defence should they need it, allowing them to focus on their tasks.

Based on the number of decapitated vampires strewn around the area, it was clear the battle had been going for some time. But with the Volturi's assistance it quickly came to an end.

Jasper had re-entered the fray shortly after they arrived while Bella had returned to stand by Marcus and the twins. But he had managed to stay clear of Alec's power, along with Ariana, who'd just managed to dart clear as Jane disabled her last opponent and had returned to stand next to Bella.

Once everyone was still, Jasper flashed over to Bella, completely ignoring her companions, to take her in his arms. He pulled back to stare down into her eyes, and Marcus hated to interrupt but the battle wasn't truly over yet. Still, he couldn't help smiling fondly at the couple.

"Jasper Whitlock, I presume," Marcus said, and then continued without waiting for him to speak. "Alec can only maintain his gift over such a large area for so long, so will you please disable everyone not on your side, as Alec releases them? Ariana will assist you, if you point out who to include."

Given what he knew of the Cullens, the Denalis, and the Southern warlord, it was not hard to imagine what had happened in that clearing, or at least who the aggressor had been. Still, if no laws had been broken, it wasn't really the Volturi's place to intervene. Nonetheless, he wished to send a clear message to the vampire world. Anyone who attacked Bella, would answer to him. And by extension, that meant anyone who attacked her mate also.

Even so, he would need to have Maria's head returned to her body, if only briefly, to give her a chance to state her case, along with Carlisle and Tanya, as the leaders of the Cullen and Denali covens. The wolves, he would ignore.

.

Bella couldn't take her eyes off Jasper, as he moved to follow Marcus's instruction.

"Can we start with pulling Carlisle out?" Jasper asked. "I know he's in the middle of the mist, but he'll want to look at the injured wolves as fast as possible."

She turned to where the wolves were frozen, trying to guess which among them might be her friends. She'd not seen any of them up close in their wolf forms, except during the battle with Victoria when she'd been in no shape to wonder who was who. She prayed they weren't among the injured, or worse. There were more wolves there than she would have expected to see, and she wondered if anyone else she knew had started shifting.

"That makes sense," Marcus said. "Alec?" He gestured, and Alec walked into his own mist and bodily lifted Carlisle clear.

Carlisle took a few seconds to get his bearings once removed from the mist, though even before he was fully aware of what was happening he was calling for Esme.

Alec turned immediately to find her, and Bella watched as he bit and tore through the neck of the vampire Carlisle had been fighting before bending down to retrieve Esme's body. Her head had been torn right off. Bella thought she would have thrown up if she'd still had a human stomach, but Alec merely bent to pick her head up from where it had been lying next to her.

Marcus gently restrained Carlisle so that he didn't rush back into the mist, but Alec returned in only moments, to gently lie Esme next to her mate.

"Do you know where your hand is Carlisle?" he asked next. Carlisle looked at the end of his arm, as if surprised to find his hand absent. "Not really," he said. "I think it was somewhere near where Esme was lying though. I lost it while protecting her."

"I'll look for it," Bella volunteered, "since your mist doesn't affect me. Then you can focus on—" she swept her arm around the clearing uncomfortably. "You know—dealing with all of them," she said.

It was a surreal scene. Vampires who had been fighting were standing, sightless, in the exact position they'd been in when the mist hit them.

But among the statues were the wriggling limbs and headless bodies. Marcus had explained to her how if a limb was removed from a vampire's body it would always attempt to return to it, with the head being the focal point. It wasn't a conscious thing and didn't require any ordinary senses—so Alec's power didn't affect it. Without assistance it would take a long time for a body to reconnect with its head, even if left sitting together, but it would eventually happen, if they were left undisturbed.

There were more detached hands and arms than anything else, but there was one hand that was wriggling in Carlisle's direction through the churned up mud, so suppressing her revulsion, Bella picked it up and took it to him.

Even one-handed, he'd already replaced Esme's head, with Marcus's help, but she was unmoving.

"What's wrong with her?" Bella asked, passing Carlisle the hand. "Will she be alright?"

"She'll be fine," Carlisle said, looking up at her. "It will just take a while. Bella, I can't tell you how wonderful it is to see you alive. We'd been searching birth announcements, but none of us dared hope you'd actually survived. Except maybe Jasper, I think he held onto a hint of hope, despite everything."

"Yes, that's something I'm rather curious about. Why was Jasper not drawn to Volterra? But later. Jasper indicated you would wish to see to the injured wolves," Marcus said, gesturing in their direction. "Shall I have Alec release them?"

"Please."

Bella stayed where she was, doubtful of her reception with the wolves, and turned to watch Jasper and Ariana, who had already freed Felix and begun to take care of their enemies. It was a strange process. Alec's power was only effective when it covered someone's head, so Ariana and Jasper were able to reach into the mist and pull vampires out by their limbs. They could also decapitate enemies without them ever being aware of what was happening, though it required some finesse for Alec to pull the mist just far enough away. There were so many more enemy vampires than there were allies, based on the ones they were disabling. At least three of them for every one of the Cullens. And dozens more already lying decapitated. She wondered how many of those were allies too. She could see all the Cullens, but she didn't know how many allies they might have recruited to help.

Alec was gradually removing the mist from areas they had cleared, though most of those left standing were far slower to recover than Felix apparently had been. And this is why they train so much, she thought.

As she watched, she marvelled at the joy of having Jasper there with her. The pain in her chest, the agitation in her limbs, it was all gone as though it had never been. Instead, she felt her connection with Jasper as a solid thing. A cord, holding them together, so that she could have closed her eyes and still felt exactly where he was. It wasn't painful any more though, it was simply there.

There was so much she didn't understand—why hadn't he come for her? Why hadn't they at least made contact? Why did they assume she was dead? And why had the news reports said he was dead? And who were all these other vampires? But for the moment, all that would have to wait. She could see that there were numerous injuries that would need to be seen to. And what would happen to all the enemy vampires? She realised she didn't quite understand vampire law, or what role the Volturi played in this kind of altercation.

But then Alice and Edward were released. They both seemed to gain their bearings more quickly than most, and Bella tensed, wondering whether their reception would be as welcoming as Carlisle's. The next moment, she realised how unnecessary her fears were, as Alice immediately looked around until she spotted Bella, and cried out to her.

"Bella!" Before the sound had died away, the bubbly vampire was there embracing her. "You're alive, you're alive! But how are you alive? I saw—" she broke off and looked at Marcus. "I saw you," she said, "draining her!"

Marcus raised his eyebrows. "I see there are some things you haven't told me, Bella," he said, looking at her questioningly.

"Oops!" Alice said, but she was grinning.

"But in any case," Marcus continued, refocusing on Alice, "I did not feed from Bella, but I did bite her. She did not have enough venom in her system to have survived the change otherwise."

"You saved her then," Jasper said, coming back over to once again wrap his arms around her, pulling her back into his chest.

"I suppose I did," Marcus replied, smiling gently at her. "Though from the story she tells, she would have come back anyway."

"Not soon enough to save Jasper today though," Edward said, joining his mate.

"Nor the rest of us," Alice said. "Speaking of which…"

She turned back to see what help was needed, as the last of Alec's mist dissipated. Alice, Edward and Jasper, along with four of their vampire allies—two with red eyes and two with gold—were whole but the rest of the Cullens and three vampires Bella didn't know had lost limbs, though Esme was the only one who had been completely incapacitated.

Those who were able bodied helped those who needed it, while Marcus asked Felix and Ariana to return Maria's head to her body, after removing both arms and a leg. He also had Jasper pick four members of her army to heal. "If you can sift back through your memories to those who seemed the lowest, newest, or least aggressive, I want some witnesses to spread the word," he said. "Bella, you stand next to me," he added. "I wish to make a clear statement."

There was so much going on, Bella felt as though her head might explode, so she was glad to comply. She'd spent the last several weeks mostly alone or with just one or two other vampires. Now her mind was taking in every single detail of everything, and it was making her feel a little crazy.

The one thing keeping her afloat was the constant awareness of Jasper. He was all over the place, helping his family or doing as Marcus asked, but he kept sending her little bursts of his love and joy. She hoped he could feel her happiness in return.

Something she was trying not to notice, but was nonetheless fully aware of, was what was happening with the wolves. Sam and another Quileute man she only slightly recognised had changed back into their human forms, and were assisting Carlisle, who seemed to be doing emergency surgery on one of the wolves, still in wolf form. She had a terrible feeling that it might be Jacob.

She felt a sheen of venom cover her eyes. She doubted he would ever be friends with her now, but the idea of him dying still hurt. And what would Billy do? She felt a flash of concern from Jasper, and he came over to embrace her.

"What's wrong darlin'?" he asked.

She had automatically slid her arms around his waist and let her cheek rest on his chest, but she pulled back a little to look at him. "Do you know who the injured wolves are?"

"I know Jacob's the one Carlisle's working on," he told her. "I don't know the other two. I've been helping train them, but I have to admit I haven't been very…engaged with the world, since I thought you died."

She tightened her arms in sympathy, and laid her cheek back on his chest, her face turned towards the wolves. "He's going to be alright, though, right?" she said, staring across at them.

"I think so. Carlisle doesn't feel super worried to me."

"Good." She let herself simply absorb his presence for a minute, and felt the joy he was still radiating. She wondered if everyone in the clearing was feeling it, or if he was directing it at her deliberately. "Wait a minute," she said, "how did you know I was upset, did you feel my concern before?"

"I did," he said, "I can feel you all the time now. I think it must be because our bond is stronger, now that you've been changed."

"Huh. Can you feel this then?" She focussed on her feelings of love and adoration, trying to send them to him, and in response felt an extra burst of love back from him. "Ah, I guess you could," she said, her lips curling up in a smile she couldn't control, even had she wanted to.

In only a few more minutes, everything had calmed down. All the vampires on the Cullen's side in the battle had been healed, and Jasper had put four 'witnesses' back together, with strict instructions not to move unless they wanted to experience permanent death.

Carlisle had done all he could for the wolves. Bella was devastated to learn that one of them was dead: a young boy named Brady, whom she had met once or twice at La Push. He couldn't have been more than about thirteen.

There were several other wolves with minor injuries, but they were fast healers and didn't need any medical support. The two seriously injured wolves were Jacob and Leah. They would have to stay in their wolf form for some time while their bones knit together correctly—Carlisle had had to re-break some of them that were healing badly—but they would heal quickly. Sam had been on the phone making arrangements with the tribal council, before he looked up and made eye contact with Bella. At his smile, Bella took a step forward and then paused, to look up at Marcus. He nodded and mouthed, "be careful." She smiled, and walked over to Sam.

"Bella," he said, meeting her half way, "it is so good to see you alive." He seemed genuine, if solemn.

Bella blinked at him, surprised. "I—that is, thank you. I wasn't sure…" she trailed off, unsure how to express her doubt.

"If we would have preferred you dead?" he asked wryly. "Some might, I won't lie to you. But I've seen Jasper these last weeks. I wouldn't wish that grief on anyone."

"Jasper told me you have your own—imprint."

"Emily," he said, smiling for the first time. "I don't know how I would survive her death." He shuddered. "But there's more as well—it's clear we misunderstood the prophecy."

"Yes!" she agreed. "This is the fifth life! I didn't have to die again at all."

"Exactly," he said. "And if you hadn't arrived when you did, this would have been a massacre.

"Because of you, we allied with the Cullens and Jasper trained us in fighting vampires. You united foes. And because we were here, the Cullens survived long enough for you to arrive. If they hadn't, I hate to think what this army," he gestured broadly at the piles of separated body parts that Maria's army had been divided into, his hand encompassing the gruesome scene, "would have done in Forks and La Push, when they finished here.

"The cost of us being here was Brady's life, for which we will all mourn. But the cost of not being here may have been much, much higher. And the cost if you had not arrived when you did—your fifth life's return—may well have been all our deaths."

Bella was flabbergasted. She hadn't been thinking about the prophecy. But she realised he was right. Everything fit. Still…

"It wasn't really me who made the difference," she said. "It was Jane and Alec." She indicated the siblings, who were still standing by Marcus, but clearly listening to their conversation. As was everyone else in the clearing.

"But would they have been here without you?"

"No, you're right, they wouldn't," she said, then added in a rush, "I'm so sorry about Brady though. And would you give my love to—well everyone, but especially Jacob and Leah and Seth, and also to Billy and to Sue Clearwater? Although…" she paused, then finished sadly, "maybe it's better if they don't know I'm alive actually, so they don't have to lie to Charlie."

"Billy and Sue will have to know, I'm afraid, as they're on the tribal council. They'll need to know the prophecy has been fulfilled," Sam said. "And Jake and Leah and Seth all heard you." He gestured towards where several wolves were still congregated, although others had left. One of them was sitting up looking over to them and Bella could swear he was smiling at her. She waved at him. "Seth, why don't you change and come on over," he added. The wolf leapt over into the trees and moments later Seth emerged wearing the pack's trademark cut-off jeans that she remembered from the few times she'd seen them as humans standing guard outside her house, what seemed a lifetime ago.

He bounded over to them, and just like Alice had minutes earlier, went straight in to hug her, without pausing. Bella hugged him back happily, carefully holding back from using her full strength.

When he pulled back he said, "Wow, you really stink Bella!"

She laughed. Trust Seth to break the mood. "You don't smell so great yourself, pup!" She retaliated. "I missed you—everyone—so much," she added.

"Why didn't you let us know you were alive?" Seth asked. Then he frowned. "Wait, was it because—" he waved towards her face, and she frowned back at him in confusion. "Your eyes," he clarified, seeing her confusion. "Are you feeding on humans?"

"No!" she exclaimed. "Of course not! They're still red because of my own blood, that's all. Marcus says they'll probably be gold in a few months."

"Oh, good. Then why didn't you tell us?" he asked again.

"I thought Alice would have known," she said. "And"—even now it hurt so much to think of it—"I thought Jasper was dead," she added in a small voice.

That brought Jasper darting over to wrap his arms around her from behind. "And I thought you were dead. We will never be apart again," he said fervently.

Marcus strode over to them then. "Will you introduce me, kórā mou?"

"Of course. Marcus, this is Sam, he's the leader of the wolf pack, and Seth, one of my good friends. Sam, Seth, Marcus is"— she looked at him, not quite sure how to describe him—"kind of the leader of all vampires. Well, one of them."

"Thank you for your assistance," Sam said stiffly.

Marcus nodded. "Bella is under my protection," he said, by way of explanation. "Therefore, her mate is also."

"Marcus also saved me," she told the Quileutes. "I didn't have enough venom in my system to change me, so he added more. I would have died otherwise."

"Now," Marcus said, "if you will excuse us, I believe we should sort out what happened here and deal with the aftermath. You are welcome to watch, if you wish," he added to Sam, "but this is a vampire matter."

.

Jasper kept his arms around Bella while he listened to Carlisle explain the situation they had found themselves in.

Maria had interrupted once too often, despite the small vampire called Jane dishing out a clearly excruciating punishment, until Marcus had had Alec anaesthetise her again.

"You are the most beautiful vampire I've ever seen," he murmured at an almost sub-vocal level into her ear. He felt, rather than saw her smile, standing as he was behind her, with his face almost buried in her hair. It was dripping wet, but still smelled so intensely of her essence, and he just wanted to breathe her in. He could feel her pleasure, her love and a little bashfulness in response to his compliment. "And you smell even more delectable than you did as a human," he added.

Just then, Marcus had Alec drop his mist from Maria.

"Alright, Maria," Marcus said, "I have heard Carlisle Cullen's perspective. You may now have your say."

Maria proceeded to hiss viciously about Jasper's depravity, claiming that her seer had seen that he would kill her if she didn't kill him first.

Although it seemed entirely certain that Marcus would side with the Cullens, if only because Bella did, Jasper now watched him closely to see his reaction. He seemed impassive, his emotions steady, almost bored, and Jasper wondered what it would be like to live for millenia, as the Volturi were said to have done.

"Should we put the seer back together, Master?" the guard named Ariana asked then.

"No," Marcus replied. "I believe we can take Maria at her word. However…"

He then went on to outline her crime—namely, having such a large army of newborns, which the Volturi had made clear, many decades ago, would no longer be tolerated due to the risk of exposure. Bringing it so far across the country only added to the risk.

It was a slightly long bow to draw, Jasper thought. The Volturi had generally only ever stepped in once exposure occurred, or there were questions being raised among the humans. The speculation when they had originally disbanded many of the large armies during the height of the Southern Wars was that the Volturi simply didn't appreciate the potential threat to their leadership that the large armies posed. On the other hand it had been many centuries since the law against immortal children had been made, and that law was enforced regardless of whether exposure had yet occurred, merely based on the extreme risk they posed to secrecy.

Maria attempted to argue that her army was not a threat, as she had several mature and capable lieutenants, and that defending herself against Jasper's treachery was her right, but Marcus was clearly uninterested.

"Enough!" he said finally. "It is clear to me that regardless of your seer's predictions, Jasper Whitlock was far too busy grieving the loss of his mate to be considering hunting you down. A grief that he may far more quickly have discovered to be unnecessary, were he not tied up preparing for your little war."

"He allied with werewolves!" she exclaimed, desperation now entering her voice.

"Don't be ridiculous!" Marcus retorted. "Werewolves do not ally themselves with anyone. The Cullens' alliance with the shapeshifters is not new, nor of concern to the Volturi."

That was a surprise. Though it had been clear already that Marcus was not especially interested in the wolves, Jasper hadn't expected a virtual endorsement. He wondered how Caius would feel about such a statement, given his reputation for all but eradicating actual werewolves from existence.

"But—"

"Enough," Marcus said again. "Felix—" He flicked his fingers in Maria's direction, and before she could say another word, her head had been tossed into a pile with the others.

"Now, the witnesses." And Marcus turned his attention to the four newborns they had reassembled. They stood crowded together and were radiating fear; Jasper had picked the two from whom he recalled feeling the least aggression and the most horror at the situation they found themselves in, while Edward had suggested two whose thoughts had all been about how to protect each other and escape from Maria.

Marcus proceeded to explain to them that they were spared to be witnesses to the Volturi judgement. Creating so many newborns was not acceptable, and unfortunately, the rest would have to be burned, as there was no way of placing so many with responsible covens. But for the four remaining, they could either spend the remainder of their newborn years training in Volterra, or they could go with one of the covens here, if any were willing to take one or two of them on.

"My daughter, Bella," he placed a hand on Bella's shoulder, and Jasper could feel how very deliberate this introduction was, "has spent the past two months in Volterra and can no doubt tell you that it is a comfortable place to dwell." Jasper reflected that these four newborns probably didn't yet understand how much power Marcus held in the vampire world, but they would come to. And the vampires they shared this story with would know just how significant his statement about Bella was.

In the end, the two female newborns Edward had picked, who seemed to be a couple, opted to go with the Denalis to try the 'vegetarian' diet; the one male vampire Jasper had chosen decided on Peter and Charlotte, and the third female accepted the offer of being trained by the Volturi, with the option to leave at the end of her newborn year.

.

The rain had finally ceased, but spatters of mud covered the piles of seething vampire limbs. Bella tried to avoid looking at them.

"My guard will deal with this mess," Marcus said, turning to Carlisle. "They probably shouldn't be burned until your wolf friends can be moved, the smoke will be heavy. On the other hand, burning them while it is still misty would make concealment easiest. Can you say when the wolves will be healed sufficiently?"

Alice spoke up then. "The mist will stay around all day," she said. "And it will be rainy again within the hour."

Marcus raised his eyebrows. "How do you know that, young one?"

"I—have visions," Alice said, hesitantly. "I can predict the weather with a fair degree of accuracy quite far in advance."

Bella noticed that she didn't reveal too much, and wondered if Marcus would interrogate her later. She'd never mentioned Alice's gift to the Volturi, feeling that it wasn't her place. Edward's and Jasper's gifts were already known to them. But she wasn't worried either way. She trusted Marcus implicitly.

"I'm not really an expert on the wolves physiology I'm afraid," Carlisle added. "My best guess based on what I've seen is they'll be ready to transform back to their human forms within the next hour or so."

"Sooner I think," Sam called out.

It was quickly decided that the remaining vampires would all retreat to the Cullens' home, with the exception of Felix, Ariana, and the newborn who had opted to stay with the Volturi.

Esme offered to return with towels and hot drinks for the Quileutes but Sam turned her down, explaining that some of the pack were already on their way back with supplies.

"I imagine the elders would appreciate a chance to meet with Bella later though," he added, to which she nodded her assent.

"When everything calms down," she said.

.

Bella looped her arms around Jasper's neck and gazed up at him happily. They'd spent the last two hours with everyone crowded into the Cullens' living room, going over the events that had led them to this moment.

It had been wonderful, though a little overwhelming, to be reunited with all of Jasper's family and to meet Peter and Charlotte and the Denalis. Even Kate had been gushing over how wonderful it was that she was alive, how happy she was for Jasper, ending any slight jealousy Bella might have felt before it could take root.

Everyone had been jubilant at their success, and Peter had been triumphant that his advice to not change Bella earlier had finally been validated.

The death of Brady was tragic, but the knowledge that it could have been any one of them—and may have been all of them if Bella and her Volturi escort hadn't arrived—had them all a little giddy with relief.

Jane and Alec had kept themselves a little apart at first, as they always did, but Bella had seen how the gratitude they were shown affected even them. She supposed they were so used to being feared, people being truly grateful for their presence was hard for them to grasp.

It had been interesting watching Marcus interact with her family too. Only Carlisle, Eleazar and Carmen had met him before, but everyone knew who he was, knew his status. They were all clearly surprised not only by how informal she was with him, but also by how casual he was. She couldn't help thinking he was rather happy to be out of Volterra. She wondered if he really wanted to be a ruler at all.

At first she'd been hesitant to leave him alone with her family, as much as she wanted some time with Jasper. But after everything had been explained that could be (why Jasper hadn't come for her and why the papers had said he was dead) and everything else figured out (that her shield had blocked Alice's visions and confused Peter's gift), Marcus had astounded her by sitting down with Carlisle and saying, "Well, Carlisle, Aro is so pleased by how well you have succeeded in finding people to share your unusual lifestyle. He always wanted you to succeed, you know, even while he was sure it was impossible."

What had surprised her almost as much was his comments about her own control, but also his fear, at times, that her diet was making her unstable.

"Her control, right from the first, was astounding, Carlisle," Marcus said. "But sometimes she would seem quite unstable, more so as she got hungrier. And even as her control around feeding developed over the weeks, her mental stability didn't seem to improve at all."

"And you think it was because of her diet?" Carlisle asked.

"I considered it likely at the time. Seeing her now, I realise it was actually the effect of the mate bond pulling at her. If she had had a normal diet, perhaps I would have asked questions about Jasper's supposed death earlier. As it was, I assumed that her experience of losing Jasper was less intense because the bond had been broken before she became a vampire. It wasn't until she mentioned the pain in her chest, when we were already on our way here, that I seriously considered the possibility that he had survived. But not knowing of Alice's visions"—here he delivered a frown in Bella's direction, but his half smile told her his displeasure was not in earnest—"I couldn't imagine a scenario in which he hadn't come for her before now, were he alive."

They had continued their discussion, but Jasper had taken her hand, and excusing themselves, led her upstairs.

And now she was finally alone with Jasper in his room, and the joy she felt was so intense, she felt like her heart might start beating again. A tangible sensation of happiness settled within her chest, and she took a deep breath, savouring his unique scent.

"I still can't believe you're alive," she told him. "I keep expecting to wake up from this fantasy and find myself back in my room in Volterra."

"I know exactly what you mean." He leaned down to punctuate his words with a kiss, and his hands resting on her hips squeezed lightly. "Though there was a part of me that could never believe you were truly gone," he added. He smiled, but she could see the shadow of pain in his eyes. It would take them both some time to completely let go of that pain, she thought. To trust their good fortune. He lifted a hand to trace a path along her cheekbone, and she closed her eyes, relishing in the intimacy of his touch. "Like I said before, I kept telling myself not to hope, that I had to focus on the belief that you would come back to me through rebirth. But all along, I couldn't help that part of me that wanted to believe you were waiting in Italy. I was drawn there so strongly, it killed me to ignore it. But I told myself it was just the need to avenge you, and that I had to ignore it and wait for you. That I couldn't break my last promise to you. Still, it was so hard to fight it. If it hadn't been for Maria's army coming…."

"Me too," she paused to pull him down for another kiss. "That there was a part of me that couldn't believe you were really gone, I mean. Marcus warned me that hope was dangerous, but I couldn't expel it entirely either," she told him, without fully removing her lips from his.

"Mmm…" Jasper's lips travelled along her jaw and down her neck to nuzzle the indentation above her collar bone. "You make a stunning vampire, Bella," he told her, "and you taste even better than you used to."

She laughed and pulled away, but only slightly. "You know," she said, still smiling, "I think I could get used to this."

Jasper smiled back. "Me too," he echoed her earlier words, then kissed her again, this time with a little more intensity. She leaned into him and returned his kiss with equal fervour. She'd been deprived of him for too long, and now she was determined to make up for it. She savoured the feeling of being in his arms as he ran his hands over her body, and then pulled his lips away to whisper in her ear. "I love you, Bella."

Bella's breath hitched in her throat, and she felt her eyes fill with venom. She pulled back and looked into his eyes, and the emotion she saw there made her heart swell. She smiled, and for the first time since Victoria had attacked her, she truly believed that things were going to be okay—better than okay, in fact.

"I love you too," she said, and then kissed him deeply.

...

...

A/N

Just the epilogue to come!

So many thanks to Triinity for pre-reading, and to everyone who commented on the last chapter, especially my long term readers who are still with me! You make all the work worthwhile. :)

Recommendations, or, What I have been reading lately:

For a bit of a change of pace these are both books published in KU, rather than fan fiction.

Except the first one is fan fiction… A new novella published by one of my favourite Jane Austen fan fiction writers, Laura Moretti. This is modern and all human.

Heartbroken: Elizabeth hasn't heard from Darcy since violently rejecting his declaration of love. But then one day… She's bored. Yes, bored. No, there's no better reason for it. Anyway, she texts him. And Darcy texts back. From despair to hope, a passionate, intense love story… Heartbroken has a release date of 21 Feb, but I've already read it and I'm here to tell you it's awesome. Funny, intense feelings, snappy dialogue… what's not to love?

Laura also publishes on ff dot net under the name Laure001 at ff dot net /u/6630227/ She's seriously brilliant. Her current WIP is about zombies…

Then there's KM Shea's latest urban fantasy series, which is about a vampire slayer, and, of course, a vampire.

The Lies of Vampires and Slayers: Magiford Supernatural City (Magic on Main Street Book 1) is the first new book in KM Shea's fun Magiford series. This is her 5th series in Magiford, so if you like a world you can keep going back to (and clearly you do, or you wouldn't be reading Twilight fan fiction!), give this a try.