A Thwarted Ambush

Jasper tossed the phone on the coffee table and looked around the room. "I think that went well."

Everyone laughed and nodded. Even kind-hearted Esme felt no small amount of rage whenever she thought of Sue Clearwater and the other elders. She'd grown to love all three wolves in the time she'd been in Montana and was livid at the way they'd been treated. Kind-hearted she may be, but threaten or hurt one of her cubs and the mama bear in her comes out faster that you can blink. Just because she wasn't playing the role of a mother in the Whitlock coven didn't mean her mother's love was in any way diminished.

"The part about a ring of vamps around La Push was a stroke of genius," Peter laughed. "They'll be too scared to say a word.

Jasper shrugged. "That's my hope."

"How long until Edward and the pack get here?" Leah asked.

Jasper thought on it a minute. "Rough estimate, I'd say seven hours. Maybe six just to be safe. They left about two hours ago, and it's almost nine-hundred miles. They can't run at their top speed that whole time.

"Then I'm going to try and get a little bit of sleep," Leah nodded. She'd been a little too anxious about this step of their plan so trying to sleep beforehand was a fruitless endeavor. "I'll make sure we're all up in five hours and we'll come up here."

"Alright, I'll have some breakfast ready for you guys," Jasper smiled.

Leah smiled in thanks and waved goodbye to the group.

"I'm gonna head back up and enjoy this last little bit of peace and quiet with my mate and our little flower. I'll see y'all in a few hours," Jasper said as he made for the stairs.

Six hours later, the whole huge crew was up at the main cabin and Jasper and Bella were finishing up the mountain of dishes from breakfast. Jeremiah had everyone shielded, Jane was ready to dole out some pain to the Quileute pack, and the accommodations for their guests were ready.

Bella had gotten stuck on the idea that she wanted Edward's head to sit in a bird's nest for some unknown reason, so Jasper and Peter had scoured the area until they'd found an abandoned eagle's nest. Not wanting to taint their home with the telepath's venom, Bella had lined the nest with some paper towels and a ripped up black garbage bag.

When Jasper caught her looking at it with a spike of amusement, he huffed a laugh. "What is so funny about Edward's head in a bird's nest?"

Bella smiled and shrugged. "I don't know. His hair kinda looks like a nest, I guess, but there's no grand reason. It's just a funny mental image."

"You're a strange bird, Bella Swan," Emmett smiled.

"That's probably true," she laughed. "And soon we'll have an even stranger bird."

Considering how close they were to enacting what was essentially a kidnapping and murder plot, the mood in the room was pretty upbeat. Jasper had thought the wolves in his family would be a little conflicted once everything was in motion, but they were all surprisingly calm. Goes to show what that type of betrayal does to lifelong connections.

Chelsea was eager for the other wolf pack and the elders to arrive. It would be a fun challenge to see who was truly bonded to who and how she could wreak a little havoc of her own.

"I can just barely feel them," Jasper said not even ten minutes after they finished putting the dishes away. "They must've really pushed themselves the whole way."

"Good, they'll be tired," Leah smiled.

"Alright, places everyone," Peter laughed, and the group split.

Chelsea, Jane, and Jeremiah would be a surprise to Edward, who still believed he'd be ambushing the whole Whitlock clan, so they stayed inside the house with Bella and Seth for the time being, though Jane was standing near a window so she could act quickly if she needed to. After Jasper confirmed which direction they were coming from, Rosalie, Emmett, and Esme left to make a wide loop so they could close in behind the wolves and the telepath.

Jasper, Peter, Charlotte, Leah, and Paul walked out onto the front porch to wait for them to come into view.

"Chains and bat are ready?" Leah asked quietly.

Jasper nodded. "Yep."

Leah let out a long breath.

"Hey," Jasper said quietly and took her hand. "If at any point you need to get away, just use your emotions to communicate with me. Same goes for you, Paul. There's nothing wrong with not wanting to be near the people who made your lives hell."

"It's true," Charlotte assured them. "I've never once felt weak in this life after I came to understood what I was and what my life was now. But there has always been a small part of me that fears running into Maria just about every day since Jasper let us escape. If I saw that woman's face, I'm not ashamed to say I would probably run as fast as I could in the opposite direction. That doesn't make me weak, it just makes me normal."

"Y'all should've seen me when Alice caught a vision of Maria coming to Calgary to find me after we joined the Cullens. I couldn't decide if I wanted to run, to fight, to growl, to hide… I was a hot fuckin' mess until that woman left and was a hundred miles gone," Jasper laughed. "So if you need a little bit of breathing room, send me an emotion to alert me, and I'll make up some reason I need you to head out for a little bit. These assholes don't ever need to know."

Leah and Paul both nodded. "Thanks."

Jasper tuned back in to the approaching emotional storm. "Damn, there is a lot of fuckin' rage in those kids. Rage and arrogance. That doesn't seem like a real healthy mix for a bunch of teenage boys who turn into giant animals," he huffed, making the others smile. Then his eyes tightened a little where they were locked on the tree line. "Get ready. Three, two, one."

The five wolves slowed marginally on catching sight of the three vamps and two wolves waiting on them. They'd been expecting to ambush them, so it was a little jarring to find they'd apparently been expected. Edward's eyes darted from one person to the next, and when he realized their minds were silent, he knew he must've somehow walked right into a trap. Just as he turned to run, he was slammed with an emotional bomb that had him hitting the ground. In front of him, all five wolves let out mournful howls as they hit the dirt too.

"Twenty seconds, Jane," Jasper called as he and the others on the porch took off running.

Just before they reached the first downed wolf, Rosalie, Esme, and Emmett came up on Edward from behind. Rose tossed the bag with the collars to Leah and she and Emmett begin taking their former brother apart. After removing his head, Rose handed it to Esme so she could run it inside, then she and Emmett took the rest of his body to two holes they'd dug on the far side of the property. Torso went in one, arms and legs in the other. After covering the dismembered boy with dirt, they raced back to the house.

Jane started with the wolf farthest on the left and then worked down the line the way they'd planned. As she zapped each one, a horse-sized wolf turned into a naked teenage boy. As soon as they were in their human forms, one of the Whitlocks snapped a collar on them and pulled it just this side of too tight. With the crippling cocktail of emotions, they put up no resistance.

Once all the Quileute wolves were back in human form with the collars firmly in place, they used the chains they'd picked up to bind their legs from their ankles to their knees, and their arms behind their backs.

"You can bring her out now, Chelsea," Jasper called towards the house, and a minute later the petite blond came to a stop beside them and set the human she was carrying on the ground. Jane followed just seconds later.

Bella smiled at her mate as she twirled the bat Emmett had made for her.

"Ready?" he smiled.

"Damn right I am," Bella laughed.

At that, Jasper started pulling his gift back from Jacob Black, though with Bella in such close proximity, he kept the others under. Jane was an extra insurance policy on the off chance they'd miscalculated anything.

Jacob moaned and groaned a few times, then flared in panic when he couldn't get quite enough air in. When he tried to move his arms to fix whatever was blocking his airflow, his panic skyrocketed that he was somehow immobile as a human. His eyes shot open to find five vampires, two former wolves from his pack, and the human girl he'd thought he loved.

"Hey Jake," Bella smiled. "Long time no see."

"Bella! You have to help me!" he croaked out.

Bella cocked her head to the side as she looked at the boy on the ground. "Do I? I seem to remember needing your help at one time and you turned your back on me. My dad died because of it."

"I—"

Before Jacob could utter a single word no one wanted to hear, Bella brought the bat down as hard as she could on his shoulder. She waited for him to stop wailing, and as soon as he was just quietly sniffling through gritted teeth, she swung and hit his knee. Again she waited, and once he stopped screaming, she slammed the bat down on his ankle. That seemed to be the limit of Jacob Black's pain threshold, because his scream abruptly cut off when he passed out.

Bella smiled and nodded, then handed the bat to her wolfie sister. "All yours, Leah."

"Thanks," Leah laughed, and took the bat to where Sam was laying on his side.

Jasper gave a nod to Charlotte and Peter, who each grabbed a wolf still under the influence of his gift. They didn't need a bat, they just used their fists to break the bones in their wolf's hands and feet, then took them to the waiting dog kennels and threw them inside.

"May I?" Chelsea asked as she pointed to one of the wolf-boys.

"Have at it," Jasper nodded.

"And which one is this?" she asked Paul.

"That's Quil," Paul sneered.

"He's one of the two who was talking about you and Leah so young Seth would overhear?" she asked, just to be sure. When Paul nodded, Chelsea's face turned hard. Seth was a sweetheart of a boy. Chelsea used her foot, rather than the bat or a fist, and stomped on the shoulder, elbow, and ankle of the boy. The pain was enough to break through the emotional torment Jasper had him under, and a hoarse scream ripped from his throat. Chelsea nodded with a pleased little smile, then hauled Quil up and threw him over her shoulder to lock him in his bad-dog kennel.

All that was left in front of them then was an unconscious Jacob Black, and a slowly stirring Sam Uley.

Sam's eyes flew open when he realized his trapped and vulnerable position, then narrowed when he saw Leah, Paul, Bella Swan, a tall male vamp, and a tiny blond vamp who looked all of thirteen-years old.

"Release me," he demanded in his most authoritative voice, which made just about everyone snort a laugh.

"I'm not sure you're in a position to make any demands, Uley," Jasper said with a grin.

Leah's skin felt itchy and too tight being so close to the man she'd once loved with her whole heart. Not wanting to hear another word out his traitorous mouth, she pulled the bat back and brought it crashing down on his jaw. The blow was so forceful that Sam didn't even have time to scream. He passed out before Leah could deliver a second blow.

"Lame," she rolled her eyes, and handed the bat to Jasper. "I'm good for now. No point torturing him if I there's no reaction for me to rejoice over."

Jasper took the bat with a laugh and ruffled her hair as she walked past him to go back to the house.

Just as Jasper brought his foot back to kick Sam's ankle, Paul shot in front of him and nudged Sam's hip so he was on his back, then stomped down on his dick.

"Oof," Bella cringed. "That's gonna smart when he wakes up."

"Good," Paul nodded. "Let's see how Emily likes him now."

"Holy shit, y'all are a vengeful bunch," Jasper laughed. When Paul looked at him with a raised eyebrow, Jasper shrugged. "It's true."

Paul nodded and laughed, and without another glance at Sam, he turned and walked back to the house, whistling a jaunty, cheerful tune the whole way.

"I like your friends," Jane said as she watched him go with a smile.

Bella looked at Jacob and Sam for a long moment, her emotions shifting too quickly for Jasper to grasp each one before they morphed to something new. She landed somewhere around satisfaction and nodded to herself. "I'm good. I'll meet you inside."

Jasper nodded and gave her a kiss and watched her walk back to the house, then hauled Sam Uley off the ground and slung him over his shoulder.

Jane picked up Jacob Black's broken hand and dragged him along the ground behind her. If she purposely walked in an odd little zigzag so she bumped and jostled his broken bones on the jagged ground… well, only Jasper had to know.

When Jasper and Jane walked into the living room, they were greeted with the sight of Chelsea sitting on the couch with the eagle's nest in her lap talking to Edward Cullen's head. Because he had no diaphragm, Edward wasn't capable of talking back, which honestly was a relief for everyone who knew him. They'd all heard far too many words from his arrogant, self-important mouth.

"Did you see that, Edward?" Chelsea asked cheerfully. "Just a moment, I'll replay it for you from the beginning."

Because Jeremiah was no longer shielding them, Chelsea was able to show the telepath her memories of all the laughs the guards and kings had at Edward's expense. Her favorite was the moment the entire throne room burst into hysterical laughter at Edward's poor acting skills.

Jasper sat on the arm of the couch beside her and looked at his former coven mate. "How's the revenge scheme workin' out so far?" he asked, just as cheerfully as Chelsea. When Edward scowled at him, Jasper laughed and shook his head. "Be indignant all you want, Edward. If the Volturi had let you go all on their own, we would've happily ignored you for the rest of our existence. You put this shit in motion, not us."

Bella plopped down on the couch and put her head on Chelsea's shoulder. "It's kinda wild that you think you're smarter than everyone on the planet yet you somehow managed to forget that Jasper was an empath and Aro could read every thought in your mind."

"Did you seriously think Jasper wasn't paying attention to your emotions at the trial?" Rosalie scoffed while she paged through a magazine. "Even if your acting skills weren't complete garbage, your emotions would've given you away."

When Edward eyed Bella's baby bump, Jasper huffed a laugh at his emotions. He was a weird combination of envious and disgusted.

"It's a girl, Edward," Bella said with a beaming smile. "Wanna see a picture? I happen to think she looks like her daddy."

Jasper grabbed the sonogram from their most recent appointment and held it up. "What do you think? She's a stunner just like her mama, right?" he asked. When Edward looked at Jasper, his emotions all kinds of shocked and appalled, Jasper rolled his eyes. "I didn't impregnate her, asshole. You already know this."

Chelsea shook her head. "I still don't understand why he believes himself to be so intelligent."

Emmett came in the room then and waved at his former brother as he turned the TV on so they had eyes on the wolves. "Nice to see you again, Edward. Can't thank you enough for delivering these guys right to our door."

When Bella looked up and caught sight of the writhing Quileute boys, she looked at her watch. "How much time?" she asked.

"The bones were shattered, not just broken, so I'm guessing at least another hour," Charlotte said with a smile.

The month before they'd had an unfortunate accident of timing while training that left Paul with a broken arm and Peter with a well of guilt. But they'd all learned by now that sometimes good shit came along with the bad, and in this case it had given the group a better idea of how fast the wolves were capable of healing.

Edward Cullen had spent his time in his new nesting place listening to all the thoughts in the house, and he was shocked to find out just how unsurprised all these people were that he'd had a revenge scheme in mind when he left Volterra. He'd been absolutely convinced that they'd bought his act. Rather than look at any of the smirks or sneers, he closed his eyes and tried to pretend he was literally anywhere else in the world.

Chelsea set the nest on the coffee table. "I don't like him."

"You're not alone," Jasper smiled. "With Alice and Carlisle gone, I'm not sure you could find a single being on this planet who liked him."

Esme stopped a little short at that statement. She thought about Edward's very long life, then shook her head a little that his behavior had likely left him without a single person alive who looked at him kindly. What an absolute waste.

"Maybe Tanya," Rosalie shrugged, as if she knew what Esme was thinking.

Jasper snorted a laugh. "I think Tanya was more attached to what she was hoping was in his pants, not in his mind or his heart."

"She'd have been disappointed," Emmett laughed. "There's nothing spectacular in those pleated khakis."

"How do you know that?" Seth asked with a smile as he walked in with a stack of chocolate chip cookies.

"We've been to high school way more times than is healthy. Can't use vamp speed in a locker room full of humans. I was curious," Emmett shrugged.

Leah huffed a little bit where she was standing looking out the window. "I'll seriously give back every single dollar you've given me if we could talk about literally anything other than that centenarian's wrinkled genitals."

Edward's eyes shot open at the resulting thoughts from Leah mentioning money, so he was just in time to see Bella give the wolf a confused look.

"Uh, there's no wrinkling, Leah," she said, then quickly looked at Emmett. "At least I don't think so. I've only seen one vampire's genitals," she added. Jasper just laughed and shook his head, knowing what was coming.

"What about that time you opened my bedroom door before I said 'come in'?" Peter laughed.

Bella gave him a playful glare. "That never happened, Peter Whitlock."

Jasper looked at Edward curiously with his head tipped to the side. "What's got you outraged?" he asked. "That we're talkin' about what's in those pleated khakis we just buried? Hmm, a little, not all of it. Oh, the money?" he clarified, then nodded at Edward's emotional reaction. "Yes, Leah, Paul, and Seth all got a portion of what Esme has liquidated from the Cullen coven so far. They had their lives ruined same as the rest of us because of you backstabbing assholes."

"I never thought to ask, but how much was in that personal account Esme let him keep?" Bella asked curiously.

Jasper laughed at Edward's indignation. "He thinks she left him poor."

"What?" Esme exclaimed. "He had over a million dollars! And his family home in Chicago and his mother's jewelry, which combined could've easily added five million to his portfolio!"

Paul, Leah, and Seth all looked at the telepath in astonishment. "Man, you vamps are really something else," Paul said with a shake of his head.

"Uh, not all vamps, thank you very much," Chelsea huffed indignantly.

Feeling a new set of emotions approaching, Jasper glanced at the clock and then got to his feet. "I think Demetri's here," he said as he walked to the door. Just as he stepped onto the porch, the tracker walked into view. "How was the run?" he asked.

"Good," Demetri nodded as he climbed the porch steps and shook Jasper's hand. "It's always nice to stretch my legs. Sometimes Italy feels a little too crowded these days. And you live in a beautiful part of the country."

"I like it," Jasper smiled. "You're always welcome to come visit. Come on in and meet the newest members of our family."

Demetri was a little uneasy about meeting the Whitlock wolves, but when he saw that Jeremiah, Chelsea, and Jane were all perfectly relaxed, he was able to relax a bit more himself. When he greeted the human he'd last seen on New Year's Eve, his eyes went a little wide at the size of her baby bump.

"I know," Bella laughed. "The last two weeks it's really grown. Surprised all of us, too. Welcome to our home, Demetri. Thank you for what you did for us in Washington."

"My pleasure," he smiled.

Leah marched right on over and put out her hand. "I'm Leah, it's nice to meet you. And you have my thanks also."

"That was your mother's house, correct?" he asked as he shook her hand, then quickly snatched it back at how warm her skin was. "Sorry, that was rude of me. The temperature just startled me."

Leah waved a dismissive hand. "I'm not offended. It took all of us here a while not to do the same. And yes, that was my mother's house. Mine and my brother's, Seth," she said, and pointed at the cute little kid with a cheerful smile.

"Nice to meet you, Demetri," Seth waved. "And ex-mother."

"Damn," Emmett muttered and shot out of the room and out the door. A second later he showed up on the TV screen as he reached into the kennel holding Jared and re-broke his ankle.

Jasper looked at the clock. "Just under an hour. Who wants to—"

He didn't even get the whole sentence out before Seth grabbed the bat and ran out of the house. Only a few seconds later, he was on the TV with Em, though he made straight for Sam Uley, yanking him from the kennel and bringing the bat down on his knees. Just before he walked away, he turned back and stomped on his dick, making every male inside the Whitlock house flinch.

"That's for hurting my sister, you nasty bastard," he muttered. After a satisfied little nod, he walked back to the house.

Jane gave him a smile as he walked back in. "Nicely done, kid."

Bella let out a yawn and looked at Jasper. "How long until the elders and Emily get here?"

"Probably another seven or so hours. It's about a fourteen or fifteen hour drive. Assuming they left within an hour of my call to Sue, they should be here around nine. You wanna nap before dinner?"

"Can we?" she nodded.

Jasper smiled at his mate, who he loved more with every passing day. He never looked at her without being grateful that they managed to find each other. "Of course, come on."

When Jasper bent down to scoop her up, she laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck. "By the time Lilly joins the world I'm going to have forgotten how to walk on my own."

"That's fine, I'll just carry you both," Jasper laughed. "I'll get you perched on my back and hold her in my arms."

Bella smiled and rested her head on his shoulder. "I love you," she whispered.

"I love you, too, sweetheart," he said with a smile. "Let's go get some rest so you're ready for the elders."

"See you in a few hours," Bella shouted to her family and friends as Jasper carried her out of the room.

Everyone shouted back some variation of goodnight or have a nice nap, then Chelsea looked around the room and smiled. Her human friend was so much happier than when she'd seen her last. The big, weird Whitlock family was exactly what she needed.

A/N: The mental image I had of Chelsea talking to Edward's head like that was my sole motivation for the nest thing. Lord knows where the mental image came from, lol.

Thanks for reading and for all the reviews and follows and favorites. I'm so grateful for every single one:)