A/N: Time for Jasper's P.O.V to once again to advance our tale xx Another place name for my group xx Alexis
There are times when I wish I didn't feel everythin' that the others did, like now for instance! I sadly had to tell Isabella what that absolute fuckwit had done to her father and she's devastated for him, of course, and rightly so. What were the others playin' at, are they that useless? Why didn't Alice see it, why didn't Carlisle stop him? But as I spoke to Isabella, she calmed quickly, too quickly without my help. Therefore I knew she was trying to mute her emotions to protect me. I also sensed her confusion at her growin' attachment towards me. There was no way I would push that or her just now, but was glad she was aware somethin' was there. I insisted she let me help her, just as she was already helpin' me with blockin' the other's emotions.
Emmett and Esme were in minor shock initially, not able to comprehend that he could do that, twice in one night! I had to stop drivin' and send them huntin' before they overwhelmed me. He at least was angry and disgusted, she was shocked and …, disappointed! What the fuck would he need to do to make her angry with him? Kill Carlisle perhaps! Peter said the Chief will be a great vampire and I know he's keepin' somethin' back. Somethin' important, possibly somethin' the others may not like. Why? Because it might change things within our clearly defined two groups! Peter explained they would be checkin' on all their and our places and gettin' the Chief acclimatised to his new life. I guess that means he'll be a human drinker because Peter just can't understand the Cullen way of feedin'.
I actually snorted when he said Charlie was talkin' to him inside his head and he didn't like it one little bit! They had cleared the Chief's house, before torching' it and would drop Isabella's stuff off in Jeffersonville. Since they were going to Ludington in Michigan eventually. So I decided I best get her a few more clothes to keep her goin', doin' it online will be best I guess. She looks so much better in jeans and a button-down, much more natural, plus she needed shoes or maybe boots. Since I sent the others to feed, I too was now calmer and Isabella was still shieldin' me when they returned. She is amazin' bein' lucid throughout her change, even though she seems as if she's asleep and her gift is goin' to be somethin' special. I was particularly moved when she used it to protect me from Emmett and especially Esme's emotions.
When Emmett got back and said for me to go, Isabella sent me a small blast of disgust. I had a feelin' then, that she might not want to follow my diet once she was on her feet! Of course, I understood and hell, I wouldn't be doin' this if I didn't have to. To her feedin' from animals represented the Cullen's and they were now the enemy, in her eyes anyway! That reminded me I had a lot to think about, what to do about Alice for one and if and when to pursue Edward! Esme's total lack of understandin' was gettin' really wearin' on the nerves and not just mine apparently! Her constant badgerin' about usin' one of their homes had been really annoyin'. It wasn't until Isabella growled at her and then Emmett spellin' it out for, she finally stopped.
She's treatin' this like she does one of Emmett and Rose's breaks away from Edward and the family. She's actin' like it's a temporary rift in the coven! But it is way more than that, it's a total breakdown of relations between them and us the non-family members, those bein' Isabella and me. Well, it definitely is for me and I think on Isabella's part as well. This was not somethin' that could be rug swept, even if we wanted to. They were so busy blamin' me for a crime Edward committed they left Isabella to die! Which I'm guessin' was Alice's plan, but she didn't count on Emmett's split-second decision to save his beloved sister! I assume Edward went along with it because it meant he got her blood. Because he sure didn't want her body or anyone else's for that matter.
Emmett seems less than happy with everyone as well, he can't believe how callous Rose acted and she has really messed up this time. Plus any respect he once had for Carlisle has truly been blown out of the water. Esme is walkin' a tightrope with him too, for her continued head-in-the-sand attitude towards everyone else. Does she think we are just leavin' temporarily to punish them and then we will return and all is forgiven? That everythin' will just miraculously return to the way it was before? No, nobody could be that oblivious! While I hunt, I haul out my phone and call Peter. Yeah, I know there was more goin' on and I want to know what it is.
"Spill Captain, what happened?" I say when he answers,
I couldn't believe it, good for Chief Swan, two bullets and both doin' serious damage. The first will always remind Carlisle nothin' is sacred or safe because of Edward and the second to bring the boy into the real world. Now he is no longer perfect in anyone's eyes, somethin' he loved to rub in my face! That's put paid to his pretty boy looks, maybe he'll have to wear an eye patch now or a glass eye, as I doubt anyone will want to stare into his empty eye socket. But to know he was one vampire I wouldn't have to chase after was nice. The Chief intends to exact revenge for himself and his daughter, by takin' it out of Eddie's hide piece by piece! I get the feelin' he's one enemy you don't want. I can tell he, like me will be dogged and relentless in pursuit of justice. So basically Eddie is screwed and it's when not if the Chief kills him!
There is no way I'm tellin' anyone except Isabella because we don't want him forewarned. I know Emmett wouldn't intentionally tell him, but he may speak to Rose and she does have trouble keepin' him out, unlike me and Isabella. Esme would tell him because she would feel he had a right to know! But does he? I've been in touch with Jenks for the new paperwork for Isabella; Peter will deal with the Chief's documents. I really wanted to get Isabella's in the name Whitlock, but I'm not her sire, so it's McCarty for now. She'll just have to marry me to change it, which suits me fine and she'll be the first and only Mrs Whitlock! Damn, that sounds good Mrs Isabella Whitlock, who knew I would get a little mushy over that? Me actually, that's the one thing nobody thinks about me.
But I once was a romantic at heart and will be again, now the right woman is by my side. I had never used my name to marry the she-devil, not that she would have wanted it, but now I'm glad. She also lost out on all the benefits that come with the title, like my mother's ring, my personal fortune, plus the land I own and my whole heart. Not the battered and bleedin' offerin' Alice took when I first met her. I worked it out long ago she could have been absolutely anyone, because I just needed stability and comfort back then. For good or evil Alice decided to take on that task, for whatever her own benefit was, no doubt! Peter was a godsend in the past, he invested my money and made it into so much more than I ever expected. He knew when my family's things were bein' sold off and he bought them back for me in my name, slowly over the years.
That included the land and house I was born in and he made sure all the renovations were to my exact specifications as best as I could recollect. How did we get around Alice and Edward ever knowin'? Easy, a conversation durin' one of their very few visits, about where we were born and me describin' it to Esme. She drew the floor plans and everythin' which Peter took with him when they left. It was always just a modest little house, but it was home and will be again one day. So when Isabella consents to be my wife, that is where we will live to start with and I know she will like it much better than the Cullen's house. It in fact resembles her father's home to a degree. It was a comfortable and well-loved home and is so much better than a sterile show house.
Hard as it is to believe three of the Cullen's are germ-phobic, it's ironic since germs can't hurt us anymore. Carlisle, Edward and Alice to be exact, possibly because one worked in hospitals, the good, the bad and the downright appallin' over the years. Plus the other two died there, in not ideal circumstances, who knows? That's why I never grasped why we went to school or how Edward could have a human girlfriend! Because let's be honest humans carry germs all the time, some more harmful that others, but not to us! This was the stupid part, they couldn't be hurt so why were they still afraid of catchin' somethin'? I wonder if it wasn't a hangover from their human lives, irrational fears that Carlisle should have dispelled not join in on! Was this idea Alice's, a form of mental torture against Edward?
That makes some sense in a warped and deluded way! Although that means she was playin' a really long game, but to what end? I kinda guessed I was her protection, not just from other nomads. But from Italy as well! They talk a big game, but I can take out their big guns before they can take me out. Alec needs a couple of minutes to get his gift going, in that time I could kill him. Jane can only deliver one type of pain at one strength, whereas I can ramp it up to unbearable levels. Chelsea, well she would be the first to die and Aro knows that and he dare not lose her. With Peter by my side Felix and Santiago could be dealt with and also he would be able to keep us two steps ahead of Demetri for eternity! I'm not blowin' my own horn here, but we could have killed them all within the space of five minutes.
I just needed to drop them where they stood and Peter and Char would have taken their heads, job done! Since Isabella had covered me completely with her shield I felt much more relaxed than I have for years. If this was a taste of how our future would be, I was lookin' forward to it. This was so much better than I have felt for over fifty years, how and why did I put up with that? In the beginnin', I was so depressed, which is not a good thing for a vampire. The one person who got me out of that funk was Emmett, nobody else gave a damn really. They all made all the right noises but did nothin' to really help me or alleviate my sufferin'. He's a truly good listener and has a tendency to ask the right questions at the right time. When I would get down on myself about my past he always asked pointed questions like,
"You were a soldier, trained to follow orders without question, weren't you?"
"Were you aware there was another way?"
"What did you do when you found out the truth?"
Of course, he was right I didn't know in the beginning and when Peter finally got through to me, explainin' the way it really was out here, I left. Do I regret some of the things I did, hell yes, of course I do! But I can't go back, I can't change the past, so there is no point goin' over the what ifs repeatedly! That's not to say I didn't originally, but it was once again Emmett who just said,
"Let it go, man, you can change the past, it's history now!"
Next to Peter and Char, Emmett is one of my closest friends and I respect him. He's not the big dumb lug Edward made him out to be and God help you if he ever becomes your enemy! He is what they call a wall, a vampire who never lost their newborn strength. Hell, he fought a bear before he died, so he's always been strong. The way he tells it he almost took him and who am I to disagree? I'm fast and agile, but nowhere near as strong as him, we all play to our own innate strengths. Well, unless you're a coward like Edward and Carlisle, they just make their mouths go and expect us to clean up their mess! The trouble there is Emmett isn't really aggressive by nature; he's fun-lovin' and laid back, so you have to really wind him up to make him angry. Then how come Edward got many a slap down before I arrived?
That would be because that child didn't know when to call it quits and always pushed Emmett to far! I know I'm prevaricatin' here, why because I don't want to think about Alice at all! I don't want to have to deal with her levels of insanity, because she is clearly insane, this last stunt proves it unequivocally. I was the one thing holdin' her from flyin' off the handle, and now she thinks she doesn't need me! I can imagine it will only be a matter of weeks before the Volturi catch wind of her, because Peter just sent a text to say she's done a runner! But it is so much worse than that, she thought to use me to kill all the Cullen's after Bella died! Knowin' I would flip out over the death of my mate, then she would have all the coven's money, houses, investments and everythin' else!
It's like she finally snapped when she knew I was about to find out Bella was my mate and she would be alone. So instead of movin' on, or lookin' for and findin' her own mate. She decided to just wipe out the last fifty years, includin' the Cullen's! If that's not a sign of insanity, I don't know what is! But that does not absolve them for the fiasco that has just taken place. She couldn't actually make Edward do that to Bella, suggest yes, but not physically force him. She couldn't force them all to blame me for Edward's actions, again only suggest. But they all just fell into line with her t crazy plan and I have no sympathy for them at all. Plus I doubt she had anythin' to do with Charlie Swan bein' bitten, that's all the boy's doin', still high on Isabella's blood no doubt.
The fact remains though she has gone over the edge into full-blown psychosis and is dangerous! She I think no longer accepts that her gift relies on the decisions of others, only her own and that will be her downfall! Her overblown sense of self-importance has reached a new level and nobody can or wants to believe it. Damn, I knew she was gettin' more and more manic over the years, but this was not somethin' I foresaw. But you can bet your bottom dollar Edward did and ignored it as irrelevant to him! I'm goin' to have to warn the Volturi she is now practically insane, still high- functionin' for all that and I would be takin' care of her, as is my right! I think I'll be needin' Bella and her father at full-strength to take her out, because she can never know we're comin'.
Why is my life so damned complicated? Where would an insane seer go, well most would go into hiding. But this is Alice, so the fashion houses of Europe! Her money won't last long and without the Cullen funds she'd hoped to have it will fritter away quickly, because she didn't do low-key. She was also never very good at short-term ways of makin' money, she only ever saw long-term investments. To many decisions I'm guessin' and although she passed the information on to me or Carlisle she never invested her own money. Alice wanted what she wanted, when she wanted it and refused to think ahead financially. Strange for someone who would normally live for eternity, that had to have somethin' to do with her mental state surely? Well, for now I would be lettin' her spend all her money.
Meanwhile Isabella and the Chief can gain control and I don't think that'll take long. I know that it might come across as a weakness, because I didn't want to go after her now. But in my defence I want to be here to help Isabella and then for us to start our life together. I wanted that to happen without havin' to worry about my crazy ex-wife! Yes, she's my ex-wife, that was the other thing I had Jenks do. There was never a real marriage so he has just made it all disappear, permanently! But that will all have to take a backseat until we get to Kentucky. I foresee a few problems ahead for Esme if she doesn't get with the program. If she thinks I'm bein' resistant that will be nothin' compared to Isabella. After all how can you tell someone how to do things when it's obvious your way doesn't work, see Edward, Alice and Rose for context!
Why would she listen to someone who got it wrong so many times, only Emmett could be seen as a success for Carlisle and Esme. I can sense once Isabella is on her feet, those two will be a handful for me, but she will help him cope without Rose and he will make her new life fun. I can foresee me being the strict parent in this scenario, I don't mind though because at least they'll need me. I've promised myself not to overstep, lettin' Emmett do as much of this as he can, but with my help, of course. First, we need to get to Kentucky, just in case her bloodlust is normal for a newborn. I don't think it will be but it would be foolish to leave it to chance! It's crazy but all the time I was out there huntin', I could feel her. It wasn't intrusive, but she had searched for me and locked on to my essence so to speak.
It calmed both of us and felt comfortin', this was new to both of us, but I sensed my empathy was makin; our connection different from others. Even when I didn't emote, I felt her reactions to my thoughts. So we are already leagues ahead of other couples and we ain't even together yet. As far as I could see this was only goin' to get better, stronger and more unusual once we are together and yes I mean physically. More in the venom exchange kind of physical. But emotionally, yeah I think that might be somethin' special. I can't wait to share my life, my thoughts and my dreams with her, cause I know she'll care. Plus I get to be there to help her fulfil her own too. The crazy thing is, because we weren't allowed to interact much I don't really know what her hopes and dreams are yet.
We will be startin' from scratch, getting' to know each other. Maybe her bein' a newborn isn't ideal, but you work with what you're given. The same applies to her in regards to me, it will be fun learnin' about each other and findin' ways to integrate into each others life. But it'll be the first time in forever I have to deal with someone's daddy. I hope he don't try to come between us, because that dog won't run! She ain't human no more and whether he likes it or not she will be with me. That reminds me I will have to teach her and probably Emmett the real rules of our kind. I hope Peter remembers that he will also have to teach the Chief, that should help matters a little. My cell buzzes as I rejoin the others,
'On it boss. He'll know all he needs to. I ain't runnin' foul of the Italians for nobody!'
"I was just remindin' Peter to teach the Chief our rules, so since Isabella is, like her father compos mentis we should as well" I say gettin' back in the drivers seat,
Emmett's emotions were calm, Esme's not so much. It didn't take long to realise neither Emmett or Esme actually knew the real rules. They kept sayin' lots of flowery irrelevant, well to be honest crap! I don't know if these were Edward's or Carlisle's ramblings, but they were not the Volturi's that was for sure! It sounded much more Edward's style, but it's hard to tell the difference nowadays between the two fools. They on the whole were so obviously based on human behaviour and not vampire it was both laughable and sickenin' at the same time!
"The laws are not written down; to write them would in itself be an infraction. Instead, the laws are passed by word of mouth from vampire to vampire, coven leader to coven-mates. It is against Volturi instruction for a sire not to inform new vampires of them within their newborn year and consequently punishable by death! So in no particular order they are as follows" I said with a little exasperation,
Tryin' to ignore the horror on Esme's face and the anger on Emmett's, which tells me what they do know was not told to the in their newborn year. I then reeled off the eight rules, yes there were a couple of other obvious things like not stealin' from another vampire be it land, money or coven-mates. Then the if you hurt or kill a vampire's mate prepare to die yourself! But they are not Volturi mandated, but are vampire rules agreed upon over the centuries. But the main one's were,
*1 Hunts must be inconspicuous, with victims unlikely to be missed; their remains must be disposed of and territory must be changed often.
2 Due to bein' incapable of self-control, and therefore a threat of exposure, immortal children are not to be created. Such creation is the ultimate taboo and punishable by death to both child, creator, those who defend the child and those who know of its existence.
3 Dealin's with Children of the Moon, except for the purpose of extermination, is prohibited.
4 False witness, regardless of intent, is punishable by death.
5 Huntin' is forbidden in Volterra, the town of residence of the Volturi.
6 Attention should not be drawn and vampires should not be noticed in open sunlight.
7 The creator is responsible for his newborn's behaviour and teachin' of the laws before they can be released on their own. By lettin' a newborn hunt conspicuously, the penalty will be death to both newborn and creator. Even if the newborn is ignorant of the law, his rash acts are still punishable by death.
8 Vampire interactions with humans must not draw wider attention. If a human becomes aware of them, the vampire at fault would be responsible for silencin' that human. There are only two options: make the human join the Vampire Race or silence that human permanently.*
"Damn man, about the only rule not broken by Carlisle and Edward is feeding in Volterra! My money's on Edwierdo being an immortal child!" Emmett blurted out and I couldn't argue with him,
"Emmett!" Esme scolded, but he was having none of it,
"What Esme? Actually think about it for yourself, and tell me if you believe Carlisle told you the real facts in your first year? Damn, did he teach you anything in the first year? Because he still hasn't told me half of those rules!" he demanded angrily,
Durin' all of my speech Isabella was listenin' intently and sendin' me little pulses of emotion, Some thanks, some pride and some love, all of which I was happy to receive.
* Rules taken from Twilight Wiki. wiki/Volturi#Laws