Chapter 15: Little Lies

The next time I open my eyes, I'm confused by the lack of chaotic noise. The room is dark, but with the muted moonlight shining through the open blinds it illuminated things just enough for me to see I am no longer in the emergency room.

My arms are still swathed in heavy bandages, and my head is incredibly cloudy. I look around the room and see nothing that stands out, it looks like a typical hospital room. I want to get up, but every time I attempt to move my head spins, and my arms feel like they're on fire.

I can't remember what hurt me.

"You're awake," a female voice calls out, and the light coming through the open door almost blinds me, "oh the light, I keep forgetting how damn dramatic you are."

I hear the creaking of the heavy door, and crack my eyes open only when the woman says she's closed the door. When she turns to face me, I'm shocked because I have no recollection of ever seeing her before.

"Who are you?" I rasp.

"They flew me all the way here and you don't even know who I am. Great." she frowns as she approaches, "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Who am I?" I ask, trying to make sense of my scrambled thoughts.

"Jesus Christ, this is pointless. I am going to go find Carlisle." She replied.

"Carlisle?"

"Your doctor., you at least know him" She frowns again, "He should be pleased to know you've woken on your own. He's been waxing poetic about some sort of concern with how difficult it's been to wake you. Don't you remember what happened?" She asks.

"Why am I here?"

Her lips turn down again, "That's not how this works, you fucking brat. You've got to answer my questions first. Do you remember how you were hurt?" She asks as she sits in the chair next to my bed.

"No." I whisper and her face betrays no emotion.

"What about your name?" She asks.

I search my memories, desperately seeking anything that can tell me who I am or why I'm here, "No." I croak.

"This is pointless." She replies angrily.

"Where am I?" I ask as tears leak from my eyes.

"You're in a hospital. You've always been so accident prone." She checks the bandages that are on my head, "These will need to be changed before too long, and I damn sure am not doing that. I'll go and get the nurse, and let Carlisle know that you're awake. He owes me, anyway."

I feel the panic bubbling and I try to reach out, my voice breaking a sob, "Don't leave me alone."

The unfamiliar woman narrows her eyes at me, and I can see the tremors in her hands as she reaches for me. I shiver under her touch, and my heart thunders in my chest as she has a quiet conversation with who I assume is a nurse.

I can also hear the woman begging for what she's "owed" repeatedly.

"Your mother told me you were awake. Are you in pain?" Another familiar smooth voice floats over to me and I look into his strange golden eyes, recognizing the doctor from the ER.

"My mother?" I rasp, my eyes jerking to the woman beside me. Her blonde hair, light skin, ice blue eyes and pink lips are familiar, but as much as I try to pull any memories of her from the depths of my mind, I keep drawing a blank.

"You promised me," the woman hisses at the doctor, "fix this shit so I can go!"

"What?" I murmur and the doctor jerks his attention back to me. "What is going on here?" I rasp before coughing and I almost pass out from the pain in my head. Before I can even attempt to argue, I watch as the doctor injects something into my IV and my heavy eyelids droop shut.

When I sleepily open my eyes there is no longer any moonlight shining in through the windows. The heavy drapes are pulled tight, and the room is almost pitch black. I can hear a hushed conversation outside of the closed door, but the words all blur together.

"Hello love." I'm startled by the new voice, and when a cold hand rests on my brow, I can feel myself shaking, "You scared us. I thought I would lose you." He whispered. The icy fingers trail down my cheek, then softly drag down my jaw until he rests his hand on my neck. His thumb traces over my pulse point and I shiver almost violently, "Love, are you afraid of me?"

"I... I don't know you." I slur.

"That's an effect of the accident. Shhh..." He attempted to soothe me, "You've always loved my touch." He whispers as he continues to gently caress my neck, "I should have been there."

"What happened to me?" I murmur and his eyes finally meet mine, and I notice they are almost black, "Your eyes..."

"Isabella...I've missed you so much, and I need you." He says in a breath and then pauses, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes. He runs his nose down my bandaged arm, "so sweet."

I watch in horror as his tongue darts out and licks the dried blood from my hand. I try to jerk my arm away, but he presses on a particularly painful part, and I immediately stop moving. I don't get a chance to say anything, instead my door opens and the person that was identified as my mother walks back in.

"Renee, there you are. Feeling better?" The man says and my mother animatedly waves her hands.

"Look how wonderful she looks!" She exclaimed and I noticed that she has an almost spaced out look about her, "Oh baby girl, I'm so sorry to interrupt you and your husband. I can come back later."

"Husband?" I ask, looking between the man with the messy copper hair, and the blonde woman who says she's my mother, "Why don't I remember anything? Why don't I remember my own mother? Or husband?" I feel tears leaking from the corners of my eyes, "I don't even know your name!"

"Calm now, my dear sweet wife." The man soothes, "You've been through so much. I'm Edward, my love. You were in a terrible accident. You're so lucky to be alive." He presses his nose to my wrist, inhaling sharply, "We were on our way to our honeymoon."

"He was taking you to Italy, baby!" Renee adds, "You were going to a castle!"

"We will still be able to take our honeymoon, but for now we need to focus on your recovery." Edward murmurs in his musical voice.

"What happened to me?" I ask.

I watch as Edward shares a look with Renee, but it's quick and then he focuses on me again, "It was a terrible accident." He shakes his head, "You were at the beach, and you were attacked on your way back to your vehicle."

"They said it was a wolf!" Renee says and she wildly gestures, acting like her hands were claws, "The wolf attacked!"

"A wolf?" I whispered, closing my eyes, "How...?"

"We don't know all the details; however, you were brought to the hospital with serious injuries, the lacerations along your arms, and an almost fatal head wound, Carlisle determined you were concussed, and you've not had any memories each time you've woken up." He sighs, "Renee, do you think you could give my wife and I some time alone?"

I watch as one of her thin arms raises, with a hand pointed out towards Edward, "I need more."

He sighs but pulls out a wallet and hands a stack of bills to her. She snatches the money away and darts out the door without so much as a glance in my direction, "What was that about?"

Edward schools his features before answering, "She just needed a bite to eat." He replied, and even though I have no memory of this man who is allegedly my husband, I can tell he's lying. I watch as he continues to run his nose along my bandaged arm, and I shiver, feeling the cold from his touch through all the layers, "Are you cold, love?"

"Yes," I admit. It's more than just his touch, it's him, and I recognize that I am terrified, "I'm very tired and cold, Edward. Can you get me an extra blanket so I can get back to sleep?"

"Of course, my love." He replies and I close my eyes just as he begins to bend towards me. I feel his icy lips pressed to mine but I keep my mouth sealed tightly shut, and he eventually gets the hint. He fusses over my blankets and notices my hard shivers. He shakes his head again before finally sighing loudly but exiting the room.

I feel like I've barely closed my eyes when the door creaks open, "Edward, I asked-"

"Darlin', it's not Edward." A warm, honeyed southern drawl makes me jerk my eyes open and turn towards the man. Tall, with wavy dark blonde hair to his chin, and a set of muddy brown eyes staring back at me.

"Jasper..." I trail off and he smiles at me.

"Good. I was hopin' that I could break through that damn fog." He drawls.

"What is happening to me? I don't remember anyone else." I reply and he nods his head.

"I know, and that's because of them assholes," He murmured, "Bella, you're gonna have ta play along if we're ever gonna get you back to your mate."

"My mate? What are you talking about? Who are you to me?"

He scrubbed a pale hand across his face and sat down close to me, "I know you're confused, and really don't much know me from a hill of beans, but I can promise ya I'm one of the good ones, even if the rest of 'em don't know it. Darlin' you've got a shield, and I know ya don't know how to control it fully but you're gonna hafta learn it real quick. Those yellow eyed freaks are usin' their thrall to keep ya under their thumbs, and nothin' good is gonna come from that."

"How am I able to remember you?" I ask him and he grins at me.

"Them yellow eyes aren't the only powerful vampires."

Jasper senses my shock and he went on to tell me the full story, as best as he knows it. He admitted to once willingly working with the Cullens, or the yellow eyed freaks as he prefers to call them. He met Alice Cullen decades ago in a diner in Philadelphia on a dark and rainy day. He'd had to duck inside when the sun mysteriously peeked out in the middle of a nasty storm, and he immediately sensed another of his kind. He walked to a table where the tiny, pixie type woman was sitting, pretending to drink a cup of coffee.

"I've been waiting a long time for you." She had told him with a smile, and he was instantly hooked.

That day in a tiny diner, Alice Cullen had told Jasper Whitlock that she could see the future, and that she'd been having visions of them ever since she had awoken to the vampire afterlife. Jasper was an unwilling participant in the American Civil War, he was living on his family's farm when he was forced to fight the Union soldiers that had ransacked and burned his entire hometown, killing his baby sister and mother in the fire. Then, as a young Major for the Confederate army, he was evacuating the city of Galveston when he happened upon three beautiful young women in the middle of a dangerous battleground. The gentleman in him acted, trying to escort the women away from the violence, and his efforts were met with an unexpected ending when the leader of these women turned on him.

When he awoke as a vampire, he was in an unfamiliar camp, fighting in a new war. His sire, Maria, had decided she was to be more than just his maker, and she had used her own thrall and powers to coerce him into taking her as his first lover. Young Jasper Whitlock had been molded into The Major of the Southern Vampire Wars, an undead man who was drunk on power and sex, and under Maria's control he had terrorized and razed the entire southwestern territory. He was tasked with turning new soldiers and training them up, separating the weak from the willing, and creating new armies to fight Maria's battles. Jasper explained that as a newborn vampire, your human memories are almost completely gone, and it wasn't until he saw another man of similar stature and features that he had a human memory and realized the newborn he saw dragged into a fighting pit was his own older brother Peter.

It took years for Peter and Jasper to retain enough of their human memories to understand their family bond, and by then they were deeply entrenched in Maria's war. Another newborn caught Peter's eye, and Jasper immediately realized the petite blonde woman was his brother's mate. The brothers hatched an escape plan, but when their carefully crafted plan was exposed Jasper risked his own afterlife and sacrificed himself to allow his brother and mate a chance at a normal existence.

A chance at love.

Jasper spent almost another decade under Maria's thumb, and his part in allowing his brother and mate leave didn't escape her punishment. I watched as myriads of emotions passed over his face, and I simply grasped his icy hand on my own, giving it as much of a squeeze as my injuries would allow to let him know it was okay to skip the harder parts.

"Meetin' Alice, I was at my lowest then. I'd gotten away from Maria when Peter and Charlotte came back for me, but I wasn't doing well living with them in Philly. I didn't even set out to be close to humans that day; my bloodlust was still a work in progress, and for the life of me I couldn't tell ya what compelled me to go into a damn diner, but for a long time I believed it was fate." He shrugged.

"How did you find out that it wasn't?" I ask quietly and his contact covered eyes meet mine.

"My brother Peter, he's got an ability too. Ya see, Alice's ability is dependent on decisions being made. Fer instance, if you decided to jus' rip erything out and run, she'd see it, but if you just as quickly changed yer mind she'd not. Peter is different, he gets a feelin' and it happens." He explained.

"A premonition?" I ask.

Jasper tucks his chin length blonde waves behind his ears and nods, "Yeah, that's a good way of lookin' at it. Pete figured that Alice was lyin' about me bein' her mate, and he also had a feelin' that the Cullen's obsession with ya won't fer protection, it was fer your shield. The yellow eyed bastards have repeatedly fucked up in the eyes of our rulers, and they knew the only way they'd escape with their pitiful existence was to bring an offerin' of sorts to the rulers."

"What does that have to do with me?" I asked.

"That same shield of yers that's blocking them from bein' able to hear us talkin' right now, with some development it would be invaluable to our rulers. If it's this strong while yer still a human, it'll be much more powerful if yer one of us. I was confused fer a long time as to why they were effectively playin' with their food when it came ta ya, and then I realized somethin' else. You're Quileute, with a direct link to the tribe, not only could ya turn into a physical weapon for the rulers, but you could lead 'em right to their natural enemies and help them to destroy them." He told me.

"Vampire's natural enemies are the Quileute?" I ask and he shakes his head.

"Not the Quileute, the Quileute spirit warriors. The wolves." He explains, "Bella, your mate is the leader of the spirit wolves, so takin' you not only bought the yellow eyes a bargaining chip with the rulers in Italy, it also could give them the power to eliminate the spirit warriors for good. Me and my family, we don't want that. Peter, Char and me might not like the damn Italian idiots, but we always just steer clear of each other, and I'll take the Italians any day over the fuckin' Cullens. At least with the Italians, you know exactly what yer gettin'." He looks up at me and shakes his head again, "I'm sorry, darlin', I'm getting ahead of myself. I need ya to think real hard, think about the people ya love, just focus errythin' ya got into it."

"I don't know how-"

"Bella, just think. Who comes ta mind?" He presses.

I close my eyes and immediately see a man, handsome with russet hued skin a few shades darker than my own, dark hazel eyes, shaggy curly brown hair that's almost black and tall, at least half foot taller than me. I can feel the heat of his skin against my own, and then his full lips press to mine. When we break apart, I whisper his name.

"Sam."

"That's it, darlin'. Sam is yer mate, and he's the Alpha of the wolf pack I told ya about." Jasper replies, "Keep goin'."

I watch as the scene changes and I'm in the arms of another man, with features that are like my own. He's angry, and I'm doing my best to calm him, calling his name and holding him as firmly as I can.

"Paul, my brother." I say out loud, and the man in my memory just shakes. I hear yelling, and then everything goes black, and then I feel myself being carried in another set of warm arms, "Embry, my brother." I whisper as everything fades away. I look at Jasper, and his face is expressionless, "They did this to me."

"It was an accident." Jasper replies and I feel his cold hands wipe the tears that are trailing down my face, "Those boys love you and none of 'em meant to phase so close to ya."

"What are you doing here?" The female voice is familiar, but as soon as I turn in her direction it's as if I am under water. I turn back to my male companion and blink heavily, trying to understand why he's in with me.

"Who are you?" I ask as I try to move away from him and his muddy brown eyes flash slightly before he focuses on the woman who entered.

"Darlin', I think ya scared her. She don't recognize any of us." The man said in a thick accent, and I looked between the two in confusion.

"It's weird, Jazzy. I could see you both but for a long time you both disappeared. I think she was shielding you."

"Alice darlin', the girl has no idea what she's doin'. Let's let her rest." He replied and she snuggled up against him. I watched as he put an arm around her, but then felt a warm energy fill my body and I jerked in response. His dark eyes were on mine, and he placed a finger across his own lips in a shushing motion before pushing more of his energy to me. I nodded once in response, understanding that somehow Jasper had the ability to block whatever thrall Alice was trying to use, and he slowly walked her out the door.

I immediately fell asleep.

Several days passed in a similar routine, however the biggest difference was Jasper, Peter and Charlotte's help in teaching me how to control my shield. Jasper was the only one with an ability that allowed me to have my memories and thoughts intact, somehow, he was able to combine his pathokinesis abilities with my mental shield and it was as if we existed in our own bubble. I'd mastered the ability to block my thoughts and emotions, and I was able to lead the Cullens to believe I was completely under their control, however I couldn't keep my shield up constantly, and it caused a slight opening for some of the Cullen's thrall to slip though.

I learned that Jasper had found a way to reach out to the pack Alpha, which to my surprise was now Jacob Black. I was immediately filled with worry, wondering what had happened to cause Jacob to take over for Sam. Jasper hadn't been able to gleam much information, my Quileute family was still unsure if they could trust the unknown vampire, especially once they had discerned that the Whitlock coven was not a part of their treaty with the Cullens, however he was making progress in gaining their trust with his willingness to go against the Cullens to protect me.

I hated pretending to not know who these awful people are, but I knew it was necessary for my own protection. As long as I was continuing to be deemed too unstable to travel, I was prevented from being taken to the Italian leaders in Volterra, and the likelihood of the Whitlocks being successful in bringing the Italians here was improving. Jasper, Peter and Charlotte all agreed that getting the leaders here on US soil gave us the upper hand, since he knew we'd also have the support of the Quileute spirit warrior pack to overtake the Cullens and have the numbers on our side to defeat the Volturi leaders if they chose to side with the Cullens over us.

Jasper had finally been able to get me on a call with Phil, where I tearfully explained to my stepfather that I was recovering as well as I could given the dire circumstances I found myself in. I reiterated that I fully trusted the Whitlocks, and that I was truly okay. Phil was concerned that without the Whitlocks the Cullens would further impact my memory with their thrall, but I assured him that Charlotte was almost always with me as my preferred caretaker, and if she couldn't be it was extremely rare for me to be completely alone with one of the Cullens.

The worst part of all of this was my mother's willing participation.

I could see how far gone she was with her drug addiction, and how she could barely spend more than a few minutes in my presence before needing her next fix. In one of her more lucid visits, I had talked to her about Phil, the man who loved me like a daughter for most of my life. She would wax poetic about their relationship, then switch to violent anger over its demise. However, a seed was planted, and the day after that conversation I was shocked to my core to see my stepfather walk into the room.

Renee had called Phil, and that opened the door for Jasper to not have to be as evasive when it came to his communication with my stepfather. Phil had also managed to convince Renee that he was willing to forgive her, and he had packed up and agreed to be picked up by the private jet the Cullen's chartered. They had blindfolded him, flown him here in an indirect and strange pattern in hopes that he would not figure out where we were.

I clung to Phil when he got there, much to the disappointment of my supposed husband Edward. I'd been toeing a very intricate line when it came to my interactions with him. Since I had continued to develop my shield, I had been able to reject more of the thrall he and the other Cullens were using on me, however that meant I also had a harder time playing the part of the amnesia-stricken wife. He was in a tearing hurry to get me to Italy; however, his father Carlisle was more pragmatic in looking at my recovery. The alleged amnesia wasn't the issue, instead it remained the serious concussion I was still recovering from, along with the deep cuts across both of my arms. I had begun to ask about reducing the scarring, knowing that it would not only buy me extra time, but it would help Paul, Sam and I to heal from this ordeal if we didn't have the constant reminder of the mistakes my brother and mate had made. Plus, we had other plans, with the Whitlock's war experience they knew to beat the Cullens they needed the wolves on their side, and bringing the Volturi to us would ensure we had the numbers to fight both the Cullens and the vampire leaders themselves if it came down to it.

However, the Whitlocks had no idea which side the Volturi would be on.

Phil fell right into his role, acting like he had no clue that I was being held against my will, and he continued singing the false praises of the Cullens for taking such good care of his baby girl. I had been with the Cullens for several weeks now, and I was currently recovering from a skin surgery to repair some of the worst of the scars from the accident when Jasper walked into my room and pushed a phone against my ear.

"Hello…" I said hesitantly while watching Jasper. Charlotte had come in with him under the guise of giving me a bath, and she was watching the door carefully.

"Bells." A familiar voice replied and immediately I recognized it as Jacob Black, "Are you okay?"

Tears escaped unabashedly as I answered, "I'm okay, Jake. The Whitlocks are taking great care of me. Phil is here too, and he's been amazing at keeping Renee distracted. How is Sam? What about my brothers?"

Instead of answering the question directly, he quickly asked me a series of questions regarding my current wellbeing, and details about each vampire I knew was a part of this. Even through a phone and with my scrambled memories, I could sense that Jacob was hiding something from me.

"Jake," I interrupted his rambling, and I heard his sharp intake of breath, "why are you the Alpha?"

"I don't know how much time we have on this call, maybe I should talk more to Jasper-"

"Stop hiding shit from me. Where is Sam? Where is my mate?" I press.

"What do you remember about the attack?" He asks me.

"I already know it was an accident, please just tell me why you're the Alpha and where Sam is. Please." I beg.

"When all of this happened, Embry tried taking you to the clinic on the rez, but Sue wasn't equipped to handle the type of head injury you had. Charlie immediately called 911, and had you transported to Forks General. He knew the vamp doctor worked there, but so did Tiffany-"

"Wait, that name is familiar, how do I know Tiffany?"

"She's Charlie's girlfriend, she's also your brother Embry's mother. She lives in the house with Charlie, you, Paul and Embry. He thought that between Tiffany working at the hospital, the pack and himself we'd be able to keep you away from the leeches. Doc Cullen had you moved before they even let Charlie back to see you. We started asking questions, but you were just… gone." He explains.

"That still doesn't explain why you're Alpha or where Sam is."

"Bells-"

"Jacob, please just tell me. Please." I plead with him.

"He's gone-"

The phone is grabbed out of my hand and quickly shoved into Jasper's pocket, and Charlotte uses her vampire speed to start bathing me as my mother enters the room with Edward on her heels.

"We have to go! We have to leave right now!" Renee says hysterically and I watch in horror as something crashes through the wall of the room I'm in. A rag is shoved over my face and the only thing I am aware of is cold arms whisking me away before everything once again goes black.