Disclaimer. All publicly recognizable characters, settings etc., are the property of their respective owners. The original characters, ideas and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. I only do this for fun.

Death is Only the Beginning

A/N: This story is written as collaboration by both Xo Bella Italiana oX and DeathQueen26. We hope that you enjoy the story and look forward to reading your reviews. If you have any questions or comments, post them in my reviews and I will answer them in my next Author's Note! Enjoy!

Reminder: If you go to my Wattpad page – where I have also posted most of my stories, including this one – you will see that I have posted PICTURES of a scene from each chapter inside the story with the chapter! So, take a look and tell me what you think! There are even Jasper Romance pics! The user name (penname) is the same as this one as I have on here, so it won't be hard to find. Or you can click on the link on my profile! - Bella'Xo

Previously…
(Jessica's POV)

As I walked out of the store, I could feel eyes on me once again. I sucked in a chattering breath, hugging my light coat tighter as I made my way back home. This time when I heard footsteps, I help my breath and turned to see four big guys walking up behind me. I could tell they were checking me out because of the way their eyes were glazed over me, roaming up and down my body. I whimpered slightly as I turned and quickened my pace. I knew that it had been a bad idea to go out at this time of night, but I needed the book and I didn't want to wait until tomorrow to go and get it.

Stupid me.

Stupid, stupid, stupid. I chimed over and over again in my head. I kept glancing behind me when one of them must have noticed.

"Come on, baby," He called walking a little faster. "I see ya checkin' us out. Wanna play?" He swiveled his hips and licked his lips at me.

"Go away, you creep." I snapped as I turned and started to almost jog.

"Don't be that way, baby." One of them called. "We just wanna good time." I could even smell the booze all the way up here.

'Oh God,' I couldn't help but think. 'Please, someone help me!' I mentally screamed inside my head as I started to hear their foot falls picking up behind me.

I took off, holding tight to my purchase as I rushed home. I could practically feel their breaths down the back of my neck even though I knew that they were still a little bit behind me.

Chapter 33:
(Bella's POV: Cullen's House, Forks, Washington – 6:00 PM)

I stood on the back porch as Edward and Jasper came running towards the house. I was grinning from ear to ear as Edward glared at me. Jasper was illustrious, because he sent me his pride as soon as I was within his sight. I could tell Edward was used to being the fastest in the family, but that'd changed when he met me. Then again, my mate was just as fast, if not more so, yet he preferred to keep his strengths hidden.

I turned my gaze back over to Jasper, a grin lighting up his handsome face as he jogged up to my side and wrapped an arm around my waist before kissing my temple.

"You and I will be having another race next time, no head starts." Edward muttered in amused displeasure as he walked up the last few steps up to the large dark wooden deck.

I shrugged, giving him a chastising smirk, "You were the one who gave me the head start." I reminded him as I snuggled deeper into Jasper's side. "I'll give it to you, Ed, you're fast, but you were only the fastest member of the family until Jasper showed up, with me now being a close second." I grinned with my attempt to rile him up.

Edward snorted as his eyes narrowed playfully at me. "Are you saying that Jasper is faster than I am?"

"What I'm saying is that you're now the third fastest in the family - so yes, that's exactly what I'm saying." I continued to smirk as he studied both me and Jasper for any signs that I was just making all this up. "Jasper has been letting you win." I added as Jasper wrapped his other arm around me so my back was fully against his front.

"If you say so," Edward snorted and shrugged, his eyes flickering up to Jasper over my head, then to the house. "Carlisle has already called Sam. Him, Harry and Billy are coming over to discuss what we've found out."

I felt Jasper nod as he moved his arms from around my waist. "Yeah, lets head inside." His eyes were darting around the tree line. "Looks like one of them has decided to show early."

"What?" I tensed and turned to follow his gaze towards the trees only to see Jake come jogging out in a pair of dark-washed jeans and boots. "JAKE!" I wiggled around in Jasper's arm causing him to tighten his hold and snarl. "Oh, come on! You know Jake won't hurt me."

Just then, the sliding glass door opened from behind us, and Alice and Tami appeared from within the house, coming up to a stop beside me and Jasper. I could see fear reflecting in Alice's eyes as she stared blankly at Edward as he focused whatever it was she was thinking about. Tami had a protective arm wrapped around Alice's shoulders, doing her best to be there as a source of comfort and security.

Edward's eyes suddenly grew wide as they became focused and darted towards Alice before flickering back to me, and then to Jake, who was standing at the bottom of the stairs, looking up at us and frowning.

"You have to go, Edward!" Alice cried as Tami tightened her hold on her. "If you don't, she will only be in more danger. Those guys mean business!"

"What's going on?" Jake voiced as he began to climb the stairs a few feet from me, Jasper, Edward, Tami and Alice.

Edward looked back over to Alice who shook her head and then pointed over at the garage. "GO, I'll fill everyone in."

Edward didn't say anything as we watched him silently rush towards the garage door around the side of the house where he disappeared inside. We could hear as he quickly started up his Volvo before appearing and then disappearing down the mile-long drive way. I couldn't help but cringe because the way he was driving would no doubt have Charlie pulling him over if he wasn't paying attention to the minds around him on the road.

I sighed and turned towards Alice, placing my shield over her mind and opening my mind to hers.

'What's going on Alice?' I asked her through my gift causing her eyes to dart towards me, startled.

'Hang on, I want to tell everyone together,' Alice replied as she and Tami headed back into the house.

"Bells?" I heard Jake question me, gaining my attention as my head turned from the disappearing forms of Alice and Tami over to him, quirking a brow in silent inquiry. "What's going on?"

I shrugged, "Let's go inside." I leaned in against Jasper, who refused to completely release me from his possessive hold - not that I exactly minded. "Alice said she will fill everyone in once we get inside. Sam, Harry and your father are on their way, so we may have to wait on them."

Jake frowned, but nodded as we all headed into the house where I knew the other family members would be, along with Seth. Since Bree has been staying here, Seth's been over to the house many times and has even taken Bree back to his house a few times. Bree claims that she met his sister, Leah, and that she was nice, but that she still didn't seem to completely have her wolf instincts under control. She said that Leah had to go outside when she first arrived or else she would have phased right there in the living room, just because of Bree's vampire scent.

I sighed and shook my head as Jasper and I entered the living room. Carlisle and Esme were standing in front of the fireplace while Emmett and Rosalie sat in one chair with her sitting in Emmett's lap. Alice and Tami were cuddled up on the large sectional. Alice was curled up against Tami, holding hands, and I had to smile at them, because I knew how hard it still was for Tami because of how she was raised.

I began to walk over to the part of the couch where Alice and Tami were sitting and went to sit down, only for Jasper to pull me back up to my feet before taking the now unoccupied spot, then pulling me down onto his lap sideways with my back up against the armrest. He rested his hand on my thigh, wrapping the other around me and breathed in my scent.

I watched as Jake sat down on a chair that he'd brought over from the adjacent dining area, knowing that there were others arriving who would need to sit.

No one said anything as we waited for when Sam, Harry and Billy arrived. That was the thing about my new family and I; we didn't feel the need to fill the silence with redundant chatter.

I couldn't help but worry for about Jessica- since that's obviously who Alice was referring to when she was speaking to Edward. Alice had seemed rather frightened, and if Tami's actions were any indication, it wasn't good.

(3rd Person POV: Port Angeles, Few Blocks From Bookstore – 6:30 PM)

Jessica froze in the empty parking lot as the five men started to approach her. She had taken a left only to end up in a back parking lot of one of the many closed businesses. Her eyes darted around as she tried to find something or someone to help her. The only problem was that there was nothing close to her as she faced her potential rapists. Her heart was beating a million miles a minute as she backed up a few steps.

"Ah, come on baby," The first guy who spoke smiled rather sadistically. "We just wanna have some fun." His eyes held untold danger that she would soon discover if she didn't find a way out of the situation, and quickly.

"I...I'd rather not." Jessica whispered as she backed up. "Now leave me alone!" She was finding her backbone yet it only seemed to make the man angry.

The man opened his mouth but suddenly a car appeared behind Jessica, squealing the tires as it stopped a couple feet from her. Her eyes widen as she watched Edward open the car door and look to the guys as he spoke to her.

"Get in the car, Jessica." Edward could hear in the guys minds what they wished to do to her which caused his venom to start boiling.

"Look man, she's ours." Another one of the men stepped forward causing Jessica inch towards Edward.

Edward growled not bothering to hide his eyes as he stared into the man's eyes who spoke. "No, she's mine." He may not feel that same pull to her that he saw in the minds of his mated family members, but Alice said she saw them together, so he figured that it was due to her being human. So he would keep an eye on the girl, not to mention he would never allow a girl, mate or not, to be raped by any man. "Jessica, Get. In. The. Car."

Jessica wanted to argue, not liking how he was ordering her around, but she knew she'd rather be with Edward then to be left to deal with these five guys who seemed to want to play with her.

Shivering, she hurried around to the other side of the car and got in. Her mind was racing as Edward followed her into the car and slammed the door, putting the car in reverse and spinning around before taking off.

Jessica's eyes were wide as she dropped her books to the floor board and grabbed a hold of the handle on her door and the edge of her seat.

"Maybe you should slow down." Her voice came out in a small squeak.

"Say something." Edward snarled as he remembered what the men were thinking. He couldn't help how his mind flashed back to his rebellious period and all then monster's whose lives were taken for such vile images.

"Like what?" Jess asked, shivering as she saw the dark color his eyes had shifted in to.

"Anything," He answered, "Just prattle on about something insignificant. Just take my mind off of what those rancid people were thinking."

Jessica's eyes grew wide. "How could you know what they were thinking?"

"It wasn't hard to guess." He mentally cursed himself for his slip of the tongue.

"Um..." Jessica couldn't help but come up with a blank as she noticed he wasn't wearing a seatbelt and he was driving rather fast. "Maybe you should put on your seat belt."

Edward laughed shaking his head as his hands clenched tighter on the steering wheel. "You should put on your seat belt."

Jessica didn't think of her own seat belt, but decided that Edward was probably right, what with how fast he was driving, as she slipped the belt on over her chest and into the buckle.

At this point, neither of them were saying anything ,because they were off in their own little worlds, however, Edward was able to hear what Jessica was thinking, providing a valuable distraction from the images he was trying to escape from.

"If..." Jessica swallowed. "If you don't mind, can you take me home?"

"Of course," Edward nodded knowing it would only be a matter of time before she would want to speak with him about what made him and his family different from the others in this town. "Why were you out in that area, anyway, and alone at that? Don't you know how unsafe that area is at this time of night?" His eyes darted towards her only to see the books she had bought dumped on the floorboards of his car. The titles were all related to the Quileute legends and the supernatural.

"I was going there to find some books," Jessica answered swallowing the lump in her throat. "Its for a... project I'm working on." 'And, in a way, it is a project,' She thought to herself while wondering if Edward could read minds.

Edward smirked as his eyes went back to the road. "Will anyone be there?"

"Huh?" Jessica blinked a few times as a light blush spread across her cheeks and neck. "Oh, no. My mom's still working at the hospital, but she should be home soon."

Jessica's mom was a nurse who worked at the same hospital as Carlisle. Her parents were divorced and her dad worked and lived in Seattle with his new, much younger, wife. Edward had read in her mind that he had been cheating on her mother for some time before she caught on and left him when Jessica was in middle school. Jessica resented her dad and new step mom for breaking their family apart, but still spent the occasional weekend with them, as per the custody agreement.

"Do you want some company?" Edward asked deciding that it would be best if someone was with her. "I know how unpredictable hospital hours can be."

'I did want to get started with reading these books, but...oh hell, who in their right mind would say no to that face?' She thought to herself as her heart skipped a beat, causing Edward to internally smirk.

"Sure, you can come in for a little bit." She smiled. "If you're hungry, I could fix us something."

"Uh, sorry," Edward flashed Jessica one of his famous crooked smirks causing Jessica to blush even more. "I'm on a special diet, but I would love to keep you company until your mom comes home."

'YES! Edward Cullen is coming to my house!' Jessica whooped in her mind, causing Edward to cringe slightly from the internal squeal.

"Oh, ok." She grinned as she started to pick her books up. "Do you need my address?"

"No," Edward told her, but quickly elaborated. "I already know - small town and all. Plus, you kind of gave it to me already, along with your phone number in case I ever wanted to get together, remember?"

Jessica turned a brighter shade of red. "Um...yeah. I kinda forgot about that." Her eyes darted out the window of the car as Edward turned down her street. "What changed your mind?" 'Is he only doing this because he knows I like him!?'

"So, you never answered me," Edward began, trying to make conversation, "Why were you alone back there? Why not invite one of your many friends to go with you?"

Jessica shrugged, "Well, Angela was busy studying for a test with Eric and Ben, and a bookstore isn't really Lauren's scene."

Edward nodded, "Speaking of which, I've noticed you don't really like Lauren too much."

She sucked in a breath, "Is it really that obvious?" She asked as her mind began to race. 'Oh no, if he notices that I don't really like Lauren, it's only a matter of time before she realizes that too! She's the most popular girl in school! She could have everyone turned against me before lunch time!'

Edward shrugged rushing to try and come up with something to calm her worries. "No, it's not really obvious. I mean, I thought, at first, you were just another one of her goons, but as I watched you, I realized you were just trying to fit in. It's kind of hard to explain," he finished, not wanting to reveal that he only knew this because of what goes on in her mind while she's in the girl's presence.

'Oh, thank goodness.' Jessica relaxed in her seat. "Lauren was a good person at one time." She sighed as she gazed back out the window as the rain began to pelt against the glass. "It seems that since she'd developed quicker then most girls, she believes she's God's gift to men."

He chuckled, "I've met many of those types since Carlisle has had to move us around quite a bit for his job." Edward nodded as he pulled up in front of Jessica's house. "We're here."

"Oh, it looks like my mom is home, after all." She was kinda bummed, because she wanted to get to know Edward some more.

Edward knew what Jessica was thinking. "If you don't mind, I would like to walk you up to your door." He unbuckled quickly and walked as fast as humanly possible around to open Jessica's door. "That way, I know you're safe."

'Oh, he's such a gentlemen.' Jessica cooed mentally as she swooned. "Thank you, Edward." She allowed him to help her out of the car. "Do you mind if I tell my mom what happened? I don't want her to freak out since I'm a few minutes late for curfew."

"Sure," Edward nodded as he shut the door and followed Jessica towards her house. "If you want, I can take you and your mother out for dinner?"

"No, that's okay," Jessica's eyes grew wide at the thought of her mother around her crush. "We'll be fine. I already have some things ready for dinner."

Edward nodded as Jessica stopped as they got to the front door. "I'm glad I was able to help you out of that mess." His took a hold of Jessica's hand and brought it to his lips. "Since you're safe, and late, I'll let you head inside." He released Jessica's hand turning and headed back to his car. "I'll see you in school."

"Bye Edward," Jessica whispered as she watched him get into the car, her eyes going from the leaving car to her hand.

Jessica's mother was at the window with a curious look on her face. She knew that Edward Cullen was different then most boys his age, just like his handsome father and the rest of his family, but she was thrilled to find out her daughter was with such a gentlemen.

Opening the door, she cleared her throat getting her daughter's attention.

"I'm glad your home, Jess." Jessica's mother opened the door for her daughter to come in. "I also got your note saying you should be back before curfew to help start dinner. What happened? You know that your curfew on school nights is seven o'clock."

"I need to take these to my room," Jessica said as she shifted the books in her arms. "Then I'll come down, start dinner and tell you what happened while I was out and why I'm a little late."

Jessica's mother nodded as she watched her daughter head up to her room to put her books away. She couldn't help, but wonder why she was looking through old legends of the Quileute Indians. Sure, she knew them, having hung out at the reservation as a kid, just as her daughter did, but they were just that - Legends.

Shaking her head, she headed into the kitchen to start dinner. If she was correct, Jessica wanted spaghetti tonight for dinner and would no doubt be down to help her shortly.

(Bella's POV: Cullen House, Living Room – 7:30 PM)

"Where is the mind reader?" Sam asked as soon as he walked into the living room, pushing Billy Black.

"Edward had to go and help a friend." Alice piped up as Tami held onto her. "If you'll sit down, we'll go over what we've found and what's happened."

Harry and Billy nodded as Harry took one of the empty seats while Billy wheeled himself over next to Harry and Sam sat on another chair from the dining room that Esme had brought over.

Seth was with Bree, in her room, since she still had a little trouble being around humans. However, due to their supernatural senses, they were still able to hear everything going on, which mean that Harry and Billy would be safe.

Jake stood when Sam walked in, but Sam just shook his head causing Jake to sit back down.

"First, I would like to thank you all for coming." Carlisle started as he stood by Esme. "We know how hard it is for the wolves with us being in the area, and we apologize if we've caused any inconveniences."

"Why did you call?" Harry asked looking from Carlisle to Alice, obviously wanting to get this over with as fast as possible.

Carlisle sighed and looked to Alice. "I will allow my daughter, Alice, to take it from here."

"Tami and I were running through the woods when we came across the scent of another vampire." Alice whispered as Tami held her tightly. "Not long after we found his scent, he appeared. Thankfully, some of the family members were already out hunting in the area." She shivered then relaxed, sending Jasper a small smile that disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. "It was only when Edward, Jasper and Bella arrived that we were able to find out that he was, in fact, a scout."

"A scout? For who?" Sam didn't like the sound of that.

I cleared my throat, bringing Sam, Harry and Billy's attention over to me. "A scout is just how it sounds." I saw confusion in their eyes. "The vampire that had turned several of us, including me..." I heard Jasper's purr allowing me to relax. "Well, Maria wants her soldier's back, even going as far as to team up with another vampire Warlord to force me, Jasper, Tami, Peter and Charlotte back into the Vampire Wars going on in the south."

"Bella," Billy had moist eyes as he looked to me. "Excuse me for asking, but what exactly are the Vampire Wars?"

"Yeah," Sam interjected, "Are you meaning to tell me that there are a bunch of bloodsuckers fighting each other?"

Jasper cleared his throat, "It's a lot more complicated than that, but if you have a few minutes, I can fill you in?"

The four Quileutes exchanged a glance before nodding at Jasper to continue.

"There are places in our world where the lifespan of the never-aging is measured in weeks, not centuries." He began, looking into the eyes of the four Quileutes present, "To really understand why, you have to look at the world from a different...perspective. You have to imagine the way it looks to the powerful, the greedy...the perpetually thirsty."

Jake and Sam gritted their teeth at this, but nodded, remaining silent as they listened to my mate speak. "You see, there are places in this world that are more desirable for us than others. Places where we can be less restrained, and still avoid detection.

"Picture, for instance, a map of the western hemisphere. Picture on it every human life as a small red dot. The thicker the red, the more easily we - well, those who exist this way - can feed without attracting notice."

Billy and Harry exchanged an uneasy glance at the image he had created for them. But Jasper continued on without a pause. "Not that the covens in the South care much for what the humans notice or do not. It's the Volturi that keep them in check. They are the only ones the southern covens fear. If not for the Volturi, the rest of us would be quickly exposed."

"Who or what is the Volturi?" Jake spoke up, raising his hand like he was in a classroom.

It was Carlisle who answered, "The Volturi are like vampire royalty, if you will, consisting of three brothers and their guard members of gifted vampires. They construct the laws and dole out the punishments."

"Like vamp-o-cops?" He asked.

Carlisle shrugged, "More or less."

"Weird," Sam shook his head. "Continue with those vamp wars you were talkin' about." He gestured at Jasper, who sighed.

"It's a different world in the South. The immortals there come out only at night. They spend the day plotting their next move, or anticipating their enemy's. Because it has been war in the South, constant war for centuries, with never one moment of truce. The covens there barely note the existence of humans, except as soldiers notice a herd of cows by the wayside - food for the taking. They only hide from the notice of the herd because of the Volturi."

"But what are they fighting for?" Billy asked.

Jasper smiled,"Remember the map with the red dots?" He waited, so they nodded. "They fight for control of the thickest red."

Jake and Sam gritted their teeth in displeasure while Harry and Billy exchanged another horrified glance.

"You see, it occurred to someone one that, if he were the only vampire in, let's say Mexico City, well then, he could feed every night, twice, three times, and no one would ever notice. He plotted ways to get rid of the competition.

"Others had the same idea. Some came up with more effective tactics than others. But the most effective tactic was inverted by a fairly young vampire named Benito. The first anyone ever heard of him, he came down from somewhere north of Dallas and massacred the two small covens that shared the area near Houston. Two nights later, he took on the much stronger clan of allies that claimed Monterrey in northern Mexico. Again, he won."

"How did he win?" Jake asked with way curiosity.

"Benito had created an army of newborn vampires. He was the first one to think of it, and, in the beginning, he was unstoppable."

"But what makes these newborn vampires different from...err...well, your kind?" Harry asked, gesturing at us.

"I'm getting to that. Very young vampires are volatile, wild, and almost impossible to control." Jasper began to explain, "One newborn can be reasoned with, taught to restrain himself, but ten, fifteen together are a nightmare. They'll turn on each other as easily as the enemy you point them at. Benito had to keep making more as they fought amongst themselves, and as the covens he decimated took more than half his force down before they lost.

"You see, though newborns are dangerous, they are still possible to defeat if you know what you're doing. They're incredibly powerful physically, for the first year or so, and if they're allowed to bring strength to bear they can crush an older vampire with ease. But they are slaves to their instincts, and thus predictable. Usually, they have no skill in fighting, only muscle and ferocity. And in some cases, overwhelming numbers.

"The vampires in the southern Mexico realized what was coming for them, and they did the only thing they could think of to counteract Benito. They made armies of their own...

"All hell broke loose - and I mean that more literally than you can possibly imagine. We immortals have our histories, too, and this particular war will never be forgotten. Of course, it was not a good time to be human in Mexico, either.

"When they body count reached epidemic proportions - in fact, your histories blame a disease for the population slump - the Volturi finally stepped in. The entire Guard came together and sought out every newborn in the bottom half of North America. Benito was entrenched in Puebla, building his army as quickly as he could in order to take on the prize - Mexico City. The Volturi started with him, and then moved on to the rest.

"Anyone who was found with the newborns was executed immediately, and, since everyone was trying to protect themselves from Benito, Mexico was emptied of vampires for a time.

"The Volturi were cleaning house for almost a year. This was another chapter of our history that will always be remembered, though there were very few witnesses left to speak of what it was like. I spoke to someone once who had, from a distance, watched what happened when they visited Culiacan." Jasper shuddered. "It was enough that the fever for conquest did not spread from the South. The rest of the world stayed sane. We owe the Volturi for our present way of life.

"But when the Volturi went back to Italy, where they are based, the survivors were quick to stake their claims in the South.

"It didn't take very long before covens began to dispute again. There was a lot of bad blood, if you'll forgive the expression. Vendettas in abundance. The idea of newborns was already there, and some were not able to resist. However, the Volturi had not been forgotten, and the southern covens were more careful this time. The newborns were selected from the human pool with more care, and given more training. They were used circumspectly, and the humans remained, for the most part, oblivious. Their creators gave the Volturi no reason to return.

"The wars resumed, but on a smaller scale. Every now and then, someone would go too far, speculation would begin in the human newspapers, and the Volturi would return and clean out the city. But the let the others, the careful ones, continue..." He finished, shifting me from his lap to stand and move over towards the lamp next to Harry and Billy, rolling up his sleeves as he went.

The shock and recognition on the four Quileute men's faces were palpable.

"That's how you were changed," Jake concluded.

"Yes," he agreed, "But I am not the only one." He shifted his eyes from Tami, to Peter, to Char, and then finally to me, bringing another round of gasps.

"Bella? That's what happened to you?" Billy asked.

I nodded, "I have the same sire as Jasper and Tami. Peter and Char are Jasper's creations from when he worked under our sire, Maria."

"You were living like that for 3 months?" Jake pressed.

"Yes," Jasper nodded as he came back to me, pulling me up and into his arms. "I got her out of there as soon as I could. But now she wants her prized fighter's back, and that now includes me and Peter."

"I'll rip her apart." Jake snarled as his eyes locked on Sam. "I almost lost my best friend once before, and I wont lose her again."

Sam nodded as his eyes moved from Jasper's, to mine then to Carlisle. "What do you need us to do?"

"How's Leah's control?" Jasper asked as he tensed next to me before sitting back down, pulling me down on to his lap, once again. "I need to start trainin' the wolves an' my family as soon as possible. Maria is one of the most lethal, cunning Warlords who exists, and she couldn't have picked a worse accomplice to join in cahoots with; Enrique. That's who's army the scout was from."

"There will also be three nomads that will be arriving sometime soon," Alice whispered, her eyes unfocused and glazed over in a vision. "It seems as though Maria knew that he wouldn't make it back to them all along, so she's going to be sending three more the next time, these ones also being from Enrique's army. She doesn't seem want to risk her own men."

Jasper tensed. "Are they newborn's, Alli?" He used her nickname yet it didn't bother me, Tami on the other hand snarled and I growled out a warning. She quickly quietened down, pulling Alice closer to her.

"No," Alice answered.

Tami and I tensed as an image flashed through my mind.

...Flashback...

It had been only two days since I had awoken to this life. Tami and I were standing in the middle of a dozen newborns, from the opposing sides. Maria was angry since we had come back with the smell of animal blood on us, which was because we had attacked a vet who seemed to like little girls.

It was then that a single male walked forward. His dirty blonde hair was just that, dirty -er- more like filthy. I could tell by the way he held himself that he was an older vampire, which meant trouble for Tami and I.

"Well, lookie here." The male looked us up and down. "Seems Maria's punishing you two." He turned his red eyes to another vampire, but he had darker skinned and his hair hung in long dreads. "What do ya say, Laurent?"

"Hmm..." 'Laurent' hummed. "I do believe you are correct, James." He turned his eyes to his friend. "Shall we let the newborns start and then we shall finish..."

...End Flashback...

"Bella!"

"BOSS!?"

"Isabella, open yer eyes!"

I blinked a few times only to see that Jake was standing beside Jasper, as well as Tami. I was no longer sitting in Jasper's lap, but on the couch as him, Jake and Tami hovered over me.

"Boss..." Tami's eyes were glistening with venom. "Did you remember..."

I closed my eyes and stood. "Yes," I felt Enyo rattle in her change as I jumped up and began to pace the room, causing everyone to back up. "After a few days of being in Maria's care and being trained, Tami and I went on a hunt only to return with the smell of animal blood on us." I closed my eyes seeing James and Laurent as they were toying with us. "Maria wasn't too happy, so we were sent into the next battle against a Warlord on our own. He had sent a group to spy on our camp and Maria wanted them gone before they could get any useful information. It was before Peter had arrived to take over our training." I quickly backpedaled, not want to get Peter into trouble as I noticed Jasper shooting dangerous looks in his direction.

"Who?" He snarled as I saw he was no longer Jasper, but the Major with his dark eyes glaring down at me. "Who did that bitch send ya against?" His hands were clenched so tightly that his knuckles looked like they were about to crack.

"Enrique's troops," I whispered dropping into Jake's vacant chair. "Two older vampires were there amongst six other older newborns, James and Laurent." I shivered as Jasper knelt in front of me.

"Belle?" I could see the fear in his eyes behind the dark veil of the Major.

Tami cleared her throat. "If I may, let's just say that the Boss and I had to 'pull' ourselves together before we made it back to Maria's compound." Her eyes were dark as Alice held her hand. "She was shocked that we were left behind alive and unburned. I do remember hearing James and Laurent talking about meeting up with us at a later date to finish what they started, but knew Enrique would be disappointed if they destroyed us since he wanted to leave a message for Maria."

The Major stood, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists. "Don't worry, by the next time we meet those two again, I'll have a little message for the two of them of my own."

A/N: Hey guys! Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Sorry it's been so long since I've updated this specific story. I'm just trying to finish some of the others, as well, so my coauthor and I haven't gotten an opportunity to really focus on this one. Also, I know a lot of you are worried about Jessica, but just trust me on this, everything will work out! Any idea's on what's going to happen next?! Review!

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Xo Bella Italiana oX