A/N  Last chapter.  I hope you enjoy

CHAPTER XII

            Damned bucket seats.  Alice was no more than two feet away from him, but it was too far.  And even if they weren’t separated by a gap between the seats, Jasper still couldn’t reach out and tuck her against him as Carlisle had admonished her to keep her healing arm completely immobile.  Instead, Jasper let his eyes drag the smooth pale flesh of her shoulder before flicking them back to the road.  Her arm seemed to be mending well.  There was a faint seam just below the round of her shoulder, but even that was fading.  Alice drummed her fingers along her leg, as she had done for the last couple of hours or so, testing her increasing range and ability.  Eventually, her hand came across and landed atop his on the gear shift.  Kate preferred a standard.  As did Jasper. 

CHAPTER XI

            It was the flames that caught Jasper’s eye first, insatiable orange tongues lapping greedily through the plume of purple smoke.  It might have mesmerized him, the horror of those colors, but just beyond them he saw Bella, her face a wavering through the waves of smoke--and a large black wolf hurtling toward her. 

            What the hell? Something inside of him bellowed.  He pushed harder, running impossibly fast, legs churning.  A snarl tore from his chest, and he leapt, twenty yards at least, and plowed into the wolf, which yelped in shock and pain.  The two rolled over and over, locked against one another.  Jasper had a mouthful of muscle and fur.  The muscles of his throat rebelled and tried to gag it out, but beyond the stench of dog, something else came to him as he grappled with his enemy.  He could smell Alice. 

Thanks to Ava Sinclair for her wonderful Beta

CHAPTER X

            Dusk again, and Bella’s hands no longer glittered on the steering wheel. It had taken only three hours on the road for her to decide where she was headed.  Or, if Bella had been honest with herself, she had known from the moment she slipped the key into the ignition. 

            The wheels spun gravel as she whipped into the drive leading to the Cullen home, and she braced herself for whatever welcome she would receive. Would there be open arms and cries of delight or an awkward silence and more awkward maneuverings designed to give the impression that, “it’s good to see you, but. . . well, this just isn’t going to work out.” Either way, Bella decided, she wanted to know and get it out of the way. She wouldn’t pine away for a man who didn’t love her, but she would damn well face him. The idea of him not loving her had burned like a saw through her ribs during the long miles through Canada, and she thought she had it under control now. But despite her attempts at detachment, Bella’s heart leapt when she saw the familiar Volvo come into view, but the excitement was quashed catching sight of Irina’s vehicle just behind it. Jasper had already arrived, of course. What would she say to him?  Bella didn’t know whether she was more angry or hurt; that sense of abandonment ran marrow-deep.         Well, he’ll know how I feel, even if I don’t, she thought bitterly.          

A/N: It’s a short chapter this time.  I originally meant for it to have another scene, but decided to post this so as to not keep my faithful, few readers waiting.  Only 3 chapters left after this.  Enjoy!

CHAPTER IX

            Jasper had been well aware of the disadvantage of hunting with the wolves from the outset, but he had felt confident in his ability to deal with their anger before it could cause him any problems.

He just hadn’t expected this.

            A/N Before we begin this chapter, I just want to take a moment to thank all of those who have sent reviews. They have been a great encouragement to me, not only for this little fic-piece, but also in RL. It’s just nice, and gives me a little heart. 

            Errata: In the previous chapter, I had to make a last-minute revision (how long Sam gave to find Victoria—should have been 48 instead of 24 hours.) I’ve corrected all the consistency problems about that in the chapter now (I hope!) and am grateful to the sharp-eyed reader who pointed it out to me!

            Thanks also to Ava Sinclair for the excellent Beta.

            Now, without further ado. . . .           

CHAPTER VIII

            Bella didn’t fly off the handle as the reality of Jasper’s disappearance settled in. Instead, the shock burned off with a sizzle, like alcohol poured into a heated pan. She felt blank, eviscerated. Irina’s face blurred in and out for a moment, and Bella blinked to still her vision. 

            “Bella?”

            “I’m okay. I’m fine,” she said, shrugging Tanya’s hand off of her shoulder.  She realized they had been calling her name for some time, but Bella had no idea how long she had stood frozen: a second, an hour? She didn’t even care why Jasper had left, it was the fact that he had, without even telling her or leaving a note. Left her as if she meant nothing at all to him. And really, did she have any right to expect something from Jasper? He hadn’t wanted her in the first place—had made it perfectly clear that changing her had been an accident. A bitterly regretted mistake.

A/N   In this story, the “Alpha” leader among the werewolves/shapeshifters does not wield incontrovertible power over the pack. This is more in keeping with most native traditions—a chief is not a dictator, he governs by persuasion, not fiat. Furthermore, (and more selfishly), my story works better this way.

CHAPTER VII

            Jasper cursed himself for not getting his pilot license when Edward had.   He deplaned at Sea/Tac, brushing past the faceless, staggering travelers with fussy children, wishing he could throw caution to the wind and simply sprint down the terminal. When he finally escaped the airport, Jasper pulled a car heist worthy of his mate, and sped his way toward her.

CHAPTER VI

            “It’s hard not being able to sleep,” Bella admitted. It was 4:18 pm and she and Jasper were standing on the back porch watching the sun disappear behind the swaying treetops on the horizon. She swung one foot back and forth like a metronome, trying to remember what it was like to fidget. “Did you feel the same way, at first?”

            At first, Jasper worried how Emmett’s departure might affect Bella. Up until that point, she had spent most of her time in Alaska secluded with a computer. However, Emmett had taken on the role of big brother in Bella’s life long before the disastrous birthday party, and Jasper wasn’t at all certain that the Denali family would be able to step-in and fill that empty place when he left.      

            Fire slides down the back of Bella’s throat like molten glass. In her mind’s eyes she sees the delicate tissues there stripping away, curling like birch bark.  She snaps her eyes open and nearly chokes with horror. The air is fuzzy. Had her vision been impaired somehow? Suddenly she realizes that she’s merely seeing the dust motes in the air, millions of them riding a shaft of sunlight sliding in between the curtains. Before she can refocus her eyes, the name is on her lips. 

CHAPTER III

            Jasper had seen Emmett frustrated, sullen, and even pouty, particularly when he and Rosalie were fighting (as fleeting and shallow as such conflicts actually were). However, this was the longest period of time in several decades that Emmett had been so quiet. There was little sound at all from the back of the car, save for his occasional words of sympathy and solidarity with Bella, or her panting and crying, and the thump of her feet kicking feebly at the back of the seat when the pain overwhelmed her. 

CHAPTER II

            Every molecule of Jasper’s body crackled. He buzzed painfully from his lips through the sensitive arches of his feet. He could see nothing and scarcely recognized the wet, smacking sounds as he frantically sucked his lips and teeth. The restraining arms of Edward and Emmett were like iron bands around his own as they hurtled him through the forest, away from the house. It had taken both of them to pry his jaws apart and pull him from Bella. There were no independent sensations anymore, just the intensity of Edward’s and Emmett’s struggle him, which he could sense from inside his own body and from without. 

            There was only one fixed point, one safe place in the maelstrom that raged around him--Alice. She was somewhere near by. He could taste her grief and fear--potent as the lingering traces of Bella’s blood in his mouth.

 
This is a Twilight fanfiction.  Intended for promotional purposes.  Stephenie Meyer's cretion.
 

CHAPTER I

            On the afternoon of her sixteenth birthday, Bella Swan hit a car. It was, perhaps, fortunate that she wasn’t driving—wasn’t even in a car herself. She had been standing with her mother at an intersection several blocks from downtown Phoenix after a girls-day-out lunch at Pour la France (Renee was at the height of her short-lived francophilia), when a Subaru Outback pulled around the corner behind her. Bella, who was looking the other direction, stepped directly into the side of the passing import.