Heart of Stone | Jasper Hale

20

Edward and Bella left to go to Florida and the rest of the vampires all prepared for Victoria's arrival, Alice had figured out where she saw Victoria in the vision and they were now all stood waiting.

Watching. Waiting.

It was silent around them, as if nature knew what was happening. Alice stared into space and hadn't moved in a while. The rest of them all waited for the slightest bit of movement.

"Are you sure this is where you saw her?" Carlisle asked, breaking the silence.

"She's almost here." Alice said in a trance, Aimee readied myself and Jasper did the same, standing close to his mate. She caught his eye and smiled slightly before turning back to look around.

A couple minutes later, Alice's eyes moved and she exclaimed, "On your left!"

The vampires darted to the left, Emmett took the lead, seeing as he was the second fastest, Jasper was close behind.

Aimee saw Victoria's bright red hair, speeding in front of them. The red-head jumped over a log and Aimee picked up the pace, getting closer to her. Emmett put his arm out and almost grabbed Victoria, until his hand clamped around her shoulder. She flung her shoulder forward and flipped Emmett off, making him crash onto the ground.

Jasper, Carlisle and Aimee were the closest, she sped forward and caught up to Victoria, missing her by an inch as she jumped off the ledge and entered the werewolves territory.

"Fuck!" Aimee hissed watching as Victoria landed on a ledge, her golden eyes glaring at the older vampire.

"She's in their territory." Carlisle threw an arm out and stopped them all. They followed her movements on the other side of the river, the wolves snarling behind the vampire of their side.

"She'll get away!" Esme yelled, speeding beside Jasper.

Jasper hissed, "No she won't!"

The wolves almost caught her until she jumped over the river back into our territory, Jasper close behind her. His face was full of determination as Victoria used trees to gain height. Jasper used a tree to jump higher in the sky and was so close to grabbing her.

Jasper landed harshly on the ground and Aimee winced but kept running, trying to get rid of her worry. She needed to focus on the task. Victoria landed on her feet and kept up her speed, launching herself off the ledge when she came to the edge of the river.

She jumped off and landed in the wolves' territory again.

Aimee then jumped high in the sky and landed on the other side, hearing the yells of Alice, Rosalie and Jasper. Emmett jumped across as well but was caught by a werewolf, pushing him in the water. Aimee landed on the ledge and Victoria stared at her.

"Hi." Aimee greeted, a smirk plastered on her face.

Victoria darted away and Aimee followed her down the river, determined to get her. The newborn heard the Cullens follow her movements on their side, Jasper gaining speed at the front. He looked like he was about to jump over.

"Jasper, don't you dare!" His mate yelled, gaining speed on Victoria.

She then heard paws land heavily on the ground behind her, snarls and growls erupted from the wolf and it snapped it's jaws on Aimee's ankles. Snarling echoed from the other side of the lake, Jasper was terrified and angry, he almost jumped over to the other side, but was stopped by Carlisle tugging on his arm.

Jasper just glared at him, but he didn't jump to the other side. It could distract his mate, and she could end up being hurt, or killed. Fury built in Jasper's chest, and it was affecting his family, he was automatically sending out his negative emotions.

Victoria had started to gain speed and slipped further away from Aimee, and she knew that she had to give up. The wolf was about to snap her in half, and Jasper was about to go wild, she could see his desperation across the river.

At the last moment, she leapt across to the other side and felt strong arms embrace her instantly. Jasper was hugging her tightly, Aimee's arms slipped around his body and his worry ceased from his body.

"I'm alright." She whispered, his face buried in her neck. She held the back of his head and calmed him down, trying to move him away from the bank. But Jasper wouldn't budge, he looked up and snarled at the wolf on the other side, his expression terrifying.

"The wolves will hunt for Victoria." Carlisle said quietly, but he looked worried, standing closely to Esme. Jasper hadn't let Aimee go yet, so she couldn't look at any of her family. However, she did see Emmett walking up to them, looking like a drowned rat.

"Enjoy your swim, Em?" Aimee teased, Jasper loosened his hold so she could turn around in his embrace to look at Emmett. He hadn't released her through, and held her from behind. Aimee didn't think he was planning on letting her go any time soon.

"Shut up." Emmett answered, "That was badass, what you did just now."

Jasper tensed and pulled his mate closer, reminded of his fear and anger. Aimee just grinned at Emmett and shook my head. "All right, let's get home so Emmett can dry off." She said, looking up at Jasper.

Hesitantly, his arms dropped from around her, but he grabbed her hand quickly after, gripping it tightly.

*

Once we got in, Emmett changed his clothes and had a scolding from Rose about his recklessness. "Aimee jumped as well!" He exclaimed, gesturing to the vampire he had mentioned. Aimee stuck her town out at him.

Jasper frowned and pulled his mate closer, he hadn't spoken much ever since they got back.

"Aimee knew when to give up. Plus, she actually made it over. You got pushed into water." Rosalie teased, poking Emmett's face. Aimee laughed at them, as Emmett and Rosalie kept talking back and forth until she stood up, much to Jasper's annoyance.

"Jaz, let's go talk somewhere." Aimee told him, pulling him and walking out of the room. Emmett and Rose quietened down, putting on a film and cuddling on the sofa. Aimee led him upstairs and into their room, sitting him down on their bed.

He looked devastated.

"Why are you acting all sad for?" She asked, trying to make him smile using her fingers.

"Because you could've been killed." Jasper muttered, lying back on the headboard and pulling Aimee on his lap.

"But I wasn't. I'm right here if you hadn't noticed." She joked, but Jasper shook his head and sighed.

"When you jumped over to the other side, I felt... scared. I've never felt as scared as I did in that moment. You were there and I couldn't do anything to save you." He explained, rubbing her ribs and hips softly.

She straddled his waist and played with his curls, listening to him. She knew she took a risk, a stupid one at that. But she didn't think Jasper would be so scared by it.

"I'm sorry, I didn't think about it in that moment. I was so caught up with the chase." She said, Jasper's eyes shot up to look at hers. His usual golden eyes were dark with worry.

"I don't want to feel that again." He whispered, his lips hovering over hers.

"I promise to no longer make any reckless choices." Aimee said seriously, kissing him on the lips, he tilted his head and kissed her deeply.

Oh, how wrong she was.