✓ | ESCAPE → alec volturi

Chapter Eleven

Jumelle stayed with the Cullens for a few more days before Alec made an appearance.

"Jumelle," he muttered as soon he entered the living room. All of the Cullens were gathered around, ready to fight for Jumelle if necessary.

Alec looked as though he hadn't slept for days. Admittedly he was a vampire, but he had dark bags beneath his eyes and a sallow face nonetheless. He looked tired and defeated.

"I had to see you," he muttered finally. Jumelle noticed that his eyes were becoming a paler red, almost pink, and frowned.

"Alec, what ...?"

Alec shook his head. "He's not letting me feed," he muttered. Jumelle's eyes widened in fury.

"He can't do that!"

"He said that I had to bring you back, otherwise I'd be banished."

"He can't do that either!" Jumelle cried. "What about Jane?"

"That's exactly what I said," Alec murmured as he met Jumelle's eyes once more. "Aro just said that she'll have to go with me. She's the only family I've got, Elle, and I don't want to see her in pain. Please."

Jumelle bit her lip as she looked around at her family. She and Renesmee had formed an unbreakable bond over the past few days, the only thing ever separating the twins being Daniel or Jacob. Jumelle had also talked to her parents a lot, as they were obviously curious as to what she'd been up to for the past six years.

"Alec ... I dunno ..." Jumelle trailed off. "I mean, this is my family, and I don't want to lose them again. I already picked you over them, and then them over you, and I just can't stand it. I wish there was a way ..."

"There is," Renesmee spoke up. She walked over beside her sister and looked Alec in the eyes. "Stay with us."

"Are you insane?!" Jacob growled protectively. "Nessie, I will not have you hurt--"

"Elle says they're safe, so they're safe," Renesmee said simply. "Stay with us," she repeated. Jumelle glanced at Alec, whose eyes were wide now.

"I-I dunno ... Jane might not be up to that idea," Alec stuttered. "I mean, we've been taught to hate you all for years now. I just don't know if she'll be accepting."

"Well, do you want to stay?" Bella asked. Jumelle was surprised that her mother wasn't against this idea, like Jacob, Emmett, Jasper and Rosalie all seemed to be. But Alec was her mate, and it was now clear that Bella was accepting of that.

Alec shuffled on his feet, all tiredness gone from his eyes which were now bright and alert. "Of course. I'll stay anywhere as long as Jumelle's there," he said finally. Jumelle smiled softly. Alec gave her a lopsided grin back, glad to see her happy.

"Jane can't stand being apart from you, so if you stay, she should too," Bella concluded.

Carlisle looked thoughtful, as if something was going to happen. Alice seemed more enthusiastic about the idea than she ought to be, but perhaps she'd seen something good about it. Esme seemed ... welcoming enough. Bella and Renesmee were more than happy to invite Alec into their home. Edward seemed cautious more than anything. Jumelle guessed he didn't want to see any of his family get hurt.

All eyes turned to Carlisle, who deliberated for a moment before nodding.

"They can stay."

- - -

"I can smell something ..." Alec whispered as he breathed in deeply. Jumelle nodded encouragingly.

"Good. Can you identify what animal it is?"

Alec scrunched up his nose adorably before shaking his head.

"It just smells like dirt and blood," he concluded. Jumelle giggled before taking a deep breath herself.

Teaching Alec to hunt animals was going to be quite the mission. It already was. So far, he'd been able to pick up on a few animals, none of which he could identify. He was just so used to humans all smelling and tasting the same that he just couldn't tell the difference. As a former animal drinker, Jumelle was used to the idea. Alec didn't seem to grasp the fact that he could easily tell what the animal is, where it is and approximately how far away it is. He seemed awestruck every time his mate did it.

The stealth and hunting skill was a whole other thing in itself. Alec was always too loud when trying to get closer to an animal. Jumelle showed him multiple times, but he still couldn't seem to get it. He was always messy when drinking as well. He had a massive patch of dark, crimson blood staining his white t-shirt, but that was easily replacable.

"Mountain lion, north-west of here, probably about half a kilometre away," Jumelle concluded. Alec's eyes widened in awe once again at her skill, but she shrugged it off. "Hunting pays off when it comes to skill," Jumelle said simply.

"Clearly," Alec mused. Jumelle turned around to begin running towards the mountain lion, but Alec grabbed her arm before she could start. He pulled Jumelle into his chest, burying his face into her neck. She smiled softly as he breathed in her scent. It was a vampire thing.

"Did I tell you that you look beautiful this morning?" Alec breathed. He began trailing kisses down Jumelle's neck, making her lose all focus and thought. She was craving Alec's touch more than usual from the few days the two had spent apart.

"Get a room!" Emmett's voice rang out through the trees. Alec moved his head up, instinctively curling his upper lip in a snarl.

"Chill, dude, it's just us." Emmett held his hands up defensively and Alec pressed his mouth into a thin line. He buried his face in his mate's neck again and began softly purring. Another vampire thing.

"That's my niece!" Jasper called out. "I'd appreciate it if you keep your hands to yourself!"

"Yeah, save it for the bedroom!" Emmett added.

"What d'you want?" Jumelle muttered in annoyance at her two uncles. "We were busy."

"Clearly," Emmett mused.

Jumelle rolled her eyes. "Seriously, Emmett, we were hunting. What d'you want?" she repeated.

Emmett snorted. "Hunting. Is that what this is? Is this the new hunting?"

"Cut it out, Em," Jasper scolded him. Forever the serious uncle. "We just wanted to let you know that Nessie's at the house with Daniel, and she wants you two to babysit, if you don't have any other plans."

"Looks like we'll have to do it, Jazz," Emmett snorted once more. "These two have plenty of plans."

Jumelle rolled her eyes again. "I am busy, but not in the way you think, Emmett. You're a dirty-minded freak."

"I take pride in that."

"You shouldn't. I'm teaching Alec how to hunt, and I wanna do it in the least amount of time possible. Tell Ness that I'm sorry, but it'll have to be another time."

"Don't sweat it, Squirt," Emmett chuckled, using Jumelle's childhood nickname. Since Renesmee was Nessie, Jumelle was therefore Squirt, because it had to be water-related. "Jazz and I can handle Danny. We'll be fine."

"See you later, Ellie," Jasper sighed with an eye-roll. He and Emmett took off after one last wolf-whistle from Emmett. Jumelle could hear their raucous laughter as they ran through the forest back towards the house.

Jumelle sighed at Emmett's cheeky behaviour, but Alec merely chuckled.

"Where were we?" he purred seductively.

"Alec!"