The True History of the Cullen Family

Runaway Love

Jasper was beginning to wish that he were anywhere but with the Volturi.

He was tired of having to deal with them and their nonsense. And besides, why would he want to put up with them when he had a pet to play with.

Jasper made his way to his room, where Jacquelyn and the snakes were. Both Gus and Minerva were asleep in their baskets and Jacquelyn was sitting in a tub filled with cold water. She was not feeling well and she needed to cool down before she got sick.

Jasper saw her sitting in the tub and said, "Are you not feeling well?"

"No," she said. She shifted herself so that she was facing him. "Why are you with them?" she asked.

Jasper paused; no one had asked him that question before. Sure he had nowhere to go when the Volturi executed Maria for causing undue trouble in the south, but he knew that he should have gone with Peter and Charlotte when he had the chance to. But when Chelsea persuaded him to come with her and join the Volturi, Jasper knew better than to refuse.

He frowned and stood up, scooping Jacquelyn out of the tub. "You're going to be catching your death if you sit in there too long," he said as he wrapped the girl in a towel and carried her to the room. Minerva almost woke up upon hearing the noises, but then she relaxed and went back to sleep. Jasper set her on the bed and frowned, not knowing what he should be doing next.

It wasn't that Jasper didn't have any female admirers, but most of them knew better than to get too close to him. Maria had killed any other woman (both human and vampire) who had made the mistake of getting too close to Jasper. But surely he was not one to take advantage of this poor little girl who was in his room; he knew that some vampires had raped and tortured many young women who they lured away from the safety of their homes.

Jasper lifted the towel from Jacquelyn's body. She gripped his hand and said, "No." He stared at her in confusion. "No," she whimpered again.

"I will not hurt you," he said as he watched tears fall from her eyes. Had she been abused? Did anyone harm her? He would find out and then deliver the Volturi's justice to that horrible monster. "Did anyone hurt you?" he asked.

"No," she whispered.

Jasper slipped off his Volturi robes and sat beside Jacquelyn. She grew frightened and curled up away from him. "No," she said. Jasper reached out to take the girl's hand. "You are safe here," he said gently but firmly. "No one is going to hurt you. Please..."

Jacquelyn stared at him for a few moments. How can someone like him---a vampire---possibly keep her safe from harm? Especially since vampires have killed millions of humans over the centuries? She did not understand.

Jasper sighed and reached over to her, saying, "Do not be afraid." Jacquelyn nodded and began crying gently. He stripped down to nothing and held her to him. Jacquelyn frowned, knowing what was going to happen. But was she ready for it?

Jasper said, "Please don't be sad." Jacquelyn nodded and curled up beside him. Would Jasper Whitlock, former Confederate Major from Texas and Guard of the Volturi, be the one to take away her pain?

*****

The Annoying Nomads (James, Laurent, and Victoria) were now somewhere next to Naples. All day and night, they had to listen to humans complaining about the red sky. The sky was so red that it could be seen at night as well as during the day. Many people suspected everything from aliens to the return of Jesus Christ as the reasons why the sky was red.

Laurent said, "I don't know what the people are saying, but I don't like it. They are too full of fear."

Victoria said, "I heard some old woman say that the dead are coming back to life. I hope that doesn't mean that our meals are coming back to haunt us."

"Possibly not," said James. "The sky smells like blood. I'm not sure if we have to feed from humans as much as we usually do."

Just then, a scream was heard. A man was lying dead in the streets of Naples, with some strange symbol on his neck. "Not aliens and not zombies," Victoria said out loud.

"Then what is it?" another man cried out.

"Werewolves," said Laurent as he showed everyone the deep bloody scratches that ran down the victim's back.

Victoria said, "But I thought all the werewolves were dead! Extinct! Everyone knows that the Volturi wiped them out over four centuries ago!"

"Actually, that would be the work of Lord Caius," a vampire said, drawing everyone's attention. "After being attacked by a werewolf during a mission trip in the 1200's, Lord Caius set off with an army and marched upon their holdings, where they destroyed the werewolves in their human forms. But some had dared to survive and for countless centuries, they hid among us, plotting their revenge."

"Who are you?" James rudely addressed the vampire.

"My name is Dante Frost," said Dante, "and I'm here to warn you all: he or she who was involved in a murder that was committed out of selfishness will soon meet their deaths at the claws of the wolf."

He stood up and said, "I am going to Volterra to confer with Lord Aro regarding the murder of a man who could have improved life for both humans and vampires alike. Do you wish to share in my quest?"

James frowned, but Laurent said, "We would be happy to. In fact, we were just going there ourselves."

Dante said, "Then we shall depart immediately."

James frowned as he, Laurent, and Victoria walked off with the strange vampire. No one knew that they too were about to be involved in a very dangerous battle...

*****

Jasper slid out of bed, heaving. He knew that it had been years since he had actually enjoyed sex, knowing that it was only with Maria that he had had these intimate encounters. Maria would never let another woman go near him at all.

He frowned as he looked at his human pet, who had fallen asleep shortly after their tumble. She was a virgin, that he knew. Or she was, until a few hours ago. Jasper wondered if instead of comforting her, as he had wished to do, he had actually made things even worse for her.

Just then, Heidi came to the room. She had not seen Jasper lately and she had not seen Jacquelyn since the day that she brought the girl to the Volturi to be Jasper's pet.

She said to Jasper, "Aro did not see you at the meeting yesterday. Where have you been?"

Jasper said to her, "You do know that I have a pet, right?"

Heidi took a look at the sleeping Jacquelyn and said, "Please tell me that you didn't eat her; you do know that with your tastes, girls like her are very hard to find."

Jasper snapped, "I do know how to control myself, thank you very much, but I also prefer my light snacks. If you have a problem with me spending time with my little pet, as much as you go around seducing mortal boys during your time out of the castle..."

Heidi glared at him and Aro walked into the room, saying, "I see that Jasper likes his little pet. But I believe that he has yet to know of the problem that is plaguing us. The Romanians could be using the red sky to launch their attacks upon us. There would be untold amounts of human casualties. We need to put an end to them and quickly."

"We should," said Jasper. "The Romanians could be gathering allies even as we speak. I believe that they will attack us on St. Marcus's Feast Day."

"A repeat of the feat that is for the ages," said Aro. "Our own loyal human followers are in danger. You, Jasper, have the power to save us all."

Heidi said, "Are you saying that Jasper could...you know...use his powers to stop that army from reaching us?"

"How else did we find him?" Aro smiled. He took a look at Jacquelyn and said, "And we would like for her to join us, once she recovers from her devastating illness."

He and Heidi left the room and Jasper stood up. He needed to feed. He walked away from the bed, knowing that Jacquelyn would not wake up until evening. He needed to think of a strategy in order to stop the Romanians and their supporters. He would have to become "Major Jasper Whitlock" again.

Jacquelyn stirred a little, then fell back asleep. Jasper stared at her once more before leaving the room.