BELOVED, jasper hale [02]

iii. the summons

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𝐁𝐄𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐃

❀ 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦: 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴

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𝐤𝐚𝐲𝐚 𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐞

     THE CULLENS LEFT ALMOST a week ago, and left both Kathleen and Kaya behind. Of course, it's not that it matters much. They have a place to go anyway: back to the Volturi. However, Kathleen has expressed an interest in staying in Forks with Embry and the Quileutes, and, while Kaya does agree with her staying here, it is more so Aro and Caius' feelings on the matter that make her mother hesitant to agree. In light of that, Kaya sends word to them about Kathleen's request, but is yet to receive a response.

     With a sigh, Kaya plops onto the ground beside Jared and tries her best to soak up the heat she has missed ever since she became somewhat human and somehow siphoned his gene to become a wolf shifter. It was exhilarating to be able to breathe once again and it was hard having to let that go after she spent hours running around in the woods with Jared and Embry and Paul, but Kaya knew that she had to let it go. She is dead after all, and there's nothing that can ever reverse that.

     Embry barks out a loud laugh and sprints past the older female vampire, a maliciously grinning Kathleen on his heels, a cheeky glint in her orange eyes. They're so in love and so undeniably perfect for each other. Tearing them apart would end up shattering Kaya's heart and making her so very regretful for an innumerable amount of time. She can't take Kathleen away from Embry. The very thought of it makes Kaya sick, and makes her remember the decades that she, herself, was separated from Jasper.

     "What am I supposed to do, Jared?" Kaya murmurs to the wolf. "If the Volturi decide that Kathleen has to come back with me, it's going to kill both her and Embry. I don't want that to happen to her again, and Embry doesn't deserve to feel that pain."

     Jared gives his vampire friend a sympathetic look, his hand darting out and pulling Kim down to him, holding her against his heated body. "Personally, I'd never let anything take me from Kim, and Embry feels the same way about Kathleen. It doesn't matter that she's a bloodsucker; she's an Imprint, plain and simple."

     "You can be so soulful sometimes."

     "Kaya," Sam calls, his deep voice silencing everything and everyone and his tone making the vampire instantly climb to her feet. "There's someone in town looking for you."

     "Fuck," Kaya curses. "Demitri." She turns to face the Wolves and her daughter, giving them a sympathetic smile. "I'll be right back. It's the Volturi."

     Without a word of complaint, Kaya speeds through the trees and back towards Forks, briefly checking up on Bella for Jacob's peace of mind. Kaya rolls her eyes as the vampire spots the human sitting at her bedroom window like every other time Kaya has done it for Jacob, her face more pale than usual; fading away to a shadow without the vampire she's attached herself to. Deciding it's not worth her time to intervene, Kaya continues on her way to where Demitri is in the forest near the Cullen residence.

     Unlike usual, he's not full of jokes, but is instead deadly serious — which really doesn't suit him one little bit. His somewhat sombre mood makes sense when he tells me that Aro has allowed Kathleen to stay in Forks with the wolves, and Kaya can't help but feel sorry for the older man. Considering that he was like a father to her when she was growing up in Italy, it no doubt hurts him to know that she won't be returning home. Kaya gives Demitri a hug and tells him that she will be returning soon, which, thankfully, lightens his dark mood quite a bit, and then tell him that she inform Kathleen and the Quileutes of Aro's decision.

     Thankfully the rest of their conversation doesn't take much longer, and he leaves with a sort of pep in his step. A smile tugs at the corner of Kaya's mouth, but she pushes it away as she heads back to the Quileutes and her daughter, trying to remain as emotionless on the outside as possible. They're all quiet when Kaya arrives back at Emily's, and, even without Jasper's pathokinesis, Kaya can feel the tension and desperation pouring from every single wolf and Kathleen.

     "It's bad news, guys," Kaya says, watching their eyes fall in defeat in the silence that follows those four words. "Kathleen gets to stay with you."

     It takes them a moment to realise what the older vampire has said, and Embry and Jared are the first to react, the former howling with delight and pulling Kathleen into a hug. The latter jumps up from the ground and collides with Kaya, arms wrapped tightly around her as he prances around like an idiot, his hot skin burning against her ice cold body. Sam smiles slightly and shakes his head at Kaya, tucking Emily under his arm, and Paul chuckles, holding Rachel — Jacob's older sister — close, arms around her waist.

     Quil smiles and walks over to Kaya and Jared, little Claire on his hip, a cute smile on her face and infectious laughter bubbling free. Kaya always found it odd as to how these guys can imprint on a baby, but she guesses that it's just how these kinds of things work: they meet the eyes of their significant other and then they're... It's not that they're done for, but rather  that they're "hooked" by one person for the rest of their life; there's never going to be anyone else for them no matter how hard them try.

     In a way, Kaya can understand what that's like. When she first saw Jasper in 1863, she knew that there would never be anyone else for her, and she is almost positive that he felt the same way. She knows better than anyone — except Demitri and Aro — that she tried to move on from Jasper when he left her behind, and Kaya felt the utter relief and disappointment when she found that she couldn't do such a thing, no matter what she tried.

     Breaking free from Jared, Kaya straightens her clothes and watches as the Quileutes celebrate. She hates to destroy their happiness, but it's better to do it now instead of waiting any longer. "Guys, there's something else I need to tell you before you all get carried away."

     Kathleen looks at her mother. "Mother, no. You don't have to."

     "I'm sorry but I do."

     Jared turns to Kaya with burning eyes. "You said you were going to stay longer than this!"

     Embry gives the older vampire a pained look, having grown rather fond of her; of having a mother figure around. "You're leaving?"

     "Damn it!" Paul snarls and kicks the ground, leaving a decent sized hole. "I thought you were going to stay with us!"

     "I'm not going to be gone forever," Kaya pleads with them, begging for them to understand. "Why can't you all see that this is as hard for me as it is for you? I don't want to leave, but we all know that I have to — Kathleen knows it more than anyone."

     Just as they're all about to retort, Sam walks over to Kaya, dark eyes staring right at her, unreadable. "Come back safe, and still yourself, alright?"

     "Of course. Not gonna disappoint my little Quileute, am I?"