The Shadow and The Seer (Jasper x Alice fanfic)

26. Family Values

  Sorry I'm a little later than usual! I just have one more final left before summer so I'm trying to hang in there :)
Thanks for reading!
-rednight73

Chapter song: Runaway by AURORA
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He'd lied about Esme. Edward ran as fast as he could, the trivial knowledge stemming from shock and his inability to shut down his telepathy. The cold hard thoughts of Jasper fed into his fear, and in the back of his mind he knew that it wasn't because he was messing with his emotions; he was genuinely terrified of Jasper.

  He hadn't been able to save Carlisle, hadn't even been able to shout out a warning that his emotions were being played so that his foster son could rip off his head. All because they'd intended to trade the Swan girls to keep the Volturi from forcing Edward to serve a sentence as one of their Guard.

   He'd known Edward for decades, and this was the way he chose to react over one little betrayal?

Righteous anger cleared Edward's head, even as he felt his murderous brother on his heels; luckily, he'd always been the tiniest bit faster than him or this would've gotten bloody fast. Where were the others? Esme, Rosalie, and Emmett surely wouldn't stand by while he and Carlisle were murdered, would they? Ironically enough, he would take the Volturi over the certain death now at his back.

   Damn him. His brother's thoughts were blurry, mostly just images of Carlisle's detached head in order to freak Edward out. He did his best to detach himself as his feet skimmed across the forest floor in hyper-speed. Of course, that Godless monster had mastered guerrilla tactics that negate the advantages of reading fucking minds.

"You're being unreasonable!" He shouted out even as he scarcely dodged out of the way of Jasper's boots. The town of Forks through the trees was a disastrous barrier from freedom, forcing him to confront the Boogeyman in order to avoid the Volturi's ire. They would kill him for running through the human population in broad daylight.

Secrecy was the Volturi's main rule. They didn't give a shit if vampires discretely killed one another, but not even Edward's ability would be of enough value to atone for exposure. Only his death would.

"You're a damned hypocrite, Edward." Jasper expertly pinned the traitor to the tree with a single hand. That same hand then proceeded to squeeze hard enough for the marble skin to fissure even further from the damage that Maria had inflicted. "A little torture and all of a sudden you're ready to throw innocent girls to the wolves to save your own ass? I wouldn't of let them take you, I would've fought alongside you to the death because I considered you my brother." His voice cracked, betraying the pain underneath all of the rage, but his hand remained firm on his brother.

   Edward's eyes bulged from the pressure, but he didn't fight with the imminent threat to his neck. He instead laughed openly. "Major Whitlock, I believe that I've heard enough about your past to know that every word out of your mouth is a lie. Sure, you think you're telling the truth, but if I really were your brother, you wouldn't pick those whores over me." He spit out spitefully.

The response was instant. He tightened his grip until his claws cracked into the marble skin and bone. Edward Mason Cullen's head was then severed from his body. He never lifted his eyes from his brother's during the process, ensuring that every instant of agony was imparted with a witness.

   Blissful silence surrounded him for the next few moments as he released the body to thud hollowly on the ground. A fire was needed so that they wouldn't rise. And then he needed to rendezvous with Peter so that he could collect the girls.

But the anger and sadness didn't abate as he hauled the body into his arms, which reminded him of a time where he really had been the evil harbinger of death that Edward had accused him of. Time had changed him, yet it hadn't changed what had been done.