Intensity
By Mama4Dukes
Chapter 53:
Paul’s POV
Two days later…
I decided to hit the sack early. I was tired, missed my wife, and really wanted this whole fiasco done and over with. I needed to wind down and get some rest, or I wouldn’t be able to function the next day.
At three am, I was awakened by a frantic pounding on my door. I shot up and opened the door to find Emmett Cullen standing in front of it. Come on, Paul. We need to go! There’s been another murder. I quickly threw a shirt on over my shorts and slid into my sneakers before running alongside Emmett. Thank God for my newfound vampire speed; I didn’t have to phase at all.
We arrived at the scene of the crime. Travis Johnson’s wife and two of his children were dead. They were in her SUV in Forks on the 101. Her vehicle was dropped off the ridge, which wouldn’t be visible to anyone driving by. “Garrett and I discovered it by chance while we were hunting.”
“This accident was staged. The passengers have all been drained, and by the looks of it, several days ago-most likely, before we even got here,” Garrett explained.
“We should call Chief Swan,” Emmett stated.
“No, let him get a few more hours of sleep. We’ll tell him in the morning. At this point, it won’t make a difference when the official discovery is made.” My father-in-law desperately needed sleep. He had been awake well past midnight for several weeks now, only to have to wake up at five am for work. Last night had been the first night he had gone to sleep at a decent hour. His exhaustion had caught up to him. I saw no sense in disturbing him if the bodies had been here for almost a week. Either way, he’d have to handle it in the morning.
After that grizzly scene, there was no way I was going back to sleep, so I went back to my room and worked on a few items for work-real work, the one that paid for Bella’s and my expenses. Looking at my files, I knew I had several upcoming business trips in the coming weeks. I would need to sit down with Crispy to work on some paperwork relating to them this week.
In the morning, before Charlie left for work, I caught up with him to explain the scene we encountered last night. “Are you kidding me? How did this happen?”
“We suspect they were killed elsewhere, put in the vehicle, and dropped off the ridge,” Garrett offered.
“When the hell did you get here?” Charlie asked him.
“I heard your conversation from my room, and since Emmett and I discovered the murder scene, I thought you might prefer to hear it directly from us.”
“Good thinking.”
Garrett quickly explained what they had found. “The bodies have been decaying for several days. I suspect they were killed when Cedro’s family was murdered, possibly before.”
“Were you able to identify the scents of the vampires?” Charlie asked. He had quickly gotten the hang of our specialized methods of identifying suspects.
“It was Blackcrow and Biers,” I confirmed. “And Jacob verified the other day that it was their scents he detected at Cedro’s house.”
“Alright, I will need one of you to call this into my station using a burner phone at around one pm today. I can’t have this traced back to any of you,” Charlie stated. “Paul, you’re with me this morning.”
“Where the heck do we get a burner phone?”
“Dude, haven’t you ever had to fake a death before?” Emmett asked.
“Of course not! It’s not something normal people have to do frequently,” I informed the vampire.
Charlie put his hand up. “I don’t need to hear anymore. Trust me. But since you know how to get your hands on a burner phone. You do it. Call in the accident, pretending you’re a hiker from another country, and then destroy the phone. Is that understood?”
“Sure, sure. I can bust out my acting chops.” Emmett flexed his muscles, grinning at us.
“You do that, Emmett.” Charlie turned to me. “Come on, Paul. Let’s have breakfast. I need to speak to you.”
“Sure.”
Instead of heading to the lodge, where hot meals were ready, we went to the diner, where we both sat down to have Eggs Benedict. I loved the Eggs Benedict here. For some reason, they knew the correct ratio of Hollandaise Sauce to pour onto the dish. Plus, they served actual pan-fried hash browns, not the home fries crap that most restaurants resort to these days.
“Thanks for letting me sleep in, Paul. I needed the rest.”
“You’re welcome. I know what it’s like to go without sleep.”
“I know you do, son. That’s why I’m here to talk to you. After this bullshit is all over, I want you to take Bella and go on vacation. I’m serious. Yeah, I know you have responsibilities at work, but after you get the bulk of the stuff done, take her somewhere.”
“What brought this on?”
“Paul, it occurred to me that you have been single-handedly taking responsibility for shit you’re not responsible for. This crap with Fuller should have never happened, and the responsibility for resolving the matter should have fallen on the elders, not on your shoulders. They are the supposed leaders of the tribe, yet they failed and are now depending on you to solve their crisis. That’s wrong. It’s no wonder they fell prey to Fuller. You have a life to lead and a company to run.”
“Dad, I know that, but I’m doing it because I want to help, not because I have to. These people helped raise me.”
“Yeah, they did, but it still doesn’t excuse how they let the tribe fall into the mess it’s in now. This has been going on since before you were born.” Charlie paused, turning his eyes directly to mine. “I know you’re going to tell me the story of how you’re the Great Protector, yada-yada, but I’m going to tell you something, Paul. You are who you are because you took responsibility for yourself. Some of your fellow pack members, and I’m talking about the ones from La Push, had the same opportunities as you did-even more; yet, they did nothing, absolutely nothing to better their lives until you came along. They depended on you the same way the elders depended on Fuller. This is learned behavior, Paul. Anyway, I know it’s difficult, but I want you to take a step back after this is all resolved.”
“Dad, you know that taking a step back isn’t as easy as it seems.”
“I do, but I don’t want you to become like me to the detriment of your family.” My father-in-law blew out a sigh and grimaced as if a memory pained him. He turned, looked directly into my eyes, and said, “Paul, part of the reason why Renee and I got divorced, aside from the fact that she’s certifiably insane, is because I spent too much time focused on my career. I thought because I was a cop, it was my responsibility to look after the well-being of every single citizen in the greater community. It came at the price of my marriage. We were probably headed for divorce anyway, but it came at the heftier cost of my daughter. She was raised by her mother, who knew how important it was to spend time with her, despite her absent-mindedness. Meanwhile, I’ve canceled more promised trips to amusement parks and beaches than any father known to man. I wasn’t a good father, Paul, not by a long shot.”
“But you love your daughter, and she loves you despite your faults.”
“I know she does. She’s a gem, and while I think both Bella and you will make fantastic parents, I don’t think you need to be saddled with kids yet. I want the two of you to take time and enjoy your married life. I finally understand what Bella meant when she said that she hadn’t even been on her honeymoon yet, and, therefore, is not ready to have kids. So, this is why I’m having this chat with you. I want you to promise that you will take a step back and let the rest of the pack grow up independently. You’ve done more than enough by providing them with paths to secure futures. Let them figure the rest out on their own. Promise me.”
“I promise.” I really meant it. I wanted to go away with Bella somewhere so the two of us could be alone-just like we used to before the pack began trickling back into our lives. “Charlie, you know you aren’t such a bad father. Bella has never said anything about resenting you. She loves you.”
“I know she does, but I own up to the truth. I am a much better father to Geoffrey than I was to Bella. Renee also admits to being a better mother to the twins than she ever was to our daughter. The fact is, neither of us was mature enough to have children when we did.”
“But you did the best that you could under the circumstances. You didn’t turn into massive fuck-ups like my parents did.”
“This is true, but it still doesn’t excuse me from putting work before family.” He patted my arm. “I just don’t want it to happen to you, son. You aren’t responsible for the fate of the world.”
“Well, according to the prophecy, I am.”
“Then you and I will just have to nip this thing in the bud so we can go back to living,” Charlie declared.
I had to admit it felt good to know my father-in-law had my back-unconditionally.
When I returned to the reservation, the morning training session was done. Jasper and Peter were watching Blackcrow and Biers for the day. Emmett and Garrett were in Seattle picking up a burner phone. Jeff had texted me earlier asking me to meet with him, so I headed straight to the room they were using to handle the research.
“Paul, I’m glad you’re here. We’ve made a ton of progress on the Fuller files and found something we can use to freeze his financial transactions without involving the feds. As you know, the BIA has given me the full and complete authority to act in any way I see to retrieve the stolen tribal funds for the Quileute Nation. I called a connection I have with Indigenous Services Canada. He’s going to put an immediate freeze on Fuller’s assets in Canada.”
“Does he have assets in Canada? Because he didn’t before.”
“Ah, but that’s because we had no knowledge of his assets until we started poking around Angela Weber. She was listed as a joint business owner, and that’s how we discovered the big stash. Tony Fuller obtained Canadian citizenship about fifteen years ago by opening a company called Fuller, Inc. It’s officially listed as an investment firm, but the only investing he’s been doing is for himself. To obtain residency for Angela, he recently listed her as co-owner of the same company. His assets have now been frozen in both the United States and Canada. Basically, we’ve wedged him in.”
“Great job, Jeff!”
“It’s what I do. I’m keeping track of the rounds of golf you owe me, by the way.”
“Hell, Jeff. We’re going away on a golf vacation after this.”
“Now that’s what I call incentive!”
A few minutes after one pm, Emmett called the Forks Police Department, reporting the sighting of the car accident. He pretended to be a hiker visiting from Ireland. “Well, laddie, top o’ the morning to you. Is this the Garda? Ah, that’s right, laddie, you call it the police. I was just plodding along, exploring your beautiful country by me-self, when I came across a vehicle that’s been in an accident. It looks like it fell off the side of the big main highway going in and out of your town. I’m afraid I don’t know what it’s called. Ye might want to come and take a look at it yerself.” After a pause, he said, “My name? Oh, it’s Seamus Finnegan. I’m from Ireland. Well, now, I have to find myself a wee pint of Guinness in one of your fine pubs. Good day to you now, laddie. Sláinte.”
Emmett had a big grin on his face after he ended the call. “Well, how did I do? Was it Oscar-worthy?”
I glared at him, open-mouthed for a moment. I couldn’t help myself. His performance simply astounded me, and not in a good way. “Seamus Finnegan? Seamus Finnegan? You could have picked any combination of Irish-sounding names, and you had to give the name of a Harry Potter character?” Frankly speaking, it was the worst Irish accent I’d ever heard. He sounded like a Lucky Charms commercial. Damn it! Now, I’m craving Lucky Charms cereal. I’ll have to pick some up from the tribal store, along with some milk.
“I thought the name sounded familiar. It was the first one that popped into my head.”
“Okay, it’s done. You’d better destroy the phone.”
“Already taken care of.” Emmett stepped on the phone several times until it was in tiny pieces, then buried the remains underground. “I talked to Rose yesterday. She said she was having a great time with Bella. They’ve been volunteering at the clinic at the Wanagi Nation and hanging out with the members of the tribe.” Emmett turned to me with a smile. “I’ve never heard Rosalie so happy before. She and Bells didn’t get along because Rose didn’t want her involved in our world. But now, she seems to have done a complete one-eighty. My mate can’t stop talking about how she owes her happiness to Bella. I’m glad they’re together.”
“I’m glad, too, Emmett,” I said as I wondered what Bella had done to win Rosalie to her side.
We quickly ran to the accident scene an hour later and saw emergency crews hard at work. At least this would be taken care of. Unfortunately, Johnson’s wife and two of his kids were killed. They were just three more innocent victims of Tony Fuller’s treachery.
I had converted one of the cabins into an office where Eric, Jeff, and Jason did a good chunk of the work. The resort kindly removed the beds from the cabin so we’d have more space. I put Eric in charge of outfitting the office with desks, computers, and a printer. All the items would be donated to the tribal school after we finished the case.
It was a little after seven pm when my father-in-law rushed into the cabin we were all working in. He had an alarmed look on his face, and if there was one thing about Charlie Swan, his feathers were never ruffled. Whatever happened, it must be serious.
“Dad?” I asked, concerned.
“Fuller has escaped,” he stated without mincing words.
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me. Fuller has escaped from the prison.”
“How?” Santiago questioned, appalled.
“Two visitors signed in as guests to see Fuller-both purporting to be attorneys. Their credentials were valid. They met with Fuller in a private room. Everything seemed normal for a few minutes, but then they simply walked out of the building the way they came in, carrying Fuller.” After a slight pause, Charlie added, “One or both vampires had a gift. Officially, on paper, it’s been noted that some sort of gas was used to knock out the guards. In actuality, every single one of them was deprived of their senses. It wasn’t Blackcrow and Biers.”
“I figured it wasn’t them. Jasper and Pete have been trailing them all day. They’re not in Forks,” I said.
“Well, I brought the pictures from the surveillance cameras hoping one of you can identify these vampires.” He plopped them down on one of the work surfaces, fanning them out so we could all take a look.
“I’d know those faces anywhere. The slim man with the black hair is Aro Volturi, and the other is Alec.” Santiago looked up from perusing the photo. “They are both dangerous, especially Alec, the boy. He can deprive everyone surrounding him of their senses. And Aro is the self-purported ruler of the vampire world. He can read everything in your mind while he has contact with your skin.”
“Fabulous. Any ideas on how to handle this situation?” Charlie asked.
Just then, Jasper and Peter barreled into the cabin. “The fucking Volturi are here. They’re in Seattle and have Fuller with them!”
“We were just discussing this. I brought pictures.”
Peter took a look at the photos. “Yep, these are the guys, and there was a creepy, emo girl waiting in Seattle with them.”
“Small, blonde hair, pale skin, and looks like a killer child from a horror flick?” Santiago questioned.
“Yeah, that’s her.”
“That would be Jane. She’ll kill us all unless you can produce a shield for us.”
“Ah, but we can,” Jasper laughed. “He just needs a bit of training.
“And exactly where is this shield?”
“He’s standing in front of you.” Jasper pointed to Paul.
“Me?” I asked, confused by what the vampire was saying.
“Yeah, you. Don’t you remember what Eleazar said in Oklahoma? Not only are you a tracker, but you’re also a mental shield, possibly even physical.”
“Oh, yeah, I forgot about that bit.”
“We’re going to need Garrett’s wife and Eleazar here as soon as possible to train Paul,” Jasper declared.
“My wife is in Arizona protecting the human women there. Carmen can take her place. Eleazar can bring his wife to Arizona and then travel here with Kate,” Garrett suggested. “We’ll need a plane-either yours or Paul’s. I’d rather they not run with the Volturi nearby.”
“Take my plane. It’s already in Alaska,” Jasper suggested.
“Since when do you own a plane?” I asked.
“I’ve had much more time than you to make money.” Jasper roared with laughter. “You didn’t think you were the only rich asshole here, did you?”
I did, actually, but I wasn’t about to satisfy him by confessing that. “You did! I can feel your surprise and arrogance,” Jasper continued.
What the fuck? Oh, yeah, he’s an empath. “It will take me a while to get used to these vampiric gifts.”
“But you will, and soon, because you really don’t have a choice.” Jasper turned to Charlie. “I don’t want to do this to you because I know you’ll say no, but you need to take on an intern immediately.”
“An intern? Why the hell would I need an intern?”
“Because you need protection, Chief Swan,” Peter replied. “Fuller will let slip that you arrested him, and the Volturi will come for you first. In fact, the intern will have to be me.”
“Why you?”
“Because I’m the only one who can predict their arrival fast enough to take you into hiding. Besides, if you don’t take me on as an intern, your daughter will throw a temper tantrum.”
“Well, alrighty, then. You’re hired,” Charlie decided quickly. I didn’t blame him one bit; I didn’t like dealing with Bella’s temper when it was unleashed, either. “What about my wife and son?”
“They’ll be fine. Your beautiful daughter will eventually persuade your wife to leave with her grandkids for safety. They’ll be safe at the beautiful wolf girl’s house now.”
“Alright, let’s set this plan into motion,” I declared. “I want to know why the Volturi are involved with Fuller.”
“I think it has to do with the townhomes,” Eric stated, looking through files on his laptop.
Jason Jenks leaned over and peered at the screen. “It’s this one, isn’t it? Turvoli Enterprises from Italy? I’ve come across this company several times in other dealings with….” The lawyer trailed off. His forehead was positively dripping with sweat. He kept dabbing at his forehead with his soaked handkerchief. “I’m sorry, I can’t continue without coming clean. I’m tired of suppressing the truth about my background.” He looked directly into Jasper’s eyes. “I know you’re a vampire, and some of your friends are. I can actually tell who is and who isn’t. The ones who eat breakfast at the lodge are another kind of supernatural creature. They’re unnaturally hot. The only humans here are Chief Swan, Mr. Lahote, and Mr. Yorkie.”
Oh, shit! We’ve all been so comfortable with each other, we’ve been discussing supernatural traits in the presence of Jason Jenks. Kudos to Jenks for not mentioning anything until now. And why would he think I was human? Oh, yeah, my normal body temperature would do it. I glanced up at Jason’s to reply, but realized he was trembling in fear. What the heck happened while I was contemplating the situation for a minute? I followed the lawyer’s line of sight and zeroed in on our resident empath.
Jasper narrowed his eyes at Jenks with a hardened expression. Clearly, he was sending some fear his way because Jenks was shivering, and so was everyone else-supernaturals and humans alike. Well, except for Charlie. He didn’t look fazed at all. Actually, I wasn’t feeling anything either. Either way, I had to put a stop to it, so I stood in front of Jenks to defend him.
Crooking an eyebrow, I regarded Jasper with annoyance. It was the same expression I donned when I had to reprimand an employee at work. I didn’t think I’d have to do it here and with a vampire who participated in the Civil War.
“You do not have the right to frighten anyone on a whim just because you have the power to do so. Do you understand me, Jasper? Jason has been an integral part of our mission to bring down Fuller. He was trying to tell us something. As adults working together in a cooperative environment, we must listen to him. We all need to work together. Now are you going to be mature and take the time to listen? Or are you going to behave like a petulant child and throw a temper tantrum? Because that’s exactly what you’re doing when you project your emotions for everyone to feel whenever you’re uncomfortable with what you’re hearing.”
I could tell Jasper was annoyed by my words because his face contorted in anger, and he balled his fingers up into tight fists. In many ways, his behavior was similar to the same angry fits I had in high school. During that time, I was angry at my parents for having turned into a wolf and just plain pissed off at everything. At some point, I decided that anger wouldn’t solve my issues. Only I could dig myself out of my circumstances. As soon as I changed my mindset and took responsibility for improving my life, I became happier.
As far as Jasper was concerned, I knew he suffered from severe PTSD. Bella told me he had run away to join the army when he was too young to enlist and then was changed by some psychotic female vampire who used and abused him. Maybe that Tawanna lady in Oklahoma would be able to help him. That was neither here nor there because the current situation needed to be addressed. He couldn’t threaten people by projecting anger whenever the mood suited him. It was the same as workplace bullying, and I simply wasn’t going to put up with that.
I stood in front of Jasper with my arms crossed in front of me. “Use your words and tell me your gripe with Jason now.”
Jasper’s jaw twitched in anger, and I could tell he was about to blow his top. He bared his teeth and roared, “Stop treating me like a child!”
I didn’t flinch when he exploded. Instead, I calmly responded with, “Then stop acting like one.”
It’s funny because it was the same way Josh Uley and Joe Cameron handled my tantrums as a teen. I never thought I’d use the same line on a vampire who had been alive for nearly two centuries. Honestly, I don’t know how those two men had the patience to deal with me as a kid because I felt like sending Jasper to the corner to think about his behavior.
As soon as the thought entered my brain, Jasper was cocooned in what I can only describe as a bubble and then jettisoned to the corner of the cabin. Oops. I hope I didn’t cause that.
“I think we can safely say you’re a physical and mental shield,” Peter noted, tilting his chin towards Jasper. “You might want to release him now.”
I wanted to release him, but I had no idea how. In my opinion, Jasper needed to simmer down a bit. My phone buzzed at that moment. Thinking it was Bella, I took the call. “Hey, Babe.”
“Hi! I’m not your babe, but you have mine cocooned in your physical shield,” an enthusiastic female voice stated. “Uh-huh, yes, you do!”
“Who the hell is this?” I shouted into the phone. I didn’t need to be disturbed at this hour, not when Tony Fuller escaped jail.
“Oh, I’m Alice. Jasper’s mate. Bella might have told you about me. She was my best friend during high school, although I wasn’t really hers. I think I annoyed her. Anyway, I wanted you to know that Jasper needs to be kept in your bubble for a good hour or maybe even two. I’m glad you had a frank discussion with him. It was about time someone confronted him about scaring Mr. Jenks constantly.”
“I don’t understand why you didn’t just do it yourself.” For Christ’s sake, they’d been married for decades. You’d think they could be honest with each other about their shortcomings.
“I don’t have the patience to handle Jasper’s tantrums.” But, apparently, she can be honest with me. To me, that seemed very odd in a relationship. Bella always handled my temper tantrums with aplomb. She simply didn’t put up with them.
“So you enable him?” I questioned.
“He’ll listen to you. Jasper respects you.”
“If he doesn’t respect you as a mate, there’s an issue.”
“You see! This is why you’re the Great Protector-the one who will bring balance to the supernatural world-not just to the wolves. And Bella is perfect for you. She knows how to handle you when you’re being unreasonable, like the other morning when you tried to lord it over her by claiming you could give her orders. I can’t do that because Jasper projects his temper tantrums.”
“Well, maybe you should try emulating Bella then.”
“That’s such a good idea. By the way, you have a really nice sculpted body. You’re like a Greek God. Charlotte thinks so, too.”
“I’ve never met you, so how would you know what I look like?”
“Oh, I’ve seen you with Bella. Char wanted to know what you looked like, too, so I sketched your nude for her.”
What the fuck? Was she watching my wife and me when we were making love? I glanced around the cabin to see the appalled faces of every supernatural, including Jasper. I’ve got to put a stop to this now. “Alright, listen to me, Mrs. Whitlock. My moments with Bella, especially the naked ones, are off-limits to you. Do you understand me?”
“It’s not like I can help it. Sometimes visions just pop into my brain, especially when I want to see them. By the way, I love how you call me Mrs. Whitlock. It sounds sexy rolling off your tongue. Tell Jasper I love him, but he must consider what you said. I know he’ll talk to you when he’s ready. Oh, and don’t be afraid when you have unexpected visitors. I have to break into the bank for Bella now. See ya.”
“Was it me? Or was that phone call alarming?” Sam asked.
“Yeah, seriously. Jasper’s wife admitted to watching you while you make it with Bella,” Manny noted.
“Who? Who is stalking my daughter and son-in-law?” Charlie asked. I forgot he doesn’t have supernatural hearing. Sometimes my father-in-law seems larger than life to me. If anyone should be a supernatural being, it should be Dad.
“Apparently, Jasper’s wife Alice has been watching them while they uh… sleep,” Jared informed him.
“She has also been drawing nudes of him and distributing them to her friends,” Santiago added.
“That’s sick! No wonder the poor bastard is frustrated. Charlie motioned his hand towards Jasper. “His wife is clearly a sick pervert, and she probably forces him to do all sorts of unspeakable things!” Charlie shook his head. “On top of that, she’s distributing pornography!”
We all turned our gazes to Jasper, who had a bewildered expression. It looked like he was trying to say something but was tightly bound in the bubble. “I think he’s trying to shake his head,” Garrett offered.
“Denial. He’s in denial about his wife,” Charlie concluded, shaking his head. “The poor guy is married to a twisted sex maniac. And I let her into my house when Bella was in high school.”
“Well, it still doesn’t change the fact that he needs to stop threatening Jason to keep him compliant,” I pointed out.
The cabin shook as the front door suddenly swung open. Two golden-eyed vampires burst inside-a female and a male who looked to be around my age. The female had dark curly hair and was petite in stature. The male was completely bald and around six-feet tall with a robust physique. He abruptly reached for my neck with one hand and shoved me up against the wall.
“Are you the one threatening Jason?” the male vampire demanded in a low snarl? “Are you?
Now I don’t take well to being threatened with violence at all. No, no. Not at all.
I immediately grabbed hold of the wrist attached to the offending hand, then hammered the middle of his bicep with my other hand, causing him to release the grip on my neck. While maintaining control of his wrist, I turned him around and dropped him to the floor, keeping a knee on his back.
“Now, you’re going to tell me who you are and why you barged into a private meeting.” I then turned to my team. Most of them were assembled here, with the exception of Leah, Seth, and Collin. “We have fifteen supernatural beings in here, including me, and not one of us could detect approaching vampires?”
“Well, they don’t stink like the red-eyed ones, do they?” Jared pointed out. “It must mean they’re friendly.”
Maybe Jared made a good point. Fuller’s vampire goons had atrocious odors, like concentrated bleach mixed with toxic sewer waste.
“Excuse me! Would you mind releasing my husband?” the female vampire pleaded. “We don’t mean any trouble. We were just worried about our son.” She motioned toward Jason Jenks.
“Your son?” We all cried, shocked. It was weird because Jason Jenks looked to be in his mid-forties age-wise. He was clearly older than his parents.
“Mom, why did you and Dad have to come here? I told you I was working on an important case.”
“Jason, we were worried. Normally, you check in with us every few days, but you haven’t contacted us since leaving for Arizona. We became concerned. We’re your parents, for heaven’s sake. We’re going to worry if we don’t hear from you.”
“I’m sorry, Mom. I should have reached out to you. I just got so caught up in research that I forgot to check in. I should have at least called.” Jason Jenks stood to hug the woman.
“These people aren’t coercing you in any way, are they?”
“No, Mom, not at all. They’ve actually been very kind. Well, except for maybe Mr. Jasper occasionally. He keeps threatening me with whatever power he has, but Mr. Lahote gave him a good talking to, so he’s no longer a problem. In any case, he’s bundled up nice and tight in the corner there.”
“Oh, that’s nice to hear, son. Which one is Mr. Lahote? I’d like to thank him personally.”
“He’s the one restraining Dad right now.”
“Hello,” I greeted, holding my free hand to shake. This may be one of the most awkward circumstances I’ve ever been in. That being said, it was not my fault. This man busted in on an important meeting and threatened me violently.
The woman took my hand. “My name is Jasmine Jenks. That’s my husband, Aaron, underneath you.”
The male vampire slid his arm out from underneath his prone body and offered his hand to me to shake.
“A pleasure to meet you. Now, I’ll release you if you promise to remain calm.”
He gave me a thumbs-up, and I let him go. The man got up and straightened himself out. “I apologize. I thought my son was in danger.”
“It’s not a problem as long as it doesn’t happen again. I’d like to hear how you became Jason’s father. I wasn’t aware vampires could have children.” I offered two chairs to the couple. “Please make yourselves comfortable.”
The couple gratefully took their seats. They held hands and turned concerned gazes at Jason. “Are you sure you’re okay, son?” Aaron asked worriedly.
“Dad, everyone here has been very kind, especially Mr. Lahote. He has gone above and beyond to make sure I am comfortable.”
Aaron stood up and offered his hand. “Thank you, Mr. Lahote. Again, I’d like to apologize for earlier. Jason is all we have. I don’t know what we’d do if something happened to him.” His gaze flickered to his wife, who gave the man a nod of encouragement. “You asked how we became vampires. It’s a long story.”
“We have time to listen,” I encouraged, pulling up a chair before the couple and taking a seat. My father-in-law sat next to me for support. I introduced him. “This is my father-in-law, Charlie Swan. You can trust him and all the men in this room.”
Aaron nodded and began his tale. “Jason is our son from when we were human. Jasmine and I were changed when he was six years old by some vampires. To this day, we have no idea who they were. We were on vacation at Glacier National Park in Montana when it happened. It was our first getaway as a couple since having Jason, and my parents offered to watch him.
We were on a guided tour with eight or nine others when we were suddenly attacked by two men and a woman, all with red eyes. They dragged us all into a cave away from the tour’s path. We watched as they emptied everybody, including the tour guide, of their blood before they reached us. The woman sunk her teeth into me. The pain was like nothing I felt before, but I refused to cry out. I was more concerned about my wife. Both men bit into her, and she started screaming immediately. From my angle, I could kick at the two men, but they were strong, and my kick did nothing to them.
The female became angry because I wasn’t attentive enough as her prey. I didn’t react. She became enraged and broke my arm. The blonde male vampire became jealous because the female began whispering depraved sexual things about what she would do to me. She was trying to arouse me, though how she could possibly think I would be is beyond my comprehension. I was in pain, and my wife was dying next to me. I was concerned about the welfare of our son. I had so many things on my mind.
The couple abruptly stopped drinking our blood, and a full-blown argument between them ensued. The third man entered the debate, telling them to get over it and that he wanted to leave because he’d had enough blood.
The blonde male declared, “She’s empty,” about my wife, then turned to me and hissed, “You’re going to have to live for eternity without her now for the crime of arousing my mate.”
“What are you?” I managed to rasp out.
“A vampire.” With that, the trio left, and I immediately passed out.
“A few days later, I woke up with a burning pain in my throat and my wife leaning over me, whispering that everything would be okay. I thought she had died, so the relief of seeing her living was tremendous. Despite the change from being a simple human being to a vampire, we realized how lucky we were to be alive together. The only problem was our eyes were red, and we sparkled in the sunlight.
“We soon discovered another issue: hunger. We were ravenous, but the thought of harming others was inconceivable to us. Our problem was resolved when we came across a grizzly bear. We instinctually dove at it and started feeding. It kept us satiated for a while, so we tried other animals, like elk and mountain lions. Initially, we needed a great deal of blood, but after a few months, the need tapered down, so we only had to feed monthly.
“During our time in isolation, we learned we had incredible strength and speed. Unlike in books, we didn’t sleep or need coffins. Sunlight didn’t affect us, although we avoided it because we glittered like disco balls. Because of this, we knew we could only go out at night. Eventually, we noticed our eyes had changed colors to gold. We quickly surmised that the vampires who changed us had red eyes because their food source was human, whereas ours were gold. After all, we only took in animal blood.
With our golden eyes, we thought we wouldn’t look out of place in society, so we resolved to rebuild our lives. But we had several problems. First, we weren’t fit to be seen in public; our clothes weren’t. While we had bathed in lakes and rivers, we still wore the same clothes from the day of the attack.
Our second issue was more pressing. We needed to re-establish ourselves in society, but how? We knew that, by now, we had to have been reported missing and presumed dead. After all, we’d been gone for at least six months. We couldn’t simply waltz back into society after all this time. Many questions would be asked, and if we told the truth, our explanation would be too bizarre to be believed. But we had to find a way back into society. We had a young child to think about, and although we had no doubt he was being cared for by his grandparents, we wanted to raise him ourselves.
Jasmine recalled a couple who had been backpacking on the tour with us. She surmised their packs may still be in the cave, so we reluctantly returned to where we were attacked. Fortunately, the backpacks were still there, along with the decaying corpses of the victims. I’m sorry to say we desperately stole cash and belongings from the deceased. With the backpacks and the money, we could venture back out into society looking none the worse for the wear.
We ran through the night and arrived at our apartment in San Francisco. Unfortunately, we discovered it had been rented out to another family, which wasn’t surprising considering how long we’d been gone. It was nearly dawn; we had no home and needed to find shelter quickly. We ran to my parents’ house and snuck into the basement, where we hid. My parents rarely ventured downstairs, so I knew we’d be okay.
What we weren’t counting on was for Jason to come downstairs in search of his baseball glove. He immediately spotted us and ran to us. At that point, we knew we’d have to tell my parents the truth about what happened to us, no matter how unbelievable the story was. Later that evening, after putting Jason to bed, we explained everything to my parents. It was the best decision we ever made because they believed our story and helped us devise a way to live normally.
There was a long moment of silence while everyone processed the information Aaron Jenks had just imparted to us. It was Peter who broke the silence. “Have you had any contact with other vampires?”
“Well, in a roundabout way, yes. But you are the first vampires we’ve spoken to since our change thirty-three years ago.”
“Good God! You’re self-trained!” Santiago burst out. “What about bloodlust? How did you train yourselves to be around humans?”
“Bloodlust?” Aaron and his wife questioned simultaneously.
“Bloodlust is the uncontrollable desire for blood,” Garrett explained. “It usually happens when you’re around humans.”
“Oh, that only happens to us around certain animals. We could never take Jason to the zoo when he was a boy because we’d both want to eat the exhibits.”
“So, you never had any thirst for human blood?”
“No, not at all.” Aaron looked appalled at the thought. “We’re human, or at least we were. We would be cannibals if we drank human blood.”
“In my two thousand years as a vampire, I’ve never encountered anyone who didn’t crave human blood.”
“Two thousand years? Exactly how long do vampires live?” Jasmine asked, her eyes frantic with worry. Clearly, this was the first time she had heard of her… longevity.
“Vampires are immortal, ma’am,” Peter replied.
“Im… I’m… Immortal? As in, we don’t die?”
“Oh, we can die, but not by natural causes. We have to be beheaded and set on fire or simply set on fire. It’s the only way for us to die.” Peter turned to the couple with sympathetic eyes. “It’s clear that nothing was explained to you about our ways. The vampire who changed you did so out of spite and cruelty. We can teach our laws to you.”
“But our son is not immortal. He’ll eventually die?”
“Yes, he is human, and it is in their nature to eventually pass away.”
“But…” Jasmine Jenks fell into her husband’s arms. Her eyes looked like crystal orbs with her unshed tears. “I can’t handle this. Why us? Why did those vampires come after us? We didn’t ask to be like you. We were just living our lives.”
“Ma’am,” a soft, southern drawl interrupted. We all felt a sense of calm. It was Jasper. My shield must have broken its hold at some point. “Ma’am, none of us here asked to be changed. Bad luck, fate, it can be whatever you want to call it, but we were all changed without consent.” He faced Jason Jenks. “I shouldn’t have used my powers against you. I always felt deception coming from you and believed you couldn’t be trusted. I now know you weren’t deceiving us; you were hiding the fact that your parents are vampires. I apologize with all my heart for my actions.”
“Mr. Jasper, I understand why you felt threatened. If I understand correctly, you feel emotions and can project them,” Jason wisely surmised.
“That’s correct. I’m what you call an empath. But I shouldn’t have instilled fear in you. It was wrong of me.”
“But you thought I was deceptive, so you protected yourself. To own the truth, in a way, I was being deceitful by hiding my knowledge of what you are. I understand why you did what you did.”
“Thank you,” Jasper replied simply before turning to Mr. and Mrs. Jenks. “We can help you. Many of us can help you understand our nature, but I believe I speak for all of us when I say we are impressed by how you survived amongst humans for over thirty years while raising a child.”
Aaron Jenks shrugged his shoulders. “It wasn’t easy, but there wasn’t much we wouldn’t do for our son. We lucked out because my father worked for the social security administration. He was able to quickly assign new numbers to us. Jasmine was a software engineer before our change. She erased our previous existence and formed new ones for us using our new social security numbers.”
“Ah… So you’re the reason why we can all exist in this world,” Emmett stated. “We wondered how Mr. Jenks established legitimate identities for us.”
“Well, that came later, but yes. We did eventually manage to establish a career of sorts for us. It was difficult at first. Aaron couldn’t return to his job as a police detective for obvious reasons. He ended up returning to school and earning a law degree.”
“And I’m guessing that’s how you established your business?” Charlie questioned.
“It is, and when our son decided to become a lawyer, he decided to carry on with the family business. My wife and I do most of the background work. I did a good deal of investigating your current troubles. This Tony Fuller fella is bad news-the worst criminal I’ve ever encountered.”
“Well, then, it’s decided. You’ll be working with us in bringing down the perp.” My father-in-law extended his hand to Aaron Jenks. “I’m Charlie Swan, Chief of Police of Forks, Washington. I don’t know how much you overheard, but Tony Fuller escaped prison tonight.”
“You’re joking. How?”
“He had the assistance of two vampires, one of whom knocked out the prison guards using a special gift. I need you to finagle your references so that you and Peter here…” Charlie pointed to the red-eyed vampire, “… can look like you are here to assist with the Fuller case.”
“Excuse me?” Aaron gasped.
“Tony Fuller was put behind bars for putting a hit on my daughter. It’s been brought to my attention that he’ll be coming after me now that he’s been sprung. Because he has evil vampires on his side, I need protection. Jasper suggested I take on an intern. It dawned upon me that it would look fishy if an intern were with me 24/7, but seasoned police officers from another area would be more plausible.”
“But we were just going to take Jason home with us. It’s unsafe for him to be involved with this anymore.”
“With all due respect, I’m almost forty years old. You do not have the right to tell me what to do. Tony Fuller is an evil predator. He can’t be allowed to remain on the streets.” Jason stood shoulder to shoulder with Charlie. “Dad, you’ve said that your biggest regret after you were changed was giving up your law enforcement career. If you help Chief Swan, you’ll again be in the thick of it. How about it, Dad? I’m informing you now that whether you help or not, I’m not going home until Tony Fuller is convicted of his crimes.”
Jason’s mother nodded while taking in her son’s words before facing her husband. “Aaron, you have to do this. We’ve both read the files on this Tony Fuller cretin. Every minute he remains on the streets, he is a danger to the public. The main role of police officers is to keep criminals from harming the public. You never wanted to become a lawyer. You’ve always had the heart of a police officer. In fact, the man I fell in love with put his heart and soul into keeping his community safe. I honestly believe you’ll regret it for the rest of your life if you don’t help Chief Swan. Remember that we learned today that our lives will last an eternity. You don’t want to live with regret, honey.”
Charlie approached Aaron with his hand outstretched. “What do you say, Jenks? Do you want to get back into the game?” Jason’s father took the hand and shook it. “Welcome to the Forks Police Department. I’ll see you tomorrow morning. I’m hitting the sack. I still need my beauty sleep.”
“Goodnight, Dad,” I said as my father-in-law left the cabin.
“Paul, you should get to sleep, too. In fact, all of you who need sleep should,” Charlie suggested.
“That’s a good idea,” Jasper agreed. “We’ll take this time to explain our laws to Aaron and Jasmine.”
With that, those of us who needed sleep departed for our cabins. Tomorrow was going to be a long day. We needed to figure out what was happening with Fuller and the evil bloodsuckers. The good vampires would get Aaron and Jasmine Jenks settled in. I trusted them fully.
Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction 
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