desiderium- Jasper Hale

Pt 47: cat and mouse

The last few days had been almost uneventful. Although we had managed to become on high alert because of Alice's vision concerning Victoria, having Bella and Edward in Jacksonville to visit Mum, was actually quite peaceful.

That was, until the situation between Victoria, us and the wolves...

"Are you sure this is where you had seen her?" Carlisle asks as we each stand together in the middle of the woods.

Throughout the week, Alice had a vision of Victoria's return. She knew where the nomad vampire would be, and we were going to be ready.

My entire being was furious at Victoria's nerve of coming back here, especially after how her minion kidnapped, abused and bit me.

"She's almost here," Alice responds shortly, her attention held firmly on the environment around her.

My hand was quickly wrapped in that of Jasper's as he lifted our entwined hands, gaining my attention at what was now held in front of me.

"Do you need me to use my gift?" Jasper asks quietly, as he continues to stare at my flickering fingers.

"No," I reply with a small smile, nerves evident in my facial expression. "It's good practice, and who knows, maybe it could come in handy."

"To the left," Alice suddenly yells as each of our eyes swing to the blur of red hair as it passes us.

Very quickly, my legs were suddenly moving as we raced after the vampire- for the first time experiencing the instinctive nature of the chase.

My anger partnered, with the human blood still coursing through my veins, resulted in greater speed than that of the rest of my family, as I found myself almost within hands reach of the female vampire.

I watched as she jumped over fallen logs and raced between trees. My lack of experience fuelled only by the instinct of my new being.

Turning my head, I noticed Emmett in line with me, his eyes set also on the vampire before us- his focus so closely and desperately trained on her that it fed his natural desires.

"You gonna use it?" Emmett shouts at me over the loud sounds of the forest around us. I instantly understood what he was saying as I lifted my hands to my face, as I watched the flickering spread over my arms.

I focused my emotions, thinking intently on Victoria- on what she had done to me and caused my family.

Killing my dads friend.
Stalking my sister.
Tormenting my family.
Manipulating us.
Abusing me.
Taking away my choice.

My fury was evident as I stared before me as she attempted to escape us.

I had always believed that hatred caused more bad than good, telling myself that forgiveness would always be better in the long run, but Victoria? She was my exception.

Looking down, my legs glowed in the darkness of our surroundings, showing me that I was entirely invisible to the others.

I watched as Emmett moved to reach her, only to be caught and thrown to the side. Using that moment I raced forward until I was practically right behind her.

I reached my hand out as I grabbed the back of her shoulders before releasing her- the surprise of my movement causing Victoria to crash into a tree further before us.

Confused and outraged, I watched as the crazed vampire attempted to understand how that had just happened before she quickly jumped up and once again racing away from us.

I watched her every move- almost too calculated- as she seemed to relax into the chase... almost like a game of cat and mice.

And she enjoyed it.

I found myself crashing to a halt, preventing me from following her onto Quilette land. The jump over the the cliff face seemingly easy by the advanced vampire.

"Wait! She's in their territory!" Carlisle exclaims from behind me, his hand out preventing the rest of the family behind him from attempting to jump over the river.

As Victoria started racing along the opposite cliff edge, we found ourselves following her as we blocked off any chance of a safe or easy place to land.

"She'll get away!" Esme yells as we follow her, struggling to keep up with her constantly being a few steps before us.

Luckily for us, it wasn't a moment longer before the growls of the wolves could be heard, their huge bodies racing behind the nomad, nipping at her ankles with how close they were getting.

"No she won't!" Jasper shouts in response as he speeds further forward in the groups, narrowing in on her possible landings.

I was angry with my limited knowledge in fighting, unsure about how to truly navigate the strategic circumstances we found ourselves in.

I watched as my mate chased Victoria, following her up into the trees.

My sight of them both was momentarily limited as I fought to reach the other side of the tree trunks which blocked me from my mate and the crazed vampire.

I could hear the crash and grunt before I could see it. Closing in on the scene before me, I rushed first to Jaspers side.

"Are you okay?" I whisper, my hands reaching for his face as I observed my no longer glowing fingertips.

"I'm fine," Jasper says with a snarl as he gets up from the forest floor, grabbing my hand before we both join the chase, not long after reaching the rest of the family.

My panic seemed to spiral as I watched Emmett advance on Victoria, her head sipping behind as she noticed just how close he in particular was to her.

They raced on forward before she, once again, jumped across the river and onto Quileute land.

"Emmett, no!" Rose screamed as we watched her mate follower Victoria over the treaty line.

"Emmett!" I yelled, watching as two of the wolves raced out of the tree line, taking Emmett down with them, before throwing him into the water.

We didn't need to have Jaspers gift to notice the seething fury radiating from Emmett towards the wolves as we stood at the waters edge, looking down at the transaction of growls and furious glares.

We knew it was too late. She'd once again gotten away.