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Chapter Text

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍:
Unwanted visitors
(1971)

"YOU'VE BEEN MAKIN' SOMETHING SINCE THIS MORNING," Jasper says as he strides towards Corazon, who had opened the freezer, "It's been smelling scrumptious," He continues as he wraps his arms around her waist, placing his chin on her shoulder.

Corazon only hums as she places the molding trays on the countertop. "And I think you'll love it," then she takes it out of the trays, slightly twisting her body so she is facing him. She requests, "Open," She places her thumb on his bottom lip, and he grins before opening his mouth. She placed the blood pop on top of his tongue, and her hand went to his chin, closing his mouth as Jasper sucked on the blood pop; she tilted her head slightly to the side, "Is it good?"

Jasper nods, impressed, "Surprisingly so," She then takes a blood pop for herself. The taste of blood has always been satisfying, and Corazon would compare it to something she had read from Greek mythology, like a nectar of the gods, nourishing, delicious, and utterly tempting.

"I made it for you," Corazon tells him as she turns around. Now he's completely caging her, hands locked on the edges of the countertop. She looks at Jasper, his crimson-red eyes transitioning to a rose gold color, and it has been a week since the incident. It hasn't been easy for him, but they're working on it.

After they confessed their love for each other, Peter arrived in the house profusely apologizing, telling them his misdoings of not warning them beforehand of the effects of leaving the southern vampire disco bar.

Jasper forgave him. What's done is done. Peter promised to make it up to him and left with Charlotte. They'd been visiting ever since; Corazon had gotten to know more of them, Charlotte was slowly warming up to her, and Corazon was glad that Charlotte and Peter had gotten along with her fairly well; she could tell it made Jasper relieved.

"Really now?" Jasper smiles, one of those smiles that he reserves for her and only her. "I'm flattered, my heart," He places a hand on top of his chest where his undead heart resided, his expression morphing into something soft with a pout.

"My heart?" She questions. He'd been calling her since the night that he addressed her with it. It's endearing; she never knew how pet names could make her mushy all over.

"Corazon, in English, heart. You're the one who occupies every space in my heart; I see it fit," Jasper tells her as he presses his hand to the small of her back and pulls her entirely against his hard body.

"You're obsessed with me," Corazon teases as she releases a soft laugh.

Jasper licks the bottom of his lips, taking the blood pop from his mouth. He lifted his hand from her waist to cup her face and pressed his lips close to her ear. He whispered in a deep and husky tone, "Obsessed, besotted, addicted, call it whatever, but you are all I could think about," She fisted a hand on his shirt as she felt the waves of his voice spread through her body. It made her tingle all over. She tilted her head as he swept his mouth along the nape of her neck, placing small yet lingering kisses.

Then they hear Peter barging inside the house, "Ah! Fine morning to y'all. Hope we're not interrupting," Jasper pulls away with a deep grumble from his chest as Corazon snickers.

Charlotte rolls her eyes, "We definitely are," She crosses her arms to her chest, sending an apologizing look to Jasper and Corazon. Jasper shrugs as he places the blood pop back into his mouth.

Corazon smiles at Peter as Jasper fixes his position, leaning against the counter with his wrapped around Corazon's stomach. "What have you been planning, Pete?" He asks with a raised brow.

Peter grins, "Signed us both for a race,"

"What kind of race?" Corazon asks as she places the molding tray back in the freezer.

"A horse race," Peter states proudly.

Corazon chuckles, looking at Jasper over her shoulder, "You're really living up to my cowboy expectations,"

"Only when I'm in Texas, my heart," Jasper muses, placing a kiss on top of her head.

"Well, you two better head out. It looks like the weather's agreeing with your plans. It's a rare cloudy day in Houston," Charlotte tells them. Corazon wants Jasper to spend more time with Peter while they're here. Charlotte agreed with that, so they let the two men make plans without them. Corazon wanted to spend time with Charlotte.

"I'll be back by tonight," Jasper tells her, and Corazon nods, "I'll be waiting," They both share a short kiss. Peter and Jasper drove away, leaving Charlotte and Corazon.

"So, what do you want to do today?" Corazon asks, throwing the popsicle in the trash can; she has to make more of those when they get home; she's sure that the family will appreciate the blood pops, especially when they're out in public; it'll help control their thirst for blood.

"Nothing much," Charlotte shrugs. Corazon opens the radio as the news becomes their background noise.

"So, let's just talk. Whatever topic you like," Corazon sits beside her on the sofa. Charlotte nods. With a thoughtful look, she says, "Thank you for taking care of him that night,"

"Oh," Corazon only managed to say as Charlotte continued, "As you know, I was a bit skeptical about you at first; it's only because Jasper's history with a certain woman has greatly affected him before. I didn't want him to be taken advantage of again,"

Corazon shakes her head with a small smile, "I understand, but I'm sure you know by now that I love him very much,"

"Yes, yes. I know that by now. I noticed it in the bar. When you both slow danced." Charlotte mentions with a smile of her own. "I've never seen him so happy before."

Corazon stayed silent, not knowing what to say, because she had never been happier, too, until Jasper became a part of her life.

"When Peter and I went back to Maria's territory to ask him to join us, he was so miserable, beyond depressed. We didn't know what to do, how to help him, or how to ease his pain. Peter regretted leaving him that night when we left, and he said that maybe if Jasper had joined us, it wouldn't have gotten worse." Charlotte looks down, her fingers fumbling together as she purses her lips.

"He still regrets it to this day. We owe Jasper everything. We know Maria wanted to look for us, but Jasper was the reason she didn't go on any further," Charlotte informs her, and Corazon nods along as she hugs her legs to her chest, resting her back on the couch.

"Then he told us he's going to wander off on his own. We were both so worried, but as you know, once he made a decision, nobody could stop him, so we let him. Then, a few years later, we received a letter from him telling us that he had found a new way of living through animal blood. We found it a bit odd, of course, but we supported him, whatever he found easier to feed without feeling others' emotions," Charlotte sighed, her accent getting thicker with each word. She was rambling, and Corazon didn't mind.

She knew that it had been a while since Charlotte had talked to anyone other than Peter. "He never did like feeling the pain of his prey, and the weight of guilt of how many innocent lives that he took during the army didn't help his consciousness,"

"He never told me that he could feel our blood lust," Corazon mutters, looking towards the window. It's still so beautiful and peaceful.

"He just didn't want you to worry. That's how he is. That's why when he stays here. Peter and I make sure that we're fed. So that it can be easier for him to be around us." Charlotte informs her, and Corazon takes a mental note that she needs to tell the family to always be sensitive when it comes to their blood lust, especially when they're around Jasper. She didn't want him to suffer because of them.

Suddenly, the phone rang, and Corazon looked at Charlotte, with her motioning to answer the phone. Corazon stood up from her seat and sped towards the telephone ringing in the kitchen. "Cece," Alice greets, her tone far from her usual one.

"Alice," Corazon furrows her brows, "Is something wrong?" She worries. Her tone piqued Charlotte's attention, and she was listening in as well.

"You'll be expecting a visitor in a few hours," Alice informs her, and Corazon purses her lips, dreading to ask, "Please tell me it's not that one I'm thinking of," She groans as she places a hand on her forehead, worry turned into frustration.

"It is," Alice sighs heavily.

"What does she want?" Corazon prods. They were having the perfect time in Houston, and Corazon should have known that someone is going to ruin it, especially since they were in Texas, her territory.

"The same thing she wanted to do back then, talk to him..." Alice tells her, and Corazon closes her eyes, thinking of a plan, and Alice goes silent over the phone.

"I'll call the Volturi after," Alice finally spoke again, "Good luck, Cece. Don't aggravate her too much for this to work,"

"I'll keep that in mind," Corazon says, then ends the call and places the phone back in its place.

"It's her, isn't it? "Charlotte panics, "To think that we were only talking about her. Goodness, I fully believe in the saying speak of the devil, and she shall appear."

Corazon snorts, "Maria is no devil." She walks back to the couch and sits, a heavy sigh escaping her lips. "You can leave if you want to. I'll deal with Maria,"

Charlotte furrows her brows as she instantly says, "I won't leave you with that woman. You don't know what she's capable of,"

"Believe me, I do. I dealt with her in the 50s in Calgary," Corazon tells her, and Charlotte blinks her eyes in realization and remembrance, "Oh, yes, you dealt with her before with your gift, Jasper told us."

"What's your plan?" Charlotte finally asks as she finally sits down beside her, calm in demand.

Corazon didn't say anything. She leaned back on the couch and placed her hand on her chin. Alice mentioned the Volturi; she knows that the Volturi has been monitoring the activities in the South, Maria's activities in particular. Because of that, they're also keeping a close eye on Jasper to see whether or not he'll return to the Mexican Coven, and that's one of the reasons why her family is keeping low under their radar.

The Volturi are paying attention to them, more specifically to Jasper. He made quite an impression on them during the Southern Vampire Wars, and they made sure they didn't categorize him as a threat. It looks like his animal blood diet made them more assured that Jasper isn't going back, but as long as Maria is obtaining and fighting for territories, Jasper will never stay away from the Volturi's radar.

Corazon needs to get rid of Maria, for her sake, and Jasper's; she doesn't want the Volturi watching their every move. Especially when they learn of Corazon's and Alice's gifts, they'll never know peace away from Volturi's watchful gaze.

"We kill her," Corazon finally spoke, and Charlotte's eyes widened, mouth agape in shock.

"Well, that's..." Charlotte trails off, "Some turn of events,"

"The Volturi will leave us alone—Jasper specifically once they know that Maria is disposed of. They'll also feel respect that we did the job of getting rid of the threat for the exposure of our kind." Corazon informs her as Charlotte nods.

"Alright, tell me what to do,"

"Nothing,"

"What? Why?" Charlotte bewilderedly asks.

"It's been years since you last saw her. Do you think you can face Maria after what she did?" Corazon softly asks, and Charlotte purses her lips as she looks down on her lap and whispers, "No, not really."

"Leave it to me. I'll take care of it." Corazon stands up from her seat, carries a chair to the front porch, and enters the house again, looking at Charlotte, "Stay in our room; don't make a sound once you hear that she arrived,"

Charlotte looks hesitant yet follows her instructions. Corazon takes the book that she had started last night and sits on the rocking chair by the porch. A few hours passed, and she was about to finish the book when she heard rapid footsteps on the road. Not a second then that Maria is in front of the house.

It looks like nothing has changed except for her attire; it looks like Maria is finally keeping up with the times. Black curly hair, beautiful olive-tanned skin, wearing worn-out jeans and a brown long-sleeve shirt. Maria is beautiful, that is certain, but Corazon knows that she's rotten from the inside.

"Maria, to what do I owe the visit?" Corazon closes her book shut and places it on her lap.

Maria snapped at her, eyes glaring like daggers, yet Corazon could see it, the hesitancy in her movements, "I'm not here for you,"

"Obviously," Corazon rolls her eyes. "He's not here; it's a wasted trip," Corazon tells her as she stands up, places the book on the wooden table, takes a few steps, and leans on the wooden post, crossing her arms.

"Well, then I'm here for you," Maria says, "Don't think I'll let you go after what you put me through,"

Corazon chuckles, "Is it the result of your consequences? You must be delirious to think that I'll let you disturb our peace. You're a threat to Jasper and to my family, and I won't allow that,"

Maria's lip curled in disdain as she glowers, "Jasper's not here to protect you,"

"I don't need his protection, as you know. I can protect myself fairly well." Corazon tilted her head, and she knew it before it could happen; Maria sped towards her as she wrapped her hands around Corazon's throat, raising her to the ground and without panicking, Corazon placed her hand on her arm as her gift worked on its own. Maria screams as her knees buckle to the ground, letting go of Corazon as she massages her neck.

"Now, now, no need to be so violent, Maria," Corazon teases. She leans down as she holds Maria down on the ground, "When I can be more violent than you," She forcefully grabs Maria's chin, their eyes connecting, "You will listen to my every command like a puppet on a string," Maria stilled, and Corazon lets her go rather harshly as Maria stumbles on the ground.

"Let's have a friendly conversation, just between us civilized women," Corazon tells her and continues, "Stand," Maria did without hesitation, and Maria looked at her questionably.

"What did you do to me?" Maria asks.

"Oh, I just compelled you to listen to my every command, nothing big. I can control minds," Corazon shrugs as she turns around, sitting on the rocking chair, "Sit on the chair," and Maria does what is commanded of her.

"It's a helpless feeling, wouldn't you agree? For your will to be taken away." Corazon asks, and Maria grits her teeth, not willing to answer. Corazon then smiles, sadistic, a glimmer of chaos in her eyes, "Answer me,"

"Yes!" Maria forcefully blurts out. Corazon, satisfied, leaned back on the rocking chair as her foot guided the rocking chair, moving back and forth.

"That's what you did with him. It's difficult to resist your creator and how unfortunate it was for him for that to be you." Corazon tells her, tilts her head, "You and I, we are so much alike. We were only girls who met a terrible end, but what I did to survive is justified, but what you did is nothing but thirst for power, greed, and glory. But the difference between us is that I'm Jasper's mate. I don't share."

Maria hisses, "He can never love you," and Corazon raises a brow, a cheshire smile on her lips, "Well, that's not what it felt like when he was kissing my neck this morning like he wanted to ravish me," She responds she licks the bottom of her lip, she bit her lip with a dreamy sigh escaped her lips.

"I already had him. You can enjoy the bits that I left." Maria snickers, and Corazon raises an eyebrow; Maria thinks she has done something there.

"You might have had him first. But I'm the one who left an imprint on his mind, body, and soul. Even before you, Maria, his soul has always been searching for me. You had him, but not completely, but superficially. You were a stand-in for me, but I'm here now, and I'm not leaving. I'm the woman he'll always want; I have him wrapped around my fingers so that I can ask him whatever I want. Even if that means to kill you in front of me." Corazon crosses her legs as she looks at Maria with a smile.

"He had just confessed his undying love for me last week. I can see myself getting married to him. I would invite you to my future wedding, but you'll be dead by then, so what's the point?" Corazon shrugs her shoulders. Maria's eyes widened at her last statement.

"What?" Maria fearfully asks.

"Do you think that I'll let you go after this? You continue to disturb our lives, and to be quite frank, It's getting very annoying," Corazon tells her with a scoff, "I'll kill you, burn your body, but I'll chop off your head first, send it to the Volturi with a big red ribbon with a pretty personalized note from me, and then they'll finally stop watching our every move. It's a win-win if you ask me." Corazon casually says with a smile, and Maria looks at her as if she has grown three heads.

"You're crazy," Maria's expression morphs into shock.

"Oh, you haven't seen anything crazy. This is a normal day for me." Corazon chuckles as she claps her hands together. "Well, you should stay here. Don't move. I'll dig out a hole where I can prepare the fire," she hears Charlotte's footsteps. She opens the door, her head peeking out.

"I'll do it; looks like you two are having a lovely chat," Charlotte offers, and Corazon sends her a grateful look. Then her eyes drift to Maria, her eyes hardened.

"Well, hello, Charlotte," Maria taunts, and Charlotte spat out, "Hello, dead meat," at which Maria snarled.

"Snarl all you want. You'll be nothing but ash on the ground later," Charlotte pokes out her tongue as she closes the door with a slam.

"Let's continue our conversation, shall we? Charlotte is right. It's quite lovely to discuss cold-blooded murder," Corazon sits back down on the chair. "Tell me, why did your mate die?"

Maria grits her teeth, answering with disdain, "He died when we were battling out for territories."

Corazon hums, "It's quite painful losing a mate, from what I've read about our kind anyway,"

"The most painful experience I have gone through," Maria admits, and Corazon nods thoughtfully as she looks at her in understanding, which confuses Maria.

"Maria, I understand that what you have been through is difficult. You lost your mate, and you sought vengeance, as to any vampire that lost their mate. But have you thought about how it's just a consequence of your actions? Your mate wouldn't have died if he didn't seek out power for taking over territories. If he had only done what was best for the two of you, you'd both be happy. He led you to something you didn't even want in the first place, but because you love him, you listened. That's not what love is; you both make decisions that would suit you best. I think what he did was nothing but the result of his careless decisions and actions."

Maria scoffs, "You speak as if you know him,"

Corazon replies, "I don't, but I know men like him, you're a victim that turned into him, and you continued it, that's your ruin, you could have the opportunity to turn away and leave it all behind, but no, you stayed and continued to do what caused the demise of your mate."

Then her eyes flashed in anger, and Maria had the urge to cower in fear, "Then you used Jasper, used his most vulnerable state to make him believe that he was your mate. Use your influence as his creator to deceive him, use him, and take every bit of his will to your advantage. You're the reason why the Volturi has been keeping a close eye on us from the start. Why does Jasper look over his shoulder with so much uncertainty."

"That ends now," Suddenly, a voice spoke from behind, startled. Corazon turned around, seeing Jasper and Peter. How did they manage to go unheard? Corazon doesn't know, but she's impressed. Corazon walked toward Jasper as he took her hand, pulling her towards his body; he leaned towards the column of her neck and took a deep breath, her scent overpowering his senses and calming him down.

"Maria," Jasper acknowledges her as he fixes his posture, "I would say that I appreciate your visits, but that would be lying,"

Maria tried to stand up, but with Corazon's command, she couldn't remove herself from the chair. She grunted as she struggled. Peter laughs, "You got her good, Cece. I'm impressed."

Jasper chuckles, placing a kiss on Corazon's cheek, "You understand, Maria, that I cannot risk Corazon's safety. I'll do anything to protect her. Getting rid of you will ensure that safety,"

Maria pleads, "Jasper," Her voice is soft as a purr, "Please, no. Think of everything that we had been together."

"I'd rather not," Jasper sighs; he looks at Corazon; they didn't need to communicate with words. Corazon leans on his chest as she crosses her arms. "Stand up," Maria did.

"Watch this, Peter," Corazon grins as Peter sizzles with anticipation. Jasper wraps an arm around her stomach, resting his chin on top of her head.

"Maria, rip off your head for me," Corazon commanded, and they watched as Maria brought her hands to her neck, her fingers wrapping around it. Her skin began to crack like glass; jagged lines started to appear all over from neck to face; then, with a last pull, her head fell on the ground along with her body.

Peter's jaw dropped, "Damn,"

"Indeed," Jasper responds as he taps his hand on her hip and removes his hold on her, "Let's burn her out back," he and Peter begin to pick up her head and body while Peter grimaces as he holds Maria's head by the hair.

Charlotte opens the door and walks towards Peter, her eyes set on Maria's body, which Jasper is dragging inside. "Fire is ready,"

"How did you know that she's here?" Corazon asks curiously. Jasper nudges his head towards Peter. Peter shrugs, "I just know shit,"

"Knowing shit is your gift?" Corazon laughs, "Basically, yeah," Peter finds one of the boxes that they used when they unboxed the furniture for the house and places Maria's head inside.

"We left my car in the parking lot. We'll head back out to get it," Jasper tells Corazon as they go to the backyard. Seeing the hole that Charlotte dug out and the fire that she started, Jasper throws Maria's body on the fire as it's engulfed by the flames.

"What an interesting day," Peter tells them as they go back inside, "I'm glad that we got rid of her," Charlotte adds, feeling relieved that they can finally live in peace.

The phone rang again, and Corazon perked up, "That's Alice," She said as she answered.

"The Volturi guards will be waiting for the package by the border tonight," Alice informs her, and Corazon shares a look with the three vampires listening in.

Suddenly, a shuffling of sound ensued, "Dang, sis. I would've paid a huge buck to witness that," Emmett greets, and Corazon chuckles.

"It's really impressive, Cece," She hears Rosalie's voice in the background, and Corazon rolls her eyes.

"Goodbye, you two. We'll be home in the next few weeks." Corazon tells them as Emmett is about to protest and place the phone back in its place.

"We'll deliver the package. It's me that they want to see anyway." Jasper spoke up, and Corazon looked at him in worry; she was more afraid of the Volturi guards than Maria. "I'll come with," Peter chimes in as he gives Charlotte an assuring look.

Corazon reluctantly nods, walking towards the box and taking a long red ribbon from the drawer. She placed it like a gift, tied it with a ribbon, and then she took a pen and placed a note.

Maria, head of the Mexican Coven. I can only hope that we have done a great service to you, my kings, Aro, Caius, and Marcus. From Corazon, a member of the Olympic Coven.

She then carries the box and hands it over to Jasper. "Here you go," She leans towards him and places a longing kiss. Stay safe.

Jasper pulls away as he sends out a calming wave of emotion that makes Corazon sigh in contentment. He and Peter headed out once again. After getting the car, Jasper and Peter drove towards the border, seeing three figures in the dark. Crimson red eyes, long black coats, and the V necklace around their necks. Jasper shared a look at Peter, and they nodded at each other. They exited the car with a guarded stance. They both moved cautiously. They finally faced the three vampires, Demetri, Alex, and Felix.

Demetri gruffly asks, "Is that the package?" His eyes look at the box in Jasper's hold, and he nods as he places it in the center. Demetri looks at Felix, with the man stepping forward and taking the box.

"The kings send their utmost gratitude for resolving the problem here in the South," Alex tells them. Jasper and Peter curtly nod. The air blew heavily with tension.

"Surely, you will no longer be monitoring my movements. Maria is disposed," His eyes went towards the box Felix is carrying, "I'm sure that is more than proof that I will no longer return to the Mexican Coven when it has seized to exist,"

Demetri hums, "I'm sure Aro will be more than happy to grant that," Felix tips his head toward their direction, "Gentlemen," Then they were gone. A sigh of relief left their lips as Peter placed a hand on his shoulder.

"It's over," Peter says, almost breathless. "It is," Jasper responds as if a huge weight over his chest dissolved.

"Cece's a keeper, brother," Peter muses, and Jasper smiles.

"She really is,"