Author's Note:

This story, and me, as an author, have been nominated for multiple Emerging Swan Awards (open 9/12/12)! Please vote: emergingswanawards (d0t)

Thank you so much to anyone who is kind enough to vote for me and whoever nominated me. It means so much to me that you readers value my story enough to take the time out to nominate me!

Prologue:

Jasper's POV-

I have given a lot of thought as to how I might die. I have had a lot of time to think about it, over a thousand years. I would like to go down fighting, defending those I love. That seems an honorable death to me. And after a thousand years of existence, I might even be ready for such a fate. I would gladly make the trade if only it meant my loved ones would be safe. But this is not the case: they will die with me.

I cannot bring myself to regret the decisions I have made that have brought me face to face with death. That have led me to the point where I am cowering in the living room waiting for impending doom. I would defy the Volturi again, if given the chance. The parasites are the best thing that has ever happened to me, besides Alice.

It seems wrong to be in here, letting my friends and family fight and die in my defense. I should be out there fighting, defending my family from the Volturi. But instead I sit here on the couch while the Volturi invade our arctic island sanctuary.

We traveled to the furthest reaches of the globe and built our home in the most remote region possible, all in the name of Volturi evasion. We cloaked ourselves in Bella's shield to hide from Demetri. But it has all been for naught as we have been found.

As I cower the Volturi's helicopters approach our island, penetrating our defenses. If only I was on the front line, fighting for our safety, I would feel so much more productive. But that is a job anyone can do and only I, with my empathy, can do this one.

I send out a wave of calm, infused with mischievousness, playfulness, and happiness, my name for Ashley, Alice's parasite. I can feel the tension, fear, and horror in response as the war rages on around us. There is no need for words, because we can communicate with our emotions. Having an empath for a daughter means protecting her from the feelings of others, because she is too young to cope with the constant onslaught herself. The task is arduous, taxing, and nightmarish as I try to control the emotional atmosphere to which she is exposed.

When Alice and I met, I never once considered the possibility that we would someday have children. But then I also was unaware of the fact that we, as vampires, lay eggs. For centuries these eggs were thrown away, thought to be useless gall stones. And without a human to parasitize, they never developed. But Alice had seen the truth and had known what to do when our first eggs emerged.

The rest of our family stood by us as Alice and I implanted our eggs into human hosts to germinate. They were even there when our eggs hatched, killing their hosts in the process. But then, they were going through the same thing themselves with their own eggs. And now we had an entire house full of demonic spawn to guard and keep safe.

But back to the task at hand: the Volturi are attacking and the emotions are too much for my empathic daughter. I send out another wave of calm, this time infused with stoicism, determination, and contentment, my name for Scryan, my own blood sucker, calling his attention to me. I decide on a course of action where I ask for a future where the emotions are bearable.

Scryan's eyes lose focus as his vision transports him to the future and my request, before returning to the present. He nods in acknowledgement and then shrugs, letting the feeling of hopelessness waft off of him. My request must not be a possibility: he can only influence the future, bending it to his whim, not change it completely.

Hopelessness, now there's an emotion I can relate to. If only there was something physical I could do. Even Alice and my other daughter Allison are manning the guns so to speak. If only I could join them, then I would at least feel like I was doing something productive.

But there is something I can do. I send another wave of calm throughout the room, infusing it with confidence and determination. If only I could extrude hope. It is the hardest emotion for me to feel. I will have to extract it from someone else. There is only one person present that will do: Alice's other leech Jackson. Like his mother, Jackson could be hopeful down to the bitter end.

I send out waves of love, calmness, and contentment, calling Jackson. He nods at me, knowing what I need immediately. I can feel the hope radiate off of him and quickly imbibe the feeling into my being. I amplify it and radiate it back out. Hope, such a glorious feeling. Maybe the hope will help Ashley get through this ordeal.