A/N This is my first time writing in a while so please be gracious- at least at first. Any input is fantastic!

This will be a plot-based story. I will probably add lemons in the future but for now I am focusing on the story and character development.

This story is AU: Set in the heart of Texas, vampires don't sparkle in the sunlight. In fact, they can look almost normal, except for their eyes. They cannot tan, so they are paler than the average person, but they are otherwise "normal" looking.

Chapter One- A Mate

Jasper's POV

Running. That's all I cared about. News of a baby had brought joy to my otherwise violent life. Charlie Swan had done me wrong many years ago. Back when I lived in Forks along with the Cullens, Officer Swan had helped to kill my human "mate".

All that I cared about back then was their smell. If they smelled good enough, I would skip eating them and take them in as mates. They were never my true mate. I can tell by the lack of memories I have with them. I can't even remember their names, honestly.

When he killed her, I wasn't heartbroken, I just wanted revenge. I don't even remember what she did wrong but I remember going to Officer Swan's house, tying up his pretty girlfriend and him, and killing her in front of him. In order to spare his life, he agreed to be matched up with a woman of my choice for marriage and breeding. Breeding isn't the right word- not this in sense at least. I breed for the sake of eating. My army won't feed themselves, and a breeding program keeps law enforcement at bay.

The idea of having them… Procreate? Yes, that's the word, was to hopefully get a mate for myself, a real, eternity long mate. I wanted to be the one to raise her from afar, molding her into my perfect match. Give her all that she needed, and when she turned 18, take her for myself. Not for pleasure, but to present her to my Court of Elders for approval and to finish her schooling. The fun stuff would happen after that. Being the most powerful vampire in the world, singlehandedly raising an army up and destroying the Volturi, an act that has left me at the top of the world, makes me a very public figure. All law breakers come through me, and my queen has to be perfect.

When I heard that Charlie and his wife were expecting a little girl, I went to him, and he acknowledged the agreement. He knows by now not to fuck with me. Any type of rule breaking by him (disappearing, fleeing from me, lying, and so on) does not go unpunished. For this particular agreement, I told him that if he refused, I would kill him and take the baby anyway.

The trees turned into city streets, and I slowed down enough to call Alice, my old "brother's" mate. The Cullens and I are still on good terms. They live in my compound and have freedom to do what they like. They are also all members of my Elder Court.

"Alice? Hello? Fuck these payphones. I'm on the corner we agreed on. Which car is mine? Okay. Thank you. Please tell Charlotte to get today's meals ready."

Charlotte was Peter's mate. Together they make my two hands in men. They came back into my life after leaving for over 100 years just after I left the Cullens. I left the clan because my Major urges were flaring up. I needed control. I oversee everything in my compound, and in the vampire world. I guess I took Aro's job more or less, except with more power. That slug was the easiest to kill out of all the Volturi. He expected some sort of respect, and I saved him for last. I will never forget the look on his face when he realized he was going to die. While I'm overseeing everything, Peter controls the vampires in the compound. He kills when he sees fit, and trains when Charlotte sends him a new one.

Vampires are free to live here, and can ask to leave. Some are allowed to start their own clans with a promise to support and follow me. The humans are Charlotte's problem. They try to escape, and she has to kill them for that. It's like some just want to be tonight's meal. The humans have to eat, so she takes time every week to go buy food for them. They mostly eat the same shit. Protein, healthy shit, I don't know. I haven't eaten in so long I can't even remember what food looks like.

A few days ago, I got a call from Charlie. Renee –his wife- went into labor. I growled into the phone when he told me this. It was far too early for labor. I immediately sent him to Dallas to get the care they needed. Today, Isabella Marie Swan was born 6 weeks premature.

I went into the hospital, and got straight into an elevator. Though I am on a diet of human blood, I am very good about feeding strictly on those in my compound. I only feed otherwise when I am helping Peter train new vampires how to hunt. When the elevator arrived onto the floor of the maternity ward, I immediately went to the room where Charlie and Renee were. I knocked before entering, and when I opened the door, I was disappointed to find that Bella was not in there. I instantly turned to Charlie.

"Where is she?" I asked as calmly as I could muster. "Jasper, she is in the NICU. She's in distress right now. The doctor tried her hardest to stop the labor but Bella decided to be a rule breaker and enter the world early." Charlie chimed back. If I had blood, it would be boiling. Rule breaker? My potential mate? The baby that I picked the name out for? The baby that I ensured had the best time possible in her mother? No fucking way. "She is not a rule breaker, Charlie. She is a baby." I pinched the bridge of my nose, letting myself calm down, before rerouting my anger deep back into my brain. One of the vampires at the compound was going to get it after this. "Do you at least have a picture? Anythi-" before I could finish, a nurse wheeled in a tiny incubator which held a tiny baby. "She's stable now, stable enough to be in here with you guys for a little bit. Oh, a visitor! I would have thought after that long labor, you would have wanted to rest…" I didn't like this nurse. "Making assumptions will get you killed. Get out. Now." I hissed through my teeth. This was not the way I wanted any of this to go.

In fact, I had a plan for her birth. I had planned for the couple to come to the compound to get treatment by Carlisle, and for me to cut her cord. The nurse left without another word, something that even I was surprised by. After staring at the door for a good five minutes, my ears picked up the slightest unrest from the incubator. The baby- Bella- was moving. I looked over for the first time, and stared into her eyes. "That's funny," said Renee, "she hasn't opened her eyes for much of anything since she was born, what Char? Two, three hours ago now?"

In that moment, I knew that this baby… Isabella and I had the same thought. Deep in our minds, we both knew, we're mates. I stuck my hand in the incubator and let her hold my finger. Never had I been so touched by something so gentle. I felt my lips curl into a smile, and I carefully rubbed her paper-like skin. She let out a very weak cry, and I instantly knew that I had been too rough. As gentle as I could be was still too rough for my mate, I was heartbroken. I took my finger out of the incubator and just stared at the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.

Commenter's choice: Should the next chapter be a very long one and feature all of Bella's childhood up to 18, or should I break up her childhood into several chapters? OR should I skip her childhood altogether and summarize it at the beginning of the next chapter?