AN: Hey y'all. I am reposting this because it got pulled a while back :)

Thank you to my prereaders, Kerrfrano and Delphius Fanfic, and to my beta, Layne Faire. They make my writing readable :)

Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight. I own this fic.

Dedicated to Kerrfrano

JPOV

In the many, many years of my existence, I had never been drawn to anyone. I had heard that every vampire had a mate somewhere, but I didn't truly believe it until I met Carlisle and Esme. They were mates in every sense of the word. They loved each other deeply and protected each other fiercely. It was an amazing thing to witness.

During the 1800's, I was turned by Maria, an awful, vengeful, bloodthirsty woman whose only desire in life was power. She was the one who told me about mates, and she truly thought I was hers. I wasn't. I knew I wasn't, because in the army Maria created to kill and conquer, I had a friend named Peter, who had found his mate, but lost her. He explained to me how finding your mate truly felt, and I know I never felt that way for Maria.

After too long in Maria's army, I grew bored, and tired. I wasn't happy with my existence, with the way she was so intent on gaining land and turning everyone she could. She wanted to make a vampire nation, but I knew I could never be content that way. I had no regrets when I killed her and fled. I had to get away from the carnage; it was eating me alive. I had a yearning to be a good person, if such a thing could be possible, being a vampire.

After wandering around from country to country, I found myself in the United States, in Texas, the original place of my birth. It was the 1940's by then, and I lived content for most of a decade, holed up in a small cabin and enjoying the night life, until I met Miss Alice Brandon. She sure was something, sitting in a diner that I happened to wander into to get out of the pouring rain. When she addressed me by my given name, I was shocked, and found myself talking to her for hours on end.

Miss Brandon told me her story and I told her mine. She had woken up in a mental asylum a vampire. She had no knowledge of who turned her or why. I reckoned that had to be an awful way to find out. She guessed she had been put in the asylum because of her visions of the future, and I was surprised when she told me our meeting wasn't by accident.

According to her, there was a family in Forks, Washington, who would be willing to take us in as adopted children. She said they would teach us their way of life, which was not to prey on humans. They drank animal blood. The idea was absurd to me, and I laughed, much to Miss Brandon's chagrin. I had only ever fed on humans, and couldn't imagine drinking anything else. Vampires were meant to drink human blood, not animals. Besides, the only humans I ever drained were offenders of some sort: murderers, rapists, and the like. Never did I take the life of an innocent, not even with Maria.

I was told that I would go with her, we would be welcomed with open arms, and I would adapt to drinking the animal blood. When I asked Miss Brandon why I was expected to go to Forks, she stunned me with two words.

"Your mate."

Ah, Maria had told me about mates once. She said that the reason vampires have mates is so we don't have to be alone for eternity. I asked her how I would know when I found mine, and she told me that with one look into the person's eyes, the world would cease to exist except him or her.

Of course, I wondered if she had been feeding me lies, but now, with Miss Brandon telling me I would find my mate in Forks, I knew I would go with her, just to see if she was right.

"How do you know that?" I had asked, and she just smiled and tapped her temple.

We left shortly thereafter, when the rain stopped, making our trek to Forks. During our travels, Alice tried to get me to dine on animals, and I did a few times, but found the blood to be lacking, always leaving me with a slight burning in the back of my throat. Of course, when I could, I indulged in human blood, which sated me like nothing else. Alice always chastised me for partaking, but the pull to drink from them was too strong.

When we arrived in Forks, I immediately understood why Carlisle and Esme Cullen had chosen that place to reside. It was gloomy and cloudy, with almost constant rain, which allowed us to be outside in the daytime. No, the sun didn't burn us, but caused a reaction with our skin that would make humans easily see that we were different. I often wondered how anyone could want to live in such a place.

We found out the Cullens had already 'adopted' one daughter, a willowy blonde by the name of Rosalie Hale. Esme and Carlisle were hoping she would be my mate, but she wasn't. Alice told everyone that I would find my mate in time, and that person would be worth waiting for.

The Cullens, Alice, Rosalie, and I spent time getting to know one another, and they helped me overcome my thirst for humans. It was still there, buried deep inside, but I could control it for the most part.

Once, while hunting with my untraditional 'family', we came upon a human in the woods. He had been mauled almost to death by a bear and, after one look at the poor soul, Rosalie was pleading with Carlisle to help him. Carlisle wasted no time in taking him back to our house and, deeming the human's injuries too severe to try to heal, changed him.

Carlisle bringing that human into our house was the worst temptation I had had in a long time, and Alice had to take me away while he changed. His name was Emmett McCarty, and as we got to know each other, he grew to be a loving brother.

After my time of being with Maria, being alone, I realised that I was missing something, and I started to long to find my mate. Alice stressed to me over and over that my mate would be near before I knew what happened, but it didn't help the endless days and nights of wondering and wanting. I saw Emmett and Rosalie together, along with Esme and Carlisle, and I had to admit I was jealous of them. We had arrived in Forks in 1956, and I remained alone for decades after.

For forty years, we alternated between hiding in Forks and staying with the Denali coven in Alaska. By the mid 2000's, Esme was getting tired of all the moving and told Carlisle she wanted a permanent home. That's how we ended up residing semi permanently in Forks.

Then, on one fateful day in 2008, my life was changed forever.

~/\oOo/\~

It was January of 2008, the beginning of the new semester at Forks High. Rosalie, Emmett, Alice, and I were all going to school for the first time, in our Junior year, to keep up appearances. Carlisle was working at Forks Hospital, and Esme was staying home, painting and doing whatever she does while we're gone.

It was a Monday, it was raining, and we arrived to school as we usually did, in Emmett's Jeep. The school day started out as it usually did, all of us staying together and as far away from everyone else as we could. Alice was getting on my nerves; her anxiety and excitement were through the roof. She informed us of the new students that were going to be there, but I really didn't care. It would be more humans around to give us funny looks.

Even though she had talked about them almost non-stop, letting us know that one was a boy and the other was a girl, brother and sister, we had yet to see them. When he bell rang signaling the beginning of first period, I was happy to go, if only to get away from Alice's energy. I had a feeling it was going to be a long day.

My first and second classes were droll. The kids in the class kept talking about the newcomers, trying to get any information about them that they could. I found it boring.

Rosalie shared my third class with me, Spanish, and we sat together in the back of the room. When the teacher had given us our work for the day, Rose leaned slightly toward me, mumbled, "I saw them," low enough for only my ears to hear.

"So?" I answered her, wondering why she was telling me.

"Oh nothing," she teased, and I shot her a glare. She was acting just like Alice had that morning.

When Spanish was over, we went to lunch, getting food but only picking at it while we sat at our usual table in the corner. There was a commotion at one of the nearby tables, and that's when I saw them: the new kids. They were sitting with their backs to us. The girl had brown hair just past her shoulders and the boy looked to be quite tall, with short, copper colored hair. They didn't seem that fantastic to me, although I did notice that the boy had a fine ass. Alice and Rosalie sat giggling like they knew something I didn't. They probably did.

Heaving a sigh that I really didn't need, I wished for the day to be over.

My fourth class was Biology, and I was lucky enough to have a lab table all to myself. No one wanted to sit with the strange pale kid, and that was fine with me. There was a girl named Jessica in the class, and she was the school's resident loudmouth. Her irritating voice brought me out of my thoughts and I looked toward the door. She was leading the new boy in, chatting in his ear, and he looked extremely uncomfortable. I had to smile a bit to myself at that.

Jessica passed by me, giving me a glare, as she went to her table, and the new boy talked with Mr. Molina. I was a little taken aback when I heard Mr. Molina tell him to sit with me, but readied myself for the torture.

When the boy, Edward Masen was his name, looked up to see where I was sitting, his eyes locked on mine at the same time the oscillating fan blew in my direction. It felt like the whole world shifted under me and nothing else in the entire world existed but him. Edward.

He smelled so delicious, I managed to restrain myself by gripping the edges of the lab table. Venom was pooling in my mouth, urging me to mark him, taste him, change him, and make him mine. In that instant, I knew he was my mate.

If I had the need for oxygen, I wouldn't have been able to take any in. That...boy...a human...was the only one who could make my existence complete, and he had no idea. I needed to talk to Carlisle, right away.

When my...Edward...sat next to me at the table, the urge to take him by the arm and lead him out to the surrounding woods so I could claim him was so strong. I had to use every bit of my self control to keep myself in check. His scent was all around me, torturing me insufferably, and I caught him looking over at me a couple of times with confusion in his perfect shamrock eyes.

I couldn't talk to him; I didn't dare. If I opened my mouth, I was afraid of what I might do. The other people in the room probably wouldn't have appreciated a show in the middle of class.

It seemed like the hands on the clock were moving so slowly. I never took my eyes from it, urging time to go faster so I could make my escape. Mere seconds before the bell rang, I had all my things in my arms, ready to flee. The shrill sound echoing in my ears caused me to jump, and I was out the door before anyone could notice I was gone.

I left the school through one of the back doors, and maintained human speed until I was safe inside the woods around the school. My sister and brother would find out from Alice where I had gone.

Running as fast as I dared, I went to the hospital to see if Carlisle was there. It was probably a bad move, with the way I was feeling and all of those broken humans inside. Standing in the woods facing the building, I pulled my phone out and pushed the number on my speed dial for Carlisle.

Thankfully, he answered after only two rings. "Jasper, what's wrong?"

The sound of his voice calmed me a bit, and I took a deep breath. "Carlisle, I found my mate...he's in one of my classes at school. He had to sit next to me and I had to fight myself not to take him right there in class. Please, I don't know what to do. Are you at the hospital?"

"Calm down, son. I'm at home. Are you coming?"

"On my way," I replied, then shoved my phone back into my pocket and ran home at full speed. When I walked into the house, Esme was waiting for me with a big smile on her face. I knew that she wanted to tell me she was happy for me, but I needed Carlisle. Surely, he would help me figure out what to do. I thought mates were something Maria made up to get me to stay with her. After one look at Edward, though, I knew it was true, and I had no idea what I would do with a mate. Yes, I was lonely, but he was human. What would I do with him? We couldn't hunt together or anything like that. Humans were so fragile. One wrong move and I would break him.

"Where is he?" I asked Esme as kindly as I could, and her smile never faltered.

"Office, waiting on you, dear," she answered.

Moving at vampire speed, I raced up the stairs and stopped in front of the study door.

"Come in, son," Carlisle said, and I went in quickly, making sure to close the door behind me. He was sitting at his desk, looking calm, as he always did, and for some reason, it was annoying. Here I was a jumbled mess and he was cool and relaxed even.

I settled for pacing back and forth in front of his desk, too wired to sit.

"Tell me what happened, Jasper," Carlisle said with a smile.

"Everybody in school had been talking about the new kids all day, but I hadn't seen them," I began. "Honestly, I didn't care about them. At lunch, I saw them but their backs were turned, and I ignored all the bullshit people were saying about them. It was getting old.

"But then, in Biology, the new boy walked in, and Mr. Molina assigned him to the seat next to me. He turned around and looked at me, and our eyes met."

I couldn't help the small smile that crept onto my face as I remembered my mate's bright green eyes, creamy skin, and scent. Not even mention the need to make him mine.

"Then?" Carlisle prompted, and I felt embarrassed. Dammit, I needed to focus.

"While we were looking at each other, it felt like time stopped. Then, the fan blew his scent towards me. It was so rich, so pure...fuck, I can't describe it."

Nodding in understanding, Carlisle asked, "Did you want to feed from him?"

"No!" I snapped, as rage filled me at the thought of anyone feeding from him. Shaking my head to clear it, I said quietly, "No, I didn't. I'm sorry for yelling at you."

"It's okay, son. You're conflicted at the moment. Go on."

"I didn't want to feed from him. I wanted to take him, claim him, mark him as mine. To make everyone know who he belonged with and he was off limits. The need was so strong, I don't know how I made it through the whole class. As soon as the bell rang, I ran out and tried to find you."

Out of steam from my retelling of what had happened, I dropped into one of the chairs in front of his desk and put my head in my hands. "I probably scared the shit out of him, the way I was acting in class, trying not to take him. Now what am I going to do?"

"If he were a vampire, it would be easier, Jasper," Carlisle explained. "But, because your mate happens to be a human, you're going to have to control yourself until you get to know him."

I looked up at him quickly with wide eyes. "Carlisle, how in the hell am I supposed to get to know him if every time we look at each other, I want to grab him and-"

"I know, son," he cut me off. It was probably a good thing he did, because the next words out of my mouth would have been 'fuck him' and I didn't think my 'father', for all intents and purposes, would appreciate me saying that.

"Vampires mating with humans is a rarity, but it does happen," Carlisle explained. "You can curb your...need. It won't be easy for you, but you can do it. When you have it under control, you will have to get to know the boy. Then, eventually, when the time is right, you'll have to explain to him about mates and let him know he is yours."

"Do you think he felt something when we stared at each other?" I asked meekly.

"He probably was wondering why your eyes are black," Carlisle chuckled.

"My eyes are...?" I asked, touching my face.

"Yes, son, and they will probably remain that way until you have yourself under control."

"What should I do? I know I can't go back to school like this. If I do, I won't be able to be responsible."

"I know," Carlisle answered. "I think you should go to Alaska and spend some time there. Eleazar knows all too well what it's like to mate with a human, and he should be able to help you."

My eyes widened once again. "You mean Carmen was..."

"She was," Carlisle smiled, and I mirrored it. Maybe there was hope after all.

"Alright, I'll go," I told Carlisle, and we both stood. He walked around his desk and offered his hand to me. I took it and he pulled me into a brief hug.

"I know you can do this, Jasper. Everything is going to work out fine between you and your mate. We will all miss you while you're away; please take care of yourself."

"I will," I smiled, and left the office to pack a light bag.

As I was headed out to the garage to get in my old red truck, Esme stopped me by pulling me into a hug.

"I'm so happy you've found your mate, son," she whispered in my ear then let me go, smiling.

"Thank you, Esme," I mumbled, a little embarrassed by her motherly affection. The look on her face let me know that if she could cry, she would be right then.

"Be safe, and come back to us soon."

"I will," I smiled, then got in my truck, throwing my bag onto the seat next to me. Hopefully, maybe, in a few months, my mate, Edward Masen, would be sitting in that space and I wouldn't feel so alone.

Well, I hope y'all liked it! Please let me know!

Penny