Author's Note: I really like Jasper, and thought that he and Alice had an interesting relationship... I could see her letting him be with others. Then I read a story here that did just that, but with Jacob... and I thought it didn't quite fit right. Though, Edward, being the only single vampire in the Cullen clan was a ripe target. :)
I sat alone deep in the woods, near the treaty line, frowning at the mist shrouded trees. This place was perfect for a vampire coven. Its overcast skies and misty forests meant we did not have to hide ourselves away during the daylight hours. Of course, there was something that ruined the perfection. A single blot on this wonderland... the pack.
Carlisle had made peace with the Chief of the tribe, Ephraim Black, but there was still tension. The three wolves that made up the pack ran a patrol of the treaty line every few hours. Carlisle wanted one of the members of the coven to always be there just to watch the line and make sure that the Chief was able to keep his people and his pack in line. That duty usually fell to me. My gift lent itself to keeping an eye on people.
Esme and Rosalie went to spend part of each day at the new school house, teaching the children and helping their mothers learn new skills. Rose complained that she was working with the thickest of thick-skulled louts, but her eyes lit up whenever she got to work with any of the dark haired children. Esme simply opened her heart to all of the children, embracing them as surrogates for her own lost child.
While the women worked to help educate the populace of the fledgling town of Forks, Carlisle labored in its only hospital. Forks was a logging town, and each day brought a new accident. Be it a man crushed under a falling tree, a severed hand, or a simple fall from twenty feet up the tree, Carlisle treated them all. He also handled the other medical emergencies the citizens faced, but those were far less common. The lumber companies paid him to keep their workers fit; those same workers couldn't always pay to keep their families whole.
With the three of them working in the community, often for a pittance, it was up to Emmet and I to appear to earn the living that would support our family. We looked young enough to pass as Esme and Carlisle's children, but only just, so we were their adult sons who operate a shipping company. It meant we were able to leave Forks for trips, supposedly to go to Seattle and supervise our shipments. If we actually left, my hulking brother and I would go hunting on the slopes of Mount Rainier, sometimes Mount St. Helen's if we wanted something new.
Most of our 'business trips' were entirely fictitious, allowing Emmet and I to patrol our side of the line. While I am faster than my brother, and can tap into the minds of the wolves, I don't have that much of an advantage over Emmet. His strength and patience serve him well. Currently, while I sat alone in the Forest, soaking my mind in the dog bowl, he was spending some alone time with Rose. He had been with us for a decade, and they still acted like they were falling in love with every moment spent together.
I wished them well, but having that in my head knowing I had nothing like it rubbed my mind raw.
Living out here on the Olympic Peninsula, I often forgot what year it was. I had been made into a vampire some thirty odd years ago, and since then Esme, Rose and Emmet had joined us. In those four decades the world around us had changed. Automobiles were once the sign of a very wealthy family, now everyone has a car. The nation that I'd lived my whole life, and most of my unlife, in had gone to war twice, World War Two and the Korean War. I'd watched as gas was replaced by electricity as the home lighting technology, and I'd listened as music swirled and changed growing and leaping from jazz into this new rock and roll.
Then we moved to Forks, and suddenly lost twenty of those years. To call this town provincial would be a compliment. It only incorporated in 1945, and in the years since then it had barely grown. It was still a lumber town with aspirations towards something greater. That suited my family and I just fine.
We'd come here expecting to find it just the way it was, however, we were shocked by the Quileutes on the reservation. The tribe lived in a curious mix of anglicized habits and aboriginal traditions, but somewhere buried deep in those traditions they found their inner wolves. Shortly after we arrived, the wolf pack began running.
I was letting my mind wander in circles, touching on the wolves whenever I felt their thoughts. It truly was an awe inspiring experience to mesh my mind into the pack mind. Three beings who thought as one. Ephraim was the clear leader, and so he had more individuality, but not much. The two betas were hunting an elk while Ephraim patrolled the treaty line. I could tell he knew I was here, and I smiled to myself when I felt him decide not to cross the line and show me he did not fear me. These wolves had a lot of pride.
The hours passed, and I stretched my mind out as wide as it would go, and felt an odd twinge. Something was coming... two somethings. I could not quite get a clear reading on them, but they did not feel like normal human minds. They'd circled around to come towards our home without crossing onto the reservation... wise for guests.
I rushed home, running like a blur through the house grabbing Emmet and Rose. Esme and Carlisle weren't present, so it would just be the three of us to greet our guests.
Wind blew in my ears as we flew through the trees and across the meadows, our feet only touching the ground every few yards. Running like this almost made me think this unlife might not be so bad; that it might be worth losing my soul. I'd always loved to run when I'd been human.
We came to an abrupt halt, supernatural grace kept us from skidding or falling, but had we been anything but vampires that total and sudden stop would have sent us flying. Standing there, in the middle of a gravel road, were two vampires. One was short, cute, and wearing a poodle skirt, her hair pulled into a very modern fashion. She smiled, dimples flashing, as I felt her self-confidence. The other was tall, thin, and obviously a fighter. Every bit of exposed skin was covered in tooth marks or venom-burns. While his skin and scars screamed warrior, his clothing said something else. He was dressed in a well tailored suit, obviously of Southern make. His hair was parted just so, and he stood with that unconscious grace that people who spend their lives fighting develop.
He was a lion to her raven. As if echoing my thoughts, she tilted her head to the side and peered at the three of us, her scarlet eyes bright and shining.
"Where are Carlisle and Esme? I was sure that all five of you would come out to greet us." She almost sounded petulant, and the moment she planted her fists on her hips, there was no 'almost' about it.
"The other members of our coven have gone on a short hunting trip. Perhaps I may be of service?" I spoke the words politely, knowing that Carlisle preferred to live at peace with all sentient things.
"Well, yes, you can Edward. I would like to see my rooms. If you're going to give me the upstairs room I would have a larger closet, but if it's to be the first floor room we would have a more interesting space. Frankly, I do hope you'll give me the upstairs bedroom."
At the male's sniff, she dimpled again. "No, Jasper, your opinion doesn't matter."
A mated pair then. I hesitated a moment, reading their thoughts, looking for malicious intent. Her mind was like no other. Every choice, every moment was mapped before her, but she couldn't see them all... she wasn't aware of every option. They were all foggy for me, but every so often her mind would latch onto one like a striking snake and she would know the truth of it.
She could see the future, and one of her visions lead her here to live as a part of our coven. Damn.
His mind was darker, harsher. Thoughts marched by in parade formation, rigid and regimental. He had many years of bleak memories there. Decades of pain and suffering piled on each other, burying his soul. Deep inside, he cried out for help... and his pixie was the help he needed.
"Let's go home then." I said the words, knowing Rose and Emmet would think me mad... inviting an obvious lunatic and her thug into our home... but it was the right thing to do.
We went home at a more sedate pace, not rushing, but definitely showing off some. Emmet even took to leaping from tree-top to tree-top, doing his best ape-man impersonation. The grin on Jasper's face said he knew we were showing off, and that he wanted to play along, but he stayed beside the little one.
"My name is Alice, by the way. That way you don't have to figure out how to ask me Edward."
"You don't read minds as well as see the future, do you?" So there might have been some envy in my voice.
"No, I just see things that are going to happen. Jasper, he is the one who can touch minds... though, not like you." She paused, and leaped up onto my shoulder, balancing much like the raven I'd compared her to earlier. "Jasper can sense and alter how people feel. It's a quite useful talent he's got."
I tensed up, worrying that they'd been manipulating us, but realized that I would have seen it in his thoughts if he had been. Giving in, I let my body run as fast as it wanted to, easily outpacing Emmet. Alice jumped off my shoulder as we passed Jasper, and I half heard her whisper to him, urging him on. Suddenly, he was there beside me running as fast as I was. He was working at it, his body straining to match my movements. I grinned and stepped into another gear.
In my fifty years of life on this planet, I've never met another creature as fast as I am. Jasper wasn't even close.
When we got home, I gave them the grand tour, leaving out Carlisle's study and Esme's room. None of us slept in the bedrooms, but we did like to collect things in them, and Esme had turned hers into a private oasis of her own. Only Carlisle was allowed in there with her, and no one was allowed in if she was not present. When she was in there, and around those times, I did my best to keep my mind to myself, allowing her the privacy she wanted.
Alice had been right, there were two rooms available in our home. Carlisle had them built in case our family grew, and that need had apparently arrived. Bowing to the inevitable, I showed them to the upstairs room, with its massive closet. Alice was delighted, Jasper merely stoic.
Two hours passed before our Patriarch and his wife returned home. Carlisle and Esme were charming, of course, welcoming Alice and Jasper into our home. Small talk was made, and when we finally ran out of useless topics, the tension in the room was ready to boil over.
"Alice, Jasper, I am not sure how to tell you this, but if you do choose to live with our family you will have to live by two rules. Never bite a human; not to feed, not to kill. Never cross onto the Reservation, for any reason."
Jasper's teeth were clenched, his eyes burning scarlet coals, while Alice smiled and nodded along.
"Why, if I may ask, must we follow those rules?" Southern charm dripped from his words, barely hiding the menace in his voice. "They are most restrictive."
"Hush Jasper. We can't bite humans here because this family doesn't eat people. I know I told you that before we hit the Rockies."
"Yes, Alice is right. We do not feed on humans in this family, but there is another reason. The Quileute Tribe, living on La Push Reservation, has a treaty with our family. We are not allowed on their lands, are not allowed to bite humans, nor are we allowed to become a danger to their tribe."
"You revealed yourselves to a half-savage tribe of natives?" The Southern charm was gone in that snarl.
"Half-savage native werewolves, to be precise... but yes. We will take you out to meet the leader of their pack soon so he doesn't think we've violated the treaty already."
Their body language was almost as interesting to watch as their thoughts were to listen to. His tense with disbelief, hers loose with faith in her vision. I was intrigued.
The conversation ended there, and we split into groups. I say groups, when I mean that the mated couples left to go to their rooms and spend some time alone. To pass the time, I sat down at my piano and let my fingers slowly flow on the keys. It wasn't any one song, nor was it completely random notes, it was the music in my head. I noticed, after some time had passed, that I was using the piano to play the thoughts of our new guests. High piping notes swirled and skirted around, laughingly, while mid-range notes cut smoothly through them. Without warning, their conversation ended, and they split apart. Her bright clear notes continued to play, but his solid baritone was nigh on silent.
I picked up Emmet and Rose next, their connection wasn't based on vocalizing. You'd be shocked how sexual notes from a piano can sound. I smiled to myself knowing that one secret of sharing a home with a half dozen supernatural predators was knowing when to pretend you couldn't hear everything said in the house.
Esme and Carlisle were, as always, an island of peace. Their minds made gentle music made up, mostly, of sighing breezes and babbling brooks. Turning their thoughts into piano music brought that peace into my room. With a sigh, I let my fingers stop, and realized I wasn't alone. Jasper, the red eyed warrior stood in my doorway, eyes bright with a smile on his lips.
I want him.
Shocked, my jaw dropped. I wasn't sure if it was my thought or his. I wasn't sure if it mattered anymore. I knew now that I did want this stranger, and I wanted him bad.