Jasper Hale had never been this hungry in his entire life.
Not when he had first become a Newborn. Not when he was fighting in the Newborn Wars. Not even when Bella had cut her finger and he tried to attack her. He thought he felt true hunger in those times, but he was wrong.
Standing in a worn down but lively pub, watching the people dance and drink, smelling her standing at the bar, he knew what true hunger was. He hadn't eaten in days, a mistake he hasn't made in a while, and the girl standing at the bar had a scent that was as sweet as it was sickening. He ignored the news playing loudly on the TVs above the bar, he ignored the mingling scents of the dancing men and women, because her scent was simply seductive in every scent of the word.
And she knew. She could see that he was hungry for her, although Jasper could tell that she didn't understand what he was hungry for. He felt the waves of lust practically falling off of her, he could smell the sweat on the palms of her hands when he smiled at her. He could feel her pleasure when he would lean close to her and whisper in her ears, and he could tell there was a pool growing in her core every time he used his southern charm to invite her in. He was hungry, and that was all that mattered.
"Jasper…" she had called, and he couldn't remember when he had introduced himself to her, nor could he remember her name. Between leaving the busy scene at the front of the bar and moving to the back, between kissing her and pushing up her dress, between pulling down her panties and pushing himself deep inside her, somewhere in between he had forgotten all about her name. Where she was from, why she was drinking alone, her age, her likes; he had long since forgotten. All that he could pay attention to was the quickening of the blood in her veins as he quickened the movements of his hips.
He could smell her, and she smelled better and better as her emotions intensified, as his pace quickened, as he pushed deeper and deeper. She smelled just like her voice sounded, smooth like honey and sharp like century year old wine. He could feel her pleasure, her longing to reach her peak, and because of this he could not resist.
He knows he shouldn't have, but he leaned down and sunk his teeth into her. Her blood pooled in his mouth, and he drank it. He drank it like he had never tasted the blood of a human, and in some sense he hadn't; because her blood was sweeter and more pungent than anything he had consumed. It tasted like a rotting flower smelled, only getting sweeter the more it wilted and rotted away.
"Jasper." Her voice could not reach him, even though he was sinking his teeth into her neck and she was tugging at his hair. He could not stop drinking, even when he heard her heart slow and her breathing became more labored. Even when her blood became sweeter, like the scent of the flower that was wilting, even though she was wilting he could not stop.
"Jasper!"
This time, her voice reached him, but it was not the smooth honey he had remembered. He frowned, tilting his head, trying to think in between gulps of blood that he was taking in. He was lost, confused, because of her blood. Because of her scent. Because of her emotions. Because she was not scared.
"Jasper!"This time, it was not her smooth voice that called out, but a harsh, booming voice. And then everything was fading. He looked to the person the harsh voice belonged to. Emmett. His brother, Emmett, gazed at him.
Jasper looked around, and realized that he was in the cafeteria. He was no longer in the bar with the girl, but he was instead in the cafeteria at Forks High School. Sitting at a table with his family, like he usually was, surrounded by his brothers and sisters. He realized he must have been remembering what had happened a few days ago, that his mind must have accidentally wandered to the place he had been trying to avoid. It was a mistake, and a potentially fatal one at that. Jasper didn't want to think that he could have ruined everything his family had worked for all in one night, because of one girl.
He let his eyes gaze over at Emmett, who asked him if he was alright. Jasper smiled, nodding in response. He didn't want to disturb his brother's cheerful laugh, the one that travelled like the roaring of a bear.
"Jasper…" the voice came from his left, and led to his other brother Edward, who wore the face of worry. "What was that? Who was that?"
Jasper always forgot that Edward could read minds. It was helpful, but especially bothersome when it came to keeping secrets. As Jasper sighed, realizing the secret he had spent days trying to not let anyone know about, especially Edward, had finally gotten out. The entire table stopped and looked at Jasper, including Bella. Bella was sat next to Edward, so she heard his voice even though he spoke as low as he did.
Jasper had no choice, it seemed, so he simply sighed and closed his eyes, speaking quietly, "Edward, just let me explain…"
"Explain what, Jasper? Edward?" This time, Rosalie spoke, her sharp features furrowing together in a frown. She was scowling again, looking back and forth between her two brothers.
Edward never took his eyes off of Jasper, swallowing before speaking through a clenched jaw, "Explain what he was just remembering." He narrowed his eyes, his voice lowering so that the chance of anyone else hearing was eliminated. "I saw him remember biting someone. A girl. Jasper, what happened?"
And so, his secret was out. Jasper could feel how tense his family became, he could feel the emotions they were emitting. Anger, fear, betrayal. He sighed, looking up at all of them. He tried to emit calm emotions, his eyes traveling between theirs as he spoke. His voice stayed soft and calm, explaining, "Yes, I bit her. It was a newborn mistake. I hadn't fed in days, and I was…" There was a pause, a lick of the lips, and then a continuation, "I was weak. I seduced her, and then I…. I bit her. I drank her blood."
He watched their faces contort into frowns, and he could feel their confusion. Jasper was sure he was frowning at this point, too, and he looked down at the table. His arms were laid upon the table, his fist clenched as he struggled to talk, accepting his fatal mistake. "By the time I was able to control myself, I didn't know if she was alive or not. I panicked, and I ran. I left her there, I didn't want to risk making an even bigger mess."
"Great. Now, we'll have to move again! What were you thinking, Jasper?" Rosalie, filled with rage, hissed at him from across the table. Though Rosalie was supposed to be his sister, his twin in fact, she never really grew to become fond of him. Emmett had to grab her and try to calm her down, holding her back with his strong arms.
Before Jasper could answer, Edward was speaking, directing his attention to Alice. "Why didn't you see this? I would have known if you had a vision."
"I-I… I don't know. I didn't… I haven't seen anything like that. Jasper…" her voice followed her eyes and they both trailed back to Jasper.
Alice and Jasper were no longer dating. They had always known their relationship would be temporary, it would only be until they had found their mates, and recently they had just thought it would be best to split. Even though they had split up, Alice had felt they were still just as close. Jasper could feel her disappointment and utter hurt, and the look on her face only solidified her feelings.
"I haven't seen any missing people on the news, lately…" spoke Bella, whom Jasper had forgotten was there. Her heart was racing, but she stayed calm as she leaned closer to look him in the eyes. "That means they haven't found her body, yet. Which means.."
"There's a Newborn running around." Jasper continued, nodding to himself.
He could feel the eyes of all of his siblings on him. The emotions that came with were curiosity, fear, anger, betrayal, and they made him almost nauseous because of the way they were swirling around.
"Well… was she hot?" Emmett questioned, his signature smile adorning his face. He was trying to make light of the situation, and Jasper appreciated it. His other siblings did not, according to the scowls not directed at Emmett. "Hey, hey, I'm just asking! If we know what she looks like, then we can rip her head off when we see her."
Jasper agreed. He created a Newborn, a monster, and he didn't want anyone to pay for that mistake. He nodded, straightening up in his chair. He leaned on the table, looking at his family. "She was tall, about Rosalie's height. She was mixed, probably black and white, and her skin was tanned." He began to recall the memories he had of her face so that Edward could get a better image of her, but he couldn't remember it. He was so distracted by her scent that he hadn't paid any attention to her features. "She had big, curly hair. It went down past her shoulders. Her scent was… she smelled like whiskey. And honey. She was-"
Jasper stopped talking. He was hit with a wave of shock, one that he could not understand. The angry, aggressive emotions had left his siblings and had been replaced with bewilderment and shock as they looked at something just past his head.
"Jasper!" A voice rang out, dripping with honey.
As arms wrapped around his shoulder from behind, and he felt the warmth of a body leaning against him and the softness of the dark curls brush against his cheek and shoulder, he understood. He looked to his side, only to be met with freckles, red lipstick, and warm brown eyes.
It was her.
