"Do not worry. I will take away your pain; I will give you what you want."

I lifted her wrist to my lips, gently caressing her pulse point with my thumb. I delicately, reverently kissed the inside of Bella's wrist. Bella sagged against me, as if I were her lover, not the man about to take her life. She sighed; I took that as a sign of encouragement.

I bit her. I sunk my teeth through her pale skin into the rich blue vein. She tasted pure. I relished the taste, swirling the blood on my tongue, tasting her as a sommelier tastes an exquisite wine. After my first sip, I formed my plan. I would drink her until she was on the cusp of death. Then I would use my knife to open her vein, giving the appearance of suicide. The suicide note would be a problem, but I had an idea for that too. I glimpsed a journal lying on her desk. I decided that I would skim her journal to get an idea of her writing style, then forge the note. Her father deserved some closure, after all. Surely I could forge her handwriting, which was atrocious. Honestly, did anyone care about penmanship anymore?

I continued my feast until . . . until I felt Bella's body buck against mine. She began to fight me. Her emotions swiftly changed from relief and acceptance to fear. Suddenly, Bella decided that she wanted to live.

Chapter One

Jasper Whitlock hated high school. However, he and his family had to keep up appearances and going to school was his task, his mission. It was not education he minded. In fact, Jasper loved learning. But he had already learned everything modern high schools offered in their curriculum. And half the time the facts were wrong anyway, particularly in History, which happened to be Jasper's favorite subject. Still, he suffered through school for his family, especially his Alice.

No, it wasn't the repetition of lessons and the myths passed off as facts. What affected Jasper the most was the bombardment of emotions emitted by the students around him. He was gifted with the ability to feel the emotions of others. Most days, his gift felt more like a curse. Jasper felt out of control; his temper was always a mixture of his feelings and the feelings of those around him. The uncontrolled emotions mixed with Jasper's thirst for blood

Thirst burned Jasper's throat. The animal blood he drank just couldn't quite satisfy his desire. Every day his thirst grew a little stronger, his resolve a little weaker. His family did their best to encourage him. Carlisle and Esme, his vampire "parents," were perfect models of self-discipline. Carlisle could be around human blood all day without succumbing to weakness. Esme, though not as strong in her resolve, was at least able to keep away from humans. She didn't have to control her desires as much as he did, so Esme was stronger when she was with humans. Emmett, his brother, encouraged Jasper to hunt often and often planned joint hunting trips. In between hunts, Emmett's antics kept Jasper entertained enough that he was able to forget, or at least subdue, his thirst. Rosalie was by far Jasper's least favorite sibling, but even she tried to help him in her own way. Whenever the family was alerted that Jasper's resolve was weakening, Rosalie would bombard him with a litany of reasons why he must resist his urges. Of course, most of the reasons revolved around her. The family, meaning Rosalie, would have to move. Rosalie would have to pack and Rosalie hated packing.

Edward and Alice were his saving graces, his redeemers. Edward could read minds and knew when Jasper was about to slip. He was Jasper's friend and confidant. He understood, more than any other family member, Jasper's struggle to stay pure. Edward had once used his gift to hunt down and kill murderers and rapists. He believed that killing a bad person, in order to satisfy his thirst, ultimately served the greater good: society improved with the death of each criminal. But the guilt of a life taken, despite the fact that the no good had ever come from that life, became too much for Edward to bear. So Edward returned to the "vegetarian," a.k.a. subsisting on animal blood, lifestyle. Still, Edward remembered his grapple with the return to vegetarianism, the strength of will it took to overcome the craving for human blood.

And Alice . . . just thinking of his mate made Jasper soften. She was his heart and soul, the joy of his life. Alice could see the future and she frequently used this gift to her advantage. She especially checked Jasper's future to see if there was any danger or temptation coming his way. Alice too had interesting methods to distract Jasper, to put his mind on something other than blood.

But even with his support system, Jasper's resolve was slowly diminishing. No one saw her coming; not even Alice. Jasper's undoing was on her way in the form of Bella Swan.