Disclaimer.
I do not puente geese characters I just play with them.
An. This is set after eclipse but before breaking dawn
Also Garrett is already living in Denali and Carmen has a bond sensing gift
Alice pov.
I'm enjoying a peaceful day at home, so far I've spent since dawn lounging on the sofa in my bedroom. I had been quietly reading a book but now I'm staring out of the window. I love to watch the wind in the trees, see how the branches and leaves quiver and dance. Even after all this time it still fascinates me. Quietly a vision creeps into the back of my mind, Bella as a vampire dancing with someone, I can't see her partner but I presume it's Edward. I've had this vision several times before so I allow it to play out in the back of my mind without paying it very much attention. Suddenly with a great deal of shock I realise that this time it's different, Bella's dancing partner is partially visible this time. there is another hand in the frame of the vision. A hand I recognise, them I realise as well that this vision is continuing longer than he others. The wind continues to play in the trees outside but now it is unwatched. The vision has my complete focus.
Bella, perfect and white with blazing ruby eyes spins slowly on the spot. Her right hand is outstretched above her, reaching upwards to where it is held by another vampire hand. Gently the hand twirls her round, again and again. She stops turning and Slowly their hands descend as the vampire she is dancing with wraps his hand round her waist. Bella's right hand is now out of view, most likely resting on her dance partners shoulder. His right hand comes into view and takes her left and with a flick Bella bends backwards over his arm her hair flying in the light. The hand that's wrapped round Bella's waist releases and she spins away from her partner their arms making a bridge between, they pause motionless for a moment until with a tug he spins her back towards him. Bella's dance partner finally comes fully into view as She presses herself close to his chest. they rearrange their hands and he leads them to move. They waltz gently for some time until Eventually Bella pulls her head up from where it lay resting on her partners shoulder and looks up with an expression of unmistakable adoration into the face of Jasper.
The vision ends and I'm left not knowing what to think let alone what to feel. I'm blindsided and beyond shocked, even astounded would be an understatement. This is too much to process even for my spacious mind. For starters I've only ever Seen visions of Bella with Edward.
Then slowly something begins to dawn. I realise that all of the visions of Bella and Edward contain a human Bella. In fact until this latest one all the visions I've had of Bella as a vampire have been devoid of any of the male cullens. To be precise the only vision that had featured another vampire at all was the one of Bella and I playing in the Forrest.
I suddenly think of Edward. Where is he and is he listening. Has he heard any of this. Then I remember that Edward is at bella's house. I breath a sigh of relief realising both that Edward has heard nothing of this and that I'm free to think in private for a while.
Bella moved to the Cullen house at the end of the school year, supposedly in preparation of her, Edward, and I going to Dartmouth together in the fall. Since then she and Edward have spend most afternoons at Bella's old house visiting with Charlie.
I refocus my mind. Right now I need to think about this vision. I don't know what it could mean. I just don't understand it at all. But I know I need to figure it out and to do that I have to start somewhere. I consider jasper and Bella themselves.
Jasper and I are a couple but we aren't true mates, we have always known that, however I am…was? Sure that Bella and Edward are true mates. On the other hand if they are true mates then why would I have a vision of Bella looking at Jasper in that way. .
The part of my brain that has been listening out for car sounds Picks up the sound of Edwards Volvo turning off of the highway onto the drive. Shit. I need to stay away from him for a while. Without pausing I launch myself out of the open back window and hit the ground at a dead sprint. Within 5 minutes I'm several miles into the Forrest. I sit heavily on a stump and try to figure out what all this means. And what I should do about it.
It's not uncommon for vampires to form relationships with people whom are not their true mates. We meet and fall in love just like humans do. Jasper and I are a prime example of that. the true mate bond is a tangible thing and in these types of pairings the vampires involved always know that they aren't true mates and it's an unspoken agreement between them that the relationship be dissolved automatically and without argument or anger if one of the pair meets their true mate.
But Edward and Bella aren't like jasper and i. Edward is sure that Bella is his true mate. How could it be possible for him to be wrong? Is he wrong? What the Hell is going on here.
I realise that I simply do not posses enough information to figure this out. And right now I'm sure that discussing this with any of the family would be a bad idea. Whilst Carlisle might have more knowledge of mating bonds I don't know if he would have enough. He certainly wouldn't be able to answer why Edward is sure he and Bella are mates without talking to Edward and I know Edward well enough to know he is the last person to mention any of this to right now. He's not a bad person but he is new to dating and insecure which has made him very possessive of Bella.
What I need is an expert on vampire bonding, and fortunately I happen to know one. I pull out my phone and am about to dial when I hear a noise a few hundred yards away. I look towards the sound and stand sniffing the air. Recognising the smell I grin and sit back down. Of course. I should have seen this. A few moments later Carmen of the Denali family enters the clearing, she sees me and smiles in greeting.
"Garrett?" I say
"Of course." Carmen replies. "He had one of his feelings, told me that I would be needed, right here, right now,"
"He's good"
"He is. as always he has no idea why I had to come but as always he appears to be right"
"He is right, I was just about to call you" I say, waving the phone that is still in my hand.
Carmen chuckled. "I've missed u u know. What do you need"
"I've got an issue that's pretty complicated. Scratch that supremely complicated. I could really use your expertise"
"So it's to do with mate bonding"
"Yeah. I know you can see bonds and you know a lot about them. But how much exactly do you know about the mechanics and theory and, I suppose reasoning behind them"
"I've researched the topic extensively. I'd say I know pretty much all there is to know, certainly as much as or possibly even more than any other vampire knows."
"That's perfect, I've a difficult situation that Really needs an expert"
"Alright. Let's hear it "
" well I've had a vision that raises a bunch of questions"
"Do you want to tell me the full story?"
"Right now I would rather just ask the questions if that ok"
"Of course. let's hear the questions and I will see what I can do to help"
"Right. Let start with; is it possible for a vampire to believe they have found their true mate but be wrong?"
"No. Definitely not! The true mate bond is tangible and unmistakable"
Crap I think. Down at the first hurdle That's made everything ten times more complicated.
"You look like you don't like that answer."
"I don't. It's made everything more confusing and complicated not less"
"Sorry."
I thought for a moment.
"What if the person you think is your mate is human"
"Ah. Now that could be possible. If the vampire were to assume that the true mate bond would not activate and become tangible until the human was changed then it would be possible for them to think they had found their true mate but be wrong"
I breathed a sigh of relief. Now we are getting somewhere.
"You look happier"
"A bit. That's one mystery solved at least"
"I'm glad. Next question?"
"You said a vampire might assume that they won't feel the bond till the human they think is their mate has been changed. But is that true? Does the human have to be changed for the bond to activate?"
"No. The bond will activate even if one of the pair is still human"
"I see. Is there any way for a vampire to know their mate but not know it. For the bond to not activate.
"In almost all cases, no. A true mate bond begins to present itself in the form of a non specific yet undeniable attraction as soon as the pair first meet, in the case of one of the pair being human the vampire would be drawn to the human but for some reason they could not explain they would feel adverse to killing them. This would usually lead them to investigate the human further and the bond would activate."
I thought back to the struggle Edward had in the early days to resist feeding on Bella. Could that alone mean that they were not true mates or did her being his singer change things. I would come back to that later
"But is there any chance at all that a pair of mates could meet and not know it."
"It is possible but it's very rare"
"How" I leant forwards. This was key if my vision was going to make any sense at all
"Well to start with there could be several possible factors involved.
1, if one or both of the pair is already in a relationship and fully focused on their current partner.
2, if one or both of the pair was changed young and as a human had absolutely no experience or interest whatsoever in the area of romance.
3, if for some reason one or both of the pair avoided the other, by that I mean made a deliberate point of not getting close to or familiar with the other."
I grinned, now we are getting somewhere
"However while all those factors could get in the way, None of them alone could obscure a true mate bond for long. if the pair saw each other even semi regularly, after a while the bond would draw them together subconsciously "
I groaned internally. So close and yet so far.
"Is there any way a pair could have known each other and seen each other regularly for an extended period without the bond drawing them together?" I pushed.
"How long is this extended period you are thinking of?"
"Approximately 18 months but with a gap of 7 months in the middle where they never saw each other"
Carmen grimaced then thought for a while.
"Its extremely unlikely. But a combination of two of those elements IF one was active avoidance on BOTH parts could cause a bond to be obscured for long term, possibly even indefinitely,
"I see." I whooped internally. Finally an answer that got me closer to understanding all this.
"You look happier Has that helped"
"Yes a lot. Things are beginning to make more sense"
I thought for a while.
So if Edward had wrongly assumed hat he and Bella were mates and the bond would activate once she was changed
AND
If the active avoidance of each other that jasper and Bella practiced both out of fear and Edwards wishes were stopping a bond between them from forming (Bella's focus on Edward and Jasper's focus on me would certainly fulfil the requirement of a second complicating factor) then it just might be possible that my vision means that Jasper and Bella are mates. But it is all still theory. I needed a way to test it.
"Is there anything else I can do to help" Carmen asked.
", possibly" I considered "Can you see a true mate bond that isn't active"
"Yes. I see it in much the same was as I see an active one As a link between the two people. but an inactive bond would be faint and opaque."
"Even if the bond has been obscured?"
"Yes even if the bond has been obscured. It would still be visible to me despite the subjects themselves being blind to it"
"How about If one of the pair is human"
"one of the pair being human would not change how I see the bond. In fact I've helped a fair few friends confirm their suspicions that they have met their mate in a human."
"Great"
Perfect. If Carmen could test Bella Edward and jasper then I might have the answer that clears up this vision.
"What's all this about Alice" Carmen demanded suddenly, she sat on the log and indicated me to sit beside her, I stopped pacing and complied
"What's going on"
"I had a vision. It's a strange one and it's brought up some questions that could throw the whole family into chaos"
"You think Bella and Edward aren't mates after all"
I looked at her shocked
"How the hell"
"You've been asking questions about bonds between humans and vampires. The only vampire in your family dating a human is Edward,
"There's no flies on you today"
Carmen smiled.
"You've also been asking questions about obscured bonds and humans so you must think that Bella belongs with another vampire you know"
I nodded
"Tell me about this vision"
I described the vision while Carmen listened quietly. When I finished she wrapped an arm round my shoulder
"I see what you mean. You think your vision could mean that Bella and Jasper are mates"
"Yeah"
"Your right, If not handled carefully that could certainly throw the family into chaos. But quite apart from that you must be having a hard time with this. After all you're facing the likelihood of losing your partner"
I grimaced. I had thought of that albeit briefly. and whist obviously I would let jasper go graciously, it would be hard.
"Yeah"I paused "I guess I never really thought about the reality of one of us meeting our mate, or what it would mean for the other"
Carmen gave me a hug then sat back and appeared to be thinking hard about something. Scrutinising me in the process
"What are you thinking about" I demanded.
"I don't usually volunteer this kind of information but in this situation it may be warranted"
"What is it"
"Well," she hesitated "you have met your mate"
I looked up surprised
"I have?"
"Yes, you have a mate bond tether attached to you. It's unrealised but it's there"
"So basically I've met my mate since I saw you last,?"
That concept was troubling. The only new vampires I had been in contact with disincentive I saw Carmen last were either dead or Voltori . I suppose a human was a possibility and if I tried I could likely remember the face of every human I had interacted with but tracing any of them would not be easy,
"Not necessarily" now I was lost.
"What do you mean"
"I wasn't in Denali when your family came to stay last. And When I first met you and the times I've seen you since I was very young and didn't know my gift well. It's possible you had already met your mate and I just wasn't able to see an unrealised bond yet. I'm afraid there's no telling when you met them just that you have"
I slumped again. That was even worse that the other option. I'd been alive a long time. How could I even begin to trawl through every person I'd ever interacted with.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have told you"
"No, at least I've got a base to work from if I want to search tighten out. I'm glad you told me. Thankyou"
"Your welcome. But let's get back to the problems raised by your vision. I think we need to test some bonds"
"I agree but it won't be easy I don't want the family knowing about this till we have some concrete answers."
"That's wise"
"Yes but it presents a problem. How do we test Edward without him hearing your thoughts"
"What about your thoughts"Carmen countered
"I'm well practiced at blocking Edward out."
"Edwards mind reading wound me up when I last spent time with him. I worked on blocking him out and it worked pretty well."
"That's impressive. Carlisle and I are the only ones of our family who can manage it, and we've had years of practice."
Carmen smiled and continued
" If I block him out when we arrive and greet everyone Can you distract him while I take a look at bonds. You Could you ask him for an opinion on something."
"That could work."
"There's one more cover story we need"
"What's that"
"Why I'm here in the first place and why we aren't staying at the house for long."
"Oh that's easy" I said flippantly.
"Really? Do tell"
"You came down for a shopping trip with me in the big city. Bumped into me in the woods and we are popping into the house to say hi to everyone and fetch my car."
"Genius"
We headed back to the house. As we got close we circled around and headed towards the front door at a walk.
We were in luck, everyone including Edward and Bella were watching tv In the lounge.
"Heya guys." I said walking in "Look who dropped by for a visit"
Everyone looked round, smiling instantly when they saw Carmen. Everyone that is except Edward who was looking between me and Carmen in turn and frowning. For a second I worried that one of us had slipped then I realised that the expression on his face was the one he always wore when he realised I or carlisle was blocking him. I grinned widely at him, he scowled back.
Esme of course was the first up to greet Carmen, she came bounding across the room and wrapped her up in a big hug.
"Hello dear it's so lovely to see you. What brings you down this way"
"Garrett!" Interrupted Emmett from across the room laughing.
"Obviously" replied Carmen chuckling.
"Did he have any idea why you should come" asked carlisle.
"Of course he didn't. But I figure it's time for a shopping trip with Alice so here I am"
"Have you got time to chat for a while or are you heading straight out."
"Heading straight out" I replied for us both . "We just stopped in so she could say hi to everyone and so I could get my car keys."
"Alright. Well have fun and don't be out to late girls" said Carlisle with a twinkle in his eye. I grabbed a pillow and threw it at him. Then I crossed the room towards the desk where the keys were kept trying to work out how to distract Edward whilst keeping him blocked out of the other matter. As it happened I didn't need to work it out as he got upland followed me
"What are you hiding" he whispered when he caught up with me at the draw.
"Wouldn't you like to know" I whispered back
"You bet I would! you know how much I hate secrets"
"You know the position your in now is nothing more than how the rest of us feel all the time"
"The rest of you don't know that someone is hiding something."
"True but you miss my point. You don't need to know everting dear brother"
"You know how uncomfortable it makes me when you do this"
"I'm not going to spoil a surprise just to satisfy your need to be a know all"
"You're a pest you know"
"Yeah but you love me"
I hoped Carmen was done because I wasn't going to be able to hold Edwards attention much longer. Fortunately at that moment Carmen appeared at my side
"Ready to go?" She said
"Sure am" we called goodbye to everyone and darted out of the house towards the garage. We got into my Porsche and sped of. We stayed silent until we were a few miles from the house.
"The only problem now is that we need to go shopping to get evidence" said Carmen finally
I laughed. "Actually we don't"
"What do you mean"
"I had a vision the other day that I was going to need proof of a shopping trip sometime soon so I went shopping got twice as much as I normally do and hid a bunch of bags in the boot. Complete with surprise gift for Edward"
"Well that's handy"
"It sure is" I turned off the main road and drove up a dirt track coming to a stop a few miles into the Forrest. Turning off the engine I turned to Carmen expectantly. .
"Well" I demanded.
"You were right. Edward and Bella are definitely Not mates"
I sighed. "Edward is really not going to like this"
"No he's not, but he's going to have to deal, Bella belongs with her mate"
"So I was right about Bella and jasper too?" I said.
"Yes your vision was right as well, Bella and Jasper Are mates."
