Disclaimer: I don't have any right to anything in the Twilight world..Stephenie Meyer owns it all...I just get to play with her characters
A/N: This is the prologue for my new Jasper/Bella story. Bella is not going to be spineless in this story. Also in this, Charlie knows about vampires and the shifter, he just chose to ignore it
Hope y'all like
Not So Fragile Prologue
Six years.
It's been six years since I last saw the Cullens. But I haven't lost track of them. After they left Forks, they went to Alaska for a few months, and then for some strange reason they went to Italy. Something big happened there because when they returned to the states, they didn't sparkle in the sun anymore. My guess was that some new vampire had a gift and had shared it with the Cullens. If not that, then it was some new vampire 'sunscreen'.
A lot had happened since they left Forks. A few months after the day they left, I worked my ass off and graduated high school early. I went to college and then law school, finishing law school about 6 months ago and passing the bar exams a month after that. I opened up my own firm here in New York about a month ago. The Cullens would get a kick out of the name: Hale, Whitlock, and Swan. I had my name legally changed to Hale after what happened to Charlie and I in Forks. That was the worst day of my life. As far as the other names on the sign, well I've got one partner by the name of Peter Whitlock working for me. He does my investigations and also some court work if I need him to. The Swan stays because I still need to hold onto something of the past. I chose Hale because of Rosalie. She was tough and I felt that she wouldn't mind.
As far as what happened in Forks, I don't blame Alice for anything that happened. The wreck was Edward's fault and his alone. Charlie's condition hasn't changed much, though there has been some brain activity since we moved here. If I ever get ahold of Edward I'm going to burn him to a crisp. As it is, he and Alice are somewhere in Europe keeping their heads down to keep out of the Volturi's line of sight. Yes, I do know the Volturi personally. Apparently they had been keeping track of the Cullens and when I used two of their supposed last names for my firm, they got curious. After they found me I explained what had happened and rather than killing me and my father, they decided to help me.
Referring all vampires to my firm gave me a lot of business. I handle a lot of financial stuff as well as new identities and other stuff that vampires need. That's how I met Jenks, the Cullen's lawyer. He taught me everything he could about the forgery business before he retired. I kept his name on the payroll to keep the vampires happy, figuring that a newby doing the forgeries wouldn't be welcome. I just spread the rumor that Jenks was not seeing people on person due to an attack on him and he was fearful of his life.
Getting back to Alice and Edward, I've learned that Alice is not with him of her own free will. Edward's gift has evolved to the point where he can now control the minds of others as long as he has enough time to get a good latch onto their minds. They seem to be heading to London, so I'm going to alert Joshua Moore and get him to keep an eye on them and if he gets a chance, to take Alice away from Edward and break the mind control he's got on her. I'll call him after my next appointment.
My next appointment happens to be with the Cullens. Aro informed me a few weeks prior that they were looking for a lawyer and financial advisor since Alice has disappeared. Luckily I have a Seer in my firm who does just that for our client. Aro recommended my firm to them, knowing that the name would make them curious. I remember the look on Peter's face when I told him he was going to see Jasper again and what he looked like when I knew him. He had laughed at the image of Preppy Jasper. We both knew that it wasn't his true self that I knew back then. After hearing all the stories from Peter, I want to see the Major and cowboy that Peter has been telling me all about.
I am worried about meeting the Cullens again after all this time. Their betrayal still cuts deep within me. But after learning of Edward's betrayal of not only me but also his entire family, I understood that they had no choice. I am also slightly scared of seeing Jasper too.
Not because of his 'bloodlust'. That's just a bunch of horse shit anyway. Jasper, who went back to his maiden name of Whitlock after they left Forks, is an empath and I worry that he is going to figure out how I really feel for him when we see each other today. I want to tell him, I've already decided to do just that. I just don't want to tell him just yet. I fell in love with Jasper long before the incident on my 18th birthday. I know that he wasn't trying to hurt me that night.
He might figure it out soon enough when he sees the tattoos I've got. When I graduated from high school, I went with a few friends to Port Angeles and got a tattoo on my left shoulder blade. It says 'Property of MJW'. What it means is 'Property of Major Jasper Whitlock'. I know it probably sounds weird, but I always felt safer with Jasper than any other member of the Cullen family, even Edward. Jasper risked everything when he and Alice took me Phoenix to escape from James. I probably drove him nuts when we were holed up in that hotel room.
If he doesn't feel the same way about me, I will be devastated and humiliated. But I have to be brave and tell him. I will say this, I have a feeling that something good will happen judging by how Peter has been acting since I told him about the appointment with the Cullens. And Aro has been acting funny too, almost like a matchmaking woman.
I also have to be brave and tell the Cullens about Edward and what he's done to them and to others in the world. I know that I will have to take them to Charlie to prove some of what I say. Maybe Carlisle can take over Charlie's case because the doctor he has now is a complete moron.
My secretary just informed me that the Cullens on waiting.
Let the fun begin.
