A/N: You guys are still awesome! Remember, reviewing is the best way for me to gauge feedback from you guys! My story is not cannon plot wise. If that wasn't clear already, I'll clarify now. My story has the territory of the Cullens spanning much larger than the books, and allies of Jasper control this territory.
Chapter Three – The New Normal
JPOV
Bella's Birthday – Flashback
I didn't quite understand Alice's obsession with throwing Bella an extravagant birthday party she didn't want, but I went with it, making sure she used Carlisle's credit cards instead of mine. The night before Bella's birthday, Alice kept everyone in the living room putting up decorations, commanding us around as if we were her infantry. That was fine with me, I wasn't up for being in charge when it came to one of Alice's parties. Lord help anyone who screws up that woman's vision.
When the sun rose, Esme pulled me aside, seeing my agitated state by the end of the night with Edward's constant egging on of Alice, small things like putting things in places that weren't up to par. "Jasper, I'm actually surprised you're getting so upset over Edward doing messing with Alice. Every other party we've ever done, everyone's messed with her a little bit." I looked at her, unsure of how to even answer her. It wasn't an Alice thing, we weren't mates, and the Cullens knew it, it was an Edward thing, some unexplainable jealousy and anger at him I had been harboring for a while.
"I guess I need to go on a hunt tomorrow. Must be the pre-hunt nerves." She nodded, patting my shoulder, before going into the living room. "Everyone should go get ready for school. It's a big day, after all." She looked at Alice, smiling. I had done my part to help Alice plan everything, directing the people behind-the-scenes. Carlisle would make sure he was home in time, Esme would make human food for the guest of honor, and everyone else would do exactly as Alice said.
We all went up, dressing ourselves in outfits which covered up any potential for people to see battle wounds and our skin. I went down to Carlisle's office for my "Daily Briefing" where he told me things about the territory we owned and who passed through. As the technical leader of the coven, not yet ready to take over completely, it was my duty to make decisions via Carlisle.
"Peter and Charlotte passed through, they used your name instead of mine and had no hassles. They didn't stop by, though. Strange." I nodded. Peter and Charlotte were two of my closest allies and the two vampires I would be asking to join the coven once I officially took over.
My treaty with the wolves was much different than Carlisle's. While he wanted a peaceful existence, I had used logic and military background to level with the tribe, who don't see us as threats- but rather allies in helping keep other vampires out of the area. My territory stretched much more than Carlisle's, covering a large portion of North America.
Though I couldn't regulate all of it myself- nor did I want to, I had many vampires, such as Charlotte and Peter, regulating the vampires who lived within its borders. My territory rivaled that of the Volturi's, who were afraid I would want total power. Truthfully, I did, though I wasn't prepared for that step, either. "Thank you, Carlisle, any word from any enforcers on the state of the territory?" He shook his head, and I placed one foot out the door to his office, "Well, no news is good news, I guess." He nodded and I walked out to the car I would drive to school with Alice.
Once inside the school, Alice pulled me along to meet with the birthday girl. She invited her- or rather ordered her- to the house for her party, and I could feel Bella getting anxious. Feeling a sudden urge to calm her down, I sent her a wave of calm and understanding. "Hey, Jazz. No fair with that empath thing," was all she said. Something about her voice, the way she scolded me for using my power on her… It was adorable. I grinned, "Sorry, Bella." She walked away with Edward, and I kept my eyes on them. I wasn't sure why.
-/-
After the boring classes, the regurgitated material I had heard time and time again, we all walked to our cars, and I saw Edward walking with Bella to her truck, and I couldn't help but glare at him. What is up with me today? Maybe I really did need to go hunting.
Alice drove home, allowing me to gather my thoughts. "Your eyes don't really look dark, Jazz… I don't think you need to go hunting," she said, distracted by my unexplainable beef with Edward. I grunted in response, wanting to get home, "What time will she be at the house?" Alice turned to me, "I've said this at least fifteen times. She'll be at the house at 5. So an hour and a half, really." I nodded, not listening completely. I was sure I'd have to ask again.
We got home and the house smelled quite amazing. Esme had made delicious looking finger foods. I was tempted to eat them, despite knowing they wouldn't taste nearly as good as they smelled. Thank you I mouthed to her, she just nodded. Edward was with Bella getting ready to bring her here. Alice had us get all of the preparations ready, barking at us when we got things wrong.
Finally, the sun set, and Edward and Bella were on their way. Alice had us stand in specific spots. Edward's car pulled up and we all shifted uncomfortably. Alice looked at me, reminding me to hold my breath. I didn't need to, but I obliged.
Edward walked Bella in, and I could tell she was anxious. They stopped on the stairs and Bella asked a question, "I wanted to get your blessing. Everyone's blessing. I want to become a vampire, join the coven…" Edward, of course, looked very displeased with the thought of Bella not having blood flowing through her veins.
Emmett was excited, and instantly said yes. Edward said no, naturally. Carlisle and Esme were easy to sway, both agreeing to and welcoming her proposition. Rosalie was the hardest to win over, harder than Edward even, and I felt fear from her, "I can't in good conscience agree to allow you to do this. It's a no from me." They then turned to me, "It would be nice to not want to kill you all the time."
That, of course, was a lie. I had no desire for Bella's blood, I never have. It was strange and frightening, so I covered it up, pretending to lust after it. Bella turned to Edward, "Well, you lose. I guess I'll be a vampire." Edward chuckled and we got on with the party- for a while.
Alice handed Bella a gift that was wrapped up in nice paper. Bella, clumsy as she was, went to open it and had a mishap, a paper cut. It wasn't a particularly deep cut, though it was enough for a single drop of blood to drop on the floor. Instantaneously, I had two thoughts. Get to Bella. Kill Edward. I felt it for the first time, a strong urge, a pull to my mate. I knew she was mine as soon as I smelled the blood and it was impossible to tell why. Intuition, and a pure raw passion and need to protect. Edward pushed Bella back into a glass table, creating cuts that wouldn't exist had he just let me get to her. Edward instantly ran up, pushing me back along with Emmett. I could deal with him later, right now I needed to get to my mate and protect.
The two held me back, though, refusing to let me go farther. Mate, get to my mate. I thought these thoughts over and over, until Edward became so enraged that he dragged me outside, with the help of Emmett. "What the hell did you think back there?" He pushed me into a tree, clearly angry.
I growled at him, and snapped my teeth in his direction. Emmett was confused, "I thought she's my mate because she is. Why else would I hate you for no reason, Edward? Why else would I never have wanted to kill her before?" Edward was shocked, "That is NOT the case and you know it!" I sent him a flood of thoughts from before, when I realized I hadn't wanted to harm her when I was first introduced in the house.
Edward was taken aback, taking a step backward, realizing my claim was stronger than his. Emmett stood between us, glaring at Edward. "Move out of the way, Emmett." Edward snarled. Carlisle rushed out, "What's going on? You two are making a ton of noise." Emmett quickly explained, and Carlisle put his hand on my shoulder. "Is this true, Jasper?" I gave a quick nod, not taking my eyes off of the enemy- Edward.
Carlisle sighed, and looked at Edward, "You know how this has to go, son. You can't separate mates." Edward was about to protest when Carlisle put his hand up, "We'll let her decide." I gave a small smirk to Edward, knowing that mates always pull through in the end.
BPOV
Present Day
It had been a month since my birthday party, and the days of playing the part had come to a close. Jasper and I were now showing our blossoming relationship in public, and everyone was adjusting well to the new normal. Jessica stopped asking about Edward, and instead made a public move to make him hers.
Jasper and I were taking it slow, his wishes. If it were up to me, I would already have venom in my body and crave blood, but he wanted to take things at a walking pace. I couldn't complain, Jasper's pace was still faster than Edward's crawl, and Jasper seemed more than happy to acquaint me with his allies. He didn't control me as much as Edward had, and let me do what I want when I wanted. His one stipulation was that I tell him where I was going if a member of the coven wasn't with me- I understood why. Jasper's massive territory came with people who wanted to take it with force.
Though I wasn't yet known as Jasper's mate, any human was at risk of becoming their next meal. That, coupled with Laurent and Victoria's ever-looming threat to my existence made the Olympic Coven very cautious when it came to my comings and goings, especially out of Forks.
Jasper also got along a lot better with Charlie, and they watched the Seahawks every Sunday. Jasper always brought beer with him, and Charlie looked the other way when he cracked a bottle along with my dad. I sat with them too, usually munching away enough for both myself and Jasper, not allowing my dad to have any suspicions. Jasper explained that alcohol was one of the few luxuries vampires could stomach without feeling sick, and they definitely indulged.
He managed to get me out of my house for the weekend, explaining a camping trip his family was taking up north in the Olympic National Park. This was a ploy, of course. Alice and Rosalie were definitely not outdoor types, Jasper instead set it up so that we would have a family weekend, and I could meet two of his most trusted allies, Peter and Charlotte.
Friday at school was boring, and packed with tons of homework. Jasper drove us to my house, where he followed me inside and helped me pack. We went systematically room to room. I couldn't take the coffee machine or any of the hot chocolate, which I was bummed about, and Jasper made a call to Alice, who assured him she had bought all of the kitchen supplies we needed. She whispered something else on the phone, and Jasper looked at me curiously when she told him. "Thanks, Alice. We'll see you soon."
"What was that all about?" I asked, grabbing clothes out of my dresser. "Get your box of tampons, seems like you're going to need them." I felt afraid now, I was going to be bleeding this weekend? While the coven had guests who weren't on an animal diet? Jasper hugged me from behind, and I looked at him through the mirror that hung above my dresser. No mood control was needed, being in his arms was enough. "Shhh… They'll be fine. I just have to tell Peter to make sure they're well-fed before they arrive tonight." I bit my lip, feeling somewhat self-conscious, "So other humans have to die in order to save my life?"
Jasper laughed, and rested his chin on my shoulder, looking into my eyes through the reflection, "I guess you could say that, doll. It's the circle of life, don't feel bad. Instead of killing someone much closer to home, they'll feed far away. I promise you, the people they kill aren't model citizens." I spun around, looking him in the face directly now, "Uh oh… Something I've said set you off… What is it?" "They're still people, Jazz… Just… forget it, it's fine, I'll tell my dad you guys canceled or something."
Softly, he placed his hands over mine, which were now frantically unpacking the suitcase I was gathering together. "Darlin', calm down. They would have eaten anyway, regardless of whether you were there or not. They're my friends… Please meet them? They're making the journey special just to see you." He gave puppy-dog eyes and a small pout that was irresistible. I groaned and rolled my eyes, "Okay, fine," I couldn't help but giggle, and he helped me neatly fold everything back into the suitcase.
"The tampons will be extra protection," he started, nodding his head as if sure of himself, "Not a direct flow out of the body, it'll mask the scent for the most part. Alice says you won't start your flow until tomorrow night, either, so it should work in our favor to introduce y'all without awkwardness or temptation." I nodded, placing a small kiss on his cheek.
I still felt as if I was betraying Edward in a way. He had returned to school and maintained that he ended things, part of our cover story, and that we were still on good terms, which was true. In the end, Edward had a heart to heart with me, confessing that he loved the idea of me, the exclusivity of a human mate, rather than my actual person. He confessed that we were great friends, perhaps the best of friends, but we weren't compatible in the end. Despite that, I felt weird kissing all over another man while the wound was still so fresh. Regardless of whether that man was my mate.
"After we're done packing, would you like to cuddle a little bit before we go?" He smiled at my question, and nodded, grabbing my wrist and spinning me into a tight hug against his chest, "I always want to cuddle, Bella." I was excited for the closeness, and we packed the rest of my stuff as quickly as possible, which, given Jasper's speed and my direction, was less than two minutes.
We both laid down on the bed, in a position where my head was against his chest, and he removed his shirt. The skin to skin contact was a mate thing. Rosalie was the one who explained the raw emotions of a simple touch. Bare skin against bare skin for mates was a reason for a lot of vampires to exist. The mere thought of holding your mate close was enough to keep you going.
Jasper felt it very strongly, I felt it less so, which was because I was human. I still felt it, nonetheless, and whenever we were together like this, head to chest, legs interlocked, an innocent position, it was like all of the bad emotions in my life were fleeting memories never to return. The sound of Jasper's purr was soothing, therapy in its own unusual way. When I heard it for the first time in a cuddling session, I meowed at him, which caused him to roar with laughter. The innocent intimacy we shared made me remember Edward less and less. There weren't any romantic feelings anymore, we had made sure to get those out of our system, in a huge mock fight which was supervised by Alice and Esme (and Jasper, from a distance), but I still felt unfaithful to what could have been. Everything was healing, though, and Jasper was more than patient with the process.
After what seemed like hours, Jasper woke me from a nap I didn't even know I was taking, "Come on, darlin', we gotta get going. Peter and Charlotte are almost here." I got up obediently and grabbed my suitcase, which was in my possession for a half of a second before Jasper took it from me. "Well, well, my own southern gentleman." He grinned, giving me a butterfly kiss on the top of my head and stroking my back, "Of course, ma'am. Jasper's my name and southern charm is my game." I cringed at his new-school phrase and groaned loudly to show him my mock annoyance at it. He simply chuckled and shook his head, taking the bags downstairs, "Bella, Bella, Bella. Always trying to lure me in with your cuteness."
-/-
When we arrived at the house, a car I was unfamiliar with was parked in the drive. "They're here already. Stay in your seat, I'll get the door." Jasper had a thing where he got every door for me, and treated me much like I had seen royalty treated on TV and in movies. He explained it away as his upbringing, but Alice let me know it was a me thing. "He thinks you deserve the world and more, Bella." I remember her telling me. Per usual, he grabbed the door handle and took my hand to help me out. Alice was standing by the second floor window and I could see her dressed up pretty nice, "Jasper, am I underdressed?" He shot a glance at Alice, who waved back. "Absolutely not, doll. Alice likes to impress, Peter and Charlotte are friends though, I'm sure they're wearing jeans, too." I nodded and stepped out of the car.
Once we got inside, Jasper lead me up to the second story, depositing my bags on the first stair up to the third story. "Peter," he said, opening his arms for a hug as he made his way over to the blonde man with slightly spiked hair in the living room, "it's so nice to see you again. I trust you've lost yet again to Emmett?" Peter nodded, and Jasper sensed my confusion, turning back toward me, "Emmett and Peter like to arm wrestle… Come over here, don't be shy." Don't be shy says the vampire to the human, who is about to meet a vampire that eats humans. I stepped toward them, "Peter, this is Bella. Bella, Peter." I shook his hand, and winced in pain. "Sorry, Bella," he said in a voice lower than Emmett's, "I'm not used to shaking hands with humans. We can forget how fragile you are." I rubbed my hand and gave a smile, while the woman who was standing next to him, a beautiful brunette with short spiked hair, smiled at me and enveloped me into a dainty hug. "I'm Charlotte, and you smell good." I felt nervous now, and Charlotte elaborated, "Your shampoo. It smells nice."
I nodded in relief, "I'm Bella. It's a pleasure to meet you, Charlotte." Esme walked over, taking my arm slowly and pulling me to her side, "It's probably time for you to eat, honey. I made you some food, it's in the kitchen." "Thanks, Esme… You know you don't have to cook for me, though." Emmett snorted in the background, also dressed up nicely, "She loves to cook. In the beginning, she conned us all into eating her food." He made a face and all of the vampires laughed in unison, feeling equally as grossed out as he was with food.
I ate quickly, eager to get back to conversation, and found my way back to the group. The guys separated from the ladies, and Carlisle handed out cigars. "They can smoke cigars, it's only most food that grosses us out," Charlotte said, "It's tradition for the men to share stogies when guests arrive," Esme added on.
There was so much I still had to learn about this world, things I would have never learned from Edward. The amount of information I had learned in the past month was staggering, and the amount I still had to learn was intimidatingly titanic. Us girls talked a while about our mates, Alice and I both talking about Jasper. I wonder if the boys were having the same conversation… If so, was I being talked about twice as well?
There wasn't much time to wonder, as the conversations ramped up, my body dipped down, and Jasper came by my side. "You okay, doll? Your vitals dropped a bit, and your emotions went neutral." Charlotte let out an "aww", standing up to look at me better. "We were having so much fun conversing. I can't wait until she doesn't have to sleep, she's a real keeper, Jazz." Jasper and kept his eyes on me, "I know."
Jasper stayed by our side until I was too tired to talk much anymore, then he carried me up to his bedroom, now separate from Alice's, and laid me on the newly bought bed. He tucked me in and laid beside me. "Aren't you going to go talk with your friends?" I asked, resting my head on the pillow. He shook his head, "We have an eternity to see them, Bells. I want to spend the night here, where I belong."
Butterflies as strong as bees entered my stomach, fluttering around violently. I nuzzled my head into the pillow to hide my blush, but I could tell he knew all about my blood-filled cheeks. He put his arms around me, and began humming songs both familiar and not, rubbing lazy circles into my back as I nodded off into a blissful sleep.