AN: I will be going on vacation tomorrow so I probably won't update this week (I have nothing written past this chapter right now...) Baseball has been kicking my ass and it's spring break now so give me a couple weeks before you come searching for me ;)

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the story line. SM owns the characters, I'm just having fun with them.

Chapter 6- Scary Stories

Bella POV
I was a little scared when I woke up in the strange hotel room with just Alice, Victoria and Laurent. Alice told me Jasper and James were hunting and asked me if I was ok with Jasper's diet change. I knew it should probably bother me that my mate and best friend were out there killing people right now, but there must be something wrong with me because I just couldn't bring myself to think ill of them. When I asked Alice if she would be hunting humans as well, she laughed as she told me she had no desire to leave the animal diet behind.

"Bella, I know Jasper and I haven't shared much of our past with you, but let me tell you a little about myself. I woke up as a vampire in 1920, with no memories of my human life, or even of the change itself. I had on a hospital bracelet that said 'Mary Alice Brandon' and what I assumed was my birthday. I was nineteen years old. I had no idea what a vampire was, hell, I didn't know what a human was for that matter. I began receiving visions almost immediately and I was able to piece together that I needed blood to survive and that I would be able to hunt animals.

"But my very first vision was of Jasper, my mate. He was so beautiful, and strong, and absolutely fearless. I decided to look for him and my visions immediately changed. No matter what happened, if I found him before he met the Volturi we would all die. I had to wait for years for him to be captured, and then I received a vision of the Cullens and knew where I could find him safely. I found them in Philadelphia in 1948. He was just starting the animal diet and struggling with it fiercely. He and Edward were at odds with each other, and the rest of the family was terrified of him. He was away from the house, trying to escape their emotions when he ducked into a coffee shop to get out of the rain. I walked right up to him and told him I'd been waiting for him for a long time. We've been together ever since.

"So, with all that, I've never tasted human blood and never been tempted to do so. I have nothing against those who do follow the traditional diet, it just isn't something I'm interested in pursuing." She smiled at me as she finished and laid her hands in her lap, waiting for my response.

"Wow, Alice, I can't imagine. You must have been so scared! What about the vampire who bit you? Why did they leave you alone?"

"The first time I met Aro he was able to pull my memories up even though I could not access them. I was put in an asylum when I was human because my family thought I was a witch. I predicted things before they happened and I was always right. My sire was working as an orderly there, to gain easy access to his meals. He changed me as a joke, a fun little game, and left me alone to see how much damage I would cause." I sucked in my breath at the lifeless tone in her normally cheerful voice. "Once Aro had my memories, he said he recognized my sire and that he had been executed not long after I was changed. I wasn't his only toy, apparently. The Volturi never looked for me because I didn't draw attention like the other crazed newborns had. My visions may have ended my human life, but they saved my immortal one many times over."

The room was silent as we contemplated Alice's story. I knew there were worse things that could happen, but completely losing yourself and waking up alone was one of the scariest things I could imagine. I stood up and pulled my tiny friend in for a fierce hug, or as fierce as hug as you can give a stone body. "I'm so sorry, Alice. I'm glad you have found the positives in your life, and so glad that Jasper has you. It's easy to see how much you love each other."

We were interrupted when James returned to the room and scooped me up for a hug. His eyes were bright rubies and I found the reason for that didn't bother me at all. I just leaned into his kiss and enjoyed the fact that the tight feeling in my chest had vanished with his arrival. Kissing James was my new favorite pastime. The world around us disappeared as he held me closely, but gently, and stroked my tongue with his. I sighed happily and felt him smile against my mouth. "Did you miss me?" he asked softly. "I'm sorry I wasn't here when you woke up. I planned to be back sooner than this."

My reply was cut off when he pressed his lips to mine again. He purred when I knotted my hands in his silky hair and tried to pull him closer. He pushed me back onto the bed and lightly pressed his weight on top of me. I felt his growl before I heard the laughter of the others and my face flushed crimson; I had forgotten we had an audience. James lifted his mouth from mine and groaned in frustration. "I will get you alone, sweetheart, and soon."

Victoria cut in with her teasing tone and said, "You need to call a certain king, don't you, James? I thought we agreed they might like some warning as to who we're bringing to see them."

James sat up, pulling me onto his lap as he pulled a cell phone from his pocket. Noting my incredulous look he told me, "They make me carry it. It's a pain in the ass to stop and charge it but this is how I get my instructions." He scrolled through the short list of contacts until he found Caius and hit send. My mate had a vampire king on speed dial. Wow. I shook my head as James spoke into the phone. It was a little hard to follow only hearing his side of the conversation.

"Hey Caius. Yes. Yes, I'm coming. I have some guests with me and I thought I should give you time to prepare. Well, I found my mate, and she's... human. Yes, human. I know, I know. Yes, I need to see Aro before I change her, she's only seventeen. I know. Yes, she's gorgeous. Yes, she's shorter than me. Ok, yeah, ha ha. Ok, listen, I'm bringing someone else as well. You might want to warn Aro. Well, my mate has a very interesting best friend. He and his mate want to join my coven to help with Bella's change. Are you ready for this? It's the Major."

Even I could hear the muffled, WHAT?! THE Major? from the phone in his hand. James cringed and pulled the phone away from his ear before smiling and continuing the conversation.

"YES! THE Major. That one. I think his brother is flying over with us as well. And I want to talk to you about that, their separation. Yeah, I know. What did Marcus say? Yeah, I bet he did. Ok, well, we're flying to New York in a few hours and then we'll head to Italy. We'll see you when we get there. Make sure everyone is well fed, please. I can't guarantee your guards' safety if they try to hurt my mate. She is very well protected. Ok, sure thing. I'll tell him. Thanks. Bye!"

I looked up at Laurent and Victoria, who were holding back laughter. I guess they could hear the other side of the conversation. Alice on the other hand, was smiling with tears in her eyes. "James, that was so nice of you. I can't see what Aro will decide, but it means a lot that you would speak up for Jasper and Peter. Thank you, so much."

James ducked his head and looked like he would be blushing if he could. "It was nothing. I just don't think it's right. They went through so much together, only to be forced apart? They don't deserve that."

Alice started to reply, but then cocked her head toward the door and shook her head. I understood a few minutes later when Jasper slowly opened the door and walked in with his head bowed. He was holding a manilla envelope and looked like he was doing his best to avoid looking at me. I knew immediately why he was nervous; he was afraid I would judge him after his hunt. I walked over to him and hugged him as I looked up into his now-red eyes. "You look good, Jasper! Before you kind of had a monotone look going on, with your hair matching your eyes and all. Kinda made you look washed out. So, what's in the package? Did you bring me something?"

He gave me a small smile before looking between me and James. When he pulled out my papers and explained about giving me his name I was floored. I was so honored that he wanted me to use his name and when I tried it out, it just felt right for some reason. I mean, I have always been Isabella Swan, but being Bella Whitlock felt right to me too. I focused on my gratitude and love for my new protector and gave him another hug.

We left the hotel and headed for the airport, where we breezed through security and were led to a small jet that I'm sure I didn't even want to know what it cost to rent. It just screamed luxury. I rolled my eyes at Alice who just shrugged unapologetically. "Bella, you better get used to money, because none of the vampires here are short on it." she laughed.

Boarding the plane, I rolled my eyes again and shook my head. James led me to a small sofa that was facing two more chairs and pulled me close to him. The rest of the group scattered around the plane, but Jasper came and sat in one of the chairs across from me. He kept his head bowed as the plane took off, not moving at all, even as the plane bounced and teetered as it ascended.

Once we were at a stable altitude, Jasper raised his head and ran his hand over his face looking as weary as a perfectly gorgeous vampire can look. "Bella, I need to tell you about my past. It's not somethin' I like to talk about but you need to know where I come from. Alice said I need to tell you before you meet my brother, Peter, in New York. I'm just gonna talk through it and then if you have questions I'll answer them."

I nodded when he met my eyes and sat back against James as Jasper began his story. He focused his gaze above our heads, not meeting our eyes, as he spoke in a detached tone about his human life back in Texas, going off to fight in the civil war, and being changed by Maria. She sounded like a total bitch and I knew one of my questions for him would be whether she was dead or not. He told us how he quickly discovered and began honing his gift, and that when Maria discovered it she molded him into a powerful weapon. He described his quick spiral into depression not long after he was changed, but added that he had no idea what to do about it; he knew no other life outside of that one.

"About five years after my change, Maria began askin' me questions about my human family. I couldn't remember much to tell her, since I lost most of my memories in the burn. I could vaguely recall a younger sister and brother, but I had no idea what happened to them or my parents, or even how old they were.

"I got more suspicious when Maria began changin' her soldiers in pairs, specifically in pairs of siblings. At first, I had no idea why she was doin' it. I mean, she didn't keep them any longer than the other soldiers; they were still destroyed at the end of their newborn year. Then she changed a pair of brothers. They were young, and they looked like twins, even though they said one was older. She quickly discovered that Benjamin could control the elements: earth, wind, water, fire. His brother Levi could turn invisible. Freaked us the fuck out when he was fightin' and just disappeared into thin air.

"She actually confessed to me that she had a theory. She had heard of the Volturi witch twins and wondered if the blood relatives of gifted vampires would likely be gifted too. That was the first moment I was truly grateful for forgettin' about my human family. I couldn't put them in danger if I had no idea where or who they were. It was bad enough that she turned me into a disgusting monster, her own walking angel of death, but at least my hands were clean of my family's blood.

"I had been with Maria for about twenty years when Peter dropped back into my life. The fucker was way out on a ranch in west Texas, as far from our home in Houston as he could get without leavin' the state. Of course I was with Maria and she spotted him first. He was starin' at me in complete shock but at first I had no idea who he was. Maria asked him his name and was ecstatic when he said 'Peter Whitlock, ma'am.' His mama taught us both to be gentlemen, you see. Lookin' at him was like lookin' in a mirror and my memories came rushin' in all at once. He knew me as well, even though he was only three when I left for the war. He said Pa kept my picture up on the mantle all those years, and told my brother what a fine hero I was. Little did he know...

"I knew Maria would want him but I didn't want to damn my brother to this existence. So, I told her I would change him, only I had no intention of doing that. I looked my brother in the eye, ready to end his life. Just before I bit him, Maria asked him about our sister. I glared at him hard and shook my head a little. It didn't matter; he told us that she had died not long after I did. My heart broke then, as I realized I would be the one to single-handedly end our family line. He didn't make a sound when I bit him, and I felt his love and acceptance as he looked me straight in the eye. At the last possible moment I made the most selfish choice in my life and I let him change."

Jasper finally looked at me and I could see his mood lift, even without feeling it. He must have really hated his vampire life before he met his brother again. I could see he felt guilty for changing Peter, but he must have made his peace with it some time ago. I leaned over and put my hand on his clenched fist and patted him softly. He gave me a small smile before continuing his story, this time with more animation.

"Peter was not a typical newborn. He was always in a good mood, and not even the head bitch could bring him down. He took to the trainin' with no trouble. I didn't have to break him; even if I didn't deserve it, he already respected me and had looked up to me his whole life. The rest of the idiots always tried to fight me, but he followed my orders to the letter. Like me, he was a natural fighter and by the end of his newborn year he was the only one who could challenge me. Maria was disappointed that he didn't seem to have a gift, but she knew better than to push me to get rid of him. We fought side by side for more than fifty years until he met his mate, Charlotte. They got me out of the wars, but I'll let him tell you about that part when you meet them, I know you'll love her."

With that, he sat back in his chair and ducked his head again, looking for all the world like he was afraid someone would kick him or something. His shame was leaking out from his gift, and I glanced at James, who nodded at me, before I walked over to stand in front of Jasper. I laid my hand on his shoulder and said, "Hey? Jasper? You ok?" I looked up when Alice walked over and took the chair next to him, smiling at me in encouragement.

He finally looked at her, then back at me, with his eyes wide now. "Why are you feeling like that? Why aren't you disgusted with me? How can you still... you love me? How?"

"Oh, Jas, of course I love you! You're my best friend! And now, knowing everything you have been through, I admire you that much more! You have to be one of the strongest people I have ever met! I mean, you fought in the Civil War! How awesome is that? And then some vampire war too? You saved your brother, and left the war zone behind you." He started to speak but I shook my head and put my hand up to stop him. "You befriended a plain human girl who was new at school, and you let her into your world with no ulterior motives. You protected her when she needed you, and you're still here protecting her. You can tell me whatever stories you want, Jasper, but it won't change the fact that I know who you are. I know the sweet, funny guy who steals my iPod and makes fun of my music. I know the artist who draws caricatures of our teachers and classmates when he's pretending to take notes. I know the vampire who loves his mate so much that he shops with her whenever she wants and holds countless bags without even feigning boredom. I know your heart, Jasper, and I know it's a good one."

There was complete silence for almost a full minute as I stared at Jasper, willing him to see what I see. I didn't even see him move before he grabbed me in a tight hug, pressing his face into my stomach. "Thank you, Bella. Thank you so much. Thank you so, so much. I love you too, darlin'. You're my very first true friend and I am so grateful for you. Thank you." My brain finally caught up with his words and actions and I ran my hand through his wild blonde curls, seeing the boy he was as he dropped his guard for me.

We stayed like that for several minutes until the pilot came over the speaker telling us we were about to land. Jasper let me go and I walked back to sit with James, who put his arm around me and kissed my head. Alice was smiling brilliantly and bouncing in her seat so much that Jasper had to reach over and hold her down.

As we filed off the plane, my eyes went immediately to the red-eyed vampires who met us at the gate. Peter looked almost identical to Jasper, except his hair was lighter, more of a white blonde instead of Jasper's honey color, and it was straighter, hanging down to his shoulders. Charlotte was the same size and build as Alice but her hair was the color of Peter's and hung in waves down past her waist. She smiled at me and waved, and I felt drawn to them immediately.

Peter and Jasper were locked in a tight man-hug until Peter patted his back and pulled away. He turned and looked at me with his arm over Jasper's shoulder and said, "So, brother, you gonna introduce me to our niece?"