Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. It belongs to S.M. I make no profit of off this fiction except the payment of reviews.
A.N. I would like to thank my lovely Beta katandjasper for her help. If there are any remaining mistakes they are mine and likely made because I ignored her sound judgment or decided to add more at the last moment. If you are looking for any Jasper and Bella fanfiction check out my favorite story list. Thank you again to my talented Beta reader. Also, before you decide you do not like what Alice says or Jasper reacts, I encourage you to stay tuned for at least three more chapters. If you do not like it after that then I will understand and thank you for reading.
Jasper's POV
In the end I hunted on the way home, or rather the Cullen house, home was now wherever Isabella was. I did not give fully over to instinct this time knowing I would just turn around and end up back by the bedside of my angel. It was a rush job, and I did not get nearly as much pleasure as I would have gotten had I been on my leisure. It did help clear up my head a bit though, and I was no longer hungry.
I found her sitting in the room we shared, leaning against the metal headboard with a soft smile on her face. I checked her emotions and she showed no sign at all about knowing the content of our upcoming chat. She looked at my torn shirt and frowned for a moment.
"Rough hunt?" She took a sniff and I felt surprise outweigh all other emotions. "Productive hunt." She commented her eyes darting to my pants taking in the two wholes in the crotch area. I had no doubt that she smelled my release. "Who was she?"
I jerked my head up to look into her eyes. I could feel some anger simmering in the background and sighed. This was not the way I wanted to start this. I raised an eyebrow at her when she sighed and indicated the bed in front of her. Cautiously I moved forward.
"Why did you never want me to claim you Alice?"
"I did!" She denied.
"Alice, it took far to long for the first mate mark." I could feel how upset she was by that and how disquieted she was becoming. I sighed, and moved closer clasping her hand between my much larger ones. "For the longest time, each time I tried to bite you, you threw a fit. I finally wore you down," She opened her mouth to protest that statement but quickly snapped it shut at my dark look. "You only yesterday decided we can finish up our Mating. We have been together 50 years now, and I we are still practically strangers. You kept me at arms length until I started to change to meet your needs."
"That's not true Jasper. I never asked you to change." I nod because she did not flat out ask. She did however show her displeasure by pushing me away when I did something she found not up to her quality. She also would reward me whenever I did fix what she felt was wrong. She may not have done it on purpose but in the end it was still done and in an effort to get my happy ending I did do it. I was not the only one that could manipulate emotions, I was just the only one who used a power to do it.
"No you are right, but you pushed and pushed until I felt I had no choice but to fix myself so that you would let me be your Mate." I could see her eyes fill up with venom and could feel the sadness and anger surging through.
"If you felt like that, you should have told me!" Her voice had changed to match her sadness and I held back a sigh.
"We never really talked about our relationship Alice, it was one of the few things you would not talk about with me." I was getting tired of this. I just needed her answers so I can move onto the next thing but it looked like I would just have to lead the conversation where I wanted it because Alice was just getting more sad and frustrated. She did not seem like she was willing to discuss the whys and how we got to this point, still not Mated 50 years later.
"Alice," I coaxed her and as I had hoped she tilted her head back up so we were eye to eye rather then her glaring at the cream comforter we were sitting on. "When I left that diner with you it was with the understanding that we would Mate together and be happy. You indicated my actions were as good as my word of honor in that I agreed to a future. I agree with you Alice. I stated my consent that my act of leaving with you was the promise and I broke that earlier today." Her hand was yanked out between mine with more force then was necessary.
"I know, I smell that slut on you." Her voice was down right viscous her face twisted into a sneer that would put Rosalie,s to shame. I am sure she started to say something else because I could see her mouth moving but I could not hear anything beyond what she had just said. Venom raced through my body gathered in my mouth making me have to swallow repeatedly to keep it from falling out of mouth as I bared my teeth at the one who just royally fucked up.
If there is one thing every vampire knows it is that you do not insult or attack someones Mate in any way. More often then not it led to serious, if temporary, injury to the offender. Other times depending on the vampire who goes into the protective rage it can end in permanent disfigurement through bite or burning of a body part, or it could end in death.
When I was with Maria I did not have discretion over who I killed. I was not choosey, women warriors fell to me just as fast as the males did on the battlefield. I killed children when I fed often times afterwords taking there mother for my pleasure and then sating my renewed appetite on both the woman and the child's father. However, since I left, and learned that I no longer had to eat who and what she demanded, I had taken care to avoid bringing harm to either women or children. Even when I slipped, only once had it been a female. All the other many times I slipped and feasted on human blood it was on a male, and they were always old enough to be married in my day. Even when I let go and allowed my instinctive mind to overpower all of us, he tended to try to honor my wishes knowing we would both be upset if I harmed a woman. You may think that's a weird thought, but it was a commitment I undertook in honor of my mother, and her edicts that I can remember. That is not to say that if it comes down to it that I would not harm a woman, especially if it is in defense of myself, and now my Mate.
So it really is not that big of a shock that my mind is running through hundreds of battle simulations and calculating the best way to destroy the ethereal pixie sitting on the bed prattling on, and most likely railing against my Mate and further insulting her. I gently reached out and took her hand back, almost lovingly. I watched her body relax at my gentle touch and just as I predicted her eyes moved back toward mine and that anger quickly became sweet sweet fear.
I considered just taking a back seat and allowing Major to take care of this, but it was not just the Major's mate she insulted, it was the mate of every bit of me. The really pissed me off, and it was an extremely dangerous vampire that was going to show her just what happened when one insulted my Mate. She could have been that to me, and if I was not so angry then it would have meant more to me then it does right now.
I enjoyed the whimper that tore itself from her throat as she fought frantically to pull her small hand away from me and escape.
"If I were you Alice," my voice rasped; "I would be very very still, while I try to calm down enough to let you live. Not that I should let you after you insulted my Mate." If she had listened to me, things might have settled down, instead, she had to screech out that I was her mate. It only pissed me off more, unfortunately for her, after all she could not match the queen that was my mate. She was no longer even on a level playing field. The growl that ripped through me caused her to freeze completely and everything was blessedly silent.
Now that she was silent and still under my watchful blackened eyes I was able to regain some reasoning and found that although I wanted to make her pay for the insult, I did not want to kill her. It would clear things up, but I was honest earlier when I said she was the one I was most friendly with among the Cullens. Additionally, I did not want Esme and Carlisle to be hurt, and they would be, if she were no longer non-living her life. She would pay though. Not only that, but she would start telling me everything. Now. It was the strike that brought down my tolerance to her avoidance and games.
Oddly enough it was the feelings of fear that always calmed the Major down. That and submission to us. It is easy enough to figure out that I am a bit sadistic when it comes to those who are under my influence. It may sound arrogant, but I enjoyed others bowing before me as if I were the wind that commanded their movements. I was feared for a damn good reason in the south, and for the first time in front of Alice I was angry enough, (and no longer desiring to Mate with her has freed me to be as I truly am and not hide), to show her exactly why I was so feared.
That's not to say she had not seen me when the Major was dancing, she had seen him tear others apart in her visions. She would also see me whenever Emmett did something stupid enough to bring out my protective instincts or my sense of self preservation. She had seen me battle it out against Peter on my visits with him and Charlotte, again through visions. She had never been face to face with him though. After all the Major did tend to hide as far away from her as he could get. I am still not understanding why that is. I think whatever she had done to make him cower had been overcome by our thirst for defending what was ours. He was not hiding from her, but was here with my general mind, still clicked together, and so very eager.
"I won't kill you this time Alice." It was guttural and ragged, but I knew she could understand what I was saying, "However, if you ever insult my True Mate again I will destroy you so completely that even your ashes will not be found. Do you understand?" Her body quivered and I was sure later I may feel a bit remorseful for being so heavy handed. Then again, I couldn't really be since the reason for it all was my Mate. "If you hurt her," I had to continue, "I will not waste any time, and will destroy you." It is kind of sad to me that vampires can not cry. It would be beautiful to see the distress of my opponents drip down their face as they cower before me. "Well?"
At my prompt she whimpered and started nodding furiously. Her hand trembled in my grip and in a faux loving movement I ran my thumb against her palm enjoying the confusion and emotional reaction this induced.
"I am not a bad man Alice, but I am a firm man and I do follow through. If I did not then no one would ever trust me. I may be giving you some leave because I did break my word to you, but you will still not be getting out of this situation without punishment. Now why don't you relax and answer my questions while I calm down some?"
"W-what k-kinds?" her voice was trembling as hard as her body making her stutter over her first two words before she swallowed and determination filled her frame and emotions. "What do you want to know?" Her eyes were down, not meeting mine, her head bowed forward showing me she was coward.
"I want to know why you lied to me? Tell me Alice, why did you not allow us to make the connection complete, hmm?" I waited in silence not moving, just watching. She did not answer right away and I could feel the desperation in her emotions. Still I refuse to move until she answers what I want to know.
"I didn't want to fall in love with you." Her voice was a whisper and almost to low for me to catch despite my enhanced abilities. She snuck a look up toward my face and I simply raised my brow, silently encouraging her to continue. "When I woke up I knew I needed protecting, in every future, I saw myself abducted and tortured for the amusement of the man who was stalking me while I was locked in that asylum. I decided to find a way to survive and get out of that situation. I decided I wanted to have a happy future. So things started coming in. I did see you first thing after I awoke. I knew that you were strong and I seen what you could do. I also knew we had the potential Mate connection. I admit I am selfish. I knew that I would eventually find someone who better suited me, but I loved you. I care more for you then I thought I would."
"You lied about us Mating and having a happy future?" I admit betrayal had washed over me along with incredulity.
"No. No. I saw us having that, but I also saw more. I saw we would be happy Mated, but we would miss out on something more. I saw that I could end up with a man who was perfect for me, who I would be even happier with. Its just, by this time I loved you and I wanted to be with you. Eventually I started feeling guilty and decided to let you go, only things got horribly bad for you. Even in my future with the other guy I would see you in the background happy. So I changed my mind back. In the end it was better for me anyway because I would get to keep you, and you were happy again. When you wanted to leave I saw you die, Jasper, and I could not have that. I care too much for you to be taken away completely. Besides, if you left I would be alone until I found my Mate."
That Bitch. I was changing my mind about killing her. I think she got a vision of her destruction because she started talking so fast and high pitched I would have been able to detect her fear without a gift.
"I saw that if you stayed and lived you would find someone perfect for you. I thought about telling you that I did not want to be your Mate anymore but if I did you would leave and I would lose you. Not only that but as my visions of your future came more frequently I started seeing who she was, and the more I saw the more I found myself liking her. I saw myself having a friend to do things for me, well with me. If you left then you would not find her until she was in her eighties and I would never have gotten to meet her and make her my friend. I wanted that. I just am not ready yet. In a few more years I will find my Mate and I would be able to let you go and lead you to her. I did not know she moved here Jasper, though I did see losing you completely so I had to tell you I wanted to finish the Mating.
Somehow though you did end up meeting her. I did not see it. Sometimes it is hard to see her, she completely disappears and I have to see her through other eyes in a vision. You met her too soon, and I do not want to let you go yet. Not only that Jasper, I thought you had cheated on my friend! I did not realize it was her scent on your clothing. I cannot help but protect whats mine! I had to protect her interests too because she is going to be my friend, or was going to be. Please Jasper, I did what I had to."
Like I told you all before vampires are very selfish creatures so I can not completely blame her. In fact, I could not do anything. I do not believe my mind is functioning in any way at all. I shut down for a moment. I mean how else would I feel nothing. She lied to me for years. She dragged me around with false hopes when she knew that I would find my True Mate. She used me for protection despite feeling the Mating connection between us. She molded me into what would make her happy knowing that she would end up with someone else who was apparently already perfect and did not need her fixing things to suite her.
I could hear whimpers coming into my ears and could feel the limb I was holding jerking around, but it was all peripheral. I always considered Alice a good person. She wasn't. Though apparently her guilt did end up forcing her to start looking forward with my happiness in mind. In the end though, even that was for herself so she could keep me around and gain a friend. But not until it suited her. I wasn't sure if I should reconsider killing her or not. I needed to talk with someone about it and why I would normally turn to Peter for guidance I had a Mate for that. I had no doubt that Peter would add his opinion or knowledge as it came to him, but the first one I would discuss this with is my Mate.
I focused back in to find myself pinning Alice by her neck to the wall with one hand the other had apparently relieved her of her own hand, the one that I had just been holding. I very seldom blacked out and let the demon out. Peter called him the God of War. I called him Ares. Either way he only came out when I was beyond angry and usually would decimate everything around for miles. Apparently he could not stand much of Alice, much like Major, and only stayed around long enough to allow me to regain my mind. I needed to find out if Alice had another power or something because the Major was afraid of no one. Except maybe Isabella a bit, and only because no male is stupid enough to underestimate the woman they are mated to. Ares would be even less affected than the Major was, so it made no sense. Somehow, he went back under control without him getting his bloody satisfaction.
I hate to admit it but if this situation was not happening to me I would have been proud of Alice. She saw what she wanted and went for it. I usually appreciate that. However, she never should have went against me, or used me in anyway. I would not even feel sorry for the poor sap she had strung along, except I am him and I am most definitely not a sap. For making me even use that word in relation to myself has earned her more punishment. Damn it, she should have been using her visions and mind for us rather then against us, even if she decided we would not Mate. Damn her to hell!
Suddenly I just knew what the perfect punishment was and I waited until her eyes went out of focus seeing the decision I had just made. Before she could come back I had turned her around and slammed her face first into the drywall creating a huge hole that would have go be fixed if I wanted any peace from Esme. I knew were someone to look at me they would see the dark satisfaction that warmed my black eyes. It had been such a long time since I had given a Master bite, but it was something I would always remember how to do.
I heard her shriek and knew she was out of her vision and took that as my cue. I did not want Carlisle and Esme to see the mark so I pulled down the collar of her shirt to expose the area right below her neck and between her shoulder blades and surged forward snapping my fangs deep into the skin, through her tissue and muscles cutting nerves and ligaments temporarily, until I was sure I could get no deeper and started to pump the area full of my venom. Sure it would hurt more in this area but it was just a lucky happenstance. I forgive a lot more then most people would think I do, with the exception of being betrayed. And to me this seemed like a betrayal. Beyond that though she way playing with my existence and happiness. She also fucked with my Mates life by trying to keep me her toy until she found the man she really wanted.
Finally the woman my teeth were sunk into went limp in my arms whimpering and pleading and I cut off the venom flow and slowly removed my teeth from her.
"You will tell me any and all visions you have regarding me or Isabella from now on. Unless it is urgent you will give me an update once a day. Do you understand?" It is not my fault she found my voice menacing enough to shake the windows next to us. Her affirmative response was squeaked and and dark chuckles swept through me. I released her and let her fall to the floor her legs to weak to hold her up after that type of pain. She would fight it, but she would always do what I said in the end. Sure I could have just pumped her full of emotions to get her to do my bidding, but this way was much better with the added bonus of her being unable to betray him. "You will no longer make decisions in regards to my future without discussing it with me. You will tell no one about your new mark and determination to obey what I say, and you will do nothing to bring about harm to myself of my Mate." I watched her head nod to each order while she remained facing the wall and sobbing.
"Apparently I let you walk over me so much over the years you decided you got to change my future for your comfort. I am no longer going out of my way to be someone else to please you. Eventually, if you are good Alice, I will release you from service. No matter what though, you will learn not to screw me. Now I am going to return to my Mate and you are going to clean yourself up and pretend everything is fine to your family. I will return in time to change and pick up my things to take Isabella to school. That reminds me. See if you can find a way to get my classes matched to hers, I do not want her out of my sight, where I cannot protect her other then for her bathroom breaks. Apparently I am unable to change her at the moment without inviting trouble." I turned and flitted to the closet to grab a few pairs of jeans, I had no doubt I would go through them fast enough with my Mate around, and having them handy will be a great deal better then the indignity of walking around with holes in my crotch. With a last thought I grabbed a few books to keep myself entertained and my cell charger and walked out of the room I would no longer share with Alice.
"Oh, and Alice, you will keep anything I have shared with you or will share to yourself. I would hate to have to show you what happens to those who share what I have told them." Actually, there were none who have anything I have said to share, all those that could have are long dead, with the exception of the pain in the ass himself and his lovely mate.
I am desperate to see my Isabella now. I am justified in my actions but I still am not happy I have had to resort to such things. Not only that but I am trying very hard to resist running back to Alice and detach her and light a pyre. I wanted to find out how my Mate felt about everything I was told. More then that though I want to enjoy the comfort and fulfillment being around her brings. I feel calmer just by picturing her as she was before I left. She looked so peaceful curled up around a pillow as she mumbled my name her hand reaching for me as I moved away from her.
I have to admit it but in a way Alice did do me a service. I am very glad I found Isabella before she was in her eighties. I wouldn't have hesitated to change her at that age, anything to keep her by my side, but it would have been very hard for us. More so it would be hard for her to accept a man who looked sixty years her junior. I bet she would still have been a wonderful and I would still come to love her, I just had a feeling that the intimacy would take a different route. Who really knew though? I suppose I would still want to take her just as much, but it was thankfully a moot point and not something I would have to find out. As much as it makes me seem shallow I am grateful I have her as she is now, young and vibrant. She was old enough her body was nearly done growing into that of a full woman all smooth curves and soft inclines but still young enough that she had the sweetened innocence blurred with youthful assurance that made reaching adulthood still a thing of excitement.
Her father had still not returned yet from his night shift and so I set about entering her house through the front door. I am very lucky I know how to pick a lock. Eventually we would get me a spare key, but until then I would simply finesse my way through the door if her father wasn't home, and when he was well, we would figure it out later. I really did not want to have to enter through her window if I could avoid it, it seemed a bit creepy and criminal to me, though I will not hesitate to go through it to get to my angel.
I shut the door softly behind me and removed my shoes, my small act of respect for her fathers home, before moving through the house. I was going to go straight up to her, but a picture of her arm in arm with a Native American boy caught my attention and I could not help moving forward to inspect it. I cannot help the frustration that another male had touched her, no matter how long ago the picture was taken and how old they were. I recognized an old man in a wheel chair smiling in approval in the background. I cannot stop the groan for anything. Apparently she knew the Chief of the local tribe, and my guess was friends with his son. It normally wouldn't be a problem but these Natives have a strange tendency to sprout fur and fly off the handle in anger at even the smallest misstep. Damn it! What, does Isabella wear a sign saying 'come and spend time with me, I am okay with monsters!'? Next thing I know a damn unicorn will show up and attempt to steal Isabella away and force her to be his cuddle slave for eternity!
I can only hope that as she has gotten older she is no longer so close to the boy and his father. Yes, I heard that the wolves are supposed to be gone, so what? After all we vampires are not supposed to exist either. Since I was already in the living room at this point I may as well take the time and study the other photos laying around.
None of them were particular special, excluding the fact that they mostly featured my Mate of course. I must say though that I do enjoy seeing her as she grew from a chubby fuzzy haired baby into the beauty currently turning over in her bed up the stairs. Ah well, I better hide my shoes and head upstairs to Isabella where I can settle in until the morning. I hope she isn't worried about starting in a new school. She seems the type that would be though, especially if she wants to be liked. It would not matter though, I would be beside her and no one would dare treat her badly while I am there. Besides, I have no doubt that with me present I can stave off her anxiety and make sure tomorrow, and all her days after, are enjoyable. Well as enjoyable as high school could be. Poor thing, maybe I should say screw it and turn her now, at least then she would not have to suffer attending an annoying swarm of hormonally charged teenagers who are only outclassed by the teachers in the snide and lusty department. I only wish someone would spare me of it.