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

Jasper POV
Well, this is awkward. I really hope Carlisle won't be too angry with me. I'm not exactly getting the best start with this family. So far he is just embarrassed and nervous, probably because Esme still hasn't moved at all. Her disbelief and shock are starting to morph into anger so I think she'll crack here soon. Peter is still staring out the door where Edward ran off with a strange mixture of anger, protectiveness, and longing. I had only felt this from him once before when we ran across a toddler that reminded him of his younger brother. I decided to take a chance and break the silence in the room.

"Uh, Pete? I'm sure Carlisle wouldn't mind if you wanted to go talk to Edward. He might need a friend right now who can understand what he's been through." I raised my eyebrows when my mate met my eyes and sent him some encouragement, hoping he would take this step forward.

Carlisle seemed to understand where I was going with this and jumped right in, "Oh yes, please do Peter. Talking to someone new would probably be helpful for him. I'm sure he doesn't want to see his mother or me right now." His voice trailed off as he glanced at Esme's darkening expression.

"I'm going into town to shop. Carlisle, I would like to speak with you in private when I return. Peter, Edward will be about a half mile from the house, in a tall tree somewhere. Tell him I love him and I will speak with him later as well. Jasper, thank you for coming by. The invitation is still open if you would like to stay here. I will see you all later." With that Esme breezed out the door like nothing was wrong but I could still feel the anger rolling off of her in waves.

Peter looked at me again in question, "Are you sure Major? I won't go too far, just holler if you need me ok?" After I nodded he pressed his lips to mine in a quick kiss and ran off into the trees. I couldn't help my nerves as he left my sight, this was the farthest we had been apart in a long time. My mind knew he was safe but my instincts were screaming at me to follow him. Carlisle cleared his throat bringing my attention back to him and I noticed he was filled with curiosity again.

"Can I talk to you about something now that it's just the two of us?" he asked. I nodded and he continued, "Let's sit in the dining room, I'm sure you would be more comfortable near the windows, am I right?" I hadn't thought about it but now that he offered I tried to remember the last time I sat down inside a building for something other than war planning. Maria had a small cabin with two rooms, one held her bed and the other a table where we would draw battle plans and formations. Sitting down in a social setting was as foreign to me as the fancy clothes the Culllens wore. Being inside made me feel closed in a little; it would take some getting used to.

We moved to the table and I sat against the wall with the window to my right and the door in view, and tried to calm my nerves from being away from my mate. "So what did you want to talk about?"

He seemed hesitant to start but he finally plunged in. "How much do you know about vampire mates?" Well, this wasn't what I expected at all.

"Well, just what Maria taught me. We had to know what to watch for in the newborns, the typical mating instincts and such. Why do you ask?" Now I was the curious one, where was he going with this?

"You know I spent quite a bit of time with the Volturi, and during that time I studied many aspects of vampire life. They have books and scrolls dating back many centuries that cover everything from bloodlust to mating to newborns, and everything in between. The reason I am curious about you and Peter is there are very few records of mated pairs consisting of two males. In fact, there are only two others still alive that I am aware of and both of them were actually part of a triad. Have you heard this before?" I shook my head, wondering what this meant for me and Peter.

"In the history of vampires, the most common groupings of vampires are mated pairs, or covens. Obviously the bond between mated pairs is stronger than between coven mates, but there is one bond that is even stronger than that. The triad is very rare, and the ones I know of are also very powerful. Have you heard of Jane and Alec? The vampire world knows them to be twins, but that is not actually the case. They are mated, along with another vampire named Felix, as probably the most powerful triad in history. They could easily take over rule of the vampire world but when Aro found out about them, he used them as leverage against each other and then used Chelsea to bond them to him. They serve him because if they don't he has threatened to kill Felix.

"The other triad you may have heard of but no one outside the Volturi knows the true grouping of the mates. You know Caius and Marcus are the other rulers along with Aro? They actually met each other long before Aro. They were mates for several centuries and when they found Aro's sister Didyme, they found the remaining piece of their triad. Marcus saw their bond of course, and turned them both when Didyme begged for them not to leave her brother behind. I was told they were a very happy triad for a long time, until Didyme was killed by werewolves in the 1600's. Caius and Marcus still had each other but they were never the same after that. Marcus is extremely depressed and Caius is constantly angry at the world. I think they would have left long ago but they are also bound by Chelsea to give Aro the illusion of more power. I can't say that I agree with his methods and it's one of the big reasons I chose to leave him, but that's all the beside the point. Do you understand what I'm saying and what it could mean for you and Peter?"

I thought over all he had told me and it slowly dawned on me what he was getting at. "You think Peter and I have another mate out there somewhere? And if we find her we could be at risk from the Volturi?" Fear for my mate squeezed my heart and I had to hold myself in my seat so I wouldn't run out and find him. I stretched my gift to see where he was and found him about a mile from the house, feeling conflicted and slightly worried. I wondered what he and Edward were talking about.

Carlisle was nodding and he looked me straight in the eye when he said, "I do think that, but I also think if the Volturi knew of you now you would already be at risk. They know more about triads than anyone else and all it would take would be for Marcus to see a missing bond and they would either kill you both or secure you into their guard. I think I know enough about you that you don't want that, am I right?"

I was already worried about the Volturi based on mine and Peter's gifts, but to know there could be another threat to us was hard to swallow. Carlisle continued, "Of course this is all speculation, but based on what I have studied I think it's a very real possibility. If you haven't felt the mating pull since you found Peter it's possible your other mate may not have been born yet, but I don't know that for sure."

I sat and considered all he had told me and wondered if this is what I had felt was missing. I knew Peter had been feeling inadequate but if we truly did have another mate out there then maybe I wasn't enough for him either. It was definitely something I would have to discuss with him. For now I wanted to talk to Carlisle about his lifestyle. Animal blood can't be that bad right? I mean, he's much older than I am and he's still alive and kickin'.

For the next hour we sat and talked about the merits of animal blood, the changes I could expect if I changed diets. Yellow eyes weren't the only side effect, apparently some of our vampire traits could be toned down by the difference in blood. I could look forward to less aggression, an easier bond with coven mates, and possibly reduced mating instincts. I wasn't sure I wanted to tell Peter about that one; I knew he liked my possessive side.

Carlisle thought some of Edward's issues could be traced to his diet and he often wondered if he did right by his first child. Edward really didn't know much about being a true vampire, he lived more as a human and suppressed most of his natural instincts. Carlisle told me he hoped our being there would help him get in touch with that side of his nature and maybe help him be more open-minded about his fellow vampires.

We discussed the possibility of Peter and I living here as part of the family and I had pretty much decided I at least wanted to try. It would take a few months for my eye color to change enough for me to go to school with the others, but Carlisle was concerned about how to fit Peter into their cover story. He thought Rosalie and I could pass for twins and with our blonde hair we could be Carlisle's younger siblings. Edward had posed as Esme's nephew in the past and it seemed to work well for them. Emmett and Alice were orphans picked up in another city that the children met at school. I suggested that Peter could be Esme's brother, but he was too old for school and I wasn't sure what kind of work he would want to do if anything. We would definitely have to talk about it alone.

Our conversation trailed off as we heard Peter and Edward heading back to the house. When they stepped in the front door Peter caught my eye still radiating worry and I found out why when Edward opened his mouth.

"Carlisle, I want to try human blood."