Jasper's POV

I took off towards Bella the second I hung up with her. I drove faster than I ever had in my entire life, which was saying a lot. I only had one thing on my mind. Protecting my mate and destroying the SOB who dared think he could make a meal out of her.

I made it back into town in to the café Bella mentioned in less than twenty minutes, which said a lot about my maniac driving because it would take a normal person at least forty minutes.

I was out of the car within seconds. I didn't even turn it off as I raced towards the entrance of the café. Before I even got to the door, I hear a familiar voice.

"What are you some kind of vampirist?" he was asking.

I immediately began to relax. I would know that voice anywhere. He wasn't going to hurt Bella. He knew I'd torture, maim, and kill him if he even thought about laying a hand on my mate. Not that he ever would.

"What?" Bella asked, obviously not understanding the comment.

I opened the door and sure enough, I saw Bella sitting across from my friend and essentially my brother, Peter Whitlock.

"A vampirist. Someone who hates vampires because of what we are. It aint my fault I got bitten you know. I was just like you at one point," Peter said.

I rolled my eyes at my brother's antics. Only Peter would come up with something that stupid.

"Who are you?" Bella asked as she appeared to be trying of decipher what kind of moron she was talking to.

'Yeah, good luck with that one, Bella,' I thought to myself. There wasn't a person alive who could figure Peter out.

"Consider me a friend of a friend," Peter said.

"I seriously doubt that," Bella said.

I knew I should probably make myself known by now, but Bella wasn't scared anymore. The only emotion she seemed to have at the moment was irritation. I wasn't surprised. Peter was good at bringing that emotion out in people.

"You don't think I could have friends?" Peter asked with a false sense of outrage. I knew it was crap even without my gift. The only thing he felt was amused.

"Well, not with anyone sane anyway. I've known you for like two minutes and I must say, you're the most irritating person I've ever met, and I mean of all species. Anyone ever told you that before?" Bella asked irritably.

I nearly snorted. People had definitely told him that before. I certainly had and so had Charlotte.

"Why yes. My lovely wife tells me that all the time," Peter said sounding proud of the fact.

"Somebody married you? Was she drunk?"

I finally decided to make my presence known. "I always thought so."

Peter and Bella both turned to me. I made sure to look mostly irritated when I looked at Peter, but I couldn't hide my amuse either.

Peter grinned at me. "Hey, Major! Long time no see."

"Wait, you know this irritating person, Jasper?" Bella asked me.

"Unfortunately," I said as I made my way over to them. "This irritating person is my brother Peter."

"My condolences," Bella retorted.

"Hey, now, that was uncalled for," Peter said.

"So was nearly making me have a heart attack," I told him irritably. Some of my irritation was not for show. The fear of possibly losing Bella had been nearly debilitating. I did not appreciate that, nor did I appreciate him causing Bella fear.

"Don't be stupid, Major, you can't have a heart attack," Peter said with a smile.

My only response was to glare. Then I turned to Bella and asked, "You okay, Bella?" I knew Peter hadn't and wouldn't' hurt her, but I knew he scared her earlier.

"Yeah. Apparently all he wanted was to annoy me to death," Bella said.

"Yeah, he's good at that. How'd you even know how to find us?" I asked Peter. I knew Peter meeting Bella wasn't just a coincidence. He knew who she was when he approached.

"I have my ways," Peter said with his usual irritating smirk.

"Okay, maybe it's a good idea if we get out of here. There are people around," Bella said.

"You're right as always, Darlin'. Let's head out," I told her. I watched as Bella and Peter got up and then we headed for the door.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Peter's POV

A few hours later, I was with Jasper in the woods while he hunted on animals. The Major insisted I go. He said that since I ruined his last attempt at feeding by scaring his human companion, the least I could do was accompany him.

I watched Jasper feed on a deer and was instantly creeped out. I always knew he fed on animals, but knowing it and watching it were two different things. "That is the most disgusting thing I've ever seen in my life, and I've been alive a long time."

"Well, then I guess you won't be scaring my mate anymore, will you?" Jasper asked.

"Your mate, huh?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. Oh, this was going to be easier than I thought. When Alice called and asked me to help sort the Major and his mate out, she said it was going to be difficult. From where I stood, it wouldn't be as difficult as she thought. They both already referred to the other as their mate.

Jasper stiffened. He obviously wasn't aware he'd referred to Bella that way until just now. "I meant my friend."

I laughed at him. "No, you didn't."

"Drop it, Peter. Where's Charlotte?" Jasper asked.

Of course he would change the subject. The Major wanted to keep off the subject of young Bella. I would let him for the moment. "She's at our place in Kentucky. She decided not to come. Said she wanted to give us time to catch up alone."

Jasper smirked. "You sure she just didn't want a break from your charming self."

"I resent that. My wife loves me," I said with fake anger.

"God only knows how," Jasper retorted.

"So what's up with you, Major? What made you desert the Cullen's and take a human on the road?" I already knew the answer of course. Little miss pixie dust explained it all. However, she also told me not to tell the Major that. I wasn't sure what the big deal was, but just like everyone who'd ever met Alice, I knew better than to bet against her.

"I didn't take Bella anywhere. She took me. She wanted to get out of Forks and I decided to go with her. She needed someone," Jasper said.

"And who better than her mate, right?" I asked with a grin.

Jasper sighed and glared at me. "I thought we were dropping this."

"Hey, it's just a little confusing. You call her your mate, she calls you hers."

"S…she called me her that?" he asked with a bit of hope and happiness in his voice.

"Uh huh. She said her big strong mate was going to save her from the big bad wolf otherwise known as me," I told him.

"Alright, we're mates, but it's complicated, okay? I'm married. Though probably not for long." He added the last part quietly and looked very guilty.

"That's beside the point," I told him.

Jasper looked at me and glared once more. "How is my wife beside the point?"

"The cliché's right, man. You can't help who you love. And, yeah, I know you love Alice, but not to the extent that you love that girl. You raced back to that diner in under ten minutes to get to her. You followed her around the country. She's yours as much as Char's mine," I told him.

"And if Bella was anyone else, maybe that would be okay, but she's Alice's best friend. That means I betray her twice. I can't do that. And even if I could, Bella can't. It's just not going to happen, so please drop it," Jasper said before resuming his hunt.

I waited for my brother to be far enough away before muttering, "Yeah, we'll see about that, Major. We'll see.