Family Affair

Chapter 14

A/N: This chapter was inspired by the Ed Sheeran song, "Give Me Love". I literally listened to it the whole time I wrote this chapter, so if you want to listen while you read, feel free. Seth/Bella action coming soon :P

-Bella-

Something was wrong with Jasper. Well, not wrong, but different. In the almost thirteen hours it took to drive from Pueblo, Colorado to the Whitlock Ranch in Helena, Montana where we'd be spending the night, I still hadn't been able to pinpoint what exactly was going on with him. I sighed as I stepped out of the bathroom, hair damp and clothed in a men's dark green button up shirt; my other clothes were currently being washed and Jasper had offered to drive to the local grocery store for some food since I was so tired from the trip. Walking into the kitchen, I once again noticed he'd left me his cell phone and I smiled as I called the house phone. It was late, almost midnight, but I didn't think dad would mind me calling considering the circumstances. To my surprise it wasn't Charlie's voice that came over the line.

"Seth," I gasped out, my heart squeezing painfully in my chest as tears welled in my eyes. I hadn't realized how much I'd missed him, but after hearing his voice some part of me was desperate to get home. "Seth, it's me, it's Bella. Say something," I cried out against the silence on the other end of the line.

"Where are you?"

I smiled at the faint whisper as relief traveled through me. "Montana," I replied quickly. "I'll be in Washington tomorrow. We would have gone faster, but Jasper let me drive most of the way to keep my mind off of…thing." A growl sounded from Seth at that. "I'm fine, I promise. Charlie and Sue, they know I'll be back tomorrow, right?"

"Weddings at 6, your dad wanted to see you before he left on the honeymoon. He told mom you were insistent that they not postpone another day."

"Where I'm concern, I figure there will always be another disaster," I teased lightly. "Besides, I didn't think you'd mind being alone with me."

"My Bella." It was a possessive sound that made my stomach clench instantly. I swallowed hard, as I tried to even out my heart beat once more. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay? I'm going to turn in for the night. Bye, Seth. I-" My eyes looked up at Jasper, brown paper bag in hand and an indiscernible expression on his face. "I love you," I said into the phone before disconnecting, eyes still locked on Jasper's golden ones. For some reason I couldn't look away from him, and the longer I held his gaze, the more it seemed to burn me from the inside out.

"Bella." It was barely a whisper and then he was in front of me, grocery bag forgotten on the kitchen counter. There was something almost painful about the adoration that shined in his gaze. His hand lifted to my cheek, touching me as if I were something precious and delicate or an illusion that might disappear upon contact. He breathed me in deeply, closed his eyes, dropped his hand and turned his face away from him. "I shouldn't…" he mumbled, my curiosity rising and chasing away any common sense I might have had at the moment. "Shouldn't, what, Jasper?"

"Torture myself." His eyes locked with mine again as he looked me over carefully. " I love you, Bella. I know you don't feel that way," he rushed out quickly. "I would never expect you too. Fuck, I didn't even realize how deeply I cared for you until you were gone… And then I found you in that room, and…" He swallowed hard, an action that looked odd for the vampire before me. "You've chosen your path in this life, you've chosen to live and to love and…" He turned fully away from me now walking about ten paces before turning back to face me. "I shouldn't ask you this, but I can't not. Are you sure about him, Bella, about whoever this guy is? Are you sure he's the one for you? Because the way I see it you have two choices right now. I can take you back to La Push, where you can live out a mortal existence, or you can stay with me."

"After everything that's happened, after everything my family's been through, I couldn't do that to Charlie."

Jasper's cold hands surprised me when they landed on my cheeks, his face so close our noses almost touched. "Forget about them for a moment, Bella. Forget about your family, and your boyfriend, and just look at me. Do you feel anything for me? Anything close to what I feel for you?"

"I don't know," I stuttered out uncertain. He smiled tentatively, tears that could never fall filling his eyes as he whispered for me to close mine. His lips touched mine, softly, hesitantly at first but soon became firmer, beseeching my own to respond. A slow building heat, more like steady embers than the all-consuming blaze Seth inspires, began course through my veins. His hands had moved, one lost in my hair and the other around my waist as the passion began to grow, my own hands had settled timidly between his chest and his shoulders. Jasper seemed to vibrate as he pulled away his nose skimming up and down my neck. I concentrated on the sound and realized he was purring, feelings of contentment literally flowed from him to me. "How do you feel now? Don't think, just feel."

I sighed at his question, my eyes closing tightly. "I won't lie and say it's nothing. I do feel something for you, Jasper. Something warm and safe, and I trust you with my life. It might have even been love in some other life, but… I've chosen who I want to be with. I've made promises, Jasper. I'm an imprint, for God sake, I can't hurt him like that. I mean, it's not like he can go off and be with anyone else-"

"A wolf." The sound was a slight growl the words were said so forcefully. "You're bounded to a wolf."

"Yes," I answer softly, feeling relieved as his anger ebbed away only to be replaced with an aching sadness.

"He won't live forever, Bella," he whispered, his eyes on the floor as if to shield me from the full force of his emotions. "Things happen. His job is a dangerous one after all."

"Japser," I gasped out in horror and pain.

"Oh no," he assured, "I wouldn't do anything to hurt you, Bella. I just want you to know if anything should happen, I'll be waiting for you. After all," he said with a forced smile, "I've got nothing but time."

Quick as a breeze, he was gone. I stood there, in the kitchen for some time trying to understand the dull ache that coursed through me. I hurt for him, for the pain I'd caused, but it couldn't be help. I loved Seth, I needed him but some part of me wanted Jasper. I felt like a horrible human being. Honestly, who wants to be with two people at once? Mom always told me you couldn't love two people at once, but in that moment I knew I did. But I had to go with the one I loved more, I had to go home to Seth. Shaking myself from my stupor, I put the groceries away and went off to bed, knowing I wouldn't sleep well and that tomorrow's home coming would be bitter sweet at best.

-Seth-

Bella. That sums up the whole of my thoughts the entire plane ride home. Charlie and Quil were waiting for us at the little airport in Port Angeles to drive us the rest of the way. I, of course, jumped in the police cruiser, desperate for any news about my girl. "She'll be home soon," he assured me, but considering she wasn't home already I found no comfort in it. When he talked to her, she'd practically demanded that he and mom continue with their wedding plans. "We'll be getting married tomorrow around sunset on Second Beach." Charlie smiled when he talked, but his face went serious after a moment of silence. "Seth, you're gonna be the man of the house while your mom and I are away. I know it's just a week, and that vampires can't go on the rez, but I need you to promise you'll protect my baby girl while I'm gone."

"With my life." My inner wolf growled viciously at the thought of another fanged fucker coming anywhere near Bella. It was bad enough one was being trusted to bring her home, but Sam had more or less alpha ordered me to stay on the rez until Bella got back. My dreams of her had stopped, leading Sam to believe she was no longer in danger and that I needed to "calm the fuck down" before he neutered me. I winced at the thought and worked on keeping my cool – shifting inside a cop car, not a good idea.

Once we reached home, I went for a run to release some of my anxiety. Charlie wasn't sure when she'd be home, just that it'd be by tomorrow night and I couldn't standing sitting around when my bond was calling for me to find my mate. It was dusk when I got back home, finding a note telling me dinner was in the fridge and that Charlie and mom had both been called in on graveyard shifts, meaning I'd be alone until sometime early the next morning. Sighing to myself, I showered, taking my time washing all the grim from my body and toweled off quickly. I was about to step into a pair of boxers to sleep in, but since I was alone I didn't really see the point. It was as I was about to lay down that the scent coming from Bella's room really hit me. Almost in a trance, I found myself rolling around on her bed, surrounding myself in all things Bella, and was quickly lulled into a deep sleep. The sound of the phone woke me. I wasn't sure what time it was, or even where I was for a moment, as I blindly reached out for the cordless phone on Bella's nightstand. "Hello," I answered, my voice still rough from sleep. In return I heard something that stilled my heart, the sound of Bella saying my name. My eyes practically rolled in the back of head as something akin to ecstasy filled me. I must have been lost in a Bella induced haze longer than I realized, because her voice sounded worried. "Where are you?" Here I was, surrounded by her smell with the sound of her voice filling my ears. I needed her here, needed to be next to her… in her.

"Besides, I didn't think you'd mind being alone with me," she teased, not realizing how hard her words made me.

"My Bella," my inner wolf growled. Fuck, we'd be alone for almost a week. What was my patrol schedule this week? I'd found out tomorrow. I knew I'd have Bella completely on one of them, the imprint pull was too strong to be denied, but I could at least make Bella's first time special – assuming it was her first time. She was a virgin before the abduction, but –

I was pulled back to our conversation to hear Bella telling me she'd see me tomorrow, and that she loved me. Me and my wolf both hummed with contentment as I hung the phone up. My Bella wasn't afraid to admit her feelings for me, no matter who was in the room (and I had undoubtedly heard someone enter the room with her). She loved me, my Bella, my mate… Soon, I soothed my wolf, soon she would be irrevocably ours.

-Jasper-

We were halfway through Wyoming when the Major let me come back to myself. The knowledge that Peter had given him – us – of Bella's potential path… what Alice had stolen from us, weighed heavily on us both. It was a heavy felling of fear and anguish that made me pull over off the interstate to a nearby fast food restaurant. I called her name softly, the sound of it both calming and hurting me in equal measure. Her brown eyes fluttered open, and relief at seeing me came from her in waves. She felt safe with me, and that knowledge did balm my soul slightly. "Why don't you go in, use the restroom or get something to eat," I prodded gently, handing her two twenty dollar bills. "I'm going to head across the street to the gas station, then I'll park back here and wait for you." She nodded, with a soft, yet embarrassed smile before getting out of the car. I watched her enter the building before driving away.

I used my credit card to pay at the pump, under the carport where the sun couldn't reach me, and filled up the gas tank, then returned to the restaurant parking lot as I said I would. I had parked under an oak tree and waved at Bella, who sat by a window, before walking around the car and sitting in the passenger side. It had only taken her five minutes or so to join me at the car, a confused expression on her face as she sat in the driver's seat. "Won't I be too slow for you?"

I remember that Edward had never let her drive, and shrugged my shoulders. "Not like I'm getting any older," I joked. "You were talking in your sleep, Bella," I said wearily. "Figured you'd want to stay awake for a while."

"Thanks, Jasper."

She did drive slow. She is human after all, but I dealt with it fairly well, knowing it was what she needed. An hour outside of Helena, I had taken control of the vehicle once more, as Bella's eyes were becoming heavy with sleep. I took her to a ranch I had bought on the outskirts of the big city before I'd even met Alice. Peter had assured me countless times in the past that he and Charlotte would make sure it stayed in good repair, but was still relieved to see it in sure good condition. I went to the master bedroom and gave Bella one of my old button ups that Alice never let me wear, and headed into town for something for Bella to eat in the morning. I'd returned to see her on my cell phone in only my shirt, causing my body to tense at the possessiveness that ran through me. Then her brown eyes locked with mine as she said her farewells into the phone, my vampire mind saving the way she sounded as she said "I love you," into my memory. Some part of me snapped, and before I knew what was happening I was kissing her… Then she kissed me back.

Joy and pleasure coursed through me at the feel of my potential mate in my arms, returning my affections, but I knew I couldn't hold on to that fantasy – as much as I'd have liked to. Isabella Swan wasn't mine, and I had to let her go. I gave her a choice, and though I was pissed she was with a flea ridden mutt, I had to let her live her life. I had made her aware of my feelings, let her know I'd always be there for her knowing full well I'd probably never hold her the way I ached to. The dryer kicked off as I entered the house, the buzzing sound bringing me out of my thoughts. Forcing my feelings down, I found a bag to put Bella's newly cleaned clothes in, then ran to my room. I searched around until I found the item I wanted to leave her in an old jewelry box that had once been my mother's and placed it on a chain, and then into an envelope. Next, I penned a quick letter, placed it also in the envelope and sealed it. The envelope went into her clothing bag, which went into the passenger seat of the car. Racing back into the house, I lifted Bella –complete with pillow and comforter – and laid her down in the back seat of the car. I made sure the house was secure, and then drove off towards Washington with the sound of Bella's heartbeat soothing me along the way.

It was only a little under twelve hours away, I made it in five hours – just before dawn. I checked her into a hotel in Forks for the day, leaving the bag of clothes next to the bed and writing a quick note that I'd prepaid for a local phone call so she could call her father. In truth, I'd paid three hundred dollars for a hundred and fifty dollar room. Assured that Bella would be alright, I headed towards the Cullen residence. I had a job to do after all…