Disclaimer : Stephenie Meyer owns all things Twilight.

Jasper

We all started to follow behind Aro. I don't know what I expected to happen when we met, but it wasn't that. Everyone's emotions were all over the goddamn place, including my own. Jacob imprinting on our trip was not in the plan and I had no clue what was going to happen. I could feel Bella was worried and wanted to reassure her everything would be alright, but I couldn't. Aro's emotions surprised me the most. When he first walked in I could feel a small dose of lust, which is normal. He's a man and Bella is beautiful.

Things quickly changed when his bright red eyes landed my gold ones. He was scared, so scared in fact I'm shocked he could find his voice. Not that I blame him, I can only imagine what he's seen me do. I knew Bella was upset by our exchange and promised myself to tell her everything, as soon as we got back to Florence.

I was proud of Quil and Jacob. They showed no fear, no weakness. Aro was intrigued by them before his gift wouldn't work, but once he found out he was fucking elated. I wasn't to shocked when Jacob agreed to phase for him. I could feel Jacob's hesitation as we got further down the hall. "Wait. Would it be alright for Gianna to join us?" Is he fucking kidding?I thought he was hesitant about phasing, but he was worried about that girl.

Aro chuckled, "That would be fine. I could see in Mr. Whitlock's mind that you are quite attracted to her. I assume you want her there to see you in wolf form?"

Bella was confused, "You can't do that Jacob."

"She is my imprint. I'm aware of the rules, Bella." He seemed a little smug. I could only guess it was because of finding her.

Aro walked over to Bella and stroked her cheek, "Bella, would you mind going and fetching Gianna? We will wait here." I couldn't contain the low growl that escaped my lips. They all turned to me, wide eyed. Aro smirked, "You seem to be quite possessive of someone, who does not belong to you." She will.

Bella put her hand on my arm, "It's okay, Jasper." She turned to Aro, "I'll be right back."

After Bella ran off Aro came to look me in the eye, "There is no reason to worry about Isabella when she is in my company, but if you love her, you better do something about it. I know a couple of my guards who would be happy to have her, especially after her change." I gained quick control. I wasn't going to let him get a rise out of me. Besides, she's was already mine, even if she didn't know it.

Bella came back with Gianna, "You wanted to see me, Master?" Jacob cringed at her words.

"Yes, this young man has requested for you to join us." Aro said pointing to Jacob.

"Of course, Master." Gianna was shocked and stumbled over her words. I'm sure she has never been invited to one of their meetings before.

Jacob quickly took his side beside her, "It's nice to meet you Gianna. I'm Jacob Black."

Her eyes glazed over and she looked like she had just seen God himself, "It's very nice to meet you as well, Jacob Black." We all laughed at the poor girl. I will never understand how the whole imprinting thing works, but it is very interesting to watch.

Aro motioned for us to follow and we continued down the hallway, until we came to a set of double doors. Aro pushed them open and I couldn't believe 'the vampire royal family' would buy into such a cliché. The building may look like a typical Italian business, but the rooms inside were decorated to look like an old English castle. In the middle of the room was a long marble dining table. There were two men already seated and I guessed they were Marcus and Caius. Each had a guard standing over their shoulder, two burly looking men. Aro went over to them at vampire speed and whispered low enough for not even me to hear. They both looked at Jacob and nodded. Marcus was amused, Caius was afraid and disgusted.

"You all please have a seat. Jacob, if you would follow me." Aro lead Jacob through another door, in the back of the room.

"It is nice to see you again, Bella." Marcus said quietly. He's words were sincere and I could already tell I would like him.

"Thank you, Marcus. I am glad to be here." She said smiling. "Caius." She gave him a curt nod.

Caius matched her tone, "Bella. Why don't you introduce us to your friends?"

"This is Jasper Whitlock-" She was cut off by his gasp. The two guards turned to look at him, while Marcus didn't seem to be phased at all.

Caius looked her in the eye, "The God of war?"Oh for Christ sake!

I spoke up before Bella could ask any questions, "As I explained to Aro, Bella and I haven't had a chance to go over my past. I would appreciate it if you would refrain from referring to it. I am happy to answer questions, but not now."

"No, we s-"

"He is her mate. It is not our place." I stared at Marcus in shock. Did he just call Bella my mate?

Before anyone could speak up, Aro came back in the room clapping his hands like an overly excited child, "Oh, brothers, it's wonderful! He is not a child of the moon at all."

"What does that mean?" Quil asked.

Aro could not contain his laughter, "You are not werewolves. You are shape shifters!"

Bella stared at Aro wide eyed, "But, what does that mean?"

Aro was radiating excitement, "Well, my dear, when you first called me and told me you were bringing werewolves, I thought you had gone mad. Once I saw them, I knew immediately they were not. They smell similar, but not near as strong. Werewolves could not be here, Bella. They would never have a civilized conversation with a vampire. Werewolves are vile creatures, they phase only at certain times and when there is a threat. They are now, almost extinct. Your friends are shape shifters, they can phase at any time. While I have never seen a shape shifter phase into a wolf, I have met many shape shifters, who take other form. I would guess their ancestor's spirits found their way into the body of a wolf to protect their land and it is has been passed down generation to generation. Is that correct, Quil?"

"Um, yeah I guess. The legends are similar to what you are saying. So we're not werewolves?" Quil was confused and a bit angry.

"No, my boy, you most definitely are not." Aro said with a smile. "Jacob, please come in now."

When Jacob walked in Caius, Marcus and their guards all gasped. "Isn't it wonderful?" Aro said.

"How did he manage to do it so fast?" Caius asked in shock.

Aro still staring at Jacob said, "I told you, brother, he is not a werewolf. He is a shape shifter."

"Amazing." Marcus said in awe.

Jacob made his way over to a stunned Gianna. He laid his head in her lap and she stared at him wide eyed. "He won't hurt you, Gianna." Bella spoke up. Gianna laid her hand on Jacob's head and began to stroke his mane.

She had tears streaming down her face, "You're beautiful." I could feel the love radiating off of her.

Aro turned to Marcus, "Marcus, can you tell us anything about the relationship between Jacob and Gianna."

Marcus nodded, "It's amazing really. If I didn't know better I would think they have been mated for decades. It will be interesting to see how their relationship progresses."

"No offense Marcus, but I don't have much faith in your little gift. The things you said about Edward and I were obviously wrong." Bella sneered.

Marcus chuckled, "None taken, however, I was not wrong about you and Edward. I have a couple theories on your relationship. Edward and Alice could have messed with fate when they decided to sleep with one another or maybe you were never meant for him. It is a possibility that you had to love him, to get to Jasper. My last theory has to do with you being human. I see it all the time, the human mind grows, it changes and so do their preferences. Humans out grow one another, where vampires do not. Seeing as Edward was the one who cheated I don't think that is the case, but if he didn't turn you, it would have happened eventually."

Bella was shocked, "Oh."

"Jacob, would you please phase back. I would like you to be able to join our conversation." Caius asked. He was still feeling fearful and I am sure that's why he asked. He seemed more comfortable with Jacob in human form.

"Before we go any farther, I would like to thank you all for accompanying, Bella. When I first contacted her, I wasn't positive she would require my assistance. I am glad she made the right decision and hope we can all move forward without incident." Aro then turned to Marcus and Caius, "Jasper has asked to turn Bella and she has agreed. We all know he has no problem preforming the process and I think we should allow it. He loves her and it will make Bella more comfortable." He just told her I love her! DO NOT LOOK AT HER! What did he mean he contacted her? What the fuck is going on?

"When will the change take place?" Caius asked.

"Actually, I was hoping you would give me until my birthday. It's in September and that will give me a few months to do some traveling and tie up some loose ends."

Caius was irritated, "How do we know you will go through with it this time?"

Bella matched his tone, "You know it was Edward's decision not to change me."

"She is right, Caius. Bella came to us remember?" Yes, I really liked Marcus.

"I need to ask for another allowance and please hear me out before you say no." Bella took a deep breath, "I need to be able to tell my father. I know the reason I'm here, but they never asked to tell me. I'm begging you, I'm the only family he has left. He is best friends with Jacob's dad, who already knows. He thinks Edward cheated on me with his biological sister. I've been lying to him long enough. Please don't make me lie to him anymore." She was practically yelling through her tears. I knew Charlie meant a lot to Bella, but I never thought about how much she would miss him. She never mentioned it before. This is just gets better and better.

Marcus answered, "Let us think about it, Bella. We will give you our answer the next time we meet."

"Jacob, I was wondering if you would ever consider joining our guard?" Aro didn't seem to be paying much attention to Bella's request. He was concerned with the wolves.

Jacob nodded, "It is negotiable."

"No, Jake what are you doing?" Bella cried out.

I agreed with her emotions. It was insane. "Jacob, maybe you should think about this!"

Caius looked at Jacob, "What do you propose?"

"I have to return home. I will not leave the pack, but if you allow Gianna to leave, I am willing to work with you on a come and go basis." Bella was crying & if I were able to cry, I would have. I didn't have anything against the Volturi, but I didn't really care for them either.

Aro turned to Gianna, "Do you wish to leave with Jacob, Gianna? You don't have to make a final decision today. I was hoping to have everyone back next week. You are permitted to leave with him today if you wish."

Gianna smiled at him, "Yes. I would like to leave with Jacob. This is all happening really fast, but I feel like I can't be away from him. I will give you my final decision when we return."

Aro returned her smile, "Very well. We will think about your proposition, Jacob."

"I will do it as well. I won't let Jake do this alone." Quil spoke up, shocking the shit out of everyone in the room.

Bella jumped out of her seat and turned to Quil, "What the fuck is wrong with you? Have you lost your goddamn mind? SAM IS GOING TO BE SO PISSED! This isn't the fucking Munsters, where all things supernatural get along. We aren't one big happy family!" No one was surprised by her outburst.

Jacob put his hand on Bella's shoulder, "Calm down, Bella. It will be fine. Sam will understand and before we tell him we will learn more about what the job entails." Bella sat back down, but didn't take her eyes of Quil.

"Why don't you and Jacob come back in a few days? You can meet the guard and we can answer any questions you may have." Marcus was calm as he spoke. Jacob and Quil both nodded.

"Now, Bella, let's get back to the real reason you are here." Caius' emotions let me know he was excited which lead me to ask,"Why are we here?" If I was going to change Bella, I wanted to know what was so important that she still needed to meet with them.

Caius looked me in the eye and answered, "The Cullen's of course. You all broke the rules. Our rules are simple. We only want to keep our kind safe. Edward came here begging for death and when Bella showed up he quickly changed his tune. We agreed to let them go with the one condition that Bella be changed. Edward has decided not to change her and from what she has told us, the rest of the family agreed. If Bella hadn't contacted us, we would have come after her and the Cullen's. Carlisle is Edward's maker and father; he should have stood up to him. Carlisle should have told him from the beginning to leave the human alone. Edward put Bella, her family, the Cullen's, and our kind in danger when he brought her into our world."

He was starting to piss me off. Bella was right, he is an asshole. "That didn't really answer my question."

"Bella has her own reasons for being here. What the Cullen's have done to her goes beyond breaking the rules. She wants revenge." Aro spoke in a matter of fact tone.

Bella looked at me, "No, not revenge. I want the Cullen's to finally suffer the consequences for their actions. They can't just run away every time something bad happens. The Cullen's are only out for themselves. I simply want to put them in their place." I nodded. I understood where she was coming from, I just wish I would have known before she involved the Volturi.

"I agree. Edward should have changed Bella when he said he would. Having no consequences will only lead to more broken rules. Carlisle has always been a friend, but we have allowed him to get away with many things in the past." Caius stated. I was glad he and Bella at least had that in common.

Not sure what he meant I asked, "What kinds of things?"

"Bella is not the first human Carlisle let know about us. He never told you?" Caius was surprised.

I was so confused, "No. No one has ever mentioned anything like that."

"I guess they wouldn't. It's not our story to tell, but I will say Edward was just following in Carlisle's footsteps. This is the second, of the same offense. We will not let it go this time." It was the harshest Marcus addressed any of us since we arrived.

I turned to Bella, "Did you know about this?"

She nodded,"Sorry I didn't tell you. Aro told me in confidence. I didn't think it would come up."

She was feeling ashamed. I gave her hand a small squeeze, "We will talk when we get to the hotel."

"Have you decided on a punishment?" Bella asked.

Aro gave her a small smile, "No. We would like to include you in that, but not until your change. We would like to see if you are gifted and then go from there."

I could feel the excitement rolling off of her, "Wow. I don't know what to say."

"Well, it is your decision if you would like to be involved." Caius was excited as well.

"Yes, of course I would."

Aro clapped his hands together, "Great, it's settled then. Quill, Jacob, and Gianna will return in a couple days. Jasper, I hope you and Bella will bring your guests along for your next visit." Oh, Rose and Emmett! No, probably not.

"I will have to speak with them, but Bella and I will be here next week."

Everyone shook hands except for Caius and the wolves. The meeting went better than I had expected. I keep telling Bella everything would be okay, but I really wasn't sure. The brother's were much nicer than I had expected. They all seemed to care about Bella, even Caius who was a jerk. Caius' guard walked us down to the lobby where we were waiting for Jacob and Gianna, who had gone to get her stuff.

"Bella, it was a pleasure to see you again. You're even more beautiful than the last." He picked up her hand and brushed his lips over her knuckles. I swallowed my growl, remembering what Aro had said earlier.

Bella smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes, "Thank you, Felix. I will see you next week."

Felix left us and I turned to Bella, "Friend of yours?"

She smirked, "Jealous?"

"Immensely."

"Is what he said true?" She was embarrassed and hopeful.

"What who said?" I knew what she was asking, but I really wasn't ready.

"Aro." Jacob, Quil, and Gianna were now all staring at us.

"Yes." I love you. I love you. I love you.

"Say it."

"I love you, Isabella." She wrapped her arms around my neck and brought my body to meet hers. I crushed our lips together and kissed her passionately. I broke our kiss and addressed her before she could respond. I knew she loved me, but I couldn't let her say it until she knew about my past. "Let's get going. We have a lot to discuss."

Coming up: Jasper & Bella talk, Getting to know Gianna, Hello Rosalie!

I have been debating if I want to get into Jasper's history. We've all read the books and many fanfics and I'm just not sure I want to dedicate a whole chapter to it. Please let me know if you want it. If not I'll do without it and just make it known it was discussed.