Bella's POV

"Bella," Carlisle spoke.

"Not now," I told him focusing back on Isabella.

We need to remind Jasper of his past. We need to remind him of how awful Maria was to him, how awful Maria was all together. We need to save Peter and Charlotte. We've got to think.

Yes, I know, but what do we do. I know he will listen to us, I do, but we need to do something in the meantime.

Call Peter. Get him to run through the South with Jasper on his tail. Maybe something will trigger in him. In the meantime we should grab a flight to Texas because this hole in our chest, these feelings we're feeling, well they're only going to get worse until Jasper's back by our side.

You're right.

Let's go and bring our Jasper back to us. We can do it, I know we can. I just hope we can do it before it's too late.

Me too, I agreed before turning my attention back to reality, back to everyone in the room. They were all looking at me shocked and concerned. I would fix this, I had to fix this.

"Alice, phone," I barked and she handed it over before going over to Leah's side. I pulled up her contacts and found Peter's number under, mind fucker, and hit dial.

"Bella, finally," Peter spoke and he seemed out of breath. "I can see some of your plan and it looks promising, fill me in, so we can fix this."

"Run through the south, anywhere you think Jasper will remember his time with Maria, we need to knock some sense into him. Think of the most important place in Jasper's past and text Rose the location. I'm taking the first flight to Texas and I'll be there soon. Whatever you do, just keep ahead of him Peter. Bye."

I hung up the phone and turned my attention to back to the group.

"Rose, you're coming with me," I announced and she nodded her head in acceptance.

I ran up to Jasper's bedroom and packed a small bag before meeting Rosalie.

"Bella," Carlisle spoke, voice full of concern. "Do you know what you're doing?" he asked me carefully.

I shrugged my shoulders in response. A plan would come to me, I just knew it.

"Jasper is my mate and I will save him from himself," I told everyone in the room before heading to the garage. Rose followed me.

We got in her car and I noticed all the Cullen's standing there, all looking sad, all looking helpless. Carlisle was comforting an inconsolable Esme. Emmett only had eyes for his mate Rose, and they seemed to be communicating silently. Alice was looking at me fearfully with Leah brooding behind her. I waved at them. I would be fine, surely, and I would bring Jasper back home.

We headed for the airport in Seattle before boarding the plane for Texas. As we landed the heat hit me and it instantly reminded me of Phoenix and I smiled. James and Victoria were dead, and I was alive, more alive than I had ever been. Rose's phone beeped and it was a message from Peter, it held the co-ordinates we needed. Rose went to get us a rental car whilst I just waited, enjoying the heat. She came back and put the co-ordinates in the GPS before setting out. I noticed it was going to take a while, so I took the time to get some rest.

I woke up just as we came to a stop and I was glad to feel refreshed. "Where are we?" I asked as I got out of the car.

"I don't know," Rose responded joining me. The sun had just set. "I don't know much about Jasper's past."

"Me either," I regrettably admitted. I wish I had asked him, but he had been so concerned with me and getting me better that there was never any time, but now it was time for me to help him.

I grabbed Rose's phone off her and did a search on the location. A lot of information came up, too much. I closed my eyes before typing in the Civil War. It narrowed the results, but I still needed more. I typed in Whitlock as well and just prayed and the phone brought forth results. I quickly read the article. Major Jasper Whitlock, missing in action, presumed dead. It seemed he went missing on his way back to Galveston after saving women and children from the enemy forces. This must be where Maria changed him I deduced.

"Get in the car and go," I told Rose sternly. She was about to protest, but I growled in warning at her. I sent a quick message to Peter to head this way before throwing the phone at Rose. "Go," I told her once again and she reluctantly got into the car and left.

I stood and I waited. I didn't know how far away Peter was, but I was glad he was heading this way. I rubbed my chest gently, the pull was there, but the pain was manageable. I still didn't know how I was going to convince Jasper to give up his fight and move on, but I knew that I had to try. I desperately wished I knew more about his past so that I could use that, but I'd just have to use his love for me instead. He would listen to me, I knew that much.

It wasn't long later when I noticed all the birds fly away from me. I guess they could sense the danger coming. Are you ready? Isabella asked me. If you're right here with me, then I'm ready, I replied. I could feel Isabella right there, so I knew that we would be fine. I saw Charlotte approaching first and I stood my ground. As she got closer I could see just how out of breath she was and how dirty her appearance was. She stopped just in front of me, looking around her cautiously.

"I don't have much time," she spoke to me quickly. "Peter told me to run ahead. He told me to warn you. Jasper, he's becoming savage. I've heard he was like this towards the end. He knew that Maria was going to kill him, so he planned to kill her, but he never would have went through with it. Maria made Jasper do all her dirty work, she made him change the humans and she made him kill the newborns. Use this, help him please."

She heard a noise and her head shot up.

"I've got to go," Charlotte said fearfully. "Be safe, Bella, please."

I nodded my head in response and then she was gone. I waited, again.

Peter broke through and he slowed down as he passed me, but he didn't stop.

"Head North," I told him. I knew that if the run through the South hadn't gotten to Jasper then no other location would, so we may as well head back to our reinforcements.

I kept my gaze on the tree line, I needed to be focused. As soon as I caught sight of Jasper I needed to shield him. It took longer than I expected, but he finally broke free and I extended my shield around him. He was running straight at me, full speed. I set up a wall and he ran straight into it. Whilst he was down I secured my shield around him more tightly, not allowing him to get up from the ground.

"Bella," Jasper gritted out.

I walked closer to him until I was standing over him. The first thing I noticed were his eyes, they looked crazed, like that of a newborn. I didn't speak, I just allowed him to vent his frustrations.

"Let me go!" he snapped. "I've got to kill them, they deserve to die."

I stayed silent, just staring him down.

"You can't do this to me. I am your mate, you need to listen to me."

I wanted to scoff at that, but I kept my face blank and kept a tight lock on my emotions.

"Let me go!" he repeated. "I allowed you to kill Victoria, now you need to allow me to do this." I stayed silent and he let out a frustrated growl.

Jasper seemed to get that I wasn't going to talk to him, not when he was acting like this and he slowly settled down, keeping his mouth shut. I stalked him, walking back and forward as he continued to calm down further, his eyes never left me. When he had given in almost completely I spoke.

"Do you recognize this place?" I asked him as I stopped and turned away from him. He didn't reply, so I continued. I softened my voice. "I knew you were a Major in the army, but I didn't really get it, you know. You were so young, but you were so talented. The youngest Major they ever had, it's impressive. I bet you were fierce on the battlefield, but you were also fair. You saved so many people that night, do you remember? You gave them safe passage, you made sure they were all safe."

I turned back around and looked at him. He seemed more calm, but I could tell he was still fighting it.

"You were heading back to Galveston that night, but you stopped didn't you. You saw a woman in need of help and you stopped to help her."

I watched his eyes carefully and I saw the recognition in them before he covered it up.

"She took advantage of you Jasper. She killed you. She turned you into a vampire."

"You don't know what happened that night," Jasper accused me, he was right.

"I know," I responded. "You never told me. I only know little bits and pieces from your life, yet I expect that you know everything about mine, but it doesn't matter as we're mates Jasper. Whether you like it or not we are in this for the long haul. Without me you die."

"So?" he scoffed. "Maria is dead."

"Are you serious?" I asked him confused. "James kidnapped me, he kept me in a basement for two years. He fed me raw coyote meat. He killed my mother. And through all this his mate despised me. Victoria hated me with such a passion that she force fed me venom, venom which is now slowly killing me, but do you know what? I never gave up, I never gave in. James was to turn me into a vampire and after my newborn years I was going to kill him and Victoria, but that wasn't needed. James died and you saved me from myself. I've been through hell and back, but now I'm finally free. They are dead and I can now move on, but I'm not moving on without you."

I looked at him closely, he seemed to be listening to me. Good.

"You saved me Jasper, let me save you," he didn't respond. "Maria imprisoned you Jasper, for a whole century. She didn't teach you how to survive only how to fight. She didn't care for you, only that you were a great asset for her. She sat back whilst you did all the dirty work. She made you kill humans and change them for the purpose of war and then she made you kill them when they became useless. She made you do everything even though she knew you could feel everything that they were feeling. She didn't care about you, but Peter and Charlotte did. They were your friends, they kept you grounded. You should be thankful that they killed her, now you no longer have to worry about her. She is gone forever."

"They killed Maria," he repeated, but it lacked conviction.

I had a theory and I decided to run with it.

"Did they?" I asked him and he looked at me confused. "Did they really kill her or did you? The Major was trying to protect you, but do you really think he would let them kill Maria when he could do it so easily himself?" I saw him thinking it through. "Ask him," I dared. "Bring him forth and ask him."

Jasper's POV

I looked up at my Bella. She seemed so strong, so fierce. She was claiming that the Major killed Maria, not the Captain or the Lieutenant. Was she correct? Did the Major kill Maria? Did I kill Maria? Her story of James and Victoria struck a chord with me, she was right. And then she told me about Maria, how she knew some of these things I had no idea as I had not told her. She was right though, Maria put me through hell, she never cared about me.

"Ask the Major?" Bella repeated and I gave in.

"Did you kill her?" I asked him and he replied, yes. "Show me," I demanded him. He let out a sigh, but he dropped the barrier between our minds and I saw everything, not just that night, but everything Maria put me through, everything that the Major was trying to protect me from all these years.

The images ran through my mind and I caught all of them and they were all horrible. Thanks to my vampire memory I would never be able to forget this, it would be with me forever. Everything I had done, all those innocents I had killed. Every single one of their emotions that they felt when they died, I could feel it all, see it all. And then he showed me her death. Maria was standing there proudly, she had incapacitated Peter and Charlotte, she was trying to convince me to join her again, but the Major stayed strong. He played into her weaknesses and then he killed her. He killed her and burned her. I watched as Maria was no more and then I saw the Major piecing Peter and Charlotte back together again. Maria did that, she tried to kill my family.

I looked up at Bella again. Bella, my mate. She was so strong, so much stronger than me. I couldn't feel her emotions, but I could see the concern she had in her eyes for me.

"Let me feel you," I demanded and she looked at me for a long while before deciding.

She opened her floodgates and I was surrounded by her strong emotions. I noticed straightaway that they were no longer suffocating. They weren't a big black cloud of death, no they now held hope and not misplaced hope. Bella was working through her issues and she was becoming a better person for that. But most important, I could feel her concern for Peter and Charlotte, plus even stronger was her love and concern for me. She didn't want me to make a mistake that I would regret. She only told me of Maria's death so that I would no longer be burden by the past. So that we could move on together. She just wanted our future to be bright with nothing from the past to hold us back. I loved her so fucking much.

She locked her emotions back up and I allowed mine to flow free. I hit her with my love, not a concentrated dose either, I hit her with the whole lot. I saw her waver under just how much I loved her, but she took it on board willingly. I also sent her my gratitude for saving me from myself. And finally I sent her my regret for my behavior and showed her that I had abandoned my quest for revenge. I would no longer kill anybody. I was the one who killed Maria anyway, so if I was to kill anyone it would have to be myself, and there was no way I was leaving Bella on this world by herself.

She dropped her shield and dropped to her knees beside me. I knelt to meet her.

"I'm so sorry," I told her sincerely.

"It's okay." Bella rested a hand on my cheek and I relished her warmth. "I'm just glad you came back to me, and that Peter and Charlotte are alive."

"They're never going to look at me the same way again," I admitted sadly. It wasn't the Major who went after them this time, no, it was me.

"It will take a while for them to trust you again, but they will," Bella assured me. "Give me your phone."

I reached into my pocket and handed it over. Bella sent off a text message before calling Rose.

"Bella, are you alright?" came Rose's frantic voice.

"I'm fine, Jasper's fine. Come back and pick us up. It's time to head home."

Bella hung up and I immediately brought her into a hug. "I love you so fucking much," I told her before kissing her. I only pulled back when I noted that she was out of breath.

"As I love you, my mate," she replied, pushing all the love she felt towards me and I thankful to feel that it was starting to rival my own. "Let's go home," she whispered to me, her hand still firmly on my cheek. "And we can begin to heal together."

I nodded my head in acceptance before pulling her in for another kiss.