The sound of Her talking had been the only thing distracting him from the pain his body was in.

He recognized the voice. It was the same one he'd been hearing over and over again since before this torture began. Always gentle, always loving.

He could link it to a face too, though it was blurry. A face with golden eyes framed by black hair. He could remember them together. But something was wrong, there were feelings of pain and rejection. Despite those feelings he couldn't refrain from feeling a primitive desire for her. He needed her.

Memories floated in and out of his conscience during moments of clarity. Memories of being unhappy, memories of his mother's grave, memories of war, memories of therapy. All these feelings of being powerless annoyed him. They fuelled the angry beast inside of him.

He didn't remember himself to be as a weak man. And he didn't feel weak, even as he was in agony.

He remembered getting out of every situation he disliked. He remembered pursuing his goals without giving up. He remembered excelling in whatever he did. He was a chaser, and he always got what he wanted in the end.

And She, she had something to do with it. He didn't know whether she'd helped him with getting away from his misery, or whether she was a thing he was chasing.

After years in purgatory, his smell finally returned to him. Wood and moss. Cleaning product. Dirt. She, and Others.

Then his taste came back. His mouth was as dry as a dessert. He needed something. Desperately.

He had to get it.

He tried to move his hand towards his face to try and get the sand out of his mouth. A finger budged.

He could move! His eyes flew open as soon as he realized this.

Seven people stood against a wall.

Threats.

No, not threats.

He recognized all of them.

Except for the couple who appeared to be in their mid-twenties.

He became aware that was currently in a sitting position against a wall. He came to a stance again.

She had moved towards him, and now stood in the middle of the room.

Alice.

The pixie goddess descended from the heavens.

'Jasper, how are you feeling?'

His hand instinctively went towards the only part of his body which was still in pain; his throat.

'I understand. Do you know my name?'

'Alice.'

Her eyes lit up as she took a step towards him. He took a step forward as well, the rest of the room moved. All figures tensed up.

A threat?

Where?

He crouched again.

'Do you… Remember what happened?'

What happened?

Memories of sex with Alice came to mind.

Again. Take her. His brain said.

That didn't explain how he came to be in a room with seven others.

He remembered walking. He remembered being attacked.

The memories were blurry. He couldn't remember the face or the words his attacker used.

He could only remember the crippling fear as he tried and failed to get away.

'I got attacked.'

'Yes.'

She took his hand, and brought it to his chest.

'What do you hear?'

He didn't understand. Should he hear something?

She guided his hand towards her chest, right on top of her bosom.

'What do you feel?'

Nothing.

No heartbeat.

Dead. Yet she stood there.

She took his free hand and placed it onto his chest.

Knowledge which suddenly seemed so basic came flooding back. Heartbeats, breathing, blinking, bleeding. His mind was running a hundred miles an hour, but he couldn't keep up. The thoughts rushed by and only the most important thought, of the hundred thoughts and sensations, stuck with him.

Not human.

'What happened?'

'You died. Because of the attack.'

He was pretty sure it had to mean something, but his brain was too busy processing the colours in the room, the scents in the air, and his feelings for her.

It all seemed trivial.

'You were transformed into a vampire. The burning you feel in your throat right now, is thirst. You need to feed.'

He needed blood, he realized.

'I'm sorry I couldn't save you in a normal way.'

'But I didn't know when or where it would happen. If only I had paid more attention or focussed more. Perhaps I should have done as Edward said and followed you day and night to ensure your safety… But I didn't want to infringe on your privacy. Whoever killed you decided to do so in a very rash last minute decision. I didn't get a clear vision of it until it happened, and I only saw you dead once before. It was… It might as well not have happened. Yet it did and now you're losing your life because of it. If I ever find that man, I'll kill him myself. I wish I'd gotten a clear visual of his head.'

Her voice was less clear in his memory.

'You didn't know. And you respected my privacy too much to guard me.'

'You remember.' Her eyes sparkled with a mix of pain and relief. He could kiss her right now. His body begged for it.

He suddenly remembered being human. And knew it was different to what he was now. He remembered going to school. He remembered wanting to have a good life in which she could fit. That had been his goal.

But if she was immortal, that meant that while he was human, she was not.

'You saved my life.'

'Well, technically Carlisle did, but we took it. Now you won't be able to finish your degree. Or do anything much the next few years. You'll have to be kept away from society to adjust.'

No, his dreams. His goals. His chase.

'Why?'

'It's not safe for the humans, you won't be able to control yourself.'

But then what was he to do?

'You can stay with us', another voice answered.

He turned towards the bronze haired boy.

'We're used to taking care of new vampires.'

No, it was his goal. He wanted to do it. Alice was way too competent and rich. He didn't want to be the inferior party. He needed to be worthy of her.

'Well, you'll have to learn to control your bloodlust, but from then onwards you'll be free. Until then we'll support you and make sure no harm comes to the humans.'

'You read minds.'

'I do.'

'Keep out.'

The boy's eyebrows rose to a comical height.

'I'm locked out. I can't hear him anymore.'

'Interesting', the blond man whispered.

'Alright, let's just focus on the feeding for now. I'm sorry you have to go through this Jasper. I'm sure it's all very confusing right now.'

'We'll all go together. But Alice, maybe you could stay behind so you can freshen up? You haven't left his side in three days.'

Jasper's eyes immediately shot to the short raven haired girl. She smiled and lifted her shoulders. 'Had to make sure you were fine', she said. Just like that, like caring for him was a normal thing to do.

His memories were muddled in a way he didn't understand, but as far as he could remember there weren't many people that cared for him, if there were any at all. His new vampire brain had quite forgotten all the friendships he'd built up and lost during his time in the army and the few he'd had in high school.

'Do you want me to come, Jasper?'

Edward stared her down. The amount of time he had been able to look into Jasper's mind had been enough to inform him that the man was way too much in love with Alice, and very much overwhelmed by his vampiric nature. Bringing Alice along for the hunt would distract him. Bloodlust and romantic lust could provoke each other. All the couples in the family had their fair share of experiences in that area. But for a first time hunter, who had no control over his bloodlust, it was a dangerous thing. He could jump Alice in front of the family or he could be too distracted to keep himself from going after the scent of a human. The last one could and would still happen, but the chances were less likely if he was focussed.

But at least the man didn't appear to be an empath. Nobody had experienced feelings like uncontrolled hunger or confusion since he woke up. At least the panic and pain of the animals he attacked wouldn't intensify any possible guilt he might have for murdering animals.

And the hunger and negative feelings of others in the house wouldn't weigh him down either, which was a good thing since he already had so much to deal with as a newborn with a pretty shitty previous life.

It intrigued Edward that the new vampire had managed to lock him out of his head. Not many vampires had that ability. Perhaps the hunt would be the ideal moment to analyse Jasper and discover any other talents.

'You can stay, rest.'

'I don't need rest, we can't sleep.'

'Why?'

'I don't know, guess we don't need it.'

'Yet half of you have dark circles underneath your eyes.'

'That's when we're hungry. Carlisle has a lot of interesting ideas on why that is, you should hear him out sometime, if you're interested', Alice replied as she pointed towards the blond haired man.

Jasper nodded and looked toward Alice again.

'But you can rest without sleeping?'

'Yes, I can indeed', she admitted with a smile.