A/N: A quick thank you to everyone who added this story in their alerts and/or added it to their favorite list. It truly means a lot to me.

Chapter 41-

Jasper's POV-

It was over.

It was finally over.

Stefan lay in ashes, purple fumes lighting up the barren ground in front of us, his loss bringing with it the intense relief that only the completion of an incomplete story could bring with it.

We were now free to make a new start, Bella's past no longer an unaccomplished revenge with the intense desire to be fulfilled.

Our burdens had now vanished, leaving us free to make a new start.

We were free to start our life together, this time with no hidden secrets or incomplete wishes, no past out to get us or the unsurety of the future that lay in front of us.

We were free of all of that… free to be just Jasper and Bella about to make a new start in their life together…and I could not have been any elated.

It was finally over!

"Bella," I wrapped my arms around her, going to stand beside her, her head coming to rest on my shoulder, a sigh of relief leaving her lips.

"I killed him." she mumbled, her eyes never once moving from the fumes visible in the sky. "He is dead."

I nodded my head in agreement, my arms clutching her tighter to me. "He deserved it."

She sighed, looking up at me, vulnerability and nervousness shining in her eyes. "You think my parents would be watching this? You think they must be relieved today knowing that he is dead?"

I took her hand in mine, soothingly running circles over her palm, my voice a soft whisper as I replied back to her.

"I think that wherever they are, they are always looking out for you, and yes, they would be relieved to see the burden lying on your shoulders since all this while, vanish. They would be happy to see that their daughter no longer lives with the need for revenge in her life. They would want you to live your life without any guilt or anger. So, yes, they would be happy today."

She smiled at me, nodding her head briefly.

I wished I had gotten to meet her parents.

Of course, they had passed away years away before I even walked into the State of Washington, but just…maybe, if I had known of the future turning out to be like this, I would have gone to meet Charlie and Renee Swan, probably under the disguise of being someone else…. but yet, content enough to meet them just once.

They were such an important part of Bella's life; the best memories of her childhood been spent with them. She missed them. She loved them, and I would have given anything to save her from the pain and suffering she had to go through. Heck, I could have stopped this entire story from occurring, killing Stefan before he even attacked Bella's parents, but what use is it to cry over spilt milk, and everything in life happens for a reason. We may not know it, and we may not like it, but we have no choice but to accept it.

"What are you thinking about?" Bella asked me, an unfamiliar lightness in her tone…. a lightness that was readily welcomed.

I smiled, kissing her lightly on the forehead, breathing into her warmth filled scent. "Us…. the future….where do you want to go from here?"

"Where can we go?" she asked me, curiously meeting my eyes.

I smiled back at her. "Wherever you want to go. You decide, and I will follow."

She grinned in reciprocation. "In that case, let's go on a world tour!"

I laughed at the excitement in her tone, pulling her closer to me.

I had a feeling that I would enjoy the coming years a lot, just my mate by my side, with nothing other than traveling and seeing the world in our future.

"At your service, ma'am," I pretended to bow, well aware that whatever Bella chose to do in her life, I would gladly follow…. though attending High School is where I draw the line.

I may love her like crazy…. but that does not mean that I am crazy!

She smiled. "Okay, then, where do you want to start? I was thinking Europe. Oh, we can go to Paris. I always wanted to see the Eiffel Tower."

I laughed, shaking my head to myself.

Had my mate always spoken this much, or was this a new development?

Either way, I liked to see her happy.

"We can go wherever you want to go, but first, we probably need to go back and see of where Peter and the others are."

I was still slightly worried over why Peter had forced the others to stay back, refusing to come here with us.

He was up to something, that much was obvious.

What but, I had no idea.

Bella hummed in agreement, the two of us walking back towards where the others were, hand in hand, never to let go again.

Damn. Mating had surely made me sappy!

Not that I was complaining…. much.

"Jasper, Bella," Charlotte smiled warmly as soon as the two of us were in sight, nodding her head to herself, the rest of them exactly where we had left them less than an hour ago. "How did it go?"

"He is dead." I said with a shrug.

It was not like it was a surprise for anybody. All of us had known that this was to come. Heck, we had gone prepared with this outcome in mind.

"Good riddance, I would say!" Kate shrugged.

Yeah, that was one way of putting it.

"So, what have you been up to?" I asked the head clown, I mean- Peter. Obviously, whatever had happened here, Peter was solely to blame for it.

Peter let out a breath, rolling his eyes as he put a hand to his chest. "Your lack of faith in me is disheartening."

I showed him the finger. "Enough with the dramatics. Answer the question."

He sighed audibly; mock hopelessness visible on his face. "I guess this is why my mother kept telling me to read 'The boy who cried wolf' over and over again, but it's not my fault that I could relate to the young boy and his ways more, refusing to pay attention to the moral of the story, selective comprehension completely to blame."

Anyone else looking out for a brick wall to bang their head in?

I know I am desperately searching for one!

"To answer your question," Char spoke up, thankfully, "We did have a few interesting visitors over."

Visitors?

Who?

"Who were these visitors?" I asked, confused and curious to know her answer.

"Well, for starters," Char hesitated, waving a hand in air.

"Edward was here." Maggie sighed, continuing the sentence on Charlotte's behalf.

I scoffed loudly, smirking. "No offense, Maggie, but the ants roaming around that tree," I motioned towards the tree in question, "are more interesting a visitor that Edward Cullen."

It was completely true, though.

She rolled her eyes, hiding a small smile. "Never said he was the interesting one."

Oh.

"Then, did you have any other visitors?"

Peter grinned. "Jasper, your supposed mate was here, demanding the right to see you, pleading for your forever to begin."

I turned to look at Bella, confused by his words.

My supposed mate?

Bella was my mate, and she was standing right next to me?

Oh.

Come on, now!

"Alice was here." I frowned, noticing that everyone was smiling, including my very traitorous mate, hiding her smile with her hand.

"See, Bella, I did not even need to give him another hint. He just knew that I was referring to her." Peter stated, adding fuel to the fire. He was exceptionally good at doing that, I admit.

"I am seeing everything, and I will be keeping note of it." Bella stated, crossing her arms over her chest, her emotions telling me clearly that she was just joking. "Maybe I should go and find that wolf boy. His devotion was unapparelled."

"Don't you dare." I growled out at her.

Kidding or not, Bella was mine. Only mine!

Bella smirked, her head tilting slightly to the side. "Have I ever told you that you have a very sexy growl? It is an instant turn on."

"Oh. Is it now?" I teased, smirking.

I couldn't wait to be alone with my mate, touring the world together with her hand in mine….

When can we leave from here?

Why did we even have to come back here to inform the others that Stefan was dead; Peter and Garrett have mates, they would completely understand my dilemma.

See, this is my stupidity that has come back to bite me in the ass!

"Yup," Bella stated, grinning wide, only the two of us in this special world of ours….

"Still your granddaughter, you know?" Charlotte protested, breaking the very bubble we had formed around us, with a hammer instead of a needle. "I don't want to see this."

"Then turn around and look that side." I pointed out the obvious. She did not want to see this, so she should look the other way…. right?

"No. No." Peter added his two cents for some unknown reason. "You will have enough time for this in the future- your decade long honeymoon a proof of that, but for now we need to hurry."

Decade long honeymoon….

Wait. What?

"Why?" I questioned, partly curious and partly anxious.

Why did we need to hurry?

Where was the fire?

Peter smirked, his head tilting to look towards the woods behind us, almost as if expecting someone to pop out of there. "Now, remember, Jasper, let Bella do her thing. You may be her all-knowing mate, but she will be able to get you out this, better than what you could have ever thought of doing."

All- knowing and me?

Look who is talking!

Wait. What?

Peter and his cryptic-ness were enough to give a person a constant whiplash, if not a migraine, the latter being much more a possibility at the moment…. or ever, when talking to Peter.

"What do you even mean by that?" I asked, frowning heavily.

He let out a breath, never answering my question, his eyes not once moving from the empty space a short distance from where we stood, causing the rest of us to turn and look in that direction, as well, Bella's hand coming to clutch into mine tighter, nervousness visible in her eyes.

I reassured her, wordlessly, that everything would be alright.

I didn't know of what this was, but whatever it be, we would deal with it together.

I didn't have to wait for my answer much, as soon, several shadows started to walk out of the trees, slowly approaching us in a planned V, their black robes and downcast faces giving them the impression that they so desired.

I gulped, no stranger to who these people were. I had seen them enough times before to be able to recognize them just by their walk, no need for me to even see their faces. Of course, the black robe being a dead- giveaway in this situation.

I turned to look at Peter in question, his nod telling me that this was supposed to happen exactly the way it were happening.

We were supposed to face them, the question only being of sooner or later.

Had I been given a choice, I would have unapologetically chosen 'later', but now that I had no choice, I would gladly have to work with this, doing my best in the situation in front of me.

"Jasper," Bella turned to look at me, confused by the sight of fifteen unknown vampires walking in our direction, led by Aro -Marcus and Caius a step behind -followed by everyone else. Even the wives were here, which I knew was a big deal, rarer than even seeing the blue moon.

Aro and Caius never let their wives out of the tower in which they were locked, unless it was exceptionally and critically needed.

I sighed, running a hand through my hair.

Why were they here?

This surely complicated stuff.

I turned to look at my mate, nodding my head at her. "It is time, Bella. They have finally arrived."

"Oh." She gulped, looking away, "The Volturi?"

Her voice was a mere whisper, almost as if she had hope in mind that if she muttered it too low for anybody to hear, the outcome would change.

Unfortunately, it wouldn't.

I sighed, letting out a breath, looking ahead, this last hurdle to clear before we got our forever. "Yes."

She clutched to my arm tighter, refusing to let go of me, the contact deeply welcomed at the moment.

I turned to look at Aro, my mate firmly by my side.

Whatever the outcome of this confrontation be today, Bella and I would be together, the place of our togetherness of no importance.

"Aro," I spoke confidence, refusing to let him see the fear and unsurety I held in heart. "I hadn't known that you are touring these parts. I would have been prepared had I known."

"Better prepared, how?" he smiled, showing all of his creepy white teeth, an intimidation tactic, of course, not that I could be intimidated, never by him, at least. "By running away and hiding?"

I scoffed at that, smiling, with no trace of hesitance in my body language. "Aro, you know me better than that. I am no coward. I could never choose the easy way out of running away or hiding, and what reason do you have to fear? You do have Demetri in your guard." I motioned towards the man in question.

He grinned, nodding his head in agreement. "Of course, Demetri is rather kind to me."

"So, any purpose for your visit?" I enquired, waiting to see of what he had to say.

"Innocence does not suit you, Jasper," he scoffed, "especially not after what you have done."

"And what have I done? If could make me aware, too?" I stated, refusing to give in first.

He frowned. "You disobeyed my word. You did not complete the assignment given. That is a crime in itself. I could punish you for it."

"Now, Aro," I smiled, "while we are on the topic at hand, do you remember that it is advised against killing only one of the mated pair, a given that the other would come back to take revenge. Also, you are mated, you know of how we cannot live without our other half, our existence incomplete without their presence in it. Look at Marcus, he still pines for Didyme." I pointed towards Marcus, that latter looking away, almost as if he would rather be anywhere but here, which I believe could be true at the moment.

Even I wouldn't have been here, had anyone given me the option to choose.

"Yes," Aro stated, waving a hand in air, nonchalance thick in his eyes. "I do know of this, of course. I spread the word after all, but how is that even relevant to us at the moment. You have committed a crime and you will be punished for it. I had told you, Jasper, I don't offer second chances. Yet, you choose to defy me."

I shook my head, disagreeing with him. "Well, Aro, it does have complete relevance with what I am trying to say, for Bella," I wrapped an arm around her, "is my mate, and I wouldn't have killed my mate. Now, would I have?"

"Oh." Aro muttered, pin drop silence settling over us.

He had not expected that.

He had not seen that one coming.

"The human is your mate?" he scowled in disbelief. "How is that even possible? We can't mate with humans, the idea of that being simply preposterous."

I let out a chuckle. Did the man even have functional eyes?

Bella was standing right next to me!

"As you can see, she is no longer human. I recognized that she was my mate after she was changed, not before it."

"Does not excuse it," Aro stated, impatience audible in his tone. You knew this was a losing fight. Nobody would have killed their mate, the idea of even expecting someone to do so par ridiculous. "You were given an assignment and you failed to complete it. I have never bothered with excuses and I wouldn't be starting today."

"But I am his mate." Bella protested, taking a step ahead. "Would you kill your mate? I give you the assignment- go kill your mate."

Sulpicia almost looked frightened by Bella's words, peeking out from the shadows, Aro's impression apparently not that great on the home front.

Of course, who could even blame Sulpicia? Aro had indeed locked her up in a tower, refusing to let anyone but him see her, Corin excluded. She had every right to be cautious. Who knows when insanity would strike again?

Aro scoffed at Bella, shaking his head. "I am the leader of your kind. It is not the other way around; I will let you know. Jasper was bound to do as I said…"

"Where is the written contract?" Bella cut him off, Peter's smirk visible in my peripheral vision. Oh, so this is what he had meant when he had mentioned to let Bella do her thing. It was rather impressive, I had to admit.

"Um," Aro gulped. "Of course, there is no written contract. We are vampires. We don't need one." Aro declared, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Okay," Bella nodded her head, smiling briefly, "If not a written contract, do you have any other witness apart from your lackeys to prove that Jasper had indeed been given an assignment?"

"Of course not. We are the Volturi. We don't function the human way. But, of course, you wouldn't know that. You are nothing more than a newborn." He spat, his eyes glaring at my mate, causing me to almost take a step ahead to wipe that smirk placed on his face, only to be stopped by Peter's arm on mine, restraining me.

"Well, I may be a newborn," Bella commented, "But I do know that you have no proof to prove to anyone outside your followers that Jasper disobeyed your word. Heck, Jasper can very well disagree that he had even been given an assignment by you. Right, Jasper? And who would even blame him, which sane person would tell someone to kill their mate?"

I smiled, nodding my head in complete agreement, playing along. Aro was extremely image conscious. He would never do anything to harm his reputation, and killing so many vampires in one go was out of question. Even if he killed Bella or I, the others could still spread the word of his injustice, a fear that was now prevalent in his eyes. "I had never been given any assignment." I stated. "I don't even work for the Volturi." Well, officially, I had never worked for the Volturi. Aro's need for secrecy playing a big part in that.

Aro scowled. "I don't need any witnesses to prove my point. I am enough of a judge and jury, and I would have let the others go, but not any longer. They will pay the price for just standing on your side. Alec," he demanded, looking at the younger boy, a command in his eyes.

I saw Bella raise her arm, preparing to use her power, a sigh leaving my lips at this action. Bella was not that strong and in control of her power yet. She wouldn't be able to burn all of them in one go. That takes practice, much more than what Bella had.

This would be tough.

Maybe we could fight it out… or Bella could kill Aro, Alec's power not working on her in most probability. Of course, it wouldn't end the fight, but with Aro dead and the Volturi scattered, we could almost use it to our advantage….

"Master," I had expected numbness. I had expected pain, but never had I expected what came out from his mouth next, "I think Bella's correct."

What now?

"You can't ask someone to kill their mate." He boldly stated.

"Alec," Aro glared at him in question, the boy simply shrugging his shoulders in response.

What the hell was that now?

From when did Alec start refusing Aro something? Aro was like a father to him, his wish being Alec's command.

It was strange. I could almost feel the doubt and loyalty shift in the air. Alec's loyalties wavering by the second, artificial emotions shouting out to me.

These were not his emotions. He had not suddenly decided to disobey Aro. No, this was someone else's doing. Sure, I could manipulate emotions, but this doing was much more natural than what I could have ever done, and only one person in our world had such a brilliant power.

I looked towards her; a wink sent Kate's way not missed by me.

Oh, so she was the one that told Kate everything about the inner workings of the castle, the one that Kate trusted so much.

Why was she helping us out, but?

Not that I wasn't glad for it, but it was certainly unexpected a scenario.

"Felix," Aro soon recovered, his glare to Alec conveying that he would deal with him later.

"I am sorry, master," Felix shrugged, "I agree with Alec."

I almost laughed, hiding my laugh with a smile.

Damn, she was good.

"Demetri," Aro tried again, confused by what was happening here today. He trusted her too much to doubt her loyalties, a fact she was now taking serious advantage of.

"Master, I have been searching for my mate since centuries. How could you expect this from me?" Demetri looked terribly offended by Aro's command, the latter now even more in a soup.

He did not give up, though.

I would give him that.

He kept trying, asking each member of his guard, only to hear them mumble of how they wouldn't raise a finger against any of us, leaving Aro with no choice but to either fight alone, which he definitely did not have the guts to do, or let us leave unscathed.

"I guess I need to have a word with my coven." He stated, letting out a huff. "Don't think I am letting you go." he warned. "I am just giving you some more time. I will be back." He muttered awkwardly, turning back and walking away, several confused beings following him back to the Castle, unable to believe of what had just happened here.

She- our savior today- smirked at me, knowing that I was well aware of the truth of how this magic trick had occurred. I smiled back at her, silently promising her that her secret was safe with me.

"What just happened here?" Charlotte mumbled. "Am I dreaming?"

"I doubt you are." Peter mumbled, his eyes shining with knowledge. "But whatever it be, they are not returning, ever. Aro will be in shock for decades over what has happened today. He will be so mortified that he will never think of appearing in front of any of us ever again."

"You sure of that?" I asked him, his nod being my answer.

They were never coming back.

This chapter having finally come to an end, Aro no longer a problem in our life.

"So, it is finally over." Bella grinned, turning to look at me. "I guess miracles do happen. Look what happened here today." She laughed.

I laughed back, completely agreeing with her.

This was no less than a miracle.

"So, now?" she asked, taking in hand.

"Now," I smiled back, "Our eternity begins,"