I remained still in spite of father's request. What had I done? Alice was right…this wasn't me. But I did not want her in any part of this. Seeing that thin band encircling her delicate finger, it reminded me how damning my presence was to her.

"Hey…Jas." Emmet offered as he cautiously made his way around me. "Are you here yet?"

I hesitated but eventually raised my eyes to meet his concerned expression. My eyes glaring and tight. "Where else would I be?" I snarled.

He held his hands up in defense and stepped back a fraction of a step. "…Fair. Where the hell is your head then bro? That's Alice."

"You don't think I know that?" I shouted before turning to run, but Edward was there in a defensive stance.

"We need to settle this Brother, before any harm comes of Alice." Edward hesitantly issued.

I softened myself, finally realizing just how prepared for battle my body had been. I could taste the concern and fear in the air around me. The most bitter of all lingered…Alice's.

I stiffened into a perfect posture, arms tucked behind my back, military training quickly taking way. I nodded to him brows knit closely together. Edward held his hand out to gesture towards Carlisle now. "We'll give you a second to dress Jasper." He offered tightly.

I could still feel the burn the contact of her skin left behind. The areas temporarily warmed by it. I was quick to dress, pushing the undeserved thoughts away.

When I turned again, I was met by the disapproving and astonished scrutiny of Esme who was still holding tight to Rosalie. Rosalie's glare was comparable to that of the most dangerous animal in existence, that of a motherly protection of a cub.

Carlisle stepped into their path, curtailing me towards his office uncontested. I bowed my head as I stepped through the closet door, the room, and into the hall.

What had I done? Blaming Alice for her fleeing…That was unwarranted and unparalleled in selfish acts. We knew nothing of her disappearance, and only of Maria's involvement. That knowledge alone removed all blame from Alice, let alone regarding the involvement of the Volturi.

I made my way into Carlisle's professionally flawless office space and found my way to the leather fainting couch. I draped myself over the sleek surface as the heavy door clicked shut behind me.

"What have I done Father?" I whimpered weakly.

"You let the damnation of our existence and your cursed path devour the best parts of you Son. I cannot say I am not disappointed for your actions towards our Alice…." He hesitated for a moment before beginning again. "But I cannot also say I do not understand your plight."

I sprang from my position, the couch beneath me groaning at the ever too rapid pace. "What is there possibly to understand Carlisle? I do not even understand what was going through my mind. The words that flowed ever so easily." My head dropped to my hands as I was washed by Carlisle's heavy wave of compassion. I wish I could turn it off. The faucet of pity…it was overbearing and irrationally bothersome.

"Son…take an impartial vantage point of the entirety of the situation. With all the factors and suddenness of her disappearance and resurgence, it would leave the head of God in shambles." I raised my sight to his fathering lesson. "The similarity Alice's possesses to…herself. It is alarming for the entity of this coven…this family. It is unimaginable the affect her presence has on you. And as for your struggles with immortality, her partial mortality is far from alienated from the situation Son."

"That provides no excuse Carlisle…" I breathed in a defeated manner.

"No, I cannot say that it does Son, and certainly reparations will have to be made. I think it is however, a starting point that Alice herself knew this behavior was unlike that of your normal characteristic."

The very mention of her name drove my mental state into a whirlwind. "How is it that she knows Father? How is it that she can be confronted with the face of an undeniable monster and not be illustriously predisposed to turn from me? She is too fearless for her own sake…" I huffed with the slightest semblance of a laugh.

Carlisle rose from his seat behind the desk to perch himself on the edge of the desk now. "Alice was never very good at backing away from an unfortunate circumstance, now was she?" he issued. "Give her time with the family…Then go to her."

"How will I ever be able to meet her gaze after this atrocity?"

"There has not been a day yet that your Mother hasn't given me the strength to do the things I do every day of this eternal existence… Some of those things constitute advancing an apology to the strength benefactor herself. It takes a strong man to admit his wrongdoings and an even stronger immortal to perform such a human exploit."

I had found myself in the dark forest after leaving Carlisle's office, careful to avoid the warpath of my Sister. I felt no better about my actions or words fired against my mate. Blaming immortality and its vulnerabilities appeared cowardly to me. Having a strong southern upbringing was impossible to shake as venom coursed through your veins. Any development of any kind was near impossible. Because of this, my actions towards my beloved left an unsavory, and sickeningly sweet feeling within me. Had my mother still been with me, she surely would have taken the nearest object to me in disdain.

I tracked Alice's scent as I wandered, allowing myself to fall off of her path and rediscover it in another location. I was effusively knowledgeable of her location and company. I had spent the past hours unwilling to face her tear-stained face.

The sun had now set, and a deep chill encompassed the land once again. The air felt dangerous and pejorative of human survival. I needed her… I needed to ensure her safety even if I was the thing she needed protection from. If only I was nearer to her, my desires would be extinguished.

Before I had even made the conscious decision, I was already on her trail yet again. It was obvious that Bella had not taken a direct course to the cottage as I wound around the mountain top. Perhaps in efforts to make atmospheric change more palatable for Alice…or to protect her from any tracker who wished her harm…

The dim yellow light flooded into the forest from the cottage in front of me. I kept my distance from the house, only enough to sense her sweet and rose petal soft emotions. I slid against the nearest tree down to the damp soil. I closed my eyes and let her sentiment wash over me. It was the most addicting sensation imaginable. She was surprisingly calm, elated, and familial? A sort of happiness.

I silenced my unnecessary breathing and movement. I focused in close and then I heard it. Her laugh rang through my mind like wind-chimes after a spring storm. Clear and soft like a bell it soothed my frayed nerves. I drifted into a lulled state just as I had the night she disappeared, evoking the myriad of memories both past and present.

Only this time, her presence wouldn't be leaving my focus.