Carlisle had seen a handful of black bloods in Voltera.

Had seen how ravenous could one of those become.

Thus he never expected that his most well behaved child was one of those. Alice's safety/happiness and human blood being the only things that could ever get him hostile.

He was obedient and he would hang in the background whenever fights arose between his siblings. He would hit rather than bite when he got into fights and Carlisle had once caught him outside covered from head to toe.

At the time he had wondered if he felt self-conscious about his scars and the fact that the sun could make them stand out even more.

Now he understood the actual reason.

It wasn't about his scars. He had never seemed self-conscious about them in the first place.

It had been about the sun being able to burn his skin off if he didn't cover himself up.

He also remembers that time Jasper had tried to wear sunglasses to school and Carlisle hadn't let him because it was against the dress code. Alice had tried to convince him to let Jasper wear them.

At the end Carlisle had been called by the principal not even two hours after classes began, apparently Jasper had snapped at a teacher and climbed the school's gate, he came back home almost near midnight.

Carlisle remembers that to be the first time he had ever punished Jasper after he had refused to explain himself. Had taken his motorcycle for five months and had banned him from leaving the house unless it was to hunt or to go to school for three months.

He had also made him write an apology to the teacher he had snapped at.

Now he felt horrible. Because if he gave it thought... He had been wincing and squinting when he took the sunglasses off. Alice had tried to convince him to let Jasper keep the sunglasses...

Black bloods were nocturnal creatures for a reason.

Their eyes were way more sensitive to light.

He had been in pain.

God Carlisle had punished him for something that hadn't been his fault.

Even the teacher had told him that Jasper had seemed to be in pain, wouldn't stop rubbing at his eyes, that's why she had wanted to ask him if he wanted to go to the infirmary, but Jasper had snapped at her before she could even finish her sentence.

His son had been in pain.

He had been in pain.

And the worst thing here is that that wasn't the first incident where Jasper tried to wear sunglasses to school or was caught wearing them at school which prompted these to be confiscated and Esme or Carlisle having to go and retrieve them.

Hell, Carlisle gave him a goodreprimand once after Jasper hit a teacher who had attempted to take the sunglasses from him. He had given the teacher quite the abnormal set of bruises and a broken arm which had forced them to move.

All those times he had been in pain.

And all those times he had taken Carlisle's punishments without a single protest.

Punishments that shouldn't have been given. Carlisle had been punishing him for things he couldn't control. Had he been aware of his situation he would have never punished him. He would have either let him stay at home or brought up a medical excuse so Jasper could wear sunglasses at school.

But now it was too late for that.

Now he could lose him.

Because apparently Jasper had never trusted them enough to come to them if injured.

He had chose to make a run for it.

And what did that said about them?

~~~~~~~~~~

Edward's relationship with Jasper had never been bad nor good.

It was... better than his relationship with Rosalie.

Jasper liked to avoid people so it wasn't like there were a lot of chances for them to bond. He would keep his mind for the most part out of Edward's reach and whenever he did something it was mostly because Alice had asked him to.

He had never grown to trust him 100%.

Yeah. He was glad he had taught them how to stand their ground against the newborns and that he had helped bring Nahuel but that didn't meant he trusted him. Something about him had always struck him as odd.

The way he looked at people, the way he moved. It made him uneasy.

Now he was given the reason.

That was the gaze and movements of a predator.

Black bloods had been the main predators of every single living being.

And the God Of War had been a ruthless killer capable of making the South tremble under its claws. The Major.

He was the definition of danger itself.

A threat.

But that threat was the one who helped them stand their ground against Victoria's newborns. That threat had made a contingency plan to keep Renesmee safe from the Volturi.

That threat had come back risking his and Alice's life for them.

Edward couldn't ignore that.

If he wanted to hurt them he would have done so a long time ago.

And as someone with a dark phase he guessed everyone deserved a second chance.

His thoughts came to a halt when he caught a whiff of it.

Acid .

He was quick to change directions and run towards the scent. He came across a pool of the black liquid staining the ground but no Jasper on sight.

In fact.

There was a trail of it.

He followed it, sniffing the air and grimacing at the intensity of the stench. He strained his ear to hear but was unable to catch anything remotely suspicious, all he got was the sound of a nearby stream.

Upon following the trail he came to the stream.

And there he was.

Struggling to get up and with his arms shaking under the effort. If the blood on the ground was something to go for he must had lost his footing. His once upon a time blue shirt was now black and it was ripped at some parts. He didn't miss the claws.

Nor the odd near translucent skin on his back with black co-webs spreading across it.

Still .

There was something about seeing his hyperaware and perfectly composed brother in such distressing situation where he didn't even notice him that put him on edge.

He took a step forward but that's all he needed to catch his attention.

A hiss was what he got.

A fanged vampire hissing at him was more unnerving than he could have ever imagined. No recognition in his glazed glare.

Edward took a step back and raised his hands in surrender.

But that didn't work for he soon felt a whiplash of such overwhelming drowsiness he dropped on his knees. Hands barely catching him as he did so.

He couldn't get up. His tongue felt like a piece of lead pressing against the roof of his mouth. A cloud stuffed in his head.

Sometimes he almost forgot about the actual extent behind Jasper's gift, a gift most people called useless and even weak.

But Edward knew.

He had seen it in Jasper's thoughts and had seen it in action through a perspective only he could see.

Jasper's gift was, could be dangerous and powerful enough to draw the Volturi's attention if he so much desired to.

Could mess with people's heads in aspects even Edward couldn't quite understand at this point in life.

His vision zoomed and he fought and failed to get words out. But he couldn't.

Jasper managed to get up.

But he didn't go far for he crashed back on the ground.

And this time he didn't attempt to get up. And as Edward felt the thick blanket of drowsiness disappear he knew Jasper was out.

He was quick to get up. Stumbling for a moment before managing to get his bearings back in place.

Edward was kneeling at his side in a blink.

-Jasper?- He called patting his cheek.

And when no answer came he was quick to grab his phone and send a text to the others.

"I found him. He's at the creek right outside the preserve."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Emmett had been the one to bring Jasper back to the house for his size allowed him an easier transportation. His white hoodie had ended up soaked in blood.

Carlisle had treated his wounds as best as he could while also fighting to stop the bleeding that seemed to be endless and unstoppable. His ribs had been crushed and his skin pierced.

And his back had been burnt.

Getting an IV into a vampire ended up being more difficult than Carlisle had expected but he managed. He put two. One in each arm. One with blood and another one with venom.

His skin was burning a lot and it had taken Carlisle around an hour to be able to stop the bleeding.

Now he laid there on the blood soaked bed and looking pale even for vampire standards, his torso and chest bandaged. Carlisle sat at his side watching him.

To think he had gone as far as to risk death over coming back home. Were they that horrible at his eyes?

He sighed before leaving the room.

The others were at the living room. Stress clear in their faces.

-How is he?- Esme asked worriedly.

-He will be fine.- Carlisle was quick to assure.

-Good, now, Alice what the hell?- Rosalie exclaimed glancing at her sister in question who was sitting on the armrest staring into space. Rosalie's voice seemed to snap her back to the present.

-What?

-What? Why the hell didn't you say anything before?

-I don't see how was that important. He was no longer the Major and I didn't see why he couldn't start with a clean slate.- Alice told matter of fact. Bella at her side flipped shut the book she had been given earlier by Edward ; the one about black bloods.

-Not important? This could have been avoided, he wouldn't be half dead upstairs right now.- Rosalie snapped.

Alice sighed.

-It's not as if I didn't want you to know, I actually tried to get him to tell you a few times but he always refused, he's gotten into his head the idea that if you were to find out you would chase him away.

-Why would he think that?- Carlisle asked feeling rather mortified.

-He's a black blood, that means he can't actually grow to control his impulses when it comes to the scent of human blood, his control right now is the best he will ever be able to do. You always tell him it will get better, to give it time, he believes you are only keeping him around because you think he will eventually get to your level of control, that you won't have to deal with his poor control forever. But he can't, because control over his thirst is just not in his nature.

That...

It would actually explain his obsession over forcing himself to test his control at any given chance.

The why he got so depressed even when he didn't manage to bite the person but still attempted to. The sulking. The self-loathing. The anger. Snapping at people for telling him that it would get easier.

It all made sense now.

All this time he had been struggling more than either of them could have ever imagined.

No wonder he was still so distant. So withdrawn. So quiet.

Decades and he had never seemed to quite let himself relax around them. Get closer.

What if he didn't for the sole fact that he had thought about how useless that would be if at the end he wouldn't be able to stay?

God.

~~~~~~~~~

Jasper woke up to fingers carding through his hair. A familiar scent in the air.

For a moment that's all he could focus on.

Alice's fingers on his hair and her warm emotions.

Then it hit him.

Soreness. Aching. Wolves . Blood.

Panic seized his chest and he scrambled out of the bed.

But he was still not as strong as he would have liked for his knees gave in and he dropped on the floor. He bit back a groan at the pain that seized his chest. Fingers grabbing his side as he did so.

Alice was kneeling at his side in a second.

-Jazz, hey, it's alright, you're alright.- Alice soothed, her fingers touching his arm.- Come on, Carlisle said you shouldn't move too much just yet, you're still healing.- She told helping him back on the bed.

Jasper bit back a groan as his back hit the mattress. It didn't hurt but it still felt sore. Animal blood was far from useful. It deteriorated most of his strength and senses. And it made his bones ache in the aftermath of shifting.

Alice sat at his side and he ended up with his head on her lap. Sighing in content when her fingers began running through his hair. His ribs didn't hurt as much as-

-How long was I out?- He asked.

-Ten hours.

That...

-What 'bout the Cullens?

-They are accepting, a bit hurt that you didn't told them but they won't kick you out. I was right you know? You should have told them.- She added as an afterthought.

Jasper smirked and looked up at her.

-You love that word don'tcha?

-It fits me. I'm always right.

-You've grown quite arrogant.- Jasper told half amused half playful. Amusement washed over him as Alice bent down to give him an Eskimo kiss.

-We both know from who I've picked it up.

Jasper grinned before breaking the remaining distance between them. Catching her lips into a kiss as his hand came up to touch her face.

Her words kind of relaxed him though. No hostile emotions in the house meant she was right.

Not that that meant he was on safe waters.

Now that the Cullens knew it would be impossible for the Volturi to not find out at some point. Not everyone could control their mind to the same capacity Alice could. She could decide what others could see and what not. Her visions had allowed her to develop such ability.

And she hadn't failed to use it against Aro. Steering his gift away from her most compromising memories.

-How are you feeling?- Alice asked softly as their kiss broke, her fingers tracing the scars on his cheek and their noses almost touching.

-Sore, but fine.- He conceded. Alice hummed before leaning back and resting her back against the bed's headframe. Her fingers returning to card through his hair.

-Go back to sleep. You need to rest if you want to heal quicker.- Jasper made a face at it but didn't protest. Closing his eyes and taking in a deep breath, wincing as the action made his chest hurt a bit too much.

Still.

He found Alice's fingers on his head rather comforting and before he knew it he was falling asleep.

Maybe, just maybe, he could still fit here after all.