Alice kept her pace slow as she walked towards where she knew she would find him.
Both so as to give him time to calm down and because she needed time to reign her emotions. She didn't want to spook him with her anger.
Anger over how much of a bitch Rosalie could be. She had brought him here because she knew he could heal. Could learn to trust other vampires and get out of his shell.
But she hadn't seen what obstacles he would have to face in order to do so.
She didn't think this kind of abuse was worth it. He didn't deserve to be subjected to this. Alice brought him here so he could be happier not for him to suffer.
How had she even seen Rosalie and Jasper becoming close when Rosalie treated him like that?
She understood Rosalie feared him but that didn't give her the right to treat him like shit.
It wasn't fair.
It wasn't.
She soon caught sight of the tree from her vision and was quick to crush her remaining anger. Taking deep breaths before speeding up her walk.
His scent even if similar to hers held a particular undertone that made it his in a sense. She caught sight of the hole at the bottom of the trunk and as she sat down she was able to catch sight of him.
Cat.
It had been a while since she last saw him shift into something. His ears were flat and he was nothing but a ball of golden fur curled on top of his clothes. She managed to fit herself inside the hole with him and not long after he uncurled from his position and climbed on her lap. Curling once again into a ball.
She ran her fingers across his fur. Focusing in all the love she held for him and hoping that that could bring him some comfort.
Not even once did he move or acknowledge her presence. She didn't held it against him for he would do that sometimes.
When the flashbacks were worse than usual he would shut down completely.
And she hated not being able to help him. Sometimes it took him hours to come back to her and other times it would take him days.
She feared that it would come the day where he wouldn't come back to her. That maybe a flashback would push him a bit too far and she would lose him.
Alice wasn't sure how long she spent there nor did she care. Night approached and she still sat there with her fingers buried into his fur. Her head resting against the wood of the trunk as she stared at the grass outside. The soft breeze making it dance.
At some point in the middle of the night she felt him stir and shift his position. The fact alone that his tail was moving let her know he was feeling better even if he was now asleep. She ran her fingers across his stomach and couldn't help but smile in amusement.
To think this adorable ball of fur was a menace to the world.
And when he began purring she deemed it safe to return back home. She didn't want him outside when the sun rose. Cat or not she knew the sun would still harm him.
So with a masterful smoothness she picked him up and after grabbing his clothes she left the hole in the trunk.
She made sure the Cullens weren't waiting for them before beginning to walk back to the house. She didn't want to explain the reason she was holding a cat with no heartbeat and Jasper's clothes.
Checking once again that no one would spot them she went inside the house and using her speed she got to their room in less than a second. Locking the door behind her and throwing Jasper's clothes on the floor.
She was careful as she lowered him on the bed and after getting rid of her shoes she laid down with him.
An hour later she was glad she had brought him here when he proceeded to shift back into his human form. A naked Jasper in the middle of the forest wasn't something she wanted to share.
Grabbing the blanket she tugged on it in order to drap it over him. She had seen him naked over a hundred times but she knew how he felt about sleeping so exposed. She pulled him into a hug and was pleased when his arm drapped over her waist.
She loved holding him when he slept. There was something about it that filled her with peace.
He was vulnerable. Defenseless.
And he trusted her enough to let her see him sleep. When she first met him she had known what he was. And while he had agreed to go with her he would always turn into an animal and disappear whenever he needed to sleep.
Sometimes she still couldn't believe she had found him. Couldn't believe how far she had come with him.
She had learnt to love him through her visions. Had at some point thought that that's all she would ever have from him. That she would never get to find him. See those little smiles in person. Feel his kisses. His skin against hers.
He had looked so unreachable.
But here he was. She was holding him and she would be damned if she was to lose him.
She loved the Cullens but Jasper was first.
If having to watch Rosalie step on him was what she needed to stand in order to live here maybe coming here wasn't as much of a good idea as she had thought.
Bringing him back into a world of abuse wasn't worth it.
His suffering wasn't worth.
It wasn't.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jasper woke up to the feeling of fingers tracing his back. To calm and love. Affection. Comfort. He pressed a kiss against her throat. Trailing up and up until he caught her lips into a kiss that she didn't hesitate to respond to. He straddled her against the bed as he bathed in her emotions.
-Morning handsome.- Alice greeted with a smile as they broke the kiss.
-Mornin' darlin'.- He drawled out. Her arms reached out for him, coming to wrap around his neck.
-How are you feeling?- Her voice was soft as she asked that.
-I'm fine, 'm sorry about yesterday, I didn't mean to-
Alice's hand covering his mouth cut him off.
-No. You don't apologize for what happened. None of it was your fault, you hear me? I don't want to hear you apologizing to me or to them, you did nothing wrong. If someone should be apologizing that's Rosalie.
Alice didn't miss how he tensed at the name. She removed her hand from his face so she could pull him down into a hug. One of her arms around him and her other hand resting at the back of his head. She pressed a soft kiss at the top of his head.
-You don't have to worry about anything, I know she's a bitch but even she has limits, hopefully, she already realized it. Jazz, I'm not going to let them hurt you. If she can't apologize we will leave, I love this place but if they can't learn something as basic as respecting you then maybe it's not as worth it as I thought.
She felt him nuzzle her neck as love and gratefulness washed over her. She smiled and held him for a while, enjoying the feeling of having him laying on top of her, he rarely let her hold him in such manner.
And while he was taller than her she was a vampire. She could take his weight and more. Hell she even picked him up once, his reaction to it had been priceless.
~~~~~~~~~
Jasper and Alice made their apparition around noon. He was wearing sunglasses as he always did during the morning, no one could still decipher why he did that.
-Jasper, I want to apologize deeply for what happened yesterday, I shouldn't have let it get that far.
Of all things expected an apology from the coven leader was the last thing Jasper had seen happening.
Even more so how honest his emotions were. No sign of deceiving.
He was also surprised when Rosalie stood up. She was oozing guilt and regret. Shame. And while her emotions weren't dangerous he couldn't help but take a step back when she got up, he was tired of her, he wanted nothing to do with her anymore. Alice's hand holding his own was the only thing that wouldn't let him get far.
The sudden pity in the air made his blood boil.
-I don't want your pity.- He didn't meant for his voice to come out as harsh as it did but he couldn't help it. Pity wasn't an emotion he could bear to stand.
It made him feel weak. Pathetic. Pitiful .
Like when he was there .
He hated it.
And he was glad when it disappeared.
-I'm sorry.
That was Rosalie and while she didn't elaborate her emotions were honest. She wasn't apologizing because she was asked to.
No.
That was new. She was apologizing because she genuinely felt bad.
Weird.
-It's fine, I understand you were just tryin' to protect your family. I've had worse for less.
Edward's sudden nauseated feelings hit him and as he caught sight of his face it took him a moment to decipher that look.
Ah.
He had seen.
That single realization made his shoulders square up. Now he understood the pity, that look in their eyes.
They knew.
Not what he was but a part of his past he would've favored for them to not know.
In fact.
The less was known of his past the better.
Because if no one knew he could act as if it didn't happen.
If no one knew it didn't happen.
-Your creator...
-Maria. What about her?- His voice came out more neutral than he had expected. Her name wasn't a taboo. She hadn't broke him to that extent.
Sort of.
The Major had ended up killing that girl in Nevada whose name was Maria. She had looked nothing like Maria but knowing her name was that had apparently rooted in him the overwhelming urge to kill her.
-Is she alive?
-Probably.
Hopefully no. But he knew he wasn't that lucky nor was she that weak.
-You said you were created in 1863.
-Your point is?
-The Major.
Emmett's words got Jasper tensing for a moment before remembering that they didn't knew. He was created in 1863 but The Major was born in 1864.
-He's dead.- It wasn't an entire lie. The last time The Major fronted was after Alice assured him she would never hurt them.
He had believed her.
And then he had grown quiet.
It sometimes unnerved him how silent he was. Like the dead.
Even then it had been a while since he had been losing its... commitment. Peter had found him at the verge of choosing to kill himself before Maria did so. What was the point of keeping up living in Hell? What tied him to this world? He had nothing to lose. Peter had left him. His human family was long gone. He had had nothing.
But then Peter had come for him. He had come back.
The Cullens for their side couldn't help but feel the surprise hit them. Of course those were the speculations but to hear a confirmation was almost disturbing.
Because who in the name of God had managed to kill that demon?
-How?- Emmett's question got him an elbow from Rosalie and a disapproving look from the others.
Who knows what kind of horrors that monster must have brought upon the newborns Maria had under her hand. He was her second in command. The one who-
The one who trained her newborns.
Before either of them could register that thought Jasper's words froze the room.
-He killed himself.
Again. Not a lie.
-You think Maria was cruel to her newborns? You should've seen what she did to him.- Alice's disapproval was loud in her emotions. He knew she didn't approve of how he would sometimes refer to The Major as some random person he had nothing to do with. All when in reality both of them shared body and therefore same physical trauma.
That was the one thing he liked to ignore from her.
If she knew the actual extent of what Maria had done to him she wouldn't think the same. She would let him be. He had learnt a long time ago that if he didn't acknowledged it it didn't affect him.
Or at least not as much.
If he didn't remember it didn't happen.
Not that he remembered half of the torture. There were massive holes in his memories that The Major kept from him like a dog would keep a bone.
Not that he cared.
He knew better than to pry.
Last time he did so he was given the memories of what had happened after he killed those newborns.
The Cullens for their side were silent.
Because how?
How does one drives a creature of such level to kill itself? Maria... that woman was more dangerous than given credit. Cruel.
Edward felt nauseous. What could be worse than being impaled with a rod on fire?
-Wait, how are you alive? I thought she always had new vampires with her.
-I'm an empath. And was a soldier as a human. The trick to live past the newborn stage was to be above average both in skill and power.
Or be The Major himself.
-Can we go huntin' now?- He wanted to get rid of the silver before someone noticed it.
And he didn't want to keep up talking about this.
-Of course.
The Cullens watched them leave.
Carlisle wondered... How would he be able to deal with this one? If Maria was his creator that meant he definitely had engraved in him that torture was the normal rule when it came to a punishment.
He was used to a coven of nothing but absolute obedience and if someone crossed the line pain would come.
Was he capacitated to deal with a vampire of Jasper's caliber?
A soldier. A vampire who was trained by The Major itself. Trained for nothing but death. Kill whoever wasn't on his side.
That was dangerous. His instincts and nature in general were dangerous.
But he deserved a chance.
He escaped that life and was seeking peace.
All he needed was patience and understanding and with some hope he would be able to integrate.