A/N: Just a one-shot I might continue if there's interest, but don't really have any plans to anytime soon. Bella is a child of the moon who moved from Phoenix to Seattle to escape her past. Jasper is still with the Cullens and going to high school in Forks, but ended up in Seattle for the day for... well. You'll see.

I stood unmoving in the mouth of the alley as I watched wide-eyed as the blond vampire led his prey by the hand to what was no doubt about to be a gruesome end. The human was a pretty thing, a real knockout with pouty lips and generous curves, and so tiny that the top of her head barely met his chest. But even pretty as she was, she had nothing on the predator on her arm.

Like the rest of his kind, he was all sharp angles and deathly pallor. His blond hair was shot through with streaks of caramel and stood at least six foot four in his beat up cowboy boots. His warm baritone was sweet to my ears with a honey-thick Texas drawl that had me feeling more than a little homesick.

What drew me however was his eyes; a deep topaz that was slowly being overtaken by the same onyx I'd seen on others of his kind. Usually right before they were about to feed.

When I'd fled Phoenix, I'd been informed by my new alpha that there was a coven that maintained a permanent residence in the region, and while that tidbit had thrown me for a fucking loop, it'd been nothing compared to the follow-up that they didn't feed on humans. Besides being one of the biggest covens I'd ever heard of, they fed on animals. Their diet choice was what gave them the yellow eyes.

I'd accepted it then, but as I watched now black-eyed male press his target against the alley wall, I found myself wondering just how well-informed my alpha was.

Because there was nothing, and I meant nothing, tame about the vampire in front of me if the scars I could see peeking over the color of his blue button down were any indication. I was looking at a battle-hardened bloodsucker, and something told me he hadn't always been feeding on bambi.

While Jack, my alpha, had given the pack strict orders to leave the yellow-eyed coven alone, he'd also given the kill-on-sight order to any red-eyes that hunted in our territory. This situation here was a bit of a grey area, my favorite kind. Left room for creative solutions.

See, Jack may be my alpha, but I was an omega - neither dominant nor submissive, but with all the protective instincts of an alpha and none of the more violent tendencies. My flavor of moon children was rare. It took a mad dog of a werewolf to attack a human omega, but we ended up being the jewels of the packs who claimed us. I was both wolf-tamer and peace-bringer because I wasn't inclined to play the power games with the dominants, so they could relax around me, secure in the knowledge that I wouldn't challenge them. We omegas were outside the typical pack structure: the dominants and submissives had no choice but to obey their alpha commands, but I had no such restrictions. My focus was the pack and keeping it safe and happy.

That being said, I had no trouble dancing with bloodsuckers. I didn't get to do it often, since the pack naturally wanted to keep me safe, and I wasn't going to lose the opportunity now when it all but dropped in my lap with a pretty little bow on top.

I rolled my shoulders and cracked my neck as I strode into the alley. Taking on a vampire on two legs wasn't ideal but I was a child of the moon; I was made to hunt these fuckers. I wasn't in the same weight class as a male wolf but what I lacked in brute force I made up for in speed. I just had to be half a step ahead of blondie here.

"I don't mean to interrupt your moment here, but do either of you got a light?" I pitched my voice to carry through the alley, and nearly grinned as the bloodsucker actually jumped. Was he so starved for human blood that he'd forgotten to secure his surroundings? In the end, it didn't really matter. I stopped a couple feet away from the pair of them, keeping my eyes locked on him.

Rule numero uno: don't ever take your eyes off your enemy.

The girl shook her head as if to clear it, peering up at him as if seeing him for the first time. Wouldn't surprise me, honestly. His kind were armed to the fangs to lure in their prey, more than they needed really. And on top of that, some of them were even gifted.

Luckily for me, so were we.

His black glare could've peeled paint but I rocked back on my heels in a loose battle stance and offered him a sunny smile. He visibly scented the air and my grin widened as his eyes narrowed in clear annoyance. They called it a shield, and it was damn versatile. I could block mental and physical attacks, to the point where if I concentrated, I didn't have a scent and I couldn't be sensed if I didn't want to be. Made hunting a hell of a lot easier, as well as more subtle things. Like information gathering. Or sneaking up on half-starved self-proclaimed veggie vampires.

He let the girl go and focused on me. She looked between he and I, anxiety clouding her otherwise nice scent. I jerked my thumb over my shoulder and without takin' my eyes off him said to her, "Probably best you head on out. Your friend and I have some catching up to do."

For a second, I wondered if she was going to ignore my advice. Humans did have good instincts, even if they questioned them a lot. Fortunately, this girl was one of the smarter ones. Blondie remained still as stone as she ducked out from under his arm and slipped past me, her head hanging and shaking like a leaf.

"Thank you," he said, once she was gone, and whatever was about to come out of my mouth next flew out of my head as I stared at him in confusion. "I… I don't know what came over me."

"Seems pretty straightforward for your kind," I said neutrally. "Last I checked vampires hunted humans."

He shifted to lean against the wall instead, shoving his hand through his hair and taking his eyes off me. Either this guy was the worst vampire to ever exist or that diet of his had rotted whatever instincts he had out of his pretty blond head.

"I don't," he replied. "Not anymore anyway. I haven't slipped in twenty years. Why today?" The last part seemed aimed at himself.

"Same reason any addict has a slip-up," I answered with a shrug. "Denying yourself your natural food source can't be doing good things for you upstairs, if you know what I mean."

He barked a laugh but there was no humor in, his head coming to land against the wall of the alley with a thunk that cracked the brickwork. He closed his eyes but before they slid shut I noticed they were welling up with venom, almost like he was going to cry. I shifted uncomfortably, torn between wanting to comfort him and make my escape and pretend none of this had happened.

My feet had other ideas, because I found myself closing the distance between us until I stood directly in front of him. With my shield still up, he couldn't smell me, but he was tracking me just fine, his head tilted slightly towards me until I came to a stop.

"I should just let you kill me," he said softly. "When Alice told me there was another way of life, that we didn't have to feed on humans, I thought it was too good to be true. But I followed her anyway. It's been decades now, and I'm barely hanging on any better than when I first started this charade."

I rubbed the back of my neck, unsure of what to say. "My father always told me nothing worth doing is easy," I said carefully. "No offense, but I didn't think your kind cared about humans much."

He slitted his eyes open just enough to level me with that strange yellow stare. "Could say the same thing about your kind, darlin'." He flicked his gaze up and down the length of me once. "I've never met a female child of the moon before."

"You mess with us a lot?"

He smiled bitterly. "Used too. Then I learned the hard way what those teeth can do."

I flashed mine in a smile that was a touch to wide to be friendly and he just laughed, a warm, smoky sound and I was alarmed at how pleasant it was to hear.

"So, you fixin' to kill me or what, darlin'?" he asked, and my stomach gave a nervous little flip at the endearment. There had to be something wrong with me. I'd caught him about to make an innocent girl into dinner and instead of turning him to a pile of ashes, I was shooting the shit with him.

Too be fair though, he didn't look to dangerous now. That collection of scars he had going on was a hell of a warning sign but I found myself focusing more on just how weary and sad those strange eyes of his were.

"Depends," I said, and shoved my hands into my pockets, forcing myself to relax. While I didn't think he was going to attack me, we were deep in pack territory and the risk of running into one of my more hot-headed packmates was very high.

"On?"

"If you tell me your name or not." I reached around to my back pocket and pulled out my battered pack of smokes. I pulled one out and stuck it between my lips before fishing out my lighter.

"It's Jasper. Can I have one?"

I raised a brow. "Got a surname?"

"Whitlock."

I pulled out one more and passed it to him, noting how careful he was not to touch me. I went to offer him a light but he pulled out a pack of matches from his pocket. I watched with interest as he struck the match against the bottom of his boot in a practiced motion before taking a deep drag. The sweet and spicy smell of the clove cigarettes filled the alley, and I watched him visibly relax against the wall.

"God, I've missed this," he sighed.

I snickered and took a drag of my own. "Let me guess: girlfriend make you quit?"

"Friend," he corrected. "She can't stand the smell."

I nodded. There were a lot of wolves who couldn't either but I didn't mind it. I'd always had a taste for clove cigarettes, the same ones Renee smoked when she had a bad day or pulled out for special occasions.

"Didn't think nicotine could affect vampires."

"Not for long," he replied, flicking the ash of his cigarette. "Green hits harder but it takes a lot to keep the buzz goin' for it long enough to be worth it. Alcohol gets us there easier and faster, but even then only the clear ones." He took one last drag and held it in his lungs for a long moment before finally exhaling, almost regretfully. He flicked the stub into the dumpster behind him.

"You got somewhere to be?" I asked before I could stop myself. His eyes snapped to me, pinning me in place with their sudden intensity.

"Depends on why you're askin'."

I finished my cigarette and debated pulling out another one before deciding against it. "I've never seen a buzzed vampire. Maybe I want to see if you're full of shit or not."

I watched as the gears turned in his pretty blond head, clearly trying to decide if I was the one who was full of shit or not.

"What'll you give me if I show you?" he asked finally, and I shrugged.

"What do you want?"

"Your name."

I stretched my arms above my head in a full body stretch and something warm curled low in my belly as he tracked the movement with an air of vague interest. Brave of him, really. Both of us were apex predators, natural enemies even, and here we were checking each other out anyway. It made sense for me, a couple screws got knocked loose when I was changed. Him? As my eyes lingered on the scars I could see on him, I figured it made sense for him too. A guy marked up like that obviously had a hard-on for danger.

"Isabella Swan, but if you call me that, I'll gut you. My friends call me Bella."

He raised a disbelieving brow. "Is that what you think we are?"

I gave him the best wide-eyed innocent look I could muster. "You mean you don't meet your friends by stopping them from cheating on their diet and committing homicide?"

Jasper threw back his head and laughed, a true, deep belly laugh that sounded rusty, like he didn't do it often. Or ever. He didn't strike me as the kind of guy who had a lot to laugh about. Still, I couldn't stop the pleased grin that pulled at my lips as I watched him.

"You are a strange woman, Bella," he told me once he managed to pull himself together.

"You don't know the half of it, Whitlock."

I kept my face as still as stone as I looked down at my cards before flicking a glance at the vampire across from me. He looked a little out of place sitting at the battered card table in my shabby studio apartment but was a damn sight more relaxed than when I'd met him. He'd been stiff and awkward when we first arrived but a couple shots of whiskey had bled that right out of him.

He'd lost the jacket and rolled his sleeves up, exposing his very nice, if heavily scarred, forearms. I couldn't help the fission of interest I felt when I saw them. It wasn't entirely my fault though; scars were crack for wolves. I'd heard they made vampires nervous, but for us, scars meant strength and strength was very attractive.

"I'mma raise ya," he said, and I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from grinning at his honey-thick drawl. It'd become more pronounced the more he relaxed and while he wasn't quite drunk, he was very, very satisfied if the way he lounged in his chair was any indication.

"Alright then." I dropped another bill on the pile of money between us. "Call."

He grinned wolfishly and with a flourish showed his hand. "Full house, darlin'. Queens over 10s." He went to pull the pile toward his side of the table.

"Whoa there, cowboy, not so fast!" He paused, cocking his head in a way I was starting to find very endearing. I determined this needed to be my last drink. "Now, it really is hard to beat a lady," I drawled and then revealed my own hand – a royal flush. "Unless you're a king."

He stared at my hand wide-eyed then back to my face. "Bullshit," he said, with clear disbelief. I snickered and pulled the pile toward me, licking my thumb to rifle through the bills. "You cheated!"

"Now is that any way to speak to a lady?" I teased and he just grabbed the bottle of whiskey at his elbow and took a deep pull.

"If you're a lady, I'm a man of god, sugar," he replied after he'd drained half of it.

I smirked. "I don't know, cowboy. I wouldn't mind sweet for you while on my knees."

I don't know exactly what I'd expected from him, but the darkening of his eyes and the slight creaking of his chair from the subtle shifting of his weight wasn't it. I'd gotten real comfortable with Jasper – too much, evidently, if I was flirting with him the way I did when I was too deep into my cups.

"That's a sight I wouldn't mind seein'," he said, his voice taking a lower register that had me leaning towards him before I could stop myself. His eyes dropped to my lips, already slightly parted, and he stood slowly, coming around to my side of the table. Slowly, as if not to spook me, he braced one hand on the table, and reached out to place the other against the side of my neck. His hand took up an impressive amount of real estate, and I fought back a shiver as he used his thumb to press against the soft spot under my chin to tilt my face up.

He leaned forward and paused before his lips touched mine, his cool breath ghosts over my chin.

I'd never been a patient woman. I leaned up and slanted my mouth over his and nearly melted at how right it felt. His were cool and hard compared to my warm and soft ones, but it didn't matter because he tasted like clove cigarettes and Arizona sunshine. Our first kiss was a tiny, chaste touch-and-release and when I pulled back, he chased me for a second kiss, Jasper purring with approval. I pulled away again, intent on getting up, but evidently he was a mind-reader because he pulled me to my feet and into a third kiss that locked our lips together with a shocking intensity and sense of perfect desire.

Kissing Jasper felt like what kissing was supposed to feel like, warm and right and soft and intense. It felt like the call of the moon, and vanilla bean ice cream, and scorching desert summers. It felt like belonging and coming home all at once, and for the first time since that monster had laid hands on me I felt safe.

I was in so much fucking trouble.

"Relax, darlin'," he whispered against my lips. "Stay with me."

"Yes," I murmured back. "Anything. Always." He slid his hand up from my neck and to the back of my head to tangle in my hair, guiding me back to him. He pulled back just enough for me to catch a breath and changed the slant of his mouth that had me making a noise that might have left me embarrassed were I in any frame of mind to feel it. There was no stopping my tongue as I slid it across his lower lip and he growled, the sound vibrating in both his chest and mine as he let me in.

He seemed to melt in my arms, and I trembled slightly at the intensity of the moment. Jasper's other hand slid around my waist to the small of my back, holding me firmly against the cool marble of his body. I couldn't help but shiver from the supernatural coolness against my superheated skin.

"Doin' alright?" he murmured.

I gave him a tiny nod, too breathless for words. "Bit dizzy, actually."

I felt him smile, could feel the mischief rise in the tension of his body. "Only a bit?" And that was the only warning I got before he literally picked me up off my feet, his mouth once again on mine, before spinning me in a circle that had me laughing to much to properly lock my lips with his, but it didn't stop me from trying. I somehow wound up with my long legs around his trim waist, completely and utterly lost in his next kiss, trading soft bites and long slow kisses that seemed to stretch minutes into a sweet forever.

I greedily ran my hands over his shoulders, his arms, his biceps, and back up into his long hair, gasping against his mouth as he took a step away from the table towards the beat up futon I called a bed. His kiss turned from sweet and slow to something that tasted like how the hunt felt, something warm and hungry.

"Darlin'," he whispered, sounding so utterly wrecked that it made me feel powerful, and he pulled away slightly to look into my eyes, his pupils blown wide with desire and nakedly pleading. "Baby, please."

"Anything," I whispered back and ground my core against his belly.

Our tumble onto the futon was decidedly inelegant but neither of us seemed to give a good god damn. He curled his long, leonine body over mine to offer sweeter, softer kisses, a series of teasing withdrawals; I could sense him starting to leave me and I clung tighter, not willing for the moment to end. I bit at his mouth softly, one and again, and fisted a hand in his hair and the other clawing at his back.

He grinned and pressed even closer, slotting his hips between my legs and I moaned at the thick, rigid length I felt there. But rather than turning hungry again, his kisses felt teasing, playful even, as he pulled away again to prop his elbows on either side of my head to look down at me.

"You're gonna be the death of me," he said, voice rough with the same desire that burned through me. "God, you're so fuckin' beautiful."