A/N: Please let me just say that I am thrilled that so many people are interested in my story. I know that you've all got tons of questions, especially regarding the last 2 chapters, but I promise that within the next few chapters a very good portion of your questions will be answered. I took a break from writing about a year ago when my son was born and I just became too busy spending time with him and working and going to school. But now that he has turned a year old he has become much better about letting Mommy sit on her computer for a little while to write. The last two chapters have been kinda small and vague as I get back into the swing of writing but from here forward it is all systems go! Thank you all for your support and reviews. Now….Here's the new chapter!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 8: An Explaination

Bella Swan is my mate. Bella is my true love. Bella is the one that I'm supposed to spend eternity with. No matter how I say it my brain still cannot comprehend it. Could vampires have anxiety attacks? I felt like my head was spinning.

"I can see that you are struggling with this apparent revelation," Marcus sighed, "Would you like me to explain?" I nodded numbly, choosing to take a seat on the cold, damp forest floor. Marcus followed suit, instead sitting on a fallen log that ran across the pathway.

"I think I'll start with how I am involved with Miss Bella Swan. Isabella is my niece, from my younger sister. There are many 'greats' involved. I don't have many memories from my human life but my sweet little sister Adeline. From the research I've done I found that she had married and had her children and so it has continued until Isabella's mother married Charlie and had my niece," he explained.

"Wait, you know Charlie? On a first name basis?" I asked, flabbergasted. "Yes, after Isabella and I first came into contact I choose to come see Charlie and introduce myself. I explained how my search had led me here to Forks and my niece. I wanted to get to know her and any family that we had left," he replied.

"That still doesn't explain how you know about Isabella and why you are here in Forks. What do you want with her?" I was still grasping to understand.

"A few months after your family left her behind she was taken by a passing nomad and brought to us. She hasn't fully explained what happened to me but from what I have gathered it would seem that the nomad caught her scent as well as the families and followed it. Finding the Cullen house abandoned he followed the other trail directly to Isabella. Apparently she was sitting in her room flipping through a picture album and ranting or something. As I'm sure you've figured out, that album contained many pictures of your family. The nomad was concerned about how she knew so much about vampires so he gave her a choice, he would either call the Volturi here or he would take her to us. She opted to voluntarily come to us and she was there within a few days," he sighed.

"She willingly came to you? No questions asked? No resistance? She just went straight into the lions den?" I hissed. What the hell was wrong with this girl? Where was her sense of self preservation?

"She didn't care, figlio. She was barely surviving then. She thought that she was going to die from either her broken heart or from her knowledge of the vampire world. She simply didn't care anymore. When she arrived she was hollow, a mere shell of a creature once so full of light. As soon as I saw her I knew. I knew exactly who she was to me and exactly why she was so withdrawn," he sighed deeply, shaking his head, "She stayed with me for a week and during that week I explained everything to her. I explained the family history that I knew of and I told her that I wanted to be a part of her life. We left Italy and we've been here ever since. Bianca and I have bought a small cabin a few miles away and we remain close by in case Isabella should need us."

"Okay…but that still doesn't explain the whole mate thing," I remind him.

"The blonde young woman you saw earlier is my very close companion. Bianca has a very special gift, much stronger than mine and just as useful. While I can see the strengths of the bond between individuals, she can see much deeper into those bonds. She can see exactly what kind of bond it is… friend, family, love, mate. Any possible bond between people and she will know what it is. But that is not her only talent. She also knows who a person will be mated to," he raised an eyebrow at me, "She can tell how long it will be before they meet and before they accept and consummate the mating bond."

I gaped at him in surprise. So this is why he thought Bella and I were mates. And assumingly, he or Bianca told Bella about it. But they were wrong. Bella and I were too different to be able to work. She was too good, too innocent. And I was a monster, a killer, a warrior.

"Jasper, quit with the disgusto di sé merda. I can see it all over your face. You are her perfect match just as she is yours. The two of you are meant to help each other heal, to recover and connect and become stronger than you ever have been before. You truly have no idea how strong you two will be…" he trailed off, appearing to know more than he was letting on. His emotions betrayed the same thing.

"What do you know? What are you hiding from me, from us?" I demanded. "It does not concern you at this time, giovanotto. I promise that in time you both will fully understand. But for now it is time to focus on you and Isabella. She needs you right now. Bianca and I have supported her as best we could but we are not you. She does not want us like she wants you. She wants her mate," his dull red eyes shone with intensity.

"I want proof. I'm not going to come in and wreak havoc on her life with my return only to find out that I am not really her mate and that someday my real mate will find me. I want proof that she's my mate. Do you have that?" I asked.

"I have no proof, figlio. But you do. You and Bella have all the proof you'll ever need. Go to her. Go to her and look into her eyes and hold her hands and you will see all the proof you need. Go to her," he urged. And without a backwards glance to see if he was following, I was gone, racing to the woman who was to be my mate. Racing to my Isabella.

Translation:

figlio – son

disgusto di sé merda – self-loathing crap (disgust with yourself)

giovanotto – young man

A/N: Well there you have it. Hopefully this chapter has cleared up a good portion of the questions that have been bouncing around. And if not, then the next few chapters coming up should help with that.