A/N: I have been getting a lot of people asking if the mystery will ever be solved in this story. The answer is yes. I promise. I would not be that evil, by the last chapter, you will know everything.

Also, I am just going to state that this story is eventually going to turn to more adult content, meaning there will be sex *gasp*. I just want to give a heads up and prevent anyone from being offended.

Thank you all for the reviews. Again, you guys really are the best and I really do get all giddy inside when I see my inbox with a review in it. *grin* Hope you all like this chapter.

Chapter 11

"We need to talk."

It almost hurt to look into Jasper's eyes. As happened quite often, Jasper's face remained stoic, but his eyes betrayed everything. They were troubled, but more so, the pain she saw was undeniable. Jasper was also trying to rein it in, but being in such close proximity to him, she felt the guilt he was burdened with, and the anguish he felt bringing tears to Bella's eyes.

Silently, her palm reached out to clasp his, leading him up the stairs. She hesitated for a moment, thinking which room to bring him in, before deciding to go to his. She had always liked his room the best in the house anyways. It was more than just the rustic feel to the room that she found appealing, but something about the room that reminded her of home. She didn't feel so alone in this room; instead, it was a comfort to her and if it hadn't been that it was Jasper's own private area, she would have spent more time in it.

But the primary reason for her choice was that Bella knew that Jasper found it soothing as well. She figured any small comfort she could give him in that moment she would take. Anything to make whatever it was he was about to reveal easier on him.

They settled down on the king sized bed, and Bella looked at him expectantly.

"You two don't need to leave. You should hear this too." His voice was quiet and he was speaking to the floor, unable to look at Bella directly. Peter and Charlotte heard every word opting to stay downstairs, giving an air of privacy, something that Bella was grateful for.

"What is going on, Jas?" It was a nickname that she had taken to calling him occasionally as of late.

"Bella… I messed up. Badly." Jasper tentatively peeked at her, before staring at the knotted pine floorboards again. Jasper was not in any state to calm her nerves, so she put up her shield. Bella was uneasy about what he was going to say next, but she did not want him having the extra burden of her emotions on top of what he was dealing with.

"Jasper, whatever it is, it will be okay. Just talk."

He nodded, and with a big sigh looked her straight in the eyes. "Bella, I went to Minnesota."

She froze slightly at the words. She knew what that meant. "And did you see them?"

"Not directly. At least not right away."

He saw the Cullen's. He saw Alice. He saw Edward. Without her.

Bella quickly buried her jealousy, looking at him, waiting for more. "I drove off that night, after seeing you, not knowing where I was going, just knowing that I needed to get away for a few hours. You know how frustrated we have both been. There has been a lot the both of us have been trying to deal with. But the driving wasn't helping, and I felt lost, so lost. It was then that I just knew. I had to see her, make sure that she was alright, make sure that she was at least okay, and before I had time to process what I did, I took off."

Bella understood. She had the impulse herself on many occasions, but had never acted on it. She could not fault him that he actually did.

"I hid in a tree behind the house and as night fell, I just watched, far enough away not to be detected."

It was easy to imagine Jasper looking into the house. She recalled the hundreds of times Edward and her had come back from hunting or other activities, only to be greeted with the entire house lit up inside, the family doing whatever activities it choose for that particular evening. It had always been comforting, coming home. But Bella could only imagine it must have been excruciating for Jasper. Looking from the outside in, knowing that he could not come home.

"How were they?"

"They were happy. Well, except for Rosie and Emmett. They were fighting, but I am sure they made up later."

Bella smiled slightly. It was good to know that some things did not change. She wanted to know how Edward was doing but at the same time, she didn't. She did not know if she could take hearing that he was happily in love. "How long where you there for?"

"Not even an hour. I left when…" he trailed off, his eyes darting away for a brief moment. He sighed heavily. "Well, I just left."

"What are you leaving out, Jasper? Whatever it is, you can tell me."

Jasper moved to the window, staring out into the yard. The desperation in his voice was not lost on the young vampire. "I can't. There are some things you don't want to know. Just trust me on this, Darlin'. Please."

Bella opened her mouth to say something, but then shut it quickly. She was insanely curious to know what he was holding back, knowing it had to do with Edward, but if he said to let it go, she would do just that. Jasper was silent, but Bella knew that there was more to the story. Her fingers slowly traced the patterns of the quilt on his bed, giving Jasper the time he needed to continue.

Jasper turned back in Bella's direction, remaining by the window, his hands clasped behind his back. "I ran back to the truck, ready to go home. That was when Alice showed up."

Her head darted up. "You spoke to Alice?"

He nodded. "She had a vision of my coming there and spying on them."

"What did she say?"

"It wasn't exactly a nice conversation. She was angry that I went there, but she kept her vision from the rest of the family."

"Well, that is encouraging if she didn't tell everyone, maybe she is realizing that we don't want to harm the family?" She was aware that she was clinging on to a threat of non-existent hope, but she did it anyways.

"No. She views you and I as much as a threat as ever. At the very least, a threat to Edward and herself. She made it abundantly clear that the family's views have not changed. She did reveal that Carlisle investigated this as well after we left the house. From what Alice told me, he came up empty handed. We never existed in their eyes."

Bella bit her lip. That was not good news. She had been holding out, wishing that perhaps a breakthrough would somehow be made on the Cullen end and Edward and Alice would find them, begging forgiveness, letting them back into their lives. She didn't want to continue with the conversation anymore. All her hope was quickly vanishing. "What else, Jasper?"

He shook his head. "Bella, she threatened to get the Volturi involved if either of us ever attempted to go back there again. She was deadly serious."

When Alice was angry, it was something that one should never take lightly. Alice's threats, although rare, were never vague, and she always followed through on them.

Jasper was then kneeling in front of Bella, laying his head in her lap. "I'm so sorry, Darlin'. I ruined everything all because of my damn impulse. I should have known that Alice would have seen my decision to visit but I was so blinded by the urge to see her…"

Her hands wrapped into his hair, running her fingers through the blond curls. It would be easiest to lie. "It will be okay."

He lifted his head up. "How is it going to be okay? We try and contact them; they send the Volturi after us. We even get in their line of sight, and they send the Volturi after us. It's a no win situation. That means the Denali's are off the list and any of Carlisle's acquaintances are off as well."

The dejection that was in his voice nearly broke Bella. She slid down off the bed, her knees hitting the floor harshly, her body now on equal footing with Jaspers, mirroring his. The news he told her was more than upsetting to Bella, but her urge was only to comfort him, make sure that he felt alright.

Bella rubbed his shoulders with her hands, Jasper placed his own on her waist in response, pulling her gently closer to him. She would give anything to see his smile, see that light shine in his eyes again. Bella's gaze lifted to meet his before it stopped, staring at a piece of his hair that had fallen out of place. Her fingers played with the stray lock a moment before tucking it gently behind his ear. She mustered up her best smile at him. "I don't know, but it will be. Do you trust me?"

"Of course I trust you, Darlin'."

Bella realized the intimate position they suddenly found themselves in.

Jasper's hands now felt like they were burning into her marble skin, and she was very much aware the way his upper body molded into hers, the way her thighs straddled his right leg. Jasper's eyes, which were beginning to darken, never left hers, and Bella's hand was now resting on the nape of his neck. That feeling in the pit of her stomach returned, overwhelming her. This was not merely lust she was feeling for Jasper.

She saw that Jasper's eyes had fallen to her lips, and his grip became tighter on her, drawing her even closer. She parted her lips, leaning in, when Jasper pulled away suddenly, standing on the other side of the room.

Bella sat there momentarily stunned when she realized Peter was coming up the stairs. With equal vampiric speed, Bella was back on the bed again, her mind still buzzing from moments ago.

Peter strolled casually into the room, oblivious as to what had almost just happened. "Seriously Jasper. Were you even in the Military? Because I am starting to think you made all that shit up."

Jasper passed a quick look at Bella before turning his attention to his brother. She could not read his face and she was still reeling from what just almost transpired. "Peter…"

"I'm just saying. You both make it sound like it's over. Fuck. You want your mates, you will get back your mates."

The guilt that had settled in her stomach was sickening. She was just about to try to find comfort in Jasper's arms, when she should have been thinking more about Edward and Alice. They were just as much victims in all of this. She needed to keep telling herself that. Jasper adores Alice, he was obviously distraught and that kiss certainly would have been something he would have regretted later. She shouldn't have almost done what she did. She was grateful that Peter intruded when he did.

"What exactly is it that you propose, Peter? Because I am quickly running out of ideas."

"Jasper, it is like you said. If the both of you get in their line of sight, they will send the Volturi. You contact them, they send the Volturi. But what if we sent the Volturi after them first?"

Bella snapped her head up at Peter. "What?"

It was at this moment Charlotte quietly entered the room. Bella had not said a word to her since their exchange and had barely been in the same room. The reminder of Charlotte's conversation with her simply made her feel worse about what almost happened. Because Char was wrong. Edward was her mate.

Peter sat down with a flourish in a chair across the room. "We still have options. I don't believe for a minute that Carlisle has used all his resources and I think we need to start exploiting that. I'll bet you anything that Alice was lying to you."

Jasper's eyes narrowed. "Alice has never lied to me."

"Yeah, well, Alice is also trying to protect her family and sees you, and especially Bella, as a threat to that."

Charlotte spoke up. "You need someone who can look at the situation objectively. See everything for what it really is."

Jasper nodded his head just once at Peter, acknowledging that he was right.

"I think Char and I may need to go on a little road trip and do some persuading. Discreetly, of course."

Charlotte wrapped her arm around his waist. Peter continued. "Then, after, we go to Italy."

Charlotte looked at him surprised. Clearly, she had not been expecting him to suggest this. Peter spoke to her. "There are a couple of contacts I have avoided there, because up to this point, I did not want to raise any suspicion and put them in any danger. But I think at this point, we need to use all our resources, Char."

"This could be dangerous, Peter." Bella saw how worried the idea of going to Italy made Charlotte. She did not like the idea of her mate being put in danger.

"No," He caressed her face, and Bella felt like she was intruding suddenly on a very intimate moment. "Nothing will hurt us. I promise."

Peter turned to the Jasper and Bella. "We will leave immediately. Jasper, I will need your help with coming up with a list of every contact Carlisle has had over the past four hundred years that you know of and their last location."

"Of course." Peter walked out of the room with Charlotte, discussing what to bring with them.

Jasper, instead of following them, joined Bella on the bed, a strange look that she couldn't read on his face. "Bella…" he trailed off.

"Yes, Jasper?"

He shook his head at himself. "Never mind."

Jasper pressed his lips to her forehead and headed downstairs. Bella stayed there, shocked to find that the pull that was once reserved solely for Edward was now beginning to be divided between her mate and the vampire downstairs.