A/N: the Cullens are here! I will add they will be slightly OOC here, I think Jasper would never have followed Carlisle if he let Edward walk all over him like he did in the books. Carlisle is the coven leader so I'm just giving him his balls back.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the story line, SM owns the characters I'm just having fun with them.

Peter POV:
I had to choke back a growl seeing that man reach for my mate but I knew as soon he called him "son" I was royally fucked. No way were we walking away from here. Edward cut his eyes to me and nodded imperceptibly so my mate's thoughts must be along those same lines. Still, I almost fell over in shock when Jasper stuck his hand out and replied, "Hello sir, I'm Jasper Whitlock and this is my mate Peter."

Sir. He called the fucker "sir." What the hell? The Major IS sir, he doesn't call people sir! Especially not some piss-eyed kid that looks younger than me! Edward shot me a frown at that. Well guess what you little brat, I have been holdin' my tongue for the past 20 years. I ain't about to start censoring my thoughts too! So fuck you.

Jasper must have picked up on my inner turmoil because he stepped back and pulled me up beside him, wrapping his arm around my shoulder. He leaned in and whispered so faint I could barely hear him, "You ok Pete?" I took a deep breath of his scent and tried to calm down as I just nodded to him. I wasn't ok, but this was neither the time nor place to address that.

The blond prick brought our attention back to him by introducing us to the rest of his so-called "family." His mate, Esme, was probably close to my age but she managed to remind me of my Ma somehow. The big guy, Emmett, flashed a dimpled smile as he was introduced, but his mate Rosalie just turned her nose up and ignored us. Good, I have an ally- she doesn't want us here anymore than I want to be here. Alice, the little pixie brat was still glaring at me from her spot next to Esme so I guess she didn't learn her lesson last time and she still doesn't like my shield. Too bad, so sad. Edward was now fighting a smile at my opinion of the group and he caught my eye and nodded again so I guess I must be right.

Esme stepped up next to her mate with a huge smile and said, "I just can't believe you are the famous Major from the Southern Wars! You look like such a sweet boy! And so young too! I heard you served in the Confederate army as well before you were turned, you must have been very mature for your age. I'm sure your mother must have been so proud of you."

Jasper ducked his head a little and tried to brush off her praise, "Well, ma'am, she was mighty ticked at me when I left seein' as how I was the man of the house, but she was proud of me for servin' and I'm sure the army must have let her know when I got promoted to Major." At this I sent him my pride and love; my mate was the youngest major in the Confederate army, and they didn't even know that he was two years younger than he told 'em!

"Oh, that's just wonderful! But where are my manners, would you like to come in and see the house? We don't have a lot of our furniture here yet; we just jumped up and left as soon as the children came home as we were hoping you would come back to see us. Carlisle and I haven't actually seen it yet so we can all tour it together. I do hope you will stay here with us for a while so we can get to know each other." Esme continued on, "Peter, I would love to hear more about you as well. You must be a remarkable young man to have caught the Major's attention!"

"Well, I don't know about that, ma'am. I wasn't much to look at when he found me, but he is definitely the best thing that has ever happened to me. I would be lost without him." And as nice as you are I still won't let you take him away from me.

Jasper POV
I was reeling with the different emotions surrounding me at the moment. Peter was more tense than I had ever felt him, including during battle. I'm not sure what had him so worked up but I felt his anger shoot up when I introduced myself to Carlisle. I'll have to talk to him later when we can get some privacy and try to see where his head is at.

Carlisle and Esme are like nothing I have ever encountered. I had expected to be met with fear or disgust as I made no attempt to hide my scars. Instead, they both radiated acceptance and welcome, and Carlisle was just bursting with curiosity. When he called me son there was not an ounce of deceit in him and for a moment I could imagine sitting with him in his study, talking about whatever fathers and sons talk about. I really liked that thought.

The other vampires had mixed reactions. Alice was still hostile toward Peter but I was doing my best to ignore her as I could feel his amusement at the situation. Emmett seemed open and looked like a fun guy, despite his imposing size. His mate Rosalie was projecting disdain and the disgust I was expecting. Edward was pleased we had shown up and occasionally I felt some camaraderie directed toward my mate. Maybe he and Peter can become friends. Pete has never opened up to anyone other than me, if I can show him this situation can benefit him too maybe he will be more open to staying.

Staying? Where did that come from? I really had only planned to come here and meet the coven but as soon as Esme asked us to stay I was already banking on it. This couple just filled some void I didn't even know I had in me for so long. Carlisle was filled with understated authority, he led his coven (or family) and they obviously respected him. It was nothing like Maria where we had no choice- either follow or be killed. I can't imagine Carlisle handing out punishments like that bitch did either; I'm sure a stern word from him would be enough to correct any issues that may come up.

Alice must have finally reached her breaking point because I heard Edward say, "Don't do it-" just before her nasally voice jumped in. "Stay here? What do you mean stay here, Esme? They aren't a part of this family! They're human drinkers! And that one has a shield that keeps me from seeing anything, how am I supposed to know what's going on if I can't see?"

I tightened my arm around Peter and dipped my head down to his neck. I focused on him and the love he started sending, along with his humor. I knew part of him wouldn't mind me attacking the midget again but I needed to fight back the Major right now for the sake of the family. Carlisle's voice immediately whipped out more harshly than I thought he was capable of, "Alice Brandon, I warned you about this. You will not disrespect anyone who is a guest in my home and you will not disrespect my mate or anyone else she offers hospitality to. Is that understood?" I fought back a smile as Esme's lust spiked; apparently she and Peter had something in common.

Alice's anger remained high but she ducked her head and muttered an insincere "yes sir" before stepping back behind Esme. I raised my head to look at Carlisle and figured I might as well get this out of the way. "I guess I should apologize for attackin' your girl there the last time we met. I'm sure you understand I don't take kindly to my mate being threatened by anyone. I hope you won't hold it against me."

Rosalie picked this time to chime in with her opinion. "Why? Can't he fight his own battles? I thought you were both soldiers, looks like he should be able to stick up for himself." I would have been offended except for the honest curiosity I could feel from her. She truly wanted to understand, even if her way of asking left a lot to be desired.

Carlisle started to reprimand her as well but I jumped in before he said anything. "Sir, if you don't mind, I can address her questions. It might help everyone to understand if y'all know us a little better and understand where we're comin' from." When he nodded I glanced at Peter for his acceptance as well and then began our story.

"I know Garrett told ya some of my story but basically I served three years in the Confederate army before Maria found me and changed me for one of her soldiers. She had been choosin' her newborns more carefully and she targeted me because of my rank as Major. She hoped my military skill wouldn't be lost in the change and it wasn't. I lost a lot of my human memories but every battle plan and strategy came right through with me. I didn't make a good soldier at first but once she figured out I needed to be in charge she kept more of her new recruits and camp was a lot less chaotic than before. By the end of my newborn year we had won 5 battles and had more territory than any other warlord in the south.

Years went by and I began to understand my gift a little better. Maria molded it into a weapon and even when the other warlords began to join forces against us they still couldn't win. I lived in a constant state of war for nearly 60 years before I found Pete here. I was ruled by emotions, the other vampires' as well as my own and all I felt was anger, fear, and lust. The only loyalty I had to anyone was to Maria as my sire, basically because I didn't know any better. I was out huntin' one night and ran across Peter and as soon as I saw him I was shocked by a wave of protectiveness that came from deep inside me. I knew immediately he was my mate. Maria had taught me about mates because we didn't keep mated pairs in the army. They were unpredictable in battle; they would break rank and defend their mate and leave us with a weak spot every time." I couldn't stop my mind from going back to the battle where I did just that and outed myself and my mate. I'm still glad I did it, I couldn't have lived anymore if I had lost him then.

"I bit him and carried him back to camp but I knew I couldn't let that bitch know what he was to me. Instead I told her I wanted him for myself, as a lover, and that he was off limits to the other officers. I had done this before so it wasn't a strange request, she just assumed I'd lose interest like I had with the others. Trainin' Peter was the hardest thing I have ever had to do in my life. I never dreamed I would find a mate in that horrible world, but findin' him and havin' to put him through fight trainin' and punishments was almost more than I could bear. Do you have any idea how hard it is to not only be unable to defend your mate, but to actually have to be the one to harm him with your own hands?" I had to stop there for a minute, overcome by the grief I felt remembering those days. Peter held me up and reassured me of his love and forgiveness. I could feel sorrow from the other mated pairs and horror from Edward as he saw what Pete and I remembered.

I looked up at them and cleared my throat. "Anyway, to answer your question, yes, Pete can fight his own battles. He is the best fighter in the south, other than me. I am the only person he has never beat but I think that's just 'cause he's a better man than I am and he won't hurt his mate for nothin'. But after all I've put him through, all the times I couldn't step up and save him, I have a real hard time not doin' everythin' I can to protect him now. I owe him that and much more. I owe him my life."