So at last the ceremony begins but does it go without any problems? You'll have to read it to see. Enjoy!
Chapter 41.
Bella walked beside Carlisle down the corridor; she couldn't believe how calm she felt. She'd thought she'd be nervous about tying herself to one person for eternity but she wasn't; she couldn't imagine being with anyone other than Jasper so it wasn't daunting to her.
She looked ahead and saw Rosalie waiting for them outside a large set of double doors and she smiled at her. Rose's face shone with the happiness she was feeling and Bella couldn't help but compare it to how Rosalie had been with her before she'd become one of them. She was glad they'd been able to get past their difficulties.
They all paused outside the room for a couple of minutes and Rose checked Bella's dress, hair and make-up; giving her the final seal of approval before she was allowed any further. Once satisfied Rose kissed her cheek softly and then stood in front of Bella and Carlisle and knocked on one of the doors.
The doors were opened and then Rose was walking down the aisle towards the front of the room. Bella scanned the room; seeing the members of the Volturi family sitting in the pews at the front. The Volturi guard were lining the aisle and Bella could see Demetri looking in her direction; the smallest of smiles on his face. It was only a small shift of her eyes to the left and she could see Jasper and Emmett standing at the top of the aisle. Neither of them were looking in her direction and she bit her lip as she imagined the look on her beloved's face when he saw her; she hoped he wasn't disappointed.
Carlisle's grip on her hand tightened slightly and she knew that was her cue and they both began to walk slowly up the aisle. The room had fallen silent as the doors had swung open but there was a small murmur once she began to move towards the front of the room. As they walked past the guard they turned and walked to the back and then filtered down the sides of the room to stand in a line either side of the three Volturi leader's at the front of the room. The last to move was Demetri and Alec but they followed behind her and Carlisle; rather than following the rest of the guard; stopping a few feet behind where she met Jasper.
Bella watched his face as he turned to look at her and saw his eyes glance down her body before rising back up to her face. His eyes were bright and the lightest brown she'd ever seen them as she looked at his face and she felt the pulse of love he sent to her as it hugged her body. She smiled at him and took his hand in hers as they both turned to face Marcus.
"We are gathered here today to witness the forming of the bond between Jasper Whitlock and Bella Cullen as a result of the Obligatio de Germanitas invoked by Edward Cullen." Bella and Jasper stepped forward and then knelt before the three Volturi leaders. "Who gives this woman to be bonded with this man?" Marcus continued.
"I, as her father, give my daughter Bella Cullen to be bonded with my son Jasper Whitlock." Carlisle said; placing a hand on both their shoulders as he spoke their names. Bella and Jasper lowered their heads to look at the ground then Aro stepped forward and placed his hand on the back of Bella's head; Caius repeating the action to Jasper.
"It is my pleasure to say that the love between these two before us is true. Therefore as members of the Volturi and leaders of our world, we decree this bond to take effect with the giving and taking of the bonding promise. We give our blessing for this union and ask that the friends and family congregated here today do the same."
The rest of the room all answered. "We bless this union."
"Jasper, as the person nominated to take on the responsibility of your brother's mate, do you take Bella to be bonded to you for eternity?"
"I do." Jasper said softly.
"Bella, as the former mate of Edward Cullen; do you agree to enter into this bond with his brother, Jasper Whitlock?"
"I do." She replied; feeling Jasper squeezing her hand as she made her response.
Aro, Caius and Marcus then spoke together; reading from the text that Marcus was holding in an ancient language that Bella didn't understand. The feel of Aro's hand on her head became heavy as she heard their voices speak the unfamiliar words; she remembered Caius' words from the day before and hoped this meant the bond was working. Carlisle's hand was gripping her right shoulder and the feel of his touch was comforting to her. The biggest difference she began to notice was the temperature of Jasper's hand as he held hers; it felt like it was changing; it almost felt as if he was now human because his skin was hot to touch. The three brothers stopped talking and silence fell over the room. Carlisle removed his hand from their shoulders and stepped backwards; Aro and Caius also removed their hands; Jasper tightened his grip on her hand.
Finally Marcus spoke again, "Jasper, you must now seal the bond you've entered with Bella by giving her the morsus di amatus. Bella, you must then do the same thing to Jasper. Do you both understand what you have to do and know the steps for this part of the ceremony you must perform?" Bella and Jasper nodded. "Once this ritual begins there must be silence from everyone. When it is complete we can then perform the marriage ceremony and then the bond will be in place." All three of the brothers then stepped back from the two of them and just Bella and Jasper remained at the top of the aisle; both kneeling still.
Jasper could feel the confusion coming from their family and friends; although he was sure he could sense smugness emanating from Peter and a little nervousness from Bella. He knew none of his family knew about this part of the ceremony because they'd decided they wouldn't mention it. He took a deep breath and then turned so he was now knelt facing Bella; he saw her shift to face him too. Despite the fact he could feel everyone staring at the two of them; all his attention was on his beautiful bride as she stared at him lovingly.
His hand that wasn't holding hers reached up and caressed her face; his thumb brushing the apple of her cheek. Slowly Jasper leant forward and kissed her forehead; his eyes closing as he lingered there for a second or two. His other hand released hers then moved to hold the other side of her face and he kissed her on the lips. He kissed each of her cheeks softly as his hands fell from her face; kissing her right cheek and then her left one. His mouth lingered on her cheek and then slowly moved lower; grazing her jaw as his right hand swept her hair away from her shoulder; both hands taking hold of hers and squeezing them gently. He kissed her neck; feeling her shiver slightly and he kissed her again; sucking on her skin slightly and moistening the surface with his tongue. He paused briefly and then bit down on the same spot with his teeth; marking her skin for all eternity. Jasper felt the pain he'd caused as his venom entered the bite and he focused on sending her his feelings of love in order to reduce the pain. His tongue swept over the mark and then he brushed his lips over it again before pulling away from her and seeing her eyes so full of emotion.
Bella stared into Jasper's eyes; seeing the intensity of them; the emotion he was feeling affecting the color of them so they'd darkened to an almost mahogany tone. Her own emotions were affecting her and for a second she lost all focus on what she was supposed to be doing; the look on his face dazzling her. As Jasper squeezed her hands it brought her back to where she was and she could feel her embarrassment climbing.
Bella released his hands and moved her right hand to his face; brushing across the surface in the same way he'd done. She briefly noticed who she could only assume was Peter and Charlotte as she kissed Jasper's forehead but didn't let herself lose focus again. Her other hand moved to his face and she pressed her lips against his; she was doing okay so far. Now was where the ritual differed from his part and this was the bit she was more worried about because she had to do it completely right.
Jasper smiled at her in encouragement and she felt her confidence increase; a gift from her mate which was much needed. Her hands fell from his face and moved to his shoulders. Taking the lapels of his jacket in her hands she pushed it down his arms but not completely off. She was staring into his eyes and she could see the amusement in them because he knew she was nervous about this part. Her fingers fumbled slightly on his tie but eventually she managed to undo it and pull it from his neck; dropping it on the floor. Very aware of what the next step was she sent him all her love as her hands moved to the collar of his shirt. She felt a small amount of trepidation as her hands brushed across the skin beneath the material and she knew it wasn't originating from her.
She waited until she caught his eyes and looked at her before pushing his shirt over his shoulders and down his arms; revealing his scars to everyone in the room. There was a small gasp from someone but other than that the silence remained; the tension in the room increasing slightly as the people not familiar with Jasper's history saw the marks on his skin for the first time. Bella smiled at him as she saw him bite his lip; his eyes locked on hers as he absorbed the emotions of the rest of the room; Bella hoped her love was reducing any of the negative ones he would probably be feeling.
Her hands moved back to cradle his head; moving them there in the same order as when she'd first done them. Softly she kissed his cheeks; first his right and then his left; closing her eyes as she did so. She moved her lips across his skin; brushing kisses across the surface. There was a scar in front of his ear that her lips caressed; feeling the shiver that ran through him as she did it; another on his jaw received the same attention. Her right hand brushed his hair back and then she kissed his neck; slowly moving down until she reached his collarbone. She found the spot she wanted; where she'd bitten him before and kissed it reverently and then sucking on the same place. She brushed her tongue across the mark already there and then bit sharply into the skin; inwardly smiling as she heard Jasper start to purr; venom flooded from her mouth at the noise and she knew the sting of it would be causing him a great deal of pain but she couldn't hold back; the urge to mark him was calling to her.
His purr was much louder now and in the back of her consciousness she heard a snort of laughter which seemed to be emanating from where she thought Peter was sitting. She pulled away from Jasper's neck and licked the mark; sealing the venom beneath the surface. She pulled away from him and her hands joined his at his sides; the desire in his eyes couldn't be hidden and she was sure everyone in the room was feeling the effects of his emotion; their mouths met in a passionate kiss that was longer than either of them had originally intended; with the background noise of Jasper's purr ever present.
They pulled apart and Marcus stepped back to them; a smile on his face; they had done well; Demetri and Alec also took two steps forward and assisted Jasper and Bella to their feet. Bella helped Jasper pull his shirt and jacket back up his arms and between them they did the buttons of his shirt back up; then turning to face the front of the room and stand before Marcus.
Bella was barely aware of the remainder of the ceremony; she was so relieved to have got the ritual out of the way that the rest of it passed in a blur. She was vaguely aware of Jasper saying the traditional wedding vows and she saw him sliding the ring onto her finger. She heard Marcus speaking to her and she somehow managed to repeat what he'd said each time but she wasn't sure how she did it. Marcus passed her the ring and she slowly slid it on his hand; trying not to notice how her hand was shaking.
Jasper's hands gripped both of hers and she looked up at his face; hypnotized by his eyes as they looked deeply into hers. She was caught up in the moment again and before she knew what was happening Jasper was leaning forward and kissing her; his arms pulling her close to him so she was pressed against the length of his body; her hands rested on his shirt and as the kiss deepened she brushed her right hand up to his neck; her fingers dancing over the mark she'd just left as they swept under his collar.
Jasper purred at her touch and she smirked against his mouth; enjoying the feeling of being as close to him as she was now. Jasper, her husband she realized with a start and she knew she wouldn't want it any other way. As they pulled away from each other they both seemed to realize the noise from the rest of the people in the room; it was as if they'd been in their own private bubble which was only broken when they stopped kissing.
Marcus stepped forward and placed a hand on their shoulders, "My congratulations to you both. I'm confident the bond between you both is in place but as we've previously mentioned we won't know for certain until it's tested." He smiled at them both. "I'll let you go, I'm sure you'd like to go and see the rest of your guests."
"Thank you Marcus; it was a lovely ceremony." Jasper said.
"Only made so because of the love between the people taking part in it," he said quietly before turning and walking to his brothers.
Jasper and Bella turned to face the rest of the room and their parents and siblings both rushed forward. Esme was the first to hug them both, "Oh that was so beautiful," she gushed; kissing them both on their cheeks. She turned to Jasper and hugged them tightly; whispering in his ear, "I'm so proud of you; I know it can't have been easy to do that in front of everyone." Although her words were quiet, Bella still heard them and she shared a smile with her husband; her own pride ebbing from her towards him too.
After spending a few minutes with the rest of their family, Jasper took Bella's hand and pulled her away from them, "There are a couple of people I'd really like you to meet," he said as they walked over to the people Bella had assumed were Peter and Charlotte. "I've told you about them before but these are my two oldest friends; I've known them both for most of my vampire life."
"Carlisle and Esme were telling me about them earlier." She said to him quietly.
He looked at her face and Bella wasn't sure what he was looking for but he seemed to find it and smiled at her; leaning back towards her and kissing her softly on the lips, "What did I do to deserve you?" he whispered.
"Quite a lot really," she said, smiling at him. "And I'm very grateful to you for it."
"Major," Peter said; smirking at Bella over Jasper's shoulder.
"Peter, Char, I'd like you to meet Bella Cu… Whitlock," he smiled at Bella as he corrected her name, "My beautiful wife."
"Bella, it's lovely to finally meet you." Charlotte said; holding her hand out towards Bella.
Bella looked down at the proffered hand; frowning slightly. She looked up at Charlotte and pulled her quickly into a hug, "It's good to meet a friend of Jasper's. I look forward to getting to know you better."
Charlotte froze as Bella hugged her; a look of shock on her face as she met Jasper's sparkling eyes. After a fraction of a second she returned the hug and then kissed Bella on the cheek. "You and your husband will have to come down and see us soon so we can spend some time together."
"I'd like that a lot."
Peter walked up the two of them and swept Bella into a hug; lifting her feet off the floor and kissing her soundly; a gesture which caused Jasper to growl at him lowly. "Welcome to the family, Bella." He said enthusiastically as he put her back on her feet.
Jasper pulled her back to him; his arm around her waist as he kissed her temple. "Peter, you don't need to molest my wife; we're barely married more than ten minutes and you're already stealing her from me." His words were said jokingly but Peter could sense that an element to them was completely serious.
"Well, if you will keep her from us for all this time…" he teased, "Seriously, I just wanted to make sure Bella knew we'd accepted her to our family." He looked at Jasper again, "You know, you're practically glowing, brother dear, it's a good look on you. I like it."
"It's because I'm happy." Jasper admitted quietly as he stared at Bella. "I've got everything I could ever want."
"I know." His brother replied.
TBC
A/N: What a relief that it all went smoothly. Did you like the ceremony? Let me know what you think and send me a review. By the way, my translation (which is not necessarily correct, in fact probably isn't) of morsus di amatus is 'bite of love', which for vampires just seemed appropriate. So you know it's going to get messy from here on in, right? Next chapter... well shit happens!