Chapter Nine - No More Lies

Her mouth dropped open. "What are you talking about?" I felt her shock, fear, and relief.

I snorted and shared her emotions with the rest of the room. "This is her emotional reaction, y'all."

Emmett, Rosalie, and Esme stared at her in disbelief. Carlisle was disappointed and angry.

"Alice, how could you lie to him like that? Jasper, how could you not know?" Carlisle demanded.

"I . . . I . . .," Alice stuttered, unable to come up with a suitable reply.

"Carlisle, she really did love me and was attracted to me. Her emotions were so much more positive than any other female I had encountered. When she told me she was my mate, why would I question it? She was utterly confident when she said it. I sensed no deception - she fully believed it at the time. Then she led me to your coven, and your lifestyle gave me a new lease on life. I considered her my savior, for pulling me out of the darkness that was drowning me. I loved her for that. I loved her energy and her consistently positive emotions. I loved all of you and knew you loved her. I knew between the two of us, y'all would choose her, and I knew I couldn't live this life on my own, so I whenever something didn't seem quite right between us, I would justify it to myself one way or another. I knew I was broken, my soul scarred and disfigured like my body, due to my experiences with Maria, so I just figured I was the reason our bond wasn't as strong as it ought to be. I felt like I was being ungrateful whenever I felt like complaining about something Alice did or said, so I just sucked it up and took it like a man, ya know? None of y'all ever seemed to think anything was wrong or strange about our relationship, so I thought it was all me, just my dark side feeling discontent. I never wanted to risk losing my relationships with the rest of you, if you felt you had to choose sides between Alice and me, so I never even considered rockin' the boat."

Everybody looked sad at my admission, including Alice. She looked up at me, her eyes shining with venom.

"I didn't know until much later, Jasper. I really thought you were my mate. It wasn't until years later I learned about how strong the vampire mate bond truly is, that it's for forever. By then we'd been married for years and were happy together. I foresaw many long happy years together. I saw no reason to rock the boat. Who knew if we would ever meet our true mates? Why cause dissension if there was no reason for it?" Alice confessed. I groaned and shut my eyes, shaking my head.

I opened my eyes and gazed at her in defeat. "I could never recognize my true mate as long as we're together, Alice, and neither could you. As long as our souls were bonded together in a romantic way, even if they weren't meant for one another, they wouldn't be open to bond with anyone else. Both of us could have already met our mates and ignored them, never even knowing or feeling a pull because our true paths were blocked by our false relationship."

She gasped in horror. "You mean we could've missed out our chance for true happiness already?"

"Yes," I growled bitterly. "Why were you so certain all those years ago that we were mates?"

She looked down, and I felt her embarrassment. "I saw a vision of us being intimate shortly after we met. You know how things were at the time. Good girls didn't do that sort of thing, except with their husbands. It was the only thing that made sense to me."

I snorted in disbelief. "Seriously? I spent the past fifty years of my existence catering to your every whim, changing myself to become your ideal mate, just because you had a vision of us having sex? You were a single female vampire, and I was an unmated male. I would have screwed you senseless, even if we disliked each other, just to get some release! It sure as hell wouldn't have been the first time - that's normal protocol amongst unmated nomads. Ya have a little fun, a little pleasure to take the edge off the monotony of existence for ya both. It's not like vampires need to worry about pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases, and eternity is way too long to remain celibate. Well, unless you're Edward, I guess. You and I would have been companions for a time, what they affectionately call 'friends with benefits' these days, while looking for the Cullens. It would have been a mutually beneficial relationship, without taking anything away from our ability to find our mates. Damn it, woman! How could you do this to me?"

"I'm sorry, Jasper, I didn't know," Alice admitted.

"You didn't ask," I muttered rubbing my face. "You could have asked Carlisle about it any time over the past decades. He would have been able to set you straight in a heartbeat."

"Speaking of heartbeats," Emmett stated apprehensively. "Are you ready to check Bella's future now? I've got a bad feeling about this."

Alice shook her head. "I can't, Em. Edward would know and would hate me for it. I promised him."

"Where's your loyalty to Bella, Alice?" I questioned with curiosity and disgust. "You know, your best friend, your new sister? The girl who loves you and does anything you want just to try to make you happy? You don't care what happens to her? If he kills her? If he breaks her? It doesn't matter?"

Alice huffed and glared at me, on the defensive again. "Of course, I care, but I trust Edward to handle this appropriately. He'd never hurt her. He loves her. He's doing this for her sake."

"Bullshit!" I crowed. "He's not doing this for her! He's runnin' away like a freakin' coward! He's done nothing but manipulate and control her from day one. Never once has he done what she wants to do. He dismisses all her ideas, opinions, and desires as unreasonable and unimportant. She's older than he is physically and emotionally, but he ignores everything she says. You may not see it though, 'cause you do the exact same thing to her. You and Edward both treat her like a freakin' pet rather than a mature adult capable of rational thought. She said not to throw her a party. You threw the party anyway, and Edward dragged her there, despite her reluctance. She said not to give her presents. You gave her presents wrapped in paper that she managed to hurt herself with, knowing she would. She said to change her, so her blood would no longer tempt any of us. She's still human. In fact, Edward went so far as to remove the venom that was in the process of changing her. If y'all had just listened to her and followed her wishes, any of the above, we wouldn't be in this situation now. Edward hurts her all the damn time, maybe not physically, but definitely emotionally, and those wounds tend to be a lot deeper. Every time he pushes her away when she kisses him, every time he belittles her or treats her with condescension, every time he refuses to even consider changing her, every time he ignores what she wants and takes away her right to make her own decisions, he hurts her. Trust me, I've felt it. He has hurt her before, and I have no doubt he will do so again. Let's just hope it isn't a killing blow this time."

"She doesn't know what she's asking for when she begs to be changed!" Rose protested, choosing to focus on her biggest pet peeve with Bella, rather than all the shit going down with Edward and Alice.

I rolled my eyes. "How can she, Rose, when nobody is willing to sit down and talk to her about it? Do you think Edward has ever sat down and discussed it like a rational adult? Hell, no. Have any of y'all ever expounded on the pros and cons of being a vampire, presented both sides, the things you love and hate about your existence? How can she make an informed choice when nobody ever gives her any information?"

Rose's eyes widened in understanding. "You're right. I've never told her why I don't want her to be a vampire. I've never talked to her about all the things I miss about my humanity. I've also never reflected on all the positive things about what we are. I've never really considered somebody might actually choose it, might actually want it, or think it was worth it. I mean, I've thought about what makes it worth continuing, rather than walking into the nearest fire, namely Emmett. Emmett was my savior. He saved me from the darkness within myself and showed me a whole new way to live and love. He will always come first with me. I can't imagine taking someone else's side over his, like Alice did to you."

"Then what the hell are you doing here, Rose, instead of in Forks? You can't tell me Emmett wanted to leave, that he was happy to go. I know how much he loves Bella, how much he has bonded with her as a little sister. This is they way he feels about her," I informed her, letting all of them feel his strong familial love, affection, and protectiveness. "And this is how she feels about him. She truly considers him her big brother. Her feelings are stronger than most humans feel for their own flesh and blood." I let them all feel her love, devotion, respect, hero worship, trust, and reliance on him. "Emmett would never have willingly abandoned her, but he would always choose you over her. Wherever you go, he'll follow, because you two are true mates. Do you want to know how Bella feels about you, Rose?" She nodded hesitantly. I let her feel Bella's strong familial love, pride, longing for approval and closeness, sadness, respect, and protectiveness. Rose was shocked, having expected the feelings to be negative. "She considers you her big sister. She knows you don't like her much, but she clings to the hope she can earn your respect, approval, and affection someday. So, you know Emmett wants to stay with Bella, and Edward wants you to stay away from Bella. Whose side are you on, Rose? Emmett's or Edward's?"

Rose's jaw dropped in shock. She stared up at her mate in chagrin. He smiled sadly down at her. "Really, Em? You would have stayed, despite Eddie's edict? You only left because of me?"

Em's brow immediately furrowed. "Hell, yeah! I feel like such an asshole leaving her behind like that. We didn't even tell her goodbye, and if Edward doesn't give her our letters, she's going to think we all abandoned her! She's family, and family doesn't do that to each other. How would you feel if you came home one day and the entire family had packed up and left without a single word or a note? She's not just losing her mate, Rose. She's losing all of us. She's losing her entire family, all in one fell swoop."

Esme looked and felt on the verge of a breakdown. Carlisle was filled with guilt and remorse. Rose looked like she'd been torn apart and put back together wrong. Only Alice was holding strong.

"It would kill me," Rose whispered in horror. "What have we done? How could I be so blind?"

"I abandoned my daughter, Carlisle, my human daughter, my danger magnet," Esme sobbed. "I trusted Edward to convey my regards, my letter, to her, but if she doesn't get it, she's going to feel betrayed! I should never have trusted Edward. I should have insisted on speaking with her face to face to assure her of my love and make sure she could contact me if she needed me. What kind of mother leaves her child behind unprotected? She's going to hate me! I know when Edward threatened to leave the family if we didn't let him handle it all his way, all I could think about was losing him again, like we did all those years ago, but Edward doesn't need us the way Bella does. Him choosing to leave is a far cry from us choosing to leave her. In allowing ourselves to be deceived by our son, we've failed our daughter, Carlisle!"

Carlisle had been nodding along grimly to Esme's points. "It's not too late, Esme. Yes, we made a bad choice, but it hasn't even been two days. We can head back now and be there by this evening. We can make this right. If Edward chooses to leave, that will be his choice, but Bella is part of this family now whether he likes it or not. Whether she becomes a vampire or stays human, whether she mates with Edward or someone else, no matter what, she is still our daughter, and we will not abandon her."

"Exactly!" I exclaimed, glad they finally got it. "You need to realize Bella considers you two her parents, even more than Renee and Charlie. She loves them, certainly, but neither one has raised her or guided her the way parents should. She feels like the two of you have taken care of her more than her human parents ever did. Her feelings for them are more distant, more the way a caregiver feels than the way young humans normally view their parents." I demonstrated to all of them the difference between her feelings for Carlisle and Esme and her feelings for Charlie and Renee. It was obvious to everyone that she effectively considered Carlisle and Esme her 'true' parents. They were even more determined to go back to her.

"We will never leave her again," Esme promised, her eyes flashing, and her motherly instincts fully activated. Never mess with a mother in protection mode, unless you want to lose a limb or two. That advice is sound regardless of if she is human, animal, or vampire.

Emmett yelled wholeheartedly. "Let's go! Hit the road! My baby sis needs me! Time's a wastin'!"

"Stop!" Alice shrieked. "You can't go back! Edward won't like it!"

"Frankly, Alice, I don't give a damn," I snarled. "Edward doesn't run this coven. I highly doubt he's even Bella's mate. He sure as hell doesn't treat her like an equal, like his everything. He treats her like a damn pet he gets a kick out of taking care of. He should just get a freakin' puppy if he wants blind obedience and adoration from his companion. As a matter of fact, if he was her true mate, he'd never be able to leave her in the first place. He wouldn't even consider it. It wouldn't even be an option. So it's probably for the best he's leaving. It'll give her a chance to grow up without him smothering her all the damn time."

"Hear, hear!" Rose agreed, applauding me. I noticed Esme was being suspiciously quiet about my bad language. She must be really upset to not even mention it.

"Yeah, great, let's GO!" Emmett shouted, fidgeting with his keys and trying to subtly tug Rose toward the jeep.

Carlisle appeared to be thinking deeply about the whole situation, weighing all sides. He looked at me with new understanding in his eyes. "If Edward is not her mate, her true mate, then he has no right to make sweeping decisions about what's best for her. I'm her adoptive father and her coven leader, and I say we're going back."

I grinned at him and sent him my pride and respect. He smiled back, his shoulders relaxing, confident he had made the right choice this time.

Alice was furious, with an undercurrent of relief, love, and hope. She folded her arms across her chest and glared at all of us. "Well, I'm not going with you. I'm going to keep going to Alaska and wait for Edward, just like we all told him we would."

Rose snorted and brushed past her. "Bully for you." She and Emmett raced through the forest at maximum speed to Emmett's Jeep. The rest of us were on their heels, running to where the vehicles were parked. Once there, Alice stood beside the Vanquish she was driving on Edward's behalf, watching us defiantly.

"You do what you feel is right, sweetie," Esme told her gently, patting her softly on the cheek as she walked by and climbed into the moving van.

"Just answer me this, Alice," I snarled. "What hold does Edward have over you? What information was he using to blackmail you into compliance?"

Alice looked away, not wanting to answer. I replaced her reluctance with my emotional truth serum cocktail. She sighed and answered. "He knew you and I weren't mates. He'd heard me admit it in my head. He threatened to tell you that I'd been lying to you for years. He also knew I knew about how the whole family's thirst affected you, but had never admitted it to you. He threatened to tell you about that too, that I was putting the needs of the family above your own."

"Well, you needn't worry about that anymore, Alice. The truth has set you free. Jasper Hale is dead, long live Jasper Whitlock! That'll save us the trouble of forgin' divorce papers. Consider yourself a widow, as of right fuckin' now! You're now free to do whomever or whatever floats your psycho boat, babe. I'm outta here," I snarked, shooting back through the forest in the most direct route, planning to run the whole way back along the route I had taken to get there.

"Your loyalty to Edward is amazingly strong, Alice. Are you sure he's not your true mate?" I heard Carlisle mention on his way to his Mercedes. The family turned around, heading back to Forks, without giving Alice any other attention or consideration. I didn't bother waiting around to hear Alice's reply to Carlisle's question. Those two always did have a special bond. Carlisle was probably right. Unfortunately for them, because Alice was married to me, our souls had a partial bond. I imagined two puzzle pieces that loosely fit together, just slightly off kilter. As long as those two mismatched pieces were mated, the pieces weren't free to bond with any other piece. Only once the pieces were broken apart could they be matched up with other pieces that were a better fit. The potential was always there, but until both sides were free to acknowledge it, they would never connect. If a vampire were married and faithful to his wife, his true mate could stand in front of him every day, and he'd never realize it, because his soul wouldn't be open to feel it.

Alice had done all three of us a disservice, no all four of us, if Edward was really Alice's true mate. If she hadn't held onto me, keeping my eyes blind to any mate potential in any humans or vampires I had met over the years in our time together, she and Edward could have been mated long ago. Then he would never have tried to fall for Bella. Then again, Bella would probably be dead by now if that were the case, so maybe it worked out better this way after all.

AN: I'm sure you were hoping for bigger fireworks from the family, but they've decided to put off dealing with Alice and her deceptions for the time being, as they are in a hurry to get back to Bella and prevent Edward from carrying out his nefarious plot. There will be time for repercussions later, after all the revelations have had time to sink in, and after everything settles down a bit. Otherwise, we'd never get back to Bella and what happens next. Thanks for reading!