A/N – Thank you all so much for your reviews. This whole chapter is in Bella's POV and as promised Emmett and Kate finally show up. I thought that Jasper and Bella needed to get to know each other a bit so I gave them some quiet time. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy the chappie. A huge thank you to Anubis I. Kasanoda for being super-rad.
Disclaimer – S.M. own all and all mistakes are mine alone.
Chapter 10
-BPOV-
Jasper and I walk at a nice human pace for a while before either of us speaks.
"So…" Jasper says.
"So…" I respond. He looks slightly uncomfortable and I feel the same. We just went through enough drama to last a lifetime and neither of us knows where to go from here.
"What do we do now?"
"I don't know. Why don't we hunt? All of this has taken its toll and I'm thirsty."
"Sure, darlin', sounds good to me."
Jasper flings me onto his back and starts running. I think back to when Edward used to do this and I realize how much more comfortable I am with Jasper. Edward was a fast runner, but with Jasper I feel safer than I ever did with my ex-boyfriend. I hold onto him with my eyes closed just enjoying the sensation. He puts me down as soon as we're in the forest and I take off after the most delicious scent I've ever come across, aside from the human. I slow down and begin to stalk my prey. I see a brown bear and prepare to pounce. The animal senses that something's wrong and begins to run. Too bad I'm faster. I jump on the bear and break its neck before I drain it completely. I'm totally satisfied so I lay down in the grass a few hundred yards away and wait for Jasper to return.
"Hey, darlin'."
"Hey, Jas."
"Good job back there. I gotta say, Emmett would be proud." Jasper lays down beside me and wraps me in his arms with my leg flung over him and my head resting on his chest. A girl could really get used to this.
"Were you watching me hunt, Jasper?" I lean up on my elbow and give him a coy look but he just looks pleased as punch.
"Yup, and it was the flat-out, hands-down sexiest thing I have ever seen in all my days. You have a gift, my love. Not a drop of blood on you." I look at my clothes and see that he's right. Yay me! He looks away for a few minutes before he addresses me again. "Bella, how are you doin'?"
"I'm good, Jasper. Just been thinking about things."
"Good things, I hope."
"Everything, really. I'm glad we talked things through. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to forgive you, and then I was worried that you wouldn't want me back."
"I'll always want you, my love." He wraps his arms tighter around me and pulls me in for a soft kiss. "You're the only one I'll ever want."
"I know that now. You realize that you have one hell of a brother, don't you? He has this uncanny ability to help me figure shit out without telling me what to do." I nuzzle my head into his chest and hear him purr in approval.
"Yeah, he does that. Why do you think I've kept him around for so long?" The sun starts to rise and, for the first time, I really look at Jasper in the daylight.
"Jesus, Jasper, you're beautiful. I saw you in the sun during our first hunt but I didn't really notice. You're absolutely stunning. I can see each and every one of your scars and they're breathtaking. God, I must be the luckiest person on the planet."
"Not quite. I know you haven't seen yourself in the sun yet but you, my dear, are a vision. You sparkle like a million perfectly cut diamonds. I always thought that this sparkly shit was a little bit, shall we say…less than manly. But I will happily sparkle for the rest of my days if it means I get to look at you." I lean up and give him the same soft kiss he graced me with earlier. We lay there for a while longer before Jasper pulls me to my feet and starts walking with me, hand in hand.
"Fancy a swim?"
"I'd love to, Jasper. I was never what you'd call athletic, but boy can I swim. Renee thought we should become swimmers but she couldn't get the hang of it. I loved it and decided to join an advanced swim class. After a few months of practice, they asked me to take some CPR classes and I became a junior life guard when I was 12."
"Is that so? Well if you thought you were good before, just wait. Being a vampire has its advantages." Jasper grabs me by the hand and we run until we come to a wide river. Before I have a chance to protest, Jasper rips off my clothes until I'm down to my underoos.
"Jasper!" I try to cover myself but Jasper is having none of it.
"Isabella." He gives me a stern look and takes my hands in his. Oooh, very authoritative. I think I like it. "You're the most beautiful woman on the planet so please, for all that is holy, don't cover yourself up. I know we haven't fully mated yet, but I don't ever want you to feel uncomfortable showing me your body." He can tell I still feel a bit awkward. "Do you remember when you first saw yourself in the mirror? I wasn't with you, but I was sitting in our bedroom and could hear every word you said and feel all of your emotions. You thought you were beautiful. You thought you were gorgeous. For fucks sake, Bella, you thought you were more stunning than Rosalie." I see such love in his eyes, it's hard to ignore what he's saying.
"But Jasper, you're the beautiful one. You're so perfectly chiseled and your scars are the perfect representation of your strength and courage. How could I possibly compete with you?"
"Do you think I'm sexy, Bella?"
Is he crazy? " I prefer the term walking-sex-on-a-stick, but sexy works just as well." His eyes blacken for a split second before returning to their beautiful amber. I think he likes it when I talk a little dirty.
"Well I want you to think about how sexy you think I am, and then multiply it by a hundred. That's only one tenth of one percent of what I see when I look at you. You are a goddess, something to be cherished and worshiped. You are perfect in every way. You said this to me once, Bella and now I'm going to repeat it to you. 'I am in love with you and I will be by your side for the rest of my existence. Don't ever fucking doubt that.' Truer words have never been spoken and, after the events of today, those words are going to get us through anything that is thrown our way." With that, he grabs my hand and launches us into the river.
Jasper and I swim for a good long while and he is absolutely fucking right. I'm like a fish. It took a little getting used to, but I finally mastered being underwater for long periods of time. Not having the need to breathe is a big help. Eventually Jasper pulls us out of the water and onto the river bank. We lay wrapped in each other's arms for what seemed like an eternity, not speaking a lot, just enjoying one another's company. I start thinking about my reaction to the human and I decide to bring it up.
"Jasper? Can I ask you something without you getting mad?"
"That depends, darlin'. What's on your mind?" He leans up and looks at me with a curious expression.
"Well, I was just wondering how you were able to be around me for so long. I swear, Jasper, I've never wanted anything as badly as I wanted to drink from that man. How did you not kill me as soon as you met me? And how were you able to sit in a classroom full of kids every day? Wasn't it torture?" Jasper lays back down and pulls me towards him so my head is once again resting on his chest. He stays silent for a long time. Finally I feel him take a deep breath in preparation for what he's about to say.
"Bella, when you were talking to Peter earlier did he mention anything about the last time I came down here?"
"No, why?" He seems to hesitate a bit before answering. Before I have time to react, Jasper has us sitting on the edge of the river facing each other. He looks extremely worried about something, but I don't say anything. I just give him time to gather his thoughts.
"The last time I saw Peter and Charlotte was 10 years ago. They'd been trying to get me to come down here for a visit and when I wouldn't budge, they came to where we were living New Hampshire in hopes of bringing me back."
"But why wouldn't you want to come here? This place is amazing."
"You're right. This ranch used to be one of my favorite places to spend time. It was like my private little getaway. Whenever Alice would run off to Europe for the various fashion weeks, I'd come down here and hang out with my brother and sister."
"So what happened? Why did you stay away for so long?" Jasper puts his feet in the river and I do the same. The feeling of water rushing over my feet is very soothing.
"Bella, the last time I came down here was a little over 20 years ago. Alice was in Milan and Rose and Em were on one of their honeymoons. Carlisle decided to go to a medical conference on orthopedic surgery and Edward, having gone to medical school a few times, decided to go with him. I told Peter and Char that I was coming for a visit but when I realized that Esme would be home alone I decided to postpone my trip. Well, Esme was having none of that. She knew how much I missed my brother so she said, if it was okay with Charlotte and Peter, she would accompany me to Texas."
"Oh, I didn't realize that Peter and Char knew your family."
"They don't, really. They've only met Alice and Esme. Peter and Alice aren't what you'd call the best of friends, but Char and Esme hit it off like gangbusters. They both have a love of building and decorating and it took them no time at all to bond. Charlotte has never had a mother and, as you know, Esme loves her children. I think it took all of 30 seconds for them to fall directly into that relationship." I can picture Esme and Char together and realize that I miss my adopted mother. I haven't spoken to her since my change and would love nothing more than to talk to her. "A few days after we arrived the girls decided to go to the home improvement store to gather supplies for some super-secret renovations they were doing in the basement. Peter and JP needed to head to the feed store to stock up, so I found myself alone on the ranch. I decided to take advantage of the solitude and went on a hunt. I had been out in the forest for a couple of hours when I came upon the most delicious scent I've ever come across."
"That's what I thought when I came across the bear. What kind of animal did you smell."
"It wasn't an animal, Bella." I looked over at him, shocked. "It was a little girl, about 9 or 10 and she appeared to be lost in the woods. I followed her for a while hoping that her parents would show up. But after an hour of watching her, the scent became too much. I didn't want to hurt her, Bella, but I couldn't help myself. The only comfort I was able to offer was to send her so much lethargy that she fell asleep. I cradled the little girl in my arms and began to drink from her. She looked so tiny wrapped in my arms, so frail. I couldn't feel anything coming from her except minute traces of fear, probably stemming from the fact that she had been lost in the woods for God knows how long. She was delicious, Bella. I've tasted thousands of humans during my life but nothing could ever compare to the way her blood tasted."
"Oh my God, Jasper. I'm so sorry you had to go through that. Why didn't Alice warn you? Why didn't Peter stop you? Shit, Jasper. What happened?"
"Aren't you disgusted with me, Bella? I killed a child for fucks sake." Jasper stands up and slowly walks away. He stops at the tree line and leans against a giant oak. I stay where I am to give him time to process the memory. After about 15 minutes he slides down the tree and ends up laying on the forest floor. I go to him and wrap him in my arms, his head resting on my breast. I hold him as he sobs and trembles. I've never seen him this vulnerable and I feel proud that he is willing to show me this side of him.
"Jasper. I need you to listen to me. I'm not disgusted with you, I'm not ashamed of you, and I don't pity you. Charlotte told me that having that sort of reaction is normal for a vampire. I know you're a vegetarian, but if how I reacted to the human is any indication of our standard behavior, I'm proud that you're able to live your day to day life the way you do. You don't go around killing everyone that crosses your path. You even manage to sit in overcrowded classrooms everyday with lust-filled teenagers. I'm sure everyone in the family has slipped. It's to be expected. The only reason I didn't is because Peter and Char grabbed me before I had the chance." He wraps his arms around my waist and squeezes me tightly, like he's holding on for dear life." I appreciate you sharing your story with me Jasper, but why did you feel the need to tell me all of this?"
"That little girl was my singer, Bella. Every vampire has one person on the planet who's blood calls so strongly to them that it's all but impossible not to feed from them. The second I came across her in the forest I knew she was mine. I'm telling you this because I believe the man who came to the door was your singer. I've seen vampires react to humans before, but the way you behaved when you smelled that man reminded me of how I acted that day. Maybe if I'd tried harder I could've stopped myself, but I wasn't strong enough. I know what it's like to fight against the temptation each and every day. It gets easier over time but it never completely goes away and I don't ever want you to feel the guilt that I carry with me. What I wouldn't give to bring that little girl back. I killed her. I took her from her family and friends. Not only did her life end that day, but probably the lives of her mother, father and siblings. It is very difficult to recover from that kind of loss, Bella."
"Oh, that's why The Major came out. He knew how that event affected you and he didn't want me to have to live through that." I didn't give much thought to why The Major reacted the way he did but now I'm starting to understand. Peter was right when he said that they weren't worried about the human. If I had chosen to live as regular vampires do and feed off humans, The Major would have never come out. They would have let me kill him without a second thought. But they knew how I had chosen to live and Peter had unintentionally threatened that choice. The Major was worried that if I had even a sip of human blood I wouldn't be able to go back to my vegetarian diet. Or worse yet, I would carry the knowledge of my actions with me for the rest of my existence, like Jasper has.
"Exactly. It may not have been your life that was in danger but you're choices and your morals were. I couldn't stand idly by and let Peter get away with that shit. I realize you think that I was being harsh earlier, but I hope you can understand why I had to punish him the way I did. My brother was absolutely right when he said that I would reign down the fires of hell on anyone who harms you. I won't apologize for reprimanding him, but I can't tell you how sorry I am for trying to keep it from you. That's part of why I'm telling you all of this. No one has ever heard this story, Bella, but I told you I'd be completely honest and that's what I'm trying to do."
"I'm the only person you've ever told? How did you manage to keep this to yourself for so long? Thank you, Jasper. I'm proud of you for sharing this with me, it can't be easy. Just know that I don't love you any less. If anything, I feel closer to you than ever."
"Thank you, darlin'. The mere fact that you still love me after hearing all of this is a weight off my shoulders. And to answer your earlier question, Peter had no knowledge of what I was going to do. As for Alice, if she had a vision of what was going to happen, she never let on and she never brought it up when we got home. I think maybe she knew how torn up I would be and didn't feel the need to open the wound." He drifts off into his own world for a minute. "Actually, Alice told me once that when I met my true mate I would open up completely to her, that I wouldn't hold anything back." Suddenly the floodgates open and I am enveloped in so much love that I begin to shake.
"Jasper!" He wraps his arms even tighter around my waist.
"There's something else, Bella. There is one more thing I need to tell you before we can fully move on. This is going to be hard for me to say and even harder for you to hear, but it needs to be said." Shit! What now? I don't think I can stand anymore surprises. "Did Edward tell you anything about singers?"
I have a tickling of a memory, but I'm unable to fully remember it. "I don't think so. Why?" He picks me up, cradles me in his lap and begins to stroke my hair.
"I want you to remember how it felt to be near that delivery man. How strongly his blood called to you. Do you remember?"
"Jasper, I will never forget how badly I wanted to kill that man. It's something I don't want to repeat and something that I will never forget." The mere thought of my behavior gives me a slight tremor. Suddenly I feel an icy pull in my chest and I begin to calm down. "Jasper, was that-?"
"Yes, darlin'. He saw you were about to lose it and wanted to make sure you were okay. Judging by your reaction, I can tell it worked." I cuddle back into him for a moment just enjoying the feeling before he straightens me up and looks me dead in the eye. "Bella, I need to tell you this. Please listen."
"Whatever it is, Jasper, we'll get through it." He places a light kiss on my forehead.
"The reason I asked if you remembered what it was like to be near your singer is because of Edward."
"What the fuck does he have to do with this? He's just my ex-boyfriend who tried to kill me!" I'm so livid at the mention of Edward's name I stand up and stalk away from my mate.
"Bella, please. I know he tried to kill you and I know that you're pissed off at him but you need to hear what I have to say." He stands up and follows me. I turn around and look at him
"Shit Jasper, I'm sorry. Please continue."
"As you know, being around your singer is no easy task. How long do you think you could have stayed around that man before killing him? Two minutes? Three? Edward managed to be around you for an entire month before trying to kill you."
"What do you mean 'he managed'? I was just another human. Your entire family is able to be around humans all day every day. Why should I be any different?" I'm beginning to sound like a captious toddler.
"Jesus Christ, Bella, listen. I'm trying to tell you that you are Edward's singer. Your blood calls to him like no other."
"What the fuck? That's why he tried to kill me?"
"I'm not telling you this to make you forgive him or anything, I just want you to know the truth. As soon as he met you he knew what you were. Why do you think he ran out of the classroom so quickly that first day. He was afraid that he would kill you in the middle of biology class. Do you think it was easy for him to sit next to you every day? To be near you and to kiss you?" I feel a wave of jealously and realize that Jasper is projecting his emotions.
"Are you trying to justify his actions? He tried to kill me, Jasper. I don't care if I'm his singer. I was supposed to be a member of the family and he was supposed to love me. Well if that's love, he sure has a hell of a way showing it. Fuck that, and fuck him." I crumble into myself like Jasper did earlier and I feel him come up behind me and take me in his arms. Why did he tell me this? It's too much, I can't handle it. I look at Jasper. "Help me. Please, Jasper.." A double dose of calm and serenity washes over me and I fall into Jasper's arms.
"Darlin'. I'm so sorry I had to tell you this, but I thought you needed to know. There's no love lost between me and my brother. He tried to kill you and for that I will never forgive him. For Christ's sake, Bella, I pulled him limb from limb." He pulled apart his own brother to protect me? "I wanted to kill him, but Alice said that I couldn't. She thought you deserved the chance to see him face to face once you were ready. It was decided that you would be brought here for your newborn year and everything else would be figured out over time. Little did I know it would only take 3 days for everything to come out into the open." Fuck me. If this isn't the definition of 'too much information', I don't know what is.
"What will you do if you ever see Edward again, Jasper?"
"Nothing, Bella. Now that you're able to deal with him yourself, it's up to you. If you want to forgive him, I won't be happy with it, but fine. If you want to kill him, that's more than acceptable. But if you ask me to kill him for you, Bella, you need to understand that I won't hesitate for a second. By all rights it's my duty to take him out for hurting my mate, but I will leave that decision to you. Whatever you choose, I will follow your lead. You're my mate for a reason, and I trust that you will make the choice that's right for both of us." I lay back in his arms and we both get lost in our thoughts.
I think about how beautiful he is when he glistens in the sun. I remember how he kissed me while we were lying in bed and I feel my lust for him spiking. Jasper undoubtedly knows what I'm feeling, but does nothing about it. We've been through so much and I love him more than I can say, but for some reason I'm not ready to take that step. I start to breathe heavily but Jasper just pulls me tighter to him and doesn't respond to my emotions. He just lets me feel what I'm feeling.
I don't know how long we stayed there lying in each other's arms, but eventually Peter comes strolling up with Char and they just stand there staring until one of us notices.
"Peter, what the fuck?" Jasper looks as shocked as I feel and he places me behind him in hopes of covering me up.
"Me? What the fuck is up with you two. I've been calling your cell for two days Jasper, and all I get is a fucking answering machine. Where the fuck have you been?"
"We've been right here. Where the fuck have you been if you've been calling for two days?"
"Bella." I hear Char whisper to me and I am grateful for the reprieve from the testosterone. "C'mon." I jump out from behind Jasper and follow Char into the woods. We stop and she hands me a change of clothes, a tank top and some cargo pants. Thank God for sisters.
I look at Char. "Don't thank me, thank Alice. She texted me that you might need some outerwear.
"Char, what happened. Why were you gone for so long?"
"Well between hunting and shopping, Bella, we got side-tracked and have been gone for three days. Didn't you guys get any of our messages?"
"Um, no."
"What the hell were you doing? Oh my God, did you guys…I mean, you didn't…did you? You did! Bella, how was it? Was he good? Were you good? Was he-"
"CHAR! No, we didn't do it. I suppose we just lost track of time. You were seriously gone for three days? Why didn't it feel that long?"
"The life of a vampire I suppose. Sometimes Peter and I go for weeks at a time before we realize it. Let's walk up to the house. I know for a fact that Rosie is dying to see you." We make our way home and we see JP across the lawn. He tips his hat at us and we give him a grand curtsy in return, as all proper women should. Char grabs my hand and we run until we see Rose sitting on the porch.
"Don't worry Rose, they didn't do it." Char looks like a petulant high-schooler spreading gossip around the cafeteria.
"Charlotte Whitlock. That's none of your beeswax. Why are you telling my business to the entire world?"
"Not to the entire world, Bells, just to me." Rose gives me a hug before sitting back down. "But really though, you two didn't do it? What the fuck were you doing this whole time? Talking about the latest episode of Glee?"
"Seriously Bella. Spill the beans."
"Zip it, you two. Fine! No, we didn't do it. We were swimming and laying on the river bank just getting to know each other and-"
"-being super boring."
"Char, don't make me kill you. If I can scare The Major, I can sure as shit scare you."
"Do your worst, Bella. I dare you." I decide to give up and take a seat in the chair nearest to Rose. Charlotte realizes that something is on my mind and takes the seat on my other side.
"Bella, all joking aside, what's really going on?"
"Nothing really. It's just that you guys were making such a big deal about whether or not we did it and…shit. I feel so awkward bringing this up."
"Bella, what is it? You know you can tell us anything." Rose is starting to look worried.
"Well, I was wondering if I disappointed him."
"What do you mean, Bella? How could you have possibly disappointed him?" Char takes my hand.
"It's just…I don't know. Was Jasper expecting me to sleep with him? It's not that I don't want to, I do. I've just never done it before. And to be honest, this wasn't the right time for us to jump into that side of the relationship. I'd just ripped him a new one and he practically groveled for my forgiveness. I thought we needed to take the time to just hang out. Plus we'd had this gigantic talk about singers and Edward and…shit! Was I wrong?"
Rose wraps her arms around me and I remember that I finally have a big sister. "Of course not, Bells. You do whatever it is you think is right. My brother loves you and he would never push you into something you weren't ready for. Tell me, did he make any moves on you while we were away?"
"No."
"And why do you think that is, Bella? Is it because he didn't want to? Fuck no. Jasper is one horny motherfucker. It's because he could tell by your emotions that you weren't ready. He gave you exactly what you needed at the time. A new jumping off point. He wanted you to know that he was ready to start fresh, without any drama. You guys went through a lot and needed to learn some lessons. Fine. Now it's time to take what you've learned and start off with a clean slate. But can I give you a nickels worth of free advice?"
"Nice timely reference there, Rose."
"Shut up, Char. It doesn't matter how old I get. You'll still be older."
"Can you bitches stifle it for a minute? I'm having a fucking crisis over here."
"Sorry, Bells. I was going to say, before I was so rudely interrupted," She shoots Char the stink-eye, "that this is something that you need to talk to Jasper about. Charlotte and I are always gonna be here for you, but there are certain things that you two need to work out for yourselves."
"Good point, sis. Peter and I have been together for a long time, Bella, and I'm not gonna lie to you. It's not always sunshine and lollypops. Maintaining a relationship, especially ones that last as long as ours do, takes a lot of work and a shit-ton of compromise. The thing I've learned is that you gotta pick your battles. The way you reacted earlier to Jasper's behavior was completely justified. He fucked up and you called him on it. But it's not always gonna be like that. Sometimes you need to let the small stuff go and the hard part is figuring out which things are worth fighting over."
"I appreciate the fact that we're having a much-needed heart to heart, but at least your mates are here. Emmett is God knows where dealing with Edward's sorry ass. I haven't been without him for this long in decades and I'm starting to go a little crazy."
"Oh, Rosie. I'm sorry. I've been so bogged down in my issues that I haven't even thought about how you're doing."
"It's okay, Bells. I'm here to help you through your change, not to lay all my problems at your feet. I've been away from him before and I've always managed to survive. But let me tell you something, dear sisters. That man has a serious fuck-fest waiting for him when he gets here. I need to get laid in the worst way." Suddenly the back door opens and a gigantic dark haired vampire walks towards Rose.
"What's this I hear about a fuck-fest, Rosie?"
I immediately take a defensive position in front of Rosalie, snarling and snapping at the unknown vampire. "You stay away from my sister, vampire. Her mate isn't here to protect her, but I will rip you limb from limb if you take one more step." I hear Charlotte begin to cackle behind me and I whip my head around to look at her. She puts her hands up in front of her in a submissive position but doesn't stop laughing. I look back at the dark haired male and he adopts the same pose as my sister.
"Glad to hear it, Bells. At least someone here is able to protect my mate."
"What are you talking about, vampire? Who is your mate?" I feel Rosalie's hand on my shoulder.
"Bella, stop. Look at him. Look at his curly hair and his dimples. Look at that stupid shit-eating grin he always wears. Who do you see?" I stand straight up, still keeping my sister behind me, and look at the male. He looks so familiar. New memories begin to flood my brain. The largest man I've ever seen picking me up and grabbing me into a bear hug. Him sitting on the sofa playing video games. He and Rosalie hugging at the baseball game. Holy Shit!
"Emmett?" I start to settle down.
"In the flesh, so to speak. How you doin' little sister?"
"But, you look so different."
"Yeah? Well that makes two of us. Lookin' hot there sis. Being a vampire suits you."
"Bella?" I turn around and look at Rose. "He won't hurt me. He loves me."
I look back at Emmett. "Is that true?"
"I would never hurt my Rosie. She is my mate and my wife." He looks at her with all the love in the world and I finally step aside. He sweeps her into the most passionate kiss I've ever seen and I'm grateful that I can no longer blush.
"Char, what the fuck was that? He's my brother. Why didn't I recognize him?"
"You've never seen him through your vampire eyes. He looks very different to you now doesn't he?"
"Yeah. It's like I've never seen him before. And why did I have that reaction. I know he would never hurt Rose, so why did I almost attack him."
"You perceived him as a threat and you did what you thought you had to do to protect your family. I'm proud of you and I bet that Rose and Emmett are too."
"But you've never met him. Why didn't you react the way I did?"
"While you were down at the stables with the boys, Rose and I went up to her room. She showed me pictures of the family so I knew what to expect. Plus I'm not a newborn. My emotions aren't as wild as yours." Emmett and Rose finally detach themselves and Em looks at me.
"May I?" He opens his arms and I launch myself into them.
"Oh, Em. I'm so sorry I threatened to rip your limbs off. I didn't recognize you and I just wanted to keep Rosie safe."
"I know, Bells. And thank you. It's nice to know that you can protect my Rosie when I'm not around." He kisses my cheek before setting me down. He turns to Char. "And you must be the lovely Charlotte. Rose can't stop talking about you. Emmett McCarty at your service."
"It's nice to meet you, brother." Emmett wraps her in one of his hugs before setting her down and draping his arm around his mate.
"I'd like to introduce you two to someone. Promise you won't rip her head off, Bella?" He throws me his famous shit-eating grin.
"Keep it up asshole. You may be big, but I'm a newborn. I could take you down anytime I wanted."
"Oooh, our Bella has a bit of a mouth on her. Well it's about fucking time. And I'm gonna hold you to that. You and me are gonna battle, little sis."
"Any time, any place."
Em turns towards the door and a beautiful black haired female steps out.
"Katie!" Rose leaps away from her husband and takes the female in her arms.
"Hello, my sister. Such a pleasure to see you after all this time. You're doing well, I trust?" Wow, she talks like a Jane Austen novel.
"I'm great, Katie. How are you?"
"I'm doing very well, thank you. It is a nice change to be away from my sisters for a while."
"Yeah, those two can be a handful. Speaking of sisters, I would like you to meet mine. Charlotte Whitlock and Isabella Swan, may I present Ekaterina Denali."
"Charlotte, it's my pleasure." Ekaterina walks over to Char and gives her a small hug.
"Please, call me Char."
"And you may call me Katherine or Kate if you wish." Kate turns to me. "Isabella. I've heard so much about you from our dear brother. What a joy it is to finally meet you."
"You too, Kate. But please call me Bella."
"Of course, Bella." Kate wraps her arms around me and pulls me into a hug. As soon as we make contact, I hear a primal roar come from the direction of the stables. Within seconds Jasper is in front of me, touching me all over.
"Jasper, what the fuck!"
"I don't think that's Jasper, Bella." I look at Rose and see that Emmett has placed her and Kate behind him. Peter has done the same with Char and I can't understand what's going.
"Major," I place my hand under his chin and make him look at me, "what's going on? What are you doing?"
"I'm checking you for injuries, my mate." He resumes what he was doing.
"But why? As you can see, I'm fine."
"I can no longer feel you Isabella. In fact I can't feel any of the females. I can sense our brothers, but I feel only a void where you should be." He stands up, apparently satisfied that I'm not physically injured, and looks down at me. His black eyes slowly turn gold and I can see my Jasper return to me.
"What do you mean you can't feel me, Jasper?"
He looks at Emmett and Katie for a moment before turning to Peter.
"What do you know of this, Peter?"
"It seems as if Bella here has a power."
"What sort of power?"
"She's a shield, Major. And a powerful one at that." Peter walks over towards me. "Bella, I want you to try something. Place your hands on Jasper's face and concentrate on sending him your emotions."
"What kind of emotions?"
"The strongest ones." I do as Peter said and send all the love I have directly to Jasper. He immediately falls to his knees, pulling me down with him.
"Oh, thank God. There you are. You're back." Jasper wraps me in his arms and hugs me like he hasn't seen me in a year
"I didn't go anywhere, baby. I'm right here." He begins to rock me and I run my fingers through his hair. That always seems to calm him.
"Bella, Bella." He keeps murmuring my name over and over as he rocks me and buries his nose in my hair, inhaling deeply. I see the others walk down to the fire pit to give us some privacy.
"Jasper, what happened?"
"I was down at the stables with Peter when all of the sudden you disappeared, or rather your emotions did. I couldn't feel you. And when The Major realized he couldn't either, we came running to you. How did you do that?"
"Do what? I don't know what I did or what's going on."
"You blocked me from feeling the emotions of all the girls. I couldn't feel any of you. I could feel Peter and Em, but none of you."
"What does that mean? Is that good or bad."
"I think it's a good thing. As soon as you sent me your emotions, the shield went down. But please Bella, don't ever block me again. It felt like you were dead, nothing. I would rather feel your anger and wrath for a thousand years than not feel you at all. Promise me, Bella." He looks so scared.
"Of course, my love, I promise. But, Jasper. I don't know how this thing works. It may happen again without me knowing."
"I understand. Let's go meet up with the others. Maybe Peter will have some insight into what's going on." We make our way to the fire-less fire pit and see JP walking there as well. Peter, Em and the girls are sitting around catching up but as soon as they see the three of us approach, they all stand up.
"JP, I would like you to meet Rosalie's mate and husband Emmett." Peter steps out of the way as the two males shake hands.
"'Tis nice to meet ya, Mr. Emmett. You're a lucky man ta have such a wonderful wife."
"You're telling me. But none of this Mr. business. Call me Emmett. Nice to meet you JP. Rosie's told me all about you. May I present my sister, Katherine Denali."
JP tips his hat at Kate. "'Tis my pleasure, Miss Katherine."
As soon as JP introduces himself, Kate walks over to him and takes his hand. "No, sir. The pleasure is mine." They stand there staring at each other for what seems like hours and I can tell by the expressions on everyone's face that something big is happening. I walk over to Rose and Char.
"What's going on?"
"It looks like JP has taken an interest in my sister." Rose looks very happy at this turn of events.
"An interest, my pasty white ass. I think JP finally found his mate after 200 years." Char looks stunned and Peter, Jasper, and Emmett walk over to where we're standing.
"I told you this shit was gonna be awesome. It's about fucking time too. He's been alone for far too long." Peter looks like a kid in a candy store.
"Tell me about it. Katie's been alone for nearly 350 years. Look at them. They look like they just found their other halves." Rose appears to be holding back tears and I realize how lucky I am to have found my mate so quickly. I can't fathom the idea of being alone for centuries.
"Would ya like ta take a seat, Miss Katherine?"
"Indeed I would, sir. Would you care to sit beside me?"
"It would be an honor, ma'am." JP sits down next to Kate and the rest of us just stare at them, dumbstruck. "Well, are ya'll gonna sit down or just stand there starin' like a buncha idiots?"
The six of us finally snap out of it and join them around the pit.
"So Peter. What do you know of Bella's gift?" Jasper looks to his brother.
"Nothing really. I figured she must be some kind of shield since Edward could never read her mind. But I thought it was just mental. Now I see that there is a physical aspect to it. She managed to block you, Jasper, and I know for a fact that Alice can't see her anymore."
"So what does this mean, Petey? How do I control it?"
"Well, that's what Kate here is gonna help you with."
"How am I to be of help?" Kate asks.
"You, dear Katherine, have one hell of a gift. Why don't we show Bella how it works. Any volunteers?"
"Hell no! I got a dose in Alaska. I'm not getting anywhere near that shit." Emmett looks like he wishes he could hide behind Rose. Peter looks to Jasper.
"Fuck you, Peter. Why don't you try it? You've never had the joy of Katie's touch."
"Yeah…no. I'm good."
JP stands up and offers his hand to Kate. "May I be of service, ma'am?"
"Are you sure, JP? It's not altogether a pleasant experience."
"I'll take my chances, Miss Katherine." Kate takes his hand and stands up.
"Okay, JP. I'll try to keep it light." Kate rests her hand on JP's forearm when suddenly he flinches, but doesn't move.
"That sure is one heck of a talent ya got there, ma'am." Kate looks at him shyly.
"What talent? What happened?" I didn't see anything and I start to wonder what's going on
"I have the ability to give people a slight shock, Bella."
"Slight my ass, Katie. That shit hurts." Emmett seems to be recalling an unpleasant memory.
"Indeed it does, dear brother. For some more than others. I just gave JP a tiny dose of 1,000 volts."
"Hey, you told me in Alaska that 5,000 volts was your lowest, right after you shocked the shit out of me."
"Yes I did, Emmett. But guess what? I lied." Kate looks pleased with herself and Emmett looks like someone just took away his favorite toy.
"Don't worry, Em. I know the scary vampire lady didn't hurt you on purpose." Rose is loving this shit.
"Typical. You chicks are always sticking together. Well guess what? We're an even number now so you girls better watch your asses." We all chuckle at Emmett's threat. I turn my attention back to Kate.
"May I try, Kate? I'd like to see what it's like."
"Are you crazy, Isabella?" Jasper questions.
"No. I just wanna feel it. Is there a problem, my mate?" Jasper puts his hands up in defeat.
"Not at all, darlin'. Have at it." He leans back in his chair, ready for the show.
Kate walks over to me and places her hand on my arm. "Did you not feel that, Bella?"
"Feel what?"
"Let me try a higher setting." Again I wait.
"Still nothing?"
"Nope."
"I told you her shield was powerful. Do you mind if we try an experiment?" Peter looks back at Jasper.
"Why me?" Jasper looks none too happy.
"You'll see. Go stand between Bella and Kate." He does as he's told and comes up next to me. "Now Katie, I want you to give him the same dose you gave Emmett." She places her hand on Jasper, but he doesn't react.
"Go ahead, Kate. I'm ready."
"I already did, brother. You felt nothing? How is that possible?"
"I believe that Bella has the ability to shield others. That's why Jasper can't feel the shock, and why The Major couldn't feel the girls. Bella is protecting what's hers. She was shielding the girls earlier, and now she is protecting her mate."
"Dude, Petey. That's awesome."
"Sure is, Swan." Peter gets a gleam in his eye before continuing. "I've been waiting a week for this shit. Kate do you mind if we try one more thing?"
"Sure Peter. What is it?"
"Bella I want you to put your hand on Kate's shoulder, and Kate I want you to send out a shock. As powerful as you can. I suggest the rest of us stand behind them. I'm not exactly sure what's gonna happen, but better safe than sorry." The rest of the vampires take their places behind us and I put my hand on my new sister's shoulder. "Alright, Kate. Whenever you're ready." Kate starts to send out a shock, but all of the sudden, flames burst from the fire pit. Kate stumbles backwards into JP's arms.
"Jesus, Peter. What the hell was that?"
"I don't know, Katie. All I can tell you is that when you and Bella are around each other, your powers are magnified."
"Is she an amplifier?"
"Not exactly. It's not just her, it's you. It's all of you." Peter looks at all the girls and we look at each other.
"But Rose and I don't have gifts, Peter. What do you mean it's all of us?"
"I can't tell you any more than that, babe. Just know that things are about to get real interesting around here."
"Hey guys, not to break up the fun, but I need to hunt and have sex with my wife. Do you mind if we pick this up later?" Emmett looks like he's about to burst at the seams.
"Peter and I could use some 'quality time' as well." Char wraps her arms around her husband.
"Miss Katherine, may I have the honor of showin' ya 'round the grounds?"
"Of course, sir. It would be a pleasure." JP takes Kate's arm and they stroll off towards the stables.
"Sure, let's all spend the night with our mates and we'll meet back here tomorrow." With that Peter runs towards the greenhouse with Char right behind him. Emmett flings Rosalie over his shoulder and takes off towards the forest.
"I guess it's just you and me again, darlin'."
"Just how I like it." Jasper takes me by the hand and leads me towards the house.
A/N – I know, I know…everybody wants Bella and Jasper to get it on. I have a feeling that by the end of chapter 11 Bella will no longer be the innocent girl we know and love. Review and let me know what you think. What do we think of Kate and JP? Yay or nay? And thank God Emmett's back. I was starting to miss him as much as Rose. Thanks a bunch!