A/N: Sorry for the delay for this to get out, I had some massive writer's block and no beta to bounce ideas off of. I already have ideas for the next chapter though, so hopefully it won't take as long.

A/N 2: Thanks for all of the great reviews, they put a huge smile on my face every time.

Disclaimer: Twilight and all recognizable plots and characters belong to Stephenie Meyer, no copyright infringement or plagiarism intended.

Chapter 5

JPOV

I was pleased when Bella finally let go during the final stages of her change, that shit hurts and sometimes you just need to scream. While she'd been screaming, I was preparing myself for her to attack me as so many other newborns had in my previous life. It was very disorienting to wake up as a vampire and we just ran on instincts that took a while to learn control; even the most sedate vampire could be viewed as a threat in those first moments. Someone like me, a scarred freak showing just how lethal I could be, forget about it, I would be lucky if I escaped this without a few new scars to add to the mix. Imagine my surprise, then, when I felt not one ounce of aggression coming from her, well, not in the traditional sense at any rate. I felt some mild curiosity coming from her and then she almost knocked me over with the amount of lust that she was throwing my way.

I could feel myself hardening in response to her very obvious attraction to me combined with how stunningly gorgeous she was as a vampire. I was left with two options: 1) I could give in to the lust threatening to take me over at any moment; 2) I could shrug it off with a sarcastic comment and not let her know how much she was testing my restraint. I couldn't help but to smirk over her reaction and she must have noticed because I felt realization followed by embarrassment wash over her with the knowledge that I knew exactly how she was feeling about me in that instant. It's not that I didn't want to throw her against the wall, potentially knocking it down in the process, and test out her newfound strength and stamina, but I figured that now was neither the time nor the place. She'd been awake for all of two minutes and had yet to go hunting, but believe you me, if these feelings continued after hunting, and particularly after telling her my story, we would have to spend a few days in the forest, or we'd be spending the next week rebuilding Peter's house.

"Well darlin', you see something you like then?" I said with a slight chuckle. When I felt her mortification increase at having been caught gaping, I decided to lessen the tension. "Don't worry about it sweetheart, I'm one sexy son of a bitch, I lust after myself too, and let's not start on my lil brother downstairs. It's a good thing Char has him on such a short leash, otherwise I'd be hidin' my balls from that fucker."

"Hey now, fucker, I can't have you spreadin' lies about me to my brand new baby sis over there before she's even met me; let her learn that shit on her own," Peter said with a laugh as he and Char decided that Bella wasn't going to attack them so it was safe to come in. Well, maybe I spoke a bit too soon on that one, as soon as Bella took in Peter's appearance she jumped in front of me with a growl and this almost transparent barrier sprang up around the two of us. I couldn't figure out why she would react that way, until I realized that Pete was wearin' nothing but a worn pair of jeans and all of his scars were clearly on display. I was wondering why she would react that way to Pete when she felt only momentary curiosity and a boat load of lust when she looked at me. Something prickled in the back of my mind, but I'd try to figure it out later, once the situation was less dire.

Peter cautiously raised his hands and lowered his eyes in a show of submission and spoke softly, "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Peter Whitlock and I'm pleased to make your acquaintance ma'am. This lovely lady over here is my wife and mate Charlotte, we're glad to have ya, especially if you've got anythin' to do with this asshole's renewed wardrobe and sense of self. I promise I mean ya no harm, and the Major would rip my arms off before I ever got a chance to touch him, anyway," he added with a wink.

I could feel Bella's uncertainty and confusion, but it seemed like Peter's attempts at being charming and unassuming were starting to work, the barrier started to flicker a little, but it wasn't going down completely, so I gave in to my own instincts and did what I thought would calm her down, without using my power on her. I wrapped my arms around her from behind, kissed her neck and whispered right in her ear, "it's alright darlin', I'm ok. He won't hurt me, that's my lil brother I was tellin' ya about. We're both safe with him, he won't hurt us, but thank you for protectin' me, I appreciate it a great deal; that's the first time someone's done that for me. Come on darlin', it's ok, I'm safe, we're both safe."

The barrier finally came down and Bella turned in my arms to look at me, her face full of confusion trying to figure out what just happened and why. I was getting ready attempt explaining things when Peter bust out laughing, literally holding his sides as he bent over at the waist. "Oh lordy, now that shit is funny, things just got mighty interestin' here. I'm not even gonna tell y'all what just happened because it's gonna be funnier than hell watchin' you figure it out."

"Ya know, you're kinda an asshole, Fuckface," I snarled at Peter with a glare, who simply shrugged nonchalantly. "Alright darlin', how 'bout you and me go huntin' before we try and figure out what's goin' on. I reckon you must by getting' thirsty by now, so we'll see if we can't scrounge up a grizzly or somethin' for ya." With that, I turned and leapt out the window, Bella followed me after only a moment's hesitation. We took off running through the forest with no particular destination in mind other than to find something appetizing. We ran for miles, deftly dodging trees until I smelled a mountain lion stalking its prey and stopped swiftly.

"Why are we stopping, Jasper?" Bella asked me with confusion.

"Dinner," I explained. "I want you to take a deep breath, focus and then tell me what you can hear around you."

She did as I asked and began describing all that she heard. "I can hear the wind in the trees, I hear an owl calling for its mate, and, are those heartbeats? Is that what that thumping sound is?" At my brief nod, she started talking again. "OK, so what do I do now? How do I go get it? And what am I about to be eating anyway?"

I couldn't help but to chuckle, she was so adorable and didn't even realize it. "That would be a mountain lion and its prey darlin', it's goin' after a deer. I'll make the sacrifice and take the deer, I'll leave you to the mountain lion, you'll thank me for it later. As for the other part, just give in to your instincts, do what feels natural. If you make a mistake, it's not a big deal, it's slower and weaker than you, it won't be able to hurt ya or really escape from ya either." I waited until she had taken off in the direction of our meal before quickly following her, although keeping some distance so as not to distract her.

When I caught up with Bella, she was crouched and preparing to pounce on the unsuspecting mountain lion. I watched in awe as she leapt through the air, landing gracefully on its back before snapping its neck and sinking her teeth into its jugular. I was so mesmerized by watching the beauty before me that I very nearly let my own dinner escape me; but I grabbed him swiftly before quickly draining him. Deer never did taste the greatest, but it served its purpose to help ease my thirst.

I looked up to see Bella finishing her meal and couldn't believe how turned on I was getting from watching her. I had gone hunting with Alice countless times over the years, but never had I been as affected as I was watching Bella. Maybe it was because I was so used to seeing her as the fragile human that Edward brought around, but watching her take down a mountain lion with ease was fuckin' sexy as hell. Damn, I needed I cigarette now before I threw her into a tree and ravaged her senseless; I pulled the pack of Marlboros out of my pocket, lit one up and took a calming pull on the cigarette. I instantly felt some relief and couldn't believe that I'd let that fuckin' pixie talk me into quittin' for all those years, just because she didn't like the damn smell getting' in her clothes and hair. Fuckin' prissy assed know-it-all.

I was glad that I had started to calm down some; I knew that Bella was a virgin as Doucheward was too much of a pussy to satisfy his woman; I had felt her sexual frustration steadily increase over the past year and there had never once been even the slightest dent in it, meaning that she had zero satisfaction. Plus, on top of everything else, she had been in love with said douche bag up until about 3 days ago, so I wanted to clear the air with her before any ravaging was to be done. She deserved better than a quick fuck in the forest for her firsts time and I really didn't want her regretting anything; now I just had to convince my dick that was the right decision.