Jasper had always been an observer. Always assessed and watched and contemplated from the outside, never truly feeling involved to the same extent as others and had always been comfortable there, leading him to be misunderstood by others outside of his family, evaded. Nolan had taken everything he believed in and thrown it out the window and opened him to possibilities he didn't even know he wanted to discover, dragging him along out of his bubble as he followed in bewilderment. He had watched his mate grow and transform into a thing of true beauty, worthy of admiration and awe. He was a creature of power and one he had never imagined could exist. Jasper had been there, supporting him as he became a ruler, or more so, remembered that he was a ruler. He fell into the role effortlessly. The first time, Nolan had been so nervous, worried that he couldn't help his people, worried he wouldn't be able to provide and give back what they lost and ensure the safety of his race. Jasper hadn't quite known what to tell him but he had told him there was no need for concern. Jasper had complete faith in his mate and was proven correct on that belief time and time again. Nolan had been a good ruler, it showed in the respect his people gave him, the familiarity and love they emanated as he walked among them and each one had become important to him, known or unknown. Nolan fell into a rhythm that came naturally, determined to do what he needed for them all.

At the moment, he was repairing his ancestral home. The Layame were wide-spread across the globe but on the other side, on their plane, they had lands, a central kingdom that Nolan had called the Arceon. Nolan had said that the first place to start should be where it all began, the groundwork of it all. He worked endlessly, gone for sometimes days to a week at a time and when Jasper couldn't accompany him, he always made sure to be waiting for once he returned, often exhausted and frustrated and occasionally overwhelmed though Nolan never complained. He'd just smile at him and Jasper would pull him close and whisper how proud he was. Because he was. It was all very surreal, sometimes Jasper would stop and validate this had really happened, that the strange, amazing things he'd witnessed in the past couple of years was real.

Sometimes though, Nolan would spend hours sitting in a quiet corner of the house, saying nothing to no one and it pained Jasper knowing there was nothing he could do during those intervals. Frankly, it worried him. Since Anala's death Nolan had disregarded the incident completely. He didn't believe she was dead, and how could he? Jasper knew how close they were, had seen it on a daily basis and she'd been taken from him in one of the worst ways imaginable, after fighting so hard for so long to survive. He and Anala were twins, together since before they were even born and Nolan seemed strangely adamant about her. Carlisle said it was his grief, manifesting in his denial and causing him to sleep-walk. It was common when someone couldn't accept the death of a loved one. It made sense, Nolan didn't accept it, refused to. He missed her. They all did. Her absence was tangible, loud. Emmett had felt like a raw nerve in the weeks before he shut down completely and left, and everything had more or less halted. They were vampires however, they had no choice but to go on and carry the sadness wherever they went until it dulled enough that they didn't feel it every day. Carlisle had been especially melancholy since Rowan and Anala's deaths, Jasper's family had fractured and his mate was unreachable. For weeks Nolan had been void of any substantial emotion. No sadness or anger, nothing. Hell, his mate had downed a bottle of whiskey one night and Jasper never felt anything more than slight contempt from him and Jasper was at the end of his rope. He'd been so afraid that Nolan would never be himself again. Javan's return crumbled the dam and Jasper didn't know whether to be relieved or concerned.

He watched Nolan stand at the edge of the yard. His pale eyes stared forward blankly, seeing things Jasper couldn't, his body swaying slightly. The first time this happened it was terribly eerie. He couldn't understand what was wrong with Nolan and after waking him Jasper ended up on the ground fifty yards from him, a gash across his belly where it felt like his insides had just painfully combusted. Since then Jasper watched him at night to be sure he didn't get hurt or cause injury to himself, uncaring if Nolan accidently attacked him. But there was a difference in the more recent episodes, namely this one. Most nights, Nolan walked seemingly aimlessly as he slept and always ended up in the same vicinity each time. Nolan always dug in the same general area and Jasper found it odd. Asleep as he was, physically he was searching, digging and stopping just to dig somewhere else while consciously unaware of what he was doing. Lately it had escalated and became more frequent, he'd become more anxious and frantic, muttering incoherently to himself and tearing at the ground till his hands bled. But tonight was by far the strangest. Nolan just stood at the tree line outside the house, staring into the dark trees.

"Jasper?"

"Yes Rose?"

"Is he going to be okay?"

Jasper frowned. He wasn't sure anymore. Physically he was fine. Regular heartrate, no sign he was in pain, but he just didn't know what was happening to his mate at the moment, this was new and Jasper grudgingly admitted, terrifying. He kept his faith however, Nolan was a hell of a force, since the day he'd first saw him Jasper saw the fire in his eyes. Wild, like the stallion his father had when he was just a child; tamed by none with ardor in his blood. He reckoned he'd be just fine. He turned to Rosalie, standing behind him with wide golden eyes, worry buzzed over his skin and Jasper soothed it, watching her relax.

"Yeah, Rose. He is."

Clouds flew past overhead endlessly at a quick, steady rate. Everything was bathed in radiant light, and then it wasn't, and then it was, on and on and on with no end in sight in this surreal place. There was no explanation nor reason to her presence and she was not searching for one, for she had no need to wonder. She existed. Or maybe she didn't. Being was a strange thing. What was it? And what was it not? The soft, silvery grass rocked gently beneath her like calm waves on an ocean. Her eyes shut then opened after a few silent moments.

Anala had been blind to all.

And then she wasn't.

The earth, stars, planets, existence itself flew past at lightning speed. It was abruptly too bright and yet she wasn't bothered by it. She was energy, she was life, suddenly no longer bound in any particular shape or form. The brightness around her flickered out like a flame and she was in the dark, a shock to her already overawed system. She wandered for what could've of been centuries, or mere moments, until the sensation of seemingly being yanked out of existence landed her here, in the vast expanse Anala sat in with the strange, phantom-like man watching her in silence. He had been there with her, lingering just inside of her line of sight. Always silent, he watched her with black eyes that knew her and she knew him and they knew each other and that was all she could comprehend. She picked a pale flower and another grew slowly in its place.

The phantom didn't take it when she offered and she smiled as he continued to watch her so she walked, and continued to walk as the phantom followed her silently and the clouds passed over in the endless expanse of shifting light and shade.

Edward looked to Javan, pleadingly. The elder vampire sat watching the television screen, uninterested. But Edward wasn't deterred, he cared for Nolan, he was sure of that more than anything else he knew about this man. If Jasper couldn't get through to him then Javan could. He needed to move on from this before it killed him. He went to sit next to him on the bed. "Please Javan. It isn't healthy."

"You came here just to tell me this? I'm disappointed Edward, I was expecting a much more entertaining conversation."

"Javan you've seen how this is affecting Nolan. He has to let her go, it will destroy him."

"Like your father let his brother go?"

He sighed. "Yes."

Javan sat up slowly and moved towards him, coming inches from him and Edward stood. Javan moved in a flash, faster than he could, and pinned him onto the bed. Despite knowing the other for over nearly two years now, Javan was still the biggest mystery of the millennia. He didn't think like others, his mind worked differently and whenever he felt like he'd finally breached the surface of what was Javan, he was proven wrong time and time again. He was unpredictable and incontrollable like the animal he was. It was nerve-wracking and undeniably . . . fascinating. Red eyes bore down into his own and Edward felt if he could he'd blush as red as Bella in that moment.

"I don't think that's why you're here Edward, not entirely." He paused, eyes moving over his face before a cold grin crossed his lips. "Do I make you nervous, boy? Maybe you want something. Something that virginal little coupling between you and your Bella can't give you. We are after all, creatures enslaved to our nature." Carnal images flashed through Javan's mind, ideas of what exactly he thought that something was and how he planned to do it. Edward swallowed the venom that pooled in his mouth.

"You're changing the subject."

"No, I'm choosing to ignore it instead. Leave Nolan be you pesky little telepath."

"Bu—"

"Quiet. You just need to let things run their course. This wound is deep, you can't expect him to be alright. It's cruel." Javan's fingers moved under his shirt, smoothed up his abdomen and that wolfish grin was back and Edward admitted it looked good on the lycan-vampire hybrid. He leaned in close and Edward was out of his element as surprisingly warm lips brushed against his throat. Colder than a human, but definitely warmer than a vampire's. "Now, how about we stop talking about such things. I'm bored."

Edward entertained the thought. Javan was powerful and strange and darkly attractive and there was no need for care here. Bella's face hovered in his mind's eye, large brown eyes staring up at him innocently, cheeks flushed. Lately however, Edward had been struggling with himself. He slipped out from beneath Javan and the man rolled onto his back, smiling mysteriously. Edward's eyes trailed to where his shirt had ridden up, exposing his toned stomach.

"I love Bella."

"I'm sure you do."

"Will you do something about Nolan?"

Javan sprawled lazily and Edward watched his agile form move. "No."

Of course not. Frustrating man that he was, Edward shouldn't have expected anything less. He had to get out of there, Javan was looking at him as if he were the telepath and his body was reacting to the man before him, laid out like a gift he could enjoy so easily. Edward was ashamed to admit he was attracted to the dark-haired man. Edward didn't want to be. His control should be better than this. He had watched him feed once, passing by the two-story house one night. Seeing him in the living room of the house, his naked form thrusting into the woman beneath him, moaning and writhing as he took what he wanted from her had left Edward transfixed. His sharp fangs had pierced her flesh, consuming her blood and the woman hardly seemed to notice, crying out his name as if praising a God and in that moment, Javan was a God, a beautiful, indifferent, monstrous God. Javan looked up at him and smirked, growling as he climaxed before finishing off his meal. He was truly one with his nature. Free and knew his power and accepted it without hesitation. Edward couldn't fathom him. Despite those things, there was a sadness in his eyes, a despondency left behind by Anala's absence and maybe Javan felt the loss deeper than Edward would ever know. Anala and Nolan were Pack to him, after all. He couldn't understand that bond.

Javan's penetrating stare bore into him and Edward brought Bella to the front of his mind. "Decided if you're going to admit you want me yet or are you going to keep denying yourself?"

"That would be inappropriate."

"I hate hypocrites Edward." He waved a hand. "Off with you. You aren't very amusing tonight." The dismissal both angered and surprised him even though he knew to expect nothing less. "And Edward," Javan's blood-red eyes were steady as they watched through him.

"Leave Nolan alone. Let him get through this the way he needs to, I know you mean well but meddling in something like this will cause more damage than not."