A/N: First I want to say thank you to all of my readers on this story! You are awesome. Now, it looks like Edward came back early and Alice anticipated it since she showed up with Carlisle. Jasper made his announcement, so let's see what happens next. I have not completely decided what I will end up doing to Edward yet, but I have a few ideas. Enjoy!

Chapter 11 – Mates

"What? You can't be fucking serious! He is going to kill her!" Edward bellowed frustrated that things were not going his way. He returned from Alaska to find Jasper, human's enemy number one in his eyes, with Bella and the older vamp announced that Bella was his mate. How had this happened? It wasn't right and it sure as hell wasn't fucking fair. Yes, the brunette was Edward's singer, but he didn't want to kill her; he wanted to get to know her more… and now his supposed brother would get her and her blood because he was convince Jasper would not be able to control himself. No, the copper headed vampire had to protect Bella from danger, and the former Confederate major was the biggest danger in the town.

Carlisle shook his head, "No, he isn't son. He cares deeply for her and will keep her from danger."

"Please, that is all a fucking lie. He has convinced her she is safe using his gift. She isn't. You know he can't control himself!"

"Edward, you need to calm down," Esme tried to soothe the man that had been in a sense her first living child, "Bella is safe and Jasper will not hurt her."

Snorting, Emmett scoffed, "That's right. She is in more danger with you than with him right now!"

"That's not true!" Edward denied everything, refused to accept anything they had to say to him.

Even Rosalie was not buying his words, "Oh please, let's not forget that she is your singer. He may have had problems controlling himself in the past, but he had done well lately. She is your singer… do you even realize the implications of that? You won't be able to control yourself around her. Emmett has only had one human before and that is because he ran into his singer and couldn't resist her!" Rose didn't agree with Jasper dating Bella or having any association with her at all, but even she could read the writing on the wall and it was a foregone conclusion that although she may not like it, it was
going to happen. Bella and Jasper were destined to be together; however, that did not mean she had to play nice with the brunette, but she also could not stand by and listen to the words spewing from Edward's mouth: the lies, falsehoods, and utter delusions.

Growling, Edward defended himself, "I can control myself around her. I am not like Emmett. I am not weak!" He found himself hitting a wall and then falling to the floor before he realized what was going on.

"I am not weak," Emmett snarled over him, "You think you can control yourself, but eventually you will give into the call of the blood. You think you are better than us? You want to look down on us? You are an ass if you think you will not be affected by her blood. You will. It will call out to you, entice you, beg you to take it, and eventually you will want to succumb. We all know that you wanted to drain her the first day you met her, and the only reason you didn't get your shot is because Alice interrupted you. She saw what you were going to do and stopped you before you could do it! Do not make the mistake of thinking you are above us, you are the same. You may have your little gift of mind reading, but you are just a blood drinking vampire like us. And as you just saw, you apparently can't see everything coming your way."

Edward got to his feet and started to argue, "I am not like you. I…"

"I would watch what you say to my mate very closely. He isn't the one that threw a temper tantrum and left this coven so that you could do as you please. We all know that when you returned your eyes were red, so we all know what you were feeding on. Regardless of your excuses, you were still killing humans. So don't you dare compare yourself or think yourself better than anyone here, especially Emmett," Rosalie snapped talking through her teeth and a clenched jaw. Her hands were fisted by her sides and she was fighting the urge to rip her adopted brother to pieces. How dare he look down upon her mate? How dare he talk like he was better than them, especially given his past? He had no right!

"They're right," Alice said softly. She cleared her throat as she regarded Edward for a moment before speaking again, "That first day, you were going to attack her and everyone else in the room, but I gave you the excuse you needed to leave. Nothing has changed. You still crave her blood, but are trying to fight it because she intrigues you, and the only reason she intrigues you is because you can't read her mind. You say that she is not safe with Jasper, but they have been around each other since the day you left and have been fine. He will not hurt her and will protect her as he has since she was ten. In the end, he will be her saving grace and save her life. They will be together and will not be able to be parted. They are mates and you cannot separate them."

Shaking his head vigorously, Edward fought against everything that everyone was saying, "NO! She will not be his! She will be mine!"

"A life with you will only lead to death and despair," Alice cautioned him. She had seen several glimpses into the future and Edward will be cause for concern. His feelings of possessiveness will create turmoil and danger, and Bella will never belong to him. She is not a thing to be owned and controlled, but a person with feelings and her own wishes and desires; and Jasper was the one man who would be able to fulfill everything in Bella's life… no one else.

The copper headed vampire refused to believe that; he didn't care that Alice could see the future, there were holes to her visions and he was sure she had missed something. No, he would not hurt Bella, but Jasper… Jasper would kill the brunette without hesitation.

"Don't do it, Edward," Alice warned, "He didn't hurt her when she was ten and he won't do anything to her now."

"He probably didn't hurt her at ten because there were people around," Edward retorted, although, thinking about the memories he had caught a glimpse of, there had been no one else around. That could have been because he was so focused on Bella that Jasper didn't notice his surroundings. It may have been a weak argument given who he was talking about, but it was possible.

Alice sighed sadly. It appeared that they would not be able to convince the younger man, and that could spell danger for not only Bella but everyone in the coven. Glancing around the room, her eyes once again settled on Edward and she said, "Even if that were true, he didn't have to take her home. He didn't have to help her, but he did. Seven years later they found each other again and they belong together. If you interfere, you could expose us and put us in the line of fire."

"Is that what you see?" Edward sneered.

Nodding, Alice's voice sounded small, "Yes."

"You could be wrong!"

"I'm not wrong!"

Edward took a menacing step towards Alice, but was suddenly blocked by Emmett and Carlisle and behind them Esme and Rosalie stood next to the petite seer. Realizing he might be overreacting and giving his family the wrong impression, he took a step backwards and released a loud breath, "Sorry."

"Son, I think it best if you stayed away from Bella," Carlisle suggested.

"What about Jasper?" Edward demanded.

Carlisle glanced behind him to his own mate and received an encouraging nod. Turning his head and allowing his eyes to once again settle on the vampire standing in front of him, he stated, "Jasper is Bella's mate and they are trying to figure out their relationship. He will not hurt her and will do anything and everything to make sure she is safe and protected. Don't interfere."

"You can't actually believe…" Edward tapered off and realized it was in everyone's eyes. They really believed that Jasper and Bella belonged together. Even Rosalie was convinced of it, and if her thoughts were an indicator, she hated the brunette and didn't want Jasper around her. So why support them? The only word that came to mind was mate. They all believed it and would not do anything to come between the couple, but Edward did not trust his supposed brother and needed to make sure Bella would not come to harm. He wasn't sure how, but he would do what he could to make sure they were separated. There was no way they were mates! "Whatever," he grumbled before leaving the room and running up the stairs. He needed to think and plan, and by the time Monday rolled around, he would have it all figured out. School was the perfect place to confront Bella.

At Bella's House…

Bella could sense Jasper's unease and wariness and led him to the couch in the living room. Since her dad was not home yet, they could talk privately and not worry about other's ears, "Are you alright?"

"Yah, darlin'. I just…" Jasper wasn't sure where to begin. He needed to tell her that he wasn't lying or joking, he needed to talk to her, but how? Added to that were his worries about Edward and he wanted to lock her up in a cage and throw away the key.

Leaning against him and allowing his arms to encircle her again, the brunette was unable to look into his eyes as she said, "So want to tell me why you told Edward that we were mates? Were you or weren't you lying to protect me?"

Jasper pulled her a little closer and kissed the top of his head before he opened his mouth, "I said it to protect you, but I wasn't lyin'."

"What do you mean?"

He paused for a moment to gather his thoughts and then continued, "When you and I met the first time…"

"When I was ten?" Bella interrupted.

"Yah, when we met, I felt drawn to you and I somehow knew when I left you at the park that we would meet again and that we had this connection."

"I felt it too. I think that's why I never forgot you."

Jasper nodded and kissed the top of her head again, squeezing his arms a little, but not enough that he would hurt her, "Then when I heard you were coming to Forks, I made the decision to ignore you. I thought maybe what I felt before was a fluke and you probably wouldn't remember me, but when I saw you… Well darlin' let's just say, you blew that plan right outta the water." He snickered a little before he started again, "I couldn't ignore you, not when everything about me was drawn to you. Course Alice didn't help matters any. She was supposed to help me stay away and ended up pushing us together. The moment I saw you pull up to the park, I knew I could never let you go."

"What does that have to do with mates?" Bella inquired happy and yet confused. She wanted to understand the meaning behind his words.

Another pause before more words spilled forth from the southern man's mouth, "It doesn't always happen, and trust me when I say my coven is a fuckin' anomaly, but like humans, vampires can find someone to share their life with… their mate. Now sometimes vampires will find someone to travel with of the opposite sex, but there is nothin between them besides camaraderie; and sometimes a vampire will find someone that sends a quickenin through their body and shocks them to their very core… to their soul if you will. That vampire is their mate: the person they are destined to spend their life with, to love. Now even rarer is the vampire who finds his or her mate in a human. Think of it as finding the person you love and want to marry… well in the vampire world it is more resolute and certain than in humans. We know beyond the shadow of a doubt who are mate is, whereas a human isn't always so sure and will divorce if they discover they married the wrong person. There's no hit or miss with vampires."

Butterflies fluttered in Bella's stomach as his listened to his southern drawl and the timbre of his voice. Shouldn't she feel scared or leery of what he was saying? She didn't, and if anything, she felt excited that he felt that way about her.

"Now, as for tellin Edward, I wanted him to know that you were not to be touched and belonged to me," Jasper declared.

She couldn't even be offended by his choice of words and she should have been. Instead, Bella tilted her head back uncomfortably in order to look at him in eye, "So, you weren't just saying that then?"

Giving her a sideways smile, he shook his head, "No, darlin'. I meant it." Gone was the fear and trepidation, the anxiety that she would reject him and his explanation because he felt what she was feeling: elation, excitement, joy… and dare he hope… love. She wasn't against anything he told her, and instead it seemed she wholeheartedly accepted it all. Kissing her forehead, he thought about the wonder that was Bella Swan. And then his assumptions were confirmed when she settled against his chest again.

"Good," she mumbled grinning and wrapping her arms around him more tightly. How could she argue about something that felt so right and explained her own feelings so well. She may not be a vampire, but Jasper felt like her other half and she could not deny it. This is where she belonged, in his arms.

Elsewhere…

"Why are we sticking around here?" A woman with red hair asked.

Smiling, the blond man looked at his mate, "Because the food is good and people think wild animals are preying on people. It will give us a little more leeway for now. We'll leave soon enough and head further north, but for now this is ripe hunting ground."

"James, we may not want to tempt fate," another male declared.

"You worry too much Laurent. You have to live a little," the blond grinned. The area they were circling was comfortable and they had a plentiful food source. It wouldn't hurt to linger for a week or so.