IM SORRY IDK WHY THIS TOOK SO LONG SO MANY MONTHS PASSED SO FAST

But Happy New Year! Please enjoy

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Rosalie Hale was a lot of things. She knew what people said about her, the assumptions they made based on her appearance alone. She didn't mind, though. She knew her very presence was a lot to take in, and she thrived on the masses that fell to their knees in the face of her beauty and grace.

Still, Rose was more than just a pretty face.

For one, she was a damn good mechanic.

Elbow deep in engine parts was the only time she allowed her beautiful physique to be marred. Grease, dirt, exhaust, and more would coat her body when she worked on her machines, but she didn't care.

Beneath the hood of a car was where Rose felt the most in control. She could tear apart an engine and put it back together in a way that was better, stronger, and much more beautiful. The complex mechanics were soothing, and even if no one else understood her passion, she did.

That was why she was so particular when it came to her cars. Every piece from the wheel rotors to the paint job were labors of love from her, and she knew when even the smallest piece was out of place. She had all the time in the world, but so long as she had that time she would make sure every part of her babies were just so.

That was why, when she finally checked on her car after Jasper had so rudely stolen it, she was almost twice as mad to find her interior tainted with scent of human. She didn't know the scent intimately (she didn't know any human scent intimately ) but she knew enough to know that the stench was the biproduct of the girl Jasper had been obsessing over.

Dowdy and unremarkable, Rose had dismissed her without a second thought. What she hadn't dismissed was Jasper's change in behavior. She understood the pull of a mate; she had Emmet after all. What she didn't understand was the pointless dance Jasper seemed to have started with the girl. If she was really his mate, he would've taken her.

After all, Jasper had the least self control within their family. While Alice had always seemed to subdue him, Jasper was the most volatile of their coven.

Yet here he was, pushing aside their opinions and causing problems over a human he didn't even seem to want.

And now? Now he'd taken her car and dirtied it with an overly sugary scent. It smelled like human drenched in maple syrup. If that wasn't enough to tell her that he'd given the human a ride, the pencil case she found under her passenger seat was.

"Jasper!" she found herself screechinh, moving through their home at inhuman speed to find him.

He was leaned casually against the counter, seemingly unbothered by the rage she knew he could feel.

"Who the hell told you that you could take my car?"

His gaze was level, but the barest hint of a smirk turned the corner of his lips. She knew that look.

"I needed to borrow it."

He was nearly mocking her, and in that moment, she knew he'd taken her car on purpose.

"You could've asked!" she seethed, knowing their exchange was bringing the rest of their family out.

She could feel Emmett's large hand at her shoulder the moment she moved to put herself closer in Jasper's space. She knew he was keeping her back for good reason, but she didn't relent.

"You would've said no," Jasper told her, still smirking.

"Of course I would've said no! I'm not letting you fuck your human toy in my car," Rose told him coldly.

Sure, she knew he'd done no such thing. She hadn't been able to smell sex of any kind on him since the last time he and Alice had been together.

But then, that was the point.

He wanted to push her buttons? Fine, she would push his.

"Rose, you best not misunderstand the situation here," Jasper said, the humor leaving him.

Emmett's grip was tightening, almost ready to pull her away. From the very first time he'd seen her, Jasper had been touchy about Wren as a subject. He hardly talked about her, deflecting the very idea of her existence whenever any of them broached the subject. Only Edward knew the full truth of what was going on, and he would only tell them all to leave Jasper be.

Rose didn't want to leave him be. She was sick of feeling like she was stepping around landmines with him, and more then a little mad at what he'd done to Emmett the day he'd first seen his so called mate. She understood the pull, but his behavior thus far hadn't justified the violence. Not in her eyes.

Her vengefulness was one of the many attributes she'd never been able to shake.

It also happened to be the trait that bonded them the most, and it was the knowledge that he knew what she could do and had so often encouraged it that she continued.

"What is there to misunderstand?" she goaded," The fact that you've been keeping us all in the dark when we're supposed to be family?"

She felt his demeanor change, then. She felt the calm washing over her. She saw him soften and was reminded of something she'd found herself questioning more and more lately: Jasper cared. That alone soothed a different sort of anger within her that she'd covered with the more fickle rage over her car.

Still, he hadn't pushed away all of her anger. Only blanketed it, and she was far from done.

So, calmed but still stinging with irritation, she turned. Edward caught her gaze.

"Don't," he told her sternly, already knowing what she was going to say.

He should have known better than to try and silence her when she felt she had more left to say. Rose had long since given up letting men keep her silent.

"What I'm not misunderstanding is all that frustration Jasper," she said softly," all that charm and you still can't get the girls you like out of their pants."

If she'd had a working heart, it would've thundered as she watched Jasper's face go deceptively calm. Jasper liked to rile her up and often laughed when she flexed her claws around him, but she'd always known better than to scratch too deep.

"Rosalie!" this time it was Carlisle, shocked at her words.

She was well practiced in their banter, so she knew well enough that she was walking dangerously close to the edge of Jaspers limit. Close, but not over.

"What? It's not like we haven't all felt it," she said flippantly.

Her words were true. The problem with living with a pathokentic was that when he got too emotional, they all got to experience it. The bigger problem was that his lust was strong.

When he was with Alice, Rose would be lying if she said she didn't enjoy the experience. There was something to be said about what a little extra yearning could do for the bedroom. The shared lust made her romps with her husband even more fun.

Jasper's sexual frustration, though? That had been a whole different experience.

Who knew that you could have enough sex to populate a small town and still feel frustrated and unsatisfied?

Thanks to Jasper, she and Emmett knew. Hell, everyone in the house did.

The silence was enough of a testament to that.

She watched Jasper's eyes darken, holding his gaze for just a second longer, then without another word, Rose left the room.

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In that moment, Rosalie truly was lucky that Jasper really did see her as a sister.

The Major would have surely snapped her neck and burned her to cinders by now if he didn't.

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Rosalie's sharp words had not been the end to her vendetta. True, she'd left with the last word, but Jasper had let her. That's how things usually were with him. They bickered here and there, but he always kept things in check with either his powers or his actions.

He always pulled back before he could let out all that chaos he held just below the surface, but then that was the unspoken deal between them all. The problem with having a coven such as theirs was not their vegetarianism, as many thought.

It was the power imbalance.

Most covens had a head, usually the maker of the others. The head of coven led, made the rules, and most importantly, held the power. Vampires, long lived as they were, bowed to little other than power in general. Carlisle for sure was deceptively skilled…. But so were his children.

Rosalie wasn't deluded enough to think that she could beat Carlisle in a fight, as he had far too much experience behind him. Esme was in much the same position as Rose. Emmett, though, had more brute strength than any of them combined. That strength was testament to his character, and one of the many reasons she loved him. Still, physically at least, he was much stronger than their Father.

Alice, though small and unassuming, was frightening when she wanted to be. The future could be the most terrifying thing of all, and Alice embraced that fully. It isn't easy to win against someone who knew your every move, sometimes before you did.

Edward was much the same. He could hear every thought, every secret. There was nothing that could be hidden from him unless you could learn to hide it from yourself.

Jasper, though, was perhaps the most dangerous of them all. He wore his power on his very skin, the bite scars shining like so many warnings to any who drew near. He could make you feel any way he wanted; as vulnerable as he wanted. Even without that, his battle experience made him a difficult opponent.

Truly, Carlisle claimed control over a group of vampires that could lay him flat at any time if they so chose to. And yet they didn't. The Olympic coven was bound by more than tradition or need. Were any of them to be on their own, they'd do just fine. No, they found themselves bound by more than just necessity: it was love.

Rose had her moments, but she did love her family. She could ask for no better, even if she did find herself longing for things she could never have.

That was why even if he was one of the most dangerous vampires on their side of the planet, Rose still pushed at Jasper. Maybe Carlisle and Esme thought her too bold, maybe Edward thought her crazy. Sometimes they just couldn't understand that it was a sister's job to look out for the wellbeing of her brothers while also trying to drive them as crazy as possible.

But Rose understood that.

That was why Rose threw her attitude around with abandon, and more importantly, it was why even with Jasper's explicit warning not to, she sought out Wren Kitt the very next day. Jasper had been on edge for months, his emotions eating away at their family in the most intimate way possible. And all for what? Rose wanted to know, and as her heels clicked through the halls of the insignificant little high school, she thought the pencil case she clutched in her hand was a perfect excuse.

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With the weight of Tai lifted from her shoulders, Wren found that she was once again free… to worry about something else. That was what she was best at, after all, and it seemed she had a pretty blonde cowboy at the ready to drive her mad.

Wren knew what a crush was. She knew what it was like to like someone, to look at them and think 'Hey that person is pretty attractive'. In fact, she'd even go so far as to say she'd experienced a few crushes herself, over the years.

Or so she'd thought.

See, she wasn't so sure she could call any of her fleeting thoughts about a cute neighbor boy or local cashier crushes now that she had the budding feelings for her newest friend swirling around her mind.

The feelings bit was the defining factor. She'd been around people enough to understand that she did, in fact, have the capability to find others attractive. Her caveat was that she had the tendency to avoid those that did inspire such thoughts.

Jasper didn't give her a chance to avoid those thoughts, though. He spoke directly to her, his southern timber echoing in her mind even when he wasn't around. Her eyes were often drawn to the strong line of his jaw when they sat together in class, her mind pulled from the daydreams she usually found refuge in. His golden coloring seemed so at odds with the paleness of his kin, yet beautiful all the same.

These things, despite her best efforts, intrigued her. More than that, Jasper as a whole intrigued her, and though she'd managed to find a new confidant in him, she found that she wanted him to find the same in her.

She was starting to want a lot of things she wouldn't normally indulge in.

Sighing, Wren closed her eyes as she straightened the last labeled beaker on the desk in front of her. Every other week it was Wren's responsibility to set up the labs for their AP Chemistry class. It was a role she volunteered for willingly since she received an extra point on each lab for doing the set up. Besides that, she also genuinely liked science. It wasn't something that came naturally to her, but it did come easily. She'd always breezed through text books, as practical applications and explanations clicked well in her brain.

At times, running through formulas could even be soothing to her chaotic brain, and she'd been known to stash a notebook or two in her room for writing sessions. It was one of the things she'd been able to do consistently for herself besides skateboarding. Hobbies had been an important process in her therapy, and she knew that incorporating them into her routine helped her a lot.

Even so, she'd found that a task which had once brought her great joy seemed…. Duller. After spending her previous evening with Jasper, nothing else could quite compare.

So yes, it was safe to say that Wren had developed a true and fully realized crush.

And acknowledging that on its own just about killed her. Just when she'd begun to get used to the idea of growing close with others again, her mind had to go and take it up a notch by making her go a step further. If she hadn't been glad that Tai was coming to see her before, she needed the other girl now more than ever.

When they'd been tweens, Taisiya had always made the impossible knot of feelings involved in human interaction seem so simple. Neither of them had always had the best idea of how to handle them, but Tai had always at least had a better idea than Wren.

Even after the years that had passed, Wren found that there was also no one else she felt comfortable enough telling about her startling realization. The date of Tai's visit was a while off yet, but they'd set up a time to call during the weekend…

…and Jasper had been the one to suggest they reconnect via telephone first to begin with. Again, everything seemed to come back to him. She hadn't seen him since their last shared class, as they didn't study together on days she stayed late for lab prep, yet he still dominated her mind.

'I'm pathetic.'

The thought came unbidden, and yet another sigh escaped her before she could help it. The warm exhale fogged her glasses, this time, and Wren noticed something important: the temperature had dropped.

The lab set up had taken her longer than usual, and when she glanced out the window, she noticed the sun had begun to set, and the clouds that had covered the sky had opened up. Frowning slightly, she realized that her original plan to skate home wasn't going to work.

'Plan B it is then,' she thought, pulling out her phone to text her Aunty for a ride. Though she'd have to wait outside since they had to lock up the school so that the janitorial staff could go home, Wren didn't mind. She didn't mind having to wait, but she did feel bad knowing her Aunty would most likely have to finish some of her work at home now.

Still, she wouldn't be able to skate in the rain and if she walked with the sun going down her Aunt wouldn't be too happy.

Resigned to wait for the next hour or so, Wren made her way out of the school to sit on the steps. It had been a while since she had sat and just enjoyed a good rain shower in a while, anyways.

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Rosalie, upon realizing that the girl would be by herself setting up in the science lab, decided to simply observe, at first. There was an art to confrontation, and part of that art involved reconnaissance. Knowing your audience before tearing into them always gave the upper hand.

Not that Rose had any intention of tearing into Jasper's little pet, of course.

She simply liked to be ready.

So she waited, finding it easy to trail the girl once Jasper left the school. Doing so while the other Vampire was within sensing distance would be a grave mistake, she knew.

When Jasper was away, though? It was fair game.

In the end, though, watching Wren was rather…. Boring. She seemed competent at her task, at the very least. She moved with purpose, each label applied quickly and without hesitation. She measured out the chemicals carefully, hands steady, and moved with a grace that was odd given the girl's general state. Even from her distanced passing glances, Rose had been able to tell that the small girl reeked of insecurity. Shoulders hunched, figure buried beneath layers, and eyes hidden behind some god-awful glasses, Wren could've been a poster child for low self-esteem.

Here, though, she seemed much… looser.

Eventually, the minutes ticked by, and Wren began to gather her things to leave. Rose had heard the moment it started raining but was unfazed as she moved to step outside of the entrance to wait. There was an awning above the school doors that provided shelter, and Rose chose to lean against that wall while she waited for the object of her current attention to exit.

When Wren finally did, Rose expected her to head her way in order to stay dry… And was stunned into silence as she watched the girl willingly sit her fat ass on the thoroughly soaked front steps as the rain poured down onto her.

She had on a hoodie, but no waterproof coat. She hadn't even bothered to put up the hood, the edges of her hair already starting to curl in response to the moisture

Rose watched her in silence for a few moments, looking for any sign of the anger she herself would've had. Rain, while none threatening to her health, was very threatening to her hair. If she'd been left to wait on a miserable school step as her outfit and tresses were ruined, she would have been beyond upset. As she gazed at the odd girl, though, she found nothing. The open picture Wren presented one of a curious sort of impartialness.

Though they'd all known about Jasper's new mate for some time, not even she had dared to ignore Jasper's request that they give her space. It was one part in respect of the man, one part her natural disdain for humans. Still, the result was that Rosalie had never really gotten the chance to study her.

So of course her first move was to open up the umbrella she kept stashed in her purse and then walk directly towards the huddled figure before her with just enough pace and weight distribution to kick up the puddled water around them…. Directly into Wren's unprotected torso.

The bend in her spine snapped straight, and Rose heard her sharp gasp.

'What's it going to be then, Little Bird?' she found herself wondering. If nothing else, Wren's name suited the delicate features of her face and seemingly flighty nature. She truly looked like some fragile woodland creature, and Rose could only wonder how Jasper would react when the beast that lived inside them all inevitably ate the little bird alive.

That was their nature, after all.

Emmet at least had a backbone to him; even before he'd been turned. His strength, while his greatest physical manifestation, also extended to his head and his heart. It was one of the many things she loved about him, and also how she'd known he'd be willing and able to survive the vast eternities by her side. It was what cemented her decision to have him turned when she'd found his life was coming to its end.

She couldn't see any of that strength in Wren Kitt. But she also didn't know her, so she decided to ruffle some feathers and see what happened.

"You're not mad that I splashed you?" she pressed, wondering if the girl's attitude would change.

She watched brown eyes shift, quickly looking away as her head tilted down. For a second, Wren's chin almost tucked into her chest and Rose wondered if she'd go into full withdraw mode and turn into a ball, but then she shook her head and sighed, the sound out of normal hearing range.

"I'm the one who chose to sit in the rain," she pointed out.

It was a valid statement, and Rose had another one for her,

"You're also the one who chose to sit in my car."

This time, it was the thundering of a heartbeat that Rose heard the clearest.

"Uh…" Wren said dumbly, finally turning her face toward Rose with wide, horrified eyes.

With the new position, Rose was treated to the full force of freckled cheeks, gigantic doe eyes, and a niggling realization as Wren presented her with an, admittedly impressive, kicked puppy look. There wasn't a speck of makeup on her ruddy, wet face so the color to her cheeks was all natural as well.

Rose couldn't help the many images of newly hatched chicks that flashed through her brain, their defenseless squalling giving her the same energy as the anxious human. It had the odd effect of instilling in her something she didn't often feel: pity.

"You know," she said, bending slightly so that she was closer to eye level with Wren, "next time you need a ride home…" the way she seemed to stop breathing was almost perfect, her responses far too easily won, "…. It's polite to ask first."

"I'm so sorry! I thought he had perm-" she burst out, but Rose didn't bother letting her finish before dropping her forgotten pencil case into her lap.

That effectively silenced her, and Rose stood back up.

"You should also learn to keep better track of your things," she told Wren.

"I- Okay… Thank you," the girl replied before turning back away. Rose had expected her to flee, eventually. Instead, Wren had begun to resettle in the downpour. It made her feel something she didn't quite understand, but before she could quite bring herself to leave she found herself saying

"You're pretty good at that."

Though it had only been seconds, it seemed Wren had managed to zone out again and Rose watched as the girl played with the rain.

"Good at …what?" Wren asked, her eyes still focused on her cupped palms, watching the poorly trapped water creep from between her fingers. She didn't even seem frustrated that he water she was trying to hold wouldn't stay put.

"At letting things go," Rose said, her voice softer then she'd intended," I never have been."

Finally, Wren let the water drop, a sizable splash settling into her already soaked lap. Unfazed, she looked up through rain slicked glasses, her face curious and free of the judgement Rose had long come to expect from everyone.

"Would you change that, if you could?"

Taken aback by the question, Rose had but a moment to sift through long passed feelings of righteous vengeance, and the deeper hurt it encompassed.

"Would you?" Rose asked in lieu of an answer.

The smile the small girl before her gave held a familiar sort of sadness, though it was free of the bitterness Rose knew she would have given it.

"No," Wren said steadily," we all survive in different ways."

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Later, when fingers wrap around her throat and she is gasping breathes she doesn't need in response to feelings brought from a very different time, she once again recalls Wren's words.

'We all survive in different ways.'

Major Jasper Whitlock looks nothing like Royce King II, yet as he pins her to a tree and makes her swear she didn't lay so much as finger on his mate, Rose only sees the past.

Once, in a rare moment where they'd been left alone, their mates off to other tasks, she'd told him about her fears. She'd told him about how, to this day, she still has nightmares sometimes, about what happened to her. Funny for a being that no longer sleeps, right?

So, Jasper knew how she felt on more levels than one; he knew exactly how he was hurting her beyond anything physical. He just didn't care.

Their dance was one of careful steps and well-drawn lines, and Rosalie had crossed one knowingly. This was her penance, and they both knew it. She'd known he'd sense his mate on her even if she'd never touched the girl, and she'd known how he'd react.

She'd have probably reacted the same if another Vampire had been left alone around a human Emmett.

Still, she'd died to live her life free of the control of others, and even he couldn't take that from her.

She was sure Jasper knew that too.

Actions have consequences, though, and when she closes her eyes that night and terror takes her, her trauma brought too close to the surface for the day, Rose's only gratification is that Jasper has to experience all of it too.

Her comfort comes both from the arms of her lover, and the waves of soothing emotion her chosen brother sends her way.

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Wow vamps are fucking wild huh? Anyways!

Sorry this was like…. So Rose centric. It wasn't planned to turn out that way but its just what came out of my fingers. More sexy cowboy and his baby bird in the next chapter.

Once again I have no idea when the next chapter will be so I'm sorry, but I love you guys! The response to the story is what keeps it going, and I love knowing you guys are enjoying the story. Until next time, xoxoxxo