I woke up slowly, the sun filtering through the room had roused me. as I became more alert, I started to realise that I wasn't where I expected to be.

for one the light was the wrong colour, tinted purple rather than the gold it should have been,

then I noticed that the bed was firmer and the pillow softer than those in Edward's room and the carpet that I was watching the sunlight dance on was tan not gold.

"good morning Bella" a voice drawled quietly behind me.

I startled and turned over quickly. on the other side of the bed, sat on top of the covers & leaning back against the tall padded headboard was Jasper. he was smiling slightly at me and he had a book resting lightly in his lap his finger marking his place as if he had only paused for a moment.

"good morning Jasper" I managed after a moment then asked, "why am I in here?"

"you fell asleep watching me play my game last night".

"oh," I replied smiling slightly, then I eyed the book in his lap, I recognised it as the second book in a series he had only begun the day before, the place his finger marked was almost at the end of the book "you didn't have to stay all night you know"

"I had nothing else to do" he paused for a moment then asked with an air of changing the subject

"how did you sleep?"

I considered for a moment then realised I had slept better than the previous 2 nights combined I filed that fact away for further analysis.

"really well" I answered him aloud.

"not nearly so restless as the last couple of nights" he observed smiling teasingly"

"definitely" I agreed.

he grinned at me openly

"good".

I grinned back automatically.

"why don't you go get dressed while I make breakfast" he suggested, I obliged, hurrying when I smelt the eggs cooking.

we spent a peaceful day outside in the Cullen's large back garden. Jasper darted around tending the several large flowerbeds that bordered the spacious lawn. I had previously assumed the beds were Esme's but now I realised that they must be his.

in the morning I sat on a large sun lounger and read my book, in the afternoon I Joined Jasper at his work, we were in a large greenhouse now, situated in a small clearing near the house. Jasper showed me how to repot seedings and we worked side by side.

we ate both lunch and dinner outside, lunch on a rug on the grass and dinner at a small table on the square patio beside the back door.

after dinner I returned to the lounger while Jasper got the lawnmower out of the garage. I tried to read my book. but after the fourth time I caught myself looking at Jasper rather than my book I gave up and, putting the book down, I watched him garden openly.

it was late evening when a knock sounded on the front door. I grinned sheepishly as Jasper looked up & caught me watching him.

"who could that be?" I asked to cover my embarrassment.

"I expect it's a package',' Jasper replied smiling reassuringly.

"something one of the others ordered online. I'll go see; stay there I won't be long".

I ignored him & followed him into the house. I was passing through the kitchen when Jasper reached the door so was close enough to hear him say in surprise " carmen, I didn't expect to see you again so soon, what brings you back."

" I've been south shopping with Alice but I'm on my way home. we didn't get chance to talk when I came the other day so I thought I would stop in on my way north. I know how fascinated you are by my studies and I've discovered something new.

"what studies" I asked from Just behind Jasper.

he turned to me.

"carmen has an interesting hobby. she spends a great deal of her time studying and researching the true mate phenomenon".

"how much do you know about true mate bonding?" carmen asked me interrupting Jasper.

"some" I answered" Edward told me that a true mate bond is a bond between 2 vampires who are soulmates, he described it as being a bit like the wolves imprinting bond but two directional.

strong, tangible, and absolute.

"he's right in a rough sense" replied carmen.

"let's sit down" Jasper suggested interrupting carmen, I realised that he must be thinking of me as to them holding a conversation standing would be just as comfortable as holding it sitting down. I smiled at him gratefully he smiled back before leading the way across the room. he sat on the sofa and I sat beside him, Carmen took an armchair then continued speaking as if there had been no interruption.

it is tangible in a way, and a bonded pair will find it very uncomfortable to be apart for any length of time.

in a nutshell a vampire true mate bond is an unbreakable bond that form between a couple who are soulmates where one or both are Vampires

"one or both? "I interrupted surprised "Edward said that both people needed to be vampires before the bond would form"

"that's a common misconception" smiled carmen 'in actual fact a bond begins to form as soon as the pair meet even if one is human"

"as soon as they meet? so it is like the wolves"

"sort of but the Whole bond isn't instantaneous like the wolves, some couples do experience a discrete powerful moment when the bond fully forms but not all and certainly not when they first meet". carmen clarified "and then there are rare cases when something blocks the bond from forming, but those are the exceptions not the norm. in general, when a vampire first encounters their true mate the bond will assert itself as an instant attraction of attention, then, so long as the pair spend time together, the bond will fully form within a matter of days."

Jasper turned to me "does all that make sense, there's loads more to the mate bonding but that's the basics"

"yeah that makes sense," I answered him then addressed carmen "and you've made a hobby of studying the intricacies of bonding?"

"yes, I find it fascinating in fact I am the foremost expert, I know more about mate bonding than anyone else and even then, I'm still learning new stuff. in fact that's the reason for my visit, Jasper finds my research interesting and my latest discovery is simply incredible"

at these words Jasper leant slightly towards Carmen, his demeanour put me in mind of an exited puppy.

she noticed his enthusiasm & grinned.

"well recently I've been curious about vampires who find their true mate while the mate is still human. I already know that vampires feel a subtle pull towards their mate when they first meet them but surely if one half of the pair is human then doesn't the human end up as a meal more often than not?"

"that's a really good point" agreed Jasper. I nodded thinking of Edward's description of that first biology class and the effort it had taken for him not to kill me

"so" carmen continued "I went looking for vampires who found their mate in a human to ask them how they knew the human wasn't dinner!"

"did you find many" I asked. I was now as interested as Jasper I was sitting close to him our legs touching as I leant towards carmen as well,

"I found quite a few actually. And I asked them all to tell me about their experience of first meeting their mate. I quickly identified a pattern. The most unbelievable pattern"

She paused a split second too long for Jasper

"So what was the pattern" he demanded

"They all described a remarkably similar experience. Some were going about their daily life others were out hunting but all were brought up short when they encountered their mate because... their human mate did not smell like a human."

"What!" Gasped Jasper

"That's right. every single vampire I spoke to who found their mate in a human experienced the same phenomenon; a curiously attractive human who smelt nothing like food!

"so what did they smell like" I whispered,

"like a vampire" she replied

"how" gassed Jasper

"no idea" replied carmen" but it makes sense from a self-preservation perspective'.'

"indeed" agreed Jasper but I was only half listening now as a horrible thought began to occur to me.

"What's the matter Bella" carmen asked looking at me. Jasper turned to me too

"Bella" he gasped "what is it what's wrong" he put his arm round me and that helped a little. a small anchor in the storm going on inside my mind. I used the feeling of his arm around me to re centre myself so that I could speak. Leaning into his side I took a deep breath and looked intently at carmen.

"you didn't find any case where the human mate smelt" I paused "tasty?" I finished

"no none, why"?

"because I smell tasty to Edward, extra tasty in fact, it caused some problems when we first met"

"oh I see" said carmen sympathetic now.

Jasper twisted slightly so we were looking at each other but didn't move his arm from round me

"Bella, I know that you and Edward thought you were true mates but finding out you aren't doesn't change anything between you."

"how can it not, surely this changes everything"

"not all vampire couples are true mates" carmen interjected,"

"they aren't?"

"no, vampires form relationships in the human way too"

"I didn't realise, I thought vampires only formed relationships with their true mate."

"oh no" carmen reassured me true mate relationships are much stronger and more powerful but not all vampires find them. as I said

we can fall in love the human way too"

"Alice and I aren't true mates" said Jasper softly, I turned to him

"you aren't? but you are so intent about each other"

"we are very much in love, but no we aren't true mates.

I couldn't think what to say Jasper smiled & continued speaking

"so you see you & Edward are fine, you love each other, that's enough."

I smiled gratefully at him, then I noticed carmen watching us out of the corner of my eye, I couldn't work out what her expression meant.

I yawned suddenly and carmen looked apologetic.

"I'm sorry its late I'll get going so you can get to bed! she stood.

"thanks"

"it was good to see you" Jasper said going with her to the door. I stayed on the sofa.

Carmen POV

I stopped my car at the bottom of the drive just before the main road and pulled out my phone. I looked back over the messages Alice and I had exchanged that day and then typed a reply.

Alice, I've dropped by your house and told them about my most recent discovery, Bella caught on to what it meant right away, she's upset but Jasper Knew Just what to say. hopefully, this will shake her connection to Edward enough to speed things up and avoid the problem you saw.

I sent the message and pulled out of the drive hurrying now I was suddenly impatient to see my Eleazar

Bella Pov

Jasper came back from the door.

" are you ready to go to bed" he asked

"yeah, I'm exhausted I replied"

he looked suddenly nervous. "erm I was wondering, well you said you slept better last night, if you want some company you're welcome to stay in my room till the others get back, we got an en-suite you can shower in'' he waited for my answer with an expression that looked... hopeful? and his offer thrilled me in a way I didn't understand. I was distracted trying to analyse his face and my reaction that I forgot to answer for a moment, he waited patiently

"oh, Jasper that would be great. thanks," he gave me such a smile that I could help but return it. "Just let me get some PJs"

"you might as well bring a bunch of clothes down" he suggested "it would save you having to keep going all the way up to get more I've got plenty of room to put them away

"ok" I replied then headed for the stairs. I hurried up to Edwards room, where I grabbed several pairs of PJs and a selection of my other clothes, when I arrived in Jasper's room, he directed me to dump them on the bed then handed me a fresh towel.

By the time I had finished washing and putting on my pjs Jasper had all the clothes put away in his wardrobe and draws. I thanked him then climbed into bed. Jasper settled down on top of the covers in the same space as the previous evening. we read for a while then I settled down for the night, I fell asleep quickly.

Jasper Pov

Bella slept soundly again, I read while she slept. half way through the night she stirred, I put my book down to watch to make sure she was ok she rolled around for a moment then settled down with her head on my shoulder and her arm slung across my chest, she mumbled my name once then fell still, I was shocked that her sleeping mind knew it was me she was laying on I had expected she would be dreaming that it was Edward., I continued to watch her sleep my book forgotten.