A/N: Set during New Moon when Bella chases Edward through the woods in an attempt to find him after he leaves her.

--

Chapter 17

Bella's POV-

"You seem frazzled, darlin'." Jasper pushed a strand of my hair behind my ear, noticing the obvious worry on my face. "Is everything alright?"

"No. It isn't." I shook my head in answer, knowing that hiding my emotions from an empath was foolishly impossible. He would know in a second that I was not in love with him. I was not his wife. At least not in my head.

"Share your worries with me, my sweetheart." he warmly smiled, his arms encasing me in their surprising warmth.

"Jasper...I…" I took a deep, unnecessary, breath in, gaining all the courage that lay in me. There was no easy way to do this. "Feel my emotions." That would tell him all he needed to know.

He narrowed his eyes in question, but did as was asked, a frown on his face- widening with each passing second. "I can feel...your worry...nervousness...impatience...love…" he paused, contemplating over something, "it doesn't feel like it is for me, though…"

No.

I sadly shook my head.

"Oh." That one word held more meaning than an entire essay of over a thousand words ever would. "How?"

I felt terribly bad for him in the moment; his wife was somewhere out there, possibly in love with him as much as he loved her. Unfortunately, I wasn't her. And I didn't love him.

"My name is Bella Swan, as you already know." I decided to start at the very beginning, "The universe that I lived in...it was very different from this one. For one, you were married to a very nice girl named Alice…"

"Alice? Isn't that the name of that weird vampire who followed you around for more than two decades?"

I looked up, noticing the had-been silent spectators to our conversation, who I assumed was Peter and the earlier introduced female vampire, staring at the two of us with their mouths gaped wide open.

"Sorry." The female shrugged. "We forget our boundaries when our curiosity kicks in."

"So?" Peter prodded, seemingly overly invested in what had been a private conversation. "That chick's name was Alice, wasn't it?"

"It was." Jasper mumbled in a low whisper, his face expressionless, as he possibly came to terms with my revelation. "I still don't get it how and what you mean by 'your' universe. I can sense that you are saying the truth, though."

"Well." I sighed. "It is a long story. I was dating your adopted brother in a whole other universe. He was a vampire. Your entire family was. I was human, though. Anyhow, long story short, he dumped me and while attempting to get him back, I tripped and fell through a tunnel, entering another universe. I don't know how it works, though these randomly appearing tunnels are a portal to another universe, is what I know."

"What all was...true in this universe?" Peter questioned.

"Jasper was with Alice. He had an adopted sister named Rosalie, her mate Emmett, and your adoptive parents Esme and Carlisle completed the family. And Edward, of course. You all prided yourself as vegetarians, relying only on the blood of animals. Carlisle was a pacifist and a practicing doctor for the human world. He and Esme were known for their kindness and need to be good people."

"So strange." Peter mumbled under his breath. "Can we even survive on only animal blood? Is that possible?"

I shrugged. "They seemed to manage it well enough."

"Edward is…"

"Yes." I truthfully answered.

Jasper huffed in response, his chest puffed out, a glimmer of jealously shining in his eyes.

He was jealous.

"Where is Alice, though?" I questioned further. "I am assuming the two of you did not get together in this universe?"

Jasper let out a humorless chuckle at that. "She was a strange one. We met in a cafe in Philadelphia in the later part of the 40's. She was obsessed with making me believe that we were mates. Mind you, I felt absolutely no pull towards her. I conveyed the same to her, but she refused to accept it. Followed me across the country for two decades. I ignored her. She stared at me from a distance, and I was okay with that. Suddenly, one day, she stopped following me around. I was secretly relieved. Felt bad for the weird one, to be honest. I would never love her, and I could sense that she loved me."

"Where did she go?"

Why wasn't Alice with Jasper in this universe?

He shrugged, a smirk on his face. "Began following another vampire around. Somehow, her mating bond had changed, and she was now mated to a female."

"Is that something that often happens?"

Could a mating bond change?

"Nah." Peter chuckled. "Mates are for life. Doesn't evolve or disappear, or anything. That's why we call her the weird one."

Oh.

Was it possible that had Jasper not resisted, Alice and he would be together today?

"How did we...um...meet?" I looked at Jasper. "I am assuming that you never met the Cullen's?"

"Nope. Never heard their name." Jasper offered his agreement. "As for how we met," he let out a deep sigh. "I have known you since you were a baby."

What?

How?

"Well." he paused, a silent glance shared with Peter and his wife. "Your mother was dating a vampire…"

"Mother as in Renee, right?"

Renee….Esme...Joy...I could not help but ask this question.

Jasper looked confused, but nodded his head. "From what I know, her name was Renee Higginbotham."

"Go on, please." I insisted, curious to know how my past had changed in this universe.

"Anyhow, he wasn't one of the good ones. I will spare you the details, but he was using Renee as a walking-talking blood bank."

I flinched at that. He used to drink from her?

And she was okay with that?

"It was a fetish for him. Did it during the act." Peter answered my unasked question. "You were very small back then...just a few months old."

"He almost drained you on one occasion." Jasper took the reins back in his hand, his expression disturbed with a bit of anger.

"Was he drinking from me, too?"

"No. No." the female was quick to clarify. "Renee was very particular about that. Surprisingly. He lost control over himself. Anyhow, I am not sure if you know that there are leaders in our kind…"

"I do." I nodded my head in answer. "Edward told me about them."

I would always be glad for how much information he had imparted me with. It had come handy to me quite a bit.

"Well, they came to know about this 'illegal' activity, and punished said vampire with a death sentence."

"What happened to my mother?"

Jasper shrugged, his silence being my answer.

No.

"Why did they leave me alive, then?" My voice was teary as I mourned the loss of my mother. She had been taken from me way too early in this universe. "They don't leave witnesses behind, is what I have heard."

"You were a baby, darlin'." Jasper sympathetically met my eyes. "You were innocent."

"What happened then?" I inquired. "Why wasn't I sent to live with my father?"

Why hadn't Charlie taken me in?

Jasper sighed, frowning. "The Volturi refused to let you go back in the human world. You were allowed to live, but as you had already been exposed to a vicious vampire, they believed that it could be risky for you, were friends' of said vampire come to seek revenge."

"Is that why you took me in?"

"Initially, yes." the female answered. "Our coven shares a cordial relationship with the leaders. They trust us- which is a good thing for them because all three of us are exceptional fighters and could easily defeat many of their coven. Anyhow, Aro- one of the leaders- appointed us to look after you."

"It was a job for you, then."

There was no need for me to be disappointed. I did not know them. I did not care what they thought. Yet, a pang of sheer disappointment coursed through my veins.

"I won't lie," she continued, "initially, yes it was. We did not know how to raise a baby...and you would continuously cry. It got annoying after a point! Jasper was touring the country as a nomad in those years, leaving the two of us alone to raise you. He returned home when you were five years old. By then, you had become like a daughter to me and Peter. We raised you like our daughter, and when you fell in love with Jasper, we couldn't have been any happier. Becoming a vampire was your decision. Even though, to be honest, you did not have much of a say in the matter; the Volturi would have made sure of that."

Oh.

This was a lot to take in.

It was so strange how different all the universe were from one another.

"I need some time to digest this all."

The three of them offered me a sad smile, but did as was asked, silence covering the four of us in its uncomfortable coat.