Chapter Twenty-Five

"You already know?" Jasper asked, the smile on his face growing to match Bella's, despite his surprise.

"I think this is my cue to leave," Jacob laughed as he stood up.

"What? You don't need to leave," Bella said.

"Nah, you guys talk, I'll catch up with you later. And for what it's worth, I'm happy for you both," he said with a smile as he walked out of the room, the back door closing quietly behind him a moment later.

"So. I'm your mate?" Bella asked Jasper, still smiling.

He laughed and took her hand again. "Didn't you just say you knew?"

"Yeah," she shrugged. "But there was a tiny bit of doubt that maybe I had it wrong."

"No, you're not wrong," Jasper assured her. "How do you feel about it?"

Bella looked at him curiously. "Do you mean am I upset by it?" she asked. At Jasper's nod, she was quick to reassure him. "No, not at all. If I was destined to be mated to a vampire, I certainly couldn't have asked for a better one to be stuck with for eternity."

Jasper gave her a brilliant smile. "And if I was destined to be mated to a human, I couldn't have asked for any better human."

"You're only going to be mated to a human for a few more months," she laughed. "After that you'll be mated to a vampire."

"I couldn't have asked for a better one of those either," he smiled.

Bella used his shoulder to push herself up so she was sitting and then patted the cushion beside her. "If I keep laying down I'm going to fall back to sleep. Come sit with me."

"If you're tired, we can talk later," he offered.

She waved him off and patted the couch again. "No, I'd rather be a little tired now and get a solid night's sleep tonight. Besides, I have questions."

Jasper nodded as he moved to sit beside her. His face split into another wide grin when she snuggled herself against his side. "I do remember recently promising to answer any questions you have honestly, so ask away," he said as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and tucked her blanket around her.

"I guess the first and biggest question I have is why you never told me," she said honestly and then hesitated for a moment. "Does it have anything to do with the whole tu cante whatever thing?"

"Ill suo cantante," Jasper smiled. "His singer. How do you know that phrase?"

"When we were in Volterra, Aro used it. Or something similar, at least. He was talking about how my blood calls - or sings, I guess - to Edward."

"Yes, that is what kept me from telling you. But before I explain, I want you to know that Edward did love you. He may not have loved you in a way I considered all that healthy, but he did love you."

"Oh boy. Okay," she nodded. "So this isn't going to be a pleasant tale, huh?"

"No, not entirely," he answered honestly. "I'll start by telling you that Alice got her first vision of you long before the family decided to move to Washington. Years before. I'm not sure what triggered the vision, but she saw me with my mate, who was also a vampire. The vision was brief, just the two of us together, smiling at each other and holding hands. That was all she had. No name, no time frame, no details."

"Really? She saw me before the family met me? And she saw me as a vampire before ever seeing me as a human?" Bella asked incredulously.

"She did," Jasper nodded. "But like I said, there was virtually no information to give us any idea of who you were or how to find you. It was once the family made the decision to move to Forks that she saw you for the first time as a human… and she saw that you were Edward's singer. All of her initial visions of you were…" he trailed off, not sure how to properly explain things without traumatizing the girl.

"They were of me dying. Of Edward killing me, right?" she asked quietly.

He tightened his arm around her shoulder and pulled her a little closer. "Yes. For a time, there were only two futures she could find where you survived. One was to kill Edward before he came across your scent for the first time, the other was to immediately change you when you arrived in Forks. Neither of those, obviously, was ideal."

Bella snorted. "No, definitely not ideal."

"Both options ripped the family apart, and the second option ripped your family apart as well. So Alice tried another possible future as a last resort. One where you met Edward before me. She'd seen enough vague glimpses to get an idea that Edward was… curious about you, I guess is the best way to put it. Knowing what we know now, the fact that your mind was silent was what caught his attention but we didn't know that back then. Anyway, Alice made a decision that we wouldn't move here at the same time as the rest of the family, and that was when the path forward became more clear. Up until this point, she was doing this on her own. I was still unaware and she was afraid to tell me because we couldn't risk a slip in our thoughts. So while the family was making their arrangements in the year before the move, Alice asked if I'd like to go spend some time in Texas with Peter and Charlotte."

"And that's when she shared everything with you? Once you were away from the Cullens? From Edward?" Bella asked.

"Yes. As soon as there was enough distance between us she told me everything. It took quite a bit of work to convince me not to jump out of the car and run to find you," he laughed. "We actually almost went to Phoenix just so I could see you, but I knew if I did, I'd never be able to just walk away. And you having a couple vampires watching over you while you didn't know it, that just felt…"

"Stalkery?" Bella laughed.

"Exactly," Jasper nodded with a smile, glad that she understood. "So we ended up going straight to Texas and we spent the next year with Peter and Charlotte trying to untangle the future."

"Oh! That's why Peter gets his 'random knowledge bombs' about me? Because I'm your mate? I was curious about that. I knew most of what he learned had to do with you, Charlotte, and himself so it never made much sense that he would get knowledge about me."

"Yes, that's why. The two of them were a huge help through all this. There was more than one occasion during that year where I would feel like the road we were on was the wrong one, that we were making mistakes, but they just kept reminding me that we'd all put our faith in Alice's visions for decades and we couldn't start doubting now. Peter also pushed me to spar with him when he could see my frustration growing. It helped release some of that worry and fear and anger."

"He's a good friend," Bella said softly. "They all are."

Jasper smiled. "Truly the best."

"So how did you know when it was safe to come join the family?" she asked curiously.

Jasper sighed as he ran a hand over his face. "The only way to keep you safe was to wait until you were already in love with Edward."

The two sat in silence for a few minutes as Bella thought through everything she'd learned. She'd had a dream the night before about Volterra, which is what made her remember the detail from Aro. After spending so much time before her bath thinking about all the ways Jasper protected her, her half-asleep mind had made the leap that all of those things were connected - Jasper being her mate, her being Edward's singer, and Jasper always keeping her safe.

None of what Jasper had shared so far was all that surprising. And there was nothing too terrifying yet, so she was a little bit nervous to hear what was to come. She also felt a pang of sympathy for the man beside her, who'd had to watch his soulmate love someone else. For vampires, mates were everything. She couldn't imagine how difficult that must have been for him.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly.

"For what?" Jasper asked, head tipped to the side. He could feel the sympathy and sadness in her but wasn't sure what the cause was.

"Everything I know about what it means to have a mate is from observing the two mated couples in your family. I used to watch them to try and understand what being a mate meant. Knowing Carlisle and Esme, and Rosalie and Emmett, and how they love each other… I can't imagine how hard it would be to see your soulmate in love with someone else."

Jasper couldn't help smiling. "Thank you for that, and you're right, it was the very opposite of easy. But for the most part, you were happy. And putting aside the issue of your safety for a moment, I'd never want to be the reason you lose someone or something you love. Did I wish you could love me that way at the time? Absolutely. But as difficult as it sometimes was, it was just as equally wonderful. I was in your life, you were never anything but open and honest and friendly with me. You pushed back against him when he wanted you to stay away from us. You were willing to fight to have us all in your life, to have me in your life, however that looked at the time. How could that be anything less than wonderful?"

Bella sniffled back a few tears and then shoved his shoulder. "You're an asshole for making me cry, Whitlock."

Jasper's laugh rang out, sounding nothing but beautiful to Bella. "I'm sorry. You can have one of the others kick my ass if you want."

"Like any of them could," she huffed.

"True," he smiled. "Just tell them to gang up on me. And maybe have Esme lead the charge."

"I'll have to remember that," Bella laughed. "Do the others know, by the way? About you and I?" she asked after a minute.

"Rosalie and Esme both have either guessed or strongly suspect we're mates. I haven't spoken to either of them about it for the same reason I didn't want to confirm it to Jacob. It was your business before it was anyone else's. The only person I've talked about it with - aside from Alice, Peter, and Charlotte - is Carlisle. He asked me directly last night and, as my coven leader, I didn't feel comfortable lying to him. I respect him enough that I felt like he deserved the truth. Especially after he took such a hard stance about your safety with Edward. Carlisle loves you. They all do."

"I love them, too," Bella smiled.

"Are you angry with me?" Jasper asked quietly after a few minutes of comfortable silence.

Bella pulled back to look up at him with a smile. "You're the empath. You tell me."

Jasper rolled his eyes and laughed. "No, you're not angry. How about I phrase it differently? I'm surprised you're not angry with me for not telling you. Better?"

"Better," Bella smiled and thought about how to best phrase her answer. "Honestly, I think it all boils down to faith and trust. Over the course of our friendship I've always appreciated that you respected me enough to let me keep my secrets. If your gift gave you the insight that something was bothering me, but I told you I was fine, you trusted me enough to let it go. You never pushed or prodded or pried. I always appreciated that about both you and Alice. When I was trying to decide if I could give Edward another chance, I did a lot of thinking about what love meant to me, what it meant to truly love someone. And that was one of my considerations. Trusting someone enough, having enough faith in that person, to let them keep their secrets. You've never - not one time in the course of our friendship - lied to me or refused to discuss something. So I knew that if I was right, if we were mates, that there had to be a good reason you didn't tell me. I have faith in you, Jasper, and I trust you enough to know that," she answered honestly.

And boy was his answering smile the most brilliant she'd ever seen.

She laughed as she snuggled back against his side, resting her head on his shoulder. "I'm glad it's you, Jasper Whitlock."

Jasper smiled and dropped a kiss on the top of her head. "And I'm glad it's you, Isabella Swan."

After Bella dozed on Jasper's shoulder for a little while - with only the tiniest bit of sleep-drool - the two decided to hold off on any more talk about the past. Bella had a pretty good idea about what was still left unsaid and she wasn't sure she was ready to hear about all the visions Alice had about her death at Edward Cullen's hand when the boy discovered Bella was fated to spend eternity with someone else.

She honestly wasn't sure she'd ever want to know. She'd thought just the night before that she wasn't going to spend a single minute questioning her past. For now, she was content with what Jasper had already shared.

They also decided that they'd keep this between themselves for the time being. Bella knew most of the family had already guessed she and Jasper were soulmates, but they both wanted a little bit of time to settle into their new dynamic with what little privacy they could. Neither of them would lie outright if asked, but they weren't going to offer the information.

Bella called Alice to see if they could get together at the Cullen's instead of at her house. While keeping in touch with Alice and Jasper over the last seven months had been great, she'd missed the rest of her vampire family.

It was mid-afternoon when the two headed to the Cullen's, each in their own truck so Bella could drive herself home later. When Bella parked in front of the house, Emmett was already outside waiting for her. He came bounding down the steps with a wide dimpled grin and pulled her door open a little too hard, making the hinge groan.

"Careful," Bella laughed. "I can't afford to replace the door."

"Sorry," he said sheepishly, but just as quickly his smile was back. "You know, if you wanted Rose to give this beast a facelift, she could."

"No way, I don't need…" she trailed off after a second as she slowly climbed down, trying not to wince. "Actually, do you think she'd be willing to give it a checkup? Not for cosmetic reasons but—"

"Yes!" Rosalie shouted from behind her.

Bella spun around, hand to her chest. "Still human here! Maybe make some noise when you're coming up behind me?"

"Sorry," Rose smiled. "But yes, I'll look the truck over. You don't want me to work on the outside? It wouldn't take much to fix it up - some rust remover, a good sanding, fresh coat of paint?"

"I honestly don't mind what it looks like," Bella shrugged. "But it's making some weird noises and… well, it was a gift from my dad, you know?"

Rose gave her a soft smile and nodded. With how much family meant to Rosalie, she could understand Bella wanting it to last as long as possible. The truck itself, or how it looked, wasn't the important part. It was that her dad cared enough to buy it for her.

"I can start today if you'd like. Want me to pull it into the garage?"

"You really don't mind?" Bella asked, a little surprised.

"Of course not," Rosalie assured her. "You're family now, remember? We look out for each other."

"Thank you, Rose. That would be great. I know I can't help, but can I watch? Maybe you could teach me some stuff?"

Rosalie's smile grew. "Really? You'd want to learn?"

"Why wouldn't I?" Bella asked, confused by how pleased Rose seemed to be.

"No one else in the family was ever interested before. Jasper knows a bit and we work together sometimes but that's really it," Rose shrugged.

"Well maybe this can be our thing. I won't lie, Jake did a lot of the work on the bikes, but I do know the names of most of the tools and I'd love to learn more."

"Our thing?" Rose laughed but nodded. "Yeah, I'd like that."

"Hey, no fair!" Emmett whined. "I got to her first."

Rose and Bella both laughed. "You can have your turn next, honey, I promise." Rose leaned in and kissed him on the cheek and then the two girls hopped in the truck to drive it into the garage.

"Tough break, Em," Jasper laughed.

"Shut up," he grumbled. "I'll just have to come up with something better that can be my thing with Bella."

"Em, you don't need to have a 'thing' for Bella to want to spend time with you. She loves you," Jasper said gently.

"Whatever," Emmett huffed. "I'll think of something."

"Come on, I'll let you beat me at a video game," Jasper laughed.

Not one to stay down for long, Emmett's dimpled grin was back as he bounded up the stairs into the house. "You're on! Prepare to lose, asshole!"

Jasper rolled his eyes but followed his brother with a smile. Alice came down and joined them an hour later, leaning over to snatch the controller from Jasper to take over for his player.

"What's up?" he asked. "Don't want to join the girls in the garage?"

"Please," Alice laughed and rolled her eyes. "Rose forbid me from 'helping' after I knocked over that can of paint on Edward's car in '77."

"You mean that time you kept insisting was an accident that we all know wasn't an accident?"

"Hey!" Alice tried to look indignant but it didn't really work through her laughter. She just shrugged. "He was annoying me."

Emmett paused the game to smile at her. "He annoyed all of us. So are you finally admitting you did it on purpose?"

Alice mimed zipping her lips shut and tossing the key behind her, her eyes twinkling.

"I don't think you'll hear any criticism at this point from the family," Jasper laughed. "They're all probably wishing they'd done the same thing, just more recently."

Emmett laughed as he leaned over to tousle Alice's hair. "Any other little 'accidents' you want to confess, Ali? Now's the time, what with the whole family furious with him," Emmett smirked. Alice just shrugged with one of her sunny smiles. "No grand plans you've thwarted Edward on?"

"Grand plans?" Alice laughed. "Tipping a can of paint on his car is hardly thwarting a grand plan. His plan to drive maybe…" Alice trailed off seeing that Emmett's face was surprisingly serious. "What— Oh, goddamn it!"

Jasper looked between the two, not sure what was happening. Emmett was feeling a mixture of worry, amusement, and happiness, while Alice was mostly just exasperated.

"No?" Emmett asked. "Nothing to do with his one true love?"

"Edward's one true love?" Jasper asked, trying to work out what they were talking about. Or weren't talking about, considering they were just staring at each other, neither of them saying anything.

Alice closed her eyes for a second and took a deep breath. She looked from Emmett to Jasper and back a few times before she let out a heavy sigh. "I wasn't thwarting anything, Emmett. I didn't interfere in his relationship when he was with Bella. I neither encouraged nor discouraged him at any point."

"Will one of you please tell me what the hell you're talking about?" Jasper groaned.

"When were you going to tell us Bella's your mate?" Emmett asked him in his typical direct manner.

Jasper's eyes went wide. "What?"

Emmett tossed the controller on the floor, game forgotten. "She is, though, right?"

"I… uh…" Jasper stuttered. Honestly, he shouldn't have been surprised. Emmett was happiness personified and just rolled with all of life's punches, which usually led people to think he wasn't all that bright. But Emmett was just as smart as any other vampire, and his easy-going personality hid a deeply observant mind. There wasn't a whole lot Emmett missed, he just tended to keep his observations to himself - unlike Edward or Rosalie. That said, if Rosalie discovered a true secret, or someone confided in her? She'd do anything she could to make sure she never betrayed that person's trust. Emmett's mouth, on the other hand, sometimes engaged before his brain. Jasper sighed and shook his head. "Well shit. That's the whole fucking family now."

"Everyone knows?" Emmett asked incredulously.

Alice laughed and poked Jasper in the side. "Hey, at least this didn't happen before yesterday. Edward's gone and our thoughts are shielded now."

"So I'm right?" Emmett grinned at Jasper. "She's your one true love?"

Jasper sighed. "She is. But Em, this is all new for her and the only person I've confirmed it to is Carlisle. Esme and Rose figured it out but I haven't actually talked to either of them about it."

"When did you figure it out?" Alice asked.

"I wasn't sure until the family meeting, but I've wondered for a while. Like almost since you guys first came back from Texas," Emmett shrugged.

"What?" Alice and Jasper chorused together. "Seriously? Since then?" Alice added. "How did Edward never hear that?"

"Hey, I'm not just a pretty face," Emmett snarked, echoing Bella's words from when Edward discovered she was shielding their thoughts. "I can keep a secret."

When Alice and Jasper both looked at him skeptically, he huffed. "I can. I bet neither of you know that…" he trailed off when Jasper raised an eyebrow. "Whatever, doesn't count. I stopped in time," Emmett waved him off.

"What made you think that though? About Bella and Jasper," Alice asked him.

"I mean, it was never one big thing that screamed 'Bella's with the wrong Cullen' but… I don't know, it was hundreds of small whispers that maybe Bella was with the wrong Cullen," he shrugged.

"Huh. And you never brought it up to Rose?" Jasper asked.

"Nah, I just buried it at the very back of my mind. I was never sure, you know? And I didn't want Edward plucking a half-formed curiosity out of my head."

Alice hopped into his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. "You're a good brother, Em."

"Yeah, I know," he smirked, hugging her back. When he decided she'd hung on long enough, he pulled her off him and threw her at Jasper, who just barely uncrossed his arms in time to catch her with an 'oomph' as she laughed. "So what now, Jas?"

"What now? Now I woo my girl. She knows the… What?" he asked when they both started laughing.

"Woo her? I don't think much wooing is gonna be necessary. The girl already adores you. Also, who says woo?"

"I do, asshole," Jasper snapped. It wasn't all that effective, though, because he started laughing.

"What's so funny?" Esme asked as she walked in the room. "And who are we wooing? Can I help?"

That just made Emmett laugh even harder, though Jasper wasn't real sure why.

"Who's wooing?" Rosalie asked as she walked in the room with Bella.

"Jesus, you're all crazy," Jasper sighed and hauled himself up from the couch - dumping Alice on the floor in the process - to walk over to Bella. "Wanna get out of here for a while?"

"Sure," she smiled at him and then looked at the other vamps in the room, all looking at them with overly enthusiastic smiles. "Um, are they alright?" she whispered.

"No, they're certainly not alright. Their brains are obviously rotting from the animal blood. I knew it was too good to be true," he muttered under his breath.

"Too good?" Bella laughed. "I thought it tasted awful."

Jasper smiled. "It does. But the emotional advantage was great," he shrugged and gave a dramatic sigh. "Back to the drawing board."

Bella reached for Jasper's hand with a laugh and the two headed for the door. As the others broke into catcalls and loud whistles behind them, Jasper rolled his eyes.

"I hope you're ready for what it really means to be a member of the Cullen family," he laughed.

Bella looked up at him with a smile as she nodded. "I can't wait."

A/N: Thank you for reading and thanks to everyone who has taken an extra moment or two to leave feedback. I love hearing what y'all think!

Take care, M. x