Epilogue


Just as Alice foresaw, the sky above the Cullens, Whitlocks, and Whitlock-Swans was filled with nothing but sunshine. The same could not, however, be said about the boy who had darkened their skies so many times in the past.

On first leaving Forks, Edward was slightly beaten down under the weight of his many, many injustices against the family who had done nothing but love him.

That, of course, didn't last.

As the telepath stewed on the journey to Italy, he bounced back and forth between shame, anger, and indignation. By the time he and Demetri reached the castle, the arrogant boy settled on anger and indignation. Not only had his former family thwarted his plan to get his singer's blood, but that demon who pretended to be his brother for so long had permanently disfigured him.

Add in that all of the Cullens had turned their back on him and Edward was a very unhappy boy.

Like any good narcissist, he quickly turned the tale around to paint himself in the best light, and those he'd repeatedly betrayed in the worst. He would tell anyone who asked that the Cullens had disapproved of his relationship with a human girl and so the family disowned him.

Unfortunately for Edward, who was never anything but one hundred percent convinced he was always the smartest in a room, he hadn't accounted for the fact that most of the guard were far more intelligent than he was. You don't become part of what is essentially a highly elite police force of a species' government by being stupid.

It didn't help matters for Edward that his gift seemed to be malfunctioning. He couldn't hear the thoughts around him so he had no way of knowing that nearly everyone he met found him disagreeable, nor could he use them as clues as to how better manipulate things to work in his favor.

Because his mate was one of the Elite Guard, the telepath wasn't held in one of the cells beneath the castle. Instead, he was afforded the luxury of being confined to his mate's suite, which was, in fact, quite luxurious. The only time he was permitted to leave was for meals. The kings had offered to provide Edward with the blood of animals so he could continue with his diet, but ever the resentment-laden, entitled boy he was, he figured if he was 'in jail' he might as well eat whatever way he wanted.

And so, after being in Volterra for a few days, the young telepath found himself in the 'meal' room with the other vampires who made the castle their home. It was only after he was rebuffed by more than one person he saw as beneath him that he pulled his mate aside.

"Why can't I hear them?" he demanded.

Demetri looked at him for a long moment. "Were you not listening when we were flying here?"

Of course he wasn't. He was too busy feeling sorry for himself and raging against everyone and anyone who had dared make him feel anything less than the important person he knew himself to be. "Excuse me for being distracted," Edward snapped. "I'd just been disowned by my family."

The guards standing near them all clenched their fists against their anger at hearing a man they considered a brother being spoken to in such a way by the boy who was supposedly the other half of his soul.

"Disowned, Edward? Really?" Demetri asked with a frown. "You weren't disowned so much as you did everything you possibly could to burn your bridges and sink your ships with them."

Edward sucked in a sharp breath and glared at his mate. "How dare you speak to me that way. You only know what those awful Cullens wanted you to, not the truth of how they really treated me. They all knew I was better than them so they beat me down at every opportunity."

Demetri stared at him with his mouth open in shock, not even sure how to respond to that. Fortunately he didn't have to.

A scoff, a huff, and a deep chuckle sounded from behind them first.

Demetri slowly turned while Edward quickly spun around, disconcerted that others could sneak up on him so easily now that he couldn't hear their thoughts. Somewhere in the back of his mind he heard his former 'brother' telling him he relied on his gift too much, but Edward quickly dismissed that thought. He never wanted to think about Jasper Whitlock again.

Marcus, Caius, and Aro were looking at the telepath with thinly-veiled disgust. Like really thinly-veiled. So thin it didn't really count as a veil, honestly. Even a stupid boy like Edward couldn't miss it on their faces.

"Those awful Cullens?" Marcus repeated. Marcus had spent the best two days in the past three thousand or so years with those 'awful Cullens' so he wasn't pleased at the way their former son and brother was speaking of them. "Disowned you?"

"Yes," Edward answered superciliously with a nod. "They disapproved of my relationship with Bella."

Caius snorted a laugh at that, which he quickly covered with a sneer. "Do you mean Isabella Whitlock-Swan? The mate and wife of Jasper Whitlock? I have to tell you, Edward, that all three of us attended those nuptials. Those 'awful Cullens' didn't seem so disapproving when celebrating their union."

Edward had to bite back a growl. "That heathen stole her from me."

"Heathen?" Chelsea muttered under her breath.

"Which is it, young Edward?" Marcus sighed. "They either didn't approve of a relationship between a vampire in their family and a human, or Jasper Whitlock-Swan stole her from you. Which, of course, would imply that the Cullens did not frown on a vampire-human relative."

"He took her name?" Edward asked through gritted teeth. Not growling was getting harder by the minute.

"Yes," Aro smiled. "He told us he belongs to her just as she belongs to him."

Most of the guard practically swooned as a collective 'aww' erupted from the crowd. "How sweet," Heidi sighed.

"Sweet? That's—" Edward was cut off by Marcus, who ignored the telepath and turned to the group.

"You all know of my gift, of course. I will just confirm to all of you here and now, so there is no confusion later, that yes, Isabella and Jasper Whitlock-Swan are soulmates."

The guard smiled, pleased that the empath they'd heard of through the decades had found his other half.

"And the rest?" Felix asked. "Were the Cullens cruel to the young one here? Did they disown him?"

Edward gritted his teeth at everyone pointing out how young he was. It was difficult for him to show he was superior to them when they kept pointing out he was a child.

"No," Demetri answered before any of the kings could. Edward may be his mate but he would play no role in lying to his family. The tracker didn't want there to be any doubt that he would ever be anything less than honest with them. They all had to trust each other completely in order to do their jobs properly. "I spent time with all of the Cullens, the Whitlocks, and the human. They were nothing but warm and welcoming to us all and attempted to interact with Edward respectfully. Major Whitlock, excuse me, Jasper Whitlock-Swan, went above and beyond in attempting to show Edward the error of his ways, especially given that Jasper's former brother here had just showed up with the intention of killing his soulmate."

The guard all drew in sharp breaths in their shock, then turned to look at Aro. If anyone knew the truth, it was their own telepath.

"It is true," Aro nodded. "I read both Carlisle Cullen and Edward. After Edward physically harmed Isabella in a fit of temper, Carlisle asked him to take some time away until he could control himself enough to keep the human safe. He stressed that Edward was not, in fact, being disowned. He was welcome to Cullen finances and property until a time he felt it appropriate for young Edward to return home."

"So what happened to change that?" Alec asked quietly.

"I'd be willing to bet that the Cullens wouldn't have 'disowned' Edward at any point if he hadn't been so determined to kill his brother's soulmate for her blood," Caius sneered at Edward. "They asked Edward repeatedly to stay away while Isabella was still human, which he did not do."

"They would have forgiven him just about anything," Aro added. "It may have taken some time, but I believe it was possible. Unfortunately, Edward calling us with a false claim of a crime that merited the death sentence for their friends and family severed that possibility completely."

"So it was a false claim?" Jane asked, her voice cold as she glared at the boy beside Demetri.

"Yes," Aro nodded. "Young Mr. Masen knew the family had not revealed their secret."

Demetri's family all looked at him with sadness. How had fate made this awful creature the mate of someone they loved? How awful would an eternity be with that type of person, one who would knowingly sentence their family to death?

After that day, Edward refused to leave their suite. He forced his mate to bring his meals to him, unwilling to 'suffer' the injustice of being around people who considered him so lowly.

Demetri simply nodded and accommodated him. He had been waiting for such a very, very long time for his mate and it was nothing like he imagined and hoped for. Had he done something terrible in his life that the other half of his soul was so twisted and dark?

What Demetri didn't know, perhaps couldn't know, was that Edward Masen wasn't born with a darkness to his soul. He was as pure and good as any other. But his arrogance and inflated sense of self-importance began to slowly shade his insides a little bit darker, a little bit darker, a little bit darker. The way he was coddled and spoiled by his parents did him no favors. By the time he was turned into a vampire, the damage was done. Being given the gift of telepathy only reinforced Edward's belief that he was supremely important. And so his soul only twisted and darkened further.

There was very little joy in Demetri's life for quite some time. Being asked to go on missions for his kings was his only respite from the misery.

About a year after Edward arrived in Volterra, his entire demeanor took a complete and sharp turn. He began smiling more, treated his mate kindly, and even began taking his meals with the others, where he attempted to 'mend fences' with his mate's family.

All were suspicious.

It was an unlikely friend that led Demetri to uncover Edward's motive. Over the course of the year since his trip to Washington, he and Rosalie Hale had struck up a friendship. He'd even spent an afternoon with her and her mate when Demetri had a mission in the States. It was a friendship he cherished and kept secret from his mate, knowing the petulant boy would demand he cut ties with her.

When Rosalie heard about the change in her former brother, warning bells went off in her mind. "Has Aro read him recently?" she asked.

"No. Because he refused to leave our suite he hasn't bothered."

"I think you should ask him to. If I know anything about the boy I called a brother, it's that when he appears the most loving, he usually has a nasty trick up his sleeve," Rosalie sighed.

Demetri let out a sigh of his own, both in sadness and frustration, and agreed that he would speak to the king.

When Edward was brought to the throne room with the Elite Guard lining the walls, he smiled. They were finally going to acknowledge how wrong they were, how horribly they'd treated him. They were probably going to ask him to join them.

The kings rose as one, and Aro glided over to the young telepath. "Edward, you seem to be in better spirits recently. Anything in particular improving your world view?"

Edward gave him his most arrogant smile. "I feel it would better serve everyone if I was afforded a place with the guard. With my gift, I could be a huge asset."

Caius looked at him skeptically. "I thought your gift wasn't working properly?" he asked, knowing full well that Jeremiah had been shielding the guard and the kings around the clock since Edward had arrived.

Edward cringed a little, but figured bluffing was the best way forward. "It works perfectly fine, thank you," he answered, ignoring the quiet laughter behind him.

"Jeremiah?" Marcus asked softly, and a silent young man in the back shook his head with a frown.

"Lying to the kings is a crime, Edward," Demetri sighed. When his mate glared at him, he shook his head. "Do you not remember me asking you if you were paying attention on the plane? On our way here when we left Washington, I told you about my brothers and sisters. Including Jeremiah. A shield. A shield, Edward. He has been shielding the guard from your gift."

Before the telepath could answer, Aro took the few steps to stand in front of the boy, and not waiting for permission, Aro picked up his hand. When Edward tried to pull away, Demetri's hand shot out to still him. Everyone in the room seemed to be collectively holding their breath as their king read the newest addition to Volterra.

When Aro dropped his hand and moved away, the disgust on his face was clear.

"Well?" Caius asked impatiently.

Aro sighed and looked at Demetri with pity in his eyes. "Bella and Jasper were quite correct about his inability to change. Edward hoped that if he showed he was 'rehabilitated' enough that we would give him a place on the Elite Guard. He planned on using his time away from Volterra to get revenge on those he sees as responsible for his current unfortunate circumstances."

"And who would that be?" Marcus asked, his face twisted into a sneer as he looked at the insufferable boy.

"Carlisle and Esme Cullen, Emmett Cullen and Rosalie Hale, Alice Cullen, Peter and Charlotte Whitlock, and those he sees as the catalyst for everything: Jasper and Isabella Whitlock-Swan," Aro answered. "He also planned to kill Bella's father. He was denied the blood of his singer and feels that her father's blood will do as a replacement."

The room went perfectly still as every vampire froze in shock. Hearing a low growl from behind him, Aro turned just in time to see Marcus fly at Edward and pin him to the wall, his hand around the boy's throat. "Jasper and Bella are friends of mine, Edward," he growled fiercely. "You will never get your spiteful, vile hands on them."

What Edward missed, terrified as he was, was a whispered conversation between Demetri and Chelsea. What he did not miss was the sudden empty feeling in his chest when his bond with his mate was severed completely. Before he could even cry out, Demetri nodded at Marcus, who quickly and efficiently tore the telepath to pieces.

As Caius walked over with a torch, Marcus glared down at him. "Enjoy hell," he snarled.

And with that, Edward Masen ceased to exist.

The guard all watched their brother closely, and let out a collective sigh of relief when they saw the first smile on Demetri's face in nearly a year.

It took a little time, but with the help of his friends, family, and Chelsea - who bound Demetri to his brothers, sisters, and kings at the tracker's request - Demetri healed and began to thrive again. Six months to the day after Edward Masen was sent to his final death, a young human woman with an adorable two-year old daughter began her employment with the Volturi. After slowly getting to know each other, the two became a couple.

A blissfully happy couple.

Then an engaged couple.

And then a married couple.

Demetri and Gianna were wed in front of a crowd of friends and family, which included Carlisle and Esme Cullen, Emmett Cullen and Rosalie Hale, Alice and Morgan Cullen, Peter and Charlotte Whitlock, and Jasper and Bella Whitlock-Swan.


Jasper and Bella walked hand in hand through the quiet streets of Volterra on a warm night under a canopy of stars. It was nearly three in the morning, so most of the human residents of the city were tucked up in their beds, and the vampires who called the city home were still celebrating at the castle.

When Bella let out a contented sigh, Jasper smiled at the woman he still considered his 'new' wife, even though they'd been married for three years.

"Happy?" he asked quietly.

"Extremely so, my sweet empathic mate who already knows the answer," she smiled, then darted away as he tickled her side. Even as a vampire, tickling could still make her laugh. "It was a nice wedding," she said as she tucked herself back against his side.

"It was," he agreed. "I personally prefer small backyard affairs, though."

"Those are my preference too," she laughed. "I hope they'll be as happy as we are. Demetri deserves that."

Jasper and Bella, along with the rest of their two families, had gotten to know the tracker initially through his unlikely friendship with Rosalie. Having been engaged to a human monster, she felt a kinship of sorts with Demetri, who was tied to a supernatural one, and she was determined to help him find some happiness in this life. After Edward's death, no one outside of the castle walls had been more thrilled by his and Gianna's relationship than Rose.

Bella had been a little later than the rest of the family in finding a friend in Demetri, as she was just at the tail end of her newborn year when Edward was killed.

Jasper had repeatedly assured his mate that she was adjusting much quicker than a typical newborn, but she hadn't really believed him. Bella had felt nothing but wildly out of control for her first four months in her new life. It wasn't until about her fifth month of being a vampire when they had their first visitors that she had a conversation that helped her remember that her soulmate had never lied to her and she could always trust his word.

As the couple found a quiet courtyard and sat cuddled together, they both got lost in their memories of the previous three years.


When Bella woke up to her new life, she recognized her husband right away. She knew exactly who he was. That, however, was about the only thing she understood. Just the amount of noise that assaulted her ears made her want to cower in the corner.

She'd wished more than once while still human that she could hear as well as her vamp family, but this was not what she bargained for. She was completely unprepared.

When she told her soulmate that something was wrong with her ears, he'd given her the barest of smiles. "I know it's overwhelming, but you'll adjust. It just takes a little time."

Bella looked at him skeptically. And then immediately cringed when she realized her eyes were broken, too.

Jasper slowly walked towards her, hands held out in front of him, not wanting to spook her. Bella flew to her mate and wrapped her arms around him, tucking her face in his neck. Maybe if she stayed like this for the rest of eternity she could make it.

Jasper gasped slightly but didn't pull away. He simply gritted his teeth against the pain of his mate's too-tight hold and ran his fingers through her hair, hoping it would still calm her the way it had when she was human.

"Shh, sweetheart," he whispered. "It's a lot, I know it is. But you're already doing better than most."

Bella let out something between a whine and a scoff. "That can't be true," she said, her face still pressed tight to his neck so her words were a little muffled. "You smell nice, though."

"Thank you," Jasper smiled. "So do you. And you are doing well. Most vampires wake up in a thirsty rage and attack anyone they see. You're actually holding a conversation and haven't tried to attack me once."

Bella rolled her eyes and pulled back to look at him. "Attack you?" she huffed. "I'd never…" Bella trailed off as Jasper's other words broke through all the noise in her damn head. Particularly the word 'thirsty'. "Is that why my throat feels like someone shoved one of those red-hot poker things down there?"

"It is," Jasper laughed. "Feel like giving hunting a try?"

Bella was a little afraid to walk out the door of their cozy little cabin. What chaos would the wider world bring? After debating if she could survive the rest of forever inside the room she was standing in, she acknowledged that probably wasn't so practical. "Fine," she sighed as she took his hand. "But don't leave my side please."

Jasper leaned down to kiss her forehead. "Never. Now come on. Sooner we go, sooner you'll feel better."

It was a real bummer when Bella came to find that her soulmate hadn't been exaggerating about animal blood. It really was disgusting and it really did leave you perpetually thirsty.

Two months after Bella woke up, Jasper drove to the town where they kept a postal box for deliveries. Clothing was a notorious casualty of newborns, so they'd had to order her a whole slew of new clothes. It wasn't the first time they'd done it and he never had a hesitation about leaving her alone. Even though she thought she was completely out of control, Jasper knew better. It helped that they lived in the absolute middle of nowhere and had yet to stumble on a human. And after the worry with the Volturi and her dad, Bella was more aware than most at how vital keeping the secret was.

He also wasn't her jailer. Bella had the same freedom to come and go as Jasper did. She just typically preferred to come and go with him. She'd pretty much been glued to his side since she woke up, a fact that thrilled Jasper right down to his toes.

Going to town, however, was still a solo mission for him. Bella was nowhere near ready to be around humans.

When he returned home, he found that his soulmate had apparently had a bit of a tantrum and followed a trail of destruction through the forest that surrounded their cabin. Trees were upended, some with holes punched through their trunks, rocks and boulders were crumpled to dust, and leaves and pine needles were scattered all over the place. It was a really good thing they lived well into the wilderness.

When he found her, Bella was laying underneath a tall pile she'd made of leaves and dirt.

Jasper smiled and tunneled his way in, then pulled his sullen soulmate into his arms. They stayed in silence for a while until Jasper figured he probably oughta find out what happened to set her off this time. Bella was certainly more controlled than the average baby vamp, but she was still a slave to the very typical cycle of mood swings.

He maneuvered himself so he could cradle Bella in his arms, then scootched his way out of the pile.

"Wanna talk here or do you wanna go home?" he asked softly as he rubbed her back.

"Mnmngdh mnfhksmnh."

"You're gonna have to untuck your face, sweetheart," he laughed. "I may have good hearing but I can't make out words you're not actually pronouncing."

Jasper felt her lips tip up in a smile where they were pressed against his skin. With a deep, heavy, very dramatic sigh, Bella pulled her face away from his neck. "Hi," she smiled at him.

Entirely unable to resist his mate's adorableness, Jasper leaned in and kissed her. "Hi," he murmured against her lips. He gave her one, two, three more quick pecks before pulling back to look in her eyes. "What's got you in a tizzy?"

"I'm not in a tizzy, I…" Bella trailed off when Jasper turned her head to look at her wake of destruction. "Alright, maybe a tiny tizzy," she laughed. "Sorry about that."

Jasper shrugged. "You didn't do any damage to our home. You can destroy the whole forest if it makes you feel better as far as I'm concerned."

"That's not a very ecologically sustainable viewpoint, Jas," she frowned.

Jasper raised an eyebrow. "Still wanna insist you're a typical newborn? At two months old I couldn't have strung those words into a coherent sentence."

Bella rolled her eyes while trying to hide her smile. "I don't think ecological sustainability was a thing back in the old, old, old days of your youth," she snarked, squealing when he tickled her side. With a smile and another sigh, she snuggled closer to the man that was her only comfort in this strange new world. "I'm so sick and tired of being so damn thirsty all the time. My throat hurts and it's making me grumpy. I was always short-tempered when I was sick as a human."

Jasper smiled as he gently ran his fingers through her hair. "I know, sweetheart. It gets better with time," he said quietly.

"How much time?" she whined, pretending they hadn't had this same exact conversation three-hundred and forty-six times before.

"Enough that you aren't going to like my answer this time any more than you have the last three-hundred or so times," he laughed, then kissed her forehead. "If you wanna try humans, sweetheart, you know you can. I'll never judge you and I'll never think any less of you."

They'd had this conversation more than a few times over the last two months, too. Bella knew human blood would ease her throat a great deal and she often debated switching diets, even temporarily, but so far she'd kept to animals.

"I know," she nodded. "And I do think about it, but any time I think maybe I want to try humans, all I see is my dad's face, or Jake's, or Angela's."

Jasper's nose scrunched up a little. "You won't want to eat Jacob. Now that you're one of us and can smell him with this nose? Definitely not."

"You never told me he smelled bad," Bella said as she looked at her mate's handsome face.

"He was your best friend when I met him. You really think I'd tell you your best friend smelled awful?" he smiled. "And then after I got to know him and he became my friend as well as yours, it was easier not to notice because I cared about him," he shrugged.

Bella smiled at her mate. Even in this weird new body and weird new life she didn't entirely understand, her soulmate was the one thing that felt solid. While she got angry, she was never angry at him. When she raged, she never raged at him. When she whined or complained, it was never… Okay, yeah, those were at him. But never because of him.

"Have I told you I love you?" she asked with smile.

"Not for like four and a half hours, no," he huffed playfully. "Which might as well be forever."

Bella laughed as she hopped to her feet. "Well I do. I love you oh so very much, my sweet empathic mate. Let's go home so I can show you."

Jasper tore out of that forest so quick that his feet barely touched the ground.


Bella was pacing back and forth in their living room. Unfortunately their living room was really small so she pretty much just felt like she was walking in a very small circle. She was five months old and finally felt like she'd found at least a few of her pre-vamp manners, so she had decided she was ready for visitors. But not a lot. The thought of a bunch of people crowding her made her feel a little edgy, so they'd settled on just two.

"We can call and tell them you aren't ready, sweetheart," Jasper offered calmly from his position on the couch, where he was watching his anxious mate wear scuff marks in the floor with her frantic pacing. She still hadn't quite mastered appropriate vamp speed.

Bella shrugged and shook her head, then nodded, then shrugged again.

Jasper laughed and walked over to pull her in a hug. "It's gonna be fine. And if it's not, that's okay too. No one expects you to be anything but yourself. And if at any point when they're here you decide you've had enough, just say the word and they'll be on their way. This isn't their first newborn rodeo, sweetheart," he assured her. "But how about we wait for them on the porch. Being in the fresh air will help."

Bella nodded and let Jasper lead her outside, where he sat on their porch swing and pulled her down beside him. Before she even had time to curl into his side, she heard a car approaching and her nerves shot straight through the roof.

"Think you could, uh…" Bella trailed off when she felt the soothing comfort of Jasper's love and reassurance wrap around her. She took a deep breath and looked at her mate with a smile. "Thanks. I always forget I can ask for that whenever I want," she laughed as her anxiety disappeared.

Jasper smiled and kissed her forehead. He almost never changed her emotions without permission. Once when she was in a pique of newborn rage and tried to knock a wall of their cabin down he'd dropped her on the spot with so much lethargy that when she came to her senses it felt like she'd been asleep. But considering she'd been about to demolish their home, she hadn't been upset about it. She knew Jasper respected her autonomy enough that he wouldn't manipulate her mood unnecessarily, so she'd just hugged him and thanked him for having such a useful gift.

If only she could remember it when her anxiety made her skin feel a little too tight and thinking clearly a little too difficult.

Bella stood up when the arriving car came to a stop and as soon as their doors opened, she was off that porch and in Esme's arms in the blink of an eye.

"Bella!" Esme laughed happily as she hugged her. "It's so good to see you, darling. We've missed you."

Bella just held on a little tighter - though not too tight, she and Jasper had been working on that - and breathed in Esme's calming scent.

Carlisle joined Jasper on the porch and gave him a hug. "It's good to see you, Jasper. And look how blissful you look," Carlisle smiled as the two took a seat on the porch swing.

"I am pretty blissed out most days," Jasper laughed. "Even with the ups and downs, I've never been happier."

Carlisle patted his knee with a beaming smile. "I'm so happy for you. For both of you," he added as he looked at Bella wrapped around his wife, who was gently stroking her hair and whispering softly to her.

Bella nodded against her shoulder and then pulled back enough to look at Carlisle. Seeing his face, she realized her nerves were entirely gone so she calmly walked up to give him a hug, too. Carlisle and Esme were exactly the right choice for their first guests.

She plopped herself down on her husband's lap, a little harder than was strictly necessary because she liked the little 'oomph' he let out whenever she did it.

"Brat," Jasper laughed as he poked her in the ribs.

As the four sat talking, it was Esme who eventually told her just what she needed to hear to fully trust that her soulmate wasn't just being nice when he told her she was doing well adjusting to her new life.

Esme had laughed and reached for her hand when Bella told them about her most recent tantrum. "Bella, do you remember when Edward crashed the cookout at your dad's house?" she asked, and Bella nodded. She hadn't lost many memories in the inferno of her change. "In addition to the obvious reason she was upset, Alice was a little annoyed because Edward upset Carlisle enough that he swore, which is a very rare occurrence since Alice and Jasper joined the family in 1950. But what you probably don't know is that the rest of us heard my husband swear on nearly a daily basis for at least a good ten months back in the mid-30s," she smiled.

Bella didn't get it right away but Jasper did and he started laughing. "Emmett's newborn year?"

"Yes," Esme laughed, while Carlisle smiled and rolled his eyes. "It was a rough year for the Cullen family. Before Rosalie and Emmett's sex life became the reason for collapsed walls and broken houses, newborn Emmett managed the same destruction all on his own."

Bella smiled as she imagined Emmett yanking whole doorframes straight out of the wall when he went to open or close one and forgot to moderate his strength.

"There were broken houses, slips, moves, you name it," Carlisle laughed. "When a newborn of Emmett's size and strength goes through those wild mood swings there's a lot of damage. And yes, a lot of swearing. Your home is still standing, Bella, so you're already well ahead of the game," he assured her.

As Bella listened to Carlisle and Esme share stories about everyone's early years, including their own, Bella felt something deep inside her slip into place and give a sigh of relief. She could do this. She was already doing this. And it would only get easier from there.


Jasper and Bella had, of course, been keeping in touch with their friends and family since they'd arrived in Canada, both over the phone and through video calls on their computer, so they knew all about Edward's behavior in Italy and the misery he was causing his mate. It was just another reason the Cullens, Whitlocks, and Whitlock-Swans found the arrogant telepath to be a rather vile scourge on the planet.

When Rosalie called right around Bella's year mark to tell them Edward had been permanently silenced, they were both relieved and heartbroken for Demetri. When she told them what Edward had been planning to do to all their loved ones if he was allowed to leave Volterra, and that it was the tracker himself who asked Chelsea to cut his ties with Edward so Marcus could end him, they felt nothing but profound gratitude for the man.

So when she explained that she wanted to go to Volterra to visit her friend, Jasper and Bella had immediately understood, and when Rosalie had hesitantly broached the possibility of Jasper accompanying her, they'd immediately agreed. There wasn't the slightest hesitation in either of them. They understood Rosalie's desire to have the person she felt could most effectively protect her by her side in a rather scary environment.

It said a lot about Emmett's character that he didn't have a single protest or feel in any way put out by that.

With a sigh of relief, Rosalie proposed a spouse swap. Emmett could come hang out at the cabin with Bella, while Jasper came to Italy with Rose. They'd immediately agreed to that, too. They hadn't seen anyone but Carlisle and Esme since Bella's change and she was finally beginning to feel ready to open that door.

Jasper did his best to prepare Bella for their separation by reminding her that her chest would probably hurt a bit because of how far apart they'd be. He wouldn't be gone more than a few days so it wouldn't be unbearable pain, but she'd definitely feel it. He had offered to bring her along but Bella didn't feel at all confident about being around humans for any extended length of time, and the thought of walking into a castle filled with dozens of unknown vampires made her skin crawl a little.

Jasper promised to keep his phone handy at all times so she could call every hour if she wanted to, and he wore her favorite soft sweater of his for a few days so that it would really hold his scent while he was gone, which would ease her jangled nerves a bit.

It was only a few days later that Rosalie and Emmett arrived at the cabin. When Bella had seen just how fucking huge Emmett was in person, rather than on her computer screen, she got a little skittish. But as soon as he shot her that dimpled grin she ran straight into his arms for a hug.

The four of them spent an evening playing an epic game of boys versus girls vampire tag in the forest - which the girls won, obviously - and then with a last hug and kiss for their mates, Jasper and Rosalie headed out the next morning.

As they walked through Volterra, Rosalie asked Jasper if he could help keep her anxiety to a minimum and he couldn't help laughing. "I feel like a walking, talking valium lately," he smiled, explaining that Bella had finally started asking for his help to keep calm ever since Carlisle and Esme's first visit.

"Handsome, deadly, and a helpful pharmaceutical drug?" Rose laughed. "You're quite the killer combo, brother."

"Don't forget I can give my mate an orgasm without even touching her. I'm a man of many talents, Rose," he laughed.

Rosalie shoved his shoulder as she laughed and shook her head. Jasper smiled to himself. Mission accomplished. He'd calmed her down without even using his gift.

Walking into the castle was a little overwhelming for her, but Jasper just took her hand and held it as they were accompanied to the throne room by a young man named Jeremiah, who Jasper remembered was the Volturi's new shield. Jasper thought about Bella walking these halls as a human and it made him want to kill Edward Masen all over again. But knowing he needed to focus, he shoved those thoughts from his mind.

As Jasper and Rosalie were ushered through a set of double doors, he got a huge surprise.

"Jas!" an excited pixie shouted as she flew at him.

Jasper caught Alice with an 'oomph' and hugged her tight for a few long moments. They had both understood Bella's need for space after she woke up but the last year had been the longest Alice and Jasper had been apart since 1948.

"I missed you, Ali," he whispered, and she held him just a little bit tighter. Hearing a delicate throat clearing, they both laughed and Jasper set her on her feet. Going by Rose's emotions and the smirk on her face, this was only a surprise for Jasper. "Did y'all plan this?" he asked with a smile.

"Might have," Rose shrugged, aiming for casual indifference. The wide grin on her face was a pretty obvious tell, though.

"Thanks, Rose," he whispered and pulled her in for a hug of her own.

"My fellow Hale twins have arrived!"

Jasper and Rosalie pulled apart with a laugh to see Caius standing by his throne with a smirk.

"Brother," Rose greeted him, tossing her perfect hair over her shoulder in as haughty a manner as possible, which Caius immediately pretended to imitate, though his hair wasn't quite long enough to be as effective as Rosalie's signature move.

Jasper snorted a laugh. "Y'all are weird."

Caius laughed and Jasper could feel the surprise from the few guards in the room. He imagined hearing laughter from the usually cold and sneering king wasn't a common occurrence at the castle.

Aro and Marcus walked into the room through a small side door, followed by Morgan. Morgan came and greeted them both with hugs, telling them he and Alice had some packing to do but promised to meet them a few hours later to get caught up. After another tight hug from Alice, the two waved and said goodbye.

"Jasper, Rosalie, it's nice to see you both," Aro said with a smile as he came to shake their hands.

Marcus surprised them both by greeting them with a hug, but Marcus genuinely like both Jasper and Rosalie. He'd liked them when in Washington, and he had kept in touch with Jasper and Bella over the course of the past year. Demetri had often talked with him about how much he treasured Rosalie's friendship, which made him inclined to extend his friendship to her as well. Marcus saw the vampires who resided in the castle as his friends and family, so Rosalie being such a source of happiness for the tracker through this awful last year meant a lot to him.

"Thank you both for coming. Demetri should be in any moment. Does he know to expect you?"

Jasper let Rosalie field that, he was just the muscle.

"No," she shook her head. "I tried reaching him but he didn't answer. Do you think he'll mind that we've just shown up?" she asked nervously.

"Rose?" a quiet voice said from behind them.

Rosalie spun around to see Demetri standing by the door, eyes wide with surprise. After only a second, his face broke into a beautiful smile and he came over to hug her.

"You're not mad I just appeared on your doorstep?" she asked, still hugging her friend.

"I think the welcoming embrace should be a pretty clear answer, Rose," Jasper smiled, easily dodging the fist she aimed at his face. "I wasn't trying to be mean! I meant it," he laughed.

"Us Hales are a bloodthirsty bunch," Caius nodded.

Rosalie giggled and let go of Demetri, who surprised Jasper by hugging him also.

"Us Hales may be a bloodthirsty bunch but I'm not gonna lie, I thought y'all kinda were, too. I did not imagine the Volturi as a whole to be a real huggy bunch," he laughed when Demetri stepped back. "I've gotten four hugs since I walked in that door."

Everyone in the room laughed and Demetri shrugged with a smile. "I never had the chance to thank you for what you did last year. That was a kindness Edward didn't deserve. But you did it because you believed I did. Thank you," Demetri said sincerely.

Jasper nodded with a sad smile. "I'm sorry it didn't help. I'd really hoped he could turn things around."

Before Demetri answered, two vampires walked over. One was a man roughly Emmett's size, one a petite blond. When he felt Rosalie's nerves edge up, he let her feel his reassurance, sending her a little bit of calm with it. Both vamps were feeling mostly curious, but also grateful.

"You're Rosalie Hale?" the woman asked softly. At Rose's hesitant nod, she smiled. "My name is Chelsea. Thank you. You made such a difference to our Demetri this last year. May I give you a hug?"

Rose was shocked, but nodded her agreement, and Chelsea embraced her and quickly let her go, no doubt feeling the tension in Rosalie's body. The man stayed where he was, well able to see she was uncomfortable, simply giving her a respectful nod. "I'm Felix. I'd like to extend my gratitude to you as well. Demetri has spoken of you many times."

Jasper couldn't help smiling that Rosalie was so obviously flustered. Not to where she was frightened, because she wasn't now, but that she was on the receiving end of so much kindness when she'd expected to be nothing but intimidated and uncomfortable. The woman was at least outwardly confident in nearly every situation she encountered. Even if she was a panicked mess on the inside, she typically looked completely composed.

He wasn't smiling long because he suddenly had a vamp wrapped around his waist. "Uh…" Jasper held his hands away from Chelsea for a second, entirely unsure what to do in this situation, but Rosalie snorted a laugh beside him - which led to Demetri and Felix laughing - and he unfroze and hugged her back.

Thank the lord he was an empath and could feel that they were all amused as hell.

"Is this 'cause I called y'all a huggy bunch?" he asked, and Chelsea laughed as she let him go and stepped back to Felix's side.

"A little bit," she smiled. "But also because Dem told us what you did the day he met you. With the emotions. It was a lovely thing to do for a stranger. Thank you."

"It was the right thing to do," he shrugged.

After another few minutes of small talk, during which Rosalie and Jasper both thanked Felix for kicking Edward's ass, the group split. Rosalie and Demetri went off to talk alone, so Marcus invited Jasper to visit with him in his study.

The two talked about their lives, both the long ago past and the past year, while Jasper directed a small but steady stream of peace and contentment towards the king.

It was a pleasant few hours for both vamps and only the first of many, many, many similar visits over the centuries to come.


Jasper and Bella had a few surprises in the first decade after she joined her husband in the vamp world. Two in particular changed their lives in unexpected, but absolutely wonderful, ways.

The first came nearly right on the heels of Demetri and Gianna's wedding. The two were called by Marcus about six months later and asked if they might come for a short visit. They immediately agreed, always happy to spend time with the king they considered yet another member of their cobbled-together family.

While making their way there, the couple speculated about what Marcus might want to talk to them about, but nothing could've prepared them for what he said.

"You want my dad to become a vampire?" Bella asked after a full minute of shocked silence.

Marcus nodded. Because Gianna had a young daughter to raise, she'd ultimately decided she wanted to stay human. Demetri had understood and was perfectly happy - blissfully so - spending the span of Gianna's human life with her. But because of both the little girl and his wife's humanity, the tracker had made the decision to resign from his post on the Elite Guard. Instead, the family of three would make a home for themselves outside of the castle, though still in Volterra.

"Your father is a trustworthy, honorable man. He's spent his entire adult life, nearly thirty years, in law enforcement. And he's still young, not quite fifty-years old," Marcus answered. "With Demetri leaving us we're looking to fill his place. Wouldn't you like to have your father in your life for a long, long time to come?"

Bella hesitated and looked at her husband. He looked just as shocked as she was but he reached for her hand, and just like so many times in the past when she had to make a decision, he sent her his reassurance that he would follow her lead.

Bella couldn't deny that she'd like to never have to lose her dad. She and Jasper - along with various other members of their families - had gone for regular visits to Washington once she felt safe enough to be around a human, but she missed him when they were apart, especially knowing that every day, every minute, they were getting closer to having to say a permanent goodbye. But she honestly had no idea if this life was something he would want for himself. She found it nothing short of amazing but that was mostly due to the man at her side.

"How would that even work?" Jasper asked hesitantly. "If we tell him what we are and he chooses not to become one of us, what then? Will y'all kill him because he's a human who knows the secret?"

Marcus shook his head with a smile. "No. My brothers and I have talked long and hard about it and we've all decided to make an exception. From what Aro saw while reading him, he fully trusts your father to keep our secret. He also believes that Charlie would seriously consider joining you."

Bella nodded slowly, her thoughts a tangled mess. "Can we have a day to think it over?"

"Of course," Marcus agreed and got to his feet. "We arranged a suite for you so that you had ample time and space to make a decision. And whatever you choose is perfectly fine. We don't want you to feel that you must do this just because we're asking."

Later that night, as Jasper and Bella sat cuddled together on their balcony looking over the Italian countryside, Jasper said just the right thing to untangle Bella's thoughts.

"What was one of my guide posts from the moment you and I met?" he asked softly.

"Honesty," she answered immediately.

"And?"

"Respect," she smiled.

"And?"

"Trust," she laughed. "Having enough faith in me to let me make my own decisions."

Jasper smiled at his beautiful wife. "And what did I do when your decisions made me a little bit nervous?"

"Like cliff diving?" she smiled. "You held my hand and followed my lead."

Jasper nodded and leaned in to kiss her, then rested his forehead on hers. "We should probably give your dad the same consideration. This is his life, his decision."

And so it was.

Five months later, on the eve of his fiftieth birthday and right around Bella's four-year mark, Charlie Swan joined his daughter, son-in-law, and a good amount of his found family of choice in this strange, new, wonderful world.


Five years later, when the entire extended family was gathered at a remote house in the Montana wilderness - and there were a lot of them: Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie, Emmett, Alice, Morgan, Peter, Charlotte, Bella, Jasper, and Charlie - Bella and Jasper got another surprise of their lives.

Jacob and Angela had stayed a regular part of their lives, and the two couples often spent time together, either visiting in Washington or taking vacations around the world. Angela was now twenty-eight and Jacob twenty-six, though he still looked just the same as when Bella left Forks. Because he continued to phase, he wasn't aging.

When Jacob called Jasper and asked if he and his soulmate could come hang out with the family for a few days, the answer was an immediate and enthusiastic yes. Jacob and Angela were loved by all of them.

The next day, Bella again broke a minute of shocked silence in an awfully familiar way.

"You want to become a vamp?" she asked Angela incredulously.

Angela laughed and nodded. "With how much time we spend with you all, Jake will never stop phasing, meaning he's not going to age. Why would I want my soulmate to go through the rest of forever alone when I can stay with him? Stay with all of you?"

Jasper looked between the wolf and his imprint a few times. "What about, uh…" he trailed off, exceedingly uncomfortable for the usually calm and confident empath.

Carlisle came to his rescue as he walked into the room with a smile. "Jacob and Alice have been allowing me to conduct some experiments with venom to determine if he and Angela could safely share a long, full life."

"I suppose by 'full' you mean their rockstar sex life?" Bella asked dryly. She'd had a few too many eyefuls of her best friends over the years.

"Yes," Carlisle laughed. "Jacob remembered that he'd ingested some of Victoria's venom when he bit off her foot as a wolf. He had no ill effects, so we ran a few tests using Alice's venom just to be certain."

"So y'all can keep on with your mission to bang in every country?" Jasper smiled, then playfully glared at the two. "My wife and I will beat you, by the way. We're already three countries ahead."

"Please," Jacob scoffed. "Vatican City doesn't count. This house is bigger than the whole country."

"Then y'all lose Monaco, asshole. It's not much bigger," Jasper laughed.

"Y'all are weird," Charlotte muttered as she walked into the room, then gave them all a smirk. "Besides, me and my one and only already have you all beat."

Bella laughed. "We already ruled that you don't get to play. You've got like a squillion years on us. That's too much of a handicap to account for."

"Excuses, excuses," Charlotte sighed dramatically. "Be a sore loser if it makes you feel better. And don't call me old, little miss I'm so young and adorable."

"I am young and adorable," Bella smiled and shot her a wink, while her husband nodded his agreement with a smirk.

Eleven months later, and ten years to the day from when Bella herself became a vamp, Angela, Jacob, Bella, and Jasper were back in the house in Montana. Angela had asked Jasper to be the one who bit her, and Jasper had agreed, honored beyond belief that she'd chosen him.

"You've got your own little dynasty, huh?" Bella smiled as her soulmate came outside, leaving the freshly-bitten Angela in the hands of her own soulmate. "Peter, Charlotte, me, my dad, and now Angela. You've got Carlisle beat now."

"What can I say," Jasper shrugged with an easy smile. "I make superior vamps."

Bella reached down and grabbed a handful of snow and ice and shoved it in her husband's face, then took off running when he gave her a playful glare. When Jasper caught up with her, he scooped her up in his arms and then dropped her head-first in a snow drift.

"Not cool, Jas!" Bella sputtered as she climbed out, trying to tamp down her smile. "I have snow in my nose now!"

"Aw, I'm sorry, sweetheart," he laughed.

Bella jumped up and wrapped her arms around his neck, hanging on him like a limpet. "No you're not," she smiled. "You're lucky I love you so much, my sweet empathic soulmate."

Jasper kissed her softly. "Truly the luckiest man in the world."


Over the course of the millenniums to come, their huge, cobbled-together, slightly strange family watched together as the world changed in unimaginable ways. Some wonderful, some heartbreaking. They lost some loved ones along the way, of course, most notably their Quileute family when their wolf friends chose to stop phasing.

But what they never lost was their love for each other and their joy at having the privilege of spending eternity with those they loved with their whole hearts.

Every single day, they took a moment to thank fate for unfolding in such a way that they were never short of friends, family, love, and laughter.

And just like they promised in their wedding vows, Jasper and Isabella Whitlock-Swan walked side by side, loving and cherishing each other, for all of their days, until the end of time.


One Final Long Ass A/N: I just want to take a minute to say one last giant thank you to everyone who took time out of their days to read this. And of course an extra thank you to those who took an additional few moments to review. There are a handful of you who reviewed every single chapter and I can't tell you how much that meant. So THANK YOU!

When I set out to write this I wanted to write a mostly warm and fuzzy story. I wanted Jasper and Bella's to be a healthy relationship - two equals who actually communicated and knew each other inside and out - without making one have less power because she was a human. I posted the first chapter of Now Unbound last night, it's also Jasper/Bella but darker. Some aspects will be similar, because I want a healthy relationship as an anchor at the center of the chaos. I'm interested to see if y'all like it.

Posting a story is scary as hell and every single one of you have made this such a great experience for me. So again, a massive thank you to every single one of you:) You are all truly wonderful human beings.

Take care, M. x