"Are you going to tell her?" Jasper's attention was taken away from the mountain lion he stalked across the clearing as Emmett finally asked the question that had been on his mind since Edward declared he and Bella were mates.
It was probably what everyone else wanted to ask him, but unlike them, Emmett wasn't too willing to respect his brother's privacy.
Blowing out an unnecessary breath, he turned to face Emmett. The burly vampire was crouched low on the thick branch of the tree next to Jasper, his muscles flexing as he holds onto the trunk. The smell of blood lingered in the air and Jasper knew Rosalie and Carlisle were still hunting while Emmett finished his hunt quickly in order to catch Jasper all alone for once.
"It hadn't crossed my mind to tell her now. Not after what happened." He answered truthfully.
"Don't you think she ought to know now rather than later?" Emmett asked as he hopped down from the branch with a surprisingly graceful thud as he landed on the dirt path. "So she's not so heartbroken by...him?"
Jasper suddenly wasn't thirsty for blood anymore—feeling he's had more than enough from the elk he'd hunted a few hours ago. He shrugged as they started walking down the path, the sequoia trees towering over them where the birds sang their songs. "I can't help how she feels for him, regardless if we are..."
"Mates." Emmett finished with a determined nod, "You're mates, Jazz. That's not something to brush off so easily. You shouldn't try to ignore it, it's there for a reason."
Jasper wished he could deny it considering he never truly believed in the whole mating bond. A part of him didn't think he could ever come to love anyone at all seeing as he'd been turned during the war when all he knew was hatred and death. Those days still haunted him. Often they made him hate that he ever joined the army and was subjected to Maria's cruelty.
No going back now, Whitlock.
Jasper wanted to tell Emmett he didn't expect anything from Bella. That she was too in love with Edward to ever see him or anyone else romantically so it was to be expected that she would reject him the moment Jasper told her they were mates. Not to mention she'd been hurt in the worst of ways by the first man she's ever cared for.
The thought of what would have happened if Edward hadn't stopped his attack on her when he did...it made Jasper's skin crawl with disgust.
A dull sting in his chest made his steps falter for a moment. If Emmett noticed, he didn't show it as he continued walking through the forest.
Why does the thought that she won't want anything to do with me once I do tell her the truth make me feel so...uneasy?
Jasper knew he could deny it all he wanted, but Emmett was right. Whatever deemed that he and Bella were mates was a powerful, invisible force to be reckoned with. The pull he felt to her...it was stronger than any emotion he's felt in a long time. This string that tugged him forward until he was beside her nagged at his brain and his heart.
Being close to Bella settled the anxiety he felt spiraling upwards, fighting to break through the surface. It was like a balm to the scars in his dead heart. As if this one, human girl, healed him simply by standing beside him.
How had he not realized this sooner?
Because Edward didn't want you near her.
The moment he thought about his brother, hot rage boiled inside him, ridding him of any peace he felt while thinking about Bella.
Edward had betrayed him. Jasper would be a coward if he didn't admit that Edward's lie of omission didn't hurt him, deeply. We never kept secrets from each other. Never. Why now?
Emmett's hand clamped down on Jasper's shoulder, stopping him before they made it to the edge of the river. His black eyes had the hint of gold specks in his irises already.
When Emmett spoke again, his cadence was surprisingly gentle, "I know how you feel, even if it's on the surface. What Edward did to you and Bella..." he shook his head, "it sucks, to say the least. But you're here now and he's not. You don't have to feel guilty for feeling attached to her now that you know why."
On some level, Jasper had told Emmett along the line that he'd been struggling to keep his distance from Bella Swan. At first, they ruled it as bloodlust but one day, Emmett jokingly mentioned that maybe Jasper had a crush on the girl. The very thought made Jasper feel horrible–as if he'd betrayed Edward for thinking about his so-called mate. Now it seems as though it should have been the other way around—
"I don't get it," Jasper whispered, cutting off his thoughts. Clenching his fists as his anger made his voice tremble when he spoke again. "I never would have kept her from him. I would have no control over Bella anyway and I wouldn't want it either, but I wouldn't have prevented her from being with Edward if it's what she wanted. She's not an object to pass around. But if she made him happy and he did the same for her—regardless if we were mates or not—I would have stepped aside. I do not doubt that I would. So why couldn't he just tell me? Why did he keep us from each other? I loved him, Em. He was my brother."
Jasper looked at Emmett and all the hurt finally shone in his eyes as Emmett's grip on his shoulder tightened, lament and anger trickling into him now from the usually laid back young man.
"I know, Jasper. I know. I'm so sorry. But you have us and now you have Bella. At least you have each other now, even if it isn't romantically. Right?"
Jasper stared blankly into the clear stream of water rushing over the rocks in the river, regaining his calm once again.
The wind blew gently, ruffling his hair as Rosalie and Carlisle's voices reached him and Emmett.
"...Right."
It was sundown by the time Jasper returned. He'd left early, not wanting to hinder the others for the rest of their hunt. Emmett had offered to return with him, in case Bella needed something but Jasper was reassured by a text from Alice that the girl was fast asleep.
She's been sleeping a lot...
Walking into the house, the onslaught of troubled emotions hit him like a truck and he sighed as he unzipped his jacket, pushing his hair back to shake off the droplets of rain on his golden strands. He could hear Bella's steady heartbeat and muted emotions so he knew these emotions weren't hers—for now.
Walking into the living room he found the source of sadness that took over their once-peaceful household.
"Mom?" Esme looked up from the book she was reading on her lap. She sat on the couch, legs tucked under herself with a fleece blanket draped over her legs.
They didn't need warmth or shelter, not really. And yet, Jasper suspected that out of all of the Cullens, Esme was the most human one of all. She enjoyed sitting on the back porch, letting the warm sunlight caress her face as she closed her eyes and smiled peacefully up at the sky.
She often bid them all good night even though none of them slept. And she greeted them with a warm, welcoming good morning the next day.
If Carlisle was the sun that kept this family from walking in darkness, Esme was the earth itself—the love and life that was missing the moment he and all the others were welcomed into the world as monsters.
Jasper kneeled in front of her, taking a hold of her hands that closed her book, forgoing any attempts of mindlessly reading the same page over and over.
"What's wrong?"
Esme shuddered, "The bruises..." he knew she was talking about Bella, "I can't believe Edward could do such a thing. That he lied to you and hurt you like this."
"I'm okay."
"No, Jasper. Taking the mate of another and hurting them? Hurting you? That's the worst thing he could have ever done to someone in his family. I can't believe it." If he didn't know any better, Esme was on the verge of tears. She would be crying if she could. That was Esme, she felt and loved deeply when it came to her family.
"Esme, it's okay." Jasper wrapped his arms around Esme and embraced her. She returned it with a tight hug that made him smile slightly with affection.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry we were so hard on you after Bella's birthday. We should have paid closer attention to you. Noticed you were defending her from him and not the other way around. I should have been able to tell that Bella wasn't his mate."
"You had no way of knowing. It wasn't your responsibility."
"I'm your mother!"
His chest tightened as all the unconditional love flowed into him, breaking down his walls of ice and melting them until he couldn't hide from Esme's care she always tried to give him. He tightened his hold on her as his own tumultuous emotions betrayed him, "Edward was our first son but we never should have stopped paying attention to you. You're still battling with your blood lust and...I'm sorry if you felt all alone."
"I'm sorry too. But I don't blame you for anything that happened. If anything I blame Edward and myself for not listening to my instincts. I felt so guilty for wanting to be closer to Bella because I thought he loved her. I never knew I felt this way, until now."
Esme smiled at Jasper as she cupped his face, "She'll need you. I suspected because she's human she doesn't feel as strongly as you do but she does need you, Jasper."
His lips parted as he wanted to admit to Esme that he needed Bella too. The words were on the tip of his tongue when a pained whimper traveled through the house upstairs.
Esme and Jasper stiffened when they heard it again.
A soft voice pleading, "No..."
"Bella?" Alice's voice was just above a whisper, the sound of sheets rustling told Jasper that Alice was probably laying beside the girl while she slept. Her concern reached him next as she spoke. "Bella, are you okay?"
Jasper stood up, frowning as a fear that wasn't his own washed over him.
That fear grew as Bella's heartbeat went faster.
"No...stop..." The girl said, her voice sounding tired and frightened. The sob that followed made Jasper move without hesitation and he was running up the stairs right as Bella's pleas grew louder, "Edward! Stop! Please!"
By the time Jasper opened the door to the bedroom where Bella slept, the bloodcurdling scream that Bella let out made Jasper's heart shatter the moment he caught sight of his mate.
Thanks for reading x
What did you think about Jasper's talks with Emmett and Esme? I love their bond with Jasper haha
