"So, here we have the truth, you snake!", Thalia yelled, "You can't even stand to hear she's not yours anymore? You will growl for your ex-wife in front of your mate?!"
Jasper merely blinked, completely taken aback.
"You don't deserve me, you dog", Thalia shook her head, letting the baseball bat slip out of her hand, "Go and do whatever it is you really want to do."
It took Jasper a long moment to realize what was happening and what he has done. Oh, sweet Lord…I didn't, did I? I did not growl because of Alice in front of Thalia?! How did that happen?!
And where is she?
He quickly shot to the window, and realized that the tiniest moving dot in the far distance, vanishing, was his mate.
She's running away – again!
His long legs were moving before he consciously decided to run, his feet were leaving deep holes in the ground where he was digging them into the soil to gain even more momentum.
She would not leave him – she would not run away again from him!
He sensed when she realized, even from afar, that he was hot on her heels. She ran even quicker, and again, she headed for the seashore.
Oh no, you will not. You will not make me swim across the ocean again.
His emotions ran wild, and he put even more effort into his pursuit.
Very quickly he came close enough that she could hear him if he talked. But he didn't. Like some kind of a predatory animal, he slightly ducked in his run, never leaving her our of his sight. She was smaller than him. She was slower than him. She was weaker than him. And he was very, very angry.
His mate. Leaving?! Not acceptable.
He soared through the air at the first opportunity. She finally was close enough and he was so quick that she didn't even realize that he was so close already.
She shrieked as his arms captured her, and they both fell down in a whirlwind of dust and gravel. Not yet coming to a halt, she viciously bit him at his arm – the first part of him she could reached. He didn't falter even a bit, although the pain was immense.
He bit back. He easily reached her neck and mercilessly sunk his sharp teeth. He let his venom flow, marking her, making her even more his, punishing her for trying to leave.
First, she yelled in pain, and she tried to fight back. She stood no chance. Knowing this, and still keeping her completely immobile, his anger lessened.
It took him a while. It took a while to realize that she's here, in his arms, albeit against her wishes, but she's here. Finally, the angry fog lifted and he was able to sense feelings other than his own.
Anger. Desperation. Abandonment. Betrayal. Jealousy.
Slowly, he removed his teeth from her neck.
"I don't love her. Not like that.", his voice was raw.
She didn't say a word, but he felt her mistrust.
"I growled because I was on the edge. Talking to Aro, realizing how much I messed up, all the tension from everybody…it just happened.", he felt as if he could cry from all the frustration, "And then you just..snap! You assume the worst from me?! And at first sign of trouble, you fucking run..again?! Again you run away from me, again you would have jumped into the sea!"
He let her go. Nervously, he hit a tree nearby, venting some of his frustration.
"You feel abandoned? You feel betrayed?!", he yelled.
"It was because of Alice, you growled because of her, because you still have feelings for her!", she finally yelled.
"It was not!", he yelled back, "Goddammit, I left her like a piece of shit so I could run after you! I left her without looking back! What more can I do to prove that I want you, not her?"
"And now you are so sorry because of it, obviously!", Thalia shot back.
"You are being ridiculous!", he shouted.
"You are nothing more than a bully, and a cheating bastard, and a brute!", Thalia motioned towards her now scarred neck.
"You had that comin'!", he pointed his finger at her, "That's what you get for misbehaving! For attacking me, your mate, and for no good reason too!"
"Goddamn asshole!", she yelled as she jumped onto him.
While he saw her coming, he expected nothing from her attack. He knew very well that she has no fighting skill to speak of.
But you know how it goes. Even a broken clock is right twice a day. And, so it happened that Thalia, for the first and probably last time in her immortal life, managed to jump and get a really good grip of Jaspers arm. Somehow, she managed to quickly twist his shoulder and then she just pulled.
His arm was off.
There was stunned silence on both ends.
He simply stared at her, shell-shocked. She stared back at him, frozen in terror and confusion, gripping his severed arm.
"That's quite enough now, children", a stern voice was heard.
Jasper was first to look.
It was Marcus, and his grim look spoke volumes.
"You both are fools", he nodded, knowing he was right.
He approached Thalia and took Jasper's arm. Then he approached Jasper and gently leaned his arm to its socket. The tissue immediately started to reconnect, and Jasper was clearly in pain. He didn't let out a sound though, but lowered his eyes to the ground in shame.
"He loves you deeply", Marcus told Thalia, while still looking at Jasper, "The bond is so clear, and so -exclusive, if you will. There is no room for any other love interest, but you, Thalia. Never should you question his love and loyalty. The bond to the little seer once was love, but now is a bond of gratitude and debt."
"Now please, if you two could act a bit more civil, and show a lot more reason than I just now sadly witnessed", Marcus continued tiredly, "We have a lot on our hands, and we have not the time and the luxury of unnecessary fights. Aro and Caius are coming."
And with those words, he left in the same second, leaving the pair of them alone and embarrassed.
"I am sorry", Thalia said immediately, and Jasper was hit by a wave of her regret and sorrow.
"I am sorry, too", he agreed, "I would be happier, though, if you simply trusted me as your mate. How long would this go on if your bond-seeing father didn't interfere?"
"Speaking of trust!", she said with some venom to it, "You thought I was about to run away to Volterra, didn't you?"
"Well, you were just about to – like the first time around!", Jasper frowned in confusion.
She was about to say something rude, but then realization hit her.
"Oh Gods, I really hurt you back then, didn't I?", she said sadly, and then approached him, "I am so sorry. You still don't trust me, but I understand. I just want you to know, Jasper, that I was not about to repeat that. I was just trying to be alone – to cool off for a while, to rant, I don't know – to sort my emotions, you know?"
He finally looked at her and saw no trace of deceit. And he felt her sincerity, too.
"I really had no intention to jump into the ocean, I swear!", she said nervously, misunderstanding his silence, "Look, I know I ran in the direction of the beach, but I really had no such plan..!"
"I know, darlin', I know", he said and took the final step towards her.
"I am sorry", Thalia slid into his embrace, "And I'm sorry about your arm, and really didn't mean to, I still can't believe that I ripped your arm off, I swear it was an accident!"
"You know, if anyone else said that, I would not believe it, but knowing you and your zero fighting skills, I know that an morbid accident is the only plausible explanation", Jasper smiled and kissed the top of her head.
"Yeah, some God of war you are..", Thalia giggled, and Jasper chuckled.
They embraced tightly and stood like that for a while.