Chapter 20: Confusion

"His vampire is healing his mind, it might take a while, but he'll be back."

Relief washed over Harry like a wave. He didn't know where he stood with the vampire. Sure, he thought he was sexy, but he didn't know him. He wanted to be in his arms and kiss him, never had kisses made his head spin so much! So far, however, he'd had more encounters with the Major than the Texan, and he didn't want a relationship with the impulsive, violent man he'd met. Hearing the Cullens tell him that Jasper was calm, thoughtful, patient, upright and even a little reserved wasn't enough for him; he wanted to find out for himself. If George's time hadn't been running out, he wouldn't have kissed Jasper like that earlier, he would have waited until he was sure.

"He's coming back," Edward whispered. "He's hungry, like a newborn. It would be better if the wizards went out."

Harry raised his head, ready to protest, and met the telepath's dark gaze. He wondered why he was staring at him like that before remembering the thoughts he'd just had towards Jasper without blocking his mind. Edward wasn't happy to know where he stood with his brother, too bad it wouldn't change the situation.

"If you can, find him an animal to feed on, the bottle I took might not be enough," Carlisle asked the three wizards as they exited.

Once inside the airlock, Master Kangae informed Harry and Hermione that he would be leaving, but that they could find him at the school where he taught if they wished. The young men thanked him and Hermione decided to go and ask Kingsley for a prey for Jasper. Harry agreed; he didn't want to leave, he wanted to see how the vampire would wake up. Alone, he waited anxiously for him to open his eyes.

Jasper reconnected to his surroundings, a little lost, his mind muddled and almost aching, which was inconceivable for a vampire. The smell of blood made him open his eyes. His gaze fell first on the bottle, then on the room around him and finally on the six hooded figures in front of him. Memories of his years of imprisonment and torture came back to him in a thousandth of a second, and he prepared to fight. He stood on guard, his eyes darkening as he made way for the Major. His background as a soldier and strategist, his experience of war, guided him like a compass, urging him not to attack first. His opponents were too numerous for him alone, and they usually hid their devilish sticks that sent out that painful light.

One of them advanced towards him, spreading his arms in a sign for the others not to move, and dropped his cloak. The sight of Edward before him brought back other memories, those of the visions his tormentors were sending into his mind, the scenes of his family being burned as they tried to come for him. It couldn't be Edward standing in front of him, but another vision sent by his torturer.

Slowly, all the other figures removed their capes, but Jasper couldn't believe what he was seeing. His family was dead.

"It's us, Jaz," whispered Edward, monitoring his thoughts. "We've been looking for you for a long time, but until Harry got you out of the cell, we hadn't been able to locate you."

The name Harry ruffled his fur and made him want to purr. The image of a young man, dark-haired with green eyes, very attractive, sitting on his hips kissing him came back to him, and so did his perfume. His scent was in the room, but no longer his soul mate. He grunted in frustration.

All these memories suddenly coming back to him were driving him mad, and above all, he was thirsty. He concentrated more on the group in front of him, noted their lack of pulse, their low temperature and began to believe in the possibility that these vampires really were his family, but if so, why wasn't he attacking them when they no longer had their capes? Memories of the last few moments became clearer, and he realized that Harry had found a way to lift the spell that was causing him to lose control.

Despite the fact that Jasper was beginning to realize that his nightmare was over, he couldn't relax and let his guard down in front of those he considered his own, his family. Tension was thick between them, and if one of the vampires took a step or made a gesture towards him, he backed away or growled at them.

He was startled when a bull ran through one of the walls, and his throat began to burn, venom filling his mouth. After a last glance at the vampires, who had shifted so as not to come between him and the animal, he leapt at his prey and sank his fangs into the bull's carotid artery, which had no chance of seeing him coming. Jasper hadn't realized how thirsty he was until he felt the coppery taste soothe his whole being. He drank every last drop of blood he could suck in, then straightened up.

With not a drop of blood on him, for the first time in years, he felt in control of his mind, his body and his vampire. He felt his senses were sharp again, as they had been before his abduction. He realized that the wall beside him wasn't a wall at all, but that his family was right in front of him. The idea of their presence, uncloaked, without him trying to kill them, made him wonder if his nightmare was over.

"Yes, it's over," Edward replied.

Jasper felt as if a burden was being lifted from his shoulders, relief seeped his legs and he fell into the arms of Alice, who had just seen the scene a second before. She held him close, whispering that they were all there for him now and that everything would get better. He returned her embrace, inhaled her scent and lifted her in his arms, happy to have her back. He was soon surrounded by the other members of his clan and took them in turn in his arms. The joy emanating from them fed his own and his relief, yet he froze when a new scent entered the room. A scent he immediately recognized as that of his soulmate.

Slowly, he turned until he was staring into Harry's emerald eyes; he could feel sexual desire, fascination and curiosity, but also caution, anger and anguish coming from Harry. From his posture, he understood that he must not initiate physical contact with the wizard now. No matter how many kisses they'd exchanged minutes before or how much he wanted to mark his soulmate as his own, Harry didn't want to. He was a little confused by this change in attitude, but was even more so following the young man's words.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your reunion, but it will end in farewell if Jasper doesn't come and undo what he's done, very soon."