Elastic Heart

-chapter forty three-

"You're sure?" 

"Positive." 

Jasper wants to take me back into the woods to give me something in private. The last time I did that, I was tackled by a vampire that beheaded my girlfriend. 

"You've double checked?" 

"They won't be more than a hundred feet away." 

He is promising me that the Volturi won't be more than a yell away unlike last time. 

I don't want to go back into that forest but I trust Jasper to know what he is doing. And if Rosalie isn't stopping him, then she trusts him too. 

"Okay." 

Jasper grins at me, hooking an arm around my shoulder. "Great. C'mon," 

I follow Jasper out the backdoor, trying to ignore the knot that is forming in the pit of my stomach. 

Jasper must sense my turmoil because the feeling starts to ebb away and all I'm left with is my eagerness to spend some time with Jasper and see what he wants to give me. 

Jasper leads us just a little past the backyard, far enough to be away from prying ears but close enough to hear us talk louder than a whisper. 

Jasper finds a log that had fallen over in a storm and leads me over to it, sitting me down while he pulls something out of his pocket.

"I was born Jasper Whitlock in Texas. When we joined the Cullen's, I took up Rosalie's surname, Hale, to fit in with being her twin." Jasper tells me. "But before I met them, before I even met Alice, I ran with two other vampires. We formed a coven, The Whitlock Coven."

Jasper gently grasps my wrist and fingers my charm chain before holding something up. "This is the Whitlock Crest. It was originally my families before I shared it with my coven. Now I share it with you in hopes that if my coven finds you in need of help that they will protect you."

Jasper hooks the charm onto my bracelet. That was crest number four.

"Thanks, Jay," I mumble. "Who was in your coven?"

"It was me, Peter and his mate Charlotte." Jasper explains.

" Do they have gifts?" I question.

"Charlotte doesn't. Peter had the gift of knowing things. He didn't see the future like Alice, he just gets a feeling. We call it his 'knower'." Jasper explains. "They... they have scars like I do and are classified as dangerous because of that. They can be, but to be safe," Jasper pats the charm.

"What color are their eyes?" I inquire.

"As far as we know, the Cullen's and Denali's are the only animal drinkers. Peter and Charlotte would be red eyes." Jasper nods.

"So from now on, every vampire that you introduce me to will be a red eye?" I repeat.

"Yup." Jasper nods his head.

"And how many more covens do you plan on introducing me to?" I frown. 

"The Irish Coven, for sure." Jasper starts to count. "The Amazon Coven, they'll be fascinated with you. The Egyptian Coven, but Amun might not like you. A few nomads like Garrett, Mary, Charles and Makenna, Alistair, Randall-" 

"And these are all red eyes?" I interrupt. "And will protect me. You're sure of this?" 

"Well, Alistair may be hard to convince, Amun might take half his coven and leave but I know for sure that Benjamin and his mate Tia will love you." Jasper nods.