– Bella's POV –
When we arrived home, I got the girls out of the car and ushered them into the house. I was following behind when my little nudger gave me another kick to the kidneys, and horrible pain, like knives piercing through my heart, surged through me.
I came to a stop on the porch steps, grabbing the railing as I doubled over, gasping for breath.
The pain was excruciating. I couldn't tell if it was coming from my bloated belly or my heart. Possibly both. Little nudger was kicking. My heart was racing. Sweat dripped down my back.
Maybe it was the stress of the day? Maybe it was something else. Whatever it was, my little nudger was not happy. I felt her twist inside of me as her tiny foot pressed against my belly.
My back arched as I let out a cry. I was panting and fumbling with my purse to find my cell phone when an arm wrapped around my back. Electricity surged through me as I was brought into a solid, warm chest.
"I've gotcha, Darlin'."
My eyes locked with his. "Jasper." I breathed, speaking his name for the first time in seventeen years.
I heard the girl's gasp as I was lifted into his arms.
That's when I felt it. Well, more accurately, when I stopped feeling it. The pain vanished. The moment he touched me—as quickly as it began—it disappeared.
"Is that you doing that?" I whispered, looking down at my belly as little nudger calmed and settled. "The pain is gone . . ."
"No, Darlin'," he drawled, "that would be our matin' bond manifestin'. The pain occurs when a human strays too far from her mate. It's the bond's way of pullin' us back together."
"Oh." I breathed. "I didn't know that."
"He's like Prince Charming from Cinderella," Jas whispered.
"Uh-huh." Lottie nodded her little head. "And Mommy is Cinderella."
"More like the Beast, I think," Jasper whispered, too soft for the girls to hear him.
I shifted in his arms, leaning into him. He was warm to the touch. Not human, by any means, but not ice cold, either. Was that our bond?
"Oh, I dunno." I smiled. "I always preferred the Beast," I told him, lightly brushing my fingers through the soft hair at the back of his neck. "The way he saves Belle from the wolves. How protective he is . . . and he gives her an entire library . . . now, that's my kinda man."
Jasper looked a little shocked. "Really?" He cocked an eyebrow.
"Oh yeah." I nodded. "The Beast is much sexier than a glorified shoe salesman."
He chuckled. "Can't say I remember that part."
"Oh, it's there," I assured him. "Trust us. We're Disney experts around here."
"Momma, it's cold." Lottie shivered.
"And I'm hungry," Jas complained.
"Me too!" Lottie nodded.
"All right, set me down, handsome. Our little princesses have spoken." I smiled down at them.
"Anythin' for you, my Belle." Jasper purred and carefully set me back on my feet, though he didn't let me go. His large hand slid around my front, to rest on my bloated belly.
I have this feeling, deep in my heart, that it was going to be a lot easier to forgive him than I'd previously anticipated.
And I wasn't sure if I liked that or not.
Part of me wanted to stay angry, but I could feel our bond already beginning to strengthen and wash away all my negative emotions toward him.
The fact that I don't think he had any idea about me, our mating bond, or the girls, does help.
If he didn't know, I couldn't be angry with him. It wasn't his fault.
Though, I suppose it does bare the question; how the hell didn't he know? Is he stupid? He's a fuckin' empath! With super-enhanced vampire senses. Surely, he could've picked up something, anything! A secret conversation. Nefarious emotions. Something that might've clued him in that not all was fine and dandy in that house!
I refuse to believe Alice could be so diabolical she could fool an empath.
"Breath, Belle," Jasper whispered in my ear. "I promise, I'll answer all yer questions. Just, maybe not around the girls?"
Well, at least we know his gift isn't defective if he can feel my emotions.
He was right, though. This conversation would have to wait until later. The girls don't need to know their daddy's lost the plot.
– XOXO –
While I made lunch—nothing special just hearty, warm tomato soup with mini grilled cheese soldiers and a side of grapes—the girls kept their daddy entertained. They dragged him upstairs to see their bedroom and then back down to their playroom where they were showing him all their toys.
By the time I'd made lunch, they had Jasper decked out in a tiara and feather boa, sipping make-believe tea around their Princess table.
"Your highness," I bowed to him, "may I say that shade of pink is a fetching color on you."
He didn't look at all phased. Though he did let out a little growl when I whipped out my cell phone and took a picture of the three of them.
I set the girls up on the sofa with their lunch and switched on Disney+, so they could watch Frozen for the four hundredth time.
"How old are they?" Jasper asked when we were back in the kitchen so I could make my lunch.
I decided on a chicken, avocado ranch burrito with a small side salad . . . no soup, soup sounds nicer than salad today. Warm and filling.
"They turned three on November twenty-fifth," I told him.
"I see." He nodded. "How far along are you?" His eyes were on my belly again.
"Just about thirty-two weeks," I answered. "I'm due in February, but Lottie says she'll arrive before Christmas."
Jasper frowned. "How could she know that?"
I turned to him, debating with myself. I still wasn't sure I could trust him. What if he was trying to get information out of me and planning to leave us again? Or try and take the girls from me?
Maybe it was ridiculous—after all, we are mated, there's no denying the bond now he's here, sitting in my kitchen—but how could I be sure?
"How did you not know about them?" I asked. "I refuse to believe you're that stupid, so please, Jasper, tell me, how did you not know I'm your mate or about the girls."
He sighed and ran a hand through his honey-blonde hair. "They blamed me, Belle." He said softly.
I frowned. "What? Blamed you for what?"
Abandoning my lunch, I moved to sit across from him at the kitchen table. Part of me ached to sit beside him, maybe in his lap, or at the very least reach out and touch him, but I forced myself to keep my distance.
I needed to know the truth. Not fall back into old patterns and become the foolish imbecile I'd been with Edward. I'm not a silly, naive teenage girl anymore and I refuse to believe my mate could be a gormless idiot.
"For what happened on your birthday." He answered, looking down at his hands, resting on the table.
Oh, gee whiz! "You're fuckin' with me, right?"
He shook his head. He looked so sad, so broken and hurt. "Alice said I was a monster, a beast." He chuckled, though there was no humor in his tone. "That I couldn't control my bloodlust around a single drop of blood and attacked a member of our family."
"It crushed me, Belle. Not so much that I'd disappointed Alice, but that I'd almost hurt you." He sighed. "And I couldn't take it anymore. I couldn't listen to their condescending words or feel the disappointment in their emotions because I'd fucked up again. So . . . I ran."
He sighed, running a hand through his long hair, pushing his curls back away from his face. It didn't help. As soon as he let go, they bounced back and fell into his face again.
"It was the coward's way out, but I couldn't face ya, Belle." He admitted. "I didn't want to see the disappointment in yer eyes, too. And after hearin' what Edward was spoutin', I knew I wasn't welcome back in Forks. So, I stayed away. I gave you space to deal with my attack, just as they asked me to."
"I didn't know the family had abandoned ya." He told me. "I've spoken to Carlisle maybe twice in the last seventeen years. The first time he insisted I needed to stay away. He said you were afraid of me! And until Edward deemed it safe, the two of you considered me a danger to you."
Fuck.
"Carlisle said this?" I asked.
He nodded. "Carlisle was the one I spoke to. As Coven leader, his word holds more weight, but, in their own way, they all said it." He shrugged.
"All of them?" I whispered. "Even Emmett?" I asked, unsure I could believe that.
Even though Emmett had abandoned me, I couldn't believe he'd ever give up on Jasper. I always thought they considered each other brothers.
Jasper nodded. "Yeah, even Emmett."
This just . . . how could . . . why would they?
I sighed. "So, they made you believe I was still with them?"
"I assumed you were." He answered. "I had no idea they'd left Forks so soon after yer birthday or that you weren't with them. Edward insisted you were his mate and the emotions I felt from him always seemed so genuine."
"So," I frowned, "you haven't been with them?" I asked. "At all?"
"I've only just returned to the Coven. I spent the last seventeen years with my brother Peter and his mate Charlotte." He told me. "About," his eyes shifted towards the living room and he smiled, "three years ago, Pete told me somethin' was goin' on, that somethin' big was comin' and I'd need to return to the Coven soon, but nothing ever came of it."
"It wasn't until about . . . four months ago that he insisted I needed to go back and rejoin the Coven. He said if I didn't, I would never find my True Mate." He sighed and ran his hand through his hair again. "I didn't wanna go back, but Pete's never led me wrong before, so I did as he asked."
"When I got there, I was welcomed back with open arms! Esme was sobbin'. Carlisle was callin' me his son. Alice was all over me . . . I don't know what the fuck they're smokin' but they're all fuckin' nuts!" He huffed. "It was like yer birthday part and everythin' they said never happened!"
"When I asked where you were, they told me what happened. That they'd left ya after yer birthday. That Edward insisted they leave ya to live a normal, human life and you'd agreed. My attack put everythin' into perspective for ya and you realized you could never be with a vampire and feel safe. So, you asked them to leave. About six months after their departure, you were attacked and killed by the redhead that was with James during the baseball incident."
Holy shit.
They told him I'd died!
"Imagine my surprise when ya walked into the Cullen house today with my baby in yer belly, two hanging onto yer hand, and our matin' bond finally manifestin'."
Gee whiz!
What the fuck were the Cullen's playing at?
They told him I was dead! They knew I wasn't. Did they think he wouldn't recognize me as his mate? Or smell the scent of our children? Or, I don't know, question why I'm not six feet under!
I'm starting to think Jasper isn't the idiot here, it's the rest of them.
How the hell did they think this was going to play out? Surely, he'd have questions. Demand answers. For crying out loud, he threw Alice out the fuckin' window! Did she not see that coming?
"Have you always known Alice isn't your mate?" I asked, needing to be sure he wasn't hung up on the pipsqueak.
He nodded. "Yes, Darlin'. She'll tell ya differently, but I've always known we ain't mated." He assured me. "We were bed buddies in the beginning nothin' more than that, and it only lasted a couple of years. By the time we moved to Forks, Alice and I hadn't been together, in any way, in forty . . . no, almost fifty years."
Holy crap!
So, everything Edward told me about Alice and Jasper's relationship was a lie!
Is anything they've told us the truth?
"She insists we're mated," he sighed, "says she's seen it in a vision. But I know it ain't the truth. I was there when Peter found his mate. I felt their bond manifest. I know what it feels like to find ya mate."
"And if you were mated, you couldn't have spent the last seventeen years apart," I said.
"That's right, Darlin'." He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Granted, she did a fuckin' good job hidin' my True Mate from me. You were right under my nose the whole time! But it ain't always that easy when ya mate with a human, sometimes the bond ain't as strong. And we were kept apart back in Forks. I was never allowed to get to know ya or be near ya. Our bond wasn't able to manifest and strengthen."
Suddenly, he was in front of me, on his knees. "I didn't know, Darlin'." He whispered, with such conviction in his tone that I believed him. "I swear, I didn't know . . . if I had known, I never would've left ya . . . I'm so sorry, my Belle . . ." he wept, "I'm so sorry . . ."
"Shhh." I took his hands in mine, placing them on my bloated belly, it seemed to calm him and my little nudger. "This was not your fault, Jasper," I said, keeping my voice soft and calm, well aware that two sneaky eavesdroppers were watching us from the doorway, having heard their daddy's soft cries. "None of this was your fault," I assured him. "Has it ever occurred to you that on my birthday you weren't attacking me but trying to protect me from Edward?"
His head shot up, his eyes narrowing. "Wanna explain that one, Darlin'?"
I shrugged. "I can see how you wouldn't know we were mated. But, Jasper, you're an empath. You would have felt Edward's bloodlust rise. Is it possible that your instincts were to protect me, rather than eat me? Maybe you didn't see me as your mate back then, but as a member of your family who was in danger and you acted accordingly."
He frowned and blinked, taking in what I was telling him.
"I'm Edward's singer, my blood calls to him more than anyone else. If you hadn't acted that day and distracted Edward, forcing him to protect his prey, I don't believe he would have been able to ignore the scent of my blood when it was right under his nose. He could barely control himself in the ballet studio. He admitted to almost killing me then."
A low, dangerous growl rumbled through his throat. As soon as they heard it, Jas gasped and shifted back behind her sister.
"Keep in mind," I said softly, too soft for our little spies to overhear, "there are two little girls watching your every move right now. How you react will be judged by your daughters."
His eyes lightened immediately. "D-Do they fear me?"
"No." I sighed, then amended that statement. "They're very sensitive little girls. Especially Jas. And you're not exactly calm right now." I placed my hands atop his, still resting on my belly. "They know as much about you as I do . . . meaning, barely anything. But to them, you're their fairytale Prince, Jasper. Their daddy. They've been asking about you and waiting for this moment their whole lives. And now you're here. You're real. You have a lot to live up to. Do not disappoint them." I narrowed my eyes. "Or me."
A smile lit his face as he ducked his head. "Yes, ma'am."
For now, our conversation was put on hold. The things Jasper and I had to discuss weren't for little ears and it would be impossible, and cruel, to keep the girls from their daddy when they'd been waiting for him for so long.
So, we decided to shelve all serious topics for when they were in bed and spent the rest of the day . . . as a family.
That would take some getting used to. Part of me was still waiting for the other shoe to drop. Though, I didn't believe it would come from Jasper. He was innocent in this clusterfuck.
Nope. The other shoe, I was certain, would come from the Cullen Coven and whatever fuckery Alice is up to.
– XOXO –
Around dinner time, the girls were hyper so I suggested a little playtime outside to get out all that pent-up energy before bedtime. I watched from the kitchen window as Jasper chased them around the garden. The sound of their happy giggles was like music to my ears.
Their bond was already strong with him. In fact, it was strong enough that, come dinner time, when Lottie shoved a spoonful of spaghetti in his mouth, he loved it!
"Oh damn, Belle, that's really good!"
"Mommy," Jas called, "Daddy said a bad word!"
I laughed, "yes he did." I kissed the top of her head. "Shall we forgive him?"
"Hmm." She tapped her little chin with a tiny finger. "If he eats these two meatballs." She pushed them towards him with her fork.
"Don't you want your meatballs, Princess?" Jasper asked, cutting them in half with the fork I gave him. He took a bite, then offered Jas a bite. "They're really good."
"Nuh-uh." She shook her head.
My girls are total opposites. Lottie is such an adventurous eater. She'll try anything. But Jas is the pickiest eater on the planet.
"What would you like, baby?" I asked offering a wide selection of options for her to choose from.
"I have cados."
"Avocado." I corrected.
"Uh-huh." She nodded.
I made her up a little plate with sliced avocado and added some of the pasta in marinara sauce, without the meatballs, on the side.
I also served Jasper a plate of spaghetti and meatballs and, when she complained, added half an avocado to Lottie's plate, too.
Jas ate all her avocado and half her spaghetti. And then asked for raspberries, which I happily gave her. Lottie wanted an apple, so Jasper sliced it up for her while I got the jar of peanut butter for dipping.
I was starting to wonder if it's just meat Jas doesn't like. She won't eat chicken, sausages, or bacon. When I make a roast, she'll only eat the potatoes and veg.
Maybe I should stop offering her meat and just go with her tastes. If she doesn't like meat, it's not a big deal.
After dinner, Jasper helped me bathe the girls and put them into their Christmas pajamas. Then we settled in the living room to watch Winnie the Pooh: A Very Merry Pooh Year.
The girls were fast asleep, curled into Jasper when dad and Vic arrived home.
Thankfully, I'd already explained to Jasper about Victoria, telling him how she'd found us and then mated with dad. She had intended to kill me out of revenge for James' death, but when she mated and realized James lied to her, she quickly let go of her vendetta. I told him how I'd been their surrogate and all about our lives together since the Cullens abandoned me. So, he wasn't surprised when she walked through the front door.
Though, I couldn't say the same for dad and Vic.
Before either of my overprotective parents—yes, I consider Vicky to be more of a mom to me than Renee or Esme ever were—I quickly ushered them both into the kitchen.
"Don't," I growled, looking between them. "Sit down and let me explain before you say anything."
With a huff, dad sat down, glaring daggers at the kitchen door where he could see Jasper sitting with the girls. Vicky was, thankfully, more forgiving.
"I'll put on a pot of coffee." She suggested, squeezing my arm as she passed.
While the coffee was brewing, I told them about our day, the house, seeing the Cullen again, and reuniting with Jasper.
As I talked, Jasper managed to sneak away from the girls. He told Charlie and Vic everything he'd told me earlier. By the time we were done, and they knew everything I did, they were shaking in their combined anger.
"Take a minute to calm yourselves down," I said calmly. "I want to put the girls to bed before we continue. They don't need to be part of this." I then turned to Jasper, "would you help me?"
He looked a little shocked at first, then shook himself and smiled. "I'd love to."
Jasper carried both girls up to their bedroom and watched as I tucked them in and whispered goodnight. They were so deeply asleep that I doubt they heard me.
– XOXO –
"Do you think they purposefully kept you apart?" Vicky demanded when Jasper and I returned to the living room.
I poured the coffee and handed Jasper a cup.
Dad and Vic were shocked when he took a tentative sip.
"They've only known him a day and they've already bonded with him?" Dad asked, looking between me and Vic.
I nodded.
"The Seer must've known, right?" Vicky asked.
"I don't see how," Jasper answered. "And if she did, why would she keep this from me? We aren't together. Haven't been fer fifty years."
Oh. The poor naive fool.
Best break it to him gently, I think.
"Okay, handsome, here's the thing," I started, taking his hand in mine, "if you've only just returned to the Coven, and had no idea I'm your mate, someone in that Coven must've known and they purposefully kept it from us."
"What makes you so sure, Darlin'?"
I hesitated, unsure if he'd believe me. They're his family, after all. Or, at least they had been once. Maybe he didn't want to see that, at least one of them, was pure evil.
"Bell," dad said gently, "he needs to know. Everything."
I cringed. "Maybe he doesn't want to . . ."
"But I need to," Jasper said, giving my hand a little squeeze. "What is it you aren't tellin' me, mate?"
I sighed.
I told him. Everything. The last seventeen years. About me being tested for a True Mate and discovering it was him. I was told he'd been contacted with the results of my tests but didn't respond. Which meant, he'd rejected our mating and was happy with the life he and Alice were living together.
"So, I went on with my life." I shrugged. "I wasn't going to force you to be with me and I wasn't going to go crawling back when it was clear you didn't want me."
I went on to fill in a few details about the things I'd done. And then how The Agency had contacted me about his sperm. I told him about my struggles but, ultimately, obviously, I decided I wanted to be a mom. To carry my own child, even if it meant doing it without him.
"That was the hardest part," I sighed, "coming to terms with what our lives would be without you. I wanted to have a child, to be a mom, but I also wanted to have your child. I . . ." I hesitated.
Jasper leaned into me, wrapping his arm around my waist. "You wanted part of me with you," he purred.
I sighed. "Selfish, I know."
"No, mate." He smiled. "Whether you wanted to admit it or not, yer a mated woman, Isabella. It's normal to want yer mate close. I've got hundreds of sketchbooks filled with yer face."
I looked up at him. "I thought you didn't know . . ."
"I didn't." He assured me. "But part of me yearned for ya, even though I didn't realize why. I missed you, Belle. I wanted ya close. But I thought you were happy livin' your life with Edward. I wasn't gonna come between that. I'd already taken enough from you."
"When I went back to the Coven, I was excited to see ya again." He admitted. "Then, they told me you were dead and . . ." he sighed. "Well, let's just say it took Esme a long time to renovate the house we were livin' in . . . even longer for Carlisle to find all of Edward's pieces . . ."
Oh, I wish I'd seen that!
"At the time, I didn't know why I reacted so violently or why the thought of you not bein' in this world anymore tore my heart to shreds. The only thing that kept me with the Coven was Peter's insistence that I would find my True Mate if I stayed. Now I'm glad I listened to the fucker." He chuckled, pressing a soft kiss to the side of my head.
I sighed and leaned into him.
"There's one thing I don't understand," I said. "How is it you willingly donated your sperm so I could have children if you didn't know about our bond?"
"That never made sense to us, either." Vicky nodded, taking Charlie's hand in hers. "But Bells wanted to have children, and the only way she could do that was with your . . . uh, donation." She smiled.
Jasper looked at Vicky, then back at me. His eyes were black. Angry. "I didn't donate anythin, Darlin'." He told us. "Me and my sperm have been in Texas for the last seventeen years. I wasn't contacted by The Agency. I had no idea you were my mate, and I certainly never rejected ya! I would never reject my True Mate!"
I squeezed his hand. "I believe you," I assured him. "But someone got ahold of your sperm and if you haven't been with Alice in fifty years, who the hell was it?"
This is the part that never made any sense to me. I guess, I understood how he could reject me. He had Alice, and I knew how in love with her he was, or at least that's what I'd always been told. But I couldn't, for the life of me, understand why he'd donate his sperm so I could have children if he didn't want us.
"Carlisle." Jasper hissed.
"Come again?" Dad frowned.
"Carlisle," Jasper said through gritted teeth, "has samples of everythin'. Edward, Rose, and Esme's human blood. Our venom. Even sperm samples! All in the name of his damn research!"
He ran a hand through his hair. "I was new to the Coven. They were already afraid of me because of my reputation and my scars. Alice insisted it would help my case if I was more amenable. If I submitted to Carlisle's examination and testing, the Coven would see that I could be trusted. I figured, she was right. I'm a fuckin' idiot!"
I smiled. "You couldn't possibly have known Carlisle would keep your samples. And then one day, seventy years in the future, they'd donate your sperm so I could conceive the twins. I mean," I sighed, "how could anyone possibly know that?"
"She must've." Jasper hissed. "Why else would Carlisle need to keep my sperm on ice for seventy years? Alice must've known one day they'd need the samples. They've got Edwards and Emmett's, too."
I wasn't so sure. I've never believed Alice's gift is that useful, to be honest. She sees visions of the future based on decisions. How could she possibly know that seventy years in the future I would decide to have a child? I hadn't even been born then! Charlie wasn't even born then! How could someone who has decision-based visions, know that?
I was about to get up and pour another round of coffee's when a shrill, terrified scream rent through the air. "AHHH!" Followed by. "Mommy! Daddy!"
Jasper was up, out of his seat, and flying up the stairs before I could comprehend what the hell was going on. Dad was hot on his heels. Vicky stayed with me, helping me out of my seat and up the stairs.
When we entered the girl's bedroom, they were huddled together in the back of their closet, and their bedroom window was open, their yellow curtains flapping in the cold breeze.
"Lottie? Jas? It's okay babies. You can come out now." They whimpered and ran straight to me, wrapping their little arms around my middle. "It's okay, my little loves. It's okay. You're safe." I soothed. "Can you tell me what happened?"
They shook their heads. My little Jas shook as she sobbed in my arms.
"Monster, momma," Lottie whispered. "Da monster tried to get us!"
With narrowed, black eyes, Jasper turned to me. "I can smell them." He hissed. "They were here."
"Who?" Dad growled, standing over me and the girls as Vicky shifted closer to us.
"Carlisle." Jasper snarled. "Edward . . ." his eyes shifted to me. "Emmett."