Jasper had rushed out of his car the second he had felt something off with the mating bond. Nothing could've stopped him at that moment, nothing, not even Paul who was following him, veins pulsing through his biceps.
"Jasper!" He called out behind him, his feet striking the floor with a constant rhythm. "Jasper, stop!"
"If you controlled your pups maybe I wouldn't be forced to do this!" He spat, fire in his eyes, never ceasing his quick steps. Paul rushed over to his side, jogging to catch up to him.
"Careful Jasper. That we both care for Maggie does not mean I'll allow you to speak that way about my pack." He was in front of him, blocking his way. Their eyes met for a long tense moment.
"We both know that is not true." Jasper licked his lips as he spoke, his eyes drifting away, but there was no response. Paul's emotions changed though, he was nervous, afraid. "You love her." His chest lifted as he took a deep breath, his tanned chest expanding, the tattoos on his arms spreading with each breath. Their eyes met again, but this time, Paul saw something in his eyes, like a shimmer of gold. The mating bond. He saw it for a split second, he could smell it on him, feel its autentithity, as if Jasper had been veiling it, hiding it from all creatures.
He blinked, and when he opened his eyes again, Jasper had gone. It took him little time to track him, mainly because he knew where he was headed. Everything went by so fast and yet in his eyes it all seemed to go by on slow motion, Jacob threatening Maggie, while Bella stood motionless.
For some reason he didn't tell Jacob why he had let Jasper go unharmed, he didn't tell Sam of the incident. He just laid on his bed, eyes fixed on the ceiling, that moment playing on repeat on his head.
You love her. Then he saw the mating bond. Over and over again.
It was torture.
***
Jasper wasn't walking too fast for Margaret to follow him, but the way his feet struck the ground walking up from the beach implied he wasn't in the mood to talk about what happened. That's why Maggie kept quiet all the way to his car. Even after they had gotten in and the doors had closed they sat in silence for a while.
"Thank you," She breathed, barely audible, but he caught it. Her eyes were distant, barely focusing on the things in front of her. "for coming for me, even if I told you not to." Jasper laid his hand on hers, offering comfort.
"I'll always come for you, Margaret, always." He was looking at her, her eyes shone as they looked back at him, a soft smile pulling at her lips. "Hey, why don't you spend the night at my house, have a break from-"
"From my sister?" She finished, looking up at him. There wasn't an awkward tension between them, it was a short, but comfortable silence for a second, in which they simply looked at each other. Jasper, after having unveiled the mating bond to Paul could only see that in her eyes. The gold flashing, like a rope tying them together and pulling tighter. He chuckled, as his free hand settled itself on the steering wheel.
"Yeah, but just overall. You work too hard, besides, I might have something planned." He winked at her, both of them breaking into laughter. It was always this way with Jasper, he knew what to say to make her feel better, what to do to take her mind off of things, it was perfect.
They stopped at her house so she could pack a bag for the night, and have a chance to tell her father that she was sleeping over with Rosalie and Alice. Jasper was waiting for her outside his car, talking with Carlisle over the phone. Maggie tried to be quick abut it, just as she closed the door behind her she walked directly into the living room, where, as expected, Charlie was sitting, watching last week's game.
"Hey pops!" Charlie turned his head, not even pausing the game, meaning this was probably the third time he had watched it. "I'm gonna be spending the night at Rosalie's." She said, her head popping through the door frame, then slipping behind it as she went upstairs to pack her bag. Charlie sat there for a second then hurriedly paused the game and went upstairs with her.
"You're sleeping over at the Cullen's house?" He repeated, his arms crossed over his chest, but he never crossed her bedroom's door.
"Yup." She replied, grabbing her largest shoulder bag and opening it on her bed. She threw in some silky pj's.
"Is-" He began, shifting uncomfortably against the dor frame. "Jasper will be there?" Oh, Margaret paused for a second, but tried to continue throwing things in her bag, as if nothing had gotten to her.
"Yeah, he's taking me there, and it is his house so, yeah pops he'll be there." Just as she walked past her window to her dresser, she caught a glimpse of him, resting against his car looking smug and laughing to himself. Of course, he was listening to everything, Maggie thought. She only had to grab some underwear and her makeup, but with her father there she'd rather grab her makeup first. She walked past him and went to the bathroom, packing a little pouch with her essentials.
"Maggs, you know that um-" He struggled for a brief moment, "you're a grown woman know, so um- your body-" Margaret could see the awkwardness in her father's eyes, and feel it all around her.
"DAD! Please, just no." She laughed rushing out of the bathroom, Charlie followed her still, his brows furrowed. Margaret pushed her makeup into her bag, her face pink with embarrassment.
"Okay, okay I'll dorp it." He exclaimed, his hands up in the air, a smile crawling up his lips. "Have fun," he kissed her forehead, but just as he walked out of her room he added, "but not too much fun okay?" Maggie broke out laughing.
"POPS!" From her room she could hear his chuckles. It was nice, having such a nice relationship with her dad, when she was little, she used to want ti have that same relationship with her mom, but they were just too different, besides, it seemed Bella simply understood her better. She went back to her dresser to grab her underwear, but she paused. Alice had gifted her a little something, and this was the best oppurtunity to use it, so she slipped into her bathroom and changed quickly into the deep red laced set she had gotten, then packed a second and rushed out of her house, saying goodbye to her father in the shortest way possible.
Since Maggie walked outside her house, a new feeling was wrapped around her, it was strong and had Jasper in a half high state, he couldn't get enough of it, it invaded all of his senses, and he tried to keep focused on the road as it clung itself to him. He drove faster than he ever had as the feeling asfixiated him.
"Uh, I'll take ur bag upstairs." He said with the bag already on his hand. Margaret just looked at him weird, with slight confusion on her face. Alice and Rosalie rushed towards her so fast she had no time to let her thoughts wonder why he was acting so strangely, and she got so caught up with them that she didn't catch Jasper leaving with Carlisle.
***
"Even with Margaret's help," Carlisle was explaining, "Isabella will find out sooner or later now." Jasper had just filled him in all the events at the beach, and how Isabella could have a lead to discover what they were.
"We'll keep trying." Jasper insisted. He had his arms crossed firmly over his chest, and a severe look on his face, all in a desperate attempt at trying to shook away the feeling that had gotten stuck on him since Maggie had gotten back in the car with him. For the first time in a very long time, he felt like he was running out of air. Suffocating. "I don't think Maggie will give up that easily, she cares too much." Carlisle somehow knew what his son meant, she was close to knowing something, something he didn't want her to know yet.
"You didn't just want to talk to me to fill me in about Isabella," This was more of a statement than it was a question, "so what is it?" Carlisle had that look in his eyes, so open, so welcoming. It was like the look he had seen when they first met, the look he had given him when Jasper opened up about everything that had happened too him during the war, the look he had guiven him when he offered to shelter him.
"I just-" His hands were shaking, and he was fidgeting. There was a tension so thick around him it could almost be felt. But Carlisle wasn't worried about what he was going through, the nerves, the feeling of suffocation, the stress he carried with him, he knew those symptoms all too well, and it wasn't because he was a doctor. "I don't think I can keep pushing this away for much longer, Carlisle." He finally admitted, when his eyes looked at Carlisle they were glazed with fear, a tremendous agitation none of the others had had to go through, because his mate was still human. "And it frightens me. The strength that it gives me, the power it holds over me, it consumes every inch of me, and a part of me wants to let it push me over." He was talking about the person he had once become - The Major - during the war, when the pain he suffered was too much for him to bear and he decided not to bear it at all. Jasper became an emotionless killing machine, and he had been unstoppable, that is, until he received the news of Margaret's death. "But then I fear of what might happen if I do, and it strikes me so hard, the thought of loosing her all over again, that I restrain. But each passing day is like taking a sip of water in the middle of the dessert. I just end up wanting to chug it all down, and yet I know if I do, it might all just end right there." Carlisle was awfully quiet, there was only one thing to say, one thing to do, and Jasper knew what that was.
"You are going to have to tell her, Jasper. You knew that from the beginning, it just has to be sooner than we expected." Carlisle had always given good advice to his kids, and it had been proven than listening to it was the wisest decision, but not always the easiest.
"Its just, with everything going on-" He began.
"Especially, with everything going on, Jasper. Tell her soon, for both your sakes." It was an order, not a suggestion.
***
Maggie was laying across Jasper's bed, typing on the laptop in front of her. It was quite the image, when Jasper walked in. Her limbs were bare, and they looked so soft all he wanted to do was caress every inch of her skin. He was certain his eyes were piercing through her, he was staring so intensely he thought for a second he might see through the silky pijama blouse she was wearing. It wasn't as if he needed to, because from the doorframe he could see the peek of burgundy red lace that was comfortably sitting underneath her pj shorts. Nothing would've made him look away, he was in a trance, and he was thinking of the million different ways this could turn out, many were very creative. She shifted, the bedsheets ruffling under her, Jasper memorized that sound like his life depended on it. Her pjs shifted along with her, and he was about to loose all sense of self control he had build in him for the last decades. He knocked on the doorframe. He knocked. There was a split second where he scram at himself for the stiupidity of the act. Why would he do that? In a way, it partially helped him snap out of the trance he was in. Partially.
"Hey you." Maggie smiled when she turned her head at the sound of the knock. She closed her laptop and placed it on the floor as she rose into a kneeling position. Jasper approached her, wearily, still unsure he would be able to fight this feeling off. Seeing her like that, her hair falling perfectly around her, her rosy cheeks and her silky blouse falling just barely where her shorts ended, and her legs. A quiet voice in his head scram at him to stop, but he couldn't. All he saw was her on her knees, in his bed, and her face, so smily and bright, and all he felt was the urge to kiss her lips and every inch of her body, but he shouldn't, he couldn't. Not yet, if he allowed himself a simple touch, who knew where that could end, he had to restrain. Control. He hugged her close, her arms snaking around his neck as his rested on her lower back. Control. He tried to repeat that to himself over and over again. But his hands had found an open spot under her blouse, and his fingertips brushed her skin so lightly it felt like a feather tickling him, teasing him. Control. He thought again. Margaret's hands wrapped themselves on his hair, and they tugged. Control. His hands were shaking as they maintained their caressing. For once, he felt warm all over, except the coolness of her lips on his neck as they kissed him softly. Screw control.
His lips were on hers so fast he barely registered it. It was cool and soothing, he never wanted to let go of her. His hands didn't shake now, they formed firm calculated circles on her back. After some time - he wasn't very sure how much - she pulled away for a breath, it was shagged and trembling, her sigh made him want her lips on him all over again. Margaret had never felt this way. She didn't think many people felt this way. There was a need clawing its way out of her, consuming each part of her as his hands touched her. They were everywhere, he has everywhere and she wanted him everywhere. Somehow her blouse got lost in the process, and she was left in shorts and her deep red bralette. She had barely noticed it as her hands crawled their way up Jasper's torso, feeling every inch of it. He was drinking her image, worshiping each and every inch of her there was. She felt his muscles tensing and relaxing under her fingertips. His lips had begun on her neck, but they were lower now, lower. They were so wrapped up in the bond, it was thickening, it was pulsating, and it needed them closer together, closer. Her hand caressed over a scar. Jasper was now at arms length from her, his eyes slowly transitioning from a dark black abyss to their usual honey shade as he panted. Margaret started loosing the boldness she had had a few seconds prior, grabbing her legs with her arms and scrunching back into a ball as she slipped her blouse back on. Her eyes shone and they looked at him apologetically.
Maybe they didn't want the same things after all.