The Inauspicious Beginnings Of A Prince
by Laura Spudzmom
Chapter 10
Jasper sank back into his first class seat, enjoying every minute of the flight. It didn't even bother him that he was sitting next to Edward.
He had figured him out and knew that all he need do to keep his thoughts private was to have a continual loop of his many conquests going in his head.
The boy couldn't stand it and for Jasper, it was much more enjoyable to think of than say, latin or complex math or some other nonsense.
Right now for instance, he was thinking of what he'd like to do to that smoking hot flight attendant that was eying him up when he boarded an hour ago.
Talk about killing two birds with one smoking hot stone.
He could use the memories to keep Eddie boy out of his head and piss off Daddy whilst making said memories.
It was simply too good to pass up, and so, decision made, he got up from his seat and slowly strolled up the aisle to the restroom watching from his peripheral vision as she quickly made her way after him.
~o0o~
Lemon Alert
~o0o~
Once they both were in the washroom, and thank the gods first class had larger washrooms than coach, Jasper wasted no time, pulling her in for a kiss while running his hand over her breast, circling her nipple with his thumb.
Moving down her neck with his kisses, he murmured, "Are you ready for me?" which got him a moan and a nod.
He smirked and turned her toward the sink, placing her hands on the counter. "Hang on beautiful because I'm going to fuck you now." Her hooded eyes met his in the mirror and she nodded spreading her legs shoulder width and bracing against the sink.
He ran both hands up her thighs, lifting her skirt as he went and smirked wickedly at her lack of panties.
Unzipping and pulling himself out, he ran the head of his cock through her folds to slick himself and then slid into her firmly, watching as her eyes almost rolled back as she moaned lowly.
Leaning forward, he turned her head toward him and kissed her murmuring "I'm not gonna have to kiss you the whole time to keep you quiet am I beautiful?"
She shook her head and he leaned back again.
"Good, because here we go sweetheart."
And with that he picked up a punishing pace that had her gasping and biting her lip, eyes tightly shut as she tried valiantly to stay quiet through probably the best sex of her life.
Such sensations she'd never felt before from mere fucking and she was sure that she would remember this encounter for as long as she lived.
~o0o~
Jasper washed up and went back to his seat, small smirk firmly affixed, especially enjoying the naked rage he saw in Carlisle's eyes as he walked by.
Emmett reached up to high five him and Rosalie yanked his arm back down with a dirty look, so he smiled apologetically instead.
Jasper simply chuckled as he settled back into his seat for the rest of the flight. He looked over at Edward and grinned wickedly. "I love first class. Don't you?"
Edward merely shook his head, a disapproving frown on his face, and placed his headphones in his ears again closing his eyes to feign sleep.
When they finally landed Edward was wound so tightly Jasper was surprised he didn't squeak when walked.
It wasn't his fault that the flight attendants wouldn't leave them alone even through Edwards fake sleeping, not to mention Carlisle's casual mentioning of the fact that Jasper is his underage son.
Jasper shrugged mentally and went to retrieve his bag.
When he did get his bag, he was pleasantly surprised by a well dressed fellow standing just to the side of the baggage claim with his name on a sign.
Walking up to the man, he set his bag down. "I'm Jasper Volturi." He showed him his drivers license and the man smiled.
"Wonderful. Your father arranged a car for you sir. This way please."
Raising an eyebrow, Jasper grabbed his bag and followed the man, the Cullen's looking on curiously.
Just outside the doors at the passenger loading area was the sleekest silver Porche 911 Jasper had ever seen and he grinned widely.
He'd have to call his father a little later for sure.
The man gave him the keys and told him that his destination was already programmed into the GPS.
With that, he turned and took his leave.
Popping the door, Jasper tossed in his bag, slid into the buttery leather seat and took off for Forks, WA without a glance back at the speechless group he'd traveled with.
He grinned to himself. It sure was nice to have a King for a Father.
Carlisle picked up his Mercedes from the airport parking they'd had it delivered to and Esme, Edward and Alice got in after placing their bags in the trunk.
Rosalie and Emmett were in her BMW that had also been delivered.
The tension was thick in the car, most of all between Carlisle and Esme.
He was furious with Jasper and Esme was angry that he was furious.
She was sure that he was going to do something to make Jasper want to leave again and she would do virtually anything to prevent that.
"Esme, you have to admit that he is out of control my love. You had to have heard what went on in that airplane lavatory! Why aren't you outraged at his behavior?"
"Oh Carlisle. He's a virile seventeen year old male and he's extremely handsome. What do you expect? He certainly didn't drag her into that lavatory my dear husband. She followed him after devouring him with her eyes as we boarded the plane for heaven's sake! Do you honestly expect him to turn that kind of thing down?!"
"Yes! I do! Edward does! It's not out of the realm of possibility Esme! And I can't believe I'm saying this, but you sound just like Caius Volturi in the excuses you make for him!" He shook his head. "Unbelievable."
She pierced him with a hard look. "You're going to drive him away and if that happens again, I don't know if I'll be able to forgive you."
Carlisle's eyes widened as he looked at his wife, mouth open in incredulity. Similar looks were on the two faces in the back seat.
"Just what do you mean by 'again' Esme? And you'd let our seventeen year old son come between us like this?"
"I never said a word nine years ago Carlisle when you whipped our son until he was begging you to stop and you kept going even after he begged and pleaded. I counted Carlisle. You hit him twenty more times after he begged you to stop. He left willingly with complete strangers that very day and we didn't see him again for nine years by his choice."
Carlisle was now shaking his head slowly.
"Maybe he's more like you than I thought. He won't ever forget that one little spanking either.
What was I to do Esme? Let him continue to abuse everyone in the house with his foul mouth and bad attitude? Look where that's lead him today? Caius let him get away with murder, literally might I add, and look at how he's turned out?"
Esme now looked outraged.
"Yes, let's look shall we? He's handsome, well-educated, well-mannered….."
Carlisle and Edward both scoffed loudly at this and Alice gave Edward a dirty look, no doubt with the thoughts to go along with it.
"He is well-mannered when you aren't antagonizing him Carlisle! He was a gentleman to me and he's even made strides in getting closer to me. He hugs me now and he would never let me touch him before!"
Carlisle gave her a sidelong glance, doubt written all over his face.
"Have you ever considered that he may be using you Esme? Has that thought ever entered your mind? Because if not, then it needs to. You're going to have to be very careful with him Esme. He's a master manipulator! He's been raised by Caius Volturi for gods sake!"
She whipped her head around to pin him with a cold glare. "Yes, and who's fault is that dear husband?! And he is not using me. His hugs were genuine."
Hostile silence descended in the car and it stayed that way all the way to their new house.
Alice was closing her eyes and concentrating on anything but seeing visions.
Running over so many irritating songs and poems, TV commercials, whole episodes of What Not To Wear…..She couldn't wait to escape the confines of the car.
If she let one thing slip with Edward around, well she just couldn't consider the outcome.
She had to stick to her plan and block him.
Edwards head whipped around to her. "Block me from what Alice?"
Eyes wide, she began reciting the dictionary backwards including definitions.
"Nothing you need to know about Edward now drop it and don't try to make me slip. It would be a disaster for all of us. Trust me."
He furrowed his brow but then nodded. "Okay Alice. I trust you."
He smiled and she sighed in a tiny bit of relief.
The real relief came when they finally arrived and were all able to get out of the pressure cooker that was Carlisle's car. They all breathed a little easier, although the tension was still very real between the two parental figures.
Jasper was leaning against his car chatting with Rosalie and Emmett when the other family members got there, and smirked to himself at the sheer amount of anger radiating off of Carlisle.
Carlisle opened the house up and Esme called them all into a group.
"Okay everyone, it's time to choose rooms. Carlisle and I have already chosen ours and it will be obvious which one it is. You all choose from the others and well work on personalizing them this week before school begins. Jasper honey, I sort of chose one for you already but if you don't like it you can change with one of the others. Would you like to see it?"
He turned to her with a sweet smile.
"I'm sure I'll love it Esme and I'd love to see it. Thank you."
She smiled widely at him and took his offered arm.
They disappeared up the stairs and Carlisle shook his head, gathered their bags and began settling in.
The next day, Carlisle called a family meeting and they all gathered in the dining room, taking seats around the table.
Jasper chose to stand against the wall directly opposite of where Carlisle sat at the head.
Carlisle began. "Okay everyone. I just wanted to go over information that's very important to this area. There are tribal lands that we are not allowed on due to a treaty agreed upon between our family and the tribe. This treaty states that we agree not to bite or feed from any human, so Jasper, you will have to sustain yourself on bagged blood that I procure for you."
Jasper was shaking his head before Carlisle was done speaking.
"No. I'll simply go outside this treaty area if I must, but I'm not drinking stale blood through a straw for a whole year. Seattle isn't that far. I'll just go there a couple of times a month."
Carlisle sat back with a determined look on his face.
"Son, you cannot. It's in violation of the treaty. If they found out, then a treaty that is over a hundred years old would be broken."
Jasper rolled his eyes. "Who is going to tell them what I'm up to in Seattle? And how would they know what I sustain myself on anyway? It's not as though my eyes are gonna change color. They'll never find the bodies intact. I know how to clean up after my kills."
Esme looked down in her lap at this point while Carlisle closed his eyes and sighed a pained sigh.
"Son, what is the issue you have with bagged blood? It's the perfect answer to our dilemma here and no one has to die to keep you fed."
"It tastes like shit, that's my issue. You may not have a problem living on something that tastes rotten, but I do. I could see the bagged stuff being around for emergencies, but that's it. I don't personally see why you have a problem with me making a couple of trips a month to Seattle for fresh blood. I only feed twice a month for gods sake. I'm not gonna be slaughtering whole neighborhoods when I go!"
Carlisle stood from his chair and leaned on the top of the table, meeting Jasper's eye.
"I will not allow you to kill people twice a month while you are living here. You will have bagged human blood here."
Jasper, seeing the futility in this argument leaned lazily against the wall, crossed his arms over his chest and smirked at his biological father.
"Fine. You win. Satisfied?"
Carlisle gave him a hard, narrow eyed stare.
"Do I have your word that you will not feed from a human while living here?"
Jasper simply grinned.
"No way. Not gonna happen. I'm vampire, no matter how much you all like to deny that part of you, I'm not about to. You gonna drug me or tie me up now Daddy? You're certainly welcomed to try but I'll warn you, I've learned a few things since then and I'm a bit bigger if you haven't noticed, so you might have more of a challenge on your hands this time around."
Esme laid a hand on Carlisle's arm and gave him a pleading look to which he sighed and sat down, looking somewhat defeated. He looked to his son again.
"You will of course, be very careful in your feeding habits then?"
Jasper smiled amiably. "Of a certainty!"
The meeting concluded and Carlisle took them all out and showed them the treaty line, not that it would be much of an issue for Jasper simply because he would do his hunting in a much more urban environment, but he paid attention nonetheless.
Information was always good to have than not, he felt.
"So some of the tribes members actually shift into massive wolves?"
Jasper's eyes were wide at the prospect. This phenomenon he would pay good money to see.
Carlisle glanced at him and nodded.
"Yes, they do, but I haven't seen any actual shifters for many years. I speculate that the gene may have died out with the last group, but I could be wrong. It's best not to test my theory and simply stay away. We have maintained peace with these people for so many years now, and I really don't want to risk jeopardizing that. They are not ignorant of us. They have passed down information on cold ones, as they refer to us, through the generations via their tribal legends. I'm sure that the modern generations probably consider them myths, but their tribal leaders, to this day, do not welcome our family on their lands."
Jasper nodded thoughtfully. "Good to know."
Upon arriving back at their home, Jasper decided to go for a drive and acquaint himself with the area and surroundings.
He would need to be able to get around without wasting time later on after all.
If he was going to be able to search for his brother without arousing suspicion, he needed to streamline everything he did otherwise they would notice him missing from the routines of the household and that would only serve to piqué their curiosity. He certainly couldn't have that happen. They'd follow him for sure then.
Grabbing his keys, he headed for the door when Carlisle stopped him.
"Jasper, where are you going?"
Rolling his eyes in exasperation before turning, he answered.
"Oh, I thought I'd go snack on some of the locals, just to get an idea of what's on offer here. You know, the equivalent of wine tasting?"
"Son, I don't appreciate your sarcasm. I only ask because we like to keep track of our family members whereabouts. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being accountable to an adult Jasper."
"Fine. I'm going for a drive."
He turned and left through the front door, hoping against hope that he could now make a clean get away.
It was not to be.
Esme was waiting for him, and he sighed in impatience.
"Jasper honey, may I speak with you for a moment?"
He smiled at her while mentally telling her 'hell no'.
"Sure Esme. What can I do for you?"
She gestured toward the long driveway and he fell into step beside her, waiting for what she had to say.
Finally, when he thought his patience would run out, she spoke.
"Jasper honey, I would consider it a personal favor if you could put more effort into getting along with your father."
She looked at him and her expression was imploring.
He bristled a bit at the mere thought.
"First of all Esme, I get along wonderfully with my Father, who is, at this very moment, in a castle in Italy. But seeing as how we both know that I am not that obtuse, I will tell you that my relationship with Carlisle will always be, at the best, contrary. There will never be warmth between us and I'm very sorry if that creates strife in your household, but I will be gone in a year and a year in the life of a vampire is virtually nothing. I will soon be just a mere blip on your radar; a drop in your ocean of time."
She stopped and faced him.
"You will never be that to me. You are my son and I love you with my whole heart, whether you feel the same or not. You will never be a forgotten moment in a vast ocean of moments for me. You are, and have been since the day of your birth, at the forefront of my mind, and there you will always remain."
Jasper had to admit to being blindsided by her candor and the depth of her emotions.
She was telling the absolute truth.
He could feel it and it took his breath away.
He was wholly unprepared for this and so didn't have a witty come-back.
He looked in her eyes and saw the tears there and choked on his own emotions.
He had no idea how to respond.
She reached up and caressed his cheek. "Oh my beautiful son, I love you so."
He hung his head and the ground began to blur as tears came to his eyes, a sob escaping him before he could stop it.
She moved forward then and gathered him into her arms and he let her hold him, if only for a little while.
Jasper sank back into his first class seat, enjoying every minute of the flight. It didn't even bother him that he was sitting next to Edward.
He had figured him out and knew that all he need do to keep his thoughts private was to have a continual loop of his many conquests going in his head.
The boy couldn't stand it and for Jasper, it was much more enjoyable to think of than say, latin or complex math or some other nonsense.
Right now for instance, he was thinking of what he'd like to do to that smoking hot flight attendant that was eying him up when he boarded an hour ago.
Talk about killing two birds with one smoking hot stone.
He could use the memories to keep Eddie boy out of his head and piss off Daddy whilst making said memories.
It was simply too good to pass up, and so, decision made, he got up from his seat and slowly strolled up the aisle to the restroom watching from his peripheral vision as she quickly made her way after him.
~o0o~
Lemon Alert
~o0o~
Once they both were in the washroom, and thank the gods first class had larger washrooms than coach, Jasper wasted no time, pulling her in for a kiss while running his hand over her breast, circling her nipple with his thumb.
Moving down her neck with his kisses, he murmured, "Are you ready for me?" which got him a moan and a nod.
He smirked and turned her toward the sink, placing her hands on the counter. "Hang on beautiful because I'm going to fuck you now." Her hooded eyes met his in the mirror and she nodded spreading her legs shoulder width and bracing against the sink.
He ran both hands up her thighs, lifting her skirt as he went and smirked wickedly at her lack of panties.
Unzipping and pulling himself out, he ran the head of his cock through her folds to slick himself and then slid into her firmly, watching as her eyes almost rolled back as she moaned lowly.
Leaning forward, he turned her head toward him and kissed her murmuring "I'm not gonna have to kiss you the whole time to keep you quiet am I beautiful?"
She shook her head and he leaned back again.
"Good, because here we go sweetheart."
And with that he picked up a punishing pace that had her gasping and biting her lip, eyes tightly shut as she tried valiantly to stay quiet through probably the best sex of her life.
Such sensations she'd never felt before from mere fucking and she was sure that she would remember this encounter for as long as she lived.
~o0o~
Jasper washed up and went back to his seat, small smirk firmly affixed, especially enjoying the naked rage he saw in Carlisle's eyes as he walked by.
Emmett reached up to high five him and Rosalie yanked his arm back down with a dirty look, so he smiled apologetically instead.
Jasper simply chuckled as he settled back into his seat for the rest of the flight. He looked over at Edward and grinned wickedly. "I love first class. Don't you?"
Edward merely shook his head, a disapproving frown on his face, and placed his headphones in his ears again closing his eyes to feign sleep.
When they finally landed Edward was wound so tightly Jasper was surprised he didn't squeak when walked.
It wasn't his fault that the flight attendants wouldn't leave them alone even through Edwards fake sleeping, not to mention Carlisle's casual mentioning of the fact that Jasper is his underage son.
Jasper shrugged mentally and went to retrieve his bag.
When he did get his bag, he was pleasantly surprised by a well dressed fellow standing just to the side of the baggage claim with his name on a sign.
Walking up to the man, he set his bag down. "I'm Jasper Volturi." He showed him his drivers license and the man smiled.
"Wonderful. Your father arranged a car for you sir. This way please."
Raising an eyebrow, Jasper grabbed his bag and followed the man, the Cullen's looking on curiously.
Just outside the doors at the passenger loading area was the sleekest silver Porche 911 Jasper had ever seen and he grinned widely.
He'd have to call his father a little later for sure.
The man gave him the keys and told him that his destination was already programmed into the GPS.
With that, he turned and took his leave.
Popping the door, Jasper tossed in his bag, slid into the buttery leather seat and took off for Forks, WA without a glance back at the speechless group he'd traveled with.
He grinned to himself. It sure was nice to have a King for a Father.
Carlisle picked up his Mercedes from the airport parking they'd had it delivered to and Esme, Edward and Alice got in after placing their bags in the trunk.
Rosalie and Emmett were in her BMW that had also been delivered.
The tension was thick in the car, most of all between Carlisle and Esme.
He was furious with Jasper and Esme was angry that he was furious.
She was sure that he was going to do something to make Jasper want to leave again and she would do virtually anything to prevent that.
"Esme, you have to admit that he is out of control my love. You had to have heard what went on in that airplane lavatory! Why aren't you outraged at his behavior?"
"Oh Carlisle. He's a virile seventeen year old male and he's extremely handsome. What do you expect? He certainly didn't drag her into that lavatory my dear husband. She followed him after devouring him with her eyes as we boarded the plane for heaven's sake! Do you honestly expect him to turn that kind of thing down?!"
"Yes! I do! Edward does! It's not out of the realm of possibility Esme! And I can't believe I'm saying this, but you sound just like Caius Volturi in the excuses you make for him!" He shook his head. "Unbelievable."
She pierced him with a hard look. "You're going to drive him away and if that happens again, I don't know if I'll be able to forgive you."
Carlisle's eyes widened as he looked at his wife, mouth open in incredulity. Similar looks were on the two faces in the back seat.
"Just what do you mean by 'again' Esme? And you'd let our seventeen year old son come between us like this?"
"I never said a word nine years ago Carlisle when you whipped our son until he was begging you to stop and you kept going even after he begged and pleaded. I counted Carlisle. You hit him twenty more times after he begged you to stop. He left willingly with complete strangers that very day and we didn't see him again for nine years by his choice."
Carlisle was now shaking his head slowly.
"Maybe he's more like you than I thought. He won't ever forget that one little spanking either.
What was I to do Esme? Let him continue to abuse everyone in the house with his foul mouth and bad attitude? Look where that's lead him today? Caius let him get away with murder, literally might I add, and look at how he's turned out?"
Esme now looked outraged.
"Yes, let's look shall we? He's handsome, well-educated, well-mannered….."
Carlisle and Edward both scoffed loudly at this and Alice gave Edward a dirty look, no doubt with the thoughts to go along with it.
"He is well-mannered when you aren't antagonizing him Carlisle! He was a gentleman to me and he's even made strides in getting closer to me. He hugs me now and he would never let me touch him before!"
Carlisle gave her a sidelong glance, doubt written all over his face.
"Have you ever considered that he may be using you Esme? Has that thought ever entered your mind? Because if not, then it needs to. You're going to have to be very careful with him Esme. He's a master manipulator! He's been raised by Caius Volturi for gods sake!"
She whipped her head around to pin him with a cold glare. "Yes, and who's fault is that dear husband?! And he is not using me. His hugs were genuine."
Hostile silence descended in the car and it stayed that way all the way to their new house.
Alice was closing her eyes and concentrating on anything but seeing visions.
Running over so many irritating songs and poems, TV commercials, whole episodes of What Not To Wear…..She couldn't wait to escape the confines of the car.
If she let one thing slip with Edward around, well she just couldn't consider the outcome.
She had to stick to her plan and block him.
Edwards head whipped around to her. "Block me from what Alice?"
Eyes wide, she began reciting the dictionary backwards including definitions.
"Nothing you need to know about Edward now drop it and don't try to make me slip. It would be a disaster for all of us. Trust me."
He furrowed his brow but then nodded. "Okay Alice. I trust you."
He smiled and she sighed in a tiny bit of relief.
The real relief came when they finally arrived and were all able to get out of the pressure cooker that was Carlisle's car. They all breathed a little easier, although the tension was still very real between the two parental figures.
Jasper was leaning against his car chatting with Rosalie and Emmett when the other family members got there, and smirked to himself at the sheer amount of anger radiating off of Carlisle.
Carlisle opened the house up and Esme called them all into a group.
"Okay everyone, it's time to choose rooms. Carlisle and I have already chosen ours and it will be obvious which one it is. You all choose from the others and well work on personalizing them this week before school begins. Jasper honey, I sort of chose one for you already but if you don't like it you can change with one of the others. Would you like to see it?"
He turned to her with a sweet smile.
"I'm sure I'll love it Esme and I'd love to see it. Thank you."
She smiled widely at him and took his offered arm.
They disappeared up the stairs and Carlisle shook his head, gathered their bags and began settling in.
The next day, Carlisle called a family meeting and they all gathered in the dining room, taking seats around the table.
Jasper chose to stand against the wall directly opposite of where Carlisle sat at the head.
Carlisle began. "Okay everyone. I just wanted to go over information that's very important to this area. There are tribal lands that we are not allowed on due to a treaty agreed upon between our family and the tribe. This treaty states that we agree not to bite or feed from any human, so Jasper, you will have to sustain yourself on bagged blood that I procure for you."
Jasper was shaking his head before Carlisle was done speaking.
"No. I'll simply go outside this treaty area if I must, but I'm not drinking stale blood through a straw for a whole year. Seattle isn't that far. I'll just go there a couple of times a month."
Carlisle sat back with a determined look on his face.
"Son, you cannot. It's in violation of the treaty. If they found out, then a treaty that is over a hundred years old would be broken."
Jasper rolled his eyes. "Who is going to tell them what I'm up to in Seattle? And how would they know what I sustain myself on anyway? It's not as though my eyes are gonna change color. They'll never find the bodies intact. I know how to clean up after my kills."
Esme looked down in her lap at this point while Carlisle closed his eyes and sighed a pained sigh.
"Son, what is the issue you have with bagged blood? It's the perfect answer to our dilemma here and no one has to die to keep you fed."
"It tastes like shit, that's my issue. You may not have a problem living on something that tastes rotten, but I do. I could see the bagged stuff being around for emergencies, but that's it. I don't personally see why you have a problem with me making a couple of trips a month to Seattle for fresh blood. I only feed twice a month for gods sake. I'm not gonna be slaughtering whole neighborhoods when I go!"
Carlisle stood from his chair and leaned on the top of the table, meeting Jasper's eye.
"I will not allow you to kill people twice a month while you are living here. You will have bagged human blood here."
Jasper, seeing the futility in this argument leaned lazily against the wall, crossed his arms over his chest and smirked at his biological father.
"Fine. You win. Satisfied?"
Carlisle gave him a hard, narrow eyed stare.
"Do I have your word that you will not feed from a human while living here?"
Jasper simply grinned.
"No way. Not gonna happen. I'm vampire, no matter how much you all like to deny that part of you, I'm not about to. You gonna drug me or tie me up now Daddy? You're certainly welcomed to try but I'll warn you, I've learned a few things since then and I'm a bit bigger if you haven't noticed, so you might have more of a challenge on your hands this time around."
Esme laid a hand on Carlisle's arm and gave him a pleading look to which he sighed and sat down, looking somewhat defeated. He looked to his son again.
"You will of course, be very careful in your feeding habits then?"
Jasper smiled amiably. "Of a certainty!"
The meeting concluded and Carlisle took them all out and showed them the treaty line, not that it would be much of an issue for Jasper simply because he would do his hunting in a much more urban environment, but he paid attention nonetheless.
Information was always good to have than not, he felt.
"So some of the tribes members actually shift into massive wolves?"
Jasper's eyes were wide at the prospect. This phenomenon he would pay good money to see.
Carlisle glanced at him and nodded.
"Yes, they do, but I haven't seen any actual shifters for many years. I speculate that the gene may have died out with the last group, but I could be wrong. It's best not to test my theory and simply stay away. We have maintained peace with these people for so many years now, and I really don't want to risk jeopardizing that. They are not ignorant of us. They have passed down information on cold ones, as they refer to us, through the generations via their tribal legends. I'm sure that the modern generations probably consider them myths, but their tribal leaders, to this day, do not welcome our family on their lands."
Jasper nodded thoughtfully. "Good to know."
Upon arriving back at their home, Jasper decided to go for a drive and acquaint himself with the area and surroundings.
He would need to be able to get around without wasting time later on after all.
If he was going to be able to search for his brother without arousing suspicion, he needed to streamline everything he did otherwise they would notice him missing from the routines of the household and that would only serve to piqué their curiosity. He certainly couldn't have that happen. They'd follow him for sure then.
Grabbing his keys, he headed for the door when Carlisle stopped him.
"Jasper, where are you going?"
Rolling his eyes in exasperation before turning, he answered.
"Oh, I thought I'd go snack on some of the locals, just to get an idea of what's on offer here. You know, the equivalent of wine tasting?"
"Son, I don't appreciate your sarcasm. I only ask because we like to keep track of our family members whereabouts. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being accountable to an adult Jasper."
"Fine. I'm going for a drive."
He turned and left through the front door, hoping against hope that he could now make a clean get away.
It was not to be.
Esme was waiting for him, and he sighed in impatience.
"Jasper honey, may I speak with you for a moment?"
He smiled at her while mentally telling her 'hell no'.
"Sure Esme. What can I do for you?"
She gestured toward the long driveway and he fell into step beside her, waiting for what she had to say.
Finally, when he thought his patience would run out, she spoke.
"Jasper honey, I would consider it a personal favor if you could put more effort into getting along with your father."
She looked at him and her expression was imploring.
He bristled a bit at the mere thought.
"First of all Esme, I get along wonderfully with my Father, who is, at this very moment, in a castle in Italy. But seeing as how we both know that I am not that obtuse, I will tell you that my relationship with Carlisle will always be, at the best, contrary. There will never be warmth between us and I'm very sorry if that creates strife in your household, but I will be gone in a year and a year in the life of a vampire is virtually nothing. I will soon be just a mere blip on your radar; a drop in your ocean of time."
She stopped and faced him.
"You will never be that to me. You are my son and I love you with my whole heart, whether you feel the same or not. You will never be a forgotten moment in a vast ocean of moments for me. You are, and have been since the day of your birth, at the forefront of my mind, and there you will always remain."
Jasper had to admit to being blindsided by her candor and the depth of her emotions.
She was telling the absolute truth.
He could feel it and it took his breath away.
He was wholly unprepared for this and so didn't have a witty come-back.
He looked in her eyes and saw the tears there and choked on his own emotions.
He had no idea how to respond.
She reached up and caressed his cheek. "Oh my beautiful son, I love you so."
He hung his head and the ground began to blur as tears came to his eyes, a sob escaping him before he could stop it.
She moved forward then and gathered him into her arms and he let her hold him, if only for a little while.
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