Never Again

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight! I am merely borrowing Stephanie Meyers' characters for a bit of nefarious fun. I'll return them in relatively good shape when I am done. I make no money off of this story, so don't sue. All you'll get is some baby diapers and formula from my son.

Never in a million years did I ever think that I would end up here. Never did I ever think that I would end up stuck between my mate and his maker. Sure, I knew that Maria would always be after him, for as long as she was alive. Yeah, I knew that she was bat shit crazy and had it in her head that He was her mate and not mine. But I never thought that she would have done something like this, in front of the Volturi in her quest to get him back. Yet, here I am. Crouched protectively in front of my mate, snarling and growling at the woman who made him and who was trying to take him away from me. When she gave me that cheeky, shit-eating grin I lost it. I knew I had to win, I knew I had to beat her, kill her or she would take my mate away from me, make him watch while she tore me limb from limb and burned the pieces. So, I did what any good newborn vampire would when faced with the instinctual dilemma. I lunged.

Let me start back at the beginning. My name is Rebecca Miller. I just turned 21 years old and I just 'died'. I had everything that a girl of the 21st century could want. My family was pretty well off, not rich but very comfortable. I had a nice house, a brand new car (courtesy of my parents) and straight A's in all of my college classes. I'm two semesters away from graduating from Dartmouth with my Bachelors Degree in History, emphasis on the Civil War, and a minor in Biology. I lived pretty close to the Denali National Park, on about 12 acres of land in my family's nice home. We had neighbors, a strange family who lived about 20 minutes North of us. There were three sisters, and a couple of their boyfriends (or husbands, I wasn't sure) lived there too. They had an incredibly amazing mansion and more land than I had ever seen owned by a single family before. They were nice enough, but something, that voice in the back of my mind, screamed at me to not trust them. That something weird was going on with them, they way that guy...what was his name? Oh, Eleazar. Yeah, the way that Eleazar would stare at me. Made me feel like I was going to grow a second head or something. They freaked me out, no doubt about that.

It was Christmas time and I was on my way home from school for the semester break. I had been traveling for a long time and all I wanted to do was curl up on my nice soft bed in my bedroom at home and sleep. But, when I pulled up into our long driveway, I knew that I would not be doing anything of the sort. There was some blue truck in the driveway that I had never seen before. I knew that my twin brother wasn't even home from school yet so it didn't belong to any of his friends. As I parked and got out of my BMW, I got the creepiest feeling. I was scared and I had no idea why. As I walked up the driveway, I was met by the most beautiful man that I had ever seen.

He had gorgeous topaz colored eyes, and they were filled with a mixture of curiosity, longing and sadness. He had been standing on my front porch, in this horrible snowstorm, and it looked as though he had been waiting for me. As I got closer, I noticed that he wasn't wearing a jacket.

'That's weird.' I thought. 'It's freezing out here and he doesn't even look like he's the least bit bothered by that fact.'

When I reached the porch steps, I slipped. I was expecting to smash my head on the ground, but I never even got close. That mysterious man was holding me in his arms. He had, somehow, gotten off of the porch and behind me in the time that it had taken my clumsy feet to slip on the ice patch. He caught me before I fell. To say that I was really freaked out would be an understatement. I was beyond terrified. I looked up at the man who held me. He gave me a warm, soft smile and set me back on my feet, still holding me lightly in case I should slip again. He helped me up the stairs and into my house. After he had closed the door, the warmth of the fire from the front fireplace immediately made me feel better. I felt safe, and all of my fear had just melted away after that man touched me.

"My name is Jasper Whitlock." the mysterious man said softly into my ear. His slight southern accent made butterflies dance in my stomach.

Surprised, I turned sharply to face him, and my wet boots slipped on the tile floor, causing me to stumble. Jasper, as I had just found out was his name, caught me again and easily pulled me into him. He held me loosely around the waist and looked into my eyes. Once again I was felt safe and secure in his arms. And once again, all of my fear had been melted away. I stared up into his eyes, and I swear he could feel my confusion.

"My family and I came up here specifically to meet ya. Your father called us and said that it was time, that you were ready to know what your destiny was." Jasper said softly, and looking deeply into my eyes.

At my confused face, he continued. "Rebecca..."

"Becca, please." I interrupted. Immediately I was embarrassed that I had said anything and looked down ashamed. And I just knew I was blushing furiously.

"Becca, don't be embarrassed." he continued, unfazed by my outburst. He placed a hand under my chin and gently coaxed me to raise my head again. "My family and I, as well as your neighbors and your father...we're all vampires. My sister, Alice, as well as Eleazar have seen you, and have seen that ya will become one of us."

"But...how? What do you mean? I don't understand?" I asked, scared at what Jasper was telling me.

"Hush, darlin'. Let me explain. You and I...we're mates. We're meant to be together. Alice also saw that, one day, you would be like us. Be like me. We're destined for each other, and all I can say Becca...is that I have been waitin' for ya for a long time." Jasper explained, never letting go of my face.

My mind was reeling, how could my father be a vampire? How could I be destined for someone? I was so confused. I tore my eyes away from Jasper's and I moved across the entryway. Quickly, I kicked off my boots and ran into the house. I stripped my jacket as I went and tore off towards my bedroom. I flew into my room and slammed the door behind me. Quickly locking it for good measure. I sat on my bed and grabbed my raggedy old teddy bear. I held him tight to my chest and struggled to make sense of everything that Jasper had told me.

"Becca, dear? Let me in. Please?" my father said desperately.

"No! Go away!" I shouted, angry with him for keeping such a big secret from me.

I heard the doorknob jingling and it popped a few moments later. My dad walked into my room as he put a small tool back into his pocket. "Becca, please listen to me. I never wanted to hurt you. I have always wanted to tell you, but your mother wouldn't allow it. She didn't want you to be upset or angry with us because of what I am. Honey, look...there are a lot of things that I need to tell you. I just hope that you can forgive me once you've heard it all." he said as he sat down next to me on my bed.

"I'm going to try to say this as simply as possible. And I know that it'll hurt, but hopefully Jasper here can help with that." he explained as Jasper came into my room. He sat in my desk chair, straddling the back of it, folded his arms on the top and rested his chin on his folded arms. I couldn't help but think that he looked pretty hot sitting there like that. He smirked as soon as I had thought that, and I blushed, embarrassed once again.

My dad cleared his throat. I jumped, and my eyes shot back to him. He chuckled slightly and continued. "Becca...I'm not your real father. I met your mother when she was 8 months pregnant with you and Brom. Did Jasper tell you what it means to be mated?"

"He started to. But I don't really understand it." I replied.

"Well, every vampire has a mate. Another person that they are destined to be with. Not all of us actually find our mates, because sometimes they are killed, or they're human and we don't get the chance to find them before they expire. Anyway, once a vampire finds his or her mate, they are drawn to them. There is no way to fight the pull of your mate, even humans can feel that pull. Your mother and I, we're mates. When I met her, I just knew that I could never go another day without her. Your real father had been killed in a car accident with a drunk driver. When she heard the news, it sent her into premature labor and I was working in the hospital where you were born. I came into her room to assist with the delivery and the moment I laid eyes on her, I knew that she had to be mine. After you were born, your mother and I had a long talk about everything. She felt the pull as well, agreed to marry me, and I adopted both you and Brom. From that day on, we have been inseparable. While you and your brother were away, she asked me to change her into a vampire as well, so that we may be together for the rest of eternity. Of course, I agreed and that is why, when young Alice called me about what she had seen, I agreed that it was time that you and Brom knew the truth. While she hasn't found Brom's mate yet, we have already spoken to him about everything and he is happy for us. Alice has, however, found your mate." He gestured to Jasper. "Which is Jasper here."

I glanced over at him and he had a worried look on his face. My emotions were all over the place, concern, fear, confusion but mostly anger. When his eyes met mine, I felt all of my anger fade away and was replaced with calm. I looked at him curiously.

Jasper grinned and said "I'm an empath, darlin'. I can sense people's emotions and manipulate them."

"Oh." was all I could say. I knew I should turn back to my father to hear the rest of the story, but I just couldn't bring myself to turn away from Jasper. He had that look of longing in his eyes again, and I wondered, for a moment, if I had the same look in mine. I jumped again when my father cleared his throat. I quickly turned back to him, breaking eye contact with Jasper. I could still feel him watching me though, and, for some reason, that thought comforted me.

"Now Becca, you need to know that we don't expect anything from you. We don't expect you to be completely OK with everything that we've just told you, nor do we expect you to just jump into a relationship with Jasper. Everything that happens from here on out will be your choice. And whatever you decide will not only be OK with me, but with Jasper as well." he finished, looking to Jasper for confirmation of what he had said.

I looked over at Jasper again, curious as to what he had to say. I looked into his eyes again and saw love, devotion, and determination.

"Darlin' what your father said is right. Whatever ya decide is fine with me. I will be whatever ya need me ta be. A friend, a confidant, a lover. I'll even walk out this door right now and never bother ya again if that's what ya want." He said somberly, looking me in the eye to let me know that what he was saying was the truth.

"I...I don't know what to say. This is...all just too much. I-I'm so confused. I-I'm sorry Jasper...I just..."I stammered. My emotions giving me the feeling of drowning.

Jasper got up and sat next to me on the bed. He drew my face up to meet his eyes with one hand. Seriously he said, "I don't expect an answer tonight darlin'. You have all the time in the world to decide what ya wanna do. But if ya would allow me to, I could help calm those raging emotions of yours and help ya get some rest."

I nodded and suddenly felt completely relaxed and even tired. I yawned loudly and gave him a lazy look. "I'll try to..." yawn, "figure out what I" yawn, "think about everything in the" yawn," morning."

My father got up from the bed. "Good night my dear." He said from the doorway.

Jasper still stayed seated on the bed next to me. He pulled down my covers before getting up. "Is there anythin' I can get ya darlin'? Pajamas, food, a drink?"

I shook my head slowly. "Nah, I'm good for now, Ja-Jas-Jasper." I said through another yawn.

He smiled softly and laid me down on my bed. He pulled the covers up around me and gave me a small but loving kiss on the top of my head. "Good night darlin'. I'll see you in the morning." He quietly left my side, turned off the light and closed the door with a soft click.