A\N: This is the first chapter of the second story in the Change series. Please be sure to read the first story of the series: Change A Journey of Struggle. You can find a link to this story in my Author's Profile.

All Chapters have been re-uploaded with numerous grammar, spelling, and story consistency changes. The story has not been beta so all mistakes are my own.

In-Regards to Lemons/Sexual Content: All Lemons/Graphic Sexual Content in the story have been removed. If you want to read them you will need to go to TWCS. There is a link in my Author's Profile to the listing of all my stories on that site. You will also find all current Outtakes on TWCS.

Story Details: This story is slash, M/M relationship between Jasper & Edward.

Chapter One: In the Blink of an Eye

It was a cool autumn day in Calgary, Alberta Canada. We had moved here nearly one year ago, and we were settling in nicely. One of the benefits of moving here was the closer proximity to Denali, which meant that Edward got to see Riley more often. The two of them were nearly inseparable at times. You could clearly see the close connection they shared.

Over the past couple of decades we'd been working on expanding the new abilities that unlocked in Edward and Riley's gifts. Edward and I were now able to have completely silent conversations without Riley being present. This ability also extended to Riley and Edward being able to have a silent conversation with any family member when the two of them were present, and had physical contact with the family member. Edward and I enjoyed driving Emmett crazy with silent conversations, or pretending to have a conversation just to get a reaction of out him.

"Hey Jasper, Peter and I are going hunting, do you want to come with us?" Emmett asked as he stopped just outside my study.

"Give me a couple of minutes to finish signing these foundation checks, and I'll join you guys," I replied.

"We'll be waiting by my Jeep," Emmett said.

I quickly finished signing the check and placed them aside to be mailed out later. I'd spent the last several weeks going over scholarship applications that had been submitted to the foundations. Each year I would give away between a half dozen to two dozen scholarships for students studying education, history or literature.

I didn't want to keep Emmett and Peter waiting too long. I flitted down the hall, but stopped at mine and Edward's room.

"I'm going hunting with Emmett, and Peter," I said as I poked my head into the room. Edward was sitting on the bed reading a magazine. He immediately put it down and flitted over to me.

"Have fun," Edward said before giving me a quick kiss on the lips. He started to pull away much too soon for me and moved a hand to the back of his head to keep him from moving away.

"You don't have time for that," Alice called from her room.

'Annoying physic!' I thought.

Alice stepped out of her room with a death glare aimed directly at me. I reluctantly pulled away from Edward with a sigh.

"You need to go hunting and Carlisle is waiting for you," – Alice said while looking at Edward, - "to pick him up from the Hospital," Alice said

"I can't even kiss my man without her seeing," Edward said under his breath.

"I heard that," Alice said as she disappeared into her room.

"You should so blow off hunting and we could go have some fun. I'll just leave Carlisle the car," Edward said.

"I wish I could, but it's been two weeks since I last hunted; and while sex is a very intrigue idea, it's probably best if I go hunting..." I said with a grin.

"I bet I could convince you otherwise," Edward said.

I imagined what it would be like to shred all of Edward's clothes off, and Alice shrieked when she saw the vision. I was grinning when she stepped back out into the hall and walked towards me.

"I think I better go," I grinned, then kissed Edward one last time before running down the hall to the back staircase. I ran to Emmett's Jeep and hopped in quickly.

"Lets go, Alice is after me," I said.

Emmett laughed, and hit the gas pedal. "What did you do to my wife this time?" Peter asked. He was projecting annoyance and worry in his emotions.

"What? What makes you think I did anything?" I replied with mock hurt at the accusation. Peter, however, just rolled his eyes.

"Jasper, I know you. You enjoy riling up her up too much," Peter replied.

"I'm hurt, Peter. I thought you knew me better then that," I continued with feigning ignorance.

"You gave her a vision of shred Edward's clothes just before having wild sex, didn't you?" Emmett said.

"You should have seen the look on her face. You'd think I killed her puppy or something," I laughed.

Peter sighed, "Thanks Jasper."

"Anytime, Peter," I replied with a grin.

"You do know that this little war between the two of you is going to get someone hurt one of these days," Peter added. He was still projecting worry and annoyance.

"Nonsense, Alice knows it's all in fun. Beside it's not my fault she is overly sensitive to the destruction of clothing," I laughed. "Anyway where are we going?"

Peter looked away, but he was clearly upset. 'It's just a little prank for Christ sakes,'

"Rosalie wants to go to Edmonton tomorrow so I figured we'd just to go Banff National Park," Emmett answered.

It was roughly forty miles to the edge of the park and then we drove another twenty or so until we found a suitable place to hunt. Emmett parked the Jeep in a well hidden place and we headed off to hunt. It didn't take me long to find the trail of a lynx that had recently passed through the area.

Emmett was looking for bears and Peter was willing to settle for whatever he could find. He'd been doing better recently with control, but still was having difficulty with this diet. I had thankfully adjusted to it quite well, but I think a lot of that had to do with Edward.

I located the lynx within a few minutes of beginning my hunt. I found it up a tree watching a rabbit that it was hunting. I climbed the tree and hovered on the branch just above it and then dropped down on to the same branch and the cat reeled around and hissed at me. I grinned and lunged at it. We tumbled for the branch and my teeth found purchase on the cat's neck before it had time to react.

I found that I was still thirsty after finishing the meal. It was not uncommon for me to still be thirsty, but it'd been a while since I had not felt satisfied after feeding on a predator. I sensed no other predators in the immediate area so I resigned myself to hunting Elk.

Elk were very plentiful in this area of the country, and typically ended up being the primary source to take care of our needs. I found Peter a few minutes later. He had taken down a small herd of Elk. I waited until he finished before approaching.

"Did you find that lynx?" Peter asked as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Yeah, but still thirsty, I guess I'll just have to settle for Elk now," I grinned.

"Do you know if Emmett found any bears?" Peter asked.

"No, haven't seen him," I replied.

"No bears," Emmett said as he ran up to us. "Found plenty of Elk."

"I'm still thirsty, any left?" I asked.

"Yeah there are a couple of small herds north of here," Emmett replied.

"You coming Peter?" I asked. When he did answer I turned to look at him. He was standing perfectly still like a statue.

"Peter?" I said again.

"Alice!" was the only thing that he said before running back towards home.

"Peter, where are you going?" I called after him. "Fuck!"

"What's going on?" Emmett asked.

"I don't know, but you know he has that weird connection thing with Alice," I replied.

"I'll get the Jeep and meet you two at the house," Emmett replied as he ran off toward the Jeep. I took off after Peter. I pushed myself to catch up to him, which wasn't easy considering he was running as fast as he could.

"Peter, what is going?" I asked as soon as he was in sight.

"I don't know. Something doesn't feel right," Peter said as I finally caught up to him. The amount of worry, fear and concern pouring off of him was unnerving; but there was something else that I couldn't put my finger on. I shrugged it off to it being his concern for Alice.

"What are you feeling?" I asked. Peter's gift was very subtle. He described it usually as a tinge in the back of his mind, sometimes there was more to it then that.

"It feels like some old memory, but I also feel that Alice is in danger," Peter replied. Peter's emotions never relented during our run home, and neither did that nagging in the back of my mind that something was off. It had taken us over an hour to drive to our hunting destination, but took about twenty minutes to get back home running.

When we got within range of home where I could use my gift, I reached out to see what was going on. It took me less then a second to realize that something was very, very wrong. The family should have been home, but there was only one individual giving off emotions. I also knew that it wasn't one of my family members. The emotions were too instinctual, and had a haze of bloodlust.

I grabbed Peter's arm and stopped him in his tracks. My hand covered his mouth in the same instance so he couldn't speak. I shook my head and indicated, using our old hand signals from our time in Maria's army, that there was someone there who was not family. I indicated that he should go left and I'd go around the right side to see what was going on.

There were many scents that I did not recognize surrounding the house. They were all been made within the last hour or so. That meant this happened shortly after we left the house.

I slipped into the garage on the outer edge of the property to get into cover as I moved up toward the house. However, my heart fell to my toes when I saw that all the cars, including Edward's were still in the garage. Fear and worry nearly over took me before I pushed it all back and focused on the task at hand. Quickly, but silently slipped out the door closest to the house and melded into the tree line.

I scaled the wall of the house quickly up to the second floor deck that also had an entrance into mine and Edward's room. As quiet as a feather I moved through the second floor. There was no one in the house, but there were obvious signs of struggle. 'Please, let them be alright,' I prayed silently.

The entry of our home was completely opened to the second floor. It was one of the design features that Esme loved, and had included in all our homes. From here I had a clear vantage point, and could see the intruder in our home.

He was a young boy probably not much older then Edward, in physical age. He was pale and obviously one of our kind, but not from here. He had several bit marks on his bare arms that caused me to pause for a moment. I silently prayed that this wasn't what I thought it to be. His back was to me and I wasted no time.

I leapt from the second floor and my feet found the back of his knees easily. His knees buckled under the sudden addition of weight and he sunk to the floor easily. I grabbed his left arm with my left hand and twisted it back behind him, and my right hand grabbed his hair and pulled his head back as he let out a scream.

"You are going to shut up and answer my questions quickly if you don't want to die," I growled.

Peter and Emmett came crashing through the front door and looked around quickly. "Check the rest of the house," I yelled at the two of them as rage filled my voice.

I turned back to my captive and jerked his head back. "Where are they?" I demanded.

Emmett and Peter quickly took off to check the house for any one else.

"She... She took... them," He said as fear filled his voice that his emotions held. "Please don't kill me."

"Who is she?" I asked as my voice strained against my anger.

"The... the mistress... Maria," My blood would have turned to ice had I been human upon hearing that name. My body completely stiffened for a moment.

"The house is empty," Emmett said as he and Peter came down the stairs.

"Connor!" Peter growled when he saw the face of the boy I was holding.

"You know him?" I asked.

Peter sighed. "You promised me you'd never let her use you to find me."

"I didn't have a choice. She was going to kill Charlotte if I didn't," Connor replied. "She figured out I was holding back with my power. She also knew that I was in love with Charlotte and used her against me."

"Who is Charlotte?" I asked.

"A newborn that Maria changed almost a year ago," Connor replied. "Please don't kill me."

He was looking at Peter, and as he pleaded for his life. "Where did Maria take them?" I demanded.

"The weather station on Sulfur Mountain," Connor replied.

Connor scrambled away from me the second I let him go. He put his back to a wall and slipped into a defensive crouch.

"I wouldn't try it," Peter said as he looked at Connor. "He'll kill you before you realize your dead."

"What are you going to do with me?" Connor asked.

"I haven't decided yet," I said giving him a nasty glare.

"Sulfur Mountain will give her a good view of the area. She'll most likely see us coming," Emmett said.

"What's the plan, Major?" Peter asked.

Connor looked at me with a slight shocked expression. "You're the one she's after? She said she was going to make you pay for leaving her."

"The only one paying for anything will be Maria. She should have known better to leave well enough alone. Now when I kill her I'll be sure to leave her head attached as I rip her apart so she feels as much pain as possible," I growled.

Connor visible swallowed down his fear and slumped back against the wall. Emmett and Peter kept their defensive positions, and didn't look away from Connor.

"Emmett, did you break down the front door again?" I heard from the entry way as I saw Riley and Eleazar enter. Riley wasn't looking at us, but at the mess that was the front door. Eleazar pushed passed him when he saw the three of us in defensive positions and Connor in the corner.

"What's going on?" Eleazar asked which make Riley turn his attention to us.

"Maria, found us again. She took everyone else," I said through my teeth.

"I'll make the call to Volterra. Demetri can be here in a few hours with Jane and Alec. Aro will put Maria up as a display of what happens when you cross his friends," Eleazar said.

"No. We don't have time to wait, and she's likely to kill them before they get close enough for Jane to disable them," I replied. "And, Maria will die at my hands."

"What do you propose we do?" Eleazar asked. Obviously realizing it was pointless to argue with me on the subject.

"I will take that one," I said as I pointed at Connor, "with me and I will deal with Maria. She'll likely have a half dozen other vampires with her holding our family. There will likely be another half dozen guarding the perimeter. The rest of you will deal with those guards."

Connor gave off emotions of shock. "What are you surprised I know her tactics so well? I know Maria better then she knows herself. I was her chief Lieutenant for more then sixty years. I know how to defeat the bitch better then anyone else."

"Are you going to kill me?" Connor asked.

"I haven't decided, but if you ask one more time I will," I snapped. My patience with this pathetic piece of shit was wearing thin. He must have one very powerful gift for Maria to have kept him around for so long.

"I assume the boy is how she found you? He's quite the powerful tracker it would appear," Eleazar said.

"Yes. Connor is a very skilled tracker, but we downplayed his abilities some to Maria. I knew she'd try to use him to find Jasper if she thought he was capable, but we made her think he wasn't that powerful. Before I left I made him promise to never come looking for either of us," Peter said. Again there was that nagging at the back of my mind.

"Seems he didn't live up to his promise," Riley said, and then turned to Connor. "If my brother is dead and they don't kill you, I will."

"If I were you I'd be praying for Maria to lose, and lose quickly. Three of us have mates among those she's taken, as well as our leader and his mate. You'd best hope nothing happens to them if you want to live," Emmett added. The stare that Emmett gave him was enough to make even the most seasoned fighter think twice.

"What is your plan when you get to Maria?" Eleazar asked.

"Alice. She will have likely mapped out what actions need to occur to get them out safely. Edward will be able to show me what needs to happen to arrive at that outcome, which means that you," I said turning to Riley, "Need to be within a few hundred meters of the summit as quickly as possible."

"I thought you and Edward had gotten to the point where I wasn't needed to make the connection work?" Riley replied.

"We have to be fairly close to each other for it to work without you. Touch is no longer necessary, but he'll likely be kept inside the building on the summit. Even if they are outside I don't think I can get close enough without being caught," I said.

"What if Alice hasn't mapped out a way out?" Eleazar asked.

"Then I'll go to plan B," I said, then turned to Connor. "I've decided what I'm going to do with you now. You're going to help undo this mess you've created."

"Is that wise, Jasper? Can he even be trusted?" Riley asked.

"No, he can't be trusted. However, he's in love with a newborn from Maria's coven. I know Maria and she will have the newborn close to her. She'll want to make sure that Connor lives up to his end of their bargain."

"Fine, I'll do whatever it takes, just don't hurt Charlotte." Connor said.

"Then we have an agreement," I replied. "Not that you had much of a choice in the matter."

"If Alice hasn't come up with a plan to get them out then that is where you are going to help." I began.

"How?" Connor asked.

"You're going to go back with me as my 'Prisoner'. I'm going to make Maria think that I am planning on trading you for my family. You will need to do two things. First you are going to need to indicate which of the other vampires there is Charlotte, but only if there is more then one female up there. You'll do this with your thoughts. Simple think of her and what she looks like, and I'll know who she is. If Alice doesn't have a plan to get them out that is when you will be required to perform your second task. I will let you go, and you will go to Charlotte. You will then cause a distraction for me by taking off running with her."

"If I do that Maria will send some of her guards after us," Connor said.

"Yes she will, but it will give me the opportunity I need to get to Maria and make her very pliable to my demands. You'll run to Eleazar and Riley who will be waiting for you about a mile from the summit. Riley will guide you to them, and they'll help deal with any guards that followed you," I said.

"What about us?" Peter asked.

"You'll wait halfway between Riley and the summit. Riley will make sure to lead Connor and Charlotte passed you on their way to him and Eleazar. You are to wait until the guards run past you or if no guards have run pass within thirty seconds you are to head to the summit and help me," I replied.

"What are you going to be doing?" Emmett asked.

"Making Maria beg for her life, her guards will be looking for ways to get at me and free her. Your job will be to come in and take out as many as you can. Edward and Carlisle should be able to help you, provide that are unharmed," I answered.

"What are we to do with Connor and Charlotte?" Eleazar asked.

"They are not to leave until you see that everyone is safe. If anyone doesn't make it then kill them," I replied.

"You'd best hope that everyone lives," Riley said to Connor.