AN: YAY! Another update! Sorry it's been so long, but trying to figure out where to take this story next has been hard. I have it in my head how I want it to go, but the words just didn't want to come out. So here we go. In this chapter, we see some attempts from Edward to 'reclaim' Bella. AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN! We see why the Volturi have been keeping Bella a secret and we also see the beginnings of Jasper and Bella's mating bond and relationship. Hope I give it justice...

Thanks goes out to IDreamofEddy for the term God of War. This is a shout out for all my Jasper stories that use this because it is an awesome term to refer to Jasper by...so Thanks!

Here we go...

Chapter 3: Learning About Her

My mate was Bella Swan, though she was not the same Bella Swan I knew five years ago. No, this Bella was a whole lot different and I couldn't help but think that whatever happened to her since I last saw her changed her for the better. I noticed that the Volturi were not looking at her as if she was an 'employee' if I can use that word. They looked at her as if she was family. Interesting. That would be valuable to my employers. It would also make the job I no longer wanted to complete easier and yet harder to do. My employers wanted her dead, but since she was my mate, I couldn't let that happen. I knew that before anything between her and I occurred, I would need to talk to them and update them on the situation.

I had been thinking to myself while Aro rambled on about her vitals and her fight record, but I blinked back into the situation once he announced that she was up for 'sale' or claiming. I saw Edward step forward and say, "She is my mate. I put forward a claim." The room was silent as Aro turned to Isabella and asked, "Do you wish to accept Mr. Cullen's claim upon you?" Isabella turned and looked at Marcus. At the subtle shake of his head, she shook her own and said, "I'll pass. He's not my mate anyway." Aro turned back and said, "Sit down, Mr. Cullen and quit making a fool of yourself."

He looked around at the rest of the room and asked, "Will no one else come and claim Isabella?" Knowing that a lot of questions would come up, I stood and said, " I lay claim to Isabella, she is my mate." I saw Bella's eyes go wide at the sight of me, but she shook the shock away and turned to Marcus. He nodded to her and she said, "I would talk with the Major before I accept his claim. Is that acceptable Aro?" A few other guests gasped at her not calling him by his 'title', but I knew that she was allowed to. He nodded and then turned to the rest of us, "That is all for tonight. Let us take a short break and then the fighting will begin." He and the others left the room and I followed a servant to a bedroom. It was ostentatious, which suited the Volturi, but slightly less uncomfortable than I thought it would be.

A few minutes later, Bella came into the room carrying a rather large duffle bag and backpack. She smiled a little at the sight of me as she put the bags on the bed. Taking a few things out of the duffle, she went behind a old fashioned changing screen and said, "Nice to see you again Jasper? What brings you to a Volturi party?" I didn't want to tell her the real reason, not yet and not where I couldn't be sure I wasn't being overheard so all I said was, "Business. How did you know to call me Major darlin'?" She laughed and said, " Marcus showed me the guest list. Since you're the only Jasper I know in the vampire world, I took a guess that it was you and figured I'd better address you properly."

There was some light behind the changing screen and I saw her changing from the leather outfit she wore into some capri pants and a tank top of some sort. I asked, "So how did you come to be a fighter for the Volturi?" Ii heard her heart stutter a bit and a feeling of immense sadness and fear came from her. I started to walk towards the screen, but she came out and said, "It's a long story that we don't have time for. Let's just say I was in the big city and wasn't paying attention to my surroundings. Been with them since I was 18. Happened right after you and your family left." I heard the sneer in her voice and decided to correct that immediately.

I went up to her and said, "Darlin', they are not my family and haven't been for some time. I left shortly after we left you and haven't seen them until tonight. Now, anything you really want to ask me before we have to go back out there?" She smirked and said, "Yeah, actually there is. How long have you known that we were mates?" Ah, the big question. I can understand where that one came from. I pulled her gently over to the bed and we sat down. I said, "Darlin, I just figured it out. If you want to know why, I only have a theory. I think Carlisle's diet suppresses our natural instincts, including the mating instinct. I will admit to feeling something when I took care of James at the ballet studio and when you got the paper cut at your party. But I figured it was just blood lust. Forgive me?" I may have turned on the charm a bit.

She smiled, a true big smile, and said, " Take it easy cowboy. You're forgiven. I can understand how Carlisle's attempt to make you more human could do that. Marcus explained it to me somewhat when he told me that I had a vampire mate." I sent a silent big thank you to Marcus for doing that. I had a feeling he was the big reason why she was still human. I heard a gong sound from somewhere and asked, "What the hell does that mean?" Bella was slipping on some shoes as she said, "It means the fighting is about to begin, which means that whatever else we have to talk about must wait." As she walked to the door, I caught her wrist around the bracelet on it. I had noticed it earlier and wanted to ask her about it before things got too crazy.

Bella saw me eying the bracelet and said, "A gift from the kings. Basically it marks me as protected. It also makes me somewhat family to them, which is good since I don't have any anymore." The sadness from earlier returned and I was about to ask when the gong sounded again. She put her hand on my cheek and said, "I promise to answer anymore questions you have after the fighting is over." I nodded and we left the room. As we left, Edward and Pixie Bitch came walking up.

He said, "Bella, what are you doing with him? You know that you are MY mate, not his." I could feel Bella's fury and was about to say something when she did the unthinkable. A small dagger was pulled out of somewhere and she cut her palm. I could smell the sweet scent of her blood, but it no longer affected me as it once did. Now I wanted to do nothing more than protect it until I could turn her. She said, "Edward, I know for a fact that the only thing you want from me is my blood." She licked the blood from her hand and then did something quite amazing and vicious. She spat the blood into his face and said, "That's all you want and that's all you get. Now you and Pixie Bitch get the fuck out of my way." She pushed past their shocked forms and walked over to the fighting pit where the other fighters were also standing. I brushed past them as well and went to my new seat where other vampires were sitting to watch their new mates fight.

Aro, Caius and Marcus came back into the room and after a few words and a rule that mated fighters were not allowed to be killed, the fighting began. I can tell you this, despite the fact that I have the customary vampire memory, I could not tell you one detail of the fighting I witnessed until it was Bella's turn. She was fighting against a unmated male fighter who I sensed was not at all well and knew it. Her fighting technique was almost perfect, as if she had been trained by either myself or another soldier from the Southern Vampire Wars. My phone buzzed again and I read:

She was trained by one of us. I had to keep an eye on her somehow.

-P

Figures, but I couldn't be mad at him. Had Peter not trained her, she probably wouldn't have made it this far and I never would have found her again. The fight between her and the male seemed to go on forever before she finally pinned him to the ground. He wasn't mated, but the rule still applied to him because he was marked as a feeder. I hated that some of my kind kept to this practice, but I could do nothing about it. Bella was about to let him up when he pulled her towards him and whispered something in her ear. I could hear it, but only just so.

He said, "Please Bella, I need you to do this. You know what will happen if they feed from me." I had ignored the smell of his blood as the fight had been going on, but I stopped and sniffed. The smell nearly made me retch and that was impossible for my kind. The human had AIDS or at least HIV. I knew that what he was asking was not only mercy for himself, but also mercy for whatever vampire he was to be handed to for feeding. Normally human diseases didn't affect us, HIV and AIDS included. But if the disease was far enough along, it could leave the vampire that drank the blood weak and vulnerable for months, if not years. This human was a death sentence for any vampire that drank from him.

Bella nodded and lifted him up slightly. She wrapped her hands and arms around his neck and twisted. The snap of the neck bones was audible to everyone in the room. She had given him a quick death without spilling the deadly blood running through his veins. She closed his open eyes and placed his arms over his chest. As she stood, Aro also stood and said, "Isabella, why have you broken the rules? You know better than that." She turned to face him and said, "I may have broken this rule, but I saved others in doing so. Drinking his blood would have killed anyone who drank from him."

Gasps rang out at her declaration. Aro looked at the other two kings beside him and at their nods, he said, "At this truth, we forgive you. Now, if all the fighter would please go clean up and get ready for the ball. Thank you all for joining us and I hope you will stay and mingle." I always thought Aro was nuts, but this was even weirder than I ever thought possible. I decided to shake it off and go with Bella back to what I believed was her room.

As I entered the room we had previously exited, I saw a large bath being prepared and a woman laying out a garment bag and some other things. Bella came out of the closet I believe it was, wrapped only in a short robe. She jumped slightly at the sight of me. but shook it off and asked, "Are you going to watch me bathe now?" I smirked and said, "Well I figured now would be the best time for us to talk darlin', if that's okay with you?" She nodded and before I could really blink, she had stripped off the robe and settled into the tub.

As she leaned back and let the water soak into her skin, I grabbed a footstool and sat beside the tub. I asked, "How you feelin' Bella?" "A little sore, but that's nothing new. Luckily I didn't get any cuts or bruises." I looked over the skin that I could see and didn't notice any bruises that had yet to form or any open wounds. She was a good fighter if she didn't have any. She quickly washed her hair and body and then just soaked for a bit.

I took the time while she was soaking to look at the tattoos on her skin. She caught me looking and said, "I have one for each of you, minus Pixie Bitch and Assward of course. I wanted to keep you guys close, even though I didn't think I'd never see you again." Apparently Bella lost her shyness a while back because she stood up, body glistening with water, stepped out of the tub and pointed at each tattoo.

A rose on her ankle was for Rosalie, who she loved as a sister despite how Rose treated her in the past. A teddy bear on the other ankle was obviously for Emmett who always treated her like a little sister. A caduceus with the word 'Dad' underneath it was for Carlisle because she not only loved him as a father, but also for his ability to heal. A Celtic heart was on the other wrist and she told me that this was for Esmé because her love for her children was never-ending and eternal. She went silent after that and I wondered what she had chosen to remember me by. She turned from me and that was when I saw it. It was this Tree of Life tattoo that covered her whole back and was surrounded by Celtic knotwork. But that didn't seem to represent me. No, she hid that one and had been teasing me with the one on her back. She turned back to face me and I saw what she had been hiding. My real name, Whitlock, was tattooed over her heart.

I reached out as if to touch it, but hesitated because despite the fact that I had declared she was my mate, I had yet to touch her in an intimate way. Not that I wasn't dying to, but I wanted to take things slowly with her, especially since I still had to figure out how to protect her from my employers. Bella nodded though and I ran my fingers over the letters. It suited her, the tattoo and now I was curious as to when she got it done and why there. However I was stopped yet again but yet another gong. I growled in frustration and Bella giggled at the sound. She said, " Steady Major. You'll have all the time in the world to ask me questions after we get through the dancing and mingling part of tonight. Though you will have to wait until after the meeting to do so." I nodded, pulled her to me and said, "So it seems darlin'. However, I'm not leavin' here again without at least getting one kiss from you."

Her naked body was driving me mad with the heat and it took everything I had in me to just stop with a kiss. I leaned down slowly, giving her a chance to stop me if she wasn't ready. She didn't. She arched up into my touch and I claimed her mouth hard and passionately. Her body practically moulded to mine as we kissed. I was this close to carrying her over to the bed when a second gong sounded throughout the room, interrupting us. I growled again and she laughed. Turning away from me and reaching for the dress on the bed she said, " Be nice cowboy and we'll finish this later."

She slipped the dress over her head and zipped it up along the side. She slipped a pair of silver heels onto her feet as she walked over to the vanity and began messing with the stuff on it. She quickly put her hair up in a messy bun, which showed off the tattoo on her back and put some light makeup on. By light, I mean some lip gloss, eye shadow and mascara. That was one thing I had always liked about Bella, she was not high maintenance. She was a simple girl who liked simple things.

A buzz alerted me to another text. I flipped it and read another text from Peter. All it said was to check my jacket pocket. Confused, I put the phone back into m jacket and felt around. I found a small box there that I had surprisingly not noticed when I had gotten dressed earlier. Taking it out and opening, I found what I needed to give Bella before we left the room. It was my family crest on a pendant. It wasn't large, but it was big enough to get the point across. No one would touch Isabella as long as she wore this necklace.

I saw her reaching for a necklace and said, "Hold on there sugar. I got somethin' for ya." I went up behind her and placed the necklace around her neck, fastening it as I stood behind her. She touched the crest and gave me a look of wonder. I smiled and said, "Mated women who are not fully claimed need to wear something that alerts others as to who their mate is. Until I turn you, this will protect you from other vampires that try to claim you for any reason." She nodded and said, "I will never take it off, willingly or otherwise." I smiled, kissed her head and asked, "May I escort you to the dance Miss Swan?" She giggled and said, "It would an honor if you would Major Whitlock." I laughed and we left the room.

As we entered the large ballroom I had been in earlier, I felt a slight apprehension and fear coming from Bella. When I turned to ask her why I was feeling those things, I could see her staring at someone in fear. I followed her line of sight to a rather pissed off Pixie Bitch and Assward. I whispered, "Why are you afraid of them darlin'? They can't do anything to you." She looked up at me and said, "The kind of hurt I am afraid of is not physical. I'm not really afraid of them, just afraid of what they might say to hurt either you or me. Just keep me away from them please Jasper?" I nodded and pulled her closer to me.

She and I walked around the room and I introduced her to a few other vampires that I considered allies if not friends. She and Garrett got along great and I had a feeling I could use him in some way in the near future. She was okay around Alistair, but kept her distance still. I wanted to reunite her with Emmett and Rosalie, and maybe even Carlisle and Esmé, but not yet. I needed to know if I could trust them around her and to be honest, I needed to talk to my employers and try and keep her safe before any reunions took place. My biggest issue was the fact that she didn't seem to want to talk about her father. I tried to bring it up as we walked around, but she either ignored the question or changed the subject. Either she didn't want to talk about him with all the vampires around, or she was trying to forget him for some reason. I'd figure it out sooner or later.

The music started shortly after we finished talking to Alistair, so I turned to Bella and asked, "Care to dance darlin'?" She nodded and we made our way out onto the dance floor. Of course the teasing would never be over because the next song was the tango. As we danced and I held her close to my body, I could feel everything underneath her dress. That reminds me...

I leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Are you wearing any panties sugar?" The giggle that came from her throat was erotic and throaty as she said, "None at all Major." The growl I let out should have scared her, but it didn't. In fact, it seemed to turn her on. My mate was full of surprises it seemed. We finished the song and then went to sit down and just observe. However, fate it seemed would not let us have a simple night together. Right as we made it to the table, who should step out in front of us but Pixie Bitch and Assward.

Alice said, "Jasper, step away from her, you know that she is Edward's mate, as you are mine." Bella had moved behind me, just as I would have wanted her to in this kind of situation. Apparently she had also been taught other things by Marcus. I would need to find out a gift for the man for keeping my mate informed of the real world that surrounded her. Getting back to the stupid twins, I noticed that Edward was staring at my Isabella with lust and something else in his eyes. I hissed and said, "Move your eyes away Eddie, or lose them." He blinked and faced me. I said to Alice, "Alice, I know for a fuckin' fact that you and I are not mates and that Bella and I are. It was confirmed by Marcus himself, so unless you'd like to publicly denounce our host's gift, I suggest you move on and shut the fuck up."

Our little confrontation was not without witnesses, but it seemed that everyone was on my side. Garrett came up to us with his mate, who I realized was Bella's human friend Angela from Forks, and stood toe to toe with me against them. Alistair followed, as did Emmett and Rosalie. She and Angela stood behind us with Bella, but she was in a semi-protective crouch, just in case. I said, "Alice and Edward, unless you want to start an actual fight, I again suggest that you move out of my way and that of Isabella's and leave us alone for the rest of eternity." Leaning close I whispered, "Unless of course you would like to deal with the Major and not myself."

Edward's eyes went wide at my threat, no doubt remembering why I was such a threat to him as the Major. He grabbed Alice's arms and said, "Let's go Alice, we don't need to do this." She ripped them from his grasp and said, "Yes, I do. He is mine and I won't give him up to that human whore of yours." Anger flooded me and I turned to see who it was coming from. Imagine my surprise when Bella came out from behind me and slapped Alice with all her strength. I winced in preparation of the pain I would feel from her after doing so, but I felt nothing.

Bella wasn't in pain, just mad as hell. Standing beside me she said, "Whore? You're calling me whore Alice? That's rich, coming from you. I can smell about 5 other guys on you, including Eddie here, so don't you fucking dare call me a whore. Deacon!" A servant came out from behind one of the blood bar tables and asked, "Yes, Miss Isabella?" Bella rolled her eyes and said, "Alert the Masters that we have a problem. I don't wish to get my hands dirty by dealing with her." The man bowed and left the room. Alec, one of the Volturi guard appeared out of nowhere and said, "Isabella, I'll make sure they don't leave." We all backed away as his vapor, the form in which his gift of immobilizing others came out, made its way towards Alice and Edward. They fell to the floor in heaps and he kept them surrounded in it while we moved away.

Going with Garrett to his table, I sat Bella down and examined the hand that she slapped Alice with. No bruising, no bleeding, no injury of any kind. Looking up at her I asked, "How is this possible darlin'?" She sighed and said, " It's part of the story I need to tell you. Let's just say that James' venom did a lot more to me than you think, as did Victoria's."

Before I could ask her anything else, the doors opened and the three Kings came into the room. They walked over to where Alice and Edward were being 'held' and we were waved over to join them. Alec was told to end his gift and once they were free of it, Alice and Edward were held immobile by Demetri and Felix. Aro turned to me and asked, "What happened here Major?" I held out my hand, knowing it was the easiest way for him to see what happened. He took it and gazed into my memories. The bland look on his face quickly disappeared and was replaced by absolute fury. He turned to Jane, who was at his side and said, "Jane, just on the girl." She nodded and soon Alice was screaming in pain.

After a few minutes of this torture, Aro stopped Jane and said, "Alice Cullen, how dare you insult that which is dear to us and who is mated to the God of War?! Isabella is his mate and nothing can change that. Leave now and never return." He turned to Edward and said, "The same goes for you as well boy. Get out." Edward picked Alice up and carried her out of the room and the house. Aro turned to the rest of the guests and said, "I do apologize for that. We do not tolerate rudeness. Ever." He and the others walked away and were seen mingling with the other guests. I gathered Bella in my arms and asked, "Are you okay darlin'?" She nodded and said, "I'm fine cowboy. I am a little hungry though." I nodded and lead her to the buffet that had been laid out for the human fighters. As she selected what she wanted, I asked, "So did Angela get taken at the same time as you?"

She sighed and said, "Yes and no. I'll explain more after we leave. I will get to see her right?" I looked over to where Garrett and Angela were standing and asked him. He nodded and told me that whenever they wanted to see each other, he would bring Angela to visit. I noticed that he had a cell phone, so I quickly texted him my address so that he'd have it. Bella finished selecting her food and we sat down. As she ate, I stared at her form. She had aged well in the past five years. There was a sadness around her eyes though and I wondered how many nights she spent crying over the life she had lost after being captured by the Volturi.

Some time later, she finished her meal and we resumed our mingling. We didn't mingle long though, for members of the guard came into the room and came up to each of us, ready to escort us to the secret meeting that was to occur. Demetri came up to Garrett and myself and told us that he would keep an eye on the girls while we were at the meeting. I looked at Bella to see if she would be okay with it and she nodded saying, "Demetri and I are friends. He will protect me with all of his black little heart." Demetri actually laughed and said, "Indeed I will Bella." I nodded, kissed her quickly, and followed the others to a rather large conference hall type room. Sitting in the chair that was pointed out for me, I waited for the meeting to begin.

I had come to this eager to find out information for my employers. Now, I was eager for it to be over so I could take Isabella away from here and to my home. I was eager to begin our forever together.

Aro, Caius and Marcus entered the room. Marcus looked at me and mouthed that he would talk to me after the meeting was over. I nodded and turned to listen to whatever Aro and Caius would say. Maybe if I gave my employers enough intel from the meeting, they would drop the assassination target on Bella. I could only hope...