Katherine's POV

The teacher continuously speaks sentences in Spanish, asking several students to repeat back in Spanish. Several couldn't get the words right, but others, like Britney, managed to get them perfectly. She kept looking over her shoulder at us to smirk at Jasper, but give me dirty looks. I simply roll my eyes and laugh at how desperate she was.

"Even when we're together, she still continues seduce. After I have told her, you have my heart. Yet, she still thinks she has a chance." Jasper scoffs softly.

"In a way, I pity her. She's desperate for love and thinks she can get any man's eye with a snap of her fingers. But, she can't with you and that strikes her interest more for you." I say softly.

Jasper kisses my hand and smiles at me, "You caught my eye the day you came to Forks. No one else has ever struck my interest as much as you have." He sighs softly. "I've never loved another person, like me or you, in all my existence or my previous life. From what I remember at least. Maria and I weren't love. Alice was comfort. But, you...you're my everything. To lose you...I would go to the Volturi if I had to if I ever lost you."

I scrunch my brows in confusion, "Who's the Volturi?" I ask.

Before Jasper could reply, the teacher interrupts us, "Señor Hale, ¿Podría por favor decirme cómo introduciría usted mismo a otra persona?"

Jasper sits up straight, "Por supuesto, señora" Jasper replies. "Hola, como estas, mi nombre son Jasper Hale."

The teacher smiles, "Si, Sí, es correcto." Then the teacher moves on to another student.

I tried to get Jasper to tell me more about the Volturi, but he said, it wasn't the right place to talk about it.

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(Katherine's dress for Bella's party)

(Dax's outfit for Bella's party)

Before I knew it, it was almost time for Bella's party to begin, but Bella and Edward weren't hear yet, so before Jasper and I did anything. I had to ask him...

"Jasper, at school, you said something about someone called the Volturi. Who are they?" I ask.

Jasper sighs and takes my hand, guiding me towards a room, what looked like a study of some kind. He stops and looks up at a very old painting. I gasp when I see a familiar face.

"That's Carlisle!" I exclaim.

"Yes. Before he started his own coven with us, he use to be part of one. The Volturi are a very old, very powerful family. The closest thing to royalty my world has. Carlisle lived with them for a few decades. He described them as very refined. No respect for human life, of course," He stops to scoff. "But, they carry respect for the arts and science at least. And the law...above all, the law." He says.

I start to think back at what Rosalie said when I first officially met her. How the entire family would be implicated if everything ended badly. Which meant...

"It's against your law for humans to know about you, isn't it? Me knowing about you...your family....everything." I say.

Jasper sighs, his face hardening a little, "Yes. Since you know about my existence, it's very risky. If the Volturi knew about you...it would mean two things. Turning you...or killing you." His voice growls at that last part.

Frowning as I listen to everything he says, "Why would you go to them?"

He was hesitant with his answer, "The Volturi uphold the law at any cost. There's only one and it's regularly enforced. To keep the existence of our kind a secret. We don't make spectacles of ourselves, And we don't kill conspicuously. Unless, of course, you want to die."

I gasp softly, realizing what he was saying, "Why would you even think that?"

"If I ever lost you..." Jasper turns and looks deep in my eyes with a pained look. "I don't want to spend the rest of my eternal life alone."

I sigh softly and move closer to be in his arms. I never want to think about dying ever again.

"So, The Volturi are basically the judge, jury...and executioner?"

Jasper nods, "That's one way of describing them." Then looks up at the painting with a bitter look. "The one on the right, his name is Marcus. Marcus is one of the three leaders the Volturi coven. He possesses the gift of relationship identification, allowing him to see the emotional ties between individuals. He was the husband of Didyme, who was the sister of Aro, the one in the middle, until her brother killed her. The loss of his wife forced him into a withdrawn, introverted state. He is only kept in the coven by Chelsea's power over his loyalty. Chelsea is a central member of the Volturi because she has the gift to influence the emotional ties between individuals. Didyme had the gift to make people happy, also known as happiness induction."

I let out a disgusted sound, "How could Aro kill his own sister?"

"From what I've learned, Marcus was Aro's most trusted partner in the Volturi, and seeing how happy Marcus was with Didyme, he saw their relationship a means to an end of their partnership." Jasper says.

"Ugh." How horrible. "I'm guessing Aro is the one who calls the shots in the Volturi?" I guessed.

"Yup, Aro Volturi. He carries the power of tactile telepathy. He can read every thought you've ever had with a single touch. It helps him see the evidence if crime was performed." Jasper explains.

I glare at the man with jet black hair and blood red eyes with that sickening smile, I can only imagine how many lives were taken by his hands.

"And last, but not least...Caius. He's almost as evil as Aro, but twice as ruthless." Jasper snarls at the one with shoulder length light blonde hair.

"How many vampires are a part of the Volturi?" I ask.

Jasper sighs, "I'm starting to lose count. Volturi is one of the largest covens. Aro is not limited with protection. He has group of vampires close to him...called the Guard. Demetri, who is a powerful tracker. Felix, he can be described as the muscles of the guard. Like Emmett, but stronger, he carries superior strength. Him and Demetri both 'take' care of the Volturi's problems." Jasper hints.

I frown at this information but I listen for more.

"Now, there are two who are the most dangerous in the guard. Alec, who carries the power of sensory deprivation. Basically, he'll make you feel nothing. You wouldn't be able to move at all." Jasper says. Then, I could feel such dread and anger rolling off of him. "Alec has a sister. Jane. Like Caius, she's extremely merciless. With a single look, she can make you experience the most exquisite pain you've ever felt. She's basically Aro's favorite lapdog." Jasper sneers.

"You really don't like them, do you?" I ask.

"They care of nothing but themselves. They see humans as only food. Cattle lined up to be slaughtered. But, there are some who are just cowards. Too afraid to go against the Volturi, so they rather join the enemy than fight. Even if it's a useless battle." Jasper says.

Suddenly, Alice comes running in with Dax next to her.

"They're almost here!" She squeals and pulls me with her to go downstairs with her.

When we got to the living room, I gasped in shock at how beautiful everything looked. Dozens of candles all over and a huge cake.

"Um, Alice, that cake is HUGE. It could feed 50 people. And you don't even eat." I point out.

She just giggles, "Bella is gonna love it. Nothing is too much for a birthday girl."

I feel Jasper wrap his arms around me and chuckles against my neck, "That's Alice for you. Always going overboard with everything." He teases.

Alice rolls her eyes, "There's no such thing as too much."

I drown out everyone as I begin to hear Bella's footsteps with Edward's. Edward was telling her about the Volturi too. It seems that Edward was thinking the same thing as Jasper was thinking. They were both emotionally affected by the James incident.

I couldn't help, but sigh in frustration at Mother and Father for letting us keep everything quiet.

"I know, I'm impatient too!" Alice squeals.

I give her a small smile. I was impatient, but impatient to tell my secret. I look over at Dax and he gives me a small nod, he knew what I was feeling. He wanted the same thing.

"It's time! It's time! It's time! It's time!" I snap out of my thoughts as I hear Alice in the distance. She left to fetch for Bella and Edward.

Pretty soon, Alice comes back and heads for Dax's arms. Then, Edward comes down with Bella following him. She stops and around in awe. Then, she looks at me in shock.

I laugh softly, "I know." I mouthed.

Esme and Carlisle were the first to greet her as she reaches the bottom.

"Sorry about all this. We tried to rein Alice in." Carlisle smiles.

"Like it's even possible." Esme laughs and pulls Bella into a welcoming hug. "Happy big Birthday, Bella!"

Bella smiles at her and pulls away from the hug, "Thanks."

She's startled by the bright flash of light from the familiar camera Alice was holding.

She gives Bella an apologetic look, but still smiled, "I found it in your bag, you mind?" She asks.

Bella couldn't find the words, so she just shakes her head.

Emmett leans in next to Edward and smirks at him, "Dating an older woman. Hot!"

Edward looks at him incredulous and sighs exasperatedly.

Emmett frowns in confusion, "What?" He was incredibly clueless.

I laugh and snuggle next to Jasper who stayed far away from Bella. He felt so stiff in my arms. My poor cowboy. Her scent was still hard for him to resist.

"You first, Rosalie." Alice smiles and gives her the gift for Bella.

Rosalie shoves it in front of Bella, rolling her eyes, "It's a necklace. Alice picked it out."

"Thanks." Bella mutters and gives her a small smile.

Rosalie looks away, obviously she didn't want to be here.

Alice pulls Edward's arm and pushes him closer to Bella, "Show me the love!" She squeals and takes their picture. She reaches for another gift and hands it to Bella, "This is from Emmett."

Bella sends a smile to Emmett but frowns as she shakes the light box.

"Already installed it in your truck. Finally, a decent sound system for that piece of..."

Bella cuts off Emmett, "Hey, don't...don't hate the truck." She stutters and laughs softly.

Emmett smirks and holds Rosalie close to him.

Alice hands Bella another gift to Bella with a big smile, "Open Esme and Carlisle's."

Bella smiles at the two of them as a thank you.

"Just a little something to brighten your day." Carlisle says.

"Yes, you have been looking kind of pale lately." Esme laughs.

I giggle at Bella's reaction and watch her try to tear the paper open, but gasp as she winces and holds up a bloody finger.

"Paper-cut." She mutters embarrassingly.

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Jasper's POV

I couldn't help but smell the air. Bella's sweet blood dripping from her finger filled my nose and burned my throat. I could see Edward already reading my thoughts. I couldn't stop myself. I need her blood. I needed it NOW! I watch Edward shove Bella out of the way, crashing into table behind her, landing on the glass. More blood.

I did all I could to get to the blood. Growling like a wild animal. I rushed towards Bella to feed on her blood. Her delicious smelling blood! But, Edward shoves me away and I crashed into the piano. I barely heard my mate calling out for me. I wanted nothing more than to feast on Bella!

I dodge Carlisle and Emmett, but they caught me in their grip, holding me back.

Alice rushes towards me, gripping my head to make me look at her, but all I could think about was the blood.

"Jaz...Jaz!" Alice calls out for me. Shushing me to contain my growls. "It's okay. It's just a little..." I watch Alice sniff the air and trail off her words. "...blood."

I heard Bella gasp and look at all of us in fear. I couldn't control the snarl escaping my lips.

"Jasper." Katherine whispers and tries to walk towards me, but Dax holds her back.

"Kat, stay back." He says.

I look over to her, pain covered my face. What have I done? I'm becoming the monster again. I could have hurt my mate. Did I? I look over to her frantically, I couldn't see any marks. No blood was spilt from her. Relief filled me, but, if this happened again, I possibly would have killed her just to feed.

"Get Jasper out of here." Carlisle says quickly and rushes towards Bella. He holds up a hand towards us, and I could see blood covering his hand. I tried my best to push back the thirst, but it was so strong.

Emmett finally yanks me out of the house. I could hear Alice whimpering as she tries to fight the thirst as well.

"I'm sor...I'm sorry, I can't." She rushes away.

"I'll have to stitch this up in my office. Check on Jasper. I'm sure, he's very upset with himself. And I doubt he'll listen to anyone but you right now."

After a while, I sat outside to calm myself, but I needed to hunt soon. I just wanted to be alone with my thoughts and my emotions. Why did this have to happen? I don't want to hurt the woman I love or anyone else around me. Maybe...maybe Edward was right...

"Jasper?" I snap my head towards the voice and see my beautiful Katherine walking towards me. I back away and hold a hand up to stop her.

"Stay away from me, Katherine." I say lowly.

"Jasper, it wasn't your fault. It's ok."

"No, it's not!" I growl lowly. "I could have killed Bella. I could have killed you to get to her. If Carlisle and Emmett haven't stopped me..."

"You wouldn't have hurt me. I know you, Jasper." she says.

I couldn't help but scoff bitterly at her, "You think you may know me, but you don't know anything about this monster inside me. I may not thirst for your blood, but I thirst for others. If anyone else spilled their blood again, I don't know what will happen." I stopped to sigh. I needed to feed. "Edward will take you and your brother home with Bella." I turn and rush towards the woods...not before I heard my mate whisper words that had me frowning with confusion.

"Jasper...I have so much to tell you." She says sadly.