5AN: Okay, once again I have underestimated this fandom and its glorious people. So I decided to go ahead and upload the next chapter, as a treat. Know that this story will only be about 6 chapters long, 7 if I can stretch it. I've gotten up to chapter 4 finished and I know exactly how it's going to end so no worries about me falling off on this one. I'm always working on this fic, it's become my life's blood. I never knew I needed these 3 together until I started writing them.
That being said, this chapter and beyond will be earning its M rating. Like, right out of the gate, we got some sexytimes but I don't wanna spoil any details. So with that being said, I hope you enjoy because this is my first smut scene involving a male, and while his role is ambiguous, the following chapter will be where the real magic happens. So admittedly I'm a bit nervous so please let me know what y'all think and if there are any errors since I don't use betas (I simply read and reread each of my stories obsessively because I'm a perfectionist, I'm in therapy still, I promise). Thank you for all the positivity and I hope to have the next chapter of Once Mated, Twice Loved up soon, and maybe I'll start posting some of the other 14 WIPs I keep hidden because I fear the wrath of the readers if I don't finish them before I start posting lol.
Bella
I don't know what woke me, but I was suddenly and abruptly conscious. I was lying under the large comforter on the single king-size bed in our rented hotel room, uncertain of when I'd fallen asleep or who moved me to the bed. I'd been pretty groggy since our arrival despite sleeping through the night once we had checked in. The blackout curtains were pulled and the lights were off, so the only source of light came from the muted TV nearby.
I could feel my breathing slowly evening out, so I was more than likely waking from another one of my weird dreams. The uncomfortable moisture lining my panties was my first clue as to the subject of my dreams. This wasn't the first time I'd woken from a wet dream, aroused and unsatisfied. In fact, they'd become more and more frequent since meeting the Cullens.
No, I berated myself, since I met Alice. I had found myself drawn to the pixie vampire from the first moment she'd pulled me into her arms, proclaiming our inevitable friendship. She was without a doubt the most beautiful woman I'd ever laid eyes on, with her delicate elfin features, spikey black hair and irresistibly upbeat attitude. I know I was dating Edward, and that was fine because Alice had a mate and was out of reach, so I chalked my borderline obsession up to vampire glamour and did my best to ignore my inappropriate feelings towards my best friend. Imagine my confusion when I woke up the next day after meeting Alice with the petite vampire's name on my lips and a mess between my legs.
Then there was her husband, Jasper yummy-southern-drawl Hale. I gotta admit, if given a choice between any of the Cullen men, I'd save a horse and ride that cowboy any day of the week and twice on Sunday. While his stoic and oftentimes unreadable expressions left my mind to wonder, he was undeniably the most gorgeous man I'd ever met. Where Edward was beautiful, Jasper was drop-dead sexy in an unattainable way that made my mouth run dry. Add to that the terror his hungry gaze could inspire and he was like Bella-danger-magnet-candy.
Or in this case, eye-candy, unfortunately, as I had to remind myself often that he was married to my best friend. Oh, and I was dating Edward. Funny how I often forgot that in the early waking hours. It was only in those unguarded moments between sleep and waking that I could admit that given the chance, I'd love to join their tango. I had long ago come to terms with my own bisexuality, so the idea of being attracted to both of them wasn't even a blip.
The strangest sound reached my ears as I struggled to return to sleep. It was like a mixture of a chirp and a gagging noise. It had my eyes snapping open only to be met with the sight of our mostly darkened hotel room, the TV continuing to flash in the background.
The view that greeted my wide-eyed gaze once my eyes adjusted was like something straight out of my deepest fantasies. There was Jasper, leaning back on the couch, his feet planted on the floor with Alice's petite form straddling the man's waist. They were still mostly clothed, though Alice's skirt was hiked up around her waist as her hips continuously rocked forward and backward rhythmically. I could only just make out her mouth gaping open as she arched that glorious body of hers. When another of those chirping noises filled the room, I realized it was coming from Alice's parted lips, one of Jasper's hands wrapped tightly around her throat in an attempt to silence her pleasure.
Despite being unable to see anything behind the curtain of her skirt, I could see that Jasper's pants and boxers were down around his ankles, a discarded pair of black lace panties near his feet. They weren't just grinding out their pleasure like I'd been forced to do with my pillow in recent weeks, they were having full-on sex not ten feet from me! I had to fight back a whimper at the pure eroticism of the whole thing, my body clenching as I played unintentional voyeur to their lovemaking.
Whether it was my increased heart rate, his gift, or my suddenly erratic breathing, Jasper's voice rasped into the air, "Alice." Her pace never faltered as the petite girl met her husband's gaze. "She's watching."
Alice's gaze flashed over to me, her eyes black and hungry, and now I knew what my best friend looked like completely aroused. There was an apology on the tip of my tongue when Alice's entire body shuddered, a wet moan escaping from her when Jasper released her throat. Her hips began moving faster, her panting nearly drowning out the wet sounds coming from beneath her skirt.
I couldn't seem to find my breath anymore. This was the most erotic thing I've ever witnessed, and I say this having discovered porn at an early age. I was held captive by Alice as she continued to ride her husband, and in her gaze I saw all of my own emotions reflected back. All of my hidden desires, my love, my obsession with everything that was Alice Cullen.
"Bella," she whimpered, her voice husky as she shuddered atop her mate. Shit, what that voice did to me. "Please! Oh gods, please Bella, I need-I need-" Jasper's hand disappeared beneath her skirt, and whatever he did had the pixie girl screaming out her pleasure, her body racked with tremors as her eyes rolled back.
I couldn't take it anymore. My hand bypassed the elastic of my sweats and panties, diving right into the copious amounts of moisture currently ruining my underwear. My back arched, a desperate moan slipping from between panting lips as I started up a punishing rhythm against my clit. I refused to look away, keeping my gaze locked onto Alice's while my fingers began to spread my own juices across my aching core. I felt so sensitive that even those small caresses felt like small explosions of pleasure. Gods, I felt like I was drowning in seduction, my mind caught up in a fog of arousal as I wrung pleasure from my body in time with the movements of Alice's hips.
I don't know if it was because of my dreams warming me up, or if it was just the effect of having my fantasies become reality, either way I could feel myself already nearing my peak. "A-Alice," I whispered fervently, desperate for her pleasure to meet with mine in absolute completion.
"Yes!" came Alice's triumphant reply, and I knew without words that she was just as close. "Cum with us, Bella! Please!"
I could just barely see Jasper's face now that Alice was leaning towards me, and gods did he look glorious in his tense need. Fuck, both of them were so perfect, so magnificent in that one moment that I couldn't help but scream out my orgasm into the space between us, a breathless sob wrenched from my lips as my entire body arched into my thrusting fingers. There were venom tears shining in Alice's eyes as she, too, fell over that edge, a joyous shout chirping from pink lips.
A feral growl erupted from the couch as Jasper came with us, his strong hands grasping Alice's hips in a tight grip as he forced the pixie girl down onto his cock one last time, and judging by the way Alice's eyes lit up, she could feel every inch of him deep inside of her clenching core.
Just that visual alone was enough to send me headlong into a second orgasm, my body trembling and weak after such sudden waking exertions. I don't think I've ever cum that hard in my life! It took longer than usual to come down from my high, intense aftershocks fading away into uncontrollable trembling. When I finally found my thoughts, I immediately began to panic. Withdrawing my drenched fingers from my panties and wiping them off on the side of the mattress, I couldn't help but think, Oh gods, what did we just do?!
A wave of calm poured over me and I knew Jasper was aware of my rising panic. I couldn't help but luxuriate in the feeling, and in the clarity of his influence I realize I was the only one panicking. Alice was at my side in the blink of an eye, her smile the brightest I'd ever seen. She was kneeling beside the bed with a questioning look in her amber gaze, and I had to fight to ignore the fact that she hadn't bothered retrieving her panties. "Don't panic on us now, Bella. Nothing happened that we didn't want to happen."
I swallowed hard, searching Alice's gaze and finding nothing but love and honesty. I could hear the sound of Jasper buckling his pants from the couch before he appeared, standing beside his wife. His mate, fuck! What was I doing here?!
"Now darlin'," Jasper chided, his tone playful in a way I'd never heard before, his accent thick with lingering satisfaction. "Don't go runnin' from us now. Everything we did was consensual."
"I-You-What?!" Articulate, I know, but what do you want from me? Not only was my brain mush from the absolute glorious climaxes I'd just had, but here were the sources of my every fantasy telling me it was okay that I'd just fucked myself to the sight of them going at it?
Alice's giggle was adorable as she reached out to pet my cheek in a sweet gesture. I couldn't resist leaning into her cold palm, only now realizing how overheated I felt. "Did you have fun?"
Of all the things she could have asked, that was the last thing I expected. "I'm, I mean-" I swallowed hard as I struggled to hold her inviting gaze, and in one moment of clarity I found myself answering honestly, "That was the single most pleasurable experience of my life. But I don't understand what or why it happened."
Alice's smile could put the sun to shame with its brightness. Moving just a shade slower than her vampiric speed, Alice was suddenly curled up on the bed behind me with only the comforter separating us. I felt my body stiffen at her sudden proximity, worry and more than a little lingering sexual tension filling the air as I struggled to relax. Whatever had just happened between us, this was still Alice, my very tactile best friend... whose pleasurable cries still rang in my ears.
Alice pulled the blanket away suddenly before pulling me backwards until I was resting against her cold chest, the blankets once again coming down to surround us. "Well, Bella," Alice murmured practically into my ear, "What do you think just happened?"
It took more effort than I would admit aloud to ignore the feel of Alice's petite breasts pressing into my back, especially considering I could easily feel her erect nipples through her thin shirt. "Well, it feels like I just cheated on my boyfriend with his sister and her husband slash mate."
Again, Alice's tinkling giggle filled the quiet room. "Yes, the passion between mates can get pretty intense. Did you know that once a vampire finds their mate in a human that they have a near impossible time resisting the urge to ravish and turn them?"
"It's true," Jasper concurred, lowering himself to sit with his back against the headboard, near us yet not quite touching. "And the jealousy! Don't get me started! In fact, mates can't bear to see their partner in the arms of another without wanting to rip that person apart."
His cold hand lifted towards me and I flinched, certain he was about to carry out his aforementioned vengeance considering my compromising position within Alice's arms. It felt like some cruel play-by-play of my demise, but instead of his indomitable strength crushing my skull, he simply brushed my sweat-matted hair from my forehead in a gentle caress.
"Tonight has been a wonderful night of discoveries, has it not, loves?" He was smiling that sexy little crooked smile of his that had my higher brain functions grinding to a halt. Luckily, I wasn't expected to answer it seemed.
"Yeah," came Alice's dulcet voice as she nuzzled her cheek against mine, "For instance, Jasper had no idea that you talk in your sleep."
I felt my breathing seize in my chest as my eyes went wide. Oh no. Please tell me I didn't moan their names. I thought I'd outgrown that habit since moving to Forks!
"Quite fascinating, really," Jasper continued, his voice far too casual for the context of this conversation. "What did you say earlier? Hmm, it was a single word..." he paused, a thoughtful look on this face as he looked into the distance before returning his gaze to mine, a heated look entering his topaz gaze. "Alice..."
Said vampire's arms tightened around me, a vibrating purr rumbling into my back. "Nothing too incriminating about that, after all, you did fall asleep on me." Oh thank fuck. "But couple with that the smell of your arousal filling the air and I'd say you were having a very happy dream about me, sweetling." Shit.
"L-Look," I started, trying my damnedest to ignore the warmth spreading through my body as Alice continued to purr behind me, "It's not what it looks like."
"It looks like you were having a wet dream about my wife." Jasper didn't even blink as he continued smirking down at myself and said wife cuddling me close with an inescapable hold.
I blinked for him, gaping for several moments as I realized I was stuck. "So it's exactly what it looks like." I swallowed, taking notice of the steadily calm atmosphere, and with a twist in my gut I realized they weren't upset. "Wh-Why aren't you mad?"
Alice's hand began petting over my right side, over my clothes of course, but still stimulating enough to be distracting. "That would have to do with something else we 'discovered' tonight." She pulled away enough to shoot a playful grin down at me before turning to Jasper.
"You see, Bella," he turned onto his side to better face Alice and I, his hand playing casually with random swirls of my hair as he spoke, "this discovery goes back to my early days as a vampire, some hundred and sixty years ago. As a human, I was the youngest Major in the Confederate Army at the time I was turned. I wound up running into a woman named Maria while escorting civilian caravans. Well, as you can guess she was a vampire. She told me that she saw something in me, I don't know what, but it caused her to turn me on the spot.
"Y'see, Maria fashioned herself a warlord. She and several other vampires once fought for the territory in Texas, and she used me and my gift to train her newborn army. And I lived for it! The thrill of battle, commanding others and directing troops was in my blood as a human and in my venom as a vampire!"
He sighed, his handsome face cast in shadows of long-past horrors, his voice turning somber. "I thought I loved that woman, but in the end I was nothing but a tool to further her warmongering."
I could practically feel the pain pouring off of him in waves. I reached out from beneath my blanket to touch the hand that still held a few strands of my hair aloft. He seemed surprised to feel my touch, though he didn't withdraw from me as he normally would when the scent of my blood became too much for him. In fact, I realized with a bit of a jolt, he hadn't appeared to be having any issue being around me right now, which was strange considering he struggled almost as much as Edward most times.
He smiled down at me and I felt my heart thud painfully at his beauty. Him bringing the back of my hand to his lips in a gentle kiss had tingles running up my arm and into my chest where butterflies began to flutter. It put every one of Edward's romantic overtures to shame in that single gesture and I was definitely growing more confused by the minute.
"It was my job," he continued, "to not only control and train the newborns, but to end them after their newborn year was up."
I frowned at that, thinking about his gift and not liking the idea of this sweet and sensitive man having to endure such emotional torture. I could just imagine what those emotions must have been like for the empath. "Why would she make you kill them?"
His smile twisted into a frown as he cradled my hand almost absently against his chest. "Vampires are never as strong as we are during the first year of our new life. Our own human blood runs through our system, makes us stronger and faster than even older vampires. In Maria's eyes, her army was only of benefit to her during that time of heightened strength, unless they possessed a useful talent such as mine. I was their reaper, their executioner. Until one day I couldn't carry out my orders."
Alice's hand reached out across my body, Jasper bringing our joined hands down so she could grasp them in her delicate fingers. It felt like the most natural thing in the world, to be connected to both of them like this. It provided an equal level of comfort I've only ever truly felt in...Alice's arms.
"Peter and Charlotte are, to this day, two of my closest friends. I was ordered to terminate them, as was custom by then, but they stood up to me as one, ready to fight to the bitter end for each other. That wasn't my first brush with a mated pair, but it was the first time I'd encountered what I would come to understand as a triad bond."
His lips quirked up in a self-depreciating smile. "I did not realize it at the time, but those two were not fighting just for each other, their emotions reached beyond our battleground to another. They were fighting to return to their shared mate, a nomad vampire they had met by chance during one of their hunts named Garrett. Theirs was a fierce and powerful love, undeniable and irrefutable.
"So I did the only thing I could: I let them go, and in doing so I knew I had signed my own death warrant. To disobey Maria was tantamount to suicide, you see. So I abandoned Maria and her quest for domination and became a nomad myself. It would be several decades before I happened upon the most beautiful pixie you ever did set your eyes on." The loving smile that lit his eyes when he looked over my shoulder at Alice made my heart swell with joy. They held such a sweet and obvious love for each other and I envied them that absolute trust and dedication they shared. They were made for each other and it had never been more obvious to me how underwhelming my relationship with Edward was than when I looked upon them.
Edward said that he loved me, or at least he had convinced himself that he did. But here in front of me was the purest example of what soulmates were supposed to be, and he and I weren't anywhere near that level of commitment. Hell, half the time I wasn't even sure I liked him. He was controlling, petulant and demanding, and likely willing to let me grow old and die without ever considering what I want. I know I was meant to be one of them, to be a part of their family as more than just the human pet. Just maybe not as Edward's mate.
Then Jasper's words hit home and I fought back a gasp as I met his piercing amber eyes as he went on. "Of course, that was only the beginning of our journey. I figured Peter and Charlotte with their third were a fluke, an enigma I would likely never encounter again in my lifetime. That is, until we met the Denalis."
My brow furrowed. I was sure Edward had mentioned that name before. "Aren't those your cousins who live in Alaska? Edward went to visit them after we met that first time in biology."
Jasper nodded, a small sneer unfurling his lips. "One and the same, though Edward was never very accepting of the Denali sisters' bond they shared with one another. Theirs was the second triad bond I'd ever come across, their love for one another equal and undeniable even to those without my gift. The fact that they were all three turned by the same woman seemed an astronomical coincidence but there was no denying that all three shared the mate-bond.
"I was confused yet intrigued by my discovery, but it would again be years before I found another triad bond. Carlisle took our family to meet the South American Amazonian coven some ten years later." He turned a wry smile to Alice as I felt the pixie smirk against my cheek, so at ease with her presence that I hadn't even noticed her rubbing against me like a content kitten. "At first glance, I thought Senna and Kachiri were just another mated pair. That is, until I moved too close to the coven leader, Zafrina, then I had two vicious vampires vying for my head."
"To be fair," Alice chimed in teasingly, "you do strike an imposing figure." She gestured to the numerous scars lining his arms, barely visible to my human gaze.
Rather than getting offended by the implications, Jasper seemed proud of the damage he had endured, if his grin was anything to go by. "Let us not forget your role in this, my little fae." He turned his attention back to me, his smile beaming just the same as he embellished. "While Senna and Kachiri were set to attack me, Alice had slunk around them and pounced until she was perched on their mate's shoulders, knees and arms locked around her torso and head, ready to tear her apart at a moment's notice."
I turned a wide-eyed look to the 4'10" pixie girl curled up against me who was grinning back, eyes nearly black as I finally bore witness to Alice Cullen, the vampire. I think it was the first time I was truly seeing the predator in her, but instead of striking fear into me like it would any normal person, I felt myself becoming aroused yet again. Alice's grin only grew wider as she no doubt scented my increased desire, the flash of razor-sharp teeth only making her look that much more appealingly dangerous.
Luckily, Jasper was there to continue the story before I made the mistake of pouncing his wife. "Yes, it is amazing what this little thing can get away with when everyone underestimates her or her gift. That being said, Carlisle intervened and was able to clear up the...misunderstanding. It also earned us a bit of respect with the Amazonian coven that Alice spared Zafrina."
There was a brief pause where Alice and Jasper shared a smile before Jasper continued his story. "The fourth incident and only other two occurrences of triad mate bonds I've ever come across myself was when our family visited the Volturi."
"The Volturi are the closest thing to vampire royalty we have in our world," Alice explained, pausing to run her nose casually up and down my neck in a gesture that seemed almost unconscious. I couldn't help but tilt my head to the side, biting my lip to keep from moaning at the feeling of chill skin skirting across my sensitive throat. One might question the sanity involved in offering one's vulnerable neck to a vampire, but I think I knew by now where they were going with this story, and I trusted Alice with my life. "They are responsible for ensuring the safety and secrecy of vampire kind, which includes punishing those who break the laws."
"Vampires have laws?" I asked with no short amount of stupidity, because why wouldn't they? The Cullens had proven that vampires are very much capable of higher thinking and civility, so it would follow that any such society would require regulation.
"Just one law, really," Alice replied, and I felt her arms tighten ever so slightly. "Keep our existence a secret from humans. If a human comes to know what we are, they are to be turned...or killed."
I felt myself pale in fear, only for that fear to morph into anger almost immediately as I realized what that meant. "Edward obviously has no intention of turning me. So does that mean he planned to just kill me?"
The growl from the man in front of me had a healthy dose of fear rattling through me, though the subsequent spike of arousal was entirely inappropriate yet unavoidable. "No one will lay a finger on you, sweetling. Not so long as I exist!"
Gods, his voice was a rumbling growl, and while the unmitigated rage he was expressing had me trembling in fear, I had to press my thighs together to avoid embarrassing myself further. This man had no right to be so damn sexy while waxing murderous intent.
A giggle from behind me had me shrinking in on myself as the nosey seer cut in. "Jazz, cut it out. You're going to give the poor girl a heart attack..." she trailed off, and when she continued I could hear the grin in her voice "...or an orgasm."
I tried to pull away from Alice to bury my face beneath the blanket but they still held my hand captive between both of theirs. "As enticing as the latter sounds, I think I should finish my story. We wouldn't want Isabella here to only have half of the facts, now would we?"
Alice released a heavy sigh before cuddling in close as she gesture for him to continue. "What I'm about to tell you is considered top secret, as I believe only the Volturi leaders themselves are aware of it. There are six rulers who comprise the Volturi's top brass, so to speak. Aro, Caius, Marcus, Sulpicia, Athenadora, and Didyme. To the outside world, these six make up three male-female mated pairs, but to my gift I felt the truth. They are two triad mate bonds, with Aro, Caius, and Athenadora as one triad and Marcus, Sulpicia, and Didyme on the other end."
My brows raised as I realized what he was saying. "But why would they lie to the rest of the vampire world?"
Jasper shrugged, a wry smile tilting his lips. "I can only speculate seeing as I was not nearly suicidal enough to bring attention to it at the time. I think it has to do with the era in which they were all born. All six of them are around three thousand years old you see. Those were eras in which men fought for home and hearth while women cleaned and birthed children. They carry on the ruse to this day probably because they see no alternative, even in today's modern acceptance of LGBT individuals and polyamory."
Polyamory. There it was, a word meaning non-monogamous relationships between three or more individuals. They had been leading up to it since I'd woken to the sound of Alice's pleasure, but I had no idea what to do with all of this information I'd been given. I understood what they were saying about the triad mate bonds and how supposedly vampires could share more than one mate. But did they really believe I was meant to be theirs? I mean, talk about a one-sided deal. They would be stuck with a gravity-challenged human who drew trouble to her like a magnet, while they were quite literally the definition of perfection.
I swallowed past the thick lump in my throat as I struggled to keep my heart from pounding out of my chest. I couldn't really deny how I felt about these two. Alice was my absolute best friend and the one person I knew I could go to about anything. I loved spending time with her, enjoyed the way she always found ways to be touching me, whether it be a casual brushing of her fingers across my hand, or cuddling together like we were currently doing. Edward be damned, I could live without him easily but if I ever lost Alice I think I might just die.
Then there was Adonis himself. While we didn't get to be as close as Alice and I were normally, I always enjoyed being in his presence. Even when he wasn't using his gift, I felt completely calm when he was around, like nothing could possibly go wrong. His turbulent control aside, I felt safer when he was around, like my very happiness and being were cherished.
Which brought up a curious question. "How can you be around me like this and not want to eat me?"
Jasper's grin was toothy, a vivid flash of razor sharp teeth that showcased his predator. "Who says I don't want to eat you?"
I had to blink several times, shaking my head to clear away the sudden sexual fog my brain tried to drown in. This was too important to just give in to the seductive cadence of his rumbling voice. "Your eyes have been a steady gold the entire time we've been talking, yet around the rest of the family you always seem to be on edge when I'm around."
Alice's voice whispering into my ear sent chills across my neck, "Not the kind of eating he had in mind, love."
I felt my eyes go wide, my body clenching as my mind filled with unfiltered images of dirty blonde hair between my thighs. Oh fuck! I could easily hear their shared inhales in the quiet that followed, matching purrs rumbling from them as they grinned down at me. Stupid super senses.
"To answer your question," Jasper continued, no doubt swimming in the amount of lust pouring off of me, "I have never once wanted your blood." At my skeptical look, he smiled and leaned towards me until I felt his nose nuzzling into my hairline, drawing in a deep inhale through his nose. When he pulled away and his eyes opened again, his gaze was still a steady topaz. "I have, however, been at the mercy of my gift. When I'm in the room with any of the rest of our family, I suffer from their bloodlust igniting my own. Edward's is the worst, but combined with the rest of the family it's been impossible to get close to you."
The conversation paused, and I took a moment to really think about what they were telling me. It was true, I felt different with them than I did with the rest of the Cullens, even Edward. I felt comfort, happiness, love, and a soul-deep contentment when I was around one or both of them. I always felt nervous or anxious around Edward, like I was walking on eggshells, just waiting for him to decide enough was enough.
Sighing, I leaned back into Alice, squeezing my hand still held in theirs. "I'm not Edward's mate, am I?"
Jasper cringed as he shook his head, sending me an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, but you're not. You're his singer." I must have had a confused look on my face because he quickly explained, "For every vampire there exists humans whose blood literally sings for them. They smell like the most scrumptious meal you will ever have, and they don't often live beyond their first meeting. I'll admit, it was quite impressive that Edward has resisted this long, but in the end his love for your blood far outstrips any feelings of affection he has for you as a person."
The most adorable growl came from behind me, though I felt no fear of the petite vampire still cuddling me so casually. "I never understood why it always bothered me so much when Edward got involved with you until tonight. I always knew we were meant to be close, but since I didn't know about triad bonds I just assumed we were supposed to be close friends since I knew Jasper was my mate."
Jasper's growl, on the other hand, was terrifying and arousing in equal amounts. "That foolish boy did everything he could to keep you to himself. I wasn't even certain we had a triad bond, though I suspected as much after seeing you two together." His smile was open and his eyes shone with a light I hadn't seen in them before. "That being said, I had to wait until we were alone with you to be completely sure. I had to be free of the influence of our family's emotions, especially Edward's."
My chest felt light, my heart fluttering as I met his beautiful amber eyes with a painful amount of hope. "And now that we're alone?"
His grin was just this side of feral as he leaned ever so slowly towards me until I could just feel his cold, sweet breath puffing against my lips. My own breathing was coming in harsh pants by the time his next words whispered into the non-existent space between us.
"Now you're ours."