Apricity {Jasper CullenxMale OC}

Chapter 9

"Volturi?" Kova asked, swallowing nervously.

"They're a sort of... unofficial royalty," Jasper explained. "Self appointed leaders... and executioners." His face was set grimly, Kova got the idea he didn't like them much.

"Judge, jury and executioner all rolled into one hardly seems like a proper justice system," the werewolf muttered, and Jasper couldn't argue with that.

"Are you immortal?" Kova questioned, and Jasper nodded. "How old are you?"

"160," the vampire responded casually, and Kova's jaw dropped. "I was 19 when I was bitten."

The werewolf tried to let that settle in his mind, but it just bounced around in there instead. The gorgeous, young looking man in front of him had seen over a century and a half of life on this planet. Stuck at 19. It was utterly insane. Stiles was going to love this.

"So you have to be bitten, to become like you," Kova observed, and Jasper nodded again. "What happens? How do you change?"

The werewolf thought back to his own change. There were two types of werewolves that he was aware of... the ones that were born, like the Hales. And the ones that were bitten, like him, Scott, and Liam. Bitten wolves didn't know the bite was effective until the first full moon, and their first transformation. Although, if they were bitten and didn't die, it was glaringly obvious that it had obviously worked.

"To become a vampire, you must be bitten by one," Jasper started, "then the venom spreads. It's excruciating, and usually takes a few days. But once complete, you're frozen at the age you were bitten."

"Does everyone survive the bite?" Kova asked, thinking of the risk of a werewolf bite.

He considered the pain of the vampire transformation. The first change hurt like a bitch, for a werewolf, but every one after that was painless. And the bite... the bite didn't hurt more than any other would.

"No," Jasper answered gravely. "The older you are, the less likely you are to survive it. But there's always a risk."

"The same as a wolf bite," Kova muttered under his breath.

"Interesting," Jasper observed, his eyes firmly on Kova. Gauging his every reaction through his gift. All he sensed now was that ever constant curiosity. "Are you immortal?" Jasper repeated Kova's earlier question.

"No," he answered, and Jasper's heart sank a little at the news. "What is the extent of your... powers?" He asked in return.

"Speed, strength... all of our senses are heightened," Jasper ticked the list off with his fingers, "Smell, sight, hearing."

"And your weaknesses? How are you killed?" Kova asked, knowing it was a morbid question- but an important one. And then something else popped into his mind. "What about what you did to me today?"

Jaspers eyes seemed to darken, and his face turned grave once more. Several images of the vampires he'd killed in the war with his own bare hands flashed through his mind.

"The only way to kill our kind is to tear us apart and burn the pieces," he said flatly, "otherwise, we have no weaknesses besides the Quileute wolves' teeth."

Kova's head snapped up at the mention of wolves. There was a niggle of familiarity in the word 'Quileute', and Kova filed that away for later.

"There are wolves here?" He asked, instantly on alert.

"They're not like you though," Jasper said, his head tilting as he surveyed Kova. "You're different. We've never encountered your kind before."

"You mean they're born?" Kova stood up now, "We have born and bitten wolves."