The Major's Mate

8

Days turn into weeks and weeks into months. Celeste fits in quite easily with the Cullen family and it leaves nearly the entire student population envious of her position. She still makes time for Angela, Jessica, and Tyler, but a majority of her time is spent by Jasper's side much to the displeasure of nearly every female at Forks High.

No one had told her just how the whole mate thing worked, so more often than not she found herself overwhelmed with lust and attraction, which led her to telling them about how her own emotions are all ready amplified. And speaking of the amplification of her emotions, she also told them that there was a chance her emotions could completely turn off if some life altering event happened to her. Needless to say, Jasper vowed to take complete care of her and never allow that to happen.

Of course talk about her diet came up. They were surprised she could actually hold down human food and were quite uncomfortable to learn she drank human blood. Rosalie and Emmett were a bit envious she got to enjoy what their species naturally craved, but after explaining she drank from blood bags they settled down (they'd choose the hot blood of an animal over microwaved blood any day). Carlisle had then wanted to know where she got the blood bags from and Celeste only felt an ounce of guilt when she told him she compelled doctors from various hospitals miles away to fill an ice chest for her when she ran out.

Then the day came when one Bella Swan arrived. Alice saw her coming and even saw how curious the girl would become, but her family would not be ran out of Forks just because one measly human couldn't keep her nose out of their business.

They made sure to make it obvious right away that Emmett was with Rosalie, Edward with Alice, and Jasper with Celeste. And on the days that Celeste sat with Jessica and Angela, the newest of the Cullen clan took great pleasure in gushing about just how adorable Edward and Alice were together and how nothing or no one would ever come between them. It was obvious she made Bella uncomfortable, but the girl needed to take the hint to leave her new family alone sooner rather than later.

"We should go see our cousins in Alaska," Alice says one day after Edward had to endure being partnered with Bella for a class project and realized the human was his singer- a person whose blood tempted him more than any others. "We'll steal something saturated with her scent so you can adjust to it and we'll take a long weekend."

Emmett grimaces, he having run across his own singer once upon a time and drained them dry. "It'll be tough, but you have the best control out of all of us. I second Alice's idea."

Rosalie agrees with her mate and Edward sighs. "If that's my only choice, then yes. We'll take a long weekend up in Alaska."

"Well aren't you a lucky bunch," Celeste muses from her position on Jasper's lap.

"You can always come with us, darlin'."

"Mmm. As much as I want to meet the rest of your family, I rather wait until our student holidays start. No one would question you and your family taking a few days to go camping or for a family emergency, but I'm not a Cullen. If I disappear with you all, it'd be seen as weird."

"Oh now you care about what they think?" Rosalie grins.

"Not really. But as we've already figured out I can't compel Bella, you know she's going to be the one to question where Edward is after he reacted so harshly to her near presence. If I'm at school, I can control the gossip and glare at Bella until she drops it."

"If you're stayin', then I'm stayin'. The Denali coven won't miss me."

No one bothers to hide their smiles at Jasper's statement or the possessive hand that suddenly grips her thigh, and Celeste chuckles in response. "As if I'd argue against you."

Alice, Edward, Rosalie, and Emmett are the only ones to run up to Alaska while Jasper remains at school with Celeste. She had been right that Bella was going to be curious about Edward's whereabouts and his family, but once the rest of the lunch table got the hint that Celeste was not going to tolerate her twenty questions, Bella let it go.

Esme and Carlisle had remained behind as well, and though the younger mated couple could always go to Celeste's house for privacy, Celeste decided she wanted to spend a night under the stars with her mate. Jasper agreed and Esme excitedly packed a picnic basket of snacks for Celeste to last her through the night.

The weather had ended up cooperating with them, but Celeste still put the large tent up in case the drizzling rain surprised them. And while Celeste put up their tent, Jasper got the fire going and rolled out several large blankets one on top of the other to offer some cushioning on the ground.

The couple leaned against one another with only the sounds of nature surrounding them until Jasper asked more about Celeste's life with the man who had hunted her down in hopes of draining her for a ritual.

"He's not that bad," she laughs, popping a marshmallow into her mouth. "I mean he was back then, but he mellowed out after his daughter was born."

Jasper's own chuckle slowly diminishes. "A daughter? Like you or-"

"Biological," she says, surprising him once more. "Don't ask me how. All I know is that some magic was involved with one of his werewolf one night stands in order to have some leverage against him, but Hope is- Hope is his actual biological daughter."

"That's.. wow."