Out of the Dark & Into the Light

Chapter 13

Chapter 13
(Jasper's POV)

Crystal and I entered my study, fully sated after our hunt.

I made my way over to the sofa and collapsed onto the soft teal cushions, watching as Crystal began to walk around the large room, studying the items and countless books displayed everywhere. She stopped in front of my old rifle, which was safely displayed inside of a glass case on one of my many book shelves and ran her fingertips lightly over the case.

"What was it like?" She asked suddenly as she studied the gun before looking back over at me expectantly.

"What was what like?" I asked, scrunching my brows in confusion.

"The wars," she answered simply, but with a sense of caution in her tone. It was then that I knew which wars she meant, and it had nothing to do with my human life.

I swallowed thickly and straightened uncomfortably in my seat. This subject has always been a touchy one for me and I had no idea exactly how much Crystal has been told about me and my past.

'Well, now's as good of a time as any, I guess...'

"How much of my story has Carlisle and Esme told you?" I asked her bluntly.

She looked thoughtful for a moment as she pursed her lips and wandered around, running her fingertips absentmindedly over the wooden book shelves. "Just the basics, really, about how you were changed when you were in the American Civil War as a Major in Texas and was captured by Maria and her two sisters where you were changed and partook in the Southern Wars as Maria's second for many years." She answered, her eyes not meeting mine as they followed her fingers. "Other than that, everything I've heard was from other vampires that I've met when I was living in Texas with Damien and Jackson. I don't know exactly how much is true and which are just exaggerated rumors." She reached the end of the shelf and walked the seven steps to the couch where I sat and took a seat next to me. "Will you tell me your story?" She asked.

I sighed. "It's not at all a happy story by any means. I am ashamed of everything I've done and I can understand - whether we are mates or not - if you don't want me anymore after you hear the gruesome truth. But you deserve to hear this from me before we get any more involved with each other."

She reached over and took my hand, intertwining our fingers together. "Jasper, I don't care about the things you did in the past. I only care about the kind of person you are now. The kind, amazing, thoughtful man that you are today." She said tentatively and bit her bottom lip and sighed. "I might not have been in the wars, but I have done my fair share of killing these past eighty years. I might have had a reason to kill all those that died by my hand, but it doesn't mean that I take pride in taking someone's life. You don't judge me for my past, so who am I to judge you for yours?"

I smiled a small, grateful smile and ran my thumb over her knuckles, watching my thumb ghost over her skin as I began. "I am the oldest one in the family aside from Carlisle; I am about 150 years old, give or take.

"When I was seventeen, I lied about my age and enlisted in the army. I looked older than I was and was considered to be very charismatic, so there were no questions and I was able to enter the ranks easily where I quickly rose through them over the next couple years. By the time I was twenty, I was given the position of Major. I was the youngest one in the Texas Calvary and earned that title well.