They ran to the warehouse where they had been staying, and took the motorcycles. Running was an option, but depending on how things went, Bella wanted to have her things with her, and most of her worldly possessions, at least those she regularly carried, were either on her person or carried on her bike. While it was slower than running, it also gave Bella time to think things through and catch up with her best friend. Bella had never been particularly close to any other mated females to discuss mating with them.

"So. tell me everything!" Victoria said. "What's he look like? What happened?"

Bella took a deep breath as they drove. "He's...golden." She said after a moment. "Golden hair and golden eyes, and so fierce…"

"Fierce?" Victoria repeated. "Fierce how?"

Bella smiled to herself. "I think it would be hard to tell who would win if we went scar for scar." She admitted.

"Pits?" Victoria asked, curious.

"I don't know." Bella admitted. "I don't think so, but he's strong, and a survivor."

Victoria chuckled at the dreaminess in Bella's voice. "Do you know why his eyes are strange? What about his name?"

"My eyes are brown." Bella defended, instinctively. "And his license says Jasper Hale, but you know how we are with names."

"First name is usually real." Victoria agreed. "And you have brown eyes because you're a hybrid freak."

"Bitch," Bella retorted, without ire, both knowing no insult was intended from either party. "It's strange, knowing I have a mate," She admitted. "I didn't think I would, abomination and all."

Victoria snorted. "You know that abomination shit is ridiculous. We wouldn't keep you around if you were weak."

"I feel the love." Bella quipped. "You know James would've wanted to collect me anyway. I'm an oddity, and he loves a challenge."

"True." Victoria admitted. "He's not going to be happy when this ruins finding out if there are pits here."

Bella's head came up. "What do you mean?"

Victoria glanced briefly at her, eyebrows raised. "No mated male, especially a fierce one, is going to sit back and let his mate get beat on, no way."

Bella worried her lip. "But if he's my mate, he'll want me to be happy. I...I don't know how to not fight. You know what happens if I go too long."

"Maybe I'm wrong." Victoria said, lightly, in a voice that suggested she didn't think she was wrong at all.

Bella shook her head. "We need to know what's going on around here, if there are pits here. He'll understand. He has to understand." Bella said, roughly.

Victoria took a moment. "Instinct is a hard thing." She said after a moment. "Protecting your mate is so important, Bella. If anything happened to James...It'd be a suicide run on my part. I'd destroy whoever did it. I'd torture them any way I could, make them feel my pain before I just gave up."

Bella considered that, she knew it was true. Victoria wasn't particularly violent. In their coven she was mostly a grifter, while James and she acted as hitters when needed, but she was capable of violence, and could be as cold and cruel as anyone, if she was pushed to it. Victoria loved James with a kind of passion that had always surprised Bella. That, and also the reality of Marcus, forever in mourning for Didyme, praying she would return to him, floating through eternity almost joyless, convinced her that as much as she wanted her mate, things were going to get complicated.

"I have to have faith." She murmured, more to herself than to Victoria. "I have to believe we're made for each other, that it'll work out."

Victoria shook her head. "It's gotta be the human in you, Belle."

The sounds of engines broke the strange quiet anticipation in the Cullen home, everyone gathered in the living room to wait and see if Jasper's mate would arrive or not. Jasper was on his feet instantly, watching as two motorcycles came up the drive, one looked like a Ducati, the other a Triumph, and the entire family crowded toward the door for a moment, before Carlisle cleared his throat. "Maybe everyone should sit back down," he suggested. "We don't want to overwhelm her."

Jasper set his shoulders. "Carlisle..!"

"Not you, Jasper." Carlisle allowed. "You're who she's looking for."

The knock came, and Jasper had the door open in less than a second, letting out a sigh of relief as he saw her there. "Bella." He said, reverently. "I didn't know if you'd be able to find me."

"She lifted your wallet," the redheaded vampire accompanying his mate said, with a grin.

Emmett let out a booming laugh from the next room.

"Jasper?" Bella said softly, holding out his wallet. "Is that your real name or…?"

"Major Jasper Whitlock, ma'am, at your service." Jasper replied with his old drawl, smile deepening as he saw her flush and felt her lust increase.

"Hi," She managed, before she lost her composure with one final tug of the bond and closed the distance, pressing close. "I missed you." She said honestly. She didn't know it was possible to miss someone you didn't know existed, but apparently she had.

Jasper lowered his head, his mouth bare inches from hers. "Never again," he breathed, tangling a hand in her hair and pulling it down, kissing her deeply.

Bella was lost in the kiss, in the strength of his body, in the press of his skin. "Luce dei miei occhi," she breathed, reverting to Italian, and then gasping as he lifted her into his arms. The position allowed her to wrap her legs around his hips, which caused a secondary spike of lust through her body.

Jasper murmured compliments on her beauty as he turned and carried his new mate to his room, which he hoped, very shortly, to make theirs.

Victoria, amused, stared after them. "That didn't take long."

"Would you like to come in?" Carlisle invited, smiling at her.

Victoria nodded. "Yeah, why not. Belle will feel bad and want to come meet your coven afterward anyway." She followed Carlisle into the living room, raising an eyebrow at the large group. "I'm Victoria." She introduced.

"I'm Carlisle Cullen." Carlisle said, easily. "This is my wife, Esme, and the rest of our family." He gestured to each member. "Edward, Emmett, Rosalie, and Alice."

"A pleasure." Victoria said, taking a seat that Carlisle offered. There was no threat yet, that she could sense, but the smallest one was not happy in a way that could become one.

Esme tried her best to defuse the tension. "It's so good to see our Jasper happy. What brought you to the area?"

"Tracking the disappearances." Victoria replied, waving her hand slightly. "Bella thinks someone is trying to create an American version of the Roman or Parisian fighting pits, while my mate thinks it's just a newborn with no guidance."

That was obviously not the answer everyone was expecting. "So your coven isn't responsible for the missing people, or the murders?"

Victoria shook her head. "A few missing Renaissance paintings and some diamonds from a corrupt CEO, but not people." She shrugged slightly.

"So where have you been feeding?" Emmett asked, bluntly.

"We went into Oregon to hunt. Ate most of a sex-trafficking ring." Victoria answered. "Well, most of us. Bella's on a fast."

Silence reigned at that. "You haven't been hunting in the area?" Edward repeated again. "None of you?"

"No." Victoria swore.

The Cullens all looked at Edward, who nodded slowly. "Her thoughts are in line."

Victoria eyed Edward at that. "Bella's going to drive you up the wall." She predicted.

Emmett leaned forward, curiously. "Why?" He asked, amused at the idea of getting one over on Edward.

"Bella's a shield." Victoria explained with a smirk. "He won't be able to read her."

Emmett let out another booming laugh, especially given the sour look on Edward's face.

Wrapped in the afterglow and rightness of being pressed against her mate, skin to skin, Bella luxuriated in the feeling. The original intense drive to claim sated, she was exploring with gentle fingers, running her nails along his scars. He was doing the same with hers. "How did you get these?" She asked, kissing one particularly deep one on his side.

Jasper felt a spike of unease, not used to people seeing his scars without disgust, fear, or revulsion, but a moment later dismissed it, as Bella had almost as many. "Southern Vampire Wars." He admitted. "You?"

"Fighting pits." Bella answered, stiffening when he growled at her answer. The pits weren't illegal per se, but they were highly frowned upon, and it assumed that the only reason the Volturi didn't do anything about them was that they didn't get out of control. Bella knew better. More than one member enjoyed the savage spectacle of the gladiatorial battles.

"Why?" Jasper asked.

Bella snorted at that. "I was sold to them when I was four." She said flatly. "It wasn't a choice."

"Who?" Jasper asked, trying to control the angry, rageful, Major part of his personality who wanted to avenge his mate.

Bella didn't answer, shaking her head. "I can't tell you. I have theories, but no proof."

Jasper frowned, doing some attempt to count his mate's scars, when he found something unexpected - a tattoo. The strange thing was that it looked like the Volturi crest. It wasn't perfect to vampire vision, but it was close. "How'd you do this?"

"Venom mixed with ink and a knocked out incisor from a combatant." Bella explained. "We perfected it in the French pits. I spread it around the Italian ones before I escaped."

"How'd you escape?" Jasper asked, curious. He had never heard of a pit fighter escaping.

"Felix." Bella said, shaking her head. "He recognized me and took me back to Volterra."

Jasper traced the ornate V on his mate's skin. She said she spread it around the Italian pits, meaning she had to have the tattoo before she arrived in the Italian pits, because she didn't have any other. She must have originally been turned into whatever she was by someone in the Volturi, which was why Felix recognized her. "I'm glad you escaped." He said quietly. "Else we may have never met."

"Now that would be a tragedy." Bella agreed, rolling over to kiss him hard, feeling strange about his focus on her tattoo. "I would do anything again to meet you."

Jasper chuckled. "Say that after you meet my family." He teased.

Bella's head came up at that, a look of horror on her face. "Oh shit," she cussed." I just left Vic...I needed you so badly, I didn't even introduce myself…"

Jasper laughed. "I'm sure Carlisle and Esme are taking care of her." He ran a hand through her hair, and noted how she was still worried. "We can get cleaned up and go meet them." He soothed. "I want you to meet my family."

Bella smiled at him. "I'd like that."

Everyone left abandoned downstairs looked up as the newly mated couple appeared, Jasper's arm wrapped around a blushing Bella. "Everyone," Jasper said, trying to focus. "This is my Bella."

Bella found it easier to smile at the group with Jasper's arm wrapped around her. "Hello." She waved awkwardly as Jasper led her to the sofa and pulled her into his lap.

Carlisle smiled at her. "Welcome, Bella, I'm Carlisle Cullen."

"Oh, the animal drinkers!" Bella said, excitedly. "That's why your eyes are gold, I was wondering about that."

"Well, what even are you?" Rosalie demanded, offended, getting a growl from Jasper.

"Oh, I didn't mean to insult you!" Bella hurried to explain, looking at Carlisle. "It's just that I've heard of you and your coven. I'm not trying to demean your diet."

Carlisle smiled, a little wanly. "No offence taken, my dear. I know our way of life is unusual. In fact, the reason you met Jasper today was because of local disappearances we thought were linked to the...usual...diet."

Victoria stretched slightly. "The reason you met Goldie over there is because they were trying to find out who's been causing the murders and disappearances too."

Bella bit her lip, pondering about bringing up her theory. "Any luck?" She asked instead.

"The best kind," Jasper replied. "I found you."

"They thought it was us, but I told them about Oregon." Victoria explained. "Have you broken your fast?"

Bella shook her head. "You know I eat human food when we're working. I'm sharper when I'm thirsty." She pondered this. "Not to mention, I never leave a mess. The boys?"

Victoria shook her head in denial. "We all but sloshed after Oregon." She glared at her friend. "Speaking of which, when was the last time you had any blood, Belle?"

Bella groaned, leaning her head back on Jasper's shoulder. "About a month? Month and a half? Long enough that it burns like a bitch."

Carlisle leaned forward in interest toward Bella. "Speaking of diet, how is it you can eat human food and survive without blood?"

Bella opened a brown eye and grinned at him, but Jasper could feel that the smile covered a great well of sadness. "I have a vampire father and a human mother." She explained. "It creates a child that reaches full physical and mental adulthood in seven years, at which point, I became just as immortal as you. I'm capable of surviving on human food, or on blood, but blood works better, because otherwise the thirst is never sated." She frowned. "The downside is that the pregnancy is fatal to the human mother. After a month, the baby is full term and…" She shook her head. "You break your way out."

The hisses and winces around the room made her grimace and curl deeper into Jasper. Carlisle noticed this, and tried to tamp down on his curiosity with mixed success. "I had heard legends, but had no idea such a thing was possible."

"The Volturi don't like to advertise abominations." Bella said bitterly. "It might give people ideas."

Jasper growled at that, sending a wave of calm and adoration at his mate. It also made her story of being sold to the pits when she was four even more horrific. He had thought she meant four years after turning. It was obvious now that this wasn't the case. "You are my mate, and you are perfect." He told her plainly. "I'll rip the next person to call you so to pieces."

Bella beamed at him. "You are truly the best of men, Major." She murmured, kissing his cheek.

"Wait, as in the Major?" Victoria repeated. She had heard the introduction before, but hadn't attached the significance. "Holy shit, Belle." She raised an eyebrow. "You know...James has been saying we need an actual hitter, for when you're too busy thieving to get beat up on…"

Bella rolled her eyes at her friend. "He has a coven, Vic."

"So...he's not coming with you?" Vic asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I…." Bella broke off and frowned. "We haven't discussed logistics. It's not going to matter until we figure out what's going on anyway."

Jasper was growling, and Bella didn't like it, but she wasn't sure why. She had only had a mate for a day, she had no idea how it all worked. Was he growling because Vic said they were leaving, or was it from the comment about her getting beat up on?

God, the politics of mating was hard.