His Butterfly

xxi. forgiveness

Mariposa drives her car through the familiar and permanently etched into her brain road deep into the woods. In the back seat, sits Sophia in her carseat, eating a small bag of chips while next to her in the passenger seat, sits Matei. Her body is racked with nerves as she parks in front of the infamous Cullen house. The girl's daughter had been wanting to see Jasper as well as the rest of the family of vampires, not caring that her mother had originally told the family that they weren't allowed to see her anymore.

The brunette holds her daughter's hand as Matei walks in front of them, the front door already opening to see the kind face of Carlisle, smiling warmly at them. "It's nice to see you again, Mariposa. Follow me, everyone is gathered in the living room."

They follow the patriarch of the Cullen family up the stairs, and into the wide and open living room, where, like he said, his family either stands or sits. Smiles gracing their inhuman features as they see them come into view.

With a stoic face, Matei blocks the family's view of the two girls behind him, standing in front of them protectively. "We're not going to hurt them, if that's what you're thinking." Edward speaks up with an amused smile, of course he knows what the dhampir is thinking. Bella stands next to him, holding his hand. The two were hardly away from each other since they got back together. 

"I wouldn't put it past you." He responds, firmly. "Any of you."

"Matei!" Mariposa's shocked voice meets everyone's ears. "You said you wouldn't start anything." She comes out from behind him as he rolls his eyes.

"Never agreed to it," He mutters under his breath.

She shakes her head at him as she looks at the family. They all hold expressions of either relief and happiness. Mariposa's gaze lingers on Jasper for a moment, the blonde sending her subtle small smile.

After a second, Mariposa returns it with a tiny one of her own.

Sophia lets go of her mother's hand, running to Jasper, letting him pick her up with a smile.

"It's nice to see you guys, again, under different circumstances." She says. "I'm sorry about Mat. He's still a bit wary about this."

"No need to apologize. He has every right to be." Esme tells her, her signature motherly smile gracing her features.

Alice walks up to her, apprehensively. "Am I allowed to hug you or will I get burned again?"

Matei moves closer to the brunette, his arm in front of her, worried like crazy about the girl he sees as his little sister. She notices this and rolls her eyes before looking back at Alice.

"Sorry about that. It's a defensive mechanism." Mariposa awkwardly says, pushing his arm away, and embracing the vampire.

A happy giggle leaves the pixie as she hugs her tightly, bouncing on her toes. "Burned?" Emmett's amused voice asks.

"Yeah, um," Mariposa says after Alice let her go. "I'm able to control my body temperature. A lot has changed."

"You're right about that. You have your own guard dogs." Emmett smirks, amusingly. "And bodyguard." He nods over to a tense Matei, who has his arms crossed.

"Don't think we can't smell them." Rosalie teases her.

Mariposa chuckles, a smile on her lips. "Sorry about that too. The pack is still getting used to the fact they have to share us. They're quite protective of the imprints."

"Imprints?" Jasper questions, curiously. There's no sign of jealousy or anger in his tone like when they met in the clearing about the treaty. "It's not just you two?"

His family as well as Mariposa and Matei look shocked at his question, certainly not excepting it. "No," The brunette shakes her head. "There's Kim, Emily, and now, Rachel."

"Rachel?" Bella asks, her brows furrowing. "As in Rachel Black, Jacob's sister?"

"Yep," She confirms.

"If you don't mind my asking, how did you get the scars?" Sebastian asks, nodding his head to said skin on her arm.

Mariposa looks over at the blonde with a smile. "Let's just say an angry wolf and a car ride don't mix."

Jasper watches his mate with longing eyes. He wants her in his arms just as he has his daughter in them. He wants to get rid of the repulsive wolf scent that lingers on all over her. He wants to feel her body against his, whether it be bare or not. He wants to feel her soft lips on his, wishing to listen to the soft loving whispering to each other that they used to do.

He just wants her.

Just like she wants him.

"Mariposa," He speaks softly, gaining the attention of everyone as the smile on her face shortens a tiny bit, and he hands the little girl to Rosalie, who is more than glad to have her niece in her arms. "Care to accompany me outside?"

Mariposa glances up at Matei, who gives her a subtle push with a wink. He had loosen up after realizing they weren't going to hurt the brunette and her daughter. "Sure." She turns back to Jasper with a brief nod.

She follows him outside, near a river at the back of the Cullen house, giving them privacy from the supernatural beings that reside in the home. For the first time, she's glad he can't hear her beating heart, that beats wildly when she realizes this is the first time they have been alone.

"I'm sorry," Jasper suddenly says as he turns to her. Her eyes widened a bit at his sudden apology but doesn't say anything just lets him continue talking, his familiar southern accent finding her ears, her hand unconsciously moving to her left wrist, and toying with jewelry that rests there . "For everything, for leaving you, for our unborn child. I never meant to hurt you as bad as I did nor does it make right. Leaving you, my happiness and love, and Sophia behind was one of the hardest things I ever did. Leaving you here without protection, knowing Victoria's still out there. But, I'm back now, and I'm staying. If you want me too. If you don't, just tell me and I'll do just that. I'll... leave you alone."

"That isn't what I want. At all." Mariposa whispers after a small silence between them as she steps forward, taking his cold hands into hers. "You guys don't know how I felt during those months you guys were gone." Her voice cracks as she takes a shaky breath. "I felt as though a part of me was ripped out and you took it with you. I felt alone, truly alone. I finally knew what my mom felt when my dad died. I should hate you for this, I really should but I can't because I know you had good reasons for doing what you did. I know I said I didn't love you anymore but I do love you. I have always loved you. And if you want a second chance at this you have to make it right, Jasper, because I hate holding grudges."

His eyes are a mixture of pain and sorrow as he listens to her side of the story. He gently squeezes her hands as he steps closer to her. "Then I'll spend the rest of my life earning your forgiveness because I never wanted to hurt you, Mari, never in a million years have I wanted tears to shed from your eyes or Sophia's because of me."

"I forgave you a long time ago." She tells him, looking at him straight in the eye, their gazes meeting.