Chapter 2: Reconnaissance

Jasper…

I was pissed at Carlisle, I'll admit.

I did not like hiding when I could be fighting; it just wasn't my way and never had been.

It was that instinct to fight or die fighting that had allowed me to become one of the youngest majors during the War Between the States.

I also didn't like the fact that we couldn't do anything until these rogues passed on through.

There was this really great book that I'd been waiting on and it was due to arrive at the Port Angeles' mall's bookstore any day now.

I sighed, unable to concentrate on my Trig homework.

Alice looked over at me from where she sat on the floor, doing her Algebra homework.

No matter how often I insisted she use the desk that was in our room, she always sat on the floor.

She said it was more comfortable; and given the fact that the chair we had was an antique and made of hard wood, plus my ass usually was numb after sitting in it for an hour I had to agree with her.

However, being the true Southern gentleman I am, I always sacrificed my comfort—or at least my butt's comfort—for my lady.

I grumbled under my breath, still unable to concentrate. This time, Alice stopped chewing on her pencil and looked at me.

"Either you're having indigestion or something is bothering you," my dear sweet Alice—who could be really un-sweet when she chose—said with a smirk.

I rolled my eyes at her. "I have not had indigestion in a hundred and fifty years," I told her, indignant, "and even then I did not make much noise about it."

She giggled. "I'm sure you didn't have to," she said, impishly. "You're stomach did it for you, and back then they didn't have indoor plumbing!" She giggled again.

I scowled at her. Leave it to me to bond with a wanna-be comedian!

"I don't like this," I told her, hoping she'd stop if she realized I was serious.

She nodded; her giggling fit over with. "I know," she said, "but you heard Carlisle."

"Yeah, I heard him all right," I grumbled, sourly, "I just don't agree with him."

She looked at me, sharply. "You aren't thinking of disobeying him, I hope," she said, her voice quiet. "Do you know what he'll do to you!?"

I winced. I had a very good idea what our adopted vampire father would do to me—or more precisely my ass—if he found I had disobeyed him.

"I didn't say I was," I told her, "I just said I didn't like his plan."

She sighed, obviously relieved. "And like he said, for all we know they could be—" she trailed off, her eyes going very wide.

I had seen that look upon her face enough to know what it meant. She was "seeing" something".

I was in the floor beside her in a second. "What is it?" I asked, breathlessly. "What did you see?"

"They've changed course," she said, her voice barely a whisper, but thanks to vampire hearing I heard every word. "They're in the woods just outside Forks!"

I growled low in my chest, every feral instinct within me rising to the surface to defend my territory and the territory of my family.

Alice stood up faster than I could blink. "I have to tell Carlisle," she said, and turned toward the door.

I was on my feet in an instant, grabbing her wrist. "Wait, Alice," I told her. "Not yet."

She turned to me, a puzzled expression on her face. "Why not, Jasper?" she asked. "He needs to know."

"I didn't say not to tell him," I told her, "I just said to wait."

She narrowed her eyes at me. "Why?" she asked. "What are you planning?"

I grinned. "Just a little something from my army days," I told her. "It's called reconnaissance—I'm just going to take a little run in the forest to see what our 'guests' are up to. That's all, and then I'll come straight back."

"Carlisle will be furious," she told me, knowingly.

I nodded. "Carlisle doesn't need to know," I told her, giving her a pointed look.

Alice looked away from me. Though she could when she needed to, she hated lying to our adopted parents—especially Carlisle.

I think it has something to do with being "Daddy's little girl" or something feminine like that.

It could be quite annoying at times—like now.

"I don't know, Jasper," she said, hesitantly. "What if they catch your scent? You'd be all alone against however many of them there are."

"I'm a good fighter, Alice," I reminded her, "besides, I'll be extra careful. Stay far enough away so they can't catch my scent, but close enough to see and hear them."

Alice bit her lip, still undecided.

I sighed. "Please, Alice," I said, giving her my best puppy dog expression. "I need to do this. If I'm not back within an hour, then you can run and tattle on me. Okay?"

She looked offended. "I would never do that," she exclaimed, stubbornly.

I chuckled, pulling her to me. "I know, love," I told her. "All I meant is if I'm not back you can call in the cavalry—meaning Dad. Okay?"

She smiled. "I like hearing you say that," she told me. "Carlisle loves it, too."

I nodded. "Yeah, I kinda like it myself," I told her, smirking. "Remember, give me an hour?"

She nodded. "I promise," she said, "unless I 'see' something."

"Deal," I told her, kissing her passionately. "I love you, m lil' darlin'."

I very rarely let my Southern roots show, but this was a special occasion.

She smiled. "I love you too, my fightin' man," she said. "Be careful."

I went to the double glass doors that we all had in our room, an outlet to the forest beyond our walls, and opened them.

I looked back over my shoulder. "Always am, baby," I told her, grinning. "Always am."

With that, I leapt out the doors and was soon making my way through the trees.

Though there was no moon tonight, I didn't need it to see my way.

Vampires have excellent night vision, kind of like an owl, so there was no need to worry about stumbling.

I raced through the trees as if they were flat road underneath my fast moving feet.

I have to admit, Edward is the best at this of all of us…but I'm definitely a close second.

I loved to run, always had, and at this moment—with my feral instincts in full control—I was in my element.

I let the sounds of the forest drift away, turning inward as I concentrated on my quarry.

Soon, I had their scent and I heard the dimness that I knew to be their voices.

As promised, I remained a safe distance from them. I made sure I was up wind, rather than down, so that there wasn't a chance they could catch my scent.

There were four of them, two men and two women, probably a couple of pairs of bonded mates. They wore assorted clothing, ranging from what could only be called 'threadbare' to more elegant tailored garb.

I couldn't really tell who their leader was, but I could certainly make out what they were saying to each other.

They were planning their next kill. The two females had spotted a man they wanted to taste (literally), but the two men wanted to keep it low key—go for a group of teenagers late at night.

I listened some more, hoping they would make a decision so that we would have time to protect whoever was their intended target.

Unfortunately, before that happened, I was suddenly attacked from above.

Something hard and fast hit me in my shoulders, sending me skyrocketing towards the ground.

I landed hard on my stomach, my face embedding itself in the mud. Wonderful!

"Hey, Roger," a loud male voice called out, "come have a look see what I found!"

Vampires heal quickly, but even so falling from as great a height as I had, left me a little bit dazed.

I looked up to find the skinny, bald vampire wearing only a pair of pants, smiling wickedly at me. On his feet he wore rather large combat boots.

Must have steel in 'em, I thought as I got to my feet ready for a fight.

Suddenly, the other four I had been spying on surrounded me. All wore expressions of evil delight.

If there was ever a time I wished I could vomit again, it was now.

How could I have been so stupid? Of course, they would have a look out.

Rogue covens never trusted anyone—not even their own members trusted each other, except for bonded mates—and they always kept a sharp eye for any potential threats.

"Hello there, boy," the tall man with red hair and beard, who wore an old-fashioned tailored jacket, said. "We weren't expecting any company tonight."

"Your quite the handsome one," the blonde female, whose rather large breasts looked like they were about to burst from the too small shirt she was wearing, crooned lustily at me.

"If you like pups," the other female, a dark haired Goth, who looked at me like a bug that needed to be squashed.

"Pups can be quite fun to play with," the third male, a blonde wearing ripped jeans and a shredded Metallica—obviously he and the Goth girl were bonded, said with wicked sneer.

"Hey," the bald male that had hit me complained, "I found him. I get to be the one to rip him apart."

I tensed, my body automatically preparing for a fight. If these bastards thought I was just going to lie down and die, they had another thing coming.

The one called Roger moved so fast I barely had time to blink before his fist collided with my head, sending sideways into a nearby tree.

One of the females was on me before I got the chance to move, aiming a kick that put the pointed toed of her knee high boots right in my gut—a kick that would have made any professional football player envious.

I groaned as I flew through the air, hitting a branch and once again plummeting to the ground.

Damn, they're fast, I thought as I got back to my feet and went on the offensive.

Unfortunately, before I could attack, five dark shapes dropped down from the trees to surround me.

Carlisle, Alice, Edward, Emmett, and Rosalie formed a pentagon around me.

My siblings were all tense, prepared for a fight, but Carlisle remained calmed—simply staring the leader with an intense expression.

The one called Roger signaled and his four members came to him. They were all tense, obviously expecting a fight.

"I'm afraid this territory has already been taken," Carlisle spoke to them, calmly.

"Really?" the one called Roger said, his voice like poisoned honey. "I hadn't realized…"

"We don't broadcast it," Carlisle said, still speaking in a calm even tone, "for obvious reasons. We like to keep a low profile, more or less. We we're perfectly willing to allow you to go on your way…"

"So, you did not send the pup there to spy on us?" Roger asked, nodding his head at me.

"No," Carlisle, glancing back over his shoulder. "My son got that notion all on his own."

I gulped. I suddenly wished they had ripped me apart.

Roger nodded, seemingly to understand. "You should teach him better," he said, sniffing.

Carlisle grinned. "I intend to," he said, a sharp edge to his voice that only I seemed to detect.

He purposely allowed me to sense just how pissed off he was at me.

I gulped again. This wasn't going to be pretty.

"May we still go on our way?" Roger asked, raising an eyebrow. "The lad is unharmed, and he was in fault—not us."

Pure rage came off of Carlisle then, but it wasn't directed at me. Roger obviously didn't realize how close he was to being ripped apart by my adopted father.

If there was one thing you didn't do, it was mess with one of Carlisle Cullen's kids.

"Of course," he said, out loud. "So long as you do not—feed—on your way out."

"Understood," Roger said, glancing at his coven. "Let's move." Then he was gone. The others followed.

The others relaxed, as did Carlisle. He turned around. "Follow them," he instructed. "Keep your distance, but make sure they leave without hurting anyone."

The others nodded and were gone. I didn't even try to follow. I knew his instructions weren't for me.

He stared at me a moment. "Let's go home," he said, quietly. "Your mother is worried."

I nodded, and followed him.

He was blocking his emotions from me, but it didn't matter. I already knew the important thing.

I was in huge trouble.

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