A/N Thanks for sticking with the story so far hope you are all still enjoying it. Big thanks to my beta Beetlebum101 :]
Chapter 12
A more awkward scene could not have been envisioned. The pack sat in wolf form, unmoving, while the Cullens stood huddled in a circle, talking amongst themselves, as we all waited for this Jasper guy to show up. It was like an elementary school party where the boys and the girls would stand on opposite sides of the room, too afraid to talk to each other.
I cut off the pack from my mind, not wanting to hear what they were thinking about Alice. It wouldn't make a good impression for me to start a fight with my own pack. I let my eyes wander, watching Alice interact with her family. I just watched the way she moved, the way she touched people gently when she talked and how her smile always reached her eyes. A nudge broke me from my thoughts, as Jake's giant form planted itself beside me.
"It's weird, isn't it?" His voice rang in my mind, while he kept a vigilant eye on Bella.
"What?"
"How inhumanly human they are; makes it harder to hate them."
"Our grandparents must have seen their humanity."
"Is that what you see in the little one? Is that why you love her?"
In that moment – as if she could hear us say her name – Alice turned, flashing me a toothy grin.
"What's not to love? She's perfect."
Bella broke away from the Cullens and approached us. I could feel Jake's thoughts move. He loved her; I could see he would be willing to die in this fight for her.
"Jake, you should just get over her. She's not your imprint. Even if you got her to love you back you could find your imprint at any moment and you would leave her."
"I would never do that."
"Yeah, that's what Sam thought, too."
"I don't want an imprint. I want to choose."
Where have I heard that before? I wondered if I sounded so indignant.
"It's not the same; you don't understand."
Bella reached us. Heading to Jake's side, she ran a hand through his fur as I shook my head. It would only end in disaster. I headed towards the Cullens. I could hear some of the pack huff but I just rolled my eyes.
"When is this guy getting here?" I directed to Edward. He tore his gaze from Bella, looking at me for a moment.
"Alice, Leah is asking when Jasper is getting here."
Alice stood still for a moment before whispering, "He's here." She ran north towards nothing before leaping into the air and when she fell, a man caught her out of nowhere.
"Jazz," she cried happily into his arms.
"It has been too long, darlin'," he drawled with his thick southern accent, hugging Alice's small fame into his lanky body.
She looked so carefree with him. She had never looked like that with me.
He looked past Alice, narrowing his eyes at me. "Looks like you have a new admirer."
"Yeah, that's Leah. I want you to meet her."
How could he tell…?
"Jasper is an empath. I thought Alice would have mentioned that," Edward informed me.
"Me too," I thought back. "What's he thinking?" I asked Edward. I knew it was an intrusive question but I had to know.
"He's reading Alice's emotions. He can feel how much she cares for you. He's thinking how sad it must be to love something death can touch. I think it's the other way around – how sad it must be to love something death can never touch." Edward whispered low, as if he wasn't even speaking at all.
Alice hopped in front of me, her arm out, moving it between Jasper and I as she spoke. "Jazz, this is Leah. Leah, Jazz."
He bowed slightly and I was glad he didn't try to shake my paw. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance."
I clouded the air with an indignant sounding huff from my nostrils.
Jasper moved his gaze from me to Esme as Alice guided him away, throwing a look over her shoulder that surely said I would be paying for this later. Why did she always have to be touching him?
"You know, he can physically feel you're jealous," Edward noted, looking at me out of the corner of his eye.
"Yes, Edward, I know what an empath is. Maybe you should worry more about your own girlfriend."
Bella was still talking to Jake as if he could talk back. His tongue hung out of his mouth and his pants filled the air. He looked like a love-struck puppy.
"I'm not worried about Bella. I know what Jacob could give her. As much as it pains me to admit it, he would probably be the better choice for her. But as long as Bella will have me, I will always be in her life."
"Even if being in her life means watching her grow old and die?" I questioned.
"Yes. Will you choose living forever to be with Alice? Do you really know what forever means? It means watching everyone you've ever loved die. Are you ready for forever?" There were equal hints of condescension and sorrow in his voice.
I thought about forever as I looked at the pack. I would have to watch them all die. Even Sam.
"Seems like there's a few things you need to think about. I'll leave you alone." Edward made his way over to Rosalie who looked utterly bored. Even Emmett started to look tired.
"Let's get this show on the road, now that Army Boy is here," Emmett moaned and all the wolves shot to attention.
Jasper smiled at the nickname, sauntering into the middle of the field with an unspoken confidence that seemed to attract everyone's attention. He held his hands stiffly behind his perfectly postured spine.
"Well if this ain't something for the history books," he drawled. "I've never taught shifters how to kill vampires before but when my old friend asked me for a favor, I couldn't refuse. And I was mighty intrigued."
Edward cut in. "Sam has informed me the pack will not be taking part today. They will only watch and take note."
There were sounds of annoyance from the pack but no one questioned Sam's judgment.
"Well, okay then, I need a volunteer." He looked to the Cullens, holding out a hand like some cheesy Las Vegas magician.
"Me!" Emmett yelled, letting go of Rosalie's waist.
"Very well." Jasper took a step back, unbuttoning his white long-sleeved shirt and rolling up the fabric over his elbows. "The thing to remember about fighting newborns is that you will never beat them on strength alone so do not go for the obvious kill and do not let them get their arms around you."
God, it was like he was speaking directly to me. Like how a teacher would tell the whole class but you knew it was really you they were speaking to. If I could roll my eyes right now, I would.
Jasper turned to Emmett who had softened his knees, bouncing into a lower stance. He was in a position to lunge forward and they eyed each other for a second. They seemed to enjoy the game of cat and mouse but I couldn't tell who the cat was. With Emmett's huge frame and strength he seemed the obvious choice. Emmett sprang forward into a run and in a blur of motion, Jasper ducked and tossed him over his shoulder. Emmett landed in a cloud of dirt and grass.
"Again!" Emmett cried, getting up and dusting himself off.
"I told you, don't go for the obvious kill," Jasper berated.
Again Emmett ran forward, gaining momentum and attempting to bowl him over. Jasper, however, seemed to be able to predict his movements before he did them. Making the smallest of dodges he got out of the way and, once again, Emmett landed in a pile of dirt.
"Again!" Emmett barked, pounding the ground with his fists, anger written all over his face.
"As you can see, Emmett uses all his forward force but it's obvious and easy to counter. He is the most like a new born attack."
"Whatever," Emmett called.
This went on for a while and not just with Emmett. Jasper continued with Rosalie, who was more willing to take Jasper's hints but ultimately didn't want to get dirty, and Edward, which was odd because all they seemed to do was circle a lot. You could tell Edward was reading Jasper's mind. It was like a martial arts movie. Every time Jasper put his arm out, Edward grabbed it. On and on this went until Jasper began to make manic movements, before he finally pushed Edward by the chest, knocking him back twenty feet.
Things became silent as Jasper scanned the Cullens, looking for his next partner. My heart stopped when his eyes landed on Alice. She was so small and he was… well, he could fight. I couldn't imagine Alice hurting anyone.
"I can feel your fear for Alice." He looked to Bella, then to me. "And it is completely unwarranted."
Alice smiled that cocky, half-grin as she began to walk out. I knew she must be able to fight but I couldn't stop the fear that ran through me. Alice hesitated, looking to me. In a change of direction, she moved towards me. In a flash she was by my side, her hands disappearing into the grey fur on my neck.
"Don't worry, okay?" She looked at me reassuringly. "I need you to do something." I nodded into her hands. "I need you to not think about interfering; the rest of the pack too. I need to use my ability and as soon as a shifter makes a decision to interfere with my future, it goes black."
I nodded again as she pulled her hands away and I instantly missed her cool touch. I opened the link with the pack to tell them what Alice had told me. She walked with a slow confidence, taking her time sizing up Jasper.
My mind raced with thoughts. It was hard enough to think about her fighting, but now I couldn't even think about helping her or I could get her killed. As they circled I closed my eyes tightly, trying not to think about anything. I let everything go black and minutes passed. I thought about opening my eyes but I couldn't. A few more minutes passed and I felt a nudge at my side. I opened my eyes to see Alice on Jasper's back, her hands poised to snap his neck. Then she smiled, dropping from his tall frame and squeezing his shoulder.
"Okay, it's getting late. I think that is enough for tonight," Carlisle announced, stepping forward.
Alice skipped over to me, seeming infectiously happy. "Hey, Carlisle wanted to make sure you were still okay. I know you are fine, I just think he's curious about you; about shifters in general, really. We don't know much about your kind."
It was hard to communicate and I didn't want to impose on Edward any more than I had to.
The pack began to leave and Sam threw me a look of concern over his back. I looked away, passing it off. Carlisle and Esme joined us and I stayed silent.
"So, Leah, have you been feeling well? Any soreness in the ribs?"
I nodded in answer to his questions, letting him know I was well. Esme cut in, hanging on Carlisle's arm as she spoke. It was a wonder how she passed for their mother with how young she looked herself. Adoptive mother, I reminded myself. "Alice has been telling us you have been getting better with being around vampires. I was wondering if you would like to join us at our house for dinner sometime?" Her caramel colored eyes radiated comfort and warmth but it was hard to know if I was ready for something like that.
Luckily, Alice spoke for me. "Esme, I'm not sure if Leah would be ready for something like that with all of us. It might be a bit overwhelming."
"Well, what if we have Bella and Edward then? Just the four of us."
Four vampires, a shifter and a human. Sounds like the start of a bad joke.
"She said it sounds like a bad joke." Edward walked up behind his pretend parents, his arm slung idly over Bella's shoulder. Esme seemed hurt at the words.
I growled under my breath. That did not need to be spoken, I aimed at Edward.
"Sorry, I wasn't supposed to say that," he apologized.
Tell Esme I would be happy to come for dinner.
"Leah said she would be happy to join us for dinner."
Alice smiled and bounced and I wondered what I had gotten myself into. It was just a dinner, what could possibly go wrong?
A/N Thanks for reading. If you have an idea of what could possibly go wrong leave it in a review. I do love to know what you guys think.
