Training

I could feel my muscles tighten and tasted my venom. I knew that each member of my family was reacting the same way. Vampires and werewolves were natural enemies, and our bodies were reacting instinctively to the threat that the wolves represented. I reminded myself that their relationship with us was not that different than ours was with humans. We were made to kill humans – but we chose not to. Indeed, I was in love with a human, a human whom I would have killed long ago if I had been a traditional vampire. The wolves were made to kill us – but they chose not to. Unlike seventy years earlier, our family no longer outnumbered the pack. If they had decided to attack us at that moment, we would have suffered a fate no different than the one that the vampire army was threatening us with. Worse, because Alice couldn't see them.

I leaned forward, hating that my family was standing in front of the pack with me behind them. I felt like I was hiding, letting them take all of the risks. I knew that it was Bella they were protecting and since I refused to let go of her, I would remain by her side where I belonged, but I felt that we would present a stronger showing if I was standing with them; beside them, not behind.

Tuning out the thoughts of my family, I focused on those of the wolves'. It was strange: I could hear each wolf's mental words, but also the echoes of those words in the minds of the rest of the pack as they flowed between them. It made for a rather annoying sensation of being caught in a feedback loop.

…can't believe we're expected to learn from the bloodsuckers… this is ridiculous…

…join in on the fun! …show them what we can do…

…here to watch and learn; nothing more!

…as if they could teach us anything…

…stand there with him like that; it's disgusting…

…never get this smell outta my fur…

…c'mon, Sam! Can't we practice, too?

…part of watch and learn are you not getting? Do not engage…

…took that black haired leech down easily. What's the big deal? So there's a few more…

…yeah, won't stand a chance against us…

…tell the Cullens to just stay home. We got this…

…so eager to lose a brother? More is better…

…cares if he loses a brother, sure, but a sister? Oh, no big deal…

…quiet Leah!

…yeah, yeah…

"Fascinating," I whispered. Listening to their minds was riveting, despite the annoying echo. I had long ago ceased to be entertained by the average human mind, but this was different. It wasn't just their thoughts that were connected; their minds were completely open to each other. I could see through their eyes all at once, even when focused on any one mind. The same with their ears; when I picked up Bella's heartbeat from each pair of ears, it echoed and danced in my head.

I felt a stinging in my nose, realized I was smelling myself through the filter of their perception, and stopped breathing. Aside from their death smell that revolted me, I could smell us through their senses and the sweetness that I usually found so pleasant burned, instead. My nose continued to sting and tickle until one of the wolves sneezed. I wrinkled and wriggled my nose and resisted the urge to rub it.

Their eyes instantly locked on my father when Carlisle carefully took a step out of the line my family had formed.

"Welcome," he said, sounding far calmer than any of the rest of us felt.

I heard Sam's voice rumble in my head and allowed the words to flow through me, "Thank you." His eyes darted to me. …the mind reader … speaking my thoughts? I nodded to him and allowed his words to flow through me again. "We will watch and listen, but no more. That is the most we can ask of our self-control."

"That is more than enough," Carlisle assured him. "My son, Jasper, has experience with newborns." He gestured to my brother, and ten pairs of wolf eyes locked on him. I saw his muscles lock into place and knew he was fighting off the instinctive urge to throw himself into battle. "He will teach us how they fight, how they are to be defeated. I'm sure you can apply this to your own hunting style."

Derisive sounds flowed through the minds of the wolves. …easy… Sam cautioned them. I saw his eyes flicker to me again. "They are different from you?" I allowed myself to say for him.

Carlisle nodded. "They are all very new – only months old to this life. Children, in a way." I was aware of his remorse in being forced to destroy children of any kind. Children should be cherished and protected, not ripped apart and burned. However, he knew that these children were killers who were created with the intention of destroying his children, and that was unacceptable.

"They will have no skill or strategy, only brute strength. Tonight their numbers stand at twenty. Ten for us, ten for you – it shouldn't be difficult. The numbers may go down. The new ones fight amongst themselves."

The wolves growled to each other.

…ten! That only leaves one a piece!

…getting involved to kill one measly vampire… rip them all to shreds by myself!

…too young! You will not be involved when the fight comes…

…need a babysitter…

…do if you think you can handle an army on your own…

…easily! He said they were children, with no skill, right?

…think children can't cause trouble… watch Quil with Claire for an afternoon…

…hey!

Aside from all the banter, I caught the memories flowing through their minds. Images of them fighting with each other in much the same way Emmett, Jasper, and I would wrestle. There was no denying that the pack was a terror that the newborns would not survive. Sam, as their leader - their Alpha - would train the young wolves before letting them fight with the pack. When not patrolling or attending to their human duties, they trained constantly, fighting and wrestling daily.

However, all of them found it difficult to wrestle with Leah, though they each wanted to - badly - just to take her attitude down a notch. Well, all except for Sam. I caught a flare of pain in Sam's mind whenever Leah's voice sounded. From her memory of their training sessions, I witnessed his hesitancy to fight with her, as well as her fury that he wouldn't. She didn't want to be protected or coddled. There was a fierce desire in her to prove herself as capable as any of the men. She had taken to deliberately provoking him whenever she could, trying to get him to spar with her, while at the same time, wishing that his human form would hold her, kiss her… I skipped out of her mind, but that didn't help any. The whole pack was forced to listen to her memories of them together, to watch, and to feel her betrayal.

Drowning her voice out, Sam firmly thought of their training exercises, of how to attack to the best affect, of how to flank an enemy, of how to defend, forcing the mind of the pack to return to the reason they were here. They each began to picture themselves fighting us. I bit back my growl, knowing they were only using us as a visual aid, and were not actually intending to attack us. Still, it was disconcerting to see them imagine our deaths so vividly. My muscles trembled with my instinctive desire to defend my family.

Sam directed his thoughts back toward Carlisle and I spoke for him again. "We are willing to take more than our share, if necessary."

Carlisle's lips formed a thin smile. "We'll see how it plays out."…want to prove themselves, don't they? The young are always so eager for battle…

"Do you know when and how they'll arrive?" I asked for Sam. He was thinking of the reservation, concerned for the citizens there and planning on what wolves he should leave behind to protect them, while still putting enough wolves together to help us defeat the army that was aiming for us, for Forks, for Bella.

"They'll come across the mountains in four days, in the late morning. As they approach, Alice will help us intercept their path."

I heard the relief in their voices as they commented to each other. The army would not be anywhere near their families. They could confront the newborns without endangering their loved ones by leaving their lands unprotected. "Thank you for the information. We will watch," I said for Sam.

…as well relax. They mean us no harm and will be here a while…

He carefully lowered himself to the forest floor and the rest of the pack followed suit. I could tell, though, that their tension did not ease and that they could spring from their crouches into a defensive – or offensive – stance at a moment's notice. Their eyes never wavered from us, and it took a moment for Jasper to master his body's instincts, but eventually, he stepped closer to them. I was aware of him sampling their emotions. There was no doubt that there was an undercurrent of antagonism flowing through them. Some - but not all - of which was directed at us. The rest was internal. The pack was not as unified a front as they liked to present.

Jasper glanced at me. I don't think that they are going to attack us, but I definitely feel the hostility… Can we trust them to not take advantage of our distraction? He could sense the pack's division, but not being able to read their minds, could not see whom the threat was directed against.

I nodded to him. They had no immediate intentions to do anything other than observe us.

Deliberately, Jasper turned around to face us, though I could tell the enormous effort that it took him to expose his back to an enemy. His tension was radiating out from him and I could tell it was affecting my family as well. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, forcing a calm that he didn't really feel. His talent began to work, and the calming effect it had on us reflected back to help him as well.

"Carlisle's right," he began. "They'll fight like children. The two most important things you'll need to remember are, first, don't let them get their arms around you, and, second, don't go for the obvious kill. That's all they'll be prepared for. As long as you come at them from the side and keep moving, they'll be too confused to respond effectively. Emmett?" He waved my brother over.

Yeah! Jazz better look out. Not holding back this time. Emmett grinned, and I nearly laughed at his enthusiasm.

I thought of my encounters with the vampires I'd killed while looking for Victoria. I'd been so lucky with the newborn I'd encountered. If I could have had Jasper's training then, I might not have come so close to losing my arm. He'd had a grip on me and had nearly twisted it off. Though I'd picked up tricks just from wrestling with him over the years, there was a difference between that play and a concentrated course on fighting an enemy intent upon my death.

My brothers spread out to give themselves more maneuvering room. Jasper gestured toward our large brother. "Okay, Emmett first. He's the best example of a newborn attack."

…fight like a child, huh? … He glared at Jasper and said in a low growl, "I'll try not to break anything." …like your neck…

"What I meant is that Emmett relies on his strength. He's very straightforward about the attack. The newborns won't be trying anything subtle, either. Just go for the easy kill, Emmett." Feeling the playful edge in the hostility coming off of him, Jasper fought to keep a straight face. I could hear the laughter rippling through his mind as he took a few steps back and crouched.

"Okay, Emmett," he invited, "try to catch me." Although Emmett had been picking his mind for tips at every chance, Jasper had nearly a century's worth of experience fighting for his life, while Emmett always knew that Jasper wouldn't really hurt him. My newest brother had already turned into a blurry streak before the thought to charge had passed through Emmett's mind. Like the bear that he resembled, Emmett lumbered after Jasper, but his hands closed on empty air. A bear he may have been, but he was still a vampire and could move with the speed of our species, if not with Jasper's cunning.

Watching Jasper and Emmett really go at it, I knew that my newest brother had been holding back all these years. If he'd really been fighting, Emmett would never have beaten him the few times he had – and perhaps nor would I. There was a reason he'd lived through countless battles in Maria's army.

Emmett heard Jasper's steps on the ground and whirled to pursue him again. I watched through Jasper's mind, hearing him analyze Emmett's movements, calculating his direction and speed. In the split second it took Emmett to reach the place where Jasper had stood, he was gone again, sprinting to the side. I caught Emmett's low growl and the answering chuckle from Jasper as he missed his quarry again and again. Every time Jasper would move, avoiding Emmett's crushing grip, Emmett heard his new location in the crunch of leaves and the movement of the wind and would attempt to catch him. And, each time he moved, Jasper moved quicker, always gone an instant before Emmett could touch him.

Jasper allowed Emmett to chase him for several minutes before launching himself at Emmett's unprotected back. Jasper wrapped his arms around Emmett's chest, pinning the larger vampire's arms, and bared his teeth as he leaned in for the bite. I sucked in a quick breath. Jasper had gotten so caught up in the moment, I thought he was going to rip through Emmett's throat, but he stopped just short.

"Damn!" Emmett griped. Jasper let him go and stood to the side with a pleased smirk.

…thought that big one would have had him for sure!

…see the speed that blond one moved?

…anything like it before…

…wonder they have him coaching them, moves like that!

…go down and join…

…still think you can take him by yourself?

I heard the surprised thoughts flow through the pack. Despite themselves, they were impressed and growled to each other.

As with nearly every time Emmett lost to Jasper, he growled, "Again!"

"It's my turn," I argued. I couldn't let my brothers have all the fun!

Jasper threw me a grin and assured me, "In a minute. I want to show Bella something, first."

We all felt the love flow off of him as he lifted a finger and motioned his mate forward. Alice skipped to his side, her eyes wide and delighted. "I know you worry about her," he said to Bella. "I want to show you why that's not necessary."

This time, Jasper went on the offensive and crouched like one of the jungle cats he so enjoyed hunting. His eyes never left his mate while his mind took on a predatory tone, analyzing her physical strengths and weaknesses. He studied her relaxed posture and attempted to disguise his attack by running several scenarios through his mind. I watched her counter each one he came up with before either of them moved an inch. He tried to trick her, moving slightly forward, then to one side. With a knowing smile, Alice closed her eyes and waited for the attack.

I heard the change in Bella's heart as Jasper began to stalk his tiny wife. If I hadn't known them to be a loving couple and Alice well able to take care of herself, I might have been concerned, too. It went against the grain to see a male planning any kind of attack on a female - especially a female member of my family. Gritting my teeth, I held myself still and waited with everyone else for Jasper to attack his mate. Despite my trepidation, it was interesting watching Jasper attack before he actually did it.

Although he moved like lightening, he was no match for Alice. She moved an instant before he did, whirling around him like a matador taunting a bull. Not pausing his attack, Jasper turned and flung himself at Alice once again. Like the first time, Alice saw the action before it happened and had already moved before he could touch her. Not bothering to open her eyes, Alice was intent on watching her visions of the future, a smug smile on her face.

Jasper increased his speed, trying to outrun the future, but to no avail. No matter how fast he moved, Alice saw him coming before he could reach her and moved out of his way. Alice moved with such grace that it would have been almost beautiful if it hadn't been so deadly. She almost seemed to be leading him, rather than reacting to the moves he planned. He stalked her relentlessly, but she was always quicker. After allowing him to get close, teasing him, but never letting him touch her, Alice laughed in delight and launched herself at him. He would have been defenseless had she truly intended to attack. His head would have been rolling before he even registered that she was upon him.

"Gotcha," she gloated, and kissed his throat. I had to shake my head in admiration. She was likely the only creature ever to have actually defeated him. Though Em and I had managed to pin him while wrestling, I had always suspected that he allowed it, and then only because he didn't want to damage us. Alice, he had been intent on catching – and failed.

Jasper laughed, shaking his head as well. "You truly are one frightening little monster."

Every one of the wolves agreed with him. Though they'd been impressed with Jasper before, watching him and Alice together had given them a new understanding of our speed and capabilities. This, coupled with the fact that we still felt the need to ask for their help in defeating the army made them more wary of what was coming. I thought this was a very good thing. They were far too cocky, and I knew how Bella would blame herself if any of them got hurt.

"It's good for them to learn some respect," I muttered. Overconfidence was a weakness. "My turn," I insisted. I grinned at Bella's look of concern and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze before letting go of her. Alice and I exchanged places so that Bella would be protected while I slowly stalked toward Jasper. For a moment I was tempted to focus on Alice's mind, to use her visions of Jasper's attack as she had done, but I felt that would have been cheating. It was my skills I was testing against his, not hers. Deliberately, I tuned out everyone else, and concentrated on the ferocious vampire in front of me.

My thoughts were focused on his, but his were intent on misleading me. He pictured himself moving one way, when his body moved the other. Several times, as I crept closer to him, he made false starts, but I sensed the lie in his thoughts and didn't alter my course. I waited for the determination his mind would take when he finally decided to make his move. He was smirking at me and pictured himself catching me, his teeth at my throat.

Come on, Edward. Bella is watching and you want to look good for her, right? Catch me… if you can.

I felt my lips curl into a self-satisfied grin. Since he was going to use my talent against me, I decided to use his against him. I mustered all of the rage I felt for Victoria, for the army that was coming for Bella, and for anyone else who dared to harm her and hurled the vicious emotions in his direction. He recoiled from the force of my fury and in that moment of his distraction, I launched myself at him.

He saw me coming, of course, and evaded me easily. Instantly, he turned to attack me, but I saw his plan and moved to evade him. We went back and forth several times, ducking away from the other's reach, weaving to the side, lunging to grab, but coming up with empty air. We were moving faster as we fought, making good use of the space in the clearing as we darted around each other, seeking but never achieving an upper hand. Neither of us could quite manage to touch the other.

Oh, better! But watch this…

He tried not to think of a specific attack and just let his body do what it remembered doing, so as not to tip me off. There was no way for him to completely hide his plans from me, though, and each time he grabbed for me, I sprang out of his reach. He nearly caught me once, ripping my shirt, but not touching my arm. I heard a growl erupt from me and his answering rumble of disappointment.

I'd thought Jasper was skilled before, but I'd been underestimating him. If I wasn't the fastest member of my family, even with the addition of my ability to read his mind, he'd have caught me many times. But I was faster! I tried to use my speed to my advantage, and ran at him as fast as my legs could take me. Well aware of my speed, he anticipated exactly that kind of an attack. As quickly as I moved, my change in tactics was obvious to him and he avoided me easily. He slipped to the side as I neared him and threw out his leg, attempting to trip me. Just in time, I saw his plan and leapt over him.

Dirt and leaves flew around me as I skidded to a stop and changed the direction of my sprint. I ducked low, trying to grab his legs, but he jumped over me. We whirled at the same time, and he went on the offensive, planning to grab me from my unprotected side. Reading his intentions, I acted to counter his movement, hoping to use his attack on me to catch him.

His arms were a blur as he blocked each one of my maneuvers. No matter how I tried to grab him, he had a defense ready and we made contact at last as my arms came up against his or he batted mine away. But although I could not seem to get the upper hand on him, neither could he get his hands on me. He used moves I was unfamiliar with, but I could see them in his mind before he used them and avoided each one.

His talent was focusing and I could feel the emotions coming off of him as we sparred. Growling and snarling at each other, we fought as though we were mortal enemies, no longer wrestling for fun, or even practice. My fury was building, but I recognized this as an effect of his gift. He was making me angry on purpose, hoping my temper would cause me to make a mistake. If I allowed my emotions to rule me, instead of using cool calculated moves, I would be an easier target. It was getting harder to resist giving in to the fury building within me. I wanted to rip him to pieces!

"Ahem," Carlisle's quiet voice cut through my concentration, and I paused my attack.

I felt Jasper's shock briefly before he, too, recognized the difference our fight had taken on. We'd gotten far too caught up in the moment. It was a good thing neither of us had been able to catch the other, or we might have lost a few limbs. Jasper backed up a step and laughed at my expression of chagrin. I straightened from my crouch and grinned at him, pleased at not having been defeated, even if I hadn't pinned him.

"Back to work. We'll call it a draw," he allowed.

Feeling cocky, I laughed as I walked back to Bella. Her expression was one of relief. I could only imagine what we had looked like to her and wondered if she'd seen much of the fight at all. Jasper and I had been moving fast. Considering the way it ended, I thought it was probably better if she hadn't caught much. She was unnecessarily concerned enough as it was. I wrapped her in my arms, encouraging her to lean into me as she got tired. I couldn't stop the pleased smirk that formed every time I saw us in Jacob's thoughts.

Jasper fought Carlisle next. This time, I was more interested in watching the wolves' reactions to the fight rather than the fight itself. Their eyes were sharp and caught every movement. I was sure that to a human my father and brother would have been barely visible, but their enhanced eyesight was able to see and analyze every action. It was no surprise to me that they had caught Laurent.

What was surprising was that they had never managed to catch Victoria. Experiencing their senses made my anxiety over the ferocious red-head's intention to kill my love increase. Killing this army – especially with the wolves' help – would be easy, but would only solve one problem, and the smaller one at that. If we managed to kill every member of the army, there was nothing to stop Victoria – if indeed it was her - from beginning again in a new city with another army. I had little doubt that she would have learned a lot from this first attempt.

I concentrated on the wolves' minds – or the pack mind. It was so strange. They had their own separate personalities, but thought as a whole unit. Each wolf was an appendage, only a part of the whole, and yet separate and distinct. As I became more familiar with each of their minds, it became less of a jumble of thoughts and I was able to recognize each 'voice' when it spoke.

While I listened, I began to see Leah as a cancerous growth within the pack. Though sharp, her voice was not vicious in itself, but the subject matter of her thoughts was purposefully hurtful. I was well aware that it was not always easy for a person to control their thoughts, but the memories she reviewed were deliberate. I caught flashes of her life as she grew up on the reservation, seeing the men around her as awkward young boys, witnessed every one of the pack members in one embarrassing situation or another. Their community was small, and not much was hidden - aside from the one glaring werewolf secret, of course.

Leah insisted on thinking of things the others would rather not be forced to remember. I found myself pitying the group, and even respecting them. Although Rosalie was often difficult to deal with – and could be spiteful – there was always a current of love between her and each member of my family that did not exist with Leah and the pack. Rose and I had been siblings for most of the past century, and we both knew that her misery was not my doing. Though in the beginning she had hated that I witnessed it, she appreciated the fact that I had tried to help her through it. Leah's misery was of her own making, but she blamed Sam, and constantly tried to make everyone else as miserable as she was.

When Jasper and Carlisle were done sparring – he had pinned my gentle father several times – he motioned Rosalie over. She was livid at having an audience to her defeat and made more mistakes out of anger than lack of skill. Having a teacher who could feel and adjust her emotions was helpful and he called her attention to her lack of emotional control. They sparred longer than the others as he taught her both how to fight and how to control herself. I caught a stray thought from Emmett and nearly laughed aloud at his desire for this emotional education to carry over into her everyday life.

It was all I could do to allow Jasper to attack Esme. I knew that he would never hurt her, but aside from my instinctive desire to protect the woman I regarded as my mother, I had to deal with her memories which I'd seen over the past ninety years. Her first life had been one filled with pain and humiliation, and her husband – the cause of her suffering – had been granted the privilege of becoming my first human victim. Of all the human monsters who had been dealt a quick death at my teeth, his was the only death I had ever wished I had drawn out for what he'd dared to do to her. He was also the only one whom - if I were granted the chance - I would still want to kill this very day. She didn't often think of him anymore, but my memories of what I'd seen in her mind were sharp and were brought to the surface by the fight I was watching.

My memories were also not the only ones I had to contend with. If the fight between Jasper and Esme was difficult for me to watch, it was even harder for Carlisle. Not knowing what Esme's husband had looked like, I watched my father imagine a faceless human in Jasper's place and felt his mind fill with a fiery fury. He was paying close attention to Jasper, memorizing each move that he made, seeing where Esme's weaknesses were, determined to place himself between her and any danger.

…never let them touch her … have to work as a team… stronger together…

I tried to imagine myself watching Jasper teaching my newborn Bella like he was teaching my mother and had to fight down the fierce urge to sprint into the clearing and throw myself between them. He wasn't sparring with Esme though, as much as demonstrating his moves for her. He slowed his attacks to nearly human speed, correcting her hold and the direction of her attacks.

She may not have been the strongest member of my family, but Esme didn't think of herself as weak. Her life now was a joy to her. Surrounded by her family – a husband who loved her unconditionally, three sons, two daughters, and the girl in my arms who would soon join us – she felt empowered, fierce, a mother bear protecting her young. She threw herself enthusiastically into Jasper's training, determined to take the entire army on herself if she needed to in order to protect her family.

I heard Bella stifle a yawn and leaned close to whisper in her ear, "We're about finished." We'd each had a turn now and would be back tomorrow to build on what we'd learned today.

Just finishing with the moves he was showing Esme as I spoke to Bella, Jasper agreed that we'd had enough for the day and faced the wolves again. He'd tuned them out during our session for the most part and was forced to deal with his body's instinctive reaction once more, stronger now after his hours of actively fighting with us. I could see his need to throw himself at them. Not giving in to his body, he spoke to them for the first time. "We'll be doing this tomorrow. Please feel welcome to observe again."

I caught Sam looking at me and allowed his words to flow through me once more. "Yes. We'll be here."

...man, they smell horrible...

...and look as hideous as that black-haired tick...

...probly get upset if we killed the vampire-girl's leech...

...never really met any of the ticks... expect us not to accidentally kill one of our new pals?

Sam's eyes flickered over his pack and then back to me. Unless you want us to take down more than the coming army, we should probably become more familiar with the members of your coven… our instincts are powerful … be difficult for us not to attack every vampire we smell… you allow us to come close and learn your… scents… ?

I heard him change the word at the last moment, knowing that what he really thought was closer to stench than scent and I tried to repress the sigh his hostility engendered. I forced myself to pull away from Bella and addressed my family.

"The pack thinks it would be helpful to be familiar with each of our scents – so they don't make mistakes later. If we could hold very still, it will make it easier for them," I added, picking up the thoughts from the pack who were already mentally wincing at the thought of getting a closer smell of our burning sweetness.

"Certainly. Whatever you need," Carlisle agreed, gesturing to our family in invitation for them to come among us.

They stood and began to slowly walk toward us. I heard Bella's heart change from the calm resting pace it had slowly returned to during our training into a panicky sprint. I inhaled and tasted her flow of adrenaline - appealing despite the surrounding combination of burning sweet and death stenches - but forced myself not to go to her. The wolves were coming to smell us and I didn't want them near her anyway. That didn't stop me from staring at Bella and attempting to decipher what she thought of them.

I knew she'd seen Jacob as a wolf at least once – though I doubted it had been more than that – but I knew she hadn't seen the entire pack as wolves before this night any more than we had. She had fought with me over her safety around them so many times that it was gratifying to see her obvious fear of them. Trying to remember the danger my family was in, I monitored the thoughts of Sam as he walked over to my father and stood far closer to him than Jacob had to me the first day when he'd come to watch over Bella's house. My nose began to sting and the desire to rub it came over me again, though I held myself still.

I stopped paying attention to the pack around my family when I saw Bella's face in Jacob's mind. She was staring at him, but her face no longer was full of fear. Rather, it reminded me of the way she had looked at me in our meadow. Curious, fascinated, and unafraid, she watched Jacob bear his teeth at her and giggled. My muscles locked into place and I forced my expression to remain neutral while I watched the enormous monster trot over to stand in front of the girl I loved. Despite this, Jacob heard the growl that was unable to stop from building in my chest.

…relax bloodsucker… not gonna hurt her…

…Jacob! What are you doing?

…always gotta show off…

…not here to play with your girlfriend, Jake…

…calm down. She needs to see us to trust us…

The huge reddish-brown wolf was standing just feet away from Bella when he crouched down to look into her eyes. She looked so tiny next to him! I was sure that if my heart were still alive, it would have been pounding in fear for her. I felt Jasper trying to calm me with his talent, but although he eased my fear, knowing that my calm was false only served to irritate me further. Worse was knowing that I had no other choice but to remain calm. Jacob wanted me to react to him. I was sure this was due to the way I'd acted on the night when he'd kissed Bella without her permission. My lack of open hostility then may not have won over Bella's father, but it had certainly raised his opinion of me. This time was no different. If I took any kind of action now, it would reflect badly upon me, and risk a negative reaction from the wolves as well as Bella.

I ground my teeth, hating Jacob Black with every cell in my body.