The week went by quite quickly really. I went to Soccer practice every day after school and Emby came to pick me up afterwards. Every day we'd wait in the lot to watch Nate give Emily a lift home, but they wouldn't go straight home. They'd drive up to the beach on the way and walk along the shore hand in hand. It was quite cute really; they were slowly getting closer and closer together. They were so perfect for each other and they were only just realising. Emby would take me home after we'd spied on my brother and my best friend and we'd cuddle up on the sofa to watch TV or something, most of the time I'd fall asleep after not being able to sleep through the night. But Emby was okay with that, 9 times out of 10 he'd end up falling asleep too
Friday finally rolled around and Emby was at mine waiting for me to finish getting ready. After a lot of consideration, I decided not to wear that dress I'd made. Instead I wore a dark purple dress that was fitted around my boobs and had a rah-rah effect to just above my knees, I paired it with a pair of silver flats and I wore my trade mark silver bangles on my left arm, my necklace from Emby around my neck. I skipped down the stairs and came face to face with Quil at the bottom
"Wow, you look pretty" He told me, helping me keep my balance
"Thanks" I smiled at him
"Pretty is most defiantly an understatement" Emby stated, walking into the hallway
"Aww Emby" I grinned at him as I scrunched up my face cutely, he came over to kiss me quickly
"What the crap? I always walk in at the wrong freaking time with you two." Nate grumbled as he pushed past us down the stairs
"I heard about your little mishap the other day" Quil laughed at him
"Do not remind me of that." Nate glared at Quil as he stormed off into the kitchen
"You look pretty smart tonight, where are you taking Emily?" I asked him, leaning over the banister to look into the kitchen
"I'm not taking her anywhere" He shook his head coming out of the kitchen with a can of coke
"You totally are. You reek of cologne, you've dressed smartly and you've taken her to the beach and walked hand in hand with her every day after school since Monday." I listed
"Okay so maybe I am going out with her. What's it to you?" He gave in too quickly
"She's my best friend and will probably bore me with the details tomorrow" I grinned at him
"Why do girls do that?" He exclaimed, looking at Quil and Emby
"Do not answer that question." I told Emby
"It's because there busy bodies" Quil answered instead and I punched his arm
"Dude ouch!" I shook out my hand; Emby kissed it better for me and growled lowly at Quil
"HA." Nate poked his tongue out at me
"Dad! Nate has a date tonight. He needs the birds and the bees talk!" I yelled into the living room
"Use contraception." Dad called back, he had no intentions of getting up, me, Emby and Quil chuckled as Nate's cheeks tinged a little
"Dad! Embry's taking Lexii out tonight. I think you should give him a warning." Nate called
"I think Embry's had enough warnings to last him a life time Nathan. You can't get him into trouble." Dad answered
"Ha." I laughed, putting my middle finger up at him and blowing a raspberry at him as I did so
"So very mature." Quil spoke sarcastically
"Aww has Quilly poo not got a date tonight?" Dad asked, finally getting up out of his chair to come into the hallway
"Na, I'm alright thanks" Quil laughed, as Dad pinched his cheeks
"Where are you going? Because you seem to be a bit more dressed up than these two." Dad asked me, gesturing to the two wolves
"Were escorting Jacob to Bella's graduation party at the Cullen's." Embry grumbled
"Fun" My Dad exclaimed sarcastically
"Lowest form of wit, Daddy" I sung as he began to walk the stairs
"Highest form of intelligence, Princess" He sung back as he passed me and ruffled my hair
"Dad!" I spoke through my teeth as I fixed my fringe
"Ooo can't touch the hair!" Nate took the piss
"Shut it butthead." I glared at him, he was about to retaliate, but a horn sounded outside
"That's our ride" Emby said, grabbing my hand and guiding me down the last two steps
"See ya later" Nate spoke
"Bye" We called in unison
"Bye Daddy!" I called
"Have fun!" He yelled, Quil shut the door behind us and I climbed into the back of Jake's car. A rabbit or something. Emby climbed in behind me and Quil jumped in the front seat
"Why do you have to have such a small car, dude?" Emby complained
"Don't dis the rabbit." He said very seriously as he pulled out of my street
"I thought it was a car?" I joked
"Ooo burn" Quil laughed
"Volkswagen Rabbit. The make of car you dumbass." He joked, looking at me in the rear view mirror, he had a huge Jacob grin on his face so I knew he was joking, but Emby growled at him anyway
"Don't growl at people." I elbowed his side and he instantly shut up
Quil and Jake automatically looked to each other and cried out, "Whipped!" I laughed along with them as Emby put an arm around my shoulders and muttered cuss words at the two of them. We had a laugh and a joke as we drove up to Forks, goofing off, just like normal. I loved these moments, made me realise I never wanted to grow up.
"Jake, are you even allowed into this party thing?" I asked as we drove through the town of Forks
"Yea, Bella invited me herself" He nodded
"But that was before you made her break her hand" Quil added
"She shouldn't have tried to punch me then" He shrugged
"She punched you cause you kissed her" Emby laughed
"She wanted it really. She just has to realise it." Jake blew it off
"Told you" Emby whispered to me, I just chuckled slightly, leaning into his chest so it was muffled. We arrived at the Cullen's shortly after. Jacob ran up the porch steps and pressed the doorbell, no answer. He held it down for longer this time
"You're so impatient." I muttered as someone opened the door "Hey Mike" I grinned at the boy. Mike Newton. I know Edward didn't like him from visions, and I now found out that Emby, Quil and Jake don't like him either
"Are you gonna let us in or what?" Jacob asked rudely, he was already tense and this scared the shit out of Mike
"Uhh yea" He nodded and stepped away from the door, leaving as quickly as possible. The four of us walked in and the guys became suddenly tense, I grasped Emby's hand and stroked circle's on his palm to try and calm him. He smiled tightly in response. I frowned at him, he frowned back. I took my hand out of his which made him look confused and upset. Reaching up to his face, I placed my fingers either side of his lips and literally forced a smile onto his face, he chuckled at my efforts and I saw his body relax a little
"Hey Bella!" Jacob's voice boomed over the music, she frowned over at us. She totally wasn't expecting three werewolves and an imprint tonight. Jake had a huge smile on his face but still looked a little tense, Quil's eyes were flickering around the room constantly, never staying in one place for too long and Emby had moved his hands from mine, to wrap them protectively around my shoulder. He had his other hand on the door still and I knew he was having an internal battle with himself to get me out of here. Jake waved over at Bella and she returned it but ducked behind some people
"What a dick." I muttered, "I'll be back in a bit okay" I smiled up at Emby and placed a light kiss on his lips
"Where are you going?" He asked, grabbing hold of my wrist
"Only to get a drink" I told him
"No. I'll go" He shook his head seriously
"Don't be silly, I can get myself a drink" I chuckled at him, releasing his grip on my hand. He looked nervous. He really didn't want me getting a drink did he? I felt his eyes follow me worriedly as I ducked between dancers, occasionally stopping to talk to people I knew. Once I reached the food table I realised why Emby was tense. Emmett was 'manning the stall'.
"Lexii! Hey!" He grinned at me
"Hey Emmet! I haven't seen you in ages!" I stayed the other side of the table to stop Emby from losing his sanity. That kinda failed though because he pulled me round to the other side and into a huge bear hug
"Eww you smell like wet dog." He scrunched his face up in disgust and set me back on my feet
"Well I happen to like the smell of wet dog thank you very much. And plus, you smell like a cat just peed on you." I retaliated
"Ooo I'm so hurt right now" He laughed, but stopped and snapped his head towards a corner of the house
"What? What is it Emmett?" I asked him
"Yes" His fist pumped the air slightly and I grabbed a chair to stand on quickly. I looked over to where he was watching to see the wolves crowded into a corner, Alice, Bella and Jasper were there too and Bella seemed unhappy about them. I suddenly felt light headed and a sting appeared in the back of my head
"It's been decided Sam. It's our job to help the people of our land." Jacob growled lowly
"I'm not sure if this is helping the people of our land Jacob" Sam shook his head
"Charlie is my Dad's friend. Bella is Charlie's daughter. Surely that means we should help" He coaxed
"How many of them are there?" Paul asked with a grin
"21 ish. Apparently the numbers keep decreasing for some reason" Quil answered this time
"The psychic wouldn't tell us why" Emby added
"This fight is gonna be fuuunn" Collin and Brady said together, high fiving
"Lexii? Lexii?" Emby whispered my name; I felt his hand on my cheek
"Lexii?" Quil shook my shoulder quickly, bringing me back into my surroundings. I was sat on the sofa of Sam and Emily's house and the pack were dotted around the room
"Are you okay?" Emby asked worriedly
"No." I shook my head, ignoring his question
"Why? What's wrong?" He asked, his hands flitting over my body
"No" I shook my head at him, holding onto his wrists "You're not doing it" I shook my head
"What do you mean?" He asked confused
"You're not fighting a army of newborn vampires. It's not happening" I told him
"Newborn vampires?" Sam asked, coming to stand beside Emby
"The vampires in Seattle. There new. More human blood in their systems it makes them stronger. Wilder. You're not fighting them" I shook my head vigorously
"Lexii we have to. It's our job" Sam explained to me
"No it's not. Bella isn't even Quileute. She's dating a vampire for Christ's sake!" I exclaimed
"No but we still have to protect her" Jacob spoke up
"Emby please" I turned back to my wolf, "You promised me you wouldn't get hurt in all of this. You won't get hurt if you don't fight" I begged of him
"I have to Lexii. It's why I'm a wolf" He looked crushed that he wasn't giving me what I wanted.
"Why couldn't she have been awake when we had this conversation with Kim and Emily?" Seth asked in general
"See I'm not the only one who doesn't want any of you to fight" I told Emby, gesturing to Seth
"Sorry" He held his hands up in surrender as most of the wolves glared at him
"It'll be okay Lexii, we're built for this kind of thing" Emby tried convincing me
"You're not though. Not brand new vampires who have the strength of Emmett twenty times over all in one person." I shook my head at my imprinter
"It's already been decided anyway." Jacob stated
"Well don't come crying to me when half your body is shattered into thousands of tiny pieces." I yelled at him and pushed past Emby to get up. I was at the living room doorway when a hot hand grabbed hold of my wrist. I turned to realise it was Leah. She'd been quiet throughout this whole thing
"What do you mean our bodies will be shattered into thousands of tiny pieces?" She asked quickly
"Not yours. Jacob's." I stated
"Why me?" He asked
"How do you know that?" Emby asked, joining Leah in front of me
"Because I've seen it a million times over. It was my first ever vision. The one I saw every night. I lost sleep because of it. I still lose sleep over it. The whole reason I moved to La Push was because I'd spoken to Grandpa Quil about a dream I'd had. Red eyes fighting with Gold eyes and wolves. So if you get hurt then it's your own fucking fault. Because I have warned you." I yelled him still, all the wolves gaped at me
"What happens exactly?" Sam was the first to ask
"So now you want to listen to me?" I asked, cocking an eyebrow
"What happens, Lexii?" Quil asked
"The fight's over. The newborns are all dead other than one. He'd hidden someplace in the forest and when you're all talking about the Volturi getting there he jumps out. Leah tries to tackle him but he gets his arms around her neck. Jacob steps in to help her and the vampire crushes half his body." I explained quietly, only looking at Quil, Leah dropped my wrist as I got to the bit about her. I heard Emily and Kim's gasp from the kitchen, I hadn't realised they were in there to be quite honest.
"I'll be careful." Jake stated
"That's not the point Jacob. You were still careful when I saw it. You all were." Why wasn't he listening to me? I was yelling at him, he could obviously hear the panic in my voice, he could see me sniffling slightly, yet he wasn't paying any attention. Jacob was like a brother to me. All of them were. I didn't want to see any of them hurt.
"You're defiantly not fighting now." Emily stated as she and Kim came to stand behind me
"We have to" Sam told his imprint reluctantly
"Why? Did you not just hear Lexii?" Emily shrieked
"How long does it take me to heal?" Jake asked
"She's not even from here Jacob." Kim was yelling now too
"How long does it take me to heal Lexii?" Jake repeated
"She's caused nothing but trouble since she moved here. Just because you've got a crush on her does not mean you have to put everyone else's lives in danger Jacob. Why are you continuing this fight over a girl?" Emily questioned him; her voice became softer as she spoke though … she still cared. We all cared
"I still have to try." He stated
"What's the point, Jake? Just face it, you're not gonna win. She's gonna marry him and then you'll be ditched once again. Just save the heartache and stop." I told him sadly and I watched as the hurt crossed his features and then turned to anger, "Don't you dare get angry at me. It isn't me that's gonna get married to a 109 year old virgin just so he'll fuck me." I stated abruptly, maybe that wasn't the right thing to say …
"Just tell me how long it'll take to heal Lexii." He spoke angrily through his teeth. Why was he still doing this? Why wasn't he giving up? He knew all along that she wasn't going to choose him, he'd just had it confirmed, yet he was still gonna try and win her over. Why?
"About a week, maybe two" I shrugged
"See, it'll be fine." He nodded. I huffed, scowling at him and stormed out the house
"Stupid men. Why the fuck do they all have to be so fucking stubborn?" I grumbled to myself as I walked down the dirt track away from Sam and Emily's house. Emby quickly caught up with me but he didn't speak a word. He walked beside me and kept up with my pace easily. Stupid werewolves. "Embry I wanna be on my own for a bit" I told him, stopping to face him
"Lexii, it's not safe for you to be on your own at this time, you said it yourself … these vampires are more deadly" He told me worriedly
"Yea and it's not safe for you either but your still going to fight them. I want to be on my own." I was being a little too harsh I feel, but I really needed to get him out of the way for a little while. I'd never be able to get back to Forks otherwise
"But what about that meal I was gonna take you out to?" He really was worried …
"We can do it another time" I told him, giving him my best apologetic look
"Then can I come over tonight?" He was grasping at straws now
"I'll text you later" I gave him a quick kiss and continued on my way to my house. I was glad I didn't live too far from the Uley's place; I needed to be quick though if I wanted to get out of here before I was noticed …
My Dad had let me borrow his car, I didn't tell him why I wanted it but then again, he didn't ask. He hardly ever does anymore he just agrees so I won't yell at him, I've been getting assy over the smallest of things lately … I don't think the pill is working for my hormones too well at the moment …
Anyway, off subject. I'd literally floored the gas pedal to get me out of La Push quickly, I was going too fast to notice if anyone was following me but I didn't care. I was getting back to the Cullen's whether it was on my own or with someone following me. It really didn't bother me.
"Hello again Lexii" Carlisle greeted me at the door, Alice probably saw me coming
"Hello Carlisle, can I come in?" I asked with a smile as I got out of the car
"Of course, what do we owe this great pleasure?" He gestured for me to go inside and followed me when I made my way into the living room. It was perfectly clean with no other people here than normal, it made me wonder how long I was passed out for …
"Are we going to stay conscious this time?" Emmett joked with me; he was already sat in the living room. I just glared at him as I took a seat beside him on the sofa; he was watching the TV but turned it down when I turned to Carlisle with a serious look on my face
"You can't let them fight Carlisle. They won't listen to me and they could get hurt" I told him, deadly serious.
"They've already made that decision Lexii, we can't make them change their minds and if anything … they might be helpful, we'll have the element of surprise" He told me
"But Carlisle! They're gonna get hurt! They won't listen to me either and it's scaring me" I told him truthfully
"What is it that's scaring you Lexii?" He asked me softly, the rest of the family were downstairs and in the living room in a flash, well … minus Edward and Bella
"The first vision that I ever had was a group of red eyes, fighting with gold eyes and wolves. Obviously that scares me, but the thing that's kept me up at night ever since I've had that dream was the fact that one of the wolves gets caught off guard and a new born crushes half of the bones in his body. Okay it takes him about a week to recover then he's fine, but that's not the point. It still happens and you have to convince them that they can't fight." I explained and Esme and Alice gasped in shock
"Which wolf?" Jasper asked, I looked up at him and smiled, this was the first time I had seen him tonight and I hadn't said a proper hello
"Hey Jasper" I smiled brighter at him
"Hello Lexii" He nodded politely back
"It's Jake" I finally answered his question, "Which makes it worse. He's fighting for Bella and she's just gonna go off and marry Edward anyway. I told them that too but they still won't listen" I shook my head and a few of them looked guiltily at me
"Would it make you feel better if you came with us to the meeting and I talked to them about it there and then?" Carlisle questioned
"Yes please, however I don't think Emby's gonna be too happy with me" I chuckled nervously
"Oh fuck Embry. He'll get over it!" Emmett boomed and slung an arm around my shoulders in comfort
"I'm sorry but you're going to have to change, I can't let you ruin that dress of yours" Alice told me, and I laughed to myself as she grabbed my wrist and pulled me up the stairs … Rosalie followed us close behind. Alice directed me to her bedroom and I kicked my shoes of before sitting right in the centre of her king sized bed, I don't understand why it needed to be so big … it's not as if they sleep in it! Rosalie joined Alice in her huge walk in wardrobe -it was practically another room!- in a search for 'the perfect outfit for me'
"GOT IT!" Alice exclaimed happily and brought it out to show me, "What do you think?" She questioned
"I like" I nodded with a huge smile and she squealed in delight, ordering me to put it on straight away. I went inside of the wardrobe and quickly changed into my new outfit … I wasn't running the risk of one of the lads walking in just as I was getting changed. I now had on a pair of light blue drainpipes that were too long for me so they made a nice layer effect at my feet, a light coloured little vest that I was told to wear a slightly see through beige blouse over the top of and just as I finished, Rose handed me a pair of fluffy socks … they were finally listening to me! A pair of grey heeled ankle boots that I just adored and a mustard yellow cardigan to wear over the top of my new blouse, "I love it" I told the two of them, smiling brightly at my reflection in Alice's huge wall sized mirror. "I hope you know that you're not getting these clothes back …" I told them with a laugh
"I hope you know that you were never going to be able to give them back" Rosalie told me, laughing herself and the two of us looked through the mirror to see Alice dancing around and changing her outfit because the one she was wearing was 'too party-ish for a fight lesson'
"Girls, come on! Time to go!" Carlisle shouted up the stairs, I think that was for my benefit more than theirs
"How am I going to walk through a forest in these?" I questioned, gesturing to my shoes as we descended the stairs. I smirked cheekily and laughed when Jasper and Emmett whistled at me, thanking Esme when she handed me a coat
"You'll live" Jasper nudges my side
"I've outlived you already" And all six of them laughed loudly as I was guided out into the forest and pulled onto Emmett's back. I dug my face into the back of his shirt though as I didn't wanna throw up. This guy went fast!
EPOV
"Why isn't she at home Quil? She should be at home. She told me she was going home." I was pacing out in front of Sam and Emily's whilst we were waiting for everyone to sort themselves out
"Would you shut the fuck up?" Paul yelled at me, the rest of the pack hummed in agreement
"Leave it out Paul. He's only worried for his imprint." Jared shoved his best friend just as Sam finally got his fat ass out of the house and changed into wolf. Finally we could start running!
"Do we remember everything I told you?" He was about to start another lecture
"YES!" We all yelled at him inside of our heads
"How could we forget?" Brady and Collin recited at the same time. We were nearly there now, I could smell them. It was fucking awful. The smell probably made worse by the fact that I didn't know where Lexii was and I'd rather be out looking for her
"She's with them" Paul told me, he was running upfront therefore was closer
"What?" I yelled at him
"I can smell her, she's with them" He stated, Sam and Jake made noises in agreement with him
"No. She's not. Why would she go back to the Cullen's? She wouldn't she hasn't. " I refused to believe it. Even when I was now close enough to smell her with them. I didn't want to believe it so I wouldn't. I could faintly hear her talking with one of them … I couldn't quite catch what they were saying though
"I don't want you going anywhere near the Cullen's Embry." Sam warned me
"It's his imprint Sam!" Quil and Jared yelled at him in our minds, I just picked up the pace, I needed to see for myself if she was okay
"Embry!" Sam yelled at me, I could tell he didn't wanna go high and mighty Alpha on me so I pushed it. I continued to run faster until he finally snapped, "Embry! Don't you dare take another step." He was being an asshole. But I stopped anyway, I had to.
"What the fuck Sam? What if that was Emily?" Jared yelled at him
"He just needs to see if she's okay Sam. Why are you being such a fucking asshole? We know you can't help it but why don't you just try for one fucking second to be a nice guy?" Leah yelled at him, she really wasn't happy about this. To be honest, I was no longer happy about this. I didn't wanna help Bella any more than the next guy did.
"Welcome" The oldest guy, Carlisle I think, stepped forward to greet us. I didn't pay much attention to him; I had scanned the 9 people in front of us and zeroed in on the biggest guy. Emmett. He had my Lexii on his back.
"Thank you" Edward spoke Sam's words, "We will watch and listen, but no more. That is the most we can ask of our self-control."
"Now I understand we have a bit of a problem" Carlisle spoke
"Damn right we have a fucking problem. He needs to get his hands of my imprint." I growled lowly and Quil reached over to kick me with his back leg
LPOV
He was growling in my direction, I couldn't help but think it was because he hated me for going to see the Cullen's but I knew it was because I was still on Emmett's back. Alice didn't want me getting my new shoes muddy
"Can you let me down please?" I asked Emmett quietly, although there was no point because everyone in the clearing heard it, well everyone other than Bella.
"Lexii?" Alice whined at me
"Fuck the shoes Alice. I can clean them." I stated, as Emmett set me down on the floor and I moved to stand beside him. I looked back over at my wolf to see he was smiling at me now and I threw a small smile back
"Lexii has told us of her concerns and her visions" Carlisle continued to talk to the pack
"You can step down if you want to, we can handle them on our own" Emmett boomed and all members of the pack stood to their full height and growled
"Stop winding them up." I scolded him, "Rose?" She knew exactly what that meant and slapped him upside the head for it
"We'll help." Edward spoke for them, I didn't like the way he mimicked their words in a monotone voice. It made them sound emotionless and they sure as hell weren't. They weren't exactly Bella were they? I laughed to myself as Edward snapped his head to glare at me. Fuck off Edward. I swore at him, laughing when Embry sent a growl in the Glampire's direction
"We value Lexii's opinions and we find her visions useful in times of Alice's blank spots. But we would prefer if she was completely on board with this before any sort of fighting begins" Carlisle ignored the things going on behind him and spoke only to the wolves
"Good luck with that." Emmett muttered and Rose slapped him again
"What about me? I'm not completely on board." Bella whined
"You're routing for a slap aren't you?" I snapped at her
"Girls!" Carlisle scolded the two of us and everyone in the clearing minus Carlisle himself, Esme, Jacob and Edward were sniggering
"It's not even me!" She whined pathetically
"Oh shut up Bella. You've got two guys practically fighting over you and your biggest worry is that Edward won't fuck you before he turns you into a Vampire." I bitched at her and Emmett literally boomed with laughter, I swear the trees shook.
"Lexii?" Esme scolded me, I could see the glint in her eyes though, she knew it was true and wanted to laugh also
"I'm sorry Esme, but one must not tell lies." I quoted Harry Potter and a smile broke out onto her face as Bella began to blush, the red in her cheeks made Emmett laugh more … Even some of the wolves were beginning to laugh
"Emmett, are we calm?" Carlisle finally turned around to see his son trying to calm his laughter; he was hiding a smile himself
"Just carry on, Carlisle" I told him, holding a hand over Emmett's mouth so he was quieter. He let out a chuckle at his son before turning back to the wolves
"Lexii? Are we going through with this?" Edward asked for Sam and I looked over to my wolf, I saw his sad eyes and I felt as if we were having a conversation between the two of us. The clearing was silent whilst they waited for my answer, I didn't say anything, instead I just nodded … not breaking the eye contact I had with Embry
"Are you sure?" Carlisle asked me and I nodded again, I faintly heard Bella whining to Edward about something but I ignored the two of them
"Then we shall begin," Carlisle continued. "My son Jasper" - he gestured to where Jasper stood, tensed and ready - "has experience in this area. 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."
"They are different from you?" Edward asked for Sam.
Carlisle nodded. "They are all very new - only months old to this life. Children, in a way.
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."
A rumble passed down the shadowy line of wolves, a low growling mutter that somehow managed to sound enthusiastic
"We are willing to take more than our share, if necessary," Edward translated, his tone less cold now
Carlisle smiled. "We'll see how it plays out."
"Do you know when and how they'll arrive?" Sam
"They'll come across the mountains in four days, in the late morning. As they approach, Alice will help us intercept their path." Carlisle explained
"Thank you for the information-" I cut Edwards translation off with a whine
"Dude! Don't bite me!" I yelled at Emmett and the whole clearing went deadly silent as I removed my hand from his mouth, everyone turned to look at me and Emby sprinted towards me to stand between Emmett and me as the rest of the wolves growled viciously. Emby was snarling, "Wow! It's okay, no skin was broken!" I stepped back anyways and held my hands up in surrender to prove it
"Sorry okay? I didn't hurt her" Emmett stood still and Rosalie came to stand beside him for backup. I couldn't see what was going on anymore because I was now stood behind Embry; I did however hear Carlisle trying to calm the situation down
"Emby, shh I'm okay" I told him, running my hand through the fur on his side, "Emby seriously. I'm fine" I whispered, walking towards his muzzle. He growled one last time at Emmett before turning his head to face me. "Look, nothing" I held my hand up and he looked at me worriedly before licking my hand just to make him feel a little better within himself. "I'm okay" I giggled as he then continued to lick the side of my face, "Eww!" I was still laughing to myself as I scrubbed the fur between his ears and kissed his nose softly
"Are you okay Lexii?" Carlisle asked me softly
"Yea I'm fine" I replied
"You sure?" Emmett questioned and Embry growled at him
"Positive" I nodded, flicking Emby's ear. It got him to stop didn't it? He positioned himself to sit on the floor between me and Emmett and I sat beside him, sitting closely and crossing my legs over. He cheekily sat his head in my lap and I began to play with the fur between his ears
With a sighing sound, the eyes of the pack sank closer to the ground one set at a time, still glancing worriedly over at me occasionally.
It was silent for two heartbeats, and then Jasper took a step into the empty space between the vampires and the wolves. It wasn't difficult to see him - his skin was as bright against the darkness as the wolves' eyes. Jasper threw a wary glance toward Edward, who nodded, and then Jasper turned his back to the werewolves. He sighed, clearly uncomfortable.
"Carlisle's right." Jasper spoke only to the vampires; he seemed to be trying to ignore the audience of wolves behind him. "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?"
Emmett stepped out of the line with a huge smile. Jasper backed toward the north end of the opening between the allied enemies. He waved Emmett forward.
"Okay, Emmett first. He's the best example of a newborn attack."
Emmett's eyes narrowed. "I'll try not to break anything," he muttered.
Jasper grinned. "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."
Jasper backed up a few more paces, his body tensing.
"Okay, Emmett - try to catch me." And Jasper could no longer be seen – he was a blur as Emmett charged him like a bear, grinning while he snarled. Emmett was impossibly quick, too, but not like Jasper. It looked like Jasper had no more substance than a ghost - any time it seemed Emmett's big hands had him for sure, Emmett's fingers clenched around nothing but the air. Then Emmett froze. Jasper had him from behind, his teeth an inch from his throat. Emmett cussed. There was a muttered rumble of appreciation from the watching wolves.
"Again," Emmett insisted, his smile gone.
"It's my turn," Edward protested
"In a minute." Jasper grinned, stepping back. "I want to show Bella something first." She watched Japer with anxious eyes as he waved Alice forward.
"I know you worry about her," he explained as she danced blithely into the ring. "I want to show you why that's not necessary."
Though I knew that Jasper would never allow any harm to come to Alice, it was still hard to watch as he sank back into a crouch facing her. Alice stood motionlessly, looking tiny as a doll after Emmett, smiling to herself. Jasper shifted forward, and then slinked to her left. Alice closed her eyes. Jasper sprang, disappearing. Suddenly he was on the other side of Alice. She didn't appear to have moved. Jasper wheeled and launched himself at her again, only to land in a crouch behind her like the first time; all the while Alice stood smiling with her eyes closed. I watched Alice more carefully; she was moving - I'd just been missing it, distracted by Jasper's attacks. She took a small step forward at the exact second that Jasper's body flew through the spot where she'd just been standing. She took another step, while Jasper's grasping hands whistled past where her waist had been. Jasper closed in, and Alice began to move faster. She was dancing – spiralling and twisting and curling in on herself. Jasper was her partner, lunging, reaching through her graceful patterns, and never touching her, like every movement was choreographed. Finally, Alice laughed. Out of nowhere she was perched on Jasper's back, her lips at his neck.
"Gotcha," she said, and kissed his throat.
Jasper chuckled, shaking his head. "You truly are one frightening little monster." The wolves muttered again. This time they sounded more wary.
"It's good for them to learn some respect," Edward stated, amused. Then he spoke louder. "My turn." What was that comment supposed to mean?
Jasper had the century of experience to guide him, and he tried to go on instinct alone as much as he could, but his thoughts always gave him away a fraction of a second before he acted. Edward was slightly faster, but the moves Jasper used were unfamiliar to him. They came at each other again and again, neither one able to gain the advantage, instinctive snarls erupting constantly. It was hard to watch, but harder to look away. They moved too fast for me to really understand what they were doing. Now and then the sharp eyes of the wolves would catch my attention. I had a feeling the wolves were getting more out of this than they should. Eventually, Carlisle cleared his throat. Jasper laughed, and took a step back. Edward straightened up and grinned at him.
"Back to work," Jasper consented. "We'll call it a draw."
Everyone took turns, Carlisle, then Rosalie, Esme, and Emmett again. He slowed down, still not quite enough for me to understand his motions, and gave more instruction.
"You see what I'm doing here?" he would ask. "Yes, just like that," he encouraged.
"Concentrate on the sides. Don't forget where their target will be. Keep moving."
Edward was always focused, watching and also listening to what others couldn't see.
It got more difficult to follow as my eyes got heavier. I hadn't been sleeping too well lately, and it was now approaching almost twenty-four hours since the last time I'd slept. I felt my head getting heavier and rested it on top of Emby's big one and let my eyelids droop. He nudged his head to try and keep me away, and Jasper finally turned toward the wolves for the first time, his expression uncomfortable again. "We'll be doing this tomorrow. Please feel welcome to observe again."
"Yes," Edward answered in Sam's cool voice. "We'll be here." Edward then sighed and stepped away from Bella to turn to his family.
"The pack think 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."
"Certainly," Carlisle said to Sam. "Whatever you need."
There was a gloomy, throaty grumble from the wolf pack as they all rose to their feet. My eyes were wide again, exhaustion forgotten.
The deep black of the night was just beginning to fade - the sun brightening the clouds, though it hadn't cleared the horizon yet, far away on the other side of the mountains. As they approached, it was suddenly possible to make out shapes . . . colours.
Sam was in the lead, of course. With his unbelievably huge, black form. Now that I could see them all, I could tell they'd had a bit of a rough and tumble before they got here; most of them were covered in mud, completely drenched in it. I had to laugh as Emby stood up to join them; he had the most mud covering his body! Sam approached Carlisle where he stood in the front, the huge pack right on his tail. Jasper stiffened, but Emmett, on the other side of Carlisle, was grinning and relaxed.
Sam sniffed at Carlisle, wincing as he did so. Then he moved on to Jasper.
A low whine broke through Seth's wolf when Sam had moved on and left him isolated between Carlisle and Jasper. I saw Bella gawping at Jake's wolf, he made his stance casual, and nonchalant she giggled when Jake wolfy grinned at her, lolling his tongue out to the side and ignoring the pack as he trotted past Edward and Alice to stand not two feet away from her. He stopped there, Edward stood completely motionless, and Jacob crouched down on his front legs and dropped his head so that his face was no higher than hers. After a while of her just stood stroking his fur, Jacob suddenly licked her face from chin to hairline –as Emby had done to me earlier
"Ew! Gross, Jake!" She complained, jumping back and smacking at him, I loved it when Emby did that to me ... Jake dodged out of the way and barked a laugh at her. She finally looked around to see that everyone was watching the two of them – the Cullen's held disgusted expressions, one that I shared. And the Pack held disappointed expressions; it really wasn't helping the situation if Bella was flirting with his wolf form now as well as his human form. The pack had begun to back away now, other than Jake … my Emby went with them but I didn't understand why. Didn't he want me to go home with him?
"Rose, can I get a lift please?" I decided to get up finally and crack my bones as I made my way over to her
"Of course you can" She smiled big at me as she nodded
"I'm really sorry about earlier" Emmett told me, pulling me into one of his bear hugs
"Don't worry about it, I'm not hurt" I shrugged as he chuckled and kissed atop of my head
"I don't think you'll be needing a lift from me" Rose shook her head and nodded over in the direction of the treeline again, my Emby was making his way back in just a pair of soccer shorts
"Hey" I grinned wildly at him
"Hey, are you ready to go home?" He asked, noticing my very tired form. I nodded at him, rubbing at my eyes
"I'll get your Dad's car to the treaty line" Emmett spoke kindly from behind me
"Thanks Em" I turned to smile at him, "Bye guys" I waved at the Cullen's and they returned it as Embry walked me to the treeline. He gestured for me to wrap my arms around his neck and I quickly complied, wrapping my legs around his waist too
"Baby you wreak." He chuckled, holding the small of my back to keep me from falling and beginning to walk me home
"I'm sorry, I'll shower when I'm awake enough" I told him and he laughed at me as I dug my face into the crook of his neck, "What's Jake doing?" I questioned him; I noticed that he was talking with Edward just before we left
"They're talking strategies" He rubbed my back as I felt myself getting heavier and heavier and dropping to sleep as he carried me