Working with the wolves. It wasn't something I had been expecting, wasn't something any of us had been expecting but Jasper was actually a little excited about it. We had already been planning to do some sparring out at the clearing, something I was excited about. Jasper had tried getting a hold of Peter and Charlotte but they were still in South America and getting in contact with them was difficult. He'd left several messages but it looked like things would be over before they would be able to get here whether they got the messages or not.

We were all gathered in the clearing well before we had told the wolves to met us, there were a couple things Jasper wanted to show the family or more specifically Emmett before Bella and the wolves showed up, things that the wolves wouldn't be able to do without their hands and things that Bella would likely freak out about should she be witness to them. She was relatively tough for a human but she seemed to have a rather low tolerance for violence and this would likely have her fretting more than she already was.

We could hear Bella's heart beating at about the same time that we could hear Edward's footfalls. Jasper looked in their direction with a shake of his head. Jasper thought it was a poor decision to have Bella here for this, given that she was human and would only be able to sit on the sideline, along with how much worrying she was doing about all this, Carlisle was concerned that she could give herself an ulcer from all the stress she was putting on herself.

"Ain't done nothing more than kiss and he's already whipped." Jasper said lowly so the others couldn't hear on the opposite end of the field and Emmett barked out a laugh. I rolled my eyes but couldn't hide the smirk, we all knew Edward wouldn't tell her no if he was certain she wouldn't get hurt.

"Is something wrong with Alice?" Bella whispered to Edward as they walked closer to the collected group. Edward chuckled lowly, he was taking too much enjoyment out of Alice's gift being thwarted after the fun she'd had with Bella being able to block his mind reading last year.

"The werewolves are on their way, so she can't see anything that will happen now. It makes her uncomfortable to be blind." Edward replied and Alice stuck her tongue out at him.

"Hey, Edward. Hey Bella. Is he going to let you practice, too?" Emmett greeted making Edward groan.

"Please, Emmett, don't give her any ideas." Emmett chuckled but let the topic drop as Carlisle shifted to look to Edward.

"When will our guests arrive?" Carlisle asked and Alice's pout deepened. She didn't like the family having to rely on someone else for something like this.

"A minute and a half. But I'm going to have to translate. They don't trust us enough to use their human forms." I was intrigued to see the whole pack once again and this time hopefully without them trying to sink their teeth into one of us.

"This is hard for them. I'm grateful they're coming at all."

"They're coming as wolves?" Bella asked and we could all hear the edge of panic in her words, it made the family curious as they looked to her and Edward. Edward nodded and Bella swallowed hard, she seemed unnerved and almost fearful.

"Prepare yourselves, they've been holding out on us." Edward warned and we all turned where we could hear the heavy footfalls coming toward us, far more than the four we'd encountered during the failed ambush.

"Damn." Emmett said as the triangle of ten pairs of yellow eyes appeared in the trees, the huge shadows of their hulking forms hard to make out a first before becoming clearer as they slinked through the trees much quieter than their size should allow. There was a small spike of fear and I felt the itch to put distance between myself and these massive beasts, only Jasper standing his ground was what kept my feet planted where they were, I would never be able to leave him behind to fight alone.

"What is it?" Bella whispered worriedly.

"I can't see." She reminded.

"The pack has grown." Edward murmured.

"Fascinating." Edward said lowly, but that was not the word that I was thinking of. Carlisle took a step closer to the wolves, the usual ritual of presenting as the leader and family peace keeper.

"Welcome." Carlisle greeted.

"Thank you." Edward replied, his voice almost monotone as he translated.

"We will watch and listen, but no more. That is the most we can ask of our self-control." I felt a small amount of relief from the words, I was all for sparring but getting my first good look at what we would be up against should the wolves decide to attack was unsettling to put it mildly.

"That is more than enough." Carlisle replied before gesturing to Jasper.

"My son Jasper 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 and Carlisle nodded without looking backward.

"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 through the wolves.

"We are willing to take more than our share, if necessary." Edward stated and Carlisle smiled.

"We'll see how it plays out." He said gently.

"Do you know when and how they'll arrive."

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

"Thank you for the information. We will watch." The black wolf standing at the head of the formation gave a nod before he and the others sunk to the ground, their eyes attentively watching us. I felt the itch to reach for Jasper as he stepped into the space between our family and the wolves, he glances back at Edward before turning to face his back to the wolves with a sigh. I tensed, my eyes leaving Jasper to watch the wolves. None of them moved, I understood the need to have a show of faith but he was my love and I wasn't going to trust Edward to be fast enough to warn Jasper should any of them get any ideas, my instincts wouldn't let me.

"Carlisle's right. They'll fight like children. The two most important things you'll need to remember are, first, don't let them get they're 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?" Jasper smirked as Emmett took a step out of line. Jasper slowly moved further into the open space as he waved Emmett forward.

"Okay, Emmett first. He's the best example of a newborn attack." Emmett's eyes narrowed at the perceived insult. Jasper's wording was probably intentional, meant to rile Emmett up so his ego would cloud his thinking and make him react more on instinct and as a result provide the best example.

"I'll try not to break anything." Emmett muttered and Jasper grinned in anticipation.

"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 put some more distance between the two of them before stopping and bracing himself.

"Okay, Emmett, try to catch me." Jasper taunted and Emmett charged like an angry bull. Jasper mainly avoided Emmett's grasping hands, letting Emmett get close before evading, a slightly amusing game of cat and mouse. This went on for a couple moments before Jasper felt he had let it go on long enough and grabbed Emmett in a headlock from behind, his teeth hovering over Emmett's neck and making Emmett instinctively freeze to prevent injury or decapitation.

Emmett cursed and there was a rumble of appreciation from the wolves, though they shifted with unease. They were much like us, they could appreciate the obvious skill with which Jasper had taken Emmett down, but they were weary of the danger Jasper presented and that they were now aware of. It mirrored our reaction to the wolves revealing their numbers earlier. We could appreciate the ability the wolves had in taking down the average nomad or two but were weary about the sheer number they had amassed.

"Again." Emmett demanded but Edward piped up before Jasper could reply.

"It's my turn." Edward declared, but Jasper stopped him.

"In a minute." Jasper grinned and stepped back away from Emmett before gesturing for Alice to come closer.

"I want to show Bella something first." Bella watched with obvious anxiety as Alice walked out of line toward Jasper. Alice was the smallest of our family, the most unassuming looking, but Jasper had made sure that she would be able to protect herself, especially since she didn't have a partner to watch her back the way Jasper watched mine.

"I know you worry about her." Jasper explained as he looked to Bella with a small smile.

"I want to show you why that's not necessary." Jasper sunk low into a crouch while Alice remained motionless with a smile on her face, almost looking like an unknowing lamb about to be slaughtered. A misconception that very much made Alice a, forgive the expression, a wolf in sheep's clothing.

Jasper started to move and Alice closed her eyes, Bella's heart rate skyrocketed as she watched Jasper stalk closer, carefully evaluating how he wanted to attack and thinking it through for once to best show case Alice's ability. Jasper sprang at Alice and she took a small step that put her just out of his way. Jasper quickly corrected and launched himself at Alice again only for her to do the same thing, her smile got a little bigger as she remained standing with her eyes firmly shut. It was fun to watch as Jasper just missed her and Alice displayed the sheer power of her gift, but it was something that could also be her downfall. Jasper had told her many times that she couldn't solely depend on her gift to defend her, she hadn't believed him till the day he let himself fight her solely on instinct and had trapped her. The incident had shaken her and she had gotten better but this was about lifting Bella's confidence in our family and also a small display of what we could do to the wolves, so we weren't going to bring up any loop holes unless absolutely necessary.

As Jasper became more intent on getting his hands on Alice the faster the two moved till finally Alice made her move and perched herself on Jasper's back, her teeth hovering over his neck. Jasper froze and I couldn't stop the low growl in my throat. Alice quickly jumped away from Jasper.

"Gotcha." Alice announced brightly and Jasper chuckled, they both knew he had essentially let her win.

"One very frightening little monster." He teased though the noises that the wolves made showed that they had taken the display exactly as we had wanted Bella and them to take it.

"It's good for them to learn some respect." Edward murmured before speaking up.

"My turn." Alice skipped over to take Edward's place beside Bella while the two men readied themselves opposite each other. My eyes flickered intently between Edward and Jasper as they charged at each other. I fought hard to keep my mind blank, refusing to let Edward pluck any possibly useful information from my head to use. If he was ever going to beat Jasper he was going to do it fair and square, or at least as fair as could be expected when he was literally reading every move his opponent was making before they had the chance to execute it. The two came at each other again and again without being able to truly get their hands on each other. At one-point Jasper managed to send Edward flying backwards but Edward landed on his feet and was prepared with an attack of his own when he landed. Eventually Carlisle cleared his throat and Jasper laughed as he backed down. Edward straightened and grinned back.

"Back to work. We'll call it a draw." Jasper stated and Edward nodded before returning to Bella's side. I watched carefully as the others all took their turns till I was the last to have not had a turn. Jasper watched Esme return to Carlisle before looking to me and smiling as he gestured me out onto the field. I smiled back and stepped closer. Jasper seemed to debate for a moment before looking to the wolves.

"Abilene is a prime example of something that is impossible to anticipate." Jasper's words made the wolves perk up and their eyes roved over me as they were trying to figure out what Jasper could be talking about.

"What is Jasper talking about?" Bella whispered to Edward.

"Watch." Edward replied as Jasper continued.

"As you are aware some vampires have talents, like Edward and Alice. The chance of the newborns having this gift or similar to it, is too low to be concerned about, but the possibility of talents is something you need to be aware of and look for while on the battle field." Jasper instructed.

"They want to know what Abi can do." Edward translated and Jasper chuckled as I smiled. I raised a brow to him, waiting for his queue.

"By all means, darlin', show 'em." Jasper said and I continued to smile as I turned my eyes to the wolves before willing myself to blend into the world around me. I knew they could no longer see me when Bella gasped and the wolves all stirred, likely panicking at the possibility of fighting an enemy they cannot see. Jasper chuckled darkly as he heard me move, moving quietly to the other end of the field to ready myself. Jasper's eyes followed me, almost instinctively following the noise of my movements and my emotions as I went.

"Abilene." He called and I made myself visible again. Jasper eyed the wolves' reaction as they realized I had moved and looked around before spotting me twenty yards from where I had disappeared.

"Not all talents present so much of an advantage but it is something we all need to be prepared to encounter. If we should find ourselves in this situation, do not go after the vampire alone, in that situation numbers are your friend and the more they have to divide their attention the more likely they are to make a mistake." Jasper instructed before he readied himself and I smiled.

"How are we playing this darlin', instruction or fun?" I asked with a teasing smile.

"Come now, Abi dear, you know I always prefer to see you." Jasper replied and I grinned.

"Instruction it is then." Jasper gave a nod and our smiles fell at the same time Jasper started moving. I played the attack much as Alice did, standing in place till Jasper was too close to change course, that's when I acted like I was going to dodge to the right, Jasper moved to the left knowing it was meant to throw him off but he wasn't prepared for me to drop down and swipe his feet out from under him and sending him flying across the field into a tree. Bella's gasp of horror was almost over shadowed by the tree cracking as it began to fall, but Jasper was back on his feet with a snarl.

"What happened to instruction?" He asked and I smiled innocently.

"Well I didn't think you would want me to take it easy on you, dear." I said innocently and he gave another growl before making his next move. Jasper and I had been sparring for years, learning with each other and coming to know the other almost as well as we knew ourselves. It was uncommon that he tried something I hadn't seen before or had already learned to counter. As Jasper grabbed for me I caught his arm, allowing my body to move with the follow through on his attempted hit and let go, sending myself flying through the air to cartwheel and land low in a douglas-fir. As Jasper spun to search for me I sprung higher and he stalked toward the tree.

It was obvious that Jasper had given up on instruction as his attempts to tell the others what to do died off into grunts and snarls with the occasional growl. Jasper gave a swift kick to the trunk of the tree and I could hear the crack running through the middle of the tree upward. I bailed from the tree, acting as if I was jumping to the next, bringing a snarl from Jasper, but really used it to rebound at him with a renewed momentum. I saw Jasper's eyes widen when he realized what I was doing too late to prevent it. My foot landed in the center of his chest and sent the both of us sliding across the ground, the momentum ripped up the ground and created enough resistance to Jasper's movements that when we finally came to a stop I re-positioned myself and had my teeth to Jasper's throat. He gave a disgruntled snarl as he realized he'd lost.

"Rematch." He demanded and I giggled before pressing my lips to his.

"Later." I promised and jumped away from him before he could get his arms around me. I gave a smirk before disappearing from view and moved back to my place with the family before reappearing. Jasper stood slowly, brushing as much dirt from his clothes as he could as he glared across the field at me.

"Emmett." He barked and Emmett chuckled before joining Jasper in the clearing.

"Need to redeem yourself, brother?" Emmett teased and Jasper snarled before the training recommenced.