Chapter 34
I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT OR CHARACTERS
With the issue of the wolves settled in a better way than any of them really could have hoped for whether the sulking nomads (or Rosalie and Emmett) wanted to admit it— a few other issues needed to be taken care of.
The first was taking care of Bella's father, Charlie. After she cried away her stress, sort of (not really), on Alice's shoulder, they went inside to find Esme sitting on the couch looking extremely worried and waiting impatiently for their return.
Unfortunately for Esme, Bella jumped down her throat in a heartbeat, demanding to know what had happened with her father.
The guilt in Esme's eyes had frightened her beyond measure, but Esme ended up explaining a power to Bella that Bella had never even known she'd had. Apparently Esme had the capability to 'glamour' people like the vampires in the movies did. But unlike in the movies, it was a very rare gift instead of something all vampires could do. It was the ability to use her will to convince someone of whatever she desired.
Bella's shock at having never been told this was high, but Esme explained that she didn't like to talk about it because it wasn't something she was proud of, or liked doing to people, and wasn't a very powerful gift anyway. It didn't even work on other vampires; only humans. Bella was still slightly resentful that it had been kept from her considering how close she was to the Cullens, but in the grand scheme of things it didn't really seem to matter.
Esme informed them that Charlie was safely at home which relieved Bella so much she almost started bawling again, and thanks to Esme's gift, was once more under the impression that his daughter was quarantined at the hospital with an extremely contagious but nonlethal virus.
Instead of a not-vampire about to go to war alongside werewolves and actual-vampires against the most powerful beings on the planet.
It was a bittersweet solution. Bella hated that her father was being lied to, but she would do anything, anything at all to keep him safe from the danger her life had become so saturated with. Besides, Esme told her, the glamour wouldn't last forever. It would weaken with time, and within a month would break completely, at which point Esme would have to reapply it to keep him in the dark.
Bella really hoped it wouldn't take that long for them to deal with the Volturi. If this crushing weight and fear didn't stop soon, she felt like she might have an absolute break down. If Alice hadn't been there to hold her, wrap her in the comfort of her arms, Bella wasn't sure what she'd have done. She hadn't stopped shaking for ten minutes, had never felt so small and out of control.
She had remembered with startling clarity how young she really was compared to the rest of these people, how small and inexperienced she really was in the face of pure bred vampire killing werewolves, and had no idea how she'd managed to step up as she had. If Leah's life hadn't been at stake, she might not have. She probably would have cowered away, hidden behind Alice, and then there really would have been a fight, and Bella had already seen how she fared when the real fighting broke out.
Which led them to the new problem that needed to be addressed.
It was something Leah pointed out that Bella had been hopelessly trying to ignore the very next day while Carlisle was busy both wrapping a clean bandage around her rapidly healing throat and conversing with Leon and Gabriel on the phone about what came next.
"You know your whole magical voodoo is really cool and everything, Izzy, really useful," Leah drawled to Bella, who watched as Carlisle gently wrapped her neck in fresh gauze. "But besides that, you can't fight for shit."
Bella had immediately grimaced, but didn't try to deny it.
It was so obviously true and had been weighing on her mind as well since the confrontation with the shapeshifting tribes. In the two scuffles she'd been in since being changed into… Whatever she was, Bella hadn't fared well. Yeah, she took on Seth fairly well (and was still planning on never telling Leah about that) but only because he was so young and new to what he was, too. She'd proven to be horrible at controlling her instincts if her other subtler gift of survival wasn't at play, causing her to choose her battles unwisely.
Like going after an Alpha werewolf, for instance.
And she'd stood no chance at all against Jasper, either. When the real fighting started, when someone who had even the slightest inkling of what they were doing stepped up to bat, Bella was no match. If she went against the Volturi like this? She'd be destroyed. The only thing she had going for her was her gift of nullification, and that didn't even put vampires down for the count.
Leah's statement made Carlisle pause as if it had only just occurred to him, and Alice, standing nearby, had clapped a hand to her forehead with a soft swear as if that little fact had slipped her mind.
Some-freakin'-how.
Only Emmett, curled up on the couch with Rosalie in his arms, had grinned.
"Oh hell yeah. It's time to teach you how to kick some ass Bells!" he'd beamed and jumped to his feet, flexing his huge muscles eagerly.
If only Bella could share that enthusiasm. She'd never been very good with violence, but when it came down to it she supposed she didn't really have a choice.
It was time to learn how to play with the big boys and girls.
Somehow Bella knew this was going to be painful.
They still had no idea when the Volturi would show up because Alice's visions were still being blocked by Sulpicia, so it was decided that she needed to be taught how to fight absolutely ASAP. So there they were, barely two days after practically going to war with the Quileutes and their brother tribes…
Preparing to train with them.
Something really obvious is telling me this might be a horrible idea, Bella thought nervously as she watched the Quileutes and Leon's pack trotting out of the forest, looking huge and intimidating. They stayed close to each other, luminous yellow eyes distrustful and wary.
Not all of the nomads had bothered to show up, thinking it beneath them, but all of the Cullens were there, and Leah, standing beside her in her full on ashy gray wolfen form -finally fully recovered-made Bella feel a bit better about seeing them all again so soon.
At least Leon was reasonable, if a bit gruff. After much discussion over the phone with Carlisle, he had agreed that a little rendezvous to learn how to fight alongside each other instead of against one another was a good idea.
That definitely didn't mean things were all roses and sunshine between the vampires and the wolves. The hissing and growling was barely subdued. It was like watching rabid cats and dogs try to share food or something, the way they reacted to each other.
Bella honestly thought it was all a bit childish. What was the point of all this hatred? It didn't get any of them anywhere, and most of it was unjustified anyway.
Jacob led the Quileutes, which still shocked Bella to no end. Leah had explained that as the heir to the Alpha position, Jake had been able to exert a brief moment of dominance over a stronger wolf like Sam and scare him off— for the time being, at least. She explained how Jake had given up that position to Sam because he couldn't take the stress or the responsibility of it at such a young age, which Bella understood all too well.
But now…
Now he headed Embry and Quil and the other boys, and when his eyes met Bella's across the designated clearing, they seemed to soften a little.
Maybe Jacob Black isn't so bad, Bella thought, though she still was annoyed at how he'd tried to chew Edward's leg off. He and Edward still could hardly stand to look at each other without scowling up a storm.
"Thank you all for coming today," Carlisle said hospitably to the wolves, who all eyed him like a particularly ugly cockroach. He seemed not to notice.
Bella, who was leaning absently on Alice's shoulder, couldn't stop her slight grin. Carlisle was ineffably kind to people even when they were practically spitting in his eye. Next to her, Alice shook her head and rubbed lightly at the hand of Bella's she held in both of her own.
Alice was the only one that had convinced Bella this was going to be okay. After imagining her clumsy self attempting to train with these battle-hardened warriors, wolf and vampire alike, Bella had become hopeless almost immediately. She'd shared these fears with her lover, and Alice had assured her that she was going to be just fine in that charming, believable way she had.
"Besides," Alice had said with a twinkle in her eye, "you're the Red Riding Hood who had all those big bad wolves whimpering in fear, remember? You'll be fine."
Her display in the clearing had not been lost upon her family. Thinking about it now just embarrassed her, the way she'd acted and barked orders like an Army General, but Alice seemed completely proud of her, impressed by the way she'd taken control. She also seemed a little aroused at the idea of Bella stepping up, which Bella was both embarrassed and turned on by.
They were insatiable, really.
Alice said she'd seen it coming the moment Carlisle and Edward had held her back, which was something Bella had done her best to politely tell them to never, ever do again if Leah's life were in danger.
They had apologized sincerely and agreed when Bella confronted them about it, and any lingering resentment she had over that was erased immediately, but she'd meant it. When they stopped her from protecting Leah, they almost got her killed. No matter that it could have gone so much worse; the fact remained that if Bella hadn't been able to access her gift, Leah would have died.
At least Leah's sacrificial attempt to stop the wolves had warmed the Cullens to her considerably more, and Leah had taken to jokingly calling Bella her knight in shining armor, fawning over her like some pretend damsel in distress, but only if Alice wasn't in the room too, much to Bella's chagrin.
Alice and Leah seemed to have warmed towards each other a little as well, though it seemed in an awkward and uncomfortable way. They still preferred to annoy each other whenever they got the chance, but there was a bit less venom in it. It made Bella happy, at least. Their bickering was more amusing than dangerous now-a-days.
All of that was almost ruined when Leah found out Alice had bitten her, however, which was one other issue that had to be addressed and understood. It took a hell of a lot of convincing on Bella's part to keep Leah from going after Alice with no holding back, but somehow she managed it.
After learning the fate of her father the day they confronted the wolves, the Cullens had returned home and Carlisle had immediately started in on them, demanding to know every little detail that had led up to the biting.
Every. Single. One.
All of them.
That included the nature of their sex, and it was the most mortifying thing Bella had ever experienced. Even orgasming in front of her entire school didn't come close to having to look Carlisle in the eye and tell her that she got so horny while having sex with his adopted daughter that she accidentally kinda sorta on purpose convinced her to take a sip from her wrist.
More like chug from her wrist, but whatever. Minor details, honestly.
Her cheeks had burned for hours with her blush. Bella had tried to take the majority of the blame, and she truly believed she was the one to blame for the biting. She had goaded Alice, goaded her when her guard was the lowest, when she was the most out of control, even when Alice had tried in vain to resist, even in the throes of the most base instincts they had.
Alice had good control for a vampire, but even hers wasn't that good.
Bella hadn't meant to, though. She realized in hindsight how stupid it had been, how wrong it could have gone. It could have hurt her or even Alice horribly. What if her blood had been poisonous to vampires? Her bite surely was. What if she accidentally killed her lover? The mere thought made her ill.
And what if Alice's venom had been toxic to her, done more than just make her giddy and put her arm to sleep?
What if, what if, what if…
To be fair, they were both partly to blame. But vampires are not known for control in the most primal of moments, and their sex had been extremely primal… The thought of it still twisted Bella's belly, made her breath hitch, made those instincts stir up again, the utmost desire for Alice, to take and give everything to her, be all over her like a second skin.
That included her blood. What Alice wanted, willingly or unconsciously, Bella would give her, in that state. Anything.
Alice, of course, refused to let her take the fall, and blamed herself entirely, looked so immensely ashamed and guilty as Carlisle actually went off on her -and even Bella!— in a full on, honest to God fatherly lecture.
It made her miss Charlie even more.
"Just because you're vampires doesn't mean you don't have to practice safe sex, damn it!" Carlisle had said in the middle of his tirade, his normally calm voice straining.
It was the first time Bella had ever heard him swear, and she wasn't sure who was more embarrassed and ashamed; she and Alice seemed to be in close competition in that regard. Alice seemed like she wanted to cry, and the look of utter guilt she gave Bella broke the brunette's heart. Alice hated anything that hurt Bella, and the thought that she might have clearly killed her.
Thankfully, however, the effect of Alice drinking her blood seemed to have no negative consequences. In fact, the consequences seemed to be entirely positive. After Carlisle got done ranting at them and Bella managed to get over the desire to go curl up in the fireplace with a few matches in mortification, he went into doctor mode.
The first thing he did was a full on examination of Alice and Bella. When he cleared Bella of any pains that weren't the result of her gift -which they also talked about at length after Bella demonstrated that she could actually do it on purpose— and Bella assured him that it hadn't hurt, that there were no lingering side effects, he moved on to Alice.
Whereas Bella's examination had revealed nothing remarkable, Alice's was entirely different. The moment he began questioning her on how she felt after drinking Bella's blood, Alice lit up and took off explaining it.
She told them that she felt alive. That was the exact word she used, too. Alive.
She told them that she felt good, like the way they felt after feeding, only better. "It was better than any human blood I've ever had," Alice had said. "None of it has ever made me feel like this. I feel like I could carry the world on my shoulders, like I could win any fight, I feel stronger, faster, smarter. I haven't felt anything like this since I first woke after the change. It's incredible. And you know what else? It's totally crazy, but when we were facing off with the wolves, I could actually see them in my visions. I usually can't see more than muddled blurs, but with Bella's blood, it all became clearer…"
Bella didn't like to think about Alice feeding from people, so she chose not to dwell on it. Best to focus on the silver linings, so to speak. She and Carlisle were both stunned by the revelation of Alice being able to see the future of the shapeshifters. Usually their powers were much harder to use on the wolves.
"And the way it tasted…" Alice had whispered softly, almost reverently, with a faraway look in her eyes, "It tasted like heaven never could, like bliss, like snow melt and warm Spring raindrops on your tongue, like thick sweet chocolate, like happiness and life…"
There was a pause as Alice seemed to shake herself from a reverie.
"And raspberries," Alice added thoughtfully, glancing at Bella with a soft curiosity.
"Raspberries?" Carlisle had frowned in confusion, but Bella hummed in recognition.
She'd never tasted all the rest of that when she bit her lip or morbidly thrown up and tasted her own blood, but she recognized the tint of raspberries.
Alice looked guilty immediately after describing how it felt and tasted to drink Bella's blood, as if contrite that she'd enjoyed it. No amount of trying to convince Alice that Bella didn't blame her would ever work, as it never did, but she still tried. Bella was actually glad, kind of flattered that Alice liked the way she tasted so much. It was better than the alternative; tasting like shit and killing her with toxic plasma.
No, this was much better. Part of Bella was actually a little turned on listening to it, and Bella's inner vampire purred with pleasure in a manner that made her want to smack herself in the face.
Vampiric instincts were so weird.
For his part, Carlisle seemed mollified by this, and extremely interested into the why and how of it all, and honestly Bella just tuned him out. Did it really matter why or how her blood did what it did? It was the same with her bite, her gifts, Alice's visions, Edward's mind reading, or Jasper's empathy.
Science could only take you so far when it came to a world of vampires and werewolves. Some things simply didn't have an explanation that they could see or find. They didn't get very far with that, and the conversation ended with little to no closure.
Alice swore it would never happen again, but Bella had to wonder, privately, why that had to be. If that was what her blood did for Alice… Why shouldn't she drink it again? If it made her stronger, faster, smarter, and the only side effect was getting to see her pretty blue eyes for a little while they'd returned to gold within the hour— then why not? Anything that gave Alice a better chance against the Volturi, Bella was all for. In fact, why not have all of the Cullens and nomads take a swig before the final fight? It would be just one more advantage they would have.
She knew better than trying to tell them that, at least right then, so she kept her mouth shut, but kept it at the back of her mind.
Now Alice stood beside her, rubbing absentmindedly at her hand and listening to her father speak attentively, eyes soft saffron and skin soft marble. Bella really loved her, so, so much, and gazing at her then, she swore to herself that no matter what happened, Alice wasn't going to die.
Not for her. Not for this. Not because of Bella's mistakes. She would do whatever it took, even if it meant losing her life, to keep Alice out of harm's way, as much as dying terrified her. Alice was a beautiful, lovely girl. Her heart was pure golden on feathers of sweetness and iron will. She was a light in the dark in every sense, and didn't deserve the danger Bella had brought down on her or her family.
Bella had fallen so very far for this girl, never knew she could feel this much.
For Alice.
For Alice.
The first thing she had to do to keep Alice alive was actually learn how to fight. So she really needed to pay attention to Carlisle and stop ogling her like a schoolgirl with a crush.
"While I know this situation is not the most ideal, we are extremely grateful for your help in fighting off Angeles del Diablo, or as we call them, the Volturi," Carlisle said, his hands splayed out in a welcoming manner.
The shapeshifters looked like they couldn't give less of a damn what the vampires called the Volturi, but Carlisle seemed unperturbed by the less than eager response.
"We know that tensions are high. Our races have never had much headway when it comes to hospitality, but hopefully this can change. We certainly intend to try. Hopefully you all, Leon, and Jacob want the same."
By 'we' he meant himself, Bella, and… Well, Bella wasn't a hundred percent sure anyone else in this clearing was really into this whole 'working together' deal. Even Alice seemed skeptical, but her support for Bella was unwavering in its faith, and it was just one more thing Bella was extremely grateful to her for.
Leah snorted and Bella butted her shoulder lightly into her friend's, as much as she could being so short next to Leah's eight foot height. Leah seemed entirely apathetic about the entire thing, and Bella hadn't been able to get much of a read on her feelings lately. It worried her, but Leah had already proven to be an incredibly strong girl, and Bella trusted her with all her heart.
"Today we intend to learn how to work alongside each other instead of against one another, as well as train Bella, your Mother of the Sun, on how to properly fight. Though her gifts are undoubtedly strong, we would like to make them stronger, more focused, and teach her physical combat that amounts to more than pure instinct."
Gee, thanks for throwing me under the bus there, Carlisle, Bella thought sarcastically, scowling at him. Way to make me look like a total weenie!
Alice tried to hide her giggle behind a cough, and Bella redirected her scowl at her completely unhelpful girlfriend in annoyance. Next to her Emmett was smirking eagerly, which made Bella all too anxious about her 'training'.
"I'm going to let my son Jasper take over from here, as he is our best and most intelligent fighter. Leon, if you would-? Yes, you two can collaborate and my son Edward is capable of translating your thoughts to speech for us…" Carlisle gestured, but Bella saw several of the wolves bristle and bare their teeth at Edward, despising the fact that he could read their precious thoughts, their private wolfen connection.
Leon snapped his teeth at them and they immediately submitted to his Alpha strength, which Bella still found somewhat unethical, as helpful as it seemed to be.
Jasper started off by separating the nomads and the wolves off in pairs as he explained the weakness of vampires, much to the annoyance of the nomads and the delight of the wolves.
"Never let a vampire get their arms around you," Jasper said to the shapeshifters pointedly. "We can snap your spines and ribs like twigs in a split second. You've got bigger teeth than us; hopefully you know how to use them."
The shapeshifters all shuffled around, luminous yellow eyes piercing the nomads with thinly disguised disgust that the nomads returned equally.
"Your size can be as much a hindrance as a help, however," Jasper went on. "Being smaller, we tend to be faster, and harder to catch. Don't go throwing your weight around based on pride like it's going to get you somewhere. Volturi foot soldiers may be caught by simple maneuvering, but any trained vampire will counter wild movement with ease. You think you know how to kill all vampires? Think again. No two vampires' instincts are exactly alike. We are wild and unpredictable when it comes to survival. Never assume that you know what a vampire will do next. You've got to be faster, and never let them get in close."
The wolves didn't like being told that a vampire could outsmart or outmaneuver them, but they grudgingly listened anyway.
"That's why I propose we work in pairs. Every wolf with a vampire, every vampire with a wolf. The brute force of you shapeshifters, while inelegant, is effective. The battles end much faster than vampire on vampire," Jasper threw a little dig in that wrinkled the muzzle of more than one wolf. Several of the nomads smirked and Bella fought not to sigh in annoyance.
"If you manage to get caught up in the arms of the Volturi, one of us can pull them off. Similarly, if we are in danger, a rampaging eight foot tall werewolf can scare off even the most battle hardened vampire. Just make sure you remember which vampires you're supposed to be killing out there…"
Bella thought that was a fair point, as the wolves seemed eager to be killing any and all vampires at the moment.
"Leon says that you're right," Edward spoke up, his head cocked and listening intently to thoughts no other vampire could hear. "In pairs we are more dangerous, a two-headed snake… But he says to be wary of their tempers. They instinctively aim for vampires, friend or foe, when shifted. He also says… Any vampire should stay behind their wolf in the battle. They can knock them off their guard, and the nomads can go in for the kill."
Jasper considered this for a moment, then nodded.
"Agreed. It is an intelligent strategy. Now, let's start learning some techniques…"
Everyone shifted around and got as comfortable as they could. Leah squared off with Bella, who grinned a little, nervous. Leah's mouth hung open, panting a little in the frosty air. She winked one large yellow eye at Bella, who laughed lightly.
When you got past the salivating, snarling monstrosity part of them, the wolves were really cute in a purely canine way. Leah was particularly adorable with her soft looking perky ears and fluffy tail.
"Not you, Bella," Jasper broke off and headed her way immediately as Leon barked orders.
Ah, shit, she thought, and barely stifled a groan.
"You need special training," Jasper told her as Alice glanced over at her from next to a particularly small wolf that looked suspiciously like Seth.
Special training, huh? Isn't that what they call it at school? The 'special' classes?
Bella didn't voice that sentiment, but Emmett must have seen it on her face because he let out a boisterous laugh.
"Aw, c'mon, Bells! It's not like that! You get to do the fun stuff. With me, Jazz, Ally-Cat and Rosalie. Marshall, Garrett and Kate are gonna help out too. The rest of the family might pop in for a bit if you need it!" he clapped a huge hand down on her shoulder and gave her an encouraging shake.
Bella gazed at him, nonplussed, and a moment later Alice skipped over and dotted a kiss to her cheek, which made it blush instantly.
"Yay, we get to do fun stuff," Alice beamed, twirling past her and shoving Emmett in the chest playfully. "Come on Em, let's show Bella how to throw hands!"
She and Emmett jokingly started boxing at lightning speed, before Emmett shot forward and threw a squealing Alice over his shoulder where he began to spin her around at breathless speeds.
Bella watched them with a smile on her face, and next to her Jasper watched solemnly, his hands clasped behind his back. Bella's smile slowly faded as she glanced at him.
"Are you okay with this?" she asked softly, her stomach plummeting. It was the first time she'd spoken directly to Jasper after their fight, and the guilt was coming back in full force, her compassion for his pain filling her.
"Not really," Jasper replied just as softly, before giving her a slight quirk of the corner of his lips. "But I guess it doesn't really matter anymore, does it?"
Bella's shoulders slumped a little and she shook her head, utterly miserable.
I never meant to hurt you, she tried to tell him with her eyes. I wish it didn't have to be this way…
Jasper lifted a hand as if to touch her shoulder, hesitated, and dropped it. It felt like a punch to the gut, but Jasper just clapped his hands and called out to Emmett and Alice, who were practically wrestling in the dirt at this point.
Someday, Bella thought. Someday I'll make it up to you, Jasper…
"Alright you two, break it up! We need to teach Bella how to fight, not whatever ill applied JiuJitsu you two seem to be demonstrating…"
"Get off my husband, Alice," Rosalie drawled from nearby. "You're going to make him cry if you keep punching him in the ribs like that."
"Bullshit!" Emmett yelled as Alice burst into a fit of giggles.
When Alice and Emmett finally got themselves under control, Bella's real training finally began.
Yippee.
They started off slowly, basically teaching her how to properly throw a punch without breaking her hand or her wrist on a vampire's face. From there they demonstrated a few simple kicks, and Bella was actually feeling a little good about herself when she mastered them all quickly, her vampiric enhanced brain absorbing and applying knowledge much faster than it would have all human.
It was a false hope, however.
"We're not going to teach you any martial arts," Jasper said as Emmett squared off in front of her, feet planted wide apart and hands on his hips, a boyish grin of excitement on his face that Bella didn't share in the slightest.
She dug her toes into the dirt and hugged herself with one arm, watching him anxiously. Leah wandered over and away from Esme briefly to brush against her encouragingly, butted her muzzle into Bella's palm and made her stroke it for a few comforting seconds before she wandered back to Esme again.
Leah really was an amazing friend.
All around them was the sound of wolfish snarling and vampiric hissing, though none of it was getting out of hand. Leon and Jacob were doing a good job of keeping their packs under control, and Carlisle was keeping the nomads even tempered as they practiced in the clearing.
"There's not enough time for that. The Volturi could strike at any moment, and even for a vampire, it takes years to master that kind of stuff. What we're going to teach you is control. How to apply your instincts in a productive manner, instead of destructive. Now, you seem to have an inherent gift of survival. When your life seems to be in danger, you can identify the best way to get out of it, right?" Jasper inquired.
"Yeah," Bella replied loosely, uncertain of where he was going with this. Across the way, Alice gave her an encouraging smile and two thumbs up, which forced a smile out of Bella.
Damn cutie.
"And when it comes to the point where there is no way out, your other gift activates, correct?"
"Mhm," Bella murmured, unsure if she should laugh or cower when Emmett started bobbing from foot to foot and shaking out his hands, eager to get going.
"What we're going to try to do is get you to the point where you can access your gifts even when death isn't imminent, Bella. We're also going to teach you the best ways to get out of classic vampire kill grabs, how to counter them, and how to do a few of your own, and hopefully teach you how to control the more… Detrimental instincts, while applying the more useful ones."
Kill grabs, huh?
The words made her stomach flutter for a variety of different reasons, but now was no time to get squeamish. She had to do this for Charlie, for Alice, for Leah, for the Cullens.
There was no room for arguments of morality anymore. The Volturi erased those lines.
It was a painful truth, but a truth nonetheless.
"And how are you going to do that?" Bella asked without really wanting to.
"By having you fight, of course," Jasper said with a small, barely there grin, and Emmett whooped.
Fuck, Bella thought. Here we go.
"Don't worry, Bells, I'll go easy on you," Emmett called to her from fifteen feet away.
"You better, Emmett. Don't make me rip your arms off again!" Alice barked at him worriedly, standing anxiously next to Rosalie.
"Again?" Bella cocked her head, but there was no explanation forthcoming, because a split second later Emmett had bolted across the clearing and slammed her flat on her back with a whoosh and a spine shaking thud.
It didn't really hurt, but the shock made her release a yelp of fear.
"Hey-what the hell, asshole?" Bella yelled angrily and leaped to her feet as Emmett jumped back, laughing like crazy.
"First lesson: Never take your eyes off your opponent," Jasper said, strolling around them.
A moment later, a blur struck Bella across the body and she went spinning face first into the dirt again.
That one actually hurt a little, and she realized why when she spit out a lock of her own hair and looked up to see Rosalie smirking down on her.
"Stop it!" Bella yelled, rolling over and sitting up, starting to get extremely pissed off. The stirring of instincts was beginning in the back of her head. She felt a growl rumbling to life in her chest.
"Second lesson: In a battle with multiple opponents, your eyes should always be peeled for more attackers," Jasper said in the fierce tone, his amber eyes flashing. "And third lesson: Control that anger. If you channel it, it can save your life. It could activate your first gift. But if you lose it? You may be unpredictable, but you are also more apt to slip up and make a mistake. And mistakes mean death."
Alright. I see how this is gonna go.
Bella realized what she was in for as she slowly stood up and saw the looks on their faces, the amusement at her expense. Alice was grinning at her, if a bit apologetically.
"It's okay, Bella, we all went through this. We're not really going to hurt you, you know that. You can do this. You're going to learn, I promise," Alice said to her softly, even as she crouched down, preparing to spring.
Freaking seriously?
"Learn by getting the shit beat out of me?" Bella gawked at her girlfriend in disbelief, clenching her fists.
In a simple heartbeat, the same amount of time it took for Alice to grin that breath taking grin at her, that million watt smile that wrinkled up her adorable button nose, Bella was knocked flat on her back again.
Fucking fuck!
Bella snarled but a moment later her wrists were pinned and Alice's nose was brushing over hers, and all the fire went out of her in the wave of white chocolate and berries that assaulted her vulnerable vampiric senses.
Oh…
"Basically," Alice whispered, saffron eyes twinkling in that way they always did as she kissed Bella lightly on the mouth. "We're gonna beat the weenie right out of you."
Bella blinked as Alice disappeared in the span of it, and then sighed, seriously smitten.
This is not going to be fun, she thought. But for Alice, I'll deal with it…
An hour later, Bella was starting to see their point. They all took turns rushing her, making her learn to take bodily queues, spread the span of her attention to more than one assailant at once, identify who was the greatest threat, and react quickly enough to do something about it.
She wasn't perfect by any means. She didn't even get good at it, to be honest. It would take far more time than that, but she was starting to understand. She got so mad after being knocked to the ground one too many times that she went into a full fit of rage and had to be contained by Emmett and Alice as the whole clearing stopped while she let it out. When that was over, she started getting a better grip on herself, so embarrassed as she was at throwing a temper tantrum.
As the day went on and early morning drifted into afternoon, and then twilight drew on, Bella started learning more and more. She got better at not acting without thought to the point that she made herself vulnerable -which was often— but still acting on instinct that would save her life.
None of it was truly dangerous enough to activate her powers. Just annoying enough to make her a wild newborn, if she wasn't careful.
They moved on from teaching her to take on more than one opponent, to showing her what to do if someone got her in a kill grab, as they called it. The only way vampires could die was by having their head separated from their spinal cord, and even then it could be reattached with a little help and a lot of patience, as long as no fire was used to finish the job.
So they taught her the most often used techniques to snap a neck or rip a head off, without actually doing it of course. Surprisingly, the actual techniques were much easier to learn than the broad spectrum ability to control her instincts, and she became adept at them faster. She learned how to avoid getting caught up in a clench, how to shove away grasping hands, dodge, and even how to get in close and be on offense instead of defense.
Of course Bella was nowhere near the Cullens' level of skill. But it was still progress, so as stressful as all of it was, she didn't get too down on herself. Marshall and Garrett spent a lot of time helping her as well, as they were both extremely good fighters that had a lot of helpful input.
Still, she spent the majority of her time getting her ass handed to her, and way more time eating dirt than she would have liked. But several times she actually surprised Emmett with an intuitive move and made him kiss the ground once or twice. She got Rosalie once when the blond got a little overzealous, and probably hit her a little too hard, to be honest.
Payback's a bitch, though. It was utterly satisfying.
She even managed to catch her sweet little pixie off guard when Alice was dancing circles around her, playing havoc on Bella's instincts that screamed for battle and also begged to slide into Alice's arms and fall into her heart like a warm blanket. Alice became so enamored with making Bella blush with comments both sexual and adorable and making her giggle in the midst of an instinct that begged for blood, when Bella found a pattern in her twirling that was familiar.
The next time Alice came sprinting up to her, trying to knock her down, Bella swept her up in her arms and vaulted them both into the ground, where Alice squealed in surprise and then laughed elatedly, proudly.
It was one of the few good moments that made all the bullshit worth it. Bella had been rewarded with a kiss that caused more than a few catcalls from around the clearing, and Leah even had the gall to howl at them, which was more than mortifying.
She never did manage to catch Jasper, Marshall, or Garrett off guard, though Garrett and Marshall had a few close calls. However, by the time night had begun to fall, they came to the serious stuff.
Her gifts.
Whatever Bella was did not exempt her from somewhat human tiredness. She wasn't worn out or exhausted as she would have been human, but there was a definite weariness beginning in her bones. It was when she was clearly beginning to tire of being assaulted and thrown around and grappling with people clearly superior to her that Jasper called it all off and decided to switch it up.
"We're going to call it quits on all the basics today, Bella. You've done incredibly well for a mere newborn," Jasper complimented Bella as she sat on her ass, and side eyed Emmett with a glare as he smirked, still somehow amused at putting her there even after doing it a hundred times today.
"Really?" Bella frowned.
I don't feel like I did incredible. I feel like I got my ass kicked for eight hours straight, she thought in surprise, but was even more surprised at all the nods she was getting.
Vampiric stamina sure was incredible. They were going to need it if she was going to be ready by the time the Volturi got here. Still, it was beginning to wear off all the same. It was completely unfair that the Cullens looked as fresh as they had that morning and Bella was starting to feel the burn.
"Seriously though Bells, you did awesome. It took me and Rosalie at least three days to get half that good. You're a natural," Emmett beamed at her, and gave her a hand to help her up that Bella took with only a little mistrust.
So sue her, she was a bit on guard at this point. That was the whole idea, right?
Thankfully he didn't let her slip through his fingers and actually got her to her feet.
This time.
"You are so amazing, Bella. I'm so proud of you…" Alice immediately came forward and slid an arm around her waist, dotting a light kiss to her cheek that still made Bella blush, even after all this time. Her presence was comforting, sweetly so, and Bella leaned into her gratefully.
"Yeah, well… I tried. Thanks, I guess, for beating me senseless. Doesn't that count as domestic abuse or something?" Bella joked, and Alice looked crestfallen, which had not been Bella's intention.
"I'm so sorry, Bells, if there were any other way, you know I would have-"
"Joke, Alice. That was a joke," Bella grinned. Alice pouted, but a second later she smiled good-naturedly.
"Oh, shut up, Tiger. I'll get the weenie out of you yet," Alice said loftily, and Bella just rolled her eyes at her fondly.
"Having a little penis envy there, Alice?"
Bella looked up at the sound of Kate's voice, having just noticed her drifting closer, platinum blond hair shining and golden eyes shimmering. She looked somewhat dangerous, so beautiful that she was almost a contender with Rosalie.
"No," Alice replied shortly, and then draped herself over Bella languidly. She gave Kate a smile that was nothing like the one she ever gave to Bella.
Tight. Taunting. No twinkle.
"I am utterly satisfied with all of Bella's packaging," Alice murmured in a silky voice that raised the hair on the back of Bella's neck like static electricity.
God, she thought, shivering as Alice wrapped both arms around her waist and went on tip toes to rest her chin on Bella's shoulder lightly. Her stomach endured a bolt of arousal that she had to fight hard to contain.
Why does she do that to me?
"Really? Not too long ago I could have sworn your perspective was much different… And much blonder," Kate drawled slowly, and the tension soared.
It was a low blow and totally uncalled for, and Jasper's jaw locked up immediately. Bella felt the strong desire to hiss at Kate like a cat in a room full of rocking chairs, but Alice beat her to it.
"I assure you, I'm more than happy with Bella's anatomy. Maybe you'd benefit from a little less penis envy yourself, as you seem to still be blood hopping boys and continue to remain mate-less after… How many years is it now? Over a thousand, right?" Alice pondered sweetly, her high voice practically poisonous.
Bella felt the breath blow out of her, however.
Kate was over a thousand years old?
Hoooly shit! Bella gaped, her arousal at Alice's protectiveness cut off in shock.
Kate's sneer seemed completely unaffected, and for a moment they just locked eyes in a casual bitch-off that seemed totally out of nowhere.
After a long, tense moment, though, they both burst out laughing.
Bella's bewilderment skyrocketed, and she considered voicing it, but thought better of it at the knowing, amused smirk on Rosalie's face.
Roll with it, Bella thought in resignation.
She had thought Victoria was old. But Kate was even older. Much, much older. It made her wonder suddenly how old the Volturi were. How old were Aro, Caius, Marcus? How old were the rest of these nomads?
She supposed it didn't matter, but the thought of someone reaching that age was still baffling to Bella. What was more baffling was Alice and Kate both laughing together, apparently not having an actual bitch off.
Silly me, Bella internally rolled her eyes. You can calm down, subconscious. You don't actually have to rip her face off for challenging Alice. Please stop trying to make me.
"Oh, Alice. It really has been too long. I've missed your wit far more than sweet Edward's," Kate smiled a true smile that Alice returned.
"I'd say the same, but you seem to have developed a nasty tendency of shocking my mate when you come around," Alice said slowly, her smile fading a little as Jasper cleared his throat, interrupting them.
"If you two are finished…" he murmured, his eyes darker than they had been before.
Kate's comment had clearly stung, even if it had been a joke. It had been a poor joke, and shouldn't have been made at all in Bella's opinion. Having had to watch Alice and Bella interact all day was clearly hurting him, but Kate was just twisting the knife when she didn't have to.
She wasn't a very nice person, honestly.
"Then we can get started. Bella, we need to test your gifts. In the confrontation a few days ago, you showed us that you can, indeed, deliberately use at least one of them. Kate is going to help us with that."
Shit.
Bella really didn't like the sound of that, and neither did Alice, but at the determined look on Alice's face, Bella knew her girlfriend had seen it coming.
"You're going to electrocute me again, aren't you?" Bella deadpanned as Alice squeezed her hand tightly. She was not interested in a repeat of Kate's powers, and her whole body was tightening in a familiar fight or flight response.
"Afraid so," Kate gave her a somewhat false look of regret.
"Only if you agree, Bella. You don't have to do this if you don't want to. We know how much Kate's powers hurt. We can find another way to develop your gifts," Alice immediately rushed to assure her, and Bella sighed a huge, miserable sigh.
No, we can't. If we could have, we would have. They want to literally spark me into gaining control of my powers, Bella thought unhappily. Which I guess I have to admit has proven to be effective in the past…
There was a sharp bark from Leon that startled half the clearing and several of the wolves growled in response. Edward rushed to translate.
"Leon says you lied to them. You made it seem like Bella could use her gift on them whenever she wished," Edward informed them, listening intently to Leon's thoughts.
"In that state I probably could have. Does it really matter anymore? Are we really going to argue semantics right now?" Bella scoffed, seriously not in the mood to start that shit back up again.
Leon snorted, but after grumbling for a few moments at Edward, he seemed mollified.
Thankfully.
With that annoyance out of the way, Bella turned reluctantly back to Kate.
"Don't worry, Miss Swan. Unlike you, I have quite the control over my gift. It will only hurt as much as I will," Kate addressed her directly with that familiar spark of a challenge in her golden eyes.
Bella rubbed at the back of her neck and glanced around at her friends and family. The Cullens were all gathered closely around her, watching attentively. Leah lay close by, curled up next to Seth with her large, luminous yellow eyes glowing like fireflies in the gloom. When Bella looked into them, Leah gave a soft woof that seemed encouraging. It made Bella grin, just a little.
Around them the packs and nomads were finally beginning to wear down and cease their endless training. Many of the wolves lay around panting with lolling tongues but alert eyes while the nomads chatted idly, standing around but glancing over at them with interest.
Every supernatural being in this clearing could hear just about anything they wanted, so basically everyone bothering to eavesdrop knew what they were about to do and was extremely curious about it. At least working so closely with each other for such long periods of time had forced a modicum of peace about all of them, which Bella was grateful for, but she still half wished they'd go back to snarling and snapping at each other instead of staring at her like a specimen under a microscope.
Oh, fuck it. Who cared? She'd orgasmed in front of her whole school, aired out her dirty laundry to her father-in-law (hopefully), and had every single nomad hear that dirty laundry in the making.
So who cared if she made a fool of herself anymore? She was just going to have to get over it because her pride was no longer a luxury she could afford. If she didn't learn how to use these gifts, their chances against the Volturi dropped significantly.
If that meant she had to play with Kate's electrical fire again, so be it.
"Fine. Fine. But then I'm done for the day, okay? I'm no vampire. My stamina does run out eventually, you know," Bella consented warily and Kate's sneer was not reassuring in any way.
"It does? That's interesting," Carlisle commented with obvious curiosity.
"Carlisle," Alice huffed warningly.
"Not now, sweetheart," Esme patted his shoulder in consolation.
"We understand. You've done phenomenally today, Bella. With time you will become a formidable fighter. We can only hope the Volturi will give us that time," Jasper said politely.
Bella looked at him with sorrow in her heart. Again she wished desperately that things didn't have to be so broken between them as Alice looked at him with an affectionate appreciation that would probably never go away, even if it no longer rivaled her love for Bella.
He was a good person, really. He deserved so much better. Bella just didn't know how to make it up to him.
"The goal is to get to the point where you can do this at will, without even being provoked by imminent danger or pain. Anyway, let's get this going. If it all gets to be too much, just say so. Are you ready?" Jasper inquired and turned to face her with his shoulders back and arms loosely at his sides.
Not really, Bella thought.
"Let's get on with it," Kate called, her tone entirely too eager.
What a freaking sadist.
Bella scowled at her and glanced at Jasper, who just waved her on encouragingly.
Kate stuck out her hand for Bella to take, which Bella eyed as if she carried the Black Plague. She glanced at Alice for help, every bone she had screaming to do anything but take Kate's hand in her own.
"You don't have to do this, Bella. But you're strong enough to do it. You've proven that already. It's up to you, sweetheart," Alice said honestly, her face torn between compassion, concern, and faith.
Alice's belief in her was as uplifting as always. She softened the blow but never lied to Bella, always trusted that she could handle herself if she needed to. She would let her make her own decisions and offer her support either way.
And besides, no way was Bella going to bitch out in a clearing full of judgmental vampires and werewolves, was she?
Nope. No way.
"Alright. Do your thing, and I'll try to do mine," Bella sighed and before she could chicken out she clasped her hand with Kate's.
And so they began.