I know! Two stories updated in one day! I'm shocked, too!

No copyright infringement intended! I just like to play with the characters that SM gave us.

Enjoy!

Amanda POV

It had taken me three humans to satiate my thirst this time. I suppose using my gift like I have is really draining, but I had thought I could have made it a whole day before I had to feed again. Apparently not. This would be the last time I fed until after the fight was over. We only had a few more hours before we were to meet Vicky's army and I was ready to get this done. I wanted to spend time getting to know my mate and I wanted to see my babies again. On that note, I took a deep and unneeded breath to center myself and I followed my own scent trail back to the Cullen house.

I could hear Jasper barking orders on the Cullen lawn before I saw him and a part of me was rather proud that he was taking charge after being out of the game for so long. You can take the vampire out of the war, but you can't take the war out of the vampire, apparently. I took the time to lean against a tree and just watch him as he gave order after order and taught both wolf and vampire how to win against what we were facing. His directions were precise and his family didn't disappoint. They took his instruction without second-guessing or questioning him and it was probably the only thing they could have done in order to improve their flawed way of fighting.

I hadn't been watching long before I noticed that I was no longer alone. The Pack Alpha was watching me intently, but trying not to be obnoxious about it.

"What can I do for ya, Sam?" I drawled. For some reason, my accent always got thicker if I was angry or stressed.

"I was wondering if you could tell me more about yourself, Amanda." Sam replies.

"I'm guessin' you wanna know why we don't mind eachother so much, huh?" I ask.

"It's just strange to me." Sam replies. "Instinct dictates that my Pack kill every vampire in this yard except for you. I don't know why, but my instincts refuse to let me harm you."

"Well" I reply turning to face him, "my mother's family is Cherokee. My great-grandfather was full-blooded Cherokee, but something dramatic happened between him and his tribe and he left the tribe without so much as a 'goodbye'. I was never privy to what all went down, considering it happened well before I was even a thought, but I do know that whatever it was had a significant effect on my great-grandfather. He never spoke about it and married out of the tribe as soon as he could. He married a European woman, although I don't know what country she was from. He also requested that my grandfather marry anyone other than a Native American. My grandfather married a woman of English decent and he was happy about that. The same request was given to my mother and she agreed and married an Irishman. When I was of marrying age, my grandfather requested the same of me and considering I was young and naïve and "in love", I agreed and married an Italian that I later divorced."

"You never thought to question why your grandfather asked that of you?" Sam asked.

"Of course it did. I'm not a person that likes secrets. Not even in my own family. However, every time I tried to find more information, I was shot down." I shrugged.

"Do you know if your family's tribe had Spirit Warriors?" Sam asked.

"I'm not sure." I replied. "Like I said, every time I tried to find more information about that side of the family, I was shot down."

"After this is over," Sam replies, " I could help you get the information about your family that you want. If you would like, that is."

"Thanks, Sam. I just might take you up on the offer. Although at this point I don't see what good it would do. I'm not human anymore."

"Be that as it may, consider it payment for your assistance with Victoria's Army." Sam states matter-of-factly.

We watched Jasper and the wolves train a bit longer before Rose came out of the house and I had to leave Sam to tell her what her part in this whole thing would be.

We had to find some way of luring the Army where we wanted them to be. We couldn't use Bella's scent to our advantage because it had changed from when she was human, as all of our scents do. So, we had to go about this a different way. I was banking on Rose's perfect vampire memory and her willingness to put her new ability to the test.

"Rose!" I called as I ran toward her as she was standing on the porch.

"What's up, Amanda?" she asked as I came to stand in front of her.

"How do you feel about a little acting?" I asked raising an eyebrow at her.

"What do you need?" she asked.

"I need you and I to be the lure that gets the Army where we need them to be. Victoria doesn't know that Bella has been changed already and we want to keep it that way for the first few minutes of the fight. Her shield will be the ace in the hole for us because once she shields everyone, they won't be affected by what we're doing." I reply.

"And what exactly will we be doing?" Rose asks.

"We are going to set a trap for Victoria and her Army." I reply confidently.

"I believe you capable of doing that, but how?" Rose asks.

"Well, I'll sing a short, but effective song called "Come Little Children" from Hocus Pocus. It's only about a verse long, but it works for what we need. Then I'll need you to act a bit. When they're in hearing range I'll need you to mimic Bella's human voice and I'll mimic Edward's. We need to have an 'argument' about something and you need to storm off angrily within Victoria's hearing to give her the impression that she actually has a chance to get to Bella without being hindered. She'll think she's come at the perfect time, but…" I say grinning mischievously. "I just need to talk to the Major about how we're setting the trap before we get into the specifics of it, but that's the gist of what you and I will need to do."

"I'm in." Rose replies confidently. "Better still, I know exactly what 'fight' we need to have."

"Go on." I state.

"Bella wanted to be changed for Edward as soon as she realized what we were. Edward and I were the only two to veto this idea. Edward didn't want to be selfish and take Bella's soul away from her because he believed we're damned regardless. My reasoning was a bit more personal and we won't get into it right now, but I heard enough of the constant argument between those two to last me a lifetime. You may need to speak to Edward to get his replies right, but this was definitely a sore spot in their relationship before Emmett and Jasper changed her." Rose replies.

"That's perfect." I reply looking at my glorious mate in action as he takes on three of the wolves. "I'll be sure to speak to Edward about it. In the meantime, I think it's time to get in on the Major's training. Wouldn't you agree, sister?"

"Absolutely." Rose replies watching her mate take on two wolves and Carlisle.

We both run onto the training field to assist our mates in taking down their 'adversaries'. Rose attacks Carlisle with a beautifully executed football tackle and before Carlisle knows what hit him, she's back up and has turned around to watch her mate's back as the two wolves and Carlisle begin to circle the both of them.

I decide on a less direct approach. I can see that the Major has his adversaries under control, but Esme's trying to sneak up on his left side. I take that as my cue and climb the tree closest to me and hop the branches until I'm right over her. She has no idea I'm there and as she lunges for my Major, I drop right on top of her. She obviously wasn't expecting that because she goes down like a ton of bricks and my teeth are at her throat before she realizes it.

"Stop thinking in two dimensions." I tell her as I help her to her feet. "Your attackers could literally come from any direction and it's detrimental to you if you don't realize that."

"I'll keep that in mind." she replies.

"I had that, ya know." my Major tells me as he leans against a tree. The absolute picture of relaxation.

"Oh, I know." I say grinning, "That doesn't mean I can't improve on her knowledge."

"Let's see if I can improve on yours." he replies before moving quick as a viper strike to attack me.

Damn he's fast! I think to myself.

I mean, I figured he would test me sooner or later, so I had expected an attack from him and barely managed to dodge out of the way, but he came far too close to getting a hold of me. As he turns back around to face me, he's got a very sexy smirk in place that makes my girly parts all tingly. I know he can feel what he does to me, but I have to ignore the reaction my body is having to him and see if I can best him in a mock battle. I know my efforts are futile. He's the Major for God's sake, but that doesn't mean I'm not gonna give it my best shot.

He moves to an empty spot in the yard and waits for me. He stands across from me, seemingly relaxed, and just observes me. I pace back and forth in front of him, never taking my eyes off of him and never facing my body to him completely. I'm trying to make myself a smaller target and trying to show him that I have no weak spots. It's not true. I have a lot of weak spots, but he doesn't know that. Yet.

As I pace, I observe him and think about my options. If I go at him from the front, I have no chance of winning. Period. Only newborns who don't know any better attack that way. He'll be expecting that I'll try to distract him and attack him from the side, so I can't do that. That leaves behind, above, and below. Below wouldn't work because it would take too long to dig and it would give me away. Behind won't work either because his first rule is "Never turn your back on your enemy", so it would be impossible to get behind him. Which leaves me attacking from above. However, he just saw me attack Esme the same way. Which begs the question, would he expect me to attack the same way twice in a row? I don't think so. However, there aren't any trees I can climb where he's moved to, so I'll need to think quickly.

Once my mind is made up, I rush at him. I fake like I'm going to take out his legs, but when he moves into a low crouch I jump over his head, twist around, and manage to land on his back. He seems ready for me though, because before I get my teeth anywhere near his neck, he immediately rolls to try and dislodge me, but I manage another jump to my right as he's going down. He must have felt me jump off of him because instead of rolling like I expect him to, he pivots his body on one hand and is up facing me again before I have time to think about another attack.

He's on the offensive this time as he rushes me, but he feints to the left and like an idiot I fall for it. He hits me on my right side and we go tumbling onto the ground. I try to get my feet back under me, but he anticipates this and wraps his legs around my thighs so I can't move them. His arms are bracing mine to my side and I can't really do much with them. My Major is wrapped around me like a warm blanket, and although it's nice, I know I need to get out of this hold. I can't really do much, but I do have use of my arms below my elbows, so I'll have to make something work.

I think quickly and decide that, even if it is juvenile and perhaps a bit unfair, I need to try anything to get me out of this, so I twist one arm behind me and pinch the skin right under his left butt cheek. It's a sensitive area on anyone and I feel incredibly guilty about it, but I'll use whatever I can to get out of this hold. I'll apologize for it later.

The move pays off when, out of instinct, he growls lowly at me and moves his left leg to close off the sensitive area to my touch and that's just the opening I'm looking for. I growl back in response and I know that I'm in trouble, but I take the opening for what it is and use my now freed legs as an anchor. I dig my right leg into the dirt and use my left leg to pull both myself and my Major off the ground. It's not far, but once I drop the both of us onto his back, he loosens his hold on my arms and I grab both of his wrists as I twist away from him. I land above his head with both of his arms pinned under my hands, one knee in the dirt and the other balanced on my toes ready to spring if I need to.

As I go in for the kill shot, he pulls off a move I've only seen done in Jackie Chan movies. He kicks both legs out in a fan over his torso and manages to knock me free of his wrists with one leg and, using the momentum from the other, manages to get into a crouching position and charges me again before I even have the chance to get into a ready stance. He knocks me flat on my back. His body is pushing mine into the ground with both of his hands pinning mine above my head and his legs in-between mine giving me no leverage at all to work with. His eyes are ebony pools that hold lust and anger in equal measure and he's growling so lowly that I'm surprised the earth around us isn't shaking from the vibrations.

"I win." He states simply, placing his teeth on my neck and nipping just hard enough to be noticeable.

"You win, indeed, Major." I reply breathlessly and more than a little turned on.

"You've been taught well," he replies, "but using juvenile tricks will get you nowhere in the long run. I'm kinda pissed at ya for that."

"I expected you to be. I wanted to prove that I could get out of the hold, even if it was unconventional." I reply.

"You will pay for that later."

"I have no doubt about that, Major." I reply with a saucy wink. "I look forward to it."

His reply was only to growl at me some more and he was not impressed that I couldn't hold back a dark chuckle. I wasn't laughing at him. I was laughing at his response to me. He wanted to be pissed, but I could feel the evidence against my thigh that he was anything but. Good to know.

I raised my head up to capture his lips, but he pulled away from me, I'm guessing he was still pissed, but I wasn't having any of that. As he pulled away, I captured his bottom lip with my teeth and gave it a nip, the growling continued, but I wasn't worried. Instead I captured his lips in a kiss that got heated very quickly. As I felt the tip of his tongue touch my lips asking for entrance, I didn't hesitate to allow him in. He would always win the battle of dominance between us, but it's nice to know I can hold my own to a certain degree.

"Well, that was certainly a show I won't be forgetting anytime soon." Emmett said jovially.

It was at that point that I realized that everyone in the Cullen's yard had fallen in line watching us try to best one another, but this little mock battle had become quite the spectacle. Even the Pack seemed to be enjoying the show.

"It seems we'll have to put this on hold for the moment, Darlin'." The Major says begrudgingly as he stands and helps me to my feet.

I can't help but glare at Emmett, who doesn't look the least bit sorry about disturbing us, and get to my feet. "You know how long it's been? Far too." I state snarkily to Emmett as he just grins cheekily back at me.

However much my hormones want me to ignore each one of these nosy fuckers and strip my mate here and now, my Major is right. We'll have to put this on hold for the moment. We've got bigger concerns and I need to stay focused on the upcoming battle ahead.