Gifts

Emmett darted to my side, a little dazed, followed by a very disturbed Rosalie, he was furious; I could tell by the way his hands were balled into stone fists.

"What did you just do, dog?!" Rose's sharp voice cut through the ten foot gap between the strangers and my family like a razor through flesh.

The blonde girls giggled once and the leader spoke with pride, "Your kind are not the only ones that can have gifts", he smiled and gestured for his pack to step forward. They stood in a straight line, each one facing us with evil eyes.

Edward straightened and spoke quickly and quietly, "I thought that the werewolf gifts were simply myths"

Jake stopped shaking long enough to spit out a whisper, "Yeah, all the myths seem to be true", he squeezed Renesmee's hand tighter and turned to Edward, "I say we take them, he can't stop us all".

"No", Edward tilted his head slightly, listening to the thoughts of the pack, "He can and he will", he turned his head to the leader, "Will you allow my daughter to return home?"

The young man's black hair swayed slightly in the breeze and he smirked, "I'm afraid I can't do that".

I snarled and crouched forward, "You don't have a choice!" I leant towards Jacob and Renesmee and spoke briskly through clenched teeth, "Jake, take her home, I'll shield you"

Jake nodded and started to tug Nessie back across the sand towards the jeep, I extended my shield around them, encasing them in a thick film that would save them from the smug wolf. It was easy for me to control my shield now and it seemed like second nature to simply extend it around the people I loved, but it seemed to be getting more and more difficult as I tried to shield Renesmee and Jake. I clenched my teeth and tightened my fists as I struggled to keep them safe; it felt as though someone was physically trying to rip the shield away from them, like there were prying fingers trying to tug at it; these werewolves were obviously stronger than anything we'd encountered, even Alec and Jane couldn't physically pull at my shield. I managed to keep it around them until they reached the jeep and then it sprung back to me, forcing me to my knees. Edward's arms were around my shoulders as I stood up on shaking legs and he spoke with terror in his voice, "Bella!"

"I'm fine", I shot a dagger stare at the wolves and prepared to rip them apart.

"I'm sorry", the black-haired wolf began to speak in his Texan drawl, "I haven't properly introduced myself. I am Adam and this-", he pointed behind his back with a thin thumb towards the red-head, "-is Leon." He gestured towards the blonde boy who was standing to his right, "This is Elliot and this-", he clasped one of the girl's hands in his own, "- this is Claire-"

"-Enough!" Jasper's interruption silenced the one named Adam and he looked at Jasper's face, stepping back slightly as he saw the battle scars left from previous battles.

Edward's voice tore through the atmosphere as he warned the foreign pack, "You will leave now and you won't come back. If I see you again I will kill you, all of you. Do you understand?"

Adam shrugged and stepped forward with his hand out, he wasn't actually expecting Edward to shake it was he? Edward also stepped forward and placed his marble hand in Adam's, he shook it once and I heard the snapping of bones as Edward squeezed it. Adam didn't even flinch. He stepped back to regain his place in his pack and then turned away from us, he wrapped a long arm around one of the blonde girls, I suspected it was Claire, and they walked briskly away, into the thick, dense forest.

"Are they going to come back?" Rose absentmindedly linked her arm through Emmett's as we walked at a human pace towards the parking lot where Jake's VW would be.

"I don't think so", Edward frowned as he spoke, "The Alpha, Adam, he wasn't thinking straight, their minds didn't seem to work the way everyone else's does. We should check with Alice when we get back". I was suddenly in a hurry to get back to the house, I needed to make sure Nessie and Jake were okay; I jogged towards the car and all but tore the door from the frame, breaking the lock as I climbed into the passenger seat. Edward climbed into the driver's side and gripped my hand in his, "Everything's going to be fine, Bella, you'll see". I smiled half-heartedly and stared out of the window as Emmett, Rose and Jasper drifted into the back seat. Edward spun out of the parking lot and drove furiously through the traffic, reaching home in less than six minutes; he was obviously as keen to see Renesmee as I was.

We pulled into the driveway and I was out of the car and into the house before the engine had stopped; I glanced anxiously through the front room, looking for the one face I needed to see. Carlisle was beside me in a second, his eyes immediately checking me for any injuries, "She's upstairs with Alice", he smiled gently and gestured towards Alice's room. I saw him turn towards Edward as he walked through the door and I could hear Edward explaining about the werewolves, calling them 'Children of the Moon', as I dashed up the staircase.

I almost knocked the door off of its hinges as I pushed it open; I was greeted by Jake's beaming smile, "Whoa there Bells, what did the door ever do to you?" I ignored his jibe and found Nessie's face; she was smiling just as much as Jake, although I could tell there was something bothering her deep down. I knelt down beside her and started to run my fingers through her bronze hair, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine Mom, Jake got us home safe and sound", she touched the back of my hand lightly and I saw her replay her journey home with Jacob, something in the memory remained with me as she took her hand away. Alice had been in it; she was standing at the window, staring out of it like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders, "Where's Alice?"

Renesmee sighed, "She's in your room"

I moved away from Nessie, allowing Jake to regain his position beside her, and I glided towards our room, pushing the door open more gently this time. Alice was still standing in the same position as she had been in the memory, staring out of the huge glass window.

"Alice?" she spun abruptly and smiled slightly when she saw my face, "Are you okay?"

"Mhmm", her eyes seemed to be glazing over and then refocusing again and again, "I'm so sorry Bella, I didn't see them", her lips pouted slightly and her dark brows knitted together. I drifted to her side and hugged her tiny frame, "Shh, shh, its okay, everything's fine"

"But I should have seen them earlier"

"It's not your fault you can't see them; it's amazing that you even saw them at all"

Jasper glided into the room then and moved to Alice's side, he embraced her tightly and she kissed the scar above his lips once, I began to turn to go out of the room when Alice gasped quietly. "What is it?" I needed to know if Renesmee was in danger again.

Alice's voice was a faint gasp, "They're coming back".

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