A/N: Alright! So this is the fifth chapter. Whoo! And the winner for Draco's mate-age-ness is... Drum roll please...
Jacob! If I can find a way to bring the Volturi into this, then maybe Jake and Drake will end up being in a threesome with one of them. Or just a one sided thing for the Volturi guy. :)
As a side note, I am having so much fun with this fic. :D
Thicker Than Blood
The Fighter and the Shifters
Woah, what? Harry looked around the room silently, he didn't know who the thought came from, he knew it wasn't Alice, Emmett or Rosalie, it didn't sound the same. He formed a plan to discover who it was and smiled to himself slightly. 'Can you hear me?'
There was a soft, velvet 'Yes' but no one had moved to signify who it was, yet. Alice was in a discussion with Teddy about the colour of his hair and how he had gotten it to be the intense shade it was, Teddy saying he simply dyed it. Alice was then thinking if vampire hair could hold dye or not.
The voice was definitely male, so it left Carlisle or Edward. Carlisle was having a soft conversation with Esme about where Jasper was and his voice wasn't the same as the voice in his head so that left Edward.
'Edward?'
'Hayden.' Ah, so it was definitely Edward then. He slammed the shield back up abruptly and Edward's face grew frustrated before sliding into an indifferent mask. Mind reader. How many other talents did this coven hold, if any? The Cullens would probably freak if they found out that they were wizards, two of them were vampires, one read minds, one saw the future, one could change his appearance at will and they all could transform into animals. It was definitely more than the normal human, but when was Harry ever normal? Any of them really? Harry hoped that when they did find out it didn't entail being ripped apart and burned. Not something he was willing to do, once he had accepted his immortality he looked forward to it, to see what the world could be like in many years, hoping nothing happened to stop him from living that long.
"How do you do that?" Edward stood and was standing rather close to Harry, having cornered him to the wall, placing one hand on the wall beside his head, the other hanging down at his side.
"Do what?" Harry winced at the crack in his voice but Edward didn't seem to notice, or if he did he didn't speak on it.
"Block your thoughts?" The Cullens whipped their heads in their direction, remembering the last time Edward's power failed him, and it turned out absolutely miserably.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Harry ducked under Edward's arm and walked over backwards to where Draco was standing. The blonde turned to look at Harry then eyed Edward before putting his arm around the smaller males shoulders, causing Edward to pause his advance a second before stopping in front of the two of them.
"I could hear you, now I can't." Rosalie hissed his name in warning and Edward ignored it. Harry looked to Draco for a split second and they seemed to converse silently before the blonde gave a slight nod and looked at the vampire in front of them.
"I shielded my mind." No need to mention Occlumency yet, telling all their secrets in one go would be putting all the trust on the coven they just met.
"How?"
"Now that, I can not answer. Wouldn't want to give away all our secrets. Surely you understand, you've got secrets." Harry smiled smugly to himself at Edward's frustrated look while keeping his face passive, then raised an eyebrow when Edward hadn't moved.
There was a flurry of action, then. A quick streak outside, then the front door banging open. Alice's smile bloomed brightly, Draco's arm tightened imperceptibly and the last Cullen walked into the room. The first thing Harry noticed were his bright golden eyes, much brighter than any of the others, he'd just finished feeding. His curly honey blonde hair looked devilishly windswept. He looked at Harry, Draco, Luna and Teddy with a trained eye, assessing them to see if they'd be a danger or not before striding across the room to Alice's side and looked between Harry and Draco before the blonde dropped his arm from Harry's shoulders.
"Who's this?" His voice was like silk, soft and cautious.
"The Masens." His eyes flicked to Edward and the other vampire lifted one shoulder slightly before Alice continued. "Damian, Lexi, Hayden and Trevor." The four waved to the blonde who inclined his head in greeting. "Guys, this is Jasper Hale."
Teddy nodded, Luna smiled serenely, Draco smirked and Harry smiled softly, practically feeling Jasper's anxieties and nervousness about having four random people in his home, apparently human ones at that.
"Are you going to be going to Forks High when it starts next week?" Harry looked between Edward and Jasper, torn between who was the better looking of all of them and decided they were equal but for different reasons. Edward had a gentlemanly, boyish charm to him, while Jasper was more dangerous and rugged. The crescent shaped scars littering his exposed neck and forearms showed that he had been in some sort of fight and survived. The same might not be said for the person attached to the teeth that caused those scars.
"No, we've all graduated." Edward looked infinitely pleased to have graduated, for who knows how many a time and Harry whined and looked at Luna around Draco.
"All right I'm not going then."
"Hayden Reginald Masen!" Harry barely stifled the laughter that bubbled at his middle name she'd chosen abruptly, of all the names in the world, she had to choose Reginald? "You will be going. Just because you graduated back in England doesn't mean you've gotten off from graduating here. You need to take your senior year." Luna was uncharacteristically serious and Draco, Teddy and the Cullens were trying to keep their laughter in at Harry's middle name.
"But!"
"No buts!"
"I don't see why this can't wait a few years. We're going to get it eventually anyway." Harry muttered and dropped down on the unoccupied couch, crossing his arms over his chest and staring at the other couch darkly. "It's not fair, they're not going why should I have to? There won't be anyone interesting there and you know it." The Cullens were slightly confused now, wondering first off, why he was so intent on not going if none of the Cullens were going to school, and how he knew no one interesting would be there.
"You don't know for sure, Hayden! There might be tons of interesting kids at the school." Alice offered helpfully and Luna gave the pixie a grateful smile and Harry huffed like a five year old. Teddy moved over and patted Harry's shoulder and he turned his glare from the couch to the Metamorphmagus.
"I'll bite you." Teddy yanked his hand back and stuck his tongue out, leaving the Cullens utterly confused as why that would be a problem, it wasn't as if he were a vampire. He certainly did not smell like one. He didn't smell like anything at all really. It had been hard to notice at first since he had been around the others, but he seemed to have no scent at all. He was full of secrets and Edward would discover them, like finding the missing pieces of an almost completed puzzle. The others hadn't seen Edward act this strongly since returning from Volterra and his and Bella's breakup. He'd just been a brooding mess in the next years and barely talked to anyone, let alone strangers.
"No biting, you're boys not animals." The three boys shared a grin before starting to growl, snarl and snap their teeth like animals at Luna, advancing on her like a predator does it's prey before they lunged at her, bringing the four of them down to the floor in an all out tickle attack, shrieks and laughter bouncing through the room and the Cullens looked at each other in shock before looking back to the four.
"All right all right! You are animals, very manly and scary ones at that." Harry, Teddy and Draco struck manly poses before helping Luna up. She looked out the window and realized it was dark, looking at her wrist to see the time on her watch. "We should be heading home, it's past my bedtime!" Harry sighed and Draco nodded in agreement, Teddy yawning in sudden sleepiness.
The four walked around the room, giving each vampire their goodbyes before walking to the door. Teddy, Luna and Draco were already out and Harry grabbed the knob after him, pausing to glance at the Cullens just before clicking the door shut.
oOo
Jasper paced across his room, deep in thought. The arrival of the Masen's was a troubling thing. They were unknown, a possible threat, a risk. But most importantly, one of them spiked his curiosity in ways they shouldn't.
Hayden Masen. The green eyed, raven haired human who did not smell like anything. His emotions alone put Jasper on edge. With his siblings he seemed to be happy and content, but as soon as they turned away or he thought no one was looking, his feeling turned dark. Turned dangerous.
The last time Jasper had felt something like that, he had been a freshly turned vampire, and the one emanating the dangerous emotions had killed several people in cold blood.
Despite all the danger that Hayden could represent, Jasper could not deny his attraction to the er... human. The moment he had walked into the room, Jasper had been drawn to Hayden. He had tried to keep his gaze from the slender male, to keep Edward from his thoughts.
Edward. Jasper sighed. Edward was going to be a problem. He had felt the emotions running rampant in his coven brother. The annoyance at finding that he could not read the others mind, but more noticeably, the lust surrounding his brother that any idiot could feel. Yes. Edward was going to be a problem.
Pacing from his door to the balcony of his room, Jasper frowned. Hayden was a threat, but a very tempting one. Even if he decided that it was worth the risk to engage in some form of a relationship with Hayden, Edward would surely protest. He was not the type to stand by submissively as someone or something he was interested in was taken away from him. And no matter how interested in the young male Jasper was, he refused to turn against his family.
He froze, gazing out into the woods as he noticed a large wolf standing at the edge of the clearing. Narrowing his eyes, Jasper tensed. The wolf was large. Too large to be normal. Throwing his window open, he took a deep whiff of air and his frown deepened. It didn't smell like one of the wolves from La Push, but it's size still put him on edge. There was a rustling as the wolf slinked away back into the brush.
"I must be loosing it." Jasper muttered, resting his forehead against the window pane. To be suspecting a wolf...
Time to do what he always did in times of crises. To Alice's room he went.
Knocking on Alice's door, he let himself in and made his way through the piles of clothing and shoes strewn about. She had obviously been sorting through her wardrobe if the empty closets and drawers were any indication.
"Alice?" He tentatively peeked into her walk-in closet. The last time he had entered without announcing himself first, he had been nailed in the head with a shoe. Even if his skin was like rock, it had still been annoying. And hurtful since Alice had the power of seeing the future.
"Closet."
Alice had a closet in a closet. Jasper cocked his head, the mystery of females alluding him. He walked over to the closet in a closet and stared down at the small pixie like vampire who was sitting on a pile of shoes. She pouted up at him, clutching a broken Prada shoe.
"Your internal angst about whether or not to make a move on Hayden has nothing on my internal angst over breaking these shoes." Alice said, gazing forlornly down at the shoe held in her small hands. She reached down and brought out the mate to the shoe, her expression clearly stating that if she could cry, she would be.
Jasper sat down beside her, steering clear of the footwear mountain, and gently took the broken item from her. "Buy a new pair." He was not in the mood for a clothing moment. "And I am not suffering from any internal angst. Just... indecision."
Alice snorted. "Indecision. Jasper," she turned her full attention to him, expression bland. "I've seen every possible outcome to everything you have contemplated doing over the last hour. Indecision is an understatement." She giggled lightly, the sound tinkering through the air. "I especially liked the idea you had of just going over to the Masen house and throwing Hayden down an-"
"Alice." Jasper's strained tone cut her off. "Please." He did not want the rest of the family hearing that idea he had.
"Jasper," Alice grasped his chin lightly, twisting his face towards her, eyes twinkling. "The best possible advice I can give you is this: do what feels right."
"Very well." Jasper smiled slightly at her. Despite what the people of Forks thought, he and Alice were not an item. They were very close, of course, but it was purely platonic. Alice was the one he could trust with any secret, the one he could go to for help with any problem.
After a few minutes of comfortable silence, he got up. As he was about to exit Alice's closet, her broken shoe still in hand, she quietly said, "You might want to get used to sharing with Edward, though."
The sharp crack of Alice's Prada shoe being snapped in half echoed through the room.
oOo
Dawn. The beginning of a new day in the town of Forks. Another day on Hell on Earth for one Jacob Black. Dawn meant that it would soon be noon which meant that Bella Swan would soon be at his shop. If there was one thing Jacob hated, it was when Bella visited.
His relationship with her had started so promisingly. After coming back from Italy and rescuing that blood sucker, Bella had come running to his arms and Jacob had been happy. At the time he had thought Bella to be his possible Imprintee, but as the years passed and he got to know her more and more, Jacob quickly realized that it was not so.
After eight years of dating her, Jacob was ready to jump off the cliffs at La Push beach and not come back up for air. Or better yet, push Bella off and just not rescue her again.
He lay on his back in bed, peering up at the dream catcher gently swaying about him in the breeze coming though his open window. A few years ago, Jacob had moved out from his childhood home (Billy having practically kicked him out) and into a small one story house in the middle of the forests by the Rez. He liked it here. The area was secluded enough that he was never disturbed by passing traffic or partying teens. He was constantly surrounded by wild animals and there was a river running by his house which was great when he felt like just soaking in the moonlight. But best of all, Bella was too scared of the wild animals in the thick forested area to even contemplate approaching his home.
He grinned lazily, dragging a hand through his hair as he smoothly got up, cotton drawstring pyjama bottoms riding low on his hips. Absentmindedly shoving a hand into his pants and scratching himself, Jacob made his way into the small kitchen.
Switching the radio on, he hummed quietly along with the song playing as he made breakfast, the sizziling and popping of bacon soon sounding.
But all tranquil things must come to an end, and soon Jacob found himself driving into town and opening up his garage. It was a simple shop, small enough that he could run it by himself if need be, but everyone in Forks and it's surrounding areas came to him since he was known for being a great mechanic. His cheap prices helped as well.
Getting to work on Chief Swan's cop car, which was acting up and attempting to gas out it passengers, he quickly lost himself in the humdrum activities of the day. Around noon, he received a call from Bella, blissfully telling him that she was unable to visit as she had come down with the flu. When asked if he was going to visit her later on, Jacob quickly made up an excuse about the shop being full and needing extra hours. Hanging up the phone with a relieved sigh, he turned back to the car.
And promptly let out a small girlish shriek as he saw the figure standing by the car.
"Jesus, Jake. I knew you were girly, but that was ridiculous!" Seth Clearwater clutched at his ears, expression twisted. "If I didn't know better, I'd say that you switched bodies with Bella."
Jacob shuddered. "Urgh."
"Speaking of Bella, when are you going to break up with her?"
He ignored Seth and grabbed a bottle of water from the small fridge. It was a valid question though, he had been putting off the showdown that would occur if he did for over a month. Bella would shriek, he would wince, she would cry, he would sigh, and then Charlie and Billy would be dragged into it and all hell would break loose.
Taking the hint, Seth took a bite of a sandwich he had mysteriously procured. "There's a new family in town." He said, spewing bits of bread and sliced chicken everywhere. "Three guys and a girl. All siblings if the rumours are anything to go by."
Jacob grunted, head and shoulders deep in car parts. "Sam wanting to check them out?" Sam was a paranoid bastard, always thinking that anyone who was so much as passing through the town a vampire.
"Yeah." Seth sighed. "Said something about the fact that there are that many of them and none of them reportedly looks alike is suspicious. Thinks they are the new parent-less version of the Cullens." He chuckled at the thought.
"When does he want us to investigate them?" Jacob peered at the metal he held in his hands, completely covered in grease. His once white muscle shirt was streaked with black, his ripped up jeans covered with the stuff.
"Um," Seth turned his gaze from the open garage door to Jacob, a strange smile on his face. "Now would be good."
"What?" Jacob jerked up, slamming his head on the hood of the car. Rubbing the sore spot, he quickly grabbed a rag and tried to rub his hands clean as he followed Seth's look and noticed the three young adults approaching his shop. "Shit!"