Chapter Twenty-Three

Jasper's POV

Tonight was the big night. This morning, my Alice predicted that Nick would return around seven and when Annie confirmed it, that was all it took my mate to decide that we were having the biggest homecoming party of all time. Seriously, this was the biggest event Alice had planned in a long time. I don't even think Max and Nessie's double wedding was this huge.

All of the Cullens were getting the Main House ready since the wolves and their imprints were already in La Push getting ready for the bonfire that would occur not long before Nick's party started.

"Alice, where did you want me to hang this banner?" Rosalie asked from in the kitchen. My wife was upstairs finishing the last couple of details up there but I knew she heard her.

I was sitting on the couch with the other men since we were apparently incapable of helping. Rose was handling decorations, Esme was cooking food for the experiments that came back with Nick and for later when the wolves arrived, and Bella was making cupcake after cupcake for everyone. And my Alice? Well, she was doing pretty much everything else. I swear I hadn't seen her move that fast since the Volturi Battle.

"The green one goes in the kitchen and the red one goes in the living room." Alice said lightly from upstairs.

In a flash, Rosalie was in and out of the living room, having hung up the red banner in a matter of miliseconds. Though we could all see her, it was still entertaining to think of what the humans would think if they had seen it. A banner appearing out of nowhere, neatly hung on the wall at fifteen feet up? That would surely scare some, if not all, of them.

Emmett let out a complimenting whistle for his own mate and waited for the childish giggle I knew was going to follow. The two of them were the easiest to predict, though Esme and Carlisle weren't far behind. Edward and Bella were the only ones who weren't predictable yet, but that was only because Bella was crazy.

Hey, watch it. That's my wife you are talking about. Edward sent to me in my mind and I had to silently curse Angel for teaching him how to expand his mind powers. Now not only did I have him snooping in my head, I also had to hear his sarcastic, defensive comments all the time.

Edward's lips turned upwards in a smirk so I knew that he knew I was only teasing.

Max came downstairs at a quarter to six and asked if we could keep an eye out for Esperanza and Alejandro upstairs. She had been watching Hope sleep for the past hour, but Emma only recently took Alex upstairs. The two kids slept all the time, Hope more than Alex (this was her fourth nap today and only his first), but it was only natural.

It reminded me of when Nessie was little and lived with us. Though we have the Flock and their children living here now, its not the same. Having Collin and his children here was what really changed things in our house.

Though I have to hunt more often since Hope is here, I wouldn't change it. It kind of makes me sad that Esme said yesterday that the new wing of the Crew Headquarters is almost done so the Flock will be moving out, taking Collin's children with them since he's in no place to care for them in the depression he's in over his dead imprint.

When Max left for the bonfire, I was shocked at who walked in the front door after her less than dramatic exit.

"What are you doing back so soon?" Carlisle asked Emma like the good grandfather he was.

(Edward and he shared the title since they were all too young and the "great-grandfather" was too lengthy. Carlisle was "Granddad," Edward was "Gramps," Bella was "Grammy," and Esme was "Grandma" to the Black children still young enough to call them that.)

"I, uh, just had to tell Mom about Nick's return 'cause her cell was off." Emma said breathlessly.

Edward smirked knowingly and signalled for me to read her emotions. I had been able to block out those that I didn't want to feel all the time my whole vampire existence, but it had always been hard when it came to humans. Since Emma was only half, I could block her out as well as I was blocking out the other vampires in the room right now.

Her emotions were all over the place. She was lustful and excited and nervous and scared and everything else you could think of. Ah, young love.

"Where's Alex?" Emma asked after she checked the kitchen and made small talk with her grandmothers. When she didn't find her favorite puppy wolf, she headed back into the living room.

"Max put him to bed when you left." Emmett said, "That kid sure has a set of lungs on him."

"Okay, I'll go watch them for a little bit." Emma said, smiling at the uncle she was named after. She automatically included Hope in her sentence because there was always a 75% chance that the toddler was sleeping.

"How did we end up with such a responsible girl?" Carlisle asked once the teenager was upstairs and out of hearing range.

"Just look at who her mother is." Emmett said with a laugh. "Nessie couldn't have been any more responsible as a kid, always taking care of everyone and stuff."

We continued to banter until Emma came back downstairs with a wide awake toddler. Alex ran ahead of her and was out in the backyard before any of us could catch him. The kid was fast, maybe even faster than Leah, and had an endless amount of energy. He seemed to be more wolf than human in that sense.

"I'm gonna play in the backyard and wait for Nick." Emma said with a grin and followed Alejandro outside.

"You're not worried about her crush?" I asked Edward, not feeling any unease from him.

"Why should I be? He knows that she's too young for him and wouldn't do anything." Edward answered.

"You do realize that she's full grown now, right?" Emmett said with a wink. "All bets are off if the boy returns her feelings."

"I hadn't thought about that." Edward said, clearing his throat. "No matter, though, he won't go near her."

"What can make you so certain?" Carlisle asked curiously.

"Because she has a vampire grandfather that won't let her have any fun." Bella answered for her husband as she joined us in the living room.

The other girls were soon to follow and within seconds they were all seated either on their mate's laps or on the floor. Alice was resting her head against my legs and I smiled when I felt the coldness of her neck.

"I just don't want her to grow up too fast." Edward said stubbornly.

"Sounds familiar." Rosalie said with an eye roll. "You tried to do this to Nessie too."

"If she were imprinted on, would it make a difference?" Alice asked, already knowing the answer.

"Of course." Edward said instantly. "Then I wouldn't have to worry."

Everyone laughed at that, but there was an awkwardness to his honest truth.

"Is everything ready for the party?" I asked, knowing that my Alice was excited to talk about her big spectacle.

"Yes! We finished just in time. Nick will be here within minutes according to my last vision." Alice said and began to happily tell me of the tiny details of her meticulous planning.

Like always, Alice's eyes lit up when her vision was supposed to come true and we all stared at the front door, waiting for Nick's arrival.

I heard the backdoor slam and turned to see Emma scurry up the stairs with Alejandro in her arms. Her emotions were just as confused as earlier but now there was rejection and embarrassment added to the mix.

"I'm going to kill that boy." Edward growled as we all went to the porch to welcome Nick and the other new experiments.