A/N: So this kinda ends in a weird place, but it was getting too long and I had to break it up into two chapters. If I can get the final edits done on the next chapter today, I'll post it, but if not it'll for sure be up tomorrow.

I'm not getting the emails to reply to reviews, so I just want to say a quick thank you to everyone taking the time to leave feedback. I absolutely love hearing what y'all think:)

Fighting Styles

It had been a cloudy morning, as it often was in their corner of the Olympic Peninsula, and it was drizzling by the time Leah and Seth arrived at the baseball clearing in the afternoon. They stopped inside the tree line to phase back to human before joining Jasper, Alice, Emmett, and Rosalie.

Seth was shirtless in a pair of muddy and damp sweatpants, and Leah had on leggings and a t-shirt. Jasper noticed her setting a small bag on the ground and sent her his curiosity.

Leah smiled at the silent communication. "The guys have it pretty easy with just needing to tie some sweats to their ankles but I'm not so lucky. If I'm just patrolling, I stash some clothes near my house, but if I want to go human while I'm out I need more than is comfortable on my leg. Seth waited to phase so he could get the bag on me."

Jasper frowned a little at that. He hadn't given a whole lot of thought to the whole clothes issue, but Paul and Seth having sweats tied to their ankles meant they got wet and dirty from running around the forest, and Leah had to carry a whole outfit with her. Maybe he could do some brainstorming to come up with a solution.

"Hi," he smiled when Leah came over to give him a hug hello. "How was fishing?"

"The company was great but I didn't catch anything worth keeping," she shrugged. "Charlie did, though. I'm convinced the man is some kind of whisperer when it comes to marine life."

"How'd the council meeting go yesterday?" Alice asked.

"Pretty good, even though Sam's still being a pain in the ass," Seth answered. "Old Quil actually voted with my mom, but Sam was a firm no fucking way and Billy is still on the fence. My mom thinks Billy will vote with her after he has some time to see that Jasper's controlled and isn't going to go on a killing spree in the village."

Rosalie laughed and rolled her eyes. "Jasper's got more than enough control, especially when he's on his own without the rest of us around."

"I think Billy just needs to wrap his head around the fact that not all vamps are like the vamps in our legends," Leah explained. "Old Quil voting with her was a surprise, so my mom's hopeful Billy will get there eventually."

"What's Sam doing now that's a pain in the ass?" Jasper asked. "Carlisle said the elders have already forbidden him from interfering."

Leah scowled a little. "He can't Alpha-order us to not cross the treaty line or spend time with you, but he's got other ways of doing it. Paul was planning on coming here with us but Sam switched up the patrol schedule so Paul's on this afternoon instead of tonight. If we're still here in a few hours he'll come meet us."

"What a dick," Rosalie muttered.

"That reminds me that there's something about patrolling we want to talk to the three of you about," Jasper said.

"Can we please talk about that later and get this show on the road?" Emmett grumbled. "I'm pretty sure I was promised some sparring."

Jasper laughed and nodded, then turned back to Leah and Seth. "So y'all already saw Alice and I, but I'd like you both to see some of the most common offensive moves and how to defend against those. You can stay human to watch in case you have questions, and we can go at a slightly slower speed so you can really see what we're doing. Does that work?"

Leah and Seth nodded their agreement and plopped themselves on the ground.

"Emmett, since you're so impatient, I'll start with you. After that it'll be Rosalie's turn. The two of you have very different approaches to fighting, so I think it's worth showing the wolves both."

"I'm going to pretend that was more a compliment to my mate and less a dig at my fighting style," Emmett laughed and bounded into the middle of the clearing, and Rosalie and Alice sat down beside Leah and Seth.

"Emmett is pretty straightforward in his approach," Alice said quietly as they watched. "He mostly relies on brute strength and doesn't put as much thought into his moves."

Seth cringed a little when Jasper swept Emmett's feet out from under him and the behemoth hit the ground with a heavy thud.

"Did you see how he could've kept himself on his feet?" Rosalie asked. "He had time to dodge Jasper's leg but he wasn't paying close enough attention. And he could've kept himself from hitting the ground if he wanted to. He tends to see this as just a way to have fun vamp-style," she smiled.

Leah had seen Jasper fight before when he and Alice sparred, but she hadn't been aware of his history then. Knowing about his time in the south made her watch a little more carefully. "Is he holding back?" she asked after a minute.

Alice laughed quietly. "He is. He almost always does, actually. What you saw the other day was him just about giving it his all. He told you about Peter and Charlotte?" she asked.

Leah nodded with a smile. She obviously didn't know them at all, but she was grateful that they loved Jasper enough to risk returning to Maria's territory to help him escape.

"He asked them to help train me, so I've had the benefit of being taught by all three Whitlocks. We definitely fight differently because of how small I am - I tend to be stronger defensively - but I'm probably the closest in the family to his skill level, which means he doesn't really have to hold back," Alice explained, then smiled at her sister. "Rosalie is the one whose fighting style is closest to Jasper's."

Rosalie nodded. "I tend to fight more offensively like he does. I'm also slightly more ruthless than the rest of the family, so I'm not afraid to fight dirty," she laughed.

"How about the others?" Seth asked with a smile.

"Carlisle is strong on both offense and defense," Alice answered. "He's been around a long time and he spent about twenty years with the Volturi, which is where he learned. He was a solitary nomad for a few hundred years so he wanted to be able to defend himself if necessary. He's a pacifist, though, so if there's a way to avoid a fight, he'll go that route. Edward fights purely defensively. He relies on his gift to hear what his opponent's next move is going to be and then dodges or blocks."

"Esme is fierce," Rosalie added. "She's not necessarily a highly skilled fighter, but she fights fiercely. She didn't have much interest in learning when Jasper first joined us, but after we had a visit from his sire, she asked him to train her. This family means everything to her, and she didn't like knowing that she wouldn't have been able to defend us against someone like Maria."

"Maria found Jasper?" Leah asked in surprise.

Alice nodded. "She did. We were living in Calgary at the time and we had to move right after. Which was rude, because I really liked that house," she huffed. "There was plenty of room for all of us and the hunting was great. But while Maria is able to keep herself from outright breaking exposure laws, she's lived completely separate from humans for so long that she doesn't really know how to truly blend in. She didn't do anything that screamed 'vampire' specifically, but she definitely did some things in sight of other people that screamed 'not so human'. I personally think she acted a little bit out of spite because Jasper refused to return to Mexico with her. But regardless of why, we were forced to leave the area pretty quickly."

"And she didn't try to kill him for deserting her and her army the way he did?" Leah asked.

"Maria may be a skilled fighter, but she's nowhere near skilled enough to go up against a coven of seven on her own," Rosalie answered, scowling a little because she wouldn't have minded an excuse to do some damage to the bitch. "But she didn't actually come there to kill him, or even for a fight. Interestingly enough, she considers Jasper a friend. Or at least not an enemy. Which, as much as I loathe her, probably isn't a terrible thing. With how ruthless she is, having Maria as an enemy gunning for you would be a pain."

"Does Jasper consider her a friend?" Leah asked a little hesitantly.

"Hell no," Rosalie laughed. "He kept things polite when she found us, but that was less to do with how he views her and more to do with not wanting to give her an excuse to lash out at one of us. Jasper's protective, and he would've done anything at all to keep Maria's wrath from being aimed at us. Even be polite and civil to a woman who made his life a misery for seventy-five years."

"Anything except go back to the south," Alice corrected, then hesitated a second. "Although he probably would've gone if Maria had truly threatened us and meant it."

When Emmett hit the ground for the fourth time, Jasper sat down on his chest casual as you please, and Emmett just stayed down and started laughing.

Seth smiled as he watched them. "Is Emmett as happy as he seems?" he asked curiously.

"He sure is," Rosalie laughed. "He gets a lot of joy out of being a vampire."

"You about done?" Jasper asked Emmett. When he nodded, Jasper hopped up and then held his hand out to yank Emmett to his feet.

The two walked over to join the others, and Emmett dramatically threw himself on the ground in front of Rosalie. "He beat me up, babe," he pouted.

Rosalie smiled at her mate and leaned down to give him a kiss before hopping to her feet. "Let's go, Whitlock. I have to defend my man's honor."

Jasper laughed and rolled his eyes. "Come on, then. Let's show Leah and Seth what it looks like with a more calculating opponent."

Emmett growled playfully at him. "I know you didn't just insult me after I let you beat me so you wouldn't look bad in front of your girl, asshole."

"Is that what that was?" Jasper laughed. When Emmett nodded, he reached down and ruffled his hair. "Thanks, that was sweet of you."

Emmett nodded. "I know."

Jasper laughed again and looked at the two wolves. "Rosalie is strong offensively, but she's also really skilled at reacting purposefully if an opponent lands a hit. She almost always manages to stay on her feet, and if she does hit the ground, she's up so fast you'd miss it if you blinked."

Seth and Leah nodded, then they both smiled a little to see Emmett puff up with pride at Jasper's praise of his mate. Leah thought it was kinda adorable, and she appreciated that he wasn't the kind of guy who had to be all weirdly macho and not acknowledge that a woman might be better than he is at something.

"Holy shit, that was so damn cool," Leah laughed a few minutes later when Rosalie dodged a punch by ducking slightly and spinning sideways.

"She's incredible, right?" Emmett asked, still all puffed up with pride.

"She is. Think she'd teach me that trick?" Leah asked. "As a human, obviously," she added.

"Can you guys move that fast?" Emmett asked in surprise.

Seth nodded. "We're not as fast human as we are as wolves, and we're definitely not vamp-fast, but we're way faster than regular humans."

"Then I'm sure she'd be happy to show you how, Leah," Emmett nodded. "Rose knows there are better, stronger fighters than her out there, so while she trained hard and learned as much as she could, she also worked extra hard to find ways to minimize any damage or risk when facing a stronger opponent."

"See how she managed to keep that other foot underneath her, even when her knee hit the ground for that split second?" Alice pointed. "That's definitely one of her strengths. She knows if she hits the ground the way Emmett did, there's a higher possibility that she could be pinned and restrained."

Leah nodded a little distractedly, completely absorbed in the fight, as it was different from the ones with both Alice and Emmett. Alice and Jasper had been fast and brutal, but they'd also been having fun, smiling and laughing as they went. Emmett was clearly having a blast and was less thoughtful about his moves, which meant Jasper didn't have to really work all that hard to beat him. Leah could see that Rosalie wasn't as skilled as Jasper, so he didn't have to give it his all to try and beat her, but he was definitely more mentally focused with her. There was a little bit of smiling, especially from Jasper when Rosalie pulled off an especially tricky move, but there was none of the laughter she'd heard during the sparring with Alice or Emmett.

Leah wondered if there was something in Rosalie's past that made her so fiercely determined and made Jasper take training her so much more seriously. When she saw him pass up a second opportunity that it looked like he could've pinned her, Leah realized it was a deliberate choice, not a mistake like she thought the first time was.

"Why'd he ignore that opening?" Seth asked in confusion.

Alice and Emmett shared a quick glance. "Jasper won't win by pinning her to the ground," Emmett answered quietly, but left it at that.

When Seth opened his mouth to ask why, Leah nudged his shoulder and subtly shook her head. Seth wasn't stupid and he wasn't an insensitive asshole, so he just nodded and turned back to the fight.

"Hot damn!" Seth laughed when Rosalie did some kind of ninja move where she managed to kick Jasper in the chest but she was fast enough and spun in a way that he couldn't grab her foot. The force of the blow had him flying back about twenty feet and he hit the ground in a burst of bright laughter.

Rosalie laughed and launched herself at him, and Jasper stayed down so she could pin him and touch her teeth to his neck. It honestly looked more like a hug than a winning move in a vamp fight, but Emmett cheered loudly for Rosalie anyway. When Leah looked over, he and Alice both had proud smiles as they watched them. She knew Alice and Jasper were basically soulmates without the whole romantic love aspect, so she found it sweet that Alice was proud of her sister for winning against her bestie.

"That was quite a kick," Jasper said with his own proud smile as Rosalie reached down to help him to his feet. "I haven't seen you do that before."

"It was the first time I've tried it," Rosalie laughed. "Emmett asked me to watch 'Enter the Dragon' with him a couple months ago."

Emmett started cracking up. "Yes! I knew that looked familiar!"

"What's 'Enter the Dragon'?" Seth asked.

Emmett's head whipped around so fast it made Leah's neck hurt. "Are you fucking serious right now? Enter the Dragon? Arguably one of the best Bruce Lee movies of all time?"

Seth gave him a little bit of a weird look. "Who's Bruce Lee?"

Emmett's mouth fell open in shock and then he closed his eyes and fell backwards onto the grass like he'd fainted.

"It's a martial arts movie from the '70s," Rosalie laughed as she plopped herself down on her mate's stomach.

"They had movies way back then in the last century?" Leah teased, making all the vamps give her 'haha, you're so funny' looks.

Jasper sat down in front of her, leaning back on his hands as he eyed her with a calculating look. "I may not be able to make fun of your age, but as soon as I find something to use against you, watch out."

"The fact that I regularly explode into a wolf isn't enough material for you to pull from?" she asked in a dry ass voice, but her eyes were sparkling with happiness.

Seth had to blink a few times when his eyes threatened to well up. His big sister had been so unhappy for such a long time, so seeing her this full of happiness made his throat feel a little too tight. He knew Leah's imprint was an empath, and the man went up even higher in his estimation for not calling attention to his emotions. Which reminded him…

"How does your superpower work?" he asked Jasper after clearing his throat so he could actually get words out.

"His superpower? Like a superhero?" Alice laughed. "I love Jasper more than anyone in this life, but even I couldn't call him a superhero with a straight face."

"Hey!" Jasper pouted. "I could so be a superhero. Edward's still alive, isn't he?"

Rosalie started cackling. "Good point, that does take some super-powered restraint."

"That means we're all superheroes, then," Emmett laughed. "Which honestly, duh. I'm definitely hot enough and I have the body of a superhero. Maybe I've been playing this whole vamp gig wrong for eighty-five years. I should've been out trying to save the world."

Leah smiled at the behemoth. "I think I've still got the cape from my old Wonder Woman Halloween costume somewhere. I can look for it and bring it with me next time I come over."

"Yes!" Emmett cheered happily.

Jasper smiled at him, knowing Emmett would absolutely wear that cape and grin the whole time, then turned to Seth. "You really want to know about my gift?"

Seth nodded. "I know the basics, but I'm curious what it's like."

Jasper started by explaining that there were two aspects to his gift - reading emotions and influencing the emotions of others.

"We tend to just use the word empath, but he's really an empath with pathokinesis," Alice cut in. "Pathokinesis is the influencing aspect of his gift. It's generally the one we try to downplay, because that's the aspect that makes it so powerful."

Leah had an 'aha' moment at that. She remembered Alice had been annoyed that Bella told the pack about Jasper being able to control emotions, and she'd told Leah that she didn't like his gift being disclosed like that without his permission. She said Leah would understand why after Jasper shared his history with her. Leah now realized it was because he'd spent seventy-five years with a black-haired devil who knew she had the perfect weapon in her hands. Emmett had told Leah that Alice was just as protective of Jasper as he was of her, so it made sense that Alice didn't want people to know about his ability to manipulate emotions. She didn't want him to ever be used like that again.

"It's like the difference between a passive gift and an active one," Rosalie added. "Feeling emotions is automatic, he doesn't have to actually do anything for that to happen. Influencing emotions is an active decision, more of an offensive move. He has to choose to do it."

Jasper nodded. "Unless I'm projecting by accident, which is pretty rare these days, that's true. Gifts generally fall into one of two categories, defensive and offensive. Some, like mine and Alice's, have more than one way of using it. Alice gets visions without any effort, they just come to her, but she can also search for specific things. It's not a guarantee she'll see what she's looking for, but she does have the ability to look. Passive and active."

"So then Peter's is strictly passive?" Leah asked.

"It is," Jasper nodded with a smile. "Not that he considers himself gifted."

"What was it about patrolling that you wanted to talk to us about?" Seth asked.

Jasper took a minute to briefly outline what they'd talked about at the family meeting the night before, then asked if Leah and Seth wanted to come back to the house with them. "We can talk more comfortably and get out of the rain. And Esme should be there, and she can contribute to the discussion."

Leah looked at Seth, who nodded with a smile. Honestly, the kid was always smiling. It warmed Leah's heart a little that he was so good-natured and cheerful. He was definitely grieving their dad, as were Leah and Sue, but even through that, Seth managed to find joy in the world.

"We'll have to go as wolves," Leah said after she saw that Seth agreed.

"Want me to carry your bag back for you after you phase?" Jasper asked. "If there's room, you can tuck your sweats in there, Seth. That way they won't get any dirtier."

Both wolves said yes and thanked him. Having the bag strapped to Leah was a pain in the ass, and no one liked putting on wet or dirty clothes. Leah and her brother headed into the trees, where they each found a semi-private spot to strip down and phase.

Once they stepped back into the clearing, Jasper went and folded their clothes and tucked them into the bag. "Ready?" he asked. "Wanna race?"

Jasper had barely gotten the words out when Leah took off like a shot. He shook his head with a laugh and followed his mate home.

Just as they reached the Cullen house, Rosalie told Leah and Seth to wait a minute to phase, then ran inside. She came back out with some clothes that she went and set on a dry branch in the trees to the side of the house where there were fewer windows.

Jasper smiled at her and sent her his gratitude for such a thoughtful gesture. Now they didn't have to sit in damp clothes with Seth half-naked. Jasper was definitely going to have to brainstorm solutions to make life a little bit more comfortable for his mate.

Leah and Seth walked out of the trees dressed in flannel pajama pants and hoodies, which is what Rosalie and Emmett favored when they were lounging around the house. Jasper thought Leah looked cute as hell all warm and cozy in the comfies that were slightly too big on her. When they walked up the front porch steps Rosalie handed them a towel so they could wipe off their feet and then gave them both a pair of thick socks.

"I know Emmett's pants are a little long for you, Seth, but this is what I put in the wash this morning. Since they're fresh out of the dryer, I thought it might minimize the vamp smell."

"They're perfect, thank you," Seth said with a dimpled grin as he folded the waist a couple times.

Leah gave Rosalie a soft smile. "Thank you," she said, then looked up at Jasper as she took his hand and they walked inside. "Do hugs feel like anything?"

Jasper gave her a little bit of a weird look. "Yeah, they feel great. If you don't already know that, I'm doing something wrong."

"No," Leah laughed. "I mean is there an emotion, or a few emotions, that sort of represent a hug? Or what a hug feels like?"

Jasper smiled and nodded. "It's slightly different for everyone, of course, but there's a similarity with the kind of hug it is, or what the relationship between the two people is - like with a parent and child, or between siblings, friends, or a romantic partner."

Leah looked at Rosalie. "I don't want to make you uncomfortable, so do you mind if Jasper gives you a virtual hug from me?" she asked a little nervously.

Rosalie laughed and nodded, a little bit touched that Leah had picked up on the fact that a hug would make her uneasy. "Of course. Jasper gives great hugs, real or virtual."

Jasper smiled and slowly sent Rose the gratitude and warm affection Leah was feeling, and Rosalie tipped her head in the wolf's direction and silently asked him to send Leah her own feelings of gratitude and affection.

"Oh! That was really nice," Leah laughed when she realized what she was feeling. "It really is like a hug but with the benefit of not having anyone smothering you. If you meet my mom, I should have you memorize the emotional signature of her mom-hugs so I can have one whenever I want."

Jasper gently tugged on Leah's hand and got them settled on the loveseat with Leah tucked against his side and his arm around her shoulders. "I might be able to do that without needing to meet her."

Leah gasped quietly when she was surrounded in gentle emotions from the top of her head all the way down to her toes. She felt warm and safe and loved. "How'd you know that?" she asked him wide-eyed when the emotions faded.

"That was what Esme's hugs feel like," Jasper answered with a smile. "I've found that mom-hugs are remarkably similar the world over."

"And dad-hugs?" Seth asked quietly, a little bit of sadness bleeding into his emotional palette.

Jasper had to think on it a moment, because Carlisle wasn't paternal in quite the same way Esme was maternal. His hugs were definitely warm, but there was still a slight difference. He thought back to the emotions Charlie and Leah were feeling the day before when he hugged her goodbye, and combined those with what Carlisle's hugs felt like.

Seth and Leah both sucked in a sharp breath when they felt what Jasper was sending them, and then tears sprung to both their eyes. It wasn't exactly the same, but it was still pretty close to what it felt like to be hugged by their dad. Leah sorely missed the feeling of comfort and safety she got when her dad wrapped his arms around her.

Leah discreetly wiped her eyes and cleared her throat. "Thank you," she whispered, and Seth quietly added his thanks as well.

Jasper just nodded and dropped a kiss on the top of Leah's head, then moved the conversation on when he felt her get a little embarrassed seeing Rosalie, Emmett, and Alice watching her and her brother with sad eyes. "So. Patrolling. Thoughts?" he asked.

Before either wolf could respond, the phone Leah had tucked into her bag chimed with a text. "Oh damn," she cursed as she pulled it out. "I forgot to tell Paul when we left the clearing."

Where you at?

"Didn't you talk to him with that wolf telepathy while we were running here?" Alice asked.

The Cullen's. Do you know how to get here?

Leah looked up from her phone after replying. "No, he was already off patrol," she answered. "Since he's texting, I'm guessing he went home to grab some clothes."

"Can he just drive here instead of coming as a wolf?" Jasper asked. "Assuming y'all want him to join the conversation," he quickly added.

Leah nodded and texted Paul the address, explaining exactly how to find the turn into the driveway that was slightly hidden, then set her phone aside. "It'll be about twenty minutes."

Esme walked in the living room carrying a plate and gave them all a warm smile. "It's lovely to see you both again," she said to Leah and Seth. "I made some brownies I was planning to drop off at the police station, but you're welcome to raid the plate before I do."

Seth immediately hopped off the couch with a grin and made a beeline for Esme. "Thank you."

"Maybe take a couple to give Paul when he arrives, too," Esme suggested.

Seth grabbed six brownies off the plate, then handed two to Leah and set aside two on a napkin on the coffee table for their fellow wolf. "Sorry, is that too many?" he asked sheepishly.

Esme shook her head with a smile. "No, I made a double batch so there are more in the kitchen. I'm glad I went with brownies instead of cookies. I hear your mom's are famous and I'd hate to invite comparisons," she laughed.

"They are pretty amazing. She's even won awards," Seth said around a mouthful of food, making Leah scold him a little and remind him to use his manners. Seth covered his mouth and swallowed. "Sorry," he laughed. "She's mastered cookies but always ends up burning brownies. These are way better, but please never tell her I said that."

Esme gave him a beaming smile. "Thank you for the compliment, and I promise to keep your secret safe."

Jasper rolled his eyes with a sigh when he simultaneously heard Bella's truck coming up the drive and Edward walking downstairs. The telepath had been in his bedroom when they got to the house and Jasper had been purposefully ignoring his volatile emotions

He sent Leah a little bit of caution and then quickly darted his eyes to the stairs so she knew what he was warning her about. The two had already done some talking about Edward's hostility towards the wolves, so Leah gave him a small nod in understanding. She'd told her brother about the tricks the Cullens used to keep Edward from hearing their thoughts, so Leah caught Seth's eye and discreetly tipped her head towards the stairs. Because they'd mastered communicating silently ever since Seth was old enough to communicate, he also nodded his understanding.

Alice was keenly aware of the tension that had settled over the room, so she asked Leah about her and Charlie's fishing trip in the hopes of keeping the mood light and the conversation away from anything to do with the supernatural world and the potential alliance between her family and the three wolves.

As they quietly chatted, Jasper mentally cautioned Edward to watch how he behaved and what he said. Feeling the telepath's anger and spite in response, he gritted his teeth in annoyance. If Edward thought he'd get away with treating Leah or Seth with the disdain and resentment he felt, he was in for a rude awakening. Not only would Jasper - and most likely his siblings - defend them, but there wasn't a chance in hell that Esme would allow guests in her home to be treated poorly.

As Edward reached the bottom of the staircase, they kept up the lighthearted conversation, but everyone braced themselves a little for whatever negativity the telepath would surely bring to the room.