A/N: I apologize that I'm updating so irregularly. It was probably a little stupid to start a new story when life was as chaotic as it is, but I've been soooo excited to write this. So while I'm not updating every day, or every other day, I am posting as fast as I can. I debated taking a couple weeks to stockpile some chapters but that would just mean y'all had to wait even longer. So I know I said I'd post every other day, but it'll probably be twice a week for the foreseeable future. Thank you for being patient, especially those of you who've been with me since Fate Unfolding and are used to daily updates.

I'm grateful for each and every one of you:)

A Few Pesky Thorns

Just as Jasper was contemplating the meaning of family and finding himself grateful that he and Leah had a whole huge crew of people they considered family who would fight in their corner, he heard the sound of approaching feet.

Okay, so maybe not all the Cullens, Jasper amended in his thoughts. He wasn't at all confident that Edward would fight in his or Leah's corner.

Emmett and Alice hauled themselves to their feet, brushing the dirt and grass from their clothes as they rejoined the family where they were sitting. Edward ran into view a moment later and slowed down to a walk. Jasper wasn't sure what everyone else was thinking that Edward was hearing, but he smiled a little at the telepath's emotions. He knew the family wasn't all that pleased with him.

When Edward shot him a quick glare, Jasper just shrugged, not feeling at all badly about it. Edward had been making all their lives a little miserable lately and it was irritating.

Edward's eyes snapped to Carlisle and he tried to look ashamed, but it honestly wasn't all that convincing. They'd all known Edward for far, far too long to not see his expression wasn't a genuine reflection of his feelings. "I'm sorry," he said, looking between Carlisle and Esme.

"Bullshit," Rosalie scoffed. "You chose to go protect Bella, there's no reason to lie about being apologetic for it."

"Can you blame me?" Edward snapped.

"For which part? Going to protect your human instead of trying to catch the person hell bent on revenge against her and this family, or for pretending to be ashamed about the choice you made?" Rosalie asked.

"I don't… Wait, what was that?" Edward asked as he turned away from Rose and looked at Alice, who sighed in exasperation. Before she could answer him, he looked at Carlisle in disbelief. "You amended the treaty?"

"Why the hell does that bother you?" Jasper growled in annoyance at Edward's emotions. "It doesn't impact your life in any way. You may not like Leah, but that doesn't mean she's not worthy of protection. Regardless of how I feel about your mate, I'd still protect her without a moment's hesitation if she needed it. And no one's even asking you to come to Leah's defense, Carlisle just made it so she's safe regardless of what side of the line she's on."

Edward opened his mouth to argue, but Esme held up her hand to stop him. "Do you want to continue pulling snippets of conversations from our thoughts or would you like to hear what happened after you disregarded your punishment by jumping out your bedroom window?" she asked him. "I've overlooked the fact that you're speaking when you haven't been asked a direct question, but I'm happy to reinstate your punishment now rather than after this conversation."

Edward was annoyed at being scolded but he stayed quiet and sat down, then listened as his family relayed everything that happened after he'd left to go to his mate's house. He was dismayed that Victoria had gotten away and was highly irritated at Sam for his lack of action.

"If we're in this situation again, can we come up with a different plan to protect Bella so you can be there to listen to Victoria's thought?" Jasper asked Edward once he was caught up. "If we want to find a way to work around her gift, we need to know how it works."

"Absolutely not," Edward answered immediately, shaking his head. "I'm not putting my mate's safety in anyone else's hands when I'm the one who can protect her the best."

Jasper bit back his laughter, but Alice, Emmett, and Rosalie didn't bother. Alice in particular found that statement amusing.

"You can't be serious," she laughed. "Forget for a moment that there are members of this family you've never been able to win against, just in the last year you've almost lost two fights, one of which very nearly cost you your head. James was tossing you around like a rag doll in the ballet studio when we showed up and Felix was seconds away from taking your head off in Volterra. If you remember, it was Bella who saved you that day. You're sitting here today because she intervened, not because of your fighting prowess."

Edward scowled at her but he couldn't really counter her argument. He wasn't winning against James and he certainly wasn't winning against Felix. The Volturi muscle had his head in an iron grip and had already started twisting when Bella shouted for him to stop, to kill her instead. Aro's disbelief that a human would offer her life in exchange for Edward's was the only thing that saved him that day.

"Edward, you're well aware that any member of this family is perfectly capable of keeping Bella safe," Carlisle said gently. When he saw Edward glare at Alice and Jasper, his voice hardened a little. "Phoenix was not their fault, so don't pretend it was just to avoid acknowledging that it was Bella's actions that led to James hurting her. She questioned Alice about her gift in order to work around her visions and then disappeared into the women's bathroom where Jasper couldn't follow her. Bella chose to go meet James alone. Alice and Jasper are not at fault. They, along with Emmett, are the ones who killed James so I'd caution you to remember that when you're attempting to shift the blame for Bella being hurt onto them."

Edward scowled again, but again he couldn't argue. He didn't particularly like anyone pointing out his mate's flaws, but Carlisle wasn't wrong about what happened in Phoenix. The reminder that Bella had a tendency to make bad and naive decisions, however, only made him that much more determined to protect her.

"Bella could always ask one of the wolves to act as a bodyguard if we have another shot at Victoria," Rosalie said with an innocent smile. "I'm sure Jacob Black would jump at the chance to protect your human."

The telepath's response to that - indignation, jealousy, and a low growl - wasn't a surprise to Jasper, but there was something else in his emotions that he was confused about. "Does Bella know what happened today? That you showed up at her house because Victoria was nearby?" he asked.

"Of course not," Edward snapped. "And I expect it to stay that way. The only thing that would come from telling her is her being scared and worried about our safety. And as Carlisle has already so kindly pointed out, she makes bad decisions when she thinks other people are in danger because of her."

"Then perhaps you're not doing a good enough job of making sure she understands that we're not in any danger," Rosalie snapped. "If she'd been doing anything that day in the clearing but staring at you adoringly, laughing about another boy licking her face, and being disappointed he hadn't imprinted on her, maybe she would have seen for herself that we're all capable of taking care of ourselves."

"Rose," Esme said, the warning clear in her voice.

Rosalie huffed in annoyance but then nodded contritely. "Sorry," she apologized.

"And Edward, I don't understand why we have to keep having the same conversation with you over and over again," Esme said in exasperation. "Not only do you continue to treat members of this family disrespectfully, but you are treating your mate with the same disregard. Lying to her and keeping information from her are not exactly the hallmarks of a healthy relationship."

Edward tried not to scowl or show his irritation. None of them could understand what it was like to have a human mate. It was completely different from having an other half who was a vampire or a shapeshifting, supernatural wolf. Bella was delicate and breakable and very, very mortal. There were so many things that could hurt her or, god forbid, kill her and all he cared about was keeping her safe and protected. If that meant he kept information from her to keep her from making reckless and stupid choices, so be it.

Jasper sighed and rolled his eyes at the telepath's emotions. He kept quiet, though. Edward's relationship with Bella wasn't his business, and even if it was, he honestly wasn't sure he cared enough to try and get Edward to see the error of his ways. Bella's role in their relationship was just as dysfunctional and unhealthy as Edward's, only in different ways, so trying to get Edward to do things differently wouldn't make much of a difference without Bella changing her ways also. They were both immature and stubborn to the extreme and Jasper had more important things to deal with at the moment.

Maybe that made him an asshole, but he didn't have the patience for either of them.

"Look, what you do with Bella is your own business," Jasper sighed. "All I care about is having every advantage possible when it comes to dealing with Victoria, which means we need to know how her gift works. I don't care how you go about protecting Bella or what you tell her, but the next time we have a shot at Victoria, we really need you to be close enough to her to hear her thoughts."

Edward opened his mouth to argue but Carlisle held up his hand to stop him. "Edward, if Bella's safety truly is the most important thing to you, then eliminating Victoria should be your highest priority. She has been evading the wolves for months now, and we need every advantage available to us. If it helps ease your mind, you and I can sit down and come up with a plan to ensure Bella is protected, but right now you are the one who can get us the information we need."

Edward clenched his jaw to keep himself from lashing out at Carlisle. He could talk all he wanted but Edward would be protecting Bella himself, even if that meant his family had to try and catch Victoria without him.

Jasper growled at Edward in frustration at his emotions and stood up. "You aren't the most important person in this family, Edward, and it's getting really fucking old having to remind you of that. We're in this goddamn mess because of you. I told you we needed to take care of Victoria last year and you decided your gift was all-powerful and insisted she wasn't a threat because you heard some of her thoughts before James was killed, when she still thought her mate was invincible. And so here we are now with a vengeful vampire stalking our territory because your arrogance doesn't fucking match your abilities. Pull your goddamn shit together and use that 'all-powerful' gift of yours to help us eliminate the threat to this family and your mate."

Seething in rage at being talked to like that, Edward sprung up and lunged for Jasper, but before he could even get a hand on him, Jasper had him face down in the grass with his arms pulled behind him and his knee in his back.

"Watch your goddamn temper," Jasper growled. "I'll take your fucking hands off before I let you lay them on me or any other member of this family. This is the only warning you'll get."

Jasper shoved the back of his head so the telepath got a mouthful of dirt and then looked at Carlisle and Esme as he let him go. "I'd say I'm sorry but I'm not. I'm getting awfully tired of having to constantly worry about his rage in this house."

Without waiting for a reply, he took off into the trees. He needed to get away from Edward before he inflicted more permanent damage. Peter always said he endless wells of patience inside him, but when it came to the telepath, Jasper's patience was just about used up.

Just as he was running out of hearing range, he caught the telltale metallic screeching of vampire skin tearing apart and Alice's pissed off voice.

"Jasper might be nice enough to give you a warning, but I'm not," she hissed. "Be grateful I'm only taking your hand off, because next time you try to attack him like that, I'll burn it before anyone has a chance to stop me."

Sue Clearwater walked to Billy Black's house with a frown on her face. She'd just heard from Leah, Seth, and Paul everything that happened that day and it would be an understatement to say she was dismayed and disappointed. She'd already had plans to meet with Billy and Old Quil about the wolves patrolling in the Cullen's territory and Jacob's recent troubling behavior, but those no longer seemed as important to Sue as they had just that morning. Sam's actions over the previous few hours were extremely worrisome.

Sue had decided to take everything she'd learned to the elders first to get them up to speed, then they'd call a meeting of the whole pack. When the council had matters to address about the protectors, they generally only spoke with Sam. Being the acting Alpha, he was a member of the council. This time, however, Sue wanted to hear from all the wolves. She didn't at all trust that Sam wouldn't edit events when he relayed them, and she also thought it was worth getting input from the other wolves about how they should move forward from here.

Billy opened the door just as she was raising her hand to knock. He had a smile on his face, but it quickly disappeared when he saw the severity of her expression. "Come on in, Quil's already here."

Sue nodded and followed Billy into the living room. She sat beside Old Quil on the couch and Billy positioned his wheelchair so he was facing them, and the two men waited patiently in silence as Sue organized her thoughts.

"Do either of you know anything about what happened a little while ago?" she asked.

Quil and Billy both shook their heads. "I heard Sam's call to the pack but Jacob hasn't returned home yet," Billy answered.

Sue nodded with a little sigh. "Alright. Before I tell you that, I think it's worth going over one part of my initial reason for calling this meeting - the ability of certain wolves to patrol Forks and the broader Cullen territory. I know you and Carlisle Cullen briefly spoke about it, Billy, but the Cullens have now talked about it among themselves, and then they spoke to Leah, Seth, and Paul about it as well."

After she explained where the Cullens stood on that, she added the additional piece of information she'd just learned.

"Their refusal to allow all the protectors into their territory in their wolf forms is due to the extreme hostility of Sam and Jacob. They are the only other members of the pack any of the Cullens have met, and they don't know if the other wolves are equally hostile. Even with Jacob's hatred of them, they're still willing to allow him to patrol near the Swan house as long as he's not roaming freely and is accompanied by one of the vampires when he crosses the treaty line," she explained. "The Cullens were open to eventually allowing other wolves the same access, but only after they meet the rest of the pack to get a read on them. Unfortunately, because of what transpired earlier, they're rethinking that offer."

"How would they get a read on the other wolves?" Quil asked. "Just meeting them wouldn't necessarily give them reassurance that the rest of the pack isn't as hostile as Sam and Jake."

Sue took a moment to think over how to answer that. Leah had explained Jasper's gift, but she'd also explained why he didn't freely offer information about how it worked.

"I'll preface my answer to that by telling you that Leah's imprint is very much the protector of their family. His history isn't mine to share, but I can tell you that some parts of his past have led him to take the safety and security of his family seriously. Jasper also has a gift that he uses as one tool in that endeavor. He's what's called an empath," she explained, opting to only disclose one aspect of his gift. As far as she knew, none of the wolves had shared what Bella had told the pack about a Cullen who could control emotions. "He can feel the emotions of the people around him. It's why he was confident in allowing Seth and Paul free access to their territory with Leah, and why he's unwilling to allow Sam the same access and making it so Jake can't roam their land without an escort."

Old Quil nodded. "So in meeting the other protectors, he can get a fair read on their feelings towards him and his family?"

"Exactly," Sue nodded. "But as I said, what happened today is making them reconsider that."

Sue then launched into the tale, starting from the moment Jasper got the call from his friend, and ending with Sam running off in a rage at finding out they'd made an amendment to the terms of the treaty in regards to Leah's safety on the Quileute side of the line.

"The whole thing, from start to finish, was a mess. The only positive thing I can say about Sam's handling of this was that he didn't officially forbid the other wolves from acting a certain way. He delayed calling the pack to action, which obviously had serious consequences, but he didn't command Embry to not run east or Paul and Seth to stay closer to the village."

"So Jake knew when he phased that the redhead was headed away from town and going towards the cliffs?" Billy asked with a frown.

Sue nodded. Jake had been close enough to the coast that he could've helped Leah and Paul in trying to stop Victoria from escaping in the water, but his fixation on Bella Swan meant he'd disregarded that in favor of going in the opposite direction to 'protect' her instead.

Old Quil also had a frown on his face. "Sam said Jasper was merely 'claiming' Leah was his mate? Disregarding that Jasper is Leah's imprint?"

"Yes," Sue said with a scowl. "Sam's handling of a threat on our land isn't the only problem I have. His behavior with Leah is really making me angry. An imprint is not a pack matter and Sam has absolutely no right to try and interfere in her relationship with Jasper."

Billy and Old Quil took a moment to digest that. They'd been as shocked as anyone that Leah had imprinted on a vampire, but imprints were as close to sacred in their tribe as you could get. Coming between soulmates was unacceptable. It's why the council had allowed Sam to be the one to decide how he handled the situation with Leah and Emily the previous year. They'd given him their opinion, but they hadn't ordered him to do anything.

The three elders spent some more time talking through their options and it was well into the evening when they'd finished. Rather than try and wrangle all the wolves together at the very end of a long day, they arranged a meeting with the whole pack for the following afternoon.

Jacob arrived home just as they were wrapping up, and the disappointment on the faces of all three elders was plain to see. "What?" he asked, crossing his arms defensively.

Sue and Quil stayed quiet and let Billy take the lead.

"We'll discuss what happened with the redhead tomorrow. Tonight I think we need to talk about some of your recent behavior," Billy started and gestured for Jake to take a seat.

He huffed a few times in irritation and sat down with a scowl on his face. "If it's about me walking in your house without knocking, I already apologized," he said to Sue.

"First of all, you did not 'walk' in my house, you stormed in shouting that my daughter was a bitch, which is completely unacceptable," Sue said sternly. "And I think maybe you need to think back another time or two, because you most certainly did not apologize. Not to me and not to Leah."

"All of your recent poor behavior and poor decisions seem to revolve around Bella," Billy added. "I understand that you think you're in love with her, but Jake, she's not yours. Not only is she in a committed relationship with someone else, but she's not your imprint. Did you learn nothing from Sam, Leah, and Emily? You keep trying to force Bella to admit she loves you, but what happens if she does? What happens if you start a relationship with her and you imprint on someone else?"

"I won't," Jacob snapped. "Just because she's not my imprint doesn't mean she's not my soulmate."

Sue rolled her eyes in annoyance and stood up. "Actually, that's precisely what it means. Your highest priority as a protector is keeping the people of this tribe safe. You failed in that job today, Jake. You went and 'protected' someone who wasn't in danger and allowed a hostile vampire open access to our land, and we will be discussing that more tomorrow. And don't think it escaped my notice that you still haven't apologized for storming in my house the way you did," she snapped. After taking a deep breath to let go of her anger, she smiled and held a hand out to help Quil to his feet. "How about I walk you home?"

When Jacob opened his mouth, Old Quil stopped him. "No more. We will discuss pack business tomorrow with all of you. And any apology that comes out of your mouth right now would be disingenuous and an insult to an elder of this tribe. Think about your behavior and apologize when it will be an honest expression of your feelings. Sue deserves that much from you."

Jacob scowled a little deeper and gritted his teeth, then stood up and stomped into his room, slamming the door behind him.

"I'm sure glad Seth at fifteen is more mature that Jake at sixteen," Sue laughed. "The boy has never once slammed a door in anger."

Billy smiled as he wheeled himself to the door to say goodbye to his fellow elders. Seth was definitely a whole lot less angsty and angry than his son. And Jake's biggest grievance was the fact that Bella Swan wasn't his imprint and was committed to someone else. Seth had lost his father and still managed to be the sweet, good-natured kid he was.

As Sue and Old Quil slowly walked to his house, she contemplated ways to get Jake to change his attitude. She knew Billy as well as anyone and Jake's behavior was both wearing on him and weighing heavily on him. Realizing that getting Jacob to change was beyond her capabilities, she instead decided to call Charlie Swan in the morning.

She may not be able to fix the atmosphere inside the Black home, but she could help Billy find some joy outside of it. A day of fishing with his best friend was just the thing to do the job.

Jasper was sitting in his tree enjoying the silence when his phone rang. He'd blown off some steam running around the forest with Alice, Rosalie, and Emmett for a few hours and was feeling a lot calmer than he'd been when he left the house.

Looking at the display, he answered with a smile. "Hey Leah."

"I'm bored," was how she greeted him, managing to say it with both a laugh and a whine.

"Well you know I'm always happy for your company," Jasper said with a smile. "Wanna meet somewhere?"

"Yes please. How about somewhere near the treaty line? My mom's still over at the Black's but I want to be close enough that I can get home quickly if she needs me."

Jasper easily agreed and jumped to the ground. Leah and Seth had unloaded all the building supplies from Jasper's truck, so she offered to bring it back to the same spot where they'd met Sue so Jasper could drive it back home. By the time he got there, Leah was already waiting for him. He wasted no time pulling her into his arms and soundly kissing her hello.

"It feels like forever since I saw you," he laughed as he pulled back slightly to give her a chance to breathe.

"It's definitely been a long ass day," Leah agreed. "I'm tired but I've got too much shit running through my head to sleep."

Jasper took her hand and walked around to the bed of the truck. He had a blanket tucked in the back for when he had things he needed to cover, so he pulled the tailgate down and laid it out. He jumped in the bed and gestured for her to do the same, then got the two of them settled so they were laying down and Leah was tucked against his side. "I can help you sleep for a while if you'd like," he quietly offered as he gently ran his hand up and down her back.

Leah snuggled a little closer and put her head on his chest. "Nah, this is pretty perfect just like this."

The two of them laid in silence for a while and then Leah told him about the talk they'd had with her mom, and that Sue was planning to ask the elders to call a meeting with the whole pack. "With how late it is, it won't be tonight. My guess is mid-afternoon tomorrow once the wolves still in school are done for the day."

Jasper hummed in acknowledgment. To be honest, aside from supporting his mate however she needed, there wasn't a whole lot he could add to the conversation. Like he'd told Rosalie earlier, there were definitely tribal matters that weren't really the business of any outsiders, and Jasper was about as 'outside' the Quileute tribe as it was possible to get. The elders ousting Sam as Alpha was one of those tribal matters.

Instead, he took a page out of Alice's book and silently let Leah feel his affection, care, and support. He couldn't say he was in love with Leah yet, as they were still getting to know each other and love wasn't an emotion that struck like a bolt of lightning. Attraction? Yes. Desire? Absolutely. But love? True and deep, genuine love? That took a little time to grow.

Leah sighed in contentment and focused on gently sending Jasper her gratitude. She appreciated that he wasn't trying to pry more information out of her or attempting to tell her how matters with Sam or the pack should be handled. When she felt a couple new emotions, she smiled after she figured out what they were. Jasper was giving her some silent reassurance that he had enough trust and respect for her that he'd never try to manage her life. Which was a relief, to be honest. There were already enough forces outside of Leah who had a say in how she navigated her way through life, so having an imprint who made even more demands on her would've been a pain.

"This whole silent communication thing is fucking great," she said with a smile as she used his chest to lever herself up to a seated position.

"It definitely has its advantages," Jasper agreed as he sat up. "Want me to hang out here for a bit? I might be able to still feel you once you're home and I can try to help you sleep," he offered when she yawned.

Leah thought on it a moment before shaking her head. "I'll be fine, I think. It's been a long ass day and now that I'm more relaxed I have a feeling I'll be asleep the second my head hits the pillow," she said, vaulting over the side of the truck. "But thank you."

Jasper folded up the blanket and jumped to the ground, where he pulled her into his arms and kissed her sweetly. "You're welcome," he murmured against her lips. After another kiss, he pulled back to look in her eyes. "Will you let me know how the meeting goes?"

"Of course," Leah answered immediately. "I'm hoping we'll be done by six or so, because there's a Mariners game at seven and I was planning on seeing if Charlie wanted to watch it together. Interested?" she asked.

Jasper broke into a wide grin, elated that she wanted to include him in her time with a man she considered an uncle. "Who do I have to root for this time?" he asked.

"The Indians," Leah grumbled with a scowl, making Jasper laugh a little.

"There are some whispers that they're going to be changing their name soon."

"About fucking time," she answered with a playful growl that Jasper found way too adorable. She couldn't keep her annoyance at inappropriately named sports teams going for long, though, because Jasper with that beautiful smile on his face was distracting. The sound of his laughter was equally distracting. "Shut up and kiss me, Whitlock."

Jasper wasted no time leaning in and doing as she asked - well, demanded - but it wasn't as thoroughly as perhaps either of them were planning, because smiling and laughing makes kissing slightly difficult. It was still nice, though, so they didn't stop giving it their best effort.

Leah pulled back with a breathless giggle. "I'd say I'm sorry my laughter is thwarting us but I'd be lying. It's been such a long time since I laughed this much and I almost forgot how good it feels."

A sharp crack of laughter escaped before Jasper could stop it. "I'm definitely doing something wrong if laughing feels better than kissing," he teased, letting her feel his pleasure at how happy and lighthearted she was in that moment. Leah was beautiful without making any effort at all, but a smiling and laughing Leah was absolutely stunning.

Leah gave him a long hug, her smile firmly in place, and then pulled away and took a step back. "I'll call you tomorrow."

Jasper nodded and gave her one last kiss, then watched her cross the treaty line with a smile on his face.

When she ran out of view, he turned to face the trees behind him. "I'd be very careful if I were you," he cautioned the wolf who'd been silently watching their last few minutes together while simmering with rage. Jasper hadn't said anything to Leah because he wasn't certain if she knew Sam was there and had been pointedly ignoring him, or if she hadn't been aware they were being watched. "She's covered by the treaty. If you break it by laying a hand on her in anger, I'll walk across this line without a moment's hesitation and destroy your entire fucking life. You've heard my history in Leah's thoughts so you already know what I'm capable of and that I'll do whatever I have to in order to protect the people I love. So don't fuck with me, Sam Uley, because I won't come after you first, I'll come after the people you love."

Jasper stared at him a moment longer and then turned his back on the wolf and walked away. He pulled out his phone as he made his way home. First he needed to talk to Leah, and then he needed to talk to Carlisle. Maybe it was time for him to speak to the Quileute elders himself.