A/N: There's going to be a slight time jump next chapter for anyone eager to get a move on. I also want to say an extra thank you to everyone who has left feedback on this story, and particularly for those who are reading even though this isn't a pairing you typically read. It truly means so much, so thank you:)

Progress, Not Perfection

Edward pulled up in front of the house to find the rest of the family standing outside. They still had over an hour before they were meeting the wolves, but they'd decided to head out early so they could work on their own for a little while before the pack showed up. Hearing his car approaching, they'd stopped to wait for him.

When he heard the anger towards him in some of their thoughts, he wanted to ignore it because he had something more pressing on his mind, but he couldn't. As much as he wanted to protest and deny it, he knew that the blame for a lot of what was happening lay squarely at his feet.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly as he climbed out and walked over to them. When everyone but Jasper looked at him a little skeptically, he nodded to himself. The fact that most of them didn't believe him shouldn't have been a surprise. He rarely apologized for anything, and when he did, it was usually because Carlisle or Esme had asked him to, not because he was genuinely apologetic. "I mean it. I'm truly sorry for what's happening and for the way my actions got us here," he said honestly, then looked at Jasper. "Can you show them?"

Jasper was a little surprised by the request, but he just nodded and let the rest of the family feel Edward's sincerity.

"It's no secret that changing isn't easy for me. Suddenly altering course after a century is no small feat," Edward continued. "But I'm trying. Leah made a point recently that Jasper managed to dramatically alter his course after a similar length of time. While I only need to change some of my character traits, he essentially had to relearn everything, everything he knew about the world and what was possible, and all of those things were in direct opposition to the way he'd spent his life up to that point. But he did it. And if he could do it, so could I. I've done a lot of thinking about that since then and I think my inability to change was less about it being impossible and more about refusing to admit there was anything I needed to change. It was unwillingness, not impossibility," he said, looking at every member of his family as he spoke. Then he smiled a little. "Which is a very long-winded way of telling you all that I'm genuinely sorry and I'm trying to better."

Jasper had shared Edward's emotions the whole time he was talking, but Esme didn't need to feel them to know he was being honest. She knew each of her family members inside and out, and she could see in Edward's eyes that he was being truthful. She smiled at him and wrapped him up in a hug. She didn't say anything out loud, but she silently thanked him and let him know she was proud of him.

When she stepped back, Carlisle took her place, and his thoughts were nearly identical to Esme's.

Then it was Emmett's turn and he pulled his brother into a bear hug and patted his back hard enough that Edward lurched forward, which Emmett took as his cue to hug him just a little bit harder. "You don't need to change all your personality traits, kid. There's plenty about you that's worth leaving alone."

Edward laughed a little as he wriggled his way out of Emmett's tight hold on him.

"It's true," Emmett assured him as he stepped back to Rosalie's side, knowing Edward didn't entirely believe him. "You let me eavesdrop second-hand when I'm dead bored. That alone makes you worth keeping around," he teased. "Plus you're wicked smart and randomly throw out tree facts when we need them."

"You've always been loyal to this family," Jasper added, pushing aside his anger because he knew Edward was being absolutely genuine about his remorse. "You may have royally fucked up recently–"

Emmett's loud laugh cut him off. "No pun intended, huh?" he laughed. When no one laughed with him, he huffed in indignation. "Come on! 'Royally' fucked up? Going to the royal family of our world?"

Jasper just rolled his eyes with a smile and continued. "Before all the nightmares of the past year, you were always loyal to this family. And when it truly matters - again, ignoring this past year - you put the coven first. But you've already made progress there. It was only a matter of hours ago that you put all of our safety first and willingly left Bella with Carlisle and Esme because we needed your help. That's no small thing."

Alice had a slightly harder time pushing aside her anger at Edward, but she managed. "Your gift sometimes helps me with mine," she told him with a small smile. "When I can't make heads or tails of what I'm seeing, you can see it too and give me a different perspective or notice details I miss."

Edward gave her a grateful smile. While Jasper was who Alice was closest to in the family, Alice was the one Edward felt most connected to. She'd been furious with him so often lately that they'd spent virtually no time together and he'd missed her company.

"You're a gifted composer," Rosalie said, shocking the hell out of him. "When you're not hiding away angsting or being an asshole, you fill the house with beautiful music."

Edward barked a laugh at the backhanded compliment, but then he thanked her. Compliments from Rose - backhanded or not - were few and far between for him.

Esme could hardly hide her smile, so grateful that everyone was getting along for the first time in quite a while. "Why aren't you with Bella?" she asked curiously. "Did she decide not to come with us?"

Edward shook his head. "Jacob was there when I dropped her off and the temptation to break his legs is too strong so I left her to have dinner with her dad. I said I'd pick her up in an hour."

Jasper, worried about the telepath's emotions, ignored the laughs around him at Edward's desire to commit violence against the wolf none of them liked. He didn't want to call him out if it wasn't something Edward wanted to talk about, so he just sent him some curiosity and concern and silently asked if something had happened.

Edward nodded. "He was talking to Charlie. Jacob wants him to try and talk to Bella on his behalf. Convince her that he's the better choice," he explained. He wasn't sure how he felt about Charlie's response, because he was definitely clear on the fact that he didn't actually believe Jacob was the better choice, but he also made his point while simultaneously insulting Edward.

Everyone had similar reactions to that, namely that Jacob was a pushy asshole with a too-big ego, though Carlisle and Esme used slightly less colorful language.

"What was Charlie's response?" Jasper asked. "And did Jacob know you were listening?"

"No, not at the beginning. Charlie was silent for a few seconds and then asked if Jacob wanted his honest opinion," Edward answered, unable to hide a small smile. Insults to him aside, it was nice to hear Charlie put the pup in his place. "He said he refused to sway Bella one way or the other and he found it a little insulting that Jacob would even ask him to do that. He added that in his eyes, Jacob is no better than me in how he treats her. He says we both think we always know best and don't take the time to listen to Bella when she talks. He also added - and this was after Jacob knew I was close enough to hear them - that I was Bella's chosen partner, and who Bella dated was Bella's choice and only Bella's choice. If she decided Jacob was who she wanted as a partner he would support them, but in Charlie's eyes, the only person he has to look out for, the only person he has to support, is his daughter."

"Did you tell Bella any of that?" Alice asked. Edward shook his head no and said he hadn't had time. He'd already pulled into the driveway by that point. "You should tell her."

Jasper nodded his agreement. "Charlie's not always the best at showing his emotions, especially with her because she's terrible at it also. The two of them are awkward as hell around each other," he said with a smile. "But I think part of why Bella disregards his feelings so often is because she's not at all aware that he actually has feelings. Maybe she'd change how she treated him if she knew how much he loved her."

Edward frowned a little as he listened because he realized he could have done that long before now. Charlie's thoughts weren't always clear to him, but he knew Charlie loved his daughter. He'd never brought it up, though, and he sighed and shook his head at himself. This was just one more example of his self-centered attitude.

After assuring both of them that he would share the conversation between Jacob and Charlie with Bella, Edward got down to the real reason he'd come home in the first place. "Before you leave, there's something else I wanted to talk about. I think we need to come up with a concrete plan to keep Bella protected," he said, trying not be on the defensive and automatically assume some of them would disagree.

Which was a good thing, because no one did.

Bella was the sole human who was directly caught up in this mess. It might have been a fluke that the two newborns had found them, and they hadn't known about Bella, but that didn't mean there was no danger. Some of them might not be particularly fond of the human at the moment, but they weren't cold-hearted enough that they'd refuse to protect her.

"I don't think anyone would disagree with you on that, Edward," Carlisle calmly reassured him.

Edward nodded and looked at Alice. "When I'm not able to be by her side myself, will you take over?"

"Of course," Alice agreed. "I think we all would."

Jasper looked at Edward for a few long moments. "What exactly are you asking her to do?" he asked suspiciously, not liking his emotions.

Edward sighed in frustration. "I don't want Bella to know she has a round the clock security detail. All that will accomplish is scaring her even more than she already is."

Literally the entire family let out an exasperated sigh. "Can you please stop saying you're going to change if you don't actually mean it?" Alice snapped. "If you keep pulling this shit, no one's going to believe you even with Jasper sharing your emotions."

"I do mean it, but I don't want her doing anything foolish out of fear," Edward defended himself. He nodded when he heard their thoughts. "See? You all know it's a possibility with her."

"Don't make this about Bella when it's about you," Alice sighed. "Now, if you're asking me to stick close to her when you need to hunt, that's fine, I'm happy to hang out with her. But I won't lie for you."

Jasper felt a hint of deception creep into the telepath's emotional palette and stared him down. "Again, what exactly are you asking her to do?"

Edward silently cursed Jasper's gift. "She needs one of us to protect her, and if she's running off to La Push and danger finds her, we can't cross the treaty line to…" Edward trailed off and looked at Jasper with a calculating expression. "You–"

"Absolutely not," Jasper cut him off. "First of all, at least be honest about why you're attempting to go back to your controlling ways. You don't want to keep her from La Push because of her safety, you just want to keep her from Jacob. I can even sympathize with you up to a point. But I'm not allowed anywhere on Quileute land except Leah's house, and even if I did have the ability to roam freely, I wouldn't spy on Bella for you."

Now Edward cursed his own stupidity rather than his brother's gift. He should have known Jasper would never agree to something like that. All he'd done was piss the empath off, which was an especially foolish move considering how often Jasper had come to his defense recently. He'd given him chance after chance and Edward just continued to blow each and every one.

"And how exactly do you think I can keep her from going to see Jacob?" Alice asked, both annoyed and confused. It only took her a second to see what Edward had in mind. "You want me to kidnap her?" she asked incredulously.

Everyone looked at Edward with shocked eyes. "No, of course not," he huffed. "I just thought maybe you could ask her to sleep over or something. You can keep an eye on her easier if you're both here."

"No, you just want her to babysit Bella without Bella knowing that's what she's doing," Rosalie said, rolling her eyes. "And you want Alice to somehow keep her from going to see Jacob. Sounds an awful lot like kidnapping to me."

Emmett shook his head a little. He loved his brother but come on. All those smarts just flew right out the window when it came to Bella. "Not cool, bro. Seriously not cool."

"Edward," Esme cut in gently. "Bella is not an unreasonable girl. All you need to do is sit down with her and tell her your concerns. I don't think it's right to try and keep her from being friends with Jacob, but if you explain how her behavior in regards to him makes you feel, I doubt she'd disregard that. I'll even talk to her with you," she added, remembering Jasper's warning about Bella's impulsive decision making.

"Have you already forgotten that I started that conversational ball rolling for you?" Jasper asked Edward, glaring at him. "I told her to sort her shit out. I told her she was making you doubt your future with her. You couldn't just run with that once y'all were alone?"

Edward opened his mouth to defend himself, though he honestly wasn't sure how he was going to go about that, so when Jasper's phone rang he snapped his mouth shut, grateful for the interruption.

"What?" Jasper snapped as he answered, too busy death-glaring his idiot of a brother to check the caller ID.

"Uh… Jasper? You okay?" Jared asked hesitantly. It was enough to make Jasper smile and remember his manners.

"Sorry, I'm fine. What's up?"

There was silence on the line for a moment. "Before you answer, know I wouldn't ask if I believed it was a bad idea."

Jasper waited but Jared didn't say anything more. "You do know you haven't actually asked anything for me to answer, right?" he laughed.

"Right, sorry," Jared chuckled. "I just wanted to run something by you and Carlisle. Considering we have a time frame now and we know the vamp police are going to be sending guards here, I'd feel a hell of a lot more comfortable if my whole pack could train with you guys. Or at least be present while we train, even if they can't actively work with any of you."

It only took Jasper a second to realize what he was asking. "You want to know if Sam can come with you?" he clarified, and Jared answered with a cautious yes. "And you don't think we have reason to be concerned?"

"No," he answered immediately. "I was a wolf with him twice - both directly after you saved him from the newborn and while we were running home. Needing your help knocked his confidence in himself and his ability to win against a vamp on his own. I genuinely think his desire to learn is stronger than his dislike of you and your family."

With the benefit of his gift, Jasper agreed with the Alpha, but he looked at Edward and silently asked his opinion based on anything he heard in Sam's head.

"He's right," Edward answered quietly. "He doesn't like us any more than he did before the encounter, but he was grateful for your help, especially because you jumped in without hesitation even knowing there was a good chance you'd be injured in the process. Does he like you? Definitely not," he said with a smile. "But I don't think he's a threat."

Jasper nodded and looked at Carlisle. Ultimately, it was his decision. After getting Jasper's assurance that his opinion was in line with Edward's, Carlisle looked at the rest of the family to see what they thought. None of them were particularly thrilled with the idea, but they also knew Jasper and Edward wouldn't agree if they had any concerns about Sam being around the family. After only a moment, they all nodded their agreement.

"That's fine with us," Carlisle answered, loudly enough for Jared to hear him over the phone. "But if at any point he exhibits behavior that makes me question that decision, his ability to join us goes back to being off the table."

"I completely understand, and I'll be monitoring his thoughts as well," Jared assured him. "I appreciate your willingness to give him a chance. We're all heading out in a few minutes so we'll see you soon."

"And Jacob?" Jasper asked. "As far as I know, he's at the Swan's house."

"He's waiting for Edward to pick Bella up and then he'll come meet us. He won't go wolf until he's out of your territory."

Jasper just nodded and said they'd see him shortly before ending the call. He'd spent enough time with the Alpha that he trusted his word.

Alice told the rest of the family to go ahead without her and Jasper, telling them she just wanted to get some clothes together for Leah and they'd only be a minute behind them.

"What is it?" Jasper asked her once they were alone and the rest of the family was out of hearing distance.

"If this all goes the way Peter thinks it's going to, we need to make sure the newborns don't make it anywhere near Forks or La Push."

Jasper nodded as he opened Leah's locker and pulled out an outfit for her to change into if she wanted to go human. "Intercept them along the way?"

"Yes. But because there still hasn't been a decision to bring the army here, not to mention the wolves being involved, I can't see the best place to do that."

Jasper thought about their options for a moment. "Assuming they're coming from Seattle, they'll probably come straight through the park. I highly doubt Victoria would waste the time or effort to try and skirt the mountains. Running with that many newborns and keeping them on the path she chooses won't be easy."

"Which leaves a whole lot of ground to cover," Alice pointed out. "Olympic National Park is nearly fifteen-hundred square miles."

"True," Jasper agreed, putting the backpack on Alice's back instead of his own, figuring she'd try to catch a ride for at least part of their run. "All we can do is be ready. With how attuned you are to the coven's safety, I think you'll probably see when Victoria decides to make her move, regardless of the wolves."

"But what if I don't?" she asked quietly.

Jasper tugged her into his arms and surrounded her in his love and reassurance. "Then we'll do our best with whatever information we have. Between the pack, our family, and Peter and Charlotte, that's seventeen of us. With those numbers we can make sure there's always at least a couple of us between Seattle and Forks, and we can stretch our patrols throughout the park. I know being blind right now makes you uneasy, but we'll find a way through this," he reassured her.

Alice stayed silent for a minute, just trying to absorb some of Jasper's faith. "I know Edward wants Bella to have twenty-four-seven security, but we should make sure Charlie has covert security also. On the off chance Victoria, Riley, or any of the newborns make it to town, there needs to be someone in position to protect him. Whether that's a wolf or one of us doesn't matter as long as he's safe."

Jasper pulled back a little to grin at her. Their thinking was always so similar that Alice didn't need her visions to be able to anticipate what he was going to suggest. "I agree. We'll find a way to make it happen."

"Anticipating you when I'm blind is one thing," she laughed and rolled her eyes. "Anticipating Victoria, Riley, Maria, and the Volturi? That's a totally different matter."

"Like I said, we'll find a way through this," he reassured her again as they took off running. They ran in silence for a few minutes before Jasper remembered there was something he'd wanted to ask her in private. "When you were in Volterra, did you see the woman Edward was talking about? Chelsea?"

"You're thinking about the similar gifts?" Alice asked, and Jasper nodded. "I'm not sure. There were plenty of guards in the room but most of them were against the wall behind me and I was focused on the kings. I also don't know what Charmion looked like, aside from having blond hair, so she could've been standing in front of me and I probably wouldn't have known it."

Jasper nodded as he thought about the woman he'd met while still in the south.

Maria occasionally - very occasionally - let him take off on his own for a day or two when he needed a break from the volatile emotions. On one of his breaks, he'd met a woman named Charmion. She'd had a very gentle emotional palette and was doing the same thing Jasper was - looking for a little bit of peace away from her day to day life. They'd spent a day together but neither spoke about their lives in any detail. Jasper would never have offered the information that he was in Maria's coven or that he was the 'Major' of her army, and Charmion was equally hesitant to tell him about her life.

He'd met her after Peter and Charlotte escaped but before they came back for him, so Jasper had still been unaware of what the wider vampire world was like. He'd assumed she was part of another southern coven looking for a brief respite from the endless battles. Her emotions so closely paralleled his that he'd dropped his guard slightly with her, though not all the way.

All Jasper really knew about her was that she seemed to know the territorial boundaries of some of the southern covens, she had a mate who understood her need to escape every once in a while and helped orchestrate those breaks, and that she had a gift she sometimes felt was a curse. He didn't know where she lived or what her mate's name was, and all she said about her gift was that it had to do with affecting bonds.

Maria had been suspicious when he'd returned the next day and it was the last time she'd given him permission to leave on his own. He'd looked for Charmion at every battle afterwards but he never saw her again. Once Peter and Charlotte came back for him, he'd hoped that maybe she'd found an escape from the south also and he liked to think she and her mate had found a peaceful life somewhere.

But could it have been Volterra she was briefly escaping from, not another southern coven? Was it Aro's abuse of her gift that made it feel like a curse?

"I suppose it's possible she lied about her name, but wouldn't you have felt if she was being deceptive?" Alice asked after a minute. "I can't imagine you would have trusted her enough to spend time with her if you'd known she was lying right off the bat."

"No, she was being truthful about that. I was still suspicious enough of everything and everyone that I would've bolted if she'd lied," Jasper agreed. "And we know there are similar gifts out there, so having one related to bonds doesn't mean they're the same person."

"Has Edward ever heard any thoughts about her in your mind?"

Jasper shook his head. "I highly doubt it. I honestly don't think about her that often, but I generally keep all thoughts about my life before leaving the south tucked away in the back of my mind. It's none of his business."

"He still manages to be completely shocked whenever he finds out some new piece of information one of us has kept from him," she laughed. "His face when he found out you'd met Demetri was too funny."

Jasper looked at her sharply. "Did something happen?"

"No," Alice immediately assured him, both amused and frustrated that he knew her so well and caught the brief flicker in her emotions. "Or not much, anyway. When Felix went for Edward, my instinct was to jump in. Demetri just prevented me from doing it, that's all."

Jasper's eyebrows shot up as he skidded to a stop. "Prevented how? Did he hurt you?" he asked in alarm.

"No," Alice laughed as she swung back around and grabbed his arm to move him along. "I promise, he didn't hurt me. He just held me in place so I couldn't interfere. Use your gift, Jas, I'm not lying."

Jasper looked at her a little suspiciously even though he could tell she was being honest. "Why didn't you tell me before now?"

Alice laughed again. "Because I knew you'd react just like this. His hold on me was loose enough that I could've gotten out of it, so there didn't seem to be any point in worrying you after the fact."

Jasper did a little grumbling under his breath, muttering about bullshit secret-keeping and betrayed trust and trackers with poor manners.

"You're ridiculous," Alice said with an amused smile as she vaulted herself through the air to land on a branch of a tall tree. At just the right moment, she jumped down and landed perfectly on her best friend's back.

"Maybe," Jasper shrugged as he put on a burst of speed at feeling his mate and her pack approaching on his right. "I guess it's a good thing I'm so lovable that you overlook my ridiculousness."

Alice started to laugh but then Jasper felt the familiar jolt in her emotions as she was pulled into a vision. "Jump!" she shouted once she was back in the present and tightened her arms around his neck.

Jasper didn't question her, he just immediately launched himself into the air just in time to avoid being rammed in the side by a certain gangly, sandy brown wolf. When Seth skidded to a slightly unsteady stop and turned to face him, Jasper dropped down from the branch he'd grabbed. "Not cool, Seth," he growled, smothering a smile. "You could've hurt Alice."

Alice snorted a laugh as she let go of him to stand on her own. "My hero," she drawled sarcastically. "What ever would I do without you?"

"Die, probably," was Jasper's equally snarky response.

Seth made a huffy laughing sound and sauntered over to bump his head against Alice's leg.

"How'd you manage to see that?" Jasper asked her curiously as the three of them walked the rest of the way to the clearing at a human pace.

"I didn't," she shrugged. "Our futures disappeared and then I saw Emmett teasing us later about being taken off guard by a wolf."

"Damn right I would've teased you if the almighty Jasper Whitlock, the feared Major of the Southern Wars, was felled by a fifteen-year old kid," Emmett laughed as they broke through the trees.

Jasper gave him the finger and counted the wolves, then counted again. "Where's…" he trailed off when he felt a familiar, but completely unexpected, emotional signature behind him. When Paul broke through the trees in his human form with a grinning Sue Clearwater on his back, Jasper couldn't contain his laughter. The woman was so exhilarated by running through the forest that even through her worry she was practically glowing.

Paul just rolled his eyes when the vamps all laughed and he ran to where Jasper was standing with Alice and Seth. He wordlessly turned around so his back was to Jasper, and the empath carefully helped Sue down, then held her steady when she wobbled for a second.

As soon as she was confident she wouldn't fall flat on her face, Sue turned and hugged her daughter's imprint.

"This is a nice surprise," Jasper laughed as he soaked up a mom-hug.

"Well, I have lots of questions and I figured I would get more accurate answers if I asked you all directly instead of counting on my daughter to play telephone," Sue answered with a smile. "Leah was always terrible at that game as a child."

Leah had been walking towards them, but at her mom's teasing, she stopped in her tracks. She crouched down a little, very much looking like an animal on the verge of springing, and let out a low growl.

Sue just laughed and waved a dismissive hand. "Oh hush, you know it's true."

Jasper smiled and walked over to greet his mate. "Alice has some clothes for you if you feel like going human," he told her as he ran his hand down her back. He knew from her answering emotions that she wanted to remain a wolf for the time being, so he just nodded. "Whatever you want. They're here if you change your mind."

Sue had just gone to greet Carlisle, Esme, and the rest of the Cullens - laughing at Emmett's boisterous greeting of "Hey wolf mama!" - when Edward ran into the clearing with Bella at nearly the same moment Jacob stalked in as a wolf.

Jasper couldn't help glaring at the boy when he felt his emotions. Even Sam's emotions were less turbulent, which was saying something.

When Edward came to a stop beside them, a surprised Bella gracelessly slid off his back and took a moment to regain her balance. "I didn't expect to see you here," she said to Sue, her emotions cautious as if unsure how Sue would greet her.

The woman had an excellent poker face, because if Jasper didn't have the benefit of his gift he never would've known there was anything negative at all in Sue's emotions. She just gave Bella a slightly less warm version of her smile. "I was curious about this training and had some questions, so Paul was gracious enough to give me a lift," she answered, shooting Paul a wink. Then she gave the girl a quick hug. "It's nice to see you again."

"You too. And thank you for the cookies you dropped off. My dad was kind enough to part with two of them."

"Only two?" Sue laughed and shook her head with a fond smile. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. The man is greedy when it comes to all things chocolate chip."

Bella smiled and then looked at Jasper when she realized he was grinning at her. "What?"

Jasper didn't want to embarrass her by telling her he was smiling because she'd said 'my dad' rather than Charlie's name, so he just shook his head. "It's nothing," he said, but he did take a moment to send her the pride he was feeling.

Bella looked at him in surprise. She had no idea what she'd done to make the empath proud of her, but given the way she'd been screwing up left, right, and center recently, she wasn't going to question it. She just quietly thanked him.

Now that Edward was there to act as an interpreter for the wolves, Paul jogged into the trees to phase, and Esme led the two humans to sit beside her at the edge of the huge clearing. Jacob started to follow behind Bella, but stopped after only three steps and turned his head to glare at his Alpha. Jared just steadily held his gaze until Jacob growled in irritation and walked over to stand with the rest of the pack.

Jasper sighed in exasperation at the same moment Edward did. "I'm happy to break his legs for you if you want," Jasper offered in a voice too quiet for even the wolves to hear.

Edward laughed and took a deep breath to push aside his irritation. "Thanks, I'll keep that in mind."

As they joined Carlisle where he was standing in between the pack and the rest of the Cullens, he looked at them with an amused smile and a raised eyebrow. Jasper just laughed and shrugged. He knew Carlisle hadn't heard him, but apparently he was too predictable for his own good.

"I was joking," Jasper assured him. When Carlisle gave him a pointed look, Jasper huffed a few times. "Fine, I wasn't joking. But can you blame me?" he grumbled.

Carlisle chuckled and shook his head in amusement. "You ready?" he asked quietly, his emotions becoming much more serious. Jasper nodded, so Carlisle turned to address the wolves. "Let's begin."