Eclipse

Jasper POV

*Hit Me Like a Man by The Pretty Reckless*

"Newborns. Someone's creating an army."

Which means more danger to Alice. Again.

I suck in a breath and release my frustration after a 50 count. "I've got experience with newborns, I can train y'all so we're all prepared - regardless of where those newborns go, or their intentions. It never hurts to be prepared."

Especially because I want my wife to be protected, even if she has to protect herself, if I can't be there for her. And she, naturally, is more worried about her family.

Carlisle acknowledges me with a soft smile, "Much appreciated, Jasper." Then he looks between Alice and Edward, "Do either of you know what they're doing, have either of you seen or heard anything?"

"They were passing around Bella's scent, that pretty red blouse I gave her." Alice smiles delicately, but it doesn't reach her eyes like it usually would.

Before I really do kill the human myself, my old training kicks in, providing an excellent distraction. "An army for one little human? I don't think so." Snorting, I wrap my arm around Alice's shoulder and tug her into my side. "I hate to break it to y'all, but Bella isn't special enough all on her own to tempt a whole army.

"They're after territory. We're the closest coven to Seattle. They want the fight, it's why they were created." The word vomit practically spews out of my mouth, and I hate the memories it brings up - the attention I'm getting. But I am, like my little seer, pretty much the only one around here who can do anything, because I'm the one with the knowledge.

"So what part does Bella play in all this, exactly?" Edward practically sneers the words, as if wondering how I had the balls to say the sun does not, in fact, shine out of his little human's asshole.

"I'm not the mind reader, Edward. I can only speak from my own experiences."

"Whatever they want, does this mean we're going to Seattle?" Emmett the egg head is always looking for a fight, so of course he's excited.

Carlisle blows out a soft breath, "It might, if they don't make a move elsewhere. There are a lot of people, though, way too many to remain as inconspicuous as we need to. If we go there and a fight breaks out, the Volturi will come."

"We can't have them here - newborns or the Volturi," Rosalie spits out, hackles practically raising. She's as protective over this family as I am of Alice, the closest person to family that I have here. I did take her last name, after all, if only to keep up appearances. "This is our home, Carlisle!"

"Yes, Rosalie, I'm aware. Perhaps it won't come to that. Maybe they'll move on, or want something else entirely. We'll just have to wait and see."

"Is that okay for you, darlin'? Are you okay to keep watch?"

"She doesn't have a choice, Jasper." Edward's voice is soft as he edges in front of Bella.

It is literally everything I can do to not tear his head off in that moment, and drain his little human dry. We're in this never-ending vampire apocalypse because of them, him wanting to protect her humanity for God only knows why and her all too happy to have let James turn her a year ago.

Before I do anything rash, or Edward clues in on any of my thoughts, I stand up and brace to leave. "If the army does come this way, we'll need help. We don't stand a chance against them if it's just us."

~000~

"What would you say if I asked you to stay out of the fight?" My fingers skim leisurely across the soft skin of Alice's naked back, breath blowing gently into her hair.

"No way!" Her head whips up so fast that if she were human she'd have given herself whiplash. Golden eyes lock with mine, slowly darkening with the rising of her emotions. "How could you ask me that? This is war, Jasper."

"Exactly, Alice. A war you and I have no part in, no need for. Why would you willingly put yourself into such danger?"

"For my family! Because, as you yourself put it, there won't be enough of us anyway; why the hell would I take myself out of the fight?!"

Faster than she can follow, I crush her between my body and the bed with a snarl of my own. "Because, Alice, you're mine, and I'm telling you to! You have no business in the middle of a newborn war, not when you don't have anything to do with it, and certainly not over a fucking human."

Before she can comment on my dismissal of her best friend, I continue: "Because you have no idea what it's like in a battle, the shit that can go wrong, how quickly things can go from bad to worse to disaster." My tone lowers as I stroke her cheek, pleading with her, needing her to see that she's truly all I care about, that I need her to be safe. "You don't know how easily you could lose your life, or the tragedy of losing those that you love. Because I love you too much to put you at risk, in harm's way."

"Well, thank God it's not your decision, right? I'm a grown woman, Jasper, I know what I'm capable of and can decide things on my own."

Even if she were not, in fact, right, there's honestly nothing I can do to actually physically stop her. So instead, I melt just like usual.

"You are such a stubborn woman." Grasping her chin between my thumb and forefinger, I find her mouth with mine. "I swear to the gods, Alice, if anything happens to you..."

"I'd think you'd have more faith in your abilities to properly train us, with all your expertise and all," she giggles, leaning into my deepening kiss. "So it's decided then? We'll all train and fight and win." It's a matter of fact, no questions asked.

I only hope it's the foreshadowing of a vision she's already had.

~000~

The wolves stick close together, edging out of the treeline to watch. They give us a definite advantage, in numbers if nothing else. I've yet to see any of them fight, but I know they don't trust us enough for that anyway. Still, they're really fucking huge.

I explain a few things then motion for Emmett to help demonstrate first because he's the most like a newborn - physically the largest and, based on that alone, able to do the most damage. We work our way through pairs, none of them doing too terribly, to be honest. Corrections are minimal and the progress of learning goes quickly and smoothly.

I even get a laugh out of it when Carlisle choke-slams Edward - after a decisive win from Edward.

"Never turn your back on your enemy-" Dumbass is unspoken, but greatly implied with my tone.

Alice dances into the middle of the clearing then, and the breath catches in my lungs.

It's all I can do not to throw her over my shoulder and get the hell out of dodge. It was hard enough swinging on Esme and Rosalie. You can take the gentle out of the man - as my Alice so thoroughly enjoys doing - but you can't take the gentleman out of the man, not the way I was raised. To even mock spar with my woman goes against every instinct as both a man and a vampire that I have.

The fact that she's even here in the first place is wrong, and the stark reminder that there's nothing I can do pisses me off.

"If you want this to be as close to the real thing as possible, you can't go easy on me, Jasper." Her words are spoken so fast and quiet I don't know if anyone else has heard, but I honestly don't care anyway.

She does have a point, but that doesn't make it any easier.

"Goddammit, Alice! Just forfeit! Stay the fuck out of it, darlin'!" Even as I hiss the words, my body instinctively moves, crouching and preparing. The adrenaline wants this, my body wants this.

So, I shut down, put down every block I have to keep the world out - my Alce out.

I'm an animal, a machine, the best at what I did many lifetimes ago. I know what I'm doing. And I have to make sure she knows, too.

She notices the change in me and a smirk slides across her face. "Hello, Major."

And I swing at her.

She sees it, of course, and ducks neatly out of the way. We move like that for awhile, dancing around the clearing. I swing or reach, and she's gone, cartwheeling out of the way or taking swipes of her own. She ducks backwards under one of my reaches, and lands right in my grip.

Her brow arches as she watches me lean in towards her - I need some small physical connection, and yet bigger than just putting my hands on her, to remind myself that she's safe, she's knows what she's doing and she'll survive. But she's been taking these lessons to heart, tiny body already learning instinct.

Her head darts backwards even as she leans forward, tiny hand gripping my wrist and using that momentum to propel herself out of my arms. My own momentum would've had me falling on my face if I were paying any less attention.

I'd be more impressed if I wasn't pissed that she'd gotten away with my kiss.

But I get it right back after the little spider monkey climbs a tree then pounces on top of me.

Training for the day wraps up quickly for the day, and I breathe a sigh of relief. All in all it was a good day, but I still feel only slightly better about my little mate fighting. Sure, she's the quickest to move, the most agile, and her foresight definitely gives her an advantage, but I'm still her husband and mate - never mind the most well-versed when it comes to newborns - so I'm allowed to worry.

"She'll be fine, Jasper." This comes from Carlisle as he pats my back in passing. "She's a remarkable fighter, and her foresight will only make it easier for her. I know it's hard, believe me I do. But you've got to trust in your abilities to teach and train, and in her to know what she's doing."

"Thanks, Dad." Alice kisses his cheek then comes to my side, putting a soothing hand on my chest.

It gets under my skin, how easy it is for her here with them. But she loves it, loves them. Which means, as much as I may want to sometimes, I can't, in fact, rip them all to shreds for continuing to put her in harm's way - over a human, no doubt.

I wish Bella would somehow drop dead. Or trip over her own two feet while going downstairs, break her own neck. Something! Trying to keep track of her, make sure she isn't clumsy enough to even accidentally kill herself - never mind all the other things that could happen, least of all an entire fucking newborn army - is giving me a headache.