Chapter Fifty-Four - An Incoming Attack
*Genevieve*
I sighed as I watched everyone begin to pull up to the house, Alice fluttering in and out of the rooms happily as she made a final run-through of the house before everyone entered into the house.
"Don't forget to change, everyone!" She yelled, looking at us all as she rushed past us. "Changing doesn't just mean changing your pants and shoes people! I want to see a whole new outfit on your body the next time I see you! I mean it!"
After we had all, some more reluctantly than others, changed, we made our way back to the living room, watching as more and more cars drove and parked outside of the house. Each passenger got out and walked closer to the house with wide eyes, talking to their friends in whispers, sharing their wonder of the impressive house.
"Did we at least lock all the bedrooms?" I irritably ask, not wanting to walk in on anything later in the night. Theo just chuckled as he pressed a kiss to the back of my head.
"Already did it," he said, "the only keys to the room are in our pockets. So they would have to work pretty hard to get into them, not that they would want to..."
I sigh as I nodded my head, dragging Theo away and towards a secluded corner of the room, not wanting to party like the rest of the family.
Edward was pushed to the dance floor with Bella by Alice, who nodded at them before dragging Jasper to the dance floor as well. The two of them danced away in their own world for a while before they left, going to a different part of the party. Leaving Edward and Bella to awkwardly dance in the center of the room, both of them teasing each other about their dancing.
After a few more minutes, I scrunched up my nose, the disgusting smell of wet dogs having just entered the house. I shared a knowing look with Theo and we both sighed, sitting back further in our chairs, not wanting to deal with Jacob and his pack of mutts.
"Did you have fun today?" Theo asked, looking down at me, a small smile tugging the corners of his lips up. I chuckled as I shifted slightly in my chair, pulling my legs up and resting them on his lap, sighing when he started to trace his fingertips up and down my legs. The feeling made shivers run up my body.
"If you think helping Alice decorate is fun, then yeah, sure," I say sarcastically, rolling my eyes. Both of us let out little laughs, thinking back to just a few hours ago, Alice bossing us all around the house, her mind in peak planning mode.
"She may be short, but she sure is fisty," Theo laughed. I smiled as I nodded along with him.
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"Family meeting outside," Carlisle had stopped from his brisk walk and looked over at us with a grave expression on his normally relaxed face.
Understanding the obvious severity of the situation, we both nodded as we swiftly made our way to the outside deck that had been cleared of people. Esme, Bella, Jasper, Edward, on one side while Jacob, and his band mutts stood across from them, the confusion clear on their faces as well. As soon as we stepped onto the deck, Theo pressed a kiss to the top of my head before immediately concealing himself away in a dark corner, listening in but not wanting to be seen by the wolves.
Emmett and Rose stepped out onto the deck a few seconds after us, with Carlisle stepping behind them and shutting the door behind him, ensuring no prying ears listened into our conversation.
"Does someone want to explain what's going on?" Jacob asks, his eyes scanning each of our faces.
"They'll be here in four days," Alice explained.
"This could turn into a bloodbath," Carlisle said, pacing as he rubbed his face nervously. Esme just watched him worryingly, reaching out and interlocking their hands, pulling him back to her.
"Who's behind it?" Edward asked, Alice just shook her head.
"I didn't see anyone I recognized," Alice said, shaking her head, not really knowing the answer to Edward's question. "Maybe one."
"I know his face," Edward said, "he's local. Riley Biers. He didn't start this."
"Whoever did is staying out of the action," Alice replied, Jasper took in the information before glancing over at her worryingly. It wasn't often that someone was able to stay out of Alice's visions, especially for this long. At this point, someone would've slipped up and allowed her a chance- even if it was brief- to get a solid read on them.
"They must be playing with the blind spots in your vision," Carlisle commented, glancing over at Alice.
"Either way, the army is coming, and there aren't enough of us to protect the town," Jasper said, knowing that we had to focus on the problem at hand. The newborn army that was only four days away from attacking Forks.
"Hold up. What damn army?" Jacob asked him and his minions completely in the dark about the whole newborn problem.
"Newborns. Our kind," Carlisle explained calmly, looking over at the trio with a slightly furrowed brow.
"What are they after?" The taller of the two minions asked, glancing at his friend before looking back at us expectantly.
"They were passing around Bella's scent," Alice informed, "a red blouse."
"They're after Bella?" Jacob asked, now sounding worried, "What the hell does this mean?"
"It means an ugly fight," Carlisle stated, obviously saddened at the idea, "with lives lost."
Jacob paused, thinking it over before looking back at his two minions, who both nodded at him. He turned around, a more determined look on his face as he looked at Bella, then to Carlisle. "All right. We're in."
"No," Bella said, immediately shutting down the idea of the wolves joining in the fight. "You'd get yourselves killed. No way."
"I wasn't asking for permission," Jacob snapped back. It was clear that whatever had happened to the duo a few weeks ago was still raw, and untalked about, causing some obvious tensions to bubble to the surface. Despite all their differences, Jacob was still willing to risk his life to Isabella, so he still seemed to have a soft spot for his... how long that would last, though, is still to be determined.
"Edward?" Bella begged, looking towards him, hopeful that he would back up her idea. He stared at the trio for a minute and glanced back at Bella before speaking up.
"It means more protection for you," he said, not happy with the idea either, but knowing that it would help keep Bella safe.
"Jacob, do you believe Sam would agree to... an understanding?" Carlisle asked, taking the attention off Bella and Edward and putting it back on the more important situation.
"As long as we get to kill some vampires," he mumbled, rolling his eyes as he saw Bella pull her body closer to Edward's.
"Jasper?" Carlisle asked, turning to the resident newborn expert.
"They'll give us the numbers," he said, thinking the idea over in his head methodically. "The newborns won't know they even exist. That'll give us an edge."
Carlisle sighed as he stood up from his seat, "we'll need to coordinate."
"Carlisle, they're gonna get hurt," Bella exclaimed, obviously still not approving the idea of Jacob and the wolves fighting. I just sighed as I leaned against the door frame, making sure that no prying eyes stared for too long.
"We'll all need some training," he said, "fighting newborns requires knowledge that Jasper and Theo have. You're welcome to join us."
Jacob looked around, before stepping forward, stopping only a few inches away from Carlisle. "Alright. Name the time and place."
"Jake, you don't know what you getting yourself into," Bella said, still trying to convince him to back out.
"You lack of confidence in the puppy dog's abilities really does boggle me," I mutter, looking up at the sky and shaking my head.
Jacob glanced over at me with a look of pretty much summed up his shared feelings towards the subject, before turning back around and sighing. "Bella, this is what we do. You should be happy. Look at us, working together. You are the one who wanted us to get along. Remember?"
I mutter a quick curse before hastily stepping in between the two of them, forcing them both to step back. "Okay, we should all head inside. I'm sure that everyone is noticing that the hosts are missing."
The trio of dogs quickly shared a glance before heading back inside the house. Jacob's eyes ran over the entire family before eventually turning his attention towards the door, which was being held open by the shorter his friends. As he headed in he made sure to shoot Edward one more glare before finally stepping inside the house, which was blasting music that was far too loud for my taste. I let out a sigh as I turned around, looking at the dark corner that I knew Theo would be hiding away in.
"You can come out now," I called out, smirking slyly as Bella turned around, not knowing who I was talking to.
She quickly let out a gasp as she watched Theo step out of the dark corner, the shadows around him swirling behind him as he stepped forwards further into the light, causing the shadows to quickly dissipate.
"When did you- how did- what?" she sputtered out, looking at where Theo had stepped out from to where he was now.
"Shadow manipulation," he said simply, grabbing my hand and dragging me back inside. Both of us made our way back towards our secluded spot, kicking a few people out before settling down, watching as everyone continued to dance and eat. The music seemed to only get louder as the hours passed.
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"What type of dance is that?" My jaw drops as I watch the dance floor in shock.
"I do believe that it's called 'jerking'" Theo glances over and me and sighs when he sees my bewildered face, "yeah... I don't get it either, but apparently, it's all the rage..."
"And Esme wonders why I say people have no taste..."
"You do dress ahead of your time... but it is very 'fashion-forward' as Alice would put it..." Theo offers me an encouraging smile as he glances over at me, motioning towards my brown silver slip dress and matching suede coat.
"In my defense, this is your coat."
"Like I said, very fashion-forward."
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thanks to @MaddyJones726 for all the wonderful and encouraging comments, i love them! 🥺
having a pretty crap day so hope that this can at least make y'all smile ☺︎
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-T