~Bella's POV~
It's surprisingly warm for Boxing Day in Forks when Edward pulls up in the woods near their house. The rest of the Cullens are already there.
Within seconds of us being there, the pack show up and I'm surprised to see Bam with them so I look at Edward.
"Tell you later."
I nod.
"They don't trust us enough to be in their human form," Edward informs us.
"They came," Carlisle says. "That's what matters. Will you translate?"
Bam smiles at me.
"Hey, Bam."
Edward moves towards the wolves while Alice stands next to me.
"Welcome," Carlisle says. "Jasper has experience with newborns. He'll teach us how to defeat them."
Sam looks at Edward.
"They wanna know how the newborns differ from us," Edward says.
"They're a great deal stronger than us because their own human blood lingers in their tissues. Our kind is never more physically powerful than in our first several months of this life."
He turns to Jasper who steps up.
"Carlisle's right. That's why they are created. A newborn army doesn't need thousands like a human army, and no human army could stand against them. Now, the two most important things to remember are, first, never let them get their arms around you. They'll crush you instantly. And second, never go for the obvious kill. They'll be expecting that and you will lose."
He turns to his family.
"Emmett!"
Emmett gets into position.
"Don't hold back," Jasper grins.
"Not in my nature," Emmett smirks.
Emmett charges and the two brothers fight until Jasper gets Emmett down.
"Never lose focus," he smirks.
Edward and Carlisle fight next and when Edward gets Carlisle down, Jasper strolls past him
"One more thing..." Jasper grins and Edward looks at his brother, giving Carlisle the opportunity to get Edward down.
"Never turn your back on your enemy," Jasper continues, making an 'idiot' face at Edward. Me and Bam laugh.
They continue fighting while we watch and it's cute the way Jasper and Alice are when they fight, which ends with her giving him a kiss.
Jake comes up beside me.
"Some of you are gonna get hurt," I say. "Some of you could get killed because of me."
He looks at me.
"It's gonna be 100 times worse than this, right?"
He puts his head down and I stroke the top of it.
Edward comes over so Bam jumps onto Jake's back and the two of them walk away.
"Done for the day," Edward says.
I watch as Jake walks into the forest with Bam on his back then Edward leads me back to the Jeep.
I sit on the bonnet and wait while they have a family discussion. Jasper approaches.
"Jasper?"
He turns.
"Are you sure there's nothing I can do to help?"
"Well, your presence alone, your scent, will distract the newborns. Their hunting instinct will take over and drive them crazy."
"Good. I'm glad."
He turns to walk away.
"Hey. How do you know so much about this?"
He stops and turns back to me again.
"I didn't have quite the same upbringing as my adopted siblings."
He takes off his jacket, revealing bite marks all over his arms so I slide off the truck and take a closer look.
"Those bites are like mine."
"Battle scars. All the training the Confederate Army gave me was useless against the newborns. Still, I never lost a fight."
He walks away but I go after him.
"This happened during the Civil War?"
"I was the youngest major in the Texas cavalry, all without having seen any real battle."
"Until?"
"Till I met a certain immortal. Maria. I was riding back to Galveston after evacuating a column of women and children when I saw them. I immediately offered them my aid."
-1863 Flashback-
Jasper, on this horse, rides up to three beautiful young ladies.
"Lovely," Lucy says. "And an officer."
Jasper jumps down from his horse and removes his hat.
"You'd better do it, Maria," Nettie says. "I can never stop once I've started."
"What's your name, soldier?" Maria asks.
"Major Jasper Whitlock, ma'am."
"I hope you survive," she says. "You may be of great use to me."
She moves over to him and bites his neck.
-Present Day-
Maria was creating an army?"
"They were very common in the South. There were constant brutal battles for territory. Maria won them all. She was smart, careful, and she had me. I was her second in command. My ability to control emotions served her well. I trained her newborns, an endless occupation since she never let them live beyond their first year. It was my job to dispose of them. I could feel everything they felt. I thought what Maria and I had was love. But I was her puppet. She pulled the strings. I didn't know there was another way till I found Alice."
He smiles after the complete anguish on his face from the memories.
"Now, she'd seen me coming, of course."
"You kept me waiting long enough," Alice says, appearing by his side.
Jasper sighs and his smile grows bigger.
"My apologies, ma'am."
I smile at how cute they are together.
"I don't know what I'd have become without her."
Alice shushes him.
"You never have to be that again."
I turn away as they kiss.
I see Jasper standing next to Maria, and she's whispering something in his ear. Something is Mexican, I think.
Maria turns into Victoria.
"Jasper," she whispers.
She turns back to Maria and whispers again in Mexican.
Victoria...
"I want you to do something."
Maria...
Mexican...
Victoria...
"Kill her."
Jasper has an evil grin on his face and he stalks towards me.
He bears his teeth and lunges at me...
I jerk awake.
"What is it?" Edward asks and I sit up a little.
"The intruder, the newborn army, they're all her puppets."
He looks at me with confusion on his face.
"Victoria."
"Alice would have seen if she wanted to make an army."
"Unless she's hiding behind them and she's letting someone else decide."
Edward goes deep in thought.
He stands and goes to the door.
"You need to stay here during the fighting."
I follow him down the stairs and out the front door.
"I'm not just gonna hide while you're out taking all the risks for me."
"If it's Victoria involved, I need to keep you as far away from the fight as possible."
"Jasper said that I could be of help."
"We won't need your help. With the wolves in this, it's an easy win. The rest of us aren't gonna have enough to do."
"Okay. Either it's so dangerous that I have to hide or it's so easy that you're gonna be sidelined. Which is it?"
It's dangerous for you, it's easy for us."
He walks away but I go after him.
"I think it's dangerous for us to be apart. How many times do we have to prove that? I'll be worried. You'll be worried. And we'll both be more vulnerable."
"Okay, you're right."
"So I'm coming with you?"
"No, we both stay away together."
"I can't make you choose between me and your family."
"The only way I can protect you is to be with you."
I nod before we climb into the car and we head for a field in the woods where we meet up with Jasper; and then Jake and Bam turn up.
"You're not fighting?" Bam asks Edward. "What? Did you pull a muscle or something?"
"He's doing it for me, okay?"
"Whatever. Just tell us the plan."
"This field will give us an advantage in battle," Jasper says. "We need to lure the newborns with Bella's scent, but it needs to end here."
"Edward and I are going to a campsite. Even if he carries me, they'll still pick up on our scents."
"Your stench, however, is revolting," Edward says to Jake.
"Dude, you really don't wanna start comparing stinks," Bam says.
I give Jake a look, silently asking him why he's allowing Bam to talk for him but he says nothing.
"What he means is that your scent will mask mine if you carry me."
"Done."
"This is not a good idea," Edward says.
"It's only Jake, unless he's started having feelings for me."
I give Edward a questioning look.
"No, but I don't like you being alone with the wolves."
"Edward," Jasper addresses his brother. "They won't want to get anywhere near his odor."
"Okay," I say. "Let's just try it."
I go over to Jake and he picks me up.
"Eau de wolf coming up."
"Run!" Edward orders.
Jake runs into the woods and Bam follows, and once we get into the trees, we slow to a casual pace.
"So you gonna ask me to sit out of the fight, too?" Jake asks. "Or don't you care about my safety?"
"Of course, I care. But you'd say no."
"I won't have a choice, anyways. Since I let Sam be alpha male, I gotta live with the shots he calls."
"Since you let Sam be alpha?"
"I didn't wanna be in a pack, let alone be its leader."
"Wow! Chief Jacob."
"Opted out. But every choice has it consequences."
"Some more than others," Bam scoffs and I look at him.
"Don't start. Everybody makes choices. You're gonna have to accept mine."
"But you can love more than one person at a time. I've seen it. Remember Leah imprinted on me."
"So, what? You're in love with Leah now?"
"I care somewhat for her, yes."
"Well, we're not wolves, Bam. We can't imprint."
"It has nothing to do with imprinting. It has to do with feeling something for somebody. And I know you feel something for me. I can sense how I make you feel, physically. I make you nervous."
"Brandon."
He doesn't say another word as we continue up the mountain.