(Thomas POV)
The morning after the party found everyone waiting for the wolves in an area considered neutral ground that was still large enough to be a training ground that Jasper felt we would need. Jasper and Emmett were wrestling around while we waited.
Leah, Edythe, and I stood with the rest of the group, though Bella and Edward were slightly apart. She was still focusing on the danger we would be in, and Edward was trying to convince her that none of this was her fault.
I do not doubt that I love the girl like a true sister, but her dramatic side was really starting to irritate me. That may have a little to do with why she was standing apart from us; she kind of stormed away from me when I called her out on it. Whatever.
Leah, in her wolf form, was lightly leaning on me until her head turned in the direction we expected the pack to arrive from. She slowly made her way to a large rock-outcropping at the same time, everyone started to hear small noises approaching us.
Emmett was the first to say anything when the wolves started to appear. "Wow, would you look at that!"
The wolves came out in a half circle, slightly apart from each other. I assumed it was so they all had room to move if they felt threatened. It was a good strategic choice, and I nodded approvingly.
Sam was in the lead with Jared and Paul on either side of him. Jacob came out on the side closest to Bella; his size had grown to be even bigger than Sam now, making him easily recognizable.
Leah approached their line and passed through it with Sam's eyes focused on her until she stood next to Seth. Seth's youthful look and patches of white fur made him easily recognizable.
Edward stepped away from Bella toward the pack and spoke, "They don't trust us enough to leave their wolf form, so I will need to relay their words."
Carlisle responded directly to Sam. "Thank you for coming at all, it's more than we had a right to ask of you."
Edward relayed, "We would hear the reason you asked us here from you directly."
Carlisle took a moment to order his thoughts. "There is a threat coming to Forks to attack my family. They are what we would call a newborn army."
Edward interrupted, "Of course they are not children…" Then he paused to explain his outburst. "Sam took the name 'Newborn' to be young vampires like children."
Carlisle nodded, "Let me explain. We as vampires are never more physically powerful than we are in our first year after the change. We believe it is because we still retain some of our own blood in our bodies. We call that the 'Newborn phase'. My son Jasper has the most experience with them, so I will let him explain."
Jasper stepped forward but didn't focus on Sam alone; his eyes met each of the Wolves as he spoke, making sure they knew he was addressing them all.
"In the early 1800's, the idea of newborn armies was introduced. It was found that if you can get them to work together, they are nearly unstoppable in a large fight. Now, as Carlisle said, they are stronger than any older vampire, but they are also at their most vulnerable. They are ruled by their fluctuating emotions and their own nature. Impulsive, easily distracted, and hyper focused on feeding."
Jasper then turned toward our group, showing trust in the wolves by showing them his back. The tenseness I saw in his jawline told me it wasn't nearly as easy to do as he acted.
"When you are fighting one, never go for the obvious kill. Going in a straight line against a newborn is suicidal. Simple feints and even obvious distractions are your best bet. Nothing too fancy as that is unnecessary."
Edward interrupted for Sam before Jasper could continue, "We would be allowed to fight these vampires off our land without it being a breach of the treaty then?"
The pack showed a restless excitement at this question. Each wanting to prove themselves a warrior in the eyes of their ancestors.
Carlisle was the one to answer, "We would not presume to tell the pack what to do. We simply invited you all here to learn about what is coming and how to defend yourself. But I won't lie, combining our forces means more safety for everyone. The alliance of our two groups would make this fight much easier."
Sam dipped his head once, short and decisive. "The pack will fight." Edward's voice proclaimed.
The pack shifted and their happiness at their leader's decision was easy to see.
Jasper waited for their excitement to settle. "I can't say this enough, newborns are stronger and faster than you expect. If they get their arms around you…you are dead."
His words seemed to settle the pack a bit, so he continued.
"Rule one: don't fight alone," he said. "If you engage one by yourself, the second one will hit you from behind. The third will be on your throat. You stay in pairs…minimum."
The wolves liked that. You could see it. Pack fighting was what they were born for.
"Rule two," Jasper said, "don't meet a newborn head-on."
Jasper demonstrated with his hands, simple angles, a forward lunge, then a sidestep. "A newborn wants a straight line. They want the shortest path to your neck. You deny them that. You force them to turn. You make them chase."
Paul's wolf features showed he was offended by the idea of not charging straight in.
Jasper's eyes flicked to Paul. "If you want to be brave, do it after you're effective."
That got a few low, amused rumbles. Even Sam's eyes looked like they approved.
"Rule three," Jasper said, "you never stop moving."
"Newborns fixate," Jasper continued. "They lock onto a target. If you freeze, you die. If you run without thinking, you die tired. You move with purpose. You move as a unit."
Emmett punched his fist into his other hand, making a loud pop. "Enough with the heavy talk. When do we start hitting things?"
Rosalie's eye roll was a thing of practiced perfection at his outburst.
Jasper just smiled, "Funny you should ask. I planned on you showing them just how a newborn attacks."
He turned back toward the pack. "My brother Emmett here most closely resembles a newborn in how he attacks. He relies on his strength of muscle and not his strength of mind." The last was said with a smirk.
"Hoh, I will so try not to hurt you, little bro," Emmett replied as he moved to square off with Jasper in a clearing.
While that was going on, Alice approached me.
"Something is off, Thomas. I have lost sight of the second group of vampires. I thought they were going to join the bigger group, but then I had a flash that they were going straight for town, and I saw Charlie in danger, but then, as soon as I decided to talk to you about it, the vision disappeared. You and Edythe also disappeared from the big fight."
Alice looked worried as she was trying to make sense of her changing visions. "The wolves will be a great help, I know that… But they make it so difficult to see what's coming. For instance, I can now see where the fight will take place if we go with Bella's idea. I can also see the fight taking place midmorning the day after tomorrow. But…nothing of you and Edythe."
I thought for a moment, "Could someone make three or four plans and not decide on what plan to go with in order to confuse you. Maybe tentatively decide on one, but even then, know that they will move to another plan at the fall of a leaf?"
Alice looked frustrated at my question, "Yes, that would mean I had to keep track of each plan every time they changed what one they decided on. That would be a way of keeping me guessing. But no one knows so much about my abilities. How have they figured out a way around me like this?"
I shook my head, "I can think of two sources off the top of my head. First would be the Volturi. Aro read Edward's mind, and Edward knows your power as well as you do. It wouldn't even have to be him; he could just write down the information and pass it to someone else to make the decision. The other option is the Denali coven. You have lived with them before, so I am sure they know a good bit about your visions. Laurent was there and had their trust; he could have passed it on to Victoria. We know from Bella's encounter with him that he was still in touch with her."
Alice let out a great sigh, "So many unknowns. I accuse everyone else of relying on my visions so much, but it seems I am just as guilty. Jasper always warned me that I didn't know as much about my ability as I should. Looks like I need to start training my mind as he does. He is always looking for new ways to use his ability. This is going to be such a headache to admit to him."
I laughed at the pout on her face, "Now what were you saying about Bella having a good idea?"
Alice glanced at Bella, "She is working on a way to tell everyone where Edward doesn't blow it out of proportion, but she wants to basically use herself as bait to lure the newborns to an advantageous area for us. It's a good idea, but I think she needs a few pointers. If you will excuse me, I will go talk to her."
I watched as Jasper continued to fight with Emmett, pausing occasionally to explain some point to the pack and occasionally to the rest of the family. It seemed that everyone would be fighting, so everyone needed to sharpen their fighting skills.
A few hours later, we were at the tail end of the argument Edward was having about using Bella as bait. But he finally agreed that it was the best and smartest move. Tomorrow, she would spread her scent in the clearing Alice saw the newborn army passing, and then she and Edward would set up camp that night nearby, so her scent isn't carried elsewhere.
"Before they leave, Sam has one last thing," Edward said, his voice still clearly unhappy. "He thinks it would be best if the pack registered our individual scents so there will be no accidents the day of the fight."
What followed was a clearly uncomfortable meeting where the wolves each smelled the Cullens individually, and once they were done, the pack left the clearing to head home. Leah went with them after having a silent conversation with Edythe.
Edward and Bella went their own way, and Edythe and I broke away shortly after that to head home. I really needed to get some food in my belly.
As I was putting my meal together, Edythe informed me of her discussion with Leah.
"She decided to go home today to help Sam talk to the Elders about working with us to end this threat. She plans to spend the next few days straight with us. I got the feeling that she wanted to spend some quality time with the two of us the night before the battle. If you know what I mean," She was raising her eyebrows in a suggestive manner when she finished.
I laughed, "We agreed that would be her call love, no overt pressure from either of us on her."
"But… She is driving me nuts. Her dreams scream out to me in the night; I can't not hear them."
I laughed, "Yeah, she does have some wandering hands at night, I will give you that." I remembered waking up with her hands tightly gripping the shaft of my penis on more than one occasion.
Then out of the blue, "I am worried about the second group of vampires that Alice can't seem to lock down, Thomas. Something about it really scares me."
Edythe's jumping topics showed me that her mind was working on many thoughts at the same time. It was an ability that amazed me sometimes. I walked around the kitchen island and took her in my arms. "We are prepared, love. All we can do is being done."
She snuggled into me, "Something just feels off."