Imprint From Out Of Town {Staul-StilesxPaul}

Chapter 30: Sparring

"I may have been practicing in my spare time," Alice smirked proudly.

"And by spare time, she means every waking moment," Jasper rolled his eyes fondly, his serious facade breaking for a moment.

"You can see all of us now?" Seth demanded excitedly, he might as well have been jumping up and down like a puppy.

"Well... not exactly. I can see Jake as easily as I can see anyone else now- but the rest of you are still fuzzy. I'm working on it," she smiled at the child.

Either way it was impressive. She wasn't supposed to be able to see us at all. It was must have taken incredible strength to get where she has.

"You hid this from me!" Edward murmured, smiling small at his sister. "How is this possible?" He asked, looking to Carlisle expectantly.

"I have a theory... that our gifts are like an extra muscle. Flex it enough, and it will grow- expand if you will. Alice has been working very hard. She's doing great," Carlisle said, the fatherly affection clear in his tone. "We've discovered another ability in the family as well." Carlisle smiled. Jesus- of course they have. What couldn't they do?

"Larkin has a gift!" Bella added, smiling encouragingly at her mate to explain.

"I can incapacitate my victims just by thinking about it," Larkin explained sheepishly. Carlisle was nodding at his description.

"Similar to Jane- except without the pain. Essentially, he causes painless seizures in his victims," the doctor elaborated.

"Cool," Seth breathed in awe, his big puppy dog eyes wide again. Such a kid, I thought fondly.

"Yeah- cool. But can we get back to the looming threat maybe?" Jared snapped sarcastically, throwing his hands up. I snorted at my best friends behaviour, but I couldn't manage a chuckle. This was serious, I had to take everything in, hear everything they were saying and consider a strategy.

My phone vibrated in my pocket, but I ended the call without looking at it.

"I still don't understand what this has to do with Jake," I frowned, because it honestly didn't make sense. "Who's leading the army?"

The only vampires that knew about us were the Cullen's. What possible reason could a newborn army have for wanting to kill him? And how the hell did they get something with his scent on it without us noticing?

"Riley Biers," Edward answered with a frown of his own.

"How long?" Sam addressed Alice.

"Days," Alices eyes looked far away for a moment before she resurfaced. "Friday."

4 days.

"What could Riley Biers possibly have against Jacob?" Esme wondered, her face the expression of a concerned mother as she looked at him.

"No," Edward spat in a hard voice, looking at Jake. "I will not let you put yourself at risk." Ahh, another conversation we couldn't hear. Lovely. Jared rolled his eyes shortly after I did, we all hated it when they did this.

"Jake..." Bella said in a warning tone.

"Come on guys! This is what we were built for- we can handle this!" Jake tried to reason.

And he was right! What don't people get about that? Why are we constantly being underestimated? Well- by Bella and the Cullen's anyway. Our tribe and elders had faith in our abilities.

"No you don't understand!" Edward thundered, and I had to make a conscious effort not to let my mouth fall open in shock. He never raises his voice. After a second he pulled Jake into his arms, leaning his head against his chest. "I'm sorry- I didn't mean..." he trailed off, and when he spoke again the resolve in his tone was obvious. "I won't let you get hurt."