His First Choice (A Twilight Story)

Training

I might have gotten impatient.

I also might have made my way back home to clear my head.

When I arrived at our family home I wrinkled my nose in distaste. The smell of the dogs were everywhere. I sighed and trudged up the stairs to Rose's room. I stood at the back wall of her room, which was the side of the house with a glass wall - another one of Esme's personal touches - and looked down at the rather large group that had gathered out back.

My family, besides Alice and Edward who were driving back with Bella, stood in a small half circle while the pack huddled together near the edge. A few of the wolves had shifted while some of the younger boys simply sat and watched.

Jasper was demonstrating a few of the proper ways to handle the newborns. I leaned against the window and watched as his eyes snapped up to my movement. He smiled and waved me down.

"Theres another one?"

I heard one of the younger boys ask Sam as I neared my family.

"This is Marceline," Carlisle introduced me.

"She drinks from humans," one of the boys quipped, disgust evident in his tone.

"You can be next if you'd like," I said sarcastically as I glared at him.

"Marceline," Jasper interrupted, "Is actually our best resource."

Jacob scoffed at that. I hissed in return at him as I took a threatening step towards him. Sam puffed his chest out and I heard one of the wolves growl in warning. I rolled my eyes.

"Marceline, while our family doesn't exactly follow her lead, has a valid argument to her diet," Carlisle admitted.

"Human blood makes us strong because it lingers in our tissue," Jasper explained, "While naturally we're a more evolved weapon, so to speak, human blood is really what gives us our full potential."

"Which is why the newborns are stronger than us," Alice announced as she strolled over to her partner. "Their own human blood still lingers."

I watched as Bella hesitantly walked to Jacob. I didn't need to touch her to understand how she felt. Betrayal was evident and it hung heavy in the air. While she had turned against our family for the pack it was still our responsibility to protect her against our kind.

Against Victoria, at least.

Edward hadn't moved when Bella did. He stood firmly behind Rose and Emmett, avoiding eye contact with anyone. I kept my eyes on him. It must have been painful to watch that girl switch sides like that. His eyebrows furrowed and he cleared his throat.

"I suppose it's time for some examples then?" Edward said, looking only at Jasper.

First, Jasper danced with Alice. He explained how you should never go for the easiest kill and how to stay on top of your target, even if they're three moves ahead of you. After Alice had clearly won, with her advantages, Emmett and Carlisle demonstrated Smarts vs Strength. While Emmett was a fine example of strength, he was also a perfect example of thinking with your strength instead of your head. Carlisle had managed to take the upper hand when Emmett turned his back, momentarily celebrating his victory. Finally, Jasper turned to me.

"To better understand what I mean by they're stronger than us I'm going to use Marce," he waved me to the center of the circle.

I slipped my shoes off as I took my place next to him. He turned to face me.

"Push me," he commanded.

I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Push me," he said again, "As hard as you can."

I laughed and planted my feet to steady myself. I cracked my neck for added effect before placing my hands against his chest. Then, I pushed. In a second he was flying backwards. He collided with Emmett and the two of them fell backwards into one of the tall trees behind us. I heard a loud crack as the wood splintered and Emmett groaned as he shoved Jasper off of him.

"Really, Marce?" He chuckled as he rubbed his head. I smiled and shrugged.

"They want to know how to fight them if they're stronger," Edward spoke for the wolves.

"I'm glad you asked," Jasper smiled and he dusted his pants off and made his way back to the circle, "Marceline I'd like you to fight Edward."

My heart sunk at that. I quickly glanced over at Edward who had a confused look on his face. Jasper turned to the wolves as Edward stepped towards me.

"Marceline is strong, very strong. Her and Edward are very good examples of skill versus ability," he explained.

I wasn't entirely sure who was who in this example, but I knew I did not want to fight him. Not only would he anticipate every move but the last couple days had been awkward between us to say the least.

"Ready?" He smirked at me, which surprised me.

"Always," I narrowed my eyes as Jasper moved out of the way.

I tried not to focus on my next move and instead focused on the way he fought. I could tell my thought process was tripping him up slightly. I watched carefully as he ran at me, digging his shoes into the dirt for traction. I spun around and the dirt beneath him kicked up as he whipped around to face me. He growled lowly as he rushed me. I ducked but he managed to tackle me into the dirt. I gasped as his grip tightened.

Pain.

I huffed as I pushed him off me. He landed in the dirt and Rosalie stepped back out of the way. I was on him then, and angrily slammed a fist down towards his head, which he dodged swiftly and grabbed my wrist instead.

Guilt.

He shoved me off of him and took the upperhand as I landed against the tree I had pushed Jasper into. Before I could retaliate he was against me, one hand around my throat and the other pinning my arm to my side. I struggled to kick out at him but he moved just out of reach. I screamed out in frustration as memories flooded me.

"You're cute when you're frustrated," he laughed breathlessly.

He looked like a God when he smiled.

Edwards hand dropped from my wrist but he kept a firm grip on my throat.

"I don't ever want to hurt you, Marce," he breathed against my neck.

"I trust you," I whispered.

I landed a hard kick to his side and he dropped me. I shoved him hard and he hit the ground. The dirt cracked beneath the blow. When I looked up I saw Bella watching us in confusion, as well as a few other concerned glances from my siblings. I huffed angrily as Jasper explained a few more things to the others. I kept my eyes glued to Edward as he stood angrily and stormed off.

"That's enough for today," Jasper was saying when I tuned back in, "Don't forget what you learned here. You will need it."

I brushed my pants off as I made my way back inside the house.

Tomorrow we would be leaving to hide Bella, according to Alice's vision. That meant Edward and I would be forced to be near each other for the next couple days, and after today I didn't know how that would go. I sighed as I pulled my hair up tightly.

We really needed to talk.