Delicate (Jasper Whitlock Hale)

Chapter 3

The next day came faster than was needed. I didn't sleep the previous night, nightmares of my parent's and sister's faces running through my mind and waking me up every time I finally got to sleep. I was exhausted arriving to the meeting place and ignored everyone's chatter as I tried fighting away the thoughts of the nightmares. A few still managed to slip through and I could tell everyone was concerned. Leah and Paul were beside me in seconds, all of us following Sam, Jacob, and Jared through the forest until we reached the clearing. They didn't speak, their silent comfort being enough for me, and them just making sure they knew I was there.

We arrived at the clearing in just a couple minutes, already hearing a couple of them training with each other. Sam, Jacob, and Jared were the first over the hill and greeting them as best they could still in wolf form.

Laela, stay in the back with Seth. Jared said, Paul and Leah getting the hint and moving up closer to the front and Seth falling in the back with me.

Sorry you're stuck in the back with me. I told Seth, jokingly. I knew Paul meant nothing by it, he just didn't want Seth in the fight and for me to be overwhelmed.

Not your fault. They think I'm too young for any action. He said, still not sounding too upset by it.

You are. Sam, Leah, Quil, and I said all at the same time, none of us liking the idea of him being so young and having to fight. Suddenly a voice broke over the noise of our thoughts.

"They don't trust us enough to be in their human forms." One of the vampires spoke, I couldn't see which one.

"The important thing is they're here." Another spoke. Jacob left the pack and went and stood by Bella's side, leaving a hole big enough for me to see three of them. There was one blonde woman who could've easily been a supermodel, a big, dark haired guy who was covered in dirt, and small brunette woman whose face screamed that she couldn't even hurt a fly.

But she could, they all could. They were capable of doing everything the red eyes did to my mom, dad, and sister, they were capable of destruction and murder, and their sickeningly sweet smell that filled the field only made their prey seem to enjoy it.

I didn't even realize that I had drawn all attention to me and started letting little whines rumble through me, a mixture of the nightmares from the previous night and all the bits and pieces I remembered from my family being murdered flashing through my mind and consequently the packs minds, too.

Seth, get her out of here, she's not ready. Sam said, and Seth started gently trying to nudge me backwards.

"Wait, maybe Jasper can help." The first one who had spoken said. Only a few seconds later and all of the fear and anxiety pressing down on me seemed to leave and I could breathe again. Sam has a few choice words to say about a vampire messing with my head but otherwise let it go. I tried seeing who it was that had done it, but Quil stepped in front of me, purposefully blocking my view from the rest of the vampires, trying to help me remain calm.

Why are we here for training? We all know how to fight vampires. What makes newborns so special? Paul asked. I had been informed of the mind reader in their family and it only made everything that much more unsettling for me, yet I still couldn't help but feel calm.

"They want to know how the newborns differ from us." The same one from before had spoken.

"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." The second voice from earlier replied, still not having names or faces to put with the voices.

A third voice that had a slight southern accent spoke to us, "A newborn army doesn't need thousands like a human army. But no human army can stand against them." A wave of discomfort went through the pack but washed right over me, whoever Jasper was must've still been keeping me calm. "Now the two most important things to remember are; first never let them get their arms around you, they'll crush you instantly. The second, never go for the obvious kill, they'll be expecting that and you. Will. Lose." He continued, causing a slight growl to roll through the pack.

About an hour had gone by, the only thing I was able to see was the flashes of them as any of them were flung into the air. Quil, getting bored, had laid down and given me a little bit of a better view of the fight, as I had given up trying to peak around him and just sat down. I had picked up the names of almost all of them, but the one with a southern accent hadn't been in a position where I could see him. I also wasn't sure which one had calmed me down, the only one who's power I knew was the mind reader, Edward.

Despite none of us needing one, the southerner called for a break, pointing out the flaws that each member of his family made and how each of them could've potentially turned deadly.

He turned around to face the pack, starting at Sam and slowly making eye contact with each of the pack,

"I know it's in your blood to know how to fight vampires, but does everyone understand where they all made mistakes?" He asked, earning a nod from each member of the pack. "Good, because even the slightest slip up could cost you your life." He said, warning us again. "Now, are we ready... to..." he trailed off as his golden eyes made their way down the line and locked with my own brown ones.

I rose to my feet as I felt a rush of emotions wash over me, making me feel like I wasn't even touching the ground that I knew was still located below me. A flash of images of him and I crossed through my mind. The images weren't the most overwhelming thing, it was the feeling that I had lost everything I'd ever known before and suddenly he was all I knew anymore. He was what kept me here, he was what pulled me towards Forks and why I felt compelled to come to this practice even though I was nervous. The feeling of being held here by him and only him.

I finally came out of the trance, dazed and confused, and starting to panic again as I realized I had no idea what had happened. Another sudden wave of calmness washed over me and this time I knew which vampire it was coming from. All I heard were the voices of all the pack arguing over something called "imprinting" and whether I had or if it was even possible to imprint on a vampire.

Laela, lay down and stay quiet. Sam said, and I did as told, lowering myself onto the forest floor. Seth stayed beside me,

Don't worry about it, we'll talk about it once we're back in the rezz. Seth said. I didn't reply.

"Edward, what's going on?" Esme asked, looking back and forth between the blonde and me, then to Edward, who stood there with a confused yet amused look on his face.

"It seems as though their newest member of the pack has imprinted on our very own Jasper." He answered, also giving me a name to finally put with the blond's face. I let out a low whine, still unsure of what had even happened. All I knew was that I didn't want to see him hurt and I would do anything to protect him. Jasper was the next to speak,

"Well, let's continue with the training." His voice didn't carry the same tone as before, almost as though he was distracted and didn't really want to be training right now.

For the rest of the training session he seemed this way, being pinned easily despite not being pinned once before. It wasn't long before Carlisle called the end of the day, thanking us once again for coming to help. I didn't get a chance to turn around and speak to Jasper or even have Edward translate something to him as Paul immediately called for all of us to follow him, using the deep alpha voice I'd only heard once before to make sure none of us would try and stay.

I ignored everyone trying to talk to me on the way back; since none of them were explaining what imprinting even was, I had no interest in listening to their questions about how it was possible to imprint on a vampire when I couldn't answer.