Changing our forever.

Changing our Forever 16

BPOV

I was pleased to see how well everything was working out according to Edward's and my plan. We had the wolves firmly on our side, except for Paul who had unexpectedly disappeared. I knew how to take care of Paul though. All we needed to do was introduce Jacob's sister, Paul's imprint, into the picture, and Paul would become peaceful and compliant, not to mention firmly tied to Jacob. So, I wasn't terribly concerned about Paul's absence.

I watched with amusement from my high perch as the two groups tried to work out the details of the final competition. The werewolves had decided on their teams: Jacob and Embry, Sam and Jared, Quil and Seth. Leah was angry that none of the guys wanted her on their team, seeing her as the weak link, simply because she was female. The vampire teams were: Carlisle and Esme, Jasper and Alice, and Emmett and Rosalie. Each vampire naturally chose their mate, believing they would have the best teamwork. After all, paddling a two person canoe was all about working together. If the two were not well matched, they would actually end up working against each other. Edward was frustrated, believing his mind reading skills would give him a distinct advantage in being able to work well with a partner. The wolves contended that it was good he wouldn't be competing as he should not be able to use his advantage to win the competition.

I suddenly had a great idea. "Listen up, everyone," I shouted to the crowd below. They all stopped and looked up at me. "I'm going to introduce one final team. If my team wins, I get to make the final verdict. Agreed?"

"Who's your team?" several of them shouted up to me.

"Edward and Leah. A vampire and a werewolf working together toward a common goal. I bet you all they will win."

They started laughing at me. "Yeah, right. Okay, sure, Bella. That's fine with us." I saw Edward and Leah exchange a glance and then look back at me. I motioned for them to come up and talk to me. They both climbed up the ladder and approached hesitantly.

"Look, both of you have something to prove, right? Leah, are you really going to let them dismiss your strength and prowess like that? To say you're not good enough because you're a girl? Edward, don't you want to show them just how useful your mind reading can be? How it can help you prevail even when your partner is someone you don't know well and is actually your natural enemy? I have faith in you, Leah, that you are just as strong and talented as the rest of the pack, and I have faith in you, Edward, that you can decipher Leah's intentions and accurately respond accordingly so that the two of you make the best team possible. Honestly, though, most of all, I want to show both groups that we are stronger together than we are separately. So, what do you say? Can you go kick their butts for me, and show them all that what we have all been working towards in terms of becoming one big family is the best possible choice for all of us? We are better together than apart. Besides, imagine how stupid they'll feel when you blast by them."

Edward and Leah both grinned at me and at each other. They nodded and bumped fists. Both of them gave me a hug and a kiss on the top of my head, before enthusiastically discussing strategy on the way back down to the river.

The race started and the wolves immediately took the lead, all being comfortable and familiar with the canoes, the paddles, and the river. Edward and Leah were on their heels. The vampire couples had to work harder at establishing a compatible rhythm. Carlisle and Esme were the first to get the hang of it. As the wolves pulled out in the lead, Alice was able to start using her visions again to anticipate Jasper's moves. Once she did that, they quickly started gaining on the wolves. Unfortunately, once they got within close proximity again, Alice's visions once more became dark. They were better than they had been now that they had at least tasted true cooperation. Emmett and Rose were having a very difficult time. They weren't working together at all and actually started going in circles. They started yelling at each other, each blaming the other for their lack of progress. Jasper sent them a wave of calm to counteract their anger, and then sent them a wave of lust, just for fun.