Bella's Little Sister

Chapter 41

As incredibly skilled as Jasper was, he was still no match at all for Alice. She was able to see every move he would make the second he decided on it. I had eventually moved off to the edge of the clearing in order to lean up against a tall and weathered pine tree, but the others were still more towards the center. I turned my head to look over my shoulder as Jacob appeared next to me, his gaze probing.

"Some of you are going to get hurt," I told him quietly as I returned my gaze to where the sparring was still taking place. "Some of you could get killed because of me. It's gonna be 100 times worse than this, right?" I felt a soft nudge from Jacob, and I rolled my eyes as he lowered his head a bit. "You're such a dog," I muttered quietly as I shook my head.

Edward soon joined us, and Jacob backed away from me as he approached. "Done for the day," he told me, his eyes flickering to Jacob and back. He took my hand as we slowly walked back to the Jeep. Edward planted me on the hood of the vehicle, stating that he would be back in a moment or two.

My sister was perched next to me, her eyes watching my face as I turned my head to glance at Jasper as he passed by. "Jasper?"

He turned his attention on me, waiting. I knew he understood what I wanted to say through my feelings. "Your presence alone, your scent, will distract the newborns. Their hunting instinct will take over and drive them crazy."

With a deep breath, I lowered my gaze to the bracelet and Jacob's charm. "I just feel like I should be doing more to help."

Jasper shook his head, taking my arm to help me down from the hood of the vehicle as I stood up. "There is nothing more you can do..." His expression and tone became serious as he spoke his next words. "...unless you plan on getting yourself killed."

I did not respond to that, choosing instead to avert my eyes as I looked down at my hands again. Bella wondered how he knew so much about this, to which he gave us a faint smirk in return. He explained that he didn't quite have the same upbringing as his adopted siblings. My gaze turned to the bites on his arms as he removed his jacket and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt.

"Those bites are like mine," My fingers gingerly traced the faint scar on my wrist, remembering that fateful day.

"Battle scars," he corrected with a faint smile. "All the training the Confederate army gave me was useless against the newborns." His eyes turned from Bella's face to mine. "But still, I never lost a fight."

It was dark outside, with sheer cliffs off in the distance, just behind a sparkling expanse of water as the stars shone down brightly upon me. Jasper was standing in front of me, and his expression turned sinister as I took in the deep ruby color of his eyes. Maria was standing rather closely behind him, whispering quietly in his ear, though her gaze never strayed from my face. It deeply unnerved me to see Maria's appearance flicker, only to have Victoria standing where Maria had been only seconds before. Jasper's lips then curled back into a wicked grin as he slowly began to advance on me, before quickly lunging forward.

I jerked awake, my heart pounding so violently that it shook my body. Edward was sitting up against the headboard, his eyes worried as he looked down at me. "What is it?" he questioned, reaching out to take my hand within his own.

"Nothing." I pulled back from his grip, pushing into an upright position in my bed, turning away from his worried expression only to see my sister's. "I thought you would be asleep," I said to her.

She shook her head in response, sliding out of her bed so she could cross the room. "What happened, Jess?"

I had always been a rather terrible liar, and Bella knew that better than anyone else. So I knew that it would be absolutely useless to dismiss the subject as she would ultimately call me out on it. After a brief second of hesitation, I sighed. "The intruder... the newborn army... they're all her puppets." My gaze flickered back to Edward's face, seeing the confusion in his eyes. "Victoria."