(Thomas POV)
Sam moved back to the edge line with the others. Seth followed, and as he passed Sue, Sue's hand lifted slightly, didn't touch him, didn't break the boundary, just hovered like she wanted to and stopped herself.
Seth glanced at her, then joined Sam. He had trained as an equal, he belonged here and had clear goals to work on.
Jacob and Paul stepped forward.
Jacob came controlled. He didn't rush. He didn't puff himself up. He just moved into position like he was stepping into a job that needed doing.
Paul came like a challenge.
He didn't pace now. He stalked. Head low, shoulders rolling, the kind of movement that screamed prove it.
"Same rules," I said, before he could make a game of it. "This isn't about who's strongest. It's about what works when the other side doesn't care how strong you are."
Paul's eyes fixed on me, bright, hot.
I didn't blink, I didn't flinch.
"You want to hit something," I said evenly, "hit the drill."
Jacob's ears flicked, amusement or approval.
Paul's tail snapped once, and he growled at Jacob. He must have said something over the pack link Paul didn't like.
I stepped into the center again and rolled my shoulders, settling into my stance.
"Jacob," I said, "you're first contact. Paul, you're second. You don't both commit at once. I want to see if you can hold back without feeling like it makes you weak."
Paul's lip curled slightly…wolf equivalent of a sneer.
I pointed at him with one finger. "That look? That's exactly why I'm making you do it."
Jacob's posture went stiller, focused.
Paul's muscles tightened like he was about to ignore me out of spite.
I didn't raise my voice. "If you can't follow directions, you can leave now and save us time."
The clearing held its breath.
Paul stared.
Then, grudgingly, he shifted his weight back half an inch, compliance that looked like it hurt him.
"Good," I said, and meant it. "Jacob. Go."
Jacob moved.
Not with Seth's enthusiastic lunge, Jacob came in with a feint, testing my hands, testing my feet, reading how I reacted. Smarter. Harder.
I let him close, then gave him a small opening, shoulder turned, weight slightly forward, something that looked like a mistake.
Jacob took it.
And Paul, because Paul was Paul, started to surge…
"Uh-uh," I said sharply.
Paul stopped mid-drive like the word itself had teeth.
Jacob's ears flicked, he'd heard it too.
"Jacob," I said, moving with him, "you're going to learn something tonight, sometimes the best move isn't the bite. Sometimes it's making the other guy think you'll bite so he wastes his defense."
Jacob adjusted instantly, changed angle, tried to hook around my legs and tangle my feet.
I pivoted, kept my balance, and then stepped in close enough that my shoulder pressed into his chest.
Not a strike. A check. A reminder that humans could still occupy space.
Jacob braced.
Paul's patience snapped again.
He surged, this time committing.
I'd been waiting for it.
I turned, planted, and met Paul's charge with the same open-palmed control I'd used on Sam, except Paul hit harder, because Paul always hit harder.
The impact rang through my arms.
I didn't give ground.
I didn't win by strength.
I won by angle, turning his force aside and letting him slide past my center line into empty air.
Paul skidded, claws tearing up wet earth.
And Jacob, Jacob did what I wanted.
He didn't chase Paul's miss.
He didn't pile on.
He stayed on me.
Smart.
Useful.
I let that exchange run for three more beats, just long enough for patterns to show, then lifted a hand.
"Stop."
They froze. Paul's body still vibrating with the urge to keep going, Jacob steady, breathing controlled.
I looked at Paul. "You see what you just did?"
Paul stared.
"You committed on emotion," I said. "Not instruction. Which means an opponent can make you commit whenever he wants."
Paul's ears flattened slightly, furious.
"Good," I added, before he could turn it into a fight. "Be mad. Then learn anyway."
I turned my gaze to Jacob. "And you, good restraint. That's how you survive an enemy that wants to split you."
Jacob's head dipped once.
"Another thing you are all doing, is equating the human body you see in front of you with the weakness of a human. You could charge full boar into my body and not shift me in the slightest and my body is just at a normal vampire level. You must mentally adjust for that."
I stepped back, resetting my stance. "Again. Same start. And Paul, this time you wait until I give the cue."
Paul's tail lashed.
Jacob's ears twitched like he was trying not to look entertained.
Seth, at the edge, leaned forward like he couldn't help it. Sue's attention stayed sharp, not on my strength, but on how I corrected them, whether I was fair, whether I was controlled.
Terry watched like he was cataloging the difference between "rough" and "cruel."
I looked at the wolves, then at the moonlight cutting through the trees.
"Alright," I said, voice steady. "Let's do it right."
(Leah POV)
The night around me was as quiet as I could ask for, the noise in my head was more than enough to deal with right now.
I paused to look over the cliffs that marked the westernmost boundary of our land. Normally there wasn't much to see, but with tonight's full moon it was easy to make out the beauty of the sea at night.
Taking an extra sniff at the passing breeze, I was content that there was nothing unusual here tonight. Sam had informed us that he had come across some vampire traces he didn't recognize last week and wanted us to stay alert.
Relaxing for a moment, my mind drifted down the pack link to a clearing just a few miles from here.
{"Hard to stay focused on rounds when we would both rather be in that clearing training, right Leah?"}
Jared's thought pulled me away from obsessing over Thomas's explanation of what he hoped to accomplish with tonight's training.
{"Yeah, being able to train against someone with the strength and speed of a vampire will really help us know where we stand. Just going by your memories of tearing that one vampire apart isn't much help in that."}
{"Yeah,"} came the reply. {"As easy as we say it was, Thomas has the right of it. That was three on one, and I still got knocked back so hard I thought half my bones were broken. Took nearly a full day for the bruises to go away beside that."}
I started moving again, continuing to sweep our land's border. My mind was distracted for a moment by Seth as he was excited to be part of the first training pair. His desperation to prove himself was impossible to hide from the link.
Moving at a slower pace than normal so I could focus on Thomas... the training he was doing. I wanted to make sure he didn't rough Seth up too much. Okay that was a hard sell even to myself. With Mom there, she would step in if needed. Not that it would get that far, the whole pack was rather protective of my little brother. His...enthusiasm was contagious and the kid had heart for days. He was just so desperate to grow up and take his place in the pack.
Thomas would be gentle with him, I just know it. As much as he lowered himself during the council meeting, he seemed desperate to get permission for this training. Paul kept going over Sam's memories of that event and took joy in pointing out how weak Thomas came across at several points.
If I was honest, I was a little confused by his actions. He usually came across as so confident and strong, it was a shock to see him so passive. I wonder if there is a story there I am not seeing? Because the control he is asserting over the training I am catching glimpses of does not show him in a passive light at all.
Jared's amusement brushed my mind as I focused on Thomas.
{"You tune in much more, and you're going to lose your footing here."}
I didn't turn to look at him, {"I'm on patrol."}
{"Mm-hm,"} Jared thought back, and I could feel the grin in his reply. {That's why you're hyper focused on his lips as he speaks."}
I sent him a flash of irritation.
Jared just let it slide off him, not taking it seriously. He never did with me, not the way Paul did. Paul took everything as a challenge, Jared was more like a pillow, he just absorbed the hit and smiled back.
{"Relax,"} Jared added, softer. {"You're allowed to be curious."}
Curious.
That was a neat, harmless word. A word that didn't smell like need.
The truth was uglier than "curious," but I wasn't going to hand it to the pack mind like a gift-wrapped confession. So I did what I always did:
I walled it off.
I pushed the thought down into the quiet corner of myself where it couldn't echo.
A burst of pride overwhelmed the pack link. Seth was happy with the training. The support Thomas gave him was doing wonders. Seth had a direction to self-train in now. A purpose to focus his energy on.
My chest tightened in happiness for him. He was starting to truly recover from the loss of dad... I pulled up short there, any thoughts along those lines just led me down a path of depression and self-blame.
Jared's thoughts nudged again, gentler now.
{"Seems Thomas has a way with the kid."} he said.
{"Don't start,"} I shot back.
{"I'm not starting,"} Jared replied, too innocent. {"I'm observing. Like you."}
I hated that he could make it sound normal.
Though internally, I had made up my mind. Next time I was around Thomas, I would not hide behind a wall of anger. I need to see if I really feel the way Edythe implied that I did, and I can't do that if I'm not open to it.
Trying to change the subject, Jared asked. {"Do you think Sam will finally come clean with Thomas about Embry and Quil having shifted already? I hate that they aren't part of this training just because the Tribe want to be all secretive."}
I let out a sigh, {"I really don't know. This Sam is different from the one I knew. There is the man who really likes Thomas and can never repay him for saving Emily. And then there is the Pack leader who doesn't fully trust anyone, not of the Pack. Not even the Elders fully."}
{"Oh...look."} Jared interrupted. {"Its Jacob and Paul's turn. I will put $10 on Paul trying to start something with Thomas."}
{I'll take that bet."} I said quickly. {"No way Thomas lets it go that far, he gave up his dignity to get this training going. He has to have a plan to keep Paul in line."}
Twenty minutes later Jared let out a sigh, {"I will pay up next time I see you and I have pockets."}
I huffed mentally, {"You mean, after you borrow it from Embry. Right?"}
{"Hey, I have a payday coming up. Dad has been impressed with my work lately. I have so much more energy and strength since the shift."}
My gut clenched, and I tried to keep my thoughts clear. But I wasn't fast enough.
{"Shit... Sorry Leah. I wasn't thinking."}
{"No...its okay Jared. I should be used to it by now. Not like I can change it."}
Jared sighed, {"Look, I know I'm overstepping here, but you have to let this go Leah. No one blames you, not Seth, and least of all your mom. It happened, it sucks, but no one is at fault. The world just sucks sometimes. What's that quote our English teacher has up on the wall? "We suffer more in our imagination than we ever will in reality." or something like that."}
I tried to think of a way to explain it and as I gathered my thoughts, Jared kept quiet and just ran beside me.
{"I can hear that and kind of understand and even accept that sometimes, Jared. I have spent time hating our gift, hating the Cullens for being here and triggering it, even at mom for making me mad that night. I feel like I'm making progress in forgiving myself and then I see the sadness in their eyes, the loss and it... It's back to square one, all the self-loathing and hate rushing up and overtaking me."}
Realizing that he wasn't doing me any good, Jared let it drop with a final statement. {"Just give it time, Leah. And remember, the living need to live. The dead have done all of that, that they can."}
We finished our rounds in silence after that. Then after checking in with Sam, we separated and I went home to stare at the ceiling.