𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐑. paul lahote ✓

𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘 𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐄

┏━━━━⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆☾ ﾟ｡⋆━━━━┓

UNLIKELY ALLIANCES

TRAINING TO FIGHT AN ARMY OF NEWBORNS WASN'T HOW AUGUSTINE WANTED TO SPEND HER FIRST DAY OF SUMMER BREAK.

Especially as she was stood off to the side, watching as Jasper had thrown Emmett, the sturdiest one of them all, about a dozen feet away like it was practically nothing.

Augustine may have been a fighter in a figurative sense, but the minute she sniffed out danger headed in her direction, she took on a more flighty approach. Especially considering that when she had been human, she had learnt that sometimes fleeing the scene could be the difference between a surface wound and a stab to the chest.

But Emmett was all brawn, eagerly jumping back onto his feet and shouting in Jasper's direction, "again!"

"Maybe August wants a try?" Rosalie offered, a joking smirk on her face as she watched the younger girl look on in anxiousness.

She practically stiffened when Jasper looked her way, pretending to stretch her arms. "I'm still warming up but, you guys go for it, though!"

The sight of the familiar jeep rolled into the small clearing in the woods, Edward and Bella instantly popping out. Augustine watched the two from her peripheral, noticing how Edward finally saw the bracelet Jacob had gifted Bella fastened securely on her wrist. She didn't have to be a mind reader to tell that he was pissed, but rather than make a stink about it, he offered her his arm which she took readily.

The family gathered closely, Augustine stood just in front of Emmett and Rosalie when the patter of paws against the forest floor rang out. Suddenly, from a top an elevated cliff, the wolves appeared with the Alpha, Sam, guiding them towards the coven while making sure enough space was left between them. She felt like she hadn't seen the black wolf in ages, for he had stopped making his appearances to the creek when Paul started showing up.

The low timber of growls made it evident that they were anything but comfortable about the arrangement, but if it meant Bella would be protected, at least they showed up. Augustine's eyes instinctually searched for the one she knew most, but found that when she spotted the silver wolf amidst the pack of others, it's eyes were already focused on her own.

She gave a timid wave, receiving what she could only assume was a nod in return.

"They don't trust us enough to be in their human forms," Edward supplied on behalf of the wolves. His mind reading would be an important asset for communication it seemed.

"They came, that's what matters," Carlisle stated, always looking on the bright side. The blond patriarch stepped forward, approaching the looming black wolf that took a step forward. "Welcome. Jasper has experience with newborns, he'll be teaching us how to defeat them."

A beat of silence before Edward spoke up. "They wanna know how newborns differ from us."

"They're a great deal stronger than us, because their own human blood still lingers in their tissues," Carlisle explained. "Our kind is never more physically powerful than in our first several months of this life."

Though she'd made a huge amount of progress since, Augustine's own newborn phase felt like it happened just yesterday. The events of what occurred during those few months in Alaska, with the Denalis, was always fresh in her mind. Haunting.