"When we were five, people asked us what we wanted to be when we grew up," Jessica's speech was actually really nice, "Our answers were things like astronaut, president, or in my case, a princess," we all laughed, "When we were ten they asked again. We answered rock star, cowboy, or in my case, a gold medalist. But now that we've grown up, they want a serious answer. Well, how about this? Who the hell knows?" We applauded and I could hear Mike sitting somewhere behind me cheering.

"This isn't the time to make hard-and-fast decisions. This is the time to make mistakes," she said, "Take the wrong train and get stuck somewhere. Fall in love...a lot," I chuckled, "Major in philosophy because there's no way to make a career out of that. Change your mind, and change it again because nothing's permanent." Oh Jess, how you were wrong about that, "So make as many mistakes as you can. That way someday when they ask what we want to be, we won't have to guess. We'll know."

Watching my friends and family get their diplomas was a touching moment. When it was my turn I hear such a loud uproar from so many different people. Carlisle and Esme, my siblings, Bella, I could even see Charlie. What warmed my heard was the large group of boys in the back. I could see the top of Billy's head, his eyes beaming. The whole pack was hooting and hollering for me. Paul was by far the loudest. I felt my cheeks heat up as I walked back to my seat, turning the tassle to the other side of my hat.

Alice had the house decorated and ready for the party in less than ten minutes. It was really astounding how quick she could work. Her real challenge was getting me into what she called "party appropriate" attire. I tried to fight her tooth-and-nail on a casual outfit but she basically locked me in the bathroom with nothing but a black cocktail dress and heels.

I huffed as I came out in the outfit, letting my hair sit on my shoulders, "If I'm wearing this at least let me put on my leather jacket," I pleaded, thankfully she accepted.

Not even an hour later our house was packed with our graduating class. Many of my classmates came up to me and complimented the decorations and my outfit, I kept reminding them Alice was responsible for everything. Guess I was still the most approachable of my family.

I smelled Bella the moment she walked in, we'd been a bit distant since that night in her house. I knew that in the end she was going to be with my brother, and as much as I hated the way she was with Jacob at times...she was still going to be a party of my family. I approached her cautiously, girl wasn't scared to throw a punch at Jake, so who knows what else she would do.

"We okay?" I asked shyly when she saw me.

She smiled, bringing me into a hug, "We're okay."

We walked up the stairs and Angela practically ran over with Jessica when she saw us, "You made it!" She beamed.

"I mean I live here so..."I joked knowing she was talking to Bella.

Jessica laughed before asking what we thought of her speech, "Too easy-breezy? Too self-helpful? You hated it?"

We both shook our heads, "It was amazing Jess," I praised.

"I think you pretty much nailed it," Bella agreed.

She smiled, "It's like I was born to lead right?" I chuckled, we were just helping to inflate her already large ego. Thankfully Angela liked the song that started through the speakers and dragged her to the dance floor.

Bella and I walked away together, she was commenting on my out-of-character outfit when I smelled them. I beamed as I turned back to the stairs just as they got on the landing. Paul had come, and so did Jacob, who brought Quil and Embry with him. All of them were wearing dark t-shirts and pants, so cute they were matching!

I smiled as I momentarily left Bella to greet them, "Well isn't this a sight to see, you boys lost?" I teased crossing my arms over my chest.

They all turned and smiled at me, Paul beamed and wrapped his arms lovingly around me, "You look beautiful," he whispered in my ear.

I shivered, and Embry nudged him, "Keep it in your pants dude, we're in public," the both of us sent him a dirty look but I broke and giggled.

Bella, having seen where I retreated to started walking over. Jake met her in the middle. The guys looked less than excited to be in the vampire's territory but still they looked around in curiosity.

"What are you doing here?" Bella asked him.

"You invited me, remember?"

Bella gave an unamused snort, rolling her eyes, "Was my right hook too subtle for you? That was me uninviting you."

Jake once again apologized for being a dick and presented her with a graduation present, it was a little bracelet with a wolf figurine on it, "I made it myself."

I aw'ed inching closer to get a better look, "Way to make me look bad, Jake," Paul muttered pulling me back by the staircase, "For the record. I made this a few weeks ago and was waiting for the right time to give it to you," He dug into his back pocket before pulling out a beautiful necklace.

The lace ribbon that went around my neck was so smooth, and it was a metallic black in color. Dangling on the middle was a carving of the Quileute tribe symbol, matching the tattoo on his bicep. The detailing was flawless, it took me a second before I realized what it signified.

"Paul, is this..." I looked up at him from the necklace.

He took his free hand to shyly scratch the back of his neck, "It doesn't have to be but-"

"Yes," I interrupted, turning my back to him and putting the ribbon around my neck so he could clasp it.

Our tribe had a tradition, it was kind of silly but it warmed my heart to see him put so much effort into something that honored where we both came from. Back home, the man would make a necklace and present it as a sign to others. The woman who wore the necklace was spoken for, and they would one day be married. It's like a promise ring. And the fact that he made the pendant with his tribe's tattoo was perfect. It showed that we were connected.

When the necklace was around my neck he leaned down and planted a kiss on my shoulder, it was adorable. I felt someone walking down the steps and went to move before I noticed it was Alice. I was about to apologize when she froze and I saw the glossed-over look in her eye.

"Oh no."

"Alice?" I put my hand on hers as her eyes focused again.

Bella sped over, having seen my sister's demeanor, "Alice what did you see?"

"The decisions been made."

Jake approached curiously while Paul eyed me confused, "What's going on?" He asked.

"You're not going to Seattle," Bella wondered.

Alice shook her head, I tensed, "They're coming here aren't they?" She nodded.

~

Once the house cleared out we all huddled around listening to Alice, "They'll be here in four days."

Carlisle frowned as he leaned against a table, "This could turn into a bloodbath."

"Who's behind it?" Edward asked while I kicked off my heels.

Alice was confused, "I didn't see anyone I recognized...Maybe one?"

Edward nodded, "I know his face. He's local. Riley Biers-"

I looked up, "Didn't he go missing like a year ago? Why would he be doing this?"

"He didn't start this," Edward shook his head.

"Well whoever did is staying out of the action," Alice muttered.

Carlisle nodded, "They must be playing with the blind spots in your visions."

"Either way, the army is coming and there aren't enough of us to protect the town," Jasper reminded us.

That's when Jake interviened, "Hold on; what damn army?"

"Newborns, our kind," Carlisle answered, Paul sent me a look, that was probably the one thing I was keeping from him for his protection.

"What are they after?" Embry asked.

"They were passing around Bella's scent. A red blouse," Alice answered.

Jake looked more alert now, "They're after Bella? What the hell does that mean?"

I rolled my eyes, "Means there's gonna be a nasty fight."

"Cate," Carlisle reprimanded before sighing, "She's right though. There may be lives lost."

The boys exchanged a look, coming to some kind of mutual agreement Jacob nodded, "We're in."

"No," Bella snapped, I looked at Paul worried, "You'd get yourselves killed, no way."

Jacob looked at her stoically, "We weren't asking for permission."

Bella looked to Edward, trying to get him on her side. But we already knew if it meant more protection for her then he was all in. I frowned at Paul, the idea of him being in an ugly fight and getting hurt made me a nervous wreck.

Even with the looks I was giving Carlisle, he said, "Do you believe Sam would agree to an understanding?"

"As long as we get to kill some vampires."

Carlisle nodded grateful, "Jasper?"

"They'll give us the numbers. And the newborns won't even know they exist. It'll give us an edge," he nodded.

Carlisle got to his feet, "We'll need to coordinate."

Bella jumped off the table, "They're gonna get hurt!"

"We'll all need some training," he defended, "Fighting newborns requires knowledge that Jasper has," I nodded remembering the story he'd told me when I first moved in, "You're welcome to join us."

It was Paul who answered this time, "We'll be there," I looked at him sadly whilst he looked at Carlisle apathetically.

"Name the time and place," Jacob agreed.

Bella's eyes were swimming as she looked at him, "Jake, you don't know what you're getting yourself into.

"This is what we do," he answered simply.

Paul saw the look on my face and smirked like the asshole he was, "I thought you wanted us to get along with your family?"

I crossed my arms angrily, of course he had to throw that shit in my face.

~

Who knew training could actually be fun? I was stretching my paws while Jasper threw Emmet across the forest floor. It was pretty funny watching him steaming over defeat.

"Again!" He yelled stalking back.

Edward pulled up in the Jeep with Bella just as I heard them coming. The thoughts were all jumped as they were having conversations with each other, I felt myself getting a migraine.

"I don't know how you guys don't get headaches more often," I told them as they came through the tree line into view. I looked at my pack with pride just before Edward spoke on behalf of Sam.

"They don't trust us enough to be in their human form."

Carlisle smiled respectfully, "They came. That's what matters. You can translate and Cate can be the demonstrator for them."

Paul growled, "Like hell you are."

I looked back at him wearily, "Relax."

I stood in the middle as the unofficial barrier between the two groups formed, Carlisle joined me smiling as he put a hand on my shoulder and addressing the pack, "Welcome. Jasper has experience with newborns. He'll teach us how to defeat them."

Sam looked over at Edward, "How different are they from you?"

"They want to know how the newborns differ from us."

Carlisle nodded, "Well they're a great deal stronger than us. Because their own human blood still lingers in their tissues. Our kind is never more physically powerful than in the first several months of this life."

Jasper nodded taking over, "Carlisle's right. That's why they're created," I smiled at my brother, his past experience in the War helped us greatly now, while he was very quiet he radiated leadership, "A newborn army doesn't need thousands like a human army, but no human army could stand against them. Now the two most important things to remember are, first, never let them get their hands around you. They'll crush you instantly. And second, never go for the obvious kill. They'll be expecting that. And you will lose."He proceeded to call Emmett, he said it was because Emmett was the strongest but I liked to think it was because he acted like a newborn in the way of only relying on his strength to overpower his opponent, "Don't hold back."

"Not in my nature."

With Jasper as his opponent Emmett was quickly pinned, showing just how easily the strongest could be taken down with a bit of skill, "Never lose focus."

When Edward went up against Carlisle it was clear he had the upper hand, being able to see the moves he made in his head. When he had Carlisle pinned he stood up proudly, "One more thing..." Jasper told him just as Carlisle flipped Edward onto his back, "Never turn your back on your enemy."

My turn, much to Paul's protests. Thankfully Sam ordered him to stay put. I squared up against Jasper, who proceeded to taunt me like I was a puppy. I lunged going for his legs instead of his head. He flipped out of reach and went to grab me, I went and latched my jaw on his arm, not tight enough to hurt but enough to get the point across. I used my strength to fling him against a tree and in a moment of daze mimicked the action of ripping his head off. He praised me for not holding back and moved on to Alice.

Alice was also at the advantage, being able to see all his moves as he decided them. She gracefully cartwheeled and jumped easily out of reach, it almost looked like they were dancing instead of sparring. While the others continued I saw Jacob walk over to Bella. Their conversation was pretty one sided as he couldn't respond to her.

"You're so nosey," Paul notes as he walked over to me, nudging me slightly with his head.

"I'm not listening to them," I insisted, he huffed.

"You know I don't like the idea of you fighting right?" I nodded, I saw his mind drift to possible scenarios of me getting hurt.

"I can't sit on the sidelines though, especially when my family...when you're fighting."

He knew this was hard for me, we huddled closer together, our fur practically blending by our proximity. We separated when Sam said they were done for the day. Paul licked the side of my face before joining the pack and retreating. I watched them go before going back to my family. It was Esme who smiled kindly at me as I approached.

"You really love him, don't you?" She asked petting me behind my ear.

I nodded, I really did.