CHAPTER TEN:
TRAINED IN COMBAT

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THEY WERE WAITING FOR the wolves to arrive. The two natural enemies had chosen a time and a place to meet in order to train for the oncoming newborn battle, the thought of going in blind unappealing on both ends. Verona ignored her family as she lingered behind them, peering down at her phone as it vibrated with another message from Alec. Rosalie appeared beside her as she deleted the message, shoving her phone back into her jacket pocket.

"He won't stop calling," Verona sighed, leaning her head on her sister's shoulder.

"He will," Rosalie told her. "Just give it more time."

"I don't know. Maybe it'd be easier to just talk to him."

"Easier, maybe, but you have every right to be upset." Rosalie reached out to link their arms together, offering her a kind smile. "If he has any shred of decency, he'll respect that and let you make the first move."

Verona wasn't given the chance to respond, for the wolves had entered the clearing. They prowled through the trees in a unified line, their ears pricked back in warning, each movement cautious as they came to a stop across from them, leaving a good amount of distance between the two. Everyone was silent for a moment, expectant.

"They don't trust us enough to be in their human forms," Edward sighed, looking towards Carlisle in concern.

"They came," their father assured. "That's what matters."

With that said, he began to move towards them. The wolves snarled in warning, their teeth bared. In turn, he raised his hands as a sign of surrender before folding his arms across his front, offering them a polite smile.

"Welcome," he said. "Jasper has experience with newborns, he'll teach us how to defeat them."

"They want to know how the newborns differ from us," Edward spoke, taking a look into their thoughts.

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

"Carlisle's right," Jasper interjected, appearing by his father's side. "That's why they're created. A newborn army doesn't need thousands like a human army, but no human army could stand against them." He began to pace in front of them, his hands clutched behind his back, eyes glimmering with knowledge that only the most skilled warriors obtained; the embodiment of a soldier. "Now, the two most important things to remember are first: never let them get their arms around you; they'll crush you immediately. And second; never go for the obvious kill." He shot a look at the wolves in particular, who began to grumble at his blatant insinuation. "They'd be expecting that, and you will lose."

Emmett was the first to fight against him. The two brothers moved away from their family, both seeming as confident as the other. Emmett might've been physically stronger, but he was brash and he tended to rush into things without analysing the situation first. Jasper, on the other hand, had both his knowledge in fighting and his gift of mood control on his side. He was much more inclined to win.

"Don't hold back," Jasper taunted, sending his brother a mocking grin.

"Not in my nature," Emmett smirked.

And so the fight began. Emmett sprinted across the clearing, his eyes narrowing in determination as he collided with his brother. Jasper chuckled, his feet sliding through the dirt as he was pushed back, but he remained steady the entire time. Emmett couldn't get him to slip up, no matter what he tried, and his impatience to win was starting to come through. Jasper's body soared through the air, but he landed on his feet with ease, bringing Emmett to the ground with one staggering blow to the chest.

"Never lose focus."

Edward was up next, with Carlisle as his opponent. Bella watched them stand across from each other, her worried eyes lingering on her boyfriend as he stared down his father, looking into the older man's mind for any possible strategies he was planning to use. Edward's mind-reading talent would definitely aid him in a fight. Whatever his opponent was planning to do, he'd see seconds before they did it, and he wouldn't have any trouble counteracting them.

Carlisle wasn't giving in, though. He had tricks up his sleeve, and while his odds weren't the best, the practice was beneficial. The father and son ran at each other, both determined to win. Edward launched his body forward, causing Carlisle to tumble out of the way at the last moment, sliding through the dirt as his son flew through the air, landing on his feet with a hiss. Then they were racing toward each other again, their limbs a mere blur even to the vampires and wolves. Edward was bringing his father down with a punch to the chest, a smirk on his face as he rose to his feet, looking towards his family in triumph.

"One more thing," Jasper smirked. Edward frowned, before groaning in realisation as his father shot up from the ground, kicking his legs out from underneath him. "Never turn your back on your enemy."

Verona was the next to fight. She made her way towards the centre of the clearing, tying her hair up in a loose ponytail as she moved. Rosalie followed her, a confident smirk tugging at her lips as she stood opposite her, waiting for the signal to begin. Neither had a talent that would benefit them in a fight, but their skills were evenly matched, so it was going to be interesting to see who came out on top.

Rosalie ended up making the first move. She rushed towards her sister, letting out a guttural cry as she swung her fist at the side of her face. Verona was quick to block her punch, her fingers wrapping around her wrist as she attempted to shove her away. Rosalie soared through the air, landing on her knees with a huff before she sprinted back towards her without hesitation. They were nothing more than a blur as they fought, a mess of limbs swinging and blocking the other's moves. Verona was the victor in the end, for she managed to pin her sister to the ground long enough for the blonde to give in.

"Good job," Rosalie patted her arm as they moved to stand to the side.

"Thanks," Verona smirked. "You too."

Alice was the last to fight. Jasper was going to fight against her; an interesting pairing, considering their skills. Alice's visions would enable her to see his choices as he was making them, and his mood control could influence the decisions that she made too. Not to mention the fact they were mates, who wouldn't want harm to come to the other.

They stood opposite each other for a moment, conversing with their eyes as they stared each other down. Jasper smirked, and then he struck. Alice scrambled out of the way just in time, prompting him to swing at her with his other fist, which she managed to block as well. He rose to the challenge, determination increasing as he chased her, their movements a dance across the clearing. In the end, neither of them won, too lost in their game of cat and mouse to pay attention to their training.

Verona watched them with an aching heart, the thought of her own mate coming to mind. That could've been them if they moved past their differences. She could've been happy for once, they both could've been. But things kept on getting in the way, and just as her faith in him began to form, something stopped her from giving her heart to him completely, and everything came tumbling down. It was an endless circle of distrust, and she hated it with every fiber of her being.

"It's going to be okay."

Rosalie didn't need to ask to know what was running through her sister's head. Verona might not have been aware of it then, but she was like an open book to them, and her eyes were a looking glass to everything she was feeling. Rosalie and everyone else in the clearing could see the pain in her eyes, the longing for something just out of her reach. And they wished there was something they could do to take away that agony, but her fate wasn't their own to mess with, and they could do nothing but offer her their support.

"I know."

But her doubts remained, and deep down, she knew that no matter how many times she tried to push them away, to ignore them until they were staring her in the face, they were always going to remain.

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BELLA FOUND HER LATER that evening. She was sitting outside when Bella and Edward arrived, her back pressed against the wooden railing that ran along the front porch, her eyes glaring at the stars above. The couple watched her for a moment before Bella whispered something to her boyfriend. Edward nodded at her, placing a comforting hand on his sister's shoulder as he stepped past her and disappeared inside. Bella sat down beside her then, their shoulders pressing together as they were consumed by silence. Verona didn't ask her to leave, despite it seeming like she wanted to be alone, so she took that as a sign to begin.

"Are you worried?" she asked, peering at her through curious eyes. "About the fight with the newborns?"

"It's nothing we haven't faced before," Verona shrugged. "Just a couple of rogue vampires who are trying to start trouble." She shot her a pointed look, arching an eyebrow at her. "Are you?"

"A little," Bella admitted, looking down at her hands with a sigh. "I just hate feeling so useless."

"Yeah," Verona nodded. "I know that feeling like the back of my hand."

Bella shot her an inquisitive look. Verona had never spoken much about her personal life. She was an enigma that no one but her family had managed to crack, and even then, they sometimes looked at her like she was a stranger to them, a plain of foreign territory they hadn't mapped out. Verona didn't miss the human girl's curious gaze and she released a knowing sigh as she sat up properly on the stairs, looking down at her with pursed lips.

"Do you want to hear my story?"

Bella wasn't given the chance to respond, her eyes wide as Verona began, looking into the darkness as she delved into the past, consumed by memories she'd never quite managed to suppress.

"I grew up during the early twentieth century as an only child to a wealthy couple, who were very much in love with each other." Verona's heart ached at the thought of her parents, of their glossy eyes and bloodied bodies, the last moments they shared together. "I was their miracle baby, that's what they always told me. My mother didn't have good odds when it came to having kids, so they were ecstatic to learn that she was pregnant with me." Bella smiled at the fondness in Verona's voice, but her grin was quick to turn into a grimace as Verona sighed, tears she'd never be able to shed lingering in her eyes. "I always wanted what they had; a love so strong that nothing could destroy it, not even death." Verona looked towards her, eyes flaring in the darkness. "My parents were murdered the day after my fifteenth birthday. I came home to find the house in chaos, their bodies bruised and bloody on the dining room floor. I ran outside screaming, begging for someone to help me. But in the end, they thought I was the one that killed them. The state declared me insane and they sent me away, right into the nearest mental asylum."

"What?" Bella gasped, a hand reaching up to clutch her chest as she gaped at her in shock. "Why would they do that?"

"Alice was my best friend," Verona shrugged. "And her visions of the future were frowned upon at the time. We were growing up in a world where everything abnormal was shunned. Alice's own father didn't even stand by her side. In fact, he was the one to send her away."

"She was in there?" Bella cried, choking on her words. "In the mental asylum?"

"She came in just a week after me," Verona nodded. "We were there for two years, forced to undergo their barbaric treatments to make us 'normal' again. To take away her supposed illusions of the future and my murdering tendencies. No matter what we said, no one believed us. And it looked like we were going to die in there, enduring shock treatments and waterboarding and everything in between." Bella looked like she was about to cry, her heartbeat echoing in Verona's ears. "The only reason we got out was because a vampire was hunting us." James; she didn't even have to say the name. It sent shivers of fear down both of their spines, chilling them to the core. "One of the workers there, who was also a vampire, he turned us before James could get to us. And he suffered the consequences for it too."

"Alice has never mentioned this before," Bella frowned, wondering why her friend had been so distant when it came to her past, why she'd never thought to mention it to her.

"She doesn't remember much of it," Verona admitted. "One of the side-effects of shock treatment is memory loss. And when she was bitten, a lot of her memories faded away. She doesn't remember much now, just small moments that we shared as kids."

They fell silent then. Bella looked at her with sadness in her eyes, but all the same, feeling so much closer to her boyfriend's sister. Verona hadn't bothered to associate with her before. She always pretended like she wasn't there, an instant of time that would fade into nothing. But things were different now, and while their situation was terrifying, she was somewhat grateful for it. Not all the consequences were negative, there was still a spark of light in the constant darkness.

"You better head inside," Verona spoke. "Edward's beginning to get bored without you."

Verona heard her brother's indignant grumble of disagreement, but she paid it no attention as she watched the human beside her crack an amused smile, snapping out of her daze. Bella's grin faded as she rose to her feet, looking down at her in confusion.

"Aren't you coming?"

"Maybe later," she said. "I need some time on my own for a while."

"Verona..."

"I'm okay," she insisted on instinct. "Now go on."

Bella hesitated before she disappeared inside, shooting her one last melancholic look as she went. Verona listened to her footsteps fade before she turned back to the shadows surrounding her, releasing a sigh as her phone began to ring again. She didn't have to look to know who was calling her. She simply clicked the off button on her phone and cast it aside. She wasn't ready for the confrontation, not then anyway. So she continued to sit there, the darkness enveloping her like a long lost friend.