Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or anything else that Stephenie Meyer has chosen to create.

*** Chapter 14: Combined Forces ***

The steady falling rain created a constant soundtrack the day of Leah's funeral. Seth sat stoically by his mother as she cried softly into the handful of material that was once one of Leah's favorite t-shirts. Cali, Emily and Mia occupied the remaining folding chairs that sat crookedly on the uneven earthen floor. Behind them the wolf pack made a formidable wall of bodies, each male's massive form taking up more space than the average human, making it impossible to see over them. The rest of the mourners gathered in a group on the opposite side of the casket, the amount of people staggering as every member of the tribe felt it necessary to pay respect and honor to the girl who had given her own life in an effort to protect theirs.

Bella had refused to stand towards the front. While she loved Leah and wouldn't have considered not being there, hidden by the wall of bodies, she knew that her position in the pack prevented the remaining tribal members from staring at her. She just couldn't shake the feeling that when this was over, something would have to change, the small world that had shielded her from the outside had been invaded with death and that couldn't be erased.

Foregoing the large family meal after the service, Bella ran up the beach, letting the wind and falling water lash at her face, her body barely registering the sting as she chose to think of the rivets of salt sea spray and rain running down her cheeks as tears that she was no longer capable of crying since adopting this new body. Her lungs and muscles refused to ache, no matter how hard she pushed. There was no way to alleviate this grief that tore a jagged gash into her heart short of turning her hands into weapons of destruction, hell bent on capturing and ripping apart whatever they could latch onto. At this point, she almost prayed for an entire pack of red-eyed demons that she could slowly unleash her wrath on.

Mat's wolf was edgy and restless around her, feeding off the electrified current of tension that existed around Bella now. Sex was hard and rough, pushing their bodies to the limit as both partners were capable of mending scratches and bruises they inflicted in the battle of pleasure pushed towards the edge of something darker.

Reaching the tribal property edge, Bella saw Jasper speaking with a small group of strangers. Beckoning her over with a wave of his hand, she joined them, taking note that this must be the Denali coven as their eyes matched the same shade as her own. In the midst of introducing her to the group, the one named Kate reached out her hand for Bella's. The moment skin touched skin, Bella felt the tiniest pin prick of shock before her shield blocked the intrusion. Snarling slightly at the woman who dared come to her home and launch an unannounced assault, Bella threw her back into the nearest tree, the trunk cracking under the force. Kate attempted to move but found she was bound tightly. Her sisters cried foul play while Jasper placed a soothing hand on Bella's arm, asking quietly that she release the woman. Blinking to clear her head, she turned from the others who were rushing to their fallen sister and strode angrily through the trees.

"Bella, try to remember, they're here to help," Jasper reasoned.

Turning on him and pushing a finger into his chest, she countered, "What exactly is helpful about trying to electrocute or shock me or whatever the hell she was trying to do?"

Crossing his arms, the military major who felt the need to be in command tried not to snap at the emotionally charged vampire who had the balls to face him head on, refusing to see him as a superior. She actually reminded him of Peter who laughed every time Jasper tried to threaten his way to getting the man to follow his orders. It'd be interesting to see how the two got along.

"The Denalis were forewarned of your power, and Kate was testing the waters, so to speak. Dumb ass move on her part, I admit, but Bella, the tales of how you can take down your enemy almost effortlessly are intriguing and others are curious to know if what they've heard is true."

"It wasn't enough to save Leah, was it?"

Jasper felt the raw honest sorrow in her words, her pain creating a picture of warring colors on the canvas he could detect with his abilities. Walking her swiftly away from the group, waiting until he could no longer hear the others, he faced her.

"Bella, shield us so no one can hear or sense our presence."

Looking at him questioningly, she projected a barrier around them both and with a nod from her, Jasper pulled her towards him. Resisting his hold and finally moving forward grudgingly, he enclosed her in a hug, pushing her feelings back on her till she crumpled in his grasp, wracking sobs that threatened to break her into a million pieces escaping her lips. He let the emotions bleed out till she started to become numb, and then took over by trying to fill her back up with waves of peace and comfort.

When he finally felt her stabilize, he loosened his grasp. Taking a step back, Bella wiped at her face in a very human gesture, but there were no tears or ruined mascara to bother with.

"You look perfect, as always. One of the upsides of our kind," he assured.

"Thank you."

"Hey, I have to be useful for something, right? And, I know what it's like to try and remain strong in everyone else's eyes, like nothing bothers you. The problem is, after awhile of trying to shut out your pain, you just become a cold, heartless creature capable of doing unspeakable things. It takes a lot of effort to pull yourself from that edge. I'm just doing what I can to prevent that from happening."

Punching him playfully in the arm, Bella complimented, "You're good people, Jasper."

He smiled crookedly and she could see his magnetic charm shine, even when he wasn't trying, "You think?"

"Who knew you were so emotionally in touch with yourself? That you're really a big, old softie? Reminds me a little of Emmett…"

She barely got the words past her lips when he'd grabbed her and flipped her over his head, pinning her to the ground, growl ripping through the air. For a second, no sound could be heard but his aggressive snarls as the dirt and debris around them settled once more. Then Bella started to laugh, her giggles picking up speed so much so that she couldn't stop. She didn't even bother to fight back, but just relaxed under his 'angry' face, her amusement over his actions changing the colors around them, a warm mixture of yellows and oranges.

Fuck, Jasper thought, just like Peter.

Taking the time to run at as leisurely a pace as she could manage along the length of the border, Bella slowed when she heard a singular wolf heading her direction. Mat broke through the trees and joined her side.

Stopping and waiting for him to phase, Mat was surprised to find that the change was easier, that the storm that had been swirling around the two of them had shifted.

Observing her from head to toe, he asked, "You okay?"

A gentle smile gracing her face, "I'm more than okay, you?"

Closing the distance between their bodies, Mat took her face in his hands, staring into eyes that were a little clearer, like she had found a way to break through the surface of the waves that were drowning her just that morning as she stood beside him during Leah's funeral, fingers tightly squeezing his hand till his bones started to complain and she relaxed her grip.

Pulling her flush against him, he buried his nose in her hair, inhaling the scent of her and…Jasper.

"You've been visiting with Jasper again."

It wasn't a question or an accusation, merely a statement.

Bella nodded, "He helped ground me, allowed me to deal with some of the pain that I was feeling over losing Leah."

"I'm sorry I can't do more for you," Mat apologized.

It was frustrating to feel helpless, like he couldn't fix the situation but another man could, well another vampire. He knew the connection between Jasper and Bella wasn't sexual or romantic in any way, but the man seemed to know just what to say to her and made her laugh with their interchanges. Mat tried to stomp down the possessive wolf and not become a jealous ass during moments like these.

Pulling back, she placed her fingers over his lips, silencing any further words he would choose to say, "No, no, you do more than I ever expected or thought to hope for, and you haven't complained or criticized how all over the place I've been. You let me be myself and you've shown me that you're the safe place I can rely on, even in this mess we're in. I love you."

Leaning in for a kiss that stretched into several, Mat inhaled and froze, "I love you too, but you know I'm not liking this new smell very much."

Grinning in understanding, Bella backed away and pulled her simple funeral dress over her head, revealing a lacy black bra and bikini set.

"Care to wash off in the river together?"

Seeing that he was already more than half way to a full hard-on, her laughter filled the air as she ran towards the water, knowing he'd be on her in a heartbeat if she didn't make her legs move faster. Teasing him with her body always made the man an animal, one that she'd gladly submit to.

Lounging on the back porch at Sam's place, Bella was perched on the railing and Mat was leaning back on the paint chipped wood beside her. Jacob was explaining to the pack the current situation and that Carlisle had called asking for both sides to come together and meet so there would be no confusion, especially with the human drinkers, as to who was friend and who was foe.

In the two days since Leah's funeral, the number of vampires in the area had increased to sixteen in number, but the wolves had experienced some changes as well. Both Quil and Embry found imprints in Leah's female cousins, Hanna and Sara. While the sisters had not been fully informed as to the tribe's legends, they still couldn't refuse the pull to now stay at the reservation and found comfort in having each other to enter this new world with. They'd also welcomed David and Erik as members of the pack. Sam had left Seth and Aidan with the task of watching over the newest changelings, hoping the responsibility would give Seth something to focus his mind on.

Together, they formed a combined horde of 27 supernatural beings.

Bella's thoughts were churning as she gazed at the men surrounding her, knowing their strength was great, but without knowing how many fighters Maria would throw at them, she wondered if it was enough.

"Bella?" Jacob snapped his fingers, trying to get her attention as she had settled into a silent statue, perched like a stone gargoyle on the porch.

"Sorry, Jake, zoned out for a moment there."

"Aren't you supposed to have extremely heightened senses?" Erik questioned, "I mean, what if one of us had tried to attack you, you looked like you were on another planet."

Sighing, Bella reminded herself that the new guys had never had the chance to see the enemy in action, that this was simple curiosity and not some pompous attitude, "Well, I tend to let my guard down a little around here because I know I'm safe on the reservation. But, had you tried to make a move, you're right, I have excellent senses that would have alerted me to the attack and I would have been ready. It's like my mind works on separate things simultaneously, vampires are excellent multi-taskers. So, don't be an idiot and think you can catch one by surprise."

Erik looked skeptical, but in an attempt to prove Bella's point, Paul had slid away from the group, shifted and circled back, trying to leap on Bella as she was finishing her last statement. Hearing and sensing his presence even as she carried on the conversation, Bella had formed a wall as he jumped that the wolf slammed into and the she effectively held him in place. Erik looked past Bella's shoulder, realizing that Bella had never looked backwards or shifted an inch as she deflected Paul's actions. Bella arched an eyebrow at the kid as if to say, see? He just nodded mutely in response.

"What were you asking Jake?"

"I just wanted to know if you're good with these new vampires being around, if you feel comfortable having them beside us in a fight."

"I trust Jasper completely," Bella explained, "and while these strangers are just as foreign to me as they are to you, he insists they're on our side, and so I'm following his guidance."

Jacob leveled a stare at Bella, looking for any doubt in her eyes and finding none, "Okay then, let's roll out."

Since the group had grown in size, they chose a nearby clearing that was large enough to hold both sides. Jacob and Sam remained upright, walking with Bella to meet the newest Forks' residents.

Introductions were quick, both groups sizing the other up. Jasper didn't want to back down from their recent training exercises, but felt today would just be about meeting one another.

Bella watched as a red-eyed man with bronze hair tucked under a cowboy hat walked towards her. While his exposed forearms were scarred, and his build was rather thick, he was still about an inch shorter than her, which for some reason she found surprising. She had always assumed that vampire males would always be taller than the females, but realized that was stupid, as there had to be some variety in shapes and sizes as much as any other race.

Standing next to Jasper, a toothpick clinched between his teeth, he spoke out of the side of his mouth, "She doesn't look very scary…I don't know, I was just expecting… something more if Maria's getting so worked up."

Bella bristled at the comment and snarked back, "Well, I wasn't expecting to meet a red-eyed dwarf when the sun rose this morning, so count us both surprised by the unexpected."

Jasper rolled his eyes, "Peter, Bella…"

Looking at Jasper as if to say 'what?' Bella had turned her attention away from Jasper's best friend giving the other man an opening to try and leap towards her. Bella slammed him back and pounced on top of him, baring her teeth.

"Can you do any type of fighting that doesn't rely on that handy dandy force field you've got going, darlin'?" he taunted

Growling and pulling back her shield at Peter's challenge, still pinning him down, Bella spit out, "I'm not your darling."

Peter laughed and flipped her over his head easily before jumping up from the ground. Bella twisted around and pushed into him as he charged at her, using her low-shouldered stance as a way to vault him over her back as she took off towards the trees. Hearing him chase after her, she examined the landscape for her next move.

Wolves and vampires watched with interest, the show between these two a welcome distraction. Mat stepped up beside Jasper, a low rumble coming from him.

"Yeah, I know, they're both idiots," Jasper agreed.

Bella intentionally slowed her run, hoping Peter would think he was gaining on her, when she picked up a thick broken tree branch and swung it around in a wide arc, taking the vampire by surprise and hearing the wood splinter as it came in contact with the his head, knocking Peter over. Wolves chuckled while Emmett and Garrett howled with laughter at the move.

Peter leapt up and faced Bella who still had a length of wood in her hand like a sword. He half smiled before charging and leaping over her head at the last moment, pulled himself up onto a low tree branch before ripping off a thick limb and jumping down to face her, armed with weapon as well. She swung, he blocked; he thrust, she spun past him. He'd land a blow to the back of her knees, causing her to fall and when he approached, she'd push her elbow back into his gut while spinning around to grab his head by the ears and slamming it with her own, crashing into his nose.

When Peter had pinned her down on the ground, Jasper interrupted, "Would you two knock it the fuck off?"

Peter's hands were at Bella's neck while she was trying to push his head off with the heel of her hand, pushing his chin backwards at an unnatural angle. They both stopped and looked over at where Jasper was standing, arms crossed, face like that of a scolding parent. Peter looked back at Bella and they both started to snicker.

And with a chime of, "Yes, dad," they both burst into a fit of laughter, friendship formed easily between the two.

Peter helped Bella up and walking past Jasper with heads hung in mock shame, grinning like cats who lapped up every last lick of cream, they rejoined the rest of the group, trying to knock each other over the entire way back.

A/N: What can I say, I like Jasper and Peter. I'd much rather have fun messing around with the boys than paint your nails and shopping with the girls. Hopefully, you liked a little picture of the friendships forming as well. Xoxo- Ginja