The next afternoon Maya jumped down the stairs, decked out in Jasper's jersey and some black leggings.
"Hey daddy, you remember I told you that I was going to play baseball with the Cullens tonight, right?"
He rolled his eyes at her. "Of course, Sweetheart. I could hardly forget given how excited you were to tell me about it when you got back from their place."
She laughed at that, not in the least bit embarrassed. "Yeah, well, dinner is in the oven. It's all set up and prepped, all you have to do is follow the instructions I taped to the stove. But you basically just have to turn on the oven and let it bake for a while and then it should be ready to eat. Even an inept cook such as yourself should be able to manage it" she teased.
He shook his head playfully at her jab on his cooking skills. "I'm sure I will manage" he assured her.
A few minutes later, Bella stumbled down the stairs and made her way into the kitchen. She looked over at the table where their dad sat cleaning his guns with a beer and turned towards the fridge. Opening it she grabbed him a new beer and placed it on the table in front of him. "Hey, got you another one."
"Thanks" He commented absently, focusing on his gun. Maya leaned back against the counter, getting comfortable for the show, a smirk playing on her lips as she realized what Bella was about to tell their father.
"I have a date with Edward Cullen" Bella blurted out.
Maya bit down hard on her lip to stop herself from bursting out laughing at that. What a way to break it to him, Bella Maya silently applauded. Not that she could really judge as she had basically done the same thing with her mothers. But at least they had been on the other side of the world and not sitting at the table cleaning their guns moments before said boy was supposed to arrive.
"He's a little old for you, isn't he?" their dad questioned. Maya burst out laughing at that, Bella shooting her a glare. Maya ignored her, enjoying this too much. However, she did try desperately to rein in her laughter so she could focus on them as the two continued talking, ignoring her as best they could.
"No. He's a junior. I'm a junior. I thought you liked the Cullens. And besides you seem to have no problem with Maya dating Jasper." Bella was growing annoyed with Charlie's reluctance and Maya's laughing. It just wasn't fair that Maya could date Jasper without any issue while she had to defend her choice in boyfriend to Charlie.
"I thought you didn't like any of the boys in town" he shot back.
"Edward doesn't live in town. Technically." He sent her a look at that before glancing over at Maya who was still laughing quietly at the whole conversation, leaning on the counter to keep herself up.
"He's right outside" Bella mentioned. Which caused Maya to straighten up and listen for the sound of Jasper's arrival, knowing the two boys would be coming together.
"He is?" their dad questioned, not sounding happy about it as he took a drink of his new beer.
"Yeah, he wanted to meet you, officially."
"Alright, bring him in" their dad agreed, cocking his shotgun as he did. Maya barked out another laugh at that, earning yet another glare from Bella which she again ignored.
Turning back to their dad, Bella gave him a concerned look. "Could you be nice? He's ... he's important."
He gave Bella a deadpan look before sarcastically drawing a halo above his head making Maya smirk.
"This is the best entertainment ever" Maya told him as Bella left to let them in.
He arched an eyebrow at her. "Yeah, well a heads up might have nice."
"Now where would be the fun in that?" She asked innocently before sending him a grin. "Besides, it was Bella's news to share. I could never take that away from her" Maya assured him sarcastically with a grin.
He rolled his eyes at her, just as Bella came back with Jasper and Edward. Jasper immediately went to shake Charlie's hand before moving over to Maya to give her a kiss on the forehead. "You ready Darlin'?"
"Yep!" she assured him happily.
The two turned then to watch Edward approach Charlie. "Chief Swan. I wanted to formally introduce myself. I'm Edward Cullen."
Maya snorted at his formal and outdated introduction. Lowering her walls just enough, she sent him a quick thought. Dating yourself a bit there ain't you Eddie boy? He shot her a very fast glare Charlie wouldn't notice at that before turning back to offer his hand out.
"Hi Edward" their dad greeted accepting the quick hand shake.
"Bella won't be out too late tonight. She's just gonna play baseball with my family."
"Baseball?" he questioned.
"Yes sir, that's the plan" Edward assures him. Maya and Jasper stayed off to the side, grinning at his continued formality. Jasper had of course introduced himself to Charlie when they first began dating, but he had at least been more modern about it. Or as modern as century and a half cowboy can be when asking for permission from a girl's father to date her could be. Some habits and mannerisms were just too well ingrained to ever change.
"Bella's gonna play baseball?" he asks with a chuckle, not believing it. "Well, good luck with that."
"Don't worry Dad. Dr. Cullen will be there to patch up any injuries she may inflict on herself or others" Maya assured him with mock seriousness. Jasper and Charlie grinned at this, while Bella shot her a nasty look.
"I'll take good care of her. I promise" Edward said, ignoring Maya's comment.
Noting the awkward silence descending on them, Jasper spoke up, "we best be going Darlin'. Everyone else should be there by now and we don't want to keep them waiting too long."
"Alright. Bye dad. See you later" Maya said, going over to give him a hug before allowing Jasper to lead her outside.
Edward and Bella followed shortly after them. "We'll meet you at the field" Jasper told them, pulling Maya off into the woods with him.
While he was growing more accustomed to Bella's scent and Edward's bloodlust for her, he had no intention of being locked in a car with the two of them on the ride to the field they were playing at. Instead, he simply picked Maya up in his arms and sped off through the trees.
Maya laughed the whole way there, enjoying the feeling of the wind rushing through her hair. She kept telling him to go faster, making him smile as he dodged around trees and rocks. Soon enough though, they arrived at the field, way ahead of Edward and Bella as they had to take the long way with the Jeep.
To kill time, Maya went over to Alice and Esme and began to chat with them about tonight's game and who was on which team, getting excited as they all finished getting set up. She loved watching the family play ball. Though she could not physically keep up with them, as she was only fast when in her cat form, she did enjoy watching them. She loved seeing them all let loose and have fun as they made one of her favourite sports all the more thrilling with their speed and strength.
It also didn't hurt that she was given a perfectly valid reason to watch Jasper show off his strength and skill. It excited her to see him use his strength to hit the ball impossibly far and know that those same arms were the ones that often held her so gently. Added to that he looked absolutely amazing in his baseball outfit, which she hoped to get the chance to peel off him later as a congratulations for winning.
Just as they were finishing setting up and decided teams and turns, Bella and Edward pulled up in Emmet's Jeep and got out. Jasper came over to Maya then and put an arm around her waist to guide her over to her usual spot.
"Bella! Good you're here! We need an umpire!" Esme claimed as she greeted her, bring her arm around her waist and leading her towards home plate.
"She thinks we cheat" Emmet joked coming up behind them.
"I know. It's like she doesn't trust us or something" Maya added playfully.
She had been banned from playing umpire and keeping score after her first game with them. She hadn't actually followed the rules and had given extra points to people and made calls based on style or skill. Which admittedly all of them had found hilarious. Especially when she had docked Jasper's team a point in retaliation for him "attempting to bribe the umpire" as he tried to kiss her after he got out. They had not been mad or anything, but had decided that in the interest of fairness, she would not be allowed to officially make the calls. Which Jasper found perfectly acceptable, as it meant he could now kiss her without losing points.
It also did not stop her from being the unofficial score keeper, keeping her own track of who was winning based on style and skill instead of actual runs scored. In fact, most of them actually now went out of their way to try and score "style points" as Emmet called them, finding the game more fun when everyone was trying to outdo one another with otherwise pointless tricks.
"No, I know you cheat" Esme declared with a mock glare towards them. "Just call them as you see them Bella" she assured the nervous girl.
"Okay" she said with a nervous laugh, moving to stand by home plate as Edward and Emmet moved to the outfield. Emmet was jumping around and punching air, as if preparing himself for a fight which was making Maya laugh as Rose stepped up to bat.
At the first crack of thunder and flash of lightning, Alice called out "It's time" from her place on the pitcher's mound. With Rose's nod that she was ready, Alice threw the first pitch and the game began.
Rose hit the ball, a crack like thunder coming from the bat as the ball connected and took off around the bases. Bella and Esme were chatting quietly, but Maya wasn't paying them any attention. Instead, her focus was on Jasper and the tricks he was doing with the bat while he waited for his turn. He sensed her growing lust and sent her one of those crooked smirks of his and a wink, mouthing the word "later" to her. She smirked back at him and licked her lips, sending him even more lust which made him roll his eyes at her. She focused back on the game just as Emmet shouted and Rose growled, obviously getting out, and stomped off towards Maya, almost hitting Bella in the shoulder as she did.
"Nice kitty" Carlisle reminded her as Rose stormed passed him.
"I thought I was Kitty?" Maya said with a pout as Rose came to a stop next to her.
Maya's comment made Rosalie smile and they both turned to watch as Emmet and Edward slammed into one another as Carlisle got a home run. Maya laughed at them and awarded a point to Carlisle. Then it was Jasper's turn to bat, doing another trick and sending her another wink as well as a wave of desire to tease her before getting into position. He hit the ball, sending it flying high and took off running. Emmet was following the ball, climbing a tree to catch it and throwing it home, just as Jasper slid into the plate. "My monkey man" Rose commented with a smirk, making Maya smirk in return and raise a finger to draw a tally line in the air to symbolize a point scored for Emmet.
Standing up from his slide, Jasper walked over to Maya, wrapping his arms around her and giving her a quick kiss on the lips. She let out a giggle as he went to pull away and pulled him back in for a deeper one.
Then Rose stepped back up to bat again, and just as she sent the ball flying, Alice cried out. "STOP!" she yelled, panic clear in her voice, causing the whole family to speed over to home plate. Jasper wrapped his arms around Maya, pulling her protectively against him, readying himself for any threat that might be coming their way. Logically he knew that she could handle herself better than a human could and she knew how to defend herself against vampires thanks to the coven she had stayed with for a while, but that did not stop his worry.
"They were leaving but they heard us" Alice said in a panic. Edward grabbed Bella's arm and began to drag her towards the car. "Let's go" he told her, focusing only on getting her out of there.
"It's too late" Carlisle stated. Edward looked panicked at this and instructed Bella to let her hair out.
"Like that will help. I could smell her from across the field" Rosalie commented with a glare in Bella's direction, angry that she was here and putting her family in this situation.
Edward was apologizing to Bella, but Maya was not focused on that, instead she was moving with Jasper to stand by the family. They all arranged themselves so Edward and Bella were subtly placed behind them to block the nomad's view of the human.
Jasper had also shifted Maya and himself, so now while she was still held loosely in his arms, she was more behind him and out of direct sight of the nomads. He was readying himself for a fight, prepared to do whatever he could to defend his family and his mate, seeing as they did not have the experience he did. Though he was also worried that Maya would follow him into the fight and get hurt trying to keep up with him, so he focused on his gift and keeping everyone calm in a desperate hope to avoid that.
The nomads broke through the trees and came to a stop. For a moment both sides were still, simply observing each other. Maya felt the tension in the air skyrocket, if she were in her feline form, she would have been hissing at the newcomers. As it was her body began to quiver with adrenaline as small tremors raced through her as she fought back the shift. Had she been human or not had the training from the Volturi that she did, she probably would have been terrified. Instead, she was nervous about the danger they were in, but relatively confident that they could take them if it came to it. At the very least, she knew that Jasper would be able to hold his own, and if he couldn't then she would be right there behind him to help.
The nomad in the middle, with dark skin and dreadlocks, broke the silence. Holding up the ball he stated "I believe this belongs to you," before throwing it to Carlisle.
"Thank you" he said catching it before it could hit his face.
"I am Laurent. And this is Victoria, and James" he introduced, gesturing with his head to each of his companions.
Carlisle responded in kind, but simply introducing them all as his family, not wanting to draw attention to anyone in particular. He then tried to distract them, saying "You're hunting activities have caused something of a mess for us."
"Our apologies. We did not realize that territory had already been claimed" Laurent replied, quick to reassure them that it was not intentional.
"Yes, well, we maintain a permanent residence nearby" Carlisle stated, wanting to make sure they knew that this was their territory.
"Really" Laurent exclaimed with interest and a laugh, looking towards James before continuing, "well we won't be a problem anymore, we were just passing through."
"The humans were tracking us, but we led them east. You should be safe." Victoria said mockingly, with a smirk on her face.
"Excellent" Carlisle said, ignoring the tone in an attempt to keep the peace.
"So, could you use three more players?" asked Laurent, and upon seeing their hesitation added, "oh, come on. Just one game."
Carlisle sighed, "sure. Why not? A few of us were leaving. You could take their place. We'll bat first." He then threw the ball back to Laurent, but Victoria was quick to catch it, stating "I'm the one with the wicked curve ball."
"Oh, well I think we can handle that" Jasper said with a smirk on his face, rising to meet her unspoken challenge.
It was the perfect opening he needed to break the tension as he used his gift to subtly influence everyone. Many let out a laugh or gave a small smile as he worked to remove the tension and replace it with a small amount of humour. They broke up, heading off to their positions, Maya following Jasper, not wanting to leave his side.
James, however made no move to take up a position for the game. All throughout this exchange, he had been switching between focusing on Bella, Edward and Maya, as if trying to piece together a puzzle and remained unmoving, eyes still focused on them.
Just then the wind blew across the field, ruffling Bella's hair and carrying her scent to the nomads. "You brought a snack" James sighed, taking a deep breath and inhaling her scent. He moved forward to attack and the family was quick to surround Bella, keeping the three nomads away from her.
Jasper gently pushed Maya so she was next to Bella, and also behind the family as they moved to stop James. She reached out to hold Bella's arm to move her out of the way in case she had to fight, as the vampires all crouched ready to attack.
"A human?" Laurent asked in shock, even as he came to stand at James' side ready to help defend him.
"The girl is with us" Carlisle stated with a small growl. "I think it best if you leave."
"I can see the game is over. We'll go now" Laurent said, seeing they were outnumbered and wanting to escape the situation. He stood up and began to back away, Victoria following him, but James stayed crouched, ready to attack.
"James" Laurent called, finally breaking James' focus. He stood up and turned around to walk off with them, draping an arm around Victoria as he did.
The Cullens slowly stood back up, not taking their eyes off of the place where the nomads had disappeared into the trees.
Finally, Carlisle grabbed Edward and gave him a light push in the direction of Bella, telling him "to get Bella out of here."
That was all the encouragement Edward needed, and he sped Bella back to the Jeep, practically throwing her inside, before racing around to his seat and speeding out of there.
As she watched them disappear, Maya growled in anger as she balled her hands into fists. Everything had been going so well and now because of one small breeze everyone was in danger. As another growl left her mouth, Jasper was quick to move to her side. He gently took hold of one of her hands and brought it to his lips, placing a gentle kiss on her knuckles as he slowly uncurled her fingers. When he finished, he switched to her other hand and repeated the same process, murmuring soft reassurances to her as he did.
By the time he finished unclenching her fists, Maya had managed to calm herself and let out a frustrated huff, allowing the tension to drain from her for a moment. She brought her hand up to smooth back her hair but stopped as she caught sight of the blood. Pulling her hand back, she brought her other one up and stared at the claws that had replaced her nails and the four crescent shaped cuts that were on each of her palms. She let out a sigh and retracted her claws, wiping the blood away on her pants as she did.
Jasper sent her a worried look but she only shrugged and sent him back what she hoped were reassuring emotions. He brought her into a hug then, placing a kiss to the top of her head before picking her up and rushing her back to the house.
On the way back, Jasper took the chance to explain that they would probably have to leave to draw James away from the town. He asked her to begin packing a bag for herself and him once they got home while he got other necessities ready, wanting them to be ready to leave as soon as possible.
The next afternoon Maya jumped down the stairs, decked out in Jasper's jersey and some black leggings.
"Hey daddy, you remember I told you that I was going to play baseball with the Cullens tonight, right?"
He rolled his eyes at her. "Of course, Sweetheart. I could hardly forget given how excited you were to tell me about it when you got back from their place."
She laughed at that, not in the least bit embarrassed. "Yeah, well, dinner is in the oven. It's all set up and prepped, all you have to do is follow the instructions I taped to the stove. But you basically just have to turn on the oven and let it bake for a while and then it should be ready to eat. Even an inept cook such as yourself should be able to manage it" she teased.
He shook his head playfully at her jab on his cooking skills. "I'm sure I will manage" he assured her.
A few minutes later, Bella stumbled down the stairs and made her way into the kitchen. She looked over at the table where their dad sat cleaning his guns with a beer and turned towards the fridge. Opening it she grabbed him a new beer and placed it on the table in front of him. "Hey, got you another one."
"Thanks" He commented absently, focusing on his gun. Maya leaned back against the counter, getting comfortable for the show, a smirk playing on her lips as she realized what Bella was about to tell their father.
"I have a date with Edward Cullen" Bella blurted out.
Maya bit down hard on her lip to stop herself from bursting out laughing at that. What a way to break it to him, Bella Maya silently applauded. Not that she could really judge as she had basically done the same thing with her mothers. But at least they had been on the other side of the world and not sitting at the table cleaning their guns moments before said boy was supposed to arrive.
"He's a little old for you, isn't he?" their dad questioned. Maya burst out laughing at that, Bella shooting her a glare. Maya ignored her, enjoying this too much. However, she did try desperately to rein in her laughter so she could focus on them as the two continued talking, ignoring her as best they could.
"No. He's a junior. I'm a junior. I thought you liked the Cullens. And besides you seem to have no problem with Maya dating Jasper." Bella was growing annoyed with Charlie's reluctance and Maya's laughing. It just wasn't fair that Maya could date Jasper without any issue while she had to defend her choice in boyfriend to Charlie.
"I thought you didn't like any of the boys in town" he shot back.
"Edward doesn't live in town. Technically." He sent her a look at that before glancing over at Maya who was still laughing quietly at the whole conversation, leaning on the counter to keep herself up.
"He's right outside" Bella mentioned. Which caused Maya to straighten up and listen for the sound of Jasper's arrival, knowing the two boys would be coming together.
"He is?" their dad questioned, not sounding happy about it as he took a drink of his new beer.
"Yeah, he wanted to meet you, officially."
"Alright, bring him in" their dad agreed, cocking his shotgun as he did. Maya barked out another laugh at that, earning yet another glare from Bella which she again ignored.
Turning back to their dad, Bella gave him a concerned look. "Could you be nice? He's ... he's important."
He gave Bella a deadpan look before sarcastically drawing a halo above his head making Maya smirk.
"This is the best entertainment ever" Maya told him as Bella left to let them in.
He arched an eyebrow at her. "Yeah, well a heads up might have nice."
"Now where would be the fun in that?" She asked innocently before sending him a grin. "Besides, it was Bella's news to share. I could never take that away from her" Maya assured him sarcastically with a grin.
He rolled his eyes at her, just as Bella came back with Jasper and Edward. Jasper immediately went to shake Charlie's hand before moving over to Maya to give her a kiss on the forehead. "You ready Darlin'?"
"Yep!" she assured him happily.
The two turned then to watch Edward approach Charlie. "Chief Swan. I wanted to formally introduce myself. I'm Edward Cullen."
Maya snorted at his formal and outdated introduction. Lowering her walls just enough, she sent him a quick thought. Dating yourself a bit there ain't you Eddie boy? He shot her a very fast glare Charlie wouldn't notice at that before turning back to offer his hand out.
"Hi Edward" their dad greeted accepting the quick hand shake.
"Bella won't be out too late tonight. She's just gonna play baseball with my family."
"Baseball?" he questioned.
"Yes sir, that's the plan" Edward assures him. Maya and Jasper stayed off to the side, grinning at his continued formality. Jasper had of course introduced himself to Charlie when they first began dating, but he had at least been more modern about it. Or as modern as century and a half cowboy can be when asking for permission from a girl's father to date her could be. Some habits and mannerisms were just too well ingrained to ever change.
"Bella's gonna play baseball?" he asks with a chuckle, not believing it. "Well, good luck with that."
"Don't worry Dad. Dr. Cullen will be there to patch up any injuries she may inflict on herself or others" Maya assured him with mock seriousness. Jasper and Charlie grinned at this, while Bella shot her a nasty look.
"I'll take good care of her. I promise" Edward said, ignoring Maya's comment.
Noting the awkward silence descending on them, Jasper spoke up, "we best be going Darlin'. Everyone else should be there by now and we don't want to keep them waiting too long."
"Alright. Bye dad. See you later" Maya said, going over to give him a hug before allowing Jasper to lead her outside.
Edward and Bella followed shortly after them. "We'll meet you at the field" Jasper told them, pulling Maya off into the woods with him.
While he was growing more accustomed to Bella's scent and Edward's bloodlust for her, he had no intention of being locked in a car with the two of them on the ride to the field they were playing at. Instead, he simply picked Maya up in his arms and sped off through the trees.
Maya laughed the whole way there, enjoying the feeling of the wind rushing through her hair. She kept telling him to go faster, making him smile as he dodged around trees and rocks. Soon enough though, they arrived at the field, way ahead of Edward and Bella as they had to take the long way with the Jeep.
To kill time, Maya went over to Alice and Esme and began to chat with them about tonight's game and who was on which team, getting excited as they all finished getting set up. She loved watching the family play ball. Though she could not physically keep up with them, as she was only fast when in her cat form, she did enjoy watching them. She loved seeing them all let loose and have fun as they made one of her favourite sports all the more thrilling with their speed and strength.
It also didn't hurt that she was given a perfectly valid reason to watch Jasper show off his strength and skill. It excited her to see him use his strength to hit the ball impossibly far and know that those same arms were the ones that often held her so gently. Added to that he looked absolutely amazing in his baseball outfit, which she hoped to get the chance to peel off him later as a congratulations for winning.
Just as they were finishing setting up and decided teams and turns, Bella and Edward pulled up in Emmet's Jeep and got out. Jasper came over to Maya then and put an arm around her waist to guide her over to her usual spot.
"Bella! Good you're here! We need an umpire!" Esme claimed as she greeted her, bring her arm around her waist and leading her towards home plate.
"She thinks we cheat" Emmet joked coming up behind them.
"I know. It's like she doesn't trust us or something" Maya added playfully.
She had been banned from playing umpire and keeping score after her first game with them. She hadn't actually followed the rules and had given extra points to people and made calls based on style or skill. Which admittedly all of them had found hilarious. Especially when she had docked Jasper's team a point in retaliation for him "attempting to bribe the umpire" as he tried to kiss her after he got out. They had not been mad or anything, but had decided that in the interest of fairness, she would not be allowed to officially make the calls. Which Jasper found perfectly acceptable, as it meant he could now kiss her without losing points.
It also did not stop her from being the unofficial score keeper, keeping her own track of who was winning based on style and skill instead of actual runs scored. In fact, most of them actually now went out of their way to try and score "style points" as Emmet called them, finding the game more fun when everyone was trying to outdo one another with otherwise pointless tricks.
"No, I know you cheat" Esme declared with a mock glare towards them. "Just call them as you see them Bella" she assured the nervous girl.
"Okay" she said with a nervous laugh, moving to stand by home plate as Edward and Emmet moved to the outfield. Emmet was jumping around and punching air, as if preparing himself for a fight which was making Maya laugh as Rose stepped up to bat.
At the first crack of thunder and flash of lightning, Alice called out "It's time" from her place on the pitcher's mound. With Rose's nod that she was ready, Alice threw the first pitch and the game began.
Rose hit the ball, a crack like thunder coming from the bat as the ball connected and took off around the bases. Bella and Esme were chatting quietly, but Maya wasn't paying them any attention. Instead, her focus was on Jasper and the tricks he was doing with the bat while he waited for his turn. He sensed her growing lust and sent her one of those crooked smirks of his and a wink, mouthing the word "later" to her. She smirked back at him and licked her lips, sending him even more lust which made him roll his eyes at her. She focused back on the game just as Emmet shouted and Rose growled, obviously getting out, and stomped off towards Maya, almost hitting Bella in the shoulder as she did.
"Nice kitty" Carlisle reminded her as Rose stormed passed him.
"I thought I was Kitty?" Maya said with a pout as Rose came to a stop next to her.
Maya's comment made Rosalie smile and they both turned to watch as Emmet and Edward slammed into one another as Carlisle got a home run. Maya laughed at them and awarded a point to Carlisle. Then it was Jasper's turn to bat, doing another trick and sending her another wink as well as a wave of desire to tease her before getting into position. He hit the ball, sending it flying high and took off running. Emmet was following the ball, climbing a tree to catch it and throwing it home, just as Jasper slid into the plate. "My monkey man" Rose commented with a smirk, making Maya smirk in return and raise a finger to draw a tally line in the air to symbolize a point scored for Emmet.
Standing up from his slide, Jasper walked over to Maya, wrapping his arms around her and giving her a quick kiss on the lips. She let out a giggle as he went to pull away and pulled him back in for a deeper one.
Then Rose stepped back up to bat again, and just as she sent the ball flying, Alice cried out. "STOP!" she yelled, panic clear in her voice, causing the whole family to speed over to home plate. Jasper wrapped his arms around Maya, pulling her protectively against him, readying himself for any threat that might be coming their way. Logically he knew that she could handle herself better than a human could and she knew how to defend herself against vampires thanks to the coven she had stayed with for a while, but that did not stop his worry.
"They were leaving but they heard us" Alice said in a panic. Edward grabbed Bella's arm and began to drag her towards the car. "Let's go" he told her, focusing only on getting her out of there.
"It's too late" Carlisle stated. Edward looked panicked at this and instructed Bella to let her hair out.
"Like that will help. I could smell her from across the field" Rosalie commented with a glare in Bella's direction, angry that she was here and putting her family in this situation.
Edward was apologizing to Bella, but Maya was not focused on that, instead she was moving with Jasper to stand by the family. They all arranged themselves so Edward and Bella were subtly placed behind them to block the nomad's view of the human.
Jasper had also shifted Maya and himself, so now while she was still held loosely in his arms, she was more behind him and out of direct sight of the nomads. He was readying himself for a fight, prepared to do whatever he could to defend his family and his mate, seeing as they did not have the experience he did. Though he was also worried that Maya would follow him into the fight and get hurt trying to keep up with him, so he focused on his gift and keeping everyone calm in a desperate hope to avoid that.
The nomads broke through the trees and came to a stop. For a moment both sides were still, simply observing each other. Maya felt the tension in the air skyrocket, if she were in her feline form, she would have been hissing at the newcomers. As it was her body began to quiver with adrenaline as small tremors raced through her as she fought back the shift. Had she been human or not had the training from the Volturi that she did, she probably would have been terrified. Instead, she was nervous about the danger they were in, but relatively confident that they could take them if it came to it. At the very least, she knew that Jasper would be able to hold his own, and if he couldn't then she would be right there behind him to help.
The nomad in the middle, with dark skin and dreadlocks, broke the silence. Holding up the ball he stated "I believe this belongs to you," before throwing it to Carlisle.
"Thank you" he said catching it before it could hit his face.
"I am Laurent. And this is Victoria, and James" he introduced, gesturing with his head to each of his companions.
Carlisle responded in kind, but simply introducing them all as his family, not wanting to draw attention to anyone in particular. He then tried to distract them, saying "You're hunting activities have caused something of a mess for us."
"Our apologies. We did not realize that territory had already been claimed" Laurent replied, quick to reassure them that it was not intentional.
"Yes, well, we maintain a permanent residence nearby" Carlisle stated, wanting to make sure they knew that this was their territory.
"Really" Laurent exclaimed with interest and a laugh, looking towards James before continuing, "well we won't be a problem anymore, we were just passing through."
"The humans were tracking us, but we led them east. You should be safe." Victoria said mockingly, with a smirk on her face.
"Excellent" Carlisle said, ignoring the tone in an attempt to keep the peace.
"So, could you use three more players?" asked Laurent, and upon seeing their hesitation added, "oh, come on. Just one game."
Carlisle sighed, "sure. Why not? A few of us were leaving. You could take their place. We'll bat first." He then threw the ball back to Laurent, but Victoria was quick to catch it, stating "I'm the one with the wicked curve ball."
"Oh, well I think we can handle that" Jasper said with a smirk on his face, rising to meet her unspoken challenge.
It was the perfect opening he needed to break the tension as he used his gift to subtly influence everyone. Many let out a laugh or gave a small smile as he worked to remove the tension and replace it with a small amount of humour. They broke up, heading off to their positions, Maya following Jasper, not wanting to leave his side.
James, however made no move to take up a position for the game. All throughout this exchange, he had been switching between focusing on Bella, Edward and Maya, as if trying to piece together a puzzle and remained unmoving, eyes still focused on them.
Just then the wind blew across the field, ruffling Bella's hair and carrying her scent to the nomads. "You brought a snack" James sighed, taking a deep breath and inhaling her scent. He moved forward to attack and the family was quick to surround Bella, keeping the three nomads away from her.
Jasper gently pushed Maya so she was next to Bella, and also behind the family as they moved to stop James. She reached out to hold Bella's arm to move her out of the way in case she had to fight, as the vampires all crouched ready to attack.
"A human?" Laurent asked in shock, even as he came to stand at James' side ready to help defend him.
"The girl is with us" Carlisle stated with a small growl. "I think it best if you leave."
"I can see the game is over. We'll go now" Laurent said, seeing they were outnumbered and wanting to escape the situation. He stood up and began to back away, Victoria following him, but James stayed crouched, ready to attack.
"James" Laurent called, finally breaking James' focus. He stood up and turned around to walk off with them, draping an arm around Victoria as he did.
The Cullens slowly stood back up, not taking their eyes off of the place where the nomads had disappeared into the trees.
Finally, Carlisle grabbed Edward and gave him a light push in the direction of Bella, telling him "to get Bella out of here."
That was all the encouragement Edward needed, and he sped Bella back to the Jeep, practically throwing her inside, before racing around to his seat and speeding out of there.
As she watched them disappear, Maya growled in anger as she balled her hands into fists. Everything had been going so well and now because of one small breeze everyone was in danger. As another growl left her mouth, Jasper was quick to move to her side. He gently took hold of one of her hands and brought it to his lips, placing a gentle kiss on her knuckles as he slowly uncurled her fingers. When he finished, he switched to her other hand and repeated the same process, murmuring soft reassurances to her as he did.
By the time he finished unclenching her fists, Maya had managed to calm herself and let out a frustrated huff, allowing the tension to drain from her for a moment. She brought her hand up to smooth back her hair but stopped as she caught sight of the blood. Pulling her hand back, she brought her other one up and stared at the claws that had replaced her nails and the four crescent shaped cuts that were on each of her palms. She let out a sigh and retracted her claws, wiping the blood away on her pants as she did.
Jasper sent her a worried look but she only shrugged and sent him back what she hoped were reassuring emotions. He brought her into a hug then, placing a kiss to the top of her head before picking her up and rushing her back to the house.
On the way back, Jasper took the chance to explain that they would probably have to leave to draw James away from the town. He asked her to begin packing a bag for herself and him once they got home while he got other necessities ready, wanting them to be ready to leave as soon as possible.