Summary:
Everybody deserves a happy ending...it's just getting there that's the challenge.
This is the continuing story of the World of Twilight. It takes place about five and a half years post Breaking Dawn and centers around the lives of Jacob's Wolf Pack, (Embry, Quil, Leah, Seth, and Jake) and their imprints/love interests. Nothing is ever easy, especially falling in love. The pack will face heartbreak, new love, old enemies, and much more. All the while finding out who they really are, as well as who they really love.
The title is based off the song "Already Gone" by Sugarland. The lyrics perfectly describe what I always imagined it would be like for a wolf to fall in love/imprint.
AN: This is my first Fanfic story I have ever published. I LOVED the Twilight books but I was sad that not everyone(Especially Jacob and Renesmee) got their happy endings. So I decided to write them my self! :-)
A HUGE Thank you goes out to Critiquelle who so kindly Beta read for me and also gave me the confidence to finally hit the "post" button! :-)
I don't own any of the Twilight characters/settings...just borrowing them! No copyright infringement intended!
So without further interruption I present to you Chapter 1 of "Already Gone"...
AN #2: Edited version posted 4/30. Thank you Project Team Beta (Specifically "thalia_csiny" and "JillM12") Apparently I don't know how to use a comma...thank goodness for Betas to edit! :-)
AN #3: Last one, I promise! My story got accepted to Twilighted! If you don't know what that is, it's another site to post Twilight fanfics on...but the catch is that they have a validation process, and they are kind of strict on what they accept.(I was rejected the first time I tried). So long story short I re-edited Chapter One again. This IS the final version through...I promise! :-)
Chapter One: Renesmee: Growing Up
Renesmee
My family and I were sitting in the living room of my parents' cottage discussing the details of the day. I was curled up on the couch, listening to my mother tell my father about how Aunt Alice had made her buy three new outfits on our shopping trip that afternoon. As she was describing her irritation with my aunt's shopping habits, she happened to mention the fact that we had run into an old classmate of theirs, Jessica Stanley, in one of the stores.
My normally calm father suddenly tensed up. "She didn't see you, did she?"
"She did. I didn't think she would have recognized me, but then she called my name." My father stopped breathing. "But don't worry! She was oblivious to the fact that I haven't changed in six years, and she didn't see Renesmee. Typical Jessica. It was a close call, but I think we dodged exposure in that one, and most importantly our daughter is still safe." My father started breathing again. I didn't need to have his gift of mind reading to know what he was thinking…our daughter is still safe because our secret was not exposed.
Secrets have always been a big part of my life; starting from birth, everything about me had to be kept a secret. After all, I was the natural-born daughter of a vampire and a human; I had werewolves for friends, and vampires as family. And that just skimmed the surface.
Like any other child, I got half of my genes from each parent. But my genetics were a little different, since my mother was human and my father was a vampire when they conceived me. There are only a few of us in existence and because of this, I have spent my life being sheltered from the outside world.
Before I was even a year old, my parents had faced the Volturi, an ancient coven of vampires who were convinced that I was a threat to them. My family had been prepared to fight for my life, but luckly, due to some quick thinking by my Aunt Alice, and a visit form another half-vampire named Nahuel, the battle never happened. This was the first of many things I would need to be "protected" from. I hadn't grown at a normal rate, and that had only added to my parents' fears. My half-vampire genes made me grow faster and learn quicker than any human child would have, which made it impossible for me to ever have stepped foot in a normal school, so I had been home-schooled by my family for the entirety of my education. Each member had specialized in a specific subject matter.
At first, it was only the basics: English taught by Grandma Esme, science with Grandpa Carlisle, history with Uncle Jasper, and math with Aunt Alice. After only a year, I had surpassed what most sixth graders knew, and I was only two. The basics were then expanded to specifics: biology, chemistry, American history, algebra, and geography were just a few of the expansions. Then other challenges were added to my curriculum: fine arts with Aunt Rosalie and Grandma Esme. My mother took over English and literature since she had such a love for the subject, then foreign languages with my father, and even phys ed with Uncle Emmett. I didn't really need phys ed; I was just as invincible as the rest of my vampire family, but it added some fun in, and that made it one of my favorite classes.
I loved school and learning new things but it seemed like nothing ever challenged my enough. By the time I was four, I could have easily enrolled in college and passed my freshman year with flying colors, but college would have taken me away from home and the protection of my family, and as always, that was out of the question.
Even with the constant introductions to new subjects and exciting field trips to countries like France and Spain, though, I longed to have normal life and to get to enjoy things that normal kids did. My family didn't understand that. The only one who did was my best friend Jacob.
Jacob Black had been my best friend for as long as I could remember. Which, really, with my gift of perfect memory, was from birth. Jacob always had a way of distracting me, and pulling me away from my everyday, sheltered life. He regularly helped me escape the watchful eye of my parents, sneaking me away to hang out with his pack brothers and their girlfriends, or as I liked to call them, the wolf girls. I've always been thankful for my friendship with Jake and his pack; without them, I sometimes wondered if I would have had any real friends at all. Jacob made me feel safe, but not overprotected like my parents always did. He was like the older brother I never had, strong and caring, but he still knew how to tease me and make me laugh. He made me smile when nothing else could.
I still loved my parents, even through they were constantly looking over my shoulder. I knew the reasons they were so protective. I was the perfect mix between my mother and father. With my mother's human brown eyes and my father's bronze hair and beautiful vampire looks, anyone who knew them previously would know I had to be related. This posed quite the dilemma when I grew up in the same small town where both of my parents lived and attended high school in only five years prior.
My family had discussed moving several times – going somewhere away from Forks where I would not be as easily recognized, and my family could start over and not have to worry about the fact that people had started noticing how young they still looked. At one point, my family had gone as far as putting an offer on a new house. I remember how excited Aunt Alice was about decorating it, but then when the offer came back, my family declined it and the decision was made to stay in Washington. No one ever told me exactly why we stayed, but I knew it had something to do with Jacob. I had overheard him arguing with my parents one night after they all thought I was asleep. I didn't catch the whole thing, but the little bit I did catch was that he was going to be whereever we were, and as a result if we left he and his pack were going with us. My parents argued that it would be a bad idea to take the pack away from their friends and family, but Jake was putting his foot down on this one. He must have won the argument, because next morning my parents told me we weren't moving.
Things were easy at first. My parents and their siblings all stayed out of sight, putting out the story that they were away at college. Grandpa Carlisle switched hospitals so that he could begin a new job posing as a younger man, and we moved to a more secluded house about twenty miles outside of Forks. It was just far enough away from town, and just deep enough into the forest, that no one really noticed we were there. It was a lot closer to the reservation too, which made Jacob happy, because he didn't have to run as far when he came to visit. Even if we needed to go into town, which we only did to visit my Grandpa Charlie, all my parent's "friends" were off at college, so there wasn't much of a chance of any of us running into anyone they knew. But once enough time had passed, old familiar faces began to pop up again. That had both of my parents more worried than ever, which in turn, had me more annoyed than ever.
My father had relaxed, but only slightly. My mother on the other hand, was even more wound up than before. She knew how "close calls" upset my father. "Maybe we should tell Alice that if she wants to take Renesmee shopping, it would need to be out of this direct area. No closer than…Portland. Just to make sure we don't have any more little incidents," she suggested
My father brightened at the suggestion until he caught my frustrated thoughts.
"Renesmee, you know we only want to protect you. Please don't be upset with us for only wanting the best for you." My father looked at me with the same gentle look that he used when I got upset as a little girl.
Lately, every discussion I had with my parents ended up on this subject, and the argument was always the same. I knew they still thought of me as a child, and even though I knew would always be their little girl, I no longer thought of myself as the child that they still saw. Sure, I was only five natural years old, but with my advanced growth, I had easily reached my teenage years. And sometimes my attitude really showed it!
"Dad, we've gone over this a million times!" I let out a long sigh and sat up on the couch. "You don't have to worry about me! I know how to keep out of sight and out of trouble. And if for whatever reason someone does see me or recognize me, I have my cover completely memorized!" My parents had thought it was a good idea to come up with a fake identity for me, just in case.
I rolled my eyes and recited my "story" out loud. "My name is Renesmee Wolfe. I am the newest adopted daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Cullen. They adopted me after my parents, Daniel and Abigail Wolfe, died in a car accident a little over a year ago. My family knew the Cullens when they lived in Alaska. My mother worked with Dr. Cullen, and our families were very close. It was my mother's dying wish that Dr. Cullen take me in, since I have no living relatives of my own. They are now the only family I know." I looked directly at my father. "I'm not a kid anymore, Dad! So please, stop treating me like one!"
I had been so caught up in my rant, I hadn't even noticed Jacob walk in. His deep voice made me jump. "Hey, kid! What's up?"
My father smiled at Jake's greeting, and my mother held in a laugh.
I glared in his direction. "You know, you are not making this any easier here, Jacob."
Jacob plopped himself on the couch next to me and gave my parents a confused look.
"Nessie was just arguing about how grown up she has become," my mother explained.
"Sorry, Ness! Wrong time for that greeting, I guess." I smiled back at his sheepish look. I could never stay mad at Jake for long.
"Speaking of aging, how did your growth appointment with Carlisle go?"
Grandpa Carlisle had been keeping track of my aging process since my birth. At first, my growth was so accelerated that he took daily measurements to determine my age. As my growth began to slow, he took measurements further apart, and now he only required me to get measured once a month.
"It went well. He thinks I have almost topped out as far as height goes; I only gained a quarter inch since last month. I guess that makes sense, though, seeing as human girls stop growing at about 18, which is how old Carlisle believes I am now," I looked directly at my dad when I said this. I hoped I made my point. "He said now my body will just mature in other ways until I reach my full maturity in about a year." As I said this, I saw Jacob glance over my whole body and then quickly divert his eyes. I felt a blush hit my cheeks as I realized what I had just said out loud, as well as what Jacob's response to it was. I was pretty sure I just caught him checking me out.
After hearing my thoughts, my father let out a low growl and glared in Jake's direction. Lately, my father had not been a big fan of Jacob, especially when I was around. I asked my mother about it once; she avoided the question and told me I would eventually find out why. To this day, I still didn't know what that was supposed to mean.
"Dad…lay off. He may be a boy, but he's just a friend." I warned with my thoughts.
"A hormonal boy." My dad was mumbling to himself, but he knew I could still hear him. I got the vampire hearing from him too.
I rolled my eyes for about the hundredth time that night and looked over at Jake, who suddenly looked a lot less comfortable. He had probably heard my father as well; super hearing ran in the wolf's genetics too. I figured now was a good time to get out of the house for a bit. It would let my dad calm down and let Jake get out from under my father's unending glare….poor guy!
"Hey, Jake, weren't the guys planning on meeting up at the meadow tonight since it's Sam's pack's turn for overnights?" I eyed Jacob with my "pretend you know what is going on" look and gave my mother the puppy dog eyes I knew she couldn't resist. "Would it be ok if I tagged along?"
Of course, my father, who could read all of my thoughts and probably knew I was lying, would be the one to try to put a stop to me leaving. "Renesmee, it's getting late. I don't like you out past dark alone. Especially when the wolves are involved."
My father had added the last part under his breath. He didn't think it was safe for me to always be hanging out with the wolves, something about the possibility of one of them phasing suddenly and hurting me. I personally didn't see the issue; Jacob would never lose control around me and he would literally kill any member of his pack, or the other pack for that matter, if they ever hurt me.
"Edward," my mother warned, "just let them go! Jacob will keep her safe, as always. And I think Nessie might have a point. We need to start trusting her a little more. As much as I hate to admit it, she's growing up." My mother was obviously much more convinced of my safety, both in general as well as around the wolves. I was slightly shocked to hear the last part…maybe I had finally started to get through to them.
My father sighed but nodded his head. "Alright, Nessie, go ahead. Just not too late, okay?"
I gave my father a quick nod and jumped up, heading for the door before he could change his mind. Jacob was only seconds behind me. "Race ya!" he whispered as he passed me on the way out.
I smiled at the challenge, and seconds later, the wind hit me, and I was free.
AN:Please let me know what you think by reviewing. ALL comments are greatly appreciated and I will respond individually to them all! :-)