AN: This Emmett/Jacob slash is unlike my usual fics. Watching BD2, I loathed the way Edward and Bella treated Jacob as a mere afterthought, a pet. This story is a direct result of that.
Therefore, expect slight Cullen bashing, and heavy Bella, Edward and Nessie bashing. There will be NC-17 scenes and heavy language.
Possible character deaths (not Emmett or Jacob). The story will be two chapters, and I'll update in the next few days.
"Wassup, man?" Shooting Jacob a fleeting smile, I cock my chin at the game playing on the plasma TV and swipe my thumb over the pad, smiling at my reflection on the screen when the wraith of a zombie gets what she richly deserves. "Wanna play?"
The pitiful wails of the zombie linger between us for a while in the surround system until they warble and fade, but they can't disguise Jacob's tired groan. "Sorry, Emm, but I'm dead tired."
I glance at his reflection on the plasma screen, noting the pallor of skin that used to be the shade of burnished wood, the trusty color of the handle of my ax in far away Tennessee. My vampire senses are on steroids as I follow the way he rubs his hands across his neck, favoring the central expanse of russet skin that goes from the hollow of his collarbone to the strong bolt of his jaw.
Clench my fingers around the couch so tight it rips apart, the stuffing falling softly down the floor of our living room as I fight to choke back a curse, for tiny puncture wounds pepper what should be unblemished skin.
This is Renesmee's doing, again. She's fed from Jacob once more.
The puncture wounds bleed sluggishly as the sweet scent of the wolf's blood calls to me. It's nothing that tempts me, however. I am at peace drinking the blood that comes from bears and deer. Not for me the hunger of Jasper, who would sweep down on Jacob and milk him dry, not even august Edward, dark eyes ablaze as he might sate his hunger and then look down at the husk of a wolf on the floor, shrugging his shoulders in feigned regret.
Rub my hands over my face in desperation. How can Jacob linger in a house full of enemies professing friendship, where no one gives a shit when dear Renesmee drinks of him? Gazing at the goofy smile adorning Jake's striking features, I know the truth. He's acting under the compulsion of the stupid imprint everyone's so proud of, even Leah.
Today I meet her on the lawn, going out to Forks, and we fall to talking about Jacob. Since the golden couple of Edward and Bella are out hunting in Olympic National Park, for once I'm free of the constant eavesdropper in my head and voice my doubts freely, urging Leah to help Jake.
The answer of the bitch? She crosses her arms and pouts, her features turning nastier than usual as she scoffs her bare feet on the lawn. "Jacob's lucky he found someone. His soulmate will take care of him. Wish I had been able to find my imprint."
"Listen, babe, what about this particular child?" I shoot her a wink, trying to bring home the perils of the situation faced by the Alpha of her pack. "Renesmee's a hybrid, for chrissakes! She bites Jacob plenty when she can perfectly well feed on other animals and leave him alone! She has the same lack of self-control as her mother! Did ya get that, babe? What makes you think she's not gonna suck Jacob dry one of these days?"
She glares at me. "Jacob has a special bond with the child. He's safe with her. I'm positive she'd never hurt him, or cause him discomfort."
"I've heard him groan in pain when Renesmee feeds on him; leaves him very weak too."
"So what?" Leah glances around and walks away, calling over her shoulder, "He's just making happy sounds because he is fulfilling her every wish, which is what an imprint does anyways."
I shake my head at the unpleasant recollection, brought to the present by the tired wolf. Jacob's falling asleep on the coach and he's wiggling, finally laying his head on my shoulder. Gazing down at Jacob's striking profile, I rage at my family.
Carlisle, the head of the coven and the one that should impose order, simply turns his sculpted head away and doesn't give a shit. As for the others? Esme; my once dear Rosalie; Alice; and Jasper – they all don't give a damn. They're too caught up in the pull of the golden couple's happily ever after to care much that Jacob is in real danger.
Aren't Bella and Edward afraid their precious child will go too far one of these days and kill Jacob? Not that they put any rules on that child. Renesmee is such a spoiled brat, doing what she wants when she wants to. And the worst thing is that everyone coddles her, foremost among them Jacob, his survival instincts waylaid by the imprint.
It's enough to drive me crazy.
Staring at the empty plasma screen, I ponder the way my family behaves.
Edward and Bella don't care about the rest of us, caught as they are in their tale in which they see each other reflected for eternity. They spend most of the time in Esme's cottage, making love like the Eveready bunny hopped on Viagra. The rest of the family can go to hell; after all, we have served our function as props to get them where they are today.
Only Esme has taken notice that Jacob's not as energetic as he used to be, lazily going through the motions so to speak.
Jasper says it is because Jake's weakened by the constant loss of blood, to which Bella answers, "How dare you think that? Renesmee wouldn't hurt him! She's just a child exploring her world. She just has to find her natural boundaries and nothing bad will come of it." With a snort directed Jacob's way, she finishes. "If Jacob's being lazy, why, that might have to do with his Native American heritage making itself known."
Edward, like the henpecked husband he's become, always nods his assent.
oOoOo
Jacob snores softly against my shoulder when I hear their car braking on the driveway. A few seconds later, Bella and Edward glide in, the picture of radiant health, holding between them Renesmee's arms.
Rosalie saunters behind them and by her thunderous expression directed at me, I feel the time has come to set my plans in motion.
"What are you doing cuddling that ugly mongrel?" She sneers, her beautiful features scrunching up in a mask of hate I've grown to despise. "I'll have to fumigate the couch or better yet, throw it away."
"Better a dog than a shallow mannequin that hasn't satisfied me for far too long," I snarl at her. Scrunching up my eyebrows, I let a thought I've been harboring rise to my consciousness. 'Wish I could fumigate our rooms to get them rid of your nasty bitch scent, Rose.'
Rosalie scoffs and glides up the stairs while Edward, predictably, makes a big fuss out of what he has just scooped from my mind.
He raises his arms and glares at me, his voice dropping scorn, "You're too much, Emmett! Why do you insist on antagonizing Rosalie over this?" He sweeps his hands to indicate Jacob, still asleep due to the loss of blood.
"What happened to my sweet brother?" Edward ruffles his hair, staring at me with those golden eyes which I realize are as empty as the rest of him. "Why have you changed so much?"
"Have you thought it is you? Your perfect fairy tale gives me hope I can have a shot, too." I smile soothingly at him, not ready to reveal my cards yet. The beauty of my words is that they are the truth. Edward will take them as they are, not bothering to analyze the backhanded compliment. Then I shrug, taking care to adopt a wounded expression for the benefit of my remaining audience.
"I'm going upstairs," huffs Edward and then glances down at his wife. "Coming, dear?"
"In a while," Bella says.
After Edward storms up the stairs, I hunch down my shoulders, my fingers idly playing with the armrest of the couch while I sigh brokenly.
"Sorry for Edward's outburst," she says.
I take a deep, unneeded breath as I prepare to lay my trap, because in order to do what I must, I need protection. It tickles my Machiavellian side to glean that security from Bella.
"Edward's been a pain in the ass, ever since the troubles with Rosalie started." I cock my chin at the sleeping wolf. "Jacob is just another thing for Rosalie to rile me about. She won't ever stop. I get angry at her and try to keep it in check for all your sakes, but my thoughts…"
"Edward reads your mind and gets mad at you in return," she says with the slightest hint of sympathy.
I nod slowly. "Now that Edward's got his perfect family, he wants the rest of us to fall in line and feel the same. I just… find it hard to keep up with Rosalie's steady jibes and bad humor, and when you add your husband's constant prying…"
My vampire eyes study Bella's face, gauging carefully the way her eyes widen and then narrow, the golden hue in her irises trembling for an instant. I follow the tiny movement of her fingers as she brushes her leather skirt. Her nostrils flare as she takes Jacob's scent on the couch, her face twisting in a slight grimace.
She shakes her head minutely, instantly dismissing the wolf's scent as she tilts up her delicate chin to gaze at me with resolution stamped in her features. Finally, she says in a whisper, "I want to make it easier for you, just until Rosalie and you get in the right track again. I can give you a little privacy."
"What do you mean, Bella?" I cock my eyebrow at her, hardly hoping that it will be so easy.
"It's my shield, dummy!" She leans forward and breathes into my ear. "I've been perfecting it. I can throw it around other people. Give them a permanent protection." She raises her chin and gazes upstairs. "I've done it with Renesmee and Edward, no reason I couldn't do it with you."
Jacob moans in his sleep, his warm chin nestled on my shoulder, and I can't help but wonder if the wolf is aware of the betrayal implicit in Bella's words. Instead of extending the protection of her shield to her best friend, she chooses to bestow it on me.
For a few seconds, Bella scrunches up her face in concentration and then rises from the couch. "Now you're safe from Edward reading your thoughts. It ought to give you the space you need to mend things with Rosalie."
I nod humbly, but it's all I can do not to smirk at her. In shielding my thoughts from her pushy husband, Bella makes it possible to do what I've wanted for months.
Set Jacob free.
oOoOo
Bella, Edward and their spawn have taken up the coven, it seems. I have no idea Jasper shares my feelings until one morning.
It starts when I stroll through the entrance and notice Jacob on the living room, slouching on the couch as Renesmee's thin arms wrap around his broad shoulders. Her red hair seems to presage a curtain of fiery death around Jacob while she cants her chin delicately, her fangs piercing the strong neck that should not bow to anyone!
Jacob is so placid, his features so content it drives me mad. I stomp towards them, but before I cross the foyer, Jasper's cold arms wrap around me.
"Let them be," Jasper advises in a soft tone. When I furiously wrestle my way out of his grasp he takes a step back, his gaze widening in surprise.
Narrowing my eyes, I realize Jasper's surprised his soothing powers don't work on me, courtesy of Bella. Then he frowns inquisitively at Jacob and Renesmee, causing suspicion to bloom in my mind. I grab his arm and yank him towards the exit. He stumbles as he follows me down the stairs, the stray sunbeam striking sparks off his pockmarked skin.
"You've been using your powers on Jacob, right?" I hiss menacingly, jostling him towards the lawn. "Soothing him, making him more docile for our cute and deadly niece, right?"
Jasper scowls at me and yanks his arm free. "Course I have. It's the only thing I can do for the wolf."
He cocks his hips and stands tall as he jerks his chin at the house. "D'ya think sweet lil' Nessie would care at all if Jacob's uncomfortable and thrashes when she bites him? The little rapscallion would love to cause more damage! Might be the incentive she needs to finally drink him dry!"
"Why haven't you said anything?" I say in a whisper, my face slack due to this new development. It seems I am not the only one in the coven who takes notice of Jacob.
"The same reasons you haven't." Jasper waves at the house. "I've felt your interest and desire in Jacob, plus the unbearable guilt that comes from having your arms tied, unable to do something!"
"What can I do?" I ruffle my fingers through my hair in agitation. "Carlisle and Esme fully support the perfect couple, Rosalie is besotted with the bloodsucking little monster, and Alice is Bella's cheerleader through and through!"
Jasper steps towards the foyer and beckons me to follow. Noticing my concerned glance, he explains. "Alice won't see this conversation if we are near the Quileute boy, you see? I assure you you're not the only one that cares about Jacob. The kid reminds me of the fresh-faced officers under my command in the War. Honorable, cheerful fellows that had no inkling what they were getting into." He leans down his chin to stare forlornly at the ground. "Those gentlemen had no idea they were just cannon fodder for ambitious generals, so I tried to protect them as often as I could."
"So you want to help us?" I say, my hand on his shoulder.
"Bella is a complete drag, buddy," Jasper scoffs. "Insists on taking care of the business of the coven as if we are toddlers under her care. Worst thing is, Carlisle turns a blind eye!"
I nod in understanding. Seems I'm not the only male of the family that chaffs under her ministrations.
"Even dashed off to meet my contact when she planned Renesmee's escape, without even consulting me! That wisp of a girl!" Jasper growls deeply, his stance betraying his tight-coiled anger. "There's nothing much I can do, though, not with Alice observing my every move. The moment my dear wife has a vision incriminating us, she's bound to yell for Edward and Bella to intervene and all is lost."
"What can I do, then?" I grit out the words through my teeth, hating the helplessness I feel. Wonder if it is the same kind of feeling Jacob endures under the stupid imprint.
"With Bella's shield protecting you, which you conveniently procured, you have a lot of leeway." Jasper leans towards me, his amber eyes fixing me with an intense stare. "Way back when I commanded Maria's army, she mentioned something about this woman that can break bonds. She met her down in old Mexico."
tbc