Disclaimer: I do not own any of the wonderful Twilight characters or plots. All of that belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I only write this as an educational exercise to improve my own fiction writing skills, with a humble borrowing of her universe.
This is my first fan fiction attempt and I am working hard to make this story as polished as possible. I have 10 chapters posted, but these will change over the next few weeks. Any disconnect between earlier chapters and later chapters at the moment, the earlier chapters are where the final story is going.
Prologue
Millions loved the story of Edward Cullen and Bella Swan falling in love that is well documented in the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer. Their love and dedication to one another conquered death and the Volturi's threat to their immortality. From Edward and Bella's ignorance, the passion of their honeymoon birthed a vampire-human hybrid they named Renesmee. Upon Renesmee's first breath, her fate was sealed to Jacob Black. An imprint between shape-shifter and human–a seemingly unbreakable bond unique to the Quileute tribe that Jacob Black was born into.
After the winter standoff with the Volturi over Renesmee's origins, the Cullen family was free from the shadows of doubt, danger, and lies. Everyone should have had their happy ending, but the Cullen family's story was just beginning.
Life for the Cullens was calm in Forks, Washington over the next few years. The Cullen family was very close to one another, perhaps a little too close. Renesmee eventually enrolled in the school on the reservation when Jacob returned to finish his high school education. Jacob was due to graduate in just a few weeks, with honors thanks to the Cullen influence, when two unrelated events shattered the family's confidence about living in Forks.
Dr. Carlisle Cullen, the family patriarch, picked up the embarrassing nickname "Dr. Nip and Tuck" from his nurses. The more serious event was Jacob's father, Billy Black, dying from an unfortunate accident. The vampire family felt partly to blame. The presence of vampires in close proximity to the Quileute tribe of La Push awakened a deep and ancient magic. For tribal protection, young men and women naturally developed the ability to shape-shift into giant wolves. They were not traditional werewolves; they were not bound by the moon and possess complete self-control while in wolf form.
Young shape-shifters experienced difficulty learning control over the act of changing into a wolf. A young shape-shifter's transformations were spontaneous, instinctual. A traditional tribe campfire turned deadly when a young man was picked on by other kids. With uncontrollable anger, the boy shifted into a wolf for the first time before Billy Black could move out of the way.
Billy didn't die immediately from his injuries. Billy was wheelchair-bound before the accident and his body couldn't heal sufficiently before an infection set into his chest. After months of suffering, Billy passed away from complications related to pneumonia. Dr. Cullen did everything in his power to save Billy, but it was out of his hands.
Jacob Black was inconsolable as he wallowed in his new orphan status. No twenty year old should have both parents buried in the ground. Renesmee stayed faithfully by his side at his family home on the reservation for over a week. Jacob wouldn't eat. Renesmee watched him fight sleep like he feared never waking up. She tried her best to offer comfort and hide her inability to really empathize since her father was immortal.
It was ten days after Billy Black's funeral when the Cullen family decided to call a family meeting. This is where our story began...
Renesmee
Jacob and I arrived at my family's massive, nearly all-glass house in remote woods outside of Forks around twilight. I suspected this was going to be a big discussion, so I made sure Jacob and I ate before arriving. Mourning the loss of his father had made both of us weak. My family, despite being a bunch of vampires, truly hated the loss of any human life. So many kids were turning into shape-shifters, and now my poor Jacob lost his Dad to an accident. I seriously doubted my family would be okay with this.
We hunted on the way from La Push to our home on the outskirts of Forks. It was so sad to see my love halfheartedly eat the moose I brought down. I didn't particularly care for moose, but I was starving after over a week of nothing but human food. I counted on both of us needing to restore some energy, but I was wrong. Jacob barely ate a thing, making me worry about him even more.
"Mom, Dad, we're home," I called as we walked into the expansive foyer. The house was warm from a healthy fire roaring in the living room. Even though it was a late spring night, once the sun went down the air still took on a chill. "Give us a second to get cleaned up and we'll meet you in the dining room."
Even though my family doesn't eat regular food, we always used the dining room table for family discussions like a human family. Jacob's hand in tow, I rushed up the stairs. On the way up I had useless thoughts of us showering together, but my father's voice echoed from the dining room, "Renesmee, take your time. You can shower separately." Having a mind-reader for a dad was highly annoying.
I thought of Jacob as my fiance; the imprint basically made us engaged anyway. We couldn't break it even if we wanted to, which we didn't. Until recently, I looked like jail bait when I was out with Jacob and called him "Uncle Jacob" in public places. Now that I looked sixteen or seventeen, I felt more carefree in acting on my emotions for him.
Only problem is Jacob believed we should wait until marriage to have sex, so there was a lot of romance, but nothing more. I wasn't one hundred percent in agreement. It didn't change anything for me; my eyes only saw Jacob as my future husband. I often called him that and most of the family ignored it. I knew it really annoyed my dad a lot.
I sighed in frustration when we reached the top of the stairs. I knew in this case I was better off listening to Dad. Once we entered our master suite at the end of the hall, Jacob sauntered off to the bathroom we shared. I peeked to see he had shut the door, just in case, but he had.
Momentarily off comfort Jacob duty, I hurried to see if Alice put her latest acquisition in my room. I couldn't wait to get out of these clothes covered in mud from the forest and wreaking of animal blood. I stepped into my elegant and regal room. It smelled like roses from the fresh flowers on my night stand and cleaning supplies. Grandma Esme probably cleaned it, but Aunt Alice was the one who always put flowers in my room.
I loved my room. I breathed deeply and was so happy to be home. Jacob's couch was a crappy place to sleep. My gold-painted wrought iron bed overflowed with layers and layers of exorbitant thread count linens. All of them were in various shades of my favorite color, pink. Instead of a closet, I had a wall of old-fashioned white wardrobes to place all of my clothing. All four walls were covered in fine linen cloth in the French style of wall paper. When the morning sun hit just right, I woke up to pearlescent walls. All of this was thanks to the interior designing of my grandma Esme.
Grandma took pity on me since I am such a light sleeper and my parents' little cottage wasn't well insulated against noise. I heard them every night. It was gross. A little bit of construction work on the back of the house later, Jacob and I shared separate bedrooms coming off a very cool lounge area. The other bathrooms upstairs were renovated long ago, removing the unnecessary toilets so my vampire aunts and uncles had more space. Our master suite included our own full bathroom so Jacob and I wouldn't have to go downstairs to use the toilet in the middle of the night.
Before I could even bother with my wardrobe full of casual clothing, I zoned right in on the new burgundy garment bag lying on my bed. I squealed a little as I pulled the zipper. Inside was the luscious new coral Chanel suit that Aunt Alice texted me about. Mom and Dad won't let me skip school and go with her on shopping trips in New York anymore, but that didn't stop Aunt Alice. We loved to shop designers online.
Jacob interrupted my inspection of my new gift before I could appreciate it properly.
"Nessie, what does the family want to discuss?" Jacob asked me.
I turned around to see he was still rubbing his navy blue Egyptian cotton towel on the sides of his head to dry his jet black hair. He wore baggy, black sweats which annoyed me. I hated sweat suits on him; they were too baggy to show off his muscles.
Jacob's chocolate brown eyes weren't a haze anymore. He even took a quick glance at the suit in my hands. It seemed taking a shower woke up the walking zombie. I smiled at him with full approval of his return to the living. I knew I should be a little more understanding as I couldn't imagine losing my dad. But Billy was old, and we all knew he was getting sicker. It was only going to be a matter of time.
I wasn't sure if I should make him upset by giving my guess about the discussion. I stalled by sitting down on the my white leather and bleached pine wooden bench at the foot of my bed and taking off the non-revealing parts of my outfit. My hot pink Doc Marten half-calf boots were probably ruined. I threw my blood-soaked socks into the small wastebasket by the door; they weren't worth trying to wash.
I stood up and walked barefoot over to my Hollywood-starlet type of vanity on the far wall from my huge windows. On the way, I pulled my curly hair out of its restrictive pony tail. I massaged my fingers through my bouncy curls to the sore spot at the nape of my neck. I turned back around after a quick glance in the mirror to look at him with a convincing face.
"I have no idea."
It was a lie. Sort of. I didn't know for sure what the meeting was about; I couldn't read minds or see the future. But I had a feeling it was going to be something about Billy's accident. I saw his face ashen and he shied away from eye-contact again.
"Why don't you run downstairs and be present. It will help Dad's mood if he actually sees we showered separately," I said.
Jacob gave me a quick kiss and headed toward the stairs. He really was just going through the motions. I took a short shower and put on the new Chanel outfit. It felt divine. I preened a little in the full length mirror on the back of my bedroom door and debated whether I should take the time to put on accessories. Suddenly, Jacob's yelling downstairs made me give up on accessories and get downstairs as soon as I could.
"You CAN'T take her away from me! Haven't I suffered enough?"
I thundered down the stairs and rushed into the brightly-lit dining room. My family jumped from the table and leaned against the far walls just as a large russet wolf took the place of where Jacob was standing. The only casualties in the room appeared to be the furniture.
"Now Jacob, if you would calm down you would know we wouldn't dream of taking Renesmee away from you," Grandpa Carlisle said softly, but with a firm tone.
"It doesn't matter, he's too upset to think straight," my Dad said. It figures he would be reading minds uninvited.
"Jake, please don't do this. We're just discussing this for everyone's benefit," pleaded my Mom, Bella. She used her hands and mimed "calm" by moving them slowly in front on her and down towards the floor.
"What's this about taking me away? I don't want to go away!"
I finally spoke up. I decided someone needed to be on Jacob's side, and that would be me.
"Great, now we have two unreasonable people to convince," Uncle Emmett said with an exaggerated eye roll.
"Just stop, all of you!" Grandma Esme commanded, visibly upset over the destruction of her dining room table. Again.
"Jacob, please go upstairs, change back into human form and put more clothes on. Everyone else, living room, now. Renesmee not another word until Jacob comes down. Then I expect you to keep him calm. Everyone will listen to your grandfather," Grandma said, pausing to glare at Uncle Emmett. "And the peanut gallery will remain silent."
The family all moved into the living room, but I stayed in the disaster area of a dining room with Jacob for a few moments. His wolf form took a few deep breaths and looked at me with sad brown eyes that would break anyone's heart. If I wasn't so angry, I probably would have burst into tears. Why would the family ever want to break us up? They knew it would kill him.
Jake shook his head slightly and bounded up the stairs on all fours. I swore I heard Aunt Rosalie on the love seat muttering about not allowing pets in the house, but I didn't always follow vampire speed speech if I wasn't listening for it. Suppressing my anger, I flopped down next to my mother on the couch. Uncle Jasper was pacing along the back wall of windows, staring out at the pitch-black sky. He was antsy. I would have laughed at my Aunt Alice when she sprawled out completely unladylike on the floor between the couch and love seat. But I wasn't in the mood for giggles.
Mom began running her fingers through my cherry red curls. She was trying to calm me down. I could sense her opening her mind to my father. Mom was a powerful shield so normally Dad could never read her mind. Telling her a secret to keep from him was about as safe as it got, provided you removed the thought from your own brain. It's a skill I had perfected to an art.
Jake walked unevenly down the stairs, pausing for different intervals on each step. He entered the living room clothed and calmer. He joined me and my parents on the long black sectional couch. Uncle Jasper stopped his pacing and joined Aunt Alice on the floor, but in a more dignified position. All of the couples were paired-off it. Grandma and Grandpa stood formally before us, and opened up the discussion.
"Okay, now that Jake has returned, Carlisle has the floor." Grandma Esme finished up her take over of the situation. She moved gracefully to lean against the wall between the destroyed dining room and the crowded living room.
"Thank you darling." Grandpa gave a smile and nod to Grandma.
"Now we are all very sad about the loss of Billy. Jake, I remember when I lost my own father. It is a hole that never heals completely. However, I think it is time we seriously discuss, as a family–and that includes everyone in this room–about how our presence is affecting the humans we love in La Push. As long as we remain here, more and more children will become shape shifters and that is unacceptable," Grandpa Carlisle said, pausing to take a fake breath. He was so good at playing human, he never shut it off.
Jacob took his chance to cut in. He addressed Grandpa directly.
"But it's our destiny. My tribe has always had shape shifters to protect the tribe. We don't know if the Volturi will come back, or if other vamps will come into the area! The more wolves we have the safer we are. Sam won't like this," Jake said as he took advantage of the momentary silence. Sam Uley was the leader of the main pack of wolves. He was also the first to change in modern times.
Mom jumped in to help Grandpa convince Jacob. "But Jake, this is the greatest number of shape shifters your tribe has ever had on record. Between the two packs, there are now forty. And younger kids are turning; we can't ignore that. It's not right, and it's dangerous. Continuing to stay here will just cause more problems," my Mom argued. She leaned over me to speak with Jake, like I wasn't even there.
Mom's dad was best friends with Jacob's dad when she was a kid. She had a real soft spot for the humans of La Push, probably more so than some of my other family members.
"And the Volturi? You think they will leave my tribe alone if the Cullens just up and leave? What about me leaving? I couldn't abandon Seth and Leah," Jake continued. His body gave off the gentle hum I could sense when his anger or frustration was growing.
Grandpa smiled grimly at Jacob and tried to be gentle in his response.
"We did consider the Volturi. Alice would give us warning if they decided to move against the pack. Aro is most interested in our gifts as vampires, no offense Jake. Moving away would bring less attention to the wolves. As far as Seth and Leah are concerned, it wouldn't be terrible for them. They have both imprinted and are living their lives. I was under the impression you three rarely ran together anymore," Grandpa said to Jacob, trying to show he considered the danger the Volturi posed to the wolves.
Everyone was ganging up on Jacob and acting like I didn't even matter. I was fed up.
"Well it sounds like this decision was already made, Grandpa," I said. I couldn't help that I flared a bit of attitude at the end of my statement. I crossed my arms in front of my chest. This was ridiculous. Everything I knew was here in Forks.
"What about Grandpa Charlie, Mom? Didn't you promise we would stay here?"
Instead of my mother's voice, my father began to speak. He shifted slightly in the couch so most of his body was turned towards me.
"Renesmee, honey, we have stayed four long years. As a family, we have been here for just over seven counting the time before I met your Mother. It is dangerous for us to stay much longer. People at the hospital are already beginning to question Carlisle's age."
So that's what Mom shared with him in her mind. Or he picked it up from Grandpa Carlisle's mind. Dad the Mind Reader always knew everything.
This was about the safety of our family. All this talk about the safety of kids in La Push was just a fringe benefit. I instantly knew there was no fighting the decision. I grasped Jacob's hand and willed images of me agreeing to the move. The talent I have of communicating through touch came in handy. He began to shake his head, but I gripped tighter and showed more emphatically how dangerous it was for everyone if we stayed.
Then, I got an idea.
"Alright, but I want to choose where we go," I said to the shock of everyone around me, except Jacob. I figured if I picked somewhere I knew would take a great deal of planning to handle, it would buy us a little time here in Forks.
"Well, I think that might be okay, provided it's a reasonable place. Does everyone else agree?" Grandpa began checking his statement by eye contact with the other adults in the room. See, I knew they had already talked about this behind my back and agreed. We didn't even take a family vote.
"Okay Nessie, where do you want to go?" My Uncle Jasper's voice surprised me. Maybe he sensed my mischief.
I stood up pretending to mull it over. I purposely considered a bunch of dummy locations in my mind before I spoke just to mess with Dad. It served him right if he was listening to my thoughts.
"Charleston, South Carolina."
I recently watched a highlight of the city on a travel documentary. Charleston was a city that couldn't be more different than Forks if it tried.
A/N: Thank you for reading, I appreciate all feedback. I try to respond to every review as well.
