When Imprinted, Life Is Simpler And To The Point

The relief was almost crippling. It was over. Renesmee, the half-vampire, angelic child holding me to this earth by some invisible gravitational irresistible pull…the center of my miniscule universe…was safe.

I was going to get to see her again. The warm, chocolate brown eyes that once belonged to Bella, now set beneath her dark brown lashes. Her perfect nose and full lips, always smiling. Her round, heart-shaped face. Her arms, always reaching for me...

This was all that mattered; nothing else was even remotely important. For me, it was all her.

I didn't care that my brother and sister werewolves had nearly been murdered. I didn't care that Bella, the used-to-be love of my life, had almost died. And the only reason I pretended like I did care was so that they wouldn't be angry with me, and so that I could remain with my Renesmee.

I pretended to care so that they would not take her away.

I remember that Quil had told me of this, how it felt like nothing else mattered… how his friends and family became nothing to him once he'd met Claire, the object of his imprinting. He'd told me that it had taken months for him to feel anything but his insane love for that little girl. He'd told me that the only bad emotions he felt occurred only if his Claire was somehow involved; if she was unhappy or in danger. He'd told me that it all came back, gradually, just like a bloodthirsty newborn vampire's screwed-up morals slowly fall back into place; though never completely.

At the time, being compared to a vampire'd pissed me off. But now I understood why Quil didn't mind; imprinting brought on a sort of numb happiness that would take months to fade. Anger made no sense to me. This was why Sam was able to feel such strong resentment for the Cullens, an emotion that I could not feel, no matter how hard I tried.

Not that anything was worth trying for. I had Renesmee now, and she was everything.

And for now, she was all I cared about, and I was unashamed. The Volturi were gone. They had failed their vile mission to hurt my baby girl.

And now she was safe in Bella and Edward's little house, sleeping, peaceful and warm…the only thing in the world that felt warm to me.

Without her, the world was cold...and empty.

I sighed in a cliché, gooey way that would have bothered me if I'd been the old Jake; if I hadn't been totally blissed-out. I was surrounded by vampires and totally happy. The heat crept up my spine, threatening to phase me out of instinct, but I felt no anger. Anger was impossible when heaven was a few miles away.

The gravity pulled me towards the house where Renesmee slept, and the only thing that kept me away was the fact that I didn't want to wake my precious love unnecessarily. I stepped outside, just incase I exploded into a wolf, so as not to destroy the Cullen's roofing.

And so there I sat, struggling to stay in one place and not to go take her and run with her, away from Bella and her newborn instincts. I knew that she was supposed to have some kind of super-self-control, but I still didn't trust her with my Renesmee. She'd had to hold her breath around Charlie, hadn't she? So her super-power was limited. It could run out. It could run out with my life, Renesmee's life, in her arms.

I could not afford that.

The gravity clawed at my soul as I tried to make my decision. When the Volturi'd been out to get us, it'd been simple; leave Renesmee with the mind-reader, and if the Italian leeches came within a few miles, he'd be the first to know.

But now it was different. The only threat was Edward's wife, and he loved her more than his own kid. Sick. And if she took a snap at Renesmee, he probably wouldn't even lift an icy finger to stop her.

Hell, he'd probably join in the feast.

If Renesmee died, it would destroy me. Worse, it would cut her heavenly life short. I would take any amount of pain to prevent that. Pain a million times worse than Bella dragging my heart over a metaphorical bed of nails. Pain a million times worse than just sitting here as the gravity of imprinting ate away at my rationality, deteriorating it…

The ambivalence turned to determination and blind fury as my wolf-self overtook my small human body. My cut-off jeans just barely survived as I swiftly stepped out of them mid-phase. By then, I was seeing red. Too much. Too much! How dare they put her in danger?! I thought lividly How dare they risk her happiness, her safety, her LIFE?! Those two moronic vampires are going to…I can't…If she's not in pristine condition when I see her, I'll tear out all their silent hearts and stomp them into the dust! The fury was more than I could handle. A strangled howl of fury ripped through my lungs. It burned figuratively on the way out. It was then that I realized Seth and Leah had heard all of my murderously angry thoughts. Hey, man! It'll be okay. You know how much Bella loves her; enough to drag Edward through a month of agony. Enough to risk her own life. And Edward, he's great! I don't think a friend of mine, vampire or not, would put the whole pack through something like that. It'll be alright, Jake! Seth's thoughts were reassuring and understanding, while Leah's were venomous. She had a low tolerance for imprinted werewolves, due to the whole soap-opera-situation with Sam. It had seriously marred our already-fragile friendship. Ugh! She growled. I can't believe you! Get over yourself! She's a leech, dammit, and she almost killed your Bella. I thought you loved her; I thought you'd been like best friends! But I guess I was wrong; you're just like Sam. The only difference is that you're worse; as least Sam's imprinted on a human. I battled with my flaring temper as she continued to stab at me verbally, trivializing my undeniable love for the wonderfully intelligent, beautiful baby girl in danger… You just abandoned the love of your miserable life for a mutant, half-human blood sucker… she continued …a parasite…a leech…Vampires are the reason for all of this! The reason why Bella Cullen and I are both heartbroken. The reason for all this magic and soul-mate shit! She's the only vampire I'll ever feel sympathy for, because you're so disgusting. I hope Renesmee's dead. I hope Bella sucked her dry. I hope her body lies somewhere in the forest, paler than any vampire you or I have ever seen. I hope she'll never smile at you with those venomous teeth again! That pushed me over the edge. I lunged at her. I flew through the air like russet lighting and crashed into her, but she nimbly hopped to the side. Damn, she was fast! Are you going to face me? I spat at her. Or are you going to run away like the weak, heartbroken girl I know you a-- My thoughts were cut short as fangs sliced into my neck. I yowled in agony and before I could retort in violence, Seth was between us, his features more livid than I'd ever seen them be, wolf or human. If you two don't quit fighting, I'll kill you both myself! I thought about sinking my teeth into him, but then I froze. Hurting Seth didn't sound too great to me all of the sudden. The ghost of some strange emotion came back to me…disgust? Yes, I was disgusted with myself. How could I hurt Seth, good-hearted, innocent Seth Clearwater…Seth, get your furry butt out of this one. This is between me and the lovesick harpy. I growled at him. Leah let out an injured growl. Sweet; I'd hurt her feelings. YOU WILL NOT TALK ABOUT MY SISTER THAT WAY!! He barked furiously. Wow, Seth was pissed. Didn't know he'd had it in him; maybe all our fighting had finally made him snap. When he was that angry, he actually looked like a bit of a threat. He had recently grown a lot, like I'd expected, probably due to his strong werewolf bloodlines. He wasn't much smaller than me now, and almost as fast. He'd always been a quick thinker in battle... If he tried to fight me, he might actually take me down. So I pumped my legs faster, and hurried to phase and pull on my ratty cut-offs. They smelled like burnt sugar and bleach (the usual vampire smell), so when I flung the door of the little Cullen luv-shack open, my nose was wrinkled. Neither Bella nor Edward seemed to notice. "Damn it…" Edward whispered seductively. I almost gagged, and hesitated in the doorway. If I walked in on them while they were naked, Bella would probably lunge for my throat again, which would put Renesemee in danger of a certain newborn vampire, and be a huge waste of time.. So my voice was nervous as I spoke. Ah, nervousness. An emotion I'd hoped I'd never get back. That was two now."Ummm…Edward?" I called tentatively, though I knew he'd hear me even if I whispered. "Can I talk to you for a moment?" There was a pause, a whooshing sound, and then Edward was in front of me, wearing tediously tailored jeans and a beige sweater that was too-tight around his stony abs. Ugh. I thought He'd already married the Bella; why'd he still need to impress the poor girl? The ghost of annoyance flowed through me. More emotions; woo-hoo. I thought sarcastically. Now really didn't seem like the time for that when the love of my life was possibly in peril. I couldn't afford for her to be with her bloodthirsty-leech mommy and daddy for another second. I should've run off with her to Rio when I'd had the chance. She'd be so much better living with me somewhere! I thought, He doesn't love her; all he cares about is Bella, Bella, Bella. Renesmee is nothing more than burdensome offspring to him. Then straightened up as I prepared to speak with the bloodsucker. Man, he reeked. I felt sick, like I'd just downed a gallon of corn syrup. It burned in my stomach and in my nose. His stench was too sweet; sickly sweet. "Alright, parasite, here's how it is." I told him formally. Edward's eyes narrowed slowly as he read my thoughts.