And life on the reservation went on.
With the imminent threat of vampires left behind, with no pain and suffering left to be felt on the reservation any longer, the boys of La Push could finally get on with their lives.
Sam Uley stopped phasing, embracing his inner desire to catch up with his imprint; he could no longer let her grow and age – the thought of being left behind troubled him far too much. And so, he stopped. It had been harder than he ever thought it to be: the difficulty lying in his inability to let go of his wolf so easily. For even though none of them wanted to admit it, their wolves were them, fused so deeply to their souls that it was now impossible to tell the human apart from the wolf. Sam pushed on, with Emily supporting him fully. The pack supported him too – he had to succeed, for if Sam could do it, they all could too.
And Sam did. Just in time to become a father as well.
The cycle of things in La Push went along in this way for the majority: the wolves stopped phasing and started to focus on their families – children were born, nurtured and grew. Babies were constantly popping up within the pack. The un-imprinted wolves used this window of opportunity to avoid imprinting, to savour their ability to choose their own loves and find their own soulmates. There was a beauty to having a choice: they didn't want perfection, and the wolves were always up for a challenge.
Surprisingly, Quil stopped phasing too. The Elders and the whole pack were shocked by his decision, but Quil – despite the pull of the imprint – could not live his whole life doting on a young toddler, waiting for her to grow, wasting his years away for her, watching his friends and pack mates age, all the while he remained frozen in adolescence. The imprint was still there after he stopped, he just resigned himself to being her 'big brother', her protector… He always thought it would be too weird to want a romantic relationship with a girl he'd potty trained. He remained her dedicated friend, helping her out whenever she needed, baby-sitting whenever necessary, but in the midst of all the life he was living, Quil also managed to fall in love. A girl from the Makah, petite and charming and wonderfully sweet and everything Quil wanted her to be: accepting of his relationship with little Claire, understanding his love for her in a way no one else possibly could.
And the whole reservation watched as their relationship flourished and grew, and everyone was so happy when they married and started their family… for Quil was a true testament to the fact that the boys of La Push could break the magical bonds that were dictating their lives… or at least find a way to work around them.
Seth and the younger wolves worked hard at their education … until they all went off to school, or found good jobs around the reservation and Forks. Away from the world of magic and mystery that had turned their teenage worlds upside down, the boys could search for themselves and for love: they found friends and lovers outside of the reservation, and also on it. They grew and learned and loved but never forgot the deep bonds that held them together – brothers.
The fear of death and tragedy were left behind: only a handful of wolves kept phasing, watching their brothers live whilst they kept the reservation safe.
There were, obviously, run-ins with lone vampires running across the border, going up North; these were handled swiftly and deftly, so as not to disturb life on the res any further. The notoriety of the wolves of La Push had extended far beyond the Olympic Peninsula and vampires knew well enough not to tread on this land. But a few student newborns were always expected.
And Leah and Jacob were always there to greet them.
"Give them the La Push welcome" as they referred to it, sharing smug grins, an inside joke that occasionally became a reality.
Jacob and Leah.
The Alpha and the Beta.
They were the last to keep phasing: Jacob for Reneesme and the Cullens, Leah for the simple sake of having something to do… and the fact that her resentment towards the powers-that-be and subsided and transformed into happiness and tranquility: she enjoyed the routine and rigidity that came with life as a Beta, the powers and authority that had been entrusted to her by her Alpha. But deep inside her, she knew that she would have to stop eventually.
"I'll stop when you do."
"What?"
Jacob was looking at her, his face serious and no trace of humor present on the lines of his face. They still looked the same age as they had when they started phasing, so many years ago, but the knowledge and the wisdom that they had absorbed over the years was evident in their faces, their eyes. Leah studied him for a moment, trying to discern the obvious underlying meaning of his words.
"I'll stop phasing with you. Alpha and Beta… we do it together."
She scoffed and rolled her eyes. "What about Nessie?"
Jacob's mouth twitched, before it pulled up into a bright smile, his bright smile, Jacob's smile. He turned away, training his eyes on the two distant figures across the meadow, heads bent together, talking earnestly about something Jacob himself could not understand. And as he did so, he couldn't help but notice how they fit together perfectly, how they were just the right height for each other, and just the right build, and how his slightly olive skin set off her own pale complexion: darkness and light, Nessie and Nahuel.
The Cullens had extended their time in Forks for as long as they could but they eventually embraced their reality and started looking for a new place to which they could re-locate. Bella protested, obviously, and everyone had expected Jake to protest as well, but he couldn't find it within himself to do so. At first, his passiveness had confused him. Certain things were expected of him as an imprinted wolf, certain things which he had to feel, certain ways in which he had to act… but when he had been informed by Edward of their plans to move, Jacob hadn't reacted in the way everyone had expected him to. The Cullens had been prepared to watch the Alpha torn between two loves: his reservation and his imprint. They were ready to help him resolve his demons, and to find a way to make him happy, away from the reservation and with his imprint.
But that wasn't required.
His wolf knew full well that losing Reneesme would be painful. A part of his heart would always be with her… but his wolf also knew that, like Quil, a romantic relationship with Reneesme would be unnatural. She was soft, he was hard. She was flowers and lightness and perfection and he was the cold, hard earth beneath your feet, drenched in rain and mud. She was books and intellect and something beyond the Olympic Peninsula, whilst he was the essence of it, its spirit and its soul. She was lovely and beautiful and a good friend… but that was it.
Like Quil, Jacob never harboured any romantic feelings towards the girl. The concept of imprinting and its purpose had been long discussed within the pack: when Quil had informed every one of his relationship with Chele, the other imprints had been terrified. What if the bond was not all it had been thought out to be? What if they became insignificant? Jacob had consoled his sister one too many times, quashing any worries and fears she had about her and Paul, reassuring her that there was no better match for him than her, and for her than him. "You calm him, Rach, you ground him. You are his earth."
Everyone eventually accepted that, maybe, imprints were not only meant to warm the wolves' beds and give them pups and share a romantic relationship with them. Everyone also agreed that Quil and Jacob's situations were … wrong. Reneesme agreed, too.
The girl was smart, sometimes a bit too much for Jacob's liking. She read and studied and wanted to learn all the time, and that was something Jacob could not give her. He was not book-smart, he couldn't keep up a conversation on politics or ethics to save his life, but he showed her a side to life that her parents and grandparents and her aunts and uncles never could. He gave her a childhood, for however brief a period, taking her to playgrounds and the beach and teaching her how to swim. Later, he would transfer these activities to his nieces and nephews, tagging Reneesme along whenever she felt like it.
When she was old enough, Jacob had explained the concept of imprinting to her as best he could. He showed her all the possibilities, Sam and Emily, Paul and Rachel, Jared and Kim, Quil and Claire… they had a mature conversation about it, discussing its pros and cons, what it meant for the imprinter and the imprintee … why Leah had not imprinted… Reneesme had accepted all of Jacob's explanations, then went further, researching on her own as best she could about this vague concept, developing her own opinion about it.
Jacob was her best friend. When her mom and dad could not go out into the sunshine, Jacob had always been there to take her out, show her the world of people and the world of the wolves. Billy would give her candies and tell her old stories, she'd meet up with Claire and play some stupid games that the human child would be fixated about for some time, she'd learn how to bake at Emily's house and run with Leah, exploring the woods around La Push until they knew them all perfectly.
Jacob had given her a chance to see life on the reservation through his eyes, so that she would be able to understand what accepting the imprint would mean. This is my life, it seemed as if he was pleading to her.
And it was a beautiful life, with love and family and friendship at the centre; with the rich smell of pines and soil surrounding you wherever you went, the small houses and the simple way of life, the happiness of seeing children born into the world without fearing for their safety, the importance of brotherhood and the pack. She liked the smallness of Jacob's world, how his eyes only saw as far as the La Push border would allow, how all that mattered in the world was the sandy beach of La Push and the thick woods around his home, how everything he could possibly ever need was there, along with his happiness.
But that was not hers.
Her world of books and knowledge compelled her to a greater life, a larger life, one beyond La Push… she didn't want La Push, she wanted the whole world. And she could never imagine Jacob in the world: Jacob with his funny jokes and his feet planted firmly in the soil, his brothers and sister and his huge family that was so alive and growing and happy.
"You are my brother," she uttered, and the finality of her words filled Jacob with a sense of relief. They'd sat facing each other in a clearing when she was fully grown, when she had made her decision. Part of her felt selfish for putting his life on hold until she reached full maturity, but she knew that this was right; she had taken this decision seriously and wanted to be old enough to do it well.
It had taken Reneesme seven years to grow into her eighteen year old self, to reach her perpetual state. In those seven years, she'd watched as Jacob's life went on, albeit remained the same in most respects. He would visit frequently, take her out, take her to visit La Push. But during that time, during those seven, long years, something changed.
Reneesme saw it, and so did all the Cullens and the pack.
"Nothing changed," Sue Clearwater and Billy Black would agree. "This is just the way of things."
The pack would tease Leah and Jacob about their relationship: they insisted they were friends, a dynamic duo of Alpha and Beta-awesomeness, but Seth's interest in animals and Nessie's interest in anything in general, had led to certain discussions about wolf-packs and animal hierarchies, where they tried to understand why their pack was the way it was.
"Seth is convinced I am the Alpha female."
Jacob and Leah sat in silence for a while, glaring at each other, before they burst out laughing at the absurdity of it all.
"Hey!" Seth exclaimed. "I am not kidding. You should look into some of this stuff yourselves."
And they did. Eventually… after they got over they stubbornness and gave in to Seth and Nessie's insistence. Jacob and Leah had analysed the information, taking it all in, absorbing it and imprinting it into their brains. But nothing happened.
Leah had become calmer, happier, ever since the Volturi had visited Forks to determine Reneesme's fate. She had embraced her existence as a shape-shifting creature, and had grown to love her wolf and her old soul.
Old soul.
That's what Jake called it. "You have an old soul, Leah."
And she agreed that he did, too. And they agreed that their souls were connected. They didn't know how… they just knew.
She'd kept phasing to protect their reservation but she also knew that she kept phasing for the sake of the connection she had with her Alpha; a connection that had to be nurtured and cultivated. Watching Leah and Jacob together had become like watching a work of art unfold before your eyes: the way they walked, the way they spoke and communicated, the way they just were. They understood each other in a way that no one else did: they were both part of the broken hearts club, and used each other as crutches to get on with their lives. Imprinting mended Jacob's heart, gave him a purpose in life, and in doing so, helped him mend Leah's heart.
For many nights after the Volturi's visit, Leah and Jacob had ran many patrols together, discussing the future, keeping each other safe. Jacob taught Leah about his imprint, and they opened up to each other, confided in each other. At some point, they became best friends. Maybe it wasn't for several weeks or months, maybe even years, but they did become friends.
Along the way, Reneesme and Leah also accepted each other. Despite the fact that Reneesme represented everything that Leah hated about imprinting, the girl was far too interested in the she-wolf to be ignored. Their runs became a tradition, almost a routine. Leah trained Reneesme, pushed her to her limits in ways that her family were too scared to do, for fear of hurting the girl. Leah was never warm and cuddly, always a bit distant and standoffish, but that was her way, the wolf way. And if keeping Leah around made Jacob happier, happier than he was if it was just Reneesme, then so be it.
The Alpha and Beta had taught Reneesme her first swear words, much to Bella's dismay, and taught her how to fight and protect herself. Over the years, Nessie had grown to notice the long looks, the prolonged physical contact, the inside jokes and the warm feeling that surrounded the pair whenever they were together. Being around them made her so happy. Watching Leah and Jacob fight, tumbling in the Cullens' backyard, showing Nessie how to do it; fighting over who got to choose which channel, arguing over patrol schedules, long talks about the ever-diminishing pack, reminiscing about their pack brothers, long hugs and silent whispers, maybe even a few tears she should have never seen … light kisses when they thought she wasn't watching, and then even when they knew she was there. She didn't care.
Somewhere along the line, they became more than friends. No one knew when exactly, not even they did, but it happened.
By that time, no one had a problem with it. Bella had Edward, Sam had Emily, Nessie had Nahuel, Jacob had Leah.
"Perfect," Nessie would say, hugging Nahuel as she watched the werewolves arguing outside, pushing and shoving each other until they fell into a heap on the grass, laughing and happy.
And it really was perfect.
The way she fit exactly underneath his chin, which seemed like something so stupid to someone on the outside, but to Nessie it made perfect sense because of how ridiculously tall Jacob was; the way their skin was just the perfect shade for each other, how when they held hands it was impossible to tell the difference, where Jacob ended and Leah began; how they could talk about cars together and not get bored, and she just loved watching him fix up the Rabbit, just sitting there smiling to herself. But most of all, Nessie loved the way the wolf spirit was visible in their eyes, how there was a fire within them that she hadn't seen anywhere else before, a fire that burned deep within their souls.
"I love you," Jacob would say, but Nessie knew what he meant. The way he said it was the way he said it to Rachel and his dad when he was leaving, a nonchalant statement that didn't require any effort from his part because he would always love them, it was obvious.
With Leah, it was different. He needed the effort, he needed her to believe him. With Leah, it wasn't easy – with Reneesme and Billy and Rachel it was like breathing, effortless, but with Leah, he had to work for it. She was a free soul, and she wasn't easy to claim. When he said it to her, it dripped with emotion and love and promise. He bared his soul when he said it to her, and Leah knew it. Reneesme knew it, too.
It was that way with Nahuel for her. It was not easy. But loving someone was never meant to be easy. She had learned of all the sacrifices her family had made to be together. Being with Jacob was far too easy for her; she needed someone that would challenge her, the way Leah challenged Jacob.
And that was Nahuel for her. At first, they had been too preoccupied with their strange, hybrid nature to care about each other's characters, but they eventually realized that there was more keeping them together than their existence. Nahuel was smart and he argued with Nessie, disagreeing with her on things, such that they argued for hours on end, enjoying the feeling of being with someone who was like them.
Edward disapproved, but Bella had been over the moon to watch Nessie interact with someone like her. Nahuel was sweet and weird and wonderful all at the same time… just like her. When she was still a baby, she'd only seen him when they'd come to speak to the Volturi, but as she got older, she sought him out herself, and invited him to Forks.
And as Leah and Jacob drowned in each other, so did she with Nahuel.
So when she was sitting across from Jacob in the meadow, holding his too-large hands in her own small ones, looking into his dark, adoring eyes, she knew that she would never be more sure of her decision.
"It's my seventh birthday today."
He rolled his eyes. "You think I don't know that?"
She smiled and gripped his hands tighter. "Yeah… It's just… when I was younger, I promised myself I'd decide about the imprint by my seventh birthday and… well, here it is. And here I am. And here you are, still here after seven years."
He smiled softly, not his usual Jacob smile – too big and bright and contagious. A younger Jacob would have said something, fulfilling his innate need to fill every silence with words; but seven years was a long time and Jacob, like Nessie, had grown.
"I love Nahuel."
"I know."
"You love Leah."
"I know that, too."
"Well …" There was no appropriate way to say it. She was taking Jacob and setting him free. Setting herself free. "The imprint … I know what it is to us. It's not Sam and Emily or Rachel and Paul… its Quil and Claire… that's what I want. I want you to be mine forever, my brother, my friend. I want you to be there if I accomplish something with my forever life, I want to be there when you get married, I want to be there when you have babies… I – I… I have so much to thank you for, Jacob. You gave me a childhood when my parents couldn't and it has been the most amazing thing ever and I guess that means you're going to be the greatest dad ever, too … We're going to be best friends forever."
She had said all this in a rush, looking down at their intertwined hands. Once she was finished, she looked up at Jacob, unsure how he would react to her wishes. He had remained quiet, still, his eyes searching her face to make sure that she was serious about what she was saying… then he took her into his arms and hugged her with all his might.
"Thank you," he whispered in her ear, holding her close.
Shortly after, Reneesme and Nahuel had set off for South America, so that she could visit his home. Bella and Edward were the last of the Cullens to leave Forks, boarding up the big mansion in the woods for good, promising the Quileute tribe that they would never return, so as not to disrupt the lives of more young boys and girls.
With Nessie gone, it was as if a chapter in Jacob's life had finished. Nessie's decision had sealed the deal with Leah and Jacob: she was his and he was hers, finally, completely, fully.
They got married shortly after, in a traditional tribal wedding surrounded by their families and friends and their friends' babies. Jacob opened up a garage on the reservation that flourished into a lucrative business with which he helped fund Leah's education. They moved into a house by the beach, always exposed to the soothing sounds of the ocean, but always close enough to the woods for their comfort. She graduated as a midwife soon after, taking up a job in Forks.
They protected the reservation for as long as they could, Leah and Jacob, Jacob and Leah.
Together, they were unstoppable.
"I want a baby."
Even though it still shocked her, Leah supposed it was to be expected. Jacob loved kids almost as much as she did … but they both knew that having a baby would mean giving up the wolf.
"We can't have a kid and keep running patrols at the same time… it just wouldn't be fair…"
"I know…"
As the longest to keep phasing, it would the most difficult for them to stop. But, doing it together, they figured they'd manage. They mulled over the decision for a few weeks: both were impatient, both wanted a child to call their own, to complete them. The Elders accepted their decision and wished them the best of luck and the whole pack was eager to welcome yet another child into the fold.
The day eventually arrived: Leah waited for Jacob to close the garage and make his way back home, waiting patiently on the window seat, staring out at the sea. Her inner wolf was restless and she was jumpy, but they both knew it had to be done. As she saw him approaching the house across the beach, she left her seat and locked the house behind her as she went to meet him at the lip of the woods just behind their home.
They were both silent, and Jacob wrapped an arm around Leah, softly kissing the top of her head as they walked into the woods. Quietly, they shed their clothes, wrapping up in each other's embrace for a few minutes before they stepped away and phased. They took off on a leisurely run, making their way along the borders of La Push, going through the patrol routes in their shared mind.
Eventually, the run turned competitive, and they challenged each other for the sake of it, tongues lolling out of their mouths in a playful manner. Nudging and nuzzling each other, Leah savoured the image of Jacob's wolf in her mind for one final time, and Jacob did the same, taking in her small, graceful frame, and her beautiful eyes, before licking her muzzle and trotting off, beckoning her to follow him.
As they made their way back home, they shared memories of beings wolves together for one final time.
The final run, Leah thought, and Jacob agreed.
I promised we'd stop together.
And we are.
Alpha and Beta together. Forever.
Forever.
