Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer is the Mother of Twilight and always will be. I own nothing, but my original characters.

AN: Well it is that time again! I do not know where I keep getting the inspiration…..after all, this all started because I wanted to write one fic about Renesmee post-Breaking Dawn….but it is time for yet another story to add to the Choice Series! I hope you enjoy and let me know what you think!

Chapter 1

Autumn was one of Esme's favorite seasons. The equinox created picturesque scenery and the changing of the leaves was only one aspect of the beauty that unfolded before her eyes. It was the beginning of October and the months since they learned about Caleb and the new generation of wolves in La Push had been peaceful, just the way she loved it to be, but the silence in the house was still an eerie sound to her. Since Jasper suggested that he and Alice take a relaxing vacation in Italy and the others decided to follow suit by making arrangements of their own, the house was empty. Edward and Bella were the only ones to stay behind on the island with their parents, but they were tucked away in their cottage, enjoying the serenity of it all. The only ones in the main house were Esme and her mate, something she was excited about, but her maternal instinct was still on high alert. She entered Zach's room and noticed his hamper was full of dirty clothes. She giggled when she saw the leaves and twigs in the hamper from all the wrestling her grandson did, but before she could grab the hamper, her mate's voice echoed throughout the room.

"Esme, step away from the dirty clothes. They do not need to be washed right now," he explained as he wrapped his arms around her waist. She turned in his arms to face him and groaned.

"But…."

"No but, you are on vacation. We have the house to ourselves and Zach can do his own laundry. My love, we need to relax, just like everyone else does." She rested her head on his shoulder as she nodded and he rubbed her back soothingly.

"I know. I just miss them already."

"It has been three hours," he chuckled, but she scoffed.

"Alice and Jasper left four days ago. I am allowed to miss my children."

"Yes you are and I am allowed to miss my mate. It has been far too long since we have had the house to ourselves like this and there is nothing to worry about. Alice and Jasper are on vacation in Rome, Rosalie and Emmett are going on a hunting trip in Alaska, our grandchildren are heading to Forks and La Push, and Edward and Bella have locked themselves in their cottage. Everyone is on vacation and so are we, from this point forth. That means no laundry, no cooking, no cleaning, just you and me in this nice, big house all alone," he said with a grin and she giggled as she ran a hand through his soft, blond hair.

"I suppose I could use some time alone with my husband."

"How does a bubble bath sound," he asked with a grin as he pulled her toward their bedroom.

"Wonderful."

"Good, then I will draw us a bath," he announced before racing toward their bathroom and she looked over her grandson's room one last time with a smile. Everyone was on vacation and she decided to take the opportunity to indulge in her time alone with her mate.

Rosalie stalked back and forth in front of Zach, Seth, and Kaya as the three of them sat on the porch in front Jacob and Leah's house. Emmett snickered as his wife went over the checklist in her mind. When Seth suggested that Zach tag along with them to La Push, Rosalie was apprehensive. When Leah called and explained that it would be fine for him to stay with them, she was nervous, and as she dropped her son off to spend time with Josh, she was having second thoughts. While she knew Josh would not be an issue, leaving Zach alone with Seth was another issue entirely. The two of them easily got into trouble and since Zach did not sleep, she would not have the peace of mind of knowing that he would be supervised at all times.

"Let's see, no avalanches, no hunting alone….you had plenty of hunting before the trip here, correct," she asked and Zach whined.

"Aw mom, come on. I will be fine. If I need anything, I have plenty of people to ask, including Renesmee and Nahuel." Seth stood up with a comforting smile and placed an arm around Rosalie.

"Besides, I will be here to keep an eye out for Z, so no worries." Rosalie arched an eyebrow at him and glanced at Kaya, who nodded.

"I will keep an eye on both of them," assured Kaya and Seth huffed.

"Hey, I am a grown man. I can be responsible. Z will be fine," argued Seth. Rosalie glanced at Emmett and he winked at her before kissing her cheek.

"Don't worry Rose. Zach and Seth know that if they get into any trouble while we are gone, they will have a lot of people to answer to, including me, right," asked Emmett in a stern tone and Zach nodded as he stood up. He pulled his mother into his strong arms for a tight hug and she melted into his embrace when he kissed her cheek. She kissed his forehead and smiled lovingly at him.

"Be good and you better not give Leah and Jacob a hard time….okay maybe Jacob, but definitely not Leah," she instructed and Leah giggled as she walked onto the porch with a smiling Joshua.

"Z, come on! I got a new video game," announced Josh and Zach looked at his mother pleadingly. She kissed him one last time before nodding.

"Go have fun," she urged and he hugged his parents before running over to Josh. Josh waved at Rosalie and Emmett.

"Have fun in Alaska. Bring me back something," called Josh as he ran inside with Zach right behind him.

"I make no promises, but I might be able to grab you a bear," called Emmett and Rosalie nudged him. Josh poked his head out of the front door.

"Stuffed or alive," he questioned and Emmett grinned from ear to ear.

"Alive of course." Josh's eyes lit up with glee.

"Cool! Mom, can I have a…"

"Absolutely not, Emmett don't you dare bring my son a bear from Alaska," warned Leah and Emmett rolled his eyes.

"Chill Leah, I wasn't going to bring him a big one….just a furry little cub to….."

"Not happening," said Leah and Jacob chuckled as he joined them on the porch while his son pouted.

"Aw mom, you never let me have any pets," he whined and stomped back into the house. Jacob smirked.

"Already causing trouble Em," teased Jacob and Emmett shrugged.

"It's what I do best. Thanks for letting Zach stay here. Call us if he gives you any trouble." Rosalie groaned and shook her head.

"Maybe we should just take him with us," suggested Rosalie. Leah gave her a reassuring smile as she linked their arms together.

"You have my word as a mother and your best friend that I will make sure he is safe. Josh has been looking forward to this for a while."

"So has Zach. Okay fine, he can stay but the minute something goes wrong…."

"I will call you and keep you updated," agreed Leah and Rosalie slowly nodded.

"Alright Em, I think I am ready to go. Let's leave before I change my mind again." Emmett chuckled and pulled his wife toward the forest.

"We're out of here. Kaya, Seth, don't do anything I wouldn't do….which gives you a lot of options, bye," called Emmett before running toward the forest with his wife. Seth winked at Jacob and nodded toward the house.

"Let's go play that new game too. I bet I can beat all three of you in it," suggested Seth. Leah shook her head as she looked at Kaya.

"A house full of boys, you ready for this," teased Leah and Kaya giggled.

"Actually I am going to hunt with my brother. I promised him we would spend some time together."

"So you are leaving me here alone with all this testosterone?"

"Like you aren't used to dealing with it, I will be back tonight," informed Kaya. She got into her red BMW and Leah sighed when she heard the laughing and heckling inside the house.

"A house full of boys, this should be interesting," she mumbled to herself and went inside to keep an eye on all four of them.

Sue giggled at her husband's excitement as he pulled his keys from his jean pockets and walked down the stairs of the porch of their house with Renesmee right beside him. Her smile matched her grandfather's and Nahuel waved to them as he watched them from the porch with Sue.

"We are going to get her a new fishing pole, got to have the very best for my granddaughter," explained Charlie and Renesmee giggled.

"Are you sure you don't want to go with us tomorrow Nahuel," asked Renesmee and Nahuel winked at her.

"Don't worry about me. You and Charlie should spend some time alone together. I am going to spend time with Kaya." Charlie smiled at his wife.

"It would be nice to have two of my girls out there with me," suggested Charlie, but Sue shook her head.

"Seth is supposed to come over tomorrow and I want to cook him one of his favorite meals. I should head to the grocery store today and get ready for it. Do you want anything special for dinner tonight?"

"You know I love your cooking, so whatever you make is fine with me. I will grab another fishing pole just in case. Yours is looking a bit worn down. We will be back later," said Charlie. He departed with his granddaughter and Sam pulled in front of the house as they drove away. Sue looked at him curiously and he stuffed his hands into his pockets as he approached the house. He smiled at Nahuel in greeting.

"I didn't know you two were in town," said Sam.

"Renesmee wanted to spend some time with Charlie. I am about to go hunt with Kaya. Sue, do you need anything," asked Nahuel and she smiled sweetly at him.

"No thank you, save room for dinner though." Nahuel chuckled and winked at her.

"Will do." Kaya arrived and parked her car in the driveway. Nahuel motioned for her to follow him into the forest and as soon as they disappeared into the depths of trees and brush, Sue turned her attention to Sam.

"What brings you here? Is everything okay?" He chuckled nervously and shrugged.

"The first official council meeting was today."

"I see, would you like to come inside for something to drink?" He nodded appreciatively and she led him into the house. He sat down at the kitchen table as she looked into the refrigerator.

"We have water, tea, lemonade….."

"Anything stronger than that?" She giggled and handed him a beer as he sighed. She poured a glass of tea for herself.

"Bad meeting," she questioned.

"Have you heard about the pack growing?"

"No, to be honest I haven't kept up much with the tribe as of late. I thought since you were mentoring Caleb, things would be better," she explained as she joined him at the table.

"They are better in a way, but Caleb still has issues with me and the tribe in general. Three boys have joined the pack. Braden is the newest one to phase."

"Brady's son, how is Brady taking it?"

"He expected it, but hopes Braden will not see as much action as he has over the years. Jared is much happier than he is about the whole situation. He always wanted Drew and Daniel to become wolves. Now Drew is the beta."

"Daniel is sixteen, right?"

"Yea and Drew is only seventeen. They are so young. At least Daniel, Drew, and Braden have more guidance, but Caleb has so much anger inside of him. I don't know how to guide him. Each time I suggest something, he gets defensive. How did you do it for so many years? How were you able to be an elder and raise two wolves?" She sighed as she thought about the trials and tribulation she faced with her children in the past.

"It was difficult at times, but this generation will be even harder to get through to. The pack is separate from the council, you know that. Any decision you made, right or wrong, was one that we had to accept. We tried to guide you as much as possible, but it was not always easy. Caleb is going to be difficult to get through to because he feels like he has something to prove to everyone on the reservation. He doesn't feel the same connection to the tribe that you did as alpha."

"I don't know what to do with him. He just became a wolf and he has already gotten into trouble. He is lucky the Cullens have a good rapport with us or the treaty would have been broken after Billy's funeral. Maybe I shouldn't have stepped down as alpha. If I would have known that the gene would be triggered again so soon….."

"Hindsight is twenty, twenty. You did what was best for your family and there was no way for you to have known about the gene in Caleb. Sam, all you can do now is try your best to guide him and teach him as much as possible. What he does with that knowledge is up to him. Besides, the amount of trouble he can get into will be limited." Sam chuckled.

"That's true. We shouldn't have to worry about as much tension as there was when Jacob became involved with Bella. I am just concerned about his leadership capabilities. Maybe I will not have to worry about that for long though."

"Leah told me about what you think Joshua will become. My grandson is very special, but he is also a lot like his parents. Neither of them wanted to be in a pack. It takes a lot of responsibility and commitment. You can't expect for Josh to just phase and decide to pull rank over Caleb. Plus, his best friend is a vampire. Seth, Leah, and Jacob do not have the best track record with staying close to the pack, so do not expect for Josh to. Believe it or not, what you are going through with Caleb is not out of the norm. I remember a time when you were not so enthused about becoming a wolf."

"So what do I do?"

"You give it time and have patience…..a whole lot of patience." Sam took a gulp from his bottle of beer and nodded, knowing that Sue was right.

Kaya watched as her brother took down a deer deep within the forest. She waited for him to be sated with thirst and climbed into a tree as he wiped his mouth.

"That should be enough until dinner. When are you and Seth coming over?"

"Not until tomorrow, he wants to spend some time with his nephew first."

"I am glad you suggested this hunt. It has been a while since the two of us have just spent time alone together. Is everything alright with you and Seth?" She rolled her eyes.

"Please spare me from the big brother talk. You know Seth and I are just fine."

"You are my baby sister, it is my job….along with picking on you," he exclaimed as he jumped into the tree and nudged her out of it. She gracefully landed on her feet and began pelting him with rocks as he laughed. He dodged a couple as he leapt from the tree and onto the forest floor, but stiffened when a scent filled his nostrils. Kaya recognized his tense stance and followed him as he began tracking the scent.

"Nahuel, what is it," she asked and he knelt down beside a footprint in the dirt a few yards away.

"Don't you smell that?" She sniffed the air and shrugged.

"A vampire, probably a nomad passing through….."

"Uh huh, I have heard that before."

"The scent is faint. I am sure the nomad is long gone by now. Let's not make this a big deal. You know Alice would notify us if it were something major."

"Alice is in Italy relaxing with Jasper."

"Exactly, relaxing, something you should try to do." He traced the outline of the footprint with his finger and took in another deep breath, memorizing the scent.

"Something is different about this scent. I know you smell it." She groaned.

"Nahuel, come on, let's go. The nomad is not even in the area anymore. Stop making a big deal out of nothing." He slowly nodded as he stood up.

"Maybe you are right."

"Of course I am. Let's try to find some more deer. Seth is probably going to want pizza tonight and that doesn't sound appetizing to me at all. I need to hunt more." Nahuel chuckled and ruffled her hair as they ran deeper into the forest in search of more animals to hunt.

That evening, the moon hung high and the waves crashed into the shores of First Beach as Caleb and Braden sat around a bonfire eating hot dogs and waiting on Drew and Daniel to arrive. Caleb gazed up at the stars shining brightly.

"You don't get this type of view from the city, too much pollution," he stated.

"Do you miss it? The rez is pretty different from big city life," said Braden and Caleb smirked.

"That's an understatement, but the rez has its advantages. Who would have thought that being here would make me stronger, faster, and a leader of a pack? That's not a bad deal if you ask me."

"I guess not. My dad is worried though, about the pack."

"Your dad worries too much."

"What if we have to face a newborn army like he did or….."

"Then we will defeat it. Look, why is everyone around here worried about us? First Sam, now your dad, I am sure everyone that knows about us doubts what we can do, but last time I checked, we have kick ass powers and I plan on using them as much as possible." Braden was quiet as he stared at the fire and Caleb rolled his eyes when he sensed his apprehension.

"Braden, seriously, chill, this is going to be awesome, so relax. That's an order from your alpha," he teased and Braden chuckled. He saluted Caleb and they laughed as Drew and Daniel frantically sprinted over to them. Caleb darted up, sensing their anxiety, and Drew pointed toward the forest.

"We saw something. It had to be vampires, three of them," informed Drew and Caleb rubbed his hands together as he grinned.

"Perfect, which way did they head," he asked.

"I think the better question is what color were their eyes," announced Sam as he approached them and Caleb smirked. Braden, Drew, and Daniel all shook his hand respectfully, but Caleb crossed his arms.

"Sam, what do you want? This doesn't concern you," said Caleb and Sam crossed his arms as well. The two of them stood toe to toe and Drew, Daniel, and Braden watched nervously as they stared each other down. They were raised to respect Sam and trusted him, unlike Caleb did.

"You should be careful for many reasons Caleb. Fighting vampires is not an easy thing to do and you don't even know if they are friends or foes."

"Hey, the gene is inside of us because we are supposed to protect our people. The treaty has made you soft. If there are vampires on our land, we have every right to defend it." Sam turned to Drew and Daniel.

"Some of the Cullens are in the area. Are you sure you did not see some of them?" Drew and Daniel glanced at each other and shrugged.

"We don't know. They went by really fast and from a distance," replied Drew.

"Gold or red eyes," asked Sam and the boys sighed.

"Couldn't tell," added Drew.

"Then maybe you should wait to take action until you know for sure," advised Sam. Caleb glared at him.

"You don't get to decide that for me. I am the alpha, not you. I will ask my pack questions, not you."

"I am an elder looking out for your best interest. If you go after a Cullen, it affects more than just the pack. The treaty is too important to risk because of your overzealous behavior."

"The treaty protects golden eyes, not nomads. If they are on our land, then they are dangerous and it is our duty to protect the tribe. As alpha, that is my responsibility."

"A good alpha also knows when he is in over his head. Do not risk the safety of the tribe or your pack by being impulsive."

"There are only three, we can handle them," assured Caleb.

"You have no clue what you are up against. I have fought in many battles against vampires and it takes more than four wolves, especially inexperienced wolves, to take out three vampires."

"We'll see about that." Caleb turned away, but Sam grabbed his arm.

"That wasn't a challenge, it was a fact. Don't do this Caleb," warned Sam, but Caleb jerked away from him.

"I am the alpha of my pack, not you, and this pack will follow my orders, not yours. We are going to find out who is on our land and if they are not Cullens or golden eyed vamps, we are going to do what we were made to do." He stormed off and Drew, Daniel, and Braden glanced back and forth between Sam and Caleb. They were conflicted. Caleb was their alpha, their leader, but Sam was the one they respected the most and knew the longest. Sam sighed and nodded as Caleb called for them to follow him. Sam knew they would not have a choice in the matter. They had to follow their alpha.

"Go on, but be safe. I will tell your fathers where you are," informed Sam and they nodded before running after Caleb. Once they reached the edge of the forest, they phased into wolf form and Sam took in a shaky breath.

"Please stay safe," he mumbled and jogged back to his home in order to call Brady and Jared. The new pack was officially established and on the move.