Book One:
Revived
Chapter #: 1
Preparations
"Ma'am… excuse me Ma'am" the soft voice spoke from behind me. I was so deep in thought that I almost didn't even realize she was speaking to me. I turned around and looked at the woman who was speaking to me. Looking at her from behind my fairly large glasses I notices she was very average looking, almost plain. She was wearing a white polo t-shirt with a peach colored sweater over it and her khaki colored pants landed right at the top of her matching peach shoes. A little girl stood by her side smiling with anticipation and almost hiding behind the woman.
"Yes?" I asked.
"Well, um, hi… My daughter was just wondering if you and your friend here were models, I mean you two are beautiful!" the woman spoke with a smile as she studied the features of Alice and my face. I turned to look at Alice who was not paying much attention to the woman now and then back to her.
"No… not models…" I attempted to get out when Alice interrupted me.
"She is just a picky bridezilla from hell and I'm her highly annoyed wedding planner!" Alice said suddenly. I turned and stared at her with my jaw let open a little bit.
"Oh my… well, we figured you were models, because you're about to board a plane to leave from Paris. She was so excited to meet a model. Sorry to bother you guys" the mom said as she took the disappointed little girl away from us.
I looked back at Alice who was dancing to the music from her iPod as we waited to board our plane. She has been upset with me since yesterdays fight in the French boutique in downtown Paris. We flew in last week for the final fitting for my dress and to bring it back home. What started out as a very fun week of putting the finishing touches on the wedding soon back fired and turned into a huge nightmare! I was excited about this wedding trip because for the past two months, my family and I have been vampire hunting throughout Canada and the upper parts of North America. We went on missions to try and find any survivors of the immortal project and or any signs of Christian creating new ones. Not the most successful of missions we only found a handful of new immortals, but these seemed to be lacking something and by the time we could confront them, they already began to die off. These were just clues that lead us to believe that Christian was in fact trying to recreate more but was failing. He was missing something that was a key factor to his project. What that was exactly? We didn't know, but that's what Carlisle and Noah had been working on.
After time we couldn't find any more of these "reject" immortals and that's when Alice took it upon herself to get to the wedding planning. We flew everywhere and found different dress makers but it was Paris where we found THE dress; so that's where we took our wedding planning. Alice and I began the trip by doing the final fitting as well as décor shopping. She has had total control over the entire event so not much was said to prevent her from going overboard. Seth wouldn't allow me to at least.
What was supposed to be a simple yet classic wedding turned out to be a huge event with extravagant center pieces and extremely expensive couture brides maids dresses. The china for the dinner portion, for those who eat food, were specially shipped in from China and cost a fortune! The only thing I was comfortable spending the money on was the Christian Louboutin diamond encrusted red bottomed heels and my beautiful Christian Lacroix wedding dress. They seemed worth it to me, however a $15,000 eight foot vale was completely unnecessary. Alice claimed it had to be part of the complete wedding ensemble, however I beg to differ. The original vale which was selected was perfect for me; it was short and simple with netting on the front and subtle stones that would shimmer in the sun light.
The morning sun would be the lighting to our wedding which would be held outback of our new mansion. The move to Hammond, Oregon happened so quickly that I barely got a chance to get adjusted to our new place before I had to leave for a European shopping excursion. The town we moved to is very reminiscent of Forks; small, quiet and rainy. Everyone seemed to get along and probably grew up together; so to say we stood out was an understatement. The day our moving truck came into town followed by three very flashy vehicles it seems like the entire town was outside staring at us. It became apparent that day that we would be the talk of the town. Luckily for us our house was built in the woods outside of town near the Fort Stevens State Park and was very hidden from that of the normal human who drove by.
Seth seemed to like this house a lot better then the one we lived in on Anvil Island. This house wasn't so modern looking and was already built prior to the Cullen's purchasing it; The Red brick and white trimmed finish was beautifully displayed throughout the entire perimeter of the house. Originally built as the mayor's mansion, the Cullen's purchased the house and renovated it to add more modern things inside and some outside. The most obvious of renovations were the windows; that's the one thing I've noticed about all the houses they've built or purchased, they really like their windows. The entrance to the house was surrounded by a large porch with tall windows which peered into the foyer.
Upon walking inside, you immediately notice the large white pillars and huge marble water fountain that's centered in the middle of the room. Statues outline the entire square room, and as you look up there are three stories of windows that light up the room with not electricity needed. As you walk past the fountain is the entrance to the main hallway which over the living room. Large like our other house, the room has one entire wall of windows. The long stone hallway takes you to the entrance of the kitchen as well as a door to the back yard and another hallway which leads to both our ball room and library. At the end of that hallway is a bathroom and the large stairs which lead to the three bedrooms. The entire interior of the house was stunning but nothing matched the outsides beauty.
Along with the large fancy garage which matched the houses exterior, the front yard housed the entrance to a garden maze. The large maze twisted and turned through the side of the house and made its way to either the large back yard, or to a secret hot spring like pond built to resemble the one that Seth and I had plenty of intimate moments back in Forks. Over all, the house was the epitome of beautiful and I was happy that I would spend forever there with the people I loved the most.
As we began to board the plane, I began to dread the fact that I would be seeing my mom for the first time in almost two years. She hasn't seen me since my transformation but I'm pretty sure she would catch on to the change, but how would I explain it. I was dreading the fact that I would have to explain this somehow but over all I was more excited that she would be coming anyway. The guest list was made up of people I didn't know as well as a handful of some I did know. Jodi was my maid of honor and she was bringing some guy she met during her first semester at Drexel College in Philadelphia. My mother wanted to bring a gentlemen friend whom she's been dating for quite some time and I was quite interested in meeting him but Noah instructed her that due to the different types of life styles here it would be better if he stayed home. Other than that, the entire Cullen clan was to be in attendance as well as the Quileute pack. The wedding would be an extravaganza of freaks; just the way I dreamt it would be as a little girl…
Alice and I made our way to our first class seats and stuffed our carryon bags into the designated compartments. We sat down, still quiet, and made ourselves comfortable; we had a 14 hour flight ahead of us to make it back to Oregon. I lifted up the shade to the window seat and looked at the airport workers outside working very fast and hard to make sure the planes were ready to go. I was so enthralled by their dedication that I almost didn't realize that Alice was dazed and her eyes had no life to them. She was having a vision.
"Alice? Alice what do you see!" I said shaking her trying to get an answer out of her.
So many different possibilities were running through my head all including either Christian or Lysander; no matter how happy things were right now I knew that at any moment they could either attack me or unleash their new batch of Immortals on us. I watched closely as she started to come to again.
"Alice…. What happened" I asked.
"NO!... NO DAMNIT I KNEW THEY WOULD MESS IT UP!" she said speaking of the impending doom she foresaw.
"Christian? Lysander?" I asked still waiting patiently. She shook her head then looked at me as if she hadn't realized I was talking to her.
"Huh? Who? No Rena… the cake decorators are going to bring the wrong cake… but DON'T WORRY… Im calling RIGHT NOW to make sure they fix it before it happens! Told you that Esme should have done the cake but nooo…" she went off rambling and pulled out her laptop to email the cake decorators. The anger that consumed me was so strong that if it wasn't for her snapping back at me with a crazy look on her face, I wouldn't have realized that I crushed the entire arm rest of the leather chair.
"Rena, relax… I promise that If he chooses to set lose his immortals I'll see it. If Lysander was to try and attack on your wedding, I would see it, but I see nothing but a beautiful wedding ceremony and happy people." She said it with a huge smile on her face and yet all I could do was barely smirk back at her.
I turned back towards my window and noticed that the plane had begun to move. I buckled my seat belt and sat back in my chair; there was so much to think about and so much to look forward to. As the plane lifted off, and the city of Paris began to shrink in the view, I pulled the shade down and looked at the tv monitor that was built into the seat in front of me. The in flight movie happened to be about two best friends who booked their weddings on the same day. It was so ironic that I would be forced to watch the one thing that I was most dreading; A wedding full with drama.
The people in my way couldn't move any slower! I couldn't wait any longer to see him, to hear his voice, to touch his skin. I could feel his presence all around me and I could even smell him; he was close. I began to pick up speed, leaving Alice behind me as I pushed through the crowds of people. The 14 hour flight felt like an eternity knowing that I would be seeing him soon, so now that we were landed and rushing through the airport, I couldn't bare to even wait any longer. Person after person I shoved past to get to where he was standing; it seemed like more and more people were popping up out of no where in this airport. I was determined to get to him especially now that I caught a glimpse of him standing at the gate.
His face was perfect; the russet colored skin look flustered from the anticipation he must have been feeling. The serious look on his face as he sniffed the air and scanned through the people searching for me made me smile; I always loved his concerned face. suddenly his entire face shifted and calmed; we locked eyes just then and it felt as if everything around us had went into slow motion. My stomach began to do flips and turns as I stared at his beautiful face. I stopped moving as our eyes were locked on each other; I couldn't do anything other than take in that wonderful moment of seeing him. It wasn't until the huge smile I loved so much appeared on his face that I began running towards him. I wasn't even concerned if I was running faster than a normal human being; my only concern was wrapping myself into his arms.
Our bodies impacted and connected as if they were two missing puzzle pieces finally reunited. Surges of electrical currents ran all over my body as his arms wrapped around me; the time apart made these feelings 1,000 times stronger than they had ever been. I inhaled his wet dog scent in deep into my non working lungs and held it there for a long period of time. The scent that would usually burn to any other vampire made me weak in the knees. I loved this man so much and every time I was around him, I couldn't believe he was all mine. Everything we went through last year was meant to happen. The separation we suffered was only meant to happen so that this feeling I was feeling right now would make sense. Everything that has happened since then and everything that would happen after our wedding, was the beginning of the revival of our love.
We slightly pulled away from our embrace only to lock our lips into a very intimate kiss. The sparks of electricity shot everywhere in my body and I felt my knees begin to shake. His soft and warm lips were meant to be pressed against the stone cold feeling of my own. As I felt my legs begin to buckle, he picked me up and wrapped my legs around him. We didn't care who was around us at this moment, all we cared about was that we were together again.
"Um, guys, theres not only a crowd watching you guys, but theres also children present, do you think you can save this for when your in the privacy of a bedroom?" said the voice of my brother Noah as he walked up the side of us.
Seth removed his lips from mine and slowly put me down. Noah was right, there was a crowd and there were children watching; if I could blush I would probably be as red as the shirt that Noah had on under his coat. I looked back at Seth and almost lunged forward for another kiss but held my composure.
"Hello Miss Wyatt, soon to be Mrs. Clearwater" he said as his held my face in between his massive warm hands. He planted one last kiss on my forehead and pulled away from me.
"I missed you like crazy… we should never be a part for that long" I managed to get out before I found myself on top of him again. I glanced over to Noah who was rolling his eyes in disgust and smiled.
"Whats up big bro!" I said as I sent a soft punch to his shoulder. Still stronger then I realized the sound it made was almost that of a brick landing onto a concrete floor.
"Ouch… thanks." He said as he leaned in and hugged me.
"How was your trip?" Seth asked but before I could answer, the high pitch voice that has been irking my entire life for the past two weeks suddenly interrupted.
"Very productive, EVEN though your fiancé is the biggest worry wart and bridezilla I have ever seen!" she said as she danced over with a smile.
"Rena? My Rena? Noooo cant be!" Seth said sarcastically. If only he knew the things that little woman put me through while in Europe.
"Lets go get your luggage and get out of here, Your mother is very anxious to see you" Noah said. My stomach suddenly felt as if I swallowed a ton of bricks. How would I explain everything to her?
"Rena, its fine, I explained to her that you look different. And that a lot of the guests will look, different. She was a little confused but as soon as she saw the similarities between Carlisle, Jasper and myself she put two and two together." Noah said.
"She knows!" I asked nervously.
"No, but she knows enough to not want to know much else, if you know what I mean" Seth then interjected. Some of the weight was lifted but still, I felt uneasy with her knowing anything at all.
"Who else is there?" I asked.
"Well Jodi arrived yesterday with her boyfriend. Her, Latia and Leah are in Portland getting fitted for their bridesmaids dresses. The twins are decorating the yard, waiting on further instructions from Alice. Esme and Jasper are on their way to the cake decorators now on a mission from Alice, and, the pack is there too."
"We're only waiting on Edward, Bella, Jake, Nesse, Rosalie & Emmet. Then everyone will be there… well everyone that you know at least…" Seth then said. I turned and glared at Alice for that only meant that she invited more people then we discussed. She was absolutely hell bent on making the wedding this huge event instead of the intimate wedding I originally wanted.
"Rena, I promise no one else other then that will be there! Seth is just tryna start a problem!" she said as she jokingly pushed him.
I couldn't believe that in a little over 24 hours I will be getting married and to the man who means the world to me. The entire drive home, Seth and I simply held each other in the backseat as Noah drove, and Alice called several different people who were helping with the wedding. The drive from Astoria to Hammond took about twenty minutes but seemed like forever especially with Alice in the front seat dealing with all things wedding. Its not that I didn't like her, I actually really enjoyed her spunk, its just the wedding and everything else is making me a bit edgy.
As soon as we got home, I felt even more pressure build up when I saw the garage was filled with cars. More so when I saw the trucks that were unloading all the lawn furniture for the ceremony; everything was coming together and so quickly. As we exited the car and began to unload our bags, two men in suites greeted Alice and asked for the wedding dress and everything else we purchased in Europe. Alice smiled and handed over everything then looked at me as if to say they will be ok. I forgot she hired people to keep everything safe. I turned to face Seth but instead was tackled by two short vampires who were now hugging me.
"Rena!" the twins screamed at the same time. "Long time no see!" Ditto said.
"Hey guys how are you!" I asked as I hugged them back.
They had changed so much since living with the Cullen's. The old evil aspects of them were totally gone and it was weird to see them with golden hazel eyes as opposed to red. Since living with the Cullen's, the twins had to adapt to our vegetarian diet and even begin to act like kids since their bodies were forever frozen as pre teens. Carlisle said that they would soon be attending school to attempt to fit in, however he worried for they would never grow like the other kids would and people might notice. Their time in forks was now limited and they intended on moving soon. They planned on moving to Astoria however so they wouldn't be far.
The twins grabbed the rest of my bags and began to lug it up the long stair way to the house. I turned to look at Seth and smiled when I saw him staring at me. the look on his face was priceless for it looked as if he were looking at me for the first time.
"Your going to look stunning tomorrow." He said as he pulled me in for a hug. I wanted him so bad but we had to wait until tomorrow night. We made a goal to not make love until we were officially Mr. & Mrs. Clearwater. He grabbed my chin with his index finger and lifted my head up to face his in directly. He leaned in and kissed me and the sparks began to fly. Again, for that special moment him and I were in our own little world, away from everything. If it weren't for the familiar human scent that was suddenly very present I would have continued to kiss him. I pulled away from his lips and felt my stomach turn for Sophie was now standing behind me.
"Shouldn't we save this for the ceremony?" she said with a smirk on her face. I turned to face her and couldn't help but feel a knot welt up in my throat. All my nervousness soon faded and turned into excitement. I haven't seen my foster mother in almost two years and now that she was there in front of me I couldn't hold my feelings back.
She looked just like she did the day I left her for college. Her short cut black hair was freshly styled for tomorrows festivities. She was my height but her frame was a little broader for she has been a personal trainer for the past 20 years. Her chocolate colored skin tone was always so smooth and looked almost airbrushed; like something out of a magazine. She was so perfect and I loved her so much. Before I went in for a hug I noticed the strain in her face for she had been examining my changes. It was written all over her face and I could tell it pained her to see me like this. She stared deep into my liquid gold eyes and began to speak.
"Your… your eyes…" she said as she looked at me.
"Yeah… Mom, I'm sorry." Was all I could get out I didn't even know what I was apologizing for but I just felt it was needed. Her face twisted up in confusion and she began to laugh.
"What are you sorry for Rena? You're beautiful!" she said now with her arms open coming in for a hug. The fear was now totally gone for her huge caring heart had that ability to do that. I wrapped my arms around her being as careful as possible not to apply pressure. She smelled so good and it brought back so many memories of growing up. I felt her body shutter as her skin brushed up against my cold stone like flesh. I almost didn't want to let her go but I knew she felt uncomfortable in our embrace. As we pulled away she smiled at me then turned to Seth to embrace him. I looked over to Noah who had already read my emotions; he nodded at me as if to say that she is fine.
"You have yourself a good man here, quite the gentlemen." She said as she finished her hug.
"He's ok… I guess. He'll have to do." I said being sarcastic as Seth frowned.
We walked up the long stone stairway to the front of the house; from midway up the staircase, I could hear the humming of peoples voices. Little noises and bigger ones was what I could hear as well. The sounds were coming from the endless amount of people moving things in the yard and setting up tables for the wedding. From the sounds of it, I knew there were going to be a lot of people here so I was nervous to see exactly how many. My head began to spin as the scents of their human blood wafted by me causing a burning sensation deep within my throat. The food selection in Paris was minimal so I left a bit hungry; this only meant I would have to go hunt tonight.
Noah came up to me and put his hands on my shoulders as I sat in awe watching everything unfold in front of me. I peaked up at him as if I knew what he was saying; he was assuring me that we would get to hunt tonight. I looked back at everything and suddenly felt a warm body and beating heart next to me.
"I know it looks a little hectic now, but I can assure you everything will be ready and waiting for you as soon as you wake up tomorrow." Sophie said. she was also looking at everything unfolding in front of us in amazement.
"I have faith it will get done, I just cant believe this is finally happening." I said.
"Well, im happy this day came. You were such a loner girl I was nervous you would never meet anyone." She said as she laughed. I smiled at her and let out a giggle and looked up at Seth who was also laughing.
"Your going to look amazing tomorrow, I cant wait to see you in your dress." She said.
"I can assure you that she will look absolutely stunning!" a familiar voice said from behind me. I was so enthralled in what was going on that I didn't notice the familiar scents around me. I turned around and saw three of the most beautiful faces ever.
"JODI!, Latia… LEA!" I shouted I was so excited to see them I ran into their arms and hugged all of them at the same time. Their hands were full with bags that contained their bride's maid's dresses and accessories, so their hugs weren't really full ones. As half assed as they might have been, it felt good to have them in embrace like this. Its been over six months since I've last seen Jodi so I was quite excited to have her around again.
As I was hugging them a new unfamiliar human scent reached my nose and my eyes shot wide open. I forgot that Jodi had brought her boyfriend so it startled me to realize he was standing there waiting for an introduction. He stood at 6 foot 6 and was very slender in build. He wore a soft knit hat and his dyed jet black hair peeked out from underneath it. His ears had a small gage in them and he wore black metal rings in them. He wore a black denim jacket with a gray v-neck t shirt underneath. His chest looked to be covered in tattoo's from what was exposed from his shirt; actually now that I further examined him I seen that even down to the top of his hands were tattood. This was a very different type of guy for Jodi for she usually goes for the jock, or pretty boy kind. I looked over to her and smiled and the look on her face only said that she knew what I was thinking.
"Rena, I would like you to meet my boyfriend, Joe!" Jodi said as she held out her hand to him. He stood forward and showed off his flashy white teeth and extended his arms out for a hug. So far, so good.
"It is a huge pleasure to meet you Rena, I've heard so much about you" he said as he attempted to squeeze me during our embrace.
"Likewise Joe, I've also heard a lot about you! Jodi talks about you nonstop in her letters and in our phone convos." I said as we both laughed together.
"Well you know how long whinded she can be!" he said as he smiled. His light green eyes were locked on mine as we smiled and continued to talk. I could definitely see what Jodi might have saw in him when they first met. Suddenly it was as if everyone around us became quiet and all I heard was his voice; Joes voice.
"Thank you for saving her life" sounded in my head, but no one spoke. Joe's mouth didn't move as I heard this but it was as if his face said it all. Was he talking to me through his mind?
"So yeah! Lets get upstairs and get everything situated Rena!" Jodi suddenly said as if she was trying to interrupt on purpose.
"Yes we do have a rehearsal dinner to attend in the Ball room and we all have to be there, so we should get ready." Latia also said.
As I turned back to face Joe, he was engaged in a deep conversation with Noah and Seth so I couldn't ask him if that were him talking to me; some how he did but how was a whole different situation. I glanced around to the workers putting everything together as Alice and the twins now pointed to places and instructed where to put things. I noticed everyone doing something and I just stood there and took it all in; if it weren't for Jodi talking I wouldn't have even moved. As I turned around and saw Sophie sharing conversation with Latia and Leah, and the pack playing football in the yard and even as Jodi talked away my ear; I noticed one thing… This wedding was really happening and happening soon; Luckily for me I had family here to support Seth and I in our decision to make our relationship a union. It felt very good.
