A/N: I'm glad you all liked the first chapter! I know its been a few days, but here it is! Thanks to all who reviewed, it means a lot to me! So, in return, here's some Jake/Nessie love. Enjoy!
Flame of Destiny
Chapter 2
Nessie's POV**
I got out of aunt Rosalie's car, and walked slowly to the main house. How was I going to explain about Katherine without my family being furious at me? How was Jacob going to react, when he'll think I was in danger and he wasn't there to protect me? All of these things were scrolling through my mind as I was walking, aware of aunt Rosalie and uncle Emmett trailing behind, walking at my pace.
When I walked through the front door, every one of my family members were there, standing—waiting for me. No doubt aunt Rosalie told Daddy through her thoughts, and they were all on red-alert. Jacob was sitting down, until I came in the room. He jumped up, and in two of his long strides, he snatched me up, and hugged me so tight that I couldn't breathe.
"Nessie, I'm so happy you're okay! Why would you do that? You could have been killed!" He said, trying to control his volume level—he never yells at me.
"Jakey—Can't breathe..." I stuttered, and he loosened his hold automatically, afraid of hurting me. He continued to hold me, and I was wallowing in the heat radiating from him. I pressed my palm to his bare shoulder, showing him everything, including the part about the notes that I wrote to all of them. I heard him gasp, and I pulled back to look at his face. Tears were brimming his eyes, and one fell over the edge, I wiped it away with my thumb.
"Nessie, how could you ever think that we would be better off without you? This family wouldn't be able to function without you here." Jacob said.
"I know... I'm sorry." I said. My mom stepped forward.
"Will someone tell me what I missed?" She hissed, looking back and forth between Daddy, Jacob, and I.
I reached my hand out to her, and she held it on her cheek. She watched the memories play, and looked sadly into my eyes. She shook her head no.
"Renesmee... You're my baby. My little angel. I couldn't go on if I lost you, and neither could your father. You brought this family closer than ever." She said, and Jacob set me gently on my feet so I could give my parents a hug.
I took turns showing the whole family, and in turn listening to their statements about how I complete the family. But then I just stopped, and started staring into space.
"Nessie? Are you okay? What's wrong?" Jacob said frantically, and I looked around at all of my family. I had completely forgotten all about the fact that my aunt and uncle—that were supposed to be gone for two more weeks—were standing right in front of me. And everything that happened this morning...
"You said you'd tell me when I got home. I'm home." I said strongly, without looking any of them in the eye. I sounded braver than I was. In all reality, I was scared to know who was after me now. And my father didn't oppose any of my thoughts, so I couldn't have been too wrong.
Everyone tensed up, and moved to where they were sitting down. I was standing alone in the middle of the living room. My dad was on the love seat with mom on his lap. Jacob was sitting next to them. He patted his legs, inviting me to sit on his lap. My heart skipped a beat, yet I continued standing there.
"Will you come sit with me, Nessie?" He asked with a pleading tone. I couldn't say no to that voice—nor did I want to—and I walked over to him. He held his arms open for me, and I sat down, nestling resting my head on his shoulder as his strong arms locked around my waist. I had my hands in my lap, and I was facing my parents.
My daddy was staring coldly at Jake's arm around my waist, but he didn't say anything. He was being surprisingly laid-back lately when it came to me and Jake... I heard aunt Rosalie's sound of disgust; she didn't understand how I could be so close to Jacob because of his smell. I loved the smell of him, and vice versa.
My dad took my small hands in his large, cold ones. He looked no where but at my face as he spoke, judging my facial expressions, along with my thoughts. Jasper was near by, also, and that meant they might need him to control my emotions.
"Renesmee, there are vampires nearby.. They are trying to get through the wolves' patrol, they got close enough that I could hear their thoughts, and they want you. But don't be scared, angel, because we will never, ever, let them get close enough to hurt you." He said as gently as possible. Would it ever be over? Could I ever just live a normal life? Why did someone always have to be after me?
A tear escaped, and started rolling down my face. My dad wiped it away with his cold thumb, as Jacob tightened his hold on me.
"Don't cry, my Renesmee. It is my promise to you, from this whole family, Jacob's pack, and even Sam's pack, that you will never be put in harm's way. We all love you too much for anything to happen to you. And I'm not so sure about this girl, Katherine..." He started.
I jumped up.
"Katherine is my friend! She's the only person my age that I've met that actually kind of knows what I'm going through! I'm not going to stop being her friend. I'll bring her over here so you all can meet her, and Daddy you can get what you want from her thoughts, but I can't avoid her." I yelled at them. I wasn't budging on this. She was my friend, already, and I wasn't giving that up.
"Renesmee, she could be dangerous... you've only known her for one day.. What if she tries to hurt you, and we aren't there?" Jacob said. I looked at him appalled. He was usually on my side. I wrestled my way from his arms, and stood up.
"You're agreeing with them!? I thought you were supposed to be on my side!" I shouted at him, angry tears flowing down my face. He looked up at me, and then away again before he started speaking.
"Renesmee, your safety is the most important thing to me." Was all he said. The rest of the family sat in silence, watching all of this happen, and saying nothing. Even though uncle Em chuckled when I started yelling at them.
"Please shield me, Mom." I whispered, and ran up the stairs to my bedroom. I slammed my door, and ran to my bed. I buried my face in my silky comforter, and began to cry. I didn't know if it was because I had more vampires out to kill me, or if I was angry at Jacob for betraying me, or if it was because they were judging Katherine without even knowing her... I didn't know. Maybe it was all of those things. But I was listening to the conversation downstairs even though they were trying to keep it quiet.
"I think it's time" Jacob said. Time for what? I listened, hoping to get an answer to my question.
"NO, it's not!" Aunt Rose interjected, "She's not even sixteen yet!" She shouted, referring to my physical appearance.
"It's none of your business, Blondie, so how about you stay out of it!" Jacob roared. I had never heard him yell before.
"This is our house, and you can-"aunt Rosalie started.
"Rose, this is between Edward, Bella, and Jacob." grandma said, not yelling, but stern. Aunt rose hissed lowly, and walked back to her spot on uncle Emmett's lap.
"Jacob, she's not ready to know yet. She's my little girl, not yours. Bella and I make all decisions when it comes to her." Daddy said. Jacob must have replied in his head, because Daddy responded.
"I know that, Jacob. If that wasn't true, I would have killed you long, long ago." What? Don't they know that my hearing is almost as good as theirs? I was sure they knew that I could hear them.. What was going on?
"Edward, I think she's ready. She turns five in a month, and she looks closer to sixteen everyday...Jacob would never do anything to hurt her, and we all knew it was meant to be from the day she was born. So why wait? She's ready." Mom said. Ready for what? I had no clue, but hopefully I would be finding out very soon.
I knew that they would be staring at each other right now, having a silent conversation with their eyes. Daddy sighed and said okay. Jacob asked a question in his head.
"Yes, that's fine with me. But she has the final say. We'll talk about the rest of this later." Daddy said. I heard Jake get up, and head towards the grand staircase on the other side of the room. He started slowly up the stairs, breathing heavily and his heartbeat was faster than normal.
My tears were slowing as my curiosity grew. He came up, and pecked on my door, before peeking in.
"Nessie? May I come in, please?" He asked. I kept my face buried in my blanket, but nodded my head. He walked over, and sat down on the edge of my bed. He started stroking my bronze hair; he knew I loved that, and he did it every time I was upset.
"Will you come with me?" He asked, and I was intrigued. My curiosity got the best of me. I knew I was supposed to be mad at him, but I couldn't help but nod my head yes. I got up, and ran my fingers through my hair in a failed attempt to tame my wild locks. I decided I didn't really care, and I spoke up.
"Where are we going?"
"You'll see." He replied, and we jumped out of the huge glass wall in the west-facing side of my room.
I loved doing that, and it never failed to make me smile. Jacob took off through the woods, and I knew that he was going to phase. He came back as the giant, majestic russet wolf, and he laid down on the forest floor—inviting me to climb onto his back. I took his invitation, and crawled onto his back, leaning forward and clasping my arms around his neck. He trotted through the forest, and I gazed around at the greenery of beautiful Forks, Washington.
I still didn't know where we were headed, and I started to get impatient, but eventually I could smell the salty ocean water—we were headed to the beach. When we got close to the break in the trees, he got on his belly once again, an indication for me to get off. He ran through the trees and came back one minute later as the man that I loved—not that he knew that yet.
He held his hand out to me, and I took it without thinking twice. This was something we'd done ever since I could walk. We were walking down the beach, and I remembered my dream this morning. I started to blush, and my heartbeat got fast—even faster than it was already. Jacob turned and looked at me.
"What a beautiful color" He said, and stroked my cheek. He pushed my hair back over my shoulder, and leaned down to whisper in my ear. His breath gave me chills, and had the hair on my arms standing on end.
"What are you embarrassed about, Nessie?" He whispered, so gently. I couldn't move, my legs felt like Jell-O. I think he sensed that, and he wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me even closer to him. His iron grip was the only thing holding me on my feet. I reached my hand up to his face, and showed him my dream. While he was watching, I kept my face buried in his chest. I could feel his face turn into a smile.
He used his index finger, and pulled my face out of his chest. Ever so gently, he leaned in and kissed me. Soft, gentle, and very sweet. I had never kissed anyone before, and I didn't know how to do it. I stood very still, barely able to comprehend what was happening. This was the moment I had been dreaming about for a long, long time. Had he felt this way the whole time, too? He pulled back, and looked straight into my brown eyes. I gazed intently back into his black eyes.
"Renesmee Carlie Cullen, I love you." He said. Tears started forming in my eyes, and they all fell over the edge. I stood there crying for a couple minutes, and he was still waiting for a response. His face fell ever so slightly when I didn't say it back automatically.
"Say something, sweetheart." He murmured, wiping my tears away. When I still didn't speak, he grabbed my hand, and pulled me to an old fallen tree, bleached white from the salt water of the ocean. He sat down, and pulled me down beside him. We stayed like that for a few minutes, in silence, with tears still sliding down my face.
"Please tell me what's wrong, Ness." He pleaded, and I could hear sadness in his voice. I looked up at him and he was crying too. I wiped his tears away, while mine were still streaming silently.
"How did this happen? I didn't think you felt the same about me that I felt about you... I always thought you just wanted to be friends.. Of course I love you too, I just don't understand..." I muttered. Did he think I didn't love him back? That would be absurd. I was so madly in love with him for months, but I was scared to tell him. He stared at me adoringly, now that he knew that I returned his feelings.
"Ness, I have something to tell you.." He started, judging my face very carefully.
"Anything." I said, and I truly meant it.
"Have I ever told you anything about imprinting?" He asked. I thought.. He had mentioned it once before, when I asked why Sam was so protective of Emily. He had replied, 'because she's his imprint.' but he had never said anything other than that.
I shook my head slowly. Where was he going with this?
"Renesmee, I imprinted on you, a long time ago. Do you understand what that means?" He asked. He imprinted? On me? What did that even mean?
I shook my head no once more.
"Whenever we phase for the first time, the first time we see who we're meant to be with, there's and instant connection. We become whatever they want or need, and they become our first priority; our reason to live. Their safety is the most important thing, and imprints can never be harmed. Whatever you need, a friend, playmate, brother, boyfriend... That's what we become. That's what I become. I know this is a lot to take in. And you aren't, under any circumstances, obligated to feel any certain way because of it." He said, and I looked away from him.
We were connected by some sort of wolf-thing? He only loved me because he's a wolf?
"You only love me, because of this imprinting thing?" asked, as the tears started to flow again.
"Of course not, Nessie! I love you because of who you are, and it has always been that way, and my love will never go away. I cannot be without you. Ever." He said, and I thought it was kind of sweet actually.. I was still kind of mad though.
"When did you imprint on me? And why didn't you tell me sooner? What happens if we are apart?" I started spouting out questions.
"I imprinted on you 5 minutes after you were born." He said sheepishly. My mouth dropped.
"WHAT? YOU WERE IN LOVE WITH ME WHEN I WAS A BABY!?" I shouted at him, and thankfully the closest people to us were a half a mile down the beach.
"No, Ness, it was never like that. I wanted you to be safe—happy. I was whatever you needed or wanted growing up. But, we all knew that when the time was right, we would probably be together. Only if it's what you wanted though. I never told you sooner, because I didn't think you were ready. And, if we are apart, I will be in physical pain. And you would feel a pull towards me, urging you to go to me." He stated.
As much as I wanted it to, this didn't change my love for him. He was right—when I needed him, he was there. He was everything for me growing up, and now he was my boyfriend. I smiled at the word, because I had been waiting for that word to be his description. Best friend just didn't cut it.
"Do I get to know what's funny?" He asked curiously. I pressed my hand to his shoulder. Does this mean you're my boyfriend? I asked in my head.
"If that's what you want me to be." He replied. I leaned in and kissed him fiercely, he pulled me onto his lap, and I was straddling him.
"I love you, Jacob Black." I said strongly, for I was one hundred percent certain it was the truth. He smiled his bright smile, and his eyes lit up.
"I love you, Renesmee Cullen." He said, and kissed me again. We sat there for a long time in silence, him cradling me in his arms. We sat there for a couple of hours, until the sun started to set.
"We should probably get back before your parents get worried.." Jacob murmured. That was the first time either of us had spoken in almost two hours. He loved me, and he wanted to be with me 24/7, but making my parents upset wouldn't help that. I hugged him closer for a couple minutes, then I sighed and stood up. I held out my hand for him to take, and together we ran through the forest.
We started walking at human pace when we got to the edge of the trees leading to the meadow that surrounded our gigantic house. We were holding hands, and swinging our arms in between us. When we walked in the front door, not many of my family members were in sight. Jasper and Emmett were there, playing a competitive video game. I could hear Grandpa flipping through the pages of one of the many books he had in his office. I could hear Grandma in her office next to his, silently scribbling on some blueprints. Aunt Rose and Aunt Alice were planning a shopping trip for my birthday party—which I was not looking forward to—but I didn't see or hear my parents anywhere near.
"Uncle Jazz, where are my parents?" I asked innocently; they paused their game, and turned around to face Jake and I. When uncle Emmett saw my hand locked in Jacob's, he wiggled his eyebrows at me, and I rolled my eyes back at him.
"They went to their cottage for a little while, Ness." Uncle Jasper answered.
I went to kiss both of their foreheads, and showed uncle Jasper Thank you and flitted up the stairs with Jacob behind me. I noticed that someone had made my bed while I was gone—it was probably grandma—but I wiggled underneath the covers, and tried to pull my Jacob in with me.
"Er... Nessie... I don't know if that's a very good idea.." He stammered. He was afraid of my dad, and I knew that. I batted my eyelashes at him—something I knew he couldn't resist.
"Your dad is gonna kill me.." He mumbled, but gave in to my request. I snuggled up to him, and concentrated on his woodsy aroma that was lulling me to sleep. I was half way there, and so was he, when my parents came in.
"What do you think you're doing, mutt?" Daddy asked. I was so tired, and I just wanted to go to sleep. Daddy, please let him sleep in here just tonight. I'm so tired, and a lot has happened today... I just want him with me. Please. I know as much as you don't want to admit it, you trust him. He respects me. Pleaseee. I begged in my head.
"I don't like this, Jacob. But Renesmee is right, I do trust you—When it comes to her. You can stay here tonight. But that's it." Daddy said. They both walked over to me, and kissed me on my head.
"I love you princess." Daddy said, and momma said the same thing.
"I love you both.. Goodnight." I said, and they walked out, shutting the door behind them. It was just me and Jacob, laying there in the darkness.
"Ness? You awake?" Jacob whispered. I nodded my head against his chest.
"I don't really know how I feel about this Katherine girl. She seems strange.." He said, and I could hear him warring with himself internally about whether I would be safe or not.
"Jacob, I trust her. I'll be fine, I promise." I said. He hugged me tighter, and he sighed.
"If you need me for anything, anything at all, please call me. I won't be far away just in case you need me." He said, and I smiled. I loved my wolf.
If I need you, I promise I'll call you. I love you, I showed him.
"I love you too, my Renesmee. You can sleep, and I'll be here when you wake up in the morning." He vowed. I sighed in content, and closed my eyes—I never wanted this night to end.
Daddy, will you talk to the family about me bringing Katherine home after school tomorrow, and let me know what they say when I wake up? I asked my Daddy in my head. I could hear him at the piano, playing very softly.
"Yes, darling" He replied.
"Edward?" Mom asked—she didn't like feeling left out of anything. It was one of her biggest pet peeves.
"I'll explain when they're asleep." He murmured, but he had an angry edge to his voice, and I was almost certain it was because of the word they. My mom probably just nodded her head, and went back to listening to my Daddy's beautiful music.
I drifted to sleep quickly, in the arms of the person I loved. It was one of the very few nights I didn't have a nightmare. Every so often throughout the night, I would hear Jacob grumble lightly in his sleep—taking a break from the snoring—and pull me tighter against him. But our body temperatures were so similar, he didn't feel so much warmer than me.
I woke up in the morning, feeling more refreshed after a night's sleep than I think I ever had. I rolled over and looked at my clock—6:00. Right on time. I carefully unwound Jacob's arms from around my waist, and slid off of my bed, careful not to disturb him. I went to go pick my clothes out for today. Usually, I wrapped my towel around me, and went from my bathroom to my closet. But, I didn't think that would be wise, with Jacob still fast asleep in my bed. What if he woke up? My dad would kill both of us.
I opened the door to my walk-in closet, and walked in, thinking about what I was going to wear today. It was august, and the weather was pretty great in August. The average temperature was 67.8, and that felt amazing to me. Of course, I had to dress accordingly, even though the weather did not bother me. But the human deception was important.
I picked out a beige colored, cotton dress. It came down to my knees. There was a light blue-jean jacket that went over in. To match, I picked out my tan, leather, two inch cowgirl boots. It had a salmon colored scarf that went with it, but I didn't like it. I took my clothes and got in the shower. I was in there for ten minutes when I got out, suddenly in a hurry. I wanted to leave early to meet Katherine. So I was wanting to leave at 6:45 instead of 7:30.
I dried myself off, and towel dried my hair quickly. I used a hair dryer to dry it fully, and decided to get dressed before I fixed my hair. When I slipped into my outfit for today, I was really impressed—it was cute.
I decided to do a messy-ish fishtail braid on the side. It looked really great with my hair color and length. I looked at my brown eyes in the mirror. There was something that looked different about me today, something about me looked more alive. I walked out of my bathroom—twenty minutes after I went in—satisfied with myself for today. Jacob was looking at me when I walked out.
"Good morning, beautiful." He said, and his eyes were lit up while he was looking at me. I always saw that look when he looked at me, but I was just now realizing how much he really did love me.
"Good morning, handsome." I replied with a smile, and walked over to kiss him. He locked his arm around me, and pulled me close.
"I could get used to this." He whispered, and I nodded. This was definitely something that I knew I wanted, every day for the rest of my life. But this romantic moment was ruined by my father, who cleared his throat loudly. I pulled away from him, and went to go gather my things for school.
"Will you take me to school, Jakey?" I asked him. I hadn't called him that for a very long time, and I was the only one that was allowed to call him that; except when Emmett was picking on him and I.
"Of course, Nessie. Anything you want." He answered, and stood up, stretching out his long arms and back. Jacob took me to school usually every morning, in the car my parents had bought for him for his last birthday—a 2011 Toyota FT-86 ii. He loved it; it was sleek, and black. It was also very, very fast.
We walked out of my room after Jacob put his shoes on. We held hands as we descended the stairs. I walked over to my parents and said good morning.
"Good morning, princess, how did you sleep?" momma asked, and I showed her that I slept well, while Daddy was glaring at Jacob silently. Jacob didn't pay him any attention; He never took his eyes off of me. I stepped in front of my dad's line of sight to Jake, and put my hand on his face. His eyes met mine, and his face softened immediately.
Did you ask them? I asked in my head. He nodded at me.
"Yes, you can bring Katherine home with you today. Oh, and you look beautiful by the way." He added.
"Thank you Daddy." I said, and I grabbed Jake's hand, towing him with me to the kitchen. Luckily, Grandma knew Jacob was here, and accommodated for him, food-wise. Jacob could eat a mountain. It was 6:25, which left us twenty minutes to eat. Aunt Alice was in the kitchen, talking to grandma when I walked in. She looked at my outfit approvingly, and nodded her head—I did good.
I sat down at the bar beside my aunt, and Jacob sat on my other side. Grandma set my plate in front of me—2 eggs, a piece of sausage, and two pieces of toast. Jacob's plate was probably triple mine. He had about 6 eggs, 5 sausage links, and 4 pieces of toast. I watched him in amazement as he ate. It took him less time than it took me; and he was still hungry.
"Thank you, Esme. That was really good." Jacob said as he pushed his plate back, patting his stomach. It took us fifteen minutes to eat. We were right on time. I thanked her also, and when she replied, we walked back through to the living room, where my parents were making out. I cleared my throat and my mom jumped back. If she could blush, I knew she would be.
"Geez, get a room Bells." Jacob joked. Mom just looked down, while Dad had a big grin on his face.
"Jake is gonna take me to school a little earlier than usual so I can spend some time with Katherine before school... Is that okay?" I asked, and I prayed that they said yes.
They looked at each other, and they were having one of those silent-conversation-things that they did all the time. Mom nodded her head.
"You can go, but please call us if you think anything is suspicious. Call any of us, and we'll be there." She vowed.
"I will." I promised. I started walking to go get Jacob's keys so we could go.
"Have a good day, baby." Momma said.
"I will. I love you all!" I said a little louder. Every voice in the house answered me back. Jacob and I walked to the huge garage hand-in-hand, and I skipped down the long row of cars until I got to Jacob's. I pressed the button on the remote and the lights flashed. He held open the door for me, and shut it gently once I was in. He walked around to the other side and got in.
As the engine purred to life, he started driving down the long drive. He looked over at me, and just like my dad, there was no point in telling him to watch the road.
"You are so beautiful." He said, and I blushed. I was feeling a little guilty on the way to the school. Jodie had been my best friend for a year and two months. And, never once had she been to my house. I always made some excuse about sickness or drama, and I always went to her house. I knew Katherine for one day, and she was coming over. I justified it by knowing that I never brought Jodie home for her safety.
"What are you thinking so hard about?" Jacob asked curiously. I decided I would tell him. After all, he was my boyfriend. I could tell him anything. It was Jacob. I always told him everything.
"I held out my hand for him, and he took it. I replayed all of my previous thoughts to him, and he watched the road as the memories played. After I was done showing him, I kept a hold of his hand, craving the contact.
"Nessie, your family is under control. Even Jasper. If you want to bring Jodie home, I'm sure you can. You shouldn't feel bad for wanting your best friend to be safe." He said. I was about to correct him when he said she was my best friend, but she was now—Jacob's title was boyfriend.
"I know, but what if something happens? What if she wants to shake Grandpa's hand? She'll know something's up." I said. He didn't object. I knew he agreed.
"If it's what you want, we can figure something out." He said. I knew we could somehow, but I was afraid. What if she figured it out? What if that led the Volturi to come back? I knew for a fact I wouldn't be able to handle that. And I would never forgive myself if I put Jodie in danger.
I put all of these thoughts aside as we pulled into the school parking lot. No one was here yet. It was 6:55, and I didn't see Katherine anywhere in sight.
Jacob pulled up to the awning, and parked the car. He got out and walked around to open my door for me. He grabbed my hand, and helped me out of the car. Jacob was tense. I knew he could smell her, and he was fighting every urge to phase. I put my hand on his cheek, and his body relaxed.
"I'll be fine. I promise. I love you." I said. He pulled me close and kissed me fiercely. I was getting into it when he pulled away.
"I'll be here when you get out." He promised. I nodded.
"Have a good day, gorgeous." He said, and he winked. I said I would, and watched him drive away hesitantly. I could hear Katherine on the roof of the school, kicking some of the pebbles around. I made sure no one was in sight of me, and I jumped up to the roof. Katherine smiled at me, and walked over to me.
Just then, Someone else jumped onto the roof. He was just as beautiful as Katherine, and shockingly similar. He walked over slowly to stand directly beside her.
"Who are you?" I whispered, scared.
"Renesmee, this is my twin brother—Zander."
A/N: What did you think? Let me know! Also, I created a blog-spot page for this story, where I upload pictures. So far on there, I have what Jodie, Renesmee, Katherine, and Zander look like.. I have Renesmee's outfit described in this chapter, her hairstyle in this chapter, and also, Jacob's car. The link is:
I hope you all go check it out! Let me know what you thought! New chapter coming soon
~Breanna