(Ren: 13)
On the first day of the new year, when Sara was only a week old, Jacob decided it was time to pass the Legend Awareness Act. He didn't want his children or the children of the other Pack members to have to hide who they were (though Sara is human and thus not effected by said law other than by proxy), like he and the Original Pack had to go through. I wanted him to wait a little while so that we could formulate a better way to tell the tribe that every thing they've been told their whole lives is actually true...but, well, Jake didn't and he had the final say.
Though there were five members of the Council, Jake's vote had the most weight. Even without the Chief vote, the Act would have passed anyways. Jake, Quil, and Embry outvoted Leah and I on waiting to pass the Act.
Embry had a rough childhood because he was always lying to his mother (who then freaked out and left town the second she found out he was a wolf) and he didn't want his little brother to ever feel that way. Sean was his whole world since Leah was still shutting him down and he focused on being the best brother-parent he could be.
Quil voted towards advancing the LAA because his imprint Claire was now fifteen and would soon start to have feelings towards him. In his mind, he believed that if her parents understood the imprint bond, they wouldn't be freaked out about their inevitable relationship. Quil told Claire everything about imprinting the moment that she asked about it and so he had nothing to lose. She loved him already, but in a teenager girl with a crush kind of way that I had once had for Jacob. I'm glad that Quil wasn't trying to reciprocate the feelings because when she really truly loves him in a physical and emotional level, I know that she will be glad he waited to love her. Right now, I think she was probably ticked at him as an imprinter for not giving her what she wants but that would pass.
Leah understood what I did. No matter how much we wanted this to work out in the Pack's favor, there were going to be a lot of scared people fleeing the tribe as soon as it was all out in the open. Humans feared what they didn't understand. And there was a lot to not understand about the wolves.
So when January 1st rolled around and the bonfire commenced to tell the anual legends, Jacob opened it up a little differently than he normally did.
"Some of you here tonight might not like what you are about to hear. Some of you might be disgusted or put off by what I'm about to say. Some of you might hate us and want to leave. That's fine. I am Chief of this tribe and I am doing what I think, no, what I know is right for my people." Jacob cleared his throat and looked around at all of the faces of the Pack and their imprints and children. Then he looked at me and Sara bundled up in my lap. "My name is Jacob Ephraim Black. I am son of Sarah Wilde and William Black, husband of Renesmee Carlie Cullen-Black, and father of Sarabeth Esmeralda Black. I am Chief of the Quiluete tribe of La Push. But I am also the Alpha to the Pack of shapeshifters that protects those great people."
Various members of the crowd started to whisper to themselves. I picked up a few "get to the stories already," a couple "is he joking?," and a "this guy takes theses stories way too seriously" from the crowd. I looked to the other Pack wives for support.
Tara was cuddled up next to Seth and was cradling her growing stomach with her hand. It was hard to believe that my human friend was an impregnated wolf wife now. She still seemed so young! But then again, I had had a child and I was only twelve so what did that say about me. I was so happy that Seth and Tara had no problems getting pregnant, though. I knew that their soon-to-be little girl would make them as happy as Sara made me. Their baby was due in the middle of April and I couldn't wait to meet my goddaughter.
Jared and Kim's two year old, Lucas Cameron, was asleep between them: his head on Daddy's leg and his legs on Mommy's. I knew that Kim wanted to leave the Reservation as soon as she convinced Jared to stop phasing. Jared didn't want to ever abandon his people and he would have only done that for his imprint. But with having a son, there was such a huge chance that Luke would phase himself that Jared would never leave La Push. Kim would never admit it but I think deep down she resents that she had a son. They had a deal that they would only have one child, that was all that Kim wanted, and Jared was so happy to have had a son.
Embry had his arm around his brother, ready to fight anyone who thought they were freaks.
Kyle Lake had his imprint wrapped around his arms. Lindsey Waterlily was a Makah native that he met only a few weeks ago at a coffee shop halfway from here to there. Tonight was important to him because he had been building up to telling her everything about himself but felt like it was best to let the legends speak for themselves.
My four year old nieces, Hannah and Savannah Lahote, were having trouble sitting down. They were dancing with Rachel in the back of the crowd while Paul remained a strong force in the crowd. Even the former wolves were on edge tonight. Brady and Collin were with their imprints even though they had both been living in Makah for years. This was such an event that they felt the need to come back and support us. Even Brody Littlefoot made a special trip from Makah to be here.
Evan Young was with his aunt Emily's family which seemed to be multiplying as I watched. Sam and Emily Uley had their own little mini-pack of wolves surrounded around them comfortably. Thomas and Joseph, five and four, were likely going to phase when they were older. Two year old Gabrielle was snuggled in her father's arms and I hoped that she wouldn't phase like her aunt Leah did. The less girls that phased, the better. Their one year old daughter Caitlin was sitting in her imprinter's lap. David Muddywater took one look at that little baby and his heart was hers. It was so adorable how precious he was with her. And since Cailtin's parents were a wolf and an imprint, they understood completely what David was going through. I think they secretly hoped that all of their children would imprint or get imprinted on so that they could all enjoy life to the fullest.
Though Sam hadn't phased in years, he still looked young and vibrant. Emily, with all of her scars, would be the one that the crowd turned to once the story was over, though. Her scars showed the violence that a wolf was capable of and I didn't want them to judge Sam for his awful mistake when they first got together nearly fifteen years ago. He would be the bad guy after tonight in everyone's eyes because no matter how much they could try to hide it, Emily's scars said it all.
Jake began the rest of the story like the tribe was used to. When he became Chief, Jake took over the story-telling from Billy and added his own flair to the legend. I had heard the legends my entire life and yet it still gave me chills. This was the Pack's history, their heritage, their ancestors. Every word was magical to me. I wasn't the only one that was captivated. Maybe it was the idea that this could all be real, but for the first time since I could remember, every single eye was on Jacob as he delivered his rhetoric flawlessly. Just when I thought that the story was over, Jacob cleared his throat.
"The wolves of La Push are warriors and protectors of the people that live here. How can you be afraid of the people that you've grown up with? That you've loved? The Pack protects you." Jacob took a moment to look each and ever member of the tribe in the eye. The wolves and knowing imprints sat up straighter.
"Protects us from who?" One of the younger boys asked. He was a friend of Sean Call's so I had seen him around. I think his name was Micheal Tallweed?
"Ah, I was hoping that someone would ask that." Jake grinned slightly, though his voice was still commanding "And I'm glad that you all seem to be taking me seriously. Good. Because this is serious. Our ancestors took the form wolves for one reason and one reason only. To protect our people from our oldest enemy...the Cold Ones."
Micheal let out a laugh as did a few of the other members of the crowd, both young and old alike.
Kyle's new imprint Lindsey raised her hand timidly. "Who are the Cold Ones?" It was hard to believe that even in Makah, someone didn't know the legends. But, then again, La Push was one of the only few Quiluete tribes in the area that still taught the language. Maybe they stopped teaching everything about their culture altogether.
"The Cold Ones, or vampires as most people know them, are the enemy." Jacob looked at me and paused. "Most of them are the enemy. There are a select few that the tribe has made peace with for nearly a century. This group of vampires sustain themselves on a diet of animal blood and do not endanger human lives."
"The Cullens?" Georgiana Whitman spoke up. She was as old as my Jacob and had been friends with Angela Weber, one of my mom's former human friends, back whenever they were all teenagers. "I saw the doctor one in town last week whenever your little girl was born. And he still looks as young as he did fifteen years ago. No one looks that good for that long."
"Is your wife a Cold One?" A man from the back of the crowd huffed angrily.
A few of the former Pack mates laughed. That had been the joke between all of them whenever they first started getting married. They all liked to pretend that their wives were so horrible when they were having "guy time" but we all knew that they worshiped their imprints.
"Renesmee is half-vampire but she is also half human." Jacob admitted to the crowd. "She has a heartbeat like the rest of us, but most importantly, she does not crave human blood so she is not a threat to the people in this tribe." A half lie. As long as I hunted animals, no one was appealing to me. Well, except my Jacob. His blood always intrigued me.
That might have been when we lost a few of them, honestly. The night wore on and Jacob handled every question thrown at him with complete honesty (aside from the white lie about my cravings). He was proud of who we were. When an elderly woman asked to know who exactly were the abominations were and if it was contagious, Paul jumped up from his spot on the ground. Though he hadn't phased in years, he did now. His temper was legendary and it definitely didn't fail us tonight.
Screams of terror erupted from the mouths of many a member of the tribe as parents tried to pull their children away from the massive wolf now in the middle of the circle of faces.
Jacob gave Paul a stern look that said 'this was definitely not the time' and so much more. I knew that he was upset at his brother-in-law for phasing so angrily because it showed that the Pack had anger issues (even though it was partially true). "There is nothing to fear from Paul Lahote, or any of the other wolves present."
"How many are there?"
"We deserve to know!"
"Show us your true selves, beasts."
It went on like that for a solid minute before Jacob reigned the crowd back in. Billy shook his head from his spot in the crowd because he knew that the inevitable was about to happen. Jacob not only had to out the Pack's existence, he had to out the actual members as well.
"Many members of the Pack have retired..." Jacob began but he was cut off.
"Retired? As in you stop protecting us?" That woman again. "I thought that was your job."
"As I was saying, many of the Pack have retired because the threat of vampires to La Push is minimal now that the Cullens have sort of claimed this area again. When wolves are not needed, they can chose to let go of that part of them and grow old like they would have if they hadn't been chosen for this honoring task." He pointed at Paul. "The ability is always there, however. The wolf is a part of who we are, even if we chose to give him up. Paul here has not phased in over six years, yet he stands before us today as the warrior that he once was in his youth. This is not something to be ashamed of. This is something to be celebrated. Being a wolf is a blessing because it means that there is something bigger than just you looking out for all of us. The Great Spirits knew what they were doing. I am Jacob Black and I am proud to be a member of this Pack."
There was silence for a moment as no one knew what to do next. Sam stood up and pounded his chest like Jacob did to start the meeting. It was a symbol of authority and peace all at once. "I am Sam Uley and I am proud to be a former member of this Pack."
One by one, all of the wolves both former and current stood up and claimed their pride in the Pack. It was thrilling to watch as over a fifth of the crowd was now standing. Kyle's imprint Lindsey's eyes grew wide when he stood up but she didn't recoil in fear, she merely stared at him some more with awe in her eyes. When Sean stood up, many of the crowd gasped because he was so young. No one got more stares, however, than Leah when she stood up and claimed that she was a shewolf. I don't think they knew what to make of a female shapeshifter.
"What about my son? Will he phase?"
"Is there a way to prevent it?"
"What triggers it?"
Many angry parents started bombarding Jacob with questions again. He answered them just as honestly, including the part about how vampires are everywhere so leaving La Push wouldn't make them any less likely to phase if they were carrying the gene. Most of them wouldn't ever phase, but the few more that would, would do it when they were in their midteens no doubt. Sean was a rare exception with the age thing, Jacob assured the crowd. The panic was still in their eyes as many people tried to calculate how closely related they were to the Pack's members, former or current.
We lost a lot of members after the bonfire where the Legendary Awareness Act was passed. A few of those including Brody and Evan who were hauled out of La Push faster than anybody. Their parents were hoping to cause an early retirement in them by separating them from the Pack even though they were teenagers who could chose for themselves what to do. But we let them go. Jacob was sad, but with the tribe getting smaller, less wolves were needed anyways and he understood that family came first. The rest of the Pack seemed to grow stronger as the over all tribe grew weaker.
Sara grew little by little every day. Even though humans grew every day, this was our human baby. Every time she flipped over or sat up for us, I would clap and praise her for doing something so normal. I felt ridiculous but I didn't care. It was miraculous to see how even the tiniest little thing could excite me about our daughter. She really was perfect.
After giving birth, my blood cravings lessened. I still wanted to hunt once a week like I did when I was a child, but the three or four hunting trips a week stopped for a few months. Come the spring, though, I was starting to feel it again. My throat itched and I caught myself wanting to take a sip of Sara's sweet blood one morning at breakfast.
That was when I panicked, wanting to get up from the table and run to the other side of the room like a child even though I would be able to smell her just as strongly from that far away.
"Jake, I have to move in with my parents." I blurted out the second that I felt an urge to drink from Sara's neck.
"Wh-what?" Jake's eyes were wide and oh so hurt.
"I have to protect Sara." I stated logically. "She's fully human. Her blood is so sweet to me and I want her. I want her so bad right now."
We both turned to stare at our precious four month old sitting in her high chair with a bowl of applesauce in front of her. She grinned when she saw that she had our attention and reached for the bowl with her chubby little fingers. Jake pushed the bowl back and fed her another spoonful to appease her.
"That's ridiculous." My husband frowned. "You would never hurt her, I know that, Ness."
"But what if I attack her when you're not here?" My voice was high pitched and edgy as I tried not to breathe. It was harder for me to not do than my parents since vampires didn't need to breathe and I was half-human so I did most of the time. "What if you run to the store and come back and I've drained her? Please, Jake, don't make me kill our baby. I love her too much to risk her life. You can raise her on your own and I-"
"Don't you dare even finish that sentence." Jacob growled at me, startling Sara who started to whimper at his tone. She hated it when her Daddy got mad. "You are not leaving us. I don't care if you have to hunt every single day, twice a day. You will not leave me or Sara."
I nodded solemnly. "Of course I don't want to leave, Jake. I just...I love her too much."
"Shhh, baby, there's no such thing as too much love." He leaned over and kissed my temple, accidentally spilling half of Sara's applesauce. He laughed when a glob of it hit his foot. "We'll go hunting once I finish with Sara and get this all cleaned up."
"I'll meet you over at my parents." I said abruptly when I caught another whiff of Sara's scent as he bent down and she was suddenly so much closer to me.
"Please, Ness..." Jake started but I just stood up.
"Just drop Sara off at Billy's and I'll meet you in Forks, okay?" I was halfway out the door already, unable to contain myself any longer.
I raced to Forks, scared that if I stopped moving I would change direction and head back to where Sara and Jacob were. I was out of breathe when I got to the Cullen mansion even though normally I wouldn't be. I chalked it up to pushing my speed and let myself into the house without another thought to it.
"Mom? Dad? I'm home!" I yelled up the stairs, hoping that they weren't indecent. Even though I was a grown woman with a child of my own and a very rigorous sex life with my soul mate, the thought of my parents doing it made me want to vomit. I was a pre-teen technically still.
"That's hardly fair, Renesmee." My father chided lightly, though there was a twinkle in his eyes as he exited the small office on the first floor of the house. "A healthy sex life is good for a person."
"I'm going to pretend that you didn't just say that, Daddy." My cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
"Oh, but look at all the fun I'm having now." Edward chuckled. "If only your mother could still blush like you do, sweetie. It's so much more fun to tease her."
"I heard that!" Bella entered from the side door, her hands covered in dirt and her clothes a mess.
"Working on the garden while Esme is away, I see." I grinned at my mother. She was the clumsiest vampire I had ever seen and yet she was determined to keep Esme's plants alive for her. If only she had a green thumb, it might make it easier for her.
"We weren't expecting you for another day or two." Bella frowned. "Is everything alright, dear?"
"I just need to hunt again and am waiting for Jacob." I tried to say it as nonchalantly as I could.
"So soon?" Bella's high bell sounding voice raised an octave. "I thought you were on the Saturday hunting schedule again?"
Edward gave my mother a look and cleared his throat. "It appears that Sara has become appealing to Nessie."
"Oh." My mother's eyes grew wide. "You're more than welcome to stay here for a little while if you'd like."
"I'm not leaving my family." I stated even though I was terrified to stay with them for fear of hurting my precious baby. Jacob was right, though. We would just take more precautions to ensure Sara's safety. I could do this. I had never bitten a human (other than Jacob) and I didn't intend to start now.
"Of course you won't." Edward tried to assure the crazy thoughts in my head. Bella didn't hear that part, though.
When Jacob finally showed up, I smiled weakly at him. I knew he was still mad at me for thinking about abandoning him and Sara, but I also knew that he understood where I was coming from. Jacob just got me. It was silent as he took me on a hunt, though it usually was since he was phased. It seemed unusually quiet about halfway through, though, because his ears perked up like he was listening to another wolf in his head. I hoped there wasn't trouble.
When I got back in the cell service range of my childhood home, my phone had twelve messages from Seth and sixteen from Tara. Their baby was coming! I wondered why Jake didn't tell me about that sooner since it was obviously what one of the other wolves wanted to inform him of, but I let that slide. Jacob would always put my well-being before anything else. Good thing, too, because I would have wanted to call off the hunt and then maybe Tara's baby would have appealed to me, too.
Jacob and I rushed to the hospital just in time for me to go in with Tara and Seth as they were taken off for the delivery. If I hadn't just hunted, I knew I would have had to stay in the waiting room with most of the other wolves and their imprints. It was a huge deal whenever a wolf couple had a baby. I was just blessed that Tara chose me to be the baby's godmother.
The next morning when Tara was up for visitors, the whole gang gathered around her to take a peak at the little girl in her arms.
"What are you naming her, again?" Leah asked, trying to pretend like she didn't care that another imprint delivered a healthy child and she still didn't even have a boyfriend, minus whatever Embry kept trying to be with her.
"Let me introduce you all to Krystal Ren Clearwater." Seth scooped his daughter up proudly and pulled the blanket from around her face so we could all get a good look at her. I smiled at my goddaughter because she was also carrying my high school nickname with her in the sweet way that Tara had done.
"Krystal." Matt Muddywater said with such care, like he was caressing the word. "She's so beautiful."
We all turned to look at Seth and Tara's reactions. I don't know about Tara since she was still hooked on a lot of happy drugs from giving birth, but Seth seemed genuinely happy for his Packmate. "Would you like to hold your imprint, Matt?"
I wanted my daughter to have that one day, the love of a wolf and the acceptance of both of her parents with that bond. I loved my parents, really I did, but I grew up having to fight between my parents and Jacob for attention. I wanted Sara to be completely emerged in the magic of the Pack. Was that selfish of me? I didn't think so. I loved what Jacob's love provided for me.
Jacob was super sweet about taking extra shifts with Sara. Even though I hunted animals four times a week, I still didn't trust myself around her without Jacob there to be a buffer. It took two months before I chilled out on the fact that I really wasn't going to bite my daughter. But by that time, we had something else to worry about. Carlisle and Esme were back for the summer happily "engaged." Alice was running a lead about the vampire creating hybrid babies, but she promised that she and Jasper would be back for the fourth of July. As for Rosalie and Emmett, we still hadn't heard from them in years. It saddened me but they weren't obligated to stay with the Cullens if they didn't want to. I know how much finding a way to have a child themselves meant to Rose so I couldn't blame her.
Sara was six months old when I found out that she was going to be a big sister.
Jacob laughed, a big cheeky grin on his face, as Carlisle gave us the good news once again. "Jacob, Renesmee, you are going to be parents again! Congratulations!"
"Really, Ness, you would think that we would be able to tell by now." Jake kissed my cheek because he was just too excited to find my lips. "You started craving blood like crazy just like you did when you were carrying Sara."
I nodded, too shocked to say anything else. At least I wasn't going to want to hurt my daughter anymore, not that Jacob would have let me. I would just crave her blood whenever I became pregnant again. Did I want to get pregnant again? I loved Sara and I knew that I would love this new baby just as much, but did I want to constantly have to fear for my children's lives whenever my hormones took over? I couldn't think about all of this too much because it hurt too much.
"Not to mention, Renesmee, sweetie," Carlisle grinned at me as well, "you have been gaining a little bit of weight in the past few months, have you not?"
I pressed my hand onto my slightly indented stomach. It was practically flat minus the quarter inch that was now visible. At this point in my pregnancy with Sara, I had been twice as big. "I guess I just don't know my body very well."
"That's quite alright, honey." Carlisle smiled. "A lot of human women go through the same thing. You're only three months along, it's perfectly natural to not know what your body is going through at this stage."
That didn't help me feel better, but I didn't care. I was having another one of Jacob's children. Sara was going to be a big sister and I was so happy about that. I loved my little family unit with my parents but I had always wished for a sister or even a brother myself. Sara would never have to worry about that because Jacob and I seemed to be very fertile together, like most imprinted couples are.
So, come December, my belly was huge and my feet were swollen once again. I was drinking deer blood that my father had caught that morning from a styrofoam cup and a straw when I felt my body shift. Our little girl was ready to get out. Another daughter! I was so happy to find out, yet sad that Jacob wouldn't have a phasing heir yet. Carlisle swore that this baby would also be fully human. Imagine my surprise when a half-vampire and a werewolf get together and have two completely human daughters.
"Jake, it's time!" I screamed. My water broke as the styrofoam cup hit the floor and the blood spilled all over the rug by our little Christmas tree.
My husband ran into the room with one year old Sara in his arms, duffel bag as well as baby bag for Sara in his other arm. Well, not quite one year old. Sara's birthday was on Christmas Eve and today was only the 20th of December.
"Let's go have us a baby!" Jake grinned. I would have rolled my eyes but another contraction hit and knocked the wind out of me. I grabbed his arm for support and let him drag me to the car. He fastened Sara into her seat in the back and threw the car into gear before I had time to really process that this was happening. I was about to be a mother again!
Just like last time, my vampire family was there to help with the delivery. Alice, Jasper, my parents, Carlisle, and Esme that is. I was beginning to accept the fact that Rosalie and Emmett had moved on. It was understandable since vampires usually didn't conjugate for this long with a coven, but Carlisle was Rose's creator and even he hadn't heard from the pair in a few years. I tried not to think about that fact as I delivered my own creation into this world. I hoped my babies would never leave me but I knew that that was a naive thought. Children grew up and you were supposed to love them no matter how far away they roamed in search of themselves.
Allison Leah Black was just as adorable as her big sister but in different ways. She had medium brown ringlets that resembled mine when my hair was wet and didn't have the red tint in it, Jacob's wideset grin, and big brown eyes that could only belong to a Swan girl. She was perfect and I loved her instantly.
"Oh, Ness! I love that you named her after me!" Alice was beaming the second that we presented Allie to our families. The Pack had come over once the actual birth was over and were now crowded the living room. My family, Leah, and Tara were in here now.
"Don't forget about me." Leah huffed, but more in the annoyed way than the angry one. I knew it was hard on her because she was alone and didn't have a family like the rest of the Pack seemed to be recently. Embry was distracted with trying to raise his brother Sean that he didn't have as much time to focus on trying to win Leah over. He still loved her, this much I knew for sure, but his heart was sick of taking a beating when Leah would turn him down. The first time he showed interest in her was nearly eleven years ago and still she refused him. It was crazy that they still weren't together! I believed in soul mates as much as I believed in imprints and Leah and Embry were definitely soul mates. Stubborn ones, though.
"You are two very important women in my life." I grinned at them, happy that my half-vampire side of my body was kicking my recovery into overdrive. I delivered Allie only a few hours ago and already my normal tiny waist was back and I didn't look disgusting like most new moms do when they receive visitors. "I want Allie to love both sides of her family, just like Sara will. Especially now that the tribe knows about wolves and vampires, I don't want my girls to be ashamed of where they come from..."
"How could they ever?" I knew what Jacob was going to say next. "When they have parents like us?"
I tilted my head up for a kiss and Jacob obliged more than willingly.
"Hey, hey, none of that in here. Don't you two remember how you got in this mess?" Jasper joked, referring to what lead to Allie's conception.
Of course I remembered, I thought with cheeks blushing. And I couldn't wait to start practicing some more...only maybe with a little protection this time because two screaming babies was enough to handle right now. I knew that Sam and Emily loved their children, but too many too quickly and then you don't get to enjoy watching them grow up individually. Jacob and I had forever to have more children. I wanted to focus on Sara and Allie for awhile.
"Really, Nessie?" Jasper rolled his eyes, obviously sensing the sexual tension between me and Jacob. "Now?"
"What can I say?" I tried not to keep blushing. "You brought it up! I think it must be all of the crazy imprint hormones or something. Must! Make! Puppies!"
Jacob let out a barking laugh even though Tara was the only other one who thought it was funny. He jostled Allie in his arms when his chest shook with laughter and she started crying.
"Dad, could you go get her a bottle?" I asked Edward as I reached for my daughter to sooth her.
"Don't you breast feed?" Tara asked. Her daughter Krystal was still nursing and I knew that she was one of those "book parents." That didn't bother me, because I wished that I could give my own daughter all the nutrients that she needed.
"I've had too much blood lately for her to get anything from me." I admitted. "In a few days when it is out of my system, I can give breast feeding a try, though Sara didn't particularly like it once she got used to bottled milk."
There was an awkward silence as my best friend in the world remembered that I wasn't fully human. I hoped that my daughters never gave me the look that Tara was giving me now: pity and jealousy all at once. I was who I was and I wasn't ashamed of it like I had been as a young girl. I had a devoted husband, supportive friends, loving family, and two healthy happy daughters. What more could I ask for?