Chapter 9

For Her I Will

Jacob's POV

Today was the day. The day that I would be moving a good three hundred miles south of La Push to start my new life. A life that will now consist of my new family. I never would have thought in a million years that I would give everything up for my enemy. But for one person in my life I did.

After the goodbye party at the Cullens I decided that I should show face and stay at my house with Billy. To say that our relationship was strained was an understatement. When I came home almost three months ago to let him know my plans, he said things that cut deep. He and I always had a great relationship and he understood my imprinting. He loved Nessie. Yet, ever since the incident, it was as if he was a very different person. The one time I brought Ness over to the house he gave her a cold shoulder and didn't speak to her.

I was thankful that I had the three months to get things squared away. The idea that Edward came up with for me to bring some of the pack with me was a good one. The packs were large and with Sam retired upon my arrival back from the Island it left me in charge of them all. Some of them were happy and supportive of my decision to leave while others hated it.

Last night up on the cliffs after the party, we had our final meeting as a full pack. The same time that Sam stepped down the majority of the older wolves decided to give up their wolf as well. It was going to be strange to phase and not hear the fifteen or so wolves in my head. Paul, Jared, Sam, Colin, Brady, and Leah all decided that it was time. It was hard. We were all part of the original pack and now they were moving on with their imprints.

That left Quil who would be staying in La Push and stepping up as a stand in Alpha for the younger wolves and to help guide anymore that could phase. Seth and Embry decided to come with me. It was a great opportunity for the boys of La Push that the Cullens were offering and they didn't want to give it up.

So, here I was getting my small travel bag off the floor to start my new life. I looked at my room one last time before I shut the door. I walked down the small hall and could see that Billy was up and sitting in his chair at the kitchen table. Seth and Embry should be over here any minute. The three of us were going to drive together over to the Cullens.

"Billy," I nodded in his direction as I walked pass him.

"Jacob," and that was the extent of our conversation.

The two of us sat in an uncomfortable silence as we continued to eat our bowls of cereal. As I put the bowl in the sink, I could hear the footprints of my pack brothers. The two of them didn't even bother knocking before they walked into the house.

"Yo, Jake, you ready to go?" Embry asked as he rounded the corner to the kitchen. "Doc said that we are leaving at seven sharp."

I nodded my head and began to follow them out of the house but stopped at the sound of my name being called.

"Jacob, I'm sorry."

I lowered my head as his apology sank in. I turned around to look at him and I saw my very proud father with tears in his eyes. I have never seen him cry a day in my life. I nodded my head. "I know, Dad."

I knew me leaving was hard on him. He knew however that at some point I would be leaving. The only thing was I was leaving on hard terms.

The drive to the Cullen house was odd to say the least. The three of us were quiet but at the same time you could feel the excitement in the air. This would be the first time for Embry and Seth to be outside of Washington, unless you count us going wolf style.

I pulled up to the white mansion and turned off the engine. Alice said that we didn't need to bring anything except for travel clothes and any personal items we wanted to take. Other than that, the she took care of everything. That was a little scary if you asked me. I was used to the Cullen treatment, Seth and Embry however had a few things to learn.

"So, what's going to be the story when we get to Portland?" Seth asked as he jumped from my truck. "I mean we all can't be kids of the Doc, can we?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "I'm not sure. I'm guessing that everything will be finalized when we get settled. I mean, we still have a few weeks until school starts. Carlisle just thought it would be good to move right before the holidays so that we could get used to the new area and such."

At first I thought it was bad timing to move a few days before Christmas but then again the only family that I needed to spend the holidays was only a few feet away from me, it didn't matter where I was. I thought that Sue Clearwater and Ms. Call would have had a problem with it but I was surprised that they all gave them hugs and sent them on their way. It probably had to do more with the fact that it meant a smaller food bill than anything else.

The three of us walked up the steps and walked through the front door. Yesterday the house was set up for a goodbye party, this morning it was void. The furniture covered in white sheets and the room echoed with the emptiness.

"Man, they move fast," Embry mumbled under his breath.

My ears only focused on one sound and that was Nessie's heartbeat that was two floors above me. By the sound of it, she was more than likely sitting in her vanity chair while Alice worked on her hair. I'm not going to lie when I say that life changed for Ness. No one made it easy for her. I could tell every time I looked in her eyes that all she wanted was to be treated normally and not like an invalid. But the family won't hear of it. They don't give her the opportunity to do anything on her own. Except for Doc. He refuses to help her with anything. He keeps telling the family that she needs to learn. That one-day one of them won't be around. Of course, the women in the family put their foot down saying that was never going to happen. Bella hovered silently. It hurt to see that her relationship with Ness changed so much. They used to be connected at the hip. Now, it was as if Bella was afraid she would hurt her. Sure, Ness would still curl up into her mother's side every once in a while and but nothing like before.

Alice made it her mission to keep Nessie from not wasting away in the fashion area. Ness hated it though. She put up with it because there were no other options. Rosalie was ignored like the plague. Ever since the arm incident, Ness wouldn't even look at her. Not that I blame Ness, I think the entire family thought it was cruel. Esme cooked up a storm. Since returning from the Island, Ness refused to hunt anymore.

"Oh, good, you're right on time," Carlisle said as he walked through the back door. Emmett, Jasper, and Edward were with him and I could tell that they finished hunting recently. "We'll be leaving as soon as Alice and Nessie come down stairs."

Embry, Seth, and I nodded and followed the guys outside to the cars. We stood around for a few minutes talking about random stuff. You know sports, the weather, boring things that didn't really matter. The door opened and the girls began to file out.

I could sense the change before anyone else. I watched as Edward pinched the bridge of his nose before looking up to the porch. He only did that when he was stressed about hearing someone's thoughts. And if I had to guess it was Nessie's. I have learned from the talks that she and I have, that her mind is not the best place to be sometimes.

"You've got that right, Jacob," Edward murmured. "She's not too happy right now."

I was about to ask what was wrong but then the girl of my existent walked out of the door and shut it behind her. She turned to look at me and the frown that I knew she was wearing lifted some. She came down the stairs, I held my arms out to her, and she fell into my chest. She never wrapped her arm around me anymore. I was always the one to hold her close.

I pulled her away from by the shoulders and noticed that she was dressed in travel clothes. She wore a long sweater with the sleeves going past her other hand. I've noticed that Alice always dressed her in clothes that would hide her now deformed body. It pained me that Ness couldn't be herself but had to be someone that Alice and the rest of the family wanted her to be.

"We ready to roll," Emmett called out from his Jeep.

I looked over and saw that Rose was sitting in the front seat with him. Jasper was in the driver seat of the Porsche with Alice next to him. Carlisle and Esme were already in the Mercedes at the head of the convoy. I tossed Embry the keys to my truck for him and Seth to follow us as I walked over to the Volvo with Ness holding onto my arm. Edward held the back door open for me and Ness to climb in. Bella was already up front. She turned to look at me with a small smile.

"I want to thank you Jake for coming. I know it's not easy for you and the others," Bella said.

"You know I wouldn't have it any other way," I told her with a smile.

Ness laid her head on my shoulder and it wasn't long before I heard her heart slow and I knew she was asleep. It bothered me that she slept so much.

"It's her way of healing, you know that Jacob," Edward said answering my thoughts.

I shook my head, after five years of practically living with him, I still wasn't used it. "Anyways, what are the plans for once we get to the new house?"

Edward smiled as he looked in the rearview mirror. "Well, Esme will make a big show of showing us the house and grounds. Alice has been there off and on for the past few weeks getting it ready for the holidays as well as decorating and such. You know how Alice is. School starts January third, so that's two weeks. I would like to take you and the wolves out to get used to the area. As well as have our scent around."

I smirked at him. "You mean mark our territory. You want us to piss on the trees, too?"

Bella turned around with her nose wrinkled. "Ew, Jake."

Edward shook his head. "I'm not expecting anything to be of a threat, but it helps with any passing nomads. Portland is still close enough to Forks that many could see that as our territory anyways, but better safe than sorry. Especially now the way Ness is."

I immediately tensed at his choice of words. "What do you mean by that?"

Edward looked up quickly. "Jacob, if anything happens, she wouldn't be able to protect herself. She could barely hold her own before she lost…you know she hasn't embraced her vampire side in months. She can easily be seen as an easy meal."

I had to suppress the growl that was trying to escape from my chest. "And whose fault is that? All of you do nothing but cater to her every whim. Ever since we got home not one of you give her space or even try to let her learn to do things on her own. The way I see it, if something happens to her it would be the whole family's fault. You all need to let her go and learn to take care of herself again."

"We agree with you," Bella said as she turned to look at me. "She needs to learn to do things on her own. This move is a fresh start for all of us. A way to put the past behind us."

I looked up when I noticed that Edward slowed down. We were entering a small town, Sebring, from what the sign said. Population 3300. I could see the ocean on the right side of us and the small shops that lined the street on the left.

"We are about twenty minutes north of the heart of Portland," Edward said. "Esme likes to stay in small suburban towns. The house is about another five or so minutes."

I placed my hand on Nessie's leg and began to shake her awake. She groaned but sat up and looked out the dark windows.

"We here already?" She asked.

I was about to answer to let her know we would be at the new house in minutes but instead Edward turned left down a long driveway that was protected by trees on both sides. Just like the Forks house, it was surrounded by the woods. The Volvo was the last to pull into the circular driveway. By the time Edward put the car into park, the rest of the family was already standing outside and looking up to the three story house that had a Victorian appeal to it with a hint of county. The light blue house with the white wraparound porch and shutters surprised me.

Esme was standing on the porch in front of the light oak color doors with a smile. Carlisle had his hand on her waist. "Welcome to Sebring and our new home."

"Oh, Esme, it looks charming," Rose said as she looked. "Much like the plantation homes of the South."

Esme only smiled and nodded. "Usually, I would have had each couple pick out their rooms but with the addition of so many new members of our family, I decided to go ahead and assign the rooms. Edward, Bella, and Nessie, your rooms are on the top floor. It was initially the attic but I renovated it into three extra rooms and a bathroom. The rest of the family is on the second floor. The basement is the game room and the theater."

Esme turned to look over to me, Embry, and Seth. "For the wolves, the pool house out back has been converted to a three bedroom apartment. You each have your own bathroom as well as the living room and kitchen. I thought that you would be more comfortable there."

I could hear Seth and Embry give a small sigh of relief. I might have been used to the stench of the vamps, but they weren't. Esme opened the door and took a step back for everyone to enter. It was as if a whistle was blown for the start of a race. The three vampire couples went off to explore the house while Nessie hung back with wolves and me. I gave her a light push and she took a hesitant step before climbing the stairs completely.

"Well, come on boys, let's go check out the new digs," Embry said as we walked around the back of the house.

The first thing we saw was the pool. It was huge with a waterfall, a slide that looked like it would even fit our big asses and a diving board. It was made of natural rock. The pool house was on the far side and it looked like a smaller version of the main house. Embry and Seth let out a small whistle when we went to open the front door.

The inside reminded me of a bachelors pad. It was decorated in dark manly tones. The large dark brown oversized leather couch sat in front of the 64" plasma TV that hung on the wall. We each stood in the living room not really sure what to do until Seth ran and jumped on the sofa.

"Man, I could get used to this," he said with a grin. "If the couch is this comfortable I don't even want to know what the bed feels like."

For the next hour, the three of us explored the house before we decided to head back to the main house. When we walked through the back door that leads into the professional looking kitchen, we noticed that the rest of the family was already leaning around the counter tops.

"So, how do you like it boys?" Esme asked with a smile.

"Mrs. C," Embry said. "It is fucking awesome."

"I'm glad you like it."

I looked around and noticed that everyone was here except for Nessie. I was about to question where she when she walked in.

"Now that we are all here, I wanted to discuss Christmas and get things together for the start of school. I know that it's a couple of weeks away but believe me the time will go by fast."

"Take everything back," Nessie's voice said from the entryway. "We don't need any gifts after the move, so take everything back. We're doing something different for Christmas."

"Ness," Alice started to whine. "Please, don't do this. You know how important the holidays are to me."

Ness shook her head. "Christmas isn't about you."

And I could hear the venom in her voice, she was beginning to get mad. I could feel the effects of Jasper's power as he tried to diffuse a situation before it started.

Bella walked over to Ness and wrapped her arm around her. "What would you like to do Ness?"

She looked at each of her family members and stopped when her eyes landed on Rose. "I think it's time from some to learn true spirit of Christmas."

I caught Rose roll her eyes since she knew the comment was directed to her. "Believe me Ness; I know giving is better than receiving. I give thousands to charity every year."

"No, that's not what I mean," Ness walked out of her mother's embrace and stood in front of Rose. "It's time for you to learn that no one is perfect. Don't make any plans for Christmas; we won't be spending them here."

Alice chewed on her lip. "Why are we going to be in a hospital?"

Ness shrugged her shoulder and came to take her place by my side. I didn't know what she had planned but I couldn't help but be proud of her. For the first time in months, she is standing on her own two feet. Yet, I had the feeling that this will only be a small accomplishment in long road of obstacles. It was like the calm before the storm. It made me wonder if what Bella and Edward said in the car will be true or not. Will they allow her to learn to take care of herself or will she be smothered?

A/N: I have completely read through the story and made minor changes. I am in the middle of working on the next chapter. Hope you enjoyed this and remember to review. Big things are about to happen.