The person who said I plagiarized another story posted reviews on almost every single chapter making the same accusation. I have had a discussion with the other author and she does not feel that I've copied her, going so far as to point out the differences between our stories. We have similiar ideas, but that's it.
Taking a deep breath, I continued, "Do you remember the day of the almost fight with the Volturi? I was out all night and when I did come home, I um, I locked myself in my room."
"You wouldn't talk to anyone and you cried for hours," Sue said. "In your sleep too, I think. I'd never heard you cry like that, not even after Sam. There was always a bit of anger to that pain, but this, this was more than heartbreak. It was despair."
Demetri balled his hands up as his jaw tightened and his brows pulled together.
"That day, well, I, um, I imprinted, but he left Washington with his coven."
Demetri took that as his cue and he was on his knees beside me. In the position I was in, it was easy for me to lean to one side and rest my head on his shoulder. He pressed his lips to my forehead and brushed his nose against my skin. I reached up and tangled my fingers in the hair on the back of his head while one of his hands rested above the bump where our daughter grew.
"You imprinted?" Sue's mouth fell open and her eyes did their best impression of dinner plates. "On-on a vampire?"
"Yes." I exhaled. "What is supposed to be the happiest day of their lives for most wolves ended up almost destroying me because I thought he didn't want me." Speaking of the darkest time in my life caused my throat to close up and Demetri's grip on me tightened.
"He's a vampire!" Sue protested.
"You know we have no choice in who it happens with!"
I heard chairs scrape in the kitchen as my pack got up from the table and footsteps hurried towards us.
"I think now's the time where I interrupt and admit that I knew she imprinted on a vampire. I felt it happen." Jake placed his hands on his hips and met Sue's gaze. This wasn't teenager Jake speaking now. This was Chief Jacob William Black, heir to Ephraim Black, and true Alpha to the Quileute wolves. "I may have failed her as a pack mate, but I won't fail her as her Alpha and I will support her in this. She's your daughter and this is her life. It may not what you or anyone thought it was going to be, but it's her reality."
"How-?"
Jake cut her off, not to be rude, but to head off any possible arguments she might have. "If you can accept Sam after what he did to your own daughter, it wouldn't be right for you not to accept her imprinting. She didn't choose to imprint on a vampire, but Demetri was who Fate wanted for her. I imprinted on Ness and she's half vampire so I really don't see much of a difference except maybe that Demetri has taken human life. As long as he doesn't hunt in the area, I won't say shit because his hunting habits are between him and Leah."
By the end of Jake's speech, Sue had visibly deflated, though tension still lined her face.
Demetri leaned back on his heels, settling for keeping one of my hands trapped between both of his.
"We all support her," Quil said from where he stood in the doorway, flanked by the remaining members of my pack. In my hiatus, Quil had taken up the mantle of Alpha's second, with Embry acting as the third. "An imprint is an imprint, no matter how strange. If anyone should understand that, it's me."
"It's weird as hell, especially with him hunting humans," Embry added, "but we stand with her."
"Mom. I've never seen her so happy, or at peace with herself and her life until Demetri came back," Seth pleaded with our mother to understand.
Haylla shifted, pressing down on my spine and when I shifted to alleviate some of the pressure, the blanket slipped down, exposing my pregnant belly. There was no way she missed how the hybrid's rock hard amniotic sac pushed on my abs. I winced when Haylla punched a rib and Demetri placed his hand on my stomach, trying to help me calm her.
"Leah!" Sue leaned back and her heart jumped as she moved to stand up. "You-you're- oh my God!"
"Leah never did anything half way," Embry said as he and Quil sprawled across the floor in front of the TV. They flipped through the channels before settling on some sci-fi action movie, but kept the volume low so not to disturb my mother.
Seth and Jake remained standing, focused on Sue. Whatever she saw in my brother and our Alpha's faces made her sit back in her seat and stare at the ceiling for a while, lost in thought.
Demetri traced his fingers along the veins in my wrist, attempting to keep me calm as I waited for my mother's final reaction.
Sue finally turned to Seth and asked, "How long did you know she was pregnant?" Her voice was still guarded.
"Jake, Ness, and I were there when she found, though she didn't know it at first," Seth said.
"I was too busy praying to the porcelain god to notice my audience," I joked in effort to lighten the mood and Demetri pulled a face while Seth snorted at my description.
"Yeah. Anyway, we brought her here that same day because we couldn't risk one of Sam's pack finding out she was pregnant with a vampire's kid and she was already starting to show."
"Over a week?! You about this knew for over a week, and you're only just now telling me anything!"
"We were trying to protect Leah. You saw how much of a mess she was after Demetri left. We did what we could to protect her from any stress, Carlisle's orders." Seth sucked on his lip. "Keeping it from you wasn't exactly part of the order, but he did say no stress and we weren't sure how you'd react. We weren't trying to be mean or anything, I swear. We were just trying to do what we thought was best for Leah and Haylla."
"Which would explain why all of you were so careful with what you told people about what was going on with her," Sue said. She reached out as if to touch me, but then pulled her hand back quickly. "You're pregnant with a-a-"
"A hybrid, Mom. She's a hybrid." I couldn't keep the smile off my face any longer as I talked about my daughter. I glanced at Demetri. "We've decided to go with Haylla Rosalin. I wanted to name her after Dad, but all the female versions of Harry suck..." I trailed off and shrugged. "Then Demetri decided to name her after Rosalie because of all she's done for me since I've been here. Anyway, the C-section is scheduled for Friday."
Sue made a sound that might have been a laugh, "You really are pregnant."
"Yes." I rubbed the spot where I thought Haylla's back might be.
"I should have seen it." She shook her head. "How could I have been so blind? The proof was right there! Even as heartbroken as you were, you had a certain glow, especially right before you came here. Why didn't I see it? Just how blind have I become to my own daughter?"
Sue stared at me for a long moment as she tried to wrap her mind around what my life had become. I could almost see the gears in her head spinning, mostly in vain, as she attempted to puzzle out the conundrum that was her daughter. Of all the things she probably expected to find when she came to see me, this probably never crossed her mind: a vampire imprint and a half vampire/half wolf hybrid on the way.
Haylla kicked hard, hitting a kidney, and I hissed.
"Are you alright?" Demetri asked. He kissed my hair, just above my temple, then pressed his forehead to the same spot.
"She's in a mood right now."
"If she's like this already, she's going to be a handful," Sue said, a shaky attempt at humor. Some of the color had returned to her face, though she still seemed on edge. Maybe, just maybe, my mother would be strong enough to deal with this.
"I'm not much like the Cullens and Leah has gone against every tradition your wolves have, so what else would you expect from the offspring of the two of us?" Demetri's voice was surprisingly gentle as he spoke to her.
"You know what they say, if you're a troublemaker, you get a kid just like you," I said, but I couldn't be angry. Haylla was my baby, my little troublemaker and my heart swelled to the point that I wondered how it still fit inside my chest. Even though she would most likely be smarter than I was before she was a year old, she would always be my baby and the love I felt for her now would never fade.
Ness must have decided that it was okay to join us now that everything was out in the open because suddenly, she was clinging to Jake's leg and looking at me, or rather my stomach. "Is Haylla moving around a lot right now?"
"What makes you ask that?" I frowned.
"You're holding your belly and your hands are tense like you're hurting a little bit."
"She's been kicking more than usual."
Emmett flew into the room and sat on the far end of the other couch. "She's probably still a little bit peeved over the rude awakening you gave her." His stupid looking grin warned me what he was up to. Ass. Talking about sex in front of my mother? That was not something I'd tolerate.
"What rude awakening?" Ness looked from me to Emmett.
Thankfully, she was still innocent enough that she hadn't put the pieces together. Or maybe Edward has read Demetri's intentions in his thoughts, so he'd taken her away and that's why Demetri hadn't joined me in the shower straight away, because he was waiting for Ness to be clear of the house. Edward nodded his head just a little at my last thought.
"I didn't want to get out of bed this morning so Demetri thought it would be funny to tickle me."
Emmett guffawed.
Turning to the huge vampire, I growled, "Emmett, you can say anything you want to me, I don't care, as long as my mother and my brother aren't around. They don't need to hear it."
Seth's face twisted as he realized what Emmett was talking about. "Dude, what she said. It's gonna be bad enough that I have to see things in her head when we're both wolves without having you make jokes about it."
"I have few hard limits, but I'm going to have to agree with Leah and Seth on this one. Family should be exposed to something of that nature as little as possible." Demetri stood up and looked at Emmett. "Know this, if you continue to jest about us, I will be obliged to return the favor and I can assure you, I'm much better at this than you are." Demetri leaned against the end of the couch nearest my head and crossed his arms, a smirk playing around his lips.
Sue looked faintly nauseated as she put their words together and realized what Demetri and I had been doing that morning. I got the feeling that her reaction had less to do with me having sex, and more about it being with a vampire.
"Fine," Emmett conceded. "It's no fun teasing people who refuse to get embarrassed about it anyway."
Alice skipped into the room, dragging Jasper and Rosalie behind her. "So I've been doing some online shopping and I found the cutest clothes for Little Bit! They should be here in about two days, three at the most. I got you some new things too, for after the baby is born," she said to me. "And Demetri, don't think I'm letting you get away with just the outfits you brought in your bag the entire time you're here." She shuddered delicately. "I can't believe you thought that four sets of clothes would be enough."
Rosalie caught my eye. "Are you okay?" she mouthed over Alice's head.
I nodded once and the tension she'd been radiating dissipated.
Demetri started snickering at Alice and even Edward's lips twitched.
"What's so funny?" Alice glowered at Demetri.
"Nothing important. I was just imagining how things might have been if you had decided to join the Guard." He clapped his hands together and took on a high-pitched affectation of Alice, which was remarkably accurate. "'First things first! Makeovers for everyone!'"
Alice stuck her tongue out at my imprint, but her frown dissolved into giggles a few seconds later.
"You'd probably give everyone new wardrobes, including Caius, who would hate you for it, by the end of the first month. Aro would let you get away with it because he wants your ability so badly, though I dare say he would be longing for the days when he got to decide what everyone wore. And Jane, oh, Jane would be a nightmare because she wouldn't be able to torture you into submission. She knows her gift isn't exclusive like yours is, so she'd have to behave around you." He continued speaking, but Sue's hand on my leg caught my attention.
"Leah?" Sue sounded hesitant again. "May I- may I feel her kick?"
"Sure." I shifted so that she could reach my stomach better, then guided her hand to where the movements were the strongest. Haylla froze at the unfamiliar touch on my stomach. She'd grown accustomed to the chill of a vampire's touch and wolf heat surrounded her on all sides. But a human with their soft warmth and fragile hands, that was something she'd never encountered before so she held still in an effort to figure things out.
I chuckled as I rubbed the side of my belly. "It's just my mother, sweetheart. She's your grandmother. You can say 'hi.'" I made sure to keep my voice soft and gentle, just in case she could process my voice and emotions. "I wouldn't let anyone near you if they were going to hurt you, I promise."
Haylla seemed to sense that there was nothing wrong with this strange person touching me, so she rewarded Sue with a particularly hard kick, causing me to wince. If she was hurting me already, how was she going to be by Friday? I probably would have some cracked bones by then.
Sue stared, wide-eyed. "She's so strong!"
"Carlisle thinks she'll be stronger than Ness because I'm not human. We don't know just how different she'll be because there's never been a kid like this one before. We'll just have to see." I cradled my stomach and smiled at the thought of being able to hold her without the impediment of her being inside me. I ached to hold her in my arms, to see her for myself.
I tried to picture her, this beautiful baby of mine. She would have black hair, that was pretty much a given, but would it be my straight hair or her father's waves? Would she have my black eyes? Or would they be whatever color Demetri's had been when he was human? Would she have his narrower face and sharp chin? Or would she take after me in that department? Who's heritage would feature more strongly, my Quileute blood or Demetri's Greek?
"That's something else Jake mentioned," Sue's voice cut through my daydreaming, "how you were treated after it became accepted fact that you couldn't have a baby. He made a comment about how he thinks Sam made such a big deal about it just to try to make himself feel better for hurting you." Sue sighed. "Of all the stupid, patriarchal bull, that probably did the most damage, considering how many of your plans and dreams revolved around being a mother."
"Perhaps we should invite the other pack around for a spot of tea," Demetri remarked. He'd clearly been paying attention to my mother even as he teased Alice "Prove to them just how misguided they were about the most unique being in the world and I'd get to watch them squirm." His eyes lit up with an unholy light. Trust Demetri to find perverse enjoyment in the suffering of those who hurt me. But if I was going to be honest with myself, he wasn't the only one.
"After Haylla's born, please. I'd like to be able to defend myself." The thought of going up against any of Sam's pack without being able to phase, it terrified me. Though I knew my pack would protect me, I wanted to be able to fight back myself.
"I think we can keep them away that long," Embry said confidently.
"Maybe," Quil groused. "Emily's been getting more persistent."
"I'll tell them that I saw you, but that Dr. Cullen has you on bed rest until Saturday and no unnecessary visitors." Sue offered. "Carlisle only made an exception for me because I'm your mother. If they ask any questions about what's wrong with you, I'll tell them to wait until after you're given the all clear by the doctor, so they can ask you themselves." This was the Sue I knew, strong, fearless, and able to make a wolf back down with a glare.
"If they try anything stupid, they'll have to get through me," Rosalie vowed fiercely as she crossed her arms, her golden eyes alight with a rage not even a wolf could understand. "They're not touching Leah and they definitely won't get near Haylla."
Demetri caught the side of my head and pulled me closer to him, pressing my head against his side. I looked up at him and he smiled gently. "It won't be just you that they have to go through. Haylla is my daughter and Leah has become my sole reason for existing."
"It's strange," Sue murmured.
"What is?" Demetri raised an eyebrow, but didn't look away from me.
"I'd always thought that vampires weren't capable of feeling, that you're all dead inside, but the Cullens, and now you, you're making me rethink everything I thought I knew about your kind." Sue's brows furrowed as she examined my imprint more carefully.
"What I feel for your daughter, your human mind couldn't possibly compute such depth." He grinned suddenly. "And to think it all started for me because I couldn't walk away from a girl with snow in her hair." He blinked as if his own words just dawned on him. "That's it."
"You lost me," I said.
"For the past several weeks, I've trying to think of a title for the music I've been working on. Snow in her Hair. It's perfect."
"You really do love her, don't you?" Sue asked in amazement.
"With all my heart and whatever I have left of my soul," he said tenderly and I placed my hand on his stomach. "I never gave much stock in love at first sight. I mocked those who experienced it and then it happened to me. But I would never go back."
I glanced over at my mother and she had a bemused smile on her face. All hostility appeared to have finally faded away as if she'd accepted that I'd imprinted on someone who was supposed to be my mortal enemy. Was it really so simple? But she was my mother and this hadn't been my choice.
I closed my eyes and buried my face into his shirt. Choice or not, Demetri was my life and Haylla was our future.