Chapter Eleven
The twins were exactly one year old. Ella threw them the biggest party La Push had ever seen. Everyone showed up, the Cullens, Charlie, the wolves, everyone. The twins, who took their first steps on the same day, in opposite directions, Tala to Jacob and Maicoh to Ella, were toddling all over the place. They followed each other, Tala after Maicoh, just like their birth.
They were cuddled by everyone. Tala was held constantly by Embry who ignored the evil glares from Jacob until Shelby came over and whined until Ella took Tala from him so that Shelby could hold her. Tala, who was contently slobbering all over her new teething toy, didn't react at all other than cooing, "Mama," at Ella. Ella smiled and kissed her cheek and handed her to Shelby.
"Be careful with her, sweetie." Ella advised and she sat down beside her sister. She leaned her head against Bella's shoulder. "They grow up so fast."
Bella smiled. "How many words do they know now?"
"Between the two of
them? Mama, dada, baba, Tala, Maica," Ella said, "They call
Charlie papa. They know cup, dog, bath, baby, wa-wa, up, down, no,
yes, stop. They learn something new everyday." Ella got up,
recognizing the disgusted look on Shelby's face as Tala began to
drool on her wrist. Ella grinned. "Here, honey." She said taking
Tala from her and giving her a napkin. She put Tala on her hip and
came in front of Bella. "In fact they probably know your name.
Who's that, Tala?"
Tala took the toy out of her mouth.
"Behwa." She said and stuck it back in her mouth.
Bella stared at her in shock. "You're a smart little cookie, aren't you?" She said tickling her stomach, getting a giggle out of Tala.
Then, Tala surprised them again by throwing her toy at Embry and when he looked at her, she smiled and said, "Em!"
Embry practically cried. Jacob sighed. Maicoh giggled. Ella smiled and Tala drooled. It was a perfect day in the Black household.
A couple of weeks later
Jacob decided to go on a shopping trip. They were getting low on diapers, formula and much else.
Embry was visiting and with a firm glare, Jacob left him to help Ella while he was gone. The twins could be quite a handful, now that they were walking, talking and causing more trouble than they ever had before. Jacob trusted a select few with his children. Embry was one of those few. Ever since Jacob had knocked Sam out of the alpha spot, Embry had become Jacob's right hand man, basically the beta. Jacob trusted him not only with his own life, but his wife's and the lives of his children, the people nearest to Jacob's heart and his livelihood. That was saying something.
He gave Ella and both the twins' kisses goodbye and headed out the door, not sensing the heavy vampire scent in the air.
At the Black House
Ella was watching her baby boy sleep when Embry raced into the room with Tala in his arms. "Ella, there are vampires surrounding the house." He said quietly.
"Is it Bella?" Ella said, "I wasn't ex-"
Embry cut her off. "No, Ella, I don't know these vampires. I don't know what they want."
Ella's eyes grew big. Bella had told her about one group, who basically controlled the vampires and hated all werewolves. She shuddered. "The Volturi," she whispered.
Before Embry could respond there was an earsplitting crash and the sound of splintering wood. Maicoh woke up and began screaming. Ella picked him up, holding him protectively. "What do we do?" She whispered.
"Ella Black, isn't it?" A voice said. "We mean you no harm. We just want the wolf child."
Ella's breath caught. They wanted Maicoh. She heard another crash and did the only thing she could. She sent a mental plea to Edward, wondering if he could read it. Then she stepped out of the nursery, hugging her son to her chest, a pissed off mommy, who would fight to the death to protect her child.
The Cullen Household
"EDWARD!"
A scream in his head made Edward jump. The rest of the Cullen clan gave him a variety of strange looks but Edward was concentrating on the scream trying to depict whose voice it was.
"EDWARD!"
Edward's eyes widened. "Ella!" He turned to them. "We need to go, now, Ella's in trouble." He said but his thoughts were interrupted by another scream before the screams stopped entirely. "EDWARD, VOLTURI!"
The Black Household
Ella writhed on the ground, still managing to keep her hold on Maicoh throughout Jane's attack. Through her pain, she heard Embry's cry, who wouldn't phase for her had to hold Tala. Jane finally let up. Ella lay on the floor, her eyes squinted in pain. Maicoh sobbed hysterically in her arms. Aro stood over her. "Have you decided to give us the child peacefully? Or shall we continue?"
Ella looked at Embry who was bleeding profusely from a cut in his forehead, but her daughter was screaming, yet unharmed in his arms. Embry was staring at Ella. He understood what she was telling him without her having to say anything. She gently pulled at Maicoh's shirt, pointed to her mouth and nodded at him. Embry inclined his head slightly. Ella turned to Aro. She got up, Maicoh held firmly in her arms. "Why don't you just kill me and take him? Why go through all this trouble?"
"Because if I kill you, there's not enough of you to feed my whole coven and I don't want them to fight." Aro answered casually.
There was a sudden ferocious snarl beside her. Embry had phased, Tala dangling by her little denim overalls in his mouth. Turning on her heel she raced towards hers and Jacob's room. "RUN, EMBRY!"
Later
Jacob pulled into his driveway right before the Cullens to discover a burning house. Not pausing he raced into his house that no longer had a front door. "Ella? Ella?!" He screamed through the smoke. "Ella! ELLA?!"
He ran to the nursery, to both his relief and dismay, neither cradle contained a baby. His next bet was the bedroom. There was Ella, lying in a puddle of her own blood; a smoldering pile of something lay beside her along with broken glasses of their best liquor. None of that mattered to Jacob as he ran to Ella's side. He tried to find her pulse and found one, weak and fading. He picked her up, just as Carlisle's voice called Ella's name. "I'VE GOT HER!" Jacob yelled. "Hold on, baby." He begged.
He placed her in Carlisle's arms. "Fix her!" He demanded anxiously.
Ella coughed blood and weakly said. "My baby…they took Maicoh…" her head then flopped sickly on Carlisle's arm.
"No pulse!" Carlisle said.
To interrupt this moment, was a high pitched whine and a baby's cry as Embry, still in wolf form appeared, bleeding with Tala unharmed in his mouth.
Jacob rushed over to him, taking Tala from him and holding her against his chest as if she were the only thing keeping him here.
"What
happened?"
"Vamps calling themselves Volturi came for Maicoh.
I don't know what all happened. I ran into the woods with Tala. I
know that Ella killed one of them, she busted a glass of liquor over
his head and set him on fire. That's all I know." Embry said,
exhaustedly.
Ella screamed in agony, she was coming to now. She fought against Carlisle, he held her still easily, even though it pained him to do so. "They took my baby! They TOOK HIM!" She stared right at Edward. "They. Took. Him." She growled before Jasper subdued her into a sedated sleep.
Jacob held tight to his daughter and stared blankly in front of himself, until everything turned black and he fell into a deep sea of black he didn't want to come out of.
THE END
Yes there is going to be a third.
