The Flower Moon

Year Eight, Chapter Twenty-Three

MINE

Jacob's Point of View

It had recently rained, but that was normal. It always rained in Washington. The ground was soft and muddy and my paws were caked with the stuff. I'd been crouching here so long the mud had long ago dried and matted itself into my fur. But it didn't matter. I needed to hold my position. I couldn't give away my location and let him know he was being observed. The only sound other than him, and the nearby humans I was watching over, was a lone bird chirping away in a tree sixteen yards to my left. Occasionally a rabbit or squirrel would wander by, but as soon as they sensed me they all seemed to quickly scamper away. I'd made sure to cover myself in the bush, in addition to hiding my massive form it also added in keeping my scent from wafting in his direction.

I'd been careful. He hadn't detected me. He couldn't see me. He couldn't smell me. I was absolutely still so he wouldn't hear a sound.

Then… my phone, on the ground beside my front foot, started vibrating.

No, not now.

I watched, searching for any hint he had heard it. If he did, he hadn't given any outward indication.

It kept vibrating, until finally the call finally went to voicemail.

Less than a minute later it started shaking again.

His ears were just as sensitive as mine. He was farther away but if whoever kept calling, he would eventually hear it.

I didn't really want to phase back, I needed to keep an eye on him and make sure he didn't do anything stupid.

Risking a glance at the caller ID I saw who was calling. He knew I was out here as a Wolf, why wouldn't he just phase to talk to me? Something must be wrong if he'd bothered to call. I had to phase back. This better be worth it. I was probably going to blow my cover.

"What's it Jared?" I snapped, yet kept my voice to a whisper.

"Hello Jacob."

"Edward?" Hearing his voice on the other end of the line caught me off guard and mine came out louder than it should have. He'd called a couple of times earlier this morning, but I thought he was still in France.

My plan was to call him back later tonight, once Dave and I were safely back home at Billy's. Maybe. I'd been doing that a lot since I got here. Not actually talking to anyone unless it was an absolute emergency.

Not even Nessie, though it killed me to do so. I missed her so much. I can't believe I missed Valentine's Day. I had so much to make up for when this was all over. But for now I thought that talking to her on the phone, or even worse Skyping with her, seeing her face, would be too much. It would make me abandon my mission and run back home to my beloved. But I couldn't, I had to stay focused. This was too important.

If Eddie was using Jared's phone it meant he wasn't in France anymore; he must be in Washington. And he would only come here if there was an emergency. I started to panic. "Is Nessie alright?"

"That's why I'm here. I need to talk to you, in person."

"Please, just tell me that she's okay?" My voice got louder with each word.

"Physically she's fine."

Thank goodness. But there was an edge to his voice that told me there was more that he wasn't telling me. It seemed like whatever he wanted to say he was going to wait to tell me in person.

"Alright, um, where are you right now?"

"I'm at the treaty line... wait, here is Jared."

"Hey Jake, Edward wants permission to come onto the Res. I don't have a problem with it, since he just wants to talk to you, he says he'll leave as soon as he's done, and promises to stay with you the whole time. Sound good? Want me to bring him over to you?"

That's a lot different than what I had to go through with Sam and the Elders, to get Nessie there when she was younger to hang out. But this was going to be a onetime thing, like when Sam let Alice and Jasper cross our lands into the ocean prior to when the Volturi were coming.

"Err I'm actually just outside of the Makah Reservation."

"O... kay. Um, Where about? I'll bring Edward to you."

"Sure, sure," I replied, before quickly let him know exactly where I was before hanging up the phone.

What exactly did Edward want? And how was I going to continue to keep tabs on David while talking to Edward? What was I going to do?

Embry! He was nearby.

I quickly texted Embry to phase and I did the same. Once we were both in our Wolf forms I asked him to come take my place. Thankfully he wasn't doing anything he couldn't get out of and showed up a few minutes later. After filling Embry in on what I needed I went to meet Jared and Edward. The location I gave was a half mile from Dave. Having Edward's odor in the area wouldn't help anything.

"I got your location out of Jared's head," Edward told me, while tapping his own. I thought Jared would have chaperoned Edward here, but must have stayed on the Res. Did he trust Edward, were there other issues… dangers he was dealing with? Whatever the reason Edward never filled me in, even though he must have heard why, instead he just turned and without a word, walked deeper into the forest, away from my son, leaving me to follow.

Alright Edward, you're here, we're alone, now what's going on? I didn't really have time for games. We'd already been walking for twenty minutes. I was still a Wolf; I wanted to watch through Embry, that everything was going okay.

"My daughter seems to be under the impression that you're angry at her, and that you've left her for what she did."

What! How could she think that? Hasn't Billy been giving her my messages?

"Yes but she'd doubted they were really from you, since you never spoke directly her, she thinks Billy is just trying to placate her."

That's insane. She knows I love her. But really what am I supposed to do about her craving my blood mess? We were stuck at an impasse.

"I know Jacob. The situation doesn't look good."

You know I would gladly give Nessie my blood. All of it, if she needed or even just wanted it. I love her more than anything. But that wouldn't really solve the problem and I know it would be… upsetting for her. Killing me would torment her and that would just lead to a whole new set of problems. But I wouldn't be alive anymore to help. I don't want to just solve one problem to cause her a new set of them.

I couldn't stand to be the cause of any of her problems or pain in any way. I don't know what to do. Edward I don't know how to fix this.

I began thinking over the only solution I was able to come up with. The one Nessie had already rejected. I showed Edward how I wanted to get her to drink from me and have donated blood nearby to transfuse me, just in case. Even thought Nessie had already rejected it, maybe Edward could get her to agree.

"My daughter was right," he replied. "Your solution wasn't one. It would have been too dangerous. Just like Renesmee thought, there would have been almost no way she would have been able to stop herself. And who would have been available to set up the IV for you?"

Yeah, I guess it really wouldn't...

"Of course now that we're all back -"

All of the Cullen's are back? Of course I should have known they would all come here together.

"I'm the only one in Washington," he corrected me. The rest of the family is with Nessie and Felicity in New Hampshire. But back to your plan... what you're suggesting is extremely dangerous Jacob."

Wait! He's really considering it? Does this mean you think it might work?

"It could," he hesitated. "But it would be hard, painful -" Doesn't he know that I'm more than willing to put up with some pain if it would help my Angel.

"For both of you."

Oh! The last thing I wanted to do was cause Nessie pain.

"We would probably have to rip her off of you, if her bloodlust has gotten as bad as she says," he continued, ignoring my inner ramblings. I could see the wheels turning in his head as he figured out the exact mechanics of how this would all work. I might be reunited with my Angel before I expected. Well as soon as I was done dealing with the current fiasco.

"What fiasco?" That got Edwards attention.

Um… I've had some rather unexpected issues with my son that I've needed to deal with. It's what has taken up almost every minute of my time here. And there's also Billy's health, I'm not sure you know, I've tried to keep most of it from Nessie, but Billy isn't doing so well. It's why I haven't been able to get back to Nessie, why I didn't answer the phone when you called, I thought to him, while visualizing everything I've been dealing with this past month:

Soon after Dave and I first arrived, I'd thought it would be nice if my son could get better acquainted with my old friends and Pack members, Quil and Embry, (former Pack, in Quil's case). I set up a picnic lunch for all of us to take place that Saturday. I know he'd met Quil before but this time he and Embry were bringing their Imprints. The four of them planned to meet us on First Beach at noon. The truck delivering Dave's new mattress arrived just as we were getting ready to leave so we were running late and had phased to make up the time. They were all at the beach waiting for us when we finally got there.

Quil was thrilled because Claire's mother had let her come down for the entire day from the Makah Reservation. That in and of itself was unusual, she went to visit with Quil every couple of days, but only for a few hours after school, or he would go up there to see her. But it was never enough, not for Imprints. But it was the weekend, and the weather was actually nice for a change, so Claire's mom had said they could hang out for the entire day… provided she bring her older sister, Janet, with her.

Claire and Janet were only separated by a few years of age, but with Claire spending so much time with Quil, due to his Imprinting on her, back when she was just two years old, the sisters never really hung out that much. Now Claire was ten and they were practically strangers.

It was a little sad really. I'd hoped that one of the younger Wolves would have Imprinted on Janet, someone that could be her best friend, too. But it had never happened. I'd thought that it was nice that she was tagging along for our picnic. She was probably a little lonely, not having any other brothers or sisters to play with.

Janet was playing when she heard a rustle in the woods, and looked over to see what made the noise. It was us she'd heard. Our giant Wolf forms are not exactly quiet in the dense forest brush.

And then it happened. David took one look at her, from the edge of the forest, their eyes met and I knew I'd lost my son.

Damn-it! Thirty seconds prior, I'd been wishing that someone would have Imprinted on Janet and now that it had actually happened, I wasn't feeling that same level of enthusiasm. At least with her only being thirteen years old it would give the two of them a few years to grow up a bit before anything even started to turn romantic.

MINE! I heard David say to himself as his eyes locked onto hers.

What? Oh crap! I didn't like what was going on in his head. It was way too soon for him to be thinking like that.

Wait son. We need to talk a little about what just happened. I positioned myself in front of him as he went to go move towards her.

I think I was going to have to explain Imprinting and the birds and the bees to him, all at the same time. I guess it's my fault for waiting but I never thought my one and a half year old would Imprint so young.

How much was I really going to have to tell him though? I was sure he already learned more than I would have liked from Leah and myself when we were both phased.

I'd tried to keep thoughts of Nessie and my private time out of my thoughts when I was a Wolf, but I unfortunately know I slipped, at least twice, in front of him. That combined with the biology school work he learned from Carlisle meant that there was probably little he didn't already know. And I don't even want to think about what he picked up from Leah's thoughts.

Sheesh Dad, enough with the mental images. Gross. I've already seen more than I wanted to of you and Mom like that. And don't bother anyway, you're right. I'm pretty sure I know all I need too.

Okay, Dave, no sex talk. I could now also see for myself that he did in fact already know more than enough. Too much actually.

Someone had some explaining to do. Paul, maybe, or more likely Leah. I don't think Leah meant too but once the secret of her and Nahuel's relationship was out in the open, but before they broke up, the two of them weren't exactly discreet. And it now seems like she hadn't guarding her thoughts, when phased, as much as she should have, and Dave had clearly snooped around. I probably should be mad at him too, but I understood what it was like to be a teenage boy. Leah really must have been completely caught up daydreaming about Nahuel that she didn't realize my son was peeking into her head. It's happened before, usually to one of the guys shortly after they Imprinted. It's hard to think of anything else other than ones Imprint. But Leah never Imprinted on Nahuel.

Later, that was a problem for later.

We need to talk about Imprinting, Dave.

I don't want to talk Dad. I need to go to her. Look at her, look how unhappy she is.

Unhappy? She was playing, on the beach, with everyone else. Even though Quil had Imprinted on Claire, her sister didn't know anything about Wolves. Luckily Quil had seen us too and quickly distracted her so she wouldn't get freaked out seeing two giant Wolves so close. She was smiling and laughing, maybe not as much as the other two couples, not that Quil and Claire were a couple yet, but they were still each other's perfect other half. No one was going to be as happy as a Wolf and his Imprint, but Quil was doing his best to include Janet in on the fun.

They were playing around at the edge of the water, splashing and kicking, trying to soak each other. It looked like they were all laughing and having a good time. Then Quil, joking around picked up Janet and threw her into the water, before he jumped in himself and they continued their splashing game.

The next thing I knew Dave was trying to get around me, heading towards them. I saw what he was planning and I immediately jumped in front of him again. Using my head I pushed him back, forcing him back into the cover of the trees, while questioning him, What exactly do you think you're doing?

He touched her! Dave screamed to me in his head. He threw her into the water. She could have gotten hurt. I'm going to rip him apart after making sure she's okay.

You can't go over there like this. Not as a Wolf. YOU could hurt her! And Janet doesn't know anything about Wolves. Even if you didn't hurt her, you still probably would have scared her to death.

I wasn't going to hurt her. I would never! But I need to get her away from that guy. His hands were all over her. She's Mine!

First of all, Quil didn't have his hands all over Janet. He Imprinted on Claire. Do you know what Imprinting is?

Of course I do. It's like true love, or something. Like what you did to Mom, or what Uncle Paul did with Aunt Rachel. It's finding your soulmate, right?

That's about it, I reassured Dave. So you know Quil doesn't have any feelings or desires for Janet. He only sees and loves Claire.

Good, because Janet is Mine!

The way he kept saying, or thinking, 'Mine' was really starting to worry me. That's the other thing I wanted to talk to you about, David. Just because you Imprinted on Janet does not automatically make her yours. She gets a choice. She might fall in love with you or not. She may choose someone else.

No! She can't. His anger disappeared for a moment and was replaced with panic, but then I could feel his anger slowly coming back. We belong together.

He started picturing the two of them together.

Argh! This wasn't going well.

Look at her, David. She's still a child. What you're thinking... if you were to act on it… do it, any of it, it's going to get you arrested. I wanted to tell him more… how it might make her hate him, or at the very least make her scared of him. And her parents would never let him near her if they found out. You can't touch her like that for at least five years. Not until she turns eighteen. And that's only if she wants you too.

Why? I'm not even two.

David she's still a child. Besides you don't even know her. You need to slowly introduce yourself to her and then overtime build up a friendship. Eventually if she wants your relationship to turn romantic then that's her choice. Her decision, not yours, I stressed

But I love her. I need to be with her.

I know it feels that way, but that's not how Imprinting works.

We never made it to the picnic. I couldn't risk letting Dave get that close to Janet… not yet. But he wouldn't leave; demanding we stay so he could protect her should the need arise, so we stayed at the edge of the forest, close to the beach, but safely out of sight.

I spent the time going over exactly what Imprinting was to Dave, but even though he sorta listened to what I said, he didn't want to wait. He kept trying to go to her and I had to keep forcing him back into the woods. What was wrong with him? Quil and I never thought of our child Imprints like that. It was always keeping them safe, making them happy, and giving them what they needed. Our wants and needs had always come second.

"His Vampire side might be interfering with some of your Quileute Wolf magic," Edward surmised after I finished recalling everything. He looked a little ill, not that he could actually get sick. "Or perhaps it's because he's technically still so young."

Yeah, maybe, I growled. I wasn't in the mood for guesses. He can't seem to stay away from her (as much as I tried I couldn't keep him away from her forever) and even though she's tolerated him always being around, she sees him as an adult. She's a girl, barely a teenager. She's into Nick Robinson, Ansel Elgort and other boys in movies and boy bands right now. She doesn't see him like that, and she shouldn't. I've spent almost every waking minute, that I'm not looking after Billy, here either watching to make sure he doesn't jump her or trying to talk some sense into him. I know he's my son and I love him, but he's the most stubborn man on the planet.

"I definitely would have to agree with you on that Jacob, but it seems like there might be more going on here than just his unwillingness to err... compromise on this. It's almost as if you and your son were destined to live two completely separate lives. Everything that has happened to you has pushed you away from your home on the Quileute Reservation. But for your son, everything in his life keeps thrusting him here, like this is where he's supposed to be, even down to him Imprinting so quickly on someone, as completely as he had."

What was that supposed to mean? Was he implying that I wasn't completely devoted to his daughter? I know that was ridiculous, but what did he mean?

"Have you actually looked into David's mind recently? I know you've heard his thoughts, but have you understood their meaning? I've been listening and while I'm not exactly sure what he feels towards the girl, it doesn't seem like he still wants to physically be with her.

He's just not thinking about it at the moment, I argued back. Why the hell did Edward think I was still out here, if my son's thoughts had turned innocent?

"Hmmm," Edward pinched the bridge of his nose. "Are you sure? Could they have and now he wants to only be near her, just like he needs to be here, in this place? He Imprinted. You know what that means. I don't think that he would ever be able to leave her anymore than you would be able to truly leave my daughter. His Imprinting just seems to be another thing to tie him to the Reservation."

What are you implying? That you think his Imprinting is unnatural? That they aren't really Soulmates? That was ridiculous. I know Dave's Imprinting was a little odd, he didn't seem to be as concerned about Janet's feelings (or youth) as I would have assumed, but he wasn't exactly normal. Some things were bound to be a little off, I guess. But that didn't mean that his Imprinting was fake.

"No, not fake, Jacob. I believe it's real, but I think all of the events of his life have conspired, in a way, so that he would find her, right away, to Imprint on her, so that he would stay here. That way there would be no way you could bring him back home to New Hampshire." Edward gave me a knowing look. "Everything seems to be so extreme with him for some unknown reason; like there is a greater purpose. That he needs to be here. I'm just not sure what that purpose is exactly," he shrugged.

This was getting ridiculous. What greater purpose was there in him wanting to molest some innocent little girl?

"That's not going to happen, Jacob. Please just try to take a step back and see the big picture. Think about it. You once felt the same way when you first Imprinted on Nessie."

Like hell I did!

"That's not what I mean. Do you remember explaining to Bella, while she was attacking you, after she was first changed, that her giving birth to Renesmee, so you could Imprint on her, was part of some bigger plan all along. You understood back then that that was the reason why you had first become friends with Bella. Why you were so attracted, protective of her, so that you could someday be with her daughter."

Yeah, I guess Eddie… I was right about that. But that didn't mean he was right about David's intentions. I still needed to watch my son and make sure he didn't do something stupid.

"Tell me this Jacob, what were you planning to do, hide in the woods around the Makah Reservation for the next half decade, while you wait for this girl to grow up? Until it's proper for your son to be alone with her?" And that's only IF she falls in love with him?

Honestly I hadn't thought that far ahead. Between the pain of being away from my Imprint, worrying about Billy's health, the turmoil going on in my son's head, and just trying to keep him from getting arrested, and her safe from him, I've been living pretty much one day, one hour at a time; just being able to get through each day without a catastrophe happening. I know. You're right, Edward. Dave and I are going to have to figure this out and soon.

"I'm glad you agree. Do you mind if I try and talk with my Grandson, tonight?"

Be my guest, I don't see how it could hurt, I signed. Now could you tell me how bad are things with Nessie? Why exactly are you here?

Seeing the concern on his face made my stomach turn to knots. "Things are not well with her. She's losing it without you there."

Crap! I'd hoped the separation wouldn't to be as bad for her as it was for me. What was I going to do?

"That's why I'm here," he said matter-of-factly. "I came to bring you home."

As much as I would love to see Nessie, more than love, NEED to see her, it was killing me to be away from her for so long, how exactly do you see that being possible? I can't leave...

"Jacob, not that I think he needs it, but you're not the only one who can watch over your son. Embry is currently doing a fine job. And I'm sure he would be more than capable of continuing after you left. And there is also Quil. He will most likely be with Claire the same time David is with Janet. Wouldn't this be the perfect opportunity for the sisters to get reacquainted?"

It's not their responsibility. David is my son. They can't look after him all the time.

"Neither can you. Look at yourself. When was the last time you slept? Or showered?" He scrunched his nose and I wasn't sure if he was teasing or not. I was pretty rank.

Edward was right. I'd been so worried about Dave sneaking off in the night that I never really allowed myself to fall into a deep sleep, and never for more than a few hours; always checking to see that he hadn't snuck away.

I know I'm probably being paranoid, and overprotective. It's just that his thoughts about her are so... intense. I'm scared of what he's going to do.

Edward chose this moment to pick a stray snow clump that had fallen onto his shoulder from the tree above. With his icy cold skin it didn't melt as he pinched it between his fingers. "What has he said when you talked to him about it?" he eventually asked me.

Snippets of the conversation I already recounted flashed through my mind. All I got from David was that Janet was his and he needed to possess her, all of her. What else did he need to know?

"That was a month ago. What has he said recently?"

Recently? He only lashes out, yelling and screaming for me to leave him alone.

Edward rolled his eyes as he tossed the snow away. "Why do you think that is?"

Huh? It may be the sleep deprivation but I wasn't exactly understanding what Edward was asking me.

"Jacob, he has not made a move against, or rather towards, the girl in a month. It's possible that if he was going to do something he would have done it already."

Or he's just waiting for an opening. For me to let my guard down. That's why I can't. Doesn't Edward see that?

"You need to trust him. Even if his Imprinting seems different than others, he still Imprinted. I doubt he would really do anything that would hurt the girl."

And what happens if you're wrong?

"Let me see what I learn when I talk to him, but Jacob, I think you need to have some faith in your son."

Like you had for me with your daughter? I growled as I started recalling an incident where he threw me against a wall and started choking me, when he thought I slept with a teenage Nessie, after I'd simply started training her to fight. I'm not the only overprotective father here.

But deep down I knew he was right. David was a good kid, if not a tad judgmental. He valued life, well human life, above all else, and Janet was human. Maybe if I stopped to think about it, or even if listened to the other Wolves when they said basically everything that Eddie just had, I could have saved myself a lot of trouble. But that was a big if, and if they were wrong the consequences would be unforgivable. I still needed to take precautions.

When Janet had to go home for dinner Edward went to talk to Dave. My son nearly flipped out when he first saw Edward, and me, approach him. I knew he wouldn't appreciate having his grandfather, a Vampire, on Pack land but Edward offered to take him out to dinner in Seattle. Dave only agreed to go at my assurance that the rest of the Cullens were in New Hampshire and that I would stay and watch over Janet while he was gone.

When they got back Edward assured me that he didn't believe my son was an imminent threat to his Imprint, or her 'virtue', as he put it. That made me feel better and I began to relax.

The next day I talked Jared. With some convincing he eventually agreed to have his Pack keep an eye on my son and Janet whenever she was on the Res, and Quil and Embry promised to watch them on the Makah Reservation.

I also asked all of them to be on the lookout for when David stopped aging and to call me immediately when he did. I gave them a rough estimate of when I believed it would be - in about eight months, if our calculations were correct, so that they would know to keep Janet safe, just in case, until I could fly back. I didn't want him trying to feed on her, in addition to everything else.

With Dave all sorted out (at least according to Edward) all I had to deal with was my father. His health was not doing as well as I would like. But once he was feeling better I could finally get back to Nessie.

A.N. Thanks for reading. Please review