*singing* I reallyyyy want to write a Baby Blackwater sequel. I mayyy have already started. Teaser? Interested?

Anyway! Chapter 23!

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"Tell me."

"Stay."

"Tell me."

"Stay."

Kaya groaned, "Leah, come on, don't do this. You know this is already so hard for me."

"I just don't know why you can't stay. They gave you a heartbeat; they should just let you stay here with us," I said, furrowing my eyebrows. Kaya and I were sitting on the couch, some random reality show on in the background, painting our toenails on a chill Wednesday afternoon. Jacob and Ephraim were sparring in the backyard, having their own little bonding moment. After Jacob and Billy made another one of their strong suggestions that everyone take a few days, take a breather before we get back to our regular trainings, I decided that I wanted to spend as much time with Kaya as possible. "If I tell you the baby's name, you'll leave us."

"I have never been more excited for someone to have a baby since when I found out that Sue was pregnant with you. When your little boy gets here—,"

"You think it's a boy?" I interrupted.

"You don't?" she looked at me a little intrigued. "Ooh, that would be a game changer. The first child ever born of two shape shifters: female. That would honestly be perfect. There's too much testosterone around here."

I chewed on my bottom lip as I twisted the top on the nail polish bottle. Not So Bora-Bora-ing Pink. Who names these things? We had two names picked out and I knew Kaya was itching to know what they were. I wasn't ready to say though.

"You know," Kaya spoke again. "I could just pick the name out of your head."

"But you won't," I smirked. "You would have done it already, if you really wanted to."

She scoffed, "I hate that you're right…" she mumbled. "I know you're stalling. Eventually, we will have to leave, little wolf."

"Why?" I asked defiantly. "You love it here."

She chuckled, "That's very true. But I've already lived my life. You and Jacob need the space to lead, to make mistakes, to live the way we got to. And you have the chance to do it better than we did. We'll be watching all of you grow. Just look for a sign. I'll always be there with you. Every step of the way."

The backdoor swung open and in walked Ephraim with his hair sitting in a man bun on top of his head, and then Jacob who had finally cut his hair back down. After running through a low hanging tree on accident, he was so frustrated with all of the twigs in his hair, he had mama cut it as soon as I got them all out. They were both sweating from sparring and breathing heavy. "I'm very impressed," Ephraim praised Jacob. "You showed me some new skills today. Your instincts are spot on."

Jacob swelled with pride. He'd always looked at Ephraim as a hero; getting a compliment from Ephraim was everything to Jacob. He was trying to keep it cool, but I could tell that spending so much time with Ephraim was like a dream come true. Watching the two men, identical in every physical way possible, I was amazed at how in sync they were. They moved as one, completely in step with each other.

When Jacob finally recovered, he was ready to jump back into it and felt like Ephraim could teach me so much. At one point, I had to talk him down because he was following his great-grandfather like a little puppy dog. It was super cute, but I didn't want Ephraim to feel overwhelmed.

Ephraim took Kaya's face in both of his hands and placed a kiss at the top of her head. She beamed up at him as she scooted to make room for him on the couch. "How was training?" she asked him. I loved that even all of these years later, they still looked so in love. It was just so easy for them. They never even thought about it.

"It's as if he didn't miss a beat," Ephraim complimented. "They definitely don't need us anymore."

"Agree to disagree," I said as Jacob placed himself between my legs. He nodded at Kaya and Ephraim, in agreeance with me. "I think you both should stay forever, just in case."

Ephraim chuckled in his deep, rich voice. "We would if we could, Aileah. But it's about time we get back so you guys can return to normal life."

"We want you to stay more than we want a normal life," Jacob said. Yeah, what was normal without Kaya and Ephraim now? What was next for us after they were gone? "Can't you talk to them about staying longer? We really love having you both here."

The two ancestors turned to each other and just started silently communicating. Kaya linked their fingers together as she pursed her lips, a pleading look on her face. Ephraim's expressions wore concern that turned into amusement before shaking his head. Kaya sat up straighter as she squeezed his hand, pulling it into her lap. He nodded. Kaya groaned out loud and rolled her head back. He chuckled, bringing her hand up to his lips. "I'm sorry, angel. We just can't swing it right now."

"Well, can we come back to visit?" Kaya pleaded. "I want to see the baby when she gets here."

Kaya winked at me when she emphasized the word 'she.' I could tell how much she was absolutely loving the idea of our little one being a girl. Billy and Mama had been combing the texts to see if there was anything that talked about the first Quileute baby born of two active shape shifters. Since Jacob and I are the only Alphas that have Bonded by mating, there was still so much to learn. We didn't know what she would be able to do or if she'll phase at all or when. It could be possible that the first born of the Alphas could be a completely normal kid. I'd be alright with either. But Billy said in his super serious voice, "This child will break barriers for our people; he will change history."

Everyone thought the baby was a boy. Because there was no way that it would be a girl if it was supposed to be so important to our history. Two Alpha Females later and it was like everyone was stuck in this mindset that men were the only ones who could change the world. I mean…I'll be happy if it's girl or a boy. Normal or supernaturally gifted. It didn't matter, as long as the baby was happy, healthy, and loved by me and Jacob. But things were going to have to change around here to make room for the strong women that were already present.

"We'll talk about a visit in the future, I promise," Ephraim said to all of it. "But it's not a guarant—"

He stopped all of a sudden. His eyes darted back and forth and he looked as if he was straining to hear something or feel something. I glanced at Kaya who had suddenly become still too. Her tan skin had completely paled as her eyes widened. Jacob too. Except he was the only one not frozen to his place. He shot up to his feet in a half a second, his face completely hardened and unmoving. I opened my mouth to ask what was wrong when I smelled it. Vampire.

Nope. More specific than that.

A Cullen.

What's going on out there? Jacob projected out to the wolves on duty. The four of us rushed out the door and the scent instantly hit like a bag of bricks.

He's running the perimeter. We can't keep eyes on him, Seth answered, a little anxious.

It's Edward, Embry confirmed before we could ask. Jacob placed a gentle hand on my arm and tried to move me behind him. As if that was going to protect me or stop me from being part of this. The leaves on the trees just south of Kaya's house, which sat incredibly close to the perimeter line, shook violently as someone blurred through them. The weighty, trampling footfalls of Seth and Embry came minutes after, zooming past the house.

"Get Leah in the house," Ephraim ordered out loud.

"Absolutely not," I shook my head, pivoting to watch around me. Years of hearing how these vampires operate, I knew what Edward wanted to go down. Vampires believed in eye for an eye—or mate for a mate. While it was actually Jacob who killed Bella, he wouldn't have had the chance to if we hadn't woken him up. Who knew who Edward wanted? He could want to kill Jacob for taking Bella's love away. Or he could want me to that it was all tied up. Either way, I wasn't about to leave Jacob's side for a second.

"Leah's best protected with me," Jacob said, his voice commanding respect. "I will not leave her alone."

He's headed west, Embry announced. We all ran in the direction of the blur, all four of us trying to formulate a plan at the same time. I felt each and every member of the pack ripple into their wolves as they perceived the threat of a vampire on our reservation. They were all confused but ready to rip into it without question.

Where is it? Paul demanded.

What the fuck is a Cullen doing on our land? Jared's voice boomed.

I've been itching for a fight. Let's do this shit! Quil whooped. His excitement was practically contagious.

Jacob was practically dragging me behind him as the four of us ran toward the main part of the reservation. I was resisting the urge to stop and walk because I was starting to get tired. Find him and corner him, Jacob ordered.

We found all of the wolves in a strong formation. 'Where,' you ask? Around my house. We had followed Edward's sickly-sweet smell all the way back to the house that Jacob and I were actively trying to make our own. Of course. Jacob, Kaya, Ephraim, and I all skidded to a halt when the pack came into view. Growling, crouching, ready.

Say the word. We're fucking ready, Paul said, his paws gearing up for an attack.

"Why is he here?" I asked Jacob.

Jacob looked at me hesitantly before turning to Ephraim, "What does he want?" he asked.

"I just want to talk." Edward's voice was eerily calm from inside the house. Jacob gripped my hand a little harder. I heard a loud growl from one of the wolves and something told me it was Seth. Since fighting with Bella, he'd been on defense a lot more than usual. "Call your dogs off," Edward said, evenly.

My heart dropped a little and my feet felt cemented to the ground. Jacob and I turned our attention to Kaya and Ephraim with the same question on our mind. What the hell do we do? Was Edward angry? Vengeful? Relieved that he didn't have to bow down to his psycho wife anymore? Was he here to ask why we rescued his daughter from him?

Ephraim was watching the front door closely. You could practically see the wheels turning in his head. Kaya reached up to whisper in his ear, covering her mouth with her hand. His face contorted in confusion and concern. He met her eye and said, "I don't know about that, K."

She gave him a tight, apprehensive smile and shrugged, "We have to watch them work."

They sent us in there by ourselves. No prior advice, no words of encouragement. Kaya and Ephraim had looked at us and told us we needed to handle this together as Alphas. Jacob and I walked, hand in hand, between Paul and Embry's wolves, and into the house. It was exactly how we'd left it that morning. No wreckage, nothing was angrily thrown around. It just stunk more and more like a vampire every second Edward was there. He sat motionless on the couch, his back to us. He didn't attempt to pretend to breathe like a person; he just sat there like a stone.

We entered the living room cautiously, Jacob shielding himself in front of me. Edward looked like he had been hit by a Mack truck. His eyes were coal black from not feeding and they looked sunken into his face. He was dressed in his usual slacks and button-down shirt, there was an old blood stain on his right shoulder, and they were wrinkled and disheveled. He wasn't wearing socks. One of his Oxfords was untied. His hair was completely limp. Unblinking, he studied Jacob from the tip of his toes to the top of his head before doing the same to me and then settled on our entwined hands between us.

I wondered who was going to speak first. We all just sat there staring at each other in this weird standoff. Chewing on my lip, I tried to keep my mind as blank as possible. "Congratulations," Edward said suddenly. "A baby and a wedding. Looks like things are looking up for the both of you."

"Thank you," I mumbled, swallowing a little bit. Jacob didn't speak. He just watched.

Edward nodded his head, the first physical movement he had made. My eyes caught as he started to twirl the silver wedding band around his left ring finger. All of a sudden, I was feeling my own ring on my finger more than usual. He leisurely rose to his feet causing Jacob and I to take a cautious step backward. "There's nothing like it," he started, walking over to the mantle, "starting your family. From the moment you see your future wife walk down the aisle to the moment you look into your newborn baby's eyes. You never think a second of your life will be more beautiful until you witness the next one."

Jacob kept his eyes fixed on Edward as he gazed at all of our family pictures. Precious memories of Jacob and me and all of the wonderful people in our lives. Looking at them made me happy, but I could feel the energy of the room shift into something dark. "Why did you come back, Edward?" Jacob blurted.

Edward let out a wiry laugh as he ran a finger across a candid photo of Jacob and me. "I think it's great that you both found each other so soon in life. I had to wait over a hundred years to find the soul for me," he kept talking. "Having Bella by my side reminded me why I wanted to be alive…whatever that means."

I never understood Bella and Edward's relationship. It felt like no matter what, there was some kind of power imbalance. When she was human, Bella was this klutzy, awkward, frail girl who always needed saving. I think Edward liked that. He wanted to be that savior for her and replaced his own pain and misery with a hero complex for the poor human girl who was willing to die for him.

And then when she turned, their power dynamic switched, but he was still ready to throw himself in the line of fire to make sure that she was content. Was that guilt? For putting her through life-ending childbirth and an eternity of, what he deemed, damnation? Even though, that's what she had wanted, there really wasn't an ending to this where both of them would be actually and eternally happy. She didn't want to be human; he didn't want her to be immortal. How were they supposed to win? I never knew—unless I was missing something.

"I've been so lost since Bella's death," Edward continued. "Something about watching your wife burn to dust made something snap inside me. Carlisle won't take me back, the Volturi won't help me…I'm stuck."

"What do you mean they won't help you?" I asked. My gut was telling me I already knew the answer and his reasoning for coming here was becoming clearer every time he opened his mouth.

Edward let out a huge sigh and reached up to fuss with his hair. "They say that I've caused too much of a mess in the past. The newborn war, Bella's turning, Renesmee being born—" he paused for a beat, "trying to expose myself all those years ago. They want nothing to do with me now. They told me they won't be manipulated into helping me kill myself again. They say…I need to live in my own suffering because all of this is my fault."

"How do the Volturi know about Renesmee? We got to her before anything could happen to her," I said, starting to move away from Jacob. He tugged on my hand to keep me close to him.

"You told them about Renesmee," Jacob said. It wasn't a question.

"I told them everything!" Edward exclaimed, throwing his hands up in frustration. He started rattling off the things he exposed to the Volturi, "I explained how Bella got pregnant, when we had to turn her, everything about Renesmee and how we took her without knowing if we were equipped to keep raising her, killing Irina for threatening to open her big fucking mouth, and they…they didn't care! They said I brought all of this on myself and I needed to deal with it."

My jaw dropped to the floor. Oh my god. Is he insane?

"I'm not insane," Edward snapped, whipping his head in my direction. "I'm just done. I don't have anything to live for anymore."

"You have a daughter," Jacob pointed out, disgusted at Edward's words.

Edward snorted, "Right." He circled back to the couch and lounged in a way that I'd never seen before. He draped his arm across the back of the couch and crossed his right leg over his left. "She's better off with Rosalie and Emmett. You both made sure of that. So," he sighed again, "since you and your dogs are in the industry for helping people, you know why I'm here."

"We're not going to kill you, Edward," Jacob sneered. "No matter how much you deserve it."

Can we do it anyway? This dude is a joke, Embry cracked. I told him to shut his mouth.

"But why not?" Edward shrugged. "You killed Bella. Why not me?"

"Bella was coming after me. She wanted to kill me," I choked out, feeling the lump in my throat. It sometimes still flooded back to me.

Edward made a little hum noise. "Is that what it takes? An immediate threat to one of you? Is that how you justify ending the life of the woman I love?" he asked, his voice sounding hollow. He took a deep breath, his eyes fluttering shut before they snapped open again. "That new imprint of Embry's is quite pretty. What's her name? Bianca?"

A loud growl rippled through the house. "Don't you fucking touch her," I gritted through my teeth.

"What if I knew where she was right now?" Edward kept going. "What if I knew that her last class of the day got out an hour ago and she's rolling up to the reservation…right now?"

I fucking dare you, motherfucker! I will end you! Embry roared from outside.

"Edward," Jacob warned. "You don't want to go out like this. We can go talk to Carlisle and convince him to take you back."

"Renesmee still needs a father, Edward. Let us help you," I tried to appeal to the father in him. I thought if he was capable of loving a woman as much as he did, he was capable of wanting to live for his daughter.

Paul, Embry, go find Bianca and make sure you get her somewhere safe, I ordered.

Edward chuckled this hauntingly humorless laugh, "Not if I get to her first," he said before he blurred out of the front door, right into the line of fire. Jacob roared out in frustration and shredded his clothes as he phased mid-run.

What would you do? If you were faced with either calling his bluff or protecting your family no matter the cost, there's only one true answer. Edward's goal was to die. Nothing we could have said was going to change that; that's the part that I still grapple with sometimes. After years of being reluctant allies, Edward knew all of our weak points and our commitment to keeping our family safe. Threatening the life of an imprint was a sure-fire way to get what he wanted. He came to us to kill himself. He added himself to our body count.

And as I rushed out to see Embry, Jacob, Paul, and Jared tear him apart, there was a look of peace and contentment on Edward's face. As if he was alright with the pain. Like he welcomed it as it came. They went after every limb on his body first, letting out all of their frustrations, their fears at the thought of an imprint—any of their imprints—being hurt by him. The other wolves were running around like crazy gathering sticks and wood to throw into a pyre. It was routine; they could do this on autopilot. A tear ran down my cheek as I watched, right before Embry tore his head off, Edward closed his coal black eyes and mouthed, "Bella…" before it was over.

I wondered, in that moment, how we got here and if there was anything that we could have done to prevent this from happening. But, even days later, I was still racking my brain for an answer. Truth be told, there wasn't anything that would have stopped this from being fate. The Bond was only one of potentially millions of possible catalysts that would have resulted in Bella and Edward's respective demises. Bella was not meant for this supernatural life; her brain was never wired to handle the insane stresses of it. And Edward…he was always going to be looking for a reason to end his miserable existence. Not even his own daughter was enough to make him want to live. Imagine thinking of life as being so disposable that you kill one of your own friends without a second thought and then can't even bring yourself to want to live long enough to watch your own child grow up?

I never understood when someone would say that some people are beyond saving. But I guess I do now. Edward killing himself through us was the final move in this fucked up chess game we had all been involuntarily playing for a while. But who won? Checkmate.

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"What do you want us to do with this stuff, Lee?" Paul asked a few afternoons later. I stopped my paint roller from gliding up the wall to see what he was talking about. I saw Paul and Sam standing at either end of the couch, holding it up. They looked at me expectantly as they effortlessly began to move it out of the living room.

That couch had been in this house since I was 8 years old. I remember the day mama took Seth and I to the furniture store with her to buy it. We had been in that store for hours watching her try to make a decision. There were countless precious family memories that have happened in this living room, on that couch. But I could still see Edward's stone-cold ass print in the middle of it.

"Throw it out," I said, definitely before turning my attention back to the wall.

"Ah, ah, ah, no, don't throw it out," Jacob objected as he walked through the back door of the house. He smelled of car grease and sweat, letting me know he had just got done at work. "Just take it to the shed. It should fit in there for now."

"'Scuse me," I furrowed my eyebrows, setting down my roller brush. "What happened to 'whatever you want, Lee', 'just do what you feel is right, Lee'? I said throw it out."

Jacob shot me an incredulous look before shaking his head at Paul and Sam. "That doesn't mean we're making rash decisions right now. Minor changes, Lee," he came over to kiss my cheek. "And I thought I told you not to start painting without me here. The fumes aren't good for the baby."

It felt like I couldn't get the house clean enough. I had borrowed one of Kaya's sage sticks to cleanse the house as much as possible, but the bad, sick vampire juju was still lingering in the dark corners of my living room. Jacob says that part of my unease is the hormones, but I wasn't convinced.

Bianca was alright; she was more freaked out at all of the attention she was getting from all of us than when we had told her that Edward was threatening to harm her. Everyone took a couple of days to breathe it out before things relatively went back to normal. I, however, was on a nesting rampage. I wanted Edward's persistent essence out of my fucking house, and I wanted to welcome this baby into a normal, happy, and blessed house. The boys went back to work, patrol schedules mellowed out, and everything was truly over. No more psycho newborns, no avenging, scorned lovers, no more new hybrid babies.

Everything on the Rez was at rest, finally. So why was I so worked up? Because my nerves had been so on edge for so long, I was still working on bringing them back down to steady. Kaya and Ephraim had told us that we had been handling situations that were beyond our control really well, which made me feel better. They say that being cool and calm under pressure is key; you can always freak out later when it's over.

"I was trying to wait, but you were taking so long," I pouted at Jacob. "Doesn't it look good?"

"It looks great, baby. Now put that down; I'll finish it," Jacob carefully grabbed the brush out of my hand and set it on the ground. He spun me around to face him and placed a kiss at the top of my head. I leaned into him, feeling his warmth and love.

"Ok, we'll take this out to the shed until you guys make a decision," Sam decided. "Let us know what else you want us to move."

Jacob continued to hold me while Sam and Paul carried furniture out of the house. One arm was wrapped around my shoulders while his other hand was resting on my growing belly. Every day, he was more and more excited about the baby getting here. He had stuck the ultrasound picture on the fridge and would kiss it every single time he passed it. I loved those moments when he would just talk to my belly, the stars of the approaching future just gleaming in his eyes. "Are you going to rest yourself or are you going to keep being a busybody?" he asked, pulling a fake scolding face.

"I can't help it," I shrugged. "I feel like we've all been sprinting for miles and now I can get myself to slow down."

He chuckled a little before leading me to sit in Dad's old recliner. "Everything doesn't have to be done in a day, Lee," he advised. "Just relax and everything is going to fall into place."

A knock came to the screen door before Ephraim's deep voice met us before his face did. "Anybody home?" he called.

"We're in the living room," Jacob called back.

Ephraim came into the room with a somber look on his face and his hands buried in his pockets. I knew before he could even open his mouth. He met my eye before nodded his head, answering my unasked question.

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Kaya slowly walked until she stood right in front of me, unshed tears pooling in her eyes. "It's time, little wolf."

Jacob rubbed my back as I sniffled, failing miserably at not crying. "I'm not ready," I whispered. I reached out to hold her hand. "I miss you too much."

She smiled, squeezing my hand. She wiped a tear from my cheek with her other hand. "I will always be here, Leah. In your dreams, in your thoughts…in your heart. You've grown so much and I'm so proud of you. Take care of that little baby and of yourself," she paused to look between the two of us. "Take care of each other. And know that this isn't goodbye, little ones."

"Thank you both for everything," Jacob nodded to Kaya and Ephraim, a sad look in his eyes.

"We should be the ones thanking you," Kaya retorted, "for trusting us and the process. You guys are meant for greatness, we always knew it."

"Angel," Ephraim called. Kaya looked back at him. He stood strong a couple of feet from us. "We gotta go, K."

Kaya turned back to us and just studied our faces for a second before nodding. "Ok," she whispered. "I love you both so, so much."

She started to walk away from us, our hands brushed apart until she was out of my reach. I felt myself smile as she reached Ephraim; he placed a gentle kiss on her forehead before taking her hand. They started to walk toward the woods. He pulled her to his side, putting his face in her hair and rubbing her arm up and down. She rested her head on his shoulder as they walked.

Then her head popped up. "Wait!" she exclaimed. Her head whipped back toward us before reaching up to whisper in his ear. His shoulder shook in a slight chuckle before nodding his head. Kaya started running back toward us, an excited look on her face. She stopped in front of me and grabbed my shoulders. "Tell me," was all she said.

I glanced at Jacob with a smirk. He shrugged his shoulders playfully before nodding in agreement. "Alright," I giggled. "If it's a boy—,"

"Uh, no," she stopped me. "Come on. The future is female. Tell me her name."

I bit my lip for a second, glancing at the ground. I thought about it, the moment we decided her name. Jacob and I had picked out a boy's name too, just in case. But we both felt in our heart of hearts that this baby was a girl. I don't know what it was. Intuition, I guess? I just knew it. And we both knew that we wanted her to know where she came from. "Hadley," I answered. Kaya gasped a little. "Hadley Sarah-Violet Black. Violet is mama's middle name."

"Sarah is for my mother," Jacob continued.

"And Hadley…for the first, most fearless, most loving and wonderful Alpha female that paved the way for her," I finished, proudly. Jacob and I had gone back and forth between naming her Kaya or Hadley for days. We knew that one of her names was going to be Kaya's because we owed her so much. But after a day or two of thinking about it, I think we both knew that there could only be one Kaya. And, since the Hadley family tree ran out on the reservation after Kaya passed away, our little baby could bring the name back and make it her own.

Kaya pulled me into the tightest hug, muttering 'thank you' and 'I love you' over and over again. She washed a wave of love over me before holding me out at arm's length. A single tear rolled down her cheek as she smiled at me. "I love you too," I said, my voice trembling.

"You'll hear from me soon, don't worry," she winked at me before trotting back to Ephraim. He took her hand and twirled her once as they continued their walk back toward the woods. They looked back at us one more time, smiling at us and waving. And slowly but surely, they faded until they were gone. I stared at the spot for a minute; I felt like I was waiting for them to pop back up and say, 'just kidding.' But that didn't happen.

Jacob blew out a breath. "Wow, they're really gone," he said. I ripped my eyes away from the spot where they disappeared and looked up to the sky. The normally overcast sky broke and the sun shined down directly on both of us. I smiled as a small breeze passed through me, raising the small hairs on my neck. "Look for a sign. I'll always be there with you."

"For now," I said, nodding. I closed my eyes for a second, basking in the warmth of the sun before the gray clouds covered it again. Jacob draped an arm around my shoulders and led us back to our home, pressing his face in my hair.

Everything happens for a reason, you know? All my life, I had this idea of how things would be as I grew up. But, standing there with Jacob, I could finally see clearly how all of the events of my life could lead up to this. My peace. My purpose. There were things that we still had to learn, of course. And I believed that we would be able to handle it. The destiny for my life is just a lot bigger than what I thought or ever planned for myself.

One thing's for sure though. Jacob and I are always better together in every way possible. As a team. As partners. As lovers. As Alphas.

Bonded.

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The End!

Epilogue soon!