The hand reached out through the dark forest as ancient blue light swept across its floor. Grace held her breath for what came next. The hand was reaching toward her, it's soft, plump little arm glowing in the moonlight as the darkness of the forest swallowed up the body that was attached to it. As the hand reached toward Grace's face, suddenly, it changed and the soft infant hand twisted into the gnarled skin and bone of Bella's. She wrapped her decaying hand swiftly around Grace's throat as she felt ice shoot through her veins. Bella emerged from the darkness of the forest. Her eyes were clouded and her porcelain skin was now hanging off of her face as black decayed bits dripped to the forest floor. Grace gasped for air and felt no warming presence around her.
She was entirely alone.
Bella closed the distance between, bending her head down intent on tearing open Grace's throat. A gurgling sound grew up through Grace's throat as she felt herself drowning in her own blood, despite never feeling Bella's teeth tear into her. As she tried to muster a scream through the choking blood she heard a baby cry somewhere off in the forest.
Grace shot up in bed, gasping for air, as the late morning light filtered in through the porthole window above her bed. She tentatively touched at the skin around her neck as she tried to pull in clean breaths to her lungs. Sweat dotted around her hairline and she looked around her. She was alone and had kicked off the sheets during her nightmare. Off to her right in the bathroom, she heard the shower running. Grace pulled her knees up and rested her chin on her knees trying to shake the dream. Her eyes darted to her cell phone lying open on the nightstand. She could tell by the lack of blinking light that she had no new messages.
It had only been 5 days since Renesmee's birth and Bella hadn't woken up. Carlisle thought that they had made it in time to have the venom take hold and for the change to happen, but she had yet to wake up. After the second day of staying by Bella's bed without sleep, Jacob had ushered Grace out of the room against her will and taken her home. Grace had fought but sleep won out. He had held her tightly to him in bed until she had fallen asleep, the tears still staining her cheeks as he tried to whisper soothingly to her.
After coming home, Jake had told her it would be best for them to wait for Carlisle's word before heading back over.
"Why?" she had said angrily.
"If she has turned, it's not going to be immediately safe for us to be around her. You've fought newborns. She might not remember us right away," Jacob said as he had gently pushed the hair out of her face. Grace was not having it.
"She asked me to protect Renesmee. I should at least be able to see her to do that, don't you think?" Grace folded her arms in front of her taking a step back from Jake. He let out a hard breath. He was nothing if not patient with her.
"Yes, but you've done that. The threat is gone. Sam's retreated, and we have a second to breathe until Bella comes back. Let's just let the Cullens take care of Nessie for now and we'll go back when we know it's safe." He pleaded.
"Nessie?" Grace raised a skeptical eyebrow.
Despite Jake's efforts, Grace hadn't been sleeping well. She was constantly woken up by nightmares and the rest of the time she spent pacing the house, too worried about Bella to let herself settle. She was constantly irritated, not at Jake, but at the situation in general, and she wasn't able to think straight. Everything felt thrown in disarray despite the obvious calm that had fallen over the pack. Quil had even been by to see how they were doing. But for all that, Grace still couldn't let herself calm down and her moods were unpredictable.
"You nicknamed Bella's daughter after the lochness monster?" Grace had let out a huff and turned toward the door.
"Babe, please don't make me chase you," Jake said as Grace clambered down the front porch steps ready to recast.
"I just want to see her Jake!" Grace spat, her voice got loud as she spun around to look at Jacob standing at the top of the steps, his arms by his side. He stared at her, concerned but frustrated. "I'm going." She said with finality and Jake shook his head, a light laugh coming out of his mouth.
"No. You're not. Stay here." He said, the alpha command clear and easy in his voice. Grace immediately felt her entire body tense up and the anger in her had tripled.
"Excuse me?" she said through gritted teeth. Jacob was in front of her now, hands on her waist as he turned her and guided her back into the house.
"Let's go take a shower, maybe a nap, watch a movie. Carlisle will call us soon. But for now, I need you to stay put," Jacob said with certainty. It was a gentle tone, but firm. Grace had seethed, bolting up to her bedroom and slamming the door behind her. Jacob had taken the hint and stayed downstairs, now reassured that she couldn't go anywhere.
Now as she sat with her arms wrapped around her legs, she felt the cold ache settle in her once more. Carlisle hadn't called with word but Edward had sent a text saying that Bella might be waking up soon. He also sent Grace a picture of Renesmee who was sleeping peacefully in Rosalie's arms. That must have been at Jake's request and she made a note to thank him for his kindness when she was out of this funk.
The faucet turned off in the bathroom and Grace turned her head toward the bathroom door. As steam pushed its way out around the massive figure blocking the door, she smiled.
"Hey, come back to bed for a bit would you?" Grace said softly to him—a peace offering. She knew she had been difficult the past few days but her heart hammered with worry.
"Don't mind if I do!" Embry's tall imposing figure, with a towel wrapped neatly around his waist launched toward her on the bed.
"OH GOD!" Grace cried out in shock as the massive frame landed next to her, Embry's arm pulling her back onto the mattress as she flailed. He made loud, exaggerated kissing noises and shook his wet hair out over her, sprinkling her with warm water. "EMBRY!" she cried pushing against him. "Get off!" she was laughing now, "Enough! You're getting me all wet!"
"If I had a nickel for every time a girl said that to me," he said wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.
"Alright, get off her." Jacob's voice came clear through the doorway and Embry looked over his shoulder with a grin.
"What? Can't take a little competition?" Embry said as he hopped up out of the bed. Grace scrambled out of bed and righted herself.
"As if you could compete with an imprint." Jacob said. He gave Grace a nod and she felt her whole body swim with warmth. As if on silent command, she quickly padded across the room to him, a smile breaking across her face as she slipped into his outstretched arm that winded around her waist.
Jake was settling into his own as alpha. He beamed confidence in his movements, his commands (but not orders, he tried to stay away from using the alpha tone with everyone as much as possible), and in how he led the pack. Grace felt magnetized to him. Sam and Jared had always made it seem like when you first imprinted that that was when the bond felt the strongest, as if you couldn't breath without the other person there. But Grace had only felt the feeling grow in her as Jake came into his own and maybe as she did too.
She still hadn't entirely forgiven him for the alpha order to stay put, but felt no need to fight against it. Jacob's hand gripped her waist as he pulled her into his side more, cupping a hand to her jaw and leaning down to place a gentle kiss to her upturned face. He let a thumb slide across her cheek and Grace felt the wild swing of emotion pull through her again.
"Sleep okay?" he said softly, his eyes roaming around her face to take her in. Grace's breath caught in her throat. How did he do the intimacy thing so well, even when someone was standing in the room half naked behind them? She swallowed a lump down in her throat and gave a nod. He gave her a signature Jake grin before letting his hand drop from her face to wrap around her and pull her into a hug.
As she buried her face into him he said to Embry over her head, "What are you doing in our bathroom and waking up my girlfriend for anyway?" Grace's heart fluttered and she let out a quick laugh as he rubbed his hands down her back.
"Ran through a particularly nasty mudslide this morning on my way back. Seth pushed me into it so, if you want someone to blame, blame him," Embry said.
Grace pulled out of Jake's embrace and slipped off downstairs as she heard the bickering start between them.
"You're going to be cleaning out that shower if you left it a mess dude."
"Who died and made you Mrs. Doubtfire?!"
"I swear to god, Em."
"Suddenly, he gets a house and he's all Jonathan Taylor Thomas in Man of the House."
"Can you stop naming 90's movies? It's 10 in the morning."
"You're Clueless." Grace could hear a scuffling upstairs now as Jake clearly tackled Embry.
Grace stumbled into the kitchen and pulled out some pans to start breakfast as a distraction from the growing worry building in her now. After a few minutes of cracking some eggs into a bowl and cooking up some bacon, Jacob descended the steps, running a hand through his tossled black hair. Embry followed close behind, pulling on a black shirt and rotating his shoulder. Jacob came up behind Grace and put his hands gently on her arms, leaning down to kiss her neck before saying softly, "Need any help?"
She gave him a small smile and shook her head, letting out a "Mmm mm." He leaned up and let his hand run down the length of her back.
"Kay, I'm going to go check on Leah and Seth. Let me know if you need anything," he said tapping his temple as he headed toward the door. Embry crashed down onto the couch flicking the TV on. Jake high fived him as he went past.
I need you to let me go see Bella. Grace's inner voice muttered involuntarily.
"Yah, I heard that," Jake said, not stopping as he jogged out onto the beach, shedding his shorts and phasing out of sight.
Later that night, Grace was wrapped around Jake in bed listening to the rise and fall of his chest as she stayed wide awake. Her heart hammered in her chest still.
"Jake?" she said softly. He stirred and readjusted his hand to rest under her shirt on her covered hip.
"Hmm?" he said sleepily. Grace bit her lip.
"I want to go see Ti'Hal." She leaned up, pressing on his chest, her weight not making a significant dent on his hard body, as she watched his face in the moonlight.
"Okay," he said casually. Grace's eyes widened.
"Really?"
"Of course, Grace. You're not a prisoner. You can leave and go see Ti'Hal," Jacob said quickly. She immediately felt the weight of the alpha order lift from her and she exhaled a shuddering breath. Jacob suddenly realized what had happened: "Oh God, the stupid fucking alpha command. I'm so sorry, I didn't realize, I was just trying to keep you safe."
"I know," Grace breathed trying not to belabor the conversation. "Thank you." She leaned down and kissed him. He held her there for a moment, his other hand placed on her back. Grace shivered and felt goosebumps erupt along her body as he deepened the kiss.
She felt guilty for not being more present with him, but the constant worry of Bella's life hanging in the balance made it hard for her to focus on much, and the distance from her only made it worse. While he was just trying to keep her safe, Grace couldn't help but feel controlled. And just like in her early life, whenever she felt like someone was trying to control her, she rebelled against it. Jacob was hers though, and he only wanted the best for her but sometimes, she felt like he still didn't trust her completely. Whether that was the imprint filling him with anxiety over her safety or the alpha in him, she wasn't entirely sure.
She let him roll her over onto her back as he fitted his knee between her legs, his lips never leaving hers. His hands roved under her shirt, tugging it up to expose her breasts. Grace tangled her hands in his hair and as he pulled away to kiss down her neck and collarbone, she let out a heady breath. Her knees trembled and she felt heat rising in her.
Jacob ducked his head hungrily to take her right breast in his mouth and Grace pushed her head back into the pillow letting out a satisfied sigh. Jake's left hand gripped in her waist as his right slithered down her waist. He dipped a tentative finger under the waistband of her lace underwear and traced the line of her hip to her lower stomach. His hands were deft and knew just where to go to make everything in her feel weak. As he slowly moved his hand down, Grace whispered his name in the form of a question. He knew what it meant.
He leaned his head up and the cool air that brushed across her exposed nipple made her shiver. "Okay." He said, as his eyes connected with hers. Grace was frustrated with herself. Despite everything in her begging her to continue, something always stopped her from taking the next step with him. Jake had always said he understood even though she never offered an explanation, but she still felt unending guilt about it. He was her imprint, they were clearly in love, so what was the problem? What was she so afraid of? She couldn't even bring herself to answer the question, not now, not with everything happening. Grace only knew that she just needed time to process whatever it was that was holding her back.
He rolled off of her and pulled her into him, planting a kiss on her forehead as she wrapped her arms around his body.
I love you.
"I love you too. Get some sleep. For me," he replied out loud Grace was flush with fresh regret at his overwhelming kindness and she burrowed her head into his neck to hold back the tears.
Before Grace left the next morning to see Ti'Hal, Jake had taken her face into his hands. "I'd feel better if you took the truck instead of recasting." Grace's face fell. So, he thought she'd recast to the Cullen's house anyway. The truck was easier to keep tabs on her with.
"Is that an order?" She said, sadness instead of anger threaded in her voice. Pain flickered across his face and he let his hands fall, taking her hands in his.
"No. It's not. I'm just asking you to take the truck instead. Can you do that for me?" He watched her carefully. Grace paused, letting her eyes connect with his and feeling the weight of the imprint pulse through her. The feeling was familiar, calming, safe.
"Okay." He let out a breath he'd been holding at her answer.
"Thank you." Jake pressed his forehead to hers and Grace closed her eyes.
Please, just trust me.
"I do, Grace. I just need to know where you are. I've already had too many close calls with you for one lifetime. Just do this for me as a favor. Please," he said pulling back and ducking his head to meet her eye line. Grace nodded in understanding, putting a hand to his face. He kissed her and pulled her into a hug breathing a thank you into her hair before he left. Grace looked at the keys on the counter and hesitated before scooping them up and heading to the truck, pulling her hood up against the rain, her face set.
The drive to Ti'Hal's was peaceful as the rain splattered against the windshield. Grace felt calmed by the fact that she was fulfilling Jake's request and also that she was able to leave the house. She believed him when he had told her he hadn't intended to make her a prisoner there. And if Grace had asked to go anywhere other than the Cullen's sooner, he clearly would have agreed to it.
As she pulled into Ti'Hal's muddy driveway, she let out a sigh of relief. The wafting smoke from her crooked chimney set Grace at ease and as she pushed the truck into park and hopped down, she felt a sense of renewal wash over her. She bounded up the short steps to the front door and as it swung open at her touch she beamed at the crouched figure of Ti'Hal working away at making tea.
After two cups of tea and walking Ti'Hal through the events of the past six months, Grace kept her eyes trained on the fire as she mustered the courage to ask the question she'd been wanting to ask since she got there:
"Did I do the right thing? Protecting Bella and the Cullens, I mean?" Grace's heart felt as if it beat in her throat. Ti'Hal paused before saying,
"Do you feel it was the right thing?"
"Is this a trick where you answer every question with a question?" Grace met her eyes now, but Ti'Hal just smiled gently at her. After a beat, Grace let out a sigh and said, "It felt right. Mostly because I knew I couldn't let Sam lose himself like that, or lead the others to do something like that. Plus, he was asking me to destroy my family. I couldn't—" Grace choked a little on her words and couldn't seem to continue.
"Sam is also bound by his idea of family. And in the same way, you both were trapped in what you thought was right. He came around eventually though."
"So then...I was right?"
"You were right to hold your own. But when it comes to protecting family, there is no right or wrong way, there is only love that guides us. And love can make us do things we normally didn't think ourselves capable of." She said pouring herself some more tea.
"Yeah, like give your girlfriend alpha orders to stay in the house like Rapunzel locked in a tower." Grace grumbled. Ti'Hal watched her carefully and let out a chuckle.
"Young Jacob is quickly understanding his power as alpha. He's bound to make a mistake or two along the way. You'd be wise to forgive him some of those mistakes. And he'll forgive yours too."
"Even premeditated mistakes?" Grace said offhand. Ti'Hal didn't answer right away, and Grace wasn't even sure she had even heard her at all until she said,
"You both will make mistakes with each other, in the name of love for one another and for others. What matters is how you come back together."
Grace leaned back onto the floor and splayed her limbs out around her trying to ground herself in Ti'Hal's warm living room. But her decision was already made as soon as she scooped up the keys and walked out the door this morning.
As Grace said her goodbye's to Ti'Hal, she tread carefully toward the truck and opened the door before placing the keys on the driver side seat, closing the door and turning on her heel. Just as she turned and was about to recast, Embry caught her eye, leaning against a tree in Ti'Hal's front yard with his arms crossed and without a shirt.
"Jesus Em!" Grace started, clutching a hand to her chest.
"How was your visit with Ti'Hal?" he said nonchalantly, a knowing casualness to his voice as he stayed planted next to the tree. Grace took a few deep breaths to steady herself before she leveled him with her eyes.
"It was good. What are you doing here?" She asked knowing the answer already.
"Ah, well you see, Jake asked if I could swing by and keep an eye out for you. Didn't want you getting lost on your way back into town or the rez. He's perceptive like that." Embry smirked.
"So, he's assigned private security to me now? Why not just give an alpha order and call it good?" She was irritated now. He had the audacity to have Embry keep tabs on her in case she bolted for the Cullens? "This is absolute bullshit, Em." She said her voice raising slightly. Embry put his hands out in front of him in surrender.
"Hey don't shoot the messenger. I'm just here to do the job I was assigned. So, where to next? Charlie's? The diner? We could swing by and see Sue, I'm sure she'd have some grub." Embry was invested now, excited for his Spirit Bird day out.
"I don't need a chaperone, but thanks anyway," Grace said as she walked away from the truck toward the treeline.
"Uhh, truck's that way, Gracie-poo," Embry said, raising his eyebrow in confusion.
"Yeah well, if alpha overlord Black thinks I'm going to recast and break the rules anyway, what's the point in sticking to the plan, right?" Her frustration was boiling over into anger now. She clenched her hands into fists as she trudged forward. Embry jumped out in front of her.
"Or, you could be totally chill and not get me in trouble and we could just go somewhere that is definitely not the Cullen's place. And you can yell at our overlord later!" Embry almost begged but Grace pushed past him. "Grace don't do this! You know I'm going to have to tell him right away after you recast anyway and it's going to end in a blow out."
"Fuck off, Em!" Grace said.
"He's just asking you to wait! Just a little longer until they know it's safe. Can't you just wait!?"
Grace stopped in her tracks and thought about it for a moment. His ask was not entirely unreasonable. Was she just being impatient? Was she being impulsive? Or was it just that she pulled so hard against any form of control, done in the name of protection or not, that was a holdover from her childhood? Grace wondered all at once if she was just being selfish. He pleaded with her this morning to just take the truck, a way of asking for her to promise not to go to the Cullen's without the pressure of actually asking it. And she had agreed. So why couldn't she just stick to the plan?
Grace felt her resolve go limp. She hesitated for a moment, almost turning to go back to the truck and then she recast quickly, hearing the tail end of a yell as Embry tried to tell her to stop.