Chapter One: The Wedding

"Sam, are you home?" Mandy called as she walked through the front door.

"Hey," Sam greeted as he walked out of the kitchen, "How was your day at work?"

"It was interesting," Mandy sighed, "Dad was really upset, even though he was trying not to show it."

"Why, what happened?"Sam asked, concerned, "Did something bad happen?"

"I guess you could say that," she replied, "He was fine until he went home for his lunch break. Apparently, he decided to check his mail and found something from Bella he really didn't like. We got one, too."

Mandy pulled an envelope out of her purse and handed it to Sam.

"What's this?"Sam asked, frowning.

"Just open it," Mandy sighed as she sat down on the couch and starting to rub her head, a headache starting to form.

"Is this what I think it is?" Sam exclaimed in disbelief, "They're seriously going to get married?"

"Looks like it," Mandy said sadly, "I honestly didn't think she would agree to it. She was always so against marriage because of our parents' divorce. I guess this was their idea of a compromise."

"How in the hell is this a compromise, Mandy?" Sam asked, his voice raised in outrage, "This is no compromise! She's a human who's getting married to a vampire! The only way it would ever work is if he changed her!"

"Exactly!" Mandy exclaimed, "That's what she wants, she told me so when she was helping me plan our wedding! He was the one who wanted to get married, not her. The compromise was probably that she would marry him if he changed her. Everyone knows how badly she wants Edward to change her."

"He can't," he said firmly, shaking his head, "None of them can. It's against the treaty, we'll have no choice but to attack."

Mandy felt sick for a moment at the implication. If Sam and the others attacked the Cullens, it meant that they would be attacking and possibly killing her sister as well.

"Sam," she said softly, "Do you honestly believe that you'll have no choice?"

"What do you mean?" Sam scoffed, "Of course we'll have no choice! By changing or killing a human, the Cullens will have broken the treaty!"

"But what if you changed it?" Mandy asked, "You're the Alpha, you have the ability to change the treaty or make an exception."

Sam sighed and sat down on the couch next to her.

"Yes, I could change it," he agreed, "But I couldn't do it without a valid reason or without talking to the pack and the council. No one would agree to it."

"Sure they would," Mandy said softly as she rested her head on his shoulder, "Think about it: They're in love. As much as I hate to admit it, Bella and Edward love each other as much as you and I love each other. I know it's hard to believe, but it's true. They want to spend the rest of their lives together; they want to really be together without the danger of one hurting or killing the other on accident. I would want the same thing if we were in that situation. All of the other pack members who have imprinted should understand that as well."

"But what about those who aren't imprinted yet?" Sam asked, "They don't know the feeling of being that connected to someone. And what about Jacob? You know how he feels about Bella, he will do everything in his power to try to stop it. He's the rightful Alpha, this might push him over the edge enough to claim it. Then nothing I do or say about the situation will matter."

"Jake will have a hard time with it" Mandy replied, "But I think he will come to understand it in time. He'll never like it, but hopefully he'll learn to accept it. It'll be hard at first, hopefully time will give him some perspective on it."

Sam kissed her head as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"What about you?" Sam asked, concerned, "How do you feel about this?"

Mandy sighed, then said, "I'm upset that she's gonna be turning into a vampire. I understand why it's necessary, why she wants to do it. But I'm really not happy that this is what it's come down to. Like I said, she wants to be with Edward without any limitations; the only way she can do it is to become like him. This whole thing just really sucks."

"I really don't like this, either," Sam grumbled, "It doesn't feel right."

"No, it doesn't" she agreed, "But it also doesn't feel right to stop it. She's my sister, I want her to be happy. If marrying Edward and having him turn her into a vampire makes Bella happy, then we should let her do it."

Sam was quiet for a moment, thinking about what he was going to do. Then he nodded, but he didn't look happy.

"Alright," he said, "I'll talk with the others today, see what they think. But I can't promise anything."

"Thank you for at least considering this," Mandy smiled slightly at him, "I appreciate this, I know it isn't easy for you. I wouldn't be asking you to do this for anyone else."

After he left, Mandy started thinking about how her own wedding had compared to Bella's wedding. When she and Sam got married, there was no drama or questioning how right or safe this might be. It was natural, happy, and full of love. They got married on the Rez, which meant that the Cullens were unable to attend. Bella had initially been miffed about this, she had at least wanted to bring Edward as her date. But Edward, showing some grace and understanding, talked her down from being too upset. He reminded her that this was her sister's day and they should respect the decision. Sam and Mandy had now been married for three weeks, which had been the best three weeks they had experienced so far. But now the honeymoon period was both literally and figuratively over, as they had to prepare for a much more controversial marriage. Mandy took the invitation out of the envelope again, at which point she noticed there was an additional piece of paper tucked inside.

The note was written by Bella, asking Mandy if she would return the favor and be the Maid of Honor just as Bella had been for her. Mandy smiled softly, before pull her phone out of her purse. She texted Bella quickly, assuring her that she would be there to stand beside her as her Maid of Honor. Bella replied with immense gratitude, stating that she was glad that her older sister was ok with her decision to marry Edward. This made Mandy want to cry; she really wasn't ok with her younger sister's choice. It was taking everything she had to not tell Bella that she was making a big mistake and that becoming a vampire was not the route she should take.

A few hours later, Mandy was getting ready for bed when she heard Sam enter the house. She walked out of the bathroom in time to see Sam sit down on the bed.

"How'd it go?" she asked nervously as she sat down next to him.

"Jake's gone," he replied.

"What do you mean, he's gone?" Mandy exclaimed in horror, "Gone where?"

"I don't know," Sam said, shaking his head, "He just ran off this afternoon. Billy said he left as soon as he read the wedding invitation. He's too far away for any of us to catch up with him."

"Oh my god," Mandy groaned, "That's horrible! I knew he was going to react badly when he got the news, but I didn't think he would just run off like that!"

"Neither did I," Sam agreed, "But can you blame him? The girl he's in love with wants to marry a bloodsucker and have him change her. I'd probably react the same way."

"How did the others react?" Mandy asked, "Are they going to agree to a change in the treaty?"

Sam nodded and replied, "They agreed to it, but they aren't happy about it. Paul was pissed, but he agreed to it once I mentioned that he would probably do the same thing for Emily that Bella and Edward are doing."

"What about the council?" she questioned.

"That it was ultimately my decision," he sighed, "They said they would support me either way."

"So you're gonna do it?" Mandy asked her husband gently, "You're gonna change the treaty to let them get married and let Bella become a vampire?"

Sam shook his head and said, "I'm not gonna change it, I'm just making an exception. Edward's not technically going to kill Bella, at least not the way most people think. And he's not changing her to create an army like that redhead bloodsucker did. He's doing it cuz he loves her and she wants it to happen. She's your sister, I know it would kill you if something bad happened to her."

Mandy nodded and sighed. She was glad that Sam and the others were going to make an exception for her sister. It wasn't like the Cullens were going to be doing this sort of thing on a regular basis. Edward was the last one out of his family to enter into a marriage, all of the others had been paired up for years. There would no longer be any need for them to create any new vampires to complete their family. Bella had told her once that vampires couldn't give birth and that it was against some vampire law to change very young children, so they wouldn't be adding any children to the mix in the foreseeable future. It seemed as though this would be the final time a human would be changed by the Cullens.

"I just hope this is worth it," Mandy said quietly, "I really hope this turns out the way my sister wants it to. It's permanent, she's never gonna be able to undo this if she one day decides she wants to be human again. And I have no idea what she's gonna do about our parents. With our mom, it'll be easier to disappear from her life. Bella hasn't had much contact with Mom lately, so it might just be better to let it fade out naturally. But Dad isn't gonna let it go so easily. He would never quit looking for her if she disappeared without a trace. It'll ruin him."

"We'll just have to be there for him when that happens," Sam reassured her as he put his arms around her, "It's gonna happen no matter what. Bella won't be able to tell him that she's a vampire, it's too dangerous. We'll come up with something when the time comes."

Mandy nodded and rubbed her eyes tiredly. It had been a long, emotional day for her and she was ready for some sleep. Before she knew it, it was time for the wedding. She had spent the summer helping Bella plan the wedding; or, more accurately, she had been trying to keep up with the demands of the person who was really planning the wedding. Alice Cullen had taken over the wedding planning with gusto. Bella let her, as she had never really been one for planning anything, and Mandy just went along with it. She was too wrapped up with trying to come to terms with her sister's imminent life change that she wasn't really in the best mindset to argue with Alice; she simply found it easier to allow Alice to do whatever she wanted. After all, if Bella was fine with handing her future sister-in-law the reins of her wedding, Mandy was fine with it, too. As long as Alice didn't pick out a horrible bridesmaid dress for her, Mandy wouldn't have any problems.

When she saw the guest list, Mandy was happy there would be at least some other non-vampires attending the wedding as well. Along with her and Sam, her parents and step-father would be there, as well as Sue and Seth Clearwater, Billy Black, and a few of Bella's friends from school. Leah had been invited along with her mother and brother, but she had a very low opinion of Bella and had opted out. Jake had also been invited, but he would almost definitely not be in attendance. Ever since he had received the invitation, he had disappeared and had yet to return. No one had seen or heard from him since he left, and it was probably best that he didn't attend. Mandy knew that seeing Bella get married to anyone else, especially to a vampire, would be absolute torture for Jake.

Mandy had just left the room that Bella was getting ready in and was starting to look for Sam when Esme called out for her. Mandy turned and saw Esme and Carlisle standing with a group of very pale, very good looking people. She had never met them before, but strongly suspected that they might be some of the vampire guests. Mandy sighed, then walked over to join the group.

"Mandy, these are our friends from Alaska," Esme told her, "This is Carmen, Eleazar, Kate, Tanya, and Irina. Everyone, this is Mandy Uley, Bella's older sister."

"It's nice to meet you," Mandy managed to say as she tried to smile at the newcomers, "Thanks for coming to my sister's wedding, I'm sure she appreciates it."

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well," Kate greeted in return, "We've heard so much about you and Bella from the Cullens. You recently got married yourself, right?"

"Yes," Mandy replied, "My husband Sam and I got married earlier this summer."

"Congratulations," Carmen said enthusiastically, "It's always wonderful when two people start their new lives together."

Mandy smiled awkwardly. The only vampires she had only interacted with were the Cullens, and that was on a very limited basis. She didn't know how to act around this new group. Their eyes were the same golden color, which Mandy understood to mean they followed the same "vegetarian" diet as the Cullens. Still, Mandy felt strange standing around talking with a group of vampires. Thankfully, her mother finally came to her rescue.

"Honey, it's almost time to start. Bella's about to come out with your father," Renee said as she came up next to her daughter.

"Alright, Mom," Mandy replied before turning back to the Alaskan vampires, "It was nice to meet you."

The wedding went surprisingly well. Mandy knew that Bella had been afraid of messing up somehow, either by tripping down the aisle or by saying the wrong thing during the vows. However, she did fine and now she was married to the one she loved. Mandy felt happy for her sister, even though she didn't agree with some of the details surrounding her sister's new marriage. But for the moment, she tried to focus on the fun part of the wedding: the reception. Mandy had fun dancing with Sam, Seth, her father, and, somehow, Emmett. She didn't know how the large vampire talked her into it, but she somehow found herself dancing with her sister's new brother-in-law. Sam had been apprehensive about his wife dancing with a vampire, but even he had to laugh as Emmett led Mandy in a rather lively, very funny dance.

The joy didn't last, however. Mandy and Sam had taken a break from dancing to get something to eat when suddenly Seth appeared next to them looking very concerned.

"Sam, you need to come outside right now," Seth urged.

"What's wrong, Seth?" Mandy asked, worried.

"Jake's back," Seth replied, "He showed up and was outside talking to Bella, but it doesn't look too good."

"Stay here," Sam said to Mandy quietly, "Just in case Jake loses his temper."

Mandy nodded and said, "Be careful, Sam. You know today isn't easy for him."

Sam nodded and walked outside with Seth. Mandy sighed and tried to continue eating; however, she had lost her appetite. She wished Jake had picked a different day to come back, if only to save himself and everyone else heartache. Even though Bella wasn't in love with him, she still loved him as a dear friend and would be deeply hurt if he was in any emotional turmoil. It seemed as though this wedding wouldn't be exempt from any family drama.

A few minutes later, Seth came back and sat down at the table next to her.

"What happened?" Mandy questioned softly, "Is everyone alright?"

"Yeah, kind of," Seth said softly, "Jake got mad because of something Bella said. I don't know what she said to set him off, Sam and I got there right after it happened. But he was really angry and I was worried that he was gonna phase. Sam told him to leave and he just ran off into the forest. Sam went with him to try to calm him down."

"Unfortunately, I don't see that happening any time soon," Mandy groaned, "Jake's just gonna stay pissed for a while because he feels like there's no way he can save Bella from what he sees as a very bad ending. But she's made her decision and he's just gonna have to grow up and deal with it."

Seth nodded, and the two sat there quietly for a while before Emmett managed to convince Mandy to dance with him again. Mandy agreed, if only to distract herself from the downward turn the night had taken. Not too long after, it was time to say goodbye to Bella and Edward as they left for their honeymoon. Mandy made her way over to her sister once Bella was by herself.

"Hey," Mandy greeted with a smile, "It's finally time to go, huh? Are you excited?"

"Yeah," Bella said shakily, "Yeah, I think so."

"Hey now, none of that 'I think so' crap," Mandy teased lightly, "You've got nothing to worry about. Really, I'm sure it'll all go fine. Remember, you finally get to start your forever with Edward. I thought this is what you wanted?"

"It is!" Bella exclaimed adamantly, "Of course this is what I want!"

"Then what's wrong?" Mandy asked gently, "What am I missing here? I thought you would be jumping at the chance to get out of here so you could do what you've been waiting for since you and Edward got together."

"I'm just worried about how all of this is going to affect Jake," Bella admitted, her eyes filling with tears, "He was so upset when he was here earlier. I never meant to hurt him."

Mandy felt herself starting to get emotional as well.

"Don't worry about Jake," she said, her voice choking up, "We'll take care of him, that's what family is for. All you have to worry about is being with Edward and starting your life with him. You have chosen your life, it's time for you to start living it. You deserve to be selfish when it comes to this; you can't put your life on hold just to make sure Jake is ok all the time. Jake is a big boy, he needs to learn how to let this go."

"Why are you being so ok with this?" Bella asked in surprise, "I thought you didn't want me to do this."

"Honestly, if it were up to me, you wouldn't be doing this," Mandy agreed, "But like I said, it's your life, your decision. You're the one who has to live with whatever decision you make, I just have to find some way to accept it. I'm warning you, though, it might take a while for me to come to acceptance with this. But I just want you to know that I'm trying; Sam is, too. We want to be part of your life, whatever form it takes."

Bella smiled at her sister in gratitude and threw her arms around her in a hug.

"Thank you so much," she said, tears starting to fall down her face, "You have no idea how much it means to me that you're at least trying to be ok with this. That's all I can ask for."

As they pulled apart, Mandy smiled at Bella.

"Don't forget what I said," Mandy insisted, "You've chosen your life, start living it, whatever form it comes in. Let the rest of us deal with ourselves, we'll be ok."

Renee came over and stole Bella away from Mandy for her own goodbye. Mandy made her way over to her father.

"How are you, Dad?" she asked with a smile, "How are you doing with the idea that both of your daughters got married within a few months of each other?"

Charlie smiled and shook his head.

"I still can't believe that either one of you are old enough to have boyfriends, let alone get married," he chuckled, "It seems like your mom and I just brought the two of you home from the hospital and now you're both starting your lives with your own families. When did that happen?"

"I don't know, Dad," Mandy shook her head, smiling, "But it happened, and neither one of us could have done any better than we did."

"Speaking of husbands," Charlie said, "Where's yours? I haven't seen Sam in a while."

"He wasn't feeling well," Mandy lied, covering for the real reason Sam had disappeared, "He decided to head home and rest. I should probably go check on him."

"Alright," Charlie said, pulling Mandy in for a hug, "I love you, kiddo."

"I love you too, Dad," Mandy replied.

As Mandy headed home, she started crying. Despite what she had told her sister, Mandy didn't feel all that accepting of Bella's decision to become a vampire at the moment. She couldn't help but feel as though she had just lost her little sister, and all she felt in her heart at the moment was grief. She couldn't imagine how this feeling could get any worse. Little did she know, it would become far worse in only a few weeks.