So excited to start to get rolling with details about Jane's past! I hope you enjoy the read!


Twenty-Seven: Answers

Seth's POV

"Jane," I spoke uneasily for what must have been the fifth time. "Are you sure you don't need to lie down or something? You're looking a little pale, love."

Jane's eyes went wide as she raised them to meet mine. "I am?" She asked, but her voice was quieter than usual.

I nodded my head.

"Oh," She spoke, her expression emotionless.

I hesitated what to say next. I didn't want to say anything that would make matters any worse; granted, I was pretty sure nothing could make finding a hidden torture room in your deceased parent's closet much worse, but I wasn't willing to risk it. Also, I was quite positive Jane had gone into shock.

In the time since I had met her to now, she had passed out twice. She seemed to have a propensity towards fainting when she was shocked, and I had nearly grown to expect that reaction. But this. Jane was unresponsive. Catatonic. It freaked me out.

Finally having enough, I stepped in front of her. I leaned in so close to her so that my face overtook her entire field of vision.

"Jane," I gently grasped her cheeks in my hands.

Jane blinked. "What?"

I tried not to show how freaked out I was on my face. "Are you okay, babe?"

Her forehead squinted at me. "I don't know."

I gulped. "I'm going to call Carlisle."

"Okay," She just barely breathed back.

I widened my eyes at her response and reached for my phone.

The front door slammed shut as I was about to press send. "Jane Mcalister," I suddenly heard a very familiar yet surprising female voice. Lena Lahote stepped into view, crossing her arms over top of her chest as she zoned in on Jane. "You should really create a bat symbol. You know, some alarm that could sound every time you have an emergency, especially if it's going to be so often."

Jane blinked at her.

Lena cocked her head. "What's wrong with her?" Her eyes flickered to mine.

"I think she's in shock," I tried to lower my voice so Jane didn't catch me.

Suddenly, I heard a moan. "I'm not in shock, Seth," She grumbled, rolling her eyes.

I hit the end button on my phone and looked over her with partial relief and newfound confusion in my eyes. She was still staring off into the distance.

The back door slid open next. Jacob, Embry, Jason, Micah, and Leah following behind.

"Pleasure seeing you all here!" Jason began, his usual, sarcastic and cocky grin on his face. "It feels like we were all together only an hour ago. Oh wait."

"Shut up, Jason," Jacob murmured easily. "Where's Jane?"

Her hand shot up in the air. "Present," She sighed.

Lena spoke for all of us. "I think she's finally lost it."

"Lena?" Embry gasped, and then, all of a sudden, he crossed the room and grabbed her tightly around the arm.

"Hey!" She complained. "What the hell?"

"No fucking way," He yelled. "I told you not to come!"

"And I heard you!" Lena argued back, just as loud. "I just didn't listen!"

"You're leaving. Now."

"No, I am not!" Lena screeched. "Jane is my best friend! I'm not leaving!"

"Yes, you are," Embry demanded between gritted teeth. "Do you know how dangerous it is to be around her right now?"

A shocked silence spread around the room as everyone, including Embry, realized what he had just said, and who he had just said it right in front of.

Automatically, my eyes flickered over to Jane. She had a blanket pulled tightly around her shoulders, and her face hidden in her hands.

Embry rubbed his jaw. "Jane, I-,"

"Stop it," Jane moaned, her face still hidden. "It's true."

"Jane," I interceded. "It's not."

"But it is, Seth!" She suddenly sat up. "It is! It is dangerous to be around me right now! It was dangerous to be around me two hours ago when we realized that I'm being hunted by psychotic vampires, and it's even more dangerous now that we know that my parents, my parents, my fucking PTA parent, college-sweetheart, embarrassingly normal parents have a freaking torture chamber hidden in my mom's walk-in closet!"

I dropped my face to the floor. She was breaking, I could tell, and I knew that I couldn't say one, damn thing to make this any better.

Jacob broke the silence. "This does change things," He began. "I think we should talk to-,"

"I can't do this right now," Jane stood up.

"Jane," I whispered. Her blurry eyes shot to mine. I was lost for words.

"I understand you're emotional right now," Jacob began slowly.

Jane laughed. "Emotional is one way to put it."

"But we need to make a plan. We need to think logically," He finished.

"Yeah, I totally get that," Jane spoke impatiently. "Look, I'll go to Seth's place. I'll lock myself in and I'll barricade all the doors and that really won't be a problem for me because I seriously have no desire to do anything other than bury my face in a bucket of ice cream and pretend like the last 24 hours are all a bad dream! But I will not, I will not sit here and try to figure out what my parents are. What they... were, I mean. I just, I can't, okay? I can't uncover all of their secrets right now. I'm tired and I'm confused and I'm sad and I just- I can't. Sorry."

"This is brutal," Lena cut her off. "For the love of God would someone stop her? You don't have to talk about anything and we'll get you every flavor of fucking ice cream you want? Ok? There, I said it!"

"Every fucking flavor," I finally figured out how to work my mouth again. Jane's face contorted in sadness as her eyes softened at me. I was the worst boyfriend ever. Ever. I had never been this terrible with words, but I found myself at a complete loss, and I realized all at once, that maybe instead of searching for the words to make everything all better, all I had to do was be there for her.

"Agreed," Embry's apologetic eyes met hers. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a twenty. "On me."

Jane rolled her eyes. "I don't need your evil, lawyer money. Thanks, though."

A shocked laugh slipped between Lena's lips as a smile tugged up on mine. Jane fought a smile of her own as a blush formed on her cheeks. Jane had no idea, but she was actually, really funny; she was so smart that she was quick and witty. I loved watching her weird sense of humor, because it meant that she was coming out of her slightly catatonic state from earlier.

With a sigh, Embry let go of Lena's arm, seeming to realize that it would do him no use because she wasn't about to listen to him. "Fine," He began. "I'll just drop it off at Seth's, then."

"I hate to break up the party," Jacob shot us a patronizing expression, "But could you at least show us this room before taking off?"

"It's right through that door over there," I pointed towards Jane's parents' room.

Jane's gasp made me turn to her in surprise. "No," She breathed, her voice merely a whisper. They blurred right before my eyes. "Please, Seth."

"Jane," I took a step towards her and then lowered my voice so that everyone wasn't able to hear. I cupped her cheek in my hand as I leaned down towards her. "What's wrong? What is it?"

"I just," Her voice broke. "I don't want anyone in my parents' room," She finally divulged.

I gulped, feeling a surging rush of pain fill my veins, in an instant overtaking my entire body. I felt her pain- hell, I could see it in her eyes- but I also knew that protecting her was a tricky thing. I needed to protect her emotionally while also protecting her physically, and those were done in opposing ways.

I squinted towards her parents' room. Fuck it.

"You can go through the wall under the steps," I blurted, turning back towards Jake.

His mouth dropped. "What?"

"Go through the wall," I said again, trying to make my voice as casual as possible to not upset Jane any more than she already was. "Right under the steps. It should lead you right into it. Just don't go through the room."

I walked over to close the door and then at the same time grabbed the small pile of Jane's things she had collected. "I'll go get your suitcase," I told her. "Meet me at the front door?"

Jane's eyes were watery as she nodded her head in response.

When I descended the steps, this time with Jane's suitcase in hand, it was impossible to ignore the indisputable sound of hard-wall being destroyed.

"This is psychotic," I just barely heard Jason complain as I passed by. "The door is right there!"

"It's for Jane!" Leah defended. "So shut it!" I smiled to myself, and made a mental note to thank her later.

I found Jane outside, Embry and Lena talking to her as she shivered with the blanket still pulled around her body, against the passenger door; I guess the most shocking warm-spell of November in Fork's history had ended. They began moving away once they saw me.

"I'm serious," Lena began to say. "You have to come."

"Sethy," Embry called to me as he placed his hand on the Lena's shoulder and began guiding her away from the car. "You need to bring Jane over for a movie night."

"Gee," I raised an eyebrow at them as I threw her bags into the trunk of my Jeep. "I've known you since birth and never got an invite; suddenly, Jane's around and we have to come. Should I be offended?"

"Sorry," Lena grinned. "Movie nights are very exclusive in the Lahote household."

"Sounds perfect," Jane sighed. "I miss your mom."

"Everyone just loves my mom," Lena shot a pointed expression at Embry. "I get it already."

Jane appeared confused. "What?" She asked, as I laughed and opened the passenger door for her.

"Long story," Lena sighed.

"Stupid, old, ridiculously-often-brought-up story," Embry corrected her. "And not even relevant anymore."

"Whatever you say," Lena responded just as I shut Jane's door and leaped across the car to my own.

"What was that about?" Jane asked, waving to Lena and Embry as we pulled out of the driveway.

I couldn't help but laugh. "Embry used to have a thing for Lena's mom."

Jane's mouth dropped. "What?" She exclaimed.

"Yeah," I chuckled. "Nothing ever happened. I mean, from the time we practically met the girl she was dating Paul. They were best friends, but Embry felt more for her than Scarlett ever did."

"Did Paul imprint on Scarlett?" Jane twisted in her seat to talk to me.

"Mhm," I squeezed her hand.

Jane chuckled. "You wolves are so weird. Fall in love with babies and your friend's girls? I mean, I can handle one or the other, but both? That's a lot to ask."

"Oh, yeah, Jane?" I laughed, winking at her.

Jane giggled. "I could not like you if you had, had a thing for my mom. I'm sorry."

"Understandable," I swallowed down a laugh. "But it's a little different around here." Her eyes were questioning. "Another weird wolf thing; same thing happened with Bella Cullen, Nessie's mom? Jake thought he was in love with Bella; I think he was. They're story was a little bit creepier, though, because they had made out a few times, I'm pretty sure."

Jane gasped. "He made out with her mother? Jesus Christ!"

I laughed. "Yeah. Creepy, huh?"

"So," Jane began uneasily. "That's a wolf thing? When you imprint on a girl you also fall in love with their mom?"

I burst into laughter; I wasn't able to help it. "No, Jane," I reached for her hand as I tried to control myself, which was nearly impossible.

"Any time now, Seth," She grumbled.

I took a deep breath. "Sorry," I chuckled. "No, but I think what happens is if a wolf meets the woman who is going to bring him his imprint, even if she isn't there yet, it's this instant connection thing; a need to keep her safe. With both Lena and Nessie, the connection wasn't gone after their daughters were born, but the romantic part of it disappeared."

Jane thought for a moment, then, "You guys are super, duper weird."

I grinned at her. "Too weird for you?"

"I didn't say that," Jane giggled, and I breathed in the sound. If I could just make her laugh every time something crazy happened in her life, I would feel like I'm not a complete failure. "I like weird. I'm super weird, too."

"You're right," I reached out to ruffle her hair. "You're a dork, Janesie. A sexy dork, though; that's all I know."

Jane rolled her eyes. "Being a dork is not sexy, Seth."

"Actually, Jane," I raised my eyebrows at her. "Every activity that you do is sexy. There are only a few key moments when you're not, and no matter how hard you try, there is absolutely no way for you to look like anything other than a little girl when you cry. That's the only moment though," I shivered at the thought.

Jane giggled. "Well, you can catch a glimpse at very un-sexy me when those psychotic wolves we were just talking about destroy my house."

I frowned. "Hey," Her eyes lifted to connect with mine. The normal golden brown was lighter than usual, today. They were extra beautiful somehow. "That was okay, right? I mean, I'm sorry about telling them to do that; I just knew you didn't want them in the bedroom and I-,"
Suddenly, Jane threw herself on top of me. She grasped her arms tightly around her neck and squeezed as hard as I thought it was possible for her to. I barely managed to stay on the road and not collide into a telephone pole.

"You're my best friend in the whole entire world," She cried against my neck. "I don't deserve you."

And then, she started sobbing.


Jane's POV

"Jane! Baby! I got fifteen different flavors! I think we should make a game out of this! Where are you?" Seth practically sang out the last part.

I moaned, somehow feeling even worse.

"Jane?" I heard him enter the bedroom.

"Don't come in here," I begged, wanting, more than anything, to close the bathroom door before Seth could come in here and find me in this state, but being way too miserable to muster up enough strength to actually do it.

"Woah," I suddenly heard. "Babe, what happened?" He squatted down.

I moaned, closing my eyes so I didn't have to watch as he took in my current state. I could count on one hand the number of times when I had felt this miserable, but it was different when I was ten and my parents were only there to witness this train wreck. Now, it was a hell of a lot worse.

Currently my arms were resting on the top of the toilet, my face damp with sweat as I buried it against my forearms. Every few seconds or so, my body would shake with a fresh round of nausea followed by chills.

I whimpered.

"Jane," He pulled on my arms.

"No, Seth," I moaned. "I'm not done yet."

"Done?" Seth's voice was filled with concern. "You've been throwing up?"

"Yes," I whimpered.

"Crap," I suddenly felt his warm hand on my back. "I'm so sorry, Janesie. Are you okay?"

"I think so," I began. "I think it might be going a-,"

A fresh wave of vomit interrupted my lie as it very noisily spilled into the toilet.

I had still been crying when Seth and I got home. He carried me inside and then held me as we both fell asleep; honeslty, I wasn't even sure what I was crying about. I was just so dang tired, and I was overwhelmed. It was as if it all hit me at once and once it did I wasn't able to stop.

Thankfully, after our day-long nap, I felt a lot better. Seth left to go meet with the pack and come up with a plan for guarding me, which I was going to have to argue with him about later, and just arrived home with ice cream, apparently.

Somewhere in that time I realized that I wasn't feeling too well. Things developed pretty quickly from the chills to right now.

"Awe, Janesie," Seth's voice was dripping with concern. He ran his soft, warm fingers through the top of my hair and then held it back. He held on with one hand as he pulled the hair-tie that I always had on my writst, off, and then delicately pulled my hair back.

"Thanks," I gasped, right before another round of vomiting began.

"Babe," Seth's palm slipped underneath my shirt as he began rubbing my back in slow circles. "Why didn't you call me?"

My body shook with a chill. "I didn't want to bother you," I whimpered, my stomach beginning to settle, for now at least. "And plus, I look disgusting. I don't want you to see me like this."

"Oh please," Seth kissed right behind my ear. "It's impossible for you to look disgusting, Jane, and even if you did, which you couldn't, that's what this is all about, right? Me and you? The good, the bad, and the ugly."

I would have chuckled if my stomach wasn't busy doing somersaults. I moaned and placed my hands around it. "It's been a lot of ugly lately," I pouted.

"Come here, baby," Seth murmured, though before I could even move he pulled me onto his lap. I let my body fall against his incredibly hot chest; it felt freaking incredible. Seth leaned against the wall and then slipped the blanket that I had discarded on the floor from earlier between us.

"No," I complained, weakly fighting the small amount of fabric that was about to put much unwanted distance between us.

"Sweetheart," Seth murmured. "You have a fever."

"I don't care," I grumbled, knowing that I was being ridiculous, but Seth holding me felt too comforting. I didn't want it to end.

"Shh," He kissed the top of my head. "Let me take care of you, Jane."

I whimpered.

Seth sat up, pulling me back a little bit before sliding his hands underneath my shirt. "Can you raise your arms for me, love?" Seth asked sweetly.

I frowned. "I'm sick, Seth. I don't feel like it."

A surprised chuckle erupted from his lips. "As much as I love you, Jane," Seth smiled brilliantly. "It smells a lot like vomit in here, and I'm not trying to sleep with you."

My head hurt. "Well than I want to keep my shirt on."

"Beautiful," Seth brushed my cheek with his knuckles. "Your shirt is covered in throw up."

I gasped at his words. With a gaping mouth I dropped my eyes to my shirt, completely mortified to find that he was telling the truth.

"Oh, gosh, Seth," I moaned. "That's so gross. I'm so sorry."

"Don't apologize, Jane," Seth frowned at me disapprovingly. "I'm not grossed out, I just want to clean you up."

"I can do it."

"I'm sure you can," Seth smiled gently at me. "But I want to. Can you let me?"

Finally, I gave in. With a sigh and a defeated nod, I raised my arms in the air and allowed Seth to pull my shirt overtop of my head.

"Much better," Seth tossed my shirt across the room and then unhooked my bra, swatting it off of his lap and onto the tile floor. Immediately, he lifted his shirt overtop of his head and then pulled it onto me. His fingers were skilled but gentle at the same time as he unbuttoned my jeans and finally pulled those off, too.

"That probably feels better, yeah?" Seth whispered against my ear as he placed the blanket between us once more and then pulled me to his chest.

"Mmm," I agreed, and seriously, it did. Just Seth holding me was enough to make me feel ten times better, but being free of a bra and jeans made it even more comforting.

"When did this start?" He asked me, his voice gentle and soft, as he timidly strummed his fingertips along my spine.

"I don't know," I shivered.

"Did you take your temperature?" Seth asked. "You're burning up, babe. I have a thermometer in the kitchen."

"If you move I will start screaming," I threatened. "I am perfectly comfortable right now and I haven't been comfortable since I got sick an hour ago."

"An hour ago?" Seth's voice was alarmed. "Jane. Why didn't you call?"

"I already told you," I mumbled.

"Those are terrible reasons, sweetheart. You know I would have come back."

"Exactly," I sighed. "I didn't want you to. You all are already doing so much for me; I don't want to be even more needy than I already am."

"You're sick," Seth whispered into my neck. "You're not needy."

"I feel like death."

"Do you think you have the flu?" Seth asked, his voice thick with worry.

"Not sure," I sighed. "I just feel terrible."

"I can tell," Seth sighed. "I'm sorry you feel so awful, baby. I feel like you can't catch a break lately."

I cuddled closer into Seth's chest, annoyed with the blanket separating me from his smooth, comfortable chest, but enjoying it nonetheless.

"Did they figure anything out about that room?" I asked him after a moment. It was weird, because I almost had to build myself up to ask that question; it was almost like it required some bravery.

Seth hesitated. "The Cullen's have a theory."

"What is it?"

"Jane," Seth clasped my neck firmly in his hand. "We don't need to talk about this right now."

"Actually," I rolled my face into his chest. "I think we do, Seth. Can we at least talk about something? A lot has happened and we still haven't really talked about any of it."

Seth's arms tightened around me. "You think that, Jane?" His voice got small.

"I think that you're trying to protect me right now," I told him. "Mentally, I mean."

"Can I tell you the truth?" Seth asked gently.

My grip tightened on the blanket. "Of course you can."

"I just feel like you're very... fragile right now, Jane. I know that you're tough. You've survived so much loss and you've been hurt so many times and I respect you so much for that, but I just- I don't know how to tread these waters, not when it comes to your parents. I know that they're a touchy subject, and rightfully so, I just don't want to say or do anything to make it worse. I feel like I need to always say the perfect thing to make everything better and I just have no idea what that it."

I melted against his chest. "Seth," I tilted my face so that I could look up at him. When I looked into his eyes, now, I felt like I saw more, honest emotion than I had seen since this all started. "I don't need you to fix everything for me. I just need you to go through it with me, and to be here when I need to cry about it."

Seth cringed. "Okay, but you know how I feel about the whole crying thing. It's freaking miserable to watch, Jane. I know that I say this all the time but I feel like I have to keep saying it because you just don't understand. There isn't a sadder crier in the entire world; it's like torture watching that."

I chuckled. "I'm sorry. I'll try to cry less pathetically next time."

Seth's eyes warmed as he took me in. "You're so beautiful," He murmured, just as I felt his fingers brush a piece of hair behind my ear. "I'm serious," He shook his head. "How does a girl who just puked for an hour and has a 101 fever look this good? It's unnatural, Jane."

"Maybe I'm a supernatural creature of my own," I mumbled back. "The prospect is seeming more and more likely with each passing day."

Seth's eyes squinted.

"It's bad, isn't it?" I suddenly blurted.

He pursed his lips. "Not... really. Depends on what your definition of bad is. I, personally, don't think you're going to like it, but that's because I know you. It's not necessarily bad, though. I mean, the pack was kind of relieved; it's, well, I guess the purpose isn't all that different to us."

My eyes bulged. "I'm not descendants of a form of an animal, am I?"

Seth's lips parted, obvious humor behind his eyes. "No, baby. Just an animal in bed, I promise."

If I didn't have such a fever, I most definitely would have blushed.

"Okay, then," I continued, not quite sure what to think about that, or if I even really wanted to know. "Let's start small. Can you tell me about Nessie?"

"Nessie?" Seth's eyebrows squinted together. "What about her, babe?"

"I need you to explain to me what happened with her family. And I want to know who the Voleeni, or whatever they're name is, are."

"The Volturi?" Seth's voice somehow turned ice cold in the matter of seconds. "Who told you about them?" He asked, his words serious.

"Lena," I peered up at him, suddenly nervous.

He moaned. "Of course she did."

"Who are they?" I pushed.

"It doesn't really... They're not relevant, Jane," Seth struggled. "Why do you want to know."

"Because, Seth!" My voice suddenly rose a half-octave (as much as my weak body would allow), "I want to know everything. You don't need to shield me from this. I can handle it, and I also feel like I need to know."

"About the Volturi?" Seth appeared taken aback. "I'm not trying to keep things from you, Jane; I just don't understand. What do they have to do with you?"

"Seth," I moaned. "They just do. I need to know. I need to understand why the Cullen's are so different than other Vampires, and Lena said it had something to do with them fighting the Volturi with you. I need to know."

Seth was silent for a moment too long. "Why do you need to know, Jane?" He finally asked, his voice quiet.

"Seth," I whimpered. "Don't make me say it."

"Jane," His eyes were confused, stunned even, as he pushed my chin up so that I was forced to match his gaze. "You will not feel guilty about those monsters dying. I won't let you."

I bit the inside of my cheek. "I can't help it," I finally admitted to both him and myself. I wish my voice didn't sound as weak as I felt.

"Jane," Seth closed his eyes to gather himself. When he opened them again he looked so sad, sadder than I had ever seen him. "You don't understand, baby. They're not alive. They're evil. They're murders."

"You're right," I countered. "I don't understand. I don't because as much as you say those things I can't stop thinking about Nessie, and about the Cullen's. Nessie is not evil, Seth. She's the farthest thing from evil."

"Of course she is," He lifted his pointer finger and began gently tracing my collar bone. "We all love Nessie."

"Then explain how you can say those things about vampires if you do."

"Jane," Seth sighed. "It's complicated."

"I want to know," I narrowed my eyes at him.

"So, vampires," Seth struggled for the right words. "You become a vampire when you're bitten, and, from what I've been explained and from tribe stories, the person inside of you dies, and you become a monster. They kill people without remorse, Jane. They use their unhuman strength to demolish entire villages; that's what happened with my people. Cold-one's, they did that."

"But that was one monster, Seth. They're not all monsters."

"Yes," He disagreed with me. "They are. The Cullen's, and their relatives, they are the only vampires that I know whom exist, who do not feed on humans. They all found each other because they believe the same. They don't want to be monsters, so they fight against who they are."

"But how do you know that the monsters who attacked me aren't like that?" I disagreed. "I get that it's not likely, but it's not impossible."

"It is impossible, Jane," He rubbed my shoulder. "They both tried to kill you. They had red eyes."

"I figured the Cullen's just wore contacts," I raised an eyebrow at him.

Seth chuckled, but his face was still sad. "You're brilliant, Jane. Anyone ever told you that?"

"Many people," I nodded eagerly. "Answer my question."

"You had a question?"

"Who are the Volturi? And what have they got to do with anything?"

"The Volturi," Seth grimaced, almost as if he didn't like to talk about them. "They're basically vampire royalty. They have no respect for human life whatsoever, and their main purpose is making sure that their secret doesn't get out, while attaining more power by building their own army with vampires with special gifts."

"They wanted Nessie?" My mouth dropped. "I hadn't remembered Seth telling me about Nessie having any gifts of her own, but with so much new information, I honestly could have missed it.

"No," Seth shook his head. "They didn't want her; they wanted to kill her."

I gasped. "Kill Nessie? But why?"

"Because," Seth rubbed his neck. "So, Bella got married to Edward when he was a vampire and she was a human. They, you know, had a honeymoon, things happened, and suddenly Bella was pregnant. Nothing like that had ever happened before, so the wolves, we split."

"What do you mean you split?" I pushed.

"Honey," Seth chuckled. "Would you let me explain?"

I pressed my lips together. "Sorry."

"Sam used to be our alpha. It was Jacob's birthright, but he phased after Seth, and he didn't want it. We had never experienced something like a half vampire, half human before. Sam and Paul and Embry and Quil and Jared, they all thought it was a demon. They all wanted to kill Bella before it was born."

I gasped. "But- I mean, continue."

"Regardless of what Bella had done, that was Jake's best friend. He went against Sam and he left the pack. Leah and I followed him. We didn't agree that it was right to kill Bella; we thought that since she was human, she deserved our protection, too. We were ready to fight against them with the Cullens on the night that Nessie was born. Only, Jacob imprinted on Nessie, and so they couldn't hurt her."

"But why did that change things?"

"Because," Seth explained patiently. "The pack can't hurt anyone who a wolf imprint's on. In fact, they require our utmost protection. It's our most important law."

"Jeeze," I sighed. "So, family dinners must have been awkward after that."

Seth chuckled. "For a while, yeah. We stayed separate for a long time, something like five years. During that time, Nessie grew up, and I mean, she grew up. Being a half-vampire, she was full grown to an adult in five years total, and it was obvious that she wasn't anywhere near a threat.

Nessie can survive on animal blood or human food, but she preferred human food and has always stuck with that. She's harmless. She's just like everyone else. Sam eventually wanted to stop phasing; Emily and him wanted kids. It was time. With Sam retiring and Jacob planning on phasing forever, it made sense to reconnect the pack. Jacob became the alpha of both, and we were all together again."

"Wow," I breathed as I took in all the new information. "That's amazing. I mean, it's sad that there was such a separation, but it seemed to work out."

Seth nodded. "Honestly, we were separate packs, but we all came together and worked out our differences long before that. We all fought together, both packs, the Cullen's, the Cullen's vampire friends. All of us. We fought against the Volturi; we were protecting Nessie."

"But I still don't understand why they wanted to kill her, Seth."

"They thought that Nessie was an immortal child. Those are forbidden. Picture a toddler having a tantrum, now picture a vampire toddler with inhuman strength having one."

My eyes widened. "Makes sense."

"So, they came to kill her. We were ready to fight, but thankfully it didn't come to that. Alice, she's the one who can see the future, she showed them their future, and what would happen if we had fought. It consisted a lot of them dying. A lot of us, too."

My breath caught in my throat. "What?" I breathed. "Some of you would have died?"

Seth nodded.

"Who?"

He cringed.

I lurched forward. "You?" I exclaimed.

"It never happened," Seth reassured me, his eyes calming as he rubbed my back. "Lay back down, love."

"What? Seth?" My throat felt like it was constricting. "I- I- I don't even know what to say to that. I can't- I can't imagine if you had died, then. I can't imagine never having met you."

"You don't have to," He murmured softly to me. "Because I'm right here. I'm right here," He repeated, reaching out to grab my hand and then place it on his chest. "And I'm not going anywhere, Jane. Lay back down for me. Everything's okay."

I swallowed harshly but I did as I was told, though that might have had to do with the fresh wave of nausea that came with his admission. I clutched my stomach in my hands and closed my eyes.

"You feel sick again?" Seth whispered, his palm beginning to rub delicate, delicate circles over top of my stomach.

"Yeah," I murmured.

"Do you understand now, Jane?" Seth finally asked. "Do you see how you have nothing to feel guilty about. We've killed so many vampires before, Jane. That's what we do. It's what we do to protect people from, all people, imprints especially. It's the same thing we would have done for Nessie."

"I think I understand," I told him honestly. "Maybe I could talk to the Cullen's. I think that might help."

"That's a good idea," Seth tried to smile at me. "Of course, you'll meet them at Thanksgiving."

I cocked an eyebrow at him. "I will?"

"Yeah," Seth actually smiled for real now. "You're still planning on coming to my family's Thanksgiving with me, right? Or did you forget that Thanksgiving is this weekend?"

"This weekend?" My mouth dropped open. "Since when?"

"Since the beginning of America," Seth laughed.

I moaned. "I am so discombobulated. Why are the Cullen's going to be at your Thanksgiving again?"

"We always go to the Cullen's," Seth grinned. "My mom is married to Charlie who is Bella's dad. As soon as they got married we started going. At first Leah hated it; it's kind of a natural dislike, the vampire-werewolf thing, or, at least it's supposed to be like that, anyways."

I couldn't help but grin. "Let me guess," I reached to touch his cheek. "You didn't inherit that hate gene."

"Not me," Seth smiled. "Actually, I always rather liked the Cullen's."

"That's because you're so freaking good Seth," I shook my head at him. "You're kind, through and through. You're the kindest, best person I've ever met."

Seth's lips pulled up at the corners. "I could say the same about you," He murmured to me.

"I'm excited to meet them at Thanksgiving, then," I announced.

"I'm sure Lena and Leah are excited you're going as well," Seth nodded. "And of course I've never been more happy for pie before in my entire life."

I giggled. "Wait, Lena? Why would she be there?"

Seth suddenly laughed. "I'm sorry if you feel like there are so many holes, Jane. It's just, sometimes I forget how much of a novice you are to all of this. It's kind of endearing, truly. It's cute."

"Is Lena some sort of weird hybrid-half-thing? It would explain how she's so beautiful."

"No," Seth chuckled. "Did Lena tell you about her mom at all? About her... situation?"

I suddenly felt so, extremely sad. Scarlett was so sweet; I hated the thought of anyone hurting her. "Yeah," I frowned. "It's so sad."

"Yeah, it is," Seth agreed. "Well, when she moved to Forks and met Paul, she didn't have any family. She became best friend's with Nessie and the Cullen's sort of adopted her. I'm pretty sure they're like Lena's grandparents on Scarlett's side. Not sure; all I know for sure is that it is gold irony that Paul Lahote, hot-head vampire hater is now over there for every holiday. Embry, too, but just less hysterical than Paul."

I smiled. "I'm excited that everyone's going to be there, then! Especially excited about the Lahote's. I love being able to have a big, family holiday. Honestly, Seth, it's the first Thanksgiving without my parents; I hope you know how much it means to me to be able to spend it with your family."

Seth's eyes watered. "I love you more than you know, Jane, and I intend to give you a family of our own, too, one day."

"If I live long enough," I joked with him.

"Not funny," Seth sighed, "But yes, Jane, that is one of the reasons why your safety is of top priority."

"What's the other reason?"

"Because I love you," Seth answered without missing a beat.

"But you already said that," I laughed.

"Well I really mean it, "Seth shrugged.

"Hey Seth?" I suddenly asked.

"Yeah?"

"What were my parents?" His eyes widened in surprise. "I mean," I attempted to clear my throat, but my voice still remained weak. "I know that you know. I can tell. Please, tell me."

Seth still looks uneasy about it. "It's speculation, Jane. Are you sure you don't want the Cullen's to help explain; they're the ones who brought it up."

"Seth?" My voice was high.

"Jane."

"Please?"

"The Cullen's think they were vampire hunter's."

I felt ill again. I grasped my stomach and curled myself into a ball.

"Hey, hey," Seth pulled me into him, like he was doing a curl with a weight, and rested his chin on top of my head. "All good. We'll figure it out. Absolutely no crying."

I couldn't help but chuckle.

"You okay?" Seth asked gently, his hand rubbing down my thigh.

"I don't know," I admitted.

"Just think of it this way," Seth suggested. "I hunt vampires. I do it all the time! And you love me, right?"

"Yeah," I answered uneasily after a moment.

"So it's kind of like the same thing, only, your parents were even more badass because they weren't supernatural at all, they were just brave as hell and had super cool weaponry!"

I laughed against Seth's chest. "God, I love you," I got out, right before I lurched out of his grasp, just barely making it to the toilet in time before I accidentally puked all over my incredible, sensitive, understanding, werewolf boyfriend.


What do you think of the theory about Jane's parents? Did anyone call it? Next chapter is the Thanksgiving chapter and I am already itching to write it.

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