A/N: Congrats to asiajoanna7334 for being the 600th reviewer for this story and it passing 50,000 hits. Plus timun for being the 500th on 'Don't Change For Me, Cause I'll Never Change For You'. Meanwhile 'Evil Inside Me and 'My Life, Their Family, Our Future' both passed 70,000 & 90,000 hits respectively xx Alexis
Oh well, here we go show-time. We arrived yesterday and walk around town under my shield. Elijah and I blanket compelled anyone and everyone in town to remember Ava. Then last night we walked into La Push and did the same, concentrating on the pack, elders and Billy Black, of course. Jasper went through Charlie's place, adding duplicate pictures provided by Emmett, supposedly of Ava. The school, hospital and church records were all fixed too. We had done all we could in regards to whoever was still in Forks that knew me. Now it's time for us to arrive to have our father meet our mates or as far as he's concerned boyfriends.
When I called to say I was coming he didn't seem impressed with meeting Elijah. I found out Jake had told him I was sleeping with an old man! I asked if being twenty-five was classed as old in his eyes or only Jake's childish mind. After all, that was only six years older than me and he ran his family's business. Hardly the degenerate dirty old man that Jake had painted him out to be. Then I told him I was going to be working for Elijah's New York accountant. Saying I would be his personal assistant's assistant. I find less is more with Charlie, better to start small and work your way up. Ava will tell him she's becoming a rancher's wife in Texas with Jasper.
That was another thing Elijah and I did, we separated Jasper from the Cullens. We made everyone remember Jasper Hale as totally different from how he actually looks. Plus with his southern accent and cowboy look, they won't be making a connection. Once he stands outside with us in the sun nobody will think he's anything but normal. Compulsion is a dangerous tool, in the wrong hands, it is anyway. But we're not hurting anyone really, we're not asking for anything. This illusion doesn't affect them in any serious way in their day to day lives. The hardest person to compel was my own dad. Not because he was my father, but because he was more like me than I realised, Charlie has a partial shield!
IOOH
I've made so many mistakes, but especially with Bella. Once again, even knowing about all the lies he has told me. I believed Jacob, believed him when he said Bella's man-friend was old. Jesus, he's only twenty-five! That's hardly old, it's better than that obsessive fool Edward's age or Jake the petulant child's. I just can't seem to get anything right with Bella, yet for the life of me, I can't ever remember having this problem with Ava! I know Bella had far too much responsibility thrust on her at a young age and maybe that's the trouble. She is not and never was a child, but I keep trying to force her into my idea of a normal teenager! But that mould was never a good fit for her, why have I managed to fail her and not Ava?
The worst thing is Bella is so much like me that I'd know how to act around her, but obviously not! I know this might be her last time staying here. Her home was the one place she should have been safe she wasn't. Why because I forced a child on her as a possible boyfriend and future husband! So set on having her look after me, I forgot she was entitled to a life of her own! That she had spent most of her childhood looking after everyone but herself. I do love her, well both of them, but I must be the worst father out there. Them getting on with their lives away from here is definitely best for them. I never realised how much of a small-town mentality I had.
Just because I never wanted to leave here, doesn't mean nobody else can. It should be their choice and that includes my daughters. I have been really doing some serious self-reflection since Bella didn't want to come back from New Orleans. She rightly accused me of only wanting a housekeeper, I didn't see myself slipping into that mindset, but I really had. She's not my wife, she's my daughter and I am ashamed of myself. For a man who has always fended for himself, I became very entitled. Well, I wasn't going to act that way while the girls were here and I was going to accept their choice of partner. This would be regardless of any outside influences.
IOOH
Isabella was nervous, Ava was excited and Jasper was pumping out the chill-out vibes as we pulled up behind Chief Swan's cruiser. How was I feeling, apprehensive! It's been many years since I've had to meet the parent of anyone I was involved with. He appeared at the door and damn, that was some moustache! I look at Jasper and he smirks before whispering,
"Porn-stache!"
"Kiddo's," Charlie says smiling at the girls,
"Hey Dad," they both say together,
He hugged them both and whispers to Isabella how sorry he is for his behaviour. She squeezes him again and nods. No wonder he does it she lets him off far too easily and I'm not happy. Now it was our turn and as the three Swans turned to us, the Chief looked surprised. Jasper was casually dressed in denim and although I too was in my casual wear it was nowhere near as laid back. He glanced at the girls and realises they mirror us, but it was Isabella's style that threw him the most. She was no longer the girl that ran from Forks a few months ago. Of the two women, she actually looked older than Ava, but I put that down to life experiences.
"Dad, this is Elijah," she tells him introducing me,
"And this is Jasper" Ava adds,
As both of them take our hands and pull us forward. I nod and say,
"It's a pleasure to meet you Sir" and Jasper says,
"Hello, Chief Swan" in his distinctive drawl,
"Please come in all of you," the Chief says and we see him glance around outside,
He sees nothing, but we both know someone is watching us from the forest. But neither of us reacts or gives it away. I'm assuming it's Jacob Black hiding out there like a snake in the grass. I glance at Isabella and she inclines her head casually. We talk for an hour or so and he tries to surreptitiously pump us for information. We decided to go with Jasper visiting my friend Damon Salvatore and that's how he met Ava. It seemed the easiest way to go about it. He seemed to be thinking deeply about something before blurting out,
"Whitlock! Do you know a Peter Whitlock?"
"Yeah, my brother is called Peter," Jasper says cautiously,
"He helped Bells get away from Edwin! Did you know?" he enquires,
"No, but he's tight with Rose McCarty, she was once Rosalie Hale, I think! It's because they both work on cars, classics I believe. I'm more into horses myself" he says acting as if he didn't know what went on back then,
"Dad, I was looking to pick up a couple of things, are the storage boxes still in the attic?" Isabella asks distracting him,
"Yes, what about you Ava? Are you taking your things too?" Chief Swan asked,
She shook her head. Saying not yet but she'd have a rake around up there with Isabella. So as they left to hunt down the box, their dad suggested we start the grill out back. Jasper looked a little unsure and I stepped up saying I'd do the grilling if he'd liked. I might not look the type but I do like preparing food and it gives me the chance to get out of any in-depth talks with Isabella's father. I rake around in his kitchen for ingredients for a sweeter Louisiana rub for the meat. I'm not above scoring brownie points, because I know he's not one for spicy Tex-Mex food. Well, not unless it's really mild, so Isabella has mentioned. Once they are on the grill it has everyone popping their heads out of doors and windows.
Damn Elijah, are you trying to impress me or dad?" Isabella yells from an upstairs window,
"You, of course, sweetheart!" I reply and they all laugh,
"Good answer Son!" the Chief tells me smiling right at me,
"You've never cooked for me before, I love that you can baby" Isabella adds as she comes down,
She kisses me soundly, the ring on her finger glitters in the weak sunlight. We hear the growling in the trees and pretend he's not there. That boy is going to learn his lesson the hard way it seems.
IOOH
While Elijah and Isabella distract Charlie Swan, I slip upstairs to find Ava starin' at an unopened wooden, intricately carved box. She seems afraid to touch it, so I send her some confidence and she takes a deep breath and stretches out her hand. The lid lifts gently before she actually touches it and a rush of power surges around the room. We were right it holds not only one Grimoire, but two! One is written in archaic French and the other, in seriously ancient English. Both havin' the look of old religious tomes, with the elaborate coloured headin's, crinkled parchment and musty smells. Ava sighs heavily and we watch as both books open at the forewords.
Both basically say the same thing, how to bind the books to herself and stop others from accessin' the secrets and spells inside them. They also give instructions on how to translate them into the language of the user. Both are signed with a flourish at the bottom by Edgar Swan and Eloise Cornier. She gathers them both up and places them back in the box to study later at her leisure. Then she indicates I carry the box, I kinda half expect it to disappear. But no, it allows me to carry it, is that because I'm her mate or not mortal? Who knows, this is way beyond my comprehension, magic is well out of my comfort zone. But it doesn't scare me, just makes me cautious.
"Dad, can I have this old box? I think it might be one of those crazy puzzle boxes!" Ava says as we emerge outside and Charlie barely glances at it before he says yes.
Everyone settles in to eat, well everyone but me. I do a good job of pretendin', years of practice and sleight of hand. Charlie enthuses over Elijah's steaks and then the moment we've waited for happens,
"Would you all like to go down to the Rez with me? That way the girls will see their Uncle Billy" Charlie says clearing away the plates with Ava and Isabella,
We agree and say we'll follow his cruiser in our hire car.
IOOH
At last, now they'll be on my turf. I'll be able to show them up for the pathetic palefaces they are! So who cares if he can grill steaks! Why the fuck was Charlie calling him son? I phase to run back to the Rez to get there before them,
"Jake! What are you up to? You'll reveal our secrets, for what? A girl who can't stand the sight of you! A girl who gave herself to a mortal, rather than you? You're the pathetic one!" I heard Paul sneer through the link,
"Fuck off! This has nothing to do with you!" I yell back in my mind,
"Wrong! This has everything to do with us!" I hear Jared say now,
They both phase out and I'm left to my own thoughts thank God. Why can't they mind their own business? I'm the future Alpha and they need to respect that and me! I will not be tolerating this disrespect when I take charge. In fact, I think it should be sooner rather than later! I wait by dad's house, leaning nonchalantly on the porch rail. I sense the pack close by but ignore them as the cars come to a halt. Charlie doesn't seem pleased to see me there, tough! The sisters and their 'men-friends', step out of a high-end rental car. It's always about money with her! Look at her clothes now; she thinks she's better than me! Well, let's see how she feels when were both naked and equal!
"Bella!" Embry steps up calling her name, I growl lowly at him,
"Hey Embry, guys! Everything okay?" she asks glancing at me,
"No! That ass is gonna get us all...!" Paul says drawing his finger across his throat,
The two men nod to the pack and step neared to Bella and her sister. Charlie is inside already and I'm not bothered who sees this now. Maybe if he sees his daughter submit to me he'll finally understand I am the most important person here!
"Enough Jake! The elders will not be happy about this" Sam says, trying to Aloha command me,
"I suggest you all take this somewhere private" a strange voice rings out,
"Damon! What in God's name are you doing here?" Bella's paleface says, but he's amused!
"Got a strange call from the Major's brother, said I needed to be here. Said I could show my true colours so to speak!" he answered leaping from the tree he was in,
Only to land on the ground between me, the pack and Bella's group! That had to be forty feet, how the fuck did he do that? The pack bristled, but Leah moved closer to the dark-haired guy,
"Hey, sexy lady! Want to show me your furry side? I'll close my eyes this time as you strip down. I like my women to be a bit of an animal!" he smirked at her and she giggled,
What the ever-loving fuck! Leah Clearwater never giggles! What did he mean this time, has he been here watching us?
"Leah, get back here!" Sam orders her and she gives him the finger,
"Fuck off Sam! What are you, Damon? You're not human obviously, but you're not one of us either!" Leah says closing in on him like she's drawn to his side,
"Why don't we all step into the forest and get this show on the road!" Bella says and all eyes turn to find them fifty feet away and no one saw them move I'm guessing by the stunned looks on the pack's faces,
IOOH
"Ah my lupine lovely, I am definitely other! A breed apart you could say. Your enemy is the Cold Ones, yes? We'll I'm not a Cold One But I am a vampire, a real vampire!" I quietly tell the beautiful russet skin woman in front of me,
"But your eyes are blue and your heart is beating! What do you mean real vampire? There are different kinds?" she whispers confused, while the children around her all growl,
"I am Damon Salvatore, a Traditional vampire. We eat food, sleep in beds and need human blood to survive. But we don't need to kill the human to drink!" I tell her and them,
The wolves all burst out into their furry selves at my remarks. Jeez, they sure are temperamental and trigger-happy. The one who had been standing alone had not changed and it was he that spoke next.
"I don't give a flying fuck who you are or what! I have business with him" he says pointing at Elijah and I smirk,
"You sure little boy, he's maybe more than you can handle!" I say carefully,
As if explaining it to a child and hear Bella and Jasper laugh. Then watch Jasper whisper to Ava what happening.
"He's human, how could a human possibly hurt me?" he spits out nastily,
Slowly the other wolves turn back human, very naked humans. One rushes away, to find clothing I presume. Another just stands there with his arms folded and winks at Bella and Ava.
"How's it going Swans?" he says sassily,
"Good Paul! How's Rachel?" Bella says and he huffs,
"Enough! You have caused us to expose ourselves to humans! Tell me why I shouldn't kill you?" the guy who Leah called Sam shouts to me,
Leah now Growled at him and stood in front of me. I couldn't resist pulling her back flush with my body and we both felt the surge of what felt like completion between us. Well, damn I wasn't expecting that. But she sure was one hell of a woman.
"Leah? Did you imprint on him?" the kid who went for the clothes asks when he returned,
"Not exactly Seth, but I'm drawn to and feel the need to be with him" she mutters,
"It's called mating Leah. He's your soul mate technically, but unlike imprinting, the choice is yours to make! Oh and Leah Damon is 'Paul', in the Traditionals world!" Bella says from the tree line,
"Dude!" Paul says proudly at that remark,
Leah smiles so big and then turns to me. Hands-on hips she looks me in the eye and says,
"I'm the only woman you'll be needing from now on mister"
"Yes dear" I reply winking at her and she does that gorgeous little giggle again,
IOOH
This is all getting ridiculous and I can see Jake shaking from here. He's ready to explode because this is not going to his plan. The comic relief has made him more incensed than needed. Yup, he went wolf, Sam tries to order him down as he stalks towards us, specifically Elijah and me. But he's out of control, he can't hear or see anything but red I'm guessing. So we just move faster than he can and are now behind him.
"Over here Jake, you seem a little out of your depth," Elijah says goading him,
Were shielded so when he lunges he just bounces straight off and onto his ass. This happens several times before Elijah tells me to drop my shield. As Jake charges again Elijah pre-empts him and has him by the throat faster than I've ever seen anyone move. Wow, the Originals are really much faster than Cold Ones and Traditionals. Jake won't stop fighting, even though Elijah has him in a grip so tight it's almost cutting off his air supply.
"He's totally out of it! Those are basic animal emotions he's putting out not human at all!" Jasper says from a branch in the nearest tree,
That being where he has Ava safe and sound. Sam phases and tries to talk him down but it doesn't work. Basically, because he's not Jakes true Alpha.
"We need a real Alpha, a true Alpha! Fuck we need the Original Alpha!" I say to nobody in particular,
"You called little sister!" Klaus says prowling from the trees and all the wolves back up a few feet,
"I can't leave you alone for a couple of days brother, what the hell have you got there?" he asks Elijah who now drops Jake at his brother's feet,
"A shape-shifting pain in my ass!" Elijah retorts,
"He's our future Alpha and Chief!" Sam mumbles humbly to Klaus,
They all see his yellow eyes, barely more than slits and know he is more dominant than anyone else here. Klaus laughs loudly and shakes his head telling Jake to stay down on the ground and this is one order he can't shake off.
"That child is no Alpha; he neither has the strength or the character to lead!" Klaus says looking at all the wolves one at a time and stops when he reaches Seth,
"You, acting Alpha. You train him, he is your future. He's smart, compassionate and wily! All good traits for a leader of wolves and men. What's your name boy?" Klaus asks a scared looking Seth,
"Seth Clearwater, sir"
"Work hard Seth, see your people as not just wolves or men but as the hybrids they are. Never favour one half over the other. Lead them to a better life by example" Klaus says patting Seth's shoulder,
He almost seemed to grow before our eyes, not in height but in maturity and self-belief. Klaus then bent and put his hand on Jake's head and seemed to suck the strength out of him. He phased human, but he was smaller like the old Jake was before he became a wolf.
"You will never be Alpha boy, but you could still be Chief of your tribe, it's up to you! Your wolf is bound; he was too strong for a child to handle. Wolves need mature men to carry them, not petulant obsessed boys" Klaus tells them all and they are stunned into silence,
Even we can't believe what we saw today. This was a different Klaus, this was his wolf side and he was compassionate and a born leader. He had overridden everything the Quileutes knew and transferred the power from Jake to Seth. How Jake would handle it was up to him, but for now he was a sobbing mess on the forest floor. It seemed right; nobody should have all the power. Chief and Alpha should be separate and with Seth eventually in charge, I could see it would be a positive thing, a good thing for the tribe.
