56. Loch Ness
A human infant would have mindlessly knotted its fist in its mother's hair. Individual strands would have looped around the little fingers and been pulled restrictively tight by the infant's own erratic yanking. The mother would have unwound one fist only to find the other entangled in another lock.
Renesmee was happily playing with Bella's hair, smiling and relaxed, quite pleased to be reunited with her mother at last. Her tugs on Bella's hair were as gentle as Jacob's had been on her own. Her fingers slid easily through Bella's thick tresses. They encountered no snags, despite our recent hunt and the wind that had swept through her hair as she raced through the forest.
They looked almost human. Bella's eyes were closed, her lips red and cheeks flushed from feeding. The similarity in the shape of their faces, from Bella's pointed chin to her high cheekbones and slightly uneven lips made their relationship apparent. But I was there, too. No human infant's hair had ever possessed such a shade of red, metallic and shiny as newly drawn wire, yet soft and inviting as silk. Her skin didn't quite have the reflective properties of ours, but no human had ever had her luminescence. She almost seemed to shine from within.
"Haven't we experimented enough for one day?" Jacob protested. "Okay, Bella's doing great, but let's not push it."
"What is your problem, Jacob?" Bella glared at him, apparently appreciating his interference as much as I. She tried to tug Renesmee away from Jacob and fully into her own arms, but he only stepped closer to them. Jasper was unsure if the bigger threat was Bella's anger or Jacob's panic. Rather than protecting my daughter, the mutt's overprotective worry was putting her in danger!
"Just because I understand," I growled, "it doesn't mean I won't throw you out, Jacob. Bella's doing extraordinarily well. Don't ruin the moment for her."
"I'll help him toss you, dog," Rosalie offered cheerfully as disgust over the memory of cleaning his leftover food from her hair colored her thoughts. "I owe you a good kick in the gut."
He didn't rise to her intentional baiting. Their bickering, bothersome as it was, would have provided a welcome distraction from everyone's tension over Bella and Renesmee. Instead, he merely stared at the tiny girl in Bella's arms.
Bella, her eyes luridly red and flashing with irritation, studied Jacob, apparently waiting on him to explain himself at last, but the coward simply stood in place, clinging mutely to the child he had so recently loathed.
The reason for his behavior must have suddenly made sense to Bella when the confused irritation on her face was replaced with shock.
"No!"
Even as she gasped the word, Jacob snatched Renesmee away. I threw my arms around Bella, tensing in anticipation of a lunge that didn't come.
Completely in control of herself, Bella simply stood in place and said, "Rose. Take Renesmee."
Without hesitation, Jacob gave our daughter over to my sister. He began to back away as she took Nessie out of the way.
"Edward," Bella said in that same voice loaded with careful fury, "I don't want to hurt you, so please let go of me."
I wasn't sure that was such a good idea. I had already failed to protect her from herself once and didn't want to fail her again already.
"Go stand in front of Renesmee," she said when I didn't move.
Deciding that with everyone on high alert, now was as good a time as any for them to work things out, I did as Bella asked and moved to shield our daughter.
As soon as I was clear, Bella crouched low and growled, "You didn't."
"You know it's not something I can control."
"You stupid mutt! How could you? My baby!"
And I used to curse my perfect recall! I abandoned my position in front of Renesmee, who was absolutely safe in Rosalie's care, and followed Bella as she stalked after Jacob. He was backing away quickly, out the house, down the stairs, and across the lawn.
"It wasn't my idea, Bella!"
"I've held her all of one time, and already you think you have some moronic wolfy claim to her? She's mine."
"I can share."
Casually, feeling a broad grin spread across my face, I leaned against the porch railing, grateful that I didn't even have to blink.
"Pay up," Emmett said to Carlisle as everyone except Rosalie joined us on the porch.
…should have taken vampire possessiveness more into account than her generous nature, at least, now, so close to her change...
Bella didn't seem to notice her audience and remained focused on Jacob. "How dare you imprint on my baby? Have you lost your mind?"
"It was involuntary!"
He was nearly to the trees now, backing up slower the farther he got from Renesmee. Leah and Seth were quick to come to their Alpha's aid. Jasper thought the worst thing they could do was get defensive while in their wolf forms. A furious, newly awoken vampire, Bella was only advancing slowly as yet. She had not lost her sense of reason to that of instinct, but if they provoked her further, she could.
When she and Leah snarled at each other, I decided to trust my beloved and stayed where I was. If the wolf girl's aggression had not triggered more of a response than that, it wasn't likely anything would distract Bella or make her lose her unusual composure. Even if Leah were to disobey Jacob and strike preemptively, Bella could swat her aside without trying, without noticing, without pausing, and continue her focused pursuit.
"Bella, would you try to listen for just a second? Please? Leah, back off."
"Why should I listen?"
"Because you're the one who told me this. Do you remember? You said we belonged in each other's lives, right? That we were family. You said that was how you and I were supposed to be. So... now we are. It's what you wanted."
"You think you'll be part of my family as my son-in-law!"
…oh, yeah, knew she'd be pissed… who wouldn't be…
…the boys have rules when they wrestle, well-defined limits, oh, she could hurt him…
…here it comes … any minute now…
"No!" Jacob yelled back. "How can you even look at it that way? She's just a baby, for crying out loud!"
"That's my point!"
"Stop her, Edward," Esme prompted when I ignored her silent worrying. "She'll be unhappy if she hurts him."
She was right, no doubt, but Bella wouldn't hurt him; I was sure of that. She had no need to touch Jacob to make him leave when the sheer force of her presence had him scurrying backwards away from her.
My beloved wife was all mother, courageously defending her child from a perceived threat.
And it soothed something primal in me that Jacob was that threat.
My grin broadened. She had never, even at my most dangerous, seen me as a threat. I was her husband, her lover, and father of the very child she protected now. Bella was mine! And Renesmee was ours.
I didn't move.
"You know I don't think of her that way!" Jacob protested. "Do you think Edward would have let me live this long if I did? All I want is for her to be safe and happy - is that so bad? So different from what you want?"
I didn't appreciate his implication that my refraining from killing him was the same as endorsing the imprint, but he wasn't wrong. Jacob's obsession was irritating and annoying, but I had yet to detect any thoughts he would have been unwilling to say out loud. I didn't like it, but I couldn't condemn him for it, either.
Bella, displaying a rage that would have overtaken any other newborn's reason, maintained her control and only let her emotions escape in a growl so loud I could feel the vibrations through the thin wood I leaned against.
"Amazing, isn't she?" I said to no one in particular.
"She hasn't gone for his throat even once," Carlisle said with a nudge of his elbow to Emmett's stomach and a nod toward Esme.
"Fine, you win this one," he grumbled at my mother.
She shook her head, irritated that no one else seemed at all concerned over Jacob's welfare. Including me. But she worried needlessly. Bella had been without equal as a human, and everything about her was enhanced now, her self-control included. Her inner strength had always outweighed her physical abilities, even now, when she could have accidentally broken a tree with an injudicious nudge.
"You're going to stay away from her," she told him.
"I can't do that!"
"Try. Starting now."
"It's not possible," he argued. "Do you remember how much you wanted me around three days ago? How hard it was to be apart from each other? That's gone for you now, isn't it?"
He took her silence as an agreement.
"That was her. From the very beginning. We had to be together, even then."
I had loathed the way they had been drawn to each other. That hadn't started with Bella's pregnancy. That had started with my leaving. It seemed a poor excuse for his pursuit of a pregnant woman, much less as reason for her to accept his bond with her infant.
Bella seemed to agree with me as she processed his explanation. Her eyes narrowed, her nostrils flared, her fingers twitched, and she even blinked several times.
To my delight, she growled, "Run away while you still can."
"C'mon, Bells! Nessie likes me, too."
No one moved. The only sounds were the pack's breathing and heart beats. In the otherwise perfect stillness, the acceleration of Jacob's pulse was clearly audible, but Bella's attention had been caught by his words.
"What... did you call her?"
"Well," he said as he resumed backing away from her, "that name you came up with is kind of a mouthful and - "
"You nicknamed my daughter after the Loch Ness Monster?"
By the time I had my arms around her, Bella was stammering an apology to Seth, who probably would have been alright if he had not impacted a tree when she shoved him aside. Carlisle hoped it was the tree he heard cracking and not Seth's bones, but I knew otherwise. I supposed I had been a bit too confident in her astonishing control. Yet, just as when hunting the humans, as soon as she realized what she had done - what she was about to do - she halted her attack. Instead of mindlessly brushing Seth aside and continuing on to seriously injure Jacob, she had stopped herself, with no help from me.
Thankfully, Leah's first instinct was to rush to her brother's aide, rather than turn on Bella. Supporting Seth was why she was here, after all. When he tried to stand and couldn't, she aimed a snarl at me. Why had I not been ready to stop Bella, as I had assured Jacob numerous times that I would be? Displaying a gentleness at odds with her mental castigation, Leah gave her brother's uninjured side a nudge with her muzzle, offering her shoulder for him to lean against.
Seth was shaking his head, only slightly dazed and giving mental reassurances that Bella couldn't hear. His cheerful forgiveness only seemed to anger his sister further. Obviously, I couldn't be trusted to act against Bella, and Jacob wouldn't even phase to protect himself from the leech-lover. She continued to bear her teeth at me when Carlisle approached, but Leah didn't spare him a glance and allowed him to examine her brother with no outward protest.
"Come back inside, Bella," I said as I tugged ineffectively on her waist. She didn't seem to notice my attempt to move her.
"Wait," Jacob said. "You're gonna take her back to Renesmee after what she just did?"
"Bella stopped, didn't she?"
"No, he's right," she mumbled. "I almost ki-"
"No, you didn't," I said quickly.
Leah snapped at Bella when she reached a hand in their direction. It was all I could do not to yell at her. Couldn't she tell how her antagonism only made things worse?
"But I-"
"Love, you could never have hurt Jacob, or Seth, not really, not without trying. Maybe you don't remember, but werewolves are tough, and they heal very quickly."
"Yeah, well, Nessie might not heal so easy!" Jacob said, giving me the distinct impression that the mutt had chosen to use the nickname on purpose, deliberately provoking Bella so that if she succumbed to her anger again, it would be here and now, with Renesmee out of the way.
"Jacob," Carlisle said as I opened my mouth to argue back, "please help me get Seth inside. Esme, I would like you gather my supplies and meet us in the living room. I need to take an x-ray and set any breaks before they begin to heal wrong. Leah, you are welcome to join us, of course. And, Emmett, please bring something for Seth to wear."
Emmett shook his head. "None of my stuff'll fit him."
"Get something from Edward's closet."
"But Nessie-"
"Rose," Carlisle said over Jacob, raising his voice slightly though she could hear him well enough already. "Now might be a good time for Renesmee to have some fresh air. If Jacob would like, he can join you on the front porch once we have Seth settled."
Rosalie mentally grumbled that she didn't need the company of a dog, but agreed that keeping Renesmee safe was in everyone's best interests. Renesmee, who had been watching us through the wall of windows with bright interest, was confused when my sister began walking through the house, away from the mother she longed to be reunited with.
"Is that really necessary?" I demanded. "Bella's fine, and Renesmee wants to be with her."
Looking at the girl in my arms, Carlisle gently said, "Forgive me, Bella, but I believe it is. The restraint you have shown thus far is commendable, but you are a newborn vampire, and we cannot forget that. Until your emotions are completely under control, I feel it prudent to err on the side of caution."
"Ask Jasper if he knows anyone whose emotions are completely under their control," I muttered sourly. Mine certainly weren't.
"Her emotions over this particular event, then."
Nodding in apparent agreement, Bella slowly made her way back to the empty house with me right beside her. I had so enjoyed the change in her attitude toward Jacob, but I ought to have been at her side, not gloating from a distance. I could have watched just as well - better! - if I'd stayed with her as she confronted him. Had I been in my rightful place, Bella could still have expressed her anger, only no one would have been hurt.
It should have been me who leapt between them, not Seth. I would not have minded restraining her as she struggled to swat at Jacob. She would not have tried all that hard to get past me. Vampires were easily distracted, and Bella was normal in that respect, if nothing else. I could have distracted her from Jacob, had I chosen to do so.
If I'd been where I belonged, Bella would now be demanding that Jacob stay away from Renesmee, but instead, he was the one insisting that our daughter be kept safe from her own mother. And everyone else agreed with him, including Bella!
What a fool I was. Esme had known this would happen. Emmett, too. But as ever, I was surprised and left scrambling by the girl I loved.
When she sank morosely onto the couch, I seated myself beside her. I ached to feel her clasp my hand in hers, but she was twisting her rings about on her fingers. Even mature vampires could forget to modulate their strength, especially when their attention was elsewhere, as Bella's was now. The flimsy material should have been squashed and dented to some extent by her fiddling, yet they retained their perfect circular shape.
And they worried that she would hurt her own daughter, I scoffed. Gentle as my Bella was, it was a wonder she had injured Seth at all.
Aside from playing with her rings, she appeared calm, but Jasper could feel the turmoil within her. He had followed us inside and positioned himself against the wall nearest the couch, just in case. Her anger rose and receded with only an occasional faint shadow of the line between her eyes giving evidence to her emotions. As I was right beside her now, he certainly needn't hover so. Should Bella succumb to her instincts - to feed, fight, or flee - I could stop her without his help. I said nothing to him, though. He wasn't about to leave, and I saw no need to upset Bella further by arguing with him about it.
Perhaps I could divert her thoughts away from her own actions by taking responsibility for mine.
I put a finger under her chin and tilted her face up until she looked into my eyes. Hers would have been full of tears had she still been capable of producing any.
"Can you forgive me, Bella?"
"For what?"
"I should have thoroughly checked the area before giving you the opportunity to scent the humans in the woods, and then, only hours later, I allowed you to confront Jacob while I did nothing to protect anyone."
She groaned and pulled away from the finger under her chin. A thick curtain of rich chestnut hair obscured her expression from my view. That wouldn't do. Much though I preferred the sweet upward curve of her lips to their current hard line, I needed to see her. I cupped her cheeks in my hands and angled her face back up to mine.
"And more than that, I should have been the one to stop you."
She shook her head and whispered, "So I could hurt y - "
"You would not have been able to hurt me."
Darting a guilty glance in Jasper's direction, she mouthed the words, newborn army.
"Physically, yes, you are strong enough now. But you could never hurt me."
"But I made you say 'ow' when - "
"Silly girl," I laughed and stroked my thumbs across her cheeks. "You surprised me is all."
With my caress, the worry line between her eyes disappeared. Her lips parted, and her breath washed across my face, just a stirring of sweetness the exact temperature of the air around us. It was strange how similar it was to her human bouquet, how the scent drew me, making me want to taste the source. Before I could succumb to the temptation of Bella's mouth, Esme zipped downstairs and began bustling about the couch. She pretended to ignore our fascination with each other as she positioned the portable imager beside me and laid out the supplies Carlisle might need on a nearby table.
When Bella's eyes left mine, Esme gave her a reassuring smile that she didn't return.
The others were entering the house only moments later. Jacob didn't seem to notice when he placed himself directly between Bella and the hallway that led to the front door, beyond which Rosalie was trying unsuccessfully to interest Renesmee in something other than returning to her mother.
Detecting a spike in her anger when Bella saw where Jacob was standing, Jasper crouched slightly, ready to tackle her to the floor if she should so much as twitch in any direction. The daggers she was shooting at my long-time rival were nothing like the longing glances of love they had once exchanged, but when she merely sat and glared, my brother relaxed in confusion.
As he crossed the threshold, Carlisle put his concern for Seth momentarily aside and fixed his eyes on me. Although certainly not the response he wanted, I smirked at the image in his mind. More than once, Bella had run away from me to be with Jacob. Too often I had watched them hug, hold hands, and cuddle. Far too many times I had watched him remember his stolen kisses. Now I had a new memory to counter their previous professions of love. I would relish Bella's rejections of Jacob and his imprint on our daughter for a very long time, no matter the outcome.
Do you dislike Jacob so much that you were hoping she would injure him - or worse?
My smile fell. "Of course not!"
I am surprised you allowed her an opportunity to endanger anyone, so soon after the near miss on her first hunt.
"I know, I know. But you saw her."
Indeed I did. But it is your behavior I am concerned with at the moment. Keeping Bella safe is up to you, and this is twice you have allowed your fascination with her to distract you from that responsibility. I will entreat you not to be so lax in the future. We may not be as lucky a third time.
I nodded in mute response to my father's admonishment. He was right to chastise me. Hadn't I just seen how quickly she could be overcome by instinct? That she had not killed the humans in the forest was nothing short of a miracle, yet I had casually watched her stalk Jacob as though her fury were still kittenish and harmless. How could I have been so careless?
Seemingly without moving, Bella stood to make room. One moment she was seated on the couch next to me and the next, she was on her feet, watching Seth with wide, worried eyes. I was left cupping empty air where her face had just been. Jasper was the only one to notice my surprise at how easily she slipped from my grasp. Standing almost as quickly, I stepped behind her, slid my hands around her waist, and felt her lean back into me. Glad for the excuse of restraining her, I tucked Bella's firm body securely against mine and locked my arms in place.
Jacob tensed in response to Bella's change of location at vampire speed, eyeing her with a wary distrust. He thought he must have missed something. She didn't seem to have stood from the couch so much as appeared in front of it. Had he blinked? He had seen me stand; how had he missed her? Just how fast was a newborn vampire? Were they faster as well as stronger? We had mind-readers and fortune-tellers; who knew what else Bella could do now? He knew without being told that we all found the half-human child's smell appealing, Bella included. Was there any way he could protect Renesmee from her mother?
Irritating though it was, his dilemma struck a familiar chord within me. I had brought danger into Bella's life just by being in it when what I had wanted most - more even than I had wanted her blood - was to keep her safe. While I had attempted to protect Bella by leaving and taking the dangers of my world with me, Jacob had no such option. He couldn't take Nessie away from the danger we posed. Not only would it be impossible for him to overpower the lot of us, but kidnapping Renesmee was not in her best interests. She needed us, her vampire family, including Bella.
I was glad he recognized that much, at least.
Now, if he would just allow himself to see past Bella's understandably angry reaction over his imprint on our newborn daughter to recognize how her true nature had still shone through. One would think the mutt could see that, vampire or not, Bella always protected the ones she loved. Driving away an overly interested werewolf from her own child was simply another example.
Unable to help it, I grinned at the fact that she wanted to protect our daughter from him. She had always forgiven me so easily that it pleased me that Bella had yet to forgive him. I tried to contain it, not wishing Carlisle to question my attitude again, but there was no stopping the thrill it gave me to see the hostile looks she kept giving him. Since I couldn't stop it, I decided to hide my grin and buried my face in Bella's hair. It was cool against my skin, the individual strands unbelievably smooth. I felt each one moving with my breath and inhaled deeply, just so they would caress my face.
My arms tightened convulsively around her. I had come close to losing her on so many occasions, it was difficult to believe she was awake and alive - more or less - and irrevocably mine forever. Not even Jacob stood between us anymore. Assuming Bella eventually came to accept his imprint and renewed their friendship, it would never be more than that, now.
Seemingly oblivious to the growing tension in the room, Seth patted the cushion beside him with his good hand. "Don't let me steal your seat, Bella."
"Oh, I don't need - "
"Thanks, Seth. That's a good idea," I said as Bella began to protest. I applied a bit of pressure against her hips in the direction of the couch, but she turned to look at me with a questioning frown, so I explained, "Anything to regain a sense of normal is a good thing right now. You may not need to sit, but your body will remember the feeling, and it may help you relax."
She continued to frown, but retook her seat on the couch.
I settled for the armrest beside her and turned to grin at Seth. "Actually, that's my seat you took."
"Sorry," he said with a snicker.
"Don't be. And, really, I'm the one who should be sorry. Please accept my apology, Seth."
"For what?"
"I should have been the one to stop Bella, not you."
I chose to ignore Jacob's silent agreement.
"It's okay, Edward," Seth assured me. Then, in a loud whisper, "I had it all planned out. Now they can't say I've never gone up against a newborn vampire, even if she's a friendly one."
He understood his sister's incredulous chuffing as if he could hear the words she was thinking and flashed his easy, sunny smile through the wall of windows to where her eyes caught and reflected back the light. She stood, stiff legged and hackles raised, and turned her back on us to pace along the river in agitation. I doubted she would go far, not with her brother injured and in our care.
"You helped me with Riley and Victoria," I reminded him after she disappeared into the trees.
"Yeah, but they weren't new. Bella is. Brand new. Younger than any the others have fought."
Jacob brayed a loud laugh. "You call that a fight? She tossed you aside like nothing."
"Still counts." Forgetting his injury, Seth tried to shrug and winced.
"Seth," Carlisle said sternly, "please try not to move."
"Sorry, doc."
"Seth, I-I," Bella stammered.
"It wasn't your fault, love," I said quickly.
"I'm fine," he said with a wave of his good hand, dismissing the injury as unimportant. It'd heal.
"Yes, you are," Carlisle agreed after a study of the x-ray he'd taken. "Other than having two broken bones."
"Two," Bella moaned.
"The breaks are clean and the bones properly aligned," I said soothingly as Carlisle reached for the supplies Esme had brought. "All they need is a bit of securing."
"See?" Seth said. "Perfectly fine."
"Too bad she didn't manage to bite Jacob, though," Emmett mused. I couldn't help but shudder at the image in his mind while the others stared at him with varying degrees of shock.
A loud snarl echoed up from the river, mixing with Jacob's and Seth's protests over such a fate.
"Well, think about it," he said defensively. "They helped us take out that army of newborns, so just imagine what a pack of vampire werewolves would be like!"
"First Jacob, and now an entire pack? And what makes you think they'd be on our side?" Jasper asked.
"Nessie," Emmett said with a shrug. "Plus, it might make things easier if he was one of us, considering the imprint and all."
"No, you don't understand." Jacob shook his head with his lips curled in disgust. "That's not how it would work. A vampire bite would kill one of us."
Carlisle looked at him sharply. "Are you certain of that?"
Jacob nodded solemnly.
"How do you know?"
"Tribe legends."
"Ah."
Even Jacob could hear the curiosity with which that single syllable was laden and said, "Yeah, basically the story goes, one of the times our ancestors killed a leech on our lands, a wolf got bit. The elders tried everything they could think of to save him, but he got sick and weak, like he'd been poisoned, and after a few days, he died."
"You're sure he wasn't just changing?" Jasper asked. "It's common for the body to purge itself during the transformation process. It could look a lot like poisoning to someone who hadn't seen a vampire change before."
"Okay," Seth said slowly, "but if that's what it was, he wouldn't have stayed dead, right?"
"No, I suppose not."
"Either way," Jacob said with a snort, "no thanks."
"What you're imagining wouldn't work anyway," I said and rolled my eyes at Emmett. "Shifting from human to wolf and back again requires the one thing a vampire is incapable of doing - physically changing. They'd be stuck in one form or the other."
"Hmm, yeah, I guess." Emmett seemed disappointed he'd never get the chance to see a werewolf with the strength, speed, and indestructibility of a newborn vampire, but he was the only one. Esme tried to hide her distaste over his zeal for what he called "a good fight" by hoisting the x-ray imager back upstairs. While she was setting it back in its place, the phone rang.
Should I…?
"No, don't," I said as Esme started to reach for the phone. "You don't have anything new you can tell him. Your evasions will only make him more upset than they did this morning."
"Charlie?" Bella asked.
"Charlie," I agreed tensely.
Bella rolled her lower lip between her teeth in a familiar gesture of worry. I tried not to smile, considering who we were discussing, but seeing her little mannerisms carry through to this life gave me more joy than I had imagined possible.
A few minutes later, he tried again. No one spoke as the shrill tones echoed through the house and eventually died away.
We waited, all of us on edge, for him to call a third time, but the phone didn't ring again.
"Don't worry," Alice said as she skipped into the house and straight up to Jasper. "We won't be gone long."
Taking his attention away from Bella for the first time since we got back from our hunt, he looked at his tiny wife in alarm. "Where are you going?"
"Hunting with Em and Esme."
"Yes," Emmett said and moved to stand by the door, his black eyes bright with excitement. "'Bout time!"
I wondered if he would be quite so eager to accompany Alice when he learned that she intended to hunt in town for the last few pieces of furniture she wanted for our little cottage. Well, as she already knew what and where, it wasn't so much a hunt as claiming her prizes, but she needed Emmett's bulging muscles to keep up appearances. And anyway, surely she had planned a route that would take them close to a meal. Emmett wasn't the only thirsty one.
Jasper's eyes were as black as our brother's, something that didn't go unnoticed by his mate.
"I'd invite you, but you would refuse."
He glanced at Bella and nodded. "I shouldn't leave until things are a little more settled."
"Bella's not going to do anything," Alice said, exasperated. "But you're not going to leave, so I may as well make good use of this time." She kissed his cheek perfunctorily and was out the door before he could say anything else.
Bella met my eyes as the trio darted across the lawn. "But what about Sam and - "
"The other pack isn't a problem," I assured her.
"But the treaty said - "
"That I couldn't bite you. Yes, I know, but Jacob gave his permission. He allowed me to save you, said it wouldn't break the treaty. He's their rightful leader, so Sam couldn't hold your change against us."
For some reason, that seemed to irritate her. Jasper shifted uneasily, but did nothing else when Bella only shot the mutt a dirty look.
"Well," Jacob said, "that's true enough, but it was Nessie that really made the difference."
"You took Renesmee - " Bella shrieked.
"No," I said, quickly.
Jasper took a step toward us, and I felt my own irritation ease as he tried to keep Bella from succumbing to the emotions he felt. He couldn't understand why she hadn't yet, but it was surely only a matter of time. I had my hands on her, in case she launched herself at Jacob again, but despite her wild eyes and the angry twist to her mouth, she had herself under control and stayed on the couch.
"Don't be silly, Bells," Jacob said with a snort. "Like Edward would've let me take her anywhere."
"Especially not amongst a pack of vicious werewolves who had already tried to kill her once before," I agreed.
"Vicious," he scoffed. We've never killed anyone; can your family say the same? Pretty sure the answer's a big, fat no.
"Perhaps it's time you help Rosalie entertain Renesmee," I said through my teeth.
He glanced over his shoulder reflexively before turning back to scrutinize Bella. As much as I'd like to… "I think I'll stay here."
"Right now, Bella isn't a danger to anyone except you. A problem easily solved. I'm not asking you to leave entirely, but get out." Carlisle said my name in a low, disapproving voice, but I shook my head at him and insisted, "Jasper is helping, but it would be a lot easier on Bella if the source of her irritation wasn't standing there glaring at her."
Jasper nodded in fervent agreement.
After giving each of us a searching look, Carlisle relented. "Maybe that would be best. You are always welcome back, Jacob, and I assure you, I will call you myself if Seth requires your assistance."
"Yeah, Jake, I'm good here," Seth added. "Why don't you go ahead?"
Jacob visibly relaxed, unfolding his arms from where they'd been clenched tight across his chest as though staying had been taking all of his effort, and now that he had been asked to go be with the object of his imprint, he no longer had to fight conflicting desires.
"Fine," he muttered as he strode for the door. "I'll be able to protect her better if I'm with her, anyway."
The uncomfortable silence was broken by Seth's sharp hiss of pain as Carlisle repositioned his arm.
"Seth, I'm s-" Bella started.
"No, that was my fault," Carlisle said. "My apologies, but this may hurt a little more."
"No biggy, doc. Do what you need."
To fill the silence, and since I had been too preoccupied with Bella's change to pay them much attention at the time, I asked, "Exactly how did Jacob convince Sam to speak to him? When he came here, Sam didn't even want to turn human."
"Which would have been a lot easier to get around if you had been willing to help." Carlisle's rebuke was mild, but I knew he worried about my priorities. Bella was, of course, the most important thing to me, but he had to consider the whole family and needed to know he could count on me regardless of what was going on with the girl I loved.
"Why wouldn't you help?" Bella's red eyes were filled with a familiar bewilderment.
I shrugged, slightly amused by the accusation in her tone. "I wasn't going to leave you. What if you had awoken when I was gone?"
The bewilderment softened into a look of love that nearly made me forget we weren't alone. Jasper brought me back to reality when he cleared his throat and gave me a withering look. Is now really the time for that?
"So," I said, trying to fight back the need for her that threatened to overwhelm, "Jacob went to see Sam? By himself?"
"Yeah, our great and fearless leader," Seth said with a snort. "Took off first thing to straighten things out."
Bella had a strange expression on her face, like she couldn't decide if she was worried for his safety, or disappointed that he had safely returned.
"Wasn't that…" She paused as though searching for the right word.
"Dangerous?" I offered.
"The word Leah used was idiotic," Seth agreed. "But we couldn't talk him out of it. They already knew he'd imprinted, but he said he needed to tell Sam about her, what she's like, and that she wasn't a threat to the tribe or any other humans. He said they'd never hurt him, and, obviously, he was right."
Carlisle, who was busy wrapping Seth's arm in gauze, paused to give his patient a questioning look. "I am still uncertain as to how he could have known he would be safe."
"Protected by law, doc."
"But they attacked us after Nessie's birth, knowing they would have to fight the three of you then."
"Well, sure, but that was before they knew about the imprint."
"Imprinting protected him?" Carlisle pressed.
"No, not exactly. It protects her. Maybe, if she was like everyone was afraid she would be, it'd be different, but I dunno. It's against our highest law to harm a wolf's imprint."
"But Emily was - " Bella started.
"That was an accident," Seth said quickly. "And anyways, it's not like another member of the pack attacked her; Sam did it himself and isn't ever gonna forgive himself. But if one of us had hurt or killed her, on purpose or by accident, it would've been different. Bad. Real bad."
"It happened before?" I asked.
He nodded solemnly. "Nearly destroyed the pack. Brother against brother is never good, but this went deeper."
"Why? And how?"
"We're linked, you know? Mind to mind? If one of us hurts, we're all affected."
I could certainly understand that, having witnessed others' pain in my own mind. But things still didn't add up. "I thought you couldn't hear them. Or they you."
"That's why we were worried. We weren't sure they'd be able to talk. There's never been two packs before. But Sam heard Jake during the fight, so he was sure he'd be able to again."
"And he was right about that, too," Carlisle said.
"Yup. But it's not the same as before. Me, Leah, and Jake hear each other whether we want to or not, all the time, every thought, at least while we're wolves, but I can't hear the others at all. Only Sam and Jake can talk, and it has to be deliberate. They have to think at each other like they're speaking."
"Fascinating," Carlisle breathed.
I found myself once again feeling jealous of Jacob. As useful as my telepathy was, there were times when I would have given almost anything to rid myself of the intrusive thoughts of others. I doubted I would mind hearing them as much if the thoughts I caught were part of an intentional conversation with me, but everything all the time was wearing.
At least they could escape the others' thoughts whenever they wanted to by resuming their human forms. I wondered if any member of the packs knew how lucky they were. The link that made them closer than brothers, that could be heard across vast distances yet could be circumvented completely by the simple act of changing forms, gave them an unparalleled advantage with minimal drawbacks.
I doubted they'd see it that way.
"Yeah, I guess. Anyway," Seth continued, "she's protected because of the imprint, and because there's no reason to do anything to her even if he hadn't. She's not some monster."
The vehemence in his voice surprised me. He'd been sure all throughout Bella's pregnancy that everything would be fine, just as Bella herself had been.
"But if he hadn't imprinted," I said, "they would never have halted their attack long enough to find that out. By killing Renesmee, and us, and you three, Sam would have destroyed the pack just the same. Becoming a murderer isn't something anyone just gets over."
"No, it is not," Carlisle agreed. "I am sure we are all grateful to Jacob for his actions."
He ignored me when I grunted in annoyance. Grateful for the outcome, for Bella's and Renesmee's safety, certainly I was that, but the reason behind those actions? The imprint itself? Not so much. I found it quite satisfying to see a tightening around Bella's eyes as she seemed to agree with me. She wasn't grateful that he'd imprinted on our daughter.
I felt a smile threatening and tried to control it by asking another question. "Carlisle, you never did say what happened when you met with Sam."
"He agreed to renew the treaty, with the stipulation that, under no circumstances would another vampire's change be permitted. Jacob made an allowance for Bella due to her situation and her desire to join us, and Sam has to honor that, but I think Sam believes Jacob's feelings clouded his judgement, and he would not have done so if he had not been in love with her."
"No," Seth said thoughtfully. "There's more to it than that. Before we knew about the baby, Sam told Jacob that the pack wasn't going to go after you for Bella's choices."
Incredulous, hardly believing what I was seeing in his mind, I said, "Sam wouldn't have objected? Even without Jacob's permission?"
"He had to put the good of the tribe first. If he attacked, lives would've been lost on both sides, and for what? You weren't gonna hurt anyone, unless Bella, here, goes on a rampage." He snickered at her appalled look.
"Something that, under normal circumstances, is not unheard of," Carlisle said, gravely. "I am grateful he would not have objected to Bella's change, though Sam's desire to limit our numbers from growing further is understandable." ...especially if your theories regarding our presence influencing their change is correct.
"What do they think we're going to do?" I scoffed. "Just keep growing our family? We're already too noticeable as it is."
As you were not there, I cannot say for certain what he was thinking.
I made a rude noise in the back of my throat, and he gave me an equally dirty look, but continued on without otherwise acknowledging the exchange.
"As before, we agreed not to cross onto their lands, though I extended an open invitation for them to come here. Considering Jacob's bond with Nessie, it would have been nice if they could have come to see us as part of their extended family, but I suppose we will have to settle for no longer being mortal enemies."
"I think we're lucky to have gotten that much from them," Jasper muttered while glancing out the windows to where Leah was once again glaring in our direction. "Well, they've already done more than enough to help protect us. We'll just have to hope it never comes down to that again."
"Why would it?" Seth asked. "What, do you have more army-spawning love-sick wackos we should be expecting or something?"
"You never know."
