Author's Note: Hi everyone! Thanks for reading this far! Hope you like this story! And please let me know if you like it ;)

I have to slow down the rhythm of the updates, since my children are back home, but I'll see this story to its end. A lovely day to you!

Chapter 6

When I started to surface from a very deep sleep, like a coma, I shivered a little. I was still on the thick golden carpet of my father's room, but I had a blanket on me. I was naked underneath, and in my human form. I shivered again, and a familiar voice rose from across the room. "Do you want another blanket?"

I sat up, gathering the thick wool around me, and looked at the doorframe. Sitting on the floor next to it, Jacob was gazing at me with tight features. He had bags under his wary eyes, but he managed a smile. Then I read his mind. I gasped, rocking back and forth, and put a fist in my mouth to stop my coming scream. He jumped to his feet, remorse and worry fighting in his head now, but it was too late. I'd seen what he remembered.

During the night I had changed from wolf to human constantly, my shape flickering like a bizarre candle, whining and moaning in my sleep, growling and baring my teeth every time he tried to put his hand on my shoulder, even taking a wild swipe at him once. I had been conflicted even when unconscious. I really was going crazy.

"It's all right," he stuttered, wanting to come to me but hesitating. "It'll be all right."

"How can you say that?" I murmured, scared beyond anything I'd ever known. "What am I now? Jake, I..."

"Don't freak out," he said more firmly but gently, taking two steps forward then sinking to his knees in front of me. "You're still you, Renesmee Cullen. You're my girlfriend. You're a half-vampire, and you're a member of the Cullen family. Don't forget it."

He gingerly took my hand, obviously ready to jump back in case I phased, but I squeezed it with all my might. Then I threw myself at him, trembling from head to toe, and he put his arms around me. I hadn't any tear left, but my breathing hitched. He caressed my back, my hair, and lightly kissed my face.

"You'll be okay," he repeated more forcefully. "We're together. You're still you. I'll take care of you."

I thought about my missing tears while I was sobbing, and realized that it was yet another vampire trait. So I told him urgently "I have to phase. Now."

He pulled back immediately, but before he could rise I grabbed his neck and kissed him. He kissed me back, on his guard but happy, and I allowed myself five seconds of pure bliss. Then I released him and he hastily made his way to the door. In a quarter of a second I was a wolf again. This time my tears rolled down my muzzle, and his face crumpled.

"Don't cry," he said, coming near me again and patting my neck in a loving gesture. "Please don't cry, Nessie. We'll sort this out."

I wasn't convinced, and I could see that he was only trying to reassure me. We didn't have any certainties on the future. He kissed me on my nose, and I felt a little bit better. It was weird, but good. He smiled, then, and asked me "Do you want me to phase too?"

I nodded with a small whine. I wanted to be able to communicate with him, and I knew that Edward would translate for us. He started to strip, and then abruptly stopped, fingers on the waistband of his boxer shorts, going red and shyness in his head. I deliberately looked at him in the eye, huffing softly. He had seen me naked all night, after all. I had every right to know him as well. So, trying to be casual about it and not dwell too much on my own nakedness, he removed his last barrier.

I appraised him up and down, and a wolf smile worked its way on my face. He was so handsome. And I wanted him. Not now, of course, we weren't ready for that. Far from it, even. But I wanted to be his, someday. And I wanted him to be mine.

"Satisfied?" he asked, tomato red and embarrassed, but strangely teasing too.

I nodded with a happy yelp, and he finally smiled. Then he took two steps back and phased in the hallway.

You're beautiful, I told him immediately, not hiding my wonder and wanting.

Thanks, I guess. You're... breathtaking too, Nessie.

I shrugged, not caring about me so much. I just wanted him to find me at his taste, and if that was so, then it was fine. And it looked like it, even if he was trying very hard not to think about it. I wanted to chuckle. He was a real gentleman, in spite of everything.

Shall we go down? he asked me, wanting to change the subject. The vampires have a council meeting.

Anything major I missed?

No, he answered as we made our way down. Still discussing theories and strategy, as far as I know.

We arrived in the living room in a few seconds, and it was more of a war council, I decided. All the Cullens, the Brazilians, and Sam with Paul, Jared and Jake's pack, minus Seth and Leah. I dimly heard the two of them running around the house, a mile away. They were on the watch. Everyone was seated around the coffee table, but only the Quileutes were eating the cakes Bella – I recognized her chocolate cakes – had made. Even the perspective of impending doom couldn't make the wolves stop eating.

Our arrival was greeted by small nods, tight smiles and concerned thoughts. I tuned them all out, focusing on my mother. I didn't want to be overwhelmed again, I was enough of a mess already. She rose from her seat and came to me, her golden eyes full of anxiety.

"Are you all right, Nessie?"

I don't really know, I told Jake in my head, asking him to be my mouthpiece. But I have to stay wolf for now, or I'll change into a vampire.

With a deep frown, Edward repeated my words aloud, worry etched on his face.

"Then that's why you're still human," Nahuel said, nodding gravely and appraising me. "You're very strong to be able to resist. My sisters didn't fare well. Maybe this wolf thing is a good thing, after all."

Is it permanent? I asked him through Jake and Edward. Do I have to stay wolf forever?

"No, I don't think so," he said, shaking his head. "The transformation of my sisters took a week. So I suggest you stay wolf for that time span. After that, it should be okay, I think. Even vampire venom can't linger too much in any given body."

"How can you know that?" Carlisle asked in spite of himself. "How can you know about venom in a vampire body?"

"Joham made awful experiments," Huilen told him with a grim face. "On living vampires and humans alike. The venom we produce dissolves after about three days. The blood we absorb passes into our body through microscopic pores in our stomach and diffuses slowly in all our limbs and brain. Any human food we swallow is dissolved by venom in around twenty-four hours."

I wasn't the only one to be shell-shocked. It was impossible not to feel queasy. Living humans and vampires as guinea pigs... I swallowed back a bitter bile and breathed faster. Next to me Jake wasn't feeling better, but he was more poker-faced than I.

"I think I'm going to hurl," Paul said, very green. Sam patted him lightly on the shoulder, a little pale himself.

"It is now more important than ever that we stop this madman," Edward said, a hard edge in his voice, vengeance in his mind. "We can't let him harm any more humans or vampires. Nor can we let him destroy the Volturi," he added with a grimace. "As much as I dislike them, they're still useful to enforce our laws. We can't live inconspicuously without them."

"You're right," Carlisle said somberly. "But what can we do? We're no fighting force, and we cannot run around the world to find him."

"He'll come to us," Nahuel said. "He wants Nessie and me. For what, I don't know, but we're important to him."

"A journal?" Edward asked, reading his mind like me.

"I only read fragments," he said with a resentful voice. "I haven't had enough time to..."

"It's okay," Zafrina intervened calmly. "We know, Nahuel. You were defending yourself. What you know is enough."

"Zafrina is right," Jasper nodded. "We know who our enemy is. We'll know the whats and hows later. But what do we do about the Volturi?"

"It's too risky to contact them," Alice trilled from the kitchen, her mind full of swirling images. I focused on Bella again, still nauseated. She patted my neck with a faint smile. "They would take that as a provocation. And we do not want to have them attacking us while fighting Joham."

"No, we don't," Edward agreed, eyeing me calmly. "But is Joham going to attack them first?"

"I don't think so," Alice answered him. "He... he needs us. He... "

Her voice trailed off, and Edward suddenly focused hard on Esme's worry, but I'd seen what they didn't want me to see. Joham needed me to defeat the Volturi. And it was almost certain that I would die at some point in the process. I stayed silent, not wanting Jake to know, but I lifted my shield a little and spoke to my father.

If I die, then I won't become a vampire. That's all that matters. And I trust you to protect me, Dad. Don't worry.

He nodded imperceptibly, hiding his anguish, but Bella caught us, and her eyes narrowed. I shot a look at Jake and asked him about what we were going to do.

"We'll wait," Edward said, still immersed in Alice's visions but not liking some of the outcomes. "We can't find him otherwise."

"Then we'll be ready to ambush him here," Sam said with his deep voice. "Do we know anything about his accomplices?"

"They're five, maybe more," Nahuel answered, hiding his own worry. "And talented. I don't know about their abilities."

"We'll have to be extremely cautious," Sam said. "I'll have patrols of four wolves around here, and..."

"Of course", Edward said immediately. "Esme, the patrols will have to sleep and eat here, to protect La Push and allow them to rest."

"You're all welcome, of course," she agreed with her warm smile, already making the necessary arrangements in her head.

I heard my aunt Rosalie's mental grunt, but she was the only one to object. Even Emmett, usually teasing Jacob about his wolf stench, didn't complain, knowing what was at stake. But I... I was ill-at-ease. All this, all the strategies, the patrols, the protection, the caution, all this was for me. And I had a tough time accepting it. But I swallowed back my thoughts. I knew I needed all the help I could get. Not because dying was a bad thing for me. Well, it was if it meant that I couldn't leave happily ever after with Jacob. But I knew that, with my death, I would wound almost every one of the people here better than if I had shot them point-blank with a gun. I couldn't do that to them. I had to stay alive.

Bella turned back to me again, as if reading my mind, and sighed a little. "It'll be hard for me if you're a wolf now, even for a week, but if it's for the best..."

I didn't feel like it, but I tried Jake's wolfy smile, with my tongue out, and she chuckled reluctantly. I didn't want her to worry too much.

Alice and I won't say anything, Edward told me calmly, his determination to change the future building up. Your future isn't set, Nessie. I'll fight till the end for you.

I blinked once in his direction, and he couldn't help his crooked smile. You know your aunt and I are used to talking this way? Now you're in on it with us. I winked, careful that Bella couldn't see.

Around me conversations were erupting, ironing the details of our waiting, and I turned towards Jake. I'd like to go out, if it's okay. Breathe some fresh air, maybe run a patrol.

With me at your side, yes, he qualified, and Edward nodded.

I sighed but nodded too. It couldn't be helped. Before we could exit the living room, however, the air shimmered near the corner of the house. Leah had phased back and was approaching to report. Nothing, I heard in her head, but she had to check on the Quileutes. She still didn't trust us fully. I tried to control my rising anger.

She stepped on the threshold but stopped there, and said neutrally while routinely scanning the room "Everything's all right out there."

"Good", Sam said, speaking for Jacob. "Paul and Jared will take next watch."

And then, something major happened. Leah's eyes, flying fast on us, came to an abrupt stop when she reached Nahuel. There they dilated, her mouth popped open, and I heard and saw what Jacob had once described to me. She was spellbound, and across from her, Nahuel looked stunned, just as paralyzed as she was. And then...

NOOOOOOOOO! It can't happen! No! No! Not with a half-leech! No, no, no, no, no!

Her mental scream was so piercing, like a banshee, that I fell on my belly, yelping in pain, and two yards from me Edward fell on his knees, his hands on his temples, face contorted in agony. Through the haze of pain I noticed several things in a handful of seconds. Jake bent over me, panic-stricken, demanding to know what was wrong, nudging me with his muzzle. Bella shouted at the top of her lungs and ran to her husband.

"Edward!"

My father was on the floor, writhing like me under the screams and the pain, excruciating pain, that Leah was experiencing right now while running away. Jasper was wincing too, and asking himself if he should go after Leah and appease her, but knowing that she loathed him and would probably attack him. Sam and the Quileutes all ran after Leah, guessing what had happened, faces grim. Nahuel was stunned, and muttered "How can I fall in love with a wolf?"

Then the pain became unbearable. She was so lost, still so grieving after Sam, despite...

Nessie! Jake shouted in my head, barking in anguish to make me focus on him. What's happening, for God's sake?!

Leah... I told him through my spinning head. She... imprinted... on Nahuel.

Crap! he thought, now torn. And... yes, she just phased. She's running, and she won't come back if...

Stop her, I told him as firmly as I could, my head still an escapable prison of pain. Sam can't do it. You're her Alpha. Go, Jake! She's fast. I'll be fine.

He nudged me again, then bounded out the back door in one giant leap. I saw Bella, trying to hold my father still, pleading with him and shooting me desperate looks. A fraction of a second later Carlisle and Jasper were at my side, and my grandfather put his hand on my head.

"You and Edward are hearing Leah?" he asked. I only whined in assent. I heard that he had understood the situation.

I can't do anything about it, he thought dejectedly. What a mess.

Next to him Jasper was concentrating hard, trying to create a numbness for Edward's and my minds, but we were still linked to Leah. She wasn't too far, only two miles from here, and she was half-listening to Jake and Sam, who had phased too. But she was refusing their help, stubbornly rejecting her imprinting and still screaming in her head, half-crazy. Her shrieks were like torture, engulfing my mind and stopping me from blocking her thoughts.

Rosalie and Esme were explaining to Nahuel with gentle words how Leah was still conflicted about us, but he was still in shock, like his aunt Huilen. The Amazons were frozen, not sure about what they were supposed to do. Alice had come next to Bella, and together they were holding and calling Edward who was still on the floor, not moving anymore, but still suffering too. And then I realized what I had to do.

I fought Leah's shrieks and sat up on my hind legs, helped by Carlisle, and reached to Jake's mind, my own mind set. I would never be a vampire. I would never put myself out of his reach. I loved him much too much.

Jake? Do you hear me?

Yes, he replied, his head full of Leah's pain.

Jake, I'm a wolf now. I want to be in your pack. I won't be a copy wolf anymore. You're my Alpha, and I pledge myself to you.

What...? Nessie!

As I finished talking, I felt the sudden change. I saw everything: Jake's thoughts and Leah's and Seth's and Quil's and Embry's. I heard Jake and Sam talking. And I knew they saw me too. They all gasped, even Leah, and howled in unison. They welcomed a new wolf in Jake's pack.

"What's happening?" Carlisle asked, rattled.

"Nessie," Edward mumbled desperately, his head still full of Leah's inescapable screams. "No, Nessie..."

But I wasn't done. I stared at my uncle Jasper and whined. He stared back at me, guessing instantly what I wanted, but hesitated.

"No," Edward murmured, his voice barely intelligible. "Jazz, don't..."

I whined louder, my head clear in spite of Leah's pain. I knew that only I could act now. And Jasper complied, feeling my certainty. He just put his hand on my head, eyes full of emotion, and whispered "Don't forget that you can feel what they feel now. Brace yourself."

I nodded, a whirlpool of emotions seizing me, almost drowning me, but I focused. I put my nose on Jasper's shoulder, a silent thank-you, then got up on my paws and exited the house.

"Nessie!" Bella cried behind me, Edward sinking into deep remorse. I didn't have time for him now, and he shouldn't take the blame for all of this, but I'd deal with this later. For now, I had several people's minds to ease, mine included. I ran as swiftly as I could towards my fellow wolves, assembled in a clearing, and skidded to a halt next to Jacob. He was still pleading with Leah, who was spinning on herself, shaking her head in mad denial. She was berserk.

Leah, it's good, I swear to you! You imprinted, now you'll know true love! And Nahuel's fine, I can assure you!

No! I won't mate with a bloodsucker! No way!

He's not! He's a half-vampire, he has blood in his veins and eats human food!

No! I'm not like you, Jacob! I refuse to be any leech lover!

I could hear, see, and now feel too, that she wouldn't listen for now. Deep, very deep under her rage and pain, she was relieved to be finally free from Sam, but she was still too aggravated to hear reason. So I used my brand new talent. I concentrated, tuning Leah out, bringing calm within me, and it oozed out of me. The growls and yelps eased, then died, Leah's mental shrieks trailed off, and Jake sighed. Everybody relaxed. But I had to concentrate some more. Leah was still in pain. How could love cause pain like that, I didn't know, but I had to ease this pain, and I'd seen how Jasper did it. So I took a careful step towards her, concentrating hard, then touched her flank for the smallest of a second with my nose. Before she registered her surprise or could yell at me to back off, she collapsed. I'd made her sink into sleep.

All the wolves around us stared at me, but it was Jake who spoke, repeating Sam's words. Thank you, Nessie. Well done. She'll be better now, I hope.

I hope so too.

Impressive, Jake told me, echoed by his pack. And welcome to the tribe, Renesmee Cullen.

I grinned my new wolfish grin, delighted by the feelings of belonging surrounding me, and bathed in the sudden happiness. I enjoyed it, knowing that it wouldn't last.