Bella
Sunrises don't get enough credit. Humans are never awake early enough to enjoy them. When Renesmee was younger, I used to get her out of bed so we could watch together. Those moments, sitting outside and experiencing the world awaken with my daughter, are some of my most treasured.
"Penny for your thoughts?" Edward asks, sitting next to me on the deck, his face lit by the faint warm glow of the rising sun.
"You'd pay a lot more than a penny for my thoughts." I joke, leaning into him.
"I'd give a kingdom for you thoughts." He laughs.
"I was just thinking about Ness. About how we would watch the sun rise together. I'd get her out of bed and carry her out here with me. Sit her in my lap in her princess pajamas and see her sleepy eyes light up as the colours painted the sky. Now she's growing up." I tell him, looking out into the horizon.
"She's grown up." He replies, a slight sadness in his voice.
"Why did it have to be so fast? If she were a normal seven year old she would still be in her princess pajamas, able to fit so easily into my lap."
"But if she were a normal seven year old she wouldn't be here in a hundred years." He makes a good point.
"I know it's a small price to pay, such a short childhood for such a long life, but it's still a sacrifice I wish we didn't have to make." I agree.
"She'll always be our baby."
"Do you think she'll be able to have her own babies?" I wonder out loud.
"All the signs seem to point toward yes." He answers, more at ease with the topic than I was expecting.
"How long do you think they'll live?"
"I don't know, how long do wolves live?" He jokes.
"A year ago you would have slapped that thought out of someone's head." I laugh in surprise.
"A year ago she was a child."
"The most adult child ever."
"I think we have Jacob to thank for that. While we were trying to keep her our little girl forever, he was desperate to see her to become everything we all knew she could be. And he was right. If we had babied her she might not have become the amazing woman she is now." He says.
"I'm glad she has him. I guess we got lucky. Who wouldn't want to know that their daughter will be safe and loved forever?" I smile.
"At least one person. If you can call him that." Edward reminds me, all traces of joking and whimsical reminiscing now gone from his voice.
"Right." I reply, not knowing what else to say.
"I'm worried about her." He admits.
"We all are. She's had to grow up so fast."
"But that's the thing, I'm not sure she has yet. Her thoughts, from what little I can tell, are all fear and innocence. There's no anger or pain or anything you might expect from someone like her. I don't think she has any idea what she's actually been through, or what she could've been through if Demetri hadn't stepped in." He says and I can hear the anger and pain in his voice. I think Alexa's past affects him far more than anyone else in the family. I think it's partially the guilt he feels for his initial reaction to finding out I was pregnant. It's a piece of our history that he's never really forgiven himself for. He's equating his own original disregard for Renesmee to Aro's abuse of Alexa, even though the two couldn't be any more different. He was worried for the life of someone he loved. Aro was proving he was incapable of loving anything other than power.
"How do you tell someone they've spent their whole life as a disregarded pawn in their father's own sick game? We can't just expect her to be able to comprehend the depth of his cruelty all at once. It wouldn't be fair to her." I tell him.
"But she needs to know, sooner rather than later. Aro's not going to just roll over on this one. He knows how powerful she is. He's planning, he must be." He argues.
"Alice hasn't seen anything." I remind him.
"Because he hasn't made a decision yet. But he will. And when he does, she needs to know what she's walking into. She's not safe. Especially if her powers can be neutralised by depriving her of blood. As soon as he finds that out..." he trails off.
"How would he find that out?" I ask.
"He might already know. If he read those two girls," Edward starts.
"He wouldn't have." Demetri interrupts, stepping onto the deck with us. "He's terrified of her power, of even sensing it through other people's memories. I can count on one hand the amount of times he's been in my head in the past six years. And even then he just skims the surface, careful to avoid any memories that go back further than a few days. If he thought they were being constantly subjected to it, he wouldn't have gone anywhere near their minds."
"Can you be certain?" Edward asks.
"No one can be entirely certain with Aro, he can be incredibly volatile. I can tell you I tracked his mind to the tower a few days ago. He knows she's gone. Shortly after that Giulia and Allesandra's minds went off the grid, so to speak. They're dead. It's possible he searched their memories before killing them, but it would go against every strategy he has for dealing with her."
"Dealing with her." I pick up on his choice of language.
"That's what he does. He does not see her as a daughter, he does not love her, he has used Chelsea's ability to make absolutely certain of that. And you both need to accept that now for her sake. She does not have a dad, or even a family, the way your daughter does. She has a father who is a monster, and one day she will know that. But we're going to have to let her get there on her own. Little by little." He says, a fierceness in his voice that lets us know he's heard everything Edward and I have just said.
"You're wrong you know, she does have a family now." I tell him.
"I hope you're right." He replies, not entirely convinced.
"We'll take care of her." I argue, a fierceness in my own voice now.
"You can't just force a family on someone. They have to choose you. You think I'm naïve to Chelsea's powers? I know she cut my ties with Amun, the same way I know she can't cut yours to Carlisle. Because you both chose your families."
"Carlisle chose me." Edward points out.
"And eventually you chose him too." Demetri responds.
"So what are you saying?" I ask.
"I'm saying you can't force love, as much as we might want to sometimes. I hope she chooses you, but it might not happen, and we all need to be prepared if it doesn't." Demetri answers, but his words don't seem entirely directed at us.
"Are you talking to us or yourself now?" Edward questions, picking up on his double meaning.
"A bit of both." Demetri concedes.
"You know her better than anyone, is there anything we can do, to make this easier for her?" I ask, wishing we could do something to ease the inevitable emotional pain that's in store for her.
"The truth is I don't know her at all. I don't think she knows herself. She was words on a page for so long that I never stopped to think that might be all she was. She's spent her whole life trying to please others. I'm not sure she's ever done anything to please herself." Demetri answers, his voice tinged with something deeper than sadness. Guilt maybe. There's enough of that to go around.
"So how do we change that?" I ask, needing to remain proactive.
"I'm not sure you can. Your daughter, however, might be able to." Demetri tells us. "She feels comfortable around her. When the two of them together, it's like Alexa can finally take off her mask. She's spent her entire childhood trying to be enough to please me or her father, blaming our physical absence on herself. And now I find out that her reluctant roommates were making her feel inadequate as well. I'm worried she might believe she's not vampire enough for vampires and not human enough for humans. With Renesmee, she can be herself. They're the same."
"So what, we just sit back and let Ness work her magic?" I reply, never really one to just sit back.
"I don't like leaving her fate in the hands of a seven year old either, but she's got more experience being a hybrid than any of us." Demetri responds.
"She's a pretty incredible seven year old if that makes you feel any better." Edward smiles, never missing a chance to praise our daughter.
"Yes, I've gotten that impression. The dog, however." Demetri says, not hiding his disdain for shape-shifters.
"If you want Ness you get Jake. They're kind of a package deal." I tell him, almost enjoying watching him squirm.
"And you're okay with this?" Demetri asks, clearly underestimating my loyalty to Jacob.
"She could do worse." Edward answers, knowing his lack of detail will drive Demetri crazy.
"My understanding of their kind is limited, but I was under the impression that they were meant to despise vampires." Demetri says, switching tact to become a bit more diplomatic, understanding he's not going to get anywhere by insulting our friend.
"Jake got over that. Now he only hates the bad ones." I reply, letting the insinuation hang in the air. I know it's not entirely fair, Demetri hasn't done anything recently to make me believe he's anything but honourable. But old habits die hard.
"I don't want him giving her the impression that her paternally inherited genes are something to be ashamed of. The man she inherited them from has already done enough damage there." Demetri argues, finally making a valid point.
"He won't. He never has with Renesmee." Edward tells him.
"Because of some strange animal trait that binds him to her." Demetri replies.
"If he were to do anything to suggest Alexa's vampire half was shameful, he knows the implications that would have on Ness, he wouldn't do anything that could hurt her, not even indirectly. And aside from that, he's a pretty decent guy, not that I expect you to take our word for that." Edward responds, his turn to be diplomatic, kind of anyway.
"I know it seems like I'm being harsh for someone who's depending on your kindness, and I am incredibly grateful. But you have to understand, I've just left everything for this girl. She's all I have left. And I would do it all again. But if you ruin her, I will ruin you." Demetri threatens.
"I don't doubt that. But you should know, if you ruin her, we'll ruin you." Edward replies, his overprotective father traits fully on display.
"Then I'm glad we're on the same page." Demetri smiles, shaking Edward's hand.
"We should go see if they're awake. She needs to get that ability under control. Bella will need to leave to hunt eventually, and when she does, I'd prefer not to come back to world war three." Edward suggests, taking advantage of the lighter atmosphere.
"You really think she can control it?" Demetri asks, not convinced, but I suppose he's the only one who's ever fully experienced it. And if Carlisle's behaviour yesterday is anything to go by, we definitely have an uphill battle ahead of us.
"Most vampires can." Edward reassures him.
"But you happen to be the exception?" Demetri retorts, making a fair point.
"Trust me, I would love to be able to tune out people's thoughts most of the time." Edward says.
"Most." Demetri replies, raising an eyebrow.
"I'll admit, it has its uses." Edward smiles, challenging him.
"If you do figure her brain out, let me know." Demetri concedes.
"You'll be the first person I tell. You did rescue her after all, that has to count for something." Edward tells him, trying to quell their roller coaster of a spitting contest.
"I do love her. I don't know how, or even entirely why yet, but I know I do." Demetri responds, obviously trying to convince us of his good intentions.
"We get it." I say, stepping in before Edward has the chance to even consider challenging him again.
"Then let's give this a go." Demetri agrees.
As we make our way into the house and up the stairs I can hear laughter coming from the girls' bedroom. We all stop, Edward and I sharing a hopeful smile while Demetri looks as if we've just removed fifty pounds of weight from his back.
"Girls, you awake?" I call through the door, knocking.
"Yeah Mom, we have been for hours, we were wondering what was taking you so long." Renesmee calls back, not even bothering to come to the door. I can still hear Alexa laughing. Ness seems to join in again as soon as she's done talking.
"Alright, meet us in the backyard in ten minutes." I tell her.
"Okay Mom." She answers, still trying to get her giggle fits under control.
"Well that sounded promising." Demetri whispers as we make our way down that stairs. "I didn't know if she was still capable of laughing like that."
"Something tells me she's capable of much more than we can even image." Edward replies.
"Why do you say that?" Demetri asks.
"She's like Ness." Is the only answer Edward offers. We sit in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, waiting for the girls. I think we're all contemplating Alexa's future, there seems to be infinite possibilities, some brighter than others. But they all have one thing in common. Eventually she'll have to face Aro. Soon Carlisle and Esme come out to the back yard, followed by Alice and Jasper, and even Emmett and Rosalie join. I can see Alexa's eyes widen as she and Renesmee exit the house. This is probably a bit intimidating for someone who's not accustomed to human contact with more than two people at once.
"I'm not sure we all need to be here." I say, hoping everyone will get the hint.
"Come on Bells, we all helped you become super shield." Emmett says, never one to pick up on subtlety.
"I hadn't just met you the day before." I reply.
"Fine, if you think she can do it without us." Emmett taunts.
"I know she can do it without you." Ness replies. I'm proud of her for sticking up for Alexa, but worried she might be adding some pressure.
"It's okay if you can't. No one expects you to do it today. We're just getting started." I smile. "And by we, I mean Alexa, Ness, and I. We'll keep you posted." I tell everyone.
"So what are we supposed to do?" Rosalie asks.
"What would you do if she wasn't here?" I ask.
"Her hair, again." Emmett jokes, earning him a hit to the gut from Rosalie. He doubles over, but we all know he's just pretending for Rose's sake.
"Fine. We'll be inside if you need us." Rosalie replies coldly, dragging Emmett back into the house.
"I don't think she likes me very much." Alexa says sheepishly.
"It takes her a while to warm up to anyone over the age of three." Edward smiles.
"So I just got here a little late." Alexa responds.
"You got here right on time. We'll be inside if you need anything." Carlisle gives her shoulder a reassuring squeeze as he and Esme make their way back into the house.
"After you're done here, let me know, we'll go shopping." Alice chimes in.
"For what?" Alexa asks.
"Whatever you want." Alice answers.
"I don't need anything." Alexa replies, not realising that means nothing to Alice.
"You don't need to need anything to go shopping. Have you ever gone clothes shopping?" Alice asks, a spark of excitement lighting up her face.
"No, but the closet upstairs is full." Alexa explains.
"Yeah, with stuff I picked out. Don't you want to choose your own clothes?" Alice argues.
"Alice, if you take her shopping, you're just going to pick everything out anyway." I point out.
"Yeah, but now I know what she looks like and if she comes I'll know what looks good on her." Alice says.
"She's a hybrid, everything looks good on her." Edward laughs.
"Fine, but we are going shopping sometime this week. Put it in your calendar." Alice tells Alexa.
"I don't have a calendar." Alexa responds.
"You do now." Alice smiles, before prancing back into the house.
"Forgive my wife, she gets easily excited." Jasper says, giving Alexa a polite nod before following Alice.
"I'm watching you." Edward says, pointing at me. "If my wife gives you any trouble, you just let me know." He tells Alexa, giving her a smile before following the rest of his family inside.
"Are you going to be okay?" Demetri asks her, clearly hesitant about leaving her alone again.
"Am I not safer than I've ever been?" She responds.
"You are." He tells her, kissing the top of her head, which I can't help but notice is in that awkward place between familial and romantic. I know that place all to well, I watched Jake and Nessie struggle with it for months.
"Awesome, now that we've gotten rid of the old folks, what now?" Ness jokes, once he's made his way back to the house, a devilish glint in her eye.
"You know, I am still your mother." I tell her in a warning tone.
"I thought nineties kids were cool." She bates me.
"We are, and I'm about to show you how cool. Alexa, can you feel your magnetism?" I ask, turning to Alexa.
"Sorry, this is what was considered cool in the nineties? Asking questions." Renesmee jokes, a cheeky smile lighting up her face.
"You want to go inside with everyone else?" I warn her.
"Nope." She says, pursing her lips to show me she'll keep her mouth closed.
"Alexa, can you tell me what it feels like?" I ask again.
"I don't know, it's like this weird pull I guess. Kind of like a vacuum I think. Sucking people in." She answers, unsure.
"Can you feel how far it goes?" I continue my line of questioning.
"No." She answers, not even taking a minute to think.
"Can you try?"
"No, everything's blocked, like there's nothing to suck in."
"Yeah, that's my fault. I'm kind of a human shield." I answer.
"You can lower it from me." Ness offers.
"Yeah, that's not happening." I tell her.
"Come on, it's not like I can hurt the rest of you. I'm not as strong, or as fast."
"You're also my daughter, and I would be the worst mother in the world if I let you be the guinea pig."
"So Carlisle again?" Ness asks.
"What, so you can get mouthy with him and he can come after you this time? Too risky. Come on, we're going for a drive." I tell them.
"Where?" Ness questions.
"Charlie's." I answer.
"What, so you can put your dad at risk but not your daughter?" Ness retorts.
"Yep." I tell her.
"But he's human." Ness argues
"Exactly, he can't hurt anyone."
"But he can get hurt."
"I don't want to hurt anyone." Alexa says, interrupting our silly mother-daughter argument.
"He's the sheriff of a town crawling with vampires and werewolves, he can handle himself." I lead them both back into the house and grab the keys to the Volvo. We make our way to the garage and Ness and I get in, while Alexa just stares, looking lost.
"She's never been in a car before." Renesmee realises before I do, quickly getting out. "Let me get that for you." She says, opening the back car door.
"Thanks." Alexa says, hesitantly getting into the back seat.
"Scoot over." Renesmee tells her. "I'll sit back here with you."
"Okay." Alexa replies, sliding over to the opposite side.
"See this?" Ness asks, grabbing the seatbelt. "There's one on your side too. You just take it, and bring it down here, and clip it in." She explains, demonstrating. "It's okay, that one's always a pain in the ass." She laughs, when Alexa has some trouble clipping it in to the buckle, she reaches over and shows her how it's done. I smile, watching them. I have no idea where she gets her patience. Not from me that's for sure.
"Everyone buckled?" I ask, looking in the rear view mirror.
"Yep." They both reply, and for the first time in maybe years I feel like a normal mom again, driving my daughter and her friend around. When we pull into Charlie's driveway he comes out of the house to meet us at the car. I'm quick to extend my shield to him before I even get the car in park.
"Well this is a surprise." He says as me and Ness get out. She's already pulled her hood up, and thrown a pair of sunglasses on, shielding her face from the neighbours. When it started to become noticeable that she was in fact the same child from a few months ago, just a foot taller and seemingly years older, we started to become a bit more stealthy. Now they probably think he's running some sort of charity for the blind. No one ever wears sunglasses in Forks. Ness immediately runs to give him a hug, almost knocking him over, underestimating how fragile he is, like always.
"Jesus kid, you might not be getting bigger anymore, but you're definitely getting stronger." He jokes.
"Dad, we've another surprise for you." I say, as Alexa reluctantly gets out of the car.
"Hi." She says.
"Charlie Swan, nice to meet you." My dad says, holding his hand out for a handshake.
"Alexa." She responds, lightly shaking his hand with trepidation.
"One name. Like Madonna. Cool. Is this one of those need to know things?" He asks me.
"Yeah." I reply, not elaborating.
"It always is with you kid." He jokes. "You wanna come inside and you can not tell me what I don't need to know?"
"That would be great dad." I smile, letting him lead us inside, his arm still around Renesmee's shoulders.
"So I'm guessing you didn't just stop over for a cup of instant coffee?" He asks.
"Not exactly, we need your help." I tell him
"Can you tell me with what?" He asks.
"It might feel a bit weird, but you just got to trust me okay." I say.
"Fine, but you owe me a favour." He concedes.
"You're not going to tell me what it is until later, are you?" I ask.
"Need to know, which you don't yet." He replies, beating me at my own game.
"Fine, I owe you a favour." I give in.
"Thank you. Now what do you need me to do?"
"Stand there."
"That's it?"
"For now." I tell him. "You ready?" I ask Alexa.
"I guess." She answers, not seeming very ready. I slowly lower my shield from him. Not taking my eyes off Alexa.
"Here, let me get you a seat." Charlie immediately says to Alexa.
"I'm okay." Alexa replies, uncomfortable.
"You don't look okay. Seriously what can I get you? Something to eat? A drink? A pony?" He asks.
"You never got me a pony." Renesmee mutters under her breath.
"Renesmee." I warn.
"Sorry." She says, quickly shutting her mouth again.
"Alright Alexa, how far does it stretch?" I ask.
"I don't know. I can't tell." She responds.
"Try backing up. See how it feels." I tell her.
"Is she bothering you? Because I did not raise her to be so bossy." Charlie says to Alexa, turning on me.
"No, she's helping, really. She's amazing. I'm so thankful for her." Alexa smiles, I know she's saying these things to calm Charlie, but there's something genuine about the way she looks at me. She tries backing up a little.
"Can you feel anything?" I ask.
"Not really. I mean, it moves with me. But I can't tell how far it extends."
"Can you picture it? It's colour, it's texture."
"It's like these big loopy translucent waves."
"Like a magnetic field?" I ask, hoping it might help her conceptualise it.
"Yeah, I guess." She says, a look of understanding crossing her face.
"Good, picture that. Try and bring it in closer to you." I tell her.
"I don't know how." She replies.
"Bella, she doesn't know how, give the kid a break." Charlie says, a hint of aggression in his voice.
"No, she's right. I want to try." Alexa says quickly. She closes her eyes and I can tell she's concentrating very hard. "Am I doing anything?" She asks.
"I don't know, are you?" I ask slightly condescendingly, trying to bate Charlie.
"Bella, grown or not, I will punish you." Charlie threatens me, and it's all I can do to hold in my laugh.
"I'm going to take that as a no. Let's try something else. Alexa, maybe go in the other room, see what happens if there's a wall separating you." I tell her.
"It's okay Mr. Swan, she really is helping." Alexa reassures, giving him a sweet smile that I'm not sure anyone could resist, before heading to the opposite side of the wall.
"What does it feel like now?" I shout to her.
"It feels like it's going straight through the wall. But I don't know how to stop it."
"Dad, I think she wants that pony now." I say.
"Sure thing, I'll just give Billy a call, they've got plenty of foals on the reservation." He says, reaching for the phone.
"Yep, it's definitely going through the wall." Ness shouts. "You might want to stop this, before we end up with a whole family of horses." She tells me.
"Alright Alexa come back in here and tell my dad you don't want a pony." I shout.
"Bells, if she wants a pony, she wants a pony, I think she can make that decision for herself." He argues.
"Mr. Swan, please stop, I don't want a pony. I don't have anywhere to keep it." Alexa says, coming back into the room.
"Then why would you tell me she wanted a pony?" Charlies asks me, the anger increasing in his voice. Let's hope this works. Even just a little.
"I don't know Dad, I thought it would be funny."
"You thought it would be funny. Tease the poor girl with a pony when she doesn't even have a place to stable it? Isabella Swan I don't know who you think you are, but you are not the daughter I raised."
"Really Dad? Would you rather have her for a daughter?" I ask angrily, pointing to Alexa.
"She's better behaved than you."
"Well maybe I should just take care of this little problem then." I threaten ominously, hoping Alexa doesn't take it seriously, knowing Charlie will.
"Isabella Swan. I put you into this world I can take you out of it." He yells, storming toward me.
"No!" Alexa shouts and for a brief moment I see a look of clarity cross Charlie's face, but all too suddenly it's gone and he starts coming towards me again. I wrap my shield around him as quickly as I can. That look of clarity returns, quickly replaced by a look of confusion.
"Okay, what just happened?" He asks.
"Well I was hoping you could tell me. You stopped for a second there, was that just because Alexa said no, or did you stop feeling the pull?"
"The pull? Is that what you call it? Bells, I just almost asked Billy for a pony for gods sake, you can't give me one little answer?"
"It's not exactly a little answer. Do you want that favour or not?"
"Oh no, I've already earned that favour." He tells me, leaving no room for argument.
"Okay, you have, you absolutely have, but can you just tell me what you felt?" I ask again.
"Well I felt like I was about to hurt my own daughter, and then I wasn't, and then I was again."
"Okay good."
"Good?"
"Not good, but don't worry you can't hurt me Dad." I tell him.
"Oh right, more weird stuff." He replies sarcastically.
"Can we just go back to that moment where you felt like yourself again. What was that?"
"I don't know, it was like I was in this vortex where I needed to defend her." He says, gesturing to Alexa, "Because for some reason you decided it was okay to threaten a house guest. And then it went away for a second or two, and then it came back again."
"And what did it feel like for you?" I ask Alexa.
"Kind of like a rubber band. Like it was stretched, but when I got scared he was going to hurt you, I snapped it back to me. Only for a second though before it shot back out again."
"It's definitely a start." I smile.
"Why would you provoke him like that?" Alexa asks, clearly confused by my methods.
"Incentive. Sometimes it's the only way. I think we'll call it a day. We've made some definite progress. Tomorrow I think we'll try with Jasper if that's okay. Now that I know what I'm up against, I need Edward to be able to do his thing."
"His thing? Do I want to know what that means?" Charlie asks.
"Nope. And even if you did you don't have to." I smile.
"Right, well, you have to go dress shopping for the wedding with Sue and Leah next weekend." He tells me.
"That's the favour?" I reply, dress shopping and Leah, two of my own personal circles of hell.
"Come on Bells, this is important to Sue." He says.
"Yeah, and I'm sure she'd have a much nicer time taking us separately." I try to argue.
"You're going to be step sisters." Charlie reminds me.
"Yeah, and Leah's less excited about that fact than I am."
"Look, I don't know what the deal is with you two, but can you try to put it aside, at least for the wedding? For me and Sue?" He asks.
"Yeah, Dad, I can." I tell him, he's right. They both deserve a nice day with no supernatural drama.
"Thank you." He says, before turning to Alexa. "It was nice meeting you, I think. I'm still not really sure what happened."
"I'm sorry about that." Alexa apologises.
"About what?" He asks.
"Nice try Dad." I say, heading towards the door. "We'll see you later."
"You're welcome back anytime. As long as I don't end up with a backyard of miniature horses and an assault charge against my own daughter."
"You won't dad, I promise. Thank you for everything." I say, giving him a hug before we go. Ness quickly follows suit, and he wraps her up in his arms. I know he finds my hugs strange and alien. I'm cold and hard, Renesmee's the opposite. She's a lot more like I used to be. A lot more like the daughter who left him behind as soon as she got married.
As we get back in the car Alexa apologises again, "I'm really sorry if I made things awkward between you and your dad."
"Don't worry about it, I made things awkward between me and my dad seven years ago."
"So, looking forward to your sisterly bonding time between you and Leah?" Ness teases.
"Ness, don't." I warn.
"I don't get why she hates us so much." Renesmee says.
"Yes you do." I reply.
"Okay fine, but it's not like we can help what we are anymore than they can help the whole imprinting thing. And hey, it might have saved her from an unhappy marriage to Sam."
"Yeah, don't say that to her."
"I wouldn't. I'm just saying, if my cousin were Jake's soulmate, I'd want to know." Nessie argues.
"Would you though?" I ask her seriously.
"Well no, but that's because I'm Jake's soulmate."
"Yeah, and she thought she was Sam's."
"Okay, fine, admittedly that's got to suck."
"Exactly. Look, I know I haven't been the best influence when it comes to Leah, and this rivalry between us has been going on since before you were born. But if we're all going to be family, which we are, we both have to try a bit harder to see it from her point of view." I tell my daughter.
"So is that what imprints are? Soulmates?" Alexa asks. I hadn't even realised how bizarre this whole conversation must be for her.
"It's a wolf thing. Vampires do something similar I think, but it's not quite as obvious to them. Not at first anyway." Renesmee explains.
"Right, so this imprinting thing, it's for life?" She replies.
"Yeah, and longer if you believe the legends." Ness smiles.
"What about with vampires? Is that for eternity?" Alexa asks.
"Yes. I don't know anyone who's ever moved on from their mate. Even after their mate's death." I answer.
"That's a long time." Alexa realises, clearly considering someone specific.
"It is, so you really have to be certain. It's not just a decision you make on a whim. Or something you can force just because you want it to be true." I say, watching her expression in the rear view mirror. We've certainly given her a lot to think about.