Chapter 31: Old Business & Old Acquaintances

Salvatore Boarding House

[Damon's POV]

I am in the attic digging through a few trunks stored up here. I have a few things hidden from Stefan here that I tucked away shortly after my return from 'the War of Northern Aggression'. I found and kept the jewels that my mother kept hidden from my father in this trunk. The jewels are her families' heirlooms. As the 'oldest' son she gave them to me for when I married. They now belong to my wife. I want her to wear the necklace, bracelet and the ring for her graduation present.

I hear an unfamiliar voice just inside the front door. The young man asks for Stefan Salvatore. Elena yells for Stefan. This could be interesting.

I tuck the antique box of jewels under my arm and close the secret hiding place within the old trunk. I close it before heading to our room to tuck it into one of my hiding places, the secret compartment at the foot of my bed. I overhear the young man introduce himself to Stefan, "I am Jacob Salvatore Tulle." I quickly head downstairs to watch the drama unfold. From the sound of the young man's voice he is definitely related to us and a Leylock.

Stefan motions for him to join us in the Great room. I take a seat by the liquor cabinet and pour a glass of my favorite top shelf bourbon and watch my brother deal with the product of an indiscretion.

Jacob tells us, "I am seventeen years old. I was changed in 1880 by my mother Valerie Tulle. She hid me from Julien and Stefan by having me adopted into a wealthy family as a baby. Valerie posed as a maid for the household when I reached the age of fourteen. I was in a carriage accident when I was seventeen and Valerie's blood changed me. She gave me a potions bottle that I was to drink a few drops a day mixed with lemonade as a tonic to ward off diseases. After I changed she disappeared. I have been looking for both Valerie and my father Stefan Salvatore since then and I got this address for my father from a fellow hacker just before Slater died."

Stefan looks shell shocked. "Your mother was Valerie Tulle?"

"Yes, that is my mother's name."

"She told you about me?"

Jacob nods. He fidgets as he looks at his father. He has Stefan's green eyes but his hair is black like mine. He is slightly taller than Stefan. I can see the resemblance to our mother in his cheekbones. I think Stefan is still in shock.

"Jacob welcome to the family. I am your uncle Damon Salvatore. I was changed at the age of twenty five." He nods back at me in acknowledgement.

Elena is sitting on one of the davenports in the back corner of the room listening and for once not saying anything. She is giving Stefan room to deal with the situation. I am slightly surprised at her mature reaction. If Peter, Kol, and Henrik were around I would be betting on her reaction once Jacob was out of earshot. I pull out my cellphone discretely and send a text to them and to Bella.

Bella responds with: "Back home in twenty minutes."

Stefan finally mans-up, "Welcome Jacob, this is our family home. Sitting in the corner is Elena Gilbert she is my fiancée." Elena gives a polite nod back at Stefan. "The rest of our friends and family will be back soon from a shopping trip. Most of them will be graduating from high school tomorrow."

I hear the sound of cars in the drive and the laughter of the gang as they head through the front door. Bella is the first one entering the room and makes a beeline for my lap, giving me a kiss after she plops down.

"Jacob this is my wife Bella. Love I would like you to meet my new found nephew Jacob Salvatore Tulle."

Jacob smiles at her, 'it's nice to meet you Bella."

"Jacob please meet the ladies of our gang." Bella introduces the girls, "Angela, Bonnie, Caroline, Freya, Charlotte, Elżbieta, Sage and Rebekah. The girls smile and nod as Bella calls out their names. "The guys are getting our shopping bags out of the cars, they will be in soon." The guys clamor into the foyer with all of the shopping bags. Elena elected not to join their shopping trip. I can see that she is curious to what they bought.

I wait for the guys to unload various bags to different parts of the house, before I introduce them to my nephew. I think Stefan is still reeling from the news he is a father. I can tell that Jacob is curious. Angela and Bella are starting to show their pregnancies and he can hear the babies' heartbeats. Elijah is the first one down the stairs and he stands slightly in front of Angela. Peter moves in front of Charlotte and she pops him on the back of the head. "Behave, we are all family." The rest of the guys enter the room laughing at Pete's antics.

"Everyone this is my nephew Jacob Salvatore Tulle. He is Stefan's long lost son."

Charlie walks over to shake his hand. "I am Charlie Swan. My daughter is married to Damon. Pete is Charlotte's husband as if you couldn't tell. Elijah is married to Angela. Finn's wife is Sage. The other Mikaelson brothers are Kol, Niklaus and Henrik." They acknowledge the introductions as Charlie says their names.

"I am Jasper Whitlock. I am married to Elżbieta."

Bella smiles at him. "Please join us for dinner. Damon created a scrumptious Lasagna cooking in the oven." I wink at Stefan as the gang clears out the Great room for their rooms. I glance down at my wife, "You have some garlic bread to put in the oven." She laughs at me as she heads towards the kitchen. I catch up to her and tickle her side. She yelps with laughter as we enter the kitchen.

[Stefan's POV]

I really wish Valerie had told me about Jacob. I admit the timing would have sucked since I was changed into a vampire shortly after we made love. I guess she did the best she could. At least she protected him from Julien.

"Jacob, there are a few rooms on the second floor next to the library that are available if you want to pick one out. You are welcome to stay with us."

He nods back at me, "I would like to stay awhile and learn about our family." I walk with him down the hallway towards the library. He looks me in the eye, "I am glad to finally find you. I just wish I could find my mother too."

"I'll help you look for her. I will ask Damon and the rest of the family to search too. It may take some time to find her."

He smiles at me. He selects a room across from the library. "I'll let you get settled. I need to check on Elena." I give him a brief wave and let him get situated.

Elena is in the back garden pacing. "You have a long lost son?"

"Elena, Valerie and I made love once. I promised her that I would marry her. I looked for her for days after she disappeared. She must have run from Julien or left with him. Damon had left to go to war. It was just before Katherine came into my life and I became a vampire. Elena I can't change what happened in the past."

"I know. Everything keeps changing. Damon left and came back with a new family. More of them seem to keep turning up. We hardly spend time with each other as it is and a son added to the mix?"

"Elena, I promise to spend more time with you. We will have all summer before you start college in the fall." I see storm clouds about to erupt.

"Stefan you are supposed to start college with me this time. Are you still going to college with me like you promised?"

"I'm not abandoning our plans Elena. I just need some time to adjust to the changes that have been happening in our lives." She huffs and bumps my shoulder as she leaves. I should have handled that better.

Denali Alaska

[Irina's POV]

I take down a large grizzly they are cranky this time of year. So it is more fun to wrestle with them. It reminds me of Emmett. I quietly laugh to myself. He might be around here somewhere. I catch the scent of another vampire. Someone is watching me. I quickly finish off my meal and quickly bury the remains. I am still being watched.

I flash around an outcrop of rocks and push him into a tree. "Who are you and why are you watching me feed?"

He is shaking with fear. "My name is Fred. You can exist by hunting wildlife? I was only taught to eat humans."

"Large game tastes better, closer to humans. I don't hunt humans anymore."

"Will you teach me how to hunt your way?"

"I can, but I need to know who turned you."

"Riley turned me when I was gathering data for my thesis along the coast of Oregon. I tend to repel people from around me. I don't like being close to people. They make fun of me."

"Where is Riley located?"

"I last saw him in Seattle."

"Thanks for the information. I am going to take you to my family in Denali they will help you control the bloodlust and feed off animals instead of people. My sister Tanya is a very good teacher."

We approach the house. Tanya bounces out the door. "Irina, where were you? We were supposed to go hunting together." She looks Fred up and down. "Who is your friend and is he single?"

I laugh. "Tanya meet Fred. I found him in the woods after he watched me feed off a grizzly." If he was stunned by my hunting he is gob smacked at the first glance at my sister. "Fred this is my sister Tanya. She will be glad to show you how we hunt and feed."

More of the family come out of our home. Fred is looking like he wants to run for the hills. "Tanya, you might want to take Fred on that hunting trip immediately. He needs to feed."

Tanya taking one look at his expression nods to me and they both take off to go hunting.

[Eleazar's POV]

"Irina who is your friend?" Eleazar asks.

"He is someone I met while out hunting. He was part of Victoria's army in Seattle. He escaped and wants to feed on animals not people."

He nods at me, "We will teach him how to hunt our way. It seems that Tanya has finally found her mate. He is very talented."

When Fred and Tanya return from their hunt and other activities: he exchanges information with the rest of the family about Victoria and her army. Riley changed him. He also informs them that Laurent joined up with Victoria in Seattle. He doesn't know what happened to him. All he knows is Victoria wanted to kill the Cullens and their little pet in retribution for James' death." The Cullens are shocked that Victoria had that much of an attachment to James. They are all looking at Alice and Edward for more information.

Edward demands, "We need to find Bella. She is in danger if the Volturi have become involved in Victoria's mess in Seattle. Alice still can't see anything concerning Bella." He doesn't voice his concerns that something already happened to Bella. The Quileute wolves might know something. "We need to go to Forks before we go to Seattle."

Irina is pissed and wants to find out what happened to Laurent. Since her mate isn't a priority, she leaves the group and books a flight to Seattle. She departs before the rest of the family even form a plan.

Seattle Washington

[Irina's POV]

She tracks down one of the Volturi guard still in the Seattle area doing reconnaissance just in case any of Victoria's army escaped. "I am looking for a friend of mine. I heard that he was in the Seattle area a week ago. Have you seen him?" She pulls out a picture from her winter coat. He tells her, "The rebel cold ones died in two explosions one close to the military base and one in an old warehouse near the docks in Seattle. I can't tell you if your friend Laurent was one of the ones killed. We don't know who set off the explosions. Whoever set off the explosives saved us from having to clean up the mess Victoria started. You are welcome to check out the explosion sites. If you find out anything please let me know. He gives her his cell phone number."

Irina goes to the explosion site where she thinks Laurent died. There is a crater and debris all around but nothing to give a clue that any vampires were killed.

She can't find anything to tell her if he was in Seattle or not. Sighing she calls the airport to book a flight back home to Denali.