Chapter Seven

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Bella

I heard the shower start to run upstairs when my phone lit up with Edward's name.

"Hello," said his sweet voice on the other end as soon as I answered.

"Hi. Where are you?"

"Emergency meeting in La Push. Sam needs to speak with us as soon as possible."

At the sound of that, I immediately stood up. "I'll be down in a little bit."

"No," said Edward's firm voice. "You need to stay with Nessie."

"I'll have Jake come down here. I'm not missing this, no matter what you say." And then, as he began to speak, I told him "So save your arguments."

Edward sighed. "You're too stubborn for your own good. Fine. I'll see you down here soon."

"See you soon."

I immediately dialed Jake, prepared to beg him to come stay with my daughter and miss the meeting I was sure he was looking forward to attending, whatever it was about. "Hi, Jake," I said when he answered the phone.

"Bella. What's up?"

"Edward just told me that your pack called a meeting in La Push?"

"Yeah, I'm on my way to it now," he replied.

"I was wondering, would you want to come stay with Nessie tonight? I really want to g..."

"Of course!" he said excitedly. "We haven't seen each other in days. I'm leaving right now."

As he hung up the phone, I laughed at how easy that was. Imprinting on Nessie meant that Jake could not stay away from her, no matter how hard he tried. He would forever be what she needed him to be; a friend, a brother, a confidant. Or maybe, eventually, something more. As she grew older, it became easier to accept the "something more" part of imprinting. If it came to that; I wasn't even sure if Nessie liked him like that. But it gave me peace to know that Jake would accept their relationship in whatever it turned out to be.

"Nessie!" I called upstairs. However, the shower was still running, so I was sure she couldn't hear me. I scribbled a note for her that I had to meet up with her father and that Jake would be over soon. Edward wouldn't be happy with me leaving her alone, but I knew Jake drove fast and would be over soon.

With that, I left and drove as fast as I could to La Push.

When I finally arrived, my entire family was already there. Edward smiled at me as I walked toward the campfire they were settled around. Everyone was seated except for Sam, the leader of the werewolf pack. Surrounding him were his adoptive brothers, the fellow members of his pack. All of them were as tan and muscular as Jacob, with spirits filled with fire and extremely short tempers.

"Hello, Bella," Sam said with a nod. Ever since the potential battle with the Vulturi, when they had believed Renesmee to be an immortal child, the Cullens and the pack had come to an agreement. They had not grown particularly fond of their counterparts, but were able to find the necessity in the other. Especially with the friendship between Jacob and Renesmee bringing the two groups together, like Jacob and I once had.

"Hi, Sam. Hello, everyone," I said with a smile. Sitting next to my husband, I took his hand in mine. He was on the edge of the seat, filled with a tension that continued to build with every passing second.

"That's everyone now," Carlisle said, looking around the circle before turning to Sam.

Sam remained standing as he spoke. He was a natural-born leader, and it was clear his pack would follow him to their deaths. "There seems to be some activity outside of Forks the past few days. A couple of hunters who had been missing just turned up dead a few hours ago. Killed by some unknown animal."

"Vampire?" Jasper asked. "That's confirmed?"

"Not confirmed. But we have a strong suspicion. Charlie said the police are crediting the attack to a bear, but the amount of missing blood told him otherwise, which is why he informed us. My brothers and I will be patrolling the area more frequently. We are asking that a few of your pack come down to assist."

"Rosalie and I can come," Emmett offered. He glanced at his wife, who nodded. "We've been missing the action lately."

Rosalie nodded and then turned to Carlisle, who was about to object. "We will stay out of sight. Nobody will know we are here."

Carlisle's eyes were filled with thought and worry. "You must be careful. If anyone sees you here, it could compromise everything."

"We promise, Carlisle. We'll be in and out quickly," Emmett said with assurance, grasping his wife around the shoulders and pulling her close.

Sam nodded. "Thank you for your assistance. I'm sure the matter will be handled soon. Now, for another issue." He turned to Alice. "Have you had any visions of the Vulturi returning? Renesmee's eighteenth birthday approaches soon. It's only a matter of time, and I would like my pack to be prepared in case things become difficult again."

I felt the muscles in Edward's hand tighten at the mention of our daughter.

Alice shook her head. "Nothing. I have been expecting it any time now, but nothing comes to me. I am separate from Renesmee enough that something should be come through but...nothing."

With a frown, Sam turned toward Carlisle. "I think it is about time that you consider the alternative to them coming here..."

"No!" Edward shouted. His voice echoed through the forest as he quickly jumped to his feet. This caused Sam's pack to rise and take a defensive stance around their pack leader. They were ready to transform, ready to fight if needed.

With that, our family rose to our feet as well. Carlisle held out a steady hand, warning us to stop. "Enough. Sit down. All of you. We are here to work together, not to fight. We have enough enemies in this world."

I turned to Edward, who reluctantly took his seat once more. "We are not changing her now," he said in a low voice, the anger in his voice unwavering.

"We've talked about this before," I added softly. "And I see where you're coming from. But we want our daughter to enjoy her last year of high school. Before we tell her that almost everything she has ever known to be true is a lie. Before she has to undergo one of the most painful experiences in the world. And besides; we are hoping, even if it is the smallest chance, that the Vulturi will change their minds."

A disgusted scowl formed on Sam's face. "That won't happen, Bella. You're naive if you think that's even a remote possibility."

"But there's a chance!" I exclaimed. "Especially since Alice has not had a vision yet. And if there's a chance, I'm going to cling to it. For her sake. And Jacob's."

With the sound of Jacob's name, Sam's expression softened. It was true; if she had to be changed into a full vampire, it would especially difficult for the young werewolf, for whom Sam cared about deeply.

"Fine," he said firmly. "But know that if things go south, we may not be there to help this time. I have my own family and pack to think of."

Sam and Emily had married a few years previously and now have two sons. I understood completely; there were only so many times we could ask the pack to help us defend our family, especially when it came to choices we had made. But we couldn't change her now. Not when there was a chance that she could remain how she is.

"We understand," Carlisle replied. "And we appreciate everything you have done for us so far. My son and daughter will be here to help with the vampire situation. Hopefully it can be resolved quickly. In the meantime, my daughter Alice will be sure to inform you of any visions she sees of the Volturi, just so you are aware that they are coming."

"Agreed. We appreciate you meeting with us to discuss this. And for your assistance with the vampire."

"I am thankful for our alliance," Carlisle said, standing up to shake Sam's hand. "All of us are. May we continue thriving in this time of peace."

With that, the meeting was over. I hugged my family goodbye and walked with Edward toward our cars.

Edward looked at me questioningly. "You got here quickly for having to wait for Jacob. Was he nearby our house?"

I sighed. We had just stood up to Sam; I had a feeling this discussion had the potential to be far worse. "Not exactly..."

His expression darkened. "You left her? Alone? With a vampire on the loose?"

"First of all, the vampire is outside of Forks, and we are almost an hour away. Second, I didn't know there was a vampire near. If I did, I wouldn't have left her. But she was taking a bath, so I couldn't take her with me. And by the time Jacob got there, the meeting would have been over and I did not want to miss it."

"It was still wrong, Bella. Who knows what could have happened to her. Did you even call to confirm that Jacob got there?"

I scowled at him, knowing he was right but not wanting to admit it. "I was just about to." I picked up my phone, and dialed Renesmee. She, as usual, did not answer. Then I called Jacob, who picked up on the second ring. "Hi, Bells," he said, cheerful.

"Jacob," I said softly. "Is everything okay with Renesmee?"

"She's fine. Wait one second..." I could hear him move outside, shutting the door behind him. "How was the meeting?"

"There's a vampire on the loose. Did Sam tell you?"

"Yes. It's going to be really important that Nessie stays inside, especially at night."

"I know, Jacob," I snapped through gritted teeth. "I know how to take care of my own daughter."

"I think you mean 'thank you Jake for rushing over to my house to keep my daughter safe so I can go to the meeting.'"

Again, I was in the wrong, but I did not want to admit that lightly. I took a deep breath before speaking. "Thank you, Jake, for watching her. We're leaving now. Please tell Nessie we love her and that we will see her soon."

"Will do," Jacob said before he hung up.

Edward shook his head, his eyes heavy with judgement. I hated when he looked like that. "You're on a roll tonight."

"You aren't always right, you know," I told him, my voice thick with anger.

"But I am this time..." A small smile started to form in the corners of his mouth.

"Stop smiling," I tried to say firmly, but I couldn't help but smile myself. He was right, after all. This time. "I will see you at home."

Thinking about what Sam had said on my home, I contemplated what it would mean to tell Nessie everything. I wondered how she would handle it. Would she accept it, finally understanding all of the missing pieces she had felt for the past seven years? Or would she reject us, labeling us as the monsters we were? When we told her, would she remember the first three years of her life? Or would she still forget all of the happy memories that we had shared before the Volturi turned our lives upside down?

The thought of the unknown terrified me. As difficult as it was to hide who we really were, I was willing to do so as long as we needed to. We only had one shot at telling her, and we needed to make sure that she was absolutely ready.

The problem was, I didn't think Renesmee would ever be ready for the painful, difficult truth we would be forced to tell her.