A/N: If you recognize it, it's not mine. Simple as that.
Chapter 23
Perci POV
The first few days after the wedding were kind of strained, with Jacob still being so pissed off over Bella's honeymoon plans, which were apparently to have a real honeymoon with her vampire. I could understand Jacob's concern somewhat, but reminded him that Bella was now a Cullen, and listed as such on the treaty now. Paul and I had done more planning of our own wedding in that time, and had set the date for October 5, that way we had time to get everything we needed. With all the wedding planning for us basically done, we sent out the invitations in both English, and Ancient Greek. After three weeks had gone by, Jacob had let go of his anger, and had become more bitter than anything.
At the moment though, the pack and their imprints were at the beach, and Triton was hanging out as well, talking about the wedding.
"You still haven't told me who you want to walk you down the isle, sis. Father and I have been arguing about it for weeks, when are you going to cut us a break?" He asked, making me laugh, while Paul chuckled lowly into my hair.
"Alright, alright. I plan on asking dad to walk me down the isle, sorry brother. If it makes you feel any better, Paul was hoping I'd ask you to do it." I told him, making him groan.
"Great, now I owe father 50 drachma." He said, making everyone laugh at his petulant tone. Suddenly, Sam's head snapped to where Jacob, Embry, Seth, and Leah were sitting and talking.
"The Cullen's are not a threat to the town or the tribe." He said, clearly responding to something Jacob had said.
"Well, he's either going to kill her, or turn her, and the treaty says." Jacob said, obviously talking about Bella, but Sam cut him off.
"I say, Jacob. I say." He snapped, before going back to messing around with a few members of the pack.
"Is he still pissed off about your cousin marrying her brainless mind reader?" Triton asked, looking at me in confusion, ignoring the snort Paul let out at the little dig on Ed-weird.
"Yes, and to be honest, it's getting old. I'm about ready to go to Aphrodite myself and have her tell me where to find his imprint just so I can get him to shut up about her." I said, before deciding to change the topic and lighten the mood. Spotting Quil and Claire down by the waves, I made a pillar of water in front of them, smiling at the delight on Claire's face as she clapped excitedly. Quil sent me a thankful smile, before it dropped at seeing the mischievous expression on my face just as I dropped the pillar of water on just him, soaking him instantly. Claire's laughter was not the only one heard this time, as everyone laughed at him. I turned around to see if that had snapped Jacob out of his brooding, but sighed when I saw that he had left.
"I hope he gets over this, otherwise I'm likely to punch him." Paul said, catching where I was looking, prompting me to rub his arm in a soothing manner, trying to calm his temper.
"I'm sure he will at some point, it's just gonna take a while. You told me Jacob's had a crush on Bella since they were kids, and then Bella led him on during her depression. She really screwed him up, Paul, just give him time." I told him, before groaning softly in unison with him when Sam said that it was time for patrols.
"Go on, I've got some stuff to do anyway. Aphrodite's coming over to share some dress ideas, and there's no way I'm running the risk of you seeing my dress before our wedding." I said, giving him a gentle shove. Chuckling, he pressed a soft, lingering kiss to my lips before pulling away and heading with the rest of the pack to phase. Now to face the torture that was Aphrodite taking care of my wedding dress. Oh, boy.
Paul POV
Bored, that was a good word for how I felt right now. Pointless was a good word for the patrols that the entire pack was doing at the moment. Bored and Pointless sounded like a good way to describe the mood I was in, when I could be spending time working on the stable for Blackjack I was building not too far from the house as a surprise for Perci.
"'Oh, stop whining, Paul.'" Jared said, sounding playfully annoyed.
"'Like you wouldn't rather be with Kim right now, dude?'" I asked, sarcastically.
"'Good point. But still, quit with the whining, it's annoying. And to think, you once thought imprinting would be the worst thing to ever happen to you.'" He said, making me roll my eyes at how I used to think.
"'Yes, I get it, I was an idiot. I'm glad Perci set me strait.'" I said. Before he could comment, or Sam could yell at us to pay attention, we felt Jacob shift and images flooded our minds. Bella's face gaunt, and tight over her cheekbones, her torso ballooning out and covered in bruises. Words followed the images, a replay of his conversation with her. She was pregnant with the leech's child, and they didn't know it was possible, and it was killing her. Horrified, we all ran toward the logging plant, shouting at Jake for answers.
"'Enough! We have to protect the tribe.'" Sam commanded.
"'No time to waste!'" Embry agreed, shocking me. Embry had been friends with Bella, and now he was willing to potentially hurt her? I listened in shock and mild horror as Sam called Bella's pregnancy an abomination and actually suggest we kill her. I may not like the leech lover, but she was Perci's family, and I wouldn't take another person from her. In the back of my mind, I wondered what would happen when Perci and I decided to have kids. If Bella's kid was an abomination for being something we've never seen before, what would any child of ours be called? I snapped out of my thoughts when I heard Sam's voice get menacing as he approached Jake.
"'You will fight with us, Jake.'" He ordered, laying the Alpha tone on so thick we all started cowering. Then, to my utter shock, Jacob started fighting back.
"'I. Will. Not! I am the grandson of Ephriam Black! I am the grandson of a chief! I wasn't born to follow you, or anybody else!'" Jacob shouted, making Sam cower, before we felt the connection with him sever, as he took off. Deciding quickly, I slipped away from the pack, deciding firmly on being a part of Jacob's new pack, and loosing my ability to hear the others as I chased after him, finding he had already phased back. I quickly did the same, following him.
"Jake! Wait up, man!" I called, making him pause.
"What are you doing here? You don't even like the Cullens." He snapped, making me sigh.
"I may hate the Cullens, and I definitely don't like Bella, but she's Perci's family. I refuse to be the reason my imprint has to bury someone else." I told him, whirling around when I heard footsteps, jaw dropping when I saw Seth.
"You deal with that, I need to call Perci and tell her to get the hell off the rez. I don't trust Sam anymore, if he's willing to hurt Bella, I don't want Perci near him." I said to Jake, who nodded, and held out his cell phone. Taking it, I walked a bit ahead, honestly still shocked over what I had done as I dialed my fiancee.
"Jake, what's up?" She answered, making me sigh in relief that none of the pack had gotten to her yet.
"Princess, it's me. Listen, I don't have a lot of time to explain, but the pack has divided, Jacob's taken his spot as Alpha, and I'm part of his pack now. Bella's pregnant, and Sam is willing to kill her to keep that kid from being born. Gather up the essentials, and make sure you have your weapons, and get to the Cullen's now. Let them know they've got a few furry allies now that Sam's coming for them." I told her, feeling my heart clench at the somewhat frightened gasp she let out. She now had to run from the very people she called family three hours earlier, and I hated it.
"Is there anything of yours besides clothes you want me to grab? Anything I can try to grab for Jake?" She asked, and I could hear rustling in the background as she did exactly as I asked. Glancing over at Jacob and Seth, who the former was apparently trying to convince to go home, I sighed, and rubbed my hand down my face.
"Just grab all my clothes if possible. I'll share them if I need to, but I don't want you to risk going anywhere else on that damn reservation right now. Just get the necessities, and get out. If Sam is willing to do this to something that hasn't even been born yet, I don't want you within five miles of him." I told her.
"Understood, I've nearly got everything. I'll use the shell Triton gave me for emergencies to get me to the Cullen's place. He can let my dad know to keep the other pack out of the sea, just make sure you tell me who all is in Jacob's pack, so I can let my dad know that they're safe." She said, before hanging up. Sighing in relief that she would be alright, I handed Jacob his phone back, and followed as he lead the way to the Cullen residence.
"What's going on with her?" Jacob asked, thankfully sounding concerned.
"I've got her grabbing what we need and all her weapons, and hauling her ass to where we're heading. She's going to have Triton bring her, and take a message back to Poseidon that none of Sam's pack is welcome in the sea. Until she says otherwise, Sam's pack is now considered an enemy of Atlantis, and will be treated as such." I informed the two other members of my new pack.
"How do you know that?" Seth asked, looking genuinely curious, making me realize that I actually managed to keep a secret in the pack mind. They had no clue of my new title in my future father-in-law's kingdom.
"Because while we were down there for the engagement celebration, Perci had a coronation to officially crown her as princess. As her fiancee, and her soulmate, Poseidon named me her consort. Essentially, I'm nobility/royalty-by-marriage down there, even though we haven't gotten married yet. Perci's been teaching me what I need to know about that, and that includes what happens with enemies." I explained, sighing in mild relief for the first time at the sight of the Cullen's place. Spotting Ed-weird on the balcony, Jacob stepped forward, speaking conversationally since we all knew he would hear.
"Be ready, they're coming for Bella." He said, and we saw Edward nod.
"Perci informed us, they won't touch her." Edward replied, and I sighed again in relief at the confirmation my imprint was here, safely away from Sam.
"Agreed." Jake said, before Edward went back inside. Not two seconds later, another pair of footsteps sounded.
"Man, I can smell them all the way out here." Leah's voice complained, the girl in question coming into view a second later.
"Go away, Leah." Seth mumbled, while I just groaned.
"What are you doing here? You like them about as much as I do, which is not at all." I asked, noticing our new alpha looking tense.
"Two reasons: One, I'm not about to let my brother get himself killed. And two, Perci's my best friend. I may hate the Cullen's, Bella included, but I'm pretty much in the same boat as you here, I don't want to be the reason Perci has to lose anyone else." She said, making me nod and look at Jacob.
"I'm going to go in and see Perci, let me know if you need me, but I'm not leaving Perci's side for a while, I hope you know that." I told him, relieved when I saw him nod.
"Go for it, you're now the only member of the pack with an imprint, I won't be Sam. Go be with her, make sure she's safe. She's my friend too." He said, and that was all I needed before running up to the huge house, walking in without an invitation.
"Perci?" I called, raising my voice slightly since my imprint's hearing wasn't quite as advanced as mine.
"Upstairs, I've got our stuff." Her voice called, and I ran up to the second floor, shoulders slumping in relief as I saw her.
"Perci, thank goodness you're safe." I said, taking her in my arms and hugging her like my life depended on it. She hugged me back just as tightly, and I was quick to bury my nose in the crook of her neck, taking in as much of her scent as I could to calm the raging worry of my wolf.
"Thanks to you, I am, Triton and I barely missed Jared, we heard him at the door just before he got me out of there. Paul, what's going on here?" She asked, and I saw the bloodsuckers look at me for an explanation as well. Sighing, I dropped down onto a chair, pulling Perci into my lap, and started telling the story of what had gone down, and why I had chosen to side against Sam, despite my intense distrust of the coven of vampires I was now with.
"So, you're only here for Perci?" The blonde female, Rosalie, if I remembered right, asked with a slight snarl in her voice.
"Yes, I've made it quite clear that I don't like you leeches, and I don't like Bella. However, I trust Sam about as far as Bella can throw him right now, and the leech lover is Perci's family. Bella hasn't done anything to betray Perci, so she will be loyal enough to her to fight. I sure as hell won't stand against my imprint, especially not when I don't really know Sam's mindset anymore. For all I know now, Sam's always viewed Perci as a threat to the tribe and the pack, and I'm not about to let her stay on the reservation if she's in potential danger, highly trained war veteran or not. So, until Bella betrays Perci to the point where she doesn't stand with her anymore, you have me as an ally. Jacob's hopelessly in love with her, Seth just wants to do the right thing, and Leah wants the hell away from Sam, and isn't about to lose her best friend. You've got an almost even pack, on your side now." I told them.
"It's more than enough. Why don't I take you to a room, and let you get settled?" Esme suggested, earning a nod from Perci, who grabbed a huge suitcase and a backpack.
"I've got the suitcase, Princess, you go ahead up to the room and get a bit of rest. I'll bring this up in a bit, I just need to work out a few things with Jacob, and then I'll be right up." I told her, thankfully receiving a nod in return before she followed the vampire up the stairs. Catching sight of the door to the balcony, I walked over to it and stuck my head out, catching sight of Jake easily.
"Let me know when it's my turn to patrol, I need Perci close right now, so I don't think I'm leaving the inside of this house for a few hours." I told him, catching his nod.
"Understood, go be with your imprint, maybe work out a strategy to help us." He replied easily. Giving a nod of my own, I pulled my head back in, and grabbed the suitcase, following the comforting smell of the sea up to the room Esme had given us. As I reached for the doorknob, I noticed my hands trembling and sighed lowly. Yeah, I needed Perci right now. Fucking Sam.
A/N: Sorry I didn't update last night guys! I had troubles with the computer I'm writing this on, it just kept freezing, so I had to leave it shut off for a while. Hope you enjoy the chapter, and I'll try to get another one up tonight as an apology. Thanks for the support and love!