Chapter 18: His Imprint

Nobody moved for a solid ten seconds which, granted, wasn't a very long time in the grand scheme of things, but when you're watching your father and uncles for any sign that they're going to attack your ex-boyfriend, it feels like a millennia. With narrowed eyes Jasper, Emmett, and my father glanced briefly my way then to Jacob. Their eyes promised a long conversation for me later and pain for Jacob now. I took them by surprise as I flashed over to stand directly in front of Jacob. I opened my mouth to try to talk them down; however, Jacob lightly put his hand on my waist and pushed me to the side.

He stepped forward and said, "Can we do this outside? I'd rather you didn't destroy my father's house in the process of killing me." My father gave him a brief nod before they all silently filed out. Jacob stood tall as he followed behind.

I couldn't understand why Jacob would go willingly. It's not like he had done anything wrong. I took off after them, but before I reached the door, my mother's cold, hard arms wrapped around me, preventing me from leaving. "Let them work it out, sweetie."

"Um, how about heeell no?!" I gave her an incredulous look. "You should be against them murdering Jake as much as I am. You might be upset about the whole sex thing, but you and I both know it doesn't warrant murder."

She simply shook her head slowly. "They're not going to kill him, Renesmee." I flinched at the sound of my given name.

"Maybe not, but they'll hurt him."

She let me go. "He'll heal. You have to realize how difficult accepting you're a woman now is for them, and they never expected you to… become intimate with a man before marriage. Part of the deal we made with Jake when you were born was that you guys would wait until marriage to have sex, and he broke his promise. Your father and uncles are simply punishing him for that."

I narrowed my eyes. "What deal, Mom? Why would you make a deal with him about waiting for marriage when I didn't know if we would get married? Wait, did you say you made the deal with him when I was born?" Her eyes widened, but she didn't speak. I took a step forward. "And earlier you said something about you not caring if he had a claim on me…" Realization hit me like a ton of bricks.

Jacob had gotten furious at the bonfire when Claire had mentioned James. He had said he had a claim on me and was about to call me his something. I had thought he was headed towards girlfriend. However, today my mom had mentioned the same claim except she knew he had no claim on me as a girlfriend. That meant he wasn't about to say his girlfriend, but something else. Something else that explained how Jacob could always know when I was physically hurt and why he was so tuned in to my feelings. It explained why he still loved me so deeply and gave me whatever I wanted. It also explained why my parents would have made a deal with him about waiting for marriage. The deal would have been made if they had known the likelihood of us getting married. I had been so blind to it because I had never dreamed that my family, that Jacob, could keep something like this from me.

I am Jacob's imprint.

My mom must've seen something in my face that led her to approach me like one would a frightened animal. "Sweetheart. We should talk about this."

With a dead sort of tone, I replied, "You've had 18 years to talk to me about it."

"I know, but we- your father and Jacob included- wanted-"

"I don't care what any of you wanted!" I shouted, suddenly furious. My voice became tiny as the wave of emotions coursing through me took a turn towards hurt. "What about what I deserved to know?"

My mom took a step forward, but I took a bigger step back. As I glanced once more at her, I could see the helplessness in her eyes. Then, I turned around and left.

I didn't run. I didn't tear through the trees of the forest as I normally would when I would become upset with my parents. I walked slowly to the garage to get my car. Wisely my mom, didn't follow.

The garage was already open since Jacob had retrieved his motorcycle earlier. As I opened my car door, I looked up to where a russet wolf stood, a short distance away from the males of my family. Tears began to well in my eyes, so I quickly got into my car and drove off.

I could hear Jacob howling even after I had made it back to campus.