Chapter Fifteen - The Pack
Juliet POV
"It can get chilly," she told me, going through our bags. "But, half the people there will be wolves, so their body heat will warm the place up."
She dressed me in a white tank top with a thick, pale blue dress shirt style sweater over it, leaving it open. For bottoms, she put me in slightly ripped black skinny jeans and a pair of sturdy brown combat boots.
"That's perfect," she appraised me as she put on her own outfit, which was a black tank top paired with frayed white skinny jeans and a plaid shirt around her waist. We left our hair loose, not needing to dress it up, and only applied the barest hints of makeup.
"You girls ready?" Seth called from downstairs. We ran down together, chatting and giggling. While we were changing, Nessie told me about her and Jake's kissing from last night. I high-fived her.
"So, are you like, official now?" I whispered as we thudded down the steps.
"I don't even know," she moaned. "Guess I'll find out."
Jake drove us to La Push. The light was fading as the sun set, but from what I could see, La Push was breathtaking. No wonder it was such a popular tourist destination. We drove to a secluded area on the cliffs, where a fire was already building up and food was being cooked.
"Jake!" Some people I didn't know ran over. "Long time no see, both of you."
"Embry, Quil," Jacob said to some tall, attractive boys. "Good to see you."
"We heard Seth imprinted on a vamp chick," Embry snorted. Quil elbowed him in the ribs - they caught sight of me standing just behind Renesmee. I blushed and bit my lip. Why did it feel like I was about to cry?
"Oh… Hey," Embry said awkwardly. Seth took my hand, tucking me into his side. We converged with the rest of the party, everyone commenting on how Renesmee had grown.
"Everyone, this is Juliet Cullen," Seth said proudly. Everyone turned to look at me. I could just feel them judging me as soon as the Cullen name left Seth's mouth.
"Welcome to the family, Juliet," a tall girl with raven-black hair pulled me away from Seth and into a hug. "I'm Emily."
One side of her face had deep scars winding around it like vines. She was still beautiful - especially the way her smile lit up her eyes.
"It's nice to meet you," I smiled at her. I already liked her. I was introduced to the other imprints. Claire, a ten year old who was Emily's niece and Seth's cousin as well as Quil's imprint, and Kim, who was older than us and Jared's imprint.
I was introduced to Jared, Embry, Quil, and the other wolves. The imprints were all nice to me, but the wolves seemed a little wary around me. When they thought I couldn't hear, I just caught the tail end of "-smells like vampire.".
My cheeks burned as I was introduced to the elders, Billy Black and Quil Ateara. They both welcomed me warmly, without any suspicion at all. Suddenly, Seth tensed up beside me.
A few more people had just arrived. My heart dropped as I realized I was about to meet Seth's mother and sister. Jake was supposed to be nearby as a buffer, but he was busy embracing his sister, Rachel, when she and a wolf named Paul arrived.
Sue strode over to Seth immediately, pulling him into a tight hug.
"How are you doing, Mom?" Seth asked, hugging her back.
"I'm better, Seth," Sue told him. "Now, where's your - Oh, hello."
She had let go of her son and was now staring at me as if she was trying to memorize my face.
"Hello, I'm Juliet," I said tentatively. "It's nice to meet you."
Sue smiled and shook my hand. "I'm Sue. It's a pleasure to finally meet this mystery girl. Welcome to the family."
I liked Sue already. The three of us chatted for a bit before Leah walked up, glaring at me.
"Leah, this is Juliet," Seth said wearily, wrapping his arm around my waist.
"Just charmed," Leah snapped. "Seth, how can you stand the vampire smell?"
"She doesn't smell like vampire, she smells like strawberries," Seth told her matter-of-factly.
"Right," Leah turned and stalked off. Seth just shared a look with his mom.
"Same old cheerful Leah," Seth said with a sigh. "Hey, you hungry?"
We all got settled around the fire with paper plates of food. The clearing fell silent aside from the crackling of the fire and the waves down below. Billy Black cleared his throat before launching into stories. After a moment, I realized they weren't legends. They were real tellings of the Quileute history.
Sitting snuggled up to Seth, I listened with rapt attention. Nessie seemed peaceful - she'd grown up hearing the stories. This was my first time.
My blood ran a little cold when Billy started talking about the more recent events. The tribe nearly went to war within itself and against the Cullens when Renesmee was born, until the fateful imprint brought everyone together. Nessie and Jake would go down in history as the union that stopped war and bonded vampires and werewolves.
That wasn't to say there was no longer any prejudice - I still was getting a cold reception from a lot of the pack. Whatever. I didn't need their approval. I was a Cullen girl. If they wanted to say that made me less than them, so be it.
Billy looked at me from across the fire.
"Depending on what path young Juliet Cullen chooses to walk, she may very well join the legends sooner than we think," he said, making steady eye contact with me. Leah scoffed quietly as a chill ran through the small crowd.
After the stories, we chatted amongst ourselves. Claire came over to Nessie and I. She basically worshipped the ground Nessie walked on, because of what Nessie was and the fact that she was now a Quileute legend.
"Can I tell you guys a secret?" Claire whispered after our boys had gone to wrestle. She climbed determinedly up onto Nessie's lap.
"What's the secret?" I leaned forward. Claire's black eyes sparkled in the firelight. A mischievous smile formed on her lips. She checked to make sure both Nessie and I were paying attention before she spoke.
"I have a crush on Quil," she declared. I guess she didn't realize that half the people here had super hearing. Across the fire, standing with Emily and Sam, Quil sprayed Cola everywhere.
"Good luck, man," Sam clapped him on the back. We distracted Claire so she wouldn't notice they were talking about her and get embarrassed.
"Quil's a little older than you, hon," Nessie held Claire tightly. "Don'tcha think you should wait a few years?"
"Nope," Claire popped the 'p'. "Quil's only sixteen, I'm ten, you know. Anyways, he gives me what I want all the time. I'm gonna make him play prince and princess with me, and then we'll have to get married. And then we'll kiss."
"Ohh, I see," Nessie nodded.
"When are you gonna marry Jacob, Nessie?" Claire asked. "Juliet and me can be your ladies in waiting, since you're the vampire princess."
"Princess phase," Nessie mouthed at me over Claire's head. I grinned.
"We're not getting married yet, but I'll let you know before we do," Nessie planted a kiss in Claire's hair. "Promise."
Eventually, it was Claire's bedtime. Quil reluctantly went to take her home. She clung sleepily to Nessie's neck, blinking at the two of us.
"Come back soon," she made us pinky promise before getting into Quil's car. Sam and Emily took Old Quil home before going back to their place. The rest of the guests began to leave, Sue hugging all of us before taking Billy home. I was falling asleep as we got into Jake's car, the crackling of the fire lingering in my head as the night lights slid by.
I barely remembered getting back to the house, changing into a t-shirt and shorts before falling into bed next to Seth and then slipping under, into sleep.