Inevitability
4
Wren's Point of View
That event had happened on Saturday, and now it was Monday, and I had school.
I didn't want to go, but both Jacob and Edward had insisted that, no matter how little any of us liked it, I should finish the school year. My pregnancy would hopefully be hidden until then, since it had been three months and I was only slightly swollen. I was glad that my pregnancy was not a replica of what had happened with my mother; I didn't think that I would be able to handle it like her. Mom had told me, when I asked, that she never even thought of giving me up, because she loved me too much. Maybe something was wrong with me, but I felt no connection with this nameless thing inside me. I wanted it out, but I would never do that to Jacob.
I sighed as I let myself be woken up by the gentle shaking of my shoulder by my father. The iciness of his touch woke me up immediately. I still didn't like it. Even the presence of a vampire in the room made me nauseous and cold. I would shiver at the passing of a family member. I hated myself more every day. Why couldn't this child be normal?
Oh right, because it's half werewolf and a quarter vampire.
I had asked Jacob and the other pack members what werewolf pregnancies were like. Apparently, it was similar to human pregnancy, so I was relieved at that. I would probably have a little bit of speed-up in development, because of the vampire DNA, but other than that – hopefully – everything would be relatively normal.
Maybe this is why I reacted so violently to vampires. The DNA was conflicting inside of me; that of vampire and werewolf was never meant to mix. What was going to happen to me? I clutched my head once Edward left the room, satisfied that I was awake. He didn't make any comment or gesture, so perhaps he was giving me some privacy in my head.
I groaned once more when I saw the now-familiar stares as I drove in my father's Volvo. I was the only one – aside from my mother - that he would let drive it. It made me feel a little self-important. This Volvo was almost as old as my mother, yet it still ran as well as a brand-new car, thanks to Aunt Rosalie's improvements. I sighed, slinging my bag over my shoulder and trudging through the dreary cold of Forks, towards the high school. I heard the familiar heavy clumping of boots of concrete, and stifled an annoyed groan. That would be Mitch, my second shadow.
"Hey Nessie," he called, catching up to me. I gave him a half-smile, wishing one more time that I could simply be able to say that I was spoken for, and leave it at that. He didn't really take no for an answer, but I couldn't tell him the truth. 'Hey, I'm really a ten-year-old half-vampire and pregnant with my twenty-nine-year-old werewolf boyfriend's kid' wouldn't go over well. He returned my grin widely, showing off his coffee-stained teeth, while I fought o keep my face neutral. We walked on to our first class in silence. Three…Two…One…
"So, I was thinking…maybe you'd like to catch a movie or something Saturday?"
I sighed. Here we go again. "Sorry, Mitch. I have plans this weekend in La Push." Or I would hopefully as soon as possible; I hated lying to people. Whereas my mother actually couldn't, and my father was very good at it, I was too, I just hated doing so. I would make sure to make my lie a truth once I got home.
"What about next weekend?" He really couldn't take a hint.
I stopped once outside of our classroom, not wanting to make my trivial dramas public. I opened my mouth to reject him once more, but I was beaten – or perhaps saved – by the bell.
"I have to go, see you after class." I flashed him my 'dazzling' smile, leaving him to blink stupidly at the back of my head as I sat down next to a nondescript black jacket, not really paying attention. I got out my notepad, which was mostly filled with absentminded drawing, comparable to DaVinci or Van Gogh. It was another perk of being a vampire – utter perfection with art, when I tried.
They were memories, the things I drew. Random snippets of images that I had picked up or given to people. One of the first ones were three shadowy characters, all with eyes the color of red wine, grinning maliciously. I hated this picture, but I was enthralled by it. It was the only reason that I didn't throw it away. I knew who these men were; the Volturi, leaders of a giant deadly coven bent on destroying my family. Rebels, we were. They were the rulers of the vampire world, but even I could see the malice of dictatorship looming. I bet that if it really came down to a tussle, the Volturi would flee before risking their lives in a fight. I often entertained fantasies of killing Aro – the obvious leader, though they maintained a façade of equality – myself, my eyes glowing as I sank my teeth into his throat, separating his head from the rest of him. I smiled at the thought.
Something brushed my hand. I made sure that I hadn't been putting out any memories for a mortal to see. I looked down at my desk to see a folded slip of paper lying quite innocently on the wood. I frowned and looked at my neighbors. None of them were paying attention to me. I shivered, and realized that I was cold. Stupid school systems; they would rather their students freeze than spend a few more dollars a month.
I opened the paper, and read the flowing script with a mixture of emotions.
Aro sends his greetings.
My mouth dropped open. What? I looked around again, with renewed earnest, at whoever had sent this note. I would have been able to follow the movements of a vampire, but the humans wouldn't have noticed them. If I had been paying attention, I would have known who sent the note.
There was Nicki, the brunette version of Barbie. I automatically dismissed her, and her friend Jen, when I say them batting their eyelashes at the teacher. They weren't good actresses; it couldn't be them. No one could have reached around from behind me, or from the front, so that just left to my right. I turned to see that the nondescript coat hadn't moved. But he was too still…
Another option for my chills made its way into my mind. Holy Crap…how did I not notice the addition of a new vampire? There had been talk over school about a new student – a drop-out called Jason – but I hadn't paid much attention, and no one had warned me about this, so my family must not know. Of course, if this Jason guy really worked for the Volturi he probably had some power that made him easy to look over. Truly, from what I could see of him, there wasn't anything remarkable about him. Even the human girls had lost interest after a few days, which had been virtually impossible when my family had gone here.
Stick with your story.
I scribbled my answer and shoved it at him. Probably not the smartest thing to do; engage a trained killer in conversation, but I wasn't going to leave it at that.
I pretended to feign ignorance.
Who's Aro?
Jason frowned, before writing an answer and shoving the paper back.
Don't pretend, Renesmee. The Volturi are courteous enough to give you warning. Do not make a mistake.
Did you rehearse that?
Such insolence! Aro will want to speak to you. How would your Jacob feel if you never made it home?
My heart stuttered a little in fear, and he half-smiled in triumph when he heard it. Stupid vampire hearing.
He'd come for me.
I'm counting on that.
I didn't reply. What the hell did that mean? What did Aro want with me? Would he kill my family too, is that what this was about? Was the Volturi's revenge finally to come? My find filled with questions, and my heartbeat and breathing accelerated. I needed air. The thing picked up frenzied kicking pace against my stomach, and I clutched it with a soft whimper, too low for others to hear. I needed to go out and run away, escape. I needed Jacob and Edward…I needed my family.
I raised my hand, asking the teacher if I could go to the nurse. He seemed reluctant, so I resorted to my dazzling, and got up and left without a word. Once outside, I hurled onto the pavement. Damn it. I hadn't tried to feed since Saturday, and the thirst was gnawing at my throat. I turned and ran into the forest, to the Cullen house, screaming in my mind for Edward and hoping that he was close enough to hear.
I heard footsteps behind me, and let myself slow as I sighed with relief. Only Edward would have been able to catch up with me.
A strong hand grabbed my arm and yanked me back, slamming me into the trees. I gasped and stared from where I was crouched on the floor, into not the golden eyes of my father or my family, but red eyes, bright with anticipation and glowing with the feeling of victory.
I tried to stand, but my stomach was churning violently, and I felt weak from lack of blood and food. This wasn't going to be much of a fight, so I ran like hell.
Jason must have been either a newborn, or very fast anyway. I wanted to think the latter, because I didn't like the idea of a newborn in Forks. From the stories that my parents told me, newborns weren't a new thing in Forks. I shuddered at the mental image that the tale of Victoria's attack had brought, and pushed myself to run faster, encouraged by the fear of that happening to me.
Jason was fast though. He didn't catch up to me, but he didn't lag behind. I cursed the human side of me; were I full vampire, I could have outrun him, and I wouldn't have been in this situation. My heart was pumping madly, and I ignored the kicking in my belly. I needed to keep running. Nothing should stop me.
I should have known that there'd be more than one.
Stone arms enclosed me in a cage. I screamed and kicked out, only to be met with the unyielding marble of vampires. They were everywhere…so cold…so strong. I was weak and helpless and warm and soft. I stood no chance.
They shoved something into my mouth and made me swallow. I didn't know what it was, but I immediately felt drowsy. Did sedatives work on vampire? Or was I human enough for them to have an effect? Damn it. Damnit damnit damnit. I was going to die.
I was still mentally cursing myself when my eyes slid shut, blocking out the suddenly painful light of the outside world.
Jacob's Point of View
The sun was shining outside, which meant that I would be picking up Wren from school.
I parked my black moped outside of the school, ignoring the silver Volvo. The Cullens would probably come to pick it up when it was dark enough for them to travel safely. I waited with a mixture of impatience and concern. Wren hadn't looked her best when she had left for school, and I couldn't stop the many images and scenarios of what could have happened to her flashing through my mind. I would feel better when she was safe in my arms and I could hear the combined heartbeat of her and my child.
My child. Wow. I was going to be a father. The thought made me feel euphoric. I had begun to think that I would never get over Bella, and that I wouldn't find my imprint. But Renesmee had come and it had been absolutely perfect. Now she was pregnant, and I would have a little mixture of her and me running around. I smiled unconsciously at the thought.
I frowned when I realized that she hadn't come out yet. How weird. Turning to a passing student, I asked where she was, and if the guy had seen her. I recognized him as something like…Smith? Or something beginning with M. He was like Mike Newton 2.0, always following Wren around. The thought made me want to rip him limbs off, but he was being useful now.
"Um…she left after first period. She said she felt sick. I haven't seen her since. There was a new kid, Jason, and he volunteered to go see if she was okay, and I hadn't seen him either." The kid's expression turned sour, his narrow-minded brain probably coming to unpleasant and green-with-jealousy thoughts. To be honest, I was thinking the same things, but I knew that Wren wouldn't go off with some other guy. She loved me. I thanked the guy…Mitch, that was his name…and climbed back onto my moped, driving quickly out of the school.
Driving towards the Cullen house – perhaps she had gone home, it was a perfectly plausible excuse – I caught her scent in the forest. Why had she gone in there? I frowned and hopped off the bike, hiding it in some bushes, and started making my way through the undergrowth. The bushes and trees parted for my massive size and strength, but I knew that to hope to catch up with her I would have to faze. I wanted to put that off as long as possible – to have less risk of running into humans.
I suddenly caught the trails of three more. Sickly sweet odors entered my nostrils and I cringed. But it was not the vampires I knew. These were strangers. I growled low in my throat. I needed to find the Cullens. Perhaps there were people they knew, and had neglected to tell me about. Still growling, I fazed and shot off towards the house.
Edward was waiting for me, hearing the angst in my thoughts. I quickly explained to him, wolf-style, what I had found and my suspicions, and he followed me. Once we were united in the wish to protect Bella, then to save ourselves, and now we joined for Wren's.
"Wren?"
I flushed a little. 'Yeah, it's my new nickname for her. I thought she kind of outgrew Nessie.'
"But it's your thing," he replied, guessing right.
'Yeah, kind of.'
"Alright then."
We said no more.
Coming to the place that I had found the scents of my beloved and the three foreign leeches, I stopped, waiting for Edward to see if he recognized any of them. He trailed the entire area, catching scents everywhere, most of which he discarded, as I had done.
Finally, he came back over to me, staring into the forest.
"I smell sedatives."
I growled. They had sedated her?
"Yes, I believe so." He frowned, his expression shifting from anger, fear and confusion. "I don't recognize any of these scents, aside from hers. Perhaps Carlisle will know."
So, with another relay and a phone call, the doctor vampire joined us. They moved with such infuriating patience. This was Renesmee! And Edward was acting all calm and collected. This was his daughter! My imprint! How dare he not show that he cared!
"Relax, Jacob. I assure you, I am angry, but there is no point hating a faceless and nameless enemy."
I growled again, but fell silent.
Carlisle returned from his scout. He was frowning, and his golden eyes were sparking with anger. Edward and his eyes' met, and Edward suddenly had his hands clenched into fists, his lip curling back over his teeth in a feral snarl.
There's the anger.
I looked between them anxiously. Anyone going to tell me something here?
"Jacob," said Carlisle, when it was evident that Edward was too angry to speak. "It appears that Nessie had been kidnapped."
Yeah, I kind of got that. Why? Who did it? Edward relayed the question.
Carlisle once more showed anger, before it melted away into the cool mask again. "I believe that this is the work of Jason, Eric and Taylor. Three of the best trackers that I have ever known."
What? Trackers?
"They work for the Volturi."
Why would the Volturi want Renesmee? I growled loudly, my vision flashing red. If they touched her I was going to go and rip all their throats out! What were they going to do to her? If they made her one of them…I had no idea what to do. I felt so helpless. I couldn't even protect my own imprint! Edward had been right…I didn't deserve her.
"No." I looked up, to find Edward staring at me. "That's not true. The fact that you want to go after her proves that to me. We'll find her Jacob. I promise." It was kind of hard not to believe him; sincerity dripped from every word. And I had no doubt that he would scour the globe until he found her. Hell, I would be right beside him.
But why did they want her?
Edward relayed the question and Carlisle hesitated. I tensed; this couldn't be good news.
"I believe…that they may be after the baby."
Author's Note: Remember that if you kill me then no one will write the next chapter. I'd love for you all to review, because I have two possible storylines that I could pursue.
Renesmee gets rescued but she gives birth during her captivity
She gets rescued but gives birth during the rescue.
She gets rescued and everything's fine…for now.
So any input would be gratefully received. I realize option B is a bit weird but trust me I would make it work. Let me know what you think by reviewing!
Love you all!
HigherMagic x
