A/N: Do you think it's appropriate for the Volturi to come? The main thing is Jake-Nessie-Edella-Nahuel, anyway, so I'll be covering more on that soon. Thanks for reading!

Chapter 8

Edella POV

Jacob spoke up. "If I may explain?" He was usually very sarcastic about the Volturi, but this time and the previous time, it concerned Nessie and so of course he was serious and eager to prove him and Nessie's innocence.

Alec opened his mouth to protest but Aro stopped him. "Listen to him first," Aro said a bit too sharply. Alec's mouth snapped shut and his eyes narrowed at the sight of Jake.

"Well, I'm technically half-human, half-werewolf. Nessie…Renesmee is half-human, half-vampire. So, if we were to have children, the offspring would be half-human, quarter-vampire, and quarter-werewolf, right? I know that children-vampires, or immortal children as you call them, are banned, but with our new species they'd be likely to grow fast as Renesmee. We'd be able to teach them, control them. It's going to be half-human, anyway. According to you, werewolves are even less destructive than vampires. If so, Renesmee and Edella are both half-human, half-vampires. They didn't cause any damage. They didn't expose us, not when they were still children. They didn't hurt anybody, not even humans. So if you replaced a quarter of their vampire selves with a werewolf, then it's going to be even less destructive, and of course, we're going to be good parents. Good as any human parent, or Bella and Edward here, will be." Jacob analyzed every angle, speaking clearly. The Volturi listened attentively.

Aro discussed this with his posse and turned back to us, his papery face expressionless and blank. "The Volturi shall vote," he spoke grimly.

Aro's voice became even thinner and whispery as he said his vote. "I think that, after the werewolf-no, shape-shifter's-explanation, the child that he and the half-vampire will breed is not possibly as harmful and dangerous as Caius had said. I'd allow both of them, all of them, to live. If the child proves to be dangerous and may lead us to exposure in the future, brothers, we can always come back and decide once more."

Caius's snowy-white hair drifted to frame his face as he spoke. "If we should come back in the future, the child might have already done harm. We should decide now, and kill them now. So, my vote contradicts Aro's."

Marcus looked bored, as before, as always. Aro had explained to us before, "It takes quite a lot to surprise Marcus." "I agree with Aro," he said briefly before shutting his mouth once more.

Aro clapped his hands together delightedly. "So, my friends! It has done me great pleasure to be able to preserve your lives today, just like I did, seven years ago. But in time, should the child become too dangerous for our world to tolerate…" he trailed off, his eyes boring straight into Nessie and sliding down to her stomach.

Then, once again, with Jane leading the way, the Volturi leaders and part of their guard floated out of the meadow in a field of cloaks, some a light, misty gray and most in darkening shades until the dark, almost-black cloaks of the three ancients. Then they disappeared.

We celebrated again, just like we had done seven years ago. Many actions and words in this Volturi visit had been similar to what they had done seven years ago, when Irina from the Denali clan thought Nessie and I were immortal children and had informed the Volturi.

Nessie hid her face inside Jake's chest and he wrapped his strong, overly-warm arms around her, and everyone was smiling. Aunt Rosalie and Uncle Emmett, Aunt Alice and Uncle Jasper, both couples shared a long, passionate kiss with each other. Mom said something to Dad and they both laughed. Grandpa Carlisle and Grandma Esme hugged. Nahuel tried to kiss me again and this time I didn't object.

Nahuel's lips, although cold and venomous, felt soft against mine. His lips sought the entrance to my mouth and I let him in, once again feeling his breath in my mouth. I'd been too busy noticing his cold and venomous breath, but now I noted that his breath was sweet and smelled like peaches and honey. His tongue flickered out like a snake's and licked my lips. His tongue played with mine for a moment, and then they were not entwined. Finally I pulled away. There was this crazy sensation running inside me, like I couldn't get enough of him.

"Wow," Nahuel whispered to me. That was…an understatement.

But I didn't say anything else as Grandpa Carlisle led the way back to the main, big white house.

Once we were there, the "adults" (aka everyone except Nessie, Jake, Nahuel and me) went up to their rooms, and Mom and Dad went back to the cottage. "We'll be at the cottage, just call if you need us," Mom called over her shoulder as Dad towed her away.

Nessie sat down in front of the piano in the hall and lifted the sleek black cover. Dad was brilliant at playing the piano. He'd tried teaching Nessie and I, but I soon got bored with it and "quit". So now it was just Nessie. He'd announced to the rest of the family a week ago that Nessie had passed her final piano test (of course, he was the examiner for all her tests).

Nessie didn't stop or lift her head to acknowledge any of us. Jake, Nahuel and I sat on a cream-coloured couch in the hall to listen. Nessie's hands glided along the length of the piano as she played. It was the most beautiful music I'd ever heard in my life. The notes were sweet and harmonious; at times there were low booming notes, but it was mostly the higher notes, and some soft, tinkling notes close to the top. It didn't seem as though only one set of hands were playing, and Nessie's hands slid round and about faster and faster, until they were almost a blur. No human could have possibly accomplished that, but I didn't know Nessie to be able to play…that fast. She was still half-human, after all.

Towards the end of the melody, the notes whirred around and they got faster still, until the last note just finished off with a loud 'plink'. Jake burst into applause. Nahuel and I clapped loudly as well. Then before I knew it, Jake was across the hall and hugging Nessie.

"What's the name of this piece? It's beautiful, Ness."

Nessie blushed. "I kinda thought…well, you know…I composed it myself. I named it 'Jacob's Melody'."

Jake beamed and started kissing her.

So many things about these two couples (Nessie and Jake, Nahuel and I) were similar about Mom and Dad's romance. And my parents were one of the most romantic and loving couples, ever. For example, there was Nessie's "Jacob's Melody". Dad had composed a lullaby for Mom, too. And Nahuel and I had our own little rain tree meadow. My parents had their own meadow, too, but sadly, as Mom had said, when she returned, when Dad left her, it had been destroyed. The long grass and lovely wildflowers no more, all reduced to sandy plain land…

Suddenly I snapped out of my reverie. Nahuel was right in front of me, down in a protective crouch. I started pondering his reasons for doing so when I saw Jake in front of Nessie as well. Nessie leant slightly over Jake's body and I saw her shooting me a pleading, apologetic look.

A snarl came out from between Jake's teeth, and a growl rumbled from deep in Nahuel's chest. "Stupid bloodsucker," Jake seethed. Nessie tried to hold him back but Jake was too strong for her. Nessie blinked, and then she spoke quietly, "Nahuel's not a vampire, he's only half. And Edella and I are, too. Don't hurt Nahuel, please." Jake hissed in response.

"Look," I told Nahuel. "If Jake gets hurt, Nessie gets hurt. And if Nessie gets hurt, I get hurt. And if I get hurt, you get hurt, too. There's no point in trying to fight each other. It'll only cause more damage-physical or emotional, whatever. I don't think you want to be in that pain."

Nahuel turned to look at me. "I could kill him with that one bite," he whispered, loud enough that only I could hear. He wasn't threatening me, nor was he warning me. He was feeling ashamed of himself for even thinking that-not apologising to Jake, but to me.

"So, is that the best you've got, parasite?" Jacob continued, ignoring Nessie's comment. I didn't see how he could go against his imprint's wishes, but well…

"Okay, what's wrong with you two?" I demanded, throwing my hands into the air. "What caused this…frustration, anger? Must be a misunderstanding, you two were getting along just fine."

Jake kept silent. It took Nahuel seconds in hesitation, and then he spoke. "After Nessie told him that you loved him-" I shuddered from the memory-"The mongrel told me that you had never loved me. It was all pretence, rather. Or maybe, he guessed, that you had to do with me as a substitute for the werewolf boy that you loved. I got pissed off, then-I mean, who wouldn't be? So, naturally, the instinct to defend your loved ones, the instinct to fight…"

I glared at Jake using my killer glare. "How dare you Jacob Black!"

Jacob sneered at me. "So it's true. Sorry, I'm taken."

"I love Nahuel now, what was between you and me is in the past. I don't care what you say, but I want you to change the thinking that I'm still in love with you. You have no right to disrupt my love life. You're not my father! You don't control-you can't control-who I love and who I hate. So what if I love an old enemy of yours? He's only half, anyway. And your girlfriend, my sister, your imprint, she's a half breed, too! You can get yourself fully occupied with Renesmee for all I care, what's wrong with you!"

Before anyone could stop me, I stepped over to where Jake was standing and slapped him in the face. Nessie gasped. Nahuel smiled cruelly. Jacob rubbed his jaw.

And then Jacob Black exploded into his wolf form.