Chapter 6

Carlie Alison Cullen-Black's POV

"So Sara, why don't you make yourself comfortable? Your brothers called and said that they're covering for you with your parents. Tommy, I think, said that you were staying over with the Uley girls and he told Tia to cover if Leah or Embry calls to check up on you." Jacob informed EJ's imprint and I could see the ease on her face.

Even though I didn't know her, I still had an odd respect for the girl that would be my sister-in-law in a few years. She stood up for our family against whichever of the Uley girls had been trash-talking.

"Hey, Daddy. Come help me in the kitchen." I said, gesturing towards the Main House kitchen.

Even though we hadn't been back here since moving to La Push, I knew that Esme had stocked the house. When she mentioned deer blood being stocked in the fridge for EJ, my suspicions were confirmed.

Our extended family made it a point to make sure that we had everything we could ever think to ask for even if they themselves didn't need it.

It was that thoughtfulness that really set them apart from normal human blood drinking vampires. We were a family, not a coven...though the Cullen Clan has dismembered some since before Bella Swan arrived on the scene. After Nessie's birth, some of the couples grew a little restless.

Alice and Jasper love living with the Denali Clan and even Edward and Bella have adapted to the Alaskan life. They still consider Forks their home but, for now, Alaska is their home too.

Aunt Rose stayed as long as she could, but seeing Nessie turn into an adult and then have children of her own, well, it was hard for her to handle. I always knew that Rosalie wanted children desperately, but it wasn't until Carlisle started giving Jazzlyn physicals to see if she could reproduce that Aunt Rose really couldn't stand being around us much longer. She and Emmett visit whenever they can, but his main concern is keeping her mind off of the fact that she'll never get to be a mother like she always wanted, and still wants.

Esme and Carlisle still live at the Cullen Mansion, but they have moved cities for his job eight times since Jacob proposed to Nessie. It's only for appearances, since they live here, but they've worked at hospitals in Seattle, Port Angeles, and countless others. I love knowing that our great-grandparents will always be "home" when we want to visit. It's a stability that Rosie has always needed.

Jacob laughed barkily and followed behind me. I figured that EJ and Sara needed this time together since he had just almost died when she phased (for the first time) so close to him.

Plus, I figured that Esme had some raw meat that would go to waste without two werewolves to eat it.

We were on that meat like two wolves on...well, meat.

"Too bad your first day got ruined." Jacob said lightly, while licking the blood off of one of his fingers.

"S'not so bad." I said, shrugging my shoulders.

"I know how much you were looking forward to going to high school with kids like you." Jacob said, seeing through my partial lie.

"I'll be okay." I said, not meeting his gaze. "Besides, there's always tomorrow."

We sat in silence, each of us in our own thoughts. I stared at the plate in front of me, debating on whether or not to heat up some meat for EJ and Sara. I finally gave in and set the plate in the microwave.

"Yeah, tomorrow." Jacob said at last, sensing my discomfort.

I grabbed the hot plate when the timer beeped and cursed under my breath at the slight sting of the heat. If I wasn't a wolf, that would have left a mark. Jacob followed behind me back to the living room, eyeing my pinking index finger with a frown.

"I'm immortal, baby." I heard EJ joke in response to something Sara said and I had to force myself not to roll my eyes. My twin was such a dork. Luckily he just met his soul mate or I'd fear for his chances at finding a girl who could put up with his dorky-ness.

I held the plate of cooked meat for Sara, watching her expression harden when she took her eyes off of EJ's. We would have to work on her trust issues if she was going to be a part of this family.

"We weren't sure how you liked your meat considering you're a new wolf." I explained, setting the plate down as gently as I could. I didn't want to seem rude, but she wasn't exactly welcoming herself.

"I think the two of you should set some ground rules..." Jacob said in his Alpha voice and I tuned him out after that. This wasn't a speech for me, so I didn't need to hear it. Besides, the weight of an Alpha tone was enough to make me behave.

My mind drifted to my own imprint. Or did he imprint on me? I can't really be sure since we both saw each other for the first time in the same instant.

We were drawn to each other in a way that I can't even begin to explain. I mean, I've seen it in Jacob's mind when he first imprinted on my mom, and I've seen the connection through Rosie and Jesse's eyes. But for it to be me, well, that was something else entirely.

They didn't say that my palms would start to sweat or that my heart would skip about a thousand beats or that he would consume my every thought since that fateful moment. They just said it was like "gravity shifting."

But "gravity" has nothing to do with it, like tribal legend claims, or the "sun" either, as Nessie always describes Jacob. Sammy is like oxygen. I could live without gravity, people go to the moon all the time, but without oxygen, I'd be an empty shell of bones.

I needed Sammy in my life, at no matter what the cost. I would rob a bank and murder the witnesses if it meant that I could be with my Sammy. With him by my side, jail time would be nothing. I could withstand my dad's lectures or my mother's concerned looks if it meant having Sammy.

AN: Please review, guys :) I need to hear from you guys or I'll go crazy!