A/N: All original Twilight characters are © Stephenie
Meyer. Original Perfect Forever characters are the sole property of MissP1987.
A/N x 2: It has also come to my attention that several of my current and/or former students have found this story. I STRONGLY ADVISE YOU TO READ THE TWILIGHT SAGA FIRST! 6th grade and above may read and enjoy! 5th grade and below must have parent's permission first! Sorry, teacher first, writer second.
Chapter 19
"Family Squabbles and Coin Tosses"
On Saturday morning, the visiting vampires went abroad for the weekend to hunt while the Quileutes and the Ahtenas all ganged up at what they had dubbed Camp Cullen to hang out. The morning strategy sessions had become an excuse for Esme to sharpen her culinary skills and the wolves were more than happy to oblige and indulge her…the cats were none too finicky themselves.
On this particular morning however, despite Jasper's valiant efforts, tension was at an all time high.
Quil, Paul, and Jerod – nostrils flaring and eyes blazing – sat around the oversized dining table glaring at Jacob who sat at the end of the table in stone silence, his face beet red. Jacob was flanked on one side by Edward and Bella – Renesmee perched in her lap – and Ethan and Leah on the other. Carlisle sat at the opposite end of the table from Jacob with Esme, Emmett, and Rosalie to his left and Jasper and Alice to his right. The rest of the large blended family sat scattered around the room on the floor propped up on pillows or leaned up against the nearest warm body.
Dark brown eyes from all over the room shifted conspicuously between Quil and Jacob. The situation was critical…had been for days. Both packs knew it, and so did the warriors. Quil's thoughts had been volatile since the day Edward had convinced Jacob not to fight in the upcoming battle for Renesmee's sake. Unfortunately, ever since Ethan and Leah had gotten married and Jacob had asked Ethan to join his pack – forever connecting the wolves with the cats once Ethan accepted his role as chief of the warriors – every remaining shape-shifter on the planet was privy to Jacob's, Quil's, and everybody else's thoughts. Consequently, they were all on edge…just waiting for the eventual blow-up between the Quileute brothers…hoping it wouldn't rip an irreparable hole in the armor their special blended family had created.
Meanwhile, the amber eyes of every vampire in the room save Edward's were anxiously searching each tanned Quileute face for confirmation that tempers would remain in check. A mass phase and wolf brawl in the middle of Esme's immaculate dining room amid her delectable five-course brunch would certainly not be prudent. To say that she would be a bit put out with such a fiasco would be a definite understatement. That fact, along with other unavoidable discomforts, was why Edward was not meeting the gaze of anyone in the room. In his never-ending quest to control all things pertaining to his family, he had not considered the fall-out it would cause among the tribes when he had asked Jacob not to fight in order to protect Renesmee from the possibility of her Jacob being lost in the battle. Edward had not given the other wolves – some of who had imprints of their own – a single thought. Such was the source of contention – and Edward's uncomfortable guilt – at the moment. Somehow, he had to set this situation straight…but how?
Suddenly, Jacob dropped his fork onto his plate with a loud clang and shouted, "Just say it out loud, Quil! We've all heard you thinking it for days now anyway. Go ahead…tell everybody what a coward you think I am!"
Quil stood – his body quaking with the effort to control his temper – and laughed sarcastically.
"I don't have to say it out loud, Bro. You've been filling our heads full of your psycho babble for days!"
Jacob jumped from his seat sending his chair crashing into the wall behind him. With a pitiful crunch, it splintered into kindling.
Every muscle in his jaw ached as his teeth clenched tightly shut with the gargantuan effort it took for him to control his urge to phase and rip into Quil.
"Psycho babble!? Just how in the hell would you feel in this situation, Quil? Do you think it's easy for me to choose between…"
As Jacob's voice grew impossibly louder, Edward stood quietly from his seat and laid a hand on Jacob's shoulder, silencing him. Edward sighed in resignation as he began to hopefully mend the rift he'd caused between brothers and sisters.
"Quil, this is my fault. If you need to be angry with someone, be angry with me. I am the selfish party here, not Jacob. Jake, I want to apologize for the position I have put you in. I did not consider the impact my asking you not to fight would have on your brothers and sisters."
Bella gasped beside Edward and looked at him wide-eyed.
"Oh, Edward…you didn't!"
Edward – running his hands through his flaming untamed hair – looked at Bella with chagrin.
"Old habits are hard to break, Love."
Edward sent her a lopsided grin and Bella shot him a raised eye-brow that clearly said we will discuss this later. Edward turned his attention back to the Quileutes.
"Look, I realize that Jake is not the only shape-shifter to have an imprint. Quil, I know you worry about leaving Claire behind if something happens to you. Paul, Jerod, Sam…I've heard all of your thoughts the past few days as you've struggled with knowing you might not return home to the women you love. I truly have no defense for my asking Jacob not to fight in order to protect my daughter from that same possibility. Except that my daughter will likely live forever. She is as immortal as any vampire even though she is half human. I just can't bear the thoughts of…"
Edward's perfect bell-toned voice broke and Renesmee jumped from her mother's lap into her father's arms, wrapping her arms around his neck to comfort him. Everyone – even Edward who could hear her thoughts – had the tendency to forget how intuitive and in tune to events around her Renesmee truly was. Yes, her body was growing at a remarkable rate, but her mind was developing at an even faster pace. Since birth, she had been extremely advanced in speech…speaking full sentences and reading novels before she was even months old. So, it shouldn't have been a surprise to anyone – least of all her father – that Renesmee was fully aware of everything transpiring around Camp Cullen.
As Renesmee laid her small hands on either side of Edward's face, she didn't show him a vision. Instead, she spoke to him through her thoughts.
It's all right, Daddy. Let Jacob fight with the other wolves. They need him. I will be okay. I promise.
Edward nuzzled his daughter closely into the crook of his neck and kissed her cheek gently before clearing his throat and speaking softly.
"Forgive me for causing discord between the members of our family. Jacob, you're brothers and sisters need you… our family needs you. I will not stand in the way of you joining the battle."
The fact that Edward had referred to the whole diverse group as one family was lost on no one. They had all begun to feel the same way over the past few weeks. Lasting friendships and unbreakable bonds had been forged between beings that, under normal circumstances, would be mortal enemies.
Sam, who had been unusually quiet for several days, walked over to Edward and placed his hand on Edward's shoulder.
"Thank you, Edward." As Sam spoke, the raw emotion in his voice said it all…for everyone. No other words were needed. By relenting and allowing Jacob the option of fighting alongside his family, Edward had closed the open wound that had been festering all week long.
The mood-lift in the Cullen house was tangible, and the relief was evident on Jasper's face. Light-hearted conversations and gluttonous food consumption resumed as everyone enjoyed a brief moment of trouble-free downtime.
But no one knew just how fleeting that moment would be…
The shrill chirping of Edward's cell phone brought the chatty atmosphere in the room to a breathless silence, and as he looked at the screen to see who it was calling, Edward excused himself politely and walked out the room to take the call.
In less than five minutes, Edward walked back into the room with a frighteningly grave expression on his perfect face – the pain in his ocher eyes made Bella's heart sink into her stomach as she rushed to her husband's side. But Edward didn't stop until he'd come to stand beside Jace who was seated on a barstool at the counter.
Edward stood completely motionless, holding his breath for what seemed like hours, as the silence in the room turned to choking panic and fear. Bella reached out and took Edward's hand tentatively. He looked into her eyes and squeezed her hand lovingly before shutting his eyes tightly and bowing his head.
Carlisle stood from his seat at the head of the table and walked over to Edward, clasping a strong hand on his shoulder, before asking, "What is it, Son? Was that Garrett on the phone?"
Edward looked up to meet his adoptive father's searching gaze and drew a long shuddering breath.
"Yes. I expected him to call earlier in the week, but he never contacted me. As each day without word from him has passed, I've grown more and more concerned that something is wrong. Unfortunately, he just confirmed by suspicions. Things have not gone as we'd planned, and Garrett has left the Volturi army to go in search of the American nomads in order to bring them here as reinforcements. He also informed me that Dallas and Felix have an army of fifty male vampires – most of who appear to be Felix's clones – highly trained in every combat maneuver imaginable. And…they are marching exactly one week ahead of schedule."
As Edward finished his sentence, several audible gasps mixed with a few growls and a couple of colorful expletives followed by random comments could be heard around the room.
Edward held up his hand to silence them and swallowed hard before continuing in a voice barely above a whisper.
"That's not all. Something terrible has happened…something we all thought we were preventing by moving the Ahtena warriors here. I'm sorry, but… there's just no easy way to say this, so forgive me if I sound callous…it is certainly not my intention. Dallas and Felix decided to take a detour through Cantwell on their way to Forks. Their mission was to seek and destroy. Everybody…the entire village…is gone."
Everyone in the room sat in stunned silence…slowly processing the words that had spilled reluctantly from Edward's mouth.
Finally, Jace turned his watery dark brown eyes on Edward and asked, "Uncle Nanuk?"
Edward could only shake his head sadly back and forth. Jace slammed his fist down forcefully on the counter before burying his face in his hands and crying softly. Chan and Kale, who were seated on either side of Jace at the bar, laid comforting hands on each of his shoulders – tears streaming freely down both of their faces.
Willa – her chocolate brown eyes brimming with tears – looked at Edward from her seat on the sofa between Meekah and Kylee and asked with a quivering voice, "All the little ones…what happened to all the kids?"
Edward looked over at Renesmee who was now sitting in Jacob's lap staring wide-eyed at her father, her own face streaked with tears. Edward closed his eyes and sighed sadly before replying gently, "I'm so sorry, Willa. They left no one alive."
Willa, Meekah, and Kylee wailed with grief and wrapped their arms tightly around each other. On the other side of the room, Tahla buried her face in the crook of Seth's neck and cried – her whole body racked with sobs – as he held her tightly and rocked her back and forth.
Ethan sat in stone cold silence, even as Leah grabbed his hands and held them firmly in her own. He had been here before… and just as now, at the hands of Dallas and Garrett. Only this time, they had wiped out an entire population…an entire tribe. Ethan had been made an orphan that fateful night eleven years ago, and all the other kids in the village had lost their fathers. But, Cantwell had rallied, overcoming devastating pain and grief, to rebuild and flourish once again. They were a proud and close-knit people…taking the old adage, It takes a village, literally. Every one of their lives had been profanely touched by every other member of the tribe. Now, eight orphans were all that was left of an entire people. Now, they were truly alone.
Ethan's stomach churned as he realized that Dallas had played a major role in the twist of fate that was his life and the lives of the Ahtena people all along. More than ever, Ethan longed to sink his razor sharp teeth into Dallas's gangly neck and sever his head from his body. He would have his chance in exactly one week. Dallas would be his first priority, and then he would turn his attention to Garrett.
Ethan was so preoccupied with his thoughts of revenge that he hadn't noticed Edward settling himself behind his chair and placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Look around you, Ethan. You and the warriors are most certainly not alone." Edward spoke quietly, but firmly.
As Ethan took his first real glance around the room, the sight made his breath catch in his throat. All around him, vampires and shape-shifters were comforting and reassuring one another. On one side of the room, Emmett, Carlisle, and Jasper – along with the youngest of the Quileute wolves – were engaged in quiet conversations with the Ahtena boys. On the opposite side of the room, Esme, Alice, and Rosalie were murmuring soothing words while smothering Willa, Meekah, and Kylee with hugs. Bella was busy soothing Tahla and Seth – who was visibly shaken by Tahla's suffering. The oldest of the Quileute wolves were gathered around Jacob and Renesmee – who was profoundly affected by the grief around her – swearing oaths to protect their tribe and the remaining Ahtenas at all costs.
Knowing Edward could read his mind Ethan shook his head up and down slowly and grinned.
This is truly a family…regardless of how dysfunctional. If I were not a part of it, I would never have believed it could happen. But, Garrett is NOT a part of this family. He has caused my people unimaginable pain. I WILL kill him, Edward.
Now it was Edward's turn to nod in recognition before speaking with careful words.
"Ethan, I will not tell you how to feel or how to deal with those feelings. But, I will tell you that Garrett is trying very hard to make amends for the pain he has caused you and your tribe. He is absolutely sick over being forced to take part in the massacre at Cantwell. But, he knew if he baulked, he would have exposed himself as a spy and sentenced us all to death in the process. If it weren't for Garrett, we would be expecting Dallas and his army in two weeks…not in one. Yes, he has caused immeasurable pain in the past, but he has given you and the warriors a chance at a future. Please consider that as you make your final decision."
As Edward walked away in silence, Ethan looked at Leah – who was still holding tightly onto both of his hands – and laid his head on her shoulder. Finally succumbing to his own grief, Ethan blew out a long shaky breath and allowed the tears he had been holding back to flow.
By Friday afternoon, everyone had had their fill of combat maneuvers and training exercises. All the necessary plans had been made and no amount of additional practice was going to affect the outcome of the battle one way or the other. They were as prepared as they would ever be…win or lose…live or die.
Since the horrible news last Saturday, the minds and hearts of the Quileute wolves and the Ahtena cats – always connected when in shape-shifter form – had been heavy with grief. So, Jacob, Sam, and Ethan had devised a plan for blowing off some steam before the battle with a little bit of friendly competition between the two packs and the pride.
As all nineteen Quileute wolves stood in a face-off with the eight Ahtena warriors, the air around them was filled with electric anticipation that had very little to do with the ominous thunderstorm that was forming high above them in the clouds.
Jacob, Sam, and Ethan stood ready to run in the first leg of a relay race that would pit three teams against each other and reward the winning team with bragging rights to the fastest species – cats or dogs. The three leaders would run first and return to the starting line to coach their remaining teammates in the race. The race judges – the Cullens and many of their vampire friends – stood by to diplomatically settle any disputes that might arise during any particular leg of the relay.
Emmett was taking his job as official head judge quite seriously and had somehow acquired a starter pistol to use in the race. With a wide grin on his angelic muscular face, Emmett raised the gun high in the air and shouted, "Take your marks!"
As the humungous black panther and two enormous wolves hunched into starting position, Emmett fired the pistol and the runners shot forward at amazing speed. Encouraging howls, growls, and roars could be heard throughout the forest as the runners made the five mile trek back to the starting line. Ethan's panther was in the lead as they galloped into the clearing with Jacob's wolf close on his heels. Suddenly, the russet wolf sprinted forward and overtook the black panther, leaving him trailing behind as the wolf crossed the starting line and nudged Quil's chocolate furred wolf in the side tagging him into the next leg of the race. Just as Quil launched forward, Ethan tagged the over-sized orange Bengal tiger with a swish of his tail and Chan shot forward in pursuit of Quil. Seconds later, Sam slid into Paul's gray-coated wolf and jabbed him in the side to tag him into the race.
As each old leg of the race ended and the new one began, it became harder and harder to predict who would be the winner. Jace's silvery gray cougar left Embry's and Jerod's wolves in the proverbial dust in the third leg of the race, but Trent and Cade – the two youngest wolves – tied in the fourth leg leaving Meekah's prissy silver lynx far behind. Then, suspicions of sandbagging were high on all sides as Seth and Tahla both fell behind and allowed Hunter – one of the other young wolves – to take the lead during the fifth leg. Consequently, the sixth and seventh legs of the relay were won by Taylor and Brady from Sam's team, creating quite a bit of ruffled fur between Kale and Kylee – the Ahtena twins – and Dayson and Drew – the Quileute twins.
By the time Collin darted from his position on the starting line, he knew he had the race in the bag. He had never been beaten in a race – human or wolf – before, and he had no intentions of today being the first. But Leah – the fastest runner in Jacob's pack since her first phase almost three years ago – was going to have a little something to say about that as she sprinted after Collin, quickly gaining the lead.
As they reached the clearing and Leah's light grey wolf jostled for the lead with Collin's dark grey wolf, neither canine noticed the light beige and cream black-spotted cheetah running with graceful ease at lightning speed toward the finish line until it was too late. Roars of victory from the Ahtena cats echoed in the trees as Willa skidded to a halt in front of Emmett to win Ethan's team the title of fastest shape-shifters on the planet. A full three seconds later, Leah barreled over the line to secure Jacob's pack the second place finish barely beating Collin by a paw-length as he came in third.
Just as an exhausted Collin flopped down in the cool grass to catch his breath – his tongue lolling out to the side comically – an ear-splitting clap of thunder drowned out the hearty laughter of the vampires who had been spectators during the race between the wolves and the large cats. Barely a second later, a long streak of silver lightning illuminated the now dark sky over Forks, Washington.
Emmett let out a long shrill whistle between upturned lips and Jasper laughed before asking in his slow Southern drawl, "Are ya'll ready for some football?"
"Hell yeah! Let's get this party started!" Emmett yelled as Edward reached into a backpack that he had hanging off his shoulder and pulled out an official top of the line leather game ball from the NFL and tossed it to Ethan who had emerged from one of the nearby dressing tents with Jacob and Sam. All three men were clad in tight black t-shirts and faded denim jeans and sporting shiny silver whistles hanging from white strings around their necks. In addition to the whistle around his neck, Jacob was also sporting one hybrid vampire atop his shoulders. As he walked past Seth's sandy-furred wolf sprawled comfortably on the ground, Jacob plopped Renesmee onto his back and chuckled as she crossed her arms over in front of her chest and pouted.
As the thunderstorm raged on, the Cullens and their friends took their places on either side of the one hundred yard line in the middle of the makeshift football field that Carlisle, Rosalie, and Alice had marked off in the clearing where the relay race had just taken place. Along the sideline on either side of the two hundred yard field, wolves and big cats lounged lazily and watched with incredulous wide brown eyes. It was quite obvious from the size of the field that vampire football was going to be nothing like human football.
Edward's team – in royal blue jerseys with shiny gold letters spelling out their names and numbers across their backs and yellow flag belts tied around their waists – faced off against Jasper's team – in bright orange jerseys with navy blue lettering detailing their names and numbers with blue flag belts hanging around their waists – as Jacob stepped between the two teams pulling a quarter from his jeans pocket.
"Call it," Jacob commanded as he flipped the quarter into the air with his right thumb and clamped his right hand over his left, trapping the coin there as it landed on the hand he'd balled into a fist.
"Tails," called Edward with a crooked grin. Alice growled menacingly at her brother as he read the outcome of the toss in her mind before she had time to inform Jasper and beat Edward to the punch.
"Sorry, Little Sister. You really must get Jacob to teach you how to block me from your thoughts," Edward teased. Alice narrowed her honey golden eyes at her brother and stuck out her tongue mockingly.
"What'll it be, Edward? Kick-off or receive?" Jacob asked.
"We'll kick off, thank-you," Edward replied, plucking the football from Jacob's hand and handing it over to Esme, their team's kicker. As Esme stepped up to the line, Carlisle, Bella, and Tanya took their places on the defensive line alongside Edward. Jasper stepped back into the receiving position with Alice, Emmett, Rosalie, and Benjamin in the backfield completing his team. Esme – looking more like a ballerina on center stage at the opera house than a kicker on a football team – drop-kicked the football, and twenty-four large muzzles followed the path of the ball as it sailed one hundred yards through the air in a perfect arc. In a blur, Jasper ran to catch up with the ball and jumped five feet off the ground to pluck it from the air, landing lithely on his feet making his way toward the defensive line. But as he moved to sneak around Carlisle on the right, Edward appeared out of nowhere and snatched the flag from around Jasper's waist to bring up the first down. The following three downs ended in almost the exact same way seeing as how Edward could read Jasper's thoughts and knew where he was going with the ball before Jasper even had the chance to hand it off to one of his teammates. Emmett…Benjamin…Rosalie…all three fell prey to Edward's mind-reading abilities coupled with his superhuman speed and agility.
Finally, it was Edward's team's turn to take the ball. Bella took the center's position in front of Edward, the quarterback, and snapped the ball. Edward immediately handed the ball off to Tanya and ran toward the end zone. Tanya passed it to Carlisle, who chunked it downfield over Alice's and Rosalie's heads. Edward moved so fast no one was sure they really saw him run between his two sisters and leap into the air to retrieve the ball. This would have been the perfect play had it not been for Emmett who was in the process of flying into the air to intercept Carlisle's pass. The two brothers collided in mid-air with an ear-piercing metallic crash, making it blaringly obvious why they chose to play vampire football in the middle of a severe thunderstorm. As they fell to the ground, Edward landing unceremoniously on top of Emmett, Emmett snatched the flag from around Edward's waist and held it high into the air, laughing boisterously.
For a solid hour, play continued as the thunder rolled and the lightning flashed. Bella – the youngest and fastest vampire on either team – scored the first touchdown by running up the middle between Alice and Rosalie, leaving Emmett trailing behind her in frustration. But the next time she tried it, Emmett was ready. He blocked her path as she darted to the left to sidestep him and threw her over his Herculean shoulder, toting her like a sack of potatoes back to the line of scrimmage before setting her down gently and yanking the flag from around her waist. Bella turned and threw up her hands in Jacob's and the other referee's directions, but they were doubled over laughing instead of blowing their whistles and calling foul.
By the last play of the game, the score was tied fourteen to fourteen and Jasper's team had the ball. Alice, playing the position of center, snapped the ball and handed it off to Jasper, the quarterback. Jasper decided to try and get around Edward the old-fashioned way…through good ole' shuck and dive, despite Edward's mind-reading prowess. Edward grinned and matched Jasper move for move until the earth suddenly opened up beneath him and he was slowed down while trying to avoid the crevice that he had heard Benjamin planning to create in his thoughts. Edward's leap to avoid plowing into the chasm head-first gave Jasper the split-second advantage he needed to cross the goal line and score the game winning touchdown.
Emmett walked up to Edward with a broad grin sweeping across his face and draped his arm across his smaller brother's shoulders.
"Better luck next time, Big Brother. Nice try, though. Too bad about that whole…uh…hole just appearing in the earth thing."
Edward chuckled at the goofy expression on Emmett's face and said, tapping his forehead playfully, "Just remember, Little Brother. The next time we play, Benjamin will be back in Egypt, but I'll still be able to read your mind."
The relay race and the game of vampire football had successfully diverted everyone's attention away from the impending battle for the evening, but as everyone began to meander lazily back to Camp Cullen – reluctant to leave the happy care-free moment behind – Edward could hear their thoughts naturally gravitating back to the task that loomed ahead of them tomorrow at dusk. Understandably, although troubling for Edward, most everyone's thoughts were of spending their final hours with the ones they loved saying good-bye…just in case.
A/N: I debated on whether or not to carry this chapter on into the beginning of the battle, but I have plans to bring in some tender moments between some of the characters before the battle begins. So, I decided the chapter would be too long if I tried to cram it all into one. Chapter 20 WILL be the beginning of the end…the battle – part of it – at least. Thanks for sticking by me! Reviews are appreciated!
