Ok, so someone pointed out to me that toward the end of Breaking Dawn Quil and Embry joined Jacob's pack. I, having not read BD in quite some time, totally forgot about this. So first I need to apologize to those of you who it bothers that I made that mistake. Now that that's settled, I am not going to go change my story. My story will just disregard that small fact. I hope you all can still enjoy it even though it is not one hundred percent accurate to the book.
Jacob
The drive back to the Cullen house is a particularly great one. Seth is raving about how awesome Lizzie is. He admits that she is now his imprint which makes drunk Leah giggle uncontrollably. Nessie rides in the passenger seat, her hand on my leg, showing me how happy she is. When we pull up at the house, I immediately sense something wrong. It's too quiet inside.
Nessie steps out of the car with the same hesitation. Something tells me she can sense it too. Seth is too giddy to notice. I'm not sure if Leah can even stand at this point. "Jakey!" Leah laughs. "We are going back to your housh," she slurs as she points at Seth.
"Is that cool?" Seth asks, still smiling.
"Yeah. The key's under the mat. I'm gonna tuck Ness in and be there shortly." Seth and Leah saunter off toward my house. I notice that Seth is basically holding Leah up as they go. I turn to Nessie and make some snide joke about the disadvantages of sisters. She smiles and walks to me.
Her hand slides onto my stomach. The contact causes me to tighten just a little. She smiles and shows me how much she likes my body. "I like yours too," I admit. A vision of me kissing her flashes through my mind. I don't hesitate in granting her that wish. As my lips work over hers, I hear mutters from inside the house. It sounds like they might be arguing about something. I better check it out.
"What's wrong Jake?" Nessie asks sounding sad.
"Nothing," I lie. "Why?"
"You just seem distracted."
"Just tired," I lie again. Usually I don't lie to Ness, but sometimes it is necessary. "It's late." Nessie, always one to look after me, tugs my arm toward the house. We go in without a knock. The whole family is standing near the doorway. "Happy New Year!" they all shout. I catch Bella's eye and see something that startles me. She looks terrified.
I chance a look at Edward only to see that his usually perfect reserve is compromised just the tiniest bit. As I glance around, I realize that everyone has the same worried twinkle in their eyes. I guess Nessie observes too. "What's going on?" she asks sounding alarmed.
"Nothing. Why?" Edward shoots back just a fraction too soon.
"Because I'm not stupid. You are acting weird." I guess she hasn't noticed the worry, just the oddity.
"Renesmee dear. We just missed you. This is the first holiday you've ever celebrated elsewhere," Bella lies smoothly. Nessie seems to wake their word for it. She kisses both her parents on the cheeks and shows them something. She tells everyone goodnight, holding her eyes on mine a second too long. I nod because I know she wants me to agree to tell her whatever is going on. I won't lie to her again.
Once she is gone, Edward gestures for me to follow him outside. I follow his lead; Bella drags behind me. Edward takes us all the way down to the main road. The road is basically dead at this time of night. "What's going on?" I ask as soon as we stop.
Bella steps closer to Edward and slips her hand into his. "It's not good Jake," Edward answers sounding defeated.
"Is Nessie gonna be ok?" To me nothing matters as long as Nessie is safe.
"I don't know," Edward replies. His tone causes me to flinch the tinniest bit. This really isn't good. "But we must go back to Italy."
"Count me in," I say without any hesitation. I will kill any vampire that threatens my girl.
"We're going to need numbers. And a lot of them," Bella intercedes. "We've decided it best to leave in a week. We want to attack them, before they come here."
"I will ask Seth and Leah if they are willing to fight," I reply. "But I won't order it. You understand, right?"
"Jacob, we would never ask you to do that. If it weren't Renesmee they are after, I wouldn't even allow you to fight," Bella states so sure of herself.
"We've already discussed most of the plans." It's Edward again. "Carlisle and Esme are leaving tomorrow to gather as many vampires as possible who are willing to fight. Alice and Jasper will leave as soon as possible as well. Emmett and Rosalie are in charge of planning airfare for everyone. They will be in and out all week getting prepared for the trip. We are going to need a lot of forged papers and supplies. If we successfully overthrow the Volturi, things could get messy."
"Where will you be?" I ask.
"Bella and I are here. We will spend the week with Renesmee since it could potentially be our last."
"All the vampires we gather will meet us at the airport in Portland. We don't want them any where near here because they will need to feed. The whole family will meet back here the day before we leave." Bella pauses as if scared that that last meeting will in fact be the last time we are ever together. There is a terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach. "You're family now, Jake. It wouldn't be fair to not invite you and any others you want around."
"We will need to know by tomorrow how many wolves you are expecting to go," Edward says to redirect the conversation back to business. "Any other plans can be made in the morning."
"When are you going to tell Nessie?" I ask because it has been the one question on my mind since the conversation began.
"Tomorrow," Edward states.
"We didn't want to ruin her night," Bella adds.
"Thank you for telling me. I need to call Sam though," I say as a way of ending this little pow wow. All my nerves are on fire. I need to do something, and I need to do it now.
"Thank you Jacob." Edward says as he places his cold hand on my shoulder. He squeezes it gently before disappearing into the night. Bella shoots me a small smile and follows suit. I pull out my phone and dial quickly. It rings three times before a groggy voice answers.
"Sam! It's Jake. I need to talk to you."
His voice perks up a little. "Jake, what's wrong?"
"Meet me in wolf form in fifteen minutes. Make sure we are alone," I add as an after thought.
"Fifteen minutes it is," Sam replies right before I snap the phone shut. Quivering, I take off into the thick cover of trees. I don't really care about saving the costume. I just need to run off some of this stress. With a leap through the air, my body releases into the comfortable feeling of beast rather than man. I run as fast and as far as I can. That is until I can feel Sam pushing into my mind.
You there? I say as I open my mind to Sam's. Without a real answer, I know he is. "We've got trouble." It's the best way too start.
Show me everything. I do as exactly as he wishes. I show him all that the Volturi has been up to in Italy. I show him the conversation with Edward and Bella. And by accident I show him how important it is to me that I protect Nessie no matter what. You can count all my boys in.
I don't want that. I don't want you to command any of them. I want this to be voluntary.
Are you sure, Jake? I mean the ones with imprints might not commit.
That's fine. I want everyone who fights to do it because they want to. I want them to believe in what they are fighting for. I can't bear the thought of some of us dying in a mission they don't want to be part of.
I will make the call and gather them all tonight. I'll text you the final number when it's sorted out. But you can count me in Jacob, for sure. You're my brother and I will fight along side you.
Thank you. I can't help but be deeply moved at what Sam has said. I know, without a doubt, that I would help him protect Emily and their son. I guess he feels the same for me. I phase out before he can hear anymore of these embarrassing thoughts. As I jog back to my house naked, I wonder how Nessie will react. If she is anything like Bella, she will want to come along and fight. I make it my personal mission now to refuse any pressure on her part to get to come. She will not be put in danger.