Nahuel
Living wish Ella took some getting used to. I loved having her in our home but after living on my own for so long, there were things I simply didn't understand. She was possibly the most beautiful woman in the world yet she had cases of makeup that she insisted she needed. Her clothes also seemed excessive but I knew that was family curse. She loved to cook for me but she made a huge mess in my kitchen every single time. When I told her I rather she leave the cooking to me, she got offended.
But then there were all the good parts. There was waking up to her beautiful smile every morning. She would come home and kiss Felipe and I as if she hadn't seen us for days. She always made us feel so special but living with her was pure bliss. She would stare at me from across the room with such love that is made my heart swell every time. She was so special, yet she made me feel like I was the special one. She doted on me and I her. Our relationship changed so much but is was a smooth transition. Ella was mature, strong and poised as a partner. She wasn't a push over but instead she would try to find a solution that would make everyone happy.
Her parents visited us one more time before we moved. They helped us pack and move into our new home. When we arrived, there were several wolves there waiting for us. I met Ella's cousins Sarah and Paul Jr. I also met, Sam Jr and his imprint who also came to help us. I had discussed opening a coffee shop near the university so that I could be close to Ella and Sam Jr. offered to help me. He had worked in a coffee shop in Seattle but was looking for a new job now that his imprint was starting college in Berkley. I hired him on the spot. It was nice to have a business partner that I could be honest about being supernatural.
I went from being alone and isolated to having a life full of family. Sammy took over in the afternoons so that I could be home for dinner with my family. Seth and Emma came over for dinner almost every afternoon. Jacob and Renesmee left California to live with the Cullens but they flew in often to visit us. They really loved Felipe so they visited every other week. Aunt Hulien would often come with them.
On one of the many typical Friday nights, Emma and I sat outside watching Seth and Felipe play. Ella had a late class so she we would wait for her to get home. Emma and I developed an odd but deep friendship. I just couldn't help but care about her, even if she wasn't Ella's sister. She had a childlike personality. She seemed immature at times but that was mostly because she was used to getting her way. She was a little pushy be was spoiled but she was also very sweet like Ella.
"So when are you going to propose to my sister?" She asked me. I smirked and kept looking at Seth and Felipe play from my rocking chair.
"Soon little one." I told her. She frowned and crossed her arms.
"You really should do it soon. It will be nice for Felipe to have a mother." She told me innocently but I knew she was just trying to manipulate me.
"Ella is his mother." I insisted. She glared at me.
"You should do something big with the whole family." She suggested. I rolled my eyes at her.
"I think that would be more your style than Ella's." She smirked.
"You're right. Maybe you should take her somewhere special. Just the two of you." Suggested again. I contemplated that idea.
"Would it be too cliché to take her to abroad? Maybe Venice?" I asked her. She scrunched her nose and shook her head in disproval.
"She would totally guess what you're doing. No. It has to be a surprise. Maybe you can take her on a drive and stop on a nice vineyard up in the country. We would be happy to babysit." She suggested. I smiled. I liked that idea.
"Not the vineyard though. Maybe when we go up to LaPush. I want to take her somewhere meaningful. Somewhere we can visit often." I suggested. She smiled widely.
"I like that. It's the place we feel most at home. I think she would like that too." Emma said smiling.
"Really? Its not too simple?" I asked having seconds thoughts.
"No! Its perfect. You should do it for mom's birthday weekend. She won't suspect it. The whole family will be there so you can announce it when you come back from your walk. Our grandpa's will be there… It will be amazing!" She said excited.
"Won't Renesmee mind?" I asked her.
"Hell no!" She said quickly and pulled her phone to text her mother. A moment later, her phone went off and she went inside excitedly to talk to her mother about our plans.
Seth started chuckling and came over to the front porch with Felipe. Felipe ran inside to get a juice box while Seth sat next to me.
"Your imprint can be very enthusiastic." I told him.
"That's a nice way of putting it." He told me.
"When are you proposing?" I asked him.
"I told her that I wasn't going to propose until after she graduated." He told me.
"Why?" I asked him curious.
"Ella's always been like a mini adult but Emma still has some growing up to do. Its mostly my fault. I spoil her too much but I want her to become the great leader she was meant to be." Seth told me. His answer worried me.
"Do you think I am taking things too fast with Ella? I've been so focused on Felipe having a mother that I've forgetting that she's only 19." I said guiltily. Seth shook his head.
"No. Ella is so different. She is ready for this. She is ready to be a leader. I'm glad she's back actually. Emma and I have been leading the packs together but that role was meant for Ella. That's why I never really liked the idea of her moving so far away. The girls complete each other and together, they will make amazing alpha's." Seth told me.
"So what would that make you?" I asked him confused.
"I would go back to being what I've always been. Beta. Jake only made me co-alpha because he knew Emma still needed guidance."
"I thought there was only one alpha?" I asked him.
"There is but there can be two alphas in the same pack when they are different genders." He informed me.
"But Ella and Emma are both female. Won't that be a problem?" I asked him. He quickly shook his head.
"No, Ella and Emma are different. They have a unique bond and they've always been stronger together. When we realized Ella wasn't going to phase, I tried to fill in the gap for years by being the alpha male to Emma's alpha female but I was never meant to have that role. It was always Ella's." He told me.
"Ella never told me this. She said her sister was alpha because she was the oldest."
"Technically Emma is the alpha but Ella's wolf turned out to be just as powerful as Emma. Normally, there is tension when there are two alpha's of the same gender but not with the girls. That's why we are so sure they were meant to lead together." Seth told me.
"Sure does." Emma said joining us with Felipe. "You should know that means you're never getting rid of us." She said smiling. I chuckled.
"I would never." I told her with a smile.
"Do I get to be a part of your pack?" Felipe asked her.
"You already are. You may not be a wolf but you and your dad are part of our pack. You are our heart and our strength." She told him. Felipe smiled at her pleased.
"So what would have happened if Ella never phased?" I asked them. Emma shrugged.
"Dad would have made me alpha eventually but I probably wouldn't be as good. I'm a good warrior and alpha to my pack but I'm a little too laid back to be a real leader to our tribe. Ella is the strong one. She sets her foot down with the council while I've never been able to. She's very diplomatic and I definitely have a lot to learn in that area. The council likes to push us around and I have to admit that its hard for me to stand up to them." Emma told me. I frowned.
"Really?" I asked her.
"Oh yeah. Doesn't my sister tell you about this stuff?" She asked me. I frowned.
"No. She doesn't." I said disappointed. Emma gave me a sad smile.
"She never counted on being a part of the pack so I think she is hoping that I will take over and you two could just run off into the sunset. I don't think she realizes yet that her phasing means she has a responsibility to our tribe, just like I do. She thought she would never phase so she never planned for this even though dad and I told her she could lead the pack as a hybrid. Even when she couldn't phase, she could still hear us so she was always meant to be a part of the pack but we did a poor job of making her feel like she's one of us." Emma told me sadly. A horrible thought, then crossed my mind.
"Do you think she's using me as a way to escape her responsibility?" I asked her. Seth shook his head.
"No man. Of course not. I just don't think Ella feels the connection to the packs yet. She's harbored a lifetime of resentment because no one imprinted on her. When she didn't phase it only made things worse. That feeling isn't going to go away in a few months. She just needs time." Seth told us. Emma nodded.
"How do I help her?" I asked them.
"Just keep doing what you're doing. You've accepted us into your lives and eventually she will too." Emma told me. I smiled at her.
"You have all been very accepting. I wanted to return the favor." I told her.
"You did more than that though. Its like you take care of us. I mean, look at what you did for Sammy. You've made us part of the family when you didn't have to. I mean you had a family of your own to take care of before all this." Seth told me.
"Hulien and Felipe were my only family. My father and sisters have never been there for us. You have been more of a family to us than they ever were." I said honestly as I looked at Emma holding my son on her lap and stroking his arm as she held him. I really liked having a big family. This was the type of relationship I wished I had with my own sisters. Though that would never happen, I was glad that Ella's family was so accepting. It only made me want to protect that bond even more.
We heard Ella's car and a moment later we saw her heading down the driveway. I smiled as my chest finally released the pressure it felt whenever she was away.
"Mi Hermosa." I said as soon as she got to me. She smiled at me her beautiful smile and I gave her a swift kiss.
"Mama!" Felipe said claiming her attention. Ella swooped him in her arms and kissed his cheeks.
We all went inside and I started serving dinner. Seth and Emma were a permanent fixture on our dinner table so we always had five plate settings set. I looked around and I remembered how different my dinner table looked a year ago with just Felipe playing with his food across from me. Now we had a full table. I had a loving mate at my side, a sister and brother-in-law and a whole lot of family and friends that visited on occasion. It was wonderful and it was all because of Ella. I would do anything for her but it bothered me that she might be struggling with her responsibilities. Didn't she see what a blessing her family was?
Emma and Seth left shortly after 8pm. We tucked Felipe into his bed and headed downstairs for some coffee as we usually did. Ella cuddled next to me on the sofa and told me about her class. Admittedly, I was only half listening.
"Are you ok?" She asked me concerned. I smiled at her reassuringly and held her tighter.
"May I ask you a question?" I asked her.
"Of course." She told me with a warm smile.
"How are things going with your pack and the council?" I asked her. She gave me a quizzical expression and shrugged.
"Fine. Why do you ask?" She said.
"I just wondered why you never talk about them. We spend every other weekend in Forks but you never tell me about what goes on in your pack. I would like to be a part of every aspect of your life. Even this one." I told her.
"I just… I know you have a bad history with the wolves. I figured you didn't want to know." She said. I maneuvered her so that she was facing me and I took her face in my hands.
"If you hadn't phased, I wouldn't have you in my arms at this moment. You are my life. I love every aspect of you including this one. I would like to be a part of your pack if that's ok." I told her. She smiled.
"Thank you Nahuel. That means a lot to me." She said with a sad smile.
"What's wrong?" I asked her.
"I don't know. I guess, I never felt a part of the pack either. Its strange being a wolf and feeling this sense of protection over them when all my life I knew I was never a part of them. Frankly, I am just there to support my sister. She feels too connected to them so its hard for her to stand up to the council. My years of detachment help me a lot in that aspect but the truth is that once she comes into her own with them, I was planning to back to our normal lives." She told me.
"I thought this was our normal life. I kind of liked it." I confessed.
"Really? You like sharing our life and our time with a bunch of crazy mutts?" She asked me.
"I like the craziness. Its like having a big family."
"I don't know. I guess I just don't feel like it was meant to be, I mean, its not like I can contribute another alpha. Emma and Seth's descendants will take over that role so I feel like I was just meant to support her and guide her and her pups." She said sadly. I felt my heart compress for my Ella.
"I thought you were happy with just the three of us but if you want to…" She shook her head and covered my mouth.
"I adore Felipe. He IS my son. All I am saying is that he's not a wolf. Regardless of whether or not I can have children, there is no guarantee that they will be a wolf so it makes me feel less somehow. Like I am not meant to be a part of that world. Besides, I am happy in this world." She told me. I nodded understanding though it still made me feel disappointed.
"I'm sorry I am not a part of the wolf world. I wish things could be different." I told her.
"No, no! That's not what I meant at all. You are a part of the pack as much as I am but its just different for us because we have a different role." She told me. I shook my head.
"But I don't we do. I think that you have a leadership role just as strong as Emma's. I think that is why it was so easy for me to accept the pack. I feel protective over them as if I am meant to care for them. Sammy had become like a son to me and Emma and Seth are now my best friends. Every time we visit I feel very protective over the wolves that enter our home there. I can't think of another reason why I should feel this way if not because you are their leader too. They are under your protection, therefore they are under mine as well." I told her. She looked at me worried.
"You really feel that way?" She asked me. I nodded. The truth was that I felt that way the moment I met her pack. I asked Renesmee about it and she mentioned that she also felt very protective of the pack from the moment she met them. She even felt the need to protect them against Jacob. She was like a mother to them and I felt a very paternal connection to them as well.
"I never realized you felt so strongly." She told me.
"I thought this feeling was normal for us hybrids since your mother also felt that way in the beginning. But now I think it might be because we both fell in love with alphas." I told her. She looked worried again.
"I don't know how to be an alpha." She confessed. I took her hand and kissed it.
"Let your sister help you. She already knows how to be an alpha and you know how to be a leader. You can help each other become stronger." I suggested. Ella smiled at me and hugged me. I held her tightly against me letting her warmth ease the pain in my chest I felt over not talking about this before.
"I love you so much Nahuel. Thank you for accepting me for who I am. Including the pack." She told me. I kissed her forehead and her cheeks before I kissed her luscious lips.
"We can't fight destiny, my love. So let us face it together." I told her once our lips parted. She kissed me again and we made love on the couch that night. I made a vow to help her be the leader I knew she was meant to be.