A/N: Thanks for the awesome reviews! You guys have been so helpful and positive, and I really appreciate your feedback. Sorry I haven't responded to the reviews from the last chapter… I'll get on it, but I figured you'd appreciate an update more =)

For those of you who missed Clara… she's baa-aack =) Don't we all have a friend like that, one who gives us somewhat questionable advice that we secretly really want to follow? I know I have several.

Thanks for reading! Enjoy!

~Crit.

Chapter 17: Pounce

For a little while, Renesmee simply sat on her bed and stared at the closed door. She hadn't heard Jacob make his way back to his own room, so she had to assume he was still standing in place, waiting for something to move him, somehow. She felt very much the same.

It was as if she understood it all, suddenly and finally. Jacob had imprinted on her. He'd known about this, possibly for a very long stretch of time. He'd kept it from her. Her family had also known, if she'd understood him correctly. They had all kept it from her. They let her casually date as a young teenager, boys who meant less than nothing to her, knowing full well she had the potential to break somebody's heart if she got too close. Had her family been responsible for restraining Jacob? Or had he simply not been concerned by it, recognizing her half-hearted attempts at normal boy-girl relationships as just that?

She had so many questions, but the one she cared about most had already been answered: did Jacob care for her the way she cared for him? The answer, she now knew, was undoubtedly yes. And while she should have been rejoicing, Renesmee was sitting here in her room, alone, roiling with confusion and unresolved emotion. They had almost kissed, yet again, and she'd seen it clearly in his eyes this time: he loved her. He wanted her. All the things she wanted him to feel for her, she could see that he felt. But he wouldn't act on it.

Why? Renesmee could only think of two reasons: either he thought she wasn't ready to take their relationship to that level, or there was some external force stopping him from moving forward. Since she'd basically offered him her lips, she figured it had to be the latter. And she thought she knew exactly what that external force might be.

Her father.

When she'd mentioned calling home, Jacob had said it was "the worst thing she could do". And the day before, when her father had spoken to Jacob, the enlightening conversation that had set her on the path to the truth… she'd figured Edward was calling to check up on her. But maybe that wasn't it at all. Maybe he was calling to check up on Jacob.

Renesmee felt a sudden release of tension as the last piece of the puzzle slid into place. It all made sense. When Jacob imprinted on her, her parents and the rest of her family likely disapproved. Maybe her father had made some sort of agreement with Jacob… he couldn't touch her or tell her about the imprinting or be anything more than friends with her until x-amount of time had gone by, or something in the same vein. It sounded just like something Edward might do.

That phone conversation yesterday… her father must have believed Jacob when he said that Renesmee had feelings for somebody. It had sounded like he'd almost been sympathetic towards Jacob, at least from the side of the conversation she was able to overhear. So, clearly, her father understood the strength of their bond, and accepted it… he just didn't want to allow them to act on it yet.

Well, so maybe he'd made a deal with Jacob. Renesmee had made no such agreement with anyone. Which meant she could do whatever she damn well pleased where Jacob was concerned. She'd just have to figure out a way to get around the rules without getting Jacob in trouble.

But first, she had to return her father's phone calls. Slowly and quietly, she grabbed the handset and walked into her closet, closing the door firmly and settling on the floor in the very back. Hopefully, at this distance and with two doors between them, Jacob wouldn't overhear her conversation, by accident or on purpose.

Edward answered on the first ring. "Renesmee," he said in a somewhat frosty tone. "I was beginning to think you'd lost our number."

She really wasn't in the mood to hear him berate her for being a day late calling him back, particularly after what she'd just figured out about him trying to run her life for her. But she remembered Jacob's words from earlier, and knew that the worst thing she could do for their situation was to tip him off. She put on a smile, hoping it would carry through her tone, and said, "Sorry, dad. I've been so busy with research and papers… I was actually at the library until after midnight yesterday."

His tone softened as he said, "I'm glad you're taking your studies so seriously, but I hope you're getting enough rest while you do so."

"I'm sleeping almost as much as a normal person," she said, although it was a bit of an exaggeration, and Edward was bound to know it. "So, what's up? You called like four times, but your messages didn't sound to urgent."

"Nothing drastic," he said easily. "Your mother and I have been missing you… the rest of the family too. We wanted to see how things were going out there."

"Great! Perfect, really." She waited a second before launching into her next sentence. "I've made a couple friends… they're really great."

"Really?" Her father was acting like he had no idea. Renesmee almost laughed. Neither one of them was being particularly upfront with the other. "You'll have to tell me all about them sometime."

"Sure!" She knew what he actually wanted to know: the name, age, and current place of residence of the mystery boy he thought she was in love with. So that he could apprehend and probably kill him.

"Does your school have a break for Thanksgiving?" Edward asked, trying to sound conversational. Renesmee snorted.

"Well, yeah. But I doubt we'll be celebrating. As far as holidays go, I find that one a bit… problematic." Her father actually chuckled.

"Of course you won't. But… I'm not sure if you realize this, but most people travel to wherever home is on holidays like Thanksgiving. You might want to… at least tell people that's your plan, and then lay low. I know how concerned you are with blending in."

She smirked. It was actually kind of sweet how her father was trying to talk her around to his idea. "Dad, if you want me to come home for Thanksgiving weekend, all you have to do is ask." There was a stunned silence on the line; evidently, Edward was okay with stealing thoughts out of other people's heads, but not the other way around. "I can come and go as I please, you know… it's New York, not the Isle of Elba."

After another moment of silence, her father said, in a voice much smaller than usual, "I wasn't sure you'd want to be away, so soon." She smiled to herself, genuinely this time.

"I don't mind," she said, "I'm having fun and everything, the city's great… but I still miss you guys." And it was true. She did miss her family, and now that she thought about going back soon and seeing them all, she found herself excited and enthusiastic.

"Well," said her father. "We miss you too, of course."

"I'm coming in to pick you up!" A high, faint voice said in the background. Renesmee laughed out loud: Alice. She would have to take the opportunity for a shopping trip.

"Tell Aunt Alice wwe're looking forward to it," she said, automatically answering for Jacob. And then s thought occurred to her. "Did you tell the pack?" She said, suddenly realizing how badly she missed the three wolves who ran with Jacob. They would know all about the imprinting, of course… maybe she would find more acceptance and understanding from them than from her own family.

"No," her father replied, "But if you think I should, I can go speak to Leah."

"That's okay," she said, brushing it off. "I'm sure Jacob will want to tell them himself. They'll be so excited to see him again."

Her father went quiet again, and then he said, "How is Jacob?"

Ah, there. He was fishing for information. Renesmee decided to give him exactly what he expected. "Weird. I think he might regret leaving the pack to come here. He's pretty mad at me right now… we've been fighting." She paused, for effect, and then clarified, "He doesn't really like my new friends."

Her father sighed, a human instinct that Rneesmee knew was unnecessary but sometimes cropped up anyway, involuntarily. "You should go easy on him, Renesmee," he admonished gently. "He's given up a great deal to be there with you, and without complaint. Try to listen to him, if you can."

"He'll be fine," she said flippantly. As long as she could, she intended to milk this little bit of deception. If she could deflect her father's suspicion of Jacob, it would only make her mission that much easier to accomplish. "He's just mad because I have other people to hang out with now."

"Even so." Edward sounded a little stressed. Renesmee couldn't help but feel a bit victorious at that. "Try to see it from his perspective." He was hinting broadly that she should look at Jacob's reactions and try to understand why he was having them. Interesting… her father would stop Jacob from following the instincts of his imprint to keep them apart, yet when he thought she might be involved with someone else, he suddenly wanted to push them together. Sometimes, even at her mere seventeen years of age, she felt ages older and wiser than her ancient father.

"Okay, dad," she said, placating him. "Don't worry. We'll work it out, we always do." She genuinely meant that, but in a much different way that Edward was bound to understand it. "I've gotta go now… more work than I can shake a stick at. Does mom want to talk before I get off the line?"

"Your mother's hunting," he replied, a bit regretfully. "But I think it's safe for me to send her love along with mine." Renesmee felt the soothing warmth she always did at her father's words, despite her current level of anger towards him and his machinations.

"I love you both, too," she said sincerely. "Call me tomorrow, if you want… I'll do my best to answer the phone this time." Her father chuckled again.

"Good night, sweetheart," he said softly.

"Good night dad." They hung up at the same time, and Renesmee put the phone down. Interesting… for such a short and casual conversation, she certainly had gained a fair bit of insight.

She still wasn't sure how to deal with Jacob, though. But she thought she might have some idea who could help her with that.

"Ness!" Clara answered after a nerve-wracking three rings. She always did that; she never picked up unless she could see who was phoning on the call display, and then she answered as if she was greeting them in person. Renesmee found it a bit off-putting, but she supposed it was more upfront than pretending you had no idea who was on the other end of the line.

"Hey, Clara," she said, trying to sound as cheerful as the other girl.

"I guess you got my message," she said, and Renesmee remembered suddenly how Jacob had mentioned Clara calling earlier. She'd forgotten completely.

"Yeah," she said. "What's up?"

"Oh, not much. I wanted to invite you to a brunch next weekend, if you feel like it. Should be a bunch of snooty, upper-crust types… we can drink mimosas and mock them discreetly from the sidelines." Renesmee chuckled in spite of herself. Clara's idea of fun was certainly interesting.

"I'd love to," she said.

"Good," Clara said in her chipper voice. "Sunday at one, wear something preppy and pricey. I'll pick you up." Renesmee looked up at the clothes surrounding her, dangling from their padded hangers. She could manage that. "So what else is new?" Clara asked, sounding like she really wanted to know. "I spoke to your chaperone earlier… he sounded flustered. Anything interesting happening?"

"Funny you should ask." At least it was going to be easy to get onto the subject, Renesmee reflected. "I need some advice."

"Oo-o-oh," Clara said, sounding almost scandalized. "Tell me everything."

"There's nothing to tell," Renesmee said quickly. "Not really. It's just… I found out today that he's definitely interested."

"Go on…"

"And I tried to talk to him about it… but he got upset. And then we almost kissed, and then he…"

"Yeah?"

She sighed heavily. "He ran away."

"He what?"

"He chickened out. He acted like he really wanted to, but there was something huge stopping him."

Clara made an angry clicking noise with her tongue. "Is there?"

"Um, maybe… I think he's afraid of my dad," Renesmee admitted sheepishly. "I get the impression that keeping his hands off me might have been part of the deal they made when my dad agreed to let him come out here with me."

"Okay, Ness. You've gotta tell me straight up… is your Dad a mob boss or something? Because seriously, if I was this chaperone of yours, and I had a pretty girl throwing herself right at me, no daddy in the world would be stopping me. Except maybe the Godfather.." Renesmee burst out laughing, quickly catching herself and lowering her voice. She didn't want Jacob to overhear and think that she was having a grand old time, locked away in her room.

"No," she said, still chuckling. "He's not a mob boss. But he can be kind of… intimidating when it comes to his loved ones. And the rest of my family's not exactly underprotective, either." Clara made a low, humming noise, like she got it.

"Okay. I see what you're saying. But if I know boys –and I do—I know that paternal mandates on appropriate behavior where young, beautiful daughters are concerned can only carry so far before they become less of a hindrance and more of an incentive." When Renesmee said nothing in response, she continued, "In other words, the more he fights it, the sexier the idea becomes. The thing about forbidden fruit? It always, always gets eaten. They can't resist. So prepare to be bitten, my dear."

Renesmee could have groaned at the unintentional double entendre. But then she started to wonder: was Clara right? And if so, what could she do to speed up the process? "So, what now? Am I just supposed to wait? I'm not sure I can do that… it's really killing me to stay away from him."

There was a pause. "You really like this guy, don't you?" Clara said, in a voice much softer and more sincere than before. "He's not just some hot conquest?"

"No," she replied, "He's not. He's… pretty much my whole world."

"Wow." Clara whistled softly into the receiver. "That's a big statement."

"It happens to be true. Inconvenient, but true." Renesmee exhaled slowly. "So… what should I do?"

"Ever seen 'Cabaret'?" Clara asked, in what seemed like a complete one-eighty.

"Sure."

"Okay, remember when that English student of Brian's falls in love with the pretty, rich Jewish girl?"

"Yeah…"

"And he goes to Brian and Sally, all forlorn, and asks them what to do about it, and Sally tells him to pounce?"

"Uh-huh…"

"Honey," Clara said frankly, "I think you need to pounce."

Renesmee felt herself flushing. "I'm… not sure if I can do that," she said, as embarrassed as she'd ever been. "I'm not really that aggressive." Not unless I'm taking down wildlife, anyway.

"It doesn't have to be aggressive, although that works too," Clara said. "But you can do it in your own special way. I'm not suggesting you maul the poor guy… if you think subtle is better, go with that. But be frank, be clear, and above all else, be naked."

Renesmee almost choked on her own surprise. "Naked?" She spat out, horrified. "I can't… he'll think I'm… loose, or something."

Clara's husky laugh rang clearly through the phone. "Loose? Ness, honey, were you raised in the nineteen fifties by Irish nuns?" Renesmee blushed… she wasn't that far off. Her father was particularly archaic in his views on marriage and physical love. "Look, just because you use your body to entice the man that you're clearly in love with, who obviously loves you back and is, by all accounts, quite physically attracted to you, doesn't make you some sort of scarlet woman. It makes you practical, and proactive. I mean, if you don't feel comfortable, by all means don't do it. But if you take a good hard look at your own feelings and find that you do want to, then I think you really should. I mean… why not? If it's going to happen anyway, why not?"

Renesmee felt a jolt as Clara echoed her words from before. Why not? She had felt it at that moment, when they'd stood so close together in her doorway. Their bodies had almost come up against each other. Their lips had almost met. Renesmee had physically felt her own body calling out for Jacob's. If he hadn't pushed her away, she most certainly would have kept going, until she'd touched every part of him with every part of herself. Did she want to?

Oh yeah. She wanted to.

"You might have a point there," she said slowly. Clara laughed again, that deep, almost suggestive chuckle.

"You're gonna do it, aren't you?"

Renesmee smiled and shook her head. "I have to go," she said firmly.

"Oh, now… that's just not fair! I want to hear the plan."

"Goodbye, Clara. I'm hanging up now."

"Tell me how it goes!" The other girl shouted as Renesmee prepared to hang up.

"Bye," she said one last time, before hitting the end button. She smirked. Self-assured Clara would simply relish in the suspense. And a little secrecy got her out of having to plot the gory details with someone else.

Of course, working it out on her own wasn't going to be easy, either. Renesmee sighed and rose slowly to her feet. She could do this… problem solving was one of her strengths. She emerged from the closet and began to brainstorm how best to pounce when your prey is a gigantic wolf. All that resulted from her planning was that she became more and more nervous.

A couple hours later, and she was a complete wreck. She'd decided to do it, and then decided to repeal her decision, at least five separate times. It just wasn't in her to be overtly seductive, no matter how much she wanted to be. And all she really wanted was to climb into Jacob's bed beside him, curl up next to him for safety like she had as a little girl, and tell him exactly how she felt.

And then it dawned on her: that was exactly what she needed to do. Clara had said to do things in her own way. So she would do just exactly that. She would follow her instincts, her emotions and insecurities, as well as Clara's advice. She would be frank, she would be clear.

And she would also be naked.

In the Next Chapter:

"I'm sorry… I guess I just thought… I don't know what I thought, actually. Maybe I didn't. I just… It got kind of lonely in my room. I've been thinking about things all night, and I can't get my mind to stop. I was hoping you wouldn't mind. You never used to," she said, and then added, "When I was little."

Jacob could feel his skin burning a little hotter than usual. "You haven't been little for a very long time, Ness."