A/N: So the story is beginning to wind down. Aro and Caius are no more and Marcus and Sulpicia seem like they are heading in the right direction. After this chapter I only have two more and an epilogue. Please review. It truly inspires the writing process!
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Carlisle's POV
Aro was destroyed. How the hell did that happen?
Going into this... confrontation, I was certain that we would not come out unscathed. Yet here we were, all together, making our way back to La Push and the only casualty was Aro, who had basically killed himself and maybe some of the Volturi guard's pride, which was most definitely needed. They had always thought themselves invincible, untouchable, and we had just proved them wrong... Without so much as lifting a finger.
Bella and Edward had dashed off as soon as they knew the coast was clear, anxious to get back to their little ones, but the rest of us were content with a slow mosey. All the couples paired up, anxious to be with their mate. Bella had surprised me, somewhat. I knew she was capable of a lot but I thought it would be years before she had a handle on her power, at least enough to harness it to be useful. Like with everything else, Bella surprised me again.
I thanked and cursed my ability to perfectly recollect everything that had happened. I saw just how ugly Aro had become and that his desire had been to destroy. I also thanked God, for the foresight to shield the twins from such power. I was actually extremely thankful that Marcus and company knew nothing of my small grandchildren. They were still safer living in obscurity from our world... the less people knew, the safer they were.
Safe... I certainly didn't expect to be feeling that after this confrontation. Shattered, broken, and maybe grieving were all my expectations. Safe, happy, relieved were all the foreign sensations that rocked me to my core. I believed that we were doomed, I'm sure that most of us thought it was the end of us.
"A penny for your thoughts," Esme said to me, grasping my hand firmly in hers.
"I'm in shock, honestly," I replied.
"You didn't expect that to go well?" she asked.
"I've known Aro for too many years. I was certain he would not leave peaceably," I said.
"Actually," Emmett said from behind us. "He left piece-ably. Get it, piece-ably? Like P-I-E-C-E-ably. Get it? Because he ended up in pieces."
"Emmett!" Rose snapped as I shook my head at my giant son.
"What? I thought it was funny," he huffed. "None of you have a very good sense of humor."
"Come on you big oaf," Rose said. "I'll race you back."
And with that Emmett and Rose took off for the house. Charlie and Dora, and Carmen and Eleazar came up and joined us, while the 'younger' couples made themselves scarce.
"So," Eleazar said. "I'm glad Arriel's vision was wrong."
"What do you mean Eleazar?" Esme asked.
"Bella, Leah and I were privy to a vision from Arriel..." he said looking at us and shrugging like it was no big deal.
"Oh really?" I asked as I stopped walking, looking at one of my oldest and dearest friends. I honestly couldn't help but feel betrayed. I crossed my arms and glared at him, daring him to say something that would make this seem like less of a betrayal. I would deal with Bella later!
"Let me explain," he said, looking rather abashed. "In the vision, the twins were in the care of a very pregnant Leah, as well as Billy, Sue and Harry. Leah, phased to wolf form and went hunting for the twins bringing a fresh animal home so they could feed them blood from bottles. Both Bella and I assumed that this was Arriel letting us know how she and Jace could continue on after our deaths."
"So you thought we were going to die and didn't share it?" I asked incredulously.
"It's not like that!" Eleazar said. "It wasn't that easy."
"Explain then my friend, because right now I feel like I went in with less information than I needed," I said firmly, angry that there was more information to be had but that I was not important enough to share it with.
"It wasn't anything concrete. It was not a vision of a battlefield with burning corpses all around. Had she seen that, I most certainly would have shared, trying to figure any way around that situation," he said to me.
"Yet you had a theory that we would all die and kept it silent," I mused, angry at Eleazar for keeping this from me.
"Look Carlisle. It wasn't concrete. It wasn't anything but supposition... Had I told you that I believed everybody was going to die, how would you have handled it? How would Jasper or Emmett have handled it? Speaking for my own family, Garrett and Connor would have gone charging off, trying to take down anyone they could before their inevitable deaths, and I am certain the wolves would have done the same. Edward would have insisted his mate stay as far from the battle as possible, and if that was the case this battle would have gone very differently. Charlie may or may not have had the wherewithal to do what he did if he thought his death or his mate's, or his daughter's death was inevitable?" he said.
"But to assume that our death was inevitable..." I said, shaking my head. "And not to share it?"
"I understand your issue. I truly do, and had there been time to pull you aside alone and simply share it with you and allow you the choice of what to share with your coven, I would have taken it... I would have given you the choice. But, Brother, everything happened so fast and the time was not available to us. Sharing such information with the group in such a short amount of time... I felt that would have caused mass hysteria," he said. "And that was the worst possible outcome in the situation."
I nodded my understanding but said nothing.
"So Bella thought we were all going to die, and could have chosen to save herself but didn't?" Charlie asked.
"Basically," Eleazar said. "She did do what was needed to protect the babies though."
"Why would she do that? Why wouldn't she have saved herself too?" Charlie asked.
"She lost her mate once and the fear of that being permanent was too great. Charlie, losing your mate in this life... it's a fate worse than death," Eleazar said.
"But she's my baby. I should have had the chance to protect her," Charlie insisted.
"You did. You and your gift helped protect us all," Eleazar insisted.
"If it helps, I'm sure Edward will feel the same way," I added.
"I'm sure," Eleazar said, nodding his head.
"Can you forgive me for keeping this from you?" Eleazar asked, looking right at me.
"I understand, and I forgive you. It's just hard being kept out of the loop," I said.
"Welcome to the club," Charlie said, frowning at me.
"I truly am sorry about that Charlie. If there was a way... I would have done it. Honestly that was the only reason why I was against her change," I told him.
"I understand. It doesn't make it easier though. Are there any other secrets that I need to be privy to?" he asked.
"I think you got them all," I said smiling at him.
"I don't get how she kept so calm about the whole situation," I said referring to Bella's acceptance of our non-humanity.
"She has always been far too mature for her age," Charlie said, chuckling. "Wisdom well beyond her years."
"I agree," I said.
"You should have seen her when she lost her first tooth. She was spending the summer with me and Renee made me swear to play up the tooth fairy. I think she was five or six... Anyway the tooth fell out and I made a big deal about placing it under her pillow so that the tooth fairy could come and leave her some money..." he said reminiscing.
"I never understood that concept," Carmen said.
"Me neither," I agreed.
"Ah, it's unusual to say the least," Charlie agreed.
"So wait, why does one need a tooth fairy?" Dora asked thoroughly confused.
"When human children grow they loose their baby teeth at some point and the custom is for them to put the teeth under the pillow and a tooth fairy comes and leaves them some money," I explained.
"Why?" she asked, thoroughly perplexed by the custom.
"You know what? I'm really not sure," I said.
"I guess it would be to make the fact that they have lost a tooth easier on them," Charlie said. "Little Mike Newton cried for an hour when he lost a tooth in the diner one time when he was about five. Nothing Karen Newton said would calm him. Finally someone explained that the tooth fairy was going to come and leave him some money and that a new tooth would grow in it's place. After that, I think he spent the next three years with his hands in his mouth constantly to try to get more teeth out."
"So go on with your story about Bella," Esme said, anxious to hear more about Bella.
"Okay," Charlie said smiling. I think he was happy to have something to share with us, since he was having to learn so much from all of us.
"Anyway we put the tooth under her pillow and I waited two hours after she went to sleep before I snuck into her room to try to swap the tooth for the money. This, of course, was after a thirty minute conversation with Renee about the appropriate amount of money to leave," he said, smiling at the memory. "Anyway, I heard her soft rhythmic breathing so I knew she was asleep.... I tiptoed across the room trying not to make a sound and reached under her pillow. No sooner did I have my hand wrapped around the tooth when I heard her little voice. 'Thank you, Daddy. You're a good tooth fairy.' she told me. I looked at her, expecting to see those dark brown eyes that I loved so much, but nope. She was talking in her sleep."
"She did that from so young?" Esme asked.
"Even as a baby. We used to go into her nursery assuming she was awake only to find her babbling in her sleep," he said.
"So did she remember it in the morning?" Carmen asked.
"Nope she never mentioned it again until she was twelve, and lost her last tooth... on her last visit to Forks before she moved here," he said.
"What happened?" Esme asked.
"She lost her last tooth," Charlie said. "And I made some comment about the tooth fairy needing to visit one last time. She looked at me as though I had two heads. She said, 'I didn't believe in it when I was five and I certainly don't believe it now. Why don't you just give me the money now and we'll call it even.' I asked her why she didn't just tell me then that she didn't believe and she told me she didn't want to let me down."
"Sounds exactly like Bella," I laughed. "Although we are going to need to talk about this keeping secrets business."
"She'll probably be stubborn about it," Charlie said. "Always has been."
"Probably," I agreed. "But I think she is going too far in the opposite direction."
"How so?" he asked.
"Compared to us, she was so fragile that I'm afraid we may have been a bit overbearing... and then with the twins..." I said.
"I have always been very protective of her. She's always seemed to need it. I don't think that instinct has disappeared with my change," Charlie said.
"I guess we'll need to come to the understanding with her. We all realize that she does not need protection at all times anymore, in fact, she is one powerful little lady now. But I want her to be able to rely on us even though she likes to be able to stand on her own two feet," I said.
"But she's my little girl and it's my job to protect her," Charlie added indignantly.
"Spouting that kind of thing is likely to get your ass kicked... and you know she can do it," I said.
"And I love that she can take care of herself," Charlie said. "Old habits are just hard to break. She has always been such a danger magnet."
"Exactly," I agreed.
"Of course during her human time she was so clumsy she was practically disabled." he said with a snort.
"Indeed," I agreed. "How times have changed!"
"Agreed," he said with a smirk.
"I guess we should get back. Maybe Bella is done feeding the twins and I'll get a chance for a little snuggle," Esme said with a smile.
"Sounds good. Shall we get a move on and get back to those little grandbabies of ours?" I asked Charlie.
"Sounds good to me," he said.
We picked up the pace and hurried back to the house. Bella and Edward were sitting on the couch with a twin in each of their laps, content to be together.
"WHAT?" Edward asked looking at me.
Crap we obviously hadn't been blocking our thoughts.
"Is that true?" he asked, looking at Eleazar.
"Edward," Eleazar started to say, but Bella figured out what was going on and interrupted.
"Yes," she said looking at him.
"You lied to me?" he asked.
"Would you have let me come if you knew?" she asked.
"No, but..." he said.
"But people would have died if I hadn't," she said staying completely calm, as though she were talking about the weather.
"You are my mate and I am supposed to protect you," he said.
"And the same goes for me," she said. "And don't you start with any sexist stuff. You know as well as I do that nothing you said or did would have kept me away if you were there, because the same would go in reverse."
"Yeah but," he said.
"But?" she asked.
"I love you. I should have known," he said frowning, obviously not liking being kept out any more than I did.
"Had there been time for a discussion I would have done it. There was no time. I kept it from you, from everyone, because there was no time to digest the information. It wouldn't have done anyone any good to know," she said.
Edward sighed and looked at me, then back at Bella.
"I don't like it, but I understand. Please promise me you won't do it again," he said.
"I promise," she said, smiling at him.
He leaned over and gave her a sweet chaste kiss.
"Get a room," Emmett jeered.
The resounding slap from Rosalie caused everyone to laugh.
"You laugh at her but not at me?" he asked, huffing a little.
"Oh, we're laughing at you, alright," Tanya said.
Everyone calmed down and sat around to begin our discussion about what was supposed to happen now. We were just waiting for a few more people to get here. Most of the wolves had gone home to tell their loved ones that all was well, and Irina and Laurent were out hunting. Once we were all together, I began.
"So..." I said. I don't think I'd ever been at such a loss for word.
"What do you think is going to happen now that Aro is dead?" Irina asked.
"I'm not sure," I said. "Alice?"
Alice looked at Bella and smiled. Bella closed her eyes for a second and then nodded at Alice. She had obviously shielded the wolves and the twins. By the smile on Edward's face, she didn't shield him from Alice's vision.
"It looks like the Romanians are going to make a run for power again... But they won't succeed. Chelsea will be less important as people are going to want to serve with Marcus. He is a very fair man. The south will have a few bonus skirmishes, but that is mostly because of Maria's death. Marcus will send Jane, Alec and a few others to deal, so it won't last long," she said with a smile.
"And what about you guys?" Leah asked. "I can only assume you won't all be staying here."
You could see that it obviously bothered her that we would be leaving.
"We won't go far," Alice said with a smile. Edward was smiling too so I knew it had to be good.
"So?" Tanya asked.
"Well, it looks like you guys are going to head for home... although the couples are going to look for a little space..." she said wiggling her eyebrows like a vaudeville villain. "Apparently you guys are going to spend quite a while... celebrating."
The whole Denali coven laughed heartily.... and nodded their agreement.
"As for us, we will be staying close, but not too close," Alice continued.
"Canada?" Rose asked, smirking at Alice.
"Yup," Alice said.
"Close enough to run and visit," I said.
"But far enough away to hopefully keep more of you guys from turning into giant wolves," Alice added. "Although I can't be certain of that."
The last part was added with a frown. Alice did not like to have blind spots.
"And my mother?" Bella asked, looking at Charlie with a sad smile.
"She and Phil will be fine. Your little brother will arrive on his due date, followed by a sister a year and a day later. She will remain in email contact with Esme until the kids go to high school then she'll drift away. Looks happy though," Alice added.
Bella nodded and smiled.
"And me?" Leah asked. "What will I do?"
"I wish I could tell you," Alice said. "I can't see you at all."
"So we go back to normal then?" Jake asked, raising his eyebrows.
"You guys phase into giant wolves! I can't imagine anything will ever be normal again," Bella said.
"Alice, what was that?" Edward asked.
"Shield!" Alice squeaked, looking at Bella.
"Alice?" Edward said, half asking, half threatening.
"You saw enough. The rest will just have to wait!" she said.
"What was it?" Bella asked.
"Our wedding," Edward said with a smile.
I guess a smile would be too small a word. He looked like the cat that ate the canary.
"When?" she asked.
"Alice?" he asked.
"Two days," she said, causing the others in the room to let up a cheer.
"Back to the little chapel?" Bella asked.
"Nope," Edward said with a smile.
"Then where?" she asked.
"Any ideas?" Alice asked Bella.
"The meadow?" she asked him, with a smile that matched his.
"Exactly," he said, smiling at her.
"I love it!" she squealed, sounding an awful lot like Alice.
"And I love you!" Edward told her.
She grinned at him.
"We have a ton of planning to do. Since you all are invited, and staying... I'll get you all to work," Alice directed everyone.
"I guess I should do this right and ask your permission, huh, Chief," Edward said.
"You have it. Keep them safe and happy," Charlie said, smiling slyly.
"I promise," Edward said.
It was then I realized what happened. Charlie used his gift on Edward, ensuring Bella and the twins' safety and happiness as well as he could.
Edward smiled at me and winked. He knew it too.
We all broke up into small groups after that, making quick work of new wedding plans.
Bella and Edward decided to take a walk on the beach with the twins. I was certain they had things to discuss. The rest of us were making quick work of Alice's plans.
Happily ever after was well on it's way.
"This is turning out perfectly," Esme said with a smile.
"It is," I said, kissing her lips softly.
"The best thing is that the Volturi still have no clue about the existence of those babies. It's like an extra security plan for them," she said with a smile.
"It is," I said. "I can't imagine it will last forever, but the older they get the better. I imagine that the day will come when they find out and decide to investigate."
"Oh, I agree," she said. "But not for years."
"Or even decades," I added. "You know how easily they are distracted."
"That I do," I said.
"Need a little distraction?" she whispered in my ear.
"With you? Always!" I said.
We made our way out of the house and towards our old home. I was certain we could find a few hours of privacy there.
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EPOV
After all the stress, the secret, and everything else, I just wanted some time with Bella and our children. Alice had the rest of the family, and most of the wolves, helping to plan the wedding, leaving Bella and I blissfully free... For now.
We decided to take advantage of that and take a walk along a secluded area of First Beach. The twins were in the carrier that we had for them, strapped to Bella's chest, sleeping like angels. I held her hand as we made our way along the rocky shoreline, the waves crashing around our ankles. If she had still been human this would have been almost impossible. The icy water would have stung her delicate skin and the wind blowing off the water would have chilled her to the bone. As it was I was concerned about the twins, but they constantly showed that temperature did not affect them. Still, they were bundled like little eskimos in their winter wear and cradled against their mother's chest.
"Are they warm enough?" I asked for the tenth time since we left the house.
"Yup," she said smiling up at me. "I'm sure they'll let us know when they want to go back."
"They don't seem to have any trouble with that do they?" I asked with a smile.
"Nope," she smiled. We slipped back into our comfortable silence. In the distance I saw some whales moving about the water. Again, with human eyesight this would have been impossible for Bella to see, but I happily pointed it out to her now. We stopped and I pulled her back against my chest as we watched the whales.
"I would have completely missed that if I had still been human," she sighed.
"You wouldn't even be here if you were still human," I said.
"Nope you would have had me home cocooned against the cold, probably in front of a nice toasty fire," she said.
"You make it sound like a bad thing," I said.
"Yes and no," she said, turning in my arms so the twins were cradled between us.
"I was a little overbearing wasn't I?" I asked, feeling slightly embarrassed by the lengths I went to to keep her safe.
"Just a little," she said. "But I get it now."
"Do you?" I asked.
"I can't imagine the control you had to exercise," she said. "And then I was your singer on top of everything else. It must have been torture."
"Only the sweetest kind," I told her.
"Do you miss it?" she asked.
"Miss what?" I asked.
"My warmth, my softness... all of it," she said.
"There are things I miss... But mostly I am thankful. There is so much more that we can share now," I said.
"What do you miss?" she asked.
"First, the sound of your heartbeat. It was the most important sound in the world to me," I said. "But now, I get to listen to theirs, so it is a good trade."
"What else?" she pressed.
"The way you would forget to breath when I did this," I said, leaning down to kiss her. Our lips met in a feverish battle, tongues tangling together relishing in each other's taste.
"I still forget to breath," she said after we were done, our foreheads resting together.
"Not quite the same... although your cheeks still flush pink when we do that," I said, running my thumbs along her beautiful pink cheeks.
She blushed a bit.
"I guess it does lose some of it's affect when breathing is only optional," she said, smiling up at me. "Anything else?"
"Hmmm," I said pondering her changes.
"My scent?" I asked.
"You know the feeling you get, just before you feed. The scent of your prey all around you and every sense is intent on the kill?" I asked her.
"Sorta," she said.
"Times a thousand and that's what it felt like," I told her.
"Then how could you stand to be near me?" she asked, her eyes wide. "Or to kiss me? Or when we made love?"
"As powerful as the scent of your blood called to the monster in me, the power of your heart called stronger... although there were times it was close at the beginning," I told her.
"I know," she said.
"And yet you stayed," I said shaking my head. "No sense of self preservation."
"There was no me without you. As soon as I saw you, my heart knew... You are it for me," she said.
"Why didn't you tell me about Arriel's vision?" I asked. I know what she said at the house... but I needed to know.
"Because you would have insisted I do what was necessary to keep the twins and I safe. But living without you.... I couldn't even fathom it," she said, a shiver running through her body.
"I know. I have lived without you once... and only for a matter of weeks... But I am not strong enough to do it again," I told her.
"Without you, I merely existed. I ate to sustain our children and lived to find you again. I would never have given up," I told him.
"I know that now. And I will never be able to tell you how sorry I am for putting you through that," I said, bowing my head.
"I understand. I actually get it now," she said to me.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"It went against my every instinct to leave the twins behind, thinking that it was the end of us. Leaving my heart there and walking away because it was what was best for them nearly broke me. Only feeling that it was what was best for them was what got me through... So you see, I understand. BUT..." she said.
"BUT?" I asked her.
"If you ever leave me for my own good again, I will kick your ass," she promised.
"I expect you to," I said, holding her as close as I could.
We stood in silence again for a while before I broke it.
"You ready to be Mrs. Cullen?" I asked her.
"Yeah," she said to me. "But I have a question..."
"What is that?" I asked her.
"I want to be a part of all of you. Can we use Masen and Cullen when we get married?" she asked.
"You want to use Masen?" I asked her. "Are you sure?"
"Masen is part of who you are," she said. "I want all of you; past, present and future."
"But I haven't always been... good," he said.
"Really?" she said, not really asking the question, but attempting to prove a point.
"I killed people, Bella," I said.
"And even in that you chose bad people," she said.
"But who said I got to decide who lives and who dies?" I asked.
"Who better?" she asked. "You can see inside people. You know what their intentions are. You know what they've done and what they're going to do. Judges and juries... they have nothing on you. They are susceptible to lies and deceit. They are ruled by protocol and don't forget, human error..." she said.
"But isn't that judgement for God to make?" I asked.
"Yes," she replied simply.
"But what I'm trying to say is not that what you did was right. I don't agree with feeding on humans. I don't ever want to be that person and I can see that you don't want to ever be that person again. All I;m saying is that in your darkest hours, in your worst times, you didn't kill innocents. You killed the plague on society... Edward even at your worst times you weren't a monster. You never truly lost who you were," she said.
"Thank you," I said, simply. Hearing her take on my darkest times was most refreshing... even if she was biased.
"You want to go up to the cliffs before we go back?" I asked her.
"Yeah," she replied. "I'm in no hurry to get back, and the twins are happy where they are."
"We are not staying apart the night before this wedding, in fact I may decide I need to be physically attached to you until the time comes to say I do," I told her.
"I won't hold that against you... But you need to take it up with the pixie wedding dictator," she said.
"she won't fight me on it this time," I said, confident that I would be able to make Alice see it my way.
We took the long way to the cliffs, traveling at vampire speed to get there. We expected to be alone and were surprised to see someone sitting at the cliffs.
"Jacob," Bella said surprised.
"I didn't expect you guys here. Sorry," he said getting up to leave.
"Don't go," she said.
"I know you guys have a hard time with me. I'm not here to make your lives more difficult," he said.
"Jacob," Bella said. "Look, maybe we can talk."
"You want to talk to me?" he asked. "Aren't I the bad guy?"
"No," I said. "You are far from the bad guy. It's just that this situation is hard for us."
"It's no picnic from my side either," he said. Reading his thoughts I had to agree. His pack mates found it immensely funny that he had imprinted on an infant, a vampire human hybrid infant to boot. He fought the imprint himself, not desiring to be paired with a baby. His every human instinct telling him it was wrong while his wolf instincts telling him otherwise. He really suffered, and I couldn't help but feel bad.
"Explain it to us more, Jake," Bella said. "I know that Edward can read your mind, but I don't have that luxury."
"Look," he said, sitting back down. "I never asked for this. I assumed I would meet a nice Quilieute woman and it would be BAM, love at first sight. Butterflies in my stomach and angels singing, you know, all that shit they show on TV."
I snorted at his description of love.
"I saw what Sam felt for Emily, Embry and Kim, Paul and Leah," he said. "I wanted that... I still do. I want to have that one perfect person for me who completes me in ways that I didn't know I needed."
What he described is what I had with Bella. I had spent over a century alone, never realizing that I craved companionship, that I was missing a piece of myself. But now I had it, it was hard to deny anyone else that joy... except the joy he wanted involved my daughter.
"And you think that person is my daughter?" Bella asked.
"No," he answered. "I know it is."
"How can an infant be that? How can you be in love with a baby?" she asked.
"It isn't like that," he said.
"Then explain," Bella told him.
"Her happiness, her safety... that is all that matters to me. I don't have any romantic feelings for her. None! Please understand... it's not romantic love... and I'm not sure it ever will be. But she is more important to me than anything else. Her safety and well-being are my reason for living..." he said.
"What do you mean when you say it may never be romantic love?" Bella asked, before I could.
"I spoke to the elders. It seems that not all imprints have been romantic love. Sometimes it is just a way of insuring that someone who will be important to the wolf or the tribe will be protected," he explained.
"And how can we know that?" Bella asked. "If we allow you to have a roll in her life, how can we know that we are not entrusting our daughter to someone after their own best interests?"
I love this woman. She knew what I wanted to ask before I opened my mouth.
"In a way, I guess you can't..." he said, trailing off.
"Please, Jacob," Bella said, approaching him. "Help us understand."
"I have no say in what it is. It's up to her. No matter where you go, what you do I will be there. I will keep my distance... I won't interfere... but I need to protect her..." he said.
"So... you won't pressure her to choose you. I won't ask her about you. I won't ever explain this imprinting thing to her... But I believe that we were to harsh in our judgement before..." she said looking at me.
"Jacob, there are things that we want you to swear," I added.
"Anything," he vowed.
"To Charlie," Bella added. "That way you will never have the opportunity to go back on your word."
"Anything," he vowed again.
"IF... if we agree to allow you to be around, we are her parents. We make the choices for her, for both of them, if you have anything to say in the matter, you never argue with us in front of either of them," I said.
"You won't be alone with her ever. This can be revised if she chooses you... But you will not make any mention of imprinting around her until she has chosen. There will be no pressure put upon her EVER!" Bella added.
"If you, or anyone else, mentions imprinting... all bets are off... We reserve the right to ban you from ever seeing her again," I added.
"I understand," he said, still looking pleased that we were considering letting him have any input on her life at all.
"Your place is with your tribe. You can't put them at risk in any way shape or form in order to spend time with her," Bella said.
"I won't," he said.
Bella looked at me and nodded. I smiled, knowing exactly what she wanted to do.
"Would you like to hold her?" I asked him.
He looked at us like we were offering him his greatest wish and slowly nodded his head. I untangled our very bundled daughter from her place against Bella's chest and cradled her to me.
"Don't make me ever regret this," I told him.
He nodded his head and swallowed thickly. I closed the distance between us and placed my tiny girl in his huge arms.
There were tears in his eyes as he looked down at our girl, his first contact with her.
"She's so pretty," he said.
"That she is," I agreed, reading his mind constantly, making sure not one single thought was impure.
"Thank you," he said, emption thick in his voice. "I won't ever do anything to harm her, emotionally or physically. I swear it."
"I know," Bella said.
I concentrated on the giant wolf's thoughts as he looked upon my daughter. Protectiveness and an almost brotherly devotion to her.
She started to stir after a short time and looked up at the giant man. Her thoughts were a jumble of confusion as she tried to place him and his were panicked as he worried that she wasn't pleased. Finally she untangled her little hand from the sleeve of her bunting and reached her little hand towards his face, in a most demanding way.
"Okay," he said to her, lowering his head so she could touch him.
The second her hand made contact with him, he relaxed, letting her vision wash through them both.
I almost gasped as I watched what she had to show him. She showed him phasing into a giant wolf and stepping in front of a little girl, maybe three years old, who I assumed to be her from the green eyes and copper curls. He was protecting her, but from what? Just then Emmett came into sight. "Arriel... I'm coming to get you," he said. What??? Then Jacob pounced on Emmett, pulling him away from Arriel as she laughed and clapped her hands as they wrestled in front of her. After a short time it was over and both Emmett and the wolf got up. The smile on Emmett's face was unmistakable. "Fine... You win this time Squirt... but I will tickle you when wolf boy heads for home," he said giving a playful growl in her direction, causing dream Arriel to giggle.
"That's right," Jacob said to her. "I will protect you from everything! Even from uncles who want to tickle little girls."
She dropped her hand and looked up at her wolf protector before reaching her tiny hand up again. He allowed her to show him what she wanted again.
"Apparently," he said, looking up to Bella. "I need to return her to you. She is ready for her supper."
"And whatever she wants, is what she gets," Bella said, stepping up and taking our girl from him.
"Thank you," he said again.
"Don't make us regret it," I said.
"I won't," he said.
We tucked Arriel back into the wrap and walked full speed back to the house. It was time to eat... and I was fairly certain we would not be able to escape the wrath of Hurricane Alice the wedding planning pixie for long. Jacob stayed in his spot at the cliffs but his thoughts were far from the morose thoughts he had when we arrived.
I think we had come to an understanding we all could live with... But God help him if he ever messed up!