Nudge the Quileute21
Being kidnapped, taken to Volterra, Angel learning that Demetri is her soulmate, Demetri telling us that he is part-bird, seeing Ari, Max almost passing out, Angel scalping Marcus in poker, Caius attempting to get us to help the Volturi so he can get him and his brothers into the CSM or the Coalition to Stop the Madness and failing and Aro trying to do the same thing and succeeding, Demetri tracking and joining us and bringing Ari with him, returning to Forks, Max calling Jeb and Ari talking to his father for the first time in four years, Leah imprinting on Ari, and Max quizzing Leah to see how ready she is to be in constant danger
Nudge's POV
I struggled to figure out what was going on. I knew one thing though. We had to get out of here. Was everyone here and I glanced around and did a quick head-count. Yep, we were all still together, but we really mad about being kidnapped yet again. Who was taking us this time, though? Despite my curiosity to know where we were being taken and who had taken us, I didn't want to find out right away. Then the figures who had grabbed us entered our prison cell in the back of the plane we were on and I recognized them at once. I struggled to my feet and snarled, "Hello Felix, Demetri." "Dog." Felix came toward me intending to punch me, but I ducked, side-stepped and he ended up punching Demetri, but then Angel made Felix apologize.
Ed studied my face and looked at me, as if to ask, "Now can I use Angel as leverage against these guys?" I nodded and then smirked, knowingly. Ed stood up and said, "Excuse, Demetri, Felix. I know who your soulmate is and one of you, your soulmate is right here in this plane." Demetri turned and said, "Who? Who? Me, please say me, please say me." Felix walloped Demetri upside the head and said, "Chill, Demetri. He might be lying." Ed rolled his eyes and said, "Demetri, permit to introduce you to your soulmate, Angel." Then he turned to us and said, "Angel come here. There's someone you need to meet." He then got down to her level and said, "Listen, Ange, I tried to keep this a secret from you. I'd wanted you to have options, to not feel like you have to pick only this one person, but it kinda all went ka-blooey with a capital Kuh, thanks to Caius Volturi." Angel nodded and then Ed gestured to Demetri, "Demetri meet Angel. Angel, this is Demetri, the guy I was talking about when I said I didn't want you to have to pick just one person." Angel nodded and hugged Demetri and he hugged her back and I was sure we'd get out of here, wherever here was. Demetri sighed and said, "Felix go fly the plane." Felix looked at Demetri and whined and said, "But why, Demetri?" "'Cause I said so." He then turned to us and said, "I'm so, so, so sorry, guys. You're being taken to Volterra, Caius's orders—I wanted nothing to do with his plan, but I was the only tracker in the Volturi and we're kind have never been really challenged, except for in Forks. I'm also kinda of like you guys, part-bird and all." He showed us his wings and Max vaguely recognized him as the one mutant who'd successfully escaped from the School and never been recaptured or killed or retired.
Of course, once we got into Volterra, Demetri became very serious and all businesslike, but underneath his façade, we all could see he was planning an escape with us. He didn't want us to have to stay here and he tried to keep us away from Caius—apparently Caius was as mean to other vampires as Reilly was to the mutants he worked with, which really scared me. One day, I asked Demetri, "Did Caius want revenge against us for what we did?" Demetri shook his head no, but he still made sure we were relatively safe and hidden away from Caius. Caius wanted something to do with us, but we wouldn't do it though.
One day, we had to go to talk to Aro, Caius, and Marcus. I was a little nervous, but figured that I could hide my fears just like Max does. Of course I was a little tired of having to sniff vampire stinkiness after what had happened when I'd help save Renesmee and Caius might still want revenge for what I did to him.
As soon as we entered the throne room, Max froze and grabbed Fang's arm, shaking violently. I looked where she was looking and saw a little blond-haired boy curled up on Aro's lap, trying to hide from Caius, obviously. Max choked and whispered one word, "Ari." Fang steadied her and when Aro asked, "What's wrong?" Fang said, "When Max went to Germany she thought she saw Ari die right in front of her and so, seeing Ari here, alive, is a bit of a shock for her, for all of us, actually." Then Max held out her arms and said, "Ari, come here. I want to give you a hug." Ari turned and ran over to Max and hugged her hard. Then he said, "Hi, sis." Max smiled and said, "Hey, baby brother." Max scooped up Ari and then he said, "Max, I'm your Voice. I can only read your mind and I can see your future." Max nodded at Ari and thought to him, "As soon as the flock and I are able to escape, we'll find a way to bring you with us, I promise, Ari. I won't get separated from you again. Nothing the Volturi can do to me will convince me that I have to leave you behind. You'll always be my baby brother Ari no matter what happens."
Angel and I convinced Demetri and Felix wait until Max had recovered from what had happened, and give her a few minutes to have a family reunion of sorts, but after we entered the throne room completely, Max staggered and sank to her knees. She glared at Caius and said, "Geez, got enough evil vibes rolling off of you to destroy the planet, man." Of course, Caius was instantly furious.
Then Angel asked, "So who's really good at poker?" Everyone stared at her, but then Aro poked Marcus and said to Angel, "My brother is." Angel smirked and Demetri said, "Good luck Angel. Marcus is really, really good at poker. He's never been beaten."
We all gathered in the main poker room and some of us took bets over who would win. Mostly it was the vampires who did the betting. Demetri bet Felix that Angel would win and Marcus would finally lose. When Max tried to talk Marcus out of playing Angel in poker, Angel thought to Max, "Max, can you please stop trying to get Marcus not to play me? Aro wants to see Marcus lose, for once, and I think I can hand Marcushis first defeat." I also told Angel, "good luck, Angel." Iggy grabbed my hand and held it firmly, while Ari curled up in Max's left arm, she was holding Fang's hand with her right hand, Embry was thinking about Ella, I could tell by the look on his face, and Gazzy was plotting something—like bomb the palace or something like that, or use his new skill to stink up the entire place, which had Max somewhat worried—she was frowning at him.
Then Angel and Marcus sat down to a poker match. Who would win? Max, Fang, Iggy, Gazzy, Ed, Ari, Aro, Sulpicia, Athenodora, Chelsea, Jane, Alec, Demetri, Renata, and I all hoped it would be Angel. Caius and the rest of the guard all wanted Marcus to win, though. Of course, the flock, Ari, and I all knew that Angel had a bit of an advantage with her mind-reading/mind-control thing, but everyone in the flock was really, really, really, good at poker, though. Even Total's good at poker, and he's a dog, a flying and talking mutant dog, that is.
We all watched as Angel beat Marcus the first time and grinned and I said, "Go Angel!" Marcus stared at the cards in shock and then said, "Best two out of three." Angel beat him again. "Three out of five." Angel beat him again. "Four out of six." Angel beat him again. "Five out of seven." Angel beat him again. "Six out of eight." Angel beat him again. "Seven out of nine." Angel beat him again. Marcus finally said, "Well done, Angel." Aro snickered and said, "Look's like Volterra has a new poker champion. The mighty Marcus has finally fallen." Marcus stomped on Aro's foot after that. It was pretty funny. In fact, even Caius was doubling over in laughter, or that was just him being mean to his brother. I wasn't sure; I couldn't read his mind, and so I asked Angel, mentally that is. "Is Caius just being mean or is he agreeing with us?" "Both, I don't know how he's doing it."
Later, the flock and I all had to talk to Caius and Demetri agreed to look after Ari for Max. Ari complained about it, but Max reasoned with him. "But Max, I don't need a babysitter. I'm not a little boy anymore," Ari whined. Max nodded and said, "Ari, after what happened in Germany, when I saw "you" die, I can't take any risks. I don't think I could I bear it if you died again. The first time was hard enough. I couldn't deal with it a second time." Ari nodded and agreed to let Demetri look after him.
Caius seemed calm and not like he wanted revenge and said, "I'm glad all of you could join me. My brothers and I have heard a great deal about an anti-pollution group known as the Coalition to Stop the Madness or the CSM and we all wish to join. I'm sure one of you knows a member." Max snapped at him, "And we should believe you because?" "The whole reason I brought you here is 1) because Volterra is the safest place on the planet, 2) I'm sure you wanted to see Ari, and 3) I'm absolutely, positively sure you can find or know someone who can get me and my brothers, and our wives, into the CSM." Max went to say something, but I held up my hand and said, "Although, you make a convincing case, I, that is, we, have several very convincing reasons to not help you. (1.) you hate werewolves, (2.) you tried to kill us less than a month ago, (3.) you killed the sister of two of my friends, (4.) you hunted werewolves into near extinction, (5.) you kidnapped us, and (6.) you brought us here against our will." Caius gave up on trying to reason with us, but then Aro tried and succeeded, by being nice to us and actually telling us what he wanted to do to help the CSM and that he would offer us several homes in Volterra as safe houses and have Demetri, Jane, Alec, Felix, Chelsea and Heidi all guard us while we were in Volterra. Caius was pretty mad that we agreed to help Aro, but not him. Demetri quickly came up with an escape plan to help us get to safety. He said he'd join us, but that he'd bring Ari and meet up with us somewhere. Max quickly decided on the old E-shaped house where we used to live to be the meeting point.
We all left that night, taking to the skies and flying away. We reached our old house and waited for Demetri and Ari to arrive. Then Demetri and Ari came and Max, Fang, and Iggy took turns with Demetri carrying Ari on the way to Forks. When we reached Forks, Max pulled out her cell phone and called her mom. "Hey, Mom. Yeah, we're fine, but that's not why I'm calling. Is, Jeb, Dad, there?" "Yes. Jeb, Max wants to talk to you." "Mom, could you be ready because I think Jeb might pass out or something. Hey, Dad. I have someone here with me and I think he wants to talk to you." Then she turned away from the phone and said, "Ari." Ari ran over to Max and she handed the phone to him and said, "It's Dad." Ari took the phone and said, "Hi, Daddy." Jeb froze and said, "Ari?" "It's true. I never was an Eraser. That was all a part of Max's training." "I see," Jeb said. Ari went inside and hid in the kitchen and said, "Dad, I think she's ready. She's ready to finish what she started. She's ready to completely save the world. It's time for Max to finish the game, for her to win it all." Jeb nodded and said, "Okay, bye Ari. Tell Max to pass on my love to the flock and that I hope she stays safe and out of harm's way." "'Kay. Bye, Daddy. See you soon."
Later, I saw Leah and she went into the kitchen to tell Jacob something about that had happened while she was on patrol. She was his second-in-command, or his Beta. Since it's just me and Embry in my pack, Embry automatically became my Beta. Then she saw Ari and froze. I could see it in her eyes—she had imprinted.
Leah Clearwater's POV
All along, I'd thought that I was a genetic dead-end, that I had no hope of passing on the wolf gene despite my stellar bloodlines. I'd been jealous of Monique, of Jacob's cousin, for being able to imprint when I couldn't. I'd thought it was because she was not like me and the rest of the pack, because she was a mutant freak. I had no idea how wrong I was. I'd thought it because her genes were so different from everyone else's, well except for Embry, including her own cousin.
Everything inside me came down as I stared at the face of the seven-year-old standing in the kitchen. All the lines that held me to my life were sliced apart in swift cuts, like clipping the strings to a bunch of balloons. Everything that made me who was—my hate for the Cullens, my hate for Bella, my anger at Emily, my rage at Sam, my love for my mother and brother, my loyalty to my pack, the love for my other brothers, my home, my name, my self—disconnected from me in that second—snip, snip, snip —and floated up into space.
I was not left drifting. A new string held me where I was.
Not one string, but a million. Not strings, but steel cables. A million steel cables all tying me to one thing—to the very center of the universe.
I could see that now—how the universe swirled around this one point. I'd never seen the symmetry of the universe before, but now it was plain.
The gravity of the earth no longer tied me to the place where I stood.
It was the seven-year-old boy standing in the kitchen, hanging up his older sister's cell phone.
Ari.
Nudge/Monique Amanda Black's POV
I saw Leah imprint on Ari and said, "You were wrong. You never were a genetic dead-end. None of the pack is. You had just to get out of La Push. Oh, and, good luck dealing with Max, 'cause she'll probably kill you. And she just rescued Ari and she doesn't want him getting hurt anymore and she probably wants to get him back to their father, Jeb Batchelder, and have Ari stay with her mother, Dr. Valencia Martinez, a vet, and her half-sister, Ella Martinez, in Arizona."
Max came in and realized right away that Leah had imprinted on Ari. Max was mad for a few seconds and then motioned for Leah to follow her into the forest. I wondered what was going to happen to Leah. As much as I didn't like her, I really hoped Max wouldn't kill Leah.
Maximum Charging Off Danger Magnet Batchelder Martinez Ride's POV
Great, my other half-sibling gets imprinted on. It was bad enough when Ed imprinted on Ella, but Ari? He's seven. I just got him back in my life. I went outside, but motioned to Leah to follow me and went into the forest.
She paused and asked, "You aren't going to kill me, are you?" "No," I replied instantly, "but I am going to ask you some questions." Leah said, "Give me a sec." Less than a second later, she came back and said, "Okay, I'm ready to answer your questions, Max."
"Okay, so imprinting is about finding your soulmate, being willing to do anything for that one person, correct?" I asked. "Right," Leah said. "If Ari was in danger and I, or, our father, Jeb, couldn't save him, would you?" "Yes, I would and all of the Quileute wolves stand with me." "If something happened to Ari, would you be ready to help him?" "Yes. No one will hurt Ari and get away with it while I'm breathing." "Are you ready to deliberately put yourself in danger?" "Yes." "Are you ready to hide?" "Yes." "Are you ready to spend nights sleeping in trees?" "Yes." "Are you ready to Dumpster-dive for food on a daily basis?" "Yes." "Are you ready to sleep with one eye open, to remain on guard all hours of the day?" "Yes." "Are you ready to expect danger at every turn?" "Yes." "Are you ready to have almost every single large corporation on the planet, mostly Chu Corporation nowadays, chasing you, to destroy you, to kill you?" "Yes." "Are you ready to be thought of as an accident, a stain, a mistake?" "Yes." "Are you ready to be told that they'll get you?" "Yes." "Then, Leah, welcome to the family...sis," I said as warmly and as welcomingly as I could. Leah smiled at me and said, "Thanks, Max."
Leah Clearwater's POV
I could see right away that Max was upset with me for imprinting on Ari. I had no control over it. I opened my mouth to apologize, but then she went outside and motioned for me to follow her. We went to the forest, but I was a little worried.
I paused suddenly and asked, "You aren't going to kill me, are you?" "No," she replied immediately, "but I am going to ask you some questions." I quickly said, "Give me a sec." Less than a second later, I came back and said, "Okay, I'm ready to answer your questions, Max."
"Okay, so imprinting is about finding your soulmate, being willing to do anything for that one person, correct?" she asked. "Right," I quickly said, and then thought, maybe this won't be so bad after all. "If Ari was in danger and I, or, our father, Jeb, couldn't save him, would you?" "Yes, I would and all of the Quileute wolves would stand with me." "If something happened to Ari, would be ready to help him?" "Yes. No one will hurt Ari and get away with it while I'm breathing." "Are you ready to deliberately put yourself in danger?" "Yes." "Are you ready to hide?" "Yes." "Are you ready to spend nights sleeping in trees?" "Yes." "Are you ready to Dumpster-dive for food on a daily basis?" "Yes." "Are you ready to sleep with one eye open, to remain on guard all hours of the day?" "Yes." "Are you ready to expect danger at every turn?" "Yes." "Are you ready to have almost every single large corporation, mostly Chu Corporation nowadays, chasing you, to destroy you, to kill you?" "Yes." "Are you ready to be thought of as an accident, a stain, a mistake?" "Yes." "Are you ready to be told that they'll get you?" "Yes." "Then, Leah, welcome to the family...sis," Max said in a warm and welcoming tone. She already thought of me as her sister. I smiled at her and said, "Thanks, Max." I guessed that the questions on survival were probably a sign of what we'd be doing until we'd reached a safe house.
Nudge/Monique Amanda Black's POV
Amazingly, Max didn't kill Leah. Apparently, she already sees Leah as her sister. Now Max is going to have Ed for a half-brother, plus his half-brother as a half-brother-in-law and Leah as a sister and Seth as another half-brother-in-law.