Reminiscing
So much has happened in the past five weeks, you think, remembering it all.
Sam brought Emily over to see us and she did indeed shift after vampire exposure. Luckily for them both, she promptly imprinted on Sam as he calmed her down. Sam was now over the moon to have Emily as part of the pack, running alongside of him during patrols. He was thrilled that she was less vulnerable to attack and better able to protect herself. She loved being able to go with him on patrols instead of waiting fearfully at home, never knowing when or if he would return.
An interesting side effect was that Emily's shifting had altered the telepathic bond between the wolves, increasing between the imprinted couple but decreasing between the other wolves. Sam and Emily had an open telepathic bond even when they were in human form, but whenever they were in wolf form, they no longer had to worry about their stray thoughts being overheard by Leah, nor did Leah have worry about them reading any unwanted thoughts of hers. Only the thoughts and memories they chose to share were shared.
Emily had shared all her memories with Leah of resisting Sam for Leah's sake despite how awful it made her feel to resist the pull and to push Sam away and especially to see Sam hurting from her rejection. Seeing it from Emily's perspective and knowing she had truly tried to fight the magic purely out of love for Leah had helped Leah to heal from her bitterness. She no longer felt betrayed by either of them, able to experience the pull first hand through both of their memories. She and Emily were now sisters again.
Paul and Jarrod had joined the pack as well, about a week after Leah. Sam had taken your advice and prepared them as much as possible before the initial phasing. He had then arranged for both of them to meet their imprints as quickly as possible afterward, knowing it would help both of them calm down and accept their new lives in the supernatural world without as much bitterness or hatred. Rachel and Kim had been introduced to Emily, who had told them what sharing Sam's blood had done for her. Both girls had then insisted on sharing blood with their imprints, which was handled by Sue, and had then shifted as well, joining the pack.
Leah was slightly miffed about being in a pack with three mated couples, but the changes in the telepathy brought about by having the imprints join ensured she didn't have to be assaulted by unwanted intimate thoughts from the others. Leah had decided against returning to the res, having developed a close friendship with both you and Rose. She loved the idea of thwarting Alice at every opportunity and was proud to be part of the war effort.
Thanks to Sam's memories of the vampires saving Emily's life and being completely unaffected by her blood, and Leah's memories of the friendship and trust bestowed upon her by you and the Cullens, all the wolves were friendly with Jasper, Rose, Emmett, and Edward.
Billy wasn't happy at all about his daughter being imprinted upon by Paul nor about her choosing to become a shifter herself. He was also unhappy about the friendship with the Cullens, despite his knowledge of Ephraim's relationship with Carlisle. Ephraim's son had felt ashamed by his father's friendship with 'the enemy' and had hidden the knowledge from the other elders of his generation, destroying the letters Carlisle had sent and only passing down the knowledge and shame to his own son. Billy hated that the secret was now out, thanks to Edward showing the wolves Ephraim's letters to Carlisle that the vampire had sentimentally kept. Billy didn't want anyone knowing his grandfather had been a 'leech lover' as his father had derisively remarked many times. He hated that his daughter now fell into that category as well, having befriended the Cullens along with Leah and Sam.
Rachel stuck to her guns and had informed Jacob of the truth about all of it as well to prepare him, despite Billy's orders against it. As soon as Jacob found out what was really going on with Paul and his sister, he wanted to be part of the pack. He begged them to be introduced to the vampires, so he could begin shifting as well. Rachel tried to put him off, asking him to wait until he was older, but he loved the idea of being buff like the other male shifters and insisted it was part of his destiny. He did agree not to fight Sam for the position of Alpha, knowing he wasn't ready for that level of responsibility.
You had wondered what would happen once Jacob phased, knowing Renesmee had no chance at all of existing in this world. After all, there was no way in hell Edward's sperm would be getting anywhere near one of your eggs to create her. Not only that, but Jacob had not even laid eyes on you since Bella was a child, and therefore had no opportunity to develop a crush on you at all. Your question was answered in the best possible way. Rose and Emmett had gone with Leah and Rachel to meet with Jacob two days ago and trigger his shifting genes. A confident, healed, and happy Leah had met the eyes of a freshly shifted heart-whole Jacob, and the imprint had occurred for both of them right then and there.
Now the pack was four couples strong, a fact that had been deliberately kept from Alice, who was still under the mistaken impression there were only the original two wolves, Sam and Leah. Since all the wolves were mated and loved having their imprints as their equals, sharing their supernatural lives with them, they all understood what was happening between you and Jasper. They understood the bond between the two of you and the necessity of you joining him as a vampire as soon as you were ready. Having been in close proximity with the vampires for weeks, training, laughing, and playing with them, they had first hand knowledge of the vampires' control around humans. Thus, you had their blessing and encouragement to join Jasper as his equal.
Of course, now that Jacob and Leah have imprinted, Leah has decided to return to the res to be close to him. Since he is only 15, he doesn't have as much freedom as the older boys. Leah is keeping Jacob firmly in hand, helping him deal with his father's fear and animosity. They haven't informed Billy yet that Jacob has officially joined the pack, but they plan to do so in the next day or two.
Charlie has really enjoyed having all the young people around and will certainly miss Leah when she goes. His relationship with Billy is rather strained at the moment, having stood up for Rachel's right to choose her own friends. He loves the four Cullens he knows and can't understand Billy's irrational hatred, especially after seeing how well the Cullens and the Quileute pack get along together. From Charlie's point of view, Billy is holding onto unfounded prejudices that the next generation has dismissed altogether.
Harry and Sue have come to visit several times over the past four weeks. At first you were amused by their behavior, but then it started to feel creepy, so you prevailed upon your friends to discover what on earth those two were expecting from you by naming you as an Oracle with a capital 'O'. Turns out there were oracles in the past who predicted the coming of the European settlers and the aftermath of their settlement in the area.
While the Quileute ancestors were spirit walkers, like Taha Aki, oracles are supposedly able to communicate with the spirit world, receiving information from divine sources. There hadn't been an oracle to the tribe for over a hundred years. The most recent oracle, from the 19th century, had given the tribe information which prevented the slaughter of their people back in 1889, when a settler wrongfully claimed their land and burnt down every single house in the village. The Quileutes lost every last bit of their pre-contact artifacts in the fires, except for those items that had been relocated to private collections and museums. Thanks to the oracle's warning, none of the people lost their lives though, and they were able to capture the man who had burned their homes and belongings to ashes.
Prior to that, another oracle had warned the tribe of the impending defeat and subsequent extinction of the Quileutes' only kindred, the Chimakum tribe, who were in what is now known as Port Townsend. Chief Seattle and his Suquamish tribe wiped out the entire Chimakum tribe in the 1860's, leaving the Quileutes without any known relatives on earth. The oracle had warned the Quileutes not to join forces with their brethren in an attempt to help protect them, informing them that if they did, both tribes would be extinguished instead of just the one.
Thus, Harry and Sue believe you will be able to save their tribe from slaughter and extinction, as oracles have done in the past, though each time the Quileutes have paid a heavy price to walk away with their lives intact. You're not thrilled with the position in which they've placed you, but further thought made you realize how many of their people might have died if the vampire war were to take place the way Alice and James have been planning, especially considering this immediate area is the chosen location of the battle. Thus, your intervention and help in bringing the wolves and vampires together as friends and allies has definitely helped protect their people
Speaking of which, according to Jasper, Alice and James have been quite busy over the past week, calling each of the hidden encampments and telling them to prepare for battle. Peter and Char have been going around to each encampment and helping their spies within eliminate any and all threats, using their knowledge of discussing the wolves to keep Alice blind to any decisions they make. By the time James and Alice call in their troops, anyone who was loyal to them will no longer exist.
You can't wait for the whole war aspect to be over and done so you can just relax and enjoy your time with your mate. You've had some hot and heavy intimate time, but haven't fully consummated the relationship. Now that Leah is going back to the res, you might get enough privacy to consider it. Especially now that you're finally a month into the birth control pills, since a little experimentation proved latex condoms weren't made to withstand vampire venom.
After reading about the hell Bella went through to have her hybrid baby, you figure you'll just have Carlisle harvest some of your eggs either right before or at the beginning of your change, before the venom gets to them, just in case you and Jasper ever decide you want to have a kid of your own. Maybe you can convince one of Joham's daughters to carry the baby for you, since they're so much stronger than a human and would likely be able to withstand the baby's kicking. Or if not, there's always the chance of using a brain-dead coma patient as a surrogate mom. If they're brain-dead anyway, they won't feel any of the pain associated with the pregnancy, and it won't be any loss for them to die afterward. The baby's genetics would still be all yours and Jasper's since you'd be using your eggs, just borrowing someone else's uterus as an incubator. There's plenty of time to worry about that kind of thing later. First, you both need to survive the upcoming war.
xxxxxxx
AN: Sorry for the change in format for this chapter, but I wanted to get the show on the road and get ready for battle. We'll be back to normal for the next chapter.