Everything Is Different Now
Chapter 27
August 1, 2013
The assembled group was dressed in their Sunday finest and a solemn air of reverence enveloped
them. Jacob, Laura and all the rest of the members of their family, old and new, stood at the altar of
the little church that served the community closest to the Frederick Estate.
Closest to the center of the altar, Jacob held Jeb Call in his arms. Laura stood close by his side and
held one of the baby's hands in two of her fingers. The priest repeated the words of the prayer and
instructions to the couple holding the child. They took the vow of responsibility for being the
godparents of the child and caring for him in his hour of need should his parents need the help. As
Jacob repeated his promise to guard the child with his life, he reflected back on the care and
protection his own mother and father had given him. With a slight choke and cough to his voice, he
promised his guidance and protection to the baby that bore his name. Laura followed his lead with
her own promises of care, guidance and protection for the little boy cradled in his Alpha's arms.
"The care and guidance of the child, Jacob Ephraim Black Call is entrusted to Jacob Ephraim Black
and Laura Leigh Frederick. May the Lord look down on you and bless and guide you in your task.
Amen."
The priest placed a tiny droplet of water on Jeb's forehead. A prayer over the assembled group ended
the ceremony and smiles and backslaps were the follow up.
"Thanks Jake, Laura. We can't tell you what this means to us."
"Embry, you're welcome buddy. You just don't know how honored we are that you asked us to go
through with this. And I think Laura is speechless."
"I guess that doesn't happen often?"
"Hah! Nope, not really. She pretty much has a degree in talking."
"I resemble that remark bubba. Embry, Jacob loves to pick on me because I hold up my end of a
conversation. It's not fair. But back to the topic at hand. Thank you for asking me to stand beside
Jacob for this. Jeb is the sweetest godson that could ever be. He's such a doll. And you, my newest
friends are very special to me and my family. I'm honored."
"Thank you for being around to stand up with Jake. We're just so thankful that he's still among the
living. We'd much rather Jeb be a godson than just a namesake. And to have a godmother too, well
that's just icing on the cake now isn't it?"
"You're welcome. And this is getting just too emotional for me. I'm going to check on Leah and
Marie and the little boy."
Laura gave a little smile and a sniffle, kissed Jacob and moved to the back of the church to find Leah
and her son, who were gathered with Marie, Phillip and Barney along with some family friends of
Laura's. When she reached the group, Jeb held out his arms for her and Leah passed him over. He
wrapped his little arms around Laura's neck and she buried her face into his shoulder, taking a deep
sniff.
"Look Embry, Laura's scenting Jeb. Man, she's a trip. I think she may be turning into a wolf or
something. Have you noticed the changes in her lately?"
"I have. Don't you reckon it's just your influence on her?"
"Maybe, but look at her. She's taller, plumper, curvier, softer, look at her hair. What's going on with
her?"
"Don't know. The imprint obviously agrees with her. But, Jake, you're drooling. Do you need to
borrow my handkerchief? Or do you just need some MORE alone time with your imprint? You two
are like a couple of bunnies. Geez! Maybe Phillip or Barney can give us some insight."
"Nah, I doubt it. They didn't know what an imprint was until I came along and put my stamp on
Laura. And I have to admit, you're right. She's got my juices up, flowing and hot and I can't get
enough of her. I never dreamed it could be like this with a woman. I can only hope you and Leah
have something resembling what Laura and I have. She's amazing and as Dad loves to say, 'she
cranks my tractor' ya know what I mean?"
"I do, I do. If there ever was an imprint that could come close to what Leah and I have together, I
don't know what we'd do. Shoot 'em probably. When it's right, it's right, right?"
"Hah! Yeah, you got that right. With Laura, it's got something to do with the new Alpha stuff. It's
becoming clear that she has a role to play, not just as my mate, but it seems like she's gonna be
involved more deeply. And that's scaring the shit outta me."
"I know. But get a grip. She's strong, you're strong, and you've got help. If she's got a role to play
besides just being your mate, it's the way it should be. No way around it."
"Yeah, yeah, I know. But I don't have to like it, and I don't. I don't want her in danger. She's a
simple human woman and I let her meet face to face with Edward and Bella only because I wasn't
really in a position to argue. I didn't have much of a choice."
"Tell me about that Jake. What really happened? How the hell did they find you? What did they
want?"
"Aw man, it was beyond a mind-fuck. The daddy, Carlisle Cullen, bribed someone at the institution
where I had been held and found out about Laura and that she had taken me home with her. Eddie
and Bella wanted to hook me up with their kid. Eddie knew about the original imprint and kept his
mouth shut. It sounded like he allowed things to just rock along, with his daughter being in almost as
much agony as I was in. He finally came clean, Bella was ready to rip him a new one, and they
tracked me down with Carlisle's help. When the imprint transferred to Laura, apparently Renesmee
experienced feelings of 'abandonment' so they decided it was time to try to help her. They waited
that long, can you believe it?"
"Damn, when they said bloodsuckers were selfish, they weren't kidding were they?"
"You bet, even when it's their own family. Anyway, they called Laura, told her they were coming and
didn't really give her much of a chance to say no. She figured she better find out what the hell they
wanted anyway, since they weren't supposed to know I was here, but they obviously did. She met
with them on her own first, but I couldn't stand it and stepped in pretty quick. They acted like I'd just
pack up and come along with them with no questions or objections. I wish you could have been there
to watch my mate send them packing. Then they both started acting really twitchy and weird."
"What kind of weird?"
"Well, I don't know Emb, weird. Eddie was staring a hole through me, like he was trying to memorize
every cell on me. Bella was staring at Laura the same way and it set my teeth on edge. It was like
they wanted to get closer to us. Like they really liked us. But it was Eddie that really leaned toward
me and Bella was leaning toward Laura. It was creepy I can tell ya."
Laura joined Embry and Jacob. Leah and Jeb were right behind.
"Yeah, creepy is right. Geez, change the subject, you boys ready to head back to the villa?"
"Yeah, honey. Sorry, I was telling Embry about our 'Cullen visit'."
"I heard. Embry, you knew them right?"
"Unfortunately, yeah I did. So did Leah."
"Yes I did. Ugh! Makes my blood run cold to think of them."
"Well, they creeped me out for sure. They invited themselves, showed up on our doorstep out of the
blue almost, and started making demands. Jacob and I both needed a drink after they left, and a
shower."
"And then their strange behavior toward each of you personally?"
"Not a clue. Not sure I want to know."
"I hear ya. Well, hey, enough of that on this happy, happy day. Our son has brand new godparents,
Emb. Let's get back for some celebrating."
"Sounds like a plan babe."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~EIDN~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There was a celebratory picnic on the patio that spilled into the backyard all the way to the koi pond.
Little Jeb loved the brightly colored fish and splashed his hands into the water as his godfather held
him securely over the edge. Jeb's godmother was sitting beside them tossing morsels of fish food into
the water to encourage the fish to come to the surface. Jasmine sat on the edge of the pond as well,
entirely focused on the fish floating just under the top of the water. She'd catch one of those one day
although she wasn't certain what she'd do with it when she did. The child was in seventh heaven,
loved and entertained. What more could a little boy ask?
"Look at that babe."
"Yeah, I see 'em. Jake and Laura are silly about Jeb. It's perfect isn't it?"
"Yeah, it is. I hope they decide to tie the knot and have some of their own soon, don't you?"
"Oh yeah. I do. I don't know what their timeline is yet. Jake may be waiting until this Ultimate
Alpha thing is cleared up. We still don't know how we're supposed to accomplish that singular
mission. I guess waiting to start a family makes sense for them."
"I guess it does. But I still have high hopes for them. I've never seen Jake so happy and strong and
confident."
"Me either."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~EIDN~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
August 9, 2013
Hanover, New Hampshire
BPOV
I almost had all of my plans set. I had told Edward that I needed some time to go shopping for Ness's
school wardrobe and other necessities. He accepted that explanation without hesitation. My shield
kept my real intentions from him. My flight was scheduled to leave this afternoon. I would be
halfway to Colorado before he ever missed me. He'd be too late to stop me. All I had to do was get
past Jacob. I had that plan all mapped out too. He wouldn't have a chance at keeping me from my
singer. Laura. Her name was beautiful. She was beautiful. She smelled like ambrosia. I would have
her. I would drink her dry. It would be exquisite.
EPOV
This was going to be perfect. Bella was going shopping for Nessie. I would be on my own for several
hours. That was all I needed. My flight was booked and I would be boarding in less than an hour.
Boulder, Colorado. What a surprise that had been. Jacob Black. What had happened to him? He
had disappeared after he imprinted on Renesmee and I hadn't given it a second thought. It was awful
the way Ness had suffered from the effects of that nasty imprint. I wasn't surprised that the mutt's
influence had done something terrible to her. But, when we saw them in May, I was completely
unprepared for the effect being in Jacob's presence had had on me. He was stronger, bigger,
handsomer, and smelled better than anything I'd ever encountered in my entire existence.
Of course Bella was no longer my singer. She no longer had any blood to sing to me. She was cold
and hard and completely uninteresting, she was boring. We had our daughter in common and
nothing else. The chasm that had been growing between us was deep and wide. I could no longer
remember why I wanted her so desperately. I believe she felt the same way about me. There was no
point in us being a couple any more, except to support our daughter. I suppose I should have felt
guilty about staying quiet about the imprint I had heard when Ness was born and Jacob had seen her
for the first time. But when he took off, I decided it didn't matter so much. She was our
responsibility and we could look after her. At the time, it seemed like it would be no big deal. It
turned out to be a very big deal and a painful struggle for Ness. But now, that was over, and I had a
new focus. A new singer called to me from Colorado. The fact that he was a werewolf didn't slow me
down at all. The fragrance of his blood was all I could remember. He stirred things in me that had
been dormant for many years. I would have him. His blood would send me into Nirvana.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~EIDN~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Frederick Estate
August 10, 2013
JPOV
What a turn my life had taken! I hardly knew how to process all of the changes, though they were all
for the better. The love of my soul was wrapped in my arms as we lay here in our bed. My new
extended family was lounging in the parlor getting better acquainted with my old extended family.
Phillip, Barney, Marie, Embry, Seth and Leah were all relaxing after a long day of celebration. Jeb
was tucked into his crib and snoozing peacefully, the baby monitor on the end table next to Embry.
Laura and I had bid our goodnights to our company and retreated to our sanctuary. This was my
favorite part of the day, when we got to our suite and could close out the rest of the world and
concentrate on each other.
We showered together, as usual. We made love, as usual. We snuggled and cuddled and made love
again, as usual. I held my girl in my arms as she drifted off to sleep and I opened my mind to my
legions around the world. What an amazing chain of events that brought me to this place in my life.
Alpha of all shifters, in contact with all of them at once if I opened my mind to them and it still hadn't
been the complete group, yet it was overwhelming. I found that though sleep often eluded me, I
didn't seem to need as much as I used to. I hoped this was a temporary circumstance in place to
allow me to deal with the population of shifters that were hooked into me.
There were many stories and legends that were being reported to us from around the world. Every
culture had its own version of vampires and the conflict between them and the shifters. The picture
we were beginning to develop, and this was supported by the shifter army, was that at some point
shortly after the Ultimate Alpha rose up, a battle would take place that would wipe out every leech on
the planet. I had a lot of trouble believing that was possible, but I didn't share those doubts with
anyone.
There was also a great deal of information about the Ultimate Alpha's mate. She was a power source
for him and totally necessary for his strength and the success of the shifters in the battle. I even got
the impression that if Laura wasn't in my arms while I connected with the army, the connection
wouldn't be solid or clear. She was like an antenna to strengthen and boost the signal. There was
nothing supernatural about her per se, but her presence beside me was required for me to be at my
full strength and potential. She was a power booster for me. Well, hell yeah. I'd agree with that
before I ever knew any of this other shit.
I tried once a few days ago to connect to the legions while Laura was in the bathroom. It didn't work.
Well, it did but it didn't. I was connected, but the connection was indeed full of static and seemed to
waver in and out. I certainly wasn't upset about it. Anything that gave me another excuse to hold my
woman in my arms was alright with me. Laura cocked an eyebrow at me when I first told her about
her new position as antenna for the Alpha. I could see the gears turning in her pretty head
wondering if I was bullshitting her to get her to let me cuddle her even more. Fortunately, she took
me at my word and allowed me to use her as my power booster. I loved my power booster.
So, I held Laura in my arms, reveled in the warmth and sweetness of the love we felt, and connected
to the legions. If this was what worked, who was I to quibble about how it happened? Laura was my
strength and my power. She boosted my resolve and my energy reserves at the same time. If every
man could get this kind of support from his woman, and every woman got this kind of love and
support from her man, what kind of world would it be? It was too bad it didn't work out that way all
of the time, everywhere. I could only feel sympathy for those people who didn't have someone who
loved them like this.
Love was such a powerful thing. I was amazed at what it could do, if unleashed. And in this one
instance, love and sex seemed to be about the same thing. If I waited to attempt a connection with
any shifters elsewhere in the world until after Laura and I had made love, the connection was sharper
than ever. I could never let any of them know that my hook up to them was strengthened because I
had just had sex with my mate, but that was the truth of the matter. What a lucky man I was! There
was no other leader in the world that could say, 'honey, I need to connect to my armies, can you have
sex with me so the signal will be clear?' I mean COME ON! But here we were. Laura would give
herself to me, and then we would snuggle up and get comfy. She'd go to sleep and I would hook up
with the army. Holy cow! If this was how it worked, did I want the conflict to come to an end? No,
that was foolish. Of course, I did. But damn, this is how a war should be run.
The information and reports I was receiving from around the world were only slightly encouraging.
The leaders of the vamps in each region was cautious. That wasn't unexpected. The shifter legions
were working constantly to organize their attack strategies. We would need to identify the vamp
leaders and catch them unprotected, unaware and totally by surprise, if possible. That was the key,
and the problem. Few vamp leaders left themselves unprotected, much less were they ever unaware
of their surroundings. This would not be the piece of cake I would wish for, but the team that was
assembling to face this threat was talented and dedicated. We would prevail. There was no other
option.