Chapter 5

1 As if they didn't have enough problems, what with Bella still being pretty blind and sort of deaf. No, now there was that nasty blonde vamp chick from Alaska or whatever sticking her stupid sparkly nose where it didn't belong. And Nessie? Jesus, she just did what she wanted and never listened. Jacob did his best to stay away from her, but when he couldn't, and she messed up, and he started getting angry…yeah. That always worked out so well.

And now, this. Carlisle the Idiot asked everyone to stay inside, because he was gonna deal with the blonde leech. Great plan. Really. Jacob would clap sarcastically, but there was no time for such childish nonsense. The blonde wasn't fooled by Carlisle's why-can't-we-all-be-pals talk. Nessie got curious, wanted to see, and what Nessie wanted, Nessie got. The blonde panicked. She ran.

Goddamn.

"Leah! Seth! Let's go!" Not waiting for a reply, not caring about the vamps' protests, he set into motion, dodged (precious, beautiful, perfect) Nessie, pushed Carlisle, jumped from the porch, phased, clothes ripping apart, and off he went. He'd worry about having nothing to wear later. His pack members were right on his heels.

"Wait! Don't hurt her!" Carlisle yelled after them. "Jasper! Emmett! Go with them!"

Jacob didn't mind the jock so much, but Captain Brainwash was effing spine-chilling. Oh, well, no dodging that psychopathic asshole, since he was part of the clan, and the clan needed to keep together by decree of Nessie. She wanted him around, and she wanted Jacob. There was no escaping these people, was there? Ever? Damn it.

The blonde was fast, but Jacob was faster. He followed her into the forest, across the river. He weaved his way through the woods, dodging, jumping, tracking, running, running, running. It didn't take long, and he caught up with her, leapt, landed on top of her. She struggled, squirmed, managed to turn, grabbed one of his paws with both ice-cold hands in an iron grip, sank her fingernails into his skin, kicked up, hit him in the stomach with her rock-hard knee. He howled, jumped back, hit her in the face with his front paw. She flew wide, against a tree, bounced off, landed on all fours. In a split second, she was on her feet, her upper lip curled back, her fangs out. Jeez, these things were icky. She crouched, made to jump on him, but then Leah and Seth were there, flanking him, circling her, growling. Awesome! They could tear this thing apart, burn it, keep it forever away from his-

"Everyone is going to calm down now!" Jasper's voice was loud and forceful. He'd just caught up with them, followed closely by Chucklehead. Much more calmly, sounding almost gleeful, he added, "Do it, or I'll do it for you."

Leah snarled. Her hackles stood on end. I swear this asshole gets off on his power.

Yeah, tell me something I don't know, Jacob snapped at her. It wasn't her fault, though, this cluster-fuck. He guessed he just wanted to tear these undead jerks a new one for ordering him and his people about like they were their pets.

Guys, don't be sore, Seth thought, placating as always. Seriously, what was up with that? He's just trying to keep the peace.

Shut up, Seth, God!

This time, Jacob did not feel inclined to tell Leah to put a sock in it. Okay, people, you heard Mister Creeptastic. Back off or get brainwashed.

No, he didn't like having to listen to Jasper the Genocidal Maniac. The guy was fricking scary. The thing was, as much as Jacob despised him, he knew that he was never again going to lift another finger against any of the Cullens. Nessie wanted them all safe and sound, so that they could all protect her. She'd also made clear that she wanted them all united and happy in the same household, and what Nessie wanted, Nessie got.

This is getting ridiculous, Leah thought, and growled lowly. As the Beta, though, she had no choice but to obey her Alpha's command. There was always a positive side to every crappy situation. I hate this. I hate him. He's almost as bad as his goddamn girlfriend.

All the same, stand down, Leah. I won't say it again.

Fine. God.

Of course, Jacob had no intention of phasing back into human form right now – just in case the blonde gave him an excuse to drop her. Also, he wasn't exactly keen on prancing around these people in nothing but his skin. How would that look? The haughty, white-washed plantation owners and the naked, brown natives? No way that kind of crap was ever going to happen. No way, no how. These assholes were racist enough already.

"Good," Jasper said evenly, clearly very pleased with himself. Yeah, it wasn't as if he enjoyed exerting power, or anything. Not. "Very good. Now, we can talk like civilised people."

When Jacob looked at his stupid vampire's face, he saw that the bastard was actually smirking. Oh, goodie. What a joy and a half.

"You stay away from me, you freaks!" Irina screamed at them, her yellow eyes wide, her hands balled into fists.

"Honey, calm down, will ya? It ain't what you think." That was Chucklehead. Took a lot to get that one to panic. Even if he was an insufferable fratboy dudebro, the guy was at least marginally entertaining, even if that meant nothing more than the fact that he was the only one who of the leeches who tried to have a little fun with being undead. Still, even he had the blood of countless humans on his hands – 'accidents', the Cullens called that. 'Mishaps'. 'Unfortunate incidents'.

Jesus.

Blondie stared at Chucklehead as if he'd lost his mind. "It ain't what I think?" she echoed, outraged. "You made an immortal child! That is the most unspeakable, despicable crime that-"

"It's not like that," Jasper said, calm and cold and unsettling – to Jacob and his pack, at least. The vamps always seemed to respond well to his creepy mannerisms, but reading their expressions and interpreting them correctly? Well, that was anybody's guess.

"That child," Blondie snarled, "is a monster!"

Okay, that was it. Jacob growled loudly, coiled his muscles, meant to jump. That goddamn undead thing, how dare she insult-

"Jacob, this is your last warning." Creepula's voice was eerily calm; it was almost a singsong. Man, was he enjoying himself, or what? And did Jacob want to know anything, anything at all about a murderous psychopath's disturbing power kink? Hell, no. "Don't force me to resort to more…drastic measures."

Leah growled loudly and started advancing on Captain Brainwash, who pulled up one corner of his mouth in the most off-putting smirk, like he was willing her to lose her temper. Judging by how close to exploding she was, maybe that was exactly what he was doing. Christ, this guy was a sadistic little fucker. Seriously, what was wrong with him? Chucklehead rolled his eyes and flexed his biceps, like that was going to impress anyone. Jerk. Jacob was half-tempted to just let them duke it out, but he thought of Nessie (had to, couldn't control it, stop it, curb it, Jesus, this was so bad) and sighed inwardly.

Leah, don't. Listen to him. Even though it pained him, Jacob added, Do as he says.

She howled. Are you fucking kidding me? Good gravy, Jake, this is bullshit, this-

"Hey, missy, stay right where you are," Chucklehead said, pointing at Blondie, who had started backing off slowly. "No absconding. We're under orders, which means we'll kick your ass if we have to. Jasper?"

Creepula's smirk turned into a broad grin. He nodded once, subtly. "I'm on it." Very slowly, he approached Blondie, who stared at him with wide eyes.

She was wired, tense, clearly ready to try to bolt at the first opportunity. Not that she'd get far, since the wolves were faster, but in all honesty? Jacob would do everything to avoid getting brainwashed by this sick psycho, too.

"Stay away from me," Blondie whispered, backing off against a tree.

"It's okay, Irina," Living Valium returned her look impassively. Yup, he was definitely having fun. Time of his life, probably. Nope, this wasn't uncomfortable at all to watch. Jeez. "Calm down. It's not what you think. Everything is just fine."

For a few seconds, she just stared back at him with what was clearly fear. Then, the psychopathic creep worked his magic, and not just on Blondie, but on everyone. Jacob could feel it: despite himself, he relaxed his posture, unclenched his jaw, felt serenity wash over him, caught himself agreeing with Jasper, who wasn't such a bad guy, after all, was he? No. He was right, too: there was no need for drama. All was well. They were all on the same side, weren't they? All was well. All was just fine.

Blondie blinked, frowned, shook her head. Her shoulders slumped, her arms hung loosely by her side. "No…no, stop it. No," she said, her voice slurring a little. She rubbed at her eyes, shook her head again. "No, you can't…"

"It's okay," Jasper said, his voice level and even and incredibly soothing. Sweet Jesus, it was impossible to believe that anything could ever go wrong again, if one listened to him talking like this. He closed in on Blondie, put his hands on her shoulders, and smiled at her. "I mean it. There is no reason to panic."

Again, she blinked at him, looking a little groggy. "Yes…no…I…are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure. Now, what do you say we all go back to the house, sit down, and talk this through calmly? You'll see that there is nothing sinister going on; I promise you that."

Through the pleasant torpor, Jacob couldn't help but suspect that there was probably nothing that good old Jasper would like more than to tear Blondie to pieces and set her on fire. He was just one of those people who were always looking for an excuse to kill folks.

Little later, the ragtag little group of unlikely (and involuntary) allies trudged on back to Castle New Money. The closer they got to the place, the more Jacob felt nervousness piercing the vampire-induced calmness. They were leading Blondie the Bitter Harpy right back to Nessie. What if Jasper's supernatural opiates weren't enough to keep the leech in check? What if she tried to hurt…no. Oh, that was so not going to happen. Should the vamp so much as look at Nessie the wrong way, Jacob would intervene. He may be fighting the imprint as hard as he could, but that was something he could not do: he could never, not ever, allow anyone to hurt the most precious thing in the entire universe.

2 When they reached the house, Chucklehead raced ahead to tell Carlisle that everything was A-Okay and that everyone was copacetic. Yeah, not really, but what else were they going to do? They needed to sort this out. After casting one sideways glance at Jasper and Blondie (and planning to back the former, should he suggest they just get rid of the latter), he raced after Chuckles.

Stay here and watch them, he told his pack-members.

Gonna stay in wolf-form? Seth wondered.

Yeah, got Wardo to translate. He lightly jumped up on the porch.

Maybe sweet little Renesmee will make you phase, Leah thought, her tone as poisonous as it could be. But don't worry about being embarrassed, Jake: good thing is, you won't mind.

Shut up. Jacob followed Chucklehead into the house, where they all (well, except for poor Bella, who was still huddled in her corner, upstairs) waited anxiously. Immediately, his eyes found Nessie. She was sitting between Rosalie and Esme on the big couch, while everyone else stood about, posing, immobile, looking like statues – and not of the living variety. Wardo was standing at the window, eyeing Blondie and Jasper, frowning. Sulking, too. That was all he did these days, it seemed, ever since he'd failed to get through to his confused, frightened, and suffering wife.

When Nessie saw Jacob, she cracked a broad, radiant smile, and Jacob? To him, it was as if the world faded away; nothing ridiculous like 'she's all I see', but somehow, everything and everyone else just didn't matter as much, anymore. She was an adorable-looking child, with her soft curls and big, brown eyes (Bella's eyes), and that heart-melting smile. How could he not do everything, anything to make her happy? Whatever she said, whatever she did, all that mattered was her happiness, her safety. All that mattered was her.

God, this was so, so fucked up.

It wasn't like he even thought about the day when she'd be old enough to…yeah. That. What Quil had said? About Baby Claire? That he didn't see other girls' faces, and that his libido had died down? That he was only going to want to touch a woman again when Claire was legal? Man, that shit was sick. The other wolves (well, except for Leah) didn't want to see it that way, but that? What Quil was doing? There was a name for it, and most people seemed to frown on child-grooming these days.

Jacob didn't want to be that guy. He didn't have any interest in Nessie that way (and yuck, she was a little girl, for Christ's sake), but he knew that that would change once her body had matured. The bigger problem was that she had an adult mind. She understood everything. She knew. She knew, and she…

…yeah.

She saw him, cracked a toothy smile, and the world fell away. God help him. "Jake! I missed you so much! Come here and lie down, I want to put my feet on your back!"

Of course. His heart clenched. Part of him wanted to protest, to tell her that he wasn't her pet, but as usual, that part was drowned out by an overwhelming tidal wave of love. She was the most precious child in the world. Who was he to say no to her? Sighing inwardly, he trotted to the couch, closed his eyes as she briefly ruffled his head, and plopped himself on the thick, fluffy carpet. When she dropped her feet on his back heavily, he tried not to wince.

"Can we get on with it, now?" Rosalie piped up, sounding piqued. She did that a lot. She had a lovely tendency to wrinkle her nose in disgust every time one of the wolves was around her, too. No, they were never going to be friends. What a notion. "What do we do about Irina?"

"We don't do anything. We call her inside, explain to her what's going on," Carlisle said, all business. "She'll see that her conclusions were all wrong, and then there'll be no more trouble. Just be gentle: she has good reasons for being fearful."

Boo hoo. My heart goes out to her. Jacob snorted. Nessie started kicking him, lightly at first, then harshly. He ground his teeth together and tried to ignore the discomfort. It was okay, though. He healed quickly, and if this made her happy…yeah. He'd do it. Of course he'd do it. Just like he'd let her bite him when she'd still been a baby. Just like everyone had indulged her teasing the hungry vampires (Jasper the most) with images and memories of human blood in a Styrofoam cup.

Thank God for the fact that she wanted him to help Bella. Those were the quietest, best hours of the day. During the time that it was just the two of them, Jacob and Bella, it was almost possible to remember how much he used to love her.

"We must be both gentle and tactful," Carlisle said, nodding to himself.

"Of course," Demure Wife of the Century replied meekly. Bleugh.

Sure, Jacob thought, let's just take Blondie's hand and protect her precious little feels, coz that's what really matters.

Wardo chuckled, but kept his eyes trained on both Blond and Blonde, through the window.

"Edward, Jacob, please be kind," Esme said softly, and seriously, that woman was annoying as all hell. She hadn't even heard him, but just knew by the sound of Wardo's chuckle that Jacob was being such a meanie! Yeuch. "We need to be tactful, now."

"No need," Chucklehead said, snickering. "Jasper's got her hooked on the good stuff. Like that, she'll say yes to anything."

"You know, Emmett, I am getting tired of your attitude," Wardo said, even prissier than usual, which was saying something. "Everything is not a big joke."

Chucklehead raised his eyebrows at Wardo and crossed his arms before his chest. "Yeah, man, no kidding. You think I don't know that? Huh? What else am I supposed to do? Stand around and mope? Coz that's helpful."

"Just get Irina and Jasper in here, so we can explain everything to her," Alice said, sort of twirling around as she looked at every single one of them, like she was trying to dance or something. It looked stupid. She clearly thought it was cute and graceful. It wasn't. It was dumb. "Everything will be fine, then."

"Yes, everything will be fine," Carlisle echoed, still frowning. He put his hands to his waist (with that stupid sweater and that Ken-doll hair, he looked like he'd jumped right out of a 1950s educational film about the perils of listening to Elvis) and nodded briefly. "All right, then. I'll tell them to come inside."

Jacob tensed up and snarled. Nessie kicked him again, and he flinched heavily. That was all right, though, of course. Of course. The poor thing must be nervous. That was it. She was wonderful, of course. Wonderful. Perfect. Just so, so perfect.

Man, was it hard to think like this, to use his brain, to be himself, to-

God damn it!

He told himself to focus. If that blonde leech tried anything, anything at all that might end up in Nessie getting hurt, that vamp was history. No matter what happened, he would see to that; he would protect the most precious thing in the universe.

3 Irina stood outside with Jasper, the two wolves circling them. She'd be worried about these creatures, but she couldn't. She'd be afraid, but he wouldn't let her. It was impossible to fight against this numbness, this stupor, this both comforting and repulsive feeling of being sedated against her will. They were facing each other, she and Jasper, standing about two metres apart. He was watching her intently, unmoving, unblinking, the subtlest smile curving up the corners of his mouth. There was something ferocious about him, about that calm demeanour, that cryptic smile, that scarred but beautiful face. It was as if he wouldn't even try to mask himself as human, were this not required of him by the members of his coven – by his girlfriend, more specifically.

What was someone like that even doing with the Cullens, who revelled in their moral superiority, in their (unconvincing, but attempted) human façade? He was a vampire, through and through. He didn't believe in mingling with humans. He wanted to be a killer. He wanted this. It was as plain as the scars on his face.

"You can stop drugging me now," she said, hating that her voice sounded slurred and slow and stupid. "I know I can't outrun you and the werewolves. I'll behave. I promise."

"This must be making you angry," he said very lowly, low enough for her and the wolves to hear, not loud enough for those in the house. Edward would probably be eavesdropping, but if Irina could mask her thoughts from him, then so could Jasper. "Getting caught. Being powerless. I know I'd be angry."

There it was, too: a stab of white-hot fury poking through her brain, through her gut, piercing the numbing fog like lightning. At once, she balled her hands into fists. Her muscles coiled, her upper lip curled, and she-

Wait. No. No!

Oh, God, he wanted her to attack him. He wanted her to give him an excuse to kill her.

With superhuman effort, she unclenched her fists and resisted the urge to jump the little bastard. "I won't fight you," she said through gritted teeth. "I won't. Don't make me."

The corners of his mouth twitched. He tilted his head slightly to the side. "I'm not making you do anything. You need to calm down. You're too wired. You don't want this to turn" – He briefly pressed his lips together – "ugly."

One of the wolves, the female, growled lowly, but Irina didn't dare look away. "I will not fight you."

For a few seconds, he just kept on looking at her in unsettling serenity and silence. Then, he opened his mouth to talk, and God, she could feel the mounting tension, the urge to do something, to wipe that smirk off his goddamn-

"Irina? Jasper?" They both turned to look to the front door, where Carlisle stood, his expression serious as a heart-attack. "Would you please come in, now? We're ready to talk."

Relief washed through Irina as the rage subsided. Moving slowly and deliberately, she started walking toward the house. It was show-time. This was what she had come here for, wasn't it? No matter what they said, no matter how they explained this…this abomination to her, Irina knew what she had seen. The Cullens had broken the law, and she would see to it that they were punished.

4 Inside (with Jasper almost breathing down her neck), she found the Cullens standing in formation in front of the big sofa. They were blocking the view, but through the gaps, Irina could see Jacob, still in wolf-form. Behind him, she couldn't see, but she knew that…that that was where the child would be – an immortal child with a heartbeat, protected by a werewolf.

What was going on here?

"Please," she said lowly, raising her hands in a defensive gesture, "I don't want any trouble. Just…explain to me what is happening here, because I" – She exhaled sharply, half laughing – "because I don't understand anything."

"If you don't want any trouble," Edward said, scowling, "then why are you thinking in Slovakian?"

Seeing him standing by the big panorama window like that, arms crossed, frowning at her like he was a stern but just teacher admonishing a wayward pupil, it was all she could do not to give him the finger. "Because what's in my head is not your business, and that includes my native language," she said, and turned to Carlisle. "I really don't want any trouble, I promise. I'm just scared."

"Of course," Carlisle said, solemn and serious, nodding. "Just…everyone stay calm, okay?" He looked around the room, got everyone to nod at him, and locked eyes with Irina again. "You see, we understand why you'd think what you thought, but" – He smiled – "no law has been broken here."

That was very much up for debate, but Irina wasn't exactly in a position to argue – not here, not like this. "All right."

"The child," Carlisle continued quickly, anticipating protest that wasn't going to come, "is not a vampire."

"She smells like one," Irina countered.

"That's because she is half vampire," Rosalie said. She was standing half behind Carlisle, rolling her eyes. "Can we speed this along, please? I'm bored."

"Rosalie!" Esme said in a half-baked scolding tone.

"What? I'm just being honest." Rosalie stepped forward, eyeing Irina with no sympathy on her face. "Listen: Edward here and the missus went on their honeymoon, she got pregnant, the pregnancy killed her, Edward turned her, and" – An honestly warm smile took hold of her features – "well, a miracle happened. A child was born – the most wonderful, unique child in the entire universe. She is not a little child turned vampire, but something new, something unheard of, something amazing and extraordinary. There is no risk to anyone."

"There is…" Irina trailed off. She looked at Rosalie – really looked at her. She saw a woman transformed. The sarcastic, lofty ice queen had been replaced by a glowing, motherly creature that worshipped at a child's altar – a child that could not be more than a few months old, no matter how old she had seemed to Irina, earlier.

What was happening here? Irina looked from one to the other, and…oh God, it was on all of their faces. As they listened to Rosalie ramping up the sales pitch, they all, without exception, started simpering. The expressions on their faces were transfixed, enchanted, hypnotised. It was as if someone had taken over and replaced the people Irina had known for decades with androids. What the hell was going on?

"She is in complete control of her mind," Rosalie went on, her smile broad and radiant. If she had been able to, she'd most certainly blush. "We've never seen anything like it – like her."

"Because there is no-one like her," Carlisle said. He was smiling too, and it looked almost the same as Rosalie's. It looked like all of their faces. Even Emmett was doing it, and when had he ever cared about someone else's perfect little bundle of joy?

What was this child doing to them?

Irina kept her face level. Then, she made herself smile. "I…had no idea dhampirs were…real. That's…good?" It wasn't easy, but she managed to resist the urge to slap herself. A good improviser, she was not.

Everyone frowned a little. They almost did this in unison, too. It was spooky, to say the least. Irina almost started backing away, out of the room, out of this weird house, but then she remembered that Jasper was right behind her, just waiting for an excuse to rip her to pieces.

"Dhampir?" Alice chimed in. She was at the other side of the little group, flanking Esme.

"Yes," Irina said, pouring all her energy into keeping her cool. The sound of the…the child breathing behind Jacob, the smell of her, her heartbeat, it was all very distracting. Not to mention everything else, of course. "From legend? Half vampire, half human children?" The others' expressions remained blank and vaguely confused. Was this normal? Was it plausible that not even Carlisle would know about this? That…

She needed to focus. "It's…obscure. I read it in a book, at some point. Never mind. So…can I meet…uh…?"

"Renesmee," Rosalie said, veneration in her voice, still wearing that dead-eyed, toothy smile. Irina had never, ever seen her smile quite like this. It was almost weird enough to make her overhear that bizarre name. "We call her Nessie, though."

Irina raised her eyebrows. "Like…the German casting director Nessie Nesslauer?" Again, everyone just gave her confused looks, and she snickered. It sounded panicky. "Never mind. So…can I? Meet her?"

The Guardians of the Dhampir exchanged a few looks, and finally, Carlisle and Edward nodded at each other. "All right," the former said, extended his hand toward the sofa, but kept his eyes fixed on Irina. "Irina, I would like you to meet our darling, little, perfect miracle…Renesmee Carlie Cullen."

As if on cue, everyone stepped aside, allowing for a great entrance of the main attraction, or maybe the monarch of a small but powerful nation.

And that was when Irina saw her in all her glory. If she could have, she would have turned and run.

"Hello, Aunt Irina," the child said, smiling the sweetest smile Irina had ever seen. "I've been waiting for you."