Chapter 2.

I spun into the pristine white bathroom in my gorgeous lilac bridesmaid dress, enthralled by the twirl of the skirt with every move I made. Inside was Alice, Bella and Rose. Alice was doing Bella's makeup and Rose her hair.

Just looking at her I already knew she was going to be stunning for her wedding ceremony to Edward, where she was officially going to become part of the family.

I pranced over to her and shoved Rose out of the way so that I could grip Bella's shoulders, ignoring the nasty glare she sent me. "You're getting married!" I squealed, resisting the urge to jump up and down in my excitement.

Bella nodded her head jerkily, blowing a nervous breath out through her lips.

"Are you gonna move out of my way so that I can finish Bella's hair? Or are you going to do it?" Rosalie huffed at me.

I sent her a wide grin and said, "Maybe I will do Bella's hair,"

"NO!" Alice exclaimed as I moved my hands to start on Bella's hair. "You will ruin her entire image if I let you do this."

I pouted as I shuffled back out of the way and Rosalie replaced me, resuming her task. "But I was going to make her beautiful,"

"Emmy, I'm sure Alice wouldn't deny you like that if she wasn't sure about what she was doing." Bella told me reassuringly.

"Okay, I understand," I sulked. I moved to a corner of the room and stood there and watched in my depression.

After a minute Rose spun to look at me with a glower. "Alright, puppy – out! I cannot work with you watching me like this."

I opened my mouth to respond, but Alice beat me to it. "Here, you wanna help? Go find Renee and Charlie for me please, I'm sure they're lurking around here somewhere."

I perked up at the opportunity to help, even if this was only a small contribution to the process. "Aye aye, captain!" I shot Alice a military salute even though she couldn't see it from her position and walked out the door.

I wandered down the hallway and descended two flights of stairs to get to the first floor in search of Bella's parents. I walked into the front room where I spotted Edward sitting with Carlisle and Jasper on the couch. I waved hello.

Jasper and Carlisle waved back in acknowledgement, but Edward got up and approached me. "They're in the hallway with the graduation caps," He informed me.

"Eddie!" I whined. "I was trying to find them the human way!"

"I know," He really had the audacity to smirk at me. Me! "But why try to be human when you don't have a fraction of human DNA in you?" He taunted.

"I'll tell one of your embarrassing stories during toasts," I leered back teasingly. Though I was probably gonna do it.

Edward's eyes widened comically in horror as he read my mind as I decided which story would be best to tell. Then his eyes narrowed into a glare, "You wouldn't dare –"

"Yes, she would, Edward, we all know this," Carlisle spoke up. "I suggest you shut your mouth before she decides to embarrass you in God knows how many different ways."

Edward's mouth snapped closed with an audible sound as he shot me one last glare and went back to sit down.

Smirking, I waved bye to them and turned around to go pick up Renee and Charlie. I made it down the hallway and saw Bella's parents talking by our display of graduation caps.

"Hello!" I said louder than I would normally, as I still hadn't quite reached them and didn't want to startle them. "I'm Clementine, Edward's sister, and you're Renee and Charlie, Bella's parents?"

"Yes, we are," Renee said, overly cheerful. "It's nice to meet you."

I smiled to her and said the greeting back.

"Say, uh, Clementine, where did all of these graduation caps come from?" Charlie asked me, looking up at our display curiously.

"My foster parents have fostered quite a few people through high school and have kept their caps. I don't know, as a memento or something. And they kept their family's kid's caps too." I lied easily with a pleasant smile.

Charlie nodded in acceptance.

"Anyway, Alice wanted you two to drop by and see Bella, she sent me to get you,"

"Oh, really? Lead the way then," Charlie mumbled, still casting a strange glance at the display. Hmm, maybe he didn't accept my response as easily as I had thought.

I just gave another smile and lead them to the makeup room as Renee questioned me about my hair. She apparently decided that having a single strand of white hair with the rest of my hair being black was completely unheard of, although I'd seen plenty of people with similar genetic disorders.

Though I would never admit it out loud, especially to her face, being in Renee's presence was suffocating in a way. I was almost glad to be rid of her, as rude as it was.

"Can't say I don't agree," I heard Edward murmur to me from two stories below, responding to my thoughts.

I left Bella's parents in the makeup room and wandered back down to the living room, hoping one of the boys could point me in Esme's direction. I knew she'd find a way to entertain me.

"Hello, again!" I chirped as I walked through the entranceway. "Where's Esme?"

"She's outside finishing decorating the venue." Carlisle answered me, allowing a fond smile at the thought of Esme.

I was about to leave when Jasper spoke up. "Emmy – don't embarrass Edward tonight. Save it for another time."

"No promises," I threw over my shoulder as I crossed the room, exiting through the glass door into the backyard.

I saw Esme the second I stepped outside. I intended to make a bee line towards her, but I stopped short at the sight of the decorations. Esme had threaded flowers and other floral beauties throughout the entire wedding venue, making it a sight to behold.

"Esme, this is gorgeous!" I called to her, needing her to know how stunning she was making the area.

"Thank you, Emmy." Esme grinned softly at me.

I approached her and gave her a quick hug. She happily gave into the contact. "Is there anything at all I can help with? Alice kicked me out and wouldn't let me help get Bella ready, and I don't know what else I can do to help?" I rushed my words, almost ashamed to admit that no one wanted my help.

"You can help me!" Emmett's voice boomed from behind me. I didn't even know he was out here. "I could use some help hauling these logs over here from the woods. Especially after Jasper ditched me." Emmett pouted like a child.

I laughed, happy to be of use.

"Actually, I've got a better job for her." Esme told Emmett. Then she turned to me. "Would you mind picking up our cousins from the airport? Everyone else is busy and I'm sure they'd be thrilled at the idea of meeting you early."

I perked up at the opportunity. "Really?"

Esme smiled warmly. "Really. I'll call ahead to let them know that you're picking them up instead of one of us."

A wide grin took over my face. I thanked Esme and waved bye to Emmett and then bounced happily over to the garage. Knowing that the Denali coven had five members, I headed straight for the white 2005 Buick Terraza. It definitely wasn't the most expensive car we owned, but it did its purpose of transporting a larger number of passengers when the occasion calls for it.

The drive was just under three and a half hours at average speed, and I relished in the peace and quiet the time gave me. The Denali's weren't landing until 2:00pm, and it was only 10:00am, so I had time.

I made it to the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport by 1:30 and decided to circle the pickup until I saw a coven of vampires waiting around. I didn't think they'd be too hard to miss. Eventually I did spot the Denali's, but noticed there were four of them, not five. I parked the car next to them and hopped out of the car to help them with their luggage.

Before I could say a word in greeting, I was accosted by Tanya, the leader of the coven. "You must be Clementine! Esme told me to identify you by this curious white strand of hair you have."

I laughed nervously. "Yep, that is, um, one way you can recognize me,"

I tried not to jerk away as Tanya's sister, who I assumed to be Kate, draped herself around my shoulders and stroked my 'curious' strand of hair.

"Alright, Kate, leave the poor girl alone." The only male of the group, Eleazer, suggested, trying to hide a smirk himself.

I maneuvered myself out from underneath Kate and shrugged, trying to feign indifference. "Nah, its fine," I looked around at the group once again, now taking in Carmen, who was tucked into Eleazar's side. "Where's Irina?"

"She went hunting." Tanya breezed past me and grabbed her suitcase. "Now. Are we going or not?"

"We're going." I unlocked the trunk and courteously helped them load their luggage.

The car ride was rather uninteresting, compared to the strangeness of the encounter we had at the airport. I drove us all the three hours and twenty minutes it took us to make it back to the Cullen residence while the foreign coven conversed quietly amongst themselves. I pretended not to hear what they were saying.

My interest was piqued, however, when my name was mentioned.

"– I can't say I'm surprised that Irina rather go hunting than endure a ride with Clementine," Eleazar was saying.

Tanya, "Me neither. I can't blame her for hating mutts. Especially after what happened with Laurent."

"The poor girl, this must be so hard for her, she's still grieving." Carmen's tender, motherly tone reminded me of Esme.

"She needs to do this though. Edward – and everyone else – are still our cousins. Even if they consort with wolves," Kate was saying.

I vaguely recognized the name Laurent. After a moment of thought I remembered. He was the French nomad the pack and I had killed when the Cullen's left for that brief period of time. Even though Bella hadn't known me then, Carlisle with Alice at his back had convinced me to stay with the pack to watch over and protect Bella for Edward without his knowledge. I didn't regret killing him, even with the new understanding that his death had wounded Irina Denali, and, by extension, her coven.

I tuned the Denali's out for the rest of the ride, however. Even though I didn't regret it, I didn't necessarily like hearing about the pain mine and the pack's actions had caused.

Once we reached home, I shut the car off and jumped out. Out of politeness I still helped the Denali's unload their luggage and bring it inside, and then led them to the door, where the Cullen's met us. I left the commotion of the greetings and went to my room.

Not long after I had settled into my bed, Edward entered the room without knocking.

I opened my mouth to complain to him, but he cut me off. "Will you stop with the moping, Clementine? It's getting on my nerves!"

I blinked at him. "Excuse me? Am I not entitled to having emotions just like everyone else?" I had to fight not to glare at him.

He sighed. "You're right. I'm sorry. What's wrong?"

I stayed silent. I was sure he already knew anyway.

"Hey, it's not your fault, you know. Everything you do will have an effect on people, you can't change that. The only thing you can control is your actions. Even then, you are always going to affect someone no matter what you do. You did the right thing with Laurent, it just happened to hurt Irina in the process. Don't stress about it; if you hadn't done what you did Bella would have been killed, which would have affected me and our family."

Edward smiled gently at me, succeeding in making me feel better.

"You're right," I said slowly. "Maybe I'll consider not telling any stories at toasts,"

Edward huffed a sigh again but couldn't keep the happy grin off of his face.

Abruptly standing up, Edward patted my shoulder awkwardly and without another word left the room. I lay back on my bed and willed the wedding ceremony to come faster.

.

The wedding ceremony was beautiful, as expected. All of Bella's friends from high school and their families showed up, as well as what I was guessing was maybe all of her family, even on her stepdad's side. Of course, she invited a few from the pack as well. And then Edward invited all his vampire friends and 'family', obviously including the Denali's.

Because of the number of people, the toasts were long. A lot of people cried, a lot of people laughed – especially when I got behind the microphone and told a story about Edward. I kept it funny but made sure I didn't embarrass him too much. He didn't seem too mad when I ran into him afterwards.

Now I stood on the side as I watched guests having a blast on the dance floor. Alice and Jasper were by far the best dancers of the group as they showed off all the skills they have learned over the past, who knows how many decades they've spent together.

I was of half a mind to shout "Showoffs!" at them but got the impression it wouldn't be very appreciated as a lot of people seemed to be enjoying the display.

Instead, I made my way over the food a drink tables where I found Seth, one of the newer members of the pack, gorging on a ridiculous amount of alcohol.

"Hey, Clementine!" He shouted at me over the noise once he saw me.

I greeted him back and made a disgusted face at his drink of choice. "How could you drink that?"

"Because it can't get me drunk! That's why I'm allowed!" He responded, not at all bothered by my judgmental comment.

Seth was only fourteen, but because he's a werewolf he couldn't get drunk. Albeit, neither could I, but I still refused to drink. It tastes horrible and I hate the burn in my throat when I swallow it.

"You want some? You might actually like it?" Seth offered me his cup eagerly with a bright smile.

"No, thanks, though. I've tried it before; I don't like it."

"Oh. Well, that's okay. Care to dance with me?" Seth gestured over to the dance floor.

Before I could respond yes to his question, Carlisle spoke from behind me, "Emmy, Irina's ready to meet you, if you would care to follow me."

I looked back to the younger boy who propositioned me. "Sorry, Seth, but looks like I can't right now. In a few minutes, 'kay?"

He looked mildly disappointed but still understanding as he brightened at the opportunity to dance once I came back. He gave me two thumbs up and I turned to follow Carlisle, who was waiting for me patiently.

He led me through the crowd to the most gorgeous blonde I had ever seen. And that was saying something considering I knew Rosalie. Her blonde her was curly and fell a few inches below her shoulders. Her golden eyes complimented her hair in such a way that I was mesmerized by them. By her. I waited for her eyes to meet mine, sure that I was about to imprint.

I continued walking towards her with Carlisle, forcing myself to tear my eyes away from hers. I instead scanned her facial features, noticing that although she didn't look particularly happy or welcoming, she did appear to be trying to be open about the situation.

Once I was in front of her, I held my hand out and tried my best to look reassuring and welcoming. She raised her hand to take mine, but the second she looked into my eyes her hand froze, as did the rest of her.

I froze as well, enamored by the feeling of the imprint washing through me. The world seemed to be slipping from beneath my feet, and it felt like gravity was removed completely. I saw flashes of scenes between me and her. As I came down from this high, I felt gravity being replaced, but instead of to the ground I felt like gravity was pulling me to her.

I looked up at her to gauge her reaction. I knew she could feel it too.

Irina's eyes were widened, and she was breathing heavily, though I knew she didn't need to breath at all. I hoped these were good signs.

Irina stumbled back and started jerking her head from side to side. "No. Get her away from me, I don't want her!"

I gasped as I felt an immediate pain in my chest. But then she looked directly at me. "I don't want you."

I felt it the second my world shattered to pieces. I could vaguely feel myself falling to my knees and heard voices calling my name, but I became numb to it all. Darkness floated around the edges of my vision. Still, all I could focus on was the pain ripping through me, desolation clawing at me and dragging me under. I desperately searched for an escape from this. I found relief as I closed my eyes and allowed the darkness to engulf me.

A/N: I am so sorry this chapter is quite literally months late. To be honest my life went to shit for a while and I lost all motivation to write. But I'm back! And this chapter is a thousand more words than I intended it to be, so... hope you enjoyed!