17. Stupid Myth Was Supposed To Be Rare

Jacob POV

The legends had said it was rare but now that word seemed to be taken out of the dictionary for us.

Quil was the newest of the packs to imprint; the event having occurred only yesterday. It was a routine Saturday and with the red-head not having been seen in three weeks, Seth had been out on patrol while Quil and Embry had been walking around town.

Quil had been unable to leave so the information came from Embry having witnessed the whole thing.

After leaving Quil, Embry came directly to us. We could see the look of wonder as Quil stood, not held by gravity any longer but by her. A freak accident really as Emily rolled the stroller with her two year old cousin Claire inside, her mom, Emily's aunt beside them.

Quil had seen everything: Claire as a fetus inside her mother's womb, Claire as a baby, a toddler and as a grown adult. Everything I had seen with Bella's daughter whose name I did not yet know.

Emily recognized the look immediately. She looked like she wanted to panic for what had just happened to the infant, to sold him but with her mother still beside them and unaware of what was going on, Emily put on a brave face and made the introductions. After saying hello to Claire's mother, Quil lowered himself to Claire. She smiled at him and reached out as if somehow knowing he was hers.

I could hear Seth's and Embry's thoughts but couldn't focus. This was so unnatural.

'Hey what's unnatural about it,' Seth asked, 'You imprinted on a fetus.'

The kid had a point and while the legends had told of wolves imprinting on children as young as Claire, that had seemed to be the most absurd of the tales but at least I could find justification with my imprint, an imprint who wasn't completely human so there had to be some kind of magic that our ancestors wouldn't have known about.

Quil on the other hand, regardless of what our legends told, had become the first in the current packs to imprint on a human child.

'Can you imagine how Sam will react,' said Embry.

Out in the distance we could hear his howl followed by the others. Of the distinct howls Sam and Paul seemed to be the most pissed.

'Guess that answers that,' said Seth.

'He seems more pissed than when you told them about Bella's baby,' said Embry him having been the one with me at the time.

Embry was right. Sam's response to my imprint seemed more tame than this which felt weird.

'Quil's imprint changes everything.' I began pushing myself deeper into the woods.

'Where's you going,' Seth asked.

'To talk to Sam.'

My feet pounded on the earth. I continued to hear the howls. Sam and Jared both knew what it was like to imprint so their complaints seemed irrational. But it was different wasn't it? They had imprinted on girls roughly their own age so they were quick and easy to judge me and Quil who had imprinted on infants.

I came to a halt when I reached one of the boundary points, a point so deeply seeded in the woods that people rarely ventured into this area.

Leah was the first to arrive followed by Paul and Jared having heard me coming. Jared growled at me but it was Paul's calm demeanor that baffled me.

'What are you doing here, Jacob,' Sam said to me as he came into view.

'Figured we needed to talk about Quil.' Sam huffed, 'Yeah figured you'd be pissed about that but we have to deal with this. There's only so much I can do on my end. I can't order him to stay away from her. You know that more than anyone and you know imprinting often trumps Alpha's orders. Quil has a loyalty to me but he also has a loyalty to Claire now.'

'What do you want from me Jacob?'

The wolves behind Sam were whining.

'They want to phase,' Sam said to me, 'They want to be included in the conversation. Quil's imprint affects all of us, just like yours'.

'Agreed. Your boys aren't going to beat me up when we're human are they?'

Leah growled at me. Sam turned to her and growled back enough to order her to lower herself to the ground.

'We're here to be civil,' said Sam.

No longer under Sam's order, Leah pranced off into the woods to give us some privacy but more importantly to give herself some privacy as well. I'm sure like my boys and me Sam and his pack had gotten more than their fair share of seeing Leah without any clothes on.

Once we'd all changed, Leah returned wearing cut off shorts and a tank top. Unlike us it was unnatural for a girl to walk around without a shirt.

"Jacob," Sam nodded to me.

I nodded back. I hadn't seen him and Leah since the night of Seth and Leah's transformation. And it had been even longer since seeing Paul and Jared, at least in human form.

Sam was often a hard man to read. Even on the rare occasions when he did smile it was difficult to tell what he was thinking. This time however he was calm and the look on his face showed off something close to friendly.

What was going on with this pack? First Paul's calm look and now Sam's. I knew these guys to be harsh, critical and often times negative but now they weren't.

"We're glad you came Jacob," said Sam. "We were going to come to you."

"Really?" I asked skeptically. "Because it sounded to us like you were ready to lunge at someone's throat."

"Maybe at first," said Paul.

"You and Quil imprinting on babies," said Jared, "It's not normal."

"None of this is normal," Leah said with disdain. "We didn't ask for any of this crap."

"Nonetheless," Sam said bringing the attention back to him and to me. "We're willing to concede our part in this feud. We may not like or understand it but the fact is you and Quil have both imprinted on beings younger than yourselves and the fact remains no one is to kill the object of a brother's imprint regardless of who or what they are."

"So you're willing to let us come home? You're willing to let Quil see Claire whenever he wants without your interference?"

"We are however if Bella's newborn shows to prove a threat we will neutralize it. The child still has vampire blood or venom in its veins."

"You kill her you kill me, you realize that don't you?"

"It's a choice we have to make Jacob. One wolf does not outweigh the rest of the tribe."

I nodded. I knew Sam was right.

"Fair enough." I reached out my hand, "Thank you, Sam."

Sam nodded and shook my hand back, "I hope for all our sakes this baby of yours is worth it."

I smiled, "She's worth it, you'll see." I retreated back to the level of being my own Alpha. "There's also the other vampire to worry about. The boundaries should still remain while hunting just so there's no misunderstandings."

"Agreed," Sam replied.

"Sam," Jared asked.

"Go. We're done here and the red-head won't be getting through any time soon."

Leah gave me a look and then phased and ran off into the woods.

Jared and Paul made whooping sounds but was only Jared who ran off. Sam left too but what surprised me was that Paul stayed with me.

As our treaty had been ratified for the umpteenth time I was now free to walk in human form on Sam's lands. We weren't too far from Billy's and that was where I was headed.

After a half mile I couldn't take it.

"Okay did Sam order you to follow me?" I asked him.

"Nope."

"Then why are you following?"

Paul smirked and remained silent.

We finally made it to the house. The last time I'd been here was months ago.

"Seriously Paul, go home!" I said getting annoyed as I shoved him.

"That was unnecessary," said a voice in front of us.

I looked up to see my older sister Rachel. She had been home a week, having graduated from Washington State but I hadn't had a chance to see her.

"Believe me it was necessary," I replied.

"Hey little brother," Rachel said as she hugged me.

"Who you calling little," I teased now that I towered over her.

"I've been home a week and not even a hello," said Rachel.

"I've been busy."

"With Bella and the baby?"

I was shocked that she knew about that but I swept it aside.

"I also don't live here anymore."

"I know."

"So dad told you all of this?"

With Rachel home I had been more than ready to distance myself given that many of us kept our wolf heritage a secret but now she was making it difficult.

"Dad didn't tell me anything and I understand why. Paul told me."

I turned to Paul who had a puppy dog look in his eyes. I watched him watch Rachel. Suddenly everything was clicking into place. Why Paul hadn't fought back when I shoved him, why he'd been calm in the woods and why Sam's agreement and ratification of the treaty had been too easy.

I had been so in control over my own tremors and most days it was easy thanks to Bella and the baby but this brought on a new sense of rage I hadn't been prepared for.

I took a step back from them.

"Rachel!" I yelled. "You imprinted on Rachel!"

Paul was now standing near Rachel, his arms around her.

"I couldn't help it, you know that. After all you're the one who imprinted on the baby leech."

When Paul called her that there had been no malice in the woods. It was more in the tone of calling a little person 'kid' or 'sweetie'.

I hated this new version of Paul. Where now I felt like fighting him he couldn't even be counted on to do that. And of course I wouldn't have known. I had been around when Jared imprinted and had been there after Sam imprinted but I was completely in the dark when it came to Paul as our minds were no longer linked.

Paul certainly wasn't my new concern. By gaining him as a future brother-in-law some day and Sam easily coming to an agreement over Quil, what did that mean for the packs? For Bella and the twins? For me?

"So are you guys engaged or-," I said unsure of how to ask.

"It's too early for that," said Rachel.

"We're just dating for now," Paul added. "We're going to see how things go and then take it from there."

"And dad, where's he? How does he feel about all this?"

"He's over at the Clearwaters," said Rachel, "He's not exactly thrilled."

"Yeah well you find the one people rarely are," I said directing those words straight to Paul considering all the grief he's given me over Bella's daughter. "When did this even happen?"

Rachel lokoed at Paul and then back at me. "Two days after I got home."

"I was taking a run on the beach and-,"

"Instant connection yeah I get it," I said more than annoyed and also over the fact that they were completing each other's sentences.

What irritated me more was that it was my sister and that it had to be Paul of all people. Seth or Embry then sure maybe but Paul?

"Look tell dad I dropped by 'kay?"

"Jacob, stay," said Rachel, "We have plenty of food. We can just hang out. I haven't seen you since the last time I was home."

"I'm sure you've known where I've been this whole time," I replied, "You could have come by Charlie's. You were on friendly terms with him once."

"I could say the same about you little brother."

Did she really just shoot my words back at me?

"Dad's place may be neutral ground but I haven't been allowed, not technically. You might want to ask your boyfriend why. I'm sure he'd be more than willing to tell you."

"Hey," Paul snapped, matching my frustration. "Things are different now Jacob."

I looked down at their entwined hands. "Yeah I can see that."

"Look we don't hold any animosity toward you, your pack or Bella. This thing between us is over. We can be family again."

More than anything I wanted to lunge at Paul or at the very least break his nose. So what, just because Paul now saw the light it gave Bella and the rest of us a free pass?

I may have agreed to a new treaty with Sam and his pack but at the moment Paul's overt happiness was making me wish I hadn't.

"I'll see you guys around," I said as I turned my back on my sister and former pack brother, took a jogging start and phased in the air landing easily on four legs. Now that Rachel was in on the secret there was no sense in hiding the wolf.