Wolves of the Pacific

by greenpeach20

In 1902, Renesmee Cullen grew tired of the tedious life of moving around with her family and decided to make the journey west as a mail order bride. Yet a chance encounter with a reddish brown wolf would change her life forever.

19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

It was closer to midday and everyone that was outside working was snuggled under their knitted blankets and their heavy fur coats in an effort to stay warm. The night before had been awfully cold and Renesmee had desperately missed having Jacob's warmth. These days, because it was cold, Jacob would always stay with Renesmee at least until she fell asleep. But last night he'd been altogether absent. As it turns out, they did indeed have plenty of furs left over so William thought it best to go to the Makka tribe where his daughters resided and see if they had anything they'd be willing to trade in return for the furs. Jacob and William had left earlier yesterday and were due to arrive back either today or tomorrow. The closer it got to midday, the more Renesmee feared they might more likely return tomorrow. But her fears were allayed when she saw William and Jacob walk into the village from the woods with two very large bags, from what she could smell, of deer meat. The smell was concentrated the way the salmon jerky was, so she was left to assume it was deer in a jerky form as well. Jacob smiled right at Renesmee when he saw that she'd noticed him, but before he could go to her, he had to give the jerky to his mother. Once the sack was on the ground beside her, people swarmed around Sara to get their share of the jerky trade. He made sure to grab his own share before coming to Renesmee. She was the only one that lingered at her spot after the jerky was put down.

"I see you're not interested in the deer," Jacob teased.

"I prefer their blood if I'm honest." They laughed and Jacob sat down beside her, taking a bite from one piece of meat. "Is that supposed to last the winter?"

"Not necessarily. It's just another food option to have."

"Do you not make your own deer jerky? You make your own salmon jerky."

"We do, but we didn't get as many deer this year. They gravitated more towards the Makka tribe for some reason, so they had more than they knew what to do with. My sister Rebecca batted her eyelashes to her husband a few times and was able to convince him to give us plenty of jerky."

"Is her husband the chief?"

"He is now," Jacob answered. "Evidently his father died during that cold front."

"Oh, that's terrible. Why didn't they send someone to inform us? We could've all gone to the funeral."

"No, that's inappropriate. We're allies by marriage, but the death of a Chief especially is a very personal thing. Being as we're not members of their tribe, us being at the funeral would've been…" Jacob thought long and hard a moment. "Intrusive," he finally said. "That's the word I'm looking for. Now if anything happens to one of my sisters or my nephews, then we'd go to that funeral, because they're blood related to us and what links our tribes together."

"Oh," Renesmee sighed. "I see. So you said you have nephews?"

"I have six," Jacob answered. "Rebecca and her husband, Quitahka, have four and Rachael and Paul have two. Rebecca only has boys at present. Rachael has two sons and a daughter."

"Rachael's husband's name is Paul?"

"Yes," Jacob grumbled. "Yet another pale faced name."

"Well, it's a biblical name, so certainly nothing to be ashamed of."

"Who was he? Paul I mean?"

"He was an apostle to Jesus."

"What's an apostle again?"

"It means he was one of the twelve men that assisted Jesus in his ministry and in spreading the truth and will of God." Jacob harrumphed.

"Hardly a latter to heaven or a fight with an angel. Paul didn't marry his lover's sister while intoxicated or father the Viceroy of Egypt did he?"

"No," Renesmee giggled.

"So there," Jacob said.

"By the way, Jacob did not marry Leah while intoxicated. He married Leah thinking she was Rebecca and he got intoxicated during the wedding night and consummated the marriage. He didn't find out it was Leah until the next morning."

"How'd he mistake Leah for Rebecca in the first place?"

"Their father promised Jacob Rebecca's hand in marriage if he worked for him for seven years, but after the seven years were up, he tricked Jacob into marrying Leah instead because she was older and it was unsuitable for the younger sister to marry before the younger sister. After being tricked into marrying Leah, Jacob worked for their father an additional seven years to earn Rebecca's hand in marriage."

"What an asshole," Jacob said. Renesmee laughed again.

"But no, I will acknowledge that Paul led a slightly less eventful life, though I would argue serving the son of God is something exciting in one's life." Jacob shrugged and finished off his piece of jerky. "So do they know about me?"

"Quitahka, Rebecca, Paul and Rachael know."

"What did they say?"

"Quitahka and Paul just looked at me weird and Rebecca and Rachael told me to be wary."

"I feel so loved," Renesmee joked.

"Rachael and Rebecca remember the day Leah and Seth came running to our village just as vividly as I do. I understand why they're concerned, but I explained you're different."

"They think I'm going to kill you?"

"Again, I told them you're different. I explained that I'd imprinted on you."

"Do they understand what that means?"

"My sisters do more than their husbands, but they understand."

"Why didn't we invite them to the wedding?" Jacob took a deep breath before answering.

"It's too soon for everyone in that tribe to see you. If we'd invited my sisters and their husbands, we would have to invite the whole tribe. I trust my sisters and I know they'll keep their husband's quiet, but I don't trust the rest of the tribe. For all I know, one of them might say something if they knew you were here in exchange for something. It's too soon."

"I understand keeping me secreted away when the Meat Vendor comes, but with your allies?"

"We're allies through marriage only," Jacob said rather passively.

"Do they at least treat your sisters well?" Renesmee asked.

"They treat my sisters better than we hoped. I'll admit Quitahka and Paul are good husbands to my sisters. It was awkward for them to start and at first my sisters weren't happy with the arrangement. But as time went on, my sisters grew to love them."

"That's good to hear," Renesmee said. Jacob smiled at Renesmee and stood up, holding out his hand to her. Renesmee took his hand and allowed him to pull her to her feet. "I missed you," Renesmee said.

"I missed you too." Jacob's smile broadened as he led her with him to their tent. When they were inside, Jacob immediately closed their leather door and went right back to her. "I missed you so much in fact," he began, pulling at the strings of her dress until her dress fell, making Renesmee giggle, "that I was hoping we could have some intimate private time."

Renesmee continued to smile while she pushed the light coat Jacob wore off his shoulders and wrapping her arms around his neck and licked her lips. Jacob brought his hands to Renesmee's butt and kissed her lovingly as he pressed her hips firmly against his own. Renesmee licked Jacob's lip and delved her tongue in when he opened his mouth for her. Their breaths mingled as they kissed and each shift of the head or moment of parting had Renesmee releasing a breathy moan. Jacob squeezed her flesh once more before trailing up to her breasts, giving them similar attention, tenderly squeezing and releasing. He took his lips away and bent his head down so that he could take a nipple into his mouth while both his hands rubbed and squeezed each breast. Renesmee took her arms from Jacob's neck and began running her fingers through his hair as he tasted her.

After giving both her breasts equal attention, Jacob began to kneel, kissing his way from her breasts down her midriff and to her hips and thighs. It tickled and made Renesmee smile and sigh. He licked her skin and rubbed his hands all over her body while Renesmee's hands remained in Jacob's short hair. Eventually, Jacob pulled Renesmee down to him onto his lap having her straddle him. Now in his lap, Renesmee reached down between them and rubbed Jacob's erection while they kissed again. She inevitably reached her hand into his pants so that she could touch him with nothing between them. He was hard to the touch and groaned when Renesmee touched his erection. Moments of kissing and touching later, Jacob couldn't bear to be separate from her anymore. So he gently pushed Renesmee off his lap and onto her back, allowing him to remove the last of his clothes so that he was bear as she was. After his pants were removed, Jacob came down to Renesmee and covered her body with his own. Renesmee opened her legs to him and allowed Jacob to enter her.

Jacob took a hold of Renesmee's hands, lacing his fingers through hers, as he began to thrust tenderly at first. Occasionally, Jacob would strengthen his movement to make Renesmee moan a little louder for him only to slow again to a tender pace. Jacob let go of Renesmee's hands and sat up a little so he could bring Renesmee's legs up and rest her calves on his shoulders. One hand was placed on her thigh while the other rested on the ground so he had control enough to continue thrusting. The new angle left Renesmee breathing heavily while her hands grasped onto whatever part of Jacob she could reach. In this case, it was the hand on her leg and the forearm that kept him propped up. He would go slow for only a moment before he would speed up and cause her to whimper from pleasure. Because Jacob could see it had Renesmee spiraling towards her climax, Jacob kept her in that position and kept thrusting until the whimpering became what could only be called a quiet scream. He felt her walls crush him and he had to stop a moment so he could fully appreciate the feeling. Having reached her climax, Jacob returned to his thrusting to bring himself to his own. Renesmee continued to moan from the feel of Jacob's movements after she'd freshly reached her release, prolonging the exquisite feeling that much longer.

Soon enough, Jacob rolled onto his back pulling Renesmee with him so that she was sitting on top of him. Once on top, Renesmee started moving her hips as he'd showed her to do so many times. With her now in control, Jacob rested his hands on Renesmee's thighs squeezing them as he closed his eyes and enjoyed the feel of her warm and tight around his erection. Renesmee stayed upright until Jacob eventually pulled her down onto his chest so he could hug her while her hips continued to bounce up and down on his. She brought her hands up above Jacob's head for greater support while she moved and it permitted Jacob to hold her that much tighter as his climax approached. He asked Renesmee to move faster, and once she did he simply couldn't think of anything but her as he grumbled and groaned. He grabbed her butt for just a moment before immediately returning his arms back around her. And when he reached his own release, the hug tightened while he nearly growled. He held onto her all the way through his climax until he eventually came down from his high. Once he'd regained his composure, Jacob rolled over so he was on top and started kissing Renesmee tenderly.

"I love you," he said.

"I love you too," Renesmee said back and they shared another kiss.

Outside, some noticed Renesmee and Jacob run off to their tent and there was a moment of snickering. Though it was short lived since there was still the pressing issue of everyone grabbing their share of jerky. William grabbed the share he and Sara would have and helped her back to her feet, holding her own contribution to their winter jerky horde. William kissed Sara's head before they started walking to their own tent with their share.

"Some of that's for your brother right?" Sara asked when she realized Sokajili was not among the people grabbing for food.

"I wasn't planning to give him any."

"You should, Kayechiwetchwe. It wouldn't be fair for him not to get anything."

"He should've come and grabbed his own." Sara managed to giggle and started making her way to Sokajili's tent rather than their own. "What are you doing?"

"Bringing your brother some food since you did not see fit to," Sara teased as she continued to Sokajili's tent. Once there, Sara kneeled down and held the jerky close so she wouldn't drop it and patted on Sokajili's door before opening it once she realized it was unlocked. The man was keeping his horde of medicine well mixed next to the fire when she walked in and handed Sokajili his share. "Kayechiwetchwe and Jacob brought back some dried deer meat."

"Excellent,"Sokajili accepted the jerky. "Thank you for bringing me some."

"You're welcome. Your brother thought to not give you any, but I brought what I was holding."

"Selfish," Sokajili mumbled and chuckled to himself. "You would think the boy would learn to respect his elders."

"As always, I apologize for my husband's lack of consideration."

"You're a good woman, Sara," Sokajili took a quick bite of a piece of jerky. "That man simply doesn't deserve someone so loving."

"He won my heart all the same," Sara played along and left the tent to return to William's side.

"I don't deserve you, he says," William grumbled.

"Oh, you know he's kidding. And even if he weren't, I love you all the same."

"Sure, sure," William said with a smile creeping on his lips.

"Don't you 'sure, sure' me, Kayechiwetchwe," Sara said, though she still went onto her toes and gave him a firm kiss. "You and Jacob, both of you are simply insolent."

"How am I insolent?"

"You refuse to give your own brother jerky? How is that not insolent?"

"He's a grown man; he can get his own food. He has two feet with which to walk to the group and a voice with which to claim his share does he not?" Sara took a deep breath and just rolled her eyes.

"Simply insolent," she said again. She began walking back to the group while William took their jerky to their tent, but only after stealing one more kiss from Sara.

"Remember," he joked before walking away, "you knew I was like this when you married me."

"Indeed," she replied back and the two laughed once more before parting.

Once everyone had their jerky and secreted them in their respective tents, everyone went back to what they'd been doing before. Since Renesmee was no longer present, Caevia took over her share of the laundry and joined the women in teasing banter. Thought the teasing banter ceased when one woman, more at Sara than anyone, voiced a concern.

"Has Renesmee mentioned anything about a child? Surely with the way those two have been, there must be a child on the way."

"She's not said anything to me," Sara answered, then looked at Caevia. "Has she said anything to you?"

"No, she hasn't. I don't think she's pregnant just yet. They've only been married a month. I'm sure she'll be pregnant soon if she isn't already."

"I hope so," Sara said. "I never get to see my daughters' children. It would be nice to have grandchildren I get to see every day."

"Oh, the sorrow of it all," one woman said. "I don't know how you stand having your daughters and grandchildren so far away."

"I have to," Sara answered sadly. "It meant we finally stopped our fight with the Makka tribe. And besides, Kayechiwetchwe assures me the girls are happy. I suppose that's all I can ask for."

"Don't be so sorrowful, Sara. That girl will give you a grandchild soon. I just know it."

Sara smiled and thanked the older woman for her words. They all continued to work while the children played as always . Claire was at the water with Quil and Embry practicing her violin all by herself. She'd gotten very good at two songs Renesmee had taught her and she was very proud of herself for it, insisting she be allowed to play those songs for Quil as often as her fingers would allow. Seth was closer towards the front of the village having a snowball fight with some of the other children. Yet while they played, Seth looked in the direct of four men on horses approaching the village.

Jacob and Renesmee cuddled together atop their covers. Renesmee rested her head against Jacob's chest, kissing him tenderly periodically while his fingers spun around her curls in his fingers. The two of them were still recovering from their lovemaking. Renesmee had already started to doze off and Jacob was content to join her when a pounding came on their door from Seth.

"Jacob! Four men on horseback are approaching! Three of them look like soldiers!" Jacob was suddenly wide awake and so was Renesmee. Jacob crawled to the door while Renesmee worked to cover herself up before Jacob opened the leather door.

"What?!" Jacob said when he opened the leather door.

"Four men are approaching," Seth repeated. "I think they're looking for Renesmee."

"Well they won't find her," Jacob answered back. "If you can see them, they're too close. I'll get them distracted somehow. When I do, I want you to take Renesmee out of the village and into a tree where they won't see her. Do you understand?"

"I understand," Seth answered.

"Good. Now get your sister and my father. I'll be out in a moment."

Jacob closed the door and went to his clothes, getting dressed back in his pants and light jacket while Renesmee reached for her dress and started doing the same. Once dressed, Jacob came to Renesmee and looked at her intensely.

"Renesmee," he started, "they're too close for me to move you now. Just wait here until Seth comes to get you and he'll get you hidden in the trees. I'll come get you when it's alright to come out, okay?"

"Okay," she answered. Jacob didn't leave right away. He ended up looking at her a moment with something strange in his eyes. She realized it was fear. "I'll wait here for Seth." Renesmee brought her hand to Jacob's face to comfort him. "Do what you did last time. Pretend you don't recognize me, deny I'm here and they'll go away eventually."

"Okay," Jacob finally said.

"Good. Now get out there and distract them. Seth and I will run for the trees when we can." Jacob took a deep breath and nodded.

"Okay," he said again.

"I love you, Jacob. Don't let them find me."

"I love you too." Jacob gave Renesmee a kiss before finally walking away and stepping out of his tent. Any fear he held was pushed down and he presented himself the way he always did whenever the Meat Monger was in their village: he grimaced, stood tall, and looked stern. That usually was enough to keep the Meat Monger in line with a healthy fear.

Jacob noticed Leah and William were already towards the front of the village speaking with the four men that arrived. When he saw them, Jacob instantly recognized the single man that was not a soldier in the group and his nostrils flared. Jacob looked around for Caevia, knowing the man would probably recognize her in an instant. He did not see Caevia, however, to his relief. She'd noticed the men approaching, recognized Peter, and had made a mad dash for the tent she and Embry shared so she would also be out of sight. Confident Caevia wasn't visible, Jacob finally walked over to the group. He overheard Leah already speaking for William, asking what they want.

"We've heard some rather interesting things," the man up front began to answer after Leah asked their reason for being there. "Before we go any further, I'm Sgt. Brandon D. Lovejoy. This is Pvt. Mitchell," Sgt. Lovejoy pointed, "this is Pvt. Harrison, and this is Mr. Peter Wallis. Mr. Wallis's wife was abducted from their home in Olympia last year and we're trying to locate her."

"She was taken from Olympia and you're looking here?" Leah answered back with a condescending tone. It was yet another response Sgt. Lovejoy was all too tired of hearing.

"I assume that you're Miss Leah Jagger are you not?" Sgt. Lovejoy asked. "We've heard quite a lot about you."

"I'm sure you have."

"It's nice to meet you," Mitchell said suddenly. "I never realized my Uncle had married and had children."

"I beg your pardon?" Leah asked.

"When my mother came here from Germany, she was with her brother Hugo. Her maiden name was Jagger. She lost touch with him after she married, but she always wondered about him." Leah didn't say anything.

"This isn't the time for a family reunion, Mitchell. We have more pressing matters." Sgt. Lovejoy finally looked at Jacob. "And who might this be?"

"This is Jacob," Leah answered on Jacob's behalf, assuming they were continuing a façade that he didn't speak English. Though considering they apparently knew a few things about her, it was likely they already knew he spoke English.

"Jacob," Sgt. Lovejoy started. "I've heard quite an earful about you too. And please, let's not play around with you claiming not to understand me. Mitch explained that your English was, well, downright fluent."

"What else did the Meat Monger tell you?" Jacob asked, deciding it was just as well to talk to Sgt. Lovejoy himself.

"Well, let's see," Sgt. Lovejoy began. Jacob suspected he was trying to be intimidating. "Firstly, Mitch advised us that, until recently, you didn't speak a lick of English and evidently had no desire to learn. Yet here you are, speaking with me like you've known English your whole life. Or that's the way Mitch made it sound."

"I learned from Leah," Jacob answered. "As to why I decided to learn English, Leah convinced me of its usefulness."

"Leah did?" Sgt. Lovejoy asked.

"Leah and Seth I should say," Jacob answered.

"How old did Mitch say Leah and Seth were when she shot her father?" Sgt. Lovejoy asked Harrison.

"12 and 6 I think was the number he gave."

"I as 11," Leah corrected.

"Indeed, he did say 11," Sgt. Lovejoy answered. "Goodness, that would make you," Sgt. Lovejoy thought a moment, "20, would it be?"

"Please get to the point," Jacob ordered. "It certainly wasn't to guess Leah's age."

"I'm actually trying to guess your age," Sgt. Lovejoy said.

"What relevance does my age bare?" Jacob asked. He noticed Sgt. Lovejoy raise an eyebrow, but he said nothing outside of the topic of Jacob's age.

"I'm mostly curious. After hearing all these things about you, I asked the simple question of your age and no one was completely sure. The most I got was a recollection on the part of the Innkeeper's wife that she recalled hearing rumors that the Chief of the Quileutes had finally had a son. She remembered that back from late fall of 1884. Some swear they hadn't heard of you until spring of 85. Either way, I was told the Mayor at the time had said, and I quote, 'Aw shit'." Jacob huffed a small laugh before Sgt. Lovejoy continued. "That puts you at either 18 or 19. Certainly a very young man."

"I was born in late fall," Jacob answered. "So I'm nineteen."

"Again, very young," Sgt. Lovejoy said. "You certainly don't look like a boy."

"I'm no boy regardless," Jacob answered. "Now get to your point Lovejoy. You said you were here looking for a woman abducted."

"Yes, I did," Sgt. Lovejoy continued. "But I was also reviewing everything I've been told about you."

"And what relevance does any of that have?"

"Plenty," Sgt. Lovejoy answered. "In truth, if Leah and Seth came here at about 11 and 6, I would think their English a little poor after years of not using it."

"My English is just fine," Leah said.

"I imagine since you were evidently the sole translator for so long, but what about your brother? How is his English?"

"Good enough to teach me how to tell you to get to your God damn point!" Jacob yelled, earning yet another raised eyebrow from Lovejoy.

"Fine, I'll get straight to the point then. I've heard rather distressing reports about this reservation and what was seen here."

"Reservation?" Jacob asked pointedly, extremely offended.

"Yes, it's a plot of land Indians in the area are permitted to use, but that's not what's important-"

"Land that we're 'permitted' to use?" Jacob raised his voice.

"Yes, permitted means-"

"I know what reservation means and I know what permitted means," Jacob answered hostilely. "This is no reservation and we don't need 'permission' from 'the good people of Forks' to do jack shit." This time, rather than raise an eyebrow, Sgt. Lovejoy laughed.

"You certainly know how to swear in English," he finally said. "That was actually another thing I wanted to bring up to you, speaking of the good people of Forks. The Mayor gave me something he'd like you to sign." Jacob was about to say no, and rather colorfully, but then he realized it was an opportunity to get them somewhere where they couldn't see Renesmee be moved.

"Something he'd like us to sign, you say?" Jacob answered. "Well, why don't we discuss this in my father's tent? But before we go, you're to put down your guns."

"Pardon," Sgt. Lovejoy laughed. Jacob scrunched his nose in irritation for a moment, but remained civil.

"Your guns are to remain here. Whatever you wish to do here, you will do it unarmed. If you refuse, you'll be turned away now."

"Very well," Sgt. Lovejoy answered. Mitchell and Harrison looked at Sgt. Lovejoy nervously, but he affirmed for them that they were to drop their weapons and leave them with the horses. Jacob watched Lovejoy carefully. He agreed to that far too readily. He seemed unarmed once his visible guns were rested in the bag on the horse, but Jacob would still keep a very close eye on him. "There you have it. We are unarmed. Might we have our discussion in your father's tent?"

"Certainly," Jacob answered. He translated what they were doing to his father and proceeded to walk to William's tent.

"I will not'sign'anything," William said.

"I know and neither will I. But it's a chance to get my wife out of my tent." Jacob made sure not to use Renesmee's name. He knew they couldn't understand him, but they would hear her name if he said it.

"You're right," William said. "What is it they want us to agree to?"

"I don't know, they didn't say. Regardless, we aren't agreeing to anything."

"Might we be in on the conversation, Jacob?" Sgt. Lovejoy asked.

"I'm just explaining what we're doing is all. No need to worry Lovejoy."

"Sgt. Lovejoy, if you please." Jacob said nothing. He wasn't agreeing to a damn thing and he meant it. Once Jacob had Sgt. Lovejoy and his men inside William's tent, Seth made a mad dash for Jacob's tent and patted on the leather door.

"Renesmee, they're out of sight."

"Did they leave?"

"No, Jacob brought them to William's tent." Before coming out, Renesmee grabbed all the books wrapped in a blanket. "What're you bringing those for?"

"They'll look suspicious," Renesmee answered.

"Oh, yeah," Seth said, then they rushed to the trees. With the books tied to her back, Renesmee climbed the tree and made sure she was hidden behind a thick collection of branches thick with evergreen leaves. Seth came up behind her and stayed close.

Inside William's tent, Jacob, Leah and William sat to one side of his fire pit while Sgt. Lovejoy and his men sat across from them. Sgt. Lovejoy reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a single piece of paper. Lovejoy handed it and a pencil to Jacob with a smile.

"There you are. You can just write an X at the bottom." Jacob huffed another laugh and looked at the paper. What he saw was less than agreeable. He took a moment to read it. "Is there a problem?"

"'The Quileutes will heretofore relinquish all lands into the full possession of the Washington government upon the signing of this document. They shall be permitted to keep a small piece of land 10 square miles in diameter of their choosing but shall abide by Washington laws, taxes and all other legal matters.'" Jacob looked up at Sgt. Lovejoy and was pleased to see that he and his men as well as Peter looked rather stunned. It made Jacob smirk. "Yes, Lovejoy, I'd say there's a real big fucking problem."

"I didn't realize you could read."

"You should've asked." Jacob tore the paper into several pieces and tossed it into the fire pit to burn later.

"What was that regarding?"

"They wanted us to relinquish our lands in their entirety to them."

"Good boy," William answered, patting Jacob on the back.

"You have our answer on that matter, Lovejoy."

"Oh dear," he sighed. "I was certainly not lied to when they expressed you were difficult."

"I'm a regular pain in the ass," Jacob answered. Sgt. Lovejoy laughed again.

"Damn it, you're something else," he said. "Well, since that was a big flop, I guess we should proceed with searching your grounds."

"And why, pray tell, would I allow you to do that?"

"As I'd stated previously, we're searching for this man's wife." Sgt. Lovejoy directed Jacob's attention to Peter and he eventually just gave the man a cocky, mean spirited smirk. William swatted Jacob's arm when he saw the look.

"Don't give him that face. Don't challenge a man that should be in the dark."

"What's the matter?" Sgt. Lovejoy asked.

"William's just telling Jacob not to be rude," Leah stepped in.

"Indeed," Sgt. Lovejoy replied. Then he took out the picture of Renesmee. "We're looking for this woman. Would you happen to have seen her?"

"I didn't recognize her a month ago. Why would I recognize her now?" Jacob snapped back.

"You see, Jacob," Sgt. Lovejoy said, returning the picture to his coat pocket, "The problem lies in the fact that I don't believe you. I still expect you to allow me to look around the tribe. I need to confirm for myself that Mrs. Wallis is indeed not here."

"You expect?" Jacob answered. "You're in no position to expect anything Lovejoy."

"On the contrary, Jacob, I'm most certainly in a position to expect a look around. You see, aside from the issue of your sudden fluency of the English language, there are a few other things that strike me as extremely suspicious. Most notably, the very tan woman that Mitch and Robert saw here on their last visit. They informed me this woman was not here before and, quite coincidentally, Mrs. Wallis's slave was a very tan Indian woman from far south. While you're very red, you're not that red. So one among you that is that red and so suddenly is quite out of the ordinary."

"And as I told the Meat Monger, we obtained the tan woman through a trade."

"What is the woman's name?" Sgt. Lovejoy asked rather harshly.

"What does it matter to you?" Jacob asked. He was trying to think of a way out of answering Sgt. Lovejoy, but nothing was coming to mind.

"It matters a great deal. It'll tell me if you're lying to me."

"I'm not lying to you," Jacob said. "I'm telling you she was given to us. That's all you need to know."

"I see you're intent on dodging my question," Sgt. Lovejoy sighed. "Listen Jacob, the sooner you allow me and my men to search the grounds, the sooner we'll determine if Mrs. Wallis is here or not. And if you really have nothing to hide, then surely us searching around shouldn't be an issue."

"The issue isn't whether or not we have something to hide. The issue is that you've just waltzed into my village cock sure with head up your ass assuming you had the run of the place and you were entitled to a search. Well, you're not Lovejoy."

"I must say, I'm shocked with how well your English is. I was joking about calling you 'fluent' but now I'm not so sure. You're telling me you learned to speak English this well from two people that speak English but once a year at best?"

"Seth and Leah are good teachers," Jacob insisted.

"Apparently. Did they also teach a little girl here to play the violin?"

"She figured it out herself," Jacob said as calmly as possible. "She's a little genius. What can I say?"

"A genius, eh," Sgt. Lovejoy answered skeptically. "Anyway, Jacob, you've insisted we come onto your grounds unarmed and we've done just that. Neither of us have a single weapon on our person. So since we currently pose no imminent threat to you people, I say you should allow us to search the grounds." Figuring he'd stalled for long enough, Jacob took a deep breath pretending to look thoughtful. Then he translated a little to his father, telling him he'd have them search the grounds and he'd ensured with Seth that they wouldn't find anything.

"Alright," Jacob finally said. "If you absolutely insist."

"I do," Sgt. Lovejoy answered and stood from his spot. Everyone followed and stood up as well. "Let us proceed. Might I search your tent first?" Though keeping calm, Leah looked up at Jacob nervous what he would do. She knew he'd already made arrangements with Seth, but for all they knew, she might still be in his tent. Hell, she might be planning to expose herself so she could be taken back home.

"If that's where you wish to start," Jacob agreed.

Sgt. Lovejoy stepped out of the tent first and everyone followed after him. Once Jacob was outside, Sgt. Lovejoy looked at Jacob with a rather cocky smirk.

"If you would lead the way, please," Sgt. Lovejoy gestured for Jacob to walk ahead of him. Jacob smiled back a condescending smile and walked ahead of Sgt. Lovejoy, leading him to his tent. Once in front of his tent, Jacob opened the leather door and was relieved when Renesmee wasn't there. He stepped aside and gestured for Sgt. Lovejoy to take a look.

"Be my guest, Lovejoy," Jacob answered back. Keeping the same smile Sgt. Lovejoy had been wearing, he stepped closer to the tent and took a look inside. He saw a knitted blanket, the fire pit, and two hollowed out wolves' heads, one dark grey, and the other white. Lovejoy stepped inside and searched on his hands and knees, squinting to see. Jacob noticed the books were gone and, inwardly, he breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn't even thought of that. He was just glad Renesmee had. Sgt. Lovejoy searched around, moving things aside, but came up with nothing. When he stepped out of the tent, he looked up at Jacob, irritated with the boy's smirk. "Find anything, Lovejoy?"

"Not in your tent. But then, we have several more to search." Recalling the hollowed out wolves heads, decided to ask about them. "I was under the impression that your people worship wolves and did not kill them."

"We are descended from wolves, and no we do not kill them."

"Then why do you have two wolves' heads in your tent? Surely you killed them to obtain them."

"Those are the skins of the first of our tribe. They were shed off them when the Trickster Q'waeti' granted their wish to make them human. These days, when a chief or future chief marries, he and his bride wear the headdresses on their wedding day."

"Adorable," Sgt. Lovejoy said. "Are you married or getting married then?"

"I'll be marrying a woman from an allied tribe," Jacob lied. Leah lifted a brow, but said nothing.

"Congratulations," Sgt. Lovejoy smiled. "What would her name be?"

"I don't know," Jacob continued to lie. "I haven't met her yet. She's a daughter to an allied tribe's chief. That's all I know."

"And which allied tribe will have the honor of bestowing their daughter onto you?" Sgt. Lovejoy asked sarcastically.

"The Hou," Jacob pulled out of thin air. This time, Leah was extremely surprised. They weren't warring with the Hou but they certainly weren't on 'marrying terms' with them.

"What's the matter?" William asked Leah.

"That man asked about the wolves' heads in Jacob's tent. He told them they're for weddings and he has them because he'll be marrying a daughter of the Hou."

"The Hou? I'd sooner marry Jacob off to a fish!" Jacob chuckled.

"What's so funny?" Sgt. Lovejoy asked.

"Father's just upset. Quite frankly, who I marry and when is hardly any of your business. He feels you're being extremely rude and intrusive."

"Either way, I'm keen to ask. Would your father happen to know your bride's name?"

"Perhaps," Jacob lied. "Why do you care?"

"Like I said, I don't believe you. Sometimes, the best way to catch anyone in a lie is to ask questions."

"I suppose that's true. I'll ask my father." Jacob looked at William. "Who do we know from the Hou tribe that you might think worthy of marrying?"

"None of them, frankly."

"Well, we have to tell him something. He's trying to catch me in a lie."

"He has," William sighed.

"He doesn't know that." Jacob waited while his father rubbed his face and thought a moment.

"Chaechiwei?" William said. He couldn't for the life of him even remember who that was. He wanted to say the Chief's wife, but frankly, he couldn't remember and didn't care to. It wasn't as if Sgt. Lovejoy would know anyway.

"Thank you father," Jacob looked back at Sgt. Lovejoy. "He said her name is Chaechiwei. Pretty name, wouldn't you say?"

"Lovely," Sgt. Lovejoy answered, exasperated. He knew this boy was lying, he could feel it. But he seemed to have an answer for everything, though some of those answers always came after a lengthy conversation in his native language. It convinced him all the more the boy was lying. "When is the wedding?"

"Summer last I heard," Jacob jumped to the first answer that came to mind. "You'll forgive me for saying you're not invited to the wedding. I do hope you're not offended."

"Why, no," Sgt. Lovejoy answered. "Let us proceed then, shall we?" This time, Sgt. Lovejoy wandered around aimlessly, checking each and every tent. Eventually, he made it to Sokajili's tent. He was in the middle of treated a little boy that had accidentally stepped on a bone and pieced his foot.

"Who are these people?" Sokajili asked after Sgt. Lovejoy opened his tent without warning.

"They're looking for my wife. Remember, you don't know anything." Jacob answered.

"Who might this be?" Sgt. Lovejoy asked.

"He's my Uncle and our medicine man, Sokajili."

"Your medicine man, you say." Sgt. Lovejoy stepped into the tent and proceeded to look around.

"Don't touch those!" Sokajili grabbed Sgt. Lovejoy's hand when he started touching his small containers of medicinal herbs. "Those are hard to come by this time of year. I have little to spare for nonsense."

"What did he say?" Sgt. Lovejoy asked after forcing his hand from Sokajili's.

"He's telling you not to touch the medicine," Jacob answered. Sgt. Lovejoy retracted his hand and looked around from the entrance. He was intrigued when he saw a prod, a bottle of whiskey, and some gauze.

"I see you implement proper modern medicine as well?"

"Excuse me?"

"The prod, the gauze and the whiskey: in my experience, that's usually for a bullet wound."

"If a bullet wound comes up, that's what we use, yes."

"And where did you obtain this whiskey?"

"We stole it from the Meat Monger," Jacob lied.

"I never realized Mitch brought alcohol with him on his trips here," Sgt. Lovejoy said skeptically.

"That time he did. As for the prod, we found that."

"Did you find the gauze too?"

"Again, we stole them off the Meat Monger."

"Mhm," Sgt. Lovejoy responded, and then continued to look around. Then Sgt. Lovejoy looked at the young boy being treated for a cut on his foot and smiled. Children were terrible liars he knew. So he pulled out the picture of Renesmee and showed it to the little boy. "Young man, do you recognize this young woman?" The boy looked at the picture, then at Jacob, and then at Sokajili.

"It's alright, young man. Just tell me if you've seen this woman."

"He can't understand you," Jacob said.

"A picture translates to any language, Jacob." Rather than ask again, Sgt. Lovejoy pointed at his eyes, then pointed at the picture. The boy looked at it long and hard. He remembered Caevia had told his mother they were to claim not to recognize her and his mother had instructed him of such. He wasn't sure what the man was asking exactly, but he figured a head shake would be enough. So he shook his head. "Hm," Sgt. Lovejoy mumbled, putting the picture back in his pocket.

"As I said," Jacob began, "we didn't recognize the woman a month ago and we don't recognize her now."

"Perhaps," Sgt. Lovejoy said. "I've been meaning to ask, Jacob, who taught you how to read?" Sgt. Lovejoy asked rather suddenly.

"The same people who taught me how to speak English: Leah and Seth."

"Where is Seth, by the way?" Sgt. Lovejoy asked. "If we've seen him, you've yet to introduce him to me."

"He's probably off playing somewhere with some of the other children. I haven't seen him either."

"Ah," he replied. Taking the pencil and Renesmee's picture out of his pocket, Sgt. Lovejoy started writing a few things down.

"What are you doing?" Jacob asked, extremely annoyed.

"Just think of it as a little quiz." Sgt. Lovejoy continued to write until he was satisfied. From the way Jacob spoke thus far, he was rather confident Jacob would know this word. If Leah didn't, he'd have an argument. It was a word Jacob had thus far used that he imagined a little….advanced for Leah's knowledge. "Do me a favor and read these words, Miss Jagger." Sgt. Lovejoy handed the photo to Leah. The word she saw she wasn't completely sure of. Her reading level was extremely basic. "Well, Miss Jagger?"

"In…intrus…." she started, but was having trouble. Jacob said nothing. "Intrusive," she finally said after she sounded it out.

"Well, that took some time." Sgt. Lovejoy took back the piece of paper and wrote down another word, then handed the picture to Jacob. It wasn't a word Jacob had used, but he was rather confident the man knew it. "Read that word for me, would you, Jacob?" Jacob looked at the word and knew it instantly:

Ironmongery. He remembered the word from when he and Renesmee read A Christmas Carol. "You use a similar word quite frequently."

"I'm not playing this game with you, Lovejoy," Jacob said. He turned the picture around and looked at it. It was faded in hues of brown and it simply didn't do Renesmee justice.

"She's a beauty," Sgt. Lovejoy said before taking the picture. "I can understand getting distracted."

"Can we continue looking for her please?!" Peter finally barked at St. Lovejoy. "We're here to look for my wife, not to engage Indians in a reading test."

"You're right, of course," Sgt. Lovejoy said, then looked at Jacob noticing the briefest little grimace at the mentioning of Peter's status as husband. Interesting, he thought. "We shall continue, then."

Sgt. Lovejoy proceeded, looking through all the tents and still finding nothing. However, when they approached Embry's tent, Jacob took a deep breath and did his best to remain calm, ready to fire off a reasonable explanation and claim, as he'd been doing, that Caevia was brought to them as a gift. Again, he wished he'd thought to have Seth hide Caevia too. Jacob quickly told William and Leah to stay calm and pretend there was nothing strange or alarming about them finding Caevia. Finally, Sgt. Lovejoy forced open the tent and saw the back of a woman that didn't look at him.

"Miss," Sgt. Lovejoy said when the woman didn't turn around.

"What?" Caevia asked in Quileute, hoping they wouldn't think a thing of her.

"Miss, look this way." Caevia said nothing and did not do as instructed. "Jacob, tell her to look this way."

"Tell them to get out of my tent. Can't a pregnant woman be left alone to relax?" Caevia said to Jacob, still refusing to look in their direction.

"You'll forgive her, Lovejoy, but she's pregnant and wishes to be left alone. She's a little crabby today." Sgt. Lovejoy looked at Jacob, then smirked a little.

"She's pregnant you say?" Sgt. Lovejoy turned back towards the woman and reached in the grab her. Jacob grabbed a hold of Sgt. Lovejoy's shoulder and forced him back, but alas, he was still able to pull Caevia out so she was visible.

"Caevia!" Peter yelled when he saw her.

"I see you have Mrs. Wallis's slave here with you." Back in the trees, Renesmee watched and shook.

"Oh God, no," Renesmee uttered.

"Don't worry, Renesmee. Jacob will think of something. Just stay here and keep calm." Back in the clearing, Caevia stood up and placed her hands over her belly out of instinct.

"It's good to see your wife's slave is safe," Sgt. Lovejoy said. "Now where's your mistress?" he asked.

"I don't know," Caevia answered after a moment of silence.

"You don't know?" Sgt. Lovejoy replied.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Peter jumped in. "You were both taken. Sure you remember where you last saw her at least!"

"I don't know…" she continued. "Bandits took us," Caevia started scrambling for a lie. "They discarded me here but they kept Renesmee. I don't know where they've taken her. I only know they favor the mountains."

"Caevia, I've had soldiers searching those mountains since you were abducted and we've not found so much as a trace of bandits. Now I will only ask kindly one more time. Where is your mistress?"

"I told you I don't know," Caevia said more forcefully. "I can't tell you where she is if I don't know." Back at the water, Embry came to attention when he realized Sgt. Lovejoy was at his tent talking with Caevia. He began to slowly approach, keeping his movements slow and unthreatening but ready to run the moment he was needed.

"You're lying to me, Caevia," Sgt. Lovejoy said. Then he reached behind him and pulled out his pistol that he'd kept hidden under his coat held by his belt. There was a moment of panic and Caevia took a step back, then instantly froze. So did Embry for a moment. "Answer my question truthfully." Caevia was quiet a moment. Embry used that moment to continue creeping towards them, hoping to sneak up on them.

"It doesn't matter where she is," Caevia finally said. "She's never coming home."

"So is she dead?"

"She is to you," she snapped back. Then she looked at Peter while Embry continued to inch closer. "It doesn't matter where she is or where you look for her. You'll never find her. She doesn't want to be found."

"Stop being cryptic and give me a straight answer." Sgt. Lovejoy pulled back the clip of his pistol. "Where is your mistress?" Upon hearing that clip, Embry started running towards them.

"She's where she belongs."

"That's not the answer I was looking for." A loud bang erupted and a small cloud of smoke emitted from the gun. There were two screams that followed: one from Caevia who fell to her knees grasping her stomach and one from Embry, who suffered a shot to his shoulder after running in front of the gun fire. Back in the tree, Renesmee screamed, but was muffled by Seth's hand.

"Shh," Seth said. "If you scream they'll find us."

Caevia continued to hyperventilate for a moment until she realized she suffered no injury and her baby was alright. Yet as soon as she felt relief, she screamed again when she finally realized Embry was shot.

"Embry!" she screamed again and leaped to his side. "Embry!" Embry breathed heavily, trying to sit up, but the pain in his right shoulder made it difficult. Sgt. Lovejoy was rather stunned by the scene. So much so that Jacob was able to take the pistol from his hand.

"I told you to come into my village unarmed or not at all." Using both hands, Jacob forced the gun in half. All in Sgt. Lovejoy's group took a frightened step back, though Sgt. Lovejoy made sure he was quick to recover.

"Yes, well," he began, "I can't very well come into this village unarmed when I don't trust any of you."

"You used your pistol on a pregnant woman," Jacob said. "A PREGNANT WOMAN!" Jacob threw both pieces of the gun to both sides. William took a step back and continued to allow Jacob to handle this. He was rather pleased with his performance thus far as it was.

"In matters of questioning, sometimes serious-" Lovejoy was silenced when Jacob forcefully grabbed a hold of his throat, making it impossible for him to speak.

"You are to leave right now and you are not to come back. If you come back, mark my words I'll skin you and put you on display at the entrance as a reminder to all your kind not to fuck with me!" Jacob threw Sgt. Lovejoy onto the ground and Lovejoy started backing away and he hurried to get to his feet.

"This isn't over, Indian. I've seen all the proof I need that there's something you're hiding from me, from all of us."

"It is over, Lovejoy." Jacob reached to William's belt and pulled out his stone dagger. As Jacob approached them, they all continued to back away. "Or perhaps you'd rather I skin you now? I can send back your companions heads while I'm at it."

"We're leaving, we're leaving," Sgt. Lovejoy finally answered. He was sure Mrs. Wallis's was there, but he couldn't handle this group of Indians with two men and a foolish husband to his name. He needed reinforcements. "I assure you, this is that last you've seen of us."

"You're damn right it is," Jacob said. "Now get out!"

To emphasis his demand, Jacob began chasing them but allowed them to out run him to their horses. Each of them got onto their horses and rode away without any parting words. When they were finally gone, Jacob went right back to Embry and kneeled beside him. Caevia was still crying over him even as he desperately tried to tell her he was fine and he was already beginning to feel better and that his wound would heal as soon as the bullet was taken out. Renesmee leaped out of the tree, leaving Seth to climb down on his own, dropped the blanket of books behind her and made it to Embry.

"Give me the knife," Renesmee told Jacob when she was at Embry's side. Jacob handed Renesmee the knife and she extracted the bullet. Embry growled under his breath while she did, but once the bullet was out, as Embry promised would happen, his wound very nearly healed instantly. "There, he'll be alright. Caevia, are you alright." Caevia was stiff. She was still in a panic and she placed her hands back over her belly.

"I almost lost our baby," Caevia said as her tears continued. Now alright to sit up, Embry took a hold of Caevia and started to comfort her.

"The baby's alright, Caevia. I'm alright. Everything's alright." Despite his words of comfort, Caevia continued to sob and she fell into Embry's arms. For several hours, Caevia was simply inconsolable. And when Renesmee looked at Caevia, she felt ashamed that she'd stayed in that tree. She realized her fear of being caught was greater than her fear for Caevia's safety and she felt ashamed of herself. The shame became far greater when it dawned on her that Sgt. Lovejoy wouldn't stop or leave them alone until he saw Renesmee there dead or alive. Jacob took Renesmee back to their tent and tried comforting her as well.

"It's alright, they're not coming back."

"Yes they are," she sobbed. "They're coming back, Jacob. They won't stop until they find me."

"They won't find you. I won't let them. And if they come back, I'll make good on my promise and I'll skin them as a warning."

"They'll come with reinforcements."

"I don't care," Jacob said. "It won't matter if they bring an army. If they want you, they'll have to go through me." Jacob brought Renesmee to his chest and hugged her tight. "They won't take you away. I won't let them."

Renesmee said nothing. She only shivered and hugged Jacob tight. She wanted to believe him. She wanted to believe that when Sgt. Lovejoy came back, Jacob would be able to stand up to him and keep her and everyone safe from Sgt. Lovejoy's wrath. She wanted so desperately to believe that. Yet she knew there was only so much even the pack could do. She trebled and started to cry. Jacob kept Renesmee close and kissed her. He said he wouldn't let them take them from her. He'd sworn that to himself and swore that to her. They wouldn't take Renesmee from him. He wouldn't let them and he didn't care who died at his hands to ensure it. They would take Renesmee away from him over his dead body.