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Chapter 207
Back to the Beginning
Edward
"Dad!" whispered Jake suddenly not far from us on the dance floor, but I had already been on my way.
However, I briskly went to Leah while I quoted Carlisle to Jake, as I was closer to my daughter than to Jake.
I did not know what had happened. I hadn't been listening to Leah and Marcus, just following my children's heartbeats. As usual when they were around. But now the twins' hearts had stopped beating. Only for a moment, but it was a longer interruption, as if it came to a halt only because of unexpected events.
When I got to Leah, she fell into my arms as she appeared to be about to turn around.
I wondered anyway why she was still standing upright.
She looked at me with widened eyes.
"Little one! You have to breathe!", I said urgently. Her heart was already beating again, as was Jake's, but she wasn't breathing. Panic overtook me. "LEAH!", I screamed at her.
She paid no attention to me.
"Edward? What about them?" asked Bella, startled.
She stood between the twins, looking anxiously back and forth between the two of them.
"Leah, what happened?", I tried to ask my daughter. She seemed to look around confused until she saw Jake.
Carlisle just set him down on the ground.
It was not his pain that he felt. So far, at least, I could follow his thoughts again.
"Leah! Breathe!", I said again. It took three seconds, three seconds of me listening intently to her beginning and silent thoughts, for Leah to take a deep breath and immediately begin to cough.
I still held her, but she wanted to tear herself away from me. So I held her a little tighter, but my daughter pushed me back with all her might. I landed right in front of Jake.
"Hi ...", he greeted me on the floor.
He almost smiled.
My children were strange creatures as far as their health conditions were concerned.
"So ... how are you doing?", I inquired, sounding casual. His heart was beating strong as ever. Just like Leah's. I could hear it already. Still a little unrhythmic for both of them, as if they were catching up on missed beats, but nothing that would worry me under normal circumstances.
"I'm fine," he said.
I nodded, got up and ran after my daughter.
This was not a normal circumstance.
In the anteroom, I paused.
The burly bouncers observed the situation outside in the rain for me. That was very fine with me.
Since I was following Leah's vitals and thoughts since she had thoughts again, I didn't need to further invade her privacy and observe her directly. I wasn't sure what to make of it. After all, my daughter had just realized that she was in love. With Marcus. All along. Even during Nanuk. And she wasn't going to let her love go without working it out. I recapitulated the last few weeks between Leah, Marcus, and Nanuk. Leah's struggle against her imprinting, the one afternoon with Nanuk, his tragic death, Leah's darkness and how she came around. The many moments Leah and Marcus had shared together since then. Not dramatic or even erotic incidents, but simply sitting together. Talking. Swimming. Laughing together. Chasing each other around a gym. Little moments that might not be crucial to a love affair, but to which both of them attached a greater importance than I had previously been aware of. Then they had been aware of themselves so far. They had both finished with their relationship to each other, knew that it was too late for it, but still sought these meetings unconsciously. Because they could not completely let go of each other. Because they were everything for each other.
"Bella," I stopped my angel who was looking for me and almost ran past me.
I was standing on the side in front of an old movie poster so as not to stand idiotically in the middle of the room.
"What about Leah? How is she doing? ... What are you doing here?" she asked excitedly.
"All is well, my heart," was all I said, and I pulled her to me.
I walked back into the great hall with her as I continued to listen in on Leah's thoughts.
It was not proper, but I was too curious. I also had no certainty about how the conversation between Leah and Marcus would end.
We sat down at our tables.
Everyone had of course overheard the little incident of the twins, but incoherently, and asked about it.
Jake had been taken to the courtyard by Carlisle and Esmé, where Becky of course went with him, while Leah and Marcus disappeared one after the other.
"Jake just had a little circulatory crash, but he's fine now. And Marcus had to leave so quickly because he was supposed to pick up one of his sisters and missed the time," I reassured Becky's parents.
With that, the two were reassured, but of course not everyone else.
"Twins!", I muttered to myself after a while.
Shaking my head in amusement, which of course did not escape Bella's notice.
She was still a little nervous because I only said that Leah's health was excellent, but didn't say anything more specific. Because I didn't know how to put into words what was happening out there in the rain.
"If you want to know how Leah is doing, you need to look at Jake!", I nodded over to the two of them.
They were standing in the corridor leading to the courtyard.
While outside on my Audi the two just kissed wildly and demandingly, Jake pressed his star passionately against the wall.
I immediately withdrew from Leah's thoughts.
That was no longer any of my business.
Henry and Eliza then drove home.
It was already approaching one o'clock in the morning.
They thanked her for the invitation, requested her now-engaged daughter to show up at home when she had a chance, discussed with Granny why she wanted to stay.
Not only did she not want to leave yet, she wanted to spend the night with Billy.
It was an exhilarating discussion, as mother and son had switched roles, with Henry expressing harsher views toward his mother than he did with his actual daughter. He lost the debate.
With no uninitiated witnesses, Jake was now asked more specifically what would have happened earlier.
You could not see this little slip on his face the whole time.
Sonya actually wanted to go home soon, but the resulting topic, which was discussed with all present, interested her.
Leah, Marcus, and her imprint. Everyone was giving theories and opinions, hoping for the happiness of the two, speculating if they had a real chance. Bella's view appealed to me the most. Not only did I personally like her best, but we all found it quite coherent. Even Billy eventually agreed with her that she might be right. Only Jake was dissatisfied with it. It spoke against the assumption that had come to Akai and him after Akai imprinted on the girl he was already dating.
Charlie had listened to our exchange of views in silence for the most part.
The word wolves had come up, but he couldn't do anything with it and thought it was a synonym for something else. When he heard the word 'imprint', he thought mainly of leather. He associated the word with the tanning of leather. He lacked the precise details to have his own view. He listened very carefully, but was somehow also grateful that he did not know so much.
It was getting late, it was almost two o'clock, so we all ventured out for one last dance and then headed home.
I took Esmé with me so Ciara could ride with Carlisle and Billy. She would walk home through the forest with my siblings.
"Someone was in a big hurry," Jake chuckled as we walked through our front door.
Wet clothing items laid a trail up the stairs.
Well, I was a vampire with very well-developed senses. I heard exactly what was happening in Leah's room right now. More precisely than I would have liked! I could perhaps already lay my gift on my siblings three houses further, but not my normal hearing.
So I gathered up every piece of clothing with extreme care and concentration so as not to have to hear what was going on in the back nursery. They were soaked with rain.
Nicely one after the other, as if I were Hansel following the breadcrumbs. The last yards to Leah's room door, however, I sprinted vampirically fast.
Bella had whizzed past me chuckling, as far as you could call it that, while I sorted the sleeves of a black shirt.
I assumed that she was on her way to the bathroom. A mistake!
"You're not going in there now!", I determined as I then stood between my wife and Leah's door.
"Why not!" she snapped.
I saved myself the answer.
My wife was tipsy from the champagne and chuckled predominantly in the meantime. I unceremoniously threw her over my shoulder, which Bella merely commented with further chuckles.
I wished Jake and Becky a good night as they disappeared into his room, and entered our bedroom.
"And what are you guys doing? Right next to my baby?" I said incredulously to Rose and Emmett, who were sitting in the big armchair in Ced's corner.
On top of each other. In our bedroom! With Em's shirt buttons open and Rosalie's skirt pushed up. Nice babysitters!
"They were making out!" my wife chuckled.
"He's asleep!" whispered Rose, coaxingly. Subliminally haughty, too.
Yes, my baby had a very good sleep. I knew that from my own experience. After all, I had already spent many a night not far from him with Bella in a love frenzy. But Rose and Emmett were usually quite ... animalistic in their lovemaking. As close as they were sitting - currently still sitting - to his cradle, there was a good chance that they would wake him up.
"Those two are contagious!" pointed Em in the direction of Leah's room.
"Out!" I said, and the two of them disappeared so quickly that only a breath of air could be felt.
I just shook my head in amusement and pushed the bedroom door shut. I threw the soaked clothes I had collected into our bathtub.
A quick look in the cradle. Our son was asleep. I pushed the Kraken back into his hand a little, pulled the blanket right and stroked my baby's cheek.
"Daddy," he muttered.
"We're back, sweetheart," I whispered.
"Mommy's here too!" squealed Bella, trying to reach behind my back for the cradle, but I stopped her hand just in time before the cradle would resemble a roller coaster ride.
"Mmm ... mmm ...", Ced made unimpressed, squeezed his Kraken and went back to sleep.
My older son, on the other hand, was not yet thinking about sleeping.
Not that I didn't assume it anyway after the successful engagement. My twins shared their emotions when they were particularly strong and intense. There were countless examples of this by now. Today, two had been added again. First on the dance floor, where Jake had simply shared his sister's shock. Then a little later, when they wanted to indulge their passion in the rain, immediately, Jake too had been rather after privacy. So at the moment Jake was feeling not only his own desires, which were strong in themselves, but Leah's in turn as well. And I heard both of them. And what best distracted a vampire from listening in on such activities of his children?
Bella was still hanging over my shoulder, but now I dropped her on the bed swinging.
"So what are you and I going to do now, Mrs. Black?", I asked my chuckling angel.
"Make out, too!" she answered correctly.
I loved this state with Bella. Not too drunk to not know what she was doing or that she would have a hangover tomorrow, but still pretty buzzed. She always came up with quite amusing ideas in the process. With me.
So the Black family was busy for some time before everyone fell into a deep blissful sleep.
All except me, of course.
Well, I was blissfully pleased, only the sleeping developed a little difficult. I feasted on the six hearts that I heard evenly doing their work. At Bella's detailed monologue about red roses, which floated in the spotlight over the dance floor. Our children also tended to talk in their sleep, though it was limited to single words without context. Jake mumbled something about stars. Leah, seemingly distraught, remembered that she had left her cell phone at the 'Jezebel', but of course I had taken her purse. Even Ced apparently didn't want to break with this family tradition. He said 'ball' and 'cookies' so clearly that I assumed he had woken up.
But he was asleep.
"Daddy," he then mumbled again only around eight in the morning.
When waking up, whether at night or in the morning, he always asked for me first. He had already understood that I always heard him while Mommy was sleeping.
Carefully, I pushed Bella off me to stand up.
"Good morning, my darling!", I greeted my son and he immediately smiled against me.
First thing I did was change his diaper.
It would certainly be easy to wean him off the diaper. As of late, he immediately reported when he needed to be cleaned. This made me hopeful, since Bella had assigned me this task. I still didn't have a plan on how to do that one day. I guess I would have to ask David for advice on that. Ced was already thirsty, too. As usual.
Our bed was too high for him to climb up on his own, so I pulled him up onto the lying surface by his hands.
"But Mommy's still asleep," I commanded my son, and we both put a finger over our mouths - as a sign to be quiet.
He carefully laid down with her while I got the bottle from downstairs. When I came back, Mommy and Baby were cuddling together in a good mood.
"You're already awake?", I wondered. Not only awake, but also really lively. She had just cheekily stolen the Kraken from our baby.
"Good morning, Mr. Black," she smiled at me.
"Good morning, beautiful," I kissed my wife.
"Daddy!" my son interrupted me indignantly.
On the one hand I rewarded his mommy for the brazen theft, on the other hand I still had the bottle of blood in my hand. He hit me vehemently against the arm, but he had also already learned that he had so much power that he could hurt us with it. Though not me, but we would not explain that to him in more detail for the time being. In this respect, they were gentle, rather playful blows that I got.
"Thank you for our baby," I said, though, before turning to Ced.
Bella smiled adorably.
I had not forgotten to say it in due course a single day so far.
With his Kraken, which I had heroically reclaimed, he lay between us while he finished his bottle.
In the process, he showed us how last night had gone with the neighbor kids.
My siblings had tried their hand at spaghetti with tomato sauce for the kids. Had not been easy, apparently. It had also required thoroughly cleaning the area around the stove. After that, they had thrown their own little party. With music, streamers and balloons, snacks, and hide and seek had been played. It had obviously been very fun.
But then the three of us were already standing in the kitchen with soft music.
Bella needed her dose of coffee before she became unenjoyable.
Ced energetically helped stir together the dough for rolls, croissants, and pancakes.
Since it was Saturday, I could have just gone to the bakery, but when did I have two such nice baker's assistants at once? In addition, all three of us were in a very good mood that morning.
Ced balanced some things to the dining room table and, with Bella's help, climbed onto a chair to spread it all out.
We showed him in a demonstrative way what we had done yesterday. So I danced around the living room with my wife while Ced clapped enthusiastically.
"Marcus is waking up," I then noticed at some point.
"Marcus?" my son peeked confused.
He then stood on his feet and hurriedly walked towards the stairs.
Me after.
"Let's let him wake up properly first," I opined, lifting my baby up and throwing him over my shoulder in a half somersault.
Ced laughed, Bella covered her eyes.
She was always afraid when I did something acrobatic with our baby.
"You don't seriously think I would drop him!", I clarified.
She shook her head, chewing her lower lip in embarrassment.
I pressed a kiss on her lips to save them from such treatment.
"How is Marcus ... after tonight?" Bella then asked cautiously.
In my opinion, the question was justified. Things had been quite stormy between him and Leah. Today, he might have a different perspective on things.
Therefore, I listened to Marcus still very lazy thoughts after I put Ced down on the kitchen counter.
It generally took Marcus a long moment to realize that he was awake. He stared at the ceiling, which looked frighteningly familiar. He didn't know from where, though. Too early for such thoughts. He turned on his side, pulled the girl in his arms closer to him, placed a tender kiss on her shoulder, sighed comfortably and closed his eyes ... Then he recoiled and sat upright.
"Leah," he muttered to himself in shock.
He began to recap the previous evening, huddling more and more against the wall.
"He feels guilty and blames himself because he thinks he took advantage of Leah's situation," I explained his current state.
He felt shabby. By his openness - about his feelings - and his further words, he would have hit Leah's sore spot. Nanuk. He felt that the situation had escalated last night. That it had been entirely his fault. That he should have pulled himself together. Should have kept a clear head. But Leah made that so hard with him.
It had escalated, no doubt, but Leah had not wanted it any other way and had even provoked it.
"Leah is too spirited to let anyone take advantage of her. He should know that," Bella stated, rolling her eyes.
"It's quite early to draw logical conclusions," I excused him.
"Then maybe we should help him with that," Bella smiled.
I nodded in agreement.
"And what are you looking for in the laundry room?" she asked, confused.
"Marcus doesn't live here anymore. He has nothing to wear," I winked at her.
I looked for things of Jake's, but only found a pair of sweatpants, which I took upstairs.
"Are we making coffee for Marcus yet?" meanwhile, Bella asked our baby.
"Yes! Coffee!" commented Ced.
I peeked into Jake's room briefly on the way up, but they were both still asleep.
It had become quite late, so I was not surprised.
Quietly, I knocked on Leah's door.
I didn't get an answer because Marcus didn't want to see anyone. But I didn't do him that favor! He looked quite distressed, sitting at the far end of the bed and ruffling his hair guiltily.
Delayed, he raised his eyes to me.
"I'm sorry!" he muttered.
I shook my head indulgently.
"You have nothing to be sorry for, Marcus. Come downstairs, there's a cup of coffee waiting for you," I said quietly and put the sweatpants on the dresser next to the door.
He nodded gravely.
He was afraid. Of the mind-reading supernatural father!
I first went back downstairs, since Marcus would certainly still pass by in the bathroom.
I got the pastries out of the oven and Bella danced the Twist with our baby who was still on the kitchen counter.
The extremely good mood had not changed on this floor.
"Sometime soon I could probably teach you a few dance steps," I mused, joining in the dance. "Marcus is here," I remarked as he shuffled across the stairs.
Ced then wanted to get down from the kitchen counter.
"Marcusss ..." he immediately stormed towards him.
"Wow ... You've gotten pretty fast in the last few days," Marcus marveled at first.
"He's already starting to dance, too," I said.
Ced demonstrated his perfect dance posture. Facing each other and wiggling their arms and butt. He had to get that from Bella, not me!
Marcus smiled, but his fear prevailed.
Before he could say anything, however, the other breakfast guests arrived, which I had very much expected that morning.
The teddy Oscar ... accompanied by Emma, of course. Fortunately in rubber boots and rain jacket.
It had not stopped raining since yesterday noon and should continue according to the weather forecast until early evening. Ced greeted the two loudly and he immediately fetched his Kraken from the kitchen, so that this small young group was complete.
Bella peeled Emma out of her rain jacket, and I texted David not to look for either of them and made cocoa for both of them. The children very quickly became engrossed in a toy in front of the sofa.
Then we had time for Marcus, who was also right in front of me.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't be here. I ..." he began to apologize.
He would like to leave right now, but that would be even shabbier. He wanted to wait until Leah was awake, apologize to her, and then leave. For good.
"Sit down! Drink! Wake up! And listen!", Bella cut him off, pressed the cup into his hand and pointed imperiously at the chair at the head end.
That was my Bella! Marcus didn't know what to say about that either.
He sat down.
Intimidated. He expected Leah's mother to give him a rough telling-off, which would have been quite something. Perhaps even comparable to those of his own father. Only without the spanking involved. But this one would hurt more, because Bella would be absolutely right about that.
Bella got her own cup and sat on one side of Marcus, I on the other.
He was surrounded. A thought that made him gulp. He expected the worst. Almost.
Bella, however, first drank a pleasurable sip, which did not calm Marcus' thoughts one bit.
"Jasper once said that the bond between you and Leah is stronger than it should be between people," Bella now began quietly and gently.
Confused, Marcus lifted his gaze from the cup to her.
That was a completely different tone of voice than he had expected. In terms of content, too, he couldn't weigh up right now what she was wanting to say with it.
"We always assumed it was because of the way you learned all our secrets," I explained in response. "Because of the attack on you. The days that followed created the foundation of your relationship. An unshakable trust. Leah told you everything about us. You not only kept those secrets, but gave her your love despite those mysteries."
"But now we are convinced that it has another reason. Your love was so intense that it wanted to fight against the imprinting," Bella continued.
"But she lost the fight!" interjected Marcus.
"Drink!" replied Bella sternly.
I smiled; Marcus sipped his cup.
"You met Sam Uley ..." Marcus nodded. "... He didn't even manage to pick up that fight at all, even though he had been with his Leah for a very long time by then. They had already planned their future together, then the imprinting happened, and it was over."
"We could cite any number of examples of how Leah's affection for you was extraordinary. Or still is. Whether it's how she took on this fight. Or how long she persevered through it. She kept fighting after you left her. She felt guilty when she was really with Nanuk for a few hours. In the days of her coma, the first change, the first improvement, came when you sat by her side. And after that. Whenever you were there, she got better," I enumerated.
"But there's also a point that no one knows about. Not even Jake," Bella said conspiratorially.
"She would have been willing to leave her twin brother to follow you to your college. Whichever one it would have been," I added.
That was what my princess had asked me privately one afternoon. It had been on the second day of Christmas when Jake had picked Becky up in Boston. If Dartmouth wasn't a problem, could I take her to another university? Another one of the 'Ivy League.' Because those were the ones Marcus had applied to. She also cited him as the reason.
Marcus looked at us alternately in disbelief.
She had never mentioned this to him.
"She didn't tell anyone so no one could tell Jake. Because honestly, we don't know if it's okay to separate the twins. Their original plans at one point were for Leah to go to Berkeley and Jake to go to Princeton, but they decided that before they became Spirit Warriors. Before their connection as twins was as extensive as it has become."
"She wanted to ... go with me? Away from Jake?" he dug deeper again.
He could not grasp this, knowing very well the unbreakable and dependent bond of the twins. He had been with Jake when I had almost strangled Leah in the woods. Moreover, we had told him how Jake was physically carried away by Leah's grief for Nanuk.
"And something happened last night that Leah didn't expect," I now began to explain.
Marcus looked at me attentively.
Anxiously, because I possibly alluded to the rather hasty falling over each other. The moment when his mind no longer stood a chance against Leah. The moment he just hated himself for. Or had hated himself until just now. In the meantime he was actually only confused.
"You had agreed that you would only be friends now, and you both built on the fact that this would be forever. That there would be no way back. You were aware of this and agreed. Despite your continuing feelings, of which you were aware, but which you overrode with your mind ... Your decision to leave yesterday, however, had something very final about it by the tearing off of your bracelet. As final as death ... That's exactly how Leah took it. As soon as you left the room, the magnitude of it hit her heart. It was a shock that paralyzed her vital functions. At least for such a period of time that I was very concerned. Jake was pulled along again with her in the process. She had no control over this reaction of her body, but it showed her that if you left now like this, it would hurt her as much as the tragic death of Nanuk. Even though you were alive. You were just going to leave her. And that could have only one explanation for her ... She loves you and this feeling is pure and real. It is not despair after the incident with Nanuk. You're not a second choice or a stopgap, you were right for Leah from the beginning."
"Among humans, people talk about great love. You can argue about whether it exists or not," Bella said after a moment Marcus had spent in overstrained silence.
"We vampires can lose our hearts only once, and when it happens, it's forever. Among my kind it is called soulmates," I added.
Bella reached out a hand across the table to me and I put mine over it.
She was my soulmate. She had changed my life. Twenty years ago.
"We believe - and everyone who was there last night agrees - that this designation applies to Leah and you," I said softly.
"But how does Nanuk fit in?" doubted Marcus.
"It's just a theory," Bella commented. "I mean, not a single wolf knows how imprinting actually works. And there are, after all, significant differences between the various tribes. With the Pequawket, it's said that imprinting gives you an equal partner so that the lead wolf can carry the burden and responsibility of being chief. Someone who is equal to the alpha on a human level. One of the Quileute conjectures is that imprinting brings two people together that would create stronger and better wolves. This would have been expected in the case of Leah and Nanuk. They would have had two packs in them, and that both of them as leaders. Something that had never happened before."
"But Jake and Becky would also fit that theory. The wolf gene of the Quileute has three bloodlines ... Black, Ateara, and Uley. The twins carry within them those of the Blacks and Atearas, Becky those of the Atearas. In their children, the Ateara tribe is reunited through the mother and father and also receives the blood of the chiefs of the Blacks. This theory can also be applied to Sam and Emily. In their children, Ateara blood through Emily and the Uley lineage through Sam unite. The same is true for Paul and Rachel," I explained.
"Didn't Jake and Akai have a different guess for imprinting? They are both tied to those they have already been with. Or rather, Jake has had a crush on Becky for a long time. If so, the Pequawket theory would fit more," Marcus remembered what Jake had told him about the other day after Akai imprinted on his girlfriend.
"Yes, that doesn't fit. You're absolutely right about that. But we can neglect that, since we're talking about two different packs of Spirit Warriors here, each with their own rules for that power. With the Quileute, it would have been impossible for Akai to imprint on Phoebe after all. Either immediately after the first transformation or not at all. But he didn't do it until Nanuk's death made him the Alpha wolf."
"Also, the fact that only the alphas are imprinted in the Pequawket is already a significant difference from our wolves. Out of eight wolves at that time, four were imprinted," Bella added.
"But the imprinted ones are supposed to be the perfect counterpart!" said Marcus.
"That's what they say," I mused. "But maybe the talk of the perfect match is just a subjective side effect. That this bond only makes those involved believe that the other person would be perfect, but really isn't."
"Yes, exactly," Bella confirmed. "For example, Quil Ateara imprinted on Claire Young. Claire was only three years old at the time. What does that have to do with perfection if Quil would have had to wait another fifteen years for his love? Jacob also once told me that Claire could do just about anything without getting on Quil's nerves about it. It would have been downright ridiculous. And Amarok and Shanti also told me that they couldn't stand each other before the imprinting."
"Nanuk did fight the imprinting, though!" stated Marcus.
"Granted, that's what it looked like. But he may have only done it to defer to Leah's decision. Remember what Jake showed you about that connection. That it's not about him, it's about making the one he imprinted on happy at all times. In that respect, he does everything for Becky, but not primarily for himself. For example, if Becky wanted to leave Jake, he would abide by her wishes even if it almost destroyed him. So Nanuk might have taken Leah's fight for himself because that was what she wanted at any cost," I explained. "Jake was already in love with Becky before the imprinting, but that could very well just be a happy coincidence. You can't equate Akai with that due to the different pack, as they are subject to different rules altogether ... We assume that you and Leah are soulmates on a human level and with Nanuk the supernatural providence of the wolfish side wanted to choose an equal partner. So the bottom line is that Leah loved you all along. Whether imprinted or not, she always wanted only you," I summarized.
"So there's only one question left: what do you want?" asked Bella meaningfully.
Marcus looked silently at his cup.
He let everything that had been said run through his head, which was wide awake by now.
"No one has ever meant as much to me as Leah. Even now, after all these weeks," he murmured.
"Then maybe you should go up and tell her that," I suggested, placing the bracelet with the little wolf in front of him.
Smiling, he picked it up and looked at the carving.
"I never wanted to see her again, and I didn't want anything to remind me of her," he recalled of the moment he tore it down last night.
It would have been better, but not what he had wanted.
"That was yesterday. Today is the beginning of a new future for you," Bella said.
Marcus nodded and I tied the wolf around his wrist.
"Welcome back," I then looked my son in the eye.
"It's nice to have you back for real," Bella followed up, standing up and giving Marcus a kiss on the forehead.
My princess slowly stirred. It would only take a few more minutes before she woke up.
So I sent Marcus upstairs.
I hugged my wife.
"Our family is complete again," I said sentimentally.
"Well, hopefully," she expressed, however.
"Why wouldn't it be?"
"With Leah's temper? She'll probably think of something else to get in the way of her own happiness!"
The danger was by no means to be dismissed.
Therefore, I was already listening up again.
Marcus had just arrived in Leah's room. He smiled when he saw her lying there mostly naked and on her stomach. He sat down on the edge of the bed, casting a thoughtful glance at Nanuk's photograph. Marcus regretted his early death, but this way Leah was now seemingly all his again. He regarded her for a long moment, running with gentle fingertips slowly up Leah's spine. It must have tickled a little, because Leah shook a tiny bit. Marcus leaned over Leah, supporting himself with his hands on her right and left as he planted a kiss on the side of her nape. My Little one opened her eyes leisurely, but continued to believe she was in a dream. In front of her, she saw the caramel-colored arm from which the carved wolf dangled. The bracelet that Marcus had torn off yesterday in the 'Jezebel'. She had seen it clearly. Her fingertips went there and played with it. But figure and arm remained where they were, did not fizzle out into the vastness of a dream.
"Then I wasn't dreaming? You're back?" she murmured cautiously.
"If you still want me," Marcus said tentatively.
Leah turned to him and hugged him so fiercely that they both landed rumbling on the floor. They laughed at each other and kissed in between. However, it was a rumble that woke Jake, who had already been in his waking up phase.
"No, there's no fear of that!", I informed my wife, kissing her on the tip of her nose. "But our children will all be hungry."
We finished setting the table with Ced's and Emma's help, spread cold cuts, cheese, jam, got the batter for the pancakes out of the fridge, I set up the pan for the scrambled eggs and bacon ... When everything was really ready, I got our four teenagers.
Ced peeked all droll confused as Leah and Marcus came down.
Leah sat on his haunches, unwilling to ever let go of Marcus. My baby obviously didn't understand that.
Excited, he came running to Bella and me in the kitchen and pulled us into the living room.
We had expected something like that and were already standing in the doorway.
"There! Marcus and Leah!" he said indignantly.
"Marcus belongs to us again. Just like before," I said.
"My big brother?" asked Ced, pointing backwards at Marcus.
"Are you okay with that?" asked Marcus, who was already squatting next to Ced.
Leah was gracious enough to have let him go. But only briefly!
In response, Marcus got a big smack on the cheek and an even bigger hug.
Ced further expressed over his gift how much this pleased him. Especially because now Leah would no longer cry.
Ced extended a hand to his sister, who joined in the embrace. She also received a kiss from her little brother.
And it happened naturally that Ced made the mental connection between Leah and Marcus. There were so many emotions between the two of them that I was almost dizzy. Not only me, but Marcus was also increasingly swaying. He knew Ced's gift, had been prepared for it, but this flood of thoughts and feelings being subliminally hurled at him by Leah was overwhelming him.
Jake arrived just in time to catch Marcus, and me to keep my baby from falling to the floor from Marcus' arm.
"Wow ...!" said Marcus, quite gobsmacked.
He had taken him a little moment, but was already sitting upright on the carpet again.
Leah had not subsequently imprinted on Marcus, after all, that would contradict all wolf rules known so far, but her heart was now fixed. She would continue to mourn Nanuk. Like for a big brother or a very good and intimate friend, but not for her purpose in life. For this was now Marcus. Perhaps he had been from the beginning.
"Sorry," Leah whispered to him.
She had sensed that this time it was different from the times before Nanuk - or even like with Nanuk himself - but she had not been able to stop it. She had drowned in what she had received from Marcus. A love that would outlast even blows of fate.
"You should eat something!" the highly trained nurse Emma noted in response.
And that's what we did.
Good-humored as in the past, as if it had never been different.
After Emma was picked up by Daniel, however, we dispersed.
The four teenagers merely washed themselves while Bella and I took a shower. However, they watched me with great amusement how I handled the toothbrush.
After a brief consultation, Bella took the Audi.
She was 'dating' Zoey, who wanted to know all about our wedding and honeymoon. She had called Bella while we were in Chicago and Zoey had been pretty upset that she hadn't even known about it. The fact that she wasn't invited was something she could get over. All Zoey knew was that I wasn't human and didn't age, and that Ced was my son who didn't want to adhere to the assumed development of a baby. To that extent, we would have had to hide him from Zoey's husband, Alex, who knew absolutely nothing about anything. Therefore, she understood that she had not been invited. But not that she hadn't been included! For that, Bella would have to come of her own accord to restore the friendship between them. Today, it would be fine with Zoey. She had mentioned it casually.
Jake gave Marcus clothes of his. These were the only ones that rudimentarily fit him. They were almost the same size, although Jake was considerably more muscular.
So I run through the forest with my five children.
Was a nice feeling, despite the rain.
Halfway there, I had to turn around again.
I had actually forgotten about the mechanical fish that Ced had tried out in the bathtub yesterday. My baby scolded me bitterly for my forgetfulness. With frown lines.
After everyone present rejoiced profusely that Leah and Marcus were 'Leah & Marcus' again, Jake and Becky went to the swimming pool with Ced and all the grandparents.
Leah and Marcus went up to the attic of the house. They wanted to talk to each other in peace about the past weeks.
I went to Alice, who was already whirling in the great hall.
"Where's Jazz?", I asked her.
"He's picking up your gift right now. They managed to get it ready after all. He'll be back with it in forty-nine minutes," she said.
I nodded with satisfaction.
"Last week you forbade me to do anything, but today it's about the party for my children. What should I do?" I then asked enthusiastically.
My children were again forbidden to help, but not me.
Alice pointed to a mountain of music and lighting effects equipment. Everything was still in its original packaging, and it was piled up in the middle of the room.
"Any special requests?", I echoed.
My little sister nodded quite seriously.
Of course, she had planned everything down to the last detail and was now shooing me into every single one of those details. I had the impression that she really enjoyed bossing me through the area.
After some time, Emmett and Rosalie came through one of the doors that went outside. They had black hands and black welts on their faces in places.
"Well? Is everything going well?" I said in a good-humored chatty tone.
Judging by their faces and their debating tone of voice, it wasn't going well.
The kids were to be surprised at the party with 'Pulled Pork', which had been sizzling away out there on three charcoal grills since last night. According to David's very strict and detailed instructions.
"Of course," Rosalie replied haughtily.
She tried not to think about the fact that she was probably going to call David to check on something just to be on the safe side. Not the first time my siblings have called the grill master. Today! And it was just about lunchtime. As far as I could gather from Emmett's thoughts, they had even called him last night at around five, which David had of course been very excited about.
Alice then continued to shoo me around the room. The romantic and festive decorations were exchanged for more youthful and groovy ones. Bar tables were additionally set up in the back area. A bar was created in one corner, for which I also had to lug countless crates of drinks. On a pedestal the DJ desk was built. Both would later be run by my siblings. In the next room, where the food had previously been set up for my wedding, the food would be served again today. However, today there would be 'Pulled Pork' burgers, hot dogs, and the like. No gourmets were expected to attend the party. I distributed munchies such as chips or peanuts in small bowls throughout the tables. Later, I would bring in various desserts from the kitchen that Esmé was whipping up.
Leah had also wanted a candy bar station, so of course my princess got one. With lollipops, candy canes, marshmallows, little chocolate bars. At Becky's request, there were also candy necklaces that had colorful sugar rings as beads.
Rosalie had then gathered some sweets that had been favored by the guests in their childhood. 'Lick shells' (1), for example. She had then also procured soap bubbles and 'wonder bags' (2).
I also set up a photo booth in one corner. There were small to medium-sized frames ready or accessories such as hats, crowns, mustaches, and sunglasses.
In the afternoon everything was ready.
Bella arrived and I greeted my wife with a stunning kiss - literally.
Our baby was already sitting in the kitchen. Showered, diapered, and recently provided with blood, he was watching closely to make sure Esmé was doing everything right. At the moment she was making dough for caramel cookies with chocolate chips.
Ced was unhappy with the amount of chocolate chips.
"If you're making these for Leah, I'd listen to his advice," I advised my mom.
So she dumped the rest of the bag in as well.
Bella made hot cocoa to go with it and I sorted the tray together. A plate for the cookies, a small bowl of marshmallows, two cups and spoons. With Ced, I brought everything upstairs just as the cookies were fresh out of the oven.
I had listened briefly more exactly as a precaution if one was allowed to disturb Leah and Marcus at present also. But they were just sitting on the floor, leaning against one of the sofas and talking.
Bella brought an equally loaded tray to Becky and Jake, who were sitting in his room dueling with the card game 'The Settlers of Catan'. Becky was in the lead.
Ced and I knocked politely, as was proper, and we were admitted. Ced climbed the rather steep stairs to the attic on all fours and - having reached the top - did not stop. So he crawled to the two. It looked funny.
"We brought you something," I said, setting the tray down behind them on the sofa.
"Oh ... yummy! Cookies!", my daughter was thrilled and immediately grabbed them.
"Watch out! They are ...", I wanted to warn.
"HOT!" she remarked of her own accord, tossing back the cookie.
Ced rolled onto his back laughing.
After Leah complained about it at length - to all three males present - we left the two alone again.
Bella, Esmé, and Sue were busy in the kitchen. With Ciara, who had spent the night and would stay the coming night. Mostly chatting, preparing salads on the side.
Men were just considered a disruptive factor there.
Meanwhile, Billy, Charlie, Carlisle, and I played with Ced. But about an hour later, I reminded my kids that they still had to call Renée.
Marcus said goodbye for the time being. He looked very gratefully in my direction as he took his key from the dresser.
I had reattached the ring to it with the radio control and the rest of the front door keys.
While the twins were on the phone with Renée, I happened to be sitting alone in the kitchen with Bella.
"I'm running out of excuses for Renée. She hasn't seen the kids in over a year now," Bella reflected.
I nodded.
After Thanksgiving, we had come up with all kinds of things to keep a get-together from happening. But it was getting really ridiculous.
"We have exactly two options for this. Either we fly to her, or she comes here with Phil. Both variants have advantages and disadvantages," I explained.
Bella looked at me skeptically.
"What are the advantages if I fly away with the twins? You couldn't go with - with all that sun in Jacksonville!"
"Do you think our kids would voluntarily fly away for a weekend without Becky and Marcus?"
"Uh ... nope ... Probably not."
"So you would have to stay in a hotel because of space, and that's where Ced and I could come. I would probably be tied to the hotel because of the weather, but in the meantime I could go with Ced to the hotel swimming pool. Or maybe we'll get lucky with the weather, and I can take him out. Or our children could take him with them. They certainly aren't going to let Renée lock them up with her for two whole days."
"True. They won't. They were already more gone than there the last times," Bella agreed with me in that regard, smiling.
"You see ... If Renée and Phil came here, it would be easier for all of us, but then we would be at home," I continued to ponder. I would like it better if my children also got to see something of this world and explore it.
"Easier in what way?"
"Then all we would have to do is get all the evidence of Ced and me out of the house , and everyone could move around absolutely free. Ced can stay here on the grounds during the day. With me or Esmé. And then at night, we'll come visit you ... through the window. Just like before," I further suggested.
"Only now you're bringing a baby?" smiled Bella.
"I could also leave him here. One night," I said, seductively playing around my wife's lips.
Then my wife ran to the phone to finally make an appointment with her mother.
Jake, in fact, preferred to walk around when he was on the phone and was just on his way to the library. Funny thing was always when he was on the phone longer in this house, that when he hung up, he wondered how he had gotten into the room where he was then in.
On time, Akai and Tom arrived as arranged.
They were invited to the party, but just because here was a birthday celebration, Jazz did not tolerate any slackness as far as the training of the young wolves was concerned. But a very demanding unit was not planned.
Of course they had brought Phoebe with them, and she let Becky tell her in detail about the ring on her finger.
After I got Ced freshly diapered, we went to the library with a bottle of blood.
Bella was still on the phone.
I didn't know it any differently from Renée. She just couldn't find an end.
I laid down on the reading couch, Bella joined me with the phone, and Ced crawled between us. He played with his mommy's long hair.
Bella sighed in exhaustion when Renée told her about a new hobby.
She was now doing geo-caching. A treasure hunt with a GPS device. That was good, she said. Hiking in the fresh air and at times the head was challenged by tricky puzzles.
But at some point we lay there and kissed devotedly.
"Say yes," I whispered to my wife when Renée asked a question, but Bella didn't catch it.
Ced giggled softly.
"Yes," Bella said into the receiver in response.
"What was the question then?" she echoed me softly, holding the phone a little away.
"Whether you might not have finally found a man for yourself."
Bella looked at me with dismayed eyes and now understood why Renée on the other end of the line was just gasping for air.
I pointed to Ced's hand, and she took it.
'Tell her the same thing you told Lauren Mallory. That we met again here by chance, but that you didn't know until now if it would work out,' I explained through Ced's gift.
That's how she told it. Only without the pregnancy in the meantime. This of course made the phone call drag on a bit longer.
Bella answered everything pretty truthfully, except for my age.
The kids got along really well with me, I could cook really well, I would be sweet and sensitive and a really good listener. Just like before. I also looked good, even better than I did then. Of course.
Bella even had the idea to tell her that I had a little son, but that the mother who belonged to him had died in childbirth. The twins probably hadn't told her yet because we had only really been together for a short time. It had been quite a protracted back and forth between us, mainly because of our shared past.
Ced asked through his gift what kind of silly stuff his mommy was saying. He knew to be very quiet when Mommy was on the phone because a lot of people didn't know about him or even me. The connections weren't that clear to him yet, which is why he asked every time, but he stuck to it. Now I held out the prospect that he might be allowed to meet his mommy's mommy soon after all, and that Mommy was therefore telling all this. My son was satisfied with that, although I could not name an exact date.
He walked around the room elated, not really listening anymore his mommy and took apart another armchair on the way.
A designer piece. My son and I had the same opinion about this. It was unbelievably ugly, but it was great to build towers with the individual parts. We worked together to set a new height record.
At some point, Bella was finally able to hang up.
"What made you think I should tell her about you?" my angel asked.
"I think it will put her mind at ease regarding her only daughter to know that you are no longer alone and that your relationship is also working very well. That way you won't have to be quite so careful about what you say to her and what you don't. You almost told her something about me many times," I explained my very short-term consideration. The latter also applied to the twins.
"True. I almost told her I was in Chicago," Bella agreed with me.
"Keeping up this lie believably won't be very hard either because of the distance. If she sees you, the twins, and maybe Ced in time, she will be reassured for the time being. I can excuse my absence due to a medical congress or the like. Since you're still willing to throw your soul at me, we'll just have to stall until summer before you officially die, at least for your mother," I said bitingly.
It had been the children's idea that we would not necessarily arrange Bella's death if she followed me into immortality. The people we cared about more or less knew about us and we could tell them why Bella would no longer be living in Saco. Many others at least knew that Bella and I were involved. A mature woman and a teenager. We could have moved together, and we would eventually be forgotten without the twins having to endure grief and condolences. With Peter and Stan, Zoey, or even Angela and Eric from our high school, Bella could stay in touch for a long time, at least by phone. Only for Renée we had to make a clear cut and let Bella die. Renée had no contact whatsoever with Bella's friends. Except for David, and he would play along with the tragedy. He had already agreed. The same applied to the Quileute like Billy or Sam. Charlie and Sue, of course, as well. We didn't have details yet, but in a scenario where I was playing along as Bella's significant other, we could have an accident on a trip. Then we wouldn't need to get a body to be buried in Bella's place ... either. I liked the idea more and more. But with all these considerations, I was still bothered by the fact that I should kill my wife.
"Be good. You promised!", Bella kissed me on the tip of my nose.
"I lied!"
"No, you didn't!", Bella corrected.
No, I had not. I should have!
When we went back down, they were carrying my older son up the stairs covered in blood. So we ran back up with him.
I had already become so engrossed in the positive variations of my official presence for Renée that I had not noticed it until I smelled blood.
"Jake?", I addressed my son on the way. "What happened?", I immediately asked my brothers.
"It's okay ... Dad," Jake mumbled, as if he might lose his senses at any moment.
First of all, it looked very different from okay.
Jasper was carrying my son and Emmett's hands were tight around Jake's neck, as if he were trying to strangle him. By the time Jazz arrived in the exam room, Carlisle, who they had already called for downstairs, came rushing through the door.
Bella stayed in the hallway with Ced, who was crying anxiously for his brother.
Our baby should not see this fear confirmed by the blood.
Jazz gently put Jake down and immediately made room for me. I held my son's hand. Em took his hands away as Carlisle stood by to take over the wound.
I hadn't even noticed their brief exchange of knowledge.
My son was bitten. By a wolf. Right in the crook of his neck. Em had pressed the carotid artery shut.
I growled involuntarily, but Jake squeezed my hand.
'No one was to blame,' he thought quietly.
"Take it easy, Eddie. Jake tripped over a rock and fell more or less right into Akai's muzzle," Jazz tried to tell me.
He quickly washed his hands and then stood by Bella to reassure her and Ced.
"It's not bad," Carlisle said a moment later, sounding very reassured. "The healing is working, and the artery is already closed again," he followed up.
I heard Bella sigh in relief. I also heard myself sigh in relief.
Only now did I seek my daughter's thoughts.
She was still in the forest with Akai and Tom. They had been far out and didn't immediately understand what had happened. Had thought at first of a tactical game by Jazz, who wanted to take advantage of Jake's stumble. Now they were coming here, but would need a moment.
"Jake, how are you feeling?" asked Carlisle, meanwhile.
"Goes like this ... Dizzy," he mumbled.
"How much blood was it?", Carlisle dug deeper with my brothers.
"Can't really have been more than that," Emmett said, showing his hands in front of him and pointing at Jake.
I saw it in Emmett's mind. He had reacted immediately when he smelled the blood.
Carlisle and I breathed a collective sigh of relief.
That really wasn't much. Then Jake was only dizzy because it had been the carotid artery of all places and the blood had flowed out immediately. In another place, Jake probably wouldn't have registered it at all or would have merely grumbled about the paltry scratch. Carlisle would procure something for fortification and Jake should still rest, even if the injury had completely disappeared, which would be the case in a moment.
Emmett also washed quickly, threw his shirt into a bucket, and pulled a sheet out of the closet, which he readied on a stool. I freed my son from most of the blood after nothing was left of the wound itself and spread the sheet over him.
"Why does shit like this always have to happen to me?" my son cursed under his breath.
"Because you have your mother's genes," I explained.
"Hey ...!" complained Bella.
Jake knew I was right about that, and we smirked together.
The other wolves had arrived at the front door by now. The boys rushed into the small dressing room while Leah called for Phoebe and Becky and went into the room across the hall.
First, however, I called Bella into the room. Ced was still crying.
"Hey, big guy. Nothing happened!" Jake said immediately as Ced looked down at him from Bella's arm, shaken.
Ced was not sufficiently convinced of this. However, we were able to quickly cheer Ced up when the other teenagers arrived in the room.
Jake namely demanded self-sacrificing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation from his star. That was convincing.
Carlisle carried a tray of sandwiches and lemonade after the young people, and we then left them to it. Jake was fine.
"Can't there ever be a day without such excitement?", I complained on the way down.
"Oh come on. Every day! Don't exaggerate!" my wife reprimanded me.
When Marcus returned, all the wolves were in the shower.
The twins had walked down to our house with Becky, and Akai and Tom were here in Jake's room. Only Phoebe was sitting with us, since she had already arrived here all styled up for the party.
The first thing I noticed about Marcus was that he was wearing our family bracelet.
One by one, all the wolves and stars trickled in. Casually chic for a debauched birthday party.
But before that there were a few birthday presents ...
(1) Sweetness in which a shell made of plastic is filled with a colored candy mass.
(2) A 'wonder bag' is a sealed paper bag whose contents cannot be seen from the outside. There are special wonder bags for target groups like boys, girls or adults. The content can be anything - sweets, collectible figures, school supplies, stamps ... - depending on the target group or occasion for which it is intended.
Thank you for reading!
