Renesmee Cullen
We left Paul and Rachel's house almost right after dinner because they had to get Willy to bed before 20:00 which Rachel tells me was a mission.
Jake unlocked the door to the house and we entered with a greeting by Bubba, the new canine resident of the Black household.
"Dad! We're back!" Jake echoed as he set the keys on the key holder.
It was quiet.
Jake flicked the light on.
"I think he's sleeping." I whispered to him.
Jake scoffed.
"Please, my dad doesn't sleep this early. And besides, his snore would be the first thing we'd hear coming in." He said, walking into the other room.
I smiled.
The dog went to me and began licking me. I laughed, and I stroked his fur as I set my handbag on the counter.
Jake returned.
"Is he sleeping?" I asked.
He shook his head. "He's not even here." He told me.
I frowned.
As Jake went to open the refrigerator, he took a note under the magnet and began reading out.
"At Kim's house to discuss ceremonial preparations. Don't wait up for me. Just don't mess the couch and don't do anything I wouldn't do." Jake read out, clearing his throat at the last sentence.
I felt my cheeks heat up at that.
"I guess I'll just have to eat his leftovers." Jake said, gesturing to the container of food Rachel made for him from the dinner.
"No. They're for your dad." I told him.
"Why not? Kim's mom probably has something prepared for him there anyway." Jake moaned.
"Didn't you just eat like fifteen minutes ago?" I laughed.
"I'm hungry." He replied.
I rolled my eyes and snatched the container from Jacob's hands and placed it in the fridge.
"But –" He moaned.
"No! No. It's for Billy." I told him.
He bowled his head. "Fine!" He replied walking away from me.
I laughed at him.
"So, your dad's not coming?" I asked.
"I don't know. Let me call him." He told me as he dialed his dad's number as he began shrugging his leather jacket off and tossing it over the couch.
"Jacob."
"Uh…Dad. We just got back from Rach's and we found your note on the fridge –"
"Oh yeah? The note. Right."
"Yeah. So, you're at Kim's?" Jake questioned as he leaned over the kitchen counter on elbows as he talked to his dad.
I hopped onto the other side of the counter next to Jake as I played with the mastiff.
"Yes. We're discussing final preparations for the wedding and I'm talking to the Pipe carrier about the officiating…Jake, didn't I give you the summary on the note?"
"Yes, dad. And I wanted to call you to confirm and to also let you know we've brought back leftovers which may or may not disappear without you around." He replied as he looked up at me.
I rolled my eyes and shook my head at him.
"Oh, don't worry about me boy. Kim's mom has us all stuffed. So, I think I'll be good for tonight." Billy replied.
He quietly shrieked in triumph and pulled a fist in as he walked to the fridge to retrieve the leftovers. He waved his finger at me which I propelled away, and he shoved a mouthful of garlic bread into his mouth.
"Jared and Kim have been very hands on about what they want the ceremony to be like. Obviously steeped in Quileute tradition. Brother Patuni, you remember Brother Patuni from when you were a kiddo? Well, he's going to bless the marriage. Jared asked if you were free to help him out with his car, by the way. Oh! And Jared asked if you, Embry, Seth and a few other guys from the res could play the drums for the celebration session."
"Oh, I don't know, dad…"
"I know you said you didn't want a role in the wedding, but Jared is a dear friend and it would mean a lot to him if you did. Plus, you're pretty good on the drums."
"I'm a bit rusty, Billy. I haven't played since Sam's wedding seven years ago."
Whilst Jake was talking over the phone, I made my way to the couch where I collapsed and sprawled my legs across – after kicking my flats off – as I pulled out my book and began reading where I bookmarked.
"Well then unrust yourself." Billy replied. "I'm sure you'd want him to do the same if it was your wedding."
I could feel Jake looking back at me, but I kept my eyes glued to the book.
"Uh, yeah…Just tell, Jared I'll do it. I'm sure it'll be fun." Jake told him.
"Awesome!"
Jake chuckled. "Yeah. Awesome indeed."
I giggled as I watched Jake lift my legs up to take a seat on the couch before placing my legs onto his hard lap where I suddenly felt him rubbing my delicate ends with such ease and tenderness.
"Listen dad, when you're done at Kim's, just let me know when to pick you up." Jake mumbled with a mouthful of food.
I shook my head.
"No. don't worry about me, kid. I'm good. I'll probably be here until the wee hours of the morning since the wedding is only four days away and you know how Kim is."
"Control freak." Jake said.
"You know how she is. I'm sure you can hear the yammering behind me." Billy pointed out.
Jake nodded and planted a few kisses on my toes which made me smile and blush.
Sure enough. Kim's high pitched, almost kidlike, voice speedily yammered about in the background.
"For a very quiet girl, she's pretty damn loud with those pipes of hers." Jake pointed out.
I gave him a look to which he shrugged at.
"I hear she wants to sing at the feast."
Jake hissed. "I guess I'll need to bring earmuffs to go."
"Yeah. We need to be prepared."
I giggled at the exchange as I turned the page whilst Jake gave my feet a little squeeze and rub with his enormous warm hand.
"But seriously, dad. Are you sure you don't want me to pick you up?"
Billy scoffed. "I'm sure, son. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine here for the night. Kim's mom is preparing a bed for me right as we speak."
"Plus, it'll give you and Nessie time to be alone and do whatever you couples do these days." Billy teased.
My cheeks burned harder than I think they ever did.
One downside of being Bella Cullen's daughter.
I'm prone to terrible blushes. And this one is no exception.
Jacob looked at me with an almost amused yet flustered smirk and then sighed.
"Dad." Jacob warned.
"Just don't mess my couch up, like I said, okay? It's new. Well, fairly new. It's three years old."
"D-Dad-Dad shut up!" Jake retorted.
"I'm just saying –"
"You're not saying anything! Nada! Call me if you need anything." Jake said.
"But son—"
"Goodbye, dad." Jake grumbled.
"Just be careful, son! Make sure you cover it up!"
"I'm hanging up now! Bye!" Jacob stated over the phone before hanging up on Billy.
Jake released a much-needed sigh of relief which caused me to laugh.
"Sorry about my old man. He's just…" He told me with a shake of a head as he set his phone of the coffee table before continuing to massage my feet.
"You sure do have his sense of humor. Although his is more blunt and direct. He doesn't hold back on the punches I see."
Jake laughed. "Billy does that. He got a kick out of torturing us kids by embarrassing us any chance he could get. Rach, Bec and I couldn't stand it. We still can't."
I smiled.
Jake gave each of my feel individuals squeezes and rubs and strokes of the hands as he massaged me which led a gratified moan to escape my lips.
"That feels good."
"You like that?" He asked, looking up at me with a smile.
I smiled back as I set my book against my chest and arched my head back with my eyes sealed shut as I relished in the feeling of his fingers rubbing soothing circles against my toes.
After a few moments of pleasure, he suddenly stopped which caused me to jerk my head up and shoot my eyes open in surprise.
"I'm going to take a shower." He informed.
"But-what-but – wait a minute!" I called as I watched him stand up.
He turned around.
"You were busy with – Weren't you busy giving me a nice foot rub?"
"Yes. But your groaning isn't doing any good to my self-control." He told me.
"Self-control?" I asked with a frown. "Why do you need self-control? For what?"
I batted my eyes at him and played with my toes.
He rolled his eyes before walking away from me and into the bathroom.
"Don't even think about following me." Jake warned, lifting his shirt over his head.
What would give him that idea?
"I'm not that kind of girl," I tried to defend myself.
His adorable laugh echoed through the think bathroom walls.
"Sure, Jane!" He replied.
"My name's Nessie!"
The sound of the shower faucet turning and the sprinkle of water told me that the conversation was over.
I pouted.
I just sat there. Miserable.
My attempts at seduction failed me yet again.
Well what am I going to do while he takes his shower?
And Jake's showers are usually long – well for me anyway.
I guess I could continue reading my book Persuasion by Jane Austen.
But first, I needed to slip into something comfortable first.
I got off the couch and made my way to Jake's old bedroom where my bags were.
As I unpacked my sleepwear, I caught the sight of Jake's two picture frames on his old nightstand – one of him and I at the beach in La Push and as well as a photo of him, Embry and Seth playing soccer.
I smiled.
I remember taking that picture.
I ran my hand over the frames in remembrance before slipping into my comfortable pajamas of a pale pink long sleeved camisole and cotton pajama pants with knee high socks.
Suddenly the noise of the window banging from the winter wind irritated my ears. I frowned as I hopped onto the bed as I went to close the window.
"Hey, Jake. I thought we fixed this window!" I exclaimed as I turned the knob.
"What?" He called from the shower.
"The window is making that noise again."
"What noise?"
"The noise it makes when it's windy."
"We fixed that, didn't we?" He replied.
"That's what I thought…" I paused as I realized that there was no wind at all outside as I unfurled and rolled the window down.
That's weird.
I didn't give it a second thought as I sealed the window shut.
I walked back into the living room back to Jacob's favorite couch where my Jane Austen novel lay. As I go to take a seat, I snatched the TV remote from the coffee table and began scrolling through channels until I stumbled upon the classic 1997 movie Titanic.
"Jake! Titanic is on!"
"Ugh!" He groaned in a low rumble, although with my semi-superhuman hearing I could hear it very well.
"What do you mean 'ugh'?" I warned.
I heard the running water from the shower stop.
"Haven't you seen that movie like 1000 times?" He asked. "Literally."
"Well, watch me make it 1001 times."
After a minute or two, he emerged from the bathroom in nothing but a black towel with water delicately trickling down his russet skin from his wet and messy jet black locks to his feet.
I bit my lip hard.
He smiled as he plucked his toothbrush into his mouth.
"I'm not saying don't watch it. All I'm saying is, why do I need to watch it with you?" He asked with a muffled voice as he began brushing his teeth with the thistles of his brush.
I gasped.
"Because you're my boyfriend and you love me and will do anything for me because I'm your only reason for existing and you'll lose that privilege quicker than you can say 'imprint'." I said all of that in one breath.
"Damn. So dramatic!" He said with a roll of the eye, waltzing back into the bathroom.
I giggled. "Well what do you expect from a vampire hybrid with Edward Cullen as a father and Rosalie Hale as an aunt who fights with a werewolf who happens to be my boyfriend. It's a full on soap opera!"
"Don't mention that Blondie Mosquito's name to me!" He cautioned, pointing his toothbrush at me.
I groaned.
"Ugh! If I watch this stupid movie with you, will it shut you up?" He asked.
I nodded my head.
"Okay. Just give me a minute." He sighed.
I watched Jake walk into his room and released a sigh.
I continued to watch the movie whilst I waited for Jake.
I hadn't realized how alone I was until I reached the part where Rose let's go of Jack's hand.
"I promise."
"Never let go." Jack emphasized.
"I will never let go, Jack. I'll never let go." Rose replied.
Jack mustered up a smile and kisses her back hand and I just sniffled. As much as I'd care to admit, I am a sucker for passionate romance movies such as the classic Titanic. I mean, who isn't a fan of Titanic?
Clearly, Jacob because he wasn't here with me watching the movie. Or at least the end of it.
I hopped off the couch and made my way down the small and slightly cramped passage way to Jacob's childhood bedroom.
"You know if you decided to sleep on my movie offer, the least you could have done is warn me. I can take a hint." I laughed as I waltzed in, only to see him sprawled across his very small bed with his back against the wall and legs – crossed by the ankles – overlapping the end of the bed.
In nothing but some sweat pants, he seemed pretty comfortable given the cold Fall wind blowing outside. Wolf perks.
He was too preoccupied with whatever he was doing on his laptop to even acknowledge my irritancy or even my presence.
"Uh, hello!" I waved and snapped my fingers.
He shifted and lifted his head up to meet my eyes.
I snickered. "What are you up to?"
He quickly shut his computer screen.
"Nothing." He replied with a nervous smile.
I furrowed my eyebrows. "Is it an "I'm secretly watching a football game and cat videos" nothing or "I'm caught watching porn" nothing?" I teased with my eyebrows raised.
He rolled his eyes at me and shifted his computer to the side.
"It's not…really important, actually."
I deepened my frown as his secretiveness only tickled my curiosity even more as I sauntered my way over to him.
"Mhmm. Now you've peaked my interest in what you're doing even more." I giggled as I hopped over to open space between the wall and Jacob.
He sighed. "It's really nothing important. I was working on my final research report and then I stumbled upon some cars online."
I didn't quite believe him but I trusted that if it was serious for me to know then he'd tell me but clearly it wasn't so I decided to just drop it.
I exhaled a sigh as I cuddled up to him, wrapping my arms around his large frame with both my feet in between his calves.
He returned the embrace by tossing his arm over my shoulders as I lay onto his hard, warm and bare chest.
"I can't believe Jared and Kim are finally getting married." Jake scoffed.
"I always thought they'd be the first to take the plunge after Sam and Em." I told him.
He nodded. "It feels like just yesterday we were all a bunch of wolf kids doing crazy stuff and killing vamps –" I pinched him.
"Ow!" He moaned but then laughed. "But now everyone's either getting married or having kids."
I snorted as I went down memory lane myself, back when I was essentially a 'kid', watching all the wolves play soccer together in La Push Beach, or being daredevils, cracking a bunch of jokes and doing the most outrageous, fun, and often disgusting things together –and to each other. Now they're all mature men –well most of them.
"Yeah," I scoffed. "It's a bit of a nostalgic moment in time come to think of it."
"We are living in the future, Nessie." Jake stated.
I smiled, nodding my head in agreement. Things have really changed these past eight years, even this past decade for Jacob since he turned. He imprinted on me, he became the alpha of the pack, he finished high school and graduated after encouragement from Bella and me, he got his first real job after we moved to California and…he and I got together.
"You guys have come far." I smiled. "B-but, I'm sure there's still a lot more adventures to come."
"What do you mean?" He asked.
"I mean, there's still a lot ahead for you, right?"
"Well, yeah of course. If I have you by my side to take over the world." He said. I giggled.
I bit my lip. "But where do you see yourself in five or ten years though?"
He hummed as he thought about the question.
"Well, I'm more of an in the moment kinda guy." He replied.
"Jake." I pleaded. "I'm sure you've thought about it,"
"Um…" He murmured. "In five or ten years?"
I nodded.
"I see you and me together, obviously." He whispered into my hair before kissing my head.
I hummed in delight, grinning from ear to ear as I traced my finger over his chest.
"Probably in our nice, quaint, cozy apartment in the city or a little cottage in the woods while we travel the world."
I smiled. "With our cats."
"No cats!" He quickly dismissed. I giggled. "I can barely handle your own furball and we've just found common ground, I can't fathom having more furry rascals in our house, love. That's where I draw the line."
I laughed. "All right, fine!"
I sighed as I snuggled closer to his heated body. His body temperature was the best for nights like this.
All this talk about the future, our future got me wondering what else lies in store for us.
"What else do you see for us in the future?"
"Well…" He inhaled deeply. "I see us living far but also close enough to your family because I know how important family means to you. I hope to see myself opening and running an auto shop in the next five years –that's if I'm smart enough to run one. I see you chasing your dreams after college, some famous artist or genius doctor, doing what you love. I see so many things for us, Nessie."
"Hmm." I smiled.
That sounds nice to me.
"Okay, but what about in the distant future?" I probed.
I felt his eyes land onto me which in turn caused me to lift my head to meet with his eyes.
"Be honest with me. Don't beat around the bush. If you feel you'll get bored of me in ten, fifty, a hundred years. Tell me. I can take it." I laughed.
He guffawed. "Nah –No. I would never get bored of you, my Nessie."
I chuckled. "I know. But seriously, Jake…"
He sighed and hummed. "Look, I do see us potentially starting a family of our own when we get tired of travelling the world together or when we're ready to settle. At some point in time. There's no rush, you know. We can start a family in ten years, in twenty years, in seventy years, even in a hundred years."
"Whoa! Hold on there, tiger." I laughed. He frowned. "Hundred years?"
He nodded. "Yeah."
"Okay, hopefully my biological clock hasn't broken by then." I giggled.
He frowned. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, Carlisle's still doing research about the hybrid female reproductive anatomy. The only female hybrids in the world that he has met are Jennifer and me. Nahuel's other sisters are rouge according to Jennifer so we can't use them for references. And Carlisle still doesn't know if I'm even able to –"
"I guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it, Nessie. We'll figure something out. There's always other ways. Look at Barbie and Baby Ken?"
He was clearly referring to Rosalie having another chance at being a mother to the son she always wanted in adopting Carter and raising him as her own.
Although Jake seems okay with the idea, I didn't want my being a hybrid to hinder the chances of giving Jacob children. His own blood children. Our children.
I know Jacob wouldn't love me any less if the only option we had was to adopt but I wouldn't feel the same with myself. I would be devastated if I wasn't able to have Jacob's children in the future.
Many women today have problems with fertility today and fertility declines as you grow older, follicles and viable eggs start to decrease. A percentage of women in their late 30s and 40s have trouble conceiving children.
Now with me, I've stopped aging. And although I was still young physically, I wasn't sure about my reproductive system.
Having stopped aging didn't mean that my menstrual cycle halted but a case of a female hybrid conceiving has never been recorded as far as we know.
"Kids would be nice but they are not a major priority for us as a couple, Nessie." He told me, sensing my concern.
"I know. I know. I would just like to know the possibility is there. That it is still an option for us."
"A vampire and a human fell in love and a human gave birth to a half vampire/half human baby after one month. I think us having kids are within the realms of possibility babe." He said positively.
I chuckled. "True. How many kids would we have though?"
"Oh, we're going to have a football team." He said.
I shot up and stared down at him.
"I hope you're joking."
He shook his head. "12, 14, 16. We can have a field of kids."
"And with whose uterus?"
Does he think we're going to be some family who pops out babies every nine months and have a reality show like the Duggars?
He laughed as he playfully nibbled onto my shoulder and pulled me down in his arms.
"However many you want, Nessie." He whispered to me.
"How about we start with 3 kids? Like how you grew up with your sisters?"
He shrugged. "I'm fine with three."
I smiled and ran my hand up and down his chest.
"For the record, you are smart and savvy enough to run a business. I know you're going to make a success. I'll be there to support any and every decision you make." I assured him.
"Thanks, baby." He kissed my temple.
I smiled. "Of course, booboo."
"So what's the plan for the rest of the week?" I asked him.
"Well...I've got a pack meeting tomorrow at Sam's house. Emily invited us over for dinner later on Tuesday. Sometime in the week Embry, Seth and I will practice for the drum circle for the wedding. You've obviously got Kim's bridal shower on Thursday and helping Rach and Em out with that."
I nodded.
"And we've got Jared's secret bachelor party to plan."
"Ooh. What have you guys got planned?"
"It's a secret." He whispered.
I rolled my eyes. "I'm assuming there won't be any 'exotic dancers' at this party right?"
He laughed. "Oh, no. Nothing like that. It's more of a get together of the wolves and other close friends of Jared and ours."
I nodded. "Sounds like you guys will have loads of fun."
"Mmm." He hummed in reply as he enclosed his large hand over my hand which was firmly on his hard chest.
"I'm worried Jacob." I told him after a long while of comfortable silence.
"What are you worried about?"
"I don't know." I replied. "Change, I guess."
He looked down on me.
I sighed. "I'm afraid something's going to happen, some changes will be made and…I don't know."
"Why – Where is this coming from? What changes are talking about?"
"That's the thing, I'm not even sure." I told him. "After last year, with the whole Charles debacle, Lizzie disappearing, Hunter dying, and…what happened to you."
I heard his breath hitch.
"I'm afraid something will disrupt our happiness. We've been living in a bubble. A happy bubble and I just feel like something will threaten to burst it." I told him.
"There's nothing in this world we can't handle, Nessie." He told me.
"I know."
"You know, when I was taken by whatever thing that took me…all I could think about was getting back to you. And I know that whatever we'll have to tackle together, we'll always be together as a team."
I nodded my head.
"Look, your family is doing everything they can to find these rouge vampires and the guys and I patrol the precincts of the town every night and any leech that comes in our way we'd destroy in a flash."
I chuckled. "Yeah."
"But you have to admit something…danger is lurking all around us." I said.
I wasn't just talking about our family but also my friends. After what happened last year, my friends were all exposed to the supernatural world. But the only people in the know are Alex and I. Rea was suspicious, which is why she is distancing herself from us but Felicity is still oblivious, even though she has questions, warranted she has the right to ask.
Justin and Luke are dealing with their own supernatural problems of their own although I never thought to ask.
I mean Justin is a Children of the Moon werewolf, apparently so is Ray Parker who naturally hates my Vampire Family because werewolves and vampires can't be alliances.
Alex is a vampire hunter, so our friendship in itself shouldn't even be. Her father, although is our biggest ally in this town, he is doing it begrudgingly because of the very fact that we don't feed on humans.
Even though their humans, the technology and weapons they have are their biggest protection from vampires.
Carlisle has said that the entire family will relocate again when I graduate from high school so I guess a lot of whatever's going on will be short-lived.
"It's inevitable. Charles is out there somewhere, seeking revenge on us for claiming and keeping him away from his son. Lizzie is somewhere probably…all alone. And if the Volturi even hears a whiff about Carter's existence or whatever we are/will go through…it'll be 2006 all over again –"
"Hey! Hey!" Jake pressed.
Jacob lifted my head so our eyes could meet.
"I'm not having all this talk, okay." He warned me.
I pursed my lips.
"As long as we have each other, nothing will ever threaten to break us apart." He assured me. "Never forget that."
I nodded my head.
"Okay?"
I smiled and nodded. "Okay."
He planted a kiss on my head before pulling me close against his hard chest and stroked my head.
… …
Jacob Black
The next day, I had breakfast with Nessie and then drove her to Rachel's house to help with the bridal shower planning and shopping as well as help babysit baby Brandon or 'Willy' as we all called him.
I hopped off my old bike as I hove into the Uley land and began making my way to the house porch steps. I made a face when I could smell the scent of poop in the air and then I realized it was coming from the house.
I popped my head through the door.
"Is it safe to come in or is the house still contaminated by Sam's crap?" I probed. "Again."
"Sam!" I heard Emily's warning tone from the living room.
"Jacob! Language!" Sam echoed as he emerged the second I entered into their house. "Emily's changing Kamryn's diaper."
Just then I heard Little Kam's kindred giggle.
I made another face. "What are you feeding the little man? Damn!"
He growled.
I shrugged. "Sorry but…I mean isn't he supposed to be out of the diaps already? He's like four right?"
"We potty trained him for a hot minute but he always has a little accident all the time."
"Well can't you potty train him harder?"
"He doesn't know the difference between a diaper and underwear Jacob!" Sam shouted in frustration.
"Keep your voice down, Sammy-poo!" Emily scolded.
I chuckled, the back of my hand covering my mouth.
"Shut up!" Sam warned.
"Sammy-poo?" I teased.
"What did you say?" Emily questioned.
"Nothing, honey! I was just talking to Jake!" Sam replied.
"Oh, okay! Kamryn, stop playing with mom's hair!" Emily said.
"So…where are the rest of the guys for this pack meeting?"
"They're on their way. In the meantime, we're driving over to the butchery to get stuff for the weekend and today." Sam told me before snatching his suede jacket off the rack. "We'll be back in a few, Em-let!"
"Emlet? As in Omelets?" I teased.
"Shut up!" He shoved me out of the house as I boomed in laughter.
We drove to the butchery where we met up with Jared to grab some steak, cobbler, chicken, pork, beef, mutton, turkey, deer meat and all types of venison for the wedding feast this weekend.
"So what are you guys planning for my bachelor party?" Jared asked as he placed two frozen chicken bags into the cart I was pushing.
"We can't tell you that." I laughed.
Was this guy seriously trying to sniff out our plans?
"There better be no strippers though. Kim finally got over the last time I went to a bachelor party where they were strippers. Who knows how she'd react when's she finds out there were a couple at my own."
"Who says you should even tell her?"
"I can't keep secrets from my imprint. You guys know that." Jared said.
Sam and I nodded.
"When did we all become so whipped?" I asked rhetorically.
Jared shrugged.
"Man. I hear stories about married life being so much more different than dating life. It's all about the financials, taxes are higher, there's less sex!"
"Wait…Less sex?" I asked and then looked at Sam for confirmation.
He shook his head. "Not when married no."
I released a mental sigh of relief. I'm sure I could live without sex for the rest of my life after marriage but it would be really, really…Really hard to.
"Well wait until you get married and then start popping out kids." Sam stated. "It's a whole different ball game."
I heard about how kids can sure kill the sex life especially if you had multiple kids around the same age. You take into consideration other living creatures beside the two of you. It's not just you and your wife anymore.
I'm sure Nessie and I wouldn't have that problem though. We could tackle anything together, hard or small, kids or no kids. We wouldn't let that affect our strong and intimate relationship and passion for each other.
"So you and Emily don't have sex as regular as you used to?" I asked.
He shook his head. "No. that's not it. Nothing has changed really. Sure, we don't have it whenever we feel like it because we have a little one but we just have to be strategic. CandyTown usually starts after we put Kamryn to bed or whenever Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is on."
"You call sexy time CandyTown?" Jared laughed.
"Oh! This is rich. First the stupid pet names and now the scheduled bedtime fun with corny names of their own." I laughed which made Jared laugh even more.
"Laugh all you want but at least I'm getting some, unlike Paul."
"Paul's got a newborn, what do you expect?" Jared pointed out, talking about my seven month old little nephew.
"Wow. I still can't believe it." I mused. "Paul a dad. Who the hell would have thought?"
"Poor kid."
"So what else is on the list?" Jared asked, not anyone in particular since he had the wedding list Kim drew out in his hands. "We need lamb."
I rummaged through the freezer and took the freshest yet affordable bag of lamb pieces.
"Anything else?" I asked.
"Um…no. I think that's it." Jared replied.
"Awesome," Sam and I said as we began making our way to the check-out counter where we met with a young cashier who got tongue-tied when she saw two huge guys before her eyes.
Although, since Sam stopped phasing he had become of the shortest in our group. He was still a good 6ft.1 so he only went down a few inches and I was still the tallest at 6ft.7.
"Happy Thanksgiving," The checkout girl who was checking us out –in all aspects of the phrase – said.
"Thank you. This dude is getting married this weekend!" I felt the need to let her know as I pointed to Jared.
Jared rolled his eyes.
The raven haired checkout girl –she seemed to be in her late teens or early twenties, a college girl for sure – nodded her head with a nice polite smile but I could tell she was slightly bummed out.
I guess she had her eyes set on Jared.
Which kinda hurts in a weird way.
Don't mean to sound cocky or conceited but I always thought of myself as the most blessed in the looks department out of all the wolves.
Okay. I guess I do sound cocky and conceited.
"Congratulations!" The fellow Quileute girl mentioned as she scanned our goods.
"Nicely done dude." Jared whispered. "Now the girl's going to kill herself."
"Just keeping it real, buddy." I replied and patted his chest.
After that we drove back to Sam's place, along with Jared where we found the rest of the members of the packs in their backyard where Sam revealed something we never thought he'd reveal in a while.
… …
Kim's Bridal Shower
Renesmee Cullen
It was Thursday and today was Kim's bridal shower hosted at Rachel's place by Rachel Lahote herself. The wedding seemed like it was entirely planned by Rachel with the help of the bride Kim and her family obviously. It seems like she'll give Alice a run for her own money.
Rachel, Emily, Rebecca, the other women —imprint or not imprint— of the tribe and even Leah (yes, even Leah) were all setting up everything before the guests arrived and the guest of honor, Kim arrived.
Rachel had assigned me to the decorations and the trimmings with….Leah.
It wasn't as awkward as I expected though. We didn't have a full on conversation but we did talk here and there.
She was currently placing the paper lanterns on long string that ascended from the tree to the roof of the house.
"So how are things with you and Jacob?" Leah asked.
Whoa. That's the first time she ever had in interest in anyone's relationship let alone mine and Jacob's.
"Things are…things are great actually. Our one year anniversary is a month and a half away.
"You didn't break his heart yet?" She asked with a laugh.
I frowned. I had no idea what she meant by that but I didn't press it.
"No — No. I would never do that. He's the love of my life. The thought of hurting him is unthinkable."
"I know." Leah replied with a sigh. "Hand me the third lantern and the bow." She gestured.
I smiled sweetly as I handed her the lantern and bow.
"And you? How are things with you in your life?" I asked.
She shrugged. "There's nothing much going on actually. I'm still painfully single, I have a 9-5 job and I go home to my empty house after my mother and little brother moved out."
That sounds very lonely.
I was kinda really hopeful for this meet up with Jake's friend Mike. I could tell they could have so much in common if Leah gives it a try. Give love a try.
"I heard you got a parrot." I told her, remembering Seth mentioning something about her parrot in passing a few weeks ago.
"Yeah," She replied.
I nodded. "It's Otis right?"
"Otis Oz." She replied.
I nodded. "That's a cool name."
"It's what was on his tag when I found him on the street." She told me as she clipped the lantern on.
I nodded. "Well I think it's awesome."
She attempted a small smile back as I put the placemats on one of the three long tables outside. One was for the snacks, the second was for the presents and the third one was where we'd all eat.
The setting for this bridal shower was perfect. Rachel lived towards the end of the rez where the lake and the sun was perfect for a fall season.
"Hey, Nessie!" I heard Rachel call for me.
I turned around to see her jogging to me in Adidas shoes and carrying her crying baby in her one arm with three wrapping papers in the other.
"I have to run a do a few things, get a few things from Port Angeles and I have to get Kim ready for later. So will you watch Brandon while I'm gone? Rebecca's sleeping in the room and she's too heavily pregnant to even bother and you're the only…"
I looked at Leah's way for a second before turning back to Rachel's plea for help.
"Don't worry! Of course I'll watch Willy." I said reaching for him.
"I hope you're not too busy?" She replied, handing the baby to me who was crying out for her. "Shh! Shh!"
"It's no problem, Rach. We were just finishing up anyway." I smiled as I adjusted Willy's baby shirt underneath his overall.
"Thank you!" She said in relief.
"The diapers, change of clothes are in the nursery. The milk and water bottles are in the fridge. You can heat them up in boiling water but let it cool first, until it's lukewarm-ish and uh…oh! The Gerber baby food is in the fridge and the pantry and…what am I forgetting? He gets a little grouchy when he doesn't have his toys so…they're everywhere so I'm sure you'll find something." She yammered.
"Rachel. I'll be fine. We'll be fine." I assured her.
I hope.
I think.
She laughed. "Okay. I'll be back in maximum three hours with Kim. The guests will arrive in an hour or so, just tell them to leave all the on the table. From biggest to smallest."
"Are you sure you're gonna be okay running around alone?"
"No—Actually, Christy and Emily are coming with me." She told me.
I watched Emily and Christy –Brady Fuller's imprint – leave the house with bags in their hands as they walked to Rachel's red Kia and shoved the bags into the trunk.
"Rach! We have to go." Christy called.
"Okay." Rachel smiled as she gave me a hug. "Oh which reminds me, Kamryn is also taking a nap so would you watch him as well when he wakes up? Paul is coming to get a few things later and to take Kamryn to his dad Sam."
"Bye, baby." She said stroking her son's full head of black hair and kissing his forehead while he sobbed for her.
"It's okay, Willy! She'll be back." I said, trying to stop his cries by caressing his head against my chest.
I spent the next hour having an ultimate bonding experience with Willy. He calmed down a couple of minutes after Rachel left but when Paul came home –along with Jake – to get a few beers in the fridge and camp chairs for Jared's bachelor party tonight he started losing it again when his papa left. But I guess I was doing okay by keeping him busy with his toys and playing and feeding him. I actually surprised myself.
And little Kamryn loved Willy so when he woke up from his nap he started playing with the baby, helping me take the load off my back in a way even though he was on a league of his own at three and a half.
"Look at you and your little school." Jake mentioned to me as he watched me play with the cars on Kamryn's Hot Wheels track.
I chuckled.
In addition to watching Kamryn and Willy, Christy's older sister Nina had three kids, Ethan, Declan and Nancy who wanted to play as well. Ethan and Declan were 6 and 5 whilst Nancy was Kamryn's age who liked to always dress in a tutu –as she mentioned to me as she played with my 'Princess Hair' as she also called it.
"Ethan and Kamryn need to learn how to share but otherwise, they're all sweethearts." I said smiling at Nancy who was on straddling my lap whilst attempting to braid my long bronze locks.
"No! You donut play like 'hat!" Kamryn called as he snatched the car from Declan.
"Hey! Kammy!" Jacob warned him, pointing a finger at him.
Kamryn pouted and cowered from Jake's eyes as he threw the car back to Declan and crossed his arms in that cute four-year-old annoyance. I smiled.
Jacob was an alpha in all aspects of the word it seemed. And not to mention him being a muscle-bound giant dressed in khakis, a plain grey T-shirt with sandals. I couldn't wait to see him with our kids.
Damn.
Our kids.
"Has the party began yet?" I asked.
He nodded. "That's why we came here to get beers because they're all running out."
I laughed. "Don't get too rowdy, okay? I still want my wolf back sober."
"It'll take fifteen rounds of alcohol to get me tipsy let alone drunk, babe. Wolf, remember?"
I rolled my eyes. Right.
"But I don't trust Embry." I warned.
He nodded. "Me too. I'll keep my eye out."
I smiled at him before moving my eyes over to Paul cooing at his son and throwing him in the air, with him gurgling a laughter in reply.
I laughed at the sight.
"Aunty Nessie! Please braid my 'air?" Nancy asked.
I gasped. "Sure, sweetie!" I told her.
She grinned from ear to ear and excitedly turned her back to me so I could braid her short hair.
I could see at the corner of my eye Jacob looking at me and grinning as I chatted to Nancy and braided her hair while all the other kids surrounded me.
I felt my cheeks flush.
"You guys can't stay too long. No boys allowed at bridal showers." I told Jake.
"Yeah, we should probably get going." Jake replied after a long while of staring at me.
"Kamryn, come on! Let's take you to your dad." Jake said as he bent down and lifted Kamryn off the ground.
"Me cars!" Kam cried.
"We'll get back later." He told him.
"I'll see you later." Jake told me. I nodded before we kissed each other goodbye and Paul gave Willy back to me.
Claire Young came back from helping Leah and the others with the setting up.
"Nessie. The guests are arriving." She told me.
"Oh!" I said after I was done braiding Nancy's hair.
The guests started arriving with their presents as soon as Jake and Paul. Rebecca woke up and took the role of Rachel as host of the shower whilst I tried to get Willy to sleep.
"I can't believe you're going to have to deal with two of these in a couple months." I laughed as I swayed Willy in my arms and patted him to sleep.
"I still can't either." Becca replied. "But…if my mom and dad could do it, I'm sure I can."
I smiled.
Rachel and Rebecca were so much alike yet so much similar. They sounded the same. They walked the same. They acted the same. It was scary.
"Do you know what you're having? Identical or fraternal?"
She nodded. "Fraternal twins. Solomon thinks they're girl and boy. I think it's all boys. I guess we'll see."
"Three more months."
She groaned. "Don't remind me."
I laughed as soon as my phone began buzzing in my pocket.
I pulled it out to see a call from Nahuel.
I frowned.
"Excuse me." I told her as I walked over to a less noisy place to answer the call.
"Nahuel." I answered.
"Mi carino — I apologize. I guess I should say, mi amigo." He replied.
I rolled my eyes and scoffed.
"How are you, Nahuel?"
"I am fantastimo, Renesmee. Actually, I'll be even more elated if you accepted my proposition?" He suggested.
"What proposition?" I frowned, just as Willy released a light cry before his eyes began drifting off.
"Is that a little bambino? Don't tell me you and your dog made a baby wolf after two weeks?" He laughed.
"No, it's a friend's baby I'm looking after." I told him. "What proposition, Nahuel?"
"Well…since you are so fascinated with art history like I am. I picked up on an art gallery studio in New York when I travelled there last year and I recently found out that they have a month long opening next month for the Christmas/New Year exhibition special."
"Which art gallery is it?"
Please don't say the NYU Gallery of Art studio.
"It's at the NYU Gallery of Art Studio." He told me.
Dammit!
"Oh! I've been wanting to go there for like…forever!" I chuckled.
"Just as I thought." He laughed. "Anyway, I was wondering if you wanted to come with me. We can leave next week since I'm sure you'd like to be back with your family for the holidays."
"Yeah uh…" I contemplated.
We were having our ski vacation up in Iceland and Switzerland in two or three weeks with the Denali coven so I guess next week wouldn't be bad. And more reason to agree was the upcoming Columbia University open day next Saturday that I've been meaning to go to anyway.
"I guess it wouldn't be bad." I agreed after a while.
"Yes!" He replied. I smiled. "We are going to have so much fun together."
I laughed.
Together? Hmm…
I don't know about that.
I was planning to fly to New York on my own but now that I might be going with Nahuel, should I ask Jake to tag along?
I'm sure I could take care of myself. My boyfriend didn't need to follow my tail all the time and vice versa.
I actually needed to do this by myself since I'll be living independently by myself next year.
"Awesome."
"And more reason to attend. A special guest artist will be in attendance. Yayoi Kusama is going to be the guest artist there, I'm sure you'd love to meet her. Masterpieces by Frida Kahlo, Georgia O'Keeffe, Mary Cassatt, Louise Bourgeois, Elizabeth Vigee Le, Diego Rivera, Titian, Jason Pollock and Vincent van Gogh will all be on display. Tell me that's not literally music to your ears."
I chuckled. "You really do know how to sell it to me."
I smiled. It would be nice to meet one of the most popular female painters in the world.
"Okay! I'm in."
"I'll book the tickets for us then." He told me. "Enjoy your day, mi amore."
I rolled my eyes but didn't argue with what he said.
"Thank you. Same to you." I told him before hanging up.
I grinned widely.
New York was my favorite place besides Washington and California and I was so excited I'd be living there soon.
Only a few short five months left.
Rachel returned with Kim and the bridal shower began.
After the whole gift giving, we helped Kim load the gifts into the car that she'd open the gifts with Jared. Not everyone was super wealthy to go out of their way and buy gifts from the store but some of them were very personable and were actually handmade – which in my opinion are the best kind of gifts.
"Now that Jared and Kim are getting married. I wonder who is next." Rachel hummed as her eyes landed on me eating my food.
I looked at her in obliviousness.
All the girls giggled.
"Have you and Jacob talked about marriage?" Becca asked.
I blushed. "We kind of have. Nothing major. But that's way down the road though."
It was sort of up in the air. We did talk about our future and that we wanted kids and live together but we never really talked about if marriage is encompassed in that future. I would hope so. But I don't know where Jacob's mind is on it.
We used to argue about it once. He wasn't sure if he thought marriage was even needed to show our commitment and I thought differently. I guess we'll see.
"Excuse me," Leah mentioned as she left her seat and made her way to the bathroom.
"You still have college right?" Nina asked me.
I nodded. "Exactly."
Although college was just an excuse I think. I'd marry Jacob tomorrow if I had the opportunity.
… …
Jacob Black
It was the morning after the crazy Bachelor party for Jared. We had a poker game night with a bunch of the wolves, Jared's friends from work, Solomon and Mike. After Embry beat all of us in poker, we played darts, foosball, pool and some video games before things started getting rowdy when we decided to play Groom's beer pong and making fun of fun of Jared with champagne shots.
Now we're all slightly hung-over.
Kim almost beheaded us all when we brought Jared home with a buzz but nothing she did would have compared to what her dad almost did to us. Let's just say it involved his shotgun and Embry, Seth and I running off like some shit scared cats seeing a cucumber for the first time.
And as punishment, we all had to wood chop today.
Jared's formal traditional Quileute wedding was tomorrow.
Many Native Americans desire a wedding which reflects our Indian heritage and Jared and Kim are one of those couples. One big thing was the wedding would take place before the sunset.
Firstly pre-wedding preparations are finalized today. So basically, Jared had to pay for Kim's hand in marriage. We call it either a full or half marriage in the Quileute tradition. Particular to the Northern Californian Native American tribes in that the man would pay the bride's family depending on the family's social standing and wealth. Jared's dad helped him pay for the half-marriage which is basically paying half the usual price for a full marriage and then he pays the rest by living with Kim's family under her father's jurisdiction. I'm pretty sure he's excited to finally get out of Nikko –Kim's dad – eye after having eleven months in hell in his home.
Poor guy.
A couple is required to perform certain responsibilities in preparation for their wedding. These responsibilities are determined by the officiator of the wedding which in this case is my dad. In additions, the bride and groom must choose sponsors. The bridal couple has four sponsors. Sponsors are usually older, well respected people chosen by the bride and groom. The sponsors give spiritual and marital guidance to the couple throughout their lifetime. And at the ceremony the sponsors make a commitment to help the couple.
Kim's dad, Nikko, Quil's grandpa, Charlie Swan and Sam are the sponsors.
My father would have been a sponsor but he suggested to have Charlie Swan take his place since my dad had many more commitments in the wedding. One being a Pipe Carrier –or officiant– who makes sure they are well aware of the commitment their making and they pass a non-narcotic pipe for everyone part of the wedding party including the bride and groom to smoke to symbolize their declaration of support for the marriage.
Anyway, chopping wood was part of preparing for the wedding. In Quileute tradition, the bride returns home to grind cornmeal and the groom fetches water and chops wood for his mother and for the feast/bonfire. On the eve of the wedding when all the chores are completed, the bride dresses in her manta beads and her wedding blanket and then she and Jared present the cornmeal to his mother.
The bride and groom get to see each other the night before and the morning of the wedding to prepare for the ceremony.
On the morning of the wedding the bride's female relatives bring to the groom's mother's home, the ground corn and piki bread that the bride prepared. This is sort of a gift of thanks for handing the groom's son to her.
After that, the bride will wash herself in a body of water (lake, river, ocean, and pond) –I assume she'll pick the lake at Rachel's place in order to be blessed by the spirit of the Earth.
Then the bride and groom separate and prepare for the wedding ceremony.
So a lot goes down in a Quileute wedding and I don't think I'd ever wanna go through all of that.
The Cameron's and Kim's family are very traditional so I don't think Jared or Kim would have easily gotten away without all this hoopla.
"You nervous?" I asked Jared as I chopped a pile of wood with the axe.
He shrugged as he leaned against his axe.
"I don't know. I'm okay."
"So you don't feel nerves at all?" Colin asked.
"I'm marrying the love of my life. There's no reason to feel any."
"Well…that's IF she doesn't become a runaway bride." Seth pointed out.
I stood up and wiped the sweat from my face and bare body to glare at Seth who shrugged.
"Funny how life worked out. You barely noticed Kim back at school and bam, you imprint on her and she's your only reason for existing." Embry pointed out.
"You'll have your time, Em. Don't rain on my parade!" Jared cried.
"Dude! I would rather meet a girl and get to know her than meet a girl and claim her as my own the minute I lock eyes with her. It's creepy and stalkerish. I'm not that kind of guy."
"You'll understand when it's your turn." Sam told him as he carried the stack of chopped wood onto the trunk of his truck.
"Oh, I understand very clearly how it works, I hear it in y'all heads every darn day and I know damn well it ain't gonna happen for me. It's not for me." Embry said, chomping on an apple as he leaned against the tree.
"Screw you, Em! You know what. Don't even come to my wedding!" Jared Cameron retorted.
Embry laughed. "I'm just being real. No need to get agro on my ass."
"He's just afraid that when he imprints he won't get to bang as many chicks as he does anymore." I joked.
Everyone nodded in realization.
Embry shrugged. "What's wrong with that?"
"You're just afraid of commitment. That's what it all is." Paul stated.
"You have commitment issues. It's a phobia dude."
"Call it what you want guys but believe me, if you were in my position, getting exposed to different flavors of women. Blondes and redheads, white and black, young and the cougars…Man! I'm living the life while all you gents get tied down and forced to chase after and watch Teletubbies with little insects you call kids."
Sam and I shared a look.
"Whatever, Embry." I replied.
He nodded.
"Guys, I'm freaking starving. When are we getting done with this crap?" Paul asked.
"You just had four burgers twenty minutes ago dude." Seth pointed out.
"And I want more. What are you trying to say?" Paul shrugged.
"You can have my last burger in the fridge." I told him.
Everyone gasped.
"Jacob Black never finished his plate? Are those bloodsuckers rubbing off on you? Did you flip your diet now?" Jared joked.
I gave him a death glare.
He laughed. "Gee—sorry bro. I almost forgot. You're dating one of them." He teased again.
"I know it's your wedding is tomorrow but I have no problems letting you walk down the aisle with missing limbs." I warned him.
I knew he was joking around. The guys have grown to accept the Cullen's despite their personal feelings and they loved Nessie to death, even Paul saw Nessie like a little sister now.
Jared laughed then checked his watch.
"Shoot! I have to go start preparing for my wedding." He said in a rush and then he stopped to think. "I'm freaking getting married!"
"Yeah you are! Whoop!" Sam cheered with the rest of the guys following as Jared slipped his shirt back on and ran over to his car before we all saw him back again tomorrow as a married man.
… …
Today was the wedding and Embry, Seth and I woke up really early to help set up the wedding at the arbor next to the beach and then we got ourselves dressed in our animal skinned shorts that covered our junk, our animal skinned shoes and shoulder shoal. We painted each other's faces and bodies and then we did final practice on the drums with the other guys.
The wedding began right before sunset with guests arriving and taking their seats after drinking water from the 8 ft. tall wedding vase spout which symbolizes both individuality and unity.
When all that was over, the singing ladies began singing tribal wedding songs and playing the rattles which was our queue to start the drums.
I watched as Nessie took her seat next to Charlie and Sue, looking radiant in her floral maxi dress, her long bronze locks braided to the side with loose wisps of hair sticking out and her skin glistening under the setting sun.
She caught me staring and smiled at me. I winked back.
My father was the first one of the wedding party to emerge, being wheeled in by Paul until they reached the tipi canopy which is the conical tent made of animal skins and birch bark where Jared and Kim would marry.
Then Jared came and drank from the vase before walking down the wooden mat aisle with the three sponsors following his tail.
In terms of the wedding attire, the bride, groom and the sponsors dress in regalia –traditional clothing made by hand. Turquoise and silver jewelry like necklaces and bracelets were also part of the attire.
"May you all rise?" My father told the congregation as soon as little Kamryn Uley and Nancy Talbot came with the rings and flowers.
All eyes were on the bride as she began walking the aisle with her arm around her father.
Kim's dress was woven with white for the east, blue for the south, yellow for the west and black for the north. She looked gorgeous. Her hair was neatly straightened down her shoulders and her beaded headpiece looked pretty cool and stellar.
Nikko handed his daughter to Jared –not without giving him a warning look – before taking his seat in front with his wife and five other children.
Jared and Kim locked hands and stared into each other's eyes with so much love.
"You may all be seated." Billy said to the guests and then looked at the couple. "We are all congregated here to witness the union of Jared Cameron and Kim Reymond in front of the Gods, in front of the Earth, in front of our Ancestral Spirits, and in front of their Friends and Family." He began.
Jared and Kim smiled.
"To begin. I would like the couple to share a drink from the bowl of purity." He told them as soon as Rachel brought the bowl and handed it to them.
"Water is used as a symbol of purification and cleansing. The bride and groom have a ceremonial washing of hands to away memories of past loves." Billy explained.
Jared and Kim drank before handing it back to Rachel.
"Are the sponsors present?" My dad called.
Charlie, Nikko, Sam and Quil's grandpa stood.
"Do you bless this marriage?" Dad asked.
"Yes." They all replied.
"Do you decree that this union is based off of undying love and companionship?" Billy asked.
"Yes."
"Do you solemnly vow that you will support the couple until your dying breath?"
"Yes."
"Thank you." He said to them.
He pulled out the pipe and carried it over to the bride and groom and then the rest of the wedding party before he went on to the next item.
"Now I will begin the prayer."
This is when the officiator recites a prayer in the Quileute language.
"Now you will feel no rain,
For each of you will be shelter to the other
Now you will feel no cold,
For each of you will be warmth to the other.
Now there is no more loneliness
For each of you will be companion to the other.
Now you are two bodies,
But there is only one life before you.
Go now to your dwelling place
To enter into the days of your togetherness
And may your days be good and long
Upon the earth."
Throughout this prayer, I had my eyes firmly set on my imprint, my mate, my one true love, my reason for existing, my happiness, my resting place, my other half, my everything…my Nessie.
Watching my Nessie witness this lovely union and visibly enjoying sent a stir in my heart and stomach. Her gorgeous genuine smile when the happy couple exchange vows and slip rings onto each other's fingers. I could feel her elated emotion.
And witnessing what Jared and Kim had today.
I wanted that.
I always thought weddings were too much of stress or hassle and I thought marriage in itself was just some piece of form you sign to a court to show the world but I was looking it in the wrong way. That's not what marriage isn't about.
It's about showing the person you marry to how much you love them and to have your friends and family share and bask in the joy.
And I can honestly say I wanted that now.
I see it clearly now.
I want to see Nessie look just as beautiful as Kim looks today. I want to look just as happy and tearful as Jared when I watch Nessie walk down the aisle at our wedding.
I wanted the whole thing.
And so does she.
And we could have that.
And we will have that.
… …
A/N: It's crazy how long since I've last updated this story and I hate it. I'm not neglecting this story. I'm most definitely going to finish it. The next chapter will be updated in the weekend, possible Friday or Saturday. And it'll take an insight into Leah's meeting with Mike.