*Author's Note*
There is a slight deviation here from canon. There is question of whether or not Charlie is of Quileute descent. This is not supported by Stephanie Meyer's story, but for the sake of the story here, we are going to play as if way up the line, there is a branch of the family tree that comes from the tribe. This is to support Bella's physical change and the choice of the Spirits to include her. This is also why Charlie, Harry and Billy were such good friends. They have more in common than they even really know. Hope you guys enjoy***
Sam
"But she's not even Quileute! How do we just sit back and let an outsider move onto our land!?" Old Quil objects powerfully.
"She may not be Quileute, but the Spirits have chosen her as the true alpha's mate. Who are we to stand against their decisions?" Sue Clearwater offers up quietly. She took over Harry's spot on the tribe council after his death. "If the Spirits chose her, there is probably a good reason. Maybe she has some Quileute in her heritage. I mean Charlie and his family have been in this area and from this area for as long as I can remember. Is there any way we could find this out?"
Murmurs sweep through the council for a few moments, then Billy Black speaks up, "We could look in the Book of Heritage to see if someone married outside of the tribe, but for the most part, everyone marries in the tribe for this very reason. I mean, the fact that if a person chooses to marry outside of the tribe, they are required to relinquish their tribal claims and protections. This is to maintain the secret and to protect the tribe. Most value their heritage too much to just let their claim go."
That's when Old Quil chimed in, "Another option could be that a young man had dalliances with a young lady outside the tribe and instead of marrying her, abandoned her and the child. So either the Spirits chose someone with no relationship to the tribe, or Bella has Quileute heritage somewhere in her ancestry. We need to look into this. If she does have Quileute ties, then that can lessen the strains when we announce that she is moving onto the Reservation. However, regardless of the results, we need to establish that as the legends state she is meant to take on the role of a wolf, she has to move on the Reservation, there is no question about that. So, while we look into the ancestry matter, we need to look for a place that is suitable for her to move into as the true alpha's mate. It needs to be close enough to the center of the Rez befitting her station as the mate of a future Chief, but she also needs to be far enough in the woods that her changes and the packs movements are hidden. Any suggestions?"
As they began listing potential housing options for Bella, I sat there wondering how this would work seeing as there has never been a peaceful transfer of the alpha mantle before. Would Emily and I take the place we were meant to be as the Beta couple or would Jacob appoint someone else as Beta since I would be the former Alpha?
*Later that night*
I sat at the dinner table with Emily after the pack had left to go home. Dinner was cleaned up, and I had just cracked open a beer...
"Sam?"
"Yes?"
"How is this all going to work? Typically, the only way an Alpha can rise is to kill his predecessor in a fight. How is this going to work?"
"Honestly, Em, I don't know. When I was at the council meeting earlier, the only thing the council wanted to discuss was Bella's potential Quileute heritage and where she was going to live. They didn't even open the floor for me to ask any questions."
"Quileute heritage? How could that be possible? The Quileute people rarely marry outside of the tribe and if they do, typically it is someone in the Makah tribe and then they are brought into the tribe and made Quileute."
"Well, if someone in her ancestry either married outside of the tribe and left permanently or one of the young men got a girl pregnant... To be honest, that seems like the more likely story... But without having her DNA tested, there really is no way to be sure."
"Well, why don't we do that? There are all kinds of programs that test for Native DNA for the registry and all that. We could use that to see if she has some connection to us."
"You know what, that is not a bad idea. It isn't necessarily important who her ancestor is, but more so her heritage in general. I can bring that up at the next council meeting."
"DNA testing has become quite advanced nowadays... Some people have been able to find long lost siblings and family members. It may even tie her to a single family and explain her connection."
Thoughts of possibilities and theories swirled in my head the rest of the evening. *I guess I will just have to wait and see.*