A/N: Sending each of you my heartfelt gratitude for reading:)

Transformations

"Bella," Jasper said, trying to sound disapproving but fighting a smile.

"Oh, fine," Bella huffed and petulantly stomped her way over to the couch, where she threw herself down dramatically.

Jasper laughed as he pulled her into his arms. "You know she'll tell us when she comes inside, right?"

"I know, but I'm just so excited!" she squealed a little, before cringing and apologizing to her vamp family. "Sorry, that escaped before I could get a hold of it."

Bella had been standing at the window being a snoop, hoping to catch sight of her big sister getting her first kiss from her imprint. After they'd hit Angela with the supernatural whammy, the rest of the family had joined them so Angela could fire any questions she liked at them. Even Peter and Charlotte had been included, the phone on speaker resting on the coffee table.

The only information they'd decided to hold back for the moment was about the shapeshifter bloodlines in the Quileute tribe. Angela had her own friendship with Jane Fuller and they weren't sure it was their place to tell Angela that Brady could end up a protector. Otherwise, they were open to answering just about any questions she had.

Unsurprisingly, many of her questions were about the nature of soulmates in both the wolf and vamp worlds, so in addition to Jasper and Bella, a lot of questions got thrown to Rosalie and Emmett, and Peter and Charlotte.

The whole family was inclined to like her regardless, simply because she was Leah's other half, but they found they liked Angela all on her own, too. She was just as warm-hearted and kind as Bella had assured them she was. She was also observant and thoughtful. If she asked a question that anyone seemed a little hesitant to answer, most specifically how each vamp had been 'transformed' as Angela called it, she just moved the topic along to something else.

"What's happening now?" Bella whispered.

"Same thing that was happening six seconds ago," Jasper laughed. "They're still just saying goodbye. Leah's…"

"Leah's what?" Bella whisper-shouted when he trailed off. "Leah's what? Oh, screw this," she muttered and hopped up, only for Jasper to catch her and pull her back down before she could run back to the window. "Jas!" she whined.

"Bella, she deserves the same privacy and respect she extends to us," Jasper gently reminded her. "Besides, she's gonna be walking in the door in three, two, one."

Bella heard the door and shoved Jasper's arms off her - quickly sending him her gratitude for letting go so she could pretend she actually did shove him away - and ran for the door, only slipping a little on the hardwood floor in her socks. Fortunately Leah was there to grab her before she hit the wall.

"Did you kiss her?" Bella shouted, then closed her eyes and took a deep breath and tried again a little more politely. And calmly. "How'd it go? Did you get a goodnight kiss?"

Leah hugged her sister, who was maybe more hyped up than she'd ever seen her, and took pity on her. "I did," she said, breaking into the most beautiful smile Bella had ever seen on Leah's face.

Bella quickly turned her head in the direction of the living room. "Cover your ears please!" she called, then waited two full seconds before squealing as loud as she could while throwing her arms around Leah. "Congratulations! I'm so happy for you!"

"Thanks, Bella," Leah laughed as she hugged her. "Come on, let's go sit down. Your heart sounds like a hummingbird."

"Probably a good idea," Bella nodded and grabbed Leah's hand, tugging her along behind her. Seeing Jasper's concerned face, she smiled at him and nodded. "Yeah, go ahead," she laughed as she sat down.

Jasper wrapped an arm around her and gently fed her a little bit of tranquility, just enough to get her heart rate back towards the normal range. When he felt Bella's interpretation of an apology - she usually sent remorse and love when she was sorry about something, although it didn't happen often so it took him a second to work out - he gently shushed her.

"Don't be sorry about being this happy for Leah," he murmured as he kissed her temple. "You have a big heart that holds a lot of love. That's never something to feel bad about."

Bella smiled as she leaned into his kiss. "Alright, now that I'm back to a more sane level of excited, how was it, Leah?"

"Perfect," Leah said with a dreamy little sigh that had Bella biting back the urge to squeal excitedly again. "Honest to god, truly perfect. I loved Sam, I really, really did, but this? Just a simple kiss with my imprint beats everything he and I ever did."

"That's how I felt when I kissed Bella for the first time," Jasper smiled. "I'd loved people before her, been intimate with people, and kissing her was just about the best thing ever."

"I didn't personally have the wealth of experience my mate did, what with him being alive for eons and married for over half a century," Bella started, laughing when Jasper tickled her side. "But it certainly beat all my experience. All my expectations, too."

"Was it different kissing a girl, rather than a guy?" Seth asked curiously.

"I think the biggest difference to anything that came before is because she's my imprint, not that she's a woman," Leah answered him with a smile. "Her lips were softer, though. That was nice."

"I'm so happy for you, Lee," Paul said as he reached over and pulled her close for a hug.

Esme came in and sat down at the other end of the couch from Jasper, and gently tugged Bella until she was laying with her head in her lap. As soon as she started running her fingers through her hair, Bella sighed and let go of some of the tension she was holding. Jasper smiled and sent Esme his gratitude as he started massaging his mate's feet.

It didn't happen often that Bella got wound up the way she was, she tended to be pretty calm through most of what life threw at her, but that just meant she didn't really have the tools to calm herself down quickly. That typically led to her getting anxious and panicky, which nobody liked seeing. Through trial and error, they'd found that Esme and Jasper were the two most likely to get her calm without Jasper having to use his gift. If she was exceptionally hyper, like she was a few minutes before, she didn't mind Japer's help. Generally, though, she tried not to rely on it. If she ever found herself in a tizzy without Jasper's gift handy, she wanted to have other methods that worked to settle down.

Pre-pregnancy, she sometimes made herself chamomile or lemon balm tea, but she'd read mixed things about them in pregnancy so she didn't want to risk it. Fingers through her hair and foot rubs were her pregnancy preference.

"So none of you feel weird that Angela's a girl?" Leah asked, then laughed at all their faces. "That was worded poorly. None of you feel weird that my imprint's a girl?"

"Do you feel weird about it?" Jasper asked.

"No," Leah shook her head. "I've never wanted to kiss another woman before but I definitely notice if another woman is pretty. I think that's fairly normal for most women," she said, and Esme, Bella, and Rosalie nodded their agreement. "So it's not outside of my comfort zone that I find Angela beautiful, and being attracted to her is only a tiny jump from there. I don't think we're given soulmates we can't accept. Besides, who she is on the outside is less important than who she is on the inside."

"She's pretty hot on the outside," Paul smiled. "But she seems just as beautiful on the inside, too."

Bella nodded sleepily. "Angela's really the whole fantastic package. She's beautiful, she's crazy smart, she's warm and kind and funny. Fate really did you a solid, Leah."

"As it should have," Rosalie nodded sharply. "You deserve all this and more."

"And you being happy is all that matters to us," Jasper added. "I can tell you with absolute certainty that none of us cares if your imprint is a man or a woman. Your happiness is what matters most."

"And he's being literal when he says he can say that with certainty," Emmett smiled. "He questioned us before you got home last night."

Leah looked at Jasper with a smile. "Looking out for me, Dad?"

Jasper laughed and shrugged. "Tease all you want. We just got rid of all the racist dicks in our lives, and I really didn't want to have to deal with homophobic dicks on top of that."

"Thank you," Leah said quietly. "All of you, thank you. I couldn't ask for any better family."

Leah probably should've seen the group hug pile-up coming, but it still surprised her. As a good portion of her family tackled her on the couch, all she could do was laugh and accept the love her family always gave her so freely.

"How are you feeling?" Bella asked Leah the next afternoon, roughly around the time Angela would've reached Seattle.

Angela had said an early goodbye to her family, then met Leah and Bella for breakfast at the diner in town before she hit the road.

"Mostly okay," Leah nodded. "There's a little anxiety but no physical pain."

"Good," Bella smiled. "Don't hesitate to take my truck if you need to. No one wants you to feel pain when there's a solution to avoid it."

"Thanks," Leah smiled, bumping Bella's shoulder with hers as they walked in the Swan's kitchen.

Rosalie looked up as she tucked her tape measure and notebook into her bag. "I've got everything I need, you guys ready?"

The three of them were going to Port Angeles to get what they needed to transform the house from a time capsule of Charlie and Renee's happier days to a home with more modern conveniences - like a dishwasher and a bathroom more than one person could stand in at a time - and Bella was more than a little excited. She didn't know much about construction and things like laying flooring, and Rosalie had promised to teach her.

Four hours later, Bella was beginning to think DIY wasn't her thing. Picking out things like counters and cabinets and appliances was sorta fun, but that was where the enjoyment ended for her. Maybe when she was a vamp and could lift things easier and work faster it might be more fun. Fortunately they'd just gotten to the step where Bella had a built-in escape clause.

"Hey sweetheart. Ready to be gone?" Jasper asked as he answered her call.

"Yes! Yes, please," she laughed. "Rosalie wants to sand the floor or whatever so I don't want to be here to breathe that in."

"Do you want me to drive there or do you feel like a run?"

Bella tipped her head as she thought on it. "A run doesn't sound awful. It's really nice out," she answered.

"Alright, see you in five."

"Thanks, Jas," she said as she hung up, smiling at Rose when she came to sit beside her on the front porch. "Sorry, I thought I'd like it more."

"Don't apologize," Rosalie laughed. "We all have our thing. DIY just isn't yours, that's all. You liked picking things out and you've got a good eye, so if we have projects in the future, that can be your job."

"Really? You think I chose the right stuff?" Bella asked, absurdly pleased with herself. She hadn't wanted to get anything too high-end because then the new things wouldn't go with the rest of the house, and she'd worried that the vamps - who were used to the best of everything - would be disappointed.

"I think you chose exactly right," Rose assured her. "If this was a brand new build from scratch you probably would've picked out different things, but what you picked fits this house perfectly. You did good, kid."

It was still a little wild to Bella that the vamps in her life seemed to genuinely appreciate her opinions and choices. Edward had thought his time on this earth meant he always knew best and he had a tendency to belittle her. No one in her current family did that and it was a surprisingly good feeling.

As if knowing where her thoughts had gone, Rosalie wrapped an arm around her sister's shoulders. "You're perfect just the way you are, Bella. Even if I hadn't personally liked any of your Home Depot choices - which I did - it wouldn't have meant a damn thing. This is your project, not mine. My age or bank balance or whatever doesn't make my opinion hold more weight than yours."

Bella smiled and rested her head on Rose's shoulder. "Have I told you lately that you're one hell of a big sister?"

"No," Rosalie huffed indignantly. "It's been like eight days."

"Sorry, I've been remiss in my little sister duties," Bella laughed. "You're a stellar big sister, Rosalie Lillian Hale McCarty."

"I'd have to agree with her," Esme laughed as she and Jasper rounded the corner of the house, both of their hair a little windblown from their run.

"Come to help now that I'm bowing out?" Bella smiled as she stood up.

"Thought I might as well. It may not be your thing, but I love doing jobs like this. The fact that it's your house, Charlie's house, just means I get a little extra joy out of it."

"Thanks, Esme," Bella whispered as she gave her a tight hug, sadness welling up inside her for a moment.

"He'd be so proud of you, Bella," Esme said softly as she held her. "You've grown into such a beautiful, happy young woman. And I have no doubt he would've been so pleased with what you've decided to do with his house. His friendship with the Blacks may have been severed, but he had other friends on the Reservation and enjoyed spending time there. This is the perfect way to honor him."

Bella sniffled a little as she gave Esme one last squeeze before letting go. "Just like Rose is a stellar big sister, you're a stellar mother, Esme Anne Platt Whitlock."

"Thank you, darling," Esme said with a brilliant smile. "Now, let Jasper carry you home. I believe you have three brothers waiting on you for a Scrabble tournament. Seth says he's finally feeling lucky."

As Jasper scooped Bella into his arms, she couldn't help but think she was the lucky one.

"How are things with Angela?" Sally Fuller asked as she plopped herself down on the Cullen's living room couch a week later.

Collin and Brady had become regular visitors to the old Cullen house, and everyone had been a little surprised to find that friendships had sprung up effortlessly with both sets of parents.

"Really good," Leah smiled. "I drove up a few days ago to have lunch with her in between classes."

"I'm so glad to hear that," Sally said with a huge smile. "It's a relief to know imprinting has the potential to be a positive thing."

Leah and the others felt their hearts go out to Emily a little bit at that. When Leah had made the comment about fate not giving someone a soulmate they can't accept, it had gotten all of them thinking. There was every possibility that Sam and Emily had been true soulmates, and that if Sam had approached things differently they could've been very happy together. Instead of relentlessly hounding and pursuing her, if he'd been willing to settle for friendship for a while in order to give Leah some time and space to heal, Emily may have been able to eventually open her heart to him. Unfortunately, Sam had decided it was all or nothing with his imprint and it had led to some pretty drastic, and undeniably despicable, actions on his part.

The whole Whitlock clan hoped that Emily would find someone in the future who could make her as happy as she deserved to be.

Emily had moved back into what had been her and Sam's house on the edge of the forest in La Push the day after the meeting with the nine families of the shapeshifting bloodlines. All of the Whitlocks in Forks had spent some time there with her, and they'd helped her make it a home of her own, pretty much erasing all evidence that Sam had ever lived there.

They'd all found her to be a kind and resilient woman. She was quietly determined to live a happy life after everything that had happened with Sam, the other wolves, and the elders. She and Leah spent a good amount of time together, along with Seth, as they worked on repairing their damaged relationship. Emily was just as thrilled as the other Whitlocks that Leah had found her imprint and that Angela had freely and easily accepted their bond.

Watching Emily and Leah together, it was easy to see that they'd once been as close as sisters, and everyone was grateful that Chelsea's gift had given them the ability to get that closeness back.

The Whitlocks, Fullers, Littleseas, and Emily were gathered to make their final plan for the following day. It had taken the better part of a week to find a time where the whole tribe could get together, but they were finally going to be meeting the next afternoon.

"Any relevant gossip?" Emmett asked.

Sally smiled and shrugged. "Not really. Everyone is aware something's brewing, not just because of the upcoming meeting, but because there's been no sign of Sue, Billy, or Old Quil. The wolves disappearance has been noticed, but no one is complaining," she laughed. "Everyone has been fed up with their behavior for ages."

Jasper could easily understand that. They were a bunch of kids who thought they ran the place, and the elders had done nothing but enable that behavior.

When Peter had relayed what was said during Edward's appeal to Jacob for help in his revenge, all of them had done a collective eye-roll at Jacob claiming the whole state of Washington as his. If the whole pack acted with that kind of arrogance and conceit, it was no wonder the humans of the tribe weren't too broken up they'd disappeared without a trace.

The elders, on the other hand… everyone was a little nervous about how the tribe as a whole would take the news of their demise. Old Quil wasn't much of a worry, he'd been dead long before they'd all arrived in Montana, but Billy and Sue were another matter. The humans of the tribe had definitely grown upset and rather disillusioned about the very obvious way their needs or wishes were thrown to the side in favor of Sam's 'gang' but that didn't mean they'd be fine with the two worst offenders being vamp meals.

Nearly everyone who'd been there for the first meeting was convinced the larger tribe would take the news as well as they did. Hearing the full story from Emily and the three ousted wolves left them with zero sympathy for the fate of the elders.

"At least they died for a useful purpose, giving sustenance to other beings," was how Kevin Littlesea had summed it all up. He'd found their behavior particularly disturbing with the new knowledge that his son could have potentially become a wolf under their authority. He made it very clear that he was glad they were dead because it meant they'd never have a say in his son's life if he became a protector. Their callous disregard for life - particularly that of Charlie and Bella Swan - had truly disgusted him.

"What's that smell?" Collin asked, his nose scrunched up a little, as he walked inside with Seth and Brady.

Brady put his nose in the air and took a deep breath in. "You mean the cookies?" he asked.

"No, it's kinda sweet like that, but like way too sweet," Collin said, his face scrunched up even more. "Burnt sugar maybe? I don't know, but it sorta hurts my nose."

Everyone exchanged alarmed glances at that. That was how vamps smelled to the wolves, but only after they'd phased for the first time. Collin was still very much a human.

Jasper looked him over with a critical eye but could see no changes from the first day he met the kid. There was no growth in height or muscle mass, no sweating or shivering from a too-high fever, and his scent was still completely human. Digging into his emotions, Jasper found nothing that would make him think Collin was close to phasing. He was a calm and happy kid, for the most part, and his emotions were exactly the same as they'd been every other time Jasper had been around him.

"Why don't we go sit outside?" Esme said, trying not to sound worried. "It's a lovely evening, and I bet if you boys ask nicely, you could convince Paul to start a fire in the fire pit. I may or may not have bought the fixings for you to make s'mores."

"Yes!" Collin and Brady both cheered, then each grabbed one of Paul's arms to drag him out the patio doors.

As soon as they were out the door, Connie and Kevin turned to the Whitlocks with wide eyes. "That's the way you described vampire scents, right?" Connie asked Leah.

"It is," Leah nodded, just as confused as the rest of them. "But they only smelled that way to me after I was a wolf."

"You weren't around the Cullens before that, though," Bella pointed out. "Because of the treaty, they never came on your land."

Leah had to concede that was true. She'd had no contact with any of the Cullens before she met Jasper in Montana, and the same was true for Paul. "But he's not showing any of the signs that he's close to phasing. Have you noticed anything odd about his behavior this last week?" Leah asked his parents.

Connie and Kevin both shook their heads. "No, nothing," Connie said. "Aside from wanting to come over here all the time, he's been the same as he's always been. No mood swings, no growth, not even an increased appetite."

"Could the heightened sense of smell be the precursor to everything else?" Rosalie asked. "Maybe this is the very first sign, but because none of the Quileute wolves had any contact with us when we were living here there was no way to know?"

"I suppose it's possible," Jasper shrugged. "There's nothing in Collin's emotions that gives me cause for immediate concern. There's not a trace of anger in the kid and every single wolf said anger was their most predominant emotion by far leading up to their first transformation."

"It's true," Leah nodded. "I felt like I was in a constant rage for days beforehand."

"Seth, your first phase was totally different to the others because it was shock and anger, rather than vamp exposure," Bella said. "Did you have any of the warning signs before your heard Jacob and Quil talking in the woods?"

Seth took a few moments to think about it. "I was angry, but I wouldn't say it was my predominant emotion or that it was misplaced in any way. I was angry that my mom wouldn't tell me the truth about why Leah had left. I had a growth spurt but not much of one. Most of the added height and muscles came after I'd already gone wolf. I didn't have a fever or anything, either."

"What about your sense of smell?" Emmett asked. "I know there weren't any vamps around, but did anything smell off to you leading up to that day?"

Seth thought on that, too, but shook his head and shrugged a little. "I don't think so."

"Do you want us to leave town?" Jasper asked Collin's parents.

"No," Connie said immediately. "Like you said, being a protector is an honor. Having you leave would just be fighting Collin's fate. I know transforming was traumatic for the wolves in the past, but that was because of the secrecy and not having any preparation. We're doing things differently now."

"Besides, if the change in his sense of smell is any indicator, he's going to be a wolf whether you're here or back in Montana," Kevin added. "At least with the other wolves being in town temporarily, he'll have some support while he adjusts."

"It'll be interesting to see how he reacts to you guys as a wolf," Bella said. "He's had the chance to get to know you as a human, and he genuinely likes you all. I'm curious if that'll affect the whole 'mortal enemy' thing."

Jasper laughed and shook his head. "I don't know that I'm real keen to test that, sweetheart. New wolves are a lot of things, but levelheaded isn't one of 'em."

"True," Bella conceded with a smile.

Brady came inside then with a huge smile on his face. "We've got the fire going, ma'am. Can I help you carry out the s'mores stuff?" he asked Esme.

Esme smiled and nodded. "That would be lovely, thank you for offering. And with manners like that, I may just be willing to sneak you an extra marshmallow or two," she laughed as she led him into the kitchen.

"Me, too!" Collin shouted as he ran inside and followed behind them.

"Better hearing, too, huh?" Bella asked. "I don't think he should've heard that with the sliding door closed."

"No, definitely not," Jasper agreed.

"Well, it doesn't seem like his transformation is imminent, but Connie and I will talk with him when we get home so he's as prepared as he can be. For now, let's just focus on tomorrow and take each day as it comes," Kevin said.

All they could do was nod and agree.

Collin already had the knowledge of what was to come, which put him light-years ahead of the others. Because of the steps they were currently taking, they were all hopeful that the next pack of wolves on the Quileute Reservation would have a smoother transition and the love and support of their whole tribe.