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

Esteemed Ancestors

As the van carrying the elders pulled up their driveway, Jasper turned to Paul with a frown. "How many elders did you say there were?"

"Technically four. Jacob's a member of the council because he's the Alpha, then there's Billy Black, Sue, and Old Quil," Paul answered with a frown of his own.

"So including Emily, there should be four heartbeats in that van."

Jasper and Paul were the only two on the porch, the others content to wait inside for their visitors. Jasper looked into the van's window as it slowly came to a stop, then he and Paul exchanged a quick glance. They could only hear three heartbeats, but there were definitely four people inside. Unless Emily or one of the elders vamped up recently, something hadn't gone quite to plan.

When Sue Clearwater got out of the driver's seat, Jasper focused hard on her emotions, but all that was there were the typical variations of anger and fear he'd been expecting. Tuning into the others, their emotions were the same.

"Paul," Sue spit out through gritted teeth. "So Jacob was right, you have made an alliance with the leeches."

Paul rolled his eyes. "Alliance, family, call it whatever you want, Sue," he said, then looked a little more closely at the van. "What's up with Old Quil?"

"Nothing," Sue snapped. "He fell asleep."

"Jesus fuckin' christ," Jasper sighed. "Aren't you a nurse, lady?"

Sue looked at him in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"It's no wonder your pack is as stupid as they are," Jasper shook his head as he walked down the steps, smiling when Sue skittered backwards away from him. "Don't worry, I have no plans to hurt you. Yet," he added. Jasper opened the back door, smiling at Billy and Emily, who both glared at him. It didn't have quite the effect they were hoping for when Jasper could feel their fear amp up. "Thanks for comin'. Did neither of you notice there was a problem either?"

Emily and Billy looked at each other in confusion.

Jasper rolled his eyes and reached in to nudge Old Quil's shoulder, and he tipped to the side, hitting his head on the window.

"When did he 'fall asleep'?" Paul asked.

Sue crossed her arms indignantly. "A few hours into the drive. He's an old man and this has been a stressful event for him."

Jasper shook his head. "He's not sleeping, you self-centered fucks, he's dead. Y'all have been traveling in close quarters with a corpse for ten hours and not one of you is smart enough to notice," he snapped. As he walked back towards the porch, he glanced over his shoulder. "And I'd put that rifle away, Billy. It would really piss me off if you put a hole in this shirt. It's one of Bella's favorites."

Billy scowled that he'd been caught so easily, and turned the rifle on Paul instead. As soon as his finger started moving on the trigger, Jasper flashed to the van and snatched it from him before he could get a shot off.

"Get out of the damn car, both of you," Jasper growled. When Billy's indignation jumped, Jasper rolled his eyes in irritation. "I didn't say step out the car, I'm sure one of these cold-hearted bitches would grab your wheelchair if they could look past their own selfishness for a second."

"Hey—"

"Shut the fuck up, Emily," Jasper growled. "I have about as much patience for you as I do the other cold-hearted bitch. Make yourself useful and grab his fuckin' wheelchair or I might be tempted to choke you before the others get their rightful piece of you. Which would really piss me off 'cause I hate disappointing my family."

With that, Jasper stomped his way to the porch, grumbling under his breath the whole way, making Paul laugh.

"Infuriating, right?"

Jasper chuckled and shook his head. "It's a wonder you, Leah, and Seth turned out as normal as you did."

When the three newcomers got to the bottom of the stairs, Paul rolled his eyes and walked down to grab Billy out of his wheelchair and throw him over his shoulder. He carried him inside without a glance at the others.

"Well come on, I don't have all night," Jasper snapped.

Emily and Sue walked up the stairs, trying to look strong but more than a little scared to have a vampire walking behind them. When they followed Paul into the living room, they stopped in their tracks at the sight that greeted them. Not only were there an additional nine leeches, but Leah and Seth were sitting next to a pregnant Bella Swan, and on the coffee table in front of them was a severed vamp head in a bird's nest. Emily immediately bent over and threw up.

"Oh gross, you could at least have the decency to puke in the toilet or sink or something," Peter grumbled.

"Like you could understand a human getting sick, leech," Sue sneered.

Peter rolled his eyes and pointed at Bella, who gave Sue a cheerful wave. "Uh, I've lived with a pregnant human for almost the entire past three months, lady, so I'm well acquainted with the human body's need to purge itself on occasion."

"We're really gonna have to talk about all this racist language of yours," Jasper said disapprovingly as he went to grab some cleaning supplies from under the sink. "Being part of a group who has been persecuted for such a long ass time, is that really somethin' you want your young people to do to other people? You don't hear me calling you hateful stereotypical slurs, do you? I'll call you a cold-hearted bitch because you're a cold-hearted bitch, not because you're a member of the Quileute tribe."

"Racism lecture so soon, hon?" Bella laughed.

"It's like the third time they've called us leeches and they've been here less than five minutes!" he huffed. "It's bullshit."

"Where are Jacob and the rest of the pack?" Billy asked.

"You mean the pack you gave permission to come attack us on our own property?" Rosalie snapped. "Our property that's nine-hundred miles away from your territory?"

"You were planning on attacking us, leech," Sue snapped.

Rosalie just rolled her eyes. "None of you considered the fact that you might've been lied to? Jacob and Edward hated each other, you all knew that. You really believe Edward would come warn you of trouble just to be nice?" she huffed. "Not one of you thought perhaps there was an ulterior motive?"

"Man, vomit really smells a whole lot worse when it comes out of a body you don't love," Jasper muttered as he cleaned up the floor, making Bella laugh. When he stood back up, he looked at their guests. "First, you'll see your precious Alpha and the rest of them tomorrow. All the wolves are sleeping right now and I have no intention of waking them just for you to cause a scene. Second, I refuse to let any of my family or friends be referred to as a racial slur. I'll introduce everyone by name, and if you address anyone by anything else, you won't get an answer. Understand?"

Getting no reply, Jasper just rolled his eyes. "From the left and working clockwise: Peter and Charlotte Whitlock, Leah Whitlock, Bella Swan, Seth Whitlock, Emmett and Rosalie McCarty, Chelsea Volturi, Paul Whitlock, Esme Whitlock, and Jeremiah, Jane, and Demetri Volturi."

"Seth and Leah Whitlock?" Sue said in confusion. "Who's Whitlock?"

"We all are," Jasper said as he washed his hands, then grabbed some papers and a pen from the kitchen counter. "I'm Jasper Whitlock. And here, I need your signature on all the places you see an X."

When Sue made no move to take the bundle he was handing her, Jasper growled a little. "I told you I'm not a patient man, and that hasn't changed in the hours since I spoke to you. Take the damn papers and sign where there's a damn X."

Sue glared but took the papers. Seeing it was paperwork for legal emancipation, she scoffed and threw them on the floor. "Over my dead body."

"Oh, did you want me to come home then?" Seth asked the woman who gave birth to him, but all she did was glare at him. "Didn't think so."

Jasper felt the hurt inside the kid and sent him his love and pride. Like hell he'd let that evil crone make Seth feel like he wasn't perfect exactly the way he was.

"Over your dead body can be arranged," Jasper snapped at Sue as he picked everything up. "You kicked your sixteen-year old son out of his home because he dared to question you. You don't get to choose what happens to him now. So sign the fuckin' papers unless you want to see me really pissed off."

"This is what you want, Seth? To live with a coven of leeches?" Sue sneered, then screamed when Charlotte darted forward and broke her pinky.

"Watch your mouth, lady," Charlotte growled. "I know I heard my brother ask you politely not to use those types of racist slurs."

Seth gave his mother a long look. "This is a family. And they're more of a family to me than any of you have ever been."

Sue looked at him in disbelief before snatching the papers from Jasper's outstretched hand. She signed where she needed to, then threw the papers on the floor again.

"Man, y'all sure do like making messes in other people's houses," Peter said with a frown.

Bella's head tipped to the side as she looked at the newcomers curiously. "You keep using leech, and I've heard Jacob say bloodsucker, but don't your wolves hunt in their wolf form sometimes? I can't imagine they're out there draining the blood from whatever animal they're about to eat," she said. When Billy bristled at that, she nodded. "I'll have to remember to call Jacob and the others leech and bloodsucker from now on. You know I can't stand hypocrisy."

"They can't help it," Sue snapped, which seemed to be her default tone of voice. "It's their fault they're even wolves in the first place," she said as she gestured to the vamps in the room.

"Our fault?" Rosalie scoffed. "Sam didn't turn into a wolf until we'd been in Forks for over a year. I don't know when Jared did but Paul was third and he didn't phase until after we left town. So how the fuck is this our fault?"

Bella frowned at Billy and Sue. "I think you'll find your own esteemed ancestor Utlapa was responsible. Isn't he the one that took Taha Aki's body for some shady shit? He was just a spirit warrior like the others. It wasn't until after Utlapa pulled his little body-snatcher switcheroo that he was eventually able to share a body with a wolf. So don't try to point fingers over here when it's your own morally corrupt ancestor who set this particular ball in motion."

"Utlapa sounds like he'd fit in nicely with this current council of elders," Jasper said with an eye-roll.

"Are you a direct descendant, Emily?" Charlotte asked. On getting a confused look from the girl, Charlotte shrugged. "You're both backstabbing bitches."

"You told them our legends?" Sue screeched at Leah, Paul, and Seth.

"Okay, wow. I've never heard that tone or pitch from anyone but Alice before," Emmett grimaced as he covered his ears.

"No one in this room told me," Bella answered. "Your illustrious Alpha did."

"He would never," Billy snapped. "Those are tribal secrets."

"Then perhaps you should be questioning him, not me," Bella snapped right back. "It seems to me that the only two wolves in Sam's pack who had any integrity are sitting in this room. They did the best they could with the limits you put on them. Limits that led to my father being killed in front of me. They are the ones who acted with honor. But you believe a 'leech' when he tells you Paul and Leah want revenge and are planning on attacking you on your land? On what was their land? Why the hell did Edward Cullen's words carry more weight than a young man and woman you've known literally their entire fucking lives? Your own fucking daughter?" she snapped at Sue.

Feeling a swarm of emotions in the wolves of his family, none of them on the happy spectrum, Jasper figured it was as good a time as any to take a break. He sent Bella a little bit of alertness so she'd look at him, then quickly darted his eyes to Leah, Seth, and Paul, and sent Bella the mess of sadness and hurt they were feeling. Bella sucked in a sharp breath and nodded her understanding.

Not a second later she let out the most dramatic, fake ass yawn Jasper had ever heard and he huffed a laugh as he rolled his eyes. Perhaps they should've rehearsed this bit.

"I'm exhausted," Bella said with another fake yawn, too busy scrunching her eyes shut to see all the rest of her family giving her weird looks. "What do you say we call it a night?"

Jasper nodded as he bit back a laugh. "Solid plan, sweetheart. I'll show our guests to their lodgings. Peter, wanna give me a hand?"

After Peter pushed Billy Black's wheelchair out the front door, Jasper dragging Sue and Emily behind him, Bella and the rest of the Whitlocks practically smothered their wolves in hugs until all three were smiling again.

Peter and Jasper shoved the three guests into their shed, which contained four cots and a covered bucket in the corner. And because they weren't complete assholes, there were bottles of water and packages of some kind of camping food that Bella said tasted nasty but was sorta nutritious and filling.

Jasper grabbed the fourth cot before he walked out. "Won't be needin' this, I suppose," he muttered as he snapped the padlock into place to lock them in.

Rather than going back to the house, Jasper led Peter out to the pasture first so they could talk privately.

"We shouldn't—"

"I think—"

Both men laughed when they started talking at the same time, then Jasper motioned for Peter to go first.

"I think we need to cut this shit short with them."

"I agree," Jasper nodded. "It's one thing to talk about it and plan, but it's a whole other ball of fish to sit in the same room as people you loved and see their disdain for you."

"I don't think that's how the saying goes, Jas," Peter laughed.

Jasper laughed and shrugged. "Fish, wax, kettle, yarn, you know I can never keep 'em straight. So what do we do from here?"

Peter thought on it a minute. "I mean, if it was purely my call, I'd just kill all three of them. But I'm not sure that's the right move anymore. I don't want Paul, Leah, and Seth to hurt any worse than they already do."

"I've got an idea but it would mean at least two of our wolves going back to La Push temporarily, and I'm not all that inclined to let them go alone," Jasper said with a frown.

Peter seemed to know what he was thinking because he nodded his agreement. "You and Bella could go. It would give her a chance to finish dealin' with her dad's house before she's too far along to travel comfortably and y'all could drive her truck back. Any of the others on the animal diet could come along, too. Maybe meetin' some veggies in the flesh could help some."

Jasper nodded as he started thinking it all through. "Yeah, that could work. Alright, let's go break some hands and feet and then we'll talk to the others."

When the two of them got back to the main cabin, Jasper gestured for their Volturi friends to follow him to the door as he grabbed the nest with Edward's head. Once on the porch, he handed it to Chelsea, who grimaced but took it.

"Would y'all mind giving us an hour or so alone?" Jasper asked. "And maybe take him with you? I don't want him in anyone's head right now."

"Can't we just leave him on the porch?" Chelsea asked with a little bit of a whine. "Jeremiah can shield him so he can't be a nosy snoop."

"Yeah, that'll work just as well," Jasper laughed and nodded, and the four Volturi started down the steps after Chelsea set the nest down so Edward was facing the wall. "Wait, Chelsea. What kind of bonds do they have?"

"The three humans?" she clarified, and Jasper nodded. "Not as many as you would think, and weaker than I had been expecting. They have no bonds to anyone that is not currently in Montana."

"They have no bonds back in Washington?" Jasper asked in surprise. "None at all to their tribe?"

Chelsea shook her head. "No, none."

"Well, that'll work in our favor," Jasper smiled. "If you get bored while we're talking you could cut all their bonds. Wolves and humans."

"Yes!" Chelsea shouted and took off running for the bad-dog kennels, making the others laugh.

After thanking Jeremiah for shielding Edward, and assuring Jane she could do whatever she wanted to the Quileute wolves but kill them, Jasper went inside and joined his family. Before sitting beside his mate, Jasper went to each wolf in his family and pulled them up off the couch and into a hug, letting them feel all his love and pride.

Once he had Bella tucked against his side and his hand on her Lilly-bump, Jasper looked around at everyone. "I have an idea I want to run by you. And while this is a family and everyone has a voice, I'll tell y'all right now before I start that in this particular instance, three voices have the final say. But before I start, I want all of you to know I'm proud of you."

"For what?" Emmett asked.

"For sitting in this room with your heads held high, even when confronted by people who think the worst of us. For the most part, everyone was calm. And all of you were a lot more polite than they were, particularly Sue."

"Thanks for getting her to sign the papers," Seth said with a sad smile.

"I told you I would," Jasper said as he reached for the kid's hand. "And honestly, if she'd refused, I would've just forged her signature and paid Jenks to figure out a way to make it legal. You are a part of this family, and there's not a thing in this world that could change that. You will always be part of this family. So, having said that, I'd like to propose we alter our course a bit."

"How?" Rosalie asked a little suspiciously.

"I think we should take them back to Washington," he started, then held his hand up. "Please let me finish before you start yelling your opinions at me. We've talked before about the Quileute tribe as a whole, and how they deserve better than the way the council and the pack have treated them. We've also talked about the fact that being one of the tribe's protectors should be an honor. I think there's a way to take both of those things and set them right. The tribe's current pack all let themselves be corrupted both by the power phasing gave them and by the racism of the elders. While Leah and Paul were still part of that pack, they did everything they could to act with honor. The two of you worked around a very literal gag order to try to protect two humans you had little to no connection to just because you knew it was the right thing to do."

"Are you suggesting we go back?" Leah asked in shock. "To be part of that tribe again?"

"No," Jasper answered immediately. "Not unless you wanted to. I very selfishly hope that all three of you want to stay with us. But if you ever did decide you wanted to go back, any of you, you would continue to be a full member of this family. Distance will never change that."

"Then what's your proposal?" Paul asked.

"I asked Chelsea about it a few minutes ago, and she told me that none of the humans that came here tonight have a single bond to your tribe, which also means no one of your tribe has a bond to them. I think a group of us should take Sue and Billy back to La Push, and that we should have a meeting with the entire tribe present. We tell them the truth, the whole story from start to finish - that the legends are real, about the treaty with the Cullens, about what the two of you went through as part of Sam's pack, the way the elders treated you, getting kicked out, everything. I'd come with you, and I'd ask Bella to consider coming as well. If any of the other former Cullens wanted to come, we can discuss that. But there has to be a way for the humans of the tribe to have a say in how things are run going forward. The fact that all that knowledge and power rested in four hands is a huge contributor to how fucked up everything got. There will be wolves again. The gene doesn't just die out. If we can turn that back into the honor it should've been, I think that could make all the difference."

"How do you see that happening?" Bella asked.

"First, by letting the humans know who's a wolf. If the wider tribe knew about the pack, I truly believe Leah and Paul wouldn't have been treated the way they were. But because this whole thing is shrouded in secrecy, the elders and the other wolves were free to act however they wanted. Again, being a protector should be an honor. Let's make it an honor. Let's allow the tribe as a whole to support the pack that's there to protect them. The kids who carry the gene should know they do, just like the parents should. Isn't there a wolf whose own mother can't know about him because of the rule to keep the secret?"

Leah nodded. "Embry. No one knew he carried the gene because his mother came from another tribe when she was pregnant. Only Quileutes carry the gene so it was a shock when he phased for the first time. We still don't know who his father is."

"I get that no one knew beforehand, but once the kid turned into a wolf, he never should've been asked to keep the secret from his own mother. All that did was put stress on his relationship with the only parent he knew," Jasper said. "Having the legends confirmed to the tribe as a whole means no one will be caught out like that again. I also think we should use some of the money already earmarked for the tribe to help support any families with a protector who need a little help. We all know it's hard holding down a job or going to school when your life is the way it is. Kids and families should have the resources to get help where they need it, whether that's helping students still in school get a diploma, or supplementing a lost income, or just helping with food bills because of how much food the wolves need to consume."

"Where do we come in?" Rose asked.

"I think it might make a difference in the way the tribe views us if they have a chance to meet actual vampires, rather than just listening to the legends. I also think we should offer to train anyone who becomes a wolf who has a desire to learn. They're protectors for a reason. Let's teach them how to keep their people safe. If Sam's pack had been properly trained, Victoria very well could've been killed long before she was. And if there's ever a time the tribe is under threat and there's no current pack, we could make a commitment to always come to their aid."

"I'd be willing to go and tell the tribe what the pack did to me, what they cost me," Bella said. "I can tell them about your offer to help and that Sam's pack refused and my dad was killed as a result."

Jasper nodded as he held her a little closer. "I thought you might," he told her, then looked back at the wolves in his family. "Your tribe has a long history and there's a huge emphasis on your ancestors. I think we have the potential between us to honor those ancestors and make proud whatever supernatural force gave you the ability to be a protector. I don't want you to think I expect you to do this alone or that I think you should go back for good. But I think if any positive changes are going to stick, that the tribe needs to hear your stories. Having said that, if any of you don't feel comfortable with that, not a single person in this room will think less of you. Walking back into a place, even temporarily, that holds so many painful memories isn't easy."

"What about Billy and Sue?" Emmett asked.

"I think going back in disgrace is worse than death," Jasper answered honestly. "They've essentially corrupted what your ancestors gave them. Let the tribe know that. I have no doubt the tribe as a whole will hold them to account. I might also add a caveat that none of the money can go to aiding either Billy or Sue."

"And Emily?" Rosalie asked.

"She's the one I'm on the fence about," Jasper admitted. "I have absolutely no intention of letting any of those wolves from Jacob's pack walk off this property. Being an imprint, I'm not sure what'll happen to her when he dies. But if it's anything like what happens to vamps who lose their mate, I don't particularly want her out there plotting against us."

"Can Chelsea break their bond?" Charlotte asked.

Jasper shrugged. "I'm not sure. She's trying right now, along with breaking the bonds between all the others."

When Bella stifled a yawn, Leah looked at the clock to see it was almost midnight. "I need some time to think it over. Why don't we call it a night and talk some more in the morning?"

Everyone nodded their agreement, so Jasper bid everyone goodnight and scooped his half-asleep mate up to take her to bed.

When he passed the front door, he rolled his eyes at himself hard. He'd completely forgotten about Old Quil. He turned back to the living room and called for Peter and Charlotte.

"Can y'all do something about the dead guy in the van? Cover him with a sheet or somethin'?" Jasper asked, then remembered one of the things he'd read when he did some research on the Quileutes. "Any chance you'd be willing to go to that camping store and buy a canoe first thing in the morning?"

Peter and Charlotte both gave him a weird look. "Thinkin' of doing some boating?" Peter asked.

"No," Jasper laughed. "I'd just rather not do anything else to make the esteemed Quileute ancestors have a bigger grudge against me. I'll explain in the morning."

They agreed, though they were awfully confused. Jasper just shrugged and walked upstairs thinking about his own Quileute family members.

He'd meant it when he said going back to Washington temporarily was a decision for the wolves to make and that he wouldn't think any less of them if they didn't want to do this, but he really hoped they would. Not only did he want them to find a way to put things right that the elders and Jacob's pack so royally fucked up, but he thought it might just give them a little bit of closure on a terrible time in their lives.