Aurora Borealis

by Star-Of-Radiance

Bella's 'perfect slice of forever' slowly unravels, piece by piece. Months after the confrontation during Breaking Dawn, all the devastating consequences of crimes, both forgotten and overlooked, reveal themselves, and the criminal trials and sentencing of Edward Cullen and the Volturi unfold- along with its equally devastating aftermath. Think carefully before you choose to act...

34. The Process of Preparing

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma—which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition."

Steve Jobs

Hours earlier, after the meeting at the Swan House...

They were leaving in secret. They'd escaped from La Push and met up together in the dead of night, before anyone knew they were gone.

Leah's heart pounded. She knew they had to move quickly. Jake was being kept occupied by the Council of Elders, confined in Billy's house, but what if he were to find out that four of his most senior pack members had gone at the exact same time? He was still Alpha.

Sue was driving the four of them in her car. Gabrielle was with her in the front seat, and Leah was at the back looking out at the window, feeling her stomach tie itself in knots with worry, fear and anxiety. And nerves. She sighed.

Their ultimate destination to the Green Mountain National Forest in Vermont, where the pack there had an inn and some land. They would go to a secluded place and to find a Portkey, a form of transportation that wizards had which made Leah's stomach feel queasy just hearing the description about it from Gabrielle, despite it being guaranteed at being instant travel. They would get to the Vermont Pack's inn in no time. But they had to do this fast and move quickly, and be back in Forks, Washington, in La Push, before anyone noticed they were gone, especially Jacob and the others.

Leah felt a strong measure of guilt at deceiving Jacob and planning to reverse and break his imprint-bond with his supposed soulmate, or even to consider challenge and usurp his authority should he resist. But she had no choice. Their species' entire future, the remnants of Renesmee's childhood as well as her own future and well-being, and even Jacob's own good was in danger, and he sure as hell wasn't going to listen to reason or back down without a fight. Leah inadvertently remembered when Jake had tried to rile up the pack and attack once he'd heard Bella had returned from her honeymoon, and how Seth refused and confronted him. She remembered how Seth, that brave, stubborn little brother of hers, whom she felt a strong measure of pride for, put Jake in his place, telling him what he refused to believe, even to himself: that even if the Cullens had broken the treaty Jacob could never bring himself to hurt Bella, even as a vampire. Even if he believed she was no longer the girl she once was. Instead, as Seth pointed out, he would probably try or hope that one of the others would do it for him, and then regret what he had gotten him to do, and hate the sight of that person for the rest of his life along with himself. Leah then remembered Jake's worry that he might not listen to reason nor remember that not all of the Cullens were evil and responsible for Bella's seemingly impending demise. Seth had told him he would remind him, but Jacob voiced his own- and Leah's and Seth's- internal worry that he might not want to listen.

Gabrielle was right: this was not the sign of a healthy mind. And Leah felt like an utter, self-absorbed idiot for not realising this any sooner, for merely seeing Jake as just the victim instead of being equally responsible as well, at least partially. She also blamed herself for believing that imprinting was ever going to make everything right instantaneously for anyone. It was too easy, she reflected with unease. Leah swore she would never make another mistake again because she was so overwhelmed and controlled by her own anger and pain that she saw the entire world only through those lenses.

The signs had been there from the start. Even worse, the actual moment of Jacob's imprinting was something he'd tried to hide from Leah as well as the rest of the pack, but Seth had accidentally glimpsed it after he warned Jacob and reminisced in Wolf form that he'd overheard Charlie pouring his heart out to Sue, worried that Jacob had- far too quickly- forgotten about his heartbreak at Bella's hands and ran away to live in the wild for months- all because now he had suddenly formed an unexplained and instant bond and overpowering sense of loyalty and warmth towards Bella's baby whom she'd had with Edward?

It was just too easy, too convenient for Charlie not to be suspicious, Leah agreed. Even despite Charlie's own desire to be kept in the dark because he didn't want to be overwhelmed with so many things about the supernatural all at once, after Jake- damn that selfish moron for doing what he did knowing how Dad died and caring more about keeping Renesmee with him than Charlie's life!- had phased in front of Charlie, it was impossible for him not to be suspicious and concerned, alarmed even, at the sudden turnaround and interest that Bella's one-time obsessive potential boyfriend had with her very young and beautiful daughter, even if she physically matured quickly.

Upon observing Seth's memories, Jake had seen that Charlie was now doing his damn best to limit Jake's time at his house when Renesmee was staying there, as well as Charlie's fears and horrifying suspicion, which he'd confided to Sue about, that he feared Jacob was grooming Renesmee to be Bella's replacement to him; a claim which Mom didn't have the words to refute or deny even before Gabrielle's revelations about their imprinting. Or that Jacob might be planning to hurt Renesmee out of revenge for not only for Edward taking her away from him, but Bella breaking his heart and putting him through so much pain. Both parts caused Jake to freeze, but the second assumption touched something in Jacob. Something which prompted him to remember what happened that exact same night.

Jacob had immediately panicked upon glimpsing Seth's memories. He tried to deny it, loudly even, to himself no less, but he nonetheless involuntarily remembered something he'd tried so hard to bury deep within himself and forget: he remembered the exact moment when he imprinted and what he thought of doing and seen just before he imprinted that made him fear, as much as he refused, that Charlie might have some basis for this belief and knew about his and Renesmee's status as 'soulmates', so he would naturally panic and do whatever he could to keep Jake away from Nessie. Jacob remembered his own, now-considered blasphemous intentions to kill her out of revenge against Bella and Edward, as well as Bella's apparent death, or 'murder' as he'd called it, which the carrying and giving birth to Renesmee had almost done, and how it was Bella's eyes that made him stop and that was when the imprint had triggered- although he absolutely refused to believe that that was why he imprinted on Renesmee in the first place.

He knew it, deep down, Leah had realised with a jolt. Yet Jacob refused to acknowledge or even think about it. As far as Jake was concerned, it had never even existed in the first place. The person who was capable of wishing harm upon his 'soulmate' was the worst person in the universe, and Jacob had set himself up as her greatest protector. Therefore, in his eyes, it couldn't be possible. It was his most natural anathema and, more than anything, his most natural antithesis. It was impossible, and Jacob not only denied, he refused to believe what he nearly did himself.

He totally forgot that the others had access to his mind in Wolf-form. Seth remembered freezing when he saw this. His insides felt like ice. It was the same with Quil and Embry. They never imagined Jacob would be capable of such an abomination himself. But he almost did. The only thing which stopped him was the sight of Bella's eyes on her newborn baby which triggered the imprint so he now believed the only reason he and Bella ever crossed paths and became attracted to each other, was so that she could someday have a baby that would become Jacob's destiny. His one true love.

Leah felt sick. Now that she mentally put it that way, it sounded and felt so, so wrong. And she chastised herself for not seeing this sooner.

Jacob needs help, Leah thought remembering her own state. While she wasn't as dangerously volatile as Jake, she did have help. Apart from the distance she got by being away from Sam, Emily and Sam's pack, she'd had counselling sessions, community service, meditation and yoga to help with her anger issues and inner turmoil, which Gabrielle had now explained to her was in part due to the more volatile hormones of a maturing Loup-Garou, particularly one who hadn't had a natural progression from childhood and adolescence to adulthood as an active Wolf. "Suppressing your inner nature will only make things worse," Gabrielle had warned. "Like shaking a bottle of champagne and not expecting it to explode."

Leah didn't want to explode. She remembered how Sam exploded and phased, lashing out at Emily and it made her feel sick with fear at the thought that she might someday do this, to anyone, including the people she loved or cared about. "Speaking as someone who has observed all the differences and similarities between every supernatural being," Gabrielle had told her "especially in regards to magical abilities of all kinds, if you try to suppress or be rid of your gifts in any way, rather than accepting yourself as you are and treating that gift as a blessing and a part of you that you can use and cherish-" her breathtakingly lovely face grew stern. "-then you will not make it go away. You will only make things worse, and you can potentially harm other people around you, even yourself.

"Accept yourself, Leah. What happened to you isn't something wrong or messed up; it's different but it's 's nothing to be ashamed of, being different. What happened between you, Sam and Emily, and your phasing wasn't messed up. Your father's death was an unfortunate tragedy, but it was an accident." She insisted. "Your poor father could have had a heart attack without you unexpectedly phasing in front of him, and I fear that it's because of your raging hormones as a Loup-Garou being suppressed for so long, even because your species don't have a consistent pattern of phasing and continuing the species as active Wolves that your mood swings lashed out and you became volatile. But you didn't know it back then." Gabrielle's violet-blue eyes had softened, not in pity, which Leah hated, as much as she was accustomed to it by now, but empathy." So please, forgive yourself so you can build a better future for your family and your pack, and be the woman your father knew you were, deep down: the one it sounded like he was proud of. Because you can still have a brilliant and great future, regardless of whether you are a Wolf or a human girl."

Gabrielle had hinted that Vivian Gandillon, the Luna of the now-Vermont-based pack might have more in common with Leah than she knew but hadn't gotten into any details. All she knew was that Vivian's father had been the previous Alpha, and that he'd died when the mob of human thugs tracked the Wolves back to their inn in West Virginia and set fire to their inn and ranch. All because that boy, Axel, had lost control, phased and killed a human girl when she rejected him.

Leah felt sick at the thought that she could do something like that. That had been even worse than what Sam did, although she doubted that Jacob's intentions, which had been pre-meditated, were better, averted as they had been. While she'd been careful not to get physically violent and lash out like that, even in the depths of her inner turmoil and heartbreak for a number of reasons, she'd witnessed the others lose control. How many times had she seen Paul phase and lash out whenever he lost his temper- which happened quite a lot since Paul had a short fuse? Didn't Sam lose control, after all?

And didn't Jacob forcefully hold Bella down in place to kiss her? Didn't Sam refuse to leave Emily when she told him to go?

Leah felt fear. Fear which had become all too familiar these days: fear of herself. What if she did something similar? What if she also lost control and killed someone? What if she imprinted and refused to listen to all reason? Her reactions to Sam and Emily's betrayals, involuntary as they were, understandable as her feelings were, had been bad enough. But she couldn't control herself. Leah clearly remembered wondering and asking herself before she phased, why she was having all these mood swings, constantly lashing out at other people? She suspected that it was due to her hormones, and going through yoga, and community service seemed to help, although she stopped short at therapy, which she had been reluctant to undertake, which Leah, in hindsight, realised had been absymally stupid of her, considering that therapy could have avoided a lot of the problems that everybody faced these days if everyone from Jacob, Edward, Bella, Charlie and Renée, to her, Sam and Emily, had done that. Especially Emily in the aftermath of breaking things off with Daniel. What if the next time she wasn't able to hold things in and forgot herself, lashing out...

No, she couldn't think about the consequences right now. Leah feared that the thought alone could easily trigger her. Jacob had been almost triggered during Bella and Edward's wedding when he'd learned that she intended to have a 'real honeymoon' with Edward. He refused to let her go even though he was physically hurting her after he'd grabbed her. It had taken Sam pushing him away in his Wolf form and Seth pulling him back as a human, to make Jake back away. And only Taha Aki knew how many times he and Paul had themselves been triggered or came close to being triggered. Sam had a rude awakening, but the others...

That was why it was imperative to get this done as quickly as possible. Besides, there was no point in having an anxiety or panic attack about something when they already had a solution lined up for them.

"Over there." Gabrielle thankfully jolted Leah from her thoughts when she directed Sue towards the direction of a dirt track leading to some trees. Leah's mom hastily obliged and drove over.

"There." Gabrielle spoke when they saw a man standing beside a metal bucket on the ground. The six of them got out of the car.

"That's twelve Dragots and fifty Sprink." The grizzled old man, who looked more like a regular old homeless guy pushing a supermarket trolley full of his own belongings to find shelter, rather than a wizard, explained.

Gabrielle narrowed her eyes. "Very good. And a reasonable price too." She said grudgingly. Their supernatural scientist handed him a bunch of round and octagonal coins. Leah peered at them for an instant. Gabrielle had explained that the witches and wizards of their world not only had separate governments, laws and communities, but currencies in every country. She wondered if the Wolves were the same. Or vampires.

"Hold hands." The wizard announced to them. "And line up here." He gestured in front of the bucket.

They did as they were told, shuffling in place. Leah grasped her mother's hand and took comfort in her mom's warm clasp. Sue smiled encouragingly at her. Embry was at her other side.

"Ten," the wizard chanted. "Nine, eight, seven, six-"

"Here it goes." Leah breathed. "-two, one."

That was when Leah felt a jerk somewhere behind her navel. Before she realised what was happening, her feet flew off the ground but she didn't have the time to shriek as she and the others spun around in a roller-coaster pace, the surroundings a blur around them. She felt her mom's clothes brush her, and Seth and Embry howled in glee. Even Quil was ,but Leah couldn't help but smile to see Quil so relaxed and at ease, if not entirely happy.

Their feet slammed into solid ground. Leah would have fallen over, had she not had the instincts of a Wolf. She and Gabrielle simultaneously caught her mom to prevent her from toppling over. "Thank you," Sue breathed.

It was dark, but with Leah's vision, she could easily tell that their surroundings were beautiful. During the daytime, it would have been spectacular and it took her breath away. The wolf inside her, usually so quiet whenever it wasn't angry, suddenly wanted to run wild and free, under the trees, climbing the mountains, swimming the crystal-cool streams and ponds, or jumping and leaping for joy. It was such a lovely place, so wild and beautiful and free... She suddenly knew why it would appeal so much to Wolves.

"Welcome to the Green Mountain National Forest in Vermont," Gabrielle stated. "The pack's inn is that way," she pointed down a dirt track. "Here's one of the pack now."

A man was walking towards them. His round face was friendly and his light brown hair accentuated his light green eyes. "Hello Gabrielle." He greeted.

"Willem, hello." Gabrielle greeted kindly. They seemed friendly enough. Willem looked at them. "These are our guests?" He asked.

Gabrielle nodded. "Yes, although regarding the circumstances they can't stay for long." She warned. Willem nodded, a hint of grimness overtaking his generally friendly and warm demeanour.

"I'm Willem Wagner," he introduced "and this-" he gestured behind him "-is my brother Finn."

Leah froze, astonishment momentarily overtaking her as she and her family stood stunned as they saw who came behind Willem. Leah suppressed a gasp. She could feel the others' jaws dropping.

A large, charcoal-grey wolf was padding slowly towards them.

Well, it was supposed to be a wolf. But in truth, it was a creature much larger than a wolf, much stronger-looking too. Not the size of barnyard horses like the guys of their pack were, but larger and stronger than any normal wolf, and built differently. The creature's toes and legs were longer than any wolf, his ears were too big, his eyes too focused and they glowed with intensity that not even a human could match.

"Finn." Gabrielle greeted warmly, nodding at the Wolf.

The Wolf grinned. "Finn and Willem are twins," Gabrielle introduced.

The proclaimed twins grinned, one in human form, the other in Wolf form. Only their smiles were alike. Leah noticed that Willem had wolf ?"That's right." Finn beamed. "Now, this way, please. The pack awaits." He made a mock bow as he gestured jokingly towards the path.

Casually, they walked side by side alongside the new arrivals down the dirt track. Leah felt like this was a dream. Although they'd spoken over long-distance. this was the first time any of them had come face-to-face with another Wolf who was not one of their own. A different species. Two of them in fact; one in human form, chatting casually with Gabrielle, the other in canine form padding along placidly with a wolf-like smile on his snout.

"I told them that there were different theories as to how your kind came to be, at least for the other species." Gabrielle was saying.

"That's right." Willem smiled. "Some of the more scientific-minded claim that our ancestors were a prehistoric breed of canine that absorbed protean matter from a meteorite." He snorted, so did Finn. "Like we were mutated."

"Prehistoric breed of canine?" Sue questioned, brows furrowing.

Willem gestured to his twin brother. "Take a look," he suggested. "Does he look like he could be a regular wolf?"

Slowly, the group shook their heads. "That's right." Willem confirmed. Finn nodded in agreement.

"But which one?" Leah questioned.

Willem shrugged. "Who knows? Some claim direwolves, since like many prehistoric animals they were larger than the ones we see today, but those were only found in the Americas for the most came from Europe. It's possible that before all the land-masses and tectonic plates shifted and split apart into the continents of today, some direwolves might've made it to prehistoric Europe and that's where they got changed, but we don't know. Surely, the humans would've found at least a few fossils if that was the case, right?"

Gabrielle frowned thoughtfully. "Or maybe, since you reverted back to human form once you die, they really wouldn't be able to tell the difference, even with modern DNA scans."

Willem shrugged again. "Maybe. Vivian once wondered if we were aliens, extra-terrestrials who came to earth because our ancestors were marooned and were able to shape-shift into canines in order to survive in this new environment. We just forgot what our initial forms were and how to change back." He snickered.

Finn snorted.

"But most of us prefer to be believers." Willem explained. "The stories claim that by ritual, sacrifice and sacrament, our prehistoric hunter-gatherer ancestors opened their spirits to the Forest god, the great hunter who could change into a wolf. To reward our ancestors for their devotion, his wife, the Moon goddess, gave them the gift to be more than mere humans. They can throw aside the pelts of hunted animals and grow their own. They can abandon their chipped knives of flint and use their predator's teeth. Their descendants will carry the gift of the goddess, the Wolf within, and will forever be subject to Lady Moon."

Gabrielle looked thoughtful. "When were the earliest records written? Which date?"

"About our species?" Willem snorted. He shook his head. "We don't have a lot of records, since the pack have been mostly running since our ancestors fled France and Germany. Even when we settle somewhere long enough, like New Orleans or West Virginia, we tend to flee because of a great deal of conflict and lose a great deal of our stuff, including any written records we may have had. Maybe the Crescent Pack held onto some of our records when they framed the Verdun triplets into taking whatever fallout happened to make us flee, or else they burned them, or maybe some things were lost when we quickly had to flee West Virginia before the mob caught us." He shook his head, wincing sadly at the memories. Beside him, his brother also winced in Wolf form.

Leah's stomach churned with fear at the looming possibility that that might happen to them someday. She could see Embry, Quil and Seth all looking uneasy.

"We probably have some books with us," Willem began, hesitantly. "But I wouldn't count on it. Some species, like us and the one the Crescents belong to, came from different species merged together. They claim that some witch in what would eventually become Louisiana, long before the Europeans came, cast a curse on her tribespeople after they tried to stop her from taking too much power. That was how their species first evolved, which coincidentally happened on the same night as a full moon, and they also later merged with some species from Europe and their descendants merged their traits and split into different packs, one of which was the Crescent. Same thing happened to our ancestors when two separate species from France and Germany came together, their descendants merged traits along with culture and traditions." Willem shrugged "Shared oral history seems to be the usual way we remember things, but we all know how unreliable that is, right? Anybody ever play Chinese Whispers?"

Leah understood: discerning what was truth and what was exaggeration or even fiction from oral histories was like searching for needles in a haystack. They'd all played that game as a kid, whispering phrases and information to the next person in line, and always, before it reached full circle, the message was changed, sometimes in slight ways, others drastically. It never remained the same.

Come to think about it, was the game still called Chinese Whispers or was that unacceptable nowadays? Were kids still even playing that game?

"But apart from Vivian's teenage fantasy that we were all UFOs stranded on earth, your history with your chief Taha Aki," he nodded in the Quileutes' direction "and the story about the witch in pre-colonial Louisiana, the two most common beliefs is that we were transformed by a moon goddess, though the stories always differ as to which one from which pantheon or culture she's from, or the meteorite theory." He stopped.

"We're here."

They stopped in front of an inn, a lodge really, looking rather nice and idyllic in a picturesque setting, even in the dark. During daytime, Leah knew that the scenery would be breathtaking, magnificent in fact.

Leah stopped dead in her tracks. Some people came out to greet them, from inside the inn, around from the back, from the woods, climbing to the top of a hill... Some were in human form...

And some were Wolves. Massive Wolves, though not as large as Sam, Jake and the others. But some, she was startled to see were smaller, far too small to be adults. Pups, though not as small as real wolf cubs or dog puppies, the smallest being the size of a bulldog. Rich fur pelts in all shades and colours, ears larger, legs and nails longer, and eyes intense and fiery as Finn's, too much to be actual animals. Non-sentient beasts. Wolf may have been a convenient label to stick on their animal forms.

Men and women, old and young, even small children emerged alongside those in animal form, human and animal each walking side by side with one another, as if they were completely used to and expecting this.

Gabrielle was right: they had entered into the world of Wolves.

Loup-Garoux.

A tall man strode forwards. He was a tall powerfully-built man with a wave of tousled dark hair, strong chiselled features, lightly tanned skin and piercing ice-blue eyes. She recognised Gabriel, the Alpha of the pack, from Gabrielle's pictures. But more than that, Leah felt power. It nearly made her freeze and seize up in her tracks, though she didn't grow cold. It was like he had an aura, an imaginary force which slammed into her invisibly without her even realising that it might've been imaginary. Despite the fact that they were surrounded by Wolves, he dominated the scene. His mere presence had Leah suppressing an urge to shrink back, and, for some reason, to lower her eyes and head and act all meek or a kicked puppy! And Leah could see the boys were feeling the same way, fighting the same urge to be submissive. He wasn't even part of their pack, from the same species, let alone their Alpha, yet they could already feel that he was an Alpha. Every sense of theirs was tingling with his power.

Leah had to grind her teeth, to force herself to snap out of it and remind herself that this was another Alpha. He had no authority over her or her pack. That helped the urge to act small and submissive enough to easily take orders from him. But still, she felt his aura, she recognised him as Alpha in every cell of her body.

Leah blinked. Neither Jake nor Sam had ever made any of them react in such a way, at least not in human form. Sure, they had charisma and authority, and the packs instinctively gravitated around either of them in Wolf or human form, but they never felt like this. Was it because they're young and relatively new to phasing and leadership in comparison to Gabriel? Or was it because their species hadn't caught up to recognising which one of them were Alphas in human form? Or maybe they simply hadn't evolved enough yet to recognise a Wolf other than the smell.

The pack here smelled of the woods, the freshwaters, the green leaves and vegetation, the crystal-clear drops of rain and breeze, and dew-specked grass. They smelled like home, like one of them, and yet they weren't.

Leah saw her mom blink, as if something deep inside her, the Wolf within that never emerged, the dormant magic in her passive Wolf genes, stirred and sensed Gabriel's aura of command. The only one who hadn't reacted to the Alpha's presence was Gabrielle.

A Wolf thing, she thought.

Gabriel the Alpha of the now-Vermont-based pack stepped forwards. His face eased into a welcoming smile. "Welcome. Gabrielle, welcome back. It's good to see you again."

Gabrielle's face eased into a smile. "Hello, Gabriel. I see your wards are still working."

He grinned happily. "Yeah. It's been years and nothing bad's happened. It's only when we go outside of the territory that we have to be careful." His eyes softened. "We can't thank you enough for that. Nor for everything else."

Gabrielle's expression was gentle. "No thanks is needed. I was simply doing the right thing. Plus, I help my friends." His smile widened.

Gabriel the Alpha turned towards the Quileute pack members and Sue. "Hello sir," Leah didn't know how to address him, so she decided to play it safe and polite. It couldn't hurt, besides they were in his pack's territory and they wanted to make allies. "I'm Leah Clearwater, this is my mom Sue and my brother Seth." Seth held up a hand in a wave. Gabriel nodded and smiled politely at each of them. "We spoke on the phone."

"I remember," Gabriel agreed. "And this is Quil Ateara and Embry Call, our pack members" Leah introduced them. Her mom might have been part of the Council of Elders, but Leah was a Luna-in-waiting. She had to step up and introduce them to this pack and the Alpha.

Gabriel shook hands with all of them. His grasp was firm but not crushing. He was warm too, Leah noted. She didn't know why she should be surprised. She didn't know whether Gabriel or his pack had body temperatures as hot as theirs, but he certainly was warmer than a human's, she thought.

Leah wondered if she, Sam or Jake would ever develop the same aura that Gabriel had radiated someday. She wasn't sure whether she liked that or not. He was physically imposing enough as it was, and so were Sam and Jake. Leah already knew that most boys- and girls- found her too intimidating to be with, and that wasn't because she was taller than any of them. She often wondered, before Gabrielle had explained everything to her, whether there was truly something wrong with her body, or simply she was intersex and she didn't even know it. Like she was too butch for a girl, or she had an overdose of testosterone. Something wrong with her.

And now, Gabrielle's revelations, along with Bella's and the Cullens', had made her question everything that she'd previously known or believed.

"This is Vivian, my wife and the Luna of the pack," Gabriel introduced as a woman came forwards. She was extremely beautiful, Leah thought. More beautiful than her picture. If these Wolves weren't so determined to stay off the radar, Luna Vivian would've certainly been on the cover of Sports Illustrated or like her photograph, while she didn't look butch or masculine in any way, she projected a look of strength and fitness and an aura of confidence which only seemed to accentuate her looks. She was statuesque, her body voluptuous and curved, yet athletic, slim and fit. She looked incredibly healthy and in excellent shape, more so than any fitness instructors or models with their own reality show. Luna Vivian Gandillon had long shapely legs, a small waist and full breasts, a body which Leah tried not to envy. She tried not to envy the rest of her either: fair complexion but gently golden like sunshine and cream, and long, tawny golden-brown hair, wild and thick, framing elegant features on an oval face with luminously pretty pale blue eyes.

Leah had never looked down on her own looks, especially before she phased and Sam imprinted. More than enough people had told her she was beautiful, and there were always guys checking her out. But ever since she'd learned that Sam left her for Emily, stopped having her period, had wild mood swings, turned into a large and furry animal, and learned that her ex-boyfriend's instincts had led him to imprint on her cousin, particularly for reasons such as producing the next generation, Leah couldn't look into the mirror without seeing or wondering that there was something wrong with her. It had been a while since she felt truly confident about her looks, despite the fact that a lot of boys stammered and blushed, and stole glances whenever they thought she wasn't looking. Including Wolves like Collin, Jake's cousin.

Vivian Gandillon clearly never had the same problems. Especially not with the number of girls and boys, men and women, male and female Wolves emerging out to greet them. Feeling isolated and alone, or like a freak of nature from within her own kind was not a problem she had to face. Especially not as the daughter of one Alpha and the wife of another.

And the mom of a kid, Leah thought remembering what Gabrielle had said. She felt a surge of melancholy, resentment and regret: melancholy and resentment that she'd been on her own with no female Wolf to guide her and make her feel like she was one of them, the way the boys never did. Regret for all the months she'd spent hating herself, even her own body, because she felt she was something freakishly wrong or lacking.

Luna Vivian smiled and shook hands with them. Her slim, graceful hands were gentle. "Hi, I'm Vivian," she said gently. "Please, let's come inside."

Not long after, they were ushered into a living area in the staff's section of the inn. It was a nice, cosy lounge with a fireplace, woven rugs and stuffed sofas and armchairs. Gabrielle was explaining the situation to the pack.

"We can't bring Renesmee over even to escape because we have to keep up appearances. She's with her grandfather, and Jacob's been confined to his house, so the rest of the packs don't get suspicious and become violent if they start thinking their imprints are threatened."

The Alpha couple looked grim. Vivian's mother, remarkably named Esmé, with an acute accent at the finale, perched herself on the sofa arm next to her daughter. The two of them resembled each other as much as Sue resembled Leah. The other pack members were there: Gabriel's three sisters were triplets. Leah could hardly believe her eyes when she saw and was introduced to three identical-looking eighteen-year-olds with lustrous wavy black hair and light olive skin like Gabriel's, on another couch. Belatedly, she realised that Gabrielle wasn't exaggerating or joking when she claimed that multiple births among their kind weren't uncommon. Hopefully, she wouldn't have that many, Leah thought. She wanted kids, she'd once feared that she would never have them, but she wasn't sure how she could deal with triplets or quadruplets, especially since the girls looked younger than their older brother. She pitied Gabriel's parents, which she saw now solely consisted of his silent, dark mother sitting on an armchair nearby.

The other Wolves were all in human form now. An elderly gentleman named Orlando Griffin with grizzled grey hair and a lined face but the strength and presence to command respect, was one of the pack's respected elders along with Persia Deveraux, an elderly lady who had been introduced as the pack's keeper of ancient magic, and therefore the authority and expert on Loup-Garou customs, laws, traditions, culture, history- and divination, limited as it was, as well as healing. They'd seen her picture when Gabrielle showed them. Renata Wagner, a pretty, dark-haired lady with her husband Rolf and their grown son Gregory, who looked to be around Finn and Willem's age. Finn had re-emerged; Leah had to tell herself not to be stunned when seeing him in human form, especially since he and Willem looked almost identical, although Finn had a thinner face.

Rolf Wagner's brother was introduced as Raul, he and his wife Magda were the parents of Willem and Finn. Ulf, their friend whose voice they'd heard during the first phone call gave them a tentative smile. He, Finn and Willem, and Gregory called themselves the Five along with Vivian who was around the same age. Jenny Garnier was the mother of a ten-year-old girl who had been the smallest Wolf they saw at the front. Bucky Dideron, whose picture they also saw, was Gabriel's Beta.

There were others. According to the Alpha couple, their pack had grown in size, very slowly when they first settled in Vermont, but then once Gabrielle came along and introduced and helped them form alliances and friendships with other Wolf packs, they'd swelled in number. There had been intermarriage between various packs and even different species, and some Wolves from those species and packs had decided to stay and raise their children as part of this pack they called family and home. The pack had thrived ever since they first settled here, and even more so when Gabrielle got involved and helped to bring them closer to the other packs, like the one from the Appalachians. They'd been helped with the inn and opened more businesses with them, not just simply relying on human tourists and travellers for income. They'd not only swelled in numbers, they'd trained their warriors, built new facilities like a 'pack-house' which was a communal building where they could congregate and live together, if they didn't own separate homes outside of the property, along with setting aside and building training areas, a library even a small jail which Leah couldn't believe. They had also begun to open a school for the kids.

"You don't think this Jacob is going to take no for an answer, and that the rest of them would follow suit and become violent 'cause they won't listen." Vivian said bluntly, when Gabrielle had finished. "They won't even want to consider the possibility that they might be wrong." Sue, Seth, Leah, Embry and Quil all winced, but Gabrielle was undeterred.

"I have good reason to believe that at least one, an Alpha, will put up a fight." She said quietly. "And the others too have been known to become very territorial and possessive over their mates." Vivian grimaced, and Gabriel winced. For some reason, he seemed uncomfortable. Esmé Gandillon, Vivian's mother, pursed her lips. Her brows furrowed. She exchanged grim glances with Persia Deveraux who scoffed.

"Boys," she muttered. "You remember when you were that age, don't you?" She arched an eyebrow and looked pointedly at Willem and Finn, Gregory and Ulf. Orlando Griffin sighed.

"Yes, but this may be concerning." Gabrielle pointed. "He once sexually assaulted the girl's mother when she was still a human-" the Quileutes present all flinched "-and he was infatuated with her, and he thought he had a chance- even knowing that she had a boyfriend at that time. It doesn't even matter if he doesn't approve about her choice of boyfriend or wished to save her some regrets- or as he perceived it, her soul."

Vivian was silent as she contemplated this. Leah noticed that she had an aura, but unlike her husband, her aura wasn't a literal one that marked her as an obvious Alpha or a born-Luna. But she had a commanding presence all the same, and it demanded people's respect. Leah could tell that this woman could easily take down anyone twice her size in a fight. She was strong and confident, and she could have easily been a leader if she had to be. It wasn't hard to imagine her as one.

Leah was that what I'm supposed to be?

Finally, Vivian spoke. "You mentioned that he was abusive," she remarked, tapping her fingers on the sofa's armrest. "Has he beaten the girl or her mom up, caused any injury in any way, when she was a human? Obviously, he can't do it to the mom now, since she's a vampire but-"

"He hasn't beaten her up," Leah found herself saying, at the same time, Seth, Quil, Embry and her mom all made similar denials. Gabrielle nodded in confirmation. "No, he hasn't. Apart from being unable to take no for an answer and respect another person's body-" they winced at the implications in Gabrielle's words and voice "-or personal space, he hasn't physically assaulted her. It's emotional and psychological abuse that dogged their entire relationship before she turned, not that the husband she chose to spend eternity with is any better."

Leah heard the hard tone in Gabrielle's voice and suppressed the urge to shiver. Gabrielle, little as they'd known her, had always seemed so level-headed and neutral. But apparently, her personal opinions about Edward had plummeted ever since the revelations and extent of his abuse of Bella and Renesmee were revealed.

"But this is before he felt the Pull." Gabrielle warned. "Can you imagine what will happen to the little girl whom he has now felt the Pull towards if this is how he reacted before?" Everybody cringed, horrified at the implications.

Vivian sighed. She gave her husband a pointed look. "I think we should go for it." She admitted. "No little girl has to have her future and choices thrown out of the window."

Gabriel's lips twitched. "You haven't changed a bit."

"No," Vivian said, more boldly now. "But that's 'cause I still made a choice." She pointed. Leah and Seth were puzzled, and Sue's brows furrowed. "I just needed to learn how to think more clearly, as well as the reasons why I liked you or... you know," she inclined her head "and whether I knew either of you well enough. The Pull didn't make much of a difference. Maybe it's because, like you said-" she nodded to Gabrielle. "-because we've only recently developed it, as compared to the other species, so that's why it's not as strong, but honestly..." she paused.

"I chose Gabriel of my own free will, Pull or no Pull." She said finally. "Lady Moon gave me a choice. She didn't take my choices, my reasoning or my judgment and chucked them out of the window when I felt it."

Gabriel's voice was soft when he addressed his wife. "But Viv," he said quietly. "We already knew each other, and we'd been dating a while before we both felt the Pull."

"I know,' Vivian shrugged, casually tossing a lock of her shimmering golden-brown mane away from her face. "But I still had a choice. I knew I still had a choice. And so did you."

Gabriel grunted. "Can't deny I wasn't always the best choice, though."

Leah blinked. "What did it feel like?" She found herself asking. "With you guys?"

"Yeah," Quil, Seth and Embry leaned forwards. "What did you guys feel? How different is yours compared to ours?" Quil asked.

Gabriel sighed, rubbing his temples. "For every species, it's different," he reminded them. "But, based on everything I've heard, it's not as intense or as obsessive as your species' 'imprinting'. We were still fully aware of what we were doing was wrong. We're still able to walk away, though it's very, very hard. Devastating, but..." he paused. "It doesn't kill you."

Quil and the others looked at each other. Leah pursed her lips. "Can you tell us?" She asked. "Describe it to us?"

Gabriel hummed thoughtfully. "Feeling the Pull... The best example would be the Appalachians Pack. Their sense is already well-evolved, their instincts well-developed. For them, they catch the other's scent. Even from a distance, even within a crowd- and that's happened a lot, actually. Even- at most- when they're a mile away, or when someone is in the upper Storey of a building and their prospective mate is outside across the street or the town square... they can smell it, and it smells really appealing. Addictive, even." Beside Leah, Gabrielle frowned, pursing her lips for some reason. "They drop all second thoughts, all hesitations and turn towards the smell. They are drawn to it, compelled to follow it until it leads them directly to the other person and they're right in front of their prospective mate. They can sense it too. Once they set eyes on him or her- BAM. They know. This is the one. Of course, logic and reason tell them this might not be the one, and they have to make things work between them. But they have a good chance. And they trust their instincts, their senses, their goddess-given gifts that would lead them to the best chance they have to find happiness and ultimate companionship, to procreate and bring healthy offspring into the world." He sighed.

"The Appalachians Wolves have it easy compared to us," he admitted ruefully. Vivian nodded, smirking while her mother's eyes sparkled dryly from beside her as she too nodded. "Our Pull sense... not as developed. It's there and it's strong, but it hasn't been honed and as fully developed as theirs. We might pass them on the street. We might walk around them our entire lives. We might even speak to, look at and touch them skin-to-skin, but we don't always know they're the one- or could be the one." He hastily amended.

"Our sense of Pull is based on touch," he explained. "But like we've explained-" he gestured to Vivian and himself. "-we'd been going out for some time, a few years actually, before either of us felt it. Of course, the effects were the same: we instinctively felt that this could be the one. That this was the most amazing, most wonderful person in the entire universe. And it felt right, right to be standing in front of them. Right and safe to know that they're with you and that they're safe and happy." He murmured thoughtfully, eyes distant as he reflected on what had happened between him and Vivian. "And you could see that- and it felt right, and you both feel safe." Quil looked down. He swallowed.

"Few years after we started dating, when Vivian was around twenty-twenty-one years old, we casually touched hands- it was on a full moon, I remember that- and..." he spread out his hands. Gabriel smiled and he looked at his wife, who smiled back in return. The warmth, the meaningful gazes and the looks laden with love, yet fondness, longing and desire in each other's eyes, all of them mutual... Leah swallowed and looked down for a moment. She could see Quil doing the same thing. And even Seth and Embry were wistful.

"It was like electricity, but stronger." Gabriel clarified. "A rush of sudden, strong, powerful energy that connected you to each other. That bound you. We instantly knew. It was like falling in love, all over again. Only this time, it felt real." He sighed, wistfully. Vivian looked like she agreed completely, her eyes were distant. "This time, we knew. We knew for certain, more by instinct than anything, that we could make this work. That we had a good chance to be happy. That we could be ultimate soulmates."

Quil was silent. So were the others.

"You guys are lucky," Esmé Gandillon spoke from beside her daughter, breaking the silence. "Not everyone feels the Pull. I think I felt it, with my husband, Ivan. I still love him, even though it's been years." Her face looked pained. "But I don't know for sure whether I truly felt the goddess' gift, the Moon's Draw. It certainly felt that way. I remembered when we were dating..." she trailed off. "After my husband died, I tried so hard to forget, to move on." Her face grew anguished. Heartbroken. "I thought that if I could move on, not think about it, then it wouldn't hurt anymore. I had a daughter to think about, after all. I had a pack, even though I was no longer Luna." Vivian reached out and gently squeezed her mother's hand. Esmé squeezed hers back.

Esmé sighed. "It turns out, not all the men I flirted and hooked up with could ever replace Ivan in my heart or anywhere else... he had my heart, the whole of it." Vivian made a barely discernible face at her mother's mention of hooking up with guys, but Leah couldn't bring herself to feel uncomfortable. She was spellbound hearing them describe it. "And one day, I woke up and couldn't remember his face." Her eyes filled with tears. "After months of trying to forget so that losing him wouldn't hurt anymore the way it did, to the extent that it did, more than anything I could've ever imagined... but when I woke up, thought about him and tried to remember his face, I found that I couldn't. It was like I'd torn one half of me away and crippled myself." She blinked rapidly. "Like I'd looked in a mirror and couldn't see my own reflection. Like I'd lost- totally lost myself." She pressed her lips together to keep from crying.

Leah was silent. "I might've longed for what Ivan and I had. I might've envied the other couples who had each other. But I could never bring Ivan back and that... didn't make things the same. I knew anything I had with anyone else would be a paltry shadow compared to what we had. In fact, I probably wouldn't even remember their faces; remember their names or even the fact that we were together if I'd gotten with somebody else." She gave a manic giggle.

She sighed. "I didn't notice it. I didn't notice it until it was too late, and he'd been gone for many, many years." She gave a pointed look towards Gabrielle. "Until you came and pointed it out to us. So don't take it for granted, kids. I don't know what happened that messed your pack-mates up so bad," she said firmly, turning her gaze on each and every single one of them. "But that's not what's supposed to happen." She looked grim. "That's not right."

Gabrielle had been silent for a while. "I think you were fighting it," she said suddenly, voice quiet as she looked over to the Quileute Wolves. "Because you guys have been isolated from your wider world for so long, because you'd not only set yourselves up as protectors of your entire tribe and land, but carried the burden on just a few weary shoulders, and you were alone, with generations between anyone phasing and being all alone, barely evolving enough to become your own separate species, with a diverse and wide range and group that spanned all ages and genders..." Gabrielle trailed off.

"I think that's the problem," she said quietly. "You tried so hard to be human. To fit in with the rest of them that none of you had ever truly accepted yourselves, because you never knew anybody like you guys. You were afraid, isolated and burdened with differences between those that surrounded you, including your families, and the fear that you were too different from the humans, more specifically, the members of your tribe. You didn't want the change," her violet-blue eyes pierced theirs. "You didn't embrace it, didn't accept it. You wouldn't let it come to you, naturally. You thought it was a burden. You prayed it would never come and you-" she looked at Leah "-sought ways to end it as soon as you could because you didn't think it was natural. You worried, because there had been no other females in your history before who phased, that there was something wrong with you. You never embraced yourself, just as you'd never embraced the changes that came with your changing self."

Leah was taken aback. The Vermont Wolves were glancing at one another uneasily at the mention of Wolves not phasing for generations and having only a tiny group with no contact with anybody apart from humans and vampires, from time to time, and no females at all, but Leah wasn't paying attention. Her mind had ground to a halt.

Then, somebody spoke. "Why didn't you want to be a Wolf?" Jenny Garnier questioned. She looked genuinely puzzled.

"What's the difference between them and us? Humans and Wolf-kind?" She shrugged, bewildered. "We are who we are; we were born that way. This is as much a part of us- of you guys- as breathing, as your skin and your hair. Did your friends and tribespeople- the ones that aren't Wolves- ever complain about being human?" She was genuinely bewildered.

Everybody else, every single one of the Vermont Wolves seemed to share the same feelings. They all stared, frowning, glancing at each other or looking hopelessly confused, even the kids.

The thought struck Leah: They've never known another life apart from the one they had when they could phase, she thought. When they could have both skin and fur.

She was stunned. Beside her, Embry, Seth and Quil, and even her mother, sat, totally stumped.

To them it was like asking why they had legs or why anyone else was born human. It was just the way it was.

Leah finally spoke. "We never thought of it that way," she said quietly. "We didn't know that there was anybody else that might be like us." To her dismay, her voice sounded small, like she was a child. "We were afraid there might've been something wrong with us. That we were different from humans, our friends, neighbours... even our families."

Vivian pursed her lips and looked grim. "Well," she said finally. "It's a good thing you've met us." She looked to Gabrielle. "And it's a good thing she led you to us."

"And everybody else," Ulf piped in. "The Appalachians Wolves are just the beginning."

Everyone agreed, and for some reason, it felt like a weight had been lifted off Leah's shoulders for the first time in a very long time; a weight she'd gotten so used to she'd never even noticed.

"In the meantime," Gabrielle interrupted the moment. "We have to think about ways to make certain that the Quileute packs will listen, particularly the imprint couples. We have to make sure that Renesmee and anyone else who wishes it, can walk away freely without hindrance or suffering in any way. We have to give them no choice but to accept this: the fact that they and their imprints do have choices. And things can easily be fixed." She made a face. "Somewhat."

Leah looked down. "I told you," She whispered "they won't listen. Not to me. They don't like me, and I can't blame them. I've made myself very... unlikeable." She looked down. "Besides, even if I hadn't, they only see me as the bitter ex-girlfriend who got dumped for her cousin." Vivian looked taken aback, Esmé was alarmed. Gabriel and the others seemed bewildered or confused but chose not to ask anything about it, which Leah was grateful for. "Besides, now you've made it known I'm a potential future Luna," she sighed, closing her eyes for a moment. Her gut squirmed. Her hands folded and unfolded themselves over each other on her lap. "They'll think I'm just trying to usurp Jacob's authority or Sam's out of pure spite."

Quil spoke up. "They'll listen to me." He said suddenly. Everyone turned towards him. "I reversed my imprint bond. I let Claire go for her own good and mine. For the future of our packs." His shoulders squared. He straightened. Quil raised his chin. "I'm a free man- Wolf- and I make my own choices. So will everybody else, human or Wolf."

Gabriel nodded approvingly. "Spoken like a true Loup-Garou." Everybody in the Vermont pack nodded and murmured in agreement, looking at Quil with approval. Quil was filled with pride.

Gabrielle spoke quietly. "You have to try, Leah." She said softly. Her violet-blue eyes were gentle but unwavering in their resolve. "For everyone's sakes, including your own. Because," she said slowly, taking a deep breath "I don't think you can forgive yourself if you let things go. If you laid down and let them trample and walk all over you. If you accept your fate and branding as the bitter shrew they believe you to be and do absolutely nothing to change the status quo, even when you know it's wrong, are you honestly telling me that you're not going to regret it forever?"

Leah bit her lip. She couldn't deny: Gabrielle was right. She was absolutely right, and she knew it.

"If push comes to shove," Gabriel warned. "You have to be prepared."

"Prepared for what?" Leah's dark eyes shot towards his. Gabriel looked grim.

"To take over." he explained. "To lead."

Sue spoke. "But that would mean challenging Jacob!" She blurted.

"She might not have a choice," Gabriel's voice was grim but firmly resolute. "This is your pack, Leah. The future of your species, your people. Your family. Are you going to let that go so easily? Will you do nothing? Will you forgive yourself for not doing anything?"

Seth tried to interject. "Even if she challenges Jacob," he spoke. "What about Sam?"

Everyone was silent. "If Jacob can be forced to accept," Gabrielle said quietly. "Then the others might have to listen. Sam can be reasonable, or at least he'd wait for a bit, same as Emily. Kim and Rachel have already expressed their dissatisfaction with the way things are going with their imprinters and how their relationship is headed, how their 'soulmates' worship them like idols." Vivian made a face of disgust, drawing back. Her lip curled. It was clear that she would never have wanted her husband to act that way towards her.

Leah remembered what Vivian had said during the phone call with Gabrielle: that a Wolf was the freest of all creatures. She couldn't imagine Vivian being okay with being mollycoddled and carried around, having her things held for her, escorted up the steps and into her house, or just generally not being allowed to go anywhere unless Gabriel knew where she was at all times, nor could she accept, Leah thought, if Gabriel acted all jealous and possessive over her like Jacob. Or Paul. Several of the others also looked disgusted, including Jenny Garnier and Persia Deveraux, the old lady. Gabriel's triplet sisters grimaced.

"I wouldn't put up with that sort of behaviour from you," Magda Wagner stated bluntly, looking at her husband. "Even if we are in love." Rolf agreed. "And I'd beat my sons' heads and bust them to the nearest psyche ward if either of them ever showed signs of acting like that." Her sons shrugged. They seemed okay with that.

"We'd probably beg you for that, Mom." Willem joked.

Jenny shuddered. "How do you guys not realise that it's wrong? It's disturbing." She shuddered again.

Sue sighed. "Like she said," she said, jerking her chin towards Gabrielle. "We're a relatively new species who sometimes go for generations without phasing and without a lot of people, no contact." She stated firmly. "When Taha Aki- our ancestor who was the first to phase- imprinted, no one was there to tell him anything or to guide him through it. We kind of had to figure things out ourselves."

Everyone grimaced. "We're sorry for that," Gabriel said quietly. "But we're here now. As allies and friends, if you'll agree."

Sue smiled. Leah found her own lips lifting at the corners.

Vivian spoke: "You don't have to be alone anymore." And somehow, Leah finally accepted that as a fact.

Gabriel spoke. "Leah, we will find a way to get them to listen." He threw a pointed look at Gabrielle. "You know you're good with words. Perhaps you can get them to listen."

Gabrielle sighed, shrugging. "Perhaps I am, and I can, but ultimately, this is a Wolf issue and I am always going to be an outsider, more than you. At best, I can offer a bias-free alternative viewpoint and get them to consider the points I've made- but it has to be all of you that gets the buck rolling."

The Wolves all looked at one another. Vivian sighed. "Where is your pack leader now?" Leah noted she avoided using the word Alpha for Jacob.

"In his house," Seth, Quil and Embry all answered at the same time. Gabrielle nodded. "I've placed wards around his house, so he is unable to leave, and to alert us if he so much as makes an attempt."

Vivian nodded, silently accepting this, eyes lost in thought. Her mother and husband's looks were grim, same as the rest of their pack.

"And the girl?" Gabriel questioned.

"With her grandfather in his house- the human grandfather." Gabrielle reminded. "She knows about this, but she doesn't wish to see anyone. The child's been trying to put as much distance between her and Jacob- and her father- as much as possible." Everybody winced.

"Poor kid." Esmé Gandillon sighed. "No kid has to put up with all this." Leah could see Quil struggling not to wince. "How old is she?"

Gabrielle winced. "She was born in September last year." The Vermont Wolves all gave a collective gasp, and that included Esmé. Leah could see several jaws dropping as she and the rest of her pack and family all winced. "She's a Dhampir, so she's physically...five or six, or perhaps seven or eight. It's really hard to tell. It's also hard to tell mentally and emotionally which level she is at. In some ways, she seems more advanced and mature. In others, she's a lot younger than you'd expect her to be, even discounting the fact that she was born not even a year ago. It's all mixed up and it's... difficult because she's been sheltered and kept hidden for most of her life. I will have to point out the fact that her parents and caregivers- which inevitably included Jacob since no one had any grounds to dispute the imprinting and he wasn't taking no for an answer-" the Quileutes winced collectively again. "-when he wanted very much to be a major part of her life from the beginning. She hasn't been anywhere apart from her grandfather's house, her paternal family's house and her parents' honeymoon cottage, which is built on the grounds, the pack members' homes..." Gabrielle hesitated, glancing at the Quileutes. "I might be wrong but think that's it."

Leah and Seth grimaced, while Embry covered his face with his hands. Quil was definitely cringing. "Yeah, that's pretty much it." Leah said, reluctantly. Sue nodded primly; lips pursed beside her.

Esmé managed to find her voice. "When did he... imprint?"

"As soon as she was born." Leah then told her the entire story- including how they all found out. The Vermont Wolves were all silent, Magda Wagner and Jenny Garnier both looked completely unnerved, sharing an uneasy glance between them. Renata, Magda's sister-in-law, looked sick, as did Finn, Willem and Gregory. Ulf looked horrified. Even old and distinguished Orlando Griffin and the mysterious and aged Persia Deveraux seemed disturbed. Gabriel's face was expressionless, but his ice-blue eyes showed them just how upset and disturbed he felt. And worried, Leah noted. No doubt because he wasn't certain that their packs in La Push would accept this reasoning so easily without a fight. And that was the last thing anybody wanted.

Vivian and her mother traded glances laden with meaning but equally disturbed and upset. Gabriel nodded when Leah had finished. "You need to contact the Appalachians Pack," he warned. "We all have to prepare to confront them about this... issue." Vivian and Esmé nodded fervently.

"'Too many cooks will spoil the broth', isn't that a popular English saying?" Gabrielle warned. "You may not be considered as much an outsider as I am, but you are still outsiders. They may feel as if their way of life and culture is not only disrespected but threatened. Not to mention their very futures, especially with their 'soulmates'. Remember, the bond is overwhelmingly powerful- or rather, it has convinced them that it is. Thank goodness that Alpha James is a reasonable person and gives off those vibes. But I have to gather more evidence." She looked at the Quileutes. "Is it true Billy spoke to Rachel?"

Leah and Sue nodded, mutely. "And what does she say?"

"She wants out." Leah said bluntly. "She made it perfectly clear: she and Paul are never going to work out." While Jacob was safely in his room, Rachel sneaked outside the house, careful and wary that Paul may be lurking around the corner- and called Leah while she was a distance away, knowing that Wolves had superior hearing (thanks to Paul, unfortunately). She made her feelings clear, and Billy wholeheartedly supported her, every step of the way.

Seth winced. "Paul's not going to take this easily. He won't back down or let her go without a fight."

"Look," Gabrielle held out her hands. "Let's just give them the option. We don't have to reverse everybody's imprint bond unless both parties consent-" everybody turned wide-eyed, incredulous gazes towards her "-before I offer that choice, I have another option: lessening it. Regulating it to your species' levels of connection-" she nodded to Gabriel and Vivian "or the Appalachians' Wolves. I can do that if you let me examine you all. Not to mention, your healers and scientists and those from the Appalachians, can offer some medication to er, help calm and regulate hormones, which I feel may be necessary, based on all the stories I've heard." Leah nodded, grimacing. "The point that I will make- publicly in front of all of them- is that you will be able to choose. You may choose to stay and make things work out with each other, just as easily as you may choose to leave and go separate paths. The most important thing is that everyone will have the right to choose what they wish to do." Esmé and Persia nodded in approval. Vivian pursed her lips thoughtfully as she looked at her husband. "That way, if they see that this is not working for them, they can at least accept that more easily without being so desperate and heartbroken or lovesick because they believe that there can be no other option for them. Then, if both have truly decided that the imprint isn't working for them, they can go to me, I can conduct a limifëa or soul-link and reverse the imprint bond but also- and this is an important point that has to be made known and empahsised to them- I can make sure that they will be able to imprint or feel the Pull again."

Leah remembered something: "That's why you mentioned Alpha James' story about his imprint- I mean, prospective soulmate," she realised "and that he might get a second chance. And the story about the baby girl and the boy from New Orleans, the ones who were born Alpha and Luna and were said to someday have a good chance of feeling the Pull with each other and ruling together. You mentioned that that could have happened- although we'll never know now- but that it might also not have happened that way."

Gabrielle nodded, eyes gazing earnestly into hers. "Yes. I needed to pave the way and ease them into this whole thing first," she confessed. "I don't think it's wise to dump this information that the ones whom they have previously and have always believed- even growing up believing this- to be their soulmates, might just be a potential option instead, no matter how much it gives them a good chance." She reasoned. "We can't just drop it like a whole ton of bricks onto them. It's not only wrong but it won't be accepted, not by a long shot."

Gabriel nodded. "Wise," he complimented, nodding towards her. "She's right: it'll only complicate matters even worse. We can't fight them. Not even if they argue," he warned, ice-blue eyes boring into each and every one of the Quileutes with them. "That's just them being all distraught and traumatised- which they will be even more so after this."

Everyone shifted uneasily in their seats. Leah swallowed. From her own observations and her experiences, any of their kind being in emotional turmoil could potentially have lethal consequences. Violence initiated by one of their kind could not easily be contained. And she understood Gabriel's wariness: they didn't wish to start a war, that was why they sought out an alliance.

Leah was silent for a while, and then she spoke. "I have to do it," she said so quietly that no human could've heard her, had Sue not been sitting right next to her. "I have to challenge Jacob for the position of Alpha- or Luna."

She didn't turn to see the eyes of her pack-mates, including that of her brother, or her mother. Gabriel's eyes softened in sympathy and understanding. "The burdens of leadership," he said quietly, eyes meeting hers. "It's never easy and it never gets easier. But we have to do what's best for our people- even if we make a hard choice and a few sacrifices along the way." He sighed.

"Alright, then."

"But only if Jacob is unwilling to listen, even after all that." Leah whispered. Then, suddenly an idea formed inside her head. "Here's the plan..."

---

"Develop enough courage so that you can stand up for yourself and then stand up for somebody else."

Maya Angelou

Bella

I had never believed in miracles before I met Edward.

After I met him, I believed all things were possible so long as I was with him.

Now, I no longer believed that.

I knew I had to face Edward again. I had to see him before his trial.

But it wasn't easy. Least of all, because it was hard just seeing him imprisoned like that.

The other reasons for my hesitation in visiting him, not nearly as much as Carlisle and Esme, Jasper, Emmett, Rosalie and Alice, were more complex. I still loved him, at least a part of me did. Another part was starting to understand what we had wasn't special, or even remotely good, but still hesitated to break free. I didn't just adore him; Edward had been the centre of my life for over two years (was it really as short as that? I had no idea, it seemed so much more when I was living it), and it killed me to be forced to accept and understand that our relationship wasn't ideal; that it wasn't something out of a fairytale love story. And how stupid did that sound, now that I said it, even to myself? Yet it still felt like betrayal; like I was the one doing the betraying. Even though I knew he also abused my trust.

At the same time, I knew that Edward did nothing to me that I didn't let him. I never stood up to him, and for that I could be blamed. Even when I was expecting Renesmee, I couldn't bring myself to stand my ground, look him in the eye, and tell him what I thought and felt, why I felt like I needed and wanted to go through with the pregnancy, that it wasn't the baby's fault, and that this was my choice, and I was choosing to give it, if need be, for my child- our child. Or that he was being petty, which he was by emotionally guilt-tripping and blackmailing me.

But I also knew he was capable of twisting my words, abusing my trust to serve his own purposes. And I was certain that he would never have listened to me. I remembered how he disabled my truck by taking out its battery, and how I couldn't bring myself to stand up to him. That got me angry, looking back, with myself most of all. That I couldn't stand up to him, I couldn't bring myself to do it, because I so blindingly, stupidly trusted him and everything he said, and I couldn't hold a grudge, least of all because I understood how he felt and I felt bad for making him feel that way, uneasy about my relationship with another guy who I knew, deep down, wanted more than friendship, as much of an idiot I was to ignore that. I still remembered feeling that, and that gave me pause; yet I also remembered how Edward shut me up before I could argue by smashing his mouth to mine, and taking my breath away with a kiss, all the while assuring me that if I'd wanted space and privacy for tonight, to keep my window closed. He'd understand.

And because of that, because I also knew that it would be futile to try to argue with him, I stomped away, made excuses to Charlie about how the truck couldn't start, and left Jacob be. Even though he'd helped me up when Edward threw me down. Even though I'd led him on, only to give him nothing in return, least of all myself. In my heart, I knew it was wrong, but I was weak. Too chicken. I didn't have the nerve to stand up to Edward, just as I didn't have the nerve to look Jacob in the eye and make my decision, even if it meant letting him go. I couldn't even bring myself to face Leah and listen to what she said to me after Jake had run away.

I also wondered if the demise of my truck, conveniently just before our wedding, had something to do with Edward as well. After all, he'd wanted to give me the Mercedes Guardian for our engagement and the Ferrari for after the wedding. He didn't care about what I thought or how I'd feel with people staring at me like I'm some kind of gold digger or a drug cartel's boss, or family member.

In short, I was conflicted. I knew I was to blame for everything as much as Edward or Jacob. I knew that I still held strong feelings for him. Yet at the same time, because of this, I couldn't trust myself. I didn't think I could be strong enough to do the right thing. To not be manipulated by him should we ever meet, and I heard him speak. To not cave in at the sight of his beauty which had dazzled and hypnotised me so much in the past, and only recently made me unable to stomach the sight of him. I didn't know which way to go if I were to see him again.

But most of all, it all boiled down to one thing: I felt that I couldn't trust him. In fact, I was certain that I couldn't. I couldn't trust him not to manipulate me, even subconsciously without knowing it, since it came as naturally, as habitually, to him as breathing, just as I couldn't trust myself not to be manipulated by him. All he had to do, was to make me look at his dazzling face and open his beautiful mouth, and hear the honeyed words pour through. I would cave; my resistance would crumble.

And that worried me. But my thoughts flew to Renesmee and what she needed. What she wanted.

I owed it to her to be a good mother, even if it meant not being a good wife. And deep down, just as I knew that Jacob had feelings for me back then but chose to ignore it and would eventually come to blows with Edward and have his heart broken, though I refused to see it that way, now I knew that this marriage was sinking, like an iceberg melting in the Arctic. The difference is, I wasn't blind enough and I knew I couldn't afford to ignore it, everything that was going on around me.

I couldn't be stupid anymore. Or blind.

I stopped before Edward's cell. Istvan the Death Dealer glanced our way but turned back to his conversation with another vampire. A bald-headed British-sounding guy of African descent.

Hesitantly, I looked towards Rosalie.

"I'm not sure if I can do this," I whispered. Rosalie pursed her lips.

"It's up to you." She said, finally. "If you feel you can do it, go ahead. If not, then it's okay." I looked down.

Rosalie's violet-blue eyes softened. "It's okay to hesitate," she said quietly. "It doesn't mean that you're weak, Bella. If you think you might still have feelings for Edward, then it's understandable. Heck, I'd even say that it's human. But if you're also afraid you might cave in to him and his wishes, his machinations..." she hesitated. "Then you're being smart. It doesn't mean that you're weak. You can take precautionary measures."

I stared. "What precautionary measures?"

She took a deep breath and sighed. "Anything to make certain that you won't fall into his trap again."

I bit my lip. "I- I can't," I said miserably. "I don't- I don't know how or what-"

Rosalie shook her head. "Then find something," she insisted. "Anything. You stood up to him when you found out you were pregnant. And you never caved in, even though you knew what he wanted."

I stared. "That's because you were there, along with Esme. He would've done something anyway, once your backs were turned." Rosalie's beautiful face soured at the reminder. "I never stood up to him. Even with you guys there, on guard and vigilant. He and Jacob were saying all these things, and I never-" my voice choked at the end. "I never-" I rasped.

"I'm not strong enough." I whispered. I stared at my feet. My vision blurred. "I'm not strong enough, like you."

Rosalie pursed her lips. "By strong, do you mean idiot enough to believe every fairytale I've been told, not to see my parents scheming when my mom conveniently forgot my father's lunch at the bank, not to think twice about accepting the advances of someone I didn't know, just because he was the richest bachelor in town and handsome to boot? Bella, if I'm strong..." she shook her head.

"That didn't come overnight." She warned. "Maybe... maybe if you were happier and your parents taught you to be strong when you were young, you wouldn't have been so easy to manipulate. A lot of people didn't like Edward, at least, not anymore. Not after we'd returned."

I hesitated. "I never saw that," I admitted, looking back up at her. "I've been so blind."

Rosalie pursed her lips again. "So was I." She said quietly, causing me to look up and stare at her. Her eyes were distant. "So was I, Bella. So were many others. The signs were all there. We just chose not to see. Only when it was too late and we looked back did we see the signs from the very beginning. Royce never loved or cared about me, Bella. He wanted the trophy wife." Her lovely face contorted into a scowl as she said this. "He liked what he saw. Edward..." she sighed, trailing off. Rosalie shook her head. "He saw what he imagined... and he thought it was real."

I pursed my own lips and nodded, tightly. Yes. That made sense. Rosalie was right: the signs were there from the very beginning, I just chose not to see them. Billy had warned me, but he was too clouded by his own prejudice he had never been willing to see the person as opposed to what he thought were the monsters, with no discriminations. Mike had warned me, but he was jealous. So was Jacob, and it wasn't like he was any better, either. Charlie didn't know the full picture, and now that I looked back I saw that he never communicated well, either. It was just that he was senselessly blustering without knowing the full details, and making demands that were unreasonable, at least from my eyes. And because my father didn't seem to understand why I'd been so upset when I'd been kissed against my will by Jacob, for example, along with a bunch of other things, I didn't think that his judgment and opinions were reliable or remotely trustworthy.

It was this jolting reminder that made me come to the realisation that I didn't respect him. And maybe for that alone, I would've been easily excused. But I'd never respected him in the first place, largely, I reflected, because I had been expecting him to be somewhat like Renée. With a hands-off approach to being a parent, I realised all of a sudden. Being there for me.

With a sudden shock, I realised that I'd been so alone all these years, but because I was practically an adult, or so I thought, or because I had to act as an adult, if only for Renée, I put that aside. I refused to acknowledge it. There were too many things to do, and breaking and getting all upset about it just wouldn't help. Or maybe it was because I didn't think anyone would want to or could help, least of which because they couldn't care. And the thought of that made me resent Renée just a bit more.

I took a deep breath. Now was not the time. I could worry about all my issues later, when I finally sat down and had a long-overdue talk with my father... and my mother.

"I think I will speak to Edward..." I trailed off softly. "But first... I need to speak with Radu... And Lady Laima."

Rosalie stared. "Why?"

"His sentence," I insisted. "I need to make sure... I have to make sure that Edward gets the help he needs." Rosalie shook her head.

"Bella..." she trailed. "The trial hasn't even begun."

"No, but..." I paused. "I have to make them understand. He needs this, just as I do. No use imprisoning him for centuries or millennia if he doesn't learn his lesson. And-" I took a shuddering breath, forcing myself to carry on with my words without flinching or hesitating, or worse, breaking apart as I'd feared "-executing him is like... well, he's a mentally unstable person! He does all these things because he's sick, not malicious!"

Rosalie sighed, pinching her brows. "And I would be there to support you and lend my voice," she insisted. "But are they going to listen?"

"They have to," I insisted. "It's justice, isn't it? It's not justice to sentence him to death-" I fervently squashed the part of me that screamed and broke down at the mention of Edward's possible execution "-because he's sick and that's the reason he's done all these things. And there's no point in imprisoning him if he doesn't learn his lesson and only does it again once he's released. And there's no point," I insisted, plowing through when I saw her open her mouth "in an eternity of imprisonment. It's a waste of time and resources, isn't it?" My brain was running at a hundred miles per hour. "A human, you can give them a lifetime of imprisonment. But a vampire?" I shook my head.

"Plus, we're members of the Confederation now, aren't we?" I insisted. "It's one thing to execute Aro and Caius, along with Chelsea, Afton and Corin. It's another thing entirely to execute Edward because he's not that great a threat, and his crime," I pressed "is mild compared to theirs. They have to prove themselves to us, and we have to prove ourselves to them and to each other, especially our new government, that we are not like the Volturi. Or the Romanians. We care about justice."

Rosalie paused. "I suppose that could work." She admitted. She glanced behind me. "I'll go and see Edward now, shall I? I'll tell him that you're speaking on his behalf to appeal his impending sentence."

I nodded, pursing my lips. "Yeah, thanks."

Rosalie nodded and moved past me. Istvan saw her approach and cut his hand to let her into the cell. I took a deep breath. Once the cell door- or wall- closed securely behind her, I approached the Death Dealers.

"I..." I hesitated. "I'm sorry, I didn't want to disturb, but is there any way to speak to Radu?" I remembered that the only way to speak to Lady Laima was through the regent of this coven, her son.

Istvan shot the other Death Dealer a long look. "Would it be possible?" He asked him quietly.

The man shrugged. "Why not?"

---

"Were there none who were discontented with what they have, the world would never reach anything better."

Florence Nightingale

"Are you insane?" Gabrielle hissed. "I've just..." She took a shaky breath and tried to still her trembling hands. "I haven't even..."

"But you can do it," Radu whispered quietly.

She glared at him. "It might be possible, but it will certainly take time." She sighed, closing her eyes briefly. "I'll see what I can do."

He leaned down to kiss her, but she shook her head and pulled out of his grasp.

"Don't," Gabrielle said shakily. "Not here."

Radu sighed, exasperated. "No one's here, I've warded-" but Gabrielle shook her head. "That's not it," she said frankly. "And I think you know it."

Radu stared. "What?" Gabrielle bit her lip. She cast her eyes heavenwards before closing them momentarily, sighing.

Gabrielle shook her head, numbly. "Your sister's getting married," she said quietly.

"At midnight." Radu sighed. He held out his arms to her, pleadingly. His lips twitched into a small smile. "Just for a little while?"

Gabrielle shook her head but couldn't keep herself from smiling ever so slightly.

They kissed passionately, a small part of Gabrielle wondering just how in the world they would be able to get away with this and for how much longer? Either way, even if neither of them grew complacent and careless, someone was bound to find out, sooner rather than later.

The grandson of Alexander Corvinus twined his elegant fingers through her silvery-blonde waves as the kiss deepened.

When they finally broke away for breath, longer than for how long humans would have been able to keep up, Gabrielle sighed, shaking her head. "I'm stupid," she whispered as she lay her head on his shoulder. "So much stupider than I ever dreamed I would be." Yet she felt safe.

"Shush," he embraced her soothingly. "I honestly don't care, but I'm certain that's not true." Radu sighed.

"You are going to do it, aren't you?" She whispered. Suddenly, Gabrielle stiffened, straightening to look back up at him.

"What?"

"Viktor," Gabrielle stated. She leaned back to clarify further, although she did not break their embrace. "You intend to dethrone him? Or to limit his power? Kill him?"

Radu said nothing, but his silence spoke volumes. His expression was grim. His eyes were drawn and grave.

Gabrielle sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. "Just be careful." She warned him. "You don't need me to tell you that. But you can't afford to take any more risks, nor to leave any stone unturned in whatever you decide to do to obtain your ultimate goal." She leaned forwards. "And that includes the potential power vacuum that would be left should one of the three High Elders, founders of the covenant, be removed."

Radu understood: the effects could ripple throughout the rest of their kind, not just their particular species. Viktor's supporters and followers were unlikely to take this lightly and most of them were powerful and dangerous enough to cause all kinds of chaos.

"I've started removing some of his supporters," he whispered quietly. "One by one, over the centuries and millennia. No one knows it was me, especially since I've taken steps to build them up, train them myself and even, at times, present them for Viktor for selection and his own approval and hand in training them." Gabrielle saw a flash of guilt run through his azure eyes, which vanished as they hardened in his resolve. "It might take time, but once our goal has been achieved..."

Gabrielle quirked her head. "Radu, what happened to Sonja? You mentioned that you suspected that she fell in love with a Lycan, but..."

Radu shook his head. "She's dead, I know that much." He whispered. "And I know that Viktor is to blame."

Gabrielle was silent. It was clear that Radu wasn't going to reveal any details to her, although she couldn't blame him. He and Sonja were close, even though they were not romantically involved.

Gabrielle found herself reluctant to break away; increasingly so. It troubled her, she was becoming too attached to him.

How in the world was she ever supposed to break free?

But she had to. And not just because of Viktor, or the coven. Although relationships between vampires and werewolves were absolutely forbidden by the covenant, and the resulting offspring of such unions were considered abominations, relations between vampires and humans were not, provided that the humans consented willingly and were never taken by force. There was, however, a huge debate about Dhampyr, and whether the existence of such offspring was permitted, especially since some of them have gone on to become vampire slayers, but some had proven themselves not only useful but indispensable to the coven, and so even the warmongering and ruthless Viktor had been forced to, upon the time when a Dhampir had actually saved their species and he was outweighed in his opinions, not simply by the other two High Elders, but by the general outcry, to permit them to live. Still, they were never fully accepted and were looked upon with suspicion, although never outright targeted (for the most part). In part, because there were so few of them to begin with.

Yet that wasn't her concern. In fact, Gabrielle knew full well that there could be no such offspring between them. Even though Viktor may fear the child born between a union by a member of the Corvinus Clan, a pure-born, no less, it was the fact that their genes were incapable of merging and thus producing offspring that troubled her. Because Gabrielle wasn't just a witch, a magical human.

No, she knew what the future held in store for her. Unbeknownst to wizards, Veela, or more accurately, Vila, were immortal. They were similar to vampires in this regard, but a totally different race, completely unrelated, same as to humanity. And they were solely comprised of females.

Meaning that Gabrielle would eventually become one. And she would need to reproduce.

Gabrielle broke away reluctantly, her face pained. She swallowed. She couldn't deny... was she falling for him? If so, she feared going deeper. For the sakes of both of them and their families and respective kinds...

Fleur had a choice. Even though she married a human. A human, even a wizard, would be able to pass the genes down, even though the genes inherited from Vila mothers would inevitably clash with those of their wizard fathers in a battle for dominance. As it happened, only one of Fleur's children would grow to transform. After all, she had two girls but only one boy.

What about Gabrielle? She had no offspring. She was not married yet. She had yet to become seriously attached- or so she thought- and hoped. After all, she was only twenty, but it was five more years until she was halfway through with her transformation; another twenty-five years and she would become a full-blooded Vila and her abilities as a witch would be gone, forever lost along with her humanity. After all, she had already ceased to age...

She couldn't fall in love with him. She just couldn't. She had as much chance as reproducing with Radu as Renesmee had with Jacob, or any other Dhampir with another Loup-Garou. And she would be compelled to reproduce, whether she was ready or not.

Loup-Garoux females had their heat. Human females had the menstrual cycle. Vila and the other species of the same genus, like the Mediterranean nymphs, the Persian Peri, the Indian Apsara, and Western European Sylphs and Undines felt the Well of Compulsion: a state of self-semi-hypnosis whenever their bodies, minds and spirits were ready to mate and bring forth offspring to continue the species. Ever since their species evolved from the Eldar or High Elves, this was the case. This was the reason why so many of them, member-species of the genus Virgineum of the family Fey, were stereotyped as femme fatales, intoxicatingly irresistible, completely entrancing and impossibly alluring to human men, but these humans had no idea of how much they themselves resented this: their dependence upon and need to mate with the humans who had taken over and destroyed their world, dominating it, in order to continue the species. But they needed to mate with males of either Fey or purely human descent, due to the elasticity and adaptability of the latter's genome, and the immortality and similarities (particularly the inner magic) with the former. A vampire, even a pure-born member of a species capable of procreation, and a son of the legendary progenitors Clan Corvinus, would be unable. Their individual immortalities were very different.

Gabrielle heaved a sigh. "Radu," she whispered pained. She cast her teary eyes around Sonja's bedchamber. "Why?" She whispered. "Why did you bring me here? To the Tower of the Elders?"

Radu closed his eyes. He struggled to speak. "You know why," he whispered, hoarse for a vampire. Gabrielle squeezed her eyes shut. "I-"

"Don't say it," she whispered, voice urgent. "Not if you care about your family, your people or even me. Don't say it."

Radu swallowed.

"We can't bear it," Gabrielle whispered. "You know that's true."

He took a deep breath. His whole body shuddered.

"How far do we have to go?" She whispered. "How deep?"

Radu responded: "What if it's too late?" Gabrielle shook her head. "It's never too late." She paused. "Not unless you decide it so."

Add to the fact that individual attachments by immortals- of any kind- were unable to move on and truly fall out of love once they genuinely did...

A thought occurred to her: did that mean that Bella and Edward still had a chance? To move on with their lives?

She shook her head of such thoughts. Now was not the time.

"Perhaps I've suppressed such urges to feel these feelings and seek love and companionship in my early youth," she whispered "which has now exploded. Maybe that's why I'm such a fool."

She wondered if this was the case with Bella Swan and her enforced and hastened maturity: she had no time for companionship and learning how to navigate the first fires of passions early in her youth, so after suppressing her ability to feel or even be tempted and swayed by developing such emotional bonds it suddenly could not be repressed, especially since she had never been the target of such attentions before Edward or Jacob entered her life. She never imagined that she could be capable, especially unintentionally, of attracting anyone's attention, least of all two very good-looking boys.

Radu's lips twitched. "Or perhaps I'm becoming increasingly feeble-minded in my old age and longing for the days and experiences of youth that I've missed out upon," he smirked slightly.

Gabrielle's lips twitched. "Just for tonight." Radu urged, opening his arms out to her.

Without hesitation or thought, Gabrielle flew into them and began kissing him passionately, as he held onto her.

Suddenly, even the threat of Viktor or the undoubtedly damaging, no destructive, future they would face if they remained on this path and went further seemed to dissipate.

But then Radu froze. "Someone's in the tower." Gabrielle paled.

She knew she couldn't cast a disillusionment charm: it wouldn't fool vampires, they'd still be able to smell, hear her heartbeat, and feel the warmth emanating from her whole body. She couldn't Apparate in the Old-World Coven.

"It's alright." He hushed her and gestured at her to lean back against the wall. Gabrielle did, drawing the silk curtains of the bed around her form in a vain and pathetic attempt to blend in.

Then Radu's eyes widened. My father, he mouthed to Gabrielle who, if possible paled further.

Silence. Gabrielle tried to calm her heartbeat. She breathed through her nose, in and out, in and out. She somehow knew that she would fail, but it was worth a try.

Gabrielle's hearing was preternaturally sharp. And with the translation spells...

"You understand it best, Amelia," the voice of Markus, the first Progenitor, sounded barely muffled by the heavy teak doors and stone walls. "My wife has accepted everything. In fact, it was her suggestion to begin with." His voice was bland and formal.

"And I am grateful for all the sacrifices she has made on behalf of our species and our entire kind," Lady Amelia's voice spoke.

Radu lifted a finger. No doubt he was casting an illusion charm meant to fool vampires in order to conceal their presences. Gabrielle relaxed a little.

"Still, our children have wills of their own," her tone turned dry. "As I'm certain you've discovered."

Markus scoffed. He might have shrugged. "I would have appreciated a prior warning."

"Did your wife not inform you?"

"She decided to allow Ruxandra and David to do it," a hint of amusement entered his words. Then they turned serious. "You know Viktor won't be pleased."

Amelia sighed. "A most mild understatement," she said dryly. "He would have been more amenable to it, had your son married Sonja."

"How can he marry someone who is likely long deceased?" Markus asked sharply. "Or at least has never been found? The point is moot, Viktor knows this. Are any of our children, yours and mine, to spend the rest of eternity without companionship for fear of inciting Viktor's wrath and, therefore, potentially overturning the balance of power in our species, or our entire race?" He scoffed. "Viktor would consider their marriages a threat had they decided upon other spouses."

Amelia sighed again. But she didn't deny, Gabrielle thought grimly. "He is bitter." she reminded him. "And jealous."

"I know," Markus' voice softened for a fraction. "But the existences of our individual children have long since been treated as a potential threat or danger to his reign before Sonja's disappearance and likely demise. Clearly, he does not think either of us capable of honouring the covenant and the Chain. Or my wife. How many millennia has it been?"

Amelia scoffed in amusement. "He will always be paranoid," she warned. "And paranoid rulers are the most dangerous." Gabrielle wholeheartedly agreed. "He sees enemies, even when there are none. Unless he can control things, Viktor will always see them as posing a threat."

"I am aware," Markus said quietly. "More than most."

Silence ensued. "I am sorry." Amelia spoke softly. "I wish... I truly wish there had been another way." Markus sighed.

"It was not your fault," he said quietly. Gabrielle didn't know if there was a hint of reluctance in his words. "We had no way of stopping him."

"But Viktor took things too far," Amelia said quietly. Her voice was filled with remorse. "And I... I was bitter."

"You were grieving," Markus pointed. "It was only natural for you to wish revenge. I could not expect otherwise. You loved the ones whom you have lost."

"Aye," Amelia agreed. "And I loved my daughter." Radu stiffened and Gabrielle looked bewildered. "But they are gone. And I will never see them again." Her voice was filled with sorrow.

"Such is the price that we pay," Markus stated bitterly. "I still remember my mother, after all these millennia. And my father's grief along with my own and my brother's. I also remember my youngest brother."

Amelia hummed in agreement. "There were so many things that I regret," he whispered. "Things that I wish I could have said or done. Immortality cannot spare me of that. Nor will it spare anything else."

Gabrielle felt a chill up her spine.

Their voices died away. Their footsteps, lighter than a human's, gradually disappeared. In the distance, Gabrielle could hear doors opening and closing. They must have entered their individual rooms. Her heart pounded. Was it safe yet?

Radu exhaled after a while.

He turned back and nodded.

Escorting her down the hallway and into a narrow passageway, a staircase typically meant to be used as a security measure as opposed to the main one that led to the hallway and individual suites of rooms, Radu never once let go of her hand. His hand was cool against her skin, not as cold as the Cullens' skin temperatures since he was not made of rock crystal or diamond. It was something which she had become familiar with, in any case. The two of them reached the bottom of the staircase.

"Never again," she whispered shakily. "Not here. Not again."

Radu sighed and nodded. "Forgive me," he whispered. "But there were only so many places one can go to in secrecy around here." Gabrielle sighed, noting that this was true. This tower was one of the few places that Viktor and his supporters were unlikely to enter since he was in hibernation. Radu kissed her passionately once more. Gabrielle did not even think to resist.

"Perhaps I am going insane," he smirked once they had broken away.

Gabrielle smirked in response. They pulled each other closer. "Perhaps it's mutual."

They kissed once more. Once they had stopped, but had yet to break away, Gabrielle breathed, "Your sister's wedding is at midnight. You had best prepare." She swallowed and her voice and face became expressionless and blank.

She couldn't bear to see the look on his face, even though she knew she was right.

---

Esmé is the name of Vivian Gandillon's mother in Blood and Chocolate and Gabriel is the new Alpha's name and Vivian's love interest, I did not name them, any more than I named the characters of Twilight and Harry Potter.

Blood and Chocolate was set in 1997, and as mentioned, the Twilight series ran its course from 2005 to 2007. I am sticking to the canonical timelines for both worlds, therefore Vivian, who was sixteen during the novel, is twenty-six in this fic.

Now, I'm still not condoning the Twilight series' portrayal of grooming or sexual harassment in any way, but I am also not condoning the- admittedly milder- form of this also portrayed in Blood and Chocolate. Vivian was sixteen and Gabriel twenty-four when they first became involved. But as with other Wolf-shifter stories and universes, including Twilight (as mentioned in Eclipse) I've cemented the fact that Loup-Garoux/Wolf shifters physically grow faster as well as mentally and emotionally- although Jacob skipped out on the latter, that's not because he's still human- he's just naturally immature and his home life isn't at all supportive of his needs as he grew. His mental and emotional development has been derailed. As for Gabriel once forcing a kiss on Vivian when she had been initially reluctant, we'll get to that soon. He knows it's not really okay and he regrets it. His development will be shown.

Plus, the novel was set in the nineties. It was considered less criminal and harassment and more romantic back then. A big thing in this fic is how views, values and beliefs change over time, a significant thing since Renesmee does not agree with her father's views or even Bella's and Jacob's. Hence the reason why so many Twilight ships would sink in the real world.