petrichor [rosalie hale]

xxxiv. wedding prep

The sun hung low in the sky, casting a warm orange glow over the small porch where Kiara Black, her father Billy, and her best friend Paul Lahote had gathered. A gentle breeze rustled the leaves of the surrounding trees, creating a soothing melody that seemed at odds with the heavy atmosphere that enveloped them. Billy sipped lukewarm tea from an old cracked mug, reading "World's Best Dad", while Kiara and Paul both had a beer in their hands. 

In the weeks that marked Jacob's absence, things had firmly began to fall back into place in La Push. Sam had told the Elders that this was his pack, and that Rosalie and Kiara was a relationship that they were going to have to deal with as he wasn't going to stop them from being together. Billy and Kiara had been working through their issues, and while there had been lots of tears from both sides, it was a unanimous decision that Billy had been in the wrong.

The man was working hard to regain Kiara's trust, and while he knew they'd never go back to how they once had been, he was just grateful to have her in his life. He'd lost sight of what that meant to him when she had almost died seeking his approval, and he swore that he'd never put her through that again.

Paul had spent most of his time at the Black household since Jacob left. Billy liked having the boy around, and he liked seeing the effect his presence had on Kiara. He'd even turned a blind eye to Paul buying Kiara a beer, since he was of legal age and she wasn't. He knew that wolves didn't get drunk easy, but it had seemed that Kiara and Leah had a lower alcohol tolerance than the rest of the pack. 

Paul had almost filled the gap in the house that Jacob had left behind. It had came as no surprise to the Cullens and the rest of the pack when they learned that Jake had fled after reciting the invite. It was about more than just a wedding - it was about Bella Swan inevitably being turned into a vampire. Jake couldn't be here to see that happen. His absence was a void that loomed over the house, casting a shadow on their lives.

"I just don't understand why he had to run off like that," Kiara murmured, her voice laced with frustration. "It's not like Bella's the only girl in the world."

It had been a repeating conversation that they all had. Everyone understood it - even Kiara - but she still expressed her frustration about it often. They'd catch glimpses of him in their pack link here and there, and Sam had told her that it was similar to when she had freaked and run off. It was a flurry of emotions that would come through, a painful and uncomfortable experience until he would flicker out of signal again. 

Billy sighed, his weathered face etched with concern. He was worried about his son, but his priority was here, with Kiara.

"Kiara, you know it's not that simple. Jacob's always worn his heart on his sleeve, and when he saw that invitation... well, it hit him hard."

"Are you going, Billy?" Paul asked, trying to move the conversation on before Kiara started another rant about Jacob and his selfishness. Truth was, Paul kind of understood where Jacob was coming from. Almost half of the wolves in the pack now had an imprint, and while he liked seeing them all being happy, it kind of sucked. Sam had Emily, Jared had Kim, Kiara had Rosalie, Quil had imprinted on Taylor Young (Emily's sister), and now even Seth had imprinted on Bree Tanner - the newest member of the Cullen coven.

That hadn't gone down well with the elders at all, once again, but Sam had stood his ground. They'd learnt from the mistakes they had made when it came to Kiara and Rosalie, and Seth had been a lot more protected from the onslaught of voices and opinions about the imprint than the girl had been. He spent every waking minute with Bree, on patrol or with Leah. That was the one thing Sue had been pleased about the most - Seth had never taken away from the time he spent with his sister to be with his imprint. Kiara knew that as much as Leah joked about it, she really appreciated that.