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It wasn't that Valeria was jealous of Bella, except she was jealous of Bella. The newborn seemed to have super self-control that could almost rival Carlisle's. It made Valeria feel like something was wrong with her — like she wasn't a good enough newborn as she'd struggled so much that she had to be kept miles away from civilization.
But at the same time, Valeria was happy for Bella's control, as it meant she didn't harm Charlie or any other humans that came around. Because since Jacob was always at the Cullen house, Leah was always at the Cullen house, and that now meant Mike was always at the Cullen house. Valeria seemed to be the only one ecstatic about him finally being in the know, as he was her best friend and now they could truly share everything.
Other than Mike's unexpected involvement, things were calming down for the Cullens and the packs. Packs as in plural. Jacob continued to lead his own pack with Leah and Seth, and Quil and Embry ended up joining them. Any new shifters would be trained by both Jacob and Sam. However, when Jacob inevitably had to leave with the Cullens wwhen the time came, Sam would take them back with open arms, making sure the Clearwaters knew there were no hard feelings over them leaving the pack. If anything, he was proud that they had the guts to stand up for their own beliefs.
"Can I see your fangs?" Mike asked Valeria, who rolled her eyes. They were sitting in the Cullen's living room along with Leah and Sam while Renesmee was showing off her new skills at playing the piano.
"They don't have fangs, babe," Leah said with a sigh. But Mike didn't believe her. He reached over Leah and grabbed Valeria's face, who just laughed and let him pull her mouth open to look at her teeth. Then she pulled herself back and chomped playfully at his hand.
Bella looked from her daughter to the human, still struggling to process the fact that Mike Newton of all people knew. That he was in their home and making vampire jokes. But Edward informed her that ever since meeting and falling for Leah, a lot of Mike's hostility toward the Cullen family had faded along with his jealousy over not ending up with Bella himself, which was a relief — now if someone could just imprint on Jessica.
Forgetting about her human friends, Bella focused back on the progress her daughter was making, her able to play perfectly after Edward only showing her a few times how to do it. Even though Renesmee was growing at a concerningly fast rate, the family was still happy and safe, which was all she could ask for.
Evidently, as Irina Denali was led into the throne room of the Volturi, that was asking too much.
The Volturi weren't fond of the Denali clan just as they despised the Cullens. So, Aro hardly paid any mind to the blonde woman as she entered behind Santiago.
"What a pleasant surprise," he said while remaining seated, flipping through an ancient book.
Caius, however, shut his own books swiftly, growing annoyed. He hated the golden-eyed vampires with a burning passion. "What do you want?" When Irina didn't move, clearly terrified and nervous, he just raised an impatient eyebrow. "Hmm?"
