The Consequences {Jacob Black}

Chapter CLII

It had been a few days since Nessie had shown us that the snow had indeed stuck. And it was still there. Despite the discomfort that it would cause him, Jake had decided that it would be safest if he, Nessie, and I were all to stay at the Cullens. The Cullens, of course, would not only include the whole hoard of vampire witnesses but also my sister and brother-in-law. The prospect of that was desirable to neither me or Nessie. But Jake insisted that it would be safest for everyone. He didn't want to waste time when the Volturi were finally there. He wanted to make sure that we were able to act the instant that we knew they were.

And all of that added up to me and Jake lying on a firm mattress that had never seen human anything on it. Nessie was curled up on a little settee at the foot of our bed. And that was coupled with the awkwardness of having Bella and Edward staring at her from our threshold. Despite Jake's innumerable growls and everyone else's insistence that they just leave us be for the night, the most that we got from them was a step back from the bedroom door. Nessie, in her deep sleep, was blissfully unaware of all of this. Jake, on the other hand, was slightly less than blissful. In fact, it was only moments after Rosalie and Emmet came in to say goodnight to Nessie that Jake finally snapped.

He jumped up off our bed and grabbed hold of the door with a thick fist. "Nessie," I reminded him when I saw those corded muscles in his arm swing to slam the door shut. Last second, he brought himself to a stop and gently shut the door. I only knew that Edward and Bella were on the other side because of his apparent irritation that was directed at the wooden portal long after he'd closed it. "Down, wolf boy," I said, tugging on his arm so that he would lay down. He didn't. He merely pressed himself back into the wood of the headboard. "You have to sleep, Jake. What if they show up?"

"Then I'll be awake to know," he replied. He gently pressed me so that I was laying down with my head lying on his lap. Absently he stroked my hair and hummed, calming me down in the way that he knew would work. Apparently I was the one with faith in this relationship. I knew, without a doubt, that the Volturi weren't coming that night. So, holding tight to that little hope, I burrowed myself into Jake's muscular thigh and let myself fall asleep.

"Ryanne!" Nessie was squealing. "Aunt Rose and Uncle Emmet want to take me out hunting," she was shouting at us. Jake had slumped over at some time during the night. He was lying flat on his back, his arm resting on my waist while I pillowed my head on his shoulder. "Please, can I go?"

"What?" I managed to say, blinking through the fog and trying to find her in the large room. Jake snored loudly and tightened his grip on my waist. "What did you say, Ness?"

"Aunt Rose and Uncle Emmet want to take me out to go hunting with Benjamin and Zafrina. Can I please, please, please go?" God she was turning into a teenager!

"You don't speak to strangers and you stay with the group the entire time," I began.

"Of course. I promise," she vowed.

"Then just go, Ness," I replied. She bounded up to our bed and kissed both of our cheeks.

Emmet poked his head in afterwards. "We'll take care of her," he promised me

"It's not me that you'll have to deal with," I informed him, rolling on my stomach and away from Jake. He followed after me, dropping his arm over my waist and laying his cheek against the exposed skin by my tank top. Content with the morning, although worried about Nessie in the recesses of my mind, I allowed myself to doze. Jake didn't seem in too big of a hurry to move.

At least, he wasn't until Esme walked in with a tray full of food for us to eat. Jake jerked up off my back and snarled, threatening the intruder in our bedroom, kind as she may be. "My apologies; I was only coming to bring you up food," she whispered. I sat up a little slower and rubbed my hand over Jake's shoulder, braking my own rules and pressing a kiss to his thick muscles. "Are you hungry?""Yes, thank you Esme," I replied. Jake was still staring at her. I sighed a little. I understood that he didn't like the vampires and least of all my sister and her husband husband. But Esme and Carlisle had never been anything but kind to me and Jake. Whenever any of us wolves or our imprints needed something, Carlisle was always there to step in and heal them. Regardless of what they were, we had to respect the fact that he was someone we could trust more than the rest.

"I'll leave you two in peace then," she said with that motherly smile, backing out the door after she'd placed the tray on the bed.

Jake waited only long enough for her to close the door before he'd pushed the food away. "Jake," I whispered. He shook his head. "She was only trying to do something nice." I picked up on of the homemade cinnamon roles, but Jake quickly snatched it away.

"No."

"Give me one good reason why not," I demanded of him, my stomach grumbling at the smell of food that was swirling around my nose.

"Because it all smells like leech," he snapped. I hated when he used that tone of voice. I dipped my fingers in the whipped cream that was sitting next to the waffles and painted warrior stripes over his face. He balked and tried to back away but I chased him. "You think you're funny?" At least there was a little mirth to his voice again. "Well, here." He mimicked my teasing and sent me into a fit of giggles which he gladly joined me in.

"She was just trying to be nice. Just hold your breath and eat; you normally inhale your food anyways," I laughed, snatching my cinnamon treat back from him.

Jake's nerves, however well he managed to hide them when we just sitting in the room, were never out of mind. I wasn't allowed to leave the bedroom or adjoining bathroom unless he or one of the wolves was at the house. The only wolves that were ever there, however, were Seth, Collin and Brody. The ones who didn't have imprints. And Jake had determined the three of them all too young to be responsible for the Alpha's imprint. "They wouldn't handle it well if something happened to you, Annie," he'd said. I'd just sighed in response.

So now he'd run into the forest to go check in with the rest of the Pack. Penn was only just learning to deal with the boys' dangerous job. Charlie was finishing her recovery. Kim and Jared were as in love as ever, although Kim was drowning from all her Advanced Placement classes. Emily was painting a nursery. Leah was planning a wedding, delighting in a fact that she would be married before Emily. And little Claire... Well she was just as happy and buoyant as ever before. She was the hope for our future, really. The little thing that we all wanted to protect; Claire held a little piece of each of us.

Two quiet knocks sounded at the bedroom door, pulling me from my musings of the people that I wanted to keep safe. "Come in," I whispered, knowing that whoever it was would hear me in this house. I had expected Bella, if we were being honest. The girl was forever in my way and trying to make life more difficult for me. But the last person that I expected was Emmet Cullen.

We had spoken very few times since we'd met a few years ago. Other than the few words that he'd said, the ones that were serious that is, about Nessie and how much he wanted to keep her with him and Rosalie, I'd never really had a conversation with him. He opened the door with his hands help up in surrender. I didn't fail to notice that he left to bedroom door opened. "Don't worry; wolf man knows that I'm here," he promised. That didn't make me feel any better, actually. I wanted one of the guys in the room with me. Still I just nodded and gestured for him to take a seat. "I know that we haven't really had a chance to speak."

"But I know you well enough to know that you're not normally this formal," I said, watching him sit rather stiffly on the foot of the bed. "What's on your mind?"

"It's Nessie," he began. I rose to my feet, thinking that I hadn't seen my niece since she'd left that morning and she was probably hurt. "There's nothing wrong," he was quick to add. "But I wanted to talk to you about my and Rosalie taking her." I settled back on the bed, waiting for him to finish the thought. "I — — I don't think it's a good idea."