The Consequences {Jacob Black}

Chapter CLV

Seth took Nessie up onto his back while Jake lowered himself to me. I shook my head. The last thing that Jake needed was to feel like he had to watch out for me when things went wrong. He growled a warning and took my shirt between his teeth and tugged. "No, Jake. I'll walk," I said to him. He snarled again and pulled a little harder. "No, Jake," I said firmly. "No." He licked my cheek, his rough tongue gliding over my cheekbone. I leaned into his side, resting my head against the muscle of his shoulder, closer to his leg than his back. He really was a fearsome thing to behold. A wall of muscle covered in thick fur.

He knew that he couldn't change my mind. At least, that's what I think he knew because he stopped trying to force me onto his back and started walking alongside me. I watched the Pack's ears swivel and turn as the communicated. Somewhere in the middle of it, Jake turned around a barked at the rest of them, sending the rest of the Pack into silence. As soon as we were up with the lines of vampires that were waiting for this face off, Nessie slid from Seth's back and sprinted to the witnesses.

Having been banished to my room from the very beginning, I didn't really know the people that were standing there. Jake and the rest of the wolves were all growling quietly. Probably due to the stench of leech that was filling their noses. A tall amazonian woman picked up my niece and threw her in the air in a fit of giggles. But in the next instant, the laughter had died with a short glare from one of the others. This was not a day for glee and joy. We had to be serious today. We had to all be warriors and protect our friends and family. We hadn't been sitting there for very long at all when black smoke rolled in over the land.

No, not smoke. Hordes and hordes of vampires, all cloaked in black with hoods over each face. "We have to show them Renesmee," Bella whispered from her spot beside me. I flinched and wiggled my way closer to Jake. His head bowed to wrap around my waist and glare at my sister, a warning rumbling in him. "They're here because she's a danger. If we show them that she's not, they'll have to leave." I looked to Edward, wondering if it was even worth it.

He nodded. "And you, Rye-Anne." I narrowed my eyes and stared at him. It's Ryanne. It had always been that way. It would always be that way. "My apologies, Ryanne." He cocked his head to the side and stared at Jake. "I hardly think that this is the appropriate time to use that kind of language, Jacob. But for her safety, it would be best to show that she does not harbor ill will towards them." Of course I harbored ill will. These leeches were trying to kill me. "Of course, going up with us would also tell them that you are protected."

Once we are all in agreement that both Nessie and I would need to go up to the Volturi, Edward reached a hand out to his daughter. The little monster looked up at me and Jake. We nodded. The Volturi didn't need to know that there was any kind of faction in our group. We were here to stand as one unit, regardless of what we thought of each other. Bella took her daughter's other hand and, as a family for probably the first time since her birth, they started walking. I followed behind them, Jake at my side as we approached the group.

Jane's ruby red eyes stared at me as soon as she realized that I was there. Her mouth curved into that dangerous smile that had me hiding behind Jake's front leg as much as I could. "Bella, Bella," Aro said, the name rolling off his tongue. "You are even more beautiful in immortality than you were in humanity." Bella looked like she was afraid, scared. She was attempting to get herself closer to Edward without showing that she was afraid. "And this is...?""Aro, Caius, Marcus, this our daughter. Renesmee Cullen," Edward presented. He pushed his daughter a little farther forward. Nessie's bell-like voice tinkled as she greeted the men that had come to kill us all. "As you can hear, she has a beating heart. She was born while Bella was still human. She is not fully vampire nor fully human."

"Bring forth the witness," Aro said. I leaned back into Jake's wolf chest, wishing that it would all just go away. A blonde that I vaguely remembered from Bella and Edward's wedding came forward. "Is this the child that you saw?" he demanded of her. The Denali woman stumbled over her words, trying to get herself out of some trouble but ultimately had to admit that when she had last seen Nessie, the child was smaller. She apologized profusely, trying to dig her way out of this hole. "Of course you are sorry, dear heart," Aro whispered. With a jerk of his head, another black cloaked parasite came forward and placed one hand on her chin and the other above her ear. The snap resonated through the clearing, but it was quickly drowned out by the sound of two screams that turned to sobs behind us. The body hit the snow with a thud. "I see that you are quite well, Miss Ryanne," he said now.