Full Moon

Chapter 17

"Aunt Alice?" I whisper, her scent surrounds me, the scent of home. Her voice is like a song in my ear. After the horror of six years ago I never expected to see her again. Part of me believed she too had died. But here she was, healthy, and beautiful, and alive.

"Darling, we missed you so so much. We've been waiting for you to return home." Slender fingers combed through my hair, the touch so motherly it brought me to tears. It had been so long since I had a motherly touch. There had been so little in my short life. Jacob carried for me and I loved him with the entirety of my heart, but no one could call him motherly.

"I.. I don't understand.." My voice never rose above a whisper, as if I were afraid that talking to loud may make this all disappear. I could hear the low rumble of Jacob's voice as he spoke to someone. Peeking out from the comfort of my Aunt's arms I spotted Uncle Jasper. Of course he hadn't changed a bit. Jacob and he were speaking in low voices.

"Why didn't you look for me?" I sounded so young, more like the six year old I actually was.

"Oh honey we tried! But you both are blind spots on my vision. I can't see you or Jacob." Her cold lips brushed my temple. "Come inside, we have many things to discuss."

We went inside and everything was the same, except with a more Alice like flare. The same white couch, with a few baby blue throw pillows compliments of Alice. The scent surrounding me was my family. Even now faint traces of them lingered. I could almost see them if I concentrated hard enough.

Once we were all settled on the couch, Jacob protectively close. I would have been annoyed if I didn't understand him so well. Old habits die hard. He had been watching over and protecting me for so long, it wasn't something that would just go away. Alice perched on the edge of the couch, reflexively crossing one leg over the other. Uncle Jasper stood at her shoulder, eyes fixed on me. A feeling of tranquility suffused the room, I knew he was doing this, and I was grateful. My nerves were so frayed, my body run down, and exhausted. We had been running, fighting, searching, alone for far too long.

Unfortunately Jacob didn't look happy, he knew what Jasper was doing, and he didn't appreciate it. Jacob hated when vampires used their power on him.

"So. Spill. What happened?" As per the usual Jake was right to the point. I unconsciously leaned against him, tucking my feet up on the couch. "Yes... what did happen?" I echoed, my tone far more polite, though just as insistent. Unperturbed Alice touched my knee, it seemed she had to reassure herself I was real just as I did. "Why did you leave?" I tried to find anger but all I felt was happiness, I had part of my family back. Regardless of how it came to be. For six long years I thought everyone was gone.

"We didn't want Aro to get his hands on me.. it was the only chance we could give everyone." Alice's cool fingers fell away from my knee, and I found myself wishing she would put them back. "If he had, well... I suppose it happened in the end. But, I would not help him if it was within my power!" Her small speech was passionate, begging for me to understand. I thought I did, but the anger was beginning to bubble up inside me. I didn't think I was angry, turns out I was furious.

"You abandoned us!" I sprang from the couch, fists clenched as I stood over her. "You left us to them. We needed you!" Jasper's strong hand clasped my shoulder, Jacob's warning growl was silenced as a feeling of peace washed over us. It soothed enough for me to sit back down.

"I.. did what needed to be done.. if Aro had touched me on that battlefield everything would have been lost...." her voice trailed off and a far away look entered her eye. It occurred to me then just how hard it must have been for her to leave and watch as their future was suddenly wiped out. What she had done she hadn't done lightly, it was necessary. Bowing my head into my hands I took a deep breath, calming myself.

"Okay... okay." It was all I could say. It neither forgave or condemned it just was. Her marble arms enfolded me and I went willingly into the embrace. I found myself on her lap, cradled. "What happened when you came back?"

"When we came back to Forks... we did what we could as far as burial." My eyes followed her gaze out the back floor to ceiling windows. In the back were ornate statues. She had gotten everyone immortalized in stone. A very skilled craftsman must have done it for, from what I could see, they were almost identical. Breaking from her hold I crossed the hardwood floor and went out back, everyone trailing behind me.

It was my mother, beautiful as she had been in life. The stone was cool and hard under my fingers, as she had been in life, but it wasn't her. Arm around her shoulders was my father, his lips pulled back in a smile. Surrounding them was the others. Grandpa Carlilse, Grandma Esme, Aunt Rosalie.

"Uncle Emmett?" His statue was not among the others. I missed my bear of an uncle.

"He's alive. He's in Italy now." Shaking her head she touched my hair, stroking the long length of it. Hair the same color as her lost brother's, my father. "He won't return. He wants revenge for what happened that day." Alice's brow furrowed, worry clouding her face.

"He wants revenge." I replied as the thought dawned on me. Of course he did, for his mate and his family. I couldn't disagree with him either. The Vultori were power hungry leeches.

"Yes." Alice nodded, eyes focused on a point past my head, seeing him even now. She would be keeping tabs on him, doing what she could for him. "Now!" Her tone suddenly shifted, singsong now. "I have some better news for everyone!" A smile lit up her face and found an answering one in mine.

"What?" She had danced forward and cupped my cheeks, studying the young woman I had grown into. A near replica of my mother. Same warm chocolate brown eyes, same pale skin prone to rosy blushes, same finely shaped mouth and her lovely smile. But, none of her clumsiness or accident proneness. There was much of my father in me as well, aside from the vampire traits. I had inherited his mane of lustrous bronze hair and of course my powers, similar and yet so different.

"When we left we went deep into the rain forest and found Nahuel." She paused there and I arched a brow, Jacob cleared his throat and motioned her onward. She loved a good build up. The smile flowered on her face again. "He's a half vampire Nessie, like you. He has a few sisters as well. He's well over one hundred and fifty years old! His sister is two centuries!" She stopped there, awaiting my reaction. I was speechless, Jacob on the other hand was not.

"Nessie! Two hundred years! We'll have two hundred years together!" His arms crushed me close and I was pulled away from my aunt. Everyone was laughing and I was laughing too, caught up in the moment. I had many more years left to come. Many years to spend with what was left of my family and with my Jacob.