A/N: I will be quick! Thank you to the couple people that voted and commented! Thanks to the new readers that added this book onto their libraries or started following! I appreciate that anyone is even still reading! Hope to see more people vote, and comment! Would love to hear people's thoughts on this chapter!
CH. 49: Potatoes
*3rd Person POV*
Jacob and Violet turned at the sound of someone speaking, both too lost in their own emotional conversation to even hear the door opening and closing. By the door stood Alice, Seth, and Esme. The girls looked quite shocked at what they came to hear, but their attention was now focused on the young man whose shoulders slumped and voice cracked, the look on his face one of utter heartbreak as he staired at the pair in the corner.
Seth felt like he had just been punched in the gut as he staired at the couple. Clearly, they had walked in and interrupted an intimate moment between the two, but he wished he hadn't. Or maybe he was glad he had? He wasn't sure. But one thing was for sure, it was obvious that Jacob and Violet were deeply in love with one another and Seth knew he had no chance. He knew she would say yes. Not able to take it, Seth ran back out the door, leaving it wide open and allowing the others a view into the room.
"Seth?!" Violet called out to the young wolf, confused and worried after seeing the state he left in.
"Seth!" Leah's voice rang through the house as she quickly shifted once out the door to follow her little brother.
Jacob stiffened by his imprints side. A part of him, a big part of him, was very worried about his subordinate, despite how things ended. However, another part of him was glad he had heard Jacob's impromptu proposal. He could tell just from the brief glimpse into his thoughts that the kid felt more than necessary for his Violet. He gets that Seth was there for her when he was being an idiot, but Jacob wouldn't be okay just stepping down and allowing the kid to move on his girl. Jacob's thoughts were stalled when he felt Violet remove herself from his hold, trying to stand. She was clearly still wobbly and suddenly a stampede all reached out for her, all the supernaturals instinctively trying to catch the petite girl.
"I'm okay." Violet smiled at everyone that had now packed into the room, Jacob holding her upright and her holding onto his forearm palm that he had given to her to lean on. Everyone let out a sigh of relief before everyone took turns voicing how glad they were she was okay.
"You scared the shit out of me numbskull," Emmett chuckled, now gripping onto Rosalie, a tell sign that he was still partially worried and refraining from running over to check on her himself.
"Yeah, I know I was pretty prone to accident as a human, but you take the cake." Bella tried to joke, people either laughing genuinely or forcing out a soft chuckle.
"Yeah...this was a surprise to me, too." Violette said, distractedly, still staring out the door. Jacob took notice of where her attention was and tensed up.
"Leah went after him, Violette." spoke up Edward, having read the minds of both the teens at the center of things.
"Oh, the little wolf boy? He shifted and headed for the forest. I'd guess to hunt? His comrades followed after." Spoke up Lauren, her green eyes shifting between her longtime friend and the wolf beside her. They all could act like they had any form of privacy in the home, but the reality was that they all had inhumane hearing. There was no such thing as a secret told within that house. Not if someone else was in another room somewhere. Truthe be told, they could all hear the birds nesting over the trees down by the tree line without a problem.
Everyone had been frantically waiting for their turn at seeing the Halfbreed when the trio came out and informed them of what happened and her current status. They'd all been terrified just picturing what was going on judging by the sounds and words that came from the room. They heard as Carlisle and the boy mentioned they would leave them to have their own conversation. They had tried to mind their own, but it was hard when everyone was eager to see Violette and their minds automatically drifted to the hybrid.
Lauren was unsure of the giant wolf. The only interactions she'd ever had with him where after he had caused her good friend such distress. She didn't exactly see the boy in a positive light. Edward turned to look at the Ohio native upon hearing her weary thoughts. Her's weren't the only ones. Most of those in the room weren't too sure if Violette should agree to any sort of proposal from the boy. Imprints or not, Jacob had broken Violette when he abandoned her after finding out the truth.
"I'm glad to see you've got some color back to you. You beginning to make us full breeds look like mortals." The bass in his voice echoing in the room, the windows shaking a little as Vance laughed. "Oops," he grinned sheepishly as his sister elbowed him to get him to stop. That was the ticket needed to relieve some of the tension in the room. Everyone momentarily forgetting the almost proposal that went on in the room. Everyone except the unlikely couple, Jacob and Violette.
Jacob bit his tongue as he sat on the sofa downstairs. Violette had tired of the stuffy room and requested they go downstairs. He had been quick to carry her down when the other men in the room stepped forward to try to do so for her, a small growl coming out of him instinctively. Violette was, as a result, now leaning against him as she conversed with Andres, Chloe and Geneve. Jacob was used to the Cullens, to an extent. These new vamps, however, were not on his tolerable list. He especially felt ill-at-ease with the orange eyes vampire that clung to her dark-skinned mate that was praising Washington for its big game. He wasn't new to hunting; his people partook in that themselves and Billy frequently took him when he was able as a kid. However, he still had some trouble accepting that his imprint had to, well, hunt.
But more than anything, Jacob was upset because they still had so much left to talk about. Seth had come through at the worst possible time, ruining his proposal. He bit his cheek now to try to prevent the growl that was bubbling up from his throat. The atmosphere felt forced all around, like he was being tolerated, and it made him feel uneasy. He tried to ignore the feeling for Violet's sake, too happy to have her conscious to ruin things.
"Yes, Chloe had never seen a cougar before, she was most excited." Spoke Andres, his Spanish accent much easier to understand than the French blonde, 2 years of Spanish coming through.
"They were remarkable. Despite it knowing it was no match, when cornered, it still fought back. I told Andres that I didn't have the heart to kill it. We settled on a buck that passed by."
"At least... until our barbarian brother came across the beast and took it down." Andres said, causing Violette to grin at Vance.
"The idiot walked right up to them with the cat tossed over his chest." His sister spoke up from her position by Rosalie and Emmett, eyeballing her brother who grinned sheepishly and shrugged.
"A kitty?" gasped Nessie, running to her aunty and sitting on her lap. Violette just laughed, kissing the top of her head and smiling at the little thing and shaking her head as she turned back to look at the older hybrid.
"No sweety, more like this." Jacob sat up a little and watched, interested at how both girls had their hands on one another's cheeks; he had seen the little girl's ability already firsthand. She had been interested to meet another wolf, one of her mom's friends at that and was talking them up. She would show him scenes of her aunt and her chasing after Seth in wolf form or them building snow wolves in his likeness. He hated to admit it, but he was already growing very fond of the strange infant, who despite only being a couple weeks old, already resembled a 2-year-old, but with the intelligence of 8-year-old. He wanted to say that was a little weird, but then again, one of his best friends imprinted on a toddler.
"Ohhhh.... that's a mountain lion, right, Aunty Violette?" the older of the two, nodding her head.
"Violeette? That's your actual name, right?" spoke up Jake. He was trying to learn more about her now that she wasn't hiding and feeling better. Violette blushed and Geneveve laughed.
"Vee-oh-let. Violette. You must learn the accents in her name, canine." spoke up the blonde transporter. Violette partially expected her boyfriend to growl, but was pleasantly surprised when he began to mumble her name. "Violette. Your clan called her Mauve, oui? Violet, I think it was." Gen repeated the pronunciation once more for him before inquiring.
"I was the one that went by Violet, but they're a tribe, Gen, not a clan." smiled the pale hybrid. She heard Jacob annunciate her name correctly and she patted his hand and turned her smile to him. "Good job." she mumbled to him, the two staring into one another's eyes lovingly.
Contrary to the majority in the house, Bella approved of the two. She was sure that if her heart still beat, it'd be swooning over the look the two teenagers were giving one another. She knew the two were so in love, and she was no stranger to the hardships that came with being in love with a supernatural being. She sympathized with both of them in that moment. Much to Edward's surprise, he found Alice's thoughts were filled with hope for the unlikely couple as well, silently rooting them on.
Out of curiosity, he looked around into the minds of those around Violete and Jacob. Everyone, even if they weren't speaking directly to her, had their attention on his sister. He'd seen before that most didn't care for Jacob. However, it looked like Bella, Alice, and even the newcomer Chloe were so captured by Jacob and Violette's love for one another. Despite' those thoughts, it was clear everyone was definitely still worried about her health. Although Bella was right, and some color was coming back to her, her powers were definitely still wavering. Her heartbeat was unsteady and her energy faltered easily. Even now, he could see how tired she got from just a couple seconds of using Renesme's gift.
"Sorry," giggled Violette, her stomach having rumbled.
"I'll go get you a glass, sweetheart." her diet had mostly consisted of blood, the occasional beef sandwich, so Esme had assumed that would be the go-to.
"Actually, I think I could go for some steak and potatoes?" Asked Violette, sheepishly. "Doesn't that sound good?" turned Violette to look at Jacob who just smiled lightly and nodded. "I'm feeling well enough to help, Esme. I'm sure you could use it. I know how much the wolves can eat and I'm sure they'll be back soon." she felt Jacob tense up, but at what exactly he wasn't sure.
"Don't worry about that, babe. You need to rest, okay?" Violet was going to protest, but Jacob grabbed her neck gingerly, bringing their foreheads together. "Please." Even with her powers out of sync, she could easily feel the lingering fear in her lover. She turned to look at her adoptive mother.
"He's right sweetheart. With so many of us here, it shouldn't be a problem." Esme smiled at the worried hybrid before going off to the kitchen.
"I can help!" shouted the two biggest of the vampires, Emmett and Vance. The two looked at one another and fist bumped before running into the kitchen.
"Ooo, I would love to help." smiled Chloe, kissing her mate's cheek before heading that way as well.
"Potatoes?" inquired the little girl in the room. Jacob and Violette's eyes widened.
"Bells.... seriously? You haven't given Nessie potatoes yet? Potatoes?! Jesus! You're about to find out what heaven tastes like, kid." grinned Jacob at her. Violette couldn't help but smile to herself as she listened in on her mate and niece discussing the different forms to eat potatoes. She was glad to see Jacob interact with the little girl not only keenly, but happily.
Violette had decided she wanted to stretch, and tried to right herself slowly, as to not disturb the conversation between the two closest to her. It was useless, the wolf was much too in tune to her slightest movements to not notice. He stopped mid word with the little girl, sitting upright and helping her up. She just laughed.
"Easy, Jake. I'm just going to the bathroom." she laughed. The remaining girls in the room stepped forward, but Violette held up her hands to stop them, offering a smile. "Relax everyone, I'm feeling better, honest. I can make it round the hall just fine." Slowly, everyone began to back off, going back to their conversation. Everyone except Jacob and Nessie, Nessie having ran to her dad, asking him excitedly if he had ever tried potatoes too.
Jacob went back to feeling anxious and unwanted, alone on the sofa. His leg bounced in place, as he waited for his imprint to return. He nearly tore off the arm of the petite green-eyed vampire that patted his shoulder. He tried to ease up when she gave him a tentative smile, but they could both tell he didn't feel quite comfortable with how close she was.
"Easy lover boy. I come in peace." She continued to do the Star Trek hand signal and Jacob scoffed, shocked this vampire knew the reference. "What? Not a Treky?" she joked.
"No, but I'm still surprised that you've seen that before." The female scoffed at Jacob's response.
"Believe it or not, me and my brother are the youngest here. We were turned 25 years ago. Star Trek was my shit," clarified the auburn-haired vampire. Jacob was thoroughly surprised, so much so that he hadn't noticed some of his unease waver.
"I guess I always thought you leaches were all old dinosaurs." Jacob turned at the mood rings scoff of a laugh.
"Are you aware that your imprint is over a century old?" Butted in the French Blonde. Jacob's eyes widened at that. "Yep. She may not be the oldest, but she is most definitely no young," she paused, trying to remember the word. "Qu'est-ce que c'était," she trailed off. "No young duck!" the vampires all laughed.
"It's no young buck." Clarified Jasper. Geneveve clapped her hands together.
"Ah! Oui! Violette is not young buck!" she smiled in thanks to the southern vampire. "I've known her for maybe most of her life. She has been a great friend, you should get to know your mate better, loup." She had been smiling and the boy still, but it fell before she continued. "Surtout si vous voulez proposer." The older vampires grunted in agreement.
"Um... what did she say?" mumbled Bella, her confused face mirroring Jacobs.
"She's right, Jacob. Maybe you should postpone that question and get to know all sides to Violet." Jacob growled at Edward, but inside he knew he was right. It slowly died down. "If you love her, like you claim you do, get to know all of her."
"Jake... they're right. I'm not really in the right position to tell you not to rush things or jump into anything, but... that should be something special. Don't just-"
"That was Seth!" Jacob cut her off, having heard frantic yipping sounds.
"It's Violette." Edward said, Jacob and the others following after him as he zipped towards the back door. They all came to a rapid halt.
"I'm okay... just dizzy." Violet voiced from her position, leaning against the young wolf shifter, her hand to her head. "I'm sure I'm just hungry. Sorry." she mumbled out. Jacob ran to her first, trying to get her back to her room. Before Jacob could lift up the petite vampiress, Seth put his head between them automatically. Jacob growled, warning the younger pup. Seth just bowed, whining lightly before slowly backing away. "It's okay, Seth. Just.... Just remember what I said, okay?" He whined some more before nodding, Jacob looking between the two inquietly before shaking it off and making his way to her room.
"False alarm everybody!" grinned the hybrid, trying to lighten up the situation. "Just hungry!"
"Well, food should be done in another 20 minutes. Why don't you lie down, and I will check up on you again after you've eaten to be sure." Smiled Carlisle, to which Violette nodded. "Jacob, could you please take Violette to her room." Jacob didn't answer, just making his way past the other vampires, his imprint safely in his arms. He wanted to know what she and Seth had spoken about, but he knew that would have to wait. He hated to say it, but the vampires were all right. He needed to learn more about his mate's lifestyle before he could pick up where they had left off.