The Grey Wolf [TWILIGHT/LEGACIES]

6

Jacob had quickly realized that his imprint was not joking. She truly intended to stay outside with the grey wolf for the rest of the night. He had no other choice but to bid goodbye to the rest of the shapeshifters and to retreat to the bedroom where he was going to sleep all by himself for the first time. For the first time in many years, he felt defeated. No matter what he did, it was never enough.

He wanted Renesmee for himself, he truly did. He loved her and he wanted only the best for her since she was his imprint. But if he loved her, then he had to make her happy. And if keeping the grey wolf made her happy, then so be it.

In the morning, while drinking his coffee on the back porch, he resisted glaring at the sight of Renesmee having laid her head on the back of the wolf. He supposed that would be the new normal. Seeing how stubborn his imprint was (even more so than her own mother whom he had romanced years ago before he even suspected he would imprint), it seemed that he had no other choice but to accept the situation.

"At least get a blanket if you plan on sleeping outside, get a blanket next time!", he exclaimed from where he was sitting. That caused the hybrid to stir and to groggily open her eyes. The sun wasn't making it easier. In sync, the grey wolf opened its eyes too and wiggled around. It needed to walk around to stretch.

Jacob left his coffee cup on the table next to him and approached Renesmee, who was stretching her aching body. The position she had slept in was not one she was used to. Not to mention she had slept on the grass.

"So can we keep the wolf?", the hybrid girl asked, her eyes full of hope. If Jacob could go back to his old self, the one she knew from her childhood, the one who was always there whenever she needed support, then perhaps she could forgive him and they could improve their relationship.

Jacob squeezed his lips in a thin line, "I guess I have no other choice but to tolerate it," he then shot a glance at the wolf, who felt tiny in comparison with the shapeshifter.

"Did you hear that? Jacob is not going to touch you anymore!", Renesmee cooed at the wolf as if it was a newborn baby and stroke its fur.

"Do you have a name?" Renesmee wondered. She hoped the animal had one. If not, then she would give it one. She had thought of a perfect one regardless of the gender of the wolf.

The grey wolf wished it could answer. It had a name, of course, it did! But how to reply? It would have been much easier if it had shifted to its human form as soon as it had arrived in the backyard of the red house. For sure no one would wish its death. Then, in human form, the wolf would find a job or go back to school to graduate. In its human form, the wolf was a young lady of eighteen or so. Young enough for life to be right in front of her.

The hybrid suddenly came up with an idea. She was sure it was going to work. She could tell the wolf was smarter than most animals she had come in contact with on her hunting trips.

As Renesmee began reciting the English Alphabet slowly, she never took her eyes off the wolf's ones. She couldn't help but clearly see how the wolf would blink in response to certain letters. At least they were getting somewhere. Perhaps that could be their new way of communicating? Unless the wolf finally gained the courage to shift into its human form. What was stopping it? Fear of not being accepted. The wolf wasn't just a wolf with a human form. The wolf was a tribrid - a freakshow, a cosmic mistake.

Renesmee couldn't believe her eyes. The letters that the wolf had blinked to in reaction had formed the same name she had thought of for the animal. She thought the name and its meaning were matching the circumstances.

"Hope? Your name is Hope?", she asked, earning another blink from the wolf. She accepted it as a yes and let out a laugh. But she wasn't laughing because she found the name amusing. She was laughing with joy.

The wolf wished it could join, but that required shifting back to its human form. It knew it had to do it sooner or later. But for now, it could only smile. Wolfs could smile at least.

And with that, Hope grinned, squeezing her eyes shut, allowing Renesmee to scratch her head, just the way she liked it.