F l a m e s ▶ J. HALE

3.

Coming North.

Emily's. The Reservation.

Friday, 10:13 am.

Two months later.

Dema let out a shaky breath she had been holding ever since she entered the property. Her gaze traveled around the slippery porch, which now displayed a larger number of potted plants than the last time she had visited. She clenched her fists, as she tried to remember the last time she had even set foot in the reservation.

Unlike Jacob, she didn't live on the reservation. When they moved to Forks, her mother decided she couldn't raise her daughter in the reservation if she wanted to shield her from their family's secrets. Unfortunately, she didn't expect Dema's hybrid genes to suddenly make an appearance.

But Dema was actually grateful they didn't live in the reservation for a number of reasons. She could successfully avoid her past Alpha and packmates, unlike Jake who would run into them at their closest convenience store every now and then. She could also enjoy the fact that her vampire fiancé could visit her, and hang out if he wanted to. And, she also loved that if she looked outside her bedroom window, she wouldn't see a swarm of half-naked men running around in the rain.

I mean, if she happened to be happily single, she probably wouldn't mind it that much. But hey, if she can't run around topless, why can they?

Dema shook her head and tried to focus on the matter at hand. She took one more deep breath, as she looked down at a crumpled piece of paper that rested between her fingers. She straightened the paper, as she pulled off the raincoat hood of her face. Several drops of water started soaking the paper, as she read out loud.

"Ten-thirty, at Emily's, meeting with Sam and company— don't be late." She half-whispered to herself. She checked the time on her wristwatch— she still had a few minutes left.

Instead of walking to the shabby-looking cabin, she decided to plop down beneath a large pine tree and try to calm herself down as much as she could. You see, ever since the day that Sam decided to pass by Jacob's house, and work out the obvious issues between the two packs, Dema had been furious. She had felt that Sam was not acknowledging her position as an Alpha by only resolving said issues with Jacob. She felt he was only apologizing to Jacob, and as if he didn't regret how much pain he had put her through. She felt betrayed and utterly disappointed in her past pack.

She was also angry at Jacob for not demanding to wait for her, or include her in any way possible, but she couldn't stay mad at him for too long. Not when they were all worried sick with Renesmee's situation. It seemed as if Renesmee grew an inch by the hour, and a terrifying concern grew amongst them all. There was absolutely no information on her condition, and they all wondered if Renesmee's days were only limited, unlike the rest of them.

So, during the past two months, they had all decided to enjoy every waking second around the young girl. They all tried to spend as much time spoiling her, playing with her, teaching her, and just making every second count. Plus, Renesmee had now quickly grown into an eight— maybe, nine— year old. That meant Dema was in the tedious process of teaching her goddaughter the art of pranks, and to Dema's surprise, Nessie showed a great promise for it. In just a matter of a couple of days, the young girl had successfully tied Jacob's shoelaces together without him even noticing— which is quite a challenge if you plan on pranking a sense-enhanced werewolf.