Chapter 34

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I'll be the blood

If you'll be the bones

I'm giving you all

I'm giving you all

~ Of Monsters and Men "Wolves Without Teeth"


"Do you know how to tie a tie?" Seth asked. He had made countless unsuccessful attempts at getting a proper Windsor knot, but no matter what he did, it never looked quite right.

"When would I have ever needed to know that?" Brooklyn asked him. She was sitting on his bed while she waited for him to finish getting ready so that they could go to Bella and Edward's wedding.

"I don't know! All the girl's in rom-coms always tie the guy's tie for them," Seth said. "I just thought that maybe it was something that people taught girls."

"No," Brooklyn giggled. "I've never worn a tie, so I've never needed to learn how to tie one."

Seth groaned. "My dad always tied them for me in the past, but I don't wear them enough to remember how he did it... You know what? I give up. We're going to be late if I keep trying to figure this out."

"Here," Brooklyn said. She pulled the tie loose until it was completely untied, and unbuttoned the first two buttons on Seth's shirt. "It's not your wedding, no one's gonna be looking at you... Except for me. You don't need a tie, and besides, you look way hotter without one."

Seth laughed. He would never understand how she always knew exactly what to say to him to make him feel better. Seth put on the gray suit jacket over the white button-down shirt.

"My mom said she would come to the reception with Ellie, once the ceremony is over," Seth informed Brooklyn. 

While he wasn't wild about the idea of bringing his infant daughter into a room full of vampires, he trusted himself and the Cullens enough to protect her if anything happened. And Brooklyn had really wanted to show off their new family member for the first time— she wanted to show the world that she and Seth had made the right choice by keeping their baby. So, they had decided that instead of risking a crying baby during the ceremony, they would bring her to the reception for a little while before they went home. 

Watching Bella and Edward get married only made Seth want to get married more than he had already wanted to beforehand. Seth knew that he and Brooklyn should wait until they were eighteen to get married, it would make things a lot easier logistically speaking, but he didn't want to wait anymore. He knew for sure that she was it for him— she was his imprint and they already had a baby together. 

"Come dance with me," Brooklyn said as she guided Seth to the dance floor. Bella and Edward had already had their first dance, so people were beginning to join in.

They danced for a few songs until Seth felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.

"My mom is here with Ellie," he informed Brooklyn as he read the text message.

She grinned. "Finally. I'm overdue for some Ellie cuddles. I was starting to have withdrawals."

They rushed outside to meet Sue and Ellie at the door. Sue was planning on sticking around to chat with Charlie Swan and the other adults who were present at the wedding reception.

"Thanks Sue," Brooklyn said as she grabbed Ellie and showered her face with kisses. "I missed you, munchkin."

"No problem," Sue smiled. "That's what grandmas are for." 

She turned to Seth. "I'll see you at home later. I love you."

"Love you too, Mom," Seth told her.

With that, they parted ways. Brooklyn and Seth made their way back to the table they had claimed earlier to set down Ellie's things. Rosalie Cullen was the first one to approach the young couple and their baby.

"She's so precious," Rosalie breathed out with a soft smile. Neither Seth nor Brooklyn had ever seen her smile before. 

"Right?" Brooklyn agreed. "Do you wanna hold her?"

Rosalie's face lit up with excitement. "I would love to."

Seeing how much Rosalie obviously cared for the child she had just met seconds ago made Seth feel a lot better about exposing his daughter to vampires. Out of everyone in the pack, Seth was probably the most accepting of the vampires— he always saw the best qualities in everyone. So while he wasn't one hundred percent comfortable right now, he was also not going to freak oout at the sight of a Cullen holding his kid.

"How old is she?" Rosalie asked as she smiled down at the baby.

"Three months," Brooklyn replied. Ellie smiled back up at Rosalie.

"Look at that smile!" Rosalie exclaimed.

Brooklyn laughed lightly. "She got that from Seth. She's been smiling since she was, like, a month old. She's a really happy baby... Well, most of the time at least."

"You only say that because you're her favorite," Seth teases. "You should see her when Brooklyn leaves for work. It takes me ages to calm her down."

"Please," Brooklyn scoffs. "Once I stop breastfeeding, she's going to be obsessed with you. I'm just basking in the love while I still have her attention."

Rosalie was envious of the young couple. She would give anything to be able to have children of her own. That had always been her dream, but since she became a vampire, she had to give up her dreams of motherhood. This— holding someone else's baby at a wedding reception— was probably the closest she would ever get to her dream. It sent a bolt of pain through her heart. It was the kind of pain that she would never get over, she would never not feel it— it was the kind of pain that had become a part of who she was.

"You're really lucky," Rosalie says softly. "And she's really lucky to have you two as parents."

Brooklyn and Seth grin. "I've felt like the luckiest man alive ever since I found out that Brooklyn was pregnant— it was the same day I imprinted."

"I bet you didn't feel that lucky when Paul tried to kick your ass," Brooklyn giggled. 

"Oh trust me, he wasn't just trying to kick my ass. I could hear his thoughts— he was trying to kill me," Seth said. "Even then, I knew that our family would be worth all the pain that Paul would ever try to inflict on me."

Ellie began to fuss, and just like that Rosalie's taste of her dream was over.

"I should go feed her," Brooklyn said as Rosalie handed the baby back to her mother. Seth grabbed the baby bag, and he followed Brooklyn to help her look for a private place to care for their baby.

Rosalie watched them go. Once they left her line of sight, she made her way back to Emmett and she once again suppressed the yearning feeling that was embedded deep within her soul.

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