Start Living Now

Weeks flew by, and before anyone knew it, the first week of July had come. Not only did it mean that there would be a celebration on the Fourth, but it also meant that Sam and Emily were going to be married on the fifth. Everyone was either busy with decorating, last minute fittings, food preparations, or anything else Alice or Emily ordered. It was a pretty hectic week. Leah and I had been put in charge of Emily’s bachelorette party; Leah because she was Emily’s cousin, myself because I wanted to get away from all the chaos. On top of it all, Emily and Sam just had to insist that the Fourth would be the days of the bachelor/bachelorette parties, and that the two groups would meet up and throw an even bigger party at night.

The bachelorette party didn’t seem like it’d be much of a problem. There were only a few of us; myself, Emily, Alice, Leah, a few of Emily’s friends, and Bella. Rosalie flat out refused to go, and Jacob’s sisters wouldn’t arrive in La Push until it was almost ten thanks to their flight. We had everything planned out for the most part; we were going to Port Angeles, because it’s not like Forks or La Push had anything remotely interesting enough for a bachelorette party. We’d meet up with the guys on First Beach for a huge bonfire later on.

The night started out great. Leah and I were picked up first by the chariot we had chosen for the night- a long black Hummer limo. Once we had picked up everyone but Emily, who had no idea what we had in store for her that evening, we drove to La Push. Stopping just outside of Sam and Emily’s house, the driver honked the Hummer’s horn a few times while we all yelled for the bride-to-be from the sunroofs. The look on Sam’s face when he saw all of us was priceless!

The two embraced before Emily joined us. Although he tried to hide what he was saying from our supernatural hearing, we heard Sam perfectly well as he whispered a quick “I love you” and “be careful” to Emily.

“Oh don’t get your panties in a twist, Sam! She’ll be fine with us!” Carly, Emily’s maid of honor, shouted.

As Emily crawled into the back of the Hummer, Leah and I pulled her up to the sunroof. By then, the rest of the wolf pack had gathered at the front lawn of Sam and Emily’s house, watching us. I noticed Jacob wink at me, which I happily returned. The two of us had resolved our differences, and agreed to just move on with the whole ordeal. Things were pretty good between us. Carly brought out the champagne and glasses, passing them around to the girls.

“A toast!” I shouted with a grin to the women in the Hummer, and to the men standing across from us. “To provocatively dressed women who are in for a wild night! To good times and good friends! And to a happy ending tonight that hopefully won’t require a late night call from the sheriff’s office…or a trip to Carlisle’s hospital!”

“Jael!” Sam yelled. “You said you guys weren’t going to do anything stupid!”

“I lied!” I shouted back. As everyone crowded back into the Hummer, I tapped the driver’s privacy screen. “Drive!” And we sped off into the night, Emily laughing as everyone drank to my toast.

Our first stop was at Shooter’s, a local bar in Port Angeles. After Leah screamed “A bride-to-be is in the house!” drinks were poured left and right. Heading over to the bar, miniskirts swaying and heels (or in my case, cowboy boots) clicking, each of us took a shot of tequila, except for Emily; she was getting married in the morning after all. She wanted a hangover-free morning. The bartender gave the bride-to-be a special accessory; a white top hat with a veil draping down the back.

By the time a third round of drinks came our way, Leah and I were feeling bold, and it had nothing to do with the slight influence of alcohol in our systems. We climbed onto top of the bar and danced to whatever song was playing. Alice and Bella, who were taking pictures and calmly sipping their drinks, grabbed Emily by the arms and pulled her on top of the bar. By then, some guys were already dancing with Leah and I, and they eagerly reached out for Emily when she started dancing. When one “gentleman” pulled Emily close and started grinding up against her, I could tell by the shocked look on her face that she was not enjoying it at all.

“Easy there, tiger! I want some of her too!” I shouted at the man, as pulled Emily towards me and started dancing with her.

“Ohhh, I get it. You want some of her, eh?” The man wink at me and hopped of the bar, heading towards the dance floor.

“What a creep!” Leah shouted. “Screw him! Body shots!” Everyone in the bar yelled in exhilaration at Leah’s announcement. Leah and I quietly escorted Emily off of the bar with the help of Carly, who then laid on the bar, and started receiving body shots from another friend of Emily’s.

“This is getting a little crazy, huh?” Emily laughed.

“Wait until you see what we have planned for you when we meet up with the guys!” Leah shouted. As soon as she walked away, Leah whispered “We have to get out of here. I promised Sam she’d come home in one piece!” into my ear.

After finding and getting all of the semi-intoxicated women into the Hummer- which wasn’t as easy as it sounds- we headed back to La Push. Emily, Alice, Bella and I were the only ones who weren’t drunk; I guess vampires just don’t get drunk and I had a slight buzz. The driver dropped us off at First Beach, where the rest of the wolf pack were waiting for us. Alice and Bella excused themselves and headed home after reminding Emily that they’d come over early in the morning to help her get ready for the wedding. I gave Alice a puzzling look as she said her goodbyes, but I noticed how dark her eyes were and understood why they were leaving so early; they were thirsty and had to get enough blood to be safe around everyone at the wedding tomorrow.

It was a surprisingly warm night and the sand was soft. Most of us had taken off our shoes to revel in the rare warm weather at La Push. The guys already had a bonfire going by the time we met up with them. They were all sitting around in beach chairs eating hot dogs. I couldn’t help but wonder if this was all they did while we were gone. Music was playing from a radio somewhere. For a bachelor party, it seemed pretty uneventful.

Apparently Leah, who was stumbling over her own feet every so often, agreed, because as soon as she saw Sam, she slapped him upside the head and said, “This is your idea of a bachelor party?! This is pathetic!”

“Sam was being a downer the entire time because he kept worrying about what kind of trouble you girls were getting into,” Jared said with a yawn.

“Well, we’re all here and we’re all alright,” Emily said as she sat in Sam’s lap and pulled his face to hers. “Now can you calm down and have a good time?” She asked her fiancée as she kissed him.

Leah groaned. “Quit with the smooching and make with the partying! Did you guys even bring anything to drink?”

As the larger party came to life, everyone was clearly having a good time. People were dancing, drinking, and eating. I looked for Jacob, but Seth told me that he had left just before we arrived so that he could take Quil and Paul to Sam and Emily’s place. Apparently, Claire refused to go to bed until she saw Quil. Jacob’s sister’s flight had landed and Paul wanted to leave so he could pick them up from the airport.

I also lost track of Leah. So, being the most sober out of the partygoers, besides the soon-to-be- newlyweds, I went to go find her. Twenty minutes later, I began to panic; Leah was nowhere to be seen. I wish I could’ve just shifted into my eagle Form and searched for her that way, but unfortunately, I hadn’t been able to shift into anything other than my wolf Form, not that I hadn’t stopped trying.

As I headed toward the rocky cliffs near the far side of First Beach, I finally found Leah. She was sitting on the edge of a low cliff, letting her feet rest in the water. Looking at her red eyes and shaking shoulders, I could tell that she’d been crying. I had an idea why; Seth had quickly given me the gist of what had happened between Sam, Emily and Leah. My heart went out to her; I knew she was still hurting, yet she did her best to keep herself together.

“Hey,” I softly said as I sat down next to Leah and put my arm around her. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Leah sniffled. “Just thinking. It’s all the liquor I drank, that’s all.” She forced a laugh.

I tried to hide my unbelieving stare, but she saw through it anyway. “I’m happy for them, I really am. It’s just…they’re getting married. They’ll have lots of kids and a bunch of other stuff that I know I won’t ever get to have,” she sobbed. “They’ll be happy and I’ll always be there for them. I’ll watch the one man I’ve ever truly loved live the life I wanted to share with him, but with someone else.”

Okay, I didn’t know her feelings for Sam were that strong. “Leah, just because Sam is marrying Emily doesn’t mean that you won’t be able to have a life like that. You’ll find your imprint. You’ll get to have kids and everything else you want.”

“No I won’t!” Leah cried. “I can’t have kids! Ever since I became a werewolf, it’s like my body just froze. I don’t get a visit from Mother Nature once a month anymore! I’ll NEVER have kids!”

Now I understood why she was so upset. But I didn’t understand what she meant about not being able to have kids. “Leah, what are you talking about? You can still have kids!”

“Yeah, when I stop Phasing and become a normal human! Not the way I am now!”

“Yes you can!”

“How?! How do you know?! Do you still get your period?! I didn’t think so!”

I calmed myself down. I should’ve been uncomfortable with her questions, but I was more concerned with comforting my friend. “As a matter of fact, I do.”

Leah stopped crying and looked at me with an incredulous glare. “What do you mean? How?!”

“When I first started Shifting, I couldn’t get my period. I was really upset about it, just like you. But my friend, Yuma, his grandmother was once a healer for the wolf pack that was a few generations before mine. She kind of did this cleansing fertility ritual and gave me advice. Afterwards it was like I never started Shifting. I still have pro-longed aging, but my body works like it should.”

“Can she do it to me?” Leah asked with a hopeful smile.

My smiled faded a bit. “She died,” I said as I looked away from Leah. “But I remember everything she did. I could perform the ritual for you.”

“Really? Jael, you have no idea how much this’d mean to me!” She hugged me tight and stood up, no longer looking upset. As I stood up next to her and started walking back towards the party, she called out to me and asked me what advice Yuma’s grandmother gave me.

“She said that it’s easier on your body if you can learn how to Shift into more than one Form.”

“Then teach me. I’ll do anything.”

I turned to face Leah. “It’s a long and dangerous process. One you start, you can’t stop for anything. Understand?” Once she nodded in agreement, I continued to walk towards the party. “We’ll start at the next full moon. That’ll give both of us enough time to get ready for it. Don’t tell anyone about this; you can’t let anyone influence your decision about this. Okay?”

“I won’t tell anyone. I promise.”

Once we were among the partygoers, Leah and I went our separate ways. She went to hang out with her brother and Embry, while I looked for Jacob. He found me first. All of the Shapeshifters were going to go cliff-diving and he wanted me to come along. We all piled up into various cars and took off towards the cliffs. Jacob and I were driving with Jared and Embry, who were in such high spirits, it was impossible not to laugh along with them.

“You look amazing, by the way, Jael.” Jacob said as he drove up the winding road.

“Thanks. You look pretty good yourself,” I replied, feeling the heat rise to my face.

“Ooooh is this a flirty moment between you two?” Jared giggled as he leaned over my seat.

“Yeah, should we leave you two alone?” Embry chimed in.

Jacob pushed Jared and Embry back into the rear seat with his free arm and mumbled a quick “shut up guys.”

“Are you sure it’s alright for everyone to be cliff-diving?" I asked. "I mean, they’ve been drinking all night. People could get hurt.”

“Everyone will be fine. It’s not the first time they’ve done this buzzed after all,” Jacob said. “Anyway, do you have a date to the wedding tomorrow?”

“No. I haven’t really looked.” I admitted while trying to ignore Embry and Jared’s taunts. “Do you?”

“No. I was hoping you’d go with me. I know its last minute, and I’m sorry for that. There was just too much on my mind and I forgot about it. I understand if you don’t want to.”

I smiled at him. “No, I’d love to. There’s just one problem.”

“What’s that?” Jacob asked with a perplexed expression on his face.

“I’ve never gone cliff-diving before, and I don’t think I’ll live long enough to go to the wedding with you tomorrow.”

Jacob laughed along with Embry and Jared. “Well let’s make a deal. If you survive your first attempt at cliff-diving, you’ll go to the wedding with me.”

“And that you’ll kiss him in front of everyone once you get back to the beach!” Embry called.

“AND in the water!” Jared added.

“And if I don’t survive?”

“We’ll cross that bridge when it comes. Just say ‘yes’ already!” Jared yelled.

This time I pushed him into the backseat. When I turned back to face Jacob, I smiled as I told him we had a deal.

Sometimes I wish I could eat my own words. We were at the edge of the cliff along with the rest of the wolf pack. Sam and Embry had already gone and were swimming back to shore. Emily had a change of clothes ready for everyone at the bonfire, so I wasn’t worried about my white top. She had my shoes and other loose items anyway, along with everyone else’s. The guys had stripped down to their jeans or shorts a long time ago. I looked over the edge of cliff and immediately wished I hadn’t. We were REALLY high.

Jacob must have sensed that I wasn’t as comfortable with the idea of jumping off a huge cliff as I thought I was, because he mischievously smiled at me. “I never thought I’d see the day you’d be nervous about something. Are you going to change your mind?”

I knew he was teasing me but I still felt like I had to prove myself to him. “Are you kidding me? Never.”

Jacob laughed. “Don’t worry. I’m jumping with you. I won’t let you get hurt.” I didn’t bother to hide the look of relief on my face.

“Okay you two! You’re up!” Jared laughed.

“Wait, you mean, you’re not going first?!” I asked.

“Nope! I’ll have a bird’s –eye-view of you two, in case anything happens. Remember your end of the bargain, Jael! Now go!”

Jacob and I walked until we were a few running steps away from the edged of the cliff. “Ready?” he asked as he grabbed my hand.

I grinned. “As I’ll ever be. On the count of three, okay?”

“Okay. One…two… THREE!”

We took off and jumped. It felt like it took us forever to hit the water even though it was really only a matter of seconds. The feeling was exhilarating. As we hit the water, Jacob pulled me a little closer and started for the surface. I could hear Jared’s whooping laughter from the top of the cliff as he prepared to join us.

“Are you alive? No broken bones or anything?” Jacob asked as we swam towards the shore.

“No, I’m fine! That was awesome! I can’t believe I just did that!”

“Good!” Jacob stopped swimming and gently grabbed my waist. I knew what he was waiting for. A deal is a deal, but it felt like I was the real winner. He reached for my cheek and pulled me towards him, our lips meeting in a soft, yet passionate kiss. I entwined my hands in his hair as we kissed, all the while treading water.

“Hey you two! Save it for the beach!” Jared called as he swam past us towards the cheering crowd waiting for us at the beach.

Jacob quickly kissed my lips again as he started swimming. “Are you ready for round two?”

“Maybe. How about if I beat you to the shore, you have to kiss me once we get home?”

“Now you know I’ll loose on purpose just so I can kiss you.”

“I know. So hurry up so we can go home!” I said as I splashed water at him and started swimming for the shore, where everyone was waiting. I couldn’t help but smile as I thought of what I had to look forward to once Jacob and I got home. For the first time since my accident, things were really looking up.