Start Living Now

Author’s Note: This chapter is in Jael's P.O.V. SLN will continue in Jael's P.O.V. unless stated otherwise.

I can only describe the few days after Sam and Emily’s wedding as pure chaos. Apparently there were certain traditions the Quileute had that were very different from the Quinault, even though both tribes were once part of the same clan.

I had never participated in an initiation ceremony; by the time I had first Shifted, the only member of the Council of Elders that was still alive was my grandfather, and he wasn’t exactly in the best of health. The Quileute tribe’s Council, on the other hand, was absolute and intact. They had four out of five members of their Council left; Harry Clearwater, Seth and Leah’s father, was the fifth member. Billy, Sue Clearwater, Sam and Jacob remained.

At first, I thought that my initiation ceremony was going to be low-key. I quickly discovered otherwise. Not only did the pack want my induction to be legit, they wanted it to take place before Sam and Emily left for their honeymoon. I told them I didn’t mind waiting until the two newlyweds returned, but Sam and Jacob insisted that the sooner I was an official member of the pack, the better. Since Sam and Emily were leaving on July 7th, there was less than a day to plan the ceremony.

And so I spent the next day and a half with Alice and Emmett. I wasn’t allowed to know anything about the ceremony, or even be on Quileute territory. It was all Jacob’s idea, Alice told me; he wanted it to be a surprise. In other words, I spent a day and a half grumbling around the Cullen’s house, wondering what Jacob and the others were up to.

“Chill out, Jael. It’s not that bad.” Emmett groaned as he lounged on the couch, watching some random channel devoted to football. He had grown tired of me asking him what he knew about my induction every five minutes.

“It is, Emmett! I didn’t ask for any of this, I would’ve been fine with some quick words and a quick stop to a tattoo parlor so I can get my Mark,” I moaned as I sat on top of Emmett’s legs with a soft thump.

“Quit!” He said as he pulled his feet towards him. “I know I’m not supposed to say anything, and I won’t, so stop asking.” But as he quickly looked around he muttered “But you aren’t going to a tattoo parlor, that’s for sure.”

And before I could even ask him what he meant, Alice soared into the living room with a sour look on her face, Jasper following her.

“You weren’t supposed to say that, Emmett! Keep your big mouth shut!” she yelled as she stormed off, no doubt to call someone from the pack and tattle on Emmett.

Jasper rolled his eyes. “Calm down Jael, you’re making my head spin with all that commotion inside your head.” And without a second thought, he sent calming thoughts into the room.

“Told you, you’re too fired up, “said Emmett. He sent a mischievous look towards Jasper and said, “Hey, I know how we can help you cool down.”

“What do you mean- HEY!” I screamed as Jasper and Emmett picked me up in a double-whammy bear hug. “Lemme go!!”

It only made things worse. They squeezed tighter, despite my efforts to wriggle out between them. I finally managed to get out of their strong hold and took off towards the backyard. Then out of nowhere, there was laughter, and then Emmett’s huge body tackled mine, pinning me to the ground. I let out an agonizing cry as I felt- and heard- something crack inside me. Emmett realized something was wrong when I stopped fighting him. I could hear Jasper and Alice running from the house, and Edward and Bella from their cottage home on the back of the Cullen’s property.

“What happened?!”

“What did you do to her, Emmett?!”

Edward knelt close to me, no doubt reading my mind to see where the pain was. Jasper was also close by, trying his best to numb the pain. “I think she has a broken rib. There’s also some damage done to her hip.”

“I’ll go get Carlisle!” Bella cried as she ran towards the house.

Emmett looked terrible, remorse clearly written all over his face. He gently scooped me up into his arms and made his way up to Carlisle’s study.

“Well, it’s definitely a cracked rib, and possibly a fractured pelvic bone,” Carlisle said as he showed us the X-Rays he had taken from the small portable machine he owned. “I say that because it looks like a small hairline fracture, here,” he continued, pointing to a tiny, thin line on the X-Ray.

“So what does that mean?” I asked. I tried to sit up in the make-shift hospital bed, but felt a large pain in my side, where the cracked rib was.

Jacob, who had rushed over as soon as Alice called him, helped me sit up as he repeated my question.

“It means that Jael is very lucky. If she had broken her pelvic bone- again- she would have to start over with the healing process. She’s already made such excellent progress, it would’ve been a shame to see her suffer again,” Carlisle responded. “This is just a minor setback. You’ll recover from this small injury in no time, Jael. Then you can continue with your therapy.”

“She wouldn’t have to recover from this minor setback if someone hadn’t tackled her like a linebacker!” Jacob said venomously, shooting a dirty look towards Emmett, who was sitting in a chair next to Edward on the other side of the study.

“There’s no need to be rude, Jacob.” Edward said calmly, as if he were a parent rebuking their child.

Jacob mumbled something under his breath. Edward looked tense; he was clearly reading Jacob’s mind. I still couldn’t understand how he could be so rude, living to be over a hundred; you’d think he would’ve developed manners by now. Edward shot me a dirty look. Emmett began apologizing again, so Jacob closed the privacy panel that separated Carlisle’s office from the makeshift hospital room.

“I’m so sorry, Jael!” Emmett cried through the curtain. “I didn’t think-”

“That’s right, you didn’t think.” Jacob cut in. “Somewhere in that brain of yours you should’ve remembered Jael isn’t fully healed yet. She’s still-”

“That’s enough, Jake. Carlisle, where do I go from here?” I asked. I was not in the mood to hear Jacob and Emmett argue.

“Well, since you can walk, I’m sure your pelvic bone will heal in a day or two. That rib of yours should be mended within the next couple of hours. And use the wheelchair whenever possible just to make sure.”

“That’s fine. I hate that chair, but it it’ll help me heal faster, so be it.”

“What about tomorrow night, Carlisle?” Jacob asked. “Is it still okay for the ceremony to take place?”

“She should be fine, Jacob. If everything goes according to the plans you’ve told me, I don’t see any reason for Jael not to participate in her induction ceremony.”

Jacob looked relieved. “Great. If it’s’ possible, I’d like to move Jael back over to my place.”

“That’s fine. I’ll have Emmett bring his Jeep around. He’ll escort you two back.” Carlisle said.

I could hear Emmett leave the room, his heavy boots making the smallest sound as he ran down the stairs towards the Cullen’s garage. Edward walked around the curtain and stood next to Carlisle.

“I also don’t recommend any Shifting for a few days, Jael.” Carlisle continued, pretending not to notice Edward’s intrusion. “And keep your pelvic bone cushioned, like how you used to when your tailbone was broken.”

“Right,” I said, ready to go. I motioned to Jacob to get the wheelchair, but Carlisle interrupted and said Edward would get it. Edward looked angry as he left the room.

“One more thing, Jael.” Carlisle said. He looked slightly uncomfortable. After asking Jacob if he’d prefer to leave the room, he continued when Jacob decided to stay. “It would be a good idea if you refrained from having any intercourse while your pelvic bone is healing. I think we should also talk about contraceptives when you come back for your follow-up.”

I could feel my cheeks heating up. I looked over to Jacob, who looked as uncomfortable as Carlisle. Jacob cleared his throat.

“We’re not intimate with one another, Carlisle,” he answered rather stiffly.

“Oh. I’m sorry, I misunderstood.” Carlisle responded. “Well, we can talk about that when the time comes, Jael. I’ll expect to see you in two days for a physical and a follow-up. Good day to you two.” He quickly left the room.

“Um…”

“Let’s get you home,” Jacob said hastily, which translated into “That was embarrassing and let’s not talk about it now.”

“Yeah. Okay.”

I couldn’t help but notice that as the Cullens helped Jacob get me into the backseat of Emmett’s Jeep, Edward and Bella looked a little bit happier than usual.

“What’s up with you, Edward?” I asked, making sure I sounded rude. “Why do you look so smug?”

“It’s nothing,” Edward laughed. “I just assumed you and Jacob were…physical.”

“And why would you think you had the right to assume that?”

Edward looked angry again. “If you must know, it’s because all Jacob can ever think about when you’re around is-”

“Don’t you dare say-” Jacob began.

“-the both of you naked, doing things.” Edward finished with a look of satisfaction on his face. Bella was suddenly interested in a cluster of flowers in the garden near the garage.

“Let’s get out of here,” Jacob said, his cheeks flushed with red.

Needless to say, the ride home was a quiet one. Aside from my quiet snickering at the fact that Jacob was truly embarrassed that Edward revealed his thoughts to me.

When I asked him about it when we were laying down in bed together later that night, he turned red again and said “Well, can you blame me?”