For You, I Will

Saul lunged, teeth bared; I lunged for Saul with Nessie next to me. But Saul was faster than we had anticipated. With one swipe, he threw Nessie into the wall, and she dropped to the floor, dazed. My teeth met with Saul’s neck, and I bit down as hard as I could, fury at what he’d done to Nessie taking over.

But Saul was twice my strength; he slammed my body into the ground, wrenching his neck free. Instantaneously, Saul got to his feet, bared his teeth, and lunged for my neck.

A dark blur flashed in front of me, and Saul was thrown into the wall across from the door. Rolling over, I scrambled to my paws and focused my eyes on the lean, grey wolf standing over me.

Embry locked eyes with me, and said,

I’m here now. I’m here for you.

The fear in my body melted away as I stared into Embry’s eyes. He was here for me; he would always be here for me. I got shakily to my paws as Embry firmly planted himself between Saul and I.

You and Nessie stay back, he said to me as he snarled at Saul. Nessie was still a bit stunned, but she was beginning to crawl towards me. I hurried to her side, standing protectively in front of my best friend. Seconds later, more footsteps came pounding up the stairs, and moments later Lucas, Jacob, and my father burst into the room, snarling and taking up positions on either side of Embry.

Saul lunged for us once more, but he didn’t have a chance against the guys protecting us. Embry collided with him first, driving him back into the opposite wall. Jacob, Seth, and Lucas lunged into the fight, making sure Saul would never come after us again.

“Renesmee! Lillie!” came my mom and Bella’s voices as they raced up the stairs. Nessie jumped up immediately, but I hesitated.

“Mom!” she called, and Bella was at her side in an instant. I heard my mom call out more anxiously,

“Lillie! Lillian Nicole!”

How on earth was I supposed to answer? And oh God, when my mom came out and saw me like this…

My mom came to a stop in the doorway, and was startled to see the scene of the four wolves on top of Saul, holding him in place. My mom looked around, then asked Nessie,

“Renesmee, where’s Lillie?”

Nessie glanced down at me, and I gave a small nod. Nessie held out her hand to me, and I pressed my face into it.

“Alex,” she said, holding her other hand out to my mom. My mom’s jaw dropped, and she said,

“No… that’s not..”

But my mom took Nessie’s hand, and I felt her mind in my thoughts.

Hi, mom… I said tentatively. Her jaw dropped, and I could feel the shock of this coursing through her.

“L-Lilie?” she stuttered, but before she could say anything else, I heard my dad say in my head,

Lil, can you please take your mom and the others out of here? Not to be pushy but we’re kind of in the middle of something...

Oh, right, I replied, and then transferred the message to my mom.

“Come downstairs,” she said quickly; Bella was staring at me with an expression that looked like a mix of confusion and amazement. I trotted after Nessie and the others, but paused at the top of the stairs; I’d never gone down the stairs with four legs.

Tentatively, I stepped down with my front paws, and then tried to maneuver to make room for my other legs. With a huff, I realized that wouldn’t work. The others were already down the stairs, and they turned to stare up at me.

At the bottom of the stairs, I saw Edward peer around the corner, and he smiled up at me.

A little help? I asked him, and Edward laughed, flashing up to me. He scooped me up, and I was at the bottom of the stairs in less than a second. My mom moved and sat at the couch with Bella, Nessie, and Edward circled around her. The rest of the pack was heading up stairs to help deal with Saul and the rest of the enemy wolves that they hadn’t already chased off.

Through the windows in the front room, I could see the last couple of wolves being chased off the property by Emmett, Quil, and Jasper. I could hear Alice and Rosalie checking the backyard, and I could still hear the heated confrontation upstairs.

“Lillie, why… why on earth are you a wolf?”

Once again, I settled my head in Nessie’s hand and thought,

I’m… Not exactly sure. I mean… Nessie and I were in danger and then I got all shaky... and then I just kind of exploded into fluff...

“Exploded?” she asked, and Bella burst out laughing. “Into a ball of fluff?”

Well, I don’t know how else to explain it! I thought defensively, and this time my mom laughed too.

“And you’ve got no idea how to turn back, do you?” Bella asked me, and I shook my head. She got up from the couch and knelt in front of me, draping a blanket over me.

“Okay, now close your eyes, and take a deep breath… there you go. Now, you’ve got to imagine that you’re pulling yourself back together. And when you feel like your body is coming together, focus on your human body, and you should be able to phase back.”

Still breathing deeply, I followed what Bella told me. Slowly, the air around me began to tremble; I felt my body begin to shake, and when I opened my eyes and looked down, I saw hands instead of paws.

I was very grateful for the blanket at that moment. My mom slid off the couch and wrapped the blanket tighter around me as she pulled me into a hug.

“You’re your father’s daughter, through and through,” she laughed pulling back to smile at me. From behind us, the sounds of someone coming down the stairs pulled our attention. I looked over the back of the couch and beamed when I saw Embry in human form.

“Lillie!” he exclaimed, rushing forward to hug me.

“Not until she has clothes on,” my mom warned, frowning at Embry, who came to a jarring stop. His cheeks tinted pink, and he coughed and said,

“Oh, er, right…”

Edward gave me a smile, then dashed up the stairs and was back in less than a couple seconds, holding one of Alice’s plainer dresses and a pair of sandals.

I hurried to the bathroom, changed, and then reappeared, giving Embry a shy smile. Before we could do anything, though, more people came down the stairs. Jacob lead the way, with Saul behind him. Sam and my dad had a tight hold on him as Lucas, Paul, and Quil brought up the end. Rosalie followed them down, and was immediately swept into a hug by Emmett.

As Jacob marched Saul outside past me, Lucas looked over and gave me a smile, saying,

“Glad you’re okay, Lil.”

I just beamed at my brother; he’d never said anything like that to me before.

I followed the wolves out, with Embry right behind me. My dad and Sam tossed Saul onto the ground in front of them, and Jacob said,

“If you ever mess with our pack again, we will not show mercy. Leave, and don’t think of returning here.”

Saul got to his feet slowly, but he said nothing as he turned away, took two steps, and then leapt into the air, his body shifting into a wolf as he took off into the forest to gather his broken pack.

Jacob and the others turned to me, and Jacob asked,

“So, you’re the newest pack member?”

“Apparently,” I told him with a small smile.

“Well, welcome to the pack,” Quil laughed, giving me a hug as he passed. “Hey, you wanna go play a game of-“

“Hey, Quil,” Jacob said, giving me a knowing smile as he pulled Quil into the house. “I’ve think Embry’s got it from here.”

Blushing, I laughed and gave Jacob a thankful grin as the rest of the pack disappeared into the house. Slowly, I turned to Embry. With a huge grin, he rushed towards me and wrapped his arms around my waist, spinning me around while I laughed and beamed down at him.

When Embry sat me down again, I asked softly,

“You still love me, fur and all?”

“I wouldn’t have you any other way,” he replied, tilting my chin up as he kissed me softly on the lips.

This would be my life now; my chaotic, wolf-filled life. And honestly, I couldn’t think of a single thing I wanted more.

Life was good.