The Immortal Children

Messy

As I sat on the couch squished between my siblings, I was suddenly reminded of our very first meeting with the Cullens. We hadn't trusted them yet, and I had been struggling to come up with a plan of defense in case they attacked. With the members of the pack towering over me as they stood beside and behind the sofa I was seated on, I realized that this wasn't quite as scary. With so many shapeshifters ready to come to my defense, the Cullens weren't scary. And neither were the Denalis. 

It irritated me to see how at ease my siblings were. It was like they were totally fine with Tanya and Kate since they had gotten Ashlynn a birthday present. I felt a little uneasy as I realized how easily my siblings' loyalty could be bought. Even with the constant supervision that I had been trying to provide, it seemed that I was going to have to step it up. 

I watched warily as Tanya stood, smiling down at us. Seth growled as she stepped closer. Tanya sighed as she sent him an annoyed glare, but made no attempt to come closer. Seth wasn't able to see the gratefulness in my face. Like the rest of the pack, his eyes were trained on the sisters. 

The Cullens all looked even more uneasy than I did. I understood that they were being placed in an awkward position. Jacob and Seth were accepted as family by the Cullens. And yet, the Cullens were sitting on the opposite side of the room, close to Kate and Tanya. Lines had been drawn. They had chosen their side, and it was not with us.  The only exception to this was Renesmee. Though she was standing beside her parents, it was clear that she wanted to be by us. Or more accurately, Jacob, who was standing with the pack. It seemed that the only thing keeping Nessie in place was her Mother's arm that was wrapped around her shoulders. 

After several moments of awkward staring, Tanya went on some long speech about what seemed to be her entire family history. Several times, my siblings glanced over at me, not seeming to be able to follow the story. All I really took away from it was that Tanya and Kate were biological sisters, who's Mother had been killed for creating immortal children. She called the children 'evil' and 'merciless', making me more nervous. Was that how they viewed us? Would these assumptions lead Tanya and Kate to slaughtering me and my siblings?

Tanya stopped talking and looked at us expectedly. I wondered what she wanted me to say. 'Okay, since your Mom killed a bunch of kids, I forgive you and your sister for shocking me in your attempts to murder me'? The silence in the room grew tense, the wolves shifting around me as they took in the atmosphere.

I had heard once that predators were capable of sensing fear. With how terrified I was, I really hoped that this wasn't true. At the moment, it felt like I was doing a decent job at hiding my emotions. Well, from everyone except for Jasper. I knew that his ability was allowing him to feel the emotions of every, single person in the room. I felt my anger grow as I was hit with how violated that really made me feel. No matter how good I was at hiding my feelings, it would always be for nothing. 

Shaking my head, I forced myself to focus. Now wasn't the time to get distracted, especially by something so insignificant. Esme was the one to step forward, finally breaking the silence. "Children," She began, likely not noticing the way that I bristled at the label. "Do you understand what Tanya and Kate are trying to say"? 

My siblings both nodded, though I knew that they were lying. Tanya's story had seemed to ramble on forever, Chris and Ash losing interest almost immediately. And even if they had been listening, I was sure they wouldn't have been able to follow such a long explanation. Esme seemed to also realize this, as she continued. "So you understand that they are explaining their reaction to you and apologizing?" 

A disbelieving laugh escaped my lips. Though the Cullens had made it clear that they were not siding with us, this was the first time that they had tried to blatantly lie. "No they aren't". My objection caused everyone to look at me, though most eyes had already been drawn to me when the humorless chuckle had escaped. "They didn't apologize," I insisted. "They didn't say sorry once!"