Breaking Dawn - Stephenie Meyer [146]
I stared at him, shocked, and also feeling guilty, because I had to admit that this pleased me a teensy bit in a petulant way.
Of course, I already knew that Renesmee wasnt venomous. I was the first person shed bitten. I didnt make this observation aloud, as I was feigning memory loss on those recent events.
Well, Seth, Carlisle said, straightening up and stepping away from us. I think thats as much as I can do. Try to not move for, oh, a few hours, I guess. Carlisle chuckled. I wish treating humans were this instantaneously gratifying. He rested his hand for a moment on Seths black hair. Stay still, he ordered, and then he disappeared upstairs. I heard his office door close, and I wondered if theyd already removed the evidence of my time there.
I can probably manage sitting still for a while, Seth agreed after Carlisle was already gone, and then he yawned hugely. Carefully, making sure not to tweak his shoulder, Seth leaned his head against the sofas back and closed his eyes. Seconds later, his mouth fell slack.
I frowned at his peaceful face for another minute. Like Jacob, Seth seemed to have the gift of falling asleep at will. Knowing I wouldnt be able to apologize again for a while, I got up; the motion didnt jostle the couch in the slightest. Everything physical was so easy. But the rest
Edward followed me to the back windows and took my hand.
Leah was pacing along the river, stopping every now and then to look at the house. It was easy to tell when she was looking for her brother and when she was looking for me. She alternated between anxious glances and murderous glares.
I could hear Jacob and Rosalie outside on the front steps bickering quietly over whose turn it was to feed Renesmee. Their relationship was as antagonistic as ever; the only thing they agreed on now was that I should be kept away from my baby until I was one hundred percent recovered from my temper tantrum. Edward had disputed their verdict, but Id let it go. I wanted to be sure, too. I was worried, though, that my one hundred percent sure and their one hundred percent sure might be very different things.
Other than their squabbling, Seths slow breathing, and Leahs annoyed panting, it was very quiet. Emmett, Alice, and Esme were hunting. Jasper had stayed behind to watch me. He stood unobtrusively behind the newel post now, trying not to be obnoxious about it.
I took advantage of the calm to think of all the things Edward and Seth had told me while Carlisle splinted Seths arm. Id missed a whole lot while I was burning, and this was the first real chance to catch up.
The main thing was the end of the feud with Sams pack-which was why the others felt safe to come and go as they pleased again. The truce was stronger than ever. Or more binding, depending on your viewpoint, I imagined.
Binding, because the most absolute of all the packs laws was that no wolf ever kill the object of another wolfs imprinting. The pain of such a thing would be intolerable for the whole pack. The fault, whether intended or accidental, could not be forgiven; the wolves involved would fight to the death-there was no other option. It had happened long ago, Seth told me, but only accidentally. No wolf would ever intentionally destroy a brother that way.
So Renesmee was untouchable because of the way Jacob now felt about her. I tried to concentrate on the relief of this fact rather than the chagrin, but it wasnt easy. My mind had enough room to feel both emotions intensely at the same time.
And Sam couldnt get mad about my transformation, either, because Jacob-speaking as the rightful Alpha- had allowed it. It rankled to realize over and over again how much I owed Jacob when I just wanted to be mad at him.
I deliberately redirected my thoughts in order to control my emotions. I considered another interesting phenomenon; though the silence between the separate packs continued, Jacob and Sam had discovered that Alphas could speak to each other while in their wolf form. It wasnt the