Third Person POV

"Shit." Aria sighed as she looked back at her mother's bruised, broken, and unconscious face. The wolf, vampire and hybrid were really out of the bag now, but what the hell happened to her?

Slowly, Bella helped Aria move into a seated position on the concrete driveway, and Aria gently transferred her mother's head from resting on her shoulder to her lap. To their right, Jacob was talking down a very agitated Jesse, and to their left, Tori was slowly untangling herself from Embry's grazed arms, the small cuts already scabbing over.

"Is she okay?" Tori asked in a shaky voice as she lifted herself to a sitting position too, her body aching slightly from the impact of hitting the ground with Embry.

Aria looked over her mother again, listening to the rhythmic rising and falling of her chest. "She fainted." Aria said, her voice trembling, her mother had seen them... seen everything. What were they going to say? What were they going to do?

Carlisle appeared between his adoptive daughter and daughter-in-law in a flash, taking Aria's shaking voice as panic for her mother's well-being rather than a fear of what to do next. He checked Lily over and quickly came to a conclusion. "She'll be fine." He then turned his attention to Aria. "Are you okay?" He asked seriously, his eyes scanning her face for any hesitation or hints of pain.

Aria sighed again, feeling a mixture of emotions hit her over and over again like waves crashing against the shore on First Beach. "I'm fine... physically." Aria confirmed breathlessly, looking at the concerned faces of each member of her family. Jacob padded over to her and rested his muzzle against her neck. "Bella, could you help with my shoes." The sudden movement had caused Aria's feet to swell even more.

"Yeah, of course." Bella nodded quickly, brushing a few locks of her thick brown hair behind her ear before she got to work on unbuckling the straps on Aria's heels.

Aria leant her tired head against Jacob's muzzle, and then suddenly an anger overcame her. "Jesse... why did you have to do that?" She snapped quietly, turning her head towards her brother who was leaning over them behind Carlisle.

Jesse's chest rumbled disapprovingly. "Don't start."

"Don't start?!" Aria asked incredulously, trying to be careful as not to jostle Lily. Aria felt her throat tighten, her free hand ball into a fist as she set her fiery, red eyes on her brother.

Distinctly she could feel everyone take a step towards her, ready to snap Tori away and Lily out of her arms, but Aria knew she would not falter. She was not her brother.

Jesse's growl grew fiercer. "Have you seen her?!" He sneered, taking a step closer with his teeth bared in anger, those who couldn't understand the one-sided conversation immediately became alarmed.

Jacob returned a warning snarl as Aria answered Jesse's hostility. "Yes, I have seen her... but you could have given her a heart attack!" Aria countered, feeling her own hiss bubbling up in her throat as she looked from Jesse's grey eyes and then down to her mother.

"Don't be stupid-" Jesse began, acid lacing his tone but Jacob's sharp snap of his jaws towards Jesse silenced him.

"Enough!" Jacob warned, disappointed in his beta for letting his anger get the better of him and angry with his brother-in-law for talking to his wife in the way he was. He turned his large head towards Aria and whined quietly. "Honey, why don't you take her inside, we'll have to explain everything to her when she wakes up." He offered, knowing that was what Aria needed right now: a plan.

"What did he say?" Bella asked curiously as Aria nodded numbly.

Aria's mind quickly went over all outcomes she could possibly imagine: her mother would accept them all (that would be the preferred result); she could run for the hills and be scared of her two oldest children for the rest of her life; or the Volturi could find out somehow and kill her, though, there were lots of humans within the tribe who knew... but, did the Volturi know that?

Aria shook her head. One step at a time. "He said we should take her inside and when she wakes up, we can explain everything."

"If she lets us explain." Tori grumbled as she pushed herself up from the floor and dusted the dirt off of her palms.

Aria thought over it for a moment, she will most likely be scared but she hoped that she would listen to her children. "She will." She tried to make sure her voice was reassuring. "She might just need some time. The rest of us did." She guessed as Bella gently took Lily into her arms and stood back to her full height, holding Lily comfortably as if she weighed no more than a small child.

"She's going to be so angry we kept all this from her." Tori said nervously as she offered Aria her hand to help her up off of the floor. Aria didn't need the help at all, but she accepted the gesture from her little sister welcomingly.

"She'll be that, too." Aria said with slight strain to her voice as she was heaved to her feet.

There was a brief moment of silence as everyone present watched Lily, wondering what her reaction would actually be. Robert broke the silence with a revelation that shocked them all. "She will most likely be angrier with me." When the confusion was evident on each face staring back at him, Robert continued. "When we were dating and then married, she was told some of the histories but only believed them to be myths and stories."

Realisation struck everyone then and Aria blinked at her father, remembering all the times her mother had told him to stop filling the children's heads with stories, how she didn't believe in it all. Much like all of Aria's generation did before it was actually happening to them. "She wasn't the only one, Dad." Aria mused sympathetically, her mind ticking over to that night when everything became real.

Silence fell upon the large group, the looming unknown reaction from Lily was settling upon everyone like a heavy, stormy cloud. Aria tried to remain composed, crying was not going to help anything, she needed to be supportive for her mother, and remember that before this moment, today was a joyous occasion, they were having a boy!

"I'll take her inside." Bella said quietly, cradling Lily to her chest, praying that she would not wake up and run, it was clear she had been through a lot already, she just hoped she would stop and listen.

Aria nodded at her words, and then slowly, almost cautiously, all those around her began to move too. The lingering pack members awkwardly got into the cars with their families, offering quiet goodbyes before they too were hightailing it down the road, hoping Aria and Jacob's special day wasn't completely destroyed.

Jacob and Jesse phased back into their human forms, using the clothes hidden in the plastic bins in the tree line to clad themselves. Jake was furious with his beta; his lack of temper control had forced Aria into doing something she should not have done whilst heavily pregnant. If Bella had not been there to catch them, what would have happened to Aria and the baby... Jacob dared not to think of the possibilities.

Inside the house, Bella gently laid her aunt upon the larger couch, Lily's soft and rhythmic breathing helped to keep everyone calm, letting them know she was okay, well... that she was okay enough to not need immediate medical attention. Everyone's eyes stared; they couldn't help it. It could have been morbid curiosity or just shock, but the bruises, cuts and bandages covering Lily's body were heartbreaking for anyone to look at.

From outside, Aria - she was sure Edward was too - kept an eye on her mother's thoughts for any hint that she would wake, but all that she was met with was darkness, no dreaming taking place whatsoever.

The remaining guests; all of the Cullens, Rob and Joy, Embry and Tori, Scarlett, even Billy, Seth and Quil, all followed Bella into the lounge. The humans all took a seat, not feeling comfortable with just standing at the edge of the room like the vampires were. Tori sat on the coffee table in front of her mother, reaching across to take her mom's hand in her own, Embry in the armchair beside her. Scarlett sat by Lily's feet, Rob and Joy opposite, Billy in the gap between Rob and Embry's chairs and Quil perched on the arm of the couch beside his mother. Seth remained by the Cullens, Renesmee lingering next to him.

Hearing his steps approaching, Aria turned her head away from the house and to the trees, and on cue Jacob jogged towards her dressed in a pair of cut off sweats, his broad chest and feet bare as they hit the earth. "Ari, are you okay?" His voice shook, the remaining tremors of panic and anger still shaking his voice.

"I think so." Aria faltered as Jake met her and pulled his wife into his arms. His heat enveloped her immediately, her own unsureness fading as she settled into him, her head against his chest. Inside her, she felt the baby flutter and she relaxed even more. "No," she corrected. "I am. We are." She concluded surely, removing one arm from Jake's torso to run over her stomach.

Jesse appeared beside them then, completely guilt stricken and dressed similarly to Jake. "I'm sorry, Aria." He burst out, his expression remorseful, his eyebrows knitted together with worry. He moved towards her warily, but Jake's head snapping sharply to glare at him kept Jesse in place.

"It's okay-" Aria began, knowing that Jesse's temper was hard to control, especially in extreme situations. At her words, Jake's gaze shot down to her with disbelief. "No, Jake, it is." Aria soothed, shifting her hand from his torso to his bicep. She began to run her hand over the smooth skin there reassuringly. "She looks terrible." She said softly, all their thoughts drifting back to the first sights of Lily.

And then, as if she had heard them, Lily's mind then began to awaken. The thoughts were broken, mixed with extreme confusion and pain. Flashes of Scott's angered face, and then of Jesse's transformation, Aria's speed, Bella's speed, Jacob's transformation... she was coming to.

"Aria." Edward's quiet nudge spoke from the house addressed Aria as if she was standing right next to him.

Aria swallowed, her nerves setting in again. "I know." She breathed; her voice was just above a whisper, but she knew Edward could hear her all the same. Jake and Jesse gave her questioning glances. "She's waking up."

Inside the house, Lily began to awaken, the light fluttering of her eyelids caught at Tori's attention and the youngest Hotah sibling inched closer to her mother. "Mom?" She called softly, her free hand smoothing over the blonde hair that framed her mother's bruised face. "Mom, are you okay?" She whispered and then Lily's eyes shot open, as if reality had come snapping back to her.

"W-what?" Lily stammered, glancing at her youngest daughter unsurely. "What happened? I swear I thought-" Footsteps ascending the staircase to the first floor silenced Lily. She turned her head towards the staircase and slowly began to sit up as she saw the tops of Jesse and Jacob's heads.

Lily felt dizzy, she was sure she had just imaged it all, this was some terrible horrible dream her brain had concocted as she still lay unconscious in her kitchen... She hadn't really driven all the way to Washington, she hadn't watched her son and son-in-law turn into terrifying giant wolves! She hadn't seen her daughter and niece moving faster than the speed of light... Aria being pregnant too, none of it was real... right?

The two men came into full view then, dressed in only a pair of shorts each... these were not the outfits she had seen them in before... didn't they have dress shirts on... and long pants? Aria then appeared between them and Lily felt her eyes physically widen as she looked upon her daughter... her very pregnant daughter... with red eyes...

No.

"Oh my god." The realisation hit her like a tonne of bricks, knocking the breath out of her. It was all real... it actually happened.

As Lily's breathing became laboured, Aria watched as her mother connected the dots inside her head. She glazed over Aria's condition and began to focus solely on the wolves... and why it seemed so familiar. The connection was suddenly made and slowly, Lily turned her attention to Rob who was sitting across from her on the opposite couch, his right hand being firmly held between both of Joy Ateara's hands.

The stories he had told her... tribe legends... but no one was a physical descendent from a wolf, that was impossible. But her son... and Jacob... she had been lied to.

Aria's POV

I had never seen my mother angry before, of course we had been told off as children and we'd angered her that way, but this was new and all consuming. Real and true rage. Never have I seen or heard my parents argue let alone see the fury Mom was now feeling towards Dad.

"Mom, no!" The words left my throat in a hoarse mess as Mom lifted herself from the couch, brushing off Tori's grasping hands as she lunged at Dad.

"You bastard." The insult tumbled out of her mouth as Dad rose too, pulling himself away from Joy as he caught Mom as she crashed into him, shaky on her own legs.

I winced at her language, at her inner pain, and stepped back, hitting Jacob's chest as his warm arms wrapped around me.

"Lily." Dad tried to calm her, but Mom wasn't having it. Her intentions were clear as she readied herself to shove him, but her strength wasn't there, especially with her injured wrist. "Lils!" He said more firmly but his attempt was ignored, and she tried to shove him again, though with minimal effort.

"You lying deceitful bastard." She snapped back at him, tears brimming her already bloodshot eyes.

My siblings and I winced again, we needed to stop this. I readied myself to step out of Jake's hold, but Tori beat me to it. "Mom!" Tori condemned, standing too, her small hands clasping Mom's shoulders ready to pull her away.

Mom shook her off, ready to shove Dad again but he caught her wrists in both his hands and held them against his chest. Mom then began to sob. "You did this to our son! You made him into a monster! What have you done to our daughter?"

I felt Jesse tense beside me, it wasn't in anger, but he was cringing. Our mother was scared of us...

"Mom!" Tori scolded again, the embarrassment and guilt creasing her forehead, her gaze flickering between our parents and Jesse and myself.

"Lily." Dad tried again soothingly, his heart breaking for the mother of his children, his friend. He never wanted it to come to this, but how else were we meant to bring it up?

"What's happening?" Mom screeched, trying to pull herself out of Dad's grip to shove him again. Her head whipped back and forth between Dad and Jesse and I, her thoughts showing that the red in my eyes threw her once again, along with the baby growing inside me. Dizziness then flooded her brain again. "Why didn't you tell me!" She seethed, leaning into Dad more rather than shoving him. "W-Why..."

I listened painfully, understanding that Mom was fading out once again. I wanted to go to her, to calm her, to help her, but I feared more for her reaction, and I did not want to upset her more. "Carlisle." I spoke quickly, my urgency letting him know what was required of him.

Carlisle did not need to utter his understanding, he reached Mom's side in a flash, just as her legs gave out from underneath her, her weight shifting away from Dad. Carlisle caught her around her waist as she lost her consciousness completely and he then moved to gently settle her back on the couch.

I stared dumbfounded at the whole situation; I didn't know what to do. I was stuck, frozen to my place beside Jake, the warmth of his embrace doing little to soothe me when usually one look from him was enough to calm my nerves. Scarlett had wandered over to Jesse, her hands delicately stroking over his chest, arms and face in an effort to keep him calm, though I didn't think his anger would be an issue now... only sadness. Beside Mom's still body Tori tried her best to hold in her whimpers, her hand covering her mouth as she looked between Dad's distraught face and my own tearful eyes.

Carlisle was listening to Mom's breathing, monitoring her heart rate, his precise and stellar hearing meaning he did not need a stethoscope. To monitor her blood pressure however, that was a different story. "She's exhausted." He explained quietly. "Perhaps we should just let her sleep. I'll keep an eye on her. Rose, could you run back to the house and get my bag."

He turned towards the huddle of vampires in the corner of the room, and sullenly Rose stepped forward, her hand gripped tightly in Emmett's. "Of course." Rosalie nodded her head once, her blonde curls bobbing with the movement, and then she and Emmett disappeared. They would be back in no more than five minutes.

The next few seconds ticked by, and everyone remained frozen, unsure on what to do next. And then, as if someone had pressed play on a paused movie, Joy stood from her seat on the couch rather robotically and decided it would be easier if she and Quil left, not wanting to embarrass my mother more when she woke up. She kissed Dad on the cheek goodbye, muttered her apologies and goodbye to everyone else and then she and Quil left.

Then suddenly there was movement everywhere, apart from Carlisle, Bella and Renesmee, my other vampire family members began to tidy the house, packing away any remnants of the blue and pink wonderland Alice had created earlier today. Alice had already seen my decision to offer Mom our spare bedroom, and I supposed that was some reassurance as in the vision Mom was smiling at me, but she got to work getting the room ready, our baby gifts momentarily put away in the hospital room.

Eventually, with Jake's encouragement and the fluttering of our baby boy inside me, I returned upstairs to dress into something more comfortable and when I came back, the tension seemed to have dipped somewhat. Jake was waiting for me on the couch, my thermal cup on the coffee table in front of him filled with a fresh batch of O negative.

He was sat where Scarlett had been before, on the other end of the couch Mom was still sleeping on. The sun had now disappeared, it's late afternoon orange and red rays cast the clouds aglow as a very subtle rain had begun. The weird yellow haze set Jake's copper skin alight and despite everything, the sight of him warmed my insides and I was across the room in seconds, climbing into his lap so I was sat sideways across him, facing my mother instead.

Whilst I was upstairs the party had been entirely cleared away, Rose and Emmett had returned, and Carlisle had taken Mom's blood pressure. It was a little low, so we had to make her eat something once she woke up. Dad had moved to sit in the armchair adjacent to Mom's head, his expression stern but thoughtful... he kept going back over the idea that he should have told her, and I was beginning to agree with him, but she had been happy until Scott entered her life.

Jesse and Scarlett were murmuring quietly on the couch opposite us, Jesse's biggest fear still being what had driven our Mom to run and Scarlett wondered if Scott would follow. Tori and Embry were next to them, listening silently. Tori's mind was hard to listen to, she couldn't help it, but she was analysing each bruise and cut on our mother, and thinking about what Scott would've done to inflict so much damage. I shuddered and put my shield around her.

Afternoon slipped into dusk, and then dusk into evening with the storm clouds making it seem darker and later than it actually was. As I sipped on my craving, Esme tried to force food down all of us human food eaters, but no one really had an appetite, me included. As the third hour of Mom being unconscious approached, her mind began to awaken once again.

With one look from Carlisle, Esme flashed into the kitchen to retrieve a glass of water for Mom, and Tori untangled herself from Embry's arms and perched herself on the coffee table once again in front of our mother. "Mom?" Tori called out softly, reaching forward to run her hand delicately over Mom's blonde hair. "Mommy?" She whispered again, keeping her eyes trained on our mother as Esme placed the glass of water down on the coffee table.

The view from the other end of the couch was a little restricting, and through the many minds facing Mom, I watched as she opened her blue eyes, my eyes, and stared a little unsurely at her youngest daughter.

Tori smiled tenderly and retracted her hand to pick up the water beside her. "I know you're scared, and angry. I was too, but you need to keep calm."

Mom's mind was bubbling with emotions, a swarm of turmoil inside her head. Without turning to look at him, I spoke quietly, "Jasper?" Calming her emotions might give us the best chance to explain. Silently, my brother complied, and I felt the calming wave settle over Mom... she even sighed.

At the sound of my voice, Mom's eyes flickered to me and then travelled across the room to Jasper, wondering what I could have possibly addressed him for. Then, her eyes shot back to me, remembering the shocking differences. I felt like I was shrinking under her confused and accusatory gaze as she took in my frightening eyes and swollen stomach.

I could hear my mother's betrayal inside her head, why would her daughter keep her pregnancy a secret, especially when it seemed like the rest of the family were allowed to know. She analysed the size of my bump, guessing almost correctly at six months, and then tried to do the math internally and it wasn't adding up.

I let out a shaky breath. "I know it's confusing, Mom, but we can explain." I said quietly but she flinched at my voice, her fear instantly making bile rise up in my throat. I then felt Jasper's calming aura on me as well as Jake began to rub over my stomach to help soothe me.

Mom ignored me and turned her attention back to Tori who was still watching her warily. "Do you want to sit up?" She asked tenderly and Mom nodded before gritting her teeth to lift herself into a sitting position slowly. Once Mom was upright, Tori handed her the water, she then took a quick sip.

Over the rim of the glass, Mom's eyes turned to Dad. The anger was muted due to Jasper's influence but that didn't stop her words from coming out in an accusatory tone. "The stories..."

Dad met her gaze, but his face was oddly expressionless. "They aren't made up stories... I did try to tell you." He warned, fighting the urge to shrug, it wasn't Mom's fault she forgot, we didn't believe it either after all.

"Mom?" Jesse spoke up from opposite us, and my heart painfully sunk to my stomach as she flinched again. "Mom, please don't be scared." His tried to keep his voice from shaking, he wanted to keep strong.

Numbly, Mom looked back to Tori again, and then began to analyse her. She seemed normal, like nothing about her had changed, and this gave Mom a slither of hope. Tori seemed to catch on Mom was looking at her for help. "He's right, you don't need to be scared, no one here is going to hurt you." Tori assured, giving Mom a small but sad smile. "What happened to you?"

The question hung over us all like a thick and heavy fog. We waited for her answer, holding our breaths as we dreaded the words. Her mind brushed over a thought, an image of herself on the floor, of Scott standing over her red in the face, I tensed, but then the image was gone and her mind was filled with Bella.

I frowned and watched at Mom's eyes swept the room, double taking as she noticed the liquid topaz that was Bella's eyes rather than the chocolate brown she was used to. She grimaced, as if her worst fears were coming to light. Dad's stories flickered through her mind again, a memory of Dad, looking so much younger and eerily like Jesse, talking on the beach, his face glowing from firelight.

In reality she looked at Dad again, her hands tightening around the glass. "Explain it." She ordered. "No more lies."

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Hello beautiful people...

I'm sorry for my distance, I did kind of lose interest in this story last year but the autumn season has brought me back into it, along with rewatching all the movies and rereading Defective and this story...

I don't know how often updates will be but trust me, they are coming.

All my love,
Talia 🤍