CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE:
CHANCES

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IT TOOK BELLA THREE days to transition. The first two days were the hardest, Edward refusing to leave his wife's side as she writhed around in agony. The morphine that he'd pumped into her system during Renesmee's birth was keeping her screams at bay, forcing her to suffer in torturous silence. Verona spent most of her time sitting with Edward, using her gift to lessen Bella's pain as much as she could muster. By the third day, Bella's body had slowly yet surely began to heal, her broken bones and torn skin piecing back together before their eyes. Soon, she looked like one of them, right down to the trademark pale skin with its inhuman marble texture.

When she finally regained consciousness, everyone was gathered in the living room, even Edward. They were passing around Renesmee's tiny frame, the new baby eager to be held in everyone's arms, when Bella's heartbeat died in their ears, leaving them sitting in deafening silence. Edward was up on his feet in an instant, rushing upstairs to greet his wife.

That had been just on an hour ago. Now, the couple were returning from Bella's first hunt, the newborn eager to meet her daughter and her new family. Jacob met them outside to test her control, making sure she wasn't going to hurt Renesmee. Something that Bella didn't quite understand coming from him of all people, but she went along with it anyway. Anything to keep her little girl safe. And then they were inside, Bella laying eyes on her baby for the first time. Rosalie moved to hand Renesmee to her, Renesmee's tiny arms reaching for her mother in wonder. One of her hands reached up to rest on Bella's jaw, sending memories to Bella's brain with a power she'd presented to Rosalie during the Cullens' fight with the wolves. 

"What was that?" Bella gasped at the flashes that sparked in her head, her newborn eyes darting to each of them in shock. Verona's heart twinged with sadness at the red hue she was met with, a feeling that she was quick to smother as she sent Bella a grin.

"She showed you the first memory she has of you," Edward murmured from beside Bella.

"Showed me how?" she breathed, rocking Renesmee back and forth slowly, a mother's natural instinct.

"How do I hear thoughts? How does Alice see the future?" Edward gave a chuckle of amusement, shaking his head at her. "She's gifted."

Renesmee giggled at her father's words, mouth opening to reveal two tiny rows of teeth. Bella blinked in shock, glancing at her family with wariness. "I've only been out for three days, right?"

"Her growth rate is unprecedented," Carlisle sighed, and everyone's smiles dropped at the reminder. 

Renesmee's growth had been a subject of worry for each of them since the young girl first began to change. They didn't understand what was causing it, they didn't understand anything when it came to what Renesmee was, and it set them all on edge. How much time did they have with little Renesmee before her growing stopped, before her life ended? A week? A year? A decade? Oh, how they wished they knew the answer.

"Alright," Jacob coughed, everyone in the room turning to look at him as he brushed past Rosalie, reaching out to take Renesmee away from Bella. "That's enough experimenting for one day."

"Jacob, she's doing great," Edward frowned at him, and Jacob gave a tense shrug in response.

"Let's not push it, though." He reached for Renesmee once more, causing Bella to back away with a sneer.

"What's your problem?" she snapped, clutching her daughter to her chest protectively.

"Oh, do tell her, Jacob," Rosalie smirked, eager to see Bella's reaction to the news. Verona silently agreed with her sister, though tried not to show it as she watched Jacob and Bella stare each other down, waiting to see who'd make the first move.

"This should be good," Emmett added from beside his wife, the rest exchanging a glance as the tension in the room skyrocketed.

Edward stepped in front of Bella, moving Renesmee from her arms and into his own. Renesmee gave a tiny whine, not wanting to leave her mother's side, but she was quick to get comfortable in her father's embrace, settling for watching her mother instead. Bella didn't fight against Edward, her red eyes locked on Jacob's nervous frame, growing warier by the second. 

"Look," Jacob muttered, and Bella gave a faint hiss of warning. She knew she wouldn't be pleased with whatever he had to say. "It's a wolf thing."

"What's a wolf thing?" she snapped.

"You know we have no control over it," he continued. Bella's eyes flared in realisation, and Jacob flinched at the pure fury staring back at him as he hurried to add on, "We can't choose who it happens with, and it doesn't mean what you think, Bella, I promise."

"Take Renesmee out of the room," Bella seethed, her body beginning to shake. Rosalie moved towards Edward, bringing Renesmee into her arms and leaving the room with a grin. The moment she was sure her daughter was out of sight, Bella lept towards Jacob and grabbed him by the back of the neck, dragging him outside with the rest of her family in tow. 

Verona was one of the last to head outside, moving to lean against the porch steps as Bella prowled around Jacob's defensive frame. She watched in vague interest to see what her new sister would do. While she wasn't one for fights, Bella's reaction to Jacob imprinting on Renesmee was the hot topic of discussion between her and her siblings. Verona had even made a bet with Emmett and Jasper that Bella would start a fight with Jacob. With the way things were looking, she was about to be fifty dollars richer.

"You imprinted on my daughter?" Bella shouted, the sound echoing around for miles.

"It wasn't my choice," Jacob insisted, though his reply seemed to fall on deaf ears.

"She's a baby," Bella exclaimed with her teeth gritted in rage.

"It's not like that," he shook his head. "You think Edward would let me live if it was?"

"I'm still debating it," Edward muttered, thoroughly amused by his wife's anger. Esme didn't share the same sentiment, however, reaching out to smack her son on the arm.

"I've held her once," Bella hissed, looming closer and closer to where Jacob was standing in the middle of the yard. "One time, Jacob, and already you think you have some moronic wolfy claim on her? She's mine!"

With that, she reached out and shoved him to the ground. Jacob hit the earth with a thud, groaning as he tried to stumble to his feet. The others watched on with wide eyes as Leah and Seth came rushing through the trees in their wolf forms, ready to defend their alpha if he needed them. But Jacob held out a hand to stop them, turning back to Bella with a sigh.

"You're gonna stay away from her," she snapped at him, and he shook his head.

"You know I can't do that."

Bella punched him in the stomach, sending him soaring through the air to crash into a nearby tree. Leah and Seth growled, baring their teeth at the oblivious newborn who was too focused on protecting her daughter to pay attention to her surroundings. To the chaos she was causing.

"Stop her, Edward," Esme scolded her son, who simply shrugged and turned back to watch his wife with a pleased grin. He was amazed by her, stunned.

Jacob was rising to his feet again, eyeing Bella as he took a cautious step towards her, Leah and Seth on either side of him. "Do you remember how much you wanted to be around me three days ago? That's gone now, right?"

"Oh, it's long gone," she sneered, hands drawn into fists by her sides.

"Because it was her," he insisted. "From the beginning, it was Nessie who wanted me there."

"Nessie?" she scowled at the nickname, and Verona gave a wince at the fury that coated her words. She'd never seen Bella so angry before, so defensive. Showed how protective she was over little Renesmee, defensive against anything that might harm her. But after everything Bella had been through to have her daughter, Verona couldn't blame her for being angry. "You nicknamed my daughter after the Loch Ness Monster?"

She rushed towards Jacob, only to be stopped by Seth launching in front of him, howling as Bella latched onto his fur and threw him against a tree. There was a sickening crunch, and all amusement went out the window as he landed in the dirt with a cry. Bella froze, her anger fading to horror as she stared down at Seth, Jacob and Leah pushing past her to check on their packmate.

"Seth, are you okay?" Jacob asked, hovering over him.

"Seth, I'm sorry," Bella mumbled as he began to whine, head resting weakly on the ground beneath him. 

She turned to look at her family with guilty eyes, each of them silent as they stared back at her. Verona moved from where she stood beside her siblings, crossing the yard to kneel by Seth. He looked up at her, groaning as she reached out and pressed a hand to his side. He relaxed as Verona took his pain, her stomach throbbing like a fresh bruise. A moment later, she stepped away, allowing him to stumble to his feet. 

"He'll be okay," she told Bella, who was clinging to her in fear that she'd really hurt the young wolf. She moved to join her family again, who were watching to see what Bella would do next.

Jacob stepped up beside her, catching the newborn's attention. She watched him with a wary glare, though she remained silent as he shot her a pleading glance. "Bella, you know me better than anyone. All I want is for Ness--Renesmee to be safe, happy." He continued to step towards her, Bella backing towards the porch steps as she shook her head, not knowing what to think anymore. "Look, nothing ever made sense before. You, me, any of it. And now, I understand why. This was the reason."

At that, all of Bella's anger seemed to fade into nothing, and she gave a heavy sigh before turning on her heel and storming inside. One by one, her family followed after her, leaving Jacob alone in the middle of the yard.

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IT WAS LATE EVENING, and everyone had spent the afternoon preparing Bella and Edward's new home for them. Verona had managed to escape Alice's controlling clutches, hiding out in her room until the couple in question were given their gift, and in Emmett's words "went to make the most of some alone time together." The others were sitting downstairs with Renesmee, the young girl always managing to amaze them. Verona sat and listened to them coo at her, her phone clutched in between her hands. After a moment, she switched it on and found Alec's contact, pressing the hunk of metal to her ear and listening to the dial tone. It rang and rang for what seemed like forever, and just as Verona began to contemplate hanging up, it was answered. She heard faint murmurs coming from the other end of the line, though she couldn't make out what was being said.

"Hello?" she called, and the other end of the line immediately went silent.

"Cullen," Jane's voice was cold and cautious, and Verona was quick to fight down the urge to correct her and say that her last name was Hale. This was Alec's sister, someone she knew meant a great deal to him. It wouldn't be wise of Verona, after everything that had happened between them, to make Jane angry. Well, angrier than she already was with her. "What do you want?"

"Hi, Jane," Verona greeted, and downstairs, everyone went quiet at the mention of the blonde twin. "Um, is Alec there?"

"He's out hunting at the moment," Jane sneered, short and straight to the point. "Maybe try calling another time?"

"I have," she sighed, and Jane hissed in frustration. "Could you pass on a message for me?"

"I don't know," Jane hummed, and Verona heard all annoyance leave her tone. "I don't think he'd be too happy to hear from you right now."

"Please," she whispered. She was desperate, Jane knew that. And even though she hated how Verona had abandoned her brother, lied to him time and time again, she couldn't stop her from trying to fix things. If she made Alec happy, then she'd have to try and accept her. Something she never thought she'd say. And if asked, she'd deny it profusely.

"Fine, what do you want me to say, Hale?"

Verona was stunned that she agreed, but she didn't hesitate to pass up the opportunity Jane was giving her. It seemed that Jane's love for her brother outshined her hatred for Verona and the Cullens.

"Can you tell him that I'm sorry?" she breathed, and Jane hummed for her to continue. "That I made a mistake, that I love him?"

"I'll tell him," Jane agreed, and with a hesitant goodbye, she hung up.

Verona stood there for a moment, the phone still pressed to her ear. She naively hoped that deep down, Alec might want to forgive her, even after everything she'd put him through, even though there was always going to be something getting in the way of them being together. She just wanted things to be okay again, or as close to okay as they could be.

"Bonding with your new sister?" Verona was quick to snap out of her trance, her golden eyes wide as they darted to where Emmett stood in the doorway of her room, a smirk tugging at his lips. 

Immediately, she scowled, and Emmett gave a snort of amusement. "Shut up, Emmett."

"What? I thought you and Jane were besties now," he teased, reaching out to ruffle her hair and laughing as she smacked his hand away. Verona rolled her eyes, smothering a smile as she shoved past him, phone still in her hands. "Don't ignore me. I want to know the gossip, Vee."