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MOTHER OF MINE

"YOU GUYS GOT MARRIED WHILE I WAS, I DON'T KNOW, FIGHTING FOR MY NEWBORN SANITY?"

Billie Burbank had never been the kind of girl who prioritized her needs above the needs of others, and that was a severe understatement. She was a natural-born giver, and a compassionate, self-sacrificing one at that.

Yet, to hear that her supposed best friend had thrown herself a wedding, all while Billie had been acclimating to vampirism with her shitty ass memory in fucking Europe, had her eye twitching with newfound agitation. 

Now that wasn't fair at all.

It felt like a betrayal, almost. Was it anger, or was it sheer hurt that she was feeling? And though she knew the answer to the question she'd asked, she just wanted to hear them say it out loud.

Bella was quick to shake her head. "We were still looking for you when we... y'know." She couldn't even say the word. "We never stopped, Bill, I promise you that."

She couldn't even admit that while Billie was having quite literally the hardest time of her life, she and the others had held something as joyful as a wedding ceremony.

"Do you know who killed me?" was her next question, trying her best to ignore the way Jane seemed to step closer to her at that.

Bella winced. "It's complic—"

"Don't lie to me!" she yelled, voice raised in a way that was both unfamiliar to her and those around her. She stomped down the tremor that threatened to escape her, "you don't get to lie to me about this."

"She's dead," Edward said, not quite offering Billie the answer she wanted, though it was still an answer.

Jane, on her behalf, wasn't satisfied at all and let it show. "Tell me her name," she demanded, "I need to know the name of the person responsible for—"

"Oh–oh! Do the magic trick on me next!"

The two blondes wearing the Volturi necklaces both watched as a teenage boy wearing nothing but cargo shorts practically jumped right up to them. The anger fizzled from Billie instantly, her mind briefly taken off of the two vampires right in front of her.

The smell coming from him reminded Billie of soggy, stale clothing that had been left in the sun to stink up a room. Matter of fact, all the wolves around them radiated a similar smell the closer they got. This boy was one of those giant wolves, and a part of her felt like she should've known that already.

The pleading, yet optimistic look of his face was one that Billie certainly didn't have the heart to decline.

Fingertips to his forehead, metaphorically pinching her nose at the horrific wet dog smell, she shuddered when more memories invaded her brain. It was nothing like she'd encountered with Edward— no, she and this boy shared what looked to be millions upon millions of moments together. All moments of happiness, none of deceit.

The smile on her face was blinding when she resurfaced, the memories slotting themselves away in their rightful spots. "Embry!"

The pair met in the middle, arms wrapping around one another. Like two lost siblings, reunited amidst the chaos.

"Shit, I knew you'd remember!" the boy cheered, jostling Billie around in his hold. From over his shoulder, she could've laughed at the uncomfortable, utterly aghast look on Jane's face. "Your mom's gonna freak when I tell her I told you so."

"My mom," the words felt foreign on her tongue. Her gaze ventured off to where she expected to see Aro, but there was no one else from her coven there aside from herself and Jane. "Do you think he'd let me see her?"

This wasn't the correct thing to say in front of Bella, however. "Wait Billie, we need to talk about what happened—"

"There's nothing else to say; I died, Demetri hauled me to Italy, I still drink from styrofoam cups... and I had to do it without you," she pointedly said, and the lack of her own memories with the brunette was definitely fuelling her angry fire towards her. But she didn't want to make any rash decisions, so she merely turned back to Jane. "Would he let me see her?"

Jane thought about it for a moment, unphased by her master's disappearance, which led Billie to believe that she knew where he was.

"He'd let you get away with war crimes, mia regina," she said instead with an eye roll.

"But let's just make it quick, yes? Because while you can keep him waiting, I certainly don't have access to that same luxury."

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Billie looked at this nauseatingly familiar woman, listened to her serious tone, and smiled at the way she nearly clobbered the teenage boy who was blocking her from the woman's view.

"Boy, you better get the hell out of my way and let me see my daughter."

Embry barricaded himself in the doorway. "She's gotta do this weird little mojo thing to your head first."

The woman gave him a look of pure deadpan. "What are you on about?"

"He's right— I have to work my mojo and it involves your head."

Billie catalogued the exact moment this woman, her mother, fully set her eyes upon her when Embry moved out of the way. A part of Billie thought that she would've been appalled by the redness of her eyes, would've banished her for being this creature of the night. A part of Billie thought she was going to walk away without getting what she came there for.

But then, in a matter of seconds, the woman's arms were around her, and joyful sobs of relief were soon to follow.

And this time around, Billie didn't need to press her fingertips to the woman's head, because the minute she breathed in a scent that was so distinctly Katherine Burbank was the minute it all came back to her.

All her birthdays, holidays, parent-teacher conferences; it all floated back into her brain so rapidly that it almost made her head ache. It didn't feel wrong like it had before, because something felt so innately right about this— about having her mother's arms relish in the fact that the blonde girl had returned.

After all, it had been Billie and Katherine since the beginning, right? Why on earth would the universe, or supernatural universe at that, ever stop them from getting the happy ending they both deserved?

"Hi, mama."

The woman pulled back, evidently seeing the clear recognition in her daughter's own eyes, and rather than make a comment on their distinct red that should've had her running for the hills, the first thing Katherine did was grab her by the ear and yank her into the home.

"Billie Mae, I oughta ground you for the rest of your damn life! I mean seriously, Italy? Again?!"

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Billie was pleasantly surprised to see Aro standing by the treeline of her backyard, Jane vanishing from her side the moment the pair spotted one another. She was thankfully he hadn't gone back without her— had even opted to wait while Billie collected her memories from those who mattered most.

"Have you said your goodbyes?" he asked, gently taking her hand into his. Their fingers intertwined, like matching puzzle pieces.

"More like see you laters," she said, and upon seeing his questioning gaze, she fessed up, "my mom is unmovable when she has her mind set on something; I'd like to see you convince her to not visit at least once every summer."

"Billie..."

"Aro..."

The pair stared one another down, but the moment Aro caught sight of the way she started to tug on her lip, he took his thumb and pulled her bottom lip from her teeth. "Fine. But we must'nt let anyone know, understood?"

Billie gave him a smile of victory.

"Understood. The next time you open up a dictionary, it'll be the picture of us next to the word inconspicuous."

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[ wyn's note ]

final stretch yall! aka one more chap until the epilogue! AHHH the end has snuck up on me fr

and ik many wanted billie to be on her revenge arc and sentence these mfs to the guillotine, but billie is little miss sunshine; she's too nice to do anything about it other than wish them well on her way out :,)

she's a way bigger person than me cause i wouldve caused a scene... but she's bae

all my love to you cuties xx