⋅˚₊‧ ☾ ‧₊˚ ⋅ ♡‧₊˚

"Babe I don't think you want this loss on your record." I tried to plead with Emmett as he grabbed a large boulder and set it in between him and Bella. The whole family came outside to watch and the guys were placing their bets.

"Don't hurt yourself, Emmett." Edward taunted him.

"I'm not even going to try and root for him." I laughed. "Bella's for sure going to win."

"Emmett's the strongest one out of all of us." Dom tried to argue with me.

"But Bella's a newborn." I pointed out. "Her strength surpasses his."

"That's cold. Betraying your boyfriend like that." He shook his head mockingly, placing his hand over his heart. "You're a horrible person."

"I know. It keeps me up at night." I smirked.

"On three!" Jasper called out. "One." Emmett and Bella placed their elbows on the rock. "Two." Their hands latched onto each other. "Three." And Bella won, breaking the rock in the process.

"Told you," I smirked at Dom and he grumbled as he moved to whine to Rosalie. Emmett approached with a pout and I held my arms out and he instantly wrapped himself around me and nuzzled his head in my neck. "I told you not to do it."

"I had her." He whined.

"And then you didn't." I pointed out. "It's okay Em. One loss isn't going to kill you."

"It feels like it will." He pulled back with a frown.

"You'll survive." I grinned up at him. "Besides, she's the strongest for now but eventually she won't be a newborn anymore and you'll be back on top."

"You're right." He smiled.

"Always am." I reminded him.

⋅˚₊‧ ☾ ‧₊˚ ⋅ ♡‧₊˚

It was a few days later when things started to spiral. Our small little moment of peace didn't last long enough. Things started happening in a sort of domino effect. The first was the Volturi sending Bella and Edward a gift, a belated wedding present. The necklace was exquisite and true to their style, flashy and fancy. The couple put it on a shelf in their closet for safekeeping but I knew Bella planned on never touching it again.

The next thing that worried us all was how fast Nesmee was growing. We all expected it since Eli grew overnight, but he hadn't since that first time. Whereas Nesmee seemed to be growing as the days went by. She now towered over Eli by a few inches and Carlisle said she resembled a small six-year-old now. By the time winter came and the snow fell, it was clear to us that the girl would keep growing. We tracked Eli's measurements but I felt relief each week as he stayed the same.

The differences between our two kids didn't stop there. Eli was still like a normal human child. He ate regular food, napped during the day, and slept at night. He talked but couldn't make complete sentences. Carlisle informed me that other than being only a few months old, his growth rate had plateaued. The same couldn't be said for Renesmee.

It started with little changes at first. The first was her height, then her diet. As a precaution, we kept blood on hand for Bella. We had it saved from when she was pregnant and craving it, and now we saved it for when she craved it but didn't want to hunt. Renesmee spotted it in the fridge one morning and asked to taste it and now her little body almost demanded it. She had a few sips before every meal and the sight grossed me out at first. I was relieved when Eli never asked for some.

Once her diet changed, her speech did too. She was an intelligent child, no doubt that trait being from Edward. She quickly picked up on everything we all said around her, forcing us to be careful with what we said. (Especially Emmett whose favorite word seemed to be fuck.) Carlisle and Esme taught her how to read and between the two of them, they worked out a homeschooling schedule to make sure Nesmee is always learning something new.

I couldn't say I envied Bella or Edward. I knew they loved and hated how quickly their daughter was growing but I cherished the moments I had with Eli. He was still very much like a baby and I found myself hoping he'd stay that way just for a little bit longer. Emmett and Jasper spent most of the day with our boy, playing with him and keeping him entertained. But it was Alice who was the biggest help. She found a way to sneakily help Eli advance his gift. It usually involved me getting a paper cut or Seth and Leah tossing each other around, but he seemed to light up every time he was able to heal someone.

Alice had her suspicions that he could heal someone from a much larger wound but nobody was willing to through that amount of pain to watch him try. Using his gift exhausted and at such a young age, it wasn't surprising. We learned to time his practices with his nap times and the routine became something he quickly adapted to.

The last thing that shook our peace occurred one afternoon as Bella and I had some quality time with our kids. It was a family moment that was disturbed by someone who had a grudge against us. Someone who was about to betray our family.

⋅˚₊‧ ☾ ‧₊˚ ⋅ ♡‧₊˚

"It's nice that we get to have moments like this." I smiled as I watched Eli's bundled body roll around in the snow with Seth's wolf form. Nesmee stood not too far from the building a small snowman as Jacob lay beside her. I kept minimal space between Bella and me as I stood next to her. "In our crazy world, this is rare." I shoved my hands in my pockets as a gust of cold air hit me.

"Wish Edward and Emmett were here to see them." She commented with a smile of her own.

"They should be back from hunting anytime now. They didn't go too far this time." I reminded her. "Besides we needed a little sister time. We haven't had that since your wedding."

"The one you skipped out on?" She snorted.

"No! I was there. I just left right after you did. I had things to do." I laughed.

"Do you miss being there? In Italy." We walked a couple of steps closer to our kids and the two wolves sent a nod before turning back to the kids.

"It wasn't as bad as you think." I shook my head. "They were nice to me. I would even go as far as saying we all became friends."

"You do know they tried to kill me, right?" She turned to face me. "And Edward too."

"Oh, please." I rolled my eyes with a playful smile sent her way. "If they wanted you dead, you'd be six feet under right now."

"Edward would save me." She commented smugly.

"Barely." I laughed. "The boy would play the martyr and sacrifice himself and then he'd be dead and stupid when they just ended up killing you too." She laughed but didn't bother denying it. We both knew it was the truth.

"Mama look!" I looked towards Eli and laughed as he picked up snow and threw it at Seth. It landed on his nose and he snorted as he shook it off before flicking some towards my baby with his paw. Eli erupted into a fit of giggles and I left Bella alone as I went to join in on his fun.

"Like this bub." I squatted down and scooped snow into my glove-covered hand. I showed him how to pack it into a ball and he smiled widely at me as he threw it at Seth. The wolf took the hit and whimpered dramatically before collapsing to the ground. Eli giggled and ran to throw his small body on top of the wolf. I stood back up and smiled contentedly, listening to the sound of laughter fill the area around me. I saw Nesmee run past me, no doubt enjoying herself as she giggled.

"Edward thinks we'll find answers in Brazil," Bella spoke as she came to a halt beside me. "There are tribes there that might know something."

"Well," I sighed heavily as we both watched Nesmee leap into the air to catch another snowflake. "Let's hope they do."

"Who's that?" We both turned to look where Nesmee was pointing. Bella and the wolves obviously saw something but I couldn't see that far away. I scooted closer to Eli as Seth positioned himself in front of us, his body tense.

"I think that's our cousin from Denali," Bella answered her.

"Which one?" I asked. Eli continued to play at my feet, not caring about what was happening around him.

"Irina!" Jacob growled as Bella sped off. None of us chose to follow her.

"Let's start heading back." I picked up Eli and he wrapped himself around me as Nesmee climbed onto Jacob's back. Jacob walked behind me while Seth lead the way. I couldn't assume we were in any danger, the blonde female was family to the Cullens. But the wolves seemed tense and that was enough to make me anxious.

Bella caught up to us a minute later. "She dove into the water before I could get to her."

"What was she doing here?" I asked her as we neared the house.

"I don't know." I didn't think she did but I asked anyway. As we made it to the deck, Emmett and Edward were waiting for us.

"What happened?" Edward asked instantly. "Irina?" He questioned, his eyebrows furrowing. Jacob's wolfy head nodded at his question.

"She's gone now but she was here," Bella informed him. I set Eli down and he was latching himself onto Emmett a second later.

"Let's find out why." The two wolves chose to stay outside as the four of us ventured inside.

Carlisle set the phone down, glancing around at us as he sighed. "Tanya convinced Irina to come to reconcile with us."

"It looks like she changed her mind," Edward mumbled.

"Seeing Jacob and Seth must've been too much for her. She still needs some time."

"I wish I could've just spoken with her." Bella piped in. Emmett and I stood off to the side, neither one of us knowing how to insert ourselves into the situation. As far as I knew, Irina had no ill intentions toward me. I knew she resented Bella but further than that, I was clueless.

"She's family. She'll come around." Carlisle assured her.

Unfortunately, he was wrong.