Page 99

A week or so had passed since the coven went ice skating together for the first time, and Bree had had a lot of time to think about something that she really wanted to do, but had previously been to scared to bring up. Steeling her resolve, she approached her mate late at night in their bedroom.

Speaking incredibly quietly so that only Pearl would be able to hear what she was saying, Bree asked, but more like demanded, "Please help me find a way to call Carlisle and Esme mum and dad."

Pearl blinked in surprise and stared silently at her imprint for a moment.

When what she had said fully registered in her brain, Pearl speedily picked Bree up and carried her bridal style out of the house, far away from their vampire family.

Once she was certain that they were out of earshot, Pearl spoke, "Sorry for the sudden lift, I just figured that you wanted this conversation to be more private. "

Bree nodded, and smiled thankfully. "Yes I did. Thanks Pearl."

"No problem." Pearl responded happily, then she turned her tone into a more serious one. "So, what's this about calling them mum and dad?" She asked.

Bree nervously replied. "I really want to start calling them mum and dad, but, I'm not sure how to ask if it's okay or not."

"I'm sure they wouldn't mind Bree. They did technically adopt you after all." Pearl said reassuringly.

"I know that, it's just... no one else calls them that. At least not on the regular. And technically we were all adopted by them." Bree mentions downheartedly.

"Well, not all of us. I'm still Sue's kid, I'm just missing. But I do get what you mean." Pearl replied softly.

"If we were all human and this was a 'normal' situation, I'd already be calling them mum and dad.

But, this isn't normal. We're vampires for crying out loud!

I'm going to live eternally at 15 years old and I've never had parents before!

Carlisle and Esme are the only parents I've ever known, and it feels right for me to refer to them as mum and dad, but, I don't want to screw anything up by overstepping.

" Bree rushes out worriedly, slightly afraid of Pearl's reaction, but she just needed to get it out in the open.

"Woah, Bree. Calm down, and take a breath.

Okay?" Pearl spoke softly as she wrapped Bree in a comforting hug.

Once Bree had calmed down a little, Pearl continued talking, "I very much doubt that you would be overstepping by asking something like that.

And you're not going to screw anything up by giving them the titles that you think they deserve. "

Bree nodded her head against Pearl's chest and pulled away slightly to face her. "How did you do it?" She enquired.

Pearl tilted her head slightly, showcasing her confusion at the question.

Bree clarified. "How did you go about calling them mum and dad?"

Pearl sighed, then smiled at her imprint.

"Our situations aren't entirely the same.

My biological dad is dead, yes, but he still raised me.

And Sue definitely played a part in my childhood, I just can't see her the same way anymore, not after everything that happened.

Much less give her the title of 'mum'. Carlisle and Esme stepped up for me, in ways that my parents no longer could.

So I do see them as my parents now. But I don't call them mum and dad on a regular basis.

It's still kinda weird. I just call them that when it feels right.

.. I don't really know how to explain it. " She muttered at the end.

"At the mall and the ice rink, you said it then." Bree stated curiously.

"At the mall, with everything Carlisle did, he felt like my father in that moment.

That was when I realised what he meant to me.

So when I called him 'dad', I meant it. And in the ice rink with Esme, that one slipped out naturally.

I didn't even think about, I just said it.

" A warm smile spread onto the hybrid's face.

"I still mostly call them Carlisle and Esme, but if anyone was to ask, I wouldn't hesitate to claim them as my parents. "

"You call them that when it feels right." Bree stated in understanding. Pearl nodded her head. "I want to be able to do that. I see them as my parents Pearl. I don't know or remember any others. Just Carlisle and Esme. I want to call them mum and dad, permanently. But, how do I do that?"

"If you can't just say it to them outright, you could ask if it's okay for you to call them that. But I guarantee you that it will be. You should talk to them." Pearl gently suggested.

"I can't do it alone. I've tried. I just mess up, and end up going silent. I can't get out what I want to say." Bree mumbled sadly, and looked down at her feet.

Pearl hummed, then quietly asked. "Would you like me to help you? I could be there when you talk to them if you want?"

"Would you?" Bree asked, hope in her voice.

"Of course." Pearl smiled widely at her imprint, reassuring her.

"Thanks." Bree whispered in Pearl's ear.

Pearl and Bree spent the entire night out in the forest, discussing ways for Bree to bring up the topic without freezing up.

When they finally decided on a game plan, Pearl headed back to the house to sort out the first bit.

Bree would come back home in an hour, so that Pearl would have plenty of time to take the necessary actions.

Speeding into the house, Pearl met up with the majority of the coven in the living room.

Carlisle was at the hospital, and Esme had left to pick him up with the car, as she had dropped him off the previous day.

Edward, Bella and Renesmee were in their cabin not to far away from the main house, so they weren't here right now.

This left Alice, Jasper, Rosalie and Emmet in the living room when Pearl arrived.

As soon as Alice saw Pearl, she gave the hybrid a knowing smile. So Pearl knew immediately that Alice had gotten a vision.

She gave Alice a subtle nod, then gained the groups attention.

"Okay, me and Bree are gonna borrow Carlisle and Esme when they get back in order to have a private chat with them about something important.

If I catch anyone eavesdropping on the conversation, I'm going to assume that you've volunteered to become my new chew toy.

" Pearl spoke in a deadly calm voice while smiling at them threateningly.

"Is that clear?" She asked in a deceptively sweet tone.

The group gulped and muttered out in unison. "Crystal."

"Good." Pearl happily replied, walking away from her vampire siblings, she headed upstairs to her room.

With her back turned away from her brothers and sisters, she was unable to see the sly smirk that had spread onto Emmet's face. Alongside the looks of disapproval that Jasper, Alice and Rosalie were giving him.

When Esme and Carlisle pulled up to the house in their car, Bree entered the house through her and Pearl's bedroom window. They wanted to allow the matriarch and patriarch to settle, before asking to speak with them in private.

Once the coven leaders had resided inside of Carlisle's office for a while, Pearl politely knocked on their door and entered the room once she was given the okay.

"What can I do for you Pearl?" Carlisle asked inquisitively.

"I was hoping that the two of you could come hunting with me and Bree? We'd like to talk to you, if that's okay?" Pearl requested politely.

Seeing the serious look in Pearl's eyes, the two vampires immediately agreed, and left to get changed into something more appropriate for hunting.

As Pearl made her way through the house to get to the front door where a nervous Bree was waiting, she passed by Emmet and gave him a warning glare.

She knew that the big guy could end up seeing her threat from earlier as a challenge, so Pearl wanted to make sure that he knew that she had meant what she had said.

Once the group of four met up at the front door, they took off running into the forest.

Arriving at the clearing which has been the location of many different events, Bree started talking. She was quite nervous, so she ended up speaking much quieter that usual. "Thanks for coming." She mumbles.

"Of course dear." Esme replies in her reassuring motherly tone.

"What did you want to talk to us about?" Carlisle inquires curiously.

Bree stammers slightly, then murmurs, "I wanted to ask if... if..." She freezes and gets choked up, unable to continue talking. Bree sent Pearl a pleading look to take over.

Pearl stepped forwards from beside Bree and took ahold of her imprints hand, while Esme and Carlisle gave each other a concerned look.

"Bree wants to ask you both something that is really important to her, but she is worried about how you may react." Pearl briefly explains.

Both Carlisle and Esme give Bree comforting looks. Esme was the first to speak up. "It's alright dear, just take your time." She reassures her. Carlisle nods in agreement with his wife and said, "We're not going anywhere."

Bree glances at Pearl, searching for her support and she spotted it right away. Pearl gave Bree's hand a gentle squeeze as she gave her imprint a warm supportive smile.

Bree took a deep breath in then quickly rushed out her question.

"Would you be okay with me calling you mum and dad from now on?

" As soon as she finished speaking, Bree's eyes glued themselves to the floor.

She couldn't bring herself to look at the vampires she desperately wanted to call her parents, in fear of seeing the rejection on their faces.

Her worries were unfounded though, since upon hearing Bree's request, Esme began to tear up and instantly brought Bree into a motherly embrace. Carlisle quickly joined in and wrapped his arms around the two. Pearl took a step back to allow them to have their moment.

Internally smirking, Pearl thought, 'I knew that they'd be okay with it.'

"We would be delighted if you want to call us that." Carlisle said confidently. Esme nodded her head in agreement, still holding onto Bree tightly alongside her husband.

Bree clung onto Carlisle and Esme while she cried dry tears in overwhelming relief and happiness. Between her emotional sobs, Bree quietly said, "Thanks dad. Thanks mum."

The group of three's embrace got even tighter as a result of Bree's words.

Pearl watched on proudly from the sidelines, but the sound of a twig breaking a little way away from them caught her attention.

When the group of three finally pulled away from each other, Pearl made a quick suggestion to them. "How about the three of you go hunting together? Start the official parent daughter bonding and all that." She smirked slightly.

Bree smiled happily but looked slightly confused, so she asked, "Okay. Are you not coming?"

Pearl gave them all a cryptic smile and replied, "Oh, I've just been given a new chew toy, and I really want to go and rip it to pieces!"

Carlisle, Esme and Bree each gave Pearl a look of confusion, before Pearl took off running into the trees, not relaying anything else. The group's confusion was quickly replaced with amusement, as the sound of Emmet's unmistakable scream reached their ears.

Carlisle started to chuckle and inferred, "He must've followed us." He said.

Esme and Bree were unable to add anything as Emmet's panicked shouts filled the air.

"I'M SORRY! MERCY! GIVE ME MERCY!"

Pearl's voice then cut through the are like a knife. "HOW IS IT THAT YOU'VE ONLY GOT TWO brAINCELLS, AND BOTH OF THEM ARE FIGHTING FOR THIRD PLACE?!"

"I DIDN'T THINK YOU'D NOTICE!" Emmet screeched.

"I FUCKING WARNED YOU!" The hybrid yelled angrily.

Emmet let out a fearful scream as he ran further and further away from the clearing. The sound of his screams getting quieter to the group as he went.

"GET BACK HERE!" Pearl screamed. Her yells then morphed into a loud howl, and all traces of the hybrid disappeared from the vampires ears.

"Oh dear." Esme eventually mumbled.

"Mum, shouldn't you go and stop them?" Bree quietly asked the matriarch.

Esme beamed at her and replied while winking, "I'm sure they can handle it."

Carlisle gave Esme a playful smile and turned to Bree and asked, "How would you feel about becoming Bree Cullen?"