Let’s Re-Read Breaking Dawn Together! Chapter 11

Welcome to the BreakingDawnMovie.org’s Community Re-read!

While we impatiently wait for Breaking Dawn Part 1 to be released, we continue with our highly-popular, Community Re-Read!

Every Tuesday & Friday, I’ll post a breakdown for each chapter in the book, counting down the days until the official release of the film on November 18th. Let’s get started, dig out your copy of Breaking Dawn, read the chapters together with us, and discuss anything you may find of interest that you might have missed the first or twentieth time around. Let’s continue our journey into FOREVER.

Chapter 11:

The Two ThingsAt The Very Top Of My Things-I-Never-Want-To-Do-List

“There was fear in the pack, not so much for self but for the whole. We couldn’t imagine that we would all make it out alive tonight. Which brothers would we lose? Which minds would leave us forever? Which grieving families would we be consoling in the morning?”

When we last left the pack, they were all in the woods and Sam had laid down the law to Jacob Black and Jake buckled under the command of pack leader Sam Uley.

Pg. 206-211  Sam started moving the others into formation while I was still on the ground. I could feel the drive, the need, to get on my feet and lead them. Jake? Quil nudged me. How do you want to roll? I just shook my head. I couldn’t concentrate-the compulsion to follow orders felt like puppet strings hooked into all of my muscles. There was a good reason for the Alpha’s authority. Even as a pack as strong as ours wasn’t much of a force without a leader. So what if Sam was wrong now? There was nothing anyone could do. No one could dispute his decision. Except. And there it was-a thought. I’d never wanted to have. But now, with all my legs tied up in strings, I recognized with relief-more than relief, with a fierce joy. No one could dispute the Alpha’s decision-except for me. I hadn’t earned anything. But there were things that had been born in me, things that I’d left unclaimed. I’d never wanted to lead the pack. I didn’t want to do it now. Sam was better at that than I would ever be. But he was wrong tonight. And I had not been born to kneel to him. The bonds fell off my body the second that I embraced my birthright. I could feel it gathering in me, both a freedom and also a strange, hollow power. Hollow because an Alpha’s power came from the pack, and I had no pack now. But I was straight and strong as I walked to where Sam stood, planning with Paul and Jared. He turned at the sound of my advance, and his black eyes narrowed. No. I told him again. He heard it right away, heard the choice that I’d mad ein the sound of the Alpha voice in my thoughts. He jumped back a half step witha shocked yelp. Jacob? What have you done? I won’t follow you, Sam. Not for something so wrong. He stared at me, stunned. You would…you would choose your enemies over your family? They aren’t our enemies.They never have been. This isn’t about them, he snarled at me. This is about Bella. She has never been the one for you, she had never chosen you, but you continue to destroy your life for her! Maybe you’re right. But you’re going to destroy the pack over her, Sam. We have to protect our families! I know what you’ve decided, Sam. But you don’t decide for me, not anymore. Jacob-you can’t turn your back on the tribe. I heard the double echo of his Alpha command, but it was weightless this time. It no longer applied to me. He clenched his jaw, trying to force me to respond to his words. I stared into his furious eyes. Ephraim Black’s son was not born to follow Levi Uley’s.  *BAM!! That’s right you tell it like it is Jake! I swear this better be in the movie.     Is this it, then Jacob Black? Even if you defeat me, the pack will never follow you!  Defeat you? I’m not going to fight you, Sam. Then what’s your plan? I’m not stepping aside so that you can protect the vampire spawn at the tribe’s expense. I’m not telling you to step aside. If you order them to follow you- I’lln ever take anyone’s will away from them. There cannot be more than one Alpha. The pack has chosen me. Will you rip us apart tonight? Will you turn on your brothers? Or will you end this insanity and join us again? There is only one Alpha for this pack. I’m not contesting that. I’m just choosing to go my own way. Do you belong to a coven now, Jacob? I flinched. I don’t know, Sam. But I do know this- I will stand between you and the Cullens. I won’t watch while the pack kills innocent people. The pack is better than that.

Pg. 212-214  I turned my back on him, and a chorus of howls tore into the air around me. Digging my nails into the earth, I raced away from the uproar I’d caused. The howling faded with the distance, and I took comfort as the sound continued to rip apart the quiet night.They weren’t after me yet. I had to warn the Cullens before the pack could get it together and stop me. If the Cullens were prepared, it might give Sam a reason to rethink this before it was too late. I sprinted toward the white house I still hated, leaving my home behind me.  The sound I’d been fearing interrupted my dazed thoughts-it was the soft impact of big paws against the ground, chasing after me. I threw myself forward rocketing through the black forest. I  just had to get close enough so that Edward could hear the warning in my head. And then I caught the mood of the thoughts behind me. Not anger, but enthusiasm. Not chasing…but following. Wait up. My legs aren’t as long as yours. Seth! What do you think you’re DOING? GO HOME! I am not joking, Seth! This is no place for you. Get out of here.I’ve got your back, Jacob. I think you’re right. And I’m not going to stand behind Sam when-. Oh yes you are the hell going to stand behind Sam! Get your furry butt back to La Push and do what Sam tells you to do. No. Go, Seth! Is that an order, Jacob? His question brought me up short. I’m not ordering anyone to do anything. I’m just telling you what you already know. He plopped down on his haunches beside me. I’ll tell you what I know-I know that it’s awful quiet. Haven’t you noticed? They haven’t phased back, Seth said. The pack would be on red alert now. They would be using the mind link to see all sides clearly. But I couldn’t hear what they were thinking. I could only hear Seth. No one else. Looks to me like separate packs aren’t linked. Huh. Wow. It’s really quiet. Sort of eerie. But also kinda nice, don’t you think? Shut up Seth. Yes, sir. Stop that! There are not two packs. There is THE pack, and then there is me. That’s all. So you can go home now. If there aren’t two packs, then why can we hear each other and not the rest? I think when you turned your back on Sam, that was a pretty significant move. A change. And when I followed you away, I think that was significant, too. You’ve got a point. But what can change can change right back. He got up and started trotting toward the east. No time to argue about it now. We should be moving right along before Sam… He was right about that part.

Pg. 215-219 *Little old Seth Clearwater is truly coming into his own. He has successfully left Sam’s pack to join Jacob and unknowingly has formed something stronger with Jacob. Jake finally concedes and he and Seth make their way to the Cullen home to warn them of their impending doom.   Maybe we should be thinking something like, ‘We come in peace.’ Go for it. Edward? Edward, you there? Okay, now I feel kinda stupid. You sound stupid, too. Think he can hear us? We were less than a mile now. I think so. Hey, Edward. If you can hear me-circle the wagons, bloodsucker. You’ve got a problem. We’ve got a problem. Seth corrected. Then we broke through the trees into the big lawn. Edward stood on the porch between Emmett and Jasper. “Jacob? Seth? What’s going on.”  To answer Edward’s question, I let my mind run over the confrontation with Sam, moving through it backward. Seth thought with me filling in the gaps, showing the scene from another angle. We stopped when we got to the part about the ‘abomination’, because Edward hissed furiously and leaped off the porch. “They want to kill Bella?” he snarled flatly. Emmett and Jasper, not having heard the first part of the conversation, took his inflectionless question for a statement. They were right next to him in a flash, teeth exposed as they moved in on us. Hey, now. Seth thought, backing away. “Em, Jazz-not them! The others. The pack is coming.” “What’s their problem?” Emmett demanded. “Same one as mine,” Edward hissed. “But they have their own plan to handle it. Get the others. Call Carlisle! He and Esme have to get back here now.” I whined uneasily. They were separated. “They aren’t far.”  I’m going to take a look. Seth said. Run the western perimeter. “Will you be in danger, Seth?”  Edward asked.  Seth and I exchanged a glance. Don’t think so, we thought together. And then I added, but maybe I should go. Just in case…They’ll be less likely to challenge me, Seth pointed out. I’m just a kid to them. You’re just a kid to me, kid.  I’m outta here. You need to coordinate with the Cullens. He wheeled and darted into the darkness. Edward and I stood facing each other inthe dark meadow. Alice appeared on the porch and then, after staring at me with anxious eyes for a long moment, she flitted to Jasper’s side. “This isn’t the first time I’ve owed you my gratitude, Jacob.” Edward whispered. “I would have never asked for this from you.”   *Awwww Edward…very nice.    I sighed heavily. Well this isn’t the first time that I didn’t do it for you. “Right,”  he murmured. “Jacob,would you mind switching forms?” Alice asked. “I want to know what’s going on.” “He needs to stay linked to Seth.” “Well then would you be so kind to tell me what’s happening?” He explained in clipped, emotionless sentences. “The pack thinks Bella’s become a problem. They foresee potential danger from the…from what she’s carrying. They feel it’s their duty to remove that danger.”  Alice hissed, leaning away from me. Nobody out there,S eth reported. All’s quiet on the western front. They may go around. I’ll make a loop. “Carlisle and Esme are on their way,” Emmett said. “Twenty minutes, tops.” “We should take up a defensive position,” Jasper said. Edward nodded. “Let’s get inside.” I’ll run perimeter with Seth. If I get too far for you to hear my head, listen for my howl. They backed into the house, eyes flickering everywhere.

Pg. 220-223 *This chapter ends with Seth and Jacob running all over the place listening for any kind of movement from their former pack, but they hear nothing at all. However we gain some interesting news about Bella’s condition.   Yep. Carlisle and Esme. Boy, were they surprised to see me! They’re probably inside by now. Carlisle said thanks. He’s a good guy. Yeah. That’s one of the reasons why we’re right about this. Hope so. Why are you so down, Jake? I’ll bet Sam won’t bring the pack tonight. He’s not going to launch a suicide mission. I sighed. It didn’t seem to matter, either way.  Oh.This isn’t about Sam so much, is it? You think Bella is going to die anyway. Seth whispered. Yeah, she is.   *Seth and Jacob continue their talks. Jake plays back the not so nice meeting earlier in the day with Edward when he threatened to kill Edward and Seth didn’t take the news so well and begins to howl…loudly lol. This then triggers the vampires and Jake informs them that it was a false alarm, Seth is young and will make mistakeslike this.   “Nice to have toddlers guarding the fort,” a deeper voice grumbled. Emmett, I thought. “They’ve done us a great service tonight, Emmett,” Carlisle said. “At a great personal sacrifice.” “Yeah, I know. I’m just jealous. Wish I was out there.” “Seth doesn’t think Sam will attack now,” Edward said mechanically. “Not with us forewarned, and lacking two members of the pack.” “What does Jacob think?” Carlisle asked. “He’s not as optimistic.” No one spoke. There was a quiet dripping sound that I couldn’t place. I heard their low breathing-and I could separate Bella’s from the rest. It was harsher, labored. I could hear her heart. It seemed…too fast. “Don’t touch her! You’ll wake her up,” Rosalie whispered. Someone sighed. “Rosalie,”  Carlisle murmured. “Don’t start with me, Carlisle. We let you have your way earlier, but that’s all we’re allowing.” It seemed like Rosalie and Bella were both talking in plurals now. Like they’d formed a pack of their own. I peeked into the big, open front room, expecting to see something very familiar to the scene this afternoon. But it had changed so much that I was confused at first. The glass wall was gone-it looked like metal now. And the furniture was all dragged out of the way, with Bella curled up awkwardly on a narrow bed in the center of the open space. Not a normal bed-one with rails like in a hospital. Also like hospital were the monitors strapped to her body, the tubes stuck into her skin. She choked a little in her uneasy sleep, and both Edward and Rosalie moved in to hover over her. Rosalie smoothed her hand across Bella’s forehead. Edward’s body stiffened-his back was to me, but his expression must have been something to see, because Emmett wrenched himself between them before there was time to blink. “Not tonight, Edward. We’ve gotother things to worry about.”  Edward turned away from them, and he was the burning man again. His eyes met mine for one moment, and then I dropped back on all fours. Worse. Yes, she was worse.

*Wow, poor Bella. And I’m always team Rosalie but she is ridiculous and down-right selfish, and not to mention disrespectful to Carlisle! I wonder if Edward was going to backhand Rose before Emmett stepped in lol. What do you think of Jacob and Seth? I’m truly impressed with Jacob embracing his birthright and making such a mature choice…it took major guts.

Tags: Breaking Dawn Re-Read

Category: Breaking Dawn Book, Twilight