Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

Intensity

By Mama4Dukes

Chapter 10:

Paul’s POV

Bella and I had been invited to a gathering at the Governor’s Mansion in Austin, Texas. We had just sat through the most drawn out speech in oratory history and were now making our rounds greeting people we knew. This was, of course, all in the name of high stakes business.

“Paul, why don’t you come and join us for a cigar on the lawn? Bella, my wife would love to see you again. She’s in the sitting room with the other ladies,” the head of the transportation board in Arizona stated.

“Certainly. It will be delightful to see her again,” she responded graciously.

I joined him outside. This wasn’t a friendly session of cigar smoking on the lawn. This was a full-blown meeting of the minds with the heads of the transportation boards of Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas, plus the respective governors and a few state senators. We wouldn’t be talking about the highway system, of course. This was a race to get into the good graces of the ones who gave final approval to the funding of the projects. If everything went well, my company would be restoring the highway system for New Mexico and Texas, on top of Arizona, which I was already doing. In order for this to work, I’d need to hire a few more thousand temporary employees for a few years. This would bode well for the economy of the State of Arizona so I had the senators and governors of my home state pushing for this deal to go through for my company.

I spotted my competition approaching with the transportation board chairman for Oklahoma. Ted Baklund was doing a similar restoration in Oklahoma as I was doing in Arizona. He had a few strikes against him already, he was already roughly eight billion over budget and he had a tunnel collapse due to faulty engineering on a different highway system. He was also the scum of the earth-he had several mistresses, two illegitimate children whom he refused to claim, and he fancied himself as some sort of playboy jet-setter.

“How are you, Paul?” Baklund extended his hand out for me to shake.

“Good, good,” I said, doing the same.

“Is your wife still working?” he smirked as if it were a bad thing.

“Of course she is, she loves her job. Why would she quit?”

“What does your wife do?” the governor of Texas asked.

“She’s a nurse practitioner and board-certified midwife.”

“No kidding? My daughter is a nurse practitioner. I’ll tell you, they work just as hard as doctors, if not harder, yet they don’t garner the respect they deserve.” The governor glared pointedly at Baklund.

“Oh, no, I wasn’t saying her profession was not respectable. I was just wondering why the wife of someone of Paul’s stature would need to work.”

“Why shouldn’t she? It’s not like she runs Paul’s company. She has to keep busy somehow,” the governor of Arizona piped in.

“My wife keeps busy with her charity,” Baklund stated.

“And animal welfare is a worthy cause, I agree, but Isabella contributes to society in her own way,” one of my senator friends from Arizona piped in. His wife was an RN at the same hospital as Babs, and it was obvious he wasn’t impressed by Baklund’s little attempt to degrade Bella because she chose to have a career.

Baklund realized he shouldn’t have brought up the subject of Isabella working. It wasn’t a shameful thing that she worked; rather it was quite respectable for a woman to be working. He just couldn’t get his archaic society mores out of his high falutin’ ass. It didn’t matter; he was digging himself into a deeper grave, which was better for me.

“Speaking of charities…” Baklund changed the subject, and faced the governor of Oklahoma. “I heard your wife is raising funds for her cause.”

“Ah, yes, the Native American College Fund-a very worthy cause. Can I count on you gentlemen to contribute?”

Everyone started contributing to the cause. Donations ranged from a hundred thousand to a million from Baklund’s company. I actually planned on supporting this one in a huge way. It was extremely close to my heart since there were so many tribal kids who couldn’t go to college due to lack of funds. I was one of those kids. Had I not had the ability to phase into a wolf, I would never have been able to make it through my first year of college.

“Throw in a million from Lahote Engineering Design and Construction, as well as a million from Paul and Isabella Lahote’s personal funds.” Baklund’s jaw dropped at hearing the amount. Too late now, fucker. I win this one. Let me just make you squirm a bit more, shithead. “Lahote Engineering Design and Construction will also contribute a dollar for dollar corporate match up to two million dollars.”

“Paul, that’s very generous of you.” The Oklahoma governor approached me to shake my hand.

“Your wife’s charity is actually very dear to my heart. I understand what it’s like to not have the funds to attend college. I, myself, struggled to pay for college, and had to work while I was attending school. By the time I graduated, I was drowning in student loans.”

“My wife was the same way. She grew up impoverished on a Cherokee reservation and had to work to put herself through college so you can see why this charity means a great deal to her.”

One of the senators from New Mexico joined in the conversation, “I had no idea your wife is Native American. I grew up on a pueblo in New Mexico. One of my goals is to eradicate poverty and illiteracy on pueblos, rancherias, and reservations, not only in New Mexico, but throughout the United States.

We got to talking about some of the issues plaguing pueblos and reservations. Unfortunately, poverty and the resulting complications that followed, like substance abuse, teen pregnancy, and illiteracy were widespread. Sure, there were some successful tribes such as Crispy’s Wa-Ya Nation or the Mohegan Tribe in Connecticut, but the majority of tribes faced a multitude of socioeconomic challenges which should have been addressed decades ago.

Eventually, the party broke up with me garnering a tee-time with the senator from New Mexico and the governors of New Mexico and Texas tomorrow morning at eight am followed by a private dinner with the wives, later in the evening. What a long weekend it was going to be; and we still had to fly back to Phoenix on the first flight Monday morning so we could get back in time for work.

I looked beside me and my imprint was sound asleep, passed out cold from tonight’s events. My wife was a trooper for sure. She hated dressing up in evening gowns and dealing with these rich folks, but she did it because it was necessary for my company. Tonight, though, she enjoyed talking to the Oklahoma governor’s wife. In fact, the two of them were having lunch together tomorrow while I golfed. I snuggled up next to her, thinking we need a vacation, and it wasn’t long before I, too, fell into a peaceful slumber.

One month later…

Jake’s POV

What the hell is going on? Four months ago, everything was going swimmingly. We had extradited Paul back to La Push for his crimes. Unfortunately, some big wig from the Bureau of Indian Affairs happened to show up on the exact same day to witness the court proceedings and declared it illegal and unjust. I, mean, for God’s sake, we had the pictures to prove Paul left marks on Tony’s neck. When Paul’s attorney questioned me, though, I did have to admit that Tony had his hands on Bella when Paul walked in, and that it could have been perceived as a threat. Honestly speaking, if someone had put their hands on Angela, I would have been on them like white on rice. The fact was, though, that Bella was disrespectful to tribal elders, which was simply unacceptable. I decided Angela and Linda should be the ones to exact punishment upon her. They had the right to do so as the Alpha’s and Beta’s imprints.

Paul and Bella weren’t the only ones in trouble, though. The majority of my pack has moved off of the reservation. In fact, Leah and Seth were the only two left and they didn’t even live on the reservation anymore. Leah has lived in Charlie Swan’s old house for years now, but Seth just purchased Jessica’s house because Embry and she decided to move so she could find a better job. To make matters worse, Quil and my traitor sister, Rachel, have moved to Arizona, too.

Sam and Emily moved their family over to the Makah Reservation, or so we thought. Come to find out, they had also moved to Arizona.

Then there were Jared and Kim. They had the nerve to have Collin and me arrested and thrown into the Forks jail over the weekend. Charlie Swan wrote up a restraining order and, at this point, we aren’t able to contact them or approach them in any way, shape, or form. By the time we were bailed out, they had moved to Arizona and so had Brady and Missy. In fact, Missy’s parents, Tom and Trina moved there as well, taking their entire family with them. Of course, Tom and Trina weren’t wolves so we had no say in the matter.

I just want to know why everyone decided to turn their backs on their heritage and move all of a sudden. It doesn’t make sense. La Push is a great place to raise kids. I plan on alpha ordering everyone back as soon as this mess with the Bureau of Indian Affairs was done with. I just don’t understand why their investigation is taking so long. We have nothing to hide.

Bella’s POV

I was driving Paul into work today. His truck was being serviced. It needed new brakes and tires-nothing major, just routine maintenance. We had a bit of time so we decided to stop for coffee at Dunkin’ Donuts, which my husband was none too pleased about, but it was conveniently located so he had to be satisfied with it. What a coffee snob!

We had just gotten our coffee through the drive-thru when I saw two familiar boys walking along the side of the road-it was Sammy and Ryan.

“Paul, today is not a holiday, is it?”

“Not that I know of, why?”

“Um, because it’s 8:30 am and we just passed Sammy and Ryan walking on the street carrying iced coffees. Doesn’t school start at 7:45 am? At least, that’s the time it started when I went to school there.”

“I’m not sure. I’ll call the high school and confirm the start time.”

Paul quickly called Arcadia High School where the boys attended and confirmed I was correct.

“Turn the car around, Bella, and pull up next to them.”

I did as he asked, Paul unrolled the window and called out, “Do you boys need a lift?”

The two eggheads didn’t even turn to see who was talking to them. Sammy simply replied, “Sorry, we can’t accept rides from strangers.”

At least they were paying attention to their personal safety lessons. I pulled to a stop next to them and Paul got out and right into their faces. “You two better have a fucking stellar explanation as to why you’re not in school!”

Both boys had looks of horror mingled with fear on their faces. They each started spouting out excuses. The best one being from Ryan, “The principal sent us out for iced coffee because he didn’t have time to go and get one himself.”

“Bullshit! Get in the car! Both of you! Now!” Paul roared.

I’d never seen two boys move quicker. I started driving to the high school while Paul lectured them. “Do you two realize the sacrifice your parents made by moving here? They wanted you both to get good educations so you can go to college and make something of yourselves. Your parents work hard, and in the case of your fathers, they sometimes put in twelve hours in one day just so you two can have better lives! And this is how you repay them? Now what do you two have to say for yourselves? Answer me!”

Both boys looked down at their feet. I pulled into the high school and parked the car. Paul wasn’t close to done yet. He marched both petrified kids straight into the principal’s office. Of course, he recognized me. “Bella Swan?”

“Bella Lahote now. How are you, Mr. Trainor?”

“Good, what brings you here today?”

“Um, these are my nephews, Sammy and Ryan. My husband and I just caught them walking by Dunkin’ Donuts. Ryan here claims that you asked him to pick up an iced coffee for him since you didn’t have time to get one yourself.”

“Interesting. Have a seat, boys. Is this your husband, Bella?”

“Oh, how rude of me. Yes. Mr. Trainor, I’d like to introduce you to my husband, Paul Lahote.”

Mr. Trainor did a double take, Paul was well known around Phoenix. He stood up to shake his hand and stared at him with a look of awe, then got down to business.

“Well, boys, where’s my iced coffee?” Mr. Trainor asked them.

“Um, we got thirsty and drank it,” Sammy replied.

“Uh-huh, sure. Now, are you two going to sit here and lie to my face as to why you were out walking around when you should have been in class, or are you going to start telling the truth now?”

Neither boy had an answer.

“Okay, so we’re going to do it the hard way, then.” Mr. Trainor checked through their attendance records. “Four unexcused absences each and we’re not even halfway through with the first quarter. Interesting.”

He put a call into Emily and Kim. Unfortunately, for the boys, Sam and Jared showed up instead. They looked surprised to see us there. We explained how we found the boys walking along the street. They became furious. In fact, I was worried that Sam was going to phase in the office. I caught a glimpse of Paul whispering something to Sam, most likely an alpha order to keep it together.

The boys were sent out of the office for a few minutes. Mr. Trainor spoke to Sam and Jared, “Normally, I’d suspend the boys for cutting school, but in this case, I think it’s what they want. I’d like to give them a few Saturday detentions, but I’m afraid it would just be a slap on the wrist. I’m open to suggestions on how you want to handle this situation.”

Sam and Jared both looked perplexed, but Paul spoke up, “I noticed you have a fundraising drive going for new flooring in your school gymnasium.”

“Yes, but we still have quite a long way until we reach our goal.”

“Not anymore. Beginning this Saturday, I’ll come in with the two boys and their fathers, and we’ll be supervising them as they install new flooring for your gym. Lahote Engineering Design and Construction will write off the cost of all the supplies and labor. Would that be amenable to you?”

“Mr. Lahote, that’s very generous of you. Are you sure you want to do this for our school?”

“It’s no problem. My wife has fond memories of this school, and I’d rather my nephews learned the value of hard work. If you show us the gym, we’ll be able to take measurements and order the supplies. Sam, do you have a tape measure in your truck?”

“I do.”

“That’s wonderful. I also have the original blueprints if it would help.”

“Actually, it would.”

“Mr. Uley, Mr. Cameron, do you feel the punishment is appropriate or too harsh?”

“I think it’s perfect. It’s high time those two learned a lesson. Now, are there any other kids who need to be taught the same lesson? We can supervise them as well. We’d be able to get the work done much quicker with more hands,” Sam replied. He was phenomenal at controlling a bunch of errant teenagers, and I had no doubt he’d work his magic on the delinquent teens. After all, he was the alpha during the pack’s most tempestuous years when the reservation was in danger from vampires.

“Oh, I have quite a few!” Mr. Trainor grinned and ran through his list of delinquents.

“Eight am on Saturday, then. Tell the kids to pack a lunch,” Paul said. My wife and I actually need to get to work. Shall I send the boys in so you can tell them?”

“Oh, please do,” he chuckled while rubbing his palms together. “Thank you again, Mr. Lahote, Bella.”

“Ryan, Sammy, it’s judgment time. The principal wants to see you both,” my husband told them in a deadly voice. Alright, now that’s going too far. He didn’t have to sound all sinister and menacing. The boys are scared enough as it is.

I gave each boy a hug and told them to behave before I sent them inside to face the wrath of Mr. Trainor and their fathers.

Paul and I headed to my car so I could drive him to work.

“Why the hell did you hug them after I scared the shit out of them, Bells?”

“Don’t you think you were a little harsh on the boys?” I countered.

“Bella, you heard Mr. Trainor, this is the fourth time they’ve cut school and it’s only the beginning of October. They need to learn the value of a good education. If we don’t teach them now, they won’t even get out of the ninth grade.”

“I suppose you’re right.”

“Bella, you were able to hold down a part time job while you were still in high school and still get good grades. Sammy and Ryan don’t have part time jobs. All they have to do is go to school and do their work. They can’t even manage that. And what the hell is it with these kids drinking coffee in high school nowadays? I was lucky if I had anything other than milk and water, and my mom was an alcoholic.”

“Oh, I know. Caffeine addiction is a huge problem with kids nowadays. I see it all the time in my practice. Parents are doling out iced coffee to kids in elementary school as if it were chocolate milk.”

We arrived at Paul’s work. I gave him a kiss and told him I’d be by to pick him up at a quarter past six, and then rushed off to work. Emily was already there when I arrived. I had never seen her looking so furious in my life.

“Does that little brat even realize how hard his dad and I work to make ends meet? I babied him too much, Bella,” she complained. “I think the punishment they’re getting is just. Sometimes I wonder if I should have separated Ryan and Sammy like Quil and Rachel did with Number Six. They used to get into so much trouble together in La Push.”

Number Six was attending a private high school. Quil and Rachel purposely moved to a different town solely based on school choice. Scottsdale had a good school district, but they were so freaked out after Number Six was offered drugs at his previous school that they threw him into a private high school.

Kim walked into the office for her postpartum check-up then. Emily set her up in a room and the three of us talked while I examined an angry Kim.

“You need to calm down, your blood pressure is a little elevated.”

“I would, but I’m so mad. The little brat just pissed me off to no end! Ugh! I’m grounding him as soon as he gets home.”

I changed the subject to get to business. “Kim, we need to discuss birth control. What do you want to do?”

“Oh, I want birth control. I don’t care what it is. Just give me something. Jared is completely against it. He’d have twenty kids if he could, but you know, as well as I do that he’s being unreasonable.”

“Okay, well, you have several choices. Emily and I both take The Pill. There’s also the IUD, it’s a T-shaped device which lasts for ten years. Another choice is Depo-Provera, better known as the shot.”

“Um, I’ll do The Pill. I did some research on it and it’s the most cost effective. I just take it when I take my multi-vitamin every night, right?”

“Yes, and it is 99.9 percent effective if you can remember to take it.”

“You’ll have to use a back-up method the first month. I can give you some condoms.”

“Sure, the problem is convincing Jared to use them. I just won’t have sex with him this month. I’d rather deal with his pouting than deal with him whining about condoms. I’ll just lie to him and tell him that you said no sex because I still need to heal.”

“Okay, I’ll back you up.” I chuckled. “You’re all set. I just need to see you in six months for a quick follow up. Do you have any questions?”

“Yes,” she said. “Bella, would you give me some sort of a diet plan. I know I’m about forty pounds overweight and I want to do something about it.”

“I’m glad you brought it up. I was hoping you would. Now is a great time to lose weight since you’re burning extra calories with breastfeeding. We have a brochure from the American Heart Association with a sensible diet plan included in it. I’d suggest following it and walking everyday for the time being. You can push Riley in his stroller while you walk.”

“Any other questions or comments, Kim?”

“Yes, I just want to say that you’re so much better than the doctors at the tribal clinic. I don’t think birth control was ever discussed with me at any appointments.”

“You’re kidding me?”

“Nope.” Kim abruptly gave me a big hug. “Thank you so much for caring.”

“Anytime, you’re worth it,” I said, recalling the time Jasper told me those words in a hotel room in Phoenix. His one line, ‘you’re worth it,’ has been my driving force whenever I felt upset or not so much myself. That one line was powerful. Heck, it even works when I want to have an extra scoop of ice cream. I always say, ‘you’re worth it’ to myself as an excuse, and then I go to the gym the next day and do an extra twenty minutes on the elliptical to burn off the extra calories.

I gave Kim the brochure and her prescription. She thanked me again and went on her way.

Emily and I went back to work for the rest of the day. The two of us worked well together. When the practice expanded, Emily became my personal medical assistant. I was happy because Emily was conscientious, caring, and efficient. My last medical assistant was sloppy and it annoyed me immensely. Dr. Blanchard had to work with her one day in August and he fired her, and hired Emily a month early, to her delight.

At six pm, I left work to pick Paul up. We went to get his truck, and then decided to go out for dinner. We ended up eating at Taco Bell because we were so exhausted from the day’s events. I couldn’t wait for the weekend to arrive so I could sleep in.

Sam’s POV

I was irate at my son who was sitting beside me in the passenger seat of my truck whining as if it were my fault that he cut school.

“Dad! This isn’t fucking fair. Why the hell do I have to waste my Saturday rebuilding the gym?”

“First of all, watch your mouth when you talk to me. I’m still your father. Second, Ryan and you chose to cut school so you’ll take your punishment like men!”

“I hate school! And I hate you!”

“You can hate me all you want, boy, but while you’re living in my house, you’re going to be a good son, go to school, and work hard. I won’t have you screwing around and not going to school.”

“It wasn’t my idea to move here! I was happy on the reservation. The only friend I have here is Ryan!”

“Were you really? I can remember you complaining about us not having enough money. I also remember Ryan, Number Six, and you running home scared out of your wits because some jerks tried to push drugs on the three of you. Do you really want to go back to that? Do you want your baby sister to be exposed to bullies and drugs?”

“N… n… no. I just hate the idea of wasting my Saturdays.”

“Listen to me, son. I know it’s a hard lesson to swallow, but you brought this onto yourself. You did the crime so you pay the price. Trust me, when I say that this is a hell of a lot easier than having to go to jail. It’s what happens to kids who slack off, they usually end up in jail. Then, you’re surrounded by guys like the ones who tried to give you drugs at the tribal school. Do you know why your mother and I moved out here?”

“So you could make more money?”

“No, so we could give your sister and you better lives. Your mother and I didn’t have a chance to go to college. Look at how Uncle Paul and Aunty Bella live compared to us. They have better lives because they worked their butts off to get through college and they still work hard everyday. I want your sister and you to have good lives, I don’t want you to have to work as hard as your mother and I do to make ends meet. Sure, life is a little easier now, but it’s only because Uncle Paul gave us an opportunity so we could provide better for you kids.”

Sammy looked away and out the window. “I’m sorry, Dad,” he whispered, a tear rolled down his cheek. I pulled my truck over on the side of the road, and turned my teenaged son’s teary-eyed face over to face mine.

“Hey, I know it isn’t easy being a teenager. Believe it or not, I was one once. I had to be in order to get to this point and I’ve made my fair share of mistakes. Just ask grandma or grandpa, they can tell you stories about how I put them through hell and back. But Sammy, part of growing up involves learning to make your own decisions. You happened to make a bad one and now you have to suffer the consequences. And I can tell you that it’s through those bad decisions that you learn the most from. No matter how angry your mother and I become with you, we still love you. We’ve always loved you and we always will.” I gave my son a hug and let him sob into my arms. He needed that. He needed to know that no matter what life threw at him, I would always be there for him.

I pulled up into the high school parking lot. Paul, Jared, and a scowling Ryan were already there, but what surprised the hell out of me were the twelve other kids along with their fathers or mothers who were waiting for us.

One of the fathers, Tim, was part of my crew at work. “Sam, this is my son Greg. He’s a freshman here and will be working with us on Saturdays until he gets it through his thick skull that he needs an education so he doesn’t have to work as hard as we do. The numbskull somehow thought that going to the skateboard park during school gave him an education.”

A few more fathers introduced themselves and their sons or daughters to us. Among the fathers, there was an electrician, a mechanic, a couple of carpenters, a couple of guys in construction currently looking for employment, a brain surgeon, a lawyer, and even a gas station attendant. There was also a mother who was a housewife, and one who worked for FedEx delivering packages. All of them were here because their kids had cut school and they felt their kids needed to be taught a good, hard life lesson. With the two guys in construction and the two carpenters plus my buddy from work, I felt sure that we had enough help to get the job done over a few Saturdays, even with these inexperienced kids. Paul divided us all into teams with the carpenters and the construction guys leading them. We started out by pulling the stands out and removing the basketball hoops.

At the end of the day, the kids didn’t know what hit them. They had never worked so hard in their lives and we weren’t even close to done. Next weekend we were ripping out the flooring and the week after that, we were painting. After this was all over, I doubted any of these kids would ever be cutting school again.

We were in the parking lot, loading up our equipment, when the unemployed construction workers approached Paul. “Mr. Lahote, my name is Chris Benson and this is my friend Carl Hirsch. We were wondering if you have any openings at your company. We’ve both been unemployed for about eight months now and our unemployment is gone. We each have four kids. Our wives work, but it’s tough without a second income.”

“Why don’t you call my office on Monday morning and I’ll see what I can do. Do you both have GEDs or high school diplomas?”

“Yes, sir, we do.”

“Alright, call my secretary, Lorna, and she’ll put you in for interviews. Bring your resumes. Good luck.”

“Thank you, sir,” they both said, gratefully, before hopping into their trucks and leaving.

“Uncle Paul, why did you ask them if they had GED’s or high school diplomas?” Sammy asked.

“Because, I don’t hire anyone without a basic education. It shows me that they have a sense of accomplishment in them. It’s why I was furious when I caught Ryan and you cutting class. There won’t be any more of that, will there be?”

“No, Uncle Paul,” they both mumbled.

“Besides, Aunty Bella prefers men who work hard and have an education.”

“I can do that!” Ryan piped in. “Yep, I’ll prove to Aunty Bella that I can be the kind of man she’ll cougar after.”

“You do that, kid.”

“She likes me better, Ryan. The other day, she smiled, and baked chocolate chip cookies for me.”

“Fuck you, asshole!”

“Hey! Watch your mouth before I wash it out with soap!” Jared stated.

“Who’s Aunty Bella?” Greg, Tim’s son, asked my son.

“Let me show you.” He whipped out a photo of Bella from Disneyworld-the one in which Ryan and Sammy were staring down at her tits.

“Whoa! Nice titties. When can I meet her?”

“She’s my wife,” Paul chuckled.

“Bummer. Does she do any babysitting?” I had to laugh. If anything, this kid was persistent. “Hey, do you guys want to come over and play some X-box?”

Sammy and Ryan both looked at Jared and me pleadingly.

“It’s okay with me if it’s okay with you,” Tim said.

“Sure.” I gave in. The kid was supposed to be grounded, but I knew how hard it’s been for him to make friends.

“Alright, but mind your manners. Thanks, Tim,” Jared said. “What time should I come and get him?”

“I’ll give you both a call. We can crack open a couple of beers then.”

We both nodded our heads and Tim loaded the boys up in his truck.

“Well, damn! Emily is going to kill me for being too easy on him. He’s supposed to be grounded.”

“Same here. Ryan was crying about not being able to make friends though, so I had to let him go.”

“Do you guys want to lay low at my place?” Paul offered.

“Yeah, definitely.”

“Well, come on. I’ll meet you both there. We’ll fire up the grill.”

A couple of hours later, the three of us were hanging out at Paul’s house when he got a call from Sue. With our wolf hearing we could hear the entire conversation.

“ Paul, this is mom. The BIA completed their investigation and the tribal council has been put back into place temporarily. Apparently, they’re going to go through our personal files now and Jeff Redbird will be questioning us at a later date. Billy, Josh, and I have nothing to worry about, and I’m pretty sure that Old Quil is okay, too. I have a feeling Tony Fuller is in trouble, though. I’m just worried about the future of our tribe.”

“I’m sure the tribe will be fine. The BIA don’t want to dissolve tribes, they’re more concerned about tribal welfare than anything.”

“ There’s another thing. Now that Tony and Old Quil are back at the helm, they’ve ordered Jacob to alpha order you and the rest of the tribe back to La Push. He’s on his way to Phoenix now with Angela. Dad has sent Seth and Leah to you in wolf form. They should beat Jake and Angela there.”

“Thanks, Mom. I’ll get the pack together,” Paul said before hanging up.

“I’m calling everyone now,” I said. “What should we do about the imprints?”

“They should just stay put at home. Bella!”

“What’s up?” she came downstairs carrying a load of laundry, a screwdriver, and a hammer.

“We’ve got company. Jake and Angela are on their way here, and so are Seth and Leah.”

“Okay, so what should I do?”

“You can marinate some steaks. I’ll grill. That way, when those jerks show up, we can act as normal as possible,” Jared said, walking up to Bella and carefully extracting the screwdriver and hammer from her hand. The woman should never handle tools and it went double for her father. The month before we left La Push, Brady, Jared, and I spent the time doing home repairs for Sue and Charlie’s house. He had painted over layers and layers of duct tape, which he used to hold up the rain gutters around their house.

“Thanks for taking the tools from her,” Paul whispered gratefully so only we could hear before saying out loud, “You know something, you’ve got a point there Jared. Do you think Missy’s mom will babysit overnight? I’ll pay her. What if we were having a family get together when Jake and Angela arrive? Our imprints could all just be hanging out chatting.”

“I’m pretty sure she’d babysit since this is tribal business,” I said. “Let me give her a call.”

“Offer her a thousand bucks and tell her I won’t let her refuse the cash,” Paul said.

I was about to place my call when my cell phone rang. It was Tim asking if Sammy and Ryan could sleep over. Jared nodded ‘yes’ to me. I told him it was fine. It was probably the best place for those two to be.

Three hours later, Seth and Leah arrived, soaked to the bones. Leah had a portable breastpump with her.

“I had to strap this to me instead of my cell phone. Bella can I borrow some clothes? It was pouring rain in Washington and Oregon on the way here.”

“Oh my God! You don’t even have to ask. Come on. Seth, you can wear Paul’s clothes.”

We heard two showers going off upstairs. Everyone else arrived right around that time. The imprints all had food with them. After Seth and Leah were freshly showered, we sat down and discussed how we were going to handle this.

“He can’t give us an alpha order anymore, that much is for sure,” Quil said. “I felt an internal shift when we pledged our loyalty to Paul. Besides, I’ve been doing my fifty sit-ups a day religiously.”

“Maybe it’s time you upped it to a hundred,” Paul suggested.

“Is that an alpha order, man?”

Paul wagged his eyebrows at Quil and smirked, indicating that it was.

“Why the hell is he bringing Angela?” Leah asked.

“Most likely to try to convince the wives as the alpha’s imprint,” I said. “You know how she thinks she wields some sort of power over the imprints because she’s the alpha’s wife.”

“Hey, Jared, Embry! The steaks are ready for you!” Bella shouted from the kitchen.

“Did you pound them with a mallet like I showed you?”

“Yes, Embry.”

“Did you make half-inch cuts throughout the steaks and alternate garlic slices and butter in between the seams?”

“I refuse to go to all that trouble.”

“Bella! It really infuses the flavor of the butter and the garlic that way!”

Jessica came out of the kitchen looking feral. She started waving a wooden spoon at him and some batter landed on his nose. “Embry Call, if you want your steaks done a specific way then you do it yourself. We still have side dishes to finish!”

“But, Jess…”

“Uh!” She held her spoon up. “Not another word from you!”

“Fine, come on Jared, you’re going to have to help me do the steaks.” He sighed and shook his head.

“Hey! We’re having a fucking meeting here!”

“Well, are you going to alpha order us to attend the meeting or do you want your steaks? We’re going to follow your lead anyway.”

“Go make the steaks. The garlic and butter infusion sounds delicious actually,” Paul sighed.

An hour later…

Knock! Knock! Knock! The unwanted couple of the hour was here. Paul went to the door to answer it.

“Jake, Angela, what brings you to Phoenix?”

“We have some tribal business to discuss,” Jake stated with a serious expression.

“So, why did you bring Angela?”

“She needs to talk to your imprint as the alpha’s imprint.”

“Well, Jake, that’s Bella’s choice. If she doesn’t want to talk to Angela then she doesn’t have to. She’s not a member of the tribe so… rules are rules… or did the Bureau of Indian Affairs neglect to tell you that.”

“You know damn well that they don’t know about us being wolves. I’m the alpha. I make the rules for the wolves. Angela is the alpha’s imprint, she makes the rules for the imprints.”

“I’ve never heard of this alpha’s imprint rule. Is this a new thing?”

Jake didn’t answer Paul’s question. Instead, he came out with, “Are you going to let me in your house or not?”

“Sure, we’re just having a party here.”

Jake and Angela looked stunned to see the entire pack gathered together in various parts of the living room.

“Well, if it isn’t my kid brother and his wife. What the hell are you two doing in Phoenix?” Rachel asked with a scowl, glaring at both of them.

“We have tribal business with Paul. In fact, I’m glad you’re all here because we can get this over with in one fell swoop.”

“Well, can you wait until dinner is over? I’m sure whatever you have to say is going to fuck up my appetite. I’d like to eat while I still have one. It’s bad enough that you brought your wife with you.” Angela rolled her eyes upon hearing Rachel. “Show some fucking respect, bitch. I’m the mighty alpha’s big sister.”

Everyone smirked upon hearing that. Rachel never held back her feelings of dislike for Angela, and Jacob was too frightened of his sister to say anything.

“How is Will?” Quil asked. Despite the fact that he detested Jacob, he cared about his nephew. We all did. Children were the lifeblood of La Push and we all made sure to look after the children, regardless of what we thought of the parents.

“He’s good. He misses your Number Six, Ryan, Sammy, and his aunts and uncles.” Jake seemed to notice then, that Leah and Seth were here. “What are you two doing here? We just left you in La Push.”

“Oh, Bella invited us over for dinner,” Seth answered nonchalantly.

“So, you both just ran up here? Does this happen often?”

“Sure, from time to time.”

“How come I didn’t know about this?”

“Seth and Leah are my stepbrother and stepsister, Jacob. They’re family,” Bella gushed with a brilliant smile. “Besides, it’s a free country.”

Leah, then, hammed it up by walking up to Bella and hugging her. “I love you, little sis.”

“I love you, too, big sis.”

Angela opened her mouth. “If this is a family dinner, then why are everyone else here?”

“It’s a dinner for friends and family, Angela.”

“So, why wasn’t Jake invited?”

“He’s neither friend nor family, but since you both so rudely showed up unannounced, I’m going to be a polite hostess and invite you both to dine with us.”

“Thanks, Bella,” Jacob said while Angela just humphed. Rude bitch. I glanced at Emily, who looked like she was ready to throw down with Angela. Secretly, I loved seeing Emily get angry. She did it so rarely, but when she did, she was oh so sexy. I wonder if we could set up a mud pit and have her wrestle Angela in the nude? No, that wouldn’t work; seeing Angela naked would be a buzz kill. But Bella… Now that would be awesome. Hell, the two of them can just roll around naked in the mud. They don’t even have to fight each other.

We sat outside on their patio, chatting about nothing of importance really. Jake kept sneaking looks at Bella out of the corner of his eye. He didn’t think we noticed, but we all did. He still wasn’t over her, that much we all knew. The last time we all phased together, he was still running thoughts of Bella through his mind and that was about six years ago. He had long since been married to Angela and already had a couple of kids. He felt an enormous amount of guilt for the way he treated her, he really had loved her, but the imprint was powerful and he had no control over it. That’s how it was with Leah and me. For the longest time, we could barely be in the same room, and then she imprinted on Eric Yorkie, and finally understood. We talked it out, just the two of us-with our imprints’ encouragement-and now Leah was one of my best friends in the pack.

“This steak is delicious, did you make it, Bella?” Jake asked.

“I wish I could take credit for it, but it was Embry and Jared. I made the shrimp cocktail and the potato salad. Everyone contributed, really.

“Wow, guys, I’m impressed.”

“Thanks.”

A few minutes later, we were all done eating. Our wives started cleaning up. Normally, we’d help, but we had agreed earlier that they would do it to give Jake a chance to state his business. I noticed Angela didn’t help at all. She just sat at the kitchen counter twiddling her thumbs and clicking her heels, acting like she was royalty. Who the hell did she think she was?

“So, Jake. You mentioned you had tribal business to discuss. Go ahead,” Paul started.

“I’ll get down to business, then. The fact is that all of you need to return to La Push. You’re all members of the tribe and the reservation is where you belong.”

“That’s not a good enough reason, Jake. You know as well as I do that the tribe has no say on where we choose to live.”

“Those laws don’t apply to you. You’re all wolves and a part of my pack.” He used his alpha timber next, “As your alpha, I’m ordering you to return to La Push. Furthermore, I’m giving an alpha order to Paul and Embry to annul your marriages and re-marry your imprints on Quileute land so that they become full members of our nation.”

We all sat there and smirked at him. He donned a confused, desperate expression before he repeated his command, “I’m ordering you to return to La Push with your imprints! Paul and Embry, you will annul your marriages and re-marry your imprints on Quileute land!”

“And why should we do that?” Embry asked. “You don’t have any say over our lives.”

“As alpha, I do. Angela, as the alpha’s imprint, is going to give the same order to your imprints.”

“Well, Jake, I hate to tell you this, but we all have careers over here,” Jared stated. “We can’t just up and leave them.”

Jacob looked absolutely perplexed. It was obvious his alpha order wasn’t affecting us. “Jared, I offered you a position as a mechanic in my shop. Four hundred dollars a week will go a long way.”

“Jake, I have six kids. You try feeding them on four hundred dollars a week. Besides, I don’t know of any mechanic who only makes four hundred dollars a week while working full time.”

“The job at the tribal store is still available for Kim.”

“She was practically getting paid minimum wage, Jake. We just couldn’t make ends meet.”

“You could always apply for food stamps.”

Bella heard Jake from the kitchen. She dropped what she was doing and stormed into the living room looking pissed off, and stared him down.

“What the fuck did you just say, Jacob Black? Did you just tell Jared that he and Kim could apply for food stamps?”

“Sure, a lot of members of our nation do that.”

She looked absolutely livid. She took a calming breath before saying, “They don’t want government support, that’s why they’re here. They want to support their family on their own. They have a sense of pride! My God, Jake-where the hell is yours? Can’t you respect people for wanting to make something of their lives? Oh, and you do realize that the food stamp program was created during the Great Depression as a temporary means of support for families until they could get on their feet, don’t you? It’s not supposed to be something you use permanently to support your family with.”

Jacob shook his head and replied, “Bella, the tribe provides housing for free. And as Native Americans, they all can take advantage of the Indian Health Service system on any reservation. The tribal school is right on the land. Honestly, they don’t need much to get by.”

“So, since they get all of these federal and tribal benefits for free, they should just hop on back to La Push and live there, right? What about car insurance? What about college for the kids? What about a retirement plan? What about being able to give your kids a few extras like maybe signing them up for little league or an art class? Do you really think four hundred dollars a week is going to get them there?”

Jake didn’t say anything. He clamped his mouth shut tight because he knew Bella had a point. We were all staring in awe at our alpha’s wife because she was on a mission to pound shit through Jake’s thick skull.

“Let’s break it down, shall we? You’re offering to pay Jared four hundred dollars a week, which is roughly sixteen hundred dollars a month. But wait, you’re going to pull out taxes and social security from his paycheck, fortunately, Washington doesn’t have a state income tax, but there is still federal tax. Let’s be generous and leave him with fourteen hundred dollars a month. And that’s being very generous, too. Car insurance is a hundred bucks a month. Again, we’re being generous. We’ll say a hundred dollars for his light bill and a hundred bucks for cable, Internet, and phone. Jared still has twelve hundred dollars left. Oops, then there’s gas. There goes four hundred dollars. That knocks him down to eight hundred dollars. Oh, but he has to put shoes on his kids feet and clothes on their backs, kids do have a tendency to grow you know. He also has one in diapers. Diapers are extremely expensive. There goes another hundred dollars. What about supplies to make your household run like cleaning supplies, toilet paper, paper towels, shampoo, soap, tampons? Did you forget about those things? A hundred bucks out the window. He also has to feed his family. Now tell me, Jake, you have four kids-can you afford to clothes and feed them on five hundred dollars a month?”

Whoa! Did she just break it down perfectly or what? Bella understood. She may be wealthy, but she’s been poor.

Angela piped in then, “Bella, as far as food is concerned, there’s a food pantry in La Push and there’s also a clothing bank where Jared and Kim can get donated clothes for free.”

Did she just say what I think she said? Bella looked murderous. “Oh, you did not just go there! Don’t you think that as parents, Jared and Kim want to provide for their kids on their own? Have you ever been poor, Angela? Have you? It’s hard on a kid. Other kids stare at you when your clothes are raggedy. But that’s not all, as a kid you see things Angela. You see how other kids have things and you don’t, and you wonder why. I’m not talking about the newest toys or possessions. I’m talking about how the girl sitting next to you gets to take ballet, but you have to stop because your mother can’t afford it anymore; or how maybe one of the kids gets to be in Boy Scouts, but you can’t because your parents simply don’t have the money. Let’s not even mention having to hold in your feelings because you know that your parents are poor. Or not being able to invite friends over because there’s a big possibility that there’s no food in the fridge or the electricity has been turned off because your mother couldn’t pay the bill. Do you even have an inkling as to what that can do to a child? It’s demoralizing, and no kid should feel as if they matter less than their peers.”

Someone knocked on the door so I went to answer it quickly. It was Crispy with a delicious looking pie in his hands. I put my finger to my lips and let him in. He placed the pie on the counter, and then took in the unfolding scene from the corner.

Bella continued on with her rant, “So, Angela, until you’ve lived it. Don’t you dare tell other people that it’s okay to live that way!”

Angela was completely stunned, but decided to open her big mouth anyway. “You know something, Bella, you should talk. You’re living in grandeur in a fancy mansion with your rich husband. You’re the furthest thing from poor.”

Bella put her hands on her hips angrily. “Angela, that kid who had no friends, in raggedy clothes and holey shoes, who had to quit ballet, who had no food in her fridge was me. Don’t tell me that I don’t know what it’s like to be poor. I had to go to the food pantry with my mom. I had to wear donated clothes. It wasn’t a good feeling. It sapped the pride right out of me. So, again, I will say-unless you’ve lived it, don’t you dare tell people that it’s okay to live that way.”

“Well, Bella, if you had any goodness in your heart, Paul and you would see to it that Jared and Kim didn’t have to live the way they do when you all move back to the reservation.”

“You bitch! What the hell did you just say to my friend?” Kim stood up and flanked Bella in a move of solidarity. “Bella and Paul have already done more for us than your ass has. Without the opportunities they gave us, we wouldn’t be able to provide for our kids like we’re able to now.”

“How dare you address me that way? I am your alpha’s imprint. As such, you will treat me with respect! As the alpha’s imprint, I am ordering all of you women to return to La Push where you will obey pack laws and treat me with deference! And Bella and Jessica, you two will annul your marriages and remarry on tribal grounds!”

All of the imprints stared at Angela with smirks on their faces, and then suddenly burst out in laughter.

“Um, Angela, an alpha’s imprint can’t dole out any orders, or didn’t they teach you that at imprint school?” Missy asked.

“Oh, no, I think she missed that lesson.” Jessica grinned at Angela.

“That’s it! I am tired of this lack of respect. You will all do as I order! I am the alpha’s imprint! You will obey me!” Angela screeched.

A feral Kim got right up into Angela’s face, “No one, and I mean no one, tells me what to do. Not Jared, not my parents, and certainly not Jake and you! My name is Kimberly Cameron and I am my own woman!”

Angela slapped Kim across the face, to which Kim promptly responded with a slap back. Angela slapped Kim again. Jared was about to phase, but Paul ordered him to hold it in. Bella got pissed off and clocked a perfect left hook across Angela’s jaw. Jake suddenly phased, and flew towards Bella and Kim in wolf form. Then, all hell broke loose.