Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

Intensity

By Mama4Dukes

Chapter 18:

Paul’s POV

After Jenny woke up, we called her parents over to the house to discuss the situation with them. Mr. and Mrs. Cameron were more worried about the beating their daughter received at the hands of Kurt Fuller than about the pregnancy.

“Does she need to go to the hospital? Is she okay?” Mr. Cameron asked Bella.

“I examined her carefully, and aside from the bruises, she should be fine. I’d recommend pressing charges against Kurt Fuller though.”

They both started shaking their heads vigorously. “No… No… We don’t want any trouble with the Fullers.”

“You’re not seriously thinking of letting this incident slide, are you?”

“Paul, you have no idea what the Fullers are like. And the tribal police aren’t exactly trustworthy either.”

Seth walked into the house just then. He was dressed in his Forks Police uniform. “If you don’t report it, then I will. This incident is considered statutory rape. Jenny is fifteen, Kurt Fuller is eighteen.”

“Why were you involved with Kurt Fuller anyway?” Mrs. Cameron asked.

“Oh, no. Don’t you dare turn this on her? She feels guilty enough as it is!” my wife snapped. “She is fifteen years old. She’s a child, and made a mistake. He’s a high school senior, a good looking one, most likely popular, moneyed, and there was probably no way she could resist him once he turned on his charms. Think, Mrs. Cameron, we’ve all been fifteen-what was it like for you?”

“Oh, God, you’re right. I’m sorry, Jenny.” She looked up at Bella. “When I was fifteen, I became pregnant with Jared. I was so scared, frightened. Fortunately, Joe was, and still is, a good man. But Kurt Fuller? I don’t see any redeeming qualities in him.”

And there it was. Jared’s mother had him when she was fifteen-still a child herself. The Camerons were an example of the cycle of poverty so rampant on the reservation. I’m assuming they didn’t know better. How could they? When you have a child when you’re still a child-your life, education, everything is cut short. Jared and Kim were the same only they’re finally doing something to try to get out of their rut, but they wouldn’t have been able to do it without support and guidance. Something had to be done to stop the cycle of poverty.

“Jane, we need to press charges before he does something like this to another child. How much do you know of the Willy Black incident?” Sue asked.

“I know that he ran away from home. I can understand why with a mother like his. I see her constantly berating her children in public.”

Hmm… It seems Angela isn’t very popular on the reservation at all.

“Kurt Fuller and his friends tried to push drugs on him. When he refused, he was beaten until his spleen ruptured and he had to have surgery to repair it in Arizona.”

“But William is only in middle school? How did he get from Washington to Arizona? And where was Angela?”

“He was frightened enough to run and felt that he couldn’t turn to his mother. Jacob was out of town at the time.”

“Oh, the poor thing. He could have come to us. We would have taken care of him.”

“I know you would have. Charlie and I would have taken care of him, too, but the point is, Jane, we can no longer allow our children to be bullied by the Fuller family. We must, absolutely must, report this crime. Measures are being put into place where our children will feel safe at school once again. And Kurt Fuller will soon be facing charges for the crimes he committed against Will. We can put him away for longer if Jenny would press charges against him. He is eighteen years old, he will be tried as an adult.”

“If it helps, you can report the crime to the Forks Police Department instead. Bear in mind that while La Push falls under the jurisdiction of the tribal police force, if you have reasonable cause not to trust them-you can report the crime to the Forks Police Department. Also, keep in mind that if it is reported to the tribal police, Billy, Josh, Old Quil, and Mom will not permit the crime to be brushed under the rug. It’ll be Fuller versus the four of them and Terrance Johnson will be stuck between a rock and a hard place,” Seth added.

“Mom?”

“Yes, Jenny?”

“I think we should report it. I don’t want Kurt hurting anyone else on the reservation. I’m not even worried about myself. I’m more worried about the little kids like Willy.” The thing was, Jenny wasn’t that much older than Willy, and she was going to be a mother. I was disturbed by the thought immensely.

The Camerons both nodded their heads. Joe looked up at us. “We’ll report the crime to the Forks Police Department and go from there. It’s time we put a stop to the Fullers.” He sighed before he spoke again with an air of determination, “As for the baby, we can handle it. We’ll help Jenny just like we helped our other kids.”

“And you’ll make sure that she graduates from high school, right?” I added. “She won’t get anywhere in life without a diploma at least. You’re well aware of how hard Jared and Kim struggled for years without their diplomas.”

“The baby can go into the tribal day care center while Jenny is in school,” Sue informed them. “It’s free for high school students.”

“Please, promise me that you won’t drop out of school, Jenny?” Bella begged.

“Oh, no way! I have straight A’s. I can’t drop out of school. I was hoping to go to college, but now…”

“We’ll make it happen, Jenny. One way or another, you’ll be the first Cameron to attend college,” Jane assured.

And with Jane Cameron’s determination, I knew that Jared’s sister would be okay. The Camerons left the house with Seth to file a report at the Forks Police Department.

With this fiasco seemingly being handled by Seth, Bella and I moved on to taking care of a few matters of business. We dropped off checks for five grand a piece to Jason, Chris, and Rick so that they could get started on the repair work for my in-laws’ and Billy’s houses. Then, we headed to Forks City Hardware to set up an account so supplies would be billed directly to me. The owner was grateful, and welcomed the business. Apparently, there were many out of work laborers in the area and business had dropped sharply for him.

This reminded me of the fact that I still had a ton of hiring to do for the highway restoration project. I had roughly seven hundred temporary employees ready to go, but with New Mexico and Texas in my pocket, I needed more. Fortunately, I still had roughly a year before those two projects started up, but I needed temporary employees for Arizona. Jeff was going to help me set up hiring through the BIA in which we’d send hiring notices out to all of the reservations across the United States. I also planned on hiring some of the unemployed in the Forks area. Jessica’s father, who was a lifelong construction worker, was considering temporarily relocating because I paid more than employers in the area. He’d been steadily working despite the decline in construction jobs, but he admitted that he’d been having to travel further and further to find jobs. The plus side was that Jessica and Embry were willing to house him, and he had relatives in Texas with whom he could stay with if I put him in charge of one of the sites there. He knew dozens of men and women who would be willing to relocate, temporarily, for steady employment.

After we were done with our errands, we returned to La Push. Leah and Eric were deep in conference with Sue and Charlie. “Oh, good, I’m glad you two are home. How would you feel about me visiting you for a bit?” Leah asked.

“It’s fine by us, but why?”

“I’ve got a lactation problem. I can’t seem to stop producing milk. I’m slowly trying to wean Izzy, but I can’t. I’m constantly engorged, and last night, I literally started spouting milk like a fountain. Poor Eric woke up soaking wet in the middle of the night.”

I started cracking up. I couldn’t help it. The thought of Leah being some sort of a milk geyser was hilarious. Charlie started laughing too. We both stopped after Sue and Bella glared at us, but we couldn’t wipe the grins off of our faces.

“Are you two done laughing now?” Bella asked. “This could affect her kidneys!”

“I’m sorry,” I said quickly, stifling a chuckle.

“Go ahead, Leah.”

“Anyway, I called Dr. Kayani, and he told me to get my ass to Arizona ASAP. His grandfather’s a vet and a shifter and he wants to give me a check-up.”

“Wait a minute, you’re going to a vet?” I guffawed.

“Paul! Stop being insensitive!” my wife scolded. Damn! She looks scarier than Leah does with that face. Oh man, how am I going to stop laughing with that smirk on my father-in-law’s face?

I’d better keep my mouth shut before she starts withholding sex from me for being insensitive.

“Yes, I’m going to a vet. Randy and his grandfather are pretty sure that whatever is wrong has something to do with me phasing so much. That’s another thing; I can’t stop phasing. I’ve been phasing everyday since I started going wolf again.”

“Everyday? I admit we’ve had to phase a lot recently, but most of us guys are only phasing once every two weeks or so. We haven’t had trouble controlling that.”

“Exactly why Randy’s grandfather wants me to come and see him. He thinks my body is having trouble distinguishing between wolf and human.”

“You can stay with us as long as you need to Leah,” Bella assured.

“Thanks, I’ll book a flight as soon as possible. Kyla, Linda, and Mom are going to watch the kids while Eric is at work so it’ll just be me. I just need to pump milk for Izzy, but at this point, I can just drip into her bottle.

Man, now I’m thinking about a leaky faucet. I kept imagining Randy going in there and shutting her tits off with a wrench. I must have had a smirk on my face because the next thing I felt was Sue’s stinging pinch on my arm. She followed up by pinching my father-in-law who also had a huge grin on his face.

“Hey, no problem. Whatever you guys need,” I told her.

“Thank you, Paul,” Eric replied gratefully. “I’m really worried about Leah.”

“We’ll take care of her, man.” I patted Eric on the shoulder. I didn’t know him too well and kept forgetting he’s an imprint-the only male imprint in wolf history. He must feel like the odd man out being surrounded by female imprints and dominant male wolves. Alright, dominant was stretching it a bit. We were only dominant when it came to the safety of our imprints; otherwise, the women ran the show. Of course, there was that one time when Bella let me strap her hands to the bedpost with my necktie and spank her… that was fun… but I digress, the point is that none of us were chauvinistic alpha males. For the most part, we were equal partners with our imprints.

Two hours later, we were having a bonfire on First Beach along with Charlie; the elders minus Fuller-who we learned was away for the weekend-and Old Quil-who was still in Phoenix getting his groove on; the pack and their imprints minus Angela-who was still in Seattle. I knew something was up as soon as Crispy and Babs showed up.

“What the hell are you guys doing here?”

“I wasn’t going to miss Embry’s and your imprinting ceremony.”

“Yeah, but I just talked to you this morning when we were all phased in.”

“I know, it was right before we had to leave for the airport. I left Sam and Randy in charge of the pack.”

“Oh, cool, thanks for… Wait a minute! What imprinting ceremony?”

“Uh, yeah, no one told us about an imprinting ceremony!” Embry huffed indignantly.

“I told you two that you needed to have one when you returned to La Push. By the way, Crispy, Old Quil and Tolinka suggested that since Babs and you are here, you two have a ceremony the Quileute way as well,” Billy stated.

“What?” Crispy gasped. “Why?”

Yeah, buddy, that’s right-it sucks to have it thrown at you without warning, doesn’t it?

“Because you’re the beta of the combined pack. Clearly, you are meant to be indoctrinated into the pack.”

“Oh, come on, these ceremonies aren’t that bad. You just repeat a few words in Quileute and then we party,” Linda said. “I brought tequila-five different varieties. We can do a blind taste test later.”

I’m now thoroughly convinced that Collin’s imprint is a full on lush. She probably has tequila running through her bloodstream instead of blood.

“See, kids, it’s easy. Let’s get started.” Billy began by repeating the Quileute legends. Crispy and Babs were thoroughly engrossed as the chief of the tribe weaved through the tales, beginning with the history of the wolves and ending with the tale of Taha Aki and his third wife. From there he delved into a speech I’d never heard before. Neither Embry nor I had ever been to an imprinting ceremony-these were for the elders and imprinted couples only. Clearly, Billy was making an exception because Charlie was here.

“Wolves and coyotes were created by magic to serve as protectors of their tribes. The spirit god created the Quileute Wolf Pack to guard La Push and their people from cold ones. The god of the underworld created the Wa-Ya Brotherhood Coyote Pack when he answered a desperate plea for help when slave traders threatened their people and their land. For many generations, the first sons of the Wa-Ya Brotherhood were sacrificed to the god of the underworld as repayment for the survival of the tribe. Like their fathers and grandfathers before them, they would turn into great coyotes and serve as protectors of their nation. But now, the god of the underworld has released his hold on the Wa-Ya Brotherhood and entrusted them to the the spirit god’s care forevermore. The Quileute Wolf Pack and The Wa-Ya Brotherhood Coyote Pack now run together as one. While the reasons for this are still unclear, by the way both packs have taken on characteristics of the other, I feel it is so the new combined pack can work together in harmony to support the betterment of our two tribes.”

Okay, this must be really new because I’m sure our connection with Crispy’s pack wasn’t mentioned in past imprinting ceremonies.

Billy continued with his speech, “With the passage of time, the needs of our tribes have changed and so have the evils threatening the existence of our nations. The Quileute Nation and the Wa-Ya Nation are small tribes. Wolves and coyotes stand as protectors of the two tribes and the spirit gods brought the spirit warriors of our two nations to run as one lead by our Great Protector, Paul Lahote, and his equally magnificent Spirit Protector, Crispin Hodges. Together, these two men will lead their pack of Spirit Warriors, which includes Embry Call to new heights so that they can protect both tribes from forces that may harm them and their traditions. Behind these great warriors are magnificent partners called imprints. Imprints, in most cases, are soul mates, brave and powerful themselves-they are there to support their shape-shifters as equal partners so that they are able to perform their duties without hindrance.”

Um, then, what the heck is up with Angela? Because the witch has done nothing, but drag Jacob down.

Maybe she was sent from the underworld while Taha Aki hooked everyone else up cause she isn’t right for Jacob or for us. Oh, hang on, Billy said, ‘in most cases.’ Yep, even he knows when the spirit gods failed as well.

“Tonight, we honor three spirit warriors and their imprints, and bind them under the eyes of the spirit gods on our sacred land. Paul Lahote, Crispin Hodges, and Embry Call, please take your imprints’ hands and face the fire.”

The three of us did as Billy requested and stood facing the bonfire along with our imprints. He started beating on a traditional Quileute drum until he worked up to a steady rhythm before he spoke, “I, William Black, Chief of the Quileute Tribe, call upon the earth, sea, air, and fire to bear witness to the joining of the spirit warrior Embry Call to Jessica Stanley Call; of the spirit protector Crispin Hodges to Barbara Tiponi Hodges; and of the great protector Paul Lahote and Isabella Swan Lahote.”

Sue, then handed Embry, Crispy, and me each traditional, hand carved, wooden Quileute bowls. Billy instructed the three of us to run to the ocean and fill the bowls half full with sea water. We each kissed our imprints, ran to the water, and dunked our bowls in the ocean before returning with our bowls.

Billy re-started the ceremony. He placed one green leaf into each of our bowls. “These bowls, carved from the trees of our ancient land, represent strength and integrity; the green leaf, from our forest, floating on the water from our ocean is a symbol of life, fertility, and the purity of the love shared between soul mates.” The sea water in the bowl was poured through the hands of our imprints by us as instructed by Billy. We were then each told to grab a handful of sand from the beach.

“As a couple, you will each pour the sand in your palms simultaneously into your bowls.” We did as instructed. “Now, together, mix the sand with your fingers.” As our hands touched while mixing the sand, I felt the familiar currents of electricity created by our imprint, pulse through our fingers. I instinctively, put Bella’s hand in mine and held it in the bowl surrounded by the fine sand of First Beach. “Like the grains of sand that you’ve combined, your souls are now bound together for eternity and can never be separated.” Billy went on to have us repeat some words in Quileute, which I had no idea of the meaning of. Now, more than ever, I wished that I’d paid attention in my Quileute language classes while I was in school. Even my drunk mother had always warned me that I’d regret not knowing the language one day. Out of the entire pack, only Jared and Quil spoke Quileute. Embry can speak Makah. I wonder if Crispy can speak the Wa-Ya language?

Billy mixed up some sort of herbal concoction in what looked like one half of a jumbo oyster shell and added hot water from a thermos to it. He passed the shell around and had each of us take a sip. As soon as the liquid hit my body, I felt as if I were being transported to another realm. “We call upon the spirits to bind these souls together so that their hearts may beat as one for eternity.” Billy returned to his drumming and chanting.

I tried to concentrate on what Billy was saying, but I couldn’t. I felt jittery-whatever herbs were in that concoction was powerful stuff. I noticed that Crispy and Embry both looked shaky as well. I wrapped my arms around Bella and closed my eyes. Suddenly, I felt some supernatural force pulling us together, connecting us. It was stronger than the initial imprint. I felt bound to her-as if nothing could ever separate us. I had an incredible urge to protect her, to keep her safe, because, without her, I knew that I could no longer exist. She was the one who breathed life into me. She was the keeper of my soul. Without her, I would surely die.

As Billy’s drumming and chanting came to a halt, I felt grounded again, back to normal per se. I looked down and saw that Bella had turned her body to face mine and was gazing into my eyes with a look of awe and admiration.

“Kwop Kilatley,” she murmured to me. Now, that, I understood. She was asking me to stay with her forever in Quileute.

“Forever,” I replied and kissed her on the lips.

With the ritual ended, there was a raucous applause from those attending. Food and drinks were broken out. Linda was sucking out of a bottle of Patron, and Crispy was being held down by Embry, Collin, and Jacob as Billy inked a Quileute Wolf Pack Tattoo onto his arm.

“Crispy, are you crying?” I asked.

“Shut up, man. I don’t like pain,” he whimpered.

“Well, thank God. I might be Fainting Wolf, but our beta is Crying Coyote.” Collin was guffawing. I’d never seen him look so relaxed and at ease.

“You’d better not tell anyone in the pack,” Crispy warned.

“Well, what happened when you got your original pack tattoo?” I asked him. “That one goes down your hip, that had to have hurt.”

“I was fine for that one. The Wa-Ya Nation is more considerate.”

“Oh, bullshit, Crispy. You know damn well that Barry’s mother gave you morphine to knock you out,” Babs blurted.

“Babs! You weren’t supposed to say anything! I gave my guys an alpha order so they’d keep their mouths shut! Owwww!” he yelped.

“Sorry, kid,” Billy replied.

“You alpha ordered your pack so they wouldn’t say anything about you crying through a tattoo?” I questioned, and then started cracking up.

“Shut the hell up, Paul. This hurts!”

“Here, hottie, have a sip. It’ll take the edge off.” Linda handed Crispy her bottle of Patron, and he downed the whole thing in one go.

“Hey, it does work. Can I have more? You’re kind of cute.”

“Excuse me, who are you?” an incensed Babs asked.

“Oh, I’m Linda-Collin’s imprint. Your husband is nice to look at.”

“You’re nice to look at too, cutie.” Clearly, Crispy was drunk-most likely from the combination of the herbs and the tequila. “Ouch… this really hurts.” He started bawling when Babs pinched his other arm really hard.

“Geez, Crispy! Will you stop crying? If we ever go into battle, how are you going to survive with such a low tolerance to pain? Let me tell you something, when a vampire attacks you-it’s nothing compared to the pain of a little tattoo.”

“I don’t plan on battling vampires. I don’t even know the first thing about fighting. Jeff used to wrestle in high school-he might be good at it.”

“Hang on, are you telling me that none of your pack have ever been trained how to fight?”

“Nope, I’ve never even been in a fistfight in school. I think Manny was in one in the seventh grade. Oh, and Barry had to learn self defense when he went to the police academy. He hasn’t practiced in a long time though, his department does yoga now.”

“That’s going to change as soon as we get back. You’re all going to learn to fight. My pack can all fight.”

“Um, I’ve never learned,” Seth said.

“Neither have I,” Collin added.

“Same here,” Leah piped in.

“Jake, what the heck were you doing by not teaching these guys how to fight?” I asked, appalled.

“I didn’t see the need. The threat of leeches was gone.”

“Yeah, but one of the purposes of being a spirit warrior is as protector. What good is a protector if he doesn’t know how to defend himself?”

“Obviously, I didn’t think it through. Now do you understand why you’re meant to be alpha and not me? Think, Paul, think! I wasn’t qualified! Thank God,” Jake replied in relief.

“Yeah!” Crispy agreed, defending him.

This is so unfair. Why the heck do I have to be alpha? I’m busy enough as it is. I have my own company to run and an imprint to love.

“Paul, let’s just relax and enjoy ourselves. It’s our last night in La Push,” Bella whispered in my ear.

“You’re right.” I sighed and took her hand. We went for a walk along the shoreline, leaving everyone behind.

After we were a long way from the bonfire, Bella finally spoke, “That was some ceremony, huh?”

“It sure was. I felt as if I was…”

“… fusing together with me?” she asked, completing my thought.

“Exactly. It was more powerful than the moment we imprinted.”

“I felt more like it completed our imprinting. As if it were locking us into place… because to me, nothing will be more powerful than the moment you imprinted on me.”

“Yeah, but you scared me away,” I joked.

“You can’t win them all, Paul.”

“Yeah, I can. I have you, don’t I?”

“Yes, you do. And I have you.”

We stood there on the shore smiling at each other, absolute contentment filling our hearts. As the wind blew gently around me and the waves tumbled onto the shore, I felt compelled to hold her in my arms, to touch her.

“I’ve always wanted to walk along this beach with you. I used to get pissed off whenever I saw you here with Jacob. I couldn’t understand why-now I know. You were always meant to be mine, Bella. Always.”

She reached up on her tippy toes and kissed me on the lips. And that was my undoing. I had to have her. I had an overwhelming urge to make love to her, claim her under the stars and the moonlight. I picked her up in my arms and started running. I ran until I reached the cliffs that I used to jump off of. I had to take her there-my wolf demanded it. I hurriedly removed each piece of clothing from her then worked on my own.

My bride was on her knees unzipping my shorts before I had my shirt off. I quickly pushed my shorts down the rest of the way and allowed myself to relish in the feeling of her full lips wrapped around me, but it wasn’t enough. It wasn’t what my wolf wanted. He didn’t want her pleasing him, he wanted to be the one to show her pleasure; give her what she needed; prove to her that he was hers.

“Paul,” she gasped as I abruptly pulled out of her and sprawled her out flat on her back on the cliff’s edge. With my arms, I spread her legs out wide and lapped at her folds, concentrating on her sensitive nub. Bella arched into me, letting my tongue delve deeper into her depths.

“M… more… Paul…” she begged. I sucked on her clitoris, causing her to writhe uncontrollably under the pressure. Her body was shaking, shivering from the feel of my mouth, and her sweet nectar was flowing liberally onto my tongue.

Only when she shuddered to her orgasm did I finally allow myself to take pleasure in her. I flipped her over onto her knees and plunged inside of her. My hands roamed on her chest stopping at her nipples, which were already pebbled under the biting November wind. She rocked her body into mine and I moaned at the feeling of my cock grazing her walls; the feel of her core satiating the tip. We met each other thrust for thrust, both of us intent on bringing pleasure to each other. Every moan of pleasure, every breath we took, every movement we made echoed over the cliff.

The pit of my stomach clenched as my release approached. I rocked into her harder, faster-desperate to bring her to a second peak. She took every inch I gave her and, suddenly, screamed my name in sheer ecstasy as her walls clamped down on me, giving my cock the extra pressure it needed for me to spill my seed inside of her.

I pulled back on her hair and sunk my teeth into it’s familiar home, marking her-enjoying the feel of her pulsating onto my cock. She cried out in pleasure and in pain while I infused my scent into her. She collapsed back into my arms in exhaustion and I sheltered her from the cold air with my heat. I nuzzled her neck, giving her mark a few swipes with my tongue and whispered, “Forever,” into her ear.

After a while, I dressed her carefully before dressing myself and swept her back into my arms before running back to the bonfire, which had been abandoned. We walked back to Charlie’s house where a worn out Crispy and Babs were sitting on the front steps.

“What happened to you two?” I asked.

“Paul, we just went through a binding ceremony. The tribal chief called upon the spirits to bring our souls together. He made us drink some sort of funky aphrodisiac. He gave me a tattoo, making me suffer from insurmountable amounts of pain. Of course, I’m going to go and claim my mate. By the way, Bella, you’re loud. I could hear you wailing Paul’s name all over First Beach.”

“I make her feel that good, man,” I returned.

“Shut up.”

“He’s still mad about the tattoo.” Babs wagged her eyebrows at me.

“So, what happened to everyone else?”

“Embry and Jess ran off into the woods just before Babs and I took off for the beach. When we got back to the bonfire, everyone was packing up.”

“So, what are you two doing out here?”

“Your parents are… um…” Crispy’s ears turned into a brilliant shade of crimson and became noticeably pointier. “They’re busy.”

“Yuck,” I groaned.

“Anyway, we were waiting for you two. Collin asked us to stop by at his house.”

“Alright, let’s go.”

We walked the short distance to the Littlesea household. We were invited inside and discovered Embry, Seth, Leah, and their imprints were there waiting for us. Jake was there too-without Angela again.

“I brought pizzas,” he announced, pointing to the stack on the table. “I figured you’d all be hungry after the ceremony.”

“Thanks, Jake.” He looked like he had something to say. “Something on your mind?”

He took in a deep breath before speaking. “I’m here to apologize for my past actions to all of you. I wasn’t in my right mind and I was being manipulated by Tony, but no more. What happened to Jenny and Willy is just unforgivable. I’d also like to apologize about Angela. She…”

“Stop, Jake,” Bella interrupted. Their eyes met. “Don’t apologize for Angela. You’re not responsible for her actions.”

“I know, but she’s my imprint.”

“She’s a grown adult and a mother to boot. She’s responsible for her own actions; you’re not.”

“Where is she anyway?” Linda asked.

“She’s not coming home from Seattle until tomorrow.”

“Why not? What about the kids?”

“Dad is watching them to give me a bit of a break for the night. She…” Jake looked like he was going to cry. “She called to tell me that she was exhausted from constantly having to watch the kids and that she needed one extra night. She’ll be home sometime tomorrow.”

“She did what?” an appalled Linda snapped. “How the hell can the kids exhaust her? She’s never with them! You, your father, Collin, or I are always taking care of them. She doesn’t even take them to and from school. Motherhood is exhausting, but it’s also gratifying. If Angela took the time to be a mother, she’d know this!”

Jake didn’t even wince at Linda’s rant. Instead, he mumbled, “I know.” Then he tumbled into Bella’s arms and begged pleadingly, “When did my life go to hell, Bells? When? I used to be a happy kid, right? Wasn’t I always happy?” I think we were all stunned that he turned to my imprint-of all people-for comfort, but-really, maybe he felt the most at ease with her. After all, she was his best friend for a while during high school and they did make mudpies together as kids.

“Oh, Jake,” Bella soothed, holding him in her arms, and stroking his hair. “In life, we all have ups and downs. You just happen to be going through a ‘down’ stage right now. What matters now is what you do to make life better for yourself and for your kids. And let me tell you something, I spent the day with your kids yesterday and they have to be the sweetest kids on earth. They have so much of your personality. I can tell you did a great job with them. Keep them happy, Jake.”

“How could I let what happened to Will happen? He trusted me, and I let him down.”

“Then you’ll have to work on regaining his trust. Kids are resilient, Jacob. Will is stronger than you think.”

“You should be a mom, Bella. You’d make a great one.”

“Oh, I’m not ready to be a mom yet. I still have a lot more that I need to accomplish. One day, perhaps, but it’s still a long way away.”

“I wish I’d been as sensible as you, but…”

“But you wouldn’t trade your kids for anything in the world?”

“Exactly.”

Aw, now I want to cry. That was just sweet. I saw the women dabbing at their eyes. Crispy, who was an emotional guy wiped away a tear. But enough, I wanted my imprint back. “Jake, we’re a pack, we’re here for you. No matter what happens, we’re family. We’ll help you get through this. I promise,” I told him as I pried him off of Bella. What can I say? I’m a possessive alpha and I don’t like anyone touching what’s mine.

“Thanks, Paul,” Jacob whispered.

“Don’t mention it.” Just keep your paws off of my imprint.

We tore into the pizza, drank beer, and simply had a great evening after that. In the morning, we said goodbye to everyone and headed to Seattle armed with a cooler full of fish on dry ice courtesy of Sue. Crispy and Embry carted home coolers as well. We had lunch at one of the vendors at Pike Place Market, picked up some smoked salmon and Bella’s favorite tea, and then boarded a flight for Phoenix in the late afternoon. By the time we arrived at home, we were tuckered out. Overall, we’d had a pretty decent Thanksgiving in La Push and, for the first time, I was actually looking forward to visiting again.