A/N: Thanks for the comments and adds on this story! I hope you're enjoying it! As I mentioned in the first chapter, if you haven't read The Hardest Part yet, do it first and then rejoin us here.

Thanks for reading! ~LJ

California Girls

I pulled in at the bookstore. Had to have something to do on the beach and, yeah, books reminded me of Bella. The store was small, with a façade of rough logs that looked real, but I knew couldn't be. The smell was wrong. They were on top of a foundation of something else. The roof was low and sloped and I had to duck to get in the door.

Of course at my height, that was normal.

Inside, I was straightening up when I heard a girl gasp and a book fall with a thud to the indoor-outdoor carpeting. It was green, in a kitschy move to look like grass in a forest grove. The store – called The Book Grove – was just that kind of place, apparently. I knelt to pick up the girl's book while she was still kind of staring at me.

Staring at me in a way that made me feel a little shy. A little embarrassed. And – for some stupid reason – I wished she'd seen me on the rez. You know, in my natural habitat. "Here you go," I said, making sure to keep my voice kind of soft. Maybe that look in her eye was fear, after all.

Nope. She blushed and I felt my own face heat up a little as I studied her features. Thick dark hair that fell to her waist. Big brown eyes that reminded me of someone else's but not enough to be confusing (Maybe I just had a thing for brown-eyed girls?), she wasn't very tall, and her lips were parted as she accepted the copy of Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka. Whoa. Heavy reading. Dressed in a dark green sweater, jeans and boots, she looked like part of the forest herself.

"Th- Thanks," she whispered, turning bright pink again.

I had to grin. "Not a problem." I nodded at the book. "Is it good?"

"Yeah. It's my favorite. Um, were you looking for something? I work here. My name's Autumn." As she turned, I saw a lanyard with her name on it swing out from over her other shoulder.

"That's a pretty name. Thanks. Um, not sure what I'm looking for just now." I felt stupid, all at once. What was I doing here, anyway? Sure she was cute and this was a bookstore, but it wasn't like I imprinted on her and I sure as hell didn't want to mess up anyone...

The concerned faces of Quil and Sam and even Bella flashed across my memory while I looked over the bookstore. What the hell, right? I was on vacation. "So, you work here, right? What do you recommend?" Yeah, I was putting her on the spot, but it wasn't like she knew me or even that I'd ever see her again.

Besides, I liked making girls blush. I'd blame Bella for that.

Sure enough, Autumn's cheeks reddened again and she ducked her head before straightening her shoulders and smiling into my eyes. "Well, I really couldn't say, sir. You look like the outdoors type to me. Do you like Jack Kerouac?"

The name rang a bell from some English class back in school so I nodded. This girl read Kafka, another one of those authors that intimidated the hell out of me. "Sure, sure. Point him out and I'll –"

With a sprightly grin, she tilted her head and walked in front of me. "Follow me, sir."

I was not going to turn down the invitation to look, anyway. Keeping my smirk entirely to myself – and being extremely relieved that I was not phasing and so the guys were not going to have to see me making an ass out of myself, I checked out her ass and was definitely not disappointed.

"Well, sir," she said, tossing me a glance over her shoulder, "here you go."

"It's Jake," I muttered, scanning the wood-veneered shelf and thinking that I should maybe have looked for a local comic book store or something up here instead.

"Jake?"

"Yeah, my name, you know?"

Her smile never left her face, but it did warm her eyes. "Cool. Jake, then. Here's Kerouac and some other authors you might like. Jack Kirby's got some good stuff. If you have any questions, I'll be at the register."

So, yeah, one thing lead to another and before I left The Book Grove, I had a date with one really cute girl named Autumn.

"And this is my friend, Leslie," Autumn told me the next evening, tugging out a blonde with a dimpled smile. "She really wanted to meet you."

Surprise sent sparks all through me, but not because I imprinted. Hell, no. Just because I apparently had a date with not one but two really cute girls. At the same time. And both the girls had a beckoning scent to them that I totally recognized. Sometimes, being a werewolf came in handy. Two girls...? One night...?

"Hi, Leslie," I managed. "Any friend of Autumn's..."

The girls laughed and I walked them both out to my rental car, a disbelieving grin on my face as they gave me directions to the local movie theater.

Domestic Surprises

I was smiling as the plane landed at Sea Tac, because, hell, my California memories were worth it. Sitting in the front row of the plane, I could stretch my legs out and the muscle-memories prompted vacation-memories which made me smile more.

"Glad to be home, sir?" The voice of the male flight attendant shook me from my reverie.

I straightened up in the seat. "Uh, yeah. But it was a great vacation," I told him with a grin. I was already trying to decide which memories I could keep out there for the guys. I managed to forget Bella for hours at a time, which was really progress. It really was. The pack would be relieved, anyway. "You've heard about those California girls, right?"

The flight attendant winked at me. "Oh, yeah."

As soon as we were allowed, I popped open the overhead bin and grabbed my backpack. This was going to be the tricky part – getting out of civilization and back to the woods so I could strap my pack around my stomach before phasing. I had worked on it before I left for California, but it was a little awkward standing naked with a huge strap in one hand to make sure it didn't fall to the ground and get tangled in my paws.

It took about an hour to get to where I wanted to be, and then I was in my wolfskin and running for home. The scents of these trees were familiar to me. Sitka and spruce instead of redwood. The Pacific Ocean's own salts wafted to my sensitive nose, too, reminding me that I was no longer in California, spending time with Autumn and Leslie.

Hey! I saw that!

Embry! Hey!

Welcome home, brother!

A sense of warmth and brotherhood came from him across the miles and if I could have grinned with the wolf's muzzle, I would have. Instead, I chuffed and laughed in my mind. Good to be home, Em. How're Bella and the kids? That sounded so sitcom-ish. Damn.

Surprise flashed to me when he filled me in. Bella's doing great. I'll let her know you're home. Kids are great. Come on over when you check in with Billy.

Who's that? I asked him when a strange face flashed in his thoughts. It was a girl who had thick black hair, big brown eyes – my apparent weakness – and tanned skin. High cheekbones and a narrow nose combined with lips the color of the Merlot I had seen in a store at the airport in California. She's beautiful, I thought without filtering my mind.

Embry's thoughts were joined by Sam's as the Alpha phased. I could see the house he and Emily lived in, with the new room addition they were building on the back. It's complicated, Sam warned me.

His and Embry's thoughts scrambled together uncomfortably. A man who looked a little like Sam – Joshua Uley, I guessed, though I hadn't met him myself. Embry's mom. The flash of a picture in a wallet of a woman with oddly familiar eyes.

Now hang on, Sam directed Embry as I ran more quickly in my hurry to reach La Push. We don't want him freaking out.

Him freaking out? Hell, Sam, I'm still trying to get used to it.

Used to what? I demanded, growling as my paws tore up the pine needles of the forest floor. Who is that girl?

You know how Mom never told me who my dad was? Embry reminded me. Laura Call's face, in sorrowful determination, crossed his mind.

Sam's memories joined his. Turns out she knew my father. Knew him really well, the bastard.

Pain sliced through me as I shared their memories. Pain at Sam's abandonment by his father. Pain at Embry's finding out that same man was his biological father.

And a distress was added to both to of their minds. Jake, dude, that girl is our sister, Embry informed me as I reached the coastal forest track. The trees flew by me as I ran, but I barely noticed. I could only seem to feel the pain of betrayal and unwelcome discovery in the minds of my friends and pack brothers.

What's she doing here? I asked Embry as the scents of La Push reached my nose. Where is she?

I think she should tell her own story. Sam's mental state was firm in his decision. Go home, Jake, and then you can go see Embry and Bella and the kids. Cassandra'll be at my house, but I'll bring her by.

Cassandra?

Cassandra Uley, my sister.

My sister, too! Embry was practically snarling as I skirted the village to get to the closest point to the house I lived in with my dad. Jacob, this is really messed up.

You sure don't need more stress, I thought. Hey, I gotta phase human. I'll be by to see you as soon as I can, okay?

Sure. I'll tell Bella. And hey, before you go –

What? I wondered, almost at the treeline and ready to phase human.

Leah.

And I saw a flurry of images. I didn't need to even hear Embry's words to know what had happened. The only female in the pack had imprinted on Chief Swan and he didn't know it yet!

Well, hell. Does Bella know?

No We've told Leah we'll keep the secret until she tells Charlie.

All right. I can do that. But, damn.

Yeah. You thought she was bad before, imagine her head, now!

I don't even wanna go there, I communicated to him, the fur along my spine shivering with my imagination.

Later, Jake.

Later.

I stopped at the treeline and phased to my human skin, hearing my backpack fall to the dirt. My mind racing over the revelations about Leah and Charlie, Laura Call and Joshua Uley, not to mention the sudden appearance of Embry and Sam's apparent half-sister, I was walking in something of a daze as I reached my house. I didn't realize I hadn't even pulled on a pair of pants until Rachel opened the front door.

"Jake!" Her eyes fell to my groin and I rolled my eyes. "Get dressed, idiot," she said. "Dad's at Sue's place."

"I was talking with Sam and Embry on my way over," I told my sister. She was Paul's imprint so she knew all about this werewolf stuff. It was a relief. "I'm gonna go see him."

"You mean Bella," she taunted. Sisters were such a pain.

I shook my head. "No, I mean Embry," I told her, reaching my room and rummaging for some clothes in my closet. "I met a couple of girls in California," I called to Rachel to get her off my case. "Cute ones. Had some good times."

"Oh yeah?" Her voice curled with interest as I heard her press against my bedroom door. "How good?"

The memories that had had me smiling so broadly on the flight back to Washington returned and I grinned again as I pulled the blue polo shirt over my head. "Really good. Trust me."

"I am so glad I'm not a wolf like Leah," Rachel said, laughing. "I really don't want details."

"Good, because I'm not telling you." And I'm not telling you about Leah's imprint, either. I wondered how Rachel would take having a male imprint in the group?

I emerged from my room after I got my jeans on and shoes in my hand. Rachel smiled up at me. "I can ask Paul... If it'd make me happy to know, he'll tell me."

With a barked laugh, I moved past her to get to the bathroom. Yes, I was going to see Embry's family. Yes, I had had a good time with Autumn and Leslie. But still...

Meeting my reflection in the mirror, I tried to banish the wistfulness from my expression. She's married, you ass, I reminded myself as I brushed my teeth. She loves Embry. This is stupid. You're an idiot, just like Rachel said.

Idiot or not, I headed to Embry's at a light jog, glad that I was not phased wolf and so could keep some of my thoughts to myself. Thoughts of Autumn and Leslie and a blanket on the sand under the stars... Yes, think of them instead of Isabella Call. Instead of memories of a very pregnant Bella, round with Embry's son and daughter. Instead of distant memories from a time when I was blissfully ignorant of werewolves and there was just me and Bella, walking on the shore and holding hands.

I was calling myself all kinds of names as I reached the house I had helped renovate for Bella and Embry. I tried, though, to find that just-friends smile for Bella when she opened the door to my knock. "Hey, Bells," I said, inhaling the fresh floral scent of her, mingled with the scents of the babies and – Oh, hell. Breast milk? Yes.

Blowing out a breath, I held on to my smile by the barest nerve ending as she adjusted her hold on the baby over her shoulder. "Jake! Welcome home! Embry told me you'd be by."

"Yep. Need a hand?" I asked, offering to take whichever of the twins she was holding.

"Nope. I just need, to, um, get back to feeding her." So it was Hennah. "Hemi's already been fed."

I heard a car approach and turned, expecting to see Embry, maybe, reaching the graveled drive. "Where's Em?"

"He's at Dowling's. He had only run home for lunch when he heard you." Hennah started fussing and squirming a little and Bella moved her daughter into a cradle-hold.

I looked away. "Must be Sam on his way, then."

Bella's brow creased into a frown as she settled into the rocking chair near a small side table. The rocker looked all padded and had bows on the padding with a foot stool and everything. "Would you be willing to let them in, Jake? I need to finish getting her fed, okay? Sorry," she whispered, her blush flooding her cheeks as she tugged a blanket from a basket next to the chair. She adjusted herself and Hennah so that her baby was able to feed without giving anyone a view of Bella's breast while she did so.

I was blushing myself and willed the color to recede before Sam parked his car. "What do you mean by them, Bells?" I asked, watching out the window in the living room. There were two people in the car.

"My new sister-in-law," Bella said, her voice matter of fact over the soft nuzzling sounds her daughter made. I tried not to hear and tried even harder not to imagine. Stupid jerk, I told myself. Fantasizing about a breastfeeding woman. You're an idiot.

Sam's old sedan had a well-maintained engine, so it purred smoothly into the drive. The Alpha got out from behind the wheel and nodded at his passenger. The other door opened and I saw the same girl from Sam's and Embry's thoughts slide from the seat and out into the hazy sunshine of the late summer afternoon. Her thick hair gleamed as it swept over her shoulders. Her movements were graceful as she swept her hair back and shut the door.

I opened the front door to welcome them. "Sam."

"Jake! Good to see you! Welcome home!" His sister, then, didn't know about us. Okay. I kept that in mind. "What're you doing at Embry's?" His emphasis was slight on my friend's name.

"Came to see the kids. It's been a while."

Sam smiled and took his sister by the arm. I reminded myself that I wasn't supposed to know who she was. "Jake, I'd like to introduce you to my sister, Cassandra Uley."

I pushed the surprise into high gear and looked her in the eye. "Hello," I started to say.

But I barely made it. Her deep brown eyes met mine and my whole world sort of fell away from me. I felt weightless, light-headed, but still attached by a huge steel cable to this incredibly beautiful woman standing here in front of me.

What the hell? I was imprinting on Sam and Embry's sister!

A/N: See how I slid Leah's imprinting in here? She will get her own story, but I had to put it in context, so here it is.

Autumn and Leslie are real people, used by permission. I like a good cameo. The Book Grove is a figment of my imagination, as far as I am aware.

Excerpt from Chapter 3:

That sent the hair on the back of my neck to rising, because even if Cassandra was my imprint, Bells was one of my best friends and was married to another of my best friends.

Maybe I wasn't imprinted?

Maybe it was just hold-over from Bella? Long dark hair, brown eyes, quiet demeanor... Just like Bella. Just like Autumn, back in the Big Sur.