Chapter 3

Josh's multi-day birthday party was in full swing after the birthday dinner. He spent the next day and well into the night playing video games in a massive tournament, including the Denalis. Connell and Tia arrived with the Denalis to join in on the fun, which made Josh even more excited. While some of the family did not truly enjoy video games, they humored him and took part. They were amused by the phases of the tournament, which were broken into teams, pairs, and individual brackets. There were four teams in the first phase and Josh's team, consisting of Josh, Natalie, Zach, Allie, Emmett, Rosalie, Jacob, Leah, and Emily won the first bracket. Allie was surprised that her mother was much better at video games than she thought since Emily spent so much time around packs. The next bracket allowed for the teams to break up into pairings and most of the pairings consisted of mates. The tournament was even more competitive than the team challenge and ultimately, Zach and Allie won. Edward and Bella were surprise underdogs that finished second due mainly to Edward's ability to read the minds of his opponents, but Zach's experience with the games and Allie's pattern recognition were too much to overcome. The last phase of the tournament was the individual round and games were set up in the theater, game room, family room, and living room. The house was full of taunting, hooting, and hollering. Josh could not control his laughter as he tried to help Charlie defeat Sue.

"Grandpa, you have to push that button if you want to strike back," explained Josh.

"Stop giving him tips, my sweet grandson. That is cheating," teasingly scolded Sue and Josh chuckled.

"He needs it, grandma. When did you get so good at video games?"

"Yea, when did you get so good at video games," asked Charlie as he tried to hide from her in the game.

"Call it beginner's luck," said Sue as her character snuck up behind Charlie and shot him in the back. Charlie looked at her in shock as Josh cheered for his grandmother.

"I can't believe you just shot me," exclaimed Charlie and Sue giggled.

"It was a love tap, dear."

"A love tap that killed me! That's just wrong. I am your husband. You could have given me some warning."

"It is a competition," laughed Sue and Charlie shook his head in amusement when Seth came over to congratulate his mother.

"Don't feel bad, Charlie. I taught her how to play this game a few months ago when Kaya and I came to visit," revealed Seth and Charlie playfully glared at his wife as she tried to give an innocent smile.

"Beginner's luck huh," asked Charlie and Sue winked at him. Natalie smiled as she watched Josh interact with his grandparents and uncle. She left the game room and walked past the living room where Garrett and Connell were arguing over if Garrett won fairly. She stepped outside onto the back porch and took in a deep breath, letting the cool night air fill her lungs. She heard footsteps behind her and gulped when she saw Leah step outside.

"Out of the tournament already," asked Leah and Natalie nodded.

"I had to face Renesmee. She is actually quite good."

"Kate took me out. That's what I get for playing an assassin game against a former assassin," admitted Leah. Natalie giggled, but the awkward silence returned quickly between them.

"I am going to head back in and find Josh," said Natalie as she turned to leave, but Leah spoke up.

"What are your intentions with my son," questioned Leah and Natalie frowned in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean what are your plans? Do you want to stay here with him? Are you willing to visit La Push? Do you want to be a part of his family or prefer to be on your own? What do you like? What do you do for fun besides steal nuclear codes?" Natalie sighed.

"I don't consider stealing nuclear codes fun. It was necessary."

"Was it, because you are still on Most Wanted Lists worldwide and that puts my son in the crosshairs?"

"The Volturi are taking care of that."

"Right, you got lucky, so now that you are a free woman, what are the answers to those questions? What are your plans?"

"Do I have to answer all of them in that specific order," quipped Natalie as she crossed her arms and Leah smirked.

"Answer them however you like, just answer them."

"Look, I don't mean any disrespect, but I don't like being ordered around or talked down to. Call it a sore spot after being tormented by Aro for years, but I tend to get defensive when I feel like I am being cornered or people are trying to play mind games with me. I love your son. Why isn't that enough? It is between us. We will figure it out."

"See, that's where you are wrong. He is part of something much bigger than that. His decisions don't just affect him. That's the catch that comes with being part of such a big family. It is a ripple effect and I just want to make sure that your effect on him is a positive one."

"Is that really all you want? It sounds to me like you are looking for a reason not to like me. I'm not here to give you one. I am here to spend time with your son and celebrate his birthday. That's my plan," said Natalie before walking away and Leah gritted her teeth in frustration.

Josh high-fived Garrett after he beat Daniel and moved up the bracket. He checked on Zach, who was facing Nahuel while Allie cheered him on. Josh frowned in confusion when he didn't see Natalie in the theater and decided to go find her. Alice grabbed his hand and he smiled at her.

"Hey, have you seen Natalie," he asked and Alice smiled sympathetically at him.

"You can deal with that later. We need to talk. It is urgent."

"Oh boy," mumbled Josh as he followed her outside. He gulped when she pointed toward her Porsche.

"Hop in. We are headed for the docks."

"Why?"

"I will explain in a minute," she assured as they got into the car. She sped down the paved rode away from the house and he gulped.

"Okay, now I am really getting worried. You already gave me the blueprints for my cottage and a new wardrobe for my birthday, so you obviously aren't about to surprise me with a gift. What's going on?"

"Callista is on her way here."

"What? Why didn't you tell me that sooner," shrieked Josh.

"Because I couldn't find a good time and knew that you wouldn't want to find out when Natalie was with you. Besides, I have been a bit busy planning the wedding and you have been busy enjoying your birthday. You sure do know how to pick them, Josh. Callista has horrible timing."

"What does she want?"

"She wants to make amends for how things ended between the two of you."

"Why would she want to do that? I figured she forgot all about me. It was ages ago."

"Calm down, it has only been a month," reminded Alice and Josh rolled his eyes.

"I should have never slept with her."

"Agreed, but you did and now she wants to talk to you. I will leave the car for you so you can drive back. Don't you dare ruin that outfit! You look so handsome in it," said Alice before darting back toward the house and he sighed.

"Thanks," he mumbled. He waited impatiently on the docks as his mind raced. What could Callista have to say? Why now after he had everything he wanted? His thoughts made him even more anxious and he began to pace. Suddenly, he could hear a boat in the distance and gulped when he saw her steering it toward the island. Her pale yellow crop top and jeans were far less extravagant than the designer dresses Josh was accustomed to seeing her in, but still accentuated her curves and toned stomach. Josh averted his eyes from her body as she anchored the boat and sauntered onto the dock.

"What are you doing here," he asked as she reached out to hug him and he stepped back.

"Well hello to you too, Josh."

"Answer the question."

"I want to talk."

"You can't be here. I have a mate now and I am happy. I want you to leave."

"That was fast. Then too, you do like to move fast in your relationships, don't you," teased Callista and he glared at her.

"Is that what you call what we had, a relationship? You used me."

"And I apologized for that. I am here to make amends for it. I am trying to be a better person. I even changed my diet. See, gold, not red." He looked into her eyes and could see the faint tint of burgundy dissipating as golden brown became the dominant color. She took a step closer to him and reached out for his hand.

"I was wrong to hurt you and I know that now. I want to make it up to you, so why don't you let me? We had so much fun together. We can have even more fun," she urged with a seductive smile, but he pulled his hand away from hers.

"You used me for my status and what we had is over. I have a mate now. You should respect that. I have a party to get back to, so do us both a favor and just leave."

"You are making it really hard to apologize properly."

"I don't want your apology, Callista. I don't want anything from you. You got what you wanted from me. I made sure the Volturi didn't kill you for your crimes. You manipulated and schemed, so you got your way. Congratulations! Now, move on because I have." With that, he got back into the Porsche and sped away. Callista shook her head in disbelief.

"Now I remember why I hate apologizing. People rarely forgive anyways," she grumbled to herself as she got back onto the boat and maneuvered it away from the dock to leave.

Natalie opened the new suitcase Alice bought her and began to fill it with some clothes. She looked around the room she shared with Josh at Zach and Allie's cottage and spotted one of Josh's hooded sweatshirts on the bed. She took in a deep breath to inhale his scent and smiled as it washed over her. She tossed the piece of clothing into the suitcase along with a few others before zipping it up. The heavy footsteps drawing closer caught her attention, but she decided to ignore them.

"You aren't the first person my sister has had this effect on, trust me," teased Seth as he leaned against the doorway and Natalie smirked.

"I am not a child and I won't let her treat me like one."

"Good, then don't, but that means you have to act like an adult and not run every time someone upsets you."

"You know nothing about me, so don't act like you do. I am so tired of people trying to tell me what to do. I have dealt with it my whole life, even before I was a vampire, so forgive me if I am not amused by your sister trying to dictate to me, Seth. You seem like a sweet guy and a good uncle to Josh. Just tell him that I tried, okay?"

"No, I am not telling him because you aren't leaving. You think you are the first person to be rubbed the wrong way by Leah? She is my sister. I know all about that and so does my mate, but you don't get to run out on my nephew because you had a little spat with his mom," argued Seth and Kaya nodded as she entered the room.

"Yea, at least she didn't try to kill you. I think that's progress," said Kaya and Natalie frowned in confusion.

"Then why did you even stick around," asked Natalie. Kaya smiled lovingly at her mate and slipped her hand into his.

"Because Seth will always be worth it, just like Josh is. You aren't the first mates to have to overcome some things. I had to deal with his family and heritage, plus my own issues of abandonment. You think you are so different from all of us, but you aren't," informed Kaya. Natalie sighed as she heard Josh call her name as he entered the cottage. She grabbed the suitcase and quickly put it into the closet before walking out of the room with Seth and Kaya.

"I'm here," she called and Josh jogged over to her. He sighed in relief and hugged her tightly.

"I got worried when I couldn't find you in the house. Everything okay," he asked and she slowly nodded.

"Yea, I was just talking with your family. I got a bit overwhelmed. There are a lot of people here."

"We were just taking a break from all the excitement," added Seth. Josh chuckled and caressed Natalie's cheek.

"I know it is a lot, but I thought you were having fun," said Josh.

"I am. The tournament was a great idea. Come on, let's go see who will be in the final four," she suggested and he happily nodded. Seth sighed as he and Kaya watched them head back to the house. They exited the cottage and Rosalie and Emmett approached, which made Seth smile.

"I don't know who keeps a closer eye on things, you or Esme," teased Seth and Rosalie winked at him.

"Your sister is in rare form lately. I wonder who will set me off first, her or Alice," pondered Rosalie and Kaya shuddered.

"I don't want to be around when any of that happens. Why is Leah acting like this? I thought she was relieved that Josh found his mate," questioned Kaya.

"I had a feeling it wouldn't last. The woman has a mean streak," chuckled Emmett and Seth nodded in agreement.

"I love her, but she tends to go overboard sometimes. This is the same Leah that decided to move away just so Josh wouldn't be around our family," reminded Seth. They all turned to see Jacob walking over to the group and Emmett grinned mischievously.

"My baby boy beat you, didn't he," asked Emmett smugly and Jacob rolled his eyes, but nodded.

"The kid squashed me in a minute. You would think he would at least take it a bit easy on me," pouted Jacob and Emmett pumped his fist.

"Too bad I won't get to face you in the finals, but my victory will still be sweet. Let's make this snappy. I have to warm up before we start," declared Emmett and Seth chuckled.

"It is a video game, Em," said Seth and Emmett waved him off.

"That's why you lost to Zafrina, which you should be ashamed of by the way. The woman spent most of her existence in the Amazons. I am surprised she even knew what a controller looked like," teased Emmett.

"Don't let her fool you. Keegan plays and they are mates. You know he taught her a thing or two," defended Seth.

"Still makes you a loser, but anyways, let's get down to business. Babe, you need to talk to Leah," said Emmett and Rosalie guffawed as the rest of them nodded in agreement.

"You have got to be kidding me! Why am I the sacrifice? Jake, she is her wife," argued Rosalie.

"Exactly, which means she can hold certain things over my head, including sex….."

"Ew," said Rosalie as she scrunched up her nose and Seth covered his ears.

"Dude, seriously," shrieked Seth as Kaya and Emmett laughed.

"All I am saying is that she would lash out at me in ways she can't lash out at you," defended Jacob.

"In other words, he doesn't want to have to go into the dog house for the night," teased Emmett and Jacob rolled his eyes.

"Call it what you want, but I am not doing it. Besides, Rose, you can get through to her. You are her best friend and are really good at dealing with her when she is on edge," said Jacob.

"Oh don't try to suck up to me now! I am not going to get screamed at by Leah because she is acting all wolfy. Speaking as someone that has had issues controlling her temper in the past…."

"No, you, never," teased Jacob.

"Hey, I admit it, which is why I also know that she is going to have to work through this on her own."

"Well, speaking as someone that she tried to attack, I am going to go worst case scenario and say that won't happen. What do we do if she doesn't rein it in herself," asked Kaya. They all looked at Rosalie, who groaned.

"Let's not go there. Come on, Em, I will cheer you on in the tournament," said Rosalie and Emmett kissed her.

"Even against our baby boy?"

"Don't be ridiculous," she giggled as they headed back toward the house with the others in tow.