A/N: Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed the last chapter, it really means a lot to know that there are so many of you still with me after my long hiatus. I was glad to see so many new comers too. Hope you all enjoy this next chapter!
Disclaimer: Nothing's changed, they're still not mine, but I love to take them out to play...
Bella marched outside and found Sam and Noah still tinkering with Sam's old truck. "Hey guys, whatcha doing?"
The boys shared a look before turning to their baby sister. Noah folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the truck as Sam stepped toward her. "We're just working on the old beast, trying to get her running again. Why, what's up?"
Suddenly her feet were very interesting and she dug them into the ground before finally giving a huff and meeting Sam's gaze. "I wanted to talk to you about Embry. Paul said he told you my idea about doing the DNA test to see if we could figure out who his dad is, but Leah brought up a good point that I hadn't thought of when I mentioned it to her. We can't exactly just do a store bought DNA test because we don't know what could be different about your DNA now that you all have phased, not to mention it costs $2-300 to send off for the lab results."
Sam's eyes widened. "Yeah that's a little pricey. I guess I didn't think about having to send off and pay for the results, or our DNA being that different, but given all the changes our bodies have gone through, it's probably not a good idea. Don't worry about it Bells, we'll think of something else." He ruffled her hair and started to turn back towards the truck.
The screen door opened as the rest of the girls came out on the porch, and Leah gave her a shooing motion back towards the guys. Bella huffed and rolled her eyes before taking another step towards them. "Well I kind of have a free way to get the test done. I mean I figure he at least owes me that much…"
Anything else she was about to say was cut off by a large growl as Noah pushed off the truck. "Are you out of your mind? No way!"
Sam's eyes flicked to the porch before stepping in between them, "What's he talking about Bella?"
"Well I figured…" Noah cut her off again. "She figured she could get the leech doctor to do it."
Sam turned to stare at her digging holes in the ground with her boots again, "It's a bad idea Bella. Who knows what he would do with our blood or DNA. It's not that important."
"Uh oh," Leah mumbled from the porch.
Sure enough, Bella's head snapped up at that. "Not important, NOT IMPORTANT?! Are you kidding me? How is finding out who his father is not important? You know he's wondered about it his whole life, and especially now, knowing that his father must be Quileute?"
Sam took a deep breath and blew it out through his nose, "I know that, but the risk is too high."
Leah stepped off the porch and came toward them, "I could talk to mom, make sure that she's there when the tests are run so she can make sure nothing funny happens."
"You should do it Sam. That way Embry will finally get some answers and we'll know for sure if there is something in your DNA that we need to worry about if you ever did have to go to a hospital," Emily reasoned as she and Kim came off the porch.
The guys shared another look before Noah shook his head and stalked back toward the woods. "Alright," Sam sighed, "I'll call the doc and see what he says."
Bella smiled as she wrapped her arms around him, "Thanks Sammy." She pulled back and looked up at him, "Ok, well, Leah and I are gonna run to the store and grab some stuff we need for dinner before Angela gets here. We'll be back in a few!" she called over her shoulder as they hopped into Noah's truck and left.
Angela was just pulling up when they returned with the groceries. "Hey girls, I brought lunch!" she announced, holding up 3 bags full of Chinese food.
"I don't suppose you brought any for us?" Jared asked stepping out of the woods and grabbing one of the grocery bags.
Sam punched him in the arm on his way past. "Leave the girls food alone. I already ordered us some pizzas, they'll be here in another 10 minutes or so. I need to talk to Bella for just a sec, can you take her bag inside too?"
"Sure thing boss man." Jared scooped the bag out of her hands and tilted his head towards the house motioning for Leah to follow. She gave Bella a questioning look before tuning and following him inside.
Sam came to stand in front of her, "Sorry Bells, I just wanted to let you know that I talked to Doc Cullen. He requested a face to face meeting with you in the clearing near the treaty line in about an hour."
She blew out her breath, "Yeah, I kind of figured he would. Did he say if he was bringing any of the others with him?"
"No, he didn't, which is why all four of us are going with you." Sam slung an arm over her shoulder and turned back toward the house. "Come on, let's go inside. The pizzas should be here any minute, and we should eat before we go."
They were just sitting down at the table to eat when Paul walked in with the pizzas. "Did I hear you say something about a meeting with Doc Fang?" he asked, depositing the boxes on the table.
Sam drank a large gulp of his beer before nodding his head, "Yeah, in the clearing. He wants a meeting with Bella, and I'm not sure if he's bringing any of the other leeches with him. So eat up, you and Jared are going to run ahead and scout it out, let us know what to expect."
"How you plan on getting Bella there, piggy back?" Jared questioned. "The closest road to that clearing is 3 or 4 miles away. If you plan for her to walk, you need to leave now."
"The old fire trail cuts that way, about a mile from the clearing. I'm pretty sure we can get the truck down there and then walk the rest of the way," Sam explained.
"How are you guys getting there? Going wolf?" Bella asked. Jared and Paul nodded yes. "Well then why don't you all wolf out, and one of you can just carry me?" The table suddenly went deathly quiet. She looked up at each of the guys only to Paul clenching the table so hard it looked like it might break, Jared staring at her in open mouth shock, Noah looked like he was trying not to laugh, and Sam was giving her a questioning look. "What? You guys are bigger than a horse. It wouldn't be much different than horseback riding."
All of the girls burst out in giggles and Noah gave up trying to curb his laughter. "Only you Bells, only you."
Sam smiled too and shook his head, "I don't know Bells, it's never been tried before. Our wolves are more primal than we are, and we run so fast. What if you fell off? I'd be worried about your safety."
Paul looked up with a start when Bella's hand slid over his, prying it off the lip of the table. She ran her thumb across his knuckles soothingly, "It was just a suggestion. If you guys are that worried about it, I'll walk."
Sam released a sigh, "We'll see. Finish eating, then we can go out back. Noah and I will phase and see how it goes."
Paul ripped his hand out from under hers and stood up so fast it knocked his chair over backward, his whole body vibrating slightly, "It's a bad idea Sam and you know it. It's one thing for you to phase in front of her, but Noah's brand new to this, he's too unpredictable."
"You honestly think I would hurt my kid sister? Really? At least I'm not the one with the hairline trigger!" Noah fumed, also starting to shake.
Jared motioned for the girls to go in the kitchen. Emily, Kim and Angela quickly scrambled from the table while leach just rolled her eyes and took another bite of her mooshoo pork.
"Enough! Both of you, outside now! No phasing in the house, especially with the girls here!" Sam boomed. Bella could feel the power behind the command and figured this must've been an Alpha order. Both boys glared at one another as they went out the back door, Jared following quickly behind, but as Bella moved to follow them she felt Sam's arm wrap around her. "Oh no you don't. They're both revved up right now, they wouldn't mean to hurt you, but they could phase too close and you would be shredded."
She shook her head, "You don't get it Sam. Paul still doubts himself after what happened with his grandmother. He needs to see that his wolf self is just as acceptable as the man is. Trust me; I know what I'm doing." She snatched her arm back and marched out the back door, Leah close behind her. Miraculously, both Paul and Noah were still human when she reached the porch. Jared was positioned between them in the yard, a hand to both of their chests as they snarled at one another. She shared a look with Leah who gave a slight nod before turning to look at Sam behind her. "Do it, order them to phase. We'll wait here while they do, but then We're gonna prove to you and them, that you're perfectly harmless where us girls are concerned."
Sam shook his head, "Bells, this is not a good idea; especially with the testosterone those two are putting out right now."
Leah shook her head, "She's right, how in the world to you ever expect them to trust themselves if you don't?"
Sam stared her down for a few minutes with a frown before finally rolling his eyes and stepping off the porch. "Enough!" he roared. "Phase now, all of you, and do not leave this back yard!" The boys started taking their shorts off as Bella squawked and turned around to face the house.
"I really hope you know what you're doing," Jared called before she felt the energy in the yard shift.
Bella heard two growls that she assumed were Paul and Noah and two yips she figured to be Jared and Sam. When she turned back around the first thing she saw was Leah staring slack jawed at the yard. She followed her gaze to see her older brothers' black and dark grey wolves, as well as a brown and silver wolf.
"Holy crap B! I know you said they were huge, but damn…" Leah breathed.
Bella giggled as she walked down the porch steps towards Sam first. He laid on his belly, rest his head on his massive front paws and gave a low whine. "See Sammy, this isn't so bad," she said reaching up to scratch behind his ear. He leaned his head into her hand.
Leah approached his other side, running her hand through the fur on the side of his neck. "He might look like a massive wolf, but he's nothing but a big ole softy." He let out a huff making both girls laugh.
Noah's dark gray wolf gave a little whine and shuffled forward on his belly. When he neared Bella's other side the silver wolf at the other side of the yard let out a low growl. Noah's hackles immediately rose and Sam's head whipped to pin them both down with his stare.
Leah broke down in a fit of giggles next to Jared's brown wolf as Bella stomped her foot and pinned the other 3 wolves with a steely gaze. "Ooh, you guys are in for in now. You made B mad." Jared's tongue lolled out the side of his mouth as his wolf seemed to chuff in laughter with her.
When Noah made a move to snap at Paul's silver wolf Bella jumped in surprising all 3 wolves, "Enough! You guys are being ridiculous. Now stop the growling and lay down, all of you." Both wolves looked to Sam and this only seemed to make her madder, "Seriously?! I'm talking to all 3 of you, now lay down!" Sam and Noah both dropped back to the ground, but Paul was still pacing near the edge of the yard. Bella stared at him as he refused to meet her gaze.
Leah walked back over to join her, rubbing Noah's muzzle as she talked, "Well at least these two listened. You know how stubborn he is B, just give him a few minutes to calm down."
By this time the other girls had come out on the back porch. They looked a little hesitant, but Kim moved down the steps first, stopping in front of Jared and running her hands up his muzzle before sinking her fingers in to the soft fur around his neck. He gave the side of her face a big lick and she let out a loud laugh. "Let's stick to kissing in human form please."
Emily and Angela came down holding hands and Sam whined as she they stepped towards him shyly. Leah smiled next to Noah, "It's ok to touch them. They're all big softies." He let out a huff and quickly licked her face much the same as Jared had done to Kim. "Ewe, gross! Licking is so not cool," Leah complained as the other girls giggled at her expense.
Paul had finally stopped pacing, but just stared at them from the other end of the yard. Bella turned back towards the others, "Sam, can you all go back inside and let me talk to him for a minute?" Sam looked at Noah and Jared. They all headed into the woods and returned a minute later in human form.
"We need to leave in a couple minutes Bells, I can't give you very long," Sam said, stopping to squeeze her shoulder on his way back up to the porch.
She gave him a small smile. "Thanks. This should only take a minute." He nodded to the other two behind her and the boys herded the girls back in the house. He stopped one more time by the door and stared at Paul for a moment before finally going inside.
Bella watched as Paul started to pace again at the other end of the yard for a minute before she finally sat down on the cold grown. He gave a small growl and stopped moving. She stared at him unmoving for another minute, and he gave a low whine. She shook her head, "I'm not getting up until you come over here. I would've come to you, but then you would've felt cornered, and since I don't have a super high dose of Ketamine in my back pocket, the last thing I want to do is corner a wild animal." He gave a snort of wolfy laughter, but didn't make a move to come any closer. "It's up to you. We can stay here all day. I can tell Sam to call Carlisle back and tell him I can't make it today, and just talk to Emmett in school on Monday to reschedule." Paul snarled and took a hesitant step towards her. She smiled and patted the ground next to her. He stopped a few feet from her and laid down with his head on his paws. She chuckled as she crawled towards him on the ground, and heard him give a low growl as she came closer.
When Bella reached him she reached her had towards his muzzle and laughed when he licked it. "Just close your eyes and relax." He just gave a huff and put his head back down. She chuckled and moved to his right side, running her hand along his muzzle and up behind his ear, "You always were too stubborn for you own good." She continued to drag her hand through his fur until she reached his flank, then moved back towards his head again. "See, nothing to worry about. I know you're worried you'll hurt me, but I trust you even if you don't trust yourself, and if the others didn't trust you, they wouldn't have left." She stopped just behind his front leg and scratched along his side, "Now are you going to give me a ride, or am I going to have to get one of my brothers to do it?"
He turned his head towards her and seemed to roll his eyes before making himself as flat to the ground as he could. She took this a her cue and clamored up between his shoulders before pushing herself back a bit so he'd be able to run. She leaned forward and scratched his back to let him know that she was settled and he stood back up, giving a short bark to signal the others.
Everyone piled out the back door. Jared, Noah, and Sam were staring at them slack jawed while the girls were smiling. Leah walked to the railing, "Well hey there She-Ra, did you borrow He-Man's Battle Cat?"
Paul's growl was cut off by Bella's response, "Silly Leah, why would I need Battle Cat when I have the Big Bad Wolf that ate him for lunch?" The group on the porch all laughed as Bella leaned down and whispered in Paul's ear. When she sat back up she quirked a brow at them, "Ladies, don't have too much fun without me. Boys, I assume you can keep up?"
The girls laughed as the boys gave them hugs before hopping the railing and running towards the woods that Paul and Bella had just disappeared into.