Paul and I decided on a wedding date. It was after I would have my baby so I didn't have to freak out about finding a wedding dress that would fit over my massive stomach. It was already March when we decided when it would happen, which meant it was only six more months away in September. It would be an outdoor wedding down in Seattle. We were praying that it wouldn't rain. Usually in September it was still hot, so that gave us hopes that it wouldn't rain.
When I told everyone else, they flipped. I tried texting Payton about the wedding, but she didn't respond. I waited a day or two until I realized there was no sense in waiting for her. Everyone else was so excited about the wedding, and I wished Payton could be too. She was one of my best friends until she moved.
We weren't going to do any of my dress plans until after I gave birth to my baby girl. She would be the "flower girl" for my wedding. I wanted to wait because I would burn off that baby fat in no time.
I also told Ashleigh, and decided that I was going to invite their whole pack to the wedding. I hadn't exactly met them all yet, but I was going to soon. They invited us up to their reserve for a cook out/barbeque. It would be fun; I had never really been to a barbeque like that. Our whole pack was invited, but since Taya didn't know about the werewolves, Jacob decided to take her to Seattle for the day, incase something did slip. Embry, Quil, Jared, Kim, Emily, and Sam were still coming with Paul and I, though. It would be fun to finally meet the rest of Ashleigh's pack, especially since Ashleigh and Dakota were such cool people. Their tribe had to be just as amazing as they were.
Everyone started getting ready to go up to Port Madison, where the Cheon tribe lived. I wasn't exactly excited to drive four hours away from La Push, but I was excited to see Ashleigh and her tribe. It would be a fun experience to meet a new tribe.
We left around noon to get to Port Madison at about four. They probably wouldn't start cooking until six or seven. That gave us an hour or so to visit before the party really got started. I wanted to get there as soon as possible without any distractions or interruptions.
We were in the car driving, listening to the radio. Paul had one had on the steering wheel and the other one on my stomach. He loved the baby, even though she wasn't born yet.
I stared at my ring that shone back at me. It was a beautiful, twelve-karat diamond ring. It was simple, yet beautiful. I loved it with all my heart. It was the thing that would connect Paul and I for the rest of our lives. I never realized how in love I was with Paul until he asked me to marry him. We really would be together forever. All that imprinting stuff was true. He was everything I wanted and needed. I loved him so much; I could barely stand it. He was my entire life, my breath, my body, and my soul. How could I live without him?
"You like it?" Paul asked, snapping me back to reality.
I looked over at him. "What, the ring?" He nodded. "Of course I
love
it. It's amazing."
"I tried to pick out the best one
that I could," he told me. "I really wanted you to be happy
with it."
"I am happy with it. Actually, I'm ecstatic
with it."
"We're almost to Port Madison," he informed me.
I nodded. "That's great."
He looked at me strangely.
"What?"
"Aren't you excited? You get to see Ashleigh again."
"I am excited," I fought. "That's why I said that's great, because it is great. It's super duper."
"Okay," he mused, and then turned up the radio.
"Ow that hurts my ears," I whined.
He pouted his lips. "Aw, my poor princess."
I glared at him. "Just because I have sensitive ears doesn't mean you can make fun of me."
"I can make fun of you all I want to," he said matter-of-factly. "And you know why?"
"Why?"
"Because you will never leave me."
"That's debatable."
He
looked at me and made puppy dog eyes. "Ouch. That hurts, right
here," he pointed to his chest, "right where my heart used
to be before you ripped it out and did the Mexican hat dance on
it."
"My poor princess," I cooed, kissing his
cheek. "I will never leave you."
He smirked. "I knew you wouldn't'."
We got to Port Madison at four fifteen. It was cloudy outside, but I didn't mind too much. I hoped it wouldn't rain, because the rain would just make my pregnant self look even more fat because my clothes would be wet.
"Cameryn!" Ashleigh squealed once she saw me. She hugged me warmly and kissed my cheek. I hugged her back just as warmly and pet her stomach.
"How are you doing?" I asked, still petting her stomach.
"I'm doing good," she laughed. "I'm due in four weeks."
"That's so great," I replied. "I'm due in four months."
"We can have a play group!" she giggled. "It'll be so much fun. My friends Jessica and Elizabeth are having babies as well. Another little girl and a little boy."
"Great! It'll be so much fun."
"Why hello, Paul," she greeted. "Didn't recognize you there." She went over and gave him a hug.
"Nice to see you too, Ashleigh," he chuckled.
I saw Dakota from far away, and he started walking towards us. Paul also noticed Dakota and let go of Ashleigh quickly. She looked at him strangely, but then saw Dakota. He came and put his arm around her.
"Hello, Paul, Cameryn." He nodded in acknowledgement. "Where is the rest of your pack?'
Paul wrapped his arm around me. "They're coming."
For some reason the boys were always hostile around each other, especially if one was touching the other's mate. I guessed it had something to do with authority and dominance, but I didn't care too much. As long as they weren't beating each other up I was okay with a little hostility.
"Would you like to go meet the rest of the pack, Cameryn?" Dakota continued.
I nodded. "I'd love to."
"C'mon!"
Ashleigh took my hand and dragged me over to the rest of the people. There was a fire burning. The girls were laughing and the men were wrestling with each other.
"Guys," Dakota started. Everyone stopped. "This is Cameryn, and you know her mate, Paul."
I
smiled. "It's nice to meet you."
"Cameryn, this is
Jason and his mate Elizabeth. Then there's Kellan and his mate
Rebecca. This is Terance and his mate Jessica. There's also Marcus
and his mate Hannah. Finally there's Greg and his mate Sarah."
I could tell that the men weren't happy to see Paul again. It didn't surprise me, because Paul could have a really bad temper if he wanted to. Paul had a firm hold on my waist and kept me close to him. I tried to smile at everyone. I shook all their hands and introduced myself. The girls were so nice, and the men were just as friendly.
Finally, Kim and Jared arrived. After that Quil, Embry, Sam, and Embry arrived. The men were much nicer to him than they were to Paul. They knew to respect Paul and Emily because they were the alphas. I didn't know if Dakota was the true alpha or not. All I knew was that he acted like one. He took care of all the guys just like Sam did.
After a while I got some time alone with the girls. The pregnant girls were sitting down on the bench, and the non-pregnant girls were standing. Emily was over with Sam and the rest of the boys.
"So, you're with Paul?" Jessica asked me. I nodded.
"I heard he's got a bad temper," Hannah said.
"He's really a sweet guy," I replied. "He does have a bad temper though. But you know how it is with imprinting. They'll be whatever you need them to be. He's never lost his temper with me before."
"He has with one of our guys," Rebecca informed me. "He and Jason got into a huge fight. Both alphas had to get in on it."
"Yeah, I was there," Elizabeth whispered.
"Me too," Kim added.
"I'm sure that was hard for you." I reached up and rubbed her arm. "Paul can be an ass hole, but he's my ass hole, ya know?"
"I guess," Jessica shrugged. "Not saying all of our guys can't be ass holes."
"Yeah, Jason's got just as bad of a temper as Paul does," Elizabeth stated.
"The only one who's really quiet is Sarah's mate, Greg, huh, Sarah?"
I could already tell Sarah was a quiet girl. She hadn't said much in the conversation, which was okay with me, but it was a little odd. All of the girls were so talkative.
"So, what are you having?" Jessica asked.
Ashleigh started rubbing my stomach. "It's a girl."
"We're so happy to have a baby girl in the tribe," Kim added.
"What if she's a wolf?" Hannah asked.
"That'd be kinda cool," I laughed. "I just want my baby girl to be happy and healthy. It's not like she's born a wolf."
"Too
true," Jessica laughed back. "When are you giving
birth?"
"In July or August," I replied.
"I'm due then too!"
"I'm gonna have my baby before you!" Ashleigh teased.
Jessica stuck out her tongue.
"What about you, Elizabeth?" I asked.
"I'm due in September," she replied.
"That's cool. I can't wait to have another baby in La Push."
"Actually," Kim started. "I'm pregnant."
"What?!?!?"
I squealed. "I'm so happy for you!"
I got up as quickly
as I could with my fat stomach and hugged her.
"Congratulations," Ashleigh laughed. "You're having a baby too?'
"Yes ma'am," she laughed. "I'm so excited."
"Me too," I smiled. "Finally another pregnant woman."
Kim laughed and shook her head. "Yes, another fat one."
I hugged her again and rubbed her stomach.
