I know this chapter is a little later than you would normally expect it, but it's the longest chapter of the story so far, so . . . forgive me?
A lot of fluff in this chapter. You're welcome.
ATTENTION: I'm still looking for someone to create a banner for this story and my others. If you are interested, send me a PM. Thank you!
Disclaimer - This is based off of the Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer. She created the characters and the basic plot, and this is my spin on it. These are my words about her world. Stephenie Meyer has all of the rights to her characters and the parts that were taken from her plot.
Chapter Eleven
Bella woke the next morning surrounded by complete and utter tranquility. A soft light was streaming through her bedroom window, shining different squares and rectangles of light onto the carpet. Birds were chirping happily and one of her neighbors was mowing his lawn. There was no sign of the intense stress from the previous day, much to her surprise. Bella was always one to worry about things long after they'd been resolved in fear that the resolution wasn't permanent. But as she stretched, she felt no anxiety – only the comfortable warmth of her bed sheets and a pleasant flutter in her stomach that she'd begun to associate with Sam.
Her eyes fluttered open and her stretching stopped, the lazy groan getting caught in her throat. Sam was coming back today – this morning, right now! And she was still in her pajamas.
Her very unattractive, very boring pajamas.
That thought alone was enough to have her leaping onto her feet. Once she was freshly showered, dressed, and organized, she felt a sudden need to have a meal prepared for him when he arrived back from patrolling. Surely he would be there soon – he'd promised her last night.
Her keys jingled in her hand as she stepped onto her small front porch. Sam followed her dutifully, continuously watching her for any signs of distress or panic. Normally, these emotions would be absolutely common for Bella, but Sam's presence sent a calm through her like she'd never felt before. She unlocked the door but before she could push it open, Sam's hand shot out to stop her. "Wait," he said lowly. "Let me go in first."
His reasoning was clear, and it sent a shiver up Bella's spine. He wanted to make sure she didn't have a vampire visitor. She stepped aside and leaned against the railing, her heart beating a thousand miles a minute.
Sam slipped inside and disappeared, leaving Bella alone in the darkness. Although, she thought, she was sure she wasn't alone. Something told Bella there was at least one more wolf lurking in the woods, ready to help his Alpha in the case of another situation popping up. She didn't know who that wolf would be – maybe Jacob or Jared, though she couldn't imagine him leaving Kim alone after the evening's events.
A minute later, Sam reappeared in the doorway with an unreadable expression. "It's clear," he said. "Charlie's asleep upstairs. You're safe."
"I always feel safe with you," she whispered passionately.
Sam wrapped his hands around her waist and pulled her close, flesh against flesh, and pressed a deep, meaningful kiss to her lips. Being in his arms took away all of her worry. They stood there for what felt like hours. He pressed her up against the side of the house, pulling back to trail kisses down her neck and to her collar bone. Everywhere his hands touched scorched against her skin. She could feel the rough callouses that had formed on his palms as he rubbed them up her thighs. Nothing had ever felt as passionate to Bella, but she didn't fear it. She welcomed it. She loved him.
"So there are more, then?" she whispered as he continued his path up the other side of her neck. She didn't want to interrupt his kisses, but she just had to know.
He groaned when she pulled at his hair. "I don't know," he breathed against her cheek, "but I'll find out. I'm going to make you safe, Bella."
They stumbled backwards into the house, not breaking the kiss until they needed to close the door behind them. Sam slid the deadbolt into place as Bella flicked a few lights on, illuminating the hallway and kitchen. She turned two little lamps on in the living room. "Do you need something to drink?" she asked.
She turned to find him watching her – always watching her. His eyes burned with an intensity Bella hadn't noticed until right then. They held some hidden emotion that she couldn't quite name – fear, pain? Anger? Not anger towards her, but still anger. He shook his head minutely and stepped carefully towards her, reaching his hand out to take hers. He sat down on the couch and pulled her onto his lap, wrapping his arms snuggly around her once again. Bella leaned her head against his chest and closed her eyes contently.
"I thought I was going to lose you," he whispered brokenly. His breath fanned across her neck, hot and humid.
Bella tucked her hands into the nap of his neck. "Collin and Brady kept us safe. They were great."
He stared blankly at the wall behind the television. "The entire time we were chasing after it, I was picturing your face. The smile that you wore the very first time I met you, when Jacob brought you along cliff diving, remember? God, that terrified me, watching you jump over that cliff after him. But I couldn't do anything about it."
Bella hadn't considered that he would have imprinted on her before even the barbeque in Jake's backyard when they had their first communication. It was strange to think that his affection went back as far as that day, that moment.
He scrunched his nose up in disgust. "That day, the sound of your heartbeat was forever etched in my ears. And tonight, that's all I could hear. Not the rest of the pack asking for instructions, wondering what the plan was. Not even my own thoughts. All I could think about was getting back to you, having you in my arms, making sure you were safe."
Bella was afraid to move, afraid she would lift him out of this spell he was under. "You did make sure I was safe," she reminded him gently. She rubbed her thumbs over his cheeks reassuringly. "You sent Paul to find get me and take me to Leah's. And then you sent Brady and Collin to defend us."
"Oh, God, you don't know how much I wanted to be the one to go get you," he gasped. He tucked his face tightly into her neck and pulled her ever closer, almost desperately. "Sending Paul instead of going myself made me feel like my heart had been ripped out of my chest. But when Quil picked up the scent, I was home, and that made me closer to him than I was to you. Embry was a good ten minutes away, and Jacob too, and I couldn't just let Quil go after that thing on his own." He bared his teeth in a grimace, eyes still locked to the wall. The dim lighting from the lamps created a shadow across his face, highlighting his eyes that were yellowed with primal intensity. "And then the other one showed up at Leah's, and felt like I could have thrown up. If I'd been human, I probably would have."
"It didn't touch us," she assured him. "Collin and Brady kept it away until you guys got there to help."
"It almost did, though," he growled. "It almost got in. It tossed Collin aside like he was nothing." His eyes tightened and his lips molded into a thin line. A rumble started deep in his chest, and she knew he was picturing the broken glass window that was shattered in Leah's dining room.
"Stop," she begged him. "Stop torturing yourself. It's not your fault they came after us. And you saved us. We're together now, and that's all that matters."
"Together," he repeated numbly. "Are we? Are we together?"
She kissed is cheek. "Of course, Sam. I'm yours just like you're mine."
"Mine," he growled.
She nodded against his shoulder, and then his lips were on hers once again. He nudged her gently so that she was lying back on the couch and he was hovering over her. She wrapped her legs tightly around his waist and her arms locked around his neck. He ripped his shirt off and tossed it haphazardly over his shoulder and Bella's hands traveled over the smooth contours of his stomach. Both of them were so consumed with passion that it felt like they wouldn't ever be able to pull apart.
He pulled her roughly against him Bella gasped when she felt exactly how much he wanted her. She reached up to touch the back of his head and he let out an animalistic growl into her chest, tucking his face between her breasts.
Bella realized exactly where they were going. As much as she wanted to continue, as much as she wanted him, she knew that wasn't the right place, or the right time. She didn't want to make love to him for the first time on her living room couch with her father asleep upstairs. Of course, it would still be special. Giving her virginity to Sam would be special no matter what. But Bella had always imagined her first time being so much more romantic than a scene on a couch, and she couldn't help but feel like she deserved to have that.
She pushed on his shoulders. "Wait. Wait, stop."
Instantly, he pulled back enough to look at her face. "What's wrong?" His eyes widened. "Did I hurt you?"
She shook her head. "No, of course not. I just . . ." She didn't want to tell him she wasn't ready or didn't want to, because both of those were lies and they'd been through far too much that evening to end it with some sort of sexual propaganda. But telling him she wanted it to be more romantic made her sound . . . well, like a little schoolgirl with her first boyfriend. Which was entirely true. And it was three o'clock in the morning on a Sunday. She bit her lip. "I-I just . . . I thought –"
He held himself over her very carefully, his hands propped on the arm rest behind her head. He didn't look at her, instead staring at something above her head and breathing very deeply, his chest heaving harshly. He cocked his head to the side and cracked his neck.
Unsure of what to do, Bella reached up and traced his lips with her index finger. Startled, he pulled back roughly and let out a snarl.
Bella, hurt by his violent rejection, pulled her hand back and tried to fight the tears that sprung to her eyes.
Sam probably smelt the saltiness of her tears and his attention snapped down to her. "Tell me to stop, Bella," he whispered. "Please."
Bella swallowed. "S-Stop."
At that, he shoved himself away from her and stood, pacing back and forth around the living room. Bella stayed exactly where she was, a little nervous about his behavior. When she was sure he wasn't going to burst into a giant black wolf in the middle of her house, she cautiously sat up and smoothed out her hair. After a minute or two, he calmed, pulled his shirt back over his head, and sat down carefully next to her.
He reached his hand out hesitantly and pulled her close again when Bella took it. He rested his chin on the top of her head. "I'm sorry," he breathed. "It's just . . . difficult for me to be so close to you and then . . . stop."
Bella pinched the hem of his T-shirt between her fingers. "Why?"
"My instinct is to mate with you," he said quietly. "Especially when you're around the rest of the pack. I want to claim you as my mate."
Bella's stomach fluttered. "I just want it to be special. And have Charlie not be in the building."
Sam grinned a little. "Of course. You deserve for it to be special. I promise I'll make it that way. I just got . . . caught up in your scent, and with everything –"
"I love you," she interrupted.
Sam pressed a gentle kiss to her temple. "I love you, too." He glanced at the clock above the television. "I have to get outside and patrol."
Bella's fingers clutched at him intensely without meaning to. "Alright."
He kissed her deeply, running his fingers through her hair. "I won't be far at all – just right outside."
Bella frowned. "What do you mean?"
"I've been watching over you, Bella," he murmured. "Every night I come out here to keep you safe. I even have my own spot just inside the woods. I can hear if you call to me."
"Why don't you just stay inside, then?" she challenged him. "Why stand outside? It's supposed to rain all night long."
"I can communicate with the others better as a wolf."
"You won't be far?"
"I won't let your house leave my sight," he promised, "and I'll have you back in my arms when the sun comes up."
In the present, Bella stood at the kitchen window that overlooked the front yard and saw him emerge from the woods. His shirt was absent once again – he'd left it with her so she could sleep in it and have his scent around her – and his cargo shorts were dangling dangerously low. Her heart fluttered at the sight of him, and she flew outside to greet him. She launched herself into his arms and he caught her easily.
"I missed you," she said, surprised at exactly how true that was. She didn't know when she'd become the girl who obsessed about her boyfriend – after all, he'd barely been her boyfriend for a week – but there she was, clinging to him with all her might. It must be the imprint, she thought.
And of course he had her entire body trembling in delight. Last night, he'd revealed to her that he'd been sleeping in the woods for three weeks to make sure that nothing harmed her as she slept. He was the sweetest man she could have imagined, and he was all hers.
"I missed you, too," he answered. His hands rubbed up and down her back and he stared emotionally at her face, as if he were memorizing it.
"I made breakfast," she told him excitedly.
He grinned down at her. "I could smell it from outside, but I had to wait for Jacob to phase. When we're separated like we are today, I want at least three wolves to be phased at one time. It gives us more backup and defense."
Bella tugged on his hand until he followed her obediently into the kitchen. He sat down at the table, carefully avoiding the chair that he knew was Charlie's. Bella plated his breakfast and sat it down in front of him, almost regretting not starting a stopwatch to see exactly how quickly he scarfed it all down. She'd already eaten her first meal of the day while she waited for him to arrive, so she settled down across from him with a fresh cup of coffee instead of a plate.
"This is delicious," he said between swallows. "Thank you. But don't feel obligated to feed me every morning, Bella."
"Does that mean you'll be around to have breakfast every morning?"
"Well, it may not always be me," he said, "as much as I'd like it to be. Sometimes I have to send Embry in my place, when someone or something else needs my attention."
Bella's nose wrinkled. "Why Embry?"
Sam shrugged. "He's a great fighter. I can't send Paul because I need to keep him on the border to watch the Rez and I can't send Jared because he's got his own imprint to watch over."
"What about Jake?"
Sam dropped his fork loudly onto his plate and his eyes immediately darkened. He shook his head. "I can't send Jacob to watch over you while you sleep. Not knowing how he felt about you – probably still feels about you. I wouldn't be able to concentrate, knowing he's right outside your bedroom window. Embry is a good defense for you and he's never thought of you as more than a sister." He leaned his head to the side to crack his neck. "It's very rare that it's not me out there, anyway. Protecting my imprint is my job."
"But being the Alpha is your job, too," Bella said. She watched the tendons in his neck flex and bulge as he moved and wondered how such a large man could move as gracefully as Sam did. She tapped her foot restlessly on the floor, fidgeting uncomfortably. Between them there was a constant pull, like a solid strand of rope had been tied at the ends to each of their hearts and the distance between them was stretching it farther than it was meant to be stretched. They weren't touching at all, and that sent a wave of disappointment through Bella.
Sam must have felt the connection between them as well because he reached a hand out to invite her to sit with him. She got up right away and settled comfortably into his lap. His voice rumbled in her ear as she rested her head against his chest. "Yes, being the Alpha is my job, too. But the council will always agree that my duty to my imprint will always be more important than my duty to the pack."
"Why?" Bella whispered, playing with the collar of his shirt so she could avoid his gaze. "I'm not even a member of the tribe. Why would they agree that you should protect me over protecting the natives of La Push?"
Sam sighed. "Once a werewolf imprints, he can't function without her. The council knows this. If I lose you – or even if you just get hurt – I won't be able to breathe, let alone be in fighting condition. I will quite literally fall apart into an emotionless shell. All of my will to live will be gone if I don't have you in my life, and I wouldn't be any help to anyone if that happens." He pressed a kiss to her temple. "The only reason I would send Embry in my place would be if someone found a trace of a leech's scent on our property during the day. Then I'd stay on the Rez in hopes of finding it that night."
Bella tilted her head back so she could kiss his lips. "Do you ever wish Jake would just take over the pack for you?"
"I used to," he admitted, "before I imprinted on you."
"Why before? It just seems like your being the Alpha only keeps us apart."
Sam shook his head. "That's true, I do have more responsibilities. Our relationship is much different than Jared's with Kim. And when Jacob decides he wants to be Alpha – if he ever does – I won't have a choice but to step down willingly. But as the Alpha, I can get you as much protection as you need. I can make you as safe as possible."
Bella bit her lip, debating whether or not her next question was a wise one to ask. Eventually she decided she needed its answer. "If you weren't the Alpha, would you . . . you know, still be stuck in La Push?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, um, yesterday Leah told me you can't leave the Reservation because you need to stay with the pack," she said quietly, timidly. "If you weren't the Alpha, would you still . . . you know, have to stay here your entire life?"
Sam didn't say anything for a moment, silently stroking his hand through her hair. When she looked up to study his expression, he looked thoughtful and perhaps a little confused about why she'd asked. "If Jacob took over as Alpha, I would need his permission to leave as well as the permission of the council. As a wolf, my duty is to serve the tribe. I would need a very, very convincing reason to want to leave for them to allow it."
"That's not fair," Bella complained. "You didn't volunteer to become a werewolf, it's in your genes. They can't control your life like that!"
"I suppose you're right," he said, "but it doesn't make a difference. I wouldn't ever want to leave."
Bella's heart dropped into her stomach.
When he saw Bella's expression, his eyes widened. "What? What's wrong?"
Bella shook her head. The last thing he needed in addition to all of the stress that the recent vampire spottings have created for him was to think Bella wanted to leave him. He'd just sat there and told her he wouldn't have a will to live without her. "Nothing," she mumbled.
"Bella," he scolded.
"No, really," she insisted. "It's nothing."
Sam growled. "Something's wrong, Bella, your face is paler than usual." He reached up to press his thumb in the space between her eyebrows. "And when you're thinking really hard about something, you always get a little crease right here. Now tell me."
She sucked in a deep breath. She couldn't keep things from him. "I-I just . . . I always thought that after graduation, I'd go to college in Arizona."
Sam froze. Bella watched his eyes double in size and her stomach flipped. His lips parted and he started to speak, but nothing came out. Bella worried her lip until he spoke. "That's so far away," he whispered, not making eye contact with her. He stared blankly at the space above her head and his hands gripped hers closer to his chest, like he was afraid she was going to get up and run away.
"I know," she answered simply. "I just . . . I hoped you would come with me."
His nostrils flared. "Bella, I love you. I would follow you anywhere you wanted to go – if I were human. But I'm not, baby. I'm not human. And we have to stay here."
Something like annoyance prickled in Bella's stomach when he said we. "I don't want to be without you, either, Sam. But I'm not tied to the Reservation. I don't have to stay here my entire life. I don't –" She hesitated. "I don't even know if I would be happy here my entire life."
"That's just because we haven't had sex yet," he interrupted.
Bella's hand flew to her throat. "Excuse me?"
"Once we have sex, we'll be bonded together," he responded, but Bella could tell that the calm in his voice was fragile and borderline. "You won't even think about leaving after that – you'll be happy here."
"I know that I'll always be happy with you, Sam," she whispered. "But I don't know that I'll be happy here. This is my life, too."
He stared at her, studying her face closely. "Really? You wouldn't be happy here?" It was a weak whisper, full of emotion. Maybe fear.
Bella shook her head. "Not if I feel trapped here. Not if I feel like we don't have a choice."
Sam licked his bottom lip, thinking. "This is something we'll have to discuss," he said almost unwillingly.
Bella nodded and placed a hand on his heaving chest. "Sam, I'm not going to leave you," she assured him. She couldn't stand to watch him walk away from her knowing he'd be back the next morning, let alone leave him behind for months at a time. She wasn't ever going to leave Forks without him; what she wanted was for him to go with her. She told him that. "We're not going to split up. I just want you to consider going to Arizona with me – for me. To support me, to support what I want to do with my life."
He blinked slowly. He kissed her nose gently. "I understand. I love you."
Bella kissed his jaw in response. "I love you, too."
Three hours later, they were lounging on Bella's couch, wrapped tightly in each other's arms. Sam's hands were resting lightly on Bella's hips while hers fisted in the hair at the base of his neck. Their tongues danced and their hips rotated against each other in perfect harmony, another reminder that the two were absolutely made for each other – a perfect match. He swallowed her happy, content sighs and she giggled at his sexually-frustrated growls. Bella would have been content to make out with him like that for days at a time, but she knew that Charlie would be home shortly, and Jacob and Billy would be joining them later for dinner.
She pulled back and smiled at the exasperated growl that rumbled deep in his chest. "Charlie has to be on his way home by now," she reminded him. "He still doesn't know you're my boyfriend. I can't let him find out by walking in on us dry humping on the couch that he takes his afternoon naps on every weekend." He'd gone out fishing with one of his friends from the station and would only be gone for the morning.
Sam leaned his head back against the couch but did not release her hips. "I'll hear him coming. When do you go back to school?"
Bella grinned at the question – she knew he was trying to distract himself from his arousal. "Tuesday," she told him. A water pipe had burst the week before, flooding the entire high school for the second half of the week. In a way it had been a blessing – not having school on the Friday she'd found out about werewolves existing meant she hadn't had any homework to do over the weekend. She obviously wouldn't have been able to get any homework done while on lockdown at the Clearwaters' house, and then she'd have been stuck with it all today, leaving no time to spend with Sam. Tomorrow would be her last day off before returning. She frowned. "I'll miss you all day long."
He grinned a giant, wolfish grin. "I'll send Paul to watch over you during the day, not that I think a leech would try something during the day like that."
"Did anyone find any new scents last night?" she asked carefully.
He shook his head. "Nothing new so far. But that's a good thing, baby."
"Something you said earlier has me confused."
His forehead creased.
"You said that being a wolf is a full-time job," she recalled. "What did you mean by that?"
"The council does acknowledge that we've had our lives taken over by the wolf gene." He shrugged. "They want us to be rewarded for that. So they pay us."
Bella's mouth dropped open. "They pay you?"
He nodded. "They pay for our housing and health insurance and give us about eighty thousand a year."
"Wow," Bella said. "That's nice."
"They want to make sure we don't get distracted by human jobs." He rubbed his hands suggestively against her butt. "It's supposed to rain tonight," he said, changing the subject. "I might have to come inside for a while though the night to avoid the harshness of the weather."
Bella's cheeks blushed pink and rested her hands on his chest. "I thought you said the rain didn't bother you."
"It doesn't," he chuckled. "But Charlie's car just turned the corner at the stop sign, and I'm not done kissing your entire body yet." Bella gasped as he suddenly pulled her close and pressed a wet kiss to the side of her neck, rubbing against her. For a moment, she closed her eyes and gave in, but the noises that floated inside from the driveway yanked her into reality.
Outside, a car door slammed. Bella's eyes widened and she hopped off of Sam's lap, taking a seat in the recliner a few feet away. She hoped the blush that had flushed over her entire body would fade before he got inside. Sam's heated gaze running all over her body certainly wasn't helping.
Charlie pushed open the front door and dropped hung his keys on the little hook next to it. "Hey, Bells!" he called out like usual. "I just talked to Billy. He and Jake will be here tonight around six. I just stopped home to grab my badge." He was rummaging through the kitchen, probably grabbing a snack from the fridge. His voice was muffled by the wall that separated them. "I'm gonna spend the afternoon up at the station – I have some paperwork I gotta get done."
Bella glanced at the clock – it was only noon. "Did you catch any fish this morning?"
"A few," he answered, "but Mark took them all home with him. I told him we don't have any more freezer space." He rounded the corner and stopped when he saw Sam. He blinked. "I didn't know we had company, Bella."
She bit her lip. "Sam and I were just – hanging out." She hoped she wasn't blushing.
Charlie stared at Sam. "Are you two seeing each other?" he asked point-blank.
Bella didn't know what to say, but Sam answered for her. "We're dating, Charlie. I'm her boyfriend."
Bella expected him to make a comment about how he'd always expected Bella to get together with Jacob, but he surprised her by grinning. "Billy said yesterday he thought the two of you would make a good couple. I wish you would have told me, though, Bella."
She bit her lip. "It's kind of new, Dad. We just started going out."
Charlie crinkled his eyes, glancing between the two of them. They must have done a good job looking innocent and not-deeply-in-love because he took a giant bite out of his half-eaten apple and continued. "Are you staying for dinner tonight? And the game?"
Sam nodded his confirmation.
Charlie whistled. "Well, Bells, I guess we're going to have a full house tonight."
"Why do you say that?" Billy and Jake were regular visitors during baseball season, and the addition of one extra guest seem like much more.
"I ran into Harry Clearwater at the gas station when I stopped on my way home," he said. "I invited them down so we don't end up with a lot of extra food like we always do. He's bringing his family with him, too. Sue and their two kids."
Bella's heart practically stopped, mostly because of the expression on Sam's face. His eyes darkened and his nostrils flared, making him look more like an angry wolf than a man. His fists clenched at his sides, and as Bella looked closer, she could see them quivering a little. The muscles in his arms tensed, but he didn't say anything.
Charlie finished off his apple and glanced at Bella, oblivious to Sam's meltdown occurring four feet away. "I can go into the station earlier tomorrow. I think I'll just – head upstairs and make a few phone calls."
Bella knew he just didn't want to leave her alone with Sam in the house but couldn't ask Sam to leave, either. She watched him trudge up the steps carefully, almost afraid to make eye contact with the wolf sitting on her couch. When Charlie was out of sight, she got up and tucked herself into his side. His arms immediately wrapped around her and anchored her to his waist. "You didn't talk to Harry yet," she stated.
"No," Sam rumbled. "I didn't. But I guess I'm going to." He rubbed his hand up and down Bella's arm and Bella could tell he was trying to calm himself down with her presence. She rested her head on his shoulder reassuringly. "Just don't leave my side, alright? Don't be alone with him."
"With Harry?"
Sam nodded. "I don't trust him. He's not giving up on getting Leah and I together, and I don't want him near you, especially not alone. Stay close to me or Jacob?"
Bella kissed his cheek and nodded. Harry Clearwater was the last person she would have invited into her home, but she couldn't control Charlie's actions, and she couldn't tell her father about the sick feeling Harry Clearwater put in her stomach. Of course she would stay by Sam's side the entire night. She was not about to let Harry push Sam and Leah closer together.
Bella wrapped her arms tightly around Sam's neck.
"Here comes another evening turned sour," she said bitterly.
Sam sighed and kissed her lips.
Still with me? We're in for an entertaining Chapter Twelve, everyone.
Thank you all once again for the fantastic reviews. I'm so pleased with the response I'm getting from this story. Please continue to leave me reviews on what you thought of this chapter! This is the LONGEST chapter I've given you yet, so . . . give me something in return? *bats eyelashes kindly*
Be on the lookout for a new one-shot pairing Bella with a wolf. It will appear on my profile within the next few days, hopefully.
See you in Chapter Twelve.
