AN: I've been trying to update twice a week, but that will probably change this week. As of this afternoon, my kids are out for Thanksgiving and I have two birthdays and a family dinner to cram into one week, not to mention a hubby who will be home and bored, so if I disappear, that's where I am. Hope everyone has a good holiday! Well, my American readers anyway. Everyone else, have a good regular week ;)
Make sure you have me on author alert, because I'll be posting a few contest entries I've written early in December.
Disclaimer- I own nothing but the story line. Characters all belong to Stephenie Meyer, and I sure as hell ain't her!
Into the Woods- Chapter 11
Thursday dawned clear for once, and the hallway was well-lit for Bella's early morning sprint to the bathroom. Sam was right there with her, holding back her hair and getting her a cool washcloth for her face.
"Ugh," she groaned as she brushed her teeth, "I am seriously throwing out every piece of fish we have in that freezer. Tell Paul to come get it or something, but I am NOT going to cook it ever again."
Sam chuckled as he followed her back to the bedroom where she dressed a little more slowly than usual. He came up behind her and rubbed his hands down her arms in concern. "Do you need to stay home today? I'm sure Emily will be fine without you if you need to rest," he murmured quietly in her ear.
A single tear fell as she shook her head, and he silently cursed Charlie once again for his careless words. "No, I actually kind of need her support right now. You need to get to work since the weather is so nice, and she'll take care of me. She'll cheer me up."
He nodded, pulling on his work clothes before leading her into the kitchen to fix her some toast. He doubted she would be up for much more than that after her rough evening. Once again he kicked himself for letting her fix such a meal. He was glad that the kitchen had aired out overnight; he was nearly as sensitive to the fish smell as his pregnant mate.
Once she was finished with her meager breakfast, he broached the subject he knew they needed to discuss before they left for their respective jobs, "Bella, what do you want to do about your father?"
Her face fell immediately, and she dropped her eyes to the floor in a failed attempt to hide her tears. "I don't know. I still can't believe he said all that, that he thinks all that. I thought I had fixed things with him after Ed- Edward left, but I guess he still hates you and he's just patronizing me."
He pulled her into a hug and nodded, waiting for her to finish speaking. "The worst part is that I honestly thought he might be excited about being a grandpa! I thought he might think of it as a chance to see all the stuff he missed with me when I was growing up. I thought we could bond over this sweet little person, but I don't know how we can do that if he thinks our baby is just a mistake!"
Sam sighed as he heard Paul's truck pull up outside. He really did need to get to the job site- they had a roof to put on and drywall that needed to go up. The house they were working on was off the highway and away from curious eyes, so they could use their supernatural strength and speed, and make up for the rainy days that had put the project behind schedule.
"Look, we need to get going, but you need to think about what you want from Charlie." He squeezed her tighter for just a second more, before pulling back to look down into her eyes. "If you want to ask him, he's out on the front porch. He slept there last night."
He didn't miss the spark of hope that flared in her eyes, or the slight increase in her heart rate as her nerves and anger warred with each other. He'd been surprised the night before when Charlie walked up to their window to let Sam know he would be sleeping on the porch, hoping to apologize to Bella the next day. He hadn't wanted to be run off by any of the pack, and promised he wouldn't upset his daughter again, if Sam would give him a chance.
Sam was torn; on one hand he was ready to write Charlie off completely, seeing him as a threat to his mate's emotional happiness. But Sam knew his child deserved to have at least one grandfather, and Sam's own father was clearly not going to reappear after all this time. Sam hadn't spoken to his mother in months, and from what Bella told him, it was laughable to think of Renee as a grandmother.
For this reason, and this one alone, Sam agreed to let Bella make her own decision regarding her father. But Sam warned the older man that he better not even think about threatening him or his mate, and one word of insult against his child would be met with swift repercussions.
Bella glanced at the door, then back at Sam. "He did? How do you know? What is he doing here?"
Sam laughed at her rushed questions, then pulled her in for a hug. "He wants to apologize, but that's all I know. It's completely up to you, baby."
She sighed, then jumped when Paul and Emily walked inside without knocking. This wasn't too unusual, since the wolves' extra senses could usually tell them if they were interrupting something. Emily went straight to Bella and wrapped the younger girl in a comforting hug, so Bella knew Paul must have known what happened last night. Were the wolves watching?
Paul took his turn for a hug, and gave her a discerning look when he pulled back. "You ok?"
Her eyes instantly filled with tears, a combination of the emotional turmoil from the night before, and her pregnancy hormones going haywire. He frowned as she sniffled and gave a half-hearted shrug, "I guess I will be."
Sam's patience finally ran out, and he walked over to Bella and pulled her into his arms. "You ready, baby?"
Paul led the way out the door, and Sam kept his imprint slightly behind him, with Emily holding tightly to her other hand. Charlie stepped back when the pack came out onto the porch, and he stepped back further when Paul couldn't contain his low growl.
Sam studied the older man for a few moments, partially to make him sweat it out a bit, but also to try and judge his sincerity. He wouldn't put his mate in a situation like the one last night. Charlie slumped his shoulders in defeat as he looked between the large males guarding his daughter. He guessed they had every right to expect the worst from him.
"Bells?" he said, never raising his eyes from the deck at his feet. "I'm so sorry, Bells. Can we talk? I need to apologize for the things I said last night."
Bella stepped up next to Sam and reached forward to nudge Paul out of her way. She waited for her father to look up before she spoke. "Look, Charlie, we all need to get to work right now. The boys can't waste a clear day like this."
He hunched over further at his words, but just nodded sadly as he turned to go. "Wait!" she called, and his head whipped back to her in shock as a faint glimmer of hope rose in his eyes. "Give me some space this weekend, and we'll meet you for supper Sunday at the diner, like usual, ok?"
At Sam's tensing and quiet growl, she added, "Sam will come too. I'm sure you understand why he wouldn't be comfortable with us eating alone right now, and I have to say I'm not that comfortable with it myself either."
Charlie nodded silently and turned to walk to his car. No one stopped him this time, they just stood close to Bella as she watched him drive slowly away.
The girls were busy once they finally made it to the bakery. There were several events planned at the community center that weekend, and they had orders for cakes, pies, and even some pastries for the Ladies' Heritage Guild meeting on Friday. Emily planned to attend and wanted Bella to come with her, but she didn't feel right going when she was just an imprint- something most tribe members knew nothing about.
"Well, once you and Sam get married you'll have to start attending things like that. You want to gain the respect of the older tribe members," Emily remarked off-handedly as she spread the dough out for apple strudel. Bella normally handled items like this, but she was busy with a large tiered cake for a wedding on Saturday.
It took Emily several minutes to realize her friend was no longer working, and when she glanced up she had to wonder if Bella was even breathing. "Bella?"
Bella's mouth opened and closed several times as she processed Emily's unexpected words. "What? What did you say?"
Emily was thoroughly confused by her reaction. Why wouldn't Bella want to be a part of the tribe? She was mated to the alpha of the honored spirit warriors, and she was carrying the first pack baby. Emily assumed she wanted to integrate herself into the tribe as much as possible.
"No! Not about that!" Bella exclaimed when Emily voiced her thoughts. "I love the tribe. It was the other part- the marriage part!"
"Oh," Emily smiled as her confusion fled. "I know you haven't set a date yet, so we have time to talk you up a bit. Sue Clearwater loves you, and I'm sure Mrs. Cameron will be happy to vouch for you as well. Who knows, you might even make progress with Sam's mother, though I wouldn't hold my breath for that one. She is terrified of the pack."
Bella stared at her friend as though she had grown another head. What had Sam said to Paul that would make Emily think they were engaged? He hadn't said anything to her yet! She wasn't even sure what she would say if he did propose; marriage had never been high on her list of priorities, but then again, motherhood wasn't either.
Turning to Emily, she shook her head a bit sadly. "We're not engaged, Em. I'm not sure what you're talking about."
Emily gasped; she was sure Paul had spoken to Sam, and she assumed her friend had already spoken to his mate. It wasn't like he would be unsure of the answer, and they were technically already married under tribal law as it was.
She narrowed her eyes and decided to have a few words with Samuel herself. He probably hadn't even told her that little piece of information, or she wouldn't have responded that way to Emily's innocent comments. Sam had some explaining to do.
The traffic in the bakery picked up after lunch, and Bella soon found herself lost in the after-school rush. She smiled when Jacob and Quil stepped up with their bright smiles and friendly hugs. She handed them some cookies and directed them to a free table by the window.
After returning from the back with glasses of milk for the growing boys, she was surprised to see that there were three of them instead of two. A tall boy with chin-length hair was sitting next to Jacob, and he ducked his head and blushed when Bella approached the table.
"Oh! I'm sorry, I'll go grab another glass. I didn't realize anyone else would be coming today," Bella said, darting back to grab more milk and a fresh plate of cookies.
Quil grabbed her hand when she returned, giving her a flirty wink and a smile. She was amused by his antics, and grateful Sam wasn't here to see the audacious teenager, but she was surprised by the frown on the new boy's face. With his light brown eyes and solemn face, he suddenly reminded her of Sam.
Extricating herself from Quil's grasp, she turned and introduced herself, "Hi! I'm Bella."
She felt a connection to him when he blushed again and reached shyly for her hand. His voice was quiet and his name was the only word he could get out without stuttering, "Embry. N-nice t-to m-meet y-y-you."
Her heart went out to the charming boy, and she patted his shoulder with her free hand. She glanced at Jacob and nodded at his grateful smile, glad that Embry had good friends like these boys.
She stood by their table for a few minutes, chatting with them about their school day and learning more about Embry than the boy probably wanted her to know. Quil explained that Embry was actually Makah, not Quileute, but didn't go into detail about why he was living there in La Push.
It wasn't until Emily called out to her that she realized she had been standing there with her hand on Embry's shoulder the whole time, and that the boy had slowly relaxed under her tender touch. She had no idea why she felt so comfortable with the complete stranger, but it never occurred to her that Embry felt familiar because his body temperature was close to the same as that of her mate.
Sam was cooking when she finally walked in the door that night, and she was grateful for his help when she was so tired. He directed her to the couch while he finished their steaks and potatoes, something that actually sounded really good to her right then.
They ate in the living room, and he pulled her feet onto his lap after he was done. She moaned happily as she ate and he massaged her tired feet. Her moans went straight to his lap and when she finally set her plate aside, he pulled her foot down to the bulge in his jeans.
Giggling, she pressed lightly against him and traced her big toe up the line of his zipper to tease him a bit more. "Please, baby? You're not too tired are you?" He was so cute when he whined, and he knew she couldn't resist him.
She pulled her foot back and climbed up to straddle him, kissing his now-smiling mouth. "I missed you today," she murmured as she turned her attention to his neck and down his chest. "Don't you have patrol, though?"
He groaned at the unwelcome reminder, but pulled her down harder on his lap as he thrust his hips up against her. "We can make this quick; I know you're tired too. I won't be too late."
His thumb was massaging the mark on her neck and she attacked him with a growl of her own. She threw her shirt off behind her and rose up to open both their jeans. It took some awkward maneuvering and lots of giggles, but they were finally back in position with nothing between their excited bodies.
She was dripping, more than ready for him, and it only took a slight adjustment for his cock to slip into her. They clung to each other for a moment, overcome by the feel of their intense connection that hadn't eased any since their first time together.
As she began to move her hips above him, he lightly cupped her breasts and moved his lips to her sensitive nipples. It had taken some trial and error, but he finally found the right level of pressure that would stimulate instead of causing her pain. Her head fell back as she rode him and he stared at his beautiful goddess in complete awe. He still didn't know what he had done to deserve such a gorgeous mate, both inside and out.
With his thumb on her clit, it didn't take long for both of them to climax, and she was panting as she collapsed against his chest, exhausted but blissfully sated. 'I love you," he whispered into her hair as he nuzzled his face against her. His hands moved slowly up her back, soothing her tired muscles and straightening her tangled sex hair.
He allowed himself a few more minutes of peace before he stood, bringing his mate with him. She didn't even have the energy to keep her legs around him, so he scooped her into his arms and carried her back to lay on their bed. He was quietly purring at her content expression as he covered her with the quilt, knowing she would be cold without him lying next to her.
With one more kiss to her full pouty lips, he slipped out to the woods and phased. His wolf let out a growl at the scent of his mate clinging to every surface of his skin. He let his mind drift with thoughts of his mate and pup. Paul had stressed again today that Sam needed to step up and make Bella his wife, and he had a feeling that Charlie would be of the same mind if his daughter ever spoke to him again.
Pushing himself harder, he circled the borders of their land, noting the new and old scents, and he was pleased to see that the Cullen border was slowly fading away. It would be a good day when all he would smell would be wolf.
He was nearly back to the house when a feeling of terror washed through him and an unfamiliar howl sounded from nearby. A panicked voice in his mind shocked him into stillness before he turned to run the other direction.
He had a new wolf.
