AN: Hello, lovely readers! I know, I know, it's been far too long once again, and you're all probably looking at your scroll-y bar thingy wondering where this monster chapter is that I promised you. Well, it's here, but in two parts, ch11 and ch12. I didn't want to split it, but after having to send a rescue team in after my beta, we decided it's probably best to give yall a little breather partway through. ;)

So here it is, the first of two new chapters today!

Disclaimer: I totally don't own Twilight. I mean, seriously...


Chapter 11 – Conversations with Werewolves

Jacob

They took the path back down the hill and through the pool area, retracing his and Nessie's steps and reentering the den from the back entrance. Her scent still hung in the air there and clung to the stones around the pool, sweet and heart-wrenching in her absence, as always enticing him to turn around and run back to her. That urge was no easier to withstand now than it had been any other time over the last few days, but he at least tried to console himself that she was in good hands with Billy.

Jake couldn't help noticing as they passed through the bathing area that Ness seemed to have done everything she could to clean up any trace of herself that she might have left behind. The soaps he'd gotten out for her had all been put back in their cupboards, and her towel – and the one Quil had left on the ground too, he noted – had been neatly hung up to dry on the racks protruding from the wall by the pool. There were no puddles or drips on the stones, and the warm spring morning had already dried whatever little wet footprints she might have left. If not for her scent, you wouldn't have even known she was ever there.

Embry led the way inside from the pool, he and Quil both knowing the den's hallways like the backs of their hands, or the insides of their packbrothers' heads. They'd easily spent just as much time here as at their own homes as children. The three of them had always been tearing through the halls together, laying ill-conceived traps for Jake's sisters, daring each other to climb higher, swim deeper, race faster through the forest… It felt like they'd lived entire lifetimes here, each summer evening and winter morning stretching out into adventure after adventure. The memories dogged their steps now, following them down the familiar corridors and overlaying their current sobriety with incongruous laughter and light.

It was no surprise when Embry made the turn into the dusty old passageway on one of the deepest levels of the den, leading them into a section of rooms that had been boarded up since before they were born. As boys, they had been spellbound by the dark, silent rooms in the abandoned levels of the old burrow, and had spent long days underground exploring them. They had broken doors down and smashed locks, always with one of them keeping watch for Billy or the girls, ready to scamper into the nearest hiding spot and hold still until the coast was clear.

They made their way back to the farthest room at the very end of the winding, carved out hallway, as they had done so many times before as boys. This particular office was on the crystal side of the hill, and though they were well underground, enough light still filtered down through the translucent veins of stone to allow them to see dimly. They each took up their old places around the edge of the room, sitting on top of ancient desks and cabinets, kicking up clouds of dust as they moved, habit still strong though they hadn't been down there in years.

They had sat here, just like this, for hours on end sometimes, basking in the easy sort of friendship where conversation alone could pass for entertainment. The conversation of boys, of course, had often consisted of conspiring together about whatever hell they could raise for their families or what trouble they could get into with the other children who lived in the area. They had also come here to share the artifacts and documents they'd unearthed in the many tomblike chambers below the den, always returning to this room like it was a true base of operations, picking through the relics and bits of history as they snacked on their secret stores of fruit and jerky they'd nicked from the kitchen pantry and squirreled away here.

Most of all, they had sat here across from one another and vowed that they would all grow up to be Shifters together. They would be true brothers then, not just friends, foster brothers, playmates, but inseparable, indestructible, as everlasting and strong as the Packmind itself…

In all those times, it had never felt like they were squaring off against him before.

Jake folded his arms over his chest and leaned back into the wall, already defensive. "Alright," he grumbled, "let's hear it."


Renesmee

I could only stare down at the plate in front of me after Jacob left, frozen in my seat with a slice of bread halfway to my mouth. 'An amazing, wonderful person.' That's what he'd said of me. If his father could just let go of his prejudice long enough to get to know me.

That was… very flattering. And a lot to live up to.

And, touched as I was by Jacob's high opinion of me, it probably hadn't done much to endear me to his father. Telling someone they're a bigot and that they should befriend the object of their hate was rarely an effective way of getting into their good graces.

I peeked up at the old man, trying to use my slice of bread as cover. He was leaning back against the edge of the countertop and glaring hard at the stone floor by his feet, but not at me, so I supposed that was good at least. Still… It hadn't escaped my notice that he couldn't seem to look at me at all earlier, glaring or otherwise.

He didn't want me here.

I forced myself to resume eating, but slowly, doing my best to act normal and not like I was some foreigner who had just crash landed in his kitchen. It wasn't as if I really had any choice in the matter… But maybe I could try to seem a little less like a stranger.

I swallowed my bite of bread and jam and glanced up at Billy again. He hadn't moved. I willed my voice not to shake. "Jacob speaks very highly of you, B- uh, Mister Black."

I saw his jaw clench for a second, and then his dark, deep-set eyes flickered up to meet my gaze. They were the exact same shade of brown-black as Jacob's, but held none of his son's warmth.

"Is that so."

It wasn't a question – more like an intentional conversation stopper. I swallowed, holding my bread in both of my hands. Alright, so he wasn't going to make this easy for me. "He said you're a… carpenter?" I hadn't meant for it to come out sounding like a question, but my voice had tripped up at the very end. His glare was a lot more intimidating than I'd expected.

I had to suppress the thought of how similar Billy's glare was to Sam's.

Billy didn't reply to me, but simply folded his arms over his chest, locking one knee to put all of his weight on it and bracing his back against the counter. Now that he was looking – scowling – at me, it seemed he wasn't going to turn away again.

"Did- did you make a lot of the furniture here?" I asked, attempting polite interest. "I thought the pieces in Jacob's room were particularly beautifully carved…"

Billy's eyebrows went up and I felt my cheeks flame, realizing how that sounded.

"I-I mean- last night," I stuttered out. "It was just so late… And I- I guess Jacob didn't want to- to take the time to, uh, find me my own room, or-"

Billy just kept staring at me. I thought I saw white beginning to show all the way around his irises.

I could have slept in his sisters' old room, it occurred to me. Or Jake could have slept somewhere else. But somehow either of those options seemed to defeat the purpose, though I couldn't quite say what that purpose was…

"We were just so tired, after everything that happened yesterday," I pressed on, feeling my voice rising higher as I babbled. "And I- Nothing happened!" I finished, the last words coming out in a frantic squeak.

Billy stood completely motionless, staring at me, his mouth hanging open the smallest bit. When he spoke, it was with an expression very much like outrage.

"Just what kind of relationship do you have with my son?" he demanded, staring me down with dark, intense eyes.

I shrank back in my seat, feeling very small under the weight of that gaze. "I… I don't know."

His eyes narrowed. "You don't know." Again, he didn't phrase it as a question, though this time it seemed out of simple contempt rather than a pointed insinuation that I should stop talking. I swallowed and tried to hold his gaze.

"I don't know," I said again. "He… He protects me. Has protected me. Since we left my home. But I- I haven't asked him to. I haven't asked him for anything, I swear," I said, the last coming out in a rush. "He just… does. He takes care of me, even when I don't expect him to… when he doesn't have to."

I drew a breath, feeling a little steadier now that the words were out. Billy was still watching me closely, though some of the hostility seemed to have gone out of his expression, if begrudgingly.

"He's my friend," I said, trying in vain to sum up our relationship in a word. The word tasted bitter and lame in my mouth. Inadequate.

Billy was silent for a long moment, looking pensive and suspicious as he studied me, and when he spoke, his voice was quiet, deep, and mistrustful. "Something tells me," he said, dark eyes pinning me in place, "there's a lot more going on here than just friendship."

I shivered, not sure I wanted to hear the answer but unable to keep from asking. "What do you mean?"


Jacob

"You imprinted on her," Embry said.

Jake glanced at him and away again, leveling a scowl at some dust bunnies by his toe. "Yeah. So?"

"So," Quil said, drawing the single syllable out longer than was necessary, "that means you're supposed to be the Alpha now."

Jacob grimaced, folding his arms tighter around himself. "No it doesn't."

"C'mon, Jake," Quil said, sitting up. He had been sprawled on his side on the desk across the room. "Imprinting is the one sure sign of being the Alpha. Everybody knows that."

"What about being a Shifter?" Jacob growled petulantly, glaring at him. "That's a sign too."

"You are a Shifter!"

"But Billy's not!" Jake replied, waving a hand vaguely to take in the rest of the den and the kitchen where they'd left his father and Nessie. "It's never skipped a generation like that before!"

"How do you know?" Quil shot back, just as Embry stepped in to speak again.

"Look, it's not always just cut and dry like that, Jake," the tall, lanky wolf said, leaning back against a sturdy filing cabinet. "We've all studied the histories, maybe not as obsessively as you, but well enough. It doesn't always go in a straight line like that – sometimes it wasn't the oldest son like everyone expected, even if he was a Shifter. Sometimes it was the secondborn, or even the youngest."

"But it was always one of the Alpha's children – which I'm not!"

Embry frowned at him. "Jake-"

"It's not complicated, guys," Jacob said snidely, and then continued as if he were explaining something very simple to a very stupid child. "See, you have the Alpha, and then you have his kid, and then that kid is the next Alpha-"

"We know how it works, Jake," Quil cut him off, rolling his eyes. "But you know what else isn't really complicated – that the Alpha has always been a Black, as far back as anyone can remember or any of the history books go."

"Not anymore," Jake said stubbornly. "Sam's the Alpha now."

"You weren't so sure about that three years ago!"

Jacob bristled, his eyes blazing furiously. "I didn't want it three years ago, and I don't want it now!" he yelled.

The other two recoiled instinctively from his sudden rage, Embry's hands flying up as if to hold him off, and then staying there in a placating gesture.

"Calm down, Jake," he said. "We're not saying you did the wrong thing then. But this is about more than just what you want now…"

"Oh really? So I guess I just imagined all the times you guys said I should rush off and declare myself king now?" Jake asked sarcastically.

"Would you get your head out of your ass and listen," Quil snapped, glaring at him. Jacob blinked, startled, and then slouched back against the wall, his cheeks flushing slightly.

Embry pursed his lips and then continued, taking Jacob's silence for the acquiescence that it was. "This isn't just about you anymore, Jake," he reiterated, his tone even and firm in the new quiet of the room. "It's about Nessie too."

Jacob frowned up at him. "What are you talking about?"

"As your imprint-"

He could literally feel his expression blacken. "Don't you dare try to drag her into this political crap-" he snarled, as Quil growled at him for interrupting again.

"She's part of this, Jake," Embry insisted, "whether you like it or not. There are people who don't want you to be the Alpha-"

"Yeah, I'm one of them!"

"Shut up, Jacob!" Quil snarled.

"-And they'd do anything to stop that from happening, even if it means the death of an innocent girl!"

Jacob stilled, something in his core going cold. "What?"

"Think about it, Jake," Embry said. "She's your proof."

"My proof," Jacob repeated, staring up at him.

"All they'd have to do is get rid of her, and then no one would be the wiser," Quil said, his tone somber. Jake's gaze cut over to him, feeling something dark and panicky gathering in his chest, right around the cord that connected him to Nessie.

"You saw what she did out on the road yesterday," Embry said, pulling Jake's eyes back over to him. "That bloodsucker had her by the throat, and then the next second he's gone."

"The imprint's manifesting already," Jake murmured numbly, a hundred different history lessons on this topic whizzing through his head at once. He'd been too messed up after fighting the she-devil to figure out what had happened, and then he hadn't wanted to figure it out. The others had pulled his mind along with them as they carefully tiptoed around the issue, afraid to even think about thinking it while in their wolf forms.

Embry nodded. "Other people might start to see it soon too. And plus the way you act around her…"

"What do you mean how I act around her?" Jake asked, shaking himself back into focus and trying to ignore the sense of dread pooling in the pit of his stomach. He cringed at the incredulous looks they gave him. "It's that obvious?"

Quil and Embry exchanged a glance and then answered at the same time: "Yes!"

"It's not hard to see what's going on between the two of you, Jake," Embry continued. "If the wrong people found out…"

"If Sam found out," Quil added, giving Embry a significant look. The other nodded.

Jacob frowned, sitting up a little straighter. "Sam already knows."


Renesmee

Billy didn't answer my question right away. He stared down at me hard, a small frown crinkling his weathered face, and seemed to be taking in every little detail of my expression, carefully weighing my reaction to his previous words. Several seconds passed and then, almost imperceptibly, something in his eyes softened.

"I've never seen Jacob act like that before," he said at last, his voice quiet, looking away and shaking his head. "The way he is around you… He's courted girls before, but never…" He blinked, seeming to catch himself, and slanted a look back up at me, his lips pressing once more into a flat, unhappy line.

I don't know how I found the breath to speak, but the words somehow came out regardless of my shock. "You think… Jacob is courting me?"

"No," Billy said emphatically, his brows pulling low over his eyes once more as he seemed to hunch into himself, defensive. I swallowed; that stung for some reason.

"I don't know what went on between the two of you the last few days," he continued after a moment, his voice stern and disapproving, "or what you did to make him so attached to you-"

"I didn't do anything!" I insisted, my vehemence leading me to forget my manners and interrupt him.

He frowned at me. "Maybe not intentionally," he admitted gruffly, "but it doesn't matter. You're going to ruin him just by being here."

That hurt. I gasped, the ache I hadn't noticed building in my chest suddenly flaring sharply at those words. "What?"

"Jacob is a Shifter. But you have no idea what that means, do you?"

"It means he can change-" I began, but he cut me off, shaking his head.

"It's more than that, girl," he said roughly. "It's a position. A job. A life. And you could ruin it all for him. Look at you." He raised one hand to wave vaguely at me, but then let it fall, meeting my confused gaze with hard eyes. "I suppose you're considered a great beauty among your people," he said, and my confusion only grew.

"I… I don't know." I supposed I was pretty enough, but I had never really paid much attention to whether I was particularly beautiful or not, much less how I compared with other women in our kingdom. That sort of thing was for girls with suitors, girls who would grow up and be courted and get married and live happily ever after with someone they loved passionately… Girls who weren't me. So what was he getting at?

Billy watched me with dark, intense eyes. Wolf's eyes. "Most people here," he said slowly, clearly, "when they look at you, all they see is enemy."

Oh. Now I understood. I looked up at him, feeling a new, strange sort of strength covering my previous insecurity, solidifying around me like a hard shell. "Is that what you see?" I asked him.

Billy's mouth twisted to the side, holding my gaze. "I see a pale little girl who, at best, will make my son look like a fool, and at worst… like a traitor."

I felt my eyes widen, choking on a sudden flare of anger as the words rushed out of me. "A- A traitor? What- How could anyone think that? He- Everything he's done has been because Sam Uley made him! Because he ordered him to!"

"Sam didn't order Jacob to protect you, or take care of you," Billy replied severely. "And he certainly didn't tell him to bring you here!"

And just like that my newfound strength seemed to crumble. I stared up at Jacob's father, seeing Sam's face instead, and I finally, truly, understood. I could stand against all the disapproving looks in the world, all the untrue accusations of being a life-sucking monster… but not when they were true. Not when I actually was destroying someone's life. "He… went against the wishes of the king…" I murmured, almost to myself. "He wasn't supposed to save me."

Billy nodded. "For some reason, Jacob seems determined to throw away everything he's worked for… Everything he has left…" He trailed off then, his eyes turning distant, looking pensive and upset.

"Is he… going to be in a lot of trouble?" I ventured hesitantly.

Billy looked up, blinking as though he'd forgotten I was there for a moment. His face quickly closed off again. "That depends. But I doubt the Alpha will let something like this slide," he said, his voice bitter.

"What will he do?" I asked, shuddering to think of what horrible punishments the man who'd stood over me last night could come up with. Surely Jacob wouldn't submit to anything like that though…

"I don't know," Billy said. "The Pack lives by hard laws, and Jacob will have to accept whatever decision the Alpha makes. And like I said… he could lose everything." His dark eyes bored into me, angry, accusing, and absolutely justified.

I couldn't hold his gaze, but rather dropped it to look back down at the table, fingering the forgotten slice of bread on my plate. It was all I could do to breathe around the deep, guilty ache in my chest.


Jacob

"He… what?"

"He knows," Jake said again, looking back and forth between the two of them. "He found out almost right when we got here."

"He 'found out'?" Quil echoed, his voice strained. "How the hell did he find out?"

"I don't know," Jake said, defensive once more. "We were talking and it just sort of… came out."

Quil stared at him. "Jake," he said slowly. "You know I love you like a brother. But are you stupid?"

"What the hell-"

"Quil, stop it. You're not helping," Embry cut them both off, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He didn't look any less aggravated when he opened his eyes again to fix Jacob with a disgruntled frown. "Alright, explain, Jacob, please. How, and why, did you tell Sam about this?"

Jacob folded his arms, leaning back against the wall. "I told you, I didn't mean for it to come out like that. It's not like I walked in there and said 'Hey Sam, you know that girl I just showed up with? I imprinted her! Have a nice day!'" he said, doing a sarcastic, overly cheerful impression of himself.

"How'd he take it?" Quil asked, for once completely serious.

Jacob blew out a long breath. "Not well," he admitted. "He… Honestly, I'm not sure he believed me. He reminded me that imprinting is his job, as the Alpha," he said, glaring at his two friends momentarily, "and basically just told me to stay away from her. I don't know how he expects me to do that, but…" The thought of staying away from Nessie was simply impossible, except for her benefit, and even then it was nigh unthinkable.

Embry let out a hiss through his teeth. "He's threatened by you already," he growled, and cursed softly under his breath. He shook his head, looking back up at Jake. "Man, you really should not have told him about this…"

"Sam is not threatened by me," Jacob scoffed, frowning. "I serve the Alpha, like we all do. He knows that."

Quil and Embry exchanged another worried look, and then Quil spoke again, his voice quiet. "That's just it, Jake… Which Alpha?"


Renesmee

The rest of my morning with Jacob's father consisted mostly of silence as he leaned against the counter and brooded and I sat at the table and picked half-heartedly at my breakfast. I had lost all motivation to speak after the rude awakening Billy had given me, but after a time he seemed to grow restless in the long quiet, and eventually made a few gruff attempts at conversation.

"So you're a vegetarian."

"Yes."

"Huh. So you don't drink blood."

"N-no!"

"Huh."

And then we would lapse into uncomfortable silence again, until one of us was able to once again pluck up the nerve for more small talk.

"Jacob tells me you're a scholar… of, uh, history?"

"Yep."

"Any particular area of study?"

"Nope."

"Oh."

It was a long morning.

I had never felt more relieved than when Jacob finally returned from his talk with Quil and Embry. I felt him before I saw him, just like when I'd woken that morning and when he had come to escort me from the bath up to breakfast. It was a sensation I didn't care to examine too closely just yet, especially on the heels of Billy telling me I was essentially ruining Jacob's life. I just knew, somehow, that Jacob was nearing, that the distance between us was lessening, and then there he was, striding into the kitchen with an agitated expression and eyes that immediately sought me out.

"Hey," he said, sounding almost out of breath. "You ready to go?"

I blinked up at him, wiping my hands off as I pushed away from the table, "Go where?"

"Just… somewhere… not here." He spared a quick glance back at his father, who was frowning and watching us closely, before turning back to me with a strained look.

I swallowed, trying to ignore Billy's gaze, and nodded, stepping out from around the table to join Jacob. He didn't move immediately to the door like I expected, though, instead pausing to frown down at my abandoned plate of jam and bread, his brows knitting together. I blushed, realizing I'd been about to take off and just leave that mess behind me. "Sorry," I muttered, stepping back over to the table, "let me just clean this up, and we'll go…"

Jacob's hand on my arm stopped me, his long fingers closing all of the way around and sending a wash of warmth through me. I looked up at him in time to see his throat convulse and his eyes momentarily unfocus. He felt it too… whatever it was. I was sure.

"You don't have to do that," Jacob said, shaking his head slightly. "It's just… You didn't eat much."

My gaze flickered over to Billy and then away again. "I wasn't that hungry," I said.

I heard Jacob sigh above me, and his hand tightened on my arm, reassuringly, before dropping back to his side. I looked back up at his face again, missing the contact already.

"You two go ahead," Billy said suddenly, pushing himself away from the counter to limp stiffly toward us. "I'll take care of the dishes."

Jacob studied his father for a moment, his expression unreadable, and then finally nodded once, offering a gruff, "Thanks." Then he took me by the hand and led the way out of the kitchen.

We walked in silence for a minute, Jacob seeming lost in thought and intent on simply moving forward, but when we were about halfway down the path back to the pool, I finally spoke up. "Jacob, where are we going?"

Jake looked up, coming out of his thoughts, and slowed to a stop. "Oh, I… uh… Where do you want to go?" he asked, looking down at me sheepishly.

I raised my eyebrows at him, smiling slightly. "I don't even know what's around here to go to," I reminded him, smiling wider as a small flush colored his cheeks for once. I felt lighter already, just being out here with him, away from his father's accusing gaze and the reminders of why I was really here in this kingdom. "What are our options?"

We ended up walking down the hill, past the pool, its exposed half shimmering in the sunlight as the other end rippled darkly in the shade of the ceilinged patio. Jacob led us around the edge of the den, the hill rising up on one side with its faceted walls of glowing crystal, and the towering pines of the forest pressing in close enough to touch on our other side. The trees parted as we came to the bottom of the hill, allowing a wide view of the valley spreading out below us, all waves of green and golden sunshine. I let out a quiet breath, drinking in the beautiful sight.

Jacob was silent beside me, his eyes distant and contemplative. He hadn't let go of my hand once this whole time. I looked up at him and gave his fingers a gentle squeeze.

"Are you alright?" I asked when he looked down at me.

He nodded, looking out at the valley again. "Yeah. Just… thinking…"

"I hadn't noticed," I teased gently, smiling up at him. He gave a little half-smile in return, but then seemed to sink back into his thoughts. "What did Quil and Embry want to talk to you about?" I asked quietly after a moment, and he looked up again, blinking.

"Just…" He dropped my gaze, releasing a loud, frustrated sigh. "Politics," he spat.

"Politics?" I repeated, surprised. Why did everything come back to politics here? For all the simpering and dealing that went on in the court back home, it never seemed to consume every part of life like it did here… "And it was so urgent that they had to drag you off right then?"

He shot me a sideling look and seemed to be choosing his words. "They thought it was urgent," he said at last.

There was something about the way he looked at me then, his reluctance to speak, his long, uncharacteristic silences as we had walked… I was reminded of what Billy had told me earlier. "It's about me, isn't it?" I asked, my mouth going dry.

Jake turned toward me, his brows drawing together as he frowned. "Well… Yeah, some of it."

I nodded. He didn't need to say any more. "Billy told me."

Jacob's hand suddenly spasmed around mine, gripping almost painfully tight. I jumped, looking up at him to find his eyes wide with shock. "What do you mean he told you?" he demanded. "I didn't think he even-" He cut himself off mid-sentence, staring down at me, and then his eyes narrowed slightly, suspicious. "Wait," he said, calmer now, "what did he tell you?"

"That… That you're going to be in trouble for bringing me here," I answered, gazing up at him in confusion. I bit my lip, a wave of guilt washing over me as I looked at him. "That you weren't supposed to save me."

Jacob swore. "Why that codgy- old-" He growled, ran a hand through his hair, and breathed out through clenched teeth before looking back down at me. "That's not what we were talking about. And Billy shouldn't have told you that, either."

I peered up at him uncertainly. "So… you don't think you're going to get into trouble with Sam?"

"I didn't say that," Jake admitted, then grinned, though it didn't quite reach his eyes. "It wouldn't be the first time. It's not that big a deal," he shrugged.

"Really?" I asked, still unsure. I couldn't stand the thought of Jacob being at Sam Uley's mercy, especially if it was my fault…

"Really," Jake nodded.

I considered this for a moment, before looking back up at him. "So what were you talking about with Quil and Embry then?" I asked. "I mean, if you don't mind my asking… I don't mean to pry…"

Jake smiled, and this time it did reach his eyes. There was something so warm and private about that smile, like it was just for me. "Of course I don't mind," he said, shifting a little bit closer to me. "You can ask me anything, anytime you want."

I felt myself blush slightly, and returned his smile shyly. "Okay…"

We simply stood like that for a moment, smiling bashfully at each other. I would be lying if I said I wasn't enjoying Jacob's proximity immensely. It was almost as if the space that had come between us earlier that morning had never been there at all. Part of me wanted to stay in that moment, stay close to him, and never leave… but I was still curious about these politics he and his friends had been discussing, and what about them had been so upsetting for him.

"So…" I said softly, breaking the silence. "If you're not worried about what Sam will do, about me being here, I mean, then… what did they need to talk to you about?"

He let out a long breath, looking away again. "It's not… They just think I should be doing some things… that I don't want to do," he said, shaking his head. His eyes found mine again a moment later, though. "It's really not anything you need to worry about, though, princess," he added, giving me what was no doubt supposed to be a reassuring half-smile.

I felt a stab at the use of that royal moniker again, and frowned, leaning a little closer. I could feel him pulling away from me again, the chasm cracking open between us once more. "You just seemed rather upset about it…"

He shrugged again, not meeting my gaze, and there was a new tension about his shoulders as he thought back on what they had discussed. "It's Pack stuff. They're welcome to their opinions, I guess, but that doesn't mean I have to like it."

"Alright…" I said uncertainly, still curious and more than a touch worried.

Jake looked down at me, smiling again, seeming to make a conscious effort to put the matter from his mind and relax again. "Come on," he said, squeezing my hand gently. The chasm rippled, and finally closed again. "I'll show you around the rest of the den."

"Okay," I replied, smiling slightly in return, and stole one last look out at the golden valley below us as he led me away around the rest of the hill.


AN: Okay, here's your bathroom break. Go pee, eat something, maybe write a review or five... and then come back for Ch12 - Sunshine! :D