I have no excuses XD But Happy New Year Everyone!

Chapter Fourteen

Secrets

The music was pumping loudly from the back of Embry's truck and several of the pack members grappled and wrestled playfully. They were gathering on the beach to have a pack meeting, a weekly affair that Jacob had been neglecting recently in order to spend time with his wife. Now that he had her back, he was dedicated to her.

He hadn't even wanted to go to the meeting that night but Hermione had practically shoved him out of the door. She had demanded he go because she wanted to sleep. The transformation had made her feel drained and she was going to take advantage of the peace and quiet with him out of the house to catch up on her rest.

"Hey, long time no see man!" Quil called as the broad shouldered form of Jacob Black joined the pack.

When he was close enough, Quil clapped his best friend on the shoulder and grinned at him. He wouldn't admit it, but he'd missed him. Sure, Jacob had been to a couple of meetings and he'd seen him at the beach when they had had a pack celebration, but he had noticed the gap in the line up each week where Jacob should stand.

The would-have-been Alpha felt himself relax instantly the moment his friend interacted with him. He felt like one of the guys again instead of the husband of a werewolf. He slung his arm around Quil's neck and rubbed his knuckles across the guy's head. The two guys laughed and Quil pushed Jacob away.

"Nice to see you, Jake." Sam laughed as he walked over to them.

Jacob waved in greeting to Sam and quietened, waiting for the meeting to begin. He found he'd missed the regularity of the meetings. He felt almost like a solider amongst his comrades when they lined up. Their band was as close as brothers and he knew that in a way they were soldiers. They were protectors of the humans and it was a cause they would fight to the death to uphold.

In a way he could relate to Hermione. She had fought to protect those she loved and to save her world, and he did the same. He hadn't had as many battles as the curly haired witch, but he bore his own scars; especially after her rescue.

There was a scar on his forearm where a newborn had attacked him as he'd moved across the field towards Astoria's lair. He wore it with pride however as it was a symbol that he had saved the woman he loved.

Sam turned off the music coming from the car and turned to face his pack. They lined up as they usually did, this time with the gap where Jacob stood filled. He grinned. They were complete now.

"Evening guys, and Leah, there's nothing really to report. The Cullens have been keeping to their side of the border and there's been no other activity for us to discuss." He told them, his face relaxed.

Jacob nodded along with the rest of the pack. No news was good news. They were currently experiencing a period of peace and he hoped it lasted a long time. Now that the meeting was over, the pack were free to just hang out.

The music was restarted and the members sprawled themselves out across the rocks and fallen logs surrounding their meeting area.

"So Leah, how's the half-leech?" Embry called.

Leah growled and narrowed her dark eyes at him. "Don't call him that."

Embry held up his hands. "My bad."

The she-wolf huffed and ruffled her short hair. "He's fine. He and Nessie are growing up real fast."

She shot Quil a sympathetic look. It would take years for Clare to grow up and Quil was stuck waiting for the day she would be old enough to decide what she wants out of their relationship; be it a friend, lover or protector. Initially Leah had been in the same position, EJ being a baby, but being a half-vampire meant that she wouldn't have to wait as long before he was grown up. He would be able to decide what he wanted a lot sooner.

"Yeah, they'll be teens before you know it." Jacob chuckled, joining the conversation as he sat on a rock.

Leah looked over at him. "So where have you been lately? We haven't seen much of you."

Jacob felt as though his chest was tightening. He couldn't lie to the pack, but he couldn't tell them about Hermione either. It wasn't his secret to share. When she wanted to tell them, she would. Right now, they were both just adjusting.

Honestly, it was nice to have something in common though the wolf couldn't help but wish that his wife's transformations would be voluntary. They had sounded so painful and he hated hearing her be in so much pain. It was good that her wolf had accepted him so readily. He wondered if she would accept the pack just as easily.

"Oh, I've just been busy. Married life, you know." He replied evasively.

Leah shot a look at Sam. The Alpha could sense what she could. He was keeping something from them. It was a rule within the Pack that they didn't keep secrets. As soon as Jacob knew about Hermione's magic, they had known. As soon as Quil knew the awful truth that his imprint was a baby, they all knew.

It was an unspoken rule that they never kept anything from each other.

Jacob spent the next few hours with his pack, laughing and catching up with all that he'd missed while he'd been away. He listened as Embry told him about how he was getting on at school and he heard all about Emily's new cooking class. She was learning about cakes. Jacob thought that she was already awesome at cooking and that she didn't need any cooking class, but Emily was happy.

As the sun began to sink towards the horizon, he finally decided it was time to go home. Hermione would probably be waiting for him. She had probably woken up by now. He wanted to do something nice for her and cook dinner. She most likely was too tired to be able to prepare anything to eat.

"I've got to go. I'll see you next week. I'm going to try and come more regularly." He sighed, getting to his feet.

He brushed the sand off his jeans and grinned at his pack brothers. The ones not wrestling in wolf form waved and those who were wolves barked. He turned and began the walk back into the forest, towards home.

When they were sure he was gone, the Pack gathered again.

"Did anyone else get the sense that Jacob was keeping something from us?" Leah asked, looking over at where Jacob had walked off.

"Yeah, he seemed a little…off." Quil agreed.

Seth phased back into human form, his clothes transforming with him thanks to Hermione's spell. "Do you think something is wrong with him and Hermione?"

Paul leaned forward from his perch on the back of his truck. "I haven't seen her in a while, but last time she wasn't happy with Jacob. They were getting back on track though."

Embry sniffed. "Was it me, or did he smell different?"

Quil snickered and playfully punched his friend in the arm. "Were you sniffing him? You might be a wolf, but you're not a dog you know."

He glared and threw some sand at his friend. "Shut up. His scent was strange."

Sam nodded thoughtfully. "It wasn't his scent, I don't think. I have a feeling that it was more something, or someone, he's been around."

Leah tilted her head. "It kind of smelt like Remus. Maybe he's been spending a lot of time around him and his kid."

The Pack were quiet, lost in thought. True the scent was similar to Remus', but it wasn't as strong and the faint undertones of tea and wood weren't there. Instead it was slightly sweet. It had to belong to someone else.

Was Jacob cheating on Hermione?

They each dismissed that thought as quickly as it entered their minds. They had all seen how devastated he'd been when she'd gone missing, and they all knew how devoted he was to her now that he had her back. There was no way that he'd cheat on her.

"There's got to be an explanation." Seth said abruptly.

Paul sighed. "What do we do now? Do we follow him?"

Sam shook his head. "I don't think so. Maybe we should be on guard around him until we know for sure what he's hiding."

There were murmurs of agreement. They didn't want to think badly of their pack member, but there was something going on. They didn't keep secrets from each other and he was breaking that rule.

What was he hiding?

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