I'M FINALLY UPDATING!! WOO!

Playlist For Chapter:

Chelsea Dagger--The Fratellis

I'd Do Anything---Simple Plan

Chapter 23--Arm Candy

APOV

My head snapped up as the door opened and Paul walked in, his forehead wrinkled in confusion as he stared at the envelopes in his hand. "Paul?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

He looked up and grinned as his eyes met mine. "You got mail," he said, dropping the envelope on the coffee table in front of me. He flopped down on the couch beside me as I picked it up.

"It's not junk mail, is it?" I asked him suspiciously as I picked it up. But he just grinned and gestured for me to open it. "It's from Galena," I said, my eyes widening as I looked up at him.

He grinned and nodded. "I know. I read it before I gave it to you," he told me with a smug grin.

I narrowed my eyes. "It's still sealed," I pointed out, holding up the letter from my hometown in Alaska.

"It's sunny out today," he said with a shrug.

I rolled my eyes and ripped open the envelope. "Illegal," I muttered, knowing he heard as he chuckled quietly. My eyes quickly scanned over the small print and a grin spread over my face. "They're having a reunion?" I asked excitedly. "Isn't it too early for that?" I asked, my eyebrows furrowing together. It's only been two-almost three years since I graduated. What the hell?

He shrugged. "You want to go? It's during New Years," he told me.

"Do you want to go? Can you go?" I added as an after thought, wondering if the wolves ever really got more than a day off unless it's a wedding or honeymoon. I can't remember a time when that was allowed…

"I'll have to ask Sam but I'm sure we can go-it's not like we don't have enough pack members or anything," he added with an eye roll. "Do you want to go?" he asked expectantly.

"Heck yes!" I said with a huge grin. "I'm going to have to show you absolutely everything while we're there-and I'll get to catch up with all my old friends. Oh my God, no one up there even knows I'm married," I said, shocked that I had left an entire town out of my list of people to brag to when I got engaged. I'm behind!

"Should I be insulted…?" Paul asked, quirking an eyebrow as he pouted.

I laughed and kissed his cheek. "No…Now I get to surprise everyone with my smoke'n husband! Hell yes, this is going to be the best reunion ever!" I said, standing up and doing a little happy dance. I honestly don't know what has come over me.

Paul laughed and stood up, grabbing my waist and dipping me low to the ground. "Well, I'm glad I can be of service even if you just want me for arm candy," he said with a wink before giving me a kiss.

"Well I expect you to dance with me too," I told him with a grin. And he will…Because I said so.

"Wait, wait, wait," Paul said, reaching over and grabbing the letter off the table, not releasing me from his hold as he stood us up. "This is a formal thing?" he asked, making a face. "Aw crap, don't tell Claire," he reminded me.

"No problem-don't think about it if you're on patrol with Quil," I said with a snort. The little shit would gladly give her that information just to get her all excited and happy-I swear he loves Claire torturing us just as much as she does.

Paul let out a low chuckle. "That's not going to be a problem," he said. "The Cullens are moving back," he told me.

My mouth popped open. "Since when?" I asked, eyes wide. How long has he known about this and not told me?

"I just found out. They should be here by Christmas," Paul said with a nod, pursing his lips.

"So the packs are going to split again," I said quietly, grimacing slightly. I knew it was better at the time but now…it just sucks.

"Yeah," Paul said with a sigh, plopping back down on the couch. I sat down next to him, curling against his side as he wrapped his arms around me.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, knowing how much he hates this. I know the stories about when it happened, how it happened but the after effects of splitting the pack…Paul tried explaining it to me once; the emptiness in his head, how weird it was not to the thoughts of his brothers. None of the boys really like the disconnection with each other but at the same time they talk about how nice it is to have just a few less voices in your head. It's weird to think about but I'm sure it's even weirder to experience.

"It's alright, we'll all get used to it again," he said with a shrug. "At least Jake and Sam can hear each other so it's not like the total connection is lost," he added with a shrug. "Though I'm sure this isn't going to help the Brady situation at all," he said.

I looked at him nervously. "Did you find out what's going on?" I asked him hopefully. All we know for sure is that Andy was caught at the dance, other than that….

He frowned and shook his head. "She's not allowed to talk to him anymore," Paul told me. "If she does her Dad's shipping their family back to California," he told me, I could practically hear his teeth grinding together as my eyes narrowed into space.

"Maybe, just this once, Brady should take after you and punch the fuck out of her Dad," I muttered, my jaw clenching but relaxing as I felt Paul chuckle.

"You haven't seen Andy's Dad though-he's not as much of a pussy as yours; he might actually press charges," Paul told me with a slight smirk.

"But Brady's a minor. He couldn't get in that much trouble compared to if my Dad had pressed charges on you," I reminded him. Still a hell of a lot of trouble though.

"True," Paul allowed, smiling to himself. "Have you talked to him lately?" he asked me curiously.

"I saw them the other day," I said with a grimace. "They were at the gas station when I was filling up Herb. Ethan got bigger," I grumbled.

"Did you talk to them?" he asked me, raising an eyebrow.

"I said hi, gave Ethan a kiss and left. That's about all I could force upon myself," I admitted. I've seen them a total of three times since I graduated from college. All have been awkward but I'm pulling through for my half brother. I'm ashamed to say that Dane's got me beat by two sightings-the last time I talked to him anyway…

"Wanna go clean out our closet?" Paul asked, wriggling his eyebrows at me. I laughed and he jumped up from the couch, scooping me up in his arms and running down the hall. What he doesn't know is that I actually plan on cleaning out the closet. Literally. That place is like Narnia by now.

TWO DAYS LATER! (Cause I'm trying to catch us all up)

"Alex!" Paul called as I shut the front door behind me. He was in front of me before I could even put my keys down.

"What?" I asked with a grin as he smiled down at me.

"Andy's witch sister is going to let her off the hook-Brady and Andy are back together as long as they can keep her Dad in the dark," he told me.

"Really?" I asked, breathing a sigh of relief. Poor Brady hasn't slept in three days, all he's been doing is following around Andy in his wolf form and moping around the place. And according to Claire and Vi, Andy wasn't doing all that well herself either. "What was with the sudden change of heart?" I asked curiously.

Paul shook his head. "Apparently, Erika-that's her name by the way-talked to Brady today during school. She told him about some talk she had with her brother Derek on the phone the other night and how Andy's been acting lately and I guess her brother talked her into it," Paul said. "He seems like a good guy and I guess he found some way to talk to Brady too-he wants to keep Andy in the dark about his part of it, let her think Erika came to her senses on her own or something. I mean, I guess she really did want her sister to be happy but it definitely took some talking to on her brother's part-at least that's the way Brady made it sound," Paul said with a shrug.

I sighed with relief and hugged him. "Thank God, now all that's left is to tell Andy the secret-and Kendra. Jeez, I can't believe how Embry is lately! I stopped by his house the other day with Kim because she had to drop off something or another for Jared and he was locked in his room with his guitar-it took us like forty-five minutes to get him to realize we were even there, knocking on his door. I didn't even know he could play!" I exclaimed incredulously.

Paul chuckled. "He's been playing for a while-not really seriously but…," Paul paused, his eyes darting around the room quickly before he leaned in, lowering his voice. "He's learning a song to play to Kendra," he told me quietly, as if this was a top secret.

I grinned. "Well that's cute but why are we whispering?" I asked quietly.

Paul stood up straight and shrugged. "Embry begged Emily to beg Sam to put out an order than no one can mention it in front of Kendra and if we mentioned it to anyone else then we had to whisper or he would find us. I think Sam just passed it to amuse himself," Paul said, rolling his eyes as I let out a laugh.

"He would," I said I said with a snort just as there was a knock on the door. "Well who in the hell…," I trailed off, pulling the door open. My mouth popped open before I managed to snap it closed. "Hey Dane, hey Les," I said quietly. I heard Paul quietly backing away from the door and out of sight, disappearing down the hall. He was almost ashamed that he had freaked them out so much-even after I talked to him about it.

"Can we…talk to you now?" Dane asked nervously, squeezing Les' hand.

"Yeah, of course," I said, opening the door wider. They walked in and sat down on the couch. "Where's Cassie?" I asked as I sat down on Paul's recliner.

"She's with my Mom," Les told me with a slight grin.

I nodded, twisting my fingers together as I bounced my leg up and down. "So, are you guys ready to talk or…?" I trailed off, pursing my lips.

Dane sighed. "I'm sorry we freaked out Alex and…you know, that I thought you were all crazy," he said, shooting me a grin. "And, well it all kind of makes sense now. I mean, all of this weird stuff happening and…I'm sorry I overreacted about the…imprint thing," Dane said, seeming to choke out the last part. Les shot him a look and then gave me a grin.

"I'm really happy that you and Paul are that perfect for each other Alex and I just want you to know that that's not why I was mad about," she said, careful to emphasize that word. "I'm just kind of upset that you couldn't tell us before now."

I nodded. "I know, and I really do feel bad about that-the whole pack does and we just want to keep you all safe," I told them.

"What happened with the babysitter Alex?" Dane asked suddenly. I watched as Les tensed and Dane looked into my eyes pleadingly.

"I don't really know the entire thing," I began quietly. "Paul's the one that was there. He walked in and he smelled the bloo-"

"Smelled?" Les asked, confused.

"Oh, the boys have a better sense of smell and vampires smell terrible to them so once Paul was there…he smelled it right away," I told them.

"What were you going to say before?" Dane asked.

I raised my eyebrows. "What?"

"What were you going to say before? When Les interrupted you," he coaxed. I gave him a confused look. "You were going to say bloodsucker, weren't you?" he asked, swallowing.

I nodded slowly. "Yeah, I'm sorry. It's just, hanging around the guys…it rubs off on you. I mean, I would never say that about the Cullens-they're the nicest-"

"-You mean Alice Cullen? The girl who helped with your wedding?" Les asked, her eyebrows furrowing together.

"Yes, she and her entire family are vampires," I told them. "But don't worry, they're 'vegetarians.' They drink the blood of animals. They have a treaty with the tribe not to come onto their lands. They're completely harmless and the nicest people-I'll explain more later," I said. "But um, Paul walked in and the…vampire ran out the back. Paul grabbed Cassie and put her in the truck before phasing and alerting the pack. Then he brought Cassie here and…that's about it," I finished.

"Did they kill it?" Dane asked quietly.

I pursed my lips and shook my head. "No. He got away," I told him. "But they've been trailing this one for a while now. The boys will get him, you don't have to worry," I said confidently.

"I'm sorry Alex, I didn't mean to get so upset over the whole thing. It's just a lot to take in and you are my sister-"

"-It's okay Dane," I said, standing up. "I know you're just watching out for me and doing your job but I can assure you that Paul imprinting on me is not at all a bad thing," I told him. "Absolutely nothing bad has come out of it. Look at how big our family is-look at how happy we've all been since I've met Paul. You," I said, pointing to Dane. "You got a brother-one who broke our Dad's nose. I mean, you can't get much better than that," I said with a grin.

"And Les, you've always wanted a huge family-just remember how crowded the Christmas party was. It was so great," I said as she smiled to herself. "And Cassie," I said, turning to the mantle over the fireplace and grabbing the photo I took of Paul and Cassie-Cassie had her arms wrapped tightly around his neck and was giving him a kiss on the cheek as he grinned widely at the camera. "Look at that," I said, gesturing to the picture. "I mean, I know it's a shock and it's scary but isn't it worth it?"

"Thanks for telling us Alex," Les said, giving me a hug as I grinned.

I looked at Dane and he grinned, pulling me into a tight hug. "You couldn't get rid of us that easily. It'll take some time but we'll get used to it," he said, smiling at me.

"I am so glad we talked to you too-I wanted to start making plans for the Christmas party. I ordered some wreaths and poinsettias for the party already and I just wanted to make sure I knew how many people were going to be there?" she said quickly as I tried to catch up to her. Only Les.

"Well…a total of…twenty-seven people? Yeah, I think that's about it…," I trailed off, trying to think.

"Whoa, that's more than last year," she said, her eyebrows furrowing.

"Yeah, well you know the imprinting thing? Paul and I aren't the only ones who've imprinted. Collin, Brady, and Embry all just imprinted and I'm sure they're girls are coming with them," I told her.

"Wow. Well, you'll have to give me all the details later. We have to go pick up Cassie. Where is Paul by the way?" she asked, her eyes darting around.

"Uh, he took off when you guys got here. He didn't want to scare you or anything like that," I said, biting my lip. He really was afraid they'd be scared of him.

They both nodded understandingly. "Tell him we said hi…and not to run off the next time we show up. It'll be nice to talk to him," Dane said, allowing a grin. "Bye Alex," he said as they walked out the door.

I grinned and shut it behind them, leaning against the door with a grin. "That went well," Paul said with a grin, coming out of the kitchen with an apple in his hand. He set it on the table and came over to give me a hug. "You did great," he said, kissing my hair.

"Eh, decent," I said with a grin.

He pulled back and looked me in the eyes, a spark in his as he grinned at me. "You really meant all of that?" he asked with a smile.

I grinned back. "Every word."

Alright, so I personally think this chapter was a bit boring but…eh. I'm just trying to catch everyone up now. Hope you liked it!

SETH IMPRINT STORY IS UP AND RUNNING! Title of it will change soon though. CHECK IT OUT!

REVIEW! FAV PART? FAV LINE?

ARE YOU EXCITED FOR ALEX'S CLASS REUNION??? DID YOU NOTICE HOW MUCH DEREK WAS REALLY INVOLVED WITH ERIKA'S CHANGE OF HEART? TOLD YOU SHE WAS STILL A B***** LOL