A/N: I'm sorry. But this is my hardest year. And with 2 jobs over the summer, I didn't have time to really write. I'll do my best to write some more very soon, but will 3 exams in the next two weeks, that seems kinda tough. I wanna update all of my other stories before staring my next chapter. Please be patient with me, and reviews might help hurry the process along! Ugh. I'm terrible, I know. But don't hate me, please?

Last time:

The way she looked at me nearly melted my heart. Her eyes were shining, and it was like I was her everything; her hero, her savior, someone she loves.

Okay, that last one was probably just me being overly hopeful. I knew that it was far too soon after the death of her husband to be asking her to love me.

But, I know one thing for sure.

I was falling in love with her.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story except for Ariya. She is my own little creation.

Jacob POV

"You should take her out on a date." Embry kicked at my foot. "Dude, Jake. You listening, man? I really think that you should take her out. Not anything fancy. She's really limited in what she can do now at 32 weeks. Just pack up a picnic and take her out to Third Beach. She'll eat that shit up. Trust me."

I moved out from under the car I was working on to look at him. "You think that'll be good enough? I want to show her that I really want her to stay in my life and that I want her with me. That I'm sorry about everything that happened before."

"Don't worry about that. She understands… kinda… Jake, you really have to talk to her about Bella. Ari deserves to know." I sighed, getting up, wiping my hands on my uniform. Embry tossed me a somewhat clean rag, and I rubbed any grease off of my face.

"I really just wanted to avoid that conversation. But I do get it. She does deserve to know what in the world happened. Especially since Bella did come back. Do you think she'll be mad?"

"Honestly? No. I mean, she might get a little upset with you for not telling her about it all, especially since she told you about Taylor. But, she won't get mad at you. You didn't do anything wrong." I nodded.

"You're right. All right. I'll tell her."

"Sweet, dude. Okay, enough girl talk. Let's get back to work."

I laughed, punching him in the arm before turning back to the car that I was working on.

Business here at Black's Mechanics was doing great. We were the best for miles around, so we got customers from all over. I've had people drive an hour just to get their car inspected. And we didn't charge as much as the guys over in Forks, so we stole all of their business. They only get the people that don't like the 'rez rats' to come in. Also, it didn't hurt to have half the pack working for me. It makes us move a lot quicker than other auto shops, which certainly brings in a lot of people.

We have a facebook page, a twitter page, an instagram and a separate website that contains all of our information. We've made a decent amount of money, allowing us to help out with our families, around the tribe, and create college funds for some of the kids. All of that Social Media stuff was Ari's idea. She believed that they would help to bring in customers, and it certainly did.

And we finally got enough to feed the black holes that are in the pack. Damn. I know I'm probably one of the worst with it, but damn my pack can eat.

And now with a heavily pregnant imprint, I'm so thankful to be doing so well.

'I'm going to be a dad soon.'

'Wow.'

'Holy shit.'

I had to sit down with the force of all of the responsibilities that I knew that I would have, weighing me down.

'I have to finish baby proofing the house, start up a savings account for the kid's college because schools now are asking for like $20-30,000 per year, and who knows how much it will cost in 18 years! The diapers, and baby food, and all of those clothes will cost so much too.'

And then, I thought about the baby himself.

'What if I'm not going to be a good parent?'

'How will I know how to discipline him enough and not too much?'

'What if I can't protect him?'

'What is the right age for him to be able to do certain things?'

'What if he dies?'

Babies do have that chance of death, whether it's a sickness, or sudden infant death syndrome.

I don't think I'd be able to handle it if my son died. Not after loving him for this long. I don't think that I would be able to help Ariya through that.

Great Spirits, please don't let that happen to our son. We do love him with all of our hearts.

Then my heart sunk.

'What if he phases?'

The thought of vampires coming around here when my son is old enough to phase scares the absolute shit out of me.

I was only 16.

Poor Seth was only 15.

Brady and Collin were the youngest, at 13 years old.

He could phase that early in his life.

I couldn't bear the thought of it.

'I can't let that happen. I won't let it happen.'

With that thought, I knew that I would phase as long as there was a threat of vampires near my family.

Time skip…

Once again, under the car that I was fixing when I heard the sweet voice of my mate drifting towards me.

I pushed myself out from underneath, quickly getting up and reaching for her.

Wrapping her up in a hug, I shoved my nose into her hair sighing as her sweet scent filled my every sense.

The doctor kept up with his weekly visits, and decided that she would be just fine for a little more activity instead of complete bed rest, which was a relief for everyone, not that we have really let up on her getting her rest.

She enjoyed taking little walks around the tribe with some of the pack, or an Elder or two.

"Jake." She breathed.

"Hey honey." I rubbed my hands along her back.

"I brought you some lunch. I know that things might be stressful for you, so I thought that some homemade food instead of some take-out might be nice for a change."

I looked over to see Brady smirking, holding up a huge cooler.

"That's a lot of food, honey!"

"I didn't just make it for you, silly. What kind of a Den Mommy would I be if I didn't take care of your pack?"

"Our pack, honey. It's our pack."

"Our pack." She was smiling up at me.

"Hey, so I was wondering if you wanted to go out with me later."

"Like a date?" My cheeks were heating up.

"Not like a date. An actual date."

A slow smile spread across her face, quickly filling up completely, the teeth from her top row showing with her glee.

"Really? What do you have planned?"

"You want me to ruin the surprise?"

"Yes!" She started bouncing on her toes in my arms. "Please Jake? I can't stand surprises."

"Nope! I'm not telling." She huffed, crossing her arms, pouting.

I couldn't help but chuckle. She was just so cute.

Her big doe eyes widened as she looked up at me, and her bottom lip began to quiver. "Jaaaaake."

"Ariyaaaaa." I mimicked her whiny tone.

She started giggling. "Stoooop!"

Bending down, I covered those laughing lips with my own and I pulled her in as close as she could possibly get to me. Her tiny hands reached under the shirt I was wearing, feeling up my sweaty back. I felt her nails scratching and I growled. I never thought that just kissing someone would feel like this.

Honestly, kissing my Ari was way better than sex with all of those other girls combined.

Pulling away, I smiled at that dazed look that was always on her face after we kissed.

"So, is that a yes?"

"Huh?"

Laughing, I shook my head. "Come on. Let's go eat before that pack of wolves gets it all." Grabbing her hand, I brought her along with me to the bench outside where everyone was waiting for us.

Sitting her down on my lap, I fed her bite by bite of a couple of the sandwiches she made. Ari decided to return the favor and feed me. I've seen couples feeding each other and always found it to be disgusting, but this was something different.

My wolf was rolling around inside of me, purring in content at the thought of me feeding her, and for her feeding me.

It is a wolf imperative to make sure that others in the pack are being fed.

Touch is also very important to the pack. It is comforting and a great sense of communication. Especially when one of the pack is hurting. This pack is one much like a regular wolf pack in that sense, we are very close, only hanging out with each other, doing everything together. We are a family.

I love them all.

Funny how everything has changed since we first started phasing.

I went from hating most of these guys, to respecting them, to finally loving them as deeply as if we were bound by blood.

Now, I get to share that with my imprint.

And I see how much she loves them and how much they all love her.

And that is the best thing that I could ever hope for.

It brings some serious pride to me.

My pack isn't complete, but it is so much closer, now that I have found my mate.

Rubbing my hand down her back, I watched as she smiled and laughed at the guys' antics.

I seriously could not wait to take her out on a date tonight.

Time skip…

Finally off of work!

Taking off the uniform, I quick changed into my black t-shirt, dark grey hoodie, jeans, my boots, and my trademark beanie. I used to get so much shit for wearing it.

I had to make some effort to look like the weather wasn't as warm as it felt to me, only being the beginning of March.

Hopefully, since it rained all morning, it would be done by now and hold off for the rest of the day. It would suck to try to take her to Third Beach if it was raining.

Walking into the house, I smiled at the sounds of my sleeping mate.

"Embry?"

He walked out of the kitchen, mouth full of cereal. I shook my head and laughed.

"Since I've got early patrol tomorrow morning, I'm just gonna get a quick nap in now."

He nodded. "You ask her on that date?"

I smiled fondly at the memory of my imprint's eagerness for a date. "Yeah. She's excited."

"That's great, man. Did you tell her where you're taking her?"

"Nah, I'll leave that up for a surprise."

"Good. That'll make it more fun for her."

"Yeah. I was thinking that I'll quick grab us some food and take a blanket. And I'll tell her about Bella."

"Yeah? You think you're ready for all of that?"

"Yeah. I just hope she doesn't take it too badly." Embry put a comforting hand on my shoulder.

"She won't. I promise."

I smiled at him, grateful for some support. I am completely anxious about this date.

I know that she had some pretty great ones based on her past with Taylor. Even though I know that she won't ever try to compare us, the idea that I wouldn't measure up to anything that she was given in the past. I know that I'm not the wealthiest guy in the world, I pride myself in giving my tribe what I can. I work hard and try to do my best by the people I love.

"Go get some rest. I can look over everything here."

"Thanks man." I yawned. "I owe you one."

I went up to see my imprint sleeping cuddled up to her pregnancy pillow. Smiling, I quick jumped into the shower before gently slipping into the bed behind her, laying on my back. I'm guessing that she somehow sensed my presence, because she turned in the double-sided pregnancy pillow, still a sleep, and reached out her hand to land on my chest and lay on my chest. I chuckled to myself, and grabbed her hand, kissing it gently before turning to face her, entwining our fingers together and putting them in between us.

I was awoken by a soft hand rubbing at my face. My eyes followed the arm, up to the shoulder, to the soft curve of her delicate neck where my wolf wanted to sink our teeth into. That thought took me aback.

Why would I want to bite her? I could never hurt her?

So why did my mind turn completely feral at the thought of my teeth elongating, and pushing through that soft barrier of skin right at the base of her neck during some animalistic, doggy-style, sex?

"Jake? You okay?"

I shook my head, confused. I chased those thoughts away as I looked into Ari's eyes.

"You were growling honey. Everything okay?"

"Yeah. Sorry. I don't know what came over me there."

She gave me a sweet smile, pushing my hair back away from my face.

"Stop that." I teased her, laughing with her, holding onto her hand.

"Mmmm. You know, I think your hair looks sexy pushed back."

'She did not just quote Mean Girls.'

Quil had made us watch the movie the other night, and we have all been quoting those iconic phrases ever since.

The boys were especially fascinated with singing that Kevin G rap.

Never failed to bring a smile to my girl's face, or some laughter to her lips.

As long as she's happy, I'm happy.

So, I live with it.

Even though I wanna bash their heads in when I hear that "Aaaaallll youuuu…" beginning of the so-called rap.

Gotta admit, seeing the little guy perform it with the other mathletes was pretty hilarious.

"Yeah? Sexy, huh?"

"Mmhmmm." Her mouth formed a lazy smile that was bordering a smirk.

Moving my free hand, I played with the skin at her neck, my mind once again zeroing on that one spot that had my wolf so riveted.

"Why don't you go get dressed for our date? I'll get everything ready."

"You still won't tell me where we're going?"

"Nope." I said popping the p. She sighed.

"Fine. Can I know what I'm to wear?"

"Something warm and casual."

"Okay then. I'll go get ready."

I nodded, and went and grabbed myself a change of clothes.

Making a couple sandwiches and other things, I packed up a basket for the date.

As I was lacing up my boots, I heard her walk into the room.

"Can I know where we're going yet?"

She waddled over to me, her big pregnant belly being shown off in a long sleeved maternity dress. The top was black and low-cut without being too revealing, while the bottom was just a long dark grey skirt. The two were separated and attached together by a lighter grey belt. She had put on some makeup, a blush lighting up her cheeks delicately, her eyelashes enhanced by that shit that you see in the commercials. It made her dark eyes pop out against her tanned skin. Her long black hair was wild and free and only held back by a pretty silver headband that was designed with ferns and flowers. She looked so beautiful.

"Honey, you're killing me, here." She giggled, and stepped in between my legs and into my waiting, open arms.

My hands warmed up her aching back, pulling her closer. Her arms slipped around my neck, and her hands slid into my hair, her fingers scratching at the back of my neck. I pulled her in close, resting our foreheads together.

"We should go." She whispered. I nodded, kissing her quickly before standing.

Grabbing my black leather jacket, I grabbed her hand and pulled her behind me, allowing her to slip her feet into some sandals before picking her up and putting her in the truck. The skies were a stormy grey, and I could only hope that the rain would hold off for a few hours.

We talked quietly while I drove us through the reservation, some people in the tribe smiling and waving as we passed in my beast of a truck.

I was too nervous to put on any music or think about really anything besides if she'll even like going on this date with me.

Shaking my head of those thoughts, I pulled up and parked at the entrance to the Quillayute River. I walked over to the passenger side to help Ariya get out.

As we were walking, I held onto her hand, taking it all nice and easy, trying to miss every branch that would try to trip her, watching and admiring the changing looks of the tall trees that surrounded the path that followed the river.

"Even though you won't tell me where we're going," she started, her tone low "thank you. It's been ages since I went out on a date."

"Taylor didn't take you out much?" I never really got much information about him, and their past relationship, so I was curious.

"He did, in the beginning. We went out a lot. He was my haven, taking me away from that everything. As soon as graduation came and went, he asked me to move in with him. It would have probably seemed as though we were rushing things to anyone on the outside, being only like 8 months since we started dating, but we were always together. I loved his family, and they took to me right away. They all knew what it was like at home for me, so they really encouraged me moving in with them. And they were a lot richer than any other family on the reservation, so they had no problem with any expenses, but of course I got a job. So, I said yes. But even after I moved in with him, we still went out on dates. It just got a bit more difficult for any dating time when it came time for college. You see, I didn't apply for college."

"Why not? It seemed like you had a lot going for you."

"Well, I didn't. My family wasn't all that great to me growing up, and I hadn't really thought that Taylor and I would make it when it came time for college applications to be sent out, and that summer was crazy and busy, so I didn't have any time. I don't regret it, though. However, if I did go to school, it would be for something like teaching younger kids, or nursing or something like that."

I nodded, "I could totally see you being a nurse." Of course, then my brain had to turn that image dirty, and all I could picture was Ariya as a sexy nurse.

'Shit.'

And now it's painful to walk like this. Jeans were not a good idea…

Shaking my head, I tried to listen in as she started talking again.

"But anyways, Taylor got a full ride to the University of Oregon under a football scholarship. You see, he was the star quarterback of our football team, and took us to win the State championships for 3 years in a row. He kept breaking and rebreaking the previously held school records. Taylor had caught the eyes of talent scouts from all over the country. He became a legend after we graduated."

It pained me to hear her talk like this, I could hear the pride and love she held in her voice.

"It was hard, trying to decide what to do when it came time for him to leave. I wanted to go with him, but I didn't want to burden him when he had all of his schoolwork to do, plus practice and games. But we decided to take out a small loan and get an apartment up at the University. He told me that he wouldn't go without me. So, I quit my job, found two new ones that I could work to keep busy while he was at school and practice. We quickly paid off the loan and could sustain ourselves and pay for all of the groceries and the rent. It was nice, having a place for ourselves. But, it wasn't like we both were in the house at the same time all that much. It was either he had school or practice or study groups, or I had work or I was out running errands. He took extra classes because he wanted to graduate within 3 years. So, both of our schedules were filled up. Whenever we had any time alone, we just locked ourselves in the house, we didn't really get out." Her face turned bright red, and I understood the innuendo of what she meant.

I had to contain my growl.

I didn't like thinking of my imprint with another man, even if she is mine now.

"Even when we were married, we didn't have time. Taylor did end up graduating early, and he was drafted into the NFL as soon as he graduated two years ago. He was picked up by the Seattle Seahawks." Her hand gripped mine tighter, and I heard her begin to sniffle. I tried to think back a few years, watching the draft with the pack. We were watching for the Seahawks, as they were our favorite team, being from Washington.

She had this faraway look on her face. "I remember that day like it was just yesterday. We were in a little room with all of his family, and there were cameras surrounding us. When we heard his name, his mom and I screamed a little, and he just grabbed me up in a hug. When he was handed the hat and jersey, he turned to me, and held me close. I could feel his body shaking, and I held on just a little bit tighter, knowing that he was crying."

I could smell the salty tears and I knew that she was crying. I stopped us, and pulled her to me.

"It's okay. I'm sorry that I brought this up. I feel like a complete jerk for making you cry on our first date."

She giggled a little. "I'm sorry, I cry at just about anything now. But I think that I should finish telling you this. It might be good in the future if you know my past with Taylor."

I nodded, knowing that I wanted to do the same thing about Bella.

"Well, I think that I can finish this story some other time. What is this place?"

I smiled at her, "It's the Quillayute River. I wanted to take you out to somewhere special."

We stood at the mouth of the river, watching it lap at the bank. I pulled out a canoe that was sitting at the side, and brought it over to a safe spot at the river bank. Putting down a blanket, I made a soft spot for her to sit before helping her to sit down. I pushed the little boat out far enough before getting in and grabbing the paddles.

"Where are you taking us?"

I pointed over to the island, watching her eyes sparkle with curiosity. "There. That's Akalat Island, meaning top of the rock in Quileute. It is more widely known to others as James Island, named after the pale-face Francis W. James. He was the first pale-face to climb the island, and people thought that was a huge deal. But now, it's used as a place for farming for us Quileutes, and as a burial ground for the tribal chiefs. While all the people of the tribe are allowed to visit, no one really comes around much. Just those that come to pick the crops and the pack stop by every once in a while. It's a place to really get in touch with your spiritual side. One time it was used by the US Coast Guard, but it was given back to the Res. Lucky us, huh?" She laughed.

"You know a lot about your heritage, huh?" I nodded.

"The Elders wanted every kid on the Res to know the history of everything here over the history of the United States, so our history classes were mostly made of Quileute history instead. Not that we didn't have United States history and some World history involved in our curriculum." I didn't want her to think that I was stupid or something. "And, the pack, being children of the Elders, had been taught extra lessons by our parents after school. And we are the only kids nowadays that understand the Quileute language. Although I hear that Old Quil and my dad are starting to teach you some Quileute." I teased, loving that adorable blush.

"Yeah. I'll never be fluent, but I at least want to know a few phrases that I can say to you and to our baby."

"That's better than most of the kids on this reservation can say. And it's amazing, honey. I'm so honored that you would take the time out to learn our language. You really are going to be a great… Um…" Oops. I almost said queen. "Sorry. Brain fart. You really are going to be a great leader to the tribe one day."

"Thanks, Jake." Man, that sweet smile never failed to make me feel so invincible, like I was on top of the world.

I paddled us along the river, watching her as she smiled and talked about the greenery, the forest along side of the rivers.

Once the Akalat island was in total view, I saw as her jaw dropped in awe.

"Jake, it's incredible."

"Yeah, wait till you get to the place where I wanna take us. You'll see why I brought you here." I wasn't joking about the whole spiritual feel to the island. It is something you can only witness if you get here.

Helping her out of the boat, I pushed it further on the sand, anchoring it to the island.

I helped her walk carefully over the rocky area of the bank, taking her further inside the island.

When we finally reached the place, she was out of breath, panting. I quickly laid out the blanket and arranged the pillows on top, helping her to sit down. Grabbing the cooler, I got out the food and drinks, handing her a plate full of pasta salad and a sandwich. Lately, we've been eating almost the same amount of food. It sort of freaked everyone out at first, but I understood what she was going through. That baby will have an awesome appetite.

Sighing, I prepared myself for our next conversation. It was important that she understands my past.

"Ariya, there's something that I have to talk to you about. I've held it off for a while now, but I'm ready to tell you about Bella."

I'm determined to get the next chapter up as soon as possible! I promise that I won't desert you guys for another 3 or 4 months again. Besides, football season is my favorite time of the year, and my most creative time! (I get really ramped up during this time of year.) Please review! I missed you guys! Until next time!

~Ariya-angels