Over the next couple weeks, Dani barely had time to look at the book. Her mother had taken a turn for the worse and she spent as much time as she could at the hospital, only leaving when the nurses kicked her out to sleep or eat. Her father hadn't been there once, and she was irritated because of it. Her mother was dying and he couldn't muster the energy to at least visit?

Finally, after days of endless sitting at the hospital watching her mother clinging to life, unable to even move her head anymore without getting sick, a nurse met her at the doorway when she arrived. Fearing the worst, Dani clutched her bag as she looked at the older, dark headed lady. "What's wrong with mom?"

"No change with her, but the other nurses and I came to a decision. Today's your day off, you need to start taking care of yourself. Your mom wouldn't want to see you neglecting yourself like this. So go home and relax and we'll call you if anything happens." The nurse spoke kindly, but Dani could feel the tears in her eyes as she glanced around the nurses station, seeing most of the women with their own determined glares.

"...you swear you'll call me?" Her shoulders slumped as she realized this was one battle she wasn't going to win.

"We swear, sweetie. Go eat a good meal and take a nice hot bath." The older woman gently hugged Dani, smoothing her tangled hair away from her face. Dani returned the hug then nodded, turning and leaving once again with her head bowed sadly. 'Well now what?' She sighed softly, scuffing the toe of her black Converse against the sidewalk before she glanced up and happened to catch a glimpse of Quil and Leah holding hands as they walked into the thrift store across the street together. 'I guess that's going well then...'

She turned down the street and walked along the cracked sidewalk, sighing softly as the warm breeze caressed her skin. She had spent so long in the hospital, feeling the cool air of the fan and smelling the sterile disinfectants that she had almost forgotten what all she was missing. The longer she walked, the better she felt as she let herself relax for the first time in a while, a soft smile on her lips as she turned into the Call's driveway. She hadn't seen Embry since the night he had been sick, but he messaged her on Facebook every once in awhile. He was still sick apparently, but she wanted to see him.

Tiffany's car was in the driveway, so she went around to the side of the house and hauled herself through Embry's open window, only to find his bed empty aside from the tousled covers. 'Maybe he's in the bathroom?' She sat her bag down on the bed and tip-toed over to the door to peek out, not wanting to startle Tiffany by suddenly appearing from her son's bedroom. The house was eerily silent except for a soft creaking sound coming from the bedroom at the end of the hall and she frowned softly, assuming Tiffany was just sleeping after a long shift.

Quietly and ninja-like, she crept across the hall to the bathroom only to sigh when she found it empty as well. 'Where could he be?' Before she could think about it any further, Tiffany's bedroom door opened and a familiar voice spoke. "No, stay in bed, Tiff. I'm just getting a drink, you want anything?" There was a slight pause before he chuckled sensually and responded to whatever she said. "I meant from the kitchen." Dani quickly shut the bathroom door, leaving it open just a crack so she could peek through, her heart racing as she felt light headed. 'What the fuck?' Her father walked past the door in just his jeans, the buttons undone and the zipper done up haphazardly as he grinned to himself. 'Dad is here. Dad is here half naked. With Tiffany. Oh my god.' Hearing him fumbling around in the kitchen, she quickly dashed across the hall and back into Embry's room, grabbing her bag and hopping out the window without even stopping. She knew if she stayed there anymore, she'd have a breakdown.

Her chances at relaxing dashed, she hurried down the street to the dirt path leading to her house, glancing behind her as if somehow her dad or Tiffany were following her. Distracted and not paying attention, she yelped when she ran face first into a chest that felt like a brick wall. A warm hand wrapped around her wrist and she peeked up into Jacob's warm brown eyes, immediately noticing his bright, sunny grin. "Sorry, Dani."

"My fault." She muttered, pulling away immediately and glancing behind herself again as if she thought she was going to see her dad and Tiffany Call all over each other from here.

Jacob frowned softly as he watched her, gently nudging her to get her attention. "Something wrong?" He hadn't seen Dani this disturbed in a long time, she had always been the relaxed, laid back Lahote sibling.

Dani hesitated for a moment, running a hand through her hair and tugging on the thick strands as her eyes fill unwillingly with tears of pure frustration and stress. "What makes you think something is wrong?"

"You look like you're two steps away from being admitted to a psych ward." Jacob smiles softly to show he meant no offense as he gently pulled her hand out of her hair before she made herself bald. "C'mon, garage therapy time."

oooooooooo

"...and it's like everyone is disappearing, or starting their own stuff and I have no one anymore." Dani finished with a quiet hiccup, staring guiltily down at the half empty, warm can of orange soda in her hand. She was curled up on the old sofa in Jacob's garage, her legs tucked up beneath her as she tried to take up as little space as possible so Jacob could stretch his large limbs out comfortably.

Jacob nodded, absentmindedly twirling a spare wrench around his fingers as he stared out the half open garage doors at the gloomy drizzle outside. "You feel left behind." He tried not to think of Bella as he comforted his best friend's whatever they were today. He saw a little bit of Bella's brokenness in Dani's glossy green eyes and he wanted to fix it, but he was way out of his element here. She had always been closer to Quil and Embry, and he had no idea how to comfort her other than just to talk.

Dani sighed softly as she sat her soda in the floor so she wouldn't spill it, then scooted around until she was hesitantly pressed against Jacob's side more. She and Jacob had never been very close, but she was freezing and he felt warmer than usual today. "But it feels so selfish of me...I can't keep people from having their own lives just because I'm lonely." She felt a slight chill run up her spine before he wrapped one muscular, hot arm around her shoulders and she let out a soft sigh of relief as his heat fought away the cold.

"True, but up until recently you were a big part of everyone's lives and your life kind of revolved around them. I know what it's like, Dani, I haven't talked to Embry in weeks and Quil is stuffed so far up Leah's ass I'm surprised he can breathe." He spoke, not bothering to hide the bitterness in his tone as his jaw clenched, his eyes staring far away as if seeing something other than the gloomy road outside the garage. "You aren't selfish, Dani, they are for dropping you like nothing."

They sat in silence for a few moments before she chuckled softly to break the slight tension in the air. "Who would've ever guessed it, though? Quil and Leah. Those pregnancy hormones must be wilder than I thought."

Jacob stayed quiet a moment before laughing quietly, leaning his head back as he finally shut his eyes. "Yeah, I know. I always thought she was closer to killing him than fucking him." The two teens relaxed together for a moment before Dani raised up, stretching a little as she sighed. Jacob watched her, letting his arm fall to the side as she finished her soda and launched the can into the garbage bin by the door. "You leaving?"

"Not unless you want me to, but I'm starving." Her caramel colored skin flushed as her stomach growled, seeming like an echo in the empty garage. "I kinda skipped breakfast...and dinner last night..."

Jacob sat up, groaning softly as his aching muscles protested and he nudged her shoulder with his own. "C'mon, I'll whip you up a Jacob Special. You like baloney, right?"

"Yeah, baloney's cool." She laughed softly as she followed him, dashing across the muddy grass to the little red house. Billy was in the living room, perched in his chair as he watched a baseball game when they entered and he cast a dubious look at Dani as she followed his son, giggling as they kicked their muddy sneakers off at the door.

"You two look cozy. Dani, I thought you'd be off with Leah or someone. What're you doing here?" He glanced at Jacob suspiciously, knowing what Sam had said about the girl's relationship with Paul and Embry. He trusted his son's judgement, but if the girl was loose enough he knew Jacob would fall for it.

"Oh, I uhm...ran into Jacob as I was leaving the hospital and he invited me over. Leah's been busy with Quil and her baby appointments, I haven't talked to her in awhile." She blushed, looking down at the faded brown carpet beneath her bare feet as she wrapped her arms around herself. She knew that, for some reason, Billy always hated her being around his son. Whether it was her mixed heritage or her parent's reputation, she didn't know but she had always felt more at home with Joy or Tiffany than at the Black house. She could feel Billy's stern eyes bearing into her as Jacob continued into the kitchen where they could hear him banging around in the cabinets and fridge.

"Mhm," He mumbled, wheeling himself a couple inches closer and leaning forward, resting his elbows on the padded arms of his wheelchair. "Look here, Danielle. I know about what you were doing with Embry, and Paul too. Now, I'm sure you're a nice girl and all, but don't add Jacob onto that list of guys in your bed. He doesn't need that mess on his shoulders."

Dani could feel her heart thumping in her head, her face burning and almost certainly bright red at this point as she gaped at the older man in shock. He just...he just called me a slut. "I...Jacob and I are just friends. I would never...Embry and I just...Paul and I didn't..."

He watched her tripping over her own words until Jacob returned, a sandwich plated on a paper plate in each hand and sodas tucked under his arm. "Here we go, Dani. A Jacob special." She took one of the plates and sodas, still staring at Billy like a deer caught in a spotlight. Jacob glanced between them, a bit confused by the awkward tension, but shrugged it off as he bounded over to the couch, patting the cushion beside him for Dani to join. "Who's playing today, dad?"

"Mariners and Dodgers." Billy spoke, wheeling himself back to his spot and giving Dani a warning glance. Dani hesitated a moment before squaring her shoulders and shuffling over to the edge of the couch, leaving a wide gap between her and Jacob as she sat down and balanced her sandwich on her lap. She ignored Billy's scornful gaze, focusing on the overflowing sandwich in front of her. Baloney, ketchup...are those chips? She frowned a little as she peeked up under the bread, noticing the melted American cheese slice that cemented the potato chips in place. I mean...it could be good. Jacob was tearing into his sandwich with reckless abandon and Billy was scowling at the TV, a can of beer in his hand and his hat sitting on the end table between him and the couch. Dani glanced at them both before carefully lifting the sandwich and taking a tiny bite off the corner. Jacob watched, smirking with potato chip crumbs on his shirt as he waited to see her reaction. "Good, isn't it?"

Dani chewed thoughtfully, peering down at the sandwich in perplexment as her brain raced. "It is good...but it needs something." She was surprised by the words coming out of her mouth as she realized she did indeed like Jacob's concoction. She took another bite as she looked up at Jacob and saw him nodding.

"True. I don't know what else to add, though." He peeled the layers of his sandwich apart to see the contents, his brows furrowed as his mind raced. Dani sat back against the soft velour of the couch cushion as she forgot about Billy's anger for now, focusing her pent up stress energy into discovering the secret mystery ingredient. "Maybe...more meat?"

"Ham would be good, but that's still gonna be relatively the same. It needs something sharper, something unexpected." Dani frowned a little as she peered into Jacob's eyes then grinned as a stroke of genius hit her. "Got any hot sauce?"

"Fridge. Dad, do we have pickles?" Jacob and Dani both stood up carrying their sandwiches to the small kitchen as Billy stared after them, torn between wanting to keep an eye on them and his kitchen and wanting to finish watching his game. "Never mind, we might need to run to the market..."

oooooooooo

By the time Charlie and Bella pulled up outside the little, red Black house, Billy's kitchen was full of the teens' experiments. They had used up nearly all of the bread in the house making half-sandwiches to test their recipes. Even Billy had tried a few when he ventured into their lab to retrieve another beer, and his glares towards Dani had softened after he was satisfied that the girl at least wasn't going to try anything under his roof. Bella followed her dad into the house, only to be punched in the face by the smell of some of their more...creative mixes. Her friends were still in the kitchen, laughing and listening to music on Dani's iPod as they worked together to perfect the Jacob Special.

"What are you two doing in here?" Bella asked from the doorway, seeing Jacob and Dani both leaned over a plate on the tabletop, laboriously placing pickle slices atop what looked like potato salad. The two barely looked up at her as Jacob folded over the bread and they high-fived, grinning as they held the plate out to a dubious Bella. "Besides ruining perfectly good food?"

"We aren't ruining, we're improving. Try this, it's our best one yet." Dani's eyes were sparkling as she grinned, watching as Bella cautiously pinched the corner off of the sandwich. "It's ham, hot sauce, leftover potato salad, and pickles."

Bella's hand froze inches away from her mouth as she stared at the eager duo in shock and disgust. "Ham...hot sauce...and potato salad?"

"And pickles!" Dani chirped, moving to put the Tupperware container of potato salad back into the fridge. "I know it seems a little much, since the potato salad already has pickles in it, but please give it a chance?" Jacob cast his sparkly, brown puppy dog eyes on her and Bella sighed, taking a miniscule bite of the mess. I don't think the problem is too much pickles...

Her eyes widened as she chewed it slowly and swallowed without gagging. "That's actually...not bad." Dani and Jacob both cheered and hugged, Jacob lifting Dani off her feet as they congratulated each other. "Why did you two decide to become sandwich makers?"

Dani shrugged as Jacob finally set her back down and she began to clear away their ingredients to make room to sit at the table. Jacob threw his arm around Bella as she kept eating the sandwich, the taste growing on her after a few more bites. "We're growing teenagers, Bells, we gotta eat."

"That doesn't explain the 50 sandwiches stinking up Billy's kitchen, though." Bella gave a tiny half smile to show she was joking as Jacob ushered her over to the table to sit. Dani was busy packing their creations into a long, flat plastic container at the counter, humming softly along to the radio. "Oh, Dani, did you ever get a chance to read the book we found?"

"Not yet, it's in my desk at home. I've been at the hospital all day everyday, I haven't had time to focus on it." Dani murmured softly as she thought of her mom and her dad's new relationship with Tiffany.

Jacob looked up at his friend in concern as he remembered what it was like to lose his own mother. "How is she?"

"Getting worse. Moving makes her sick, so we just sit most days." Dani turned away, back to her sandwiches to hide the tears in her eyes. She didn't want to ruin the mood by bursting into tears, no one needed that. Unbeknownst to the three teens, however, Billy had wheeled himself closer to the doorway under the guise of checking on the kids.

So she's found something after all... Billy frowned as he wheeled down the narrow hall to the phone on one of the side tables that Jacob was always tripping over, dialing Sam's number as he slumped in his chair. In all his years as chief, he had never expected another pack to phase in his lifetime, let alone one this diverse or dramatic. Sam answered on the second ring, his voice gruff and barely audible over the rabble in the background. "Hello?"

"She's got a book in her desk. I want you to check it out and if it's anything serious, make sure it disappears." Billy whispered, cupping his hand around the receiver to drown out the sound of the game on TV and the laughing teens in his kitchen.

Sam was silent for a moment before he responded. "I'll send a couple of the guys over. If she tries to leave, stall her and I'll call you when we have it."

oooooooooo

The moment the call disconnected, Sam turned to the boys who were glaring ferociously at each other in his living room. "Paul, Embry, stand down." He barked at them, fighting the urge to roll his eyes as they kept scowling and growling at each other. "You two need to learn to work together before this shit gets one of us killed. What if a leech attacked and you two were too busy having a pissing contest to protect our tribe?"

"He fucked my-"

"He hurt my-"

They both spoke at the same time then stopped, resuming their low growling as both of their forms were blurring, Paul's more so than Embry's. Even after months as a wolf, Paul had a tenuous grasp on his control while Embry had adapted rather quickly.

Sam groaned under his breath, pinching the bridge of his nose to alleviate the headache he felt coming on. "That's it, you two are going to go find whatever the hell Dani found in the records and you're going to work together or I swear I'm ordering you both to never speak again." His patience had grown thin ever since his imprint had malfunctioned and he lost the phony but calming lovesick effect. "Now, go." He let the alpha voice take over, forcing the boys to leave and head to the Parker-Lahote cabin as he sat down on the couch, holding his head in his hands.

He had heard rumors around town, his advanced hearing could pick up on them from miles away if he listened hard enough. His Leah was rapidly growing, looking closer to her due date than she should be. He couldn't help but wonder if perhaps the wolf gene had anything to do with it, but he quickly disproved that idea. After all, none of the pack member's mothers ever spoke of abnormal pregnancies and he hadn't been a wolf at the time he had gotten her pregnant. But more pressing than that was the other rumors, the ones that hurt him enough to make his stomach roll. Leah was fucking Quil Ateara, the pudgy sophomore whose only interests were girls, junk food, and weed; he had had his hands all over his girl's body, all over the baby bump that housed his children.

It made his stomach turn and it was all he could brood over, but his duties to the pack took precedent over whatever form of torture he wished to inflict on the loser who thought he was good enough to have Leah Clearwater at his side. If only they made his job easy, maybe he could rest once in a while without a pounding headache. Embry and Paul were constantly at each other's throats and Jared had been all heart eyes and love poems since he had imprinted on a girl in his math class, leaving it up to Sam to patrol and keep the two rivals from tearing each other apart.

oooooooooo

"What are we even supposed to be looking for?" Paul muttered as they climbed into Dani's bedroom window, peering around the room for anything that looked suspicious. Embry pointed to the half-open drawer of the desk, walking over to it as Paul stood by the window, just remembering all the nights he had spent in here with her wrapped around him.

Embry glanced around before peeking into the drawer, knowing Billy had mentioned something about a desk. "Anything that looks like it might have proof the pack exists." He reached into the drawer, only for Paul's hand to clamp around his slimmer wrist and stop him. "What the fuck?"

"Listen to me for a second," Paul glanced into the drawer, seeing the leather-bound record book peeking out from under a few other books and CD cases. "the only reason Billy wants us to get this book is to keep her from knowing about the pack."

"...You want to let her keep it?" Embry's brows furrowed as he looked up at the older boy, pulling his wrist away and stepping away from the desk. "Sam will skin us both if we come back without something."

"But think about it. If we take this book, that might be ruining our only chance to get Dani back." Paul whispered hurriedly, as though any minute Dani or Sam would pop in and interrupt them. Embry sighed and stepped back, sitting on the edge of Dani's mattress as he thought about it, rubbing his hand over his face tiredly. "We can take the book and leave her a copy of the notes or something, so Sam doesn't know."

Embry twiddled with his fingers as he stared up at Paul, uncertain about tricking Sam. As much as he wanted Dani back, he knew better than to think it was as simple as Paul was making it out to be. "And you really think Sam is just gonna believe us? I want her back just as much as you do, and Sam knows that. He's not gonna believe that we willingly sabotaged her efforts."

Paul chuckled humorlessly as he grabbed the book and a notepad from her desktop. "Between Leah and Quil and Jared's lovesick ass, I don't think Sam is in the mindset to do anything, let alone think his ideas through. C'mon, find the right passages and I'll copy them down." Embry sighed but scooted over to make room for the larger boy on the bed as he opened the thick, musty smelling book and began to read aloud.

I am so sorry about the wait for this chapter, but I do have good news. I got a laptop recently, so now I'll be writing more often I promise. Also, I took a lot of the reviews into consideration and made this chapter shorter, and I'll have the next one up in the next day or so. Please let me know your thoughts, and I just noticed that this story is close to 500 follows! If we could surpass that by the time this story ends, I would be ecstatic!

As always, thank you for following and favoriting, and please remember to review.