A/N: I am so terribly sorry for the delay. I was supposed to upload this chapter two weeks ago but I had a bit of an accident and sustained a few minor injuries. Nothing major, but my right arm and upper back are still sore and bruised.

I will try to post the next chapter in the coming two weeks.

Thanks for all the reviews. I was supposed to reply to you all but the past two months have been so busy. To top it all off, I literally fell into a hole hence the injuries so please bear with me. Again. :)


"That's just the cutest, sweetest poem I have ever read!" Bella gushed, leaning forward to plant a sugary, lingering kiss on Jacob's lips.

He grinned like a lovesick puppy and tried to keep his ego in check. It was about to inflate like a hot air balloon. 'You're welcome.' He said, hiding his triumphant smile behind his greasy burger fingers.

"Who knew you could be so romantic?" Bella held the tiny piece of paper to her chest and cocked her head to the side. She loved how he mentioned his flaws in the poem alongside his feelings for her.

'Honey, you ain't seen nothing yet.' He winked suggestively.

She bit her lip and carefully folded the piece of paper, making sure to tuck it safely inside her pocket. "You have successfully outdone my simple -I love you-. It's not fair." She jokingly pouted.

'All is fair in loveand war, Bells.' He quipped. 'Especially if you wear that sexy dress I spotted in your closet. It's got -fuck me Jake- written all over it.'

"You mean the one with the red ribbon?"

'Yep.' He licked his lips and picked up his half-eaten burger. 'I can already picture myself untying it with my teeth.'

"Your imagination has no bounds." Bella giggled, her cheeks blossoming like two delicate roses. "And please stop staring at me like I'm a piece of meat, Mr. Foodgasm." She teased. "My mother will kill us if she discovers that we've been eating burgers behind her back."

'Renee's the coolest MILF in Arizona. She'd probably encourage me to deflower you right after serving me a Quarter Pounder.'

"Jacob!" She swatted his arm playfully. "Behave or you're not getting any tonight."

'Yes, Mistress.' He drawled, lifting a finger to her mouth. 'Or do you prefer to call me Master?' His thumb glided teasingly along her lower lip, making her shudder.

"Somebody's eager to try his hand at BDSM." She replied in a sing-song voice.

'Nah. I'm no Christian Grey.' He traced her cupid's bow with his calloused fingers. 'But I'm definitely open to suggestions…and spanking.'

"Really?" Bella's eyes darkened at the mention of spanking.

'Yeah. I bought a special paddle to use on you. It even has a unicorn on it, glitter and all.' Jacob grinned mischievously. He was kidding of course, but the expression on his imprint's face was priceless.

"Very funny, Black." Bella rolled her eyes in response. "I hope your sense of humor makes an appearance during dinner with the Coldbanes because If you go -Grrrr- on their assess, I will seriously consider marrying Alexander."

'Speaking of the Hybrid. You do realize that he has a thing for you, yeah?' He remarked, taking a big bite from his juicy burger.

"Count Chocula has a thing for me? Yeah right." She snorted in disbelief.

'Oh he does. And if I happen to see him checking out your ass tonight, there will be hell to pay.'

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"Checking out my ass. Ugh…as if." Bella smoothed down her black lace dress with the red ribbon and waited for the Alpha to finish fawning over the Rolls-Royce Phantom.

He was this close to kissing the glossy black hood which was waxed to perfection.

"Men." She scoffed, tapping her pencil heels against the cobblestone floor.

She walked past the Phantom, a tiny silver clutch tucked under her left arm.

The smell of barbecued meat and chicken wafted from the luxurious mansion, making her stomach growl. Jacob sniffed the air and followed the mouthwatering scent until he reached the front door.

'Now that's what I call dinner.' He licked his lips and rang the doorbell twice. 'Can you smell the steak? It's sizzling hot on top of the grill.'

"Wow. Your keen sense of smell is scary good."

'This Alpha has heightened senses, baby.' Jacob draped an arm over her shoulders and brought her closer to his side. He was wearing his finest polo shirt paired with black cargo shorts. 'And right now, a little girl is about to open the door. She's also surprisingly…human.'

The door did indeed swing open to reveal Chloe's wild strawberry- blonde hair. She was wearing a bright pink dress with cupcakes printed on the fabric. 'Miss Bewwa! Miss Bewwa! Are we going home?'

"Soon, sweetie." Bella bent down to hug the adorable child. She was so cute and tiny. "I love your dress by the way. Are those real cupcakes?"

'No, silly.' Chloe giggled. 'But mommy said we can eat muffins after dinner.'

"Yummy. I can't wait."

Jacob stood dumbfounded as Chloe tipped up her cherubic face to look at him. 'Who are you?'

"This is Jake." Bella introduced him. "He's here to meet your dad."

'Hi.' Chloe greeted the bemused Alpha. 'Are you Bewwa's boyfriend?'

Jacob crouched down until he was eye-level with the little redhead. 'Shhh. Bella hates the B-word.' He whispered conspiratorially. 'She hates labels in general.'

"I do not hate labels." Bella argued half-heartedly. "Chloe, Jake and I…we have a special friendship."

Jacob chuckled in amusement. 'Yeah. You have no idea how special we are. We're like Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf.'

'That is not a very accurate analogy, Alpha.' Gabriel remarked as he descended the staircase.

Jacob rose to his full height in one fluid motion, his onyx eyes following the graceful movement of the hybrid. 'Yeah well, it's kinda hard to explain the whole imprinting bond.'

'I agree.' Gabriel extended a hand for him to shake. 'You should see me try to explain the word Hybrid to my kids. Cars are one thing, but a human with vampire lineage is not something you learn at elementary school.'

They both shook hands, much to Bella's relief. She didn't realize that she'd been holding her breath until Gabriel greeted her with a kiss on the cheek. 'We will be fine, don't worry. Now go find my wife. She's been looking forward to a bit of female company.'

"Okay." She smiled gratefully.

Chloe grabbed her hand and led her away from Jake who was curious to know more about the Coldbanes. He accepted Gabriel's offer to join him in the study for a quick retelling of their family history.

In the meantime, Bella offered a helping hand to Gabriel's wife in the kitchen. She was applying the finishing touches to the caprese salad, having just finished grilling a dozen corn dogs on the stove.

They chatted briefly about their life and how the supernatural world turned everything upside down.

Sofia taught Ballet at the local dance studio. She actually owned her very own studio back in Cali but was forced to shut it down because of their forced exile.

"I'm really sorry about what Elissa did to you." Bella consoled the melancholy woman.

'Thanks, dear. It's nice to meet someone who knows what really happened to us. My family and friends think we moved to Arizona because Gabriel is supposedly setting up a branch of his wine business here in Phoenix.'

"I totally understand what you're going through. It's like we're living a double life…"

'Exactly!' Sofia nodded, her champagne eyes twinkling as she looked at Bella. 'Where have you been all my life?! You have no idea how hard it's been, not having anyone to confide in.'

"Well, I'm here now." Bella smiled encouragingly.

'Tell you what, let's have dinner just us girls. We can eat in the patio, drink wine and listen to some jazz.'

"Sounds like a plan."

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Alexander showed up a few minutes later and headed straight for the dining room where Jacob and Gabriel where enjoying a very meaty dinner.

'The Aston Martin is in the garage.' He proudly declared, moving to sit across from the hungry Alpha.

'Sweet!' Jacob grinned. 'I parked the Phantom in the driveway. It's a lot more agile than it looks, and incredibly fast.'

'That she is.' Alexander smiled rather smugly before asking a very important question. 'Did my dear old brother convince you to save our sorry assess or are you just here for the beer and steak?'

Gabriel shot his brother a withering look before answering the question on behalf of Jake. 'The Alpha has graciously agreed to help us restore the treaty and return to our home.'

'Yeah.' Jacob chimed in. 'I contacted Chase and the elders of my tribe. We're going to hold an emergency meeting tomorrow concerning your problem and Elissa is forced to attend.'

'That bitch respects no one, let alone your elders, Alpha. What makes you think she's going to show up to a fucking meeting?' Alexander snorted, filling his plate with buffalo wings and corndogs.

'Trust me. She will.' Jacob confidently replied.

'We'll see.' Alex remarked, still not convinced.

'Wanna bet?' The Alpha smirked.

'On what? My $180,000 car?' Alex chuckled, handing Jake a chilled glass of beer.

'Yep. If Elissa shows up, I get the Vantage.'

'And if she doesn't…'

'You can have Bella.' Jacob jokingly offered.

He failed to notice that said brunette was standing in the doorway.

Uh-oh

"Very funny, Black." She narrowed her eyes at him. "No, really. I'm glad you're comfortable enough to offer your precious imprint to Count Chocula."

Alexander huffed indignantly at the mention of his awful nickname. 'Not interested, thank you very much.' He said. 'I would rather get hit by a bus, or a freight train.'

"That makes two of us, Carrot Top." Bella retorted, glaring at the annoying hybrid.

He looked her up and down with a strange expression on his handsome face. 'Nice dress for someone so insufferable.'

"Is that a backhanded compliment?" She raised an eyebrow in response. "Because I was just about to say the same thing about your outfit. For someone so obnoxious, you sure have such a unique sense of style."

Jacob suddenly stood up from his chair, his eyes darting back and forth between Bella and Alex. 'I was fucking right.' He muttered.

'About?' Gabriel inquired.

'Your brother has a thing for Bella.' The Alpha replied as calmly as possible.

'So it seems.' The older hybrid sighed. 'I hope this does not affect our agreement.'

'It won't.' Jacob reassured him. 'Thanks for dinner.' He wiped his mouth with a napkin and made his way over to Bella who was still glaring daggers at Gabrielle.

"Where are you going?" She asked him.

'We're leaving.' He placed a possessive arm around her waist and tugged her towards the corridor.

"What? But we just got here." She protested.

He strode purposefully down the carpeted corridor, past the checkered marble floors of the living room until they finally reached the foyer. 'Tell me you noticed the way Alexander's been eye-fucking you.'

"Eye-fuc…seriously?" She stared up at him in disbelief. "The guy hates me with a capital H."

'No. He doesn't.' Jacob argued through gritted teeth. 'What the two of you were doing just now? That's called verbal foreplay.'

"Oh my God." She groaned, palming her face. "You are unbelievable. Jake, there is nothing going on between me and Alexander."

'I know.' He tugged at his short hair in frustration. 'I'm just…'

"Jealous?" She sighed.

'No. Of course not!' He frowned.

"Then why exactly are we having this conversation?" She tapped her heels against the floor in irritation.

Jacob stepped closer, towering over her like a menacing shadow. 'My wolf doesn't want you anywhere near the hybrid. Are we clear?'

"Fine!" She huffed. "May I go now?"

'Yeah.' He said, looking immensely relieved. 'I'm giving you ten minutes and then we're outta here. Ten, Bells. '

"Ok." She nodded. "Just let me say goodbye to Sofia and the kids."

'Make it quick.' He ordered, slapping her butt.

"Yes, Sir." She mockingly saluted him before strutting towards the kitchen.

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"So…that went well."

'Yeah. It did.'

"Are you planning on flying to Washington tomorrow?"

'I have to, babe.' Jacob nodded. 'Elissa's currently on house arrest and she's starting to get on Leah's nerves.'

"House arrest? Nice!" Bella cheered. "I wish I could go with you to witness her trial."

'Dad is keeping an eye on her as we speak. He was really pissed when he found out about what she did to the Coldbanes.'

"Good. She deserves more than house arrest. Your dad should demote her from Beta to Omega."

Jacob chuckled and squeezed her waist affectionately. 'Someone's an expert on pack ranking.'

"That's because I watch the National Geographic Channel." She grinned.

'And what else did you learn from NatGeo? Hmm? Any mating rituals I should know about?'

"Umm…not really."

'Come on, Bells. Don't go all shy on me now.'

"I'm not shy." She drawled. "My mind is in the gutter is all."

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'Yes! I'm finally gonna get laid tonight.'