"I still wish I'd thought to get a picture," Bella lamented. "There were dozens of the little guys all following Paul about like tiny furry soldiers. He finally just sat down because we were afraid he'd accidentally step on one. This little French bulldog actually climbed up into his lap and then started snoring. The rest of them either curled up near him or took up posts and guarded him from the dreaded puppy handler."

Billy guffawed as Charlie snorted, grinning as he helped Bella stack dishes to clear the table.

When Bella had called last night to invite him over for dinner, he had been thrilled to hear from the girl. It had been a few weeks since he had seen her in more than passing. She always had a smile and a hug for him, but she seemed to be trying to not usurp his time from his son. And he supposed he could see her reasoning, because it had been her decision, but he had missed her. She was like family, dear to him as any of his own children.

Sure, he had held hopes for a time after the Cullens had bailed that she might become more than a child of his heart, but his hopes had been just as dashed as his son's when it had come to light that there had never been an Alpha Protector who had failed to Imprint. He had had dreams of holding his grandbabies on his front porch, Charlie arguing with him about when it was his turn to hold them because they would be his grandbabies as well. Quil Sr. had put an end to that with his stories these last few months.

But before that knowledge had been brought to their attention, Jacob had apparently been doing a bang-up job obliterating that relationship all on his own. He had reacted badly to her friendship with another male who, unfortunately, his inner Wolf saw as a rival. A young man that Billy had never thought would allow any sort of relationship at all with the girl who had run with Vampires.

It had never even occurred to him that Paul would be the one to come between his son and Charlie's daughter.

Growing up, the kid had been troubled. He'd never been inclined to let anyone near him, his eyes having grown cold and distrustful even as a small child. Many had tried on numerous occasions to ascertain the welfare of the boy because it had been clear even then that he was being abused, though no one had any idea to what extent. But every attempt had been rebuffed with silence. He had refused to be touched, offering violence when anyone had gotten too close. And even then he had been strong and big for his age. Feral. His mother would rant at them in the background, drunk and shrill in her threats to have them arrested for trespassing.

And such a shame there as well, because Layla had been such a promising young woman. So smart she had qualified as gifted and was kind to everyone she came across. She had married her high school sweetheart and seemed set to take on the world for the betterment of her tribe. Beautiful and completely in love with her husband who was content to bask in her glow as he supported her. The bright and shining star of her family.

One weekend Layla had driven out to Seattle with a group of young woman from her class to celebrate a successful semester at the local college…and hadn't come back. Gabriel, her husband, hadn't known she had gone missing until Sunday when she was to have returned. When they had questioned her friends about when the others had last seen her, the best they could remember was at a bar on Saturday night. She had apparently met a man, and all they could say of him was that he had been tall and incredibly handsome. Arresting. Long dark hair and a foreign accent.

People from the tribe searched for her alongside the police when they were contacted. Followed every lead they could think of and any trail they discovered. No sign had turned up and everyone had feared for the worst. That she would be one more girl found dead in some back alley.

Then nearly one week later a call had come in on a young woman found in a ritzy hotel. She was catatonic and covered in bruises the shape of large hands. The maid had entered the room and found her after being told that the occupant had checked out earlier that morning. She'd nearly fainted herself when she had laid eyes on Layla, who lay so still under the sheet tossed over her nude body.

Her husband and her older brother Benjamin had rushed to the hospital, where they had been ushered into the room that held Layla. Pale despite the natural hue of her skin, she had been awake but delirious as she mumbled about things that made no sense. The doctors said that her drug panel had come up clean, no alcohol found in her system, so they couldn't make sense of her delirium. But there had been more than just small traces of semen when they had run a rape kit. A kit that had soon disappeared just after the technician claimed there was something strange about the sample.

Gabriel had been utterly crushed.

It was another week before she was deemed stable enough to be released from the hospital.

She'd been quiet at first, detached from her husband and family. Then she had begun drinking. Left home one night nearly a month later and had driven back to Seattle before once more being found in some man's bed. Then again to the hospital though thankfully that time there were no bruises and she was aware enough to be angry when she was finally released into her family's custody. But this the tests turned up that she was pregnant…a month gone.

Gabriel didn't know whether or not to be excited or terrified, and he had kept a sharp eye on his wife. The whole tribe had, because no one wanted to see her hurt the baby. They kept her distracted from the drinking until she gave birth...to a baby with blue eyes. Gabriel had been destroyed once more. Bitterness set in quickly, especially as no more than two months had passed since Paul had arrived before it all began again. His wife disappeared, drank herself into a stupor and slept with a pair of men who had simply passed her between themselves for days. Then she had appeared late on a Thursday evening in the front door smelling of booze and sex. Her voice had been uneven as she proceeded to tell the horrified young man all about it. Benjamin had been in the nursery upstairs and had heard every word.

Months stretched into years, and then came the day that Gabriel had enough and left in the middle of the night while Mercy Cameron watched Paul, who even at two years old was quiet and mistrustful. Several years passed as Paul grew more and more remote. Blind eyes were turned when he would steal food, because his mother had once more left him and simply forgot to leave anything. Then had come the fighting and Billy had suspected that it was simply a reflection of what he suffered at the hands of his mother. Billy remembered the day that he had been standing in the road after leaving the café and watched Layla drunkenly berating a young man. It had actually taken him a few moments to place him as Paul, because the young man was nearly six feet tall at twelve years old. Handsome and cold. Already starting to bulk with muscle. She had finally screamed and lifted her hand to slap the silent male, when Paul's own hand had flashed up and caught her by the wrist. He didn't say a word, but he had apparently squeezed the captured limb hard enough that she had turned ashen and cried out as she tried to pull herself free.

Billy had taken a step towards them with the thought to intervene, and Paul's head had whipped around as if he had heard him move. Shouldn't have been able to, because he was that far away. Billy had been stunned to stillness by those chill blue eyes, heartless and frighteningly inhuman. That was when he knew without a doubt that the tribe had done wrong by Paul Lahote. Hadn't pushed hard enough. He'd slipped through the cracks and would never be recovered.

He was mostly quiet in school, and thankfully many of the kids did their best to stay away from him. He was even smarter than his mother according to his teachers. When he'd been tested, it was discovered that he had a frighteningly high IQ and for everyone's peace of mind, he'd tested out of high school at just shy of sixteen. Ironically on very same day his mother had taken off for parts unknown. Unfortunately that had left the teen at loose ends…he'd continued to grow and at that age he'd been six foot five and looked nothing like his age. He drank and fought with increasing violence, so angry that it almost hurt to be near him.

Then the Cullens had reappeared and Billy had been utterly horrified when the young man had begun showing signs of Phasing at nineteen. Sam had already Phased, strangely enough, because the Blacks had been providing Alpha Wolves since the history of the Protectors had begun. But there were other strange things happening, because while it was expected that Jared Cameron would Phase due to his lineage, Paul was not. Yet that meant nothing because Paul was once more shooting up in height and putting on muscle mass. Sam had quietly admitted to him that he was afraid of what the young man was capable of, because there was seemingly no physical limits where the new Wolf was concerned and no limits to his capacity for cruelty. More anger, more fighting, though by then he had met Haven who had a settling effect on him, thanks to every god in the heavens. The elders had made noises about restricting him to the reservation as was traditional soon after he had gotten control of himself, but Sam had simply said that Paul would not bother to go around them. He'd go through them if they got in his way.

By then, Bella had had her disastrous encounter with the Cold Ones and was broken. Shattered. And once more strange shit happened because Sam bonded to the girl and stubbornly refused to back down. He'd held that girl together with a love that refused to give in and let her flounder. Then Jacob and Embry had entered the scene and added their own strength to the bonds that held her.

And through it all, it never occurred to him that Paul would ever be a factor in Bella Swan's life.

Then one night after a scheduled Pack movie night, Jacob had begun ranting about how Bella was putting herself in danger by being around Paul. Billy could hardly believe it, because Paul was simply not someone he could imagine the girl would ever willingly associate with. But she had. Her huge heart had found room for the Were, and she had pulled him in. And Billy'd been terrified because Paul was a wild animal behind a deceptively handsome face. He could kill her and simply...not care.

But Bella…brave and sweet girl that she was, had somehow wound the wild animal around her little finger. She had no fear of him, and he never gave her reason to. He reached deep and found gentleness in himself to give to her. But Billy would never fool himself for a moment into thinking that he had any for anyone else.

So to hear Bella tell tales that painted him in a kinder light threw the Tribal Chief for a mental loop. That puppies, innocent and sweet little beings that they were, could treat him as if he were simply another of them dumbfounded him. And yes, he had laughed. Because it was a cute, funny little story. But it was like hearing a story about someone other than Paul, because it simply did not compute.

The clink of plates being set down drew him back to the present as Charlie placed a small stack of them at Bella's elbow while she cut into a pan of lemon bars. Billy grinned in anticipation because he was always a sucker for lemon anything and Bella's recipe was a favorite of his. And he wasn't disappointed as the first bite burst against his taste buds. He couldn't help the happy groan that escaped him, nor the fact that he quickly downed the rest so that he could get to his second helping.

Charlie scowled at him even as he did the same, cutting a large piece of the rich desert. Bella just rolled her eyes and chuckled. Those two were such children together! It wasn't as if there weren't a whole cake pan and a half full of them. She chewed thoughtfully as she watched them, missing the way things had been before the mess with Jacob. She had heard from Sam and Embry that Jacob had done a great deal of growing up in the past couple of months, and was glad to hear it. She did not wish him ill, could not because he'd been her best friend for so long. Had done so much to help her after the whole Cullen mess had blown up in her face.

And…she was tired of being angry at him. She missed him. There was a Jacob-shaped hole in her life even with all the madness lately. Yeah he had fucked up, but even Leah said that he seemed to have gotten his head on right. Paul had said that if she wanted to be friends with Jacob again, that he could deal with it. He didn't say that Jacob had earned back what he had lost from him, the respect that he had broken, but neither did Paul seem to feel as if Jacob needed to be punished any further.

Poking absently at the little bit of pastry left on her plate, Bella eyed the remaining pan of lemon bar on the stove. Then came to a decision. "Billy…" she started quietly. "Do you think Jacob would like the other pan?"

She felt Charlie nudge her knee with his and looked up to see him smiling at her. He gave her a faint nod of approval before nodding his head towards Billy who was also watching her with a gentle, knowing look. He reached over and covered her hand with his. "I think he would love it, Bella."

It was the first, tentative sign of forgiveness that she had shown since the whole blowup. He had never questioned her about it, because she had been so completely betrayed by the very thought that her best friend could do something that, to her, felt like one of the lowest things one could possibly do...depriving someone of their autonomy. Billy knew about the Cullen boy's treatment of Bella, and could well imagine something like that hitting home after the way she had been stripped of her own. That Jacob had borne the brunt of her delayed rage over her own treatment was entirely understandable.

Bella smiled back, though he could see the regret in her eyes. "I miss my friend," she murmured.

"He misses you too, kiddo," Billy assured her.

The girl turned her hand over and squeezed his before getting to her feet and collecting the plates on the table. She was just covering the remaining pan in saran wrap when her phone buzzed on the countertop by the sink. Glancing at it, she grinned at the caller ID, before snatching it up.

Beside him, Charlie smirked. "Your boyfriend?"

"Dad!" Bella huffed before rolling her eyes. She turned to Billy and smiled. "It was lovely to see you, Billy! I hope to see you again soon!" Then she turned and bolted up the kitchen stairs.

"Boyfriend?" Billy asked, turning towards Charlie. "When did she get a boyfriend?"

Charlie chuckled quietly and shook his head as he took over where Bella had left off in cleaning up. "She and Paul have apparently decided to stop dancing around each other."

Billy blinked, stunned. Yeah, he knew that the two had grown closer than he had allowed others, knew that Paul actually allowed her to touch him where he was quick to hurt anyone else who tried. Jacob had been pretty vocal many times about Bella sitting in the Were's lap. Her hugging him. He'd known that the basis of many of Jacob's antics had been about hurt feelings and jealousy, but knowing that was a great deal different than knowing that there was actually something to his son's jealousy. And Paul? He didn't even think the Were was capable of normal human interaction at this point. "When…did this happen?"

Charlie shrugged. "Few days ago."

"Charlie…you can't be...You've seen some of the shit that he's pulled." Billy couldn't fathom Charlie's calm acceptance. Paul had been ten years old the first time he had put a grown man into the hospital. Broken the man's arm, a few of his ribs and bruised a kidney when he had attempted to restrain him so as to ascertain the extent of the damage Paul bore from his mother's hands. He honestly didn't know how Paul had gotten by in Florida with Bella's family, how he managed to act like a normal person amongst so many vulnerable humans.

Charlie shook his head. "That kid's not going to hurt Bella. Don't think he's capable of it. Been sleeping here most nights with her for the better part of a month, now, and he hasn't done one thing to make me regret it."

"Oh, sweet Jesus," Billy muttered. He'd known that Jacob and Embry had spent nights with Bella, and occasionally Sam when she had been at her worst, but this was the first he'd heard of Paul taking over that particular task. No one had mentioned it to him, never even hinted that those two had gotten quite that close. Not even Jacob, who had to have known through the Pack mind that Bella spent her nights cuddled up to someone who was fundamentally twisted, had said a word to his father. "Charlie, you can't…I mean he's…I can't allow-"

"There is nothing for you to allow, Billy." Charlie's voice was firm. "This was settled weeks ago. She doesn't sleep well without him. That's why he was in Florida."

Billy felt frustration build. "Does no one tell me anything anymore? Sam said that she wasn't doing well away from the Pack and that he was sending the Wolf best able to look after her should a Cold One appear. He also said it was timely because Paul was getting nasty to live with without her there. I didn't argue with him because it's his Pack and he seemed sure Paul could handle it, but this? I can't-"

"Why does everyone assume that either Bella or I are fools?" Charlie cut in. "You think I don't know what that kid is capable of? You weren't there when I pulled him off of a trio of gangbangers out in Seattle a couple years back. Was up there visiting a friend I went through the academy with when he got a call about the fight. We barely got there in time to keep Paul from beating one of them to death. Eighteen years old, Billy, and he was so close to killing someone that I was afraid that I was going to have to shoot him to stop him. He was goddamned smiling with blood that didn't even belong to him splattered across his face. Laughed at me when I cuffed him and fuck if he didn't scare the shit out of me even then."

Billy's eyes were wide with horror. He hadn't known about that. He did remember Paul disappearing for about a month, and had been ashamed of the relief he had felt.

"Paul would probably still be in jail for that, except all three young men admitted that they had tried to mug him and were so damned scared of him after that that they refused to face him in court. SPD had to let him go because without charges, they couldn't hold him. That happened before he Phased, and he's only gotten worse since. So don't you think for one hot minute that I don't understand how dangerous he is. "

Charlie sighed as he came back to the table and sat next to Billy. "But for all of that, he treats my daughter with more respect than I could have ever wished for her. Sam trusts Paul around her, and God knows what he would do if he ever thought Bella was in danger. And when the Cullens come back? Because let's face it, that little bastard Edward had a very unhealthy attraction to my daughter, above and beyond that 'singer' bullshit. I know that shit isn't over because Bella said that Vampires are emotionally static creatures and he was obsessed with her. She might have believed that crap about her being forgettable, but I don't. And Paul? Paul will eat him alive and spit out glitter. She is the one thing in his life that he seems genuinely capable of caring about and I have no doubt that she is the only one completely safe with him."

Billy tipped his head back and glanced up at the ceiling, quiet as he rolled the thought around his head. Bella actually safe with Paul. "God, I hope you're not wrong about him."

Because it was damned clear that Charlie wasn't going to move on this one.

A heavy hand landed on the wheelchair-bound man's shoulder. "I'd like to think I'm a pretty good judge of character, old man. I'm your friend, aren't I?"

Billy scowled and playfully shoved it off, allowing Charlie to change the subject with good grace. "Now I know you suck at judging people."

Charlie laughed even as he gathered up their jackets, shrugging into his own and handing over the pan of pastry after Billy had done the same. Then he held open the door as his friend wheeled himself out towards Charlie's truck. Long practice had Billy up in the passenger seat with his chair stowed in the back, then Charlie was driving back to La Push to take the other man home.

Billy allowed himself to be further diverted as Charlie told him all about the new woman in his life, smiling even through his awkwardness, and Billy couldn't have been happier for him. He'd wondered how long it would take the man to get over the heartbreak caused by his ex-wife. Granted, he had never expected it to take quite this long, but better late than never he supposed. And given that Billy couldn't even bring himself to think of looking at another woman after his loss of Sarah, he could completely respect it.

Soon enough, they were turning into Billy's driveway and Charlie got him situated into his chair, then waved at him before heading back home. Billy wheeled himself up the ramp and finagled the door open before heading towards the light in the kitchen.

Jacob was sitting at the table eating leftover lasagna as he read a novel.

"Hey, kid." Billy called as he maneuvered himself along the open path behind Jacob's chair, ruffling his short hair as he passed by.

Jacob grinned. "Dad. How'd dinner go?"

"Good….that girl can cook! Maybe I'm biased, but I think she's better than Emily…er…just don't tell anyone I said that!" He didn't want to accidentally offend Sam and his mate.

"Yeah, she can," Jacob answered with a fond smile. "They're both doing well?"

"Charlie, it seems, has finally found himself a woman," Billy said as he shrugged out of his jacket and reached up to hang it on the coatrack.

His son laughed. "Go Charlie! He tell you about her?"

"Some. She's apparently a new transfer from Seattle and decided for the both of them that they were going to start dating."

The young Were snorted, amused. "Good for her. Charlie's a good guy."

Billy smiled. Then remembering the pan in his lap, he carefully set it down next to his son.

Jacob looked at it curiously, though Billy could easily see the greed of any shapeshifter for sweets in his son's eyes. "What's that?"

"It's a gift. From Bella."

Jacob nodded with one last mournful look at the dessert, before lifting his book once more.

"For you."

His head whipped up and back around in surprise. "Wait…? Really? For me?"

Billy just snorted a laugh. "Yeah, kid. She sent it for you. Said she missed you."

Jacob reached out slowly and carefully pulled the pan closer, looking at it as if it somehow held answers to whatever questions Billy could already see rolling around in his head. "I miss her too," he said quietly.

"I know. I told her so."

A small smile curved his son's lips as he reached back into the cabinet to pull out a clean knife before cutting himself a piece. Then he bit into it with a small, happy groan. "Oh man, I had forgotten how good these things were."

Billy just ruffled the kid's hair again, before wheeling himself back into his bedroom to get himself settled for the night.

In the kitchen, Jacob once more stared at the pan. Oh, he knew damned well that this wasn't Bella saying that all was well and things were going to go back to how they had been. But it was a small olive branch of hope and Jacob was happy as fuck to accept it because he'd missed that girl like crazy. He hadn't really expected it so soon, even though, yeah it had been months now. It had taken him weeks alone to accept that she wasn't going to cave. But when he had finally accepted the gravity of what he had done, he had also accepted that Bella would be hard pressed to forgive it.

He had been even more ashamed when he had heard through the Pack mind that she was equating the way that he had treated her with the way Cullen had treated her. He had drawn the same conclusions as his father…that her rage about the thing with Paul had been fanned by the flame of her own experience with the Leech. Being deprived of his own independence was the thing that he had hated the most about being a Wolf. That he had turned about and attempted to do the same to two others was just…not acceptable. Not even to himself.

Because Sam had been right. The Wolves did not need a dictator. They needed an Alpha who cared and treated them with respect. Someone who could set aside their own selfishness to do the job that needed to be done…just like Sam had done. He knew he still had a lot to learn, had no illusions about that. But now he wasn't blinded by his own possessiveness and was willing to put in the time to do that learning.

The others were speaking to him again. His own childishness was no longer infecting his interactions with his fellow Wolves. They listened when he gave them directions and he made damned sure he never crossed the line. Some, like Leah and the Elder twins, were still incredibly wary though. Sam had bitten back his overprotective rage concerning his sister and did his best to reintegrate him with the rest. Paul….well, Paul was still a chilling presence in the Pack mind and Jacob found himself now eternally grateful for the fact that he couldn't see into his head.

Shaking his own head, he carefully re-covered the pan and set it on top of the refrigerator…unwilling to simply down them all in one go because of the meaning behind them. Jacob opened the door to the brisk winter night and stepped barefoot out into the snow before breaking into a jog as he left the lights of his back porch behind.

He was finally at the point where he accepted that he and Bella were simply not meant to be. He'd seen clearly through the Pack mind just how attached the girl was to Paul and suspected that even without all the supernatural crap she would still have gravitated to him in the end. They meshed in a way that was just crazy. She was all heart while he had none. Sam had suspicions that Paul might have actually Imprinted. But Jacob also agreed that there was something wrong with that conclusion because as malicious as Paul could be, he was aware that Paul would have gutted him like a fish when he had put his hands on Bella if there had been an Imprint.

He also…honestly…did not want Imprinting for Bella. Learning more about the concept was beginning to leave him with a bad aftertaste. Free will was something that many of the Wolves struggled to maintain, and to have that stripped from them over something as fundamental as their choice in mate was just…wrong. In so many ways, forced devotion in whatever capacity another chose for them was frightening.

Deep down, he wondered just how likely Sam and Emily's relationship would be to survive without the Imprint. He had greater faith in Kim and Jared because Kim had refused to accept blind devotion. Had demanded an equal and had worked to gain one. He had honestly begun to feel a bit uncomfortable around Emily the more he heard, because he wasn't sure how he felt about the fact that Emily had taken Sam the way she had when there had been a whole host of possibilities available in her relationship with the Alpha Wolf.

Not that avoiding her was all that hard the last couple of days…

She'd been strangely distant and snappish. It was so not like her that Jacob had wanted to ask her if she was okay, but he hadn't wanted to involve himself in something that was really none of his business, because she was cool to Sam as well.

A distant howl brought him out of his thoughts and Jacob hurried behind the tree line, stripped to his skin as he bolted a heavy mental door over his thoughts on Imprinting, then phased as he took off down the trail.

"Jacob." Jared's calm voice sounded in his mindas he approached from out deep in the woods.

"Jared. Things look clear so far?" There was a feeling of agreement with the question, and Jacob broke into a lope along the Patrol marker.

"Leah and Quil also reported it as all clear before they left," Jared informed him as he turned in the opposite direction.

Jacob projected his acknowledgement to his running mate as he opened his senses to their fullest, taking in the clean night air as he moved silently through the darkness. There was no sign of anything out there, neither human nor undead. Nothing but forest animals. And eventually, Jacob's thoughts returned to Bella's peace offering. He pondered on the best way to respond…to let her know he was open to reconciliation without making her feel rushed.

"She's finally decided to open channels, huh?" Jared's voice was almost carefully neutral as he voiced his curiosity.

Jacob purposefully ran through the recent memory, leaving nothing out to let the other Wolf draw his own conclusions. Jared watched it unfold and Jacob felt him sorting his thoughts. Didn't feel the need weigh in on his conclusion because whatever he had to say about it was his right as Bella's brother.

"Good. She missed you, Jake," he finally offered.

"And..?" Because he could almost feel the other words just floating through their connection.

"And. You lay hands on her again and I beat the ever loving fuck out of you, kid." Jared's tone never changed. Was as calm as ever, and somehow that made the threat all the more real. It also made it very easy to remember that this Wolf was Paul's cousin.

But Jacob did not raise to the bait. He sent assent across the link. "That will not ever be a problem again. I won't let it. Not with her. Not with anyone."

He felt Jared push at his thoughts and allowed him to see the remorse, the lack of forgiveness for himself that he still bore…would never allow himself to let go of. Let him see, as well, the guilt and regret for what he had done to Paul. And the knowledge that he had gotten off lucky with a simple kick to the balls. There was a sense of considering, both of the new information and Jacob's lack of hostility. Then acceptance.

There was a moment of silence, and then by mutual agreement the topic was changed.

"Jonah has been very quiet lately," he offered. His observations of the other Wolf played through his mind, because Jared's brother had been unusually quiet since The Fight.

"Not really sure what the hell happened," Jared responded as he leapt over an outcropping of rocks and limbo'd under a fallen tree. "He passed out after Paul beat the stupid out of him. Didn't talk much other than to scream when Sam and I had to rebreak a few of his bones to get them set right. Since then he's been…different. Never talks back to Mom and Dad. To Sam either, actually. Fuck…hardly talks at all now to be honest."

Jacob had also seen the confusion in the newest Wolf. The shame and loneliness, because now he would not even try to endear himself to others as if sensing it would raise their suspicions for him to do so. Make them think his change was some kind of ruse. "Sam said something about him asking why his Wolf wasn't talking to him anymore. Begged him to Alpha Order him to ignore it if it ever tried again."

Jared gave a mental headshake. "Crazy shit, there.

Jacob agreed. Because the Wolf wasn't a separate entity. It had no consciousness of its own. It was simply instincts and drive and senses…it had no voice.

}:{

Jonah lay on the ground, head on his paws as Sam gently and carefully sorted through his head. It was slightly uncomfortable to have the Alpha so deeply inside his mind, but Sam was a welcomed guest if he could help figure out what the hell was going on with him. Old Quil sat on a tree stump by the younger Wolf's side, his hand gentle as he stroked it over Jonah's head and shoulders in a slow, repetitive motion that served to help keep the boy calm. The Elder's face was pulled into a small scowl of worry as Sam took his time.

The small clearing they currently occupied had been chosen for the fact that it was far enough away from where the other two currently patrolled that they would not likely be able to pick up on the Alpha and the newest Wolf, something that Jonah was grateful to his two companions for.

"You okay?" Sam's voice was a bit of a shock after the silence, but Jonah did his best not to startle...didn't want to scare the old man who was being kind to him.

"Yeah. I'm good," he insisted, because the sooner Sam finished then the sooner he might be able to get answers.

"Almost done," Sam said, feeling Jonah's unease.

The surprisingly strong hand continued to stroke over his head, occasionally scratching behind his ears and rubbing between his eyes before returning to their hypnotic rhythm. The silence was almost deafening in the clearing and Jonah was close to twitching with anxiety when Sam finally pulled back. The older Were Phased human before sitting his naked ass on a fallen log not far from the Elder.

"Well?" Old Quil asked.

Sam raked one hand through his hair and pulled the other down his face. "There was definitely something talking to him. He wasn't imagining it."

There was a pause in the Elder's rhythm, then he picked it up again. Jonah kept his head down but his eyes lifted towards his Alpha. He couldn't help the small wolfish whimper of fear that escaped, because he had honestly been hoping he was just loony-toons. Sam glanced back at him, his face screwed up in sympathy. "It seems to have stopped talking after the confrontation with his cousin."

God, he didn't even blame Sam or his brother for handing him over to Paul at this point. Because, Christ, he had been such a piece of shit. He was glad that Paul had knocked him fucking silly because his Wolf had been a selfish, horrible bastard above and beyond even his own previous standards. If he could have found the willpower to simply stop Phasing, he would have done so to get away from it. To stop hearing it's filth trying to make him do things even he knew were wrong. He hated himself almost as bad as he hated the Wolf, because while he had been awful to his family before…the things it had driven him to say and do after he had Phased had made him sick when it had finally stopped. When his mind was blessedly empty of its sneering, spiteful voice. And despite the fear, he felt this profound sense of peace without the choking need to hurt everyone. Even if it was only a temporary reprieve...

Sam sighed, a long, drawn out sound of frustration and worry. "He's always had trouble with accepting kindness from what I can see. Accepting love and returning it. There's this…strange warping around his memories, like he was seeing the world through a filthy mirror. I can't…describe it. But it's been there his whole damned life. Goddamn….no wonder he was such a bitter pain in the ass. It's like there was this poisonous, half-formed version of whatever the hell was talking to him since he can remember. I see why he assumed it was the Wolf, however…it started speaking in actual words when he Phased."

Jonah was doing his best not to be terrified, even though Sam sounded apprehensive. If it was not just his Wolf talking to him, then what the hell was it? Because Sam was right…all his damned life he'd felt like an outsider…not welcomed or wanted. Spite had been an easy response, and he'd unleashed it on everything and everyone in his path. Hurt people who never deserved it, and who had loved him, and oh God, he hated himself so much…

Now he was adding to Sam's worries, because he couldn't just be a normal freak of nature like the rest of his Pack, he had to be an extra-special freak. Not like the man didn't have enough to worry about; the reasons why the Pack was so large. What was coming. Why a few members of the Pack were beginning to shrug off Alpha Commands. Why Leah was acting so distant again. What was Paul doing with Bella…and oh fuck him, because his scary-as-all-fuck cousin was apparently now dating the girl he had already beaten Jonah for scaring. If Jacob was actually growing up, finally. Something about bears that he hadn't really gotten a grasp on. And Emily. Who was apparently behaving strangely the last couple of days? Distant even from Sam and refusing to talk about it when asked.

In the past, Jonah would have made a snide remark. It would have been second nature to insinuate something cruel. And for a moment he was confused, because it was such a long ingrained habit that even with his new understanding of what he had been, he was surprised that it hadn't come out. But…no…Just no. He couldn't hurt Sam like that. Didn't want to. Didn't want to hurt anyone ever again. He didn't want to be that disgusting, selfish jerk that had all but destroyed his own family.

"Then something truly is gravely wrong," Old Quil said as he got to his feet. Sam did the same, at ease in his bare skin in the middle of a snowy winter night. He turned once more to the boy in the snow and couldn't help but feel sympathy for him. God, the poor kid had been so completely fucked in the head.

The first week after the fight between the cousins, Sam had seriously rethought his decision to let Paul have a piece of him, because Jonah hadn't spoken one word. To anyone. Then, slowly, after he was deemed well enough to begin Phasing again, he had begun to speak again, but there was absolutely nothing of the snotty bastard Sam had grown to dread. He was quiet, and really, he only answered when required by circumstance or when spoken to. A couple of months had passed…then one night Jonah had hesitantly knocked on his front door. He'd thought at first he had imagined it, it had been so soft, but it had repeated a few seconds later and he had gotten up from dinner to go see who it was.

He'd been shocked as shit to see Jonah. A Jonah who was nervous and twitchy and…scared. Not faking it, but really and truly scared. He'd not seemed able to look him in the eyes as he'd quietly asked the Alpha he had spurned if there was anything he could do to stop the Wolf from ever talking to him again.

Sam had been utterly stupefied by the question. Because while they all occasionally liked to blame a comment or action on the Wolf, no one had ever suggested that it had actually spoken to them before. He'd started to ask the kid why he thought the Wolf was talking to him, when Jonah had crumbled in on himself. Sam had felt helpless as the boy actually began begging him to make it go away. Make him stop hearing the Wolf when it came back, because he hadn't heard it since Paul had rattled his skull and he didn't want to hear it, because it was constantly demanding horrible things and he was scared that he was going to do them because it hurt so badwhen he didn't.

And if at first he had even considered for one single second that this might be some weird prank, one whiff of the boy had changed his mind. Jonah had absolutely reeked of fear. And so Sam had done the only thing he could think to do at that point, hugging the kid as hard as he could when Jonah had started shaking, clearly trying not to cry. It did not matter what the kid had been like before, this threatened to break Sam's heart because these Wolves were his kids and something had fucked with one of them. Badly. Agony and self-loathing had fairly radiated from him and Sam had immediately made a mental note to call Quil's grandfather first thing the next morning, because he had made it his business to know as much as he could about Tribal history.

Which led them to now, Jonah's worried amber eyes glancing up at the two men from his prone position in the snow. Sam jerked his head in an indication that the kid should stand and gently ruffled his fur when he did so before turning back to the Elder.

"I will look into this," the old man promised the Wolf, voice matching the solemnity of his age-lined face. "You have my word, young man, that I will do my utmost to discover what could possibly have done this to you."

Jonah gave a small, jerky nod of his great shaggy head. Accepted the Elder's assurance that he would get to the bottom of the whole thing even if he was nervous about the lack of ready knowledge on how to fix him. The two Packmates watched Quil Sr. make his way toward his own back yard and then step in the back door, before Sam Phased back into the great black Wolf.

"You're going to be okay, Jonah," Sam said into the link. "I know that this shit has to suck, but now that we know that it's not…well…"

"It's okay, Sam. I was actually kind of hoping that I was crazy, myself." There was a wan humor in the smaller Wolf's voice as he kept pace with Sam, the pair of them walking the path towards the Cameron household.

Sam hated every Goddamned second of this shit, because no one deserved to have their mind fucked with. "Is there anything I can do, in the meantime, to help make the waiting easier?"

Jonah was quiet for a moment as he considered the offer. Then he answered. "Can you make it so I don't think about this where anyone else can hear it? I don't like knowing that it could come back before I can be…fixed…I don't want the others knowing that I'm a ticking timebomb."

Because if they thought he might regress, they would once more treat him as a pariah. Shit. The kid was already damaged enough, he didn't need that on top of it. He already hated himself enough as it was for things that it was looking more and more likely that weren't even really his fault. And thankfully he was once more a non-entity to his cousin, because Sam didn't need that nightmare if Paul decided that Jonah was a potential threat to Bella's wellbeing. "You got it. You will not think or speak of your situation to your Packmates until such a time as you are either free of it, or I have given you permission to do so."

There was a sigh of relief from the roan-colored Wolf. "Thank you, Sam."

"No problem. You gonna be okay tonight?"

"I think so…just knowing that someone is looking into making this stop is…"

"Yeah. I feel you."

Snow crunched under their huge paws as they continued in silence for a while, taking in the scents and sounds of the forest. Sam glanced at the smaller Wolf from time to time, noting the changes in him since he'd recovered from his injuries. He moved differently now. Easier and far more graceful as if he were finally in harmony with his own body. The constant angry tension had dropped from him, leaving him able to appreciate new things such as the forest at night and the feel of the sudden wind through his fur.

"Have you thought about what it is you do want to say to the others?" Sam finally asked.

"I have so many apologies to make, I hardly know where to start," Jonah responded quietly.

"I think your family might be a good place," The Alpha offered.

"Yeah…probably. Mom and Dad have been watching me like I'm a pod-person. Don't really blame 'em, honestly. Man, I was such a world-class shithead. But…it would be kinda nice to just be with my parents without them wondering when I'm gonna say or do something hurtful," the boy said wistfully.

"They're your parents. They love you and they will forgive you, especially once we get all of this sorted out. Your father is a pretty damned good guy and I suspect that if anyone even suggests to him that none of this shit is your fault, he's going to be sitting right next to Quil's grandpa figuring out how to fix it."

"You think so?"

"I know so," Sam insisted, backing up the assertion with a wave of confidence.

"The others," Jonah said after a time. "Well, that's not as hard. If I can talk to them while Phased, then they can see that I mean it. They would have every right to be suspicious of me without being able to see for themselves. Jared and Bella, though…I just…can't." Jonah trailed off.

Sam turned his head and glanced at him sharply.

"Jared…he's my brother. He always tried to be the best brother he could be…and I was the one who failed him. All my life, I failed him. I hurt him, and worse…I hurt his mate just to be able to hurt him more. I don't deserve forgiveness from him. I don't even deserve to ask him for it.

Sam narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. Because that was spoken like someone who loved their brother dearly and simply did not understand how to fix the thing he had spent a lifetime breaking. "You hardly know Bella though," Sam prodded, tone carefully neutral.

"Bella…she's…I don't quite know how to explain." He paused, sorted through a few thoughts, then tried again. "Bella is kind of like this huge, important piece of the Pack. And yeah, she's special to you guys…but…somehow, I feel like she's special even above and beyond how you all feel about her. I haven't been near her since Paul knocked sense into me, but…jeez, I how do I explain this? She just feels different to me, and not even like Kim and Emily do as extensions of the Pack," Jonah finished, though he sounded a bit frustrated by his inability to communicate his thoughts.

Oh fuck, Sam thought, dread curdling in his gut. Please, to any god up their listening, do not let this kid Imprint on Bella! Bella would be horribly upset by it and not just because of the direction of her own affections. There was an unwritten rule in the Pack that no Wolf would stand in the way of another's Imprint and she would know damned well the mess it would cause. And Sam didn't even want to contemplate how exponentially bad things would get once Paul got involved, because the big Were wasn't likely to roll over for tradition.

Jonah actually chuffed in lupine amusement. "Oh, he'd kill me. No mistake, there. No worries, though. Bella is…Well, she's a pretty cool chick from what I have seen of her in the others heads, now that I'm not too screwed up to see it. And she's gorgeous as hell. I'm not blind…at least, not anymore. I'd be one seriously lucky guy if she liked me like that. But…Imprinting? No. Don't understand why I know for sure, but I know that's not what this is. I just feel like she's important in some way. Special," he repeated.

Sam was quiet again as he pondered Jonah's certainty. Because he was absolutely and completely certain of himself. With everything he knew about himself up in the air, it was the one thing that he seemed to know without question. And if he was right, then he was even happier that Paul had taken to her. Because while the rest of them would do their best to protect her, and their best was pretty damned impressive, Paul was a scary motherfucker on an entirely different level.

Soon, the Cameron household came into view, and Jonah wished him a good night before Phasing human and throwing on a pair of cutoffs. He ran through his backyard and then walked in the back door, leaving Sam to trudge home in silence. And now that he was alone, he finally let himself think about his mate. His mate that was avoiding him.

The past couple of days, Emily had seemingly gone about her business as usual. She woke up around seven and started breakfast, before sending Sam off to work. Made him a lunch to take with him, and had dinner waiting when he got home. But when he tried to be affectionate with her, she would…stiffen up. Sometimes step away. Smile like nothing was wrong, like she was sure he wouldn't notice.

Like he could fail to notice?

When he tried to ask her if anything was wrong, she said she was fine, then went about doing something or other that…did not include him.

Coming up on his own yard, Sam Phased and ran through the snow before heading in the back door, thankful that, for once, Emily seemed to forgotten to leave the lights on. He opened the fridge and wolfed down a cold chicken breast, then quietly headed up the stairs so as not to wake Emily. The pattern of her breathing indicated slumber, though he was a bit surprised as to why it was coming from the bathroom.

Then he just really didn't know what the fuck to think. Because Emily was sleeping in the bathtub. It was a huge, clawfoot tub that even he could soak in comfortably. Her head was back against the inflatable cushion as she lay in the water up to her neck. The tap was on, though set to a small trickle, keeping the temperature warm. The small table beside the tub held one of the romance novels that she loved to read, an empty wine glass, and a nearly empty bottle of red wine.

Sam just stood there in the doorway, completely lost as to why she would to something so stupid and unlike herself. Then he sighed and shook his head. Stepping closer, he turned off the water and then flicked the drain lever to empty the tub, the sound of the water running out rousing the sleeping woman. She blinked at him for a moment, then rubbed a hand over her eyes before getting to her feet and reaching for the towel on the rack. Smiling absently at the confused Were, she wrapped it about herself as she stepped out of the tub and walked into the closet.

Normally, she didn't mind at all if he watched her while she moved around naked. But tonight, she pushed the door partially shut as if to block him from seeing her. He could hear her dressing and clenched his jaw hard, biting back the words that wanted to spill forth. She clearly wasn't willing to tell him what the hell was going on and he had never been the type to berate a woman for wanting their privacy.

He forced himself to relax his taut muscles and let go of the frustration eating at him as he moved into the bedroom, turning off the bedside lamp as he climbed under the covers to wait for his mate. And even then, he only just managed to keep himself from growling when she stepped into the room, covered from her neck to her toes in huge, baggy flannel pajamas. Yeah, it was cold, but she'd never hesitated to let him keep her warm before. She climbed in on the other side of the bed and offered up a quiet good night.

Sam lay there in the darkness and did one of the things he did best…he worried. Because she had left him with little else he could do other than to beg her to talk to him…to tell him what had happened or what he might have done. The Imprint tugged at him and let him know in no uncertain terms that she was not happy, but for the life of him he could not figure out why.

Emily was nearly asleep when he finally gave into the urge to be near her and spooned himself up against her back, his arm coming up to curl across her hips. She didn't try to get away, but for some reason, he was not reassured. He felt…lost…and abandoned in some way despite the presence of the woman he held in his arms. He held her tighter, trying to take comfort in the fact that she whispered 'love you' right before she dropped off.

He tried. He failed.

}:{

a.n. – oh man….I feel so mean! I absolutely adore Sam and he's such a sad puppy right now…So I was sitting there plotting out this chapter and had the time table of when it needed to be done in my head…when the evil thing started calling to me. Sidhe…come write me…just a little bit…it won't hurt…Next thing I know I've written the whole darned thing and am already plotting the next one…pfft! Anyway…not going back to a set time table, because that was when things started to feel forced and I began to lose interest. So I will simply post as they appear…some may be sooner, like this one…some may take a bit longer than three weeks (god forbid), but I will do my best to keep this story rolling! Especially as things are finally starting to come to a nice simmer.

I was so very touched by all of your responses! So many of you stuck with me and reviewed and it was flattering and most of all humbling how completely awesome all of you are! I am always so happy to know that I have managed to reach people…make them laugh, sigh with sympathy, have steam roll from their ears when something irritates them, and fan themselves when things get a bit…spicey

Once more has failed me! Not enough room to list the artist behind the song title...for those who wanted to know, it is Monty Python

'See' you guys on the next update! – Sidhe

Chaos – TA-DA! Your friendly slave driver apparently made an impression because I didn't even need to use a Guilt Trip, Sidhe eagerly typed this one up! Of course, it helps that we're finally spilling some beans lol