Wolfie

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

PART THREE-FIGHTING THE FUTURE

Part Ten

Leah and Sam lay next to each other in bed; they had just made love and were relaxing in their post coital bliss. Sam turned onto his side and gazed down at Leah, his hand wandered along her smooth, naked back as she lay on her front. Her eyes closed as she enjoyed the sensations of his warm fingers running up and down her skin.

"I'm sorry Lee," Sam murmured softly. "I really am."

Leah sighed and rolled onto her back so that she could look up at him. His forehead was creased with worry lines and he looked anxious. All of his emotions were communicating themselves to her. He had been apologising profusely on and off ever since she had revealed how much he had been hurting her by his actions.

"Sam, stop saying sorry. It's over with now, I should have told you from the beginning, but like you I can be rather stubborn." Leah slapped him on the shoulder playfully and he finally smiled.

"I know that I am not that great at expressing how I feel sometimes. I tend to shut down when things get too much...when you phased it was just so hard. My instinct is to protect you Lee and now..."His voice trailed off.

Leah stroked his cheek tenderly; she gave him an encouraging smile. "Go on," she whispered.

Sam gazed at her intently. He shifted so that he could wrap her up in his arms and hold her close. "I just love you so much. It's hard for me to handle when I think that you could be in danger. I know that you can look after yourself, I do. You're my woman and I just want to protect you and now I have to go against my instincts and watch you place yourself in danger...do you know what I am trying to say?"

Leah nestled into his strong embrace."I know, it's been hard for us both to adjust to the new dynamic. We are both good at hiding our thoughts from each other Sam, even when we are phased. I think we have been misreading what has been happening between us and of course Paul has been enjoying stirring things up. I think it has all made us a little crazy. If something is bothering us we need to talk it out Sam, promise me?"

Sam rolled onto his back, pulling Leah on top of him. "Yes I promise, especially if this is where we end up."

Leah giggled as she sat up, straddling his body. "Definitely..."

Sam pulled her back down again and captured her lips with his in a loving kiss.

XXXXXX

Harry sat next to his son. They both had fishing rods in their hands as they were on a spontaneous fishing excursion after Sue expressed a desire for fresh fish for dinner. It was really just an excuse for Harry to get his son alone and have a talk with him. Both he and his wife had become increasingly concerned about Seth. The bright, happy young boy they remembered had turned into a withdrawn, melancholy young man. He hardly spent time with his family anymore, only to eat dinner. He would then retreat to his room and shut the door.

Sue had asked Leah what she thought was troubling her son. At first Leah had been reluctant to betray her brother's confidence, but she too had been worried about him lately. He hardly mixed with the pack or anyone else when he was not patrolling or had to attend meetings. He had become very solitary and withdrawn, even when phased he shielded his thoughts with an iron will. The only person that Leah saw him open up to was Bella. She could get him to smile and laugh on the rare occasions that Jacob was not by Bella's side.

"I think Sethy's crush on Bella goes deeper than any of us realised mom. We all treat him like a young kid, but he isn't. Jake won't let Seth near Bella; he is very protective of her. He knows that Seth has feelings for her; she has even spoken to Seth about his crush on her. It's just all such a mess mom..." Leah had revealed.

"I know that was hard for you sweetheart, but your dad and I have been worried about Sethy. Now that I have some idea what could be the cause of it...well I think some father/son bonding time is in order." Sue gave her daughter a rare hug.

"Mom, please make sure that dad doesn't treat Sethy like a kid. He really isn't anymore."Leah had reminded her.

"I promise. Your dad will know how to handle it." Sue had said with a confidence she didn't really feel.

A tug on the end of Harry's line made him jump. He pulled on it hard and yanked a gleaming fish clear out of the water. Droplets sprayed in the air and Seth stood up and caught the wriggling fish in the net while Harry unhooked it from the end of the line.

"Your mom is going to be happy with this one." Harry said as he inspected their first catch of the day.

"Whatever..." Seth sat back down and stared back out over the lake, his eyes once again far away.

Harry settled back down next to him. He took a deep breath and plunged straight in. "I'm worried about you Seth..."

"Why?" Seth asked sounding completely uninterested.

"Because you seem so...unhappy, talk to me son, maybe I can help." Harry offered.

Seth frowned. "Have you been talking to Leah?" He snapped.

"NO...I am worried about you. You are my youngest and I have noticed how withdrawn you've been. Has this got something to do with your crush on Bella?"

Seth stood up quickly; the camping chair he was sitting on fell backwards. "Crush...yeah that's right, it has to be a pathetic teenage crush? I mean how could I possibly have real feelings for Bella, I'm too young. Too young for anything! Well tell me this, dad, how come I have been in love with Bella Swan for years, huh? If this was just a stupid crush, than wouldn't I be over it by now? I am not even allowed to be friends with her because Jake won't even let me speak to her. The pack treats me like a child, even though I phased way before some of the older ones. I can't make friends my own age because I am carrying this huge secret around with me; I have nothing in common with them. Everyone in the pack has someone to hang out with or is in a relationship. The only person who ever gets me is Bella and now I can't even hang out with her."

Harry watched as his son stood before him shaking with suppressed emotion. Tears were gleaming in the corners of Seth's eyes as he let out all that had been bothering him over the last few months. He took deep calming breaths to try and stop himself phasing in front of his dad.

"I am just so lonely, dad." Seth finally admitted.

Harry stood and walked over to his son. "Oh Seth, I had no idea you were feeling like this. I am so sorry."

Seth looked up at his dad."What am I going to do, dad?" He whispered.

Harry reached up and put his hand on Seth's shoulder. His son was so tall and muscular now, just like all the boy's in the pack were. His height and looks belied his age. "We will work something out son, I promise. The first step was admitting how you felt. It does no one any good bottling up their emotions. You can always talk to me; I will always be here to listen and try to help."

Seth gave his dad a grim smile and nodded. "Thanks," he said as he wiped away a stray tear running down his cheek.

Harry patted Seth's shoulder in sympathy. "Now help your old man to pack up this fishing gear and then we can try and work out some sort of solution."

XXXXXX

Embry picked up the shopping and stuffed it into several bags. He hardly glanced at the girl behind the counter who was operating the till. She was new; Old Quil had hired her to cover some of his shifts. He had been feeling his age of late and his grandson, Quil, was too busy with the pack now to take on as many shifts as he used to do.

"How much do I owe you?" Embry asked, rooting around in his short's pocket for loose change.

"Nothing, you live with the Clearwater's right? Old Quil said that they have a tab so I expect they will clear up any expenses by the end of the week." The girl said shyly.

"Right...thanks for that," Embry finally looked up at the girl. Her eyes instantly dropped from admiring him as she looked down at the counter in front of her. Embry smiled to himself, he was used to girl's ogling him."Hey, what's your name? You're new, aren't you?"

The girl's cheeks flushed a dull red as he acknowledged her. She bit her lip nervously and kept her eyes riveted to the spot on the counter. Her long, shiny black hair slipped around her face as she tried to hide."Kim...my name is Kim."

Embry gave her one of his endearing grins. "Well Kim, I'm Embry, nice to meet you...I come in here a lot, maybe I will see you again soon."

Kim gave him a shy smile, although she still refused to look at him directly. "I would like that very much." She said softly.

"Great..." Embry picked up the shopping and strode confidently out of the store. He felt Kim's eyes following him and he chuckled to himself.

XXXXXX

Jacob put the finishing touches to the charm he was making for Bella. His mother had given him a silver bracelet that she had inherited from her mother, which she never wore. He wanted to give something special to Bella to show how much he loved her. They had both been through so much lately and she had been a tower of strength to him. He held up the wooden charm for his dad's inspection.

Billy smiled and nodded at his son. "I told you that you had talent for carving, but you wouldn't listen to your old man...its wonderful Jake, she will love it."

Jacob studied the little russet red wolf charm that he had made. It was the exact replica of his wolf. He attached it to the simple, silver bracelet and put it carefully in the presentation box. "I'm going to go and give to to her now, see you later dad and...Thanks."

Billy gave him a wink and laughed as he watched Jacob literally sprint out of the house.

XXXXXX

Bella opened the front door before Jacob had even knocked. She laughed at his shocked expression. "I always sense it when you are coming to see me." She explained before he had a chance to speak.

Jacob shrugged his shoulders. "I know, sometimes it would be nice to be able to surprise you occasionally."

"Aww...you always surprise me, Jacob. Why do I feel that you are nervous about something? What's happened?" Bella became concerned as she felt Jacob's emotions surge through her.

"Nothing's wrong, where's your dad?"

"Out the back he is trying to tame the wildness that is our garden." Bella gazed at him anxiously. "Are you sure nothing's wrong?"

"No...I just have something for you. Can we go in?" Jacob was feeling increasingly anxious. He really hoped that Bella was going to like his present.

"Oops sorry..." Bella turned around and led the way into the house, Jacob following close behind.

They walked in to the living room and Bella sat down on the sofa. She patted the spot next to her and he perched on the seat beside her so that he was facing her directly.

"I love you..." Jacob declared, his voice sounded loud in the silent house.

Bella reached out and took one of his hands in her own. She laced her fingers with his and gazed up at him curiously. Why was he so nervous? "I love you too, Jake."

"I have a present for you, I mean I know you hate presents but I made this for you. " Jacob pulled the box out of his pocket and handed it over to Bella.

Bella stared at the long box. "Jake, you didn't have to do this..."

"Open it honey, please." Jacob said softly.

Bella gave him a tremulous smile and opened the box; her hand shook slightly as she pulled out the silver charm bracelet, as she held it up in front of her she caught sight of the wooden wolf charm dangling from it. "You made this? You made me a replica of Wolfie..." Tears of happiness began to leak out of Bella's eyes as she studied the delicate charm.

"Yeah...do you want me to put it on for you, honey?" Jacob gave her a big grin. A wide smile lit up her beautiful face and an overwhelming feeling of happiness made them both feel giddy.

Bella handed Jacob the bracelet and watched as he carefully put it on her left wrist and snapped the clasp shut. "This means that there will always be a part of me that is with you, even when we are apart."

"I love you so much Jake, this has to be the best present that I have ever had." Bella crawled onto Jacob's lap and hugged him to her tightly.

"I love you too, Bells." Jacob's arms wrapped around her as he pressed his lips to hers and they shared a loving kiss.

A/N-Thanks for reading!

A few readers have sent me PM's about this story, the main theme seems to be that I am spending too much time focusing on all the wolf pack and not just about Jake and Bella. There are so many amazing characters among the wolf pack and they are an integral part of Jacob and Bella's life within this story. All of their lives are interwoven together and I wanted to show how all their lives are interlinked.

I hope that you are all still willing to share this journey with me and thanks for all of your support!

Nikki