chapter 38

Disclaimer: the characters and all recognisable situations belong to Stephenie Meyer - this is a work of fan fiction, except for the legends and histories of the Quileute that, of course, belong to them. I pay my respects to their gods.

Thanks to BanSidhe [ruadh sidhe] and Feebes86 for betaing and pre-reading.

Seth watched Bella in the kitchen. "What are you doing?"

"Pre cooking as much as I can before the pack function tomorrow. If I do cakes now, I can ice them later."

"It's going to be held here?"

"Yes. Sam asked if I'd mind. I think it's a wonderful idea."

"Oh, okay. Do you need any help?"

"No, it's okay, Paul will be here in a minute."

"Right." That deflated Seth's previous good mood.

"Paul built a great fire-pit, so we can cook outside and everything," she chattered on, not noticing Seth's change of mood.

"Good."

That was churlishly short for Seth. She glanced up at him. "Seth?"

"I need to go," he said. He left hurriedly, before Paul got there. He irked him now; as wolf and man. He couldn't fight him but he was careful to just stay out of his way.

Bella sighed after Seth had left. She knew he blamed Paul for everything that had happened. But she thought that it was working out okay. They all seemed to be really getting on.

Paul bounced in the door, arms full of groceries and sniffed. "Seth?"

"Yes."

"What did HE want?"

Bella was tired of all this grumbling; it made her worry. "You can just stop that!" she reprimanded him. "He's my friend, and Leah's brother. He can visit our house any time he wants."

"Fine," he grunted, but he backed down. "Feisty Bella," he said. He placed all the groceries on the kitchen table. Came over to give her a hug. She sidestepped him. He poked her in the side and she smacked him with the wooden spoon. He wrestled it out of her hand and hugged her anyway.

She laughed and hugged him back.

"Where's Leah?" she asked.

"Dropped in to her mom's for something."

She passed him an apron.

He lifted an eyebrow. "I am a fast healing werewolf."

"Don't care. Put your apron on."

"Can I be naked underneath it?"

"No."

"Later?"

"Maybe."

"Woo hoo."

He put the apron on. It gained something in the look over his bare chest. She kept checking him out and he knew it. They worked very well together in the kitchen. Bella was so pleased to have someone to help her.

When Leah arrived they looked happy and companionable and domestic… again.

The pack party was in full swing. Jared and Kim were there. Kim had brought some jello for dessert. Jake, Embry and Quil were discussing physical challenges. Sam had suggested that they organize some wolf sports, and they were considering tree climbing.

"Don't let Nikiti Lahote hear you say that. Damage to the forest and all that," said Embry.

"We can't play soccer on the beach; people might see us," said Quil.

"What about swimming?" Jake suggested.

Quil looked doubtful.

Brady and Collin hung together and tried to stay out of Leah's way. She was trying to rig up some speakers for music. Paul went to help her before she broke something.

"Where's Sam?" asked Bella.

"Emily went into labor. He's taken her in to the medical center," Embry answered.

"Oh, how exciting."

Seth sat quietly on his own and watched his sister with concern. She reeked of Paul; the whole house did. It made Seth's nose twitch. He knew Paul was pleased with himself for having both girls. Seth didn't like it. He had said that he thought Paul would hurt them and he couldn't put his finger on it, but Leah was not one hundred percent into it. She seemed almost torn about it. Divided.

He could tell that she was really stressed.

Seth watched Paul and Bella together and he worried that Leah was letting Paul into their life for Bella. She and Paul got on so well that she was happy; or she seemed it. He had tried to talk to Bella about it but he was uncharacteristically taciturn. He couldn't seem to get any words out; at least not the ones that would explain what he was worried about. How could he say that Leah wasn't Leah? And why didn't Bella see it?

Bella saw him worrying, though. She came and sat next to him.

"What's the matter?" she asked him.

He shrugged.

"Oh Seth, I know you are worried but it's not like that when the three of us are together. It feels really right to me."

"Right," he said skeptically.

"No it's amazing. Oh, I shouldn't have said that."

Seth's face looked disgusted.

"Sorry. Too much information," Bella apologized. "Leah was uneasy about it to start but I think she is okay now. It was just hard for her to share."

"Not hard for you."

Bella looked taken aback and then guilty. "No."

Seth stared at her. "Promise me."

"What?"

"If you have to choose one…" He paused. "Promise me it'll be Leah."

"Seth…"

"Promise, Bella. It would kill her to lose you. She can't go through that again."

He looked so intense, so serious. And Bella knew in her heart that he was right. She heard an echo of her own when she had said almost the same thing to Paul at the building site. "I promise. That's easy to say, Seth, it would kill me too to lose her."

Seth suspected that she might recover after she got the kiss of life from Paul. But he didn't say it. He nodded once. "Good."

Quil and Embry were watching the trio as well.

"Look at them, Em, they look good together." Quil kept his voice low.

"Yeah. They look good. Doesn't mean they are."

"You don't sound convinced."

"Look at Leah, Quil."

Quil watched her for a while. Paul and Bella interacted brilliantly. They were both cooking and fussing about the food. Paul looked almost domestic. And Leah looked… lost.

"She looks about to break."

"Yep."

Quil's eyes narrowed. "Shit!"

"We are all on her turf, too. She's got nowhere to run or hide."

"Is it the party or the threesome thing that's freaking her out?"

"I can't tell."

"Is she doing this for Bella?"

"I dunno."

"She fucks Paul we know that."

"Yeah. So?"

"If she didn't enjoy it, you'd think she'd say 'no' or get rid of him or punch him in the head or whatever."

"Maybe parts of her like it?" said Embry.

"Huh?"

"Wolf versus human."

"Fuck. I hope not. She doesn't like her wolf."

"Christ, Quil, isn't that the problem?"

Bella approached them.

They both plastered smiles on for her benefit.

"You guys had enough to eat?"

"Yes, thanks Bella. It was awesome," Said Quil.

"Delicious," said Embry. "Emily has competition."

"Emily. Any news?"

"Not yet, but Sam will let us know."

"Where's your girlfriend, Embry?"

"Kaity? She can't come to these things, she's not an imprint."

"Jake can't bring Lily, either," said Quil.

"Oh, I am not an imprint either."

"Yeah," said Quil, "But you know the secret and you get a pass for living with a wolf, or two."

"I hadn't thought about that."

"Besides I am trying to cool it with Kaity; back off a little."

"Why? She seemed nice. I thought you liked her."

"I do. I love her."

Embry said it so simply, Bella believed him. "I don't understand."

"Imprinting, Bella," said Quil.

"Oh, my God." She stood there and tried to think about it. "So… you'd break up with her?"

"If I imprint on someone… I mean, if it was going to happen by now with her, it should have, so she's not The One. Do I waste her time and dump her when it happens and break her heart then, or do I let her go now?"

"But what about you?" Bella asked. She was holding her hands together nervously.

"I want what's best for her."

Quil added, "We all have to worry about shit like that. Could happen any time; any where or any when."

"Any when is not a word," Quil.

"It so is."

"Not. It means the same as anytime."

"So it is a word, then."

Bella wasn't listening. Two wolves. She had two wolves in her life. She had promised Seth that she'd choose Leah, but what if they didn't choose her? What if they imprinted? Could she let them go? If that was what made them happy?

She was about to have a full blown panic attack when Jared's head lifted. "Sam's coming." He had the best hearing in the pack.

It took some time for Sam to come barreling around the side of the house.

"It's a boy!" Sam crowed.

The pack all hooted and hollered.

Bella got herself under control. "Yay," she said. "Are they both okay?"

"Yeah. Emily was amazing. He's so cute."

"Can we all go see him?" Collin asked.

"Emily isn't up to visitors yet."

The pack wanted to scent the baby and make sure he was part of their pack. But Emily just wanted the baby to herself for a little while. Sam would give her that, after holding her hand in the labor. He had never been so terrified in his life.

"What's his name?" Leah asked.

"Nathan."

"Awesome. Nathan Uley."

"Well, come on, where are the photos?" Quil asked.

Bella went inside and washed her face at the sink. She felt like fainting. Why had she never thought about imprinting before? Did that mean that they didn't love her as much as Embry loved Kaity? She told herself off for that thought. She had to shut that down or she would worry herself to death about it.

Paul had been a wolf for longer than Leah. And so far, only Sam and Jared had imprinted. In a pack of ten, that wasn't a lot. Only one out of five. She could take those odds.

She stared out the window, searching for her wolves. Paul had his arm around Leah's shoulders. She looked tense. Her ex lover and her cousin had just had a baby together; the one thing Leah thought that she could never have. And she had lost Sam to imprinting.

And instead of being there to hold her hand, Bella Swan was having a hissy fit in the kitchen.

She shook herself.

She rifled around in the kitchen drawer and found a cake candle. She plonked it down in the center of one of her iced cakes and lit it. She took a deep breath and lifted the plate to walk outside.

The pack sang happy birthday to Nathan Uley.

She stood next to Leah and held her hand and Paul kept his arm around her, too.

That night, after Paul had gone home, Leah held her very tight.