TWENTY-FOUR

LOVE AND LOYALTY

LEAH

When I end the call from Seth, I don't know how to feel. I don't know how to form the words. What the fuck? Renesmee Cullen is coming to Forks to spend time with Seth, and there's going to be a graduation party? Jacob and I are invited if we think he's important enough to come back for?

Who was that guy and what did he do with Seth Clearwater?

"What's wrong with you?" Rebecca asks, taking a loud slurp of her wine cooler through a straw.

We're currently all at the beach, on a perfect Sunday afternoon. Becca and I are tanning on the sand, with a huge cooler or food and drinks between us. Sol and Jake are splitting their time between volleyball and surfing.

Hidden behind my dark sunglasses and floppy hat, I've been having the best time eating and watching my man flex his muscles and grow darker in the sun. Jacob was made for the beach, in all his six foot seven glory, and all the women present are silently thanking the gods right along with me. What a vision.

"Seth just told me that Nessie – Jacob's friend – is coming to Forks to see him AND that they're having a party for the graduates. I didn't even know he wanted to have a party," I groan and flop my head back against the beach lounger. "I'm such a horrible big sister."

"Oh hush, you know that's not true."

"I am. Of course you have a graduation party when you graduate!"

"She and Seth are friends then, I take it. But so what if she comes? It's a celebration."

"But still. Her being there means that things with Jacob will come up with the Council. He'll have to go back. She can't be there without Jake, no matter what my crazy brother is thinking right now."

"Well, if Seth is having a grad party, don't you think you BOTH should be there regardless? It's a big milestone for your little brother, Lee." Rebecca gives me a soft, chastening smile and I can only nod my head. "And you really need to stop keeping the baby a secret from Aunt Sue."

"I know…I KNOW, okay? I just…I'm just not ready," I retort grumpily.

"I know that too, Leah. It's me you're talking to here. I've tried to go back home a thousand times and never could do it."

"But you're right. And Seth is right. This whole thing is bigger than me and I have to go back. Staying here is cowardly, and it's not fair to Jacob or the pack."

"I'm sure your 'pack' misses you, and as the two leaders, you and Jake should go and settle whatever's going on with Sam and my father," Becca says, while opening pack of crackers to eat with her hummus. I grimace at the smell. The baby refuses to fuck with hummus anymore. All I seem to want to do is eat these days, but my tastes are becoming more refined. I love fruit and cheese and anything with pasta and sauce, but my meat cravings are increasing as well, much to Jacob's delight. He's sure it's a little wolf boy inside of me.

"I know…" I murmur. We have had this conversation enough times.

"You know what?" Becca muses suddenly, after we'd both gotten lost in snacking and watching the beach.

"What?" I jerk my head around to watch her.

"We're ALL going to go."

I snort. "Seriously?"

"Yes, the party is the perfect opportunity. I'll be with you and Jake, so my nerves won't be as bad as if I was going back alone."

"But wait, I'm confused – is Sol coming too?" Things between those two are still tense around the house, and Jacob and I try not to intrude on their privacy.

Rebecca grimaces and I can see her roll her eyes behind her sunglasses. "No. All of us except him. I need a break from everything going on with us. Sol will stay and take care of the house and his business. I need time to think about the future."

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yeah, I've been thinking about it for a while, since I found out about the wolves." I raise my brows in surprise. "I miss my sister, and I really want to get to know Lotus, to be an active part of her life. I want to…be a part of my family and my tribe again. If I'm honest with myself, there's nothing keeping me here, Lee. Sol and I…I just don't see a future for us anymore. He doesn't want to have kids, and I'm tired of waiting for him to change his mind. It's lonely here and watching you and Jacob, it just reminds me of everything I no longer have: a family."

"I'm sorry."

"No Leah, I'm glad. It's been a wake-up call. I can't keep living this life. I deserve to have more. I've been afraid to go back home because then it would mean that I failed, and I was too hasty to leave without a plan. But…maybe it doesn't matter. If Rach could do it, so could I."

I reach over and squeeze her arm. "You do deserve every happiness, and no one will think about whether or not you've failed. They'll just be happy to have you back, trust me."

"You know the same thing applies for you too right? I really believe that."

I snort at Rebecca's wishful thinking and shake my head. "Doesn't matter." But from what I can see, Sol needs Becca to leave his ass for a while, to make him truly appreciate the good woman he has. "I think you should go, if you're still feeling the pull to go."

"We'll do it together okay? It'll be fine, Lee."

"It could be worse, I guess. I'm glad you'll be there. You're the only one I've talked to about any of this, and I guess I've become a little dependent on having you with me."

"Me too, sissy. Then it's settled alright? We'll just take the plunge together and celebrate Seth and the baby while we're battling our demons."

I nod in agreement with a smile. "How do you think Sol will take the news?" I ask her, out of curiosity.

Rebecca snorts and shakes her head at me while laughing. "He'll be fine Leah. My husband is a survivor and an expert at making the best out of nothing…Plus he has Elise."

My jaw drops at her insinuation. "No Becc! He wouldn't!"

"Who knows?" she shrugs. "Honestly, I refuse to be bothered about that right now. I just want to get my life together."

I reach out for her hand to clasp. "I feel you."

"Plus, I'm just too excited to see everyone to be worried. Maybe when I get there I'll be paranoid. But for now, I just want to go home and see my sister and my niece, and figure out how the hell I can help Dad and Jacob."

I frown at the last part of her plan. "Maybe you shouldn't try to get involved."

"I can handle my father, Leah. Don't worry."

I sigh, knowing it's a waste of time trying to tell a member of the Black family NOT to do something.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Later, after Jacob booked our flights (using my vampire savings to pay for it), we snuggle in bed together. The sun has me completely beat, but I relish the warm feeling of my sun-kissed skin against the sheets, which have cooled from the air conditioning.

"So, we're really doing this huh?" he says, looking over at me.

"Mmhmmm," I murmur.

"I was thinking that while she's there, we can have her talk to the Council. We can fix everything before the baby comes, settle in, get our lives in order."

I prop one eye open and stare at his face. He's looking at me intently, and I realize that Jacob's seeking my approval and reassurance that I'm on board. "I know, Jake."

"You'll be okay with her being there, right?"

I take a deep breath. No I won't, but I will be. I have to be. "Yes."

"Thank you honey. I know all of this is hard, but you're strong, and we'll get through it together." Jacob leans over and kisses my cheek. "We can stay at the house the twins and I inherited. It's not much, it's pretty shitty actually, but you can make it more of a home until we can do better."

"Whatever we have together, I will be happy," I tell him, giving his cheek a stroke with my hand before turning over and getting more comfortable against him. It still it hurts to know that our perfect little bubble has been popped much too early for my liking. I know we have to go back home, and I know that sometimes, Jacob will have to tend to his imprint, but that doesn't mean that I have to like any of it. This was exactly what I'd tried to avoid by running away – becoming a person I don't like because of jealousy. I burrow further into Jacob's warmth, soaking in as much as I can to relieve my nerves.

"Leah, I know you're tired, but I really need you tonight."

I look up into Jacob's anxious eyes and nod, because suddenly, I need him too – more than ever. I need to remind myself of what I'm fighting for, why I can't crack under the pressure.

I pull myself higher so that our lips can meet. It doesn't take long for things to become heated. Jacob works quickly to undress us both, and this time, when he enters me, his movements are fast, but gentle at the same time. He's careful not to thrust too hard or too deep, in consideration of our baby, but the lack of wild abandon in our lovemaking makes me crave more.

"You smell so good honey," Jacob murmurs against my neck, to which I can only grunt in reply. He sucks and nibbles on my skin, "The wolf wants to mark you. I need to."

My eyes fly open in shock. If his wolf wants to claim me, I'd never resist. My wolf stirs in anticipation, seconding the decision. I can feel her warmth suddenly pulse around my uterus and I feel as though she's telling me that the mark will fortify the baby. "Yes," I breathe.

With no hesitation, Jacob pulls me up to sit in his lap. He knows when I ride him, I come easier, but I quickly understand that it will also allow him easy access to my neck. I start to move again, grinding on his dick at a slow pace, enjoying the build-up of pressure that I now feel working its way up from my toes to my thighs. Jacob begins to suck my neck as his hands move between my nipples and my hips. He moans but it quickly turns into a low growl, signaling that his wolf has come to the surface. Mine responds and I feel her warmth again, this time in my chest. My body starts to tremble but I know that we won't phase. At first it stings as his teeth break the surface of my skin, and I growl in response, but I'm quickly flooded with a tingling sensation as the magic of the marking pulses in my veins.

"Oh!" I moan, as my orgasm finally mounts. Jacob is quick to follow and its only when he's spent that he releases my neck and claims my lips instead. I can taste the copper of my blood on his tongue, but I don't care. The bonding is still in motion and we need to connect in every way possible. I continue to gyrate on his groin, which is only semi soft from ejaculation. It takes him no time to stiffen inside me again, and before I know it, Jake has me on the bed, flat on my stomach taking me from behind. With the wolf so close to the surface, he's less restrained this time, and I can't help the loud moans that escape me in response to his reckless abandon. I give back just as much as I take, my only desire being to fill his need for me in this moment, and mine for him.

"You're mine!" I insist, in a bit of an embarrassingly shrill voice, as another wave crashes over me. The sensation is mingled with a sense of possessiveness and need, from the marking. MY mate, my wolf growls within, reaching for his. I can feel the bond between them, I can feel us on that spiritual, magical level. It all but flattens me.

"I know baby," Jacob sighs, as he falls against my back to kiss the tender spot which is tingling as it begins to heal. "Always."

"Do you feel that?" I whisper as he pulls me into his chest to spoon.

"Yeah, I do honey. My wolf has officially claimed yours as his mate, for life." He chuckles, "We're finally on the same page for certain now."

"It feels so…like it's in my chest, like a cable to yours." I gasp in disbelief and surprise.

"Yeah, I didn't expect that part, it reminds me of how the imprint feels."

I shift then to look back at him, having forgotten all about THAT. "How was this even possible with the imprint?"

Jacob shrugs and kisses my forehead. "I don't know. Since I found out about the baby…it's just been there less and less."

"I guess when you see her, you'll know for sure."

"Yeah."

We lay quietly, both letting sleep come naturally, but the new sensation of the mark in my body is making it difficult for me. Jacob's used to this feeling but I certainly am not. "Why did you want to mark me?"

"I told you, the wolf wanted it," Jacob murmurs.

"But why? Was it just sexual?"

It takes him a few moments before he sighs and rolls away from my back so that he is flat on his. "No it wasn't."

I turn myself over so that I can look at him properly. He's staring at the ceiling. "Care to explain?"

Jacob looks over at me and shakes his head a little. "It's just…going back…you're pregnant and we'll be around Sam…and…lots of male wolves."

I snort. "Oh my gawd! You went all caveman on me? If I had known Jacob Black I would never have said yes." I can't believe how adolescent he's being.

"Le-ah," Jacob hisses impatiently. "I had to do it because it's the wolf's way of protecting you and our pup! Your scent, your skin, your hair, everything about you is just mouthwatering right now. The wolf HATES other men to be near you. And you have no idea how hard I try to keep my hands off of you out of respect for the baby." I suck in a loud, deep breath. It's totally territorial caveman bullshit and totally sweet at the same time. "After what you told me bout Sam, all I can think about is ripping his head off. I need to make sure that everyone knows you're ours. Between him and that leech... you don't know how I wish I could destroy anyone who hurt you."

I slide over and grasp Jacob by the chin, pulling his face to mine. "I love you. And I promise, the pack won't be an issue when we go back. I'll be around Seth and Embry the most, and they're my brothers. And I won't be near Sam unless you're with me. I'm asking your wolf to relax."

I press my hand to his chest and close my eyes, I reach for my wolf and I try to project what I feel through her. Jacob gasps and tightens his grip against me.

"I felt it. I love you too, honey. I'll try to behave." Jacob rolls over and covers me with his body. He kisses me slow and deep, while I rub my feet against his legs. When we finally break for air, he presses his lips to my mark and rolls away, so that we can both get some rest.

I'm exhausted now from the barrage of emotions, but I'm also blissfully sated. I feel complete as the magic of our bond hums within. The marking is Jake's way of showing me and everyone else that I'm the only one he wants, and that he'll always choose me. It allowed our wolves to establish a bond that felt natural, especially since we're have this baby together – all fricking four of us, when I really think about it. With that thought, I feel calm and ready to go home. I know now that I don't have to be afraid, because I've always had Jacob's love and his loyalty, and they're enough.

Another one of those meh chapters I wasn't sure about but I hope it was a good read all the same. Up next, Nessie goes home. Thank you for reading and reviewing! I enjoy reading them!