JACOB'S POV

I tilt my neck from side to side, attempting to relieve tension as I sit down in the garage at my father's old house. I frown, looking around. I used to have this place spotless. Now it's nothing more than a dirty storage unit for all of the crap Rach won't let Paul keep in the house.

I can't believe that Nessie went over my head like that and formed an alliance with the women. It's like she doesn't trust me to get things done with my own pack. It just feels like… betrayal. Not just betrayal, it feels … emasculating. So much about being a wolf is instinct and status among the other wolves. In no way have I ever, ever expected to own Nessie. But how am I supposed to give orders to my men and expect them to show me respect? My woman is going behind my back and doing whatever she wants, taking matters into her own hands… And then wants to have sex in the pick-up like nothing happened? Like I wasn't going to even be mad?

'So the bitches are in charge now?' what Sam said back there still gets to me. I feel my blood boil.

I try to shake off the agitation and start writing out all of the names of the men in my new larger pack.

Myself (Alpha)
Embry (Third)
Seth
Quil
Paul
Brady
Collin

Embry has been my third for so long. Arguably the most loyal among my pack. However, also imprinted on hellsp- … imprinted on Emma who happens to be my mate's daughter.

Seth has ties to Leah who is now with the Uley pack. I can trust him but perhaps it's best if he doesn't hold a rank… Though it might help keep him loyal. Misty is his niece… but then again so is Emma because Kat, his mate, is Foxworth's sister.

Quil is great but he is happy not holding rank because it gives him clearance to spend much more time with Claire and the twins.

Paul… My sister's mate. Loose cannon. Hotheaded… Was Sam's third so he is used to holding rank.

Collin is my cousin but was very loyal to Sam. I cannot rule out the possibility of him returning to the other pack.

Brady… just never really got to know the kid.

Figuring out a new beta and third is not going to be an easy task. I feel loyalty to the men of my old pack. However, I cannot show favouritism to them. If I give both the beta and third positions to men of my former pack, the new men who have just crossed over from Sam's pack could feel slighted. If I award beta to someone from Sam's pack, my own pack might feel betrayed. The only one from Sam's who should hold rank is Paul. But he was a third. What is the point of him crossing over if he remains a third or is stripped of his rank altogether?

Fuck it. I just have to make a choice and go with it.

I leave the garage and glance over to the pick-up. Nessie is no longer in the truck. I'll deal with her later. When I get back to the house I walk into the living room. All the men are sitting there with their respective mates. I do a quick count.

"Embry, come down here," I shout up the stairs and return to the living room.

"Hey," Embry says, coming downstairs. He looks around, "what's going on?"

"Just have a seat," I say and try not to feel intimidated by all of the eyes focused on me, "is Ness up there?" I ask Embry.

"No. Haven't seen her in a while. Is this going to take long? I want to get back to Emma," he asks, perching on the arm of the couch.

I ignore his question and address the room.

"Look, I assume that you all have your opinions on how things should happen and what just happened... Choosing who is going to be beta and third is not easy, alright. This choice is purely based on what I think is good for the pack," I say, looking around. Their eyes are all burning into me. I'm bothered that Nessie hasn't joined us in here yet. "Where's Nessie?" I glance around the room and notice a few of the women exchange looks amongst each other.

Rachel clears her throat and the women stop looking at each other.

"Rach?" I look at her.

"Nessie's not ready to join us yet," Rachel replies.

I exhale, "what the fuck does that mean?"

"Shhh!" Rachel hushes two of the women who whisper something to one another.

This is exhausting. I make eye contact with Claire because I know she is the easiest one to break. Claire does her best to maintain eye contact without giving anything away but then finally breaks and her eyes dart to the door which leads to the laundry room.

I nod to her and walk through the living room and knock on the door, "Ness, come out here, please," I start to feel myself getting nervous when she doesn't reply. Being ignored by my mate in front of my whole pack and their imprints is not the best for pack morale. She really doesn't understand the politics at play right now and how her being difficult could open me up to being challenged for the alpha rank by another male. "Ness?" again, she doesn't reply.

I curse under my breath and open the door. Nessie is sitting on top of the dyer, her eyes are puffy and her nose is pink. I can tell that she's been crying. She doesn't look up at me. I quickly move inside the room and pull the door shut when I sense the sea of eyes trying to figure out what's going on.

Great.

"No. No. Absolutely not. You cannot be in here crying right now, okay," I rub my face feeling annoyance, "I have to pick a beta and a third out there and I need you to show support," I explain but she won't look at me. "This is what you wanted, right? You went to so much trouble to make this all happen."

Nessie finally looks up. Tears roll over the ridges of her eyelids, "you think I orchestrated some elaborate take-over in less than 15 minutes of being here?" she shakes her head, "I'm that good," she says sarcastically.

Fuck.

"So you didn't- ?" I swallow. I feel a wave of shame roll over me.

"How can you ask me that? Of course I didn't do that," she says, looking down and breathes in deeply, "...did you not really mean it?" Nessie whispers.

"Mean what?" I ask.

"That you want me back?" she sniffles.

"What? Of course I meant it," I panic and quickly close the distance between us. I stand between her legs as she sits on the dryer with her head turned down, "I want you, Nessie."

"Until I do something or you think I did something wrong," her breath catching in her throat, "and then you leave me again," she says as more tears fall down her face.

"No. Never," I reply, "where is this coming from?" I ask, catching the tears with my fingertips and wiping them away. I wait for her to reply but she doesn't answer me.

"Don't you have to go out there?" Nessie motions to the door.

"You're my priority right now. They can wait," I reply and cup her face in my hands, "are you having doubts about us?"

"I wasn't," Nessie whispers.

"But now you are?" I ask, stroking her cheeks with my thumbs.

Nessie shrugs, "I don't know," she says, looking insecure. She takes in a shaky breath and tries to force herself to speak, "I just don't ... don't feel as though you still… feel the same… about me… about me as you did… back then," she says, her voice shakes violently, forcing her to take breaks between speaking as she struggles to get the words out.

My stomach sinks, "don't ever think that," I reply and lean my forehead against hers, "I love you so much," I whisper.

How did this happen? My confident, beautiful Nessie reduced to an insecure mess. Is this even the same girl who just hours earlier fearlessly dared me to bend her over the kitchen counter? And now she's uncertain that I love her still? Did I do this? I want her. The answer I gave her was yes. Yes, I want you back. Now she doesn't believe me?

"You should go out there," she says managing her get out an unbroken sentence.

I pull back, looking at her beautiful face in my hands, "not without you," I reply, "I want you by my side," I whisper.

"No… I can't go out there looking like this," Nessie replies and sniffles again.

I lean down and kiss her tenderly and then drop my hands from her face, "okay, what can I do?" I ask.

"I have some makeup in my purse," she says, "I don't know where I left it."

"Okay, I'll bring it to you," I kiss her again and walk back to the door. I look back to her but her face is downturned again with a conflicted expression. I thought that simply telling her that I wanted her back would be enough. Now I realise that I'm going to have to prove it to her. I've never seen this side of her before; vulnerable and insecure.

When I walk back into the living room everyone stops talking and looks at me. It looks like Embry went back upstairs to Emma.

"Rach," I motion for her to join me in the kitchen.

"What's up?" she asks, following me into the kitchen.

"Nessie wants to put on some makeup before she comes out. Can you find her purse and bring it to her?" I ask.

"Did you two reconcile?" she asks with a smug look, "that was quick," Rachel says grabbing Nessie's purse from under the table, "the way you bounced her off your lap like a beachball, man, I was expecting at least a month of sleeping on the couch for you," she laughs and is about to move past me but I grab her by the arm and yank her back.

"Wait… what?" I feel the blood drain from my face, "you saw that?" I swallow.

"Oh, honey, we all saw that," she teases.

Fuck.

"Does she know?" I gulp.

"Yeah, she knows everyone saw," Rachel gives me a sympathetic look.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

"She's really upset," I reply, crossing my arms tightly.

"You rejected her and everyone saw. She was humiliated," Rachel replies, "sounds like being a little upset is an appropriate reaction."

A little upset? She thinks I'm fixing to leave her.

"I didn't mean for anyone to see that," I reply, "I was angry… it shouldn't have even happened," I admit. Even if Nessie did have something to do with what happened, how I reacted was a mistake. The consequences of which I regret deeply; Nessie sitting in the laundry room crying, questioning the legitimacy of my desire to be with her.

"But it did. There are politics among the women just as there are politics among the men. As alpha, how you treat any member of the pack sends a clear message to the rest of us on how that person is to be treated."

"It's never been this way in my pack," I grit my teeth.

"Things have changed," Rachel replies, "You just went from a pack of 5 with 2 imprints to a pack of 7 with 7 imprints. You are responsible for 14 now," Rachel explains. "As your mate, Nessie is at top rank but right now… None of those ladies think she is worthy of that position ..."

"Fuck," I whisper, "can you talk to them?" I ask, I don't know what else to do.

"Um... no," Rachel laughs, "you have to fix this. I'm not getting involved without a rank. That's suicide," Rachel says and leaves me in the kitchen, taking Nessie's purse to the laundry room.

Fuck. It's just one fucking thing after the other. I watch Rachel discreetly let herself into the laundry room.

I head into the living room, "just talk amongst yourselves," I tell the group and go upstairs. I check in on River. I push the door to my old room open and glance inside. He's sleeping with a pillow over his head. I wonder if we're being too loud but then I hear his breaths are steady so I know he's sleeping. I leave the room and head down the hall to tell Embry to come back downstairs. I hear them talking.

"I think they're planning to hunt her down. All I know is that Misty is in big trouble, I don't know what they plan to do to her, though," I hear Embry whispering to Emma. I peak in, Emma is resting in bed and Embry is sitting in a chair next to her, leaning forward with his arms folded on the mattress.

"Do nothing," Emma replies, her voice is hoarse and weary sounding.

"She basically killed you, Emma," Embry replies.

"But I'm still here. What does it solve?" she asks, "I'm so tired of people blowing up their life because of me. Mom and that Jacob guy were like soulmates and I ruined everything. Everyone's life would have been better if I was never born."

"My life wouldn't be better," Embry replies quickly.

Emma smiles softly, "oh… that was good," she says complimenting his quick comeback and rests her hand on top of Embry's folded arms.

"Oh yeah?" he whispers, "you liked that?"

She nods.

He grins proudly for his quick thinking and leans in to kiss her.

I clear my throat, making myself known before things have a chance to get steamy.

Embry's head snaps to the door and he stands, "uh, hey… sorry, it's just you were taking a while and I-"

"It's fine," I reply, I don't intend to reprimand him for disobedience while his mate is recovering, "I just want to get this over with so everyone can go home. It's been a long day. Come down in like 3 minutes," I say, giving him time to wrap things up with Emma since I interrupted some kind of moment.

I descend the stairs. I know what I'm going to do. The obvious choice is to make Embry my beta and Paul my third. Embry has earned it for years of loyalty. Paul will ensure the new members don't stray.

Though, I know Paul. He's not going to like being under Embry. He didn't like being under Jared. The politics of choosing a beta and a third are not without drama. I stay hidden. I lean against the wall at the bottom of the stairs and look into the living room at the pack and their respective mates. Rachel was right. It's not just about the men. The women have power too. I see that now. After what just happened. It was the women who made this happen. If I'm going to make this work, I'm going to need Nessie by my side. She will need to govern the women. For that to happen they must respect her. I really fucked that up.

Embry comes to the bottom of the stairs and gives me a nod before sitting down on the arm of the couch. I glance to the back of the room when I see Rachel open the door and Nessie walk out. She stays in the back of the room next to Rachel, discreetly out of sight.

"Turn around, Annie" Rachel scolds Annie for turning around to look at Nessie.

I observe as the imprint, Annie, smirks and then turns around. She whispers in Collin's ear. Collin's eyes widen and he whispers something back.

Fuck.

I glance back at Nessie, she looks as though she desperately doesn't want to be here. It's like every shred of confidence has been torn away from her. Rachel whispers to Nessie and then runs her thumbs under her eyes before pulling out some kind of makeup stick and doing a touch-up. This is when I realize that Nessie needs Rachel as her beta more than I need Embry as mine.

"Okay, let's do this," I announce walking to the front of the room, "so that everyone can go home… First of all, I think we all learned a lesson in where power lies. The women, though do engage in combat, have a voice. So this is not a pack of 7 but a pack of 14. I don't think anyone would argue that after what happened tonight..."

I look around as they all watch me intently. Rachel has taken a seat next to Paul. I glance back to Nessie, standing alone, "come here, my love," I reach out a hand to her. Nessie looks hesitant to join me at the front but when everyone turns to look at her she has no choice but to walk through the group. She takes my outstretched hand and I pull her in front of me and securely wrap two arms around her, resting her back against my chest so that she is facing the group. I want this gesture to make a point; that above all else, Nessie comes first to me.

I lean into her hair and whisper in her ear, "don't let these bitches intimidate you. You're my queen," I remind her. I peak around her hair to see a small smile on her face so I hold her tighter and lean my chin down on her shoulder and kiss her cheek, adoringly, making a show of my affection for her. This catty bullshit needs to be over. I can't have any of these imprints treating Nessie as though she is of lesser value.

When I look back up I give a warning glare at Collin and his imprint who I had observed whispering about Nessie earlier. Collin swallows.

"Alright, Paul, you're beta. Embry will remain third," I say quickly, as I stand at the front of the room, holding Nessie lovingly. Her hands rest on my arms.

"You're fucking kidding," Emrby scoffs.

"No. And I don't want to hear it from you, Embry," I warn him.

Embry shuts up and crosses his arms. I'll talk to him about it later. I look over to Quil and Seth who look equally confused and a little bit miffed as well.

I glance at Paul who is shocked at my choice. Rachel wraps her arms around her mate and hugs him tightly with a big smile on her face.

"I wasn't expecting… Uh… thanks," Paul is at loss for words. That's a first.

"Everyone go home. It's been a crazy night," I dismiss everyone.

It takes a while for the pack and their mates to file out and go home. The only ones who remain are Paul and Rachel as it is their home, Nessie and myself and Embry and Emma. We agree to discuss further in the morning once everyone has rested.

"Are you sure?" Rachel asks again as she tucks the corners of the fitted sheet around the mattress of the fold-out couch in the living room, "Paul and I don't mind sleeping down here."

Emma and Embry are in Rachel and Paul's room. River is in my old room. The only room left is Dad's old room. I just can't. Being in there hurts too much.

"Really, it's fine," I reply.

"I'm still not over you choosing Paul as your beta," Rachel smiles. Paul and I have never been close. Cordial only because of Rachel.

"Rach, I don't mean to be rude but I don't really want to talk about it anymore tonight," I reply, "this day has been something else."

"Your right. The whole Emma thing…" Rachel says.

"That and I finally told Brielle that we're not going to be together," I mumble.

"Oh, shit… how'd that go?" Rachel asks.

"Also something I'd rather not discuss at the moment," I reply.

"Sorry," Rachel replies and then looks over my shoulder as Nessie comes down the stairs.

I turn to look at her. She's in an old oversized hoodie she managed to find in my old room. It's tattered and discoloured with bleach stains. My eyes wander to her long beautiful legs. She's stunning. Nessie catches me looking and I observe her cheeks take on a pink hue.

"Well, good night," Rachel says quickly, leaving me to finish making the fold-out bed as she witnesses the obvious interaction.

"You look beautiful," I smile at her as I finish putting the bed together.

"Okay," she chuckles, not convinced as she looks down at the derelict hoodie. "Which side do you want?" she asks, standing by the fold-out sofa.

I'm almost too mesmerized by how attractive she looks to register her question, "oh… Um… I dunno. Whichever side you don't want, I guess," I reply. I feel exhausted. Honestly, I'm ready to just pass out. However, due to my earlier blunder, I have already committed to showing Nessie tonight how very much I want her. I begin to slide my jacket off when I stop myself.

"What's wrong?" she asks as she gets into the bed on the left side.

"I can't remember if I locked the truck," I lie, "I'll be right back," I pull the sleeve of my jacket back on and hurry out to the truck. It's dark and quiet, apart from the crickets and the sound of shoes crunching against the gravel. I open the door to the truck and pop the glovebox. I tear open one of the boxes of condoms and pocket a foil packet. I am about to close the box when I decide to grab two more… you know… in case things go really well.

When I return inside I cannot tell if Nessie has already fallen asleep. I strip down to my boxers and strategically leave my jeans next to the bed for easy access to the condoms I just retrieved. I slide under the covers and reach out to locate Nessie. She is on her side, facing away from me. I gently tug on her shoulder.

Nessie rolls onto her back and turns her head to look at me, "hm?"

"I'm sorry," I whisper when it occurs to me that I haven't actually said the words to her even though I've felt so much remorse all night long for doing something that made her question my commitment to her. I place my hand on the side of her face, "I don't want you to ever have doubts… I intend to be with you no matter what. I love you so much."

"I love you too," she whispers in return.

I lean forward and kiss her lips once and then give her tender kisses along her jaw and behind her ear. She expels a swoonful sigh.

Good.

My hand leaves her face, trailing down her neck and grazing her collarbones with my fingertips. I locate the zipper of the old hoodie. I hold it between my finger and thumb and then tug it down just a little bit to gauge her willingness to participate.

Nessie breathes in when she realizes what I'm doing. She releases her breath and swallows. Her hand comes up to rest on my forearm. There is just enough starlight coming through the window for me to see her biting her lower lip. I continue to tug down on the zipper until it finally disconnects and the hoodie opens. Nessie glides her fingers over my forearm until our hands meet. I bring her hand up to my lips and kiss her knuckles softly then lay her arm down to rest on the mattress next to her body.

I slide my hand into the opening of the hoodie, running my rough palm along the contours of her soft skin. My heart rate has already started to pick up.

I worship her body, taking rigorous mental notes of which touches illicit a moan or a gasp. The more sensitive touches, I follow up with tender kisses; discovering new methods of pleasuring my lover. Along the way, discarding the hoodie with all of her undergarments as well as my boxers. They were getting in the way.

"Shhh," I hush her when the volume of a gasp exceeds a polite level. We're not alone in this house.

"Sorry," she whispers.

I smirk and return my lips to the inside of her thigh. My hand is hooked under her knee as I kiss the newly discovered point of pleasure. I had no idea her inner thighs were so sensitive. I will remember this for future occasions. I glance up at her and watch as she holds two hands tightly over her mouth while her back arches involuntarily. The salacious display of her arousal turns me on in a desperate kind of way. In a throbbing and almost painful kind of way.

Unable to restrain myself any longer, I return to the top of the bed, kissing Nessie's lips passionately. I press myself against her for the purpose of some much-needed friction but also to let my own arousal be known.

She moves her legs apart, cradling me between her thighs. I pull back from her kiss so that I can hang an arm off the side of the sofa bed. I rummage through the pockets of jeans, piled on the floor, to retrieve a condom.

I hold it out for her to see, "do you want to?" I whisper.

"Yes," she whispers quickly without hesitation.

Once I am situated with the condom I arrange myself over Nessie but she stops me, holding her hands out against my chest.

"What?" I whisper, unsure of why she is stopping me.

Nessie slides her hands up my chest and then pushes against my shoulders. I follow her lead and lay down on my back. My heart thuds in my chest when I realize it is because she desires to be on top. My hands hover above her hips, not touching her but prepared to help if she needs it. This position always makes me nervous for her. However, it is the only position that will satisfy her when she is in a particular mood.

It is a humour among the pack that we are all large men; blessed to be well-endowed. Though, question any one of us who have found our mate, at times it is nerve-wracking. Particularly, in the beginning when the relationship between a wolf and imprint turns sexual. It's difficult to enjoy those first experiences when you are terrified of hurting your mate. Nessie was always quick to humble me, though. Encouraging me to get over myself whenever I asked if I was too much for her. Even so, there were times I would discreetly lean my face into her palm in order to sneak clarification that she was okay. As I had suspected, she didn't always find lovemaking to be easy with me.

I try to put it out of my mind and enjoy the view of my lover riding me. But as I observe her I feel the urge to check in when I sense she is struggling, "are you okay?" I whisper. I can't help myself.

"I might be out of practice," she admits with a shy smile. It has been a while since we did this.

I grin at her admission and sit up, supporting her body with two arms. She grips my shoulders tightly, using them as leverage to keep up the momentum. She chooses a pace of adequate pleasure for both of us that also limits the squeaking of springs from the old sofa bed. We make love like this for what seems like a long time and yet not nearly long enough. Nessie's shaky breaths finally give way to her release. I crush my lips against hers to stifle her breathy moans. My release soon follows.

We remain entangled with one another, soaking in the euphoria of post lovemaking bliss. I nestle my face in her soft hair, breathing in her intoxicating scent. When I pull back to look at her face I see that tears have flooded her eyes. She blinks rapidly, attempting to dry them without dampening her cheeks.

I softly chuckle, "have I moved you to tears?" I tease her.

She blushes and hides her face in the crook of my neck which makes me just want to hold her tighter.

Eventually, we untangle from one another. The day finally catches up to us and we both fall asleep in each other's arms.

I can't believe we're almost at chapter 100!

New chapter on the way.
Please leave a review!