PREVIOUSLY-
"Dammit bro, how am I supposed to go patrol after that?" Jared asked Sam pleadingly once we got back. I realized it must've been around noon and he would have to leave soon.
"It has to be done, Jared. It's only an hour." Sam told him.
He huffed and came up to me, kissing me sweetly before shedding his shorts right there, throwing them to me as he took off out the door.
"You're still cold, honey," Sam said as I felt my teeth starting to chatter. "Do you want to take a hot bath to warm up?"
The idea did sound amazing so I found myself nodding to him in agreement.
Once upstairs, Sam ran the water for me in the bath and I disrobed, having already lost the nervousness I'd felt previously. Climbing into the hot water felt wonderful and I found myself closing my eyes and sighing at the feeling, although the heat from the hot bath didn't carry the same level of comfort that snuggling with my two wolves did.
"Do you want me to let you relax on your own or do you want me to stay in here?" He questioned.
I smiled over at him. "Stay. I want you to tell me everything about you."
So he did. He rested his back up against the tub and told me so many things. It truly made me appreciate everything about him all the more. To become what he was - a confident, strong, fearless alpha - from how his life started out with an abusive absentee father and a mother who was constantly terrified for her life and the life of her child with no way out… I was so proud of him.
After I got out and dried off, Sam handed me a new set of sweats and said that Jared would thank him later with a chuckle.
I dressed in them and began to make my way down the stairs although Sam insisted on walking in front of me just in case I tripped over my sprained ankle and fell, which in my experience had been very possible.
I made us some lunch with Sam's help and by the time I was done, Jared came walking in through the doorway.
He walked up to me immediately and stopped in his tracks when he got close, closing his eyes and breathing in deeply before opening them and gathering me in his arms, kissing all over my face as I giggled.
"Spirits, you smell so good I just want to —" he cleared his throat, "uh - probably calm down." He changed course halfway through his sentence. "How the hell were you so calm when she was wearing your clothes yesterday?" He directed to Sam who then chuckled.
"Because I was expecting it. I brought her the clothes, I was prepared for it. You weren't, therefore, your current reaction." Sam explained to him as my mouth formed an 'o'.
"So let me guess, these are Jared's clothes and since you're wolves and wolves are territorial, me smelling like you makes you happy?" I wondered if I was correct, and I didn't have to wait long to find out.
"On the damn nose, babe. I have to say though, it's fucking mesmerizing. I can't wait to find out what it's like when you really smell like us." Jared said before Sam smacked him on the shoulder, giving him a pointed look.
I was confused for a minute until I realized what he meant by it and blushed deeply.
"When you're ready for that," Sam told me. "You know there's no rush on anything, honey."
"I know." I smiled up at him. "We'll get there."
"On another note, Billy said he'd be coming by around 2 to talk to us about a plan for graduating early. He said he's already talked to Charlie about something this morning, but he didn't say what." Jared stated as he picked up a plate of food and began eating.
I wondered about what Billy could've possibly told him and I only hoped it would play in favor of what needed to happen.
"I have an idea of what it could be but I'm not saying anything until Billy gets here and tells us himself," Sam mentioned, making me look at him pleadingly, wanting to know. "I promise Bella, you're not going to get it out of me until I know for sure. Puppy dog eyes or not, I don't want to get your hopes up."
I huffed in disappointment.
"Damn bro, you've got a stronger resolve than I do for sure. I would've caved at that face in no time." Jared told him, making me laugh.
"An alpha has to make a decision and stick to it," Sam replied to him immediately. It made sense, and although I didn't like it, I respected it.
We finished eating and before I knew it, the boys heard Billy's truck pull into the driveway and Sam walked out to help him inside.
When he got inside, Jared and I walked over to him and he smiled.
"Bella, I see congratulations are in order. You don't know how relieved I am that this came to be, although something inside gave me a feeling it would." Billy told me happily. I should've listened to him sooner about staying away from the Cullens.
"Thank you, Billy," I responded back with a smile as Jared placed his arm around my waist.
"I see that the three of you are getting along well." He chuckled, noticing Jared's action.
"Yeah, you could definitely say that," I replied as both Sam and Jared smirked proudly.
"I wanted to come over to discuss what the council has decided in regard to Charlie as well as the early graduation," Billy said, motioning for us to sit on the couch while he wheeled himself over to join us.
"What was the decision?" Sam asked him, clearly asking about what he knew. I listened intently.
"It was a unanimous decision to bring Charlie into the fold. Although he is not Quileute himself, he has does have family ties to the tribe. We feel he is trustworthy, understanding, level-headed, and it will be the only way he'll understand Bella's situation. However, it will be up to the three of you to decide how you'd like to explain your relationship to him, although I will say that Charlie respects honesty over all else."
My eyes widened at his declaration. Charlie was going to know about the pack? That meant we wouldn't have to ever lie to him about what was happening, and it made me so relieved that I nearly cried at the thought.
"I hoped that would be the case, but I knew I had to go through you first. Do you think he'll take it well?" Sam asked Billy as I watched, still in complete shock.
"Charlie knows of the legends and he also knows there is much I haven't told him about the inner workings of the tribe. He's questioned me several times as to how you were able to find Bella so quickly, as well as the fact you were only wearing shorts in 40-degree weather. Having him in the know about the pack will also be beneficial in more than one way. He continues to search the forests for the 'animal' that is attacking the hikers and we all know that it is no animal. I am worried for his safety should another cold one appear." Billy explained to us, continuing to astound me.
Still surprised, my thoughts returned to something he'd mentioned. "Dad has family ties to the tribe?" I questioned.
Billy turned to me and smiled. "Charlie's aunt Molly was Old Quil's late wife. Young Quil Ateara V and yourself share the same great-grandfather." I hadn't known that.
I then turned to Sam. "So this was your idea?"
"I thought it would be the best option as long as the council approved," Sam replied to me, smiling.
"But I thought you could only tell pack member's parents?" I questioned, making both Sam and Jared chuckle.
"You are a pack member now, babe, just as much as the rest of us," Jared whispered in my ear.
I sat back and took a moment to process what they were telling me. Charlie would know about the pack and we'd be able to explain to him about our relationship and how it was the way it was. The relief I felt was palpable.
"As for you being able to graduate early, the council has agreed that under special circumstances, the reservation will take responsibility for your schooling. Your position as an imprint grants you tribal status, thus making you eligible for tribal school acceptance. If you agree to this, you have two different options. Either attending La Push High School or being tutored remotely and taking your final exams in December." I almost couldn't believe what I was hearing. I looked over at Sam then at Jared, who's eyes were wide at the news as well.
"Tutored remotely? Who would be my tutor?" I questioned him curiously.
"You have two of them sitting right next to you." He replied with a mischievous smile.
"Well, I definitely know what I want your answer to be," Jared told me as he squeezed my thigh almost excitedly. In fact, I could feel elation and hope coming from both of them and I already knew what my answer would be. None of us could afford for either Sam or Jared to be distracted if another vampire came into the area, especially when their lives were on the line.
"Do you think you guys can handle that?" I asked them both, trying not to give myself away too much.
"I know I can," Sam replied. "Jared, can you manage to keep yourself on topic when it comes to Bella's school work and not get distracted?"
"If it means getting to keep her down here then definitely," Jared replied quickly. "So what's it going to be, babe?"
I looked back at Billy. "Um, I think I want to do the tutoring. The course material isn't that difficult anyway and I know that it would make things a lot easier for these two because they won't be distracted by me being at school or all the way in Forks."
It was the truth too. I had felt their worry and hesitation about me going back to school when we'd spoken about it before.
Now all I could feel was their extreme relief at my answer. Relief and excitement.
"If that is your decision, I'll make the necessary calls to Forks High School tomorrow morning to have your records transferred," Billy stated with a proud smile. I had a feeling that was the answer he'd wanted as well.
"Thank you, Billy, so much," I said to him in complete honesty.
"Of course, Bella. I hope the three of you don't mind, but I've invited Charlie down here for a fish fry dinner this evening at 5 pm. He'll come to my house and I'll drive him over. Jacob is still not ready to know about the pack yet so I felt it would be better to tell Charlie where we could speak freely." Billy told us.
"I agree. Do you already have the trout or should Jared and I go fishing?" Sam asked with a laugh and I looked at him with a confused expression.
"I've got some, but I think Bella might enjoy seeing you catch some more." Billy chuckled along.
I was still confused as Sam told Billy thank you again and started wheeling him back out to his truck. We all said our goodbyes and that we'd see him in a few hours before he took off out the driveway.
When he was gone, I looked at both of the boys. "We're going fishing?"
They both chuckled. "No. We're going fishing," Jared said, motioning to himself and Sam. "You're watching."
I was still confused but I figured that I would find out soon enough.
"Shall we?" Sam said, motioning toward the doorway.
We all climbed into Sam's truck and he drove us about halfway up to Forks before pulling off the side of the road and parking it.
After getting out of the truck, he pulled a cooler out of the back, and Jared held my hand, helping me down into the woods so that I wouldn't trip.
"Don't you guys need some, I don't know, fishing gear?" I asked and they both just laughed.
"Just wait for it, babe," Jared replied.
After walking a little way in, I could hear the river ahead.
Jared carried me down the steep bank that led to the water and sat me down on a boulder next to the river.
Sam set down the cooler and opened it before the both of them began to shed their shorts, tossing them to me before they phased on the spot.
So they were fishing… as wolves.
They walked into the water and within moments, Sam was pulling a trout out of the water with his teeth and tossed it directly into the cooler as I watched in fascination.
Less than a minute later, Jared had done the same thing. It was clearly a very efficient way of fishing.
About 12 fish later, they both jumped out of the water and phased back, shaking out their wet hair as they did so.
"Okay, so now I understand what you guys meant." I giggled.
Sam closed the cooler and Jared carried me back up the bank, setting me down in the woods.
"What did you think about our version of fishing?" Sam asked me with amusement.
"I feel like Charlie is definitely going to be jealous. I didn't even think about you guys going wolf for fishing." I replied with honesty while we walked back to the truck.
When we got back to the house-
Wait. Would I be living there now?
I looked at Sam before we climbed out of the truck.
"Hey, if everything goes the right way tonight with my dad, does that mean I'll technically be living here now?" I questioned quickly, apparently making Jared think about it for the first time as well.
"Holy shit, yes!" Jared exclaimed excitedly.
Sam chuckled and looked over at me. "Yes, honey."
We walked inside and Sam pulled out what we needed to make the fish fry while Jared began preparing the fish.
"Go sit down, babe. Let us take care of this meal. Trust me, Sam's fish fry is the shit." Jared told me. "Might be the only thing he can cook, but it's pretty awesome. You need to rest anyway."
I didn't try to argue, instead walking to the couch and putting my feet up. I grabbed the comfortable blanket off the back of the couch and threw it over myself to keep me warm.
I must've fallen asleep because the next thing I knew, I was being shaken awake. When I opened my eyes, Sam was leaning over me.
"You've gotta wake up, honey. Billy and Charlie are on their way over." He said to me, brushing a piece of hair out of my face.
That woke me up quickly. I sat up immediately and ran my fingers through my hair, trying to brush out the tangles and make myself look presentable.
"Do I look okay?" I asked him.
"You look perfect." He replied immediately.
"Biased," I muttered under my breath.
"Biased, but not wrong." He whispered in my ear, kissing the side of my head before helping me to my feet. "I promise you look fine. It's just your dad, Bella."
"I know, I guess I'm just nervous about how he's going to react," I responded honestly, fearing the worst.
"I'm sure Billy is already softening him up before he even gets here. Calm down, it'll all be alright." He tried to reassure me.
"Where's Jared?" I asked him curiously, noticing my other imprint was missing.
"He's out back starting the bonfire." He replied. "And they're pulling up. You ready?"
I took a deep breath. "No, but I guess it's better to just get it over with."
A/N- Up next: Charlie!
What do you think about Billy's solution and what do you think Charlie will say?