Hello, darlings.

Thank you so much for your support during this ride. Thank you for silently reading this fic, thank you for reviewing, for adding it to your favorites. Any support you showed to this story is greatly appreciated.

I think this is the last chapter. I will be marking this story as complete. However, there would probably be some outtakes coming; but I don't promise anything.

I will continue with Red Moon, as well as starting its wolf pack counterpart. I have some ideas for the wolf pack compilation, but I will probably start uploading next week.

Don't forget to add me to your author's alert so you can keep up with anything new that I may come up with.

In the meantime, review, alert, and be safe.

SILVER

Chapter 27: Home.

"I need to know." She said with her phone in her hand and the screen alight with the person's name she needed to call.

He understood. "Call them." She immediately pressed the video call option. They didn't have to wait too long, as the call was answered within seconds.

Esme gasped as she took a look at Bella. She had a gauze on her forehead that hid her most evident injury. Unfortunately, the gauze did not hide the nasty bruises forming around the cut, and Paul hated it, but there was nothing else he could do about it save letting it heal on its own.

"Dear child, what on earth happened to you?" Esme's exclamation was so sincere that Bella wanted to believe her. Carlisle, however, didn't look surprised.

"You don't know?" Paul raised an eyebrow, incredulous. He had decided to stay behind the phone. They knew Bella was not unprotected and that they were married. There was no need to remind them that they were dangerously close to being killed as well.

"Know what?" Esme pressed, feeling anxious.

Bella noticed that Carlisle couldn't look her in the eyes, and she wondered when he had let Edward dictate the moralities of his family. When had he allowed Edward to be the only important thing in his family. It was clear he knew what had happened.

"What happened to me, Carlisle?" Paul's eyebrows raised up even more as he listened to his wife's intonation. He knew she was brave, and she had come out of her shell the moment she slapped him silly the first time they met. But he never heard her challenge them like that.

"I don't know."

Bullshit. Paul thought. He knew the man was lying just by how quickly he answered.

Bella sat straighter on the sofa, wincing slightly at the pain in her leg. Paul went quickly to her, helping her get more comfortable.

"Thank you." She whispered to her husband, who left a kiss on her temple. She motioned for him to sit next to her, and he complied in silence.

Paul didn't greet the people on the phone, and they did the same, politely ignoring each other.

"Bella, sweety. What happened?" Esme's voice quivered. She needed to know because her imagination was worse. And she didn't want to believe that she had been so blind.

"Edward tried to kill me." Esme gasped.

"No." She whispered, horrified.

Carlisle, again, didn't utter a word. It wasn't Bella's place to break them up. But Esme had the right to know, and she did as well. The fact that Carlisle didn't look surprised could mean many different things.

"You don't look surprised, Carlisle." She accused.

Esme turned her head to see her husband. He didn't meet her eyes. Esme gasped once again. But this time, her gasp broke Bella's heart.

"You didn't." Esme started backing away from Carlisle, who was now out of frame.

"I didn't know he would actually do it. I thought he was just delirious." He tried to defend himself but ended up burying himself deeper.

"I am so sorry, Bella. I swear I didn't know anything." Esme rushed to say.

Bella believed her.

"From this day on, I don't want anything from you." Paul put his hand on her thigh, offering her his silent support. "Forget about me, about Forks, and my family. If you set foot ever again in Forks, I'll see that the pack destroys you. Whether it's this pack or any future one. You are not welcome anymore in this land." She had talked about this with Paul, and he was more than happy to oblige. He didn't want his kids turning into wolves and dealing with such a big responsibility. It was hard enough seeing Collin and Brady go through it at just thirteen. And they were the tame ones.

Bella and Paul didn't wait for any answer on Esme or Carlisle's part. They didn't care anymore. She blocked the number on their phones but did not delete it. Better have it blocked, than not have it, just in case.

She set the phone down and let out a sigh, feeling as if a weight was lifted off her shoulders.

"I can't believe Carlisle knew something was going on and didn't say anything. I thought he had more sense than that." She thought out loud.

Paul shrugged. He never expected any of them to be decent, so he wasn't disappointed. But he knew Bella loved them once, and it sucked for her.

"They've been warned, at least. And we'll make sure that the elders write this down for the passing generations. I don't care if it's two hundred years from now. They will not be returning to Forks." In fact, to make his statement clear, he was going to burn down that damn mansion of them.

Bella nodded and absentmindedly rubbed her lower belly. Paul caught the gesture and felt his insides turn. "Is there something you want to share with the rest of us?" He asked carefully, motioning to Bella's hand.

She frowned, following his eyes. She blushed deeper and darker than he'd ever seen her blush. She moved her hand quickly. She shook her head vigorously, still not recovering her normal color. They talked about kids once, but it was more of a joke back then and not a serious conversation. She knew she wanted to have kids with Paul one day, but it was way too soon for that.

She tried to hide her face in his chest, but he wasn't having it. Now, deeply curious, he moved and tilted Bella's head with a finger on her chin. "Why are you hiding?"

She shrugged. He subtly sniffed the air for any changes in her scent but caught nothing. If she had been pregnant, the doctors would have said something sooner and would have been monitoring the baby as well. So, she wasn't pregnant, he decided. But why was she blushing like that?

"Do you want kids?" She asked timidly.

"If you had asked me this question a year ago, I would have said no." She frowned, confused.

"What changed?"

"You." He simply said. "When I fell in love with you, I could see everything in my future. I could see us getting married, starting a family. I could see everything I was too scared of, but I knew that I would, I could face anything if you were with me."

Bella's face broke into a big smile. Paul was not the most romantic man out there, but he had his moments. She leaned towards him and kissed him gently.

"Do you want kids?" He asked in return.

"I do." She nodded. "But not now. Maybe a few years from now."

He nodded too. "I also think we're not ready for a baby right now." He kissed her temple once more.

They settled down after ordering pizza and putting on a movie.

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Two years had passed, and despite vampire activity still being a thing on the reservation, none of them represented an actual threat to anyone's life. The Cullen's stayed true to their word and never returned, never contacted her again. Bella would always remember them fondly, but she wanted nothing to do with them. A week after her release from the hospital, the pack burned down the mansion in the outskirts of Forks. As the house was so secluded, no one alerted the firefighters or the police. Charlie learned about the fire by accident when he heard Seth and Leah talking about it once. He almost arrested the entire pack for arson but let it slide with a warning.

"I'm protecting my family, Charlie." It was all Paul said to his father-in-law. Charlie understood, but he still did not agree with their means.

Bella was in her second to last year of college, finishing the semester, to be specific. She only had one more final exam before Christmas, and then she would also be having her last week at her internship. She had secured a spot at La Push's high school as their psychologist. Bella couldn't be happier about it. Sue was glad someone who was in on the secret would be at the school to guide the kids. Collin and Brady were the only ones left in school, having three years still to go. They were happy to have a friend at school when things got difficult.

But Bella was currently miserable. She did her final exam with her mind elsewhere. She had to finish her internship a few days early because she kept feeling sick. One morning she woke up throwing up her dinner from the day before. She could barely keep anything in her stomach, and she was exhausted.

Angela had told her to take a pregnancy test, just in case. Bella doubted that she was pregnant but did it anyway.

She got the surprise of her life when she saw the positive sign. She bought three more tests, and fifteen minutes later, she sat in the bathroom holding four positive pregnancy tests.

She missed her husband then more than anything. She hadn't seen him for a month. She had tons of studying to do, and he was busy with the last additions he had designed for their home, on top of a big project for the company he was working for.

She called him at night, knowing he would be home by then.

He picked up immediately. "Hey, baby." He greeted enthusiastically. "Aren't you supposed to be at work right now?"

She shook her head. "I finished early."

Paul noticed her red eyes. "Were you crying?"

At that, Bella started crying again. She was overwhelmed and happy but so damn tired. On top of studying and working, she had to pack her dorm room because she was done with college. She had finished her four-year program in three years. She had decided to apply for an internship in her third year, seeing as she only had two subjects, and the money she would make would definitely come in handy. She had spoken with the dean of her faculty and handed the paperwork for early graduation. She was to graduate in February.

"I'm just tired. And I miss you so much." She had been counting down the days. And tomorrow, she would be seeing him again. Tomorrow she would tell him about their baby. He thought she was coming home three days from now, but this surprise was planned in advance.

He groaned. "I miss you too. So much." They had managed during these three years to see each other every week or every two weeks if their responsibilities were too much. Most of the time, it was every two weeks, and they managed to make it a tradition of their own. It was the first time they spent so much time without the other, and despite their lives being as normal as they could be, they discover that the pull of imprinting was too strong, and being kept apart for so long was physically hurting Paul. However, he didn't say that to her.

Embry and Angela had also learned about long-distance relationships and its strain on their imprint bond. They were, alongside Bella and Paul, the only two couples who had managed a long-distance relationship within the pack.

"I'll see you in three days." She gave him a watery smile.

"And then, you won't leave again." His answering smile was brilliant.

Angela knocked on her door, bringing soup with her. Angela didn't know that Bella had taken the pregnancy tests. She wanted Paul to be the first to know. But that didn't deter her from bringing comfort food to her friend.

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The following day, Bella arrived home in the early afternoon. Paul opened the door quickly when he heard her car approach, running to her, barely letting her come out of the car before swiping her in his arms and hugging her. His girl, his imprint, was home. Finally.

She giggled at the immense relief she felt at being held by him again.

Paul started leading her towards the house, but she laughed and stopped him. "What are you doing?"

"I need something from the car." She said, opening the driver's door and getting her purse, where she had a little box with one of her pregnancy tests and a note that said 'I can't wait to meet you, daddy.'

She was excited to tell him about their baby. She would figure something out with the school. In this day and age, she could schedule online meetings with her students when she went on maternity leave.

Paul observed her silently, still not believing that she had come home early.

They walked hand in hand into the house, where Bella told Paul to sit on the couch. He did so obediently. He wanted her, now. But apparently, she had other ideas in mind. She extended the small blue box to him, which he took as if it held a ticking bomb.

"I got you a gift." She said, pointing to the box. "Open it."

The first thing Paul took out was the little note. His eyes widened, and he rushed to take out the pregnancy test. She hadn't had the time to go to a doctor for a sonogram, so this was the best she could do in such a short time.

He looked back and forth from the note and test to her a few times. She nodded, smiling and wiping the tears falling through her face.

He stood up and gathered her softly in his arms. "This explains it."

She snorted. "Explains what? And I would be very careful with your next words."

He laughed, kissing her forehead. "Your scent has changed. I caught it the last time I saw you, but I thought it was because we had just had sex, not because you had conceived. Now I definitely know why I thought your scent had changed."

She nodded, barely understanding what he said. But she didn't care. "Are you happy about this? I know we had decided to wait at least five years…" Paul put a hand on her mouth, effectively shutting her up.

"I am happy about this. I don't care if it came two years early."

She smiled happily. "Now, how about we celebrate properly?" She jumped and tangled her legs in his waist. He held her up and walked towards their bedroom.