(JPOV)
Bella's reunion with Alice had gone better than expected. Jacob had hoped she could provide some answers about what Edward wanted from Bella. The pixie-like vampire had none, and with the wolves standing next to her, no visions came.
Paul kindly escorted the tiny vampire across La Push for Bella when Alice left and rejoined everyone afterward.
Meanwhile, Jacob piggy-backed Bella back to their group, where the party was now underway. The wolves patiently waited for the humans to get their plates and Paul's return before tearing into the food. By the time they worked past the tables, there wasn't anything left.
When it was time to cut her birthday cake, Charlie surprised Bella with a small, personal cake. She turned to Jacob with happy tears. He laughed as she grabbed two forks and sat down next to him. Jacob nodded his thanks to Charlie for keeping with their tradition before pulling her unwrapped present from his pocket.
Bella squealed over the wide hand-carved wooden wrist cuff, the outside of which had the faces of all eight wolves painstakingly etched into it. Jacob's and Paul's faces were side-by-side in the center. He had focused much of his free time and heartache on the piece over the last two weeks, patiently adding the wolves in tiny detail. Judging by her reaction, he had done very well. Bella immediately put it on and was thrilled that it fit, perfectly covering the scar James left behind.
Despite her happiness, Jacob could feel something bothering her throughout the night. There was a sadness in her over the last week that she refused to acknowledge any time he asked. Jacob suspected she still intended to move out and had been bracing himself for the news for days. He couldn't help but feel they'd reached the end of an era. Things were changing, whether they were ready for it or not.
By night's end, Bella was tipsy and chose to go home with Paul. Those who stayed behind cleaned up the mess before sitting to enjoy what remained of the fire.
Lounging on the blanket Jacob brought with them, he was surprised when Embry plopped beside him.
Buzzed, Embry mumbled, "What's good, Buddy?"
"Oh, just chilling," Jacob said and sipped his soda. "Thinking about heading home."
"Everything okay with you? You're quiet lately."
Jacob chuckled at the worried expression on Embry's face. "I'm okay," he lied. "I miss Rae. Things with Bella are weird lately. It'll all work out, though."
Embry scoffed. "What do you think it is that she sees in Paul?"
"Paul is a good guy. He's grown up a lot. He's changed since meeting her too. They're good together."
"If you say so," Embry grumbled.
"What is it that you have against Paul, anyway?" Jacob sat up to better see his friend. "I know you've crushed on Bells for years, dude, but there's more to it than that."
"I don't know. It's just that it's Paul. Every time I've even considered taking an interest in somebody, it's like he humps their leg before anyone else can say hello."
"Yeah," Jacob laughed, nodding. "I think we've all been there. But, I mean it, Embry. He's different with Bella. He genuinely loves her. Like, unconditionally loves her."
Scowling, Embry challenged, "How can you be so sure?"
Jacob cringed guiltily, instantly recalling the brokenhearted look on Paul's face that night in the living room. "Just trust me. I know. Besides that, you've felt it in the Pack's mind. You know it's true."
Embry changed the subject after that, and it wasn't long before Jacob was ready to head home, wanting to collapse in his bed after the busy day. He'd spent most of the morning chasing Alice Cullen around with Paul, trying to get her to tell them what the Hell she wanted.
He was lost in thoughts about Rae on the drive home, wondering how she was doing. His jaw dropped in surprise as he reached the house, only to find her waiting for him on his front porch. Jacob pulled into his driveway and maneuvered the motorcycle around Reagan's car.
What is she doing here this late?
Reagan had given him no warning she was coming, and while he was happy to see her waiting on his front steps, he was also terrified. She could have come to say absolutely anything. Jacob just hoped whatever she said would not be goodbye.
"Uh, hey," he said as he stepped out of the garage to find her walking toward him. He slowly pulled the garage door shut, afraid to look her in the eye. The wolf surprised him as it whimpered, urging him toward her.
"Hi," she said and nervously crossed her arms under her chest.
Finally looking at her, Jacob's eyes followed her hands only to land directly on her cleavage. The low, square-cut neckline didn't leave much to the imagination. He glanced down at her curvy figure and quickly met her gaze as he released a slow, deep breath.
The mischievous smile on her face was genuine, and her cheeks were pink under the overhead lamp above the garage door.
Jacob cleared his throat nervously and said, "You look beautiful, Rae."
The giggle that escaped her made his heart soar with hope. Taking the chance, he grinned and reached for her hips. Reagan chuckled and ducked out of his grasp.
Jacob froze as the wolf stepped forward, recognizing the sensation all too well. Reagan's eyes went wide as her lips formed a silent, 'Oh.'
"Your eyes changed colors for a second," she whispered.
"Mmhmm." Jacob crept toward her slowly, smirking as her heartbeat quickened. He felt slightly smug about being right about Wolf. Stubborn bastard. You've finally gone and fallen for her too.
Neither denying nor admitting it, Wolf ignored Jacob's comment and playfully surged forward again, wanting to be closer to Reagan.
"Jake," she squeaked and nervously stepped backward. "You look like you're going to eat me."
"Hmmm. Maybe," Jacob teased as she ducked past him and into the side door to the garage. A growl rumbled through his chest as he slowly followed her.
"Be careful. Rae," he warned as he stepped into the dim space. "Wolf likes this game."
She leaned back on her elbows at his worktable, her long blonde hair shining like gold in the moonlight through the window and cascading over her shoulder. "Oh? Does he play with Bella this way?"
Jacob swallowed hard, not expecting the question. "Yes," he answered bluntly.
Low and sultry, she teased, "Do you want to play with me, Jacob?"
"I always want to play with you, Rae."
"Does Wolf want to play with me?"
He pounced in front of her in a second. His hands gripped the table on either side of her as he leaned in close.
Reagan's heart pounded as her chest heaved with rapid breaths. Jacob inhaled deeply, breathing her in. Her scent was comforting in its familiarity. It also dripped with lust and a tiny bit of fear.
Holding her gaze, Jacob lowered one hand to her waist and slid it down to gently caress her ass cheek. "We want to do much more than play with you, Rae." He smirked again as she whimpered. Jacob pressed his forehead to hers as he ran his other hand up the back of her neck. Reagan instinctively lifted one leg to rub the other as she clenched her thighs together and shivered.
Jacob wasn't sure who initiated the next touch, but a fire ignited between them as lips met and her hands flew into his hair. Each fondled and caressed, losing themselves in each other as clothing stripped away. What started with heady kisses and groping on his workbench became thrusting bodies and loud cries on the old couch. Reagan was still straddling his lap afterward, pressed tightly to his chest as they came back down, regaining their senses. He gently ran his fingers through her hair as he held her, waiting for her heartbeat and breath to slow enough to speak.
"I missed you," he whispered against her forehead. "So damn much."
"Me too," she admitted. "I almost called a million times."
He asked, "What made you decide to come tonight?"
Reagan sat upright to look him in the eyes and said, "It was just time. I know what my heart wants, Jake. Maybe I'm a fucking idiot like Paul, but I can't just shut off how I feel. I've been trying to. For days."
"You're not an idiot, Rae. You had every right to kick me in the dick and tell me to fuck off if you wanted. I deserved at least that," Jacob said and sighed. "I love you, though. I'll prove it to you if you can be patient while I try." Wolf and I both.
She leaned back into him, reburying her face against his throat as he rubbed her naked back against the cool night air.
(BPOV)
The following morning, Bella woke up alone, missing Paul's warmth. She crawled out of bed, yanked on his T-shirt, and sleepily walked to the kitchen in search of something to fill her growling belly.
She grinned when finding a note from Paul on the table. "Eat me" seemed appropriate, considering the large box of donuts underneath. Bella started his coffee maker and returned to the bedroom to find some sweatpants and her phone.
What better way to talk to Charlie than over coffee and donuts? The opportunity had never come the night before, and Bella was eager to get the ball rolling.
Twenty minutes later, she opened the door to Charlie's smiling face and ushered him inside. Soon, they were settled at the table as he glanced around Paul's meticulously clean kitchen.
"Doesn't look like he cooks here often," Charlie observed aloud.
"He's not home much. He should be back from Patrol soon, though."
Charlie bit back a grin as he leaned on his forearm and asked, "So why am I here this morning, Bells? I can tell you got something on your mind. Unless you want to wait for Paul? I know you ain't knocked up 'cos you got smashed last night."
Bella was grateful to have already swallowed the sip of coffee she'd just taken. Her cheeks flushed as she shook her head no and laughed. "Dear God, no," she said. "I wanted to see if you'd let me rent your house in Forks."
"You mean our house? Bella, you don't have to rent it," Charlie said and rolled his eyes. "Just fuckin' move in."
Bella chuckled, knowing fully well that she was always welcome. She said, "With Leah and Dean for roommates, maybe?"
"Oh," Charlie nodded and took a drink of his coffee. "I see. And Nick?"
"Last I knew, Nick was moving back to Nevada," Bella said. "Dean wants to be with Leah."
Suspiciously, he asked, "Does he know about the wolves?"
"I don't know," Bella shrugged.
Charlie harrumphed, and she laughed, patting his hand. The affectionate gesture earned her a side-eye and a smirk. "You don't gotta butter me up, Bells. I'll rent you kids the house."
"Yes," she squealed and bounced happily in her seat. "You'll let me paint, right?"
"On one condition," Charlie interrupted her reverie. Frowning, he added, "Three conditions. Five. Wait…"
Bella stood to pour them more coffee and muttered, "Spit it out, Pops."
Charlie shot her a dirty look and teased, "Isabella, are you calling me old?"
"Well, you are close to fi-"
"One more word, your rent goes up!"
Paul's loud laughter greeted them before he did. He paused as he entered the back door to kiss Bella's cheek.
Bella grabbed a cup to pour more coffee. "How was patrol?"
"Boring now that we're not chasing the pixie," he grumbled as he sat at the table. "I guess you finally asked Charlie about the house?"
"He has conditions for me," she teased as she set a cup in front of Paul and winked at her father.
"You're a real fuckin' riot today, kiddo," Charlie grumbled. As Paul opened the donut box, Charlie grabbed one. He shook it at Bella like a weapon before taking a bite.
"Shit, you're crabby," she poked at him. "I gave you coffee and donuts. You're a cop. Shouldn't you be happier now?"
Paul cackled as Charlie snorted and nearly choked. After a drink of his coffee, he grinned and teased, "Asshole."
"I learned from the best," she quipped. "So, what are your conditions?"
"One, no wild parties in the house. That has to stay my address for my job, even if I spend all my time at Sue's."
"No stripper-filled keggers. Got it."
Charlie glared at her suspiciously for a moment and continued, "If I find so much as one pot plant in that house, you're all out on your asses."
Bella and Paul cackled as he slid his hand under Bella's and their fingers instantly entwined. "I can afford to buy my pot, Dad. I don't need to grow it."
"Very funny, kid," Charlie grumbled. "Thirdly, I want a three-week notice before anyone moves in or out."
Paul muttered, "Because that's how long the background check takes?"
Charlie gaped at Paul, feigning surprise at his young friend's teasing. "Bells, you're teaching him bad habits. Don't let her do that, Paul. She's a bad influence."
They grinned at each other as Bella roared with laughter and lightly shoved Charlie's shoulder. "What the hell ever," she choked out. "What's next?"
"You can paint with reasonable colors. Don't give me a purple kitchen, Isabella Marie."
"Dad. Please. That will be my bedroom, thank you very much."
"The Kitchen?"
"No. Purple."
Charlie groaned and rubbed his eyes. "If anything - and I mean anything in the house gets broken, you call Me, Paul, or Sam to fix it. Nobody else. Got it?"
"Got it," Bella said and gave Paul a wink.
"Jacob's good at what he does, but home repair ain't it," Paul said.
"You said it," Charlie returned. "The house is alarmed now, Bells. You're going to need the code to get in and lock up. You, Leah, Dean, Paul, Sam, and Jacob can know that code since I imagine you'll all be around if Bella is living there. Absolutely no one else, though."
"These are some pretty reasonable conditions, Bells," Paul teased her.
Looking over at Paul warily, Charlie asked, "Uh, are you planning on moving in there too?"
Paul scoffed. "No, not me. Lee and I would kill each other. I encouraged Bells to consider being roommates with Leah and Dean, though. It's too soon for Bells to live with me, but I'll feel better knowing she has Leah to protect her."
"I still have to ask Leah and Dean, but I'm pretty sure they'll say yes," Bella admitted.
"Yeah, me too," Charlie nodded. "She's starting to get real antsy about Sue being all up in her business. It's time for her to have some space."
Paul teased, "Have you tried telling Sue that yet?"
Charlie gaped at his friend in mock horror. "Are you kidding? She'd push my ass head first into the lake."
Bella snorted. After listening to Leah complain for years, Bella was fully aware of Sue's temper when her parenting was in question. Judging by the look on Paul's face, he had heard plenty of Leah's complaints in the Pack's mind. Sue wasn't perfect, but she was a good mother, albeit a bit hovering. Bella was just glad Sue wasn't her mother.
Charlie finished off his coffee and stood. "Shit, I gotta get going. I have about twenty things to get done this morning."
Bella walked her father out to his cruiser and waited for him to climb in before leaning against the driver's side window.
Starting the car, Charlie asked, "When are you wanting to move in?"
"Whenever you'll let me," she said. Her cheeks hurt from smiling. She had not felt this excited about moving, ever.
"Why do you want to move now, Bells? You and Jake still fighting a lot?"
"No, actually. We've been doing better lately."
"Is that because Reagan hasn't been around?" Charlie nodded to himself when Bella hesitated to answer.
"Reagan's not the problem, Dad," she said quietly. "I'm the problem. I feel like I'm in the way over there."
"Now, you know that's not true, right?" Charlie laid his hand over her arm on the window ledge and gave her an affectionate squeeze. "Jake and Billy, they love you being there."
The happy enthusiasm seemed to drain right out of her from the sheer reassurance in his voice. Charlie wasn't wrong, but there was so much he didn't know.
Blinking back tears, she said, "I know, Dad. I know they love me, and I'm welcome there, but that doesn't make me feel any less cumbersome. And Reagan? She's good for him, and Jake loves her. Truly loves her." Lowering her voice, she confessed, "Jake and I are …too close. Believe me; We know it. Everyone knows it."
Charlie looked out the windshield and cleared his throat. "Did, uh, something happen, Bells? With you and Jake? Is that why Reagan hasn't been around?"
She rushed to brush away tears before they could spill over and nodded. Charlie sucked in a deep breath, his red cheeks puffing out as he exhaled slowly.
Tentatively, he asked, "Does Paul know about it?"
Bella nodded again. Her cheeks reddened with embarrassment over her confession and the lingering shame. "Paul …he's not mad at me. He never was. I'm pretty sure Rae hates me, though."
Charlie turned to look up at her and said, "Well, I imagine the imprint doesn't make shit any easier."
The observation instantly stunned her. Bella froze and fell backward, landing on her ass in a surprised stupor. He knows? Charlie fucking knows?
Charlie opened the car door and knelt at her side as a hysterical laugh escaped her. "Bells, are you okay?"
She looked into her father's worried face and laughed again.
"Did she fall?" Paul was suddenly beside them, his footsteps as silent as ever.
"He fucking knows, Paul," Bella said. "The stupid fucking imprint. Charlie knows." Turning back to her father, she asked, "Does Billy know? Sue figured it out, right? I knew she knew, Dad. I just knew it!"
Charlie chuckled and lovingly stroked her hair. "Come on." He gripped her hands and stood, pulling her upright.
Paul stepped up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, letting her lean against him for support. "Guess the cat's out of the bag, Babe." As he pressed a kiss to her temple, Bella closed her eyes and sighed.
Charlie chuckled and said, "Billy knows. Yes, Sue figured it out pretty quickly. We all thought you and Jake would be official at some point down the road, but it was something the two of you had to figure out on your own. If you don't want to be together, that's your damn choice to make."
Bella smiled at Charlie gratefully, feeling like a Jacob-sized weight had lifted from her shoulders. "Thank you, Daddy."
Charlie scoffed, "Mmhmm. Don't think I didn't know how often that boy climbed in my window, either."
Paul cackled as Bella's face flushed again.
"The only reason I didn't shoot him was that Jake was the only person keeping you sane, Bells. If you hadn't moved over there when you did, I planned to let him just move in with us. For fuck's sake, he never went home."
Bella laughed as Charlie shook his head at her, grinning. He asked, "Does it feel better now? Knowing I'm aware and that you don't have to keep hiding shit from me?"
"It really does," she admitted. Bella pulled away from Paul to hug her father.
"I love you, Kid. I hope you all get this mess worked out, but remember, Bella. Jake's your best friend, no matter who he dates. Your relationship is important. Don't move out if you're just doing it to run from him or this mess. Now, if moving out is something you need to do for yourself, then that's a different thing."
"It is," she said firmly. "It's something I need to do. I need the space for myself, but I want Jake to have some space too. We thought living together would make the imprint easier, but now I believe it's making things harder. I think living apart will be best for all of us."
"Well, okay, then," he said, nodding. Charlie released her to climb back into his cruiser. "You can move in whenever, Bells. Text me for the security code when you start taking shit over there. I need to move some stuff out of there, and I have one more condition."
"Anything," she said as she resumed her place in Paul's arms.
"Let me crash out on the couch once in a while when your old man pulls a double or seven, will ya?"
"It's still your house, Dad. I'm just going to take it over for a little while."
"No purple."
"Not even my room?"
"No. Purple," he repeated firmly and winked. "See ya, kids." With that, he put the cruiser into gear and backed out of Paul's driveway.
Paul leaned down to kiss the side of her neck and whispered, "You sure you're okay with him knowing everything?"
Bella turned around to slide her hands up over his shoulders. "I'm fucking thrilled, believe it or not. That's been a heavy secret for a long time. I'm glad he knows. I wish I knew that he knew a long time ago."
Paul asked, "So, what are your plans for the rest of the day?"
"Well," she said and glanced toward the house. "A nap sounds great right now."
"Nap, huh?" Paul's lecherous grin made her shiver as she pulled away. She darted toward the door without warning, knowing she'd never beat him to it. Bella squealed as Paul scooped her into his arms.
"Mine," he growled into her ear and then carried her into the house laughing.
Hey, folks. Goodness, I hope you're still with me. I know I haven't updated in a while, but life has been... well, life. Had another surgery last Friday, so I skipped out on any gathering and wrote today instead. I hope you liked this chapter - this seemed like a good place to end this one. Up next - the move - and maybe a little bit of Edboii. Let me know what you guys thought of this chapter and hopefully, you'll see more sooner rather than later. Please have patience (and please review!)
To my Ratties - As Jackson Rathbone recently said, "I love you, you crazy Twilight shitposting ratties." xoxo.