All characters that are from the TWILIGHT saga by Stephanie Meyer belong to Stephanie Meyer. All others belong to me. I do not receive profit for these stories except for the joyous enjoyment of reviews.

This story follows right after When I'm Gone: Third Installment to GONE Saga, so if you haven't read that one or the two before, please do so.

The timeline of the story will coincide with Gabriel Michael Laskaris' growing up years, starting at Seth and Rosa's wedding day, April 12th and will progress from there.

AN: I want to apologize for taking so long to post a new chapter. Life took a drastic change for me in April 2019. I am hitting my two-year anniversary at a job I love, where I get to write, and I started graduate school in January 2020. I will do my best to post more often (not as often as I used to back when I was at a miserable job, I had to escape into fantasy land), but I still have this entire 2021 year to finish my master's program. Be patient with me, know I will finish this story (there are still so many amazing things to come), and that there's a fifth one on simmer in the back plate of my writer's brain…and in case you're wondering who, well….leave a review!

Chapter Ninety-Six (17 yrs old)

March 3rd

"I can see your nipples through that top," Brady stared at his imprint, face impassive as she gave him a sassy little grin along with a shrug, "So?"

"Didn't I tell you to wear a bra?"

"You did," she leaned against the counter, her chin length hair framing the sharp angled face that was becoming one of the most sought after faces in the modeling industry, "I chose not to listen."

Moving across the small kitchen, he placed his hands on the counter on either side of her hips, leaning into her personal space as he growled, "I'm going to bend you over my knee and spank your tight little ass."

Shifting her weight, she gave him a come-hither smile before licking her bottom lip, "I like it when you spank my tight little ass, babe."

"Oh, for fuck's sake," Bradley growled as he walked into the kitchen, having caught his twin sister's disturbing words, "You two need to keep that shit in the privacy of your home, and this ain't it."

Brady gave Bailey a narrow-eyed look, the smile on her face growing as they silently taunted each other as the rest of the pack trickled in through the front and back doors of the Uleys' small house.

"Those two eye-fucking each other again," Collin's question preceded his entrance into the kitchen, eyebrows lowering at the sight of the empty table before looking over at Bailey, "Where the fuck are the muffins?"

"Who the fuck do you think I am," Bailey gave him a glare as she cocked her hip, making sure to brush up against Brady's crotch, "Martha Stewart? You want fucking muffins? You bring the motherfucking muffins."

Brady shifted beside Bailey, reaching an arm around her waist to pull her up against him, effectively hiding the hard-on he always sported around her. Flexing his fingers into her hip, he dipped his head to whisper into her ear, "Behave or I'll make sure the spanking hurts this time around."

With a smile, she tipped her head back, her lips brushing his ear and causing shivers to run down his back, "I like it when you make it hurt."

"Enough, you two," Gabe put a kibosh in what was quickly turning into a pornographic conversation they could all hear, despite the whispering, "Your weird brand of voyeurism is not why we're here."

"Why are we here?" Embry turned one of the kitchen chairs around and straddled it, giving Rick a chin lift in greeting as soon as the older Alpha entered the small house, followed by Alyx and Andrey, the two younger pups left at home with Leah at her request.

Gabe leaned his shoulder against a wall, crossing his arms over his broad chest, "Bailey called this meeting, so for the love of Zeus, let it be for something other than what you two do in your alone time."

Alyx gave his twin brother a grin before speaking up, "What do they do on their alone time?"

The terrors chuckled at the way their father's face turned red, the rest of the shifters in the little kitchen chuckling as Bailey answered off-handedly, "Tickle fights. Anyway, the reason I called this meeting is because Zak came to me some months ago –"

"Really?" Gabe looked over at his younger brother and Beta, "I was unaware of this meeting of the minds."

Zak arched an eyebrow, leaning back in the chair he was sitting on, easily balancing himself on its back legs, "I'm sorry, am I supposed to report every conversation I have with every person I encounter?"

Gabe narrowed his blue eyes at his little brother but the thirteen-year-old was not at all intimidated, "When its pack related, yes."

"Oh, unclench," Bailey rolled her eyes, leaning back into Brady's arms, making sure to rub her ass against his crotch for good measure, "He had an idea he wanted to run by me."

"And why not me?"

"'Cause you're not a girl."

Gabe stared at her, confusion on his face as he looked over at his brother then back at his cousin, "What the fuck? Please tell me we're not here because Zak wants to start dating."

"I thought he was already dating," Brandon looked over at Zak, "Abbie's her name, right? Landon and Mattie's oldest?"

"We're not dating. She's my best friend," Zak looked over at Jared as the older man whispered under his breath, "Why the fuck will Ian be happy about that? Isn't he taking my sister to her prom?"

Everyone looked over at Embry, who smiled as he answered the question not meant for him, "He asked, and she said yes. We're going dress shopping next week."

"Okay, you bunch of pussies, how about we focus on why we're here," Bailey snapped out, shaking her head as they all turned to glare at her, "I swear to fuck, you're all worse than a bunch of chicks drunk on sangria."

"How about you tell us why we're here," the scowl on Gabe's face had everyone chuckling, "Considering the rest of us aren't in the loop."

"I asked Bailey to help figure out how we could get our hands on the cold blooded bitch," Zak let his chair drop back to all four legs, leaning forward to rest his elbows on the table, continuing before anyone else spoke, "I asked her because she's a woman, and that's exactly how the leech is acting -like a woman bent on revenge."

Gabe gave a nod along with the other guys, Rick giving his son a smile full of pride, "Very insightful, Zakery."

"Thanks, Dad."

Gabe looked over at Bailey, rolling his eyes at the sight of Brady nuzzling her ear, his hands spread wide over her flat stomach, fingertips tucked into the waist band of her denim skirt, "So what did you come up with? I'm assuming that's why we're here."

"Yes," she turned her attention back to her Alpha as Brady rested his chin on her shoulder, "I got to thinking about that video message she left for you -about the reason her mate came around La Push."

"He was curious about Marc and Vivi," he supplied the words she wasn't saying, his voice flat and devoid of emotion, which was unusual when it came to those names, especially hers, "What's the big deal about that?"

"Basically, they are attracted to their own kind," she gave him a pointed stare, knowing he was brilliant enough to connect the dots without her having to do it for him.

"So, what are you suggesting," Gabe's jaw tightened as he arched an eyebrow at her, "That we ask them to come back so we can use them as bait?"

"No," Bailey shifted, resting more of her weight against Brady, "They aren't the only vampires we know."

Shaking his head, he pushed away from the wall, "No. I've made it very clear -the Cullens are no longer welcomed in or near La Push."

Bailey huffed out a sigh in frustration, having guessed this would be his initial reaction, "Will you listen to what I have to say first? You can nix the idea afterwards."

"Fine -continue."

"Thank you, oh great Alpha," her snarky comment had them chuckling, Gabe tilting his head to the side as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans, giving her a single nod to continue, "I heard from Rachel that Billy isn't doing well."

"How bad is he," Collin asked, being one of the few who lived outside of the reservation and wasn't as involved in pack activity as those who lived in La Push.

"Rebecca is flying in from Hawaii next week," Paul answered, twisting the salt shaker as he looked over at Gabe, "He's been asking to see Jake -he calls every day to talk to Billy, but Billy wants to see him."

Gabe let out a low and long sigh, leaning back to, once again, rest against the wall, "What are you saying, Bailey? That we should have Jake come see his dying father so we can use him as bait?"

"Not him," Bailey arched a perfectly sculpted eyebrow, her full lips spreading into a smile at the look of shock on all the guys' faces, "Nothing pisses a woman off more than having another woman trespass on her property. I'm thinking, for a vampire, the territorial aspect of their nature will be amplified a hundred times over."

Zak shook his head, running his fingers through his somewhat shaggy hair, "That's seriously vicious."

"How do we know he'll bring her with him," Andrey asked as he aimed the little paper football he carried in his pocket all the time between the goalposts formed by Alyx's fingers on the other side of the table, "It'll be kind of suspicious if we tell him he can come see his dad and oh, by the way, bring your girlfriend with you."

"He won't come without her," Sam moved from where he'd been leaning against the doorframe, opening the fridge to pull out a beer for himself, "And she won't stay behind."

"So, no need to ask him?"

"There's no need to tell him anything," Gabe pushed off the wall, moving across the length of the kitchen then pacing back, "Paul can tell him he's welcomed to come see Billy, but he's the only one allowed into La Push, no one else."

"So what? He leaves Annabelle at the treaty line?" Embry watched as the young Alpha continued pacing, looking over to see his own Alpha deep in thought, "He's not going to like being that far away from her. Paul's place is a good ten miles from the boundary line."

"No," Zak looks over at his older brother as he offered his suggestion, "We can have them meet us at the boundary line behind Paul's place. They can come over the Rainer Mountains and she can stay at the boundary line. That's just three miles from Paul's house."

"He'll be more amenable to agree to that," Quil leaned back in his seat, resting an ankle on a knee as he fiddled with his wedding ring, it's weight still a new sensation for him what with still being a newlywed of three months, "So do we talk to Jake about all this, tell him what's going on, and why we need their help?"

"No."

Gabe looked over at the older members of the La Push pack…his pack, "Like it or not, Jacob Black and the Cullens broke the treaty…they are not our friends or our allies. Therefore, there's no reason they should know anything."

"Seriously?" Quil looked over at Embry before turning his attention to his Alpha, "You do know if something happens to Annabelle, Jake won't be the only one up our ass…the Cullens will back him up."

"Then we make sure nothing happens to his mate," Gabe crossed his arms over his broad chest, knowing full well Quil and Embry had been close friends with Jacob Black, "But neither one of them are to know why they're here. Jacob can see his father, we keep an eye on Annabelle while she waits at the treaty line, and if this works, we can finally get rid of our current nuisance. Jacob and Annabelle can go back to New Hampshire and everything can go back to normal."

"There's still some logistics to consider, Gabe," Sam spoke up, the respect he felt for his Alpha increasing tenfold when the seventeen-year-old nodded, "I know. We can't be too close to Annabelle or the leech will smell us and suspect a trap."

"That's where we come in," Rick finally spoke up, looking over at the twins, thinking of the other two in his pack, knowing talking Leah into having any of their children involved would be the hardest part of this entire thing, "Alyx, Andrey and I can keep an eye on her during the day, far enough away to not be seen. Your pack members can be even further away, yet within hearing distance."

"A two-line defense," Alyx nods, looking over at his twin brother with a grin, "We can definitely do that."

"It'll be harder after dark, but it can still be done," Zak leans back in his chair, stretching out his long legs as he stretches his arms over his head, "I think this will work."

"The problem is, we don't know how long it'll be before the leech takes the bait," Bailey piped in, "So we'll have to figure out how to keep Jacob at Paul's as long as it takes."

"Are you fucking serious," Paul glares at Bailey before turning to look at Gabe, "Not only are you asking me to invite a vampire into my home, where my children and wife live, but to keep him there for an indefinite period of time?"

"She lacks impulse control."

They all looked over at Zak as the thirteen-year-old gave them a smirking look, "The leech won't be able to keep away for long because she lacks impulse control. It's obvious with the way she's been taunting us. Instead of coming right at us, or at the imprints, she's taking the most accessible targets because she's impatient with her plan for revenge."

The silence lasted long enough for the whole thing to sink in, Gabe finally stopping his pacing, looking over at his dad. Both Alphas gave a nod to each other in agreement to work together to accomplish this task.

Gabe turned to look at Paul, ignoring the dark look on the older man's face, "Call Jacob…tell him to come."