"We will be leaving early tomorrow. The fish bite better when you get out on the lake when they are asleep. I think Billy was mentioning meeting at the boat for 5:30am. If that is too early..."

I cut Charlie off "No. I will be ready. When are we leaving the house?" I asked.

"Be ready for five," Charlie smiled.

"Will do. Can't wait"

Chapter 9: Breaking Point

I grabbed my phone out of its hiding spot. My heart dropped. 20 missed calls from Renee. The fear overwhelmed my senses for a moment. Sitting with my back against my headboard, I focused on breathing. With each breath bile threatened its way up my throat. I had been gone for 2 days. Renee had not called me in years, we had gone weeks without any interactions. Why now?

It was way too late to call her tonight. If she was still conscious she would be high or drunk, or both. I set my alarms for tomorrow. Scrolling through my text I found the picture Rachel sent. Making it the background on my dinosaur of a phone.

I put the names of my new friends into the phone. Embry and Rachel now both had cute moon emojis next to their names. Embry was thinking about going cliff diving the day after tomorrow. I responded that I would love to. The real wedding stuff that I have to do doesn't start until 2 days from now. Starting then, every day will be packed with wedding preparations.

Just as I was about to put my phone away, I got a text from an unsaved number.

'Hey. How was movie night?'

My anxiety over the text dropped the moment I realized that it was someone from La Push. Not one of Renee's dealers looking to settle her tab.

'Good. Great movie' I responded.

'What was your favouite part?'

My mind spun trying to think of anything from that movie. Fuck I did not even know the name of the movie. I was too entrenched in thought to pay attention to even the context clues around the room.

'Family time. I really liked being a normal multi-kid family for a moment.' I hoped whoever this is doesn't call me out on not watching the movie.

Dropping my phone on my bed, I dressed for sleep. Even the fabrics for sleeping clothing were extravagant. The camisole and shorts hugged my figure. Brushing my hair out of my face I did a quick French braid.

A knock sounded on my door.

"Come in," I called.

Seth came walking in. He plopped down on my bed next to me. Neither of us looked as tired as we should have, given the late hour.

"I hope you don't mind, but I gave Sam your number" Seth smiled at me.

"I do not mind. Thanks for doing that Seth. I should have thought about doing that. Thanks for being a wingman, bro. Let me know when I can return the favour" I smiled at him.

"Will do. So, you agreed to be stuck on a boat for hours with Charlie and Billy?" Seth laughed at me.

"Why are you laughing at me? Charlie likes fishing, I want to get to know my Dad"

"Well. Billy is Chief of the tribe, Charlie is Chief of police"

"And?"

"And you are the newest imprint. Sam had a council meeting before the volleyball game yesterday."

"Okay?"

"So Billy knows" Seth looked like I should know what he is hinting at. "Bella! You imprinted with the Alpha. They probably are going to talk to you about staying in La Push. They will have a plan to tell Renee - If they haven't already." Seth shrugged.

The 20 missed calls. Fuck. If they called and told Renee that they wanted me to stay she would - I paused. What would Renee do? If she admitted to being a neglectful parent, I couldn't argue against it. I would like to stay here. A spark of hope bloomed in my chest. Maybe for the first time in my life I could trust the adults in my life.

"Do you think they will let me go home to see her one last time?" I whispered to Seth.

"One last time? Is your mom dying or something?" Seth's eyes bugged.

"No. Not dying. I just, I know she will settle into her life without me. If I don't go see her before I choose to live here..." I let the thought trail off.

"I don't see why they wouldn't let you. I think it would be something you have to do on your own. There has been some activity around our borders."

"What kind of activity?" Worry bubbled in my chest. It was not like I hadn't thought that these men become wolves for a reason. But no one has outright told me. Maybe it is taboo to talk about the threat to the tribe.

"What do you think our giant wolves protect the tribe from?" Seth looked amused.

"The radioactive mailman?" I joked.

"What, don't talk about the Amazon delivery people like that!" Seth broke into a fit of laughter.

"Okay, then I will have to go with the legends. You hunt and protect the tribe from the cold ones" I smiled seeing I had the answer right.

"Good thing you actually paid attention at the bonfire. It would have been weird to explain vampires to you."

"The cold ones are vampires? Seth, are you guys strong enough?"

Seth rolled his eyes at me "Wow just like that the blind trust of a younger sibling shattered. You saw Sam's wolf. We are totally strong enough. Especially when we are in a pack hunt." His eyes glowed like he was wanting to do that again.

"We haven't had to go out in a while" Just then howls pierced the air. "Fuck! They are all going to say I am the fucking jinx. Got to go, Bells. Sleep tight. Have fun with the Dads tomorrow." Seth booked it out onto the porch.

Quickly I grabbed my phone and texted Sam:

'Please come home safe'

After an hour passed my brain was too wired to sleep. Getting up, I walked into the kitchen turning the kettle on. I waited for it to boil.

"They should be coming back soon." Sue smiled at me.

"Would you like some tea?"

"Yes please. Every time I hear that howl I can't sleep until they come back." Sue sat at the table. She looked tired. It was almost like I could see the worry transforming her face. She rubbed at her temples as she waited.

I poured us two teas. Setting a timer on the microwave for the five minute steeping time, I brought the teas to the table, sitting with Sue like a vigil, waiting for the boys to come home.

"Should we call Leah?" I asked. If she was spending the night with Jacob, he would have left her too.

"No. She will be out there with them. That was the worst part in the beginning. Both my children are out on the front line to defend the tribe. I don't think I realized how nice it would be to have someone else here with me." Sue tried and failed to smile. The worry etched into her face too deeply.

"Is Leah a wolf too?" I asked.

Sue nodded while drinking her tea "She is the first woman to transform. It happened years ago, when her Dad passed. She was just a pre-teen. Too young. Luckily, we have an amazing group of female elders. Without them I think she would have dived into deep depression."

"At least she doesn't have to wait on the sidelines for Jacob to come home" I let the jealousy enter my voice.

"I would tell you it gets easier. That would be a lie. Honestly, it would be easier if we had a house where all the women would go too. That is what happened with the last wolf pack. The men would drop off their women and children before going to fight. The women would each have jobs. Making a post fight feast, preparing after war medications, minding each other's children. Maybe now that more are imprinting, we could go back to the old ways. Though..." Sue stopped.

"Though what?" I asked.

"The house that was designed for this purpose was Sam's. Maybe we could do that if you choose to move in with him." Sue smiled.

"Sue, I am not even sure if I can move here permanently yet." I admitted

"I understand that. My parents divorced when I was young. I loved my Mom, but my Dad, let's just say he wasn't a stable parental figure. The love I had for him had me become the adult in that relationship. Instead of me being the child. Often I wonder what I missed, or what I could have had, if I lived with my Mom. Not that I regret caring for my Dad, I still believe he would have died without me" Sue gave me a half smile.

I opened my mouth to tell Sue. I would have told her everything, if the front door did not open at that moment. Seth was carrying Embry through the door.

Quickly clearing the table, Seth laid Embry down. It was obvious to even untrained eyes what had happened. His leg had a bone sticking out of it. Sue started patching up his leg. Each moment was critical.

"Bella, we don't have time to sedate him in any meaningful way." Sue explained as she opened a tote of healing supplies. Inside I saw a bottle of strong clear liquid. Snatching it, I placed it in Embry's hand.

"We don't have time to sedate you. Might as well try to sedate yourself" I ordered him. He took long gulps from the bottle.

Following Sues orders I put all my weight on his thigh. Climbing up on the table, I swung one leg over, straddling his thigh. Locking my legs around his. I knew as a wolf he would have the strength to buck me off. Hopefully, he had the restraint not to.

Seth grabbed his calf, twisting it into position. I strained against Embry's strength. I could not imagine the pain he was in. Sue stood between us. She started counting down from five.

At two she forced his bone back into his body. It clicked against the bone Seth was holding. Each of the Clearwaters held the bone together. Then it happened. I watched the bone stitch itself back together. Once they seemed satisfied that the bone was repaired, Sue guided the skin to reconnect.

Embry finished the bottle in his hand. Seth replaced it with another. When Sue was sure the leg would hold, she began rubbing a salve onto it. I watched as the skin seemed to almost glow under the application of the medicine.

Hot hands picked me up and off Embry. My muscles relaxed after being tense for too long. They almost strained against the reprieve. I wrapped my arms around the person that held me. My body seemed to recognize and feel safe here. I felt the cold rush of night air as I was carried out of the house.

My bare feet touched the cold wood of the deck. That seemed to snap me back into reality. It was not like I did not realize Sam had been the one to remove me.

Now that I did, I closed the gap that he created between our bodies. My hands are holding either side of his face.

"You okay?" I felt my eyes widen as I scanned him for injuries.

"I am in one piece. They got Embry the worst. The rest of us are all fine." Sam smiled down at me.

"Thank Fuck" I breathed.

"Were you sleeping when Seth brought Embry in?"

"No. I was up with Sue. I couldn't sleep. You could have been hurt" I spoke honestly. How was I going to deal with the unknown when I left for Phoenix? Sam could be seriously hurt as he fought to defend the tribe, and I would be too far to help.

"When are you heading out to go fishing with the Dads tomorrow?" Sam asked. He held my chin up, letting him see into my eyes.

"Leaving here at five."

"Then you should get some sleep. You only have four hours before you are leaving. Everyone is safe. We are running patrols closer together for the next day. It's safe, have a good night's sleep. I will see you tomorrow."

Sam let me go. He started to walk down off the porch.

"Sam." I called him.

He stopped walking. Turning, he looked at me. At this moment he looked like the twenty one year old boy he was.

"Can you stay with me?"

I saw him wavering on the choice. Slowly, he walked back up the steps. I reached out, feeling his warm oversized hand in mine.

"I am running a patrol at 3:30. I can stay until then." Sam smiled.

We walked into my room from the porch access. I climbed into the bed, holding the blankets open for Sam. He left his shorts on, climbing under the covers with me. I wrapped myself into his side, feeling more safe than I had in my life.

"Thank you Sam." I whispered to him before I fell into the best sleep of my life.

Authors Note: Poor Embry! Please let me know what you think in the reviews! Do you think Bella is going to be interrogated on the fishing trip?