Chapter 27

Sam was yawning and stretching his body. The morning sun illuminated their bedroom, and he felt well-rested. Since the change, Sam had slept better than he could remember. Emily had already woken up, and he could smell bacon and eggs. He smiled. Life was good. Paul was finally coming today to the rez to take his place as the alpha. Until today he'd only been linked to them by their mental link on those rare occasions he'd phased at the forest close to the hospital.

Sam didn't know what had changed that Bella had finally woken up, but he was fucking grateful for that. He hoped Bella would recover from the terrible experience. He would never forget the sight of Bella and that sick fucker as long he would live. He didn't know how Paul handled living with that image in his mind. If it had been Emily... Gah, it was too awful even to think about.

The pack members had reacted to the shift of power surprisingly well. Sam guessed they all had sensed that things had to change. No one had felt up to the task anymore and had graved for a change, anything, to make them feel whole again.

Jared was maybe a bit more apprehensive than the others since he could not be sure if he would have his ass beaten by his new alpha because of how he'd treated Bella.

Even Jacob, who was supposed to become the alpha, was okay with it. The lazy bastard was just happy to avoid taking any kind of responsibility. Milly was fuming, and Sam had heard in Jacob's mind how utterly disappointed she was in Jacob for not fighting what was rightfully his. She was humiliated to be replaced by Bella as a mate to the alpha, something she had been sure to be one day. She has no one else to blame than herself for her embarrassment.

Not that Sam was proud of how he'd treated Bella, hell no, he had as much reason to be ashamed as any of them, but he had sincerely believed that he was helping them while doing what he thought was best for the pack. Clearly, he couldn't have been more wrong. There would be a lot of apologizing, that's for sure.

Sam's phone buzzed. It was a text from Paul saying he would be at their house around midday and wanted every pack member to be there. It was up to Sam to get them there; he was his beta, after all. Sam had a hunch that Paul was all for delegating, but he didn't care if the primary responsibility was off his shoulders.

Sam got up from the bed and went to have a quick shower. He could not stop grinning because he was no fucking alpha anymore. He would not miss it, and he knew without a doubt that Paul would be a million times better alpha than he ever was. And there was some comfort in knowing he was never meant to be the alpha; otherwise, he would be devastated by how badly he had fucked up as one.

After showering and finding a clean pair of shorts and a t-shirt, he went to have breakfast.

"Sue just called," Emily told him, "Harry is back."

Where had the old fart vanished this time, Sam wondered. A week ago, when he had come back, he had told him he'd been digging information about the former packs and was able to explain why Paul was now the alpha. He hadn't told him where he'd found the information, and after they had rushed to the hospital to see Bella, he'd vanished again.

"What is that old sod up to?" Sam chuckled mainly to himself and poured some coffee.

After driving Bella to her mum's house and witnessing a teary reunion between mother and daughter, Paul drove to the Res. Leaving her had been fucking hard. His wolf was angsty as hell, and he didn't fare much better. This wouldn't change before he had marked her. He needed his mark on her because it would keep her safe, well, safer she would be without. No one - living or dead - would touch her after she was marked.

He wouldn't stay in the Res today any longer than necessary, but he knew that the pack was anxious to reconnect and accept him as their leader. He needed that too. He'd been away too long after the change.

Dr. leech had called him in the morning asking how Bella was, and as well as being extremely relieved to hear that Bella had woken up and was doing well, he'd clearly been annoyed Paul hadn't informed him right away when Bella had woken up. Maybe he should have, but it had been the last thing on his mind after she'd woken up, and even after that, what the hell, he hadn't thought about it until the doc had called.

Paul preferred they wouldn't have to have much more to do with them now that Bella was safely back. Even though he would be forever in debt to them for saving Bella not only once but twice, he wanted them gone.

He was actually going to ask them to leave the area and never came back. Damn, he was pretty sure he didn't even have to ask, all he needed to do was to tell them that they were the reason for at least six of them phasing, and since no one really wanted to end up being a big hairy animal, the emphatic lot would get the hint and vanish. If not, he would kindly show them in the right direction. If questioned, they did have a damn good reason; one of them did break the fucking treaty.

Personally, he couldn't understand the house play with the fucking leeches. They were their mortal enemy, for fuck's sake, and it was damn ridiculous that they were allowed to reside close to the area of shapeshifters whose sole existence was based on those fuckers being around. It was beside the point how good they were. The treaty was something that should have never been done—end of the story. Things would definitely change around here now that he had a say.

Paul parked in front of Sam's house. He would swing by his house on his way back to Forks.

Paul could sense nine heartbeats inside the house. Eight were those of his pack mates and one of Emily's. Paul had insisted that only wolves were present at this meeting. He didn't want imprints around any more than was necessary.

Paul hopped out of the car and went in. Of course, they heard him coming and were waiting for him in total silence, staring at the door when he entered the kitchen. The sight in front of him was so absurd he burst out laughing.

"Jesus, guys. Who's dead?"

"We're hoping not to," Quil quipped.

Paul cracked up more, and soon everyone was laughing, and the tension evaporated.

"Come have some late breakfast, Paul," Emily said.

"Thanks, Emily." Paul sat down and tugged in. He had eaten some breakfast at Bella's, but he was always hungry, and bacon smelled good. Bella didn't like bacon, so he hardly ever made it.

"How's Bella?" Seth asked.

"She's good. She woke up yesterday and is feeling well. She's at her mother's house now."

"That is a relief to hear," Emily said. "It must have been a terrible experience for her. All of it. Please let us know if there is anything we can do."

Paul glanced at Emily. He sensed she was sincere. "For now, we both just want to be left alone, but thanks."

Emily smiled and turned to pour some coffee to Embry, who offered his mug over the table.

It was time to quit the crap and get things over with.

"So okay, few things before we all phase together and have a proper run around the tribal land," Paul said. "I'm staying at the Forks for a few days with Bella. At that time, you take in more patrolling. I'll do a few hours a day. If something happens during the night that needs my presence, one of you runs to Bella's house to get me."

Everybody nodded.

"Bella and I will be back here in less than a week, and then we can start planning for a new routine for the pack. I want everybody to live as normal life as possible. I'm not convinced that as a shapeshifter, the only thing stored for us is to stay here for the rest of our lives. There should be possibilities for those who want something else. But we'll get back to all this after we'd come back to La Push. Also, we'll get a visitor from the past sometime in the next two weeks. I'm not going to tell you more now, and it's a thing I hope you keep to yourself until the time comes. Okay?"

All heads were nodding. Paul was pleased they didn't ask any questions. He wasn't going to tell them about Kal-lape before he'd arrived. He didn't want Billy Black and Old Quil to know about him. Harry wasn't going to say anything either. They've decided to play with the element of surprise and have a bit of fun with the fuckers.

For instance, Paul wasn't sure if Jacob was capable of not telling his father about the pack's stuff. And, of course, there were the damn imprints: the wolves couldn't keep secrets from their imprints. Sam was the only one who knew a bit more, but even he didn't know about Kal-lape.

"We are going to do things differently here from now on. We don't need elders to tell us what to do. If we need their opinion or help, we'll go to them, but they don't have a say in the pack's business anymore. What they've done has caused the things to go to hell, and fast at that. This information is also only for us at this point, okay."

Eight solemn nods. Fuck, this was going to be so much easier than he had thought. Fucking puppies, all of them, well-trained puppies.

"Jacob, where is your sister now?" Paul hadn't had the energy to think about Rachel while worrying about Bella. But she needed to be punished, although involvement of the police and legal system was out of the question considering all the supernatural bullshit involved. But she would not go unpunished if he had anything to do with it, and he did.

"She's … at home," Jacob said, looking nervously at him, "she's lost it. Hadn't said one word that makes any sense since..." Jacob's words trailed off.

Paul wasn't convinced. The bitch was probably just trying to get off being punished for strangling Bella. It was fucked up situation. He and Bella were free because of what she did, but it almost cost Bella's life.

"And what is done about it?"

"Sue has been trying to get through her, but no luck," Jacob sighed.

"She will be okay," Emily said to Jacob and gave him a comforting squeeze on his shoulder.

Paul grimaced. She didn't need to be okay. She needed to get back to her fucking senses, well, as much as she'd never been, and take responsibility for what she's done.

Paul was briefed about the latest leech activity and was happy to hear there hadn't been hardly any passing during the last three weeks.

"Embry and Quil killed the last one coming too close," Sam told him.

After eating, they all left the house and jogged to the forest. The phase happened swiftly, and Paul felt the bond pack hadn't shared before tiding them together and eight invisible cords attaching to him. The wolves ran deeper into the mossy greenery. Nothing was left of the confusion or dispute that had been constant before the power had shifted. All the wolves knew their places and what was expected from them without hesitation.

The pack ran through the ancient tribal lands feeling the power and togetherness that had made this supernatural force one of the strongest and the most forceful ones ever existed on the face of the earth from the dawn of history to the present day.

Paul felt exhilarated and sheer joy running through the greenery. He'd forgotten how he loved to run. They ran and checked the area and found no signs of any leeches. They came to a small clearing panting slightly, and they laid down on the ground close to each other. They were nibbling each other's faces, and by licking Paul's muzzle, they affirmed their submission to him. The pack wolfed around lazily in the sunny clearing for a while. Soon Paul started to feel restless, although it felt good to hang around like a pack.

He got up, and others followed his suit. He would run for an hour or two and then head back to Forks.

Okay, me and Sam patrol for a couple of hours, and then it's Jared and Colin. I will be back tomorrow sometime. Until then, you know what to do.

Paul hopped into the shower for a quick wash. He'd been patrolling with Brady today, and they had come across a leech they had taken down together, just the two of them. The leech had been far away from the village, so Paul had wanted them to try to finish the fucker without any help from the others, and they've succeeded.

But now he had that fucking stench all over him. He lathered his body for the second time and was finally satisfied. His nose smelled the sickening smell, there was nothing he could do about it, but it wasn't on him anymore. Soon he would smell lovely sent of Bella, and the stench would vanish from his nose.

Paul got out of the shower and dried quickly. He rammed his closet and found one fresh pair of jeans and a clean t-shirt. Paul went to his drawer, took out a small box, and quickly opened the lid. He smiled and slipped the box into his jeans pocket. Grabbing his keys from the counter, he jogged to his truck and headed towards Forks.

He was making them all pasta tonight. Renée was a decent cook, unlike her daughter, who … well ... wasn't. He enjoyed making them food; what kind of a chef he would make if he didn't, but it was very satisfying to cook for Ben, who loved open heartily everything he made them, and Renée was eager to learn new dishes and tricks for making them. Patrick will be coming tonight as well. They were kind of celebrating Bella and that she was back with them, alive and healthy. Tomorrow they would go back to Res, and Paul could hardly fucking wait.

Sleeping in the same bed with Bella every night but not making love was pure torture. They both wanted so desperately to reconnect, but as his wolf was clawing to get out, it was not possible—one more night.

"Are you sure you want to leave tomorrow?" Renée asked.

Bella turned the dishwasher on and turned to look at her mum, swiping the dining table. Bella knew her mum wanted her and Paul to stay longer. She had enjoyed having them under her roof. Bella had loved to be with her mum and Ben but was ready to go home with Paul. God, she wanted them to be alone, just two of them.

"Yes, mum. We need to get back to our normal lives."

"Are you going back to Seattle?" her mum asked. Bella knew she didn't like her being there alone, although she had never said as much. After what had happened to her, she probably would say it.

It was lucky that Renée hadn't asked much about what had happened to the person who kidnapped her. If she had thought it odd, and she most certainly had to, why the police hadn't been involved, she didn't say it out loud. She seemed to sense that she knew all she needed to know. Maybe it was as Paul thought that she felt that there was more to it than they could tell, well, obviously, and all she needed to know was that the person was taken care of.

"I don't know. I'm not ready to go for a while, and I don't think they can wait for me much longer."

Her wrist had broken this time, and the fracture was still healing. Carlisle had said when she had her check-up at the hospital today that it would take another week before she could start to practice a little. Patrick had scheduled a physiotherapist specializing in helping injured violinists. Bella didn't want to know how much that would cost him. He never accepted them to pay anything relating to Bella's career as a violinist.

"Where did Ben and Paul disappear?" Renée asked. "The dessert is ready. Maybe we could set it in the living room."

"Patrick, come to help us!" Renée shouted. Piano playing paused, and Patrick appeared in the kitchen.

"Take that tray, and I'll bring another. Bella, you can carry the teapot."

Just as they had sat comfortably around the coffee table and Renée was rushing to get Ben and Paul, they could hear Ben running down the stairs.

"Bell-Bell," Ben called for her and came to sit on her lap, "I can't get piece out. Can you help me?"

Ben had a Lego structure, what else, in his hand, and he was shaking it. There was a loose piece inside.

"Okay. Does it matter if I have to remove a few pieces to get the one that is stuck inside?"

Ben glanced at Paul and shook his head, "no."

What were those two up to?

"Let's see," Bella said and took the structure that looked like a tower or something like that. Bella shook it herself and tried to figure out what piece to take out first. She didn't want to break the structure.

She took off one piece and then another and then turned the structure so that the piece stuck inside could slide out.

But what slipped out was not a piece of Lego but a ring, a diamond ring.

Bella gasped, her hand covering her mouth, and looked at Ben, then Paul, looking at her with a nervous smile. Bella looked at Ben again.

"Will you mavy Pal?" Ben asked with a serious voice.

AN:

Well, wasn't that cute or what?! *Grinning happily*

Love your input on the story. Please continue, tell me what you think. Till the next chapter, my dear readers.