Hide the Sun

Paul wasn't completely sure what time it was - just that the sun had gone down. And that Roisin was still in his arms. She moved slightly, making a soft noise in her sleep. He still felt a bit tired, but at the same time, it was almost as though he never had more energy in his life.

A buzzing coursed through his body and he could feel a tingling in all his nerves. More than that, he swore he could feel Roisin. Not as in physically - though in their current position and state of undress, he certainly could feel a lot of her - but rather, he could tell that she was happy. Content. At least for now.

Something had happened when they made love that first time. Something that had changed both of them. He had witnessed Roisin's change with his own eyes. Flames had erupted and spread across her whole body until they had consumed his as well. Something she swore had never happened before. But then afterwards, it was almost as though the imprint - which he had always felt - was stronger.

It was strange, but he found he liked it. And he wasn't exactly sure how he could describe it to the others. Or if he even wanted to try.

Looking down at her, he could still see her skin glowing slightly, could feel warmth almost as strong as his own radiating from her. He really had met his match.

Finally, Roisin yawned and blinked her eyes open. Immediately they had found his as a slow smile spread across her face.

"What time is it?" she asked softly. Paul finally looked over at her nightstand and sighed.

"It's about 7 pm," he said, looking back at her, finding a small smirk there.

"We've been asleep for two hours," she replied. "That last round must have done us in."

Paul chuckled, already starting to feel a simmering of desire as he recalled the round in question. Though honestly, the last thing either of them needed to do right now was have another go.

"We probably need to get up," he said reluctantly, glancing towards the door.

"What if I don't want to?" Roisin said, burying her face into the crook of his neck. "In here I can pretend that nothing's wrong."

"I know. But we can't ignore it forever," he replied. As much as he wished they could stay here as well, he knew that he needed to talk with the packs. They would want to know what happened with Cathal.

And they needed to come up with a new plan to get Tara back from the Shadow Court.

Sighing heavily, Roisin rolled away from him and got out of bed. He almost reached for her - not wanting to be away from her, but stopped himself. Instead, he got out on his side of the bed and walked over to his bag, pulling out some clothes and then sliding them on. When he turned around, Roisin was already dressed in yoga pants and a tank top, her hair pulled up into a bun on her head.

She smiled as she walked over and took his hand, kissing his cheek. As they stepped out of the room, Paul swore he felt a spike of worry, though he wasn't sure why. Yea, he was a bit concerned, but it wasn't the same. Glancing down at Roisin, he realized it must have been her again.

And yet again, he wondered just how different their imprint was going to be.

They continued walking towards the kitchen where they could hear voices. Stepping in, Jacob, Sam, Jared, Sean, Cara and Brendan were there around the island, a few plates of food put out. They all paused and looked over at the two.

"Guess you guys kissed and made up," Jared said, starting to grin. Sam smacked him in the arm, frowning at him. "What? You said they were yelling earlier."

For a moment, Paul felt his cheeks heat up. Apparently, they had really gotten caught up in everything. When had Jacob, Sam and Jared even gotten there? He glanced down at Roisin, finding her blushing furiously, but then she shook her head, her expression all business.

"We need to figure out what to do with Cathal," she said. Paul noticed that she was looking at Sean, who wore a stern expression, his dark eyes fixed on her as well. "That is if we can do that without yelling at each other."

"Why don't you start with a rundown of exactly what happened," Sean said with a sigh. Roisin nodded and walked over, leaning on the island as she went step-by-step through the entire exchange.

She was much calmer now, Paul noted, her tone even and her expression neutral. Though he could still feel her worry and frustration. He glanced over at Sean a few times, noticing that he too seemed pretty calm as well, though he knew he had heard them both shouting at each other as soon as Roisin had brought him here.

Once she was finished, Paul took in the looks around him. The wolves looked as though they were out of their element - which they probably were. Brendan was contemplative while Cara was looking worriedly at Sean.

The Shadow fae was staring at the island, his brow furrowed.

"It's obvious what we must do," Brendan said, getting everyone's attention. "We should go to Shadow Court."

Paul felt a twinge of fear run through him as he glanced at Sean and Roisin. He was fairly sure if either of them went to the court, especially to see Cathal, they wouldn't come back out.

"Okay, so who's going to go?" Cara asked, narrowing her eyes slightly at Brendan. "Have you even been listening? Sean and Roisin obviously can't. Sean will be killed on-sight and Cathal'll lock up Ro so fast, you won't have time to blink."

"It doesn't necessarily have to be them," Brendan said, grumbling slightly.

"I don't think he's going to want anything less than either of us," Roisin said, a glum note in her voice. "I mean, this is pretty much what we've been talking about this entire time. I really thought I could get out of it with that fight…"

"Is there any way we could sneak in?" Jacob asked. "I know going to him directly to negotiate is out of the question, but could there be a way to get into his kingdom and steal Tara back without being noticed?"

Roisin and Sean looked at each other, their eyebrows rising slightly. It was obvious neither of them had thought about it and truthfully, Paul hadn't either, wanting nothing more than for Roisin to stay as far from the Shadow Court as possible.

"You still remember ways in and out?" Roisin asked, glancing at Cara before looking at Sean again.

"Yea, but it's been a long time. Things change," Sean replied.

"I know ways in and out," Cara said. "I go back a lot. And I have contacts inside that would help us… There's actually a decent amount of fae left who would support Sean if he decided to go back."

"Is there anyway that we could go with you?" Paul asked, not wanting to be left behind. As far as he was concerned, where Roisin went, he did as well.

"Yea, but one of us has to lead you in," Cara said. "And honestly, we shouldn't take a huge group anyway. The fewer there are, the less likely we'll be found."

"Sean should stay here," Roisin said immediately. Sean frowned at her.

"Pretty sure you're going to need me, Ro," he said.

"No. We can't both go - in case something goes wrong. And he's not going to hurt me. Or, well, at least he's not going to kill me. I might have a chance at getting out again. But you - he won't hesitate," she said. "He will kill you."

Sean stood silently and Paul could tell that he was struggling with the decision. He wanted to go and look out for Roisin. Hell, he probably wanted to go so he would have the opportunity to take out his brother for the stunt he pulled earlier today. But at the same time, Sean knew as well as all of them that Roisin was right. It was too dangerous for him to go to Shadow Court.

"Fine," Sean finally said.

"Okay, so me, Ro and Paul," Cara said.

"Maybe I should go as well," Sam said. "I am my pack's alpha. You could need more strength on your side."

Cara and Roisin looked at each other and nodded.

"Suppose it couldn't hurt," Cara said. "Though would be nice to have Mae… manipulation could come in handy." She looked at Roisin, who was thinking it over.

"Yea… that would be good. I'll go get her," she said before walking out of the room.

"Okay, so how exactly do we get to the Shadow Court?" Paul asked. Cara started smiling as a wicked glint entered her eyes.

"Well…"

OOOO

Roisin trotted up the stairs and came to a stop in the hallway, frowning slightly when she didn't hear any music or noise coming from Mae's room. She assumed that she was here since Sean and Cara were - the three obviously finished with their COSTCO trip. But it was strange for her to be so quiet.

Roisin walked up to the door and knocked.

"Mae?" she called out. When there was no answer, a wave of worry came over her.

She pushed open the door and walked into Mae's bright room, though all the lights were out. Frowning, she flipped on the light, wondering where she had gone. In fact, now that she thought about it, Mae had been running off a lot lately, though Roisin had assumed she was somewhere in the house.

But what if she hadn't been?

Roisin quickly scanned the room, finally seeing a note with her name on it sitting on Mae's mostly unused desk. Immediately she was there, picking it up and opening it. Her heart stopped as she took in the short message.

I know that you feel you can't go to Shadow Court. So I'm going to try and talk to Cathal. Maybe I have something he wants… I'll be fine.

Love, Mae

In an instant, Roisin was back in the kitchen, the wolves all jumping slightly as she put the note on the island.

"She went to see Cathal," she said grimly.

"What? Why would she do that?" Sean asked, grabbing the note and looking over it.

"She knew I wouldn't have another chance to negotiate with Cathal. Or well, that I don't have much to barter with anymore. So she went to try and talk to him," Roisin said, her frustration growing.

She knew that Mae did it out of good intentions, but did she really have to do something so stupid? Now Cathal would have two things that Roisin would have to bargain for. Or well, maybe Cathal would let Tara go in exchange for Mae. Then it would still be one. But even then, they were still in the same conundrum.

"Shit. Now we have to get two of them out," Cara said, pounding the island in her anger and cracking the marble. Jared moved back slightly from the island. "One, yea. We could do that feasibly. But two? Fuck!"

Roisin looked up, meeting Sean's eyes. She knew immediately what he wanted to do.

"No. I won't let you do it," she said immediately.

"We've known all along there are only two things he wants, Ro. Me dead or you in the Shadow Court. And I would never live with myself if he got you," he said solemnly.

Tears immediately sprang into Roisin's eyes as she shook her head. She couldn't let him do this. Give himself up. There was no way. She couldn't live without him. He had gone out of his way to keep her safe over the years. Stood by her. Comforted her. Helped her to heal.

"No. Please don't do this," she whispered. Sean smiled sadly as he walked over to her, placing his hands gently on her face.

"I have to, Ro. There's no other choice. And you're too important to give to him," he said softly. "I've been running from him - from my past - for the last 500 years. It's probably time I faced it."

"He'll kill you," she replied, tears now falling down her cheeks. "Just… maybe… maybe we could get enough fae. Launch an attack. We could take back the court, like you've always said."

"What? And then you'll finally agree to be my queen? It's probably not going to work like that, Ro. You were right to stop me in the past," he said. He then kissed her forehead and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. "I have to do this."

"No," she whimpered. She then shoved him away. "No! I can't let you do this!"

Suddenly, the kitchen felt too warm. Too suffocating. She needed to be outside. So she shook her head again and then turned and walked towards the verandah. The doors flew open and then slammed shut behind her as she raced to the far edge of the yard and sat down on the grass.

As she dropped her face into her hands to sob, she really hoped no one followed her this time.

OOOO

"I should-"

"No. Let her alone for a bit," Sean said, placing a hand on Paul's chest to stop him. The two met eyes and Paul could tell he was being very serious. "Trust me on this. She needs some time and if you go out there right now, she might lash out and you will get hurt."

Paul looked towards the windows, barely seeing Roisin in the darkness, everything in his body telling him to go to her. He could feel her anguish and despair. But also her frustration and anger. The kitchen had gotten hotter in the moments before she stormed out. Maybe Sean was right about this.

"So that's it? You're just going to give yourself up?" Jacob asked. Paul looked over, noticing that he looked genuinely distraught. Which was something completely new. When had Jacob gotten on board with the fae?

"I don't see any way around it," Sean said with a sigh. "But… I'm prepared to die."

The kitchen was heavy with silence at that statement. Paul could see his shadows were much closer to him now, as though they were trying to comfort him.

"But how do we know Cathal will give Tara and Mae back?" Sam asked. "He could kill you and still refuse to give them up."

"We make a deal," Sean said. "I'll… send word. Tell him that I'll give myself up, but only if he returns Mae and Tara unharmed and alive."

Paul looked back outside, wishing there was some way they could get them back without giving up Sean. He knew that he was important to Roisin. And even at times he didn't quite understand their closeness, he felt no jealousy towards the older fae. Which was strange, when he thought about it too much. Normally, he would be itching to fight him even if Roisin had told him that she her feelings for Sean were different than what she felt for him. Struggling with jealousy. But he found that for some reason, he didn't want Sean to die. And not just because of Roisin's connection to him. Or maybe it was. He wasn't sure.

It was then that Paul started to get an idea. He knew that deals with fae were binding. But it seemed that because they couldn't lie, they were also carefully worded.

"What if we got Cathal to do the exchange here," Paul found himself saying, looking back at Sean.

"Does it matter? If I agree to go with him, I have to go with him," he said.

"Yea, but… what if you said that you would give yourself up in exchange for them… and we were waiting in the background? The deal would say nothing about anyone else. We could jump in and take him out before you go with him," Paul said. "Create a loophole for a rescue mission."

"Cathal's too smart. We want to do it here, he'll know something is going on. He'll expect an ambush," Cara said. "And he knows about you."

"Yea, me. But not the packs. Not the other solitary fae. And not the vampires," Paul pushed, thinking there had to be some way for this to work. "Ro was holding her own for a bit in that fight. She's strong. If we were waiting and ready, we could fight him and get all of you back."

"Still… he won't come alone. He'll come prepared for a fight," Cara said, though she sounded as though she was starting to come around.

"My pack has 10 and we can fight," Sam said. He looked to Jacob.

"We've got four, but I could get the Cullens. That would be eight vampires," Jacob said without hesitation. "So, 14 wolves, eight vampires, and how many fae?"

They all looked to Cara and Brendan.

"As we said, we'll fight with you," Brendan said. "And others… if they knew who Roisin truly was, they would fight as well. For her. We've long heard the rumors and many are ready to aid her. There are at least eight more that I know would come. Probably more if we spread the word."

They all looked to Sean, waiting to see what he would say. To Paul, it sounded like a lot. Enough. But he had no idea how big the Shadow Court was. Or what they were all capable of. Sean was silent a long time. Long enough that Paul worried he wouldn't agree.

"That's if we can get Roisin to agree to let others know who she is. And his court is powerful. But Cathal is also arrogant. There's a good chance he won't bring a lot, thinking it would be enough. He doesn't know about the packs or the vampires that we know of. There is a chance - a slight chance, mind you - that he might underestimate us. Even if he does know more than we think he does."

"Sounds like decent odds to me," Jared said, smiling. But Sean was still frowning. He looked at Cara.

"What do you think? You're more connected with them than I am," he said. Cara glanced around the group and then looked back at Sean.

"It'll be a tough fight… but I think we could do it," she said. "And it's been a long time since either of us have had a really good fight."

He glanced around the group again and Paul found himself holding his breath. He knew that they couldn't do anything unless he agreed to it. Finally he took a deep breath and started walking out of the kitchen.

"I'll start writing and it's probably better that I don't know what you're planning. Someone needs to convince Ro," he said as he walked out.

Paul felt good about this plan. It could work. It had to work. It was then that he remembered the other part to making it work. They needed to convince Roisin to let others know who she was - for real. But surely that wouldn't be too hard. The three fae from the other night knew who she was somehow. And they were already working on a plan to get around the prophecy. Okay, well, not yet. But they would find something. They had to.

He took a deep breath and turned to walk out. It was then that he noticed Jacob was gone. Now already halfway across the yard to her. Wait? What the hell was he doing?

OOOO

"Leave me alone," Roisin said dully, sensing someone was walking up behind her.

"Thought you might want to know the plan we just came up with to save everyone."

She started slightly, turning to watch Jacob as he sat next to her, her eyes wide. What the hell was he doing here? She was pretty sure it would be Sean or Paul, though she didn't think she could handle talking to either of them right now.

Jacob looked out over the clearing behind the house and then back at Roisin. She was surprised to see no antagonism in his face.

"So, we've come up with something. Yea, Sean's going to offer himself up. But we're doing the exchange here. And we're going to fight and get Mae and Tara back. And make sure that shadow dude doesn't kill Sean in the process," Jacob said.

Roisin frowned at him. That sounded like a horrible plan. They didn't have enough. And Cathal would know it was an ambush. He would come prepared. It was a good way to get everyone killed.

"The packs will fight, so 14 wolves. I'm going to get the Cullens, so that's eight vampires. And the other fae dude - he said he could get more of them. Maybe eight. But only if they knew they were fighting for you. And then he said he might be able to get more," he said matter-of-factly. "Otherwise, we'll still have you, Cara, Sean and those three. But Paul seems to think you're a strong fighter, so I think the odds aren't that bad."

Roisin's mouth dropped open. What? Okay, with those numbers, yea, this was possible. But how had they come up with it so quickly? And then she realized the other part of that. She looked away from him, realizing she was going to have to let the fae in this world know who she was. Where she was.

Could she do that?

"I… I don't know if I can let the others know about me," she said.

"Why not?" Jacob asked. She could hear the impatience in his voice, but he was trying to temper it. "I mean, yea, okay. So your parents and the Winter whatever are looking for you, but-"

"My brother found me," she said, still not looking at him. "We have a month to figure out a way around the prophecy or run. We were planning to run once we got Tara back."

"Okay, so even less of a reason to keep the secret if you're going on the move again in my opinion," Jacob muttered. Roisin looked over at him, her anger flashing.

"You don't know what Rian is like. He won't kill me - I'm too important - but there are so many other things he could do to me that are worse," she said. "He's already done things."

She stopped herself, unwilling to tell him more than that. She still couldn't say it outloud. Jacob looked back at her, his expression starting to soften. But then it grew angry again.

"He hurt you," he stated. Roisin nodded once. "And he'll do it again."

"And the stupid prophecy. That's why I couldn't let anyone know who I truly was for the longest time. Everyone who is fae, they know about it. There's no telling what the wrong people would do if they got their hands on me. Already Winter and Shadow are willing to go through great lengths to get me. My family is willing to help because they're deluded enough to think it'll finally end all the fae wars. But at what cost? I don't think for a second that marrying me off to the highest bidder will stop all the fighting."

She looked away from him.

"You got into a fight with this guy on the football field during school. Doesn't sound like you're trying to hide," he said.

"You barely know me," Roisin hissed, looking back at him.

"You're right. I don't. But you know what I have seen? You willingly put yourself on the line to get your friend back. To protect your other friend. Sounds pretty brave to me," he said. "And those other fae - they seem to believe in you. They want to fight with you. Tells me that you're a lot more than brave."

Roisin just stared at him, not sure how to respond to that.

"And, even though Paul isn't in my pack, you are his imprint and I respect him - though don't tell him I said that. We'll stand with you," Jacob said. "We'll fight with you."

Roisin stared at him, not quite believing this was happening.

"You would fight with me?" she asked. "For two fae and a human?"

"Red, I think we both know there's a lot more at stake here than just them, but yea, I would do it even for just them," he said.

"Why?" she asked.

"Because you're willing to do whatever you can to protect them. And well… it's more than that," he said slightly reluctantly. "So, okay, you're not bad." Roisin snorted. "Look, I know I get a bit zealous…"

"Understatement," Roisin replied. Jacob gave her a sharp look.

"I just want to protect this place. And you seem to want to protect it as much as I do. The people here. That is something I can understand. If taking down this Shadow King and getting your friends back helps, I'm in," he said. "Besides, from where I stand, it looks like you need the help."

"I still can't seem to believe you want to help me. I thought you hated me," she blurted out. Jacob rolled his eyes.

"I never hated you. I just thought you might be hurting people here," he said. "Certainly don't hate you now. Kind of impressed, to be honest."

Well that shocked Roisin. But she decided she wasn't going to waste the moment. She turned to him and held her hand out.

"Okay. So truce?" she asked. Jacob started to reach out and then stopped, a worried look coming over his face.

"What am I agreeing to?" he asked. Roisin couldn't help but chuckle.

"You learn quick. Though I wasn't trying to pull a fast one on you. Just… we work together on this. And then after that… all I want is your friendship. No strings attached," she said. Jacob continued to stare at her. Roisin huffed. "I won't ask for favors unless absolutely necessary and you can opt out."

He considered this a moment and then nodded before taking her hand and shaking.

"Deal," he said. "Though I will say that this is a two-way street. Same thing on my side."

"Deal," Roisin replied. Jacob seemed to finally relax. She then pushed up from the ground. "Right… so I think we have a rescue to plan…"

OOOO

Even though these chapters are a lot longer than I typically write, I still feel like I'm skipping through things quickly. Or maybe it's just me… Anyway, I'm now down to three chapters left to write (one of those being a short bonus chapter for AO3), and I nearly can't believe it. Just finished writing the big climatic chapter, but it's going to need some editing, I can tell.

But, as promised, Jacob is less of an ass! And really, I thought the only way he could bond with Roisin was their mutual desire to protect those they love. Obviously, they both get a bit zealous in that (though I stand by Roisin's decision to fight Cathal on her own – really, it was the best way).

Marianka – As you can see, they're all about to come together. ^_^

Thanks everyone for reading and following! Really appreciate the love! And seriously, I'm so motivated to work on my original work "The Witch of Marshallville" because of this. I'm planning to spend time focusing on that once I finish this up, so unfortunately no new fanfiction. But you can still follow that story. ^_^