"Explain to me again. You think that the Uley twin curse has more sinister origins? What?" Joshua asked.
"I'm waiting on Jake and Leah to get here. I didn't get the best explanation last night on the phone." Sam said.
Shelby trudged into the living room, not having slept the night before due to her wanting to stand guard over her Imprint as he slept. She crawled on the couch beside of Joshua and closed her eyes so she could sleep under the watchful, protective eye of her father and brother. Allison brought a light blanket over and covered her daughter up, finger combing her hair from her eyes. Sam watched her with sad eyes, feeling the emptiness from having been away from her Imprint by force. It felt like a deep, hungry stomach ache that couldn't be eased.
Leah and Jake came over half an hour later with Leah carrying a bundled up blanket in her arms. Jake gently pulled the blanket off of Shelby before Leah wrapped the one in her arms around her. Shelby stirred when she smelled Seth's scent surrounding her. She looked up but was met by Leah's face.
"It's a short term thing until we can get something figured out. Jake's gonna run the blanket you were using to Seth to let your scent soothe him like his will you." Leah explained.
Shelby smiled sadly and burrowed the blanket all around herself until she was tightly secured and only part of her face visible. Jake took the other blanket and ran, knocking on Seth's window and shoving the fabric at him. Seth took it and curled up in his bed with Shelby's scent in his nose.
"So are you two going to explain why I should go to my parent's estate and get all their histories and lineages?" Joshua asked.
"Jake and I talked to Carlisle Cullen and Jasper Hale about this whole Uley twin curse that's been plaguing your line for generations. That it is too…neat and tidy." Leah began. "We think maybe there's an outside force acting upon this rather than genetically induced bad luck."
"Because it affects twins, right? That unless the spare twin is destroyed, then something bad will happen to the entire tribe? Shelby has been alive this entire time, contrary to everyone's knowledge. Nothing bad has happened. I checked the registry of local disasters that the council keeps just to be sure. So that leads us and the Cullens to think that something or someone supernatural has a hand in this." Jake explained.
"And we need your family's personal histories and records to look through and see if there's any similarities besides twins. The Cullens are searching on their end, too, as Carlisle has kept detailed journals and collected histories for hundreds of years." Leah finished. "I can't bear to see my brother in pain and misery because my mother is hell bent on keeping him from his Imprint just because she happens to be a twin Uley."
Joshua rubbed his jaw as he mulled over all the information that was presented before him. He looked down at his daughter and saw how she was rolled up in a blanket that scented heavily of her Imprint and how, silently, tears rolled down her face to be absorbed by the fabric.
"I also wanted to bring up again about having Shelby in my pack." Sam spoke up. "If you're going to be settling down with Mom, you're not going to be shifting as much as Shelby would require so you can age with her. That, effectively, would lead my sister and her wolf to be without a pack and an Alpha. A wolf is weak without their pack and I've read stories about how single wolf packs crumble into insanity. I don't want that for Shelby. I don't want that for my pack, either. Her descent would lead to Seth's, which would in turn affect Leah, and hers would affect Jake. Shelby's descent would also impact me, with our twin link bond. My entire pack would fall and our tribe would be wiped out without its Protectors. I need, we need, Shelby to be in my pack."
"Shelbs...do you want your brother to be your Alpha?" Joshua asked quietly.
Shelby looked up at her father then over to Sam whose heart clenched at the red rimmed eyes of his twin. He got up and walked over to the couch and picked her up, bringing her over to the recliner he sat in. He sat down with her in his lap and leaned the recliner back but kept his arms wrapped tightly around her, pressing their foreheads together.
"Be in my pack with me?" Sam whispered.
"Plus she could have a mental link with Seth when they're both in their wolf forms." Leah added softly, knowing Shelby could hear her.
"But dad will be all alone." Shelby whimpered softly.
"I won't be alone, baby girl. I'm going to stop shifting to be with your mom full time. I've been away from her for way too long and we've both suffered for it. I plan on spending every single moment getting in her way and being a general nuisance to her." Joshua teased.
"I think I could handle you." Allison said, smiling softly. "Although you kids will have to give us 24 hour notice before coming over. Got a lot to make up."
Shelby frowned.
"You're going to be living with me and Emily." Sam said, sensing his sister's confusion. "She's already on her head getting your bedroom ready."
"I'm a curse. Sue and the Elders of your reservation are intent on banning me from stepping foot into their land." Shelby said. "I sneak at nightfall to watch over my Imprint as he sleeps, but I am careful not to be seen and leave at dawn. They will not knowingly allow me to reside within, especially so close to my Imprint. To Sue's son."
"They have no authority to ban my daughter from her reservation." Joshua growled. "I'll go tomorrow to my parent's estate. My sisters live there now and I dread it."
"They were wicked witches back when your father and I first started dating. I can only imagine time has made them even more bitter and mean." Allison said. "I'll go with you. Shelby, you can stay with Sam. Ignore Sue. She does not own the reservation or the land. She can bluster all she wants."
"I agree with Allison. We won't let Mom get onto you. Even if she tried, she couldn't pass the ordinance without a council meeting, community meeting, and council majority vote. She couldn't get that done in a short amount of time." Leah said.
"And now that Joshua is back, he technically can take a seat on the council as he's the elder of the Uley line." Jake added. "Can I ask something? Kinda sensitive."
"Sure." Joshua replied.
"Are, uh...are you…did you sleep with Tiffany Call?" Jake asked.
Joshua and Allison both laughed.
"Even if I had, it wouldn't have resulted in a child. I Imprinted on Allison. If I could have even gotten it up for her, I couldn't have gotten her pregnant. An Imprinted male can only get their Imprint female pregnant. I suppose the same for an Imprinted female…Leah, if I had to guess, only Jake could get you pregnant." Joshua said. "If I were you, I'd be looking at a non-shifter that has a shifter for a child already."
"That's why I never worried about him sleeping around." Allison said, smiling shyly at Joshua.
…
The following day, Joshua and Allison headed to his parent's estate, currently where his sisters reside while Sam and Emily drove Shelby to their house. Most of the pack were waiting on the front porch by the time they pulled into the makeshift driveway. Shelby still stood behind her brother as she was still nervous around most of them, save for Seth, Leah, and Jake.
"You boys back up. Shelby isn't used to you bunch so give her room, okay?" Emily chided.
"But she's gonna be in our pack, right?" Quil asked.
"We'll see." Sam said. "Its Shelby's choice."
"Come inside, Shelby, and see your bedroom." Emily said, tugging Shelby with her to get her away from the crowd.
Shelby followed gratefully.
"They mean well. They just…they've seen the positive change in their Alpha since you came along and they're excited to have a new pack sister. Apparently Leah is a bit hard nosed against all of them, except for Jake and Seth. I think they're hoping you'll outrank her and play favorite to them." Emily said.
Shelby listened and followed Emily past the guest room she had stayed in earlier to another room at the opposite end of the house.
"I convinced Sam that you needed your own door so you can come and go as you please. There's a small landing outside that'll have a weatherproof box full of spare clothing and a first aid kit." Emily explained. "Sam picked out the colors and everything. Do you like it?"
Shelby looked around, seeing varying shades of green, her favorite color. She looked at the frames on the wall and her heart clenched when she saw all the photos were of her and Seth in the short amount of time they had spent together. She looked at each photo, gently touching Seth's face in every one.
"I've never...I've never had my own bedroom before. This one is…" Shelby said, her voice wavering. "Amazing. Thank you. My brother is surely blessed with you for his Imprint." she whispered.
"And Seth is very blessed to have you as his Imprint." Emily said softly.
…
"Janis, Jennifer… long time no see." Joshua said by way of greeting.
"We thought you were dead." Janis frowned.
"More like hoped." Allison muttered under her breath.
"This must be why the inheritance was still in limbo all these years." Jennifer said.
"I have told you I don't care about the house or most of the possessions. All I want are a few books. Keep the house, the land, all the shit mother and father collected." Joshua said.
"What about your share of the money? Ours too?" Janis interrupted.
"That? No. That goes to my children. You know the stipulation that all blood heirs even divide the wealth. They get their share plus mine." Joshua smirked.
Jennifer wanted to scream.
"Then those books will cost you." Jennifer snapped.
"I think a trade is in order. Joshua could very well legally make you buy him out of his third of the entire estate, and you know it. I have a tribal lawyer and non tribal lawyer on speed dial. Perhaps I'll give them a call?" Allison said with a smirk.
Janis and Jennifer only glared but made no response.
"Then I guess a trade can be made after all! Splendid!" Allison said as she pulled Joshua inside.
It took the entire day, but Joshua and Allison finally managed to grab every book they could find in the entire house and pack it out to their truck. Allison took pleasure in 'accidentally' knocking things over or 'accidentally' breaking things.
"I'm so clumsy." Allison said.
They returned to their house by ten that night, exhausted but pleased. Allison had emptied her pockets and her bra when they got home, showing Joshua all the little trinkets and baubles she had liberated from the estate. Joshua looked on in amazement at her. After all this time, his Imprint was still so fucking perfect for him.
"It's stuff our children deserve." Allison reasoned. "Plus it'll piss Janis and Jennifer off to no end. Win-win, really."
"Have I mentioned just how much I fucking love you? My ancestors really did know what they were doing when they picked you out for me." Joshua said.
Allison smiled.
"Why don't you show me instead of telling me?" Allison said sweetly.
Yup.
Fucking perfect.
Thank you to my two amazing commenters that gave me the encouragement to keep going! You two rock so hard! So another update to get things progressing.
I gotta ask... do y'all wanna eventually see an intimate scene between Shelby and Seth? It'll be closer to the end of the story.
Comment and lemme know! Xoxo