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Please check out our other stories if you haven't already. A new one shot posted called In the Arms of an Angel as well which is just a sweet fun thing. I had nothing to do for an hour type thing.

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Chapter 16

Emmett POV

"Dude, I can't deal with those two," I told Jake. "How fucking old are they?"

"They are over a hundred and have been leading the council for eighty years. They are my oldest living relatives. Just," he paused and ran a hand down his face. "Just try, Emmett. I will deal with them after the ceremony," he said.

"Fine, but I can't be held accountable for my actions," I warned him.

"I have complete faith in you, Emmett," he smirked. "I know you will piss them off as only you can," he put a hand on my shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah," I said. "Thanks for getting us a room by the way," I winked at him.

"No problem, the house is big enough," he said. I left his room and waved at Quil as I made my way to the library. I had to take care of the security for the ceremony in the morning and then check out the new room complete with a fireplace and balcony. I was going to have my way with my mate and I didn't care if the house was on fire, I wasn't leaving that room for anything.

I could smell their old-nesses before I even open the door.

"Ah, Emmett," William came over to shake my hand. "I'm glad you're here. We need to discuss,"

"I only came to find out how many we should expect tomorrow," I interrupted. "I can take care of the rest."

"But there is so much to take care of. You need to be sure,"

"How many?" I asked ignoring him.

"Emmett, be reasonable. You've never organized an event such as this. We have done this several times and we could,"

"Look, you have been holed up in this fortress for way too many decades. I can smell an intruder over a mile away. I know how to handle them. When was the last time either of you had to protect anything other than your stash of Viagra?" I asked.

"You are talking to the eldest members of the council," anger seeped through his voice.

"Oh, so you dudes are the ones who insist on the old traditions. You know, the ones that say my mate has to walk behind me and bow to me and hand over all of his dignity to his dominant. Yeah, no I don't think I need any of your advice."

"Those legends and traditions have been in place for centuries. It's what has kept our kind strong and without them, the cold ones would have completely taken over," his eyes showed his anger. I rolled my eyes at him.

"I don't need your help," I wasn't getting into this stupid argument any further. "I'll take care of it my self," I turned to leave the room.

"Wait, Emmett," he said. I stopped and huffed. "Look, we just want to offer our expertise. There will be packs from around the world here and many of them won't be happy about Jacob. We just want to keep him safe."

I turned and flopped myself into one of the overstuffed chairs. This was going to be a long afternoon.

I left to make my way upstairs but, Jacob and Paul were just coming in from outside. I wondered how Jake managed to sneak away from Sue but, couldn't blame him.

"Hey, Jake," I said holding out my fist for him to bump. I turned and put my arms around my alpha, picking him up off the ground. "Hey, pops," I patted Paul's back. I couldn't help that I was excited about the fact that I was about to become an uncle. I set him down but held him against me.

"Sooooo, can I pick the name?" I asked. He snorted and pulled away. "I'm thinking for a girl,"

"Get the fuck out of here, you're not picking the name, Emmett," Paul chuckled. Jacob laughed from behind me. "You sure you want this one in your pack, Jake?" Paul asked him.

"Wouldn't have it any other way," he said. "I have to go relieve Seth from mama, he's probably going stir crazy with her hovering. See you guys later," he bounded up the stairs.

"Let's get out of here for a while, I need to get the Bartles and Jaymes stench off me," I said putting my arm around Paul's shoulders and turning him to go outside.

"I should really go check on Brady,"

"He's fine," I rolled my eyes. "He's with Seth and mama and Quil is with them. Noooooo one is getting past them," he glanced up the stairs one last time and nodded at me.

We stripped and phased after leaving the house. It felt good to be outside with just my best friend. So much had happened over the last few weeks after spending most of our lives as only the two of us. We ran through the forest playfully letting our younger selves free. We scared a family of rabbits and wrestled. Paul needed this every once in a while, he was too serious all the time although, he'd never admit it. We finally rested near a small stream after taking a cool drink. I laid on my side panting with my tongue lolled out trying to catch my breath.

"We aren't young kids anymore, Ems," he said as he lay down next to me.

"Speak for yourself, ya geezer. I just spent a perfectly good afternoon with the original models for all those greek statues," I chuckled. "I ain't that old."

Paul showed me his run with Jacob and how he gave him his full submission. It wasn't easy for him. He fought against anything that took away his free will; first not submitting to his brother and going off to form his own pack, imprinting on Brady, and now, submitting to Jacob.

"You know Jacob won't ask you to do anything you don't want, right?" I said. "He isn't that kind of alpha." He nodded and looked out into the forest toward the mansion.

"Now, little Emily, she is going to rule your world," I said.

"Whose Emily?" he asked confused.

"My niece, she'll be our little princess. We should buy her,"

"Slow down, Emmett," he rolled his eyes and huffed. "Why do you assume it will be a girl? And Emily, seriously?"

"Well, Emma for short or even," I winked. "Em."

He shook his head and rolled his eyes. He was feeling nervous about being a father and wanting to lock Brady away until after it was born. Believe it or not, I needed to be his voice of reason. Yeah, I know.

"Everything will be fine, Paul. The cub will be more protected than Seth, which is saying something. You have the head of security at your disposal," I lifted my muzzle to show him my powerful profile.

"Yeah, I know, Em," he said and put his head on his paws. "I'm just, what if I'm not, I don't know if,"

"Paul, chill. You've been taking care of me for years, this kid will be a piece of cake," I said licking his nose. I rested my head over his neck trying to comfort my best friend. "You'll figure it out. The only thing you need to do is love him."

"I thought you said it would be a girl," he smirked.

"Being in charge of the security of the alpha of alphas means being prepared for anything. I will teach little Emanuel everything I know about spit-wads and sling shots," I explained. "Of course, I don't mean those wimpy plastic toys, remember the time when I,"

"Yeah, I wouldn't tell Brady about that. He'll never let you baby sit," he chuckled.

"We've had a lot thrown at us since moving to Forks and as scary it all is, isn't it worth it?" I asked. "I know I would do it all over again knowing that this was how it was going to turn out. You are now the alpha's beta and have an imprint who is going to bear your cub and have a pack with a she-wolf. And," I paused. "The world's strongest, toughest, bestest, not to mention, sexiest beta in the world. What more could you want?"

He remained quite, images of his mate and children flickering through his mind. He imagined them as they grew and even their first phases. It was what he'd always wanted and before coming to Forks, he was beginning to feel like it would never happen. Neither of us did. Now, that it was coming true, he was feeling overwhelmed. A lump formed in my throat as I realized that he was allowing me to be here to comfort him. He loved his mate and I knew he would talk to him about what he was feeling but, I was glad I could be there for him. He was still my best friend.

"Paul," I said.

"Yeah."

"This is where we belong," I snuggled back into him.

We made way back to the house and to our room. Paul went straight to Brady pulling him from the couch and into his arms. They said nothing, just held each other. I walked over to the sofa and kissed my mate on his head. He tipped his head back and smiled at me.

"We can't stay but, I wanted to give you something," I said to him. I leaned down further and kissed him our tongues mingling together. I swallowed his moan when my fingers brushed over his mark and his hand went to the back of my head pulling me closer to him. I pulled away and smiled at him as he adjusted himself.

"The kiss wasn't what you wanted to give me, was it?" he asked.

"No," I winked glancing at his crotch. "It was just an extra bonus," I smirked. "Love you, Em," I told him.

"Love you, Em," he replied.

Chris stood at Jacob's door and I ran a hand through his fur as we past going into our alpha's room. Jacob and Sam were discussing the pack in La Push and Sam would be leaving immediately following the ceremony. He'd left a first year dominant in charge back there and was concerned about what could happen in his absence.

His pack was very young and they were debating whether or not to send Quil back with him. He was one of the oldest in the pack other than Sam and Jake but, still only about three-years phased. Sam hadn't chosen his beta yet.

"He isn't happy being Seth's babysitter, Jake," I told him. "He wants to have a bigger part in the pack."

"He sees it as being a babysitter?" Jake asked confused. "He has the life of my imprint in his hands and he,"

"Jake, he understands how important Seth is to you but, yeah. He wants to protect his tribe," I hoped he would understand and not take offense. I didn't want to lessen Quil's duty, making it seem that protecting Seth wasn't important but, he wanted a different role in the pack.

"I need a beta who isn't so young, Jake," Sam said.

"Plus, you have super-sub Brady to protect him, if anyone made it past me that is," I puffed out my chest. Jake ran a hand through his hair several times and blew out a breath. He seemed to be having the same problem Paul had. It was all a little scary.

"Yeah, okay," he nodded but, still seemed unsure.

"Thanks, Jake," Sam said putting a hand on his shoulder.

I had no time to spend with my mate except for the occasional kiss or grope. As the night went on, more and more shape-shifters arrived including James and his thugs. I had wolves placed outside at every door and window, no one was allowed inside without permission. The visiting packs slept outside or stayed in the nearby town. Every alpha in the world had a right to watch this ceremony, no matter how much I thought they shouldn't. By morning I was exhausted but, so was everyone. There wasn't anyone I would trust enough to take over for me.