A/N Thanks to Mist for pre-reading. Also, thanks to all for the favorites, follows, and reviews. It is greatly appreciated. Sorry for the delay, but the next chapter is complete and will be posted in a day or two. Hugs, Reign.

Previously on Breath of Life: (PPOV)

"I get off at four," she said softly.

Perfect! Gramps and I should be back from Port Angeles by then.

"I'll pick you up on the bike." Well, Jake's bike. I'd just throw it in the back of my truck. Provided of course I could afford the bribe to get it.

She looked a little unsure. Whether it was the date, the bike, or something else, I wasn't sure. After an agonizIng thirty seconds, she said "Okay."

"See ya then, gorgeous," I said as I gave the roof of her truck a double pat. I watched her drive away for a minute then hightailed it to my shop.

~B of L~

Chapter 20: Welcome to the Jungle

Songs: Welcome to the Jungle by Guns-N-Roses; One Headlight by The Wallflowers

PPOV

An hour after Bella went to work, I pulled up to my grandfather's house to pick Max and him up. Max was going to spend the day with Joy while we did our delivery.

However, no sooner did Gramps close the passenger door than Makala began begging. "Can I please come?"

"Honey, we discussed this," Gramps said with his ever present patience, but it seemed as though it may have been running a little thin. I wondered how much she had been trying to talk him into it.

She laid those damn puppy dog eyes on me. "But I dreamt of Mom last night, and she said to spend more time with you."

Pack your bags, we're going on a guilt trip. I smiled despite in death, Mom was still laying them on me.

I saw Gramps flinch a little, but he kept quiet. Makala talked a lot about her dreams lately after her near drowning. He, nor I, would ever try to keep her from talking about Mom. Max was so young when she died. Anything that kept our mother's memory alive within her could not be considered a bad thing, regardless how uncomfortable it made us.

"It will be really boring. Just driving to other side of Port Angeles and back."

"But I really want to go!"

I looked at Gramps and he gave me an indifferent shrug. Much to Max's elation, he pulled his cell out to let Joy know.

We talked and joked on the drive up. Max squealed in glee when we saw a Volkswagen bug and she got to play Slug-Bug.

"How is Bella doing?" Gramps asked about her, as he often did. It seemed it was more than just curiosity, but I couldn't figure out what it was.

"She's okay. I'm picking her up after work."

"Well, say hello for me."

Before I could acknowledge his request, Makala spoke five words that knocked the wind right out of me. "Are you gonna marry her?"

Whoa!

It's not easy surprising someone with superhuman reflexes, but my little sister certainly had. I swerved back into my lane, as my temporary paralysis caused me to drift over the line. "Wow, did you see the size of that pothole?" I attempted to deflect the mistake.

Gramps chuckled.

Makala, oblivious to both my poor driving and state of mind, pressed on, "I really hope you do. I like her a lot. Do you think I will get to be a bridesmaid? Jessie and Jennie get to be when their brother gets married. But I heard their mom say something about a cold day before she would let her baby marry that Kim girl."

I felt my jaw drop and the color drain from my face.

Marriage?

Marriage was screaming, hitting, and crying. I didn't want that with Bella. I wanted what we had now, only better, and that couldn't possibly involve marriage.

If I said the word marriage to Bella, I might as well buy her a plane ticket to leave me with. She was already skittish; this would make her bolt.

Gramps intervened when he saw my obvious panic. "Hush, Makala. Don't scare him, my dear. These things need to run their course. He needs time to figure out on his own that Bella is the best thing to ever happen to him and he would be a fool to let her slip through his fingers."

Max looked appeased but I didn't miss the tone of his words or the pointed glance he gave me.

Ah, the passive aggressive grandparent.

Fuck my life!

~B of L~

A while later the furniture had been unloaded and Gramps' ego had been sufficiently boosted from his supposed amazing display of strength.

Much to my relief, all talk of the M-word had ceased. It was a good thing too, because more talk of it would have seriously affected my appetite.

I pulled the truck to a stop at a little hole-in-the-wall we often ate lunch at. Hands down, the best onion rings west of the Rockies.

I had just got out and was following Gramps and Max in when my phone rang. Embry's name flashed when I checked the screen.

Shit! I was on the edge of hearing range and we had been listening to music. "Hello?"

"Paul?"

"Yeah, what's going on?"

There was a short pause, I looked up to see my grandfather and sister's curious faces.

"Uh, the rogue came back."

Fuck! "How far did he get? What did he do?"

Embry hesitated for a second, and a chill ran up my back.

"He drove a car right into the patrol territory. He... fuck...he drove right to Newton's Outfitters." I closed my eyes as words escaped me. Embry promptly spoke again. "She's okay. The Cullens intervened before he could leave with her. She may have a broken arm, but she is alive and sarcastic as ever."

His attempt at levity fell on deaf ears as images washed through my mind of what could have been.

"Jake and I have her, and we're taking her to the reservation." The words should have been a relief, but they had the opposite effect.

Because I should have been there. Not him, not Jake, and certainly not the fucking Cullens!

I started shaking, the fire of the phase running through my spine in a searing pain that I was almost relieved to be feeling. My eyes met Gramps' as I started backing toward the forest. He nodded in acceptance, and whispered the word "keys."

I dropped my phone, my wallet, and the keys on the ground and bolted for the woods. The anger consumed me when I breached the tree line, my clothes fell behind me in tatters as my paws met the forest floor.

I tore through the woods at top speed, animals scurrying away in terror as I passed. Not only was I a horse sized wolf, but I was fucking feral.

My wolf was losing his shit at the thought of that vampire touching what was ours.

Because that was what Bella was. She was ours, and it didn't matter that we hadn't imprinted on her. We had chose her, and when so many choices were taken away, that meant everything.

A thousand tortures looped through my mind of what to do to the fucking leech as I neared Forks. Embry had thought her arm was broken. I didn't know if vampires felt pain like we could if our appendages were severed, but I wouldn't stop until his screams satisfied me.

Paul, calm down, I suddenly heard Jake order.

I growled deep in my chest. Where. Is. She?

Getting her arm looked at, Jake replied matter of factly.

As he made his way to my location, Jake ran through the last forty minutes after getting the call from the Cullens while he made his dad's lunch. I registered the fucking stench of his memory of hugging Bella and the smell both of the rouge and the badass Cullen on her, making me want to tear the forest apart again. I grew even more incensed at seeing Bella's brave facade as she hid the agony of her obviously broken arm.

And on top of everything else, I had to watch as Embry drove away with my girlfriend. It was all just a big pile of shit.

Don't worry about Embry. I think he is sweet on a girl in Forks.

Imprint?

No.

Well, if that was true then it was one less thing. On to bigger problems.

She know? I didn't elaborate. I didn't need to.

I couldn't help be scared of what she would do.

She didn't say, but I figure she knows something. She keeps things pretty close to the chest, Jake replied.

Don't I know it, I thought sarcastically.

Jake watched as the memory of finding Bella on the cliff that morning rolled through my mind, my worry and anger bubbling back to the surface.

Man, I don't think that dog likes you? Jake laughed.

No shit, Sherlock. What did the ticks say?

I asked if they had tracked him to the store. They said they hadn't, Jake said.

I shuddered. It all could have been so much worse. What else? I asked.

They were going to have a coven meeting and then the scarred one said that he would try to pick up the trail and the big one was going to see if he could track that stolen car.

You think they will really help? I snarled. The fucking leeches had upturned all of our lives so they could go to fucking high school. High school! So yeah, I hated them.

I don't like them around her any more than you, but I'm grateful they were today. She would have died, Jake said.

I felt fucking useless. What are we going to do?

We are going to burn this fucker, Jake vehemently vowed. But we have to be smart about it though. Now that we know Bella...

I promptly cut him off, We are not fucking dangling her in front of him like a blood bag!

Jake growled threateningly, I would never use her as bait. However, we can use her involvement to our advantage.

How?

If she stays on the reservation, we have the upper hand. He can't get in without our knowing.

It sounded plausible, but there was one teeny, tiny problem. Bella rarely did what you expected.

How are we going to keep her on the rez?

I could see Jake's wolf smile, Grandpa.

An image passed through my head of Uncle Quil holding his cane in the middle of the road to block Bella's fire-breathing Chevy from leaving the reservation.

You shall not pass...

Jake and I both howled with laughter.

~B of L~

Previously on Breath of Life: (BPOV)

I smiled widely at Angela's anger but got back to the point. "Seriously? You don't remember the guy from fifteen minutes ago? The guy was beyond creepy." And a whole lot of scary as fuck!

"No."

I shook my head at her. I am the sanest one here. That is just... sad.

Trying to coax the stress headache that had started away, I looked around for Chase; maybe he could make me laugh. Sure enough, I saw him sitting on the floor of the display tent, hugging his knees while he rocked back and forth. I couldn't see his face but I knew it was marred with concern. Nothing but fear shone from his usually jovial eyes as they bore into mine.

He was worried.

I wouldn't admit it out loud, but I was a little worried too.

"Bella, you okay?" Jake said from the doorway, making me pull my eyes from Chase. Jake's face was a mix between concern and impatience.

"Sure," I said as I took one last glance toward the tent, only to find it empty.

~B of L~

BPOV

Jake gave me a dubious look, clearly not believing me one bit.

Oh well.

"Alright," he sighed. "Do you need anything from your truck?" he asked as he looked outside. When I told him I had some clothes I thought he would waltz outside to get them, but he didn't budge. He just stood there like some sentry in a castle while the tension in the room increased. He was like a caged animal, waiting for the door to swing open so he could taste freedom once more.

Mr. Newton came in and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw me. "What happened?" he asked with true concern.

I was going to reply, but the mute beside me suddenly turned into Chatty Cathy.

Jake went into a spiel of how he had been dropped off by his friends so he could say hello. He had came in and surprised me while I was on a ladder. The resulting fall appeared to have broke my arm, so we were waiting for Embry to get back so we could have it looked at.

Mr. Newton listened patiently to the explanation and then asked Angela for confirmation. She nodded her head even though she didn't have a clue what the hell was going on. I thought perhaps that vampire may have messed with her head.

Appeased, my boss gave me his well wishes and went to his office. Silence descended between Jake and I again as we waited for Embry. He had only been gone about fifteen minutes but it felt like it had been years. I was sure part of the reason was my arm.

"You can leave, you know," I assured him. I could tell Jake was antsy to be rid of me. It was the story of my life.

"No need. He's back," he said as he looked at the road. I peered in that direction, but saw and heard nothing. However, not twenty seconds later Jake's Rabbit pulled into the lot. Embry jumped out of the car and headed toward the store.

"Be right back," Jake said over his shoulder as he rushed out the door. He spoke for a few seconds to Embry and then went to my truck to collect my things. Moments later he returned and led me outside, placing me gently in the car.

"I'll see you later, okay?"

"Yeah," I muttered as I leaned back in the seat, barely registering Embry sitting down on the driver side.

"Take care of her," Jake ordered Embry before closing the door and doing a double tap on the roof.

The car started without ceremony, and as we pulled out of the lot, I caught Jake's stoic image in the side mirror running in the opposite direction of my truck.

Another oppressive silence descended inside the vehicle while a thousand things were racing through my head. I hadn't been this confused since Phil asked for permission to marry my sister.

Embry was clearly uncomfortable too, and he switched the radio on. The distinctive chords of GNR's Welcome to the Jungle filled the cab.

I was just about to thank him, but the next lyrics stopped me.

'Gonna make you bleed...'

Uh, no! I quickly scrambled to turn the radio off, wincing in pain as the action jarred my arm.

"Yeah, that song probably a little much today," Embry chuckled.

Just a bit, I replied silently.

We drifted into more silence. I fought exhaustion after my adrenaline rush, but the pain in my arm was keeping me awake.

"He's going on foot," I stated randomly.

Embry looked over at me questionably, "What?"

"Jake." He nodded his head. "So when he said I wouldn't like it if I went with him…" My voice trailed off as I started connecting some dots. Really? "The wolves are that big?"

"About the size of a horse," Embry said nonchalantly as he pulled onto the highway.

Well that explained why all the La Push guys were so big.

"Why didn't he take my truck?"

"Well first, it's best if we separate your scent from it. The leech knew it was yours. Second, he's trying to intercept Paul."

Not knowing what that meant exactly, I closed my eyes again.

"I've been pretty dense about all this." Embry didn't comment, so I continued, "You guys are about as normal as snow in Phoenix. Your height, your hollow-legged stomachs, and all that growling."

He gave me a side glance with his brow lifted in question. I blushed; perhaps that was more Paul.

"If it's any consolation, you are taking it all surprisingly well. Much better than the others."

"How so?"

"Kim fainted, but drama is her middle name. Emily…" Embry hesitated for a second as if he was choosing his words carefully. "Emily lashed out at Sam."

"How did that go?"

He winced, and the image of Emily's scarred face came to mind. I looked at him horrified.

"He didn't mean to do that," Embry quickly defended. "Emily was upset because Sam was blowing off Leah. You see, Leah and her are cousins. Anyway, Emily told Sam that he was no better than his deadbeat father that had left him when he was little. She slapped him and Sam had gotten angry and it had triggered him to phase. Emily was just too close. We are extremely volatile in the first few months. It takes time to be able to get control of the wolf."

I could tell there was a lot there that had been left unsaid. Saving it for another time, I decided to get as many questions as I could recall.

"What happened that night at Quil's?"

"Well, Seth did not take kindly to you beating the shit out of his sister. Quil pushed you out of the way when Seth phased and lunged at you."

Huh. I wasn't sure what to do with that. Clearly my disdain for the Clearwaters was reciprocated. Meh.

"It takes several months for us to get the anger under control. Well, a little more in Paul's case."

"Why?"

"Well, Paul is Paul. I can't explain it any better than that," Embry threw my words from a couple weeks ago back at me cheekily.

I smiled; truer words were never spoken.

When asked where I needed to go, I directed him to the reservation's clinic.

I met his questioning eyes. "I thought it best to avoid Forks General," I said with the Cullen physician in mind. I had had enough vampires for one day, that was for sure. He probably wasn't dangerous, but then again my first impressions tended to be fairly accurate.

"See, you're catching on like a pro," Embry chimed.

~B of L~

Minutes later, Embry pulled up to the door of the clinic.

He helped me out of the truck and opened the clinic door for me."Mom!" he announced our presence.

"Embry?" Jenny Call asked warily as she turned a corner. Her eyes widened when she saw me gingerly holding my injured arm.

"Bella, what on earth have you done to yourself?" As many wounds as she had treated in the past, she was as well acquainted with my ability to end up here as anyone. It wasn't that I was naturally clumsy, but running with a group of rowdy boys caused lots of skinned knees. I'm still not sure who applied more bandages, her or Gran.

I gave her a small smile, "Not my fault this time."

She sat me down on a bench and knelt down to inspect the damage. "Well, that's a pleasant…" her words trailed off as she saw the skin bruised horribly in the shape of a hand.

"Who did this?" she growled menacingly. How very fitting she had gave birth to a future wolf. "Bella, what sorry piece of shit did this to you?"

I looked at her apprehensively. What was I supposed to say? A vampire did it. Did she even know about them or wolves? It all seemed pretty need-to-know to me, but she was his mother.

My tight lips caused her to turn to her son, "Embry, who did this?"

He sighed in defeat and mumbled, "It was the rogue."

"What!" she exclaimed, her eyes bulging in fear. "Did you get him?"

He shook his head and then looked at me before giving his mother a pointed look.

I fought back an eyeroll. Definitely super secret squirrel.

Her finger traced along the scar on my arm from the accident. She gave me a circumspect glance, and I shook my head imperceptibly.

"Embry, time to go," she said suddenly.

He looked at me pleadingly so I'd allow him to stay, but I was sure that would make me even more anxious. Jenny's expression made me nervous enough.

"Uh, no. I suggest if you ever want grandkids, you don't make me move from her side. Paul is going to go nuclear."

Embry's mother scoffed at his statement, "Paul is a puddy tat. Patient confidentiality trumps wolf every time. You can just run laps around the place."

He sighed dramatically. "Just as well. Now I don't have to be caref-"

"Out!"

"Fine. Bella, I'll be waiting outside." I waved at him in farewell and then looked apprehensively to Jenny, the burgeoning smile falling promptly from my lips.

"I was going to name the first girl after you..." Embry's voice trailed off as Jenny closed the door behind him.

"Well, let's get started."

She promptly busied herself around the room, laying out gauze and tools. I recognized the interrogation technique easily; Gran had been a big fan. She had silently worked in the kitchen with me until I had cracked like an eggshell. Resistance had been futile.

To most people Jenny was merely working diligently, but I knew better. She was prepping me just as much as her equipment. By the time she had plugged in an X-ray machine and turned back to look at me, I was ready to confess my every thought and action.

She should consider fighting crime if the nursing thing didn't work out.

As she positioned my arm under the machine, I couldn't take the silence any longer.

"Embry, seems to be doing better. I'm glad." He had been so despondent the last time we had really talked, but today he was downright playful.

She smiled, "It is a refreshing change." Her expression became pensive for a moment. "I know that not telling him who his father was difficult on him."

I looked at her uncomfortably, "Jenny, I didn't mean to…"

"Hush, now. I never do anything I don't want to do. I met his father on the Makah reservation. I still lived with my parents while I was finishing up nursing school. He was sweet and charming, but he didn't speak a lot about himself, only that he was from La Push. I had been too smitten to ask a lot of questions. Love didn't cause my blindness, but I was blind nonetheless.

"Five weeks after he left town, I found out that I was pregnant. I had been scared of course, but I decided the first thing to do was to come down here and tell him. No matter what might happen between us in the future, he had deserved to know.

"Imagine my surprise when I got down here to find him married with a toddler."

My breath caught; I knew exactly who she was referring to. I clutched my hands into fists with anger.

"He apologized and begged me to stay in town. He couldn't leave his wife, but said that it was imperative that I raise my son in La Push. I only recently figured out why.

"As cruel as it seemed to others not to tell Embry, it would have been worse for him to know his father wouldn't claim him. I saved him from that truth for as long as I could. That his father would rather stay in a loveless marriage than to claim his firstborn son."

"I am so sorry," I whispered when she moved away to take the X-ray.

"Thank you dear. We all have our painful moments, but they just make the good days that much sweeter," she said as she sat back down beside me and inspected my arm again. "Hmmm, this was a very bad break," she commented as she traced the line of a faded scar.

"Yeah." Compound, hurt like hell.

"What happened?"

"Car accident."

"Anyone else hurt?"

Reggie's face came to mind. I didn't trust my voice, so I merely nodded.

"I see."

To my surprise, she didn't ask when. It was obvious it had been since I had last visited La Push. The wound outside was long ago healed, but the ones inside were still raw.

She reached up hesitantly, her eyes never leaving mine, and ran her fingers along my scalp. Sadness overtook her features as her fingers hit the raised scars. I worked hard to keep them from being visible but there was little to do to avoid detection if touched.

She saw the questions in my eyes of how she had known, or at least suspected that the scars had been there. "You wear that beautiful hair up all the time," she whispered lowly in answer.

I wondered how the hell she knew that when I hadn't seen her since I got back to Washington. Then it dawned on me, she was best friends with Joy.

"No one else has noticed," I replied in an equal whisper. Well, Paul had, but only because he had been running his hands in my hair.

I wasn't sure why we were trying not to be heard when Embry was outside, but decided to follow her lead. She was taking pains to keep our discussion confidential and I could respect that.

"Men are such clueless creatures," she laughed without mirth. In my experience that had been true, but I had also realized that that could be a good thing at times.

~B of L~

I left the clinic feeling less confused about the past but apprehensive of the future. Jenny was going to confront Charlie; I was sure of it.

I wish she could wait a month or so, and I'd be gone by then.

Will you? I shook my head to quell my internal rambling.

Jenny had rarely been around Charlie and me together. I really hadn't ever thought much about it before, but it made sense. Charlie, Harry, and Billy had been attached at the hip since childhood. And I inferred that she wouldn't have come near Harry with a ten foot pole if she could avoid it.

I had always seen Jenny at Joy's house. Charlie would rarely go there, usually only to pick me up if he had to.

I didn't tell her all that had happened between Charlie and me. I could see a cloud of wrath floating above her, growing with everything that I had said. It wasn't like Charlie had hurt me physically. It was the fact that I had been hurt, and my extended family hadn't known. He had hid it from everyone to save his reputation. I would have rather suffered alone than to live in Washington with him.

I didn't say the words but I knew the words going through her mind, emotional abuse. It was true, but it was done.

I looked over at the boy, no man, beside me driving carefully so as not to jar my arm. We were so similar even if he didn't know it.

"I'm so sorry, Embry." He gave me a puzzled look. "Harry," I clarified.

"Damn it, Mom," he muttered. He shrugged his shoulders, "It is what it is. Answered a lot of questions for me on how he acted around me over the years. G.I. Joe says knowing is half the battle," he laughed.

I didn't. I knew more than most that knowing didn't help with jack shit.

"How did you find out?"

"The asshat told me and Seth together after Old Quil threatened to do it."

I growled.

Embry laughed again. "Yeah, you can imagine my reaction. I was so pissed I phased inside the Council Hall!" He looked strangely proud of himself, like he had procured bragging rights for a very long time.

Boys.

His lighthearted attempt at brevity made me want to laugh and cry at the same time. As someone who had her own daddy issues, I knew the hurt he had to be feeling.

My silence made him pensive for a moment. "Well, at least now I know."

"What can I do?" I offered although I knew there wasn't much I could do. I really wanted to beat the shit out of Harry Clearwater, but didn't feel like it would be a fair fight. He was more of a pussy than his daughter.

I guess I could make Embry some pies...

"Well, maybe if I had someone's phone number…" He tried to give me a pathetic look, but failed miserably.

Well, well, well. What do we have here?

"I can see now that I really have been a fool all these years." He gave me a questioning look and I continued, "I had you pegged as a nice guy, Embry Call, but you turn out to be the quintessential wolf in sheep's clothing."

He wiggled his eyebrows at me.

I rolled my eyes and fought back a smile, failing miserably. "She usually has Tuesday and Friday nights off."

He leaned over and kissed my cheek, winking at me as he pulled away. "Thanks, Bells."

~B of L~

We pulled up to the Ateara's and no sooner had we stopped then the door flew open. I was enveloped in a slightly painful hug as Paul crushed me to his the initial shock wore off, I melted into his arms.

"Are you okay?" he muffled into my hair.

I wasn't sure what to say. I finally felt okay for the first time that day in his warm embrace. The amount of comfort that seemed to just ooze out of his pores was ridiculous. But the day had been a clusterfuck of epic proportions. My reality, and arm, had took a quite a beating.

A vampire tried to kill me. Six words I would have bet good money I'd never say. Not only that, but the guy I am dating is not completely human. I'm sure a lot of women say that about the degenerates they date. But I'm not saying it to be derogatory. He actually does turn into a friggin' wolf.

I knew something was off here. Between feeling eyes on me all the damn time, the toddler stalker, and McGrowls-a-lot I knew that I was in uncharted territory. All of the little things added up to a Twilight Zone episode.

Fuck my life.

"I think under the circumstances, we just meet with Jake and Old Quil for a little bit and then go home. I'm sure you don't feel like going out."

I didn't need to comment. I looked like shit, and I felt like shit. My arm still throbbed, and with the cast I now sported, Paul was going to have to help me shower.

I felt so icky and wigged out that that thought didn't bring the smile to my face it usually did.

He picked me up into his arms and carried me inside the house. I felt too bad to be turned on by his display of strength. He stopped for a second to inform Old Quil we were going to clean up.

To my surprise, Old Quil didn't comment. I wasn't sure if it was because he was young once too, or he realized that I'd never manage on my own. He just said he was going to make some tea and for us to come join him on the porch when we were done. Although I wasn't sure, I could swear I saw the tiniest blush on his wrinkled cheeks.

The shower was heaven and helped relax my aching muscles. Paul was not his usual randy self. He was tender and patient, like he knew I couldn't handle anything after the day I had had.

I dressed in some of Joy's clothes while he took a pair of Quil's shorts. We made our way outside and I sat down next to Old Quil on the swing while Paul perched himself next to Jake on the railing. He looked at the space between me and his uncle longingly. It didn't seem that Paul had let loose of me since he pulled me out of the car when I had arrived. I wondered vaguely if that was a wolf thing.

Old Quil began retelling the stories he had a hundred times before. He explained that the threat of vampires in the territory caused the young men of the tribe to turn into wolves. And although the guys liked to call themselves werewolves, they were actually shapeshifters. The Cullen's had a treaty with them and when they moved back after a seventy-year absence, they had triggered this generation's pack to begin phasing. Old Quil finished that there would be a large bonfire next Friday and they would explain more then.

"You want to see, Bella?" Jake asked nonchalantly after Old Quil had finished. Like he was asking me to look at some gnarly scar.

Uh...

"Not today." I replied. As good as I seemed to be with all this, my supernatural quota had been hit for the day by a mile and then some.

I saw a fleck of disappointment in Paul's grey eyes but it was gone as fast as it had appeared.

Old Quil patted my leg comfortingly, "Why don't you get some rest, I'm sure you are tired. We will wake you up for dinner later." We rose up and went back into the house. I followed him into his den and laid down on the large couch.

My nap was less than restful. Vibrant red eyes stared at me and no matter how much I burrowed myself into the cushions and hugged the quilt to me, I still felt cold.

When the futility of laying down became apparent, I rose. No sooner than I had then the smell of food beckoned me into the kitchen.

Joy was cooking what smelled like meatloaf. She was humming pleasantly as she sliced some bread, and I was reminded of Gran fixing me breakfast years ago.

"Oh! Hello, dear. Dinner will be ready soon. I was wondering when you would wake up. Could you... perhaps give me that recipe for your garlic bread? Makala can help do the work if you'd be so kind as to supervise," she said as she placed a glass of water and some pills before me.

Makala, who I had missed upon entering the kitchen, was more than eager for my tutelage. The food was finished a half hour later and set out on the Ateara's large table with the Blacks and Wildes also gathering around.

A few minutes into the meal Old Quil noted to Billy, "We could really use some help with the elderly. All the young people move away and leave the caring for their ancestors to the tribe."

I swallowed some mashed potatoes and looked across the table. "I could help some." I needed an outlet for all this anxiety.

Old Quil smiled widely. Too widely.

Hmmm, what am I missing? The old man looked devious and Jake looked smug. Something was definitely up. I didn't hazard a glance at Paul, he was too handy for me to implicate quite yet.

"I'll help. Can I help?" Makala asked hopefully. I smiled and nodded at her. The more the merrier.

While conversation continued for a while in between bites of food, I waited for the other shoe to drop.

"Bella, it would be best if you stayed close by while we catch that rogue." Old Quil added after some other innocuous chatter.

Oh, hell no!

"I'm under house arrest?" I asked incredulously.

"Oh, don't be so dramatic, Isabella. You can go anywhere on the reservation," Old Quil appeased.

How gracious of you, I snarked in my head.

I put on my most defiant look and glared at him, "I have work." And a sorta life.

"Well, actually..."

I dropped my head on the table and groaned in defeat.

Thanks for reading!