A/N: With the holidays bearing down on us, this will probably be my last update before the New Year. However, I do have the third outtake fully done and will post it when we reach 500 reviews or Christmas, whichever comes first. If you're kind enough to review this chapter, I'll send you a preview of the outtake. I promise, it's a scorcher!

As always, MunkeeRajah and Evelyn-Shaye worked their magic on this chapter. They are definitely on the nice list this year!

Finally, since a few readers pointed out that I should have done this for chapter 20, I am hereby issuing a tissue alert for this chapter. If you don't have a box handy, proceed at your own risk!

Stephenie Meyer owns twilight. I'm just borrowing tape from her dispenser.

Chapter 25 — When the Wind Blows

Leah POV

"Goddammit, Paul, you shithead!" I reached forward into the front seat of my mother's Buick and slapped Jake's brother-in-law in the back of the head. He lurched forward and glared at me over his shoulder.

"Leah!" My mother's espresso eyes skewered me in the rearview mirror. "Keep your hands to yourself!"

Beside me in the back seat, Nahuel gently laid his hand on the small of my back—his way of cautioning me against starting anything with Paul. Too late. Paul was already on my shit list for leaving Nahuel alone and setting off the whole chain of events that ended with me injured, Nahuel's arms permanently scarred, and Jake missing.

After all that, he had the balls to wait until we were on the way home from the Cullen house to drop a huge, shitty bombshell on my head. The elders had called a full council to discuss the future of the packs and what to do about Jacob's disappearance.

I couldn't recall anything good ever coming from one of their meddle-fests.

I took another swipe at Paul's fat head. "Why am I only hearing about this now? When the fuck were you going to tell me this, asshole?"

Paul jerked his head out of reach and glowered at me. It was a testimony to how much he'd matured in five years of marriage to Jake's sister that he didn't come across the seat after me. Unfortunately, his maturity didn't extend to his mouth.

"I'm telling you now, bitch," he snapped. "And maybe you should ask why the hell Seth didn't tell you about it first!"

"Stop it, both of you!" my mother commanded, raising her voice to overpower the low growl emanating from my imprint. Paul's belligerent, insulting reply had shifted Nahuel's gears from calm to outraged in a heartbeat. If I didn't want this to turn into an all-out slugfest inside my mother's car, I needed to get him calmed down. Which meant I needed to calm myself first.

I took a deep breath and sat back, reaching for Nahuel's hand. As soon as my skin contacted his, the rumble in his chest died to silence. He left off staring daggers at Paul and turned his golden gaze to me. I took several more cleansing breaths. Nahuel seemed to grow calmer with each one. I wished I could let go of my annoyance so easily.

"When is the meeting?"

Paul and my mother exchanged sideways glances. "We're not actually supposed to tell you," he muttered.

I felt my blood pressure spike again. "Says who? And why the hell not?"

"Says Sam," he replied.

"And the other elders," my mother added, her tone full of disapproval. "They feel that since you're no longer part of the pack, you should have no place at council. Obviously, I don't agree with that."

My stomach slid toward my toes. I'd already been beating myself up for not considering the ramifications of breaking the pack link before I did it, and this was a whole new ball of earwax. I hadn't considered at all what the elders' reaction would be. I'd been too obsessed with finding Jake to worry what the rest of the community—at least the part that knew about the packs—might think.

I wasn't surprised by their decision. Most of them had never been too comfortable with having a female in the pack to begin with, let alone one as bitchy as I was. They were probably glad for the excuse to not have to deal with me anymore.

Fuck that shit. They are NOT cutting me out of things.

"When is the meeting, Mom?"

"Tonight," she replied. She glanced at Paul again, and after a moment, he nodded, as if they'd just had another silent chat.

"What?" I demanded.

"Sam's going to ask the council to order Jake's guys to rejoin Sam's pack," Paul announced. Although he'd been the third to follow Seth and I in leaving Sam's pack for Jake's, Paul had never quite bought into our belief that Sam had turned out to be an asshole. He was feeling it now, though, if the disgust and betrayal in his tone was any evidence.

I didn't need more than a second to realize what it would mean for Jake if Sam was successful. I understood why Sam would ask for it, and why the elders might agree—right now, Jake's pack was directionless. A wolf pack without an Alpha was useless at best, and downright dangerous at worst. But the solution for that was to find Jake quickly, not force his pack to abandon him.

Like I had already done.

I felt shaky and sick to my stomach. "How can they consider that? Would any of the guys even listen to them if they did?"

"Fuck if I know," Paul said. "That's why we're telling you this. Damned if I'm going to let them leave Rach's brother out there all alone. But no one is going to listen to me unless I've got some backup."

"And I'm the best you can come up with?" That was just sad. "What about Seth?"

Paul and Mom exchanged another look. I was getting tired of this silent communication thing they had going on. It was bad enough when that nosy vampire mind-reader did it.

"C'mon! What about Seth?"

"We're not sure where Seth stands," my mother answered quietly.

Nahuel's fingers tightened around mine, and he made a low sound of disbelief. "Surely, Seth will support Leah and Paul," he said.

"Seth's not talking," Paul replied. "Don't know why, don't care. If the little shit doesn't step up and do the right thing, I'm going to kick his ass to Port Angeles and back."

"This just doesn't make any sense," I said, shaking my head. "Seth wouldn't side with Sam, would he?"

What if he does, though? my inner bitch whispered. What if Anjali doesn't want Jake and Renesmee found and is manipulating Seth to make sure they aren't?

With my free hand, I rubbed my stomach. I was starving and nauseated at the same time. I'd refused to eat before we left the Cullen house because I'd been pretty sure that between the smell of vampire, my stress over Jake, and my ongoing stomach problems, I'd have projectile-vomited before I managed to get down three bites. Hunger was probably the source of my light-headedness now.

"There's more, Leah," my mother said, turning off the highway and onto the side road that led to the rez. "The council has invited the Cullens to attend."

My head was going to explode. For sure.

"Really? On the rez?"

The elders had allowed Carlisle onto the reservation just once before, when Jake had been injured after the fight with Victoria's newborns and the doc had gone to Billy's house to patch him up. Maybe if they were allowing Carlisle to attend the council, they weren't completely ready to write off my Alpha. Maybe they were hoping to coordinate search efforts with the Cullens.

"Yeah," Paul affirmed. We'd never be friends, but I felt a pang of painful companionship at the desperation in his dark eyes. "Carlisle, Edward and Jasper will be there. The elders want to talk about what the vamps are doing to find Jake and Nessie. That's gotta be good, right? It means they're still willing to look for him. Right?"

I shrugged. "Could be."

I didn't add what I was thinking, though. Any pack member who decamped back to Sam's pack was probably going to get an immediate Alpha order to stay the hell put and protect the rez. Sam had been really vocal about how terrible he thought it was that Jake was planning to take wolves away from the rez and out into the world when the Cullens left Forks. He believed every Quileute wolf belonged here, protecting the tribe and our land. There was no way he'd allow any of his guys to go off looking for Jake.

Could the Cullens find Jake and Renesmee without the help of the packs? It was pretty much a foregone conclusion that Joham had them. Even if the Cullens found my missing friend and his imprint, would the vampires be able to rescue them alone? They were a strong coven, but I was afraid Joham's was stronger. Not to mention batshit crazy, evil and not inclined to fight fair.

Paul gripped the seatback and pinned me with a pleading look. "We can't let them give up, Leah. We just can't. It would kill Rach."

My throat closed up with yet another layer of guilt. Rachel was my friend, too, and I remembered how panicked she'd been years ago when she thought Jake was missing. He'd gone wolf, hiding out on four feet trying to forget his heartbreak over Bella Swan, but Rach hadn't known that he was safe. How much worse was this for her, now, knowing he was in danger?

"No one will abandon the search for Jacob," Nahuel said. His gaze rested on me, and my heart melted at the absolute trust shining from his eyes. "The Cullens want to find him as much as they do Renesmee. Leah will convince the elders to help them."

I swallowed hard and gave his hand an appreciative squeeze. "Thanks," I murmured, as my mother stopped the car in front of our house. I did a double-take at the sight of Charlie's cruiser sitting in the driveway.

"What's Charlie doing here?" I asked my mother.

She turned off the engine and met my eyes in the rearview mirror again, but ignored my question, responding to Nahuel instead.

"We all will," she said. "And if we can't … well then to hell with them all. We'll find Jake and Nessie ourselves."

"I hope you do not include yourself in the active membership of that 'we,' Sue," Nahuel said as we climbed out of the car.

"Mom," I tried again. "What's Charlie doing here?"

My mother glanced at me, then smiled at Nahuel. It was too sweet and innocent. "What do you mean, dear?" she asked him.

Oh, ho! So that's their game. Charlie was waiting inside because Mom thought she and her fiancé were going to take a bigger role in finding Charlie's granddaughter and my Alpha. There was no way I was going to let that happen, but Nahuel spoke before I could open my mouth.

"Your friendship and emotional support will be vital to everyone's efforts, but you—and Charlie, if he is thinking along the same lines—must not expect to be involved in the physical aspects of this search," he said, closing the car door for her. "It is simply too dangerous."

Her lips compressed and her eyes narrowed. I mentally snickered. Busted, Mom!

"Well, of course not," she huffed, heading for the front door.

Behind her back, Paul and Nahuel exchanged a friendly fist-bump. I rolled my eyes, even though no one was looking at me to appreciate my disgust. By the time Paul turned to me, I'd managed to wipe the annoyance off my face. No sense in riling him up again. Looked like we were going to need each other tonight when we faced the council.

"Look, I gotta take off," Paul said. "Rach and Billy are both pretty messed up about Jake, and I don't want to leave them alone any more than necessary."

A fresh pang of guilt nudged me in my shaky stomach. "Sure, Paul. Thanks for riding with us, and thanks for telling me about the meeting. I'll see you tonight."

He tapped his eyebrow in a friendly salute and trotted toward the tree line, already pulling his shirt over his head. Trust Paul to choose running as a wolf over simply driving his car. I turned quickly toward the house when he reached for his waistband. I'd seen his naked ass enough.

Mom and Nahuel had already gone inside, and I gave myself a quick mental pep talk before following them.

Do not lose your temper with Charlie. He's just trying to help. Explain to him calmly why he can't help look for Jake. He's a smart guy. He'll get it.

Thinking I sounded pretty reasonable—at least to myself—I took a deep breath and squared my shoulders before opening the front door … only to have two of my five senses go into immediate overload. My eyes and nose were competing to see which could blow my mind first.

Smell won out as the overpowering fragrance of flowers—fucking hundreds of them—smacked me in the face. My eyes caught up with my nose a split second later.

My living room was filled with flowers.

Huge bouquets in tall glass vases. Sprays of long, bell-like blooms in baskets of varying shapes and sizes. Bunches of brightly colored balls and puffs in squat containers. Petals strewn on the floor, coffee table, couch—even my father's rump-sprung recliner. Damned if I could have told you what kind any of them were, other than the roses, but they were freaking everywhere.

It was totally, ridiculously over the top. And it was the most confusing thing I'd ever seen, because in the midst of all this floral chaos stood my imprint, looking like he was going to barf at any moment. Behind him, nearly hidden by all the absurd flowers, were Charlie and Mom. Charlie was wearing a shit-eating grin and my mother's eyes were bright and teary.

And suddenly I remembered my mother's words the day Nahuel was taken. About how he'd wanted to do things right.

With flowers.

In front of her and Charlie.

Ohmigod.

Charlie wasn't here about Jake at all.

I wasn't sure if it was the overwhelming smell of the flowers, my very recent recovery, the fact that I hadn't eaten all day, or just the incredible weight of the moment itself, but my light-headedness was back in spades.

Nahuel's eyes widened in alarm as I swayed slightly on my feet. He flashed to my side, slipping an arm around my waist to steady me.

"Ñi piuque?"

No, no, no. You are NOT going to fuck up this moment, bitch. Suck it up.

I forced weakness from my voice. "I'm okay. Just surprised. I think I'd like to sit down." I smiled at him and took his hand. He returned my smile warily and led me to the armchair where he'd sat the night Mom and Charlie announced their engagement.

When I was seated in the chair, I looked up at him expectantly. But Nahuel, who was never nervous—terrified, angry, confused, despondent, yes, but not nervous—stood in front of me, obviously at a loss for words. He shifted his weight from his left foot to his right, picking ruthlessly at his favorite cuticle. Then, after a few seconds of staring at me speechlessly, he shifted back to his left.

I watched the anxiety in his eyes slowly morph into something darker and overwhelming. He was obviously stuck, frozen with uncertainty. His desperate gaze swept to my mom. She smiled at him encouragingly. Apparently, it wasn't what he was hoping for. Incredulity mingled with the desperation on his face, as if he was thinking to himself: That's it? That's all she's got for me?

I could see the self-doubt eating away at his will. He wanted to do this; I knew that for sure. But somewhere inside him, that same old devil was sitting on his shoulder spouting bile, telling him he was worthless, a killer and a horrible monster unworthy of love. I'd heard that same self-destructive voice often enough in my life and I knew listening to it could pull you away from everything you loved. No way was I going to let that happen to Nahuel.

I leaned forward in my chair, caught his hand and tugged on it until he looked back at me, surprised.

"I love you," I said, keeping my voice low and gentle, as if we were alone in the room. It was the first time I had said it to him so directly, without the influence of strong painkillers in my system, and without him having said it first.

That was all it took to drive a stake through the heart of his inner demon. The smile that broke across his beautiful features was like that first ray of sunlight that makes its way through your bedroom curtains in the morning, reminding you that the world kept spinning while you languished in darkness, and that dawn would always break through, even when you didn't believe it could.

Tradition be damned—because really, what need did a female werewolf and a half-vampire have for tradition?—Nahuel gracefully went down on both knees in front of me. He took both my hands in his and fixed his golden gaze on me. His eyes were warm and liquid with adoration.

"I love you, too, Leah." All shreds of doubt were gone from his deep, lustrous voice. "With everything in me."

His thumbs stroked warmly over the backs of my hands, and everything around me—the explosion of flowers, my mother and Charlie—faded into a blurred background. I only saw his perfect face.

"I am sorry that I have been so inept at making you aware of my feelings," he said, regret tinting his tone. I shook my head and opened my mouth to speak, but he cut me off gently. "No, please do not disagree. I have been remiss. You know that I love you, but I do not think you fully understand the depth of my affection."

He lowered his eyes, studying our entwined hands. Turning mine over, he cradled them in his before bending forward and pressing a tender kiss in each palm. Electricity raced up my arms from that simple contact.

"Your hands are so beautiful and strong," he whispered, still staring at my hands and drawing small, hot circles on my palms with his thumbs. "You hold all that I am, right here."

He fell silent for a few moments, and the only sound in the room was my mother's quiet sniffling. Finally, he lifted his eyes to my face.

"Before I met you, I had no purpose. My existence was endless … and pointless." He drew my hands against his chest, and I could feel the thundering of his heart beneath my fingertips. "I was never … enough. Not human enough to give up my monstrous ways, nor vampire enough to stop caring that I was a monster."

I couldn't help myself; I had to interrupt. "You were never a monster."

He tipped his head to the side with a slight shake and a regretful smile. "You are wrong, my heart. I was. From the very moment of my birth. And if I am no longer, it is only because you have made me something more."

A soft choking sound from my mother drew my eyes to her. Damp tissues filled both her hands, and she was smiling like a fool through the tears streaming down her face. Charlie stood next to her, his arm stoically wrapped around her shoulders for support, but damned if his eyes didn't look suspiciously moist, too.

Nahuel shifted on his knees in front of me, and released one of my hands. When I looked back at him, he was holding my mother's solitaire between the thumb and index finger of his now-free hand.

"Leah, you have given me so much," he said, his voice heavy with emotion. "You have saved me in every way one being can save another. I have no way to repay you, and nothing more to give you than my promise to spend every day of forever loving you with all that I am."

Now I was crying, too, and I was so pissed at myself for it. I blinked rapidly and scrubbed the tears out of my eyes. I wanted to see his beautiful face clearly so that I would never forget a single second of this perfect moment.

"You already know that you are my heart and my soul." He raised the ring in offering. "Will you also be my wife? Will you marry me?"

I launched myself off the chair and into his arms, crying like an idiot and babbling "yes" over and over again. I was probably incoherent, but he seemed to understand that I was agreeing because the next thing I knew he was kissing me breathless.

When he finally let me come up for air, he slid the ring onto the ring finger of my left hand, and then covered my knuckles with reverent kisses. Two seconds later, my mother was on the floor with us, crying and laughing simultaneously, and trying to wrap her arms around us both.

"That was beautiful," she sobbed. "I'm so happy for you! I love you both so much!"

Charlie stepped around the couch and clapped Nahuel on the shoulder before grabbing Mom's hand.

"Congratulations to both of you," he said, his cheesy mustache quivering with mirth. "Sue, give them some breathing room, would you?"

She laughed and swiped at the tears still on her face, but let him draw her to her feet. "You don't fool me, Charlie Swan," she teased. "You're just as moved as I am."

He chuckled and, in a rare show of affection, pecked her on the cheek. "Yeah, maybe I am," he sighed. Then, he glanced around the room, shaking his head.

"Now what the hell are we going to do with all these flowers?"

End Note: Soooo ... what do you think? Did he get it right this time?