Lunar Ascension

Chapter 6: Family

Disclaimer: All things in the Twilight universe belong to Stephenie Meyer and her publishers. The song and lyrics belong to the band and their representatives. Any other copyrighted material included in this story belongs to their rightful owners. Cheers ma dears! Rated M.

I shot for the sky
I'm stuck on the ground
So why do I try, I know I'm gonna fall down
I thought I could fly, so why did I drown?
Never know why it's coming down, down, down.
Down by Jason Walker

It seemed that I'd gained my partially thought out wish that night with Zach. Sex had bonded us. So much so that we spent as much time as we possibly could with one another. Even the Cullen's had begun to notice my hurry to do the patrol and get home again.

I was still studying my ass off, but now it involved being sprawled out in bed with Zach. When I worked, he'd always meet me for my break, in college we spend every second between classes together just talking and holding hands. It had been a month of this and I still couldn't get enough.

I knew I was still holding back a little, it was inevitable after everything I'd been through with Sam and Emily, but day by day he continued to knock down walls and I knew I was getting better, I was starting to trust him.

Even after all that time together, we still got odd looks from a lot of the student body at college. When we went to party's it wasn't usual for me to get glared at by the girls, but no matter how much Zach apologized, I was oblivious. I was more interested in him than what was going on around us.

Just being with him made me happier than I had been in a long time. He seemed to know what I needed. It was the most normal thing in the world for other people, to have a relationship with a guy and just be yourself with them, for me it was huge. I'd spent so long hiding away from real emotions that expressing myself was a novelty. We argued like any other couple and we made up with great sex and a conversation that more often that not made me see that once again my stunted emotional range had been the cause.

The truth was I wouldn't give it up for anything. I was the student and he was the teacher, which in and of itself was hilarious. It was the blind leading the blind.

"Are you awake?" he whispered into my ear. We were curled up in bed after a full day of 'relaxing.' We'd had the week off due to it being Thanksgiving week. We'd been so lazy that it was a surprise to me that I hadn't gained ten pounds. I phased only when I had to and Jacob had been nice enough to run my route for me.

"Depends. Do you want me to be?" I asked with a lazy smile.

Zach's arms circled my waist as he rolled me over and into the crook of his arm so he could kiss me. His lips pressed against mine with every ounce of hunger he always had and it still made my toes curl.

"Yes. I wanted to ask you something."

"Sounds ominous," I grinned, snuggling into his chest and yawning, my fingers running circles into his well-defined chest. I could hear the gentle thud of his heart as it picked up and it took me a second to realize he was nervous. "Hey. You okay?"

"Yeah, this is just . . . New for me."

I rolled back a little so I could meet his eyes, and my fingers ran along the line of his jaw. I knew what he meant. All of this was new for both of us. Sure he was well versed in women, but he hadn't been in a relationship like this before.

"Then it will definitely be new for me too. What's on your mind?"

"Forget it, lets just have sex again," he grinned, wiggling his eyebrows and rolling on top of me making me laugh. For a second I thought he was joking, but when he nudged his way between my thighs and I could feel just how ready he was. I knew I had to stomp on the breaks.

"Hold it, mister," I groaned, wiggling away from him and instantly regretting it. If it wasn't for my curiosity getting the better of me I would have said forget it and went with his plan. "Just say it already."

Zach took a deep breath and caught my eyes with his; I loved the blue when they were as deep as they were in that moment.

"Will you have Thanksgiving dinner with me at my parent's house tomorrow?"

I was speechless. I hadn't even thought about the fact that Thanksgiving was so close; I'd lost so many days being enveloped in him like I had. More than the surprise of it being tomorrow, I knew how he felt about his family. He did everything in his power to piss his parents off so they'd pay attention, but they never did. They gave him a gift and moved on with their lives.

I wasn't sure what that meant for me, or why he'd suddenly decided it was a good idea for meet his parents. It was so out of the blue I wasn't exactly sure how to react.

He tapped the tip of my nose with his finger, and gave me a sad smile.

"That's why I tried to change the subject."

"What?"

"That look," he laughed, rolling to the side and pulling me with him. "I know the whole taboo on meeting parents, and you know how I feel about my parents. So I deduce that you're wondering why I'm inviting you."

"No, it's not that. If you wanted to shock them I wouldn't exactly be a good choice. Unless your parents are religious?"

"Oh shit no," he laughed. "No, not at all. I just want you to come because I want to spend time with you. I could care less what they think."

"Then why go at all? Why not come home with me?" I asked, without thinking it through. For once in my life I had forgot about what I was. It was a fleeting second, which was followed by the holy shit of what the hell was I thinking, but it was still there.

"It's the only time my whole family gets together. It's the one time it's unforgivable to skip. Will you come? To keep me sane? Please?"

It was a huge deal to be meeting his parents, but I also knew this was something new for him. It was the first holiday that he would be spending with a girl for something other than sex. I was taking it as a huge compliment.

"Of course I will. I'll call my mom and tell her I'll visit her after. It's not a huge deal in our house being Quileute and all."

He moved quickly and half rolled on me as he pressed his lips to mine. I cupped his cheeks with my hands and laughed again as I wriggled from his grip to reach for my phone.

"Who are you calling?"

"My mom and my brothers. If I don't do it now, you know I'll forget. You're too good at distracting me."

He shrugged and stretched out as I scrolled through my contacts to my mom's number. Of course the moment it started ringing his hands cupped my boobs with an amused smile on his face. I almost missed the phone being answered on the other end I was laughing so hard.

"Leah? Are you alright?" Seth asked with a certain amount of panic in his voice.

"I'm good, Sethasaurus, is mom home?"

"Holy crap that monstrosity was a laugh?" he teased as I let another yelp of laughter out and tried to push Zach away.

"Shut up, turd. Is mom home?"

"Yeah, hang on . . . Mom it's Lee."

I made silent signals to Zach as the phone changed hands. He wasn't paying any attention though, his hands were gripping my sides and he was squeezing in an attempt to make me lose my mind. He knew exactly where I was ticklish. I was silently kicking him when my mom's voice came on the line.

"Hey baby, how is everything?"

"Good thanks, mom," I said in the most composed voice I could muster. "Could you hold on a second?"

"Sure."

I put my hand over the mouthpiece and slapped my hand against Zach's forehead with a snort. He leaned into it with all his might and threw his arms out.

"You're such a dork. Stop it. I'm talking to my mom."

Poking out his tongue, he rolled from the bed and strolled from the room as naked as the day he was born. I tried to catch my breath before putting the phone back to my ear.

"Sorry mom, how are you?"

"I'm good, but it sounds like you're better. Was that a boy?"

"Mom . . ."

"Sorry, you're too old for boys. But it was a young man?"

I cracked a smile. My mom had been my rock since the beginning and she'd put herself through hell with me. Even when everything with Sam had gone down, she told me to get back on the horse and live my life, that he'd never deserved me. She was the only reason I'd retained as much of myself that I had.

"Yes mom, his name's Zach."

"Is he cute?"

"Hang on . . ." I pulled my phone from my ear and scroll through my photo's, sending her the newest one of Zach and I that we'd taken on the ferry when we'd been bored. "You should have a picture on your cell."

She went silent as she waited for it to come through; I heard the girlish giggle long before she came back to the phone. It seemed his charm even came through on the picture I'd sent. Giggling girlishness was the usual reaction he received from women.

"He's very handsome, and you two make a cute couple."

"You're bias, mom. It doesn't count," I mused, pulling one of his many shirts over my head. I loved having the smell of him surrounding me, and more often than not it would get him going as well. He'd told me before that me in his clothes meant it was more fun to remove them.

"Of course it counts. Just because I'm your mom, it doesn't mean that I can't be objective. Are you bringing him home with you tomorow?"

I cringed. I hadn't expected her to want to meet him. She'd become a champ at letting me do my own thing since I'd moved to Seattle. Her patience was more than I could have ever hoped and I hated letting her down, but I'd already agreed to go with Zach.

"That's why I'm calling, mom. He's asked me to spend Thanksgiving with his family, it was kind of last minute but he can't cancel. I was thinking we might drive up on Friday?"

"Sounds good to me. Charlie has to work on Friday, which will give us time to get acquainted. I knew you'd find someone if you got away from here. I've been so worried about you, Lee."

"I know, mom, and I'm sorry for worrying you. I truly am, I just needed to get away and find myself away from all the legends."

"No one understands that more than I do. You deserve to be happy, and it's nice to hear that smile in your voice again. I've missed it."

"I missed smiling," I said sighing. "So what else has been going on in La Push?"

"Not a lot, kid. You know how it is. Seth is gone with Anna most of the time, and the boys all do their things so I only ever get to see them at counsel meetings. You're not missing much."

"Right, same ole, same ole then?"

She laughed down the line. The sound was so genuine and familiar, but I realized how little I'd heard it over the last few years. In the back of my mind I'd always attributed it to the loss of my dad, but she'd moved on since then. I knew she would always love him but Charlie made her happy. I was now beginning to understand that I had a lot to do with this unhappiness. I'd missed this side of my mom; I missed her liveliness and zest for life, and I didn't want to see her lose that again.

"I love you, mom."

"I love you too, Leah. Now you go have fun and I'll see you on Friday."

I nodded, before realizing she couldn't see me. I was looking forward to seeing her. I hadn't really been back since I'd left almost four months ago. It wasn't that I hadn't wanted to see her; it was all the other bullshit that was involved with going home. Seeing Sam and Emily, and all the others with their kids and swollen bellies had been too much for me to deal with. I had needed those four months to come to terms with everything in my own life. Maybe when I went back I could be a little more objective.

"Will do. Bye, mom."

"Bye honey."

I hung up the phone and tossed it on the nightstand before peeling back the covers and wandering out into the living room. Zach was passed out on the couch, his gentle snore sounding out into the silent room. I watched him silently for a while before making my way over to him and pulling the blanket that I had over the back, over his naked body. He looked so young when he was asleep, it was as though all the inhibitions fell away and left him with his innocence.

When I turned away to go back to bed, his hand folded around mine and held me in place.

"Where are you going, beautiful?"

"Bed," I replied, turning around and crouching in front of him, our hands still tangled together. "I didn't mean to wake you."

"You didn't," he grinned, holding open the blanket and scooting back so I could slide in. I climbed in and leaned my back against his chest with a sigh of contentment. "Hmm this is much better. You're so warm. What did your mom say?"

"She said she'll see us on Friday," I whispered, hearing his heart slow down to the usual pace it went to when he slept.

"Us?" he mumbled, pressing his lips to the back of my neck, and pulling me tighter against his chest.

"Yes. It's payment for you stealing Thanksgiving."

He curled himself around me and nodded slowly as his breathing and heart evened out into a steady pace. I stayed in his arms as I listened to him sleeping. It was nice to just be with someone else and listen to them living. It gave me a sense of normalcy and I didn't want to move from this spot.

I was nervous about meeting his parents, but more than that, I was nervous about taking him to the reservation. My mom would be able to keep everything quiet, but it was the guys I was worried about. It wasn't often that there was someone in La Push that didn't have some kind of knowledge of what was going on, especially in our growing pack. I wasn't sure if the alpha command covered the behavior of wolves to keep them in line with guests. I also couldn't say I was excited to introduce him to Embry. There was no way he could understand the differences between them. All he would see was that I hadn't chosen him.

It wasn't my brightest decision I'd ever made. Embry and I interacted only when we had to, and when we did it was clipped and to the point. There was no personal conversation, no 'hi how are ya's,' there was nothing between us that even indicated we were friends anymore. I'd been worried about it happening when I'd called it off, but it was a risk I'd had to take.

There was always a chance that Zach would revert to his previous provocative games once he got bored of me, but there was something about knowing it would be his choice that made it easier for me to accept. Knowing I could fight his decision and try and change his mind gave me hope, if I'd made the decision to stay with Embry, there wouldn't be that kind of hope. He would imprint and there would be nothing I could do about it. It was the same the other way around, but I knew he couldn't see it that way.

We'd both seen the other pack members and their mates; we'd seen the unearthly draw to them. He would be safer with someone he could love, someone he could fight for.

I yawned and tried to convince myself that now wasn't the time to think about it. I wasn't sure how the others would react to meeting Zach, I wouldn't know until it happened so there was no point in dwelling over it. Thinking about it was making me exhausted, and somewhere amongst the thoughts, my subconscious took over, and I fell into a deep sleep.

I woke up to a finger being shoved up my nose, followed by a manly chuckle. I slapped his hand away with a groan and tried to stretch out, and ended up falling off the couch and onto my knees. I'd forgotten where I'd fallen asleep.

"Why would you do that?" I groaned dropping my face onto the couch cushion.

"I was waking you up gently," he whispered, his smile coloring his tone.

"Gently my ass. Tell my knees that was gentle."

He crouched down beside me and pulled my leg from under me. Pressing his lips to the cap he whispered to it gently. He indicated for my to give him my other leg and I did as I was told, rolling to my butt so he could give the other leg as much love.

"All better?"

I nodded and hooked my hand around his neck so I could pull him in for a kiss. His lips met mine roughly; it was full of lust and hunger as he moved to lay me down on the floor in front of the couch.

We made love slowly, worshipping the others body with languid kisses and roaming hands as we moved together. Pants and mews filled the room as we brought once another closer to climax. I fell first, my body bowing as the swell pushed through my body making my breaths leave in stuttered little lines. He wasn't far behind me, his lips closed around my neck and his teeth dug into my flesh as his body went rigid.

When we finally caught our breath he gave me a small apologetic smile.

"We're going to be late."

"What?" I asked, looking past him at the clock over the oven. It said ten in the morning. "It's only ten."

"We're expected to be there at eleven-thirty," he his arms moving to wrap around me. I slapped him away with my mouth open wide.

"No. No, no, no, Zach. We can't be late the first time I meet your parents!"

"Why not?"

"Shit, I need to take a shower, find something to wear. I can't believe you."

"Me?" he chuckled, sitting up and leaning back on his hands. "Baby, you're the one that made yourself irresistible."

I jumped to my feet and moved to step over him, but his hand wrapped around my thigh mid step and his eyes found mine. He dropped a kiss to the inside of my leg and stood up, lifting my leg up his as he did.

"If we shower together we'll cut down on time and water."

"No, you'll just distract me again and we'll be even later."

"And that's a problem?"

I gave him an incredulous look and worked my thigh from his grasp. With one look I sprinted toward the bathroom and locked myself in just as he reached it. I managed to shower and dry my hair before he'd picked the lock to the bathroom door.

While he was in the shower I emptied my closet onto the bed looking for something to wear, I finally settled on a modest black dress that wrapped around me and sat just above my knee. I couldn't remember where I'd even obtained it, and I didn't want to know, as long as it looked good, that was all she wrote.

When I was finally ready and felt somewhat presentable it was eleven fifteen. I was thankful he didn't live that far away. We'd at least get there within ten minutes of the time we were expected, no thanks to him.

I was almost bouncing with anticipation in his car as he sped through the city and it's almost empty streets. I was so anxious, I was chewing my bottom to the point of bleeding.

"Leah, chill out, or we'll turn around. You're making me nervous. I already told you what they think doesn't matter, although I think they're going to love you."

"I'm just . . . I've never done this before."

"Babe, you look amazing, and I know you're capable of being polite, I heard you talking to your mom last night. For all I care you can eat like a troll and belch after every course. I'm already sold."

"You say the sweetest things," I snorted. "But thank you for putting my mind at ease."

He picked up my hand and dropped a kiss on the palm before turning his attention back to the drive. We talked easily for the rest of the drive. He was happy to tell me of gatherings past. He made it very clear he'd never once attempted to bring a girl home before.

When he pulled up a driveway and typed a code into a gate, I found myself even more nervous than I had been. I'd realized they had money, but the house that grew ahead of us was a mansion that screamed dirty, stinking, filthy rich and my nerves washed over me all over again.

I was beginning to long for the little home I'd grown up in on the coast. The small family room that left enough room for us to play tag around the coffee table but not enough to swing a cat, and I actually wished for my cut off clad brothers in arms. The closer we got, the larger it became. The shadow it cast was enough to make me swallow hard.

"It's just a house."

I nodded in response. We both knew it was more than a house, just like I knew how far apart our worlds really were. I came from what people classified as a shack, it could fit into his parent's house maybe thirty times.

He pulled up slowly and circled a huge water fountain before stopping. Thankfully he was in the spot to be the first out if it came down to that. If I needed to make a quick exit, I knew we were prepared.

I climbed out of the car and took another look at the house as the cold November air danced around me in little eddies.

I'd never felt more inadequate in my life. I'd never been the kind to base my worth on my wealth; in fact, money had never meant anything to me until I needed it to live in Seattle. Now, here I was staring up at a house and judging whether or not I was worthy to even enter it, and I didn't like that feeling.

"Leah, this isn't who I am. You know that right?" Zach said gently, sidling up next to me as he let his hand rest in the small of my back. "I come here once a year. That's it. I feel more comfortable with you than I've ever felt anywhere."

I nodded. I knew who he was, and this wasn't it. I was just intimidated by the looming structure, and what it stood for. He was right, I could be polite and well mannered, but at the same time, I had a hot temper and was quick to react. I really didn't want to embarrass Zach or myself.

"Lets just go inside. If you're still uncomfortable I'll get miserably sick and we'll have to leave," He grinned with a wink.

"You'd do that for me?" I smirked, rolling my eyes.

"Just say the word."

"Oh code word?"

He guffawed and pulled me closer, but still whispered our code word in my ear, which he'd decided would be Irish coffee.

Leading me up to the house, we both seemed to take a deep breath as he pushed open the door. For a second I was convinced we'd walked into a museum, but the two Irish wolfhounds that came sprinting toward us was the only indication that someone lived here.

Their interest in me was a little difficult to explain at first, both of them submitted immediately, rolling onto their backs as they waited for my approval, and I could see the look of confusion in Zach's eyes as he watched them.

I clicked my fingers once and the both jumped to attention. Their interests once again piqued as I gave them both a rub behind the ears.

"Impressive. Were you also a dog trainer in all of those after school jobs of yours?"

"Something like that," I murmured and bent to give both dogs one last petting before I sent them on their way.

"Is that the Black sheep I hear bleating in the entrance hall?" A voice called out from deeper in the house, and Zach rolled his eyes playfully.

"Is that the social misfit I hear in the living room?" Zach called back with an affectionate laugh. He took my hand and led me two steps forward but I stopped as everything came crashing down around me.

A figure appeared from an arch further down the hall, he was in the shadows for a second, but as he stepped into the light I froze. He was identical to Zach in every way possible. The shaggy blonde hair and impressionable, soulful blue eyes, the wide shoulders and mischievous smile were all in place. The only difference was the piercings that hung from his lip and his eyebrow.

I tried to take a breath and step back, but I stepped forward. Everything in my body pulled me to him as I let off a blood-curdling scream in my own head. Everything about him was attractive to me, it pulled me in, and my body reacted so strongly I actually held onto the wall to steady myself. I needed to be closer to him, so badly my body physically ached.

I knew immediately what it meant.

I'd just fucking imprinted on Zach's twin brother.

A/N: Ruh Roh! Poor Leah was just getting comfortable and her whole world went and changed on her again. You know nothing good is going to come out of this, all those memories of what happened with Emily and Sam . . . Same Game, she's just playing a different position!

Thank you so much to all of you that have read, alerted and added the story to your favorites, and thank you to every one of you that reviewed. I've been slacking lately I keep forgetting to put teases into the RR's. I'll do better I promise.

Thank you also to Hev99 for being an awesome beta, she's been super busy at the moment, but I will be replacing the chapters once they're beta'd! Thank you also to my BFF and Twinnifer, Sabi'sSookie, she's on vacation and I miss the snot out of her! Love you B! Also I want to say thank you to PinkIndeed for being my knitting ninja and an awesome and objective prereader as well! *MWAH*