Disclaimer: I don't own the Twilight Saga or any of the characters in the story.
Hello all! Thank you for all the lovely comments on last chapter! I hope you enjoy this one just as much! Happy reading!
Chapter Thirty Nine
Bella woke up still wrapped in Jake's warm arms and with a feeling of contentment that she hoped would never go away.
With her face tucked into his shoulder she moved slightly so that she could see his face. Relaxed with sleep he breathed deep and even. There were no worry lines marring his face and his arms were like an iron cage around her body. She had missed this.
Leaning forward she kissed him gently on the lips, just barely brushing over him. Immediately his eyes opened, staring into hers and reaching up to tangle one of his hands into her hair. His lips pushed back insistently against her own. Soft and warm and completely in control of the situation.
Bella whimpered softly into his mouth, and he used his lips to pry hers open, using his tongue to probe her sweet mouth. Using her own tongue she tangled with his, fighting in a playful way for dominance that she knew she would never gain over her mate. Growling softly Jake pulled on her hair and smiled slightly into their kiss at this display.
When Bella could no longer breathe she pulled away, gasping for air, though Jake did not pause as he pushed her onto her back and covered her body. Laying soft, hot kisses and nips down her throat until he reached the top hem of the t-shirt she'd worn to bed. Running her fingers through his silky hair Bella sighed in complete bliss and Jake brought his lips back up to hers, kissing her firmly and passionately for a moment before pulling away to look into her eyes.
"Good morning," she whispered into the space between them and a smile lit up Jake's face.
"Good morning to you too, Bells," he said, beaming at her. His smile was contagious and she found herself smiling back at him.
"What's the plan for today?" Bella asked him, snaking her arms around his neck as he held himself over her on his arms.
"Charlie is being let out of the hospital today. I think we should tell him the truth…" Jake said seriously and Bella actually choked on her spit. Jake sat up quickly, pulling her with him and patted her on the back while she coughed. Holding up a hand to make him stop, Bella regained her breath and then set him with a level look.
"You want to tell him that four psycho vampires kidnapped me and could have killed him. Oh not to mention I'm dating you, and you happen to be a giant mutant dog?" Bella nearly screeched. Jake patiently waited while she blustered about for a moment over the idea and when she had quieted back down he situated her so that she was straddling his waist, facing him.
"I think that's the best thing we can do. He'll have questions. And none of us truly know which one of them hurt him. If it was the Cullen then he would have been familiar and we'd have to explain that he wouldn't see that mother fucker around town anymore… The truth is always better than creating a web for yourself, Bells. And as up and coming Chief of this Tribe I give my consent for your father to be in the know. He's been friends with my father for probably over a century," Bella laughed despite herself at his age joke, "And I think he deserves this."
Bella nibbled on her lip as her eyes darted from Jake's face to a small nail hole on the wall. Finally after a few minutes of silence and Bella mentally deliberating on whether or not to let her father in on the secret supernatural realm she had been sucked into, she groaned.
"Fine! You win! I agree with you. We can tell him the truth," Bella said exasperatedly and Jake beamed at her once again, pleased with her answer.
"But don't think that just because he's injured that he won't think to break out the shotgun when he finds out I'm dating you!" Bella said with a glare, pointing her finger at him and poking him as hard as she dared to on his chest. She had tried to at least sound a little bit threatening, but when Jake just laughed at her, she rolled her eyes and got up with him to go and make some breakfast.
-8-
When Jake and Bella pulled up in front of Charlie's house in Jake's Chevy truck, Bella began to have second thoughts.
"I don't think we should do this! This was a terrible idea! He's going to flip out!" Bella started speaking rapidly and Jake pulled her body closer to his.
"He might get mad. But this is the right thing to do, Bells. You know it and I know it. Everything will be okay," Jake soothed her until she'd quieted and then they both got out of the cab and walked toward the front door. Knocking once, Bella heard Charlie shout that he'd be right there from the other side.
When he opened the door he looked entirely surprised to see them standing there.
"Dad! How do you feel?" Bella asked immediately as she gathered him into a hug. For a moment he stood there stiffly, embarrassed by the unusual display of affection from his daughter, then he cleared his throat.
"I'm okay Bella, no worrying about the old man! Just slipped in the bathtub and got a concussion. I'm fine now…" Charlie looked nervous as he spoke. Unknowing that both the people in front of him knew the truth of his injury.
"Do you mind if we come in Chief Swan? We have some things we need to talk about with you," Jake said suddenly, and Bella saw her dad's eyes go wide as he took in Jake's new height.
"Did you grow again Jacob Black?" he asked in surprise.
"Yes, Sir. I did," Jake said in his deep voice making Bella shiver. She had to control herself. The last thing she wanted was Jake to smell her getting turned on right before they were about to have such a serious talk with her father!
Charlie just shook his head and let them come inside. Bella heard him mutter something about what they were feeding them down on the rez. Bella was wringing her sweaty hands as she walked into the small living room and took a seat on one end of the couch. Jake followed her and sat in the middle while Charlie sat in the armchair across from them.
"So what's this visit about?" Charlie asked, his eyes flickering between the two of them. Bella exchanged a glance with Jake and wiped her sweaty hands on her jeans, then leveled her father with a look and prepared for the worst.
-8-
"Bella… is this all a joke?" Charlie managed to splutter, his face an odd shade of purple as he sat across from them. She'd barely managed to tell him that she was seeing Jacob outside of her classroom before she'd had to stop. If this was how he reacted to this news, she wondered how he'd react to learning that Jake was also a werewolf and she'd been kidnapped by vampires.
"Dad I need you calm down, and be rational about this," Bella started, but her voice held a slight quiver. Jake placed a large hand on her thigh to try and calm her, making Charlie's eyes zero in on it.
"Bella he's your student!" Charlie exclaimed, his face a mottled shade of red and purple from his anger.
"That isn't really the worst of what we have to tell you, Charlie… You're going to need to listen to the rest of what Bella and I have to say. And I'd appreciate it if you did not make Bella feel uncomfortable," Jake nearly growled at her father. Charlie looked at him with equal parts surprise as well as a bit more anger. Although Bella knew that her father knew he couldn't go up against the almost seven foot giant sitting on his couch.
"You need to understand that I am twenty three years old, and Jacob is perfectly legal," Bella winced as she tried to explain herself to her father, "But also, there's something more to this than you know… Please sit down so we can finish?"
Charlie finally sat down in his chair again, breathing heavily and glaring at Jacob with an anger I'd never seen him have.
"As the next Chief of the tribe, I have given my consent to tell you the secrets of our tribe. You know how I hang out with a very selective group of people, Charlie? Well, there's really no simple way to explain this, but we are werewolves. And the Cullens who live in town are a coven of vampires. We were changed because they posed a threat to our tribe… My grandfather formed a treaty with them so that they would stay off of our lands.
"However, over the last three days, Bella was kidnapped by their oldest son, Edward Cullen. She was taken hostage by him and three other nomadic vampires. You had been unconscious when she'd come by your house, and that was when they'd taken her. Do you remember that?"
Jake paused for a moment staring at Charlie whose face had gone from red to pale white. Jake continued after Charlie did not answer him.
"It was my pack and I that destroyed them and brought Bella home. She is my mate, my imprint. And I will not be parted from her. Since she is your daughter, and since you have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember I deemed you worthy enough to keep our secret. I ask that you remain silent on this matter, for both our protection and yours."
When he was finally done, Charlie was silent, staring at Jacob quietly. His eyes would flicker to Bella every so often, until he spoke quietly.
"Show me," he said and Jake immediately stood up.
"Yes, sir. We'll need to go out back though," Jake said. Charlie just nodded while Jake tugged Bella along with him outside and into the cover of the forest behind the house. As soon as they were in far enough Jake let go of Bella's hand and took a few steps away from them.
"Dad… Please don't freak out. Try to remain calm," Bella said, eyeing her father seriously. He only grumbled under his breath while watching Jake. As soon as Jake pushed down his shorts Charlie began shouting again. Bella put her hand on his arm and he looked to her, almost missing how Jake's body trembled and then melted into the form of his wolf.
Bella watched as Charlie's jaw dropped in awe at the enormous creature before him. Jake didn't move, instead staring straight back at his mate's father. Bella had looked towards her magnificent wolf in front of her and had almost missed her father passing out and falling with a thump onto his back in the dirt.
"Oh, shit!" Bella exclaimed while Jake phased back into a human, howling with laughter at the same time.
-8-
"Just so we're clear… All of you boys down in La Push can do that?" Charlie asked, holding tight to a mug of coffee and looking as though he was ready to grab Bella and run out the door.
"No, the pack consists of Sam, Paul, Embry, Quil, Jared, Leah, Seth and myself. We hope that the Cullens will move on soon and will stop any of the younger boys with the gene from phasing… Or even some of the girls."
"Right… And what exactly is Bella to you?" he asked, looking Jake dead in the eyes. Bella could sense that Charlie had slipped into the role of a father scoping out his daughter's first date. He had straightened up in his chair more, leveling Jake with a serious expression which Jake had mirrored perfectly back at him. Bella had to contain her smirk when Charlie looked a bit put out when her mate didn't look as nervous as he'd intended.
"Charlie, your daughter is my entire world. When a wolf imprints, it is as if they are the only thing holding them down to the earth. But Bella is so much more than just a mate destined for me by my Gods. I love her with every ounce of my soul. Clearly I would kill for her. I will protect her with my life until the day we both pass on from this life. I cannot guarantee that she will have a fancy house, or a walk in closet full of thousands of dollars worth of clothes. But I promise to you that she will be happy. I will make sure of that every minute of every day for the rest of my life."
By the time Jake had finished, Bella had tears in her eyes, staring at her mate with wonder. She didn't dare open her mouth because she knew that only blubbering would come out. Jake however kept eye contact with her father, showing her the true alpha side of him. Unrelenting in letting another male, even one that meant so much to Bella, know that he was the one in this room that had the upper hand.
Although, underneath the table his hot palm found her thigh and he gave a firm squeeze, letting her know that he understood her. He would always understand her.
"Listen, Jake… If I wasn't such good friends with Billy and didn't know for a fact that you were the best person my daughter could end up with, believe me I would shoot you right here in my kitchen. But… Seeing as I do know all of that, I understand that this is more than just a regular relationship. And if it means anything, I give you my blessing… But don't think of having any kids for at least three years! I'm too young to be a grandpa yet!" Charlie ended gruffly, taking a sip of his coffee.
Bella couldn't help the large beaming smile on her face as she got up from her chair and kissed her father on top of his head, hugging him with all her might.
"I love you, dad," Bella said softly, still smiling.
"Love you too, kiddo… But don't get used to all this hugging… Freaks me out a little. I was never good at that stuff," Charlie coughed, but still managed to give her a hug back. Laughing at him, Bella took up her spot next to Jake again who took her small hand in his own and gave her a breathtaking smile.
He could feel how content and happy she was, and there was nothing else in this world that he could've wished for in that moment.
A few hours later, after several more cups of coffee and a general pissing competition between Jake and her father, Bella had bid her goodbyes to Charlie and slipped back into the truck.
Jake paused behind the steering wheel turning to look at her for a moment.
"You know I meant every word that I said in there," he said to her. Bella looked back at the serious expression he wore on his handsome face. Smiling gently she pushed some of the hair off of his forehead before entwining her pale white hand with his bronze one.
"I know that… And you should know that I feel the same exact way about you," she replied quietly. Jake didn't say anything, but there was a small tug at the corner of his lips at her words and his deep brown eyes softened. Bella swore that she could see his very soul inside of them, "Now, take me back to our home… there's a bed that's calling our names… And maybe a shower, and a counter top…" Bella smirked at her mate as she settled into her seat.
And with booming laughter, Jake started up the beast of a truck and pulled out of Charlie's driveway, pushing the car as fast as possible back to their home to make good on his mate's suggestions.
Oh my gosh! I'm so sad to say it, but the next chapter is going to be the last! I'm afraid if I say anything else or think about it too hard I'll start crying! Leave a comment if you'd like to, and thank you so much for reading!