Charlie settled into his favorite recliner, relocated to Sue's living room. She brought him a mug of steaming coffee and placed it on an end table, then sat on his lap with a smile. He put his arms around her and said, "Have I told you lately that I love you, Mrs. Swan?"
He was moving in, little by little, to the Clearwaters' house. He hadn't decided what to do with his house yet, so he had brought very few of his personal possessions except for clothes. He certainly was enjoying having three of Sue's home cooked meals a day, and he knew he had to be careful not to over-indulge or he'd surely start putting weight on. He smiled, and Sue said "A penny for your thoughts."
"I was just thinking about your cooking," he said with a chuckle, "and wondering if you'll still love me when I'm old and fat." She kissed him gently and assured him "always."
The adjustment to having a wife was an easy one. He'd known Sue for so long, it just seemed natural having her around. But waking up with her beside him every morning never failed to start his day with a smile on his face.
The Clearwater kids were having a little more trouble with the adjustment. It had just been the three of them for some time, and it was difficult, particularly for Leah, to accept a newcomer. Seth was more gregarious, and therefore more welcoming.
Leah stomped in the front door after patrolling and glanced their way. "Terrific," she muttered.
Charlie frowned. "Good morning, Leah," he said brightly. She glared at him but remembered her manners and murmured "Morning" in return. It was quite obvious that she was upset, but Sue had to ask anyway. "Anything wrong, Leah?"
Leah growled. "It's Sam, Mom. He's making our lives miserable with his stupid Alpha commands. He doesn't want me, but he doesn't want anyone else to have me either. He keeps ordering Jake and me around, and it's really getting old."
Sue smiled at her. "I'm sorry, Leah. Hopefully he'll get tired of this game. At least you have the house to yourself today. Charlie and I will be at his house, packing up some stuff and doing some painting. I don't know if we'll be home for dinner, but if not you're on your own because Seth is on patrol for the afternoon. Try to get some rest."
Two hours later, Seth was relieved from patrol early and wandered in. His wolf sense told him that Leah wasn't alone in the house, so he proceeded up the stairs stealthily. As he went by the bathroom door, he heard Leah giggle. One thing Seth had always known for sure was that Leah didn't giggle. Then he heard a deeper voice, and he smirked as a plan sprang into his mind.
Seth waited patiently outside the door. His patience was rewarded when, a few minutes after the shower turned off, the door opened. As he stood in his bedroom door with his camera trained on the bathroom doorway, Leah stepped out wrapped in a large towel. Right behind her, with a smaller towel wrapped around his waist, stepped Jacob. As Seth's presence registered, both of them growled low in their throats, but he was down the stairs before they could secure their towels sufficiently to do any running.
Leah waited for the blackmail demand, but it never came. When Seth had successfully avoided her for a couple of days, she started to relax. Then came the tribal council meeting that Leah would never forget.
It seemed that everyone was staring at her, but Leah figured she was just being paranoid. Surely Jake would tell her if she had food in her teeth, or if her hair was sticking up. Billy was telling the old stories, as he always did, but it seemed that no one was paying any attention to him. The younger pack members kept glancing at Leah and Jake, who were sitting next to each other as usual. There was a lot of smirking, and even some giggles, but Billy was maintaining order by glaring at the culprits, one by one, until they quieted down.
When the story telling was finally done, the group sat around the campfire and talked quietly. Leah noticed that Seth was passing his phone around, and she finally couldn't stand it any more. She walked over to him and intercepted the phone just as a YouTube video started, and she gasped. There on the small screen was a towel clad Leah, closely followed by Jacob, both growling as they stepped forward and back as if dancing, in an endless loop, to a popular song.
Seth knew he couldn't outrun either of them, so he made a beeline for Sue. Sue didn't speak. She held up a hand and Seth stopped. She held out her other hand for the phone, and Leah turned it over to her. Sue stuck the phone in her pocket, and Seth would not see it again for a month. During that month, the Clearwater house got a fresh coat of paint, courtesy of Leah, Seth, and Jacob. And nobody could figure out just how the video got removed from YouTube that night, but Seth swore he didn't do it.