Ok, ok! Chapter 12. A lot of you Nessie/Jacob fans are probably aching to kill me. And yes, this chapter is more of Christa and Walker. BUT BEFORE YOU REACH THROUGH THE COMPUTER TO STRANGLE ME!... I am going to go back to mainly Jacob and Ness. I just love Walker and also have to set this up correctly. So don't worry. Out favorite couple IS coming back full force. I promise!

*Disclaimer*

Please Enjoy!

RPOV

Day one, I thought as I woke up next to Jacob. His face was buried in my hair, arm slung over my waist, snoring softly. Lifting up, I tried to look at the clock, but it wasn't on. The power must have gone out. The fire was no more. If Jacob hadn't been wrapped around me, I would have been freezing.

Slipping out from under him, I wrapped myself in the blanket that was on top but still warm and went to start up the fireplace. Luckily, we didn't have any of the kids.

The bed rustled behind me. "You're up before me again."

Shaking my head, a laugh escaped me. "You're just not gonna let that go, are you? You need sleep and rest, Jake. It's ok."

"Well so do you."

"I'm fine, baby."

Above us, there was a knock on the front door. Sighing, Jacob slid out of bed to pad to the closet. He came back out in a black tank and jeans with a handful of clothes for me. Leaning down, he kissed me before taking the stairs two at a time. After I got dressed, I looked at my phone, which mercifully hadn't died overnight, and saw that it was well into the late afternoon. How had we slept that long? All the drama must have exhausted us more than we'd known.

I finally made it upstairs while twisting my hair into a braid. Christa, Walker, and a little girl were standing in the living room while Jacob got the fire going. The little girl was wrapped around Christa's legs, holding a doll close to her chest, and peeking at me around Christa's thigh. She was a beautiful little girl with coffee brown hair and dark blue eyes. Her long hair was braided into pigtails. Walker was talking to Jacob.

I grinned. "Hey, Christa."

"Hey, Ness."

In front of her, I crouched down. "And who is this?"

The girl moved deeper into Christa's thigh.

"This is Haleigh. Walker and I are taking her in for a little while. She's with his pack."

Wow. That was a big step for a new couple, but I could see why. Haleigh had grinned a happy grin at that statement.

"Well, hello, Haleigh. It's nice to meet you. My name is Nessie. And that," I pointed, "is Jacob. He's my mate."

She looked over at him and then back to me. Frowning, she then looked up at Christa questioningly.

Christa nodded. "That's right. Ness is my alpha female. She's pretty awesome."

Dark blue eyes studied me, scrutinizing my face and hair. And then she looked at Jacob again. Finally, she stepped out from behind Christa and came up to me slowly, that doll clutched in a tight grip. Reaching out, she stroked her hand down my braid, and then put her fingers to my face. I smiled and she traced my lips.

"You're very pretty," she said in a high, tinkling voice.

"Thank you. So are you."

She grinned before wrapping her arms around my neck.

"Oh," I said. And then I hugged her back. When I tried to pull back, she didn't let go. Instead, she made a little hop and wrapped her little legs around me.

"Yeah, good luck with that," Christa said as I straightened up.

Shifting Haleigh to my hip, she tucked her face into my shoulder and sighed.

"When she likes someone, she wants them to hold her. We found that out last night."

I laughed as Jacob looked over at us. He studied me for a long moment, and I knew what was on his mind. Our own kids.

Clearing his throat, he said, "I'm going to get the generator going. Walker, why don't you get the fires up. I can't believe we just woke up. I'm starving." His stomach rumbled and we all heard it. Haleigh giggled, making him stop on his way to the door. He turned around to come over to us. She shrank into me as he neared, but he didn't get too close. He smiled gently at her. "Hi, Haleigh. I'm Jacob. We're very happy to have you here."

And apparently that was all it took. She reached out for him in a swift movement. He made a surprised sound as he reacted to catch her before she fell between us. Just as I hadn't had a choice, neither did he.

"Well, then," he said as he repositioned her. "You wanna go outside with me to start the generator? Then, we can come back in and eat."

Grinning, she nodded.

"Alright, let's go," Jacob said.

A moment later they were outside. Christa and Walker both chuckled.

"So, what's going on, guys?" I asked, pushing my hands into my pockets. It was starting to get chilly in the house.

Walker wrapped an arm around Christa and kissed her temple. "We're just getting out of the house. We gotta thank the Cullens for that generator. It's heavensent, I swear. Haleigh wanted to watch Disney movies all day. So, what's going on with your family?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. I just went down there to visit and they were all thankful that no wolves were there. Which, I suppose I understand. The pack is significantly bigger than it used to be, and now there are your wolves at the river. I guess they're feeling a bit...trapped. I just decided that we'd move things around to give them some room."

"Makes sense. But why now?"

Again, I shrugged. "It does seem out of nowhere, but you never know." My teeth started chattering and that made me wonder where Jacob was. Frowning, I went for the back door to the cabin which was located down the hallway next to the kitchen.

Peering through the window of the door, I saw Haleigh hiding behind a large tree, the doll pressed to her heaving chest. Jacob was in wolf form prowling around. I watched as Haleigh giggled, darted around the tree, and threw a snowball at Jacob's flank. He whipped around and yipped playfully. Haleigh ran around the tree and tackled him. Though he could have stayed standing, he fell back into a snowdrift with her on top of him.

I stepped out onto the porch and crossed my arms while they played in the snow.

"Jacob Black," I called.

They both stopped to stare at me, both wearing expressions of being caught. One wolf, one human, same expression. Getting up and shaking his coat, he nudged her in the back before darting into the woods. Grinning, she stared at her feet shamelessly. Another snowball formed in her small, glove hands as she crouched down. Jacob strolled around the tree, grinning.

"Aw, Ness. Don't blame me. She started-"

Haleigh giggled as the snowball met Jacob's face.

"It," he finished, shaking his head.

I stifled my own laugh. "I don't care who started it. Start up the generator. It's getting colder inside. Haleigh, come inside. Let's get you dried off."

She pouted.

I sighed. "Alright. You can come in with Jake."

Squealing, she ran over to wrap herself around his leg while he worked the generator to life. Once it sputtered on, she covered her ears from the noise. Jacob scooped her up, draping her over his shoulder as he came up the porch steps. He kissed me while she kicked her little feet.

"There. It's on."

"Thank you. Now I can get us all fed."

Following Jake inside, he handed Haleigh off to Christa to get dried off and then went to sit with Walker at the kitchen table.

"She sure is a handful," Jacob said.

Walker chuckled. "Oh, yeah." Then he paused as if trying to decide to say something else. Finally, he blew a deep breath out. "I know Christa told you we're kind of taking her in, but it's more than that."

"What do you mean?" I asked as I got everything out that I'd need for french toast.

He scrubbed his face. "She's an orphan. Tristan's pack killed her parents three years ago. She doesn't remember them, but she doesn't trust anyone. If she lets you hold her, that means she trusts you." When we gave him questioning looks, he said, "Bianca explained it to me like this: the adults pay attention to the children. If a child trusts you, then the pack will. Even when Edmund had been sane, Haleigh wasn't thrilled about him. Apparently, the way she acts with me and Christa is a first. Bianca said that Haleigh is usually quiet and withdrawn with the adults, even the females that take care of her. But she just wouldn't let go of me or Christa."

Jacob and I shared a look.

"So, you're thinking about something like adoption?" Jacob asked.

Walker shrugged. "Last night, when we got her home, she was all smiles and giggles. She was more alive than even when she was playing with the other kids."

Tentatively, I approached the question that both me and Jacob were thinking. "You're a new couple. Are you sure you'd be ready for something like this?"

It was a long moment before he answered. "Look, I know I'm only eighteen and new at the wolf and relationship thing. But that little girl needs someone not to be selfish. She picked us. How can I just turn away when all men have ever done is hurt or try to hurt her?"

"What do you mean?" Jacob asked sharply.

Walker snorted darkly. "Tristan killed her parents, leaving her alone in the woods with what was left of them. And yesterday, Malik, one of my new wolves and one of my torturers, attacked her. She managed to get away and find Christa." He gave Jacob serious eye contact. "He talked to me about eating her, Jacob. And given what all he did to me in that cave, I believe he'd do it. I won't leave her unprotected."

"What did you do with him?"

"Put guards on him. I don't want to become a killer. I don't know. Maybe I should just throw him in the cell."

"Probably be wise," I muttered.

Jacob nodded thoughtfully after thinking through it. "But adoption?" he asked going back to the main conversation. "I mean, sure guardianship, but adoption is about parenting."

"But really, what's the difference? If something happened to Sam and Emily, you'd have to raise Leila. That's parenting. Of course, you'd tell her about her parents, but it's still parenting. What tells me that I'm right about this is that I know that what I feel for that little girl is not brotherly, not near what I feel about Tricia. Which, by the way, is brotherly. And it's not the protectiveness I feel toward Christa. But it nonetheless is about...family. Something that strong."

Smirking, Jacob slapped Walker on the back. "Now, that's a leader. If you think, feel, that it's right, then I'll support you and Christa."

"Me, too," I chimed in cheerfully. "Fully. We'll help out with whatever you need."

"Thank you."

We turned to see Christa holding hands with Haleigh. Grinning, Haleigh let go of Christa to run into Walker's arms. He hefted her up to sit on his lap. He was positively glowing with the fact that she wanted to be near him, that he was the male she trusted. Watching her two charges, Christa's face softened as she walked over to press a kiss to Walker's lips and Haleigh's hair.

"So what's for dinner?" Walker asked.

"Tacos."

"Tacos?" Haleigh asked.

I nodded. "Tacos. Have you ever had them?"

She shook her head.

Christa reached over to brush the girl's hair back. "The pack eats what they hunt. They're nomadic so…she's never had the meals we're used to."

"Well...looks like we're going to have to change that."

Christa laughed. "She really like the pasketti I made her last night. I bet she'll like tacos."

Jacob patted his stomach. Haleigh looked over at him. "I love tacos. And Nessie's are the best."

I waved the wooden spoon at him. "Don't go bragging about stuff like that. I'm your imprint. Not everybody's going to agree with you."

He rolled his eyes and stuck out his tongue. Haleigh laughed.

"You're silly," she said.

Jacob's jaw dropped animatedly. "Alright, that's it. I'm gonna get you. And not even Walker can protect you."

Squealing, she hopped down and ran into the living room, her socked feet slipping on the hardwood. She squealed as he caught her and nibbled on her neck.

"He's going to be a great dad," Christa said.

Walker nodded in agreement. "Yeah, he's also a great leader."

At that, Christa and I both nodded in agreement.

And then Walker sat forward on his elbows and frowned. "Isn't he supposed to be on patrols right now?"

I didn't hide my expression fast enough.

Suspiciously, Walker narrowed his eyes at me. "What? What's going on?"

I sighed knowing he wouldn't back down until he knew. He was, after all, an alpha now. And boy, did I know how alphas worked. I was married to one.

"Jacob and I have these friends. We met them on our honeymoon. One of them is psychic and she had a vision that I would be attacked by the river tomorrow. Jacob has vowed to stay with me today and tomorrow just in case."

His frown deepened. "Attacked? By one of mine?"

I shrugged. "It would make sense. I mean, my first reaction to you guys moving closer to the rez is for me to help out. And the camp is by the river."

"You trust her?" Christa asked, rubbing Walker's back over his shoulder blades.

Nodding, I stirred the meat and then drained it before putting in the seasoning. "She's very convincing. And Jacob trusts her. He couldn't smell a lie on her before."

"Well, then, you'll stay away from the river."

"You sound like Jacob."

Walker growled. "Good because he's right. Do you not understand how important you are to the pack? You're still my alpha female."

Startled I looked over at him with wide eyes.

He nodded. "I look up to you and Jake. You both have been through some shit and you're still intact. I don't think any of us would be able to handle it if something happened to you."

"I agree," Christa said matter of fact. "You brought me and Morgan back together. That means a lot to both of us that you pushed us to that first step. You take care of us when we need you. We can only do the same."

My heart melted. "Thank you. That means a lot to me. But I can't just sit around to wait for my life to pass by just because something might happen. She could be wrong. I'm done being helpless little Nessie. I'm actually married to the alpha, and I need to act like it."

They both scowled at me. "So you're going to intentionally put yourself in harm's way to give us all heart attacks?"

I choked out a laugh. "She didn't say I was going to die, just get attacked. And no, I'm not going to intentionally put myself in harm's way. I promised Jake to do whatever it took to stay away from the river."

Walker opened his mouth to argue, when Jake flew Haleigh into the kitchen.

"Alright, enough grown-up talk," he said with a glare at me. "Kidlet ears are in range."

Rolling my eyes, I turned back to the meat. "Let me just get the veggies cut up."

"Aw crap," Christa muttered. And then a chair scraped over wood. "Here I am watching you slave away while telling you how important you are. I'll cut up the veggies."

"Christa-," I started.

She glared at me, pointing the knife at me in front of her body so Haleigh couldn't see it. "Shush it, you."

I held my hands up in surrender as I went for the fridge to pull out drinks and sauces. Walker was bouncing Haleigh in his lap and she was making that "uhhhhhh" noise in the process. Luckily, I'd bought some chocolate milk because that's what she asked for.

"Thanks for dinner, by the way," Walker said. "You didn't have to feed us."

Chuckling, Jacob put his glass down. "Are you joking? Of course we did. But what brought you up here to begin with? To show her off?"

Walker chuckled, kissing the top of her head. He repositioned her so that her back was to his chest and his arms framed her. "No, but that was a plus. Nah, I heard Adam came by the house last night to tell us that you wanted me to move my pack. But where? I didn't know if you had a certain spot in mind."

Jacob shrugged as Christa and I made it to the table at the same time and sat down. Everything was quiet for a moment as we got our plates ready. Walker rolled up a taco on his plate that was significantly smaller than the others and showed Haleigh how to hold it while she ate it.

Her little face scrunched up in concentration. Walker kept his hands around hers just in case as she took a bite. Chewing carefully, and then taking another bite, she grinned at me through a full mouth.

"You like?"

She nodded vigorously.

"Well, good."

Walker continued to help her eat before digging into his own plate. I shared a smile with Jacob. Walker really was acting the father figure, and it was amazing to watch. Just months ago, he'd been an angry teenager, furious with his circumstances and the people around him. Now, he was calm and patient, gentle with this precious girl. They shared a look as he bit into his own taco. She looked at him expectantly, so he nodded.

"Mmm," he mumbled.

She grinned at me again.

I was no longer jealous of the kids around us. Instead, I was thankful for them. They changed people, their innocence bringing out the best in the adults. Still, I desperately wanted my own, to carry Jacob's child. But Carlisle and Jacob were right. Walker's story about Haleigh's torment had been blood-chilling. A safe home was the only place to raise a child, and so far, that wasn't what we had. So before we brought another child into the world, we needed to make Forks safe again.

Jacob's hand found mine under the table. I squeezed his fingers. He raised his glass of sweet tea to the middle of the table.

"To family, blood or otherwise."

We all raised our glasses, too. Haleigh looked confused but followed the example.

"To family," we all called out with a laugh.

JPOV

An hour or so later, Walker took Christa and Haleigh into town to get Haleigh some clothes and to shop for the pack. I'd let him borrow the truck and Ness had given him her card. I'd told him to move them to cleared area where Ness and I had gotten married. It should still have been cleared out.

Ness had joined me on the porch with a mug of hot chocolate.

"It's beautiful," she said. Since the cabin was settled in the middle of a meadow, the snow had dropped around the house. The top of the lake was frozen over but not enough to walk on. Not yet anyway.

I nodded. "Yeah, it is," I said, lacing my fingers through hers.

We just stood there, leaning against the rail to listen to the quiet forest. The woods seemed empty, but all the animals were tucked away, being driven inside by the cold. Nessie's hunting schedule would be harder to stick to, but we'd still try. The pack could help us push the deer to her.

"Seriously, I hate that woman."

Ness and I shared a look as Shelby's voice echoed up to us.

"What right does she think she have to talk to me like that? To tell me I should have aborted Brayden? She had me at nineteen. Dumb bitch."

Seth's chuckle as well as a baby's gurgle followed. After a moment, they finally rounded the bend in the trail. Shelby was red in the face, nose pink, as she huffed up the incline. Seth was carrying a smiling Brayden as well as wearing a smile himself.

When she finally looked up, she blinked in surprise. "Nessie." And then she relaxed. "Thank god. I need to vent and something hot to drink. Do you mind?"

Nessie chuckled. "Not at all. Get in here where it's warm." She kissed my cheek as Shelby made her way up the porch steps.

"Hey, Jake."

"What's up?" I asked with raised eyebrows.

"Her mother came for a visit," Seth answered as Shelby took Brayden from him and went inside with Ness.

"Ugh," she growled as she stomped inside with her son.

"Everything ok?"

Seth chuckled. "Kind of."

Patrick and Alana, in wolf form, rounded the bend and sat down to stare at the house.

I gave them a questioning glance. Seth looked vaguely uncomfortable. "I told them they needed to talk to you. Well, Alana does."

She lowered her head and whimpered.

"I take it something went down?"

Seth nodded. "Yeah. In her defense it was an instinctive reaction though it was wrong."

"Tell me," I said keeping my eyes on the wolves.

He went into the explanation of Shelby's mom coming in, acting like she owned the damn world, and almost hitting Shelby. That's when he got tentative, giving a sympathetic look to Alana.

"She phased in front of her."

"What?!" I yelled, eyes swinging to the wolf who had now hunkered down in the snow.

"After threatening her."

Now I glared.

"And the phase also happened in front of Shelby's dad's girlfriend. But," he continued quickly, "she's ok with it. She's cool. We don't have to worry about her."

"Alana, get over here," I growled.

Slowly, she got up and trudged through the snow, her head down, eyes rolled up.

"Phase. I wanna hear what you have to say."

She did as she was told, but her chin stayed glued to her chest, eyes still rolled up.

"Well?"

Taking a deep breath, she raised her chin in the stubborn look I knew well. "I'm not sorry. The bitch was about hit Shelby."

"Shelby could have taken the hit."

She nodded. "I know, but she shouldn't have to. The woman needed to know that Shelby was loved and wanted as well as Brayden. It was instinct."

Behind me, the door opened.

"Alana, do you know what she could do with what she saw?"

"She won't."

I turned to see Shelby in the doorway. She had a mug balanced in her hands. Brayden was in Nessie's arms.

"How do you know?" I demanded. I was pissed. This was one more thing that we didn't need. "Shelby, she could bring in outsiders. All the reported sightings of wolves in the woods. The 'animal' killings."

Shelby shook her head, eyes determined. "My mother won't breathe a word for fear that she'd be seen as crazy. She's got a rich husband, and no doubt, more kids. She wouldn't risk it. No proof besides what she saw. And she's in shock. She'll talk herself out of it." Her eyes went to Alana. "Alana was protecting me. It's what you guys do. You can't blame her, Jacob. And, thank you, Alana. I appreciate what you did."

While Alana flushed with pride, my molars gnashed together.

"Do you not understand the danger you've put us in?"

"Jacob, think about it," Shelby said, forcing me to turn back to her. "The Makahs no doubt have proof, and you've threatened them. They're a danger, too. This whole time. Alana was doing what she was supposed to, which was to protect me. Granted, it wasn't done in the most graceful of ways, which I'm sure she's learned her lesson. But you put Patrick and her on my guard duty. What did you expect from two soldiers?"

"In her defense, again," Seth said, "I was chomping at the bit myself. If Alana hadn't stepped in, I'd have gone apeshit. I was very close to phasing in that house. Even with Brayden and Shelby nearby. It was good that she was there or worse could have gone down."

Angrily, I sighed knowing that Seth wouldn't admit that unless it was true. But I still pinned Alana with a glare. "You watch yourself from now on. Otherwise I'm gonna put you on the rez. Permanently." The alpha tone coated my words.

She nodded. "Yes, Jacob. I understand." With that she phased back to go sit with Patrick, who rubbed his muzzle against hers.

"Shelby, why don't we go home?" Seth said, giving me a hard look. "Let's let the alpha couple have some alone time."

Nessie gave Brayden one last nose bump before handing him off. As she passed me, Shelby patted my arm.

"It's ok, Jacob. If anything, she saved my mother's life."

This time in defeat, I sighed. "I'm sorry you had to go through that, though."

She smiled. "Hey, I came out on top and told her to get the hell out of our lives and stay there."

"What did she even come back for?" Ness asked, wrapping her arms around one of mine.

Shelby shook her head. "Some stupid thing about photo albums and home videos." She shrugged. "I think she just came back to see if we had crumbled without her." Smiling down at Brayden, she said, "Which we didn't. We got stronger."

Seth wrapped an arm around her. "Come on, Shelbs. Let's get home."

Now my smile reappeared. It was great to see them so happy, to see Shelby no longer fear becoming her mother.

I wrapped my own arm around Ness. "Good night, guys. Stay warm."

Cuddling into me, Nessie's arms slid around my waist as we watched them walk off with Alana and Patrick. "I love them so much. And Brayden is just perfect."

"Not gonna yell at me for how I talked to Alana?"

She pulled back to frown up at me. "Why would I do that? You did and said what you thought was necessary. It's not my job to scold you for being the alpha. I do have to stand by you, Jacob. And I do. I'll only argue if I think it's necessary. There were numerous things she could have done differently. She should have thought about that first. But what's done is done and we'll deal with it."

"I love you. There is no way I could do this without you. You keep my head sane."

She chuckled and rubbed my back. "Well, I am the only one you listen to. I have to be the rational thinker out of the two of us."

"Ain't that the truth," I muttered. "Come on. Let's get inside. Your nose is turning pink."

She nodded. "I have a Thanksgiving dinner to plan anyway."

Though we'd had little interaction with everybody and had slept practically all day, I was exhausted. Collapsing on the couch, I turned on the tv while Ness grabbed a pad of paper and a pencil.

The night was spent inside and together, a lovely silence of companionship between us.

WalkerPOV

Once we got back from town, we stopped to check on the pack. Haleigh retreated into herself as we walked closer and closer to the river. Her arms wrapped around my neck, her face buried in my shoulder. Christa had taken her clothes shopping while I went to get supplies for the pack. Last night, she'd gotten a bath in an actual bathtub instead of a river. I think she was getting used to having a home, which was sealing the deal on her staying with us. She kept asking when we could go home.

"Hey, guys!" Bianca said as she spotted us over the bonfire. Everybody stopped or turned to look at us.

"Hey." In one hand, I was carrying a bunch of bags. In the other, Haleigh nestled into me. Christa was also laden with bags. "We got some stuff for the pack. Extra blankets. Space heaters. Dinnerware. Stuff like that."

Bianca's face showed surprise. "You didn't have to do that, Walker."

"Yes, I did. I'm your pack leader. I take care of what's mine."

While she was speechless, Angelica spoke up. "That's very sweet of you. Thank you."

I shrugged as best I could. "Well, it's also to butter you up. We need to move the camp down by the rez."

"Why?" Bianca asked.

I didn't want to tell them the real reason so I hedged, "I just want you guys closer to us until we can get those cabins built on Roderick's land."

The entire area went quiet except for the bubbling water of the river.

"What?" Bianca asked softly. Her eyes watered and she cleared her throat.

I gave her serious eye contact. "I don't need to think about this anymore. No more trial run. I want you and Roderick to make out a plan. You guys have been on your own too long with a crazy man. These kids need stability and warm beds. And home-cooked meals. That's what we'll give them." I took a deep breath. "I won't force the kids to go to school if they don't want to, but they will still need to be taught. Nessie has some left over homeschool books. I'm sure we could figure something out."

At first, everything remained quiet while they stared at me. And then, they started sharing looks and whispers amongst themselves. Eventually, the chatter became excited, smiles being tossed around. Bianca got up to come to me, the tears flowing now.

"Thank you," she whispered. "Thank you so much."

"You're welcome. It's the least I could do."

She smiled and then looked at Haleigh. "And you brought our munchkin back."

Haleigh's grip on me tightened.

"Actually, I think Christa and I are going to keep her with us." I stroked her back. "Would you be alright with that? Staying with me and Miss Christa?"

She nodded. "Mhm."

"Good." I kissed her hair. "We'd like it, too."

Christa smiled at me.

Bianca melted. "Finally."

"You're ok with that?" Christa asked in surprise.

Angelica came up to stand beside her lover. "We've all been waiting for her to get attached to someone who will take care of her. She's never been that attached to any of us."

"Will you adopt her?" Bianca asked.

Leaning back, Haleigh looked at me expectantly as if she knew what that meant. She was smart for a six year old.

Christa and I shared a look. Crouching down, I set Haleigh on her feet. While I thought about what I was going to say, I messed with her braids. Christa knelt down beside me, but didn't say anything. She knew I wanted to handle this, and Haleigh's attention was all on me anyway.

"Haleigh, what do you want, sweetie?" I asked her. Hopefully, she'd understand.

Her dark blue eyes bounced between me and Christa as she hugged the doll to her chest.

"A mommy and daddy," she whispered.

Christa whimpered, eyes tearing up. My heart melted, tugging at those paternal strings again. That hadn't been what I was asking, but I supposed that was answer enough. My mate and I shared another look. Complete understanding passed between us. No way could we leave this girl. No fucking way.

I swallowed hard, knowing that whatever happened next would change my life forever. It would change everything about me, about Christa.

"You want that with me and Christa? Would you like us to adopt you?"

Without hesitation, she nodded, lower lip trembling, and flung herself into my arms, crying into my shirt. Angelica started crying, putting her hands over her mouth.

"Shhh," I muttered, stroking her back. Christa, crying as well, ran a hand over her hair. "It's ok, Haleigh. It's ok. We're not leaving you."

She sniffled. "Promise?"

"I swear it, baby girl."

Pulling back, she let me go to throw herself into Christa's arms. Christa rocked her, kissed her hair, and whispered to her. She offered me a watery smile and gripped my fingers with her free hand.

I stood up and had to clear my throat before I spoke. "So, it looks like we're adopting her. Is there anything that needs to be signed or done?"

Bianca shook her head, wiping away the tears that fell when she did so. "She was an orphan when she came to us. And it's a rule for our kind not to give birth in a hospital because they take blood. There'd be no record of her birth."

"How'd you know her information, then?"

"There was a backpack full of her stuff and her parents' in the clearing where we found her. Her name is Haleigh Marie. No last name. The parents were nomadic as well. They probably just made one up whenever they interacted with the public. That's how we all do."

Looking back at my two girls, I said, "Well, she's going to have a last name now. Mine. As is my mate."

Christa looked up at me with surprise. I nodded. "That's right. I want us officially mated and married."

"Are you proposing?" Christa breathed.

I knelt down in front of her. "I am. Will you marry me?"

After a long moment of just studying me, she grinned and nodded. "Of course."

Howls broke out behind us. Turning, I found that the pack had moved to stand close by, listening. A little howl echoed in front of me. Haleigh had stepped away from Christa to toss her head back and join in with the pack. It wasn't as in tune or deep, but the emotion was clear. Joy. She was happy.

She caught me watching her and lifted her arms, letting me know she wanted to be picked up. I hefted her up into my arms. She kissed my cheek and hugged me hard. Christa stepped into my other side and I wrapped my arm around her waist. Out into the night, more howls joined my pack's. Jacob's pack. They weren't supposed to howl unless something was wrong, but even to my ears, they were happy sounds.

I looked to Bianca. "Tomorrow, we'll move camp down toward the rez. There's a clearing that should be enough room. There's a stream that runs close that you can use until we can get the cabins done. We'll work on the plans as soon as possible. However, I do want some of our wolves on patrols."

She nodded. "Whatever you need."

"I know we've had this conversation before but I'm sure about this, ok? Jacob is my alpha. I trust him, so you'll be listening to him as much as me. If I can, I'll get him and Nessie out here so that you can get acquainted. Don't worry, I'll make sure you that you get comfy with his wolves. They're good people."

She nodded again. "Ok, we'll talk about all this tomorrow. You have some celebrating to do at home tonight."

"Thank you."

Members of the pack came forward to take all the bags we'd dragged out here. Through the crowd, I caught Malik sitting on one of the logs framing the bonfire, his guards surrounding him. He just watched me with a wicked smirk that didn't bode well. My gut clenched with that look. He waved at me, waggling his fingers. I lifted my lip in a snarl, a warning.

"Walker?" Christa asked.

Glancing at her, I gave her a weak smile.

"You ok?"

I nodded. "Yeah." I must not have been convincing because Haleigh put a finger between my eyes where my brows were pulled together in a frown. I smiled when she gave me a grumpy look and bounced her once. "Yeah, I'm ok."

"I wanna go home," Haleigh said with a pout as if she knew I wouldn't be able to say no. Of course I couldn't. She already had me wrapped around her finger after one night of being in the house.

"Well, then, let's go home."

After saying goodbye to everyone, we hopped up in the truck, tried to drop it off at Jakes but he insisted on us taking it back down to the rez so we wouldn't have to walk in the cold, and went home. More snow was moving in, the temperature dropping quickly and drastically.

Haleigh had fallen asleep in the truck allowing Christa and I to talk. We'd talked about getting married and adopting a six year old little girl. Christa didn't want a big wedding, just wanted us to marry as soon as possible, which I agreed with. We decided to talk to Carlisle. Maybe he'd be able to pull something together. We also decided to talk to Alice and Nessie about any of Nessie's old things like clothing. Christa mentioned talking to Emily about some of Claire's old things.

As was typical with kids in cars, Haleigh woke up when we pulled into the driveway. And she wanted to rewatch Beauty and the Beast. She liked the talking chipped, teacup. Before I popped it in, though, Christa and I knelt sat on the coffee table in front of her while she climbed up to sit down. When she went to put her thumb in her mouth, I gave her a look. We'd had that talk this morning. Biting her lip instead, she situated her doll in her lap.

"Sweetie, we just wanted to talk to you about this, ok?" Christa said sweetly.

She nodded.

"Walker and I have decided to get married, mated. And we've decided to adopt you. You said you wanted that, right?"

Again, she nodded, but didn't meet our eyes. She just played with the skirt on her doll. Reaching forward, I put a finger under her chin and lifted until her eyes met mine.

"Baby girl, we just want to know if you understand what we're saying. Can you tell us what you're thinking?"

Worrying that lip a little more, she fidgeted, eyes tearing up. With her gaze averted, she said, "You're going to be my mommy and daddy, right? I want you to be my mommy and daddy."

Christa and I shared a look.

She leaned forward, a comforting hand on Haleigh's leg. "Sweetheart, we're not going to ask you to call us that. We know we're not really your parents. We just want to take care of you."

Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say because Haleigh just burst into tears. "You don't wanna be my mommy?"

"Oh, sweetheart." She gathered the weeping girl into her arms. "I didn't mean it like that, baby. I just want you to know that you can just call us Christa and Walker. You don't have to call us anything special."

"Haleigh, sweetheart, look at me." Slowly, her eyes peeked over Christa's shoulder to stare me. They were filled with tears. "Do you remember your mommy and daddy?"

She shook her head.

"Ok. That's ok. Christa and I very much want to you to be with us. What she was trying to say was that you don't have to call us mommy and daddy, ok? But we'll still be here. We won't leave you no matter what you call us."

"Promise?"

The vulnerability in that one request broke my heart. And made me very angry. That she needed affirmation of everything meant she'd been let down too many times in her too short life.

Reaching forward, I cupped her little face. "I promise you. We'll never leave you. You're safe with us."

"Always," Christa murmured.

I held out my fist, pinky extended. "Here. Pinky promise."

Sniffling, she moved around in Christa's lap to frown at me. "What?"

Grasping her hand, I positioned it to mirror mine. And then I wrapped my pinky around hers.

"It's called a pinky promise. And they're very important. Breaking a pinky promise is very bad. So," I tightened my grip on hers and gave her serious eye contact. "I pinky promise never to leave you and that you're safe with us."

Grinning, getting the gist of it, she wrapped her pinky around mine. And then she separated from me to hold her pinky out to Christa. My mate solemnly wrapped her pinky around Haleigh's.

"Pinky promise," Haleigh repeated.

"Pinky promise," Christa echoed.

"Pinky promise," I said with finality.

Our first family bonding moment.

Leaning forward, I kissed her forehead. "Now, why don't you go get your jammies on and then we'll watch the movie?"

Grinning, she hopped off Christa's lap to go get dressed for bed.

An hour and some change later, I scooped Haleigh off the couch and carried her to her bed. She'd passed out about halfway through, which meant she'd want to rewatch it tomorrow. Christa followed me with the doll to tuck it in next to her. We both kissed her forehead, turned out the light, and left the door opened a crack. Going through the house, we turned off lights and smothered the fires.

Once we were curled up in bed, wearing clothes just in case Haleigh ended up crawling into bed with us, I pulled Christa into my side.

"So, we're really doing this?" she asked as she traced her finger over my chest.

Putting a hand behind my head, I studied the ceiling and blew out a breath. "It seems right." I looked down at her and then back to the ceiling. "Doesn't it? Getting married and raising her?"

She was quiet for a moment. "But are you wanting to marry me for her, or because you want to marry me?"

Now I looked at her and kept my eyes on her. "Christa, I love you. We're mates. Period. There's not a requirement on how long we have to stay together before we can get married. Or none that I'm aware of. I'm not questioning us. I want you to be my wife. I want to raise this little girl with my wife at my side. I want that title to belong to you and only you. Sure, we kill two birds with one stone with setting a good example for her. But we're permanent. Might as well give you a new title. Bottom line, I asked you to marry me because I want you to. No, I need you to. Ok? Do you understand that?"

It was her turn to sniffle and wipe her eyes using my chest, but she nodded. "Yeah. I love you, too." And then she seemed to think about something. "What are we gonna tell your parents? You're only, almost, nineteen. And you haven't been back long."

I shrugged, not really concerned with my parents. "We'll tell them the truth, introduce them to Haleigh. Of course, we'll have to explain to her that she can't do anything wolfy, unless we tell them about us. And I still need to buy you a ring. I wanna do that before we tell them. Dad would kill me."

She chuckled. "I don't think the ring will make a difference in that regard. He's going to kill you anyway for making me his daughter-in-law. And making him a grandfather."

"And I don't care. Look, I'm not doing all this for his approval. The ring is actually important to me. But more than that, I'm just letting them know that I'm fine and happy. That I've got a life that I'm proud of, that they can't take away from me."

Her warm hand stroked up and down my torso, stopping just above the waist of the boxers and going all the way up to my jawline.

"Ok, but about the ring. Nothing huge." She shuddered. "Don't spend too much. Wait. How will you pay for something like that?"

I laughed. "Are you kidding? My mom put even my toothfairy money in the bank. Every piece of money I ever got is in the bank. I'm pretty good for a while. Plus, I had a job when I was in high school. Actually, I still had it when I was attacked. I wonder if he replaced me yet."

"What did you do?"

"I was a coach at the community center for any and all sports. The parents paid me to coach their kids. I also helped train them in the gym, the older kids anyway. That might be something we could pull together for the kids of the rez and in my pack, separately of course."

"Wow. So, you're a natural with kids."

I shrugged. "I spent a lot of time watching over Tricia and her friends. Either you get used to it or be irritated the rest of your life. Plus, I like kids. They're the most honest people, except for drunk people."

The bed shook and I realized she was laughing, burying her face into my side. I loved it when she laughed.

"Well, tomorrow we need to help the pack move down here, but the day after, we can go ring shopping if you want? Or if you wanna go by yourself, I'll take Haleigh shopping. We can buy stuff for her room."

I kissed her forehead. "Sounds good. Now, let's get some slee-"

The door opened a crack so that some light seeped into the room. A small silhouette didn't quite reach the bed.

I shared an amused look with Christa. "Come on in, baby girl."

She quickly darted in, closed the door, and crawled up onto the bed. Before we could move apart, she wiggled herself between us under the covers, Christa's arm sandwiching her between us.

"Goodnight," she whispered.

"Goodnight, sweetheart."

"'Night, baby girl."

She jolted up suddenly, her hair in disarray. "Oh, wait." Scrambling around she stretched herself up to plant a kiss on my cheek with a big "muah". Then she turned to do the same to Christa before burrowing back down between us.

"Ok. Goodnight again."

Christa and I chuckled as we said our goodnights one last time. In seconds, Haleigh was fast asleep, her little face buried into my side, warmth breath caressing my skin. Gently, I rolled over a little to wrap my arms around Christa.

"I love you."

"I love you, too," she whispered. "I can't wait for this journey."

"Me either. She's perfect."

Nodding, Christa looked down at Haleigh and kissed her head.

"She sure is."

"You both are."

We shared one last kiss before cuddling down around Haleigh and falling asleep to the sound of her deep breathing and the pattering of her little heart.

Who else wants Walker? Jacob...you are so close to getting dethroned. Pull it together, man! Bahahahaha anywhozzle, tell me how ya feel about it. Hate me? Love me? Let me know! But I can tell you I love you! xoxoxoxo