Chapter 11. The ring and Edward. The whole reaction part is so not gonna be what you guys are expecting. Go Jacob! I'm madly in love with him now. Oh and there's some Shelby and Seth sweetness here, too. And I positively love the end of this chapter. It might be short but that's where I wanted to end it.

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Please Enjoy!

ShelbyPOV

I'd been pacing the damn living room since the moment I woke up. Well, actually the first few minutes after my eyes opened, I was in the bathroom throwing my guts up. But after that, I took to doing laps around the house. Worried was an understatement.

Nessie had just taken off without a word. Although I knew she was either at one of the cabins or on the rez, I still wanted to know where she was specifically and that she was safe. And the bitch wouldn't answer her phone. Not one response. And nobody else would say anything. I'd been in the shower when the whole thing had gone down and not one of the Cullens wanted to talk about it. And Edward looked like death warmed over. Which had naturally made me go ape-shit. The look was one of regret. He'd done or said something, or both, that he wished he could take back.

And likewise, Jacob was gone. He hadn't come back to the house last night even though Alice had commented that she'd seen him.

"Shelby, if you don't stop pacing, I'm going to have a stroke," Seth said from the couch. He'd been watching me all morning.

"No, you won't. You're just waiting on me to get sick again. And I told you, I'm fine now. I held down breakfast, didn't I?"

He sighed and braced his elbows on his knees. "That's not the point. If you're pregnant, I don't want you to hurt yourself or the baby. Stress isn't good for either one."

I paused by the large picture window and stared out over the woods. "Seth, we both know I'm pregnant. And to hell with the stress stuff. Tell Nessie that crap. Better yet, tell her to answer her damn-,"

Movement in the shadow cast by the edge of the tress had me pausing. I heard Seth stand up and come over to me. He wrapped his arms around my waist and rested his chin on top of my head.

"What is it?"

We both watched as the shrubs shook. A moment later, Nessie burst out from them. She was looking behind her with a wide smile on her face and a throaty laugh leaving her. Not two seconds later, Jacob burst out from the shrubs grinning like the wolf he was. Those eyes were locked on Nessie, the promise of sex riding around him like lightening. It was clear in the look that he'd become her alpha male. He'd accepted his role as the dominant of the two of them. He'd taken her and marked her as his, and any guy that dared to come near her with thoughts that he shouldn't be having would end up with a broken face and eating his own teeth.

From here, I could see the bite mark on the side of her neck. And he had scratches on both sides of his, no doubt made from her nails. And with my newly sharpened vision, I could see the marks in his skin on his wrists and the deep bite on his shoulder around the edge of his ribbed-tank.

They were both glowing with love, lust, sex, and most of all, devotion and forgiveness.

"Holy. Shit," Seth whispered into my ear.

My thoughts exactly. So, that's where they'd been. Seth and I watched as Nessie let Jacob pull her into his arms, lean her back, and take her lips in a fierce kiss. He reached up and pulled her hair out of the knot it was already in danger of coming out of and ran his fingers through it as it cascaded down her back. One of his hands snaked down to her hip and pulled her in tight to him. She broke the kiss to tilt her head back, close her eyes, and open her lips. No doubt she was letting out an erotic sigh.

Laughing, Jake leaned into her ear and whispered something. At least, I assume he whispered something because Nessie's face scrunched up in a questioning expression. She opened her eyes and looked up at his grinning face. Taking the hand that was at her hip, he dug into the pocket of his jeans, let her go, and went down on one knee.

A gasp left me as my hand went to my mouth. "Oh my God," I whispered.

Nessie had the same thought. I knew that because her hand had gone to her lips, tears coming to her eyes as she nodded frantically and gave Jacob her left hand. With another satisfied, happy smile, he slipped the ring back onto her finger, stood up, and took her lips again. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders when he lifted her feet up off the ground and swung her around. The kiss broke and she tilted her head back for another laugh.

Their happiness brought a grin to my face and tears to my eyes. Finally. They'd gone and forgiven each other. Seth's arms tightened around my waist gently. His lips brushed my neck as we watched our best friends have their little slice of heaven.

After a few moments of them just holding each other, they turned to come back for the house. Jacob wrapped and arm around her waist and she slipped a hand into the back pocket of his jeans.

Luckily, they'd have some time to acclimate back to being around here before getting trampled by the 'rents. Bella and Edward were at their cottage, no doubt talking about what went down. I still didn't know. And Seth had been out on patrol for another wolf.

As we heard them come up the porch steps, Seth and I shared a look. Nah, we weren't going to pretend like we hadn't seen that just now. It was a sweet moment, one full of love. And I'm glad I hadn't missed it. It was the healing that they'd both needed and being a witness to it had been a beautiful moment.

They walked into the living room still entwined around each other. Seth and I turned to face with them with big grins stretched over our faces. Nessie took one look at us and tried her hardest not to grin and blush, but she failed…miserably.

"I knew it!" I said, her blush a confirmation. "The two of you totally had sex."

The grin stretched over her face and Jacob pulled her into his chest so that she could hide her face. He was grinning, too, as he leaned over to kiss her hair.

"Welcome back, man," Seth said going forward to pound knuckles with Jacob.

"Thanks," Jacob said. His voice was much deeper than it normally was. "It's good to be back." His eyes turned wary as he looked around the room. "So, where is everybody?"

"If you're looking for Edward, he's at the cottage with Bella. They'll probably be here soon to see if you guys came back," Seth said.

I crossed my arms over my chest and narrowed my eyes at Nessie. "Yeah. And someone didn't answer her phone. We've been wondering where the hell you took off to. I was in the shower and nobody told me a damn thing when it all went down."

Her eyes went to the floor with guilt. "Sorry. I just needed some time to get my shit together. And then Jacob showed up."

I couldn't help my grin. "Oh, yeah. And you guys totally talked all night."

Jacob chuckled and pulled her closer as she blushed again. "Yup, and it was one of the best conversations of my life. This morning's was great, too."

"Jacob!" Nessie said with a laugh.

"What? It's true." He pressed his lips to hers. "I wouldn't trade them for anything."

Abruptly, the house became busy in a flurry of activity. The Cullens came in through the kitchen. They'd been out doing their own patrols alongside the wolves. Esme ended up in the kitchen to fire up lunch for those of us who had to eat. Carlisle sat down at the kitchen table with his laptop. Jasper studied our little group from one of the corners of the room, reading our emotions. Now doubt he was making mental reports to Edward about our grids. Just out of sight, I knew that Alice had gone into the dining room. There was a frown on her face as if she were concentrating while she fingered one of her planning books. Emmett and Rosalie were firing up the television and game systems.

As the door to the kitchen opened one last time, the house froze. This was the showdown we were waiting for. No doubt Nessie had told or showed Jacob about what had happened. And I was dying to know, although I probably wouldn't find out the details til after Jacob swept the floor with his soon-to-be father-in-law's ass.

Edward's expression when he walked in flickered. Pissed Off warred with I Totally Deserved This and My Daughter's All Grown Up. But that didn't save him.

Jacob's growl was low and very dangerous as it ripped through the room. A second later, Edward was pinned to the wall with Jacob at his throat.

JPOV

I didn't really care how sorry Edward was. He'd crossed the line last night with Nessie, and I was going to make sure that it wouldn't happen again. Once the shock wore off from the rest of the Cullens, Emmett tried to grab my arm and haul me back, but Jasper grabbed his attention and shook his head. I leaned into the forearm I had across Edward's throat even though he didn't need to breathe.

"Jacob!" Bella cried out as I bared my teeth in her husband's face.

"Stay out of this, Bella," I growled out.

"Mom, don't." Nessie's voice was stern.

"But he can't just…Jacob, you can't just go attacking people like this." Her voice was high with fear but also tinged with anger.

I ignored her and concentrated on the vampire in front of me. "Listen up 'cause I'm only gonna say this once. If you ever lose your temper like that around her again, you ever threaten her in any way, I will not hesitate to light your ass on fire. And we'd better be clear because this is the only warning you're gonna get." Easing back a little, I looked around the room and out the windows. We'd run into Derek and Adam on the way here and I'd told them to gather who they could around the house. "That goes for any of you, pack or Cullen. Any threat to my mate and I will not hesitate to take you to the ground. Your only warning, so remember it."

One last shove into Edward's throat, and I pushed away from him to go back to Nessie. Shelby had come to stand beside her, threading her fingers through the other woman's. Shelby let go of Nessie so that I could take her into my arms protectively. Standing there, I met every pair of eyes around me that I could so that they'd know I was fucking serious. They were all my family, but Nessie was my future. Together, she and I would create the leaders of a future pack. Our descendants had to protect Forks and La Push. And I'd be damned if anything or anybody was going to harm the mother of my future children.

One by one, the Cullens all nodded at me. And the wolves bowed at the neck. Last but not least, I met Edward's eyes with a dare for him to go against me. He didn't. He just stared from me to Nessie and back again.

"I should be angry with you for taking her innocence before marrying her, but, as my wife once told me, the two of you are not us. You see the world differently, and I must respect that. And now that that ring is back on my daughter's finger, I should like very much for a wedding to be planned so that I can walk her to the man she's destined to be with." His eyes went to Nessie, and his voice choked up. "I am so very sorry for how I treated you yesterday. There are no excuses and I will not try to make any. Jacob had every right to do what he just did. I apologize sincerely to the both of you for my actions. And I will completely understand if neither of you wish to have anything to do with me."

With that, Nessie looked up at me with sad eyes. She believed she'd deserved what he'd said, but not the manner in which he'd said it. And his apology broke her heart because this was the one and only time that he'd ever lost his temper in the decade that I'd known him. And this one time was at the one miracle that he'd never expected. He expected to lose her and it had been there in his voice.

Nessie unwound herself from me and went to stand in front of him. They stared at each other for a long moment before she wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his shoulder. His arms tentatively wrapped around her as if he were scared she'd pull away. When she didn't, he hugged her tight and squeezed his eyes closed.

"You are my father," she whispered. "And I love you. I will always love you. And I will always be my daddy's little girl."

For about three heartbeats, we all stood there, watching them as they held on to each other. But Shelby's patience always wore thin.

"Thank God. Now, can Seth and I take the test?"

That broke the tension. We all laughed and turned to her. Seth pressed a kiss to her temple. Carlisle disappeared and came back in two seconds with a box in his hands. Though Shelby's voice had been strong and resolute, her hand shook as she reached out to take the box. Nessie extracted herself from her father's hold and went over to take her best friend's hand.

"We'll be right back," she said to the room as she led Shelby to the downstairs bathroom.

As the girls disappeared down the back hallway, Edward came forward. The room went silent again as he stopped in front of me and held out his hand.

"I couldn't ask for a better son-in-law to keep my daughter safe."

With the understanding that I would cut down any threat to her running between us, I shook his hand.

RPOV

It was great to have gotten all that out of the way. And the ring on my finger let me know how much I'd missed it. But my sole concern right now was Shelby. She was nervous. Her heart was fluttering quickly and loudly, and her palm was clammy in mine.

She'd insisted on me staying with her the whole time, so I held her hand and turned my back while she did her thing over the loo.

She sniffled. "Ugh, I can't believe I'm nervous. I mean, we pretty much already know that I am."

I squeezed her hand. "It's the fact that we'll know for sure and you'll have check-ups and ultrasounds."

"Oh, stop talking. Please, Nessie. You're making me wanna hurl."

I laughed. "How long do we have to wait?" I asked as she flushed, recapped the test, and stood next to me while she put it on the counter.

"I think, like, three minutes."

I took my phone out of my pocket to check the time.

"Nessie?"

"Hmm?"

"Was Jake good to you?" When I looked at her, she blushed. "I mean, I know that you two made love. I just wanna make sure that you're ok. Or if you wanna talk about it, you know, while we wait."

My sigh was one of complete bliss while my fingers played over the bite mark on my neck. "Shelby, he-he was amazing. I was a lot sore after last night but I worked out the kinks, and this morning? Shelby, he was everything male. It was raw. We both were."

She nodded. "It makes sense. Like I said, he's the dominant, alpha male. You're his woman, his female. I'd be surprised if you weren't sore and worked out good."

"Was I ever. He was gentle but not overtly so. It was perfect. No embarrassment or I'm-sorrys. Just raw passion."

She patted my arm. "Welcome to maturity. Isn't it grand?"

We laughed at the same time. "Definitely."

She sighed and took my phone out of my hand. "Alright, let's get this over with." She leaned over to the counter a little before she shook her head and stepped back. "I can't do this. Nessie, I'm going to be a coward and ask you to do it."

Smiling gently at her, I squeezed her hand and leaned over the counter. A little plus sign showed up in the little window. Leaning back against the wall, I tried to hold in my excitement.

"It's positive, isn't it?" she demanded after scrutinizing my face.

"Why don't you see for yourself? It'll ground you better, be more real."

Glaring at me, she took a deep breath. And leaned over. I knew when she saw the result because her hand convulsed on mine and her breathing became rapid. There was a knock on the door, and she shook her head frantically at me.

"Shelby? You ok?" Seth's voice was gentle but worried.

Given the sheen of tears and the layer of fear in her eyes, I knew she wouldn't want him to see her like this. She just didn't know how to feel even though she'd known that she was carrying a child. Fear still hit her hard.

Moving around her, but keeping hold of her hand, I went to the door and opened it a crack. "She needs a minute, Seth. We'll be out in a sec."

His eyes went over my head and then met mine. His voice lowered to a whisper. "Is she ok?"

"Just give us a minute, ok? She's a little…conflicted at the moment."

That right there told him the result of the test. Emotions flickered over his face before he shut them down. "Take care of her," he pleaded.

"I will," I promised and shut the door softly.

The moment I turned back to her, Shelby burst into tears and shielded her face with her hands. I took her into my arms and stroked her hair. Rocking her gently, I picked up the test just be sure that I'd read it right. I had. The little plus sign was still there.

"What is it, Shelby. Talk to me."

She hiccupped a few times, and then talked into my shoulder. "I'm happy. Don't get me wrong, I am. But I'm still terrified. And yeah, I already knew I was p-p-pregnant but it's different now."

"I know, sweetie."

"I know you and Seth have told me that I'm not my mother. It's not that I'm terrified for me. I'm terrified for the baby. What if something happens and I lose Seth? I won't want to live if that happens, not even for the baby. At least I don't think I would. Or what happens if I died in childbirth and left Seth alone? Would he want the baby?"

I stroked her hair a little more and let her cry. But after a few minutes, I pulled her back by the shoulders and looked her in the eye. "Shelbs, I can't promise you that something bad won't happen. I wish I could, but I can't. However, I do know that Seth would never abandon your child and neither would you, even if something happened to one or the other. And if something happened to both of you, Jake and I would be here. The pack would be here. We'd take care of the child. That is a promise I can make, and keep."

Her eyes calmed back into the realm of sanity while her hands went to her stomach. "You and Jake would be there?"

"Yes."

"Every step, you'll be there with me?"

"Absolutely, Shelby. You're my best friend. And I know I haven't spent a lot of time with you lately, but we'll change that. Lots of girl time for us. I won't leave you when you need me the most. And neither will Seth. Or Jacob. He cares about you, too."

I watched as the Shelby I knew and loved came back to the surface of this scared stranger. Her chest and shoulders rose with deep, calming breaths. Slender hands played over her stomach as thoughts of the future played through her eyes. When she finally met my eyes again, she was back.

She lifted her chin and said, "Let's go."

Taking my hand, she opened the door and took the test from me as we marched down the hallway. When we reached the living room though, she froze. Pack members and Cullens alike were gathered, worry written on their faces as they turned to us expectantly. Jacob was standing next to Seth, hand clamped over his beta's shoulder. Leah was holding one of her brother's hands, squeezing his fingers while Caden massaged her shoulders. Morgan and Christa were actually in the same room together, both with worried expressions and taking up space on the same wall. Even Sam had come up with Leila and was talking to Carlisle.

Shelby turned to me, tears and joy in her eyes. "I really do have a family, now, don't I?"

I nodded with a gentle smile. "Of course you do. We'll be with you and Seth every step of the way. You don't have to be alone anymore, Shelby."

Her grin was breathtaking in its joy. She hugged me and then turned to the room. They'd all paused to listen to our exchange.

"Then I guess we need to start celebrating for a baby on the way."

The room went up into cheers as Seth crossed the room with a giant grin on his face as he scooped her up into his arms and swung her around. She laughed and showed him the test. Outside, wolves howled their joy to the moon. And the entire time, Jacob was watching me. I blew a kiss to him and he caught it, pressing his fist over his heart.

ShelbyPOV

My heart had exploded the moment I'd seen the results, but I hadn't allowed myself to feel the happiness until I'd seen all the wolves and vampires gathered in the living room to hear the results. They'd all looked genuinely concerned about me and my well-being. But the thing that pushed me to the point of utter joy was seeing Leila in Sam's arms. She was so small, and yet so loved. She brought joy to all parties. Everyone took care of her and made sure that she was ok. And with that realization, I'd come to the revelation that my child would be loved the same way. I wasn't a Quileute wolf, but I was mated to one. And ever since I'd come into the picture, they'd treated me like I was one of them, even when I'd been human.

This was a family, and I was a part of it. So looking down into Seth's eyes, I grinned as wide as I could and pressed a kiss to his lips. He broke the kiss to put his lips to my ear.

"Are you really happy?"

Pulled back so he could see my face, I smiled and nodded. "I truly am. I guess I just didn't want to be relieved that it was positive, but in reality, I want this. I want something good to grow from our relationship, and that's the opportunity we've been given. I would be stupid to hate it."

As he grinned up at me, I realized that the room had gone silent. Until a throat cleared. Carlisle stepped forward. Seth let me slip down his body so that I was tucked up into his side under his arm.

"In light of this wonderful news, we, the Cullens, have a gift for the two of you."

He slipped a hand into his pocket as Seth's hand tightened on my shoulder. I looked up at him with a question. The answer I got was the sound of a set of keys ringing. Gaze swinging back to Carlisle, I felt my eyes widen.

He grinned. "As a growing family, you'll want your own place to raise it. To plant that seed, to grow roots. The cabin won't be ready for another week or so. That should give you plenty of time to get your things packed for the move to your new home."

One hand went to my mouth to cover the fact that my jaw had hit the floor, and the other had moved down to my stomach where our seed was currently growing. It took a moment for me to realize that I was crying and shaking my head. When I looked up at Seth, there was relief and gratitude.

"Thank you," he said warmly, reaching out to take the keys from him. He handed me one of the keys and then pressed his hand to my stomach.

As everyone cheered again, Alice pranced over to Edward. They had a silent conversation. When they both looked over at me, I knew what they wanted to do so I nodded. This would be perfect.

Alice rang another set of keys. "Ok, everyone. And now, I have a little announcement of my own." She turned to face Jacob and Nessie were snuggled up to each other. "Now that the happy expectant couple has humbly accepted their gift, we have also decided that they need neighbors. Neighbors who are much like them." Nessie's hand flew to her own mouth and she turned to stare at me with her own tears. "Jacob and Nessie have recommenced their engagement, and so we've gone back to the idea of gifting them with the cabin that has played home to many a pivotal moment in their lives and relationship."

I nodded to Nessie and she turned to Jacob who was looking equally stunned.

"What?" he said even though he'd heard.

"We're giving you a house, jackass," Emmett said, making the room fall into laughter.

The couple shared another look before Nessie reached out a shaking hand to accept the keys.

"We had it re-keyed and an alarm system is being put into place tomorrow morning," Alice said. "We were going to give the place a make-over, but Shelby was right. If we did that, it wouldn't be your place. You should be the ones to give it a lift if you think it needs one."

"Thank you," Jacob said. "Thank you so damn much. It means a lot to us. To all four of us."

Edward spoke up. "The dominant couples should have their own homes and be able to have space to call the pack to them. It's perfect all the way around. And you'd be right between the reservation and here. Close but not too close."

Nessie came over to me while Seth went over to stand with Jacob and Edward. "What did she meant that you were right?"

I shrugged as nonchalantly as I could. "I may have been the one to suggest that you get the cabin as an engagement present."

"Did you know you were getting the other one?"

I shook my head. "No. That-that was the biggest surprise. I mean, Seth and I had been talking about what we would do if we were pregnant. We knew we'd have to find our own place, but this? This is incredible."

We reached for each other at the same time. The hug was intense and so full of all the sisterly love that we hadn't been able to give over the past few days. I'd missed Nessie so much and had wanted her be herself again. And now we'd come to this moments as women, not the girls we'd been when we'd first met. I was going to be a mother, and she was soon to be a wife, maybe a mother too eventually.

"I've missed you, Ness," I whispered as tears fell into her hair.

She squeezed me. "I've missed you, too, Shelbs. We're in this together. Always."

Pulling back, I held out my fist with my pinky out. She grinned, wiped her eyes, and wrapped her pinky to mine.

"Always," I said.

"Always," she promised.

Hmm, yes. I must say I enjoyed this one, especially when Seth and Shelbs were watching Nessie and Jacob at the beginning. I love that little scene. So please review. They make me happy :) xoxoxoxoxo