*Peeks around the doorjamb and then dodges various fruit* CHAPTER 13 has arrived. I am so sorry it took me so long. First I hit a writer's block and then...work called. :( Busy, busy, busy. However, I have to say that, to date, this just might be one of my favorite chapters. However, I already foresee ch.14 being a definite favorite. C:

*Disclaimer*

Please Enjoy!

One Week Later

RPOV

The box hit the hardwood floor with a dense thud.

"That's the last one," Jacob huffed.

I was just coming down from the top floor of the cabin that was now ours. The locks had been redone, an alarm system had been installed, and some things had been moved around. For instance, all the clothes that weren't specifically ours had been moved out of the master closet and chest of drawers to one of the extra bedroom closets. Aunt Alice had already been in here with a couple of my boxes, setting out picture frames and some of my decorative knickknacks around, no doubt trying to make that her "welcome home" tribute.

Jacob, various members of the pack, my family, and I had been moving the boxes all day. We'd helped Seth and Shelby move into the cabin across the lake from this one yesterday. And even though they'd wanted to help us today, we'd insisted that they spend the night and day after in their new home to "break it in" a little.

I looked up to Jake and smiled. We were officially moved in. There was nothing left but carpet and the bed at the big Cullen house. The same was said for Seth and Shelby's room, except for the bed. Seth had insisted it go with them. Jacob had told me that it was their mated bed, kind of like the marriage bed, and Seth was too attached to it because that's the only bed, besides the hotel room bed, that they'd slept together in. It was the bed that he'd gotten Shelby pregnant in, and it meant everything to him. Jacob had also told me that he would have done the same thing, but we already had our mated bed. The one we lost our virginity to each other in was already in the cabin. No doubt, if he could have Seth would have gone to rip up the bed out of that hotel. But I think both he and Shelby were content with the one they had. I know she'd been amused when he'd told my father how it was going to be with that bed. Even if he had to pay the Cullens back, that bed was getting moved to the cabin with them.

Dad and Carlisle had been more than happy to let them have it. Apparently they had plans for that room.

I got up from the couch and went to the box. Jacob had his hands on his hips and was looking around with a frown.

"What?" I asked.

"Where did all the other boxes go?"

I waved my hand back toward the stairs leading to our new bedroom. "Oh, I already kicked them down the stairs."

His expression turned to horror. "You didn't unpack them, did you?"

I frowned, hoping there hadn't been anything breakable in the boxes I'd packed full of clothes. Maybe he'd slipped something into them?

"Not yet. Why?"

Relief…and mischief took what I now knew was false horror off his face. "Good. I still get to see you unpack naked. Didn't miss the show of my life."

I tried not to laugh. I tried to look stern. I failed on both accounts. "Jacob Black, what am I going to do with you?"

His laugh was low and dark, utterly masculine, as he wrapped his arms around me, pulling me up against his body.

"I can think of a few things." That voice crawled down to a growl. Leaning in, he took my earlobe between his teeth and gently pulled on it.

As much as I wanted to christen the couch, I pushed him back with a throaty laugh. "If we don't unpack now, we won't get to it because we'll be too…caught up in other things."

He growled again. "Mmm, I don't know about that. Watching you naked while unpacking seems like something I wouldn't mind watching you do…even if you have to repack everything when you're done."

"You two are disgusting."

Jacob turned with me still in his arms so we could see Shelby standing in the doorway with her arms crossed over her stomach. Carlisle had estimated that Shelby was two months pregnant. And now that I knew what I was looking at, I could see the subtle swelling of her body. Her breasts were bigger and her face was starting to round out from fulfilling her cravings. But her skin had started to glow with happiness. Seth had come to see us to check in on a patrol and when asked, he'd told us that she seemed to have fully accepted what was coming for them and the joy. She'd embraced the utter elation of the fact that she and the man she loved had created a life and were waiting for it to grow and join them, creating their family.

"What are you doing here, Shelby? Shouldn't you and Seth be breaking in the kitchen counter?" Jacob asked with a devilish smirk.

Her smirk was just as bad. "Already ahead of you."

Jacob grimaced. "Thanks for that new nightmare."

"You started it," she fired back. "I just thought I'd finish it."

"Well played."

"Thank you."

Jacob leaned down to kiss my temple. "I'm going to go make a sandwich. You want anything?"

"Sure."

"Roast beef and cheddar?"

I smiled up at him. "You're perfect."

We shared a kiss while I practically heard Shelby's eyes roll. "You guys are worse than the damn morning sickness."

Jacob rolled his eyes, but asked, "Do you want anything, Shelby?

"Actually, a roast beef and cheddar sounds pretty good." Her expression turned sheepish. "If you don't mind."

Jacob shook his head. "Not at all." He gave me a quick kiss and moved for the kitchen, but after a couple strides, he turned back. "You know I love you like a sister, Shelbs. I only give you a hard time because I like our witty repartee.

She practically beamed. "Oh, I know that. I love you, too, Jake."

They smiled at each other and then he went in search of food. It felt good to have my family together. It felt good to have everything right. But under the surface, tension boiled. Something was still in the woods eviscerating the deer. Luckily, no hunters had found them yet because the pack got to them so fast after it happened that they could cover it up. But that wasn't going to last. There would come a time when we wouldn't get there in time. And the scents still made no sense. Jacob had had Caden and I go to one of the sites to see if we could recall the scent. Both of us came down with migraines. The same had happened when we'd gone for our trips down memory lane. The pain had been so bad that we'd both passed out, and it had almost happened again at the site of the killing. Jacob told Carlisle no more trying to dig up those memories. He hadn't liked having to catch me as my brain when on the fritz.

I tried not to think about our pack, and Jacob, running through the woods blind. It scared the shit out of me. And I knew it terrified Shelby. Even though she knew that we would be there for her, losing Seth would pretty much make her a zombie. She'd only do the necessities to keep the baby alive, but not much else. If something happened to Jacob, I had no baby to keep me around, but I knew I wouldn't kill myself. But the best half of me would be missing, and I'd probably never get out of bed, if only to use the bathroom's facilities. And maybe to eat.

Forcing all those nasty thoughts to the storage closet in my head, I smiled at Shelby. "So what are you doing here?"

Still smiling, she leaned over to the side and picked up a box that was taped shut seven ways from Sunday. She handed it to me with a sly little grin.

"I managed to sneak into your room and pack this up for you since I thought you and Jake might do the packing together."

Confused, I took it from her. "What is it?"

"Oh, nothing much. Just a dash of red for your marriage closet."

Cryptic, but I knew what she meant. It was the red lingerie that we'd bought last year. I knew I'd been missing something when I'd gone through the closet, but I hadn't been able to put my finger on it. Now, I knew what it was.

"Oh my God. Thank you, Shelby. I'd completely forgotten about it." I hugged the slender box to my chest.

"No problem. I thought you might have. So you're still going to wait for that special night to wear it?"

"Absolutely. It's what I bought it for." I lowered my voice. "Not to mention, by the time of the wedding he might calm down on ripping my underwear off me."

Instead of a grimace and snarky comeback, she laughed. "Yeah, I don't think that's going to happen. If he's up front now about ripping off your underwear, I can only imagine that it's going to get worse and go to your clothes next."

I nodded. "It already happened with a sleep shirt."

"See? It begins." Her face became serious. "But really, are you ok? I mean, it hasn't gotten too rough? I know he's a dominant. Hell, he's the alpha male."

As I thought about "rough" I wondered if Shelby's definition matched mine. "Well, I mean, it's gotten intense and I'm always a little sore after, but," I blushed. "I like it. I like it rough, Shelby. To be honest, it's hot as hell that he wants me that bad. Of course, it freaks him out if I cramp up or I walk funny. But really, a hot shower always takes care of me."

Nodding, she smiled. "That's great, Ness. You two complement each other. It's about time you guys just go with the flow and talk things out. Don't just assume stuff." A wicked glint came in her eyes as she leaned forward and lowered her voice. "So, how big is he?"

"Shelby!" I hissed after a moment of shock.

She chuckled. "Come on, Ness. I just wanna know if he matches his body."

Looking over my shoulder to make sure he was still in the kitchen messing with the food, I turned back to her and nodded. "Oh, yeah. He matches…perfectly."

A grin widened her lips. "I figured he might. A man like that? Definitely. And Seth isn't lacking in that department either. That's why I asked."

Together we giggled silently…or tried to.

"What's so funny?" Jacob asked from the kitchen around a mouthful of sandwich. He was staring at us like we'd lost our minds.

"Girl stuff," Shelby replied between giggles.

Jacob raised an eyebrow, his eyes shifting from me to her. Eventually he shook his head, shrugged, and walked toward the table. Looking back at Shelby, I found that she'd raised her hand to make a circle with her middle finger and thumb. There was a little space between the two. She was telling me how wide Seth was. But I knew I trumped her. I raised my own hand and left a wider gap between my fingers. There was definitely a smug, proud look on my face.

Her eyes widened and she swallowed hard as her eyes roamed my body. Those eyes flicked over my shoulder, then she leaned in. "How does he fit?" she practically mouthed with a breath.

Bringing up three of my fingers, I made sure to space them out so she could see the movement. "Stretches me," I mouthed back.

Her eyebrows met her hairline when she nodded. "I bet." This time it was a whisper.

"Hey, if you guys aren't going to come eat, I'll eat them for you," Jacob said from the kitchen.

Shelby and I both rolled our eyes.

"We're coming," I said.

"Yeah, don't get Nessie's panties in a twist," Shelby said as she followed me to the kitchen. I threw the heavily taped box on the couch as I passed it.

Jacob gave us a wolfish, all-male grin. Yeah, like that was a denial. Which made me think…after we'd cleaned up, I never did find those torn panties. Pegging Jacob with a stare, his eyes and grin told me everything I needed to know. The man had kept them as souvenirs. I rolled my eyes. Why on earth would he need to keep them? He took me every night. And where the hell was he keeping them?

Not two seconds after we sat down, there was a knock on the door.

"Come on in," Jacob called.

A moment later, Seth joined us in the kitchen. "Hey, guys." He bent down to kiss Shelby. "You ok?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Sorry. They asked if I wanted anything to eat, and I was starving."

He sat down. "It's ok. I figured you might have come over here."

"So," I said after I swallowed a bite. "What brings you guys out and about?"

They shared an uneasy look.

"We need to go see my dad. He needs to know that I'm pregnant."

Seth snaked an arm around his mate and kissed her hair. "And I don't like it, but I'll support the decision."

I shared a look with Jake. Seth had already spoken to him about not going, that he was taking Caden and Morgan as back up. But they hadn't asked that I not go, and Shelby would probably need female support on her side because Seth was going to be all aggressive male.

"Would you like me to go with you?" I asked.

Shelby wanted to say yes. It was there in her eyes. Instead, she shook her head. "You guys just moved in. I can't ask you to go with me on that kind of errand when this needs to be a happy day."

Another look passed between me and Jake. He cleared his throat. "Nessie will go with you." When Shelby started to protest, he held a hand up. "No arguments. You're family and we take care of our own above ourselves. You know that. Plus, we'll have all night together. A couple hours apart won't kill us."

Shelby's eyes watered. "Thank you," she whispered.

Another knock came from the door and she swiped at her eyes.

"What is with everyone needing in this cabin today?" Jacob grumbled.

"Seth? Shelby? You guys in there?"

It was Morgan. And no doubt she had Caden with her.

"Yeah," Seth called out. He then looked to Jacob who nodded. "Come in."

Morgan and Caden came in and joined us in the kitchen. Morgan was tall and slender, but strong. With her long, curly hair, pale brown eyes, and tanned skin, she looked exotic as hell. Dangerous, too. Caden was likewise tall and lean with his mop of dirty blond hair and amber eyes. Out of the two of them, Caden was the most lethal. Morgan was tough, but she had a warm heart. Half of Caden was frozen solid with the need to avenge his family. Shelby had told me the story. Afterward, everything about him had made sense. All of the advice about not letting your soul mate go for a moment. But Alora hadn't been his soul mate, had she? Fate had cruelly maneuvered all those pieces so that Caden ended up here to be Leah's imprint. And that made me realize how kind fate had been to me…so far. Two innocent children had died to get Caden here, one of them not even born yet. I'd gotten my soul mate about five minutes after I was born.

Just looking at Caden made me want to do something for him, get up and hug him and say thank you, but that would never be enough. He'd done so much for us. I had no idea what I could do for him that would relate enough gratitude.

"Hey,guys," Morgan said as she sat down at the table.

Caden just stood at the end of the table with his arms crossed over his chest. He'd started working out with Derek on a regular basis and had started to gain even more muscle.

"Are we going to head off soon?"

Shelby nodded. "Yeah, I just want to finish my sandwich first."

"Take your time," Caden said. "We have all day. Neither one of us is due for patrol today."

Jacob leaned forward, placing his elbows onto the table. "So, Morgan, how's Lucas?" What saved his life was that the question was an honest one.

She shrugged. "He seems ok most of the time, but that tell-tale anger is there beneath the surface. He snapped at me the other day. And his dad is worried but I explained to him how it would be until he phased. Also to have his room ready for when he phased back because of the pain."

Both Jacob and Seth nodded.

"And call me if you're around when phases."

"What if I have to phase to help control him?"

Seth and his alpha shared a look.

Jacob shrugged. "Then howl. We know your voice."

She nodded. "Will do."

I clapped my hands together. "Alright. Let me go change out the 'moving clothes', and then we can go."

And so I gave Jacob a kiss and went to change for a fun-filled afternoon.

ShelbyPOV

Nervous didn't even begin to cover the feeling this trip gave me. And thoughts aplenty chased themselves through my head. Had he changed since Edward and Bella forcefully took me from him? Was the house the same? Were there alcohol bottles everywhere? Had he trashed my room and all my belongings?

Well, as the saying went, only one way to find out. The five of us all piled into one of the Cullens' cars, with Nessie driving. I was too shaky to drive, and Seth was too busy being worried about me. Morgan and Caden didn't know the way. That left my very steady best friend.

The whole drive over, Seth stayed wrapped around me, one hand playing over my stomach, the other over my hair. When we finally pulled up next to the house, I nearly had a stroke. The lawn was cut pristinely. The bushes were trimmed evenly. And the small garden of flowers that could grow here was blooming beautifully before winter set it. Last but not least, the house had been repainted white where it had aged to gray before. The shutters were solid black instead of faded and washed out. And it looked like the broken boards of the porch had been fixed.

Images of my childhood flashed before me along with the gradual decline of the house. When Mom had been around, Dad had worked hard to keep everything in order. I remembered that she'd always smile and make him lunch when he was done with the yard work. But that was many, many years ago.

And then another question hit me: was he even still here? Had someone bought this house and restored it after he took off?

"Shelby?"

I looked up to find that Nessie and I were the only two in the car. She must have asked the others to give us a minute.

"Yeah?"

"Are you sure that you're ok to do this?" Her eyes were steady on mine, no flinching. And that's what pulled me together. She was my rock today. Normally it was Seth, but today he was just a big body of anger.

Swallowing hard and tightening my resolve, I nodded. "Yeah, Let's get this over with."

Seth opened my door and Nessie met me on the sidewalk. Morgan and Caden walked up behind us like the looming guards they were. For the first time since I could remember the steps on the porch didn't squeak. Seth reached forward and pounded his fist on the solid wood of the door. For a moment, I couldn't breathe as we all stood there, waiting. Somebody else was going to open that door and tell me he'd left…or worse. I knew it.

With a slide and a click, the door was unlocked and the knob was turned. Yep, I was going to hurl. My stomach twisted hard as the door seemed to take years to swing open.

And then, there he was. My father. I gripped Seth's hand hard in mine. The man was still huge. Broad, heavy shoulders. Thick arms. Barrel-chested. Only, his beer gut was gone as was the blood-shot of his eyes. For once, those eyes focused clearly on me, and they burned with regret as he took me in. Also, the stench of alcohol was completely gone.

"Shelby?" he said like he couldn't believe he was actually seeing me.

"Hi, Dad."

He blinked a couple times and then took in the people around me. "Nessie," he said in acknowledgement.

She nodded solemnly. "Mr. Marks."

"What are you all doing here?"

He seemed sane and nowhere near violent. "Seth and I need to talk to you. May we come in?"

He moved back. "Oh, sure, sure. I'm sorry about the mess. I've been revamping the house."

Seth went ahead of me into the house, and as I passed my father, I asked, "Are you leaving or something?"

"Not at all." He rushed forward to take some plastic sheeting off the furniture. There were paint cans and brushes and rollers everywhere. Drop cloths covered the hardwood floors and the furniture was pushed back here and there away from the walls. "I just felt like a change in scenery was in order."

"Really? What brought that on?" I asked. I couldn't help sounding snarky and cold. But then, maybe he had a new woman in his life.

"My daughter leaving me without a backward glance." When I turned to look at him, his eyes went to the floor. "Your mother left us. She left you with me, and I did nothing but hate you for how you reminded me of her. Which wasn't your fault at all, and very unfair to you. I deserved the Cullens coming to get you. And you deserved to get out of here and find your happiness." With that, he looked up at Seth and nodded.

Seth glanced at me. I shrugged.

I swallowed hard. He'd done this for me. Anger shot through me and stabbed me in the heart. "But why didn't you try to get into contact with me? You knew all along where I've been."

He ran a hand through his thick black hair that was starting to gray at the temples. "I had to fix myself first, Shelby. There was no way to try to reconnect with you when I'd lost myself." He looked around the room. "And fixing this house up? It's helping me. It helps me to forget and leave the past where it should be. Your mother's not coming back, and looking at everything the way it had been when she left just isn't healthy. It's time to make this house a home. I've been seeing a therapist and going to AA meetings in Port Angeles." Those eyes met mine. "I wanted to be completely clean and cleansed when I eventually sought you out. And I never thought you'd come here to me first."

AA meetings. He'd stopped drinking. Supposedly. All of this was too much to hope for, so I turned on my heel and went for the kitchen. Yanking open the refrigerator door, I found it to be spotless with fresh fruit and vegetables, some thawing hamburger, sauces, jellies, and jams, but absolutely no alcohol. Not one can or bottle. I opened the freezer to find some fish and chicken, some frozen veggies and pizzas. A tub of chocolate ice-cream. Next, I went to the pantry. Breads, noodles, canned soups. Not even a bottle of cooking sherry.

When I turned around, he was leaning against one of the door jambs. I could see Seth hovering behind him just in case.

"I totally quit, Shelby. Not even a glass of wine when I go out to eat. Water or coke for me."

"All this for me?" I whispered.

He nodded. "And me. I need to move on. I want a good woman in my life. And I want you back. Granted, I know you won't come back to live with me and I'm ok with that. You have your life together, or so it seems. And, hopefully, a good man," he said with a glance behind him.

"He is, Dad. Seth's a good man, and he takes good care of me."

He nodded as Seth moved around him to come stand next to me. I could see Nessie standing to the side, letting Morgan and Caden stand just behind my dad. This would be the perfect moment to tell him.

"Which is why we came here to talk to you." Seth and I both reached for my stomach at the same time. Dad saw the movement and his eyes flashed to us. I nodded. "We're pregnant. Just at two months."

Emotions flitted across his face. He swallowed hard. "When did you find out?"

"About a week ago. I needed some time to come to terms with it. And Seth and I moved out of the Cullen house."

Dad looked at Seth. "Tell me you'll take care of my little girl. Tell me you won't leave her."

Seth looked like he was going to give an angry comeback, but one glance at me and his face softened.

He nodded. "I won't ever leave her, or the baby. This is my mate and my unborn child. And she'd never leave us."

Dad took in a deep breath. "Yeah, I know. She's not her mother. And never has been."

The moment he said that, my world shifted. Everybody had been telling me that I wasn't my mother, but somehow, those words didn't touch me the way they did when my father had just uttered them. It meant the world to me that he didn't think I was her. I knew for eight years, he'd treated me as if I were her ghost, yelling at me like he would have her if she'd been there. Now, with his clear eyes, he could see that I loved him, that I would never truly leave him alone. That I was part of him, whereas my mother had been her own person.

Tears flooded my eyes and I bit my lip to try to keep them in, but it didn't work. As soon as he held his arms out a little, an invitation for a hug, I let out a sob and ran into his embrace.

"I love you, Shelby," he whispered. "And I am so sorry." His arms tightened around me, holding me to him.

"I love you, too, Daddy. I want my baby to know its grandfather."

"I'd like that, too. I can't wait to build up our relationship again. That is, if you want to."

I hugged him tighter. "Of course. I need you."

"And I need you." After a while, he held me back by my shoulders and studied my face. "You seem different, Shelby. And you're smell has changed."

"She smells wilder," Caden said.

Dad nodded. "Why is that?"

I looked over at Caden and Seth. "Can I tell him?"

The boys shared a look. Caden shrugged. "We have no rules. But are you sure he can handle it?"

Thinking back to when I was kid, he'd always been into the weird, paranormal shows. We rarely watched the news or action movies. It was always about the supernatural: werewolves, in particular. I'd become the thing that he had always had a fascination with.

I smiled. "You remember when I was little and we used to watch those supernatural shows?"

He chuckled. "Yeah. Your momma always did yell at me for me letting you watch those werewolves. She hated those the most."

"Well, that's a bit ironic," Morgan piped up.

I turned to find her smirking, her eyes laughing up a storm. I grinned back.

"Why?" Dad asked.

I shared a look with Nessie. She nodded encouragingly.

"It's ironic because back in November, there was a big commotion. In the supernatural world. Seth, Caden, Morgan, and Nessie are not normal. And you know that. You asked me about Nessie when you first met her, remember?" When he nodded, I continued. "I can't go into her weirdness, but the others? And myself? We're what mom always yelled at you for."

"What?" His eyes darted from me to the people standing behind me.

They were all holding their breaths as if waiting for his reaction. I knew that because I was, too.

Slowly, he shook his head. "Honey, werewolves don't exist."

"Yes, we do," Morgan said with a seriousness that doctors used when delivering bad news. "Seth and I are different than Caden and Shelby, but we do exist."

Dad looked over to her, studied her, and then came back to study me. He swallowed hard. "I don't believe you."

Morgan let out a grunt. "Fine. Let's all troop to the backyard, shall we?"

"Morgan, I don't think that's a good idea," Seth said.

She shook her head. "He needs to see it to believe it, so I'm gonna give him a show." She walked up to me and Dad, took his arm, and started dragging him to the back door. Seth grabbed me before I could be dragged, too. "Let's go, daddy-o."

And so we all trooped outside. Nessie took my other hand in hers and gave it a squeeze. I squeezed back. Morgan was right. My father had always needed to see something to believe it.

When the door closed behind us, Morgan stopped Dad at porch steps and then kept walking out toward the tree line.

"Where is she going?" he asked.

"She's not fond of men, and her wolf side turns it into hatred, especially after how you treated your own daughter," Caden explained in his heavily accented voice.

Dad looked back at me and that regret still burned there in his eyes as they traced my face.

"Mr.-Shelby's-dad! Eyes forward, please," Morgan called.

When he faced forward again, Morgan closed her eyes and held her arms out from her sides. For a moment, the air around her wavered. And then, her eyes popped open as a vicious growl left her mouth. A moment later, she gracefully threw herself forward and phased into a giant pale brown wolf, leaving what was left of her clothes to flutter to the ground. The color of the fur matched her eyes, which in the wolf's form, were outlined in black, making them stand out more.

Dad jerked back. "Jesus…Christ," he breathed.

Slowly, Morgan crossed the yard, head down and ears flat to her head. When Dad didn't make any more moves, she sat down on her haunches in front of the bottom step of the porch. Her eyes held a dare for him not to believe what he'd just seen.

"How is this possible?" he demanded still staring at Morgan.

"Morgan and I are part of the legends of the Quileute people," Seth explained. "Long ago, our ancestors had a gene that would trigger if…enemies were near and cause them to turn into giant wolves to protect our territory and people. When our 'enemies' returned to Forks, the gene was triggered again."

"That's where my family comes in," Nessie said. "We can't go into my story, but my family moved back to Forks years before I was born. It's not the Cullens specifically that are the enemy, just what they are, though the pack and my family get along now. Now, we're all one big family. Their pack leader is my mate, my fiancé."

I was proud of her. She was standing there, back straight, stare clear and sure. Dad's eyes moved to her and studied her, moved to me, then back to her.

"You're not human, are you?"

Slowly, she shook her head. "I'm half human. But that's all I can tell you."

He looked at me. "What did she mean that you and Caden were different from her and Seth?"

Caden stepped forward. "Apparently, there are two different types of werewolf. One that's the classic get-bitten-and-infected-with-disease, and then the genetic one. Seth and Morgan are the latter. Shelby and I share the former. I would offer to shift for you, but I doubt you'd want to see it. It's a right bit more painful than the phase Morgan just showcased. And it takes longer."

Dad just stared at him for a minute, processing everything. Then he looked to me. "You go through that?"

I shook my head. "Well, no. And we think it's because I'm pregnant. Back in November, I was attacked. But I think I was pregnant, then, too. I lost it in the attack, and we think the miscarriage is what kept me from shifting since then. Now that I'm pregnant again, we're hoping I won't shift until after the baby's born."

Scrubbing his face, he turned away from us and stared up at the cloudy sky that had started to send down a drizzle. After a few heartbeats of all of us stealing glances at each other and Morgan pawing the ground and growling, he turned back around to peg Seth a hard look. It was clear he was trying for it not to be a glare.

"Did you have to drag her into all this?"

"Dad, please, don't."

Seth stepped forward, taking a deep breath. No doubt it was to try to keep himself calm. "Sir, with all due respect, she chose to stay with me. I didn't have a choice in falling in love with her, but she has always had a choice."

Those eyes narrowed. "What do you mean you didn't have a choice?"

Nessie came to the rescue by putting her hand on Seth's arm and stepping forward. Dad had always liked Ness, and she knew it.

"Mr. Marks, what Seth is referring to is called imprinting. It's a way that the wolves can know for sure that they found their soul mates without having to go through the whole dating thing. Once they meet the eyes of their soul mate, it's like that person is the one holding them to the planet, not gravity. The wolf becomes anything that their mate needs them to be, and it would be hard for that mate not to fall for that wolf. But the imprint always has a choice. And I would know because I, like Shelby, am an imprint. My mate's instinct is to protect me and be anything I need him to be. And his first goal, like Seth's for Shelby, is to keep me safe."

"Then how did she get attacked?"

That was my cue. "That was my fault. I left the safety of the Cullen house while Seth was out. I did have a guard, but he-he was…killed protecting me. Seth would have never let me leave the house. Not to mention it was him I was going to find. Instead of calling him, I'd stupidly gone outside when I knew there was a threat."

More deep breaths. Morgan started pacing the yard in front of the porch.

"Dad, Seth is a good man. And I love him, deeply. If he ever asks me to marry him, I won't hesitate."

"But you'll have a baby with him first?"

I smiled. "Yeah. Sure, we didn't plan this. But we both know that he'll never ever be with another woman, even if I did leave him. And no man would ever compare to him for me." I took a step toward him to place a hand on his arm. "Dad, despite having been infected, I love my life. The child of the man I am madly in love with is growing inside of me. I have people that I can depend on. And now, you're healing yourself, which means that you'll be around to hold your grandchild. Not to mention that Seth and I, in our world, are already a mated couple. Weddings and marriages are for humans. Seth hasn't been fully human in a decade. And I'm already used to being what I am."

After some serious eye contact, he pulled me in against his body. We held each other tight for a few moments before I felt him move. I turned my head so that I could see that he was holding his hand out to Seth. After a moment, my mate came forward and clasped my dad's hand.

"I promise that I'll take care of her."

"See that you do, son. See that you do."

JPOV

Hmmm, what to do? If I knew how to cook, I'd have gotten something ready for tonight. I'd sent out a pack and Cullen-wide text saying to stay away from the cabin tonight. Everybody knew what that meant, but I really didn't care. I wanted some alone time with my mate before I started up taking shifts on patrol again. Just the thought of having Nessie locked up with me in here for a few days was enough to get me edgy and sexed-up.

They'd been gone for over an hour. Nessie should be back soon. So, to keep myself busy, I went out the back sliding glass door to go down to the space under the porch to get some firewood. And that made me think of a plan. Involving spaghetti and a pallet of blankets in front of the fire.

Spaghetti I could cook. And I knew we had hamburger and noodles and sauce. Hmmm, and I knew I saw a can of whipped cream in there. Things could turn interesting tonight.

After I got the fireplace going in the master bedroom, I went to get more wood for the fireplace in the living room. Once that was ready, I went in search of some thick, warm blankets. I had a major aha moment when I opened the upstairs hall closet. It was stuffed with tons vacuum-seal bags. I kicked all of them down the stairs.

Opening them up, tons of fluffy stuff foamed out of the bags when I unzipped them. Perfect. Nothing short of a mattress of blankets on the floor was good enough of her. Laying all of the blankets and mattress covers out in front of the couch made me come face to face with a box that was so taped up I doubted a forensics team could get into it.

I hadn't noticed it at all. It had to have been what Shelby had come by to give Nessie because it hadn't been there when I'd brought in the last box from moving up here. Frowning, I picked the thing up and shook it. There was paper in there, and something moved, but I didn't know what it was. I wanted to open it, but it was Nessie's box, not mine. So, I threw it back on the couch and went for one of the drawers in the kitchen. There were dozens of black, red, and white candles in it. I took pretty much all of them out and set them around the house. All of them were fresh, so I went ahead and lit them. She should be back soon.

I turned on the eyes on the stove to let them heat up as I got out all the ingredients. The meat, jar of sauce, noodles, and bread were all set out on the counter. Then, I set out the strainer, one slightly larger than normal bowl, two forks, two glasses, and some parmesan cheese.

Eventually, I got it all going and was feeling pretty good about my meager cooking ability. About thirty minutes later, after I'd finished with the meat and noodles and set them on the cool eyes, the oven dinged to let me know that it was preheated and I threw the bread into the oven for a good six minutes.

While that was cooking, I went back to the couch and picked up the box. What the hell was in it that it needed that much tape? Clearly, it was some secret between the girls, but that didn't stop me from being curious. However, Nessie was a freak over details and she'd know if I opened it and tried to re-tape it. Damn, though. I wanted so bad to know what was in it.

Daydreaming about what was in it, my eyes stared unfocused into the fire while my nail picked at a loose piece of tape. There was a click from the direction of the door and I looked up in time to see Nessie lean back against the door, her eyes on my hand on the box.

"Don't you dare open that, Jacob," she said with a smirk.

I smiled back. "Why not?"

"Because I said so."

I narrowed my eyes at her and hugged the box to my chest. "You're not the boss of me."

Her eyes narrowed, too, when she stalked over to the couch with her hand held out as if she expected me to hand over the precious cargo.

"In this I am if you want to make love to me again before we get married."

My eyes went wide as my jaw dropped. Damn, she was good.

"And given the smell of food, the fire, and the blankets in front of it you want very much to make love to me tonight. So I suggest you hand me that box. It's not for your eyes…yet." And then she patted her hoodie's pocket which was bulging slightly. "Although, I do have something for you tonight. If you want it."

To show her that she was more important, I tossed the box behind the couch. As it hit the floor with a crack, I held my hand out to her. She grinned, placed her palm in mine, and I pulled her to me so that she had to straddle my legs. Putting her knees on the couch, she scooted up so that she was sitting on my thighs.

I squeezed her hips briefly and then moved my hands under the hoodie and up her bare back until I hit her bra strap. Her hands smoothed my cheeks, ran down my neck, and then went further down my chest and abs, her fingernails digging in slightly.

"Mmm, I love you," she whispered.

"I love you, too."

"Thank you for all this. It's beautiful."

"It was my 'welcome home'."

She pressed her lips to mine and smiled. "Home. This is our home now."

I kissed her gently. "Yep, all ours. Just the two of us…for now."

Leaning back to grin at me, her eyes traced over my face.

"What?" I asked.

She shook her head slowly. "I just can't believe how perfect you are. Or how much I love you. How people fall out of love is a complete mystery to me."

I shrugged and moved my hands down so that I dug my fingers down into her back pockets to hold her to me. "It just means that they weren't meant to be together that way. Maybe just as friends, but since it didn't work out as lovers, they couldn't bear to be friends after that. As for me being perfect? Not even close, but I try my damnedest to be what you need me to be. And for you loving me? I can hardly believe it myself, but I'm so fucking happy that you do. I'd be lost without you."

Her hands came up to stroke my face again. "And I would be lost without you. I wouldn't even be alive without you. I owe everything I have to you."

Pushing myself up so that I wasn't slouching, I stroked the hair out of her face, and she leaned into my palm, closing her eyes as if it was the touch of heaven.

"You owe me nothing. Because we're even. If you hadn't come along and been my imprint, I would probably have been shot down by a hunter in Canada years ago, taking my anger and self-hatred to my grave. You saved me. I saved you. We're even, and now, all I want is you. It's a lot to ask of you, I know, but that's all I could think of to ask from you."

" That's ok, because all I want is you. You're all I've ever needed."

We grinned at each other and leaned in for the kiss at the same time as the buzzer for the bread went off in the kitchen.

Whew, that last part made me tear up a little. I love Jacob and Nessie. Anywhozzle, I love you guys. And again, I'm so sorry for taking so long. Next chapter has a lemon...or three? I don't know. Might do one for each couple? Oh and more to come on Morgan and Lucas. He's gearing up to join the pack. :) Yay!