(Natalie's POV)
I woke up the next morning cuddled to Jacob's chest. He was so warm, and it felt amazing when it was so cold. He was snoring softly, his chest rising slowly. I kissed his chest softly, hoping that it would wake him up. It did, in fact; he held me tighter and kissed my forehead.
"Good morning, beautiful," he whispered, slightly getting up.
"Morning." I smiled. "How'd you sleep?"
"Excellent with you next to me."
I snuggled closer to him. "You're too sweet."
He kissed me. "I try."
"When are we gonna go get the girls?" I asked.
"Are we going?" he mused. "Or am I?"
"Well, I want to see the girls so bad," I whispered. "But I can't stand Paul."
"Well, baby, I hate to tell you this, but you need to deal with him. I'm not gonna drop the girls off by myself every time, especially when they get older."
"I just don't know how I'm going to do that." I sighed. "I'm sorry, but I can't stand to see him with Rachel. It breaks my heart."
I could see his face drop as I made the comment. Jacob used to be one of my closest friends, but Paul was just my first; my first love, my first kiss, and my first time. Losing him was like losing a part of my childhood, most of which I had already lost due to the girls.
"I'm sorry," I whispered, cuddling closer to him.
He sighed. "It's okay. I understand; he is your babies' father."
"I just wish that I could've left him for good, and I was about to." I kissed his chest. "But, then again, I would've never gotten to be with you."
"I know it's hard, sweetheart," he mused, kissing the top of my forehead. "If I could make the pain go away, I would. I love you so much, and I love those girls. Even though they aren't mine, I'll still treat them like they are."
The way Jacob spoke was so foreign to me. Why was he like this way? Sure, Jacob and I had been best friends since we were little, but he was so in love with me. Had he been hiding his feelings the entire time I knew him?
"Thank you so much. You have no idea what that means to me."
He lifted up my chin and gave me a soft kiss. "You have nothing to worry about. If you want, I'll go get the girls."
I shook my head. "No, I'll go with you. I need to see them."
"Okay, well we should go soon," he yawned. "It's already eleven?"
"Really? I never sleep this late."
"Well, that's because you didn't have any babies to wake you up this morning," he chuckled. "I'm gonna go take a shower and then we can go."
I nodded and kissed him. "Okay. I love you."
He smiled as he got out of bed. "I love you too."
I closed my eyes as soon as he walked out, and I was asleep again.
(Jacob's POV)
The shower gave me time to think. There was something that I needed to do, but I didn't know how to bring it up. I needed to ask her to move in with me.
She was in a place she hated, but I couldn't leave. I had too many responsibilities here. I didn't want to make her stay, but I certainly didn't want to move away. My entire family was here and so was my pack. I had an obligation to them, one that couldn't be broken easily. Even though I hated Paul for everything he put Natalie through, he was still my brother. I couldn't leave him, nor any of the others.
I had to bring it up somehow, but I knew it wasn't the right time just yet. I also knew, however, that she'd be going back to Seattle soon. I had to make a swift decision before she went home. I'm not even sure if her parents would approve, but I needed her with me. She wasn't going to leave my side for anything in the world; my wolf wouldn't allow it.
After I was done with my shower, I quickly dried myself off, put on some clothes, and walked outside. Natalie somehow fell back asleep, and I smiled at her peaceful state. She was so beautiful, and she got some much needed rest. I didn't want to wake her, but she did want to see the girls, and I wasn't going to take that away from her.
"Baby," I whispered, rubbing her back. "You need to wake up if you wanna go see the girls."
She moaned slightly, rolling over onto her back. "Carry me."
I smiled at her beautiful face and kissed her forehead. "You're a big girl. Let's go."
She gave me another tired smile before sitting herself up. "I love you."
"I love you too, sweetheart."
"Well, let's go figure this out," she whispered, rubbing her eyes.
"They're your girls, Natalie. So what if Paul's a douche? You will beat him; we will beat him."
She reached up and kissed me.
She got cleaned up really quick. I wanted her to eat breakfast, but she didn't want to. She was already nervous enough to see Paul again after their last encounter; she didn't need anything in her stomach that could come back up.
We got in my car and started driving. She didn't say much, and I didn't try to get her to talk. She was dealing with it by herself, and I knew that was what she needed.
(Natalie's POV)
The drive to Paul's house was a long period, and I wanted it simply to end. I just wanted to see my girls and have them in my arms once again.
We pulled into the driveway of Paul's house. I took a deep breath as Jacob opened my door. Maybe I would be lucky, and Rachel wouldn't be there. She hadn't done anything to me, and, yet, I hated her so much. She was the person who took my babies' father away from me, and I could never forgive her.
"Are you ready?" Jacob asked, kissing me.
I nodded, but I would never be ready.
He took my hand as we walked to the door. Jacob knocked, and of course Rachel answered.
"Hey guys," she greeted. "We're just feeding the girls now."
Jacob walked in first, and I followed him uneasily. This was the house that Paul and Rachel had bought together. I had no clue how they afforded the house, but they had it, and it made me so upset. Paul said we would move in together. Well, so much for that.
"Paul!" Rachel called as she walked into the house. "Jacob and Natalie are here!"
We followed Rachel into the kitchen where I saw my girls. My face lit up when I saw their smiling faces. Tianna looked at me and started screaming, just to get attention. Paul walked over to her and tried to calm her down, but she held her arms out for me. I picked her up and cradled her in my arms.
"Look at my pretty princess," I cooed. "Were you a good girl?"
She gurgled and wrapped her little arms around my neck.
"Where are their things?" I asked Paul coldly.
"I'll go get them," Rachel offered.
I looked over at her. She was taking care of my babies, and that wasn't okay.
"Thanks baby," Paul replied, feeding Taylor the last bite of her baby food.
I handed Tianna to Jacob and then walked over to get Taylor. I ignored Paul as I picked her up and kissed her forehead.
Rachel came back into the kitchen with all the girls' stuff. Without a word, I started putting the girls into their carseats.
"A 'thank you' would be nice," Paul growled at me.
I turned to him with pure anger in my eyes. How dare he ask me for that?
"How about a 'thank you' for letting you see my girls," I replied, almost yelling.
"They're not yours," Paul said. "They're ours!"
"I wish they weren't!" My voice had risen into a yell. "You know who I want their father to be?"
"Oh, please enlighten me," Paul scoffed.
"Jacob!" I yelled.
Paul got up and walked over to me. "Don't say that."
"Or what?" I asked. "What will you do?"
Jacob got between us and pushed Paul away.
"Don't you dare go near her," Jacob growled. "Don't you touch her."
Taylor started crying loudly. I bounced her up and down to try to calm her.
"Now look what you did!" I yelled at him.
"What I did?" he asked. "I didn't do shit!"
"Put her in her car seat and let's go," Jacob told me.
As soon as we got Tianna and Taylor into the car seat, we left without a word. I couldn't believe Paul had the audacity to talk to me like that, let alone speak to me at all. Didn't he understand that I absolutely hated him? He was the enemy that I could never forgive.
Jacob walked us to his car and put the girls in the back. We climbed into the car.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
I looked over at him. "Surprisingly, yes."
He smiled. "Good. Now let's get the girls home."
The car ride back was quiet, but it was much needed. I needed to get rid of Paul.