Welcome one and all to chapter 44. Sorry about the wait. This is what I get for starting 3 other stories while this one is still unfinished. Anyway, hope you like. Thanks for reading and for your patience.

Kira POV

I sat at the table in my kitchen, watching as my future mother in law, Emily, Esme, Alice, Bella and Rose were preparing the food for Seth and my engagement party. It had only been two weeks since Seth asked me to marry him and already both my family and Seth's were in full wedding mode. It amazed me how comfortable they all were around each other. The bad blood had been put into the past, where it belonged.

The pack had found out about my teenage mistake the same day we got engaged. Seth was too excited about the engagement to keep it to himself, so the whole pack met up in wolf form and they found out both pieces of gossip at the same time.

The news of my past shocked most of the pack, but Seth had been correct about their response. Some were not as quick to forgive me as Seth was, but when Sam reminded them that any one of them could have done the same thing, if they found themselves in my position, they all fell in line and moved on to congratulate Seth.

To my surprise, Leah was thrilled about our pending nuptials. We had bonded quite a bit since I helped her out with the fight she and Ryan were having on the street that one day. I think she was excited to finally have a sister. Leah was actually a very nice person, once she dropped her walls long enough to let a person in.

Sue looked down at her watch and sighed. "Where is that girl?" Leah was suppose to be helping with the party, but had yet to show.

I smiled. I knew for a fact that Leah and Ryan were having a nice picnic in the woods before they came out here. She didn't tell anyone about it except me, since she didn't want to be followed. She knew everyone was worried about her rocky relationship with her imprint and hated being watched because of it.

"She's out galavanting around the woods with Ryan. Don't worry, they'll get here. If you need help, I'll be glad to lend a hand." I said, telling the worried mother about her daughter's plans for the first time.

"You most certainly will not." Said Alice. "It's your party and your only job is to enjoy it."

I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms over my chest. "Yeah, yeah, I know." Sue still looked worried.

"I wish Leah would tell us when she planned on going out with Ryan. I'm so afraid she's going to hurt the poor boy. She's volatile enough as it is, but with her wolfy powers, she could seriously hurt him if she loses control."

I got up from my seat. "OK, how about this. I will go out and find them for you. I can sneak up on them. They won't even know I'm there. I've got to do something! Just sitting here watching you work is driving me batty."

"Just be back in time for the party." Rose reminded me.

"Don't worry, I'll be gone for like 30 minutes, an hour max. I'll just slip in, make sure everything is calm and good, then come right back. You won't even miss me."

I waved goodbye to the woman and headed out the back of the house, thankful I had something to do. It was boring, watching other people cook. The guys were all outside, getting everything ready. Unlike my babysitters, the pack was letting Seth work all he wanted. At the moment, he was standing with Sam and Edward, trying to decide where to put the fire pit.

I ran up behind Seth and threw my arms around him. He laughed, turning around the face me while wrapping his arms around my back.

"Hey babe, what ya up to?"

"Well, since no one is letting me help out inside, I volunteered to go check up on Leah and Ryan. They were going to have a picnic in the woods before they came out and I'm just gonna slip in and make sure They're OK. I'm sure everything is fine, but it's better to be safe than sorry."

"They have been getting along unusually well the last couple of weeks." Sam mused. "Maybe they've gotten past the fighting stage of the imprint."

"We can only hope." I replied. "I'll be back in a bit. Don't work Seth too hard."

"So, more work for Seth. You got it." Emmett joked, who walked by carrying a large rock.

I rolled my eyes at my uncle and gave Seth a kiss. "I'll be back in an hour or so."

They all waved goodbye to me as I shifted and headed off towards La Push. I figured if I skirted around the border, I'd pick up their scents fairly quickly and I was right. Once I found their trail, I followed it at a leisurely pace. I was enjoying being out of the house. As the scent got stronger, I crept on slowly, moving silently through the brush, like only a cat can do.

I few minutes later, I came to clearing where I spotted the couple.

Something was wrong.

Leah was in wolf form and Ryan was standing in front of her. I saw what he was holding in his hands and my heart sank. I sprinted towards them a full speed, growling...

To Be Continued...