Chapter 21: The Secrets We Keep

Bella felt safe and warm. She hated to move, but Atticus was kicking his feet. She heard him making sucking noises. He probably had the side of his hand in his mouth. She knew he was only seconds from crying if she didn't grab him. The room was still dark, she didn't want him waking up the entire house. She wanted to get out of Jacob's snug embrace without waking him if she could. She squirmed and wiggled until she was free. She picked up Atticus, took him to the foot of the bed for a super fast diaper change.

Bella was ready to sit back in the chair where she fed him earlier. However, the room had a chill. Her son was like her, he didn't like to be cold. She could cover him with a blanket, but that bed was so toasty. She already missed it or him if she was completely honest with herself. It was wrong to put herself in that position with Jacob, but she couldn't help herself. Kaleigh could have him next to her anytime. She doubted there would ever be another opportunity. It wasn't like they were going to do anything, so she justified her actions. It might make her feel worse in the end, but she only wanted to pretend at least once, they were a real family.

Bella decided to take their son to bed with them. If she was lucky, the baby might doze a little more and she could sleep an extra hour. Bella got back on her side and let Atticus nurse, Jacob's arm found her again. She wasn't sure if he even knew she'd left the bed briefly. She was right, he was still sleepy. Atticus only fed for a little while before knocking back off. She cuddled next to him as Jacob cuddled into her back. The little family she yearned for slept soundly for the next hour like that's how they were always meant to be.

Bella had learned to basically care for her child in her sleep. She forgot he woke up again and that she'd lifted her shirt to give him access to her boobs. She was so blissful in her rest, the deep voice in her ear made her jump.

"What's all that slurping and smacking over there? Is he a baby or a little piglet?"

Before she could adjust herself or cover up, she saw Jacob's wide eyes peeking over her side. Atticus was nursing and his father was staring and Bella was in shock she was completely exposed. Neither of them batted an eye. He actually leaned in for a closer look, she felt his body press against her. Certain parts of Jacob were wide awake and she couldn't hide a gasp. He adjusted the blanket in between them so maybe she wouldn't notice it, but too late, she was already fully aware.

Bella started trying to hide some skin, but his hand came up and grabbed hers. "Don't, I missed him growing inside your body. Can I please see you feed my son? I think it's amazing. It's beautiful." She swallowed hard. The only person that had watched her breastfeed up close was the nurse in the hospital that taught her how to do it. Jacob stuck his finger in front of Atticus and he grabbed on with his tiny fist. He kept his arm draped over her so their son could keep hold of him. Bella could feel Jacob breathing heavy in her ear. He was so warm and they both appeared completely content curled against her. She also felt his breath on her bare skin. A chill ran down her back even though she wasn't the least bit cold.

They stayed like that for a long time until she knew her son drained her supply on that side. She needed to sit up, let him burp, probably feed him from the other one. She wasn't brave enough to face Jacob. It was one thing if he watched over her shoulder, but looking into his face would expose her in more ways than one. Bella couldn't get over how intimate the whole situation was pretty much from the moment she pulled him into bed with her.

He got the hint. "How about I give you two some privacy. I need a shower, a few minutes to feel human before I go wolf for God knows how long." Jacob kissed her temple which caught her by surprise. "Thanks for taking such good care of our son." He said she could get up whenever she was ready, that Rachel was planning on making a big breakfast. "She tries but she can't cook like you can, so you might want to help her out."

She turned her head, too afraid to look when he got out of the bed. Bella couldn't believe she'd slept with him the way she was dressed and how barely dressed he was. They hadn't thought any of it through, from him coming in the room to her pulling him in the bed. That thing she felt against her backside was just a male reflex, she was sure his morning excitement didn't mean anything. However, Bella probably should go to her father's tonight since their blurred lines were starting to get erased completely.

Bella and Rachel had the kitchen under control. She was surprised that Jacob actually came back inside to eat. No one said anything, but she swore they all knew he slept in the same room as her. What were they thinking? She was a shameless hussy that slept with a married man, perhaps. Did they know they were in bed together, that she showed off her tits? She avoided making eye contact with Jacob or anyone else, she was being ridiculous. The door was closed the entire time, so she was pretty sure no one knew anything.

Rachel made a big plate for Jacob. She asked how much longer until Seth and Collin could come around for meals or be around people.

"Not sure, Seth's changed back twice. I'm hoping to get Collin to do so this morning, but now Sam's probably less than a couple of hours away." They were all crowded around the custom table Jared built for them. Jacob looked at Paul and Embry. "What about you two? Any aches, pains, fever?"

Paul chewed on a piece of bacon, "Not me bro, I'm right as rain. Maybe you don't need all of us anyway. Remind me once more, why are we all turning our lives upside down for this one? She left us." Paul pointed straight at Bella.

Rachel slapped him. "Paul."

Now he was back. That's the Paul she remembered. He was far too nice the night before. It was almost satirical.

Jacob dropped his utensils loudly on his plate. "Don't start with me, Lahote."

"Don't start what? Speak my mind in my own house? Because you left, this is my house now. Isn't that right Embry? Why don't you tell Jake what you told me last night, that you weren't sure about phasing just because he says so." Apparently, he'd given the direct order when they all had that brief meeting last night. "You, practically abandoned us all, almost as bad as the leech lover over there. Maybe worse."

Billy looked at Rachel. Were they all waiting for her to shut her husband up? Even his small children were staring.

Embry spoke up. "That's not what I said. You're twisting my words. Knock it off. I had enough of this crap last night."

Jacob stood up. "I think both of you need to come outside with me right now."

Embry went for the biscuits and ignored him. Bella literally had no idea what was going on. They were having a peaceful breakfast and now the mood was turning sour before her eyes.

Paul listened and stood up. He seemed eager to follow Jacob, but Embry didn't budge.

"Get up, Embry."

"Man, fuck off." Sage and Willow covered their ears. Rachel told them to go to their rooms, but everyone was frozen in place. "I will not follow you. Not this time." He looked up then and finished, "because you have no honor. We all know the whole story, but I bet the two women you string along don't. I told you to leave Kaleigh alone. She's a good person."

Rachel was eager to intervene and remind them all Kaleigh was no innocent victim. She clung to Jacob when it was obvious he had a troubled history and hadn't completely moved on.

Embry told her to shut up, that she was just jealous.

"How dare you, jealous of what, a snooty bitch that was never right for Jake? She practically holds him captive in Seattle, doesn't want him to visit. It's all about her friends, her family."

Paul lost his amused demeanor quickly. He didn't appreciate the way Emb was speaking to Rachel. He and Jacob both walked closer to Embry. "You heard the alpha, take it outdoors. My kids are watching."

Embry stood up, finally. Bella felt like she was holding her breath. "Where's your wife, Jake?"

"Not that it's any of your concern, but she's with family and friends. Two of the Cullens are watching out."

"Oh, so she gets bloodsuckers that you don't even fully trust, but Bella gets an entire pack. Why is that?"

"Shut up, Call. Either you walk outside right now or I drag your ass out."

"I'm sorry Bella, I truly don't mean this against you, but even you should see how fucked up this is."

"Embry, I'm sorry. I know everyone's stressed."

"Is that why you and Jake think it's okay to sleep together, because of stress. Is that a good enough excuse to give his wife? He told her he wanted to stay married. Jake's a liar. Everyone needs to know that."

"Embry, enough," was uttered from Billy's lips.

"Whatever, he comes by it honestly... lying, that is. Isn't that right, Billy?"

That was all Jacob was going to stand for. He did just as he threatened. He grabbed Embry by the back of the neck and started dragging. Of course, Embry fought back. The rest was a blur. A few chairs got knocked over, a glass of juice spilled on the table. Atticus started crying. Rachel was screaming for them to stop. They barely made it out the door. The whole family watched out the window as Embry and Jacob started a very brutal fight with their fists.

Rachel cried to Paul who was now laughing, "Stop them, you idiot. Jake's too strong, he'll hurt him."

"Relax baby. This needed to happen. Brilliant, wasn't it? You can thank me later." He winked. "If you know what I mean?"

Bella was consumed with confusion first, then anger. She handed the baby over to his grandfather. She shoved Paul the next second. "Why did you do that? You baited Embry! Why would you push them into a fight? Isn't there enough shit going on around here?" Why was there such bad blood between Embry and Jacob? She was pretty sure she was missing some pieces to the puzzle, since they were best friends when she used to live around them.

Sage clapped his hands. "Go, Uncle Jake. Teach him a lesson."

Willow cried, "No! Uncle Embry's nice. Uncle Jake's a big meany. Daddy are you going to fight too? Please don't fight."

The next thing Bella knew, Sage was screaming again, "Wolves. My uncles are wolves. Daddy, are you a wolf?" Bella looked outside to the yard and sure enough, they'd phased. The fight resumed and was now so brutal, Rachel pulled her children away from the carnage. Even Bella shielded her eyes.

Paul looked at Rachel and apologized. He had remorse in his eyes, but he also had something else there. Bella was tempted to slap him like old times, but she grabbed his arm. "Go, you started it. No watching from the sidelines."

"Damn Swan, you're too much trouble, same as before. Remind me again why we're doing this."

Bella shoved him out the door. Of course, he was letting her manhandle him. She wasn't sure why. "Because, I'm the mother of the alpha's son, so get outside and fucking phase so you can protect us."

Paul transformed before he ever made it off the porch and Bella felt a surge of power like she'd never experienced. The whole damn pack phased. She knew it. Don't ask her how because she had no idea where Quil, Jared and Brady were right then, but she knew without a doubt, they all phased again.

Bella inhaled the moist sea air deep into her lungs. It's true what they say, a smell can bring back a memory quicker than anything else. At the moment, her mind was flooded with them. The morning was full of the unexpected. She and Rachel tried to pretend everything was perfectly normal for the sake of the children. After cleaning up breakfast and fielding a million and one questions from Sage and Willow, Rachel suggested a walk.

"What do you say, Bella? My nephew needs to explore the land of his people. Hey kids, you wanna go down to the shore and collect shells?"

Sage asked if they could swim, but Rachel said no way, the water was too cold. "We're not going to get wet, are we clear?"

"Yes Mommy."

Bella laughed when she saw how wet Rachel and Paul's son had gotten. Emily's boy was just as bad. All the girls were satisfied playing on a large quilt. They had a plenty of things in a bag to entertain themselves without disobeying their mothers like the boys had.

Kim was the last to show up, she had picked up Claire before stopping by. Bella was formally introduced to her when they sat down. Claire peeked in the stroller. "Awe, he's so cute. Can I hold him when he wakes up?"

"Of course, you've grown so much." Bella remembered seeing a glimpse of her once or twice. The whole situation made her uneasy. "You're such a lovely young lady now, Claire. How have you been?"

Claire was proud to inform Bella she was officially a teenager since celebrating her birthday the month before. She also held out her wrist in front of her to reveal her favorite gift. "That's lovely."

"It's from Aunt Kim's nephew. Don't tell Quil, okay, but Zane is my boyfriend."

"Wow, a boyfriend at your age, you're way ahead of the game." Bella giggled. Claire was even ahead of her as far as dating. "Why can't we tell Quil?" She knew Quil and Claire's imprint was different than any of the others, but no one really explained what that meant.

"He's so embarrassing. Last year, a boy was visiting for the summer. He tried to talk to me. Quil found out and showed up at the beach one day when I was with all my friends. He told that boy a terrible story about tourists getting eaten by wolves on a regular basis plus a few other threatening words. He stopped talking to me. In fact, he stopped coming out at all."

Emily patted her niece's leg. "You were too young for boys, hun and you didn't tell Bella the whole story. That boy was older. He shouldn't have been sniffing around. Quil was only protecting you. That will never stop. Zane is a much better choice, he's your age and we all trust Jared and Kim to keep him in line."

Claire pouted like a typical teen. She folded her arms in front of her small bosom. "I still don't want him to know."

Emily wanted the scoop. "So what the hell happened over there?"

Rachel shook her head. "A bunch of craziness."

Kim said Jared ran out of the house so fast. She didn't have time to ask what was happening. "I thought it'd be gradual like Seth and Collin."

"Yeah, well, blame Paul. Nothing new there."

Bella had time to think about all that was said. "Yeah, but Embry was over the top. What happened to him anyway?"

The other ladies looked back and forth at each other, even Claire seemed to know something she didn't know. Rachel finally said, she truly believed it was Jacob's place to explain it.

Bella expressed her doubt, "Ha, that's a laugh. I guess I'll stay in the dark then. He's not very forth coming these days."

Kim noted another thing Bella didn't completely understand. "Hey, I just realized. This is a first. We're all together."

Bella didn't miss that Emily pinched Kim on her side. We're. Bella was missing something, maybe Jacob needed to tell her a few things, not just one thing about Embry's strange behavior. She was going to grill him whenever he wasn't stretched so thin.

Emily said Ryder was shivering from his wet clothes so she volunteered to take Sage with them, so they could get cleaned up and change into dry clothes. The ladies planned on getting together again later in the afternoon to make food. Bella paused for a minute while they were packing up. She suddenly got the feeling she was being watched. She squinted, struggling to see the tree line, but she was right. There he was, the wolf, with several other wolves behind him. She waved and the other women turned to see what she was waving at.

"The pack."

Claire jumped up and down, waving eagerly. "Hi Quilly!" She lowered her voice. "You don't think they can eavesdrop so far away, do you?"

Bella eased her mind. "Nope, I doubt it. Your secret is safe here, I'm sure."

~Thanks for reading.

Hang tight, a few more bumps coming up.