The all mighty and powerfulM: Yeah, I guess that Billy's silence did speak volumes. We'll see in this chapter how both Embry and Jake react to this revelation of their true relationship.
Congrats to sayit3xs for being review #1150 for the story.
AN: I am thrilled and humbled that "Jagged Edges Heal" won gold in the Best Romance category in the Non-Canon Awards. Thanks to everyone for the nomination and the win. I'm sorry this took longer than I hoped it would to get finished and posted. Some writer's block, me fighting a section, and just being insanely busy in the evenings after work lately all combined to delay this. Hopefully this really long chapter will be worth the wait.
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Narrator POV
The utter silence that enveloped the Quileute tribe's council room after Embry's harsh words and sudden exit was probably best comparable to the immediate aftermath of a nuclear blast. There was absolutely no sound or motion for the equivalent of several long heartbeats (though whether any hearts actually did so was open to question). Then-
"What the hell?"
"No way!"
"Impossible."
"Fuck, no."
"Damn you. Damn you all," Tiffany gasped out, before turning and fleeing from the room.
"Enough!" Sam shouted, bringing silence to the room in a rush.
"Sam, what did you react to?" Old Quil asked.
For a few moments, it wasn't apparent whether the Alpha's words were in response to the elder's question or if they were just vocalizations of his private thoughts. "I almost thought there was something going on that day, some unspoken subtext to their conversation, but I wasn't positive-even if I had I wouldn't have guessed this, that's for sure." Sam scrubbed his hands over his face and then related the encounter he and Jared had witnessed between Billy and Tiffany several weeks earlier at the Cameron's store. "It seems now that she had a good idea why he was interfering with Embry and Bella's relationship, and was telling him he had no right to do or say anything about it."
"Dad?" Jake's voice cracked. "Tell me it's not true, what Embry said-what Sam means." Billy's face was a stone carving. "Damn it!" shouted Jake. "Is Embry your son, too?" When his father still didn't answer, Jacob screamed in helpless fury and dashed outside, kicking off his shoes on the way.
"Forest!" Sam shouted behind him. Moments later, a low, pained howl wafted in on the night breeze.
Before anyone could do or say anything, Quil bolted after Jacob. "Jake!" he called out.
"Quil!" Joy's cry of her son's name went unheard.
"Let him go," Old Quil told his daughter-in-law. "Jacob will have need of his friend now."
Sam stood and looked out over the assembly. "Everyone ought to go home." He glared down the few attempts at protest.
"Sam, what about Jared? You want me to phase in and tell him and take over running?" asked Paul.
"No, you can head on home. I'm betting that Quil phased too, and not just Jake, so Jared probably knows everything by now. I'll take Billy home and then check in with them. If Quil and Jake are up to it, then they can take over on patrol tonight. If not-and it'll honestly probably end up this way-I'll run the circuit now, and then you can take over in the morning with Embry."
Paul nodded and headed for the exit with his parents.
"Go check in with them, Sam," Harry told him. "Sue and I will get Billy home, Alpha, while you take care of your pack." Then, recognizing that his words came perilously close to sounding like he was ordering the Alpha wolf, the councilor continued, "It just seems that you are needed there more than acting as a chauffeur. We cannot help the pack just now, but we can help you by doing this and freeing you to see to this other need."
Sam nodded, pausing only briefly to kiss his wife before heading outside after his wolves.
Behind him, the assemblage began breaking up into smaller groups. Despite Sam's quasi-order, discussion continued for a while longer and glances were cast in many directions. Eventually, though, they all headed for home.
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Jake POV
I phased in a violent explosion that cost me one of my few remaining sets of clothes; I didn't—couldn't—care about that now. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered. I tore through the forest like a sprinter at the Olympics.
Jake! I felt Quil phase in and saw through his eyes that he was racing to try and catch up with me. Not that he had a chance if I didn't want him to.
Leave me the hell alone, Quil.
Not gonna happen, bro. Somehow, though, knowing he wasn't going to give up helped, at least a little bit.
Bro?! And it all came boiling up like a tsunami from the depths of my mind. Miles away from us physically, Jared was still nearly bowled over by the flood of my thoughts and emotions.
Oh, shit, he breathed. Man- but there really wasn't anything Jared could say. The council meeting played out in full-screen multi-camera Technicolor from both me and Quil. At the end, prompted by the recollection of Sam's words, Jared gave us a view of the encounter between Tiffany and Billy in his family's store.
(flashback)
"… Embry is good for her, Billy, just as Bella is good for him. If Jacob is truly their friend, then he should be happy for them."
"Happy that his friend stole-"
"Embry stole nothing. Bella was Jacob's friend the same as Embry's and Quil's. If Jacob had been dating her and Embry cut in, then yes, your son would have a reason to be upset. But Embry didn't do that. He asked, and Bella used her freedom of choice to say yes. She's a living breathing girl, not an inanimate toy for a pair of dogs to fight over."
"They are going to get hurt."
"I happen to disagree. Your 'concern' does you credit, but neither Embry nor Bella are your responsibility. Embry will do everything he can to make Bella happy, which should please a lifelong friend of her father. Now, if you'll excuse me, my son and I have been invited over to dinner at his girlfriend's house tonight."
(end flashback)
With context, and the fact that we were looking for it, it was easy for us to see the unspoken subtext in the recalled conversation.
They were having a conversation on two separate levels, and they both knew it, Jared thought. And both understood it. I mean, we were figuring that Tiffany had to know for sure who her son's father had been, or she wouldn't have been trying to so hard not to reveal the name. But... he trailed off.
My dad knew, I forced the words out, acid roiling in my gut. He knew he had another son! He knew one of my best friends was my brother, too!
It looks that way, Jared agreed, sympathy evident.
A shimmer heralded Sam's entry into the pack mind. Jacob?
Leave me alone, Sam. You want to yell at me for something else…just take a number. I can't deal with it right now.
I'm sorry. I wish-for everyone's sake, but especially yours-that things hadn't turned out this way. I'd hoped it would end up being Joshua—or anyone other than this. Sorry, guys—that clearly to Jared and Quil.
Well, it wasn't.
Sam didn't reply to me. Instead, he 'looked' toward Jared. I think your parents are giving Kim a ride home. You can phase out and head back.
Sure thing, Sam. Who's taking over?
Sam didn't even need to consider the question. I will. I know Jacob isn't up to it—and I'm not asking it, either. Paul's going to take the morning shift tomorrow with Embry. Jake and Quil, you're off until tomorrow afternoon.
I can't go home now. A nightmare scenario of losing control around my dad crossed my mind. No matter how much part of me might think he deserved it—for this shit-can of poisonous snakes that had just been opened—he was still my dad. I just need to run. Run. It was probably insane to think that running would solve anything or wipe away what had been learned tonight, but I couldn't stop myself.
Run then. Don't worry about anything else tonight. Quil…
I'll stay with him.
I took off-using most of my speed, but not so much that Quil couldn't keep up. He didn't say anything—in fact, he tried to keep his mind quiet and just watched the forest blur past.
My mind, on the other hand, was constantly whirling. Each landing of my paws against the ground sent a new thought hurtling into and through my brain in an endless cycle.
He's my brother. Embry's my brother. Dad cheated. How? Why? Did Mom know? Embry's my brother. I hurt him. He's my brother. Why?
I just ran and ran, trying to leave the thoughts behind.
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Embry POV
I strode out of the council meeting, anger rolling through my entire body. Walking away from Billy Black had taken every last ounce of willpower that I possessed. All that either me or my wolf wanted to do was rip that man-my father-to shreds.
"Embry!" Bella's voice called behind me, accompanied by the slapping of her shoes against the ground. "Embry, wait!" Even though I wanted to keep going, I slowed and then stopped, waiting for her to catch up. Bella moved until she was in front of me, and then wrapped her arms around my waist. "Talk to me," she begged.
"About what?" I growled. Hopefully, she'd understand that I wasn't angry at her, just at this fucked up mess I'd just landed in.
Bella looked up at me, a riot of emotions on her face and in her eyes. "I'm here for you!" this incredible young woman, who the gods had decided was meant for me, whispered fiercely. "No matter what! How can I help you now?"
"I've got to get out of here," I muttered. Maybe being somewhere else would help me to clear my head—or at least keep me from committing parricide.
"Okay, then let's go. We'll just get in my car and go wherever you want."
"Out of La Push."
"That's fine. My place?"
I nodded curtly.
"Do you need to grab anything before we go? My dad's clothes were tight on you before-they wouldn't have a chance of fitting now. I don't think that seersucker pants would be a good look on you, so should we swing by your house for a change of clothes?" Bella was talking a lot, but it filled the air and doing it to try and distract me from the bombshell that had just landed.
"Okay."
She kept both hands on the wheel as she drove, though I could tell-sense-feel that she wanted to reach one over to touch me.
"I'll be right back," I told her, when she'd pulled her car up in front of my house. Bella just nodded and didn't move to get out. I moved fast, grabbing a bag and tossing in an assortment of clothes and toiletries. I was as good as my word, shutting my front door just a couple minutes later. Sliding back into the car, I swung the bag around to land on the back seat.
"Ready?" Bella asked, and at my nod got the car moving toward Forks.
I was more grateful than ever that Bella wasn't the sort of girl who had to talk all the time—she was perfectly content to let silence reign when there wasn't anything that needed to be said. At the moment, there was likely a lot that needed to be discussed, but I wasn't up for that and Bella knew it. All my concentration was focused on keeping myself under control and not bailing from the car to go…somewhere. Part of the way through the trip, she took her right hand off the steering wheel and stretched it toward me. Aware that we both needed the contact, I wrapped my much larger hand around hers and squeezed lightly, then let our joined hands rest on the center console between us. We stayed this way until Bella needed her hand back to turn the car into her driveway. Somewhere over the course of the half-hour drive between our houses, my anger had seeped away, leaving…nothing... in its wake. Nothing, except for a nightmare. The man who was the father of one of my childhood best friends, the man who'd welcomed me into his family's home constantly, who'd taught me to fish and shave—that man had fathered me and never said a word about it. Why?
Had he known about me the whole time? What had he said or thought when Mom had told him? Had he kept her on a line promising a future together? Had Mom decided to stay here to force him to face me and what he'd done every day? What was I supposed to do now? How was I supposed to act toward him? Toward my mom? How did I want to act? I'd sworn I wanted to know the truth about my origin, but it was becoming apparent that I wasn't quite as prepared for the result as I'd thought.
"I love you," Bella finally spoke, pulling me out of the downward spiral of my thoughts. "Truly, madly, and deeply-just like the song."
I squeezed her hand tighter, putting everything I couldn't say into that gesture. For all that we'd only known each for a few months and only been dating for a few weeks…even before I'd imprinted on her she'd been as essential to me as breathing. No matter how my life was going to hell otherwise, I could never forget how important she was to me. Then I let go so that we could head inside.
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Narrator POV
Charlie heard the front door open and close.
"That you, Bells?"
"Yeah, it's us," she replied.
The 'us' brought Charlie to his feet, just as Bella and Embry stepped into the living room. His daughter looked worried, and Embry...the boy looked like he'd been punched in the gut, had his dog run over, and been orphaned all at once. The chief's first thought was that something terrible had happened.
"What's wrong, Embry? Did something happen? Is it your mom?"
Embry didn't answer. He just collapsed boneless onto the couch. Bella nudged him aside enough that she could sit down and let his head rest on her lap. Her fingers started carding through hair that was now cropped short.
"Tiffany is okay," Bella spoke slowly. "But..." A heavy sigh. "She finally gave Embry enough clues to puzzle out who his father was tonight."
And clearly, Embry was devastated by what he'd learned. However much he'd indicated it bothered him not knowing who it was, it was obvious to the chief that this was one time where ignorance might have been bliss. Charlie wasn't sure what to say. Not for the first time, he wished he was better at speaking to people, that he had the gift of gab possessed by his friends.
"I'm sorry, Embry," he finally said. "Whoever it was, I'm sorry that what your mom told you hurt you so badly."
The young man's head twitched on Bella's lap, and one arm shifted to wrap around her shins, but he still didn't speak.
"What can I do, Bells?"
"Can Embry stay here, at least for tonight? He needs a little bit of distance just now from his mom, from-from everything."
"What aren't you saying, Bella? What else does Embry need distance from?"
Bella's eyes flicked back and forth between the two men in her life, in obvious indecision. Finally, she whispered, "Billy."
"Why-?"
"It was him."
Charlie stared uncomprehendingly at his daughter for a long moment. Surely he hadn't heard her right. Bella looked down meaningfully at Embry and repeated, "It was him."
The proverbial lightning struck and Charlie finally got it. Oh, hell. Billy Black. Embry had gotten the answer to the identity of his unknown father. And that answer... Billy had cheated on his wife, Sarah, and fathered a son with another woman. And Jacob and Embry were less than a year apart in age, if Charlie remembered right-which meant that Sarah had been pregnant when Billy had stepped out on her. "Damn it," Charlie swore softly.
"Yeah. Even though he'd started to figure out it must have been someone local, to learn this...he just needs some time to clear his head before dealing with anyone else."
"Who else knows now?"
"There was a tribal council meeting tonight, and they insisted that Tiffany say who it was. So the elders, some people our age, and their parents-everyone who was there knows."
"Billy?" Charlie saw Embry twitch again.
"He was there," was all Bella said.
Charlie stood up and headed into the kitchen. Within a few minutes, he was back and holding out a steaming mug. "My mom's old recipe. Drink up, Embry. You need it."
The young man slowly pushed himself upright. Bella wrapped herself around him as Embry reached out to take hold of the cup. At the first sip, dark eyes lifted to meet Charlie's. "Not just tea, is it?"
"It's medicinal. It'll help."
Silence fell in the room. Charlie watched his daughter with Embry. Her hand was tracing up one of Embry's fingers and down the next, going back and forth in a calming motion.
"Did he know?" Charlie finally asked. Embry didn't pretend not to know what was meant by that.
"He knew," was the muttered answer.
"Damn."
Embry snorted and leaned his head to the side to rest on top of Bella's. He breathed deeply and finally started to relax a little bit.
"Bells, will you two be okay for a while? I think I need to go take care of something," Charlie stood up and hitched his belt purposefully.
"Sure."
"There's an air mattress up in the attic that Embry can sleep on down here."
"Okay, Dad."
"I might be back late, so don't wait up, alright? I'll be quiet when I come in."
Bella just nodded. Charlie grabbed his keys and left.
"What do you need? What can I do?" Bella asked her devastated wolf.
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Bella POV
The sound of Charlie's cruiser had barely faded away before Embry lifted me off the couch and onto his lap. Hands threaded through my hair, pulling me close as his tongue plunged into my mouth. His erection rubbed against my core through the layers of our clothing. The involuntary moan I gave a moment later only encouraged Embry to devour me further and lift his hips upward to increase our contact. I forced my eyelids open with great effort to meet Embry's gaze and saw the wolf looking back at me. His black irises were ringed with gold. But this didn't frighten me. It was like a window into his soul, into how much he needed and wanted me.
"You. Need you. Mine," he growled after relinquishing my lips.
"Yours," I agreed, and ground myself down hard onto him. Embry's reaction was instantaneous: his hands moved to surround and squeeze my breasts, which-as usual-made my body go liquid, seeping moisture onto my panties. Embry rumbled in pleasure as the scent filled the air.
"Mine!"
"Bed," my words came out as a gasp. I had no clue how long my dad would be gone, but I wasn't about to take the chance of him coming home and seeing us. Embry vaulted to his feet, my weight nothing to him now, and took the stairs two at a time. He dropped me onto the bed just as the door clicked shut behind us.
"Strip," commanded Embry. My hands scrambled to pull off all my clothing, heedlessly letting things fall where they would. I didn't even have time to look up before Embry's body bore me backward to land flat on the bed. He stretched, rubbing against me from head to toe.
"Ngh."
Embry scooted downward and captured one nipple in his mouth, sucking and then tugging at it with a gentle scrape of teeth. I gasped, my entire body reacting instantly. The bloom of arousal consumed me—and probably filled the room, sending Embry on a quest to the source. My legs were pushed apart, opening me up to him. I screamed and thrashed when his tongue licked the length of my pussy, claiming every last drop of the syrup that was his and his alone. Then his tongue pierced my lower lips while his mouth sealed around me and sucked. His hands clamped against my hips to hold me steady for his assault. It seemed like only seconds before I conceded the battle and exploded under his mouth.
"Ambrosia," Embry whispered, letting go of my hips and springing to his feet. My eyelids barely opened a slit for me to watch him riffle in his clothes for a second and turn back to me with something in his hand. After quickly rolling the condom on, he landed back on the bed and rubbed along my body again in the other direction from before. He claimed me in a deep kiss and I was presented with my own taste in his mouth. I managed to lift my legs and hook my feet around Embry's waist. His covered cock bumped against my entrance, sliding through the still-soaked curls. Embry darted downward to claim my lips in another bruising kiss as he slid home within my eager body. My past argument of needing my own recovery time was rendered moot-I felt nothing but pleasure and a fierce hunger for him. My hands reached upward, scrabbling for purchase on his shoulders, nails scratching his skin unconsciously. Flesh brushed against flesh. Voices gasped, moaned, and cried out in unimaginable satisfaction. And once again, we tumbled off the edge into a world where only they existed. The real world only gradually regained clarity when Embry lifted himself up and settled onto the bed next to me, his head pillowed on my breasts. As I had downstairs, my hand stroked his hair, and before long, I felt tears trickling against my skin. I let Embry cry in silence, offering my meager comfort wordlessly until we both drifted to sleep
I was in the forest again, though this was different from the forest of my early summer nightmares. The twilight quiet was comforting somehow. I still moved with some urgency, however; drawn deeper in by the soft mournful howl-like noises of my wolf. Rounding a tree, he was suddenly there, curled up between tree roots. With my own noise of empathy, I hurried forward and sank down next to him, wrapping my arms around him and threading my fingers into his grey and black fur.
"I'm here. It will be alright."
How? he somehow asked me.
"I don't know. I just know that I'm here for you, now and always. However you need me."
He stood up then, dwarfing me with his massive size. His head nudged me over, and he stepped carefully until he was behind me. The wolf-my Embry-lay down, and used one paw much like an arm to scoot me backward until I was pressed against his belly. His head descended to become my pillow, and his leg and paw were a heavy yet soothing weight over my body.
I need, Embry breathed in my ear.
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Embry POV
Long after the evenness of her breathing and heartbeat told me that Bella had fallen asleep, I lay awake on her bed. Sleep was impossible for me right now. How could I drift away when the jagged edges of my life grated against my mind? There was that old saying, "Be careful what you wish for." I'd longed for years to know who my father was, and had scoffed at my mom's reasons for keeping silent. Well, now her hand had been forced and I had the answer I'd always thought I wanted—a 'gift' that couldn't be returned to the store. But it had proven to be a double-edged sword, and no mistake. I now knew the truth, but there was no peace along with in. Now, instead of wondering who he was, I'm being tortured by questions of "why didn't he want me?" and "how could this happen?"
Had my mom known the truth? Had Billy lied to her? Taken advantage of her? Had he known from the beginning that I was his son? When had he found out? Had he cared at all, or was Jake the only important one? I was his son. Had he known I would phase? Jake was my brother. Not just as part of the pack, but by blood. My own brother had just tried to kill me yesterday. Jake had wanted to take Bella away from me. That won't going to happen. Bella is mine and I'm hers. Nothing and no one would separate us, I vowed. To that end, I gently tugged my sleeping imprint closer to my side. A glance at the bedside clock showed that it was nearly midnight now. Had nearly six hours really passed since the bomb had dropped? I'd lost track of the passage of time since my life had irrevocably changed—and Bella deserved all the credit. I listened carefully, but didn't hear anything but the normal sounds of nighttime-and even those were muted to an almost otherworldly hum. There was no breathing or heartbeat from the bedroom across the hall, so Charlie Swan had clearly decided to stay the night wherever he'd gone-which was fine by me. I didn't really feel like getting busted stark naked in my equally naked girlfriend's bed by her protective dad after everything else I'd been through lately.
Glancing down, I confirmed with my eyes what my other senses could testify. Bella hadn't been awakened by me shifting her around. Her hair was lying haphazardly across her bare shoulder and breast, the sheet I'd pulled over us after our sex earlier having slid down to her waist. Despite how quickly Bella and I had rounded the bases in our physical relationship, it didn't seem like enough-maybe would never be enough. If Jared could be believed, this incredible pull would start to ease up some...eventually. But I wasn't entirely sure if I wanted that. The compulsion to be with her-in her-was almost too much to resist, or even think of resisting. She was my shelter in the chaotic storm of my life, my haven against troubles. She was my everything now—I couldn't do this without her. We'd barely been imprinted for a whole day, and yet I now couldn't imagine my life without it.
Yet I somehow would have to keep my raging libido in check. I never ever wanted to be the cause of pain to Bella, and with as well-endowed as I was now, I'd hurt her for sure if I started another round now, what with how many times I'd already taken her in the past two days. Turning my head, I rested my cheek against her hair to better inhale her scent, and finally managed to shove my troubles down deep enough that I could fall asleep.
I padded through the forest, wolf-instincts guiding me to where I needed to go. Within a small clearing…Bella stood waiting for me. I phased back to human and continued forward until I stood beside her, bending and claiming her lips in a soft kiss that quickly grew in intensity. "Mine," I purred in Bella's ear, possessiveness in every letter of the word.
"Yours," she agreed. "Just as you are mine." It was just as strong a feeling hearing her claim me as it was to assert my own claim.
Bella tugged my hand, turning us toward…a fluffy blanket? What was a blanket doing on the ground in the middle of the forest? But the scent of her and me and us fast rendered that thought irrelevant. The blanket was here, and we were for damn sure not letting it go to waste. A quick tug and she was in my arms, falling with me onto the blanket.
I ran my hand down Bella's sides, tearing her clothing off her body and exposing her to my gaze. She shifted, trying to burrow underneath me for more warmth. As she turned more onto her stomach, I realized that I had never paid the back of her body much attention. So I scooted a little farther away and allowed Bella to settle fully onto her front side. I lifted her hair up and over her shoulder and feasted my eyes on my mate. Everything was perfection. Skin lay smoothly over muscles. I was pleased that she had gained back all of the weight she'd lost from being sick at the beginning of the summer and that there weren't any obvious bones protruding where they shouldn't. Her spine dipped in the curve of her lower back, before rising up into the amazing swell of her butt-not that she had a big Kim Kardashian butt or anything like that; Bella's was perfect. I wanted to stroke every inch of her, but I needed—I didn't question the presence of a bottle of her violet-scented lotion in our forest, and I squirted some into my hands and warmed it before beginning. I started at her shoulders and worked my way down, massaging the lotion into her skin with gentle circular motions. The friction of skin against skin started sending sparks through my veins, and I immediately started to harden.
Perversely, as much as I wanted to adore her ass, I skipped downward to continue my massage at her feet and work my way back up. Somehow, my health classes had overlooked the fact of feet being an erogenous zone, because I could almost taste Bella's growing arousal as I rubbed the lotion into her flesh. When I reached her knees, her legs automatically parted to give me greater access-to her scent as well as her skin. As I finally stroked over the curves of her rear, Bella unconsciously bucked upward into my hands. I squeezed, and then shifted my grip around to her hips, lifting her upward onto her knees. My body likewise shifted until I was on my knees, too, and quickly draped over her prone form.
"Feel what you do to me?" I purred softly into her ear. My rigid cock nudged its way between her parted legs toward its desired home. Bella still seemed to be sleeping; nevertheless, she moaned and her body reacted to the proximity of mine. My hips rocked back and forth, sliding my cock along the cleft of her legs and through the dripping moisture her body was producing. The pleasure ratcheted up degree by degree, almost edging into pain but not quite crossing the line. When I felt my balls tighten up, I pulled away from Bella and wrapped one hand around my cock and starting to stroke and twist my way up and down it, while my other hand dropped lower to cup and squeeze my sac. Squeezing both hands firmly, my hips bucked as my balls emptied and my cock erupted to cover Bella's ass and back.
Not wanting to leave her side—much less having anything handy for cleanup, I continued the massage that had started all of this and rubbed all my cum into her skin, imprinting my scent there as a warning to everyone else that this woman was claimed. Satisfied, I curled my body around her protectively. Another blanket I hadn't seen before was nearby, and I grabbed it to spread over us both. While I kept watch, my mate slept. After a time, though, my wolf began to stir.
He still wants her. He will try to claim her if we let him.
We won't let him. She is ours. The vow rumbled from my chest.
Lifting Bella onto her hands and knees again, I shifted her legs to gain a little more access and pressed down on her spine to tip her ass into a better position. Then I thrust forward and into her in a single smooth stroke. Once again, it was like entering heaven. There was nowhere else I wanted to be than connected with her in this most intimate of ways, physical evidence of the mental, emotional, and spiritual bond that now tied us together for the rest of our lives.
"Mmmm. More," murmured Bella, rocking back against me. I was only too happy to oblige—was compelled to, even-setting up a gradually increasing rhythm and intensity to my movements. Before long, Bella's inner walls were clenching around my cock like a vise, and a now-familiar tightening of my balls presaged my own orgasm.
I dropped down until my chest was touching Bella's prone back, covering her completely with my body and burying my nose in the hair at the nape of her neck. With one final deep thrust, I emptied my body of everything it could produce and my mouth opened to release a throaty growl.
"Mine."
Our orgasms seemed to drain all strength from our bodies, and we collapsed down onto the blanket. Reluctantly I pulled out of Bella's soothing warmth and rolled to lie beside her.
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Narrator POV
Forks' Chief of Police didn't feel a single ounce of shame at having used his position to exceed the speed limit on his drive down to La Push. There were questions that needed answering, and Billy was the only one who could do that. He probably wouldn't want to, but Charlie wasn't going to let him get away with avoiding it anymore. They'd been friends for far too long, and sometimes being friends meant forcing an issue even if the other person didn't want it. Bella wasn't a liar-at least, not about important stuff-so if she said that Billy was Embry's father, then he was.
Charlie had been thinking about that the whole time he'd been driving. He was being forced to reevaluate everything he thought he knew about one of his best friends. Up until now, he'd have sworn that Billy would never be the type to stray. Yet, obviously, he had. He'd strayed and then kept it a secret from everyone for years. Or had he? Had anyone besides Tiffany and Billy himself known the truth? If anyone else had, they'd never breathed a word—as evidenced by the lack of rumors about Embry until just recently.
He pulled the cruiser to a stop in front of Billy's little red house, got out, and walked straight inside.
"Billy?" He flipped on a light in the darkened house and kept moving. As usual, his friend was sitting in the kitchen, an empty can of beer lying on its side on the table.
"We need to talk," Charlie said firmly. He opened the fridge and removed two cans. Shoving one can across the table toward one of his best friends, Charlie dropped into the seat on the other side. Billy reached a hand to wrap around the can, lifted, drank, set it down. Lift, drink, set down.
"We can sit here all night if we have to, old man, or you can start talking and get this over with," Charlie finally said.
"It's not your-" Billy said.
"Bullshit," his friend snapped with an uncharacteristic expletive. "It damn well is my business. I've only been your friend for most of our lives. I'd be a pretty crappy friend if I didn't care about stuff going on in your life. And my daughter is dating Embry, remember? So what concerns him concerns her, and what concerns my daughter concerns me. Is this why you were against their relationship? Because she wasn't picking the right son?"
Billy was silent-clear enough answer to Charlie that the charge was probably accurate.
"Why, Billy?" the question was soft, but firm. "Why did you cheat on Sarah? And why the hell have you spent the last seventeen years watching this boy grow up-and in your house, more often than not-without a single word or acknowledgment?"
More silence.
"Okay, if that's how you want it. I guess in the end you're not really answerable to me about any of this. Just to your kids-all of them-and your tribe. But you are going to have to talk and explain all this sooner or later. And right now, judging by me finding you in a dark empty house, I'm the only person willing to even hear you out."
Billy couldn't help an involuntary shudder. Charlie was right. Embry hadn't been seen since stalking from the room after snarling, "You're the bastard," in Billy's face-though if Charlie was here and knew what had been said, then it meant Embry was in Forks with Bella. Jacob had vanished soon after, and the council meeting had ended just a short time later, with everyone disappearing in different directions. Billy had been driven back home, but neither Harry nor Sue had said a single word the whole time. A heavy sigh. "Okay."
Charlie grabbed two more cans of their favored Vitamin R beer and sat down again.
"It was eighteen years ago, obviously. Sarah and I were happy from day one-you remember that?"
Charlie just nodded.
"So we were happy newlyweds...and then Sarah got pregnant. We both knew twins were a strong possibility-I had twin sisters and so did my dad-but all the same, I think we were still a little surprised when we had twin girls, too. We adored Rebecca and Rachel, but twins...twice the work, twice the stuff they needed... The economy wasn't great back then for anyone, and reservations are always even worse than the outside world with unemployment rates and low wages. We were practically living hand-to-mouth, and already feeling guilty about all the things that we wouldn't be able to provide for our girls. Then... they were barely toddlers and not even potty-trained yet and Sarah got pregnant again." Billy paused to take another drink and to give Charlie a chance to comment. But his old friend just stayed silent, plainly intending to say nothing until the other man had told the whole story.
"It was an accident, Sarah getting pregnant with Jake. She'd been a little depressed for a while, with how tough things were, and she was taking some herbs and stuff to try and feel better. No one warned us that the birth control pills weren't effective with those herbs in her system, too. I-" Billy sighed and took another pull on the can of beer. "I panicked. I kept having nightmares about us living in a tent or the car, or-"
"And you thought that all your friends-all of your sisters?-would just stand by and let that happen?"
"I wasn't thinking straight, okay? I panicked."
A pair of dark eyebrows rose incredulously at the patently obvious statement.
"We already had one set of twins, and I was terrified we were about to get another. Ultrasounds weren't common at all back then anywhere, much less here, so I spent a few weeks letting that dark thought take root in my brain."
"I said I needed to go find work that paid better and headed to Port Angeles and the commercial fishing boats. But I guess I was maybe trying to run away from stuff as much as I was trying to solve anything. I missed Sarah and the girls, but at the same time it was freeing to be living the bachelor life again. I met Tiffany at a bar in Port Angeles one night. Two natives...we got to talking. I wasn't wearing my wedding ring-too dangerous out on the boat-and I didn't volunteer that detail. The first few meetings were just talking and enjoying each other's company. Then one night...I guess we just had too much to drink and we ended up in bed together. I did use a condom, Charlie. I swear I did. Every single time. One night, Four showed up in Port Angeles. My dad had suddenly gotten really sick—was dying—and they needed me to come home. I had no choice but to come back right then. I just put the whole indiscretion behind me and focused on Sarah and my kids, my mom and my sisters. I guess I grew up then—fast. So much was put on my shoulders then that I didn't have time to be scared anymore. And then Jake was born. So perfect…"
"Tiffany showed up in La Push a few weeks after Jake was born-and it was pretty obvious she was pregnant, too. Swore it was mine and that the condom I'd used must have broken. She'd been kicked out by her family—turned out she'd been using a fake ID to get into the bar and she wasn't as old as I'd thought she was."
"So she knew your name and how to find you?" The cop in Charlie asked the question.
"I hadn't planned to sleep with her, Charlie—I had no reason to give a fake name or hide where I lived. I never thought she'd follow me here."
"Did you believe her that it was your kid?"
"Yeah. I wanted to try and turn it back on her, make it seem like it could have been anyone's kid. But I knew she wasn't lying about it. She'd been a virgin before me, and had come here to track me down. Then she got blindsided finding out I already had a family. I felt guilty about it all—Four made sure of that. He helped work things so that Tiffany got a place to stay and a job, and stuff for her baby."
"Did you do anything?"
The head of long still-black hair dipped. "I couldn't, Charlie. I barely had enough for my own family as it was—and I couldn't let anyone get suspicious of me giving her things. I did help later on," Billy defended. "Embry became one of Jake's best friends, and I taught him things—"
"But never claimed him," Charlie countered.
"I couldn't," repeated Billy. "Sarah—"
"Has been dead for almost a decade, Billy. A good half of Embry's life. Nothing that might have come out after her death could have possibly hurt Sarah—don't use that as an excuse."
"The shame—"
"Is going to be a hell of a lot worse now. I hope you don't need me to tell you how badly you screwed this up. You've got 3 kids who now know you betrayed their mother and may hate you for it. Jake will never be able to look at his friend the same way again. And Embry…damn it to hell, Billy. You may have not given him much thought up till now, but you'd better start thinking about him now. All your excuses-and they're pretty crappy, to be brutally honest about it-aren't going to hold a drop of water anymore. You may think you grew up when you came back here and took over your family and tribe...but if you really had, you wouldn't have denied your son and his mother. Embry may not ever forgive you for this, and I wouldn't blame him if he didn't. That boy had had a tough life; that you saw that and knew why, yet did nothing...that's not the man I thought you were."
And with that, Charlie fell silent. More beer was consumed before he stood up and pushed a quite drunk Billy out of the kitchen and helped him get ready for bed. Somewhat inebriated himself, Charlie managed to make it to one of the beds in the twins' old room and was asleep when his head hit the pillow.
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AN: I really hope this came out right. I think I'm happy with it, but you be the judge. Can't wait to hear your thoughts.