Bella parked her truck at Billy's house and pointed out houses as they walked to the beach. She had no associations to the people yet, but it was nice that Bella told her.
"Hey! There's the girls!" Charlie called out.
Jake jogged over to Bella and Layla, frowning softly when Layla moved to stand behind Bella.
"Hey Bella. Glad you could make it. Layla, Charlie has told us that he had a niece and that it was because of you we all get this huge feast." Jake said. "Thanks." he whispered.
"That's Jake. He's Billy's son. He's like an overexcited puppy sometimes." Bella said.
Charlie and Sue came up to Layla. Charlie had his arm around Sue.
"Layla, this is Sue Clearwater. The best damn cook in the entire state." Charlie said. "And for some reason, she actually agreed to be my girl."
"Hey honey. So glad to have you here! Charlie, you guys finish setting everything out while I take Layla around and introduce her to these hellians." Sue said.
Charlie nodded and Sue looped her arm with Layla's and walked over to the fire.
"You've met Jake. This is my daughter, Leah. She and Jake are dating...Lord help me." She teased.
"Could be worse, mommy dearest." Leah smirked.
"This is my son, Seth. He's 16 like you." Sue said.
Seth smiled and shook her hand. He didn't signal that he had Imprinted so Sue went over to Paul, then Jared, then Cameron, then Embry. No Imprinting, but that didn't stop Paul from trying to flirt.
"Is Sam on patrol?" Sue asked.
"Yeah, with Quil. Shifts change soon. I'm going to go ahead and snag some food before I go." Paul said. "I see something I'd like to eat." He added, looking at Layla.
Layla blushed brightly, making Paul smirk before walking away.
"I'm just going to get real food..." Seth added, following Paul.
"Everybody line up. Boys… ladies first. And save food for Sam and Quil. Layla, you go first. The guest of honor gets first pick." Sue said, ushering Layla to the front and filling her plate.
Layla took her plate and sat near the fire, soaking up the heat. Since evening was falling, it was getting very chilly and her clothes didn't provide much warmth. Soon, spaces around her filled up.
"It was good to meet you, Layla. Get Bella to bring you back over this weekend. We project movies onto the side of the house and have a great time." Paul said. "You can share a pillow with me. You don't need a quilt though… I'm hot enough to keep you warm."
Layla blushed yet again.
"This weekend it's Monty Python." Seth said once Paul walked away.
"Thank you for inviting me." Layla said shyly.
Layla ate only a small portion of the food on her plate. She could save the rest for later. Two men walked down the rocks and the shorter of the men made a beeline for the food. The taller one took time to speak with the adults before going to the food line.
"Did you all really eat it all?" the tall one asked.
"It was steak!" Jake called out. "We never get steak!"
"Correction...I never get steak. Everyone else here did. Someone is gonna have to run laps for eating mine." Sam said.
Layla big her lip and stood up. She hadn't touched the steak on her plate yet, having intended on saving it for later. It was probably the steak meant for him..
"Please take mine. I haven't eaten from it yet. You just came from work and you require this more than I do." Layla said, holding her plate out.
"Sam, that is my niece, Layla Delaney." Charlie said.
Sam walked over to the girl who was offering him her food. Her head was down but the plate extended fully. She couldn't have been too much over five feet tall.
"I can't take your food. But thank you for the offer." Sam said.
Layla raised her head to look at Sam.
"Please take it. I've eaten the bread already and I'm quite full. You need to eat." Layla said quietly.
Sam was dumbstruck.
The moment Layla raised her face to his and looked into his eyes, the world ceased to matter. His brothers, his family, the pack… everything was background noise. He pictured a thousand scenarios all at once, each involving this tiny female in front of him. He wanted to fall to his knees and worship her. He wanted to pull her into his arms and never let her go.
He, Sam Uley, had just Imprinted.
"I promise to you that I don't want anything more to eat." Layla said.
Layla handed her plate to Sam who still hadn't moved or said a word. She walked back over to the log and sat in front of it, getting closer to the warmth of the fire. Sam watched her closely, frowning softly when he saw she was wearing only cut off Capri pants and a short sleeved shirt. Sam finally snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Jake cough loudly. The pack was staring openly at him, only Jake and Leah were grinning wickedly. Sam walked over to where Layla sat and took a seat beside her, as close to her as he could get without making her move away.
"Thank you for giving me your food, Layla. Although I do hope maybe you'll share it with me? Bread isn't enough to sustain anyone." Sam said.
"I'm not sure… I've never had any of the other foods on the plate." Layla said quietly.
"You've never had steak? Or potatoes? Or banana pudding? Or corn?" Jared asked, sounding incredulous.
Layla felt shame cover her again and looked down. Sam growled at Jared, wanting to wring his neck. Leah leaned over and smacked Jared upside the head, giving him a look.
"Sorry, Layla. Sorry, Sam." Jared said, feeling sheepish.
Sam cut the steak into bite sized cubes and speared a piece on his fork and held it out to Layla.
"Try it?" Sam asked.
Sam nearly rumbled in happiness when Layla took the bite he held out for her. His wolf was very pleased that his Imprint was already accepting food from him. Bonding scent poured out of Sam, flooding the area with the scent that was unique only to him. For every bite Sam took, he held out another to Layla, seeing how hungry she truly was. He thought about how she willingly was ready to give up get plate of food to him, despite her hunger. Just so he wouldn't be hungry. If that didn't make his wolf puff up with pride…
Sam pulled his sweatshirt off and handed it to Layla.
"You're cold." Sam said. "It's big but it's warm."
"You'll get cold without it…" Layla frowned.
"We don't really get cold. Because of our bloodline and genetics, we actually run quite a bit warmer than people outside the tribe." Leah said.
Layla frowned again, reaching her hand out to touch Sam's arm, but pulling it back. It was Sam's turn to frown. Did his Imprint find him lacking? Did she not think she could lay her hand on his body?
"Please take it." Sam said.
"I must have taken food that was meant for you. I can't take your warmth, too. You'll get cold and get sick." Layla said.
"And the cold wouldn't make you sick?" Sam asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I've slept outside when snow was on the ground. This temperature is nothing more than an inconvenience." Layla said nonchalantly.
"Uh… why were you camping when it was snowing?" Quil asked.
"Camping?" Layla asked, confused.
"Yeah, camping. Where you sleep outside in a tent with a fire-" Quil started.
"Oh, I wasn't given either of those. It was not a recreational activity." Layla interrupted. "Mother would have parties and as a child I would be put into the backyard so I wouldn't become a nuisance. I would climb into a tree and sleep in the snow." she shrugged. "I am used to it."
Jaws dropped. Charlie had to excuse himself, overwhelmed with anger and sadness. Sam growled openly, not even bothering to hide it. The way Layla said it in such a normal tone, as if it were an acceptable and even expected occurrence, affected everyone.
"Are you still hungry? Your stomach is growling." Layla asked, looking at Sam.
Instead of replying, Sam pulled his sweatshirt over Layla and gently pulled her arms through. She opened her mouth to protest when Sam took her hand.
"Leah wasn't lying. We run hot here." Sam said, bringing Layla's hand to feel the heat from his chest.
Layla felt the heat radiating from Sam's body. Her cold fingers felt so small against his chest; just a small sliver of pale against his russet skin. Layla looked up in amazement, seeing how even shirtless he didn't seem to be getting any cooler.
"Now that we've eaten, it's time to hear the legends of our people, of the Quileute people." Sue announced, breaking the silence.
...
okay so something you'll discover so quickly is that I'm so so so impatient when it comes to waiting to post chapters, especially if i have it written in advance. I may or may not have nearly 7 chapters already written lol. So lets rephrase. I'll post an update 1-3 times per week. That's way more comfortable for my impatient ass lol. So yay she's met the guys and Sam. Ugh. To have a love like that you know? That strong and deep and unwavering... and umf Paul is such a flirt. Aaaanywaaay, please please leave me a comment! I love them so much. And I've had several people message me and say there's no way someone would be caught mailing marijuana. Lol y'all don't even know my crazy dumb ass family. My cousin and his wife actually got caught attempting to mail several several several hundred pounds of pot in tote bins through the post from California to Florida. I wish i was lying y'all lol but arrest review please and thank u!