Disclaimer - This is based off of the Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer. She created the characters and the basic plot, and this is my spin on it. These are my words about her world. Stephenie Meyer has all of the rights to her characters and the parts that were taken from her plot.

One of my fantastic reviewers asked me a very good question that I think needs to be answered for all to see, just in case anyone else has any confusion. I want you all to feel complete closure at the end of this chapter.

Q: Why does Sam say that Bella will never be fine again if Bella is going to heal, have children, etc?

A: Sam is referring to the mental/emotional changes that will occur to her after the traumatic experience she's had. He expects her to be a lot more shaken up and full of anxiety than she actually is, though. He underestimates her - she's the Alpha's mate, after all. She's strong. He just doesn't realize that until she wakes up. Basically, he's just being a bit over dramatic. You'll see Bella's strength in this chapter and understand that she's all good.

Well, almost every book has the Where Are They Now? chapter, and for Temptation's Reputation, this is that chapter. Here we go – hope it's happy and fluffy and brings you the conclusion everyone needs when a novel is finishing! Don't worry – we still have the Epilogue.

Chapter Eighteen

The wind blew Bella's hair back out of her face as she let the screen door to Jacob's redbrick house swing shut behind her. Jacob's backyard was booming with enthusiasm and happiness. Everyone was excited.

This was a celebration.

Ten months without a vampire on werewolf territory.

They'd been celebrating every month, but by far this one was the most significant.

As her eyes traveled around the small yard, Bella felt a completeness, a satisfaction settle inside her. There they were, barbequing in the Blacks' backyard as they had been just a few months earlier. They'd come full circle. And not just Bella and Sam – the entire pack.

"Paul!" The scolding came from Kim, who was sitting a bowl of fruit salad onto the picnic table. Paul's swift fingers had snatched up a grape before it had touched the wood. "If you keep stealing the food before we eat, there won't be any left for anyone else!"
Paul shrugged. "Every man for himself, honey. First rule of survival."

Jared shook his head. "Are you hitting on my imprint? I'm not sure I like this new nickname of yours." He bent to press a kiss against Kim's forehead.

"Of course not," Paul retorted. "I've got my own girl." He paused. "Or, at least, I will."

"Oh, please," Brady laughed. "Are you still pining after that waitress at Barney's? You don't have a chance in hell with a classy girl like that."

"Oh, yeah?" Paul spat. "We'll see."

Bella turned back to her own job, shaking her head at their teasing. She peeled a piece of cheese off of the chunk and placed it neatly on top of a sizzling burger. Next to her, Jacob flipped another and rotated the hot dogs while he waited for her to repeat her job.

Jacob glanced towards his kitchen, expression weary. "What do you think they're talking about in there?" Billy, Harry, Quil Ateara I, and Sam were having a private meeting in the Blacks' living room. They'd been cooped up in there longer than any of them had expected, and no one really knew what to make of that. It was odd to think of the four of them getting along – the Council and the Alpha, not only coexisting but connecting and agreeing. For three years, Sam had defied the Council any chance he'd gotten. Now that Jacob had officially relinquished any possible claim to the Alpha position that he could ever have, Sam was the pack's permanent leader and had decided he needed to make changes to his habits for the good of the pack.

Not to mention that Sam knew what it was like to almost watch his imprint die and he wasn't going to let that happen. If listening to the input and suggestions from the Council would help him to make more well-informed decisions with the pack, he was willing to put his emotions behind him and move forward with his best foot in front of him.

"You're the one with the super-wolf hearing," Bella retorted, nudging Jacob in the elbow. "You should be telling me, not asking me."

He picked up a new paper plate and started layering more burgers on it. Bella couldn't hold back a giggle. "What?" he demanded.

She shook her head. "We're making enough burgers to feed this entire town, and they're going to be scarfed down in less than twenty minutes."

"This is a celebration, Bella!" Quil called from where he was crouching next to the cooler full of soda cans. "We're celebrating not having to run around in the dark and the rain and the mud and the trees for ten whole months."

Seth walked up with his arms full of containers with silverware and a hearty supply of condiments. Leah and Sue had originally only been in charge of dessert, but upon seeing how utterly unorganized Billy and Jacob were with their get-together planning, they'd quickly grabbed ahold of the reins. Poor Seth hadn't stood a chance at avoiding the carry-out duty. "Ten months is, like, a record," he declared. He lined the mustard and ketchup up neatly next to the forks on the picnic table. "An all-time record."

"Hey, hey, hey!" Kim's sudden squeal had Bella turning around in a rush, but for no reason. Jared had her around her waist and was twirling her around, laughing in her ear as she hollered playfully and grasped at his arm for stability.

Embry and Collin had their fists up and shoulders squared like boxers did before the countdown, but Bella knew they were just messing around. Paul was leaning against an apple tree with his arms propped on his bent knees, watching the screen on his phone like he was waiting for some sort of response – maybe a text message from his latest attraction.

Everyone was perfectly at ease. Deep inside her heart, Bella knew it wouldn't last forever. Eventually some vampire coven hell bent on destroying the wolf pack and claiming La Push for it's own would show up and send everyone into chaos. She wasn't trying to jinx them; it was inevitable, and everyone knew it.

But for that moment – that day, in that backyard, with that family and those little bursts of laughter – no one was thinking about the future.

They were only thinking of the now.

Out of the blue, a pair of warm hands slid around Bella's waist and settled on her hips. She smiled and leaned her head back on Sam's shoulder. Secretly, she had her own reason to celebrate. She turned her head to press her lips against his jaw. "I thought your meeting was never going to end," she complained, stretching up on tiptoe to run her hands up his chest and tangle her arms around his thick neck. Next to her, Jacob mocked her, pretending to gag at her public affection. She turned and stuck her tongue out at him.

Sam growled playfully. "Hey, if you're jealous," he teased, "that's your problem." Despite his words, he grabbed Bella's waist and nudged her towards a more secluded, underpopulated section of the yard. Sam sat down on the newly green, spring grass and tugged on Bella's hand until she settled herself into his lap.

"So, what are you doing tonight?" she whispered.

He glanced down at her, confused. "What do you mean? I'm going to be here."

"All night?" she emphasized.

He wasn't catching the hint. "Um . . . yes," he said, frowning. He blinked. "Why?"

Bella looked down shyly at her toes, wiggling them against the soft grass that wedged between her flip flops and felt her heartbeat quicken with her nerves. "Well . . . I was just thinking . . . maybe you could come back to my house with me. Charlie's working late."

"I thought we'd stay for the bonfire tonight," he said, still clueless. And then, eyes wide with shock: "Oh." His fingers flexed on her hips as if she'd suddenly caught fire and burned him.

Bella felt her cheeks blush now that he'd caught her drift. She twisted her fingers anxiously and swallowed. Her blood was pounding loudly in her ears, vibrating all the way down to her toes and through her fingertips. After a few seconds of him saying absolutely nothing, nausea settled in Bella's stomach as she pictured the rejection that was sure to come to her.

The callous on the pads of his fingertips rubbed uncomfortably against the fragile skin underneath her chin as he urged her to lift her gaze to hers, but Bella didn't see it that way. Sam's touch was always welcome and shiver-inducing. Her brown eyes met his and the pink on her cheeks turned red. "Bella," he murmured, "are you serious?" He stepped back and pulled back.

She panicked at his retreat and sucked in a breath through her teeth and felt the hair on her arms raise with embarrassment. "I-I . . . Sam, I –"

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" he breathed. His breath washed over her face sweetly and she blinked against it.

Her heart stopped, but she nodded anyway. "Yes," she responded gently. "I'm ready, Sam." She made herself perfectly clear by wrapping her hands around his neck and pressing her front to him suggestively. She kissed him, a chaste kiss that would have been far more passionate if the entire pack hadn't been surrounding them with their chatter and laughter.

Sam was more aware of the werewolves watching on than Bella was and gently leaned back and placed his hands on either side of her face, leaning down to rub his nose against hers in an Eskimo kiss. "There's no rush," he told her. "Don't feel like you have to –"

"Shh," she hushed him, cutting him off with a finger to his lips. "I know. I want this. I want you." She brushed his hair away from his eyes and blinked innocently up at him. "I want to be with you for real, Sam. I want to solidify our bond. I want to really be yours." When she stood and removed herself from his arms, it was like walking out of her own private world and returning to an overcrowded one as she reentered the chaos of the pack gathering.

Sam just stood rooted in place like an idiot as he watched her go, stunned at the direction that conversation had gone in. Of course Sam wanted to make love to her. Sometimes, as they were cuddled close next to the heating vent under a blanket and watching a movie . . .

. . . or sitting face-to-face in a romantic, serene restaurant having a fancy dinner Sam had to work overtime for a month to afford . . .

. . . or on the evenings when he catapulted himself up the side of her house and through her bedroom window just so he could check on her after a night of patrols . . .

. . . or when they were so intensely trapped in a passionate kiss that Sam couldn't imagine ever breaking away from . . .

Those were the moments when Sam couldn't think of anything but making love to her. Hell, it was his most raw, feral instinct and he'd been subduing it for a year. Not that he hadn't found release during those first twelve months with his mate.

But his mate was surrounded by werewolves constantly, every single day, and not having Sam's scent hovering around her was slowly tearing away at his self-control. Sam wanted Bella to be ready, but more importantly he wanted her to be absolutely sure that she was ready, so he'd kept his mouth shut and decided to wait for her to come to him.

And now she had.

Suddenly staying for that bonfire had gotten a little less important to him.

The bonfire was much like the first Bella had attended with the pack. Billy stole most of the attention as he retold the stories and legends, his eyes lit up with the same fire that he'd before, even with a years' time in between. Bella knew he was just as animated, just as excited to be speaking each time he assumed the role of the storyteller.

When the tale of Taha Aki morphed into that of the Third Wife, Jacob jokingly elbowed Bella in the ribs. "Hey, Dad," he interrupted. Next to him, Quil and Embry were already cracking up, guessing Jacob's next words before he even said them. "Maybe you should skip this part. We don't want to give Bella anymore inspiration for her suicidal tendencies."

"Shut up," Bella teased, swatting at him from within the comfortable circle of Sam's arms.

"Not a chance," Jacob laughed. "I'm never gonna let this go. You will be embarrassed by your stupid actions for the rest of your life." He smirked at her. "That's what best friends are for."

"What Bella did was brave and courageous," Leah piped up. Next to her, Seth made the face that all little brothers make when their sister is near. "You shouldn't make fun of her for that. Bella and Leah's friendship had certainly blossomed after the vampire attack. Now, Bella, Kim, and Leah were almost inseparable.

Sam sighed heavily, but a smile was playing on his lips. He was finally getting past the seriousness of that situation and accepting that Bella had gotten healthy again. She was fine, and while her uterus was still healing, it would be fully functioning by the time was even ready to consider getting pregnant and starting a family.

She'd have to have sex first, but that was beside the point.

Billy went along with his son's joke. "Yes, it would be a good idea for our future pack mother to not be fatally injured."

"One day we'll need her to make dinner for us all," Harry added. It was funny how just ten months prior, Bella would have been offended by Harry's teasing. That wasn't to say that the tension didn't still exist between them – Sam and Harry had such a negative past that it would be impossible to forget about it all – but things were better. Bella's place as the Alpha's mate wasn't challenged anymore, perhaps the reason Sam had let his guard drop just a little.

Bella hadn't actually been given her duties as the pack mother, but it was a role she was looking forward to having. A role that she would feel at home in, and finally she could fit in.

"So . . . when are we cutting Bella's cake?" Brady blurted randomly.

Bella sat up straighter. "Excuse me? Why on earth do I have a cake?"

"Because Isabella Marie Swan is officially a high school graduate," Sue exclaimed, standing from her seat on the tree log, "and that is cake-worthy!" She patted Seth on the back and he hopped up, bounding immediately towards the kitchen door, presumably to retrieve the cake in question.

Bella sighed. "Really, that wasn't necessary."

"Perhaps it wasn't necessary," Sue responded, "but it's certainly fun."

"Don't ruin this for us with her anti-cake ways, Isabella," Embry scolded. Bella squinted at him and he threw his hands up defensively. "What? I'm just saying, we need cake."

Bella was glad she'd remembered to flick on the porch light before she'd left that evening because it was pitch black when Sam and Bella pulled into her driveway. Sam, always the gentleman, opened her door for her and lifted her out, carrying her until he could set her own on the welcome mat.

She unlocked the door with shaking hands and flinched at the protesting creak it let out when it swung open. Sam turned the hall light on while Bella waltzed into the living room to dispose of her purse. When she spun around, he was there.

Right there.

Even though the only light that illuminated his face was shining dimly from the hallway, Bella could see that his eyes weren't their usual chocolate. They were darkened by his lust; the same lust that was written all over his face, the raw desire that had his muscles tensing in anticipation. His eyes matched his wolf – black with dominance, and the idea had parts of Bella tingling that she hadn't ever felt before.

Their faces were barely an inch apart. Bella could feel the heat from his arms surrounding her body and wanted to feel them wrapped around her, but he was holding himself back, avoiding any physical contact with her. "Bella," he whispered in the darkness. "I just have to be sure. Is this what you want, or is this what you think I want?"

Bella shook her head. "I love you, Sam. I want you. I'm ready – I want to be with you for real."

Slowly, exaggeratedly, he lifted a hand to caress her cheek lovingly, bending to press a kiss to her forehead. "I love you, too," he responded. "More than I ever thought possible."

Her trembling fingers were wrapped in his warm ones and he pulled her closer, pressing her right up against him where she could feel all of him. "Kiss me," she ordered.

He smiled. "Of course." Then he did.

And he didn't stop.

Eventually he must have gotten tired of standing because he started nudging her thighs backwards with his until the backs of her calves met the couch. Sam lifted her easily without separating their lips and laid her down on the cushions, stretching himself out on top of her.

Bella knew Sam had experience – not as much as Paul, but enough to be a little intimidating. She just had to forget about that, remember that he was made for her. For her, not for anyone else. He belonged to her, and she to him. Two halves of one whole finally joining.

And suddenly she wasn't so nervous anymore. "You'll have to be gentle with me," she breathed as he trailed kisses down the side of her neck. His hands grasped her bottom and pressed her closer. "Sue said that even though I'm healed on the outside, I won't be entirely mended on the inside for another month or so." Her voice was breathy and weak, her thought process completely ruined by his tongue running over her jugular. If his hands hadn't been supporting her butt, her knees would have given out by then.

At her words, he pulled back slowly and frowned at her. "Did you think I wouldn't be gentle, Bella? Especially so with your first time?"

She blushed. "I-I . . . well, I was talking to Kim . . . a-and she said that sometimes . . ." She threw her arm over her face in embarrassment while her cheeks turned bright red. She was grateful she hadn't gotten around to turning the living room lamp on. "She said that sometimes Jared gets a little caught up and . . . and urgent," she blurted.

He kissed her gently right between her eyebrows, over to her right temple, and up to her hairline. "I'm not going to promise you that my wolf won't ever . . . take control while we're having sex," he began, "but that won't be until way, way in the future, Bella, when I know you're comfortable." He brushed his thumb over her cheek. "I'm going to make your first time as perfect as I possibly can, baby. I promised myself that a long time ago."

She dug her fingers into his hair and pulled him down. "I know. I trust you. I love you."

Then they were kissing again and all talking was over. The more Sam's hands traveled over her body, the less nervous she felt. The knot in her stomach slowly loosened, and Sam seemed to sense when her body finally relaxed.

He sat back and lifted her again with her legs wrapped around his waist.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

His lips were attached to her neck, but Bella could still understand his mumble. "Your first time will not be perfect if it's on the couch in your father's living room."

Bella kissed him. "It'll be perfect no matter what. Because I'm with you."

"Oh, wow, you are packing on the cheesy lines today, aren't you?" he chuckled, taking the steps two at a time.

"It's not cheesy, it's romantic," she argued.

Suddenly serious, the smirk slid off of his face and he gazed lovingly at her. "I love you so much. My mate. My imprint."

If the two hadn't been completely, irrevocably in love with each other before completing their imprint, they absolutely were afterwards.

Later, as Bella lay in Sam's arms, his bare chest warm against hers, she had to giggle a little. So maybe she'd been planning their first time together for a while. Sam had changed her from the obsessive control freak she used to be to a slightly-spontaneous eighteen-year-old girl she was starting to become, but she was the Alpha's mate most of all. And an Alpha's mate deserved to have a little control sometimes.

"Hey, Sam?" she said.

"Hmm?" His voice was content, satisfied. Happy. All the emotions swirling through Bella's heart as well.

"I'm glad you're a werewolf," she said. Then she laughed. "As weird as that sounds."

He chuckled low in his throat. "You know what? So am I."

She propped herself up on her elbows and stared down at him where he was resting his head on her pillow. "Oh yeah?"

He nodded, playing with a strand of her hair. "Yeah. If I hadn't phased, I wouldn't have imprinted. And you'd probably be sitting in a movie theater with Jacob right now, watching some stupid comedy with his arm wrapped around the back of your seat and his cologne burning your nose."

Bella smiled. "I doubt that. But I agree. If your being a werewolf is what brought us together, then it has to be a good thing."

"Can I spend the night?" he asked.

Bella pursed her lips and pretended to contemplate the idea. "Okay. But one condition."

He raised his eyebrows, waiting.

"Go get me a piece of my Congratulations on Not Getting Killed by Evil Vampires Before Graduating High School cake?"

He grinned. "And so it begins."

Sitting in bed, cuddling with her soul mate, eating the most delicious chocolate cake she'd ever had, Bella couldn't think of a single regret. Except maybe doubting Sam for even a second. A reputation doesn't mean anything unless you let it, and sometimes the most tempting of reputations are the best ones to have.

Sometimes.

The End.

Whew. I have to admit, I'm getting a little emotional.

Once again - from the absolute bottom of my heart - THANK YOU for all of the support you've given to this story! I am continually amazed and touched at the positive response it has gotten.

Hopefully the Epilogue will be up in a few days. It will be shorter than the chapters are, but it's one more way to say goodbye to this story and move on to the next.

Just because this is the last chapter doesn't mean that review button doesn't work anymore ;).

See you in the Epilogue.