A/N: Got another chapter for you all. I have two more that are almost ready to go, but after that I'm not certain... some chapters are more ready than others. So, I hope to get a lot done this next week so I can keep posting regularly because I hate when I can't post for awhile.

Thanks so much for the few comments that I got on the last chapter! It's so much easier to stay motivated if I know people are still reading my story and still enjoying it.

Anyway, hope you like this one.

Happy reading :D

The world and characters are not mine, they belong to Stephanie Meyers.

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CHAPTER 47

~~BELLA POV~~

MY NEW RING GLITTERED on my finger as I held my hand aloft to admire it, unable to stop the smile that grew on my lips. I had slept in late and was in no hurry to get up as the mid-morning light filtered through my bedroom window. It was gray and dreary, but nothing could dampen my mood today. I'm not sure how long I had continued to lie there when there was a light tapping on my door and I turned toward it as Charlie peeked his head in a moment later.

"Hey there sleepy head. Finally decide to rejoin the land of the living?" he asked.

I snorted at the unintended irony of his comment as I sat up and pulled my knees into my chest and he sat down on the side of my bed.

"Yeah, we were out pretty late. I think it was close to 3:00 A.M. when I finally got to sleep." I looked at my clock which read 10:12. "And I didn't sleep in that late."

He chuckled. "Pretty late for you. Did you have fun?"

"Yeah, it was a lot of fun! I actually danced and no one got injured."

His eyes widened. "No injuries, huh?"

"Not a one."

There was a long pause and as he studied my face, it occurred to me there were other things he wanted to say… just like before Prom. Then it dawned on me that he wasn't sure if I knew that he knew yet.

"So, Jake said he talked to you yesterday morning. How're you feeling about everything?" I shifted my arms to wrap around my legs as I spoke, causing Charlie to look down. He took my left hand in his and sighed, examining the ring.

"I'm not really sure yet Bells. I see you said 'yes'… he sure didn't waste any time." He released my hand and looked at my face. "How do you feel about it all? Is this really what you want? That's the most important thing to me."

"I've never been happier, Dad. Jake makes me happy. And yes, this is really what I want, more than anything else in the world. Sure, there's a part of me that wishes there were no werewolves or magic. But really, I've never felt more myself or more at home than I do with Jake… even with the magic. It's what my life was meant to be, I know it deep inside."

"It's just, everything has happened so quickly. You don't feel pressured into this, do you?"

"No, not at all," I said adamantly. "Jake would never pressure me into anything."

"So…" Charlie sighed, "you're getting married…"

I nodded. "Yep…"

"Do you know when yet? Have you picked a date?

"No, we didn't talk about the details yet."

"Did Jake tell you where the ring came from?"

"Yeah. It's pretty special." I smiled at him. "So, what did you think of Jake as a wolf?"

Charlie blew out a big breath and laughed a single humorless laugh, gripping the back of his neck, "Well now, that I still haven't fully processed. I'm not sure I've fully processed most of what they told me. How have you done it Bella? How are you so okay with it all?"

I shrugged. "For starters, I didn't get it all dumped on me at one time. I've learned about it in little bits over months. And then the magic is inside of me too, so it helps me accept it all more easily."

"Inside of you, too," he said, sounding distant. "Yeah, I forgot about that part."

"Do you wanna see?"

He looked at me skeptically. "That's not necessary Bells…"

I pointed to a small cut on his hand that looked pretty new.

"I did that yesterday when I was cutting a fishing line. Nothing to fuss over."

"I know, and I normally wouldn't worry with something small like that, but," I placed my hand on his shoulder and pulled at the kernel of heat in my chest, "it will allow me to show you."

His eyes went wide and he tensed as the light shone in my chest and traveled down my arm to his shoulder. He flinched as it began flowing down his own arm and cursed quietly. After a few moments, he relaxed a little and let out a small sound of awe as he lifted his hand to watch the golden light and his fading cut.

"It's so warm," he breathed.

The light withdrew back into my chest again and faded then we sat in silence for a few moments.

"That's… well, that's really something, Bella." His brows furrowed as he met my eyes. "It doesn't hurt you, does it? Like, you don't feel the person's pain or anything… do you?"

"No, it just feels warm like it did for you. It can drain my energy, but I don't feel any negative effects from just your small cut. When I healed Paul's broken arm, I passed out, but then we discovered that Jake could give me his energy, seemingly unlimited energy, and I felt fine after I healed Emily."

"Healed Emily…" he said slowly, and I could almost see the gears working in his head, then he gasped and his eyes flew opened wide again. "Her scars… that was you? You did that?"

I nodded.

"That is…" He looked away. "Bella, this is just all so unbelievable, but also undeniable from what you and Jake have shown me." He shook his head and rubbed his brow. "I still don't understand how you're so calm with it all."

I took his hand and he looked at me again.

"Jake is why. He's my rock and I'm his. It might have at least something to do with the imprinting, but we're doing it all together… supporting and helping each other… grounding each other.

"I love him, Dad. With all my heart I love him, and I want to be with him. I'll take whatever comes with that, so long as I get to be with him."

He studied me, looking like he was trying to come to terms with what I'd just said, then he nodded. "I already suspected how you felt about each other Bells but seeing you two together yesterday before the dance, the way you looked at each other, it left no doubt in my mind about how you both feel. I'm happy for you, I really am. I just wish you didn't have all these other things to deal with."

We talked for quite a long time about all of it. It was probably the longest and most open conversation we'd ever had. Being able to share these things with Charlie made me feel closer to him. And talking about it seemed to help him process everything more and he looked a little more relaxed when we were done.

"You're going to have to call your mother to let her know about the engagement," Charlie said. "I don't envy you in that. Hopefully she doesn't take the news too badly."

"I know… that could be an interesting conversation," I replied.

"Good luck with it."

I laughed. "Thanks… your good luck wishes will be so helpful."

He patted my knee. "Welp, I'm off to help Sue with some things." He stood and headed to the door, pausing just before he reached it. "You heading down to La Push later?"

"Yeah, probably here in the next hour or so."

"Alright. See you later sweetie."

After Charlie left, I spoke to Jake through our mental link, and we made plans to meet at his house before heading over to Emily's together. First, I was heading to Angela's to get my things… and share my news with her. Thankfully, someone had brought my truck home for me yesterday.

Angela was absolutely beside herself with excitement as she examined the ring and I told her the story of how Jake proposed. She agreed not to say anything to her parents or anyone at school yet. I didn't want to care about what other people would think, but some would assume things, and I didn't like that.

Jake met me outside when I got to his house, wrapping me in his warm embrace. It reminded me of the early days when he would come hurrying outside as soon as he heard my truck, greeting me with his smile of sunshine, and the memory warmed my heart.

"How's my fiancé doing today?"

"Hmmm…" I hummed with contentment. "Excellent. Even better now that she's here with you."

Jake kissed me lightly before we headed inside. Billy was sitting in the armchair watching TV and he quickly flipped it off when he saw me, a huge grin spreading across his face and wrinkling his eyes. I'm not sure I had ever seen Billy smile quite like that and in that moment, I saw that Jake shared more of his father's features than I'd ever realized.

"There's my future daughter-in-law! Come here and let me see how the ring looks on you."

"Hey Billy." I went to him, smiling, and he took my hand, holding it gently. After several long moments he looked up at me.

"It suits you, Bella."

As I met Billy's gaze, I sucked in a sharp breath and my free hand flew to my mouth as my smile faded.

"What? What's wrong?" Billy asked, looking down at himself then back to me with a furrowed brow.

Jake touched my back. "What's going on, Bella?"

My eyes stung and I shook my head, unable to speak. The air shimmered around Billy, and I could feel the pull of my power wanting to be set loose. My hand drifted down to my throat and my voice was strained as I tried to speak through the lump that had settled there.

"I can heal you, Billy. I don't know why I didn't see it before, but it's undeniable now."

Billy's mouth dropped open, and we were all silent for several moments. In the silence, Jake's hand gently gripped the back of my neck as a plethora of emotions hit me through our bond: shock, wonder, awe, excitement, love, pride, even a little incredulity, though I knew it was not disbelief in my ability but rather that this could actually be happening.

Billy cleared his throat, his voice quiet and gruff when he spoke. "Heal me? What exactly can you heal? Can you… can you make me walk again? Or just the diabetes?"

"I don't know for certain… but I think…" I released a shaky breath. "I think I can heal all of it."

This would change so much for Billy… and for Jake too. It would be one less thing Jake would have to worry about and would essentially give Billy his freedom back. For someone in a wheelchair, he had remained remarkably active, but he still had to rely on others for so many things.

"Is it hard on you, Bella? You passed out when you healed Paul."

"Not as long as I have Jake to replenish my energy, but Billy… it wouldn't matter what it did to me, there is no way I wouldn't do this for you."

His eyes misted over a little and his throat worked as he swallowed hard. When he spoke, his voice was raspy and strained. "Okay. Do you need me to do anything?"

"No, you just have to sit there."

He nodded and I moved to his side, Jake right behind me, his hands on my shoulders. I placed my hands on Billy's back and sternum, closed my eyes, and the power practically rocketed through me and into Billy. Unlike with Paul and Emily, as the light entered Billy, it didn't concentrate in any one area, but it spread throughout his entire body. One by one, each of his cells lit up as the magic entered them, changing them to function the way they were created to work, until his entire body was filled with the light of the magic.

Billy gasped. "It's so warm."

I opened my eyes to look at him. He had lifted his hands in front of his face and was gazing at them in wonder. The light was emanating out of his entire body from his head to his toes.

"Wow, Bells." Jake's breathy whisper came from close behind me right before his lips pressed to the crown of my head. His next words were spoken against my hair. "You're incredible, baby."

The light began to fade from the top of Billy's head, like it was draining downward until only the lower half of his body was glowing. I closed my eyes to see that the damage to the nerves in Billy's legs was now being healed and some strength was being returned to the muscles.

Billy let out a breath. "I can feel. I can feel my legs and feet again. Oh my God. The numbness, the pain and tingling… it's all gone." He let out an amazed laugh. "I can even feel the strength returning to the muscles!"

I opened my eyes again and smiled softly at him. "Yeah. You're going to be able to walk again. I think you'll have to work to get your full strength back, but you should have enough to get around a little to start out with."

The light was slowly fading from Billy and returning to me. After another minute or so, Jake's light also faded when my energy was refilled. It still left me feeling a little drained, but only about the same as if I'd gone on a long walk, so nothing abnormal.

The look of wonder on his face when Billy looked up at me made my heart squeeze.

"How're you feeling, Bella?"

I let out a surprised laugh. "Me? I'm fine. How are you feeling?"

"Amazing!" He held out his hands. "Help me up, Jake. I don't want to expect more from these old legs than I ought to."

Jake moved to stand in front of his father, a look of concentration on his face. There was no way he'd let Billy fall. They grasped each other's forearms and Jake slowly helped pull Billy into a standing position, doing all he could to support as much of Billy's weight as he was able from that position.

After a minute, Billy met Jake's focused gaze and spoke to him quietly. "It's alright, Jake. You can let go… I've got it. I'm not as strong as I used to be, but I feel steady and I'm sure I'm not going to fall."

As Jake slowly let go of Billy's arms and his full weight settled onto his own legs, a smile spread across his wide, crinkly face big enough to rival Jake's. I couldn't help but smile along with him and when Billy took a step, then another and another, and didn't even wobble, Jake relaxed and his own bright, beautiful smile beamed from his face. With solid, sure steps, Billy walked to the front door and back again without so much as a tremble.

As he was walking back toward us, I also noticed in that moment just how tall Billy was! Jake still had several inches on him, but Billy was at least 6'1" or 6'2".

"Don't overdo it, Dad." Jake had been taking care of his father for many years and the concern for him came through our bond and showed in Jake's eyes, though he was still smiling.

"I'm not. I promise. I'm not gonna go out for a jog or anything, but I feel amazing… strong. Definitely stronger than I should after so many years in that chair." He turned his attention to me. "I cannot begin to tell you how thankful I am for you, my dear girl." He strode to me with surprising speed and wrapped me in a giant bear hug, then snagged Jake and pulled him into the embrace as well. We stayed like that for several minutes and when Billy released us, both of them had watery eyes, but my face was soaked, crying tears of happiness through my smile.

After just a few more moments, Billy cleared his throat and swiped the moisture roughly from his eyes. Jake also wiped his eyes and, noticing my tear-streaked face, he tucked me back into his side.

"Well, Frank will be here soon. He was going to take me into town to run some errands. I think I'll still have him take me and maybe I'll stay in my chair for now. Until I can work on getting more strength back, I won't try to go very far under my own steam."

"You might want to go to the doctor too, Dad. It'd be good to get confirmation that you're in the clear since we don't know a lot about Bella's power. He can also probably put you on a good routine to get your strength back without doing too much too fast."

Billy frowned at Jake and looked like he might argue, but then he let out a big breath. "I guess that can't hurt anything. Besides, I already have an appointment scheduled for later this week, so I might as well keep it." He lowered himself back into his armchair. "Whew. My leg muscles may be stronger, but the old ticker and lungs aren't used to moving my big body around so much."

A knock sounded at the door.

"Alright then." Billy rose again as Jake got his chair for him and took it to the door where Billy settled into it and Jake opened the door. "I'll see you kids later." Billy smiled tenderly at me one last time before rolling himself out the door.

Upon shutting the door, Jake turned to stare at me for a moment before crossing to me and sweeping me up into his arms, then plopping down on the couch with me in his lap.

"I cannot believe that just happened." He took my face between his hands. "You're so amazing, Bella. I'm so very thankful for you."

Before I could respond, he pressed a painfully gentle kiss to my lips, slowly deepening it. His love and awe toward me were so evident in every moment, even without the bond between us. I couldn't stop the trembling heat that overtook me, sending me soaring. My fingers dug firmly into his shoulders, trying to keep myself grounded.

This was the life I got to look forward to. A life full of love and passion and fun… a life full of Jake. I could have never fathomed it in a million years. It was more than I ever would have hoped to dream for, let alone have as my reality. I couldn't wait to bring it to its fullness by becoming his forever partner… his wife.

When the kiss ended Jake pressed our brows together as we waited for our breathing to return to normal.

"So," he started, pulling back to look at me, "we have a wedding to plan. I don't know about you, but I want it to happen sooner rather than later, because I cannot wait to be your husband."

A small shiver ran up my spine at those words. "How soon were you thinking?"

He looked to the side and pursed his lips in contemplation. "Hmmm… tomorrow?" He looked back with a mischievous grin and a laugh burst out of me.

"Just kidding… mostly. But I don't want to wait very long at all. I was thinking two to three weeks after your graduation."

"Oh wow, that is soon. Not that I'm against the idea! Let's see, graduation is on June 3rd, which is only three weeks away… man that doesn't seem possible. We were also wanting to go to Florida. Do you still want to do that?"

"Yes, absolutely! Getting away from all of the madness here for a little while… somewhere I don't have to worry constantly about your safety, will be amazing. And since you'll be gone too, it'll take a little pressure off of everyone else here."

"Alright. I probably should talk to my mom first then, to find out when would be a good time for us to visit, before we set the wedding date, but maybe June 24th? That's six weeks from now. Or July 1st?"

"Is that enough time to plan it? I want it soon, but I also want you to get the wedding you want."

I shrugged. "I really have no idea. I've never spent a lot of time dreaming about what I want my wedding to be like. Honestly, it doesn't matter when we get married, I'm going to get the wedding I want because I'm marrying you." I poked him in the chest for emphasis and smiled at him. He caught my finger and brought my hand up to kiss my palm.

"I must say, I feel the same way baby." Jake glanced up at the clock. "We should head on over to Emily's. I want to try to talk to Sam before he goes on patrol."

"Do we have time to eat some lunch before we go?" My stomach rumbled as I was speaking as if agreeing to that idea.

Jake chuckled. "I swear your appetite has increased since we imprinted. Yeah, we should have time for something quick."

Thirty minutes later, our bellies full, we were out the door and headed to Emily's house.

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~~EMILY POV~~

THE SMELL OF DINNER cooking in the oven filled my little house. I loved caring for all these crazy guys, and feeding their ginormous appetites was one of the best ways I knew how. It was nice to have help from the other imprints now, but I would have continued to do it all by myself if I'd had to. It was such a great little family.

Oblivious to the world, Jake and Bella were still sitting together on the floor while everyone else milled about. The whole pack was going to be here tonight—most already were—plus the elders and even Charlie. I enjoyed listening to the hum of conversation and commotion around me as I washed and chopped vegetables for a huge salad. Dinner would be ready soon.

I glanced over my shoulder when the front door opened. Sam and Jared came around the corner, just returned from patrol, and Sam headed straight for me. His arms wound around my waist, and he brushed a soft kiss against my cheek. I sometimes still couldn't believe how us being together had come about.

My vision went suddenly black, and flashes of light danced before me. Distantly, there was the clatter of the knife I'd been holding as it fell to the counter, and Sam's voice speaking, but I didn't comprehend it.

I was having a vision!

Everything was blurry, like looking out of a car window when you were speeding down the highway. Slowly a few images became clear… trees and ferns and the flashes of light were rays of the evening sunlight breaking through the leaves in small patches. I was seeing the forest as though I was passing through it at a great speed.

Like a camera motion in a movie, my view swung out and around until I was seeing back the opposite direction, flying ahead of a figure that was sprinting toward me at the same pace as I was moving backwards. My view had been through their eyes just a moment before.

The figure was blurry, but one feature was crystal clear and stood in stark contrast to everything else… bright red eyes.

They're coming for Bella!