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Chapter 168

Nanuk


Bella


I was startled when I no longer felt my baby under my fingers and immediately straightened up in a panic. My lips slammed against Edward's cool lips. It took me a moment to realize that Ced was probably fine. That he hadn't slipped off the sofa or any of that. Only then I could enjoy this touch and sighed comfortably.

"Where were you so long?", however, I then asked immediately.

A glance at the clock on the side told me that they had been on the road for over three hours. Edward's news that Leah was well again was almost as long ago.

"We brought a visitor," Edward nodded toward the terrace.

There, three wolves were just putting on their clothes.

Three! I owned only two of them.

I sighed and looked at Marcus as I got up from the sofa.

The past hours with him had truly not been a bed of roses. The fear that had been in his eyes. Worried, he had long stood on the terrace and waited for Leah's return. Had come back into the warm house only after repeated requests. Had paced irritably. He was on the verge of driving to Carlisle because he felt where else would you take a sick Leah. By the time I was able to reassure him through the text message that Leah was fine, he had almost yelled at me. What that meant, whether I was sure of it, why they didn't come back then. At some point, and it was not very long ago, when Ced courted for his favor, he had finally fallen asleep.

I simply suspected a small cry for help from his strained and agitated body, which could no longer bear this tension.

"And what does that mean exactly?", I asked my angel.

"You're about to hear that, my heart," Edward replied, and it seemed kind of diplomatic.

Another sigh.

I felt so sorry for the whole situation. For Leah, who had fought bravely against her imprinting and now seemed to have lost after all. For Marcus, who was really afraid about his girlfriend and whose feelings for my daughter I didn't doubt in any way. For Jake, who had found something like a brother in Marcus. Even if Brandon knew about us in principle, there were still things here and there that Bran knew not so all-encompassing. For example, how often the twins had really done their duty so far and how they sometimes returned badly injured. But between Jake and Marcus, there wasn't that last hurdle either, which we didn't want to scare Brandon with. And I felt bad for Edward and me, too. We had been very happy to count Marcus among our family and had grown very fond on him.

"Hello, Nanuk. I didn't expect to see you again so soon," I greeted our late guest, whom the twins had already sent ahead into the house, and kindly extended my hand to him.

"Good evening. To be honest, I didn't expect that either," he admitted. "And who is this cute little guy?" he asked, laughing happily, and probably wanted to offer a hand to Ced, who had understood quite well the compliment.

Ced grinned like a Cheshire cat.

"This is our son, Ced," Edward explained. "He'll be two weeks old tomorrow night."

Nanuk paused momentarily and looked at us in turn. He seemed to be taking this information apart letter by letter, only to put it back together again in a way that made sense.

Apparently he succeeded.

He smiled.

"Congratulations!" he complimented, and his hand continued toward Ced.

"Please be careful. He is venomous. He already understands that he must not bite anyone, but he is still just a baby. And he has a gift that will most likely scare you at first," Edward stated.

Nanuk swallowed once dryly and nodded. He appeared alert.

How could it be otherwise?

He wavered for a moment as Ced once again started.

"The usual," Edward smirked velvety smoothly.

I nodded in understanding.

"His first memory of both of us," he said, kissing me sentimentally on the forehead.

Meanwhile, our children came in and Leah walked purposefully to Marcus. She smiled softly when she saw her big boyfriend sleeping so peacefully.

"Marcus," she whispered enticingly, and blew a kiss to his lips.

This gesture alone made me wonder.

Didn't I have to say goodbye to Marcus after all?

Marcus woke up immediately. And stormy. It seemed to take him only a split second to recognize Leah as Leah and remember the past few hours. He pulled her into his arms so excitedly that they slid off the sofa together. And he held her so tightly, it was as if he never wanted to let her go. He covered her face with kisses as if he wanted to make up for the missed time. Then he held her face in his hands and looked at her.

"Leah! What was wrong with you? I was afraid for you. Are you all right now? Where have you been for so long? Why did you have such a high fever? Where did Jake and Edward take you?" he asked restlessly.

Leah answered all these questions with just one soulful soft kiss.

"We're not alone," she then smiled and pointed her chin in our direction.

And the direction of Nanuk.

This one was looking ... kind of ... I don't know. Sad? Cheerful? A mixture of both? I was not able to say it.

But Marcus got up from our floor with Leah, cleared his throat a tiny bit sheepishly, and held out his hand to Nanuk while unwilling to let go of my daughter. With one arm, he tightly embraced his girlfriend around her waist.

"Um ... hi. I'm Marcus," he introduced himself.

"Hello. My name is Nanuk," he replied politely, and they shook hands.

"Your hand is pretty warm," Marcus noted, and appeared cautious.

I wonder if he anticipated that a bomb was about to drop right here?

I saw that Edward's mouth was moving, but I didn't hear anything, which is why I warped my mouth suspiciously.

I hated that kind of thing.

"Yes. I ... am also a wolf," Nanuk replied.

"Then you met by chance in the forest," Marcus reasoned.

Nanuk nodded in affirmation.

"And you were on the road for so long because of it," Marcus furthermore stated.

"Yes," Jake said.

"In a way ... On Saturday, I did," Leah murmured, looking down at the floor.

Marcus' head snapped in her direction.

Edward - with Ced in his arms - pushed Jake and me on through our dining room into the kitchen so the three of them could talk in peace.

"Why ... didn't you tell about meeting another wolf?", I heard Marcus still asking behind me.

We arrived in the kitchen and the first thing Jake did was check to make sure we had enough food in the house.

"You got sandwiches earlier and even ate three muffins. How can you still be hungry?" asked Edward with a skeptical smirk.

"I'm growing?!", Jake wanted to explain.

"You've probably been out of that phase for some time now! You haven't grown a millimeter for two months!"

"It was a long way?!", Jake sought a new argument.

My angel rolled his golden eyes and just shook his head.

"Then at least make enough to offer Nanuk something, too. After all, he didn't get any of what his mother prepared earlier!" the strict Daddy determined, while Ced and I followed this short 'discussion' chuckling.

So Jake started sizzling French Toast for three wolves and a human. For this, of course, he consumed a whole bag of sandwich bread.

"His mother?", I asked in between though, remembering that I too had no idea where the three of them had been all evening.

Ced squatted on my lap while I sat on the kitchen counter and Edward helped his older son prepare, with them now bringing me up to speed. Quietly, of course, so that Marcus would not understand us and so they would not anticipate what Leah and Nanuk were reporting to him.

They had wanted to bring Leah to Nanuk, but then had noticed his scent in the forest far before Cornish. He had run to the lake where he had met Leah. Nanuk was as badly off as Leah. He had hardly been able to move because of pain. But both had recovered quite quickly from their burning when they saw the other safe and sound before them and probably hugged each other for a long time. They left the two alone for a while. In the process, Jake had come up with an idea.

"When I think about my own imprinting ...", Jake tried to explain to me. "... it's actually not so much about me. Like Dad always says. I always know how to deal with Becky to make HER feel comfortable. My own desires really only play a secondary role. I'm only happy so long as Becky is happy."

"If Leah is happy with Marcus and Nanuk is happy with Kate. Possibly the two of them are happy enough with that without having a love affair together," Edward finished and fed our little darling with the leftover scrambled eggs.

I understood the reasoning, but if anyone here ever mouthed the word 'happy' again, I'd probably scream!

"So we can keep Marcus?", I asked, smirking to myself at my choice of words. As if Marcus were a little lap dog.

We chuckled.

"You WHAT?!" we suddenly heard Marcus loudly from the living room and our brief amusement died.

That made me wonder what they had been talking about for so long.

We had been sitting in the kitchen for almost twenty minutes and Jake had actually just been on his way to them to drop off the food.

"I didn't choose this, damn it!" rumbled Leah indignantly.

"Her temperament," I sighed. That wouldn't make the whole thing any easier.

Edward nodded and walked over to the children.

Well. Children. They were all not really children anymore.

Jake also disappeared with the plate in his hand, so I ended up walking with Ced still following.

It was a curious picture ... somehow.

Nanuk stood there with his arms raised defensively. Leah defiantly, with her arms folded in front of her chest, but Edward was already with her. Marcus stood between Leah and Nanuk, ruffling his hair indecisively. He looked in Leah's direction, but also kept glancing suspiciously at Nanuk. The shock showed in his eyes. It was unmistakable that he didn't know what to do or say.

As Jake and I came through the doorway, he looked in our direction, looking for help. As Jake and I came through the doorway, he looked in our direction, looking for help.

"Marcus," Nanuk said very calmly. "No one told you about our meeting and our imprinting because we forbade everyone to. We both wanted to forget it and never see each other again."

"Even Becky doesn't know about it," Jake interjected.

"We were already overjoyed with our respective mates, weren't we," Leah said, walking toward her boyfriend. She slid her arms around his neck, but rather mechanically his fell around her waist. "This imprinting is about the last thing Nanuk and I need right now!"

"I am engaged, the wedding will be in six weeks, and I have no intention of changing that. I love my fiancée. And Leah has no intention of losing you!" added Nanuk.

With that, he had apparently gotten Marcus's attention.

"We both learned today that we can't pass over our bond, no matter how much we want to. Not knowing how the other was doing consumed us from the inside. It wasn't until I knew Leah was okay, when she was standing in front of me, only then did the burning inside of us subside."

"There's nothing we can do about it, so we have no choice but to engage with this relationship to some extent. Jake has an idea about how we might be able to trick the imprint. Or rather, how we can satisfy that bond to some extent without giving up what we love. And I love you, Marcus!" said Leah, pressing her lips to his as if to emphasize her words.

Nanuk looked away deliberately at this.

Mmm ... If he couldn't look at a kiss between Leah and Marcus, did that speak more for or against trying to circumvent the imprinting? I was not sure.

"Explain this to me!" demanded Marcus of Jake. Calmly, but emphatically.

"I think Nanuk and ...", Jake was about to say, but Marcus shook his head and cut him off.

"It's new for both of them. But you know what imprinting means. You've been it for months and know it in all its beautiful and unattractive facets. Whether Becky is with you, or you don't see her for a few days!" said Marcus firmly.

Jake ran his hands through his hair indecisively and seemed to be at odds with himself. Then he turned in my direction. But not because of me.

"Dearest little brother," Jake exulted, while leaning down to Ced.

"Da bi?", Ced immediately asked politely.

"Will you grant us your gift and let Marcus look into my head?" he continued to ask his little brother.

"Ga da!" our baby replied unequivocally, holding out his arms to Jake.

Jake took him from me and walked with him to Marcus.

Ced clearly seemed pleased that he was getting some kind of occupation. That he was important. He looked quite serious, as if he were preparing himself emotionally and concentrating.

"Sit down! You know how Becky reacted!" Jake instructed Marcus.

"What's happening now?" asked Nanuk.

"Ced can not only show others his thoughts and memories. He can also create a mental link between the people who touch him. So Jake can share his thoughts with Marcus," Edward explained.

"And ... um ... what, exactly ...?", Leah pressured, blushing a tiny bit around her nose.

"I show Marcus what my imprinting looks like. In all its facets, as he so aptly put it," Jake replied before Leah had to finish her question.

Marcus sat in the middle of the sofa and Jake sat sideways to him, with Ced between them. They both held out their hands for him to grasp.

Ced looked as if he was collecting himself again in concentration before he gripped one finger at a time.

Nanuk looked quite intrigued as he watched the exchange of thoughts.

Leah rather anxiously. She chewed on her lower lip and kneaded her fingers.

"Calm down, little one," Edward told her gently, putting an arm around her shoulders in a caring way.

He said something else.

I saw it, but again heard nothing.

But he probably just told her that Jake didn't show him anything about Leah, but really only about himself and Becky. I knew that Nanuk and Leah had kissed each other on Saturday. Edward had been listening very attentively to the foreign wolves the whole time, so I could comprehend Leah's nervousness. But her brother would certainly not betray her. For that their connection sat too deeply in the twins.

Edward pointed to the plate of still-warm toast and motioned for Nanuk to reach in.

Wolves. It was clear that they would not say no to this.

I also took one, just to distract myself, and sat down in the armchair with it.

Watching Marcus was giving me an increasing headache. He and Jake looked at each other incessantly.

It was not difficult to interpret that Marcus was overwhelmed by Jake's emotions. Surprised overwhelmed. Overwhelmed with dismay. His expression changed constantly. Here a gentle understanding smile, there a suspicious look.

"Wow ...", Marcus expressed afterwards, dropping his back against the cushion, running his hands through his hair, and seeming altogether quite exhausted.

"You said it," Jake confirmed. "That's what Leah and Nanuk have to fight against, but that's what they WANT to fight against together!"

"But how is that going to work, Leah?" asked Marcus, almost desperately. "There's only room for two people in a relationship, not three or four. What Jake feels for Becky is so incredible much. So completely. So unavoidable ... How are you going to fight that when some higher power thinks you should be together just the same?"

"You're overlooking a little something," Jake smiled encouragingly as Leah sat down with Marcus.

So close that he inevitably put an arm around her.

"Jake has been in love with Becky longer than he's been a wolf. His feelings were already there. But Nanuk and I have nothing like that in common, except just this completely absurd imprinting. We agree that we don't want to be together," Leah smiled.

"But even if we agree on this, we can't completely ignore the bond. As I said, we have tried," added Nanuk.

"So what exactly is your plan now?" asked Marcus then after a moment.

"We continue to live our lives the same way we have been. I just need to see Nanuk often enough," Leah stated.

"Which neither of us have any idea what 'often enough' actually means. As you said yourself, it's new to us," Nanuk deemed.

"But it can work!" interjected Jake.

"I also think you have a real chance," my personal angel also confirmed.

He seemed thoughtful for a moment. Better said, concentrated, while he looked at Marcus.

"The love between Jake and Becky is very passionate, but only because they both strive and allow it to be so. In contrast, the ... relationship between Leah and Nanuk is different. After both of them were doing excellent again earlier at the lake, we left them alone. With the assurance that they can't resist the supernatural," Edward seemingly responded to Marcus' thoughts, placing a hand on Leah's shoulder in a prompting manner.

She nodded a little bit.

"We held hands and sat there and talked. Talked about you and Kate. That's all. And we were both very pleased with that," Leah assured him, but looked down at her hands, self-conscious.

That she was not quite telling the truth was obvious even to me.

With tender fingers, Marcus lifted her gaze to his.

"Nothing more?" he asked gently, not at all accusingly.

"No, nothing more," Leah muttered.

Marcus did not let her eyes escape and for me, who did not quite see his face from the armchair, his expression continued to appear gentle and understanding.

"Not today," Leah then admitted.

I breathed a little relief that my daughter would not lie to her boyfriend. Untruths were always a very bad starting point. Especially since everything else would depend on a lot of trust.

"On Saturday ... Nanuk and I kissed each other ... twice," Leah whispered, at which I realized that an ashamed tear was gathering in her eye.

Before she really started to roll, Marcus already stopped her with his thumb and continued to caress over her cheek.

"Why?" he asked, and again it didn't sound like an accusation. His dark voice was strangely soft.

"I don't know," Leah mumbled, shrugging her shoulders awkwardly. "The first one was right after it happened. More like in the heat of the moment, I'd say."

"I would agree with that," Nanuk murmured.

"And the second one?", Marcus wanted to know further after he commented Nanuk's statement with a short nod.

"A goodbye kiss!", Leah looked him firmly in the eyes.

Whether it was actually the truth, I was not able to say, but it was unmistakable that she was convinced of it.

"So it won't happen again?" asked Marcus.

"No!" confirmed Leah.

"I would also like to agree with that!" said Nanuk as well.

Marcus seemed to ponder the little interrogation until he gently touched Leah's lips with his and they smiled tentatively at each other.

This small gesture struck like a salvation in our living room. It was a huge load off my mind that Marcus would seemingly just pass over these kisses. I even thought I heard the impact on the floor. However, my stone should be only a grain of sand compared to the load that Leah was loose. She laughed with joy and hugged her Marcus happily. Edward laughed. Jake laughed as Ced struggled in his arms against his increasingly heavy little eyes. Nanuk smiled. And all the teenagers bravely reached for the plate of French Toast once again.

While they ate and Edward sat on the armrest with me, however, I watched Marcus.

He, in turn, switched his gaze between Leah and Nanuk, who, when asked by Marcus, now told a little about himself, his pack, and, of course, Kate.

His gaze was very attentive. More alert than the other young people noticed. He seemed to register every movement of the two.

"I think you might want to start thinking about bed. It's past half past twelve and tomorrow is school," Edward remarked when the plate was empty, which hadn't taken very long.

Jake yawned in reply and nodded.

One rose ponderously.

"I guess I'll be off then, so the school kids don't oversleep either," Nanuk teased the others.

Annoyed murmurs were the result, but it was only from envy, because Nanuk was still on his semester break. Or better said, just took himself.

Jake took the empty plate and wanted to make his way to the kitchen, it seemed.

"I'll get it. You better get to bed, or you'll start cooking again and there won't be anything left for breakfast," Edward immediately pointed Jake in the other direction, chuckling as he took both Ced and the plate from him.

"Thanks, Dad," Jake yawned again.

He gave him, me, and his little brother a kiss, waved to Nanuk again and disappeared.

The latter stood somewhat indecisively at the patio door and exchanged a strange look with Leah.

"When will we see each other again, Leah?" he then asked very cautiously.

That's probably why the strange look, I considered. He hadn't known how to ask the question without it seeming intrusive.

"How about Wednesday?" suggested Marcus, which surprised me quite a bit.

Even Leah didn't seem to have expected her boyfriend to arrange a meeting with her imprinted.

"That's when I have to work again. Unfortunately, the late shift, which is why I won't be back here until around eleven."

I was honestly touched. Quite surprised, but touched, nonetheless. Marcus behaved so chivalrously. I couldn't think of another word for it. He seemed to have really understood that the two of them had no choice. And he gave Leah adequate time to do that. He would be busy in Portland, which meant she wouldn't have to feel guilty when Marcus would otherwise be waiting nervously for her, probably mentally holding her accountable for every minute she would be with Nanuk. Adult, was another term that came to my mind. And trust.

The three teens said goodbye to each other very amicably. Marcus and Nanuk shook hands and Nanuk and Leah hugged.

Harmlessly brief. Not unlike how she might hug Brandon or Jason.

Edward and I got the usual kiss from our kids and already we stood alone in the bedroom. Edward took care of Ced while I got ready for bed.

"How is Marcus doing? I mean ... under his understanding facade?", I asked my angel while brushing my teeth.

"You're way too observant for a human!" he smirked.

"You should be getting used to it by now," I countered.

"And yet you're not quite right!" he arrogantly raised an eyebrow as he stood behind me, looking at me over the mirror.

Edward sat on the edge of the bathtub while I continued brushing.

"Marcus actually has a lot of understanding. It's not a facade. He's gotten to see from Jake what imprinting means. If you want to sum it up in one word, and that word is not 'love,' it's 'dependence' or 'submission.' Jake submits to Becky's wishes, but he does so primarily out of love. Marcus understood that very quickly."

"So, strictly speaking, Jake is dependent on Becky. Exactly that, which we actually wanted to prevent," I asked. Then the rule that Becky should stay at home during the week somehow no longer made any sense.

"That's one way to put it ... I guess I'll stop by Henry at the hospital tomorrow after school," my angel smirked.

"But if imprinting is something like enslavement after all, then we can be glad that Leah wants to resist it, or am I misunderstanding something now?"

"I don't think there's anything entirely wrong with imprinting. Jake and Becky are overjoyed together. They love each other unconditionally. Almost as much as we do," my angel stated, pulling me sideways onto one of his legs and kissing me on the temple.

"But only almost," I grinned, with toothpaste foam running down my chin. Totally romantic scene!

"With Leah and Nanuk, however, that very feeling actually doesn't seem to exist. There is an incredible attraction. The protective instinct is very pronounced. The fear for the other, if only that the other might be unhappy. Like Jake, they already know intuitively how to help the other in any situation to make him or her feel better. A gesture, a word, a look. But that alone does not denote love ... If Nanuk and Leah were not already in love - with respective other persons, of course - and they did not interpret this love as the absolutely right thing to do, then they both would truly have no chance to defend themselves against the imprinting. They would also simply have no reason to withdraw from the attraction of the other. That from it true love would develop and indeed in very short time, I have no doubt at all. And they would be unspeakably happy together! ... Your teeth are clean enough now, by the way," Edward chuckled in conclusion.

Oops ... I had brushed on and on while listening intently to Edward.

"And Marcus has an understanding of exactly that?" however, I was now confused.

"So to speak. He has seen through Jake how final the imprint is. He is aware that neither Nanuk, nor Leah, nor Jake chose this fate. That there is no one he can blame and be angry with. In this respect, he definitely understands the situation and is ready to support the plan ... However, he is not naive, as one might assume based on his behavior. He assumes that sooner or later Leah and Nanuk will kiss again, if not more happens. However, Leah has honestly confessed the two kisses to him, and he hopes that she will continue to be open and honest with him ... He is quite willing to share Leah with Nanuk, up to a certain level of decency and morality, provided that the only alternative would be for Marcus and Leah to break up."

I crawled into bed, while our little darling was already fast asleep in his crib, when I remembered something else.

"You didn't finish telling me earlier how your evening was!"

"Diligent female doctoral students had better sleep so that they are also sufficiently rested for the laboratory experiment!"

"Oh, yeah. I haven't told you yet. I could sleep in tomorrow if I wanted to. Milton Stewart has an appointment in the morning and has asked me not to come until later, if that would be possible for me in terms of time. So I'm not going to see him until about eleven."

"Then you won't even be there when I get home from school?" asked Edward rather disappointedly.

"Tomorrow's attempt won't take very long. I guess I'll be back here around two at the latest," I said, and Edward's expression brightened considerably. "Now tell me!"

"We went to Nanuk's family. You will certainly like his grandmother. Her name is Shanti ..." he began to tell me until I fell asleep.

I didn't notice much more until my eyes fell shut.


Five minutes later, it seemed to me, something pressed on my eyes. Or pulling my hair. Pinched my nose. Pawed at my cheeks. A little angel seemed to giggle incessantly with amusement. And a somewhat larger one, too.

"Good morning, dearest," he whispered lovingly.

"Ga ga," my son also wished me, just as lovingly, with a slightly more emphatic slap on my cheek.

With that, I was finally awake.

"I didn't know you were woken up so brutally in heaven," I grumbled playfully.

My fiancé tilted his head questioningly.

"I must be in heaven. All full of angels," I declared and received a big kiss on the cheek from the big angel for this statement.

Since it had gotten late, Edward had let the kids sleep a little longer. Me too. Accordingly, they would not do their usual running training until this evening. Nevertheless, they were all quite tired at the breakfast table.

Dinner was canceled on me for the day though. Leah was going to Lisa's after school, Jake was going to Becky's, and Marcus was meeting his friends in Portland, where Leah would join them afterwards.

Then I stood with Ced on my hip already on the stairs and we said goodbye to Edward.

"Since our kids all don't come home after school, we could meet over there," Edward suggested. "At the swimming pool," he added, receiving thunderous applause from our son.

I thought that was a good plan. Apart from swimming, which I enjoyed very much with Ced, not to mention himself, we would be able to spend a little time in our new home. The glass palace was already fading in my memories after all.

Our morning goodbye kiss dragged on quite a bit after Ced gave us his gift. He touched me on the arm and his daddy on the neck.

Nothing made our kisses as intense as our little son. Hearing Edward's thoughts, feeling the omnipresent love in them, the feeling that he finally felt completely happy after all his years of life, was mind-blowing. Almost literally, unfortunately. There were such indescribable and powerful sensations flowing into that kiss that I felt dizzy. As always. But my angel held me safely in his arms. Also as always.

With a heavy sigh, Edward broke away from me, while Ced seemed to want to hide under the collar of my blouse. As if he was ashamed of what he had witnessed from his parents.

Thereby, the thoughts were actually not of an erotic nature, but rather quite youth-free.

So Edward drove to the school after finding Ced without difficulty and giving him a kiss on the forehead.

"And what are the two of us going to do now?", I asked my baby.

"Gu wa," he raised his arms as if to shrug ignorantly.

First I turned on some music, which inevitably led to me dancing with my son. I didn't have any real domestic duties to perform today, so I just put something away here, put something back neatly there, checked with the kids to see if they had bunkered glasses or dishes, and otherwise spent the morning on the floor with Ced. In the meantime, Ced held a cooling pad against my forehead in a medically professional manner.

That's what happens when you crawl a race with your baby and overlook the door frame. By the way, he made a face just as amusedly reproachful as his daddy.

"But you won't tell Daddy!", I demanded of my son.

He didn't look like he wanted to stick to it.

I was standing in the kitchen peeling and cutting us some fruit for the yogurt when I recognized a wolf at the edge of the forest. A three-colored one. I waved at him and pointed to the patio door, but wondered what he was doing here.

"We're going to have a visitor," I handed a piece of banana to Ced, who was lying in his infant carrier on the kitchen counter.

That chewing while eating could be helpful, he learned so slowly.

Nanuk knocked politely before entering. Dressed, of course.

"Hello, Nanuk. What brings you here? Leah is at school," I inquired immediately.

"Hello, Mrs. Bella. I know. I was hoping to run into you. I thought with the little nipper here, I'd have a good chance you'd be home," he replied with a good-humored smile, extending a hand of greeting to Ced as well as me.

Ced also tried the usual greeting among big boys. A high-five, as Jake and Marcus had taught him.

"First of all, let's not even get started on the 'Mrs.' thing. And secondly, you were lucky. Actually, I wouldn't be at home today ... What can I do for you?" I replied equally smiling.

"Thank you," he said sheepishly at first. "I'm supposed to deliver an invitation from my grandparents ..." he said, telling me about the hobby of the remaining Pequawket tribe of his area. That there was a site near Kezar Falls where the Native Americans met and lived as they had hundreds of years ago. "... Since Leah and I are bonded, my grandpa feels it is appropriate that our families should get to know each other a little. And since that bond is only because we are both Native Americans, you are welcome to join us there on Saturday."

"Who exactly is meant by 'you'?", I inquired.

"Leah, of course. With Marcus, obviously. My fiancée Kate will be there too. Jake with Becky. You. The little crumb here, even if they don't know about that one yet. And even Edward is specifically invited."

"Wow ... One invites a vampire to set foot on Native American soil?", I dug deeper.

"Yep ... When my grandpa emphasized this specifically, I choked on my breakfast. On that occasion, they opened up to me earlier that I was now officially the chief of our tribe and if I didn't have a problem with Edward, no one else might ... Then I fell off my chair."

"After all, aren't you the chief just because you're the Alpha wolf?"

"Leah told me that this is how it is with the Quileute. With us it is different, as was then explained to me at breakfast. Supposedly, the Alpha wolf is only able to be the chief when he has tied the bond. Only with it he should be so in harmony with himself and the world that he can carry the responsibility."

"But you didn't have to be imprinted, did you?" I asked. It didn't affect all wolves, or had I forgotten something? I briefly went through my memories in this regard.

"According to our legends, it was only a matter of time. Every Alpha wolf had imprinted. Without exception. Even my grandpa is, since he was a wolf himself," said Nanuk.

I glanced at the clock.

A little after ten in the morning. Still too early to call Forks. Those who didn't have to work would still be in bed and the others would probably be busy with their morning routine.

"I'll make a call to our Native Americans in La Push later. I definitely know that Jake and Leah's father hadn't imprinted, but other wolves were, and they didn't even temporarily lead the pack."

"I guess Edward mentioned that yesterday at my house, which is why Akai got pretty nervous this morning when this whole topic was then discussed in more detail. He's afraid of being affected by it too, because he has a girlfriend," Nanuk smiled, amused yet understanding.

"And what about the spread of the wolf gene for you guys? If Edward meets others of you on Saturday, aren't you concerned that there might be more wolves as a result?"

"Um ... I hadn't even thought of that. I guess my grandpa didn't either. Our packs usually consist of two wolves. The fact that there are three of us now already feels big to my grandparents."

"Twenty years ago, the Quileute pack consisted of eight wolves and four of them had imprinted!"

"That's really big!" marveled Nanuk. "But I still hope it's enough for fate to annoy just one of us," he added, still offended.

"How are you doing with it overall?", I asked as he kept giving Ced a piece of fruit to snack on and I sat on the kitchen counter with the bowl of fruit with yogurt over it.

"It's ... difficult ... Leah is circling all over my mind, when I should be thinking more about Kate. I love Kate! Still do. That feeling hasn't suddenly stopped. But something is there between Leah and me," he tried to explain.

I must confess that I couldn't even begin to imagine how Nanuk or Leah felt in this situation. But I imagined it was quite confusing when you didn't really know who you belonged to.

"So how was Leah last night? And this morning? I mean ... now that Marcus knows," he asked cautiously.

It seemed to me that he was grateful that I had brought up the subject, thus giving him the template for his question.

"They all disappeared into bed pretty quickly yesterday and weren't quite awake this morning before they had to go to school ... You're worried about her?"

"Yes. I'm always wondering how she's doing or what she's doing. I know that might sound silly, she's not an awkward little girl anymore after all, but there's nothing I can do about it. And knowing that I should be worrying about Kate like this doesn't make it any better. If anything, it fuels my feelings of guilt toward Kate."

"And how is she coping with this situation?"

"I don't really know yet. She finally took it pretty calmly yesterday, but how long that will last I can't say. She wasn't thrilled when I told her I was meeting Leah tomorrow, even though she tried not to show me."

I excused myself briefly and went into the bathroom.

Upstairs, because the path was longer.

On the way, I typed a text message to Leah telling her that Nanuk was there and had invited us all for Saturday. And I asked if I should give Nanuk her cell phone number.

Teenagers. With them, appointments could also be changed at short notice.

The answer made me smirk.

If he would let me have his, I would be allowed to give Leah's. But only then!

When I got back to the living room, Nanuk was lying sideways on the floor playing with Ced.

"Well, my little one? Have you made a new friend?", I asked him.

He laughed and crawled toward me.

"The fact that he crawls and does it with such confidence is really incredible," Nanuk remarked. "He seems way too tiny to be able to do that!"

"Ced's development is not proceeding like a human baby. He has been crawling since a week old. He is already bigger than he should be at two weeks, but his growth seems to be a little behind the rest of his development. He is stronger than a baby should be. He also understands a lot more than he should," I explained and sat down on the floor with them.

Ced also immediately turned back to his toys and held out a wooden ring to Nanuk.

"I've noticed that already!" confirmed Nanuk, sliding the ring onto its associated pin.

The rings started at the bottom with the widest and should end at the top with the smallest and a bear's head. Ced held the rings out to him in the correct order so that Nanuk wouldn't do anything wrong.

"And those eyes are really incredible ... When you're older, I'm sure you'll have lots of devotees!"

My son grinned crookedly, as if he knew very well that it would be like this one day. And as if this fact pleased him very much.

Edward's child. Quite clear.

The doorbell rang.

Finally, I thought to myself. Soon I had to go.

"Sorry, Bella. I wanted to be there much earlier, but I was unfortunately delayed. Two cars collided right in front of me. One of them a patrol car. Only fender benders. The police were to blame, but they first blocked the intersection ... You have a visitor?!", Esmé noted already at the front door and wrinkled her nose.

Oh yes, our vampires didn't know anything about Nanuk yet. The two of them had forbidden us on Saturday to tell anyone anything about it.

Nanuk was already up from the floor when I entered the living room with Esmé. It was clear that both knew immediately what species they were facing. Nevertheless, they shook hands.

"This is Esmé, Edward's mother, so to speak, and this is Nanuk," I introduced. "Leah has imprinted on him," I added.

"Oh ...", Esmé merely said.

I explained in short words that Leah and Nanuk had forbidden us to say anything about their encounter. But I really had to go slowly and gathered my things together.

"I'm not comfortable with you riding your motorcycle to Portland in this weather," Esmé said worriedly when she saw the helmet in my hand.

"Esmé. I've been riding motorcycles for some time now, and in all weathers. Besides, I have no choice today. Marcus has the Audi, the Golf is already sold, the twins each drove theirs, and I won't touch the Jag," I explained. Above all, Edward would just get jealous if anyone else touched his lady, I thought with a smirk.

"Then take mine! I can walk home too, but Edward won't forgive me if something happens to you on the bike!"

"No, Esmé. I can manage very well on my own. I've had to for long enough!" I determined in conclusion.

Honestly, I wanted to ride my baby again and was looking forward to the track later to Edward. Even though it was just starting to snow outside. But hey, it was only a few manageable flakes and not a snowstorm. And riding back with Edward on the motorcycle was always very nice.

"Say, Nanuk. Does Leah actually have your cell phone number? And do you have hers? I mean, in case you guys get held up tomorrow somehow? I don't want you to miss each other and end up like yesterday," I asked.

He looked cutely shocked before shaking his head. I guess he hadn't thought of that yet. He wrote his down for me and as instructed by my little daughter, only then did I reveal hers.

"Nanuk, it was nice talking to you for a bit. About Saturday, we'll see. I would be happy. So far we have not planned anything, but I do not know how it looks with the children," I said goodbye to him and reached out my hand again.

"I thought it was very nice, too," he replied with a smile, and also high-fived Ced again, whom I had on my arm.

He also bid a friendly farewell to Esmé.

"Seems like a nice young man," Esmé remarked as Nanuk disappeared into the forest.

I nodded.

"Seems like it to me, too ... So Esmé, see you later," I said and went to the front door.

"Bella, dear? Have you maybe forgotten something?" Esmé called after me, when I already had the doorknob in my hand.

Um ... oops ... My baby beamed at me. From my arm.

Chewing on my lower lip, I went back to the living room, said goodbye to my son and handed him over to Esmé.

I guess I would have to get used to leaving Ced with her.


Thanks for reading!