The rest of the Pack had done us the favour of staying away from the estate for the rest of the evening. While I sat at the solid round oak table that Esme had bought for the kitchen – the comfy upholstered chairs matched perfectly with the feel of the old fashioned kitchen – Edward fluttered about preparing me a gourmet dinner. A massive T-bone steak, with crispy grilled asparagus and a delicious Mediterranean side salad, my entire plate was filled with all my favourite things that usually bothered the Cullen's sensitive noses – human food already smelt bad to them, but some things smelt worse than others and Charlie and I were respectful of that and were more than happy to avoid bringing certain food into the house – but this meal was awesome. The salad was filled with dark black olives, the strong goat's milk feta that was deliciously gamy and yet creamy and smooth, and Edward even went so far as to make a delicious anchovy mustard vinaigrette, by hand. Everything, other than the steak, would have filled the house with the strongest and most pungent scents – ironically, garlic wasn't on the list of things that the Cullen's couldn't stand, and thank the Goddess for that, I could go without mustard but lord help whoever tried to take garlic away from me.

The dinner was exquisite, but the effort that Edward put into it is what made it so special. We both knew how gross Edward found human food, and this dinner contained all the things he found most disgusting, and yet looking at him as he had worked, you wouldn't have been able to tell. He smiled and joked with ease as he methodically went through each step in the cooking process, and sat beside me as I ate – watching me with eager eyes, he nervously awaited my verdict.

I tried a little bit of everything on my plate before grinning up at him, "It's awesome." at my declaration the worried frown on Edward's face relaxed into a pleased smile, "Tastes great."

Edward spoiled me further with chocolate covered strawberries for desert, which I happily devoured. The rest of the night was spent in the music room. Edward sat at the piano, a pencil tucked behind his ear as he composed – playing a few bars of music before pausing and scribbling something down – while I curled up on a nearby sofa with a book. It was effortless – the two of us just existing within each other's orbit, doing our own thing, basking in the warmth of our shared love.

XxXx

"I'm so happy for you, Bella." Charlie smiled fondly as he pulled me into a tight hug.

"Thanks, dad." I mumbled into his chest, my arms curled around Charlie's solid frame as his arms surrounded me, enveloping me in the warmth of his embrace. I always loved getting hugs from my dad, they had a way of making me feel small, but safe – protected. "And thanks for the sapphire, it's beautiful." I continued as I pulled out of Charlie's arms.

"It was part of a broach that was gifted to me by the Duke of Burgundy. Back then it was believed that sapphires offered the wearer protection from harm." Charlie smiled down at me. "I don't know if that's true, but I figured it couldn't hurt."

"Why was a French Duke giving you broaches?" I asked as I held out my hand and stared at my ring.

"Technically, at the time, Burgundy wasn't part of France yet, but it's own sovereign nation. And the broach was given to me because I was a member of the Duke's guard." Charlie took my left hand and his thumb ghosted over the shining gemstone. Dropping my hand he smirked at me mischievously, "He didn't know what I was, but he knew I was stronger than fifty men, and a champion like that is hard to come by. It was in the Duke's best interest to keep me by his side."

I rolled my eyes, "You're ridiculous." I moved over to the sofa near the fireplace. Charlie's office was quickly becoming one of my favourite places in the estate, it felt safe and homey – each time Charlie and Esme returned from a shopping expedition they arrived with a new piece of furniture for Charlie's office. The estate, while originally built in 1708, had gone through a number of renovations over the centuries, every hundred years or so Charlie pretended to be his own descendent and took residence in the estate, and as such had to keep modernising the structure while still trying to stay loyal to the original build. What that meant was, that the estate was a bizarre amalgamation of architectural styles – like a beautiful patchwork quilt – and the furniture that was slowly filling the estate followed suit. Antiques (or sometimes just perfect recreations) ranging from the era of Queen Anne to the Victorian era littered the estate. Charlie's office held more of the latter. Since that was the last time he had lived here, Charlie was somewhat attached to the style, not that I could blame him. Charlie's office was a carefully cluttered space, filled with heavy furniture draped in bold throw blankets that were works of art in their own right. Flourishing plants were spotted throughout the room, their overgrown vines fell delicately like verdant waterfalls – all together it made Charlie's office come alive.

I stared into the flickering embers of the fire, contemplating their dying light I mused, "I have no idea how to plan a wedding."

"Alice seems to have plenty of experience planning a wedding. Although, I do have some suggestions I'd like to make." He paused for a moment, a contemplative look crossing his face, "On second thought, I wouldn't want to get in Alice's way when it comes to this, that tiny vampire can be rather frightening." Charlie grinned teasingly as moved to sit down behind his desk, he lounged back in his office chair, putting his feet up on the desk and crossing them at the ankle.

I twisted my body until I could talk to Charlie head on, I leaned against the arm of the sofa as I spoke. "Well, it's my wedding – or well, I mean it's Edwards, and mine- and-well." I glared at my dad's amused expression as he bit his lip to stop himself from laughing, "Oh shut up, you know what I meant!" I groused, "What I was trying to say was, I wanted to hear your suggestions, but if you keep laughing at me I might just change my mind!"

"I'm not laughing at you!" Charlie argued, while forcibly fighting back his laughter.

Jerk.

I reached back and grabbed one of Esme's fancy embroidered throw pillows, and with an arm that would put a pro-footballer to shame I launched it across the room. The pillow hit it's target dead on, striking Charlie square in the face – and because of the way he was leaning precariously on the two back legs of his office chair, with his feet up on his desk, the force of the blow caused Charlie to tilt dangerously. Charlie tried to correct himself, his arms flailed dramatically in attempt to regain his balance, but the strength of the impact was too much and Charlie went tumbling backwards – both he and his chair crashed to the floor with a resounding bang – accompanied by an ominous crack.

Shit. There was no way Charlie could be hurt… right? I mean, he was a werewolf! All he did was fall off his chair! This was absurd!

"Dad? Are you alright?" I asked quietly as I stood up and walked around the back of the desk to see Charlie laying on the floor with a shocked expression on his face.

He blinked up at me dazedly before he broke out into boisterous laughter. As Charlie sat up, I saw that the backrest of the chair had cracked and broken under the weight of Charlie's body hitting the floor. I glowered down at my dad and picked up the cushion that had fallen to the floor nearby. "Don't do that!" I whined, "You scared me!" I punctuated each word with a thwack of the pillow to my still laughing dad who laid prone on the floor.

"I heard a crash, is everything alright in here?" Esme's motherly voice came from the door. I turned to see her standing in the doorway, hand still on the shiny brass door knob, her auburn hair was tied up into a messy bun, covered with a scarf – that, accompanied by the dirt smudged overalls told me that she was in the middle of working in the green house.

Charlie's head popped up to peek over the top of the desk, he shot Esme a winning smile. "Bella and I were just rough housing. Broke a chair." he shrugged.

Esme shook her head with a fond smile, "I'll go get the wood glue."

XxXx

Alice opened up a ring-binder folder, spreading it out on the large dining table. When did she even have the time to do all of this already? "Okay, so here's some ideas that I've been thinking about." she said as she gestured to the pictures of bride's maid dresses and bouquets. "What did you have in mind?" she asked, turning to Charlie with a raised eyebrow.

Charlie looked at the assorted images, and then looked between me, Alice, and Edward who were all sitting around the table. "I was hoping we could incorporate some of the ancestral festivities and traditions, if that's alright?" he asked tentatively as he flipped through the pages of the binder. "But it looks like you were planning something more… conventional." Pages of white gowns and tiered cakes filled the folder.

"I want that too." I hastily replied. I glanced up to Edward, "I mean, I am a werewolf, it's who I am and growing up with my human parent I didn't really get the chance to embrace that part of me. I'd like to do that now."

"Of course, my love." Edward nodded, "I'm sure we can easily combine both sets of traditions?" Edward asked with a curious look in my dad's direction.

"Oh, definitely." Charlie confirmed with a nod. "Most wedding traditions humans have adopted over the years actually stem from Lycan culture."

Even though Carlisle wasn't in the room, I could practically hear the way his head snapped up with interest at that – there was a thud of a heavy book hitting a table a rush of air and in the next second Carlisle was standing in the room. "Really?" the curiosity in this voice almost childlike.

Charlie's mouth curled up in an affectionate smile – like one would give to a younger sibling who had just discovered a brand new hyper-fixation. "Really."

I had given up trying to understand the relationship Charlie had with both Carlisle and Esme – it seemed to oscillate, constantly shifting and fluctuating, chaotic in its own way but also dependable, like how the ocean could destroy a fleet with its rogue waves, but could always be depended on for its steady tides. In one moment, Carlisle was the elder one, the steady hand that could anchor the trio during rough seas, while the other two would gladly follow his stalwart lead – and yet, in the next, it was Charlie who guided the others with wisdom and experience that stretched beyond his years. And never forget Esme, because while she was the youngest of them, she had a motherly energy that radiated a love that knew no bounds – she was a secure port that protected all those around her, but like Charlie and Carlisle, she too had vulnerable moments, moments that found the two men bristling with righteous anger and the urge to protect.

I didn't understand it. Not in the slightest. Esme would defer to Charlie, and listen to his instructions like a dutiful daughter, and yet, she never hesitated to scold Charlie for his unruly behaviour, as if he were her son. Charlie would yield to Carlisle in some matters, just as easily as Carlisle would yield to Charlie in others. Charlie said that the vampires reminded him of his siblings, the ones he had lost in the massacre and in the years following, but the way they acted wasn't anything like how I thought siblings behaved. Each of the Cullen kids, for example, had a designated roll in their little family, brothers and sisters all mingling and supporting each other, and I was quickly finding my place as the 'baby sister' of the group – but our relationships didn't transform from one situation to the next, like theirs did.

"The ceremony itself is pretty similar, each person writes vows of love and protection which they offer to their Mate in front of everyone present." Charlie began to explain, "But instead of exchanging rings, the couple's hands are bound together with a length of twine, or ornamental ropes." he continued, and offered a teasing smirk. "Like I said to Bella, wedding bands weren't exactly compatible with people who often transform into giant wolves."

Carlisle chuckled, "I can imagine."

"That sounds really nice." Edward murmured, an arm snaking around my waist as he leaned against my side. "I would still like to exchange wedding rings, though. Even if I'm the only one who wears them."

"I'll wear it." I was quick to reassure him.

"Well we can easily do both." Alice shrugged as she began to scribble down the details in a notebook, each word looping and elegant.

Charlie watched Alice write, clearly reading her notes upside down. "There is also the exchanging of weapons." he mused.

That made me pause. Charlie had told me a little bit about the ceremony and festivals around a Mating union – the hand-fasting was one thing he had already mentioned, as was the Wild Hunt, where the Packs of both Mates worked together to bring down enough prey to feed everyone for the massive feasts over the coming days – but Charlie never mentioned anything about weapons.

"Weapons?" I echoed.

"Yeah," Charlie nodded, he looked up from Alice's notes to give me a smile. "It's usually a sword, or perhaps a dagger. It's a symbol, more than anything – a promise to protect your mate and their family."

"I like that." I mused. I turned to look up at Edward, "Can we do that too?" I asked hopefully.

"Of course, my love." he smiled indulgently.

"Perfect!" Alice chirped. "Now, moving on to the guest list."

Alice was like a dog with a bone when it came to wedding planning, and I didn't see Edward and I getting a single moments rest until everything was planned and the wedding was over.

May the Goddess help us.