Paul was already shifted in. Embry was waiting for Leah to shift in before he left.
OK, HAVE FUN YOU TWO, Embry said
WAIT, EMBRY, I NEED TO SHOW YOU A MEMORY, IT'S IMPORTANT. Leah insisted.
OK, JUST BE QUICK. I'M TIRED.
Leah started replaying the memory of the diner, only a few days ago.
HOLY SHIT, LEAH! Paul exclaimed.
HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO SLEEP AFTER SEEING THAT? Embry asked.
CAN ONE OF YOU SHOW QUIL BEFORE THE BONFIRE TONIGHT? I DON'T WANT IT TO BE A SURPRISE. HE'S THE ONLY ONE THAT DOESN'T KNOW YET. Then she flashed her memory of Bella pleasuring her, Bella's one hand on a breast and the other hand between Leah's legs. SHIT, PLEASE FORGET YOU SAW THAT. She said, knowing that neither would forget.
WHAT THE FUCK, LEAH? I'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO SLEEP NOW.
Leah huffed. JUST GO RUB ONE OUT AND YOU'LL BE ASLEEP IN NO TIME. WHICH ONE OF YOU CAN TELL QUIL? I WON'T BE ABLE TO SEE HIM BEFORE THE BONFIRE. BELLA AND I HAVE PLANS. Then she really did have an accident. She thought of Bella's face when she was in the throws of an orgasm after Leah ran her fingers along the mark. OH SHIT. OH SHIT. FORGET YOU SAW THAT ONE TOO.
She started singing nursery rhymes to herself. She needed to focus her mind. That was a real slip, not part of the plan.
EMBRY, YOU GO RUB ONE OUT. I'LL TELL QUIL. I MIGHT HAVE MORE TO TELL BY THE TIME THIS SHIFT IS OVER. Paul kindly offered.
I'LL WANT TO BE KEPT APPRISED OF ANY UPDATES AS WELL. He said, amusement seeping through his voice. I'LL BE GOING TO QUIL'S FOR LUNCH SO PLEASE DROP BY AFTER YOUR SHIFT.
WILL DO. Paul promised.
Leah was still repeating nursery rhymes and children's songs. She knew a ton of theme songs for children's shows. She started singing those and Paul started singing along, both running different ends of the border.
SO BELLA, HUH? AFTER ALL OF JACOB'S MEMORIES, I NEVER WOULD HAVE THOUGHT SHE WAS GAY.
Leah played a snippet of her memory of them stargazing. She showed the part where Bella said she thought they were bisexual.
I LIKE THIS. I ASK A QUESTION AND YOU SHOW ME BELLA ANSWERING.
I THINK YOU'VE SEEN ENOUGH. Leah retorted.
OH I DEFINITELY DISAGREE. HOW DID SAM TAKE IT?
Then she showed Sam hugging Bella and welcoming her to the pack.
Then Leah asked, HEY, WHEN YOU IMPRINTED, WHAT DID SAM TELL YOU ABOUT IMPRINTS?
Paul chuckled. HE GAVE ME A BUNCH OF PHOTOCOPIES OF OLD TEXTS. I GAVE IT TO RACHEL. SHE'S READ SOME OF IT. HE ALSO TOLD ME HE'D BE THERE IF I HAD ANY QUESTIONS. WHY? WHAT DID HE TELL YOU?
WELL HE GAVE US THE PHOTOCOPIES TOO. WE'VE BOTH READ THEM. BUT BELLA HAD A LIST OF QUESTIONS FOR SAM SO WE HAD A MEETING ABOUT IT.
Paul was bellowing with laughter. BELLA IS A FUCKING RIOT. A LIST OF QUESTIONS FOR SAM! SAM MUST HAVE LOVED THAT! I BET SAM HAD A LIST OF QUESTIONS FOR OLD QUIL WHEN HE FIRST IMPRINTED, TOO.
Leah thought that was probably true.
CAN I PLEASE SEE THAT MEETING, LEAH? IT WILL HELP STRENGTHEN THE PACK BOND, I'M SURE OF IT.
FINE. So she replayed the memory of the meeting.
WOW, UM, THANKS LEAH. I ACTUALLY LEARNED QUITE A BIT FROM THAT. MAYBE I SHOULD READ THAT PACKET, TOO.
YEAH, YOU SHOULD. Leah encouraged.
LEAH, YOU GUYS ARE REALLY SWEET TOGETHER. DON'T TELL ANYONE I SAID THIS BUT I'M REALLY HAPPY FOR YOU, AND I'M GLAD THAT BELLA IS PACK NOW.
WHY DON'T YOU WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW THAT YOU'RE HAPPY FOR ME? OR THAT YOU CARE ABOUT BELLA?
YOU KNOW WHY. I'VE GOT A REPUTATION TO UPHOLD.
Leah played through a montage of Paul following Rachel around and doing whatever she told him to do.
YEAH, YOU DON'T WANT ANYONE TO THINK YOU'RE GOING SOFT. Leah teased.
They patrolled in peace and partial silence for a few hours. They were both pretty good at guarding their thoughts.
SO DID YOU TELL JACOB OR DID SAM TELL HIM?
I TOLD HIM. Leah answered. WE PATROLLED TOGETHER THE OTHER DAY.
AND HOW DID THAT GO?
HOW DO YOU THINK IT WENT? THAT BOY IS GOING MAD.
YEAH, I KNOW. Paul was upset about what had happened to Jake. CAN I SEE THAT MEMORY TOO? I JUST WANT TO BE PREPARED FOR ANYTHING AT THE BONFIRE TONIGHT.
Leah played him that memory too, starting with the brownie memory. She tried to portray the emotions that he was giving off in the pack mind.
OH GOD, LEAH, HE IS UNHINGED. DOES SAM KNOW ABOUT THAT CONVERSATION?
I DON'T KNOW IF JACOB HAS TOLD HIM BUT I HAVEN'T SEEN SAM SINCE THE MEETING FOR BELLA'S QUESTIONS.
I NEED TO SHOW SAM THAT MEMORY TOO, SINCE YOU HAVE PLANS LATER. Then Paul replayed her memory of Bella's face with sheer ecstacy written all over it.
Leah would have blushed if she weren't a horse sized wolf.
LEAH, WE'RE GOING TO MAKE SURE THE BONFIRE GOES SMOOTHLY TONIGHT. NONE OF US IS GOING TO LET THAT PIECE OF SHIT NEAR YOU TWO, AND WE WON'T LET HIS GIRLFRIEND GET NEAR YOU EITHER.
Leah snorted. THANKS PAUL.
I WASN'T SUPPOSED TO TELL YOU THIS, BUT YOU'VE BEEN DETHRONED AS PACK BITCH.
NOT BECAUSE I'M NICE THOUGH, RIGHT? Leah asked. JUST BECAUSE SHE'S A BIGGER BITCH, RIGHT?
SHE'S DEFINITELY A BIGGER BITCH THAN YOU EVER WERE. BUT YOU HAVEN'T REALLY BEEN A BITCH FOR A WHILE. THE NICKNAME JUST SORT OF STUCK, YA KNOW?
YEAH, I KNOW. THAT'S WHY I DIDN'T MIND IT SO MUCH. BUT I'M FINE WITH GIVING IT UP. I PREFER TO BE CALLED LEAH ANYWAY. Then she accidentally remembered Bella calling her "my goddess." SHIT! I USED TO BE WAY BETTER AT CONTROLLING MY MEMORIES.
OH, GODDESS IS A GREAT NAME FOR YOU. I DON'T KNOW HOW RACHEL WILL FEEL ABOUT ME CALLING YOU GODDESS BUT I'M SURE SHE'LL GET USED TO IT.
YOU BETTER NOT.
Paul went quiet. She could see in his mind where he was and what he was seeing but his thoughts were otherwise pretty quiet.
Hers were mostly quiet to him, too.
o.~*~.o
Bella woke with the sun around 5 am. She took a quick shower, slipped on one of Leah's pre wolf dresses and grabbed a pop tart from the kitchen. She tried to move as quietly as possible so as not to wake the Clearwaters. She got in her truck and realized that all of that tiptoeing was probably unnecessary since the roar of her truck was about to wake them up. She decided to park further away next time Leah had the morning shift.
There was a skeleton crew at the station when she got there, probably because it was 6 am. She grabbed a cup of coffee and got to work. A few hours later her dad showed up.
"Bells, I feel like I haven't seen you in days."
"It's been a day and a half, dad."
"You coming home tonight?"
"There's a bonfire at first beach. Leah and I haven't talked about if we're going to stay in La Push or come back to forks, but I assume La Push since it's closer. Is that ok?"
"It sounds like you guys are spending a lot of time together. Don't you ever want a night alone?"
The idea was painful to Bella. "No!" She knew her voice sounded too angry, desperate. She had to calm down. Stress balls, she thought of Leah's stress balls. "Sorry Dad, it's just, like, the honeymoon phase, you know. Everything is so fun and new. I'll be careful, I promise."
"Ok, well you're an adult and I trust you, I just don't want to see you get hurt again."
"You don't have to worry about that with Leah." She assured him.
"That's what you said about the last one." He reminded her.
"Yeah, that's true." She agreed but she didn't look sad like Charlie expected her to.
"So is Jake going to be at the bonfire tonight?"
"I assume so, but I don't know for sure," she answered honestly.
"Bells, I don't want to be the one to break this to you, but I saw him with another girl."
"Yeah, Jen."
"You knew? Why didn't you say anything?" Charlie was indignant.
"You didn't ask. Why didn't you say anything?" Bella pretended to be indignant too.
"I didn't want you to be even more hurt, but now you're with Leah and you might see Jake tonight so I thought you should be warned."
"Thank you, Daddy."
"Any time, Bells."
Bella wrapped up her work at 11. She gave her dad a quick hug on the way out. She made a short stop at the grocery store on the way to La Push.
o.~*~.o
Knock, knock, knock.
"Coming," Seth called. When he opened the door, he looked angry to see Bella. That was not the reception she expected. "Sister, you don't ever have to knock here, you hear me?" he spoke firmly, but lovingly. He grabbed something off the wall and placed it in her hand. "It's offensive. Even if the door is locked, you are always welcome here, understand?"
She looked into her hand and saw that he had given her a spare key. "Thanks Seth!" She reached up and hugged him tight, then kissed him on the cheek. She handed Seth the grocery bag and put the key on her keyring.
"What are we making for lunch?"
"Leah and I are making quesadillas but we'll make enough for you too, if you do the dishes after our baking session this afternoon."
"Yeah about that," Seth was rubbing the back of his neck nervously, "I'll do the dishes but we've got a little bit of a problem regarding the baking."
"What's the problem? Is the oven broken or something?"
"No, uh, I, uh, I accidentally ate some chocolate chips?"
"YOU WHAT?!" Leah yelled from the doorway.
"Baby, you're here!" Bella yelled, throwing herself in Leah's arms and showering her face with kisses. Leah was kissing all over Bella's face then too.
"Bella," kiss kiss kiss "baby" kiss kiss "I missed you" KISS KISS kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss.
Seth cleared his throat. He'd rather get yelled at than have to watch this.
"How much did you eat, Seth?" Bella asked after she was confident that she covered every inch of Leah's face with kisses. Leah was holding her up by the thighs and Bella's legs were wrapped around her waist.
"All of them." At least he looked apologetic.
"Hmm," Bella considered, "So we can either do all peanut butter cookies or send him to the store."
"Kim usually brings chocolate chip cookies to these things." Leah said, "Hers aren't as good as yours, but maybe we could let her cookies shine tonight and only bring peanut butter." Leah turned to Seth, "you didn't eat the peanut butter too, did you?"
"Not the one in the grocery bags, but I've been eating the one in the cupboard."
"That should be enough, but Seth, you're definitely doing all the dishes now."
"Of course." He agreed.
o.~*~.o
Paul went to Quil's house after his patrol. Embry was waiting with Quil.
"Where is lunch?" Paul demanded
"Fine." Quil pulled out a Tupperware of his mom's spaghetti and handed it to Paul. Without even heating it, Paul dumped all the spaghetti into his mouth in three bites. He handed the Tupperware back to Quil. Quil put it into the sink.
"Let's go." Paul ordered.
"Where?" Quil asked, already following.
"Sam's." Paul asked Embry, "what have you shown Quil so far?"
"The imprint and the stuff in bed."
Sam met the boys outside. "What's this about?"
Paul answered, "I just patrolled with Leah. She showed me how it went when she told Jake and I just wanted to pass that memory on to you."
"And what are Quil and Embry here for?" Sam asked.
"They're here for the gossip and the porn. But I think everyone should see everything I saw. The more everyone knows, the better, in my mind. We need to be united behind the girls."
The four men stripped in Sam Uley's backyard and transformed into wolves. Jared would be running the second shift on and off due to the bonfire. Sam was happy that Jared was also phased.
WHAT'S UP? Jared asked.
PAUL WANTS TO SHOW ME HOW JAKE TOOK THE NEWS OF THE IMPRINT. QUIL AND EMBRY ARE JUST GOSSIPS AND PERVERTS BUT WE MIGHT NEED THEIR HELP TONIGHT SO I WANT THEM IN THE LOOP. PAUL, CAN YOU SHOW US?
Paul started with Leah suggesting that Jacob think about brownies and showed the whole memory from there.
I WANT TO SHOW YOU GUYS A COUPLE OF HER MEMORIES THAT SHE LET SLIP. THEY ARE NOT ALL EROTIC, BUT I THINK IT IS IMPORTANT WE ALL UNDERSTAND THEIR RELATIONSHIP.
Paul showed Bella saying that they were bisexual, then Bella's face in ecstasy, then Bella pleasuring Leah and finally the memory of Bella calling Leah her goddess.
I WANT GODDESS TO BE HER NEW NICKNAME, Paul declared, SINCE PACK BITCH HAS BEEN CLAIMED BY JEN.
Sam laughed. WE'LL SEE ABOUT THAT. IS THAT ALL?
I WANT TO SHOW THEM THE MEETING SHE HAD WITH YOU, SAM. I NEED TO SHOW IT TO QUIL AND EMBRY BUT YOU MIGHT BENEFIT FROM SEEING IT THROUGH HER EYES.
YEAH, I'LL STAY FOR THAT. Sam agreed. Jared stayed too since he was on patrol.
During the whole memory, Leah's vision was locked on Bella's face. She looked around occasionally, looked down a few times, but she always came back to Bella's face.
WOW. LEAH REALLY ADORES HER. Jared commented.
AND BELLA ADORES HER TOO. Paul insisted. WE HAVE TO PROTECT THEM.
OBVIOUSLY. BUT JEN IS AN IMPRINT TOO AND JAKE IS PACK AND PROBABLY THE TRUE ALPHA. OTHER THAN PHYSICALLY BLOCKING THEM FROM GETTING TO THE GIRLS, WHAT CAN WE DO?
WE SHOULD TALK TO BILLY. Embry suggested.
YES, BROTHER, SOLID IDEA. Sam affirmed the suggestion. JARED IT'S YOUR CHOICE WHETHER YOU WANT TO BE PART OF THIS MEETING OR CONTINUE PATROLLING.
MEETING. Jared answered quickly.
OK, COME TO MY HOUSE. I'LL GET BILLY AND BRING HIM HERE. I'LL TELL HIM EMILY HAS A NEW RECIPE SHE'S BEEN WANTING HIM TO TRY. THEN JAKE WON'T BE SUSPICIOUS.
Twenty minutes later, they were all at the Uley's with Billy Black.
Sam told Billy about his fears for the bonfire that night, that Jake and Jen might not just be intolerably rude but also violent toward Bella.
Billy considered. "I have been thinking a lot about this myself. I can't envision a possibility where this does not become violent in some way. Those two have been ranting about this imprint for days. They're saying:
It's not a real imprint,
Bella is trying to weasel her way back into the pack to split them up,
Leah had hated the pack since day one and she's trying to cause discord,
That they are trying to turn the pack mind into degenerative pornography.
Also, the homophobic stuff they're saying, I will not repeat it. I did not raise my son that way. I'm about ready to kick them both off of my property." Billy continued. "I can remind them that tonight if it gets out of hand but I'm not sure it will be enough."
"Jake's been talking to Old Quil." Billy added, "Now we all know that Old Quil is a homophobic bastard, but Jacob is being such an ass hole that Old Quil is on Leah's side, even though Leah hasn't said a word to him about the whole thing. It may be because Leah hasn't said a word to him about it."
Billy concluded, "so, I share your concerns. The whole counsel shares your concerns. Any suggestions? Nothing is off the table. "
Paul thought for a minute. "What happened to Jake? Is there any way we can help him find himself again?"
"He's such a mess." Embry added.
"He used to be fun." Quil lamented. "How do we get him back?"
Billy thought. He also wanted his son back. "We could send him out in the wilderness to fast and meditate. We could call it a spirit quest, even though it will be nothing like our traditional spirit quests. Calling it that might make it so that he complies more easily and maybe he'll get more out of it, take it more seriously," Billy suggested, "We could send him for a minimum of one week. We can send Jen back to Makah for that week. Maybe her family can guide her."
"I like that idea." Sam said. Several of the other guys nodded. "We could make tonight's bonfire a special sending off ceremony for the two of them. Would the spirits be offended that we're calling it a spirit quest?"
"I will only speak in English, and use none of the ceremonial blessings. The spirits will see this for what it is. They are not so easily offended by words, like the Hokwat gods. They care about our spirits."
The men all nodded in understanding.
"Ok," Billy went on, "we can send Jake off at the beginning of the bonfire. I can make up a special bullshit ceremony, again nothing like our real spirit quest ceremonies, to make it sound very important. I'm thinking… I'll need help gathering some stuff, feathers, beads, stereotypical Indian looking crap you'd see in those old Western movies, stuff from nature. He won't know any better. He doesn't pay attention to that kind of tribal stuff. I'll tell him I've been gathering it for years and the spirits are telling me to send him now." Billy went on, "After he leaves, I'll get Charlie to drive Jen back to Makah in the cruiser. Charlie walked in on Jake fucking Jen on MY kitchen table a few days after dumping Bella. Charlie's pissed. We can count on him to help."
"What else do we need to do besides gather 'Indian looking crap,' Chief Black?" Sam asked with humor in his voice.
"Hmmm, prepare for the bonfire and someone should tell the girls. As anxious as we were about tonight, think of how they must be feeling."
"I'll talk to the girls," Sam announced. "Paul and Quil, you start setting up the bonfire now since we might not have all hands later. Jared, go ahead and patrol as you were. If I need you, I'll phase in or find you on foot. Embry, you're in charge of gathering the items for the fake ceremony. Billy, will you stay here in case you come up with more ideas that you want us to execute?"
"Absolutely. I don't want to go home anyway. Can I get a beer?"
Embry got the beer. Everyone else scattered.
o.~*~.o
"What did you get me from the grocery store?" Leah asked, "Did you get me chocolate sauce to lick off of your sweet, tight, little ass?" Leah asked Bella in the kitchen.
"I wish I had thought of that." Bella was looking up at Leah, wistfully, thinking of how Leah's tongue would feel on her ass.
"I can hear you!" Seth called from the couch.
"I know." Leah answered. "You can leave."
"I got stuff for lunch." Bella told Leah. "I thought we could make quesadillas. They're about as difficult to make as grilled cheese but they can be fancied up with fun combinations, like paninis. Your panini was so good, Leah" Bella's voice was becoming sultry, seductive, "you really are a goddess in the kitchen… and the bedroom."
Leah's hand was on Bella's ass. She pulled Bella close and captured her lips. "Only for you, baby."
"I'm yours, only yours." Bella whispered.
"Mine." Leah responded like a mantra, bringing their lips together briefly again. "Ok, so what do we do to make quesadillas?"
"Well, I bought ingredients to make a few of my favorite combinations. Let's start by cutting up this chicken breast into small pieces and then we'll saute it."
Bella turned around to get the vegetables she wanted cut and when she turned back to Leah the chicken was in tiny little pieces.
"How did you do that?"
"Did I do it wrong?"
"No, baby, it's perfect, just fast."
"Is that ok? I can slow down." Leah offered.
"No! Fast is great, really great. I'll take the chicken. Can you chop these into small pieces as well, the same size as the chicken?"
Bella turned on the burner, put some olive oil in a pan and started to cook the chicken. She got another pan for the vegetables, and of course Leah had chopped them all perfectly already.
"This is so exciting!" She exclaimed happily. "So the combos we'll do today are cheese, cheese and veggie, cheese and chicken, and cheese, chicken and veggie. So while the veggies and chicken are cooking, we can start assembling a few cheese quesadillas."
Bella showed her how to make one cheese quesadilla. Leah then arranged and cooked all the rest of the quesadillas, only slowed down by how long it took each quesadilla to cook in the pan. Bella loved watching her work. "This is so great, baby! How was patrol?"
Leah groaned. "I let a couple of things slip."
"Baby, I expect that. Don't feel bad. What did you let slip?"
"I showed them your face after I rubbed your… you know."
"Hmmm, but you didn't show them the rubbing?" Bella asked.
"No, I want Sam to know about that first. I also showed them you calling us bisexuals, and, ugh, I showed them you calling me a goddess and now Paul wants to make that my new nickname."
"I'm never calling you that." Seth called from the living room.
"Thank you, please don't." Leah called back.
"I'm going to keep calling you that. And I'd much rather they call you that than pack bitch."
"Eh, it's a toss up, but apparently the name pack bitch has been reassigned to Jen."
Bella laughed, "that's perfect."
When all of the quesadillas were done, the three of them sat down to enjoy them.
"These are amazing, Bells." Seth complimented.
"Thanks but Leah made them. What combo is your favorite?"
"Great job, Leah! Definitely the chicken and vegetable is my favorite, but they're all good."
"Leah made all the chicken and vegetable. I only made one cheese quesadilla. Then I only supervised to make sure they didn't burn"
"Wow Leah, I might have to rethink that nickname."
After lunch, they started the cupcakes. They figured that would give the cupcakes the most time to cool to frost them later.
Bella read out the directions of what to do next and Leah did each step almost instantly. Bella tasted the batter just to be sure everything was right. Otherwise, she didn't touch the cup cakes until it was time to decide if they were fully cooked.
The same process repeated itself with the brownies. Right before they put the cookies in the oven, there was a knock at the door.
Bella said, "We should deal with the door before we bake the cookies. Cookies can be very temperamental."
"Should we turn off the oven?" Leah asked
"It depends on who's at the door." Bella answered.
"It's Sam." Seth called.
"Turn off the oven." Bella instructed.
Bella bounded into the living room. "Sam, thank you for coming, there's something we need to talk to you about."
"Bella," he kissed her cheek. "There's something I need to talk to you two about as well."
The three of them joined Seth in the living room. Seth paused his game. "Do you want to go first or can I?" Sam asked.
"Go ahead," Leah conceded.
"Paul showed Jared, Embry, Quil and me your conversation with Jacob. We've all been concerned about Jacob and Jen's behavior lately and how it might manifest tonight."
Sam continued, "We got together with Billy to try to come to some solution. Billy had the idea to use the bonfire to send Jacob on a fake spirit quest. He's making up a ritual for it right now, going to make it look like a great honor."
"As soon as he's gone, Charlie is going to take Jen to the Makah rez. I wanted to warn you about the plan so that the whole honorable ritual thing doesn't ruin the bonfire for you guys. Once they're gone, we'll do the stories as usual. Any questions? Concerns?" Sam asked when he was finished.
"Thank you." Bella said.
"Of course." Sam said after a moment, waiting for any other reaction from the girls, he said, "So what did you want to talk to me about?"
Leah looked at Seth. "You might not want to be here for this, Seth."
"I believe you, when do you want me back to do dishes?"
"Ninety minutes." Bella answered. And Seth was out the door.
"Let's give him a minute to get out of ear shot."
One minute later, Leah spat out, "I marked her."
"What? Why?"
"I wanted to."
"Bella?" Sam looked at her.
"I also wanted her to."
"Wow, Leah," he sighed, "you are a true warrior."
Leah said nothing. That's when Bella realized just how much Sam respected Leah. She was in awe of it. Leah was a true goddess.
"Can I see it?"
Leah growled.
Bella explained, "it's in my nether region."
"Leah," Sam addressed her directly, "I have seen every inch of Bella's body. If Jake could have attached a webcam to his penis, he would have used it when he fucked her and he would have shown us all that footage too. I really respect how reserved you are with your images in the pack min. This request isn't sexual. I am the alpha of this pack and I think it would be best if I became familiar with marking if it's going to happen in this pack."
"Bella?" Leah deferred. "It's your body. You decide."
Bella pulled off her shorts and bent her knee. Sam brought his face close, examining the now healed teeth marks.
"When?" he asked.
"Last night around six." Leah answered.
"And it is already so healed?"
"It was healed by the time I cleaned off the blood maybe ten minutes later." Leah explained, "The blood was still wet but the lacerations were healed."
His face was still examining it. "Can I touch it?"
"I would rather you didn't." Leah answered firmly.
"I would rather he did." Bella said, "I want to know what it feels like when someone else touches it. I don't think it will be the same as your touch."
Leah sighed. "Fine." Then she put her face in Bella's neck and whispered, "mine."
Bella responded, "I'm yours. Only yours." Sam raised his eyebrows. Then he gently touched the mark.
"It felt like nothing." Bella told Leah. "It was like he was touching my elbow."
Sam went back to his seat. "What does it feel like when Leah touches it?"
"What memories did Paul show you?" Leah asked.
Sam considered that. "The one of her face? That was from you touching the mark?"
"Yeah."
"Holy shit, Leah. Can you tell me about those words you were saying to each other?"
"The 'mine' thing?" Bella asked. Sam nodded. "Well, after she marked me, she held me tight and kept saying 'mine' over and over again. So I started affirming her, saying 'I'm yours. Only yours,' over and over again until she came back to me."
"Leah?" Sam prodded, knowing that she would be able to explain even more.
"It was the wolf. After she consented my wolf was jumping inside me, but we were doing other stuff, making supper. As soon as I had her alone in my room, the wolf took complete control. I think my wolf is a lesbian because she, well, it doesn't matter. She was in control during the sex. She was in control during the marking, and it took a while for me to get control back. But I didn't, like, successfully wrestle control back or anything. Bella soothed the wolf with her words. The wolf willingly gave me control because Bella made her feel secure in the marking."
"So, you two are ahead of the rest of the pack in this. You will be teachers for the rest of the pack."
Leah nodded ascent.
"I have one more question for now, and then I'll let you get back to your baking. It smells great, by the way, Bells."
"It was all Leah. I just told her the recipes and made sure nothing burned."
"Wow." Sam remembered Leah trying to bake for him when they were dating and it was not impressive, nor did it smell good. "Okay, so my last question. What is different now?"
Bella sighed. "She had to go on patrol and it was a physical pain, like a deep ache but also like a tearing off of flesh. I don't really know how to explain it. Leah?"
"You described it perfectly, baby. On top of that pain, well you know we've gotten really close really quickly. In that time, I only had one other patrol so it's not much to compare it to. When we reunited the other time, it was such a relief to be back together. This was way more intense. Way more. It was like someone had reattached my arm, that was how deep the sense of relief was."
"Is that everything?" Sam asked after a moment.
"There was also the peace." Bella remembered. "Last night, it was like my soul was so relaxed. I was at peace with every aspect of my life, Jake, my mom, my lackluster plans for my future. No problem was worth stressing over. I just felt like, now, finally, everything was fine. I knew I'd be okay for as long as I had Leah with me, and I felt like I could finally breathe right, if that makes sense."
"Oh baby," Leah gulped, "I wanted to talk to you about that, that peace, like an epiphany. I felt it too. I didn't realize how much stress I was carrying, about my dad, about you, Sam, and of course worrying about you, Isabella, with Victoria after you. I didn't know how much was burdening me until it was gone. Last night's patrol was hard because I had to walk away from you, my love, but it was easy because I finally felt ok with my whole life and it made me… I don't know, I finally respected myself, and I respected my wolf, and I believed in what we were doing out there in the woods and as a family, a pack."
No one knew what else to say. Sam was a little overwhelmed by all of this but he was so impressed by these girls. They were an example to the whole pack, real leaders and role models
"Ok, well, thank you for sharing all of that. Some of what you shared, I feel bound to pass on to the rest of the pack. Some of the more intimate details I will keep private and you can share them if you choose."
Bella reached out and grabbed Sam's hand. "Do you think more couples will want to mark?"
"Oh definitely." He winked at her, then walked out the door.
Bella clung to Leah on the couch, not quite ready to get up and make cookies. "That was a lot."
"I know, baby."
"He respects you so much, Leah."
"Yeah, I saw that, too"
Bella closed her eyes and rubbed her face on Leah's chest. "You ready to finish making cookies?"
"Not yet, I could really use a stress ball right now to bring me back to that peace."
Bella sat up straight and leaned back, inviting Leah into her chest. Leah looked into Bella's eyes. She leaned down and gently bit Bella's nipple through her shirt, never breaking eye contact. She changed the angle of her head and licked where she just bit. She licked again and again and again until there was a large wet spot on Bella's shirt. Somehow, Bella knew that Leah wanted to lick the mark, that she was showing Bella what she planned to do to the mark. Bella was so turned on, she couldn't think straight. She didn't care about the cookies. She wanted Leah between her legs.
"Let's go finish the cookies." Leah said.
"Okay," Bella squeaked.
In the kitchen, Leah turned on the oven. They had to wait for it to heat up again. She looked down at her woman. Isabella was dripping with arousal. She wanted to take her right here. But even more than that, she wanted to watch her Bella wait and yearn for her.
Bella was looking up at Leah, looking lost. They were not touching and the separation was palpable but also so erotic. Finally, Bella reached out and touched her wrist. The touch was seering, electric. Bella stroked her arm, working her way up to Leah's shoulder. Leah did not move but maintained intense eye contact. When Bella reached her shoulder, she jumped. Leah caught her ass as Bella threw her legs around Leah's waist. Bella was twisting her hips up and down, trying to gain friction on Leah's washboard abs. It seemed she was successful because she was already moaning when her lips smashed down on Leah's. Leah put Bella's ass on the counter. She wrapped her arm around Bella's waist and lifted her gently while she pulled down Bella's shorts and panties. Next thing Bella knew, the garments were on the floor and her ass was on the cold granite counter. Then Leah lifted her again and put a towel under her butt. Leah kissed her, deeply, demonstrating that she was yearning for Bella with the same intensity that Bella was feeling.
Leah pulled out of the kiss and dropped into a crouch. Leah spread Bella wide open. She was looking at her mark, thinking about how beautiful it looked on Bella's creamy thigh. She leaned in and started licking it. It felt so nice against her tongue. The raised bumps had a texture, unlike most scars which are smooth. They were hot to the touch and every time Leah made contact, there was an intense ripple effect. Bella was feeling insane pleasure, screaming, growling and wiggling. Since Leah could feel an echo of what Bella felt, she felt the pleasure too and it was intense. Then Bella felt the aftershocks of the pleasure Leah felt. Leah kept licking and licking, the pleasure building up until Bella crashed into an orgasm, one after another. On her eighth orgasm, Leah came too and she came hard. She rested her head against Bella's knee, kissed it, then stood up. Then she rested her head on Bella's shoulder, nuzzling her neck with her nose. After a moment, she pulled back and looked around the kitchen.
"The oven is preheated." She said, putting in all the trays of cookies at once. "What should I set the timer to?"
Bella was still gasping a little. "Four. Minutes." when she caught her breath she added, "then we can move them around in the oven if we need to."
Leah returned, standing in front of Bella holding her shorts and panties. She sniffed the panties deeply and gave them to Bella. "You dropped these."
"You are so sexy right now, Leah Clearwater."
"Yeah?" Leah asked with a smirk.
"Yeah. What's gotten into you today?" Bella asked, "not that I'm complaining."
"It was seeing Sam touch your mark. That made me feel so possessive, more than I've ever felt before. Then it had no effect when he touched it. I still felt possessive but so powerful." Leah had wrapped her arms around Bella and was kissing up her neck. "Like a sex goddess. It was the possessiveness that made me so, err, aggressive about it though."
"Oh that fits! How did you finish too? Were you touching yourself when I couldn't see it?" Bella pouted
"No, but I can show you that any time." Leah kissed behind Bella's ear. "It was because I could feel your pleasure. It built up in me until it climaxed. I didn't know if it would but once it did, I had to take a break. It was overwhelming"
Leah kept kissing her until, "Beep beep beep beep." Leah turned off the timer and opened the oven.
Bella hopped off the counter and pulled on her panties and shorts. She walked over to the oven and looked at the cookies. "Move the bottom cookies to the top and the top cookies to the bottom."
"Okay," Leah got moving.
"We wouldn't have to do that with a smaller batch but that's okay. We need another four minute timer.'
When the cookies were all out, they had to frost the cupcakes. Leah did a great job at making the frosting, but when it came down to frosting the cupcakes, her super speed and strength ended up squishing some. She was assigned the role of eating the ruined cupcakes while Bella frosted all of the rest. Then they packaged everything and Leah brought it to the truck.
"What do you want to do now, baby?" Leah asked. "We've got some time before we should go help set up."
"I want to cuddle."
"Let's go."
They laid in each other's arms, naked, of course. Leah told Bella about some things she saw on patrol that morning, a butterfly on a pine cone, a secluded view of the ocean, three foxes and two rabbits, a shiny stone, 29 feathers…
Seth came home while they were in Leah's room. He licked all of the bowls and spoons that had batter on them. Then he got to work on doing dishes and cleaning the kitchen.
o.~*~.o
At 5 pm the girls started getting ready. Bella picked out a cute ivory dress for Leah that made her caramel skin look divine in contrast. Leah picked out a navy dress for Bella with a boat cut neckline. The dress hugged all of Bella's curves but didn't show too much skin and it made Leah wild with desire.
At 5:15 they asked Seth to accompany them to the bonfire to help set up. Seth happily agreed.
Once they arrived, they all started unloading the food and bringing it down to the tables that were set up
"You were busy today, Bella," Emily commented, pointing to all the food. Bella decided to let the wolves finish unloading while she bragged about her wolf girlfriend to the other wolf girls.
"Leah made it all. I just read her the recipes and made sure nothing burnt in the oven. She's so fast, she's like a goddess in the kitchen. She made twice the food in half the time."
"You are so lucky, Bella." Kim whispered, knowing the wolves could all hear. "I didn't even know Leah could cook."
"She couldn't, but she can now." Bella smiled wide. "She's a goddess in the bedroom too," Bella whispered, "I orgasmed eight times in about 20 minutes this afternoon, although technically that was also in the kitchen."
"You liar!" Rachel teased.
"I am not lying. I feel amazing."
"Wow. Bella, being dumped by Jake was the best thing that ever happened to you." Kim said sincerely.
"It didn't feel like it at the time, but I am so grateful for his imprint now. If Leah had imprinted on me when I was still with Jake, this would be such a mess right now."
"Do you think you would still have ended up with Leah?" Rachel asked. Rachel had loved the idea of Bella as a little sister.
"Oh 100%, yes, we're soul mates, but it would have taken time. I'm not a cheater and I hadn't embraced my bisexuality yet, so it would have been difficult and painful, maybe even messed up like Jake's imprint is now."
Leah came to the table with the last of the boxes. "Baby, as much as I love listening to you praise me to the girls, Jacob and Jen are coming. Sam wants us to be with Jared and Paul."
Jared and Paul were jogging toward them. They each grabbed their imprint's hands.
"Girls," Jared says to them, "let's go for a walk on the beach." Leah and Bella walked in front, heading away from Jake and Jen. Jared and Paul flanked them with their imprints.
When they got a little ways away, Jared explained, "Sam's going to tell him that they are planning a special honor for him tonight and that we need to set up in private so that we don't ruin the surprise. He's going to tell him to come back at 6:15 and for the start of the ceremony."
Paul looked over his shoulder every minute or so until he saw that Jake was retreating. "We can turn around now," he announced.
They all turned to see Jake and Jen walking away hand in hand. Jake's head was held high in pride.
When Jake was definitely out of sight and out of ear shot, Sam called a quick group meeting. "He should be back at 6:15. Will you be ready for him then, Billy?"
Billy nodded.
"For those of you who were walking," Sam said, "here's some new info for us to use. Jen was wearing a crop top so her shoulders were bare. She had a gnarly bite wound on her shoulder. It looks infected. Jake said he marked her. I happened to know that is not what a true marking looks like. So I think he just bit her. Still, I played along and congratulated him."
"How do you know what a true marking looks like, you old dog?" Paul asked, eyes twinkling.
Sam did not hesitate. "Because Leah marked Bella last night and showed me the mark this afternoon. The mark is clean and fully healed. The teeth marks of a true mark are canine, not human."
"Can I see it too?" A chorus erupted. Seth groaned.
"Definitely. Not." Leah answered through clenched teeth.
"I can show you guys in the pack mind if you're interested. Girls, what do you need us to do?"
"Let us gossip in peace, please?" Emily asked, kissing Sam on the cheek.
"Done, guys, let's go for a jog." The guys were off. Leah stayed with the girls. She couldn't leave Bella unprotected with Jake running around.
"Can we see it?" Rachel asked.
Bella lifted her foot onto the table and hiked up her dress, proudly displaying her mark. Leah stood behind her, snaking her arms around Bella's waist.
"It's so beautiful." Rachel said.
"Like a string of pearls," Emily added.
"Can I touch it?" Kim asked.
"No." Leah answered firmly.
"Not today. Sam already touched it earlier and it made Leah very possessive and we just don't have any privacy here for lovemaking like that again."
"Eight times," Kim muttered, shaking her head. "I wish Jared could do that. Can you teach him, Leah?"
Leah had Bella's ear in her mouth. The truth was, she was already getting a little possessive. "Maybe you should reconsider letting Jared mark you."
Kim looked disappointed that that was the only advice that Leah had.
The boys were jogging back before long, looking a little disheveled. "What were you guys doing?" Rachel asked, smoothing over Paul's clothes.
"Looking at the mark in the pack mind." Paul answered bluntly. Leah growled a low rumble in her chest and pulled Bella tighter against her chest.
"Oh, we were looking at it in person." Rachel responded. That made Leah stifle a giggle and she relaxed a little. Bella took that moment to turn around in Leah's arms. She stood on tippy toes and started rubbing her cheek against Leah's. "I'm yours. Only yours." Bella whispered.
"Mine." Leah agreed, calmly.
They finished setting up the snack table. Billy Black had a special table of his own. He was setting up what looked to be ceremonial objects. There were candles and pieces of nature from around the reservation: sea shells, pine cones, various feathers, a pile of sand, acorns, beads, a rabbit's foot, a leather pouch, a smooth pebble, a sand dollar, and a small piece of driftwood.
At 6:00, all of the elders had gathered. Billy had informed them of his plan for Jacob and he had their full support. Sam let the elders know about the marking situation, both about Jake's fake mark and Leah's true mark.
Old Quil kept glancing over at Leah and Bella. He had known both of these girls their whole lives and yet here they were, living legends right in front of his eyes. But he would need to put his admiration on the back burner until Jake and Jen left. He needed to do that for the girls' safety. He felt like he would do anything for them.
Everyone settled around the lit bonfire, waiting for Jake and Jen. Leah and Bella sat directly opposite the only open bench. They were flanked by Paul and Rachel on one side and Seth on the other. The open seat was between Billy Black and Sam and Emily. It was clearly a position of power. The rest of the pack was spread out, mingled with the elders.
Jacob came to the bonfire just after 6:15. He and Jen sat in the place of honor and Billy immediately started the ceremony.
"Jacob, for several months, I have been feeling a push regarding your spirit journey. After you imprinted, I knew the time was very near. Now that you have marked your mate, a warrior's mark, it has confirmed that the time is right."
"For many years, I have been gathering objects to prepare you for this journey."
Billy picked up each object for the table, one at a time. For each object, he told a story of how he found the object, how he knew that he needed to collect it, and what it symbolized for Jacob's spirit journey.
"Jacob," he spoke with authority, "you must choose three objects to bring with you to meditate on. You must put the objects in this pouch and keep them with you at all times during your quest."
He invited Jacob to stand and choose his objects. Jacob looked over the table, touching many of the objects and ignoring others altogether. In the end, Jacob chose the rabbit's foot, the acorn and the sand dollar.
"You must go to the mountain top." Billy pointed. "There is a fresh stream on the north side, about a quarter mile away from the peak. You will drink from that stream. You may eat from the land or you may fast. That is between you and the spirits. After seven days, you must decide if the spirits have guided you fully or if you should stay to gain more wisdom. The longer you stay with them, the wiser and more powerful you shall become. The journey is yours."
"Let us all stand." Billy spoke to all who had gathered for the bonfire. "Jacob, we are in awe of you. It is time for you to go."
Sam clapped his hand on Jacob's shoulder. In his alpha timber, he spoke. "Go to the mountain, now, Jacob. Spend at least seven days there. Come back a better man."
Jacob did not resist. He started walking in the direction of the mountain. It took several minutes for him to be out of sight.
Billy took out his cell phone and sent a text. Nobody said a word. Jen sat on her log, alone, silent, looking deflated. She didn't want to stay with these people without Jacob.
Charlie's cruiser soon pulled up and parked next to Bella's truck. He walked down to the bonfire in uniform. He sat between Jen and Billy.
"Billy, do you want me to take her to the clinic to get that wound cleaned?" Charlie asked his old friend.
"Jen, do you want to stop at the clinic on the way home?" Billy asked her.
"Yes." She answered meekly.
Charlie stood and offered Jen his hand. "Let's go, Jen."
Jen was quiet in the back seat of the cruiser. She cooperated at the clinic. Her family was happy to see her return, although concerned that she was coming in a police cruiser.
"I'm bringing her as a friend of Billy Black, not as an officer of the law. She's had a rough few weeks. She needs to heal. Please take care of her." That was all Charlie said before returning to his cruiser. He didn't stick around to answer questions.
Charlie drove back to Forks in silence. He knew that he didn't understand what happened with Jacob and Bella and Leah and Jen. But he did know that his daughter was glowing with happiness.
o.~*~.o
At the bonfire, everyone had finished their hot dogs and the pack moved on to the snacks table. The guys kept on complimenting Leah on her baking.
"Bella helped me. I never would have been able to do this without her."
"With Leah in the kitchen, we made twice the amount of food in half the time and I didn't touch a single ingredient." Bella bragged.
"It's because Leah's a girl." Quil offered. "She probably already knew how to cook."
Seth snorted. "Yeah, she made a mean grilled cheese and her toast was good enough."
"Hey! My toast was perfect!" Leah insisted.
"It's because of her speed and strength." Bella explained. "Although that was a detriment when it came to frosting the cupcakes. I discovered her talent when I had her peeling and cutting potatoes the other day at my dad's. It would have taken me an hour to do what she did in ten minutes. So, ladies," she looked around at the other imprints, "that means we can make large quantities of labor intensive meals, the ones that we usually save for a special treat because they are so much work to make. Think of the possibilities! And with the baking, I read the recipe one line at a time. She was measuring and pouring as fast as I was reading."
"Well, Leah is the fastest of all of us." Jared offered. The other guys agreed. "So I'm not sure this will transfer to the rest of."
"And it's so hot," Bella continued, ignoring him, "watching her work, in complete control, muscles flexing, lifting, cutting, pouring." Bella was getting a little worked up just thinking about it.
Kim sighed, imagining it with her Jared. "I mean, we could try it, if you're into it, Kim." Jared offered
Kim put her hands on the back of his neck and whispered in his ear, "I'm so turned on just thinking about it." Jared could smell the truth in that statement.
"Well, it seems we all have a lot to learn from the marked couple." Sam said. "I mean, eight orgasms? That is the work of a goddess." Sam winked at Bella. Paul cheered, delighted that this new nickname was endorsed by the alpha.
With so much food, it took longer than usual to polish off everything on the snacks table but the pack got the job done.
When Leah and Bella sat back down, Old Quil approached them. He knelt before the girls grabbing one of Bella's hands and one of Leah's. He bowed his head and spoke in Quileute for a minute. He looked up at them, eyes bouncing back and forth between their faces. He whispered, "we are blessed to have you here in our tribe, in the pack."
Then he stood, addressing both girls. "Please come and visit me soon. I have much to learn from you. And you are welcome to read any of the texts I have from previous packs, the history of our people, anything at all. It would be my honor to be your friend. And I will answer any questions that you might have for me to the best of my ability."
The girls were shocked. "Do you know what he said in Quileute?" Bella asked Leah.
"It was an old blessing, but I don't know all of the words. I heard long life, virility, and something about a warrior's strength. Maybe we should go visit him and ask. Maybe you could come up with a list of questions for him, too." Leah teased but Bella liked that idea.
The two snuggled together during the stories. Bella had heard the stories before but Billy brought them to life in a new way with each telling, emphasizing what the audience needed to hear each time. He was a gifted storyteller. Bella sincerely hoped that Jacob would be okay. He would need to take Billy's place as chief one day and that was a monumental role.
Leah drove Bella and Seth home after the bonfire. Bella fell asleep during the short drive so Leah carried her to the bed bridal style.
When Leah lay Bella down, Bella's eyes fluttered open. "My goddess," Bella whispered. "I need to pee." Leah chuckled and carried Bella to the bathroom.
Leah brushed her teeth while Bella peed and then they swapped spots.
Then Leah swept Bella off her feet and carried her toward the bed again. "I can walk, you know," Bella said, grinning.
"Of course you can, baby, but I want you in my arms. Always." Leah kissed her forehead as she put Bella down on her feet.
Leah slid Bella's dress off over her head. Bella unzipped Leah's dress, carefully lowering it and placing it on the desk chair. "I love that dress on you. I don't want it to get dirty." Leah only had underwear under her dress, which she had already removed, but Bella still had some garments that needed to be removed. Leah reached around Bella's back, rubbing their cheeks together as she went. She unclasped the black satin bra and pulled it around to Bella's front, sliding her arms through it. Then she crouched down, so her face was level with Bella's mound. She inched the panties down to the floor and stood up carefully. She cradled Bella's head and kissed her, sucking in that precious bottom lip. She didn't hold it for too long though. She knew Bella was tired and she was too.
She opened the covers so that Bella could slide in. Leah slid in after. Bella wasn't climbing on her boobs. Instead she was turned facing her, head on the pillow, hands under her cheeks. Leah turned to Bella and put her hand on Bella's waist.
"That went really well." Bella beamed.
"Everything with Jen and Jacob went smoother than I expected. Jacob ate up all of that honorable ritual stuff, and then Sam used the alpha command to make sure he went."
"Sam's voice sounded really beautiful." Bella commented.
"Huh, I guess you're right." Leah agreed. "I have different feelings about the alpha command voice so I never really noticed that before."
"I hope Jacob is ok."
"Me too, baby." Leah said.
"But I wasn't talking about them when I said it went really well. I was talking about you, Leah."
"Huh?" Leah had no idea what she was talking about.
"I've never seen them like that with you before. They respect you but also care for you. They were comfortable with you tonight."
"I think it was mostly you. I barely said a word. You said more than enough for both of us."
"Was that okay, my goddess?" Bella asked, feeling deep down that it was. "I hadn't seen all the girls in a while so I felt like I had a lot to share."
"Yeah right! You knew the guys heard everything too! I know you did it on purpose and it's kind of cute, but I feel like I'll never live down the eight orgasms."
"Honey, they're going to be begging you for lessons. I don't think we need to continue with the plan at all. Mission accomplished."
"I still want to cook with you, though," Leah insisted.
"Obviously. I think all the guys are going to be doing that soon. But you don't need to convince them that you're not a bitch. They see that. You don't need to convince them to respect you because they already do. You were always their sister but they want you to be a part of them now. It's really impressive."
"Thank you, baby." Leah rested her forehead against Bella's.
They quickly fell asleep like that.
[A/N: This is an alternate universe story, so if there are some things that don't make sense with canon Twilight or canon Earth, that is why. Please comment & review!]