[A/N: In this story, the wolf and the man are two distinct entities, not one person in two forms. That will be important to understand in this and later chapters. I tried to make it clear in the text but thought I'd add this note too, since that is not how all wolf pack stories go.
A key example from previous chapters is Leah referring to her wolf as a lesbian, an experienced lesbian. Leah is not an experienced lesbian. Her wolf is. They are distinct entities. Thank you for reading!]
The next morning, Bella woke with her face in Leah's neck. She inhaled deeply and exhaled, "Mmmmm."
"Morning, baby." Leah answered.
"G'morning." Bella mumbled, nibbling Leah's neck.
"What are we doing today, babygirl?"
Bella's face lit up. "Well, I was thinking of what we'd need for the kitchen, like pots and pans and also food and spices. And then I was thinking about the same for the bathroom, then cleaning supplies and I realized what we needed to do. We need a list of lists!"
"What? How will that help?"
"Well, it could be like an index."
"Okay, and you want to make this index today?" Leah asked, still not understanding the point.
"Yes!"
"Ok. And then what?"
"Well then we'd make the individual lists."
"Ok, what do you want me to do for this?"
"Well, I need paper. And I'm kind of in the mood for french toast."
So they got to work.
o.~*~.o
On the eighth day of his "spirit quest," Jacob journeyed home. He started when he rose with the sun. He drank plentifully from the stream on his way. He meandered down the mountain. There were no paths but his now lean body was still strong. He arrived at the woods on the outskirts of the village just after noon. He stayed in the woods until he saw his father's house. He walked in through the back door, butt naked.
His father, sister, and Paul Lahote were sitting around the table. Paul stood, clapped his hand on Jake's shoulder and said, "Welcome back. I'll call the alpha and we'll all talk." Then Paul's voice changed. "Don't leave the house," he commanded.
Jake turned to his father. "What was that spirit quest for? You knew that the spirits would never commune with me when my spirit was such a mess."
Billy answered bluntly. "You needed a time out to think about your behavior."
Jake laughed at that. "Where is Jen?"
"She went back to Makah when you went to the mountain."
"Good."
He looked down at his sister. She had a ring of scars on her shoulder. He reached down and ran his fingers along them. "What happened he-" then he was pinned against the wall by Paul Lahote.
Paul's eyes were glowing with yellow embers. He blinked a few times. His eyes were black again. He spoke slowly. "She is mine. Do not ever touch her mark again or you will be shredded faster than you can heal." Paul released Jake, tossed him some shorts, and slid into the chair next to Rachel.
"I'm going for a walk." Jake said.
"No you're not." Paul quipped, reaching for Rachel's shoulder.
"That was so hot, baby." Rachel said.
"They're about five minutes out, babe. I bet I can get you off twice by the time they get here."
"Paul, I can hear you. I'm her father." Billy reminded him.
"Don't worry, Billy, I'll be quiet. I can't promise your little girl will though." Paul scooped Rachel up and brought her to her room.
Billy turned to Jake. "Don't touch the mark again, son."
Five minutes later, Leah and Bella arrived. The Blacks and Paul were all sitting around the kitchen table. Paul had pulled up extra chairs for them.
"Thanks for the chairs. Grab one for Old Quil too." Leah requested.
Paul found a folding chair. "How far away is he?"
"Maybe three minutes." Leah answered.
"I'll go get him." Paul said on his way out the door. Less than a minute later, he returned with old Quil laughing from the piggy back ride Paul was giving him.
"Thank you, Paul Lahote." Old Quil looked around the table. "It is nice to see you all today. Welcome back, Jacob. I hope you are feeling better."
"Now that we're all here, Jacob, how was your spirit quest?" Leah asked.
"Where is Sam?" Jake did not answer Leah's question.
"Probably at his house." Rachel answered.
"Oh Jacob, he told you to come back better." Leah said patronizingly, "Do you not recognize your alpha and beta sitting before you? You didn't feel the power shift?"
"Is this a fucking joke?" Jake responded, anger tinging his words.
"Why didn't you take a walk?" Rachel tauntingly asked her baby brother.
"Because Paul told me not to."
"And since when do you give a shit what I say?" Paul asked.
"You beta commanded… oh shit, Leah? You're alpha. Since when?"
"Now that we're all here, Jacob, how was your spirit quest?" Leah repeated with the tone one would use to scold a child.
"It was a sham, a time out, as my father puts it. But I had time to meditate. My wolf is angry and my spirit confused but there is little I could do about that on the mountain." He stopped talking but everyone was still looking at him, waiting for him to continue, so he did. "The anger and confusion has to do with my relationships, specifically my relationships with Jen, Bella, the pack, and my family. I can't solve relationship problems by myself on a mountain."
"Let's start with your relationship with the pack. Go ahead and explain that one." Leah prodded.
"It's pretty embarrassing." He looked around the table. No one cared that he was embarrassed. They just waited for him to spill his guts.
"I admitted to myself that I was not the true alpha."
"Correct." Leah affirmed. "And why was that confusing to you?"
"It wasn't confusing for me, but my spirit warrior, my wolf did not understand it."
"Can you elaborate?" Leah guided.
"Well, I came to the understanding that the position was not mine. My spirit warrior seemed to feel like I was giving something up or stepping down, like I was taking something away from him.'
Old Quil spoke up "Why did you think you were the true alpha in the first place?"
"I overheard you and my dad talking about it. And then I told the pack and they believed it so I thought it must be true." Jake confessed.
Old Quil had to explain. "Neither your father nor I ever thought that you were the true alpha. We knew it was not Sam and have many times speculated who it would be. You must have misunderstood us when we were speculating one day. We were both betting on Paul for a while until Leah imprinted and settled into herself, quickly surpassing Paul by miles," then, looking at Paul, Old Quil added, "no offense."
"None taken, I'm beyond flattered that you were betting on me." Paul responded jovially.
"Oh, I guess I did misunderstand then," Jake admitted, "So how do I get my wolf to understand?"
"I will help you with that," Old Quil offered. "Come to the library tomorrow at noon."
Most of the table glanced at Bella to see her reaction. She had a poker face.
"Speaking of the library, let's move on to your confusion about Bella." Leah continued to lead the meeting.
Jake scoffed, "Random. And you want me to hash out my problems with my ex in front of everyone?"
"Bella," Leah asked, "would you rather do this with our help or alone in private?"
"With you all." Bella answered quickly.
"Settled. Shoot, Jacob." Leah demanded.
"Ok, there were two parts of my confusion about Bells. One part was about my behavior and feelings and the other was about her behavior and feelings. Any preference about which I tackle first, alpha?" He said 'alpha' in an almost sarcastic way.
Leah glared at him until he lowered his head and muttered "Sorry."
"Let's examine your failures before you start accusing my mate." Leah declared.
"I wasn't gonna… ok. I have loved Isabella deeply for my whole life and then I finally got her and then I dumped her and ignored her. I understood about the imprint, and why I had to end things, but she was such a precious person to me. Why did I have to be so cruel? I assume it was the imprint in some way. It's just hard to accept that I am that cruel."
Rachel spoke up, "but you were deceiving her when you were together. You refused to tell her that imprinting was a possibility. Why would you put the effort into correcting that after you dumped her?"
Jake was silent
Paul spoke up, "Well? Jake, what is your answer?"
Jake was deeply uncomfortable but he knew his sister was right. "Ok, so I accept that the cruelty was my own fault, and I'm sorry I hurt you Bella. But it hurt me too. Why would I do something that hurt me too?"
Old Quil laughed and Billy was grinning wide. Old Quil answered, "We must remember that he is sixteen. Boy, we all make dumb decisions that hurt ourselves. That's life, not some mystery for the spirits."
"Ok," Leah moved them along. "What is your confusion about Bella's behavior and feelings?"
"Well, now she's gay. It makes me feel like whatever we had wasn't real for her and that hurts."
"Bella, do you want to take this or would you rather I did it?" Leah offered.
"I'll do it." Bella turned to Jake. "First, I am bisexual, not gay, but I am now in a lifelong, monogamous, homosexual relationship so it is going to look gay to outsiders. The pack knows we're bisexual but I'm fine with the rest of the world assuming we're lesbians. Second, how I feel about Leah has nothing to do with how I used to feel about you. That's something you have to accept. I'm not going to stroke your ego, reminiscing about our relationship to make you feel better. If that makes you feel insecure, you'll have to figure that out for yourself."
"Satisfied?" Leah asked. Jake shrugged. "Ok, what is your confusion about your family?"
"Ugh. We settled it before you got here."
"Enlighten me." Leah insisted.
"Why do I have to sit through this inquisition?"
"Because you're a disrespectful, destructive little twerp and I need to figure out what place you have in my pack." Leah's voice was even, never shouting, but it had a depth to it that was more than a little scary to everyone at the table, except Bella, who thought it was really sexy.
Jake suddenly felt very small. He looked around his kitchen table and all of the faces were looking at him with disappointment.
"Ok." He began, "I was confused about why my dad sent me on a spirit quest. Since I wasn't in a healthy place, spiritually, the spirits would not commune with me and I knew that early on. I asked him and he said I needed a time out."
"We all agreed." Paul remembered his part in that planning.
"I am torn about how to discuss the Jen issues." Leah pondered aloud after a minute. "On one hand, I want you and Old Quil to work through that mess privately with the texts, and not infect the rest of us with it. On the other hand, we all have experience, not just texts, and those experiences might help. What do the rest of you think?"
"I say let's try to understand the problems, then come up with a treatment plan." Old Quil suggested. Leah nodded, deferring to his judgment. Old Quil continued, "Tell us about the moment of imprinting, and the time that followed."
Jake talked about going to the beach with Bella, imprinting, releasing Bella's hand, taking Bella back to her truck so that she'd leave, then following Jen around on the beach, flirting and trying to make her laugh.
"There are key moments in imprinting that mold the nature of the bond." Old Quil explained. "The moment of the imprint is maybe the strongest. You were holding someone else's hand, then you walked away from your imprint. Those actions would cause disorder in a romantic imprint. Did you consider having a platonic imprint?"
"Not for a second." Jake answered honestly, then glanced apologetically at Bella.
"Ok, I'm assuming that you two consummated the imprint, can you tell us about that, not necessarily the act, but what led up to it and what happened after."
Jacob told them about the day Leah kicked Jen out. He told them about bringing Jen to his room and how the room looked, plastered with photos and drawings of Bella. He told them that was where he first seduced Jen, and that they tearfully burned every image and relic of Bella afterward. He even told about Jen finding Bella's clothes in his hamper and how they made Jen throw up. He confessed to weeping for Bella while clutching those clothes and how Jen wanted to go home afterward. Finally, he confessed that he kept manipulating her into staying with him when she wanted to go home.
No one said anything while they all processed all of that for several minutes.
Old Quil broke the silence. "I'm going to be honest with you Jacob, that's a mess. I don't know if I can even help. Consummating the imprint is supposed to repair impurities that might have arisen at the moment of imprint. You just added so many more problems when you two consummated." Old Quil sighed, thought for a moment, then added. "I think you might need to break the imprint."
"But she's my soulmate!" Jake cried.
"Yes and you are blessed to know that. Maybe you two could have a normal human romance without the imprint." Old Quil offered.
"Wait. Wait. Wait." Bella jumped in. "What about the mark? That helped Sam and Emily so much! Why wouldn't it help Jake and Jen too?"
"Because Sam and Emily loved each other deeply, but did not trust that the other felt the same." Old Quil explained. "The mark clarified that for them. Jake still has feelings for you, Bella, and it sounds like Jen is repulsed by him, at least in part. The mark would allow them to feel those things even more than they already do."
"Shit." Leah said. "What about time? If they spent enough time apart, could that distance help? Maybe give Jacob time to get over Bella naturally and give Jen time to heal."
"I don't know." Old Quil confessed. "I'll have to look into all of this. It is way more of a mess than I understood. I'm sorry, Jacob."
Jake added, "I'm going to have to think about breaking the imprint, whether or not it is the right thing. I feel like I need to talk to Jen about it too. I need to know what she wants."
"Jacob, she needs time to heal from this, too." Leah reminded him.
"But I need to know she is ok."
"Write her a letter. Let me double check it before you send it. Don't call her."
"Is that an order?"
"Make it so." Leah commanded in her alpha timber.
Jake laughed, "Ok Leah. Can you tell me how you became alpha now?"
"I marked my mate and shredded Victoria so Sam stepped down." Leah offered.
"Being alpha did not make her a colorful story teller." Billy countered. Then Billy told the story of Leah's strong imprint. He told of Leah's trust in her wolf, the texts, and her mate and how her faith strengthened her spirit warrior, her wolf, and made her the first of the pack to mark her mate. Billy told of how Paul was the second to mark, then how Paul shared the marking wisdom with the others.
Billy also told of the battle with Victoria, the strategies brought forth by the pack members. He told of the alpha's mate's courage, centering herself in the plan, risking her own life. He told of how Victoria was defeated by the alpha, but the alpha's mate was gravely injured. However, since she was a marked imprint, she healed. The alpha's wisdom and faith in her wolf had saved her imprint.
Billy told of how Leah and her strong spirited mate had guided the rest of the pack and their imprints to mark, to trust their wolves and to make peace with who they are. He explained that Sam, the former alpha, did not mark until after the battle. It was then that Sam received the peace and clarity needed to step down and acknowledge his new alpha.
"Cool, so you marked your mate and shredded Victoria and Sam stepped down?" Jake summarized.
Leah chuckled, "Precisely."
"So is Paul beta because he marked Rachel second?" Jake answered.
"No," Leah answered, "he marked Rachel second because he is beta. He is beta because that is who he is, just as I am alpha."
"Ok, but if Jared had marked Kim second, would he be beta?"
"No," Leah said.
"I'm not following."
"Before I imprinted on Bella, I despised my wolf. I despised myself. You remember, right?"
Jake nodded
"Hours after I imprinted, Victoria got close to the house where Bella was. I ripped her foot off and she injured me. That experience bonded me to the wolf for we were united in purpose. The wolf loves Bella and I love Bella. From that day on, the wolf and I work together in all things. We are one, united more than any in the pack. The second most united is Paul. Paul never despised his wolf. They were bros from the beginning. Their bond is very strong. Still, I guided Paul to a deeper bond with his wolf, as I have with the whole pack, and not just the imprinted wolves. The wolf bond is not just about trusting your wolf but getting the wolf to trust you, Jacob Black. Your wolf is angry because you ruined his life. It is not an easy situation to fix. Tell me, how much of your spirit quest did you spend in wolf form?"
"None of it," he said, unashamed.
"Why not?"
"Because I needed to meditate."
"Paul?" Leah invited her beta's input.
"Is six hours a day too much?" Paul suggested.
"I was thinking four, so how about five?" Leah countered.
"Deal." Paul agreed.
"So Jacob Black, you need to spend five hours in wolf form each day. The patrol schedule has totally changed, as have the routes, but you're not ready for patrol yet. You are not to walk the perimeter during the five hours. Instead you are to wander the woods of the rez, spreading your scent everywhere. If you come across an old vampire scent, pee on it. You are not to leave the rez unless Paul or I authorize it. Understood?"
"Is that an order?" He questioned.
"Do you need me to make everything an order or can we build trust?" Leah challenged him.
"I'd like to build trust, actually. How is everyone treating you as alpha?"
"With respect." Leah answered.
Paul was nodding. "The whole pack loves Leah and Bella, the alpha pair. They respect them both tremendously. Leah listens to everyone but is firm. The wolves and men are all more confident under her. The alpha pair has brought Old Quil into the pack, which was probably Sam's greatest failing, rejecting Old Quil."
"Thank you, Paul Lahote." Old Quil loved being part of the pack in his own way.
"So how have the patrols changed?"
Leah let Paul explain the new strategy of expanding their scent, the two runs per day and keeping pack on call on the rez.
"One more thing before we move on, Jacob Black, what can you tell us about the mark that you gave to Jen?" Leah asked.
"Oh man," Jake put his head in his hands. "Well, ok, we got that packet from Sam, and she read the whole thing front to back like six times. She thought the mark was really great and would help us be stronger, overcome our foes," he looked meekly at Bella, "basically that it was the key to our success. But my wolf never showed interest, maybe because of what Quil said, it would hurt us since we were so messed up. But Jen insisted I do it anyway, that I must be misunderstanding if I thought I shouldn't and she basically demanded that I bite her and I did. I did it hard because the texts mentioned a scar. But it didn't heal and the wound festered even though we tried to keep it clean. Did she get medical attention for that?"
"Yes," Billy answered, "Charlie took her to a clinic on the way back to Makah."
"Oh good, I was a little worried about that."
"Should we take a walk, visit everyone, let them know that Jake is back?" Paul suggested, changing the subject.
"Yes. Billy, thank you for hosting this meeting. Quil, always great to see you. We'll see you in the morning." Leah said.
The five went outside and headed to Sam's first. When they were outside, Jake asked, "So you are besties with Old Quil now?"
"The whole pack is indebted to Old Quil. You will be too." Leah answered solemnly.
"What are you going to see him for tomorrow?"
"I'm just dropping off and picking up Isabella." Leah looked at Bella and raised an eyebrow.
Bella added, "I am Old Quil's apprentice, so I'm working at the library with him."
Jake had nothing to say to that.
Emily opened the door at the Uley's. She saw the alpha and beta pairs and welcomed them in, then saw Jake and looked back at Leah, looking for permission to let him in too.
"He is back from his spirit quest." Leah said. "Is Sam home?"
"Yeah, I am." Sam walked out of the spare bedroom that he used as an office. He lowered his head in respect of his alpha, then reached out a hand to Paul, "Lahote, hello." Then he stood in front of Jake, looking him over. Finally he held out his hand, "Jake, welcome back."
"Thanks man," Jake shook the hand of his former alpha, but when he looked into his face he saw a younger man with way less stress on his face. "Christ, you look great, Sam."
Sam laughed. "I wish I could say the same to you, brother. But I have the alpha pair to thank for my changes. They helped me accept myself, my wolf, my place. It truly is a different pack than the one you left."
"Yeah, I keep hearing stuff like that. But why aren't you beta?"
"I already explained that to him, he just hasn't accepted it yet." Leah said.
The visit with Kim and Jared went about the same, except with better gossip from Kim. After that, they visited Seth.
"Seth, meet the new Omega."
"Finally," Seth said jovially, "I've been waiting to be dethroned."
"Well, you and Quil were neck and neck for a very long time." Paul quipped.
"Thanks Paul!" Seth would take any compliment from his favorite beta.
When they went to Embry's house, Quil was there hanging out. That made for one final stop.
"Hello Embry," Leah greeted, "Jake is back."
"Leah, Paul, ladies, hello! And hello Jake." Embry welcomed them in order. "I trust they caught you up on everything important. Our fearless leader here destroyed the red head."
"Yup, that's it, that's all that happened," Quil joked. "What did you do, Jake?"
"Meditated and drank from a stream."
"And are you well?" Embry asked.
"I'm on my way, and I'm in good hands." He nodded toward Leah.
"Speaking of good hands, Embry, I was hoping I could leave him in your hands for a bit?"
"Of course, anything you need Leah."
"I appreciate that Embry."
"I can help too, Leah, anything you need just let me know." Quil offered.
"How was your run this morning, Quil?" Leah asked, sensing that Quil needed her approval as well.
"Great, I went on the route you gave me, or I tried to. No vamp smells."
"Fantastic, keep up the great work." Leah winked at Embry. Embry knew that he was her favorite, the unofficial third, and he was proud of his place in the pack.
"I feel like a total douche, guys." Jake said after Leah and everyone left.
"You should," Quil said, unsympathetically.
"How can I make it up to everyone?"
"You need to get better, that's all you can do." Embry explained.
"Yeah, that seems like an overwhelming task."
"Alone it would be but you're not alone," Embry encouraged.
"You're such a sap," Jake teased.
o.~*~.o
Leah was hoping Sue would be home but she was working. So, she asked Seth for help.
"Seth, I want to know how Jen's doing. Can you call and see how she's doing? I think you'll get a better reception than me."
"I can try." Seth offered.
Jen picked up on the third ring. "Jen?" Seth asked.
"Yeah, this is Jen, who's this?"
"It's Seth, Seth Clearwater. I just wanted to see how you were doing?"
"I'm fine, I'm kind of embarrassed about how everything went down on my visit. Does Leah hate me now?
"No, she doesn't hate you. She made me call you because she was afraid you wouldn't talk to her."
"Oh."
"Do you want to talk to her?"
"Ok."
Seth handed Leah the phone, "Jen, I'm sorry about the way I handled things when you were here. I hope it doesn't ruin our relationship."
"No, I was stupid. I don't know what came over me. I was such a bitch."
"We were both bitches." They laughed together nervously.
"How are things going with Bella? I owe her a huge apology, too."
"Things are going great with Bella. We're moving in together."
"Wow, Leah, wow. I'm so proud of you."
"For what? Taking as may opportunities to fuck my hot girlfriend as possible?"
"Well, that, and I'm sure not everyone there is accepting. I think it's really brave of you two."
"Oh, well, thanks. It doesn't feel brave at all, it just feels right, ya know. Like it's way easier to be with her than not, by a lot."
"Yeah, that sounds ideal."
"So what have you been doing with yourself this week?"
"Just hanging out, catching up with friends, watching TV, the usual."
"Have you had any symptoms of being separated from Jake? Any aches or anything like that?"
"I've had a persistent headache for a few days. Could that be it?" Jen asked, unsure.
"It could be. I'm sorry you're suffering with that. Is it tolerable?"
"Yeah, I've had headaches before… Jake's back, isn't he?"
"Yeah, he got back a few hours ago."
"And he doesn't want to talk to me anymore? I understand." Jen's voice seemed sad.
"No, it's not that. He doesn't think you want to talk to him and you both need space to heal, you know. Neither one of you is crazy but put you together and bam! We are receiving crazy overloads."
Jen giggled. "True."
"He needs to work on himself so that he can be good enough for you."
"Awww, is that what he said?"
"Not exactly. He was chomping at the bit to contact you, but I told him that you both need time to heal so that he doesn't mess up his shot with you even more. You are his soulmate, Jen, his one and only, and he did not treat you right. He was a confused mess when you met. I'm afraid that if you get together too soon, he'll completely ruin his chances with you. And there has been the suggestion of breaking the imprint if he can't heal on his own."
"That's a lot to take in, Leah, but why do you sound like the authority in this? Why do you get to decide who needs time to heal?"
"Because I'm alpha now. I probably should have led with that, sorry."
"No shit, Leah! Are you serious? But I thought Jake was supposed to be alpha?"
"As I said, he was a confused mess when you met."
Jen laughed. "Don't tell him I laughed at that."
"No, I won't"
"Want to tell me the story of how that happened?"
Leah told her the story of how she became alpha, with as many details as she could squeeze in. They were slowly repairing their friendship. Bella read during this conversation, enjoying watching Leah reconnect with her old friend.
After the phone call, they got their packet of lists and they brought it to Charlie's. At Charlie's they started boxing up everything that they wouldn't need this week. It felt unreal to Bella, seeing so much of her life in boxes. She knew that she would not live with Charlie forever, but she didn't imagine she'd be moving into her own home with her soulmate at such a young age. She just wanted to hold Leah close and share the feelings of joy and overwhelm between them. So she pushed Leah down onto the bed and crawled on top of her, fully clothed, and climbed into her favorite position.
"I love you, Leah," she said.
"I love you too, Bella, is something wrong?"
"No, not wrong. I just am feeling all of these feelings right now and I just need you to hold me."
"Of course, baby." Leah rubbed her back soothingly
Bella smushed her face in Leah's boobs. "I feel sad for Charlie, but so fucking happy for us."
"I know what you mean. I wish he lived closer."
"Yeah, but he lives close enough, and he comes to the rez all the time anyway. He's just gonna miss me."
"And you'll miss him?"
"Not as much," Bella said honestly, "but I'll be sad for him since I'll know he's missing me. Maybe we should set him up with someone so he won't be lonely. Wanna set him up with Sue?"
"No! Then we'd be step sisters!"
"How about Embry's mom? Or Quil's mom?" Bella suggested, excited about the idea now.
"Both are more sensible options than my mom." Leah rolled her eyes.
"I think he'd get along better with Quil's mom, honestly." Bella said
"I agree, but wasn't he first cousins with her husband? Would that be a barrier?"
"Well, we could have them over for dinner and see how it goes. If there's no spark, we'll move on to Embry's mom."
"Ok," Leah consented.
"Bella! Leah! Supper's ready!" Charlie called up the stairs.
"Oh shit, I meant to make him supper. Did he make fish or pasta?"
"Fish." Leah answered. She smelled it cooking ages ago. She loved fish. "Do you not like fish?" She asked Bella.
"No, I do, but he usually just bakes it and he makes it way too much."
"He used my dad's fish fry recipe tonight." Leah announced.
"He did?" Bella lit up. "Let's go."
The kitchen smelled like Harry's fish fry and everyone was thrilled about that. For the first time, Charlie had nailed the recipe.
"Ya know, Leah, your dad said he was going to take this recipe to his grave, but your mom found it in the recipe stack and made us all photocopies. She is a good woman."
Leah grinned, "She really is, but she can't make it right."
"Well, Billy says she's making progress. They've been spending some time together. It's pretty sweet, actually."
"That's great, dad!" Bella looked really excited about a blossoming romance between Billy and Sue. "If they get married, we'll have Rachel and Paul as step-siblings!"
"And Jacob," Leah added,
"Oh yeah, and Jake."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Are Paul and Rachel married already? Isn't he still in high school?"
"No, they're not married, but they're a done deal, like me and Leah."
"Uh huh, but you're not married either, right?" Charlie asked.
"Dad, you know that's not legal here."
"But when it is, I will make an honest woman out of your daughter, Charlie." Leah added, totally serious. Bella looked at her with dough eyes and wanted to climb onto her lap and bury herself in Leah's boobs again, but that would not be appropriate for the dinner table.
Charlie looked a little stunned, but continued. "And Billy and Sue aren't even really dating, just spending time together, ok? So, Bella, it will be a long time before you can call Paul Lahote your step brother, ok?"
"Fine, but I can still be excited."
"Fine, be excited." Charlie conceded.
Upstairs, Bella was tired of lists and packing. When she got into her room, she shut the door and started to undress Leah.
"So, you plan to make an honest woman out of me?"
"Yes, I do." Leah was naked in front of her, and she started to reach for Bella to undress her.
"Uh uh uh," Bella stepped back, and undressed herself, slowly, holding Leah's eye contact. "And when were you going to tell me about this?"
"Sorry, did I not make my intentions clear? I intend to be with you forever. You are my mate, my soul mate, my marked imprint. Did you think I wouldn't make you my wife as soon as I had the chance?"
Bella was down to her bra and panties now. "Are you asking me to marry you?"
"No, I'm telling you that I will marry you, as soon as it's legal."
"If you were a man, I'd slap you in the face for that statement." Bella said and didn't remove any more clothes.
"But I'm not a man." Leah took a step toward her. "I'm your soulmate, your alpha, the wolf whose mark you bear. Do you not want to marry me? Because I thought you felt the same way about me as I felt about you." She reached around Bella's back and unclasped her bra. She brought her face down to Bella's, brushed against her cheek and whispered, "In fact, thanks to our mark, I know that you do."
Bella pushed down her panties over her hips then let them drop. She rubbed her cheek against Leah's and whispered, "I'm yours. Only yours."
"Mine," Leah growled ferociously and lifted Bella. Bella wrapped her legs around Leah and immediately started grinding against her. Leah was kissing her, but not putting her down. She wanted to see how much friction Bella could work up grinding against her. Could Bella get off on her abs? God, that would be so hot.
Bella was moaning softly, "Leah, please fuck me already."
Leah didn't have to be asked twice. She placed Bella onto the bed and opened her wide. She started with her tongue. She was so wet, so worked up, it didn't take much at all for her to lose control and come.
Leah moved up her body. She put her knees on either side of Bella's butt under Bella's thighs. She lined up their centers and started rubbing them together. Then she started pushing and releasing, pushing and releasing. The sensation was so intense for both of them. They never felt so close as they did when they were riding each other, bringing each other to a mutual climax. Leah couldn't kiss Bella from this position, but she could see her face, see her out of control but loving it.
She saw Bella's mouth open for a scream as she came and Leah was self-conscious for just a second, then she indulged in it, for she loved making her mate lose her inhibition. Leah growled at the pleasure of it all. This was all too good. It felt unbelievable and the joy that washed over her, it was unmatched, far surpassing what she ever thought was possible for a human to experience. She was coming too.
Then she rolled Bella onto her. "I love you, Bella." She was feeling overwhelmed with her love.
"Love you too, babe. So how do you want to do names?"
"Huh?"
"When we get married. I've been thinking -"
"You've been thinking?" Leah interrupted. "Is this what you were thinking about when I was fucking you? Our future names? Because I was pretty distracted by, uh, I don't know, me fucking you!" Leah sounded a little angry.
"No baby, at dinner. I was thinking, 'Clearwater Swan' is actually a beautiful hyphenated name. What do you think?"
"Yes, It's beautiful." Leah started to squeeze Bella's tits, maybe a little roughly, to try to calm down.
"Is that what you want, then?" Bella asked.
"Not really, I don't like hyphenated names."
"Ok, so do you want me to be Clearwater or do you want to be Swan or do you want us to keep our names?"
"I want us to have the same name. I don't care which. What do you want?"
"Wait, so you'd take my name, just like that? And become Leah Swan?"
"Yeah, why does that surprise you?"
"Uhh, because you're all 'I'm the alpha, I'm telling you that I will marry you,"" Bella said in a silly macho voice.
Leah laughed. "That's not what I sound like at all."
"Yep, it is."
"So what do you want, Isabella Clearwater or Leah Swan?" Leah asked.
"Oh I like how both of those sound. What if we just swapped names?"
Leah laughed even harder, "That's dumb."
"Ok, which do you prefer?"
"I'm fine with either."
"Ok, but which do you prefer?" Bella asked again.
"I think Swan is a prettier name than Clearwater. It's more macho, too. Swans will fuck you up, just like me. Clearwater will just let you drink it, nourishing and hydrating you."
Bella laughed at that. "Ok, it's decided then, future Mrs. Leah Swan.
Leah kissed Bella, deliriously happy. "Mrs. and Mrs. Swan," Leah whispered.
"Bella," Leah confessed after a while, "I need to spend an hour in my wolf form every day. It's the alpha's orders."
"You're the alpha."
"Yes, I am. So I was wondering if I could sleep with you as the wolf. Could we try that? Would you be comfortable doing that? We could still snuggle, or I could sleep on the floor if you prefer."
"Leah! You think I'd want you to sleep on the floor? I'm offended!"
"No you're not," Leah said confidently, "but I'd be happy to share your bed with you as a wolf. Before I phase, I want you to know, please be comfortable with my wolf. She loves you so much and rejection would be very painful, so please be sensitive and just love her as you would love me."
"Ok," Bella agreed.
"And touch her, not like sexually or anything, but if you could be comfortable enough to snuggle with her, well, it would honestly help me a ton."
"Ok," Bella said, "I'll get off of you and you can change at your leisure. Then get on the bed and I'll join you."
"Thank you, baby," Leah looked into Bella's eyes, and kissed her lovingly. Then they separated. Leah shook into her wolf form, a gray wolf the size of a pony. She got onto the bed, waiting for Bella. Bella climbed onto the bed and put her hands on the wolf's ears and started scratching. Leah opened her mouth and licked Bella's cheek and nose. Bella giggled. Bella put her arms around Leah's neck and put her temple on Leah's temple, looking into Leah's golden eyes. "Hi Wolf-Leah," she whispered.
Bella enjoyed sleeping with the wolf, but she enjoyed sleeping with the woman more. The wolf was soft and warm, in a different way than the woman. If she was honest, she felt more safe with the wolf than the woman. She slept soundly that night, naked and curled up with her wolf pillow. Sleeping with the wolf made her feel so alive in a way that was vibrant and wild.