On Friday morning, Leah helped Bella pack up the last of her possessions from Charlie's. They made a list of everything Leah would need to get after work. The list included more food, silverware and flatware, pots and pans and kitchen utensils, a TV, a microwave, an xbox and a few games. She'd have to go to Port Angeles. Maybe she could pick up a fridge while she was there.
When they got to the library, a small crowd awaited them. Paul, Embry, Quil and Rachel were all there. Quil had his Gameboy.
"Paul, Embry, what's up?" Leah asked.
"It seems that we both had the same idea. We're not leaving Bella until you get back." Paul said.
"Well I appreciate that but it's going to be a long day. I have to run to Port Angeles. Are you sure?"
"Yes." They both said firmly.
"Ok, Quil, you don't have to stay, but can you leave the Gameboy?"
"I don't mind staying. I want to help, too, Leah."
"Could you spend some extra time with Jacob in the pack mind today? Oh and if you haven't seen Old Quil yet this week, can you do that today?"
"Sure thing, boss, happy to help."
Quil handed Embry the Gameboy who handed it to Paul. "I've got reading to do for now."
"I was going to shadow the Quileute lessons, so you take it first." Paul insisted.
"No one needs to play on the Gameboy." Bella announced it like it was a new concept.
"Oh." Paul said and Embry smirked. They left the Gameboy on the table for later.
Leah turned to her love, "I'm going to head out. It looks like you have your hands full today." She kissed Bella like they were alone, not caring about their audience, happy to taste her one last time before her long day.
Bella's work day was uneventful, besides all of the hovering wolf men. Quil spent two hours with his grandfather in the pack room.
Rachel was a great Quileute teacher, much easier to work with than Jacob. The lessons bonded them even more. Although Paul was a little distracting with his questions and flirty banter with Rachel. He wasn't really a good shadow.
When Quil left the pack room, Paul went in to talk to Old Quil. "Tell me, Paul, did you try having your wolf spend time with Rachel yet?"
"I did. We talked about it again last night, about the wolf's insecurities and what Leah was doing with Bella. Rachel said she wanted to sleep on it. Then this morning, it was the first thing she asked about when she woke up."
"And how was it?" Old Quil asked.
"Quil, what was it like when your parents hung out like that?" Paul countered.
"I remember it being very sweet and loving. Sometimes they would sit side by side and watch the sunset. Sometimes the wolf would curl up by the fireplace and my mom would curl up with him. It always seemed so intimate."
"That was how it was with me and Rachel. I curled up in bed and she curled up with me. I felt… it was almost like I was purring. It was a deep sense of rightness. Almost like the epiphany after the mark but not quite that intense. The only downside was that Jake was in the pack mind the whole time. I could block him from experiencing my time with Rachel. But it was like a TV was blaring in the background. We'll have to try it again when Jake isn't spamming the pack mind with his crazy nonsense."
"How is Jake doing?"
"Ugh, Quil, you're lucky you don't have to witness it first hand." Paul rolled his eyes thinking about it. "Now that the imprint is broken, it's all Bella all the time. That's how it was with Jake before the imprint too. I don't know if anyone told you that. He is terrible at guarding his thoughts and always has been. And he's crazy obsessive about whatever girl he's into."
"That sounds disturbing, to share a mind with him when he's like that." Old Quil commented.
"It was less disturbing when he was actually with one of them. Now Bella's with Leah and he doesn't accept it at all. You're going to have your work cut out for you, working with him."
"It sounds like it. The rest of the pack has been mostly a pleasure to work with, wondering about life direction and insecurities and relationships with their wolves. That is stuff I can understand. And I can understand true love and the difficulties that can come with it. But that kind of obsession… I don't know. You say he was like this before, too? Does Bella know that?"
"I think she's beginning to understand. Like, his bedroom was a fucking shrine to her with all of her pictures and drawings on the wall. She thought it was romantic before but she wasn't too comfortable spending time there. I'm not sure she really faced it before now."
"It is worrying, having such instability in the pack mind." Old Quil stated.
"I know, I know. Especially since our next goal is to meet with the Cullens again."
"Right, to break the treaty. But he's not ready for battle. He and his wolf are not at peace." Old Quil said with a quiet confidence.
"And it would be a nuisance to have him like this when we're trying to get stuff done, especially with the mind reading Cullen."
"No, not just a nuisance. If he's like this, you don't even want him on active patrol. He could do something erratic, something dangerous. Best case scenario, he'll be unreliable with his observations on patrol. Worst case scenario, he could attack someone at a bad time and get everyone hurt. I hope this time as a wolf is beneficial for him."
"Me too." Paul agreed. "But that's not why I came in here. I wanted to talk to you about what it means to be beta. Did the last pack have a beta?"
"No. It was only the three of them and they were in agreement almost always. Ephraim as alpha was all they needed."
"So, what can you tell me about being beta?"
"I have a book on the betas. Not every pack had them and only a handful had a third."
"Embry is our third."
"That is what I assumed. When we were betting on you as the alpha, we assumed Embry would be the beta."
"That's funny. You and Billy have great instincts."
"Here." Old Quil handed Paul a thick text. "I think you'll get a lot out of it. The book on thirds is much smaller. And of course the alpha volume is huge. If any stories interest you, I have a lot of the beta journals translated. But if there is one that you want to read that isn't translated, let me know and I'll bump it up on my list of translation works to complete."
Around noon, Seth showed up with a huge meal for everyone.
"Seth, you are a king. This is great, bud!" Paul truly admired the kid.
Seth didn't feel the same need to guard Bella that Paul and Embry did, but he wanted to help Leah in his own way. Bella added her portion of leftover pizza to the buffet, which was divided and devoured.
Seth went home after lunch. Bella spent the afternoon on the software and reading Martha Black's book. It was just before four when Leah drove up with a truck full of stuff. Seth was in the front seat of the truck with her.
She walked into the library and announced, "I need some big strong men to give me a hand." Paul and Embry were at the door in the blink of a human eye. "Let's do the fridge first, then the groceries."
"So, are you two moving in tonight?" Old Quil asked.
"I thought we couldn't until tomorrow?" Leah queried.
"No, you can move in tonight."
Leah looked at Bella who nodded eagerly. Leah hugged Old Quil. "Thank you!" Then she kissed him on the cheek. Once the fridges were swapped, they decided to do the mattress swap next before the walkways of the apartment were cluttered with stuff to unpack. Seth and Leah brought Leah's mattress up and Paul and Embry brought the old mattress to Leah's room at the Clearwater's house.
"Hey Leah, have you started packing your stuff yet?" Paul asked when he got back to the apartment.
"We were supposed to do it on Wednesday night." Leah explained, "the night that Jake…"
"Yeah, I remember, need a hand?"
"Sure, can you bring the dresser as is? And put everything from the closet in a trash bag, hangers included?"
"Sure, Embry, let's go."
Seth and Leah brought up the groceries next. Leah put food away while Seth brought up more stuff.
"Where do you want the TV?"
"On the TV stand, please, Seth." Leah said, exasperated by the obvious question.
The boys came in with the dresser next, "to the bedroom?" Paul asked.
"Yep."
"I'll get the closet stuff, Embry, can you help Seth?"
"Sure."
"Paul, can you bring bedding and pillows too? Everything else I'll get next week."
"Yes, ma'am."
Seth and Embry were bringing up the last loads from the truck and were starting to set up the xbox.
"I'm going to go down so that Bella is not alone, ok?" Leah said.
The guys mumbled in agreement as their hands worked to figure out the wiring.
Bella was so excited, she was having a hard time concentrating on her book. She kept reading the same sentence over and over. There were ten minutes left of her shift when Old Quil said, "You can go, Bella. This has been a great first week."
Bella jumped from her seat and gave Old Quil a big hug and a kiss on each cheek. Then she apologized. "Sorry, boss, that was not professional." She smiled at him meekly.
"Bella, you are my great niece, my nephew's daughter. Do not apologize for showing me affection."
"Ok!" She gave him one more kiss on the cheek and grabbed Leah's hand to go upstairs.
"Oh no you don't." Leah said, picking her up bridal style. "I'm going to carry you over the threshold."
Bella put her arms around Leah's neck and muscled shoulder while looking up into Leah's beautiful dark eyes. Leah swung her around at the top of the stairs as they entered the kitchen.
"Let's make these boys some cookies really quick as a thank you for helping us move." Bella suggested.
Together, they whipped up a quick double batch of peanut butter cookies. They came out of the oven just as Paul came trudging up the stairs with the last trash bags full of bedding.
"I'll bring these to the bedroom." He announced, grabbing a cookie on his way.
Seth and Embry were playing a test round on the Xbox, just to make sure everything worked.
"So is that everything?" Paul asked, grabbing another cookie.
"I think so." Leah said. "Embry, Seth wanna pause the game for a cookie?"
When Seth and Embry came over, Paul announced, "We'll get out of your hair then. We'll see you tomorrow at the pack lunch."
"You don't have to go right away," Bella countered. "We made you cookies."
Leah nodded to them all appreciatively. "Thank you for your help. Quil is going to be a little miffed that we moved without him so please play up how helpful it was that he spent time with Jacob, okay?"
"Sure thing, boss." Seth agreed, grinning.
"And return his Gameboy to him." Bella added.
"I'll do that." Embry offered, then took off down the stairs. Seth gave Leah and Bella both a hug, then followed him. "Seth, wanna come play on the PlayStation at my house? My mom usually gets pizza on Fridays." Embry invited him while they were exiting the library.
"Yeah!" Seth agreed.
"You girls don't do anything I wouldn't do." Paul admonished.
"We plan to do things you couldn't do." Leah returned, squeezing Bella to her side.
"Ok, I don't need any more details."
Paul was ready to bolt when Leah asked, "Hey, Paul, can you take the old fridge to the scrap metal place? You can keep whatever money they give you for it. And you can use the truck to take Rachel out on the town if you want."
"Really?" Paul's eyes lit up.
Leah tossed him the keys to the truck. "Drop them in the book schute when you get back."
He gave them both a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you! Thank you! This will be our first real date that isn't picnics or the beach."
"Have fun!" Bella called as he leapt down the stairs. Bella turned to Leah, arms around her shoulders. Leah instinctively put her arms around Bella's waist. "What do you want to do now?" Bella asked seductively.
"Unpack." Leah answered.
"Obviously, but kitchen first or bedroom."
"Let's do the kitchen, then make supper, then the bedroom and then make love."
"A girl with a schedule. Swoon." Bella teased.
They made quick work of unpacking what was left in the kitchen. "How about French toast for supper?" Bella suggested. "It has very little prep, mostly flipping stuff on the stove. I could make it while you get a head start on the bedroom."
"I didn't get syrup." Leah confessed.
"Ok, let's start a shopping list and add that to it. Where is some paper?"
"No idea, can we borrow a piece from the library?"
"Yeah, grab a few sheets and a pen."
Leah came back with a pen and paper. "Do you prefer real or fake syrup?" Leah asked.
"Fake." Bella answered.
"Phew." Leah exhaled. "I was prepared to pretend to prefer real syrup for a few weeks, but this is way easier."
Bella chuckled. "What did you get for sandwich fillings?"
"Ham, cheese, bologna, salami."
"Did you get Swiss?"
"Yeah."
"Then I'll do a ham and Swiss melt on French toast."
"Sounds great, babygirl!" Leah darted off to the bedroom to unpack. "Hey Bella," she came back, "what do you want to listen to for music?"
"You choose. I like whatever."
"Are you saying you have no preference in music?" Leah asked in disbelief.
"Uhhhh, sort of. I used to before Edward and then never really got back into it."
"Yikes. Ok, I can help you with that."
Leah put on some hip hop with a pleasant rhythm that was fun to move to. She put the cd player in the living room, halfway between the bedroom and the kitchen so they could both hear it. Bella found herself moving to the beat as she cooked. She glanced into the bedroom and saw that Leah had some serious moves and it was so hot. She tried not to let it intimidate her. She kept moving her body in ways that felt good, kept reassuring herself that Leah loved her for who she was and would probably find her silly moves endearing.
Out of nowhere, Leah's arms wrapped around Bella's waist and she put both hands on her stomach. Leah pulled Bella's butt flush against her thighs and ground the two together. "It's so hot watching you dance while you cook, baby." Leah whispered.
"I was... I… mmmmm." Bella's speech devolved as Leah started sucking her neck, reaching one hand up to Bella's left breast and using the other hand to unbutton her shorts. "What about the schedule?" Bella asked.
"Fuck the schedule." Leah said breathlessly as she turned off all the burners. She continued to grind Bella's butt against her thighs, holding her close by gripping her mound, her middle finger stroking her clit. She squeezed and stroked Bella's breast, building the intensity. She was licking Bella's neck now, not sucking on it, just licking it over and over and over and it felt so nice. Leah was rubbing Bella's clit quickly but gently. She could feel Bella's orgasm approach and she could feel her teeth sharpen again in her mouth.
"Leah!" Bella screamed out as she climaxed and Leah sunk her teeth into the crook of Bella's neck. Leah scooped Bella up and ran her to the bed, licking the new mark as she went.
"Bella. Mine. Bella. Mine."
"I'm yours. Only yours." Bella started. She looked into Leah's eyes and they were not pure gold. They were dancing with black and gold. The wolf was not fully in control. They were working together.
"Bella, baby." Leah curled her body around Bella's on the bed and spoke while licking the mark clean. "Bella, I didn't plan that. I would have asked. I'm sorry. I didn't ask."
"Leah, it's ok. I would have preferred that you asked but that was so hot. You were so hot dancing and then you were with me and then you were touching me and you are so hot, Leah. I feel so lucky that I have you. I feel… I feel a little overwhelmed with love for you right now."
Bella was stroking Leah's cheek when Leah said, "I know, I feel it too. I don't know if you were feeling my overwhelm or if we were both feeling it and it is growing into a happy love monster we share. But it's nice, either way." Leah had licked off all the blood and was pleased to see the second ring of scars looked as pristine as the first. She was gazing at it, wanting to touch it, wanting to touch them both at the same time.
"I should finish making supper." Bella said.
"I'm coming with you." Leah said. She couldn't let Bella leave her arms now. She lifted Bella by her ass so that Bella would wrap her legs around her waist. She locked her lips with Bella as she walked her back to the kitchen. She did not let Bella down as Bella turned on the burners, watched and flipped the food. Leah was kissing her lips and neck and behind her ear, never letting up.
"How are we going to eat?" Bella asked, knowing that Leah would not put her down anytime soon.
"Just like this." Leah said "I can't let you go."
"Ok, baby, let me feed you." Bella grabbed the first sandwich she made because it was the most cooled down. She brought it to Leah's mouth and Leah took a huge bite. Bella turned the sandwich and took a smaller bite from the same spot. They both chewed and swallowed.
"That's delicious, baby." Leah said. They kept biting like that until Bella was full and then, a few sandwiches later, Leah was also full.
Leah brought Bella back to the bed. "I want to be naked with you now." Leah stated.
Bella slowly started to peel off her clothes. Leah yanked her own off with speed and grace, then helped Bella with hers. "You are so gorgeous, Bella." Leah was looking up and down her body. "Perfection." She pulled Bella into the bed with her.
"I was thinking the same about you, these boobs, that ass, and all these strong muscles. Divine. And your face, sculpted by the gods to be an example of beauty for the world to see. Yet I get to wake up with it every morning. Oh, Leah! I love you so much." Bella clung to Leah's chest, kissing her breasts.
Leah bent down and started licking the new mark, then reached between Bella's legs to touch the original. "Oh my God, Leah," Bella was begging. Leah reached her other hand around and found Bella's opening, already wet and waiting. She plunged one finger in, then another and quickly found the spot. She rubbed, circled and licked, rubbed, circled and licked. Bella fell apart, screaming, moaning, panting, shaking, again and again and again. Leah lost count around eleven and Bella couldn't count at all. Leah climaxed four times through their connection before she felt like she had to stop.
Bella was gasping for air and Leah was concerned. "Bella, baby, my love, did I go too far? Are you okay?"
Bella turned to look at her, still catching her breath. "Oh Leah." She was crying.
Leah was kissing her eyes, trying to kiss away all the tears. "Baby, baby, I lost control, I'm sorry baby."
"No, Leah, stop, I'm not sad, I'm just so happy. So so happy. Come here baby," she pulled her in for a kiss. "Can't you feel it in our connection? It feels stronger. I feel your concern, your love, your pride in what you just did. Can you feel me?"
"Yeah, baby, joy, love and joy." Leah sighed. "Goddamn Bella, I want to be worthy of you, of this."
"I feel the same way. You are so perfect to me."
They didn't get any more unpacking done all night.