Bella woke up feeling a lot lighter than she had in a while. She and Leah had unloaded their burdens the previous night and fucked off all of their inner rage, at least, that's what it felt like.
Bella wiggled her body on top of Leah's.
"Bella." Leah sighed. She sounded lighter too.
"Morning, baby."
"Whatcha doing?"
"Just enjoying you."
Leah growled gently. "Can I enjoy you, too?"
Bella giggled. "Help yourself."
Leah sat up, bending her knees, then lay Bella down where Leah's legs had just been. Leah lifted Bella thighs onto her strong shoulders. Bella yelped at the quick movement.
Leah nuzzled her cheek against Bella's thigh mark, rubbing her cheek up and down on it, then softly nudging it with her nose. She breathed deeply of Bella's scent and bent down, lowering Bella's legs to the bed as she did.
Leah started with her fingers, one in the cunt and her thumb on the clit. She was fucking Bella with her finger, leaning over Bella to look in her face clearly. She added a second, then third finger, but the third finger gave her less leverage so she pulled it out. She could read Bella's face. She had found the spot and Bella was breathing heavy, trying to keep her sounds down but her body was so responsive. She was squirming, humping back, riding Leah's hand.
"Leah!"
Leah kissed her, intermingling their tongues while Bella moaned her orgasm into Leah's mouth.
Leah lay down on her side next to Bella, lips still connected. She ran her clean hand through Bella's hair, brushing it away from her face. Bella was on her side now too. Their legs had become intertwined. Leah pulled Bella's right thigh between her own thighs and started grinding on it.
Bella pulled out of the kiss with a gasp. "Leah, the mark, you're grinding on the mark."
"I know." Leah said huskily, then brought her face back to Bella's to continue their kiss.
"Gahd. It's so intense." Bella turned her head a little. She had to keep her eyes shut.
"Do you want me to stop, baby?" Leah asked, grinding faster.
"No. I. Just." She sighed. She didn't even remember what she was going to say.
"You are so beautiful, my Bella." Leah started sucking on Bella's neck until her sighs turned to whimpers again. Then she pulled Bella's face back to hers to muffle her scream. She also changed the pace a little so that she finished right behind Bella, leaving them both breathless and clinging to each other.
"I love you, baby," Leah said, going in for more kisses.
"You. Too." Bella said, each word punctuated with a kiss.
o.~*~.o
Leah and Bella walked hand in hand to the library. Bella noticed that they got a few stares on the street. Leah seemed oblivious.
Old Quil greeted them warmly. Leah went upstairs to continue cleaning. She brought a small portable radio so that she had some rhythm to her work. She kept the volume low so that she could listen for danger. She considered setting up convex mirrors around the outside of the house so that she could see anyone approaching the front door of the library. She wondered if she would need council approval for that modification.
Downstairs, Old Quil started guiding Bella to the Quileute lessons.
"Quil, Leah wants me to talk to you like the other pack members do. Can we do that now?"
"Of course Bella. Pack work always takes precedence over library work. The pack is the reason for this place. What can I help you with?"
Bella tried to explain her problem, that she doesn't prioritize her safety and how it has caused Leah to not trust her, and always overprotect her. She told him about the Edward hallucinations as well.
"Well, it doesn't sound like overprotectiveness, does it? It sounds like she's keeping you safe. So how can I help? I'm not much of a protector."
Bella smiled. "How do I stop? How do I make my safety a priority?"
"Hmmm. I'm not sure that is my specialty-"
"That's what I told Leah!"
"But," he added, "I do know of a book on this topic. It was written by Martha Black, Ephraim Black's wife and marked imprint. She was an adventurous lass, a wise herbal woman, who did not want to stop her adventures and exploration just because her husband worried about her. So she didn't. But she did help him build his trust in her, and build his trust in the power of their marked connection. Do you think that will help?"
"It will be a start." Bella said. "Can I read this for my pack room time?"
"Absolutely!"
"And did she have journals, too?"
"Yes! You would have loved her. She was so wise and fun. She lived long enough to meet Jacob, too, the longest living person from that pack."
"Wow, because she was a wise herbal woman?"
"Maybe. She said it was because of her long walks."
"Should Leah and I start long walks too?"
"Maybe, but she would walk for hours in the national forest every day, so I don't think you could walk that much and be the librarian and archivist."
"You're probably right about that." Bella smiled.
Quil walked her back to the translation work. "Let me know if you have any questions or want to know how something sounds, ok?"
"Of course."
At 11:00, Bella moved on to the software work and Paul came to talk to Old Quil. A few seconds after the pack room door shut, Leah came downstairs from the apartment and left without a word. Bella was a little confused because she was planning to have lunch with Leah. Maybe that was what Leah was doing, going to get lunch.
She kept working until 12, when Leah and Jake walked into the library together silently. Bella was so relieved that Leah was back. She kept working, waiting for Leah to come get her. The pack room door opened, Paul came out and Leah and Jacob went in.
Paul stood in the door of Bella's little office. "Whatcha working on?"
"I'm digitizing the library catalog."
"Sounds fun, wanna break?"
"Ok. I thought I was going to have lunch with Leah?"
"Well sometimes plans change." Paul took Bella by the arm and slowly led her to the picnic table where Leah was waiting.
"How did you… did you jump out the window or something? The pack room has no windows… Did you run?"
Leah giggled. "Yeah, I ran, baby. I had to talk to Jacob and Quil really quickly but I didn't want to miss our lunch date so I had Paul walk you slowly." She turned to Paul, "thank you for your help." He nodded, gave Bella a quick kiss on the crown of her head, and jogged away.
Leah pulled a picnic basket out from under the table. She lay down a blanket in the shade and spread out an assortment of meats and cheeses and fruit and some drinks and crackers and breads and jams.
"Leah, you spoil me!"
"What do you mean? This is my lunch. What did you bring?"
Bella giggled. "I brought myself. And I'm a gift."
"That you are, baby." Leah said, pulling Bella close.
When Jake came out of the library, he walked around to the side where Bella was lounging in Leah's arms on the blanket.
"Hi." He said, happy to see the girls enjoying each other.
"Hi Jake, wanna grape?" Bella offered.
"No thanks, Bella, I think Old Quil is waiting for you."
"Oh yeah," Bella turned around and started kissing Leah on and around her mouth. "Thank you for lunch, baby. This was fun." Then she got up and returned to work.
Jake helped Leah pick up the picnic. They sat at the picnic table across from each other.
"So, what have you found?" Leah asked.
"There are two stories of broken imprints. The first was very sad. The boy had raped the girl about a month before he first phased. When he imprinted, she was terrified of him, wanted nothing to do with him, didn't care about anything he said. Her family took her away from the area when he wouldn't leave her alone. He did the ritual to break the imprint a few months after she left. Her extended family reported that she married another man and lived a normal life. The boy never married and his journals are miserable."
"Oh." Leah thought that did sound very sad, but she also did not have any sympathy for the boy. "And what did you learn from his story?"
"Well, I didn't rape Jen, but I didn't really listen to what she wanted. What we did… it wasn't healthy."
"So what was the other story?"
"The boy was about Seth's age, maybe 15. He imprinted on a new widow who was maybe in her mid thirties. The widow had a son who was younger than 10. The boy went after the woman who was still grieving the recent death of her husband. The woman was sympathetic at first, insisting they could be friends or a sibling imprint for now, and maybe later something else if that's what they both wanted. The boy wouldn't take the hint. He stalked her, wouldn't leave her alone, and frightened her child. She told him she wanted nothing to do with him. He broke the imprint to release her. Several years later, her son phased and saw how much this man still loved his mother. The son petitioned the mother to give the man another chance. Slowly, the man wooed her, won her over and they married. They never had children but they were happy."
"That's messed up but also kinda sweet." Leah said.
"My thoughts exactly. I feel like that's the best I can hope for with Jen: messed up but also kinda sweet."
"So what now, Jacob?"
"Well, with both of these, the imprints declared they wanted to break the imprint. Jen hasn't done that. I don't want to break the imprint if it's not what she wants."
"Have you written the letter?"
"Yeah," Jake handed her the envelope. Leah pulled out the letter and read it. It was short, sweet, and apologetic.
"Ok, I'll send it for you."
"Thank you, Leah."
"You're doing good, Jacob. How do you feel about connecting with your wolf?"
"Better. He's still pissed but I think he's beginning to trust me more. I split the five hours into five one hour sessions so he doesn't get too sick of me at once."
"Have you tried sleeping as the wolf?"
"That sounds awful."
"Oh, it's nice."
"How does Bella do with that?"
Leah's face lit up. "She's wonderful with her. I wonder if that could help you and your wolf, if your wolf could spend time with Jen in wolf form."
"Do you think Jen would do that?"
"I don't know. I was thinking, if things get better, maybe Jen could visit after Bella and I move. She could stay in my old room at Sue's."
"Well, I'll leave that up to your wisdom, Leah."
"Yeah, well, do you have any questions for me? Anything?"
"Kind of," Jake hesitated. "I don't know how to get over Bella." Leah growled. Jake heard it but kept going. "My wolf keeps suppressing any thoughts of her, so when anything slips through, it's overwhelming. Like I'm heartbroken that I lost her, Leah, but my wolf won't let me feel it or think about it. So because he keeps blocking me from feeling it normally, it bubbles up with intense pressure."
"What's it like when you are near Bella?"
"It's intense at first, like I have butterflies for her, but after a while, like when we were in the meeting at my dad's, it quickly calmed down and it was more like a sisterly friendship affection."
"Ok, then we'll have to have you spend time near her, I think, like exposure therapy. Then your feelings will become sisterly affection and your wolf will get used to that. How's your Quileute?"
"Excellent, maybe not as good as yours, but excellent."
"What do you think of helping her with Quileute lessons? Old Quil has her doing it as an independent study but I think she's learn quicker with a tutor."
"Ah, I don't know Leah, are you comfortable with that?"
"No, I'm not. I trust Bella, but I don't trust you. So either I'll be there, listening, or one of the pack will be there. Let's run the idea by Old Quil, too, and Bella."
They entered the library. Leah waved at Bella on the way to the pack room. Old Quil said they should try it, as long as Bella was okay with it. He said that the wolf needed to get used to Bella anyway, since she was the alpha's mate.
Then they went to Bella. Leah explained that this would help Jake's issues with his wolf, which would in turn help the pack.
"It's not my favorite idea, but if it helps the pack, ok. And I won't be alone with him, right? Like will you or someone else at least be in the big room at all times, not outside or upstairs? Is that asking too much?"
"No baby, we'll never leave you alone with him, I promise."
Jake was bummed that Bella didn't want to spend time with him alone. He still yearned for her. But somehow he felt this was going to help him make progress in getting over her.
Jake left to meditate in wolf form. Leah went back upstairs to clean again. She had already cleaned the whole place, top to bottom, but she decided to hand scrub the floors just to stay near Bella.
That afternoon, Sam and Emily came to visit Old Quil. They both went into the pack room. Sam came out quickly and started reading in the great room. Emily stayed in the pack room for a long time with old Quil.
Leah came down and sat across from Sam. "Life after the wolf," she read from the book cover. "You retiring, old man?" She asked him.
"Maybe someday, if you'll let me, but we don't have to decide that yet. Right now, I need to keep my wolf settled, help him understand without ever being in wolf form. This book has ideas on that."
"Good, good." Leah got up and moved to the table with Bella. She saw Martha Black's book on adventuring as an imprint. "Bella, I thought you were going to figure out how to prioritize your safety, not go adventuring."
"That's what this is about, Leah, at least sort of. Her husband was worried about her safety and this tells about precautions she took and how that built trust."
Leah's eyes had little gold flecks in them. The wolf was here. The wolf was worried.
"Ok, Leah, I understand, but it's a start, and it's all that Old Quil offered when I told him the problem."
Leah's eyes were wide. She was terrified for her imprint. She needed to regain control before she talked to Old Quil about it though. She could not go in there angry and terrified or she might phase.
Bella climbed into her lap. "I'm yours. Only yours."
"Mine." Leah growled, holding Bella close to her chest. Leah closed her eyes and breathed deeply of her imprint's scent.
When Leah opened her eyes, Old Quil was standing near the table, peering at her.
"Leah, can I help you with something?"
"Yes. My Bella needs to prioritize her safety, her own life. And you gave her a book on adventuring far into the forest. I. Am. Concerned."
"Martha also had to learn how to prioritize her own safety. "
"I remember Martha. I remember she went into the woods and never came back."
"She was 104." Old Quil countered.
"Maybe I should be more adventurous so I can live to be 104." Bella suggested teasingly.
Leah growled. "Don't you start." Then to Old Quil, "Do you have anything back there about how to be a coward or something? Maybe when to step back?"
"Erm, I don't think you would like those books. Courage and cowardice go hand in hand and most books encouraging cowardice also encourage bravery in the right situations. From what I've seen of Bella, she has shown bravery in the right situations. I know about how she was before she was with Jacob. She told me about that. But she was going through vampire thrall withdrawal. It is not who she is now."
Leah gulped. "Fine. Enjoy your book." She kissed Bella's cheek and went back upstairs. She started cleaning from the top to the bottom again. She folded up the couch covers so that their dust would not spread around. She scrubbed the fridge, the sink, the toilet, the tub all again. She couldn't find dirt anywhere, so she transformed into her wolf and meditated until 4:45 when she went downstairs to wait for Bella.
"Are we going to my dad's tonight?"
"Yeah, let's go see Charlie."
They got into the truck and drove in silence. Bella felt there was still tension between them.
"It's ok," Bella said, "Martha was careful. She wasn't at first. She was actually a lot like me. You alpha's have a type. But she learned to be. And her life is really interesting."
"I'm not mad, just scared. What you told me last night, it really scared me. It's just going to take some time for me to be comfortable with it all, ok? I'm sorry I can be wound so tight sometimes."
"Don't be sorry for who you are. I love how much you care for me. I'm really touched by it, honestly. Ok?"
"Ok, baby," Leah squeezed Bella to her side. "I do love you, so so much."
"I love you too."
o.~*~.o
There was a note from Charlie on the fridge saying he'd be there at 7 with supper.
Bella ran straight upstairs and Leah chased her. They got undressed at record speed, giggling like children for reasons Leah didn't quite understand. Then they dove for the bed and started making out.
"Leah, Leah," Bella breathed.
"Bella. You are so beautiful." Their legs were intertwined and their chests were pressed together. They just wanted more of each other, all of each other. They needed to comfort each other.
"Leah, I don't know what to do to make this ok."
"I know baby, I can feel your sincerity, and I'm sorry that my fear is so overwhelming and that you can feel it. I didn't mean for it to be this way. Maybe this is the downside of the mark. When we are at peace we are in bliss but when there is discord, it is fearsome, even when we don't want it to be."
"What can we do?"
Leah had an idea. "Let me be the wolf. The wolf needs to connect with you. Can we try that for a little bit before Charlie gets here?"
"Let's do it." Bella flew herself off the bed so that Leah could transform. She snuggled with the wolf and they both felt the fear and anxiety slowly roll away from Leah. When Leah heard Charlie's cruiser, they ended the snuggle session. Leah quickly transformed back and they got dressed to meet Charlie downstairs.
Charlie came in with Chinese food and the girls met him at the bottom of the stairs. "I didn't know what you liked, Leah, so I got a bunch of stuff to share. I figured you could bring the leftovers to lunch for work tomorrow."
Leah learned that Bella's favorite was Szechuan chicken and egg rolls and Charlie's favorite was General Tso's chicken. Leah was careful not to take much of those so they could each have some for leftovers. Instead she loaded her plate with rice first, then put a little bit of everything on top.
After supper, they sat with Charlie on the couch while he watched the game. Charlie didn't mind Bella sitting in Leah's lap.
"Dad, we want you to come for dinner every Sunday night, ok? This Sunday won't be much because we'll still be unpacking, but we still want you to come, ok?"
"Of course, Bells. I can bring something if you like. Hey, did you girls ever make that list of stuff you need for the apartment?"
"Well, when we looked at the apartement, it was more furnished than we thought. So we think we'll just move in as is then get stuff as we need it. Leah's already bought a bunch of cleaning supplies to clean the place. And kitchen stuff is next, right Leah? We won't need much to start out. You don't need to bring anything Sunday, except maybe a dessert if you want. We'll be home all day, so we can cook."
"Ok Bells, please let me know if you need anything though, or even if you just want something, ok?"
"Of course."Bella said, "We should probably go upstairs and work on packing. We'll be back on Thursday night for one last night but we don't want to leave too much for the end."
"And I was going to load some stuff up tomorrow, after work, just so we have it done, if that's ok." Leah said.
"Of course, Leah, that's why you have a key. I want you to feel comfortable here."
"Thank you, Charlie. Okay, Bella, we should get back to work."
They went upstairs and packed all of the rest of Bella's clothes and toiletries except the ones she'd need for Thursday night. The room was bare except for boxes and bags.
Then they snuggled into bed. "Can you pick up linens and towels tomorrow?" Bella asked.
"Sure, baby, what colors?"
"Surprise me."
"That's a bold suggestion, Swan. What if my favorite colors are hot pink and lime green."
"You'd look amazing on those sheets. But get what you like, okay. If I hate it, I'll get different ones and your ugly stuff could be the backup for laundry day."
"Laundry! Does the place have a washer dryer hookup? I didn't see one." Leah could not believe that they had both overlooked this crucial set of appliances.
"Maybe it's in the basement. Maybe we can add one. But doesn't the rez have a laundromat?"
"Yeah, it does. And we're right down the street from my mom's"
"So we'll be fine." Bella assured her as they snuggled into bed, sleepy from their long day.