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Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.
Part Eleven-Sorting Things Out
Jacob and Bella sat quietly on the bench seat together. Ethan had fallen asleep and Bella cuddled him against her chest as they both pondered the latest turn of events.
"I remember you told me once that being the Alpha was your birthright." Bella was the first to break the silence.
"But I didn't want it, any of it." Jacob sat forward and rested his elbows on his knees. "Is this too much, Bells? Are you going to leave now?"
"Too much?" Bella tried to reign in her irritation at his lack of faith in her, although she had to understand that it would take time to prove to him that she wasn't going to run again. She rested one hand on his shoulder. "Jake, I'm staying alright. Please get that into your head. Whatever this means for us, we'll cope with it. Together."
Jacob turned his head to look up at her, some of the worry eased from his face. "Thank you." He said simply.
"Do the others know yet?" Bella asked.
"No, I'm going to have to call a meeting and tell them. We have effectively lost two of our numbers until Sam and Leah return." Jacob rubbed a hand over his face as he wondered how this was going to affect the patrol schedules. It would mean longer shifts and less time with Ethan and Bella, he couldn't help but feel resentment toward Sam because of it.
Bella was quiet for a moment before speaking. "What if they don't come back, Jake?"
"They will." He said with certainty. "The pull toward the pack is too strong."
"What if the longing to be free, happy and in love is stronger?" Bella suggested gently. "Staying away may be the only option for the both of them to be together."
"I don't know." Jacob admitted sadly. "It's all such a mess."
Bella adjusted her sleeping son in her arms as she stared out at the darkened horizon. "Maybe it's time to disband the pack then."
"What?" Jacob was completely stunned by her suggestion. "That's impossible."
Bella scrutinised him carefully. "Why is it impossible, Jake? How long are you all expected to carry on with this burden? Haven't you all done your duty? Really, when was the last time any of you saw a vampire in this area?"
"There has been no activity since the newborn battle." Jacob conceded thoughtfully.
"Then perhaps it's time you negotiated with the elders and set a firm date for disbanding the pack." Bella suggested cautiously.
Jacob looked at her in wonder. "Do you realise how much I love you?" He said with a slow smile.
Bella smiled back at him in relief, glad that he wasn't angry with her for suggesting such a thing. "I love more."
"Impossible!" Jacob declared as he put his arm around her shoulders.
Bella rested her head against him, both of them finally seeing a glimmer of hope for the future where they might actually be able to live as a normal couple, free of the supernatural.
Jacob managed to get his dad alone for a few moments while Charlie was occupied with Ethan and Bella. He told him about the situation with Sam and then Bella's idea for setting a date for when the pack could finally wind down their duties and return to a more normal life. "What do you think?"
"I think that is a good idea. It shows mature thinking. None of us expected you all to carry this burden indefinitely. Times have changed since the last pack were around, and even then, they had periods of rest, depending on how much vampire activity was in the area. I will call a meeting and put the idea forward. I cannot see any problems with having an open discussion about setting a firm date." Billy smiled at his son proudly.
"Thanks, Dad. I need to go and see the others now and let them know what has happened with Sam." Jacob told him. "I'll just go and say goodbye to Bells and Ethan."
"Alright, see you soon." Billy watched his son go, noticing that he was already beginning to take on the leadership role, even if he wasn't aware of it.
Emily finally emerged from Jacob's room an hour after he had left. She shuffled into the living room and curled up on the sofa. Bella handed Ethan over to her dad, who took him and joined Billy in the kitchen so the girls could have some space to talk.
"How are you?" Bella asked her gently.
"I don't know." Emily seemed dazed, as if she wasn't really there.
"Can I get you anything? Are you hungry? I could make some food." Bella offered.
"No, I don't think I could eat anything." Emily pushed her hair out of her face, revealing the tracks of her tears. Bella looked at her helplessly, not sure what to do.
"I wish I could help you, Emily." Bella admitted. "But I don't know how."
Emily sighed and looked at her hands, the small ring that adorned her left finger glinted in the dim light. "All I ever wanted was to be a wife and mother. I like taking care of people. I was never one of these girls who had big ambitions. When I met Sam and he imprinted on me, I felt like my destiny had been assured. We moved in together, got engaged, and began to build a life. His brothers were like an extended part of our family. I loved it all, Bella. I was happy...the only downside was hurting my cousin."
Bella remained silent; she could tell that Emily just needed to unburden herself.
"Then," she continued, her eyes faraway as she became lost in memories. "Leah phased unexpectedly. The life I had begun to build with Sam began to crumble around me, although I tried to deny it. Sam refused to name a wedding day; he spent more time away from the house. I could sense he was conflicted. Having Leah in his head was wearing him down and all his old feelings for her came tumbling out."
"But I clung to the hope that it would all go away, I mean our imprint bond was strong. I was his destiny, right?" Her dark eyes pleaded with Bella for some sort of understanding, but Bella just could not give it to her. She would never understand how Emily could have betrayed her cousin in such a way and take the love of her life from her.
"I want to sympathise with you, Emily, but I can't. How could you have taken Sam away from Leah in the first place? You could have chosen to have him in your life in other ways. Why as a lover?" Bella hadn't meant to ask her so bluntly, but the question just slipped out.
Emily's expression became sullen. "Because he was my destiny. I had been waiting my whole life for someone like him to love me. The spirits chose me to be his mate, not Leah. I could not ignore fate."
Bella noted a hint of jealousy in Emily's voice every time she mentioned her cousin's name. It was obvious what was really behind her decision, no matter how she tried to pretty it up for herself. "Do you want me to drive you home?" Bella suggested, getting tired of the other girl's company, her empathy had run out for Emily.
"I have no home." Emily retorted bitterly. Her expression then became unbelievably sad as she stared at her ring again. "He's never coming home to me, is he?"
"Honestly?" Bella said. "I doubt it."
Emily gave her a dark look. "You are very direct, aren't you?"
"I don't believe in sugar coating the truth anymore. I did enough of that in the past and hurt a lot of people because of it." Bella confessed.
"Yes, you did." Emily rose from the sofa and smoothed her dress down, combing her long fringe back over her face with her fingers. "I would like to leave now. Can I use the phone?"
Bella stood up too. "Of course. I'm sure Billy won't mind. I can give you a lift."
"No." Emily stated firmly. "I am going to call my sister to come and collect me. I don't want to be alone. I think it's best if I stay with her for the foreseeable future."
"Okay." Bella could think of nothing else to say.
Emily glanced down at her ring again, before slipping it from her finger. She held it out to Bella. "Give this to Sam for me when he gets back." A tear slid down her cheek as she pressed it into Bella's open palm.
"I will." Bella promised.
Emily wiped at her eyes and then turned away to make the phone call.
"You mean he just took off?"" Jared raged as he paced back and forth in front of his brothers.
"It wasn't quite like that." Jacob told him. "We all know Sam has been suffering for a long time."
"Still, to just bail like that." Paul said in disgust. "He is supposed to be our leader."
Jacob hesitated before telling them that he was now in charge. There was a reason he had wanted to do it while they were all in their human forms. There would be less chance of a fight starting, especially in Paul's case. Jacob could see Lahote's fists clenching already.
"So, who is going to lead us now?" Embry questioned, a small smile playing about his lips. He already knew.
Jacob looked at him meaningfully. "Me." He declared simply.
Right on cue Paul was in his face. "No fucking way! I will not take orders from someone who shirked the responsibility in the first place!"
Jacob shoved Paul back roughly, not liking that he was invading his personal space. "Calm down." He snapped.
Quil and Embry exchanged a knowing look. They made sure to keep close in case it kicked off further, although they were interested to see, as was Jared and Seth, how Jacob would handle his first test as leader.
Paul's limbs were still trembling. "I don't take orders from a flake." He seethed.
"You will have to accept the change, Lahote. Don't make me force you." Jacob's voice was quiet but there was an undercurrent of authority in his tone.
Paul still refused to back down. He stepped forward again, a grim smile on his face. "Make me, Black." He sneered.
"You asked for it." Jacob warned before phasing on the fly.
Paul was so stunned that it took him a moment to react. He barely had time to phase himself before the large russet wolf was on top of him, pinning his silver grey wolf to the ground, his teeth bared as he growled at him.
"You will accept my leadership and you will obey me." Jacob roared through the pack mind.
Paul's wolf whined helplessly as he struggled to push Jacob off him, but he just wasn't strong enough. Jacob had him pinned down too securely.
"You will submit." Jacob issued his first Alpha command and Paul's wolf instantly became still.
Jacob moved back and released Paul, issuing one last order. "Go and patrol the borders to burn off your anger. I don't want to see your sorry ass back here for the rest of the day."
The silver-grey wolf rolled onto its belly in a submissive posture before running off into the forest.
Jacob phased back, wincing as he realised he had shredded another set of clothes. The others looked at him with renewed respect. He rubbed the back of his neck as he looked at what remained of his pack. "Now I've got another suggestion to put to you and I think you're going to like it."
Bella was changing Ethan on Jacob's bed when his window opened suddenly, startling her. She just managed to stifle a scream as she saw that it was Jacob climbing through. Her hand flew to her mouth when she noticed he was completely naked.
"What happened?" She asked, not being able to stop her amused laughter. Ethan giggled, too, when he heard her laugh.
"Paul happened." Jacob confessed irritably. "He kicked off and I had to phase fast, shredding my clothes in the process. I haven't done that since the early days."
Bella gave him a sympathetic smile. "I wouldn't mind you walking around like that all the time." She gave him a flirtatious wink.
"I think your dad may have something to say about that." Jacob grinned at her, finally getting over his pique.
"Spoilsport." She picked Ethan up and ticked his belly. "Daddy ruins all the fun, yes he does." She cooed at him. Ethan wriggled about, gurgling happily.
Jacob pulled on another pair of jeans and a t-shirt. He came up behind Bella and embraced her, resting his chin on her shoulder. "Well, I've told the others about your suggestion and they are all for it, especially Quil and Jared. Now the next hurdle is the elders."
"I can't see them kicking up too much of a fuss as long as it's an agreed time frame." Bella said reassuringly.
"We'll see." Jacob made a funny face at Ethan, making his son beam at him. "Where is Emily by the way?"
"She's gone to stay with her sister." Bella told him. "She gave me her engagement ring to pass to Sam. I think she has accepted it's over between them now. She seemed resigned to the fact."
Jacob was shocked at this piece of news. "If only there was a way to let Sam know."
"Can't you tell him when he is phased?" Bella asked in confusion.
"He has been deliberately staying human to avoid us tracking him." Jacob kissed the nape of her neck.
Bella turned around in his arms and rested her head on his chest with Ethan cradled between them. "I'm so glad that we're together." She whispered.
"Me too, honey, me too." Jacob responded contentedly, wrapping his strong arms around them both.
A/N-thanks for reading!