Bella recognized his scent from yards away, even with the salty ocean air and tide pools so near. "Paul! Can't a girl visit her log in peace?"

"Come on in, Bella, there's space."

Bella crawled into the log and sat between Paul's knees, both facing the ocean. Paul hugged her from behind and put his head on her shoulder.

"What are you even doing here?" Bella asked.

"It was my log first. I missed it... And Sam kicked me out of training."

Bella snort-laughed. "Did you hurt the kid?"

"Not too badly. You would have laughed it off. Not even a broken bone. There wasn't any blood. But listening to little Quil, it was like he's never gotten beaten up before."

"Did you?" Bella asked. "Before you were a wolf, I mean?"

"That's why I took martial arts. You?"

"Yeah. Angry boyfriends didn't always care that I'm a girl."

"Right." Paul didn't like to think of angry boyfriends hurting Bella, but it was in the past. They could never touch her again and it wouldn't be an issue since she had imprinted on Leah.

They both watched the waves crashing on the sand, the seaweed line moving with the shifting tide. Bella was thinking about the training, about the kid who didn't fit in with the pack. "Is it my fault for saying you guys should teach him to fight?"

"No! You were right," Paul insisted. "They shouldn't have made me fight him first though. Jared can be very gentle."

"That's not what Kim says," Bella said flirtatiously.

"Ha. So you were chilling with them today?"

"Yeah, but the orgy was over by the time I got back."

"Ha ha."

Again, they fell into a trance, watching the waves, how the light played on the surface of the water. Then Bella asked, "What are you going to do with your time off?"

"Rachel, mostly, but I wanted to clear my head."

"Oh, I can go." Bella started to squirm so that Paul could have his alone time to clear his head.

Paul's arms around her weren't budging. "You're fine, Bella. Being with pack is just as good as being alone. I just hope the new kid can be a part of that eventually."

They watched the sun get lower on the horizon, again enchanted by the waves crashing on rocks and sand. Neither of them felt confident that the new kid would be as close to the pack. He felt like such an outsider, so different.

"Does the water ever get this high?" Bella asked after a spell.

"Yeah," Paul chuckled. "Emily was panicking about it when you slept out here but storms like that are usually winter storms. You've got to remember that the water deposited this log here, so it can come back to this level."

"Huh. Good thing that never happened when I was here." Bella was looking at where the sun was in the sky and deduced the time. "Hey, I told Leah I'd be home around 6:00, so I'm heading out."

"Can you give me a ride? I've got to stay out of the pack mind."

"Sure."

Bella passed Leah's house on the way. Leah's car was there. She knew it would be a while anyway since Leah was celebrating her dad's birthday. She just wanted to stick to her word just in case Leah could come early.

She made dinner, got ready for a potential date, then read a book to kill the time. She heard the key in the lock at 9:08 pm.

Bella jumped up, bouncing with excitement.

As soon as the door was closed, she was on the girl. Bella peppered kisses all over her face, then hugged her tight.

"You came!"

"Not yet I didn't," Leah teased.

"Ha! I love you." Bella didn't mean to say that. It just slipped out. But she knew it was true.

Leah didn't know what to say. She knew she felt more strongly for Bella than she had for Sam and she had told Sam that she loved him. "Thank you."

Bella gulped and kept hugging the girl. "How was your dad's birthday?"

"Same as always. But my dad was more excited about me coming to see you than his new fishing lure."

"So you told them?" Bella asked. She seemed almost as excited as Harry had been.

"No. Sorry," Leah answered quickly. "I just said that I was going to visit my friend and my dad followed me out the door, asking if you were the friend. Then he hugged me and told me he was so proud of me, which is weird because it's not like I'm being brave about our relationship at all."

Bella loved that she called it a relationship! "I think you're being brave. Your car has been seen."

Leah stiffened. "By who?"

"Paul and Sam and Jared."

"Stalkers," Leah muttered, then smiled at her girl. "You're brave, Bella. You've been out for ages. And I think it's brave that you told me that you love me."

"Impulsive, but sure, I guess it's brave too." She dragged Leah to the couch. They sat facing each other with their legs crossed.

"I can't say it back," Leah said, unable to look into Bella's face as she spoke. "But not because it's not true. It is, but because I'm fucking scared, Bella."

Bella lifted Leah's chin so that they were looking at each other. "What are you scared about, baby?"

Leah sighed. "That you'll wake up and realize that I've done nothing to deserve this level of adoration."

"That's not going to happen. Hey, do you believe in soulmates?"

"I'm not sure," Leah answered honestly, shaking her head a little. .

Bella perked up as she said, "Ok, well I do. And I'm confident you're mine."

Leah squinted at her. "Uh… sure, Bella. How could you possibly know that?

"It's top secret," she said with a sly smile.

Leah rolled her eyes. "Ok."

"So you can trust that I'm not going to be the one to walk away. I'm all in."

"I'm trying to trust you. I already feel like I trust you more than I should and it doesn't feel safe. Weirdly, you being over-the-top devoted, sometimes it's comforting but sometimes it's just terrifying."

"Terrifying? How?"

"I guess I'm afraid that if I trust you about it, it'll just hurt more in the end."

"Jeez, Leah. That's not what I want. Listen, Rachel said that you already know a lot about the top secret legends from when you were kids. I don't want to push you at all. I just want you to know that you are welcome to ask me anything about that stuff, ok?"

"I know. Are you ok with me not asking?"

Bella nodded. "Absolutely. I can't risk you walking away from me again. It's not fair for either of us."

Bella leaned forward on the couch until their mouths joined. Slowly, they start to remove each other's clothes. Leah became mesmerized by Bella's boobs. She sucked on one while holding the other.

"Let's take this to the bedroom," Leah suggested.

They were making out on the bed when Bella rolled onto Leah. She put one knee between Leah's legs, straddling one thigh.

"Leah Clearwater, I think you're being naughty," she teased.

Leah reached around Bella's back. This position gave her much better access. She rubbed that tight little ass. Then she pinched one cheek, still rubbing the other. She lifted her hand and, smack. Bella moaned.

"If I'm the one being naughty, why are you the one getting a spanking?"

Bella leaned forward, gently brushing her lips against Leah's. "Because you're still being naughty." Bella whispered, then sat up quickly, sitting back on Leah's thigh before Leah could claim her mouth.

~O~

When they were snuggling after, Bella asked, "What hours do you have to work tomorrow?"

"I have the day off."

Bella sat up, excitedly looking down at Leah. "You do? Do you have plans?"

"I was wondering if you had plans."

"I have no plans, but Paul did get kicked out of top secret training, so it's possible that they'll pull me in. But, if I don't go over to Sam's, that will be harder to do. And we could visit my dad tomorrow. It's been a while."

Leah furrowed her brows a little. "How did Paul get kicked out?"

"The kid is scared of him too. I went to meet Quil today and it didn't go well."

"Did you scare him again?"

Bella lay back down on her side so she could see Leah's face while they talked. "No, he noticed that I was hot and then all the other guys scared him."

"Was he checking you out or something?"

"I don't know," Bella said, lazily dragging her hand up Leah's thigh. "I was human at the time. But the guys said his thoughts were disgusting and disrespectful, which, of course they were. He's like fifteen, right?"

"Yeah, I think. What do you mean about his thoughts?" Leah asked. "Was he talking shit?"

"No, when we're all doing top secret stuff, we can read each other's thoughts. It's called the pack mind."

"Ah shit, Bella, I wish I hadn't asked that." Leah rubbed her forehead in thought.

"I know how to keep my disgusting and naughty thoughts to myself, so you don't have to worry about that," Bella said, trying to sound playful.

"I wasn't worried about that, but now I kind of am."

"What were you worried about if not that?" Bella asked.

"You and Sam."

"What about us?"

"Does he ever think about our time together?" Leah asked. "We were together for a long time."

"Not exactly," Bella said, hesitating a little. That hesitation was not a comfort to Leah at all. Bella continued, "Sometimes a memory will pop up and I think it's about you but it's too indistinct. He's pretty good about keeping his thoughts to himself. But he tells me stuff pretty freely. Emily does too."

"I was a bitch to him," Leah said sadly. "I was a bitch to Emily too. Sometimes I think I deserved them running off together."

Bella cupped Leah's cheek. "They didn't run off together because you were a bitch, Leah, but because they were soulmates just like you and me."

Leah seemed to ignore that statement and said, "What have they said about me being a bitch?"

"They've never called you a bitch. But Sam says when he first asked you out, you told him he smelled like feet."

"He did!" Leah exclaimed, grinning at that memory. "I forgot about that. I think there was mold growing in his washing machine, but I didn't know that at the time. It occurred to me later that it might have been mold."

"Sam said that he did not smell like feet and that he had just gotten out of gym class."

"He definitely smelled like feet," Leah said, nodding. "He was big though, even back then, so no one picked on him about it."

"No one except you."

"Yep. What did Emily say?" Leah asked, still grinning.

"I don't remember her ever calling you a bitch. Most of her stories were about her being a bitch."

"So she's still kind?"

"She is kind, yeah. But she told me about the apples, how your parents would get her the apples she liked because you'd eat them, but how it caused fights because you didn't get the apples you liked when she visited."

"That was me being a bitch," Leah told her. "I like green apples almost as much as red, but I didn't like her preference being prioritized over mine."

"Understandable. I got the red kind even though Sam thought you liked the green kind best."

"I like them both. They really didn't tell you that I was a huge bitch?" Leah asked, even more skeptical about Sam and Emily. For some reason they were lying to Bella about her, telling Bella that she wasn't a bitch. What could they gain from that?

"No! They never say anything bad about you. In fact, they said you were welcome over there with me for dinner or something."

"That probably isn't going to happen Bella," Leah said dismissively.

"Like, ever?"

Leah hadn't thought of going to see them. She didn't want to see either of them ever again. But she felt like she would for this girl… eventually. "Do you want me to?"

"Someday, yes, but not until you're ready. I kind of hope that someday, I'll make you so happy that the thought of them doesn't cause you any pain."

Leah rubbed Bella's back soothingly. "You do, Bella. You do make me happy. Please don't doubt that."

Bella smiled. "I know."

"I just can't trust them. And what's the point in spending time with people you can't trust at all? I don't want any sort of relationship with them."

"I think I understand. Do you want to come with me to meet my dad tomorrow?"

"I know your dad."

"Do you want to come with me as my girlfriend?"

"Is that what I am?" Leah asked, her heart light.

"I was hoping."

"Ok, I'll come, but I'm not ready to return the invitation." Leah sighed. "I'm sorry. Maybe with just my dad, or with Seth. But I'm scared about my mom. Her little brother is gay and they haven't talked since I was little."

"Oh. Do you ever get to see him?" Sam and Emily had never mentioned this.

"No. He was great, too. He sends stuff for birthdays and Christmas but never with a return address, so I can't write to him."

"Leah, there's no pressure, ok. I'm not out to my dad either but I'm not so worried about his reaction. I think my mom probably told him and if not, then that fallout was going to happen eventually anyway and I can handle it, but I'm really not worried. And I'll call him before we go."

"So does that mean you want to spend the day with me tomorrow?" Leah asked.

"Fuck yeah!"

Bella was nervicited about the following day. Her whole life revolved around the pack. She had no idea what she and Leah would do that wasn't related to the pack. She racked her brain for ideas as she fell asleep.