Alpha Beta Imprint: Chapter Fifteen

01katie gave me the idea that inspired Edward’s actions in this chapter. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I am not Stephanie Meyer. I do not own Twilight.

Chapter Fifteen

Bella’s POV

I snuggled further into Sam’s arm, wondering when he’d climbed into bed with me. I sighed softly, taking the opportunity to breathe in his scent. His arms tightened around me slightly, letting me know he was awake.

“Hey, there, sleeping beauty,” Sam murmured, kissing the top of my head.

“Hi. When did you get here?” I asked quietly.

“A little while ago. Jake called me and told me what happened today,” Sam informed me.

“Oh,” I mumbled, not bothering to move just yet.

“We’re meeting with the Cullens tonight, so Jake and I will have to leave soon,” Sam continued.

“No,” I whined, clinging to him tighter.

“Sweetheart, we’ll be back after. We’re not going to leave you alone until we know for sure that leech is going to stay away from you,” Sam practically growled.

“Just when I get my freedom,” I sighed, finally looking up at him.

“He threatened you. We can’t just sit by and let it go,” Sam frowned, brushing hair out of my face.

“I know. I just wish he’d kept to himself. I don’t want you guys missing work. It’s not fair. Seth, Brady, and Collin are still in school. They shouldn’t be missing classes for me,” I grumbled.

“I know, sweetheart. Hopefully, we’ll take care of it tonight,” Sam said, massaging the back of my neck.

“I want to come with you,” I told him.

“Not going to happen. I’m not putting you in the way of a vampire that threatened you,” Sam denied calmly.

“Please. Don’t leave me here without you and Jake. I won’t be able to stand it. What if you start fighting and one of you gets hurt? I won’t know until you don’t come back,” I pleaded, feeling tears start up.

“What if we start fighting and you get put in the middle? I’m not risking it, Bella. You can’t come with us,” Sam decided, ending the conversation.

“Don’t leave me here alone,” I begged, a tear escaping down my cheek.

Sam cursed softly, brushing the tear away.

“What if I leave Seth with you? He’ll know and be able to protect you if anything happens,” Sam offered.

“You better not start a fight with them,” I glared.

“I can’t promise that, sweetheart. He threatened you. If Carlisle doesn’t do something about it, I will,” Sam vowed.

“Just be safe, okay,” I sniffled.

“Always,” Sam smiled.

“What are you doing make our girl cry, Uley?” Jake asked from the doorway.

I turned my tear stained face towards him, my eyes taking in every detail.

“Jake,” I whimpered, reaching for him.

“Hey, now. Stop with the tears, honey. You know we hate to see you cry,” Jake grinned, coming to take my hand between both of his.

“Don’t let him do anything stupid, okay?” I requested, sitting up to look him in the eye.

“Now, Bells, don’t you think that if I could actually stop him from doing something stupid, I would’ve done it long ago? How about I promise to not let him do anything too stupid?” Jake negotiated.

“You both better come back without a single scratch,” I demanded, looking between them.

“Sweetheart, we would never allow ourselves to get hurt. If anything happened to us, who would be here to take care of you?” Sam assured me.

“I just love you both so much. If you got hurt…” I trailed off, sobs making it difficult to speak.

“Shh, honey. You know if you start crying, Sam’ll start crying and if he starts crying, the whole pack’ll make fun of him. Don’t do that to him, honey,” Jake teased.

I let out a sound between a laugh and a sob, giving him a watery smile.

“Come on, now. No more crying. Sam and I’ll be perfectly fine,” Jake promised.

“You better be,” I sniffed.

“We will be,” Sam reassured me, nudging my jaw with his nose.

“Smile for us, honey,” Jake pleaded, kissing my fingers.

I forced my lips into a smile, knowing it probably wasn’t my best effort. Jake leaned up and pressed a quick kiss to my lips. I swallowed thickly when he pulled away, struggling not to start sobbing again.

“That’s our girl,” Jake grinned.

“Charlie’s pulling in. We should probably get dressed,” Sam suggested, moving to get out of bed.

“You mean you’re naked under there? And I missed it! Well, fuck,” Jake mock pouted.

“You got your time with her earlier. Don’t think I couldn’t tell,” Sam scoffed, shoving Jake.

“Hey, man. Not my fault you couldn’t get off work,” Jake winked at me.

“Whatever, Black. Go stall Charlie,” Sam insisted, pushing him out the door.

“No fair! I wanna watch the show!” Jake called as Sam slammed the door.

I giggled at his exasperated expression as he quickly got dressed. He gave me a quick smile and tossed my clothes at me.

“You should definitely laugh more often. It’s much better than seeing you cry,” Sam told me, leaning over to kiss me.

“If you two didn’t insist on fighting with vampires, I wouldn’t have a reason to cry,” I pointed out.

“It’s unavoidable, sweetheart. Just part of the job. Try not to worry so much,” Sam smiled softly.

I nodded as I stood up to get dressed. I had just pulled my t-shirt over my head when his arms wrapped around my stomach.

“I wish I could be taking these clothes off of you instead of watching you put them on,” Sam groaned, pressing his erection into my ass.

“Later,” I promised, kissing him quickly.

“I’m holding you to that,” Sam warned as I pulled him out of the room.

Jake and Charlie were sitting in the living room, Jake telling Charlie about what would be happening tonight.

“Bells! You okay?” Charlie asked, jumping up when I walked in.

“Yeah, Dad. I’m fine,” I assured him.

“I don’t like the thought of those things going to school with you. Dr. Cullen is a good man, but… it’s sick. Him working at a hospital with what he is,” Charlie shuddered.

“I was just telling Charlie that we’d have Seth sent over once we got back to the rez,” Jake told Sam and I.

“You boys be careful,” Charlie frowned, clapping Jake’s shoulder.

“Will do, Chief. Mind if we swing by later to check on Bella?” Sam asked.

“Nah. Just no funny business,” Charlie huffed, his cheeks turning red.

I groaned, turning my face into Sam’s chest.

“Of course not, Chief,” Jake smirked.

“Hmph. You two headed out?” Charlie asked, turning back to his recliner.

“Yeah. We’ve got to talk to the pack. We’ll send Seth over as soon as we get there,” Sam promised.

“Walk us out, honey,” Jake insisted, pulling me towards the door.

“Be safe,” I whispered, leaning up to kiss him.

“Always,” Jake winked.

“We’ll see you in a few hours,” Sam assured me, giving me a quick kiss.

“I love you,” I said as they walked down the steps.

“Love you, too,” two voices called back.

I watched until they disappeared into the forest, both looking back one last time before the phased and took off towards La Push.

“Bells, how do you feel about pizza tonight?” Charlie asked from the living room.

“Sounds good, Dad, but you might want to order three if Seth’s coming,” I suggested.

“Hm. Right. You sure that’ll be enough for the boy?” Charlie asked.

“If not he can eat something here,” I shrugged.

“Close the door, Bells. They’ll be back soon enough. Come watch TV with your old man,” Charlie insisted.

I sighed, doing as he said, my heart clenching slightly as I closed to door. I walked into the living room and plopped onto the sofa, grabbing a pillow to hug to my chest.

“The Seahawks playing?” I asked.

“Sure are. Against the Patriots,” Charlie grinned.

“Nice,” I nodded, returning his grin.

“Call in the pizza, kiddo. I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.”

I paced back and forth in front of the door. Every slight sound had me running to throw the door open, only to be disappointed when it turned out to be a passing car or a squirrel. Seth was curled up in the living room, watching me with his amber eyes. I tried to ignore the huffing sounds he made whenever I ran to the door.

“Anything?” I asked him, resuming my pacing.

He shook his head, giving a slight whine to signify his annoyance.

“I’m sorry, okay. I can’t help it,” I frowned, biting my lip.

He gave a deep sigh, settling his head on his front paws.

I glanced at the clock in the kitchen as I walked by it again. The meeting had been underway for over an hour now. They couldn’t be gone for much longer. Unless something had happened.

Images suddenly assaulted my mind of my wolves being torn apart by the Cullens, their bodies lying lifeless on the ground. I began shaking as I thought of never hearing Jake’s laugh or seeing Sam’s smile, of never snuggling between to two of them or having them warm my feet during a football game.

“Bella! Bella, come on. Come back, Bella.”

I blinked and found myself kneeling on the floor, a very naked Seth in front of me.

“Bella? They’re on their way back. They’re fine. There wasn’t even a fight,” Seth assured me.

“They’re coming back?” I asked hopefully.

“Yeah. They’re on their way now,” Seth smiled.

“Thank God!” I cried, throwing my arms around him and crying in relief.

“Jeeze, you’re emotional. You were worried over nothing. I would’ve told you if something had happened,” Seth snorted.

“Shut up,” I half sobbed, half laughed.

“Mind letting me go so I can put some shorts on? Don’t think Sam and Jake would like it if they came in here to see you all over me and me without any clothes on,” Seth chuckled.

“Oh, sure. Sorry,” I mumbled, blushing as I backed away.

“No problem. It’s kinda nice having a hot older woman throw herself at me,” Seth winked.

“Shut up,” I repeated, laughing this time.

“You know you like it,” Seth teased.

“Hardly,” I scoffed, standing up and going into the kitchen.

I stood by the window, my eyes constantly scanning the edge of the forest for one of my wolves. My fingers starting tapping across the windowpane, my impatience making me anxious.

“I can smell them,” Seth told me from the doorway.

My patience finally running out, I practically sprinted past him and flung the door open so I could stand on the front porch. At the first glimpse of russet skin, I was off the porch, running across the yard.

“Jake!” I cried, throwing my arms around his neck.

I was laughing and crying all at the same time as he lifted me off the ground, holding me tightly.

“Oh, God, Bells. We were so fucking worried about you,” Jake groaned, burying his face in my neck.

“You’re okay! You are okay, right?” I asked, pulling back just enough to glance over him.

“I’m fine, honey,” Jake assured me, holding me against him tighter.

“Bella!” Sam shouted, coming out of the forest.

“Sam!” I yelled, hurrying towards him as soon as Jake released me.

I was quickly scooped into his arm and he trembled as he held me, his face buried in my neck. I stroked his hair, finally settling down now that both my wolves were with me.

“Are you okay?” Sam asked, his hands frantically traveling over my body.

“I’m fine. What happened with you guys?” I asked, burrowing into his chest.

“I’ll tell you inside,” Sam answered, walking us towards the house.

I looked up to see Jake and Seth having a heated discussion. Jake was clearly upset about something and Seth was frowning as he scanned the tree line.

“Jake! I’m taking her inside,” Sam called, pushing me up the stairs.

Jake waved to show he’d heard and continued talking to Seth.

“What’s going on? What is Jake telling Seth? Why are the two of you so worried?” I asked, my nerves quickly returning.

“Calm down. Everything is fine. I’ll tell you in a minute. Come sit on the couch,” Sam insisted, pulling me into the living room.

I didn’t miss how his eyes scanned the house and the way he inhaled deeply, scenting the air.

“Sam,” I whimpered, fear creeping into my voice.

“Shh, sweetheart. You’re safe. I’ve got you,” Sam cooed, holding me close.

“What’s happening?” I asked quietly.

“The meeting didn’t end very well. Apparently, Edward has staked some weird claim on you and intends to make good on it. He ran off before any of us could stop him. We thought… we thought he was coming for you. Jake ran here as fast as he could and I tried to follow him to stop him. I gave up when I saw he wasn’t coming towards you and followed Jake here,” Sam explained.

“Edward wants to kill me?” I squeaked.

“No,” Sam snapped.

I waited for him to explain further, but he just glared at the wall over my head.

“What does he want with me?” I whispered.

“He wants you for his mate,” Sam growled.

“What!” I cried.

“He won’t get near you. The Cullens do not condone his methods of getting to you. They are going to help us track him down and make sure he doesn’t hurt you. You won’t be going anywhere with him,” Sam snarled.

I shook against him at the thought of Edward stealing me away from my wolves. Sam’s arms tightened around me, pulling me closer into his body. I wrapped my arms around my knees, making myself as small as possible against his chest.

The door opening scared me enough to have me jumping a foot in the air if Sam hadn’t been holding me so tightly. As it was, I couldn’t help the scream that escaped before I realized it was Jake coming in.

“Sorry, Bells,” Jake mumbled, coming to sit beside Sam and I.

“Are you okay?” I asked, reaching out to take his hand.

He sighed heavily, bringing my hand up to cradle his cheek. He turned his head to breathe in my scent before placing a kiss on my palm.

“I’m better now that I know you’re safe,” Jake answered, watching me closely.

“I was so worried about you two,” I admitted.

“Nothing happened, honey. We just talked with the Cullens. They were just as angry as Edward as we were. Those two who had lunch with you today were actually pretty cool,” Jake grinned.

“You like them?” I asked, surprised.

“Yeah. The little one was pissed and the other one was looking ready to kill Edward,” Jake chuckled.

I laughed tiredly at his enthusiasm, yawning towards the end.

“Come on, sweetheart. Let’s get you to bed. It’s been a long night,” Sam murmured, lifting me easily.

“You guys will stay with me, right?” I asked, still holding onto Jake’s hand.

“Of course, honey. You couldn’t get rid of us,” Jake smirked, giving my hand a squeeze.

“Not that I’ll ever try,” I replied, already falling asleep.

“Sleep, Bella. We’ve got you,” Sam whispered, his lips brushing my ear.

As soon as my head hit the pillow and I felt my wolves settle in beside me, I was out like a light.

I woke up the next morning to the sound of light snores coming from behind me. I smiled as I opened my eyes, snuggling back into Jake’s chest. His arm over my stomach pulled me closer, a soft sigh escaping his lips as he burrowed further into my hair.

I tangled one of my hands in his, threading our fingers together as I felt the bed in front of me. Sam couldn’t have been gone for too long. The sheets were still warm.

“Go back to sleep,” Jake mumbled into my neck.

“I have to go to school,” I protested weakly.

“You’re sick. Charlie called in this morning. You’re staying with Sam and I until we find Edward,” Jake informed me.

“What if you don’t catch him anytime soon? I have to go back to school,” I pointed out.

“You’re doing it online. Charlie’s setting it up today with the schools,” Jake sighed, rolling onto his back.

I turned to look at him, frowning at all these decisions being made for me.

“Don’t I have any say in this?” I asked.

“No. Until Edward is taken care of, you’re staying with Sam and I,” Jake answered.

“You can’t dictate my life like this! What about my friends?” I shouted, getting angrier by the second.

“Is seeing your friends worth your life? If you want to see them so much, they can come to the reservation. You are not going back to that school. What would Sam or I do if Edward showed up and took you during classes? Nothing. We wouldn’t be able to do a damn thing because by the time we made it into the school, he’d have vanished. Sam couldn’t even catch him last night. If you think for one fucking second we’re going to let him touch one hair on your head, you’ve got another thing coming. You’re staying with us, whether you like it or not,” Jake growled.

“Fuck you, Jacob Black. I’m not some helpless little girl who needs you to wipe my ass for me! I don’t want to stay with you for one minute, let alone for an undetermined amount of time. You can take your decisions and shove them right up your ass!” I steamed, getting up and walking out of the room.

“Come back here, Bella!” Jake shouted, moving to follow me.

“Why don’t you go find Sam and talk about what toilet paper I should use and how exactly I should use it while I’m wiping my ass? Better yet, bring him in here and you two can do it for me!” I screamed, slamming the bathroom door in his face and locking it.

“DAMN IT!” Jake yelled, a loud bang sounding through the house.

I turned the shower on and jumped in without adjusting the temperature. It took a few minutes for the water to warm up, but I was too busy fighting back tears to notice.

How dare they not include me on decisions about my life! They may be my mates, but they weren’t my parents. Even Charlie and Renee never made decisions for me. Renee was a firm believer in learning from your mistakes and Charlie was too unknowledgeable about teenage girls to even attempt to make decisions for one.

It wasn’t so much their plan that bothered me. It was actually a good plan and they’d thought of everything. I just couldn’t believe they hadn’t included me in the decision process. It hurt more than I was willing to admit that they didn’t think to ask me what I thought. It was my life they were playing with.

I was sobbing by this point, scrubbing shampoo into my hair as I tried to gain control of myself. The water was too hot and my skin was turning a bright pink, but I couldn’t bring myself to care. The burning distracted me from the pain in my chest.

By the time I had rinsed the conditioner out of my hair, I had a modicum of control over my tears and the sobbing had all but stopped. I got out quickly, wincing as I dried off my overheated skin. I briefly wondered if I would have blisters in a few hours as I toweled off my hair.

I spent five minutes just staring at the door, wondering if my wolves were on the other side. Taking a deep breath, I slipped out of the bathroom, relieved when I found the hallway empty. I managed to get into my bedroom without hearing either of them or seeing them. After putting on some lotion with aloe, I dressed carefully in my lightest, baggiest t-shirt and a pair of cotton track pants.

A knock on my door had me spinning quickly, eyes wide.

“Bells? You decent?” Charlie called through the door.

“Yeah, Dad. Come on in,” I answered, frowning slightly.

He walked in, looking more than a little uncomfortable.

“What’s up, Dad? I thought you’d gone to work,” I said, tossing my towel in the hamper.

“Not yet. I, um, I heard you and Jake,” Charlie muttered.

“Oh. Sorry,” I winced.

“Bells, you should know, those boys are scared to death of losing you. And I don’t mean just to that Edwin creep,” Charlie grimaced.

“Edward, Dad,” I smirked.

“Whatever. My point is, those two love you more than anything in the world, Bells. Even I can see that. So they went about things the wrong way. They’re just trying to keep you safe. You can’t fault them for that,” Charlie grinned wryly.

“Yeah, but they could’ve included me in the discussion instead of making all the decisions for me,” I insisted, sitting on my bed.

“I’m not going to argue with that. They probably should have. But now they know to do that next time,” Charlie pointed out, coming to sit beside me.

“Are you really okay with me moving to La Push for a while?” I asked quietly.

“No, but I know it’s better than you staying here,” Charlie sighed.

“Will you come, too?” I asked, tearing up.

“Nah. I’ll stay here. Hold down the fort and all that,” Charlie chuckled.

“What if he comes here? I don’t want him to hurt you,” I admitted, a tear escaping.

“Don’t worry about me, Bells. Sam’s gonna have one of those boys stay with me. Paul, I think his name is. Apparently he could use some straightening out,” Charlie huffed.

“You’d be the one to help him with that,” I laughed brokenly.

“Everything’ll work out, kiddo. Things always do,” Charlie promised, pulling me into a one armed hug and placing a kiss to my temple.

“I love you, Dad,” I mumbled, hugging his chest.

“Love you, too, Bells. No matter what,” Charlie replied gruffly.

He hugged me tightly for a few second before patting my back and standing up.

“I’m headed to work. Your boys are downstairs. Try not to be too hard on ‘em,” Charlie grinned.

“Aye, aye, Chief,” I teased.

Charlie chuckled as he closed the door behind him. I listened to his footsteps as they walked down the stairs, paused briefly at the door, and walked out. I sighed, knowing I had to go downstairs and talk to my wolves. They may have been in the wrong about not including me, but I shouldn’t have blown up at Jake like I did.

I was surprised to find them both on the couch, Jake with his head in his hands, Sam leaning over his knees. Both looked up as soon as I walked in and made moves to stand up.

“No. Just… sit. I want to talk first,” I insisted.

They both nodded for me to continue as they took their seats. Jake looked completely broken as he watched me walk to stand in front of them. Sam had on a blank mask, similar to when we’d first met.

“You guys shouldn’t have made these decisions without me. This is my life that’s being threatened and I have a say in what we do about it. You two can’t make decisions for me behind my back. I wouldn’t have argued with you. It’s a good plan and I’ll feel safer on the reservation than if I stayed here, but I should have been consulted on it.

“That being said, I’m sorry I yelled at you this morning, Jake. It was wrong. I should’ve handled it better and waited to speak to you both. I took out all my anger and fear from last night on you. You didn’t deserve that and I know you only do the things you do because you love me and want me safe,” I said softly.

“We do, Bells. I’m sorry I told you like that, but we were both worried you would say no,” Jake told me, standing up to pull me into a hug.

“Everything could’ve been handled better. You forgive me, don’t you?” I asked, looking up at him.

“Before you even said it,” Jake grinned.

“I love you,” I murmured, leaning up for a kiss.

“I love you, too. So much,” Jake sighed against my lips.

I looked over at Sam, a little uncertain when I saw his mask was still in place.

“Sam? I really am sorry,” I whispered softly.

“You shouldn’t be. We were in the wrong. You’re right. We should’ve talked to you about it. Next time we won’t make a decision about your life without talking to you first,” Sam nodded, standing slowly.

“Sam-“ I started.

“I’m going to call Paul and have him come shadow Charlie,” Sam interrupted.

I bit my lip as he walked into the kitchen, away from me.

“Go after him. He’s struggling with his demons. He needs you,” Jake encouraged gently.

I nodded, already walking towards my other wolf. He was leaning over the counter, head bowed, eyes closed.

I didn’t speak as I walked up and wrapped my arms around his waist, my ear pressed against his back. I sighed contently as his hands gripped mine, holding them against his chest. I waited, letting him work through his emotions as I held him. We must have stood there for thirty minutes before he turned around and wrapped his arms around me.

“Thank you,” Sam murmured, kissing me sweetly.

“I love you, Sam. I’m sorry I hurt you,” I apologized thickly.

“I’m sorry, too,” Sam sighed, brushing his knuckles down my jaw.

“Take me home?” I requested.

“Gladly,” Sam smiled weakly.