Chapter 28

The ride back home from Port Angeles feels eternally longer than the hour it actually is. I haven't spoken a word, and besides constantly glancing over at me – presumably to see if I'm okay – Wyatt hasn't communicated with me either.

"She said my house?" Wyatt asks as we pull into La Push's main drag.

"Yeah," I confirm. "Are your parents at home?"

He shakes his head, making me gulp. "They're all having a bonfire tonight. All the adults and little kids, anyway. I think us, Bridge, and Carter are the only ones that aren't going."

"Oh," I say, staring out the window. I forgot about that. "Do you think," I whisper, "that Carter tried something because nobody was home and that's why she's upset?"

"He swore he wasn't going to. You heard him."

"But like you said, he's always been the man-whore of the reservation."

I notice Wyatt's hands tremble slightly as a low growl rumbles in his chest. "Then," he says darkly, "I'll get to say I told you so."

"What?" I ask in confusion. We're almost on our road, and my heart is pounding with anxiety. What if that bastard fucking tried to do something?

Wyatt smirks, although I can tell he's not anything close to amused. "The night of the bonfire, when he and I fought. After we made up, we agreed I could get to say I told you so if he turned out to be the asshole I could say I told you so."

"Well it looks like you will." I look up to him, tears brimming in my eyes. "But I really hope you won't have to," I whimper.

"Me too, baby, me too," he murmurs, leaning across the car to kiss my forehead gently.

When Wyatt cuts the engine in the driveway, my fingers tremble as I unbuckle my seatbelt. Wyatt gently pulls my hand into his as we walk towards the Uley's backdoor. I open the door cautiously.

To my utmost shock, Bridgette is sitting at her kitchen table. Body intact. No tear-stained face. "Bridge?" I question, my voice rising in shock.

She looks up from her phone, a small smile on her unharmed face. "Hello."

"What's going on? W-where's Carter?"

"He's at the bonfire with the pack."

Looking over at Wyatt, I see he's just as bewildered as I am.

"What did he do? Did he stand you up?" I interrogate.

"He didn't do anything," she says simply.

"B-but, on the phone," I stutter, confused beyond belief, "you said… you said…."

"I said that I needed you to come home," she supplements, standing up and walking straight passed us through the backdoor. I just noticed that she already had her boots and jacket on when we walked through the door.

"What the fuck?" I gape at Wyatt. He shrugs, mouthing what looks like "I don't fucking know". Groaning in exasperation, I rush out the door. "Bridgette wait!"

She doesn't stop as she turns out of the driveway and begins walking down the road, but she is going at a pace I can easily catch up with her.

"What do you mean he didn't do anything?" I exclaim, slightly out of breath after jogging to catch up with her. I can hear Wyatt's footprints trailing behind me. "You were crying. You said you needed me."

"I do need you."

"You don't really seem to need me right now?"

"Don't be silly."

"Why the hell did you say I was going to be mad then?"

She picks up her pace slightly, but I notice a devilish grin on her face before it's out of sight. "Well, you are mad aren't you?"

"What is going on Bridgette?" I call after her.

She hops over a guard rail and I realize we're at the parking lot of First Beach. We're going to the bonfire. If she thinks I'm going to shut up just because our parents are some dozen yards away, she's crazy.

"You were crying. You were in hysterics."

She shrugs, picking up her speed as the bonfire is in sight.

"And now you're telling me you're fine and Carter didn't do anything?"

"I guess I'm a better actress than Carter thought I would be," she announces, as we reach the bonfire. She embraces Carter with a triumphant smile.

"It worked?" he asks in disbelief, kissing the top of her head.

"What worked?" I hear Wyatt's confused voice ask from behind me. I feel his arm wrap tightly around my waist.

But all I see is red.

It's safe to say that if I was a shifter, I would have phased by now. "What the fuck Bridgette?" I demand, tears brimming in my eyes. "I want an explanation as to what the hell is going on! You were distraught on the phone. I thought he hurt you. I thought he attacked you!" I'm full on screaming now, and I know that our parents, all the Elders, all the pack members, all their wives, and all their children are present. And staring at us. But if there's one thing I'm good at, apparently, it's disrupting these bonfires. "Do you know how fucking scared we were?"

"Yes," Bridgette replies smuggly, grinning widely.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" I exclaim. "I'm so confused."

"Payback."

I glance over at Wyatt and am pleased when he's equally confused and annoyed as I am. "What do you mean by payback?"

"Payback for making fun of soccer."

I gape, and I notice everyone at the bonfire is laughing. "You thought nearly giving me a heart-attack was equal to that?"

Bridgette sighs, leaping forward and embracing me in a hug. "Well, Millie, I didn't think you'd be that worried since you and Wyatt both said you trusted Carter earlier today. The revenge was to ruin your date, and unfortunately that was the only way I could think to get you home."

Gently – so that Carter doesn't mutilate me – I smack her in the back of the head. "Are you fucking kidding me Bridgette? Couldn't you have done something less extreme?"

"You made fun of my favourite sport and doubted my imprint. I think it's somewhat fair." I frown at her. Okay, maybe it's fair in combination with doubting her imprint. "But I'm sorrrrrrrry," she drags out the word dramatically, "that you were so worried."

"I'll forgive you. This time," I reply grumpily.

"Were you in on this?" Wyatt demands, shoving Carter jokingly.

"Sure was." He roars with laughter, probably at the looks of disbelief on our faces.

"Thanks for that, bud," Wyatt retorts sarcastically. "I was ready to kill you."

Carter smirks. "I only agreed because I knew ruining your date would mean I wouldn't have to deal with you drooling over how the latter half of your night went during patrol." Carter wiggles his eyebrows suggestively.

"Night's not over yet, Car," Wyatt snorts, winking at me.

My dad coughs obnoxiously, and I'm brought back to reality. Everyone has been watching this the entire time. "I think it is," Dad growls, crossing his arm angrily as he stands up from his seat on the log beside my mom.

I roll my eyes. "Oh my god, Dad. Calm down. He was joking."

"Doesn't matter. You're grounded for the night."

"Grounded? Why am I grounded? Bridge is the psychopath that tried to scare me to death."

"You're grounded for saying fuck almost a dozen times in front of your little brothers," he answers smugly.

"But you just said it!"

"I'm allowed. I'm an adult." He's still smug as hell. I glare at him.

"No one would know it, though," my mom pipes up. Laughing, she kisses him on the cheek – gross – and pulls him back down beside her.

"Honey, why don't you kids join us tonight and we'll listen to the legends together," Emily offers.

Bridgette and I share a long sigh; Wyatt and Carter share a groan. Clearly after their little game, Bridge and Carter were just as excited to have some alone time as we are.

"C'mon Millie, stay so the legends will start! We want to hear them all!" Eric grumbles, obviously annoyed that Bridge and I's scene had delayed the beginning of the legends. Although the kids basically all knew about the pack, Eric and Everett hadn't been coming to the bonfires for a long time and didn't know the legends well at all. With Wyatt and Carter's recent transformations, the boys knew they could likely be next; safe to say, they're a lot more curious about the legends now.

Well, Eric is. Everett, who's sitting beside him, is more concerned with whatever the hell Jared and Kim's daughter Talia is going on about. My mom and I always joke that those two will be the next Wyatt and I. And looking at them just reminds me of how we're all here.

Yes, Bridgette and Wyatt would still be my best friends and Wyatt and I still probably would've fallen in love regardless of the imprint. But would Bridgette have ended up with Carter? Would the four of us have become so close if it wasn't for this pack and these legends? I doubt it.

And that's just this generation!

Hell, god knows all of our parents probably wouldn't be together. Our moms would have never become best friends. Some of our dads definitely wouldn't have even been friends.

I owed these legends a lot. Because without them, my life would be unidentifiable from what it is now.

I smile up at Wyatt. "Let's stay. For all they've given us, I think we take them for granted sometimes."

"Speak for yourself, babe," Wyatt scoffs, but willingly follows me towards an empty log. "They're the reason I turn into a giant wolf."

"They're also the reason I'm your soulmate," I tease, as he pulls me onto his lap. Carter and Bridgette join us in a similar fashion on the other side of the log.

"No," Wyatt whispers in my ear, pulling me close to him. I snuggle further into his warmth – it's really too late into winter for these things. "They're the reason we have proof that we're each other's soulmates. We're made for each other – legends or no legends."

I beam at him, touched at his words. "I love you," I murmur, resting his head back on his shoulder.

Glancing around, I'm glad to see everyone – young and old – laughing, chatting, and waiting for the elderly Billy Black to begin his famous telling of our tribe's legends just like the huge, happy family we all are.

"The Quileutes have been a small people from the beginning," Billy begins, silencing the crowd as he begins the stories that brought us all here together.

THE END

Hope you all liked the ending. Sappy endings are my thing… Anyway, I have a new story that I started recently – another Paul/OC – so here's the synopsis to "One Step at a Time" and feel free to check it out on my profile

"When Cassie and her mother move to La Push to live with her mother's new fiancé, she never expected to become attracted to her ridiculously good-looking, soon-to-be step-brother. But the last thing she expected was for Paul to be equally attracted to her. With the wedding weeks away, can Paul and Cassie keep their feelings – and hands – to themselves in order to avoid destroying their parents' newfound happiness?"