Sam POV

The week that followed our date, Bella and I spent every moment we could with the puppies and each other. We watched more movies, and cooked more meals at Charlie's and my own place. The more I got to know her, the more I realized just how perfect she was for me. She complimented my personality, and brought out sides of me I didn't even know I had. She also brought out my fear. We were now a week away from the battle in the ocean, and I couldn't help but think something might happen to her. Leah's warning about the demon government still loomed in my mind too, but we couldn't worry about that while they still weren't a threat. We just didn't have the time. Today was the day that we were going to make up the battle plan, and I was waiting for Bella and the pack to arrive at my house.

Leah arrived first, followed by my brothers with the exception of Jacob. "Leah, we got permission to tell Seth from Billy. I hate going behind the rest of the elders backs, but your dad would deny any sort of help, and Quil would just grumble about tradition." I stated, wondering why she had delayed it for so long.

"Fine!" She huffed and disappeared out the door again. I rolled my eyes at her childish actions. That was the last thing on the agenda before she was back with Seth.

"So guys, I am starting up a landscaping business. If it grows, we can all have jobs until this mess is dealt with. I also need a co-manager, in case something happens to keep me out of the office for a little while." I told them, filling in the silence. As a group we didn't like silence.

"I can do it," Jared spoke up. He was my top choice, even if I would never tell him that to his face. The others were a bit immature. Paul especially might lose his cool just because someone told him something was done wrong. "I think I might be the best choice out of these puppies." The rest of the pack looked at him with an equal mix of irritation and understanding.

"Thanks, I will be ready to solicit to customers Monday. I already resigned from the construction company, so I hope that this will take off so we can supplement the food budget." They didn't seem to care about my career choices, most were too young anyway.

I puttered around for a little bit longer, getting anxious just standing around waiting for Bella to arrive. Jacob was normally early. I couldn't help but start to think something happened to her. In the past week I started to learn more about what love truly was. It was more than the imprint. The imprint primed our hearts for each other, but the after effects were making it impossible to live without her. I was starting to know what people meant when they said they fell in love every single day. I was doing that with her.

Leah arrived back with Seth, causing me to stop thinking about Bella for a moment. Seth was excited to see the rest of the pack, although most were several years older than him. He just seemed to be a bundle of caring energy. He would be a great addition to the pack because he would help break up the moroseness that often followed us around. "Hey Seth."

"Hi Sam!" He greeted, taking a seat at my table, not seeming nervous in the slightest.

"Has Leah told you anything?" I questioned, hoping she didn't so I could be the one to explain. She was too blunt when it came to pack relations, and it often lead to a lack of confidence within the pack.

"Nope, well just that we were having a meeting of protectors; whatever that means. She said I had to come. I thought, hey why not? I can protect if need be." He replied joyfully causing me to smile. He was a good kid, it was unfortunate that he would have to face the same fate as the rest of us.

"We are the tribes, and human's protectors. Seth, do you remember the legends?"

"Of course, our ancestors were wolves, and we were meant to destroy vampires. Awesome campfire stories! Wait…." He paused looking at me in shock,his eyes widening in realization. "YOU MEAN THE WOLVES EXIST? ARE YOU A PACK?" He yelled as I heard Jacob arrive.

"Yes and yes. We are meant to destroy vampires. Normally I wouldn't be allowed to tell you about us until after you turned for the first time, but situations arose that lead us to tell you sooner." I went on, trying to ignore his outburst.

"Awesome." He stated soaking in the news that he was a wolf, causing me to shake my head. Oh he was sure to get on my last nerve.

Bella stumbled into my home, and immediately rushed over to me. We shared a deep kiss, before she took a seat on my lap. Jacob rolled his eyes at us, and made his way to fridge for a snack. Seth stared at us with a mix of awe and disappointment. "What?" I barked.

"Damn, you got her. I hoped she would choose me." He replied causing me to growl.

"She is MINE!" I snarled at him.

"No need to let the dog out man, jeesh. Every night in my dreams, I see you I feel you," The jerk started to serenade us causing Bella's jaw to drop open, and the rest of the pack to howl with laughter. I felt the urge to slaughter him, but couldn't because he was bringing joy to the pack that we haven't felt for a long time.

Seth made it until the first chorus, before he ran out of steam. "Seth man, how do you know so much of that song?" Paul teased, choking on his laughter. I was happy Seth was not set up to be the next alpha, I might have to crawl into a corner and cry to be under him.

"Don't diss it bro. You never know when you will have to seduce a lovely lady by quoting their music and movies. How does being macho work for you?" Seth raised an eyebrow, causing Paul to leap across the table.

"Boys," hissed Leah. "Seth is still fully human, we can hurt him. Do not touch him. I might change that when he phases, but don't get your hopes up." She glared at everyone on the table, causing them all too at least try and look scolded.

"So why do I get the joy of knowing early? Something must have caused this." Seth asked showing he was naturally insightful.

"Yes, your dad will have a heart attack next Saturday and if no one is with him, he will die. We want to try and save him. That is where you come in. The rest of the pack will be busy destroying a vampire. Having her on the land might cause you to phase, and we wanted to make sure all bases were covered." I told him watching his smile fade away. It seemed even happy teens could be taken down a few notches by the mention of their father's death.

"How do you know this?" He asked, trying to swallow.

"Your big sister is not only a wolf, but an oracle. She can see certain events before they happen. She thinks you will likely phase Saturday because of the stress, and she wants you to be able to calm down enough to get help."

"Oh ok, so I just watch him? That seems easy enough." He replied, getting back some of his peppiness. I just shook my head at him.

"Never let him out of your sight. Can you do that?" I pressed making sure he understood his contribution to the pack.

"Of course. Is that all you are going to tell me about my new identity?"

"For now yes, you are in the middle of a meeting that is planning the destruction of a vampire. After the meeting I will send you with Jared to go over anything else you need to know." I answered, causing everyone to focus on the true purpose of our meeting.

"Oh, can I play with the puppies?" Why was the boy asking to play with the dogs. Never mind. I didn't need to know how his ADD ridden mind worked. If it would keep him quiet I would put on Dora. He was distracting to say the least.

"Nyx, Apollo, come." I called and Seth moved to the floor and started to wrestle with the little monsters. I rolled my eyes again at him. He was so much like a puppy. His phase was starting far too early in his life.

"Alright, let's get down to business. Leah, what should we do with Bella? How can we make it seem realistic that she is alone?" I asked, hoping she knew a bit more of the vision.

"So I think what we need to do is have Bella sit alone on top of the cliff for a couple of hours. She can read or whatever, but we need to make sure that Victoria has no idea we are there. When we drop Bella off, we all go down to the base and wait for Bella to jump off. When that happens we need someone to grab Bella, and then the rest of us will rip the vamp apart. She will land on the rocks first, so that will be our chance to strike, but we can still get her in the water." Leah answered.

"Sounds fairly simple, who wants to be the one to pull Bella out?" I asked causing everyone including Bella to look at me. "What?"

"It has to be you Sam. If you aren't in the water in human form you will be too much of a wreck waiting for her. I know that you are our strongest fighter, but we just can't risk you fighting. You will be to drawn to protect your imprint." Leah answered, causing me to glare.

I didn't want to believe them. I didn't want to think that they would be without me during our most important mission to date, but I also couldn't fight wondering about Bella. They were right I would have to be the one to pull out my mate. The distraction of her being in any kind of danger would be detrimental to not only myself, but her and the pack. "Ok. So basically we just leave Bella on a cliff, she jumps off when she what? How will she know that it is time to jump?"

"She will have some form of warning. Victoria will either say her name, or she will get an uneasy feeling. It depends on the wind for that day what happens. If it's windy Bella will get a verbal warning to jump, if not she needs to as soon as she feels like someone is watching her." Leah stated causing bile to bubble up in my throat.

"So we are depending on the fact that Bella will have the time to run? What if she just decides to make a snack of her?" I raised my voice slightly causing Bella to jump.

"Sam, there is no risk of that. No matter what happens, I will have the chance to stand and take two steps to the ledge." She answered me, causing me to look down in confusion. "She wants to torment me. She will play first, then attack. If I miss the cue, I will still have time to jump."

I nodded, seeing the truth in her words, but not liking it one bit. Was I always going to have to accept that she was in danger? It was a terrible way to have a relationship. I could live with normal dangers, but leeches were something I was having to build strength for. "I don't like it, but ok. You better stay safe." I told her, rubbing my nose in her hair.

Inhaling her scent, I realized that no matter what evil haunted the girl, she was worth it. I may spend half my life in fear, but I could live with it. The payoff was so much greater than the risk. She would look at me with her big loving eyes, and I felt the golden light of our bond become brighter. Leah's eyes widened in confusion, but then she brushed it off. Maybe, by acknowledging my feelings in the face of danger, I prompted a deeper part of the connection.

"Sam, we forgot something. What are we going to do with the puppies? They can tap into the pack and get scared." Bella asked full of concern.

"I will crate them. They will be safe. Do not worry about honey." I answered causing her to give a tentative smile. I reangled her body so I would have easier access to her lips. "Bella, I will do anything to keep you safe, please do not forget that. I think I love you."

She choked on her spit as she looked in my eyes. I then realized that I told my girlfriend of two weeks that I loved her. "Sam, I think I love you too."

She then pressed her lips to mine in a kiss that set every inch of me on fire. I felt her everywhere, and didn't want to stop. Her nails grazed my back, and she let out a small groan, causing me to moan softly in her mouth. Our tongues danced, and our bodies gently matched the others rhythm. "DAMN IT GUYS."

I came back down to earth, and saw the pack and puppies starting at us. "Keep it rated G around us ok? It's a little gross to see you practically copulating on the kitchen table." Embry told us disgusted. "We get it, you love each other, but just not in front of us."

Bella blushed deeper than I had ever seen it before, and I looked at the ground. She likely would be too embarrassed to kiss me the rest of the day. I pouted at the thought, but went back into professional mode. "Anything else?"

"Not right now. Do you think you can bring her home Sam? I wanted to work on the Weber's van. The reverend is paying me a decent amount, and it will be nice to have a little spending money." Jake asked.

"Yes I can." He turned to pack up his things and the rest of the pack followed. I looked at Bella again, but she was still too embarrassed to meet my eyes.

"Sorry for getting carried away. I will try to stop that from happening again, I just got caught up in my feelings." I told her, lifting her chin gently.

"Me too, its half my fault. Anyway Sam, I think I want to have an early day. I have homework I need to work on, and I also need to put some thought into college. Sorry." I felt disappointed, but knew she was likely overwhelmed, and needed space to deal with it. I willingly dropped her off, and came home to snuggle with Apollo.

End Notes:

So ya, it has been over a year. This chapter was even beta and sitting in my email, but for some reason I just couldn't post it. I apologize to all my readers. If you want the whole story, I will type it below! I am starting on the next chapter tonight!

When I last updated I found out I was pregnant. I was terrified of another miscarriage and PTSD consumed me. It was so bad that I couldn't even get out of bed in the morning. It was terrible. I was also struggling with a tobacco addiction and control issues. I was sent out of state to detox at my parents house. I have been clean from nicotine since July 4th! When I returned home from detox, my mother in law got me into counseling. I was in therapy twice a week for three months, as well as group once a week.

I was able to drop group in October, and am now able to only go to counseling once a week. I have healed so much and have so much more confidence. I also delivered a healthy baby boy on Christmas Eve. I am so lucky, because with all the therepy I was able to avoid PPD, and was able to handle all the stress that came with it. Thank you for your continue support! I am so sorry I fell off the boat. Also if you want to see pictures of my son my IG is nikkipenwell712