"Look, I'm so, so, so sorry," I said. "I didn't mean to slip up I was just anxious and my entire body ached because I'd forced Paul away when the imprint bond was pulling us together."

"If you apologise again, I'm going to send you to bed without dinner," Emily said. That was the closest she ever got to actually threatening any of us.

"I feel bad," I said, leaning against Paul's exposed chest. His arms were wrapped loosely around my waist, creating a blanket of body heat to comfort me.

"Don't babe," he said, kissing the top of my head.

"Well, Sam, you're the alpha, what are we supposed to tell her?" I asked.

"I'll think of something," he said.

"That's reassuring," I said. He shot me a quick glare before thinking better of it and looking at Emily for help.

"Just tell her she misheard," Emily said.

"'He was about to phase' doesn't sound like you misheard anything. Especially not to Becca," I said.

"Well, not with that attitude," Alex said, walking into the dining room.

"Aren't you supposed to be upstairs with your niece?" Emily asked.

"I am, but I already talked to Becca and she said she must've misheard Destiny because it sounded like she said Paul was about to phase," Alex said. "So, I convinced her that she heard that he was about to freak, like freak out."

"Seriously Alex?" I asked. He only nodded. I jumped up and went to run to him to hug him but I couldn't.

"Come here Alex," I said, motioning him over to me. He walked over and I hugged him quickly. "Thank you so, so much. I really love you Xander. And now I owe you too."

"You don't owe me anything. I mean you've done three quarters of my senior project. We're even," he said.

"Sounds good to me," I said, taking a seat between Alex and Paul. Emily yelled for Claire and Becca to join us downstairs.

"It's about damn time," Becca said.

"Alright, that's enough. I'm instituting a swear jar. One dollar per curse word," Emily said. "That goes for all of you and all the boys. I'm sick and tired of the language you people use."

"That's not fair," Alex attempted to argue.

"Don't you think a dollar is a little excessive?" Sam asked.

"No, because you all need to quit swearing around Claire and the younger boys," she said. The youngest pack member now is twelve. Try explaining the drastic difference there with mono.

"Fine," they all groaned, causing me to giggle slightly.

"You're just as bad as the boys," she said.

"Oh, I'm aware," I said.

"I expect you guys to be honest," Emily said. "Now, let's eat."

We ate and talked about the most random things. Most of the conversations were just meant to distract Paul and I from earlier. Emily and Sam wanted us to feel better more than anything because Paul needed to be at his best if they were going to have even a chance of winning a fight against the Volturri and the guard.

After dinner that night, Alex left to spend the night with Embry. Claire fell asleep with Becca holding her as they watched some children's movie.

"Babe, let's go upstairs and cuddle," I said to Paul. We'd been sitting in the dining room just enjoying each other's presence, but I needed to be in his arms more than anything.

"Sounds amazing," he said.

I rolled my eyes at his response as we headed upstairs and crawled into my bed together. His warm body created enough heat that I had to wear shorts and a tank top even in December, but I didn't care. My imprint had his arms wrapped around me, holding me close to his chest, keeping me safe and feeling protected.