Edward could count how many times he had seen Simon pray on a single hand. He stood silently in the doorway, his eyes burning into the back of Simon's unknowing figure. Simon was kneeling inside their bedroom, right in front of the crib they had for Renesmee and the toddler bed they already had to get for Beaufort's growing body. Simon's chestnut brown locks dangled in front of his face as he bowed his head. He was eerily still, his shoulders tense as he consciously held his breath. His eyelashes fluttered against his cheeks before his eyes slowly drifted open.

"The last time I saw you pray, I told you I was leaving."

"I've only prayed twice since then. Three times, now," Simon looked over his shoulder, his amber eyes meeting the vibrant gold rings that made up Edward's. "Once with a hopeful heart, and once with a broken one."

"Will you tell me about them?" Edward regarded Simon without malice, but he wished he kept the words to himself as he witnessed agony flicker within the depths of Simon's eyes. Within the span of a second, he was drawn into Simon's mind. The blinding sun arced across the setting sky, accentuating a silhouette of a person as their blonde hair ruffled with the soft summer breeze. The faint aroma of lavender filled the memory, the scent cemented in Edward's mind as he was thrown out of Simon's head.

"I'm sorry," Simon whispered, something akin to shame flickering across his face as he avoided Edward's gaze. "Not today."

"Hey, that's okay," Edward crossed the room to Simon, stopping to take the brunet's face in his hands. "You can tell me when you're ready. Don't force yourself to tell me sooner than you need to. Take your time, we have a lot of it."

Simon managed a weak smile, his shoulders finally loosening up as his mind began to ease. He pulled Edward against his body, an arm tucked around Edward's waist. His other hand idly traced the soft ridges of Edward's spine. Edward snaked his arms over Simon's shoulders. He placed a tender kiss to the base of Simon's neck as Simon pushed his face against Edward's shoulder.

Edward ran his slender fingers through Simon's hair, but their attention was stolen as they heard a knock on the front door. They shared a look of confusion before they separated from each other. When they had returned home from their quick hunting trip, the others left for their own hunting expedition for the weekend. They were the only ones home with the kids. Simon made it to the door first, jerking it open without apprehension.

He instantly forced himself away from the door, putting Edward between himself and the human who stood in their doorway. His hand was locked over the lower half of his face, covering his nose and his mouth as the scent of blood reached him. He urged himself to swallow as venom began to copiously pool within his mouth. His other hand gripped onto Edward's shoulder from behind, using the solidness of Edward's body to try to focus on anything other than the sound of the human's heartbeat as it pumped blood through the arteries in the human's neck.

The blond standing outside of the open door stared at Simon with wide eyes. Their mouth hung open, their face flushed warm with blood as they realized what predicament they were in.

"I am so sorry! I should have called to let you know I was coming!" The words quickly spilled out of the human's mouth, although, their racing heartbeat was all Simon could hear. Simon tightened his grip on Edward, forcing himself to stare down at the floor instead of the blood filling the human's face.

"Bad timing, Everdale," Edward said, recognizing the human who was currently tempting his husband to reconsider his life choices. "Simon, go get Beaufort and have Paul come pick you up early."

That was the only excuse Simon needed to leave. He ran upstairs to their bedroom, careful not to wake the twins up as he texted Paul from Edward's phone, which he swiped from Edward's pocket during his escape.

"Hey buddy, come on. You're going to come with me to meet Paul and your Auntie Leah," Simon quietly woke Beaufort up as he crouched beside his bed, gently brushing Beau's hair out of his face. He slowly sat up before he sleepily rubbed at his eyes. Simon let Beaufort sit for a moment as he moved to Renesmee's crib. He smiled down at her as he watched her sleep soundly, placing a gentle kiss to the crown of her head. He returned to Beaufort a second later, dressing the toddler in clothes fitting of the mid-September weather.

He and Beaufort quickly exited the house upon Paul's arrival, climbing into the passenger side of Paul's truck. Simon only allowed himself to breathe again in Paul's company, the wolfish musk strong enough in the interior of the truck to cover the scent of Everdale inside of the house.

***

Paul quietly watched Simon out of the corner of his eye. The brunet had been unusually reserved since Paul picked him up an hour earlier to take him to the pack house. Simon had stuck close to Paul's side, venturing no further than a few feet away from the wolf at any given time. Normally, Simon moved around as if he were one of the pack, talking to all of the boys and Leah as he pleased. It appeared to Paul that something—or someone—was holding Simon back. Upon their arrival, Simon had talked with Leah and let Beaufort get comfortable with her, but as soon as Jacob and the others arrived, Simon retreated from the crowd and stuck to the outskirts of the room.

Simon stood before the window, rays of sun shining down on him and Beaufort. The light glowed upon Simon's skin, yet it only reflected off his body onto Beaufort's. The rays that reached Beaufort did nothing but warm his soft skin. Paul couldn't look away from the father-and-son pair.

His eyes searched for any similarities he could spot between his friend and his son. Their hair was easily the most noticeable similarity. Beaufort had inherited Simon's chestnut brown locks, though his locks had begun to curl the same way Charlie's hair did. As Paul looked closely at Beaufort's eyes, he recognized the shape to match Simon's, and yet, the color was vaguely familiar in the way he had remembered Bella's eyes to be. There was a warmth that he had always been able to find in her eyes that was reflected now in Beaufort's watchful gaze.

"He's already getting so big," Paul found himself speaking to break the silence that had settled over the three of them.

"I know, right? It's actually a bit worrying how quickly he has grown. Renesmee's not growing quite as fast." Simon glanced up at Paul as he spoke, but he found himself chuckling softly as Beaufort reached up to press his hand against the apple of Simon's throat. "I think he likes feeling people talk. Must be the vibrations."

"I guess I don't really know much about kids. Has he started talking yet?"

"He has already called Edward his Pa, but he doesn't say much other than that. He hasn't gifted me a name yet." Simon pressed a kiss to Beaufort's temple, earning a small giggle from the little boy.

"Do you want to hold him?" Simon asked, keeping his voice quiet to prevent Beaufort from hearing the question.

"May I?" Paul murmured back, his eyes falling back on Beaufort.

"Beau," Simon gently tipped Beaufort's chin up, getting the boy to pay attention, "Would you like Paul to hold you for a bit? It's okay if you don't want to."

The two men watched as Beaufort turned his gaze to Paul. He stared at the wolf before his chin bobbed up and down, though he shyly curled himself against Simon's chest as Paul stepped closer. Simon gently rubbed Beaufort's back as he gave Paul the go-ahead to fully approach. Simon reached out one of his hands to Paul, urging the wolf to hold his hand out to Beaufort.

"He may seem big and scary, but Paul is just a sweetheart," Simon told Beaufort as he laid his hand in Paul's, showing Beaufort there is nothing to be afraid of.

Beaufort tentatively reached his small hand out, placing it in Paul's open hand as Simon had shown him. His doe-like eyes widened as he felt the warmth of Paul's palm. He leaned forward in Simon's hold, his other hand grabbing onto Paul's hand. His attention flickered up to Paul's face, finding the wolf staring back at him with a smile on his face.

"Up," Beaufort held his arms out toward Paul, a smile lighting up his chubby face as Simon passed Beaufort into Paul's arms.

"Am I holding him right?" Paul asked, raising his chin slightly as Beaufort reached to put his small hands over Paul's adam's apple.

"Almost, let me help," Simon carefully corrected Paul's hold, mindful not to jostle Beaufort in the process.

Simon glanced up as he heard footsteps and he found Leah coming toward them. She pulled him into a proper hug, one she hadn't been able to give him upon his arrival as he had held Beaufort. Simon slowly exhaled through the embrace, willing venom not to prick his eyes. Unwillingly, Simon pulled back from Leah, though he kept her at arm's length.

"So, you're an Alpha now. How are you feeling?" He asked, suddenly aware that this was the first time since Bella's death that their conversation with one another was about Leah's new role amongst the pack.

"Oh, trust me, I'm totally freaking out," Leah let out a nervous laugh. "But I owe it to Jake and Emily that I haven't backed down from it out of pure anxiety."

"Is it weird that I'm surprised that Emily is still here? I thought she had left with Sam," Simon spoke quietly, his eyes flickering to where Emily stood talking across the room with Jake and Quil.

"That's a funny story, actually. Jake imprinted on Emily," Paul rejoined their conversation, passing Beaufort over to Leah after the toddler reached for her.

"Wait, what?" Simon couldn't decide where to look, stuck between Jake and Emily or Paul and Leah.

"Yeah, it shocked all of us, especially Jake and Emily. It turns out that Sam lied about all of it. He faked the whole imprint. We're thinking that was how he was able to hurt her when he phased too close to her last year. Jake came to check up on Emily and inform her of what went down with Sam, and he imprinted then and there."

"What the fuck?" Simon murmured, his brow furrowing as he absorbed all of the new information.

"They're just friends, but it makes sense to me. I mean, Emily has essentially been the pack mom/sister since she learned about us wolves. It wouldn't feel right without her here with us," Leah said as she glanced at her cousin, a soft smile lighting up her face as she heard Emily laugh at something Quil said as she began to walk their way.

Simon stood straighter when he caught sight of Emily's approach. His smile vanished, replaced by a grimace. His muscles were taut beneath his skin, eagerly waiting to be used. He sunk his teeth into his lip, taking a small step back away from her. Emily must have misinterpreted the grimace on his face, for she moved toward him and pulled him down into a hug, surprising everyone as they had all turned to watch the interaction.

"I'm sorry about Bella. She was such a lovely woman. And I'm sorry about the trouble Sam caused you and your family."

Simon could feel the warmth of her blood through her skin. The aroma it gave off was rich and sweet, becoming mouth-watering in just a few seconds. The hug had positioned his head over her shoulder, his mouth just a few centimeters away from her neck. He found himself leaning closer, eagerly inhaling the tasty scent.

He opened his mouth, and his fangs brushed ever so softly against her neck.