Blood Moon

6

Celebration

"Hey." I greeted my dad, dropping my backpack onto my designated chair across from him. I sighed as I looked at all the papers surrounding him, knowing he hadn't eaten dinner yet. As Bella approached him, he started talking about the missing boy Riley Biers. He'd been on this case for a while, telling me numerous times that he would never give up hope of finding either Bella or I if we went missing.

Instead of listening to him tell Bella what I've heard a hundred times already, I heated up leftover lasagna and placed it on top of all my dad's papers with a huff.

"You have to eat." I told him, handing him a fork and sitting across from him. "And neither of us are leaving this table until you do."

"Sometimes I forget that I'm the parent here." Dad chuckled, digging into the lasagna.

"Sometimes you forget a lot of things." I snickered. "That's why you have me."

Bella picked up her backpack and headed upstairs, leaving dad and I sitting at the table. I picked up the missing poster in front of me, sighing as I scanned the kid's face.

"I hope his parents find him." I muttered, shivering slightly at the happy grin on Riley's face. "I can't even imagine what they're going through."

Dad didn't comment further, letting a blanket of quiet fall in the kitchen. When he was finished with his dinner, I washed the dishes and gave him a kiss on the cheek before darting upstairs. I glanced out my window, seeing the dark silhouettes of two wolves watching over the house. I changed into my pajamas and crawled into bed, falling into a peaceful sleep knowing the pack was protecting the house.

====

After school for the rest of the week, Bella and I were carted off to the reservation while the Cullens hunted. Bella insisted she be taken to the agreed upon border by Edward, leaving me to figure out my own means of transportation. Paul refused to let me drive to the reservation alone, claiming that I would basically be a sitting duck for a vampire attack. So, when he couldn't come pick me up from school himself, he would send Embry or Quil.

Today, Bella and Jacob had gone off together on an adventure, leaving me in the capable hands of Emily and Sam. Grateful for the break of constantly seeing Bella, I sunk into one of Emily's dining room chairs and grinned at the wolves hovering over the food on the table.

"Waiting for me?" I teased, knowing that Emily put a new rule in place that I had to eat first before the boys and Leah could eat.

"Obviously." Leah rolled her eyes. "Pick something up and eat it already!"

I giggled at her frustration, picking up a blueberry muffin and taking a small bite out of it. In seconds, the wolves grabbed whatever they could off the table, messily throwing it onto their plates. I shook my head as they practically inhaled the food, finding their never-ending hunger amusing.

"I've seen actual wolves eat slower than you guys." I giggled.

"But, we are actual wolves!" Seth grinned.

"Well, you look like normal, super buff, humans while shoveling Emily's delicious food down your throats." I snickered. "I mean, do you guys even taste the food you inhale?"

A chorus of protests sounded throughout Sam's house, making Emily giggle from the kitchen. The protests grew louder as Paul and Sam entered the house, questioning the situation.

"Lena says we're worse than actual wolves!" Jared pointed at me, his mouth full of the chicken Emily fried.

"Can you blame me?" I gestured to the food falling from his lips. "Look at him."