Rachel blinked up at me as I gripped the back of her neck roughly.  "Do you really think I can't tell you two apart?" I whispered huskily before pressing my lips to hers.  

She smiled against my mouth and laced her fingers behind my back.  We ignored the wolf whistles and Jacob groaning. I felt her melting against me and I so badly wished we were back at my house, finishing what we started on that kitchen table.  

I begrudgingly broke off the kiss and pulled Rachel into the warmest hug.  "I missed you," I whispered into her ear.

She tipped her head up and smiled weakly. "You wouldn't believe the day I've had," she sighed.

I turned my head to see Embry approaching and I instinctively pulled Rachel tightly to my side.  "What the fuck…" I muttered as quietly as I could.

Rachel scoffed.  She leaned up as close as she could get to my ear, tugging on my t-shirt so I would lower my head more.  "Watch this shit," she breathed.

I raised my head to see that we weren't even registering on Embry's radar.  He focused in on Rebecca as she stared down into her wine glass. "Hey, Becca.  You look amazing," Embry mumbled dreamily. 

"Oh fuck," I ground out quietly. "He didn't."

Rebecca glanced toward Rach, her face panic-stricken.  "This was a bad idea."

"I'm sorry, Becca.  We can go," Rachel offered and now I felt panicked at the thought of her leaving. 

I slid behind her and wrapped my arms around her waist. I am embarrassed to say that I did shoot Rebecca a puppy dog face in order to not take Rachel up on her offer to go home early.  Rebecca scowled at me, finished her wine and tipped her head toward the kitchen.

Embry was hot on her heels as she walked away, but Rachel wasn't having it.  She reached for his arm and yanked him back when he tried to follow her twin. He glared at her, but dialed it back when I gave him a warning look that screamed, Don't fuck with my girl, asshole.

"Ease up, Embry," she began, not letting go of his arm.  "She's having a hard time right now. You really need to back off."

Embry pulled his arm from her grasp and glanced back to Becca, who now looked more relaxed at the table with Emily and Kim.  "It's a lot easier said than done, Rach. I need to be near her," he stressed, his eyes darting over to me and then back to her.  "Can't you understand that?"

Rachel leaned in and sneered, "She's still married, Embry...don't fuck with her head."

He scowled at her and walked away, leaving Rebecca alone...for the time being.  I didn't even get a chance to comment on how fucked up this was before Sam sauntered over, brow furrowed as he tried to figure out what the hell was going on.  

Rachel sighed when he approached.  "I'm sorry, Sam. I know I should've asked first before I brought Becca here, but today was really crazy."

Sam nodded slowly, glancing over at a fidgety Embry, who was in the opposite corner of the room and couldn't take his eyes off of Rebecca. "Oh shit," he grumbled.  "Tell me I'm wrong."

Rachel shook her head and pulled my arms around her tighter.  "I wish I could. This is so fucked up, right?"

Sam gave her a sympathetic nod.  "Are you doing okay with this?"

Suddenly I felt like the worst boyfriend ever.  I watched as Rachel shrugged and glanced between Embry and Rebecca.  "It's just so much to process right now and I'm worried about my sister, of course." Rachel paused and Sam nodded.  "You're not mad that I brought her, are you, Sam?" Rachel added quickly. 

"No, not all.  She has as much right to be here as you do.  You're both welcome in my home and with this pack," Sam held Rachel's hand in his and added, "And both of you will be protected...by all of us.  Don't forget that."

Rachel pushed my hands away as she reached for Sam and gave him a quick hug.  My wolf pouted like a little bitch. Damn him for being so thoughtful while my mind couldn't help but be jealous about  how upset Rachel was about Embry and Rebecca. "Let's go outside," I urged, sliding my hand into Rachel's and gently pulling her toward the door. 

As we approached my Bronco, I opened my mouth to speak, but Rachel had other ideas.  Aggressively, she pushed me up against the driver's side door slid her hands up my chest, held my face in her hands and yanked my mouth down to meet hers.  "I missed you too," she murmured before sliding her tongue over mine.

I can't say I minded being physically bossed around by my imprint.  I knew some little quiet, mousey thing would have never been right for me. I needed something different, a challenge...and Rachel was definitely a challenge.  

I chuckled when Rachel pulled away. "What are you doing to me?" I half-moaned, hating not having her tongue in my mouth any more. 

She blinked up at me.  "I figured you wanted to come out here and have your way with me, so I jumped you. You got a problem with that?" she sassed me adorably, making me fantasize about how many positions we could do in the back of the Bronco before anyone came out to interrupt us.

"I actually brought you out here to talk," I clarified before kissing her again.  "But I'll never turn down a hot make out session with you," I teased, wagging my eyebrows suggestively.  "Wanna try out my backseat?"

"No," she replied laughing.  "Our first time is not gonna be in Francine's backseat…"

I heard Jared howl with laughter from inside the house and I rolled my eyes back in his direction.  Fuck off, nosy ass.

I smiled brightly at Rachel before brushing my lips across her forehead and running my nose along her hairline.  "It's no big deal. Plus, we can pick this up back at my place later," I suggested.

"I uh...I thought I'd stay with Rebecca tonight.  She's really having a hard time."

I pulled away and searched for Rachel's gaze.  "Do you think that's a good idea? I mean Embry will probably be sleeping outside your bedroom window just to hear Rebecca breathing."

She scowled.  "That's even more of a reason to stay."

"I don't think you should try to force them apart.  Sam says that denying the imprint bond will make the imprint crazy too.  On some level, Rebecca is already starting to feel something for him, even if her mind knows she shouldn't. Getting between them will probably just backfire on you, Rach."

Rachel furrowed her brow and sighed softly.  "I can't believe this happened. I was so stupid to think I could just come home and we could be happy and the drama would be done. It's been nothing but chaos since I got here," she stressed while running her hands through her hair.  

I pulled her close to me and held her gently. "You're really freaking me out, Rachel. I think everything's gonna be okay."

"Okay?" she scoffed. "Okay? How could it be okay?  Up until yesterday, Embry was obsessed with me, to the point that he stood on that beach and lied to me about those pictures, in a last ditch effort to break us up.  Now he's in there mooning over my identical twin. Don't you see how messed up this is? She deserves better than to be a stand-in for me. She deserves better than this!" she exclaimed, her whole body shaking as she stood before me.

"You have to trust the imprint magic.  There's a reason this happened. And the upside is, now he's not bothering you anymore.  They'll have to figure out what's right for them."

She scowled at me.  "I can't just say 'Oh well' when my sister is struggling.  I love her and I care about how she feels. She's so confused right now and I haven't even told her any of the shit Embry's been pulling this past year.  How is she gonna feel when she finds out how unbalanced he is?"

I shrugged. "I don't know but I wish you'd stop obsessing over Embry.  Personally, I'm glad he's not following you around like a lovesick puppy.  Is that what's really bothering you?"

The moment those words left my mouth, I knew I shouldn't have said it.  Even before I saw the reaction on her face. "Are you fucking serious?" she seethed. "You think I enjoy being Embry Call's little fucking fantasy?"

I shook my head quickly and reached for her, but she twisted away from my grasp. "I hate this because my sister deserves better. I'm not jealous, if that's what you're thinking, Paul. And I'm offended you think so," she spat. 

"I'm sorry," I gushed quickly. "I shouldn't have said that. I don't know what to say to help you right now." I paused to grip her hips and pull her close and I rested my forehead against hers. "Tell me how I can help."

Rachel stood stiffly in my embrace and shrugged. I took heart in the fact that she wasn't pushing me away.  I held her close to my chest, trying to provide warmth against the cool December air. Finally, she looked up at me with sad eyes and sighed.

"You don't have to fix everything, Paul. Sometimes I just need you to listen to me vent.  I need you to hear me without trying to find a solution. This time there isn't one. I'm just upset about things I can't help. And I know this is her problem, but I just don't want her to be unhappy.  Can you understand that?" she asked gently as her fingers drifted to my face.

"I can do that.  I'm sorry for not being more sensitive.  I guess I still need some of those 'how to be a good boyfriend' lessons you were trying to give me that first summer. Maybe we need to pick back up with those again?"

She chuckled as she peered up at me, a little bit happier now. "I think we both have a lot to learn.  But the good part is, you know how to make me happy. The bad part is, you also know how to piss me off like no other so good luck with that," she teased.

I sighed deeply and lifted her into my arms, smiling when she wrapped her legs around my waist.  "I think I'm up for the challenge," I murmured, staring intensely into her eyes as I climbed the porch steps. 

"What else are you up for?" she whispered directly into my ear, causing my whole body to tingle.

Jared yanked the door open and smirked at us. "Done already?" he teased.

I set Rachel back on her feet and laughed when she scowled at Jared.  "Don't be so nosy," she scolded, tapping his nose with her finger before scurrying off to join Emily in the kitchen.

I mimicked her and Jared tried to twist my arm behind my back when I did.  "You still haven't done it?" he whispered when we got back to the mantel. 

I scowled at Jared and glanced over at my imprint. "No need to rush it.  It'll happen. Of course it could have happened this morning if someone hasn't interrupted us," I replied, giving Jared a knowing look.

He laughed, throwing his head back.  "All I did was save that poor rickety table from being broken under the weight of your fat ass!" he joked, pushing against my stomach.

"Who are you calling fat?" I scoffed, lifting my shirt and showing off my abs. "You're the one getting flabby," I teased.

Jared pouted before trying to grab me into a chokehold. "Too slow," I chuckled, twisting his arm behind his back until he tapped out.

Jared wiggled away from me and scowled.  "No fair pulling that ninja shit on me."

I laughed at him and glanced back at my beautiful girl, who was watching me with an amused gleam in her eye.  I raised my eyebrows and nodded at her. She raised her wine glass at me and beamed. Damn, how did I get so lucky?

~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~

After dinner, all of us stood around the living room discussing wolf pack business, but I couldn't be bothered to listen.  I had my girl in my arms and there was nothing more important than that. As Sam lectured Jacob about staying away from Bella and Quil, I stood behind Rachel with one hand curled around her hip bone, while the other hand languidly pushed the hair away from her neck.

I heard the hitch in her breath when I brushed my lips across her shoulder and up her neck.  I also smelled how excited it made her, but I cringed when I realized the guys could smell it too. Jared gave me an amused look, but Jacob looked like he wanted to rip my head off.  Oh how awkward. 

Sam gave me a quick scowl before adding, "Does anyone have any questions about the patrol schedule?" Us guys shook our heads and Sam nodded. 

Suddenly Rachel spoke up.  "I was wondering if I could say something, Sam."

Sam nodded as he pulled Emily close to his side. "The floor is yours, Rachel."

She wrung her hands nervously and glanced at me for a moment before speaking. "I just wanted to make an announcement and ask you guys a favor while I have all of you here."

They nodded and I furrowed my brow with worry. I slipped my arm around Rachel's waist and pulled her close to me.  She leaned into me and whispered, "Don't hate me for what I'm about to say."

She addressed the group and said, "I just found out yesterday that I got my student teaching assignment."

"You got it?" Embry quizzed with an amused look on his face.  "At LaPush?"

I scowled when I realized Embry knew something about Rachel that I didn't.  "So what does that mean?" I urged.

She sucked in a deep breath and sighed.  "That means when you guys go back to school after winter break, you'll be seeing me there."

"At our school?" Jacob scoffed.  "I thought you'd be working with the elementary kids."

"I will," she explained. "But I have to do six weeks at the high school level first.  So if you guys could keep it professional...and call me Miss Black? I would appreciate it."

The guys collectively nodded and agreed.  Jared piped up, "A plus for everyone!"

"I don't control your grades, doofus."

Jared pouted and I leaned close to Rachel. "What should I call you?" I asked suggestively. 

Rachel sighed and scowled at me.  "That's the thing. You can't be around me at all.  I can't let anyone find out we're dating."

"What? Why not?"

She glared at me harder and shook her head.  "They'll fire me! And I have to do this in order to graduate. It's really important."

Now I sighed.  "This really sucks.  We've waited so long to be together and now this."

She crossed her arms over her chest and nodded.  "And you better keep that temper of yours in check. I can't have you getting into all kinds of fights while you're being overprotective of me, okay?"

I growled when I thought of my sexy girl roaming the halls of school with all those hormonal teenage boys.  My overactive wolf hearing would be privvy to every comment they made. I groaned inwardly when I considered how difficult it would be to see her and smell her and never be able to touch her or show everyone she's my girl. 

I watched her face as she spoke to Jared, Embry and Jacob, asking them to help keep me in check.  Yeah right.  

So much for no more drama.

…..
A/N: drama drama drama lol. Keep up with all the great comments ♡ I love to hear what you think!

Oh and if you're not following Alex Meraz on Instagram, you should!  On Friday he posted a shirtless selfie 😮

hondo.meraz is what he goes by...