Chapter One

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing, just a fan of Twilight.

I worked part time at a small bookstore which was near to where my stepdad Charlie worked as the Chief of Police for the Forks police department. So I often got rides to and from work with him, when his shift times aligned with mine and sometimes even when they did not as he pretty much made his own rules being the Chief of Police. He was a good man. At first I had been a bit wary of him after my father's sudden death and seeing him get closer to my mom. I had known they would get married, and they had. However, he was good for her and also he was good to me and my younger brother Seth. What I most hated about him marrying my mom was it meant that Bella, a leech, was now my stepsister. I was not overly fond of her, her husband Edward or the rest of the Cullen clan. However Bella's daughter Renesmee was quite adorable despite being half leech and she insisted on calling me Aunt Leah. My whole pack was more open towards the Cullens, my little brother Seth in particular – I wouldn't be surprised if he ended up imprinting on a leech one day. My Alpha, Jacob, had imprinted on Renesmee. Which would seem odd to people who did not understand the power of the imprint, as he had imprinted on her as a baby. However, we as a pack knew his thoughts and Edward knew his thoughts were only full of love and kindness. Jacob always only wanted what was best for Renesmee. As she had grown he had been her constant friend and companion, although she grew so fast and she was now physically a teenager but mentally a very clever child.

I was 19 now, and still had seen no sign of my imprint. It was depressing, and I hated to think about it but often I could not stop myself from wondering what life would be like with my imprint. It did not help that I was so often around my pack mates and their imprints. My shift at work had just ended so I made my way over to the diner and picked up a slice of cherry pie for Charlie. My mom always made him eat healthily at home, and she had even banned him from having doughnuts at work, insisting he had fruit with his coffee breaks instead. Poor Charlie suffered because of it, as he always felt bad about sneaking a treat and breaking mom's food rules so he hardly ever got to indulge in his food cravings unless I helped him out. He was a healthy man who stayed active – the nature of his job demanded it – so I did not feel bad about helping him out. It was only occasionally that I would pick him up something tasty and unhealthy, but he deserved it.

When I walked into the station, I greeted Leslie, the receptionist. "Hey Leslie, is my stepdad coming through soon?"

Leslie smiled. "Wait a moment, please," She spoke into the phone she was holding then pressed it to her chest. "Hi sweetie, he'll be here soon. He's just bringing a new transfer up to speed."

"Wait. A cop voluntarily transferred to Forks?" If I was a police officer, Forks would be the last place I would want to be. "Is he crazy?"

Leslie shrugged lightly. "You didn't hear it from me, but he was made to transfer down here. It was either he come here or quit the police force. I better get back to this call."

"Thanks Leslie." I wandered further into the main foyer. I smiled when I saw my stepdad, but then I froze when I saw the man standing beside him. I felt like my whole world had reset suddenly and he was my main focus now. He was tall and lean, with a pale complexion and sandy brown hair cut short but longer on top. His eyes were a light sea green and he had a small smile on his face. He was perfect. He was mine. The moment our eyes connected the imprint bond set into place. It was not like I forget about all the heartache and pain that had been caused when Sam had imprinted on my cousin, but now I suddenly no longer cared. I had my imprint, and I felt like I was in heaven after being stuck in hell for so long.

"Hey, Leah." My stepdad came up to me.

"Hi, Charlie. I got you something but don't mention it to mom," I handed him the bag then held my hand out to my imprint. "Hello, it's nice to meet you."

He seemed flustered as he looked from Charlie to me but eventually he wiped his hand on his uniform pants before he shook my hand. "Hi, ma'am. I'm Officer Kowalski."

His hand was smooth to the touch, and a little clammy. I did not want to let him go and he seemed surprised when my hold got tighter the moment he tried to pull his hand away.

"Leah, honey. Let go of Luke now." My stepdad patted me on the shoulder, looking at me strangely. "Are you ok?"

"Ah, yeah. Sorry." I reluctantly let go of Luke's hand. "How old are you?"

"Leah!" Charlie exclaimed. "You don't have to answer that, Luke."

"It's alright, sir. I'm 32."

I was shocked. He looked much younger. It was not that I cared that he was older than me. I was worried about his reaction to finding out my age. Our thirteen year age gap might put him off dating me. If he was even single. "Charlie, I'd like to invite Luke to dinner."

"Maybe another night, when your mom knows about it." Charlie replied. "Let's go home now, Leah."

"No!" I exclaimed crossly. "Mom always makes too much food, she won't mind. And I really want him to come for dinner. Charlie, remember the...thing I told you about? The special...thing that happened with Jake and Renesmee? It happened to me."

"Don't' worry about me. I'm going to the diner to eat dinner." Luke interjected, his face showing his discomfort. "You should listen to the chief."

"Leah..." Charlie sighed heavily, looking concerned. "Honey, are you 100% sure?"

"Yes, I am." I replied firmly. I could see he was not very impressed with Luke and while I respected Charlie and cared about him, Luke was my imprint. "So can he come to dinner?"

Charlie nodded, crossing his arms. "You better take a rain check on going to the diner, Luke. You'll be having dinner with my family tonight."

"Well, that's very kind of you, sir," Luke replied, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. "I still haven't unpacked all my boxes at my new house yet. I'm afraid that-"

I was scared he was going to say no to the dinner invitation but luckily Charlie interrupted him. "Kowalski, you're coming to dinner. I don't want to hear anything else come out of your mouth but a yes. Otherwise, Leah will be very unhappy with me and so will my wife. You don't want me to get in trouble with my family, do you?"

"No, sir." Luke replied. "In that case, thank you for inviting me."

I took my mom and Seth aside just before dinner was served to tell them the good news about my imprint. "That is wonderful, Leah. I knew you would find him one day." My mom hugged me, and then Seth joined in making it a group hug.

Seth smiled at me brightly. "Yeah, sis. This is great news...I just wish I would find my imprint too."

I ruffled his hair. "Don't worry, it will be your turn soon enough."

"Okay, let's go eat," My mom slipped on her double handed oven gloves and picked up a huge crockpot filled with hot chilli con carne. "Seth, you bring the rice. Leah, bring an extra set of cutlery, a plate and a glass for Luke."

Once we were all seated at the table – I made sure I was sitting next to Luke – we all helped ourselves to food. My mom made Charlie have some salad with his chilli and he was not allowed any of the grated cheese on top of his food. The chili was delicious, spicy and flavoursome. We all tucked into the food, but I was concerned when Luke started to cough and turned red. I grabbed the jug of water on the table and poured some into his empty glass. "Here Luke, drink some water."

He drank the whole glass down and his coughing eased. "Thank you, ma'am. Something just went down the wrong way," As he talked, he waved his hand and knocked down Charlie's glass of juice. "I'm really sorry, let me clean that up-"

Charlie frowned at him. I shot Charlie a look then put a hand on Luke's shoulder as he tried to stand up. "Don't worry, Luke. It was just an accident, Charlie knows that. I'll clean it up."

Luke looked embarrassed as he sat back down, but he gave me a big smile. "Thank you, ma'am."

"Just call me Leah," I replied softly, returning his smile. I could happily just look at his smile forever, but I forced myself to look away and went into the kitchen to fetch some kitchen towels. When I came back my mom had just finished asking Luke a question.

"No, I don't have a girlfriend."

"I'll sure that will change soon, you're such a nice young man."

I mopped up the spill, feeling a little awkward but my relief that he was single won out over my awkwardness.

"He's not a young man, Sue," Charlie snapped. "He's 32."

"Charlie..." My mom patted his hand. "There's six years between us, but did that ever stop you from loving me or marrying me?"

"No, but that was different." Charlie replied.

The tension in the air was palpable and I hated it.

"Thank you for dinner. It was nice meeting all of you but I need to go now." Luke stood from his chair abruptly and I rose too, my heart sinking at the thought of him leaving. "I'll see you tomorrow at work, sir." Charlie gave him a grumpy nod and I glared at Charlie. It was his fault Luke was leaving, as I knew he had made Luke feel uncomfortable.

My mom surprised Luke by coming to him for a hug. "Don't be a stranger, Luke. We'd love for you to come back and join us for dinner again soon."

"Yeah, we didn't even get a chance to talk," Seth chimed in, before eyeing me with a mischievous look. "And you're gonna by my – "

I grabbed Seth in a chokehold. "Shut up, Seth!"

"Well, goodbye then," Luke smiled, offering us all a friendly wave before he turned to the door.

After he left I slapped Seth lightly around the back of his head. "Seth, I'm going to kill you. But later. Bye everyone," I ran to the door, intent on following my imprint but Charlie blocked my path, giving me a reproving look.

"Charlie, move out of the way please." I implored. "I have to talk to him more."

"He's not running away, Leah. You'll see him again soon."

"Mom?" I looked at her, pleading with my eyes. Charlie looked at her too. She was hesitant to respond, and I felt bad about putting her in the middle of us. "I'm sorry honey, but you know Leah's a smart young woman. We have to let her make her own decisions. Let her go."

Charlie reluctantly stepped aside. "Fine, but don't stay out too late or I will come and bring you back home."

"Thank you." I kissed Charlie on the cheek. "Don't worry, I can take care of myself." I quickly left the house, Luke was already in his car and about to pull out of our driveway, so I ran in front of his car.

When he saw me, he leaned out of his window. "What's up, Leah?"

"Um..." I stalled, not having thought that far ahead. "Could you give me a ride back to town? I forgot my phone at work, so...I need to go get it. I don't want to bother Charlie because he just came home from work and I'm sure he's tired."

"Can't you wait until tomorrow?" Luke replied, seeming annoyed. "I'm very busy, Leah. I need to get home and finish unpacking."

"Oh, I see..." I felt bad. He probably thought I was some kind of spoiled brat. I knew he had not liked the way I spoke to Charlie earlier. And the phone excuse was very lame, I knew that, but it was the first excuse that sprang into my mind. "Then don't worry about it. I'll just ride my bike back to town." Rain started to drizzle down, and inside I was thrilled as it was perfect timing. Besides, I liked the rain, since my body temperature ran so hot the cool water felt good on my skin and I never caught any colds. Yet I made sure I looked upset. "Goodbye, Luke."

I started to walk back to the house, but it was not long before I felt his hand grab hold of my arm and I turned back to face him. "You're a stubborn girl, aren't you Leah? Look, did you ask your parents if you could get a ride with me?"

"Luke, I'm not a teenager you know." I replied, crossing my arms. "I don't need their permission, but don't worry they know I came outside to get a ride back to town from you. But it doesn't matter. Just forget I asked, okay?"

"There's no point us standing out here, getting soaked by the rain. I'll give you a ride," Luke moved the hand on my arm to the small of my back as we walked back to his car. "You've only got on that t-shirt and shorts. Not a good idea in a place where it rains constantly, is it?" He opened the passenger side of his car and I got into the car, feeling like a scolded child. So now my imprint probably thought I was a fool as well as being a spoiled brat. Luke turned on the heater, and it made me feel uncomfortably warm but I knew I could not say anything. "Here, put this on." He handed me a jumper he had stashed in the back seat of his car. It was the last thing I wanted to do, because I was already feeling too warm but at the same time I was not about to refuse my imprint's request. As I slipped it on, I felt comforted being surrounded by his scent. It was just fresh, the smell of Old Spice, laundry detergent and something that was uniquely Luke.

"Thank you," I replied, as he started up the car. He put on some music and we drove back to town surrounded by the sound of Willie Nelson. I took note of the fact he liked country music. I wanted to know everything about him, but I knew it would take time. I told Luke to park outside the police department as I did not want him to see me going to the bookstore. The bookstore was very close though so I had to hang around the back of the bookstore for the time I estimated it would have taken me to physically unlock the bookstore and grab my phone. As I was waiting there I realized how crazy I was acting but it was worth it just to spend more time with my imprint. When I got back to the car, I wanted to ask Luke if I could help him with his unpacking. I knew it would go faster if I was helping him, and I was more than capable of lifting heavy items but I did not want to push him too far. It was already bad enough that I had made him go out of his way just so I could spend some more time with him. So I let him drive me home.

I hated getting out of his car, as it meant we would be separated. I knew I would see him again, but it still upset me. "Luke, thank you so much. Sorry for holding you up like this. Just...if there's any way I can make it up to you, don't hesitate to let me know. I could give you my phone number and-"

He interrupted me hastily. "I've really go to go now. Don't worry about it. Actually, I should be the one apologizing. I didn't mean to be rude to you earlier. I'll see you around," Luke smiled at me before he drove away. What stuck with me was the fact that he had cut me off. He did not want my number, and why should he? I was just the annoying stepdaughter of his boss. I'd hung all over him like I had a stupid school girl crush on him. I felt like I had made such a bad impression on my imprint, and it really worried me. I went to sleep that night having gone from the elated high of finally finding my imprint to the depressed low of realizing he probably did not like me very much.

Thanks for reading :)