"Embry, just tell me." I told him, grabbing his arm to stop him and turn him around to look at me.
"I imprinted on you, Bella." He said and I stared up at him in confusion.
"What's imprinting?" I asked him and he ran his hand over his face.
"Imprinting is when one of us essentially find our soul mate. It links us in a supernatural way. When one of us finds our imprint, when we look directly into their eyes the first time, the whole world shifts for us. Nothing matters anymore except our imprint. Gravity doesn't matter anymore. It's like there's a million steel cables holding us to her. Ensuring her safety, happiness, being whatever she needs, no matter what that is." He told me and I just stood there in shock. I was his soulmate?
"And I'm your imprint?" I asked him, and he nodded. "So that's why I feel the connection with you now?" He nodded again. "Why did you have to tell Jake first?"
"Because Jacob has been in love with you for who knows how long. And me, his best friend, just all of a sudden looks at you once and you're it for me. I thought he deserved to know directly from me instead of from one of the others." I just nodded, still in shock from hearing that I was someone's actual soulmate.
"But you've looked at me before, what changed now?" I asked him and he smiled softly.
"I wasn't a wolf before. It only happens after you phase for the first time. I haven't seen you properly since I phased." He told me and I nodded.
"Are you guys the ones that are killing people"? I just had to know. I couldn't believe it if they were.
"What? No, Bella. We are protectors, we don't kill anyone, except vampires, the ones that are actually killing people. We got that guy with the dreads easily enough." He told me.
"Laurent? You killed him? How is that possible?" I asked him and he just looked at me.
"You knew him?" I nodded. "We were made to kill vampires, Bella. They are our one true enemy. They may be fast, but we're faster. We ripped him to shreds and set him on fire. The redhead is next." He told me and I felt myself panic.
"Vi-Victoria?" I asked and he looked at me quickly, noticing my panic.
"You knew her too? She keeps coming back but we aren't quite sure why." He said and I felt myself pale.
"I do. Me. She's after me." I told him and I could see his eyes widen before he started shaking. I put my hand on his shoulder. "Calm down, Embry." He took a few deep breaths and stopped shaking, looking up at me.
"Why is she after you?" He asked with a low strained voice.
"Edward killed her mate, James, so she wants me dead because she thinks I'm his mate." I heard an unnatural growl come from his throat.
"You aren't his mate. You're mine." He growled under his breath. I'd never seen Embry like this, but I wasn't scared at all. I felt… safe?
"Embry, Embry, look at me. I'm not his mate, okay? I'm your imprint. Don't go all wolfy on me now, alright?" I told him, holding my hands on either side of his face. He took a few deep breaths and calmed down again, reaching up to hold my hands.
"I'm going to rip her to shreds." He said as I dropped my hands from his face. "I'll have to tell Sam."
"So what happens now?" I asked him, not really sure what was going to happen next.
"You're part of the pack now, as an imprint, just like Emily. I know this is all too much for you right now, I can feel your anxiety from here. I will try my best to help you through everything. I know it's too soon for anything else, but I will be whatever you need me to be." He told me and I could hear the true sincerity of it in his voice, and the pleading in his eyes.
"Okay. You know, I missed you, Em. Jake had me thinking that Sam hijacked you into some cult." I told him honestly and he smiled brilliantly.
"You missed me?" He asked, kind of shocked to hear it.
"Yeah, I did. I was getting used to hanging out with you guys and having fun, then you just disappeared. The next time I saw you, you were jumping off a cliff with Sam and them. I was really worried about you guys, but Jake told me it was just recreational cliff diving. Let me guess, being a wolf makes you a bit more invincible now, huh?" I asked and he laughed.
"Yeah, we are a bit harder to break now, and we heal really fast." He told me, and I nodded, kind of excited to hear about werewolves. I felt the wind hit me from the beach and I shivered, it was really cold coming off the water. He must have sensed I was cold because he put his arm around my shoulder, pulling me in towards him. I relaxed immediately. He was so hot, it felt like a really bad fever.
"Why are you so hot?" I asked him before blushing hard, I hadn't meant it to sound like that. He laughed.
"It's a wolf thing too, we are all about 108 degrees constantly. So if you ever need to warm up…"
"You can be my personal space heater, huh? You'll probably regret telling me that because im cold a lot."
"I assure you, I don't mind." He told me, leaning in and sniffing my hair?
"Did you just sniff me?" I asked him and he didn't move away.
"It's comforting. Your scent is very relaxing for me, and helps me know you are safe. I'm sorry if that unsettling to you." He told me, but I just shook my head.
"No it's fine, I don't mind." I told him and we began to walk back. We didn't really talk much more on the way back to Emily's, but he kept his arm around me, keeping me warm.
Once we got back to the house, he didn't let go, we just walked inside to see the whole crew still there, waiting.
"Welcome to the pack, Bella." Sam said as we walked in.
"Uh, thanks." I said, still pretty unsure about what to do.
"Sam, the redheaded leech, she's after Bella." Embry told him almost immediately. He still had his arm around me, but it had moved down around my waist, almost protectively.
"After Bella?" He asked, and Embry nodded. "Well, now we know why she's been circling Forks, including the High School. Why is the redhead after you, Bella?"
"Last year, some nomads were passing through. They saw the Cullens and I happened to be with them. It was Laurent, the one with the dreads that you guys killed, Victoria, the red head, and her mate, James. He caught my scent and was fixated on killing me. He chased me down to Phoenix, where I thought he had my mom, and well, long story short, Edward killed him. Now Victoria wants revenge, and because she thought that I was Edwards mate…"
"She wants a mate for a mate. But you aren't Edwards mate." Sam said.
"Even if she knew that, I doubt it would matter. I was the reason James was killed." I told them while unconsciously holding the silvery bite mark on my arm that was always colder than the rest of my skin. Embry noticed, but he didn't say anything.
"We double patrols around Bella's house. I don't want her or Charlie unguarded at any time. Bella, every spare chance you get, we will need you down here on the res. It will be easier to protect you here." Sam said and I nodded my head.
"Charlie won't understand if I'm down here all the time, what will I tell him?" I asked him and he looked at Emily and smiled.
"You can tell him that you'll be helping Emily with wedding plans. The entire pack will vouch for you." Sam told me and I nodded.
I couldn't believe how much my life had changed in just a few hours. I felt like I had an entirely new family.
"I need to go home tonight, Charlie must be worrying about where I am." I told them. I could feel Embry's arm get tighter around me.
"Bella, can I talk to you for a minute?" Emily spoke up and I looked at her with curiosity, before nodding and following her outside, much to Embry's reluctance to let me go. "I'm sorry, I just needed to tell you a few things about being an imprint that Embry wouldn't know to tell you yet."
"Ok, what do I need to know?" I asked, wondering how much more information I could possibly handle in one day.
"The first few weeks are going to be especially hard for Embry. When Sam imprinted on me, he couldn't go more than a few hours without seeing me, without me tangibly being there in front of him to make sure I was safe. Bella, you're already in danger. Embry is already on high alert, you living off the reservation is going to make it nearly unbearable for him. When Sam said for you to be here any spare chance you get, he really means it. I can call Charlie and talk to him about you 'helping' me, but you should really stay at least tonight. Embry wouldn't ask you to, at least not yet, but he really needs you to be here. I know this is all too much for you, but I promise I'll help with what I can since I've been there. Ask Embry to go with you to your house to get some things and I'll call your dad." Emily told me and I was surprised, I didn't think that being apart would affect him, but it sounded like it would, big time. I had no words, so I just nodded and we walked back in to the house.
"Embry, do you want to come with me to my house to get some things so that I can spend the night?" I asked and his eyebrows rose before he smiled and nodded happily.
"Well, that's settled then, Embry will ride with Bella in her truck, Paul and Jared, you'll run ahead." Sam said and everyone agreed. Embry put his arm back around my waist as he walked with me out to my truck. He opened the passenger door and motioned to for me to get in.
"What is it with you guys and never letting me drive my own truck? I'm not a bad driver!" I told him and he just laughed, running over to the drivers side before I could scoot across the bench seat.
"It's because I have wolf instincts which make my reaction time much quicker. I promise I'll let you drive your own truck again, I'll just feel much better if I do until the redhead is taken care of." He told me and I understood what he was saying, even though it made me feel like I was weak. "I'm sorry, Bella. Sam told me I would be a bit overprotective for a little while. He said I won't be able to control it, just like the whole sniffing thing."
"No, I get it, it's alright. I'll just need time to adjust to it all. I'm not used to this. It's hard for me to believe it, not because I don't feel it, because I do, but because I was told that I was everything to someone before, and I was abandoned." I told him, looking away as he started to drive. He reached over and put his hand on my leg.
"If you won't believe anything else, believe this. I will never abandon you, the pack will never abandon you. You are one of us now, Bella. This is forever." He told me and I actually believed him.