Bella started to wake up a few hours after Leah had place her in Sam's guest room. Her limbs ached as she made any movement but no matter how sore she was there was no way she could complain. If it wasn't for her savior she would be dead...and that thought alone made her welcome the tenderness of her muscles. Looking around the dark room she was surprised to see nothing familiar pop out at her. The last thing she remembered was Jacob wrapping her in loads of blankets so it was only natural for her to assume she was taken to his house.
She slid out of the bed wincing as her muscles cried out at her movement. Opening the door she stepped out to try and figure out where exactly she was. It was odd but Bella didn't feel as if she was in any danger but for the first time since she ran to live with her dad she felt safe. It was an odd comfort that left her wondering when was the last time she felt this way. "Probably before them," she thought to herself.
The smell of chili wrapped around her and causing her stomach to growl. Bella walked towards the delightful smell and paused when nine pair of eyes all landed on her. Blushing she found her eyes landed the pair of eyes that looked so worried for her.
"Hungry," the owner of the eyes asked gently holding up a bowl filled with hot chili.
Leah had been half-ass listening to the pack's banter as she was more focused on her imprint's breathing. It's been a few hours since Swan was tucked in and it came as no surprise to her that the girl was still out of it. The problem was that her wolf felt terribly uncomfortable leaving her in the room by herself. What if she woke up and tried to get out of bed too quickly? From the stories that Jacob told of the girl she was way too clumsy for her own good.
"So Jake when is your date with that pale face hottie up stairs," Paul questioned wiggling his eyebrows.
Leah growled lowly both at the thought that Jacob was even going to take her imprint on a date and the backhanded compliment that Paul threw out. Luckily for her no one other than Seth, Embry, Quil and Sam noticed. Sam coughed before standing up to get the second pot of chili. "That will be up to her," Jacob grinned before reaching over the table and punching Paul in the shoulder. "Don't call her a pale face!"
"Yeah," Quil stated before getting another helping of chili. "She's my cousin dick!"
Sam placed the chili in front of Leah giving her a look that she could only read as, either keep it together or tell them about the imprint. She looked down at her barely touched chili and sighed. They both thought it was a good idea to let things calm down some before sharing the news with the pack, Jacob to be persist, but she didn't think it would be this hard to keep her shit together. The wolf and her both knew that Swan was their's but that wasn't the problem. The real problem was their imprint didn't know what she was to the wolf and Leah yet which left her open to Jacob's advances.
A heartbeat picked up in the spare bedroom and Leah's head turned towards the sound. Bella was waking up and it took everything in her to stay seated. The wolf wanted to go to her and leave their scent on her in hopes that would cause Jacob to second think his claim on her. But that wasn't how things could go at the moment. Instead she completely tuned out the boys and listened to Bella's steps. As they drew closer Leah quickly grabbed an empty bowl filling it as high as she could. Swan had to eat. She thought remembering how small the girl looked.
Moments later Swan was in front of the doorway with wide eyes staring at the pack. It would've been comical if it wasn't for how fast the girl's heart was beating. The wolf knew she was panicking and was clawing at Leah to go to their mate. Leah clenched her teeth before grabbing the bowl she just filled for Swan. She watched patiently as Swan eyes landed on each member of the pack before finding hers. As if it was the first time they looked into each other's eyes Leah found the magic of the imprint rush through her in a speed that made her feel helpless. But her wolf reveled in it pulling Leah deeper and deeper into the imprint waves.
Blinking Leah offered a small smile in hopes to lighten the air around them. "Hungry," She asked holding the bowl up. Swan blushed a deep red dropping her eyes to the floor. Leah briefly wondered if the imprint had any effect on the other girl. She was going to put the bowl down but stopped when the girl walked towards her taking the bowl and sitting in the seat next to her.
Leah's wolf howled in joy as they watched their mate sit next to them, it was a small victory. All of these emotions were driving Leah insane...one moment she's worried, the next she's ready to rip Paul apart for calling Swan a pale face, and now she was overflowing with joy just because the girl sat next to her. How did Sam not go crazy?
"Thank you," Swan mumbled before digging in. Leah smiled please that the small girl was eating.
"Bella you don't have to sit there," Jacob stated pushing Quil a seat over. "Leah can be a bit grumpy." He tried to make it a joke but the tone of his voice said something completely different. Leah's not good enough for you to be near.
And it was safe to say the wolf didn't like that one bit. How dare he try to belittle them in front of their imprint. The boy had enough nerves to be this bold...She could feel the wolf begin to claw it's way out begging to teach him a lesson.
"That's okay Jake," Swan's soft voice replied. Leah surprised by her answer turned to Swan who was staring at her with a warm smile. "Leah grumpiness won't bother me."
Leah grinned down at the girl pleased that she wanted to stay next to her. Maybe the girl could feel the imprint pulling them towards each other. "Don't worry I save my grumpiness for them," she joked lightly. Swan giggled before going back to her meal. Leah forced herself to go back to her own meal ignoring the urge to stick her tongue out at the brooding Jacob.
Bella couldn't remember the last time that she was this hungry as she finished the bowl of chili that Leah had given to her. Since leaving Phoenix she couldn't find her appetite anywhere. The therapist told her it was normal that she didn't have one after going through everything that she had but now it was as if it was never missing before. She quietly listened to the group talk and joke around with each other. It was clear that they were a closely knitted group and that made her feel awkward. Almost as if she was peeking in on something that wasn't meant to see.
Sure she seen the group together the few times that Jacob invited her to a cookout but it was almost as if they had their guard up around her. As if they couldn't be their true selves around her. But tonight it was as if they were welcoming her into their small family. Paul had even offered her the last of the chili before fighting with Quil over it. Glancing at Leah she almost forgot to breath when she gave her the biggest smile she ever seen. Why hadn't she noticed how beautiful she was before now?
"Hey Bells," Jacob said grabbing her attention away from Leah.
"Hm?"
"I'm sorry I can't take you home," he grumbled annoyed. "But Q-"
"I'll take her home when she's ready," Leah stated leaving room for no argument, at least not one that could be heard by her ears. Jacob looked as if he wanted to say something but instead just grunts as he goes back to his food. "Just let me know when you're ready," she whispered into Bella's ear. This of course made her shiver and Leah to laugh.
If there was one thing about Quil that the pack knew was that he was very protective Isabella. Ever since they were kids Quil did everything that he could to protect her from the other kids picking on her for only being half Quileute. He would come home with a few bruises but she was like a little sister (even if he was only a couple of months older than her) that he never had which meant he could take a few punches. He remembered the day Charlie came to their house crying mumbling how Renee had taken his little girl with her. He cried for weeks.
As soon as she moved back in with her father he was the first to visit her. She had changed and he could feel the darkness that wrapped around the girl like a blanket. He wanted to ask her what cased this change but couldn't bring himself to ask. Whatever brought her back had fucked her up and if he ever found out who or what hurt her he would rip them apart piece by piece. But until that day came he did his best to be there for her.
It wasn't long before Jacob started making his advances to her and he hated it. Jacob was his friend but it didn't mean that he had to like the idea of them dating. Jacob could be mean when he didn't get his way and the thought of him saying anything rude to Bella made him angry. It only got worse after they shifted. The wolf hated the thought of Jacob being anywhere near her. He didn't know yet if it was his own feelings bleeding into the wolf or if the wolf genuinely didn't like the idea either. Either way he was fine with it.
So color him surprised when his wolf howled happily when Leah and Bella made eye contact for. His wolf knew that they were meant for each other. "When did they imprint," he thought to himself as he focused on keeping Jacob's attention away from Bella. He would have to talk to Leah when the rest of the pack wasn't around. That chance was brought to light as soon as Leah offered to take Isabella home.
He would speak to her once Isabella was in the house. Maybe help her figure out how to keep the imprint from Jacob as long as possible because if he knew Jacob like he did he knew it would only lead to a war the pack didn't need at the moment.
A/N: And thats it for this chapter I promise the next one will be longer. On a side note I'm sorry for the mistakes I've been typing this up on my phone so things get a bit rough.
And finally thank you all for your follows, favorites, and reviews. Seeing that people like what I'm writing is pretty damn awesome.
