Chapter 4

Seth's POV:

I stared at Bella as her and Jacob left, and then continued to stare at the door when it shut behind her, wondering what to think about it. My experience with romance of any kind was slim to none, but I was pretty sure that girls didn't touch boys unless they liked them. Jake was infamous in the pack for being madly in love with the Bella Swan, and we all knew that it crushed him to be pushed so far down into the friend zone.

"So what's going on between the two of you?" Asked Embry, kicking me underneath the table.

I turned around and looked up at him. "Huh?"

"You and Bella were staring at each other for the whole time you were there. Blushing and practically holding hands. Weren't discreet about it, either."

As if to prove his point, I felt my skin flush. The pack and imprints were all staring at me intently, even Sam- who usually tended to stay out of all our petty dramas.

"Nothing's going on." I replied weakly, but I had to look away to keep from cracking.

"Oh my god!" Screeched Quil, doing an awful impression of Janet from 'Friends' that had us all covering our ears. "Seth has a crush!"

I had been about to start panicking, assuming that he'd taken a guess on our imprint. But this, I could roll with. I ducked my head to hide my blush, and scratched the back of my head sheepishly.

"Awww!" Emily and Kim cooed, whilst the rest of the boys continued to jab and tease.

"Dude, Jake is so gonna kill you!" Embry laughed, sounding like he was looking forward to it.

"I bet you it'll put Leah in a pissy mood too. She holds so much hate for that girl." Jared commented.

"If only Bella wasn't still mourning over that mosquito." Quil said, shaking his head and looking at me with mock pity.

"Don't worry though, I'm pretty sure it's just Jacob who can't handle any type of competition. Bella told Jacob, Jacob told Quil, Paul heard Quil's thoughts, Paul told Jared, Jared told Sam, Brady heard Sam's thoughts, Brady and Collin were talking about it when Leah heard their thoughts, and then I heard Leah's thoughts that the Cullen who Bella used to date is a 100-year-old piano-playing virgin! Imagine how pathetic you must be to not be able to get laid for a whole 100 years."

"Watch how that'll be him when he's older." Jared quipped, earning a smack.

"$20 on that!" Sam intercepted, chuckling along quietly. Embry looked at him, mocking hurt at the betrayal.

I was just thankful that I was no longer the topic of conversation.

Paul's POV

Don't get me wrong, I love the pack. But there's no denying that the lot of them are loud, obnoxious, idiots. For God's sake, someone close had died yesterday and they were going on about what pathetic virgins they all were!

Though, to be fair, the reason I was in such a foul mood was not because of Harry Clearwater, though I grieved the loss.

Taylor Avery was turning out to be the biggest headache of my life. After that bitter-sweet night before I phased, I truly thought that would be the last I'd ever see of her. I had tried not to dwell on it too much, though I couldn't help but slip up occasionally. The pack was forever curious about the one girl who didn't want me back, and the only girl who appeared in my thoughts more than once.

One day, whilst on patrol, I decided that I would go and see her. Even if I didn't speak to her, it would put my mind at rest. But of course, Sam was running with me, and alpha ordered me not to. I didn't let on how angry I was when he did that, and as soon as I finished my hour I stayed up until the early hours of the morning, trying to figure out the best possible loophole.

If I didn't set out to see Taylor, it wouldn't be disobeying Sam, would it? If I happened to be roaming around Forks and bumped into her, there was absolutely nothing I could do about it. So the next day, I paid Seth $20 to take my patrol and spent the whole day roaming around Forks, and I told myself I had absolutely no intentions.

I started in the local supermarket, then Queen's road (hot-spot for beauty parlours and boutiques, an easy place to seek out new conquests), a couple of foot-trails in the forest, the few restaurants that the town had and the police station (It wouldn't have been the first time she'd ended up there). Then I got desperate and checked places like Forks general hospital, the local drycleaners & key fitters, the corner shop, and a public restroom. Needless to say, she wasn't in any of those places.

I ran my hands through my hair, and let out a frustrated groan. It was possible that Taylor had gone out for a day in Port Angeles, or maybe even Seattle. She never could stay in one place for a long amount of time, always itching to do something new. I wasn't about to go to her house, the alpha order definitely wouldn't allow that. Plus, it was kinda creepy. Even by my standards.

Her scent hadn't been strong in any one place today. I hadn't ever been near her as a wolf, but I had a slightly flawed memory of what she smelt like- alluring, rich, sweet and refreshing all at the same time, always coated with a thin layer of expensive perfume. I remembered it being distinctively feminine and enticing, not like any other girl's scent. I couldn't pick a food or flower to describe it.

At times I thought I had caught onto it, but then it would disappear as soon as I thought it were there. I had been searching for a good two hours now, and the whole situation was beginning to jar me.

There was only one place left to go: a small park right on the edge of Forks. It was supposedly for 12 year olds and younger, but it was common knowledge that after it was dark teens would climb over the gates and fuck around on the swings, usually getting drunk/high. I decided it was worth a shot.

I promised myself that after this I would go home and never think of Taylor Avery again. But as I got closer and closer, I started to hear familiar voices. But it wasn't of shrieking little kids running around and playing, it was of jeering teenage boys and giggling school girls. My heart beat accelerated slightly.

Sure enough, I turned the corner and there was a group of about seven. A couple of girls and a boy were lounging on the basket swing, chatting each other up, a suspicious looking brown bag being passed around. I recognised the guy to be Matt Jason- I played a basketball game against him once. Pushing them was a slim, leggy brunette. I quickly realised with a small pang of embarrassment that I had slept with her before, only a few weeks ago. She clearly sensed my stare and looked up to meet my eyes, and looked back down extremely quickly. Haylee, I think her name was.

A few feet to the right, two boys were messing around on the slides, laughing stupidly and clearly trying to impress the girl who sat leaning against the roundabout, watching them distantly with a mocking smile on her face. It didn't take me more than two seconds to realise who I was staring at. I made to walk over to the gate and speak to her, but the alpha order suddenly crashed down on me, freezing me in place. I tried desperately to work my way around it, sweating under the effort. But it simply wouldn't budge.

Fuck this, I had thought with raging intensity. And fuck Sam.

But then one of the two boys Taylor had been watching spotted me and nudged the other one to look too, making her turn around in curiosity. Even before our eyes met, I knew what was going to happen. My heart clenched, and I'm pretty sure I stopped breathing for at least a minute. I felt the alpha order whittle away into nothingness, and it was my weak self-control who had to stop myself from sprinting over to her, scooping her up into my arms, and never letting go. I could almost physically feel my soul latching onto hers, and I knew that nothing in my life would ever matter as much as Taylor Avery did to me.

I shook my head, willing myself back into the present. That memory was set on repeat in my brain, and I couldn't make it stop.

Later that evening, I told Sam and Jared what had happened. I had always been particularly close to them, and they knew what imprinting felt like just as well as I did. Plus, if I didn't tell someone, I might have just exploded. I'm pretty sure I was in shock.

Jared grinned at me and held out his fist for me to bump. "Welcome to the club, dude. You're in for a world of pain." He joked, though it didn't seem very funny to me. "And sexual tension."

It was true, the thought of sleeping with anyone apart from Taylor made me want to throw up, and I didn't think she would be giving out any time soon.

"How did she react?" Sam asked, and clapped a hand on my shoulder in reassurance.

I shrugged. "I don't know. We stared at each other for a long time. Once things calmed down, she just seemed confused. And speechless. One of the boys shook her shoulder, and I growled so loud that I'm pretty sure they all heard me. She eventually started walking over to me slowly, and pushed her friends out of the way when they tried to stop her. We sort of acknowledged each other, and stood real close for a few minutes before she stepped away. She told me I looked different, then asked why I was there. I didn't know what to say."

"Why were you there?" Sam asked, a stern, yet somehow slightly amused expression on his face.

I shrugged sheepishly.

"Shit. Did you touch her?" Jared asked, and I raised an eyebrow.

"No. Why?"

"Oh, the first time you touch kind of solidifies the imprint. No matter if it's her tits or her little finger, you'll remember it for the rest of your life." He said, grinning like an idiot in love, clearly thinking of Kim.

"Uh, Paul?" Sam asked quickly, probably making sure I didn't let my thoughts wonder too much.

"Mmh?"

"When are you going to tell her?"
"No fucking clue."

A/N: sorry it's been a while. Please let me know what you think!