Hi Everyone, I yet again apologise for the lateness of this chapter… I would give you a good excuse but I literally couldn't find the time to sit down for an hour or two and write! I've been thinking about it for a few weeks now and it's been eating me up that you guys were waiting for this! I really am sorry… but never fear, the chapter is here! I will try my best to keep uploading consistently, or maybe write a few chapters and then upload one a week or something, I'll figure it out.

Anyway, enjoy the rest of the story…

Bella POV

Today was the day I was going to see Emily. Paul text me to say Sam was picking me up and that he didn't mind doing it when I kicked up a fuss, but I had a feeling there was another reason Sam wanted me alone. I was in the kitchen getting Charlie's dinner ready, as I was expecting to not be back until late. I hoped this chat with Emily enlightened me about imprinting. A part of me wished Paul never told me. From what he had told me, imprinting forced feelings onto each other. It didn't seem natural and how would I ever know Paul really loved me for me and not the imprint? These were one of the many questions I had for Emily, I hope she didn't get bored of them. As I placed Charlie's prepared meal into the fridge, I heard a honk from outside. Quickly throwing my shoes on and taking one last glance in the mirror in the hall and went out to meet Sam. He was waiting in his white pick up truck, blue tarp covered the back of it. I climbed into the truck and was greeted by Sam.

"Hey Bella, you okay?" he asked, as I plugged my seatbelt in. He pulled out onto the main road.

"I guess, I'm just confused to be honest Sam" I sighed whilst looking out of the window at the passing trees and cars on the road.

"Listen Bella, it's complicated stuff. But the talk with Emily should help enlighten things for you, you'll see" he said confidently. I hoped he was right.

The drive to La Push didn't seem as long when someone else was driving and soon enough we were driving through the reservation towards Sam's house.

"Imprinting is complicated but it's honestly the best thing that can happen for a wolf. We are so volatile and angry before we have our imprints, they help make us balanced and to be honest, we get to relax from time to time" Sam said with a small laugh at the end.

"So you know Paul imprinted on me. He told me about the wolves and the legends, and that imprinting was a gift the Gods gave warriors for their service, or something like that"

"Look Bella, you're gonna hear a lot of strange and horrible things about Paul, but just remember that it's his past. Don't you have a past?" he asked without expecting an answer. I totally understood what Sam was saying, but what if Paul's 'past' came back to haunt him? I know Sam was talking about the girls Paul had been with and honestly, it bothered me a little bit, not the fact he had been with so many women, no that wasn't it. It was because he seemed to toss them aside after he was finished with them. I mean, who's to say he wouldn't do that to me as well?

"I get that Sam, really I do, and honestly it doesn't bother me as much as you think it might. But these intense feelings are unbearable, especially since I've not experienced anything like this before. My need for Paul is intense, and I don't even know the guy!" I was exasperated.

"Well Emily can ease your mind. But take it easy on Paul, he's really trying his best" he said with a small smile. I didn't reply and the rest of the car ride was filled with silence. Once Emily's house came into view, I physically relaxed. I felt safe here, I felt comfortable. Emily was waiting on the porch, coffee mug in her hand. Sam opened my door for me and I jumped down and immediately headed for Emily.

"Hey Bella! I was wondering when I would see your face around here again" she said brightly, pulling me into a tight hug. I hugged her back, Emily was my friend, it seemed the only one I had.

"Come on in, I hope you're excited for a girls day, I know I am!" she said enthusiastically, practically pulling me into the kitchen, where there were muffins and coffee mugs waiting on the large kitchen table. I sat down and helped myself to a muffin, mmm blueberry. Emily sat down opposite me and for the first few minutes we talked about my school and my friends there.

"Yeah I mean I have a few friends, but I don't see them outside of school. So can I count them as friends?"

"Of course they're your friends, even if you don't see them outside of school. How is Jake? Have you managed to speak to him yet?" Emily asked. She took a sip of her coffee and was fiddling with the edge of the muffin wrapper. I sighed loudly.

"Well, he's ignoring me, or avoiding me. He's angry because Paul imprinted and I didn't return Jake's feelings. I mean, I've always made it pretty obvious, haven't I?" I asked Emily. I wondered if that's what it looked like from an outsider's point of view.

"Of course, Bella, whenever he tried to take your hand, it looks like you let him hold it for a few minutes, so you didn't hurt his feelings, but then you'd pull your hand away. I mean, it could be interpreted as feelings to Jake, but he's young, and hormonal, it's to be expected" she finished with a laugh. I, however, didn't laugh. Had I really been doing that? I never noticed myself, but its obvious other people had been. Maybe talking to Emily about Paul was a bad idea. There was silence as Emily seemed to sense my internal dilemma. She patiently waited for me to talk first, not wanting to push it. I took a deep breath and began.

"What do you think of Paul, Emily?" I asked timidly.

"Paul had it tough growing up. His dad used to beat him and his mom and then one day his mom couldn't take it anymore and left them both. Paul's dad took it out on him. He ended up in hospital and it was only then that social services got involved. He's a tough cookie though, he's the strongest person I know" she said. I knew Paul had a rough upbringing, but I never would have imagined that. The poor guy, no wonder he was scared about me leaving him. Fuck, I was so stupid and selfish! All the phone calls and checking up on me made sense now! He was afraid that I would leave him like his mom left him. I found myself asking the same question as before; what the hell was wrong with me?

"Oh Emily, I didn't know it was that bad. I feel so terrible for saying I needed time. He was so afraid of me leaving, I didn't even realise it was because of this!" a tear escaped my eye before I could stop it. Emily took my hand from across the table and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"No Bella, you're completely within your right to want time, even Paul knows this. He was expecting it in all honesty. He knows you won't leave him, because it would physically hurt you to be away from him, that's what sucks about imprinting. But the pain is also a way for imprints to know how each other are feeling so you can attend to each other's needs. That's something that normal couples don't have, and I for one am happy for it"

"But imprinting to me just seems artificial. I mean, if it wasn't for imprinting, would Paul and I ever have been together?"

"Imprinting just speeds up what nature had already intended. Most likely without the imprint, you and Paul would have found each other eventually, it may have taken months or even years, but you would find each other"

"Okay, but what about how I think this makes me look? I mean, I'm not in any way judging Paul, but come on, I know the type of girls he usually goes for, if I was with him, wouldn't people look down on me? Oh God it sounds horrid when I say it out loud" I huffed in frustration. Goddamn it Bella, you could have said that a bit more nicely. I looked up at Emily, and she didn't seem angry or upset with me, so I waited for her to answer.

"Bella, because of Paul's upbringing, he could never do what he wanted to do. He always had to ask permission from his dad to do anything, even to go to school! When his dad finally died, a few years back, Paul was free. Free to do what he wanted. But he was never taught right from wrong, so he used his freedom to get drunk and sleep with women. After a while of doing that, that was all he knew how to do. It was his way to de-stress. But now he has you as his imprint, you can help him de-stress in different ways, that's why the imprint takes place. It's more or less a way to balance the wolf and make him more stable and focused" she said before taking a bite of her muffin.

"Emily! What if we decided to give the couple thing a go, and we had a huge argument! Would he get drunk and sleep with women to de-stress from that?" I half shouted. I know she didn't mean to upset me, but I couldn't honestly answer without raising my voice a bit. Emily let out a sigh.

"Bella, the imprint doesn't allow cheating, in any way, shape or form. Even if either of you had temptation, the imprint would snap at you to stop, besides, you will be the only thing Paul is thinking about. Even if he was in a situation where he was drunk in a bar with countless women flirting with him, he would only be thinking of you. He wouldn't dare touch them, because he has you" she said softly. I didn't know whether to feel reassured by this information or creeped out. I was trying to go into this with an open mind, but the fact that the only thing Paul would be thinking about is me seems a bit unnatural. Surely he should have a choice in this too?

"Paul was talking to me about choices, when we kissed he…" I stopped myself mid sentence. Fucking shit! No one knew about that yet. Emily's face was shocked, her eyes were wide and her mouth hung open, then she started flapping her hands up and down letting out a little shriek like a teenage girl.

"Bella! You kissed? Oh my God! Wait, he didn't force it on you did he?" she suddenly turned serious.

"Emily no! I was the one that kissed him first! I didn't know what came over me! We were getting a bit carried away, but when I said his name he sort of snapped out of it and stepped away from me. It was like he had realised something, and then he said 'you deserve to have a choice in this'. But it's not just my choice is it? He deserves a choice too, he should get to choose if he really wants this or not. Not some Quileute magic saying he really wants me, how is that fair?"

"Bella it is his choice as much as it is yours. He could choose to fight the imprint. It would be immensely painful to both of you, but it could be done in time. But the fact that he isn't fighting it proves that he has made his choice; he wants to give you two a go. Have you heard about Sam and Leah?" she turned quiet and her face dropped to pick at her muffin case again. I nodded, I had heard what happened, only briefly from Jacob.

"Sam and Leah were engaged to be married Bella. I was arriving for the wedding! Leah invited me into this house; which used to belong to her and Sam, to get ourselves ready for her big day, the next day, and as soon as Sam seen me, he imprinted. Leah didn't have a clue of course, she wasn't a wolf back then.."

"Wait a minute… Leah is a wolf too?!"

"Yes she is, her and her brother Seth are part of the pack. Anyway, when Sam had imprinted on me, he carried on acting as normal until he couldn't take it anymore, he had to talk to me. He sent Leah away to her mom's to see her before the big day came around, and we were alone. He told me all about the legends, the pack and imprinting. I was so shocked by it I slapped him. But it was when I saw his face after I had done it, that was what broke me. The look of utter betrayal and hurt. Suddenly, we were in each other's arms and we kissed. Leah was gone all night, she asked Sam if he would stay at Jacob's house for the night so I wouldn't feel uncomfortable, but I woke up the next morning with Sam naked next to me. That was where Leah found us. She was already in her wedding dress. I'm so ashamed of my behaviour Bella, but I don't regret it, not for a second. I wish I could have handled it better than I did, but having Sam makes me a better person. I love him and he loves me" she finished with a gentle tear escaping her eye. She swiped it away before I could notice, but I already had. I was gobsmacked. I didn't know that was how it happened. A part of me wanted nothing more to do with Emily, but that wasn't going to happen. We needed each other, and despite what she had done to her cousin and best friend the day before her wedding day, it wasn't her fault.

"Emily… this is why imprinting scares me. Look what it made you and Sam do! The day before his wedding to the love of his life! That's so fucked up!"

"Bella listen! Sam and I are completely different to you and Paul! Imprints happen in different ways, but eventually it get's better…"

"… but not better for Leah! What happened to her after she found you?"

"Well, she demanded to know what the hell happened and that was when Sam called off the wedding and said he was in love with me and wanted to be with me instead. He basically moved Leah out that day and moved me in a week later" she said in a small voice, feeling ashamed of herself.

"But what happened to Leah? I'm guessing she didn't take it well"

"Ever since that day, she's become bitter. She's angry and hates everyone, she'll pick fights as often as she can, and she sort of went off the rails a bit, getting drunk with random strangers and sleeping with different men every night, that was when her mom and dad found out and staged an intervention"

"What kind of intervention? What did they do?"

"They literally dragged her back to the house and locked her in her room for a day. They let her out when Sue had dinner ready so she could join the family for a meal, and that was when she phased. That was why Harry died. The shock of seeing his only daughter phase into a wolf, that was never mentioned in the legends, gave him a heart attack and he didn't make it" Emily was full on crying now. I felt a little uncomfortable to be with her knowing what I now knew and I felt sympathy for Leah, I wanted to talk to her about it.

"Bella, I know what you're thinking, and that isn't a good idea" Emily said suddenly turning serious.

"Why not? Doesn't she deserve a friend?" I said viciously. Emily flinched at my tone but I didn't regret it. She didn't answer, but she leaned back in her chair and took a deep breath before speaking again.

"Bella, I think before you hear it from someone else, you should know this. About a week after Leah found us in her bed, her and Paul slept together. They kept it going for a few months before they decided to stop. I didn't want you hearing it in passing and think we were keeping it from you, but you're Paul's imprint now, you deserve to know everything" I didn't know if Emily told me that to be spiteful or nice.

"Like I said before, Paul has a past. I don't have a past but I'm not judging his. I just want to know how to make this imprint work. Should I even consider giving it a go?" I said calmly, trying to get the conversation back on topic. It was clear we were both getting upset by the path of the conversation and we needed to get back onto safe land, so to say. Emily reached for my hand.

"Like Paul said Bella, it's your choice. You do what you want to do. If you truly believe you and Paul can make a go of what the God's have given you, then try it. But they wouldn't have matched you if they thought you were incompatible, just keep that in mind" she said with a smile. Emily offered more coffee and I gladly accepted. I was glad we were back to why I had come here in the first place. I needed advice and I think I was finally getting it. I had made my decision. I would give Paul a chance.

Emily's POV

I was so glad to have a girl to talk to. Even if it was Bella. All I had ever heard about her was bratty comments from the teenage wolves. She seemed nice enough, but I could sense straight away that she was on Leah's side when I told her the story of how me and Sam happened. I had to act quick, so I told her about Paul and Leah's history. I was hoping it would make her crumble, hoping it would break her to hear it. But it did the complete opposite! As I was refilling our coffee mugs, I looked to see Bella having a mental conversation with herself. She was staring into space, just thinking. Then the smile before she spoke said it all; she was going to give Paul a chance. I had to think of another way to keep her away from Paul, even if it was to make her hate him. I didn't know what to do about that yet, so I continued to act friendly. It wasn't all an act of course, she was genuinely a great person to be in company with, but the part of her that annoyed me was that she had Paul; and I didn't.

A/N: oooooh! Sorry for the cliffy! I decided to make a last minute change to the story, but it will make it so much more interesting! I'm glad Bella finally got the answers she needed to make a decision and I think her and Paul can make it work, but why does Emily want Paul? Is there history between them? Is Sam not enough for her? So many questions! All will be revealed in upcoming chapters. Thanks for reading!