Thanks for sticking around for Chapter 10! I was glad to hear most of you liked that Paul didn't know about the imprint before it happened. I thought it'd make things a little more interesting ;) I figured since Paul is the 3rd to phase, Sam wouldn't have the whole Alpha thing down to a science just yet, especially since in my story, Jared has not yet imprinted on Kim.

I want to thank my 6 reviewers from last chapter: WriteAndDream23, Micky-Moo, twilight85fan, jace4ever, & 2 guests! Thank you so much for your feedback, I will definitely keep your suggestions in mind. I have considered having Embry phase earlier in the story than he does in the actual book/movie, but I am still deciding...I guess we will all find out eventually :)

WARNING: In case you didn't notice, I have changed the Rating of this story from T to M! I have realized there are more swears than I originally intended, and things are going to get more mature in content in the upcoming chapters, so I want to make sure it is appropriately rated in advance. Thanks!

The Heart Wants What It Wants

10. Light of Your Life, Fire of Your Loins

"What the Hell, Sam?" Paul demands to know once he's calmed down for long enough to return to his human body and found his way through the woods to the Uley household, where Sam was waiting for him out back to explain all he knew about imprinting, "Why didn't you tell me about this before? Why would you keep this from me? Don't you think I deserved to know this would happen to me?"

"I'm sorry," Sam replies calmly, knowing how confused and conflicted his pack mate is feeling, because he's been there before himself. He was the first to phase, and he had to learn on his own what happened to him, and when he thought he'd figured out everything he needed to know about being a wolf, he saw Emily and imprinted on her. It was the hardest part about the whole thing, because not only did he have a girlfriend at the time whom he loved, he found his soul-mate in the form of his girlfriend's cousin. "It wasn't my intention to keep anything from you. Imprinting is...complicated, and we don't even know all there is to know about it. I guess I wasn't thinking it would happen to you so quickly."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Paul asks accusingly, his nostrils flaring in anger.

Sam rolls his eyes at Paul's easy temper flare-up, suggesting sharply, "Calm down. I only meant that Jared phased for the first time in late April, and he hasn't imprinted yet, so I had time to explain things to him slower. It freaked him out as it was, and with you being such a hot-head, I wanted to give you some time to accept what you are before I told you there was more. I was hoping you'd have time to learn how to control yourself, because it's dangerous for you to be around your imprint when your phasing is still unpredictable. You saw what I did to Emily when I lost control..." Sam trails off momentarily, the guilt of the incident still so fresh in his mind that it chokes him up. Emily, his Emily, was permanently scarred, and it was all his fault. He isn't sure he can ever forgive himself for what he did, even if Emily says she already has. "...I can't let anything like that happen again."

Paul recalls what happened the day Sam accidentally phased too close to Emily and nearly killed her like it happened only last week; that's because it did happen just over a week ago. Obviously at the time, Paul didn't know Emily was Sam's imprint, and he'd only just discovered he possessed the shape-shifting gene not even a full week before, so it was a lot to handle all at once. Now that he knows what Emily means to Sam, and why he was too upset to phase back to human form because his guilt was too overwhelming, Paul isn't sure he wants to take on that kind of responsibility. "What am I supposed to do now?" Paul asks his alpha, "How do I make it go away?"

"Make what go away?" Sam asks in confusion, unable to connect the dots straight away. When Paul sends him an impatient look, Sam says in astonishment, "The imprint? Paul, you can't make it go away. It's not reversible. Once you imprint, that's it; you're theirs for life. There's nothing you can do to break the bond."

"That can't be true," Paul argues stubbornly, "It has to be a mistake. Lena can't be my...imprint, or whatever." He mumbles the word, finding it to be strange and foreign as it comes out of his mouth.

"Lena?" Sam repeats, "Lena Fawling? Her family owns the supermarket?" Paul had said it was his neighbor, but he hadn't said her name until now.

"Yeah," Paul confirms, "And she's also Embry Call's girlfriend. They've been together forever. Their moms have practically planned their whole lives out for them already; they might as well be betrothed." He shakes his head, feeling disgusted by the idea. He always thought it was amusing that Lena's mom and Embry's mom played matchmaker for them, hoping to bring their two families together one day, but now he thinks it was unfair of them to have such high expectations. What if things didn't work out between them? Then they'd have to deal with their mothers' disappointment along with their own hurt feelings. Not only that, but La Push isn't a very big town, and there are so many gossiping losers that everyone would talk about the break-up, if it were to happen, each speculating as to who dumped who and why and what would happen now. And Paul realizes that none of that even matters because Embry and Lena will never break up. It's a fact.

"It's not the first time an imprint has ruined a relationship," Sam reminds Paul, thinking of Leah, "And it probably won't be the last." He has been talking with the tribe's elders recently, and they have predictions as to who is most likely to join the pack sometime in the near future; Jacob Black and Quil Ateara being two of the likely candidates. He imagines imprinting won't become any less complicated for the pack, but he does have high hopes it will work out for each of them in the end. After all, things are slowly coming together for him and Emily, and if he still has a chance after mauling her face then the bond between an imprinter and his imprintee must be stronger than any of them can imagine. "It happened for a reason, Paul, trust in that."

"You don't know Lena," Paul states, "I've lived next door to her since I was eight years old. She loved Embry even back then; she told me she was going to marry him one day and have his babies. She's never been interested in any guy except for him. And all I've ever been to her is the dumb kid next door with a drunk for a dad, and if I told her she's supposed to be my..." He can't bring himself to say the word imprint again, or soul-mate or perfect match or anything of that nature, so he simply waves his hand and grunts out an indecipherable word, "Eh, she'd probably punch me in my face. Then she'd go and tell Embry, because she tells him everything, and he'd want to punch me in my face too. I mean, I doubt he'd do much damage, but if I kick his ass Lena will just hate me. And I'll probably lose my job, and she won't ever speak to me again. Do you see how this is not going to work out, Sam? What's the point of all this? There has to be a way to get rid of it."

"I already told you, there's not," Sam reiterates, "You're just going to have to accept it, Paul. From what Emily's told me, the imprint isn't one-sided, so you're not the only one feeling it's side-effects. Emily said that when she's with me she feels happy, warm, and just...right. When I'm not with her, she says she feels like something is missing. Maybe she won't realize what's happening at first, but Lena will be happier when she's around you, and when she figures it out-"

"She'll fight it," Paul cuts the older male off, sounding decidedly sure of himself, "She won't just give in, Sam. I know her. She'll play it off as a joke, or keep her distance, or deny it - anything but admit that she actually feels anything for me. That is if she even feels anything at all."

When Sam replies, he seems just as sure, "She will."

"Maybe I don't want her to!" Paul says stubbornly, although his mind immediately disagrees with him. As inconvenient as this whole imprinting process has been, he can't help feeling lucky that he has found a match in Lena. He could have done a hell of a lot worse, even if it's going to be hard convincing her Embry isn't truly The One for her. Maybe it's the whole imprint thing messing with his head, because he's never thought about Lena like this before now, or any girl for that matter, but he can picture a future with Lena. He can imagine him making her happy, and vice versa, spending all their free time together like she does with Embry now, and it's kind of freaking him out how badly he wants to go back to Fawling Market right now so he can see her again.

"Well, you can tell me if you still feel that way after a few weeks of keeping your distance from her," Sam shares his decision in an authoritative tone, knowing it will be hard for Paul but is also what he thinks is necessary. He meant it when he told Paul he couldn't let what happened to Emily happen to anyone else, and he doesn't trust Paul just yet not to lose control because the kid is unpredictable. He will have to prove he can keep his anger in check if he wants Sam to let him pursue Lena Fawling.

"What?" Paul is sure Sam can't be serious. "How am I supposed to do that? We work together. She lives right next door."

"I didn't say you can't see Lena," Sam points out, "I just said you have to keep your distance. You'll have to change your work schedule for now so you aren't tempted to talk to her. You might see her when she's at home, but don't approach her. Until you can control yourself, the best thing for her is to be away from you. It's going to be hard, but that should make you work harder to learn control."

.

Late Saturday night, Lena hears a wolf howling for the fourth or fifth time in the past couple weeks, and she wonders if it has decided to make a home in the woods behind her house. It's strange, because she thought they were more common up north, and not so close to the ocean, but she knows what she heard and it was positively a wolf. This time, she's not alone.

Her door swings open and bangs against the wall as both her sisters tumble into the room. Camille asks Lena, dark brown eyes wide with excitement, "Did you hear that?"

Immediately after her, Maya adds, bouncing up and down on her feet, "The wolf! Did you hear, Lena? Did you?"

Lena frowns at the sudden intrusion, reminding the two younger girls, "You're supposed to knock before you come running in here." Upon realizing the time, she says, "And you're both supposed to be in bed right now."

Camille sighs, obviously disappointed that Lena hadn't answered her original question. "Sorry," She mumbles, mostly for not knocking before entering the room, not because she isn't in bed yet. Their parents had gone to Port Angeles for late dinner and a movie and left Lena in charge of her siblings, so Camille and Maya had decided to have a dance party. Until they heard the wolf, of course, and then they forgot they were supposed to be sleeping and had to come into Lena's room, since she has the best view of the backyard from her window, to see if she heard it as well.

"But did you hear the wolf?" Maya pesters some more, a slight pout on her little lips.

"Yes," Lena concedes, "I heard it." As soon as the words left her mouth, Cammie and Maya squealed and leapt onto the bed so they could look out the back window, which overlooks the backyard and the woods beyond. Lena allows them to lift the curtain and press their faces to the glass before raining on their parade with a few simple words, "You're not going to see anything, it's too dark out."

"The moon is out," Maya observes, pointing to the waning crescent moon, a small glowing sliver in the otherwise dark night sky. "You think that's why he's howling?"

"No," Cammie says with a roll of her eyes, beginning to get impatient with her younger sister after spending a whole night playing nicely, "They only howl at the full moon."

"Then why's he howling?" Maya wonders.

"Because," Lena says in an ominous voice, reaching behind her to flick off the light switch, "Wolves can sense when little girls who should be sleeping are still awake, and it makes them very...very...hungry!" She lunges at the bed and starts tickling Maya and Cammie, who began screaming the second the room was flooded with darkness.

"No!" Maya shouts, "Don't let us get eaten, Lena! We'll be good, I swear!"

Chuckling, Lena rises to her feet and turns on the light once more. "All right," She says with a grin, "I guess I won't let the big, bad wolf eat you. Now go back to your room and go to sleep. I mean it. I'm coming in to check on you in ten minutes, and you both better be asleep."

Maya nods solemnly, slipping her hand into Camille's slightly larger one. "Okay," Cammie agrees, "We will." The taller girl squeezes the shorter one's hand and leads the way out of Lena's bedroom and across the hall to their own.

After they've gone, Lena waits ten minutes, as promised, before exiting her room to check on them. She stops at the boys' room first, lightly tapping on the door before cracking it open and peeking inside. Forrest looks over at her questioningly from his seat at the computer desk, where he's playing a game with his headphones on. It's no wonder he hadn't heard all the squealing and come out to see what was happening. On the opposite side of the room, Cody is sleeping soundly on the lower bed of the boys' bunk beds, which is his designated spot. He is laying flat on his back, arms above his head on either side of his pillow. Lena creeps over and adjusts his blankets, to ensure he'll be warm. Then she waves to Forrest and exits the room as quietly as she entered.

Outside the girls' room, she presses her ear against the door and listens intently for any whispers or noises that might give them away as being awake still. When she hears nothing, she slowly turns the doorknob and pushes it open, stepping inside the mostly dark bedroom. The only light comes from the soft yellow glow of a star-shaped nightlight plugged into the wall by the girls' bunk bed. Surprisingly, both of her sisters are laying in the same bed, and even more surprisingly, they are asleep. Cammie has dragged her pillow and comforter down from the top bunk and arranged Maya's horde of stuffed animals to surround their bodies, like an army of plush protectors to guard them while they sleep. Maya is curled up at Cammie's side, her hair still up in two messy pigtails, and dressed in a puffy pink princess dress made of tulle. Cammie is wearing purple sparkly leggings, a lime green mini-skirt, and a purple tank top of Lena's that she hadn't noticed was missing. She also must have gotten into Lena's makeup, because her full lips are stained a dark pink color and her eyes smudged with purple eye shadow. Lena has to cover her mouth with both her hands to smother a giggle at how ridiculously adorable the two look.

Lena is struck with a sudden idea, and she tiptoes back to her bedroom to locate the camera her parents bought her for her birthday. Returning to the girls' room, she carefully turns the camera on and considers the best possible angle from which to capture the shot, since she'll only get one chance. Once she approves of the position, she holds her breath as the camera flashes and waits anxiously to see if it has woken her sisters. To her relief, it has not disturbed them, and she leaves the room with what she came for. Not only did she successfully get her siblings to bed before her parents came home, but she also found the subject of her second art project for school; Cammie and Maya.

The following morning, Lena is the first in the house to wake up. She pulls her black locks into a ponytail, changes into a more suitable workout outfit, and slips her feet into her jogging sneakers. After her run, which lasts about forty-five minutes, she returns home and snags the first shower of the day. By the time she is out of the bathroom, Cody is awake and watching cartoons in the den. Since her parents arrived home so late last night, Lena decides to do her mother a favor and cook breakfast. She sets a pot of water on the stove to boil and gets to work washing half a dozen new potatoes in the sink. Once the water reaches a boil, she drops the potatoes in one at a time, adding a few pinches of salt for flavor. While the potatoes are cooking, Lena gets out the cast iron skillet to warm up some breakfast sausage, which will go along with the home fries and waffles. By the time she's ready to cook the waffles, the rest of her siblings have woken up and wandered into the kitchen to see what smells so delicious. Thankfully, waffles are the quickest to cook, and it is only after all five Fawling children are seated at the dining room table and eating that their parents join them.

"Hey," Simon greets his eldest daughter with a smile and his usual, "What's the word, Lena-bird?"

Lena smiles, rolling her eyes at her dad's predictable question. He's always called her 'Lena bird', it's his special nickname for her, and since one of his favorite oldies songs is 'Surfin' Bird' by the Trashmen, he likes to incorporate the two. "Well, everybody knows," Lena replies with a smirk, "That the bird is the word, Dad."

Simon winks as he takes his place at the head of the table, announcing, "Waffles, home fries, and sausage? I must be the luckiest man in Washington."

After breakfast, Forrest and Cammie clean up the kitchen before they have to get ready for their shift at the Market. Lena returns to her room for a more casual pair of sneakers as well as her camera, and tells her parents she's walking to the pharmacy, which has a photo printer, to develop the picture of Maya and Cammie that she took last night. When she steps outside, she's pleased to feel the air has warmed at least ten degrees since her early morning run, promising a beautiful summer Sunday. She'll be able to set up her easel outside again to paint, once she returns home with her photo, and that makes her happy. Especially because Embry can't hang out with her today until after family dinner. As she hops down the front steps, she hears a door open and close to her right; it's Paul, on his way to work, most likely.

"Hey," Lena calls out to him, hoping to catch him before he leaves and possibly talk him into giving her a ride, since the pharmacy is only a block from the Market. Besides, she still has questions for him, like why he's been so moody and why he left work yesterday after only ten minutes. There's also the incident where she caught him climbing in his bedroom window, naked, which she'd like an explanation for. He doesn't acknowledge her greeting though, just keeps walking briskly to his truck. Lena assumes he didn't hear her, so she says his name, louder this time, "Paul," and she knows he heard her because his shoulders stiffen up and he turns his head slightly in her direction.

So...why does he ignore her? Why does he hop inside his truck, start up the engine, and take off down the street like he's fleeing a crime scene? Lena frowns in confusion, feeling cold with disappointment despite the warm air blowing against her skin. She can't remember a time Paul deliberately passed up the opportunity to tease or annoy her. She could see him turning down her request for a ride just to be a dick, but not until she'd actually asked for one. Is he mad at her? Did she do something to piss him off? She can't think of anything she'd done to make him angry with her, but for some reason she can't shake the feeling that he was hurrying off to get away from her, both this morning and yesterday afternoon at work. When she reaches this conclusion, she is surprised by the pain of his rejection. She stops walking, wraps her arms around herself, and stares at the sidewalk.

"Lena? You okay?" Forrest nudges his sister on the shoulder as he walks past her, Camille in tow as they're both headed to Fawling Market for their Sunday shift. He jokes, "I thought you left fifteen minutes ago? You didn't make it very far..."

"What?" Lena is startled by his arrival, not believing she actually spaced out for as long as she did, "No. I mean, yeah, I'm fine. I just...I thought I forgot something at home."

"Are you sure?" He asks, not really buying her response. She looked like she was about to cry, and that's pretty odd for Lena; he could count on one hand the times he's seen his older sister cry.

Lena nods, "Yeah." Then she realizes what she said and corrects herself, "I mean, no, I didn't leave anything. I just thought I did. And I'm fine, you little booger." She makes a face at her brother, hoping she doesn't look as strange as she feels. Yesterday, she thought she was getting sick, but the feeling passed, and now for some strange reason it has returned and she wonders if maybe she is fighting off a bug of some kind.

Cammie giggles at Lena's insult to their brother, and Forrest can't believe his ears. Lena hasn't called him 'little booger' since way before high school. He stops in his tracks and waits for her to catch up, questioning, "What was that?" He stands up straight, showing his sister he is now taller than her five-foot-five frame by at least two inches, "Little what? I'm taller than you."

"You heard me," Lena says jokingly, poking him straight in the chest, "You might be taller, but you'll always be little booger to me."

Author's Note: Well, this chapter is not quite as long as last chapter, but it is Tuesday and I promised an update, so here it is! I hope you enjoyed :)

Please review! Let me know what you thought about Paul confronting Sam, and being told to stay away from Lena. What do you think will happen next? I always appreciate hearing your comments and suggestions :)