AN: Many thanks to my beta and bestie Astridt244. You are the wind beneath my wings woman! Is it bad that I realize how corny that is, and I'm still not gonna change it? LOL. Anyway, back to the story! Two chaps in the same month! I think I might be on a roll with this one. :) I hope you all enjoy and please let me know what you think. You're feedback keeps me going!

It took every ounce of energy Bella had to make it to her truck. After the emotionally draining day she'd had, it was a wonder she had any energy left to stand at all. She climbed into her truck, slamming the door behind her. She waited for a moment before starting her truck; expecting Paul to run after her. She'd half expected a fight out of him when she walked away, but he'd barely moved. Maybe she had actually broken him. She considered going back to him for only a moment; that was until he stepped out of the house. He glared at her, baring his teeth as he started to lose control over his wolf. She'd seen that look before. She watched in shock as his body started to convulse.

She was actually afraid. She knew she was his imprint, but she'd rejected him. What was stopping him from hurting her now? Was he actually capable of it? Not wanting those questions answered, Bella started her truck and drove as fast as it would carry her from the reservation.

Even with the windows rolled up and through the downpour that started, she could still hear his anguished howl from the woods. She broke down into deep, soul wrenching sobs as she drove down La Push Rd. She hated to admit it, but she cared deeply for Paul; and hearing the pain in him shook something deep inside of her. Even with that in mind she still pushed on. This was his fault. He hurt her. The further she drove from La Push, the more she yearned to go back. Something was pulling at her, wanting to drag her back to claim what was supposed to be hers, but she didn't want it. Not anymore.

Thirty minutes later she found herself pulling into her driveway. Between the tears and the torrents of rain, it was a wonder she'd made it there at all. She sat in her car, staring at the little house. Charlie was pulling another double. He wouldn't be home until the wee hours of the morning. She'd be all alone. She wasn't sure if she wanted that, but seeing as though all of her friends were werewolves, she didn't have much of a choice. She'd have to suck it up.

She dragged herself out of her truck and headed to her front door. She opened the door and was actually grateful Charlie wasn't in. She didn't feel like being bombarded with a million questions as to why she was in her current state. She locked the door behind her; although she knew it wasn't wolf-proof, she felt better knowing there was a deadbolt between her and the pack.

Bella listened as the chorus of mournful howls broke through the air. She shuddered. She felt deep in her bones that one of the wolves would be making an appearance soon. Someone would come to plead the pack's case; beg for forgiveness, tell her how loved she is. How they did this for her own good. She knew they would come spouting a bunch of bullshit. She was used to it. Edward would do the same thing whenever he made her decisions for her. She never thought that she would have to hear the same thing from her pack family; but they were really no different. She sighed. She knew it was coming. She just wondered which one would actually do it.

Wanting to mentally prepare herself for the emotional blackmail that was soon to come, Bella walked into the kitchen and went in the freezer; hoping the bottle of gin Charlie kept for special occasions was still there. She sighed in relief. It was.

She pulled a glass out of the cupboard and poured herself a shot, throwing it back almost immediately. She gulped down the chilled liquid and shuddered slightly as it made its way into her system; warming her instantly.

Bella carried the bottle into the living room and plopped down on Charlie's chair, awaiting the first arrival. Let the emotional onslaught begin. She thought.

She didn't have to wait long before the first knock on the door. She had already taken four shots of liquid courage and was staggering by the time she made it to the front door. She swung it open, preparing to dump the remaining contents on the intruder or intruders, but stopped cold when she saw Seth standing at the door.

Bella shook her head as she stepped to the side to let him in, closing the door behind them.

"Fucking cowards." She mumbled. Of course they would send the one wolf she could never really bare any hatred for.

Seth chuckled mirthlessly.

He stood awkwardly as he awaited her next action.

"Have a seat, Seth." She said walking back to her original perch on Charlie's chair. She took another long swig from the bottle.

"I see you're taking things well." Seth said as he sat on the couch; pointing at the half empty bottle.

Bella smirked. He could be such a smart ass.

"So tell me, Seth. What are you doing here? Jake send you to plead his case? Sam? Paul?"

"Paul? What does he have to do with any of this?"

She was slightly taken aback. She was surprised he didn't know about their imprint.

"Erm…nothing. What are you doing here?" She said redirecting the conversation.

"Oh…I uh…look Bells, I won't beat around the bush, ok?"

Bella nodded.

"Sam sent me."

"Of course he did."

He sighed.

"Can I get some of that?" He said, nodding his head toward the bottle that was once again tipped up towards Bella's lips.

"No problem. Not like it's gonna do anything for you anyway."

"Yeah…makes me feel better though."

Bella scoffed as she handed the bottle to Seth.

"That makes two of us."

Seth took a huge gulp, growling slightly at the burning sensation in the back of his throat. He took another gulp before handing the bottle back to Bella. She took a swig, finishing off the rest of the bottle. Charlie was going to be pissed.

"So, what are you gonna do now?" Seth asked, feeling slightly more relaxed.

"What d-hic-do you mean?" Bella hiccupped. She was drunk.

Seth chuckled humorlessly.

"What are you gonna do about our current situation?"

"Oh…that. What iss there to d-hic-do, Seth? You guys completely fucked me o-hic-over. I'm through with the La Push werewolves."

Seth sighed.

"Look, if it means anything, Bells me and the guys…we didn't want this to happen to you. Knowing what you are to us…it just wasn't right for them to do that to you. And…and the only reason I didn't come up here and say something sooner is cause of that stupid fucking order!" Seth said jumping up. He paced back and forth, growling wildly like a caged animal until Bella reached out to him. His shaking subsided almost immediately when her skin made contact with his.

Seth shook his head and went back to his seat.

"Leah's pissed for you, ya know? She took a chunk out of Jacob when she found out. She wanted me to tell you that. We both understand that you need some time away…but…just…not too much time. Ok, Bells? We need you around."

Bella frowned at him.

"You don't need me, Seth. You have Mina now."

Seth scoffed.

"Yeah, right. I don't have Mina, Jake does. She doesn't mean what you mean to us, Bella. Mina's no you. Not even close."

Too bad Jacob couldn't see that. She thought bitterly. She knew it was unfair. She knew he couldn't control who he imprinted on, but he was still a dick about the whole thing. Out of everything Edward had done, it paled in comparison to Jacob's betrayal. She could never forgive him; but that didn't mean Seth had to suffer.

"Look Seth, I know you didn't have anything to do with this whole mess, but…but..it doesn't make it hurt any less. I just…I just need some time, ok? Away from the pack; away from everything. I know it's screwed up and you don't deserve to lose me as a friend and I don't want to lose you, but I might disappear for a while. I c-can't take this right now!" She ended in a sob.

Seth crossed the distance between them at inhuman speed. He enveloped her in his arms and his warmth offered both comfort and heartache. She sobbed as he held her close; whispering soothing words and stroking her hair. She felt another small twinge of pain as Seth continued his ministrations. He always reminded her so much of Jake. The way he was holding her; it was just like Jake would.

She sniffled and placed her hand on Seth's chest.

"I'm ok, Seth."

"Are you sure, Bells?

Another twinge of pain. She loved Seth but she had to get mini-Jake away from her.

"Look Seth, just give me a little time okay? I promise I'll keep in touch. I just can't deal with all of this right now."

"Okay. Bells, just know that I'm here for you, ok? I don't want you to think you're alone in this."

He said walking to the door with her.

She grinned slightly.

"Thanks, Seth. That's good to know."

She opened the door and waved him out.

"See you around, Bells."

"Yeah. See you around, Seth."

Seth pulled her into a giant hug. She felt another twinge of pain. He was just too much like Jake. She grinned at him, through her heartache and he kissed her on her temple.

He pulled away from her and walked out. He looked back at her. "It's gonna be alright, honey."

"Yeah. I know." Get out of here! She screamed at him in her mind. The constant string of Jake-isms and characteristics were giving her a steady dose of heartache she didn't want. She watched through the heavy rain as he retreated toward the forest and a thought occurred to her. "Seth?" The sandy colored wolf popped his head out of the forest. "No more visits today, ok?" He nodded his head once in understanding and took off. "And tell Leah I said thanks!" She heard a yip before she turned back into the house. Before she even closed her front door, she heard Seth's mournful howl. It was soon followed by a chorus of them.

She sighed "I'm gonna need more gin." Bella mumbled.

She walked back into the kitchen, trying to determine where Charlie might hide some more of the good stuff. After twenty minutes of fruitless searching, she settled for a beer. Bella wasn't normally a drinker, but right now she wanted to feel numb. So much had happened to her within the last 24 hours, it was a wonder she wasn't a complete and total wreck. She figured all of the emotional turmoil would attack her system the same time as the hangover she would be sure to have in the morning.

Bella plopped back down onto the couch and stared at the blank TV screen. She sniffled and took a swig of her beer and grimaced at its bitter taste. She felt a teardrop fall onto her hand; she hadn't even realized she was crying. She took another gulp of beer as more tears ran down her cheeks. Letting out a choked sob, she chugged down the remainder of the can; trying not to pay attention to the taste, but reveling in the buzz it was giving her. She popped open another one as the events from this afternoon played back in her mind.

They manipulated her; all of them. She felt completely used. She didn't know how far up the conspiracy went. Or, even why there was a conspiracy to begin with, but there was one, that was for sure. Bella had trusted all of them, and they betrayed her trust in the worse way possible. The one thing plaguing her was why they did it. She still hadn't really received an answer. She was loyal to them and trustworthy, she looked after them and cared for them. She loved them like they were family because to her, they were. She just couldn't understand it. One thing she did know was that after tonight, she wouldn't give them the satisfaction of seeing her tears. She had already shown them to Seth, which meant that they would be replaying on the wolfie broadcast network for a while, but that was it. They didn't deserve her tears.

She couldn't believe the lengths that Jake had gone to to keep the truth from her. They had known each other their whole lives, and he treated her as if she didn't matter at all to him. She just couldn't understand why he didn't tell her about imprinting; like it honestly would've mattered to her. She loved Jake. She would have braved whatever supernatural obstacles came at them, just for the chance to be with him. But, it wasn't like it mattered now. He found his imprint and that was that. He had taken her virginity; they had taken each other's as far as she knew; he told her he loved her and she knew he did. But now, now she knew him to be a liar, a cheater, a backstabber, and a manipulative bastard. And he could go fuck himself for all she cared.

And then this whole business with Paul and her being his imprint. She never saw it coming, but she knew there had to be an explanation for the intensity of their attraction; and now that she knew what it was, she didn't want anything to do with it. He had caused so much turmoil in her life within the short time she had allowed him to be in it. Imprinting was such a fucking curse; it had ruined her life; in more ways than one. She had lost her boyfriend and best friend, her friends, her family, and a would be lover who turned out to be her fucking soul mate. He could go fuck himself too. She had been blissfully ignorant and he came along and…and…and what? Showed her the truth? How could she really be mad at him for doing that? It was a lot better than the rest of those fucking cowards did for her. They smiled in her face and lied to her; and Paul had actually tried to help her. It was a shitty way of doing things though. He could have done so much better. She thought back to when Jake had coached her into figuring out the pack's secret. Why couldn't he have done it like that? Things probably would've gone so much smoother; for them, anyway. In spite of this revelation, she knew she couldn't have anything to do with the pack right now. Soul mate or no.

Bella tossed back another beer, her third one that night. She was happily drunk but despite her welcomed buzz, she felt so lonely. She thought back to her previous visit from Seth and found herself missing his company, even though she basically put him out of her house. Although she detested the pack right now, she needed a warm embrace and she sobbed at the fact that she would never have that again.

She didn't know if it was from the booze or the happenings of the day, but her head was aching and started to swim. Deciding to call it a night, she literally dragged herself up the stairs to her bedroom; hugging the walls along the way. Bella was stumbling over drunk and tripped her way across the darkness of her room to reach the lamp at her bedside. She clicked it on, her eyes struggling to adjust to the abrupt change from darkness to light. After blinking repeatedly, her eyes well adjusted, landed on the figure hunched on her bed; his head in his hands, his russet skin and raven hair wet and glistening from the torrential downpour outside. He looked up at her with bloodshot eyes. He had been crying; over her. Good.

"Bells." He breathed her name. He rose from the bed and quickly crossed the short distance between them. He cupped her face and stroked her cheek lightly.

Her breath hitched. She fought the urge to lean into his touch and backed away, noting the wounded look on his face. She couldn't bring herself to care. She squared her shoulders and looked him directly in the eye.

"Jake. What are you doing here?"