Disclaimer: Twilight is all Stephanie Meyer, I own nothing.

AN: Ah, quite an exciting chapter, it was very difficult to write though ;)

A big thanks to the very talented 'yay4shanghai' for beta'ing!

The choice is yours

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POV: Lily

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As Billy spoke about the risk of dating a wolf that hadn't imprinted yet, the words slowly sank into me, was he telling me what I thought he was telling me?! I looked at Seth, who was eyeing me anxiously, awaiting my reaction. Dammit, that was exactly what he meant! Looking at the others that were present, I could tell they were perfectly serious. My gaze landed on Nathan, who looked just about as worried as Seth had, could it be true? Needing a moment to think by myself, I got up, walking towards my car.

"Lily!" Sue's voice rang out behind me, I turned, waiting for her to catch up to me.

"I need some time Sue, this is too much too handle." Sue nodded in understanding, and pulled me into a hug.

"I'll be here when you're ready," she said gently before releasing me.

As fast as I could, I got into my car, driving home. My head was spinning, making it unable to sit still, I'd been pacing up and down the porch for god knows how long. I needed to know if it was true, I needed proof. I grabbed my phone, calling the only person I trusted enough to confirm Billy's story to me. Just when I heard the first tone after dialing, I heard a phone go off close by, my head whipped up to determine where the sound came from. Only to see Seth, dressed in nothing but shorts, emerge from the tree line by my house.

"You're here?" I was utterly stunned.

"Of course I am, did you think I'd leave you to be alone when you left obviously upset?" He replied casually.

"Have you been here before, hiding out in the trees I mean?" He nodded slowly in response.

"Why did you stay there, why didn't you just come to me?" Surely I wouldn't have sent him away, I mean I'd been pushing him away, but I would have let him in the house.

"You didn't know then, so I couldn't. Are you telling me you wouldn't have found it weird that I'd been hiding outside, barely dressed and without transportation?" Only then I realized what he was implying, he had shifted into a wolf and ran here.

"Did you… You know?" I asked perplexed, unable to stop staring at him.

"Yeah," when I didn't say anything, he spoke again, "are you ok?"

"No, of course I'm not ok, either half the people on the reservation have lost their minds, or it's actually true, neither of those options sound very appealing to me!" He chuckled lightly.

"Are you laughing at me?!" That confirmed his mind wasn't working properly at least.

"Yeah I am, since you're still fairly calm, I'm assuming you're leaning towards option number one, which I find very amusing." He cocked his head to the side still smiling, imploring me to say something.

"Ok, make me believe you then. Show me." He'd change or he wouldn't, either way, I'd have my answer.

"Are you sure? I don't want to freak you out," his concern was touching but at the same time ridiculous.

"Yeah, I'm sure, so come on with it," he shook his head amused.

"Just remember it's still me in there ok?" He met my eyes, waiting for me to confirm.

"Yeah whatever, you're stalling." He sighed and turned away from me, untying his shorts and letting it drop to his feet, exposing a set of perfectly toned butt cheeks, instantly making me blush.

"If you can't handle me undressing, how are you gonna handle me phasing?" Seth was clearly having way too much fun with this.

"I can handle it just fine, so, are you gonna make me look at your ass much longer or what?" He let out a final laugh before her started shaking violently. Before my eyes I saw him explode, fur appearing all over; a sandy brown, giant wolf turning to me.

"What the fuck!" I screamed loudly, feeling the need to pinch or slap myself, making sure I was awake.

The wolf's muzzle fell open, almost as if it were smiling at me. Then I remembered Seth telling me it was still him in there, if it were him, he'd most definitely be laughing. I still remained in a dream like state, not completely realizing what was happening, until the wolf took a few steps towards me that is. Fear kicked in, and I instinctively stepped backwards away from him. He halted, whining softly, sadness visible in his eyes. I squinted, trying to get a better look at his eyes, when I recognized them as Seth's.

"It's really you, isn't it?" His enormous head slowly moved up and down, before he lowered himself onto the ground, lying still, waiting for me to make the first move.

I gathered my courage, and carefully stepped forward, keeping my eyes on him constantly. Eventually I reached the point where I was close enough to touch him, but reaching out to a wolf that was taller than you when he stood on all fours, wasn't particularly easy. My instincts kept telling me to run, but my mind was starting to win the battle, allowing my hand to actually connect with the soft fur below it.

That instant I understood I was fully awake, this wasn't a dream, Seth had actually transformed into a wolf. The story that sounded like a fairy tale was more like a manual for the legendary wolf pack existing throughout generations, right here in LaPush. My hand moved behind his ears, stroking the fur gently, as I looked at him trying to wrap my mind around it, but I couldn't, I still needed more information to understand it all.

"Seth, can you like, change back now?" The wolf rose slowly and trudged back, to disappear behind the closest trees.

"Lily, can you hand me my shorts?" Seth's voice sounded, I looked at his shorts that were still lying in front of me and picked them up.

"Sure," I walked over to the tree and held out my hand far enough, for him to be able to take the cutoff shorts from me. A moment later, he appeared, just Seth again, and I stared at him.

"Lily?" His voice close as he stepped next to me, bringing me out of my daze swiftly.

"Yeah, let's go inside, you need to explain things to me, so I can understand," I walked out in front of him, to feel him closing in on me, taking my hand as we stepped through the door and into the living room. Sparks ran through me, making me gasp and drop his hand instantly.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

He thought I was upset with him for taking my hand, I wanted to tell him he got it wrong, but words failed me. Instead, I flung myself at him, my arms finding their way around his waist. My face pressed tightly against his bare chest, enveloping myself in his scent, I had missed him so much, and all of it was coming out now. My breath caught as I started shaking, Seth's arms came around me, holding me close, running his hand through my sleek hair.

"Oh Lily, I'm here, it's ok, everything's ok," his voice soothing, as he rocked me slowly, until I calmed down.

"What do you want to know?" Seth asked me after he sat me down on the couch, taking a seat beside me.

I asked him what being a wolf meant for his life, why he they existed in the first place, he explained it all to me very calmly. After which imprinting was discussed, how most the wolves had imprinted already and all of them probably would eventually. Then I started to wonder, why they had told me now, I'd known Seth for months now, never had he ever even so much as hinted towards it. Today they had organized a bonfire and everything, just to be able to tell me about it.

"Seth, why now, why was it so important for me to know now?" Seth hesitated a moment before he answered.

"Because you can't make a choice, without completely understanding the situation." Still, I didn't understand, he didn't make any sense to me at all.

"Choice, what choice?" I asked him confused.

"Who you want to be with?" Was he talking about him and Nathan?

"If I were to choose between you and Nathan, why would I need to know all that, you're both pack members, what's the difference?" Seth tensed up completely next to me.

"Well, as might have guessed, to date a wolf that had yet to meet his imprint would be taking a risk. But to date a wolf, just because he has, doesn't sound right either." Was he deliberately trying to make this harder.

"Could you stop talking in riddles?!" Why couldn't he just come out and say it.

"Nathan hasn't imprinted yet, but I have… on you!" He finally pushed out, scared of how I might react, he looked at the floor.

"You, you imprinted on me? I'm your… soulmate?" I looked at him unbelievingly, could he really be meant for me?

"Yes! Don't you feel it?! I miss you so much when you're not with me, I feel the pain when you're hurt, I can't stand to be away from you!" He slumped forward leaning his face in his hands, hiding it from me.

"That's because of imprinting?" Slightly hurt that he needed something like that to feel that way about me, it could have been anyone.

"Yes. No! Imprinting is like fate giving you a nudge in the right direction, pointing out your soulmate to you. That doesn't necessarily mean a romantic involvement, that depends on how you feel about each other."

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POV: Seth

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I looked at her apprehensively, waiting for her to connect the dots, she didn't quite understood how afraid I was about losing her. To a person like Nathan on top of that, an unimprinted volatile womanizer, who would eventually crush her by meeting his imprint.

"So you wanna be my friend?" She asked hesitantly.

"No Lily, I wanna be a lot more than your friend, I wanna be your best friend, your lover, the father of your children! That's what I want, so it's all in your hands, you can have whatever part of me you wish," maybe saying it out loud would make her understand, I was desperate, I didn't know what else to do. She looked at me shocked, so I figured I'd over done it.

"Listen, I'm not saying I want all of that right that right now, but I would at least like to start dating, if you're at all interested in me that way. But that's kinda hard to do, with you having a boyfriend and all." When I mentioned Nathan she snapped out of her brooding session.

"Oh shit, Nathan!" She said loudly.

"Yes, Nathan. You need to choose Lily, that's what I'm saying," the longer it took, the more anxious I got.

"Seth, I don't feel that way about Nathan," she said softly, I heard a soft whimpering from outside, where Nathan was hidden away in the bushes.

"What do you mean?" Not wanting to jump the gun, I asked her to elaborate.

"Well, he's a great guy, but I don't feel the way I should to start a serious relationship with him. I have fun with him, that's all," I groaned, the idea of the two of them together haunted me already, her saying it didn't help very much.

"Why are you with him then?" It seemed illogical to me, she wasn't doing it to hurt me was she, cause even towards someone like him, that would be unfair.

"I was lonely Seth, he was there, and we do get along very well. But I'm not blind, I know he's dating one girl after the next. I just figured he'd get bored with me after a while, but now it seems I have to tell him I can't be with him." A loud howl reached our ears, Nathan had been whining throughout the conversation, but until now Lily hadn't been able to hear him.

"You just did," I sighed, it was sad that the first girl he was slightly serious about would not return his feelings. But since it was Lily we we're talking about, it was out voiced by the happiness she brought me by telling me she wasn't in love with him.

"That was Nathan? Oh no, I didn't want him to find out like that... Wait, how could he even hear me?" That was the one question I'd hoped on avoiding.

"That's a wolf thing, we have…um have excellent hearing" I looked at her to see how she'd react to that, and just like I'd feared I saw understanding flutter across her face.

"Have you ever heard me?" Her eyes burning a hole in the floor right in front of her.

"Yes, I have… I know how much you miss your sisters, despite what you've been telling everybody." My admittance was hard, but I hoped she'd finally stop lying to me.

"Oh my god Seth, how could you do that?!" She flushed in embarrassment, getting up from the couch and rushing into the kitchen.

"I'm sorry for always staying out there, never coming in to comfort you. But Lily, I won't apologize for checking up on you, I was worried, and needed to be sure you were ok." I walked into the kitchen where she stood leaning with her front against the counter, looking out the window, the shuddering of her shoulder told me she was crying.

"You have no idea how much it killed me to see you like that, never able to do anything for you, while all I wanted was to hold you close and make everything go away." I stepped behind her and wrapped my arms around her pulling her against me, I was expecting resistance, but she just let herself fall back against me.

"I missed them so much Seth, I wish they were here, I can't bear living without them," her voice strained and shaky from the tears that streamed down her face.

"I know, I know, come here," I turned her around and pressed her firmly against me, never wanting to let go. She knew everything now and hadn't rejected me, she hadn't told me she was in love with me, like I was with her, but still.

"Seth? Will you come with me to see them tomorrow?" I pulled away enough to look her in her eyes.

"Of course I will, they'll be so happy to see you, they miss you too you know." I smiled slightly at her.

"Thanks," she said softly.

"Lily, you don't have to thank me, I'm just happy that you'll let me take care of you, that you'll let me be near you, I missed you so much!" I lifted my hand to caress her cheek, my heart beating frantically as leaned her face against my hand.

"I missed you too Seth, a lot. I just… I figured, you'd be better off without me," her eyes glassed over as new tears formed within them.

"Silly girl," I smiled, but it fell when she looked back at me, longing in her eyes.

"Seth…" she whispered barely audible.

Instead of waiting for her to tell me how she felt, if she had feelings for me at all, I acted on what my gut told me. Gazing into her eyes I leaned down, my heart pounding against my ribs, and at the same time I heard hers speed up. Finally my lips touched hers, carefully, lightly, waiting for approval to deepen the connection. She did by releasing a soft moan from the back of her throat, closing her arms around my neck to pull me closer.

Not needing further encouragement, my hands tightened on the small of her back, I ran my tongue over her bottom lip asking permission to enter. She opened her mouth to let me explore hers, and her hands moved into my slightly longer hair, gripping it firmly. Her mouth moved with mine, letting me take the lead, it felt great to have her submit to me like that.

For so long I'd been holding it in, I needed to be careful not to push her to far, not to take her entire hand when she only offered me her finger, but now I wanted to relish in this feeling. My mouth possessively moved over hers, my hands roaming her back and then her bottom. My hands grabbed her thighs and lifted her onto the counter, before attacking her neck, kissing, sucking my way down, I groaned when she pushed herself against me.

A loud knocking on the door is what eventually forced us to stop, at first I wanted to ignore it, but when Nathan started yelling on the other side, I figured it best if we let him in.

"Come in Nathan," Lily opened the door, while I tried to calm myself down, to make the hardness in my pants go away or at least lessen it.

"So, you've made up your mind I guess?" Nathan inquired irritated.

"I'm sorry Nathan, I didn't know you could hear me, but it was the truth." She felt sorry for him, which was understandable, but I didn't like the way he was behaving.

"So, he convinced you to pick him huh?! Well done Clearwater!" I saw where he was going, and was just about to tell him to leave, when Lily was ahead of me.

"Nate, you can't blame Seth for this, he hasn't persuaded me to do anything, I just can't help the way I feel!" She said forcefully.

"Oh really, and how is it exactly that you feel?!" That bastard, he had no right to question her like this.

"I'm feel more for Seth than I do for you, I'm sorry," her words fueled his rage and he stormed back out, but my heart seemed to have been given wings and it soared out of my chest.

"Did you mean what you just said?" I was next to her the moment she closed the door, lifting her chin up so that her eyes would meet mine.

"It is… I thought you knew how much I cared about you?" She looked at me smiling widely.

"I hoped, I wished and I dreamed, but I didn't know, until you just said it!"

AN: It would be so great to hear from you!