AN: dear readers as of now the question you want most to be answered is will Jacob imprint?, the poll will stay open until the next update so you have still some time to vote.

This chapter is a turning point for Bella, as of now she has to choose whether to get deep into the life of the pack or not. The decision will be difficult but at the same time will define how her future will turn out. About Sam's choice, please bear with me and you'll understand soon what's going on. And don't worry because I'm HEA's girl through and through ;)

On with the story now!

Chapter 11

Sue had put down the phone and beamed at Bella. "They found him; or rather he arrived at Billy's house a bit worse for wear. I'm going to wake Leah up and if you want, you can come along with us."

Bella nodded, she was exhausted, but she couldn't really refuse. She resolved to catch some sleep later.

Leah had been so happy about the good news that Bella felt repaid for her effort, the three of them walked to the Black's house. As soon as they got in, Leah threw herself into Sam's arms. Sam hugged her, but turned his dark hunted eyes on Bella.

Their eyes met and she knew that Sam was concerned, she didn't know about what, but she understood that soon he would want to meet with her. She nodded slightly at his silent plea and then she felt Jacob placing his arm around her shoulders. She turned to look at him and she saw that he was staring seriously at Sam.

She bit her lip, Sam and Jacob didn't need to be at odds, not for some silly male possessive streak though she had to admit she liked jealous Jake. She passed her arm around his waist and when he turned to look at her she kissed him softly on his lips. She wanted to let him know that she was his, Jacob relaxed slightly, but he still stared coldly at Sam.

Leah was in his arms half crying and half demanding him where he had been. Harry Clearwater placed a hand on Leah's shoulder then. "Let him have some rest Leah, there'll be time for explanation later. He's exhausted and he needs some sleep."

Leah moved away from his arms and nodded sadly. Sam looked at her and whispered. "It's okay Lee-lee, I'll see you later." With those words he followed Harry out to his car.

Bella knew that Harry was an Elder and she wondered if Sam had somehow managed to talk to him about his transformation. She turned to look at Billy and noticed that he was staring at her pensively, she blushed slightly. Jacob chose that moment to whisper. "Are you well Bells? You look tired."

"I'm quite exhausted actually, I guess today I'll catch some sleep and I'll see you tomorrow." She told him and smiled at her Jacob, then in a whim of a moment she hugged him and placed her head on his chest. Then she frowned because yesterday she was able to reach his neck. She looked up and met his eyes who were definitely way higher. He had grown a lot. And now she was quite scared, a lot scared if she had to admit it. She had had too little time with him, he would push her away if he phased now, it was too early. She placed her head on his chest again and squeezed him tightly. "Jake… I care for you so much."

He chuckled. "I do too, you're so very important to me Bells."

She hoped so; she prayed that the time spent together in this life would be enough for him to fight for her. After bidding everyone goodbye she walked towards her truck, but a voice stopped her.

"Miss Swan, might I have a word with you?" An old Quileute said. She thought that it was Old Quil and understood that she probably was in trouble. She nodded. "Let's walk." He added and offered her his arm. There was nothing she could do but accept it.

When they were far away enough not to be overheard, he started speaking. "I'm very surprised that you knew about our legends and that you rescued our Sam. Might I know how you discovered them?"

Bella had two options either lie or tell the truth. He was the shaman of the tribe, so he might be her only chance to get out of all this mess unscathed. "Will you promise me that whatever I tell you right now won't be divulged to anyone else?"

He studied her for a moment, his dark eyes seemed to read her soul and then he nodded. Bella told him a short version of how she woke up again as her young self, of all the conflicts she had faced in her previous life and how she was sure that this time around she wanted Jacob and to live. He remained quiet for a while.

"Miss Swan, I believe you. I know our souls are old and can travel through time. The Wolf Spirit is proof enough of this. Now, you told me that you know lots of information about the wolves and who will become one, the Elders need to know everything so that we can help them. I'll keep your secret in exchange for you keeping ours. Sam will need a friend through this and I'm sure you'll be there for him."

She nodded; she would be there for Jacob and Leah as well. "Mr. Ateara, there is something else I want to ask you. The wolves will have this… gift or curse, it depends on how you think of it, some of them will imprint. I don't know much about it; it's just a magical way for the wolf to find its mate. The problem is that it will break many people's hearts and I wanted to know if there's a legend about it and if there's a way out."

Old Quil was very serious. "Isabella, are you trying to keep Jacob away from his destiny? He is the future Chief of the tribe and Alpha of the pack, he deserves to have the chance to fulfill his life to the fullest."

Bella bit her lip; she knew she needed to convince him. "Mr. Ateara, I honestly think that Jacob will not imprint. His love for me in the previous life and my love for him is a bond that will be unbreakable. There is another member though that won't be happy about the imprint and I care enough not to want him to hurt himself and the people he loves. Please, if you can help me I would be so grateful..."

"I'll search in our legends and the diaries of our warriors. I can't promise you anything as of now; this is something that I'll have to discuss with the Elders of the tribe. We do owe to you Sam's wellbeing and his safe return, so I'll look into it and come back to you soon." He told her and she felt slightly better, at least it wasn't a flat refusal as she had expected.

Bella went back to her truck and left for home. Her feelings were a jumbled mess; she didn't know what to think about imprinting and Jacob's growth. Besides she was hoping that Jacob's love would be enough to keep him from imprinting but she didn't have any real proof about it. Could she really let him go if that happened? Would she be able to live a life without her sun in it?

Part of her knew that she deserved to loose Jacob after the way she had treated him in her previous life, but the other part wanted him desperately and forever. She was trying to right every wrong and she hoped that it was enough to keep him.

At home she changed into her pajama and went straight to bed. Her eyes closed and she fell into a deep sleep. A weird sound woke her up, she opened her eyes and she felt it again, click, click, click. She turned towards the window, it was coming from there. She stood up from the bed and walked closer, when she looked down she noticed that Sam was looking up at her. She opened the window. "Sam? What are you doing here?"

He passed a hand though his hair. "I need to talk… and you told me to come to you if I needed it… I mean you're the only one I can talk with about this…"

She sighed, she had promised to help him and she couldn't back down now. She knew that when Jacob read Sam's mind and he found out how much she was involved he would probably be quite displeased, but right now she couldn't turn her back on someone who needed her. "Jump in." She told him.

He looked at her like she was crazy, and she smiled a real smile. Sam still didn't know which kind of gifts came with being a shape shifter. She looked down at him. "Come on Sam, you turn into a wolf, you must have some superpower that go with it. Just try and climb in."

Sam studied her for a moment and then nodded. She saw him watching the tree and her window, after a moment with a surprising agility he was into her room. He looked shocked and at the same time fascinated.

"We'll need to try out your strengths and weakness Sam. You need to know what you can do with this gift." She told him softly, she was trying to help him ease into the change in the best way possible. He nodded distractedly. And she felt fear rising in her heart. "What happened Sam? Is anything wrong?"

"I left Leah." He said sadly and Bella felt her heart shatter.

If Sam who loved Leah so very much had taken that decision then what was going to stop Jacob to do exactly the same?