Do Not Own Twilight.

"Men should be what they seem."

- William Shakespeare

Chapter 9

Alpha Uley and The Council

Sam stood outside the tribal council building waiting for the elders to arrive. After he left Paul's yesterday, his pack brother weighed heavily on his mind. Normally Sam would talk things out with Emily, and he would listen to any opinion she might have. Emily cared about everyone in the pack.

When it came to what happened yesterday though, he did not feel as if he could talk about it with her. He tried, but he clammed up, and forced himself to change the subject.

The way Paul reacted to the threat of not seeing Bella Swan disturbed him a great deal. If she was not his imprint, then what the hell was she?

He called the members of the council the next day. He knew he would need guidance to unravel what was going on with Paul. He simply stated to Chief Black that he would like to ask some questions about imprinting and a wolf's reaction to it. The tone of the Chief's voice let Sam know he was not fooling anyone. He was told at what time the elders would be at the tribal council building. He hoped they would not ask too many questions, but knowing his luck, they would attempt to press for more information.

Quil Senior was the first to arrive. He gave Sam a quick nod and walked in to take his seat at the council table. A short while later, Harry Clearwater pulled up with Billy Black. They both gave Sam a nod as well and went to take their seats.

Sam lingered outside, gathering his thoughts and attempting to muster up enough courage to possibly lie to the council. He knew he was not going to be able to share anything about Paul or Bella. He couldn't. Not when he himself did not know what was happening with his pack brother.

He walked in and sat in the empty chair in front of the Elders. They formally greeted each other. The Chief spoke first, "Alpha Uley, you have requested this meeting with the Tribal Council in order to discuss imprinting. You may proceed."

Sweat started to form on Sam's brow; he knew he had to be very careful with his wording. "Chief Black, Elder Ateara, Elder Clearwater. So far there have been two pack members to imprint, Beta Jared Cameron and myself. To further inform the pack about it, I wanted to ask if there are any other ways, besides an imprint, that our wolves would feel an attachment to another."

The elders shared a bewildered look, and then Old Quil answered, "Is there a problem with your imprint Alpha? Or with your Second?"

Sam shook his head, "No there is not Elder Ateara. We, as a pack, don't know much about imprinting. Only that it is rare, and how it feels when it happens to us. I was curious if there were any other aspects of this important part of our wolf that we may not have been made aware of."

Harry seemed to be deep in thought and Old Quil glanced over at Billy. Sam waited patiently as the men began to whisper among themselves. He could have eavesdropped, but if they wanted him to know something then they would speak directly at him. He learned how to tune anyone out if he felt they needed privacy.

He was surprised when he heard Harry's voice, "There are a few paragraphs here and there, sporadic writings, which hint at the possibility of a partial imprint. However, that form is rarer than imprinting itself."

Sam felt the heavy weight on his shoulders already begin to lighten. At least now he had a theory on what was happening to Paul.

Billy's voice interrupted his train of thought, "Is there a specific pack member you are asking for, Alpha?"

This was what Sam was going to have a problem with. Lying to the council. In his eyes it was not something to openly share with them. Sam would guide Paul as needed, but ultimately it would be his responsibility to inform the council if need be.

"No. I was inquiring for informational purposes. In case the situation were to ever arise, I would have an answer prepared."

Billy gave Sam a look that conveyed only one thing - they would be talking later.

"Elder Clearwater, what do you know of this partial imprinting?" asked Old Quil.

Harry took a moment to drink some of his coffee. "If one were to ever occur the only way to solidify the bond would be through mating and marking. The pull to his imprint would be different than a fully imprinted pack member. As I said the details are sparse and the occurrence is even more rare, having only happened once or twice in the past, as written in the previous packs journals."

Sam wondered why Harry even searched for anything concerning intended mates. He decided it was best to ask than to let it fester unanswered. "Elder Clearwater, what prompted you to look into this issue beforehand?"

An uncomfortable look crossed his face, but just as quickly as it was there it disappeared. Harry sat straighter and looked directly at Sam. "I wanted to know if there was any way for you to continue your relationship with my daughter even though the Spirits decided that her cousin should be your mate. Imprinting turned out to be part of this generation of wolves, so there may have been something we overlooked in our readings. Considering how we thought it was rare, we didn't dig further than the explanation of what would take place when - or should I say if - one of the pack experienced it."

Sam felt as if he had been punched in the gut. Harry tried to find out because of him?

He felt awful for what he did to her, but the imprint was stronger than he could have imagined. He loved Leah, he still loves her in some way, and cares for her deeply. If anyone were to ask him if he would change becoming tied to Emily, he didn't think he would. Emily calmed him. Their life was far from perfect. They fought, they made up, and yet he loved her more than he ever loved Leah. In fact he rarely thought about her... he barely remembered their years together... Why was that?

He cleared his head of those musings. "I understand Elder Clearwater."

An awkward silence hung in the air; Sam felt he received the information he sought out.

Billy dismissed the council. "If that is all Alpha, then this meeting is now closed."

"Thank you for your help Chief Black, Elder Ateara, Elder Clearwater."

As soon as Old Quil left the building Billy asked Harry if he could wait for a few minutes out in the truck. He needed to talk with Sam briefly. Harry told him it would not be a problem. He then shook the young Alpha's hand and left.

Sam sat down to be at eye level with Billy. It felt wrong to stand above the tribe's Chief.

Billy narrowed his eyes at him, "Who are you asking for Sam? I know you, you would not have called for this meeting unless if you were worried about someone."

Sam sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, "No one in particular. And even if there were, I don't feel right talking about it. Hypothetically speaking, if there was a pack member to relay this information to, then as his Alpha I should talk to him first. We would discuss the situation, see what it is that he is feeling, and then decide the best course of action from there."

"You continue to say hypothetically, so with that word in mind, who are you talking about? If you do not want to discuss the wolf in question, then who is the possible imprint?"

Sam wanted to snicker, but he wasn't crazy. He wouldn't dare disrespect an elder like that. Seeing the Chief so irritated at his cryptic wording was slightly amusing.

"I would tell you if I could, if I thought there was anything you ought to know or anything you could do. I can't though. It would be a betrayal to a member of my pack. For now, I am making it my priority to solve any and all situations that could or have risen concerning imprinting. As soon as I deal with future issues, or come across any concrete answers, you will too."

Billy still seemed unsatisfied with his reply. Sam, as Alpha, was responsible for the pack and everything they did. Billy hoped the young man spoke the truth, and when he knew more he would come to him.

He shook Sam's hand, and reiterated that the council is there to help in any way they can. Sam thanked him and waited for him to leave the grounds before thoroughly thinking through everything said in the meeting.

He was almost positive Bella and Paul were partially imprinted. Everything seemed to fit. Paul's reaction, and how he has been spending time with the girl when he hates her - or hated her.

He rubbed his hands on his face and huffed in irritation. Why couldn't things be easy when it came to Paul? Why did this one pack member have to make shit so fucking difficult?

His head started to hurt. He really needed to go home and unwind. He had to formulate a plan before talking to Paul. He had to be sure an imprint was trying to take place or this could all blow up into a huge clusterfuck...

An idea suddenly popped in his head.

He knew what he had to do.

Side Note:

Later than I would have liked. Thank you dragonfly76 and Mist. :) And, thank you all for hanging in there with me.