So here I am with this new chapter! I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long. I hope you enjoy it. I was planning on making this chapter longer but I got caught up in a few errors of judgment for the plot. Thank you to reviewers! I appreciate it very much and I do consider your opinions/thoughts when writing the next couple of chapters. Enjoy the chapter!

Imprinted on a Broken Soul

Chapter 14

(Paul's P.O.V.)

It has been a long night for me of patrolling and hunting. We still have no trace of that vampire on our territory. I barely got time to rest before heading to school Monday morning. No one likes Mondays but I wanted to get going to meet up with Lela. She hasn't spoken to me since Saturday night. Not too much of a big deal as long as she doesn't try to avoid me today. I left her alone Sunday so she could maul over the idea that she is my imprint. Women love their space when they get upset so hopefully she had enough time to clear her head.

The pack had heard my thoughts and concerns when we were patrolling. Quil encouraged me that Lela would come around to the idea. Jared didn't completely understand Lela's view on imprinting but offered that he could get Kim to talk to her if I wanted. I didn't want an outsider coming into me and Lela's relationship; I didn't want Kim trying to push Lela a certain way for me. I believe she'll come around in time. She'll come around when she's ready. When she's ready to trust me and trust that what we have is real. All I can really do is show her that this is my choice and not natures. We are meant for each other and its as simple as that.

I really hate waiting sometimes but Sam told me it's worth it in the end. Leah bitterly huffed in her wolf form, at that while we were patrolling. She had been one of the ones keenly interested in my thoughts. Leah had been quiet up until that point, where she back lashed at Sam for how patient he was by slicing Emily in the face. Sam winced at Leah's mental image of Emily's bloody face, but Jared started snapping at her a moment later, breaking the Leah's concentration. I examined Leah's thoughts about what she thought about Lela. Lela had given Leah a dim light of hope that imprinting wasn't all what it was cracked up to be. Leah was hoping Lela would reject me, not because she wanted to see me suffer but for her own selfish reasons.

Leah wanted to be finally proven right that imprinting wasn't all it was cracked up to be and that it wasn't mutual feelings between two partners that Emily could have walked away even though Sam might have not been able to. Leah cut off her connection with the pack as a way to shield herself from me investigating her. She had snarled at me in contempt, once she broke away from Jared. She didn't like her mind being explored. I wasn't in the mood to fight with her that night. I thought about Leah's point of view for a second on Lela's actions before deciding for myself that it didn't matter. I was hopeful Lela would come around; I had a gut feeling she would.

Once I see her today, I just needed her to understand our view/my view of an imprint. I drove to school and parked my car. I headed over to the spot where Ethan dropped her off every morning. Lela arrived but didn't seem so thrilled to see me so suddenly.

She started walking towards school and I followed beside her. We were both silent, I wanted her to speak first to me. We went through the whole routine of her going to her locker, gathering her books to walking her to her classes. When lunch time rolled around, I got us some food and we sat next to each other at my pack's table. The table was full of chatter that we both joined into but we never said a word to each other. I could tell Lela wasn't super attentive to the conversation she was having with Kim as I saw her spy on the way Kim and Jared acted with each other. I knew Lela was over thinking this imprint thing far too much.

It wasn't till fourth period rolled around that she finally said something to me in English class. The teacher hadn't even returned from the teachers' lounge so we had a minute to get things off our chest.

"Is one of the perks of imprinting being followed constantly," Lela remarked sarcastic.

"No. I'm only following you to protect you. There is a predator on the loose remember?" I commented in a mellow tone, smirking.

"You've stalked me before all this though. You're only here with me because of it," Lela asserted.

"Actually no, I was taking this class first before you transferred in here," I stated, playfully.

Lela narrowed her eyes at me. "You know what I meant."

"I do indeed," I nodded in confirmation. "It may have been the start of this interest I have in you, but it does not make me love you. It may make me care about you but loving you is my choice."

Lela looked taken back. "Have you chosen?"

"I have but it takes two to tango," I answered.

The teacher came in at that point and I moved back to the front of the class room. Lela didn't speak to me for the rest of the day. In gym the girls played indoor soccer while us, guys ,went outside to run a couple of laps. After math class for me, the day was over and Lela met up with me at my car. I drove her over to my house. We still didn't talk much as she did her homework and I did mine.

"It's not right," Lela whispered to me as we got back into my car so I could drive her home. It was around five and Ethan would be home by now in order to keep her safe.

"What isn't?" I asked.

"That you're doing all this! You putting up with me because of some unnatural force that links you supposedly to me," Lela answered in an irritated tone. She was really thinking too hard about all this.

"I don't think any of this is right. The world is not suppose to have vampires and werewolves but hey, look they exist. It's not right for my dad to love more than one woman and leave his only child behind but hey, it happens. I don't think its right for my mom to work two jobs just to keep our house, but the money is needed. This imprint thing might not seem right to you but I don't think it's wrong.

"I think it sure as hell sped up the process of finding the right girl for me, because you are the girl I would still want even if the imprinting didn't take place. I didn't take too kindly to the idea of being tied down into a relationship before I met you. I realize however I'm not tied down as I thought I was going to be. The imprint just makes me want to keep you happy and keep you safe. It makes me want you but it doesn't make me love you. It doesn't make you love me or want me. This is as real as we make it. I chose to get to know you and I chose to stick with you. Before you, I was becoming like my dad even without my knowledge of it but this bond between us changed things and I realized on my own that all I want is to be with you." I looked over at Lela and her guard was coming down. I could see she was torn between acceptance and sorrow.

"How did you realize this?" Lela questioned softly.

"I studied you; I got to learn about you and to talk to you. Your personality was the thing that had hooked me," I responded sincerely. I wasn't going to beat around the brush. I was here and I wanted her to know that I wanted her because who she is solely.

"Take me home," Lela requested as she turned her face away from me. She needed time and she needed her silence.

(Lela's P.O.V.)

Paul dropped me off at my house and Ethan opened the door for me as I walked briskly inside. Ethan could probably sense something was up ever since Saturday but he didn't question it. I guess he thought me and Paul might have worked it out today and that I might be in a better mood, but I wasn't. I was still troubled and I was confused more than ever. Ethan made me dinner, but we didn't speak a word about how I was feeling.

After dinner I laid wake in bed for a while after my shower. I couldn't get to sleep as my mind raced of what Paul said. I thought about how Jared looked at Kim today and how happy they were. They clicked so well together, but I wondered if he would still be there if there was no imprint. Paul said loving someone is still their choice. For some reason it was hard for me to believe; on the other hand, I really did think that Paul had true feelings for me. Sam left Leah for Emily all because of an imprint. An unnatural force that drove him to break up with his girlfriend for her cousin and it was supposedly for love?

I tossed and turned for while before falling asleep.

'You could have fixed this! You could have saved her!'

The words seemed to echo around me as the images began to form.

'You stupid bastard, you should have saved her!'

A dark lit room came into focus, I noticed my father at the foot of the bed blocking my view. Ethan stood off to the side, looking down at the bed with clenched fists.

'You're just going to stand there, aren't you? You have nothing to say for yourself, do you? You could have helped her, but you didn't. You never loved her, although she admired you pretty damn much. You ain't so high and mighty when it gets down to it, huh? YOU'RE NOTHING BUT A LYING PIECE OF SHIT!'

'Thomas please stop', Ethan mentioned as his eyes connected with me, noticing my presence.

My dad turned to look at me with his irritated, red eyes. There were dark bags under his eyes from nights of no sleep. He looked disheveled in his crumbled up clothes; he hadn't changed them for a few days. He had a five clock shadow as well on his jaw. It was as if someone had beat and mugged him for all the things he ever owned. My dad didn't look like my dad at that time; he looked like just a man I should have never met. He gestured to me and waved his hand loosely.

'Come here, Lela. I think it's time for you to say goodbye and thank your uncle for this doing,' my dad said sounding bitter as he stepped aside.

'Don't', Ethan stopped him and got on my dad's right side, blocking my view again. 'She doesn't need to see this, Thomas. She doesn't need to see her mom this way.' Ethan calmly stated with a stern face as he tried to reach for my dad's arm.

'GET YOUR HAND AWAY FROM ME!' My dad shouted, angry, as he stepped out of Ethan's reach. 'I'm her father and she will do as I say!'

Ethan stared hard at my father with a thin frown but did not make a move to stop him. My dad once again looked at me and waved his hand for me to enter. I slowly approached to the side of my mother's bed. Seeing her unmoving and still form was a scary sight. Her mouth was slightly agape and her head was slightly turned as if she was struggling to stuck in her last breath. Her face was relaxed but her body was sprawled as if passing on was painful.

My father took my shoulders making me jump as he whispered in my ear, bitterly with slurred words. 'Your mother is dead, Lela, even after all the treatments and surgeries it wasn't enough. There was only one thing that could have kept her around forever, do you know what it could have been?'

'That's enough!' Ethan spoke up angrily, but his face was hard with remorse and despair.

'I have had enough with you,' my father stated viciously as he stood away from me.

I checked Ethan's expression to see he was locking eyes with my father. I turned back to look at my dad to find him 20 feet away from me and he was still stepping back. The walls of my mother's room drifted away as a road seem to immerge behind my dad.

'Dad...?' I called after them. I turned back to look at Ethan but he was no longer there and darkness took his place along with my mom. I stalked forward towards my dad as a light shown from behind him.

'DAD MOVE!' I screamed as I ran to save him. I knew what it was and I was thrown back as the truck slammed into my father.

There was snow beneath me on the ground, it crunched beneath my feet. Trees surrounded me in a dark embrace as I saw a grey wolf peeping in between the trees… 'Paul' I whispered but he was gone.

'It's not real love,' I hear a voice whisper over and over again.

I woke up from my mixed up dream out of breath. It has been awhile since I thought of my mother's death. I never could picture my mom so vividly from my memory except for her on her death bed. The memories I have of her smiling seem to be all blurry and vague. She was a woman I didn't fully get to understand. She cared for me and my brother and sister but I never had any talks with her like my brother and sister had about life. My siblings could have told me stories and recall mom's personality better than I ever could. The last few years of her life, she seemed to only be clouded by worry and pain. Death clung to her until she finally stopped trying to fight it. I remember how physically weak my mom use to get. How my dad would have to take off work to care for her. He would yell at us to behave as his attention was spent on her. My dad began drinking late at night once my mother was asleep to drown his worries and his despair. He told us to not disturb him during those times and if one of us did it didn't turn out pretty.

I shook my head to get out of that set of mind. I wasn't there anymore, that part of my life doesn't exist anymore. My body began to tremble, not out of anxiety but out of fear. Life has never been simple for me so why would love be? I wiped my eyes as a few tears escaped.

A few seconds later, my door knob turns and Ethan enters. He closes the door quietly and comes to sit beside me. Ethan looked worrisome with his eyebrows drawn down and posture slacking. It took a couple of moments before he spoke and when he did it was a casual tone that hid his emotions.

"So what has been going on?"

I shrugged my shoulders and looked away. I didn't even know where to begin.

"You have always concerned me Lela, you know why?" Ethan said after a couple of moments.

"Because I'm not normal" I melancholy replied

"No, and no one is normal. I'm not normal. I'm even considered unnatural," Ethan commented with a smirk.

"Then why?" I asked softly.

"Because you keep all your feelings to yourself," Ethan answered honestly. "I never once seen you open up to anyone since your mother past. You locked yourself away ever since then pretending to be fine."

"I am fine," I quickly spoke.

"You don't have to list your feelings to me but I would take it as a good sign if you spoke to someone about how you feel."

"I don't need a therapist," I quickly stated, in a hard voice.

"Not a therapist, but someone you trust. Someone who will listen, just listen to you… so you could feel better and get this off your chest," Ethan advised. "You might not become so haunted anymore by your dreams, you might sleep better at night, and maybe you would begin to get better control over your emotions."

"Paul told me the same thing once," I said, monotone. I wasn't liking this conversation about my feelings and about my dreams.

"Because Paul wants to listen to your story and your feelings, but you have to give him the chance first. He cares about you a lot," Ethan comments gently.

"Only because he has too," I stated with a role of my eyes.

"So that's what this is about? You found out about the imprint?" Ethan asked, clarifying.

"How did you know about imprinting?" I asked back, shocked, that he knew about it.

"The Cullens told me about it when I had visited with them," Ethan answered, watching my reactions.

"You knew and didn't tell me?!" I responded, appalled by this and pissed off.

"Yes, I thought it was for the better. I wanted you to make your own judgments and your own decisions."

"Imprinting just forces him to like me," I angry replied.

"I think imprinting just makes him drawn to you. He's drawn to you like any form of physical attraction makes humans drawn to each other. Paul just so happens to be drawn to you because of your soul. Paul's interest was sparked by the imprint to at least get to know you. He's attracted to you on a more personal level, rather than by mere shallow appearances. Imprinting could just be fate's design. Love grows on its own, Lela. It doesn't just appear," Ethan said in a soft tone. "Paul took the time to get to know you. He wants to be here for you, even if I am in the picture and even if I can't say I necessarily like him. I do, however, think he is good guy under all his fur and ego, but he still needs to know the rest of you if you can trust him enough to do that."

I was silent for a bit as I thought this over and as I recalled my dream from earlier. "Dad always blamed you for mom's death," I whispered.

"He did."

"Why didn't you make her better?" I asked, looking into his eyes.

"She didn't want to get better."

"She just wanted to leave everything she had?" I spoke sourly.

"No, it was because she had already chosen which life she wanted to live," Ethan claimed.

"Meaning… she didn't choose a life with you," I spoke, hesitant.

"Correct; your mom had decided long ago she wanted to live a normal human life. That path she chose would have led her to death eventually, it just came knocking at her door earlier than expected," Ethan said with a sad tone.

"Why did you stick around?" I asked, perplexed. I didn't understand Ethan's motives much. I knew he loved my mother but she didn't choose him. Why was he still here?

"I loved your mom, you know that. I loved her enough to let her go."

"My mom loved you too, huh? That's why my dad never wanted you around," I asked, piecing together pieces that I had only ever assumed about my parents.

"She did too a certain extent love me. It was enough that she didn't want me to leave her life completely, but she also loved your dad. She fell in love with him as I disappeared from her life. Thomas loved her a little too much to never fully understand why he should let her go when she was on her death bed. We both mourned for her but when it was time to take care of you and your siblings, he only made it worse. He focused on his own grief for your mom and became furious with me for intervening in his life. I tried my best to shelter you and calm him down... There were some instants where I couldn't always protect you and I was left in my own sorrow…. Sometimes I really miss your mom and the good times that we had, but you can't live in the past forever. You have to learn to let go, both of your parents weren't so great at that," Ethan explained, straightening his posture.

Learning to let go is something that I have never mastered. I try to run from my troubles, push them aside and hope they disappear. At night when I began to dream the troubles I face appear. They won't let me push them away for long. They attack me when I sleep, making me not want to sleep. Ethan so confidently lays out his emotions when asked. He is honest about himself. I can be honest, but I avoid personal questions about myself. The answers, I solely know, I don't share with anyone. I rather hide those parts of myself… but look where it's gotten me. I am pushing Paul away again… all because of the idea of imprinting. I have got no one apart from Ethan and I like Paul… There is something that just makes us click. Maybe it's the imprinting… but it feels real. We could be meant for each other.

Ethan was watching me now. His face was relaxed but he looked solemn. How did he even end up in this kind of situation? What kind of life did he have before all this?

"How did you become a… va-vampire?" I asked struggling to say the word, looking at Ethan intently.

"The year was 1892," Ethan began in a resigned tone. "My family had own 5 acres of land but I had moved out of my parent's house and started living on my own in the same town. I was a 21 years old, bachelor during that time, looking for a woman I could spend the rest of my life with. I still had spent a lot of my time with my family to discuss business with my dad. I wasn't the only child in my family, I had a little sister and she was only 16. Well one day I had been told by my mother that my father and sister had gotten into a disagreement over a man she liked. My sister was very hyper active and emotional child. I was use to comforting her and consoling her. My mother had told me my sister had ran away into the thick forest that was near our land. It was getting dark and my mother was getting worried. She asked me to go fetch my sister and bring her home.

"I went looking for her with a lit lantern. I was use to those woods; I played in them when I was a child. I always knew a way back home if I ever got lost in them. I was calling out her name. I had traveled pretty far into those woods when I finally heard her call for me back. Before I could shout for her again, I was attack. I dropped my lantern as I was pushed to the forest floor. It was so quick and all I could feel was pain at my neck. There was something on me and I tried to push it off. I was beginning to get woozy when my attacker snapped away from me. I had turned my face away to see my sister standing in the background shocked and scared. 'Run,' I shouted at her as I tried to get the attacker to stay with me but it left me quickly, blowing out my lantern and it went after my sister. A searing pain shot through my whole body, starting at my neck. It was painful; it was like I was on fire, roasting alive from the inside out. I was changing but I didn't know it at the time. I thought of my sister and tried to move but I could only go so fast. My head was spinning as I tried to focus, but my body burned.

"I fell then into some sort of ditch. I wasn't sure, it was too dark and I didn't know where I was anymore. I couldn't take it anymore so I stayed down there in agony, in pain. I blacked out the rest of my transformation and I woke 100% percent better three days later. I crawled out of the ditch and realized I was stronger than I ever remembered being. I only knew something was completely off about me was when the sun had touched me and my skin glittered unnatural. I was in a bit of shock, so I waited out the sun to go back home. I was afraid of how my parents would react.

"I didn't know what I was, Lela. I didn't know they existed and didn't know what it felt like being one. It was my worst mistake returning home. I didn't notice the burning sensation in my throat until I was home. I felt something was off with the way they looked at me, concerned. I was thirsty and I didn't know what I was doing, until I was too late. I killed them both…

"You know what the saddest part was? They didn't even fight me or look scared. I didn't find out the reason why until I learned how my touch influences people to remain calm," Ethan said, looking on in despair about his worst memory.

It took me awhile before I could speak; my brain was trying to digest what Ethan had done in the past. "So… so how did you turn over to feeding on animals?" It was hard for me to say; the idea of what he has to do to stay hungry was deviant.

"It was a good five years after my transformation that I learned I could feed on animals instead. I was searching for a way not to feed on humans when I discovered a wounded deer in the forest and I changed my diet ever since," Ethan stated, simply.

"Did your sister end up like you?" I asked even though I kind of knew the answer.

"No, she was discovered dead. I found her buried away out in the forest."

Silence surrounded us. I didn't know what to say. Ethan had grieved over his sister's loss long before I was born. To think Ethan's human life ended all to chase after his sister, to comfort her, and get her back home. He tried in vain to protect her, but he couldn't.

"Would you rather of had her wind up like you?" I asked thoughtfully while staring down at my hands.

"I would have rather the vampire finish me off than attack my baby sister," Ethan said whole heartedly, staring off into space.

"Did you ever find out who attacked you?" I asked, looking up at his slumped figure.

"No".

I thought of the recent vampire who has been attacking residents in the area. Ethan was meant to be a meal; he was never tended to become one of them. He didn't even know what he was; he didn't even know how to control himself. I wondered why the vampire never came back for Ethan to finish him off. I shuddered at the thought of the blood spilling from Ethan's neck as he tried to save his sister. This was never meant to happen to him. This never meant to exist.

If the folk tales weren't true… I would have never met Paul. My mother would still be dead and I would be under foster care. This realization hit me hard. Ethan would have never existed for me and he would have never helped me. I would have been alone. All alone.

"How did you meet my mom?" I asked after a moment, switching topics.

Ethan smiled to himself before responding. "I met her at a spring carnival in 1979, I was working the night shift for a concession stand for a local fundraiser. Your mother was barely a young lady back then. She was only 14 years old acting like she was older. Your mom had told me she was 16, but I doubted her. We only chatted for a couple of minutes till her friends dragged her away. I couldn't get her out of my mind since… I was drawn to her.

"When she literally was 16, I had reappeared in her life. She had seemed to forgotten me but I was fooled. Helen only pretended to not remember me. I had taken her out on dates to get to know her and for her to get to know me. The night I wanted to meet her parents, she told me she had none. She lived in foster care and never knew where she came from," Ethan paused and looked at me in the eyes.

I nodded for him to continue. I knew about how my mother was raise in foster care since she was a baby. She had a good home from what she told me but it was chaotic. She had so many adopted brothers and sisters in that household with her. There were six kids in total and the guardians weren't overly nurturing from what my mom had told me.

"Helen and I dated for awhile until she was 18. She had figured out what I was on her own. She was curious about it and the possibilities. It was then, when our paths split," Ethan spoke quietly.

I knew the rest of the story. My mom had met my dad and wanted a family. Ethan couldn't give her those things, but my mom let him go without completely losing him. It was wrong of my mother for doing that to Ethan, to my dad, to my family, and to me. My siblings and I all grew up knowing something was off about the way our mom acted around Ethan. We just didn't understand the meaning until we got older.

"I use to hate you…" I whisper, looking down. The feeling of guilt and regret trickled down my spine. Ethan's eyes grew concerned and curious. "I grew to believe my dad's lies and I thought you were the cause of it all. I thought my parents were only fighting because of your existence and my mom's crying every night was because of you. I blamed you for so many things. I had thought you were the curse upon our family that made everything go wrong. I had thought if you just weren't there, my family would be different."

"I knew how you felt," Ethan remarked.

"I don't blame you anymore. I'm thankful that you're here actually, even though I don't always mention it," I said sincerely.

Ethan leaned over and hugged me quickly. He kissed my head as he got up. "Goodnight, Lela." Ethan stopped at my door as he was heading out. "I'm thankful you are in my life too," Ethan commented finally as he shut my door.

After me and Ethan's talk, I laid in bed for a while thinking; thinking about his past, my mother, and the situation with Paul. Before I even realized it, I was asleep again and was awaking to my alarm clock. I was going to see Paul today and I had made my decision to trust him, to open up to him, slowly. It might be a stupid decision later on, but at least I was going to try my best to give it a chance.

I got ready and ate breakfast. Ethan seemed far away, lost in thought today. My guessing would be he was stuck in his past life, his past relationships, and his past thoughts. I pushed my concern for Ethan to the back of my mind as we approached the school and I tried to calm my nerves as we stopped the car. Paul was there waiting for me. The sight of him drew me in like a magnet and I knew this would be the right choice for me.

I got out of the car rather quickly, mumbling a goodbye to Ethan, and speeding up to meet with Paul. Paul was caught off guard by my hastiness and eagerly met with me, concerned. He studied my eyes intently searching for answers.

"What's up, baby girl?" Paul smoothly questioned as he pushed my hair back from my face.

"I'm willing to try," I stated, confident.

Paul looked confused and taken back. His face became very serious as he gathered the context of what I was saying. "To learn how to tango?" Paul asked, quirking an eyebrow, playfully.

My lips cracked into a tiny smile as I shook my head. "I am going to trust you and I need you to understand my past is muddled and has made me how I am. I don't want to keep pushing people away, especially people who happen to matter to me. You matter to me and I want us to be together," I spoke clearly with a strong voice.

Paul's face broke into a sideways smile, my favorite kind of smile. "Babe, did you forget? We're already going out," Paul remarked, teasingly as he grabbed me by my hips and kissed me hard on the mouth. We split apart as he looked deeply into my eyes, before continuing. "You can trust me. We're meant to be together, I'll prove it to you. I can't make your past go away, but I can make your future safer and brighter."

I brought him closer to me as I kissed him again, until I realized we were going to be late for school. "I think we need to get to class," I mumbled, out of breath.

"Right…. You can't afford to miss it," Paul replied, playfully, smirking as we both started walking to school together.

I was feeling good as I sat in my first period class. In all my life, I have never felt so at peace as I have in that moment with Paul. I felt complete even though I knew there were many things wrong with me, with us, and the situation. I was willing to block the dire aspects from my thoughts at the moment. I was set and determine to try. To try to believe that what we feel for each other is real, that he would still want me after I show him all the pieces of me, and to believe that we were meant for each other. I was willing to try…

During my heighten mood of feeling good, a text was received by my phone. The text sent a shiver down my spine as I read it.

Big mistake, my darlin'

Alright I had a change of plans… because I was having so many writer's blocks; I decided that I need to make another chapter before the final chapter. So after this chapter, there is only two more to go. I have the ending all written out/figured out so no worries. I just need to write the next chapter to help build up to the chase. I hope you liked this chapter and the background info about Ethan. Hope it solved some of your curiosity. Lela will be telling bits and pieces of her life to Paul in the next chapter so woo! :D Tell me what you think. Review.

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Disclaimer: Do not owner Stephanie Meyer's characters, I do own Ethan and Lela since I created them.