AN: I realize that last chapter didn't have our dear couple (sorry, but the chapter was necessary). We've got them here, though, so hopefully this helps. This chapter jumps around a little bit in timeline, but I've put little indicators of what happens when. I'll try to get all my characters on the same day as soon as I can, both for your sanity and for mine.

I've been dealing with some rough stuff in life lately, and it'll last for a while, so thanks to all who have sent reviews and to those who will review. It really gives me a boost and lots of writing motivation.

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Jake POV (morning of Embry and Bella's date)

When I woke up in the morning, my decision to thrash everything out with my dad did a complete 180. Staring again at my altered face in the mirror, feeling the alien shortness of my buzzed hair, I felt like I no longer knew who I was. Emptying out yet another dresser drawer trying to find something that would still fit my new body, my eyes were caught by one of the pictures tacked to the wall: one of me and Bella from earlier this summer. I could almost pity the boy I'd been then, who didn't have any idea what was about to slam into his life.

"Breakfast's ready, Jake," my dad's voice was as clear to me all the way across the house and through my closed door as it would have been if he was right next to me. Facing Chief Billy Black was the last thing I wanted to do right now. If I had to listen to more of his excuses about why he hadn't told me anything…

In a rush, I finally found a pair of baggy gym shorts that ended up not being baggy anymore and pulled them on along with a pair of sneakers. I threw open my bedroom window and vaulted outside before the squeak of Dad's wheelchair got halfway down the hall. My longer strides quickly carried me across the yard and into the woods.

Now what am I supposed to do? I wondered; then I remembered that Sam—freaking Alpha Sam—had set a pack meeting for this morning. They better be serving breakfast.

Fortunately for my completely empty stomach, Sam's wife Emily did in fact have a large breakfast spread all ready and waiting.

"Hello, Jacob."

"Jake."

"Sorry. Jake. Help yourself."

I filled a plate as full as it could get and found an empty chair at one end of the table. Sam was at the head of the table, with that girl Kim on one side of him and Jared next to her. Before I'd gotten halfway through my food, footsteps outside were followed by Paul and Quil coming inside the house.

"Mmm, bacon," Paul rumbled, dumping half said supply onto his plate.

"Save some for your brothers," Emily chided.

"You've got another package there on the counter—they'll get their share," he smirked. Emily gave one of those 'mom' sighs I remembered from childhood and reached for the package Paul had pointed out.

Plate now empty, I got up to grab whatever Quil and Paul had left behind. Emily turned to refill the bacon dish, and I saw a round scar on her neck, just about where it met her shoulder. When I stared harder, the scar was actually two semi-circles and they looked like…teeth marks.

Okay…I really didn't need to know that Sam's into kinky sex, I thought, and headed back to the table. But my plan to ignore it evaporated when I saw the exact same scar on Kim's neck, visible only because her hair was pulled back in a ponytail like Emily's.

"Hey, what's with the matching scars here? Some kind of freaky wolf-sex thing or something?"

Sam and Jared both growled, the girls' hands flew up to cover the scars, Quil's mouth dropped open, and Paul just smirked again.

"Don't speak of our imprints that way again," Sam commanded.

"What?" I was confused. "Wait, those are because—?"

"Emily is my imprint, and Kim is Jared's. When the bonds between wolves and imprints were accepted, yes, our wolves did mark them."

"Then…" I struggled to get the words out, "I'll do that to Bella after I imprint on her?"

Sam started to nod his head slowly. Paul interrupted with, "If."

"What?"

"Paul!"

"What do you mean 'if'?"

"Let it be, Jake," Sam sighed.

"No! I thought we were supposed to be one big happy family. What aren't you saying?"

"When I found Bella in the woods, I felt the pull that marked her as a future imprint. The way Bella responded to you in the hospital, how she got better being around you, the connection the two of you seem to have always had…I believed then, and I believe now, that she will be your imprint."

"So what's he going on about?" I jerked my head toward Paul.

"The pull didn't specify who would imprint on Bella—and you aren't the only wolf who's joined the pack since that night."

My eyes whipped around to glare at Quil in the chair next to me. He threw his hands up defensively. "Hey, man, I don't want—"

"You won't have a choice, if it happens," Jared responded soberly. "It's irresistible—at least for long. Sam only lasted a few weeks, and the only reason I waited a few months was Kim insisting we not take that step until we'd graduated."

I flicked my eyes over to Kim, who was nodding. "So it's the girl's choice? Bella could say no if—" I broke off; finishing the question with 'if Quil imprinted on her' was impossible. I couldn't even think that she and I wouldn't be together.

"The legends say that the choice of acceptance—of what kind of bond the imprint will be—is up to the girl, but in reality…all imprints become mated ones. Jared is right; the only question is that of timing."

"Then Quil just won't look at her, will he?" I asked harshly.

"You can't ask that," Sam denied. "Imprintings are sacred and can't be interfered with. If—and I will emphasize if—Bella is Quil's imprint, then you can't get in the way."

"So you're saying I could watch my best friend, my pack brother, imprint on the girl of my dreams, and there will be nothing I can do about it?"

Emily approached the table with more food. She set it down, and moved to stand behind Sam, resting her hands on his shoulders. Then she spoke, "Sam's not saying that Quil will imprint on Bella, just that it's a possibility. He could just as easily be right in everything he said that points to you."

"But he can't promise it, can he?" I snarled, not really meaning it as a question. "Why the hell did you tell me in the first place, then? Huh, Sam? Why tell me?"

I didn't really register Sam excusing the fact that he hadn't even thought about Quil being a factor, or him repeating all the 'signs' he'd mentioned already. All I could hear was the pulse pounding in my ears, the rage gradually building the longer the idea that I could lose Bella had time to sink in.

"Jacob! Outside! NOW!" Sam's voice roared in a fierce, absolute, and undeniable order. My body was moving in obedience before the command fully registered, and by that point, resistance was futile. My feet had only just hit the dirt before the anger was uncontrollable; my body twisted, tore—.

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Narrator POV

The violence of Jake's phase was almost as audible as the ripping of his shorts, the pounding heartbeats and rasping breaths of the two imprints. Everyone sat frozen for a long moment. Then,

"What the hell were you thinking, Paul?" Sam snarled, now on his feet and with his arms wrapped tightly around Emily. "Just had to stir things up, did you?"

"Yeah," Jared put in his opinion, "Whatever happened to you understanding why Sam wasn't dumping all that on him, huh?"

"I don't know, okay? And how was I supposed to know he'd run with it like that? Not have the common sense to let it lay?"

"How the hell should I know? You're the one who did all that fortune-teller stuff last night, about how Jake would order Quil away from her if it happened. So why the hell didn't you see that he'd freak out just with knowing it was possible? He could have phased in here, you idiot! Right next to my—" Jared pulled a still-shaking Kim onto his lap, and she willingly let him.

"Jared, you take care of Kim. Paul, you're going to help Emily with whatever she needs. Quil, you go…anywhere, I don't care. Just stay human today, got it?" Sam shot out the orders to the members of his pack. Jared didn't raise his head from the crook of Kim's neck, while Paul and Quil both nodded, the latter emphatically. With effort, the Alpha let go of his imprint and started for the door. Before he stepped out onto the porch, he turned and speared Paul with an iron stare. "And Paul—"

"Yeah?"

"If I have to chase him halfway to Canada again…you're on double patrols for at least a week. Got it?"

Sam didn't bother waiting for his subordinate to respond; he just launched off the porch, sacrificing yet another set of clothes to the demands of his position.

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Narrator POV

Jake!

Damn you, Sam! Why didn't you tell me? Why did you tell me? How could you—" Jake's thoughts were wild and chaotic.

I didn't think about Quil, alright? No one did! Quil's mom was the only one who thought about it. That council meeting was after you and Quil phased, and after I'd told you about the whole imprinting business, so it's not like I could take it back. And I didn't say anything after that because I haven't seen anything to make me think it could be Quil, and everything to say that it will be you.

Does my dad agree with you?

He does. Jake, would you mind stopping? This conversation will be a lot easier if we aren't both running at the same time.

And if I don't?

I don't want to have to order you again, but I will if I have to. Just think about those vampires we chased last night. You really want to give them a shot at getting through if they try again, just because you want to run to who-knows-where and want to make me chase you?

Bella! Jake skidded to a stop, spun around, and started running back.

Easy, Sam suggested. She'll be fine. It's a nice sunny day right now.

And what's that got to do with it?

Vampires sparkle, remember? Not like one can go strolling around Forks today without being noticed.

So what am I supposed to do?

For one thing, you have to start working harder on your control. I don't want to keep a wolf away from his imprint, but I'm not about to let you get anywhere close to Bella with the shape you're in right now. You still lose it too easily, Jake. If Bella was close by and that happened…

You think I'd hurt Bella?

I almost hurt Emily, Sam's reply shut Jake down. It was right after I met her and imprinted. She couldn't figure out why the strange guy she met at the gathering followed her all the way back home to the Makah Reservation—she thought I was a crazy stalker. She tried to make me leave, said I was delusional when I tried to explain the truth to her—anyway, I started to lose my temper. I don't know how I jumped away from her before I phased. If I hadn't, I would have slashed her face and arm to ribbons. The Alpha's sick horror at what could have happened rocked the younger wolf backward.

Okay, must get control, Jake wasn't going to argue with the Alpha's separation order any more.

The other thing you need to do is talk to your father.

I can't, Jake insisted. Last night, he told me to shower, eat, and sleep, and that we'd talk today. But this morning, even the thought of talking…I had to get out of there.

And that was the right thing to do, then. But you can't avoid him forever. He's your dad and your chief. Keep it outside, but listen to him. He wants to help you, Jake.

I can't, Jake repeated.

You will, Jacob, Sam was insistent. But I can give you a few more hours to get ready. We'll run together today, but you will go home for dinner and talk to your dad.

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Embry POV (right after the date)

"Nice move, Call," Leah's words echoed in my head as I walked toward my bike. I wasn't sure what she and Bella might have talked about, but they must've done some, or Leah wouldn't have acted this way. It was a little surprising to see how good it felt that she approved of Bella and me becoming an 'us'. Having our parents be happy was great, but getting the okay/thumbs up/whatever from a friend was important, too.

Friends…I grimaced to the starting of my engine. Jake. Charlie had probably been right to ask me about this the other night. I might not see this as stepping on his toes or stealing his girl, but I knew my best friend well enough to know that there was a good chance that he'd see it that way anyway.

But he never said anything to her or to me. So it was just my suspicions.

Okay, maybe my justifications were a bit thin, but I wasn'tgoing to feel sorry for what I'd done the last few days. And having kissed Bella properly now—there was no way in the world I would give this up.

Time to face the music, I thought, and turned my bike for La Push.

Even though I hoped for different, I honestly wasn't all that surprised that the scene in Jake's yard hadn't changed one bit from the last time I'd been here. Leaves dotted Bella's truck where they'd stuck to some overnight rain and dried there. I ducked into the garage to find it empty of anything but the smell of a trashcan that badly needed to be emptied. I grabbed the bag and tossed it in the trash cart on my way to the house. When he opened the door in response to my rapping on the glass, Billy was even less happy to see me than he had been the last time.

"Embry."

"Hey, Billy. Jake back yet?"

"Nope."

"Has he even laid a finger on Bella's truck?"

No answer.

"What the hell is going on with him?" My tone got a little heated.

"Tribal responsibilities," Billy's tone was flat.

"And what about his responsibilities to his friends?"

"Jake is doing what he has to. Bella will understand that and so should you."

"All I understand is that my best friend doesn't seem to give a damn about me anymore. And I think that all Bella's going to see is that he couldn't be bothered to keep his promise to her."

"I think you need to go home and calm down. I'll tell Jake—"

"You can tell him nothing!" I knew I was being rude, but I just didn't care anymore. This whole week of Jake's whatever-this-was had obviously pushed my temper to the boiling point. "When he's ready to pull his head out of wherever he's stuck it, he knows where to find me." I stalked away and gunned the engine deliberately as I left.

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Bella POV (right after the date)

"So…?" Leah dragged out the word expectantly as she dropped onto the couch.

"Needle pulling thread," I giggled.

"Ha ha. Very funny."

"Thanks."

"You and Embry are official now, huh?"

"Yeah. He's…" I trailed off, not sure what to say.

"One hell of a kisser, I'm guessing," she added.

"Oh, yeah," I melted into the cushions. While normally a private person, I was surprisingly eager to share with Leah.

"Oh, he's a smooth one," Leah judged after I'd finished telling her about our day.

A nod was my reply.

"You're not over-thinking this, are you?"

"I'm trying not to, but—"

"But nothing. This is a great thing for you, Bella, and that's what you should be thinking about. If someone—Jake, to name the obvious—can't be happy for you if you're happy with someone other than him, then he's just proving that he isn't the right one for you."

"I just don't want Embry and Jake to lose their friendship over me," I protested.

"I stand by what I just said, with Embry inserted instead of you. If Jake's willing to throw away a lifelong friendship over any girl, then Embry can do better without him."

"But—"

"Bella!" Leah was exasperated. "You're worrying without even knowing if you should. Let Embry make this move and see what happens. Now, I'm leaving tomorrow and I expect you all to come and see me off. We're heading out at eight in the morning, so you and Charlie will need to leave here no later than 7:15."

"I'll tell him."

"Okay," Leah glanced at her watch. "Hate to run, but I've still got a to-do list a mile long and I absolutely have to get some sleep tonight. It's a full day's drive from here to Pullman."

Thinking about all the hours that my friend and her parents would be spending in cars had me dashing to the kitchen as soon as we'd said goodbye. I didn't know what Leah's dorm situation would end up being like, but she—and her parents—would surely need some snacks for the road. When Charlie got home, he found the kitchen in a state of apparent chaos and me whirling around like a dervish.

"Bells?" he queried.

"For Leah, when she leaves tomorrow."

"Nice of you."

"I owe her," I explained. "So I'm sending her off with goodies. Oh, she wants us to come down in the morning. They're leaving at 8:00."

"Okay, we can do that. Harry might need a bit of a boost—or a push—anyway." My dad glanced around the kitchen again, and I realized the one thing that I hadn't been working on: dinner.

"Oh, shoot. I forgot about dinner. I'm sorry."

"Don't you start," Charlie warned. "Dinner will be on me tonight. You are not going to fix me dinner after doing all of this. I can order a pizza or we could go to the diner."

I glanced down at my flour-splattered shirt. "Pizza. I'm too messy to go out in public now."

He nodded, and headed for the phone to call in the order, then went upstairs to change.

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Before I went up to bed, I made sure that all the food would be ready to transport in the morning. I wasn't all that thrilled about the early wake-up call that was needed to get Charlie and me down to La Push in time to say goodbye to Leah. I wasn't happy about having to say goodbye to her, either. I knew she was excited to be going off to college, and to put distance between her and her ex, but Leah had been such a huge help to me in getting over Edward and in deciding to give Embry a chance. Sure, we could email, text, call, and Skype, but that wouldn't be the same.

Knowing that I'd be talking with Embry soon, I rushed through my nighttime routine in the bathroom. I'd only just picked up my phone when it started to ring.

"Hi, Embry."

"Hey," Embry's voice was despondent.

"What's wrong? Was it Jake? Did he go ballistic when you told him?" The questions poured out of me.

"I didn't tell him—never got the chance."

"He still wasn't there?"

"Got it in one. Billy was, though, and man, was he pissed."

"Are you kidding? Why?"

"I don't know. Got all offended that I was upset that Jake's avoiding me. Went all 'tribal heritage' bull-crap on me; said that we—you and me both—should understand."

"What?" I winced at how loudly that had come out, and glanced automatically toward the door, wondering if Charlie was going to come to check on me.

"He said that Jake is doing what he has to do, and that we should just understand that it means ignoring us and everything else. And…" Embry hesitated a few seconds, "he hasn't touched your truck, either. It's still sitting in front of the garage just like the day you left it there."

I saw red for a second, caught by a wave of sudden fury. "He hasn't even touched my truck?" I hissed. Had the world gone all crazy? Jake and Billy both had to know how important having my vehicle was to me. How could Jake think he could ignore it, after promising me he'd get it fixed right away? How could Billy think I'd accept that, or the rest of it? "Damn it," I swore.

Embry gave what seemed like an involuntary chuckle. "Bella cussed."

"Yeah, I did. And I'll probably do a lot worse if I ever see him again."

"Right now, I'm not sure if I care whether I see him or not," Embry admitted. "And I don't think I care how or when he finds out about us, either. I've tried reaching out, and—screw it. I am done, done, and done with worrying about Jake Black. And that should go for you, too."

"Yeah, I think so. And maybe it's time for my dad to have a chat with Billy. About the truck, at least."

"Maybe he'll have better luck," but Embry didn't sound all that convinced.

Well, I thought it was time to distract both of us. "So, what should we do after we get Leah sent off to college tomorrow?"

"What do you want to do?"

"It's your home ground, you tell me."

"Beach is always nice. We could look for shells, or just walk. Maybe hang out at my house afterward."

"Sounds nice," I probably would like anything that meant spending time with Embry, but I was still grateful that he hadn't suggested anything overly physical like surfing.

"Then I guess that's what we'll do."

"I can't wait."

"Night, Bells," Charlie called through my closed door.

"Night, Dad," I called back.

"Sweet dreams, then, Bella," Embry told me. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Until then. Sweet dreams to you, too."

I set my phone on my nightstand and settled down in my bed.