A/N: *sends out kisses* You all are the best readers a writer could ever ask for. Thanks again for the much needed and welcomed reviews. But enough of me gushing over how great you all are (I'm pretty sure you know it) and on with the story. Enjoy chapter 21.

*Jacob's POV*

I hadn't heard from Bella since our fantastic trip to the leech mansion and that was almost two weeks ago. I tried calling her phone a couple times only to get her voicemail. When I decided to take my stalker tendencies up a notch and just conveniently dropped by her apartment, Angela always answered the door and told me Bella was either not there or up to her eyeballs in school work and would call me later. Neither of those I believed but I had no choice but to tuck my tail in between legs and go home.

In short, I was slowly but surely losing my goddamn mind.

While I knew she had made it out of bloodsucker manor safely, the fact that she hadn't called me herself and let me know that she was okay was what had me pulling out my hair.

Ok, so I said some things that were pretty damn hurtful to her but that was only because I needed Eddie boy to believe that I only cared about my imprint and that I was only using Bella to get back what I wanted. I needed Edward to see that in my mind, because only then would he believe it to be true.

But none of it was true, not a single word of it and what hurt the most was that Bella didn't know that. She was suppose to know me better than anyone, better even than Naomi and she should know that there was no way that I didn't care about her…loved her even.

Of course Bella always did take everything out of context and had she had been a little bit more head strong she would have been at my door, telling me that I didn't mean any of the shit that I said and she would forgive me for my slight mistake.

But Bella wasn't headstrong or aggressive, she never was and she never would be. Naomi was the head strong one, she was the more aggressive of the two. Bells were just as shy and timid as she had been in high school.

This is where my head always played tricks on me.

Getting Naomi back safe and sound was great but it did nothing to help with this fucked up imprint we had. And I say fucked in the nicest way possible, if that even is possible.

While my feelings for her hasn't changed, I still feel the overprotective, loving feel that I always did when I was around her, the need to touch her however and be intimate with her had been subdued. Before I had found it increasingly difficult to even be in the same room as her without wanting to take her up against the nearest surface, now she could walk in front of me completely naked without a reaction. And believe me I know because it's happened, I mean while she wasn't completely naked, she had walked in front of me in nothing but her bra and panties and the only reaction she got out of me was my arm reaching out to hand her a shirt from the bed when she asked for it.

But get this though, that's not even the weirdest part about this whole thing. No, what confused me further was that it didn't seem like Naomi was bothered by this change in my attitude. In fact once I realized what was happening, I was always close to apologizing for it when she would just give me a smile and ruffle my hair before moving on to whatever she was doing.

I watched her more closely after that, trying to detect some sort of rejection or sadness but it didn't come. Instead of getting more and more depressed about our lack of intimacy or closeness, she actually looked happy. And the more the days went by, the happier she became. I started to ask her about it since I really had been avoiding her like she had some sort of disease but I decided to leave it alone, starting to enjoy the simple thing we had going.

The imprint was still there of course. Naomi wasn't the most graceful person in the world and I particularly almost suffered a heart attack every time she was in the kitchen around sharp objects and every now and then before she could even cut a finger, I was always right there.

I loved her. This was the imprint, the part I couldn't fight, no matter how hard I tried. But I didn't love her like Sam loved Emily. I loved her like Quil loved Claire. I loved her almost like a sister. This part was Jacob talking, the part that didn't completely take away my free will.

Did everyone else have this kind of two-sided imprint? I didn't know and I didn't care. I just knew that my imprint, or rather our imprint was different.

I needed to talk to someone about this. But who though?

The other imprinted wolves were out. You would think that we all had something in common but like I said my imprint was entirely different than theirs. I could talk to Embry but he wasn't imprinted and had hated the whole concept as much as I did. Seth was too young….Collin and Brady even younger than Seth…..Paul...hell no this was already a sensitive subject with him.

Then hit it me. Who better to discuss this issue I had with the women in my life than with another woman.

The phone was in my hand and I was dialing the number before I had a chance to change my mind.

xxx

I knew I would end up regretting this later but I had no one else to turn too. I had gone to my Dad's house and was currently sitting on the front steps. Naomi was still staying at my place, even though this whole thing was a bit confusing, that was her home just as much as it was mine, so with that being said I think you can see why I chose to do this outside of where we stayed.

I heard the tires on the gravel in the yard and looked up to see the small Toyota pull in. I stood to my feet, hands in my pocket and made my towards it.

Leah got out the car looking like a goddamn super model. I couldn't help but appreciate the view as I had never seen Leah's long legs in anything other than the pair of cut off Jean shorts she always wore. They looked way better in the short leather skirt.

"Damn Leah, are you hoping to make someone jealous wearing that"? I asked, not bothering to hide the way my eyes roamed up and down her frame.

Leah rolled her eyes at me, closing the door. She walked around to the trunk and popped it open, bending over a second before standing back up straight and closing the trunk with her elbows. In both of her hands she held a bottle of beer.

She walked towards me and handed me one, sipping a little from her own. I followed suit, watching Leah as she hopped on the front of the hood and crossed her legs. I cringed a bit as the bitter liquid went down my throat. I was never much of a beer drinker.

"So what's going on with you"? Leah asked, taking another sip from her bottle. "I had to cut a date short and I'm pretty sure I could have gotten laid so in short Black, you owe me one".

I laughed, once again not surprised about how crude my pack sister could be sometimes. I joined her on the car, my bottle in my hands.

I was quiet for a minute and Leah never pushed, only moving to lift her bottle to her lips. I took in a deep breath, taking another sip from my bottle before I spoke.

"Do you still care about Sam"? I asked bluntly, fully expecting a punch to my face any second.

It didn't come though, but I felt Leah physically stiffen beside me. This time she was quiet for a while before she spoke.

"I think some small part of me will always care about Sam". She said quietly, twirling her bottle between her fingers. "What we had, you know before all this wolfy magic bullshit, it was real. No imprint involved, just pure raw emotion, the kind of emotion that leaves a mark, a mark that doesn't go away".

Leah took another sip of her beer, her eyes staring off into the distance. I gulped down another throat full of the bitter liquid, my cheeks ballooning a little before I swallowed.

"My imprint is fucked up". I said plainly and Leah laughed and looked at me sideways.

"Imprinting period is fucked up". She said and I smiled a bit before I sighed.

"What I feel for her, for Naomi is different from what Sam feels for Emily or what Jared feels for Kim. Naomi feels more like a sister, a best friend to me than a lover".

I paused and Leah gave me a nudge with her shoulder.

"What's so wrong with that"? She asked. "I personally think that you have it better than the others. At least I can stand to be in you guys presence without wanting to throw up".

I laughed and nudged her back, earning myself a punch to the arm. It hurt a bit but no way in hell was I going to let her know that. When Leah wasn't looking though, I rubbed it.

"I don't get it". I said, frowning a little. "I thought the reason for the whole imprinting shit was to carry on the bloodline? How can I do that if my feelings for Naomi aren't intimate"?

Leah drained the last of her bottle before tossing it like a basketball into the trash bin a few feet away from us. She leaned back on the car, the short skirt riding up her brown thighs. Of course I stared for a second, I mean what guy wouldn't? Leah nudged me with her foot to get my eyes to move from her thighs to her face. She shook her head and laughed when I gave a nonchalant shrug. She had known us all long enough to know that there was absolutely no shame to our game.

She took in a deep breath.

"You want to know what I think"? She asked and I didn't bother to answer because I knew she wasn't really waiting for one. "I think imprinting is just another way to keep us all tied down to the reservation. The whole preserving the bloodline is bullshit to me because if that was the case, I would have been the right choice for Sam us both being Quileute. Emily is from the Makah tribe so is Claire and Kim's Quileute lineage is distant".

Leah frowned. "Imprinting is just another "fuck you" our lovely ancestors tossed our way".

I thought about that for a minute and realized she kind of had a point. While all the guys had built a pretty good life for themselves, nobody had really moved off the res. Leah sat up again, this time her gaze directed at me.

"That's why I envy you Jake". She said quietly and I turned sharply to look at her.

"Envy me? Why do you envy me"?

Leah smiled, lying back against the windshield.

"You never did anything by the book". She said, a smile on her face. "Of course I only saw this from the guys minds, seeing as I phased after you but even from the first time you phased, you were different. Even taking orders from Sam was different. While the rest of us had to obey, you could choose not to. And you always found loopholes in everything and you weren't afraid to call Sam out on his bullshit".

She turned her head to look at me.

"You even imprint differently". Leah said quietly. "And if the white girl hadn't had left like she did all those years ago, even if you and Naomi had met still and you still had imprinted, you would have fought it. With everything in your body, you would have found a way to fight it so that you could be with who you wanted. The only reason you didn't is because you believed there was nothing left to fight for".

I couldn't answer because Leah was a hundred percent right. If Bella hadn't left Forks like she did, we would have still been together. Even if I did meet Naomi, I would have fought the imprint till the day I died.

Leah was watching me.

"You still love her, don't you"? She asked. There was no need to ask which "her" she was referring too.

I gave a nod. "Yeah I do and I feel so wrong for it. I feel like I owe it to Naomi to give this a shot, but I just can't. I can't keep Bella out of my head".

I chugged the rest of my beer and tossed it angrily into the trash bin. I missed.

I ran my fingers roughly through my hair. "I've been trying to get her out my head. I tried to cleanse myself completely of Bella fucking Swan but I just fucking can't. What the hell is wrong with me"? I yelled, starting to pace up and down the front yard.

Leah looked at me for a long moment before she hopped down from the hood. She walked over to me and stopped right in my path, causing me to stop. She busied herself for a moment with straightening my shirt, before both hands came up and trapped my face in between them. That shocked me into silence.

"Now, If you ever repeat what I'm about to say, I will cut off your balls and forcefully shove them down your throat". She said and when I chuckled she grabbed my chin tightly and forced my eyes to stay locked with her own.

"Jacob Black, you are the most loving, perfect, caring person I know on this earth and any woman should be happy to call you hers. Naomi is a great girl too and I think the reason she became your imprint is because you needed someone who could be there for you when no one else could, you needed someone who can set you straight but never lead you wrong, someone who can handle your ass with ease, be a shoulder to cry on, an ear to listen and a hand to smack some sense into you. The spirits saw that in Naomi and sent her your way. But I think they never meant for you two to be anything other than friendly companions. They couldn't give you a soul mate because you already had one".

Leah gave me a soft smile before she continued.

"I don't believe much by what the spirits see or don't see and half the time I think they get it wrong but in your case, I think they finally have it right. They knew your strong will would eventually cause you grief and rather than have you fight your imprint to stay with the person who wanted, they gave you the person you needed. Bella is it for you Jake and you don't need some mystical connection to tell you this because it's already been planned out".

"Leah I don't know what you mean". I said gently and she just laughed. She released my face from her hands, her smile slowly disappearing.

"I wish Sam would have fought his imprint for me". She said softly. "I wish he loved me enough to want to make sure that no other woman would take my place in his heart. But he didn't and you Jake, you don't have too. Don't stop fighting for your happiness because you think you don't have a choice. There is always a choice. It just all depends on how far you're willing to go to get that chance".

And finally, I think I knew what Leah was trying to tell me. I wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her against me, hugging her tightly, lifting her off her feet a bit.

"Thanks Leah". I whispered in her ear. "And for the record, Sam never stopped fighting for you, He will never stop hoping that one day you will be happy, he loves too much, believe me I know, I've been inside his head".

She gave me a small smile and another gentle punch to the shoulder as she made her way back to her car.

I could have sworn I saw her wipe away a tear.

xxxxxxx

The drive back home was slightly better than when I left it. My talk with Leah was what I needed and by the time I got out the car and walked up to the front door, I had come up with what I was going to do next.

First thing first though, I needed to smooth things over with Naomi, sit her down and figure this thing out. I threw my keys down on the kitchen counter and walked over to the stove and smiled as I saw a dinner plate wrapped up. No matter what was going on, this woman always worried about me eating a decent meal when I got in. It smelled wonderful but before I could pig out I needed to talk to Naomi first.

I walked into the living room, towards the deck I built out near the back of the house. She sometimes liked to go out there and read. The weather was nice and warm out tonight and I could just picture her sitting in one of the lounge chairs, her feet up a book in her hand and a glass of wine sitting next to her on the floor.

However the closer I got towards the deck, I didn't only just hear the heartbeat beat of my imprint but someone else too and when I finally looked around the corner, I froze.

Naomi was out on the deck just like I thought she would be but she wasn't reading. Instead her entire body was being held against the back wall by my pack brother, their lips fighting against one another, his hands grabbing her everywhere.

I shouldn't have cared…..I had no right to feel what I was beginning to feel when all I did was think about another woman.

But I told you the imprint could get strong, so strong that I couldn't always fight it. And as the heat began to radiate up my spine, the last of my restraints gave way and the emotion of my imprint won again.

I growled low and loud and the sound alerted the two people in front of me of my presence. I caught Naomi's shocked and panicked expression before the tremors started. My bones shifted and I couldn't stop it. Naomi was too close, she needed to get away but the heat was too much, I was too angry and I just couldn't stop it.

Before I could yell out a warning, I phased right there on my back porch. My pack brother, the traitor yelled for Naomi to get out of the way but it was already too late. I launched myself forward, Naomi running passed me but my front claws caught her on her right leg. She let out a scream as my body collided against the gray wolf. We tumbled off the porch and onto the lawn, my heavier body getting the advantage almost immediately.

Without pausing to think, I locked my jaw around Paul's neck and clamped down. Hard.

A/N: Wow! So as always let me know what you guys are thinking in the form of those good old reviews. Until next time….MN