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Chapter 25-
Old Quil had told me once that every imprint is different and the imprinter and the imprintee are specifically made for one another. I never knew the true value of this statement before I saw Embry and Angela. Living around two imprinted couples and being a part of an imprinted couple myself I knew how it was and saw the love a shape shifter had for his imprint and vice versa on a daily basis but the easy camaraderie that Embry and Angela shared was beautiful to even observe. They were so in sync of one another and their personalities truly complemented the other.
On the second day of the summer fair, Angela returned to La Push with her younger brothers and after spending the entire day with Embry, anyone could see how smitten she was by him. That very night when Embry dropped Angela to her house, he told her the truth about him being a shape shifter and she being his imprint. Even though all of us advised Embry against jumping the gun and getting to know her better before telling her, he refused and said that he just knew that he had to tell us and could not lie to her even a minute longer. Luckily for him when he revealed all this to her she smiled and told him that she could feel the connection they shared. Though she did not know what it was at first, when their eyes met so did their souls and she felt every part of it. It was almost as if subconsciously her mind accepted the imprint without her knowing what it was. When the pack and the elders got to know of this they asked me to research if anything like this, an instant imprint from both sides had ever happen before but nothing like this had been noted so everyone accepted that this was just their bond. Sam- Emily imprint had been tough to begin with, with Sam imprinting on his girlfriend's cousin who refused to even talk to him. Jared had it easier but even Kim had resisted a bit after knowing the truth. Paul and my relationship were different. We started off as friends before becoming a couple even before he first phased and because our imprint was assumed to happen because of my prior knowledge it only accelerated our feelings towards one another a bit.
Angela had officially met the Pack two days after Embry told her everything and she had taken everything as a Pro and the only thing she had muttered when she was told of vampires was 'I knew the Cullen's were different I could just feel it'. She was already a good friend to me and over the next few days she became closer to Emily and Kim too. Also she told us how her 'supposed friends' from school were now torn between who to choose from Ben and Angela after their breakup and things had just become awkward with Lauren and Ben now dating and rubbing it into her face at every chance they got. So every free minute she had she spent at the res with all of us.
Tiffany had nearly cried out in joy when she met Angela and gushed over how grown up her baby boy was now. And so just like Paul was a part of our Saturday family dinners so was Angela. Angela's parents had not been that accepting of her relationship with Embry mainly because of his reputation as a cult member in town but after they met him their perception of him completely changed and now they pretty much approved of Embry.
Today was Friday two weeks after the summer fair and I was on my way to Forks to Angela's house, with Kim. Angela's parents and brothers had gone to Tacoma to visit her aunt and were going to be staying there for the weekend while she had refused to go and chose to stay back in Forks. So it had been decided that Kim, Angela and I were going to have a sleepover at Angela's place. The others would be joining us for dinner and would leave after that as per Tiffany's instructions, which made it very clear that the boys were not supposed to stay the night. Emily had wanted to join for the sleepover but Claire had just started living with them and she could not leave her for an entire night though they would be joining for dinner leaving Claire with Sue. Charlie and Tiffany had themselves left for Seattle on Thursday as Charlie was supposed to be there to discuss a case with the Seattle Police department and were going to be staying the weekend.
"Hey" I told Angela as I parked my truck in the driveway
"Hey I was just waiting for you'll. Can we go to the supermarket? I need to buy some snacks"
"Sure hop in"
I drove to the supermarket and we quickly started selecting what all we would need for tonight.
"Oh look whose here" said a familiar voice filled with malice
We turned back to see Lauren Mallory and Jessica Stanley standing there giving us dirty glares
"The newest Slut of Forks with her accomplices" continued Lauren sneering
"I could not believe the rumors when I heard that quiet, docile Angela Weber was now shacking up with a cult member from the reservation mere days after Ben dumped her sorry ass" said Jessica
I took Angela's hand in mine. I knew she would need the support.
"Ben told me how easy his ex girlfriend was but I never believed him before this" said Lauren "And you Ms. Bella Swan dating my leftovers, just so you know I rejected your boyfriend before he chose to be with someone like you and lowered his standards."
I snorted "I think you are suffering from amnesia Lauren because that is not what happened. You kissed my boyfriend forcibly and he threw you out of his house insulting you, if I remember and you have some nerve coming here and talking badly to Angela. You know if people have friends like you there is no need for an enemy in their life. And don't you worry about Angela because I can assure you she is much better off without that Jerk Ben in her life. So concentrate on your own life and Jessica everyone knows that you were the one who started these rumors so I am going to tell you this just once, if you concentrate on your own life as much as you concentrate on everyone else's, maybe you will become a better person and Mike Newton will give you the time of the day."
Both of them huffed and glared at us
"Do you have anything else to add because otherwise shoo off. We are busy here and don't have the entire day to waste" said Kim
Lauren glared at us once more before turning and walking away with Jessica following her.
"Ange, don't take them seriously. They are just jealous spiteful people" said Kim to Angela who was almost on the verge of crying
"I have known them both since Kindergarten. I thought they were my friends" whispered Angela
"They are no one's friend Angela" I told her honestly
"Come on let's go home. Let's not spoil our mood because of them" said Angela before dumping a few more items in our cart.
In the next few hours we saw a movie while eating popcorn, gossiped a bit, clicked a ton of photos and played video games owned by Angela's brothers.
At around 5:30 Embry, Paul and Jared turned up.
"Hey you okay?" asked Embry making a beeline for Angela "I could feel that you were upset"
Angela shook her head
"Yeah even I felt that you were angry about something" said Paul looking at me
"Lauren Mallory" I said knowing that these two words were enough
Suddenly both Embry and Paul started shaking as if they were going to phase. I rubbed Paul's arm to calm him down.
"She is not worth it Paul" I told him
"Yeah this is exactly what she wants, attention" said Angela trying to calm Embry down who was growling
"What is this about?" asked Jared and Kim quickly explained it to him
"That Bitch" said Jared growling. Angela was a pack sister and just like with the other imprints all of the boys were protective of her.
"Leave it, let's not even waste our time talking about her" I said trying to change the matter.
We spent the next hour playing cards and Twister. It was hilarious to see Paul, Embry and Jared trying to play that game with their size.
At around 7, Sam and Emily turned up after leaving Claire with Sue who was babysitting. We ordered Pizzas and saw TV while having dinner.
"Okay let's play a game" said Kim after we had finished eating
"What game?" asked Jared
"How about 'would you rather'? Suggested Angela
We all nodded our heads and sat in a circle
"I will start" said Sam "Paul, would you rather always be 10 minutes late or always be 20 minutes early?"
"20 minutes early. I like to be punctual" said Paul "Kim, would you rather be famous when you are alive and forgotten when you die or unknown when you are alive but famous after you die?"
Kim thought for a few seconds "Unknown when alive but famous after I die" "Bella, would you rather live in the wilderness far from civilization or live on the streets of a city as a homeless person?"
"I would say live in the wilderness far away from civilization" "Jared, would you rather be alone for the rest of your life or always be surrounded by annoying people?"
"Surrounded by annoying people though I already have three annoying people always in my head" said Jared
"Hey" shouted Paul, Embry and Sam at the same time
"Emily" started Jared "Would you rather find your true love or a suitcase with five million dollars inside?"
"True love" said Emily looking at Sam who gave her a chaste kiss "Embry, would you rather be transported permanently 500 years into the future or 500 years into the past?"
"Future, I think it is cool"
"I so wish time travelling was possible" said Paul
"You can always take Old Quil's potion and go in the past like Bella did" said Jared
"As if" said Paul "He guards his potions with his life. No one gets to even see them forget drinking them"
"Wait Bella time travelled?" asked Angela
I nodded my head
"Long story babe" said Embry "I will tell you later" "Angela, would you rather have to read aloud every word you read or sing everything you say out loud?"
"Read aloud every word I read"
We played two more rounds before calling it a night. Sam and Emily soon left followed by Jared, Paul and Embry.
Three days after the party at Angela's house I conducted Jared's interview. He was the only one from the Black line as of now. He was Ephraim Black's father's sister's descendant and too far out from the situation. It was a miracle as to how the gene had even reached him. This proved the elder's theory that only descendants of Levi Uley, Ephraim Black and Quil Ateara the second can phase wrong. Just like Jared even Paul got the gene from his great grandmother who was Levi Uley's sister. Jared told me about his first phase and what was going on in his mind at that point. His responsibilities as the Beta of this pack, his imprinting on Kim, the fight with Victoria and James and the temporary truce with the Cullen's. Before Jasper left for Alaska he had taught the current pack on how to fight vampires without injuring yourself and I wrote all of those tricks down too.
The week after my second documentation, Angela left for Vancouver for her cousin's wedding which resulted in Embry moping the entire day. Angela had told him that under no condition was he to run to Canada to see her and she would be back in a week. There would be too many questions to answer if anyone saw him there. That resulted in the longest days of us all's life including Tiffany's. None of the boys wanted to do the occasional patrol with Embry because of his constant moping and when he was with us at Sam and Emily's place he kept staring at the wall with a sad expression on his face. Only Claire could manage to cheer him up. By the fourth day, Tiffany was frustrated and told Embry to either snap out of it or to sleep in the woods outside. We also knew that Embry was feeling the pain of being separated from his imprint because of the distance. Though Sam and Jared had also stayed away from their imprints in the beginning, their imprints were physically near them so there was no pain of separation. The records said that with time the pain would become lesser and lesser.
Soon Angela returned and my life went back to the monotonous cycle of work, driving to Port Angeles to meet Renee, spending time with Paul and the pack and chilling at the beach.
A week after Angela's return all of us except Embry and Angela were at Sam's talking when Embry came running in, panic clearly written on his face.
"Sam, Leech" shouted Embry shaking
"Start from the beginning Embry" said Sam sitting up straight on the couch "Jared, Paul go check"
"When I was dropping Ange at her house right now I could smell that a leech had been near her house. The scent is recent but not today's"
"Embry calm down. We will increase the patrols and catch the leech if he returns. He may just be passing by. With the Cullen's gone, we can extend our patrols till Forks" "Though if Angela spends more time on the res with the other girls it will be better"
"I will talk to her" said Embry "Sam I want to be on constant patrol and I will be guarding her house 24/7"
"Embry you will need to sleep and rest too. All of us will patrol around her house and in Forks" said Sam
"Sam this is my imprint. I will sleep outside her house if need be"
"We checked" said Paul coming in again "There is nothing"
Sam nodded his head "I will make the new patrol schedule" "Emily, Kim, and Bella you will not leave the res till this leech is caught. I cannot risk an imprint being in danger. Whenever we go out to hunt leeches you'll have to stay in this house till we return. One wolf will always be guarding you'll"
We nodded our heads in understanding
Over the next few days we were called to Sam's house at odd hours more than once. The leech had returned and was roaming around Forks and mainly Angela's house. Angela was spending all of her time in La Push and also stayed over at my house. Tiffany and Charlie were very understanding of the situation and were equally worried. Angela was worried about her family but Sam assured her that two wolves were always on patrol. They would be safe and as per what the pack had seen, there was only one Vampire. They almost caught him more than once but he was fast, either stuck to trees or jumped in the water.
"Sam" said Jared coming in the house. He was on patrol of Angela's house
"What news?" asked Sam
"Recent scent, when we were changing duties. He went through her clothes and stuff. His scent is all over her room"
"Are my parents and brothers okay?" asked Angela
"Yes, they were not attacked" "Sam I think the leech keeps coming back for Angela"
"Oh God" said Angela before sitting on the couch with her head in her hands. Emily moved to sit next to her and console her.
Sam sighed loudly "We keep up with the patrols. Angela don't worry, we will catch this leech"
"Embry" she whispered with a few tears in her eyes
"Don't worry. He will be okay" said Sam before leaving the house with Jared
"It will be okay Angela. The pack will catch him" I said
I could understand the feeling Angela was going through. I went through a similar feeling when Victoria was hunting me. But the pack had protected me and they will protect her too.
Four days after this incident I was at my own house when I received a call from Angela. I was getting ready to leave for going to Sam's house where all the other imprints would be.
"Hey Angela"
"Bella" said a scared voice
"Angela, you okay?"
"Bella can you come pick me up. My car is not starting. I will send you the location"
"Yeah I will leave right now"
"Bella please don't tell any of the boys. I don't want them to worry. Just come pick me up"
I agreed and cut the call. Though I knew that I should atleast inform one of them before leaving La Push to pick her up, like Angela I did not want to bother them. They were already tensed with all that was going on.
I sat in my truck and drove to the location she had sent me, twenty minutes in the outskirts of Forks.
"Angela" I shouted as I got out from the truck at the secluded location she had called me to. There was no one in sight.
"Bella, what are you doing here?" asked Emily walking to where I was standing
"Angela called me up. Her car wouldn't start"
"Strange she called me too to pick her up"
"Emily, Bella" said Kim approaching us "What are you'll doing here?"
"Angela called us" I said
"She called me too, to pick her up" said Kim
I found this really suspicious. Why would one person call up three different people to pick her up from the same location at the same time?
"Did she tell you'll not to inform the pack?" I asked though I already knew the answer
They both nodded their heads
"Shit" "Angela where are you?" I shouted
"Your friend is with me and you'll are going to soon join her" said a voice before I was consumed by blackness.
Paul POV:
Fucking Leech, roaming around Forks and escaping in the water as soon as we get close to it. This is the third time he escaped. We almost had him but he jumped in the water.
Embry is running himself crazy. All of us are tired, frustrated, annoyed and worried. An imprint is in danger.
Sam had asked me to check on the girls so I phased back and walked to Sam's house. All the girls should be there right now.
Strange I could not scent anyone here.
I opened the door of the house. No one was there. This is weird.
I picked up the landline and called Bella. Maybe they were all assembled at her house.
Phone is switched off
I called Kim next, same response Phone is switched off
I tried Emily, Phone is switched off
Come on Angela, pick up
No even her phone is switched off
I ran to Bella's house and knocked on the door
"Yes Paul, All okay?" asked Tiffany opening the door
"Is Bella or any of the other girls here?" I asked though I could scent that they were not
She shook her head and I left quickly phasing tearing my clothes in the process not even bothering to answer her questions.
I showed the other three what I found out and through all the panic going on in our minds, the only question we had was, 'Where are our imprints?'
A/N: Any guesses who the mystery vampire is? There is a hint in this chapter.