A/N: The bonfire is happening tonight. I'm excited to show Bella's reaction as an imprint, and not just an outsider this time. Forgive me for summarizing, but I won't be going into as much detail as SM has Billy do in the book. I have a plot to get to!

Chapter 26

Singer

It was a pretty low key evening. Paul hung out for a while. He carried me back up to my room after I took more pain medication and sat downstairs to watch TV until Charlie got home. I fell asleep since the meds knock me out pretty easily. Since I found out Charlie might be being followed, I must have subconsciously woken up when I heard the cruiser doors lock, the side door opened and closed, and Charlie sleepily walked up the stairs and closed the door to his room. I had a peaceful night after that.

My dream that night consisted of vampires: lots and lots of vampires. The wolves weren't even in my dream, which never happened. I did believe that it had to do with the imprint that I had supernatural dreams quite often, but never without wolves. There were a bunch of unknown vampires running around. It was pure chaos. Edward fought his way to me and picked me up, trying to shield me with his body. Alice, Jasper, and Emmett were all fighting other vampires nearby. Carlisle, Esme, and Rosalie may have been there too but I wasn't aware of them in the dream. Alice kept yelling, "Get her out of here, you'll be fine together!" or something like that. It was weird. I wasn't very superstitious, but I did believe that this helped prove that I was safe around the Cullens…unless it was just what I wanted to believe

.

It was Friday, which meant that night was the bonfire at the beach. I knew I would still be taking it easy, but I was excited to get out of the house. Charlie ended up going to Seattle around lunchtime to deal with another case. Since Jake went home after patrol to sleep, I texted Edward.

'Bella: Hey Edward, if you could pass this message on, it would be a big help. I understand if you all are busy but Charlie is in Seattle for the day for work. Is there anyway someone could follow?'

Edward replied almost instantly.

'Edward: Of course Bella. I'm in school but I'll leave as soon as I can. Alice, Emmett, Rosalie, and Jasper are all here too. I just told them. Everything will be fine, get some rest.'

I decided to call Sam and let him know that Charlie was in Seattle and at least one of the Cullens was going to shadow him for the day. He appreciated the update and was glad to hear that Charlie was safe away from home where a forest wasn't nearby.

Jake came over once he finally woke up around one. We hung out and I wanted to make brownies or something to take to the bonfire but I was exhausted. I could have pulled it off, but someone wouldn't let me out of bed either. Sometimes I was happy to be stuck in bed, other times not so much.

That night at the beach, everyone was there. Billy, Harry, Leah, Jake, Sam, Emily, Old Quil, Young Quil, Embry, Jared, Paul, and some other tribal elders and family members who were involved. We all socialized and ate before the legends began. It was nice having social time. It was kind of an unofficial induction to the family, these bonfires. I didn't feel like eating much, but it was hard to convince Jake to leave my side to go feed himself. Most of the night I sat between his legs, his knees bent on my sides, and leaned against his chest. He rested his cheek on the side of my head. It was very comforting and relaxing. Everyone asked how I was healing (who wasn't a wolf and hadn't seen me over the past couple of days) and was happy to hear it would be a quick recovery. I wondered how many people knew who saved me, but I wasn't about to bring it up.

Billy began the legends. He spoke about the first shifters and how they handled the enemies. He spoke about imprints. I had heard the legends when I was little, but only really paid attention to the first shifters. None of the kids really paid attention to the love stories, especially since it wasn't real. We had lost interest by then. Now, you couldn't have distracted us if you tried. I truly felt Billy was talking about: having a connection from your soul to your imprint's soul. It was the warmest, happiest feeling I'd ever felt, and I loved it. Sam and Jake were the only two wolves to imprint so far. A lot of the other guys didn't want to, but then again they didn't want to date and have to break someone's heart either. I thought about imprinting as Billy described the first imprint. He said the person was the reason to stay on this Earth, their reason for living. It blew my mind that I was supposedly Jake's reason for living. That's how it was supposed to feel for them at least. I never imagined that I could hold a piece of someone's soul so close to mine, but I loved it and I would never let it go. Usually I would never have let a guy tend to me like Jake does, but I knew that he wanted to and he wasn't just trying to suck up to stay in my good graces. He truly wants to make me happy and give me what I want. I never thought I would be lucky in the guy department, but I was so lucky that I decided to move back to Forks. Jake and I made eye contact a few times during the imprint legend. He kissed my head and we never closed our eyes or looked away. We were both listening to Billy, but we were relating to everything that he described and in our brains we applied it to our lives. We both knew that we were stuck with each other, happily. I wasn't going anywhere. As long as there wasn't some anti-imprint legend, we were happy where we were.

The bonfires always last over an hour. Some people were getting tired, and Jake had patrol again that night. We said bye to everyone and I hugged almost everyone, thanking them for the well wishes to get better. Emily wanted to set up a girl's day. I accepted, but I had no clue when that would be since I really didn't get out much. A few of the guys phased in the woods and ran home. Jake drove me home, helped me wash my hair again and take a bath, and tucked me in. It was hard to let him out of my bed after cuddling most of the night, but I knew he had a city to protect. With a kiss that left room for more, he jumped out of my window, climbed down the tree, and ran into the woods.

On Sunday, Jake and Quil both had off so they went to a junk yard not far from Seattle to get a couple of car parts. I was very glad that Jake was gone when I received a certain phone call. Alice's name was flashing on my screen.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Hey Bella. Quick update, but nothing to worry about. So, we found someone who might be following Charlie, but we aren't really sure yet. Jasper is in Seattle right now trying to get a clue on some more possible nomads. Don't freak out. Bella, are you there?" Alice said. I didn't have much time to respond to any of that. Half of me was happy that they might have figured something out so we could solve the problem, but the other half of me wasn't ready for dread and fear of vampires after me or Charlie.

"Yeah, I'm here. So, what did you figure out?"

"I really don't want to tell you this on the phone, is there any way you could come over? Or we could come over, either one. I know that no matter whose house we are at, a wolf will be with you."

"You are completely correct. I wouldn't be allowed by myself, these days. Let me call Sam and see if we can meet up," I told her.

"Okay, bye!"

We hung up and I called Sam.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Hey Sam. Alice just called me and they may have a lead on someone in Seattle. Jasper is still there now trying to find out about a couple of other possible nomads but they were wondering if they could come over to my place or I could go over there real quick," I explained.

"Bella there is no way you are going-"

"Sam I know I'm not going alone, she knows that and I know that. But are you busy? We can go whenever, but I would prefer if you are there," I told him honestly. He exhaled.

"I'm glad you realize you won't be with them alone for a long, long time, if ever. Emily just finished cooking so I'm going to eat then I'll come pick you up. We can go there. I'll see you in a little under an hour," he said.

"Thanks Sam, I really appreciate it. Tell Emily I say hi, see you soon."

We hung up and I texted Alice. I was still sitting on the couch, and I realized that this would be the longest, most torturous hour of my life. I was waiting for Sam to come over to find out if Charlie and/or I were being hunted by a vampire…or vampires. My head didn't feel too bad aside from small headaches, but it was healing. The stitches were starting to thin and the more hydrated I stayed, the better I felt. To keep myself busy for the next half an hour, I vacuumed, did all of the dishes, and began a load of laundry. That was the most I'd cleaned since the beginning of the week, and my body could definitely tell by how tired I was. I guess I had fallen asleep because I woke up to Sam tapping me on the shoulder.

"Hey Bella, where are your car keys?" Sam asked.

"On my nightstand in my room," I mumbled. I knew he would be driving once he said earlier that he would pick me up. It is quite convenient to not have to worry about two cars when one person can run over by foot. I followed Sam up to my room to change into jeans and one of my most comfortable hoodies. I'd at least look half decent when I found out if I was being hunted or not. Sam and I never had much trouble making conversation, but I was a bundle of nerves on the drive over there.

"Why isn't Paul or Jared coming too?" I asked. Usually there was always a minimum of two wolves when someone went to the Cullens, especially if I was there too.

"We had a late night meeting last night to follow a trail and Leah was exploring being a wolf. Some of the guys were giving her a hard time but some of the elders were also talking to her about her phase and everything since there has never been a female wolf before. Not to avoid your question, but if what they say isn't good news, I don't need anyone phasing in their living room. Someone will be out back like always," Sam explained. He did look pretty tired.

"That sounds…pleasant. Poor Leah, I hope she's not having too hard of a time." I really wasn't trying to dig for more information, and I think Sam knew that. He was welcome to tell me whatever he wanted, but I didn't mind if pack secrets were, well, pack secrets.

"She's not taking it too well. It's hard with the imprinting. She'll get used it, we all will, it's just very…different. There will be another bonfire next weekend, or the weekend after, depending on how long it takes her to change back."

"Sounds fun," I said honestly. I really did enjoy the bonfires. It was time for Jake and I to bask in our own little bubble of happiness with people who we loved and felt comfortable around. I would never admit this, but I saw Sam and Emily look at each other the same way the other night. The rest of the ride's conversation was nothing interesting, but we arrived at the Cullens and Carlisle and Esme were waiting on the front porch for us.

"Good evening, I'm glad you could both make it," Carlisle greeted. Esme smiled at us, and I couldn't help but smile back. We all walked in. I sat on the couch, Sam stood next to me, and Esme and Carlisle sat on the love seat against the other wall. Alice walked in as cheerful as always, but got real serious real fast.

"Okay so I won't talk in circles. Look, in summary, this vampire Victoria, who we all knew year ago, thought her and Edward were mates. He never really gave her the time of day since he didn't feel the same connection, but she really liked him. This next part may come as a bit of a shock, but," Alice paused. I looked over at Sam, who was breathing steadily and appeared to be in control. Now it made sense why none of the other guys were here, since I knew no one has a strong of a temper yet, if they ever would.

"Okay let me back up. So, wolves have imprints. We have mates which are similar, but we also can have something called a singer. It's someone whose blood 'sings' to us, as the expression goes. Some vampires drain them faster than you could count to ten, or some vampires change those humans into vampires and they are usually mates," Alice continued.

"Alice where are you going with this?" I asked. I had an idea in my head, and I was really hoping there was going to be a plot twist and it was something completely different.

"Bella, you are Edward's singer," Alice said. Sam growled, but stayed where he was. "He would never change her! Stop those thoughts right there!" Alice commanded both of us. Edward was drawn to my blood? Could that have been why he has always been such a gentleman to me and I got some romantic vibes from him before? Oh, no big deal, he just wanted my blood. Oh my gosh when would the roller coaster that is my life ever stop twisting?

"So, Victoria is jealous of Bella and trying to somehow get revenge on taking Edward's attention away from Victoria," Sam explained.

"Pretty much. It's really immature, but if you'd been, well, in love with someone for possibly hundreds of years, you may call for desperate measures also," Alice finished.

"Please do not think that this will change the treaty or our help against these other vampires. Our first priority is still Bella and Charlie's safety," Esme added. I knew she just couldn't help herself. I still remained aware of Sam's reaction to all of this. He was unusually calm considering a pack imprint has on a 'Most Wanted' sign from a vampire.

"I wasn't worried about that. I will always be hesitant, but you wouldn't have warned us about this if you were not willing to help in some way," Sam stated. If he trusted them to an extent, then I definitely trust them. "I will inform you that, if Edward is around Jacob and he finds out, he will not take this news lightly," Sam added. How did I not think about that? When Jake finds out about this he'll go absolutely mad! He didn't like Edward, or any of the Cullens, as it was. Now that one of them wants my blood, to drink or not, I will never set foot in Forks High again as long as they are there if Jake had any say.