A/N: Thank you for the review, and the views/favorites/alerts! I know I don't update that regularly but please still tell me what you think! This chapter is kind of filler but it is still what would realistically happen in this scenario, in my brain at least. Some more familiar scenes from SM's version but in my plot.

Chapter 37

Pain

Again, the wolf below me maneuvered expertly between trees and shifted his weight so I wouldn't fall off. This time it wasn't the pack Alpha, it was my imprint. Not only was he trying to get to the Cullens' house to make sure Embry was alright, but we needed to figure out what was going on with Collin, and Jake had me on his back. No pressure. On top of that, he was also listening to a minimum of five other guys' thoughts going through his head all at once. Talk about multitasking.

We finally arrived at the Cullens' house but we got there before the ambulance, probably since it had to drive significantly slower than the wolves could run. Embry was in good hands. Meanwhile, Collin was already lying down in the grass in the backyard and Sam was standing next to him, in human form. I climbed down off of Jake's back and he phased back, giving me a quick hug. It always helped the connection ease up a bit when we made contact with each other, so we did to comfort ourselves as much as possible.

Jake held my hand as we walked over to Sam and Collin. Sam was trying to talk Collin into phasing back into human form but it didn't look like it was doing much good. I walked over to him again and sat next to Collin, stroking the fur on his head. I know it couldn't have helped that much, but if I could show support and be there for him, then I would. After another few minutes of silence, Collin phased back and just laid in the grass, staring into space, and still mumbling the same phrase as earlier, "She's dead". Sam sat Collin up so he was leaning mostly against me but partially against Sam since I couldn't support all of his weight.

"Who's dead, Coll?" Sam asked calmly.

"My imprint is dead, Sam," Collin whispered. He was still staring at the ground.

"Who was it, and when did you know you imprinted?" Sam asked. This was the most calm I'd ever seen Sam interact with the guys. I knew that all of the wolves could feel some of each other's pain so I assumed Sam was treading lightly. He knew what it was like to imprint, and none of us wanted to know what it was like to lose an imprint, but now we have experienced it. The ambulance must have pulled up in the front of the house because I heard breaks squeak and people start moving.

"Jake, go help with Embry, send Quil back here please, and Brady if he's here," Sam ordered. Jake gave me a quick peck on the lips and rushed around front. After a minute or two Quil ran around back, but no Brady, which meant they weren't here yet.

"Quil, do you know anything about this?" Sam asked.

"Yeah Sam, I do," Quil responded. He looked like he was in mourning, too, talking about Collin's lost imprint. I knew Quil hung out with Collin and Brady more than some of the other wolves, but I didn't know how close they were. Of course there was the mental link, so they all probably knew something. I sat quietly as I continued to rub Collin's back as Quil told his story. "Me, Embry, Collin, and Brady went to Seattle a few weeks ago. We went to a movie, walked around some shops, got lunch, and just hung out. In the movie theatre we ran into this group of cute girls. They were probably still in high school even though everyone thinks we're older. Anyway, when him and this girl Bree made eye contact, they just stared at each other for a minute. I thought he imprinted, but he was able to walk away from her way too easily compared to what you guys had described, and he didn't say anything about her all night. I figured they just had a connection or thought they were both cute or something. Anyway, during the battle, I saw when Collin saw her, he completely mentally lost it. You Alpha ordered us to keep it together and do what we were supposed to do so that kept him from straying. I don't know how he kept it together for a few weeks if they were imprinted, but he saw her as a wolf today whether she was a vampire or not, and that's how I knew they were bonded somehow. That's my theory," Quil finished. Sam just looked awestruck that this could happen. We didn't know what to do with Collin, now.

"Thanks, Quil. Go check on Embry and bring me back a report," Sam ordered. I watched Sam's face, attempting to read his train of thought and failing epically. After what felt like an hour, but really was only a couple of minutes, I broke the silence.

"Sam, have you ever heard of a wolf imprinting on-"

"No," he cut me off. We both knew what I was going to say and no one would want to admit it. Clearly, some sort of connection happened whether it was a full imprint or not. No wolf would hurt this badly if it wasn't an imprint. That's what we thought at least. "But clearly some sort of connection was made, and I don't know what we can do about it," Sam finished. Brady walked out of the woods with Jasper not far behind. Brady walked over to Collin and put his head in his best friend's lap. Collin didn't even acknowledge him, though. I pet Brady, giving him some sort of acknowledgement and showing that we were all on the same page, trying to comfort Collin a bit. Brady walked a few steps away from us and phased.

"How's he doing?" Brady asked me and Sam.

"As good as he can be right now, I guess" Sam answered.

"Yeah he didn't think anything of it when we were in Seattle which clearly meant it wasn't a true imprint, but during the battle? I don't even want to think about his pain," Brady said. Quil came back out and mumbled something to Sam about x-rays.

"I'm going to go see how they're doing inside," I said as I got up. It was clear that Collin's mental state wasn't going to change in the next few minutes. Sam started getting up to come with me and looked at Quil and Brady to make sure they would stay with Collin. They both nodded back. I had no clue if an Alpha order was even needed in that moment, but I knew they would have stayed with him anyway. When we walked inside, there were shirtless guys standing here and there and Cullens standing in pairs everywhere else. Alice was sitting on the stairs with her head in her hands.

"Alice, what's wrong?" I asked urgently but quietly. I've never seen her look this distraught over something before and I knew asking quietly wouldn't make a difference, but it assumed a little bit of privacy.

"Nothing major to my knowledge. All of the dogs are making everything blurry and it's giving me a headache," she said. I put my arm around her, not really knowing what else to do. Every wolf that I was in sight of was glaring at us since I made contact with a vampire. Alice giggled, clearly aware of the mood shift. "Chill out guys, I'm not going to drain her and you know that." I couldn't help but laugh a bit, too, even though none of the wolves found it funny.

"You can relax, guys, I'll go upstairs now," I said as I stood up and began my trek to find Embry. In a room down the small hallway that I had been in a few times before, an x-ray machine was set up. Well, that's what I assumed at least since Embry had broken bones somewhere in his body. The lights were on and Carlisle was pinning the x-rays onto a lit up board that were in doctors' offices, not homes. Well, I guess the home of a vampire could transform into anywhere since they had a lot of time on their hands. I saw what I assumed used to be a rib cage. There were little pieces of white all over the picture and I knew for a fact that was not how ribs were supposed to look. Em was still lying unconscious in wolf form on the table of the x-ray machine. I heard a whimper leave his body. From the hallway, I was standing behind a wall of Jake, Sam, and Jared. Everything I saw was through their arms if they moved. I guess I let out a gasp, because they turned around to look at me. I knew I couldn't have snuck up on them, but Embry was their priority right now, all of ours. Jake tucked me into his side, with one arm wrapped around me. I hugged him back and took slow breaths to try to keep myself together. Carlisle picked up a needle and I must have gasped again. I knew Carlisle was a doctor, but I didn't think much about what he might actually be doing to Embry.

"I'm giving him something else to ease the pain a bit. Keep in mind you wolves go through pain medicine faster than a human. I'm going to need to reset some of his ribcage. Not all of it, just a couple places so it heals correctly," he looks up at Sam when he finishes. "It's going to be hard to watch, but I'll need your help, all three of you. Bella you need to be outside. You can help Colin. Jasper," Carlisle summoned him, not even needing to yell.

"Yes, Carlisle?"

"I'm going to need to you in here. It's going to hurt, but I'm going to need some balance," Carlisle said. I don't know what Jake, Sam, and Jared knew, but Jasper was ready to help, especially Embry and Carlisle. Jake turned us around and we walked down to the end of the hallway. Go back out with Quil, Brady, and Collin. I love you and hopefully this won't take too long," Jake said before he kissed me. I would never get tired of this, and I hoped that I wouldn't have to worry about it ever being taken away from me again.

"Okay, I love you," I said as I turned to walk down the stairs. When I walked downstairs I smelled something absolutely delicious. I knew it hadn't been too long but it felt like a day had passed. I guess Esme wanted to keep herself busy and extend her hospitality since she so rarely got to do so. I walked into the kitchen to see Seth filling his plate from the serving dishes Esme set out. Leah and Paul clearly weren't giving in. I walked over to Paul and nudged his elbow, nodding towards the food. He quietly growled at me.

"Oh get over yourself," I mumbled with a smile on my face as I walked outside to get Quil, Brady, and Collin. I knew we wouldn't get Collin to eat but at least the other two could. I explained the situation so we all helped Collin walk in and sit down. I sat next to him and held his hand as he stared into space. Quil and Brady both filled up plates and stood nearby. I stood up and got two plates, one for me and one for Collin. I had no clue what specifically he would like out of the dishes available: meatloaf, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, green beans casserole, and broccoli. I got a little bit of everything for Colin and set the plate in front of him with a fork. I figured if he was zoned out, either he would eat and not even look at his food, or just not eat at all. While I was focused on Collin, Leah and Paul reluctantly got plates of food and nibbled at the contents like they were going to drop dead any moment. I smiled; those two would always keep me laughing.

At that moment, the most bone-chilling howl came from upstairs. I accidentally dropped my fork and jumped a bit. It was a bit muted to my human ears, through a closed door and a flight of stairs, but I can't even imagine how it sounded to vampires or other wolves. Quil put his hand on my shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. There was a temporary silence as we all absorbed what was happening to a human, well, animal, body upstairs.

"Thank you Esme, for your hospitality, as always," I said quietly. Quil, Brady, and Seth said thank you, also. Even Leah and Paul mumbled a quiet, 'thanks'. She smiled back at me.

"Of course, Bella. You're all welcome here whenever you may need anything, I hope you all know that. I know you won't take me up on it, but we've worked together once, we can do it again if we need to," she smiled at Paul, particularly in her motherly fashion.

More whimpering was heard from upstairs, but there was nothing anyone could do about it. After a few minutes, a few more nibbles on our food, Jake, Sam, and Jared finally walked down the stairs. Jake walked right up to my chair and knelt in front of me, and rested his head on my knees. I gently ran my fingers through his hair.

"Well, he should be just fine," Sam said. All three of them looked like they'd been awake for days and endured a way longer journey than they already did.

"What happened Sam? Is anything worse than before?" Quil asked. He had been with Colin the whole time and was clearly desperate for information about one of his best friends.

"His ribs were shattered in some places, so after looking at x-rays Carlisle had to reset a couple of them so they would heal properly," Sam explained.

"Guys, there's plenty of food. If you're hungry, please feel free to eat as much as you want," Esme offered.

"It is really good," Paul mumbled over to Sam. I smiled at that, knowing that Paul would never admit that something from a vampire was worth indulging in. At that, Sam and Jared walked over to get a plate. Jake lifted his head to look up at me.

"You should eat something," I told Jake. He kissed me then nodded, slowly getting up and walking to the counter where everything was laid out. Sam stood near me, so I figured I would take a chance. "Can I go see Em?"

"Yeah go ahead, he's hopefully still asleep from the meds though," Sam said as he kept eating. I made eye contact with Jacob we gave each other small smiles. Quil followed me since he hadn't been there with Embry since the ambulance. I knew Em was in pain, but I had no idea how much.