"-irresponsible, reckless, thoughtless, and not to mention incredibly dangerous! Do you not understand how much danger you put yourself and the others in? If something had happened, what would mom and dad do?"

Alex's head lolled listlessly to the side as Kitty's rant continued to wash over her. Her sister had thankfully left her alone that evening, and Alex had even begun to hope that perhaps Paul hadn't told Kitty what had happened. Her sister had even lulled her into a false sense of security over breakfast, offering to drive Alex to Emily's on the way to her work.

It was only after they'd pulled out of the driveway that Kitty had let loose, and Alex had been suffering ever since. They were still five minutes out from Emily's house, and her sister showed no signs of slowing her rant.

"Can you drop me at Jacob's house?" Alex said, interrupting Kitty's flow, and making her sister glare at her.

"Why? I thought you wanted to go to Em's?" Kitty sounded suspicious, and Alex had to think quickly.

She sighed theatrically, turning her head to stare longingly out of the window. "Oh, I did. But… I need to see Jacob… I can't bear to be away from him another moment… y'know how it is." She winced to herself, thinking she'd over done it, but Kitty made a soft noise, and when she looked at her sibling, she caught Kitty brushing a hand under her eyes quickly. She almost laughed, turning it into another long loud sigh. "The Imprint… it calls to me, calls to his," she frowned, trying to think of a word. "Heart." She settled on, and Kitty melted.

"Oh, I understand, Lexie… That's fine. I'll drop you at Billy's now. Make sure you guys stay out in the open, okay? Sam and Paul are still unhappy about yesterday..." she trailed off, face twisting. Alex wondered if something had happened between her sister and Paul after she'd gone home. Maybe Kitty had been quiet during dinner because of something else.

"Are you okay?" Alex asked, suddenly feeling guilty, and Kitty coughed, clearly pretending not to hear her. But true to her word, Kitty took the next turn off, and Alex was freed from her fifteen-minute lecture as Jacob's red-painted house came into view.

To her surprise, Jacob's car wasn't the only vehicle in the driveway. Beside her, Kitty frowned. "Isn't that Isabella Swan's truck?" she asked, turning to Alex. Alex eyed the aged vehicle, sans it's brunette driver. Bella must have come over to see Jacob – though why, Alex couldn't guess. She knew Jacob was forbidden from saying anything about the tribe's secrets, and though he'd gone to see Bella before he'd visited her, Alex couldn't think why the other girl had come to see him so soon afterwards.

"Yeah." She opened the door. "I'll go say hi."

"No – wait, Alex! We're not finished-" Kitty's voice was cut off as Alex shut the door behind herself. Her sister gunned the engine twice in obvious frustration, but as Alex made her way towards the house without turning back, she heard her sister drive off.

She jogged up the front porch steps, hand outstretched to knock, when it opened, and she was met with a mouthful of brown hair as whoever had barreled out of the door came crashing into her.

Alex swore, one arm grabbing at the porch rail to stop herself from falling back, and the other coming up to steady the shorter girl who was trying to disentangle herself. "I'm so sorry!" The distinctly feminine voice made Alex release her, and she took a step back as Bella Swan pushed her hair out of her eyes. Her doe-eyes widened further as she met Alex's gaze. "Oh, Alexandra – I'm sorry."

Alex resisted the urge to frown. "It's cool. Were you, uh, visiting Jacob?" she asked, casting a look over Bella's shoulder into the house. There was no sign of movement. Bella bit her lip, looking a little guilty.

"I was, I needed to tell him- well." She cut herself off, giving Alex a secretive look. "Something private." Alex almost laughed. It seemed Jacob had found a way around the gag-order. He was certainly creative; Alex could give him that much. "But he's asleep. I decided to let him rest, he was up late last night." Another secretive look.

Alex nodded. "Well, that's kind of you." Bella frowned a little, opening her mouth to speak, when a loud call from the trees startled them both. Alex turned, catching sight of four familiar forms emerging from the tree line beside Jacob's backyard. Sudden motion from Bella made her swear again as the shorter girl brushed past her, breaking into a run towards Sam, Jared, Paul and Embry.

Alex kicked off after her, jumping the steps, and catching up to her in a few long strides. "Bella, wait!" She grabbed the girl's arm, trying to haul her to a stop, but Bella rounded on her, furious.

"Get off me, Alexandra!" Bella shoved at her, Alex letting her go in surprise. Bella rounded on the boys again. "What did you do?" she shouted, striding towards them. "What did you do?" She pushed Sam, as hard as she could. Alex broke into another run after her.

Paul growled, low and loud. Sam didn't even look at him. "Easy…" he told him, and Alex edged towards Paul, hoping she could calm him down. "Alex?" Sam looked at her then, accusation in his eyes, and Alex halted in place. "What did you say?"

"He didn't want this!" Bella continued, voice bordering on hysterical.

Alex scowled. "What the fuck, Sam?" Sam ignored her.

"What did we do?" Paul asked, voice dangerous, and Alex took a big step away from him, still glaring at Sam. "What did he do? Hmm? What did he tell you?"

Bella hadn't moved, and Alex wasn't sure if the girl was being brave or stupid, as she watched Paul tremble. Paul was unstable right now, and Bella needed to back up. "Both of you calm down!" Sam put a hand on Paul's chest, shoving him back a few feet. A large hand curled around her wrist, and Alex turned to Embry. He raised a brow, but said nothing, and Alex let him pull her a little closer, a little further from the scene unfolding.

Bella stood her ground. "Nothing! He tells me nothing, because he's scared of you!" Alex blinked, exchanging a disbelieving look with Embry. Then, two things happened in quick sequence, and it all went to hell.

Paul burst into laughter, shoulders shaking. And then Bella slapped him.

"Bella! Get back!" Alex yelled, darting for the girl as Paul shivered, gulped in one large breath – and exploded into the Phase. Sam and Jared were shouting for him to calm down, but Alex knew it was far too late.

"Alex!" Embry called for her, but she had already closed her arms around Bella's chest in a parody of a bear hug, dragging the girl backwards several feet as Paul roared and snarled.

Bella let out a high, short sound of fright, hands coming up and gripping her forearms, unconsciously digging her nails into Alex's skin in her fear. Alex winced, and roughly twirled them around, dumping Bella on the ground and turning to face Paul. He was growling, stalking towards them as Bella scrambled backwards, Alex keeping low to the ground, and stretching out a hand in supplication. "Paul, calm down, she didn't mean it!" He shook his head as if he was shaking off her words, and bunched his muscles, clearly readying himself to spring. "Fuck. Run." Bella was still on the ground, scooting awkwardly, and Alex risked turning her back on Paul to haul her up again. "Run, Bella!"

Bella ran, and Alex threw herself to the side as Paul sprung at them. She went falling out of the way of his spring, gracelessly tumbling down the hillock.

"BELLA!" From the porch, Jacob yelled the other girl's name, and then he was running towards them too, as Paul rocketed towards Bella, who was stumbling her way towards the house.

"Jacob! Run! Get back!" Bella cried out, and as Alex rolled to a halt, she caught the height of Jacob's leap – watching in amazement as he Phased in mid-air. He landed growling, staring Paul down where the other wolf had halted.

There was a long beat of stillness, before Paul sprung again, and Alex's heart leapt into her throat. She needn't have worried, as Jacob intercepted Paul with finesse, jaws and claws clashing as the two wolves crashed into each other with enough force to make the ground shake slightly. They rolled together, neither seeming to gain the upper hand for long, destroying the small fishing dingy sitting upon a stand as Jacob herded Paul towards the woods.

The sounds of their fight lingered in the air long after they disappeared from sight, and Alex let out a shaky sigh of relief as Jared and Embry jogged towards her, Sam following at a more sedate pace. "You okay, Alex?" Embry asked, ignoring her attempts to wave them off, and hauling her to her feet quick enough to make her head spin. Jared gave her a pat down as Embry checked her pupils as if she had suffered a concussion.

Finally, she punched Embry in the gut to make him back off, turning to look at Bella, who was still sitting in a heap on the grass, paler than normal. "I'm fine, losers. Go check on her."

Sam nodded. "Take Bella to Emily's. I'll watch Alex." Embry and Jared nodded, apparently satisfied with the outcome, and hurried over to Bella, Embry shooting her a wink over Bella's shoulder as Jared helped her to her feet.

Alex waited until Jared and Embry had hustled Bella off towards her truck before she turned to Sam. He was waiting for her, frowning. "I'm okay! I don't need watching- hey!" Sam had stalked towards her, and picked her up like a sack of flour, tossing her over his shoulder like a misbehaving toddler. "Sam! This is kidnap!" Alex yelled as he made for the woods.

"Enough, Alex. I'll need you to help me bring in Jacob and Paul. I can't carry clothes and beat their asses." Sam said, stooping – still with her balanced perfectly – to pick up a bundle of fabric that he tucked under his other arm.

"You said a swear!" Alex jabbed him in the spine. "That's a dollar in the swear-jar, and I'm telling- ugh!" Sam tossed her again, flipping her once, and then setting her roughly on her feet – though keeping a hold of her shoulders to keep her steady. She swallowed at the stern look in his eyes. "Is it time for my lecture?" she guessed.

Sam sighed, and began to walk again, following some unknown trail towards what she assumed would be Paul and Jacob. Despite their size, they hadn't seemed to have caused too much damage to the forest, and Alex was hard pressed to see where they'd been, but a splintered log, and the occasional crushed bush let her know that Sam was on the right track. "The fact that I have to tell you off for fighting a wolf is insane. The fact that you just went and put yourself in-between another wolf and his target is even more so."

"What was I supposed to do? Let Paul rip her head off?" Alex asked, as Sam leapt easily over a fallen tree that was blooming with moss and ferns from how long it had been fallen. She had begun to scale it when he reached for her, and she let him lift her over, legs dangling for an unnerving second before he set her down again. His face was unreadable. "Sam. You're not honestly telling me that I should have let her… y'know."

"Paul wouldn't have hurt her." Sam said. "He would have scared her."

Alex frowned, "And you're sure of that? I mean, I know Paul wouldn't ever hurt someone deliberately, but he was angry. I think he and Kitty were fighting, and we both know when Paul's angry…" she trailed off. Sam was quiet, but she knew he was just thinking, turning things over in his head as he did.

"Alex, you have to understand that you have impact." He began, and she looked at him, at his serious face. He looked tired. "Imprinting doesn't just connect you to one of us. It's like Billy said – we're all connected. Loosing you would be like losing part of ourselves."

Alex shook her head. "I don't-"

"You might not understand." Sam interrupted her, "But I hope that you do one day. When I say that we would do anything to keep you safe, I mean anything. Imprints are sacred. By putting yourself at risk, you are putting us at risk."

Alex didn't doubt the gravity of Sam's statement, but she couldn't wrap her head around the concept. She was just… Alex. She was a small blip of existence, no more special than the grocery clerk down the road, no more valuable than the janitor at school. Whatever tied her to Jacob meant she was privileged enough to witness a magic that should have been impossible. It was a gift, and it was a curse, and Alex wasn't sure how to process the idea that she was a part of something bigger than herself.

She knew, that Imprints were precious – she saw it in the love shared between Sam and Emily, the friendship between her sister and Jared, the patience Paul had for Kim, the care Sam showed for Kitty – she knew it, because she had seen it. But to place herself in the complicated web of magic and love, the intricate bonds that had existed for years without her… it seemed a little self-centered.

Her and Jacob were supposed to be friends, and yet she couldn't even seem to maintain that relationship; what right did she have to the title of 'Imprint'?

"Wait here." Sam said suddenly and handed her the bundle of clothing, and Alex did as he asked; straining her ears to listen for any signs of Jacob and Paul. She didn't hear anything, but a few minutes later, faint rustling of the undergrowth let her know that they were close.

Paul nosed through the bushes first, grey form circling Alex where she sat on a boulder once before he came to lie at her feet, looking distinctly sheepish. Sam and Jacob emerged from the trees next, and Alex noticed that Jacob was gaining on Sam in size, tall umber form broadening too, and she shivered a little.

Sam huffed at her, and she slid from the boulder to approach him, narrowly missing Paul's tail, which wagged once at her movement. She held out the shorts, and he huffed at her, turning and sinking lower. "Oh! Are you sure, Sam?" Alex had gone for a few runs with Paul, had even ridden on Embry – but never with their Alpha. Sam let out a short bark, and Alex clambered up onto his back.

He was larger than the others, and Alex found herself clinging tighter than she usually did, burying her fingers in his thick fur and holding tight as he moved, ducking her face into his neck as he picked up speed. When the woods around them began to look more familiar they slowed, and Alex slid from Sam's back. This time, the wolves did take the clothes from her, and she continued alone towards Emily's house as they left to Phase.

Paul re-joined her first, throwing an arm around her shoulders and bringing her into an awkward side-hug. "Hey, I'm sorry – I didn't mean to scare you."

"You didn't scare me, asshole." Alex grunted into his armpit, trying to wiggle her way free. "You should probably apologize to Kitty for whatever you did though."

Paul let her go, shoving her lightly instead. "How do you know that I did something?" He asked roughly, though there was no real anger in his mock scowl. Clearly, he had needed that little dust-up, needed to let out whatever anger he had been storing.

"Because it's always you, and besides," Alex said, as the trees began to thin and Emily and Sam's house appeared through the trees. "My sister's an angel, and I meant what I said when you first took her out."

"Alright, Big A – whatever you say. Still. Sorry." Paul said, as Jacob and Sam emerged from the trees together. Jacob was still nodding at whatever Sam had been saying, and though he looked serious, when his eyes met hers, he looked – and at his expression, Alex felt a trill of surprise – happy to see her.

"Hey." She greeted, as he fell into step with her, Sam mounting the stairs ahead of them.

"Hi." He said. "I didn't realize you were coming by."

"Well, I wasn't going to originally. But good I did, right?" Alex said honestly, hoping his small smile wouldn't fade.

Jacob laughed. "Yeah lucky, though I'm sure I could have taken on the old man by myself." Paul turned and snapped his teeth at them.

"Yeah right, pup. You're lucky I was holding back." Paul said, reaching over Alex to try and swat Jacob on the back of the head. Alex ducked under the pair of them, shoving open the door with a laugh as Jacob yelped.

They ducked inside, Alex eyeing Bella, who was standing awkwardly against the far wall, Sam and Emily still locked in an embrace, Embry and Jared chewing furiously on their food. Her stomach grumbled, a reminder that she hadn't eaten yet, and her eyes fell on the plate of fresh muffins, and darted towards them. Paul was faster, and snagged the muffin she'd been eyeing, and then the seat she'd wanted. "Whore." She told him, and sat down resolutely on his lap, wrestling for the muffin.

"Hey! You know I'm reformed." Paul told her, holding the muffin out of reach with a wide smirk.

"Alex! Language!" Emily's exasperated voice made her grin, and she turned to the older woman.

"Sorry, Em." She said, and took a different muffin, standing from Paul's lap and biting into the muffin. He shot her a superior look around his own mouthful and she rolled her eyes.

Embry cleared his throat meaningfully, nudging Paul, who turned and gave Bella a once over. "Sorry." He said casually, and turned back to his food. Alex giggled a little at Bella's scandalized expression.

Jacob hadn't moved from the doorway, a nervousness overtaking his features as he looked at Bella, and Alex felt herself get irrationally angry. He'd been happy a few moments ago, was it too much to ask for him to keep his smile? He jerked his head towards the door, slipping out, and Alex watched as Bella followed him a moment later, pretending to busy herself with loading her plate as the other girl looked back.

She wasn't jealous, she was just…

Nothing. She was nothing. She was fine.

Alex smiled again, trying to refocus her attention on the table as Jared cracked some crass joke. Embry met her eyes, and raised his eyebrows. She ignored his knowing gaze, engrossing herself in the conversation around her.


Jacob and Bella were gone for hours, and when they finally returned, night had fallen. Alex looked up as the door opened, curled around Embry – who despite saying he had wanted to watch the movie, had fallen asleep minutes after the opening credits – and met Jacob's eyes. Bella still looked out of place, looking around almost anxiously.

"Where is everyone?" Jacob asked, and Alex paused the movie.

"Sam went out with Emily to pick up pizza. Jared's getting Kim, and I think Paul and Kitty are having it out at his place." She winced. "I could hear her on the phone, she sounded mad."

"Shit." Jacob frowned. "What time will they be back? There's something we need to talk about."

At his words, Bella got even paler, and Alex frowned, sitting up as much as she could without letting Embry's head fall from her shoulder. "What's wrong?"

Jacob threw himself into the armchair across from them. "We know what the red-head wants. We know why she keeps coming back." It took Alex a moment to process his words, and when she did, she jolted in surprise.

Embry let out a groan and she stilled, pressing a careful hand to his cheek. "Whassgoin'on…" He slurred, sitting up. "'Lex?" Alex smiled a little sadly, getting the feeling that this was probably going to be the last proper rest Embry got for a while.

"Don't worry. Sam'll let you know when he gets home." She told him, giving Jacob a warning look as Embry settled back down. Jacob nodded, smiling slightly as Embry fell asleep again. "What's she after?"

"Me." Bella spoke up for the first time, drifting a little closer as they both turned to look at her. "Ed-" she stopped with an audible gulp, clearing her throat before she began again. "Her mate was killed by…the Cullens. She's after me for revenge. A mate for a mate."

Alex felt something dark and hot settle in her belly. "And you're still here, why?" she said, before she could stop herself.

"Alex!" Jacob said reproachfully. "Bella needs protection, it's not her fault."

Alex settled back into the sofa. "She's putting the Pack at risk by being here. Shouldn't this be a problem for the Cullens?"

Bella looked uncomfortable. "They won't respond to me…" Alex frowned. "My father's in danger. I can't- I can't lose him."

She's asking the Pack to put their lives on the line for her and her father. Technically, for the Cullens, too – because it seems that it all comes back to them. Back to them, back to Bella and her blood-sucking boyfriend. Ex-boyfriend.

Alex held her tongue, watching as Jacob visibly melted, turning to reach for the pale girl. "It'll all be okay, Bells. I promise."

"Yeah?" Bella whispered, moving unsteadily towards Jacob. "You promise?"

Jacob's reply was muffled against her hair as he embraced her tightly. A sick feeling rose in Alex's throat and she turned away from the scene, pressing play on the movie, and trying to force herself to watch.