PREVIOUSLY-

"Hey Sam, is it alright if I chill here until the pack meeting?" Seth asked him, holding a small bag of chips.

"You know you're always welcome here." Sam replied.

Seth smiled brightly and looked over at me. As soon as his eyes met mine, his jaw went slack and his eyes widened. The bag of chips fell to the floor and the entire room went silent.

"Whoa." Seth spoke after a few moments. "That was a rush."

A rush was right. For the third time in two days, my life path was altered once more. There was no way it was another imprint, right? It didn't feel like when Sam imprinted on me. I didn't feel any sort of romantic feelings toward Seth, but I could feel an undeniable connection to him now. I looked at Sam who was looking between me and Seth.

"Sam, what just happened?" I asked him worriedly.

"Uh, yeah, Sam. What the heck?" Seth responded after me, looking at his alpha for an explanation. I could tell he was worried already.

"Show me what happened." Sam ordered Seth, standing up to walk outside with Seth following behind nervously.

I sat there as I knew they had phased. I worried about what had happened as well. I was so confused. It truly didn't feel anything like what I had with Sam, so surely that meant it wasn't another imprint. Right? And if it was…

It was only about a few minutes before they both came inside looking massively relieved. I wanted to know why.

"Can one of you please explain?" I nearly begged, worried out of my mind.

"Seth imprinted on you, Bella, just apparently not the same way as me." Sam told me as he sat back down at my side, leaning in to kiss my cheek.

I looked over at Seth who was smiling nervously at me. "I think I might need a little more explanation. How is it different? How is this even possible?" I questioned.

"So, it was definitely an imprint. I felt the whole 'world shifting' thing but it's not nearly as strong as Sam's imprint. Don't get me wrong, it's still strong, like really strong, it's just not a soulmate type of bond like you have with him. It's hard to explain but I just know I have to keep you safe at all costs. There's nothing, uh, romantic about it? You're definitely the most important person in the world to me like an imprint is, but it's like I know I could have a girlfriend too if I wanted. I guess it's more like a family sort of imprint but a little more?" Seth replied, definitely sounding nervous.

I took a minute to think about what he'd just told me. I could feel in my very bones that it was the truth. He was important to me. More so than a normal family member, but less so than Sam. Sam was my life, my heart and soul. Seth was my safety net, my protector.

I looked back at Sam who was now playing with my hair. "How is this possible?"

"I don't know, honey. Just like we don't know how I imprinted on you so late in the game. I'm thinking it has something to do with the Cullens and the hold they had over you. Maybe the spirits figured you were too danger prone to only have one imprint. I'm the alpha of the pack, maybe Seth is meant to protect you when I'm not there to? He kept you safe on that mountain with the redhead. He killed that other vampire to save you. He was protecting you even then before the imprint happened." Sam told me.

He was right, Seth did protect me. "And you're okay with everything?" I questioned him.

"Now that I've seen how it is for him in his head, I'm fine with it. Relieved, even. I won't lie, you are probably the most accident and danger prone person that I've ever met, Bella. I won't always be here with you because I have responsibilities to the pack as alpha which means I'm usually phased more than anyone else. So now that I know there's another member of the pack who is just as invested in your safety as I am, I won't have to worry quite as much. My wolf recognizes his imprint on you, just like his recognizes mine." Sam replied.

I could tell that he was telling the truth. I was relieved that it would take away some of his worry while he had the rest of the pack to think about and also that his wolf was okay with everything.

"Does this mean that I get to be best man at your wedding?" Seth asked Sam excitedly making me giggle.

"We'll see, pup." Sam told him with a chuckle, lifting his legs up to put on the coffee table.

"And here I was thinking you were going to be my maid of honor…" I fake pouted at Seth.

"I don't know about maid… but I'd definitely be your man of honor if you want me to." He replied with enthusiasm as he stood there, unsure of if he should sit or stand. I smiled sweetly at him knowing that he really would be if I asked him to.

"Come here and sit, Seth. I promise I won't bite." I told him, patting the other spot next to me.

Sam leaned in to whisper in my ear, "I might." I felt shivers run down my mind at his implications, knowing they were definitely not in any way related to Seth.

"Come on guys, really?" Seth whined as he sat down next to me.

"Better get used to it, kid. Especially if you're going to be around a lot more often." Sam chuckled.

Seth huffed. "Hey, I'm not a kid!"

"Considering I'm 20 and you only just turned 16, I think I have the right to call you 'kid'." Sam responded making me giggle.

"A 16-year-old that just imprinted on your imprint. I think that gives me some type of leniency on the whole 'kid' name, don't you?" He retorted.

"Touché. 'Pup' it is." Sam laughed while Seth groaned.

The three of us sat there in a peaceful type of silence just watching the TV until the rest of the pack showed up. I noticed that Seth had sat unusually close to me, close enough for his thigh to be touching mine, and I knew it was because of his new imprint on me. All of the wolves needed to be close to their imprints and I assumed that it was the same for Seth even though his imprint was different.

A/N- So protector/family imprint it is!

I wanted to let you guys know that I will be posting a spin-off story that starts from the very end of the last chapter in which Seth's imprint is not a protector/family imprint, but a full soulmate-type imprint. I will continue to write this story as is (Sam/Bella exclusively) and the other will break off completely as Sam/Bella/Seth. WeasleyTwins07 and I had talked about the idea of a Sam/Bella/Seth story as I was beginning this one but I know that a great majority of my readers have been wanting a Sam/Bella story. If you're interested in reading the spin-off (which will start off in Seth's POV) I will start posting it soon under the name of Anomaly. It will have had the exact same beginning (which wont be posted) and start just before Seth imprints.

Would any of you be willing to read that?

I do hope that you enjoy the path that this story is taking and please review.