PREVIOUSLY-
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.
Soon enough the rest of the pack along with Rachel and Kim started filtering in through doorway and Sam motioned for all of them to come and sit. The couch and chairs filled up pretty quickly which left Jake and Quil pulling up chairs from the kitchen table.
"Why does Seth get the couch and we have to pull up chairs?" Quil whined as he dragged the chair across the floor.
"Because Seth needs to be close to Bella." Sam replied from beside me. I think all of their eyebrows rose in confusion.
"Uh, Sam, I think we might need some clarification on that." Jared asked as Kim sat in his lap.
"I imprinted on Bella." Seth replied nervously from the other side of me. Their eyes widened as they looked back and forth between the three of us.
"Dude, what the fuck?" Paul said first.
"How is that even possible?" Jake asked quickly.
"Are you sure it's an imprint?" Jared questioned.
"Guys come on, why don't you let us explain before you all go crazy on the questions." Sam quieted them. "Yes, it's a real imprint. No, it's not like my imprint. We didn't know it was possible until it happened, but I've seen it in Seth's mind. He's not lying."
"What do you mean by it's not like your imprint?" Jake asked Sam curiously.
"His imprint is one of protection, a familial bond, nothing more. He's only meant to be Bella's protector whereas she's my mate." Sam explained to them.
"How even did the both of you imprint on her now? The two of you have definitely looked her in the eye countless times since you've been phased. What was the delay?" Jared spoke directly to Sam.
"We think it was something to do with Cullen. It's like he had this hold over her, some type of supernatural Stockholm syndrome or something almost like a drug. It's why she had such a rough time when they all just up and left. She was having withdrawals. She finally got away on her own long enough for me to imprint on her which I guess somehow must've severed whatever it was. It was probably the same for Seth. He was protecting her up on that mountain before he even imprinted on her. It was always meant to happen, it just couldn't until now." Sam laid it all out for them.
They all seemed to be processing things and Jake spoke up first.
"Had he already imprinted on Bella when I talked to you guys earlier?" He sounded hurt, like we didn't tell him. I chose to respond.
"No, Jake. It only happened about an hour ago, not long after you left. We would've told you if it had happened before we talked."
"We can talk more about our imprints later. Right now we need to focus on the newest developments. Obviously, Edward Cullen isn't happy right now. Neither is his sister Alice, the short pixie-looking one. We need to add Charlie's place and the Fork's police department into our patrol circuits." Sam went into alpha mode.
"But isn't Forks under their territory?" Quil asked.
"Bella is an imprint now, a double imprint, her father is under our protection no matter what jurisdiction he lives in. It wouldn't be breaking the treaty. He's considered tribe and we protect the tribe whether he lives in La Push or not." Sam responded.
"You got it, boss." Paul said as he ran his hands through Rachel's hair while she sat in between his legs on the ground.
"Paul, Jared, I need you to tail us while we drive up to Port A tomorrow. Rachel and Kim, would you like to come with us to get Bella some new clothes?" Sam asked them.
"For sure. Count us in. I'm always down for clothes shopping." Kim replied excitedly.
"I'm coming too." Seth said from my side, looking over at Sam.
"I figured you would. Do you want to run with Jared and Paul or ride with us?" Sam responded to Seth.
"I can run, that way the three of us can cover a bigger area. You'll be with Bella, so I'll be able to focus on making sure the surrounding areas are clear. If something comes up, Paul and Jared can stay phased in while I come warn you." Seth replied. I had to admit that it was a good strategic plan.
"Sounds good. Jake and Embry, I need you to go to Charlie's and grab whatever Bella says she wants brought down here while we're in Port A, then patrol with Quil around the res. Charlie knows about us now so I'll give him a heads up that you two will be coming to get some of Bella's things."
The pack meeting went on for a little while longer while they talked about patrol schedules but we didn't raise the concern about the Volturi just yet and I was relieved about that.
After they were finished, to my surprise, Paul walked up to me.
"Sorry Swan. I know I've been an ass but you already know I don't like those damn leeches. They're way too close for comfort anyways and I just couldn't see how a human could be so close to them. If I'd known that fucking corpse was practically holding you hostage, I'd have torn right through the piece of shit a long time ago. You're pack now which means you're sacred ground. No leech is going to fucking touch you again." Paul told me. My eyes widened with surprise and I realized Sam had been right. He was very loyal to the pack and the tribe.
"Thanks, Paul. That means a lot." I told him truthfully.
"Welcome to the pack, Bella." Jared told me next.
I was so happy that they were all so accepting of me. I had worried about it all for nothing. I spent the next 30 minutes talking with Rachel and Kim about what it was like to be an imprint.
They gave me some great advice as well as telling me some things that made me blush deeply… about how incredible sex was with your imprint. I knew Sam could hear them because he looked at me and winked after they told me. I looked over at Seth who had gone pink in the face and was running his hand over his eyes making me giggle.
After a little while everyone left except Sam and Seth.
"I think that went well." I told the both of them with a smile.
"It did, honey." Sam said, leaning down to kiss me while Seth turned around, bouncing on his toes. "I need to go patrol. Seth, do you want to stay here with Bella while I—"
"Yes." Seth cut him off mid-sentence.
"Alright then, I'll be back at 11 if everything is clear. You keep my girl safe." Sam told Seth pointedly.
"It's what I was born to do." Seth replied with an honest cheerfulness to his voice.
Sam kissed me again and took off out the door. Seth and I hung out, ate dinner, and watched movies while Sam was gone. I must've fallen asleep because I woke up as I was being carried to the bed.
"Sam?" I asked, not being able to see in the dark.
"Go back to sleep, honey." He whispered to me sweetly as he laid me in the bed.
"Where's Seth?" I questioned with a yawn.
"Asleep on the couch. I'm going to let him stay for the night." Sam replied, kissing my forehead. I nodded and mumbled something before I felt my eyes closing again.
A/N- So the pack meeting went well!
If you're interested, I have officially posted my spin-off for this story (in which Seth's imprint is a full imprint instead of a protector) called Anomaly.
Don't forget to review!