Chapter 10

Sam:

The bed was empty when I woke up. Her scent was the only thing that confirmed she was ever here. All her things were gone and I couldn't believe that with all my supernatural senses, I hadn't even noticed when she'd snuck out of the hotel room.

I took a hot, but not hot enough, shower and got dressed in the same, smokey clothes I'd worn the night before. I did one last sweep around the room to make sure I wasn't forgetting anything, and found a white slip of paper on the carpet, next to the side of the bed she had slept on. It was a note.

My name is Bella.

That is all the note said, but it smelled like her, and it was undeniable. The script was nearly perfect, and for a moment, I marveled at how someone could have such precise handwriting. I'd known that she had given me a fake name when she said it was Marie, but I had no idea why she was telling me the truth now that she was gone.

Maybe it was because last night had been so intimate. It was an incredible night, she was an incredible lover, but that was not what made it as intimate as it was. It was stranger really, the level of connection I'd felt with a stranger, but she must not have felt the same way, because while I would be happy to continue our trist, she had left, hadn't said goodbye, and hadn't even left her phone number.

I rubbed one hand down my face and scratched at my jaw, which was covered in stubble, and took the elevator down to check out. I got a few looks from the people at the front desk who must have noticed I was leaving alone, without the woman I was with last night, and that I carried no bags. I knew exactly what it looked like, and I couldn't care less.

I continued my confident stride down the beach, lazily watching as kids played with smaller pieces of driftwood in the sand while the parents watched from their perch atop the larger pieces that had found their way back to shore.

I could smell the salt in the air and the freshness of the nearby forest. I hummed deeply in my chest, a sound no human around me could hear, and felt my inner wolf's tug towards the woods. I'd always be in the lush forests if it were up to my wolfen half.

It had been all night since I phased, so I walked across the exposed beach area to the parking lot where my truck sat, and moved discretely past the border of trees. Once I was far enough I stripped my clothes, made a neat pile of them, and tucked away any thoughts remaining about Marie.. Or rather Bella. It took me a minute because I could almost still smell her, she must have been parked in the same lot, but the smell was faded, so it had been a few hours. I didn't even know what car she drove. I wouldn't be seeing her again.

That thought made me uncomfortable. All I wanted was to check on her and make sure she was well, that I hadn't been too rough with her, and I wanted to make sure she was happy. I was almost desperate to know that I would see her smile again and watch her warm chocolate eyes light up with caramel.

Damn, I thought, I need get a hold on this, I can't phase and have the guys who were my pack see my heart throbbing after some lay. It felt wrong to think that, what we had last night was some how much more that what it was. A one night stand is all it was. I tried to convince myself. I sounded like a pansy. With that, I successfully stored those thoughts for when I was alone again, and watched my human feet turn and my hands fell to the ground, now in the shape of paws as well.

Heya boss. Embry's voice pointed at me, from whatever he had been thinking before.

I assume patrol has been fine? Wanted to check-in. I said through our mind link.

` Yup. Nothin' new here. He responded back, then added, "Jake ran home last night, why didn't you drive him back?"

I had an errand to run up here. I lied, but then had to phase back before the flood of intimate images filled my thoughts.

I got dressed and headed back to the lot so I could make my way back to La Push. I pushed the truck as hard as it could go, the peddle was to the floor and the greenery around me blurred past. I was in a hurry, I felt the pull to be home with my pack.

When I finally felt my feet hit the ground, I sighed with relief, feeling my animal instincts needing to feel the raw earth beneath me. I took in a deep breath and the smell of fresh blueberry muffins in the air, wafting above even the smell of dirt from the forest and salt from the sea. My stomach rumbled in response and I smiled, practically salivating for the food on the other side of my own front door.

Emily in my kitchen, standing on tiptoes and reaching for yet another baking sheet was the sight that greeted me. I stepped behind her, placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, then reached for the pan that had been such a challenge for her, but was easily within my grasp. She smiled as I handed it to her and it pulled one in return from me.

She handed me a mug of steaming hot coffee as I stepped away from her, allowing her space to work. Emily hugged me quickly then said "Let's talk." We sat across from each other at the dining table that belonged just to the side of my small kitchen.

At first she was quiet, and I didn't offer up any explanations, I only traced my long fingers along the grain variants in the dark wood. I knew why she wanted to talk, and I wasn't sure what I could say.

"You went to bed with someone, didn't you?" She accused. It wasn't a question. It was a statement. Somehow the way she'd said it, her face scrunched up unpleasantly, cheapened what had transpired last night. I couldn't say anything, because I knew exactly what she was going to say next. "You could really hurt someone you know. I know you, you don't do one night stands, you date. That's who you are. And knowing that, that's how I know someone will get hurt when you imprint. Whatever this thing is between you, and this stranger, you need to end it Sam." She told me all in one go.

"Em. Honestly, it's not what you think it was." I said, she looked at me skeptically but urged me to explain myself. "I met someone. I was so fucking drawn to her, Em. Literally everything about her called to me, her smell, her eyes, her voice, everything. I acted on it. I just wanted to know her, spend some time with her. She initiated everything else."

After a moment of silence with Emily still frowning I told her everything else that had been on my mind. "I know I should have stopped things there, for her own sake, but she seemed like this was a one night thing and I couldn't stop myself. It was some sort of need. I don't understand it, but you know me. I'm not that guy… Hell, I haven't gotten laid in longer than I'd like to admit, but that's because you're right, I'm not the one night stand man usually."

Emily let out a sigh and said, "I get it. Sort of. Did you imprint on her?" When I shook my head no, she finished, "I don't know then, but you still need to make sure she isn't expecting anything more."

I frowned, more upset than was fair, and told her, "She was gone when I woke up, she didn't leave a number or anything, so I won't have to do anything."

We sat in silence for awhile more, but my mind was anywhere but in this room. Emily and I were best friends. It was a bit of an unlikely friendship that had developed after most of the pack had phased. There were rumors spreading like wildfire that we were together back then, much to Leah's discomfort. Emily and Leah were cousins, so when the news of our alleged romance got out, Leah was really hurt. It had never been that way between us though. We were friends, and I trusted her with damn near everything. Leah still wouldn't talk to me much, she couldn't understand why I would date her cousin, even if she'd ended things with me, it was never a problematic ending.

Paul walked in, bare chested as was our uniform as wolves. Everyone used my house as a gathering place, no matter if I was home or not. He walked right up behind Emily and gave her kisses across her cheek and to her lips. She hummed happily and when he pulled away, he gently lifted her, sat down, and placed her on top of his lap. He asked what was going on once his mouth was already stuffed half full of blueberry muffin. Emily just giggled at him, pleased, but didn't really give him any answers, that was up to me.

"What? You moving in on my girl Sir Alpha?" Paul joked. I just laughed and pointed at the woman who was eyeing him adoringly and told him that even if I wanted to, there was no way she'd go for it. I was jealous. Not of Paul and Emily specifically, just the imprinted couples. They had someone. It was a forever deal, and whether they welcomed the imprint with open arms, the way Jake had when he'd seen Angela for the first time, or if, like Paul and Emily, there was some struggle and resistance, it became the most loyal and exciting partnership out there. But here I was, twenty-seven, the oldest member of the pack, too afraid to have a girlfriend who is not my imprint for the fear of hurting someone, yet no imprint or solid guarantee that I would ever imprint.

This is all why Emily was so upset with me before, of course. She was adamant that all of us would imprint, she doesn't think it's as rare for the wolves as the legends make it seem. I'd have to agree to some extent, the legends have been wrong about a lot so far.

As for Emily and Paul, well they had a rocky start. Paul was a real ladies man, hooked up with just about any woman he could, but he met a sweet girl named Cass… and some bitch named Lauren. He and Cass were doing a whole "friends with benefits" thing and Cass thought it was "Just them" but everytime Lauren was home from college, they'd get together. Eventually Cass found out about Lauren and was obviously upset by it. Paul should have stopped it there, but he did genuinely like spending time with the girl, so he just dropped Lauren and they worked it out. It wasn't even a month later when he met Emily… Cass had convinced herself that if Paul gave the other girl up, maybe they would be together as more than friends. Needless to say, Cass and Em both found out, and neither one was happy. Paul hadn't slept with Emily at that point but he had explained the pack and imprinting to her. We haven't heard from Cass since, and Emily wouldn't talk to Paul at all, which nearly killed them both. They then decided on becoming friends first. Paul stayed on the straight and narrow, and they fell in love. And now, some years later, they are right across from me and have forgotten my presence entirely. Everytime I think of dating someone, not that that is a frequent occurrence, Em reminds me of their story.

My house got noisey after that and my thoughts were pushed to the side as we were joined by the rest of the current wolves. Jake, his girl Angela, Embry, Quil, Jared, his girl Kim, and Seth. My tiny house was now filled with large, swarming bodies, and the comparatively tiny girls. The muffins were gone quickly, I realized I hadn't gotten one, but such was the life of Alpha. I needed to make sure my pack had full bellies before it was my turn to indulge.

Someone turned on the tv and started playing on the xbox that was in my living room. It wasn't mine, I'm not one much for video games, but one of the guys, Quil I think, had brought it over, and they all had a blast with it. After a bit Jake and Ange came to sit at the table with Emily, Paul, and I while it was Jared, Seth, and Quil battling it out while Embry and Kim watched, waiting for their turns.

"What happened to you last night, man?" Jacob asked. "You just disappeared. I had to run home last night. Thought I would be spotted for sure."

"You dirty dog, you got some tail didn't you!" Paul laughed. Emily gave him a playful smack upside the head and he pouted as if it had really hurt. Without my say-so I released a deep growl. Bella wasn't some tail, even if I didn't understand why my wolf wasn't going to let it fly.

All the ears in the room perked up and all the heads turned to face me. None of the pack, including the imprints, were comfortable when the Alpha was angry. Paul put his hands up in front of him in an "I'm sorry" gesture. I didn't intend to get so upset with him, but it did effectively end that conversation.

"So as was expected, Bella did not take the news of Jake and I together very well." Angela was the first to speak up, talking to Emily more than anyone else. Kim got up from where she was sitting by Jared and joined us, excited for some gossip I'm sure. "She left the group, I we didn't see her the rest of the night, and I left her a voicemail this morning, but she hasn't called back."

In the background all I could hear was Emily trying to reassure her that Bella would talk to her again, and Paul and Kim assuring her that it was a good thing if Bella didn't talk to her again. I couldn't say a word though. My mind was spinning. It was incredibly possible that the Bella I'd shared coital bliss with was the same Bella they were talking about. Bella Swan: Runs with Vampires, was flashing like a bright red sign in my head. As a man, I was frowning, concerned, as a wolf, I was near giddy with the thought of seeing her again.

Author's note:

This one might seem a little bit filler-y but, I promise, it was necessary :) As always, reviews are appreciated, especially if you have some constructive criticism!

I wanted to take a moment here to thank every person who has left a review or has clicked those 'favorite' or 'follow' buttons, the encouragement I get from that is insane! I hope you guys like the story and the direction that it is going as much as I like writing it!