Chapter 28

Bella POV

Sam ushered me outside onto his front deck. I could feel the eyes of his pack watching us as we went. My heart was pounding and my face heated up in frustration. When Jake had said the word imprint things changed quickly. First of all, what the heck is an imprint, and second of all, why did that word cause Sam to immediately look at me and then start acting off. It was like Jake had let some secret slip, everyone in the room had gone silent. I knew about him shape shifting into a giant wolf to protect his tribe from evil vampires, so what secret would he possibly need to hide from me still?

It was quiet between us and I could hear the quiet patter of a light rain in the woods around us. Sam sat down on the front step that was still covered by the roof of his home. He tried to pull me to sit in his lap, but I wasn't having it. I brushed his large hands away from my hips and stepped down to the final stair where I could look at him face to face. I was standing directly in the rain and my hair and clothes started to get wet immediately. If he was keeping shit from me already, then maybe I'd prefer to stand in the rain than be in his lap where it was dry.

The thought pained me and as soon as I looked him in the eye I felt horrible for even thinking that of him. His warm, carmel brown eyes were swimming with worry and compassion. Honestly he looked a little bit like a kicked puppy at the small rejection. I couldn't stand it, so I reached out, resting my hands on either of his muscular shoulders.

"Sam, it's not the end of the world. Just tell me what an imprint is, because I am a little nervous now." I sighed.

His hand floated up to wrap around my waist and he pulled me a little bit closer to him again. He rested his head on my stomach and remained quiet for a little while longer. I tried to wait patiently but I was getting antsy.

"I really wasn't trying to hide anything from you, Bella, I swear. We just made things more official and I haven't found the right time or the right words to tell you about imprinting. It got brought up tonight, which I really should have expected and that was unfair to you." He started just as I was about to blurt something out. "The first thing I want you to know, is that it is believed to be very rare. I won't lie to you, I don't think it's as rare as our legends suggest but anyways… It's when a wolf sees someone and suddenly she is all that matters to him. She's the most important person in the world to him."

"Or her!" A stunning, native woman with legs that went on for days interrupted. She walked the rest of the way up the drive and introduced herself. "You must be Bella. I'm Leah, the newest, most female-est wolf in the pack. It's nice to finally meet you!"

I gave her a small, forced smile and waved a little. She seemed nice, but my earlier good mood had shifted quite a bit.

"Anyways, I can see that I am interrupting something, so I'm gonna head in." She walked the way up the rest of the stairs, but turned around before opening the door. "If you want some advice from the Ex though, Bella… Sam is a horrible communicator. But he's a good man, take it easy on him, ok?" She was gone through the otherside of the door before I could say a word.

My face burned red with a lot of surprise and a little bit of jealousy. Sam's ex-girlfriend was in the pack? The pack that frolicked through the woods naked on a regular basis and could communicate telepathically…

"Ok, before you say anything about that, let me just say that Leah and I dated in high school. We broke up, she went away to college, and until she phased, we had hardly even seen each other in the last nine years." He explained himself, even though I wasn't actually entitled to one. I didn't know what was going on with me. It wasn't like me to get jealous this way.

"As I was saying though, before Leah came up, imprinting is an immediate and compulsive dedication between a wolf and his life-mate." He finished and gave me a minute to wrap my head around what he'd told me.

"So Kim and Angela… and I guess Emily too?" I trailed off and Sam nodded his head, yes. I took a deep breath as my throat felt constricted and my heart dropped into my stomach… "and me?" Sam solemnly shook his head, no.

My head was spinning. To be an imprint seemed like an awful lot to ask for, but it would have explained the immediate feelings I had for Sam. I had a lot to think about, a lot of questions for him, but before I could say anything a little slip of a girl ran up and jumped into Sam's arms, squealing.

"He proposed Sam! He proposed, he proposed, he proposed!" She said excitedly.

"Why don't you go in and tell everyone else the good news too!" Sam said, trying to hide the upset from our conversation in order to congratulate his friend.

I was assuming that this was Emily. I turned to look and saw a man standing back a bit. He looked just like a wolf. He was tall with broad shoulders, cropped black hair, russet skin, and piercing dark green eyes. He was glaring at me so intensely I thought I would spontaneously catch on fire. That must be Paul.

"What the fuck is the leech lover doing here?" Paul spat out as soon as Emily had gone into the house to share the exciting news.

"I was on my way out anyways, asshole." I grumbled as Sam let out a warning growl in Paul's direction. He looked pissed. This was all just too much for one day.

Sam's eyes swung back to me when he realized what I'd just said. His warm eyes were distraught again and I wanted to comfort him, but I had too much I needed to think about.

"We will talk. I promise." I whispered and stood on my tiptoes to gently place a kiss on his jaw. It was meant to reassure him, but I couldn't bring myself to look to see if it had. I needed to get out of there.

I brushed past Paul, who was still sneering at me, and hopped up in my truck. It was time to go home and think. Maybe I would draw a bath, I thought as a headache started to form from all the events that had taken place that day.

The drive home was quick. Sam and I lived pretty close to each other even though my cottage home was technically just outside of the La Push reservation. Once I'd gotten inside I put a pot of coffee on, knowing that it was going to be a long night.

I went to the bathroom and drew a bath for myself. As it filled I backtracked to get my cup of coffee. I was glad for the sound of water filling the tub because my home was eerily quiet compared to Sam's which had been filled with laughter, and wolves and friends.

I frowned, saddened by the stillness of my new home. I lit a candle next to the tub and stripped, letting my clothes fall in a pile on the floor. I looked in the mirror for a moment and saw all of Sam's marks on my body. I swelled with a little bit of pride at being 'his' in some way. But then I let myself cry because I wasn't really meant to be his. Imprinting didn't seem as rare to me as they thought.

I stepped into the hot water and sunk down low, letting it engulf me completely up to my head, then turned the water off. I cracked the frosted window next to the bath just enough so that I could hear the soft rain when I turned off the running water.

I knew that I wanted to be with Sam for however long I had him. But I was terrified of when he would imprint and suddenly I wouldn't matter. I could tell it wasn't something the wolves could really fight, and why would they want to? I'd watched Jared, Kim, Jake, and Angela interact with each other all night and they had literally been two halves of a whole.

A lot of thoughts were running through my head, some were hopeful. Like, maybe he won't imprint and somehow he will be just as happy with me as he would have been with an imprint. Some of them were much less hopeful. I imagined us years down the road, married, I was pregnant, and he up and left because he'd been hired on a contracting job for a woman who just so happened to be his imprint, and suddenly our life together, our child, and I, we didn't matter to him at all. I shook my head from that train of thought, that was far off into the future, if ever.

Before I knew it the exhaustion of the day had finally taken over me, and I fell asleep in the tub. At first I got some much needed rest, but then I was thrown back into my abyss-like dream world.

I was stuck in the abyss again. The tall, copper wolf walked towards me out of the darkness. This time, unlike any other time, he changed into his human form. He was fully clothed unlike the wolves in the real world, but his clothes seemed to be from a different time. His dark green eyes were the same though.

"I've come to you as a human because I can tell that you need a break from the supernatural, young one." He said in a rough, but friendly voice that made him seem older than he looked. "Unfortunately, you have a long road ahead of you and you will not have the break you desire."

"It is important that you listen to me, and that you do not stay away from your alpha wolf for too long." I simply nodded, unsure of what to say. "I do not have much time. In fact, there is no time to show you as I have done before."

"What is it?" I asked when his head swiveled around to look behind him and a growl ripped out of his throat. The icy coldness came alive again and was spreading across my body.

"Go. Danger is closer than you realize, young one." He told me, urgently, pushing me away.

"Bella?" Rosalie was shaking my shoulders and I jolted awake. I was freezing cold. There was a breeze coming in from the cracked window, the water had gone cold, and Rose's hands were freezing to the touch.

"God, are you ok?" She asked me, seeming a little breathless, which was odd for a vampire. I could only nod, as my teeth were chattering too hard for me to actually speak.

She helped me out of the tub and I wrapped myself up in a warm towel as she drained the water and locked the window shut. Once that was done, she turned to me and looked at me with a dead serious expression.

"You need to call your wolf. Now." She commanded. I could feel my eyes widen, what had happened? "I've already called Emmett and Jasper, so go get dressed, then we will talk." I simply nodded again, and did as she said.

I quickly typed a text out and sent it to Sam.

Pls come over. - B

On my way. - S

I quickly got dressed in some plain black leggings and an oversized t-shirt. I threw my hair up into a messy bun and went back to the bathroom to wash my face. I looked in the mirror and saw all the hickies and little nip marks from Sam and it made me smile softly, despite everything that was going on.

After washing my face in an attempt to wash the stress away, I walked out to my living room where Rose, Emmett, and Jasper were all waiting for me. Emmett jumped up and had me in his arms, quick.

"I am so glad that you're okay, Belly Bean!" He exclaimed. I looked back at the other two vampires in the room in confusion and the only response I got was Jasper nodding his agreement with Emmett.

"Ok. What the hell is going on here?" I asked once Emmett had set me down.

Sam came barreling through the front door, shirtless, his form shimmering, and eyes wild, with his nostrils flared in anger. His expression could only be described as lethal. Jasper focused on him for a moment and I could visibly see Sam be calmed down by him. His eyes darted to the vampire manipulating his emotions, but he didn't say anything about it, merely nodded in his direction.

"Edward has been here." Rosalie finally said. "And he's not the only one. Victoria was here with him."

I felt the blood drain from my face and a ringing in my ears started. I could vaguely hear Sam angrily asking them questions, but he sounded so far away at that moment. I fell to sit on the couch I'd luckily been standing next to and put my head in my hands. I was dizzy and overwhelmed until Sam sat one one side of me, and Jasper sat on the other side, immediately calming me with his ability.

"Victoria was James's mate." I mumbled as soon as I had calmed down enough to do so. I looked up at Sam to tell him the whole story. "James hunted me and nearly killed me. But the Cullens got there in time and killed him before he could finish the job. I was turning into a cold one, but then Edward saved me by sucking the venom out of my system." Sam was letting out quiet, steady growls at my words.

It suddenly hit me like a truck and I swiveled to look at the vampires on the other side of me. "Edward left some venom in me, didn't he? That's why I've been so sick and so… so cold lately. Since… since I left him." I knew I looked horrified because their expressions matched my own. "It's not as bad when I'm around you guys because you have venom too...it affects me like some sort of drug. And Sam…" I turned back to look at him, "Sam is the antidote… since you're the natural enemy of vampires."

I felt like I had solved some sort of puzzle, but also like I was still in grave danger, because I was! Victoria had the ability of evasion… Edward must be using it… but why would they be working together? She must hate Edward too for what he did to James.

"I was wondering that myself." I didn't realize I had been talking out loud until Jasper answered back. "What's weird though..." he trailed off as he stood and paced around the room, touching different things as he went. "Is that I can't seem to figure out what she was feeling. I can feel residual emotions from people as long as it hasn't been too long since they were there."

"Based on scent, it hasn't been any more than an hour." Sam stated in his deep baritone. His hand gripped mine and it lowered my anxiety some, bringing me back to earth.

"Exactly! So I should be able to tell what she was feeling!" Jasper ran his hands through his curly hair in exasperation.

"What about Edward? Can you tell what he was feeling?" I asked, not sure that I really wanted to know the answer.

"Oh yeah. I know exactly what Eddie boy was feeling." Jasper said with disdain.

"Oh my god, what the fuck!?" Rosalie hissed through clenched teeth. She squeezed Emmett's shoulder a little too tightly in her anger.

"Ow! Babe, come on, that hurt." He said, lifting her hand to kiss it in the hope of soothing her some, then asked "What was Dickward feeling?"

"A whole lot of rage." Jasper answered, then looked at me with pity in his eyes, "and even more lust." He finished, disgusted. Sam snarled, and his eyes glowed golden, his wolf had come out.

"I… excuse me." I was dizzy again and the need to flee hit me full force. I got up and ran into the bathroom. I heaved into the toilet, retching, and releasing the contents of my stomach.

When I was done I sat back on my heels and something shiny caught my eye from the clothes I was wearing before my bath laying on the floor. Sitting right inside of my black, lacy panties were the pair of silver earbuds that I had been looking for for weeks. I had given up on them, assuming that they had gotten lost in the multiple moves. I reached for them and felt the smooth surface of paper inside of the panties too. I pulled it out and it was a small envelope labeled with my name.

How dare you let the mutt defile you so? You are mine Isabella, no one else can have you.

Love Forever, Edward.

P.S. your earbuds are not the only thing I have taken from you, I am willing to take everything necessary to make you see the truth.

Immediately I felt the need to vomit again. I did just that, and Sam opened the door and came in to hold my hair back for me this time.

"Mate, tell me what's wrong." He demanded with his alpha timbre in his voice. I looked up at him for a second to see that his eyes were still glowing their golden hue. His wolf was still in control which explained the change in his voice and his calling me 'mate'.

I had to empty my stomach again so I turned back to the toilet and pointed to the note, that I had instinctually flung away from me after having read it.

Sam picked it up and read it silently. Jasper, Rose, and Emmett came into the small bathroom and Sam's wolf did not like it one bit.

"Leave us. NOW." He commanded with a possessive growl that erupted from his chest.

"Time to go, he's more animal than man right now. My empathic abilities can't reach him." Jasper told them, then quickly pushed them to exit. He stepped backwards, the soldier in him unwilling to turn his back to Sam in his current state.

"Bella, we will come back soon. Call us when we're allowed back, ok?" Jasper told me as he continued to walk backwards out of the room.

"My. Mate." Sam snarled at him. Jasper raised his hands up in surrender, then made quick work of closing the door and was gone before I knew it.

I looked up at Sam whose wolf was looking at me with worry and need. He picked me up and helped me to stand. He helped me brush my teeth, never taking his hands off me. I could tell that his wolf needed to be touching me, needed to know that I was safe with him.

He cradled me as he carried me to the bedroom and laid me down on the plush bed. He stripped and exposed his perfect body to me, he undressed me and I submitted to him. Tonight was about the comfort that we both needed.

Author's Note:

Woah. A whole lot of plot, right? It was going to all come up eventually, so just like life really does, it hits all at once. Poor Bella.

What do you guys think? Some of you guessed the venom being an issue, but there's more to it than there seems to be. ?

I really struggled to write this one because I was so sad about everything happening to Bella and Sam. I told the first half of this to my fiance and asked him for help. He's definitely not a writer and he has very little interest in Twilight, but I thought it was silly and cute so I wanted to share with you what he wrote!

Bella POV:

When you're out and about

Outside the house

But then you see a Paul (and he says)
"We're gettin' married next fall!"

Now I'm uncomfortable

He's uncomfortable

We're both uncomfortable

So I'm like "sorry guys, gotta leave"

I gotta go alone, then fall asleep.

And finally, as per usual as of late, a HUGE thank you to MacabreMystic for proofing my story and keeping me (mostly) focused on my writing haha

Happy reading!

-Dahlia-