Chapter 32

"Looks like someone is hitting it off." Leah came up to the group, and I realized what had been distracting the other girls. Embry was leaning over the counter, hitting up Amanda. He was looking at her like she was his whole world, even though as far as I knew, he'd never met her before now. That's when it hit me, Embry had imprinted.

Bella POV:

Embry and Amanda were completely lost in each other. It was lucky for them that, other than us, the bookstore was totally empty. Currently, they looked like they were chatting up a storm like old friends would. It was always odd, watching imprinted couples, they acted and even moved differently, they were just more in tune with each other than other couples. Other couples… as wrong as it felt, Sam and I were part of that demographic.

"Whelp. Another one bites the dust." Leah said, chuckling a little. She, and the rest of us who had not just imprinted left the store, and decided that it was the perfect time to head to the mall.

"Alright! So it's time to make a game plan! What is everyone looking for today?" Kim asked the group. I was afraid of how excited she was for this. She must have noticed the incredulous looks she got from a couple of us, because then she added, "What? I want to get everything done in one go, it's not like we get to do this very often."

"Yeah, that's true, the guys never give us enough girl time." Emily pointed out.

They had a point. Even if there wasn't a mad vampire on the loose, I couldn't really imagine any of the imprinted wolves being comfortable with their mates being so far away from them very often. Especially so if there wasn't the diligent protection of at least one wolf. It was also easy to see that Leah wasn't real keen on coming out to the mall all the time to babysit either.

"Well I'm looking for pretty much everything to be honest. I didn't bring much with me when I moved back to Forks. I also dread going to the mall most of the time, so this trip is definitely overdue." I admitted.

"You and me both, sister." Leah groaned.

"I don't know about you all, but I definitely need some new lingerie. Paul has all but destroyed everything I own." Emily announced. We all giggled and agreed that we would want to stop at that store too.

My mind drifted off to all of the soft fabrics and what it would be like to wear them for Sam. I was a virgin before him with extremely limited sexual experiences at all and with that being so, I didn't really own anything too sexy yet. I was lost in thoughts of lavish lace and sleek leather and I realized that I was actually looking forward to this mall trip.

"A new date night outfit is at the top of my list." Angela shared. "I know Jake doesn't care what I wear, but I need to mix things up every once in awhile or he may get bored and find a new girlfriend." She joked, knowing full well that there was no way for that to happen. She was Jake's imprint, she just couldn't say that with Jess tagging along, and there were no do-overs on that one. Not that anyone would want a do-over anyways.

"Oh, hush. You would look amazing in a burlap sack for a dress. Better yet, you could wear nothing but turtlenecks and a skirt down to your ankles and Jake would think that it was the most sexy and exciting outfit ever." Kim laughed. The rest of us couldn't help but laugh along with her. We all had seen the two of them together, Jake truly noticed no other women at all.

When we parked and everyone piled out of the large van, people turned to stare at us. It was odd, being with Sam, I had gotten used to the attention of women on us at pretty much all times when we were in public. In fact, all of the guys were very attractive, but this was the first time I really realized that Leah, the imprints, Jess, and I were an attractive bunch too. We garnered jealousy from the women and attention from the men around us. I held my head up a little higher with the confidence it gave me, even if it was still a little weird having so many eyes on us.

"Alright. Leah, Bella, you guys have the longest list of 'needs,' where do you want to start?" Kim asked us as we all walked in through the automatic slider doors, and into the bustling mall.

Leah and I both just sort of looked at eachother then shrugged. We both laughed and Kim rolled her eyes, called us hopeless, then drug us towards a store that carried mostly jeans.

We all sort of split up and looked around the store. We decided to meet back up at the fitting rooms when we were ready with our selections, that way we would all be able to offer up opinions and suggestions to each other. It wasn't a purposeful separation, but Leah, Kim, and I naturally gravitated towards each other and Emily, Ange, and Jess stuck together.

"Why can't I seem to find anything long enough for my legs?" Leah grumbled, holding up some rather frilly looking pants that would have cut off like capris on her.

"That'd be because you followed Bella and I into the petite section." Kim laughed lightly at her expense. "Angela needs talls too, so maybe there's some over where she's looking." Leah called over to Angela and other customers in the store turned to look at them. Angela blushed at the attention.

"I need some pants that aren't fucking petite." Leah's voice really seemed to carry, and she had little to no filter. Kim and I both put our heads in our hand, cracking up at her rough demeanor, and the look on the other customers' faces.

After a little more browsing we all met by the fitting rooms as we had planned. There were not enough rooms for us all to have one individually, so we partnered up. Leah and I, the two most fashionably inept of the girls, ended up together for whatever reason.

"At least you have a style." Leah mused, looking at my outfit up and down. "I mean look at you, you're fucking adorable. I wouldn't know what even looks good versus what doesn't on me. I couldn't tell even if there was a flashing, neon sign that told me."

She was seething as she tugged on some skinny jeans gracelessly. These ones were their 'extra skinny' fit, and I could see why. They were practically painted on her skin, they were so tight. They really showed off her long, toned legs, and they hugged all the right curves.

"Well, consider me a flashing, neon sign, because those were made for you." I told her, honestly. When she looked at me incredulously, I added, "trust me, you probably will look great in anything." I turned away and pulled on a pair of grey 'boyfriend' cut jeans that had little tears on them.

"Wanna say that again?" Leah scowled as I turned around and literally cracked up, unable to contain my laughter.

"Except for those." I amended. I took in the image of her in a 'mom' jean that made even her butt look saggy and they also cut off nearly halfway up her calves since she stood at a whopping six feet tall.

"Those look really good on you. Buy them." She told me, her voice left no other option. I blushed at even the slightest compliment.

"I think I will." I sighed, taking another look in the mirror. I nodded to myself, then started the process of trying on the next pair. We plugged away at the piles of pants left to try on, then made our selections.

By the time we were finished with everything, the other girls had already made their purchases and had been chatting amongst themselves right outside the store's entrance into the rest of the mall.

We joined the pack of girls once we were done checking out at the counter. We all gossiped and giggled like teenagers as we made our way to the next store. Even I had to admit that I was having a pretty good time. Honestly, it was almost enough to make me forget about the whole 'Embry imprinted' situation. I was happy for Embry, genuinely, and I also really could see myself being good friends with Amanda, so it was a win-win. What bothered me was that another wolf had succumbed to the magic of imprinting. It definitely wasn't the rare one-in-a-million miracle that the elders had thought it was.

The next store that we found ourselves in was definitely more diverse in terms of the product that they carried. We spent what felt like forever, and most of our money at this store. I'd been paired up with Ange this time and while things were still a little off with us, the tension didn't last too long. Thankfully, Jess had joined us and had helped us get out of our shells a bit.

Jess had filled the awkwardness with excited chatter about the new job she'd signed onto in Port Angeles as of about a month ago. That explained why she'd been here already when I called her about today's trip, even though she takes permanent residence in Seattle. I just listened to her gab, genuinely excited for her, as I picked out a variety of pieces in a variety of colors.

When we were all ready to try-on again we met back at the dressing rooms, just like we did at the first store. I paired up with Leah for trying stuff on again too. I laughed at her when she finally came in, lugging a hefty load of different clothing.

"Kim." She explained, rolling her eyes, and dumping the pile onto the fitting room bench.

"You'll thank me for it too!" Kim yelled from somewhere in another stall.

I just shook my head and started the grueling process of undressing and dressing again and again until I'd picked out the items I wanted to keep. We all gave our opinions to each other and had all picked out several things.

I'd gotten a handful of simple staples like undershirts and solid t-shirts. I had also picked out an olive green bomber jacket and even a fairly short, but flowy, sundress that had a nice marble-effect type of pattern.

Leah and Angela had both left the store with new leather jackets. Angela's was brown, and Leah stuck with a classic black. They rocked them, needless to say. Kim had found some blindingly bright neon bralettes to wear under a see through black mesh top that only she could pull off. The other girls left this particular shop empty-handed, waiting until we got to the more dressy clothing stores, and of course the lingerie store.

"Ok, fancy date night clothes next, or do we want to skip to the good part?" Jess excitedly asked the group.

"Oh, girl, I like your style!" Kim raised her eyebrows suggestively, and looped her arm around Jessica's, who just laughed in response. It warmed my heart to see that maybe we all could sustain old friendships, and create new ones with people who weren't privy to our supernatural secrets. It seemed to lift some of the weight of such heavy secrets, even if just a little bit.

"I think we should get the date night outfits knocked out first." Emily said, making the other girls sigh. Emily laughed and added, "Oh don't be so dramatic! We want what's underneath to match, right?"

In the end, we all agreed that that was the best plan of action. We walked the mall, looking for a shop that would have the type of clothing that we were in search of. When we found it we all filed in, and decided to stay together this time. It took longer this time, but Kim really got to flex her fashion knowledge and helped us all to pick out stuff that would compliment our looks perfectly.

After trying everything on, we all were able to leave with something that flattered well. We all decided that whenever we had the chance we were going to do some sort of group outing so that we could show off our new get ups. We'd even splurged on some matching shoes and accessories with our outfits too.

The last stop we had to make had me blushing as red as a tomato. Being a virgin before I'd met Sam, I hadn't really ever shopped for lingerie before. I, of course, had a few cute bra and panty sets, but nothing too sexy.

By the time we left the last store, we were all broke, and lugging around several large bags of new clothing. As much fun as I, admittedly, had, I wouldn't be spending anymore money for a while. There was only one more stop I wanted to make before going home today, and then I was done throwing money around like it was nothing.

"So which one is your favorite? And which one do you think your wol- uh, guy will like the most?" Kim asked as we all piled back into Angela's van, almost slipping up in front of Jess.

"My favorite is the lavender babydoll. Jake will like them all, but I think he will lose his mind over the red set that I got." Angela said, her cheeks flaming up a little.

"Oh, yeah, Jared is a total sucker for red too. Honestly though, it's the whole innocent-looking, see-through white nighty thing that really gets him worked up. I just need to buy a lollypop first." Kim chimed in and laughed, obviously already picturing Jared's reaction to her plan.

"Paul and I are both really into the leather-look." Emily spoke up, shocking us all a bit. I realized that then everyone was looking at me, and it was my turn to share.

"I think Sam will like it all, and I do too. I did get a see-though black teddy though… I am going to wear it with some fishnets and fuck-me pumps. He's gonna flip." I told them without stuttering. I was pretty proud of myself for it.

"Holy hell, innocent Bella Swan, who knew!" Jess shouted. It was only then that I noticed everyone was staring at me, completely shocked.

"Our little Bella is all growned up." Kim joked, wiping an imaginary tear from her eye, as if she had known me much longer than she really had.

"You're gonna kill him!" Leah gasped out between her belly laughs.

"Well that's the idea." I smirked, which only spurred on another fit of giggles from her and the others.

We finally calmed down enough when we pulled up to the little coffee shop that Embry had told us he'd be at when we were done. It was just a few blocks from where the bookstore was, so Jess decided that it was time for her to head home. We all gave her a hug, truly including her in our little group as Kim, Leah, and Emily exchanged numbers with her.

It had really cooled off outside, and rain had moved in, making it only seem cooler out. We all decided to order warm drinks once we were inside, and huddled around each other, blowing on our drinks once we got them.

Amanda and Embry were still all moony-eyed over one another. It was cute, and again, I truly was happy for them, but I felt a deep sense of sadness and jealousy over the bond that they now shared. It was a sign of a possible future outcome for Sam that didn't include me, and didn't sit well with me either. I almost felt bad at the thought, not only was I making their situation about me, but I also wanted every happiness for Sam. I just wish that it had happened with me, and I couldn't quite feel bad for it because I felt the strongest and strangest possessiveness towards Sam. He was mine… I was his.

I really liked Amanda, and I could tell that the other girls really took to her too. I couldn't help but compare a little though. Ange and Kim both seemed to open up more and share more about their relationships with Amanda than they did with me.

I knew that Leah had noticed the difference too because she kept shooting me little side-glances. I don't think that it was a purposeful slight, but it still hurt a little that they felt that they had to hold back with me when it came to their wolves. I was sure it had something to do with sparing my feelings when it came to the fact that I wasn't actually Sam's imprint. The truth of it was out though, so whether they shared the more specific details of their relationships with me or not, didn't really affect me.

There would always be some amount of hurt and jealousy over it, but I definitely planned to keep all that to myself, it certainly wasn't their fault. I would however, bring up the fact that they could talk about it infront of me. I didn't want them to feel the need to hold back something so wonderful and important to their lives.

Emily was a different ball game entirely. She was treating Amanda completely differently than she had been treating me. She wasn't mean to me at all, but with Amanda, she was talkative and inquisitive, she seemed to genuinely want to get to know her. She asked her all about where she was from, what she had studied in school, if she planned to move away from the Port Angeles area, all sorts of questions she had never bothered to ask me.

Kim, Angela, and Leah all noticed the change in her immediately and we all shared a million words with one silent look.

I opted to let it go for now for the sake of Embry and Amanda, as they deserved every moment of happiness that they could get. Even more so, I was holding my tongue out of respect for Sam. Emily was Sam's best friend and I would hope that she wouldn't disrespect him by purposely disrespecting me, his chosen mate.

I really thought that it was possible that she just simply didn't click with me the way that she did with Amanda, and that would be okay, just as long as it didn't have anything to do with the imprint versus non-imprint status.

"Amanda, you should come to an imprint bonfire that we are having on Friday night!" Emily spoke excitedly, directly to Amanda.

"A wolf thing?" Amanda turned towards Embry and asked him shyly. He simply nodded to confirm. It seemed that he had told her about the wolves already, but had yet to explain the imprint and everything that it implied.

I could feel my expression fall into a frown. I still kept it to myself, and didn't say a word. It wasn't until we were on our way back home that the levee finally broke.

"So… when is this bonfire?" Leah asked Emily in a clipped tone.

"Oh… it's on Friday night, but it's really just for the imprinted wolves and their imprints." Emily said firmly. She didn't speak in a rude tone or anything, so I really didn't think she realized just how exclusive and hurtful she was being.

"So I'm not invited." Leah deadpanned, then looked at me and added, "Or Bella? Because imprint of not she's just as much a part of this pack as any of you are."

"Wait a second. Bella and Leah weren't invited?" Angela jumped in.

"What the fuck, Em?" Kim demanded. "I'm sorry guys, We truly didn't realize that the guest list was so exclusive."

"It wasn't meant to be mean… and I am not trying to be mean now either. But Leah, you're single, why would you want to come on the group date? And Bella, I'm sorry but you aren't an imprint. It's just different, you don't really belong at the imprint bonfire." I was extremely shocked by Emily's response, and couldn't quite bring myself to speak up at this point either.

Whether she was 'trying to be mean' or not, she had poked at my insecurities and was being disrespectful to her alpha.

"I'm going to pretend you didn't just say that to the alpha's mate." Embry told her quietly.

Hot tears pricked at my eyes, but I refused to let them slip. Even so, the salty scent garnered the attention of both Leah and Embry. Leah reached back and patted my leg in support.

"Let's just remember that we're all pack here." Embry added, looking me in the eye.

This seemed to bring the whole debacle to an end and I had still never said a word about it. The rest of the ride was silent as we cruised down the highway all the way back to Forks.

Author's Note:

Ok. I had to cut this off here. I had a LOT more planned for the chapter but it was going to be WAY too long if I didn't cut it down at all. I am sorry that this chapter took so long to get out, the next one won't take so long, I promise!

Anyways, I hope you guys liked all the friendship development, and of course the drama. Let me know what you think! As always, I am open to comments and critiques.

Happy Reading

~Dahlia~