Chapter 33

Bella POV:

When we finally got back to Forks, I hung behind in the Diner parking lot for a little while as everyone started to make their leave. Leah noticed my lollygagging and hung back too.

"Ok, talk to me." She said as she propped one hand on her hip and looked at me expectantly.

"Want to get a tattoo with me?" I asked her, seemingly out of left field. I could tell I had shocked her, but I had been planning on going anyway. I wanted to get something for Sam and I. Tattoos were permanent and that was where my insecurities were when it came to Sam and my relationship.

"Uh. Sure?" Leah stuttered and it made me laugh, I never thought I'd see her speechless.

"It might be a dumb idea, but I think it will make me feel better about the lack of an imprint." I admitted. When she still looked confused, I elaborated. "I had no backbone when I was with Edward. Him and his sister, Alice, controlled almost everything I did. I hated it, but it took me a long time to do anything about it. I need to find the backbone I developed when I finally left him, which is the only way I ever met Sam at all."

"Ok. Backbone is good, but I'm still not really following you here." Leah frowned.

"Hm… ok. Let me think." I told her as I tried to think of a good way to explain my thoughts on the matter. "Sam is my mate. My whole freaking world, he's it for me, and I know that he feels the same way. An imprint is a bond that just proves that the two people are soulmates, right? So the fact that Sam could still imprint on someone someday makes me insecure. I have to get over that though, Sam really doesn't think he will imprint, and I don't think he would tell me that if he didn't mean it. A tattoo is permanent and something tangible, something to remind me that I'm his mate with or without the imprint. Does that make more sense?"

"I guess that makes sense. Plus, it would be a reminder to Emily and the other imprints as well." Leah thought out loud.

"Exactly." I smiled as she looped her arm through mine and we started to walk towards the tattoo shop that was down the street from the Diner.

"You know, he could just mark you though?" She laughed.

"Uh, what?" I asked, confused, I had no idea what she was talking about.

"Wait, he hasn't told you about that yet? He was thinking about it while we were phased, so I know he wants to. But marking is when a wolf literally puts a mating mark on you. It essentially would let the rest of the wolves and imprints know that you are taken. There's more to it than that too, but I will let Sam explain all that to you." I thought about what she said, and wondered what more there was to it, but I would need to ask Sam about it later. I could tell that Leah wasn't going to divulge any more information on that topic.

"So what are you getting, and where?" She asked, giving me a bit of a once-over.

"I am going to get the date we met written out in script along my collarbone on the left side." I smiled, really excited about the ink.

"Does Sam know?" I just shook my head, no, in response. "I would guess not since marking wasn't brought up."

We went in the shop, which thankfully wasn't busy and were able to get our new ink done pretty quickly. I left with mine looking exactly the way that I had imagined, and Leah left with the silhouette of a wolf on her shoulder blade with the date of her first phase underneath it in roman numerals.

U still at work? I texted Sam as we made our way down the sidewalk back towards the Diner.

Yeah. Will be home by 7. My phone buzzed right away. It was only five now, so Leah and I decided to split a slice of pie and chat some more.

"Do you feel better?" Leah asked, motioning towards my freshly inked collarbone.

"Yeah, I do." I nodded and told her honestly. "I hope that Emily will accept me eventually." I shrugged. I was truly trying to not let it bother me too much.

"I am saying this because I like you and I care about you." Leah started cautiously, "but you need to find that backbone you were talking about earlier. I know that you're new to the pack and you don't fully understand it all yet, but you are the alpha's mate… in his absence, you're going to be in charge, Bella. Wolves are loyal and will fight to the death for you, but you've got to be ready to die for them too. We believe in Sam, therefore we believe in his choice in you. The imprints aren't necessarily bound by the same ties though, you need to prove yourself a strong mate to earn their respect and allegiance. You'll also need to prove it to Paul. Imprints are bonded and connected in a way that doesn't even make sense to me sometimes, Paul's mistrust of you is probably feeding into Emily's bias. Find your backbone, and demand some damn respect."

"I can understand that." I nodded and began to think of how exactly I could prove myself. I hadn't really thought about playing a leadership role in the pack. It didn't seem to be my place. I realized then that was exactly the problem. How could the pack view me as someone who belonged when I didn't think I belonged? I needed to take ownership of my new role as the alpha's mate.

It wasn't long after that and I was home, cooking up some dinner for Sam. Thankfully I had thrown some chicken and veggies in the crock pot before leaving this morning, so all I had to really do was mix in some broth and heat up some rolls.

I had some soft music playing out of the radio in the small kitchen. I'd even cracked the back and front doors. It wasn't windy today, so I didn't have to worry about the rain getting in, I could just enjoy the fresh air and quiet pitter patter between songs.

I knew the moment that Sam walked up the drive. I could just sense it. My suspicions were confirmed when I heard the screen door open and close behind him. He took off his work boots and snuck up behind me.

"Hmm. Smells good." He whispered as he gently moved my hair to one side and placed gentle kisses along the column of my neck. My t-shirt and sweater combo was still covering my new ink, so he couldn't see it yet.

I turned around in his arms and hugged him. It had been a long and eventful day and I was thankful for some quiet down time with him.

"Go grab a quick shower, then it'll be time to eat." I told him just after kissing his tempting lips.

When he left to do just that my mind started to spin, coming up with ways to talk to him about what had happened, and to ask about the mating mark.

I set the table, lost in thought, humming along to the nonsense song playing over the radio. I was so far gone in my own little world that when Sam came in after his shower goosebumps spread all over my skin and my hair stood on end when he came up behind me and grabbed my hips as I was bent over the table, trying to set down the silverware.

"Did I scare you?" He hummed in his deep timbre. I nodded and laughed a little. At least I did until the mood shifted when he didn't laugh along with me. Instead, he smirked evilly and added, "are you still wet for me, Bella?"

I felt want and heat rush through me at his velvet voice and the implications he'd left me with this morning. But I swallowed thickly and motioned for him to sit instead of answering his question.

Upon smelling my obvious arousal, he growled, only spurring more on. I had to be strong, though, I had things I needed to talk to him about.

I served the food, placing hearty spoonfuls into his bowl, and a more modest portion into my own. I poured us both some sweet tea, then sat down, facing him.

"What's wrong, babe?" He asked seriously, able to tell that I wanted to talk first, then come back to where we had left off this morning.

"Well, something happened today that I need to tell you about." I admitted, unsure of exactly where to start. Several emotions fluttered across his expression before his face settled into a calm mask. "Embry imprinted on the bookstore clerk. Her name is Amanda, a d I've talked to her a few times now, she seems really sweet."

"Oh yeah, I knew that. I ran home, and Jared let it slip. Kim told him as soon as she walked in the door. She's pretty excited that, in her words, "the girl gang" is getting bigger." Sam chuckled as he blew on a spoonful of his soup, more out of habit than anything else, it's not like he would hurt himself anymore if it was too hot.

"Yeah it's exciting stuff." I said, trying to come up with the best way to tell him about what had come from the "girl gang" expansion.

"There's a bonfire for them on Friday night, if you'd like for us to go." He stated, completely unaware that we, or at least I had been officially not invited.

"Um. Well I would love to go, but I'm not invited." He frowned at my words.

"Of course you're invited, I just invited you." His voice read very no-nonsense.

"Emily made it very clear today that I am not invited, and Leah isn't either. I don't want to cause a rift in the pack, that is not my intention. I do feel disrespected by Emily though and I feel that she has disrespected her alpha, so I needed to tell you about it." I told him nervously.

"Why wouldn't she invite you or Leah? You're both pack." He looked pissed.

"Leah is pack. She doesn't see me as pack. Also, neither Leah or I are imprints. She said it was an 'imprint only' bonfire." I opened up, feeling my own frown deepen.

"You're my mate." He growled out. "And Leah is our pack sister. I will deal with Emily."

"No, Sam. I don't want you to... at least not yet. I wanted to talk to you about something else too. Something that I think might help with this situation…" I said softly, as I placed a gentle hand on his thigh underneath the table.

"What?" His voice was tight and clipped. He was unhappy that I didn't want him to intervene. I really just wanted to prove my place in the pack, and Sam fighting this battle for me, certainly wouldn't help my cause.

"What is the mating mark like?" His eyes went wide in shock at my question.

"It's a way for a wolf to mark his mate. It is a forever commitment and there's a whole spiritual ritual that goes along with it." He explained.

"Is that it? What does the mark mean, what is it committing them to exactly? And what does the ritual consist of?"

"It commits the two people to each other forever. If I were to mark you, you would officially take on the alpha female role. That means taking care of the pack before yourself, keeping them in mind in everything that you do, it means negotiations and politics when necessary. Which, I think you would be a natural at, if I'm being honest. It would mean that you are committed to me for the rest of your life, and we believe the afterlife too. I'd be tied to you as well. It would mean that you could have children with no other man. We would share a scent. Of course, we would both still smell like ourselves, but we would always smell like each other as well, which would let any other supernatural being know that you are mated." He told me after a long pause. "There could also be other effects that we just don't realize yet. There aren't any marked couples in our pack yet."

"The imprinted couples aren't marked?" I asked, confused, why wouldn't the imprinted couples be marked? Wasn't it the same thing, essentially? My head was spinning with all sorts of questions.

"No, they're not. It's a little different, to be marked as well as or instead of imprinted… Imprinting is wonderful, and a gift, don't get me wrong. But marking is a choice… and you have to come to that on your own, imprinting is a magic that points out to you who your mate should be." He explained, calmly taking a sip of his sweet tea.

"I think I understand." I eventually told him. "So, what is the ritual?"

"I'd have to take you from behind and bite you. I'd bite you wherever called to me, and you'd bite me too, if it's meant to be, the gods allow you to leave a mark on me as well too. Then, the pack must all acknowledge the mating, once they do, we go to A-Ka-Lat, James Island, and spend seven days and seven nights there. It's unclear what exactly happens there, but the books say that the marked couple comes back, changed for good."

"Leah told me that you want to mark me, that she has seen it in your head… I'd rather hear it from you, though. If you don't want to, that's okay, I will tell her to stay out of your head and I won't bug you about it again. But I do want you to know that I want you to mark me." I blushed, but didn't stutter.

"Despite everything that comes with it?" He asked.

"Because of everything that comes with it." I whispered as I pulled his chair out a little, then climbed on his lap, laying a big kiss on his lips.

Author's Note:

Ok, so I know that this wasn't the blow up between Bella and Emily that ya'll were expecting/hoping to happen in this chapter, but Bella is learning how to be a leader, much less the fact that she needs to be a leader at all. Also, she needs to deal with her insecurities, not be lead by them. I hope that her reactions are satisfying enough for now, at least until Bella does eventually put Emily in her place. (I'm also very excited for this haha)

I hope you all enjoyed and I can't wait to hear from you!

Happy Reading!

~Dahlia~