Hello, my darlings.

Thank you so much for your kind reviews. It makes me so happy that you love this story so much.

Here is another chapter. I hope you enjoy it as well.

Stay safe and enjoy! :)

SILVER

Chapter 5: Clean slate

They sat on her bed quietly for a few minutes, but his curiosity got the better of him. "What did you think when Sam said I had imprinted on you?" He had to know. Why was he so calm? The previous times they had discussed vampires and wolves, he was so bad-tempered. But in the solitude of her bedroom, he just wanted to kiss her and get away with it.

"Jake told me a few days ago about Emily and Sam and more or less explained what it was. I kind of understood at that moment what had happened. Maybe I'm crazy, but I want it. I don't know what it means in terms of us, but I want it. I can feel it." She fisted her shirt where her heart was. "You've been driving me crazy for a few weeks. You made me rethink everything, you were so fucking obnoxious and an asshole, and for some reason, I couldn't get you out of my head." Wow, where was that bravery coming from? She liked it.

He was known for acting first and thinking later. So that's what he did, again. He lowered his head and captured her mouth with his. She was surprised for a few seconds, but she found herself kissing him back with the same ferocity. Her fingers were on his hair, pulling it softly. His hands were on her face, keeping it close to his.

She leaned back on the bed, with him hovering on top of her. His hands never wandered farther than her waist, and her hands were stationed on his shoulders. The kiss was sweet but wild. Like him, she thought.

She broke the kiss, suddenly remembering that she had gone home with a different guy. She waited for the guilt to appear, but it wasn't there. It never came, and for the first time since Italy, she let go of Edward. She felt so fucking free. She celebrated by crashing her lips with his one more time, languid, hot, a war of tongues and ragged breath. She felt drunk on the feeling of freedom and wildness that ran through her body. She was ecstatic.

"What is so funny?" He asked, breaking the kiss. She hadn't realized she was giggling in his mouth.

She grabbed his face in her hands and stared him in the eyes. She might not know what the exact implications of an imprint were, but she wanted him.

"I feel wild." She confessed and giggled again.

He smiled, amused at his girl's confession, but it was clear the shock and the events of the night were catching up with her. If she continued laughing like that, she was going to wake up the chief.

"Shh. You'll wake your dad. Go to sleep." He removed the covers of her bed, and once she was settled, he covered her. He needed to talk to Sam, but at the same time, he didn't want to leave her.

In her last moment of clarity, she called his name, stopping him short before he jumped out of the window. "Can we talk tomorrow?"

He smiled the same smile he had given her at the clearing. "Count on it." He promised and jumped.

He also felt freer than before. Ecstatic. Trust the leech lover to find a way to get under his skin.

He phased, finding only Sam. He replayed the last minutes' events with Bella, and he could sense Sam's humor but his caution as well. "She knows the legends, but she doesn't understand the full implications of the imprint. You have to control yourself next time and explain it to her."

"I know. But she understands enough. You saw how she reacted to me before knowing, and now that she knows, she accepts it. She wants it, Sam."

"I understand, but be careful." With that last warning, Sam phased back, and Paul stayed a wolf. He went home, but sleep eluded him. So he decided to run. He ended up in the woods behind her house. The scent of leech was potent but not as recent as his. He settled down and slept until it was time to patrol the Reservation.

The next day Bella woke up earlier than she had expected for the eventful night she had had. Her first thought was to Paul and the wild feeling she had. Her second thought was to Edward and their relationship. Did he know what had happened? She didn't remember with clarity how she had ended up following Paul to her house. She sighed. Only one thing was evident on her mind. She didn't want to be a vampire. That had been clear for a few weeks now.

The only reason she wanted that, was because she had thought once upon a time that she wanted to be forever with Edward. His fled after her birthday had killed that feeling. Honestly, the trip to Italy kind of cemented the idea of being a vampire in her mind. But she now knew it was more out of fear than desire. She had risked her life for him, but all he had done since he came back was control her. Mostly in regards to the wolves. She had never wanted to hurt him by saying that she actually felt more at ease and safe with the wolves than with him. She should have said something sooner. When had the love become something different? When had the love transformed into frustration?

She stood up slowly from her bed, as she had done every morning for the last week. Ever since the buzzing in her head started, mornings were the worst part of the day. She straightened up her back and realized the buzzing was gone. Not subdued, gone.

What the hell?

Still mystified, she showered, dressed, and after leaving a note to Charlie, she drove towards the Cullen house. She had to face the music. It was only fair for him and her. She climbed off her truck and walked towards the porch, where Edward was sitting, probably waiting for her. He must have heard the truck.

His eyes were sad, and his demeanor screamed defeat. How did she look at him? Happy and rested? She sat next to him. What did you say to someone you've been with for nearly a year? How did you tell them you were no longer in love with them?

"I lost you, didn't I?" He ventured the first words.

It went against her nature to kick a man when he was down. But he had asked. "I never meant to hurt you. I should have said something sooner." She had had an epiphany on the way here. She had drifted away from Edward, which was what allowed her to fully embrace the imprint last night. She hadn't been in love with him for a few months. Way before her fights and 'make-overs' with Paul even began.

"When?" He asked. She knew what he was asking.

She shook her head. "I'm not sure. The first time you told me I couldn't do something after Italy? It enraged me that you thought you could control my life based on what you said was safe for me. That you thought you had the right to dictate the terms of my friendship with the wolves. I had been friends with them well before you thought to kill yourself in Italy. But what I now realize is that I was angrier at myself than you. I had allowed you to dictate most things in my life. I never meant to hurt you. And I should have stood my ground and told you what I was thinking. But I can't pinpoint the moment I realized I was no longer in love with you." For the second time since the imprint, she felt a weight being lifted off her shoulders. She had nothing else to say. Perhaps let him know for sure they were no longer together. "I have accepted the imprint."

"I know." He sighed, defeated. "I realized yesterday as it happened." She nodded, unsure of what else to say.

However, curiosity killed the cat. And she had to ask. "Is this why Alice could never get the same vision of me being a vampire?" Alice's vision regarding her change had constantly been changing. Of course, it constantly changed upon any decision Bella or Edward made, but she wondered if it also had to do with the fact that maybe, just maybe, she was destined to be with Paul. As if it was decided a long time ago.

Edward shook his head. "Alice's visions are mostly triggered by people's decisions. But I don't know if you being destined to be with a wolf had anything to do with it." He was also curious now that Bella brought it up.

Bella had once said that she would never bet against Alice. But at that time, she had thought she was betting on a life with Edward, forever; how things change.

Back to Alice. She could see inane things as the weather or traffic or the movement of the stock market. So, how exactly did her visions work? It was worthless to ask that question now. It didn't really matter anymore.

"Destiny is not set in stone. People change, they grow, and they make different decisions." He continued, breaking her out of her inner ramblings.

"So, if you hadn't left…" She left the thought unfinished because…really, what could she say? 'If you hadn't left, I would have regretted staying with you? Would I have found a way to break up with you? I would have loved you forever?' How could she know?

"I don't know, Bella." He admitted. He smiled amusedly once more. "You always seem to think I hold all the answers." Bella smiled at him in return. She did do that.

"I'm sorry. For what it's worth it." She said sorry for hurting his feelings. For breaking his heart. She never meant to. A tear ran down her cheek.

He cleaned the tear with his finger and shook his head again. "Don't apologize for being happy." She smiled through her watery eyes. "Be careful. We will always be one call away." He offered. Then standing up, he conveyed his and his family's decision. "We'll stay until after the fight with Victoria is over."

"Thank you." She kissed his cheek and left. She was proud of herself. She hadn't apologized for something that was out of her control. She apologized for what she thought she could apologize. She had admitted her wrongs and said her peace. Now, she could start living. That made her almost jump in joy.

…

…

….

The epiphany that allowed her to see that she hadn't been in love with Edward for a few months also allowed her to see that she was falling hard and fast for Paul, if she wasn't already there.

She started her truck, fully intending to go home directly, but an idea came to her mind. She has never been a very spontaneous person, even though she has done a few spontaneous things (although one almost killed her, and the other got her in trouble with Charlie). Nevertheless, she liked those times. Well, except when she almost drowned.

She went online and found a tattoo place that didn't operate with appointments. She had liked that wild feeling she had last night when kissing Paul. And she sure was going to feel that more times from now on.

Perhaps Charlie would be upset if he figured out she tattooed without his consent. But she was 18 now. She didn't need his permission, and a tattoo is not the end of the world.

She got what she wanted in about half an hour. She really loved the small tattoo. It had hurt, but it was so worth it.

When she arrived home, she found Charlie in the kitchen. He looked suspicious. "I thought you were out with Edward."

She shook her head. "We just broke up." Charlie's eyes opened widely on his face.

He didn't know if he should be happy or terrified. He studied her while she walked into the house. She didn't seem upset. She had been crying, though, but she seemed…fine. He sighed, relieved. Perhaps this breakup was not going to incite endless nights of nightmares and screams. He only wished this breakup had been her idea and that she had thought it through. He wasn't sure he could go through what they went through when the Cullens left.

"May I ask why? How are you feeling?" He asked finally.

She smiled at his protective mode. How could she ever think of leaving the first man that loved her with all of his heart?

"I had conflicted feelings for someone else. I feel surprisingly free." Charlie decided to be happy. He never completely trusted Edward. And he had hurt his daughter into a million pieces.

Bella didn't know he knew she stopped doing many things when he came back, and she didn't know he knew it was because Edward had something to do with it. That he didn't like her hanging with Jake or with any friends from school. It was all about his family, and he had been too scared to set her back to say that she was in a toxic relationship.

He had asked Sue, and she only said he had to let her make those mistakes and learn from them herself. Of course, as parents, they always wanted to protect their children from any hurt, but that's life. That's how they grow and learn.

"Is this about Jake?" He asked suspiciously. Just as he had noticed Edward restraining Bella's freedom, he also noticed how much time she spent lately at the Reservation. He had hopes for her and Jacob, even if they dated a while and then broke up (with no one being hurt, of course). Anything as long as that Cullen boy was out of her life for good.

She shook her head. "No. But it is about another of the reservation guys. And it is about me not putting up with people that are not my parents telling me what I can and cannot do."

He kissed her forehead and hugged her. He had waited a long time to hear those words, to see that learning. He composed his expression before facing her again. She might be feeling free, but a part of her must be sad. He might not be the best listener there, but he did have empathy. And smiling when your daughter might be sad is not a good idea. "I'm proud of you for standing up. I didn't raise you to become a submissive girl."

Charlie was the second person to call her behavior submissive. How had she been so blind?

At noon, Charlie left for the station, and soon after, she received a text from Paul asking if he could come over. She agreed, and he said he was on his way.

She anxiously waited for him.

She didn't wait long.

He knocked, taking into consideration this was not the Reservation, and he couldn't invite himself in just like that.

She opened the door widely, stepping aside to let him in. He frowned as he entered. "I smell leech." His posture was tense, his hands were in fists, but at least he wasn't shaking.

"I went to the Cullens this morning." She informed him. "That's probably why you smell him."

He turned around slowly, slightly trembling, fists tighter, jaw set and eyes shooting fire. He was not happy about the information. Bella was surprised at how easily she could read his body language. She had always been able to do so, but only with him.

"Why?" He managed to ask between his gritted teeth.

"I needed to break up with him. And we had to talk. We deserved a clean break." She was a little perturbed with his tense posture. He was very volatile and easily triggered.

She knew he would never purposely hurt her, but accidents happened. Sam never meant to hurt Emily, but it happened. She needed to remember that despite how much she trusted him, she still had to act carefully. He was volatile, emotional, and impulsive. She needed to ground him. She hid a smile. She was starting to understand why they were a good match. She was too grounded; he was too impulsive. They needed to counter the other.

He stood there dumbfounded, not knowing what to say or do. He had heard correctly, and she said they broke up, right?

"You broke up with him?" He had to be sure. He was so fucking lost in her.

She took a step towards him. "I did. I haven't been in love with him for a long time. I just realized that recently."

He nodded. As she was being honest with him, he owed it to her to do the same. "Sam believes that the reason I imprinted on you and that you accepted it so fast is because we had feelings for each other before yesterday."

But she knew that, and he did as well. They had said so last night. However, she unconsciously catapulted herself to last weekend's conversation with Alice and Angela and all the buzzing in her head. Alice had said Bella was in love with Paul. Was that it? Was she in love with this obnoxiously hot-headed wolf? She liked him for sure, and when they kissed, she had loved the wild sensation. She came back to earth, realizing Paul was waiting for some sort of answer from her part.

"It kind of makes sense. You got under my skin somehow." That was all she could say until she figured out exactly what she was feeling.

"I hated seeing you so lost. When Jake had recently phased, the first time we met, you slapped me because you thought we had done something to him. I admit I really hated being slapped by you, a leech lover. But at least you had fire. Whenever you were with Jacob, you were doing something: bikes, cliff jumping, insulting us... take your pick. But then, they came back, and you were all secretive about your time in here. You loved to hear the stories, you loved the bonfires, even if I hated seeing you with Jacob. I realized that the only way to get you out of that submissive state was to make you angry. I never expected to develop feelings for you or to imprint on you. But I cannot say I don't like it. When you started answering back, calling me names, I masochistically loved it. So I kept messing with you. You got under my skin, and I couldn't get you out of my mind either." She had been too tired last night to hear everything he had to say. But he said it now. The hot-headed wolf had imprinted, probably even fallen in love.