Leah POV

''We should go somewhere quiet,'' I said. ''Somewhere where no-one can see us.''

Bella nodded absently as she looked outside the window at the forest. I was driving us around in Paul's car - he'd lent it to me for the day after I pressed the issue and promised him I would take care of his baby as my own. I had tried putting on some music, but she had reached for my hand before I could turn on the volume. Hers was colder than I expected, but it didn't bother me the way I thought it would have. I felt the need to warm her up.

After a while, Bella broke the awkward silence:

''Right here,'' she exclaimed as she spotted a sign announcing a reduced speed. ''I think I've been here before...in a dream.''

''Yeah, okay,'' I said as I pulled over.

She got off the car first and headed over towards the forest. I followed her closely. I thought the place looked somewhat familiar to me as well, with the small hill and stream and... Oh! I recognized it now. I went there after I had imprinted on Bella and spent almost an entire week in wolf form away from everyone but my own demons. The rain had made everything a vibrant green, and I could smell petrichor and... a hint of lilac.

''So, what did you want to tell me? Might as well just get on with it.''

I gulped.

''What did Sam and Emily tell you? Have they said anything about me?''

I didn't know how I felt about Sam revealing my deepest secrets, of all people. Although my bond with Bella ran strong and helped me forget about the past, it was not as if my memories had faded instantly. I still saw him as my ex, and I knew he still saw me as his.

''They haven't spoken about you, but I think... I think I know. You're the female Alpha, right?''

I figured she would probably put two and two together.

''Yes,'' I replied. ''But... that's not it entirely.''

She huffed.

''What else could there be?''

A part of me wished to never tell her about the imprint, because I didn't want to drag her into another monster's arms, but another part of me, more dominant, desperately wanted to make her mine, and to have her acknowledge the bond.

''Do you believe in soulmates?'' I asked her finally.

She looked away from me.

''I used to,'' she said in a faltering voice.

Rage instantly filled me and I gripped a tree with all the force I could muster to try to ground myself in the moment. Inhale. Exhale.

''It's because of him, right? Because he left?'' I asked, my voice slightly elevated.

That damned bloodsucker, I cursed internally.

''Yeah,'' she replied quietly. She was fidgeting with strands of chestnut hair, and she looked embarrassed as she looked up at me for the first time. We locked eyes briefly, and I sensed that she trusted me.

''Well, what if I told you that for us wolves, they exist, for real?''

''That's cool for you, I guess,'' she said, and I could tell she was trying her best not to break down.

I took a deep breath.

''When we find our soulmates, we create a deep bond with them, allowing us to communicate through it in the form of dreams and by sharing emotions. The process is called imprinting. It's something that's supposed to be rare among us shifters, but so far it has happened twice. Emily is Sam's imprint. And...''

Bella interrupted me suddenly:

''Have you found your soulmate? Is it Jacob? Have you come to tell me that you're in love with him? Does he know?''

She asked all of those questions in quick succession, never once stopping to take a breath in between them. I couldn't help but laugh at what she'd asked me. Imprinting on Jacob Black would have been interesting, to say the least.

''Bella,'' I said slowly, putting my hands on her shoulders to steady her. ''I imprinted on you.''

''Oh,'' she replied, blinking quickly. ''Would that explain why I dreamed of a wolf? That's why I feel like I've been here before. The wolf was here, and I kind of instinctively knew it. I knew we had to come here.''

I smiled. She had already seen my wolf form and she didn't appear to be scared of it. The wolf spirit inside of me rejoiced. Bella still looked somewhat confused, a frown appearing on her face.

''Would you have preferred it if I imprinted on Jacob?''

''I don't... I don't know. It's just that, I don't know what I'm supposed to feel right now. I only just got out of a relationship, with the man that I thought I would spend the rest of my life with.'' I winced at that. ''And now you tell me you're my soulmate and I... barely know you. But at the same time...''

''You feel some kind of connection towards me,'' I finished for her.

She nodded, and I could see a faint blush appearing on her cheeks. Bella blushing was one of my favorite sights.

''You know,'' I went on, ''I would be anything for you, Bella. The imprint, it doesn't have to be romantic unless you want it to be.'' I wanted to leave it at that, but the part of me that wanted more got the upper hand. ''But I could wait all my life for you if I wanted to, literally.''

She gasped.

''What do you mean?''

She looked like she had swallowed a whole lemon.

''I technically don't age.''

''WHAT?'' she practically screamed. ''Not you too!''

She must have been talking about the bloodsuckers.

''It can be stopped, once I decide to not phase anymore. I mean... once I decide to stop transforming into a wolf. About that... did you, um, want me to show it to you? My wolf form.''

I was suddenly very shy, and I hated it. I was probably the one who was blushing right now.

''Sure, if you want to.''

''Okay, turn around. And get back a few meters from me.''

I didn't want to scare her by removing my clothes in front of her right away. She complied. I tossed my tank top and shorts not far away from us and focused on a memory that brought out the raw emotion in me, to tap into the energy of the wolf spirit. Not long after I phased and made a small squeaky sound to let Bella know I was ready.

''You're beautiful,'' she said, approaching tentatively towards me, her eyes wide open as she stared in awe. She extended her hand to caress my fur and I closed my eyes to the touch. It felt like nothing I had experienced before; I felt like she was encompassing me, guiding me. I felt whole.

''There's something that Emily said earlier that I don't quite understand,'' Bella said in a small voice. ''She thinks I have vampire venom inside of me.''

I growled quietly. I knew what that meant, and I didn't know how else to react.

''Hey, it's not like that! I'm not a vampire I swear, though you probably already know it,'' she assured me, scratching the top of my head to soothe me. ''I only have trace amounts of venom left in me after one tried to bite me... but she thinks I could help you catch the vampires that are after me. Laurent and... Victoria.''

The way she spat out the name made my hackles raise. My growls intensified, and I tried to step away from Bella, not wanting to let my anger get the best of me, but she didn't let me.

''Shh, Leah, I trust you,'' she said, looking me in the eye. I relented. ''Emily wants me to participate in some kind of ritual thingy, and she thinks I'm useful - she thinks my blood is useful, for whatever reason. I just don't understand why, and, for the first time in forever, I'm truly scared.''

I let out a small squeaky sound, and at the same time I heard Bella's cell phone ring. She picked it up.

''Hi Char- dad,'' she said, attempting to sound casual. She was back to fidgeting with the hem of her shirt and biting her bottom lip. Did she have to be so... Bella, right now?

I picked up on the conversation fairly easily what with my wolf senses.

''I've been looking for you all evening, where are you?'' Chief Swan asked.

She appeared slightly panicked.

''I'm at Jacob's, like I told you,'' she finally said, crossing her fingers.

''I'm at his place right now, Bella, and you're not here. Billy told me you were there earlier but I don't believe him. He's been acting weird lately. And Jacob said you weren't there either, but he had been expecting you. What's the matter, Bella? Please, you know you can talk to me.''

I could hear the hurt and panic in his voice. He was obviously worried about her, and I didn't blame him. Bella had a knack for attracting danger, it seemed. First she fell in love with a blood-drinking monster, fate wanted her to be bonded with a shifter and on top of that her blood seemed to have some magical voodoo properties.

''I know, it's just that... The truth is that I went on a hike with a new friend and... I didn't think you would have let me go, what with the bear attacks and all. Right, dad?''

''I suppose you're right,'' I heard him grumble. ''But I expect to meet this new friend of yours, soon.''

She smiled.

''Sure. Her name is Leah Clearwater, she lives on the reservation.''

''Hm. I am expecting you at 10 PM sharp tonight.''

''Thanks Charlie,'' she said and hang up. She looked at her phone briefly and muttered ''Shit.''

I made a small sound to ask her why she had cursed, and she seemed to understand me without my needing to speak out loud.

''It's already 8:33 and...I'm starving. I've only had a handful of spaghetti.''

I raised my right paw to cover my right eye, and then the other to cover the left one. Bella got the hint and turned around. I was still way too shy to phase back into human form in front of her, wearing nothing but my birthday suit. Although, yes, I had let my mind wander in that direction a few times at night, it wasn't like I wanted to rush into things. I still didn't know if Bella even was into women to begin with, and I didn't want to push her into accepting the bond in the romantic and sexual sense. I had to remind myself that in a position where I was stripped of all my choices, she still had hers, she was free - and I did not wish to disturb that freedom anymore than necessary.

As I put back my tank top and shorts, I saw that Bella had subtly glanced in my direction, but I chose to ignore it... for now. We had more pressing matters right now, such as getting Bella something to eat.

''I say we go back to Emily's if that's alright with you. I have to talk to the pack.''

''Yeah sure. But... this time I'm driving, you're a complete danger on the road,'' she said and was I dreaming or was she winking at me?

When we arrived at Emily's, Sam and Paul were outside, drinking a beer. They appeared to have been engrossed in a particularly interesting conversation involving lots of expressive movements.

''Is there something to eat?'' I asked immediately.

''Emily made ribs. They're amazing,'' Paul said, and I could tell as he smelled like he had taken a bath in the cooking oil.

''Bella, help yourself,'' I said. ''I'll be back in a few minutes.''

She went inside a bit reluctantly as she seemed like she was still afraid she was intruding.

''So... you told her,'' Paul began. ''How did she react?''

''Could've been worse,'' I simply said, not wanting to talk more about it. They would probably come to know every single detail of my life with Bella whether I liked it or not, so for now I was keeping it under wraps. ''How's Embry? And where's Emily, I need to talk to her.''

''Embry's doing fine, but Emily's still tending to him. The redhead didn't miss her shot, it was kinda scary. If it hadn't been for Jared he would probably be dead. And according to Embry, she's after something specific. The places she visited all related to...''

''Bella,'' I finished. ''Yes, thanks Captain obvious,'' I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

He lifted his hands in a gesture of surrender.

''I need to talk to Emily now. Alone,'' I added as I saw Sam attempt to get up.

He spoke for the first time, in a soft tone, not moving an inch:

''You know, Bella doesn't need to do the ritual if she doesn't want to. She needs to be aware of the option, and she needs to know what it implies. We owe it to her, Leah. You know the legends, don't you? You know what it means.''

''Yes, I am well aware,'' I snapped. ''Fuck,'' I swore. ''I just- this is so much to take in... the imprint, the... whatever that thing is, and... being the Alpha, I don't know if that's my true destiny after all.''

I was on the verge of tears and it took me everything not to tumble to the ground and yell at the top of my lungs.

''There's no user manual for being a werewolf, y'know,'' Paul chimed in. ''I think we're all learning this as we go and... since you're the first female shifter, it must be harder for you I assume. But I think you're doing a pretty good job, all things considered.''

''Thanks Paul,'' I said, and this time I meant it.

Bella POV

I had only just begun eating some ribs with veggies and rice when my cellphone rang for the second time tonight and I picked it up, expecting Charlie's voice.

''Hey dad-'' I began.

''Bella, we need to talk. My dad's acting weird and I think it has something to do with you.''

It was Jacob.

''Jake. Um... what makes you say that?'' I asked.

Although Leah hadn't explicitly told me not to tell anyone about her or the pack, I knew it wasn't my place to do so, just like with the Cullens.

''He keeps talking about the legends these days, you know how he is, and he said that the time is near, whatever that means. He keeps repeating it like I'm supposed to know what it means. And he wrote something about you in his personal notepad : talk to Leah about Bella, with Leah's name crossed out. Isn't that... weird? Last year he didn't want you to hang out with Cullen and now he's worried about Leah too, or am I reading this wrong?''

''Perhaps you're seeing too much into it,'' I said, and I meant it. I didn't care if Billy Black talked about the legends, or thought Jacob's time to shift was near (the meaning hadn't escaped me, and I found it weird that I knew while he didn't) or that he wanted to talk to Leah about me. It must have pertained to the imprint. I didn't quite understand how the pack worked, but it seemed as if Billy Black was in on it too, and that was a good thing in my book. ''Perhaps your dad just wants to know how I'm doing so he can fill in Charlie.''

''Where were you today?'' he asked suddenly, and I could sense some suspicion in his voice.

''I was with Leah. We went hiking,'' I lied. It's not like I could tell him that I nearly crashed into a werewolf who brought me to a witch's place, said witch telling me I was a vampire-lite, while another werewolf declared her undying love to me. There were some things that were better left unsaid, and this was one of them. I was still trying to process everything that had happened in the past four hours, and my brain was about to fry.

''I call bullshit,'' he said in an even tone. I could tell he was annoyed, but curiosity far outweighed his anger. ''We had plans, and you didn't call to tell me.''

''I... I forgot.''

He laughed.

''Yeah right. You're a pretty awful liar, Bella.''

''I can't tell you,'' I blurted out. ''It's true that I was with Leah, but there's this thing going on that you wouldn't believe me if I told you and... and I'm not supposed to say anyway, but'' - I sighed heavily - ''Jacob, you already know, deep inside of you, I'm sure you know it. Talk to your dad some more, and come to the next bonfire okay? I'm sure you can figure it out by then, but it'll be our secret. Leah can't know you know. I have to go now. Please, don't say anything to Charlie.''

''Come on, you know me better than that,'' he said and I knew he was smiling.

''Bye!''

''Bye. See you at the bonfire!''