A/N: A quick thank you to everyone who added this story in their alerts and/or added it to their favorite list. It truly means a lot to me.

Chapter 11-

Bella's POV- The overload of information

"So… they are all wol….shape-shifters?"

I was quick to correct myself, my eyebrows raised as I continued to stare at Kim in question, an overload of information somewhere registering in my head, capable enough of giving me a headache of massive proportions.

"Yes, exactly," she nodded her head in agreement. "To put it in simple words, they have the gene to do so."

"Only boys…or…"

"So far, only the males." She sighed, not commenting on the sheer confusion visible on my face. "And even in that, the criteria are pretty stifling and particular. You have to be in the age group of fifteen to twenty to phase. No one over the age of twenty or under fifteen has ever phased; counting the previous pack as well, that is. You have to have the gene from two family lines; one is simply not enough…."

"Two family lines?" I interrupted her, frowning.

What did she even mean by that?

Gosh. I was so confused at the moment.

I felt like an alien in a formed civilization, unable to comprehend of which language the strangers around me conversed in- and of why their mannerisms were so different from mine.

"Well," she paused, seemingly forming the sentence in her head before she spoke it out loud. "The Quileute tribe has always been a tight-knit community. It is always friends' getting their children married, or childhood friends discovering their love for one another after growing up. It is very rare that someone from the outside- another tribe or someone white, no offense- joins the tribe. It isn't a taboo or something frowned upon, thankfully. But it is a rarity. We are all related in here. Maybe not directly, which would be gross. But, somewhere- somehow, the family lines mix."

"So, correct me if I am wrong, but that would mean that you are related to someone out there in that room?"

"Exactly," she grinned. "Paula is my aunt. Don't ask me how many generations apart, I don't know. I just know that she was a Connweller before marriage, that being my last name. And hence, that would make her my aunt- on my father's side- and Paul my cousin."

"Oh." I frowned. She was Paul's cousin?

"And not just him," she continued. "I am related to Sam as well. My mom was an Uley before marriage. More often than not, we rely on the last name to know whether we are related to someone or not in here, having not many ways to do so, considering the lines are so very mixed. To add to that, in the older days, every couple had like minimum of five kids; all of them marrying into a different family line. So, you see where the confusion lies?" she finished with a short laugh.

I felt myself mirroring her laugh, shaking my head in amusement. "I don't know what to say to this. I…I have always had a small family, you know?

She nodded her head at that. "I am just glad that Jared and I don't share any relatives- as far as we know, that is. That would have been a heck of awkward!"

"You bet!" I snorted in response; my eyes wide in disbelief. "Who is Emily related to? Out of the boys?"

She shook her head at me, a small smile on her face. "She is from the Makah tribe. The only connection she has to La Push is Sam. She moved here for him."

"Sam?" I narrowed my eyes in question.

"Yes." She gave me a brief nod. "He imprinted on her. The first imprint of our generation. The elders were kind of not too thrilled that it was on someone outside of our tribe, but an imprint is a big deal and there is not anything one can do about it, like it or not. Of course, Jared imprinted on me much later on, and so I only know what the others have told me in the matter."

"Imprint, as in soul mate, right?"

She had told me about this 'imprint' business. It had been one of her stories shared.

And shockingly enough, she had also mentioned that Paul had imprinted on me- me becoming his everything in one mere second of his life, but that was a thought for another time.

I so did not want to think about that at the moment!

More like never wanted to think about it….

But of course, you do not get everything you wished for in life.

That being the sad reality of life.

"Yes." She answered my question, sighing. "It was a…huge affair. Too much drama concerning their imprint. Sam was engaged to Leah Clearwater at the time; their wedding was scheduled for the next month. And in comes, Emily Young. She was Leah's maid of honor and had come down to help in organizing the wedding."

"Oh. Shit." I squirmed at my place, visibly cringing, expecting the words that were to be heard next.

"Yup." She continued, "It was horrible. Sam imprinted on her, left Leah at the literal altar, moving in with Emily on the same day itself. Emily's family broke ties with her, never looking back from that one decision of theirs, no matter the fact that it has been almost a year to that."

"But that is so sad."

I don't know who exactly I meant this for.

Leah or Emily?

I guess, it was… for the both of them.

They had both suffered at the hands of fate…

Kim let out an audible sigh. "Life is tough and unexpected at times. You just don't know where your fate is leading you towards."

"Couldn't he have fought it or something? Maybe, rejected it?"

My voice was a mere whisper, the thought of a young woman being left at the altar leaving me with unparalleled sadness and hopelessness.

Ed…he had just been my boyfriend. Of a few months at that.

Sure, I had wanted to spend the rest of eternity with him and had been devasted when he left…but Leah…she had been engaged to Sam. They were about to be married. She would have seen a million dreams of their future…so many hopes….so many wishes….so many promises made and broken….

I could not even imagine the pain and despair she must have felt.

Her own cousin- her maid of honor- how truly terrible she must have felt?

It was…. unimaginable!

Kim sighed, forcing me to look up and meet her eyes. "It is not that easy, Bella. Emily was…is his sun. He has no choice but to orbit around her. Paul will never be able to be with another. It is just not possible. If you reject him, he dies. The wolf will purposefully enter a losing fight, having lost the will to live."

"Oh." I gasped in absolute horror.

Now, I admit, I wasn't very pro- imprinting. Obviously, I had been clueless to the topic less than a few hours ago. But I hadn't wished for someone to die.

I did not even know Paul.

Why would I wish for him to die?

I just…I don't know what my feelings were on the subject.

It was too sudden and unexpected.

I needed time to think and understand all what I had learnt today.

"That is just how it is." Kim finished with a sigh.

I nodded my head, humming my agreement, a confusing thought registering itself in my head.

"Wait." I frowned. "Sam is with Emily?"

She nodded her head instantly at that, waiting for me to continue.

"But…he is also with Paula?" I gulped.

"What?" she let out a loud laugh, confusing me even further. What did she have to laugh about? What was this hilarious?

"Who…what….what made you think that?"

"She welcomed me into the house." I defensively pointed out. "Like one does when they are welcoming someone into their own house?"

"So, you came to the conclusion that she and Sam?" she was hiding her smile, and surprisingly, I could hear loud laughs drifting upstairs from the living room down there. Several people lay sitting down there, if the laughs were anything to go by.

Well, to be precise, there were two loud growls hidden in those several boisterous laughs- angry, annoyed growls.

And it did feel too strange to be just a mere coincidence.

Wait.

Could they hear us?

Was super-hearing one of those added perks to being a shape-shifter?

"Kim," I hesitantly whispered. "Can they… hear us?"

Please say no.

Please say no.

Please say…

She simply nodded her head, a small sheepish grin on her face. "Even the whisper. It comes with the territory."

"Oh." I frowned; my eyes horrifyingly wide.

"And to answer your question," she continued, "this is the pack house. Everyone from the pack, imprints, elders and pack families treats this like their own house, free to enter and leave at any time in the day or night. Had it been anyone, really, they would have welcomed you in the same way."

Oh. My mouth dropped open in embarrassment.

Crap.

"And you thought…." She did not need to complete that sentence, the grimace on my face wide and obvious.

What had I been thinking?

Someone please kill me now!