Chapter 24.2: A Conversation with Emily

Disclaimer: Sorry! there was two more part of the story that I forgot to add to the last chapter, so I am sending this chapter first the part three then chapter 25. It was only after I was almost done writing chapter 25 that I remembered to make it flow more and consistent..

The next day, I woke up on an empty bed. Confused, I put on my glasses, looked around and went out to the kitchen to look for Paul. Paul was making breakfast, and he turned around smiling brightly, "I have a surprise for you. I thought I would make breakfast for you before I take you to your surprise."

Excited, I said, "Okay."

We ate quickly and we got ready. Before I went outside, Paul blindfolded me, and carefully guided me to get on his truck. I was also nervous of what Paul had in store for me. I felt the truck coming to a stop, and he gently took me out of the truck. I felt myself walking up to someone's front porch when I heard people shushing inside.

I heard a door opening. Then, Paul ripped the blindfold off, and everyone screamed, "CONGRATS."

I jumped, and I saw that we were at Sam and Emily's place. Quil, Embry, Seth, Leah, Sam, Emily, Kim, Claire, and Jared were all there in the living room waiting for us. There were balloons, decorations all over the room with a sign across the ceiling saying, "CONGRATULATIONS FOR GETTING MARRIED".

I stood there gaping at everything, and Paul put a hand behind me and said, "What do you think love?"

I said looking at him and glancing everyone, "Oh! Thank you, guys, so much. You didn't have to do all of this for me."

Jared said, "You're our first mated pack sister! Of course, we are going to do something to celebrate" as he pulled Kim to his waist. Kim looked lovingly at Jared and gave me a small smile.

Quil mumbled loudly, "If we didn't, Paul would've killed us", and Sam smacked him in the head. Quil rubbed the back of his head, looking angrily at Sam with Sam giving him a glare before turning to me smiling.

Sam said, "Like Jared said, you're pack now, and I wanted to make you feel welcome no matter where you came from. I know..we gave you a bad first impression, but I hope it is just a bad first impression."

I replied, "Thanks."

Emily then spoke trying to be authoritative as alpha female, "Well, lets dig in".

Quil was about to grab his first serving when she smacked his hand away, scoldingly said, "Ale and Paul should get first dibs on my cooking. It is their party".

Quil smiled sheepishly, "Sorry, Em. You know me, when it comes to food, I forget all reason."

Embry and Seth rolled their eyes. There was a long table filled with food, drinks, and snacks. I went first to grab myself fried chicken, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, cole slaw, green beans, and chocolate chip muffins. Everyone else lined up behind me, and we all sat down either in the ground, table, or the couch. There were so many people that it was chaotic, but it was a good chaotic. It showed how close everyone else.

After the wolves ate their third plate, Sam stood up and said, "Alright guys, lets separate and celebrate. Let's leave the imprints hang out together and get to know each other and we will go play football at the beach."

The guys cheered, and they all ran out of the house. The only ones left were me, Kim, Emily, Quil and Claire.

Claire yawned widely as she rubbed her eyes in sleepiness. Quil said, "Oh someone is getting tired, Em, Imma put Claire to bed upstairs, cool with you?"

She said, "yeah that's fine. Her mom is coming later on to pick her."

Quil nodded, went, and put Claire to bed, then he finally phases to go catch up with the rest of the guys at the beach.

Now it was just me, Kim and Emily. We all went and sat together at the couch. I looked at both to see if they are going to do or say anything.

Emily was the first one to speak, she said, "…Leah told me she won't be my bridesmaid, but she is going to show up to the wedding as a guest."

Oh. Wow. I was surprised Leah is willing to still show up to the wedding. I wonder why she is still willing to show up. Is she going to attend to finally put a closure to her past? I also wasn't surprised that Emily brought this up, so I knew a confrontation with her is going to occur one way or another.

Kim stiffened uncomfortably and got up. She said anxiously, "Uhh. I am going to back home to grab, uh, champagne for us to celebrate. I be back." Oh, they had this planned this whole time. Shequickly left, and the atmosphere between me and Emily got more awkward.

She sounds like she wants to start something, but keeping my cool, I said, "oh, yeah?"

She looked at me, expecting me to say more, so she continues, "Sam said he saw parts of your conversation with Leah, and you encouraged Leah to decline my offer."

I replied, "Yeah, but at the end of the day, it was still Leah who decided to agree not me. I didn't make her to choose. Are you perhaps upset with me?"

Trying to save herself, she looked at me frantically, "No! it is just that I was really expecting for Leah to come as my bridesmaid.."

I asked, "How come her showing up to the wedding isn't enough?

She said, "We promised that as kids, we will be each other's bridesmaid. Even though things are not like what it used to be..I thought if I ask her to come, it'll help her or else she might regret not being my bridesmaid later on."

I said, "your intentions may seem to be honorable, but you don't get to decide for Leah. If she wants to not be a bridesmaid and regret, then that is her choice not yours."

She said frowning at me, "But you're talking as if I am forcing her. What makes you think that?"

I thought to myself looking at incredibly, I think she knows what I am talking about, but she is refusing to acknowledge it to make herself look innocent.

I said, "Uhm, you are forcing her when you told Sam. Fully knowing the kind of history, they both have, the moment you brought Sam into this, it became Sam problem. It is not you and Leah problem anymore. Sam as your imprint, he would want to make you happy, so even if it makes Leah upset, he can actually alpha order Leah to attend whether she likes it or not. I think that is a dickish move on him because he rather hurt his pack sister in order to please his imprint. No matter how much of higher status an imprint, they are not better than a pack member, a pack member needs shouldn't be disregarded. Even though he may look like a caring imprinter, he is being a terrible alpha. What do you think that tells the others in the pack? They are worthless compare to an imprint? No matter how special or valuable an imprint is, no one should be considered lowly, or needs be ignored. That is just wrong."

She said, "I ..didnt think that it could look like that."

I said bluntly, "Yeah."

She was shifting in her seat, so I asked bluntly, "You seem anxious and insecure around me, how come?"

She said covering her scarred face, "Its because you are not just an imprint but a claimed mate. You're beautiful, wise, kind..."

She is jealous of me, so I said, "..Even though I don't have physical scars like you, but I know the frustrated feeling of people not really looking at you."

She asked, "What do you mean by that?"

I said slowly, "I am legally blind due to my eye disease. I had three eye surgeries performed in my eyes and yet I can never get my vision back no matter how much I want it. Now I have limitations, and there are many things that I can't do anymore. I have to accept that is my reality now, and no matter how much Whenever I tell people, majority of them would look at me with pity. They no longer see me as me, but they see my disability instead. So with you, I bet people only see you for the scars but not you as the person, haven't they?"

She said with tears building up in her eyes, "Yeah…How you got over it?"

I looked away and said, "Honestly, I don't think I would ever get over it. No matter how much I forced myself to ignore my disability and pretend that I am as normal as everyone else in the world, I am constantly reminded of it. All I can do is get used to being pitied and don't let their stares and perceptions change how I see myself because I know myself that there is more to me than my disability. It is forever part of me, and I can't change that, but I be damned to let it stop me from living my life. Doing that would not only hurt me but also those who are and love me...So I say to you, don't let your physical scars define who you are. You are so much than the scars that you don't need me to tell you who you are. You know who you are. If anything, your insecurity is showing me that you don't trust Sam's love for you."

Hopefully, what I said just now shows why I changed the topic a little to get her to realize on her own about her insecurity and how it is hurting both Sam and those who care about her.

She said, "Oh, I know Sam loves me. I feel his love for me, but I'm just an imprint.."

I continued, "Sam sees you for you, he doesn't see you for the scars. You are not just for looks. He has gotten to know you when you guys moved in together. However, because your held back by your scars, I think this is what preventing you from going on a deeper relationship with Sam into a mating couple. Sam goes as far as you are willing because you have more control of the imprinting than he does. The more you held yourself back due to your scars, the harder it is for Sam to forgive himself. He knows that you are self-conscious of the scars through the bond, so he continues to hate himself for it no matter how much you verbally tell him that you forgave him. Your action says it otherwise. I know..its hard to move forward with it, I get that, but I think its time for you to start loving yourself not see yourself just for the looks and how much of a housewife that you are. Not gonna lie, you are a mean cook and a great housewife, but you are also considerate and helped Sam so much more than you're letting on." I said the last part to boost her confidence a little.

She asked, "How?"

I said, "It is because he imprinted on you, he was able to adapt to the dark times of his life when he first phased as the first alpha shapeshifter. If he didn't have you, then he wouldn't be the Sam that we know now. He could've been pushed into insanity by now to be honest. You helped him, gave him the love and support that he needed to remind himself that he is still human no matter that he shares his mind and body with a wolf spirit."

She stayed quiet, trying to absorb everything that I just told her. No matter how flawed of a person Emily is, behind every mask, there is a person hurting. She is a okay person, but she isn't someone that I can be besties with, especially knowing that she purposely took Sam away from Leah no matter how much she denies it.

I said, "You have no reason to be jealous of me. Me beautiful, wise and kind? I'm not really wise. I am just someone who ..went through a lot and because of that, I am able to be compassionate to others. I had to go through every hard things to realize important, valuable things to consider in life and to see value of life. So, you shouldn't be jealous of me. If anything, I should be jealous of you because you have your family and friends here…I.. I don't. They won't ever get to see me married, have kids, meet Paul, succeed in life and die..Even I do die, I won't be able to return to my world ever again since I am a claimed mate now. I don't regret being a claimed mate, but it does come at a cost for me. I don't get jealous because I know it is just wasted energy. I should invest what I can do here while I am here, and try not to focus on what I don't have."

Bile was rising up in my throat, but I try not to cry in front of her. Then, Kim came back with champagne just in time. I didn't want to talk more on this subject, it was getting me depressed and sad, so I drank my sorrows away. They looked back at me concerningly.

By the time the guys came back from partying at the beach, we were all drunk, passed out in the couch. Paul carried me back to the house, showered me to get the smell of alcohol off of me, dressed me and put me to bed with him embracing him.

I mumbled, "Thank you..Paul for everything."

He didn't say anything, but I fell him smile as we fell asleep into darkness.

Author's Note:

Thank you, guys, for the comment on chapter 23! It reminded me to not neglect certain things that I had set up in this story.

What do you think of Ale's conversation with Emily? I'm curious.

Thanks!