PREVIOUSLY-

"You need to eat, too." He said in a concerned voice.

"I will once I get some answers…" I muttered to him, really needing to know. He took a deep breath and looked back down to me.

"How about this, you eat first, then get answers." He tried to say, but he could tell by the look on my face that I wasn't backing down. "Alright then, grab a plate and come outside with me. We will both eat and get answers at the same time?"

I conceded and made myself a small plate before following him outside. Once in the back yard, I saw Sam in the tree line before he made some type of a sound, walking into the dark forest. There was a small table and chairs on the back porch and we both sat down.

"What is going on, Seth?" I asked him as soon as I finished a bite of my food.

"Well, you already know about us-the pack, I mean-, right?" He asked and I nodded. "So, I really don't know a lot, because this is all so new to me anyways, but Sam just kind of explained what this," He gestured between himself and I, "is at least. This has really been a crazy day, and it's all a bit overwhelming, so just bear with me?"

"I'm sorry, Seth, I should just wait—"I mumbled, feeling bad for pressing him for answers.

"No, no, Bella. You're the one good thing that's happened to me today… I mean it's kinda cool but definitely terrifying that I can turn into a giant wolf, but this totally makes it worth it." He said before taking a huge bite of spaghetti.

"So, what exactly is this?" I asked, reaching over and putting my hand on his arm, feeling the electricity hum through us both. I watched as he closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, relishing in the feeling.

"The best feeling in the world." He muttered quietly, I looked at him pointedly, wanting a descriptive answer. "Alright, alright. So, from what Sam explained, it's called imprinting. Basically, when I looked in your eyes for the first time, after I phased, I imprinted on you. It's not like love at first sight, not exactly. It's like gravity moves, suddenly. It shifts completely. It's not the earth's gravity holding me here anymore, it's you. Like a million steel cables tying me to you and it makes me fill up with this glowing heat whenever I look at you. Everything else comes secondary now. I'll be anything you need me to be, anything at all… a friend, a protector, eventually maybe even a lover." He turned bright red at the last word.

I sat there and took it all in for a minute. He was right, it was… a lot. Wow. If I didn't feel it myself, I wouldn't believe it, but I knew he wasn't lying. I thought about it for a second.

"So, I'm, you know, it, for you?" I asked him.

"Only if or when you want that. If you want me to be your best friend for life, then that's what I'll be." He explained with kind of a far-off look.

"But then I'd be sentencing you to a life alone, wouldn't I? You wouldn't be able to be with anyone else, would you?" I asked but I already knew the answer.

"I'd be happy as long as you are happy." He told me, looking down. "I told you, I'll be whatever you need me to be. If we start as friends, and you eventually need me or want me in a different way, the imprint will sense that, and I will be whoever you want me to be. Right now, I know you aren't ready for anything more than friendship, and definitely protection, and I'm okay with that, really. I'm 15, you're 18. Age is just a number to me, but it means something to you."

"It doesn't mean as much to me anymore, I mean you'll eventually age right? Once you stop phasing?" I asked him curiously.

"Sam thinks that I'll actually keep aging until I reach my prime, then stay there as long as I keep phasing, but yes, I'll be able to age, have kids, grow old, all of it." He told me and I felt a rush of endorphins… I hadn't even considered that as a possibility in so long.

Aging, having kids, growing old with the one I love, and eventually dying. It wasn't until now, now that the possibility presented itself to me, that I realized how much I would have missed if I had gone the other route. I hadn't even known I'd wanted kids until just now. How nice it would be to have a few black haired, tanned skinned little ones running through the woods as their father and I grew old and gray together, then slipping off to whatever is after this life together…

"Bella?" He asked, and I pulled myself out of my thoughts with a blush. Had I really gone that far in my head just now?

"Um, sorry about that… I just kind of went down a rabbit hole in my thoughts. Happens a lot." I told him, embarrassed. He just smiled at me.

"It's okay. I know all of this will probably take a while to process. I know the whole wolf thing will for me… the imprint, on the other hand, feels like it's been part of me my whole life. I wish you could see it in my mind like Sam could." Seth said, looking a little far away again. I reached out and put my hand over his, feeling the electricity again.

"I may not know exactly how it feels for you, but I do feel something." I began, making him look up at me. "It's like all of a sudden I know for certain I'm absolutely safe with you. Even though you're a brand-new wolf, I know you wouldn't hurt me, at least never on purpose. I'm sure Sam's told you what to do if you get angry enough to phase." He nodded. "I feel like I need to be here for you, too. With your dad, the wolf thing, all of it."

The look he gave me could've broken my heart. It was like all of the day's events were finally catching up to him. I could see tears forming in his eyes, but he quickly blinked them away, wiping at his cheeks as he looked off to the woods.

"That- uh- that means a lot to me." He whispered softly, then turned his head sharply to the woods, hearing a howl. "Go back inside, please? I need to—" he pointed at the woods and I nodded, understanding.

He took one last look at me before running off into the woods. I grabbed our empty plates and went back inside, just ask he'd asked.

Sue met me at the door and opened it for me, letting me in. Once inside, she gently touched my cheek. "Thank you, Bella, both for the dinner, and for giving my son something to be happy about through such a difficult time."

It was then that I realized she knew about the wolves and must have known what happened between me and Seth. I just nodded, not knowing what else to say.

I went in search of Charlie. He was talking to Billy about something funeral related, saying they had a lot of work to do and that he was going to call in for tomorrow.

"Heya, Bells. You did a good thing, making that spaghetti. It was really good, by the way. I see you and Seth are getting along pretty well. Kid needs a distraction from all that's happened. Anyways, I think I'm going to stay at Billy's for the night, get an early start on things tomorrow. You going to head home?" Charlie asked me. I didn't know when Seth would be back so I figured I might as well. I was about to respond when I was cut off.

"Bella can stay the night here, Charlie. I could use the company." I heard a voice say from behind me, turning around to notice it was Leah. After our introduction earlier, I was wondering why she was doing this.

A/N- Please review :)