AN: sorry for the delay in updating, I was lost reading fanfiction, like all of you I love reading others' works, if you haven't ever read The Sad Girl and the The Angry Girl you've missed something really good.

10.

Bella opened her eyes, and she found out that she was sleeping in Paul's arms. She looked into his intense eyes, the eyes of the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with, and she smiled at him. She raised her hand to caress his face, but he took it into his much bigger one, he pulled her wrist to his mouth and kissed where the scar had been.

"The shaman took it off, how do you feel about it?" He asked her softly.

"I'm happy and sad, it was a reminder of something I cherished and something I feared. But I'm a new Bella, and that scar isn't part of what I want to be anymore." She whispered.

"So the shaman shared a lot of information with me, how did you Spirits walk go?" He asked seriously.

She bit her lip, she knew they had to talk about what transpired. "The shaman told me about being your imprint, and asked me if I wanted to remove my shield. I decided to keep it, because I think it's going to be useful when we get back, and I want you to stay with me for choice."

He nodded. "I agree about being useful, but I won't fight you if you decide later on that you want us to be an imprinted couple. However, I would be happy to know that you chose me for the right reasons, and that I choose to be with you without compulsion."

"I know how you feel, I want to be free to be with you, but at the same time I would like the idea to be yours forever. I guess we can talk about it after Victoria is taken care of." She told him honestly. "Can I ask you something? What do you think about Sam and Jared's imprints?"

Paul shrugged his shoulders. "I think they're crazy to think that it's a gift. The girls that were chosen for them aren't what they would have picked. Sam was crazy about Leah, and then Emily came along and the imprint destroyed an entire family. Don't get me started about Jared, the girl was in his class for ten years and he never even noticed her. So much for being the perfect fit."

Bella could see his reasoning, and with a heavy heart asked. "Then you think I was the wrong choice for you as well?"

Paul nodded. "I think you were the wrong choice if we had imprinted when I first met you. Come on Bella, you thought that your soul mate was a leech, and I disliked you very much. I can foresee how it would have gone, I would have fought the imprint, you would have fought the imprint, and then we would have felt compelled to fuck to seal a bond neither of us wanted. The way I see it, the imprint should be the last step, not the first. I got to know you, you're kind, compassionate, and you never judge people. You're beautiful and smart, I couldn't ask for more. But all of this, I learnt after we got to know each other."

She nodded in understanding. "I agree, I would have freaked out about it. You weren't actually my first or second or any choice whatsoever. But after I got to know you, you're funny and passionate and you make me strong, so I cannot imagine anyone better. Imprinting would have been a disaster for us."

They looked at each other, now they both knew that they had mixed feelings about imprinting, and that they would have to dig further in both their hearts to come to a decision.

Paul passed a hand nervously through his hair. "My main concern in not choosing to go through with the imprint is how my pack will deal with it. I don't want you to be treated differently or be less welcome only because we aren't bonded by magic. But we'll deal with this shit when we get back."

Bella agreed with him, there were going to be times ahead of them that would be difficult without the magical bond, but she wasn't ready now, so it was a moot point to discuss it any longer. "Anyway, is the shaman able to send us back?"

"Yes, he'll send us back through the Spirits world. But… there's something I want to talk to you about…" he told her. "I want to learn how to be Alpha of the pack."

Bella was shocked. "Why? I didn't think that you wanted that kind of power."

"I don't want it, but when we get back I want to have that option for you. I don't want anyone ordering me not to protect you. I want to be in charge of taking down the bitch that is after you." He growled. "I'll let Sam be Alpha, but if he goes against my wishes regarding you, then I will make my own decisions. The shaman says that he can teach me how to be more powerful in exchange for me sharing everything I know about the wolf pack. He knows that soon Taha Aki will need every information he can get about being a wolf. The shaman thinks he'll phase soon."

She bit her lip pensively. "I wouldn't mind staying a little bit longer here with you, but what about the people that are worrying about us in our world?"

"The shaman told me that time passes differently here, he'll send us back closer to the time we left. He told us we can stay as long as we want. I would say a week or two, and then we get back. Only if you agree." He told her.

"Ok for me, I was just worried about Charlie, but if we get back close to the time we left I don't see why not staying a little bit longer. We get to spend time together and to know each other more." She said, and then they agreed to stay until Paul could master his wolf and his power better.

….

The two weeks passed slowly, in the morning Paul would go and stay until midday with the shaman. He would come back silent and introspective, after lunch his mood would lift, and they would take long walks and talk about everything. Their bond was deepening without the aid of magic, but with the certainty of the rightness of the relationship.

They didn't need the imprint to know they were compatible both mentally and physically, and they didn't discuss it any longer because there was no need for magic when they could create the magic themselves.

At the end of the two weeks, Bella woke up and felt Paul's eyes on her. She looked up, and he was watching her. "Hey…" She whispered.

He smiled, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. "It's time to go back Bella. Believe me when I say that I would love to stay more, but I learnt everything I needed and we need to get rid of Victoria."

She nodded, and caressed his face. It was the last morning she would wake up next to him. "I'm not sure I want to go back."

He kissed her then, and she knew he didn't want to go back either. She understood that it was time to go, and she resigned to go back to dreary and scary Forks.

"I don't want to go back either, but now I came up with a plan to kill that leech, and I want to start our future together as soon as possible." He told her.

"Ok, let's go. We can't keep anything of this world, can we?" She asked, and he shook his head.

Bella and Paul went to say goodbye to Utla, Taha Aki and all the other Quileultes that they had met. Paul took her hand, and slowly but resolutely they started walking towards the shaman's hut.

It was time to go back.