PREVIOUSLY-

"Sam?" I asked, not being able to see in the dark.

"Go back to sleep, honey." He whispered to me sweetly as he laid me in the bed.

"Where's Seth?" I questioned with a yawn.

"Asleep on the couch. I'm going to let him stay for the night." Sam replied, kissing my forehead. I nodded and mumbled something before I felt my eyes closing again.


When I woke up in the morning, it was to kisses running along my collarbone. I blinked my eyes open and saw Sam smiling at me.

"Good morning, honey." He whispered, leaning over to kiss my lips as I tried to get closer to his warmth.

"Mmm morning to you too." I responded with another kiss. "How was patrol last night?"

"Quiet. Almost too quiet. I spoke with Carlisle and he's agreed to meet with us after we get back from Port Angeles today. He said that Edward and Alice are 'not in the area' at the moment and he is unsure of where they've gone. Their 'cousins' up in Denali say Edward and Alice are not with them." Sam told me.

I felt worry seep into my bones. Where were they and why didn't they tell Carlisle where they were going?

"Did you catch their scent anywhere nearby?" I asked him quickly.

"No, I only caught the one trail leading from the Cullens north towards Canada. I also told Carlisle that Charlie was under our protection now so that he didn't think the treaty was being violated. He told me he figured that was the case but thanked me for warning him nonetheless." He replied.

His attention went to the doorway for a second and I knew that meant he heard something.

"Thanks, Seth. I'll be down in a minute." He spoke after a moment. I looked at him with confusion and he laughed. "Seth went over to Paul and Rachel's and got you a new set of clothes to wear today while we get yours."

"Thank you, Seth." I spoke. Even though I couldn't hear his reply, I knew that he could hear me. I was touched that he thought to even do that.

"We'll have to leave soon so why don't you go ahead and take a shower. I'll grab your clothes from Seth and bring them back up then make us some breakfast." He told me, leaning over to kiss me again before getting out of the bed.

I took my shower and got dressed in the clothes Seth had brought back before walking down the stairs.

When I made it in the kitchen, I saw Sam and Seth sitting at the table waiting for me with plates of breakfast for all of us.

"Good morning, Seth. Did you sleep okay on the couch?" I asked, knowing that couldn't exactly have been comfortable.

"I slept great. I think having you close by helped a lot. I went over to see Mom this morning and explained everything out for her." He responded.

"What did she say?" I asked him quickly, worried about how Sue would respond.

"She was totally cool about it. She said she was surprised that this type of imprint existed, but she said that 'if anyone needed another imprint just for protection, it would be Bella Swan'." He laughed.

Of course it would be me, danger magnet extraordinaire.

"We're taking my truck and we're going to pick up Rachel and Kim at Paul's place. Paul, Jared, and Seth will follow." Sam told me as I finished my breakfast.

"No, Paul and Jared will follow, I'm going to scout ahead." Seth told him adamantly. I could tell he was worried.

I reached over and placed my hand on his arm, "I'll be fine, Seth. We're just going shopping. I'll have four of you there. I think we'll be okay."

He sighed. "I know, it's just my first official protection detail." I giggled at how he made it sound like I was the president or something.

"It's technically not." I replied and he gave me a confused look. "Up on that mountain. You forget that you helped save my life. Don't doubt yourself, I trust you."

His entire demeanor seemed to relax at my words.

Once we were done, Sam and I climbed in his truck (which was much nicer and newer than mine) and Seth phased, running ahead toward Paul's. Jake and Embry met us at Paul's and I told them what I wanted from Charlie's so that they could get it. Rachel and Kim then climbed in the truck while the guys took off into the woods.

"So did she really take all of your clothes and just get rid of them?" Kim asked me curiously.

"Everything, even my undergarments and shoes. She replaced them all with these crazy designer dresses and heels and stuff. Do I really look like the type of girl to wear dresses and heels?" I replied.

"Definitely not. That's just not your style. I mean, I like to dress up, but I like to be comfortable too. Not to mention, you live in the woods now in the middle of the wettest area in the continental United States. There's days when we are covered in mud up to our waists." Kim said to me. I couldn't help but agree.

"Honestly I hate shopping too. If I didn't need to replace pretty much everything, I wouldn't even go." I muttered, sounding exasperated.

"We got you, girl. Kim and I are the masters at shopping. All you have to do is sit there, look pretty, and say whether you like something or not. Maybe occasionally try on something. But trust me, we won't be picking out anything that doesn't have your seal of approval first." Rachel told me excitedly.

"Thank you guys so much for all the help. Things have been kind of crazy and I'm really glad that I have you both. Having someone else who understands what's going on always makes things easier."

"We pack sisters have to stick together. I may be older than you both but I was so relieved to have Kim there when Paul imprinted on me and we've been best friends ever since." Rachel replied.

"I keep forgetting you're older. 21, right?" I asked her.

"Yep. Paul always jokes around saying that he got the 'cougar', just because I'm technically almost 4 years older than he is." She laughed.

We talked and joked the entire rest of the hour long drive to Port Angeles while Sam just smiled and shook his head, listening to us.

Once we got there, we commenced our shopping spree (with Sam's insistence that he pay for all of it).

True to their word, Rachel and Kim did most of the shopping themselves but made sure I approved of everything first. I was really glad that Rachel seemed to have the same style as me so it was pretty easy.

Everything went off without a hitch… until we were loading everything into the truck, getting ready to go home.

I heard a low howl in the woods near the almost empty parking lot.

"Get in the truck. Now." Sam told all three of us immediately. We did as he said while he stood and watched the tree line.

I saw a brief glimpse of Seth's sandy fur at the edge of the trees and moments later, I saw a head of blonde hair.

It was Jasper.

Why had Jasper come? Was it on behalf of Alice?

He stayed at the tree line and Sam stood guard by the truck, but I could tell they were speaking.

After what felt like forever, Jasper flashed away, and Sam was climbing into the truck.

"What did he say?" I asked him quickly.

"He said that he's left Alice, that her and Edward had something planned for you but the imprint ruined it. Apparently Alice had forced him to use his abilities on you to keep you thinking you were in love with Edward. She'd told him that she'd seen something terrible happen if he didn't. He found out that she was lying about it the night before the wedding, which is why he stopped manipulating your emotions. It was how you were able to leave. He doesn't know what they're going to do, only that he would help us when the time came." Sam told me.

So I had been manipulated into loving Edward. In a way it made me relieved, but at the same time I felt almost degraded.

I was nervous too. I didn't know what their plan was and I was afraid of what it could possibly be.


A/N- Did you see that one coming?