PREVIOUSLY-

"Okay, so again, what in the world just happened?" I asked them both with wide eyes.

"He imprinted on you too." Jared told me. "But it's weird. Like we said, it's different than mine. It's like an imprint without being the romantic/soulmate type in any way."

"What I saw in my head… it was almost like Paul is destined to be my—"

"Looks like we're going to be BFF's, Swan." Paul cut me off. "Yeah, I saw the same thing you did. Seriously how do I manage to imprint on someone and automatically be friend-zoned for the rest of my life? I mean, I'm more than happy to be that for you, but how the fuck does that happen?"

I was just as confused as he was, but I could feel it too. Paul was meant to be my best friend and protector. In the visions I saw, we were even closer than I ever was with Jacob. I didn't know how or why but that's how it was.

"But you hate me…" I muttered under my breath, immediately feeling like the ground was breaking underneath me at the statement. How could the one pack member that hated me possibly become my best friend? I could feel my breathing increase.

"Goddammit Swan, I don't fucking hate you. I never have." Paul corrected immediately with a strained expression.

"But—"

"Sure, I was pissed that you willingly wanted to be associated with the damn bloodsuckers, but I didn't ever hate you. I only hated the situation." He finished. I somehow just knew that he was being honest but it still didn't explain everything.

"You seem to love calling me a 'leech lover'." I replied with hurt as Jared reached out to hold my hand securely.

He looked guilty. It was then that I realized I couldn't feel his emotions like I could feel Jared's. I had an inkling, but it wasn't even close to the full thing.

"I'm sorry, Swan. I'm obviously not good at controlling my temper or my mouth. I don't know why I imprinted on you, but you better damn well believe that I have your back. Anything you need outside of the whole relationship shit you got going with J, I got you. Hell, if you just want to bitch about him, I can do that too." Paul replied with a seriousness to his voice.

His words made me feel better about the situation.

"So, I practically have a soulmate imprint and a best friend imprint." I stated more to myself than anything. "The universe must really think I needed some help, I guess."

Jared gave my hand a small squeeze. "What I don't get is why it all just happened now. Both of us have been around you for months. We've looked at you countless times already. What could've possibly changed?"

"I let him go." I murmured, looking down. "I finally was able to let go of all attachments I had when I told Alice no. I'm free of their influence. I feel free, like my head is my own again for the first time since I met them." I'd never said a truer statement.

Both of them looked at me with concern. "What do you mean like your head is your own?" Jared asked me carefully.

I took a moment to think about it. "I don't know how to explain it, but I guess it almost felt like a fog has lifted. Like something was clouding my brain and I couldn't get past it. Not until today when I made the decision to stay here."

Paul growled lowly. "I'm gonna fucking kill all of them. Do you hear this shit, J? The damn leeches had her fucking mind controlled!"

I looked at Jared worriedly. "Do you think that's what happened?"

"That's definitely what it sounds like." I could tell he was angry, but he was keeping himself in check. "We need to get back and tell Sam. We need to tell him about everything."

I turned to Jared and put my arms around him. He took a deep breath and held me closely to his chest. For some reason I just knew that he needed that, and I didn't realize how much I needed it too.

"Alright lovebirds, you two will have plenty of time to familiarize yourselves with each other's bodies later. We need to go tell Sam so that I can get my ass out to patrol. I won't feel right until I know that the goddamn leech is gone." Paul mentioned.

I blushed at his words and pulled away from Jared reluctantly although his hand remained in mine.

"Go ahead and patrol. I'll tell Sam everything. Make sure to do a sweep around the police station too. I know Charlie's not there, but I want you to make sure no leeches have tried to check in on him." Jared told him.

Paul nodded before saying, "You two behave. Don't do anything I wouldn't do." He then winked and took off into the woods.

I laughed as I leaned into Jared. It felt like the most natural thing in the world to me and I didn't know what to make of that. It just felt so right.

"Why do I have a feeling that there isn't anything that he wouldn't do?" I asked Jared as we started to walk back to Emily's house.

He laughed deeply. "Because there isn't."

We finally made it back to Emily's and walked inside where the rest of the pack were waiting.

"You didn't kill Paul, did you?" Sam asked Jared with an eyebrow raised, noticing the missing pack member.

"Nah, bro. He was really itching to go patrol around Bella's, make sure the leech was gone, so I told him to go." Jared explained to him.

"So, what exactly happened?" Sam asked us curiously.

"Apparently I get to have two imprints." I told Sam. "Jared's imprint is just like yours with Emily, but Paul's is different."

Everyone's curiosity was piqued.

"I think they need some more clarity, babe." Jared whispered to me as I didn't fail to notice his nickname for me.

"Well basically Paul is destined to be my best friend and protector for life." I explained. Jared nodded to them in confirmation.

"That's, uh, definitely different, but the journals didn't say much about imprints, just that there was only one in the last pack. The council only knows what's in the journals, so they would be of no help either. If that's what your intuition says and your visions showed, then that's how it's meant to be. My question is why didn't it happen when the two of you first saw Bella?" Sam asked Jared.

"We think we might've figured that one out. We think the leeches might've been mind-controlling Bella." Jared began to explain to him. "She finally broke free of it today."

"Mind-control?" Embry asked from behind Sam.

"I freaking told you that I thought something more was going on! She wouldn't have been in withdrawals after they left if there wasn't. She was nearly catatonic!" Jake spoke up.

It wasn't until then that I realized he was right. What I'd experienced was exactly like withdrawals.

"I mean, she jumped off the highest cliff today in the middle of a storm—"

I closed my eyes, mentally cursing Jake for bringing that up. I didn't know if Jared knew or not and I was worried about his reaction.

"Enough, Jacob." Was all that I heard Jared say from beside me. His voice was quiet, and his emotions were nearly unreadable. Jacob silenced immediately. "I'm going to take Bella back to my house, we'll talk more about this at the next pack meeting."

Sam nodded and Jared held my hand, pulling me back out the door and to his car. I still couldn't get a good read on Jared's emotions. They were all over the place, but I could tell that he was trying to calm himself.

Before we got to his car, I tugged on his hand and turned him around to face me.

"Hey, it's alright. I'm fine, you know that." I told him as leaned into his chest. His arms wrapped around me as he breathed in deeply. I could feel that his emotions had calmed which made me feel a little better.

He didn't say anything more as he let me go and opened the car door for me to get in. We drove across the reservation until we pulled into a long driveway that led to a ranch style wooden house.

I knew he'd told Sam that he was taking me back to his house, but I was confused when I didn't see any other vehicles there.

"Is no one home?" I asked him curiously as we got out of the car and walked to the door. He picked up a rock and grabbed the key underneath, putting it in the lock.

"We are now." He replied with a small smirk, inviting me inside. What did that mean?

"You live alone?" I questioned.

He nodded. "I have for about the last 6 months. My parents decided to move to Los Angeles, but I couldn't leave the res because of the pack. Billy and the rest of the council had me emancipated from them before I turned 18 so that I could stay."

"Do they know?" I asked, referring to his status as a shapeshifter.

"No. They were pretty angry when I told them about the emancipation and haven't talked to me since they moved. At least I got the house out of it." He replied, closing the door.

I looked around for a minute, noting that the house looked a bit bare. I assumed that his parents took most of their things with them, leaving him only the bare essentials. I'd have to figure out a way to change that.

"So, this is it." He lifted his arms nervously and turned around as if to show me everything.

"It's great." I told him with a small smile. "Do I get to see your room?"

His eyebrow raised as he looked at me and he bit his lip, nodding as he motioned for me to follow him toward a door to the right.

He opened the door and let me inside before following behind.

It was so different from the rest of the house. The walls were a lush dark green like the forest and he had a huge king-sized hand-crafted wooden bed. There were bookshelves on one side filled with tons of books. On the other side there was a walk-in closet, a door that led to a bathroom, and tons of Native décor either hanging or sitting on shelves.

I was completely fascinated and totally in love.

"This is amazing, Jared." I told him happily as I sat down on his bed, still gazing at it all.

He smiled brightly at my comment and I could've swooned.

"I'm glad you like it." He replied happily.

"Me too, because I'm sure I'll be seeing a lot more of it." Even I was surprised at my forwardness, but it was the complete truth. I already knew that this connection with Jared was the most serious type of supernatural bond and that my future with him was set in stone.

I could feel his clear excitement at my statement. "Yes, you will."

He leaned forward toward me on the bed, placing his hands on the mattress on either side of me, making me lean back slightly.

He was so close to me. I could feel his hot breath on my lips, and I couldn't help myself.

I closed the distance and pressed my lips against his. The feelings that came with my action were completely and utterly indescribable. In an instant, I replayed the visions I had when he imprinted on me, and I was entranced.

After a moment, he pulled away. After resting his forehead on mine for another moment, he pressed a soft kiss to it and pushed himself off to my side, sitting on the bed next to me.

"I could definitely get used to that. A lot of that." He whispered excitedly.

"Feel free to indulge whenever you want." I winked at him before he leaned over and lightly kissed me again.

"Oh I will." He replied, leaning back again.

A/N- I am completely awed at the response this story has gotten! You guys really do know how to make an author want to write more. I love it! As always, please let me know what you think. Happy reading!

-Bex