Imprinting

I hate him, Edward's voice plastered in my mind, his hatred for Jacob sinking into my own.

Edward, just ignore him, I called out to him. But then his mind began to picture the Bella he had never seen. It was the Bella I had watched over, the Bella Jacob had comforted. My hatred started to mask Edward's.

"What an ass." I expressed loudly in the kitchen. I'd been stitching up my arm because it still hadn't healed. My body rested at the table that was never used for eating, only recently by Bella.

"Jacob?" Esme questioned from the laundry room.

"Yeah, like he doesn't know Edward hates seeing Bella in pain. Like he meant for her to flip the way she did. Honest, he's the one person I'd like to ruin my perfect track record on." I continued as Bella told Jacob to stop. Then, of course, Jacob displayed his usual blabber mouth and told Bella what had happened while she was gone. This meant Edward was going to have to tell Bella the details he'd kindly left out, making sure she'd be mad at Edward. Just what Edward didn't want nor need. Jacob, however, kindly left out my injury.

"It's extremely nice to know they are angels." I got up from the table and headed over to Esme as she handed me a clean bandage. "Because lord knows they have the best temper and would never hurt a fly." We both looked to my arm as my other hand secured the bandage around it.

"Does it hurt?" she asked gently, her soft voice concerned.

I smiled and shrugged at her. "No, it could be worse. I wish it would heal faster though, I don't like being injured. It's been awhile, I'm not used to it." I chuckled. As her smile returned and started to picture beating up Paul. She gave me a stern look, almost as if she could read minds. "I know, I know,' I put my hands up in innocence, "no fighting."

"It was right of you to protect Emmett. Though I'm pretty sure he could have taken care of himself. But girls will be girls." she went back to the laundry room. "You're becoming more and more like Rosalie everyday."

Rose appeared as if on cue and smiled as I looked at her. "Me and Julia are the toughest." she smirked as I nodded to her. "You up for some hunting?" she asked with her medium brown eyes. I still hadn't been able to eat, but now seemed like a good a time as any.

"Yeah." I replied and we went out the back quickly.

As we jumped over the creek she started to talk to me.

"You don't like her either, do you?" She didn't have to tell me who she was talking about and I didn't have to see her face to know her expression.

"I don't hate her, honestly, I don't think I can. Edward is so in love with her that all I hear from him is how great she is." I answered truthfully. "But I hate how needed she is. Really, she acts like she isn't, but she completely is. And it's clear she likes him protecting her, even though she always complains about it."

"Humans." she hissed.

"And this whole Victoria deal is ridiculous." I rolled my eyes. "Edward should just change her and stop arguing with it. We all know he's going to do it sooner or later. It's not like prolonging it is going to make it not happen." There was a deer up ahead so I lowered my voice. "It just seems that everything is for her benefit instead of the families.

As we got closer Rosalie fell back, a way of saying the deer was mine. This time you'll hold it down I told myself as if I were anorexic or bulimic. I stopped over head and watched the deer. Its muscles were relaxed while its mouth grazed at the grass below. My body fell quickly from above, landing right on the deer's spine and making its death quick and painless. Before I could be revolted, I sunk my teeth into the back of its neck. The warm blood filled my mouth and traveled down my throat to my empty stomach. Then it started to come back up. I placed my hand over my mouth and took a few steps back, slowly motioning forward for Rosalie to take the rest of the deer's blood.

After a few minutes, I couldn't keep it down. I coughed and the blood came back up. I bent over, keeping my mouth slightly open so the small drops of blood could slowly drop out. Rosalie stood up straight and simply looked at me.

"You have to be hungry," she commented, coming closer and resting her hand on my back. I looked up at her slightly, her eyes now the perfect shade of topaz, and mine reflected black.

"If I could smell, it'd probably be much worse." I looked back down at the ground and placed my hands to my knees. Below me rested the puddle of blood. It's color dark with an unreflective surface. "I just feel so weak," my hands clenched to fist and my teeth gritted.

"You're anything but," she said sincerely and moved back as I stood up. "We should head back."

"You can. I'm going to take a walk."

She nodded and started back for the house as I started in the opposite direction. My body moving fast, but slower than usual, darted through the trees. My hands tore at branches and my feet broke limbs. My eyes burned and my breathing had stopped. A rain started and my cloths went from dry to moist then to wet. I stopped miles away from where I had begun and as I started to breath again, it came out rushed and quickened. As if I was actually tired. My clothes became completely soaked and my hair plastered around my face.

Then I realized where I was. A wolf came out from the trees and landed a few feet in front of me. I stumbled back uneasily until I was on the proper side of the line, but to my surprise, the wolf did not follow quickly. It merely took a few steps slowly and looked at me with innocent eyes. His mind didn't speak to me, his thoughts concealed as his large eyes looked at me. His eye's held a gentle softness; one I hadn't seen a wolf give a vampire in ages. Then I recognized him, he was the wolf I had run into before. Unconsciously, I moved my hand over the wound and his eyes followed. As he took in the bandage, his head dropped and he started to fall back.

"Wait." I called to him, moving forward to diminish some of the distance between us. He stopped, his eyes turning somewhat excited at the sound of my voice. As if he'd waited for it his whole life. I pushed my wounded arm forward and asked "does this bother you?"

His excitement left and a sadness covered his face. He nodded twice.

"Why?" my eyes stared at him with questioning. "Isn't this what your kind live for? To hurt vampires?" his expression looked hurt and he frowned at me with slight anger on his face. He shook his head in distaste. This only confused me more.

"Who are you?" I asked and he moved back slowly. It was as if he were going to transform in the trees.

SETH DON'T! It was Sam coming to us like a bat out of hell. He positioned himself right between us, as if he were protecting the younger wolf from me. His lips curled back and I glared at him.

"Really Sam, I don't hurt without reason like your Paulie seems to." I shot to him. His expression softened and his position seemed to relax but he was still at the ready.

Then he spoke to me. Do you feel anything?

I gave him a quizzical stare then shook my head no. "What do you mean?" I asked him, my eyebrows furrowing.

Sam looked to Seth, whose expression was now laden with sorrow and hurt. He almost looked like he were about to cry. I suppose it wouldn't work on your kind, he hissed. I still didn't understand what he meant.

"Sam, what are you-" I started to ask again what he was getting at, then my eyes locked with Seth's. They held so much emotion. Then it clicked and the word slowly rolled off my tongue. "Imprinting?"

Seth looked away, as if he were embarrassed then started to run away.

SETH! Sam shouted before turning to me one last time. Yes Julia, he thought sourly, then chased after Seth.

I stood there for awhile, not knowing what to do. Then, out of nowhere, Edward was there. I hadn't heard him, but he apparently had heard everything.

"I almost ran into a tree," he exclaimed. I still hadn't moved. "It's impossible. They can't imprint on us."

I simply shrugged. "He obviously can. Sam wouldn't be that upset if he couldn't." my voice was hushed, it wouldn't have been heard by anyone else.

"Julia?" he questioned me. My head seemed to be spinning and because I was not human, the cold air around us didn't help.

"What does it mean, Edward?" I asked him as if he knew the answers. "Is this going to change anything?" my voice caught, as if I were afraid. But what was there to be afraid of? This meant the wolves couldn't hurt us, they weren't aloud to hurt the ones the others loved. Did that mean we were using them?

"I think it will turn out that way." Edward commented. "Especially if you don't love him."

"I don't even know him…" I looked up at him. "What if I did?"

He simply looked at me as if I were crazy. "You can't serious." I shrugged at him. "Julia, no, he's a wolf, he's our enemy." He placed his hand on my shoulder. I shrugged it off.

"You fell in love with prey." I gave him a quizzical look, "what's the difference?"

"There's a big difference." he stepped back and looked at me like he didn't know who I was.

I started to the car. "No, there really isn't."

"You act like you love him." he followed after me.

"What if I did?" I moved my head to look at him while walking. "What would you do? Get mad at me? Am I not allowed to love who I want to?"

"No Julia it's not that. It's just, how could you love that?"

I turned to him quickly. "How could you love that?" I asked him back, my pent up frustration perking and firing in my stomach. "At least he could take care of himself. I wouldn't have to be gone all the time to just watch him sleep and save him from a nomad because I killed her mate. I wouldn't have to change him. Hell I wouldn't even have to worry about hurting him if we ever did it. So tell me why I couldn't love that?" I was on the other side of the Volvo now and we were both looking at each other over the car.

He didn't answer me, just unlocked the door. My body slid into the seat and my hand yanked the door shut. The ride home was quick and silent. I sat in the passengers seat with my legs crossed, hand folded over my chest, and my glare looking out the window. As he came to a stop in the driveway he looked at me as I quickly got out of the car and slammed the door again.

We went inside and as I went upstairs I could hear Edward explaining what happened and why I was so angry. He couldn't believe I didn't love Bella like he did, he wondered what was wrong with her, but no one told him how he was acting with her was wrong. Except Rosalie. She came up and talked to me. She couldn't believe the Seth story and wondered if I could ever possibly fall for him. I could only tell her I didn't know.