A/N: Just as a warning, some nasty words will be said in this. Think of it as a "means to an end" for this story. And if you don't like antagonism and provocation then you might want to skip this chapter and maybe this story all together. But if you are ok with it then by all means … enjoy!

Disclaimer: All Twilight Saga characters belong to Stephanie Meyer. Unless stated otherwise. This plot belongs to me, please respect artistic creativity. This is a non-profit story. No copyrights infringements intended.

"Imprinted? … What is that?"

Sam shifts uncomfortably. "I s-suppose none of us have explained this to you, have we? – It's like a … bond, I guess."

His cheeks were getting warm. I could feel it on my skin, like sunlight. "It happens only once in a wolf's life. Often the imprinted and the imprintee become companions throughout their existence."

Irrationally, I don't take a moment to process what he said. I immediately dove into an inquiry. "How often does this happen?"

"Within the pack?" His dark brows rose.

"I meant in the past ….. wait, hold on … someone has already imprinted in your pack?!" this was news to me.

"Yes, Jared was the first to imprint. And according to the Quileute diaries of the last tribe, only the chief imprinted – Before him, there aren't many clear records, only tales passed down from one generation to the next." He replied.

"But it could happen to each one of your pack?"

"It is a possibility, yes." Sam confirmed. His eyes were studying me, unsure of where I was going with is. I wasn't so sure myself.

But I knew I had one question on my mind. I took a deep breath. "Sam, what is the purpose of imprinting? Why have you and I imprinted? What does this make us? Is it reversible? Is this what made me … change?" My mind was exploding with curiosity, but another side of me wanted to live in a sweet and oblivious denial.

I didn't realize I was getting slightly hysterical, practically tripping over my own words, bombarding the man with question after question. Not until Sam placed his large hand on my shoulder, calming me down. He never could touch me before, ever. But now there was this sort of ease to his progression around me. Holding my hand, and touching my arm – Like the wall of caution was irrevocably torn down between us.

"Sam," I whispered. "Why aren't you revolted by me? What are we to each other?"

His fingers stroked circles over the fabric of my shirt that separated his skin from mine. Yet I can still feel the intense warmth from the pressure point. "We can be whatever we want to be."

"Like what?!" He wasn't making any sense. And perhaps my commonsense refused to come to it's own conclusions. That I would rather hear it from someone else forces me to accept the shock of the situation.

"You have proven that you and I can be civilized to one another, Swan. Perhaps we can eventually become friends." He answered after a moment of consideration. He seemed to be choosing his words carefully.

"I have Jake," I muttered.

Something flashed in Sam's eyes, but he seemed to immediately close himself off to whatever passed through him. "As far as I have seen recently, you barely speak to Jacob." He stated coolly.

"I can be your friend too." He squeezed my shoulder, trying to affirm his testament.

The touch he offered was a comfort. As much as my mind spoke otherwise, my hesitant heart was begging to be given a chance. The last time I followed my heart, I paid a heavy price. And the thought disturbed me slightly. To go from being avoided like the plague to being consoled. And it wasn't because it was Sam offering it. Becoming a vampire changed me in more ways than I thought was possible.

Edward leaving has jaded me. The Cullen's desertion hollowed me. Jacob helped me slowly rebuilt my true self, but his sudden avoidance rekindled those wounds fresher than ever. I know now why Jacob did it, but it was after my change – a little too late. And it allowed my hurt to be carried through my new life. Trust and friendship was a harder concept to accept now, and my stubborn vampire logic cemented it.

Which is why I felt a sudden spike of anger. Anger allowed me to protect myself, to hide my weakness. To direct the pain elsewhere. Unfortunately for Sam, he was the closest recipient of that anger.

I pulled away from him. "You mean to tell me that this whole imprinting business is so that werewolves could become 'friends' with each other?!" I growled. I hadn't meant to do that, but it was like starting a fire that I cannot stop.

Sam looked taken aback by my sudden mood. "Not necessarily."

"Then what Sam? Is there more your not telling me?!" I attempted to rise to my feet. Luckily now I could but my knees were shaking. I was recovering fast just not fast enough.

"I'm not hiding anything." He shook his head.

"Yes you are!" I screamed. "Just say it. I'm tired of being kept in the dark. Tell me, damn you!"

"I'm not hiding anything from you, Swan … but there are some things you might not be ready to hear." Sam spoke calmly, although his dark eyes hardened.

But there it was again; the same fucking song and dance.

"I don't care! Whether I am ready or not is not even relevant. I am not a child to be sheltered so don't you dare treat me like one!" And then I made a mistake of saying something I shouldn't have said. "Don't pretend you know what is best for me and say you are doing it for my protection, just like Edward used to fucking do!"

Sam visibly flinched. Like I slapped him hard across the face. I instantly regretted my words.

I still held a respect for Sam. So far he has been going above his responsibility for me. But that stubborn side of my mind was a hard bitch to suppress, recklessly throwing gasoline into my raging fire.

"You really want to know why wolves imprint? Do you really think you can handle the kind of truth you're boldly, yet foolishly, seeking?" Sam's expression changed to now reflect my own anger. Only his temper was more controlled as he spoke with calm and deep authority. If I didn't know he was an Alpha of a group of large, strong, shape shifting pack of wolves, then I would have thought he was born to be a natural leader.

"Yes, I do." A trace of hesitancy flickered through me. And if Sam saw it, then he was past the point of caring.

"You are right. You are not a child anymore, Swan." He rose from the bed – A tower of muscles and dominance that eclipsed my size.

"A wolf imprints so that he could … breed with his imprintee. The imprintee would become impregnated with his offspring and the wolf-gene could be passed on."

"B-breed? … Like … L-like ANIMALS?!" I panicked. Sam winced at the sudden rise in my voice. Or perhaps it was the crude comparison I choose to parallel to their imprinting.

I took a few steps away from him. Confused, and for the first time since I became a vampire, I felt frightened.

My heart hammered interruptedly in my chest. It wasn't a constant rhythm, more like a blip on a radar that flickered alive for a few seconds before it went silent, only to appear once again. That was another realization I seemed to have glazed over as today proved to expose more than I cared to handle in my lethargic state.

My heart … my heart is alive again … which should have been impossible as vampires are the literal undead.

What am I now?

Am I human again?

Am I even a vampire anymore?

Do I still have red eyes?

Did my appearance change?

"I need a mirror." I suddenly blurted.

"A … what?" Sam looked at me in confusion. Like I had gone mad.

"Just get me one. Please, now!" I was torn between being rudely demanding and fixatedly polite.

Sam must have sensed the conflict in my eyes. That I was prepared to ransack his entire house to find what I needed. "There is a mirror in the bathroom." He spoke while pointing behind me where the bedroom door went into the hallway. "Last door to your left."

I immediately turned and headed straight there. Growing more anxious as I noticed I still maintain my remarkable vampire speed. Which didn't placate me at all.

I reached the bathroom and stood in front of the portrait-sized mirror above the white porcelain sink.

The sunlight from the small mosaic-filtered window reflected off the pristine white tile to illuminate the small space. There was a lingering scent of masculine hygiene products, the very ones that littered the tiny shelf below the mirror. And a slight waft of rust from the dripping tap that was too faint to detect directly unless one had a strong unnatural sense of smell.

It occurred to me a second too late that I was standing in Sam's personal bathroom. The shaving razor and the wet toothbrush suggesting it's recent use was confirmation enough.

I looked down, ignoring my surroundings, and took a minute to prepare myself before I would raise my head to see what I looked like. To come face to face with the person that I will from now on recognize as Bella Swan.

One thing for sure was that it wasn't as climactic as I thought it would be, like those superhero movies where the guy transforms from a wimp into a perfectly shaped figure by the comic-nerdy gods.

I didn't know what I was expecting to see honestly. But I could say that I was slightly disappointed. The eyes that gazed back at me through the mirror was as vibrant and blood red as they had ever been. They did not change one bit! There weren't any specks of gold in them either. Nothing! Despite that I had been on an all-animal blood diet since day one. I don't understand.

I tried to ignore my ruby eyes, even though they practically screamed for my attention. And instead I carefully examined my other facial features. I looked like a completely different person. There was no denying that I would be turning heads, because if I saw someone looking like me walking down the street, I would take a moment to stare. But no one who knew me would even recognize me. Maybe the hair would give me away, but only because of the length and color – now however it was a fluffed and vibrant version, and slightly mussed from my slumber. And perhaps my skin was always pale so the added paleness didn't make much of a difference.

My skin…Wait a minute! Why didn't I notice this before?!

My skin. It no longer sparkled! I was practically sleeping under direct sunlight, and that should have been the first thing I noticed when I woke up. One doesn't exactly ignore the fact that they can shoot prim beams from their skin – Maybe after a century it loses it's luster but I still marveled at it whenever I came into contact with light that filtered into the rundown little cottage I stayed in.

I carefully approached the small bathroom window and held up my arm against the glass. Nothing. Except for abnormally hard, marble-like, pale skin.

A thrill passed through me, and my heart spiked to life to ratify that excitement. I could walk in broad daylight and I would not expose the vampire race. People would stare at me but it would be for entirely different reasons.

My face was unrecognizable. My body was different from the undernourished pathetic little shell of a girl I used to be.

All I need now is to see if I still had the bloodlust or not. Then I would have no reason to be hidden away like some sort of leper. Neither Sam, or the pack, nor even the Counsel Elders could stop me. And if I could hide my unsavory eyes behind a pair of contacts, I could even see Charlie, and hopefully soon!

For once in my life I finally felt a small shred of hope.

"Find what you were looking for?"

I turned around to see Sam standing by the bathroom entrance. I hadn't heard him approach. Him and his pack could be light on their feet when they wanted to be, but usually they stomped round when stealth wasn't mandatory. The stink however would always give them away. Always.

That is what I thought; only when I took a deep breath I was welcomed with a different scent. Earthy, with a sting of spice, and a masculine aroma that – judging by Sam's tousled state as he hasn't showered or changed in the time I was knocked out – wasn't unpleasant in the least. If anything, I couldn't stop inhaling his scent.

"Swan…? What are you doing?"

I hadn't realized I began leaning in his direction. And caught myself at once, plastering my back to the opposite wall and wrapping my arms around my torso like they would create some sort of futile barrier.

"N-nothing! I wasn't doing anything!" I faltered.

"I could've sworn it looked like you were smelling me." It wasn't a question because apparently it was that much obvious.

There was no chance of denying it. A blind person could have seen through the act.

"Ye … Yes I was." I admitted. "You don't horribly reek like you used to."

A dark brow arched. "Really? What do I smell like to you now?"

I could literally squirm in embarrassment right now. But I could also tell Sam to shove it up the dark side of his twin moons since I didn't want to reveal how unbelievably good he smelled.

Sam roughly cleared his throat and refused to meet my gaze. "Ya'know …your scent changed also. I thought it was just me."

"Oh, what do you smell?" Curiosity was getting the best of my defensive belligerence.

"I asked you first." He has the audacity to smirk!

I groaned, and tilted my head forward to allow my hair to tumble forth and hide my face. "Like trees, and earth, and something entirely exotic." I confessed in a flurry of words. Hoping he didn't hear me so that I would deny him the chance to hear it again. But of course, he caught it loud and clear.

"What about the blood?" He asked. I tensed.

I haven't thought about that fact. If Sam's wolf scent doesn't repel my sense of bloodlust anymore then he is probably the first person to tempt my demon at such a close range, and so very soon.

Being confined in this small bathroom, and at such a close proximity made it even easier. All the more reason I kept my back glued more firmly to the tiled wall, and squeezed my arms harder around my torso to bind myself. I was mindful not to press myself too hard and indent my shape against the wall. I wasn't a huge fan of personal vandalism. Not unless it was justifiable. Like 'accidentally' breaking Charlie's TV remote because he ate, drank, and fallen asleep in front of the damn thing so many times. He probably would have taken a piss as well if the screen were aligned at just the right angle to the bathroom. Thank god it didn't! That's an image I would've liked to acid away from my eyes.

But needless to say I was mindful of my surroundings. I let my eyes fall close and took a small cautious inhale, filtering away the more forceful flavors and focused on the one that my basic instincts desired the most. The scent that called to my inner monster. The easiest method I discovered was to first detect the sound of the blood pumping, wet and warm, and quickly traveling through the veins before my nose honed in on the mouthwatering bouquet.

It always began with the source, the center; the heart. And then the sinful ruby nectar would travel all across the body, to pulse to the wrists, ankles, and jugular. Only to travel back at the heart again in an endless cycle. If it wasn't so frightfully morbid, it would have been exceptionally poetic.

I opened my eyes slowly. A small smile danced across my lips. "I can smell the blood. But its not scorching my throat."

Sam tilted his head, reflecting on my words. "You don't feel any draw to it at all?"

I lowered my arms to my sides, relaxing my muscles and took another deep inhale before I spoke. "I think the appeal of it is still there. But I don't feel like I want it as badly as I used to."

For the first time ever Sam's eyes shined with awe and wonder in them. Without even thinking about it, he unconsciously took a step towards me. He was almost smiling. His face was made for smiling, I thought.

"Your turn." I stated.

He blinked, dazed. "What?"

"I told you about how you smell to me – so it's your turn."

"Oh …" he trailed off. He didn't seem entirely too focused on what he was saying, judging by his monosyllabic replies.

Before I could speak, we both froze. Sensing footsteps approaching the house from the outside.

"Hey Sam!"

"Why you hiding?"

"Show your face Alpha!"

It was the pack.

That seemed to have snapped Sam back into reality. He brought a finger to his lips in a universal sign of silence. I quirked a brow but nodded compliantly. Besides, with the swiftness of how he became so pale I didn't want to kill the man on the spot.

Sam turned, exiting the bathroom and leaving me there. I didn't trust that I could be quiet enough to move without giving my position away. I assumed that Sam didn't want the pack knowing I was in his house. At least, I think that was the reason.

I heard Sam bounding down the stairs and then the creak of a door being opened. "Hey guys." He greeted the pack.

"Holy fuck, Sam! What the hell happened?!" Jared exclaimed.

"What?" Sam inquired.

I nearly assumed they knew instantly what was going on, until Quil chimed in. "What do you mean what? Look at you, man!"

"Yeah, you look like shit." Paul, ever the humble descriptor, commented. And I chose the word humble along the extreme sarcastic spectrum. Every fiber of Paul consisted of being a douche.

"Oh, yeah, right …. My schedule is all mixed up. I barely had time to relax."

"Or shower for that matter." Jared added sniggering.

"Sam, do you know where Bella is?" That was Jacob. He sounded worried. "We haven't seen her in a few days. And last place we know of her was when you took her out on your patrol two days ago."

I could hear feet shuffling on the dirt. Sam. "Yes, about that. I have seen her."

"And? Where is she? Is she ok? Did something happen to her?!" Jacob was practically asking in a panic. It hurt so much to know that I made him distressed. His voice sounded completely anguished.

"She is alright, Jacob. But I don't want you to be thinking about Swan right now."

"What?! Why the hell not?!" Jake growled. He was getting pretty riled up by the sound of it.

"Calm down, Jacob. That's an order." Sam directed with his deep composed tone.

"You are seriously going to order me to calm down while my friend is missing?!" Jake practically yelled.

"I meant that it's an order from the tribe elders. I have spoken with Billy yesterday, and we decided to relocated Swan to another place."

"Where did you take her?!"

"As far as Swan is concerned, the pack needs to stay clear for awhile. Don't go looking for her – especially you, Jacob. I mean it."

"Like I would even waste my time searching for that little leech lover." Fucking Paul! I wanted to rip him to shreds. My vision was clouding with anger, making it very hard to be quiet, as Sam wanted me to.

"Why do I get the feeling there is more to it than your telling me." Jacob hissed.

"Jacob, I am warning you."

"Oh come on, Sam! We grew up together. I can practically smell the lie reeking out of you. What happened to Bella?!"

"Uhhh .. Jake, maybe you should listen to what Sam says. Ya'know, since he is the Alpha and all …" Quil noted, his voice hesitant and cautious.

I didn't need to be among them to know that there was a thick tension floating in the air, especially between Sam and Jacob. If there was one thing I knew about Jacob is that he could be stubborn as a bull, especially after his phase. It only magnified that attribute by ten folds.

"Yeah, Jake. Relax. This is probably a good thing! You could use a break – chase some honey tail instead of pining after that leech chick."

"I don't need to relax, Paul! And she is not some leech chick! DON'T YOU EVER DARE INSULT HER LIKE THAT!"

"Why do you care so much about her? She has been nothing but frigid to you since she became a vamp, just like her bloodsucking family that tossed her aside!"

"Paul, that's enough!" Sam barked, anger clear in his tone.

I was starting to shake with my own fuming outrage. My vision was practically turning red by the second. My demon was taunting me to seek blood, but not out of thirst – merely to see it spill.

"I'll tell you what is enough, leader. This, us, walking on eggshell for that parasite! Like she is some sort of princess we need to look after. We would have been better off if she stayed at that clearing."

"Paul …" Sam warned.

"Shut the fuck up, Paul!" Jacob growled.

"The fuck if you think I am going to just sit around while we turn into her little lapdogs. I say we let the bitch leave to find her precious Cullens. And we move on with our lives."

"Don't be a dick, Paul. That's mean, even by your standards." Jared huffed.

"Oh don't tell me your gonna start kissing her ass too, Jar?"

"I swear, Paul, just say one more thing about, Bella, or I …" Jake gritted his teeth.

"Or what? What are you gonna do about it?"

I could feel Jacob was on the verge of phasing.

And I was on the verge of massacring Paul.

"I thought we were supposed to be brothers, Jacob Black. But apparently that little fucking BITCH has more precedence to you than your own pack!"

Oh god, the anger … it was past the breaking point!

"Why do you care about her so much when she doesn't even feel the same way for you? She should mean nothing to you!"

I can feel the hairs at the back of my neck rising. Sharp fingernails trying to futilely pierce the marble like skin of my palms.

"Even her darling Cullens realized she wasn't worth all the effort and moved away instead of staying in this town one more second!"

Fuck the Cullens! I don't need them. Not anymore. Fucking Paul! How dare he bring them up!

"And the sooner you wake up and realize it too, the better off you're going to be!"

That's it! I've had it with him. I'll apologize to Sam later. But right now I need to murder one of his wolves.

Before I even made the decision, my feet started to move. Faster than I have ever moved before. The growl that erupted from within my throat was less animalistic and more demonic. Just like the taunting monster that resided within me and wailed with excitement at the prospect of seeing my hands stained with blood.

Not even a millisecond later I was standing outside and among the semicircle created by the pack. Face to face with Paul. The surprise on his face was priceless!

The others staggered a step back, giving me some room. Clearly they didn't expect me to be hiding in Sam's house. Especially Paul, with the way he comfortably ran his putrid mouth a moment ago.

"Bella …?" Jake murmured, bemused.

I remained facing Paul, a sinister smile tugging on my lips. I'll deal with Jacob after I finished gouging this bastard's eyes and forcing him to eat it.

The monster joyfully concurred.

I raised my hand ready to cause harm.

"Swan!" Sam's cries were practically falling on deaf ears.

And then something happened. Something that felt oddly familiar – yet no quite the same. Sort of like a forceful tugging sensation … it was static and crackling. Like being bound and pulled with a metal rope that coursed with electric currents. Jolting me.

There was a brutality to it. Forceful. Like pushing a square peg into a round hole. Pushing and pulling and forcing it to fit! This force kept pulling me but I kept pushing …

I understood that it was pulling me forward, towards something. I looked up and gazed into a pair of brown eyes that looked as petrified as I felt. But it only lasted a moment before the look in those same brown eyes shifted into something else. Something more ….. something reverent …

"Oh no … not again …" I whispered. Horror tainting my voice.

There was a sound of an explosion behind me … and then a harsh growl. Paws padding on the dirt, sprinting further away until I couldn't hear the sound anymore.

But I was completely paralyzed to move, to look behind me, to do anything except breathe harshly. My faltering heart worked on overdrive. It would have killed me if I hadn't been dead already. And that in its self didn't make any sense.

I guess nothing in life ever really makes sense. But it all didn't matter, for as soon as I was released from the 'pull' like an elastic band snapping from the ferocity on its strain.

I stumbled backwards and was plunged once again into darkness. Except this time was different. Rather than fall to the ground like last time, a pair of strong arms grabbed me from behind.