AN: Of course, I still don't own Twilight…if I did, I'd be waking up to Chaske everyday, but alas…

Thank you so very, very much to Ninadoll! She is an absolutely amazingly awesome beta, friend, and author. If you haven't checked out her stories, How the Might Fall, The Rest of Forever, and How Wonderful Life Is, Now You're In The World, I promise you won't be disappointed!

Thank you as well to my friend, shojioxlow! I can't thank her enough for her support and friendship!

As always, thank you to everyone that reads and reviews! You are very much appreciated! Enjoy! Don't forget to check outmy homepage at liljenrocks{dot}web{dot}com for pictures of clothes and the new character that is introduced in this chapter.

CHAPTER 12: THE DAY WE FACED OUR DEMONS

AVA'S POV

"Mother fucker!" I screamed, throwing the hot pan onto the floor, spilling the fresh pistachio soufflés I'd just spent the last five hours working on. Add this to the list of things I'd managed to fuck up today.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," one of my classmates rushed to my aid and grabbed my hand. "Let me see."

"I think I'm okay," I lied, jerking my hand back as fast as I could.

He grabbed it again. "And I think you're not."

"Ava, Tucker, everything okay over there?" my instructor asked.

"Ava burnt herself," Tucker answered, holding my hand carefully and examining it very closely. Tucker was attractive, more than just a little, and before today this close contact would've done something for me. Not now though. The night before I had been with the only person I would ever want and I had ruined everything. A friendship, a soufflé, my hand, chalk it all up to being Ava O'Brien.

My phone vibrated in my pocket for the nine hundredth time today. I was almost positive that it was Scar, calling to apologize for making the biggest mistake of his life and to make absolutely certain I knew last night was nothing but a release. I didn't even bother to check it as my instructor grabbed my hand from Tucker and looked at it closely.

"It looks pretty bad, Ava. Perhaps we should let the medic take a look," the instructor motioned for one of the other culinary students to bring him the walkie-talkie while I shook it off.

"No, thank you, Chef," I said, feeling embarrassed and yanking my hand back.

"I insist," he said. What was with all the men on planet Earth today? Had they all taken the same stupid pill and decided to experiment its effectiveness on me?

"No, Chef. Trust me, this isn't the first thing I've burned today," I looked away and tried to hide the tears I knew were coming up.

Chef Watonga stared at me for a second before releasing my arm. "Suit yourself," he shooed us back to our station. My hand did hurt like a son-of-a-bitch but I figured this physical pain made the pain of my heart breaking not so bad.

"You always try to act tough?" Tucker said, leaning down to help me clean up the disastrous soufflé remnants. I scoffed at him. "Like I can't see that you were about to bawl your eyes out back thar'." I hadn't ever noticed the slight drawl that came out in some of his words but it made me laugh a little. This handsome boy with deep blue eyes and a mop top of hair was sexy, for sure, there was no denying it. But he was no Scar. I knew this trick, the Southern boy pulls out the accent and thinks he's going to get lucky, and by all accounts it had probably worked on many girls. But not me. I had just spent the night in the arms of the man I love and nothing could compare to that. No accent, no blue eyes, not even knowing that we would probably never be the same again.

"Look, I appreciate your help, Tucker, but I'm just…I'm really not in the mood to put up with your testerone driven pissing contest," I groaned just as I threw a plate in the sink.

He chuckled. "And I can assure you, ma'am, I'm not hitting on you. I prefer blonds, if you must know. I'm just being a nice Southern gentleman like my Mama raised and trying to help a lady out." He was good, this one.

"Okay, you want to know what's wrong with me? Huh? Do you? Let me tell you," I grabbed a wooden spoon from the counter and started waving it. "First off, let's start at the very beginning. My parents are dead. I'm an orphan and my big sister, the one who always seemed to get the short end of the stick, is living in a fucking fairytale with the man of her dreams, so I'm a little pissed, cuz see, the man I love, the man who by the way, I made love to late night, also happens to be my best friend who is by all accounts unattainable to me. So, you see, I have no parents, no sister, and now no best friend. So yeah, I'm a little pissed off and a little hurt right now. Not to mention that I now have a throbbing hand." At some point I had let the tears escape and I started to slide down the counter to the floor where I collapsed into a pile of sobs.

Tucker walked over and slid down the counter to sit next to me. "All you had to say was you had a rough night," he grinned, handing me the towel that was in the pocket of his apron.

I took it and wiped my face. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to unload on you like that."

"Don't be. I find that sometimes it's easier to talk to someone who has no connection to the situation. Makes 'em impartial," Tucker said, patting my back.

"Thanks," I tried to smile, blowing my nose in the towel before trying to hand it back.

"Oh, why don't you just keep that," he chuckled.

"Sorry," I looked away shyly.

We were silent for a minute. "I have an older brother too. He lives back home in Savannah. Runs our family restaurant. My parents always kinda thought he'd be like the heir apparent, you know? He'd get married, have kids, keep the restaurant going, that kinda thing." Tucker looked away for a second. "When my brother was finished with high school, he went off to culinary school. We heard from him less and less. Then one day, he calls and says he's graduating and he wants us to come and meet his husband, Clint. My parents were none too happy 'bout that, and I have to admit that I was a little freaked out in the beginning. But you know what?" Tucker looked into my eyes and I shook my head. "He was still my big brother. He was still the best chef I've ever known and I still loved him. So this thing with your friend, you're a little freaked out right now, right?" I nodded. "He's still your friend, it doesn't matter what happened, he's still the guy you were friends with before. So even if a romance doesn't work out, which if he doesn't want a relationship with you, he's out of his rabbit ass mind, he'll still be who he was before. Just now you've seen him naked."

I wanted it to be that simple and I was grateful Tucker was there at the moment. I'd never really talked much to him before. Like I said before, he was attractive and hard to miss but there was no chemistry and part of me hated Scar for that because no man, no matter how wonderful they were, would ever live up to Scar. Ever. But at least I was grateful to have someone to just listen, to let me spit out everything I'd been holding back for years. "Thanks, Tucker," I said, taking a deep breath.

"No prob," Tucker picked up my right hand and turned it to the inside to kiss my palm where the blister from the hot pan was starting to form. It wasn't a romantic kiss, more like when a mother kisses a child's hurt.

"Am I interrupting something?" A strong voice said from beside us. I turned to see a woman standing there with her hands on her hips dressed in a nicely tailored blue pinstripe pantsuit.

"Leah?" I asked, hopping up from my position on the floor.

"Don't let me stop you," she chuckled. "I tried to call you, like I don't know, a million times but you wouldn't answer."

I looked down. "I've been kinda avoiding my phone."

"Uh, why?" she asked.

"It's a really long story but mainly I was afraid you were Scar," I said.

Leah scoffed. "Clearly I'm not but we are in a bit of a hurry. Can you leave?"

"Why?" I asked.

"We have an emergency in La Push and have to get there ASAP. There's a snowstorm moving in so we need to hurry," Leah said.

Immediately my mind went to my family. "It's not Abby, is it? Or the baby? Or Ash? Or Liam? Or Seth?" I blurted out in a panic.

"No, but we do need to go and now," Leah said looking down at the phone in her hand as it started to ring. "Excuse me." Leah walked off to talk to whoever was on the other end. Tucker was still sitting on the floor and I looked at the huge mess I still had to clean up.

"Go, I got it," Tucker said. "Just promise me when you come back Monday you have a resolution to your little problem." Not so little problem, I thought to myself.

"Thank you, Tucker, so much," I gave him a quick hug and then ran out the side door of the kitchen, picking up my bag and then making it to where Leah was standing.

"Don't worry, Ness, we'll find him," she said, into the phone. There was no telling who the him was in the sentence but I almost felt like a wolf, my hackles raised. Something wasn't right. "I'm picking Ava up now and we're headed that way…as fast as my Beamer can take me…Okay, I hear ya, baby brother but the longer you talk and boss me around, the longer it's going to take to get there." Leah looked down at my hand and I instantly winced. "You better have some burn shit too because Ava's mutilated her hand…Hell if I know!" She took the phone from her ear and pushed something. "Ready?"

I nodded. "I'm not sure if the condo's all locked up or not. I haven't talked to Scar…"

"Paul's spoken to him. Everything's been taken care of. We're gonna drop your car off at the condo and then you'll ride with me. Scar and Paul phased and ran back, Rachel's already left," she said, taking my bag from me.

"What's going on?" I asked, trying to figure out why she hadn't told me what the situation was yet.

Leah cleared her throat as she unlocked her BMW that was parked next to my Bug and threw my backpack in the back seat. "I'll tell you on the drive, but we really need to hurry."

This could not be good. I didn't even know how long we would be gone, or why I'd signed up for that Saturday afternoon class and was now screwed.

Leah rolled down the window as I got out of my car at the condo. "Go get the essentials and then come back here. And make it snappy," she instructed me, giving me permission to go in and pack a few things before locking up and running out to her car.

"Are you going to tell me now why we're in such a hurry to get to La Push?" I asked while I fastened my seatbelt, just as she peeled out of the driveway and literally made the drive like a bad remake of Smokey and the Bandit.

"Griffin's been kidnapped. Some fucker hit Billy over the head, then made off with the little guy. We're needed in La Push to keep the women folk calm," Leah said. "And because everyone wants your cookies when they catch the bastards who did this."

I don't think I completely understand what she said until she finished saying it and then it hit me like a freight train. "Wait…Griffin's been kidnapped?" I asked, instantly thinking about the sweet little boy who approached me at Liam's party, happy to announce that he was going to be a big brother. "Oh hell no!" I felt my temper rising. "Hell, hell, hell no!"

"Calm down, Ava. The pack's on it. Trust me, if there's any group that can find him, it ain't the Forks Police Department, it's the La Push Wolf Patrol," Leah said with a smirk.

"Nessie must be going crazy," I lay my head against the window of Leah's car. It was cool and I closed my eyes, trying really hard not to think of Scar, but somehow, he was in every thought in my mind. I wondered, for a brief moment what our children would look like. I had no right to do it, last night had a been a mistake in his mind, I was sure, but I wanted to know. Would they have my green eyes or Scar's crooked smile? It was wrong of me to even wonder.

Leah was driving really fast and I should've been frightened but she looked like she had total control. "What are you thinking about over there?" she asked me.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," she said, keeping her eyes on the road.

"What do you think about imprinting?"

"What?" she chuckled.

"Do you think…is it possible for a wolf to find love without it?" I asked. I wasn't looking at her, I was trying to keep my face neutral, without showing any emotion.

"Well, that's a difficult question for me to answer. See, I used to date Sam. Scratch that, I had pretty much made a lifetime of plans with Sam. But it only took one look at Emily to change all that," Leah sounded confident, not sad like I would've expected. "I used to be a bitch about it, you know? But I have Alex now."

I thought for a minute about what she said before I realized what I needed to ask. "Do you regret it? The time you had with Sam? Knowing that he was going to hurt you?"

She shook her head. "It's taken me awhile to admit that, but I like to think that Sam has helped make me the person I am today. I won't lie and say it didn't hurt, but I can honestly say that even if I could do it over, I wouldn't change the time I had with him."

"You wouldn't?" I asked, completely amazed and turning to look at her. Why would you want to relive that pain? Knowing that life could be so much simpler without it?

"Yeah, it was a disastrous ending, and it hurt like hell. But when we were together, Sam was…he was everything and the way we loved each other, the way he made me feel, I wouldn't give up that time for anything," Leah said, keeping her eyes on the road.

I lay my head back on the window and then closed my eyes. "Do you…do you think it's okay for a wolf to be with someone who's not their imprint?"

Leah chuckled. "You're talking to a former wolf, who is currently married to someone not her imprint." She took a deep breath and sighed. "I get imprinting, I do. And I'm happy for people like Jake and my brother because that's what they needed. But I like to think, I don't need to imprint. I know who I love, sometimes a wolf doesn't need magic to let them know who they love," she said calmly. "Is this about Scar?"

This time I chuckled. "Um, not, um, well…"

"You don't have to tell me, I just want you to know that I'm all for love that bucks the system, so you know, I'm just saying," Leah smiled as I saw the Welcome to La Push: Quileute Reservation sign roll past us. "I can also assure you I won't breathe a word of it to my brother, if that's what you're worried about."

I still didn't trust myself to say it though, to admit out loud how much I was in love with Scar. So I kept my mouth closed just long enough to for us to reach the Blacks' house and just long enough for her to pull the car to a stop. Much to my happiness, Sue Clearwater-Swan stood on the porch, saving me from letting myself give in.

SCAR'S POV

I was doing a great job of keeping my thoughts to myself, which was a really great thing considering I had most of the pack in my head. The very last thing I needed at this moment was one of the guys seeing what happened last night and the horrendous morning I'd had so far.

What happened last night? Paul asked from beside me.

Nothing, I lied and put my nose to the ground. Today was one of those days where I was glad to be a wolf but also pissed off to be a wolf. Griffin was missing and, on the upside, I was lucky enough to be able to help my Alpha and friend in ways a normal guy couldn't. The downside, of course, being that I needed to talk to Ava and couldn't because I was needed elsewhere.

What happened last night between you and Ava? Paul asked again. I don't know why he kept asking me, it's not like I had any plans of telling him. Who says you have to tell me? All I have to do is think about her enough and I bet you'll slip.

Deep inside I knew he was probably right but that just meant that I had to try even harder to balance my duty and my libido.

You had sex with Ava? Paul screamed out in my head.

What? Huh? FUCK! A series of expletives rang through my head from the few other guys that were phased.

Fuck, I groaned. I didn't say a word.

You said libido, hence your talking about sex. Scar, what happened? He asked. Paul sounded genuinely concerned. He didn't have to be, we were heading to La Push to search for his nephew after all.

Can we find Griffin and then I'll explain, I groaned, not really sure I wanted to talk about it yet.

Oh, come on! We wanna hear! Lil' G said in my head, showing me a picture of Ava. I growled out at him. Temper, temper.

It didn't seem like a long run before we arrived in La Push. I stayed in wolf form and circled Jake's house. Abby came out and smiled at me. Her stomach was slightly rounded and her eyes were red. I could tell she was worried. "Hey Scar," she said, coming up to scratch behind my ears. "I'm not technically supposed to be standing up but I needed some air." She stared into my eyes for a second. "Liam misses you. He's inside with Leah but you should go see him…" she paused and took a ragged breath. "After you find Griffin." I nuzzled her belly with my nose, trying to distract her from thinking about Griffin. "Yeah, this one doesn't seem to like it in there as much as Liam did. She's always trying to cause some of problem. That's why I think it's a girl, she's already got us worried." I laughed in wolf form, making Abby laugh too. She patted my head, "I'm so glad you're here. I can't tell you how much I appreciate you being in Seattle with Ava. I worry about her…" Abby's eyes were misting over and I nuzzled her again.

Not that I can't appreciate this Hallmark moment you're having with your 'girlfriend's' sister, we kinda have a job we're supposed to be doing, Sebastian said in my head. Sometimes I really hate that kid. Dude, you know I can so hear you?

I started to growl but realized I was snout level with Abby's stomach and didn't want to scare her or the baby inside her. I let out a small whine and then stood. "Go find Griffin," Abby said, with the sound in her voice that I'd only ever heard once before. "Please save my baby! Please!" I don't know why I remembered it at that moment, but it was like being in the hospital waiting room the day that Megan died. It was the same sound I heard from Nessie's sobs inside the house, and from the questions I could hear Rachel asking. It was a sound only a mother's voice could make, a sound of desperation and unselfish love. It had been a long time since I'd heard it and dammit it made me want to save the world.

Abby smiled once more before walking back into the house. I felt several more of the guys phase in and I listened to the noise in my head, trying to filter out voices until I heard my name. Scar, Embry wants you to come with me, Zeke said and I followed. I followed as we headed west, past two really shitty motels with nothing but the smell of urine and sex oozing from them. I followed even when I saw a familiar black BMW pull up to the Blacks' with my Ava in it. I don't know what's going on, but I need you to concentrate.

I nodded and followed until I caught something. It was a scent I knew. That's Griffin's scent! I almost yelled, circling the spot before taking off in a full off sprint towards the direction it was coming from. I think we got him, guys.

Zeke came to my side, just as we approached the cesspool that actually charged people to stay in. Almost immediately I felt Zeke phase out and I tried to get closer to the window, trying to see if there was any way to get a visual before I literally felt Zeke pull on my fur.

"Are you fucking crazy? Do you wanna get us killed?" he growled. I whined, because in all honesty, that shit hurt. But I did what he asked and lay down in the snow to wait. I didn't move until I saw several cars coming up the side road. I was okay until I saw the police cruisers and I knew I had to get out of there. This was one reunion I'd only get to see in memories of the other wolves.

I could hear it though, even as I ran back to La Push. I stopped almost in my tracks at the ripping pain in my chest and sobs coming from my Alpha. Even though he was human and I was wolf, I could feel his pain and I thought for sure my heart would stop beating any minute. I was familiar with that sound too, the sound of a father begging. My little princess, come back to Daddy. Please, baby girl…and I knew, I knew at that moment that Jake and Nessie, none of them, no one would be the same. If Griffin was gone, a huge hole would exist in all of us and it would never go away. No drug, no liquor, nothing could fill it. It was a hole I saw everyday in my father's empty whisky bottles and the locked bedroom door that had once belonged to my little sister.

He's gonna be okay, Scar, AJ said, bringing me out of my miserable thoughts. Seth's gonna check him out when we get back to La Push but he says he thinks he's gonna be just fine. I felt myself breathe a sigh of relief. Paul says for you to stay phased. He owes you a talk.

My brothers all disappeared, I assumed phasing back to human and the thought did cross my mind to just ditch the whole "Bonding with Paul" time, but then again I've seen the wrath of Paul and it was not pretty.

Damn straight it's not, bucko, Paul chuckled. I could definitely feel the change in his demeanor. Now, wanna explain those thoughts earlier?

And I did. I poured it all out, all of it. Every detail about how I'd been in love with her from the moment I saw her, how I'd dreamed about our life together, how I'd feared for my life if Seth found out, and last but not least, our tryst from the night before. I have to admit, it felt really good to get off my chest too. Now I just had to prepare myself for Paul's response. Paul was not really known as the guy you go to with "feelings" issues. He was analytical and really smart, but he was a bit of a hot head and I wasn't sure what an imprinted wolf would have to offer me in the way of love advice. Leave it to Paul to surprise me.

I don't understand what the deal is, Scar. You love her and it's pretty obvious that she loves you, the girl practically threw herself at you, Paul said and I growled. Easy, I didn't mean to make it sound like she's some kind of floozy. I'm just saying that she didn't seem like she was hesitating.

Then why did she leave this morning? Why won't she answer her phone? I had to stop so I could catch my breath. It tore at me that she wasn't there, I wanted to hold her and tell her so many things and she was gone.

Paul was quiet but I could hear him processing all of it, trying to come up with a solution, analyzing everything, every deep conversation Ava and I had had, every bit of our relationship until I heard him laugh. You're both worried about the same damn thing, Scar. Both of you are so concerned about an imprint that you can't just be yourselves and love each other.

I stopped my stride and hung my head. That was part of it, I knew it was on my part. I don't want to hurt her, Paul. I don't want to have to watch her suffer because I wasn't strong enough to keep my eyes to myself.

And what if you never imprint and instead, you watch her make a life with someone else. She gets married, has kids, and you're just her best friend who happened to slip it in one time, madly in love with her but too much of a coward to tell her. Then you walk around for four centuries, watching her family, and never, ever imprint. What kind of life is that? Paul asked. A pregnant pause filled the air while I thought about it.

What about Seth? I asked, bringing up another point.

What about Seth? You and I both know Dr. Too Happy hasn't stayed mad at anyone for more than a day, not to mention it's not like you aren't friends. Besides, we could sit here all day and ask each other what ifs, but the biggest what if I have for you is what if you man up, go to Ava, tell her how you feel, fall madly in love, and live happily every after. What if then? He barked.

That was what I wanted…to live happily ever after, with my own family, with my Ava, that was it. I guess I just needed a moment to realize I might have to fight for it, but maybe I could have it. So what do I do? How do I tell her? I asked.

I could hear Paul's smile in his voice. Well, young grasshopper, you have come to the master. I shall teach you, for you have much to learn.

AVA'S POV

The house was abuzz as everyone celebrated. The funny part about it, was that Griffin didn't even seem to realize that we'd all been so worried and all been here just for him. And while Nessie and Jake tried to keep him close, he was more interested in playing with his "mini-pack."

I watched from afar as I sat in the kitchen, waiting for the massive amount of meatloaves and potatoes I'd made to finish in the oven so we could celebrate in style.

"What exactly did you do, Ava?" Seth flipped my hand over, looking over the large red blister that had formed in the palm of my hand.

"I grabbed a really hot baking sheet," I swallowed, remembering the heat and trying to deal with the pain.

"You should've showed me this as soon as you got here," Seth said. He was in doctor mode and as he worked, I mainly just nodded and said yes or no. The truth was, I had noticed that Scar had not come back. Was I really that bad?

I'd spent the whole day worrying, and talking, and worrying, and baking. All I had to show for it was a lopsided bun in my hair, lemon turnovers, and six dozen peanut-butter and jelly cookies. Oh, and now a nice white gauze bandage. I talked to Leah and Abby, to Claire, then played with Ash and the little kids but none of it was working. I only wanted, needed, craved Scar…and he was nowhere to be found.

An hour passed and the food was out of the ovens and still no Scar. "It's ready," I said to Jake.

He slapped me on the back. "Alright everyone!" he called out and almost immediately everyone turned to his voice. "Nessie and I, we want to thank all of you. For everything. The help, the support. You guys, you're not just great friends. You're family." That must have cost him a lot to say, considering what his own sister had done. He hugged Griffin to his chest for a moment and then meaningfully looked up and said, "Thank you." It was heartfelt, the way he said it. Then in true Jake fashion he went on, "I'd also like to say a big, gigantic thank you, not just from me, but from the wolves that are salivating at their snouts, to Ava for this delicious dinner," Jake turned to me. "I don't know about the rest of these guys, but I'm ready for you to come back to La Push, open a restaurant!" Laughter erupted from everyone but I knew there was still a voice missing. "Let's eat!"

Jake's command was all it took, as the women and children filed into the kitchen, where the food was laid out buffet style. I stayed back, almost invisible in the crowd as everyone fixed their plates. My mind was wandering with thoughts of Scar…I closed my eyes and took a deep breath just as a familiar spoke into my ear. Scar…

"Can I borrow you for a second?" Scar whispered, taking my hand. I knew he was doing it conspicuously but I still worried someone might see. I followed him out though. I had to find the courage to admit I was wrong and to tell him that I loved him more than any words I could form.

"Scar…" I suddenly couldn't think of how to say it.

"Last night I was the one that wanted to wait and you were all 'No, don't think, just do it.' Besides, I'm not bringing you out here to hump your leg or anything. I wanna show you something," Scar's hand was perfect in mine. I felt whole like this, so close to him.

"That's not what I was going to say," I said, trying to sound confident. It wasn't working though.

He chuckled and pulled me further until we were through the wolf locker room and standing in an area behind the house. The snow was fairly pristine and untouched, except for one path of paw prints. "Follow the prints," he said. It wasn't as dark out as it seemed with the light of the moon on the pale surface of the Earth but it still scared me a little and I grabbed hold of Scar's hand harder. "I'm not letting you go, just follow the prints." I stood still. "Trust me, Ave," he whispered in my ear. I turned back slowly and looked into his eyes. I did. I trusted him with everything, he was my one true love. My soul mate in every sense of the word. It may not have been a mystical force that kept him with me but there was something very supernatural about the way he made me feel. It wasn't an imprint but it was a feeling, a pull that only one look in his eyes could strengthen in me.

"I do, Scar," I said softly. Scar pulled me a little further until the moon was bright overhead and reflected onto the snow. The words "I LOVE YOU" were written in the snow, accompanied by a set of paw prints. "Scar…"

"I mean it, Ava. I love you, what happened last night, it wasn't a mistake. It was what should've happened long ago. And I'll admit that it scares the shit out of me but I can't pretend for one more moment that I don't love you. That you don't own my heart and that I hadn't played last night in my head for years before," Scar pulled me closer to him. "What we have, what I feel for you, I've been in the heads of the other guys and I don't give a fuck what fate says, for all intents and purposes, you are my imprint. I would be whatever you want me to be, do whatever you want me to, but I can't pretend anymore, no more. So even if you don't feel the same way, I needed to say that, because I've kept it in too long."

How do I answer that? How do I tell him that everything he just said were like the words had come from me, he just said them? I decided to take a deep breath and just say whatever it was that was hidden in my heart. I looked into his eyes, slid my arms around his neck and felt his hands around my waist. There was nothing more perfect than the feeling of him surrounding me like that. "Can I tell you something?" I asked. He nodded, keeping his focus on me. "The way I feel isn't new either, Scar. I think I've loved you from the moment I set eyes on you. I knew you, even when I didn't really know you, I knew you," I felt my voice start to crack. "You are so much more than I thought I was worthy of and everyday I feel my heart grow because of you."

"Why do I feel a but coming?" Scar asked. I could hear the fear in his voice and it made me cringe inside. To know I had so much control over him, it was more like an imprint than I think I ever realized.

"But I was scared, scared that I'd get what I always wanted and lose it all in the blink of an eye," I said, running my fingers through his hair as I stood on my tiptoes. "I spent a lot of the day talking to Abby and Leah—"

"Great," he groaned. "Leah, queen of the stone hearts, perfect."

"Be nice. She actually had a lot of great insight to offer. I started with my sister, though. I wanted to know what it felt like, being an imprint," I said. I could feel him tense up. I knew he didn't want to talk about imprinting but if I was going to get through this, we had to talk about it. "The things she told me about the way she felt when she was around Seth, the need to be close to him, to touch him, to have her body crave his, that part made me gag a little, but that's beside the point. The things she described were exactly how I feel about you. I didn't understand why I hadn't been given the chance to be your soul mate."

"But you are, Ava," Scar whispered.

I shook my head. "That's when I talked to Leah. I asked her, knowing what she knows now, if she would give up ever having had Sam to erase the heartache she felt when he imprinted. She said no, Scar," I rested my forehead on his. "That's when I decided that I'd rather have you for as long as I can have you than to never known your love." I put my cold hands on his warm cheeks. "I have to let it happen, I can't fight how much I love you anymore."

It was silent as he continued to stare at me.

"Is that a yes?" he whispered. It was almost like he was worried someone might pop out and tell him he'd been punked.

"Yes," I smiled just in time to feel him pick me up and spin me around a little before placing his warm lips to mine.

"I love you so much, Ava, so, so much," he said in between kisses. This was where I belonged, in his arms.

"I love you too," I replied. It was weird how it felt, saying it out loud like that and knowing I didn't have to hide it from him. He was mine and I was his. "Now, take me someplace where we can be alone."

With a gentle growl, Scar swung me around to rest on his back. "Hold on tight, Beautiful."

"Always," I said in his ear as I placed a wet kiss on his neck.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please don't forget to review! And just know that just because they are a couple now, doesn't mean everything is going to be puppies and rainbows. They still have a lot to deal with but as Abby and Seth would say, "Slow and steady wins the race." Thank you again!