A/N Hello all! I'm sorry it's been such a long time. I got back from Chile and suddenly my work load increased three times (19 hours freshman year is no joke), so this is my first break in three weeks. Now that I'm past the first round of tests, I can breathe easier and think more clearly.

This is one of my favorite chapters because we meet the wolves' imprints and see the wolves get to know Elena. Next chapter will probably be the council meeting-tribal legends, campfires, all that-and then it will be a straight shot to the end. I'm estimating 40 chapters total, but that number could easily change.

And I know many of you have been asking, but I can't promise a sequel right now. If I feel particularly inspired, I will of course attempt one, but I'll be lucky if I can finish this story before I leave for Dallas for my entire summer. Feel free to give me ideas if there's anything you want to see in the sequel.

Happy reading! :)

Our excitement only escalated as the days passed by. Quil, Embry, Seth, and Leah all agreed to attend the council meeting; Sam remained in La Push with the rest his pack only with the stipulation that we keep him informed. He found it difficult to rein in the wolves when they learned of the new shape-shifters, but reasoned with them that it would do more harm than good to send everyone to the North Dakota reservation. The Arikara were startled enough by our presence.

The former members of Jacob's pack arrived two days later, imprints in tow. I was delighted to see Claire again, as well as to meet Embry's imprint, Hannah. She was beautiful, a girly girl but strong in personality. She held her own against Embry's constant jokes, and with every rebuttal the young wolf looked even more in love with her. The two of them meshed perfectly.

Leah's husband, Chad, wasn't Quileute but seemed like he would fit right into the pack with his healthy tan, athletic build, and easy-going nature. I noticed that Leah had grown her hair out for the first time since I met her and that her wardrobe, while still her typical jeans and a T-shirt, was cuter and more flattering. Leah looked…happy.

Claire, of course, was her bubbly nine-year-old self and, luckily, got along really well with Hannah. I supposed that most of the pack's imprints were used to baby-sitting the youngest member of their protective circle, and Hanna was no exception. I was glad for that, because only Chad would be accompanying the six of us, and Claire would likely want someone more familiar to balance out my vampire relatives who, no doubt, planned to dote on both of them.

Seth, I noticed, was the only one who seemed out of place. He shuffled awkwardly at the back of the group, and I realized how being imprint-less would especially affect him now. He was a seventh wheel in his group, a ninth wheel since Jake and I would be joining them. My heart went out to him. Would it never be his turn?

Jacob greeted his brothers—and sister—with hugs, and even shared the love with the imprints. "I'm glad all of you could make it!" he smiled. I followed suit, spending extra time with the girls. "How was the flight?"

"Long," Claire pouted.

Quil laughed, patting her shoulder lightly. "She's lying," he informed us. "I kept you entertained the whole time, didn't I?"

Claire stuck out her tongue and I giggled. I could only imagine what Quil did to occupy her thoughts. He would play hangman with her for the whole trip if that was what she wanted.

"It really wasn't too bad," Seth answered. "I got kinda anxious once we landed, but I slept like a baby for those short hours."

I stepped forward. "Well, I hope you haven't eaten recently, because Mom and Esme have been hard at work all afternoon to prepare a feast for you guys."

I didn't need to tell them twice. Everyone made a bee-line for the door, where they suffered good-naturedly through the ice cold hugs of our, to them, sickeningly sweet-smelling family. Even Rosalie made a short appearance to greet them, although she and Alice sat in the corner afterwards muttering about the stench and the limitations to Alice's gift.

I sat between Leah and Hannah and tried to get to know Embry's girlfriend better. "So Hannah, you live on the Makah reservation, right?" I began.

Hannah smiled and nodded vigorously. "Yeah. It's so funny. Embry and I used to hang out when we were kids—" here she glared at him—"which he claims he doesn't remember!"

"Hey!" Embry protested, mouth full of food. "We've been over this. I would remember spending time with a gorgeous girl like you on a regular basis."

Hannah blushed faintly and leaned closer to me. "I'm actually a year older than he is, so my memory is a little better," she whispered. She glanced surreptitiously over at him. She must've known that his super-human hearing would pick up anything she said.

She sighed. "Anyway," she continued, "he and his mom came back last summer just to visit, and we hadn't seen each other in awhile, well, really at all since he moved to the Quileute rez. I saw him from afar, hanging out with some of the guys, so I just casually walked over to say hi after, you know, ten years."

Hannah's expression took on a dreamy quality. "He looked at me like I was the only girl in the world, Nessie, like I was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. Even though he says he can't remember me from when we were younger, he remembered my name. He stared straight at me, eyes full of wonder, and said only, 'Hannah.' He took my hand and, well, the rest is history."

I couldn't help but smile at her story. It was the same with every imprint: instantaneous and indescribable love and adoration, and even with the power to resist, why would anyone want to? Hannah was obviously just as smitten with Embry as he, with her, and neither of them ever had to worry about their relationship being less than genuine.

As I glanced over at her starting up a conversation with Claire, though, I was struck with the realization that both girls were mortals. They would continue to age; Embry and Quil would have to either quit their wolf forms to grow old with them or live eternally without them. Even Leah would have to make that decision for Chad.

Suddenly Quil's good attitude toward Claire's age made sense. To him, the fact that she was only nine meant that he had that much more time to love her and cherish her. Even if their sentiments weren't romantic yet, she was still his gravity.

I turned my attention to Jake, who was engrossed in a happy conversation with Seth but glanced my direction every so often. What if I were mortal? What if I were Renesmee Carlie Cullen, human girl? Would Jake still have imprinted on me? What if the supernatural didn't exist and we were both mortal?

I grimaced as I realized the answer to that question. I wouldn't exist without Bella and Edward, and if vampires weren't real, Edward would be dead, leaving Bella and Jacob with…each other. It was too obvious, actually. They were just like Hannah and Embry, childhood friends that happened to meet again on a chance decision. With me as a part of Bella, of course Jacob would love her. And Bella would never find her true soul mate, so Jacob would be the best option for her.

I frowned even more as I considered this possibility. When would Jacob ever be a fallback option? Mom had missed out, clearly.

Edward snorted from a few feet away. I blushed as I realized that he had been following my musings. Because you've never pondered how life could be different, I'm sure, I thought sarcastically.

He sobered instantly. Of course he had, way before it occurred to me. Edward was practical and theoretical to the extreme and had more than enough brainpower to explore every possible course.

I shoved my thoughts aside and joined Claire and Hannah in their discussion about Taylor Lautner's hotness factor as a distraction.

The next morning dawned sunny, a perfect day for the wolves to meet Elena and her herd. I bounded down the stairs early for breakfast, but let the girls sleep since they had a full day of boredom ahead. The guys and Leah were already at the table, having run patrol about an hour before. They were concerned that Brady's coven would make a surprise appearance, especially since we had learned about the shape-shifters, but there were no trails near the house and the wolves weren't foolish enough to approach their former home.

I sat down next to Jacob with a smile. "Morning, Alpha," I greeted.

He smiled and kissed my hair. "Morning, Ness," he returned cheerfully. "Ready for the big day?"

"You bet!" I dug vigorously into my pancakes to prove my point. He laughed with amusement and massaged my shoulder with his free hand.

It was one of those happy, relaxed moments that I had grown accustomed to. Of course I yearned for Jake in other ways, but this was so comfortable, just past the best friendship line. If Bella and Carlisle were correct, my sex drive would kick in completely once I reached full maturity, but I wasn't in too much of a rush. Jacob and I were happy without that, and we already knew how to excite ourselves, anyway.

We washed up after a few minutes and headed out to the woods. Relaxing into a loose but prepared formation, with Jacob and me at the head, we ran at a moderately supernatural pace in the direction of the Arikara reservation. Fortunately, Chad was able to keep up with us because of his superb athleticism. Quil and Embry wanted to shift back into their wolf forms, but Jacob reasoned that we might startle the herd if we arrived as their natural enemy.

Twenty minutes later, we felt a shift in the air just yards in front of us. Two elk came forward from the trees, with a petite but strong girl in between them. Judging by her stance, I inferred that she was Kathleen, one of Elena's three.

"Welcome, Quileutes," she greeted us. The two elk, which I now recognized as Wesley and Morgan, inclined her heads slightly as a show of respect. "You are here to see Elena?"

"Yes," Jacob responded. "I have brought five members of my pack to meet with her today."

"Wonderful! If you wait here at the border, I will send for her." Kathleen alighted onto Morgan's back with a secretive smirk—perhaps they were imprints?—before the two of them raced off to find their leader. Wesley stepped behind a tree and phased into his human form.

"Morgan and Kathleen imprinted on each other before she even joined the herd," Wesley told us. "The elk gene was already strong in her, but we haven't seen any others imprint before the first transformation."

"Would they not imprint on someone outside of the herd, in order to carry on the gene?" Leah asked. I understood her curiosity. The wolves, and vampires, froze in time after the transformation.

Wesley tilted his head questioningly. "I'm not sure I understand. The females in our herd are more than capable of bearing children. Even though we do not grow, we still experience…cycles in order to maintain balance. Imprinting with another shape-shifter strengthens the gene, whereas mating outside of our number does not necessarily guarantee more shifters."

Leah muttered unintelligibly, disgruntled.

Wesley shrugged but straightened his posture as Elena came into view. "Our leader approaches." He phased back into his elk form and allowed Elena to pass him by.

"Jacob, Nessie, welcome!" she exclaimed. She rushed forward to wrap me in a strong embrace and granted Jacob a leaders' fist-bump. She giggled slightly. "Two little girls on the reservation taught me to do that," she explained.

Then Elena noticed the rest of our party. "You must be Jacob's pack!" she assumed. She stepped closer to them with a wide smile.

Jacob took charge. "Guys, I would like you to meet Elena, Hart of the Arikara tribe," he introduced. Elena bowed slightly. "Elena, this is my pack: Quil, Embry, my Beta, Leah, and her husband, Chad, and Leah's brother, Seth."

At Seth's name, Elena froze, her eyes wide. Seth lifted his gaze from the ground to Elena's face and visibly started. His expression shifted from confused to terrified to awestruck in mere seconds, and he slowly, inexorably, moved closer to her.

I knew what was happening and felt my heart fluttering furiously inside me, but all I could fathom was how Seth's usually youthful face suddenly seemed wiser, more mature. In the moment that he saw his imprint for the first time, his mind, heart, body, and soul changed to compensate for Elena's every quality: her personality, her wisdom, her grace, even her dancing eyes. Seth grew.

Elena had not taken a single step when Seth stopped just inches from her. Carefully, he took her hand in his, and Elena seemed to thaw. "Your name is Seth?" she repeated quietly.

Seth swallowed nervously, never diverting his eyes from hers. "Yes," he answered. "And you're Elena—"

Before he could finish speaking, Elena jumped forward with a joyful laugh and pressed her lips against his, kissing Seth Clearwater for all she was worth. Seth caught her in his strong, capable arms and held her in such an intimate way that tears pricked at my eyes. From this moment forward, Seth would never let her go, likely never return to Forks unless she was still by his side.

Wesley's words echoed in my mind: "Imprinting with another shape-shifter strengthens the gene…" Elena's future descendants, future leaders of her herd, would put all former Harts to shame with the strength of their people and the enemy in their blood.

It wasn't until Quil muttered, "Why does Seth get all the luck?" that Elena pulled away, moving to a more conservative position at Seth's side, and beamed at all of us. "You must forgive me," she apologized. "But I am so overcome with joy that I can barely contain myself!"

"Imprinting is one of the best things that can ever happen," Jacob agreed.

Elena faced Jacob and me seriously. "But I wasn't searching for love, you remember," she told us. "Of course I'm delighted that it happened this way," she amended, squeezing Seth's hand tenderly, "but my joy today is two-fold."

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused.

Elena pondered for a moment before addressing me. "Nessie, you probably noticed how my countenance toward your family changed when I realized that Jacob, a shape-shifter, was among you, and that I took a particular interest in Jacob following that."

I nodded warily. "You were upset that he had already imprinted," I ventured.

"Indeed, I was and will not attempt to hide it," Elena answered. Her face displayed remorse. "But for what justification it is worth, I regarded Jacob such because of a dream I had every night for two months prior to your arrival."

"A dream?" I repeated skeptically. I didn't want to discount Elena or her tribal traditions, but her excuse seemed too far-fetched for me.

Elena nodded solemnly. "We take visions very seriously here, especially if they are recurring. After three nights of seeing a wolf join our herd and seeking to…bond with me, I shared the dream with my parents, and eventually the Elders."

"When you say 'bond'," I interjected, my face flushing, "do you mean 'mate'?"

"Yes," Elena replied simply. "I saw both of us imprinting on each other. This wolf would one day share the position of Hart with me."

I glanced over at Seth. He seemed engrossed in the story and his new love and not at all concerned with the fact that he would lead a tribe of elk for eternity.

"But I digress. We agreed that the vision must be true, but they argued that the wolf was likely a symbol of one initially regarded as the enemy, not an actual wolf. I, however, maintained that if my dream meant to represent an enemy, I would have seen a vampire, whose race has posed more of a threat than wolves these last few years. And my dream clearly depicted that the imprinting would be mutual, not just from me. That is not to say that imprinting is weaker in any way," Elena hastened to add, glancing worriedly between all of us, but focusing on me. "It was merely unique."

Elena paused. "When your family arrived," she continued, "I believed that Jacob was the wolf from my vision. The Elders were furious, of course, but you really didn't pose a threat, so they were forced to trust my judgment. I was deterred, however, when I learned that Nessie already had a claim on you and that my interest in you was not that of an imprint. I suggested that you bring members of your tribe to meet us, hopeful that perhaps Jacob was the gate to the fulfillment of my dream.

"Now, I see that I was correct." Elena smiled dazzlingly at Seth, her eyes mirroring his adoration. "You have not only brought an alliance between shape-shifters and vampires, but you have brought my eternal love to me. It seems that both interpretations of my vision were true."

Elena abruptly turned back to us. "I must introduce you to the Elders. They will want to know everything we just discussed."

CONTEST! I saved this til the end so you would be sure to read it. I'm thinking about changing the title of my story to something that better reflects the whole plot, but is still short and sweet. If you have any ideas, including just leaving the title the way it is, leave me a review with a potential title. If I get a lot of suggestions and can't choose a favorite, I'll choose the three to five that I like best and put a poll on my homepage. Whoever's becomes the new title will get a TWILIGHT ONE-SHOT of your favorite pairing (not Jake/Nessie) compliments of me.

Just something to think about. :)