A/N: Two updates in one day? Whaaat? I hope you enjoy the chapter ;)

Bella's POV

"So, did you want to hear about Sam, or did you want to scream at me some more for things that are out of my control?" Jacob asked.

I took a deep breath. "Sorry. Age is a touchy subject for me. That hit a nerve."

Jacob's eyes tightened, and he looked as if he were trying to decide how to word something.

Since I didn't want to talk about the truly touchy stuff - my plans for the future, or treaties that might be broken by said plans, I prompted him. "So once Sam understood what was going on, once he had Billy and Harry and Mr. Ateara, you said it wasn't so hard anymore. And, like you also said, there are the cool parts…" I hesitated briefly. "Why does Sam hate them so much? Why does he wish I would hate them?"

Jacob sighed. "This is the really weird part."

"I'm a pro at weird."

"Yeah, I know." He grinned before he continued. "So, you're right. Sam knew what was going on, and everything was almost okay. In most ways, his life was back to, well, not normal. But better." Then Jacob's expression tightened, like something painful was coming. "Sam couldn't tell Leah. We aren't supposed to tell anyone who doesn't have to know. And it wasn't really safe for him to be around her - but he cheated, just like I did with you. Leah was furious that he wouldn't tell her what was going on - where he'd been, where he went at night, why he was always so exhausted - but they were working it out. They were trying. They really loved each other."

"Did she find out? Is that what happened?"

He shook his head. "No, that wasn't the problem. Him and Leah hit another rough patch. Leah's best friend, Katie decided to talk to Sam and try to set him straight."

I gasped. "Katie and Leah were best friends?" Without answering, he nodded. "That's . . . horrible. How could Sam…?" I trailed off, shaking my head.

"Don't judge him just yet. Did anyone ever tell you . . . Have you ever heard of imprinting?"

"Imprinting?" I repeated the unfamiliar word. "No. What's that mean?"

"It's one of those bizarre things we have to deal with. It doesn't happen to everyone. In fact, it's the rare exception, not the rule. Sam had heard all the stories by then, the stories we all used to think were legends. He'd heard of imprinting, but he never dreamed . . ."

"What is it?" I prodded.

Jacob's eyes strayed to the ocean. "Sam did love Leah. But when he saw Katie, that didn't matter anymore. Sometimes . . . we don't exactly know why . . . we find our mates that way." His eyes flashed back to me, his face reddening. "I mean… our soul mates."

"What way? Love at first sight?" I snickered.

Jacob wasn't smiling. His dark eyes were critical of my reaction. "It's a little bit more powerful than that. More absolute."

"Sorry," I muttered. "You're serious, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I am."

"Love at first sight? But more powerful?" My voice still sounded dubious, and he could hear that.

"It's not easy to explain. It doesn't matter, anyway." He shrugged indifferently. "You wanted to know what happened to Sam to make him hate the vampires for changing him, to make him hate himself. And that's what happened. He broke Leah's heart. He went back on every promise he'd ever made her. Every day he has to see the accusation in her eyes, and know that she's right."

He stopped talking abruptly, as if he'd said something he hadn't meant to.

"How did Katie deal with this? If she was so close to Leah…?" Sam and Katie were utterly right together, two puzzle pieces, shaped for each other exactly. Still . . . how had Katie gotten past the fact that he'd belonged to someone else? Her best friend…

"She was real angry, in the beginning. But it's hard to resist that level of commitment and adoration." Jacob sighed. "And then, Sam could tell her everything. There are no rules that can bind you when you find your other half. You know how she got hurt?"

"Yeah." The story in Forks was that she was mauled by a bear, but I was in on the secret. As much as I had wanted to ask Katie about it, it just didn't felt comfortable, so Jake filled me in on what happened one day.

Werewolves are unstable, Edward had said. The people near them get hurt.

"Well, weirdly enough, that was sort of how they resolved things. Sam was so horrified, so sickened by himself, so full of hate for what he'd done… He would have thrown himself under a bus if it would have made her feel better. He might have anyway, just to escape what he'd done. He was shattered… Then, somehow, she was the one comforting him, and after that…" Jacob didn't finish his thought, and I sensed the story had gotten too personal to share.

"Poor Katie," I whispered. "Poor Sam. Poor Leah. . .."

"Yeah, Leah got the worst end of the stick," he agreed. "She puts on a brave face. She's going to be a bridesmaid."

Katie's POV

I felt absolutely miserable. I woke up this morning and was barely able to get out of bed. Sam had left to do an early morning patrol and Emily was coming over to help fix breakfast for the pack. The second she saw me, she sent me back to bed.

"Maybe since you sat near somebody on the plane, you got something?" Emily offered as a reason. I rolled my eyes but didn't say anything. Growing up, I had a rather healthy immune something. The last time I had gotten sick was last year when a strand of the flu hit practically every high school student in Forks.

She went downstairs to continue fixing breakfast. As much as I wanted to get out of bed and help, I knew I was in no condition to fix food. So, I laid in bed and listened as the pack came in the house. I knew the minute Sam came in because I heard footsteps down the hallway, which none of the boys usually used.

"Emily told me." Sam sat down on the bed beside me and felt my forehead. His warm palm was always a comfort. "You're not running a fever." He commented.

Sam stayed in there with me until he had to leave for work. A bigger construction company had moved to Port Angeles and was hurting business. Then add on the fact that the redheaded vampire was still in town, Sam stayed rather busy.

Soon enough, the rest of the pack filed out of the house, whether to go to school or do a patrol. Without any noise in the house, I found myself falling asleep.

When I woke up next, I noticed that Emily was sitting on the edge of the bed, flipping through one of my textbooks. The moment she saw that I was awake, she closed the book and set it down.

"So, I've been thinking…" She started off with.

"That's never good." I commented, slowly sitting up.

"You made a face when I suggested you got something on the plane… And I just wanted to be covered on all sides…" When I raised my eyebrow at her, she continued. "I got you a few pregnancy tests."

"Pregnancy tests? I'm not pregnant."

"Do you and Sam have sex?" I felt my face turn red, which surely answered her question. "Do you use protection?"

"Of co-" I started saying, then stopped. Did we use protection?

"Well, if you're not pregnant, then you won't mind taking a test." She smirked.

"Fine." I grabbed the test and went to the bathroom.

I couldn't be pregnant, right? I'm getting married in two months. My dress was bought and hanging in Sue's closet. We had made a deposit on the venue and invitations have been sent out. Without any more delay, I followed the instructions on the box. Five minutes later, I walked out of the bathroom and sat beside Emily. "Well?"

"How do I tell Sam?"