Authors Note :: and here we have the chapter owed from last week. Thursday you'll get this weeks and things will be back on schedule. Then again people might go crazy reviewing both chapters and making me feel seriously loved which would make me tempted to post the next chapter early then probably yet another chapter on Thursday? Never know…it could happen xP

Chapter 4 :: Have Fun Guessing

POV :: Paul

You don't always know the answers, but you can try to have fun guessing.

Guessing is exactly what Sam and I were doing right now while we dug through the books he'd run and gotten from the Council Chambers. They held the written legends, stories, 'prophesies', and basically our tribes entire history. If we were going to find an answer to this 'question' it was going to be somewhere in here…or it wasn't going to be known. He'd asked how Bella was after seeing how I looked storming up to his front door, guess he figured I was frustrated with her refusal to get out of bed since we'd talked about my plan of approach at getting her to snap out of it. Sam knew I was going to do something, he just hadn't known what exactly since I'd mentioned quite a few options that had sprung to mind. After explaining to him the first part about how I'd actually gotten her out of bed he'd shook his head saying something about how it was a low blow but probably the only way. No one liked seeing Bella hurting and Sam had in a way adopted her as a type of little sister through time. He especially didn't want her hurting and actually I considered myself lucky he wasn't trying to find out if someone could actually injure a wolf enough to scar them.

He was right, I knew that and I knew what I'd done had guaranteed me a spot in hell because it had been cruel, but it had been the only way I'd gotten a real reaction so far. When I'd explained the second part he'd tried to tell me that wasn't possible, then tried to tell me I was going crazy. Phasing had been the only way to make him understand, because that way he could see and feel it through my eyes. Now we were on a mission to find out how this was happening, how or why or really whatever answer was possible since we'd never heard of this happening before. We were looking for something we might have missed before, but we knew almost every thing in these books by heart already. "Guys it's two am…can you call it quits and go to sleep before your angry 'I can't find it' book slamming wakes up Aly or Me again?" came a soft and frustrated voice from behind us. I turned to look at Emily standing there with a robe wrapped tight around her, hair tangled from attempting to sleep and looking more than a little fed up. This was the third time she'd been down to yell at us for making too much noise and only the first time she'd come without Bella's daughter Alyssa on her hip. Sam opened his mouth to explain but I beat him too it. "Sorry bout this Emily, we just…really need to find an answer to my little problem." he'd promised not to tell anyone, but honestly I expected him to spill his guts to her while I was gone. She was his wife, imprint, and best friend so expecting him not to tell her was like expecting to see a rainbow in the middle of the night. I suppose as long as it's while I'm not around to see the look on her face or hear her opinion on exactly which level of hell I'd be visiting it all I'd be alright.

No such luck, I should have seen it coming when her agitated look didn't budge at my explanation. It might have had something to do with her asking multiple times tonight what was going on and getting answers like 'nothing really just go back to sleep' or 'don't worry about it Emily' from us all night. Sam caved and I saw my hopes of being absent when she or anyone really was told fly out the window flipping me off as they went. "Em we have to keep looking because if we don't figure out how it's possible for Paul to have imprinted on Bella we're going to be facing a huge problem that may either wreck both of them, or may blow up in everyone's faces. We're sorry for the noise so we'll try to keep it down alright?" He was sooooo whipped and I so needed another beer right now.

I threw a quick glare at him but my eyes returned to Emily as she let out a very unladylike snort and shook her head at us as if we were children asking why the sky was blue. "Ok well let me solve this riddle so we can all get some sleep?" her answer wasn't what we'd expected and honestly we were both floored by her tone, attitude, and the plain way of saying she knew the answer. "Paul you lost your imprint, you loved her and we all know you still miss her most days because we can see it in your eyes, but it's something you've learned to live with. Bella just lost Jacob and is hurting really bad like you once were. At the time of Rachel's death the only other person who understood you was happily in love and had her own wolf who'd imprinted on her. Now she needs you because that imprint is dead causing her to suffer and need someone who understands and can help her. You need her because you've finally let yourself really live and are ready to move on with your life in some ways. So you've found each other and you've imprinted on her to guarantee you help her through this and show her love is not a lost cause. Because while you're not made specifically for each other, you are still perfect fits for who you have become, who you are today. So suck it up, keep trying to get her out of her depression and both of you stop slamming fucking books around."

It was a real show of her annoyance the tone she'd used as if lecturing small children and then swearing to top it off. Emily nearly never swore so it was odd to hear from her lips, but it made her point. We sat there staring dumbly as she walked back up the stairs. Turning to Sam I saw a faint smirk on his lips and shook my head, as I said whipped. "She's right isn't she? We're each others second chance second option…Fate knew we'd be fucked over by our first so we were lucky or unlucky, depending on opinion, enough to find another person?" My voice was full of confusion and a little anger, I didn't like how this seemed to be all just part of a grander scheme where we were only put here to play back-up, or stand in, to the lead stars once they were out of the spotlight. Sam smirk turned to a frown when I finished speaking and he looked at me as if considering the idea before answering. "Well she may be partially right with what she just said, but I still think there's something else we are missing here, it's that nagging feeling you get when you forget to turn off the stove. You know you forgot something, you know it's big, but you just can't put your finger on it and you come home to find the place up in flames."

His statement wasn't reassuring since I didn't want to think about what the burning house would stand for, heck I wasn't sure I wanted to know what that stupid turned on stove was in this situation. I might not want to know, but I was going to find out because this wasn't just about me. I couldn't stick my head in the sand and pretend like the world wasn't going on around my ass, and Bella was part of this somehow so she deserved an answer. She'd start to heal in time and when she started healing she'd start feeling and well…then she'd want me around without knowing why until I grew a pair and told her about imprinting on her. Of course she had known the feeling and the look in the eyes of a man who loved her that deeply already, she may not need me to say anything to know. I loved her already sure, but not this way exactly. She'd helped me a lot after Rachel's death and she was my closest and most trusted friend, but now that friendly love was rooted deeper and had shifted. It had become more of the kind of love that made you want to just hold the person in your arms because they were the only thing you needed to be happy. I hated how Imprinting made you feel, how it didn't leave you the option of finding out you had that kind of love for someone in your own time.

With a shake of my head I grabbed a few books from the table and floor and stood up again letting out a slow breath. I didn't know how to handle what was going on, and I didn't know what was going to even happen so it wasn't like I could prepare. So it looked like I needed to find whatever it was that is my stove and I needed to find it fast before everything went up in smoke. "I'm gonna read a bit more at home so you can sleep. I'll bring these back later and let you know if I find anything." The look on Sam's face told me something he was about to say was probably going to piss me off and I lifted an eyebrow at him. Right now was not the time to be pulling the 'Paul you need to face facts' speech or whatever he had planned. Knowing Sam it would be some sort of wisdom filled lecture and I just didn't want to hear it, but while I was still an ass more often than not, since a zebra can't change it's stripes, deep down I respected the man. I shifted my feet a little where I stood and waited. As he spoke he began cleaning up the stacks of books, making a pile of the few we'd read already and the few we hadn't not including the four in my hands.

"Sounds good to me, just…don't go by to see Bella till we have more information alright? I don't want anything upsetting her more until we know what's going on. So just put your plan of dragging her out of this on the back burner for now and I'll see if the girls will try their tricks while we try to find an answer. If this is real and you did imprint…" the growl slipped past my lips before I could stop it at this. He knew I'd imprinted, he'd seen the memory for himself and still he said 'if this is real' like it wasn't what we thought it was. He ignored my growl though and kept speaking as if it hadn't happened. "It might cause a reaction, or bring up feelings she's not ready to have yet. She could feel drawn to you and then knowing Bella she'd feel guilty for even feeling so strongly drawn to someone like that so soon." His words made sense and pissed me off at the same time, he had no right telling me to stay away from my imprint, but I didn't want to hurt her even if unintentionally. I let out a frustrated sigh and kicked the closest chair causing it to slide a little across the floor. His laugh at my obvious frustration earned a second growl as he shook his head, "Knew the old Paul was in there somewhere. Don't get pissed just do as told or I'll have to make it an actual order alright?" All I could do was nod since Sam had taken over the position of Alpha when Jake had died. Leaving as quietly as I could I looked at the house as I started up my car. The lights went out downstairs and I knew Sam was going to bed, to sleep peacefully next to the love of his life while I was going back to my big old empty place to drive myself crazy with questions about what was going on with me. Well 'Hell No to that!' my mind screamed as I quickly changed plans. I'd go to Billy's and crash in Jake's old room or the couch or something. Billy was amazingly strong for having lost two of his children, he was hurting and that was obvious, but he was still going.

Pulling out of Sam's driveway I was glad to know I had somewhere to go when I couldn't take being alone and when the 'Black-Swan Residence' was now just the Swan one and totally off limits. After Rae had died Billy had told me I was welcome any time, day or night, when I couldn't take the silence. Figure he couldn't take it sometimes too since he lived in the place alone now though someone from the pack or Charlie stopped by every day to check in with him and keep him company or go out fishing nearly every weekend. Ok the fishing was all Charlie but it kept Billy active and entertained right? Jake had gone by to his dad's every day, no matter what was going on he always made time to stop by and visit his dad. Pulling into the driveway I was surprised to see a light on inside, with the time I'd thought that Billy would be in bed. I climbed out taking the books with me and walking up to the door not bothering to knock as I let myself inside and spotted Billy sitting in front of the TV. He looked up as I came in and gave me a nod as a greeting, "Quiet night huh?" was his only question and I nodded in agreement. Sitting heavily on the couch I lent my head back and set the books aside. "Very quiet and very confusing." Billy looked away from the TV again and lifted an eyebrow at me before sighing and turning down the volume. "Out with it, and don't make a tired old man beat it outta you tonight Paul. I'm not feeling up for the fight right now."

The grin slipped onto my lips before I knew it and I chuckled shaking my head, "Gone soft in your old age Billy." I should have known he'd guess something was up. It wasn't every night I showed up at 2:30am with books and a heavy weight on my shoulders. He just kept his eyes on me giving that no nonsense 'you will talk look' and I caved. Kinda. "You ever heard of an Imprint happening twice for a wolf Billy?" his head tilted to the side a little at my random question and he frowned. "Why do you ask Paul? What's going on?" He was still sharp even after all the years he'd seen gone by and I knew then that while we may find it in the books eventually we'd find it faster if Billy told us what he knew. "I went by tonight to see if I could get Bella up outta that bed she's been in for a month now. I was mean but she was alive again, even yelled at me…" I just couldn't tell the man who was like a father to me what I'd done to his 'pale-face daughter' to get her to the point of yelling at me. Jake and Bella might not have gotten married but she was as much Billy's daughter as she was Charlie's when it came to how much the men loved her, worried about her, and cared for her well being. "Anyway there we were and I laid out her options for her, she chose the one that means I have to annoy her to death but I'll do it. What's got me on the rocks was her eyes, the second I saw them…it happened all over again Billy. My world was thrown to bits and then sucked into that tiny little woman."

I hung my head, not wanting to meet the eyes of the father of both my imprint and Bella's imprint. Both had died and here I was whining about how I'd imprinted on his son's true love. When the silence in the room stretched thin I couldn't take it anymore and chanced a look up. Billy's eyes were filled with concern, knowledge, and a little pain…I couldn't ask him to fix the problem. "Night Billy." I mumbled softly when it seemed he'd been off in his own little world where he didn't plan to come back from any time soon. As I went to stand up his voice pushed me right back down into my seat. "We need to talk son, because this is bigger than some imprinting and broken hearts. This is destiny, fate, it's foretold." His voice was heavy and as I met his eyes I wished I'd just kept my mouth shut. I'd been right before…I was not going to like this.

Why can't life just be simple, is it too much to ask?

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