"I thought you were coming over to watch a movie? You've been talking about this for almost an hour."

Brittany waved Finn off and kept pacing. He sighed and resigned himself to another long night.

"I just can't believe she would do this to me," she said.

"Why does it matter?" Finn groaned. "You broke up with her, remember?"

"Because during our relationship, she was obsessed with making sure Quinn didn't hate her or always wondering where Rachel ran off to. They were always the topic of conversation, and it feels like she was lying to me this entire time! I feel like she settled for me until she could have Quinn, and then Rachel comes back, and now she's draped over her too. It doesn't make sense!"

"Well, I mean, it kind of does? Like Quinn's crush on Santana wasn't a big secret."

"That's not the point," Brittany whined. "I feel like a rebound or something!"

"You kind of are," he said, shrugging. "So was I."

"What are you talking about?"

Finn blew out a breath and turned on the television, flipping through the channels.

"Apparently, Rachel's gay or whatever," he said.

"What?"

"Yeah, when she was being a dramatic bitch in class she let it slip that she liked women more than men." Finn squinted at the television and scoffed, adding, "And then she was like she wasn't a virgin when we had sex, which is a total lie because there's no way she was gay back then. She was totally into it. I think she was just trying to make me feel bad because I told a couple of people we had sex. But yeah, she talked about Santana and Quinn all the time when we were together. It was so annoying, and the only time she didn't talk about it was when she was yelling at me for something. I don't know. Do you want to watch Dredd again?"

Brittany stared at him, and then she stormed over and snatched the remote from his hand. She threw it against the wall and then face-planted on his bed. Finn rolled his eyes and went over to a basket in the corner, taking out another remote.

"Dredd it is," he said.

Finn turned up the volume to drown out Brittany shrieking into his pillow and got comfortable. She would calm down, eventually, and then she would come over and apologize. It was like clockwork.

Outside his door, Kurt paused with a tray of cake his stepmother "requested" that he bring to Finn and Brittany. Ever since Brittany started coming around more, Carol had turned into a happy homemaker to the extreme.

"Any girl that loves my son deserves the best version of me," she'd said.

Still, Kurt wasn't Brittany's biggest fan, but at that moment, he wasn't thinking about his stepbrother or his…girlfriend. He put the tray down and took out his phone, dialing Mercedes' number. He ducked off into his room, and when she answered, he barely let her get out a greeting before -

"Rachel's gay and in a lover's triangle with Santana and Quinn," he blurted.

Bella opened the door to find Mike with a bottle of tequila and three boxes of pizza. She arched an eyebrow in question.

"It's Tuesday. Rachel promised me answers," he said. "So I came to collect, and I brought food."

Bella let him pass and led him into the den where Rachel was stretched out on the couch. Mike kicked her a little, she leaned her head back.

"It's Tuesday."

Rachel groaned and said, "I thought you would forget."

"Steel trap, baby."

"Ugh."

Rachel paused the movie and stood up, rubbing at her face. She pulled down her shirt, and Mike narrowed his eyes.

"Are those my boxers?" he asked.

"Most of the ones I have are yours," she said.

"How do you keep getting away with this?"

"Mike, most of these are like three years old?"

"That's not the point."

"Whatever. Is that pizza?"

"Vegan, cheese, and double pepperoni."

"Cool." Rachel shuffled into the kitchen and yawned. "Come on, Chang. You just saved us an hour-long argument over Chinese versus pizza for dinner tonight," she said.

"It's not like we're not going to have to order more food anyway," Bella pointed out.

"Then order some and stop whining about it," Rachel huffed.

Bella sucked her teeth and snatched the tequila from him. Mike smiled and followed them into the kitchen, where Rachel took out three plates. Then she groaned and threw her head back.

"Shit," she said. "Hold on."

Rachel went back into the den and came back with her phone. She finished typing out a message and blew out a frustrated breath, tossing her phone on the counter. Bella took out four pieces of vegan pizza and two pepperoni slices for Rachel, and Rachel muttered her thanks as she sat at the island. Mike opened his mouth, and Bella held up her hand.

"Don't. If she did what I think she did, you're going to have to wait for answers," she said.

"What did she do?" he asked.

"Invite Santana and Quinn over."

"And Sam," Rachel added. "If he was home."

"Why Sam?"

"He's involved, whether I want him to be or not."

"What about Sue and Emma?"

"I can't even tell my Dad yet, so no. I'll pass."

"Wait, you - you're using contractions. You never use contractions. You said it was lazy English," Mike said.

"Yeah, I don't care anymore. It's been exhausting as shit playing pretend the last few days, but now that you're here demanding answers, might as well say fuck it and drop the act."

Mike struggled to form a response before he said, "I think I might need that drink now."

"Take as much as you want. Rachel can't get drunk off it, so it's practically useless with her."

"I'll need about three bottles before I can even get tipsy," she said.

"Which is terrifying" Bella said. "Watching her inhale four bottles of gin will make your liver hurt."

Rachel grunted and finished off her second slice, then reached for a third. Mike poured a reasonable amount of tequila into a glass, and Bella stuck with water for the time being.

By the time they got to Mike's third shot, and Rachel's sixth piece of pizza, the doorbell rang. Mike slid off the stool, stumbling a little, and went to answer it. Bella leaned on the counter.

"Are you sure about this?" she asked.

"No, but they need to know."

"Yeah, they really don't."

"They're my imprints, Bella," Rachel said.

"Fine, but if they start shit, I have a right to beat their ass."

"Permission granted."

Rachel wiped her mouth and stood as Mike led Santana and Quinn into the kitchen with bags full of -

"Fuck, yes!"

Bella raced over and took the bags. Mike joined her, and the two made quick work of taking out the Chinese takeout.

"Sam had an assignment to finish, so he couldn't…" Quinn trailed off with a frown, but Rachel didn't notice. She was too busy making sure Bella didn't choke on the food she was inhaling. Quinn nudged Santana, and both looked down at Rachel's thigh. Santana's face twisted in confusion, and the two girls looked up by the time Rachel turned around.

"Oh, thank you. I was going to run out and grab it myself, but two birds and all that."

Neither responded, but Santana's eyes fell to Rachel's thigh again. That's when Rachel remembered what she had on, and she winced. Mike hadn't noticed the marks because she was in the dark when he first saw her, but under the harsh kitchen lights, the boxers did little to hide Rachel's scars.

"Are those - are those claw marks?" Santana asked, looking up.

Behind her, Mike and Bella turned around, hearing the conversation, and Bella wiped her hands. She moved closer to her sister while Mike came around the island. He saw the scars and started sputtering out questions, and Rachel lifted her shirt, allowing them to see how far up they went. Quinn and Santana gasped, and Bella bowed her head.

"What the fuck, Rachel?" Mike exclaimed. "When did that happen?"

"Six months ago," she answered, lowering her shirt. "I was attacked by a wolf."

"What!" Mike held up his hand and shook his head. "You know what? Fuck whatever happened between you and Brittany. I want to know why you didn't say anything about this when we first started talking again," he said.

"Wait, what happened between you and Brittany?" Santana asked.

"They don't know?"

"I never got the chance to tell them," Rachel said flatly.

"Oh. Right. Well, short of it is, they were childhood best friends," Mike said. "They stopped talking halfway through the summer before our freshman year, right around the time Santana dropped out of our dance class."

"Ten bucks as to why that was," Bella muttered.

"Seriously?" Santana said. "Was that necessary?"

"Absolutely."

"Wait, was this before or after Santana fucked and dumped Rachel?" Quinn asked.

"You did not have to say it like that."

"But that's what you did," Rachel pointed out.

"It was after, by the way," Mike said. "Like a week."

"Okay, so Rachel and Brittany were best friends up until she slept with Santana -

"And then started hanging out with Mike," Bella finished.

"That's your beef with her?" Quinn asked.

"Not in the least," Rachel said.

"Yeah, the real beef is that Brittany slept with Finn while Rachel was dating him freshman year. Before all that lovely stuff happened. She forgave him, slept with him, and then in the midst of the entire school turning on her, Rachel found them together a second time. After that, she ran to Washington."

"That's the least interesting part of this story," Rachel said, leaning against the island. "But I feel like you're still stuck on the fact that Finn cheated on me with Brittany."

"Of course, we are!" Santana exclaimed. "Why the fuck didn't you say anything?"

"Who the fuck would I have told, Santana? You? Quinn? Get real. And this doesn't even matter! This is so trivial compared to why you guys are here."

"Rachel -

"Hush," she said. "To recap so we don't go through this again, Brittany and I have known each other since we were five. I slept with Santana when I was thirteen, she pretended as if I didn't exist, and then, I met Mike. Brittany got jealous of my friendship with Mike, stopped talking to me, and I cried for a week before I realized Mike was a way better friend than Brittany ever was. I started dating Finn, found him with Brittany the first time and said nothing, got emotionally pressured into having sex with him at school, and went through weeks of torture and humiliation. I stayed with him and pretended as if nothing happened, and then I found Brittany and Finn together again. That time, I was over it and moved to Washington, where I have been the last two years. Any more stupid fucking questions about the whole Brittany thing or can I move on?"

Mike, Santana, and Quinn stared at her with varying looks of surprise, and Bella started chuckling.

"I forgot you guys only knew one side of her," she said. "She's being way nicer than she would've been with anyone else."

"Look, I'm sorry, but can you please stop asking questions? There's a lot to discuss, and we need time to get through it."

Bella sobered up at the reminder that it was partly her story too, and she sighed, saying, "Yeah, all jokes aside, can you guys chill for a few minutes? At the end, we'll answer whatever questions you have, but understand nothing we say can leave this house. It stays between us. You can't tell anyone unless we give you explicit permission."

"Yeah, we got it," Mike said. "I swear this is between us."

"Same," Quinn said.

"I won't tell a soul," Santana promised.

"Good, then meet me in the living room," Rachel said, walking off.

Santana and Quinn sat on the couch while Mike reclined on the floor. Rachel reclined on the wall near the door with her arms folded, eyes down, and Bella stretched out in front of the fireplace with her head resting against the brick.

"This started because of a guy." Bella looked down and laughed. "I mean, that's how it usually starts, but for me? I settled for the hetero choice because the person that I wanted wasn't allowed to be mine. If I could go back in time, I would tell his sister that I loved her and wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. Unfortunately, I can't." She sucked her teeth and added, "I can admit that Edward Cullen was incredible in the sense that he was something new. He was exciting and everything he did was supernatural."

"Literally," Rachel deadpanned. "He and his family were vampires."

Mike snorted, on the verge of laughing, but then he saw Bella and Rachel's faces, and he swallowed it.

"Oh, my God. You're serious?"

"Deadly."

"But - vampires aren't real?"

"Think so, huh? What about Shifters? Men and women who can turn into wolves?" Rachel asked.

"Same vein as - whoa! Shit!"

Mike yelped as Rachel appeared in front of him. She picked him up with one hand, lifting him off the floor, and she bared her teeth, showing off her canines. Rachel channeled her wolf and growled, and Mike paled.

"Believe in them now?"

"Yep. Got it. Please, put me down," he asked, his voice cracking.

Rachel lowered him back to the ground, and Mike fell onto the couch. He placed a hand over his heart, and Rachel returned to her spot on the wall.

"Bella's obsession with her vampire boyfriend, matched only by the love she had for his sister, ended up biting me in the ass. Well, more like ripped my torso to shreds, but you get the point," she said. "It changed me. In a literal and figurative sense. The last six months have been hell for me, but I can't say that I would change what happened. It was a bad thing that became a good thing in the long run."

Quinn took a deep breath and asked, "What does being a Shifter mean? For you?"

The "and us" was unasked but implied, and Rachel tilted her head toward the kitchen. Santana and Quinn followed her, and Bella moved across the room to sit next to Mike. She whispered something in his ear that Rachel pretended not to hear, and Rachel led Santana and Quinn outside to their patio. Their fence was at five feet, and there was a good mile before they got to their neighbor's house, so there was nothing but privacy out there. She gestured for them to sit on the loveseat, and she sat on the table in front of them. She then leaned forward and removed the necklace Santana had hidden under her shirt.

"You know, I bought this because I was told girls liked pretty jewelry, and I wanted to impress you. But in all honesty, I had no idea what I was doing. I never knew, not even when I sat and drew Quinn a rose with a heart in it during the Valentine's Day party. I was just trying to tell a girl I thought she was pretty, and both times ended in disaster."

"In your defense, you didn't know it would rain out the event," Quinn said.

"Nor that I would panic and run away," Santana sighed.

"That may be, but I learned from every misstep we've had. And I've learned that sometimes when you love someone, you have to let the love grow naturally. You can't force it or turn it into something it will never be." Rachel grabbed a hand from each of them and kissed their knuckles. "There have been only two people in my life who I have loved unconditionally, and I never understood the importance of that until yesterday. Seeing you both with a new literal set of eyes put things into perspective, and because I am a Shifter, I went through something that changes...everything."

"What do you mean?"

"I - how did you two end up together?" Rachel asked.

"Rachel -

"Please? It's important."

"And complicated," Quinn sighed. "It's not like we planned this."

"Rarely do we plan to fall in love with someone."

"Yes, but this is different," Quinn said. "Santana and I are best friends, and we've been best friends for a long time. Yeah, I admit that I've found her attractive since day one. I mean, hello? Look at her, but last September, some shit happened that forced me out of the closet, and Santana was the first person to stand up for me at school. Sam and Mike did too, but Santana was the one who came and got me when my parents kicked me out. I stayed with her and Sam, and we got close. When we realized how close we'd gotten, I was the one who decided to leave and move in with Emma. I got a job after school so I could start paying rent and my portion of the utilities. It was in our best interest to keep our friendship the way it was."

"Why?"

"I thought I was in love with Brittany," Santana said, shrugging. "And Quinn scared me. It's been so easy with her, way easier than it had ever been with Brittany, and she's my best friend. So she knows so much about me, and I was vulnerable with her. But I wasn't ready to take that chance."

"And neither was I, honestly. We were so focused on not giving in to those feelings that we went as far as to stop talking to one another for a few weeks. I was miserable, but I didn't want to do anything that would compromise her relationship with Brittany. And then…she caught Finn and Brittany together. I was in my room when Emma got a call from Sue that Santana was missing."

Quinn turned and looked at Santana, the love written all over her face.

"I found her at the coffee shop and took her back to the apartment. Sam chose to spend the night with a friend of his from the team, so it was just us. He was the only one who knew I was there. I never told Emma, but I think she figured it out. We wanted to keep it private because the last thing we wanted was to give Brittany ammunition. She'd started a campaign against Santana at school, and Finn, once he was out of the hospital, joined in. It was rough, and I was so busy trying to keep Santana above water that I never noticed how we were falling back into old habits. Feelings don't just go away, you know? Even when you want them to. One night, we were talking and… that's when we had our first kiss. After that? It was like trying to stop a speeding train. We gave in."

"I knew I was in love with Quinn when she walked into that coffee shop. It was like Brittany and Finn sleeping together was the wakeup call I needed. And it was easy to give in to what I was feeling. But we," Santana paused, "our relationship is not conventional. Yes, we kiss and hold hands, but other than that? Not so much."

"We can't have sex," Quinn blurted out.

Santana sighed and closed her eyes, and Quinn turned red under the patio lights. Rachel blinked a little, and she sat forward.

"I'm sorry?" she said.

"We can't have sex," Santana repeated.

"I- what? I'm confused. What does this have to do with anything?"

"Because you are the reason why," Santana said.

"Me? What did I do?" she asked.

"Exist," Quinn said dryly.

Santana nudged her and said, "What Quinn meant was that we never felt comfortable being together because it doesn't feel complete. Like we're missing something."

Rachel clearly still didn't get it, and Quinn groaned.

"Fuck, Rachel, we're so in love with you that the idea of having sex without you was miserable. And before you ask, when we say we're in love with you, we mean we've been in love with you for a very long time."

Rachel had to drop their hands when her muscles tensed, and she grabbed hold of the table to keep from reaching out again. The wood creaked under her grip, and she clamped her mouth shut. Her teeth pierced her lip, and Rachel quickly wiped away the blood, huffing and turning her head.

"Are you okay?" Santana asked.

"Fine," Rachel muttered, still keeping her head turned.

"I'm sorry, that was an accident. We weren't planning on telling you that," Quinn said. "At least, not yet. Not until we were much…much further along."

"Look at us," Santana said.

Rachel groaned under her breath and slowly turned around.

"Your eyes - do they only turn orange?" she asked.

Rachel nodded yes.

"And what does orange mean?"

"Restraint," Rachel gritted out.

The table snapped under Rachel's grip, and she moved to a different side and let go of the wood. She flexed her hands and nearly crawled out of her skin when Santana and Quinn took a hold of each one.

"Did we push you too far?" Quinn asked.

"No," Rachel sighed. "It's only been a few months, so my control is not…the best."

"Control of your wolf?"

"Yes. I have very little when I'm around you two. And when you say things like that, it makes it hard to keep my wolf on a leash, so to speak."

"So what you're saying is, we drive you wild?"

"You do more than that," Rachel said, rolling her eyes at Santana. "That experience I mentioned earlier is called imprinting. It's when a Shifter connects with a person, or people, in a permanent way, for lack of a better term. It's like soulmates, almost, and I," she paused, "imprinted yesterday."

"You did?"

"I did. On you. Both of you," Rachel corrected.

"Oh," Santana said, her eyes widening.

"Wait, is that what you meant? When you said we were yours?" Quinn exclaimed.

"Yes. I meant that in the literal sense."

"We're your imprints," Santana said.

"Yes. You're mine."

A wide smile broke out on Quinn's face, and Santana sat back against the couch, shocked.

"We're yours," she said. "Both of us?"

Rachel nodded, knowing what Santana was really asking, and Santana put a hand over her heart. Quinn squealed and shot forward, and Rachel had to move back so Quinn didn't get hurt. Quinn sat sideways on Rachel's lap, and Santana jumped up.

"I, uh, I need to go to the restroom."

"San -

"I'm not running," she interrupted Quinn. "Just need a second."

Santana hurried off, and Quinn clicked her teeth. She watched her go and shook her head.

"Her father really screwed her over," she said.

"Remind me to give him a piece of my mind when I see him, yeah?"

"Get in line." Quinn smiled and turned to her. "But you should probably go and talk to her without me. I think this time it needs to be you," she said.

"Why?"

"Because she needs to hear what I already know."

"And what's that?"

"That you love her as much as you love me."

Rachel gripped Quinn's chin and pulled her down, and she kissed the corner of her mouth. Quinn turned her head, and it took a lot of willpower on Rachel's part not to follow. She kissed her again on the nose and patted her legs. Quinn reluctantly moved away, and Rachel headed into the house. She bypassed the living room, knowing Bella was still in there with Mike, and she jogged up the stairs to the restroom. Somehow, she was pleased Santana went to her bathroom, while the other part wondered if it was an imprint thing. Rachel hesitated before she decided against knocking, and she opened the door. Santana was sitting in front of the bathtub, and she had her knees against her chest, her head on her knees. Rachel closed the door behind her and sat next to her.

"Hey."

Santana turned her head to look at her, and Rachel's heart broke at the tears in her eyes.

"Hey," she murmured.

"I'm sorry."

"For what? I'm the one who should be apologizing."

"You already did, and I think you've been apologizing for a long time."

Santana looked away, and Rachel sighed.

"Baby, how can you believe that I have forgiven you if you have yet to forgive yourself?" Rachel reached out and moved Santana's hair away from her face. "Because I do forgive you. Yes, it still hurts, but I still want you. And I'm sorry for not making it clear that I have loved you since the moment I laid eyes on you. I'm sorry for not telling you that dancing with you was my favorite part of the day, that even at thirteen, having you in my arms was the greatest thing in the world. I'm sorry for not kissing you the morning after. I'm sorry for not kissing you enough the night before. I'm sorry for not telling you that I still wanted you, even after that summer happened. But most of all, I'm sorry for not being there for you. I'm sorry for running and leaving you behind. I'm sorry for ignoring those emails you sent and never responding. I'm sorry, Santana, for not hearing you when you were crying out for me."

Rachel cupped the back of Santana's head and pulled her closer.

"I need you as much as I need to breathe," she said softly. "You and Quinn are my life forces. One without the other is not enough. I want you to be mine, but I will not make you. I want to kiss you and love you openly, but not unless you want me to. This is your choice, and as much as it pains me to say, I will respect whatever you choose. But please, stay with me, with Quinn. Let us love you the way you deserve to be loved."

Santana's lip quivered, and Rachel pulled her onto her lap.

"I love you," she said. "Okay? I love you."

Santana closed her eyes and rested her forehead on Rachel's.

"Don't leave me," she whispered.

"Never."

"Promise?"

"With my life."

Rachel kissed Santana on the cheek, and she felt half of her heart settle into place.