Chapter 23: The Proof Was Always There
Bella tried to stay in the conversation, but her mind kept wandering. She was waiting for her father to get off work and come over. She wanted to drive to Forks herself, but he said to wait on him so he could help her.
"You sure you wanna go?" Rachel asked.
"Yes, I never intended to stay here so long. Don't get me wrong, I've really enjoyed getting to know you and the kids better and it was important for Billy to spend time with Atticus."
"Well, did you leave a message for Jake? I know the guys are checking their phones now. Paul's been texting me quite a bit."
Rachel argued that Bella knew how it was, that she needed a protector, but she simply shrugged it off.
"He's expecting me to go to Charlie's. I'm sure of that."
Bella agreed to stay long enough to make sack lunches to last the rest of the day. Emily, Claire and Kim joined in. Claire baked Quil's favorite brownies. Kim shopped and picked up high fuel, easy to grab and go snacks to add to the bags. She was happy for the distraction, so she wouldn't replay what transpired between them in the bedroom earlier, over and over.
Nothing worked, Bella wasn't paying attention and knocked over a jar of pickles. Glass broke and scattered in all directions, a sour smell filled the room and she succeeded in destroying five dollars worth of pickles for their sandwiches.
Kim rushed to her side. "Let me get that."
"I'm sorry, Kim. I'll pay you back. I owe you for part of these groceries anyway."
Kim insisted she didn't and then the realization was painfully clear. These ladies were providing for their mates, or in young Claire's case, her imprint. They had a vested interest. Why was she even there? She was more or less an outsider, she told herself. Bella couldn't wait to get out of there even though they'd all treated her kindly.
Kim was a perfect example, leaning down to the floor to clean up her mess, taking a risk of getting glass embedded in her skin. That's when she saw it, Bella tossed down a towel over the green liquid and stepped in closer. Kim's loose top fell off her shoulder to reveal a very distinct scar on her upper back.
Bella reached for it, gently brushing her fingertips over the mark. Her own shoulder tingled as she did so. Kim jumped and stood quickly. "What is that?"
"Um, you haven't heard all the legends, have you?"
"No, I'm sure I haven't. I feel in the dark 90% of the time." Rachel had a blank expression. Emily and Claire ceased their conversation. Bella lost her manners, she rushed to Emily first and inspected her neck and shoulders, but found nothing. She stared at Claire a second, but changed her mind. He wouldn't have touched that child in such a way. She walked towards Rachel next, who voluntarily turned around and pulled off her long sleeved top in front of her. She had a spaghetti strap tank underneath. Bella could actually see Rachel's scar in great detail.
Jacob's sister gave her the go ahead. "You can touch it. In fact, you're one of the only people I will ever say that to."
She circled her finger around the ring of what she knew were teeth impressions. Bella could tell the differences in Kim, Rachel's and her own. No two were exactly alike. Hers was smaller and not as vivid, but they were all in the exact same spot. She felt some type of sensations in hers whenever she touched the other ones like they were connected telepathically.
Bella questioned Emily with her eyes. "Sam, said he'd never intentionally scar me. I already wore his mark in a sense."
"Mark?"
Rachel pulled her over to the table while Kim cleared up the rest of the mess. "Hun, it's a mating mark."
Bella didn't feel so well all of the sudden. She felt like all the blood drained from her face. Claire jumped up and made her a glass of water. Should a thirteen even be listening to this conversation? Claire brushed her hair from her face and sat the glass in front of her.
"I know all about this stuff. Quilly is like my brother. Aunt Emily and I are proof imprints don't have to be marked. There's different types of love, you know?"
Bella did know that or at least she thought she understood something about love. She slowly sipped her water before she got the courage to ask. "What else does the mark mean?"
Kim and Rachel took turns explaining what it meant to each of them. Emily chimed in some, explaining how sometimes she wished she had one as well, but most of the time she was content her bond with Sam was just as strong without one. Bella could tell it was a huge commitment and each couple had discussed it at length before going through with it. She really wished she could hear from the guys' perspective. What did the mark mean to them?
Kim added one other piece of information. "I think because the guys have a possessive nature that they never completely give up whether they're phasing or not, it means something to give yourself completely to them. I know in traditional relationships there are no guarantees, but I fully accept the imprint and I never had qualms about erasing the possibility of being with another."
Bella had been staring at her hands wrapped around the cool glass. She looked up abruptly to stop Kim. "Excuse me, what?"
Rachel elaborated what Old Quil had counseled them on. The mark bound them to the wolf on a whole new level. They couldn't be with another, intimately... ever. Bella asked a whole lot more questions. "What if the wolf died in a horrible accident? Does this bond exist as strongly when the wolf stopped phasing? Can he be with someone else?"
"Honey, I'm not sure how to answer all those questions. You should really visit with Old Quil and Billy if you want to know more. Kim and I were eager to accept it for what it was, total commitment. I can speak for myself, I never dug deeper. Tell me, Bella. Why is this bothering you so much?"
She tried to compose herself, but she was already a sniveling mess, "It's permanent, but there has to be a way to undo it." All four of them shook their heads side to side.
She couldn't stay there any longer. She had to go. She had to know the truth. How nice for Rachel and Kim to be fully informed on everything that happened to them. Even Claire knew all that the imprint signified. She was only thirteen and had a firm grip on her bond to Quil.
Bella wasn't thinking clearly, she slipped on her shoes, quickly pulled a jacket on and grabbed her keys. She only remembered after the cool wind hit her face at the door. "Oh, Atticus."
"We'll watch him, but I think you should wait or let one of us drive you. You're too upset to drive right now."
"No, I have to go alone. He'll be up soon. I have milk in the freezer and bottles in his bag."
Emily told her they had babies once and knew exactly what to do. Rachel came to the door with her and hugged her from behind. She leaned in and rested her chin on Bella's shoulder. Bella held still as Rachel pulled the jacket and her shirt aside. Barry tried to touch it a few times and she felt like punching him. Jacob touched it and she wanted to rip her clothes off and mount him. When Rachel brushed over it, she felt herself calm down a little. Rachel even said, she wouldn't invite just anyone to touch hers. We're all together. Bella knew what that meant now, but it couldn't be. How was that possible?
Rachel kissed her cheek, "I'm so sorry you're hurting and confused, but we're here for you. We're sisters... all of us."
Millions of words floated inside her head, but one phrase stood out. She uttered it from her very own lips when they were making love, "Like I was made for you." The guys were so strange too, saying she had given orders and asking permission for things. Was it possible, this woman that held a master's degree, was easily the densest person on earth?
She didn't even think to ask any of the girls where they thought the guys were. Emily had been recently texting Sam. They were all in better control, so they weren't necessarily all in wolf form any longer. Bella stopped at a crossroads. She closed her eyes and concentrated. It was obvious where she needed to go. She could actually feel him. That's how deep the bond ran even though she'd never allowed herself time to test it. Bella assumed the pull worked both ways, so she was going to try and be sneaky about it, if that was possible. She parked a distance from the actual driveway and then tiptoed through the woods to come around Sue's house from behind. Jacob would never expect her to be in the woods, so hopefully he wouldn't sense her approach from the getgo. She stopped when she heard raised voices. They were out back on Sue's large deck. Two of them were arguing. She heard Quil's voice the loudest, then Jake's, so she stopped to listen.
"I just asked a simple question. How do you actually go through with the deed with your wife when Bella's right there? The wolf must try and gut you."
"That's none of your business, dumbass. I've never asked how you get it up for the ladies since Claire exists."
"That's comparing apples to oranges. Claire and I will never be connected that way, all of you know that." Bella heard Quil get very defensive when Jacob brought up Claire to him. He explained their imprint in a way she'd never heard before. He asked if any of them were aware, Claire had an older brother that died from crib death? Her mother suffered from serious depressive disorder. She had Claire hoping to fill the void, but it never fully worked the way she hoped. Claire was isolated and alone much of the time that she wasn't with Emily or Kim. "The spirits gave me to Claire. She needed someone like me. Ask Emily. She told me so a long time ago. The imprint serves a purpose here, but it will never be like the rest of you."
Jacob eventually answered. "The imprint always serves a purpose, did you ever allow yourself to think friend is just as important as brother and lover?"
The others laughed at his excuse. "Then why did you make your friend your lover and now you both share a son which only deepened the connection."
Embry was the next one to talk. "He won't answer you. You're wasting your breath. Jacob is selfish. He wants it both ways. He needs to feel normal, so he latched onto Kay, but he also wants his soulmate. He keeps them both in the dark because he'd be alone completely if the whole truth was revealed."
"Shut up, Emb. You don't know what you're talking about."
"Then tell us. You want us to follow you, respect you, protect your family without question. I will do that, I will protect Bella and Atticus. That's my duty, but agreeing with all your choices was never part of the deal."
There was a brief pause in conversation, but Bella was pretty sure it was Sam that confirmed what she already knew no matter how much she tried to deny it on the drive over. "Jacob, I tend to agree with Embry. I do respect you, but you should tell Bella. It's been a decade. How in the hell have you denied the imprint so long? We wouldn't be in such a predicament right now if you'd been honest. Admit that. You owe us all for keeping your secret, but most of all, you owe her."
Bella's legs gave out on her, she crumbled to the ground. Imprinting. It petrified her, but now she was fully aware all her turmoil had been for nothing. He lied to her over and over. She'd asked him point blank once and he still said no in a round about way. Was it up to her to decipher his coded language all those years ago? She had no idea where to go next. She had it in her head, she was going to find him to give him a piece of her mind about this mark thingy, but she was reduced to a blubbering mess on ground. She only wanted to get up, make it back to her car, so she could grab her son and go. She had no particular place in mind, just anyplace that was far away from Jacob. Bella wished they could leave the reservation and never turn back.
He lifted her up, before she could protest. "Bells, what happened? Where's Ace? Why are you in the woods, crying?"
Bell opened her flooded eyes and looked around. Jacob was holding her like she was a small child. She saw the pack circled around them. They all looked equally concerned. She turned to look at Jacob in the eye. "I'm your imprint." He closed his eyes at first, but began to move his head up and down, slightly, "How could you do this to me?"
~Thanks for reading.
Don't kill me for stopping right there, but admit it, it was a good place to pause. Next up, Jacob's confessions. Who's ready to listen and are you willing to forgive him? Will Bella?