Hello! I finally decided what to do for the final part of Bella and Quil's story. I wanted it to be lighthearted and sweet. I tried to remember that Quil was always very easy-going.

I hope you enjoy this.

I'm re-reading Full Moon to prevent any mistakes in the future, so I will try to have an update on that story sometime this week :)

Until then, enjoy and review!

PACK SOULS

CHAPTER 13: Ticking time bomb, final part.

Bella sighed heavily into her hands. Quil had completely freaked out and left without giving her time to explain what was happening.

Renee was trying to get Bella to go to a sunny university. To pry her away from the cold and the rain, without considering that even though Bella didn't much enjoy the weather, she loved this place. It was home. She had Charlie, an actual parent who did the parenting and brought down the law on her a few times. He wasn't great at cooking, but she didn't mind because he did so many other things for her.

That is not to say that Renee didn't do things for Bella. But Renee had this idea of being more a friend than a mother, and Bella had to learn some things the hard way. That is why she only shared brief details of her life with her mother. She shared the news that she had met someone new and had started a relationship with him. But she hadn't shared much of it.

Charlie, on the other hand, knew most of what happened in her life. Mainly because she wanted to share things with him and because he didn't pry. He asked her to be careful. He asked if she was happy and had talked to Quil man to man, asking him to take care of her. He only had one rule: No sleepovers on school nights. Bella and Quil agreed.

Back to Renee, she had emailed back with a suggestion for a university in Florida, completely missing the fact that Renee didn't even know what Bella wanted to do with her life. She'd never bothered to ask.

Bella had opened the page just to see what subjects the psychology program offered that differed from the one in Seattle -where she'd applied earlier that year-. That's when Quil came into the kitchen. She'd smiled at him, pecked him on the cheek, and was about to ask about his day when he glimpsed at the page opened. He'd freaked out, accused her of wanting to leave, and stormed out, all in the span of seconds.

She shook her head and closed the internet tabs. It wasn't helping anymore. All the letters were blurry with the effort to contain her tears. She wasn't sad; she was frustrated. She'd have to wait a few hours before going to his place to pull his ear. He'd listen to her, whether he wanted to or not.

She was about to turn off the machine when a pop-up message showed.

"Meet me in Port Ángeles. The coffee shop near the theatre. -E.C."

The theater was almost on the outskirts of Port Ángeles, the farthest you can get from Forks in one day and still be able to come back on the same day. Bella looked at the message in disbelief. There were three people she immediately thought about that had those initials.

Neither of them was on her good book. But curiosity was too much. She grabbed her jacket and her purse and set course to Port Angeles, not knowing if she wanted to yell at this E.C, hug them or burn them…or all three.

Nearly an hour later, she parked her chevy near the parking lot entrance, sighing heavily. Better get this over with, she thought, jumping off her truck and making her way to the entrance of the coffee shop.

The E.C who met her was both a surprise and not at all. She should have suspected it would be Esme asking to meet. Only she and Carlisle would ask to meet in such a public and human place.

"Hello, Bella." Esme greeted with a soft smile.

Bella hugged her, a few tears escaping from her eyes. It was so good to see her again. Mainly because this proved she wasn't crazy. Well, that and the wolves too.

Esme patted her back lovingly. "Sorry, it's just nice to see you again." Bella said, stepping back and cleaning away the tears.

"I understand, love. Don't worry." She pointed to the table she had chosen. Bella sat in the opposite chair, facing Esme.

"What are you doing here? Does he know that you're here?" Bella started panicking. Even though it was nice to see her again, it didn't mean she wanted to see any of the others.

"No, Bella. Only Carlisle knows for certain where I am. Perhaps Alice, too. But she won't say anything." Bella nodded. "I came here alone because I want to know what happened after your birthday."

Bella took in a deep breath, she had recounted this a few times, but it didn't get any easier. She told Esme everything that happened. She tried to be as objective as possible about the whole situation, but Esme called her out. "I want to hear your point of view." God! This is what a mother should be like.

Pushing that intrusive thought aside, Bella told Esme everything, starting from the dream she had, the discussion with Edward, her reluctance to go to the damn birthday party, her constant change of heart about it, and finally, Edward's words in the forest. The words that had destroyed her in such a way that she was still picking up the pieces.

Esme shook her head in horror and sadness. "I'm sorry we all left without a word. I have no excuse to make on our behalf. I'm lucky you even came."

"I'm a curious person. Sometimes to my own detriment." Esme laughed softly. She had missed Bella greatly. But it was evident she had changed. There was something different about her. Not only was her scent different, but so was her behavior.

…

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…

A few hours after Quil had stormed out of Bella's house, he had cooled down enough to see that what he had done was stupid. He didn't even know why she was browsing that university in particular. He knew she had applied to Seattle already, and even though that was still going to be hard, he supported her. He face-palmed himself. He will support her, no matter where she chooses to go.

So, he decided to go to Bella's to apologize for his stupidity, but once he came inside, he noticed she wasn't there. He saw her computer still connected to the power.

"Bella?" He yelled her name from the bottom of the stairs. He got no response, meaning she wasn't home. He walked back to her computer, shaking his head in amusement, going straight to the cord connected to the wall. She did this at his place as well. It's a wonder the thing worked as fast and as good as it did, considering how badly Bella treated it. For someone so bright, she could really be a distracted person.

The computer came to life, and he saw the message she had received. His heart sank in panic.

He called the only person who knew that could help and that wasn't patrolling right now- Jacob. "What's the name of the leech Bella dated?" He asked as soon as the call connected

"I think it's Edward Cullen. Why?"

He hung up without answering and rushed to his car. He raced to Port Ángeles and found her sitting at a table. But he couldn't see who she was sitting with. With his heart on his sleeve, he came inside and walked to his girlfriend.

…

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…

Esme frowned, looking at the clearly native guy walking in panic towards Bella.

When the guy took Esme in, he sighed in relief and muttered an "Oh, thank God!"

Bella turned around. Her eyes widened at the sight of her boyfriend, panting and clutching his heart while he closed the distance.

"Quil?" She stood up, and so did Esme.

"I'm so sorry!" He blurted out.

Bella didn't know whether to laugh or feel mortified. Instead, she turned to Esme, apologetic, and asked, "Would you excuse us?"

Esme smiled, and her frown disappeared. "Sure. I'll go to the bathroom." Bella arched an eyebrow in confusion, watching her disappear through the bathroom door.

She shook her head and focused her attention on Quil. "What are you doing here?" It wasn't an accusation. She was genuinely surprised to see him there.

"Are you leaving me?" He asked, trying to rein in the hurt.

Bella gasped. Is that the impression she made on him? "No! Of course not!"

Quil only relaxed a little. "What do they want?"

Bella hated seeing him so insecure. He was her happy boy, her grown-up child. God! She loved him so much. How could he think she would leave him?

"Esme came to ask what happened on my birthday. I have no intention of following her."

Quil nodded, still not entirely convinced.

She tried another tactic. "Do you think I would leave you and miss out on this?" She said, passing her index in the air from his head to his toes. "No, sir. I intend to fully enjoy you for the years to come."

Esme chose that moment to show up. She tried to give them privacy. But there is so much time you can spend in the bathroom without it looking weird. She coughed to catch their attention.

Bella blushed deeply when she saw her smiling.

"I'm afraid I must leave. I'm glad you're in good hands, Bella."

Bella giggled, still embarrassed. "Esme, this is my boyfriend, Quil."

Esme smiled at him but didn't offer her hand. He stunk enough; no need for her to get any more of his scent on her. She hid her amused thought of Bella reeking of him… inside and out.

"A pleasure, ma'am." He didn't offer his hand either, choosing instead to hug Bella from behind. Something she apparently enjoyed, judging by the dreamy smile and the kiss she planted on his hands.

"Take care, Bella."

"I will. Give my regards to Carlisle."

Esme nodded and left her. Bella enjoyed the sense of closure as she watched Esme through the window of the coffee shop. It had been nice seeing her. It had brought many memories, good and painful. But that was her past. Her future was hugging her tightly from behind.

"Are you hungry?" She asked him.

"I actually am. Anything here is good?"

"I am. But that's for later." She smiled cheekily as she stepped away from his arms. He gave her the same smile and a wiggle of his eyebrows.

…

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…

"I love you." He started once they were back at his house. They'd delayed the conversation, preferring to have it in a private place. "I'm sorry for thinking you wanted to get away. Both for college and with the leech. I will support you, no matter where you choose for college."

Bella sat on his lap. "I understand now how you must have felt. I want you to know and be 100% sure that I never want to leave you. Neither for college nor any other person."

He nodded. He knew that now. He's always known that, in fact. But he was new to this imprinting thing, and seeing her browsing for colleges far away made him feel sick.

"Talk to me." She traced his face with her index finger, something she tended to do when she wanted to bring him back to earth.

"Are you happy with me?"

"I am. Very much." She answered simply and honestly.

"Are you happy with the imprint thing happening?" He continued.

"That's still a little weird. But overall, I don't care about it. I knew I loved you before it happened. I know I still love you. It doesn't change anything for me." She kissed his cheek. "Are you happy with the imprint?" She asked in return, looking him in the eyes.

"I am. I loved you before it happened as well. I'm happy it happened because I can't see myself with another girl. And that's not the imprint talking; you can be sure of that. When we started hanging out, I thought how great it was that I still had a friend. And then, I realized I didn't want to be just your friend. I wanted more. Not to get into your pants. Although, I did want that, too." He winked, and she laughed. "But I also fell for you in the process."

"We're very lucky." She whispered.

"We are."

They kissed slowly, recognizing each other's tastes, rhythms, and sounds.

She stood up under his heated gaze.

"Where are you going?" He asked painfully when she started walking away.

"You said you wanted to get into my pants."

He laughed and followed her to his bedroom.

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A howl woke Quil from his slumber. He woke up to find Bella gone. He frowned, getting out of bed and into the living room.

"Hey there, sleeping beauty." He turned his head, finding Bella with his shirt and barefoot in his kitchen.

The howl multiplied now by three. Shit. It was serious.

He pecked Bella on the lips, and without much explanation, he phased in the backyard and ran in the direction of Sam, Jared, and Paul.

They weren't the only ones phased, though. There were two panicked voices in his head. New wolves, apparently, and very young as well.

"Collin, Brady, I'm Sam; this is Jared, Paul, and Quil. We're all like you."

It was bizarre that these two twelve-year-old had phased.

For the next hour or so, the four of them tried to make Brady and Collin calm down enough to change back into their human forms. They managed it successfully after a few tries.

"I'm actually jealous." Jared joke. "It took me way longer to change back."

Brady beamed, but Collin frowned. This was going to be interesting.

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…

They made it to Sam's house, finding Bella there as well, having hot chocolate with Emily.

Quil kissed both girls on the cheek before grabbing a cub of his own.

Collin looked at Bella and then at Emily in confusion. Bella hid her smile on Quil's shoulder. He looked like a lost puppy.

"Have some hot chocolate, boys. Em makes the best." Quil said, breaking the tension that had formed.

Bella giggled again. Quil had found two new pals to match his personality. She didn't share that thought out loud, though, at least not in public.

She sat there, enjoying the presence of the wolves and the sweetness of the chocolate, and felt at peace.