Helloo! I'm back with a new chapter :) It's taking me a bit of time to update Red Moon, because I'm still working on the last story's continuation :)

Wolves come easier for me and more natural too!

Is there a couple you wish to read about? Or a specific plot?

Anyway, review, enjoy and give me love!

PACK SOULS

Chapter 16: Through the window. Final part.

Jacob still couldn't credit that Bella loved him. These last few weeks had been crap. Not only had he learned that the legends were true, but he couldn't tell Bella about it. Bella, who had been in love with a damn vampire. Bella, who had been nearly comatose after he left her. How could she really be in love with him when she had been so destroyed when he left?

"I can see the wheels turning in your head." She interrupted his musings. "Are you ok?"

He had answered the seemingly unending number of questions she had about everything, and they had been talking for hours. Her hand never left his. A few more kisses had been exchanged, but he had questions of his own. Or more like one, really, that divided itself into two.

"Is it ok if you tell me about your relationship with him?" At least, this was the best way to start. He didn't want to upset her, but he needed answers.

Bella smiled at him and nodded. "What do you want to know?"

"I know you loved him, but why?" She wasn't surprised that this was what he wanted to know.

"He was charming, sweet, gentle. He made me come out of my comfort zone. He made me see the world differently. I loved him ignoring the flaws clearly there: how contradicting he was, how overprotective he could sometimes be. I felt like a different person when he said he loved me. Like, it was unbelievable to me that he could have fallen for me of all people." Jake frowned. He didn't see it. Why would she diminish herself like that? "I know; he wasn't good for my self-esteem. He stroked my ego, and I guess I stroked his. But I did really love him, despite all that." She shrugged. "I thought there was more to us than I thought, and that's why it hurt so much to be left behind like that. But I wasn't mourning only my relationship with him, but also with the rest of them." Especially Alice, who she had thought was a better friend, who would at least say goodbye before leaving. "I'm sure Edward asked the rest to cut any contact with me." She ended.

Jacob was still frowning. "It doesn't make any sense at all."

Bella frowned. "Me loving Edward?"

He shook his head. "No, I understand that. I mean, the leaving part. It's absurd that if they loved you like that, they didn't say goodbye and just simply disappeared."

Bella shrugged, it was what it was, and she'd learned to put that into her past. "I don't really care anymore. I had an epiphany this week, either way."

Bella played with Jake's finger, betraying her nerves. He waited patiently for her to speak again. She didn't take long to compose herself.

"You not speaking to me disturbed me more than they leaving. You've become such an integral part of my life in such a short time that I gave your company for granted. I took this week to think about us and our time together and admit what I was afraid to admit."

He nodded, urging her to continue. "I was afraid to admit that I fell in love with you because it meant letting go of Edward and the hope that they could come back one day." Jake cleaned the tears that were falling down her cheeks.

"Are you sure you made the right decision?" He loved her, but he wanted to be a choice, not an afterthought, and not sloppy seconds because she realized that the first option was never coming back.

She smiled despite her tears. "One hundred percent. I loved Edward, and it hurt that he broke up with me, but I don't want him back. Even if I hadn't fallen for you, I don't want them back." She sighed so deeply that he wondered if there was any more oxygen left in her body. "That's another thing that took me a long time to understand. We were in the movies, and Mike got sick; you were suddenly angry and warm, and I wondered if you were coming down with the same stomach flu as everyone else. And how to help you get better. I was ready to throw soup down your throat." He laughed at the mental image. "I knew then that my concern was coming from a different place. But I didn't have time to dwell on it because you started avoiding me a few days later."

"You are a weird woman, Bella." He said lovingly while caressing her cheek.

"I've never pretended otherwise." She smiled back.

"So, you really fell for me? It's not because they're not coming back, and I'm here?"

"I did really fall for you. Though, I think it's best if we don't follow any stupid thoughts I have anymore. Getting my head split open after falling from a bike was not fun." Jake smiled widely.

"You called me beautiful that day."

"And I wasn't under the influence of any drug. Just me, speaking without a filter."

And speaking of filters, he leaned down again and captured her lips with his in what he intended to be a soft kiss, but he didn't count on her eagerness.

They were alone at last, without any more secrets between them. She had asked her questions, he had asked his, and she chose him.

Bella started crawling backward on the bed without breaking the kiss. She kicked her shoes off and tangled her legs on his hips, bringing him down on top of her. He rested his weight on his elbows at each side of Bella's face. The kiss was growing in intensity, and neither wanted to stop.

And they didn't stop. Ruled by the hormones and the high of their reunion, they had their first time together. They didn't dwell on the past anymore. Only looking at the future now. He was ecstatic about it. She was smiling brighter than he'd ever seen her smile.

"You know that the first time I ever heard you laugh without being forced was the night of the pasta party?" She nodded, remembering that day. She had also noticed that. "I remembered looking at you and thinking, 'God, she's beautiful.' And hoping you will notice me beyond the best friend title. I never pushed too hard because I didn't want to end up forever in the friendzone." He scrunched up his nose in distaste at the thought of that happening.

Bella placed a kiss on his naked shoulder. She remembered that day with clarity. She had also been surprised to see she could smile, laugh, and be happy again. That the world didn't end while she mourned and distanced herself from everything and everyone. That day had been hard on her because she felt she was forgetting about them. As if Edward's words 'it will be as if we never existed' were becoming a reality. Those memories were the only thing that reminded her she wasn't crazy, that they had indeed existed.

"I know I liked you before that, but I think I fell in love with you that day." Jacob finished, kissing the top of her head.

He loved her when she wasn't herself. He loved her despite everything.

She tilted her head and smiled at him. "I'm afraid I can't pinpoint the moment I fell for you. It's like gradual for me."

"I know." He chuckled. He didn't care when she fell for him. All he cared about was that she was in his arms, and she was his forever. And speaking of forever, time to drop the bomb. "There's something else I need to tell you about."

Bella nodded, making abstract drawings on his chest and stomach. It was soothing and distracting at the same time.

He explained the magic of imprinting, what it was, and what it meant for the wolf and the girl they imprinted on. When he heard that Sam and Jared had both imprinted and coincidentally found the loves of their lives, he had been bitter. He knew who the love of his life was, and it felt cruel that he would be forced to be with someone else while he loved Bella. But life certainly threw him a curve.

"So, you imprinted on a girl." She summarized for him, still lying in the same position, still drawing abstract figures on his chest.

"I did. It doesn't bother you?" He was amazed by her composure. He was going insane with the information in his mind.

"A little, but in a nice way." She still hadn't lifted her head. And her demeanor was relaxed.

"You're driving me crazy, woman. Don't drag this again. Speak." He poked her sides, making her squirm and sit up. She dragged the sheets with her to cover her naked body.

"It freaks me out a little in the sense that it's crazy and unbelievable. I mean, for me, you're still you. If it weren't for your body's temperature, I would say we are both insane, and we should commit ourselves to an asylum. But the imprint means I get you forever. I'm not about to argue with fate, to be honest."

Jacob stared at her in disbelief. How does she do that? Know everything without him telling her anything.

"How do you know it's you?"

Bella pecked him on the lips. "Because you're a good person." Jacob raised an eyebrow in surprise, exasperation, and confusion. "Because you wouldn't have told me you loved me, or you wouldn't have kissed me, and less of all, make love to me if you had some kind of magic bond with someone else."

It was true. He would never hurt her or deceive her like that. She was too important before the imprint. Now, she was his everything.

"You think too highly of me." He tucked her to his side again, enjoying holding her. She kissed his shoulder again and made herself comfortable, curled into him.

"Only because it's true." He looked down, finding her with her eyes closed and breathing evening out.

In minutes she fell asleep, warmly snuggling his side. He made himself comfortable in his tiny bed and closed his eyes too, falling asleep quickly, holding the woman of his dreams.

There was nothing better than this.