Chapter 4 - Jared
I couldn't believe what had just happened. I had imprinted on Bella Swan. I turned to look at Sam. "Can I talk to you?" I asked and he nodded. Sam and I made our way through the house toward the back door. Once we were in the backyard, I turned to him. "How is this possible? It's not the first time that I've looked into her eyes." I said.
"I don't know Jared. We'll have to ask the council. Maybe…" Sam trailed off.
"What?" I asked.
"When the Cullen's left, she was almost catatonic…like she was having withdrawals. What if that's why you didn't imprint before. Maybe whatever effect they had on her was still there. She broke up with him last night. Maybe since she's actually let him go…it's given her the freedom that she needed." Sam said.
"Maybe." I said. I could feel Bella's anxiety. She was nervous for some reason. I needed to talk to her. I looked back at the house before turning back to Sam. "You'll talk to the council?" I asked. He nodded.
"Go talk to her." He said and I nodded.
We headed back into the house and I made my way over to Bella. "Take a walk with me?" I asked her, and she nodded.
Bella and I left Sam's making our way down to the beach. We came across a log and we both sat down. "So…you imprinted on me." Bella said.
"Yeah. I just don't know why it didn't happen before." I told her honestly.
She shrugged. "I don't know. You know what I was like before… I wasn't me. I just…existed. It wasn't until I jumped off the cliffs that I started feeling like myself again." Bella said. I growled low at the mention of her jumping off the cliffs. I'd seen it in Jacob's mind. She could have died that day. "It wasn't until after talking to Jake last night and breaking up with Edward that I truly felt like myself. I felt…free." She told me.
I nodded. "What happened in Italy? You never said." I asked.
She sighed. "Edward almost exposed the world to the existence to vampires. The Volturi, the vampire kings were going to kill him. I couldn't have that. Whether he loved me or not, I couldn't let him put his family through that. So they gave me an ultimatum…die or be changed." Bella said and I growled again. This time she heard me. I looked at me and put her hand on my arm, calming me immediately. "It's okay. I'm here and I'm alive." She said, quietly. "Edward, quickly objected to the idea. Aro, the leader told us that there wasn't another option. Alice told him that she'd seen it, that I'd be one of them." She told me. "But that's all changed. Alice only see what people decide. When I'd decided last night that I didn't want to be one of them anymore, the vision went away."
"So now what?" I asked.
"Carlisle has gone to Volterra to talk to Aro, possibly make a deal with him to leave me alone. When he returns their leaving for good." She said.
"Good riddance." I said.
"Jake's not gonna like this, you know?" She said, causing me to look at her. "The imprint."
Right. "Well, he won't have a choice but to accept it. It won't be good if he tries to interfere." I told her. She nodded. "How…how do you feel about it?" I asked. I needed to know.
"Surprised." She said. "Jake was always so sure that if he could get me free from their influence that he'd imprint on me. Apparently the spirits had other ideas." She said.
"But other than surprised…" I trailed off.
"I accept the imprint, Jared." She said. When she said the words, I felt a shift. I no longer felt conflicted. I felt…complete in a way. "I know that imprinting says that you'll be whatever I want you to be but…what do you want?" She asked me.
I'd never thought about it. We'd always been told that when it comes to imprinting that it guides us to our soulmate. Most everyone knew that soulmate meant lovers. I thought about the flashes that I'd seen when I'd imprinted on Bella. We were in the woods and she was she was running her fingers through my fur. We were on the beach and she was laughing. We were getting married. The clinic. She was having a baby. My baby. "I'd love for us to be together Bella. But I also know that you just got out of a complicated relationship. We'll go at whatever pace you want." I told her.
She sat there in thought. I could feel her emotions all over the place. "So…friends. For now?" She said.
I felt hope. "Yes." I said. She smiled at me. "Um, I should probably go talk to Jacob. He shouldn't have to hear about this from anyone but me." I told her and she nodded.
"Sure. I need to get back to Sam's anyway. I'm cooking tonight." She said as I stood up. Delicious, I thought to myself. I couldn't wait.
"Sounds good. Do you want me to walk you back?" I asked.
She shook her head. "I'll be fine. Thanks though." She said and I smiled at her.
When I got to Billy's, I headed straight for Jacob's room. When I walked in, he was slightly sitting up. "Hey man." He said.
"Hey. How're you feeling?" I asked him.
"Better. Still can't move much but I should be good to go in a day or two." Jacob said.
"That's good. I needed to talk to you." I said.
He cocked his head to the side. "Everything okay?" He asked.
I nodded. "Yeah. Just thought you should hear it from me. I imprinted today…on Bella." I said.
I watched his face for a minute while several thoughts ran through his head. "Wow." Jacob said. "I'm guessing that she accepted the imprint."
"How'd you know?" I asked.
"It's weird. It's like all the feelings I had for her are…just gone." He said. Interesting.
"So…you're okay with it?" I asked, unsure.
He nodded. "I know that you'll take care of her. You gonna make me stay away from her?" He asked me.
I shook my head. "You're her best friend. I'm not gonna control her like he did. She's her own person. I mean, obviously there's still a lot that she and I need to discuss and we will, but no Jacob, I'm not gonna make you stay away from Bella. As long as you respect the imprint." I told him.
"I will." He said.
"Good." I told him. I heard my stomach growling. "Bella's cooking at Sam's tonight. I'll get her to bring you and Billy a plate." I said, reaching for the doorknob.
"Thanks man." Jacob said before I walked out.
