Chapter 13 - Bella
The next morning when I woke up, I was curled into Jared's side with my head on his chest. I quietly slipped out from his arm and headed to the bathroom. After coming out of the bathroom, I headed downstairs. Charlie was sitting there drinking a cup of coffee and reading the paper again. "Morning Dad." I said, making my way to the coffee maker to pour my own cup.
"Morning Bells." He said.
I sat down across from him. "So I might have left something out last night." I said, causing Charlie to fold his paper up and sit it on the table.
"What is it?" He asked me.
"With me doing some work for Uncle Quil, he's rented me an apartment down on the Rez." I told Charlie.
"Wow. That's generous of him." Charlie said.
"He thinks it'll help me understand the tribe histories better." I lied.
"Makes sense. Do - Do you need help moving?" He asked me.
"I'm not sure. But I would like you to see it." I told him honestly.
He smiled. "I'd be happy to Bells." He said. "You know, I knew this day was going to come. I just figured it would be because you were going off to college. I'm just glad to see you happy." He told me.
"Thanks Dad. I should get dressed. Uncle Quil's expecting me." I told him and he nodded.
I finished my cup of coffee and headed back up to my room. When I walked in, Jared was sitting up on the edge of the bed. I closed the door behind me and leaned against it. "Morning." I said.
He looked up at me. "Morning. I woke up and you were gone." Jared said.
I walked over to him and stood between his legs. He grabbed my hips and pulled me close. "I'm sorry. I needed to tell Charlie about me moving before he heard it from Billy." I said.
"I get. When are you moving down there?" He asked me.
"I'll probably get some boxes tomorrow and start packing things up. I gotta talk to Charlie and see if he's okay with me taking some furniture." I told him. He nodded. We stayed like that for a few minutes. "I should get dressed." I told him.
He nodded. "Yeah. I gotta go. I have patrol, but I'll see you later and tonight's the bonfire." He told me.
"Okay." I said leaning my head down and kissing him. When he let go of me, I took a couple steps back. He walked over to the window smiling at me before jumping out.
I quickly got dressed in a pair of blue jean shorts and a tank top before throwing some clothes into a bag and heading out to my truck. I drove the familiar roads down to La Push. I couldn't help but think about Imprinting. I couldn't help but wonder how much we actually knew about it. I was hoping that while digitizing the archives and the journals that I'd be able to learn more about it.
Before I knew it, I was pulling into Uncle Quil's driveway. When I climbed out of the truck, I made my way to the front door and rang the doorbell. It didn't take long for him to open the door. "Good morning, Little One." Uncle Quil said, opening the door for me to enter.
"Morning. Where do you want to start?" I asked him.
He looked at me curiously. "Where would you like to start?" He asked me.
I looked down at the floor before looking back up at him. "Can we start with Imprinting?" I asked him.
He nodded. "I figured you might." He led me into his study. "Sit at the desk. I just have to grab the first journal that you'll need." He said. I walked over to the desk and sat down. He already had his laptop ready for me. It didn't take long for him to find the journal that he was looking for and he brought it over to me. "This is Taha Aki's journal from when he imprinted on his third wife." Uncle Quil told me.
I nodded. "Thanks. I think I'm gonna read first." I told him and he smiled at me.
"Take your time. Joy is bringing lunch over later." He told me before exiting the room.
I opened the journal and began to read the first page. "She was beautiful. Young. But maybe that was what I needed. The first time that I'd looked into her eyes, it was as if everything changed. I saw glimpses in my mind. Us married. Her bearing my children. I saw the expansion of the tribe. I couldn't tear my eyes away from her. She was my world. When I was finally brought back to reality I'd finally realized what had happened…I'd imprinted on her. The spirits had led me to my soulmate after so many years. That night, I communed with the spirits, asking for guidance when it came to the young woman. The spirits told me that in exchange for everything my spirit wolf had done for the tribe that they wanted to reward me. Said that this woman was my perfect match in every way. That she would produce the best heirs or pups for the tribe." I read. Could this be what Imprinting was supposed to be? Produce the strongest for the next pack? If that was the case then why had Jared imprinted on me? I wasn't even Quileute by blood. I'd have to keep reading to see if I was right and if the journal didn't tell me anything then I'd ask Uncle Quil.
A/N: Okay…so Bella has now started to dive into the histories of the tribe. Will she find the information that she's looking for… And why did it take so long for Jared to imprint on her. Next up…Sam meets with the council. Thanks for reading.