Chapter 46 - Bella

After I'd told Jared that I was pregnant and he'd managed to calm me down from my minor freak-out, I remembered that he said that he had something that he wanted to talk to me about. Once we were both calm and back sitting at the table, I looked at Jared. "What is it you wanted to talk to me about?" I asked him.

He starts telling me about his conversation with Sam this morning and I can't but wonder if he's right. Was me helping the imprints understand and accept the imprint part of me being the Omega? "What do you think it all means?" I asked him.

He shrugged. "I don't know babe. Sam hasn't been able to get an answer out of Leah about whether or not she's going to quit phasing. He thinks that you should try talking to her." Jared told me.

I nodded. "We need to tell the pack." I said and looked at me confused. "About the baby." I said and he nodded.

"Sure. I'll talk to Sam and see if we can all meet over there later tonight. It's been quiet on the vampire front. So it shouldn't be a problem as far as everyone gathering for an hour or so." Jared said.

"That's good." I said.

About an hour later, I found myself knocking on Leah's front door. It didn't take her long to answer. "Bells, hey." She said.

"Hey, can we talk?" I asked.

She must have sensed that it was serious and immediately her face was void of any emotion. She nodded slowly, opening the door so I could come in. She led me into the kitchen. "Coffee?" She asked.

"Tea?" I asked and she nodded. I watched as she filled the tea kettle and put it on the stove. She turned to look at me. "How are things, Lee?" I asked her.

She stared at me for a minute. She cocked her head to the side. "Are you asking as my friend or my Omega?" She asked me.

"Both." I said. She nodded.

"Things are okay. You know, when we found out everything surrounding you becoming the Omega, I tried not to get my hopes up but I guess part of me couldn't help it, you know?" I nodded. "But then we completed the ceremony and you went for a little R&R and that was okay. And then Jake and I imprinted on each other and you weren't here for me to talk to you about it. I mean, I had Rach but it's different. You helped her through accepting her imprint."

I held my hand out for Leah. "I'm sorry I wasn't here, Lee. I'm here now. What can I do?" I asked her.

She crossed the room to me and wrapped her arms around me, pulling me into a hug. I could feel the tears that she'd finally let fall. After a few minutes, she pulled back and led me to her breakfast bar. We sat down and I turned to face her. "I want to accept the imprint, I do. I know that once I do, it'll help me finally move past Sam. But at the same time, I can't help the little nagging voice in the back of my mind that keeps telling me that Jake is gonna hurt me too." Leah said.

"Lee, sweetie, you know that isn't possible. I know that you think that it's just a bunch of hocus pocus, but Jake won't hurt you, just like you won't hurt him. You are each other's perfect match. The only reason you hadn't imprinted on each sooner was because the pack needed to recognize me at the Omega. Ephraim told me that once the ceremony was complete that you'd find your imprint and that he was closer than you thought he would be." I told her and she nodded.

"You really think that Jake and I can be as happy as you and Jared? Or any of the other imprints?" She asked me.

"I really do." I said, right as the tea kettle started whistling. Leah stood up and went to turn the stove off. She made us both a cup of tea before sitting them on the breakfast bar and coming back to her seat. "Now, I have something I need to talk to you about." I said. She nodded. "A while back, the Elders decided that the youngers wolves and yourself would be allowed to decide if you wanted to quit phasing. Have you thought about that any?" I asked.

Leah sighed. "You know, for the longest time after my first phase, I constantly wondered why I was the only female wolf. I figured that it had to be some grand design with the spirits…but we don't have any answers. I just figured it was another way for the spirits to say Fuck you, Leah! After they took Sam away from me. But then I would watch you with Jared after he imprinted on you and I realized that I wanted that. I wanted that connection with someone. Sam says that you're the reason that any of us get the option to quit phasing. Sam's asked me what I want to do and the truth is that I don't know. I mean, since day one, I've hated being a wolf but at the same time my wolf is a part of me." Leah said.

I gave her a small smile. "I can understand that. You wanna know what I think?" I asked her and she nodded. "I think that if you really wanna give things with Jake a chance then maybe you should talk to him about it. Talk to him about what he wants from the imprint. Despite what the Elders say, it's not just about what the imprintee wants. It needs to be about what the both of you want out of the relationship." I told her.

Leah nodded and took a drink of her tea. "You're really good at this Omega thing." She said with a smile.

I shrugged. "I'm trying." I smiled back at her.

When I left Leah's, I headed over to Sam and Emily's. I needed to talk to Sam about Leah. As the Omega and a member of the pack, he needed to hear from where a sister stood. When I walked up the front steps of their house, I could see Emily in the kitchen. "Hey Bells." She said.

"Hey Em. Sam around?" I asked her.

She nodded. "He's out back. Go on out." She told me and I gave her a small smile. I walked through the kitchen to the back door and sure enough Sam was out there chopping wood. I approached him slowly. When he realized I was close, he turned towards me. I bowed my head in submission. "Alpha." I said.

"Omega." He said. When I looked up, his eyes had a slight yellow tinge to them. "You have news for me?" I nodded. He gestured to a chair that was nearby.

I walked over and sat down. "I have spoken with Leah. She…she is still undecided about her phasing. I have suggested that she speak with her mate regarding the decision." I told him. I knew right now I wasn't talking to Sam, friend. It was Sam, Alpha Wolf.

He nodded once. "Thank you Omega. I know that she has been struggling with not only the decision to stop phasing but also with her imprint with Jacob." He said to me.

I nodded. Then a thought occurred to me. I cocked my head to the side. "Have you spoken with the Beta this afternoon?" I asked. Tread carefully.

"Yes. He called to let me know that you were going to see Leah and asked if I'd be willing to host a pack dinner tonight. I'm assuming there's a reason for that?" He asked me.

I nodded. Jared's gonna kill me. "If I tell you now, can you still act surprised when we tell the entire pack later?" I asked him. He nodded. "I'm pregnant." I said and watched his face to judge his reaction.

"Your pregnant?" He asked almost confused.

I nodded. "Yes. When I went to the in-between before the ceremony, Ephraim told me that none of the others would be able to get pregnant until I did. I immediately had mixed feelings. But I knew that it was something that you and Em wanted. So, I knew that it was only a matter of time. And I questioned Ephraim, his only reply was that it would happen when the time was right. Apparently, the time is right." I said, looking down at the ground.

"Omega." Sam said, causing me to look up. "It's going to be okay. Go home, spend time with Jared. We'll see you tonight." Sam said.

I nodded and headed home. Hopefully everything would be okay.