A/N: Finally, I'm updating this story. I'm so sorry it has taken this long, but please know I'm never giving up on these stories. I will finish them one day. Life has hit me with a lot of things, but I'm still chugging along. I hope you all enjoy this, my lovely readers, and please review and tell me what you think. Happy reading!

I also changed Riley Winters name to Jayden Winters and changed her characterization a bit. I haven't updated it fully throughout the chapters on here, but I have on AO3 if you want to check it out there. It's small here and there throughout the chapters, but I hope you enjoy what I've done with her.

WARNING: GRAPHIC MENTIONS OF SELF HARM, SUICIDAL THOUGHTS, MENTAL ILLNESS, PANIC ATTACKS, SUICIDE ATTEMPTS, VIOLENCE, GORE, SEXUAL SITUATIONS, GRAPHIC LANGUAGE, UNDERAGE SEXUAL SITUATIONS, ABUSE, STALKING, MANIPULATION, AGE GAP, AND TRIGGERING IMAGERY. IF YOU ARE TRIGGERED BY THIS OR DO NOT ENJOY IT, DO NOT READ.

Chapter Twenty-One.

Embry's POV:

We arrived home around nightfall, and thankfully I was given permission to skip patrols and help Riley settle in. Easily, I lifted the boy into my arms and carried him into Charlie's room and tucked him into bed. Charlie followed quickly behind me, patting me on the shoulder.

"You can sleep in Bella's room from now on." As my eyes widened at his statement, he quickly sputtered out, "But only because of the bloodthirsty vampire on the loose! Bella needs to be safe, and I know that you can protect her now."

I nod, licking my lips nervously. "I'll protect her with my life, Chief." He pats my shoulder again before nodding towards the door.

"Go on and get some sleep. I'm sure you both need it."

Bella is waiting for me, dressed in a pair of my black sweatpants and one of her mother's old band tees. She glances up at me with her big brown eyes, curly hair fanning around her face. Bella nibbles on her bottom lip before making grabby hands at me.

Fuck, I love her. I love her so much.

Quickly, I strip out of my clothes and pull on another pair of black sweatpants before crawling into bed and laying on top of her. I make sure to keep my weight off of her as she wraps her arms around me, fingers pressing into the skin of my back.

"I love you, Embry," she whispers small and quiet, her breath smelling like toothpaste. She presses her lips to mine and I melt at the contact, letting her tongue slip into my mouth. Bella gasps as I nibble at her bottom lip, tangle a hand into her hair and hold her close. She pulls away to breathe, kissing down my jaw. "I love you, I love you, I love you."

"And I love you, baby. More than you know."

After some more lazy kissing, we break apart and I roll behind her. With my arms wrapped tightly around her, she's out like a light. I snuggle into her, trying to relax even as the day's events play in my head like a loop.

Bella has an older brother. And Victoria had found out and gone after him. What was next? Bella's mother and step-father? Who was truly safe from that witch?

My breath feels tight in my throat as Sam's memories of Riley flood my brain, how scared and broken he looked. How similar it had been to Bella months ago, even worse.

What if that had been Bella? What if she had been in Riley's place, beaten almost to death? Even killed?

A lump lodged itself into my throat and I blink away tears.

No, fuck, I couldn't think like that. Not when she's here in my arms. Warm and safe and in love with me like I had always dreamed of.

I tried to settle down again, hugged her tightly before trying to fall asleep.

But the thoughts persisted.

A half an hour later I found myself in the kitchen, hands covered in dough and breaths shaky. It was quiet aside from the other inhabitants breathing and the house felt almost suffocating.

Without realizing I had already poured the batter into the cupcake pans and shoved two inside. I scrubbed my gunky hands, had the urge to throw up but swallowed it down.

What was wrong with me? Why was this affecting me so much? I had been through shit before, I always pulled through. From a deadbeat father, to an abusive mother, and then the wolf pack and Bella and-

I gasped as my throat started to tighten up, hand grabbing uselessly at my chest.

Fuck, fuck. No, not right now. No, let me be, let me be.

Trembling, I shoved my hands into my hair and pulled. Squeezed my eyes shut, tried to will away the dreadful feeling that had taken hold of my body.

I can't breathe, I can't breathe, I can't breathe-

"Embry?" a soft voice asked, and I felt a hand touch my shoulder.

Jolting away, I stared up at the intruder with teary eyes. Bella's wide ones stared back at me, mouth moving but no sound coming out.

No, she can't see me like this. I'm supposed to protect her, support her. What will she think of me now, panicking in her kitchen like a bitch-

"…Honey, can you hear me?" Bella asked quietly, keeping her hands at her sides. Slowly, I nodded. Sobbed openly as the crushing weight covered my chest.

So stupid, so pathetic, you deserve every bad thing that happens to you-

"Baby, everything's going to be okay. You're having a panic attack," I nodded again, tugging at my hair. My scalp ached, but I couldn't stop. "Let's breathe together, okay? One big breath in and hold it," Bella gulped down a breath of air and I followed suit, holding it in my chest until I thought I might burst. She let it out slowly and said, "And let it out. Then repeat."

When my breathing had finally calmed down, the panic started to recede. I couldn't help myself as I lean into her, sniffling as she wraps her little arms around me.

So little. Everything on her was little. Except her heart.

"I'm sorry, baby."

"Sorry about what?"

"Having a stupid panic attack. I'm supposed to protect you and I- and I-" Bella cut my words off with a soft kiss. When she pulled away, her gaze was hard.

"Don't invalidate yourself. You've been through so much, let yourself feel for once instead of putting others needs before yours."

I shake my head, the walls already closing in again. "You don't get it, you don't get it, you don't get it-" my words cut off as Bella pulls my face up to hers and looks at me intently.

"What don't I get? What is it, honey?"

"It- it's-" the words feel uncomfortable in my mouth, like my tongue has swollen three sizes. "My feelings, they just…"

"Your feelings what?" I turn away, blink a few times and try to calm my pounding heartbeat again. "Baby, it's okay. It's going to be okay."

I shake my head again and cover my face. "It's scary. It's too much."

"Your feelings are too much and it scares you?" Bella asks, her soft touch coaxing my hands from my face. I let her pull them away and slowly nod. "It's going to be a lot because you've been holding them in for so long. It's like a dam, you know? When it breaks, everything is damaged in its path."

I'm a broken dam. I'm going to damage everything. All I do is wreck everything in my path-

"Embry, baby, it's okay. Let yourself feel and I'll help fix the brokenness in you just like you did for me." She pulls my head to her chest, runs a hand through my hair. "That's what love is, okay? And I love you. So much."

We stay like that until the timer goes off. Bella turns off the oven and takes out the cupcakes. While they're cooling, she makes me a cup of tea and sits me at the table before kissing my head and leaving me to clean up the kitchen. She washes the dirty dishes, puts away the remaining batter, and ices the cupcakes.

I finish my tea by the time she covers the cupcakes up, and she takes the cup from me and washes that too. I let Bella lead me upstairs, belly warm and body exhausted.

"I love you, I love you, I love you," Bella whispers as I lose consciousness, body wrapped around me. My dreams are happy and light.

Bella's POV:

While perusing the apricots I saw her. With medium-length raven hair and high cheekbones, Leah stood on the other side bagging up some cucumbers. She wore a black tank top and a pair of gray sweatpants, paired with sandals I had seen her father wear before.

Just by looking at her my self-esteem took a hit.

I took in a shaky breath, starting to turn the cart to get out of the awkward situation that might unfold. But then she looked up.

And at me.

Almost immediately she waved me over, an easy smile appearing on her lips.

Hesitantly, I pushed the cart over to her and leaned against it, waiting for her to say something before I jumped out of my skin.

"Hi, Bella."

"Leah," I nodded, taking a breath to calm my nerves. "Fancy meeting you here." I tried to keep my voice light and hopeful, but you couldn't dismiss the bite in my tone. For a moment her eyes widened and she looked taken aback, good, but it was gone as quick as it had come and she was still looking at me with that stupid, pretty smile of hers.

Running a hand through her hair, how did she make it look so shiny, Leah asked, "Can we go somewhere and talk? After we finish shopping, of course."

I wanted to say no. Heck, I should have. But stupid me decided to just blurt out, "Sounds good. I'll meet you outside."

So, after putting it off for as long as I could, I finally check out and head to my truck to load it up with groceries. It's a cloudy day without a chance of rain, so I put it in the truck bed. When I look up, Leah's already beside me, nodding to her car that she's parked next to mine.

I narrow my eyes. "Did you know I was here?"

"Yes, I did."

"Why would you corner me like that? Don't you have somewhere better to be? Say, with your boyfriend?" My stomach felt sick and I scowled at the ground. "You know what, I don't need this. Jacob and I are cool now, and I don't even know you, so. Let's just keep is civil for him."

I turn to leave, intent on going home and spending time with my big brother and forgetting that this ever happened. But she grabbed my wrist and spun me back around. My back hit the truck door, and her arms locked me in. Her eyes were wild and crazed, and her mouth was open as she took panting breaths.

Why is she so pretty? I can see why Jacob loves her.

"Please, just give me an hour. Please," Leah exclaims, eyes filling with tears.

Shaking my head out of my daze, I say, "Okay. Okay, fine. Follow me to Charlie's so I can put my stuff away and then we can head to yours and talk."

Leah's face broke out into a grateful smile. Her arms wrapped tightly around me and she shook me back and forth like a ragdoll.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" When she pulled away, I was momentarily stunned by her beauty again.

"N-no problem."

After that, we quickly said our goodbyes and I slid into the truck. I wiped a hand over my face, taking a deep breath before blowing it out.

Yeah, I can see why Jacob loves her so much.

"Okay, let's hear it. What was so urgent?" I ask, sipping from a glass of sweet tea she had given me. We sat in her living room, sitting on the end of either side of the couch.

"I wanted to apologize for dating Jacob before things were officially over between you two. And for how Jacob handled everything between you and Embry." She paused to make sure I'm listening and I nod. "Before I phased, I had been engaged to Sam Uley. We dated all through high school and then for two weeks he went missing. Things changed between us after that. The final straw was my cousin Emily coming to visit."

"Sam imprinted on Emily and left you."

"I wasn't in on the secret then, so I had lost my boyfriend and my best friend. And then my dad started to get sick," She paused to take a shaky breath, eyes watering. "When I phased, Jacob was there. He was sort of like my knight in shining armor, I guess. He helped me with everything and since we had the dual imprint, it was even stronger than normal."

It was hard to hear how it had happened. How Jacob had fallen so madly in love with this girl who I barely knew. But you could plainly see it in her face how much she loved and cared for him, and how badly she felt about hurting me.

"But Jacob still loved you, you know? And I still loved Sam and Sam still loved me. It didn't go away like a puff of smoke like the legends say. And then we started fighting all the time because he wouldn't leave you alone. And then Seth beat the shit out of him and I sent him away."

"You aren't obligated to forgive him. What he said to you was out of line," I say and she nods, giving me a grateful smile. "But I can tell that you love him and want to stay with him and work this out. So, why haven't you talked to him?"

Leah wiped her eyes and shook her head. "I'm scared of it going back to how it was. We got together way too fast and barely knew each other. We grew up together, yeah, but we ran in different social circles. And he's going to be a junior while I've been graduated a year already. That's a huge age gap and if we weren't werewolves, Billy would definitely call Chris Hansen."

"Thank god for being werewolves then." I sit down my empty glass and lean back on the armrest. "Leah, I'm going to be frank with you. If you want to be with him, then you need to be with him. I understand your fears, but Jacob isn't leaving and you were chosen as soulmates. You can most likely work out any problems you face together, despite the age difference."

"You think so?"

"Yes, I do. Relationships are about communication, honesty, compromise, and understanding. You were with Sam for a long time and you made it work. You have to tools to make it work with Jacob too."

Leah was silent for a while, musing over my words. I felt the tension slowly leaving my body as we sat there in comfortable silence, the air conditioner in the background kicking on and off.

When she finally spoke again, she said, "Thank you, Bella." My eyes widened in response.

"For what?"

"For talking to me about this," she says, drumming her fingers on the back of the couch. "I don't have close friends that I can act like this with you know? It's nice."

"Well, if you ever need someone to talk to again, I'm here." For the first time, I smile at her without any malice. She returns it quickly, and I feel warm all over.

It's when I'm driving home that night that it hits me.

I'm happy.

It's such a weird, insignificant thing to think. I'm happy. Most people are happy, haven't felt the crippling depression that can force our minds to think horrible things and force our hands to cut, burn, harm. Most people are content with themselves, love themselves even.

It felt good to be in the majority for a change.

Turning into the driveway of my home, I unbuckled my seatbelt and sat there for a second longer, reveling in this feeling of happiness that radiated around me.

More good times are coming, I thought to myself as the front door opened as I stepped onto the porch. Embry's arms wrapped tightly around me. I can't await to be apart of them.

Riley's POV:

Tossing and turning in bed, I sigh as I give up on getting any sleep tonight. Every time I close my eyes I see Tori's wild eyes, feel the horrible pain as she attacked me. It was enough to keep up anyone at night.

Finally, my bladder makes itself known and I pull myself up before heading to the bathroom. Dad snores from where he lays in bed, unbeknownst to my turmoil. I was thankful for that, he had enough stress dealing with everything else.

As I finish up in the bathroom, I wash my hands and splash my face with water to wake myself up. Then I headed downstairs and make myself a cup of tea like mom had taught me.

I wonder if she's okay with this, I think as I sip from my mug, hands jittery. She kept dad from me for so long and now I suddenly know the truth and want to take a break from school to stay with him? It sounded off even to me, and I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed.

"Son, is that you?" Dad's voice broke me out of my thoughts and I jumped, widened eyes looking around me until he came into view. He wore a ratty flannel robe paired with matching pajama pants and a black t-shirt, and old teal slippers similar to moms.

They probably got them at the same time, I thought to myself grimly. "Y-yeah, it's me, dad."

"I thought that was you. Bella sleeps like the dead nowadays," he pulled out a kitchen chair and sat down next to me, running a hand over his exhausted face. "How are you feeling?"

"Overwhelmed, mostly. I didn't expect you all to be so welcoming."

"Family is family, kiddo. You're stuck with us whether you like it or not." Like his words were magic, my shoulders relaxed. Tears fell down my cheeks and without warning I sobbed openly. In seconds, I was wrapped in my father's arms, instead of being berated for being a sissy. "Let it out, son. Let it out."

I hope I never have to leave this place, I think to myself as I cry and cry into the arms of my father. I can't imagine going back to a place I never called home.

Bella's POV:

The bonfire warmed my wind chilled body as I ate my hotdog, enjoying the way the food settled into my stomach. Leah gives me a soft smile from across the fire before sneering at Jacob, who's shoved straws into his nose to act like a walrus. Laughing at the sight, I swallow the rest of my food and gratefully take the cup of soda from Embry as he sits down beside me. I guzzle it down in seconds, grinning up at him cheekily as he gives me a mock shocked look.

"What's got you so hyper, baby?" He asks and I nod towards duo across, where Jacob is now attempting to show Leah how to juggle but ended up tossing a stone and hitting Jared in the back. As Embry's attention turns towards them, Kim waltzes up to Jacob and swats him in the back of the head.

"He's trying so hard to get back in his good graces."

Embry hums in reply and pulls me close, nuzzling his face into my head. "Rightfully so. He fucked up." Pulling away from him, I kiss his cheek.

"Have you tried talking to him?"

"I haven't."

"Why not?"

Shrugging, he says, "I'm not ready to forgive him, I guess? What he did was horrible and I'm not ready to forgive and forget."

"I hope you know I'm not forgetting. What happened was horrible but it wasn't just his fault, I hope you know. There are a lot of factors at play."

"That may be, but that doesn't mean I have to talk to him right now. In my own time, I will, but right now I don't have the energy to worry about anyone that doesn't respect me or my decisions," he kisses my temple before adding, "or my girlfriend."

Girlfriend, the word warms me from the inside out. I turn my head and kiss his lips, pulling away with a smile. "I love you."

"I love you more, gorgeous."

Quil fake gags from his seat, bouncing Claire and Sully on his knees. "You guys make me sick."

"Like you don't act this cute with Jessica, loser."

"We're best friends, it's different! And besides, we're much, much cuter," Quil states and Embry and I share a look that says, he's already head over heels.

The rest of the group settles down around the large bonfire, Angela sitting down next to me and Jayden taking her place on the other side of her. I had invited Riley, but he chose to stay home and spend time with dad. Since Billy wasn't going to be telling us the legends tonight, outsiders were allowed to the pack event. Which meant my friends could come, even if they weren't in on the wolf secret.

But it was starting to dawn on me that maybe that wasn't a good idea.

As Seth sat down in a lawn chair, he picked up the guitar beside the chair and started to strum. His hair was flowing freely, for once out of his man-bun, and his smile sparkles fiercely.

"Any requests, guys?"

Collin's voice boomed, "Carry On Wayward Son!"

"No, Barracuda!" Brady challenged from beside him, his brow furrowing. The two tweens glared back at each other, almost snarling. Sam placed a hand on both of their shoulders and whispered into their ears, and their faces slowly relaxed.

Seth chuckled awkwardly, trying to fix the silence. "How about I play them both? Then we can take some other requests." We started to hoot and holler as the first cords of Kansas filtered through the air, and a few couples started to get up and dance.

"Do you want to dance?" Embry asked, nudging my arm with a questioning look in his eyes.

"Not really right now. I promise to dance with you tonight, though."

Embry grinned and kissed my cheek. "I'll be holding you to that, baby."

An hour passed as everyone mingled and ate their weight in grilled foods. Finally, Rachel and Paul entered the scene, late as hell but wearing satisfied grins on their faces. Paul pulled Embry to the group of people dancing as Seth started to play Don't Go Breaking My Heart, and Rachel slipped easily into his abandoned seat. Jayden sat on my other side, playing Pokemon on her purple Gameboy.

"Hey, darling. How are you feeling?" Rachel asked, flipping back her wavy styled hair and grinning her pearly whites at me. Without meaning to, my cheeks dusted pink and it took a second for me to grasp my bearings.

"I-I'm good. I had a hotdog, so that's great."

Bursting into a fit of laughter, Rachel exclaimed, "I might just have to have one myself. Or five. This growth spurt has kicked my damn ass and I can barely keep food in the house." As Jayden rocks back and forth beside me, Rachel notices her presence. "Jay Jay, baby! How are you?"

"Hey, Rachel. I'm great! How are you?" Jayden exclaimed with a grin, setting her Gameboy on her lap and flapping her hands. She looked up, catching her eyes for a second before looking off in the distance at nothing. But that was enough for the impossible to happen.

Like she was burned, Rachel shot off the log and started to shake, eyes widening as she glanced down at Jayden, who cracked her fingers and flapped her hands again.

"Oh shit, oh my god- what just- this can't be-" I couldn't move fast enough as I grabbed Jayden's arm and pulled her off the log with me, dragging her far, far away from Rachel. But Rachel's eyes blazed at my actions, teeth-baring. "No, get back here! Where are you taking her? She's MINE!"

The rest of the pack fell to their knees as her command thundered. With clenched teeth, Paul got to his feet and ran towards his imprint, knocking into her full force and sending them both tumbling into the ground.

Still gripping Jayden's arm, I felt the beginning of a panic attack started. Oblivious to the situation, Jayden yanked herself away from me, shaking her head and flapping her hands. She stared down at her shoes, at the broken Gameboy. "Oh no, oh no, oh no."

"Jayden, I'm so sorry-" I tried to apologize, but she kept repeating as she yanked at her earlobes and started to rock. What do I do? Where's Angela? She always knew how to calm Jayden down, to make sure she was happy and enjoying what our friend group did together.

Jayden started to whimper and I felt at a loss, trying to come up with a way to calm my friend down but coming up empty.

Angela's voice filtered through the air as she appeared next to us, "Jay Jay, how about we go get the gameboy fixed? Brady knows how to fix it." Pulling a gray winter beanie from her pocket, she handed it to Jayden who shoved her face into the fabric, inhaling the scent of it. Bending down to pick up the broken gameboy, Angela shoved it back into her pocket and leaned her arm out for Jayden to grab. "I bet this smoke smell is bothering you, huh? Let's head to Sam's house so Brady can fix your gameboy. Does that sound okay with you?"

Jayden nods and wraps and arm around Angela's, still covering her face with the hat. Angela sends me a soft smile as if to say, don't worry, she's going to be fine, before following Emily to the Uley residence.

When they disappear into the house, Rachel falls slat on her back and all of her anger washes away. Shakily, Paul pulls her to her feet and asks, "What happened, baby? What was that about?"

"I-I don't know…" Jacob and Rebecca are at her other side, Quil taking the twins and Claire into the house when Rebecca leaves her spot. "It felt like I imprinted on her."

"What?" Paul's face morphed into one of shock, and then anger. "What the hell, Rachel?"

"You think I can control it? I'm the new alpha of this pack and now I have not one, but two imprints." She groans and rubs her shoulder, glaring up at him. "You didn't have to fucking tackle, me you dick head!"

"How could you imprint on someone else? How is this possible?" Paul looked like a kicked puppy as tears filled his eyes. "Am I not good enough?"

Rachel cupped his face with both of her hands, wiping his tears away as they dripped down his cheeks. "No, no, baby! I love you more than my own self. You know that." She crushed their lips together, and he melted into her in a way I understood full-heartedly. Pulling away, she says, "Relationships aren't always between two people, remember? If I had a bond with her than so do you. That's the only plausible answer."

"You're saying I'll have both you and her?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying." Rachel pulls Paul down the beach, most likely to have a more private conversation without onlookers, and the crowd goes back to the party as if nothing had happened.

With the situation finally over, anxiety hits me full force. I fiddle with my hands and try to stave off the panic festering in my stomach, but I already know it's a losing battle. Looking around, I see Embry next to Jared and Kim and try to catch his eye. When he looks up at me, it's as if he already knows, and he quickly says something to Jared before making his way over.

"What would you like to do, Bella?" He asks in a soft voice, hesitantly brushing his hand with mine. I grasp it tightly and taking in a deep breath, eyes filling with tears. I can barely think enough to give an answer. "How about we take a walk down the beach?"

With a shuddery, squeaky breath I say, "That sounds nice."

When we were far enough away from the group, I felt myself start to relax. The waves crashed on the shore and Embry's hand felt warm in mine. Felt safe, like home.

"You're getting better at taking yourself out of certain situations," Embry after a long bout of silence, and I shrugged impassively. "Don't sell yourself short, it's a large feat considering what you've been through."

"I only do it because I need to, not because I want to. Just to function normally is hard, you know? But if I can be kind to myself like this and try to stay away from triggers, then everything is much easier."

"You sleep better and eat better."

I scrunch up my nose in distaste, "You mean I eat better-tasting foods."

"Same difference," he ruffled my hair and chuckled at my furrowed brow. "I'm still proud of you. You're doing so good and it's inspiring, to say the least."

"You're just saying that," I exclaimed, batting at him with my hand.

"No! I would never," Embry chuckles as I pout before grabbing my face in his big hands. "I'm serious. You're strong and you're beautiful and I'm so lucky to have you, baby."

Nibbling at my lip, I exclaim, "It might take me a while to believe that."

"Then I'll show you how beautiful you are until you finally believe it," Embry whispers before leaning in and brushing our lips together. We lose ourselves in each other for a while, clutching tightly to each other almost afraid the other might disappear.

When we finally pulled away, he lets go of my face and leans down to grab my hand, a wide grin on his face.

"Come on, let's go back to the others. I think the party is starting up again."

And I followed him back to the party, just like I would follow him anywhere. Because he was Embry, because he was my home. He was home.

Hours later, the summer heat has dissipated as it gets later and later. Everyone had come back to the party, sans Emily and the kids and Jayden, who Angela has dropped off before coming back for a few more hours. Currently, I sat on Embry's lap as I made my a s'more, sticking my tongue out in concentration. My anxiety was gone and all I could think of was eating the delicious treat and making another right after.

"You're burning it," Embry states as he leans up, wrapping his arms tightly around my waist. His breath tickles my ear and I shy away, giggling. "It's going to melt right off that stick."

"It's almost ready."

"I think it's dead."

Five, four, three… I yanked the stick back and shove it between my graham cracker and chocolate. It squishes, melting the chocolate and making the perfect s'more imaginable. Embry grabs the stick from me as I shove the treat into my mouth, almost moaning with pleasure at the taste.

Turning to face Embry, I send him a clothed mouth smile. With a chuckle, he states, "You really take your s'more making seriously, don't you?" I swallow thickly, half wishing I had started on another one already, and give him a look.

"You don't?"

"I love you, dork," He pulls me down to kiss him, pulling back and laughing as my face flushes red.

"I love you too, cheesehead."

As we leaned in for another kiss, growls and tearing clothing fill the air. Lightning fast, Embry sets me down on the log and throws the stick down before running towards the noise. Two wolves attack each other at the edge of the campfire, and Angela and Rebecca watch gobsmacked.

"You fucking brats, stop fighting right now!" Rachel commands and like magic, they lie flat on the ground before rolling over and showing their bellies. As everyone crowds around the two boys, no one sees Rebecca as she starts to shake, eyes wide in fear.

Standing up, I run towards the two of them and screech, "Angela, RUN!" Rebecca growls, face already changing as I charge for them both. Angela doesn't question my words as she jets off in the opposite direction of Rebecca, leaping over the log like a gazelle. As I veer into her direction to follow, someone sweeps me up into their arms bridal style.

With wide eyes, I glance down and instantly relax as Embry looks up at me. "You okay, baby?" He asks me with a furrowed brow and I shrug. Glancing past me, he speeds up and exclaims, "Angela's down the beach. She doesn't look too bad."

And she wasn't, surprisingly. Instead of throwing up her lunch or going into shock, Angela just looks surprised. When Embry sets me on my feet, she looks me over and says, "That's why Rachel sounded like an animal, huh?"

"Mhm," I said with a shrug of my shoulders, nervous laughter coming out of my mouth as I played with my hands. "Guess the wolf's out of the bag."

Quil groaned from behind us somewhere. In seconds, Angela guffawed, having a laughing fit. Embry and I exchanged a nervous glance, and he mouthed, maybe she is in shock.

Five minutes later, Angela wipes her eyes and says breathlessly, "This night keeps getting crazier and crazier."

"You wouldn't believe how crazy it can get, believe me."

"What's next, are the Cullen's witches or something?"

Embry shrugged and raised an eyebrow, "Or something?" Angela's mouth opened immediately to know more, but I quickly raised a hand and shook my head, sending Embry a glare. He just smiled sheepishly.

"I'll tell you later. Right now, let's focus on Rebecca turning into a furball and why that is."

As the words leave my lips, Sam walks over to us, sighing with his whole chest. "We aren't able to get her to phase back, but she's asking for you, Angela. I think you may be able to calm her down"

"Is that safe?" Embry questions and Sam nods, rubbing his eyes.

"As long as she stays far enough away, everything should be fine." He looks down at Angela, gaze softening. "You don't have to if you don't want to. We'll understand if you run far away and never come back."

Taking in a shaky breath, Angela squares her shoulders and says, "Lead me to her."

Hand in hand, Angela and I follow Sam as he leads us to the newly phased wolf. Rebecca is smaller than Jacob, but not by much, and they share the same red fur. Another wolf sits next to her, looking identical. Rachel, I presumed.

"Oh my gosh," Angela whispered to herself as we come to a stop and I squeeze her hand, trying to send her all of my strength and support. "Is that Becca?"

"The one and only," Quil states, shoving a hotdog in his mouth. This was probably business as usual for them.

Angela quirked her head. "She's so pretty."

At her words, Becca's ears flicked and she looked up at her. When their eyes met, you could almost see the electricity zap in the air. The stress seemed to be too much, and reddish-brown wolf's eyes rolled into the back of her head and she fell on her side, knocked out cold. Angela slapped a hand to her chest, hard enough it would probably bruise, and tears started to fall down her cheeks.

"W-what was that? What just happened?" She looked over at me and sobbed deep in her chest. "What the heck was that, Bella?"

Embry sucked in a breath, "Did she just-"

Seth cut him off, moving to stand beside him. "I think she did."

"What did she do? What happened?" Angela demanded and I let go of her hand to wrap an arm around her. "Tell me what happened now."

Paul stood up, picking his teeth with a toothpick, "She imprinted on you."

"Which is what?" Her face was becoming red, anger or frustration I didn't know, but I hoped and prayed that Paul didn't stick his foot in his mouth on this one.

"It's how we find our soulmates, romantic or otherwise." Angela opened and closed her mouth a few times, unable to find words. I hugged her tighter and felt her relax into my side, listening to his words intently. "Now most of us have imprinted, but only because of our ranking in the pack. Rebecca is of direct descent from the alpha, so she of course would. Rachel is the oldest and our alpha, and apparently has two imprints somehow." He said the words somewhat bitterly and I felt a bit empathetic for him. "And Rebecca now is bonded to you for life. Whether as a best friend or a lover, whatever you both choose. But it's yours and no one will fault you in both being with other people, because sometimes that happens in life."

Silence washed over us as the gears turned in Angela's head. Glancing up, I caught Embry's gaze and didn't feel the immediate fear or anger from the thought if imprinting. Knowing he would never do that had solidified our bond, and I was grateful for that.

When she finally spoke again, she said, "She and I are going to have a long talk about things, I think," Her words slurred at the end and she started blinked rapidly. As Angela started to sway, I tried to keep her as steady as I can, but my strength was starting to give. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to pass out now."

And then she did so, right in my arms.