A/N: PLEASE READ: You all have every right to hate me or want to kill me violently, lol. Trust me, I blame none of you. I've been unfair to this story. I've updated all the others at least once, except for this one. Why? I was going through some things and I just couldn't seem to write about love. It's still so difficult for me, so I'd appreciate it if you'd bear with me. The next couple chapters may be more so gory than romantic I'm just letting you know in advance. Enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: If I owned Twilight, I would be Stephanie Meyer, not a girl who wonders if she would ever be able to measure up to the likes of Stephanie Meyer.

Bella POV: When I opened my eyes again, my heart warmed at the sight before me. Embry was asleep in the chair across from my cot, looking like he hadn't been home in days. The sad truth of the matter was that he probably hadn't been.

Ever since the scare I had apparently had the other day, where I lost my life, I doubted Embry would ever be able to leave my side again. Not that I would ever complain about such a thing, Embry, this life he's given me, the entire family that has become mine because of him, it is the best gift that I could have ever received and I constantly wonder what I must have done in a past life to deserve this one.

Throughout every trial and tribulation, he has stood by my side. We watched Jacob phase and leave us behind, we have gone through his phasing along with Quil's.

Embry's family was finally whole again. Not only had his father returned, but it looked as if he were going to marry his mother. Everything was right again.

Now, I could sense the new challenges approaching us. Billy and Embry thought I couldn't hear while I was asleep, and a normal person probably wouldn't be able to. But my bond with Em seemed to have some unusual supernatural perks. For whatever reason, I can hear while I'm sleeping, but only when it is in regards to pack matters, not about my health, or my father, or any other normal conversation.

They were preparing Embry to assume the position of the alpha. One would normally hear news like this and feel proud, proud that their significant other was put in a position where they would excel and lead like the hero he was meant to be. And that I was, exceedingly proud even. What was bigger than that though, larger than any amount of pride I could ever feel, was the persistent worry of how becoming alpha would change him.

Staring at his sleeping form, I wondered how anything so pure and beautiful could ever be altered at all. But it was then that I realized that it could be morphed in the blink of an eye. It is always the most beautiful things that shatter first. The pure, the untouched, that can be dipped into darkness and never resurface.

I had seen how serving as the alpha had affected Sam, heard story after story about how it had changed him. Once upon a time he was just the same as My Embry was. He had been oblivious to how cruel this world truly was. He had thought the legends of his people to be nothing more than old tales told in an effort to preserve their culture. He had assumed that he got to choose his own path in life; where he went to college, where he lived, who he would fall in love with.

Yes, by now he's adapted and sure, he seems to enjoy his life and love his fiancée now, but it's hard to believe that he's lost his soul. That he no longer tastes the bitterness on his tongue whenever he looks into Leah's heartbroken eyes and sees the frown lines and dark circles on her face.

There is no way that he does not resent the fact that he had to assume the position of alpha. But all the same, it is in no way a comparison to how Embry has to take over. My imprint is taking over the pack in the face of a bloody war. There is a good chance that many of our family members won't survive it, and that, that is what will destroy the love of my life.

He will carry the burden of their lives forever on his shoulders and because of this, he will no longer be my sweet Embry. No, he will be a man who was a victim of circumstance, and a soldier of hardship.

No longer will I look into his and see a sweet and soulful gaze, but one much the same. It will be guarded, though. And he will never let the guard up for as long as he lives. He will feel that allowing his guard to go down is the same as leaving me unprotected in a sea of vampires and this, this is what I will not stand for when my wolf becomes the alpha.

I will make it my mission as his imprint to help him maintain his sense of self, for him to do not only what is right in the face of danger, but what is right for the sake of the pack. I will not let him sink past this point of no return.

Embry Call, although he may share part of Sam Uley's blood, will never share his heart. I will not let him become a carbon copy of what he knows. I will not lose him because Edward Cullen decided he wasn't finished destroying everything I ever held dear.

I will not let him take away my family. Not again. Never again.

A/N: So that was a bit of what's going on in Bella's head right now, her concern for Embry and his duties. I know it's a tad jumbled, but it's late and I really wanted to get something up for you guys. Remember how much I adore your feedback? Because I would love some, it would bring me back within the next few days! Love you guys!

Thanks for Reading!

-thewolfgurlgleek :)