Chapter Text
When their eyes meet on an unassuming Tuesday morning, the earth moves beneath her feet.
The elders say that this bond—the imprint—is inherent to who he is, to the wolf.
It is unchangeable. Ineffable.
She is his.
“Gifted to him by the Gods. There will never be anyone else," they said.
So, when he holds her hands tightly in his, the thought spins in Kim’s head until she’s dizzy from it: Jared Cameron is hers.
Kim’s friends like to compare her to a princess in a fairytale.
As the story goes, the boy who stars in her dreams finally sees her one morning and falls in love at first sight. When he walks across the classroom—the same one that has served as their homeroom for the past seven years—and claims the seat right next to her, his first-ever words to her are, “I think I’m meant to know you.”
It's a beautiful story, so Kim doesn't stop her friends from retelling it between squeals and giggles. Only she knows—those are not the first words that he has said to her.
Kim first meets Jared Cameron when she is six years old. On a sunny afternoon in spring, she finds herself standing at the top of a metal slide, too scared to slide down because it's taller than expected. Just as she's about to turn around and climb back down, a laugh catches her attention. When she looks down at the ground, she sees a mop of dark hair and a pair of bright eyes looking up at her.
“She’s holding up the line. She’s too chicken!” someone grumbles from nearby, but she doesn't see who it is because she's unable to look away from those bright eyes.
The boy—owner of those bright eyes—shakes his head and says confidently, “Nah, she can do it.” And then, the corners of his mouth lift into an encouraging smile.
Kim stares at that smile and feels something warm fill her chest. As she sits down at the top of the slide and pushes herself forward, she's no longer afraid. When she reaches the bottom and clumsily pushes herself up, the boy gives her a thumbs-up and says, “I knew you could do it!”
For the rest of the afternoon, she watches the boy go up and down the slide, listening to the way his joyful laugh fills the playground.
She finally sees him again two months later, on the first day of school. He's surrounded by friends, and his eyes are just as bright as she remembers. When his gaze drifts in her direction, she waits in anticipation.
She has already practiced what she will say.
His eyes pass over hers, never pausing.
For the next ten years, Kim continues to seek him out, waiting for the day that his eyes look in her direction—and stop. During these years, the one thing that keeps her hope alive is the fact that no one else on the reservation makes Jared’s eyes pause. He does not ask anybody to attend school dances. There are no whispered love confessions in the hallways. His movie nights are reserved for his mother and two little brothers.
He treats everybody the same.
So, when the universe grants him superpowers, and their eyes meet on an unassuming Tuesday, she believes it to be the only time his eyes have ever lingered on anyone.
Thirty days and five hours after imprinting, Kim hears the name Isabella Swan for the first time.
The siding on the single-story house is old and worn, like most things on the reservation. Wood creaks beneath her feet as she makes her way toward the screen door. Just as she is about to knock, loud voices from inside make her pause.
“—needs our help!”
“Damn right, she needs help. Fucking around with leech—”
“You watch your fucking mouth, Lahote!”
“Jacob. That’s enough.”
Something slams and splinters against the floor. Kim sucks in a sharp breath, taking a large step backward. The noise inside quiets as Jared’s eyes shoot to hers from behind the screen.
Kim feels that familiar heat flush her face red. He's bare-chested again, with shorts that hang low on his hips.
The screen door slams behind him, and then she is engulfed in his earthy scent.
“I’m sorry, there was a—” Jared’s words break off. ”We just got back from patrolling. Did it get too bad?”
Kim wraps her arms around his waist and shakes her head. “I’m okay now. What about you?”
“All good.”
She feels the world tilting upright. Between the daily patrols and his younger brothers, it has become more difficult for Jared to attend school. The longer they go without seeing each other during the day, the more uncomfortable their bond becomes.
She takes comfort in it—in the magic that binds them together.
When Jared pulls back and runs a hand through his messy hair, Kim tilts her head to see him better and soaks him in. He has always been good-looking, bordering on unfairly so, even in middle school when everyone else was battling bad skin and crooked teeth. But ever since phasing, he has somehow gone from boyishly handsome to something almost overwhelming.
Jared looks back at the screen door. “I’m going to take Kim home first and then come back.”
“Don’t be late. We have a lot to discuss.” Sam Uley’s voice drifts outside. And then after a brief pause, he adds, “It’s good to see you, Kim.”
Kim grips Jared’s hand as he leads her into his blue Jeep before buckling her into the seat.
“I thought you just had a pack meeting.” She looks at him curiously. “There’s another one tonight?”
Jared slowly backs out of the driveway. “We ran into an unwanted visitor.”
For them, ‘unwanted visitor’ can only mean one thing. The thought makes Kim physically tense in her seat.
Jared immediately places a hand on her jeans-covered thigh. “Don’t worry.” He flashes her a quick smile that never fails to make her breath catch. “The thing will be gone in no time.” And then, he pulls away to focus on the road.
The tires crunch against gravel as Kim quietly studies his profile. She can see the tension in his shoulders and the deep crease between his brows. His hand is gripping the steering wheel in a tight fist.
An odd silence wraps around them.
Kim takes a deep breath, steeling herself, and asks, “Do you want to tell me what happened?”
The look of surprise he sends her way makes her flush with something akin to guilt. When he hesitantly asks her, “You sure you want to know?”, the feeling deepens and tinges with shame.
She knows the legends—the Elders have made sure of that—and she understands the dangers roaming their land. It does not, however, dampen the terror she feels from actually knowing. Ignorance is bliss, she believes, and Jared must sense it in her because he has always been careful not to share too much.
But she wants to do better, be a better imprint.
So, when Jared looks at her with inquisitive eyes, she swallows the lump in her throat and slowly nods. “I want to know.”
He studies her carefully before shifting his gaze back to the road. “We caught the thing's scent around sunrise. It took us some time to chase it down.”
“Were you able to… chase it down?”
“It escaped before we could destroy it.”
The thing could be anywhere. The thought is chilling.
“What is it even doing in Forks?”
The car jerks. Kim lurches forward before the seatbelt tugs her back forcibly against the seat.
“Are you okay?” Jared quickly scans her, an apology resting on his face.
“Y-yeah.” Kim takes a few deep breaths to calm her racing heart.
She stared at him from across the console. Jared’s eyes are dark—darker than she has ever seen them and a bit wild.
“Are you—” She starts to reach for him, wanting to smooth the deep lines between his brows.
“It’s looking for someone.”
Her hand pauses and then drops back down by her side. “Who?”
“Isabella Swan.”
The name hangs in the air. Kim mentally flips through the faces of their classmates and the families on the reservation.
Her brows furrow. “I’m not sure who that is.”
“Isabella Swan,” Jared repeats the name. His grip tightens on the steering wheel. “She goes by Bella. The Chief of Police’s daughter.”
“Oh. She doesn’t live on the reservation, then?”
Jared shakes his head. “She lives in town with her dad, on the other side of the border.”
“Did it… did the thing find her?”
“Yeah. Somehow it found her even though we’d been trailing the fucker’s scent for days.”
Fucker.
It is the first time Kim has ever heard him curse. Even when the boys on the reservation used to roughhouse and get into stupid fights over nothing and everything, she had never heard him utter a single expletive. For the second time that day, the feeling of being startled settles like a lump in her stomach.
“She’s not hurt.” Jared’s voice is low. “She’s fine. We got there before it could do anything.” He takes in a deep breath. “She’s fine.”
There’s a moment of silence, and then Kim mutters, “That’s good. I can only imagine how terrified she must have been.”
“Terrified?” And then he lets out a humorless, disquieting laugh that she has never heard before. “Isabella doesn’t know the first thing about being terrified.”
Kim feels the imprint bond hum in the narrow space between them.
“We didn’t know until today that the thing had tracked her down. It was a good thing we were already keeping an eye on her.”
Kim stares unblinkingly at the windshield. “I thought that the pack didn’t patrol outside the border." A pause. "I’ve never heard you mention her before.”
“I haven’t?”
She silently shakes her head.
Jared stares straight ahead at the road. “Before moving here, Isabella used to visit Forks every summer break and would hang out with us down at La Push.”
“Oh.” Kim thinks about how she always visited her granny in Florida over the summers.
“Those things are hunting her, so we’ve been keeping watch.” Jared frowns. “But Sam won’t let us tell her anything because she’s not pack.” A pause. “Or an imprint.”
The tires crunch against gravel and then slow to a stop in front of her house. When Kim looks down at her hands, she sees that they are white from how tightly she has been clutching the seat covers.
“I’ll try to come by again after the meeting.” Jared turns to her after turning off the engine.
Her lips part, questions hanging on her tongue, but the words get stuck in her throat. Later, after the Jeep has driven off and she is lying on her bed, staring up at nothing, she recalls the way Jared says the name ‘Isabella.’
She turns on her side and focuses on the imprint bond humming beneath her chest.
Areli is beautiful and kind, and she welcomes Kim with soft smiles and warm meals. And, as Kim learns quickly, the older woman does not know anything about werewolves and vampires, or the dangers that exist.
“She has her hands full with her job and being a single mom to three boys,” Jared explains. His eyes are drawn when he continues, “I don’t want this to be another thing that adds to her stress.”
The first time they meet, Areli scoops a large spoonful of potato salad onto her plate and says, “Jared has never brought a girlfriend home. You must be special.”
Kim feels her heart bloom.
She is Jared’s first.
And last, she whispers to herself.
The next time Kim goes over, Areli asks, “Which college are you thinking of attending?”
It’s an innocuous question, lacking any sort of pressure, but the fork pauses in Kim’s hands.
Before she can find the words, Areli continues, “Hopefully NYU isn’t too far from where you will be.” She smiles proudly at Jared. “Isn’t that right, honey?”
When Jared quickly changes the topic, Kim feels her chest tighten.
They have yet to talk about the future, about life beyond high school and dreams beyond the reservation. For as long as she could remember, Kim has only had one dream—for Jared to notice her. Now that her impossible dream has come true, she hasn’t dared to ask for anything else.
Later, as Jared drives her home, she quietly studies his profile. He hasn’t said anything since getting into the car, seemingly deep in thought. The air inside the Jeep is quiet.
After a while, Kim takes a deep breath and hesitantly asks, “So… NYU?”
She catches the way Jared tenses against the leather seats before he lets out a sigh.
“That was before phasing.” He turns, offering her a lopsided smile. It doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “I just haven’t found a way to tell her that I’m not going.”
“Are you okay with that… not going?”
Jared simply shrugs.
Kim tugs on the hem of her soft sweater. “NYU. That’s amazing. You applied early decision?”
“Yeah.” Jared lets out a stilted laugh. “Who would have thought they would actually want me?”
I would, Kim thinks.
Over the years, she has always wondered how he managed it all: a top student, a good friend, and an even better brother and son.
Popular, athletic, smart. And kind.
It has always felt like she could never keep up, could never be good enough for him.
“What about you?” Jared suddenly turns to her. “Did you want to go to college? Get out of the reservation?”
Kim thinks back to the handful of applications that she sent out in the fall. It feels like a lifetime ago when she thought of lecture halls as large as a gymnasium and courtyards littered with students and textbooks. Even in those daydreams, there has always been another person walking beside her—someone with dark hair and eyes as bright as the sun.
“No,” she says softly. “Everything I want is right here.”
Sam’s house is cozy to begin with. Now, it borders on cramped with four tall, muscular, golden-skinned men sprawled across the single couch and scattered chairs that make up the living room. The only one missing is Embry Call. Jared tells her that Embry is on patrol duty, which Kim now understands to mean guarding Isabella Swan.
When she and Jared enter through the front door, Quil Ateara is the only one who shoots them a quick nod before turning back to the tense conversation they have just walked into. There's a hard glint in Quil's eyes that she would never have associated with the usually cheerful junior.
“We can’t keep ignoring her calls.” Jacob Black glares at Sam. “I won’t.”
“You will because it’s an order.”
Jacob growls, the deep sound filling up the small space. His clenched fists shake by his sides.
Quil leans forward on the couch. “She saw us in the meadow. Even if we don’t say anything, she’s probably halfway to figuring it out by now.” His lips twitch. “She’s not stupid.”
Paul Lahote barks out a laugh. “And whose fault is that? If Baby Alpha here wasn’t too busy trying to get into her pants by telling her all our fucking secrets—”
“Shut the hell up!” Jacob’s lips curl in a sneer. “I still haven’t beaten the shit out of you for suggesting that we use Bells as bait.”
Kim is making her way across the room, heading for the kitchen to seek out Emily, when she hears the familiar-sounding name. It makes her pause.
“Christ, calm your tits. I never said bait.”
“You didn’t have to, you piece of—”
“It doesn’t matter how much Bella thinks she might know,” Sam interjects. “The Council has already stated its piece. She can’t know the truth. It’s not safe.”
“Not safe for who?” Jacob snaps back.
“For Bella.” Sam pauses. “And the pack.”
“Bullshit. You know Bells would never tell anyone.”
Sam’s eyes flash. “You really want to place this burden on her? Make Bella carry our secrets for the rest of her life?”
Quil shakes his head. “Even if we didn’t want Bells to be caught up in all this, the reality is that she already is. You’re the one who found her after the leech left her in the woods.”
The words are barely finished before a suffocating silence fills the room.
“See?” Quil waves a hand over the room. “You keep saying she’s not pack, but we sure protect her like she is.”
Sam’s gaze takes in each pack member before eventually hardening.
When he speaks again, his voice is resolute. “We protect humans from bloodsuckers, which means that right now, our priority is to destroy the one that’s tracking Bella. The Council has already decided that she can’t know anything about us.” His eyes then focus on Jacob. “Which means, no, you can’t pick up her calls or seek her out. In human or wolf form.”
The chair Jacob is using flies backward and crashes against the wall. The doorframe shakes as the screen door flaps open and then slams shut. His footsteps pound against the gravel driveway before disappearing.
Silence fills the room. Kim’s heart drums inside her chest. Her hand reaches for the kitchen doorknob, but she can’t bring herself to leave the room.
Sam’s gaze flickers over to Quil. “The same goes for you. And Embry.”
Quil falls back against the couch and sighs in exasperation. “It doesn’t change the fact that she saw our wolves in broad daylight.”
“More reason to stop contacting her.”
Quil snorts and then quips in a sing-song voice, “She’s going to figure it out. Anybody want to start a betting pool for when?”
Sam shoots him a warning look.
“I don’t know why,” Paul drawls, “we don’t let Baby Alpha see her so he can just imprint on her already.”
At that moment, Kim finds herself turning toward where Jared is leaning against the wall. He has been silent since they entered the house, having not added a single word to the conversation, but now his eyes are dark, nearly black, and drilling into Paul.
“Wait a minute,” Quil says slowly, his eyes widening.
“Wouldn’t that solve all our problems with the Council?” Paul asks pointedly.
“No.”
Everyone else turns in the direction of the person who has just spoken, but Kim has already been watching him. She sees the way Jared’s jaw clenches hard before his lips form the word no.
“No?” Paul echoes. He silently regards Jared, and then his head tilts slightly to one side. “Anything you would like to share with the rest of the class?”
Jared’s eyes narrow. “How are we going to explain all this to her when Jacob doesn’t imprint on her?”
“How do you know Baby Alpha won’t imprint on her?” Paul crosses his arms over his chest. “He thinks the universe revolves around her leech-loving ass. Maybe it’s meant to be.”
“He won’t.”
“Hold up.” Quil sits up straight. “I like this idea. If Jake—”
“He won’t,” Jared snaps.
“But—“
“He’s right.” Sam's eyes pierce into Jared’s from across the small space. “Jared is right,” he says again. “Jacob is not going to imprint on Bella. Neither will Quil, or Embry, or anyone else in the pack.”
Quil frowns. “Why not?” His tone is indignant. “Bells is fucking hot. And hella smart. I wouldn’t have passed algebra last year without her help. And she’s not afraid of weird shit like leeches, and did you see the way she was about to run after us—”
“It doesn’t matter how hot and smart she is.” Jared shoves an impatient hand through his short, tousled hair.
“If that’s not it, then what’s the problem?” Quil’s frown deepens. “Are you telling me it’s because she’s a white girl—”
“She needs to have Quileute blood.”
The room falls silent.
“Come again, big boss?” Quil asks slowly.
“The imprinting magic only exists within the Quileute lineage.”
“Well, shit,” Paul mutters. “That’s a fucking small fish pond.”
“Wait a minute.” Quil’s voice grows louder. “Are you sure about this? How do you know?”
Sam meets Jared’s eyes for a brief moment. “The Council hasn’t been wrong so far.”
With that, Quil’s face falls, and his body seems to deflate against the couch. “Well shit, who’s going to be the one to break it to Jake?”
Jared pushes off the wall and makes a sound of impatience. “I don’t care who breaks it to Jacob. We need to track down that thing before it finds Isabella again.”
Kim feels a light breeze as the door whips open in front of her. It startles her and manages to tear her attention away from Jared. The bright kitchen lights make her squint.
“Kim! I thought I heard your footsteps out here.” Emily stands in front of her, a warm smile gracing her lips. She gently takes Kim’s hand and tugs her through the doorway. The door shuts behind them, muffling the sounds from the other side. “Perfect timing, I was just about to put dinner together.”
Emily pulls an apron off its hook and hands it to Kim. Four large pans of lasagne line the counter. As Kim puts on the apron, she watches the older woman place two of the pans into the oven. She tugs absentmindedly on the strings hanging from the apron, mulling over something in her head.
After a moment, she clears her throat and asks, “Have you ever met her?”
“Met who?” Emily walks over and pulls out a large bag of lettuce from the fridge. “Help me chop these up, would you?”
Kim walks over to the sink and slowly scrubs her hands under running water. “The girl they were talking about. Isabella Swan. Have you ever met her?”
“Isabella? Oh, you mean Bella,” Emily says absentmindedly. “I’ve never met her, but I’ve heard about her quite a bit.”
Kim turns off the faucet and watches the water slip down the drain. “Do they talk about her often?”
“Recently, they can’t seem to go through one gathering without bringing her up,” Emily sighs. “That poor girl. If Sam hadn’t found her in the woods after that thing left her there…” She trails off, shaking her head.
Kim glances up curiously. “Why was she even in the woods?”
Emily frowns. “A vampire led her there. Broke her heart, too. She was on the verge of hypothermia by the time they found her.”
As Emily turns away and opens the fridge, Kim stares wide-eyed at her back.
“Broke her heart?” She barely manages to get the words out.
Emily rummages through the vegetable drawer and says distractedly, “The vampire was one of the Cullens. Bella fell in love with him after she moved here.”
Kim suddenly feels faint. The smell of cheese and ground beef cooking in the oven makes her stomach turn.
“I don’t understand,” she murmurs. “How could she fall in love with that-that thing?”
She pictures unnaturally white skin, blood-red eyes, and sharp teeth. Skin as cold as ice to the touch, marble faces that stare unblinkingly at their prey. How could anyone stomach being close to something like that, let alone fall in love with it?
When Emily turns and catches sight of Kim’s pale face, she sighs, “Oh sweetie, I know. I asked myself the same questions.”
Kim takes a deep breath and tries to chase away the images in her head. “Is that why they are after her now? Because she fell in love with one of them?”
“You know, I’m not too sure. Sam hasn’t said much,” Emily replies thoughtfully. Then, she shakes her head as if to wipe away the thoughts. “Okay, enough of that. Let’s talk about something else. How are you and Jared doing?” She ends the question with a teasing smile.
Kim has more questions, but she sees that Emily has moved on. She manages a small smile. “We are doing good—”
A sudden bang comes from the direction of the front door. And then, there is the rush of footsteps and shouting. Emily looks at Kim, wide-eyed, and drops the vegetables onto the floor before racing towards the kitchen door, hastily pushing it open. Kim follows closely behind her.
The bond between her and Jared is humming strong, so she knows he's not hurt, but a part of her needs to see it to believe it.
The pack is no longer in the living room, but they can see figures with dark hair through the screen door and open windows.
Someone is saying something. It's a voice that Kim does not recognize. She follows Emily to one of the windows and peers out at the front yard.
Her eyes find Jared first, like they always do. He is standing barefoot on the grass, his arms hanging down by his side. He's looking at something, staring intently at it. When she slowly follows his line of sight, all she sees is a broad back and tanned skin.
It's Paul, she realizes. But then, the older boy moves aside, and another face appears—a girl.
There is a scowl on the girl’s pretty face. Her dark brown hair hangs past her shoulders, curling at her waist. It's a bit messy as if she has been running her hands through it, but it only makes the soft curls more pronounced.
Paul says something to her. It's too low for Kim to make out the words, but the girl’s dark eyes flash with anger before she raises a tight fist and hurls it into Paul’s face.
Even before she hears the panicked shouts of the girl’s name, Kim already knows who it is.
As Paul explodes into fur and chaos descends around them, she sees Jared’s face flood with what could only be unadulterated fear.
She sees Jared's body shake uncontrollably before he lunges forward to clutch the girl’s waist and pull her behind him, shielding her from the wolf.
She sees his eyes stay on the girl, even as another wolf crashes from the trees and chases Paul deep into the woods.
She sees the way his eyes continue to follow after the girl, even as Emily takes her from him and guides her into the house.
Kim does not stop to greet Emily and the girl when they pass her in the living room. She leaves through the front door and makes her way to the man still standing barefoot. She reaches up with both hands and cups his face. His eyes slowly drift from the house down to her face.
When she knows that he finally sees her, she reaches up on her tip-toes and softly places her lips against his.
It has been thirty-one days and seven hours since imprinting.
The magic thrums between them, as strong as ever.
As Emily gently wraps the gauze around her bruised knuckles, the girl's face contorts in a wince.
Kim feels Jared’s body tense beside her. She pulls herself close to his side until there is barely any space between them.
“So, werewolves, huh?” the girl murmurs. She glances up at Sam, who is leaning against the wall behind Emily.
“Yes, just like the legends say.”
It is not Sam who answers her question, but Jared. The girl turns around to look at him.
Kim’s hand tightens around his.
The girl tilts her head thoughtfully to one side. “Because the Cullens were here,” she says slowly.
“Yes, because of them.” There is something akin to pride in Jared’s voice. “You figured it out.”
Kim takes in a deep, steadying breath.
“All done.” Emily wraps the gauze around the girl's palm and cuts the end.
“Thank you,” the girl says gratefully. “Emily, right?”
Emily nods and smiles in response.
And then, the girl turns to Kim. “I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Bella. Bella Swan.”
For a moment, Kim stares at that pretty face with dark brown eyes and flushed cheeks.
Jared’s voice flashes through her head.
Isabella Swan. She goes by Bella.
“I’m Kim.” Her other hand comes to rest around Jared’s arm, feeling his warm skin around her fingers and palm. Her voice is louder when she says, “I’m Jared’s imprint.”
She watches as curiosity flickers across Bella’s face. The girl’s large eyes shift between her and Jared. “Imprint? What’s that?”
Jared’s arm jerks beneath Kim’s hands. She holds on tight.
For a moment, there is silence as no one says a word.
Then, Sam pushes off the wall and says, “Why don’t you take Kim home?” He stares pointedly at Jared. “Emily and I will have a chat with Bella.”
At his suggestion, Kim feels her chest fill with a sense of relief, and she gently tugs on Jared’s hand. She doesn’t want to be in this room for another second.
He doesn’t move.
“Jared?” Her voice comes out wearily.
Hearing it, Jared seems to shake himself. “I’ll take Kim home and then come back,” he murmurs and then quickly pulls her out through the front door.
The drive to her house is quiet.
Kim’s hands clench tightly around her sleeves as she continues to study his face, but his expression is unreadable. She puts her hand on his leg, wanting to feel his warmth. After a moment, he places a hand over hers, just like she knew he would.
His eyes stare straight ahead at the road.
There is a fire blazing, and the smell of ocean water is all around them.
Kim sits on the weathered log and digs her feet into the sand. Across from her, Bella's brown hair sways softly in the evening breeze, and her eyes twinkle from the bonfire licking the air.
It has been a few days since the girl bruised her hand against Paul’s face. Kim learns from Emily that the Council has rescinded their decision to keep Bella in the dark. The girl knows everything now—about the wolves and the imprinting. And, aside from when she attends school in town, she is temporarily staying with Jacob and Billy Black.
“This way, it's much safer for Isabella and the pack,” Jared explains to her.
Kim leans into him, seeking his warmth, and tries not to stare at the girl sitting across from her.
“I don’t get it.” Paul narrows his eyes. His words are directed at Bella.
The girl turns to look at him and frowns. “What are you on about, now?”
Paul sneers, “I just don’t get it. What’s so good about leech dick?”
The air pauses with a stifling silence. Kim feels Jared’s mood shift.
“Why? You want to try it, Lahote?” Bella raises her brows.
“Nah, I’m good,” Paul waves his hands dismissively. “Just thinking that it must feel like an ice pick.”
“Maybe,” Bella shrugs. “I wouldn’t know.”
Jared gets up. Kim feels all the warmth leave with him. She looks up, wanting to ask him where he is going, but he is already walking toward the cooler. She watches as he reaches in and grabs a raspberry-flavored seltzer, and then he walks over to Bella and sits down.
“You still like these?” He taps Bella’s leg gently with the can.
Bella’s eyes crinkle at the edges as she turns and smiles at him. Paul glances at them and then turns away, taking a long swig of his beer.
“Where are the rest of the guys?” Bella wonders out loud, turning her head towards the woods.
“They’re finishing up with patrols,” Jared explains. He flicks open the tab on the can and then hands it to her.
“Oh.” Bella takes it and then absentmindedly picks at the label.
“What are you thinking about?” His eyes slowly travel across her face.
“Oh, you know,” she laughs sardonically. “Just remembering that it’s my fault that Victoria is terrorizing Forks.”
“It is your fault.”
Bella’s head shoots up.
“It is your fault,” Jared repeats, “so you better stay away from any more ice picks.”
There is a teasing, lopsided smile on his face. Bella sees it, and the stricken expression on her face melts away.
Kim watches them from across the fire. The imprint hums loudly within her chest, but it does nothing to soothe the ache that is spreading through her body. With each second, the feeling grows until it's suddenly difficult to breathe.
“I don’t get it either.” The words are out before Kim even realizes that she has opened her mouth. Her face flushes as every head turns in her direction, but she can't seem to stop herself. “How could you fall in love with one of those things?”
Jared is finally looking at her now. There is an expression on his face that she has never seen before.
“You don’t have to answer that,” he says quietly.
It takes a moment for Kim to register his words, and another second to realize that they are for Bella.
“No, it’s okay,” Bella mutters. Then she seems to steel herself. “You know, Jacob tried to warn me about them. About the Cullens and their kind and the allure they have on humans. They suck you in with their glamour until you can’t tell what’s real and what’s not. I just…” She bites her lip, hesitating. “I just didn’t believe it then, but I do now. I was under his spell. None of it was real.”
“What do you mean it wasn’t real?” It is Jared who asks the question. “What wasn’t real?”
Bella wrinkles her nose, frowning deeply. “Everything. My feelings for him. Looking back on it, I see how unnatural it was. How crazed—no—obsessed I was. I wanted to do everything to please him, be whatever he wanted me to be, so that he wouldn’t leave me. That wasn’t love,” she murmurs. “It was just magic making me think that it was.”
Kim staggers to her feet, and she stumbles toward Jared. When he catches her in his arms, shock across his handsome face, she squeezes her eyes together and presses her face into his neck.
“I don't feel well, Jared,” she says weakly. “Take me home.”
“I ran into Charlie Swan at the general store today,” Areli says at dinner. “He mentioned that Bella is staying with Billy Black?”
She says Bella’s name so casually, as if she is used to saying the name and has said it countless times before.
Kim swallows and then hesitantly asks, “You know Bella, Mrs. Cameron?”
“Of course, I know Bella! She visited every summer ever since she was—oh, was it five or six years old? Anyways, little Jacob Black would follow after her like a shadow.” Areli laughs. “It was so nice having her help out with the twins when I was on call.” She taps her chin thoughtfully. “It has been a couple of years now, hasn’t it?”
She turns to the twins, who are digging into their burgers with fervor. “Do you remember Bella?”
Israel swallows first and nods enthusiastically, “Yeah!”
“What do you remember about her?”
“She’s pretty!”
Areli scoffs, “That’s it? You only remember a girl’s looks?”
“Mom,” Israel whines. “That’s because Jared used to say it all the time.”
“Oh, did he now?” Areli raises her eyebrows at Jared.
“Yeah, and he would stare at her all the time when she wasn’t looking.”
Jared sighs and nudges the plate in front of his brother. “Eat. Speak less.”
Areli lets out a delighted laugh, her eyes bright like her son’s. “No wonder you were so intent on New York City.”
And then, she turns to Kim and says fondly, “Bella used to talk about Columbia all the time after her mother took her to visit, and then this one here,” she points to Jared, “started looking at schools on the East Coast. Remember when you first saw how high of an SAT score you would need—”
“Mom, who else did you see in town today?” Jared interrupts.
Kim looks down at the half-eaten burger on her plate. The meat is cold now, but she forces herself to take another bite.
Later, as Jared walks her home, she stops him in the middle of the road. She takes in his dark eyes and soft lips, the same face that she has dreamt about for the past ten years, and then she takes in a deep, steadying breath.
“I don’t want you to see Bella Swan anymore.”
Kim watches as Jared slowly registers what she has said. When he does, he takes a step back away from her. Even a step feels like a cavern between them.
“What did you just say?” His voice comes out low, guarded.
The words are out, and it's too late to take them back, so she says them again, “I don’t want you to see that girl.”
Jared looks at her. As the minutes go back, she watches as his usually bright eyes fill with something painful to witness.
“Kim…” he starts and then stops.
She can't stand the way he sounds, the way he looks, so she turns away from him.
“I…” he tries again and stops, again.
She thinks that he will reach for her, maybe hold her in his arms, but he doesn't, and it is suddenly ten times worse.
He doesn't say anything. Neither does she.
And then, they see Quil racing towards them, his eyes panicked and arms gesturing wildly.
The leech has breached the border.
Jared refuses to let anyone touch her. He cradles Bella to his chest like something fragile and precious, something that would crumble if taken away from him.
“You have to put her down,” Embry says slowly, cautiously.
Jared only holds Bella closer to his chest. His body is trembling, and he hasn’t once looked up from her face.
Kim lets Emily hold her back, but she barely feels the woman's ice-cold hands. Her breathing is shallow as she sees Jared's body tremble around the unconscious, bleeding body nestled in his arms.
Not once does he look her way.
“Jared, what the fuck are you doing?" Jacob screams. "She’s going to bleed to death if we don’t get her to the hospital!”
That seems to finally jolt Jared out of it, except his eyes are now completely black, wild with panic.
“Where’s my Jeep?” His voice is raw and unsteady.
Kim stands there, watching the dust settle behind the disappearing car. Emily gently tugs on her arm, but she does not budge from her spot.
There is so much blood—Bella Swan's blood—smeared on the ground.
And the leech is still out there.
She does not see him for five days. It's the longest they have been apart since imprinting.
On the first day, the bond hums angrily, desperate for closeness.
On the morning of the second day, Kim wakes up and knows that something has changed. She searches for that hum, the one that has accompanied her for the past forty-six days, but it's no longer there. Where it used to be is simply emptiness.
She runs the three miles to Sam’s cabin, certain that something has happened to Jared.
What he tells her is much worse: “He was bitten by the red-headed leech."
Kim's body freezes when she hears.
“He's in bad shape, but he's alive.”
She tells Sam that she can no longer feel Jared through the bond. She asks what this means.
It's not until the fifth day that she finds out.
“Jared is awake,” Sam tells her, but he's guarded and weary. “Kim... he can no longer phase.”
The Elders tell them that the venom must have killed the wolf. They are lucky the man is still alive.
When Jared finally comes to see her, she's wearing the same outfit from that unassuming Tuesday morning. Yet, this time, when his eyes meet hers, the world does not tilt on its axis, and nothing magical is pulling them together.
There's now a silver crescent-shaped bitemark on his wrist.
“I wanted to be what you needed,” he says to her, his eyes tired and resigned. “I saw you through the eyes of my wolf, and to him, you were it, Kim. You were all he could see. To him, you were radiant. You were perfect to him.”
“Then… why? If I’m perfect, why don’t you want me?” Tears pool in her eyes, but she refuses to let them fall.
His voice is quiet but steady when he says, “I’m not my wolf. He is... was part of me, but we didn’t share one mind or one heart.”
Kim’s body shakes with the efforts to stay afloat, to stay pieced together. “It has always been you, Jared. Even without the imprint, it has always been you.”
He mutters “I’m sorry” over and over again.
And then she breaks.