(2) Wild Horses (E. Cullen)

Chapter Four

Bambi has to admit that she has missed being around Jacob and Caleb, and it not being about the pack and the wolves. It's like it was before, sort of. The whole shifter thing is there, lingering with them, but it's not about that. Not today. It is just the three of them, on the beach, watching the waves and the surfers as they smile and laugh and joke. She's happy that Edward pushed for this. That Charlie did. She really has missed her friends. She's happy. Not that she hasn't been with Edward, she loves him and is very happy with but being away from her friends have had her in a bit of a downer mood, she is a pack animal, and being alone without them isn't meant for her, despite her being part vampire which is normally a very solitary creature, it seems she has inherited the whole family dynamic aspect. All in all, it's a good day. Until one person ruins it. Sam. Bambi notices him first before Caleb and Jacob does but neither of them seems remotely surprised to see him there.

"What is he doing here?" She asks. Caleb and Jacob share a look with one another.

"Sorry" Jacob offers quietly. "But he wanted to talk...."

"Well, I don't want to talk to him" Bambi argues as she stands and goes to leave. She is not going to talk to Sam about Edward. She's not going to change her mind on where she stands with her imprint, and Sam is not going to change his either. They have nothing to talk about. The way he has been with Edward. It doesn't bode well for her as part of their pack. If they can't handle this, what are they going to do when she admits that she is part vampire. It's why she has been reluctant to shift since she found out, because she knows that it would give her away before she is ready.

"Nadine" Sam starts, jogging to catch up with her. "Give me a minute," He asks of her, she sighs and looks at him. "Please...." She worries her lip and then nods. She has to be the bigger person here. She can't turn into them. "Thank you" He moves closer to her. "I hate how things worked out between us" Sam admits, Bambi shrugs and folds her arms over her chest.

"Unless you can accept that Edward is my imprint, then things aren't going to change...." She comments, he nods. He knows that. He knows that it is how they feel about vampires that have led to their 'sister' leaving them, and whilst it hurts, Sam understands why she left. Edward is her imprint. Sam knows how strong that bond is. It's just because the wolf vampire bond is new to them and they are still adjusting, but he wants to adjust. "I love him..." She adds. "And if it comes down to it...I will choose him, every time"

"I know" Sam assures her. He knows how the imprint bond works. "And I'm trying because I know how the imprint works. I'm trying to get my head around the idea that a wolf imprinted on a vampire. It's never happened before.....but I am trying...." She glances away from him. "You are family, Nadine...a part of this pack, and I hate that you don't feel like it...I've told the others too, that we're going to fix this. Find a way to fix this so that you...come back, that you..." He lets out a breath. "That you are both comfortable" He gives her a smile. "Forgive me?" Sam asks her.

"I can't" She whispers. "I'm not ready to forgive you..." He nods a little. "Maybe though...one day....maybe" He gives her a small smile and nods again. It's not never.

..............

Edward glances up from the book in his hand when he hears a key in the apartment door. He then checks the clock on the wall. He was expecting her to be spending more time with Jacob and Caleb. He thought he wouldn't be seeing her until at least dinner time. The door opens as he sets the book down.

"Hey" Edward greets when the apartment door closes again. "How did it go?" Bambi sets a takeaway bag on the dining table, Edward raises an eyebrow. "That bad, huh?" He asks her, she turns to shoot him a look.

"Sam" She offers, he gives her a look of understanding, he gets where her annoyance at him comes from.

"What did he say now?" He counters as he moves towards her.

"That he's trying...that he wants us to be a pack again...." She mocks a little. Edward frowns and cocks his head. Processing that.

"You're upset because he's trying to adjust to the situation? That he's trying to understand? That he wants to change the way he thinks to keep you in his pack?" She pulls a face realising that she's upset for no reason. That Sam really was trying with her. She looks away and shrugs. Now he's said it like that she realises how warped her mind made it. He is trying to bring her back. He is willing to include Edward in the pack's lives. And she should know how hard of a choice that must have been for him. She should not have been so hard on him about this. Edward touches the small of her back. "He'll understand" He offers softly.

"Why am I such a bitch?" She asks him. He chuckles and pulls her into a hug, her arms wrapping around his back.

"You've been through a lot...." He whispers. "Plus how long has it been since you went all wolf?" He asks, she groans into his chest. "That's probably messing with you...."

"If I shift, then the pack can read my mind and they will find out that I am part vampire....then they will hate me, along with you.....and nothing will be fixed" She explains.

"You don't know that" He argues, she pulls back and gives him a look. Because she knows she is right about this. She knows how they are going to react to her. She can feel it in her bones, but she can also feel that not shifting is affecting her body. She's started aching the last few days and she knows it is the inner wolf wanting out. She knows she is going to have to shift at some point, sooner rather than later, but she doesn't want them to know.

"I know it enough" She stops him. "Look at how they reacted to you. And the whole treaty thing....what the hell will that mean for me? Am I just allowed to live on the treaty line...."

"Don't be silly" He teases a little, she gives him a look. "You're not going to know either way unless you tell them...." She sighs, knows he is right here. She nods a little. She's not sure what she is going to do yet, but he is right.