Kiss Or Kill

Chapter 12

In the weeks after learning of the imprint, Bella spent a lot of time thinking about it and what it meant for her future. Though she had the choice to decide what kind of relationship became of the imprint, she knew that in reality there was no choice. She had seen the way the other imprinted couples acted and after seeing them together she knew that she would be stupid not to let her and Paul's relationship progress to that level.

In the beginning she wondered if the feelings between the imprinter and the imprintee were true and real or if they were forced and completely based on imprinting itself. But after seeing the relationships bore from imprinting, up close and personal she decided the feelings were completely real; there was no way that love like that could be forced.

Watching the way the boys gravitated towards their imprint and vice versa was simply magnificent to her. She'd never imagined that two people could be so in love and have such devotion to each other, but she now had proof that it was possible and that she could have that too if she wanted; and she did want it.

The time Bella spent pondering the imprint, Paul spent hoping that she would give into it fully and accept a romantic relationship with him. He'd spent so long putting on the tough guy act and walking around as if he needed no one and love was the last thing on his list but imprinting had changed that. He was still a tough guy and could be a jerk when he really wanted to, but he was no longer pretending that he didn't need someone or that he didn't want someone he could love and have them love him in return. He wasn't sure why Bella had been picked for him and he was sure that she deserved someone far better than he but he was learning to be thankful for the imprint.

He saw how Sam was with Emily and despite the heartbreak that had resulted from that particular case of imprinting; he could see that they were a perfect match. They loved each other to the very depths of their soul and though he would never admit it to anyone, he was jealous of the bond they shared. He hadn't had a very good childhood and if he was honest with himself, he'd been so starved for love that he had somehow managed to convince himself that he just didn't need it; that he could go his entire life without ever having someone to love him. But seeing how Emily loved Sam; how she accepted his being a wolf and everything that came with it, he realized that he didn't want to go his entire life without ever having experienced that. He knew he had messed up with Bella from the very beginning but he was determined that he would prove himself worthy of her love.

In the aftermath of the imprint, Bella and Jacob's friendship became strained and awkward.

Jacob, just as everyone suspected, hadn't reacted very well when Paul told the pack about him imprinting on Bella. He was disappointed and didn't understand why Paul of all people had imprinted on Bella. When Bella was around he tried to act as if it didn't bother him, but she could tell that it did. He was far more distant than he had ever been and he no longer seemed eager or excited for her visits. She tried to tell him that being Paul's imprint had no bearing on their friendship but Jacob would just tell her she was wrong before changing the subject.

He'd always held out some hope that Bella would someday return his feelings, but now he knew that was no longer possible. He tried not to be angry with her because it wasn't her fault; he tried not to act differently or show is contempt but it was hard and he more often than not failed. And because he couldn't bring himself to take out his anger over the imprint on Bella he attempted to take it out on Paul. But Paul refused to put up with it and always pointed out that just as Bella had no choice in being his imprint, he had no choice in imprinting on her. Sam eventually had to place an Alpha order on Jacob so that he couldn't attack Paul under any circumstances; this only angered Jacob further. If he couldn't take his anger out on anyone than the only thing he could do was learn to deal with and accept the imprint.

A/N:Next chapter will get back to Bella and Paul interactions. Feel free to comment and let me know what you think.(And I do apologize for the shortness...it just happened to work out that way)