Forbidden Imprint [Book 5] ✔️

18 • When Fate Comes A Knockin'

EMBRY'S POV

Fate's a funny thing sometimes. I had my life in Maine and was perfectly content with my lot in life. I blew off the conversation I'd had with Old Quil at Quil's wedding as the words of a superstitious old man. Contrary to what he said, I didn't need my former imprint. The past was well and truly in the past.

I was comfortable with my life. I didn't have anything to do with the pack or patrolling, and since Quil Sr. told me I was aging anyway, I stopped phasing entirely. I was officially a retired wolf.

So was Quil for that matter. He told Nate he was through right before he went on his honeymoon. And in the two years since Quil and Claire were married, he had stayed true to his word.

Quil was happy with his decision. A year after Quil and Claire were married, they had a little girl whom they named Kayley. When their daughter was only a few hours old, Brady imprinted on her. Collin was ecstatic. After all, he and Brady had both phased around the same time right before the Newborn War. Brady was his best friend and he wanted Brady to be a part of the imprint love fest that seemed so prevalent on the Rez. Quil, on the other hand, hadn't been as pleased that his brand new daughter had a soul mate already. Claire took it a lot better than Quil did, but Claire had also once been a young imprint herself.

For the most part, all the wolves seemed to be happy. Devlin took my advice and got Hanna's email address at the reception. They were now best friends. From what Quil had told me, Devlin had spent his summer vacation traveling across the country with Hanna, who was a prodigy of sorts when it came to the piano and was already playing concerts. Will Samson, our former pack brother and talent agent extraordinaire, was representing Hanna. He had promised Jared and Kim as well as Paul and Rachel, that both kids would be safe in his care. And after some hesitation and many reassurances, both sets of parents had let them go.

Of course there were a couple of exceptions to the happy train that the rest of the pack seemed to be riding. First was Ryan who followed through with his decision to leave La Push and Gracie behind. He went to D.C. and got his government job and even had a new girlfriend. But the few times I had talked to him, I could always pick up on his misery.

Then there was Nate. Jake and Ness had been all for moving back to La Push before Gabe and Nate almost killed each other at the reception. While they wanted to be close to Billy and Charlie as their relatives aged, their children were their top priority. Both boys hadn't been wolves for very long when they'd fought, so Ness and Jake decided to stay away for a couple of years until Nate and Gabe learned more control. Jake told me a couple of weeks ago though that they had finally decided to move back to Forks.

Their decision was helped by Sam Uley. Sam had shown up at the Cullens' house one day a few months ago and practically begged for the Blacks to move back home. Nate was barely surviving without Meena. Being an Alpha, his feelings were amplified and being without his imprint was a daily struggle. Sam was frantic for his son. He and Jake ended up getting into an argument over the whole situation which caused both to phase. Sam hadn't phased in years...from what I heard he was still in the dog house with Emily over that.

The whole situation could have been a lot worse if the Cullens hadn't been there. Sam and Jake still had a lot of leftover pent-up hostility towards each other from their youth. Their wolf side had taken over and they'd fought each other viscously. Gabe had had to plant images in both of their heads to distract them and as soon as they'd hesitated, they were forcibly separated by Jasper, Emmett, Edward, and Carlisle.

Jake grudgingly told me that while he hated to admit Sam was right, Meena wasn't doing that great without Nate either. Meena knew about imprinting because of the bond she could see between her parents. She had figured out on her own that Nate had imprinted on her at Quil's wedding. But while Meena was fascinated with Nate, she wasn't in love with him. She barely knew him. More importantly, she'd told her parents time and time again that she didn't want Gabe upset, which is why she didn't seek Nate out or contact him. Her twin wasn't just her brother, he was her best friend...her only friend. So the Blacks stayed away with Meena's encouragement. But that didn't mean Meena didn't feel the pull to her mate. While she had always been a quiet, shy girl, she had become practically mute as time went on.