And So The Lamb Became the Wolf

It All Disappears When You Imprint

"Who else is there? Aside from Leah."

"Um." Bella thought about it. Sam hadn't commanded Bella not to talk to her dad, so she could theoretically say whatever she wanted. "Basically, the Quileute's."

"Wow. Okay." Bella looked up. Charlie looked serious, but he seemed to be taking it all well. "You're telling me that a boy I watched grow up his entire life turns into a giant dog-wolf?"

"I am telling you exactly that."

Charlie's composure cracked. He jumped up, forgetting his broken leg. He fell back into the chair. "Wow. Wow." He tipped out of his chair and landed flat on his back. He slid into an upright position against the cabinets on the ground. "Alright. This is no big deal."

Bella's eyebrows went up as a small smile slid across her face. "No big deal?"

"No big deal. Help me get my ass off the floor." Bella got up and hauled Charlie off the floor. "Is this why you're suddenly huge?"

"Isn't it rude to comment about a woman's weight?" Charlie's exasperated look told Bella now wasn't the time for joking. "Yeah, that's right. It happens to all of us."

"So, what's happening to you?" Charlie waved his hand towards Bella, trying to indicate her pale face, her sweaty forehead, and her nonstop throwing up. "Is it a wolf disease?"

Bella put her head down on her arms. "Sort of? Not quite."

"Explain." Bella growled at the demand. "I know you're not growling at your father while he calmly accepts that you're a wolf surrounded by supernatural creatures."

The growl stopped short. "No, definitely not." Bella paused. She didn't know exactly how to explain imprinting. "You know how people say they've found their soulmates?" Bella finally lifted her head off the table to look at Charlie. His eyes darted towards the living room, where Bella knew there was a photo of he and Renee on their wedding day. He nodded. "For the wolves that isn't a figure out speech. We lock eyes with our soulmates for the first time after the change, and that's it. We know. We know that they were destined for us, and we for them. We're to be together forever."

"So, you found your soulmate, but it makes you sick?"

Bella shook her head. "No. I found my soulmate and she rejected me. That's never happened to any wolf before me. No one gets rejected by their soul mate."

"So, who is it? Rosalie?"

"Yeah."

"Bad date?" Charlie's brow furrowed, like talking about dating was far more uncomfortable than talking about his daughter being a wolf.

"No. No, it was a really good date." Tremors wracked Bella, and she thought she might throw up again. She took a deep breath. "The next day though, she said it was all a mistake. She hadn't meant to get mixed up with me, I guess."

"You can't move on?"

Bella gave Charlie a half-hearted smile accompanied by a shrug. "It doesn't work this way. She can walk away from this, and I just can't. I only think of her. It makes me sick to be far from her, but it would hurt even more to be close to her and not close with her. I've even been skipping class," Bella added sheepishly.

"Well that sounds like a bad choice. Why don't you do something for her? Grand gesture?"

"Like what?"

"I don't know kiddo. I obviously missed my grand gesture stage when your mom left and I didn't follow. You came back, and I want to see you happy. I can't watch you waste away." He sighed, like what he was about to say was painful. "Do you want me to, I don't know, go talk to her? Tell her you're a good person and she's missing out, or something?"