"Are you sure, this is a good idea? I'm a the vampire girl, remember?" Bella asked Jacob as they pulled up outside the pack house. She felt a little bad about riding off with Jacob when Edward had explicitly asked her not to, but her anger at having been lied to had consumed her thoughts. She knew it was likely he was just worried about her, but she was fed up of everyone treating her like she was glass.

After Edward had stormed out of the canteen, Alice had subtly signalled to Bella that the younger Black sibling had also shifted. Bella hadn't been that surprised considering the strange vibes she had been getting since returning from Italy, but it hurt to know that Edward hadn't told her earlier on when he found out.

She'd immediately texted Jacob that she knew, and that he was to come and pick her back up. Any normal person would have been annoyed at the back and forth, but this was her Jake. He would always drop anything for Bella, and she knew that. Deep down she knew that it was wrong to use him like this whenever she got annoyed at Edward, but a thought in the back of her mind told her that it was okay to love them both.

Before Jacob even had a chance to respond, the front door burst open and barks escaped the boys in front of her as they noticed who was standing on the lawn outside.

"Look who's back!" Embry yelled, a grin on his face as he raised his arms to the sky at the sight of the girl. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't relieved - he was getting fed up of Jake constantly complaining that Bella hadn't spoken to him. 

"Whatup, Bella?"

"Quil, you too?" She asked, shocked at the boys appearance. She hadn't realised that he too had shifted for the first time.

"Yep. Finally made the pack. I'm glad you're here, Bella," he admitted, rolling his eyes as he looked at Embry. "Maybe we can get a break from Jake's obsessive inner monologue."

"'I wish Bella would call'."

"I wish Bella wouldn't call."

"Maybe I should call Bella."

"Maybe I should call Bella and hang up."

"Alright, you can shut up now," Jacob told them all as he watched them roughhouse with each other. It was the most relaxed he had seen any of the pack since Kiara's chaotic shifting a few weeks prior and it was nice to see everyone just getting time to relax. Just as Bella went to say something back, she looked to her left and saw a pissed off Leah Clearwater moving towards them.

Jacob tensed a little as the mood dipped at her appearance, knowing that Leah wouldn't be impressed about Bella being there and about Bella now knowing that Kiara was one of the shifters. Leah was having a hard enough time adjusting to losing her father and Kiara imprinting on the same kind as who killed Harry.

"Bella, this is Leah Clearwater. Harry's daughter," Jacob murmured, a little softer as the guys slowed their play fighting a little. It was clear that there was an obvious dislike between Leah and Jacob, which surprised the Swan as she knew that Leah and Kiara were close friends.

"Hey. I'm really sorry about your father."

"If you're here to torture Jacob some more, feel free to leave," Leah snapped before storming off. The boys all looked around awkwardly for anything to break the ice after her outburst. Bella watched her head off into the woods, a little taken aback at Leah's reaction to her. 

"Fun, isn't she?"

The moment was interrupted by Emily and Sam who had headed outside once they noticed the familiar girl standing on the lawn. Sam shot Jacob a concerned look, aware that something must have happened for Bella to have left school on Kiara's first day back. He wasn't remarkably impressed that Jacob had left Kiara alone at the school but he knew that it was unreasonable to expect Jacob to hang around outside a school he didn't attend all day.

"Bella... Hi. Hey. I was wondering when we'd see your face around here again," Emily said, hugging the girl and smiling at her.

"Sam, we're good?" Jacob checked, knowing that the rest of the guys were off school to double up on patrol since Victoria's surprise. Kiara hadn't been given the luxury - mostly due to the elders not wanting her in their sight at the moment.

"We're good. She won't be getting through our line anytime soon," Sam replied. He lowered his voice as he looked at Jacob with that familiar fatherly look in his eyes when he often spoke about the youngest Black. "She good?"

"I think so," Jacob replied, although he had no idea how his sister was doing. He loved Kie, but she needed to learn to deal with her problems herself. Paul didn't believe Jacob for one moment but one look from Sam told him that he had to just go along with it unless Kiara called them for help. They'd made that agreement.

Sam nodded at the duo, hugging Emily before heading off with the rest of the boys as they went on patrol. Bella and Jacob wished Emily well before slowly walking over to the Black residence as Jacob pushed his bike towards the shed that they'd spent the summer fixing it up in.

"Emily was The One," Jacob explained as Bella asked about why Leah was so upset over Sam and Emily. 

"Yeah, I guess it's sort of chooses you sometimes," Bella blissfully muttered, causing Jacob to roll his eyes a little as she was clearly talking about Edward and her loving a vampire.

"It's more than some crush, Bella. Sam imprinted on Emily."

"Do I want to know what that is?"

"Imprinting on someone is like... Like when you see her, everything changes. All of a sudden, it's not gravity holding you to the planet. It's her. Nothing else matters. You would do anything... Be anything for her," Jacob explained, his voice almost reciting something from memory. Bella furrowed her eyebrows a little, thinking about how the way he worded it almost made it sound like he had been through it.

She felt a little panic flare in her at the thought of Jacob having imprinted on her, which would explain why he was always so protective over her when it came to Edward.

"It sounds like you know the feeling. Have you... imprinted on someone?"

"You'd know if I had," Jacob muttered, a distaste in his mouth as he cursed the gods again for not making him and Bella be soulmates. Him not imprinting on her had always nagged at him, but it just hurt more now that his twin had found her imprint so quickly. "I just have a direct line to Sam and Kie's thoughts."

"Kiara imprinted?"

"Shit," Jacob breathed, realising his mistake as soon as Bella paused in her step. He was aware that Bella had found out that morning that Kiara was a wolf too but he'd just accidentally broken another promise that he had made his sister.

Bella felt her heart drop a little as she noticed the look on Jacob's face as he turned back to look at her, the worry in his eyes. He didn't need to say the name because she had already put the pieces together - from the way Kiara had been avoiding her calls, how Edward had acted when Kiara had flinched at hearing Rosalie's name, how Kiara had stormed out of the canteen.

"Kie imprinted on ROSALIE?"

____

Edward slowly backed away from the clearing as Kiara continued to stare at Rosalie. He knew that his presence there wasn't going to help anything, especially as he knew that Kiara wouldn't be able to hurt Rosalie willingly now.

Rosalie had overheard some of Edward and Kiara's conversation, but she wasn't stupid. She'd heard enough to figure out that Kiara was a wolf. She stared her ex-lover down, unsure what to say to the girl that had avoided her like the plague since the night they had returned for Bella. She'd thought that Kiara had been avoiding her because of what Rosalie was, but standing here she realised that it was the complete opposite.

She didn't need to have heard their conversation to know that Kiara was a shifter now. Her skin looked softer and more tan, while she seemed to have toned out a little. Her hair was the same as always but Rosalie was well aware that she was likely going to cut it soon. She could almost feel the extra warmth from Kiara, and while her scent was still as attractive to Rosalie as ever, she could still feel that distinctive shifter smell.

One more thing was drastically different since Rosalie had seen her in the Swan residence weeks prior and that was the fact that Kiara wasn't wearing a high-necked fleece this time. Rosalie's eyes travelled to where her hoodie had slid a little and revealed the side of her neck that she had been covering up since her attack months prior.

It was maybe too subtle for the humans to see it for what it was, but Rosalie's enhanced eyesight made it very easy for the girl to see where the teeth had ripped into Kiara's skin. She moved forward without thinking, her hand raising to skim over the vampire bite mark on the shifter's neck. Just as her fingers almost glossed over the raised skin, Kiara finally reacted and grabbed on to Rosalie's wrist with a reflex that they both knew the girl hadn't had before.

Rosalie stared into her eyes for a moment, before Kiara dropped her hand and allowed her to lightly touch the mark on her neck. Rosalie could hear the heartbeat increase as she touched the skin, and she knew that hers would have too if it had been able.

"I'm sorry for leaving," Rosalie spoke, Kiara almost flinching as her voice finally broke the soft murmurings of the forest around them. The girl refused to meet Rosalie's eyes as she slowly moved backwards, a brisk feeling of rejection coursing through the vampire as Kiara stepped away from her cold touch.

"I'm sorry too," Kiara said, and the coldness in her tone told Rosalie that she wasn't apologising for what had happened. She wasn't apologising, but she was mourning what could have been. What should have been - had it not been for Bella cutting her finger on that stupid wrapping paper. "I can't be with you."

Rosalie felt like she had been punched in the chest. She had planned out their reunion for so long and envisioned how they'd speak about her leaving then reconcile and everything would be okay - just like how it was for Edward and Bella. She knew it was a delusion, but she hadn't expected that Kiara wouldn't even give them a second chance.

"Kie..."

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" Kiara barked, stepping back and turning away from Rosalie once more, bringing her hands up to run through her hair. She was agitated - but Rosalie knew there was more here than just Kiara being a wolf now. There was a heavy silence as Kiara started to feel herself getting overwhelmed by everything.

If it wasn't Rosalie standing in the clearing with her, Kiara would have shifted. But there was a nagging in the back of her had - that stupid imprint - telling her that shifting would put Rosalie in danger. 

"You can't call me that, not anymore," Kiara spoke, her teeth gritted as she refused to turn back around and look at Rosalie. The blonde had been patient with Kiara but she had a short temper too, and she wasn't willing to let the youngest of the Black family just brush them away like this.

"You KNOW I had to leave," Rosalie said, taking a step forward in anger. "You know what I am - you know what my family is. Jasper almost killed her, Kiara! WE HAD TO GO!"

"YOU COULD HAVE FUCKING TOLD ME!"

Even the forest seemed to go silent at Kiara's yell. She'd spun back around to look at Rosalie, her chest heaving as she finally snapped. The blonde stared back, not surprised at the temper that had just come from Kiara - but surprised that she'd screamed at her. Kiara had never raised her voice at her like that before.

"You left me here," Kiara muttered, her eyes now focused on Rosalie's with a steely look. "And I knew nothing. I didn't know why, I didn't know what you were, I didn't fucking know what that red-headed bitch was when she almost ripped me to shreds in the forest, and I certainly didn't know why Bella was basically catatonic after you left!"

"Kie..."

"STOP!" Kiara yelled, throwing her hands in the hair as Rosalie called her by her nickname again. Her voice lowered to an almost plead as she looked back to Rosalie, the blonde almost being taken aback by the look of pain in her eyes. "Please, stop calling me that."

"I've always called you that."

"Well you can't now," Kiara barked out. There was a pause before the words tumbled out of Kiara's mouth with no control. "I imprinted."

Rosalie sucked in a breath. She had been around long enough to know what imprinting was. The wolves in previous generations had told Carlisle of the phenomenon - just as Carlisle had shared with the elders things about the Cullens in return. Back when it was less hostile between the two sides than it was now.

"Oh," Rosalie breathed out, not knowing what to say. She was almost glad she didn't need her heart because she knew it would have just stopped had she been human. Kiara was the one thing that would have kept it beating after all these years - and she would have been the one to cut the metaphorical LVAD wire. 

She swallowed the venom that she felt pooling in her mouth, the vampire equivalent of needing to be sick. If Kiara hadn't been standing in front of her, she'd have thrown up nothing but bile and venom on the forest floor.

"Are they... are they great?" Rosalie softly murmured, trying to be mature about it.

"Fuck sake," Kiara's voice broke, another reaction that Rosalie wasn't expecting. "You have to make this so fucking hard for me, don't you Rose?"

Rosalie wasn't stupid, but she was so confused. She was just trying to make things easier for them but it seemed like it wasn't what Kiara was wanting from her - even though she had just told her that they couldn't be together.

She wasn't stupid, but she was reckless.

The blonde moved quickly after hearing her nickname, not giving Kiara a minute to think as she grabbed her wrist and twirled her around. Kiara breathed as their noses basically touched, the scent reminding her that the imprint was prominent in that moment. Rosalie didn't smell like the others - she was enticing and warm and like a gentle cinnamon. Kiara knew it would be her favourite smell forever.

Rosalie waited for a moment for Kiara to push her off, or pull away but she didn't. 

Kiara knew it was a mistake as soon as their lips connected - but she couldn't pull away. It was like everything had frozen and nothing else mattered. All of her concerns about rejecting the imprint faded away, all of her concerns about the elders and her father hating her had gone. It was as if Rosalie was the only thing she could think about and feel.

Until it didn't.

A loud howl broke the late afternoon air and Kiara moved backwards from Rosalie as if she had been electrified. Her head tilted in the direction of the howl, her eyes instantly being filled with regret as she realised that kissing Rosalie and allowing herself to feel the touch of her imprint was going to make what she had to do now even more painful for them both.

"Kie..."

"I fucking imprinted on you, Rose."

Silence once more.

"And I'm going to reject it. I can't be with you - I can't be near you."

Before Rosalie had a chance to say anything, an all black wolf, with almost-missable russet patches around the wolf's chest and legs stood in front of her. Rosalie held her breath - out of habit rather than need - as she found herself unable to take her eyes off the creature. She'd always hated the wolves, but her eyes could only find the beauty in Kiara's form.

Without another word, Kiara took off into the forest leaving Rosalie with the realisation that Kiara was going to reject the imprint.

She didn't know what that meant - but she knew it made one thing blatantly obvious: Kiara Black wanted nothing to do with her.

____

"...that explains why she hadn't picked up the phone after all," Beverly was explaining as the rest of the Cullens sat in their living room. Alice and Jasper had arrived back just before Edward, knowing that they had to inform the family of their latest discovery. "She's one of them now."

"I wouldn't be so quick to push the divide," Edward muttered as he entered the room, hanging up his Volvo key as the eyes of his family shot to them. "I don't think we'll be seeing any less of her."

Alice smiled as she clapped her hands, having had a sudden realisation. She had begun to doubt her powers recently, since she hadn't been able to see much of Bella when they were away and how she hadn't been able to see that Kiara was returning to school.

"That's why I've had so many black spots in my visions!" She exclaimed, snapping her fingers as she addressed them all. "Because she's a wolf and wolves block my visions!"

Just as Emmett went to make a sarcastic comment about Alice celebrating during a serious moment, they all looked up as Rosalie stormed into the room. She usually would hang up her car key the way Edward had, but instead she flung it on to the coffee table as she scanned the room until her eyes landed on her biological sister.

"Kiara imprinted," Rosalie told them all, her statement answering their confusion about Edward's strange remark when Beverly had called her 'one of them'. The blonde didn't say anything else as she motioned for her sister to follow her, the black of her irises telling the family that she needed to go hunting and didn't want to do it alone.

Beverly squeezed Emmett's shoulder before following her sister into the forest without hesitation. They remained silent for a moment as Beverly and Rosalie disappeared from view, before Esme let out a deep sigh.

"Oh poor Rose," Esme murmured as she wrapped her arms around Carlisle, thinking about the pain of her daughter finding out that the girl she wanted to spend the rest of her human life with was now attached to another. "She'll hurt to see Kiara with another."

Jasper looked at Edward before shaking his head, having understood enough of the emotions in the room to piece together the puzzle.

"I don't think that's the case," the quiet vampire replied, looking to Edward for confirmation.

"Kiara imprinted on Rosalie," Edward confirmed, causing some gasps to go around the room. Just as Jasper felt some of the others in the room have hope and joy at the news, he noticed the way Edward grimaced once more. "I don't know for sure... but I think Kiara is trying to reject the imprint."

"Can she even do that?"

"If she can, it'll be immense pain," Carlisle replied, worry lacing his voice as he thought about it. "I haven't heard of a Quileute being able to do that before. Either they've never tried or..."

"...or those that have tried, didn't survive."

_____

"Hey," Kiara breathed as she jogged over to where others in the pack were gathered. They all noticed how she faltered in her step as she noticed the familiar brunette girl that was standing pressed against her brother. "Bella."

"Kiara," Bella replied, not sure what to say the girl now that everything was in the open. 

Leah huffed, crossing her arms over her chest as she glared at Jacob and Bella. She liked to make her distaste obvious and she wasn't particularly impressed that Bella was here while they were having an emergency pack gathering.

"What's going on?" Kiara asked, Leah's huff reminding her of the urgent howl that she had picked up. One of the wolves must have been close to the school - not that the thought surprised her since she expected Sam would have sent one of them to check up on her at the end of the school day anyway.

She didn't wait for a response as she followed Sam and Paul's scent, moving towards the front door of her house despite everyone else telling her to just wait while the two men looked around the house. She ignored them, Jacob hot on her heels as he muttered on about how everything was fine and nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

"What the fuck is going on?" Kiara asked as Sam and Paul seemed to be having a panicked conversation in her and Jacob's kitchen, both of them sighing as they realised that the others had failed at keeping Kiara out of the house.

Before either of them could answer, a sickly sweet smell hit her nostrils. Her stomach turned a little and she knew instantly what it was - albeit not who. Her shoulders shook a little as she instantly became overwhelmed with emotions, causing Paul to move swiftly forward and place his hands on either side of her face and bring her eyes back to his.

"Breathe," he spoke, running a hand across the top of her head as he pulled her against his chest to get her to calm down. "Everyone is fine, we called your dad already and he said they're all good. Whoever it was, they're long gone now."

"It must have been hours ago - the scent is faint," Sam replied, looking to Jacob with a nod as Kiara's brother continued to explain the situation.

"I wouldn't have even noticed if Bella hadn't needed a glass of water - I didn't catch it until I was in here," Jacob replied, causing Kiara to furrow her eyebrows as she looked around at the boys as if they were stupid.

"What do you mean 'it's faint'? It's clear as day to me," Kiara growled back, not sure if they were playing with her or not.

"And me," Leah spoke up, having entered the house and causing Sam to throw his hands up as he realised that everyone was ignoring what he had asked them to do. He didn't use his alpha command powers unless it was necessary and he had just expected that they all would have respected him enough to just stay outside.

The boys all looked confused as Kiara and Leah nodded in solidarity with each other. They'd known that Leah had a better nose than the rest of them but it surprised them that Kiara seemingly had the same natural talent. They were all speechless as they watched Kiara turn on her heel and head towards her room.

She stood in the doorway of the room for a second before she turned back around to look at where the others were peering at her front the kitchen. Her eyes were a little glossy as she held back a tear at the sudden weight of the situation falling on her.

"They've been in my room."

______

"Victoria?" Bella asked Jacob as they stood outside Sam and Emily's house. Jacob shook his head as he crossed his arms over his chest as he tried to ignore the soft sounds of his sisters sniffles from inside the house.

After they'd came to the conclusion that a vampire had been in their house - and Kiara's room - while the Black siblings were at school and their dad was on a fishing trip, Sam had made the decision to send everyone except the twins on patrol for the rest of the evening.

"No, we'd recognise it - especially Kiara," Jacob told her before they began to walk to Jacob's truck that was still parked outside from earlier. "I don't know who it is but we haven't crossed paths before, that's for sure."

"It wouldn't be Rosalie... would it?" Bella asked although she knew the answer. Jacob's eyes darkened at the suggestion that a Cullen had been in his house without his knowledge but he also knew that Kiara was currently attempting to do the one thing that no Quileute had ever done successfully.

"No," he replied without any further conversation. "I should take you home, before it gets dark. I'm sure your bloodsucker will be worried."

Bella didn't say anything. Jacob might not be blaming her for all of this, but deep down she knew that it wasn't the Cullens that had fucked up Kiara's life - it was Bella's involvement with them that had.