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SEVEN; DESTINY LIES WITH YOU

JACOB WAS GROWING very worried about his imprint. Imogen had collapsed on the ground after discovering Jacob's transformation, and after he shifted back and rushed to her side, she was currently sitting still, blankly staring straight ahead.

"Imogen? Please, say something. The silence is killing me," he murmured, trying to balance the back of her head in his hands without scaring her.

She suddenly jolted at the contact and stood up, avoiding Jacob's hefty gaze. "Um, I have to go. My shift starts in a few, and I really cannot miss it," she stuttered out, struggling to pick up her bag off the floor.

Jacob frowned, rising to his feet. She still refused to look him in the eye. "Im, I know you're scared-"

"Scared?" She laughed drily. "No, no, why would I be scared? It's not like the guy I've been getting to know for these past few months suddenly just turned into this giant animal or anything. No! That would be crazy."

She continued to laugh in small intervals, causing him to become more and more worried by her state of mind. He placed his hands on her shoulders and lifted her chin up so that she could look at him. Her bottom lip was trembling and Jacob was unsure about what to do.

In her mind, Imogen couldn't stop thinking. She had been running through every memory she possessed with Jacob, trying to spot moments where she could have seen this coming.

Who was she kidding? What kind of person is supposed to predict that people transform into werewolves?

"Imogen, tell me what you're thinking. Let me help you understand," he whispered. He was surely doing insane things to her heart — it was beating faster than it ever has before.

"I really have to make my shift, Jake," she spoke softly, not taking her eyes away from his. He was pulling her into some kind of trance and she had no idea how to break his spell.

He frowned and dropped his hands back to his sides. "Alright. I hope to see you later, then?"

"Yeah, yeah," she nodded, but she could hear the hesitation in her voice.

After Jacob let her leave, Imogen was walking at a rapid pace to Mr. Wok's. It was a far walk, considering she wasn't willing to spend another second with Jacob by allowing him to drive her to work.

As she listened to her feet crunch the twigs laying on the forest ground, she was still trying to grasp the events of the day. She was unsure if she was ready to open the door to the supernatural. Her curiosity was surely swallowing her whole, but she couldn't afford to be entertained by such ideas. She was leaving for college soon, and Jacob just threw an obstacle in her plan.

She still had numerous questions looming in her mind — did Bella already know? Why did Jacob choose to tell her? Were all those boys from La Push wolves like Jacob?

She understood that obtaining the answers to these questions would be easier if she simply asked the source itself, but she couldn't find it in herself to face Jacob again. The thought of him being an enigma to her world, a fantasy that people write about was so frightening to her.

She was entering the unknown, and Imogen usually liked to know what was going on.

As she pinned her name tag to her shirt, she shook her head and smiled at her first customer of the day.

She would figure this wolf stuff later — first, she needed to funnel more money into her college fund.

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Jacob had been stressing himself out since Imogen left him. He returned to Emily's house with a heavy heart, and the pack grimaced at his expression. He observed as Embry slowly slipped Jared a dollar.

"Didn't work out well, champ?" Emily asked.

Sam sighed. He knew it would be more difficult for Imogen to become adjusted to the news. She had not grown up listening to the tribe legends, so therefore, she had never been exposed to these kinds of stories. She was experiencing all of this for the first time, and maybe Jacob should have eased into it better.

Jacob groaned and took a seat next to Paul. Bella was still standing in the corner, staring worriedly at him. Now that she understood Jacob's side of the story, she felt troubled by her friend's struggle in obtaining Imogen's heart. Bella knew the girl was stubborn in every aspect, but she saw the spark Imogen held with Jacob.

"She hates me," Jacob mumbled as he hung his head in his hands. "She hates me, she hates me, she hates me."

"Don't be so ridiculous, Jake," Embry chuckled. "Imogen probably just needs some time to recover."

"You did mention to her that she cannot tell anyone else about our secret, right?" Sam questioned in his alpha voice.

Jacob winced. "It didn't particularly make an appearance."

"Jacob!"

"I'm sorry, okay! She kept saying she had to go to work and she wouldn't listen to me. I wanted to explain everything to her, but she wouldn't have any of it. She just wanted to leave," Jacob revealed. "She hates me now, I'm sure of it."

"Wait a minute," Jared interjected, leaning across the table. "Did you tell her about the tribe legends first or did you skip straight to phasing?"

"Um, well, she kind of figured out the stories about the Cullen family." Bella visibly flinched at Jacob's statement. "I just thought she could put the pieces together from there. She's an extremely smart girl, you know-"

"Jesus, Jacob," Paul rolled his eyes. "She's not Inspector Gadget. For this kind of stuff, you have to spell it out for her."

"For once, I agree with Paul," Embry mumbled through a mouth full of food.

"Maybe try and take a calmer approach," Emily suggested. "Give her time. Let her come to you instead of ambushing her again. She'll realize how strong the imprint is in due time, Jake."

Sam offered Emily a soft smile. She returned it and pressed a kiss to his lips.

Jacob internally vomited at the sight.

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Spring Break was utterly miserable. Instead of spending all of her time hanging out with Angela and Ben, Imogen insisted she fell ill and spent every minute in bed unless she was at work. Her parents were worried by her introvert state, usually having their daughter out of the house during every moment of the free weeks.

Imogen couldn't stop wondering about werewolves. She had done plenty of research, and read up on a lot of tribe legends. However, no matter how much her heart reached out for him, she still had not contacted Jacob. Luckily, the boy received the hint and cut off contact with her until she was ready for him.

Bella had been over to the house a few times, but each time, Imogen begged her mother to tell Bella she was incredibly sick.

On the Saturday before school began again, the doorbell rang throughout Imogen's house. Unfortunately, her parents were both out, taking a trip down to Port Angeles for lunch.

Her heart stopped when she saw Jacob behind the door. He immediately began speaking before she could comprehend his presence.

"Hi, I'm sorry that I'm here, Emily said I should be giving you your space and everything but I couldn't help myself. I miss you and I needed to know if you were alright. Are you okay? Did I completely fuck up your life? I'm sorry, I-"

"Jake," she spoke quietly, almost so quiet that Jacob didn't catch it. "I'm fine. Emily was right — I just needed some time to think. You kind of threw a lot at me, and I needed to figure out how I was going to handle it."

He nodded. "Can I come in?"

She opened the door wider to let him step inside. They settled themselves on the living room couch, and Jacob observed her current state.

She didn't look ill like Bella claimed her to be — she just looked incredibly gorgeous. She was breathtaking, and her beauty was testing Jacob's patience. All he wanted to do was take her in his arms and kiss her.

"I guess I'll tell you what's been going through my mind," Imogen started. Jacob was completely attentive. "At first, I was unsure if I wanted to bring this new information into my life. I thought about completely ignoring you, and forgetting about this secret you've shared with me."

He frowned at the thought of Imogen erasing him from her life completely.

"However, my curiosity got the better of me. I read up about these tribe legends that run through La Push. It's odd — the whole time I lived in La Push, I never heard about these selected few who are chosen to protect the land but now, I have one seated right in front of me.

"My heart was so torn, Jake. I don't know exactly what you've done to me. I think you put me in some sort of enchantment because my heart keeps shouting for you, but my mind keeps telling me that it's a bad idea. This whole werewolf thing — will it put me in danger since I know?"

He shook his head and took her hands in his. "Imogen, I'm not going to let anything happen to you. I will protect you for the rest of my life, I promise."

"See?" She exclaimed suddenly. She tore her hands away from his. "You keep saying things like this to me! You're playing this dangerous game with my heart, which is so wrong because you like Bella-"

"I don't like Bella!" He protested. "Imogen, Bella has never been the one. It's you, it's only you."

"How could you ever like me? My life is a train wreck, overpriced, horribly produced circus act. I don't think you'd like to know all the gruesome details, Jacob."

"How many times do I have to prove to you that you're the one I need, Imogen? I don't want or need Bella. It's you, you're all I need," he whispered.

She shook her head and scoffed. "I'm holding you to that."

"Everything I say is true, Im. I'm not lying to you, and I'm sorry that I ever made you feel inferior to Bella when it came to my feelings. My whole life revolves around you now, and you have to believe that it's true."

"So what changed your mind about me then?" She challenged, folding her arms across her chest. "What made your feelings suddenly drift from Bella to me? Why do I need to know about your secret?"

He gulped. He had been preparing this speech for a week, and he should have it memorized by heart now. When he looked into Imogen's eyes, however, his breath hitched in his throat and he struggled to remember what he was supposed to say.

"Well, Imogen, there are these people called imprints. And, um-" He was growing incredibly nervous under Imogen's stare. "And you're mine. And-"

She blinked and held up her hand to stop him. "Imprint? As in 'marking your territory?' As in, you've claimed me as yours?" She inquired with the raise of her eyebrow, speaking of the literal definition of imprint. "Jacob, I hate to break it to you, but the only person I submit to is myself."

"No, no, no," he quickly rejected. "No, of course I'm not saying you're my property or anything. The elders believe that us wolves have imprints because they are our soulmates, the people we will spend our lives with forever."

She blinked again. "I'm sorry. Are you telling me that you're my soulmate? That my destiny lies with you?"

Don't get her wrong, Imogen loves her share of romantic novels. Her heart always swells when the slow burn couple finally realize their affection for one another and begin a relationship, but this situation was far from her romantic fantasy.

How could she be destined to spend the rest of her life with Jacob Black? She had met the boy merely a few months ago, and now, he was telling her that they were supposed to spend the rest of their lives together?

He swallowed. "Yes, technically. I mean, you can deny the imprint if you want to. I can simply just be your friend, I don't necessarily have to be your romantic partner."

"Jacob, you're throwing so much at me all at once," Imogen spoke, feeling like the air was closing in on her. "How am I supposed to handle this information?"

He frowned. "I don't mean to become such a burden to your life, Im. I promise I'm trying to make this as easy for you as I can, but this is also the first time I'm experiencing any of this. I have never wanted to be around one person so much, and it's consuming my whole life. You can't possibly tell me you don't feel that pull."

He was correct — she could feel the tugging of her heartstrings when she was away from Jacob. Just being in his presence at the moment, without even touching him, her mind was at ease with her heart.

"Just explain to me this — how long have you known that I was your imprint?"

He glanced at her. "The day you came to my house because you were upset about me ignoring both you and Bella. When I looked into your eyes, Im, my whole world shifted. I felt like I've been sleeping until you woke me up."

"And if I leave, if I go to college far from here, what will happen to you? What will happen to us?"

"If Sam lets me, I'll follow you to the ends of the earth if that's what you wish for. I promise my whole heart to you, Imogen, if you'll accept it."

She stared at him. She saw this impressively built boy who captured her heart that day she met him in his garage. Even though his eyes were always trained on Bella, her eyes had always drifted to him. Her parents taught her that education comes first, and everything else comes after, including love.

But as she gazed at Jacob now, all she wanted was him. He was publicly declaring his devotion for her, and Imogen had never felt so loved.

She decided to listen to her heart for once. She pushed her parents' expectations aside, and remembered that sometimes, she had to put herself first. How many times was she going to have some guy tell her that he's the love of her life, and he would follow her anywhere as long as she was happy with him?

She leaned over to press her lips to Jacob's. He jumped at the sudden connection, but he returned the kiss with as much fervor. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close to him.

Kissing Jacob was like a breath of fresh air. She felt brand new, as if she was suddenly granted a chance to restart her life. She felt wholeheartedly complete, and Imogen believed she had never felt this way, and that nobody had ever made her feel this way.

When they pulled apart, Jacob had the goofiest grin painted on his face.

"Does this mean that you're accepting the imprint?"

She rolled her eyes. "I still have plenty of questions for you to answer, Black. Don't think I'm letting you off the hook."

"Can't wait," he grinned, leaning down to press another fervent kiss to her lips.

i love lana condor i'm so glad she's beginning to receive all the love and attention she deserves <3