★★★★★

EPILOGUE

     IMPRINTING WAS EVERYTHING Blaire expected it to be. She had loved Embry before, of course, but their connection only strengthened once Blaire looked into his eyes for the first time as a wolf.

     Becoming a shapeshifter had its pros and cons, and the cons usually outweighed the pros. She was devastated that she couldn't leave La Push, but was happy that she proved her father wrong.

     The war with the newborn vampires was over. Blaire was rested, even though Sam insisted she take regular patrol shifts. Embry covered for her and she couldn't thank him enough.

     Her mind would always wander. What would her future be like if she didn't have the shapeshifting gene? Would she really have the courage to leave her hometown and her soulmate? But Blaire didn't know the answer herself. She had come to realize that dreams were a sacrifice. Not everyone got the happy ending they deserved, and Blaire should be grateful that she got any happy ending in the first place.

     "Bear, come inside. Billy's firing up the grill," Embry spoke softly. He watched his girlfriend from her position, which was sitting on a pile of leaves. He noticed Blaire had been more mute lately, but she wasn't sad. She probably felt empty because after all, a dream she had chased after had slipped away so easily. "I can try to save you some burgers, but you know how Paul gets."

     "Be right there," she chorused back. However, her eyes were still dull as she stared at the height of the trees surrounding her.

     There was a loud sigh before Embry sat next to her. He kissed her temple gently. "Something on your mind, Bear?"

     "Just thinking," she breathed. She could hear Embry's heartbeat so clearly, as if it was her only lifeline. Imprinting meant so much more to her, and she relied on Embry more than she ever thought she would. The pack was only slightly irritated — they now had to deal with multiple sets of couples constantly thinking about their partner in their minds.

     Embry tried his best to hold his thoughts back because he didn't want anyone else knowing the intimacy him and Blaire shared. Blaire's mind was usually focused on the environment around her so no one else could peer into her mind. Dahlia and Leah weren't so concerned about annoying the rest of the pack. Their thoughts were loud, and it made Blaire get a headache by the end of her run.

     "Thinking about what?"

     He watched the rise and fall of her chest. He could clearly tell there was something missing from his imprint, as if someone had taken a part of her and swallowed it whole. "Victoria. The fight."

     The pack threw a party as soon as they returned home. They celebrated Blaire's phasing, along with Victoria's defeat. Seth boasted loudly about how he witnessed Blaire in action, and how awesome it really was. As a ritual, the next day, Blaire got a major haircut and a tribal tattoo. She didn't enjoy her chopped locks very much, but Embry repeated on multiple occasions that he loved it.

     "Come on, Bear. I know you better than that."

     Blaire sighed, knowing he would see right through her. He sensed her discomfort and kissed her forehead. "If you still want to leave, we can. Sam will understand eventually."

     "And your mom? Dahlia? Caleb?"

     "I'm sure they'd be happy that we're happy," he whispered, hands meddling around with the ring on her finger. "After all, I made the promise that I would make you happy, didn't I?"

     "I promised Dahlia I would stay."

     Embry scoffed. "Bullshit. When Dahlia made you promise that, she didn't realize Leah would reciprocate her feelings. Now that that drama is over with, she won't care. Bet she won't even remember it."

     She laid her head on his lap, and he gently ran his fingers through her hair. She was chewing on her bottom lip. "What's Sam's theory again? Imprinting happens so that we have the best chance of reproducing?"

     "Blaire," Embry shook his head sternly. "We aren't jumping into this discussion again."

     The first night back home after phasing, Blaire's mind couldn't seem to stop racing. She was thinking of what being a shifter meant to her, and the consequences she would face. Her train of thought led her to the theory widely known of by Leah, who believed that she was now barren, and so was every other female shifter. A female shifter's menstrual cycle stops by the time they phase, which brought along Leah's idea.

     The obstacle was no challenge for Leah and Dahlia because unfortunately, a male partner was needed in order to reproduce. Blaire, however, was plagued with this sudden decision that she could no longer have a child of her own.

     This caused a rift between her and Embry, even though the boy persisted that it wasn't much of a big deal to him. But they both knew that having children was a big part of their life. Embry, at the moment, hated the way the idea plagued over Blaire. She was overcome with the thought of not having a child of her own that it was slowly eating her up, day by day.

     "But shouldn't we talk about it?" Blaire whispered, craning her neck to look at him. "You want to run away together and start a life, but doesn't that life involve children of our own?"

     "Embry, Blaire!" Kim called out in the dark, wondering where the two had stalked off to. "Food's almost gone!"

     "Let's go," Embry prodded, nudging his girlfriend to stand. They began their walk back to Jacob's house, hands interlocked. "Besides, if everything doesn't work out, we can always adopt. There's always a kid who needs parents to take care of him." His lips ghosted over her hair, sighing contently.

     Once they arrived, there was one burger left on the picnic table, and Paul was itching to grab it. He sunk in defeat when Blaire took it from his reach. Although her stomach could now hold anything she stuffed down, she was never as hungry as her other pack members. More importantly, she was never as hungry as Paul.

     She took a seat next to Jacob, exhaling. Lately, Jacob had been more upset by Bella's decision to choose Edward. Nothing had been set in stone yet, but the pack was taking precautions in case Jacob's lid slid off.

     "How are you holding up, champ?" She asked, elbowing his side.

     The Black's garden was filled with numerous people from the reservation. Most of them were pack members and their families, while some were invitations from school. Paul was responsible for the majority of those invitations, seeing as the lovestruck teenage girls were practically drooling over him.

     "Good, I guess."

     Jacob's arm had healed the day after the fight, but Blaire remembered his loud curses and screams when Carlisle was re-breaking his bones so they could heal correctly. Now, the only thing that was still broken was his heart.

     "Thompsen," Paul whistled. Both Blaire and Dahlia sneered at him. "Have a nice talk with your boyfriend?"

     Embry's fists clenched. "Paul, if you want to keep your arm, I suggest you shut your mouth."

     Paul's eyebrow raised. "Is that a challenge, Call?"

     The girls Paul invited were definitely listening now. Sam walked by, whacking both of them on the back of their heads. "Knock it off," he warned.

     Blaire sighed, laying her head on Embry's chest. His arm wrapped around her, kissing her temple. She closed her eyes, wishing that when she opened them, her life would be different.

     Maybe she would finally be happy in an alternate universe.

blaire!! deserves!! better!! why did i write this story with so much angst blaire deserves better than that smh