02

*＊✿❀❀✿＊*Chapter Two: Barbecue*＊✿❀❀✿＊*

Jules had all day to plan what she was going to where for the barbecue that night, but did she actually spend the day doing that? Of course not. What she actually spent her Saturday doing was getting lost in her new (well, new to her) Jack Reacher book. Written by Lee Child, the story was called 'Killing Floor'. Jules had stumbled across it accidentally one day at the local bookstore and thought 'why not?'. Anyway, that was how she spent her Saturday.

It wasn't until a message came up on her phone from Sam stating the time that he would pick her up, did Jules see that she only had an hour to get ready. And, of course, within that hour, she had to finish her current chapter and bookmark it so really, she only had around 50 minutes.

Jules practically jumped in the shower, rushing slightly to wash her hair and her body, careful to not take too long as she was conscious of how long she could take in the shower without even meaning to. Then, she blow-dried and straightened her hair which was another whole seven minutes. Thankfully, her light makeup didn't take her very long. She noticed that she had 12 minutes until Sam was due to pick her up so she practically threw on the first dress she saw, not bothering with tights because it was actually quite warm, even by Forks' standards. She paired her dress with black-strapped sandals and had just finished putting them on before she heard the doorbell go. Jules grabbed her black, leather jacket off her wardrobe and her phone off her bed before running downstairs to the door. She took a second to compose herself before opening it to Sam.

Just as he'd promised himself, Sam had been to speak with the Elders so he now knew that he had Imprinted on Jules. He had been told that he was now tethered to her for life, and she would supersede every decision he ever made. He would love her unconditionally, in whichever capacity she chose, be it a friend, brother, or lover. As she was his Imprint, Sam had been permitted to tell her about the nature of his being and of course, the bond itself. It was up to him to tell her. He hoped to do it tonight, not wanting to waste a second of her not knowing everything about him.

When Jules opened the door, Sam held onto whatever bit of air he could before she took it all out of him. He knew that she was pretty. Even yesterday in jogging bottoms and a hoodie, she was pretty. But today, she was wearing a light-blue sundress, which came to just above her knees. She wasn't wearing tights, allowing Sam to see (but try and not stare at) her bare legs. She also wore very light, natural makeup, only enhancing her natural beauty. She looked ethereal.

Sam cleared his throat.

"Hi," he greeted, gently.

"Hey, yourself," Jules replied. "All good to go?"

"All systems go," he let out a breathy chuckle, eliciting a warm smile from Jules. He waited for her to turn and lock the door, before motioning for her to lead the way to his car. "You look stunning, by the way."

"Thank-you," Jules blushed. "Not too bad yourself," she returned as she took in his appearance and smiled at how comfy he looked in his grey hoodie.

Sam opened the passenger side door for her, just as he had the previous day, before getting in next to her. The drive down to La Push was.. nice. It sounds too neutral a word, but that's what it was. Just nice, easy conversation, sometimes interspersed with singing and tapping along to whatever came on the radio.

Time passed by too quickly for the pair's liking as it felt like mere minutes before Sam had put his car into park. He quickly got out and jogged around the other side to open the passenger side's door, eliciting a soft 'thank-you' from Jules.

Jules was pulled away from Sam the second she stepped onto the beach. Arms wrapped themselves around her and she was lifted slightly off the ground before she could even blink. She knew who it was by the sound of his laugh and so she hugged him back just as tightly.

"I heard about Bella," were Jacob's first words to her. "I'm sorry, JJ."

"Thanks, Jake," Jules managed a half smile. "I knew we weren't as close as we used to be but I thought I at least deserved a goodbye."

"You did," Jacob affirmed. "That's a real crappy thing to do." Jules stifled a chuckle and Jacob grinned, not liking seeing his best-friend upset. "I didn't know if you'd be coming," Jacob continued, spinning them around and wrapping a comfortable arm around Jules' shoulders as they walked toward the large group in front of the bonfire. "When my dad pulled up and only Charlie was there.."

"You really don't know me if you'd think I'd even dream of missing a Quileute barbecue." The two friends laughed at that.

Once the pair drew nearer, people started to recognise that Jules had arrived and so began to greet her. She sought out her dad's best-friends first — Harry Clearwater and Billy Black — as she was obviously the closest with them. Once she'd spent some time with her honorary uncles, Jules made the rounds and greeted all of her friends. Sam was honestly astonished that this girl seemed to know everyone, all of his friends (or, at least, those who used to be his friends), and yet he could truthfully say that he had never come across her before. If he had, he could say with absolute confidence that Imprint Bond or not, he would've thought Juliana Swan was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen.

"You need to tell her," Harry Clearwater said after a while of watching Sam watching Jules. "We told you what it'll do to you if you don't. To her." Sam nodded but didn't say a word. Harry continued, "I know it's a difficult thing to tell someone, but she's your fated soulmate."

"I know," Sam said quietly. "I planned on telling her tonight."

"What's stopping you?" Harry quizzed. "The longer you wait, the harder it'll be," he reminded, and that was the final push Sam needed to get up off his ass and head towards her.

Jules was laughing with Embry and Jared, some shared joke between them that Sam couldn't begin to understand even if he wanted to. It got quieter between the three and the two boys excused themselves just as Sam made his way over.

"Anyone'd think you're the black sheep or something," Jules giggled when she and Sam were face-to-face.

"Can we talk, Jules?" All playfulness was wiped from Jules' face as she noted his tone. The brunette simply nodded, and she took Sam's outstretched arm as he guided her away to a more secluded area of the beach. Eventually, they slowed and stopped, and Sam turned to her.

"What is it, Sam?" Jules asked, confused as to why they had to be this far from the others.

"Do you trust me?" Was his question.

"Sam, I.."

He repeated, "do you trust me?"

"Yes," Jules responded quietly, not too surprised with her own response. "Sam, what's going on?"

"I don't even know how to start," Sam confessed.

Albeit confused, Jules could see whatever this was, was hard for him to say, so she smiled at him, "start at the beginning."

"Maybe I should just show you first. I need you to keep an open mind, can you do that?" Jules nodded wordlessly. "Okay." He took a deep breath. Without warning, Sam took Jules into the forest behind them. Sam placed Jules at least five feet away from her. "Stay there. Please." Feeling sick with confusion, Jules still just nodded.

To save material, Sam removed his shirt (it took all of Jules' self-restraint to not simply stare at his perfectly sculpted chest) and his shoes. Jules parted her lips to speak, but was suddenly cut short when she saw Sam literally begin to shake and in the blink of an eye, Sam was gone. In his place, stood a large, black wolf. If Jules hadn't've seen it with her own eyes, she would never have believed it. The brunette started to pinch herself, but deep down she knew that this was real. Jules took a step back, not out of fear it seemed but what registered more as awe.

The wolf was a gorgeous beast. Large with a jet-black, thick coat of fur. Jules could see his eyes from here and all she felt was calm. Impossibly, the wolf was Sam. Sam was the wolf.

The wolf stayed very still where it was, waiting for her to come to him. So, she did. Slowly, Jules took a couple of steps before her confidence grew and she was by the wolf's side before she knew it. She outstretched a hand to run it through his fur. The wolf made a low groan, as if this small stroke of fur was pleasurable for him.

Jules and the wolf stayed like that for a couple of minutes, before he backed away from her and manoeuvred his way behind a tree. Jules furrowed her brows in confusion for all but 2.7 seconds, when Sam in human form emerged from behind the tree, a new pair of shorts on.

Sam made his way towards Jules hesitantly. "Was that too much? I'm sorry, I didn't know how to tell you without showing you. I.."

"Sam," Jules cut him off, a small, affectionate smile dancing across her lips, "you're okay. I don't think I would've believed it if you hadn't've shown me, to be honest."

"Are you afraid?" Sam asked with trepidation in his voice.

Jules scoffed playfully, "of you?" Her chuckles quickly died when she took note of the scared expression on his face. Jules took a step towards Sam, and wrapped her arms around his middle. Sam clearly wasn't expecting it, as it took him a couple of seconds before hugging her back. "I could never be afraid of you, Sam."

Eventually, Sam pulled back. He laughed. Jules shot him a look of confusion when he said, "believe it or not, that was the easy part."

"There's more than you turning into a literal wolf?!" Jules exclaimed incredulously, laughing to herself in disbelief at Sam's nod. "Fuck it, why not. Lay it on me."

"Have you ever heard of 'imprinting'?"

"Yeah," Jules nodded, "it's where wolf cubs imprint on their parents to learn from and adapt to their behaviours, simply because of the fact that the cub respects them. You mean to say that you do that too?"

"Something like that," Sam nodded. "But instead of just imprinting on others like us, we can imprint on humans too. If we do, our Imprint becomes our entire world. It's like.. gravity isn't holding us to the world anymore, it's them."

"That sounds.. intense," Jules whispered out slowly as she pieced together the jigsaw in her head. "You're telling me because you imprinted," Sam simply nodded, "on me?" Sam nodded in response to her question.

"I know it's a lot," Sam said, not quite understanding the look in her eyes but assuming that she was overwhelmed. "I just.. I didn't want us to become friends without you knowing."

"Yeah, no, I, uh.. thank-you for telling me," was Jules' response. It was quiet for a couple seconds. "So," Jules broke the silence, "what exactly does this mean?"

"Whatever you want it to," Sam responded earnestly. "I am bound to you for life. Be it by your side, or keeping a protective eye on you from a distance. It's your choice, and only yours."

"That's not fair," Jules decided. "You should get a say. It's your life, too." Sam shrugged nonchalantly as if to say 'this is just the way it goes'. "Right now, all I know is that I like having you around."

"Right now," he responded, "that's all that matters."