Mine
Chapter One:
Bella's POV:
I stared down at my burning hand, red and raw from the slap I had just delivered. I hissed out in pain, seething with anger- wasn't a hit supposed to be more painful if you were on the receiving end? I gritted my teeth and willed the water out of my eyes. Raising my line of vision up to what was once a mocking smirk, but had now contorted into a venomous scowl, I took a cautious step backwards. A low, feral growl sounded out, shaking me to my very core. Continuing to look up, I took in his strong jaw, straight nose and pronounced cheekbones. For a split second I lost myself in his in beauty, in the chiselled lines of his face and the smooth caramel colour of his skin. But then a second growl echoed throughout the small clearing, even more terrifying than the first, and my eyes instantly snapped up to meet his.
For seconds that felt like hours, my whole world was the deep, rich, brown colour of his eyes. Goosebumps travelled along my arms and up the back of my neck, causing me to shiver with an emotion that I didn't quite recognise. For the first time in months, not a single part of me was focused on the agonising hole in my chest. In fact, it was as if staring into the boy's eyes was some kind of miracle pain relief, or as if they were sucking up all of my troubles and destroying them with one long, smouldering stare. Not a coherent thought ran through my brain, but one thing my body and mind could agree on was this: I wanted more of him, I wanted to be near him. I was almost about to give into that raging desire when a muffled voice broke me out of my reverie.
"Now she's done it."
The third and final growl was by far the loudest, but different compared to the others. It sounded like he was announcing something rather than presenting a warning or threat. The following minute passed by in such a blur that I had trouble putting it all together:
Sam Uley's eyes flashed with an emotion that wasn't far off fear, and he ran towards me quicker than I could blink.
Within seconds I was on the floor, his abnormally warm hand cradling my head before it could hit the hard dirt ground.
Peering through the crack between Sam's ridiculously muscled arm and torso, I spotted a flash of light grey fur. That certainly caught my attention.
Awoken by all of the noise, Jacob ran out of his bedroom and took in the whole scene. "Don't you hurt her!" He yelled, then continued to run towards us, eyes set on one particular target.
I wanted to shout at Jake to stop, to not hurt him… whoever he was. But you can imagine my surprise when my best friend leapt over a stray log and transformed into a massive wolf mid-air. The same wolf I had seen in the clearing when Laurent had been so very close to making a meal out of me.
So I had been right. The secret that Jacob was forbidden to tell me was what I had suspected- they were werewolves. All of them.
Sam met my eyes then- his were solemn and stern. I could feel him trying to read my facial expression, trying to predict my next move. But I just lay there, my thoughts running wild. I was tempted to wriggle out of his grasp so I could see what was going on, and maybe try to end the fight. I heard pants, howls and animalistic grunts coming from a few feet away, but I couldn't make out who made what noise. Surely I could never escape from Sam's steel grip, and if so, what the hell could I do to stop them anyway? Typical Bella, completely helpless once again.
Sensing my obvious distress, Sam turned his head and barked out some orders.
"Embry, Jared, phase now. Put yourself between them, keep them away from each other before they do any real damage. I doubt they'll be cooling off anytime soon."
A short while after, Sam gracefully leapt off of me and I sat up so quickly that it made me dizzy. He moved to reveal four very naked boys, Embry and Jared in the middle with their arms spread out like eagles, as if to shield Jacob and the other boy from each other. I blushed and looked away quickly, not wanting to get caught staring.
"Back off Paul. You're dangerous, she doesn't need you in her life right now." Jacob warned, placing his hands on either sides of Jared's shoulders, as if threatening to throw him aside and attack Paul once more.
Paul, I thought to myself. I then mouthed the name, but refrained from saying it out loud, no matter how badly I wanted to test how it sounded on my tongue.
"Mine, Black. She's mine, and you know it." Paul replied menacingly, and the word 'mine' imprinted itself in my brain, echoing in my ears long after he had stopped speaking. The word made me shiver with the same, unknown emotion from earlier. Was he referring to me? If so, we needed to have a serious chat about consent. I didn't remember agreeing to be anyone's property.
"Forget it, Lahote. In a few days you'll be back to calling her 'leech-lover', and going around putting your dick in any hole you can find. Leave her out of your asshole mind-games."
At this Paul let out a growl, and I flinched. Oh, they were definitely talking about me.
"Stop getting pissy that she's mine, and not yours. She's never loved, or even liked you in that way for all these years, and you still think that's going to change? Pathetic." His tone was unbelievably cruel, and I noticed Jacob subtly wince.
That really hit a nerve- who the hell did he think he was, speaking to my best friend like that? And more importantly, talking about my love life as if he knew me at all!
"Shut up." I said, quietly but not weakly. They could all hear me, I knew as much. All five heads turned and faced towards me, along with a mixture of facial expressions: rage, shock, intrigue, appreciation and wariness.
"What did you say to me?" Paul asked, his tone eerily calm. The calm before the storm, as my father might have said.
Despite myself, my insides buzzed when he addressed me. It set me up with an unearned confidence, which urged me to speak again. "I said: Shut. Up."
He blinked, cocked his head to the side, and took a single step forward. The act made me shift my weight nervously.
"And why the hell would I do that?"
"Why the hell would you say that to him?"
He laughed then, a cold, bitter sound. "I see. You're sticking up for him- feeling guilty about the truth."
I glared at him with all that I had, which wasn't very much when I took in his intimidating frame and severe eyes.
"Nothing to say to that?" He mocked, taking more steps forwards.
"Paul." Sam warned in a stern voice, but got no response from the feral-looking man.
Within seconds, his long strides brought us face to face- well, I had to strain my neck to see his face, but still.
"Why feel guilty about it? It's not going to change the truth." It sounded like a genuine question, and I might have considered replying if I wasn't at a total loss for words. A single glance down and I would have seen all of him. All of him. I attempted to keep the blush off of my cheeks and ignore the way my stomach churned excitedly. What on earth was going on with me?
Paul's eyebrows furrowed, and I could sense him growing impatient. "Answer me." He all but growled.
"No." I said adamantly, refusing to embarrass myself or Jacob with so many witnesses present. I also found it utterly absurd that he expected me to admit something that intimate without me even knowing who he was.
Paul took another step towards me, and I drew in a sharp breath- one more step and he would be completely pressed against me. His large, strong hand shot out and cupped my jaw roughly, and I jerked back in surprise.
"Trust me, you won't want to say that again." He breathed, and I contemplated saying it once more just to see what Paul would do. However, I did still have some sense of self-preservation, though Edward had taken most of it with him when the Cullen's left. Dick.
"Paul." Sam said once more, but the wolf was completely concentrated on getting an answer out of me.
"Why don't you just tell the pathetic pup that you don't want him, Bella?" My name rolled of his tongue so perfectly, forcing a pleasured shiver out of me. He grinned at that, showcasing a deadly beautiful set of teeth. Seriously, how could someone's teeth be beautiful? I shivered again, and Paul looked positively delighted.
"Fair enough. But you know you will eventually." He said, satisfied for now. "You're mine, Isabella, and I'll make that clear to you very soon."
A/N: Hope you enjoyed- please review, it means the world! Also, I can't believe I've actually forgotten what colour Paul's wolf is, I just went with grey, but any help with that would be great.