Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, only what you don't recognize.

A/N: Kinda a short chapter but it seemed like the best place for a break. On the plus side, I hope to update again soon!

Note: Italics = flashback


Everything around him seemed different, but he knew it wasn't. The school was the same, the students were the same, even the rain was the same. The only thing that had changed was him. He was different and so everything else felt different too. Over the past two weeks, he spent the first as a wolf and the second trying not to turn back into a wolf, a task that seemed especially difficult for him. He had always been angry, but that anger had been amplified once he changed. It was easier as a wolf, his emotions weren't the same. Something that made him angry as a human would go away as soon as he phased into a wolf. At least, that is what happened most of the time. Sometimes his wolf was angry too. But now he had to concentrate on not making either side of him angry. Sam had finally trusted him enough to return to school, though he would've been happy skipping for a while longer. He was dreading his return for several reasons, but he knew he had to come back eventually.

He walked past the dull yellow lockers, the lockers that were the same but different, and tried to keep his head low.

"Paul?" A voice called that he might not have picked up without his newly enhanced hearing. "Paul!" The voice sounded surer now, like it took a moment for them to recognize him.

Paul supposed he did look different now. He was certainly bigger, and not at all in a bad way, the one perk of being a werewolf. He kept walking past the voice; he wasn't allowed to hang out with his old friends anymore. A choice he didn't like but… alpha's orders. Sam said he didn't want to risk Paul hurting anyone or risk anyone finding out their secret. Jared had to follow the same rules.

The one downside to his new size appeared when Paul realized he couldn't hide or disappear in the crowded halls of the school.

"Paul," the voice called again and a small hand gripped his wrist.

He couldn't help but turn around then. All of his friends stood there, just staring at him, wondering why he disappeared for two weeks, why he hadn't been talking to them. Sarah, the girl holding his wrist, had dark circles under her eyes, along with some of the others. No doubt they were partying the night before. He could still smell the alcohol on some of them. Paul wished he could have been with them, wished he could have spent two weeks forgetting his responsibilities instead of having more just shoved in his face. He never wanted this, he didn't ask for this. But it was his, whether he liked it or not, that much was clear. Just slightly, he began to shake, but was too caught up in his thoughts to notice. He was overwhelmed with thoughts on his choices, or more accurately, his lack thereof. All of his frustrations on suddenly having his life decided for him were hitting him. Sarah released his wrist as Paul began to shake more.

"Hey," Paul was suddenly grabbed and pulled around the corner to a more secluded area of the school. He looked up and saw Jared standing before him.

"Calm down." Jared's voice was firm. It reminded him of Sam.

They were more or less alone now and Paul groaned as he leaned his forearms on the wall and held his face in his hands. It took him several minutes to calm down, well past the tardy bell, but Jared remained by his side. Once his breathing was under control, Paul silently stood up straight.

"It'll get better." Was all Jared said.

Paul seriously doubted that.


It wasn't long after he phased that Paul could feel his mind merging with those out on patrol, Jake and Seth.

'Dude, you imprinted?' Jacob's voice echoed through their minds.

Paul was never very good at hiding his thoughts and it was especially hard now that he was looking for her.

'Congratulations, man.' Seth's thoughts were sincere, but Paul thought he detected a hint of jealousy there too. Though it was hard to tell, Seth was good at hiding his thoughts, he learned it from Leah.

Not having anything to say, Paul ignored them and kept running down the Forks highway. Paul didn't even know what he thought about the imprint, he just knew that he wanted to see her again.

'She probably goes to Forks High School' Jake's thoughts were always loud 'Maybe Bella knows – '

'No' Paul tried to put an end to those thoughts; he could see where they were going.

'But –'

'No. No vampires.' Paul didn't care that the Cullens were supposedly their friends now. He didn't trust vampires. Vegetarian or not, he knew the instinct to kill was still there. He knew this because he felt the same instinct; he'd fought with it every day since he first phased.

Shutting out Jake and Seth as best he could, Paul continued running. He considered himself lucky and thanked the spirits when he caught her scent as a car drove by on the highway. Paul followed the Jeep and saw Macy behind the wheel. It was an unusually dry night, though Paul could feel the rain clouds moving in, and the windows of the Jeep were rolled down. Her scent of strawberries and mint and the soft sound of the radio drifted out of the open windows. The dense Washington forest provided ample cover for Paul to run alongside the Jeep as it drove down the highway towards the north-western side of Forks. Just when Paul thought she might keep driving towards the reservation, Macy pulled off the highway and onto a small road that was dimly lit with a few street lights. They passed a few scattered houses that seemed to be nestled into the forest. Though, to be honest, most homes in Forks and La Push sat right up against the forest, except for the small suburban areas near the center of town.

Macy drove her jeep down to the last house on the end of the street. It was a small, two-story home that was almost as wide as it was tall. Though the building was noticeably old, the bricks still held their deep red color and the front and back porches were sturdy and made of a darkly stained wood. Trees hugged closely to the sides of the house, but the front and back of the house were left open. The front of the home was easily visible from the street and behind the house the trees were cut back so there was a small clearing between the back porch and the treeline.

Pulling up the driveway on the left of the house, Macy parked in front of the garage and rolled up the windows of her Jeep, knowing that the rain would surely come sooner or later. That was the first thing she noticed about Forks, the rain. It never seemed to stop, and when it did, it was never gone for long. Sure enough, it started to rain almost as soon as Macy exited the Jeep. She grabbed her backpack that was resting in the passenger seat and slung it over her shoulder as she closed the door behind her with her elbow.

Now, Macy already hated the poodle skirt her boss made her wear to work every day, but her hate amplified even more when that skirt got caught in the car door, causing Macy to trip and almost fall as she walked away from the Jeep.

Paul, having seen the entire thing from his hiding place behind the trees, couldn't help but let out a laugh that sounded more like a snort in his wolf form. Since the trees ran so close to the house, Macy had heard the noise, or thought she heard something at least. Her head whipped to the side and her eyes scanned the treeline, Paul crouched lower and lay still. His grey coat was lighter than a lot of the others, making him easier to spot in the dark. Luckily, Macy was distracted by a sudden bolt of lightning and her attention immediately returned to freeing her skirt. She ran inside after that, and Paul was left straining his ears to listen, since he could no longer see her.

He tried to pick out clues. He heard muffled voices, doors opening and closing, and even someone, presumably Macy, running up and down the stairs. Just as Paul was starting to grow frustrated, he heard a door at the back of the house opening and Macy's scent filled the air, along with another that he didn't recognize. Crouched low, Paul crawled over towards the back of the house so that he could see her. The first thing he noticed was that she had changed out of her ridiculous pink clothes and into some tights and a hoodie. Her hair was still pulled up but the wind was blowing a few strands around her face. She stood on the porch, out of the rain, and was looking towards the backyard. That's when Paul realized where the other scent had come from. A medium-sized dog was roaming around the clearing behind the house. He had a short white coat that was covered in brown spots, and a bright orange collar around his neck. The dog stiffened when the wind picked up and changed direction.

Most dogs ran when they smelled the werewolves, though rather it was towards or away from the wolf was completely dependent on the dog. This one let out a slight growl as he crouched low, leaned forward, and slowly lifted one of his front paws off the ground.

"Duke?" Macy's voice broke through the wind.

The dog, Duke's, ears perked up, but his nose remained pointed in Paul's direction. Paul himself was tense, ready to run deeper into the woods to keep from being discovered.

Macy laughed under her breath, and Paul wondered why she wasn't worried about her dog's weird, or at least he thought it was weird, behavior.

"Hey," Both the dog and wolf could since the commanding tone in her voice. Duke turned to look at her and left Paul behind and ran up onto the porch when she whistled.

Paul watched as Macy kneeled onto one knee and scratched her dog behind the ears as she spoke softly to him. "Do you smell some quail?"

Duke's eyes remained looking in Paul's direction and Macy smiled when she noticed, not even guessing that it was a wolf hiding behind the trees.

"C'mon," Macy stood and patted her thigh to catch Duke's attention again. "Let's go inside. I promise I'll take you hunting tomorrow."

Once she was behind the closed doors of the house, she was out of his sight again, but not for long. Soon after Macy disappeared inside, Paul heard her footsteps on the stairs and saw a light turn on from the opposite side of the house. Paul took care to stay under the tree cover as he made his way around the corner. When he came to the right side of the house, Paul saw a light shining out of a second-story window. The trees were thicker on this side of the house, allowing Paul to move closer to his imprint without risk of being spotted.

Through the window he could see parts of what looked like a bedroom. There was a desk sitting against one wall and a pile of boxes stacked underneath the window. Paul came to the conclusion that Macy must have moved here recently. It made sense, considering that La Push and Forks were both relatively small towns and Paul had never seen her before.

'Yeah, but Jared had never noticed Kim until he imprinted, and they've both lived in La Push their whole lives.' Seth added mater-of-factly.

Paul groaned, he had forgotten about the two on patrol.

'Forks High is a small school, Bella would know…' Jake added.

'Jake,' Paul complained. 'You imprinted on her freaking daughter and you still talk about Bella all the damn time.'

It drove Paul insane. More so when Jake used to helplessly pine over the girl, but still… old habits died hard he supposed.

'She's my best friend,' Jake grumbled. 'So sue me.'

'And hey, you're thoughts are all full of Macy now.' Seth teased. 'So you can hardly complain.'

Paul mentally rolled his eyes and tried to block them out of his thoughts again. He was getting better at controlling things like his anger and his mind. Paul figured that since all the vamp-craziness had died down, he now had time to focus on things like that.

'Leah says it's because there's nothing left that you haven't gotten pissed at already.'

'Yeah? Well Leah's a –'

'Ok, ok.' Jake stopped Paul from taking that sentence any further. 'We'll leave you alone now.'

Paul sighed as he could feel his brothers' thoughts fading slightly from his. They were still there, but just in the back of his mind. He took that moment to lie down underneath the trees and rest his head on his paws. Now able to focus solely on his imprint, his eyes drifted upward in search of her. He frowned when he could not see her through the window. The moment Macy did appear, his ears perked up and his tail twitched. To Paul's disappointment she disappeared again almost immediately. Then she was back again, and then gone again. Paul realized she was pacing.

There was a slight crease between her brows as she stared at her feet. She seemed to be thinking deeply about something when suddenly her pacing stopped. Macy came to an abrupt halt and turned her head toward the window. Paul tensed, thinking she had spotted him. He was soon reassured, however, when she approached one of the boxes beneath her window instead. Macy opened the box and began rifling through its contents, pulling random objects from the box as she went. Paul was surprised, if not amused, when she picked up an old, worn-out teddy bear and just held it in her arms for a moment. Then followed a picture frame, though it was facing the wrong way for Paul to see what the picture was. Macy smiled at it before placing the frame on the window-sill by the bear.

Her search seemed to come to an end when Macy pulled what looked like a book from the box. The cover was a purple velvet but there were no words on the cover that Paul could see. She held it in her hands for a moment and pursed her lips, as if she was thinking. Almost determinedly, Macy turned to her desk and sat with the book in front of her as she grabbed a pen and opened the cover.

Macy sat there and wrote, that's all she did, but Paul was absolutely mesmerized by her. And as he sat there watching her, all he could think was that: He imprinted on her.

In truth, Paul wasn't sure what to think of the imprint. He wasn't really looking for a relationship and plus, he hardly even knew this girl and yet he couldn't stop thinking about her. Paul supposed he didn't have to date her – he could just get to know her, become her friend. That didn't sound so bad. And anyway, when he first phased – he hated being a wolf and all the responsibilities that came with it. He'd had to give up his friends and his plans for the future but he'd grown to love that change too. He had more than friends now, he had brothers and sure, being a part of the pack meant remaining behind in La Push and protecting his people, but now he couldn't think of a better, more meaningful way to live his life. Maybe this imprint would turn out to be the same – a blessing in disguise. The old Paul would've been angry, would've tried to fight the imprint – but he'd grown up a lot recently. Sure, he was still the most volatile of the pack, but he'd been working on that.


A/N: Thank you to everyone who followed, favorited, and/or reviewed my last chapter. Please don't forget to do so again!