A/N; In this story, Paul phased when he was eighteen, not sixteen. Bella's seventeen right now, and will turn eighteen soon. Thank you, R+R please!
"Oh God, two? How did the two of you imprint as soon as your phasing is under control? I've not even found mine yet!" Sam moaned.
"What the hell are you on about, Sam?" I ask, picking up on words which totally confuse me. Sam sighs, and Paul and Jared look uneasy.
"Well, Bells, that's what we wanted to talk to you about. I guess we'll have to talk to Kim, too,"
Kim, who's gaze had yet to waver from Jared, snapped her head to Sam.
"Talk to me about what?" She asked.
"Imprinting, and a lot of other things,"
So we sat on the floor, but Paul pulled me into his lap, and Jared pulled Kim into his. I leant my head back on Paul's shoulder, and I felt his hands snake around my waist.
Perfection.
"You both grew up with the legends of our small tribe. However, you don't know the whole picture,"
I shift my weight slightly, and felt Paul inhale deeply at the crook of my neck.
"Well… Paul, Jared and I… we're like the warriors in the stories," he says, watching us. I frown slightly.
"You're… what?"
"Wolves, Bella, we're wolves,"
"Wolves? Shit, Sam are you sure?"
He laughs, "Yes, I'm sure,"
"So… phasing is when you turn into a wolf?" I ask, and Sam nods, "And imprinting is…?"
"When a wolf finds their soul mate," Sam says, and my heart beat picks up, "Fate guides them to the person they're best suited to, and that she's the only thing holding them to this Earth, friends, family, jobs, they mean nothing to him. Anything the girl asks, he will do, anything she wants him to be, he will be. A friend, brother, lover, husband, anything. The moment he looks into her eyes, he's can't live if she doesn't,"
"Why are you telling us this, Sam?" I ask, though I think I already know.
"I imprinted on you, Bella," Paul says into my neck.
"And I imprinted on you, Kim," Jared said.
"Can I see you?" I ask, and they nod. In the backyard, while we stand back, the three of them start shaking violently. Resisting the urge to step forward and make sure Paul was ok, I watched as dark silver fur blew out from him, coalescing into a shape more than five-times his size.
"Paul?" I asked the dark silver wolf. He nodded his big head, and Jared and he came trotting over to us. I put my hand out and buried it in his fur. It was course at the top, but softer the further down I got. A bit like his heart, I suppose.
Kim didn't take it nearly as well.
"Fuck," I heard her say, and she took a step back. The fear was clear on her face, and Jared whimpered, laying on his belly in a submissive gesture. She shook her head, and turned and fled. And ear-splitting howl came from Jared, and he stood to go after her.
"Stop, Jared," I say. He looks at me, and his eyes look wild, "It's ok, she's just confused. I'll go talk to her, you stay here. Ok? I promise, she'll be fine. She'll just need to talk it through with someone who's in the same position,"
He nods, and I step away from Paul. He growls lightly, and I turn to face him.
"I'll come back to you, idiot," I tell him, tapping his muzzle lightly, "I just need to check on Kim,"
And so I run, to the beach, because Kim says the waves help her calm down. She's sitting on a driftwood tree by the water when I get there.
"Hey," I say, "You ok?"
"I don't like this," she says quietly. I frown.
"Why not? You've been crushing on Jared since you saw him, and suddenly he's willing to do anything for you, protect you for everything, and never, ever leave you? "
"But that's just it! He never even gave me a second glance before he became a wolf! And as soon as this happens, he's stuck with me. He'll hate me, eventually. He doesn't want me, if he had, he's have liked me before now,"
I never thought about it that way. Paul hadn't said one word to me before this, and now he'll die if I die? Oh god, Kim's right, he's going to resent me.
"I never thought of it like that," I whisper.
"I know, and I saw what you saw. The perfect man, but then you realize, he's been forced into it. I can't, I can't force him into it,"
I nod, putting my arm around my shoulder.
"What am I going to do?" She asked me, but I couldn't answer her.
Two footsteps on the sand startled us out of our thoughts, and we saw Paul and Jared running towards us. Their faces were furious.
"Why are you rejecting me?" They both shouted at the same time. We were right, they were angry with us. Man, they must have realized they were stuck with us for life. It was then I noticed they were shaking, and I grabbed Kim's wrist and stood up. We moved back slowly.
"Calm the fuck down," I say, "And we'll talk,"
A full minute passed, and their tremors were finally gone. Paul took a step towards me, and I held up a hand up.
"Whoa," I say, and he stops.
"Please, Bella, talk to me in private," he pleads, and I feel myself melt.
I glance at Kim.
"Will you be ok with him alone?" I ask, and she looks hesitant, so I turn fully towards her, "Just tell him exactly what you think, don't let him scare you," she nods.
I heard Jared whine, and turned to him.
"She'll talk to you, but don't chase her,"
And so I go with Paul. Not touching him at all, just hoping he won't hurt me.
"Bella, please look at me," he says, stopping halfway up the beach. He sits on the sand, and pulls the shirt off his torso, putting it next to him, and gesturing for me to sit down.
I sit, and feel my eyes tearing. He's literally given me the shirt off his back.
"Don't cry, babe," He says, "Did I make you cry?"
"No, Paul, it wasn't you," I say, crossing my legs and turning to face him. I take one of his large hands in my small ones.
"Ok. Please, please tell me what's wrong. Last time I saw you, you seemed so happy. You didn't mind at all, in fact, you were going to bring Kim back for Jared,"
"But then I talked to Kim, and I realized how rash I had been," I said. He frowned at me.
"What do you mean?"
"Think about it, Paul. Before you turned into a giant wolf, you didn't talk to me once. But as soon as you phase, you're stuck with me, for the rest of our lives,"
"Bella, before I was a wolf, I was a jackass. Still am, as a matter of speaking, but I was too blinded to see what was right in front of me,"
I shook my head, "I've heard about your womanizing ways, Paul, do you really want to give that up? For me?"
"Yes, Bella, a thousand times yes,"
"But only because you have to," I told him, "Admit it, if you weren't a wolf, you wouldn't want me,"
He shook his head.
"Bella, if I wasn't a wolf, I think I'd die within the next few years. I would be with you, eventually, but I would probably die before I got the chance to give you what you deserve,"
"Die? Paul, why the hell would you die?" I ask, terrified at the thought of no Paul.
"Bells, before I was a wolf, I was a bum. I drank heavily, I took drugs, I slept with countless woman, I got in pointless fights. Because I had nothing to live for, I was worthless. But now, now, I have you to live for,"
"Why do you think you were worthless?" I ask, almost in a whisper.
"Because it was what I was made to believe. From before I can remember, my dad would tell me it. And I believe him,"
"Tell me," I plead, looking into his eyes, "What happened to you, to make you so angry?"
"You won't like it, Bella," he warned.
"I need to know," I say, climbing onto his lap, "And you need to let someone in,"
He sighed, holding me close to his body.
"When I was born, my dad didn't want me. Didn't need a kid. Didn't need my mom. He used to hit my mom in front of me, shouting at her that she was a worthless, stupid whore. That it was her fault he was stuck with us, that she should have gotten rid of me when she had the chance.
"He started knocking me around when I was about five. I'll always remember the first time. I was playing in the house, and I knocked over his bottle of Jack," a shudder travelled through him, as he relived his past, "The smash echoed through the silent house, and I heard the bed upstairs creak, as he came to investigate. My mom was at work, because my dad refused to get a job.
"I was so scared, that I hid in the kitchen cupboard, leaving it a crack open so I could see when he'd gone. He padded into the kitchen in nothing but his boxers, and the silence pressed on my ears like dumbbells, and then he roared. He started telling me to come out, he wouldn't hurt me, I was his special boy. I didn't cave, no way was I going out there. Then he shouted 'If you don't come out right now, you little shit, I'm going to make you watch me kill you mother'.
"So I shot out from the cupboard, right up to him. I only came up to his waist, but that didn't stop him hitting me across the face. I flew into the wall, and then down into the glass. He left me there, the alcohol seeping into my blood, saying that I was just as worthless as my mother.
"I'll never forget the scream that my mom gave when she came home. I couldn't move, my legs refusing to move, and she had to carry me upstairs. She cleaned my wounds, and my dad watched from the doorway. She asked what happened, he said I must have fallen into the bottle, he'd never heard anything. I didn't speak, until she asked me, then I backed up my dad's story, and he nodded from the door. I don't think she ever believed us, but she didn't bring it up again.
"So my dad used to hit me, but never in front of her, until I was fourteen. Four years ago, my mom came home early and caught him hitting me. She started shouting at him then, telling him she'd had enough, she couldn't take it anymore, he was to leave, and never come back. He got her down on the floor, and lay on top of her, and whispered in her ear, 'I'm going to kill you both now. And it was all because of what you said. You've signed your own son's death warrant, you worthless, stupid whore, but I'll kill you first,'.
"I went crazy, and picked up a chair, smashing it over his head. He roared, just like he had when I was five, and launched at me. We rolled, three times, and I ended up under him. I clawed and kicked at him, fighting for my mother's life. But he picked my head by my hair, and smashed it off of the ground. I tried to fight the blackness, Bella, I really did, but I was weak and worthless, just as he said. I couldn't do it, not even for my mom.
"I woke up, covered in her blood. The sick bastard had pulled her body over, raped her, and cut her throat. He was just sitting watching me as I came around. I ran to the kitchen, and threw up everywhere. Tears were pouring from my eyes. My mom, the only person in the word who cared, was gone. Dead," Paul was really shaking now, and I laid my hands on his chest, calming him down.
"My dad just laughed, and I flew for him. He said 'she's never been such a lively fuck. I can tell you, she was trying to fight me off to help you. Gave me quite a release,'. I wanted to kill him, I think I would have, if someone had given me a weapon, but he was the one with the weapon. He hit my head, again, only this time with a baseball bat. I didn't even try and fight the blackness this time. There was safety in the dark.
"When I woke up, I was gagged and bound, and he was dragging me by the feet through the forest. He stopped in the middle of a clearing and sat me against a tree. Then he spoke to me 'If your mother hadn't had you, none of this would've happened. If you hadn't been born, I could have left, and she would never have gotten a single punch from me. It's your fault,'. And I believed him, every word. It made sense,"
Paul started crying, and I kissed away the tears.
"Then, he came up to me. He bent down, and said 'No-one will care that I'm going to kill you. No-one is going to miss you,'. but he was wrong. I thought I was delusional, but I growling came from all around us, as though the forest was furious. And then, a giant black wolf came from the bushes. It walked right up to my dad, and bared it's teeth. I watched with mild interest, but my head was bleeding badly, and I was getting spaced.
"My dad kneeled to the ground. And the wolf turned into a man, a man I knew to be Sam Uley. He pulled on some cut-offs, and bent down and hissed in my dad's face 'I know exactly what you've done. I'll be back for you, but I need to take you son to a doctor. Do. Not. Move.'. Sam then picked me up, and ran to some woman's house. I blanked out for the rest of it, but Sam later told me my dad had run, and he'd tracked him to an airport. He'd gotten away, but at least he was away.
"My mother was dead though, and there was nothing anyone could do. I sold the house, and moved to the one I'm in just now. Sam told me not to tell anyone about him, and one day I might join him. He then avoided me totally, and I was at rock bottom. I had nothing in my life, nothing mattered. So I took drugs, drank heavily, and slept with women to escape my life, to get away. Then, two weeks ago, I turned into a wolf. I knew vaguely what was happening, but I didn't expect to hear Sam and Jared in my head. Jared had phased the day before.
"Then, today was my first day back around humans, and I met you. Finally, something good in my life, something to live for. When I felt you trying to reject the imprint, I felt my heart break. No wonder you'd want nothing to do with me, I wasn't worth it. I don't blame you, Bella, if you don't want me anymore, after hearing my past,"
I leaned away, "Paul, don't say that. It makes me want you more. You've been totally open with me, you've told me everything, you've shown me your flaws,"
"And what flaw was that?" he asked.
"Undervaluing yourself. You still think you're worthless, and you're not. I don't deserve someone as special as you, and it's ok to cry you know,"
He chuckled, "Only you would want me after hearing all that,"
"I would hope so, because I won't be too happy when other girls check you out,"
"They won't," he says.
"They will,"
"And why would that be?" he asked, his smirk gracing his face. I was happier that he was coming back to the old Paul. I hit his arm lightly.
"Because you have a delicious body, and you know it!" I say, blushing and burying my head in the crook of his neck.
"Hmmm, maybe, but I won't be too happy when the guys are checking you out," he said, kissing my shoulder.
"They won't, nobody does," I tell him, and he laughs out loud.
"That's not true. Even Jacob Black is in love with you. There's no way you can be oblivious to the fact that you've got the entire male population of our school in love with you. Half of the females, too,"
I giggle, "Not Jared,"
"No, ok, not Jared,"
"And not you either," I say. A sparkle appears in his eyes.
"Says who?" he asks, kissing my mouth like there's no tomorrow. His tongue presses against my bottom lip, asking for entrance, which I gladly grant. After a short fight for dominance, which he won of course, I pull away.
"Y… you love me?"
"Yeah, didn't you realize?" he asked.
"Well, I knew you were stuck with me forever, but I didn't know you loved me,"
"Stuck with you?" he chuckled, "You make it sound like a punishment,"
"Isn't it?"
"No," he said, shaking his head and grinning, "It's the greatest gift I could have. Do you still doubt my loyalty? Whatever it takes to prove it takes to prove it, I'll do it,"
I shake my head.
"But that's just it. Eventually, you're going to get fed up, and resent me for it,"
"No, Bella, as long as it makes you happy, I'm happy. When you're sad, I'm angry at whoever pissed you off. If I pissed you off, I'm angry at myself, and sorry. You. Are. My. Life,"
I feel tears falling, and he wipes them away.
"That's not to say we won't have our ups and downs. We're only teenagers, after all,"
I hug him closer to me, noticing for the first time I'm cold.
"Well, I love you too," I tell him. He pulls me back to look at me, mouth falling in shock.
"Bella Uley, did you just admit you love me?"
A/N; Please review! I need love! Hugs and kisses for you, and I'll update ASAP.
