A/N: Wow! Thank you to all of you who have followed/favorited this story. I can't help but grin each time I see another one added to the growing list. :D

SM owns Twilight and its characters. I do love a bit of yummy Paul though. *fans herself*

The Taming of Paul Lahote

Part 9

We flew through the woods, hot on her heels. Damn, but she's really fast! The last couple of weeks had been spent chasing this bitch out of the state and even as far as Canada, but for whatever reason, she kept coming back. This leach was wily and quick. It seemed like every time we'd corner her, she would do something insane and get away again.

She'll have to mess up at some point and when she does, we'll finish her. Jake growled as we tried unsuccessfully to flank her again. Chasing her up the cliffs, we felt sure that we had her, but she turned and dove head first into the churning water below.

Son of a BITCH! I growled. My wolf really wanted a piece of that vampire more than any other we had ever tracked and killed before. I wasn't sure why but I personally wanted to be the one to end her, watch her go up in purple flames.

Pack meeting over at the old sawmill. Sam's voice travelled through the pack mind as we all turned tail to head to the mill. Jared howled to call those not phased to the meeting as we ran.

Waiting for the others to join us, Jared and Jake were waiting patiently but I was pacing back and forth; my wolf wanted to be out there after that leach, not sit here waiting on the high and mighty Alpha. My wolf was anxious and agitated, a dangerous mix.

Calm down, Paul. Sam walked into the clearing, his eyes sweeping over those of already present. We're going to get her. You'll see.

When the others finally arrived, Sam walked out into the center to discuss what was on his mind. I've been keeping up with the direction of the red head leach's tracks each time she has come through here the past week and I think I have figured something out. I think she has memorized our patrol patterns… His eyes gazed over each of the wolves present. …and she's looking for something…or someone…in Forks.

I froze in my tracks as deep growling came from my chest. This vamp was getting too close to my imprint and all I could do at that moment was focus on getting to Bella as soon as I could to make sure that she was ok. My head turned towards the forest, looking in the direction of Forks. A soft whimper escaped. My Bella could be in danger.

As a result, we will be changing up our patrol routes to include Bella's home as well as mixing up the routes themselves, no set pattern. I think if we throw her off with our patrols, it would be easier to catch her. Sam glanced my way, understanding me completely. Go Paul. I'll have Jared fill you in on your new patrol schedule and route as soon as you return.

I barely heard his last words as my wolf immediately bounded off at a full run into the forest. Bella, Bella, Bella…ran through my mind as I hurried to be by her side. She just had to be ok. I couldn't lose her so soon, not after waiting so long for her to come into my life.

Almost done! I was so proud of myself. I had worked all day on a special Valentine's gift for Paul and with a bit of flourish that is very unlike me, it was done, a photo album made just for Paul. I had to enlist a bit of help from Emily to get some of the candid shots but I had to admit that it had turned out fantastic. I decided that Paul needed a physical reminder of what he meant to each of us, all eight of his pack family and myself included at Emily's insistence. Emily caught a great picture of him playing soccer with Jake, Embry, Quil and Sam. I managed to snap a picture of an all too rare moment of Leah smiling at one of Paul's awful jokes. My favorite picture out of all of them was one of me sitting in his lap in front of a fire, the flickering flames illuminating our faces, making his emotions for me that shone through his eyes as he watched me all that stronger. A small smile played across my lips as I thought of Paul, Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome. A sigh escaped and I couldn't help but giggle. We had gone out a couple of times and he usually came over just to talk a two or three times during the week. I had to admit to myself that I didn't just sort of like Paul. I realized that I was falling fast for the guy and for once, I was completely fine with the idea. He didn't try to control me like Edward did. He let me be me.

A knock at the door brought me back out of my thoughts. Thinking it was Emily who had mentioned that she might come over at some point, I yelled. "Come on in!" I quickly tucked the present into the closet and went downstairs.

Who should be at my door but Mr. Handsome himself? With a very happy sigh, I open the door but my happiness was cut short when I saw the worry in his eyes.

"Bella." A bit of tension left his shoulders as his eyes looked over me very quickly. His shoulders were tense and his hands gripped the door frame like he was going to tear it apart at any given second.

"Um….hi." He gave me a smile, but I could see that something was bothering him. Whatever it was, it had to be serious. "Paul, come on in." I opened the door, unable to stop myself from asking the question on my mind. "What's wrong?"

He took one step into the house, and then froze completely still. He inhaled deeply. His eyes darted around quickly, before his head turned towards the stairs. Paul bounded up the steps, two at a time, sticking his head into the rooms one by one.

"PAUL? What are you doing?" His behavior was beginning to make me very uneasy to say the least. I walked up the steps, watching him closely.

He stuck his head into my room, pushing the door open. He inhaled deeply. A deep growl came from his chest as he took his phone from his pocket, shoving it at me. "Call Sam. Now."

I took his phone from him but I could not wrap my head around what was going on. "O-ok." I noticed that his body is starting to tremble and the growling is getting louder. Scrambling back down the stairs, I fumbled about halfway, almost dropping his phone.

"Get downstairs and call him now dammit!" He turned towards me. His eyes were different, no longer the deep chocolate color that I loved. They were tinged yellow around the edge. I felt a trickle of fear run down my spine.

I blinked once and then, moved as quickly as I could. Once at the bottom, I called Sam from his contacts. I could hear him rummaging through my room, a book shelf turned over with a loud crash and stuff being thrown out of my closet.

"Hello?" Sam answered.

"S-S-Sam….Paul….um…" I wasn't sure what I was supposed to tell him at that point. I heard another really loud growl and a board breaking. Suddenly, he came back downstairs, running by me as I stood in the landing. I heard the back door slam so hard that I was sure it was going to shatter the windows.

"BELLA! What's going on?!" Sam yelled at me through the line trying to get my attention. I didn't know that he heard Paul's growls nor the slamming of the back door.

I ran the kitchen and into the mud room to get a better look at Paul in the back yard. His entire body was shaking so hard that he seemed to be blury. "I don't know….Paul…he's shaking really badly…and OH MY GO…!" The phone fell to the floor as I passed out.

SHIT SHIT SHIT! I raced out of the house, phasing as soon as I hit the back yard. I immediately howled for back up, not really sure what was happening. I reach through the mind link. Leah and Embry were on patrol. Get to Bella's place, NOW! I let out a howl, calling the rest of the Pack. As soon as I felt them phase, I continued giving orders. Jake and Quil, circle around to the far side of Bella's place. Something is going on over there. Collin, Brady stick with me! We all ran as fast as we could to reach Bella.

Then, I felt, rather than heard, Paul's wolf. It was snarling and growling as thoughts raced at lightning speed. Anxiety mixed with unbridled rage was pouring out of only word that I could get out of it was KILL!

We raced across the treaty line and into Forks through the forests as fast as we could without being seen. Stopping at the tree line in her backyard, we watched as an enraged Paul paced back and forth, snarling and growling. The others cast concerned glances my way. They knew what Paul was capable of in such a state. I stepped forward. Stay here. I'll see if I can talk him down.

Sniffing the air, I didn't detect any blood so my immediate concern for Bella passed. I phased back to human and carefully stepped towards him, coming out of the cover of the forest. He swung his head towards me, his lips pulled back, teeth bared, threatening me. "PAUL! I need to check on Bella to see if she's ok." He moved to block my way. I had no choice but to command him. "PAUL! Phase back and calm down now. She might be hurt." Paul's wolf immediately disappeared, leaving the human heaving for breath and on his knees from the force of my command. He brought his hands up to his hair, pulling at it in frustration, a string of foul curses poured out of him as he tried to find some release for his anger.

I raced into the house to find Bella on the floor in the mud room. Paul's phone was shattered by her side where she had dropped it. My eyes quickly scanned her body for any injuries. Exhaling in relief when I found none, I realized then what was the cause of her passing out. Turning to my pack brother, I give him a stern look. "Now, you have no choice. You have to tell her the truth, Paul. This has gone on long enough."

Paul walked up beside me. I could tell by his body language that he deeply regretted what had happened and just how close he had been to seriously injuring his mate. No one wanted a repeat of my screw up with Emily. Her scars were a constant reminder of the importance of control when it came to phasing.

He dropped to his knees beside her, his hands caressing her face gently. "Sam, I couldn't stop myself. There's leach scent in her room." He looked up at me. "IN HER ROOM! It could have killed her. I couldn't control my wolf…" Paul stopped, pulling Bella into his arms. He buried his nose into her hair, inhaling deeply. He muttered softly. "I can't lose her, Sam." His voice cracked and I could tell he was very upset.

"Take her inside. I'll clean up the shredded remains of your cut offs and grab another pair from the tree in the forest. It will only take a sec." I hopped up, watching as Paul cradled her in his arms, whispering soothing words for both of them. Paul was scared, truly frightened and I knew exactly how he felt.

I walked out the back door again to see Leah, Embry and Jake headed my way. The others were headed home since the urgency had passed. Stopping, I quickly explained what I understood to have happened. "Embry, go grab Paul a pair of shorts. Leah, I want you to go upstairs to her room and try to put it back into some sort of order if you can. Jake, I need to talk to you."

Leah and Embry set off to do as I asked. I waited for them to be mostly out of earshot before I spoke to Jake. "Paul found leach scent all over Bella's room. He's extremely upset as you can imagine so I have to ask you to be very careful with this situation. Both you and I know what Paul can be like when he's mad and he's well past his boiling point. I'm not sure how much control he's going to have."

Jake's eyes go wide as he listened. The last thing he wanted was harm to come to Bella, especially after all she's been through. He nodded. "What can I do? Bella doesn't know about us yet."

"We're going to tell her as soon as she wakes up. I think she saw him phase back here." I looked up at Jake to see him nodding.

"I'll make sure to answer any questions she may have and if I know Bella, there will be plenty." He chuckled.

We had walked back into the house with Embry just as Bella was beginning to come around. Paul had gently laid her on the couch, raced to put on the shorts and get back to her side. I decided to take up a seat across from her, waiting.

Leah came down the stairs with a look of disgust on her face, holding something in her hands. "There was more than just stink in there." She laid a box on the coffee table along with a CD case and an envelope. "These were under the board that Paul ripped up."

Paul growled at the items. Jake reached over to open the box. It was filled with pictures of Bella and the Cullens. Even Jake began to snarl, he knew what they had done to her and couldn't stand them.

"Looks like Eddie left behind his scent but this has been in her room for months so the scent is beginning to fade a bit. However, it also wasn't the only scent in the room. There's another, fresher scent up there. I'd say no more than a day or two old." Leah added. "I straightened up her room as best I could but the floor board and bookshelf will need repairing."

Embry and Jake jumped up, heading for her room to scope it out for more clues. Paul had pulled Bella back onto his lap, holding her tightly as if he were afraid to let go. Leah began to pace the living room floor as is her typical behavior, always restless.

About ten minutes later, Bella's eyes opened and she inhaled deeply. Her eyes flew up to Paul's face. "What just happened? I thought you turned into…." She shook her head. "I must have been dreaming because I could have sworn I saw you turn into a wolf out back."

The silence that followed her statement was hard. At first, Paul's only reply was a nod. His hands rubbed her back soothingly. His wolf sensed her shock and fear.

Seeing that Paul was having a hard time, I stepped in. "You did see him turn into a wolf, Bella. Do you remember our Tribe's legends?" I watched her nod. "Well, Paul, along with all of us…" I gestured to Embry, Jake and Leah and myself. "We are all Protectors of our Tribe."

"The Cold ones…." She looked up at Jake's face, remembering their first discussion on the beach of the legends. "So you know about…the Cullens?"

"Yes, we do." I watched her closely. I could see the cogs in her mind turning but what amazed me even more was the fact that she was calming down, rather than becoming upset or nervous. "You're not upset over what you just learned?"

Bella shook her head. "I dated a vampire so no, not really." Embry and Jake growled at her mention of Edward. She gave them a look. "Everyone makes mistakes. Mine just happened to be a really stupid and dangerous one, but I've mended my ways." Even Leah had to agree with that statement.

"Well, Paul lost it because he found leach scent in your room and this, hidden under a floorboard by your bed." Leah pointed to the stuff on the table. Leah picked up each item in turn showing it to her. The CD was labeled "Bella's Lullaby" and the envelope held two plane tickets to Miami.

Bella gasped. "I can't believe he hid it in my room after left me that son of a bitch." She knew exactly what it was that they had found and her reaction was immediate. "Burn it…burn it all. I don't ever want to see that shit again." Her face turned hard.

Her anger rose so fast that I glanced up at Paul, expecting his wolf to react with her, but I was shocked by what I saw. Paul's face held an evil smirk. He was proud of his girl for the way she reacted without hesitation.

"With pleasure." Jake picked everything up from the table. Embry followed him out to the back porch to set fire to the stuff in the fire pit.

I glanced up at Leah, and with a nod towards the back, she left us alone. "Bella, I need you to explain what's going on with the vampires, all that you know. We have had a problem with a particular red headed vamp and if you have any insights, we'd appreciate it."

She explained everything that she knew, her connection to the Cullens, how Edward had manipulated her, and the botched birthday party that led to their leaving Forks. Feeling a bit overheated in Paul's lap as she spoke, she scooted back onto the couch to sit beside him. The others had rejoined us as she finished up with an explanation of their abilities. Then suddenly, she stopped. Looking up at me, her jaw dropped. "Wait…you said red headed vampire?"

I shook my head. "Yeah, we don't know what she's after, but she keeps coming back. We need to catch her as soon as possible."

She looked down at her hands as they sat in her lap. Her nerves began to jump. She whispered. "I…I…know what….she …Victoria…wants."

Sensing her hesitation and worried that she was about to retreat emotionally from everything that had happened, Jake moved over to her. "Bella, what is it? You know you can trust us." Jake kneeled down in front of her, trying to comfort her without crowding her or a tense Paul.

Bella's face lifted. There was fear in her eyes. "Me."

Jake cursed and quickly snatched Bella off the couch, away from Paul. He knew exactly what was going to happen next. His assumption was spot on.

"WHAT!" Paul stood up and ran again, heading out the back door to the yard. We could hear him phase within seconds. Bella watched him, shocked yet again but none of the Pack was surprised by his outburst. His imprint was in danger.

"Well, this changes everything." Leah surmised as Embry walked out the door again for more shorts. Jake gently put the shocked Bella back onto the couch.

I decided that we needed to make some changes and fast. "Bella, I think you're going to need to move onto the res until we catch her. Paul won't be able to…." I stopped myself. It was not my place to explain Paul's reaction. "It would easier for us to protect you if you did."

"Is he going to be alright?" She looked over her shoulder, watching Embry talk to Paul who had managed to phase back but was unable to come back inside. He was still trembling as he fought to control and contain his wolf

"He will be. Paul just needs some time." I gave her an encouraging smile. "Why don't you and Leah go upstairs to pack a bag? I'm going to call Emily to come up with a good excuse for Charlie, ok?"

Bella nodded and let Leah lead her back into her room. A quick call to Emily made me feel better about everything. She and I quickly came up with a cover story for Bella. A suddenly very ill Emily was in need of her friend Bella's care. Emily said she would call Billy to fill him in, so that everyone's stories would match up.

The guys, much calmer now, were speaking to me quietly in the living room as the girls came down with bags in hand. "I covered up the broken board with her rug so it's not noticeable but someone's going to have to come over to fix it later on." Leah gave me a look. We would need to do some clean up on this.

I nodded. "I'll get on it after we get Bella settled over at my place. Bella, are you ok to drive your truck?"

"I am. Do you think Paul would like to ride with me?" She asked quietly.

"I'd like that." Paul looked at Bella, giving her a small smile.

With a glance at the others, we all headed back to the reservation.

The drive from my house to Emily's was only about 20 minutes but it felt like an eternity. Paul sat in the passenger's seat, staring out the window. His mind was a million miles away or so it seemed to me.

As we passed across the border onto the res, he turned to me. "Can you pull over for a moment? I need to talk to you before we get to Emily's." His voice was quiet and his manner subdued.

Pulling off onto the shoulder, I shifted my body to face him. "What's wrong? I know you're upset about what happened at my house. Please tell me." My hand reached out to comfort him.

Paul raised a hand to brush back my hair and cup my cheek. His eyes searched my face, for what I wasn't sure. "Bella, I could have lost you. One of those blood suckers could have killed you and I would never…" His head dropped and his breathing sped up. "And then I almost…" His voice hitched.

I laid my hand over his. I softly raised his head with my other hand to see the beginnings of tears in his eyes. "Paul?"

He inhaled deeply as he stared into my eyes. "Bella Swan, I love you. I will do anything and everything in my power to make sure you are safe. I can't lose you."

A tear fell and tore at my heart. He meant every word that he had said with every fiber of his being. With a gentle smile, I ran my hand over his cheek to wipe it away. "I love you too Paul. I'm not going anywhere. You hear me?"

He pulled me into his strong arms as he shuddered in reaction to my words. His breathing became ragged, filled with emotion. "Mine, you're mine and no one will ever take you away from me. I promise." Burying his face in the crook of my neck, he held me for a long while, until his breathing calmed down. His hands moved, smoothing over my back. "Mine."

After about 30 minutes, we were able to finish our trip to Emily's. Paul sat by my side with his hand on my thigh as I drove, unable, or unwilling, to move back into the passenger's seat properly. After we arrived, Sam and Emily helped get me settled in and in true Emily fashion, she had dinner on the table in no time. Soon, the house was filled with the Pack and their imprints and all the noise and chaos that they brought with them; while I knew I was going to miss living in that quiet house with Charlie, this would be a nice change of pace, living amongst the wolves.