No Copyright infringement intended on Stephenie Meyer's work!
A/N I won't always retell the chapter from Paul's point of view, this will happen for these first few chapters, then it will stop and then might happen once or twice again.
Paul
Dianne was all over me in the truck as we drove over to Port Angeles. She wanted to give me a blow job and I tried to let her but ended up backing out. I couldn't…I just couldn't. My body wouldn't fucking let me. I wanted to kick or punch something really hard. This wasn't going how I thought it would. My decision to reject the imprint and Corrine's aversion to my charms were supposed to work together to help me fight the wolf. But instead, I found myself constantly thinking about meeting her today, her scowl, her eyes, her long hair, her full breasts…the sound of her voice. It was all so appealing to my wolf and the beast was rubbing my nose in it – literally – her scent was amazing.
I pulled up to the mall and we got out of the truck. Dianne was busy chatting away but I could barely pay attention. The tugging in my chest started again and I tried to ignore it. If I could just make it through this night then I'd be happy. That would mean that I could continue living as I wanted to.
We got in line at the theatre and my chest went haywire, the pull was strong, making me think only of her. This was getting old really fast. This was exactly what I hated, why did an imprint mean that my whole brain was dedicated to one person? My wolf stirred and I was compelled to look up in front of me, off to the right. I understood then that this intense feeling that I couldn't ignore was an indicator that my imprint was nearby. I had no idea that Corrine would be here tonight, but there she was leaning up against the wall, looking annoyed and bored….and gorgeous. Fuck.
She finally noticed I was there and her face immediately grew annoyed with me. I couldn't help but smirk, who did she think she was fooling? I could hear her heart racing from here, she liked what she saw. She wasn't immune to Paul Lahote after all. She started to throw daggers in my direction, and I glared back, still smiling now that I knew it was a front. I think Dianne's presence upset her. Good, let her get upset and hate me more. It would be best.
"Hey, I can't wait til later," Dianne leaned over and whispered in my ear. I smiled and nodded, and yet I was not even affected by her tight black dress and healthy opening of cleavage.
That seemed to make Corrine even angrier, and I wondered if she was jealous of Dianne. She had to know that Dianne couldn't hold a candle to her, right? Fuck, that wasn't the point. But then I realized that she was here with a guy, as they walked off together holding hands. No she wasn't jealous, she was here on a date too. I needed to keep reminding myself that she had no interest in me whatsoever. That was a good thing. Cause I had none in her.
Who was he? And why was he touching my imprint? I growled quietly, my wolf was longing to get out and rip his head off.
Dianne giggled beside me. "Save the growling til later Paul Lahote, unless you wanna leave right now?" she ran her hand over my chest suggestively.
It made me shiver, but not in a good way. I couldn't wait to get our tickets. There was no way I was leaving now. I had a feeling that Corrie and her date would be in the same movie as us. Dianne wanted to see some chick flick even though I wanted to see the new Tom Cruise.
We ended up behind them in the concessions line and Dianne unknowingly chose our seats two rows behind them. I was glad because I wanted to keep an eye on her. If he so much as looked at her the wrong way, I'd kill him. This whole thing was just unacceptable…Corrine, dating? I couldn't deal.
And no, I didn't just say that. That was a brief lapse, one I wasn't going to repeat.
Dianne leaned over and started kissing my neck during the movie and it was hard not to snap her head off. I didn't want her to touch me, I needed to keep my eyes on Corrine. She was fidgeting constantly, I could sense her discomfort. I wondered if her date was doing something to make her upset, or if it was me that had her so annoyed.
She confirmed my thoughts that something was wrong when she got up and stormed out of the theatre. I didn't even think about it before I was up and out of my seat, following her. The wolf was basically sniffing her out, begging to be close to her, to find out if she was alright. That was my job after all.
I waited for her to come out of the restroom, as her scent had ended there. After about five minutes she stormed out and ran straight into my chest. I caught her before she could fall. She looked up at me confused as to what was happening, when she realized it was me her foul mood intensified.
"Let go of me!" she practically hissed at me, yanking herself out of my arms. It was horrible, the empty feeling that immediately followed.
"Sorry I was helping you!" I hissed right back. I wouldn't let her think that I liked her since she loathed me so much.
"By standing in the doorway? Nice try."
"Hey, um, Corrie, relax okay? I didn't mean to startle you." I struggled to be nice again because I was starting to lose my temper. But I also couldn't help it. I didn't like her being upset or sarcastic with me, it was an awful feeling.
"What are you doing here with that girl?" she demanded, arms crossed and foot tapping impatiently. I couldn't believe it. That was her problem?
"What are you doing here with that boy?" I fired back with the same obnoxious attitude, but I was secretly thrilled that she was asking about Dianne. Was she really jealous?
"I'm not supposed to be dating someone else, so it doesn't matter what I'm doing! What about Leanne? How could you do this to her?" Did she just stomp her foot like a three year old throwing a tantrum? She was upset not because she was jealous, but because of Leanne! This was just perfect! Leanne was a pain in my ass that just wouldn't go away.
I had to admit to myself, I was shocked, disappointed and confused. "So you're upset on your cousin's behalf?" I clarified.
"Yes! Why wouldn't I be? You really hurt her last night when you stormed off cussing like a pirate. And why did you curse at me when we met? What did I ever do to you? I really want you to tell me!" she threw her hands up and poked me in the chest. That was the last straw. She wasn't jealous and now she was demanding we basically talk about the imprint, which I couldn't. It made me mad.
I tried but I couldn't stop shaking. My breaths deepened as I tried to suppress a growl. I needed to get out of here and yet I didn't want to leave her like this. I didn't want to leave things between us like this.
"Shit, I'm sorry, look Paul just calm down!" she squeaked, shying away from me.
"You think you can talk to me like that? This is my life, you have no say in what I do or who I date!" I said through clenched teeth, my fists balled up as I struggled to contain my wolf. I didn't ask for her to come and turn my life up-sided down! She couldn't make demands of me!
"Okay! Fine! I said I'm sorry!" she screeched and pushed past me to go back inside to her date.
I didn't want her to leave me like this. I needed to calm down first and she was the only way that would be possible. I didn't want to be without her, even if we were arguing.
Fuck! I didn't want to feel this way, so torn.
"Wait! Corrie!" I called out and grabbed her before she could get very far. My wolf won.
"It's Corrine to you!" she barked back.
I snorted and rolled my eyes at her annoyance with me. "Corrine, I'm sorry…" I stopped myself, knowing that I still sounded like an ass. I cleared my throat and softened my tone. "I shouldn't have done that, I didn't mean to scare you." I really didn't, I couldn't hurt her, ever. I was mortified because I had made her feel that way.
She stood there shocked, her mouth opening and closing as if she didn't know what to say.
I couldn't help but grin, getting her to stop and shut up wasn't so hard after all. And I was calm now. "Hello?" I prodded, wondering what she was thinking.
She regained her focus and narrowed her eyes at me. "Wow, IT has manners."
I snorted in disbelief, "It?"
"Yeah, the wild beast."
That threw me off for a second that she saw right through me. I did act like a wild beast because I am one, but it had never hurt so much before for someone to call me out on it – not someone, my imprint. "Is that what you think I am?" I asked, horrified at the impression I was leaving on my imprint.
"That's how you act around me, for some reason I bring out the worst in you."
No, she couldn't believe that! Emily's words came rushing back to me. My imprint was the one person on this Earth who was supposed to bring out the best in me, not the worst. I shook my head adamantly. "Don't ever say that again," I threatened her. I couldn't let her believe that for one second. I couldn't let that be true for one second.
"Well it's true, you know? I have more than enough evidence to make that statement beyond a reasonable doubt, sir."
"Paul is fine." Why would she call me 'sir' to piss me off again?
"Whatevs, it doesn't matter. I have a date to get back to, and so do you, okay? Let's just forget that this ever happened, that we…ever met each other." Her words sliced through me like a knife. Forget that we met? I shouldn't have been upset that she was saying this because it was exactly what I wanted. But my wolf hated it and made me distressed at the thought of never talking to her again.
I lost it then, the wolf gained control and I found myself pushing her back against the wall as the wolf aimed to get closer. I bent low so our noses were almost touching, staring deeply into her perfectly almond-shaped eyes. The wolf needed her to feel our bond now. My desire to know how her skin felt rekindled and I took a chance to trace her jawline. She felt like the softest petal of a rose. My body hummed to life, that pleasant feeling filling me up again. I took a deep breath of ecstasy.
I lost myself in her eyes for a moment, trying to figure out what she wanted, what she needed from me. I wanted to see inside her soul, just this once. Paul the rational part of this wolf-man duo, was unguarded, I wasn't thinking straight.
"I can't forget you Corrine, no matter how hard I try," I found myself whispering to her, my heart aching to keep her close. We stared at each other for a few more moments and I realized that my hand never left her face. She continued to stare at me, the heat rising between us. Her scent filled my lungs.
"What?" she finally asked, stupefied. We'd both lost track of reality for a moment it seemed. And in that borrowed moment, I'd felt whole and it scared me shitless. Nothing that I wanted was happening – my shield had cracked. I reminded myself yet again that I couldn't submit to her and she was certainly not going to submit to me.
I woke myself up, pushing the wolf back as I stepped away from her quickly. "Uh, nothing," I said. "I gotta go."
I went back to Dianne and apologized for keeping her waiting. I sat next to her and tried not to react when Corrine looked at me again when she returned to her own date. I purposely watched the rest of the movie without letting my eyes wonder. When it was finally over I rushed Dianne out of the theater and into the truck so that I wouldn't have to meet the eyes of my imprint again. I had totally fucked up everything by allowing myself to fall apart in her presence.
Tonight I had proven a lot to myself and it was all horrifying.
First, I wasn't going to get out of this imprint no matter how hard I try.
Second, I needed to continue to try my best to resist and stick to my original plan.
Because third, my imprint didn't want me either.
