A/N: I'm proud of my recent progress on this story. I've written four chapters in a very short amount of time.
Chapter 9: The Truth is Stranger Than Fiction
"So... vampires..."
The blond gentleman, who'd been introduced to me as Carlisle Cullen, had finished giving me care instructions for my arm and said he'd send someone by the next day with some pills to help manage pain. "I could give you a prescription now, but seeing as my family moved away two years ago, that might be a little suspicious," he'd chuckled with a friendly twinkle in his eyes. I was having a hard time looking away from his eyes at all, in fact. They were such a beautiful golden color, they were mesmerizing. The man and the woman who stood off to the side, occasionally whispering to each other - Edward and Bella, I thought I'd heard them called - shared this molten golden color. The fourth in the group of strangers, a doll-like girl who looked maybe fifteen, was the only one who didn't share this color, with her eyes being a deep brown.
As we got ready to go, I stuck my hand out to shake the doc's. He took it gently and shook it. "Thank you so much, Dr. Cullen," I said before sliding down off the table. I wobbled a little, still a little unsteady from my blood loss. Both the doctor and Paul reached out to steady me at once.
"It was my pleasure, Ms. LeHaye," Carlisle responded, once he was sure I was steady. Paul still kept a steadying hand on me. "I will be back to check on your healing progress in about three weeks, providing that's alright with you, Jacob."
Jake gave a single nod. I decided not to ask why he needed Jake's permission just this second. I filed it away with the rest of my million and one questions I was going to ask Paul once we were alone. Also in that file was the obvious - you can turn into a fucking wolf?! - and why Jake kept sneaking glances at Bella when he thought no one was looking. I sensed something off there.
Paul was holding my hand tightly as we said our goodbyes. I felt like Edward was looking through me when he gave me a little smile and said, "Good luck, Sydney."
Bella and Jake shared a quick, semi-tense hug and Jake gave the younger woman a little knock on the chin. "Be good, Ness."
"You be good, Uncle Jake," she replied with a bright smile, playfully shoving his arm away.
Uncle Jake? Another question to pop into the ever-growing file. A surprising amount of those questions were about Jake, specifically. Why was everyone treating Jake like an authority figure all of a sudden? Why was Jake being so awkward? What was up with him and that Bella chick? How was he an "uncle" to this teen girl who was pale as snow? He was only 21.
Embry, who'd been pretty quiet throughout all this, led the way out of the house and jumped into the drivers seat without much of a glance backwards. I gave a questioning glance to Paul who merely shrugged. Apparently he didn't know what his problem was either. Jake took the other front seat, leaving Paul and I in the back. That suited me just fine. His unusual warmth was really comforting right now since I just couldn't seem to warm up. He helped me slide into the back seat and followed me, not even letting me buckle myself in right now. It was sweet how careful he was being, but I wasn't a fragile doll.
Embry adjusted his rear view mirror so that he could see us in it. "Where do you want me to drop you guys off?"
I was about to say, "I just want to go home," when Paul interjected with, "My apartment, please." He must have seen my confused look since he turned to me and said, "We need to talk and I think we could use some... erm... privacy."
I wanted to moan and groan and say I was tired, could we do this tomorrow, but I saw the seriousness on his face. And did I really want to wait till morning for answers? No, not truly. So I nodded my acquiescence. "Yeah, your place is fine," I said for Embry's benefit.
The ride back to La Push was really quiet. Really, the only time the silence was broken was when Jake received a call and he answered a bunch of questions. "Yes, she's fine... Some lacerations high on her right arm but Dr. Cullen was in the area... No, they're not coming back to stay, though he's visiting in a few weeks to look over her again... I'm not sure... Dude, it's been a long night, can you hound me with questions later?... Yes, Bella was there, you unbelievable asshole... I'm hanging up now." He hit end on his phone screen and shoved the phone into his pocket with an irritated huff.
Embry pulled up in front of Paul's apartment complex without so much as a word. Paul got out, seeming nonplussed. I was slower to follow and whispered, "Bye, Embry." I saw him glace at me in the mirror again, but he didn't say anything or acknowledge my farewell in any way. I felt pain slice through my heart at his tight-lipped rejection, but just followed Paul. There would be time to sort out what was going on with my best friend later.
The car pulled out of the drive after we'd exited. Jake rolled down his window to wave goodbye, and I returned the gesture before they turned and drove out of sight. Paul took my hand in his again and gave me a reassuring smile. "Let's get you inside."
I nodded, smiling a little in return. I'd never been to Paul's apartment before so he had to lead me up a flight of stairs and to the apartment marked '14'. I didn't really know what to expect, despite feeling pretty familiar with Paul by this point. Would it be messy bachelor pad? Would it be nice and tidy? Would it look like his mom had picked everything out for him? I was surprised, but also not, to see that his apartment was neat but lived in. There wasn't clothes or food littered everywhere, but there was a Playstation remote on the coffee table, some dishes in the sink and a blanket lightly wadded up on the couch. There was a couch and love-seat, both deep brown, and a somewhat antique looking coffee table. The kitchen was teeny tiny and there was a small table in the dining area that was currently doubling as a desk as papers were scattered across it and a laptop was lying closed on the surface.
It was really homey looking. "Nice place," I complimented.
"Oh, yeah," he said, like had only just occurred to him that this was the first time I'd be seeing his home, "I forgot I've never brought you here before. Well, make yourself at home. Do you want anything to drink?"
I gingerly sat down on the love-seat and called out, "Just water, please."
He looked at me skeptically from the kitchen. "Just water?" he asked, to which I nodded. "I was certain you were going to ask for coffee, you addict."
I rolled my eyes. "Well now that you mention it, hand over the liquid crack."
Paul smiled at me and I smiled back, glad some of the tension had melted between us. I heard the pot brewing and could hear him messing around with something in there. In a very sweet gesture, he brought me a peanut butter and jelly sandwich cut into triangles. "Thanks," I murmured as he set the sandwich and the mug in front of me and set his own double-decker sandwich down in front of him on the coffee table. "So, I guess we should just... jump right in." I continued to gaze at him as I took a bite of my PB&J.
He sighed deeply. "Yeah, I guess that's the best way... Uh, I'm not really sure where to start."
"Hmm, how about the fact that you were a giant fucking wolf a few hours ago and now you're just a really tall dude?" I suggested, coming off as a little more sarcastic than I totally meant to. It's not like he'd wanted this conversation to go down this way - he'd outright told me that his secret was pretty big and that he wasn't sure how to explain. However, the cat was out of the bag now and I was due my explanation.
Paul averted his gaze. "Fair enough. Well, er... The legends of our tribe say that we're descended from wolves... Turns out that's a little more literal than most people would have thought..."
My eyes nearly popped out of my damn skull. "You're telling me this whole reservation can turn into wolves?" I squeaked.
"No, no, no," he hurried to correct, "not nearly that many. Just the pack members - all the guys, plus Leah, anyway." That actually made a fair amount of sense, actually. I couldn't quite imagine 5'2" Claire shifting into a giant wolf, nor model-esque Kim, but Leah... yeah, I could see it. "Anyway, as I was saying, we are supposedly descended from wolves, and when our natural enemies turn up, the Cold Ones, some of us, mostly youngins who aren't fully matured yet, will start popping teeth and fangs."
I took a long swig of my coffee as I processed this. "Cold Ones?" I repeated, to which he nodded. "Is that a code for... for vampires?" Even saying the word out loud made me uncomfortable. If I had not seen Cade with my own eyes tonight, I never would have believed anyone who told me vampires were real, so acknowledging that word as something of fact and not fiction damn near set my whole world on its head.
Paul nodded again. "Yes."
I sensed that he had questions of his own about the attack tonight, but he was being considerate enough to realize that it wasn't his turn to ask questions. "So... vampires," I said, feeling breathless. The word felt foreign and weird and I didn't like it. "Are there... are there a lot of them? Are they all like Cade?"
"Cade?" Paul immediately picked up the thread I'd been on. "Was that his name? Sydney, did you know him?"
"Paul," I said, a little hysteria rising in my voice, much to my chagrin, "not now."
He seemed to shake himself. "Right, yeah, sorry." He cleared his throat and continued on, "I wouldn't say there are a lot of them - more than I'd like, certainly, but I think its safe to say I'm a little biased." Paul chuckled a little, and I cracked a smile too, despite feeling so tightly wound I thought I might explode. "And to answer your other question, no, they aren't all like - like Cade." He paused for a second and made an odd face, as if just saying the name had left a bad taste in his mouth. "You met some of the better ones this evening - the Cullen family are "vegetarian" vampires," he said, using heavy air quotes around the word vegetarian.
I'd thought to Cullens were off - too pretty, too perfect, and it had been really weird that they all shared the exact same golden eyes. But it was better than the blood red that had been in Cade's. "Vegetarian meaning...?" I prompted when he didn't resume his train of thoughts.
"They subsist off animal blood instead of humans. Anyhow, our tribe has long held an uneasy truce with them, but five years ago, when Bella was still human, we joined forces with the Cullens to protect her and the adjoining areas from a newborn army - newborn vampires are strong and vicious - and then again when there was a threat to her and Edward's half vampire baby." He rolled his eyes like it was just a minor inconvenience.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" I exclaimed, feeling rather blindsided by that information dump. "What the fuck? Vampires can have babies with humans?"
"Not easily," Paul said. "Bella nearly died."
"Wait, you said that Bella was still human five years ago?" I clarified and he nodded in confirmation. "So that girl we saw tonight was, what? Four? She looked fifteen! How the hell does that work?"
Paul shrugged. "I'm not a vampire biologist. That's just the way Ness was born. Bells was only pregnant maybe... three months? Maybe not even that."
I paused for a moment in my line of questioning to eat a triangle of my sandwich. I guess I had no right to expect that he knew the inns and outs of all things vampire. I took biology and I didn't know everything about how the human body worked - and I didn't think they had a class called Vampire 101. So, even though I wanted a more specific answer, I suppose, 'that's just how she was born' would suffice. Still, I couldn't believe that the girl was only 4 years old. That's crazy. "So... Jake and Bella?" I prodded, deciding that was the next thing I was most curious about.
Paul relaxed a fraction and laughed. "Oh, Bella and Jake. Bella fell in with vampires before I knew her and fell for her now husband, Edward, about as hard as anything I've ever seen. He decided to leave her for her own protection or whatever and she started hanging out with Jake. They became best friends and Jake fell for her. Jake's been head over heels ever since and despite the vamp coming back and her having been married for four years now, not to mention that she's a vampire herself, he still can't seem to let it go."
"Was it ever mutual?" I asked, curious.
Paul seemed to think about that for a second. "Hmm, I think so, for a little while. Maybe if the bloodsucker hadn't ever come back, Jake and Bells would be married by now," he shrugged, like it wasn't really important. "Bella made her choice and she seems happy. Jake just needs to move on."
That seemed like a fair assessment. I took another swig of coffee, and thought about what seemed most pressing in my mind. It wasn't like Paul was going anywhere, but my brain was bursting with more pressing matters. I wanted to ask about Sam and Emily's babies and if, in a few years, they'd start 'popping teeth and fangs' as he'd so eloquently put it, but I also didn't want to know the answer to that question. The imagined flash of our future was still weighing too heavily on me and if the answer was yes, I'd have to think about what all that meant for Paul and I's still really new relationship - not even relationship, really. We hadn't made anything official. I pushed that line of questioning aside because it made my stomach heave.
Eventually, I settled on, "So... why did Carlisle ask Jake's permission to come back and check on me?" That seemed like a relatively safe route to take.
"Ah, yes, I need to familiarize you with pack structure," he said, sitting up and rubbing his hands together like we'd just gotten to something good. "So, as you may know, in the wild, there are wolf packs and they are generally run by an Alpha. Same concept, though with a slight twist. We have two alphas and two packs and we just cooperate as if we're one. Sam is the alpha of the pack I am in, and was the original alpha before the pack split into two. Jake runs the other pack."
"Why did the pack split?" I asked, confused. They all seemed so close.
Paul gave me a look, like the answer should be obvious. "Bella," he said with a roll of his eyes. "You see, in our pack structure, alpha's orders are obeyed, whether we like it or not. When Bella became pregnant, we had no idea what to expect and, under Sam's order, we were prepared to kill her and the baby." I took in a sharp breath, surprised by the callousness that Sam, a father of two and loving husband had been capable of. Paul leaned over and put a hand on my knee, "We thought we would be saving people from a bloodthirsty monster unlike anything we'd ever known. Believe me, we thought it was the best option." His eyes bore into mine, begging me to understand.
I took a deep breath. "I do believe you," I replied sincerely. Despite the secrets and everything, I still knew these people and none of them would have done something like that without cause. "So, what happened next?"
"Jake comes from a long line of alphas and would be considered the 'true' alpha. He'd turned down the position of alpha at first, but refused to be ordered into killing Bella. He challenged Sam and broke off, forming his own pack. Seth followed, also believing that killing Bella would be wrong and Leah followed, too - not because she thought they were right but because she saw an opportunity to get away from Sam and their split was still pretty fresh at the time. They worked tirelessly to mislead us about when the baby was born and by the time the rest of us were clued in, Bella was a vampire, Ness already looked about one year old and it was pretty clear that all of our fears had been unfounded. After all that was solved, Embry and Quil joined Jake's pack, the rest of us stayed with Sam and so it's been for the last four years.
"Carlisle asked Jake if it was okay to come see you mostly out of politeness. Anytime the Cullens are in the area, they have to alert us for the sake of keeping positive relations."
I nodded. "I guess that makes sense."
We discussed things for a while longer. He told me more about pack structure, how they could communicate with each other while they were in wolf form, how it felt when you tried to fight an alphas order. He told me anecdotes about Bella's human days and the early days of the pack - my favorite was when Bella sprained her hand by punching Jacob for kissing her. He told me how he'd been the third to phase and how it was so weird watching each and every member who phased after him. "I wanted to help them," he explained, "but until they actually phased, we couldn't tell them anything but weird cryptic bullshit."
"Like the weird cryptic bullshit you gave me?" I teased. He smiled and lightly shoved me.
We must have talked for hours. Everything was getting easier. I finally let him ask a few questions about Cade after most of my own questions had been answered. How we'd dated briefly when I was a sophomore before I'd quite standard schooling, how he'd stalked me a little bit afterwards but eventually gone radio silent about two years ago. Paul growled and a weird chill went down my spine at the sound - not scared but excited - and said, "He probably stopped because he got turned and didn't need to stalk you online anymore."
Well, I definitely hadn't considered that before. The thought horrified me. "You think?"
"I think," he responded with finality.
And then, finally, Paul told me about what happened to Emily. He told me with this odd, quasi-guilty look on his face about how just once, Em had stood too close to Sam when he was angry and when he shifted, he'd hurt her. He'd scarred her forever. And now I knew why whenever Sam saw Em and came to kiss her in greeting, he always started with her scars first. I reached out and grabbed Paul's hand. "You were all young and so new to all this," I said with as much empathy as I could, "it was an accident."
Paul grasped my hand in return, like it was a lifeline. "He still feels guilty, and until recently, I couldn't understand why, but..." He brushed my dark hair away from my face. I could feel the blush spreading over my cheeks. "Sydney, there's one more thing I have to tell you about."
Oh, god, I thought to myself. Was he about to make some huge confession? It was too soon, too much, too fast. I needed someone to put a pause button on life right this second and then give me another week to think about all this. After all this wolf stuff, was he really about to say 'I love you' for the first time? When had he even had time to decide that? Oh no, no, no, no. I might actually explode.
I knew Paul was reading all this play out of my face. His eyes searched mine, but I don't think he found anything definitive there. Regardless, he pushed on. "There's something called... called imprinting. It's what happens when a wolf meets their... I guess the best way to put it is their soul mate." My internal monologue began ramping up the mantra of 'oh, no' it had been playing. Tell me you're a werewolf? Fine! Tell me my ex is a vampire? Okay. But do not tell me that I am your soul mate. Not yet. Oh, god, not yet. "It's like, when you see her, she's everything. Gravity moves and it's her holding you to this earth and you'd do and be anything she needed. Sam and Emily are imprinted. Jared and Kim are imprinted. Quil and Claire are imprinted. And you and I-"
"Please!" I yelped, begging him to stop. "I know where this is going and please just... don't say it."
Raw pain fell over his face before he could mask it. It hurt me to hurt him like this, but this was too much and I was freaking out. A second later, Paul's face clouded over, becoming unreadable and he gave a single nod. "Okay." It was curt, it was polite, and it was so unlike him that it hurt my heart. He began to gather up the dishes and took them into the kitchen.
I was left on the love-seat, feeling lost. I wanted to reach out to him, to tell him that I liked him but that this was all moving crazy fast and couldn't we just slow down for a minute. Yesterday we weren't even in an official relationship and today we were soulmates? How? How does that even happen? Though according to him, it had been that way for the last month and a half we'd known each other. He just hadn't known how to tell me. Which I could totally understand - I was not handling this part of the equation well at all. I wondered how the other imprinted girls felt about all of this - and then suddenly, I had my answer.
"I need to talk to Emily."
Paul nodded. "I'll take you over first thing in the morning. You can use my bed and get a few hours of shut eye until then."
~Forever and Always~
Paul must have let Sam or Em know we were on our way because when I got there, there were muffins still hot from the oven and fresh coffee laid out of the table and the eldest pack member plus the babies were mysteriously absent. Paul gave Em a quick kiss on the cheek when we got there, grabbed a muffin and left without so much as a backward glance at me. That stung. He hadn't said more than the bare minimum to me all morning.
"He's not mad, Sydney," Em said softly, having noticed the way I kept staring at the back door he'd disappeared through. "He's trying to make this easier on you."
"By ignoring me?" I asked, picking at the wrapper on the muffin she'd set down in front of me.
"By giving you space," she corrected, her voice still gentle but firm. "You asked him not to talk about it but, Syd, it's the only thing he wants to talk about. His silence is not a punishment - it is him doing the best he can to respect your wishes."
On some level, I already knew that. I knew Paul wasn't angry - hurt, sure, feeling rejected, yes, but I knew he wasn't angry at me. "I guess you're right," I huffed, picking a little piece of my muffin top off and tossing it in my mouth. "I just feel so overwhelmed. Yesterday, I was a girl and he was a guy and we were maybe about to start dating. Today, we're cosmically bound together and oh, by the way, he's a werewolf."
Em choked a little bit on her coffee. "I'm sorry, maybe about to start dating? Sydney, what did you think happened two weeks ago?"
I blushed a little. "I thought that was just him letting me know he was interested," I stumbled, only just now considering that it might have been something more. Em gave me an incredulous look, so I hurried to defend myself; "Hey, it's not like he ever asked me out or anything!"
"You guys went to the movies last week!" she argued.
"That wasn't a date!" I argued back, but then I stopped when Emily raised an eyebrow at me. Oh, my god. It totally was a date. I am the most inept dumbass that has ever walked this earth. I slumped back in my chair and dragged my fingers down my face. "Ohhhh, well then why didn't he say anything? It didn't sound like he was asking me out. He just said, hey, you wanna go see this movie? I heard it's really good."
Emily was looking at me like I was a dumbass too. It's fair. I deserve it. "And that didn't clue you in?"
"No!" I burst. "I've never really dated before. I had one boyfriend in high school but aside from that, I've only ever made out with a couple guys at parties! And by the way, the last boy I dated is trying to kill me now, so I obviously have excellent taste in men." I irritably swiped my bangs from my eyes and noticed that it looked like Emily was trying not to laugh. "This is not funny," I told her with a frown.
Em straightened up and schooled her facial expression into a serious mask, but I could still see her eye twinkling. "No, not funny at all," she agreed, but it was ruined by the fact that she cracked a smile at the end. I couldn't help smiling in response. Soon, we were both laughing at the absurdity. Of all the things we could be talking about right now, after this absolutely life-changing revelation, we were debating about whether Paul and I were already dating or not. After the laughter died down and we both sobered a little, Emily continued with, "Listen, Syd. Paul's mostly about actions. The holding of your hands, putting an arm around your shoulder, the little kisses - those were all him telling you how important you were to him. You feel like this is sudden, but it's not, not really - it's been building since he first met you."
I sighed, processing all that. I mean, she was right. Just because I was a dense motherfucker didn't mean Paul hadn't been making an effort. "Yeah, okay," I acquiesced. "I guess we have been dating for two weeks, even if I wasn't aware, but I'm not ready to declare undying love. It's too fast!"
Emily gave me a warm, understanding grin. "Now that, I totally understand. It doesn't hit us the same way it hits them, and that's okay. It's part of the process, even. Claire and I both went through exactly what you're going through now. Hell, Sam was dating Leah when he shifted and when he met me, and from my perspective, he just threw the relationship aside. My cousin's ex, who she was still crying over and who had left her for seemingly no reason, was suddenly trying to woo me instead. It was weird! And then he told me about the wolf stuff and I thought he was insane. I wouldn't even talk to him for weeks." She shook her head, but there was a little smile on her face. "He finally showed me and we started dating. And then, the accident happened," she paused and gestured to her face, which still bore the scars from years earlier. "Oddly enough, it was after the accident that I knew. The way he doted on me, the way he tore himself up, the way he tried to make up for it every day... that was how I knew."
My heart lightened at her story. "So... it's okay that I want to take things slow?" I asked tentatively. She'd implied as much but I needed the validation badly.
"Of course," Em said, "that's kind of the cool thing about being an imprint; the vast majority of the time, things work out on our time tables. Something about the imprint just makes them... extra understanding, I guess."
That was reassuring and yeah, a little bit of a perk.
"However," Emily amended, a lot of the mirth disappearing from her face, "because the imprint hits them harder than us, we, as imprints, need to take it upon ourselves to make sure that we don't override their needs with our wants." My pulse skyrocketed again because I knew where this was probably going. "This isn't a condemnation, Syd," Emily said, a little sarcastic pull twitching at the corner of her mouth, "you didn't know, you were overwhelmed and I'm not judging you at all. But shutting off honest, open communication when he'd been waiting so long to tell you was one of those instances. And you do owe him a chance to explain without fear that you'll pull another runner."
I sighed. "Yeah, you're right. That was selfish. I'll fix things with him soon." I just hope he'll forgive me.
"It won't be hard to fix things," Emily said, her smile returning to her face. I wondered if she could read minds or if my face was just really that open of a book. "But, that's a problem for later. Today is going to be a girl's day. Claire will be here after school, Kim's out of town for a family reunion, so she'll just have to catch the next girl's day and Leah's making faces at the back of your head as we speak."
I whipped around in my seat to see Leah, who's lips were pulled back and jaw was wide open in an odd but impressive display of her teeth. She paused upon being caught and met my eyes before slowly letting the weird face turn into a grin. "Hey, Sydney. Heard the beans got spilled."
"Yeah, along with about two pints of my blood," I said sarcastically. If anyone could appreciate my dark humor, it was Leah. I got up and went to wrap my arms around her in a tight hug which she returned with no hesitation. "I'm happy to see you, wolf girl," I whispered in her ear.
"One of us, one of us," she chanted softly in mine as a response. I giggled and pulled out of the hug. She did as well and gave me a friendly slug on the arm. I nearly passed out from the amount of pain that coursed up said arm and made a weird keening noise. "Oh, shit, Syd!" Leah exclaimed, reaching out to catch me when I actually almost wobbled off my feet. Little stars burst in front of my eyes for half a second before I regained myself, blinking. "I'm sorry," Leah began, her face drawn in apology, "I forgot-"
"It's okay," I cut her off, taking a sharp breath in and then slowly releasing it. "I hope the Doc gets those painkillers down to me soon," I said to the room at large, once I was once again standing completely under my own power.
"I believe there was already a drop arranged and Claire will be bringing them with her," Em said. I looked at her with brows raised, wondering how on earth that had come to be so quickly. Emily gave a small smile in return. "He may not be happy with the situation at the moment, but he's not about to let you suffer longer than absolutely necessary."
My chest warmed. I didn't deserve Paul's caring nature.
Em, Leah and I sat around, waiting for Claire to get out of school. Kim called and let us know that she and Jared were coming home early - things had gone sour with her family, as Jared predicted - so she'd be by later tonight for the big "Imprint talk." I didn't know what she meant by that, but based on Em's face, I felt that I was in for something juicy.
Leah lounged in her chair, head propped on her hand lazily. "You're telling me you seriously didn't know that Paul liked you for a full month? That boy was at your beck and call!"
Emily laughed. "She didn't realize they were dating for the last two weeks, either."
Leah's jaw dropped. "Really?!" she exclaimed, and then promptly burst into a fit of giggles that almost made her roll out of the chair. "Oh my god, how didn't you know?! We all knew!"
My face flamed from embarrassment and I angrily bit into another muffin. "Can we not go through this again?" I grumbled.
"Fat chance!" Leah was far too delighted by my chagrin so I threw a pillow at her. Her reflexes were good, though, and she caught it, giving me a wolfish grin. I narrowed my eyes at her. "I'll wait until both Claire and Kim are here so you only have to go through it once more?" she offered.
Sensing it was the best offer I was going to get, I nodded.
Despite the mockery, even with the secret out, I was still so, so, so comfortable around Leah and Emily. Leah was a mythological supernatural being and Em had knowingly married and born the children of one, but they were were still just... Leah and Emily. Em still made the best muffins I'd ever tasted and Leah still liked to tease me and get under my skin. In truth, the wolf thing barely even phased me. I guess I was just defective.
Morning turned to afternoon and then to evening. Claire came in around four and promptly burst into tears because Em was redressing my arm for me and it looked bad. Like, really bad. There was room for argument that I'd gotten into a nasty fight with a wolverine. She dropped my her back pack and my pills on the ground and ran up to me, wrapping her arms around my neck in a tight hug. "Sydney, I'm so glad you're okay!" she sobbed. I awkwardly patted her on the back for a little while before Leah peeled her off me, still sniffling.
After Claire calmed down, we sat down and watched a movie together - something with Channing Tatum to make her feel better - to pass the time until Kim got there. I knew they were all anxious to get down to the wolf talk. I was also feeling much better since Claire had come bearing painkillers and they were doing the lord's work.
Kim didn't arrive at the house till almost seven and, I noticed, she arrived in her own car, sans Jared. It was then that I realized that the male wolves had been banished. I mean, I knew it was a girls day, but Jared not even stopping in or driving Kim here - Kim hated driving with a passion - suggested there might be some sort of threat on all their lives involved. I frowned softly to myself. They didn't have to stay away just for my sake...
Kim settled down in the circle of chairs and relayed that after a certain remark by one of her older second cousins, in which they called Kim a "mulatto" she and Jared had decided to come home early, as their racist asses weren't worth their time. I totally agreed and was glad she was able to make it for story time.
"So, before we get to the stories, have I got something to tell you!" Leah said, rubbing her hands together like a cartoon villain. I rolled my eyes, but didn't protest because she had kept her word and not brought it up till now. "Sydney wasn't sure Paul liked her until two weeks ago."
Kim raised one perfectly waxed brow at me. "Really?"
Claire snorted. "There's no way. His crush was visible from space."
I carefully kept my eyes centered on a spot on the carpet and kept my face as neutral as I could, but I could feel my cheeks heating up. Traitorous blood vessels. After a moment in which they waited for my denial, both broke into giggles, soon joined by Leah and even Emily couldn't hold back a chuckle or two. "It's not that funny," I grumbled, petulantly folding my arms across my chest and frowning.
"Oh, yes, it is!" Leah disagreed. "And, that's not even the best part. She also didn't realize that she and Paul have been dating." The giggled resumed.
I rolled my eyes. "Arguable, but okay."
Kim shook her head. "No, Syd, not arguable. You and Paul doubled with Jared and I, like, three days ago."
I felt my eyes go wide and I whipped my head up to look at her with disbelief. "Oh, my god, we did!" I hadn't realized it was a double date until now, but it totally was. We went to Port Angeles, had a nice dinner and even went and bowled afterwards, in couple teams. I let my head sink into my hands. "I'm an idiot," I moaned.
"It's okay," Leah assured, leaning over to pat me on my shoulder. "You're our idiot."
I scoffed and playfully smacked the hand she was patting me with away, but cracked a smile. Yeah, I guess I was their idiot.
Kim clapped to get out attention. "Ladies, it's time to impart our knowledge to the newest imprint!" she announced, like this was a grand ceremony. It wasn't. We were eating junk food in Em's living room and I was in borrowed jammies, not a gown. "Em, as the first imprint in the pack, you get first dibs!"
Em's smile was a little sly. "While we all know it is important not to abuse our respective wolf's devotion, but I have to admit, winning arguments is the simplest thing in the world. Sam wanted to name Nicholas Geoffrey. A stout refusal and waiting him out was all it took. He wanted to move to a bigger house, but I really like this one, so I insisted on addition instead... and well, we're still here and he's been talking to a contractor."
"He'd better be," I said teasingly. "Because I know you didn't have Seth and I paint that mural only to sell this place."
Em giggled. "Touche. Anyway, if you can outlast the puppy eyes during an argument, you're pretty much guaranteed to come out the winner. Anyway, that's all for me. Kim? You were the second, so it seems only fair that you go next."
Kim sighed, a little dreamily. "There's nothing like the love of a wolf." The other two women, and even Leah, nodded at that. "Jared was my third boyfriend when we got together. The first two were fine, treated me well. The first one and I broke up because he left for the University of Montana and the second one and I just didn't have enough in common to keep it going long term. Perfectly nice guys and I'd even classify them both as good boyfriends, but Jared's love is just... otherworldly in comparison. If our shifts clash and I can't see him all day, he sends me sweet texts and pictures with funny faces. He'll come see me when I'm on my break at work, even though I know he's dead tired and just wants to sleep, and..." she trailed off, a little mischievous grin creeping over her features, "he may or may not have punched the cousin who called me a Mulatto."
"I still can't believe they called you that," Leah scoffed, "you're not even the right race for that slur. Such laziness."
"Bigots," Kim said with a shrug. "What can you do? Anyway, Claire?"
"Life is never boring," Claire said simply. "Everyday with Quil is new and exciting. It never feels stale. It feels like... like he falls in love with me all over again, ever day."
I could tell by Emily's face that she didn't fully agree and even Kim's expression was a little strained. I had a feeling it was because Claire wasn't really... I guess qualified, is the word I'd use, to say that. She and Quil were still a month or so shy of their one year anniversary, so of course it was still new - they were largely still getting to know one another. I let it slide, though, not wanting this to devolve into a fight. Claire could be a little petulant about being the baby of the group sometimes.
I wasn't expecting Leah to say anything, but she leaned forward and looked at me, her expression serious, for once. "I know I haven't imprinted or been imprinted on, so I can't speak about my personal experience with that, but I do have one thing - a direct line to Paul's thoughts. Syd... he cares about you. So, so much. I mean, sure, he imprinted on you that first night at the barbecue, but he also started falling for you on his own."
I could feel my eyes prick with the beginning of tears. "He did?" I asked, hating how hesitant and unsure I sounded. I hadn't wanted to tell anyone that part of the reason that imprinting scared me so much wasn't just because it seemed so fast and serious - though that was the biggest part of it - but also because it seemed like... like he didn't have a choice but to love me. And I liked him a lot, could easily see it turning into love, but I didn't want any of it if I wasn't his choice.
Leah gave me a warm smile and gave a little nod. "Yes. He can't get over your spirit, your sense of humor, your strength. He thinks about you all the time and I know he's happy about the imprint."
Hope swelled in my chest at her words, but my brows furrowed in confusion. "Doesn't he have to be happy about it?" I asked, confounded, "I mean, imprinting isn't a choice and Paul said it's like he was tethered to me at first sight. I'm paraphrasing, but that's the gist."
The mood in the room turned somber and all the women in the room exchanged looks, as if silently debating whether to tell me something. I was just about to insist that they stop with all the secret keeping because I was tired and I was injured and I just needed everything out in the open when Emily spoke; "There have been a few instances in the past where either an imprint or a wolf resisted the bond. It is... not unheard of for an imprint to merely result in friendship instead of a romantic relationship." She didn't meet my gaze and shifted in her seat, as if admitting it made her uncomfortable.
"It's uncommon though!" Claire hastened to add.
Kim nodded, twisting her fingers in her lap. "Very uncommon," she agreed. Leah stayed silent.
I blinked and looked around the room at all the down turned lips. "Were... were you guys afraid that if I knew that I could reject the imprint, I would just... give up on my relationship with Paul?" I asked, utterly befuddled.
Claire bit her lip, but nodded. Kim gave sort of a half shrug, still fiddling with her fingers. Emily and Leah said nothing.
I took a pillow and tossed it at Em, who jumped in surprise. "YOU," I began with heavy emphasis, "should have known better. Didn't we just go over it this morning? My exact feelings on this matter? You're as dense as me!" To punctuate this statement, I grabbed another pillow and tossed it at her. This one she managed to bat away, but I was already tossing a handful of popcorn at Leah and Kim. "And you two should know me better than that!"
Em's mouth gaped and she stuttered for a moment. "You didn't know everything this morning. I-I didn't know if this would change anything..."
I waved her off. "Yeah, that's in character for me," I intoned with great sarcasm. "Screw my budding relationship with this great guy. I'm totally going to give up at the very first problem that arises, even though it's something he can't help." I picked up another handful of popcorn and tossed it at all of them. "Jeez, have more faith in me."
A little smile had started to tug at Claire's lips. "So... what are you going to do?"
I didn't have to think about it very hard. I stood and brushed the crumbs off my front. "Well, I think it's time that I go make up with my boyfriend." I winked and turned on heel. The girls broke out into squeals which spurred me on as I ran out the door. I didn't care that my hair was a mess or that I was in Emily's pajama pants and a baggy t-shirt or about the fact that it was starting to rain even harder than the standard Washington drizzle. Some part of me thought it was going to be like a movie, I guess, and so I was a little surprised not to find him waiting for me. Realizing that was ridiculous, I quickly recovered and cupped my hands around my mouth, calling out with all my might, "PAUL!"
I waited for a response, breathless. I thought I heard a cracking noise and whipped my head around to stare at the treeline, but there was no one there. My smile began to fall and my heartbeat slowed. "Paul!" I tried again. I was so sure he'd be close by. It hadn't even occurred to me that he might not hear.
A lump rose in my throat, hot and molten. Dejection washed through me as surely as the rain washed over me, soaking me through. My pajamas stuck to me, my hair was slowly sagging out of its loose tie, and my toes sunk into the muddying ground. My arms fell to my side and I bowed my head, desperately trying not to let the hot tears that were pricking at my eyes again fall. This was humiliating and I couldn't find the strength to turn around and go back inside. I knew the girls were peaking through the window, probably feeling bad for me. So I stood in the rain, unable to make a move. I was sure Kim or Leah would run out here soon and grab me, but for now, I stayed put and held onto my dignity just for a little bit longer. I pressed my eyes shut, still unwilling to cry. The tears spilled anyway.
The only sound was that of the rain. I could hear the sharper sounds as it hit the metal roof of Em's car and the duller sounds as it struck the ground and the pavement. To my horror, I let out a single sob, breaking the tranquility of the rainfall.
"Sydney, don't cry," a familiar voice breathed as a gentle touch brushed against my face. My eyes sprang open and I whipped my head up to see Paul. He was shirtless - how could I expect anything else? - clad only in jean shorts that were just about as wet as my pajamas. His short hair stuck to his forehead and the sides of his face with the rain. Giving me an uncertain glance, he began to drop his hand away from my face, like he wasn't sure he was allowed to touch me.
I grabbed his hand before it could fall to his side and held it tightly with both of my own. "You- You weren't listening?" I asked. I kind of hoped he had been. I didn't want to go through it all again. I just wanted the big romantic moment and for things to be okay again.
Paul met my gaze steadily, but gently. "I didn't think you'd want me to."
Internally I swore, but externally, I did my best to smile. "I am an idiot," I proclaimed, "and I'm sorry."
His brow furrowed and he sighed; "I don't understand, Syd."
I kept his hand clasped tightly in both of my own and gave it a firm squeeze, trying to will him my feelings through my skin, but his confusion did not lessen. So, I pressed on. "I'm an idiot because I didn't realize- I didn't know how you felt about me. I kept waiting for a grand gesture or a proclamation, but that's not who you are. You show how you feel through the small gestures and everyday affection, and I ignored that. So when you told me-" I paused and took in a deep breath, feeling lightheaded, "When you told me about imprinting yesterday, it felt like we went from 0 to 100 over the course of an evening, and that scared me. Looking back now, though, I know it's been building. I just couldn't see the forest for the trees, you know?" When I finished, I was breathless and I searched his face, but, as per usual, he was hard to read.
Paul was quite for a moment, taking it all in. I waited anxiously, heart thumping away as I awaited his reply. I hoped I hadn't wrecked this. Finally, he quietly asked, "You want a proclamation? A gesture?"
I was confused as to how he'd come to that conclusion, and shook my head vehemently. "No, I don't need anything like that- Ah!" I denied, but was cut off when, lightning fast, Paul used his other arm and wrapped it around my waist and pulled me flush against him.
"Than you will have it," he said, his tone leaving no room for argument. Gently, he pried his hand from where mine held it, between us and caressed my cheek with his fingertips, so gingerly, I might have thought I was made of glass. "Sydney LeHaye," he began, his gaze steady and a warmth unlike any other I'd ever known shining from deep within his dark brown orbs and the deep green veins that cut through them. "You are stubborn, you are caring, you are hilarious and you are so intelligent. You challenge me, you perplex me and you fascinate me. And I want us to be together. Will you be my girlfriend?"
I was stunned, but was proud when I managed a breathless, "Yes!" after only a few seconds pause.
Paul's smile could have split the heavens in two before he leaned in and crushed his mouth over mine. I smiled into the kiss, sliding my hands up his bare chest and wrapping around his neck. He brought his other hand around my waist, pressing me ever tighter again him, and a moment later, in true movie fashion, he lifted and twirled me around. I broke the kiss to give a shocked shriek of joy. He set me back down, laughing, and pressed a kiss to my forehead.
He pulled back, giving me a grin. "Grand enough?" he asked cheekily.
I laughed, lightly smacking his chest. "Yeah... Good luck trying to top it," I joked.
"Challenge accepted," he replied before swooping in for another kiss.
"OY!" a voice yelled, causing us to pull apart. Leah stood on the steps of the house, covered by the awning, hands cupped around her mouth. "Lovebirds, newsflash. It's raining! Get your asses inside!"
Paul held out a hand for me to take, which I did, giving it a squeeze. He quickly brought it to his mouth and laid a kiss across my knuckles. "Ready to go back simultaneously mocked and congratulated by our friends?" he asked.
"If I'm with you, I'm ready for anything."
