A few hours later has Paul, Kyle and the rest of the pack finishing up dinner. "Oh Peter." Paul says putting his hand on his stomach and slumping back in his chair with a groan. "I don't think I'll be able to move for a week." With a grin Peter replies. "It's a good thing you've got two strong young men who are happy to carry you wherever you need to go." Kyle and Isaac who are sitting on either side of their mate both lean towards him pressing against his warmth. Stiles snickers. "Thanks for handling dinner Peter. It took a lot longer to wrap things up in Dallas than it should have." Derek glowers but says nothing. "It's all settled though right? They aren't going to try and hurt anyone?" Paul asks leaning forward and looking from Derek to Stiles. "They have been… I guess you could say warned away." Stiles says after a moment. "They mostly accepted what Chris had to tell them but still wanted to test you to see if you were human or not." Paul stiffens and is immediately patted and comforted by Kyle and Isaac. "They aren't going to get anywhere near you." Derek says reaching across the table and putting his hand on one of Paul's. "Isaac made his feelings quite clear." Scott says with a grin. "What did you say?" Paul says turning to his right to look at Isaac. Isaac blushes and looks down "It's not important." He says quietly with a small frown leaning closer to Paul. Scott clears his throat and recites "If any of you specist fucks come within 100 feet of him there won't be enough left to identify the bodies. There was also some eye flashing and fang brandishing." Paul's mouth drops open and Isaac sighs turning and looking out at the water.
"That was pretty much the end of the meeting that day. We left Derek, Stiles and Chris in Dallas to handle things and the rest of us left town." Danny says with a laugh. "I could…let them." Paul says quietly staring at his plate. Paul looks up at Derek as the room virtually erupts in shouting and angry declarations from Isaac, Kyle and Peter. "Out of the question." Derek says loudly over everyone else. The flash of his eyes enough to silence everyone. "It's too dangerous." Derek says. "If it would keep the pack out of danger." Paul says looking at the furious faces around the table. "It would be too difficult to protect you. There are dozens of things they could do to you that we wouldn't be able to detect until it was too late." Stiles says shaking his head no while maintaining firm eye contact with Paul. "But.." Paul starts to say. "Paul!" Isaac says in an exasperated heavy voice drawing the human's attention. "No! Please you don't have experience dealing with people like them. Let us protect you. Please." The look of fear in Isaac's eyes enough to convince Paul to let the matter drop. He caresses Isaac over the bond and nods his head. "I need to buy Jeremy a new gate." Paul says rubbing his face on Isaac's neck and changing the subject. "Nah." Kyle says before leaning over and pressing a soft kiss behind Paul's left ear. "He's going to make David pay for it since he caused it." "Speaking of which." Paul starts. Both Isaac and Kyle go instantly still. "Take it easy." Paul says with a snort before leaning over and placing a kiss on Kyle's cheek. "Isaac and I need to have a talk. Let's go for a walk." Isaac says nothing but stands up holding Paul's hand tightly his mouth pressed in to a firm worried line. "Are you sure?" Isaac asks noting Paul's limp. "It's fine." Paul insists. Isaac looks in to Paul's eyes for a moment before leading his human over to the sliding glass door. Before following Isaac out Paul pauses and looks back. "You all are staying tonight right?" "Yes sir." Stiles says with a grin. "Are we gonna….." Paul gestures towards the bedroom. "Puppy pile? Absolutely." Stiles answers back. "You guys are the best." Paul says beaming at the pack. "We'll be back in a little bit."
Paul and Isaac walk in silence for several minutes. "We're far enough away from them all now if you want to yell at me." Isaac says causing Paul to look up at him. "I'm not planning on yelling at you. Paul says squeezing Isaac's hand and pulling him a little closer. "Talk to me about werewolf life spans." Isaac stumbles slightly but recovers quickly. "OK I don't have to tell you that this is secret. As in never to be discussed with anyone outside of the pack. Like…Ever. Understand?" Paul nods "I promise." "Ok well due to mostly to our healing ability our bodies don't age like humans. Instead of our various systems breaking down as we age everything stays in perfect working order. Parts don't wear out cells don't break down. We age to approximately 25-30 years and then stop. We live pretty much until our wolves die. Typically its 170-180 years. It varies. Born wolves usually live a little longer. Derek said he knew someone who lived to be 245." "Wow." Paul says shaking his head. "All the things you'd see. All the history." "All the long term investments." Isaac says gesturing with his head back in the direction of the beach house. "Wonder how long he's owned it." Paul says. Sensing his mates increasing pain Isaac pulls Paul towards a covered picnic table next to a small unpaved parking area. The two sit Isaac holding on to Paul's hand. "Once we had the address I had Danny do a search on the property. I wanted to make absolutely sure there were no ties back to Jeremy or his pack. His name is the only name that's ever been on the property. It was built in 1958. If I had to guess I'd say Jeremy is probably in his 90s. Little things he says or does. He's kept up with the times pretty well but there are some older mannerisms that slip out from time to time." Isaac says with a small shrug. "So why does the wolf die?" Paul asks. "No one really knows, or if they do I have not heard of a solid reason. I've just been told that after so long the wolf gets weak. Once people get to 160-170 the wolf starts to weaken and your body starts to age. Injuries take longer to heal, senses start to dull. Just like normal aging. How long it takes before the wolf dies depends on genetics and lifestyle. If you're 170 years old and still being run through with swords, being shot and fighting with other wolves then you're probably not going to last much longer than that."
"Do Alphas live longer?" Paul asks laying his head on Isaac's shoulder. Isaac goes stiff and looks over his shoulder. Several seconds later head lights sweep the area they are in. However the car appears to just be making a U turn in the small parking area and soon its tail lights disappear in the distance. Isaac turns back around and sneaks a kiss on Paul's cheek. "Yes but not significantly. Your average Alpha can expect to live 10-30 years longer. Again it depends on genetics and lifestyle. Some wolves are stronger than others some Alphas are stronger than others." Isaac says enjoying Paul pressing against him. His sweet content scent wrapping around Isaac like a blanket. They are both silent for a few moments looking out at the rolling waves lit by the partial moon. "How old are you?" Paul asks finally. Isaac grins and replies. "About 2 years younger than you. Hale pack is pretty young everyone is as old as you would expect them to be. There were older members but they were lost in the fire." Paul doesn't say anything and stares out at the waves silently he closes his eyes and inhales slowly letting the breath out a few seconds later. "So you would be OK then? With me asking for the Bite?" Paul asks frowning at the immediate spike of anxiety from Isaac. He pulls away a little as his face clouds up. "Baby no it's not like that." Isaac hurriedly soothes. He turns sideways on the bench seat and tugs on Paul's leg until he does too so that they are facing one another. "The Bite either turns you, or it kills you." Paul's eyes widen. "It's not often, but sometimes people reject the Bite for whatever reason. Death takes a long time sometimes. Days….It's terribly painful." "What are the chances…." Paul starts to ask but trails off looking down at his knees. Isaac reaches forward and takes Paul's hands and pulls them apart holding them gently in his. "You're young, strong, and healthy. You have a very strong connection to the pack. I can't imagine anyone more likely to survive. It's just a very serious decision. It literally is life or death. Your life will be changed forever."
"There has been so much going on. You have been through so much with me and my stupidity. I wanted to have this discussion with you later when things calmed down. I foolishly thought that waiting would be the best thing do to. I swear to you Paul. I wouldn't have kept this from you. I would not have left you behind to wither and die unless that was your choice." "I know puppy." Paul says softly squeezing Isaac's fingers firmly. "When you told me…When you said…" Isaac closes his eyes and looks to the side. "To stay away from you….I thought this is it. I've screwed up so bad this time he'll never take me back. I'm so grateful. So thankful that you've given me another chance." Isaac pulls Paul forward and embraces him tightly. "Thank you baby, I truly don't deserve you." He whispers in Paul's ear before kissing him on the cheek and clutching him tightly as if any moment he could run away. "I'm the luckiest man in the world." "The thought of me leaving you actually never crossed my mind. I just needed to be away….from everyone. I won't lie. I was really hurt…really upset. I promise you though the stuff with Austin…. It…had nothing to with that. I wasn't doing it to hurt you."
"I know. I'm just really glad…..If you hadn't stopped. If you'd let him…" Isaac exhales slowly eyes closed to hide the furious glow. "It didn't happen so it doesn't matter." Isaac says running his hand up and down Paul's back. The thoughts of Paul going all the way with a stranger leading his mind to dark and unfriendly places. "It would never happen." Paul says. "I belong to you and Kyle. The only reason it went as far as it did was because I wasn't in my right mind." "I'm sorry." Isaac says. "Let's call this done and move on yeah?" Paul says pulling back and cupping Isaac's cheek with his hand. Isaac grins and nods in agreement. "My beautiful mate." Paul says stroking his thumb on Isaac's cheek. "Come on. It's getting late and the temperature is dropping." Isaac says standing and holding his hand out for Paul. Paul takes it and they start walking back to the beach house. "Once again you're out in the cold under dressed." Isaac lightly scolds. "I'll be OK." Paul says then shivers after a particularly strong breeze hits them. Paul pulls himself closer to Isaac. "My mate will keep me warm."