Chapter Thirteen

Light and Dark

Paul hadn't known Jared was right behind him, which was embarrassing considering he could hear Sam's neighbors nearly a mile away arguing about their new babysitter. It wasn't that he was embarrassed about what he had said, just that he didn't know he was inadvertently saying all those things to Jared. At Jared's question Paul froze, eyes wide and jaw slack. Marry him? Just a few weeks ago he had been worried that Jared wouldn't want to live with him. "W-what did you just say?" He breathed, brows furrowing. Maybe he had misheard. After all, Jared's face was soft, but there was no doubt or hesitation in his eyes.

"I asked you to marry me." Jared licked his lips, closing the distance between them as Paul stood. Taking his hands, Jared smiled. "I know we're young, and it doesn't have to be right away… but I feel the same way Paul. The imprint, your mother, the reservation… so many things were telling us not to be together, but I can't imagine my life without you either."

Paul felt a lump form in his throat, so he took a slow breath. He wouldn't turn into an emotional mess now. "Jared…" Paul breathed, face softening. "I want to spend my life with you, and marrying you would be… amazing, but can we? On the rez, I mean. I don't even know if the council would allow it…"

"You're part of the council." Sam spoke up, reminding Paul that he was still there. "And as the alpha of the pack, I'm the acting chief of the tribe. I can marry any two people I want under tribe law." He stood, beer in hand and smiled. "If you two want to get married, I'd be honored to officiate."

Paul breathed a short laugh as he looked back to Jared. "So?" Jared gave him a small smile. "Is that a yes?"

Licking his lips, Paul nodded before a wide smile lit up his face. "Yes. Of course it's a yes." He laughed, catching Jared as the smaller man practically threw himself into his arms. The kiss they shared was one full of promise and hope. They would be together, and no one could say a damn thing. Paul wasn't sure when it would happen, but he knew for sure that he would get to call Jared his husband.

Paul leaned against Sam's truck as he stared out over the moon-drenched beach. He was almost positive the entire reservation had come out for the bonfire, which would make things easier… and harder. The Cullen's had returned a few days ago with some news on the red-headed leech. Apparently she was building an army in Seattle and was on her way to them. Although no one was happy to see them, – surprisingly, not even Bella who had clung to Jacob's wolf when the mind-reader had tried to touch her – they were happy to have a few more people on their side. The small leech couldn't be sure, but she thought that this newborn army was at least a hundred strong. The council agreed on a large bonfire the night before to just be with friends and family, though only a select few knew that was the reason. The rest just saw it as a big party. It was easier that way. They didn't want to have to worry about people running around the reservation terrified.

"We don't have to do this, Paul." Jared's quiet voice brought him out of his thoughts. "Not tonight at least. We can just go down there and have fun."

Taking a deep breath, Paul shook his head. "No." He turned to Jared, taking his face between his hands. "I don't want to hide anymore, Jare. We have enough secrets to deal with. I don't want us to be another one." They didn't say it out loud, but they might die the next day. If Paul was to die, he wanted to do so knowing that there was no doubt in anyone's mind that he loved Jared. And if Jared… he couldn't even think about it. Peppering Jared's face with kisses, Paul smiled and laced their hands together. "Now or never, Cameron. Last chance to forget about me."

"I won't ever forget you, Paul." Jared said seriously, his hand tightening around Paul's. "I don't think I could if I tried." They took a moment to gather themselves before slowly making their way towards the beach.

The pack was the first to see them, each giving their own silent support in the form of smiles. When they reached the edge of the firelight, others started to take notice. At first, it was just a few shocked looks before the chain of whispers began. Paul ignored them, his hand tight on Jared's as they pushed through the gawking crowd towards the pack. About halfway there, a few of the guys they had went to high school with stepped in front of them.

"So the rumors are true." Eric, the most annoying of the boys, scoffed. He had hated Paul ever since Paul called him out for being a douche in front of the girl he liked. "I gotta say, man when my girl told me Lahote was a fudge packer, I didn't believe it. I guess after you went through all the women on the rez, you had to look for more option-ah!" He yelped as Old Quil hobbled up and grabbed a firm hold of his ear.

"Didn't your mother ever teach you any manners, boy?" He gruffed, glaring at the other two who immediately looked away. "If we weren't in sand, I'd brake my walking stick over that thick head'a yours." He frowned as he pushed Eric away from him. "Get out of here before I consider risking it and having Paul here carry me off the beach."

"Crazy old man." Eric mumbled, yelping again as Old Quil raised his carved walking stick. Stumbling in the sand, Eric turned to retreat, only to bump into the chests of Sam, Jacob, Embry, and Quil.

"We don't tolerate that kind of attitude on the reservation." Sam said in his chilling 'alpha' voice, arms crossed over his chest. In fact, all the boys held the same stance. To any human, Paul was sure it would look menacing. He however, was too amused at the situation to be angry, which was a first for him. He should have known that it wasn't just he and Jared in this. He had his friends. His family.

"Anyone else got something to say?" Quil asked, cracking his knuckles. Almost simultaneously, everyone in the vicinity seemed to take a step back.

"It's okay, guys." Paul smirked, looking around at the wide circle that had formed around them. "Since everyone on the reservation seems to think our lives are their business, I'll say this once. "Jared and I are together. We love each other, and we're going to get married. If you have a problem with that, feel free to take it up with me personally." The whispers started again, but one voice rang out over the crowd.

"Jared Cameron!' Jackie screeched as she pushed through the crowd and charged up them, her movements awkward thanks to the sand. "You're engaged, and you didn't even tell your mother!?" Despite being half their size, both men flinched.

Paul looked to Jared alarmed. He assumed that Jared had at least told Jackie. Shrugging, Jared gave them both a shy smile. "It didn't come up… we've been busy." It was true. With the upcoming war about to take place in their backyard, they hadn't even fully unpacked yet.

"We will talk about this." She pouted before her anger dissolved into a watery smile. "I'm so happy for the two of you, really." She nearly sobbed before reaching up to pull them both down in a hug. "I know I wasn't the most supportive in the beginning, but I love you both, and I'm so happy that you found this happiness with each other." She turned her head to kiss Jared's cheek before doing the same to Paul. "You have always been my son, Paul. Now it will just be official."

Paul closed his eyes as he squeezed her a little harder. They better make it out alive tomorrow, because he sure as hell wasn't ready to give all this up.

Paul's paws shuffled under him as they waited in the tree line behind the field. The Cullen's stood front and center, all but the mind-reader who was up in the mountains with Bella and Jacob. Jake was purposefully thinking about how he and Bella had had sex for the first time the night before just to piss the leech off, but thanks to the pack mind, they all had to see it. No one cared though, they were too focused on what was about to happen. They had trained and strategized. They had spared until they couldn't walk and they had worked on moving as a unit. They were ready for this… they had to be.

Hearing his worry, Jared rubbed his large head against Paul's. "Relax, guys…" Sam's voice echoed in their minds. Even now, he was calm. Only every now and then would they see his worry for Leah. It was clear to all of them that Emily had no intentions of returning, which seemed surprisingly fine with Sam. He and Leah had been on better terms, but it was easy to see that Sam wanted what they once had. "We know this land and we know they're coming. They have no idea that we're here. We have the upper hand." The large black wolf turned to look at them. "I know you're afraid, and I won't lie and tell you that we'll all come out of this unscathed. That's best case scenario. All we can do is what we were born to. We will protect our tribe and our homes with everything we have. And we'll do it together, as a family." Each wolf made a small noise of agreement, standing a little taller. Sam was right. This is what they were built to do.

All eyes turned to the field as the sound of running became louder and louder. "It's starting." Paul wasn't sure who's voice it was, too focused on the task at hand. Turning to lick Jared's muzzle, Paul sighed before Sam's order to move rang through his mind. It was time.

The impromptu battlefield was pure chaos as Paul tore through leech after leech. He had lost sight of Jared a while ago, but could see in his mind that he was just fine, and that Embry had his back. Ever since Embry started dating Kim, the two had been close. Turning on his heels, Paul caught a leech mid-air as it lunged for Leah. Tearing the head off, he tossed it towards one of the many fires that had been started by the Cullen's. He could see through Jacob's eyes that Victoria had caught wind of Bella's scent and was now descending on them. Trying to focus on his own fight, Paul nodded towards the big leech who had intercepted one of the newborns. Their numbers were lower now, only a few dozen left, and they seemed to realize that they were losing.

Catching the sound of running, Paul turned with a deep growl only to freeze as he was met with his mother's face. Only… not her eyes. They were blood red and full of hate. He stumbled back in shock, a small whimper coming from his throat. "Is that Holly!?" Quil's question seemed to draw the attention of the rest of the pack. She wasn't moving as fast as the others, but it was clear that she was coming for him. And Paul… Paul stood frozen in place as he watched the monster that was once his mother close the distance. When she was nearly at him, she was tackled from the side by a large brown wolf. Paul blinked back into reality as Holly shrieked, crying out for him by name as Jared ripped her head off with one solid tug. Once the screaming had stopped, Jared turned to Paul, blocking his view as the rest of the pack closed in on Holly's lifeless body.

"Paul…" Jared's voice pleaded. "I know that was hard, but you can't just stand here. It's too dangerous." He pleaded with a whimper as he nudged Paul's head. In the back of his mind, Jared was freaking out about killing Paul's mother.

"You didn't kill her, Jare…" Paul's voice was nearly hollow as he turned back to the fight. "She was already dead…"

The rest of the battle seemed to move in slow motion for Paul. Sure, he had hated his mother, but to see her turned into that? It was worse than death. Part of him – a small part he wouldn't admit to – was happy she was dead. It meant that she couldn't come back and find new ways to ruin his life. She had never really been there, so her being dead… well, would that have changed anything?

The pack tried to comfort him once all the leeches were dead and Bella was safe, but they didn't really know what to say. Only Sam really seemed to understand, placing a hand on Paul's shoulder without a word before leaving him alone with Jared. They didn't talk as they made their way home. They didn't talk as they showered together, Jared's calloused hands moving over Paul's body to clean him. They didn't talk as they laid in bed and Paul sobbed while Jared held him. It was only on the cusp of sleep that Paul heard Jared whisper how much he loved him. It was hard now, but Paul knew life would go on. For tonight however, he would mourn the death of the woman that had never loved him while in the arms of the man that loved him more than life itself.

AN: We're nearing the end guys! Probably just one more chapter and an epilogue left! If you have any questions, be sure to ask in the comments! I'll be doing one last big AN/Q&A after it's done! Sorry if this chapter is up a little late, my internet went down for a bit.

Super big thank you to Maxsmomma, LuvinTwilight143, YaleAceBella12, and Braddox for reviewing!

Braddox: Yeah, when I did all those big time lapses I forgot to outline them, so that's on me. I won't go too in depth in their story since we're almost done with this one, but I might make a companion oneshot piece for them :D

LuvinTwilight143: My heart goes out to Leah. The books made her out to be this megabitch, but she had every right to be angry. Her father died, her cousin betrayed her, and her boyfriend left her. I understood Sam to a point since the imprint doesn't leave much choice, but the books don't really say anything about the imprintee feeling the pull, so Emily just fucked her over.

Maxsmomma: I hated to do that to Holly only because of what it did to Paul. I had the idea while mentioning Victoria around to have her take Holly. Since Holly came and went so much, no one would really notice.