Disclaimer: I own nothing but some shirtless pics of Alex Meraz that clog up the memory on my phone. SM owns all.

Chapter 20

Bella POV
There was a tapping sound at my window, and I climbed out of bed to see Paul perched on the tree limb right outside my room. I froze for a second, unsure if I was seeing things or not, but when he knocked again and I saw him sway a bit I rushed over to open the window.

"Paul?" I whispered harshly, gasping when he swung gracefully through the window and landed on my floor with a quiet thump. "What are you doing here?"

He staggered closer to me, wearing a rather goofy grin, and I caught a whiff of something strong on his breath. "Hey, my Bella! You're here! Come embrace me, girl!"

I backed away, matching him step for step as he moved further into the room. My mind was racing trying to catch up. "Paul! Are you… drunk?!"

My nose wrinkled as he leaned over me. He laughed a hoarse laugh as he held his hand with his thumb and first finger about a half inch apart. "Eh– maybe just a little bit. It's okay—your gramps gave me his good stuff. He's the one who told me to come here and embrace you!"

I stared at him in shock as he looked off to the side and continued to ramble. "Well, he actually said to embrace the love… but he also said I was fucking worthy. Worthy of the wolf, worthy of my imprint… hmm. Wonder why I'm all of a sudden so worthy…"

Paul turned back to me suddenly and wrapped his hands around my upper arms. I was distracted for a moment by the warmth of his touch. I'd noticed it when he kissed me before, but I didn't think too much of it. Now all I could think about was how the heat had rolled off Sam when we talked at the beach.

Sam and Paul both felt like they had fevers high enough to kill a person, but they were obviously perfectly healthy. Thinking of Sam made me think about the Cold Ones again, and a flash of intuition hit me. The opposite of cold is hot. The opponents of the Cold Ones were the Protectors. Our tribe was descended from wolves…

All thoughts left me when Paul's lips covered mine and his hot arms wrapped around me, pulling me close to his shirtless body. My traitorous hands wouldn't stay still, running all over his bare skin, tracing the sleek muscles and faint scars.

Paul's hand moved down my arm and his fingers tangled with mine just as he sat back heavily on my bed. I panicked for a second, thinking he wanted to go further than I was prepared to go, but he surprised me once again.

His other hand reached up and softly brushed the hair away from my face, tucking it behind my ear gently. He leaned closer to me, until our lips were almost touching, and whispered, "Do you ever think about that first time?"

My breath caught as his soft lips pressed against mine, barely touching, but just enough to know he was there. I was immediately transported back to First Beach, and the first time his lips ever touched mine. I couldn't hold back a tear at his reminder as he pulled away and stared up at me with an unreadable expression. He swallowed heavily and searched my eyes for something.

"Bella? Do you really regret kissing me?"

Emotions rose up and choked me, leaving me aching and confused. Did I regret it? Could I regret Paul? My head was shaking before I even processed the thought, but I needed to clear this up. "I don't regret you, Paul. I can't. I lo- um, I mean…" Whoa, I almost told him I loved him! Glad I managed to stop myself! "But Paul, you can't keep running away from me!"

A beautiful smile covered his face, and his glassy eyes seemed to sparkle even more. "That's good, Bella. I won't run away. I'll just stay right here, okay?"

With those words, he collapsed back against my pillows, his long legs still hanging over the side of the bed. A few seconds later, soft snores came from his partially open mouth.

I couldn't believe it. I had a six-foot tall boy passed out on my bed. What on earth was I supposed to do with him? Stepping closer, I leaned over and pushed on his shoulder. "Paul! Paul, wake up!" I whisper-shouted, trying desperately not to wake the rest of my household.

Tiffany might be understanding, but I had a feeling my dad and Embry might not take too kindly to finding Paul in my bed. Just thinking of their reactions had me shaking him harder. "Paul!"

A sound at my window reminded me that I had left it open, and I spun around to see Sam Uley crouched on the same branch Paul had used earlier. What the hell was he doing?

"Uh, Bella? Can I come in?" Gee, sure. Why not?

As Sam climbed through the window, I noticed he was dressed the same as Paul—in cutoff shorts and nothing else. He seemed even larger than he did that afternoon at the beach, but he gave me a friendly smile before looking to Paul.

"Did he talk to you before he passed out?" Sam asked, and I couldn't stop my blush as I thought about the "talking" we had done. He chuckled quietly and shook his head. "I see. Well, I think he needs to stay here until the two of you can get this worked out. He has some things he needs to tell you."

I stared at Sam with my mouth open wide as he lifted Paul's legs up onto the bed and shifted him so he was lying mostly on one side. He stepped back and eyed the headboard speculatively before turning to me. "You know where your dad keeps his handcuffs?"

I must have sputtered something unintelligible, because Sam sat down in the rocking chair and sighed. "Look, Bella, the two of you need to talk. I've told you what I feel comfortable telling you right now, but I need Paul to tell you the rest. There are things you need to know, and Paul is the one who needs to tell you.

"Now, he's had enough to drink to keep him out for several hours, and I have a feeling if he wakes up here he will take off again. I think it will be for the best if you can keep him here and force him to open up. It will be better for everyone."

I stared at Sam in confusion, then looked back at Paul's relaxed form. It would be nice to get some answers, and if I handcuffed him then he wouldn't be able to get away that easily. Of course, if he was some superhuman Spirit Warrior, then he could probably break the handcuffs and that would be an answer in itself.

Sam must have seen something in my face because he gave me a big grin and stood up to head for the window. He turned back and wrote something on a piece of paper and left it on my desk, then turned to me. "I left you my number if you have trouble with him. And Bella? Be sure to get pictures, please."

With a quick wink, Sam turned and jumped out of my window. I ran over to check on him and he was jogging through the yard headed for the trees. There was definitely something different about Sam Uley.

Leaving Paul on the bed, I stepped to my door and opened it a crack, listening carefully for the rest of my family. No one was moving around, so I slipped down the stairs and headed straight for my dad's gun belt, not stopping to think as I slipped the silver cuffs from their pocket.

I started up the stairs before I remembered the key, and I had to turn back and slip it from his keychain as quietly as possible. I had just turned back to the stairs when Embry's voice startled me. "What're you doing up, Bells?"

I kept my hand behind me, trying to look as natural as possible as I shrugged and edged my way back to the stairs. "Oh, I just came down to get a drink of water. I'm going back to bed now."

Thankfully Embry just nodded sleepily and went past me into the kitchen. I made my escape upstairs and hurriedly locked my door behind me.

Facing the bed, I took a minute to just look at Paul. With his face relaxed in sleep, he looked more like the boy I fell in love with all those years ago. He looked innocent, not as harsh and jaded as he normally looked. He was beautiful.

He snorted and shifted in his sleep, raising his left arm up over his head. Well, that couldn't be more perfect. I moved as quietly as I could and sipped the cuff over his wrist, tightening it with a metallic click. I quickly slipped the other half over the rail of my bed and locked it as well.

I moved to the other side of my bed and opened the top drawer of my nightstand. Pulling out my favorite pair of socks, I slipped the little silver key into the roll and set them right on top before closing the drawer. That way I wouldn't lose the key at least.

Turning off my light, I slipped into bed and curled up on the edge, trying not to give into the urge to just cuddle up with Paul. I mean, I kissed the boy, but that didn't mean I wanted to sleep with him. Or I at least wanted him conscious first.

I was surprised when I slept through the night, and Paul's shuffling movements alerted me to the fact that I had moved closer to him in my sleep. I slipped from his one-armed grasp before he fully woke, and grabbed my camera off my desk. I did promise Sam pictures.

When Paul was awake fully, he groaned and asked me what he said the night before. It hurt that he didn't seem to remember our encounter, but I did know he'd had a lot to drink. I told him that Sam asked me to keep him here until we talked, and he pulled out a blank face that made me want to scream.

"Let me out of here, Bella."

I pulled out my best Paul smirk and shook my head. "Can you break the cuffs?" I shot back in response.

The shocked look on his face was priceless, and I laughed quietly as he eyed the metal. "These are Charlie's, right?" he asked, and I nodded. "Nope, not worth it. Just let me out please."

I shook my head again and decided I was going to have to lead here. "What do you know about the Cold Ones?"

His face shifted abruptly and I could have sworn he growled. At that sound, his words from the night before came back to me and I spoke again before I thought about it. "What did you mean when you said you were worthy of the wolf?"

Paul's anger left him as quickly as it had come and he sighed as he sank down against my headboard. He patted the mattress next to him and I climbed up carefully to sit and wait for him to speak. He repeated some of the same legends that Sam had told me, but went into more detail about Taha Aki and Utlapa, and how the shapeshifters had come to be.

I gasped when he spoke about the last pack that included my own great-grandfather, and how they had formed a treaty with the Cullen coven. I couldn't hold back a shiver as I thought about Edward and the rest of the Cullens sitting at my school day after day, and Paul surprised me a bit when he lifted his free arm to wrap around my shoulder.

He paused for a minute and I chanced a look at his face. He was staring out the window, biting his lip as if he wasn't sure what to say next. I reached up and brushed my thumb over his lip, freeing it as I pulled his attention to me. "You're a wolf, too, aren't you?"

Paul stared hard at me, keeping his arm tight around me as he slowly nodded. I wasn't as surprised as I thought I would be, but my talk with Sam had prepared me. "So why are you telling me this, Paul? I mean, I'm sure it's not something you tell everyone, right? Charlie doesn't know, and I'm guessing my brothers and Jake don't either. So why me?"

He automatically tried to bring his other hand around, then growled in frustration when he realized it was still restrained. I shook my head when he gave me a pleading look—he wasn't getting out until I had all my answers.