Chapter Twenty-Six

This was not at all what Jared was expecting. To be honest, he wasn't quite sure what he had been expecting, but it definitely wasn't this. Actually, with more time to guess, he probably could have come up with any scenario other than this one.

Paul and Kylie were…siblings?

That was just…Jared didn't even have a word for it...'unexpected' barely covered it.

Meanwhile, he could clearly see the anxiety written across Kim's face; she was clearly waiting for his reaction. Well he definitely stood by his earlier assessment that her reasoning for not sharing this information with him sooner was definitely reasonable. And now that he actually understood what she'd been talking about, her explanation for not telling him actually made sense; it wasn't her secret to tell. But clearly he needed to share that with Kim before she exploded from worry.

"I understand why you didn't tell me…I think," Jared said slowly. "But Kim…I don't get…how is this possible? I mean—wait!" He cut himself off suddenly as a new thought struck him. "What about you? Are you and Paul…you know…siblings, too?"

Kim gave a brief, humorless laugh. Jared didn't like that sound coming from her; it was too angry and bitter.

"No, we aren't," Kim said dryly. "I don't know who my dad is. And even if I did, the Lahotes still lived in Tacoma when I was born, so Paul's dad is basically geographically ineligible. Plus, despite having two kids with two different guys while barely being in a relationship with either of them, I'm pretty sure my mom has enough morals to not sleep with someone who's married. At least, I'd like to think that about her."

Jared chose not to comment on Kim's mom's personal life. Honestly, he barely knew the woman; Kim was loads more qualified to pass judgment on how she chose to live her life. Plus, he was pretty sure anything even vaguely negative Kim said right now was a product of frustration and not an actual reflection of how she viewed her mother…probably.

"So," he said instead, "Your mom and Mr. Lahote, then?"

Kim nodded with a slight frown. "The way I understand it, she was basically his rebound after he and Paul's mom divorced. He wasn't looking for anything serious and he broke up with her before she knew she was pregnant."

"I heard her trying to explain why she didn't tell him," Jared began carefully and Kim sighed.

"They were pretty pathetic excuses," She stated bluntly, "Understandable to a degree, but still stupid."

Jared hesitated, and then told her, "Mr. Lahote thought so, too."

"Are they still arguing?" Kim questioned after a brief pause. "Because I definitely thought there would be more yelling."

"They are," Jared confirmed, after taking a moment to focus on the angry conversation between the two adults several rooms over. "I think they're both trying not to yell, though; Mr. Lahote must know you and Kylie are here to overhear anything. Plus, he's not quite as bad as Paul—now that he has that initial burst of anger out of his system he's not likely to yell anymore…probably."

"Oh god…Paul," Kim trailed off, her head dropping into her hands. "I almost managed to forget about him for a minute. He's going to find out now. He's going to hate me!"

"He won't—" Jared tried to reassure her, but she very uncharacteristically cut him off with a shout.

"He's going to hate me!" She insisted loudly. "I've known for weeks and he's seen her a bunch of times and I've kept it from Paul that Kylie is his sister!"

Jared opened his mouth to attempt to calm Kim down; she was blowing this out of proportion. Yes, he was Paul and therefore likely to be upset by this revelation no matter what, but anger was his gut reaction to just about everything. He would calm down once everything was explained to him, and he certainly wouldn't hate her for keeping a secret that wasn't hers to tell. He knew his pack brother; everything would be fine as long as someone explained the whole story to him. And an angry outburst might even possibly be avoided if someone sat him down and calmly explained things first.

But before Jared could verbalize any of this to Kim, he was cut off once more, this time by a loud howl that sounded very close by—too close by, actually. Kim lived close enough to the center of town that her house was nowhere near the regular patrol route—which Jared knew very well from his many detours on late night patrols to check up on Kim. Plus, no one was scheduled to be on patrol right now and, in the unlikely event Sam or Paul had chosen to go for a run anyway, that wasn't the emergency howl to signify a vampire crossing their territory. All of these thoughts ran through Jared's head very quickly before he reached the only feasible conclusion.

Paul.

Paul was in the woods nearby, for whatever reason, and he overheard something that likely wasn't the full story and now he was angry.

Shit.

"I have to go," Jared said quickly, practically leaping off the bed and pulling his shirt over his head in a single motion.

"What is it?" Kim questioned, worry lacing her tone, as Jared crossed to the window and pulled it open. "Vampire?"

"No. Paul," Jared said shortly, and he only got the briefest glimpse of Kim's panicked expression before he was jumping through her window and then running for the cover of the trees.

A few feet into the woods, Jared dropped his shorts and phased. Immediately, he was bombarded with a deluge of cursing. That answered that question, then; Paul definitely overheard something. Before Jared could even begin to attempt calming him down, Sam phased in as well.

What's going on? The Alpha asked immediately. Paul, I thought you were going to find your dad?

But Paul was too angry to form a coherent response other than a new string of curses. Jared answered instead.

I've got this, he told Sam. I know what's wrong and I can help him. You go back to Emily, I'll explain everything later.

Sam's hesitation was brief, but he apparently felt Jared's certainty through their mind link, and the temptation to return to his imprint was strong.

Let me know once everything is sorted, Sam said, and then he was gone again.

Jared took a deep breath to prepare himself. This was going to be difficult.

Paul! He shouted, attempting to make himself heard. Paul, where are you?

But Paul didn't answer, instead focusing on running, and Jared resorted to focusing on looking through Paul's eyes. Luckily, he was quite familiar with the immediate La Push area by now and he was quickly able to determine which direction his pack brother ran off in.

Everyone involved with the Pack knew that Paul had a short fuse; it would have been a hard thing to keep secret even if they wanted to. And his angry outbursts usually led to him exploding into a giant wolf. Sometimes, though, rather than attacking the source of his anger, Paul took off running in an attempt to blow off steam and calm himself down at least fractionally. They'd always known that Paul learning to control his anger was going to be a long process, and one that he rarely took very seriously. And so the fact that Paul was now halfway to Canada was actually a good sign, in Jared's opinion. He wanted to get himself back under control.

Paul continued to run and Jared followed at a steady pace. With a front row seat to Paul's jumbled thoughts, Jared knew better than to attempt to actually speak to him just yet. The only thing that was likely to accomplish was another angry outburst that would get them nowhere.

And so Jared continued to trail his pack brother, and finally, after nearly an hour, Paul began to slow down.

Are you ready to talk now? Jared questioned.

Fuck no, came Paul's immediate response. But that isn't going to stop you.

How much did you hear? Jared asked hesitantly. He needed to know how much damage control he was going to have to run.

Enough, Paul said shortly just as Jared entered the clearing where the other wolf was pacing furiously.

Jared couldn't contain his eye roll. He could read between the lines: Paul barely heard anything before he decided losing his temper was the best immediate reaction. Typical.

Fuck you, Paul replied. This is complete shit. I can't believe—damn it! Kim—

Jared immediately frowned at the sound of his imprint's name in the midst of Paul's disjointed ranting. Paul better not—

—That was such a bitch move. She kept—

Paul never saw it coming. Jared knew he wouldn't; he was too caught up in his own drama. And so one second he was pacing and ranting, and the next he was on his back in the dirt, pinned beneath Jared's paws.

What the hell, man? Paul demanded, attempting to throw Jared off, but failing as he was pushed back down; this time Jared made sure to dig his claws in so Paul would get the message.

Don't talk shit about Kim, Jared said, deadly calm. You wouldn't if you knew the whole story.

I know it's fucked up, Paul shot back, still struggling under Jared. She could have told me—

So you could be an ass to her face? Jared cut him off. She's not an idiot.

Paul finally threw Jared off and scrambled to his feet, baring his teeth at his pack brother as the two circled each other.

Her mom is a fucking idiot for getting knocked up.

Then your dad is an idiot for being the one to knock her up.

The fight that ensued was predictable, if anything. Jared tried to stay on the defensive, but using the excuse that Paul was just having another temper tantrum really only went so far—especially when Paul overheard that passing thought and got even angrier.

In the end, though, the scuffle seemed to do the trick and Paul finally appeared to have burned through a majority of his initial anger.

Now are you ready to talk? Jared asked pointedly, even as he winced as he felt a deep gash on his side begin closing up.

And rather than wait for a response either way, Jared began running through the afternoon's events in his head for Paul to see and hear everything firsthand. By the time he got through it all—both his conversation with Kim and what he'd overheard between Ms. Connweller and Mr. Lahote—he could tell that Paul was upset again, but he was no longer directing that anger at Kim. Just as Jared knew would happen all along, Paul didn't blame her for keeping her mother's secret. But he definitely wasn't happy there was a secret in the first place.

This is a shit situation, Paul said once Jared's memories stopped. I can't believe…and my dad! He might not have been yelling anymore, but that's as pissed as I've ever heard him.

Hopefully they're working something out right now, Jared offered.

Paul snorted. God knows they've both had their fill of immaturity over the years. Clearly dating Kim's mom was the last time he tried to hide a relationship from me. I'm surprised he never knocked anyone else up with the number of one night stands he's had.

For the second time that day, Jared chose to refrain from commenting on the personal life of someone else's parent. Besides, derision aside, he knew that Paul and his dad were pretty close. Of course, that made him wonder how a new sibling would fit into things.

I can't believe I have a sister, Paul suddenly stated, clearly having been following Jared's thoughts. He flopped onto the ground with a huff. I can't believe it's Kim's sister.

You could talk to her, you know.

Kylie? Hell, no, Paul shot the idea down immediately.

Not Kylie. Kim, Jared corrected. She can explain everything to you better, plus you can tell her you don't hate her.

Have to keep the imprint happy, Paul muttered, but there was no real malice behind his words. Then he sighed. Dad isn't going to be in the right state of mind to explain things fully to me today. Kim is probably my best bet for information right now. Let's head home, lover-boy.

Call me that again and I'm not following your ass to Canada or letting you attempt to maul me the next time you have a hissy fit.