Chapter 36

Maiyah's POV

I finally felt like I could be completely happy and content. I had Paul next to me, who couldn't wipe the smile off his face, and Emily standing in the doorway squealing happily as she tried to be sneaky and take photos.

"God, I love you so much" breathed Paul, linking his fingers with mine, "I know I keep going on about it being a girl, but I actually don't care because this is me and you. I'm definitely the luckiest guy in the world"

Now it was my turn to be unable to wipe the smile off my face as I gazed at Paul.

"I hope everyone else is happy too" I said with a sigh, pressing my forehead against Paul's cheek.

"Course they will be," Paul gave a soft laugh, "this is good news, and after the year we've all had, I bet they'll all be glad of something to look forward to"

I nodded and leaned back against the sofa and closed my eyes. It had been a terrible year when I think back on it. There hadn't been any worrying activity for months and everyone was feeling much safer, so why shouldn't Paul and I enjoy this time?

"At least I can stop wearing all those massive jumpers. It was like being in a furnace" I exclaimed, tugging at the end of my t-shirt.

"Yeah, now I can just stare at you and not wonder if you're going to melt on the floor" laughed Paul, shoving my shoulder lightly.

I rolled my eyes and grabbed his hand which had started to wander.

Our heads turned towards the door as we heard Sam trying to get everyone outside to shut up. Paul stood up and leaned down to kiss my forehead.

"I'll go and join the others for a little bit" he said, squeezing my hand, "you'll be ok for a bit?"

"Yeah, I'll go and help Emily in the kitchen" I said getting up and walking with Paul to the door, "see you in a minute"

"Ok, love you" said Paul, grinning as he sauntered outside.

I rolled my eyes as Emily winked at me.

"Don't you start" I said, giving her a quick hug.

"Hey, I didn't say a word" said Emily innocently, a mischievous glint in her eye, "I just never would have guessed it would be you and Paul turning into the sappiest people around"

"Oh like you and Sam are any better" I scoffed, unable to stop a goofy smile spreading across my face.

"Low blow, Call, low blow" laughed Emily as she handed me a glass of lemonade.

I laughed loudly as we settled down at the kitchen table. Emily began telling me of her Christmas season plans. My eyes were like saucers as she told me about all the food and decorations she was planning. I suppose the entire pack did end up pretty much eating at Sam and Emily's every day but it always sounded a lot. At least we were keeping the local shops in business.

I looked sharply at the door as there was a sudden eruption of sound from outside. I could hear cheering and clapping. I breathed a small sigh of relief as I shared a smile with Emily.

Then things changed.

The cheering turned to shouting and crashing.

I rushed outside, Emily leaping up and racing to join me. I froze at the sight in front of me.

One of the garden benches was overturned, a nearby plant pot on its side, half the pack on one side of the garden, some standing in pairs and there, in the middle of it all, Embry and Paul. Embry had his back to me but I could tell he was angry. His shoulders were up round his ears, his hands balled into fists at his sides and his whole body shook as he stared at Paul.

I caught eyes with Paul who had been stood quite calmly until he saw me. His eyes filled with panic and he shook his head ever so slightly.

Embry span round, his eyes burning with fury as he saw me, his gaze flicking down to my stomach. My hands immediately covered my bump protectively.

"Embry" said Paul calmly, taking a small step towards my brother.

"Shut. Up" snarled Embry, his whole body shaking as he turned back to Paul, "how could you do this? She's just a kid! You've ruined her!"

I could feel the rage building inside me. He had no right to say those things to Paul. If I could, I would have phased instantly. Instead I just stalked towards Embry, the sound of my angry heart beating loudly in my ears. I could see Paul trying to talk to Embry, but the rushing in my ears was too loud for me to hear his words.

Suddenly, Embry lunged forward, his fist colliding with the side of Paul's head. A scream of rage ripped from me as Paul staggered and fell. I grabbed Embry's elbow and was immediately thrown backwards, landing awkwardly against the side of the house. Pain erupted from the back of my head, dark shapes swam in my vision. My hands went to my stomach as I tried to shake off the dizziness. I needed to protect my baby from my own brother. I felt other warm hands on me as I drooped further to the ground, soft voices and angry voices mixed together.

Paul's POV

"Everything will be fine, everything will be fine, everything will-"

"Maiyah, stop" I said softly, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze, "Dr Greywell doesn't seem worried, so you need to stop worrying. Everything will be fine"

Maiyah just stared at me.

After the incident at Sam's, Emily had rushed us to the clinic. I knew my face had already healed, with only the slightest purple tinge left around my eye, but I was more concerned about Maiyah and our baby. Her head had healed as well which meant her wolf genes were still protecting her, but we both wanted to know that our little one was ok.

Everyone had been furious with Embry. I'm not even sure what happened to him as I was so focussed on Maiyah.

I looked away from Maiyah as Dr Greywell called us into her office.

"Good news" said the doctor with a smile, "baby is perfectly fine. I've analysed the ultrasound and there is no damage to you or the baby"

Relief flooded through me as we received the news. I hadn't realised just how tense I had become over the last couple of hours.

We quickly finished at the doctors. I was just desperate to get Maiyah home where I knew she would be safe and no one could hurt her.

When we finally got home I could sense that something wasn't quite right.

"Maiyah, just stay in the truck" I said quietly, opening the door to the vehicle.

"I just want to get inside, please, you're probably just imagining things" begged Maiyah, getting out of the truck before I could stop her.

My heart sped up as she reached the front door. I raced after her and wrapped my arm round her shoulder just as she pushed the door open.

"SURPRISE!"

"AAAHHHH!" we both screamed and jumped backwards as party poppers went off in our faces.

"What the hell are you guys doing?" I growled, shoving Colin's shoulder as some of the pack came towards us.

"We wanted to do something nice for you" said Seth happily.

"Yeah, we can't wait for a new cousin!" yelled Jenny, hopping from foot to foot.

"Perhaps giving us a heart attack isn't the best surprise though" said Maiyah, flopping down onto the sofa, a hand clutched over her heart.

I smiled fondly at her and kissed her forehead as I sat down next to her. Maiyah snuggled into my side and sighed happily.

"Well, you succeeded in surprising us" I said, rolling my eyes at the slightly guilty looks on everyone's faces.

"We got you presents!" shouted Matthew, throwing himself onto the sofa and scrambling across my lap to get to Maiyah.

I exchanged a look with Maiyah.

"You literally found out 2 hours ago" she said with a bright laugh.

"Yeah and did you not wonder why none of us went with you? We had some extreme shopping to do" said Jared, pulling a massive bag from behind the door.

Maiyah and I leant forward and peered in. I turned to Maiyah as she let out a little snuffle and pulled a yellow blanket from the bag.

"This is beautiful, thank you" Maiyah said, her voice thick with emotion.

I felt a lump in my throat as we emptied the bag together and stared at the small mountain of toys and clothes. I couldn't believe how generous the pack had been and just how supportive they were being. I tried not to think about Embry and how it was affecting Maiyah. She hadn't said anything about her brother since the incident but I knew she was hurting. It had been her biggest fear; Embry not accepting that his little sister was having a baby. I felt so guilty. If I had known that there was the possibility of Maiyah getting pregnant, I would have been more careful.

"Not going soft on us are you Paul?" said Quil cheekily.

I cleared my throat and threw a cuddly zebra at him.

"You guys didn't need to do this. You could have waited for Christmas, which is literally next week" said Maiyah, getting up and hugging as many people as she could grab.

"Who says we're stopping now?" laughed Leah giving Maiyah a squeeze.

I leaned back and just watched the scene in front of me. My imprint was happy, the pack were happy, things were looking up.

The week flew by. Maiyah suddenly went into Christmas mode and draped tinsel everywhere. Pretty sure we even ate some after she tried to cook soup and the purple garland had fallen from her shoulders straight into the waiting pot.

Luckily I had managed to get away to Port Angeles for a morning while Emily and Leah had a pamper day with Maiyah. I knew exactly what I was looking for. As soon as I saw it in the case, I knew it was the one. The white gold band curved around the diamond like it was being hugged in place. Now just to propose.

I woke up early on Christmas day. My heart was thumping wildly as I lay staring at the ceiling. What if she said no? She might say no. Maybe it's too much.

"Stop thinking so hard" mumbled Maiyah as she rolled over and rested her head on my chest.

I wrapped my arms tightly around her and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. I felt her drift back to sleep and the warmth of her body had me drifting off too. I would propose with breakfast in bed and try not to worry.

I made pancakes and drizzled maple syrup all over them. My hands shook as I placed the small box between the pancakes and the orange juice. I took a deep breath before taking the tray up to our bedroom. Maiyah was sitting up and flipping through a baby magazine. She smiled as soon as she saw that I'd brought food with me.

I carefully placed the tray on the bed, laughing quickly as Maiyah grabbed the plate of food. I stood awkwardly at the end of the bed. What if she didn't want to get married? What if she thought it was inappropriate? I'm definitely jumping out of the window if she says no.

Minutes ticked by slowly as Maiyah tucked into the food. My heart speeding up as time slowed down.

"Why are you just standing there? I know I'm eating for two but you made enough pancakes for at least the whole of America" laughed Maiyah, putting the plate down and taking a drink of juice.

I was completely frozen. She hadn't noticed the box. I could still grab it and run. I slowly edged round the bed and managed to grip the box in my hand while Maiyah took another drink.

"What are you doing?" she asked suddenly, as I desperately tried to shove the box under the duvet.

"Nothing" I said hurriedly, "nothing at all, nothing suspicious"

"Oh well that's made me feel much better" said Maiyah with a roll of her eyes, "I know you've hidden something under the covers"

"What? No, I was just rearranging the covers" I said as the panic started taking over.

I lay completely still as Maiyah finished her breakfast, all the while looking at me through narrowed eyes while I tried to avoid her gaze. I swallowed noisily as she put everything back on the tray and placed it down on the floor before turning to face me.

"Ok, now tell me. I've waited a whole ten minutes" she demanded folding her arms over the top of her bump.

I glanced at her. She looked really determined.

"Merry Christmas?" I said slowly.

"Of course! I forgot! Merry Christmas!" cried Maiyah, throwing herself on top of me.

I smiled into the kiss, my arms wrapping round her back, all other thoughts leaving my head as Maiyah ran a hand through my hair.

"AHA!" she yelled suddenly, leaping up looking victorious, a dark green box clutched in her hand.

I felt all the blood drain from my face as I shot up and leapt from the bed.

"Maiyah, wait-"

It was too late. She'd already opened the box and was staring at the ring with wide eyes.

I could feel tremors running down my arms as a deep silence filled the room.

Maiyah looked up. Her eyes were shining with tears. Oh god, she hated it. I knew this was a bad idea.

"I'm so sorry, I should have wai-"

"Shut up" said Maiyah hoarsely, walking towards me slowly.

I gulped as she stopped right in front of me.

"Please tell me this is what I think it is" she whispered hopefully.

I was completely rooted to the spot.

"Paul," Maiyah gripped one of my hands, "please, say something"

I just nodded. Why wasn't I talking? This is meant to be when I get down on one knee and be romantic and all that. My muscles gave up and I ended up on one knee almost by accident.

"Me, you, we could get married? If you want? Holy shit this is awful. I need to start again" I closed my eyes and smacked myself in the face with my free hand.

I quickly got up and grabbed the box out of Maiyah's hand before running from the room and slamming the door behind me.

I leant against the wall, breathing hard. That was not how the whole marriage proposal was meant to go. Maiyah deserved a proper proposal, not some panicking buffoon. I hurried to the bathroom and splashed some water on my face. Before staring into the mirror. It was like I could see the determination grow. Why was I worried? Maiyah was my imprint. Of course we were meant to get married. Now just to man up and do this thing properly.

I marched back to the bedroom and flung the door open. Maiyah was sitting on the edge of the bed, confusion all over her face.

I leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead before kneeling on one knee and taking her hands in mine, placing the open ring box on her palm.

"Maiyah, I love you" I started, taking a deep breath and giving a shaky smile before continuing, "you are the most beautiful person I've ever met or will ever meet. You've made me a better person and I can't imagine a world without you. We were always meant to be together and now we're starting a family of our own. So please, Maiyah Call, most amazing girl in the world, will you marry me?"

Maiyah started laughing and crying all at once, vigorously nodding her head.

"Yes?" I asked, double checking.

"Yes, a thousand times yes" she laughed happily, pulling me up into a hug.

"Oh thank god" I breathed into her hair.

I pulled away and carefully took the ring out of the box, my own hands shaking as I slid the ring onto Maiyah's finger. I beamed at her as she wiggled her fingers.

"It's perfect" she whispered, falling backwards onto the bed, pulling me with her.

I held myself above her, careful not to crush our baby or Maiyah.

How had I ended up being so lucky?

Maiyah grinned as I leaned down slowly until we were only a hair's breadth apart.

"I love you" I whispered against her lips before closing the gap and feeling sparks of bliss shoot through me as I held Maiyah close.

AN: Hey guys, sorry for the delay! I rewrote this several times as I wasn't happy with it and had a massive block halfway through writing. Hope you enjoyed. Only a couple more chapters I think.

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