SECRET

Paul

Light bled in from the windows and left a perfect outline of the window pattern on the opposite wall of Brynn's room. The birds that had made a nest in the branches nearby were awake and singing to make sure the world knew. A brunette head laid on my chest, the girl's lips pursed, her eyes squinted as she dreamed, and she was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen in my life.

And every time I blinked, I saw her bleeding out on a cold, concrete floor with her hands grabbing at her swollen stomach.

It had only been a few days since the rescue mission that took my ass out of my possible death-hole, but the nightmares seemed to become worse and worse with every night of sleep that came and went. The pain inflicted upon me was easy to not think about; I grew up being beaten by the man who was supposed to love me more than anything else in the world, so what did it mean to me to get hit by someone that didn't know me at all? No, the fire, the loss of my pelt, and every other second of physical pain was not something I would ever lose sleep over. I survived, my hair was already growing back, and things would be fine.

No, what seemed incapable of leaving my mind for more than a mere minute at a time were the words that Adrian had muttered into my ear. The threat had sent me into a rageful frenzy when they were first said, but now the fear was like a fist around my heart. Brynn wasn't pregnant, wouldn't be for what I hoped was at least a couple more years, but that fact did nothing to soothe my conscious. Going years without a single interference from the bastard would seem easy, until the day Brynn came to me and told my she was going to have my child.

Just like that, the scumbag had turned what would've been the best day of my life into something I never wanted to face.

"Quit thinking so loud," Brynn mumbled, eyes still closed but now with her brows furrowed. "You woke me up with all the gear-grinding noises."

The bloodied images didn't leave my mind, they never did, but in that second they got foggy enough that it was hard to see them clearly. Brynn was good at that, at picking my brain and turning it inside out to only have room for her and what she was doing right now. Because right now her head was turning so her chin pressed into my pec, eyes blinking open in a slow, bleary way that made me fall in love with her all over again. It didn't make sense that I was the person lucky enough to wake up to this every morning, but I was too selfish to question that fact for more than three seconds.

"Didn't even have your eyes open and you were already being mean," I teased, my hands sliding up her backside to rest against her ribs, thumb stroking the skin softly. "That has to be a new record."

"No," she disagreed quickly, eyes brightening at the chance to be snarky. "I called you Meat Head in my sleep once, remember?"

I laughed and watched her earth-toned eyes shine, and the sight of it broke my heart and patched it back up again in the same second. I knew the past few days hadn't been particularly easy for her; whatever mojo made up the imprint bond had her almost as affected by my experience as I was by the images in my head. The first two nights had been the hardest, one of us always waking the other up due to nightmares or touches just out of the need for reassurances. The bags that had started to form beneath her eyes were the reason I had decided to opt out of getting much sleep at all. It was simple for me to go without something, but watching her be drained by everything wasn't something I was willing to allow. So in the middle of the night, when she woke herself up by calling out my name, I was there to tuck her back into my chest, to tell her that I was there, that it was all over, that she was safe.

It made my insides feel like fire that I didn't know if the last part was true or not.

When we weren't struggling to sleep, then Brynn was doing a balancing act on top of a tightrope made out of eggshells. My body was so tightly wound that I hated going over to Sam and Emily's place, hated her being around so many wolves that could hurt her without even thinking about it. Somewhere, in the back of my mind, I knew that my fears were entirely irrational, but that didn't keep me from picking fights with anyone who stepped too close. When I wasn't stressing out over every little thing at Sam and Emily's, then I was following her every move everywhere else. Brynn wanted to make herself a sandwich? Cool, looks like I'm going with her. Brynn needed to do the laundry? Awesome, looks like I was standing by to keep her company.

The best part was that she didn't mind. I wasn't sure if it was the desire to be close to me after something so intense happened, or simply that she wanted to appease me, but either way I was grateful for it. I'd follow behind her into different rooms, and her hand would always be reaching blindly behind her for mine just to give me that extra form of comfort.

"I love you, you know," I mumbled, lifting my head just enough so that my lips could brush against her forehead.

"Think you've told me once or twice," Brynn sighed, her tone happy and completely blissed out as her body stretched atop of mine. "Kinda in love with you, too. Guess it works out."

It wasn't the first time I had heard the words, possibly wasn't even the thousandth, but they still emitted an emotion inside of me that cut me deep enough to make me feel like my soul, tarnished and dirty as it may be, was a little brighter. The imprint bond was rumored to be about finding the perfect mate for the perfect offspring, but Sam, Jared, and I had been calling bullshit on that idea for months. The lust was there, heavy and hot and a constant ache in my lower abdomen, but it wasn't nearly as noticeable as the everpresent desire to be the best fucking man I could be for the girl in front of me. Every step I took, every move I made, was all measured by what she would be proudest of, what she would want from me. There was no greater feeling than making her smile, making her proud, or simply just having her at my back when I made decisions. An imprint bond was so much more than the books had ever claimed it to be, and it would be something that I would make sure to tell the next generation at bonfires.

I had been so miserable over the idea of an imprint, and it turned out to be the greatest thing that had ever happened to me.

"I need to shower," Brynn groaned, small palms with long fingers pressing into my chest as she sat herself up fully. My eyes ran over her body openly, taking in every inch of her skin that she offered to me, felt comfortable enough to let me see. Her eyes caught mine, one of her brows raised in a sort of 'caught you' way. "Wanna come?"
The shower ended up lasting until the water was running cold over our bodies, something that I didn't mind as it made Brynn cling that much tighter to me. She was spent and breathless, sporting marks on her throat and chest as she looked up at me with bright and unfocused eyes, and it was a sight that made me want to pin her to the tile wall all over again. Somehow I resisted, if only because of the little shudder that wracked through her body, but I was happy enough helping her wrap herself in a towel.

James was sitting in the kitchen when we made it downstairs, Brynn sporting a deep green T-shirt that I hadn't left there, but she had managed to steal regardless. It came down to just above her knee, hung off her collarbones because of how small she was, and I couldn't take my eyes off of her even for a second. It was always a little stroke to my pride whenever she wore the mark on her neck out in the open, proud as can be.
"Hey, guys," James greeted around the rim of a coffee mug, telling me it was anywhere from six in the morning to noon. "Add some stuff to the grocery list, would you? We're down to bread and eggs, which will last about two seconds with Gigantor here."

"Original." My lips pulled up into a smile as my arm wrapped around Brynn's waist, pulling her up against my front so my chest rested against her back. Her dad wasn't a threat, but my wolf still bristled regardless.

"Hulk, Gigantor, Terminator...We're running out of new nicknames," my imprint said. Brynn grabbed for the grocery list and I loosened my arm just enough for her to successfully grab it before pulling her in again.

"You making lasagna tonight?" I asked James, reading over Brynn's shoulders. "I fucking-"

"No," Brynn cut in, starting to scribble down a few more items on the pad of paper. I saw her write down three bags of Doritos with the '3' underlined twice and hid my grin against her shoulder. "He's going out with that woman- the nurse practitioner, remember? He's making it to take over."

Right, of course. As the pack was slowly losing their mind, the Cullens were running rampant doing fuck-all to help, his daughter was on the verge of being kidnapped, and James had decided now was a good time to pick up a chick working at the hospital. It was something I kept my mouth shut about, because Brynn's eyes lit up whenever her father talked about the woman like it was the best thing she had ever heard. I knew about James' lack of dating, knew that it was as messy as Brynn's history was in that field, and I wasn't going to take this little bit of peace away from them no matter how bad it unsettled me.

"Nosey, you been reading my texts again?" James called out, and Brynn didn't look the least bit ashamed as she shrugged her shoulders. His eyes rolled, and it was their banter, just a little father-daughter joking moment, but I still had to stifle my growl at the gesture. "I'm heading over to Sarah's place at four, so you two will either have to rustle up some grub yourself or head over to Sam and Emily's place."

"We'll stay here," Brynn said before I muster up a good enough reason to not have to go anywhere. Before I could celebrate her decision, she ruined it with more words. "I'll have everyone come over, give Emily a break for once."

I knew why she was doing it, but that didn't make the annoyance any less presence. Part of my agitation being around the wolf pack was their scents, fogging up Brynn's and my own on her to a point that I couldn't stand, and most of that was due to the fact that the Pack was always there. Inviting them here meant less of their presence taking up ours, and it was a sweet enough thought that I didn't argue when she gave me a pointed look over her shoulder, but the need was there. I missed my brothers and sister, but it was like a part of me was still battling with the idea of missing them and wanting Brynn safe. It was a work in progress, but my imprint was in the process of healing and she wanted her family surrounding her, so I could give her this. I wasn't a big enough asshole to say no.

James left, and Brynn and I busied ourselves with cleaning up the house. It wasn't messy, not even close with her insistence on keeping everything in pristine condition, but I still entertained her enough to sweep the floor while she washed the dishes. In between chores she gave Emily a call and then Leah, a pattern that was still so foreign to me. Stubborn as she was, Brynn was somehow making a fragile and strange friendship with the only female in our Pack, determined to not play favorites when it came to her family. Leah had started out a complete bitch, making me shoot her looks every time we were in the same room due to the amount of times she shot down Brynn's niceties, but somewhere in the past couple days there had been give, at least enough for my girl to shoot the she-wolf a text inviting her over.

The groceries were dropped off by a reekingly nervous James, his hands almost dropping the egg carton before Brynn shoved the finished lasagne at him and told him to leave. Then it was the perfect little pre-game for a night of tension, being pressed against Brynn's back as she worked at the stove, hands rubbing over her skin time and again. They kept coming back to her stomach, flat and empty as it was, the threat replying on a loop in my mind. It was something I needed to talk to the Pack about, but getting them somewhere that Brynn wasn't would be the problem. Her being hyper-aware of my aggression whenever they were around meant she wanted to be there to cool me down.

There was hardly any chances of getting even Sam alone for a talk.

"Will you take out the garlic bread when it's done, please?" She asked, a hand moving back over her shoulder to pet against the short back of my hair. I knew her intention had been to grab on to it because she had done it so many times before, and I was grateful that there hadn't even been a pause in the reminder that there wasn't enough hair to grab yet. "I need to go get dressed."

"Could come with you," I offered huskily, my hands smoothing up the side of her thighs and pulling the T-shirt up along with them.

"Down, boy," Brynn warned, but I could hear the edge in her voice. "Unless you want everyone getting here while I'm in only a sh—"

In a single second I had us moved over to the counter and her body spun around in my arms. One of my hands gripped her jaw, gentle but firm enough that she couldn't turn her face away from my grip, and I narrowed my eyes at the way hers lit up despite the feigned innocence. She knew every button before she pressed it, but she liked to act so surprised by the reactions they got her.

"Think you're funny, Price?" I asked, letting my body lean into hers. "It's like you want me to put you on lockdown."

"I can think of a thousand reasons why that would be fun for me," Brynn answered without skipping a beat. Pleased with herself, as usual.

"Go change. If the bread burns, it's bad karma."

I let her go, making sure to land a swat on her backside as she walked away from me. It only got me a wink in return, and I realized with a start that she was definitely adopting my mannerisms. That was fine though, they looked good on her anyway.

-o-o-o-o-

The Pack arrived the way we did everything else; together. Leah had opted out to take on a double shift instead, something that surprised none of us but disappointed Brynn all the same. They guys entered, only Jared being bold enough to shuffle a hand through Brynn's hair, something I had to bite my cheek to keep myself from acting on. I tasted blood, but Brynn's smile was radiant at the little slice of affection she got from her brother, so I dealt with it. Dinner had been finished, plates being passed around and with mocking tones and scoldings from Emily, and it felt unbelievably nice to slip into this again. The nerves were still there, and I lashed out more than once whenever someone dared to walk behind Brynn's chair, but it was progress. My imprint's hand was a weighted golden star sticker where it pressed to my side, and that was enough for me right now.

"We need to talk," I said, voice low, scooping my food onto a plate as I watched Brynn out of the corner of my eye. I could see where a few of my brothers shifted slightly, attentive to what I was saying. "I don't want it getting back to Brynn, though. This stays between all of us only."

I didn't have to see the way Sam and Jared both tensed up to know how big of a request this was, to keep something from their imprints felt like going against the stars. I would know, I had been doing it for a week now. But I could take on this fear and pressure and keep my shoulders steadied, and it wasn't that I doubted Brynn could do the same, but I just hated the image of her having to. Everything hung over her head like a low-dangling sword, and I wasn't sick enough to add yet another inch of give to that rope. Emily and Kim were too connected to her for them to be able to stand biting their tongues around her, and having them live with a secret was almost as bad as having them spill one. No, this was better kept between the wolves only.

"The girls are about to watch a movie," Sam replied slowly, shoveling a mountain of red sauce on to his equally sized hill of spaghetti. "We'll stay in the kitchen, can play it off like we just want to finish eating."

"Brynn isn't going to leave my side."

"Then show her that it's okay for her to."

Sam hadn't meant the words to come off like a sucker punch, but that didn't mean they left me any less breathless. He was our Alpha, the sole being that tried to keep our heads on straight just as often as he tried to keep us close together, and I knew my slow progress was taking a toll on him. He wouldn't complain because he knew it wasn't a choice I was making, but our wolves were used to seeking comfort in one another, not having to watch their backs because of their own brothers.

Swallowing thickly, I nodded. I could do this.

"What's going on over here?" Brynn sang, sliding herself into the small space between Sam and I. She had felt me grow anxious, so of course she was going to come play Hero.
"Was telling Sam that I think I'm ready to get over all this shit." Not a lie, but definitely not the truth, either. My imprint masked her surprise well, feigning indifference as she stole a noodle from my plate. I could feel Sam's eyes on me, so I barreled on. "I don't want to get wigged out every time I see you around my brothers, you know? So we're gonna hang out here, all of us together, while you guys go watch your movie. I think I just need to get more acquainted."

Sam slipped away, either satisfied or giving the two of us privacy, but I was grateful for it either way. Without having to risk proving I was wanting to make progress, I slid my hand over the small of Brynn's back to pull her against my chest and out of Sam's emptied space, the plate held out awkwardly. It took physical strain to keep my eyes on hers and not on where the rest of the guys and Leah were milling about, but the longer I did it, the more I remembered that looking at her face was my favorite hobby anyway.

"I'm so proud of you," Brynn breathed, voice so soft that I knew she was only wanting the words to be for me. They made me feel a little sick because I knew I didn't deserve them, but I welcomed the quick kiss she gave me like I did. Selfish. "You need them just as much as I do right now. Go, spend time with your brothers and sister, you guys just gave the imprints free reign to drool over shirtless men in chick flicks."

She kissed me through my eye roll and then I walked over to the table, sliding out my usual chair to hunker down with my third plate. Jared sat to my side the way he always did, relentless in his insistence to be there for me, but no one tried to sit in the space to my other side. It was Brynn's seat, cloaked in her scent even more than the rest of the house already was, and I hoped they knew how grateful I was for that small gift of peace. I would need it after what I had to say next.

"Paul, you fucking missed Jacob's epic whipeout during patrol last night," Quil cackled, easing the silence and giving the pretense of conversation as we waited for the sounds of a movie to come on from the other room. "Completely road-rashed the shit out of his flank, man. It was gnarly."

"Fuck," I sighed, a smile I didn't even have to fake pulling at my lips as I looked at my curly headed brother. "I miss a few dinners and you start saying shit like 'gnarly'? I don't even know who you are anymore."

And just like that, the levee broke with the fullness of jokes and banter. I laughed with them naturally and watched Jacob and Embry get into a wrestling match that only stopped because they caused the bread pan to topple to the ground. Jared and I even elbowed each other to trade little comments that started worse arguments, because we were nothing if not shit-starting heathens. This was how things were supposed to be, a voice in my head seemed to remind me, a whispered afterthought, a quiet promise. Don't let yourself lose them. I had no clue where the words were coming from, but when I looked up and caught Brynn's eye in the other room, dark pools glinting with unshed tears, it became a little less of a mystery.

"Alright, alright," Sam said, eyes on where Quil's fist was twisting into the top of a choke-held Seth. "We've got something to talk about. Jacob, Embry, you two are in charge of making sure Leah gets the low-down whenever you take over her shift tonight. Paul?"

Dark seeped in just as fast as light bled out, and I shoved my half-eaten plate away as that feeling sunk over me.

"The leech is getting tired of all of his acts being wasted because of us being there," I started, eye flicking to the living room once again to ensure there weren't any watchful eyes. But all I could make out was Brynn's profile being lit up by the colors of the television in the dark room, her smile flashing as she turned her head away from me to say something to Kim or Emily.

"That's good, right? Maybe the bastard finally saw he doesn't have what it takes to get by us," Quil replied, ever the optimist.

"No," I stopped him, my head shaking in one hard flick. "He's going to save his time and effort. He wants to make sure that the next time he steps foot on Quileute land, there's a bigger price for him."

The silence stretched for nearly two minutes before I caved, looking up from the table to stare at the expressions of my Pack's faces. Confusion, anger, and horror battled each and every one of them.

"He wants to wait until Brynn's has your pup," Jared whispered next to me, the shock of words so sickening seeming to need a confirmation from him. Everyone recoiled at the words, a few tense and low growls starting up that Sam didn't even have the heart to call them on. No, the Alpha looked lost in his own nightmarish world, a stare so blank and cold on his face that even I became concerned.

"Sam," I said, nodding my head at Jacob to get him to tap at our leader's arm. "Sam, what is it?"

Have you ever screamed so loud and so long that it feels as if your ears don't have the capability to hear anymore? Have you ever been rendered so lost and sick, you couldn't do more than become limp under the impending horror that your life was going to become? That was how each and every one of us felt as Sam spoke his next words, lips twisted in an expression so bitter and nasty that I wouldn't even begin to know what to call it.

"Emily's pregnant."