A/N: Thanks for the awesome support, despite this being so slow compared to my other stories. Trust me, I'm torturing myself with this story too. Also, I'm going to try to update the story every Wednesday and Sunday, so let's hope I can keep to this schedule thing while also staying ahead. Enjoy guys :)

Chapter 3

Somehow, instead of eating alone or with Emily and Leah, Riley's lunch turned into a whole pack affair. Leah caught Embry and Seth hanging outside, apparently interested in Riley's arrival, and Paul was right behind them. Emily going to get food caught Sam's attention which led to Sam following her back along with Jared, and that was that. More food and chairs were brought into the house, Riley ended up getting carried to the main room by Jared who was complaining about the lack of space in her recovery room, and soon she was joking around like they were all old friends. She even got along great with Paul, who Riley remembered as being a grumpy stick in the mud and all around jerk, but apparently he had a soft side. The boys found it beyond hilarious whenever she teased Leah, and that resulted in some ass kicking delivered by the embarrassed girl in question.

Even as Riley had more fun than she could last remember, she was analyzing everything. Taking stock of the situation, trying to figure out exactly where in the book timeline they were. Jacob wasn't here, but he had to have already become a werewolf; Riley remembered that it was Jacob's change and avoidance that led to Bella eventually meeting Laurent. Unless something had changed? Or maybe Jacob was just moping about Bella, who knew. Ugh, it would be so much easier if Riley could just ask, but she couldn't ask about a guy that Riley supposedly didn't know existed. Either way, she knew it was around January or February here, if she remembered the books correctly. Riley was just lucky it had been December in her world, or she'd be more concerned with freezing her ass off without a coat.

Ugh, why was she even here? Was she meant to change things somehow? Was it a mistake? The universe just trying to screw her over? So many questions, and unless she wanted to sound like a crazy bitch, she couldn't exactly get answers the easy way.

"Yo Redwood, are we too good for you to pay attention to?" Paul asked, nudging Riley so hard in the side she nearly fell off the chair.

"Fuck off, asshole," Riley grumbled, but found herself smiling. "I'm just trying to figure out where I'm going to be spending the night." It wasn't a complete lie, at least. Riley really did need to figure out a place to stay. She did have one in mind, but she wasn't exactly sure how she would get there.

Riley's words were all it took for the room to go silent.

"You know you can stay with us until-"

Riley cut Emily off before she could even finish her offer. "Hell no. If I stay with you even longer, that'll just add to my debt. I hate owing people."

The sudden tenseness in Riley's body was telling enough; this was a subject that had to be dropped.

"Okay, but you will always have a place here," Emily said, Leah grunting her agreement. This was followed by the boys all adding their own agreement.

"Unless you become a mass murderer or some shit," Jared said with a small smile. "Then you're on your own."

Riley rolled her eyes. "I'll try not to snap and go on a killing spree just for you, Jared," she said dryly. This earned a few snorts from the wolves.

"Before I forget," Leah said before tossing a rectangular box at Bella's face. Seth caught it before it could hit Riley, who hadn't been anywhere close to looking in Leah's direction. "If you want to make a big deal about not wanting to take it, just add it to your debt."

"The hell is this?" Riley asked as she took the box from Seth's hand. Opening it up, there was a clunky phone inside.

"It's a disposable phone, programmed with our numbers," Leah said with a roll of her eyes, like it wasn't that big of a deal.

"Aw, Leah," Riley cooed. "If you wanted to sleep with me so bad, there are easier ways of getting in my pants."

Leah sputtered, and then regained her composure with a glare as all of the wolves howled with laughter. "Fuck off, Riley!" Leah snapped. "It doesn't even just have my number, it has the number of everyone here."

"I love you too," Riley teased. Leah opened her mouth to argue further, but Riley quickly added, "Don't think I didn't notice. You didn't even try to tell me you didn't want to fuck."

Leah truly looked ready to throw something at Riley, but instead stormed out with dark red cheeks after kicking Jared's chair so hard he fell backward. Riley wasn't worried, she knew Leah would be back in a second.

"You didn't have to do her like that," Paul said with a laugh.

"Yeah I did." If only to make sure Riley hid how much something like this meant to her. When was the last time Riley had gotten any kind of gift for free like that? Not as a sign of belonging to someone, or a gift with strings attached, but just because someone cared?

Riley already knew the answer to that; Sasha.

"I said you didn't have to, not that I didn't love it."

Riley looked over at Paul at his words, thankfully pulled from the potential spiral of thinking too much about Sasha. "Can I talk to you for a minute in private?" Riley asked, deciding that he would definitely be the most likely to do what Riley wanted.

Paul frowned for a second, before he shrugged. "Sure thing, weirdo," Paul said, scooping Riley up and taking her out of the room.

"I can walk by myself," Riley grumbled and tried to struggle, but fuck her, because Paul was way too damn strong.

"Don't go kidnapping her, Paul!" Jared shouted after them among all the wolf whistles.

"Fuck off," was all Paul said to him. Then to Riley, he added, "Maybe you can, maybe you can't. You're still fucking healing either way."

Riley huffed and complained some more, but Paul still didn't let her go until they were outside and she could be set on a bench.

"Now, what do you want to talk about?" Paul asked. He crossed his arms over his chest. "And why ask me?"

"Cause you seem the least likely to give a damn about some broken laws," Riley answered honestly. There was no way to sugar coat what she was asking.

"Way to label a guy, damn," Paul grumbled.

Riley arched an eyebrow. "Cut the bullshit. You know and I know the truth. Out of everyone in that room, who is the one most likely to fuck some shit up?"

"Okay, I'll bite," Paul said after a moment, instead of admitting that Riley was right. "What do you want me to do?"

"Not much. All I need is for you to drive me to a house I saw in the woods." Paul's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, so Riley clarified, "More of a mansion, actually. I can't remember exactly where I saw it."

At that, realization might as well have slapped Paul in the face. He knew exactly what house Bella was talking about. "What are you going to do if I do drive you there?" he asked suspiciously. Surprisingly enough, he didn't seem as against it as Riley expected. She thought he would at least freak out about her wanting to technically go to the lair of a clan of vampires, whether they had left Forks or not.

"Just leave me there." At Paul's incredulous look, Riley shrugged. "The place is definitely abandoned, and it's a much better place to sleep than out in the cold."

"It hasn't been abandoned for all that long," Paul replied, and Riley could tell he was trying to be careful. "It's also locked up tight."

Riley wasn't concerned. "I know a few tricks. The only reason I'm telling you all this is if I somehow fuck up, I don't want you to be blindsided. So, do you want to help me or not?"

Paul barely thought it over. "Fuck it, I'm in. But I'm staying until you get inside, I'm not about to leave you there and hope for the best."

Riley found herself grinning at him. He was even more awesome than she thought. "Sounds good to me. Let me just grab my stuff and we can go."

"Wait, now? What stuff?" Paul asked, bewildered. When Riley started to get off of the bench, he shoved her back down, making her grunt at the impact. "You're going to have to explain more shit before I let you walk on your own, short stack."

"Watch yourself, Lahote," Riley snapped at him. "I'm not short. You're just freakishly tall. All of you fuckers are."

"Doesn't matter how tall we are, you're still a shorty," Paul retorted. "Now, answer my goddamn questions. Why do you want to leave now? It's still early."

"Because the sooner I get settled, the sooner I can start planning on how to pay everyone back and what I'm going to do from here on." Riley rolled her eyes. "Besides, the house is in the middle of nowhere. It'd be stupid to wait until nighttime to break in when no one is around to see it. As for your other stupid question; yes, stuff. I had shit in my pockets before I ended up here. I need to check if any of it survived, and even if it didn't, I want to take it all with me. Since you're doing me the favor, I'm not going to force you, but I really want to get moving."

Paul frowned, and for a moment Riley was sure he had changed his mind. Instead, he let out a sigh. "Fuck it, fine. Just stay here, I'll go get your shit." Riley was about to tell him she could do it herself, but by then Paul was already gone. She had no idea what story he had spun but soon he was out, carrying a small bag that fit in Riley's pocket. It was a strange relief to see the battered material.

"Thanks Paul," Riley said, carefully taking the bag in her hands as if it might break at the contact.

"Your clothes are beyond fucked, you aren't going to get that shit back. But I got your shoes," Paul said as he watched Riley open her bag. Riley didn't bother hiding what she pulled out, save for her wallet, which she opened while facing away from him as she checked everything inside. It was all fine. First came her special pocket knife, which Riley could have sworn actually looked better than when she last saw it. Then came her tiny tool kit, which was also in pristine shape. Finally, out came Riley's biggest treasure; a small, broken locket. The chain was snapped and the locket itself wouldn't close all the way. She gently opened it up, an automatic sad smile curving her lips as she saw the picture of Sasha inside.

"She means a lot to you," Paul noted gruffly.

"More than anything," Riley admitted, but cringed immediately after the words slipped out. She wasn't supposed to show any weakness, damn it, and here she was showing the biggest weakness of them all. "She's dead now, so not like it matters." Riley quickly put everything back into her bag, including her new phone and charger, and just held it. She couldn't put it in her pockets, it wouldn't fit anymore, and she would rather die than lose the locket inside. While holding the bag in her injured hand, Riley managed to put on her shoes.

"It matters," Paul replied. Riley looked up at him in surprise, but he was looking away. She couldn't read his expression. "Let's go." Before Riley could insist on walking, Paul once again scooped her up in his arms. He ignored her flailing and complaining until he could safely deposit her into his beat up car.

"You're such an asshole," Riley grumbled, smacking uselessly at his hands as Paul even went so far as to buckle her in. "You're lucky I actually like you, or I'd be beating the fuck out of you right now."

Paul let out a laugh. "I'd like to see you try, Redwood." He closed the door before she could retort, and it was enough to give Riley pause. Yeah, Riley could easily kick a random guy's ass, even a shit ton of them, but could she actually hurt a shifter? Riley remembered how Bella had broken her hand on Jacob's face when she had tried.

Well, only one way to find out. She knew the risks, but she didn't care; Sasha had always said she was impulsive to a fault, and Riley wasn't about to start proving her wrong now.

"Don't forget, you're the one who got hit by fucking lightning," Paul continued as he opened the driver's side door and got in. "You're a fragile little shorty who-"

With that, Riley wound up and punched him in the arm as hard as she could. Not only did the only pain come from Riley stupidly punching with her injured electrified and raw hand, but Paul went flying out of the car with a grunt.

Riley could only stare, wide eyed, as Paul went skidding across the ground for several feet. Even if Stephanie Meyer had exaggerated how strong the shifters were in human form, that definitely wasn't normal.

"The fuck?" The snarl that escaped from Paul was definitely not a human sound. For a second, Riley thought she had actually pissed him off. Yet Paul didn't look at her, his body tense and shaking, jaw set as he searched the surrounding area.

He was looking for a threat, Riley realized. He didn't think that a weak human could actually hit him that hard. And she shouldn't have, even if he was a normal human himself. What the fuck, did getting hit by lightning give her super strength? That would be such a painful cliche, but also random as fuck, to the point Riley was almost offended. She still didn't know how she had ended up in this universe, but if whatever sent her believed she would need super strength to survive, she was going to kick its ass.

Finally, Paul's eyes landed on Riley in disbelief. "Was that you?" he asked at last. He sounded almost in awe, but also almost disturbed.

Shit. This was going to end badly, wasn't it? Having spent time with Paul, she really hadn't thought he was anywhere close to as bad as the books made him out to be. However, if he was the type who couldn't stand a girl being stronger than him, this was going to sour their relationship fast.

"Yeah," Riley said, crossing her arms over her chest defiantly. She glared at Paul, and this time, it wasn't a playful glare. It was real, and Riley was wary, ready to hurt him before he hurt her. "Is that a problem, Lahote?"

Paul's face was unreadable as he walked back over and sat in the driver's seat. Riley was more than ready to unbuckle herself and jump out in case he tried something, but she didn't do it just yet. She knew it was best to do it when a car was already moving. If you knew how to take the impact and come up running, it would take longer for the person driving to react and come after you. Every second counted in these situations.

"Yeah," he said at last. "It's a huge fucking problem." He looked over at her, and he must have seen how tense Riley was. He forced himself to relax, but it only made Riley warier; was he trying to lure her into a false sense of security? "You don't fucking get it, Riley," he told her seriously. "I'm not…" he struggled with his words for a moment. "Usually, no one can hit that hard," Paul finally settled for. "Especially when they hit someone like me."

Riley knew what he was trying to say, and decided to just say fuck it and go all in. "Is this about you guys shifting into giant wolves?"

Paul's eyes snapped to hers for a moment. "How did you-?"

"I know things, okay?" Shit, she probably should try to not be so impulsive after all. Too late now. "I'm not about to get into it, so don't even try. It's not like I'm going to tell anyone, or that anyone is going to believe me even if I did."

Paul studied her for a moment, then nodded in understanding. There was more depth to Paul than Riley had thought; she could tell just by the look in his eyes. "You're going to tell me that shit someday, but fine, not now. Don't tell anyone else that shit either, not even the other wolves, got it?"

Riley's eyebrows arched in surprise. That was definitely unexpected. "Why not? Do you not trust them?"

"I do but I don't." Paul grimaced, adding, "They have this sense of loyalty, of duty, to report things to the Elders of our tribe. I don't." Paul closed his door, buckled up, and started the car. "Keep that strength of yours under wraps too, got it? No normal human should be able to hurt us like that with just a punch. Some people might not take too well to it."

Holy shit, he was trying to protect her. Things were just getting weirder and weirder.

With a sigh, Riley rested her head on the car door. She was actually going to trust someone. It was a scary yet almost comforting thought.

"Here's the thing, Paul," Riley said at last, memories of her past surfacing. She closed her eyes as they threatened to overcome her, but nothing worked. They wanted to be remembered whether Riley wanted them to or not. "I've never been normal."

Paul patted her awkwardly on the shoulder. "Normal is fucking overrated anyway."

Riley didn't reply; she just closed her eyes and waited for the memories to stop.