A/N: We will be time jumping & a warning mature content of a sexual nature within this chapter

Paul's POV

The night had turned the world dark as it should, but these days, it brought with it the threat of losing your life. I had the news on for some reason, and the background noise of the death rates in Seattle played like a reel as the announcer ran off a list of the latest victims names: This was evidence that the newborn army was growing. My stomach clenched so hard, and I could barely keep from walking around my room in circles as my heart failed to stop its panicked beats. The constant stress-induced adrenaline release with every walking minute was starting to wear on my body.

How could it be that the world's balance could be set so off tilt? For the first time in my life, I realized that nothing was constant. The familiarity of my life's routine could be interrupted by anything like the unseen forces that could disrupt your whole world. The incoming call that I had been waiting for finally interrupted my manic thoughts, and it offered me a moment of relief. I watched Zara's icon pop up, and the ringing on my laptop was loud as I had set so that I didn't miss her. I was quickly closing off the news tab as I sat on my bed while answering her call. It had, unfortunately, become a familiar routine to see her face becoming more and more upset. Our calls during her years at college hadn't always like this. However, sometimes life could be a b**.

"It's good to see you," I started, and my words were only half true because although it was a relief to know that she was alive, she wasn't. Zara's eyes had lost their shine, and I could see the hopeless depression that was taking hold of her. She was overwhelmed by what was happening, and I couldn't blame her. Zara weakly nodded on screen.

"How are things?" I asked lamely.

Zara, who had been sitting crossed legged, moved to bring her legs to her chest as she hugged herself. "The majority of people on campus are scared as hell," She informed, "Everyone makes sure they are indoors way before it gets dark."

I nodded, knowing that it wouldn't save them from a newborn, although this would be the natural response.

Zara's tired eyes stared into mines then. "Tell me honestly, Paul, why is this happening?"

Her question made me freeze as I tried to think up something other than the truth. When I didn't answer for some time, Zara added, "I understand that you think I can't handle it, and that's probably true, but I need to know."

There was an answering swallow from me as I had worked hard to hide the extent of the situation from Zara in fear that she would end up staying in bed all day. I feared that she would soon be unable to function or look after herself. The newborn threat had made me discover that Zara had a far lower threshold for anxiety and stress tolerance than myself, but it was only fair to point out that this was an extreme situation.

"Paul," came Zara's flat voice.

I sighed as I finally broke, deciding that she needed to know. I explained as much as I knew of Edward and Victoria along with the Volturi. Not wanting to continue, I had cut myself off, but after Zara's insistence, I went on to explain what newborns were and their behaviour. I put the threat into context for her since the news had painted the current events to be a serial killer. The worst was when I had to tell Zara that the newborn army would be coming to La Push…to me.

There was rising anger on Zara's part through her depression. "So, they ruin our lives for their fights."

I reacted to Zara's frustration. "I know it's not fair that you are targeted."

She looked at me fully then. "I don't just mean humans, but you and the entire pack as well."

I tried to comfort Zara then. "We can take care of ourselves," I told her.

It didn't work as her face soon crumpled, and she dissolved into tears. Zara's hands came to cover her face from me. "Y-ou'll be careful, right?" she asked in between sobs. "And what about my family…and the others."

At too soon, I could see that Zara was finding it hard to catch her breath. I was practically leaning into the screen by now, trying to be as close to Zara as I could.

"Hey, hey, Zara, listen to me!" I demanded so that she would snap out of it. "Don't worry about your family or us. The guys and I have sorted out a plan, and everyone will be safe. Are you listening to me?"

Zara had moved to some grab tissues to stop the flow of tears and nodded when she returned with paper pressed to her eyes.

"You need to look after yourself right now, "I advised, "You won't be able to vigilant or careful if you are like this."

Zara nodded, yet the sight of her now red eyes did little to make me feel better. She sniffed then. "Your right… I'm sorry."

I shook my head. "It's alright. All I need is for you to get better for me."

"I'm…so scared, though," Zara finally admitted out loud. "I know you can't come here… but I need you. It's been so long, and I need you." Her mumbled words pierced through my heart, and the imprinting was set off to new heights. My eyes screwed shut as my hands came to urgently grab the bed frame as I tried to breathe past the instant yanking in my chest, which nearly dragged me to go to her. I was Zara's protector, after all, but I was miles away. For the first time since the call began, I couldn't say anything.

"Sorry," Zara repeated after no doubt seeing my visceral reaction, "It's cool. I know you can't."

I gulped down a few deep breaths to settle the ache in my chest and pull myself together before I opened my eyes. The guilt on Zara's face was apparent, and I wanted to get rid of it.

"I want to be with you too," I finally admitted out loud to myself and her, "But I'm so torn."

It was my turn to fall now. It was knowing that there was only one of me and so many people that needed protecting. It felt impossible, like one of those ethical questions- When they asked you If there was one of your loved ones on a track and a bunch of random strangers on another, which would you choose to save from an imminent train? My situation felt worse than that because there were so many of my loved ones everywhere, not to mention the rest of La Push. Then there was my own need for self-preservation. I didn't want to die either.

"I don't know what to do, Zara," I confessed quietly then. Only silence followed for some time after. Eventually, though, I forced myself to face Zara on the screen. I wouldn't say that I liked showing her my weak side because I wanted to be reliable and strong for her, but I couldn't help myself. By now, Zara had lost some of her tiredness which always happened when she had to step up. She drew in a shaky breath, and a small smile broke through.

"You can only do your best, Paul," Zara replied softly, "Just know that you'll always be my hero and the person I rely on, so don't you dare feel guilty for whatever happens."

The truth of knowing I couldn't save everyone was hard to swallow.

Zara moved to the screen and kissed it. "I love you," she announced before adding in a mutter that her screen was dusty.

It was what I need to break the intensity of our truth. I laughed despite everything. "I love you too, Zara," I made sure to add, hoping that this wouldn't be the last time I would say those words.

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The fall of the newborn army

The aftermath of the fight was a relief. I wasn't sure of anything other than I knew we had won, which didn't stop my stomach from rolling as I walked in between the dismembered body parts of the newborn leeches, which stretched out in every direction. It was something out of a horror movie, and I shuddered because I had never seen this many dead leaches before.

'Paul!' I heard a shout in my head then. I looked around the clearing and saw Sam running towards me. His dark fur stood out against the green of the nearby trees and the carnage.

'What's wrong?' I asked.

Sam stopped short of me. 'I'm just taking inventory of everyone,' he answered, 'We need to round up the pack.'

I nodded before taking off after him as Sam left the clearing and into the thick mesh of trees of the surrounding forest. It wasn't long before we found Quil, Embry and Jared. We would have hugged, but it wasn't the time because not everyone was accounted for and present.

'Jacob, Leah and Seth are still missing,' I stated.

Sam growled but more to himself than anyone else. 'Leah is with Jacob, and I left him in the care of Carlisle. He's injured,' Sam explained.

While standing there, I registered the smell of burning, and my nose turned in the direction as it was coming from somewhere nearby.

'What is that?' Jared asked, noticing too.

Sam grimaced. 'They're starting to burn the body parts.'

I shivered and was thankfully distracted when Sam urged us to find Seth. It was more of a chaotic and disorganized sweep of the entire forest, and we split up and began shouting his name in our heads. Eventually, the smell of a familiar leech led us to Seth, and he was found standing beside Edward.

Seth came bounding up to us, and I literally threw myself at him. The relief of finding our youngest member was nothing short of a wonder. He was still happy despite everything that had happened, and I found it incredible.

'Seth!' I shouted in my head, and he howled in laughter at my reaction.

'Great to see you too,' he said as the pack crowded around us.

Seth's eyes became serious then as he asked, 'Leah?'

I nodded. 'Don't worry. Leah's fine. We all are…except Jacob'

I got off Seth then, and all of us stood to face Sam. He told Jared and me to see our imprints while he took Seth to Leah. We planned to meet later on to make sure we took Jacob home after Carlisle finished treating him.

Knowing that everyone was okay now, Jared and I bolted. I had to get to my house and call Zara while Jared would meet the nervous wreck that was Kim. 'We survived…' was all I could think.

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The day after

The pure relief of having survived an all-out war was nothing short of a miracle, and grudgingly I had to admit that Cullen's had been helpful even if it was their mess in the first place. The newborns had been difficult, the Volturi unpleasant, and I wished to never see any of them again in my life. I shook my head hard as all of this was irrelevant now and I knew I should be thinking of something more important than leeches. It was then the memory of Zara's voice came to my mind when I'd phoned her after our victory. Her tears of joy left me pleased, and I was proud of her as she had battled through her anxiety to take care of herself. She was finally back to herself.

A day after the eventful fight, I had managed to get permission from Sam to leave La Push that evening, so here I was, currently driving towards Washington. I could barely calm my heart from racing as I was going to surprise Zara after our months apart. Time seemed to stretch on, and I couldn't get to her fast enough. The guys had made their usual jokes to me as I'd left La Push when I told them that I would be staying overnight. They had made the same old suggestive comments, but I wasn't annoyed at all because we had returned to life as normal. It was strange how much I now appreciated all the simple things in life like the guy's annoying habits or the open road, the trees, and a drive against a background of great music.

It was an eternity before I finally reached the campus. I parked my car in the first space I could find and got out and ran towards Zara's dorm. I had only visited a handful of times before, but I had never had the time to see Zara's room as we always went out, and I never had enough time to stay overnight. It would be a different story today. I never knew that I could feel this eager, but my body was being pulled towards the love of my life. I snuck into the dorm and pulled my cap lower to hide my face as I reached the door to Zara's room. Knocking quickly, I prayed that she would open the door soon so that I could see her and hide because I was in the girls dorms.

"For the last time, I didn't take your oat milk, Vicky," I heard Zara say.

The tugging in my chest grew fiercer as I heard how close Zara was to me. Although I still managed to laugh as I had heard all about Vicky the Vegan. She left my mind as soon as the door swung open because Zara eclipsed everything else. She was standing there in my old baggy sweats that she had taken and they hung low on her hips and a cropped top that wasn't because Zara was petite. Instantly Zara's eyes widened, and her mouth fell open.

I stood waiting for Zara to take in the surprise.

"Paul…" she announced in a breath, completely confused. It took her a while to slowly understand that she didn't imagine me, "Paul!" she shouted then.

I immediately swept her to into a hug as I walked into her room and slammed the door shut behind me. There was answering laughter as Zara's legs came around my waist and her arms wrapped around my shoulders. She squeezed me so hard as she sighed out my name, and this was all I needed for the more enjoyable side of imprinting to surface. It sent my body tingling, and the ache in my chest finally settled. I felt settled again, and I hadn't experienced this feeling in a long time. I tightened my grip on Zara in response. It was healing to feel her heartbeat, hear her breathing and the warmth and softness of her body. Nothing could compare to seeing people in person. I hadn't known until now how video calling didn't do Zara justice. Without thinking, I fell onto Zara's bed then and took her with me. I made sure not to crush her as I landed on top, effectively trapping her between myself and the mattress. Zara's eyes went wide in shock from the sudden fall, but she was happy and was about to say something, but I didn't want to hear anything from her smart mouth as I had other ideas. My lips found hers, and I desperately kissed her, making up for all the lost time.

"What are you doing here?" she managed to ask in between kisses as she yanked off my cap and tossed it away so that there was nothing between us.

"I had to see you," I breathed against her mouth without explaining more.

Zara responded then with increasing intensity as her arms tightened around my neck. My hands moved into her loose dark hair, and soon I pushed my tongue into her mouth to reacquaint myself with the taste of her, and there were no objections. My nose was filled with the smell of Zara's perfume, and it was soothing because I had missed the familiar smell of her. However, I was soon distracted by how my body reacted to lying heavily between Zara's legs.

The low half-moan that soon escaped Zara's mouth was ridiculously hot, and when we resurfaced for air, I felt like I needed to state the obvious as I knew this would happen. "Just ignore it," I said out loud.

Zara's light laugh put me at ease as she nuzzled my face while catching her breath as it had been a while since we had kissed like this. "What, do you mean, your hard-on?" she teasingly asked despite knowing the answer.

I rarely felt embarrassed, so I was surprised to feel my cheeks heat up. "Y-yeah," I muttered.

Zara pulled back to look up at me then. "It's okay…because I'm going to help you with it this time," she said then.

Panic was the first emotion I experienced, and I was about to climb off Zara, but she caught me by the shoulders. I started my speech as my heart was beating hard, "Zara, no! I am not going to be the reason you-"

Zara just kissed me quickly to cut me off. It was when she drew back that I could tell that my respect had touched her. "I don't mean by having sex, but I can still help you in other ways," she quietly explained as her hands settled on the waistband of my denim cut-offs.

My breathing was coming out thin and quick at this unexpected turn. It made me ask. "What is this about?"

Zara shrugged then. "I just want to do this for you," she announced, and when I looked down at her, she continued, "You have been through a lot, and you saved us."

I couldn't swallow past the dryness in my throat. "It wasn't just me," I tried to deflect as I was completely caught off guard, "There were others."

Zara stated, "Well, be that as it may, I'm not their girlfriends." Her cheeks turned red then through her tanned skin when she added, "I can't guarantee that I will be good or anything as it's my first time, and you know it's not the same as reading about it and-"

"I don't care," I honestly whispered, "But this is a bit out of the blue."

Zara half looked at my eyes as she shook her head. "Not really. I have been thinking about it for a while because I know that it will be a hard wait for us both until we get married, so I have been looking for compromises."

I experienced guilt for feeling happy because I knew that it was selfish. I knew I should say no. I knew that I should tell Zara that I could wait, but I was so weak for her and so tired of wanting her. At this very moment, the imprinting was mixing with my desire for Zara, and they were raging together, creating the perfect storm. I tried to work through my opposing emotions in the heat of the current moment.

Zara must have seen me warring with myself because she spoke then. "I'm going to admit this once and only once because it's embarrassing," she started. We finally met each other's eyes fully then, and hers were like melted chocolate, "You don't need to feel guilty, Paul, because your, not the only one who is sexually frustrated. I so am," Zara confessed, "Also, we've been through a lot and we've been apart for so long. We could have died, and I at least want to have a sexual experience before that happens. I want this, so if I do this for you, please just return the favour."

I nearly swallowed my tongue in response and shook my head as I wondered if I was stuck in one of those dreams that I regularly had, which always left me feeling uncomfortable in the mornings. I had to crush the raising hope because I was going to go mad. "Funny Zara," I began, but I stopped short when I watched Zara determinedly removed one of my hands from her face and urgently guided it past the waistband of her sweats and lacy underwear until I was finally touching her. We both instantly gasped. My head was spinning when I felt the evidence of how much she genuinely wanted me, and the imprinting surged forward like a herd of wild horses that had bolted from a stable.

Meanwhile, Zara let out a shaky breath, and her eyes fluttered shut. "Evidence enough for you," she sighed out.

I don't know what happened next, but the world slowed down, and a strange hot mist settled over me. Blood was pounding in my ears, and I was breathing hard. It was as if I had an out-of-body experience. My shapeshifter side was taking control as it needed to claim his imprint. "Perfectly clear," I found myself saying to Zara before I caught her lips in a bruising kiss.

I felt Zara's warm breath from her nose as it hit my cheeks while she responded. Though not for long as her hands were on my shoulders as if pushing me away. I took the cue despite not wanting to, and the next thing I felt was her hands on my face before my head was being turned to the side. Her lips touched the skin behind my ear, then as she kissed me there while her cool fingers rubbed the skin behind my other ear.

"Oo..hh," I groaned out.

I never knew that I could become weak at the knees, but it happened. There was that pang that I'd experienced once before in wolf form when Zara had first met that version of myself.

"Za..ra," I barely got out while nearly collapsing onto her, but she didn't let up as her hand, without warning, snuck into my underwear to grab hold of me. Zara responded by enthusiastically moving. Have it your way. When I managed to gain some strength, I returned the favour like she wanted me to.

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It was funny how after sex scenes in movies, they just cut to the next scene or the morning after, and everything seems to transition smoothly. Reality isn't like this, which I knew from experiences with Lisa, but with my imprint, it was even more intense. Whether it was because this was the first time we had ever done anything like this before or that Zara was shy, naturally, I couldn't be sure.

In the afterglow, we were slowly coming down from our high. For me, I was returning to my body which was now extremely hypersensitive to touch. The imprinting had been so euphoric that every nerve was still firing on all cylinders after the best climax I'd ever had. I had experienced such a head rush and a violent shudder after letting go that a few embarrassing sounds had slipped out from my mouth. At this moment, I was practically sticking to Zara's skin from our shared sweat, and her heart was hammering against my chest. There were only the sounds of our breathing, slowly evening out, after which we were left in this awkward silence since neither of us said anything. It was only now that I noticed that Zara's room was semi-dark as the sun had nearly set. I could still see the brightest blush I had ever seen on Zara, though, as it burned her face.

"Erm Paul," She finally said while her eyes didn't meet mines. "Could you get off of me, please? I need to go the bathroom," she finished.

I'd never experienced such gut-wrenching embarrassment that made my whole skin crawl and my eyes screw up for a moment. "Y…Yeah, of course!" I quickly said as I removed my hand from her underwear and nearly fell over myself to get off her.

Zara moved then, grabbed her top from the floor, and covered her chest as she escaped from the bed. "I won't be long, and then you can go in if you want," she said before rushing through a nearby open door before shutting it behind her.

I was left utterly shocked in the semi-darkness, sitting on the edge of Zara's bed in nothing but my underwear and feeling uncomfortably sticky. The reality was sinking in fast as my brain came to, and image upon image came flashing back. It was like a reel as it played the entire event in my mind's eye. The images would forever be burned there from my viewpoint of seeing Zara half-naked beneath me, from how she had held my head close to her chest as I tasted the skin there for the first time and not to mention watching her hands at work. The moans and groans, too, were ringing my ears which I had never heard from her. If this is what it felt like just to be touched by your imprint, I had a suspicion that full-on sex would knock me out. No wonder Sam and Jared couldn't keep their hands off their imprints.

"Oh my god," I said to myself then as an underlying fear set in. I couldn't understand why, though, because it wasn't like I hadn't enjoyed the experience or Zara for that matter. However, it was the sudden appearance of Arjun's face in my head. If he ever found out that Zara and I had just got reach other off, I would lose everything I had built with him, and all that effort of showing him what kind of guy I was would go to waste. My heart reacted at the idea, and I groaned. How could I let this happen? The sound of running water distracted me then, and I wondered how long Zara would be because being left alone with my thoughts didn't seem like a good thing. I couldn't be sure whether we had developed some telepathy, but it was only 5 minutes later before I heard the water cut off and Zara moving around. Soon enough, the door opened, and Zara came out. She had changed into flowery pyjama bottoms and a pink top with long sleeves.

She met my eyes for a second. "It's free now."

I didn't need to be told twice; I went into the next room. Every inch of Zara's bathroom was covered in girly stuff; there were scented candles, skin products and those useless decorative items that had no purpose but to look pretty. My shower was equally as speedy, and soon enough, I grabbed a nearby towel that I think Zara had left out for me.

"Crap," I cursed though when I suddenly noticed that I hadn't packed any spare underwear. It was an issue because my underwear was supposed to double up as my sleepwear but my only pair were now on the floor in a sticky mess. I was left standing naked in the bathroom for a while as I wondered what to do. It must have been a while because eventually, there was a knock at the door.

"Paul, is everything okay in there?" I heard Zara ask.

I hesitated for a second before truthfully saying. "I…just don't have any clean underwear so-"

Zara cut me off. "I've left a pair on the heater for you."

I turned to where the silver metal heater was and spotted a fresh pair of my underwear. How was Zara this organized?

Zara answered the question that I never asked. "I took some of your stuff to keep here when I moved, in case you came to visit," she explained.

Without another word, I quickly slipped into them and wrapped a fresh towel around my waist before opening the door. By now, Zara had moved to sit on her bed, and she was still blushing when I came out, which was more apparent in the now lamp-lit room. We were finally facing each other, although not for long as within a second Zara couldn't quite find where to look.

"What's wrong?" I asked, concerned.

Zara was pressing her hands to her cheeks. "Nothing…I think it's just with the lights on now…and you standing there looking like the front cover of Men's health."

I was grinning from ear to ear that it hurt, and a rush of pride heated me. "After all this time, you still can't be nervous seeing me like this," I said while moving closer and secretly enjoying how flustered Zara became when I joined her on the bed.

"If it helps, your so gorgeous when your half-naked that I won't be able to stop seeing you in my head," I added, but the compliment just made Zara blush harder.

Zara kept her eyes trained on mines as she refused to look at any part of me that wasn't from the neck up.

I decided to tell Zara more truths even though I knew what her reaction would be. "You were so great," I said then, "It was a million better than the times when I get myself off while thinking of you."

It was how I predicted because Zara instantly turned her back on me and covered her face with her hands. "G-ood to know," she mumbled in between her fingers.

I leaned forward then and rested my chin on her shoulder. "I mean it," I told her, and I loved seeing how a light shiver ran through Zara's body in response.

"How was it for you?" I asked then.

There was an answering snort behind her hands. "I think you already know."

I did; there was no denying how Zara had responded to my attention.

"I'd like to hear It, though," I genuinely requested because I had to make sure that her first sexual experience with me had been a good one.

Zara must have gained her confidence back because her hand came down from her face, and she managed to tease. "I think you already did."

I smirked at her response as the heat in my chest moved down to my stomach and began to swirl.

"Well, I've had to change my underwear on occasions while thinking of you," she said honestly from the safety of her position as she couldn't see me, "You've now ruined that though, because, after this experience, I'm going to need your hands instead."

The swirling warmth grew to the strength of a tornado inside me, but this was put out when I registered what Zara was saying.

I moved away then and awkwardly scratched the back of my head, and I blurted out the following words that came to my mind. "I… don't think we should do it again, though."

Immediately Zara turned around in response, and her eyes held shock. I decided to continue before she got the wrong idea.

"Like I said, as great as it was, I would hate myself If your dad found out," I hurriedly explained, "I don't want him to lose respect for you or me."

Zara recovered from her initial surprise and breathed out a sigh of relief. She managed to smile slightly after. "I get what you are saying, Paul," She told me, "But this is between us, so he is not going to find out. Also, I'm capable of making my own decisions. You won't make me abandon my fundamental principles, so you don't need to worry about that."

I let out the breath I didn't know I was holding because Zara's permission had lifted the weight I didn't realize was pressing against my chest. I still decided to take the high ground, though.

"How about we compromise and settle for only doing this when we have to," I suggested.

Zara's smile grew at my understanding because she knew what I was doing. "You are one of a kind, Paul," she told me then.

I grinned. "I know."

Zara rolled her eyes in response, but soon, her hand came up to her mouth as she covered a long yawn.

"We should go to sleep," I told her.

Zara just nodded then before pulling up the covers and crawling inside. She huffed a little when she looked up at me from her pillows. "I forgot that having you in my bed will be like having a hot water bottle that never goes cold," she complained while trying to hide her teasing smile.

I dropped the towel from around my waist, and Zara looked away for a second, but she didn't stop me when I joined her underneath the covers. "Well, forgive me for being a shapeshifter," I teased back before adding, "Also, I've done you a favour by keeping my underwear on. I usually sleep naked."

Zara's dying blush came back. "I forgot about that little detail," she responded.

Even after all this time, I couldn't get over how Zara was still shy around me in situations like this one. It was cute.

"You could sleep in your underwear if that helps," I told her, genuinely trying to find a solution.

However, my suggestion only made Zara even more embarrassed. "It's fine," She quickly told me, "I don't think I could. I'm not a fan of the…freedom that offers."

I had to press my lips together to stop myself from laughing because it had been a while since I was reminded of how different Zara and I were. I loved the freedom of being naked, which was probably due to my years spent in wolf form. I was confident in my body, but I had a feeling that Zara wasn't. However, with the right experiences, I had a feeling I could get her to be. I promise I will give you them when the time comes.

When Zara said nothing more, I added, "I can sleep on the floor if it's really a problem."

The next thing I knew, Zara had turned and burrowed into me. "Are you mad?" she asked when she settled against my chest, "I've been waiting for this."

I gathered Zara up into my arms and held her to me. She tucked her head underneath my chin as she closed her eyes. It was then that I reached around myself to switch off the lamp, and we settled for clinging to each other.

"You're really here," Zara whispered into the darkness.

I smiled because, despite everything that had happened this evening, I still had to confirm, "Yes. I'm here."

Zara squeezed me then. "I love you," she whispered back.

"I love you too," I had the chance to say once again.

A/N- I think our favourite couple have waited long enough for this experience.

The next chapter will be the wedding.