A/N: If you want to see mood boards that accompany each chapter, check it out on my tumblr page.
I got lost in the woods one time when I was ten. I don't know how it happened or how long I'd been gone for, but when it got dark, I became paralyzed with the thought that if I kept moving forward, I'd fall or worse, I'd be swallowed whole by the dark springy forest floor. Someone will surely find me. Someone must notice I'm gone, I remember thinking to myself. But darkness can trick you. When my dad found me, I wasn't even that far from home and I'd only been gone a few hours. The flash light that burned through the dark led my way out. But my father's hand was what kept me safe from the tricks that the dark continues to play on you even once you've been found.
Maya and Paul spent the rest of the day in bed, in and out of sleep. Maya had never felt such exhaustion in her life. Her body was all at once thrilled and devastated to be near him. Betrayal will keep your body awake even if your mind is asleep.
Once late afternoon hit, Paul put his forehead to hers, breaking Maya from a fitful sleep. She opened her eyes and peered into his. He gently stroked her cheek and said in his deep, kind voice.
"We need to eat." A statement of fact. She nodded but didn't make a move. Everything felt thrown into disarray. "And then we're going to talk. Okay?"
Maya swallowed hard and nodded again with a short, "Okay." It would have to happen sooner than later and Maya had no shortage of questions.
Once downstairs, Maya sat on the kitchen table, her feet resting on the bench as she put her head in her hands and rubbed her face. She hoped she wouldn't feel like this forever but everything in her caused her to feel unsteady.
Paul started to work in the kitchen, pulling pans out of cupboards. He turned and looked at Maya, his face pulled into a painful frown. He moved to grab a glass and filled it with water before sitting it next to her.
Maya was grateful for the lack of physical contact for the moment. She sipped the water slowly and watched the muscles move in Paul's bare back as he started to cook. Maya didn't even know where to start. As if he could hear her thoughts, Paul said,
"Go ahead. Ask me anything you want." There was hesitance in his voice and Maya wondered why. Let's start there…
"What are you so worried about? Talking is a normal thing in relationships. I thought you said you had nothing to hide?" The venom was already sprouting in her voice and Maya knew she'd have to work to keep herself calm. Neither of them could handle a repeat of this morning. The emotion ripped and tore at their bellies causing near unbearable pain.
Paul started cutting chicken to saute in the pan for some simple lemon linguine.
"I'm worried about saying something that is going to hurt you or cause more damage. I'm not this person who hasn't made mistakes. I've made a lot. In my past, and even recently. Those things aren't easy to talk about." He paused cutting and turned to look at her, "Before you, I've never had many secrets. So when I said I had nothing to hide before, that was before everything really started with you and me."
Maya watched him, her eyes heavy with emotion. Paul threw the ingredients into a pan and started to cook.
"When did you start taking over for Sam?" Maya took another sip of water. Paul let out a breath as if in relief. She wouldn't let him off so easy though.
"Around the time Luca, his second son, was born. So almost three years ago." He dropped the pasta in a now boiling pot of water and seasoned the chicken in the pan with garlic before throwing some onions in there.
"What do you do when you're in command?" Paul continued assembling the meal, cutting bread to warm in the oven. The distraction seemed to help him.
"I take care of everyone. I give commands when they're needed. I run rounds and tell them where to go. I make sure that Jeremy and the others who are in school stay in school. We skirt the parameters looking for threats—the cold ones. I diffuse conflict between my brothers. Everything." He pulled bowls out of the cupboard now.
"Do you like it?" Maya asked. He stopped for a minute and turned to look at her surprised.
"I...I don't know. No one's ever asked me that before," he replied, his face screwed up in concentration. After a moment, he turned back to the food, adding sundried tomatoes and spinach to the chicken and dishing pasta into the bowls. "I don't want to do this forever. I know that. I love my brothers and I love protecting my tribe. Protecting you." He paused as he felt the tension from Maya tighten. He placed the warm bread in the bowls and topped the pasta with the mixture before turning and bringing them to the table. He handed one to Maya who took it and set it in her lap. He stood back against the kitchen counter. "I want to be normal eventually. I want a life that doesn't require constant defense."
Maya nodded. "And how do you get to that life?" She swirled some pasta around her fork and took a bite. She closed her eyes with relief. It tasted so good and she didn't realize how hungry she'd been. Paul was watching her from across the kitchen, his stare fixing her with something bigger than desire.
"You. I get that life with you." He said firmly. Maya chewed and contemplated that.
"So I'm your way out?" she said back. Paul shook his head, hurt.
"No. You're my way through. The light that I follow. That's you." Paul shut his eyes tight and then said, "I sound like a goddamn greeting card."
"Kind of," Maya said, letting out a little laugh. His eyes darted to the sound and Maya had a flashback to the first time they started hanging out here, in this house together, alone, and how every sound she made he trained his eyes to. Memorizing her.
"Ask me another." He said, the weight in his voice clear. He took another bite of his pasta but kept his eyes on Maya who was picking at the bread in her bowl, taking small measured bites.
Maya took a deep breath and looked down at her bowl before saying, "Why didn't you tell me you were going to the Scarlet bar with Rachel?"
Paul chewed, nodding and looked up at her before saying, "You already knew."
"Fuck you." She said as a knee jerk reaction. Paul smirked and shook his head.
"I didn't tell you because I know how she is. And I know how she treated you at the whiskey bar. She's had a harder time letting go than me."
"Doesn't really seem like you're letting her go to me," Maya shot back. Paul looked at her, the irritation plain in his face. Maya had to remind herself to keep cool again.
"I am. I did. Believe me."
"Why should I?" Maya replied quickly. His eyes shot to her again and he set his food down.
"You have no reason to believe me, I get it. But I promise you nothing is going on. She's a big reason as to why my business took off the way it did. Maintaining a good connection with her keeps me getting clients."
"Oh, bullshit," Maya said with an annoyed laugh before taking another bite. "You don't need her to get your work sold. You've got enough of a reputation to hold your own out there now. That's not the reason."
Paul didn't say anything for a while. Maya finished what she could of her food and hopped down off the kitchen table before washing it in the sink. She pulled open the fridge and grabbed herself a beer before walking out the back door to the patio for some air. She dropped down into the chair and faced the overlook. After a couple of minutes, Paul followed and sat down in a chair next to her, beer in hand. After a few more minutes, Maya asked without looking at him:
"When was the last time you slept with her?" Her voice was strained as she tried to keep the emotion clear from her tone. It was hard though. She could see Paul watching her and was hoping that he wasn't deciding to lie to her for her own good again. She pulled her eyes over to stare at him to show him she could handle it.
"Less than a week after the imprint happened." He said terse. Maya swallowed and took another swig of her drink nodding.
"Great. Is that why the council was upset with us?" The look on Paul's face confirmed it. "Do you still have feelings for her?"
"No. I haven't had feelings for Rachel in a long time. What we've had recently was more...recapturing a time that was simple...easy. Muscle memory. I haven't wanted anyone but you since I started to spend more time with you and we got together." She knew he was telling the truth. His voice was fierce. "I don't want to be with her."
"Then why did you lie?" Maya said, annoyed. "Because lying to me seems like you do want to be with her. You chose her in that moment over me. You could have told me where you were. But you didn't. Why?"
Paul rubbed his forehead with his hand, "Maybe...maybe we are—" he stopped himself and Maya braced herself for the worst part, "Maybe I am fighting the imprint, I don't know." He paused again and then made a frustrated sound, "I don't know how to explain why I lied. I think it's just the fact that the imprint happened and then it felt as if everything was decided. I didn't choose a lot of things in my life—my family, the pack—so when I chose Rachel a long time ago it gave me this sense of control in my life. And with you…" Paul looked at her, pain over his face, "I don't have any control. I just feel compelled by the imprint sometimes and that makes me want to—"
"Find a way to be the person you were before this," Maya said, her eyes wide at the realization. "We are fighting this." She breathed.
"So you...?" Paul offered.
"Yes.." she said simply, "I do the same thing. When I don't feel in control or when I feel like it's the imprint calling the shots, I just want to run from it. I want to be the person who had one thing to worry about before all of this—just me and my life. I didn't know you felt that way too."
"It's not even that I want to be someone without you, My. I just feel so out of control with you sometimes. I'm pretty sure if you told me to jump in front of a bus, I'd do it." Maya could hear him releasing the tension he'd been holding onto.
"I won't tell you to do that," she said softly with a hint of a smile in her voice. "So that's it then, we don't trust one another enough to completely give ourselves over to the imprint. And we're chasing down versions of ourselves that we can't be anymore." Maya looked at him like she'd discovered some answer to the universe. Paul returned the look and nodded his head.
"Okay." It was the only thing she could think to say. "Then will you keep seeing her when you go to Seattle?" Paul scoffed and shook his head looking away.
"I don't know. Probably not. I'm not going to risk anything that would get in the way of us," he said firmly. Maya looked at him curiously.
"How is this going to work? Me trusting you in Seattle when I'm across the country at Columbia?" her voice piqued a little. Paul's eyes widened at the mention of her leaving again but he kept his voice calm as he said.
"I'll do what I need to. I'll come see you all the time. I'll…." he paused and looked at her. "Give me your phone."
"What?" Maya asked, confused.
"Can I see your phone for a minute?" Maya dug in her cardigan for it and tossed it across the table at him. He opened it and looked at her, "You took off your passcode?"
Maya crossed her arms and scowled at him, "I have nothing to hide."
Paul laughed and nodded while fiddling with her phone. After a moment he slid it back across the table to her.
"What did you do?" she asked looking at her phone.
"I synced my location to your phone. You'll always know where I am." He leaned across the table and went into an app that pulled up a map. He zoomed in on their location and it showed two blue dots next to each other. Maya looked at it for a while and nodded.
"I'm assuming you've had the location turned on on my phone since I got this new one then?" Paul looked caught for a moment and then shrugged before leaning back against his chair. Maya rolled her eyes and set her phone down. "Thanks." she said annoyed. "What else do you use to track me?"
"The pack." Maya's mind flickered back to the movement beyond the treeline that she kept noticing. Of course it was them.
"Right." She wasn't surprised or even perturbed by that one.
"Ask me more." He uncrossed his arms and leaned forward to put his forearms on the table. Maya watched him, so many questions running through her mind, and decided on the worst one.
"If the imprint wasn't a thing, do you think we'd still be together? Even if we had found each other and tried...would you still have chosen me?" Maya's breath hitched her throat. Paul watched her for a long time, his chest rising and falling as he contemplated his answer. Maya thought the silence would never end and that she'd die waiting for him to tell her no. Instead, he said,
"I don't know. Because we're not in that situation. What I do know is that despite the imprint, I love you. I love you so much more than this weird fucking spooky bond. I love your smile and your laugh and the way you hold onto me when we're around a group of new people. I love the way your hair smells after you've gotten back from a run or a walk. I love the way you watch me when you're across the room and when you reach for my hand even if we're just in the car. I love all of those things about you and I know all of those things would exist without the imprint too. So yes, I'd still choose you." Paul said, his eyes wet with fat tears. Maya's mouth had fallen open as she listened. "And you?" he said, his voice choked.
"S-same," she stuttered out. Paul started laughing, really belly laughing at that. And Maya couldn't help but return the sound. The pain and anxiety ebbed a little as they did and she took another drink to settle herself before letting her eyes drift across the sunset. "There's so much we still have to figure out, Paul." Maya said somewhat defeated.
"I know." He said.
"Why do you think it's so hard for us? Seth and Sadie, Jared and Kim, even Sam and Emily who had a semi-rough start are so good with each other. They trusted each other and gave themselves over to the imprint, no problem." Maya looked at him desperately. "Why can't we do that?"
"I don't know. It is different with them though. They fight with their imprints too. It's not all sparkles and rainbows and shit, but we do seem to have it a little rougher than them. I know I want you though, I want this life with you, I want to take care of you and marry you and—"
Maya didn't hear the rest of his sentence. Did he just fucking say 'marry you'?! Holy fuck. Okay, stay cool. But Maya felt like running despite herself.
"My?" Paul said, confused. "You okay?"
"Yeah, yeah, sorry. I just...was thinking." she gave him a small smile and he raised an eyebrow at her, not convinced. But still, he let it go.
"Any more questions?" He said gently.
"Ah, not at this moment, your honor." She joked. Paul laughed and downed the rest of his beer before standing and walking past her. Maya reached out to grab his hand. He stopped next to her as she gently pulled at his fingers. He didn't say anything, letting her simmer in her silence before she looked up and said, "Can we take that bath now?"
Paul smiled down at her softly and nodded. "Yeah, I'll get it ready. Take your time." He leaned down and kissed her forehead, squeezing her hand before walking back inside. Maya watched the sun set for a little bit longer before she headed inside. She let out a huff of breath and looked toward the bathroom door off of the kitchen where she heard the water running. There was nothing left to do except walk through the door and be with him.
When she pushed open the door, he was bent over the tub lighting some candles. She suddenly felt like they were back at the beginning again and her shyness took over. She tugged at the sleeves of her cardigan and felt her heart rate pick up. He turned to face her. She gave him a small unsure smile and he reached for her.
Maya placed her hands in his and he watched her waiting for her to speak. When she didn't he said, "I can go upstairs if you need to be alone. We don't have to—"
"No...no I want you here." She said taking a step closer to him. He gladly wrapped his arms down around her waist and Maya felt his warmth rush through her, quieting the tension of the imprint.
"Okay. Just tell me what you need," he said, planting a kiss to the top of her head.
"I will," she answered, placing her hands on his chest. She revelled in the feeling of him again, temporarily soothed by just his presence. The pain was still there though. Maya knew it would linger for a while. She turned her head up to look at him and then said softly. "Undress me." Paul let his eyes rest on hers for a moment before he nodded gently, his hands moving to push her cardigan slowly off of her shoulders. He let his hands run softly down her bare arms, leaving a trail of goosebumps in his wake. When the cardigan dropped to the floor, his fingers slipped beneath the waistband of her cotton shorts and he leaned down to slowly pull them away from her hips. Once at her ankles, she stepped out slowly and he tossed them aside. As he stood up, he let his hands coast up her calves and over her thighs, grabbing the hem of her cotton shirt and pulling it up over her head as he stood straight. Maya never took her eyes off of him.
He didn't hurry her. When she nodded, he reached behind her and unsnapped her bra, pulling it gently off her shoulders, his fingertips whispers across the curve of her breasts. The trail of fire his fingertips left made Maya gasp. Paul gave a small smile and let his eyes roam her body, that hungry, pleasant look in his eye. But still, he didn't touch her more than was absolutely necessary. Maya reached for him, placing her hands on his sides before pressing her naked body against him. She heard a low growl building in his throat but he let his hands rest gently on her lower back, exercising restraint. Maya had never felt this in control before.
She turned her head up toward him and saw the fire burning there. She parted her lips slightly, letting her eyes roam over every part of his face.
"Kiss me," she said barely above a whisper. She barely had been able to finish the last word before his lips were on hers, rough at first and then softening. She tasted earth and warmth and let herself finally relax into the kiss. Everything washed away for a moment and Maya, naked and vulnerable in his arms, felt complete. Why couldn't it always be like this? He swayed her gently from side to side as he slowly pulled from the kiss.
When she pulled back she motioned to his pants and he slipped them off before stepping into the oversized tub. Even with his 6'4" frame, there was plenty of room for the both of them. Once he was reclined back against the tub, Maya gingerly stepped in, tying her hair up in a high bun in the process. Paul's arms were open, his hands on her hips to guide her between his legs in case she slipped. Once she settled back onto his chest, the water and bubbles covering her to her shoulders she let out a soft sigh. Her head rested just under his left shoulder and he wrapped his arms down around to rest on her stomach. He gently moved his hand along her side as Maya closed her eyes, letting the exhaustion slip away.
After what felt like a lifetime in the warm tub, Maya stirred, having drifted off a bit. Paul squeezed her hip and felt him pull her body up his a little so he could kiss her temple.
"Mmm," she replied and she felt a smile move across his face. "You said something outside earlier." She said sleepily.
"What was that?" he asked her.
"You said you wanted to marry me." She felt his body shift beneath her and then he ran a hand up her arm. Maya turned her face in to press her lips to his neck and waited for him to answer.
"That's the plan," he said after a minute. Maya pressed another kiss to his neck. "Is that something you want?" She could tell he was trying to look at her, but her face was hidden in the crook of his neck.
"Yes," she said in a small voice. She heard his heartbeat pick up. "Eventually. We have a lot of stuff to work on before then but, yes."
"Then we'll get there together," he said solidly. Maya loved that about him. So sure even if the road ahead was going to be riddled with mistakes, he promised to get there together.
Maya turned her head up to look at him and with her fingers under his chin to pull him down, she arched her body upward, connecting their lips in a soft, warm kiss. His broad hands gently squeezed her hip and waist and Maya deepened the kiss, opening her mouth to him. He pulled her tighter against his body and Maya set her other hand on the side of his neck. After another moment, they broke apart, Maya feeling dizzy from the kiss. She looked up into his eyes dreamily and he gave her a smile that sent shockwaves through her body.
"So, you moved in, you want to marry me, what else?" He said, the happiness thick in his voice. Maya let out a laugh and rolled her eyes.
"Oh god, I need to play harder to get. You're pleased as punch, aren't you?" He shrugged and kissed the tip of her nose.
"Just happy." He said simply.
"Good."
"Buuuuut," he said suddenly and Maya groaned jokingly.
"Here we go," she rolled her eyes and when he pinched her but she gave a yelp and leaned up, turning her body so her chest was flush with his. "What is it?"
"Janelle and Clark are throwing a small dinner with some close friends and they'd like us to come. It's a good networking opportunity. I find my best clients through them but they're also my friends so, if it's not too much to ask I'd like us to go together." Maya raised her eyebrows at him and then said.
"Is Rachel going to be there?" The tension returned to his shoulders and Maya smoothed her hands across them.
"I don't know. But I can tell her not to come. Just say the word," he said firmly. Maya smirked.
"No. If she's there then I'll deal with it then." He continued to watch her carefully, "I don't want you to talk to her for a while though. Can you do that for me?" Maya looked at him with gentle, pleading eyes. She felt him squirm under her a little, the want growing from his hardening between her legs. The look had set him off. Maya moved her body a bit so that she was straddling him more and could feel him pressed against her lower lips.
"I can do that. What else?" he asked. Maya moved her hips absently over him sliding herself along his length. He groaned and squeezed her hips. Maya looked up toward the ceiling and made a teasing sound.
"I want a desk," she said.
"Done." He said with a smile on his face.
"Aaaand," she bit her lower lip and watched as his face twitched with overwhelming desire. She continued to move her hips, gliding across him in the soapy water. Maya arched her hips up and let barely the tip of him slip inside of her before she pulled away and continued stroking along him. His mouth was open, his eyes burning. "I want us to go to the club with our friends and I want to dance with you."
He responded with a grunt as she moved the tip of him inside of her again, swirling her hips in a circle and sloshing the water before pulling out again.
"And I think that's it for now," she said happily. He smiled, his hands gripped so tightly on her hips that she knew he might leave bruises. "Oh! One more thing. I want one of those fancy bed swings on the back deck so we can lay in it and drink wine and watch the sun set." Maya felt like a kid in a candy store. Paul's face turned into a giant smile.
"Anything you want." He confirmed.
"What do you want?" she asked in a teasing tone, her eyes glittering with mischief. His eyes widened at her boldness and he opened his mouth to say something but thought better of it and said quietly,
"You." Maya leaned up and planted a soft kiss to his lips. "It's getting late. You ready for bed?" he asked, lifting a finger to twirl a piece of hair that had escaped from her bun around his finger so it sprang into a tight curl.
She nodded and pressed his lips to hers, pushing her hips against him tightly. She laughed into the kiss and he growled between her lips. She rolled her hips on top of him and he pulled away, his eyes desperate with desire.
"You're torturing me now." He said in a low tone that made her shiver.
"Must be so hard," she teased.
"Bed. Now." he said before pressing his lips back to hers and she squealed.
"I don't know, I might be pretty tired," she said, shifting over him again and pulling a low moan from his throat.
"That's okay, I'll do all the work." He lowered his mouth to bite at her shoulder and Maya let out a gasp as the pulsing sensation it pushed between her legs. "Stand up or I'm going to take you right here," he growled. Maya splashed to a standing position and Paul hopped out of the tub. He picked her up, looping her legs around his midsection and pressed his lips to hers as he carried her out of the bathroom toward the stairs. Maya snaked her arm down between them as he walked and grabbed him, hard and thick in her hand. He let out a loud sound of pleasure and pitched forward, setting Maya on the stairs. Before she had a moment to realize where they were, he pushed inside of her, unable to make it the final few steps to the landing and into their bedroom. Maya threw her head back, one arm looped around his neck and gasped his name.
Paul thrust into her, making sure to press all the way in until their hips connected before pulling nearly all the way out. His lips were on her neck, her jaw, her cheek as he moaned without restraint against her. Maya felt her body thrum with intense pleasure.
"Fuck!" she breathed as he grabbed her ass and pressed his thumb to the top of her folds.
"Look at me," he said and Maya kept her eyes glued to his, her mouth open as he pulled gasps and moans from her. For all of their pain and heartache, Maya and Paul had an undeniable connection when it came to sex. They fit with each other and Maya knew there was no one else whenever he took her like this. He pushed into her faster, his thumb circling and pressing against her as Maya shuddered in release over him. He brought his mouth down to her ear, pounding into her roughly now as he neared his climax. But as he did so, he said in a low, commanding voice in her ear,
"We belong together, My. You and me, just like this. Say it." Maya nearly screamed with satisfaction. He pulled his face away so he could see her eyes while he came inside of her. "Say it." He groaned.
"I belong with you," she said breathy and as if on cue, he gave one final push into her before filling her.
"Fuck, My," he breathed. She laughed and he smiled that achingly sweet smile before lowering his head to kiss her sweetly.
Maya and Paul spent the next few days in and out of each other's company. Paul was thrilled to have her finally living with him fulltime and for the next few mornings they spent it tangled up on the couch or out on the deck, drinking coffee and talking about anything and everything.
Maya asked him about his childhood and was somewhat unsurprised to find out that his father had left him when he was young and before that was incredibly abusive. His mother, devastated by the absence of her husband, all but disappeared from Paul's life. He lived with aunts and uncles around the reservation and gained a reputation for being the first one in a fight and quick to anger. When he told her about the first time he phased, she reached across and smoothed a hand across his tightened brow.
"I thought I was going to die. In some ways I did," he said in a low voice. Maya leaned in across the porch bench, her legs laid across his lap, and kissed his cheek. He squeezed her thighs and gave her a relieved smile. "I don't know if I've ever willingly told anyone that story before." Maya smirked and nodded.
"Thank you for telling me."
The night before they were meant to leave for Seattle again, he collapsed into bed around 2 a.m. after some late night rounds. Maya woke up and immediately shimmied closer to him. He wrapped his arms around her and planted a kiss to the top of her head.
"How did it go?" she said sleepily. She made sure to ask him about rounds every night that he was out. And he had started to share more and more with her.
"Fine. Nothing came up. Everything was clear." He said quietly. Maya listened to him breathe for a moment before she opened her eyes groggily and looked at him in the low light. He was checking his email on his phone as he usually did when he came back from rounds.
"Have you ever found anything?" she asked suddenly, still only half awake.
"A few times. Not so much anymore since the Cullens moved away," he said nonchalantly as he started to type a message out to Michael.
"The Cullens?" she yawned. Paul shifted her in his arms so that she was laid more across his chest and he could loop his other arm around her more to access his phone easier.
"Yeah, they were the resident vampires living in Forks for awhile. They're a part of a secret treaty extended a long time ago to allow them to live within close proximity to La Push without getting mauled by us."
Maya leaned up now, her hand on her chest, confused. "Wait, there were vampires living in Forks and you guys knew about it? How does that work?"
"Uh, they claimed to be different—vegetarians." He let out a small laugh and rolled his eyes, "Meaning they only drink animal blood rather than human blood. The treaty allowed them to stay in the area as long as they never killed a human. Fucking wild actually, don't know if I would have agreed to that way back then." Maya's face was utterly dumbstruck, "What? They're not here anymore. They moved away like 5 or 6 years ago."
"5 or 6 years ago?!" Maya nearly shouted.
"Jeez, relax, nothing would have happened to anyone on the rez. We were very careful. So careful that one of ours took off with them," Paul said, a strange tone in his voice.
"Wait. Like a wolf? Or just someone from the rez?" Maya said, fully awake now.
"Chief Black's youngest, Jacob. I think he lives with them or near them. I'm not sure." Paul said as he yawned.
"What why?!" Maya asked.
"He swore to protect them because this girl he liked fell in love with one of the Cullen's and they turned her into a vampire." Paul said it as if he was reading a tax form.
"WHAT!" Maya's eyes went wide. Paul's eyes shot to hers for the first time, alarmed at the feeling she was giving off.
"Maya calm down," he said, stroking her arm.
"But doesn't that break the treaty if they turned her?!" Maya was appalled. How could they let this happen?
"It's a little more complicated. I'm not getting into it tonight. We have a flight to catch in like 5 hours so try to get some sleep."
"How could you guys let that happen, though? I don't understand." Maya said.
"Maya please," Paul groaned, setting his phone down. "I wasn't in charge back then and also, that girl wanted to get turned. We couldn't have stopped her if we tried. Sam didn't want to spill a lot of blood over it, and he definitely didn't want to have to kill Jacob or Leah or Seth over it either. So he let it go."
"SETH WAS PROTECTING THEM?!" Maya yelled. "Oh my fucking god."
"I'm about to drag you into the shower and douse you in cold water if you don't cool off," he said seriously.
"Look who's talking," she said, smacking his chest. He narrowed his eyes at her and she collapsed back onto his chest in a huff. "So when you say you've seen a few since then…" Maya continued.
Paul shut his phone off and rested an arm over his eyes, "Turns out that having vampires like the Cullens in the area tended to attract more vampires. And for a little while afterwards, they kept showing up, whether they knew them or not. But we haven't had any cross our path in a long time." He squeezed her shoulder and after a moment his breathing started to even out in obvious sleep.
Maya stayed awake, eyes wide as she thought about the faceless girl who gave herself over to a coven of vampires and the missing member of the pack who chose to protect them over his tribe.
"You look...insanely gorgeous," Paul's mouth was hanging open as Maya fastened some large gold hoops in her ears. She was wearing a simple black satin cocktail dress that hit her just above the knee with a dainty slit up the side. The front laid in soft swoops across her chest and tight around her hips. The back was completely open with three thin black strings connecting the dress—one across her mid back and two down her shoulders.
"Thank you," Maya said softly, a blush flooding her face. "It's Valenciaga." She looked down at her dress for a second and then back up at him. Paul fastened the buttons on his white shirt and threw on a casual forest green blazer over top to pair with his tan pants. He leaned over and kissed her gently letting his thumb linger across her cheek.
Maya wasn't necessarily nervous for the night at Janelle and Clark's. There was a good chance that Rachel would be there but this week with Paul had shifted something in Maya. They had come to an agreement that they would both try to stop fighting the imprint when it compelled them. Maya suspected that she hadn't been fighting it nearly as much as Paul had recently considering how fast her feelings for him had grown, but regardless, they promised one another to take this next step into trust together.
It wouldn't be without it's trials though. Maya gripped Paul's forearm and he snaked his other arm around her waist, gripping her hip as she leaned to the side slightly to don her black mesh Jimmy Choos. As she stood straight, the heels giving her a four inch height difference, she more easily leaned up to kiss Paul on the lips and he held her there softly.
"You and me," he said gently as he pulled away from the kiss, his forehead pressed to hers.
"You and me," she echoed. With one deep breath she nodded and he took her hand and led her down the stairs to the town car that would take them to Janelle and Clark's for dinner.
If Rachel was there, Maya was going to hold her own this time. Now confident in her direction with Paul and having dug deeper into their connection over the past few days, she felt more in control than she had before. When they pulled up to the gorgeous three story estate thirty minutes later, Maya couldn't help but hold her breath in anticipation. With a reassuring squeeze to her thigh, Paul opened the car door and extended his hand to help her out of the backseat.
He looped an arm down around her back and gently guided her forward across the cobblestone pathway to the lit of up house that glittered in the warm summer night. She could already hear laughter carrying on inside and somewhere around the side of the house. As they approached the door, Paul looked down at her.
"Ready?" he asked. She moved closer into his hold and he gave a small smile.
"Ready," she said encouragingly. The door swung open, the light washing over them from within the bright and raucous home.
"Paul and Maya are here!" Janelle cried over the shoulder of the maid who had opened the door to them.
Maya broke into a bright, glittering smile and she felt Paul squeeze her waist as they crossed the threshold together.