Anger is not an emotion I'm very familiar with. In my most recent history, the only times I can ever remember being truly angry were when Paul lied to me and when Jacob rejected Becks. And there was that one time in third grade when Henry Somen crushed a caterpillar I was watching in the grass during recess. So maybe I am familiar with that emotion more than I care to admit. But anger ebbs and what remains is unending compromise, concession, conceding fate. Paul better hope that Jacob was hit by a lightning bolt of truth to win over Becks though. Because all I see is red.

Keye let out a strangled noise of dissent as Paul moved out of the way for Jacob to come in. Maya was fuming, her arms crossed over her chest, hip pushed out, and hair billowing around her in a frizzy cloud from her skirmish with Paul.

"Is she here?" Jacob rasped out, looking at no one else but Paul. Jacob looked ashen, like he'd lost his normal warm copper color, dark circles hung under his eyes and drooped his lids, and the amber hue of his eyes looked dull and clouded. Paul opened his mouth to respond, but was stopped by Maya's interjection.

"You shouldn't be here," she seethed. Jacob's eyes narrowed at her and his mouth set into a hard line as he said through gritted teeth.

"You shouldn't have taken her away in the first place," he shot back.

"The absolute fucking audacity!" Keye squealed, her hands placed firmly on the counter as if she needed to hold herself up. Jacob shot her a look and Maya continued.

"Fuck you! You're the one who said you didn't want her," Maya's voice was rising.

"Maya!" Paul warned. His eyes were hard as he looked at her, an arm extended between her and Jacob even though they'd made no attempt to cross the room at one another.

"What do you plan to do?" Maya egged him on. Paul let out a frustrated sound. Jacob faltered.

"I just want to talk to her….to see her," he managed to say. He glanced at Paul who gave him a conciliatory nod. It drove Maya nuts. Whose side was he on?

"Well, what if she doesn't want to talk to or see you?" Maya continued.

"Then I'd like her to tell me that," Jacob said.

"And what? You'll just leave? I'm not an idiot, Jacob. I know how imprints work. She doesn't get to leave," Maya said without thinking. She clamped her mouth shut and glanced at Paul who looked absolutely livid.

"Aren't you two supposed to be, like, the semi-stable couple?" Jacob said in a sarcastic tone.

"Who said that?" Keye teased. Maya shot her a look and Keye averted her eyes.

"The point is, you won't leave her alone even if she asked. You can't. So, I'll ask you again, what are you doing here?" Maya said in a calmer tone.

Before Jacob could answer though, they heard the clear beep of a key card being scanned in the door and suddenly Becks entered. Her short hair was half dry and the salt waved it in beautiful tendrils around her face. Her skin was glowing from the morning sun.

Maya heard Jacob audibly swallow and Becks stopped in her tracks when she saw him.

"What the—" she whispered, her eyes wide. Jacob was staring at her like she was the light in the dark. He swallowed again and managed to squeak out a:

"Becks, please." His arm barely extended toward her but Becks was frozen. Maya didn't know what to do. Her heart hammered in her chest.

"Becks?" she asked. Becks' eyes shot to Maya and then she swallowed and nodded.

"It's okay," she murmured looking back to Jacob. He relaxed just a little and then said,

"Can we talk?" nodding toward the bedroom door. Becks stared him for a moment before she nodded and walked toward the room, with a glance in Maya and Keye's direction.

"What are you doing!?" Keye whispered angrily. The door clicked closed behind them and Keye groaned putting her head in her hands. Maya turned on Paul now who had his hands on his hips and was glaring at her.

"We need to talk. Now." he said with an edge in his voice. Maya looked at him and when he walked toward her to take her hand, she ripped it out of his grasp and hurriedly exited toward the hotel room door.

"Maya!" Paul called after her angrily.

Jacob's POV

When the door closed behind Jacob and Becks, he let out a sigh of relief. The fact that she even agreed to be alone with him in a room was a good sign. She had no reason to let him talk to her but he had hoped that she would.

The minute Jacob had entered the room, her scent had filled his nostrils, the sweet, soft, smooth scent—she smelled like clean earth and jasmine flowers. It was intoxicating. All he could think about now, much like all he had been thinking about for the past 10 days, was finding his way to her, to see her again, to check and make sure that she was alright, to explain.

But old habits die hard with Jacob. He'd been away from the reservation and his family for so long that he thought nothing tied him here anymore. But when he felt the intensity of the initial imprint with Becks rock him from his foundation, he had tried his hardest to run from it. That hadn't worked out so well.

Now, as she stood in front of him, Jacob knew he had to play this right. He had to make sure he didn't come on too strong, she was already hesitant around him even though he could tell that she felt the pull of the imprint too.

"What do you want?" she almost whispered. Jacob's ears perked up at the sound and his eyes dialed into hers, warm and soft. He wanted to reach out for her, touch her, pull her into his arms and feel that relief that was promised by the imprint but he knew he couldn't.

"I…" his throat felt dry. "Can we...start over?" he said gently. "I didn't handle things well before and—"

"You didn't handle them at all," Becks said, her eyes narrowing in pain.

"I know...I just," he held out his hand, "Hi, I'm Jacob. Some people call me Jake." He stared at her, his eyes unreadable. Becks reached out and placed her small hand in his broad one. The touch sent a rippling wave of relief through Jacob and it took everything in him not to pull Becks to his body and wrap her in a hug. Becks gasped at the touch and Jacob couldn't help but let a little smirk cross his face.

"I'm Rebecca. My friends call me Becks," she said after a moment. Everything about her drew him in and Jacob knew he was in for it. He moved her hand up and down slowly in greeting and felt his entire body relax, the tension draining from his shoulders somewhat under her appreciative gaze. God, he wanted to know what she was thinking so bad. She looked at him with curiosity, hesitance, and was that a little fear? She had no reason to fear him. It made Jacob want to take the step to close the distance and smooth the worry from her brow with his warm touch.

His entire body felt like it was vibrating and for the first time in his life, he felt anchored to the spot, steady on always shifting ground. She held him in place and he wanted to thank her for existing. He scoffed at himself internally for even thinking that. She'd think he was some kind of freak for sure, but he'd known his fair share of freaks to be easily accepted as one himself. He needed to say something, anything to this beautiful woman that held him to the earth, that brought life screaming back into color for him.

"Nice to meet you, Becks," he said gently. She gave him a tentative smile and it sent Jacob's heart into overdrive. Fuck, I'm done for. He thought to himself.

Maya hurried down the hallway and to the elevator, pressing the door for the lobby. The doors closed thankfully just as Paul got to them and she heard a bang on the elevator doors indicating he'd hit them with his fists when they closed. Maya crossed her arms and leaned her head against the wall as she descended into the lobby letting out a frustrated sigh.

When the doors opened, she hurried across the lobby and out a side door hoping to lose him just for a minute to collect herself. But as she made her way down to the beach, she heard him shout after her as he sprinted across the lawn and down to the bridge leading to the beach.

"Why would you bring him here?!" Maya yelled.

"Let me fucking talk to you and I'll tell you why, okay? Stop fucking running away from me," Paul's face was fixed into a hard frown and Maya tried to hold back the angry tears forming now, "Baby, please. Come here," he pleaded, seeing the look of sadness on her face.

"Start talking," she said, holding a hand up to collide with his chest when he came close. Paul sighed.

"A few days after you three left, we found Jacob. He wouldn't let us come near him though and none of us could hear him except for Seth," Maya's eyes were furious as she watched him, "We backed off and left him with Seth for a while. Then Seth filled us in. Turns out, Jacob's imprint was so strong with Becks that he'd been basically killing himself trying to get off the rez."

"What?" Maya said, confused.

"You know how when you're gone, you get that physical ache? And for me it's like...ten thousand times worse?" he said. Maya nodded slowly. "Well, for Jacob it was literally like it was tearing him to pieces. When we found him that first day, he was in rough shape, My. I don't know if it was because he's been gone so long or if the imprint is just so strong or if it has to do with him being an alpha, but he wasn't healing, he could hardly move, and he refused to phase back." Maya was watching Paul carefully. He looked almost scared as if he wasn't aware the imprint could do something like that. "We watched the situation for as long as we could, but when you didn't come back after that first week, Sam and I worried what would happen to him if Becks didn't come back to the reservation soon. I had to bring him here. I didn't have a choice. It was the only way he'd phase back and not kill himself if I promised I would bring him to her."

Maya shook her head, the realization of how crazy this all sounded sinking in. "He didn't want her. He rejected her at the party. He did that to himself!" Maya's voice was rising. Paul had managed to pull her closer to him, his hands wrapped lovingly around her wrists as he nodded.

"I know," Paul placated, "But he can't reject her. It's just not...possible," Paul said slowly. Maya scoffed and gave him a sarcastic smile.

"Don't we know that," she sighed and leaned her forehead in to rest on his chest and let out a frustrated groan. Paul let out a breath and wrapped his arms around her back, "She has plans, like me. She's going to Northwestern in the fall, Paul. She can't stay here for him."

Paul kissed the top of her head and it soothed her somewhat, "I know. But you have to let her figure that out." Maya craned her neck back to look up at him.

"And what if she decides to reject him? Do you think Jacob would respect her wishes?" Maya asked this only because she knew that that had never worked for her and Paul. And if he was right about how intense their imprint was, it would be impossible for Becks to have a life without Jacob whether or not she wanted it. Paul stalled again, looking out over the beach and then back at Maya. She had her answer even before he opened his mouth. No. She wouldn't be able to reject him.

"Let's go get everyone and grab some lunch," Paul said. Maya nodded, resigned to her friend's fate and put her hand in Paul's.

Once they made their way back into the hotel room, Maya glanced toward Becks' room. Keye leaned over the counter typing on her phone and glancing toward the room every now and then.

"Are they still in there?" Maya asked. Keye bit her lip and nodded. Paul patted Maya's hip and kissed her temple.

"Give them a second. I'm going to take a shower," he said as he strode off toward the master bedroom. Maya slumped down onto the stool in front of the counter and put her head in her hands.

"This is fucked up right?" Keye questioned.

"Super fucked up," Maya looked toward the door again. She couldn't hear them but she couldn't help but worry.

At lunch, they decided that they would return to La Push tomorrow morning making tonight their official last night. Paul seemed glad to be returning home with Maya in tow and Keye seemed indifferent. Jacob stayed as close to Becks as possible without physically touching her. Maya watched him with a stern expression which caused Paul to laugh at her more than once.

"My, chill," he whispered as he sat next to her at dinner that evening. She had realized she was glowering at Jacob. Jacob hadn't noticed either, his head was bent toward Becks in conversation and they seemed to be enjoying themselves. Paul was squeezing on Maya's thigh. She took another swig of her drink and tried to ignore the rush of warmth she felt between her legs as he trailed his fingers up the length of her inner thigh. She was wearing a tight white skirt with a coral bandeau top. She'ld pulled her hair half up and it billowed out around her in waves.

They'd all decided to go to a club together and Maya, walking hand in hand with Paul while the others walked ahead of them, glanced down at her feet for a moment. Paul brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it softly. He took a moment and rotated her hand in the light catching the shining brightness of the faux diamond ring. Maya had forgotten to take it off for the night since she had made it a habit of slipping it on her ring finger before going out each night since they got there.

"What's this?" Paul asked, amusement clear in his voice.

"Boy-be-gone," Maya said, bringing her right hand over to take the ring off, "But since you're here, it's kind of redundant," as she went to slip the ring off, he stopped her.

"Nah, you should keep it on," his eyes twinkled in the lamplight of the street they walked down. Maya gave him a knowing smile and shook her head at him, "In case we get separated tonight." Maya scoffed, Right, like that would happen. Paul had been glued to her since he got there.

As they headed into the club, the lights and music began to pulse and take shape around them as they headed down the hallway toward the main area he looked down at her, "It looks good on you," he said close to her ear, his arm firmly wrapped around her. Maya smiled up at him and he leaned down to snag a quick kiss before they spilled out onto the dance floor.

DAncing in the club with Paul was a new experience for Maya. He held her close at all times, his hands on every part of her body and the intensity at which she felt their bodies rub together as they danced made Maya's pulse race. She always had a fresh drink in her hand and it was refreshing to not have a random, sweaty dude push up against her every five minutes that she had to evade. Because of Paul's size, people gave them a lot of space for which Maya was grateful. And even though her head was spinning from the alcohol and intoxicating kisses Paul planted on her as they danced, Maya couldn't help but glance over at Becks every now and then. Jacob was tucked away by the bar, watching her carefully as she danced with Keye. Maya could clearly see the muscle in his jaw twitch as he watched her hips dip and sway to the music.

Paul increasingly tried to distract her by moving her away from Jacob's line of sight, but they found themselves gravitating more toward the center of the floor where Becks and Keye danced. At one point, Paul frustratingly grabbed Maya's ass and dipped his head down to her ear.

"That's enough," he said in a gruff voice. Maya raised an eyebrow at him defiantly and she saw a sharp glint of control pass over his face. Her heart raced and her lips parted momentarily. When Maya involuntarily glanced toward Becks again, Paul pulled her off the dance floor in one quick movement. He tugged her down the darkened hall toward the bathrooms where the music pounded dimly through the walls. Maya let herself be tugged and when Paul turned quickly and then pressed her against the wall, she gasped. His lips were down on hers roughly in an instant and her hands shot up to brace themselves on his chest. Paul hurriedly kissed her mouth and moved his head down to her neck, biting and sucking in earnest. Maya let out soft moans that couldn't be heard over the music but a heat pounded between her legs that she knew Paul would discover as his hand rode up the inside of her thigh.

"Come on," he said roughly, grabbing her again and pulling her after him. He stomped toward the men's bathroom and when Maya tried to protest, he pressed her to his side and basically lifted her off her feet. Once inside, he beelined it toward the back. Only a few people looked their way and once he slammed the door shut Maya couldn't help the excitement rising in her. This rough, needy side of Paul was something she didn't get to see often. But even in this state, he was always so careful with her. He lifted her up and pressed her back against the cold wall. She wrapped her legs around his torso and bucked her hips against him as his mouth dropped to kiss along her collarbone. When a little moan escaped her lips he raised his head. The music was far quieter in the bathroom and someone would definitely hear them if they weren't careful.

Paul lifted a finger to his lips to quiet her and she bit her lip and nodded. He moved the same finger across her lips and slipped it into her mouth. Maya closed her eyes and felt herself shiver with excitement. He slipped his finger from her mouth and immediately dove it down between her thighs and under her panties. Maya gasped and Paul shook his head at her as he placed a second finger in her, curling and pressing. Maya's eyes fluttered close as she relished in the way he always made her feel. When she felt herself pulsing toward climax, she opened her mouth and eyes in an inaudible sigh. Paul watched her intently, a greedy smirk on his face.

"Please," she whispered. That was all he needed. He took his fingers out and unbuckled his pants quickly, pushing her panties aside and sliding all the way into her in one thrust. Maya let out a loud cry and threw her head back as Paul started to thrust into her, her back sliding up and down the wall.

"Shhh," he chided, "You need to be quiet, Maya." His lips were on her throat again and Maya tried her hardest to keep her lips clamped shut. He filled her so well and the fact that someone might hear them only made her wetter with anticipation. Paul was huffing with desire as he pumped into her harder. When she let out another low moan after he pushed into a particularly sensitive spot, his hand shot up to cover her mouth. Her mouth and nose were swallowed under his large hand and Maya felt her entire body hum with pleasure. All of the irritation and worry that she had felt for Becks these past couple of weeks melted away and as she moaned gently into his hand, she saw the proud and possessive look in Paul's eyes as he pushed into her. This was quite literally the most outlandish thing they'd done yet as a couple and Maya could tell Paul was thrilled.

"Fuck," he whispered as Maya continued to eek out little moans under his hand. He slammed into her, the quick slick slapping sounds clearly audible throughout the bathroom and as Maya felt her legs grip and shake as she found her release, Paul exploded inside of her. Maya was panting under his hand and when he dropped it she gulped down air. He had cummed in her so much that he was already leaking out around her before he'd even pulled out. "You are incredible," he said softly, running a hand down her face and kissing her lips around her panted breaths. Maya giggled and when he slid out of her, she immediately felt him drip out of her and onto the floor.

Becks POV

Becks had seen Paul tug Maya away and for a moment she thought about going after them. But instead, her eyes fell on Jacob who was watching her very intensely from his place at the bar. She felt her heart give off a quick thud, thud and closed her mouth that had fallen open in involuntarily surprise.

He had watched her all night and normally Becks would have felt put off by some guy staring at her for so long, but Jacob's gaze put her at ease. Keye was trashed and had turned to make out with some random guy who had made his way toward them. Becks stood stock still in the throng of dancing, sweaty bodies on the dance floor, her eyes connecting with Jacob's. She wasn't sure what he saw there, but in one short jerk, he had stood up from his leaning position and walked toward her. Her heart beat increased and when he stood in front of her, she tried to swallow the rising want that she knew was clear on her face.

"Can I dance with you?" He asked loudly, leaning toward her carefully but not touching her. Becks' eyes widened slightly at the question and then she nodded. Did I just say yes?! She thought to herself.

Becks found so often that her responses to Jacob seemed to come from a place of instinct rather than from a decision she actively made. She had never been an impulsive person before, but every move she made that brought her closer to Jacob felt reckless but right. He wound an arm around her waist and pulled her a little closer to him. Becks' lips parted in surprise again but she didn't pull away, she didn't even tense.

Her body gave off that thrum that she was starting to recognize was a response to Jacob. It was like a warm hum she could feel in her body, like being out in the sun after staying inside for a long time. She searched his eyes for some sort of clue as to what he was thinking, but he still was unreadable. Carefully, Becks raised her arms and draped them over his shoulders.

He was swaying her gently to the pulsing, quick dance music but Becks didn't care. Everything had felt so fast with Jacob before—how he had imprinted, how he had run from her, and now how he had come back to her. But this felt slow and easy. She felt his relief at getting to touch her, be this near her, and she wanted him to have more of that relief. Everything in her body wanted him to be happy. And in that moment, Becks knew that this was it. While the imprint might not have felt fair to her at first, she saw no other path that she wanted to take. As tightly as it held Jacob in place, Becks felt it hold her in place too. And the weirdest part was that she didn't mind it. Not if she got to bring Jacob relief, see the hard features of his face and the frown in his lips disappear with just a look.

"Is this okay?" he asked, again over the music. His other hand not wrapped around her waist was stroking up and down her arm that she had laid over his shoulder, sending goosebumps shooting up her arm.

"Yeah," Becks said, nodding. She gave him a shy smile and his face lit up. One look and his face completely changed. It made Becks gasp in surprise. The warmth and joy that colored him quickly as his lips turned up into a grin made her take an automatic step forward, pressing their bodies together. Jacob tightened his grip on her waist in response as they continued to sway. Their faces were close now, too close and Becks wasn't sure if she was ready for this part. Her fingers absently stroked at the back of his neck. But he made no attempt to close the small distance between them to connect their lips. Instead they stared intently at one another, relaxing under the relief that the imprint gave them as if a weight had been lifted.