Hello, darlings! I'm sorry for the delay, I had a rough couple of weeks, but I'm better, and in full mode again.
Thank you to the silent readers, and to those who leave such lovely reviews, especially to Edward's haters (I love those comments, they made me laugh so hard every time. Keep them coming)
I will be uploading another chapter today to make up for the delay. I had a lot of fun writing the next chapter because it's something I've never written, but it was too tempting and it just really came out.
I am so on, that I have two fics on the making for after this one is over. One is Jasper/Bella, and the other will be Demetri/Bella. I guarantee Edward-hating content in both fics :).
In the meantime, stay safe and enjoy!
SILVER.
Chapter 19: The battle.
Charlie was miraculously recovered the moment Billy presented him with plans of a fishing trip on Sunday. It was a good plan to get her dad off Forks for the day.
In order to prepare for his impromptu fishing trip, Charlie spent most of his Friday and Saturday preparing things. It was hilarious how heated he looked while going up and down the stairs and in and out of the kitchen. What was he looking for in the kitchen, she didn't want to know.
On Saturday, she spent the day at Paul's with him on his bed. She was wrapped tightly around him, being held by him, and holding him at the same time. She was scared for him and very nervous about the newborn fight of the following day.
She felt his fingers going up and down her bare back, meaning he was coming out of his slumber. She hadn't been able to fall asleep. Instead, she cuddled him and enveloped him in her arms. He was a surprisingly still sleeper.
She raised her head, meeting his grey stare. He looked worried. She smiled at him, which he returned.
"Are you ok?" He asked softly, still caressing her back.
She was going to say yes, but she'd always been honest with him. "I'm worried about tomorrow."
He put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed her tightly to him. "There's nothing to worry about, baby. We're a lot against a few. It'll be over fast."
How could he be so calm about it? How could all the guys be so calm about it? She hadn't wanted to ask any of the girls because she felt a little guilty that they were all risking their lives to kill Victoria, and she couldn't face the girls if, by any chance, they thought alike.
"Hey." He called her, moving her, so they were lying face to face. He grabbed her chin and kissed her fiercely. She had no idea just how precious she was to him. It went beyond the 'I love you' words. It was something bigger than that. "I swear to you that everything will be ok."
A tear rolled down her cheek, and he cleaned it. "I'll hold you up to that"
He chuckled softly and pecked her on the lips once more. He couldn't get enough of her. "I just got you. I'm not losing you."
It was Bella who kissed him this time. The kiss escalated quickly, and she moved to straddle his hips. The sheets fell off her, and Paul took that opportunity to kiss her breasts and her neck. He moved under her and inserted himself in her, feeling blissed.
Immediately he stilled, noticing the absence of something important. "Fuck, Bella. I forgot the condom." They had used one earlier, but he got so caught up in her now that he had completely forgotten about it.
Bella swirled her hips, getting a moan out of him. She needed to stop this. "I'm on the pill." She had decided to get on them for various reasons, one of them being the contraception it provided.
His relief was evident when he thrusted upward, making Bella moan loudly and tilt her head backward, exposing her neck.
Paul sat up, creating a new angle that was delicious for both of them. The new position allowed Paul better access to Bella's neck. He kissed and nibbled and felt the urge to bite her there.
It was a lupine urge to bite, that much he knew, but he didn't understand what it meant. He didn't surrender to the urge; he was not risking her.
He kept his thrusts even, and his lips latched into her neck and her chest. She was riding him, and although he loved this position, he loved being able to kiss up and down her body while thrusting inside of her, something that this position made difficult.
Bella was getting louder, signaling that she was coming soon. She sank her nails on his shoulders and rested her head on one of his broad shoulders, feeling the tension build inside of her. She mumbled "faster" which Paul gladly accepted. While he resisted the urge to bite her, she didn't. When she came around him, she bit his shoulder. That was something new, she thought; she would normally have whispered or yelled his name.
After Bella climaxed, Paul thrusted a few more times, enjoying Bella's whimpers. This connection had been more than a couple making love or having sex. It was about connecting and reassuring the other of their love, their presence in the other's life, and the security of their future.
"I love you so damn much." She whispered firmly, looking into his eyes. "You have to come back to me. That's an order."
He slipped out of her, but instead of getting off the bed, he just lied next to her. "I will come back. You're mine."
Normally she would have objected to the possessive statement, but when he said it, it was hard to object. She was his, but she was also her own. She was his with the freedom to be herself and have her own voice. This was the way she knew she wanted to be possessed.
"And you're only mine." She said back.
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Sunday arrived too fast for Bella's liking. She had spent the night having trouble sleeping and having nightmares when she managed to fall asleep. Somehow, she managed to keep silent and not wake Paul. She lied in bed when the first rays of sunshine appeared through his windows. It was dawn, and soon he would have to wake up and go into battle. She found a new respect for soldiers' families and their ability to navigate through these feelings of uncertainty and love.
She kept looking at him as the sun raised in the sky above, illuminating everything and showering the room with light and shadows. Paul stirred an hour later, blinking a few times, trying to adjust to the burst of light in his room. He scanned the area as he did every morning since the bonfire night when the imprint was interrupted. His eyes landed finally on the naked girl next to him. He still couldn't believe his eyes, no matter how many times he's had her there. It was still like a dream.
"Good morning." He greeted groggily with sleep.
Bella smiled sweetly and pecked his lips. "Morning, sleepyhead."
He grabbed his phone to check the time, noticing that it was still early, and he still had an hour to kill before leaving to the clearing. "How are you feeling?" He asked huskily in her ear, making her squirm and laugh. She knew what he was referring to.
"Sore, but so worth it." It had been the first time they had sex two times in a row; they had been on fire the night before. And if Bella had anything to say about it, they would be on fire tonight as well.
"I'll say. I have the proof that you can get kinky." He teased, showing the bite marks. Oddly enough, they weren't healing. Bella sat up like her ass had been set on fire.
"You're not healing!" She started panicking. If he was not healing, he was in danger.
Paul grabbed her by the waist and pushed her on top of his body. "Somehow, you managed to sink your teeth very deep. You draw blood and everything. It's healing, trust me." That didn't make sense. She had tried to punch Jacob in the face, resulting in her sprained knuckles. How was it that her merely teeth could harm him, but not a punch in the face? These loopholes in their nature were giving her whiplash. "Bella, relax." His chuckle brought her back. "I'll be alright. I promise." He kissed her shoulder, wanting to get lost in her once more but knowing that he had to serve energy.
She nodded. She trusted him and the pack to deal with everything as fast as possible and as carefully as possible.
Soon, the time to say goodbye for now came, and she stood at the front door, watching the retreating figure of her boyfriend, sending a silent prayer to anyone who would listen, asking for everyone's safety.
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The hours passed, and she had run out of things to do. Paul was a meticulous person, so there was basically no cleaning to do. However, she cleaned either way; she washed the sheets in which they had slept last night. She was tempted to dry them with the sheer power of her lungs just to find something to keep the anxiety at bay. But there was no point. There was only one way to get the anxiety away, and that was facing one of the sources of it: the other imprints.
She drove to Emily's house with her heart beating faster than it had ever beaten. It was about to burst out of her chest.
No matter how many times she breathed in and out, she was starting to panic. She knocked anxiously on Emily's door and waited until she opened the door.
"Do you mind if I wait here?" She asked nervously.
Emily had no problem at all, of course, and she said so to her. In fact, she said she had been waiting for her. When they came into the living room, Bella saw that Kim and Angela were also there.
Angela noticed the expression on Bella's face and rushed to put her at ease. "We always meet when the guys are all out."
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Kim was an enthusiast of board games, so she was the one responsible for bringing a different array of games from which to choose.
When the board was settled on the middle of the table, Bella had a momentary lapse and ran crying to the bathroom.
Kim, Emily, and Angela were left staring at each other, wondering what had happened.
"I'll go." Emily said softly.
While Sam was the alpha and in charge of the wolves' protection and behavior, she felt the need to protect the girls. Sort of like an alpha female, but without the needed authority.
She knocked gently on the bathroom door and entered when a strangled voice allowed her.
Emily crouched in front of Bella, who was sitting on the closed toilet. She put her hands on Bella's knees, both to balance herself and to comfort her.
"What's wrong?" She asked softly.
Bella had tears running down her eyes. "I put them all in danger." She sobbed.
Kim and Angela didn't stay put in the living room, they were concerned about their friend, and they wanted to offer her any comfort they could. "What do you mean?" Kim asked from the door.
She took a few breaths that kept coming shortly due to her agitated state. "They're fighting because of me. It's me she wants. And I'm hiding. And they're in danger. It's my fault."
Emily sighed, understanding what was going through her friend's mind.
"Ok. First, breathe with me." She made sure that Bella was copying her breathing, and after a few minutes, Bella was able to breathe in and out normally and was calmer than when Emily entered the bathroom. "Very good. Now, it's really no one's fault what's happening. It's just one of those things that happen in this crazy supernatural world. The wolves hunt vampires. It's instinct. And they're smart. Plus, the Cullens are also smart and strong, and they're working together for the first time ever. That's on you."
Bella nodded, understanding what Emily was saying.
"Because they all love you, they decided to work together to not only protect you but protect the town and the Reservation. But you made them work together." Emily grabbed her hands and squeezed gently. "I'm not going to lie and say that because of that, there's no danger anymore because we both know it's not true. But it's minimized. I know it's hard to sit still or play a game while they're out there, but there's really nothing we can do."
Bella took in another deep breath and let it out slowly before speaking. "You don't blame me?
Emily chuckled softly. "For what?" She arched an eyebrow, and Bella shrugged. "For falling in love? For being loved? For having someone love you and want to protect you? You couldn't have known she would do this. If anything, it's her fault and those two crazy guys you told us about."
Bella realized in that instance that she was being silly. It wasn't her fault, or Edward's or any of her friends. It was Victoria's, and James' and Laurent's. They were the crazy ones who attacked first.
She felt better having that into perspective.
"Bella." Kim intervened as well. "We don't blame you because it's not your fault. And this is not the first time those guys have done anything dangerous. We accepted that it's in their nature. It doesn't mean we don't worry, but we held on together." Kim's words, along with Angela's smile and Emily's reassurances, put Bella at ease, and she felt like part of the obstruction in her chest disappeared.
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The wolves had managed to dispose of the newborns that were coming their way. They had been so surprised at the wolves' appearance that many of them were rendered speechless and frozen in confusion and fear. It hadn't been easy to dispose of those who were high on adrenaline and blood. Those mutherfuckers were tricky as hell, but they managed to work together with the Cullens and end the threat once and for all.
However, it hadn't been as clean as they had hoped for. Jasper had been bitten by two crazy newborns when he saw that Alice was fighting to keep them off her. He said that it stung badly, and it was uncomfortable. It would pass in a few days, he assured them. Jasper was an okay guy. Neither of the wolves would consider him a friend, but he was trustworthy at least.
The bad news arrived when Jacob tried to save Leah from the clutches of one stray newborn. She yelled at him to stop; she had it under control, she knew what she was doing, but he just saw red. This made the newborn let go of Leah and get Jacob in mid-sprint, giving him such a crushing hug that his wolf was unable to stay, leaving a human Jacob almost unconscious but luckily alive on the floor. Leah ran to him, still on her wolf form, and cried out his name. She nudged him with her nose, getting a blinky response from him before he lost consciousness completely. The only proof that he was still alive was his strong heartbeat.
"I had it under control, you idiot! Why did you have to step in? I told you not to do anything stupid." Leah's lamentations were a complete surprise to everyone except Seth. He knew his sister, and all her talk about imprinting sucking, and being the worst that could happen, was just too much to be believable. He respected her privacy by not asking any questions. But now, that cat (or wolf) was out of the bag.
Paul had also been injured. However, his injuries were minor ones that would pass in a few days or a week, at tops. He knew the mind-reading bastard would find a way to get at him without arising suspicions and not endangering the treaty. The bastard had let a newborn pass through him directly at Paul, who was busy destroying another one. This leech that the bastard let through wasn't the brightest one in the bunch, so he just kicked him on the ribs, getting a few satisfying crunches as prove of broken bones before Sam and Jared disposed of him.
He didn't do anything to Edward, no matter how much he desired to kick his ass, because he had a promise to fulfill. Instead, he used the only weapon he could think of to bring him to his pasty knees. He conjured every kiss, every caress, every moan, every thrust, every loving word between him and Bella, every orgasm she received from him, every pleasure-induced yell. Edward fell to his knees, truly defeated by the memories of the one he loved the most being taken by another man.
"Bastard." He thought in his direction. And that had been the only interaction he allowed between them.
Paul changed into a human to help with the first aid formation needed to carry Jacob back to his house. Jasper approached him cautiously with his hands up front, holding an envelope in one of his hands, which he extended to Paul. "Please, could you give this to Bella on our behalf?" Paul took the envelope and nodded, putting it in his pocket.