Indiana.
I wake up the next morning feeling sick to my stomach with a raging hangover. When I finally open my bleary eyes, I realize I'm in my bed at Josie's, and when I check the time, it's already noon.
My stomach rolls and there's a dull throb between my legs when I sit up.
I vaguely remember taking another shot with Josie sometime after the incredible sex Paul and I had, but after that… nothing. I don't remember leaving Sam and Emily's, I don't remember how I got back to Josie's, and I don't remember why Paul isn't with me.
The longing for him intensifies in my chest.
Last night, although a bit sloppy and drunk on my part, was amazing.
At least I thought it was, so why isn't he here with me?
Digging around through my sheets, I find my phone tangled up in the blankets at the foot of the bed. The second I unlock it, something about the way the screen moves sends a wave of nausea rolling through my stomach, and I'm barely able to get down the ladder and into the bathroom in time to throw up in the toilet.
Once my stomach is empty and my violent headache is even angrier, I stand up on shaky legs and fill my hands with water from the bathroom sink and splash them over my face. It helps a little, but not much. It's going to take some heavy-duty painkillers to knock this one out.
I pick up my phone from the bathroom floor and wobble into the living room where Embry is eating his way through a bag of Doritos. There's an empty bag of pretzels and a few fruit snack wrappers strewn across the coffee table as well.
"Hey, champ," he teases, holding me out a chip.
The thought of eating makes my stomach roll again. I make a face and shake my head, walking into the kitchen for some water. I pop two extra strength Tylenol and chase them down with a large glass of water before taking a seat on one of the stools.
I try my phone again, bracing myself for the nausea, but it's not as remotely bad this time.
There's some drunk gibberish texts from Josie that I can't even decipher, a text from Leah telling me what time the celebration is at tonight, and a few texts from Paul. I open them quickly.
/
From: Paul
Message: Hope ur still asleep. Sry I had to leave so early
/
That text is from five this morning, so I guess he stayed the night with me after all. I feel terrible that I don't even remember that.
/
From: Paul
Message: I'm really sorry about last night.
/
From: Paul
Message: I know I fucked up & I feel awful about it.
/
Alarm bells go off inside my head. I try really hard to remember anything that happened after that last shot with Josie, but I literally can't. Did I pick a fight with him? Obviously I said something that upset him.
I take a deep breath and look over at Embry. "Hey, did Paul and I argue last night?" I ask him.
"No? You fell asleep on the ride home and he carried you up to bed. He left super early this morning."
I chew on my lip and turn back to my phone. The last text came through an hour and a half ago.
My thumbs fiddle together before I type a message back to him.
/
To: Paul
Message: Why are you sorry? Did I say something?
/
Anxiety replaces the nausea and I don't know which one is worse. I stare at my phone for a good five minutes, never seeing those three little dots indicating that he's responding, before locking it and heading into the bathroom for a shower.
The hot water feels good against my cold skin and tense body, but stings a little when I wet my hair and it cascades over my neck. I feel along my skin and prod at the tender area where my neck meets my shoulder, and a jolt of electricity pings in my belly.
Is that why he's apologizing?
All it does is remind me of the way his body looked hovering over mine, the taste of his kiss, and the way his hands felt roaming over my skin. Having sex with him didn't hurt as much as I thought it would. I don't know if it was because I was drunk, because I've fooled around before, or because I was just so wrapped up in him to notice otherwise.
Either way, it was incredible.
Everything was so intense. I've never felt more connected and in sync with another person before. It was perfect. He was perfect. He is perfect.
His teeth on my skin in the height of passion was the most primal, frenzied thing I've ever experienced. It was so raw and possessive and I was buzzing with energy after, but he just felt guilty.
It ruined it, a little bit.
It was sweet in a way, because I know he really does care about me, but him feeling like that about it just made me sad.
Was it because I'm the new Rachel? Did he feel bad that he'll one day have to give me the same speech he gave her?
Turning the water off, I wrap a towel around my body and step in front of the mirror, wiping away the fog to survey my neck.
The length of my collarbone on the left side is littered with small hickeys and red marks. Further up my neck, there's a dark, purple hickey, and along the curve is where the deep, bruised bite mark is.
I shudder remembering the way it felt as we came together and his teeth clamped onto me. I guess we're even now that we've both bitten each other.
I laugh quietly and wipe the mirror again.
It looks worse than it feels, but it's nothing a dress with a high neckline can't hide. I gently run my fingers over the bite mark again.
For years I was nothing if not flawless, unblemished skin. Malcolm wanted me perfect. Hair perfect. Skin perfect. Teeth perfect. He would lose himself in a rage if he saw these marks on me.
It might be fucked up and completely irrational, but I like them.
Pulling on my pajamas from last night and Josie's hoodie hanging in the bathroom, I go into the kitchen again for another glass of water.
Embry, having finished his bag of Doritos, is now making his way through a dry box of Mini Wheats. This is the most I think I've ever seen him eat. Paul and Jared seem to be the bottomless pits around here, and Embry is usually the most conservative with his meals.
Must be all the alcohol from last night.
I join him on the couch for an old episode of American Horror Story, and scoot over to make room for Josie when she wakes up halfway through it. Her makeup is somehow still completely flawless, though the same can't be said for her hair, which she's now pulling up into a tangled bun.
"Why did we do that?" she groans, plopping between Embry and me and leaning into his shoulder.
My phone dings in my hand and I unlock it and swipe for the texts in a matter of seconds, heart pounding when I see Paul's name.
/
From: Paul
Message: No, just sry about evrything last night. I shouldn't have treated u that way
/
My brows pull together and my thumbs hover above the screen for a second.
/
To: Paul
Message: Where are you? Can we talk? xx
/
I'd rather tell him in person that last night was the best night of my life, so he can see it on my face, and I can see it on his. Talking through texts and over the phone makes me feel uneasy sometimes, because I can't tell how the other person really feels. It's kind of like being blind in a way.
My phone dings again.
/
From: Paul
Message: My place w/Jesse. Got him from Tacoma. Will b busy till tonight.
/
It feels like someone just punched me in the stomach. I drop my phone and start chewing worriedly at my lip.
He went without me.
Part of me really hopes he just forgot that we were supposed to go together, but the other part of me knows he didn't, and it crushes me.
"Hey baby, can you give us a second?" Josie asks Embry, and I don't even look over when he stands up and heads to their bedroom.
My breath feels like thick tar leaving my lungs.
Once he closes the bedroom door, Josie turns in her seat to look at me. "What happened?" she asks worriedly, grabbing my phone.
I just shake my head. "Nothing. It's stupid."
She reads through the messages quickly and sets my phone back down. "Why is he being such a pussy? What happened?"
"I don't know, I thought everything was fine."
"What did he do?"
Pausing, I push my tongue into my cheek and eventually pull down on the neckline of the hoodie so she can see all of the marks. "I think he's upset about these."
"Holy shit!" she exclaims, laughing as she runs her finger over the bite mark. "What a fucking animal. How many orgasms did you get?"
I groan and pull the hoodie back up. "C'mon, Josie," I whine.
"Hey, it's fine, okay?" She pulls her tank top down to show me a similar bite mark on the top of her right breast. "I have one, too."
It's funny that neither of us feel awkward as I stare at the bite mark on her boob. Is this just a thing that happens naturally with the shapeshifters? They like to bite? I ignore how ironic it is that they kill vampires for biting people.
Okay, totally different, I know.
I sit back against the couch after a moment. "It's not even me that's bothered by it, it's him, I think."
She pulls her tank top back up and curls her legs under her. "He'll never admit it, but he's a lot more sensitive than he lets on," she tells me. "He's probably being distant because he's terrified you'll reject him."
Scoffing, I pull one of the couch pillows onto my lap and make a face at her. "Yeah, right," I mumble. "It's me that's the next Rachel."
Josie's mood darkens. "No, you're not," she replies immediately, tone sharp.
I have no energy to bicker with her, so I drop it and stare at the TV in silence.
After a few tense minutes, I can feel her mood slowly starting to lighten, and she turns to look at me again with a grin.
"So, how many orgasms did you get?"
I roll my eyes but laugh and hold up three fingers which she squeals at. She calls Embry back in again and the three of us watch through two episodes of the show before I ask her if she wants to go shopping in Forks together.
I need to find something nice to wear to the celebration tonight.
She and Embry take a – very loud – shower together and then we hop in his truck to make the short drive to Forks.
Later that day, I'm sitting on my bed staring at the new dress I bought to wear to the celebration. It's supposed to start in an hour, and I'm dreading it. I feel sick to my stomach at the thought of seeing Paul there before we've had a chance to clear the air. The tension is going to be unbearable. I really wanted to be able to focus on Leah and Seth tonight, but all I'm going to be able to think about is why Paul's so upset.
Part of me feels like he's going to break up with me, and the thought is like pressing on a bruise – it hurts, but I can't stop. I just keep thinking about it over and over again.
I wonder how he'll do it. It's not you, it's me? Hopefully he'll spare me that line. Unless it's just going to be something worse.
You're just not the one.
I shouldn't have let this go on so long.
I'm sorry I led you on.
I take a few deep breaths and sit up straight, reminding myself that even if it's painful in the end, all of this was exactly what I wanted to feel.
I repeat it in my head over and over again until it sticks and I find the energy to get dressed and go downstairs to put myself together.
The dress I bought is fitted to the waist and has a high neck line, no sleeves, and lace accents. It's white – I don't know why I thought that would be a good idea – and the flowy skirt reaches mid-thigh. I bought a pair of light grey suede booties to wear with it as well. It's just formal enough, but still summery.
Josie is wearing something similar – a lacy white top and a flowy, salmon-colored skirt that leaves a thin strip of her stomach showing. Embry's button up shirt matches the color. I love that he's always matching with her, and to this day I still don't know if that's her idea or his.
She does our makeup quickly and efficiently and then Embry drives us all to the community center.
The parking lot is packed full when we pull in.
There are small, white lights wrapped around the handrails leading up to the front doors, and more spiraling along the beams holding the awning up. There's a big chalkboard by the door that reads "Harry Clearwater's Celebration of Life," written in neat, swirly handwriting.
Inside, the long tables are covered in pictures of Harry with his friends and family. I see Seth and Leah standing near the buffet tables, and the three of us cross the room quickly to reach them.
I hug Seth first, then Leah.
I've never seen her so dressed up before. She's wearing a dark blue dress that is formfitting down to her knees and has black blazer over it. Her cheeks are dusted lightly with blush, lips painted a deep burgundy, and eyelashes coated in mascara.
"You look beautiful, Leah," I tell her, smiling and squeezing her hand. I can feel how nervous she is to be here. She feels like she shouldn't be allowed.
Seth chuckles and adjusts his suit jacket. "Yeah, she actually looks like a girl, for once."
Leah hits him in the chest.
"So do you, Seth," Embry attacks, laughing.
"Coming from the guy wearing a pink shirt!"
"It's salmon," Embry growls as he lunges for him and they start roughhousing, wrestling their way into the middle of the room. The crowd parts around them and both Leah and Josie roll their eyes.
Leah then turns to me and gives me a half-smile. "Thanks for coming," she says quietly.
I smile back, ignoring the churning of my stomach. "I told you I would."
As hard as I try not to, I find myself scanning the room looking for those familiar amber eyes, but I come up short. It doesn't look like he's here, yet, which means the butterflies in my stomach aren't going to settle anytime soon.
I think Leah notices something is up with me, because she grabs at the end of my dress and pulls on it playfully, redirecting my attention. "This dress makes you look like a snack," she grins.
"More like a whole meal. I wish I liked girls," Josie adds, wrapping her arms around my waist.
Their playfulness manages to ease my nerves a little and I laugh, pulling the skirt of my dress back down. I'd do the same to Leah's to get even, but hers is so formfitting it'd be like peeling off a layer of skin.
"There are so many people here," I note, glancing around the room again. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't just trying to subtly look for Paul. "Your dad is so loved."
"Yeah," Leah replies, smiling sadly.
Not wanting to let her sink into her thoughts, I ask her to tell me about her dad and let her lead me around the tables of pictures while Josie breaks up Embry and Seth.
There are tons of photographs and handwritten memories scattered across the tables in frames and scrapbooks. The life Harry Clearwater lived was definitely full of adventure and love, and Leah is able to provide an explanation of every single photograph, proving how close they were.
My favorite pictures are the ones of her and Seth when they were younger, because there's a softness to her when she looks at them. I like things that make other people happy.
"Seth has to be only seven or eight in this one. Look at all his missing teeth," she laughs.
I giggle quietly and look across the room at the current Seth and his full rows of pearly whites. He's flashing them and schmoozing up to Sam and Emily, full of boyish charm as always.
I start to wonder what his imprint would be like if he'd found her already.
Playful, I think. She would have to be to get along with him. And I bet she would be the sweetest thing.
The more I think about it, the more I start to wonder what Paul's imprint would be like. Would she have a spitfire attitude like him? Or be calmer to balance him out? Would she be handy, too? I bet she would know how to work on her own car. I think he'd like a girl like that.
"Hey, you okay?" Leah asks me, her hand cupping my elbow.
Swallowing, I nod and try to brush off the unsettling feeling creeping through my veins. "I'm really sorry, I'm just kind of out of it," I admit.
She sighs. "I know the feeling."
We exchange pathetic excuses for smiles and then Sue takes the front of the room, tapping her fingers on the end of a microphone. I guess that signals we're starting.
I look around the room again. Still no Paul.
Did he not come because he knew I'd be here?
Pushing the thought aside, I head to the table where Josie and Embry are sitting with Jared and Kim. Leah heads to the front with her mom, Seth close behind her, and Sue wraps one arm around each of them when they reach her.
The service is short and sweet.
Harry's friends take turns telling stories and memories of times they shared together and things they admired about him. Seth gives a speech, Sue gives a speech, and Leah says a few words though I can feel how nervous it made her from here.
By the end of it all, I feel like I knew Harry.
He was a guy always there for his friends and family. He was the first person they would call when they needed help, and the last person to leave at the end of events. He hunted, he fished, he camped, and he gardened. He made a delicious fish fry and hosted a get-together any chance he got.
And most importantly, he loved so deeply.
I give Leah another hug when she joins us at the table.
She plops into the chair next to me, looking exhausted, and glances around at everyone. "Do you guys want to have a bonfire?" she asks.
Everyone agrees.
We're all here for Leah and Seth tonight.
The guys leave for the store to get drinks – minus Seth, who we kept behind to start the fire – and we make a pit stop by Leah's to grab some blankets since we're all still in our dresses.
We pick a random spot on the beach and start gathering rocks to make a small pit. I don't question why we don't just use the one behind Emily's house, because I think I already know the answer to that. While it seems like things have gotten better between the three of them, tonight probably wouldn't be the best night to all hang out together.
I kick off my shoes and drag my feet through the sand as Seth starts striking matches into the fire pit.
Embry and Jared return a few minutes later, after the fire is blazing, with drinks and portable speakers for music. One of them puts on a hip-hop station and Josie walks over to Kim, Leah, and me with a case of cider in her hand.
"Bottoms up, girlies," she sings playfully, setting the case in the sand by our feet.
We have one blanket spread over the log we're sitting on and another draped over our laps. I grab three ciders and hand them to Leah with an amused look, watching her pop the tops off with her teeth.
She hands one back to me, one to Kim, and laughs at me staring at her before taking a drink of her own.
"What other kind of neat tricks do you have up your sleeve?" I joke, taking a drink of my cider.
Leah sets her bottle in the sand and shifts in her seat a little. "I'm the fastest out of us all," she replies.
"She wishes!" Jared yells from the other side of the fire.
Leah rolls her eyes. "He's bitter."
Kim giggles and nods as Josie wedges herself between her and Leah.
I take another drink and then curl the bottle into my chest, watching Leah and Jared as they bicker. She's more relaxed and at peace than earlier, which makes me happy.
"Dude, where the fuck is Paul?" Jared asks in the middle of their playful banter.
Everyone looks at me as if I'm supposed to know the answer. I mean, I do, but still. Aren't they the ones with the telepathic minds? "Um, I think he was finishing his house with his friend."
Leah scoffs and picks her drink back up. "Figures. Couldn't even let me know he wasn't gonna be there tonight."
It's my first instinct to defend him, but she's right. "Sorry, Leah," I mumble.
"I told him where we are," Jared announces. "Said he was gonna head over."
My gut plummets. I want to see him, but I'm afraid of what he'll say.
Josie peers at me around Leah's shoulders, raising her eyebrows to silently ask me if I'm okay. I just nod at her and turn my head to chug my drink. I'm going to need all the help I can get.
Not even ten minutes pass before I hear Paul's familiar laughter coming up behind us. It warms my body for a brief moment. I look over my shoulder and see him approaching with whom I can only assume is Jesse.
Paul's wearing a pale green t-shirt and a pair of grey sweat shorts, his hair messy and unkempt and his feet bare. His eyes soften when he sees me and it makes my chest tighten.
"Bout fuckin' time you showed up," Jared yells, holding his arms out wide. "What up, Jesse?"
Jesse, for lack of a more descriptive term, is flawlessly symmetrical. His almond-shaped eyes rest beneath perfectly groomed eyebrows and his cheekbones are so defined that they look the way girls spend hours contouring with makeup to achieve. His dark hair is pulled back into a messy bun and he's wearing a pair of faded jeans with holes in the knees and a baggy, maroon t-shirt.
He's quite beautiful, honestly.
Leah tenses next to me, refusing to turn around, and I can feel her trying her hardest to keep her cool. I'm not sure if she's mad that Paul didn't come to the celebration or if she's mad that he showed up here with Jesse.
Maybe both.
They stop right behind us and Paul smiles down at me gently. "Hey," he says.
I try, I really do, to greet him back, but my words get caught in my throat and all I can do is smile back at him and hope it gets the message across.
"Is this Miss Indiana?" The brightness of Jesse's smile almost rivals Paul and Seth's. "It's nice to meet you. Paul forgot to mention how stunning you are."
Kim practically squeals and Josie shoves her.
Paul just rolls his eyes. "But I didn't forget to mention that she's my girl."
My heart explodes in a series of palpitations and flutters. For a second I think maybe he's not planning on breaking up with me after all, but just as quickly as the thought comes, it goes again.
His guilt is still lingering there. He feels distant, even though he's at arm's reach.
"Alright, Romeo," Jesse jokes, clapping him on the back. "Who's this little spitfire here?"
His fingers reach out to touch the ends of Leah's hair and I inhale sharply as her rush of anger suddenly floods over me. She jumps to her feet and swivels around, shaking, and shoves her finger in Jesse's chest.
"You—" her words catch in her throat when she finally looks at him. Her anger seems to have stunned her into silence, and everyone else is quiet to avoid stepping on a landmine.
The only person not on edge is Jesse, whose eyes seem to soften as his lips spread into a small smile.
"That's… Leah," Paul says unsurely.
The energy in the air shifts as her anger slowly starts to evaporate with each breath she takes until there's nothing left but longing. And I'm not the only one that notices. That same brotherly aura the guys in the pack have for each other suddenly extends to Jesse as well.
I look around at everyone, confused, then back to he and Leah who are still caught in each other's eyes.
Did she just…?
No one says anything, and for whatever reason, my heart is pounding. I feel like I've just witnessed something intimate and sacred. The entire dynamic of this group of people around me just shifted – all of the intricate connections and gravitational cables weaving and combining together in slow motion right in front of me.
My heart is pulling in so many different directions right now that it's making my head spin.
Jesse steps carefully over the log and wraps his arms around Leah, pulling her against his chest and tucking her head under his chin.
I climb to my feet and almost tell him that's a bad idea, but Leah seems to simply melt into him. I've never seen her look so small and delicate before. Or at such a loss for words. Honestly, she might be in shock. Her arms just hang limply at her sides and she's completely frozen.
"I'm very sorry about your father, Leah," Jesse says quietly, and I see his arms tighten around her.
A few moments pass before her arms gradually lift and wrap around his waist. He smiles and shuts his eyes, rocking her slightly in his arms. One of his hands lifts to gently cradle the back of her head and I have to look away before I go into complete emotional overdrive.
"Should I get you two a room?" Paul jokes, and I hear Jared and Embry laugh.
Neither of them reply, or even acknowledge that they heard him.
Leah starts shaking in Jesse's arms and he opens his eyes, looking at us and then jerking his head down the beach. "We're gonna go talk," he says, keeping his arm wrapped firmly around her shoulders as he leads her away from the fire.
The majority of us are left dumbfounded, staring in the direction they're disappearing in. Jared, however, never misses an opportunity to ruin a moment, and turns the music up louder.
"A toast to Leah gettin' some dick!" he shouts, holding his beer in the air.
Everyone but me bursts into laughter.
If I'm not mistaken, Leah just imprinted on Jesse, and I saw and felt it happen first hand. They were complete strangers before tonight and in that second their eyes met, they became so important to one another.
What was strangest to me, though, was that Jesse seemed to know it the second she looked at him. It was like watching him welcome her home.
They were two separate souls until I watched them become one right in front of my eyes.
"Earth to Indie." Josie snaps her fingers in front of my face.
I blink a few times, my words lost. There's so much tension in my body that when Paul touches the back of my hand, I nearly jump a foot in the air.
Josie laughs, but Paul frowns when our eyes meet.
Oh no, he thinks I'm afraid of him.
"I just need a minute," I manage to breath out in a whisper, walking in the opposite direction of Leah and Jesse.
I can hear Paul's footsteps behind me right away, but I don't slow down. He could easily catch me if he wanted to, but he trails behind me instead until we're far enough away that the music is drowned out and I'm wiped clean of everyone's emotions but Paul's and my own.
With the fog in my brain lifted, I take a deep breath and hold it in my lungs until it's painful, then slowly let it out.
By the time Paul finally opens his mouth to talk, I'm ready to cry. "Listen," he starts, "about last night, I feel like shit. I took advantage of you and I—"
I cut him off quickly. "You didn't."
"I kinda did," he replies. "The alcohol burned off halfway through and I should've stopped then—"
"You're ruining it."
"I already did."
The words slam into me like a freight train, leaving me breathless.
I run a shaky hand through my hair and keep my eyes locked on the ocean.
When he realizes I'm not going to say anything, he takes an irate breath. "That bite mark on your neck – the one you've been trying to hide from everyone all night with that dress – it's never going to go away," he growls.
"I was hiding it for you," I snap. "You're the one that feels guilty about it. I didn't want you to feel worse if other people saw."
I look over at him and see the confused look on his face.
He shakes his head. "Stop—"
"You stop!" There's so much anger bubbling in my chest and for once, I know it all belongs to me. "I know I'm not the one, either, but there is something between us. I told you I still felt it – that's our thing. Or did you forget already?"
My comment sends a jolt of anger through him. "Of course I didn't forget, but I took advantage of that and I fucking marked you. You don't get it."
"Then tell me! I don't care if we end up being the next Sam and Leah, I want this with you! It worked out in the end for them even though they're not together."
Paul scoffs. "Except that mark on your neck? That was me claiming you," he taunts. It sends a strange ping of heat to my core. "Is that what you wanted to hear? That I'm just as bad as that fucking leech in New York because I made sure that you're mineforever?"
I'm at such a loss for words that I do the first thing that comes to mind: grab a handful of sand and throw it at him. The part that shocks me is that I'm not even mad that he "claimed" me, I'm mad that he compared himself to Malcolm.
"You–" I throw another handful of sand, "are not – anything – like – that monster!"
Each break in my words is punctuated with another handful of sand. On the last handful, though, there must have been a broken bottle somewhere because a small piece of glass cuts one of my fingers and blood flings onto Paul's shirt along with the sand.
I have half the mind to apologize, but I'm seething and am almost tempted to throw more sand for good measure.
Paul just stands there, momentarily stunned. As he watches me shaking in front of him and breathing angrily, he suddenly bursts into laughter. Not in a mocking way, but he's genuinely amused by my reaction.
I try really hard to hold onto my anger, but it slips through and I start laughing as well.
"C'mere," he chuckles, pulling his shirt over his head.
Looking down at my bleeding hand, I curl my fingers to see if I can pinpoint which one all of the blood is coming from. His fiery hand wraps around my wrist and he squeezes his shirt around my fingers to absorb some of the blood.
The cut is at the tip of my middle finger and extends to the middle knuckle.
Paul wipes more of the blood away and then, bringing my hand to his mouth, he wraps his lips around my bleeding finger.
It's strangely erotic.
His tongue slides back and forth over the wound and when he releases my hand, the cut on my finger is nothing but a thin, pink scar.
I stare at it.
Surely that would've needed stitches.
I examine my finger closely. "How…?"
He smirks. "Werewolf."
"So, you have magical healing powers?"
"Minor," he rubs the back of his neck. "For ourselves and our imprints…"
Our eyes meet.
"Imprints," I repeat slowly.
His head tilts to the side patiently, and relief spreads through my body like a cool wave. He reaches for me, wrapping his arms around my shoulders, and pulls me into his chest. "That 'it' you feel… I told you I feel it too," he says softly.
My body erupts in goosebumps, heart swelling. "You could've started with that before I spilled my guts out and threw sand at you," I joke.
He hums. "Yeah, but don't you know how cute it was to hear you admit that you're falling for me? Even if you assaulted me after."
"I did not assault you. Human attacks on werewolves don't count."
Chuckling, he pulls back and takes my face into his hands, pressing his forehead to mine. "You had me hooked from that day at the diner, and every day it just gets better."
When they see them for the first time.
I remember seeing Paul for the first time. I remember the way his beautiful amber eyes felt so familiar, like I'd looked into them a thousand times before. I remember my heart skipping a beat, and I remember my hand tingling from where his skin had touched mine, wondering if he'd felt it too.
Soulmates.
Everything that has happened in my life lead me to this moment. I used to think I was running away, but I guess this whole time I've really just been running to.
A/N: I will fight ANYONE that is upset I gave Leah an imprint! LEAH DESERVED BETTER FROM SM THAT POOR BEAUTIFUL SOUL HOW YOU GONNA END A SERIES AND NOT GIVE LEAH THE HAPPIEST OF ALL HAPPY ENDINGS brb crying.
Anyways, thanks so much for reading as always! I love chatting with you all it makes me feel a liiiiiiiittle less antisocial and awkward lmao. Leave me a review if you have time/want to but if not, see you next time! xx