{DAE'S POV}
"You're fucking with me." I spluttered. "There's no way, that's impossible."
My disbelief and utter shock brought my bad language out, and Onyx shook her head ruefully.
"I wish I was. No, that giant animal you took pictures of was really Peyton, one of the younger wolves. That's why he wasn't sure what to do when you saw him."
"And Paul, and Collin?"
"Both have been for a couple years, Paul was one of the first of this pack, that's why he's still in school. Lost a lot of time fighting vampires."
"Damn."
"Yeah. There's that. Then there's this thing called imprinting..."
xXx
With Onyx to back me up, I walked boldly up to Paul's door, rapping loudly. Ava answered and greeted me fondly despite the scowl on my face.
"I need to talk to Paul."
She nodded, suddenly serious.
"He's in his room. He's been sleeping awhile, it's time for him to get up anyway." She held the door open, stepping aside for us to go in. I walked past her, going through to Paul's room. Everything looked somewhat like I remembered it from when I was a kid. Paul's room was the same, I noted as I crossed the floor to sit on the edge of his bed. No matter how cross I am that he wouldn't tell me about this, I didn't want him to be in a bad mood when I woke him up. I shook his shoulder.
"Paul, wake up." He stirred but didn't open his eyes. "Get your ass out of bed." He blinked a few times before his eyes focused on me, trying to figure out why I was there.
"Dae, what are you doing here?" He rasped, rubbing his eyes.
"I'm here so you can prove to me that you can turn into the giant wolf like the one I saw in the woods." He raised his eyebrows, looking at Onyx.
"You followed through."
"I did. I always do." I look back at her, surprised at the coolness of her voice.
"Show me, Paul." I pulled the sheet off of him, grabbing his arm to drag up up and outside. He grunted, glaring at Onyx as he walked out with me.
"You really want to see?" He challenged. I nodded. "You gonna freak out and ignore me when you know?"
"Why would you care? You ignore me anyway." I wanted to add 'until I fall asleep,' but I didn't want to let him know I knew how he held me and played with my hair on Sunday night. "Hurry up, I don't want to be late for school." He rolled his eyes, going just inside the line of the woods. He peeled off his shirt.
"The clothes don't fit the wolf so they just kinda-" he made an explosion gesture. I nodded, placing my hands on my hips. It's not like I've never seen a naked man before, and I don't want him trying to pull anything. He seemed uneasy, furrowing his brows at my continued gaze. I notice Onyx didn't follow us out. He pulled off his shorts, and I kept my eyes at his chest level so I wouldn't blush or anything embarrassing. He rolled his shoulders, and the next thing I saw was a giant wolf, bigger than the one I'd seen before.
"Paul?" I hesitantly step closer, feeling the soft fur at his neck. The wolf nodded its massive head. He lay down and I resisted the urge to climb onto his back.
"Kay. Well-I guess I believe you now." He snorted.
I ran my fingers over his nose, loving the way those expressive eyes conveyed his caution. He really doesn't want to scare me.
"You know, I've never really been a dog person. But wolves... Wolves I could be down with. Wolves are kinda cool." His face took on a sort of grin, and I smiled back at him. He nudged me backwards with his nose and I frowned.
"Aw, you're not going to chance back already, are you? I like you better as a wolf." He snorted again, stepping back and phasing. He pulled on his shorts while staring at me, evaluating my overall reaction.
"So you're not afraid?"
"Should I be? You didn't hurt me, and you can control it." He rolled his shoulders again, tilting his head to the side.
"No, there really isn't a reason to be. You're actually more safe than most people with me around."
"And that's because of the imprinting thing?" He stopped, looking at me closely.
"How did Onyx explain that? I don't think her view is very clear."
"She said the guy feels it when he looks into her eyes, and she becomes his center of gravity, he's here to protect and take care of her. Like soul mates or something."
"Yeah pretty much." He sighed heavily.
"And you imprinted on me." I ask. He nods. "Which is why you can't leave me alone." He nods again. "You're fighting it though, trying to forget about me."
"Yeah, I am."
"Why?"
"Don't think I have an issue with you, because really, I don't. I have an issue with my life being decided for me." He huffed and sat down. "I'm already tied to the res with this wolf thing. But now even my girl is chosen for me. My life is set out and I don't want to submit to that." He sat for another minute while I pondered his words. Then abruptly, he rose, looking me over.
"You ready for school? Because if you drive you'll be late." I glanced at my wrist, tapping it when I realized I wasn't wearing a watch.
"I need to grab my bag."
"Get it quick, then come back here." I frowned, wondering how he intends to get me there so fast, since we only have 10 minutes before class starts.
Onyx was already gone, so I assume she is at school now. I slung my bag over my shoulder and ran back to Paul.
I stopped short when I caught sight of him, forcing myself to keep walking.
"What the fuck?! Why are you naked again?" He chuckled.
"Get on my back and hold on tight. Don't let go, got it?" I nodded and he phased back into wolf form. He knelt down and I clambered into his back, sliding myself up to his shoulders, grabbing at his fur. He turned back to look at me and conveyed somehow that holding his fur wasn't going to cut it. I leaned down and wrapped myself firmly around his neck. He nodded, taking off towards the school at a steadily growing pace. Pretty soon, we were at what I can only hope is top speed. It only took 6 minutes to get there, a trip that driving takes 10 or 15. He stopped as lowered himself so I could get down. I stood on shaky legs while he phased and got dressed.
"You okay?" He asked. I nodded.
"Do you always run that fast?" I ask him breathlessly. He smirks, twisting to crack his back.
"Usually faster. But I didn't want to lose my precious cargo." I manage a smile as I take a hesitant few steps.
"It's like getting off a roller coaster and getting used to steady ground again. Lucky for you, I love roller coasters." He grins at me, offering his arm to steady me.
"It's pretty fantastic when you're actually running."
We entered the school, getting a few odd looks as we went through the halls still linked together. He dropped me off at my first class, just as the bell rang. He rolled his eyes and brushed me off when I apologized, striding away quickly towards his class.
The rest of the day, Paul avoided me. I'm starting to get extremely irritated at the constant mood swings, but at least now I know why. I found Onyx at lunch and we chatted while both casting glances at the wolves' table where they were noisily arguing about the importance of shampoo vs 2-in-1 for men.
When school was over and I walked home, I found Billy sitting in my living room, talking with Jay. He greeted me cautiously.
"Your friend Onyx spoke to me. She was adamant that you be informed about the shapeshifters." Billy began seriously. I nodded, glancing over to Uncle Jay, since I didn't know he was aware of the wolves.
"She explained it to me, and Paul was kind enough to grace me with his presence." I couldn't help the sarcasm leaking into my tone when I mentioned Paul. It wasn't lost on Billy.
"Has he been better lately? Sam was telling me about the situation."
"Not really better, just the same. He'll be attentive and nice and then he ignores me. I understand what's going on now, though."
"And that would be?"
"He can't stay away because of the imprint bond. So, when he leaves me for whatever, he resolves himself again to avoid me and try to break it or something. I don't know how long he plans to keep it up, but it's getting annoying and the rest of the wolves are about ready to puke." Jay laughed from his chair, nodding.
"That boy has a good heart, but he hates being told what to do."
I agree, looking back to Billy to see what he thinks.
"I'll have Sam talk to him again. He can't resist you for long, though. The bond is unbreakable. Emily is preparing a meal for the wolves and their imprints tomorrow evening, she asked me to invite you." He tells me. I nod.
"I'll think about it."
I would like to see Emily, but if Paul's going to be there, I don't know if that would improve or wreck the experience.
Maybe I'll go to yell at him... Yeah, that sounds like a good plan.
xXx
"Emily, why did you not save me a seat?" I said quietly through my teeth.
"I did, Dae, it's right there." She pointed innocently.
"Then why did you have to put me right next to Paul?" I hissed.
She looked amused.
"Why, do you not like him?"
"No! I don't like him! Nobody likes him! He's an asshole!"
"Aw that's not true, I like him." I give her a look. "Sometimes." She conceded as we both laughed.
"See? Plus he's a pig and has long arms which means big elbows which means extra space which means less space for me." I demonstrated my point by stretching me elbows out across her chest and mimed eating like Paul. She laughed.
"Okay, I'm sorry, you're new and I figured I would put you next to somebody you knew. I kinda hoped you guys would have worked something out by now."
"Whatever, I'll just hit him every time his elbows get in my way."
She laughed and patted me on the back encouragingly. I went to sit next to Paul.
"I'm warning you now, elbows stay to yourself or I'll smack you."
He laughed, playfully reaching across me to grab the salt, his elbow right in front of my face. I tipped my head forward to eye him.
"You think I'm joking?" I say seriously.
"I think it would be hard for you to hurt me." He shot back. I caught his smirk before he turned back to his plate. I reached out behind him, smacking him hard upside the head.
"Ow!" I grinned as I turned back sweetly to my own food.
"I warned you."
Brady snickered from his place and Aliyah full-out laughed.
"There you go, that's how you get them to behave!" She laughed, giving me a nod of approval. I glanced in Paul's direction, seeing his irritated glare.
"Elbows to yourself, Lahote, or it won't be the last."
Honestly, it was mostly that I caught him off-guard rather than actually hurting him, but the humiliation was punishment enough, and he kept his arms just within the borders of polite.
After dinner, Em and Kim cleared the table and washed the dishes while the rest of the wolves and their respective girls piled on top of each other in the living room. Here, there's no concept of personal space, and I'm sure the Fire Marshall would have a serious issue with the amount of bodies packed into the small room. I was passing Paul on my way to a corner occupied by Collin. He's nice and quiet, he won't bother me. But I squeaked as Paul's arm snaked around my waist, pulling me backwards and into his lap.
"What are you doing?" I ask him, aggravated. He smirks.
"We pair up the imprints now, and you're mine."
I think it must be leftover from hanging out with Onyx so much, but I slap his hands away, shoving myself off his lap to my feet.
"Excuse me?"
"You're my imprint, you stay with me."
"I will not stay with a jerk that treats me like a princess one minute, a slut the next and untouchable after that." I scowl at him, angry now.
"I already apologized for that."
"Yeah, for your initial shitty behavior. But now you have a whole new round to apologize for."
"Well, excuse me for being new at this whole soulmate thing."
"Well, excuse me for being mad that the fates chose a man-whore to be my soulmate! That's why it's such a shock to your system to switch from fucking the La Push female population to just hanging out with one plain boring girl!" I shout back. The whole room is watching now, a couple of the wolves shifting closer to Paul to restrain him if needed.
But I wasn't really paying attention to them.
"Sorry for not being perfect, little miss I'm-too-good-for-the-men-of-this-earth."
"Sue me for not trusting men after being a rape-result kid and being raped in an alley. Twice!" I yelled back.
The wolves already know this, but I guess one of the girls hadn't heard, judging by the gasp from the other side of the room.
Between my insults and the reminder of harm come to me, Paul is vibrating and red in the face.
"Yeah, and after all that, after vowing to myself to never put myself in a position that it could possibly happen again, I get imprinted on by a bastard that turns into a fucking wolf the size of a horse when he's not busy fucking anything with a pulse! As if I haven't been through hell enough, as if I'm not in enough danger as is!"
Paul's hurt at the accusation and he storms out, plowing through the rest of the pack and nearly knocking the door off its hinges.
Serves him right, entitled man-whore.
I took a deep breath, not meeting the eyes of any of the other wolves or imprints, settling myself down with Collin and burying my head in my knees. I like Collin, and I feel like he's my ally in all this. He rubs my shoulders comfortingly.
"Hey, I'm really sorry that happened to you. Paul seems like he's just the icing on the cake, huh?" He says gently. I nod, my anger beginning to dissipate as I take several calming breaths.
"He's not a bad guy though, he really isn't." He tells me. I look up to see if he's being serious with me. He sighs. "He hasn't told you about Ken, has he?" I shake my head. Ken? Zoe's brother? I'd much rather be his imprint.
"When he calms down, ask him. It explains a lot about how he is now."
I nod, leaning my head on his shoulder. I feel like there's some kind of proxy-bond, since he's my best friend's imprint.
"I've been talking to Onyx, by the way." I mention. He looks at me, suddenly anxious.
"What did she say?" He prods when I pause.
"She's scared. And hurt. She's scared about what a werewolf can mean – I mean she's met Emily. And she thinks you didn't have a choice loving her, that since the fates picked her, you only feel the imprint bond instead of liking her for who she is. You know how important that is to her."
He nods, sinking down farther into the wall. I feel bad for him, just being deserted by his imprint when really, he's been a wonderful boyfriend and they'd been very happy together.
"You need to go see her. It's easy to not pick up the phone, but it's pretty hard to resist this face when it shows up on your doorstep." I tell him, patting his cheek encouragingly.
"I don't want to force her into anything."
"Would you rather have things stay like this?"
"Okay, I'll go see her tomorrow. You need to talk to Paul. He's mad, yeah, but he's really been beating himself up lately. He's low right now. Doesn't excuse him, but there's that."
"He needs to stop forcing me onto him, you guys could stand swapping tips, honestly." I end with a humorless laugh.
"He really doesn't know any other way to act. He's an ass, but he's literally just an idiot that doesn't know what to do with his feelings." He tells me, giving me a little shove in the direction of the door. "He probably isn't far. Go talk to him, work this out – the drama is exhausting all of us, especially whoever's unlucky enough to be on patrol with him." He laughed. I smiled wryly, standing up and going outside.