Chapter 2: Woods
Paul ran out into the wood behind his little two-bedroom house. It wasn't much, just a shell at the moment, the bedrooms needed a new coat of paint. The kitchen was under construction, with only the sink and stove in place but not plugged in yet, and a mini fridge for himself. The floors were tiled but the walls were still drywall and unpainted. The bathroom needed a little more work with the plumbing but Shawn from work said he would stop by to help him with that tomorrow. Paul helped him with some electrical work so he could pay him back with some plumbing work. The living room was almost done though, walls painted and new carpets, he got a large flat screen TV as his reward for all the hard work he put into that house so far, and all the work he still had to do. He just needed to move in some furniture, probably next week he would be living there full time. He didn't need the kitchen yet with all the food the tribe made to help the pack out.
He was so glad to have this house to work on, his grandfather moved into a nursing home last year and so he gave the house to Paul as a graduation gift. He was ecstatic, the old man said that he could change anything about the house, it was his to do with want he wanted. All his grandfather said was that he wanted Paul to raise a family in the house. So, no selling it, not that he would.
Maybe Daiane would like it when it was done? Maybe he should ask her opinion on colors and appliances? These thought run thought his head as he phases into his wolf and start to speed up to get to their meeting point, the old lumber port where Sam worked. He wasn't going on patrol today, this was a drill day, Sam made them run drills every other day to stay fit and alert. The younger pups cried about it every time, but Paul loved drill days.
'Oooo, someone's thinking about their finicky imprint,' he hears Embry say in his head.
'Shut up Embry,' Leah says, 'there's no need for that.' Being on patrol duty, they were the first ones his mind encounters.
He was grateful for Leah's interference but still annoyed about it too. He could fight his own battles. 'Leah and Embry butt out,' he growls at them.
'I was only-,' Leah starts, only to be interrupted by Sam.
'Enough talk,' Sam's voice booms over the pack mind. 'Get over to the riverbank now, all of you.'
He can hear the irritated grumble from Leah as he runs through the woods; meeting up with Jared and Embry as he comes around a rock face on the way to the riverbank near the lumber mill. Embry looks over at him with a playfully challenging look.
Paul nips at his hind legs quickly, tripping Embry and making him fall to the ground, right on his wolf face. Paul and Jared laugh quickly as the rust-colored wolf groans and jumps back up to his feet running after Jared and Paul; who are well in the lead now. That's for calling his imprint finicky.
They reach the riverbank of the lumber port, where Sam is waiting; Leah, and Quil join them a moment later. Quil had just make the pack two nights ago. Sam had to chase him down when he first went wolf, he was so afraid and unsure of the whole experience that he just started running. Jared and Sam had eventually caught up with him and calmed him down enough to explain. His transformation came out of nowhere, but Jake says he saw it coming. Yeah, he beat he did, but maybe he was right Quil was the grandson of one of the original members of the pack 100 years ago. It was more surprising that he turned wolf after he did, now that he thought about it, Paul's grandfather wasn't a wolf.
Jake was not here today, the poseur. Jake had somehow convinced Sam to let him hangout with Bella, the leech lover, under the guise of protecting her since the Redhead was only here because of her. He didn't dislike her because of that, he couldn't care less why the leech was here, he was going the kill it regardless. He just didn't like her because she loved the Cullens so much. The leeches they couldn't touch, he hated them.
'Where is Jake,' Quil asks.
'Out with his girlfriend,' Jared says, sarcastically.
'Silence,' Sam says, he didn't like being undermined but really letting Jake get away with things because he was the grandson of the legendary Ephraim Black. Of course, they were going to gripe about it.
If you asked him, he thought Ephraim made the wrong decision that day to make peace with the Cullens. Maybe that's why Jake liked Bella so much; his grandfather made nice with the bloodsuckers, so Jake clung to that leech lover like glue. Gross.
'Come on we are doing a 10-mile run and then sparing matches,' Sam commands.
Great, he loved sparing; he was going to tear into Embry for teasing him so much about his Imprint.
They start running through the wood, Quil lags behind unsure of his place in the pack. He takes up his place at Sam's left as Jared take his place on the right, they stay about a body length behind Sam. Quil and Embry stay close together, he thinks they were close before the fever set in. He could hear them silently talking to each other, Quil asking Embry for advice and what he should do in these drills.
No one stopped them from talk on they run, it was good for Quil to learn from someone who has been in the pack longer. Of course, Quil would feel more comfortable asking Embry; but they all keep an ear out so he didn't get any misinformation too. Leah getting her two cents in a time or two, of course she did, she always acted like she knew everything and had all the answer. Not even Sam knew all the answers, but she had something to prove.
He remembers when Sam and Leah were a thing before Emily came into the picture. It was awkward to say the least even then, having two people in the pack in a relationship. It was just weird to hear them sometimes talking to each other, like they were all ease drop on their private chats in the park mind. Sam didn't want to Imprint on anyone, but it happened. At the time they had thought that it was just a story, a nice fairy tale they told children about true love or some shit like that. But when Sam saw Emily for the first time, he said it was like being struck by lightning, the world turned on its axis and he could not think of anyone else, gravity seemed to pull on his body straight to her.
And well Leah was push to the side, Paul felt sorry for her a little but what could be done about it. Emily sure didn't want anything to do with Sam at first, because she knew he was with Leah, at the time. Emily would tell Sam to go away all the time. But Leah did something no one expected, she want up to Emily and told her everything and that Sam had imprinted on her. That was reason he wouldn't leave her alone. It was kind of cool of Leah to give her blessing but at the same time it was awkward now to talk about it, because Sam was so mad at Leah for telling Emily, even though he benefited. That was the day Emily got hurt, she didn't know what to do with an angry wolf, and Sam got so angry that he lost all control for a moment. And Sam, Emily and Lean just felt bad about the whole thing for different reasons.
Sam gave the gag order after that. It was understood that they were not to tell anyone before, but this was the first time someone outright broke that unspoken rule. Kim got to know after she started dating Jared and no one was to say anything to anyone until they were imprinted and dating the imprintee. And here comes Jake somehow finding a way around it. Paul wanted to tell his imprint and he couldn't, but golden wolf, Jake, could tell the leech lover. Okey he was a little bitter about it.
Paul could understand what Sam talked about after seeing Emily, after seeing Daiane for the first time outside of Jake's house. He wanted to run to her the moment he saw her. Her long chestnut hair damp from the light mist in the air, the warm undertones of her skin and when she turned her emerald, green eyes on him, he was done for. He swears she had a halo over her when he first saw her, from the mist in the air and the light from Jake's front porch. Or maybe he having a mini stroke at the time, it sure felt like it. His chest felt tight and something in him snapped into place and the only thing he wanted was her, however he could get her. He would be her anything as long as he could be by her side. Everything changed the moment he saw her, an invisible force pulling him to her. But he didn't run to her he decided to walk so as not to scare her, and he regretted it afterwards when she drove away with Bella, flipping him the bird as she did so. He felt so defeated.
A sweet scent distracted him and he slows, looking around. It smells like lilacs on a misty morning. He stops, the others stop a few seconds later, Sam turns to him saying, 'Paul get back in formation.' But he didn't, he moves to follow the scent, the other look at him in shock, he was disobeying the Alpha. Sam didn't use the Alpha voice but Paul wasn't one to disobey Sam, well unless he lost control.
The sweet scent led him to a small stream, there was a little outcropping of trees by it.
'What is it,' Sam asks, knowing that Paul wouldn't run off for no reason.
He says nothing just watches the area, why did this place smell so good. It wasn't much, just a 10-foot-wide clearing by a stream with a large rock face on the other side of the stream. He sees a few birds fly over the small clearing and a chipmunk, as he watches Embry says, 'someone's coming.'
They move back into the underbrush, so they wouldn't be seen. He hears what Embry heard, footstep in the woods, soft ones. It wasn't fast like a leech's but they were running. And a moment later Daiane comes through the trees. He freezes, she was beautiful in the woods, wearing a red sweater with jeans, she had a small backpack. She also had a bow in her hand and he could smell blood, animal blood, when he looks closer, he notices four rabbits tied together on her backpack.
'I get it now, someone smelled his pretty little imprint,' Embry says, and Quil laughs in their head. Paul turns furious eyes on the two of them, they needed to learn why he was third-in-command. He was going to tear them up in their sparing matches. But he couldn't make a sound now, Daiane would hear and Sam would be pissed if she saw them.
'Shut the hell up,' he growls at them. What was she doing here? She crouches down and puts the rabbits on the ground, then moves to a large boulder on the side of the clearing and sits to wait.
'What is she doing?' Quil asks, echoing his thoughts.
'Let's find out,' Sam says, 'She's on our land. Whatever she's doing is our business.' The way Sam said that upset Paul, like he was accusing her of something sinister. He shot a look at Sam in irritation.
They had chased some hunters from their land in the past, they were so fast that the hunter had no idea what was running past them, they thought their land was haunted. Hiker were welcomed as long as they respected their land, which most of them did. But hunters and poachers were not allowed to hunt on their land.
Daiane sits there waiting for some time until something starts to move in the brushes. He feels the need to run out and protect her but Sam puts his large wolf paw in front of him, silently stopping him.
A large mountain lion walks out of the brush, it limps a little on its back legs, and looks a little skinny for a mountain lion. The lion goes to the rabbits and starts eating, uncaring of the human watching it. It's like she has done this before and the lion had grown accustom to her presents here, maybe that's why the clearing smelled like her.
"You are a determined cat," she says to the lion, "To survive so long with that injury."
She stands on the large boulder, the mountain lion looks up from its meal for a moment but then turn back to it, uncaring of the human. It was amazing that she had gained this animal's trust, but he still wanted to run over there and tell her what an idiot she was for being so close to a dangerous animal.
But all of the sudden she leaps and literally pounces on the large lion. She holds the cat's mouth shut with one hand and stop its hind legs with her other arm, she sheeshes to lion and says, "Go to sleep," which to their surprise it does. The mountain lion fells to the ground limply.
'What is she doing to that Mountain Lion,' Leah says, upset.
'Wait,' Sam says.
She picks up the cat's hind leg after it falls into a deep sleep, they can see the rhythmic rise and fall of the lion's chest. She lays her hand on it and then moves it around, examining the bones and joints. After she is satisfied her puts the cat's leg down and takes out a brush and starts brushing out the cat's fur from snout and tail. Brushing out matted fur and bugs that were probably bothering the mountain lion, things that the wounded animal couldn't reach because of its injury. She checks the large cat's claws and ears too, putting some drops into its ears and messaging them a little.
'Wow, hay Paul can we switch imprints after I found mine," Embry says.
Now that he couldn't let go, he grabs Embry's neck in his mouth and throws him to the ground. He would have done more if Sam didn't get in the way. But the sound draws Daiane's attention and she stares at the brushes they were hiding behind.
She never takes she eyes off the brushes as she leans over the lion and whispers something in the cat's ear. She jumps up, grabbing her bag and hides behind the boulder she stood on before. Moments later the Maintain Lion wakes up, it scans the area quickly, but the large cat doesn't seem to want another encounter with his imprint and trots away in the direction it came from. Half way across the small clearing the cat stops and look back at its hind legs, then take off running. No limb in its hind legs.
'Did she just heal that Cougar,' Leah asks in wonder.
'I think she did,' Quil says, 'I wonder how she did it?'
Daiane stands up after the Maintain Lion leaves and says in the direction the cat left in, "Don't expect any more free meals here, Lilly Lioness." Then starts running through the wood towards Forks.
'She's no threat,' Sam says, 'let's get back to drills.'
Paul wasn't having it, he follows Daiane at a reasonable distance. Sam doesn't stop him, but he can still hear them in his head.
'Where does he think he's going,' Leah's annoyed voice says, 'You're not getting out of drill too.'
'Jared, follow him,' Sam commands, 'make sure he doesn't do anything stupid.'
'Hey save some tail for us,' Embry teases.
'Well, I see who is whipped in this relationship,' Quil laughs.
He would get his revenge but he wanted to make sure she got back okey. Jared joins him on his right and stays by his side as they follow her. Daiane is amazing in the woods, she jumps over tree trunks and swings under low hanging branches like a pro, she even back flipped off one of the larger fallen trees. She was so nimble and graceful, so at home in the woods.
But too soon she breaks through the trees into Charlie's back yard and disappears into the house. He can't help but stare at the back door, wishing she would reappear and come play with him, running by her side in the woods or he could show her just how fast a werewolf could run if she was brave enough to climb on his back.
'Come on,' Jared says, 'Let's get back. She's fine.'