Hi, friends! Sorry this chapter is a few days late. Sometimes real life is a lot. But here's the next chapter - I hope you enjoy!

ALSO, as always, thank you so much to everyone who has left a review. I appreciate them more than I can say.

Chapter Thirteen

Anna

As a whole, the bonfire was going well. I wasn't making the best impression, but I wasn't making the worst impression either. I was kind of just…there. Emily was great. Paul was nice, too, but his easy banter with Felicity reminded me of my past suspicions that he had feelings for her—which I shouldn't have cared about. He never promised me anything grand, all he'd ever said was that I was important to him. And that we'd be perfect together…but he didn't specify as what so really any disappointment I had was caused by my own assumptions.

It was a relief that no one bothered me much as I ate, though, and it was like Paul knew I needed attention off me so I'd be comfortable enough to keep anything down. Until the big show with the cookie, that was, but I was saved right after that by the elders calling attention for the legends.

I'd been to Forks many times in my life and was aware of La Push, but I'd never heard even a little bit about the legends of the Quileute tribe. So it was all new to me as I listened in awe as the man they called Old Quil spoke. Based on the hush that fell over our group, I wasn't the only one even though the others had likely heard them more than once before.

My eyes were locked on Old Quil, but I could practically feel Paul's gaze burning into the side of my face as he watched my reactions. I wasn't sure what I gave away other than intrigue.

I learned a lot. How their ancestors merged with wolves to protect their people. How generation after generation followed in their footsteps whenever Cold Ones were near to keep the tribe safe. How a certain clan, who had to be the Cullens, came along and made a treaty to live nearby but never breach Quileute land.

The last one, and I had a feeling this one was intentionally saved for last because it required going all the way back in the timeline, was about the Third Wife. A woman who sacrificed herself to save her tribe. And how her husband, the first wolf of the tribe, never changed back to human form after, instead remaining with her body to protect it in the afterlife.

"Though there is no certainty, many believe this was the first imprinting," Old Quil said. "And as our ancestors devoted their lives to shifting and keeping our people safe in wolf forms, a select few were gifted with their own imprints. One person to be their highest priority, to bring them the greatest joy, to be their sun, moon, and everything. To this day, as our boys and men shift into wolf forms, some are graced with their own imprints to walk by their side as they make the sacrifice of protecting. Bringing more special members into our tribe in the process," he added, with a pointed look at Felicity…then me.

Me? I barely noticed the rest of his words as he wrapped it up, mentioning something about how today's pack was not only larger than those in the past but also was showing a greater number of imprints. My mind was so caught up in the look he gave me. Special members brought into the tribe…being let in on the secret? Because they were imprints? He'd looked at Felicity too…

"Anna?" Paul asked, shifting nervously beside me.

I looked over at him, trying my best to focus on him. "Yeah?"

"So…"

"So?"

He watched me, his eyes raking over my expression. He hadn't looked away much, if at all, throughout the whole telling of the legends, so I didn't think he'd find anything new there, but I was too dazed to say anything about it. "Maybe we should take a walk?"

"A walk?" Was I turning into a parrot? Maybe a broken record? His own personal echo? I was going to be so embarrassed about this later when I could process it.

Paul rolled his eyes with a sigh. "Yes. We're going to take a walk. That way we can talk this all out and you can ask questions and we can have some privacy." He said the last word pointedly toward Felicity and Jacob who were still nearby and clearly paying attention to our exchange.

Felicity smiled. "Maybe I can help. It's a lot to learn."

Surprisingly, Paul shook his head. I didn't think he'd tell Felicity no to anything. "This is going to be Paul and Anna bonding time. No Felicitys allowed." He stood up, holding out a hand to me. "Come on, Anna. Let's get walking before someone gets on my nerves."

Blinking, I placed my hand in his and got up. Paul's temper seemed short—shorter than I'd ever witnessed. "Are you okay?" I asked as we walked away, my hand still clasped in his.

"Are you?" he responded stiffly.

"Me?" I was surprised. "I'm fine."

He didn't appear to believe me. "You sure about that?"

A light snort escaped me. "I'm probably better than I've been all night. My mind is so full of untangling everything…"

"There's that look again," Paul mumbled.

"Sorry," I said. "Just trying to process it all."

We were out of sight of the others now, and he led me over to a large rock closer to the trees. "Sit and let me help you process." He paused. "Please."

"I'm really fine," I tried to reassure him as I took a seat.

He began to pace in front of me. "Good. But can you tell me what you're thinking? Where your mind is at?"

"You're nervous," I said. He wanted so badly to focus on me and what was going on in my head, but I thought it might be better to tackle how he felt first. If we were going to…I stopped that thought. I didn't want to assume we were going to be anything more than friends. If we were going to be friends, I needed to treat him with the same care he treated me.

Paul barked out a laugh that sounded almost like a scoff. "No. Well. Yes. Okay, yeah, I am. I thought I'd be able to handle this, and I wanted you to know, but now you do. And I'm glad. We don't need secrets. I need you to understand. But are you really okay now? Was it too much? How do you really, truly feel, because I find it hard to believe you're really fine right now and it's driving me insane to not know the truth. I can't help unless you're honest."

"So you'll calm down if I talk my through my thoughts out loud?" I asked skeptically. I couldn't imagine how the jumble that was the mess of my brain would be helpful to anyone, but if he wanted it…

He released a long breath. "Yes. Please. Talk to me."

"Okay…" I picked where to start. "So you wolves are really shifters. Not werewolves. Because werewolves have transformations dictated by the phases of the moon, while you and your friends can change into wolves whenever you want or need."

Paul laughed, almost breathlessly. "That's where your head is at?"

I felt a blush creep into my cheeks. "My mind is in a lot of places. That seemed like the easiest one to sort out. Am I right?"

His gaze was full of fondness as he said, "Yeah, you're right. There's a little more to it, though. We can change whenever we want, but we are also weak to shifting when we get angry. That's how Emily got her scars. Sam lost his temper when she was standing too close."

"That must have been terrible." I winced as I pictured Emily's face and imagined the immense regret Sam must have felt.

"It was brutal. He was the first to shift and was on his own for a while. We've all learned so much from his guidance, and we haven't had any slip-ups even close to that. You have nothing to worry about."

"Oh, I'm not worried." I picked another place to stop my spinning mind. "The vampire clan your more recent ancestors made a treaty with—it was the Cullens, wasn't it?"

Paul sneered at the thought it them. "It was. I know you go to school with a couple of them, but try to keep away. They aren't supposed to feed on humans, but we don't trust them. Not with our—" he cut himself off.

I had a feeling I knew what he was going to say. So I decided our next topic would be the elephant on the beach. "Imprinting…" I trailed off for a moment, too much of wimp to really put what I was thinking out there. "Felicity is Jacob's." It wasn't a question.

He nodded. "Yes. Jacob and Felicity. Sam and Emily. Jared and Kim. Leah and Elijah. And you and me."

"You and me?" I asked, still finding it hard to believe.

His eyes met mine, no doubt in his expression whatsoever. "You and me," he said firmly.

"Hmm."

"Hmm?"

"Hmm."

"Anna," my name practically ripped from him; it sounded painful. "Please."

"So imprinting is why I'm important to you?" I asked, releasing my thoughts for him. "And it means I'm…most important to you?"

"More important than anything or anyone that's ever been in my life, Anna," he said solemnly. "Ever."

I glanced down at my hands clenched in my lap, letting the feeling of those words run over me. It was like a chill, but so satisfying. Had I ever been so significant? Meeting his eyes again, I said, "I think I'm okay with that."

A smile took over his face. "You're okay with it?"

A small smile tilted up my lips in return. "I think so."

He laughed. "You're okay with it. Okay. Cool. Cool, cool. Care to share your mind jump there?"

I shrugged, and his smile stretched wider. "I don't want to jump to conclusions here, but based on what I've seen and context clues, I'm guessing imprinting and being most important to you means that we're going to be a couple. Together. Right? And it's because imprinting paired us together as, like…soulmates, or whatever."

"Right…" he prompted when I didn't continue.

Forcing down the heat that wanted to scorch my cheeks down to just a simmer I shrugged again. "It's kind of romantic."

Paul's eyes lit up and he pumped a fist at the sky. "I've got the imprint that doesn't freak out!"

I giggled a little because I'd expected him to scoff or sigh or deny or try to talk me down to a more reasonable conclusion. I hadn't expected his apparent…pleasure? "Is that a good thing?"

He widened his eyes at me, stepping close in front of me and crouching down to be on my level as I sat on the rock. "I'm so lucky. The others had so much drama getting their imprints on board. Even Jared—Kim had a crush on him for years and still put up a fuss when he imprinted because she felt it was forced or some bullshit. But it's the greatest gift, Anna, honestly, and I wouldn't have it any other way. And I'm so glad, so…effing…glad you're not upset."

I was full out smiling now. "So even in this, I'm weird. Of course."

"You're perfect," Paul said firmly.

"It's sweet you think that," I admitted.

He chuckled. "We'll have time to discuss and argue over it, don't you worry. But I said it before and I'll say it forever, we are perfect."

I rolled my eyes. This was nice, but we didn't have time to go in circles. "We need to go soon. I promised I wouldn't be out too late, so can we get back on topic?"

Standing back to his full height and backing a couple of steps away, Paul said, "What else is there?"

I scoffed. "Lots. Like, are we just together now? Or can we get to know each other and then decide to be official? I don't want to make us drag our feet or anything, but I think things could go better for us in the long run that way. Especially with the way my head works. I'm okay now, but later when my anxiety remembers it's trying to ruin my life, I may need more tangible experiences to remain somewhat rational."

He went still. "Anxiety?"

Slapping my palm over my face, I groaned. "That was not how I wanted to tell you."

"Anna," he said, his hands curling around my wrists to gently pull them away from my face. "You have anxiety?"

I nodded. "I do. I don't want to go into detail right now. I'll tell you all about it, but can you please answer my other questions?"

He studied my face for a moment before replying, "We can go as fast or as slow as you want. You're already giving me a huge gift by not pushing me away." His brows wiggled suggestively. "Hey, we can have that date I mentioned yesterday. That'd be the perfect way to begin defining our relationship."

I bit my lip. "Yeah, we can have that date. Just in your apartment, right? Nothing too…stressful."

"Nothing too stressful," he confirmed. "Now, about that anxiety?"

My eyes closed. Tonight had gone so well. I didn't want to mar it with this. "Can we talk about it later? At our date or something? I don't think I have it in me tonight."

His thumbs rubbed my wrists where he still held them. "Whenever you want."

"You already know a lot, anyway. It's mostly connecting the dots and filling in blanks at this point."

He nodded, his thumbs still soothing as I rambled.

"And you've been super good at helping me. It's like you instinctively know how some things bother me."

Paul grinned. "Now, that is nice to hear."

I grinned back. "It's something I pretty much always struggle with, but we'll talk about it more in depth. Just not now. We've had a good night. I want to leave it that way."

His eyes flickered over my face, a warmth burning through them that I felt to my core. "You're so beautiful, Anna."

Instead of melting on the spot, I rolled my eyes. "Says you, Mr. Could Be a Hot Supermodel."

"You think I'm hot?" he asked, his tone amused. "I'm flattered."

"Oh, shut up," I said. "As if you don't own a mirror."

He chuckled.

"Anna! Paul!" Jacob's voice called.

Paul sighed and we both looked over to where Jacob and Felicity stood just in sight. "We're coming!" Paul yelled back.

"It's getting late!"

"I know! Give us a minute!"

"No! Come on!"

"Why are you being such an ass?!"

I laughed because the frustration in Paul's tone as he and Jacob had their argument from thirty feet apart was funny. "Maybe we should go closer to them so you can argue in a way that won't kill my ear drums or your voice?"

"Let him lose his voice!" Jacob yelled. "Then we won't have to hear from him for a few days!"

"He's so rude," Paul said, looking at me with mock sadness. "See what I had to deal with before you came along, Anna?"

I laughed again, pushing him away so I could stand up. "Poor you."

"That's right."

"Let's go," I said, tugging him toward Jacob and Felicity since he'd kept hold of one wrist when I stood. "I really do need to get home."

"Fine," he said, moving his hand from my wrist to entwine our fingers. "But only because if you get in trouble, we might not get to have our date."

"Solid reasoning."

"Perfect reasoning," he corrected.

"Ah, yes," I said. "Because you're perfect. I almost forgot."

"We are perfect, Anna," he corrected again, giving my fingers a quick squeeze and lowering his voice to a murmur as we were almost to Jacob and Felicity. "Never forget." Then he lifted our hands to his mouth and pressed a light kiss to my fingers. "Perfect."

Thank you so much for reading! Please take a moment and let me know what you think. Until next time, stay safe and healthy! :)