Chapter 9


And yet again, Paul was running. But this time, he wasn't running to get away from his own shit but not to feel the pain Bella's rejection made him feel. His wolf was ballistic, growling, and wanting to return to Bella. But even the beast understood that what had happened wasn't Paul's fault. He could not go back.

Bella didn't want him.

Fucked up part was that things had gone as he had hoped. Hadn't they? Bella didn't want the imprint. He didn't want the imprint. But the wolf did. And the beast had been so close to finally having her.

Mine!

Mine!

Take!

Mine!

No! She doesn't want us.

Paul stopped and dropped flat on his stomach on the ground. He put his head between his paws and panted, trying to get rid of the image of Bella and how she'd felt in his arms. How badly he had wanted to kiss her and hold her, never let go. Her brown eyes swallowing him whole.

How fucking bad he wanted her.

"You filthy beast! Why are you thinking about Isabella Swan!?"

Paul was startled from his Bella-infused misery and bolted up, growling. A fucking leech had been able to surprise him and was now standing in front of him. He was one of the residential leeches.

Paul snarled at him. How the fuck had the leech known what he'd been thinking about.

"I can read your filthy mind," the fucker sneered, hissing. "I ask you why you are thinking about Isabella Swan, you stinky mutt?!"

Paul lunged at the leech, but the fucker dodged. Paul was seeing red he was filled with rage. This fucker knew Bella, his imprint.

"Isabella Swan is your imprint?!" the fucker shouted. "Over my dead body."

Newsflash, you are already dead, you motherfucker!

Paul caught the leech's right leg and was about to snap it off when he noticed the smell of three other leeches, not Cullens but human drinkers.

What the fuck was this? He let the Cullen go, and with hackles rising, he instinctively reacted to the newcomers baring his teeth, growling.

Paul saw three nomads with bright red eyes strolling towards them. Two males; the other was dark skinned with dreadlocks, another blond with a ponytail, and a redhead bitch.

"Well, well, well, who is this, Isabella Swan? She sounds delicious," the bold male drawled.

Paul howled, letting the others know there were unwelcome leeches around, hoping they would get here fast. He didn't like being surrounded by four fucking bloodsuckers. He might be a fierce fighter, the best in the pack, but he was seriously outnumbered here. He didn't know which side the Cullen would take. Probably no one.

The said leech was crouching and hissing.

"Whoa. No need to get your panties in the twist," the blond leech chortled at the Cullen. Then he turned to look at Paul. "This is fascinating. I didn't believe your kind really existed," he said, circling Paul. The redhead bitch danced behind the blond, singing annoyingly. The black leech with dreadlocks looked at the two with an utterly bored expression on his face.

What? Where? Sam came to their mental link.

One Cullen, three human drinkers. Just before Bear Creek. Paul looked around and showed Sam where he was and who was with him.

Don't fucking try anything on your own! Sam shouted.

Paul didn't reply. He might have a death wish now, even more than before, but he wasn't crazy.

Do you hear me!?

Yes!

"James, let's get the hell out of here before we end up snacks. That wolf just howled for help," the dreadlocks said.

"Patience Laurent. There is something exciting about this. I need to know who this irresistible Isabella Swan is. She seems to be important for these two. There must be something special about her." This James fucker said, never taking eyes off Paul.

"You can track her later. Now, let's get the hell out of here," the dreadlock rushed the other two.

"You don't go anywhere near Isabella Swan!" the Cullen prick shouted, and Paul wanted to rip his head off. He was giving that fucker a challenge, and Paul could see that it drove him; it was his addiction: to track, to chase. And they were giving him the best damn challenge ever.

The blond leech licked his sharp teeth and was about to say something, but they all bolted and vanished. Damn, they were fast. Paul lunged after them, and five others joined him.

What the fuck happened? Sam asked.

Three human drinkers came out of fucking nowhere when I was about to rip the Cullen into pieces.

Why the fuck would you do that?

He knows Bella. And I lost it.

Damn Paul. You almost broke the treaty. Knowing your imprint doesn't mean shit. They went to the same high school, you dumbass. Sam snarled.

What was Cullen doing there? Jared asked.

Don't know. And the fucker can read minds.

WHAT?! All phased wolves shouted.

The six of them were right on the heels of three nomads, but the leeches were still too fast and dove into the pacific, ending the chase. The Cullen was nowhere to be seen.

FUCKKK! One of them will go after Bella. He's a tracker, and fucking Cullen gave him a challenge.

Paul bolted and turned back towards the res. Bella was there. She was in danger. He needed to go to her, make sure she was safe. His wolf was snarling and growling.

Paul! Leah and Quil are there guarding the res. Everyone is safe there.

It wasn't enough for Paul. And Jacob was there just behind him, and together they ran back home. They needed to see with their own eyes that Bella was safe.

Are you sure he's going to go after Bella? Jacob asked.

Positive. It's how the motherfucker gets his rocks off.

Damn.

They reached the forest behind the beach, phased, and caught their breaths while putting on some clothes. Paul saw Bella talking with her father, Billy, and Sue, and his body relaxed. But his heart set out on another spurt. Damn, she was beautiful.

"How the fuck are we going to tell Bella there is a mad vampire after her?" Paul asked.

"I don't think we should tell her," Jacob said.

Paul turned to look at Jacob.

"Man, you can't be serious. Of course, we need to tell her, maybe not now. But we can't keep something like this from her." Paul couldn't believe Jacob thought keeping secrets from Bella would be a good idea.

Jacob started to laugh.

"What?! There's not a fucking thing funny about this." Paul wanted to punch the twerp.

"I told her, you know," Jacob chuckled.

"You told her what?!"

"That you will be the best possible friend for her."

A friend. Paul grimaced.

"What do you mean?"

"I told her more about imprinting after you bolted. I said that you will always be thinking about what is best for her and, as such, will be a good friend, even better than me."

Paul turned to look at the girl on the beach. Bella had sat down with Sue, and they were talking while eating. The sudden gust of wind blew Bella's long hair all over the place, and she tied her hair to the top of her head, revealing her long slender neck. Paul's mouth watered. He closed his eyes for a second and shook his head, trying to get rid of an image of him kissing, licking, and sucking that beautiful soft skin, her arching her neck giving him more room to roam up and down...

"Well," his voice cracked, "she has to know. Her life is in Seattle, and she is in mortal danger." The mere idea made him sick, and his wolf growled. "We need to meet the Cullens. I need to know what the mind reader heard in that psycho's mind."

"What happened exactly?"

"Nothing much; I minded my own business, wallowing in my misery when that mindfuck showed up nowhere and started to shout about Isabella Swan, and those three heard him and came to look what was going on. One of them is a tracker, and the Cullen prick gave him a perfect challenge. I need to know what that tracker was thinking."

"That's a good idea."

"Damn right it is. I only ever have good ideas," Paul huffed, knowing damn too well how fucked up his decisions had lately been.

"Yeah, right," Jacob laughed humorlessly.

They both looked at Bella. She had finished with her food and got up from the driftwood log, offering to take Sue's empty plate to the garbage bin. All Paul could do was stare at her. She was squeezing her eyes in the bright sunshine. Her face was pale, and freckles dusted the base of her nose and cheeks. A few locks had escaped her messily tied knot framing her achingly beautiful face. Her pink plumb lips curved into a faint smile as she said something to Sue that made her laugh. She was the most beautiful creature Paul had ever seen. It was painfully clear that he would never want any other woman than her if there had been any doubt before now. He could never settle for anything less than Bella Swan.

Then he remembered what she had said: "I don't want it". And his face darkened.

"Paul, give her time," Jacob said, sensing where his thoughts were. "We gave her quite a shock today."

"I don't know. She sounded pretty determined." Paul knew that he couldn't even try to fight the imprint anymore. His whole being was feeling the pull, it wasn't only physical, but his mind, heart, and soul were drawn to her. As sappy as it sounded, it was the truth. And more importantly, he didn't want to fight it anymore. Fuck that if it meant losing his own will, he knew that he would want her even without the mind fuck. Only the intensity of his need was scary as fuck. But with the acceptance came inner peace; he was no longer fighting his wolf.

"She is always determined no matter what it's about," Jacob said, pulling him out of his musings. "But she's not stubborn without reason and always thinks things from every possible ankle. That is one great thing about her. She won't give in easily, considering how many people are affected by this imprint, and you have to be ready to accept that she might want you only for a friend. She does care great a deal about that Tyler dude."

There was that damn word again: a friend. And fuck, he didn't need Jacob to remind him about her boyfriend. She was wearing his hoodie again, and it irked him to no end.

"Remember you need to be what she needs and wants. And right now, she needs a protector," Jacob pointed out the obvious.

And that is what he would be: a protector for his imprint. It was better than nothing. It gave him a purpose and reason to live. He shook his head, chuckling humorlessly. He was already starting to lose himself in imprinting, but when he looked at her, he didn't mind so much.

"She has planned to go hiking with her friends to Vancouver," Jacob said. "But it's too risky. We can't let her go."

"What? When?" Paul's attention snapped back to Jacob.

"Two weeks from now, before she goes back to Seattle."

Paul could not even think about Bella being alone in the woods somewhere. She would be without any protection there. But maybe he could go and keep an eye on her and her friends. It would, of course, only fuel the tracker fucker, but he could hardly let Bella go without a guard. And her not going, well, it wasn't fair that she would have to change her plans because of Edward fucking Cullen.

"What if we make sure she and her friends are safe? She has probably waited for that trip for a long time and wants to spend time with her friends. There are enough of us, so two or three of us can go and keep them safe. I don't think those nomads are threatening the rez. The motherfucker only wants Bella."

"We need to think about that," Jacob replied, scratching his head. "I would also want her to have some time off from her normal routines. She has been planning the trip for some time now."

More of the reason why she should go, Paul thought.

"I'll ask Sam to contact Carlisle Cullen and ask him and the mind reader to come to meet us," Jacob continued.

That was a good plan. Paul really needed to know the mind of that tracker. He only hoped the Cullen freak would cooperate with them. The leech seemed to have strong feelings toward Bella, which maddened him. It made him see red, wanting to rip that fucker into tiny pieces and piss over them before setting the pile on fire.

On a large scale of things, Edward fucking Cullen would not be a problem, but what the fuck would they do with the tracker?

"What we'll do when she needs to go back to Seattle?" Paul voiced his frustration.

"We need to make a plan to keep her safe," Jacob answered.


AN:

So, there we get a bit of the original storyline mixed into the story. But only a little.

As you all know, I'm not a native English speaker. My writing is very easily influenced by what I read or, in this case, listen to. I have been steering away from Twilight lately (there just aren't enough stories to read) and got somewhat sucked into the world of Bridgerton. I watched season two only two weeks ago and got interested in the books (which, so far, I like more than the tv-series). But the language used is so different in stories based on the 1800s, and I'm aware that something might spill in my writing. So if there are funny words, more than usual, it's because of this. But I hope it isn't too obvious and you can still like what you read. Let me know if that isn't the case.

At the moment, I write because I hate it when a story I like is left unfinished. So, it would be good to hear if there are readers who would hate it if I didn't finish this (or my other two) stories. I guess right now I'm experiencing writer's block, a term I've heard used so many times in unfinished stories. And not having time to write doesn't help. Help keep me motivated.