Chapter 2
"Fuck Sam, are you listening to yourself? You tell me that I can't even choose my girlfriend or wife? Like morphing into a huge fucking animal isn't bad enough, some fucking old spirit will choose the perfect match for me. Fuck NO!"
"Spirits know who the best one for you is. Sometimes it might be the one you have chosen yourself, but most likely, it isn't. And you can't help it, when you look into her eyes, it's like gravity moves, and suddenly it's not the earth holding you here anymore; she does. And you become whatever she needs you to be, a lover, a friend, a protector. But most likely, you end up being in love with her and having a family with her. The pull is so strong that it is impossible to ignore. It's the way we find our perfect mate. Imprinting makes the wolf devoted to his mate, his imprint for life."
Paul couldn't believe his ears, what utter delusional bullshit. Sam talked like he was on drugs.
"So, this is the reason you dumped Leah, huh? You were forced to leave the love of your life because of some supernatural bullshit?"
"Paul, we live in a supernatural world. It's not bullshit. It is there for us to make us stronger to make the whole pack stronger. We are talking about soulmates, for fucks sake. It's a gift."
"What the fuck does soulmate even mean? I know who I want, imprint or not. Nothing, I mean abso-fucking-lutely NOTHING is going to change that!" Paul shouted.
"Honey, is everything ok?" Paul heard a woman's voice, and when he turned his head, he saw Emily as she peeked behind the door.
"Yes, sweetheart, all is good. Sorry, we woke you up. Paul and I are just having a chat. Go back to sleep, and I'll be there in a minute," Sam told his fiancée.
Paul was furious, mad beyond recognition. His body started to tremble. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths to get back in control.
"Maybe we should take this outside. You probably will lose it at some point," Sam said.
Paul agreed; he needed some fresh air anyway.
He'd been waiting for two years to be able to tell Bella he loved her, and now that Mark was breaking up with her, he finally got his chance. Nothing would stop him if Bella wanted him.
"You can't see her, Paul." Sam said.
"WHAT?!"
"We have to keep the secret, and any outsiders aren't allowed to know about us. Only us, the imprints, and the elders are allowed to know."
"I don't have to tell her, but I NEED to see her or talk to her," Paul was desperate. Hell would freeze over before he would give up Bella. And if Mark pulled that shit last night, she would need a friend. She was back in Forks for only a few days, after which she would travel to New York for three weeks. He hadn't seen her for over two weeks, and he missed her.
Well, if he couldn't go and see her, at least he could call. But he didn't have his phone.
"Sam, lend me your phone. I want to call Bella."
"No, Paul. You are not to contact anybody for a few days. I'm calling your school and telling them you're sick. And I'll tell Sue; she knows about us as she is an elder. And when it comes to Bella, you cannot fall in love with her; she won't be your imprint. She is a hokwat pale face. Quileute shapeshifters only ever imprint on Native American women."
"You are too late on that one. I already love Bella with all I have, you jackass. I've loved her since the day I met her. You don't have ANY right to tell me who I can or can't be with. She is also my best friend!"
Paul started to shake, and his last words came out as a growl.
"Paul, you're going to phase," Sam shouted.
Paul exploded into a wolf, and he lunged at Sam, who was also in his wolf form, trying to sink his teeth into him; anywhere in him would do. He needed blood.
Stop it, Paul! I'm your alpha! You are not to attack me unless you're fighting my position.
The wolf whined and submitted; the man inside was seething and wanted to fight Sam, beat the shit out of him.
I see that Paul lost it. Jared snickered through their mind link.
Fuck you, Jared!
Run it helps. When you come back, you hopefully have come to your senses. The sooner you accept that Bella isn't for you, the better.
Fuck you, Sam. Nothing will keep me away from Bella. She's It for me!
And with that, he started to run. He needed to clear his head. He hoped Bella would forgive him for not being there for her because he knew that Mark had fucked up.
"Paul, why is your phone closed? Please, I need to talk to you. It's about Mark... We broke up. Call me when you get this message."
Bella ended the call and put her phone back on the table. She had been trying to reach Paul for two days now. They had made plans to meet up before she would leave for New York, but now she didn't know where he was or if he was alright.
She wiped the tears off her cheeks.
She tried to understand what had happened. Mark had brought another woman to his place last night, even though she was there. She had woken up from her sleep and found Mark fucking some bitch on his couch. She'd been stunned but had still been able to ask him what the hell, and he had just asked her to leave. Mark was pretty drunk but was still able to get it up. And whoever was the bitch he was fucking hadn't given her any time of a day; she just continued to moan and whimper and had asked Mark to fuck her harder. Jesus, it had been sick.
The most upsetting thing about the sick episode was that she wasn't even upset. Not really. She had guessed that Mark was cheating on her. But why had Mark done it under her nose? Did Mark want to ensure she would catch him? That made her mad as hell that he wanted to hurt her like that. She couldn't understand what she had done to deserve to be treated like that by him. Did he think so little of her? Did she mean so little to him that he wanted to humiliate her and hurt her like that? They've been dating for two years, for fuck's sake.
Had Paul known what Mark was up to? Why hadn't he warned her? Paul had been with Mark on that night. At least, that was what Mark had told her.
Where the hell was Paul? He usually always picked up when she called. A few times, he had answered even though he'd been in the middle of having sex. Those moments had been a bit weird, but they had had a few good laughs afterward. Bella never understood why he would answer his phone on those occasions. Paul seemed to be quite a jerk to his women, and she had said as much. Paul told her he never promised anything to them, and he never said he was a gentleman. Paul was a dick. Well, thankfully, he was never dick to her.
Bella picked up her phone and called him again. Nothing.
She sighed. What if something had happened to Paul. Bella tried not to get worried. She would call Jared or Sam tomorrow morning if he hadn't called her back by then; they might know where Paul was. Mark probably knew, but Bella didn't want anything to do with Mark anymore. God, she hated that asshole.
"Gah!" she shouted and threw the pillow she'd been hugging to the wall knocking down the lamp from the table.
She sighed and got up and lifted the lamp that was fortunately left intact by her outburst. She needed to get ready to leave for New York tomorrow. It was for three weeks this time. It would be her last tour this year. She would stay in Forks for the rest of the year, continue her lessons with Patrick, and practice for the audition. She had hoped to see Paul before she left, but he seemed to have other plans. Has he finally found someone he wanted for more than just one fuck?
Paul. Her best friend.
She remembered how she had met Paul two years ago. It had been on the beach in La Push. She'd been on a break breathing in the fresh sea air when Paul had shown up out of nowhere, startling her by asking if she had a heart attack. She had surprised him by screaming, and they had laughed their asses off. It was that easy with Paul from the first moment they met.
Bella had been massaging her pectoralis muscles on her left chest, which was her habit after playing. Paul had thought she was having a heart attack because his uncle had done precisely the same before collapsing and dying of a heart attack.
After all the screaming and laughing, they just had started to talk. Bella had told Paul about how playing the violin was the most important thing in her life, after her family, of course, and he had told her about his studies at the culinary art school and his dream to become a world-famous chef. He had just started working in the local Diner for Sue Clearwater. Then he wanted to introduce her to his friends with whom he had been playing soccer before seeing her and got worried.
And even though she usually didn't enjoy being around many people, especially if she didn't know any of them, she had agreed to go to meet his friends. And there she'd met Mark and had seen that Paul had a girlfriend. She'd been disappointed; she liked Paul and had hoped she could have asked him out. Instead, Mark asked her, and the rest is history; she had liked Mark, and they had started dating.
Paul broke up with his girlfriend soon after she and Mark started dating, which Bella thought was odd. Paul's girlfriend, Sally, blamed her, but Bella had told her she was being ridiculous. But Bella and Paul did become excellent friends.
For the first year of her relationship with Mark, she was still mostly in Forks, but she got a position as one of the first violins, and the touring began. Most of the time she was back at home, she spent in La Push since her violin teacher, uncle Patrick lived there and had a house right on the beach. So, it became a habit for her and Paul that whenever Paul was free from his studies or work, he would come to meet Bella at the beach, and they got to know each other during their long discussions. Sometimes she and Paul had tea with Patrick. Her uncle had become curious about who Bella was meeting at the beach and wanted to meet him.
After Sally, Paul never dated. Bella never saw him twice with the same woman. He had a string of women all the time, but he never introduced any of them as his girlfriend. It wasn't that the women weren't willing; many of them had asked her, seeing her being his friend and all, why Paul didn't want to date. When she had asked Paul, he had just shrugged and said he wasn't interested in any of them.
Bella and Mark had been happy for the first year, but then Mark started to complain about the time she spent playing and practicing and on tours. But they always made up, and since she was away so often, they never tried to talk about their relationship in depth. They avoided talking about the most basic question: did they want to be together anymore? They just did. Maybe they didn't have time to break up, and they did have their moments, most often involving good sex. She loved having sex with Mark.
Bella had given her virginity to Mark when they'd been together for six months; she was 18. And although she didn't have anybody to compare with, she was pretty sure that the sex they had was good. At least Mark had never complained.
But something had been missing in their relationship. And when she thought about it, it was clear that Mark hadn't been happy lately. He hated her choice of a career, and he didn't want to be around when she practiced saying he was sick of the sound of her violin. It had made her sad, but she wasn't giving up her passion for anyone, and since Mark hated it, it was better they weren't together anymore.
But she still couldn't understand why Mark hadn't just told her to take a hike instead of fucking that bitch under her nose. Or, more importantly, why she hadn't been the one telling him they should end things. If Bella was being honest, she had known that Mark wasn't the one for her for some time. It wasn't Mark who she loved.
Her phone buzzed. Bella's heart leaped; maybe it was Paul.
No, it wasn't Paul. She sighed in disappointment and answered the phone, "hi Edward! What's up?"
AN:
Thank you all so much for your reviews. I'm excited to read that my story had a good start. I hope you feel the same after reading the second chapter. Let me know what you think.
Yes, this Paul is also a chef. I like the idea too much of giving him a different passion (other than Bella, that is) in this story.
MERRY CHRISTMAS, AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO EVERYBODY!