Chapter 5

Paul, keep your head in the game! Sam shouted through their mind link.

I'm on it! Paul responded and ran faster after the running corps, trying to get away from the wolves.

Jared, Embry you too! Don't let that fucker escape this time. I have had enough of that corpse trying to kill our people! Sam ordered.

Other wolves were running next to him, and Embry was finally the one that tore the head off from the sucker but not before it almost ripped off Paul's left hind leg.

While Paul was whining in agony rest of the pack tore the sucker down and threw the parts into the fire. Paul watched as the purple smoke drifted into cold Washington night. It was just last week when he had killed two leeches. It was fucking satisfying to rip them into pieces.

Today his mind hadn't been on the game as Sam had noticed. Just before Sam had howled them to come to the forest, he had been on the phone with Bella, and she had told him that she got the position of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra soloist. He had to end the call abruptly and rush to the forest, but he'd been thinking about Bella when the leech attacked him.

The pain was excruciating. Sam came to him and helped him up. "Let's go to my place, I probably have to reset your bones on that leg, and you need to rest for a while to get your leg healed. Emily can also feed you."

Embry came to them, took his other arm, and shoved it over his shoulder.

They walked in silence, and soon Sam's cottage came into view. The fucking bloodsucker had gotten too close today.

"Sam!" Emily screamed and ran to them. "Are you hurt? Are you okay?"

"I'm all good, sweetheart, Paul here almost got his leg ripped off."

"Oh, Paul! Bring him into the spare room, and I'll check him. Food is ready," Emily said, rushing inside.

Sam and Embry carried Paul upstairs and laid him on the bed. Emily had taken off the sheets and had covered the bed with a plastic sheet and towels. He was bleeding pretty bad, but he could also see how the wound was healing under their very eyes. It was just fucking weird.

Sam checked his leg. "Bones seem to be okay, lucky bastard," Sam chuckled.

Emily started to clean the wound. Paul hissed in pain. He closed his eyes and imagined Bella's smiling face with her big loving brown eyes. It helped ease the pain a bit.

"Paul, this doesn't work. You spend too much time in Port Angeles with Bella. It often leaves you out of the loop, and we need you here for emergencies. Just yesterday, we got three nomads trying to get into the reservation, and I couldn't get hold of you," Sam said as he sat down on the chair at the corner.

Emily left the room. Hopefully, she will bring something to eat.

Paul didn't reply. He was fully aware of the situation.

He lashed back at Sam, wanting to blame him for the whole fucked up world they lived in.

"You said that there are more vampires around now that the Cullen fuckers are back. Why do you let them stay here?"

"There is nothing I can do about it. If the Cullens respect the treaty meaning they won't hurt humans, they can stay. We can protect the tribe, but I need all of you wolves to be here."

"Why the fuck did they come back anyway? It's not like this part of the world has anything to hold interest for them."

"Papa Dracula said that the family missed the place, and one of his so-called sons has a friend living here and wants to be close to her."

"A human friend? What the fuck does that mean? Does the human know he's a fucking bloodsucker?"

"Yes, a human, and how the hell should I know. Doc didn't elaborate on the relationship between the human and his son but did reassure us that the human was safe. His son would not hurt her in any circumstances. They share the same passion I gathered, and his son has never met anyone before that he feels his equal or some shit like that."

"They should not exist. We shouldn't exist," Paul huffed.

"But Paul, seriously. If you will continue the relationship with Bella, which I advise yet again is a very foolish thing to do, you must ask her to come here to spend time with you in the Res. I'm not saying you can't be in Port Ang too when it is your free time, but I must be able to contact you and you to leave asap if needed. It takes only 15 minutes to run back here.

"I got it, Sam. We'll be here more. But you can save with the advice, okay. We've talked about this, and we both said what there is to say. So let it go."

"I hope you imprint soon," Emily chirped when she came back with a huge plate full of food and a beer bottle, "you heal faster if you have your imprint with you, and it makes you stronger."

What the fuck?! Paul growled at Emily.

Sam growled at him. "Stop it, Paul. Emily only ever thinks what is best for us wolves and the pack."

"She doesn't know shit what is best for me, so she better shut it," Paul grumbled.

"Paul!" Sam shouted.

He scowled at Sam and started to eat.

"Don't be disrespectful towards Emily. She's your alpha's imprint," Sam scolded him.

"She must earn respect. She damn well knows that I love Bella, and I only ever want her. Your imprint has no fucking right to tell me that Bella's not enough for me. She is everything I ever need and want. If I ever imprint, which I hope to fucking every deity in the damn universe, I won't; I never accept it. You can all keep your opinions to yourself and respect my relationship with Bella."

Paul was so mad he started to shake.

"Paul, calm down. You cannot phase when you are injured and inside. Eat and then sleep. We are only concerned that you and Bella will be hurt and broken. No one means any harm."

"Whatever. But I don't want Emily or anybody else to mention anything about imprinting to me anymore. If you two are happy about the mind fuck, be my guest, but don't try to sell that bullshit to me. Okay?!"

Emily burst into tears and left the room. Sam sighed and got up.

"I'm warning you, Paul. Don't ever talk to Emily like that again."

"Or what? Are you two scared that I'm right, huh? That your love isn't real."

"You are a worthless piece of shit, Lahote. Did you know that!?" Sam growled.

"Hit the nerve, did I?! I hope Leah finds a man that deserves her," Paul sneered.

Yes, he was a stupid fucker; he didn't know when to stop.

Sam bolted and growled at his face shaking very close to phasing when Jared and Embry rushed into the room.

"Hey, hey guys, stop it. You are scaring the imprints. Sam, go out to calm down," Jared shouted.

Embry clapped Sam on his shoulder and pushed him towards the door.

"Don't ever speak about Leah again!" he shouted and left the room.

Paul continued to eat the food and didn't say anything else. He was so fucking tired of this shit. Paul wanted his old life back. He didn't want anyone telling him what he needed or wanted from his life, especially those brainwashed bitches.

"If you really think you can fight the imprint when it hits you, you will be surprised," Jared said.

"Fuck off and let me eat in peace," Paul growled and shoved in a big spoonful of meatloaf.

"You think you are so much better than the rest of us, huh?"

"Don't get all bitter and bitchy, Jared; it doesn't suit you. No, I don't think that I'm better than you. I only know what I want and won't let anybody or anything stop me from getting it. You're happy with Kim, and that is fine. I'm more than happy for you, but don't expect me to settle anything less than I want."

"Fuck you!" Jared shouted and left the room, banging the door closed behind him.

Paul sighed, closed his eyes, and leaned back against the headboard. He was so tired. He didn't enjoy fighting with his pack mates, but he couldn't control himself when they threw that imprint crap to his face.

After eating, he gulped down the beer and placed the plate and the bottle on the floor. He would apologize to Emily the next time he saw her, but he would expect her to shut up about imprinting. They would get along just fine after she got that.

The pain was still intense, but he could feel how the big wound was healing itself. He laid down and sighed.

But the sleep didn't come. Paul was too agitated.

He thought about his life and how the last two months had been the happiest for him, if not the most fucked up. Being with Bella was everything he had ever thought it would be and much more. She was incredibly hot, smart, passionate, funny, all that he, of course, had already known but to be able to show all his love for her, make love to her, fuck her, make her food, watch and listen to Bella playing her violin, it just was so much more.

It'd all been so intense; it was as if they had been trying to catch up for the time they'd wasted. Bella had told him that she didn't regret her relationship with Mark, it had given them time to become friends, but it was evident that she had never loved Mark, not really. What she felt for Paul was so much more in every aspect. It was clear to her that she and Paul were meant to be together. And Paul agreed with all his heart.

Sam had been furious when he had started a relationship with Bella but had stopped nagging about it at him. He was sure that Paul would break Bella's heart and his own. They would end up the same as Sam and Leah had. But in their relationship, Paul was to blame, whereas Sam and Leah had been victims of unfortunate destiny. Sam had told him that he had to deal with the consequences. When the time arrived, it was all on him.

Paul would lie if he said he didn't give a damn what Sam said; of course, he was scared what would happen if he ever imprinted, but he would face it and break it. He had to. But he hadn't been able to find anything more about imprinting since Old Quil and Billy Black refused to talk about it with him, telling him to trust the gods. Well, fuck that.

His attitude towards imprinting and his relationship with Bella had caused a rift between him and the rest of the pack. Events tonight had only made it worse.

Bella was a bit baffled why they didn't spend time together anymore as a group. Yet again, a thing that he could not explain to her. They used to hang out in a group: he, Mark, Bella, Sam, Leah, and Jared. But now Leah was out of the picture, as was Mark, thank fuck for that, and Bella wasn't welcome because she wasn't an imprint, which meant he didn't want to spend any more time with the pack than was necessary.

And there were others now, too; the pack was bigger than ever before. After Paul had phased, Jacob, Embry, and Quil had phased all of them within two weeks, and Brady and Colin were showing signs. The elders didn't know the reason for such a big pack. It might just be that there were more descendants with the gene than before.

But Paul did miss spending time with his friends, and he would love to hang with them, but only with Bella. He wanted to show his feelings towards her openly. It was what Paul had wanted to do for the last two years. He needed them to see how serious he was about her and their relationship. But as long Bella wasn't welcome, wasn't part of the "big extended family" as their alpha called them, he didn't want to be part of that fucking family either.

He would choose Bella over the pack every fucking time. Knowing Bella, she would disagree with him, and she would hate to be the reason for him not spending time with his friends and fighting with them. But she didn't have a clue, and he intended to keep it that way.

Sure, life could be easier, but if it was the only way to be with Bella, he would take it.