A/N:If you don't like the characters or plot, then don't read. This is slightly AU as fair as Lana and their ancestry and stuff like that. But the main premise will not change.

DISCLAIMER: I only own my OC, nothing else.

WORD COUNT: 2, 335

Chapter 21

Attraction

Lana awoke from a deep sleep, stretching long in her bed and hummed in satisfaction as her joints popped and snapped the deepset sleep away.

Turning on her side, she checked her phone for the time and smiled at her background photo. She had changed it from her and Jacob, finding it inappropriate given recent circumstances and decided she needed a new leaf to turn over on. It was of all her friends at the Res with all her friends from the mainland school. They'd caught up when the group from Forks wanted to go back to La Push to check out the big swell that was going to come in and Lana had also invited the boys from the Res.

It was a fun day for her, relaxing and she found that her two groups of friends meshed well together. Jessica had asked where that boy was from the last time when Lana's eyes turned downward and her smile slowly began to slip. Without a beat between them, Jessica folded the younger girl in her arms, whispering apologies and promises to make this day the best there ever would be.

She hadn't disappointed.

Lana redirected her gaze to the solid time displayed on her lock screen: 5:59. It was way too early to be awake but she knew Paul would be on patrol she unlocked her phone and sent a quick 'good morning :)' text to Paul, clicking the button on the side to lock her screen again and let the phone slip off her palm and back onto her bedside table before snuggling back into her toasty covers.

Lana had some time to reflect on the events that had happened in the last few weeks since she had found out about the Quileute tribe and their abilities.

Paul had told her the truth, hadn't lied or tried to hide it from her- granted he hadn't told her when it first happened but that was understandable. At least he hadn't tried to explain it away when the evidence was right in front of her, unlike a certain glittering idiot who broke her sister's heart.

Lana understood these things were delicate and sacred to the tribe and to know something as secret as their affinity to turn into wolves (as crazy as the idea was) was an honour and one she wouldn't disrespect.

Despite the earlier events that had occured that day, dinner had actually been fun.

Lana had fun with Paul.

Of course she always did, but this time. . .this time it was different. There was something underlying in the air between them as they entered Carver Cafe together to meet with Charlie for dinner. Pleasantly surprised to see Paul again, Charlie welcomed the boy with open arms and wrapped Lana in a warm, loving embrace before settling down and the two got to talking in their nook of the cafe. Paul had left after dessert with a handshake to Charlie and a hug to Lana and as the two Swan's sat back down, Charlie had expressed his happiness at their rekindled friendship.

If only he knew...

A few weeks went by and she had been feeling better than she had for months.

She was spending more time with her friends, she had picked up her babysitting duties with Seth and even had a shopping trip with Leah.

But then, as usual, Bella had started asking Lana about Jacob- over why he wasn't answering her calls and messages or why he wasn't coming to visit when she'd invite him over:

"I don't know what to tell you, Bells. I heard he was pretty sick last time Paul and I caught up at the Res." That was the go-to answer and Bella nodded in thought.

"Oh, okay. Hey, if he ends up texting you, can you let me know?"

Lana had sighed but smiled, "yeah, if he does, I will but I won't make an effort. If he doesn't wanna talk, it's best to just leave him for a bit."

"Oh, I didn't know that. ." Lana had bitten back a clever retort over how her older sister barely knew Jacob the way she did and let it slide. Jacob was no longer Lana's problem and she refused to settle for second-best any longer, "are you guys okay? I've noticed you're hanging out with that Paul guy a lot more. Did something happen?"

"Nothing I can't handle."

"Okay. I'll see you later, Lala."

"See ya, Bells."

After that, Bella hadn't made any attempt to ask about Jacob and Lana was completely fine with that.

She had been going to the Res a lot more, saving the money Sue and Harry gave her when she babysat Seth and was able to buy herself a new phone, game console and took her bike for an annual service even though she wasn't allowed to ride it. Charlie was too worried over her continous lack of sleep that her response times would be dulled, Lana didn't fight him on it and just accepted it. She'd been riding with Bella most days and catching a ride back with Jess or Angela when Bella would visit the Res for Jacob.

Last Sunday, she was finally able to have the Quileute boys over for a game night, even providing all their favourite snacks so they could unwind before their nightly patrol.

Embry, Jared and Quil had to opted to leave a little earlier to give Paul a break, clambouring out of the house as they had gotten caught up in the game until they heard Sam's call from the treeline. Jared had nearly tripped out of the exit of the backdoor with a mouthful of chips as Lana and Paul filled the doorway, watching as the boys phased into their wolf forms.

There was a slight hitch in Lana's breath but Paul's hand splayed on the small of her back- the heat of it calming her rising anxiety at the display of their transformations. Sam waved to the two and with a teasing, 'be good', before he too followed the others. Lana pointedly ignored the flash of russet that was mostly hidden by one of the larger trees as it loped away to rejoin the pack.

The duo re-entered her home and settled back into the play some Crash Bandicoot before he too had to leave.

During this time, Lana found that Paul had been. . .hiding quite a bit from her.

In lieu with his shifting into a massive wolf- he seemed to take on some of those animalistic traits when he was in human form and they tended to make themselves known when in company he found himself comfortable with. During their game, he missed a step and fell down one of the holes and the irritated growl that rumbled through his chest made Lana gasp.

Paul whirled to face her and not even a moment later, his eyes widened in recogniton of his actions and he stammered to apologise but her tinkling laughter made his half-voiced regrets trail off into stunned silence as he watched her giggle and laugh in response to his new behaviour.

"Are you laughing at me, little one?" He teased, fingers trailing along her sides in a merciless attack.

Lana squealed, "Paul, stop!" While slapping at his hands to free herself of his assault while scooting her bum back to put space between them, giggling. Without her hands to steady herself, she yelped as she began to descend to the floor and in a flurry of activity, she grabbed onto Paul's hands to stablise herself but it only threw the Quileute teen off his balance as he had shifted to his knees in his onslaught of tickles and fell on top of Lana, his hands framing her small waist, fingers skirting around the hem of her top in gentle caresses.

They locked eyes and their mirth died down. Lana stared into Paul's eyes, dark pools of henna brown. His hair had lengthened somewhat, the ends of his hair fell past his eyes, brushing against the neck of his shirt, hiding toned muscles and rich skin that heated her so pleasantly, even when she was chilled to the bone. His pupils had largened to take full control of his irises in a testament to his attraction of the blossoming young woman that lay underneath him.

And a sight she was.

Her dark hair feathered around her head like a curtain against the rich wood of the floorboards, notes of orange and red glimmered in the sunlight. Hazel eyes were also struck by the warm light of the afternoon sun and revealed the beauty of the caramel brown shade rimmed with an olive green, he'd never noticed the colour of her eyes, nor how breathtaking they truly were. Red lips parted ever so slightly and her hot breath fanned over his face in a gentle scent of the raspberry lollies she had been consuming beforehand- sweetening the air between them.

The tiniest sound reverberated deep within his chest.

A purr.

Lana's fingers gently traced the sharp contours of his features, the silence shared between them was sweet, soft, full of intent. His eyes dropped to her fingertips as her thumb slipped over his bottom lip before meeting her eyes once again and her head shifted up ever so slightly. Paul's lips twitched into his trademark teasing smirk, but his hand began to gently stroke her cheek and his sweet intentions were on full display, just for her.

He began to lower, the distance between their lips began to diminish and Lana's eyes slipped closed, her breath beginning to quicken and the scent of raspberry candy strengthened- only inches away from each other.

She could just feel his lips.

A distant howl ripped through the moment and their eyes snapped open, Paul's body tensed as he listened for the inflections in the howl, discerning its intent to be an alarm that it was time for Paul to join them.

Paul sighed and lifted his head, putting space between him and Lana. He was about to open his mouth to explain when Lana shook her head, "he knows how to kill the mood, doesn't he?"

"He's psychic, I'm convinced." Paul teased but the annoyance darkening his features was serious.

"I know he's your Alpha and he commands respect but if he interrupts us like this one more time, he'll be limping back to Emily without a tail." Lana spoke so frankly that Paul would have normally taken it as a threat to his Alpha but the mischeivous twinkle in her eye denoted her true intention, shaking his head with a chuckle as his earlier annoyance alleviated and his features brightened once again.

"I have to go, little one." Paul huffed, his fingers gently brushing a lock of hair from her forehead.

"Be safe." Lana bid gently, fluttering her eyes closed as Paul's lips pressed against her forehead before trailing his nose slowly down the soft slope of hers.

"Always." Paul whispered back, catching the tip of her nose with his and he experimented gently with a soft bump and smiled at her answering giggle, "I'll be back tomorrow to take you to school like we planned."

"Okay." Lana raised her head, soft lips pressing a gentle peck to the tip of his nose and he hummed softly.

They enjoyed each other's presence for a moment longer before Paul helped Lana up from the floor and she accompanied him out the back door and with one more long embrace, he tore himself away from her addicting touch and jogged out to the treeline.

Lana remained by the open doorway, watching him with a soft smile and when he turned back to her, she raised her hand in farewell and he responded with a brilliant smile before disappearing in the thick brush.

All Lana had to discern that he'd left is the sound of muted paws pounding loudly against the dry dirt, loping away from her.

The sound of her phone pinging ripped Lana from her inner musings and she grabbed the device, groaning as the light from her phone seared her sleepy retinas. She fumbled the keys to unlock her phone and checked her messages, blinking constantly.

'I'll be at your place in fifteen, just finished the morning patrol. Please eat something OTHER than granola bars.' Lana rolled her eyes with a chuckle and just as she was about to respond, her laughter disappated as Paul's next message came through, 'and don't even try and tell me about your special liquid breakfast, that's just coffee. Actually EAT something.'

Lana pouted at the screen, "he knows me so well, too well." She grumbled as she got up, yawning hard as she sported another three-hour night. It wasn't even Bella's screaming, that whole ordeal had thankfully began to calm down since she had been hanging out with Jacob more and more. She just couldn't knock the habit of waiting for it to happen. Lana found herself unable to sleep until close to two in the morning, just waiting for Bella to start screaming but it never came and Lana would pass out in an exhausted slumber just as the sun began to rise.

With a sigh, she dragged herself from the cosy sheets, wobbling down the hallway and into the bathroom to freshen herself up.