A/N:

I chose to take down my old version of this and do it differently. This time around the time frame starts out during -maybe slightly before, New Moon / Eclipse and hopefully, I can take this through to the end. There were a few plotholes in my old one that I didn't account for and I quickly realized that writing the story I ultimately want to tell is better if I start closer to the beginning instead of all the way at the end. Also, I'm going with Paul Lahote as imprinter this time around. I might be doing a totally different story for Embry and an imprint sooner or later I'll go ahead and warn you now. If there's anything you guys need to be warned about I'll try and get that in at the beginning of each part I post.

Also, the very first chapter might start off and seem like it's not going to be a slow burn but it will be slowing down just slightly as I get into it. I'm not going to take it way too slow and drag it out and make you guys bored as hell in the process but I am going to slow it down enough after this first part so that the whole thing seems more paced and realistic. I wrote this in third person entirely too, so there's that. It came that way and rather than break my focus and switch it all over I kept going with it.

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Paul doubled over as the unexpected wave of pain hit him almost the exact same moment that the scent of vanilla cake frosting hit his nose. Sam stopped mid-sentence and glanced his way with a raised brow. "Everything alright, Lahote?" he asked in concern.

Paul could only glare at Sam and growl in response. His eyes darted around the mostly empty beach as the scent got stronger. His hands curled to fists at either side of his body and the pain started to ebb and die just a little. Enough for Paul to get himself sitting up again.

"Uh oh. I know what that means." Jared mocked in a sing-song voice as he gave Paul an amused smirk. Paul tensed up all over again as soon as he realized what Jared was getting at.

"Nope. No. Fuck that."

"Like it or not, it's happening." Sam answered in a calm voice. "It's easier to let it."

"The fuck I am." Paul practically snarled the words. And he truly meant them with every cell in his body. That is, he truly meant them until he finally caught sight of her as she walked the shoreline. The hood of her heavy and oversized black jacket hung over her face in a way that mostly obscured it from view, but platinum blonde strands peeked out from beneath.

She hugged herself as if she were frozen, despite the heaviness of the jacket she wore.

"You were saying, Paul?" Jared laughed as he said it and nudged his pack mate in the left side. Paul didn't pay it a single seconds attention, his eyes were glued to her. She stopped and stood still, gazing out at the choppy water as if she were lost in thought.

Everything between them and around them vanished. The sound of his pack brothers taunting and teasing him over the fact that he was imprinting whether he liked it or not became more muffled. Every ounce of focus shifted to her instead. She was listening to a My Chemical Romance song and humming along quietly. She seemed to realize she was being watched because she turned around, milk chocolate colored eyes scanning the beach and locking on him.

She froze. He froze too. As hard as he tried to, he couldn't look away. It seemed as if she couldn't either, because she stood there, frozen in place and staring right back at him. She raised a hand to push back the oversized fur trimmed hood on the heavy black jacket she was wearing and he chuckled to himself quietly.

Vivid imagery raced through his mind and he found himself frustrated because none of it seemed to linger long enough for his liking. Just the most random and mundane little bits, like him hoisting her onto his shoulder so she could reach something or her arms wrapping around his neck as she gave the softest laugh he'd ever heard in his life and rose to the tips of her toes to nuzzle her nose against his. Listening as she told a dirty joke only to realize just how dirty it was and stare at her in shock because it came out of her mouth. His head against her stomach and his body between her legs as they both attempted to work on homework or read something. Late night video games. And further into the future. He watched her walk towards him in a white sundress and bare feet. A crooked flower crown on her messily braided hair. Holding her as they fell asleep at night. A swim on the beach at midnight. Skin against skin.

By the time he managed to pull himself together just enough to realize that he wanted the things he'd seen and he didn't think he could fight the imprint bond if he tried, Sam and Jared were nearly doubled over in laughter.

"It's not fuckin funny." Paul grumbled in irritation when he could finally form words again. He slumped a little, the experience leaving him more than a little drained.

"It's hilarious, actually." Jared laughed as he nudged his pack brother.

"Stop staring. You'll scare her." Sam warned gently.

Paul didn't even realize he'd started to walk towards her until Sam called out to him. Paul ignored him and kept walking until he was standing behind her. The music she was listening to had changed again, now it was Green Day.

He flopped down on the sand beside her.

When she finally tore her eyes off of the phone in her hands and spotted him sitting there, she raised a hand to her heart and stared at him quietly. Brown eyes widened as if he'd spooked her. He chuckled and nodded to the red wire dangling from her ears and she reached up to tug her earbuds out.

"Yeah?" she asked.

Her voice was soft. Quiet. Actually quite calming.

"See anything interesting?" Paul asked as he nodded towards the water in front of them.

Olivia licked her lips and tried at least two times to pull herself out of his intent gaze but she failed miserably both times. Finally, she answered with a shrug. "Dunno. I come here to relax."

"Yeah, it's quiet out here." Paul admitted before going quiet.

"What's your name?" Olivia asked after a second or two.

"Paul. What's yours?" Paul asked as he leaned in before he could stop himself and pulled the hood of her jacket out of her eyes just a little so he could see her face better.

Pale cheeks flushed almost as red as the chipped polish on her nails at the touch and Olivia struggled to form words for a second or two, just kind of quietly staring at him until she finally answered. "Olivia. Everybody calls me Livvie though."

"But you prefer Olivia." Paul guessed.

Olivia gave a soft laugh and nodded. "Yeah."

"Do you want to come warm up? We have a fire right up there." Paul pointed in the direction of Sam and Jared, making a point to ignore Sam's irritated scowl.

Olivia glanced in the direction Paul pointed towards and she gulped as her eyes widened a little. She glanced over at him and asked quietly, "Are you sure it's okay?"

Paul sprang up from the sand and held out a hand to her. Olivia stared at the hand being offered warily and then she reached out, grabbing hold of his hand. Letting him pull her off the sand. Their bodies bumped against each other and she gulped as she looked up at him. "Are we going?" she asked with a soft grin after a second or two.

"Yeah." Paul finally managed to answer, still heavily dazed by the intensity of the imprint bond and the shock and awe in the aftermath when he realized that he was getting her out of the deal.

He noticed that the closer they got to the others around the fire, the closer she seemed to curl herself into his side.

"Who's your friend, Paul?" Sam asked the question as he gave Paul a pointed glare. He knew Paul had just deliberately ignored him. The only reason he was letting it go this time was the fact that Paul wasn't alone with her yet. He and Jared were there to serve as potential buffers if the need arose.

"Olivia Swan." Olivia answered quietly as she smiled at the other two guys. "If I'm interrupting, I can go. It's fine." she offered quickly. The older of the three males seemed annoyed she was there. She found herself wondering if accepting Paul's invite to walk over to warm up by their fire had been a good idea or not.

Jared smirked at the blonde practically curled into Paul's side. "I'm Jared Cameron."

Sam managed a more convincing smile to reassure the blonde at Paul's side that it was okay if she stayed and warmed up. "I'm Sam Uley."

"You're in a class with my girlfriend Kim's cousin.. I think you went to a movie with her, me and Kim." Jared remembered where he'd seen the blonde at Paul's side and she seemed to remember him too, grinning. "Wait. You came to watch that special showing of The Crow with Angel and I in Port Angeles. It was like.. Two weekends ago, I think?"

Paul tensed just slightly and Jared gave him a warning nudge. Waiting until Olivia was distracted by texting someone on her phone before he leaned in to whisper into Paul's ear, "Easy killer. I have Kim. I was just trying to make the poor kid feel less afraid, alright?"

"That's what she has me for." Paul muttered back through a tight clenched jaw.

"Thought you were fighting it?" Jared taunted with a calm smirk.

Paul glanced over at Olivia and shrugged. Letting his gaze linger on her while she wasn't paying attention. He looked away quickly when she put her phone away and glanced over at him.

"Doesn't look like you're fighting it to me." Jared mused thoughtfully.

"I'm still thinkin about it, alright? Fuckin lay off me, man." Paul answered in a firm tone of warning. Jared went quiet and Paul noticed that Olivia still seemed to be hugging her jacket around her. He chuckled and asked with a smirk if she was cold.

"Well, when you consider I moved here from Jacksonville, yeah? A little? It's nice to have an actual winter though." Olivia answered with a soft laugh.

"Florida? Going from warm weather and sunshine to all this rain and freezing cold winter had to be a shock." Sam spoke up, glancing at the blonde.

Olivia shook her head. "I prefer the cold, actually. If you're cold, you can always add clothing. If you're too hot it's not like you can shed your skin."

Sam chuckled in amusement. "That's a good point."

Linkin Park's Numb shattered the silence that settled in and Olivia grumbled as she pulled herself up from the spot she'd been sitting and wandered a little further down the beach.

"What is it, Bella?" Olivia asked as she tensed all over and prepared herself for what was most likely going to be another guilt trip on her sister's end.

"It's getting late. I came down to eat and realized you were gone and I got worried.." Bella's voice was hoarse. Gritty enough from lack of use that Olivia grimaced at it when Bella spoke. Olivia glanced back towards the three guys she'd been talking to and she found herself staring at and being stared at by Paul.

"Where are you?" Bella asked.

"First Beach. Why? Is everything okay? Do you need me to come home?"

Bella sighed. Olivia tensed up just a little as she sent up a silent prayer that Bella wasn't about to pull what she'd been pulling lately, calling whenever she was out somewhere. Making her feel guilty about being out and not at home.

But she'd tried so hard to get her sister to come out with her every single chance she got.

"I'll be home in a little while, alright?"

"Okay. I just wanted to make sure you were alright."

The heavy silence lingered between the two sisters for a moment or two and Bella hung up. Olivia wandered over to the three guys. Jared held out a bag of marshmallows to her and Olivia took one, slipping it onto the stick Paul held out to her.

"Everything okay?" Paul asked as he gazed at her. Even without his enhanced senses he'd be able to tell she was upset. Whoever called her just now had seriously brought down her mood. She'd gone from smiling and moderately happy to solemn and quiet again. As if she were a million miles away.

Olivia sighed. And before she could stop herself, she was pouring out everything that bothered her. All of it. Including the fact that she'd moved to Forks to kind of keep Bella company after a bad break up that she wasn't handling well and it didn't even seem to matter to her sister. Until the second she stepped out of the house. "And it's not like I haven't tried a thousand times to get her to just come out with me one time. Because I've tried and I've tried until I'm blue in the face. I just.. I don't get it?" Olivia sighed and went quiet as she threaded another marshmallow onto a stick and held it into the flames until it started to turn a golden brown.

"Wait.. That chick that went missing in the forest is your sister?" Jared asked as he gaped at her.

"Jared." Sam warned, going quiet. He gazed at Olivia in concern. "Your father approved of her dating this jerk?"

"He didn't really have a choice. Every time he tried to give them distance she'd go around that. Do you realize that somehow, this idiot convinced her to run away to Phoenix last year? Yeah.. Scared the living hell out of our mom and dad. She comes back with a broken leg. Dad keeps her away from the jerk and she proceeds to continue sneaking him in at night. I tried to warn her so many times about the jerk. There's only so much either of us can actually do with her lately. And until three months ago, I was all the way in Florida so my warnings over the phone obviously got ignored." Olivia shrugged and then added in a quieter tone, "I guess little sister's opinions don't count though."

The three males shared a look at this new information. Olivia popped the marshmallow into her mouth and nodded solemnly. "I swear, she used to be perfectly sane."

"So now she just what? Sits in her room in a chair and stares out a window?" Paul asked as he eyed Olivia in concern. Somehow, he got the feeling that Olivia was bending over backwards to attempt to save her sister and given all the warnings an elder on their tribe had already attempted giving Bella and all the times those warnings went ignored, he definitely thought that Bella didn't want to be saved.

Paul tensed just as soon as it sank in just how in the middle of everything his imprint would've been if Edward would have stayed in town. "You weren't around the guy right?"

"God no. If I would've been around him I probably would have strangled him." Olivia answered as she slipped another marshmallow onto the empty stick Paul held in his hand before getting herself another one. Paul chuckled a little. "You're 5 feet tall and maybe 100 pounds soaking wet. I doubt you could have. It's probably a better idea if you stay away from the guy if he happens to pop up again."

Olivia stared at Paul intently. Staying quiet and nodding in agreement as she got lost in his eyes all over again. "I'll uh, I'll keep that in mind." Olivia answered quietly as she shifted around in her spot on the sand. There was just something about the firm warning tone he used just then.

It had her stomach fluttering lazily.

It got to her. In ways she couldn't quite put a finger on.

She got the feeling that with that tone and the look he'd given her, he might possibly be the only person capable of getting her to agree to nearly anything. She'd never admit to it, but the fact that she realized it now and she barely knew the guy really got to her.

"Your marshmallow is on fire." Jared laughed as he looked from Olivia to Paul and watched Olivia's face turn almost as red as the case on her cell phone or the polish on her nails.

"Shit." Olivia pulled the stick with the burnt marshmallow on it out of the fire in a hurry and pouted a little. Paul held out the stick with his marshmallow on it to her and chuckled as he nodded to it. "Take it."

"I,uh.. Okay?" Olivia managed to stumble over the words as they left her mouth and she found herself staring up at him again even though she was trying as hard as she could not to keep doing it.

The sky was starting to get darker. It was starting to get late. Olivia didn't want to leave because she'd had a really good time and the three guys gathered around the fire with her seemed like decent enough people, but she'd kind of stormed out of the house earlier after yet another failed attempt to get Bella to leave her room and do anything and walking through the woods alone at night was just not something Olivia wanted to do.

Paul stood and held out his hand. "Pretty sure you didn't drive here. It's getting dark. You might want to go home and get warm before it gets later."

Olivia pouted just a little. She found herself in a staredown with him all over again and she nodded in agreement. Even though the last thing she wanted to do was leave.

"Which way did you come to get here?" Paul asked Olivia.

"Paul, just walk her home man." Jared spoke up, ignoring the dirty look Sam shot him as he said it. "She's new around here, man, if she came through the woods, she might get lost."

"He's still too volatile." Sam leaned in to mumble in irritation to Jared.

"If he were going to explode, he'd have done it earlier when the subject of cold ones and her sister's connection to them came up. He didn't." Jared pointed out calmly.

In the time that Jared and Sam wasted arguing their respective points, Paul had gone ahead and wandered off, catching up to Olivia and tapping her shoulder.

"I'll walk you back. You don't know the woods that well." Paul nodded towards the treeline and gazed down at her firmly. "I don't want you to get lost."

Olivia nodded and smiled at him and Paul tried and failed at ignoring the thought that he'd do anything it took to make her smile at him like that again. And again. As much as possible for the rest of their lives.

The thought had him in a bit of an internal uproar because he'd gone to hell bent on fighting the process to caving in and he'd done so as easily as taking a breath.

The back of her father's house came into view and they stopped walking. She found herself staring up at him quietly. He was staring right back.

"I better get inside." Olivia finally mumbled.

Paul nodded. "Yeah. Maybe I'll see you around."

"Maybe so." Olivia smiled that smile at him again and she doubled back, catching up to him. Tapping him on the shoulder.

Paul stopped and turned around and when he did, she grabbed his hand and started to write something in it. Paul chuckled as he glanced at his palm to find her cell phone number scrawled across it in bold red ink.

She'd started to walk towards her house. Paul jogged over, catching up to her.

He tapped her shoulder and when she turned around, he gently grabbed hold of her face and leaned down, resting his forehead against her forehead as he stared into her eyes. When her mouth bumped against his clumsily, he brushed his mouth against her mouth right after. "You were really going to walk inside before you got my number?" he chuckled in amusement as she blushed for a third time that night.

"I didn't know you wanted to give it to me?" Olivia admitted quietly.

Paul's hand wandered down and he grabbed hold of her hand. She dug around with her free hand to find her pen again and Paul took it, writing his number into her hand. He curled his hand around her hand and they stood there a few seconds just staring at each other all over again.

"I gotta get going."

"Be careful going back?" Olivia asked.

Paul smirked and nodded towards the woods. "I know these woods like the back of my hand, kitten."

He watched until she made it into her house safely and then he took off through the woods. Coming to a stop in front of the bonfire.

"That won't happen again for a while. I hope you enjoyed it." Sam pointed out in his firmest and calmest tone possible. Paul met his gaze and nodded.

"Well?" Jared asked.

"Don't tell me after all that, you're still fighting it. You realize if the Cold Ones return, she'll be caught in the crossfire.." Sam questioned in concern.

"The hell she will." Paul muttered quietly, "I'll kill 'em all if it means she's safe."

"So you're not fighting it after all?" Jared laughed as he asked the question a second time.

Paul glanced across the fire at Jared and shook his head. "Did you fucking see her? I'd have to be stupid, blind and crazy to fight it." as he smirked to himself just a little bit as if to gloat, "And she's mine. Fuck."

"Just throwing this out there. I would be careful exactly how I said that. Because some girls don't like the whole dominant and territorial thing you've got going on, Lahote. Remember that friend of Kim's you tried to flirt with? Remember the soda she dumped over your head because of the way you acted? Yeah.. You want to do far less of that." Sam advised Paul. "We'll start working on the way you control yourself tomorrow."

"Solid." Paul muttered as he gazed down at the phone number scrawled across his palm in bold red ink and grinned like an actual idiot for a minute or two.