A/N: If you recognize it, it's not mine. Simple as that.
Chapter 6
Perci POV
Everyone in the house froze at the tone in my voice as I stared at Bella.
"What did she mean by 'vampire girl', Bella? Tell me you weren't stupid enough to put Charlie in danger by hanging out with a bunch of bloodsucking monsters." I demanded, earning an angry expression from her.
"They're not monsters. What would you even know about monsters, you spoiled little New York brat." She snarled, and I almost snorted in amusement. This idiot wouldn't know what a real monster was if it punched her in the face. Before I could even say anything though, a deep male voice that made my insides melt for some odd reason spoke up.
"If you think you can call my imprint that and get away with it, you are sorely mistaken, Swan. I'd rip your head off right now if she wanted me to." The male voice said, making everyone turn to face the doorway. Three men filled it, and I recognized Jacob in the three, glaring death at the one who had spoken.
It was the one Bella had slapped back at Jacob's house, so I knew this was Paul. The third one though, I assumed was Sam, since Jared said that Emily was Sam's fiancee. It wasn't the three of them that had me confused though. It was Paul's words.
"What's an imprint?" I asked, making his eyes snap to mine, and I felt that odd pulling sensation I had felt back in January when I had locked eyes with the wolf on the cliffs again. That clearly confirmed that the wolf had been Paul.
"I'll explain later. I'm Paul though, what's your name?" He asked. I narrowed my eyes at him slightly, wanting to have the answer sooner, since working with no answers usually got me into trouble, but introduced myself just the same.
"Persephone Jackson, call me Perci." I said, reaching out a hand to shake, startling slightly at the heat from his skin, and the slight shock I felt when our hands touched.
"Listen, as glad as I am that the two of you are getting along, Jacob has some information for us about the redhead." Sam said, breaking the slight moment we were having, and earning himself a glare from Paul.
"What information?" Embry asked, looking up from his muffin to eye Jacob curiously.
"I know what she wants, what she's after. She's after Bella, since her leech killed her mate, she wants to kill Bella in revenge." He said, and I didn't bother holding back the groan that escaped me.
"Then Bella needs to be guarded at all times, or she's up the shit creek without the paddle. It's not fun having something after you for revenge." I started, feeling Paul tense beside me at the obvious familiarity I had with the situation.
"And, how would you know about that?" Jared asked, concern in his voice. This time, I was the one to tense as I fought off flashbacks of Medusa's two sisters chasing me, intending to take revenge for me killing their sister as I made my way towards Camp Jupiter with no memories, and no clue what they were talking about.
"Let's just say, being chased with the intent of murderous revenge isn't fun, and leave it at that shall we?" I said faintly, before walking out of the house and down to the water.
I sat down on a driftwood log, letting my feet dangle in the comfort of the sea to chase away the memories and calm me down from the anger I felt at how reckless Bella had been with Charlie's safety. The water churned slightly as the sea sensed my remaining anger, and I tried to force myself to calm down more.
"You know, forcing it won't calm you down further or faster." An increasingly familiar voice said as the spot next to me suddenly became occupied.
"Bella's stupidity won't calm me down either. Being near the water helps though." I replied, looking over at Paul, and giving him a slight smile. He chuckled for a second, before sobering again.
"Do you still want to know what an imprint is Perci?" He asked in a serious voice, making me look at him in confusion for a second before I remembered the word that Paul had called me earlier.
"Yes, especially since you called me yours." I said, giving him a hard stare that I had learned from Thalia after she joined the Hunt. She liked to call it the 'man killer stare', which even Artemis found amusing. It didn't surprise me that he flinched at being on the receiving end of it.
"An imprint is something we get as wolves. It's kind of like, 'love at first sight' almost, but not quite. When a wolf sees their imprint, it's not gravity holding them to earth anymore, but her. You would do, or be anything for her. A friend, brother, lover, anything. I imprinted on you back in January, Perci. I've been going insane trying to figure out who you were ever since, and today was not how I wanted to introduce myself to you. I hoped I would be able to talk to you first, and work up to telling you about the pack." He said, looking me in the eye, as if searching for something, that I assumed was fear.
In response, I started back unafraid, but still processing what he told me. The way he made it sound was like an imprint was a wolf finding their soul mate or something like that. As if replying to the thought, I heard the voice of Aphrodite in my head.
"'That's exactly what it is, Perci. Paul is a bit of a hothead, and with the temperament you got from your father, the two of you are a perfect match. He won't be able to hurt you without hurting himself. Give him a chance, honey, and let him tell you about his life expectancy, and you can tell him about us. This is my way of apologizing for your immorality being forced on you.'" Her voice said.
I nearly startled at being told I could reveal the Greek world to a mortal, but relaxed myself before I could give anything away to soon.
"So, it's like a soul mate thing?" I questioned, as if it hadn't just been explained to me by a goddess. He smiled brightly and nodded, seemingly glad that I got it.
"Exactly!" He exclaimed happily. I stared out at the ocean, wondering if my dad or Triton -who had become very protective of me now that I was his immortal sister-had been told about what Aphrodite had done with my life. Even more, I wondered how I would bring this up to Paul. I didn't know him that well, and the chance that he could reveal the secret was a concern. Still, I would trust Aphrodite, she'd be the one in trouble if things blew up in my face.
"So what does this mean then? You said the wolf would be anything for their imprint, does that mean it's my choice, or is it yours?" I asked, taking my mind off of my own secret to look at him. I was slightly surprised at how soft his gaze was, unused to bring looked at with such adoration and awe by someone who wasn't a new camper being told about the things I had done.
"The choice is entirely yours, Perci. If you want to just be friends, then that's what we'll be. If you want me to be your brother, then you've got one. If you want to be a couple, our friends will complain about how disgustingly sweet I am towards you." He told me.
"What if I want you to be a confidante?" I asked, looking at him shyly. He looked elated for a second, before his face fell in disappointment.
"I would love it if you could call me that. But Perci, nothing stays secret when we're in our wolf forms. We share a pack mind when we're phased, and if one wolf thinks something, everyone else sees or hears it too." He said, sounding dismayed. I could feel my heart ache for him, and the pain I could tell it caused him, not being able to act as my confidante. I reached out to place a comforting hand on his arm, once again feeling the heat coming from his skin.
"Is there a way to make sure none of them reveal any of my secrets if you were to accidentally let it slip then? Because if we're soul mates, I want to be able to be honest with you and have no secrets." I told him, hoping I wouldn't get into trouble with Zeus if or when the rest of the pack found out. If I did, I'd put the blame on the one who told me to tell, Aphrodite.
"There is one way. But you would have to be okay with the rest of the pack finding out whatever it was you wish to tell me." Paul said, his face gaining a hopeful expression. I thought for a second about the potential consequences, before deciding to take the risk. I was immortal, what did I have to worry about now that an oath on the Styx couldn't strike me down if it was broken.
"I'll tell you, and you don't have to try to hide it. But I want to know one thing first." I said, looking Paul dead in the eye to let him know how serious I was with this.
"Anything, what is it?" He asked, completely sincere.
"What was meant about the redhead? Have you guys been trying to take her out or something?" I asked, some of my battle instincts coming forth just a little bit. My immortality took away my dyslexia -something my brain was still getting used to- which is why I struggled through homework, but my ADHD was still very much there.
"Yeah, we've been trying to take her out. It's why we phase, to protect our people from the threat of the cold ones. We can't touch your leech loving cousin's precious Cullens, there's a treaty for that, but anyone not allied with them is free game. You don't have to worry though, I won't let anything happen to you." He said, and I could see the protectiveness in his eyes.
"She doesn't need you to protect her, mutt." An alarmingly familiar voice said, much to my horror.
A/N: Sorry I didn't update yesterday guys! I wanted to, but my dad had surgery, so I spent most of the day up at the hospital. I'll give you guys extra chapters tonight to make up for it though!