Chapter 9

Fallin' for You

I can't stop thinking about it
I want you all around me
And now I just can't hide it
I think I'm fallin' for you

Fallin' for You- Colbie Caillat

"Again," Kelan commanded. I was hunched over, my hands on my knees, my breathing heavy and here I thought I was in shape. Kelan had me practicing focusing my magic into concentrated balls of energy. He also had me learning how to use the other elements of fire, water, air and earth. It was fun at first, but he then had me "shaping" magic into the forms he barked out.

"Are you fucking kidding me," I asked, breathless. "We've been at this for hours. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. My dad is coming and..." I stopped to pull in more oxygen. "I don't think I can possibly do anything else," Kelan just leaned against a tree, his arms crossed. His green eyes were hard as he looked at me.

"I'm barely pushing you," He muttered. I threw my hands up, letting them fall, smacking hard at my sides.

"I just came into my power. Did you really expect me to be where I once was?" I yelled at him. Tears pricked at my eyes as my frustration hit its peak. "I know how long it took for me to get powerful, its not gonna happen in a day,"

Kelan pushed himself off the tree and stomped his way over to me. I stood my ground as he stood just inches away from me, staring down at me with his angry green eyes.

"If you do not learn to control yourself, then you will never be ready to face the Darkness and defeat them," He spat at me. His face twisted into a smirk. "Don't see how you can learn control when you spend all your time with those... dogs,"

That was it. I felt my anger swell as I acted without thinking. In a blink of an eye, Kelan was being slammed into a tree by a stream of water that quickly became frozen by chilled air, locking him in an ice embrace that left him stuck to the tree.

I stood there, glaring at him, my hands raised, balancing balls of pure electricity. "Don't you ever talk about them, ever again," Suddenly a smile lit up Kelan's battered face. "What," I demanded.

"That was very good. So skilled and perfect," He struggled to breathe. "Do you think you could let me go now,"

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Why should I? You insulted my family," I hissed. Kelan's smile dropped as he realized how angry I really was.

"I'm really sorry, Cate," He said, gulping. I gaged him for a moment before I took the air around me and warmed it up, melting the ice that encased Kelan. Soon, he was free and soaking wet. I noticed that the fireflies were closer to me, almost hugging me in a protective cage; they wouldn't let Kelan within ten feet of me.

"I only insulted you so that you would get enraged. Your emotions are tightly bound to your powers. You're trigger seems to be anger," Kelan explained as he examined the scene before him. I stood with my arms crossed, my glare at it's highest intensity, with a wall of fireflies, guarding me.

Suddenly, Kelan's face became peaceful. "See how they swarm around you," He noted. "You'll notice that the creatures around you will do that. They recognize you are the queen and they have a built in duty to protect you," I held my arm out and watched as the fireflies landed it, glowing even brighter than before.

"Wow," I whispered and as if they sensed that my anger was gone, the fireflies drifted away from me, but still staying close. How could I stay angry when I was surrounded by fireflies that were trying to protect me?

"Sorry about that," I nodded to Kelan who had taken off his shirt. Do guys really feel the need to get undressed in front of me?

We are so lucky.

For the love!

For the luckiness of being surrounded by gorgeous men.

Oh my god! Did you just sigh?

Yes.

Stop that! We love Paul.

Nothing wrong with enjoying the view.

Stop sighing!

"Uh, Cate, you alright," Kelan asked me, making me jump.

"Yup," I laughed, nervously, rubbing the back of my neck. "Perfect," Kelan studied for much longer than I thought was necessary. "So," I started, breaking the silence. "How do I get back," This seemed to break him out of state of staring. Creep.

His eyes flashed up to mine. "Well until you can control your powers better, the easiest way is for you to fall asleep,"

"Oh, sorta like how I got here,"

"Exactly," He gestured for me to follow him. He led me into the colorful tent and said, "You can sleep here," There were a couple of lanterns that he lit and created a soft glow through out the tent. I quickly created a bed using the pillows. The night was warm enough, that I didn't need a blanket. I settled down, my eyes incredibly heavy. Kelan folded himself next to me as if to watch over me.

"How will I come back," I mumbled, my eyes barely open.

"You'll come in your dreams, as you did before,"

"Every night," I asked.

"Every night," He confirmed. "Good night, my queen. Sleep well," He whispered as I finally drifted off to blackness.

****************

The day was full of preparation. Sue ordered us to clean the house perfectly, including our bedrooms. Apparently Thanksgiving dinner for the pack was being held at our house since it was actually big enough to house everyone, albeit barely.

My dad had texted me at four in the morning, a text I didn't get until I woke up from my nightmarish slumber, telling me he was on his way. Lucas nearly had a heart attack when I told him the news that morning.

"You're fucking kidding me," He gasped, holding me by my shoulders. I gave him a toothy smile.

"Never under estimate the power a daughter has over her daddy," I skipped off to finish dusting. I knew from my own flight, that it should only take my dad about seven hours from the time he left New York, to get to La Push. When ten o'clock rolled around, my excitement increased tenfold.

But ten o'clock came and went, and he still wasn't here. The clock hit eleven and then twelve and I started to worry. He would call if he was running late. I couldn't help but to imagine all the things that could have happened. I even flipped on CNN, looking to see if there anything about a plane going down, or something going on at the airports.

I sat, anxiously tapping my foot, on the couch, my eyes flickering between my phone and the TV. I didn't hear the door open, or really feel the arms around me and peck on the cheek that I received.

"Cate," I could hear Paul's deep voice question, pulling me out of my concerned state. "What's wrong," The look on his face was laced with concern and worry as he stared at me.

"My dad's late and he hasn't called, and I'm just worried is all," Paul tightened his grip on me and I leaned back into him, letting his warmth envelop me. I tried not to let my mind wander as I continued to stare at my inactive phone.

"Why are you here so early? Dinner isn't until three," I asked Paul, trying to distract myself.

"Emily came over to help Sue out with the cooking and Sam is outback, helping to set up the tent," He said. A heated tent was being set up in the back yard to accommodate everyone. Paul sighed and my eyes drifted to his chest. I raked my eyes over him, taking in his very different attire. Paul was wearing a blue, button down shirt with dark jeans and actual shoes, Chuck Taylors to be exact. He looked even yummier when he was fully clothed.

Paul's dark eyes met mine as I finally bought my eyes up to his face on my way back from my exploration of his body. I knew he could see the lust in my eyes as our eyes held. We were back in our bubble of heat and light. Paul shifted towards me, but we weren't close enough for my liking. I threw my self into Paul's lap so I was straddling him. We had waited for this moment and I was going all out for it.

Paul's shocked gaze turned into a smile as I bought myself closer to him, wrapping my arms around his neck, my bare thighs resting against his denim-covered ones. I wanted to pat myself on the back for picking out a flowing dress, almost as if I knew I would up in Paul's lap.

Paul's hot hands rested on my hips as I drew myself closer to him, breathing in his warm scent of the woods and Axe.

My face was a mere inch from his face as I stared into Paul's eyes. "I..." I trailed off, wanting to say it, but wanting to hide it from him all at the same time. "I'm falling for you,"

"I know," He whispered and bought his lips to mine, barely grazing them.

"Cate!" Completely surprised by the sound of my name being called, I jumped and fell backwards off Paul and on to the hard floor, landing with a 'Oof'. My eyes opened to see my father, standing over me, his face frozen in shock and anger.

"Hi Daddy," I said from my place on the floor with a wave. I stood up, brushing myself off, and looked over at Paul. The poor boy looked scared and concerned as I gave my dad a hug. My dad, who seemed to get over his shock, picked me up and spun me around, making me giggle like I was five again. My dad was not a small man, standing at over six foot three. His voice was deep like a lake, but not so deep that it scared you. He had big muscles to match his big heart.

"How's my favorite daughter," My dad chuckled as he set me down, running a hand over my smooth hair.

A raised an eyebrow at him. "I'm your only daughter," To which my father bellowed out a laugh.

"All the more reason for you to be my favorite," He smiled. "Now where is your brother," On cue, Lucas bounded into the living room, wrapping his arms around Dad. Dad pulled away to look Lucas over.

"Hitting the gym," He raised an eyebrow at my brother who laughed.

"Nah, the ramen is finally paying off," He snickered. My dad's eyes darted over Lucas' shoulder to look at Paul. Paul stood up and walked over to my dad, holding out his hand.

"I'm Paul Walker," He introduced himself as him and my dad shook hands.

"Tim Rostov," My father uttered as he looked over Paul. I danced my way to Paul's side, taking his now free hand, into mine.

"Paul's my boyfriend," I said with a toothy smile directed at my father. Lucas, who was standing behind my dad now, dragged his pointer finger across his neck and then skipped out of the room, mumbling something about setting up the tent.

"Really now," My dad mumbled. "So, Paul, how old are you,"

"I'll be sixteen next week,"

"How long have you been dating my daughter,"

"Well, there isn't an official date, but for almost a month now,"

"Are you in school,"

"Of course,"

"Who are your parents," My dad asked and I winced, knowing it was a sore subject for Paul. Paul swallowed uneasily, but looked my dad in the eye as he answered.

"My dad skipped out a long time ago and my mom passed away. I use to live with my aunt, but I moved out and in with Sam Uley and his girlfriend, Emily," I squeezed Paul's hand, then started rubbing circles on the back of his hand.

"I'm sorry to hear that," My dad said to Paul. I could tell that Paul was gaining my Dad's respect by being honest with him. I thought things were starting to go well as Paul and my dad fell into a conversation about God's know what. I was really paying attention, I was just happy my dad hadn't asked even more embarrassing questions. That was when the unthinkable happened.

"What are you intentions with my daughter," My dad asked, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Dad-" I started but was cut off by Paul.

"It's alright, Cate," He smiled down at me, reassuring me that he got it. He looked back at my dad. "I care very deeply for Cate, sir. She's a wonderful person and is my best friend. I'm going to try my best not to hurt her and to always protect her." I could feel the tears in my eyes as Paul spoke. Ignoring my dad, I stood on my tip toes and kissed Paul on his lower cheek, the highest I could reach. His eyes shined down at me as he held my hand tighter. We both turned to look at my dad.

"What about what I saw when I walked in," He questioned. I decided to take this one.

"Daddy, what you saw was our first kiss, spank you very much," I rolled my eyes. "And it was barely even a freakin' kiss," I pouted. "Stupid people always interrupting," I muttered, glaring at the ground. Then my dad surprised me.

He started laughing.

Full out, bellowing laughs. "Oh god, Cate," My dad chuckled. "Your face is so expressive, just like your grandmother's," My eyes flashed up to his and I smiled. It was always a good day when I got compared to my Grandma Lucy. I wrapped my free arm around my dad.

"Thanks Daddy," I let go of him and returned to Paul's side. I shot my dad a questioning look.

"Paul, you seem like an okay kid," He concluded to both Paul and my relief. "Break her heart and I'll break your arms,"He added. I bit my lip in an effort not to laugh as Paul gulped. Paul, who was a werewolf, was scared of my dad. Oh, how rich.

A smile was plastered to my face now that my dad had met Paul and approved of him. I pulled in my emotions as I noticed the living room lights and electronic start to glow brighter.

It was then that Sue finally made her entrance. "Oh, Timothy, I didn't even know you were here," She pulled him into a hug. "Welcome. Make your self at home. Harry will be happy to see you," She smiled at him.

"Thanks Aunt Sue," He smiled at her. "How's everything," Sue pulled my dad away and towards the back of the house where everyone else was at. Paul and I let out heavy sighs at the same time. We laughed at each other.

"I'm sorry about that," I told him as he wrapped his arms around my waist. He smiled down at me.

"Don't worry about it. It comes with the package," He pressed a kiss to my forehead. I gave him a look and his smiled widen, knowing what I wanted. He leaned down to press his lips to mine when, suddenly the door burst open and in filed the rest of the pack, loud and rambunctious as ever. Included in this group was Embry, Quil and Jacob along with their respective families.

Let the festivities begin.

AN: Hello loves. How are you? Good, I hope. It's a new year so I thought I'd update. I've decided to start doing shorter chapters. Shorter chapters will equal quicker updates, but it's up to you guys. Would you rather have longer chapters, but a longer stint in between updates or shorter chapters but quicker updates?

So I have finally figured out who is Cate's dad. Ready for it? It's Vin Diesel! He just fits and then his voice intruded into my mind and his voice just fits with Cate's dad, plus he looks the part.

Go to the website and show some love: lilymariepattin(dot)webs(dot)com

So I hope everyone enjoyed this! Until next time, my loves!