"What's with you?" I asked rudely, raising an eyebrow in question.
Sam suddenly pushed me out of the way in order to grab Paul and drag him outside. I looked back toward the others around the table who were all looking at each other and laughing.
"What the fuck was that!" I yelled, turning to Emily for answers.
"I think it would be best to wait for Paul and Sam to come back so Paul can explain it himself, but you must be hungry." She stated, handing me a plate full of fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, green beans, and three biscuits.
The food immediately calmed my nerves and I rushed to the table and sat down, stuffing my face with as much food at one time as I could. I didn't noticed until I heard an awkward cough come from directly in front of me that Paul and Sam had come back in, and Paul was sitting in the seat across from me staring as I ate like a pig.
"Uh, sorry. Been a few months since I've had food anywhere near this good." I said, wiping my face and trying to slow down and take smaller bites.
I watched as Paul scratched the back of his head before looking to Sam who gave him a small smile and a nod.
"Have you, ever heard of, imprinting?" Paul asked quietly, looking me straight into my eyes.
At this point I stopped eating and dropped my fork. Imprinting? My father had told me stories when I was younger about our kind imprinting in order for a wolf to find his perfect match that would bear the strongest wolf cubs to ensure that the pack remained strong, but what did that have to do with me?
"Hm, my father once told me its how our kind mates. Ya know, that way we have strong pups and the pack grows stronger and more stable. He even told me how he imprinted on my mother. But what does that have to do with us?" I was starting to get nervous.
The past four months hadn't really been the best. I did everything in my power not to get to close to anyone. After growing up to years of none stop abuse, I didn't want anyone to be close. And it was all my stupid mother's fault for marrying that jerk. Was Paul trying to tell me he had imprinted on me?
"Wait. You're trying to tell me you imprinted on me aren't you?" I was in official all out panic mode. My heart was speeding and it felt like it was going to burst through my chest at any minute.
"Hey now, calm down, there's no reason to be scared." Paul cooed, getting up from his chair and slowly walking toward me, his arms stretched toward me and his palms stretched out in a sign that he wasn't going to hurt me.
I took a deep breath and looked into his eyes. They were very dark brown, with little swirls of black. They were the prettiest thing I had ever seen. Suddenly I felt my heart stop for a minute, and when it started again, it was like millions of grapple hooks attached themselves to Paul, and they were trying to pull me closer to him. I needed Paul, he was all I could see and smell, and nothing else mattered for a moment.
"Taylor?" Sam's voice made me crash back to earth, and when I was finally able focus, I could feel my eyes were burning and the tears that sped their way down my cheeks. A loud guttural snarl burst through my mouth and I could feel the need to phase burning in my muscles. I could feel the anger and pain of the past 3 years finally breaking the dam I had built to hold it in, and as I rushed toward the door, I barely made it outside before I hit the ground on all fours and raced toward the forest.