AN: thanks for the reviews, let me know if you want to hear the phone call at the end of the chapter, I'm not giving anything away.

Chapter 11

He drove well into the night and Bella fell asleep still with her head on his shoulder. Paul was in a good mood, though his plan for a long night of sex had been postponed due to her fear of Edward following them, so he had gone on driving further away.

Finally when he felt that he was falling asleep, he decided to check for a motel, a sign caught his attention and he followed its direction until he arrived in a out-of-the-way place where a small motel was situated.

Slowly as not to wake her up, he moved her away and went to check in. The concierge looked bored out of his mind, Paul booked a room for the night and went back to get Bella. From the back he took a blanket and he wrapped her in it, she woke up and he murmured to get back to sleep. When she was secured in his arms, he took the night bags they had prepared and got inside the motel. The less people saw her, the better.

When he had placed her into the bed he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket, he took it out and saw the caller ID, with a sigh he got into the bathroom and answered.

"Hey Jacob, what's up?" He asked fearing that the cat was out of the bag.

"I've got news about Bella! Edward arrived today in Forks and we met at the treaty line, he told me that she faked her death with the help of the blonde leech. Cullen thought that she might have come back to me, but obviously she's too scared that he'll find her. I'm asking the pack to help me search for her, maybe she needs help." Jacob told him, and to Paul he seemed very agitated.

"Calm down Jake. How long has she left him?" He asked.

"He says nine months. Why?" Jacob said.

"Because nine months it's an awful long amount of time, and if she wanted to get back to you she would have already tried to contact you by now. Jacob, I don't want to be the devil's lawyer, but let the girl go. She picked him; you fucking need to move on." Paul snarled, angry beyond belief. Life was unfair, but he was fucking going to fight for Bella.

"Fuck off Paul! I called you because you're my brother and I wanted to ask for your help, but we both know how much you loathe Bella so forget this conversation. Besides the Elders are convinced that Bella is part of my future, she's in a legend and I won't give her up, not until I bring her back and make her mine." Jacob shouted and then put down the phone.

Paul was stunned, what did the Elders tell him? Part of the Jacob's future? He needed to find out and soon, he looked at the numbers on the phone and finally found the one he wanted.

The phone rang twice before a scratchy voice answered. "Who's calling this late at night?"

He cleared his throat. "Mr. Ateara, I'm Paul Lahote. I need to speak with you."

"What do you want?" The Elder asked.

"Jacob told me about a legend, something that connects Bella Swan to the tribe. May I know what that is about?" He replied, and he knew he wasn't going to give up until he got some fucking needed answers.

"Lahote... your family has been trouble since the beginning of time, but I guess the best warriors are the worst men. You want to know about your pretty pale-face toy? Are you sure?" He taunted him.

Paul growled. "She isn't a toy, she's my mate and when you talk about her I want the same respect given to the other imprints. Now, I'm here asking about it, so please tell me."

"It's a prophecy made by the first shaman, he foresaw a pale-face that would either unite and make the tribe prosperous or destroy it. The problem with this prophecy is that the girl would be contended by two wolves. Until now we didn't think it was about Bella, because only Jacob had been interested, now that your wolf wants her too, we're wondering if she's the girl of the prophecy." Old Quil told him.

"Does the story say which one she should be with?" Paul asked, fearing the answer.

"It doesn't, it just says that if she picks the wrong wolf then the tribe will be annihilated. Are you ready to destroy us all?" The Elder asked.

"How do you know that she should pick Jacob? My wolf has bonded with her, it must mean something." He said, sounding and feeling almost desperate to prove that it was him that she should be with.

"Paul, Jacob is the future Chief and the destined Alpha, it's obvious that this woman bringing to the tribe prosperity should be with the strongest and most powerful man." The Elder told him.

"I'm strong and powerful as well, I'll fight him for the Alpha position, I'll fight anyone who wants to get between me and her. I won't give her back to Jacob, she's mine and I'll keep her. So I suggest you don't tell Jacob about her being with me and we'll be all happy." Paul snarled.

"Billy will eventually tell Jacob, and sooner than you think. Be prepared because his wrath will reach you wherever you are." Old Quil predicted.

"He'll have to find me first." Paul put down the phone and started pacing back and forth into the little bathroom, the need to phase and tear everything apart was so strong that it was almost painful, he could feel the skin crawling trying to get the wolf out.

The animal was clawing at his control, because he wanted out, he needed to get to Bella, mark her, possess her. She was his and no one else, she needed to be bonded more securely. Paul was fighting, he wanted Bella to want it as well, if he let the wolf mark her, he wouldn't be any better than Cullen or Jacob wanting to impose their wills on hers.

He took deep breaths and thought about her smile, the way she was clutching at his arm when he was driving, her laugh carefree and happy for once and finally he got back to his sanity. He splashed his face with some cold water and when he looked up he was startled to see his reflection, the eyes were an eerily yellow color.

Noiselessly as not to wake Bella, he got out of the bathroom and stopped for a moment to watch her sleeping. Paul undressed, remaining only with his underwear and lied down near her, after a moment of hesitation he pulled her into his chest, she relaxed in her sleep and he felt the comfort of her body close to his.

….

The next morning they woke up almost simultaneously and she turned to meet his eyes. "Good morning, I'm sorry about yesterday, I was out cold. Is everything okay?"

Paul was undecided about revealing to her what had happened, but then he realized that if he didn't tell her he would behave exactly like Cullen, keeping her in the dark. "There's a lot we need to talk about, but first let's have some breakfast and get back on the road."

She nodded, but looked worried.

They checked out of the motel, Bella was wearing a baseball hat so not to show her face to the concierge. Paul bought for them breakfast in a diner, when he swallowed his last sip of coffee she turned to look at him. "So… what happened?"

Paul took a deep breath, he knew he would pay later if he was dishonest. He gathered his courage and told her everything, about the Lahote's men, his wolf, the talks he had with Sam, Jacob and Old Quil.

Bella had been silent for the whole talk, she had looked out of the window not showing him her face.

"Talk to me Swan." He asked, fearing what she was going to say, but at the same time wanting to know what she was thinking. He hoped that she wouldn't focus her attention on his wolf.

She looked down at her hands, but mostly at the wedding ring. "Thank you Paul for your honesty. I have a few questions… you told me that your wolf likes me, what about the man? Do you feel a compulsion to be with me?"

Paul relaxed slightly, she was thoughtful rather than angry. "If you're asking me if it's like imprinting then the answer is no. The human part of me likes you, the 'you' I met now. I can walk away if I so choose and the wolf will eventually find someone else to bond with. It's my choice to stay and I'm not averse in developing our relationship further."

She took a deep breath and then smiled at him. "I would like to know you better too, I think we're compatible and I like how we're together." But then she sobered up and looked troubled. "My only concern is about the legend, who is the wolf I'm supposed to be with? I'm not known for making the right choice, what if I stay with you and I destroy your tribe? Who is going to tell me what should I do? I'm totally lost here, and I do love Jacob… not as much as I should… but most importantly, I do want to see where 'us' is going."

Paul could feel how torn she was about it, he was uncertain too. "I think you're exactly where you should be Swan. The Volturi will come to get you if you go back to Forks, and that can and will destroy my tribe. The vampires have gifts that we cannot fight against."

She shivered and moved closer to him. "I think I need to speak to Jacob, he needs to let me go. I agree with you."

He was tense, but he knew that she had to do it. He looked around and when he found a secluded area he stopped the truck. He pulled out his phone and gave it to her. "Call him, I'll wait outside."

Paul walked away from the truck, he didn't want to hear that conversation. He was scared that she was going back to Jacob, that she still loved the little Alpha too much to invest her heart in a new relationship with him.

The wolf snarled unhappily, he knew that she belonged to them and he didn't like that the human side of him was giving her the chance to call their relationship off, but the animal had faith in her. He really believed that she was going to pick Paul over Jacob, Paul hoped that it was so. For sure he wasn't giving her up without a fight.