Disclaimer: I am not Stephenie Meyer. I do not own Twilight.

Chapter Thirteen

Paul's POV

I licked at the mark I had just inflicted on my mate, perversely enjoying the chaos that was exploding around us. Bella was pressed into me, my arms the only thing keeping her from falling over. Not even all the shouting around us could drown out the sound of her throaty moan as I cleaned away her blood, the mark sealing almost instantly. The wolf understood how dangerous it was for her to bleed in the presence of crazed vampires, but neither of us felt too bad about biting her.

Finally, she was ours.

"YOU BASTARD!"

I turned, unsurprised to find Edward fighting against the hold of his family. His pitch black eyes had me moving Bella behind me, growling aggressively at the leech.

"I think it would be best if you take Bella and leave. Edward needs to calm down before we continue our discussion," Carlisle suggested while his "family" held the boy back.

"Agreed. We will meet again tomorrow," Sam nodded, slowly backing away from the bloodsuckers.

The pack moved with him, Bella still tucked safely behind me. Only when the sound of their struggles faded did I turn, lift her into my arms, and begin running through the forest. Her arms wrapped around my neck as she pressed her face into my shoulder. My lips found her forehead and I gave a soft growl, reassuring her and the wolf that she was safe.

It didn't take long for us to make it back to Sam and Emily's, the entire pack crowding into the tiny living room. I claimed the armchair for myself, settling Bella on my lap.

"Let me see, Swan," I murmured, tugging at her shirt.

Wordlessly, she tilted her head away so I could see the bite mark along her silky smooth skin. My body shook as I leaned down, nosing the pinkish indentions. Our comingled scents sent my head reeling and my hold on her tightened reflexively.

A throat clearing reminded me that we weren't alone just yet.

I glared up at my back brothers, all of them smirking as they settled into their seats. Emily smiled happily from her place by Sam, her approval obvious.

"So the imprint is broken?" Sam asked.

"Yes," I answered, scowling at the reminder.

"How did you do it?" Quil asked, eagerly leaning forward.

I barred my teeth at him, growling in warning, but the pup just grinned wider.

"Oh, come on. We're all curious," Quil urged.

"Fuck. Off," I bit out, unwilling to go into details in front of the whole pack.

It would be bad enough once they found out, but there was no way in hell I would tell Bella in front of all of them. She deserved better than that.

"Fine. We'll get it out of you eventually," Quil smirked, leaning back.

Before I could jump up and pummel the asshole, Bella turned into my chest, her fingers smoothing across my skin. Almost instantly, the anger melted away. She was mine and she was safe. Nothing else mattered.

"We need to deal with the Cullens. Obviously they can't stay. Why did it take them so long to show up after her dive off the cliffs if that's what got them worried?" Jared asked, bringing us all back to the issue at hand.

"And what was up with the tiny one? She was really freaked out about those vision thingys," Jake frowned.

"She couldn't see me. That's never happened before," Bella explained.

"Maybe it's us. I mean, she said she could see you sometimes. Maybe it was when you were with Charlie. It would explain why she hasn't seen you in a while. You've been here almost constantly since you jumped," Embry pointed out.

"It's possible. We'll have to ask further if we really want to find out," Sam said.

"Not necessary. It doesn't matter why she couldn't see her. That leech is never getting near her again, I don't care what you say," I insisted, still pissed off about him taking her earlier.

"They're going to want to see her, Paul," Sam sighed.

"I don't really give a fuck. She's not going near them again," I growled.

"Paul," Bella murmured, drawing my attention down to her.

Her brown eyes blinked up at me, imploring me to give in.

"No. No, Swan. You aren't going near them," I repeated, almost desperately.

"I don't want to, but… what if they decide to start a war over it?" Bella asked, tears appearing in her eyes at the very thought.

"Then we fight them. My priority is keeping you and our pup safe," I told her.

"But-" Bella started.

"No. You will not argue with me on this," I interrupted, glaring down at her.

With a tearful whimper, she threw her arms around my neck. I rocked her as gently as possible, kissing the side of her head. The pack was silent as I soothed her, but the sudden need to be alone with my mate had me rising from the chair.

"We'll see you guys later," I said as I walked out of the house.

I knew Sam would send for me if there was any change with the leeches. My main focus was my mate and getting her home. Today had been too stressful on her and I needed to reassure her and myself that everything was alright.

It took longer than usual to get home, but I didn't mind as it just gave me more time to hold her in my arms. Walking through the front door, I simply continued on my way into the bedroom. I settled onto the bed, Bella wrapped up in my arms.

We were both silent for a long time, just breathing deeply of each other. Her small hands were cradled within my own, our fingers intertwined as well as our legs. The bump of our pup was pressed between us and I would occasionally bring our hands down to rub across the tightened skin.

"Are we going to talk about it?" Bella asked after a while.

"About what?" I questioned back, purposefully avoiding her gaze.

"About what happened in Pullman. I know something did, Paul. You wouldn't have reacted so strongly to Quil if nothing had happened," Bella reasoned.

I sighed, mentally cursing her observation skills. I didn't want to admit to my infidelity, no matter how slight. The knowledge might cause me to lose her and our pup, the very people I had been fighting so hard to keep.

"Paul. Tell me," Bella insisted gently.

"God, Swan, I swear it didn't mean anything and I hated every fucking minute of it. Afterwards, I went out back and threw up because I was so disgusted with myself," I admitted, hiding my face in her hair so I wouldn't see the wounded Bambi that was sure to come over her eyes.

"Paul… What exactly happened?" Bella asked, sounding as though she didn't really want to know the answer.

"I had to kiss her. Full out, teeth and tongue. But, Swan, it was the only way, I swear," I told her.

She was quiet for a long time, making my heart feel like it was going to pound out of my chest from nerves. The thought of her walking out terrified me, but I couldn't find my voice to beg her to stay.

"Is that it?" Bella asked, her fingers moving to run through my hair.

I nodded, unable to speak past the lump forming in my throat. My hands caressed her stomach, preparing for her to leave, taking my pup with her.

"Oh, Paul," Bella sighed.

Her body shook beneath me and I knew I was done for. I'd made her cry and she wouldn't forgive me. I had lost my family in trying to keep them.

I moved back so I could look into her face one last time before she bolted. Confusion slammed into me at the smile on her face and I realized the shaking was her trying to keep from laughing out loud.

"What's so funny?" I grumbled.

"You are. Honey… I knew something would have to happen. She wouldn't be able to reject you if you didn't put yourself out there for her push away," Bella smiled, her hands reaching up to cup my face.

"So you… You knew I'd kissed her?" I asked.

"Well, I knew something had happened. A kiss isn't the worst thing that popped into my mind, especially with that lead in," Bella smirked, rubbing our noses together.

"God, Swan, tell you didn't think I…" I trailed off, unable to complete the thought.

"At first, I thought maybe, but not now," Bella assured me.

"Good. Because I would never cheat on you that way. Or any way. The only reason I kissed her was to get her to reject me. And she did it rather forcefully," I told her.

"Poor baby. Did she hit you?" Bella cooed.

"Right here," I nodded, tapping my cheek.

Bella leaned up and pressed her lips to the offended area with a loud smack. I smiled down at her, rolling until she was spread across my chest.

"So you forgive me for kissing her?" I asked, just to make sure.

"Yes, Paul. I forgive you," Bella agreed, rolling her eyes as she smiled down at me.

"Good. Cause now you're gonna marry me," I told her.

"Oh, really now? Just like that, huh?" Bella grinned.

"Yeah. Swan, you've got my mark, I've got yours, but you're still gonna wear my ring," I insisted.

"Mm. Well, I guess I should marry you, then. Wouldn't want there to be any doubt about who I belong to," Bella teased.

"Damn right," I agreed, leaning down to nip at the mark on her neck.

Her laughter filled the room as my mouth nibbled along her skin and my fingers tickled her sides. I followed as she rolled across the bed, grabbing her before she could fall off the bed. We ended up towards the foot of the bed, her head hanging off the mattress and hair in her face. I chuckled as I pushed the strands away until I could see her brown eyes.

"I love you, Paul Lahote," Bella murmured, smiling sweetly up at me.

"I love you, too, soon to be Bella Lahote."

Eh… The ending felt a little weird, but at least it's a chapter! Happiness!

Next chapter probably won't be up for a while. I'm fighting with Barnes and Nobles about getting my textbooks. They're cheating me out of my Second Day Air and the books have mysteriously vanished. So angry! Those specialized Customer Service people will be getting a piece of my mind on Monday! GRRRRR!

Anyway, on top of that, lots of reading to do and discussion meetings and blah blah blah. See you guys next chapter!