A/N - Me no own. Thanks to my beta August Shaffer and to pre-readers Feebes86 & Mist.

Sorry its been a little while, but RL happens. Thanks to all the reviews and favs and follows. They keep me motived.

Chapter 6: Cold Shoulders

PPOV

Fallen tree. Boulder. River. Another fallen tree. Fuck! This is boring.

I made one more loop around the reservation before my patrol was over, my lupine form running between the trees at impossible speeds with amazing agility. As I passed the area of the treaty line closest to the Cullen compound, I fought the urge to sneeze. That god-awful smell never got better, no matter how many times we passed by. Not sure if it was the fucking bloodsuckers themselves or the number of their coven that got to me so bad. Always made me want to find a pile of bear shit to put my muzzle in. Overkill? Sure, it would stink, but it wouldn't burn my nostrils like the putrid, sickly sweet, bleach scent of a vampire did. It was worse if we actually had to meet with them. Not only would the smell get to me, but I would have to literally dig my claws in the ground so my wolf wouldn't attack them. Mainly the copper-topped ass jockey, who could read people's thoughts, irked me the most. I couldn't place exactly what it was about him, but I was certain if I ever caught him by himself, I would kill him.

Fucking vampires thought they were entitled to camp outside of our tribe's door just because they were able to deceive some of our ancestors of their passive behavior. They knew what their presence did, activating the curse of our tribe. Turning a bunch of kids into warriors, and robbing them of what was left of their fucking childhood. Forever chaining them to the reservation. Nine lives were a small price to pay for a few years convenience in their eternity apparently. Cocksuckers, every last one of them!

After Collin and Brady came to relieve me I made my way back home for a shower. I was being forced to go for a last-minute bonfire. I fucking hated being mandated into doing anything. I actually had the night off for a change, so I had plans to get drunk and to get balls deep on the first willing pussy that presented itself to me tonight. But one fucking Alpha order changed all that, or at least delayed it.

Even though my Mom taught me far better, I used women. I couldn't help it. The area was packed with those who needed a real man between their thighs. Any given day, I would have at least five females throw themselves at me, panting like bitches in heat. Cougars, cheerleaders, honor students, housewives, virgins and whores all came to me to scratch their itches. I was very good at it and enjoyed my work very well. But I wasn't an idiot, no matter what Jared might think. I was careful: always wrapping my dick and screening for potential jailbait, as the wolf vision detected the false IDs, and I could usually always scent out those lying about their age. Anyway, pretty sure the wolfy super immune system would prevent me getting any STDs.

Crabs, unfortunately, were a different matter entirely. Fucking Lauren Mallory!

The real obstacle for me was avoiding my conquests after I fucked them, if you could call them that with the little effort I had to put forth. Jared called me 'Lightning', as I never hit the same place twice. I wouldn't bring them to my house, and I made sure to never go to sleep at theirs. Paul Lahote does not snuggle, cuddle, or any other thing remotely similar to it! Yeah, yeah. I'm a fucking, womanizing asshole. But the way I see it is if you don't get too close, you can't get hurt. And each and every pussy I have fucked has been informed of EXACTLY where they stood before hand. Not my damn fault they forget the words somewhere between nodding their heads in agreement and shaking their heads in ecstasy.

I had gotten hold of some of Old Quil's shine. (Actually, I traded patrol with Quil for it so he could get to the bonfire early.) It was basically lighter fluid, but had the advantage of being one of the few things that could knock a werewolf on their ass. And I was going to do that today. I found pack events painful on the best of days, for which today was not. The sickly sweet way the others looked at their imprints made me want to fucking hurl. The pride pouring out of the elders eyes as they looked at their children and grandchildren just added to my ire. There was nothing good about this goddamn curse. Well, maybe the speed, but that was it. My enhanced physique was nice and all, but I had been making the opposite sex cum since I was fourteen.

I wasn't swayed by the elders dreamy-eyed talk that this was all a huge gift, my destiny and shit like that. Nothing was secret, every thought out there for the pack to hear and feel. Although, I was pretty good at hiding my thoughts, better than our Alpha, Sam, or baby-Alpha Jake. My main area of contention? I was stuck in this hell hole for the rest of my unnatural damn life. This place held bad memories of my mother dying shortly after she moved me and my sibling, Max, back to the reservation after my piece of shit father skipped out on us back in Tacoma. It was just as well he left; he only came around to beat me. I would always provoke him so he would come after me instead of the others. And I had every intention of going after his sorry ass when I got old enough, before I fucking started turning into a giant fur ball of course. I may yet go after him; the Spirits owe me.

Today was actually the anniversary of my mother's death, hence the need to forget.

After drinking half the bottle of Old Quil's shine, I leisurely made my way to First Beach. I wasn't drunk, but rather had a nice buzz going on. I arrived at the beach to find a show. Apparently, Quil was getting ready to throw some chick in the ocean. I couldn't get a good look at her as Quil marched to the water, but I sure as fuck could hear her. Her banshee wailing continued until the ocean's water cut her off. Figuring the show was over, I turned to say something to Jared. When I heard her practically growl at Quil when she came back up for air, I could feel my dick twitch. She was pissed! And for the first time since turning wolf, I wondered if a human could actually harm one of us.

Curiosity got the best of me and I asked who she was, to which Jake answered lowly, "Bella Swan."

Ah, so this was the girl Quil, Jake, and Embry had been looking forward to coming back to town. I guess she was related to Old Quil's late wife and was therefore a distant cousin to Quil and Jake. Embry, I hope, was not related to her, because the daydreams he had on our last patrol together of her sucking his cock off were way too fucking hot to be tainted with the thought of cuzin'-lovin'. Who knew the douche had it in him?

Her dad was Charlie Swan, and I had always felt Chief Swan was hiding something. Before my first phase, I would call it a gut feeling, the fact he never mentioned her, at least not in my presence. Plus, he always seemed to dislike me for some reason, and that only grew when I started acting out after my Mom died and found myself in the backseat of his cruiser several times. I saw him and thought instantly of my old man, and that didn't win him any respect from me. I had met Helen Swan a few times before her death, and even the young, pre-teen me could feel the tension between the mother and son. He was hiding something, and if he had earned the disapproval of his mother, it couldn't be good.

I was pulled from my thoughts by the feeling of eyes on me. Female eyes. Wanting to give my little voyeur more to see, I slowly turned around, deliberately rolling my abs and flexing my pecs.

I could only see above her shoulders, as she was several yards in the ocean. Although I couldn't tell the color, I could tell she had a dark hair, pulled back in some sort of braid. Her skin was pale, much lighter than my own russet tone. She was obviously freezing cold in the water she was fighting at the moment, the goosebumps were easy to see with my wolf vision. When I met her dark brown eyes, the same color as chocolate, I noticed they were hooded in lust. She was completely eye-fucking me. I cursed the water she was in, because I couldn't help wonder what her arousal smelt like.

She obviously was enjoying what she was seeing. When she caught my smirk at catching her, she smiled back at me. Well, well, well. Looks like I found me some pussy for the evening.

I licked my lips in anticipation. And to think, I wasn't planning on showing up.

The view of my prey was suddenly obstructed by Embry's lithe frame. "Did you?" he demanded.

I was completely clueless to what he was speaking about, but could clearly see he was pissed. "What?"

"Did you fucking imprint on her?" Why the fuck would he ask me that? I was just in the right mood to fuck with him, but before I could answer him my train of thought was diverted. I heard the little hellcat sic Old Quil's dog on Quil. In fucking Quileute! My fucking cock definitely jumped at that. Taha Aki, I was actually a little disappointed I hadn't imprinted on her.

At first Quil stood still, not fearing injury should the dog actually attack him, but then Sam ordered him to play along and act like he was scared of the dog. Truth be told, he actually was at least apprehensive of it. Most animals gave us a wide berth, dogs being no exception. However, Jax, as I think he was called, didn't seem to give a shit that we phased into massive fucking wolves. We were at the top of the fucking food chain, not that we were going to eat dogs. Even grizzlies turned tail and ran from us in human form, but this pup treated us the same as any other human. Strange.

As the majority of the group watched dog chase dog, I watched one furious little tiger make her way out of the water. She was five foot, five inches and looked like she may have been a hundred and ten pounds soaking wet. Despite her being on the thin side, she had curves in all the right places. Her hips had just the right amount of flare and I couldn't wait to bury my head, or hell my cock, in the valley of those fucking C-cups. I caught the scent of strawberries and vanilla that damn near made my mouth water. The smell of brine stuck to her from her recent bath, and I also caught a faint smell of mildew and ... cleaners?

She didn't spare anyone a glance, just marched over to Old Quil. I heard her growl for the fire to be lit or he wouldn't get any pie for a damn month. Gonna trust that wasn't an euphemism for something else, but I would gladly take whatever she was serving.

I was pulled from my voyeurism by a low, menacing growl. I smirked at the murderous glare Embry was giving me.

"No, was I supposed to?" I answered his earlier question. I looked up to see most of the pack staring at me curiously, even the elders were discreetly watching our conversation.

Jake walked in between us. "We were kind of hoping someone would. We can't tell her the secrets unless someone does, and she is supposed to start school in Forks in August." I heard Embry growl again and I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow in silent question to Jake. He shook his head and then just shrugged his shoulders.

Poor Embry, he didn't get a Swan to make ugly ducklings with.

I could hear Sam update the elders about the lack of imprint; Billy looked particularly disappointed about it.

"Well, I've already told you guys I don't want an imprint," I growled.

"Taha Aki is not sadistic enough to give you one." Jake quipped, slugging my shoulder.

"No, he just doesn't want all of you dicks to get jealous with the three women it would take to keep me satisfied," I smirked.

"Just leave her alone. I'm trying to keep her on the rez as much as possible. She's more of a sister to me than Rach or Becca ever were. If you fuck her and ditch her like we all know you will, she will feel awkward and will try to avoid you, and therefore us. You have all of Washington and Vancouver for your fucking pleasure. Just leave this one girl alone," Jake pleaded.

"Fine," I snarled. "But I get to borrow the Sprint for the next two weekends." A look of uncontrolled terror spread across his face. Jake had a Harley Sprint that he had saved from the scrap pile and fixed up. It was kick-ass, and I had tried to get him to sell it several times, to no avail. My compliance of being forced into yet another fucking thing was going to come at a price. I mentally began to catalogue all the places within a day's drive.

"You better fucking leave her alone is all I have to say." He seethed as he walked back toward the fire.

A short time later, we were allowed to finally eat. As usual, the ladies and elders had first dibs, but then the wolves descended. It was always comical watching someone observe our appetites for the first time, and Bella did not disappoint. She had a look that teetered between awe and disgust as she watched us devour the food in front of us, sometimes not even bothering to chew. Okay, so the metabolism and lack of indigestion was definitely another perk of the wolf.

After the carnage was cleaned up, Bella politely asked Emily for a recipe and did some small talk for a moment before moseying her way over to me.

"Hi. I don't think we've met. I'm Bella," she said with a warm smile on her face. Although she was clearly checking me out earlier, she seemed perfectly at ease now, raising a hand for me to shake.

"Paul." I said noncommittally through a mouthful of my cookie, wishing she'd get the fucking hint and move along.

"Kaayyy," she drolled, rolling her eyes in indignation and dropping her hand. She turned to ignore me and watch the fire, its reflection dancing in her expressive eyes. After a while she closed them, acting like she was meditating or something.

"I've been told to keep my distance." I shut my eyes at my fucking word vomit. Why did I feel compelled to explain myself?

She gave me a skeptical look out of the corner of eyes, and I noticed her eyes meet Leah's contemptuous stare from across the fire. She gave a humorless laugh and nodded her head. "Okay."

"So, don't consider me rude." Shut the fuck up, Lahote! I could hear Sam and Jared's amusement at my lack of filter. However, Jake and Embry were anything but amused. Jake fished his keys out of his pocket and jangled them, chastising me to back the fuck off. I was trying!

"Okay."

"You could at least acknowledge me," I seethed. I wasn't sure why she was getting under my skin so bad.

"If you let others dictate whom you should speak to, that's your business. I'm not going to force you to speak to me and I won't lose any sleep if you don't. Telling me that only made yourself feel better, and make me think you don't have any damn balls." Oh no, she didn't just go there!

"Your kind of a bitch, aren't you?" I replied rhetorically. She just shrugged her shoulders and went back to studying the blue flames of the fire.

After a while, she looked around until she noticed Leah sitting on Quil's lap. I noticed as astonishment crossed her face, and then she quickly masked her surprise. Shaking her head slightly, she breathed out an almost silent, "Figures he'd be seduced by the Dark Side."

"They've been together about three months." Again, I felt compelled to fill the silence. Moron!

"That's too bad."

"Why? You don't know her? Maybe they are good together," I lied. Leah was a complete bitch, and I theorized that Quil must have killed someone in a former life to have imprinted on her. I had the misfortune of fucking her once while she was wallowing after Sam left her for Emily. The sex wasn't memorable, but I definitely recalled the regret of both Sam and Quil beating the shit out of me when they found out.

"Please," she scoffed. "I spent every summer growing up here. Flower was always a fucking bitch, rivaled only by Jake's sisters." Bella looked over to where Leah was sitting. The cunt was staring at us unabashedly, trying unsuccessfully to shoot laser beams through her eyes at Bella. Bella merely smiled wryly and gave her a wink. I had no doubt that if females had the ability to phase, Leah would be a snarling piece of fur at the moment. Thank fuck for small favors because if I had to share a pack mind with the cunt, I would fucking kill myself. Turning to look back at me Bella smiled, "Yeah, same old bitch, just a different day." I had to applaud her bluntness. Most girls tried to be either the girl next door or the hooker down the street around people they didn't know. She didn't seem to give a flying fuck about pretenses.

"Flower?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

She chuckled, "Yeah, a nickname I have for her. Pretty, huh? You should start calling her that." I could hear Seth growling at her from where he sat next to Leah. However, Quil was chucking along with Jake and Embry, while Jared and Sam looked as confused as me.

"Well," she said as she rose to her feet, brushing the sand off that spectacular ass of hers. "It was nice not getting to know you. I'd say I'll see you 'round but ... you know." Her tone was mirthful, but her dark eyes belied the playfulness she was trying to portray. I thought about shaking her hand as I had so rudely refused to earlier, but my lameness meter started going off and saved me the embarrassment.

As she walked past me, she tousled my short hair, like a dog. Fuck if I didn't have to swallow a purr that threatened to slip out, as in my head my wolf was laying on his back, begging her to stroke our stomach. It took real restraint not to watch her walk away, as I could just imagine the view of her ass sashaying away from me. I tried to discreetly adjust the semi in my cutoffs, but in my peripheral vision I caught the death glare Embry was giving me. I couldn't figure why the fuck he was mad. I had set off to blow her off, and instead I'm the one who ended up feeling dismissed. Fuck! How did I grow a vagina in the span of an hour?

Munching on a bag of delicious cookies I swiped at dinner, I listened for the rest of the night as she talked to Jake and Embry. She gave the couples a wide berth, which I found funny. Leah kept glaring at her, silently screaming 'Keep the fuck away' but looking oddly offended that Bella was ignoring her so completely. Quil seemed saddened by his imprint's hostility, but was otherwise preoccupied in an animated argument with Jared about the pros and cons of the designated hitter in baseball. This is why some people had to imprint! They would NEVER get laid otherwise. Fucking idiotic bastards!

After a while, Billy and Old Quil actually started telling the legends, at least the public versions of them. This shocked me, but Jake saw my bewilderment and said too low for human ears that she had heard them all before, and for us not to share tonight might seem odd to her. Seemed weird to me, but this clearly fell in the 'I don't give a flying fuck' category. Bella sat and listened intently to all the stories, occasionally looking around every now and then to gauge others reactions to them.

After the stories were over, she started getting ready to leave, giving Old Quil and Billy a hug. When she offered to take Old Quil home, Billy was quick to say he and Jake would do that, much to Old Quil's relief. Apparently, there was a story there. Quil pried himself from Leah to go give her a hug, and Jake tried to squeeze the shit out of her with one of his lame bear hugs. I chuckled when Embry got an awkward, one-armed hug. He was cemented in the friend-zone, whether he wanted to admit it or not.

Apparently Old Quil had given the dog to Bella as a gift, as she mentioned she would be back tomorrow to get him. When she stooped down to say goodbye to the mutt, he rolled over on his back so she could rub his stomach. My wolf snarled at that, and tried to get me to rip the dog out from under her hand and take its place. I have been reduced to being jealous of a dog. A fucking dog!

Sighing heavily, I did a mental face palm. Yeah, avoiding Bella Swan was fucking worth a hell of a lot more than the Sprint for two weekends!

A/N Thanks for reading!