A/N: Kudos to my beta, ShadowPast620. Hugs and kisses to my reviewers, thank you. :)
Paul had never seen his girl look so happy before, at least not for such an extended period of time. The entire drive back to the Rez and she was bright eyed, practically bouncing in her giddiness. A far change from the trip there when she had huddled in her seat, either looking out the window fearfully or casting him sly looks of weariness.
Urchin had seemed happy when the group decided to forgo the ice cream trip. Paul had asked her several times before leaving Port A if she was sure. He'd happily drive over to the ice cream shop and get her something, but Urchin had indicated a firm 'no' the first time, patting her stomach in what he assumed meant she was full.
The second time he asked her, her smile had wilted a little bit and her 'no' wasn't as firm. Paul had never back tracked a response so fast in his life, quickly agreeing that she was right, they'd just make themselves sick if they tried to shove more shit in their mouths.
She didn't even seem to mind the hand he had placed on her thigh, going so far as to pet it and making Paul fantasize about all sorts of wicked crazy shit he wanted to do once they got home. He had zero control over his itchy fingers. The rat bastards kept trying to move inward and upwards, her leg becoming a treasure map to the promised horny land.
Paul's good mood came to an abrupt halt when they finally pulled into his driveway; Sue's car a beacon of shit to come. He tried not to scare Urchin when he angrily popped his jeep into neutral and yanked the safety brake up. He jumped out, ignoring his late night guest and went around to help Urchin, the poor girl staring at the car and not paying attention to the door handle her hand was fumbling for.
"Come on, Urchin. I'm going to take you inside and then come out here to deal with them. I promise, you don't have to be around to hear this shit at all, okay?" Paul told her, carefully extracting her from the jeep. She had yet to break eye contact with Sue's form standing on the porch, but when she briefly registered the word 'them' her eyes turned to the other end of the porch where Sam was leaning on the banister.
The awfully eeping sound she made caused both Sam and Paul to shudder, the latter one suddenly holding a clinging imprint. Kicking the jeep door closed with his boot, he carried Urchin to the house, refusing to say shit to the two trouble makers as he unlocked the front door and went inside even when both of them said hello to Urchin.
"Urchin, look," he tried to explain when detangling her arms from around his neck. "I have the key right here in my pocket. I'm gonna lock the door and neither one of them will come in, okay? You'll be safe inside while I go kick them off my property."
Gently grabbing both of her legs wrapped around his waist, he tried to free himself, but no sooner were they loose and he moved to work on her arms when the legs came back to holding on the waist. Had any female other than his imprint been trying to pull this shit, Paul would've carelessly just thrown them onto the couch.
Urchin, however, would never be physically handled like that as long as Paul still had full control of his senses.
Squatting down in front of the sofa, he grabbed her legs again, pulling them apart and then bracing his knees on top of her thighs to keep her pinned so he could use his arms to remove her arms and hold her in position.
"Urchin, you are not leaving here with them nor are they fucking coming inside, okay? But I have to go out there and hear whatever shit they feel is so goddamn important to discuss at ten thirty at night before I give 'em the boot," he told his saddened girl as he took a huge step away.
Making a fast beeline for the front door, Paul couldn't decide if she was scared for him or herself, that goddamn heart wrenching eeping noise she kept making while struggling to stay attached to his torso. He was also having a bitch of a time keeping his inner whiney wolf at bay, the traitorous shitter telling him to ignore the fuckwads outside and just stay here, inside and on the couch with Urchin.
"Well, well, well, daddy Alpha," Paul drawled out as he opened the front door to step outside. "This seems awfully fucking familiar: You, trying to jump my shit before I can even park my goddamn jeep."
Sam eyed the angry man carefully. "Calm down, man. We just-"
"Thanks for that, douchebags!" Paul said sarcastically cutting off whatever Sam had been about to say. "Thanks for ruining my perfect night and scaring the ever living shit out of Urchin for no goddamn reason!" Paul thundered once the front door had clicked shut behind him. He told himself he was breathing heavily due to anger and part of it was. The other part was from his own distress in needing to leave her like that, even if it was only for a few minutes.
Sue had already taken a step forward to greet Paul and quickly retreated to stand closer to Sam, who had stood to his full height in preparation for the angry wolf.
"Paul, we tried to call you, but you never answered your phone," Sam explained.
"Because I was in the goddamn movie theater," Paul spat out as if the answer was obvious.
Sighing, Sam took a step forward, trying to gauge the easiest way to diffuse Paul. "I didn't find out about that until after I heard Collin's thoughts which is why we came over to just wait for you."
"Why didn't you just call again?" Paul asked, holding his ground and eyeing his Alpha disdainfully. "Or wait until I called you?"
"You almost never call back, Paul," Sam said tiredly, halting his movements when catching a glimpse of Paul's wolf flash through his eyes.
"You knew I was on tonight. We could have met up then," Paul said, his emotions rippling violently in both his voice and stance.
Having to share a pack consciousness sucked most of the time. To be judged on your emotions was an unavoidable mind rape. The only valuable thing about it was that whoever had the misfortune to read Paul's thoughts also phased, saving Paul from having to wait before he could tear into them.
If Sam had just fucking waited, Paul wouldn't need to do this verbal Dr. Phil shit.
"Paul, please," Sue stepped in, knowing this conversation was already going to be stressful. "Don't be so angry at Sam. I was the one who insisted we talk face to face, not him."
"And you!" Paul nearly shouted, turning his scowling face to Sue. "I have no idea at what point Urchin hit her threshold earlier today, but you've lost any respect I may have had at your intended goodwills."
Sue freely gaped at the young man she had known most of his life. He was often brash and spoke his mind freely, unmindful of consequences. Yet, even in most circumstances, his sarcasm held some respect for the elder tribe members. "You heard what Dr Hamlin said," Sue whispered, her voice quickly gaining volume. "That poor girl has been living in an abusive life!"
Paul's lips curled into a viscous smile. "Yeah, I kinda fucking figured that shit out when I found her in a goddamn sewer."
"She needs help," Sue demanded in a tone that clearly said help was lacking.
"She has it!" Paul yelled back and stalked down the stairs, off the porch and into the yard. He whirled around suddenly, glaring at his accuser as he jabbed himself in the chest. "Me, I'm her help. I take care of her wounds, and buy her clothes, and feed her, and in case you fucking forgot, we just got back from the movies."
Why couldn't they understand? His urchin could ask for whatever she wanted and he'd do what he could to get it for her. The thing everyone seemed to fucking forget was that she never asked! She hadn't asked for new clothes or food and while he still would've provided her with that simple shit unasked, the fact was that he had made his girl happy. She had everything she needed!
Paul then thought about the date they had just had. His urchin lit up like a fucking Christmas tree from having gone out to the movies tonight. She had slunk down slightly when some people had tried to sit nearby, but Paul had made sure they moved. He had stretched his boot clad feet into the seats in front of them, slurped his soda, and chewed popcorn loudly until the people moved to a different section of the theater.
He almost laughed out loud when he recalled Regina's look of disgust at his behavior. He thought for sure she'd get Brady to move as well until the young wolf had caught on and explained that Paul was just trying to get the others to leave.
The brief memories of the movie calmed him slightly before Sue opened her damn trap to talk.
"Nobody is saying differently, Paul, but she's going to need psychological help as well. The poor thing refuses to talk, probably because she's terrified to do so and not just about what her life was like, what she was forced to do and be a part of, but because she's probably snapped."
Snapped? Paul was about to show this group just what a snapped mind looked like if they didn't shut the fuck up!
"There is not one damn thing wrong with her!" He yelled out as if volume would emphasis his point. "You guys keep saying there is, that she's all fucked up and that you want to help her, but all I see is that every time you approach her, she fucking flips out and wants no part of it! And yeah, she might get fucking scared when I raise my voice or shit, but who the hell wouldn't? Only a fucking stupid person would pretend like everything was okay when someone three times their size starts yelling. Her behavior is normal."
"Paul…you can't go through something like Arial has been through, multiple sexual brutal assaults, and just shrug it off as a bad day," Sue exclaimed taking a step to the stairs. The warmth of Sam's hand falling on her shoulder alerted Sue to the fact that she should probably stay where she was.
"And you can't fucking change her past." Paul gritted his teeth and dropped his voice, the pain and anger still sharp in his words. "Go ahead, talk about that shit until you're blue in the face and at the end of the day, what are you left with? A person who has been hurt and is forced to relive every horrid detail because some twat nurse wants to talk about it!"
Sue was unaffected by the insult, but Sam took offense. "You are out of line here," the Alpha intoned. "Sue is doing everything she can to make sure Arial can get the medical attention she has been denied for so long."
"Oh my fucking Christ!" Paul raged. "Are you fucking deaf and blind, too, Alpha? Urchin is not sick. She is not in pain, nor does she require any treatment right now."
"How do you know she doesn't want to be seen by a doctor, Paul?" Sue relentlessly questioned. "Have you asked her?"
"I don't have to fucking ask her! She saw you and flipped the fuck out which tells me she doesn't want to see a doctor."
Why the fuck were they hounding over this topic? Urchin didn't need more goddamn strangers in her life, she needed the stability of her mate only and Paul knew he was succeeding on that end. It may not be fucking normal by any means, but he sure as fuck wasn't normal to begin with.
"She's just scared, Paul," Sue continued to ramble, only fueling his ire. "She acted the same way around you the first couple of days, too. Once she gets to know us and understand that we are helping her, she'll be more relaxed."
"No!" Paul snarled, his face shimmering with the wolf. "You can't poke and prod her, telling her that it's fucking normal and expect her to roll over with welcoming arms."
"Did you not see what she did as soon as you got home?" Sue asked shrilly.
"Yeah, she tried to get the fuck away from you two!"
"No, Paul, she has somehow appointed you as the lesser of several evils. Arial feels upset around Sam because as a man, he poses a threat to her much like I hear she acts around the rest of the guys. She's upset around me because I had to take blood work, but she doesn't get as overanxious when in the presence of females. However, she would choose to be near you as opposed to anyone else."
Paul tried to process Sue's logic for less than three seconds before the scorn rolled out of his mouth. "Not wanting to stand next to other imprints sure as fuck doesn't mean she's messed up and if you're telling me she should be scared shitless of me, but is instead happy to be around me, I think you've missed the whole fucking aspect of imprinting, Sue."
"You aren't bonding as a couple, Paul; you are being bonded as a…a…safety net. It could have been any one of the guys to keep her in their homes and she would have the same instincts. Arial is just trying to survive and you've somehow proven to her that you are the safest person to be around when she's feeling attacked."
"You think she's using me?" Paul asked, a moment of disbelief throwing him out of his rage before the true meaning barreled back, fury riding high.
Sue knew he was angry, but was unaware of the magnitude of the rage about to be released. Pleadingly, she continued to speak. "Not intentionally, but yes, I think Arial is using you. And I'm not saying your relationship with her will never work, but she needs to learn how to-"
"Leave. Right the fuck, NOW!" Paul bellowed, dropping to his knees as the final shreds of control seeped away.
Sam had been loath to interfere with Sue's urgent request to talk directly to Paul. He knew Paul would phase and soon, but the human was still fighting the shift much like they all had the first time. It hurt like a bitch to hold the inner form down and he was rather proud of Paul. Usually that boy's temper exploded the wolf outward like a water balloon hitting the pavement from a fifty foot drop, but now, as the angry man allowed his inner form to consume him, Sam stepped in to protect the innocent.
The growls and snarls leaving Paul's wolf mouth were only a small portion to show Paul's lethalness. The canine's lips were pulled back to expose the full line of fangs and gums as heavy lines of saliva dripped from the jaws. The creature's ears appeared to be almost nonexistent, stretched back and down over the skull
Picking up a startled Sue, Sam jumped over the porch, striding quickly to place her in the car.
"Drive away, Sue, please. I can't talk to him with you nearby right now," Sam said hurriedly before turning away. "I'll talk to you tomorrow."
He had walked over earlier to meet Sue and wait for Paul, not bothering to wear any type of shoes, but donning a shirt and jeans for Arial's sake. He now stripped quickly to deal with the angry wolf, ignorant of Sue's car leaving and trying not to wince once he entered the whirlwind of Paul's mind.
"Get the hell away from me, Alpha," Paul thought as he slowly advanced to Sam. "My house, my land, my right."
"To ask for Sue to leave, yes. But not to demand your Alpha to go," Sam replied softly before resorting to a more earthen tone. "Stand down, Paul."
Paul had heard more than enough of the commanding bullshit and was unwilling to play nice. "The fuck I will! All of that shit you just made me listen to, it's fucking bullshit." Every word was only a thought, however the body of a wolf Paul currently inhabitated reacted to the emotion, growls and snarls echoing loudly in the near dark yard.
"Perhaps," Sam agreed diplomatically, shifting approach tactics. "But others will talk about Arial as well. About her fear of strangers or people trying to talk to her."
Talk about Urchin? Strangers? Friends? His pack mates? Paul reeled at the idea. Fuck the world and its shitty ideas of what was right. If they felt high and mighty for making fun of his girl then they weren't even worth the shit they made.
"She did fine at the movies," Paul stressed. "Look."
Replaying the exact scene he had thought of earlier, Paul was unable to focus on the emotional read from Sam concerning his thoughts on the event. And he truly didn't really give a fuck either. He knew his urchin had thoroughly enjoyed herself even if other people had startled her. Urchin wasn't looking to Paul for an apology when he wanted to rip the arms off of some fuckwit who sat too close and he sure as hell didn't need one from her if a stranger's closeness bothered her.
"I'm not saying she didn't," Sam cut in, his mental resonance echoing loudly, "but don't you want to help her as best as you can? Don't you want her to be rid of whatever demons taunt her?"
"Don't ask me such a goddamn stupid question, Alpha. Of course I do, but it's not going to happen overnight and you keep acting like it's taking too long."
"I'd be more concerned if she was suddenly okay, Paul. Sue was only trying to express her opinion based on both a medical stand point and an imprint one. Arial is already going to feel exceptionally attached to you, however, that won't make her past problems disappear. All of us want your relationship to succeed. That is why we push."
"Did you ever stop to fucking think that maybe not everyone needs to be treated for their past? It's not like my girl has just rolled over and let me fuck her senseless. There are plenty of things we need to still work out and I would think that if I can take the fucking time to make sure it's working, the rest of you would back the fuck off and let it be."
"It's not a one man job, Paul," Sam projected more forcefully than he intended. "Let us, as the pack, help."
"By sending Urchin to some shrink? No fucking way!"
"No, not like that. At least not right away and never, if she really doesn't want to go. This weekend, bring her to my house. I'll have all the guys and imprints there and we can show her there is no reason to be afraid."
"You want to place her in a room full of abnormally large guys and teach her? Are you fucking nuts?" Paul asked rhetorically.
"You said it yourself, she did okay at the movies, and at my house you'll be very close to oversee and assure her there is nothing to fear."
Both wolves stared at each other, Sam waiting for Paul to run through all of the possible what ifs and scenarios of what could go wrong at a get together. Carefully, Sam inserted scenes and suggestions of unity amongst the wolves; of the family bonding that took place when they gathered as a whole to take comfort from each other's presence.
Paul wasn't stupid nor was he easily manipulated, but the subliminal messages Sam left as a hazy mist seeped into his unconscious nonetheless, giving Sam the break he wanted.
"I'll fucking ask her, but if she says no at all, the subject is closed! I'm not about to force her ass to go anywhere she doesn't want to, you got that?" Paul demanded uneasily, wondering why such a shitty fucking idea felt like the best decision.
"For the sake of this gathering, yes, I'll agree and I'll also talk to Sue about her ideas and ask her to slow down if you agree to apologize to her."
"Not like I think she deserves a fucking apology, but I'm pretty damn sure Leah will be all over my ass about it once she hears what went down between her mom and me."
"Well…I'll try to distract her with the idea of the party. She really likes Arial which is odd because half the time she hates me and she's my imprint," Sam joked, hoping the levity would ease Paul's lingering tension.
"Fine," Paul huffed, finally sitting down on his massive haunches. "Can you please get the fuck out of here now? I still have to go back in and comfort Urchin from this shit."
With a small grumble, the black wolf took off into the surrounding forest. Any other night he would've argued relentlessly with the hothead about his dismissive attitude. However, Sam knew he wasn't going to win anything with Paul and the fact that Leah would be over the moon at the thought of hosting a welcoming party for Arial made him happy.
Assuming Leah didn't try to first kill him for the Sue mishap.
The yelling and shouting and screaming and then…Bella tried desperately not to whimper or make any sounds as to where she was hiding when the yard erupted into scary monster noises. She had been terrified to see Sue waiting for them, but then the Paul man had left her to go outside to talk.
Talk about what, though? She had heard the echoes of yells and while she couldn't make out the words, she sure as heck knew anger when she heard it. The Sam person hadn't looked upset and Bella wondered if he was yelling, too. Was he asking the Paul man to hand her over?
Bella completely forgot about the Sam man when a monstrous roar shook the house and footsteps clattered across the front porch. Not even willing to see what could have caused such a sound, she slunk off the couch and bolted for the basement, choosing the darkest corner to hide.
Even in her fear induced haze, Bella clearly heard when the front door closed and footsteps moved across the house. When the basement door was swung widely open and the Paul man called out an inquisitive "Urchin?" she was too scared to move, yelping when the blanket was unexpectedly pulled away from her.
"Shit! Jesus, I'm sorry, Urchin. Come on, let's go back upstairs. It's too fucking cold to be down here at night."
It might have been a little breezy down here, but Bella much preferred shivering in cold rather than shivering in fear. She really, really didn't want to go upstairs where there were windows and whatever had been making those growly noises could see them. It didn't seem to be an option, though, considering the Paul man had picked her up and was walking towards the stairs.
"See? You're fucking freezing from being down there," he said mistaking her trembles. "They're all gone now and won't be back tonight."
Bella didn't even try to think about that as she was placed on the couch. She tried to make herself even smaller and less visible from any windows by wrapping arms tightly around her legs and tucking her head downwards. She felt him sit down next to her, his hand reaching out to curl around and rub her shoulder.
"Urchin, you're starting to scare me a bit with all this cowering shit. I thought you were just cold, but are you scared?"
Heck yes she was scared! Very much so. Obviously the Paul man had seen whatever monster or beast was outside and while he may have been able to chase it away, those things always came back. He was so tall, the creature could probably see him from wherever it was and once they went to sleep, they'd be attacked or eaten.
"What can I do to help, Urchin?" He asked softly, making her think.
He had already said they couldn't stay in the basement, that hiding spot was out. And since he was so big, Bella doubted that they could both hide in her closet. The only thing left was to try and make them unnoticeable, although, if the growly thing was a true monster, it really didn't matter where they hid.
Slowly lifting her head to turn and stare at the Paul man, she studied his expression, mood and stance very carefully. He seemed to mean what he was asking, no trace of anger on his face or eyes. Actually he looked like he wanted her to rub his hand in comfort or something.
She knew that if she started to move, he probably wouldn't do so himself unless angry. Carefully she unfolded her form, trying not to look near any of the windows and biting her lip when the Paul man had to help untangle the blanket from around her.
He still didn't talk when she shifted her own position and the tried to pull him down on the couch. Bella wasn't stupid, she knew she couldn't really move him, but was hoping he'd let her lead him this way. He seemed to be shocked, stuck in his sitting position and she found it easier to crawl into his lap and kiss his lips; an action that turned him from a statue into a participating recipient.
Bella had meant to lure the Paul man into lying down. Instead, she got caught up in the kiss, her mouth opening when his tongue ran across her lips softly and a hand was touching her…
His hands and lips were doing things she knew of, but had never received pleasure from. Bella forgot all about her hiding plans as she felt her hips being guided to press closer into him, something not a hand rubbing between her legs and causing a weird whimper noise.
"Shh, Urchin. Doesn't this feel good?" He asked, pulling away to kiss her jaw and make his way to her ear.
This…what was this? She thought half heartedly, not caring and shifting awkwardly to find more of it. Lost completely to the feel of lips moving down her neck, she surrendered, unaware of the Paul man eventually pulling her down and then shifting so that she was laying on top of him.
The pleasure between her legs intensified and then subsided as her hips shifted. In a move of desperation to find the contact, Bella jerked awkwardly, vaguely aware of a chuckle and another hushing sound as warm hands held her hips to help find that spot that wanted pressure…
She gave up trying to figure out what was happening. Her body said this was right and her senses didn't tell her there was any danger. Let him do this and be happy! The blanket shifted again when the Paul man tugged it from her and threw it down, Bella began to remember the importance of needing to hide.
Blearily she eyed the crumpled mess on the floor. She needed that blanket for something…to feel better about…the Paul man was making her feel pretty good somehow.
"Come here, Urchin," he murmured to her, using a hand to tilt her face back towards his, soft lips grazing across hers. It was the feel of fingers running up her side and on bare flesh that finally broke through the fog clouding her mind.
Despite being slightly concerned that she might have accidently bit his lip when she yelped, Bella continued to struggle. Relived when the arms around her loosened, she slid to the side to grab the blanket.
"Urchin?" The Paul man questioned, holding her body steady as she dangled off the couch to retrieve the blanket.
"Are you still cold?" he asked, sitting them both back up when she had the material in her hand.
Bella eeped in despair. She now had the blanket, but they were no longer hidden on the couch since the Paul man had sat up. The windows glared menacingly at her, no doubt the shadows beyond still hiding some monster.
She did feel cold and not in a way related to the ambient temperature. Bella wanted to grab Paul's hand, pull him off the couch and run away. To somewhere safe and protected where the demons and scary bear creatures couldn't hurt them. No such place existed, though, and as pathetic as it sounded, Bella wanted to hide them both under the blanket and just hold him until whatever end came.
"Urchin?" he questioned again as Bella tried to fling the blanket messily over them.
The Paul man grabbed the edges and tucked the blanket over her, the edging curling around her neck and shoulders and still leaving them out in the open. Grabbing the blanket once again, Bella pulled it up and over, her hands holding the edges tightly closed behind the Paul man's head as she plastered herself onto his chest. She had no idea if he had caught on, but thankfully he didn't ask any more questions or try to remove the flimsy shielding.
Bella didn't think she'd be able to relax until the sun came up. Clinging tightly to the Paul man underneath the protective shroud with his arms wrapped around her, she finally gave in to the weight of her eye lids, slowly dozing to the sound of his heart thumping until she was truly and deeply asleep.
Paul thought he was fucking suffocating underneath the fleece his girl had wrapped tightly around them. He had no clue in Hell as to what had scared her shitless, but damned if he was going to make a move that would wake her up and start that shit all over again.
He was late for patrol and true to form didn't give a rat's ass, making sure Urchin was truly out of it before he maneuvered himself out from underneath her. He left the blanket completely over her body, her small form curled into the warm cushions he had just vacated. Paul figured he'd leave her on the couch while he did his Rez run -Urchin seemed rather partial to sleeping on the couch—then when he got back, he'd take her to his bed where they could both comfortably stretch out.
An hour later, after Paul had checked all the nooks, crannies and piles of bunny shit –he did that just to annoy the piss out of Sam during reports— he returned home to stare at the person always on his mind.
Urchin hadn't even shifted during the time he was away and Paul was glad of that, scooping her up to take back to his bed. He was damn tired of the maniac emotional shit being thrown at him and Urchin from the pack and as he curled himself around the tiny ball her form made beside him, he tried to relax.
For a few brief minutes, she had responded to him in a way he could only hope would increase. People and werewolves alike were still biological creatures driven by three basic instincts: food, shelter and sex. The first two were covered and obviously there was more to an imprint than just endless, uncomplicated mind blowing fucking, but goddamn if that wouldn't help take the edge off a bit. He knew damn well he could give her everything a lover required, the problem was, Urchin had yet to allow Paul to show her.