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

Chapter Three

Paul's POV

Staring out over the waves, I felt my brothers closing in. Sam's hostility and anger could not be cut off despite my human form. Jared's concern was duller, making it harder to focus in on what exactly he was concerned about.

But I had a pretty good guess.

Tossing a stone to the water below, I turned to see Sam and Jared coming towards me. Sam had his teeth bared, drool dripping from his fangs.

Well, damn.

I might be a sick son-of-a-bitch, but even I wasn't crazy enough to take on a ticked off Alpha.

Phasing would take too long, so I simply kneeled before my Alpha, eyes averted, palms on my bent knees in the most submissive pose possible while human.

Sam phased midstride, the growl sounding even worse coming from his human form. Without even bothering with pulling on his shorts, he grabbed me by the neck and lifted me to my feet. I didn't bother fighting, not wanting to anger him further. I was amazed he'd even been able to phase since a moment ago he looked pissed enough to fling me over the cliffs without a second thought.

"You really screwed up this time, fucker," Jared commented from behind Sam.

I glanced over at him, making sure not to raise my gaze too high, and saw him leaning against a tree, arms crossed over his chest.

Sam growled louder in agreement, his fingers digging into my neck. Breathing became a little difficult, but I refused to lift my hands to fight him off.

"Son of a bitch," Sam snarled, throwing me to the ground.

I inhaled gratefully, coughing at the roughness in my throat.

"You… are so… fucking… lucky," Sam spat between growls.

Deciding that silence was my best bet, I simply looked up at his shoulder. Meeting his gaze right now would be like signing my own death certificate.

"That girl… has been through enough… without you telling her… how to kill herself!" Sam roared the last part, not quite managing to reign in his snarling between words.

Jared flinched at the anger in our Alpha's voice, but I remained still. Showing respect was one thing. I'd be damned if I was going to show fear as well. Sam began pacing in his agitation, his eyes narrowed on me the entire time.

"I promised Charlie I would keep her safe. Then you go and say some asinine thing like that? You're lucky I don't throw you off these cliffs," Sam spat, finally calmed down enough to speak in complete sentences.

I chanced a glance up at him, meeting his eyes for the first time. When he didn't immediately go for my throat, I knew the worst had past.

"You're going to fix this, Paul. And I know just the way to do it," Sam said with a sinister grin.

Shit.

Sam's POV

I sat at the kitchen table, staring at the opening to the hallway. Jared and Kim were whispering to each other at the other end. Kim would giggle every time Jared nuzzled her neck. My fingers twitched as I fought the urge to hold Emily who was seated beside me.

The Alpha in me was still pissed off about one of my wolves defying my wishes. My wolf needed our mate to help calm us down, but I knew I would have to wait. Trying to ignore the sweet scent of my mate, I focused my attention to the sounds coming from the guest room.

"Come on, Swan. You don't wanna upset Emily by not coming to dinner, do you?" Paul wheedled from the back room.

I glanced over at my mate to find her glancing nervously at the hallway. Knowing her as I did, I knew she was fighting with everything within her not to jump up and run down the hallway to make sure Paul wasn't abusing "poor Bella".

"You know, the least you could do is actually show me you're paying attention. All it takes is a look, Swan. Hell, I'll even settle for a blink," Paul insisted testily.

I hid my smirk behind my hand when Paul sighed heavily a moment later.

"I tried to play nice, Swan, but you've given me no other option," Paul warned right before there was a sharp inhale from Bella.

I tensed, prepared to go find out what the hell that idiot was up to when he walked through the doorway, a surprised Bella thrown over his shoulder. He walked over to his usual seat, pulled it out, and plopped Bella into it. She stared up at him, her eyes wider than usual in her thin face, as he took the seat right beside her.

"Paul!" Emily scolded, her voice high.

"What?" Paul frowned, piling food on his plate.

I choked on a laugh as Emily stared at him, too shocked to do anything else.

"Eat, Em," I said, nudging her plate towards her.

Bella continued to stare at Paul as he began shoveling food in his mouth, though Paul was completely oblivious to her. Or so it would seem.

He suddenly stopped mid bite to gently lean over and place Bella's fork in her hand. He took a moment to make sure she wasn't going to just let it fall before going back to his food, completely oblivious again.

Gradually, the sound of utensils on plates began to be drowned out by conversation. Kim and Emily started talking about what Kim would do after high school. Jared put in his opinion occasionally between bites. Paul nodded when asked a question, but other than that, he focused on his food. I simply sat back and watched, most of my attention divided between Emily and Bella.

By the time Paul, Jared, and I were on our second plate, Emily and Kim were finished, but Bella hadn't even touched her plate. She just sat there, staring at Paul. Eventually, Paul started slowing down and noticed she was still staring at him.

"Eat, Swan," Paul ordered, surprisingly gentle.

Bella looked down at her plate of pasta salad as though it was the first time she'd noticed it. Looking back at Paul, she tentatively stabbed a noodle and brought it to her mouth. Paul watched her the entire time, his attention as riveted on her as hers had been on him just moments before. His eyes followed her fork as she stabbed another noodle, ate it, stabbed another, ate it, and on and on until her plate was nearly half empty.

Reaching to take her fork from her, Paul smiled slightly.

"Thank you," Paul murmured, putting her fork down on the table.

I looked over at Emily to find her watching Bella with a watery smile. Catching her eye, I gave her a slow wink, causing her smile to grow.

Something told me this punishment of Paul's was going to turn out to be good for both him and Bella.

Paul's POV

I set her fork down beside her plate, still giving her a small smile. Her brown eyes weren't nearly as vacant as before, with a small spark of life causing the previously frozen chocolate to melt ever so slightly. With her brown eyes still focused on mine, she reached out, picked her fork back up, and resumed eating.

My chest tightened unbearably until I thought for sure I was having a heart-attack right there in Emily's kitchen. I struggled to breathe as she watched me, those wide eyes intent on mine, and suddenly, I felt her. The vast emptiness, the despair, the utter loneliness, all of it was there for me to witness. The feeling of drowning with no way of knowing which way was up consumed me.

As suddenly as the feeling had come on, it was gone, and I was able to breathe again.

"Damn, Swan," I mumbled.

There might have been a flash of confusion across her face, but it was difficult to tell. Instead of dwelling on it, I started thinking of ways to bring her out of the pit she seemed incapable of getting out of.

In that moment, I made it my mission to put life back in those frozen chocolate eyes of hers.