A/N: Please read the question posted in the A/N at the bottom of the chapter!

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

Chapter Ten

Emily's POV

The sound of bacon popping and sausage sizzling was my only company as I went about fixing breakfast for the hungry people who would be expecting food on the table once they roused from sleep. Especially since a certain werewolf had spent the night with our human guest.

I smiled to myself, happy for Paul that he had found someone to care about and who cared about him. While the pack was incredibly close, I knew it had been hard on him being the only single one of us. But Bella had changed that.

"Good morning."

Shrieking, I dropped my spatula and spun around, expecting anything from a vampire to the crazy lady who lived down the street.

I was not expecting a smiling, but sleepy Bella.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you," Bella yawned, moving to take a seat at the table.

I stared at her, knowing I should probably shut my mouth, but unable to do so.

"You… you…" I gaped, no doubt looking like a fish out of water with my mouth opening and closing.

"Emily! Are you alright?" Sam demanded, rounding the corner with Paul right on his heels.

"She… she…" I tried again, pointing at Bella.

"I scared her. Sorry, Sam," Bella murmured, blushing at all the attention.

I didn't feel so bad when Sam turned to gape at her as well. Paul, however, simply grumbled about being woken up early before shuffling to take the seat beside her. As soon as he sat, Bella leaned into him and his arm wrapped around her shoulders, pulling her close. He placed a kiss on her temple and hid a yawn in her hair before he looked up at me.

"What's for breakfast, Em?" Paul asked.

"Sausage, bacon, and eggs," I answered absently.

"Sounds good," Paul smiled, snuggling into Bella.

"Wait just a damned minute. What the hell is going on here?" Sam asked, storming around to face the two at our table.

"What?" Paul frowned, lifting one shoulder.

"Bella, not that we aren't thrilled to hear you talking again, but why now? What happened?" I asked, sensing Sam was too wound up to handle this delicately.

"I'm happy," Bella answered, as if that solved everything.

Paul grinned proudly, pulling her tighter into his embrace.

"Well, that's great, sweetie. Have you talked to your dad yet?" I asked.

"I talked to him a little yesterday," Bella nodded.

"Good. That's really good," I smiled.

"Yeah, that is good, but Bella… you need to tell us what happened that night in the woods. You don't have to do it today or tomorrow, but we need to know so we can take necessary measures," Sam insisted.

"Like what?" Bella frowned.

"We have a treaty with the Cullens. If they broke it, we need to know so we can prevent them from returning," Sam told her.

She bit her thumb as she looked from Sam to Paul, judging the two men's reactions. Paul gave her a smirk and a wink, making her smile shyly in return. Clearly, these two had a relationship that was developing much quicker than any of us had realized.

"Alright. Not today. Maybe tomorrow. I just want to enjoy a normal day, doing normal things for once," Bella pleaded.

"We can go down to First Beach. Maybe do a little cliff diving later. It'll be fun," Paul suggested, nudging her shoulder with his.

"That does sound fun. But first, breakfast. I'm starving," Bella grinned.

"It's almost ready. Just a few more minutes," I promised, turning back to the stove.

"Need any help, Emily?" Bella offered.

"I've got it, sweetie. Thank you, though," I assured her, piling up the bacon on one plate.

The conversation over breakfast was kept purposefully light with Paul and Bella teasing each other constantly. I worried when Paul told her she was so skinny a light breeze could knock her over when he put more food on her plate, but she came back by reminding him his silverware was a fork, not a bulldozer and he should really try to chew between bites. He'd simply laughed and kissed her sweetly before returning his attention to his own plate. It made me wonder if maybe the Elders had it wrong, if maybe they were imprints, just a different kind.

There were no rules to imprinting, only that the wolf be whatever the imprint needed. With that in mind, the answer was so obvious, I couldn't believe we hadn't seen it before.

Of course they're relationship was different. Of course Paul didn't have an epiphany moment where gravity shifted. Bella was completely shattered when they met, so different from Kim and myself. Paul's wolf would've recognized what Bella needed wasn't some aggressor trying to get into her pants. She had needed someone to smack her back to reality, to make her realize that life was still worth living.

She had needed Paul.

Paul's POV

"I definitely think you shocked 'em, Swan," I commented as we walked along First Beach hand in hand.

It was the first time I had ever done something so domestic, but I found I liked it.

A lot, actually.

Even if that did make me some whipped poodle.

"You think so, huh? What was your first clue?" Bella smirked, bumping her hip against mine.

"Well, I can honestly say I've never heard Em scream quite like that," I teased.

"Ew. I do not want to think about Emily screaming," Bella moaned, wrinkling her nose.

"Try hearing the moaning and groaning that goes on when those two get behind closed doors. Or having a front row seat when Sam is phased. There are some things, Swan, that you just can't un-see," I warned.

"You guys can see each other's thoughts when phased? How does that work?" Bella asked, swinging our hands between us.

"It helps us communicate when tracking leeches. The pack mind takes over and we can act as one entity," I told her.

"So Sam and Jared will see what happened last night?" Bella asked, blushing slightly.

"Probably. I doubt I'll be able to keep it out of my thoughts. You spend a lot of time on my mind, Swan," I said slyly, lifting her over a large piece of drift wood in our path.

"Oh, yeah? I don't mean to be such a distraction. Is there anything I can do to help?" Bella offered, batting her lashes up at me playfully.

"I can think of a few things," I growled, swinging her around.

"Paul!" Bella squealed, laughing as her legs wrapped around my waist.

I laughed with her, spinning faster until I knew she wouldn't be able to walk a straight line. She clutched my shoulders when I set her down, giggling like mad as she tried to gain her footing on the slick rocks.

"Easy, Swan," I chuckled, wrapping an arm around her waist.

"It's your fault," Bella accused, still giggling.

"I like it when you lean on me," I admitted, nuzzling her neck before giving the sensitive tendon a gentle nip.

She gasped softly, going languid in my arms, submitting beautifully.

I knew neither Sam nor Jared forced their imprints to submit to them the way I made Bella. Emily and Kim listened to their mates without complaint and rarely challenged them on principle alone, but I demanded more from Bella. Wolves had an instinctive need to dominate their mates and while Sam and Jared were happily with Emily and Kim simply obeying them, I wanted Bella to submit her body to me as well as her soul. She probably didn't even realize what I was doing and I damned sure wasn't going to stop. Besides, she seemed to like my teeth on her.

I knew I liked her teeth on me. The marks from last night had faded, a curse of being a werewolf. None of her marks on me would last, but I still felt the impression. Not in a physical sense, but more in a spiritual and emotional sense. It was a connection to her, something I would never regret or wish away.

I licked the skin beneath my teeth, soothing the slight sting I knew she probably felt. She sighed, leaning further into me as I tended the marks. The sudden urge to lick her all over, head to toe, was shocking and I would have been slightly concerned if I hadn't realized it was the wolf's desire. He wanted to groom and care for our mate in the best way he knew how, but I fought him back.

Now wasn't the time.

"Paul?" Bella questioned softly.

I paused, realizing I was still licking at her neck and stopped.

"Sorry," I mumbled, pulling away from her.

"It's okay. There's just someone coming," Bella indicated behind her.

Frustration raged through me as I realized I had been too caught up in her to notice the group of teenagers coming our way. If that had been a leech…

I never would've reacted in time.

She would've been gone and I wouldn't have been able to do a damned thing about it.

My wolf growled, arguing against my thoughts. He had noticed the teenagers coming, but hadn't alerted me because he knew they weren't a threat. He didn't want anything taking our attention away from our mate unless she was put in danger.

He would never let anything or anyone hurt her.

Not again.

His reassurance calmed the man and I was able to breathe easier, thankful for that other half of myself.

"Come on, Swan. Let's go this way," I suggested, pulling her off the beach and towards the trail leading to the cliffs.

It didn't take long for us to hike the trail, despite her tripping over everything from tree roots to air. I tried not to laugh at her near constant slips, but found it harder and harder as she grew more and more frustrated.

"Can't even walk a stupid straight line," Bella grumbled as we neared the top of the cliffs.

"Easy, Swan. The only one allowed to talk bad about your ass is me," I scolded her, slapping said ass.

"I wasn't complaining about my ass, Paul. I was complaining about my feet," Bella shot back.

"Those are mine, too," I insisted, spanking her again.

"Hey!" Bella cried, dancing out of reach.

I grinned at the playful smile on her face as she moved towards the edge.

"Better be careful, Swan, or you might end up at the bottom of the cliff," I warned.

She turned around, surprised to find herself so close to the edge and back away quickly. She huffed when she hit my chest, looking up to meet my gaze as I wrapped my arms around her.

"I've got you. I won't ever let you fall," I promised softly, nuzzling into her hair.

"That goes both ways, you know," Bella murmured, tilting her head further to rub her nose along my jaw.

"Too late, Swan. I've already fallen. For you," I rumbled, nipping her ear.

Our lips met, a soft exploration of each other's souls as the waves crashed below and a wolf howled off in the distance.

All together now! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWW! Such a cheesy line at the end! Hahaha! I swear, sometimes I'm embarrassed by how cheesy my characters sound… Sheesh. But, yay! Bella is almost completely normal! We've still got a few bumps in the road, of course, but we're getting there.

Alrighty… next chapter will be…. Tuesday! I think we'll have a Tuesday/Friday update schedule. I'm usually able to write at least one chapter during the in-between time, so I never fall behind. It's a good space, I think. Only four days. And I usually update around mid-night EST, so you can technically get it a day early, depending on where you live.

Oh, and, Miss Guided Angel. I am sorry to say that Edward and Charlie will not be found shacked up in a hotel room in Seattle. I don't think Charlie would enjoy a round with the disco stick. Or any stick, for that matter.

One reviewer asked when I planned on having more wolves phase. Honestly, at this point, I'm not sure I'm going to have them phase. That's not to say Jacob won't show up again, but I'm not sure it'll be as a wolf. But, I'm willing to try writing that angle if it's what you guys want, so…

QUESTION: Should more of the Quileutes phase? Is so, how many and who?

Alright, my lovelies! I will see you next time!