BLOODWIND: A SOUL'S WORTH
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Paul had not seen his imprint for the rest of the school week neither had Embry seen his. Apparently, they caught the flu while going for a midnight swim the day El kissed Paul. If Embry's imprint also hadn't been struck with this "flu" Paul would have insisted on going to check on her. He knew the family was trying to keep their distance and she might feel the kiss might put him in danger (Paul and Leah talked during one of their patrols when he accidently let it slip into his thoughts). He wanted to tell her he would take that risk. When the school week was over both Cullen's and wolves tried to visit the manor again and were denied by human guards that were added recently. They wanted no visitors and anyone who tried to forcefully come in would be tazzed and arrested. The Covinus's family soon turned cold towards them no eye contact no conversations of any kind.
Embry at some point tried to intimidate Chanz and she kneed him in the balls promising castration upon the next time he approaches her or any of her family members and this threat was also for all the others Vamp Wolf even human. Seth was too busy laughing at him to be pissed at him intimidating his imprint. Paul was being blamed for the coldness. Leah (surprisingly) stood up for him by pointing out they were cold to begin with and that their Mafia relations are the cause. They all understood but were still pissed. When the two female Corvinus came back to school they followed their siblings in the art of cold shoulders and silent treatment. Though each supernatural had tried and failed to coerce the secluded family into conversation their efforts proved futile.
Nearly 3 weeks had passed and each of them getting frustrated. Eventually Paul got frustrated, the nightmare was sneaking back into his head. He was thankful that this whole time it seemed to be locked in the back of his head (not that he knew literally). This time though he only got select scenes, but was still enough to make him wake at night drenched in sweat. This wasn't not helping his mood.
He cornered El when she went to the bathroom on her own and pushed her against the wall. For a moment, he thought he might have hurt her but she barley flinched and looked up at him in surprise. El and the rest of the family had been keeping an eye on him subtly. Dark circles were now showing, he wasn't sleeping well. She hadn't expected him to corner her but now would be a good a time as any to replace the memory seals that were slowly corroding away due to his shifter genes . She stood on her toes to reach him unlike the last time when she was wearing heeled boots but before she could even graze his lips he pushed her back hard. She was shocked. She thought he would jump at chance at another kiss. Instead his eyes were blazing. The lack of sleep from the short nightmares were not helping reining in his temper. Shit. "P-Paul" she spoke as softly as possible and forced fear into her voice hoping it might calm him down. When he heard her voice say his name with such fear he breathed. He didn't want her to be scared just to understand that she was his everything.
He closed his eyes and put his forehead to hers. The exhaustion catching up with him. It had been a week since he had gotten any sleep and over 3 weeks since the most amazing kiss his ever had and two and a half weeks of the cruellest punishment. El heard soft foot steps down the corridor she could tell they were not human so she allowed him to draw whatever peace he needed from her. She wanted to tell him she understood his pain. It may have been well over 10 000 years but she was still plagued by those events she had set in motion.
She could hear the screams and pleas as she tortured them, she could still feel her heart aching breaking from loss just as she could feel the burning hatred for those who betrayed her and she could almost taste their blood pooling in her mouth.
He wouldn't understand. He would look at her like a monster if she told him those nightmares were memories of a former best friend, that she did do all those things he saw and most probably felt. She took a deep breath trying to reign in her own emotions. It was long ago, she has done her best to repent for what she had done, whatever fate held for her because of that night, she deserved all the pain that came her way. The scars on her body reminded her that karma was a bitch especially to immortals. "Paul" she spoke louder this time. It was time to lock those memories away, he didn't deserve this, unlucky as he was for imprinting on her and that her sadistic EX husband liked to remind her of all her sins and that she could only be loved by him and vice versa. It wasn't fair to torture the poor shapeshifter for something he couldn't control.
She touched the sides of his face. She knew from the movies they ran a slightly above normal temperature to humans, so she wasn't surprised by his warmth in-fact she embraced it. She caressed his cheeks with her thumbs in a soothing rhythm. He looked at her. If they had met when she was human she might have flinched back. He looked so RAW as if he just handed her his heart on a silver platter and was begging her to take it. She took a deep breath and ignored the look and tried to kiss him again. He pulled back sharply "NO" he snarled. El had to pull in her wolf to keep from snarling at him in return. She was the female Alpha dammit. Instead she hit her head against the wall and slid down. He was making this harder than it had to be. "Why it's only a kiss" aaand that was the wrong thing to say. He snapped at her his eyes blazing his body shaking slightly. "Only a kiss?". Oops. "to you maybe but to me". there it was again that raw emotion making its way into his voice speaking volumes to her. She sighed. Time to try a new tactic. "What is it Paul? If not just a kiss? It can never be more".
Lee would probably smack her upside the head for that comment but she had a feeling beating around the bush wasn't going to help the situation. It was as if he was waiting for that line and it seemed to send him further into the deep end. El took a sharp breath in Ah come on gimme a break. "What right do you have to make that decision? Why cause you mafia" he looked at her angrily his emotions like a storm out in the Atlantic Ocean wild untamed uncertain. She took a deep breath he was expecting an answer and from what she could see he wasn't the only one. Alice and Jasper were not to far off listening and what she presumed was looking out for her in case the young wolfs rage took over. She had to tread carefully and somehow place the memory seals on him again, she wasn't in the mood for eavesdroppers she hated them both in her human and immortal life, she had to think of something else.
A thought came into her head. Emma was going to have her head but she had no choice this setting wasn't a good one. "You brought your bike, right?" he blinked at her. It was a random question to him she was looking at him earnestly. All he could do was nod his head. She grabbed his hands and went for the exit. He was in shock and allowed her to drag him outside the school car park, she paused a bit and found his back near the back. Perfect. Once they were there she sat on it fortunately she had on jeans and an Armani leather jacket ( I don't know if Armani makes leather jackets let's just pretend they do ok?) she had on Gucci thigh high black boots that were perfect for riding. She looked at him. Sometimes men were just stupid. She then gave him an annoyed look "Well hurry up before we get caught" that seemed to snap him out and he started the bike and made his way to the reservation.
She liked his house, it was cosy. It reminded her of the villages back in Bulgaria. Back home she believed those houses if met by the 21st century had the possibility of being warm and welcoming. His home had that same promise. It could be a family home. It had so much potential. "I know its not-" "Paul shut up its beautiful just needs a someone to see it for what it really is" she walked towards his house taking a deep breath and silent prayer.
She had already told her siblings where she was sending one of her clay birds and asked one of them to come pick her up after 3 hopefully by then she would have done what was needed. As expected they were pissed but eventually understood why she did what she did and said they would come at 3 to get her. As she went inside she looked around, the place was meticulous everything was clean the air smelt of pine and rain. She couldn't help but smile a little. The door closed with a bang startled she turned to look at him. He looked bashful. Perhaps he didn't mean to slam it. "So what you want to shout at me for?" she wanted to get this over with.
His temper now cooled down from the ride here with her arms wrapped tightly around his waist had soothed his wolf now. He was still upset with her but now he had all his thoughts in order the nightmares seemed to dull into the back of his brain. El smiled she had already replaced the seals while on the bike ( she was to busy wallowing in her own memories to do it when their foreheads were touching) and she could now see slowly his peace of mind taking over.
"Why are you ignoring us" ah well the easiest one first. Instead of answering immediately she took his hand and guided him to the couch she looked in his eyes and tried her best to look as pathetic as possible, though the way he was looking at her made her want to go out and buy a puppy. While moving a stray hair out his face she spoke softly to him as if they were a couple having a heart to heart " We are mafia Paul," he wanted to interrupt she placed her fingers on his lips. "Our world isn't all what it's made out to be.
The people in our world will take anything they consider an advantage and use it against us. If they think you and your friends, family, hell even your acquaintances in anyway can give them an upper hand they wouldn't hesitate kidnapping you and sending us back your body parts to get us to do what they want. Besides that, I know there are two native American FBI agents who just moved in here. You think that they won't make up a scenario to blackmail you into working with them. Using your mother for example? Making out charges and threatening to send you to an orphanage or put her in jail for 35 years on made up charges.
Paul, we not out to hurt you just to protect you. Your life will be put under a microscope if anyone even has an inkling that our family likes yours. It's your whole life gone. Poof into nothing. Always looking over your shoulder always. Constant nightmares." Paul looked at her. They all knew in a sense the family was protecting them but he supposed the nightmares and cold shoulders got too much for him, but he refused to give up. "Can't you leave?" she gave a short laugh that sounded so sad so hopeless "He would find and kill us I- we tried and trust me we have tried" before he could respond she stood up took off her jacket and placed her hair on the side of her left shoulder. She lifted her shirt up. Paul didn't know what he was seeing.
It was worse than Emily's face. her back was like a ripped portrait there were tattoos there once but now there were thick bear like scars that started from the tip of her neck down to her tail bone cris crossing each other. He was speechless. It looked painful "This happened the last time we tried to run my brothers and sisters were lucky they didn't get the worst. I was …. Young when this happened." She lifted her shirt down again. She looked at him, he was speechless his brows furrowed slowly he clenched his fists his breathing was short uneven. I regret that now "who was it?". She took a few steps back. Unlike her brothers were-wolf scratches which were on her back by the way,(and no not these ones she's living with her Bulgarian brothers another story for some other time) she could heal from Pauls scratches. The pain would still be there but you know it would be nice not to get scratched by a bear sized wolf thank you. So, she lied, she didn't expect this. Ok maybe she did but like for Pete sake we all deserve a moment of utter stupidity hers is just lasting longer than others. "Who had done this to you?" his voice was dark aggressive it was laced with viciousness. Her body betrayed her that moment. He smelt her arousal and his wolf growled in him.
His mate wanted him. He stood up almost predator like and was moving to her in a calculated pace, EL was frantically trying to her best to think her way out of this "You will be the death of us, you will end up putting us in our graves" well that stopped him. The young hormonal wolf stopped in his tracks. "He will kill us. We don't know who he is all we know is that he would never in a million years hesitate to kill us" Paul slumped back down on the couch.
The urge to claim her subsided as he remembered the threat. They were getting forced into this life. "I have killed many people Paul" he snapped his eyes at her she reaches into her jacket and pulls out 2 silver Desert Eagles. She dismantles them with skill his only seen in movies. Next, she pulls out several knives from her persons. He admits to smelling steel and metal but the gun powder never and the guns how the hell did they even hide them in there did her whole family have them? How come they never smelt them? He sniffed the air subtly you could smell gun oil on them it had a distinct smell about them. The knives he realised smelt like sap and were clean and surgical sharp. "We are mafia we all killed at least one person in this life time maybe more, you need to accept that blood and money are our world".
He was in shock there was a hoot outside, he still couldn't bring himself to move, she couldn't help but feel a tinge of hurt, yes she knew this might happen but deep down she had hoped it wouldn't. it hurt that she was wrong. She collected all her things and stashed them away. She then kissed him on the head "I'm sorry we couldn't be what you wanted" her voice faltered, for once since their conversation, with real emotion and she left. His brain was working overtime by the time he registered the pain and disappointment in her voice she had left. He could kick himself. He felt as if he let her down, it felt as if it was a test and he just failed miserably. She wasn't going to talk to him again and from what he could see from the family they kept no secrets from each other no doubt tonight she will tell her siblings what happened and the shock and disgust she must have seen on his face. He made his way outside hoping to still see their car to flag them down. He wasn't disgusted with her, but with the person that had made her into what she is. They might not talk often enough but he knew she the sun she brought warmth and happiness where ever she went. She was loyal and loving. Fierce like a wolf.
He punched a nearby tree several times each time opening a new wound that quickly healed. He was shocked but he also understood they had no choice. It wasn't their fault.
It wasn't her fault. Dammit he just blew it. The one chance they had at a one opening and he blew it. A howl entered the sun setting Sam was was sunset already? How long had he been out? Feeling numb and the tree looking worse than him. He quickly stripped and phased. He just hoped the others weren't there yet. He wasn't in the mood for them right now.