The Conclusion…
Chap 3: Third Times the Charm
It was Thursday morning and the pack was gathered in the kitchen, well most of the pack. Leah was sitting quietly in the living room looking out the window; she hasn't had an appetite for weeks since she and Paul seemingly broke up. Paul simply wasn't there and Leah hasn't seen any sight of him all week. Everyone kept throwing her glances and offering her food and checking on her. They're very worried.
"Leah I need you to patrol by the cliffs today."-Sam said during the impromptu meeting at breakfast.
"Ok."-she said quietly. It wasn't even her day to patrol! No arguing, no fighting, no cussing, nothing! The pack looked between each other worriedly.
It was weird. Her and Paul had been acting completely differently. Leah was quiet and agreeable while Paul was distant and unreadable. It was freaking everyone out. No yelling or phasing or death stares at each other or other members of society. It was unnatural. All this time they thought they wanted the crazy duo to calm down and act sane, but now that they have they hate it. Neither one of them was themselves and both of them were sad. Especially Leah; Paul just hid it better.
Everyone thought it was a bad idea when these two initially got together but in the two and a half years they've been together, it was weird to think of them apart. They just worked and complimented each other well. So, to see them separate was a hard blow for everyone. They liked them together and believe it or not, it helped tame both emotional wolves. Sam who'd been a little happy at Leah turning Paul down was now worried about the both of them and now wishes she'd accepted. She deserves to be happy and he'd put her through enough with his imprint debacle. Paul is one of his best friends and he wants him to be happy too. If there was a way he could help, he would.
"Bye Leah."-pack members called when she got up to go patrol.
"Bye."-she said quietly with a small wave, not even looking at them.
"Bye Leah."-Emily called. Leah ignored her. She wasn't that sad.
Everyone went to the door and watched her disappear into the woods with her head down and shoulders slumped.
"I feel bad for them."-Seth pouted. He lives with Leah so he knows just how bad it is.
"I get the feeling things will start looking up soon…"-Sam smiled.
Leah slowly walked to the cliffs and was just about to take off her shirt to phase when she saw Paul siting on the edge. She went to turn around and quietly slip out but stopped, biting her lip. She wanted to talk to Paul and patch things up and maybe even accept his ring. The dust mite because there was no way she'd wear a leech ring. She fiddled with her fingers while turning back around and slowly walked towards him.
"Hi Paul."-she said quietly. He kept his back to her and said nothing. After a pause she tried again. "Hi Paul."-she said a little louder while she walked closer to him. He said nothing and kept looking out at the ocean.
She looked for words to say but couldn't think of anything so she did the one thing she could. The one thing that was boiling up each second he just sat there with his back to her. She yelled at him.
"You know what? Sit there, ignore me, don't talk to me. I don't care. I'm trying to have a conversation with you and even apo…apolo…admit wrong doing and you won't even look at me or wave, nothing!"-she stomped her foot and shoved him. She might be apologetic but actually saying the word was another thing.
"I was wrong ok. I'm sorry."-Leah growled. Paul actually flinched at that. Leah apologizing? He almost turned around for that one. She couldn't stop now that she started. "I shouldn't have humiliated you like that, I shouldn't have turned down your proposal the way I did, I shouldn't have told you to steal. I shouldn't have ignored you all this time and forced you to talk to me. I love you Paul and I have for a while and I want to be with you, no one else. I can't even blame my fear of the stupid imprint because you were right when you said we'd both probably just fight it."-she was done being angry and was crying now and kneeled down next to him on his right side. "We're crazy. Our relationship is crazy but it works for us. We argue over nothing but we always make up without even having to say a word. But this time is different and it's scaring me. I hurt you and I can never take it back no matter how much I want to. But, I'm sorry Paul. I really am. I love you and I want to be with you and I can only hope that you still want to be with me."-she said and at his lack of motion after several moments she felt defeated and went to get up.
Paul grabbed her hand preventing her from leaving.
"Just let me go. I'll leave you alone. I won't bother you anymore."-she whispered to try and stop the knot in her throat. Paul wouldn't let her hand go but yanked her to sit next to him.
He didn't say anything and she couldn't even see all of his face because he had on a hat. He sat there holding her hand and they looked out over the ocean in strained silence for a while.
"I already know."-Paul finally said. Leah jumped at the sudden sound of his deep voice.
"You already know what?"-she asked. He turned to face her and took his hat off. Leah could see dried up tears on his face and he had red eyes. He was crying?
"Everything you said to me I already know."-he admitted, fiddling with her ring finger.
"Then why didn't' you stop me."-she complained and started grumbling under her breath. Paul smiled.
"I needed to hear it for myself Leah. Knowing it and hearing it are two different things."-he said.
"How do you know?"-she asked with a side eye.
"I had a long talk with your mom the day after you turned me down…the second time."-he started.
"I heard Leah turned you down again."-Sue started. Paul looked a mess and like he'd been in wolf form all his life, just now learning how to phase to human. His hair was wild, his eyes were red and sunken from a sleepless stressful night, his shoulders were slumped and he had worry lines all over his beautiful frowning face.
"Great."-he grumbled. He pushed the plate of food Sue had given him away and put his head in his hand. She knew it was bad.
"I had a talk with Leah. While I don't agree with how she went about it I can understand from her perspective as a wolf and as a woman why she did it."-She started. That got Paul's attention.
"Well can I be in on this secret."-he asked sarcastically, but sat back in his seat with slumped shoulders.
"Leah admitted, after thinking about it, that she was trying to find a reason to turn you down."-Sue started but Paul jumped up.
"You mean she really doesn't want to marry me?"-he exclaimed. Sue grabbed his arm and pulled him back into his seat.
"No far from it."-she laughed, shaking her head.
"I don't understand."-Paul said frustratingly. He plopped his hands on the table and tossed his head back before putting his head back in his hand. Sue, with much effort, removed his hands and shook him a little.
"Wolves imprinting is supposed to be rare, right? At the most maybe two per pack. But with this generation there were three wolves who imprinted almost right after they phased and we're not even going to count that mess with Jacob before Nessie ran off with Nahual."-Sue shivered. Imprinting is for stronger wolves but Jacob, the alpha heir, imprints on a leech? It broke when she ran away? Come on son.
"I know."-Paul shivered.
"Imprinting is normal for you wolves. Leah might hate it but that tells you without question who your soulmate is. Well, neither you nor Leah are imprinted."-she said.
"But shouldn't that be a good thing?"-Paul asked confused.
"In the land of humans yes because it's how we function. But you all aren't normal humans. Leah isn't scared that you two might imprint and leave each other anymore, she's scared that you aren't soulmates. You two don't have the imprint telling you that you're meant to be together so how does she know you are?"-she explained.
"Oh."-Paul nodded. It was starting to make sense.
"Leah might not like or completely accept what happened but she understands why Sam and Emily are married. The imprint, fate, destiny, the spirits all those things, chose them for each other and told them they were to be together. Not before Sam broke up with Leah but that's neither here nor there. Quil and Clair are going to be married because the imprint chose them as soulmates. Same with Jared and Kim. They know they're supposed to be with each other and that's that. But how do you know and vice versa, that you're meant to be together? If you were mere humans you'd know but you aren't."-She concluded.
"She's afraid I'll leave because we're not imprinted."-Paul realized. He sat back in his chair feeling a weight lifted. It drove him crazy not knowing what exactly Leah's problem was because she was acting irrational even for her.
"Yup."-Sue nodded.
"That actually makes a lot of sense."-Paul mused.
"She feels like if you were meant to be together you would've imprinted on her and since you haven't you're meant to be with someone else and she's meant to be alone because she's "a freak" of wolf nature. Because you aren't imprinted she thinks you both will get hurt in the end because you didn't really love each other like you thought. If you left for an imprint you left because of your soulmate. If you leave without an imprint it's because of her."-she grabbed his hand. Paul sat quietly, thinking that over before finally coming to a conclusion.
"That's stupid."-he said with finality. What the hell is wrong with Leah? Only she has the ability to despise imprinting and be upset that she's not imprinted all in the same breath.
"Tell me about it."-Sue chuckled.
"Your daughter is an idiot. It makes sense but she's still an idiot."-he smiled. Sue laughed.
"There is more though."-she cautioned pointing at him. She didn't look so sympathetic anymore.
"Uh oh."-he leaned back.
"You know in our tribe we take our symbols very, very seriously and the time thought and effort we put into them. It literally means everything."-she said pointedly.
"Right."-he nodded not knowing where this was going.
"One look at the ring you got her and she knew you only got it because it was the cheapest not because you actually cared or put effort into it."-Sue said pointedly, crossing her arms. Paul looked away whistling. Sue swatted his arm. "My daughter is no fool she knew it. It's not the price or the size that bothered her. Why would she want a ring or wear a ring that's supposed to be a symbol of how you feel about her when you didn't even put feeling into the ring to begin with?"-Sue asked.
"Well I got her a bigger ring like she wanted!"-he tried defending himself.
"Like she wanted? No Paul. You got her a bigger ring because you didn't care. Whatever she said was fine as long as it got the result you wanted. A yes. For goodness sakes Paul, you didn't even pick it out and didn't have decency enough to sterilize it before you gave it to her like she wouldn't be able to smell it. That ring is a symbol. Her saying yes is acceptance of the symbol. There was no effort, no emotion, no care, no thought and no time put into that ring. You deserved what you got! "-Sue scoffed. She was getting angry just thinking about it. Now she sees why Leah turned him down like she did. Especially the second time.
"I did try to clean it. I could barely stand it myself."-he scrunched his face.
"But Leah would have?"-Sue countered. Paul scratched his head knowing she was right. "Leah didn't really want a bigger ring or for you to break into a jewelry store. I still can't believe she said that. She wanted you to actually care about the symbol of your love for her and your lives intertwining forever. Breaking into a store, in her crazy world, and risking arrest and exposing our secret would prove you cared. So, when you just bought the cheapest thing that didn't help with her fear or make it seem like you loved her. And going to cold ones…goodness Paul."-Sue shook her head. He is truly stupid.
"Damn I messed up."-he sighed, slumping forward. How could he have been so stupid. He'd disrespected their relationship by offering an unsuitable symbol. He was in the wrong in many ways and he's sure Taha Aki wasn't happy with him. Leah was right. But he just wanted to be married to her and start his life with her so he rushed on the ring. The ring, the symbol.
He had to fix this.
"I think Leah will realize she went about things all wrong and she'll come around. But, you have to show her you care and present a proper symbol. Like you did with her necklace. You wanted to be with her so bad and so you gave her a symbol of your feelings with that hand-crafted necklace. That necklace is what sold Leah on finally going out with you. A symbol can be just as good as an imprint."-Sue concluded.
Paul sat pondering everything. It all made sense now. It was right in front of his face and he of all people should've been able to see it. But now he knew what he had to do.
"Thanks Sue!"-he exclaimed, smiling. He jumped up and gave her a huge hug and kiss before running for the door.
"Where are you going?"-she called from the table.
"It's going to take a while I need to get started!"-he called and in his excitement slammed the door. It broke and fell.
"Um…I'll get the pack to fix it for you right away."-he said poking his head in the doorway. He smiled and took off. Sue smiled and shook her head.
"Life as a pack mother."-she said to herself while looking down at her door.
"So I get it Leah and I'm sorry I didn't see it before now. I was such a fool and can't believe you've put up with me this long. I deserved what I got."-he said. Leah looked away at the water. She was angry Sue had told him such a private thing but was glad her mom told him about their conversation because now he understood how she felt and didn't have to try to explain it herself.
"It's no big deal. I guess I over reacted."-she said quietly. He squeezed her hand.
"It is a big deal. We're not just in love and want to get married like the normal world. We belong to a world where your soulmate is tied to you with an invisible string and can kill you just by rejecting you. But there's something you need to understand that I think you and the other wolves don't. Imprinting is for the weak Leah."-Paul said and she looked at him.
"How?"-she asked.
"They're so simpleminded and weak that they can't even find a woman on their own. They literally need the spirits to get one. They need Taha Aki to play match maker come on! They don't even imprint for love or because they want to. They imprint for stronger wolves. I feel sorry for them actually."-he shrugged.
"I guess you're right."-she said thoughtfully.
"But us? Leah and Paul? No way. You're so strong willed and determined that you became the first and only female wolf. And I might not be alpha but I'm strong as hell and individualistic. Not to mentioned we're the best-looking ones on the reservation."-he winked.
"True."-she laughed. He nudged her head with his.
"If imprinting is for the weak why would we imprint? Our love is so strong that even the spirits knew we didn't need their help. I can't offer you an imprint and I don't want to. But what I can offer you is me. What I can offer you is a marriage by choice because of love. What I can offer you is all the normal fixings of a real relationship. We argue yeah but that's our signature. The other wolves can't even bring themselves to raise their voices and are puppets to the imprint. I know you don't want a puppet and don't want to be a puppet. Our marriage will be just as strong without an imprint because we chose each other and we have the bond of being wolves. Something even the imprints can offer."-Paul finished. He leaned his forehead on hers and could hear her heart pounding.
This time, this proposal was different. The atmosphere, their feelings, their connection, everything. No, it wasn't imprinting but there was an unbreakable bond that was forming between the two and Paul could feel it.
"So I'm going to ask again."-he turned to face her completely and her heart accelerated and she started crying. He tried to fight the tightness in his throat to no avail so he just let his eyes cry. "Leah Clearwater, the unimprinted love of my life and my soulmate. Will you do me the greatest honor a man could ever have and marry me?"-he asked. This time he knew the answer and he was right. He was doing it the right way this time.
"Yes."-she breathed. He pulled her to him and they kissed on the edge of the cliff. As if a sign from the spirits and Taha Aki himself, the usual gray sky parted and the sun shined down on the two on the cliff. They pulled back to embrace each other with his chin resting on her head. Paul looked to the sky to see a wolf figure in the shape of a cloud nod and just like that the clouds rolled back in. He marveled for a second at what he'd just seen before smiling and hugging Leah close.
"I'll even take the dust mite."-Leah smiled up at him.
"You will?"-he smiled. She must really love him because that ring was small and ugly hell and she was totally in her right to turn him down.
"Well I'm not taking that leech ring."-she said and he laughed.
"I got you something even better."-he said.
"Oh my God you didn't really rob a jewelry store, did you?"-she shouted and he laughed.
"No. I didn't buy you anything at all."-he smirked.
"Huh?"-she said confused.
"Look down."-he instructed.
She excitedly looked down and all around not seeing anything until something caught her eye.
"When did you…?"-she stammered. On her ring finger was a hand-crafted ring of both of their wolves but each of their wolves had their human eyes.
"I slipped it on while I was talking."-he said touching it.
"Paul it's…I don't know what to say."-she said getting teary eyed again.
"It's a symbol of us. A proper symbol. It's my wolf with your wolf but they have our human eyes because both of our beings are intertwined. I'm yours in both human and spirit world. No matter the form I take, I'm right there with you."-he said pointing at her heart.
"Paul…I'm right there with you too."-Leah cried happy tears, hugging the ring to her. "I love it so much. It's better than any diamond you could've gotten me. And it doesn't stink."-she smiled. He laughed.
"The reason I've been avoiding you is because it took me a while to make it and I wanted to get it just right. I didn't want to see you before it was finished. Plus, I figured we probably needed some space from each other to get our heads on straight. My next conversation was going to be this one and me asking you to marry me one more time. I wasn't asking without this ring being finished. Sam even helped me out by agreeing to ask you to patrol by the cliffs so I could finally talk to you."-he admitted. Leah pulled back slowly.
"You mean Sam was in on this?"-she asked. Paul felt like he was in dangerous territory.
"Um yeah…"-he said trying to pull her back into a hug. "But only Sam knows I'm asking you again."-he tried. "Ouch."-he wheezed.
"You couldn't have picked anybody else?"-she hit him again.
"Ouch! What was that one for?"-he shouted, glaring at her.
"For making me cry!"-she shouted, rubbing her ring.
"Well wait until we get married I'll really make you cry."-he shouted back.
"You better!"-she punched him.
"I will."-he shoved her and they started laughing play wrestling.
Back at the Clearwater home the pack was gathered for lunch.
"Well they're talking again."-Embry smiled.
"Who?"-Jacob asked with a chicken leg in his mouth.
"Leah and Paul. I hear them coming out of the woods now."-Embry said.
"They're arguing?"-Sam asked confused.
"Yup."-Embry laughed.
"I never thought I'd say it, but I'm so glad."-Seth smiled.
Just then the door burst open and Leah and Paul came in arguing.
"Hey what's going on?"-Sue asked coming from the bathroom.
"Leah and Paul are arguing."-Sam said looking at Paul with questions in his eyes.
"So all is right in the world again. Hallelujah!"-Quil shouted.
"Why are you arguing?"-Sue asked cautiously.
"I asked her to marry me."-Paul said.
"We know."-the room said collectively.
"No I mean I asked her to marry me again."-Paul clarified. Everyone groaned.
"Oh…"-they said not knowing what to do. Why did she turn him down this time?
"Maybe next time?"-Jared tried.
"Leah, how could you?"-Sue was disappointed. After their talk she still turned him down?
"The first two times were entertaining but damn third time is not the charm."-Jacob shook his head.
"Oh no she said yes."-Paul clarified with a smile.
"OH!"-they all gasped and jumped up to congratulate the two. They were more relieved than anything.
"I was going to say dude move on but this is better."-Jared breathed.
"So you finally said yes?"-Sam said to Leah. She just looked at him at first and when he went to walk away she smiled and pulled him into a hug.
"He told me what you did. Thanks Sam."-she whispered for just his ears. Sam was stunned but eagerly returned the hug. She was in a really good mood so he knew she'd deny this ever happened.
"Your welcome. I hate to admit it but you two were made for each other."-he smiled and although there was a hint of sadness in his voice and in his eyes, he was very genuine. Leah would always be a part of him but he'd moved on and was glad that she'd moved on too. Granted when he saw it was with Paul that shocked the hell out of him.
Leah looked down at her ring and clasped it in her hand.
"Now I know."-she smiled at Paul. Feeling her eyes on him, he turned and smiled back and tapped his heart and she tapped hers.
AN: Hope you like! Thanks for the reviews, faves, and follows they are much loved! *kisses* I thought this story was cute and hope you enjoyed it too. If you haven't already, check out my update to BlackwaterAZ Never Before. I'll be updating that next with G God and then hopefully Flag On Play.
The need of the many outweigh the needs of the few…so I need you to read and I need you to review…so I can wish you a very merry, happy and blessed Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday!