Hey Guys, so here is Chapter 17, hope ya'll like it! I don't own Twilight or the Characters, but this is my plot line!

Chapter 17

Paul's POV

We were the last to arrive at Sam's. The pack was assembled as well as the council, minus Billy who came with us. Quil was staying back to patrol the rest of La Push while the rest of us met with the Whitlocks on the Eastern border.

Sam had some quads that Charlie and the council could take and a side car for a very reluctant Billy. Jake was going to carry his dad's wheelchair to the site so he would come a little bit later than the rest of us. Bella was going to ride me in wolf form while I ran with the rest of the pack, who were going earlier than Charlie, Jake and the council.

Sam was finishing off some minor details and I went in the woods the phase. Bella waited until I came back out and gently pet my fur, causing a low purr to emerge from my chest. She smiled and kissed my muzzle then said the least romantic thing that has ever come out of her mouth.

"Come on, Paulie, sit boy!" She said like she was talking to a dog...erm I mean a real dog. No, like a common house dog. Whatever, I am a wolf, not a dog. I glared at her, swishing my tail in annoyance.

"Aww, someone's not getting treats tonight!" Her voice was innocent, but I heard the double meaning behind them. I growled playfully before I nudged her with my nose, causing her to fall on her but. She looked confused and I took the opportunity to give her a 'wolfy' kiss.

"Paul!" She shrieked, pushing me off of her. Well, trying to at least. I cocked my head to the side and let my tail wag. "That is so gross; I don't care if you give me puppy eyes I am not going to forgive you. Gah!" She stood up and flicked my nose, actually flicked my nose!

I heard laughter from everyone who had been watching and I let out an annoyed huff at them. Bella raised a brow and walked over to Emily who was on the porch.

"Damn! That seemed to put him in line. I'll have to try that." Em said, smirking at Sam. Sam gave a playful frown and leant down to kiss her. Before she could she raised her hand and flicked his nose. He looked shocked.

"Em!" He whined, "You have to wait till I'm a wolf to do that!" Emily kissed his chin before flicking his nose again.

"Hush, no one like a yappy puppy." Bella was giggling, smirking at Em, who smirked right back. They glanced at Jared and Quil, as well as Jake and laughed.

"No!" Jared said dramatically, "Please don't! Kim has already wacked me with a newspap-" He cut himself off, looking at Sam and I with an apology. Fucker. Now Sam and I had that to look forward to as well.

"Newspaper?" Emily asked, her brow cocking. She grinned at Sam playfully.

"That's it, I'm cancelling the paper subscription on La Push!" He said, poking her in the side. Bella laughed and he rolled his eyes at her.

"Get goin', no need to be late" Billy said, laughing. Bella walked over to where I was still sitting and kissed my nose where she had flicked it before hopping on my back. Charlie looked at us with a warning for me clear as day – 'Don't hurt my daughter while running or I'll shoot you'. I nodded my head in understanding.

Emily went back inside to cook for the party later on tonight; Kim was coming over to help, so Sam and the rest of the pack phased to accompany Bella and me to the treaty line. Charlie and the elders would be there in about half an hour.

We ran to the border where the Whitlocks were waiting. Sam and most of the others, save Quil and Embry, had phased in the trees before they became visible and nodded to the vampires. Sam moved to lift Bella off my back and kept a protective arm around her as I went behind a tree to phase. Sam and Bella really were like siblings, it probably helped that Em and Bella were best friends now.

"Hello," The one with scars, Jasper I reminded myself, spoke. His voice was low, not as velvety as some vampires.

"Jasper," Sam said, nodding. "Emmett, Rosalie. It's nice to see you." He kept his politeness up, honestly trying to drop all predjustices for Bella. Thats what makes him a good leader.

I walked quickly over to Bella and took her out of Sam's arms and into my own. She smiled at me, leaning her weight into my side. I breathed in her scent to calm myself.

"Thank you for meeting with us to talk about the treaty as we are no longer Cullen's so the past treaty does not apply to us." Jasper said, smiling at us, lingering the longest on Bella.

"You're very welcome. You have proved that you are not a threat. Of course there are some things we must go over before we make it official." Sam said. They nodded, indicating for him to continue.

"First off anything you here about the pack and other vampires is official, secret. You may tell no one outside of the pack and the council. Second the imprints are the most important thing to the pack, any harm that comes to them could be punishable in death." His eyes flickered to Bella and slightly to the west, in Emily's direction.

"Of course, we understand. We will never harm the imprints nor any other human on the reservation or otherwise. We will respect all that you request from us." Jasper said. Emmett nodded and Rosalie inclined her head signalling that she agreed.

I could hear, as I'm sure everyone else in the clearing could, the sound of the quads driving through the forest. We were all looking in the direction of the sound when Sam spoke again.

"Billy, the current chief, has all of the necessary documents for the event...afterwards we would like to invite you to a bonfire to hear all or legends, our histories."

"That would be great, thank you." Rosalie said, flawlessly polite.

The council and Charlie came into view and stopped close to us with Jake emerging from the trees not long after with his father's wheelchair. After getting Billy stationed in the chair they came over to join us.

Bella had been slightly tense in my arms the whole time and I could feel longing pouring off her the entire time. She wanted to go to them but she knew to wait, she was not stupid. I kissed her temple in silent comfort and she relaxed a little more, smiling at her dad.

I was too focused on Bella in my arms to hear much of the conversation going on between the council and the Whitlocks but suddenly Bella launched herself out of my arms. I was confused until I saw her hugging Rosalie with Jasper and Emmett waiting for their turn.

After they had all hugged, apparently I had missed the official 'Come-o-our-land' speech, Bella led them over to her dad, who had been standing beside Quil since Embry had left to patrol.

Bella's POV

I led Emmett, Rose and Jasper over to meet my dad officially. I knew they had spoken, but never face to face. In fact Charlie had only met Carlisle, Edward and Alice when they were still with the Cullens.

"Dad, these are Rosalie, Emmett and Jasper, of course. Guys this is Charlie." They shook hands and smiled, and soon Emmett and Charlie were engaged in a debate about baseball. Paul had moved to stand with us, snaking his arm around my waist. I grinned at him, stretching to kiss his jaw.

"I can't believe this is all happening!" Rose said, her eyes shining with something I couldn't quite decipher. I tilted my head, confused.

"Being allowed on the rez, being in your life again, meeting your dad, all of it. I'm so happy we can start over. That I have a second chance with you as a friend." My heart swelled as she spoke. I knew she must feel guilty for how she had treated me, but I knew it was just because she wanted Edward away from me.

"Oh Rose, don't. I am more thankful than you will ever know for trying to get me away from Edward. If I had listened I might have found Paul earlier and been able to avoid everything with Edward." Paul growled very lowly at the mention of Edward.

"Stupid fucker," He muttered under his breath. Jasper chuckled.

"I agree. He is. I promise to do whatever I can to keep him away from Bella. She is like a sister, like Rosalie is, and I will try my best to defend her. Edward is going to try something stupid to get her back; he is a very selfish creature, as well as possessive. I will be here to help Bella stay away from him." Paul nodded, and I could see the open gratitude and admiration in his features. He admired Jasper's loyalty.

"Thank you." I said, taking his hand. Emmett was here now as well, having ended his debate for now. Charlie was talking with Harry and Billy and the pack had started to go off in their own directions.

"Don't worry 'bout it Bells!" Emmett boomed, "We've got your back and this time nothing will make us leave. God, we were so stupid to listen to him, but Alice said she saw...Well never mind. Let's just say the bitch is a liar when it comes to her visions."

I smiled, saying everything I needed to with my eyes. Sam spoke up just then. "So, the bonfires tonight. You guys want to come?"

"Hells yeah!" Emmett exclaimed, earning a smack from Rose. He pouted but kept his mouth shut.

"Yes, of course that would be great!" Rose said happily. I smiled, this would be fun. All of my family, pack, council, father, and vampire siblings. We agreed for them to meet us at First Beach at seven tonight and we said good bye.

Paul took me back to his house so we could spend some alone time and we got there quickly since I rode his wolf. His house was tidy as usual as he led me into the living room, a place I had not spent much time.

"Do you want to watch a movie?" He asked, kissing my forehead.

"Sure, sounds great." I knew we wouldn't watch a movie, not really anyways. We would probably end up in a compromising situation. I insisted that Paul chose the movie since I didn't have any preference so we sat down to watch The King's Speech (I have never seen it, but it was the first new release to pop into my head). I didn't know Paul liked that kind of movie...

I was snuggled into his chest, actually watching the movie. It was pretty good, and Paul seemed to like it. We didn't kiss much, just relished in the feel of each other's arms.

The movie ended and it was still only six so we didn't need to leave yet. Paul stood up and I went to follow when he turned to face me. He looked nervous, something I was not used to at all.

"Paul, are you okay?" I asked, worried.

"Yeah, can you stay here for a sec, I'll be right back." He said, already backing out of the room. I didn't answer, just sitting back down on the couch.

I could hear him upstairs, opening a drawer and getting something. I tried to listen harder but it was quiet. I knew he was still upstairs, I heard no footsteps, so I waited; afraid something bad was going to happen.

After about five minutes I heard Paul walk out of his bedroom and come back downstairs. His stride hesitated when he saw me, but he quickly regained himself and walked over to me, sitting next to me on the couch. He took my hand and kissed my knuckles before he spoke.

"Bella, I've been thinking. I love you, more than anything, more than my own life. You are my sun, my everything. I know I marked you and that's a claim all its own but I want something that everyone will recognise. Will...will you wear this," He took out a small box and opened the lid to reveal a beautiful sapphire ring (On Profile), "As a promise for a future with me?" My eyes widened. Holy Shit.

I was about to speak when he cut me off. "This is not an engagement ring. It's a promise ring. One day, when we're ready, I will put a different ring on your finger and we will get married, age and have a family, but right now I just want the promise of that future with you. Will you wear it?" I cupped his cheek, gently caressing his cheekbone with my thumbs.

"Yes, Of course I will. Paul, I love you so much that sometimes I don't know what to do with it. I crave you, you made me better, you make me better every day. Yes, I will wear it as a promise. I want that future with you. I want any future with you." He seemed content as he leant down to kiss me.

It was gentle, not rushed, not lustful, gentle. I kissed him back, pouring all the emotions I couldn't express into it. We broke apart and he slid the ring, a perfect fit, onto my finger. We took a moment to admire the contrast of my pale skin and the sparkling blue rock.

"You're so perfect Paul." I kissed his nose and curled into his lap, leaning my head in the crook of his neck. He remained silent but I could feel the joy and pride radiating off him. That's what he is. Radiant.

We had lost track of time and I startled when Paul's door banged open to reveal Jared and Kim.

"Sam sent us over, said to drag your asses down to the beach." Paul glared at Jared, upset that our moment was gone.

"What?" Jared asked, oblivious. Kim, who had taken the time to observe when she walked in caught a glimpse of the ring I had been idly toying with.

"Oh my God!" She squealed, rushing over to hug me. "Oh wow! I am so happy for you!" She kissed my cheek and moved on to Paul. She gave him a hug as well before skipping back to a confused Jared.

"What?" He asked. Kim rolled her eyes.

"God, you are oblivious. Look at her finger." Jared's eyes flickered down and realization dawned on his face. He grinned from ear to ear.

"Wow! Congratulations!"

"Thanks!" We said at the same time. Paul kissed my forehead and stood up, bring me with him. They led us outside to where they had a car, man we really had been out of it not to hear a car in the yard, and we got it. Kim and I sat in the back so Paul and Jared had leg room and we all talked quietly.

"Soooooo," Kim drawled giddily, "How are you going to tell Charlie?" She asked.

"Already done. I asked him a couple of days ago; I've just been wondering when to do it. The time just felt right." He turned in his seat to smile at me.

"You talked to my dad?" I asked, touched at his consideration for my father. He nodded and I smiled softly. "Thank you." He nodded again, obviously a little embarrassed.

When we got to the bonfire, where mostly everyone, save the Whitlocks, was there.

"You ready?" Paul asked as he helped me out of the car. I nodded. He kissed the hand he was still holding, then the ring, then pulled me closer and claimed my lips for a short, sweet kiss.

"Then let's go."

So I know this chapter was shorter, sorry about that. I wanted it to end here so the next chapter will be better. So what did you think about the non-engagement promise ring? Did you like it? I wanted to show off romantic Paul. Please remember to review if you like it, PLEASE!