Four

Talking it out…

Paul didn't know much about women. His mother had run out on them when he was around ten, and he didn't have any sisters. As far as girlfriends went, that wasn't really a word in his vocabulary. Emily helped fill in some of the gaps here and there, but he wasn't one to really talk about his women troubles – not that he had many. One thing he did know, however, was that women loved to talk. They always wanted to talk about their feelings or something they saw on TV. They wanted to bitch about the new girl at work or tell you every boring detail of their day. Paul was good at listening, so he never really mined much, but he knew in the pit of his stomach that this talk with Bella was going to be a stressful one. He was at war with himself thanks to the stupid imprint. He was still angry about her keeping Wyatt from him, but the wolf made it nearly impossible to act on that anger. He was like a whipped puppy now, and he hated it.

Her small fingers moved slowly over the outside of her mug, those chocolate eyes staring into her tea as if it would swallow her up and get her away from their awkward situation. Paul was just glad that Charlie and Sue had agreed to take Wyatt for the afternoon. As much as Paul wanted to get to know his son, it would be easier to talk things out with Bella if they didn't have to wear fake smiles the whole time. Bella opened her mouth to begin, but when she met his eyes, she blushed and closed it. A gesture that would have annoyed Paul a few days ago – a gesture that should annoy him now. Instead, he found himself watching the blush intently as it spread to her neck and ears, thinking how adorable it looked on her pale skin. Fucking adorable. What had the imprint done to him?

"The day that I left…" She began in an unsure tone. Paul's ears perked up at the sound, nearly hanging on her every word. "It was after Jake's seventeenth birthday. I found out about Wyatt and I guess I panicked." He remembered that day. Jacob moped for nearly a month before he shook it off. That was, until he found out that Paul had fucked her. It all seemed so crude now.

"Why didn't you tell me? Was it because you were worried I would be like my old man? Was it the chief whispering in your ear? Telling you about my rap sheet?" He couldn't avoid the hard edge to his voice. Guilt immediately flooded him as her shoulders slumped.

"It had nothing to do with you as a person, Paul." She pulled her full bottom lip between her teeth. "You and I… it was bizarre. After it was over, it was like an out of body experience. We hardly spoke to each other and then we…" She trailed off with another faint blush. "I didn't know how to tell you. I was afraid and not thinking clearly. By the time it all sunk in and I came to terms with everything, so much time had past… The longer I waited the harder it became." She pulled one narrow shoulder to her ear in uncertainty.

He had spoken with Sam over the last few days about everything. Sam might have been a pain in the ass alpha most of the time, but he was also a good source of advice. He thinks that Paul's wolf knew about the imprint on some level, and that's why Bella had smelled so good to him that night in the woods. He could never tell before that because she always had the leech's or Jacob's scent covering her. Even now, his tiny kitchen was filled with her natural perfume, and he found himself basking in it. Scent was a big deal for wolves, and he had heard Jared and Sam talking about the way Kim and Emily smelled multiple times. Even Leah gets all gooey over her imprint's scent.

"I had a right to know, Isabella." She seemed to shiver at his cold tone, or maybe it was the use of her full name. "He's my son. I've missed out on… everything. I never got to hear his first word or see his first steps. I wasn't there to help you when you gave birth… I missed out on raising our son." The level of emotion in his voice surprised even him. It wasn't just missing out on the first few years of Wyatt's life he was angry about, it was missing out on sharing that with his imprint. If he had just looked at her that night, none of this would have ever happened. She would have stayed in Washington, and they could have done it all together. Hell, they could have been married with another kid by now! Paul was never one for marriage or the whole white-picket-fence shtick, so the last thought was… alarming. It was hard to tell what were repressed desires from his own fucked up childhood, and what were solely the imprint.

"I'm sorry, Paul!" Her voice got a little higher. "It hasn't been easy for me either! I had to do everything! I had to be a mom and a dad to that child!" This time the red in her cheeks wasn't from embarrassment or attraction. "And now I find out that my son might be autistic! How am I supposed to handle that?"

"He's our son!" Paul's own anger spiked as he spoke through clenched teeth. "And you had to do everything alone because you chose to do everything alone!" He was nearly screaming now, his deep voice vibrating through the thickened air. "If he is autistic, we'll deal with it. He's Quileute, so maybe he'll phase later on. Embry's asthma got fixed when he did, maybe it'll be the same for Wyatt."

He realized his mistake the second the words were out of his mouth, even before Bella slammed her mug on the table, causing tea to spill everywhere. It must have burned her, but she didn't react. "Wyatt does not need to be fixed!" He was surprised at the ferocity in her eyes. "Even if he is autistic, that's just the way he is! It doesn't make him broken or lesser, it makes him Wyatt!"

"You're right." Paul conceded with a sigh as he ran a hand through his hair. "You're right." He repeated for good measure as he stood. The soft tone of his voice seemed to cool off the room. Reaching for a dish towel, he kneeled by Bella, still almost at eye level with her. Taking her reddened hands in his, he carefully smoothed over the skin to wipe the rest of the tea away. "I wasn't thinking."

"I'm just… angry at the situation." Bella deflated with a sigh. "I shouldn't have taken it out on you."

He smirked up at her, still holding her towel-wrapped hands in his. "We're a real pair, aren't we? It'll be a miracle if we don't screw the kid up."

She freed her hands to cup his. "I don't know you very well Paul, but I can tell how much you already care for Wyatt. And while I don't know much about your dad, I can tell that because you want so badly to not be like him, you won't be."

After their talk, things remained civil between Paul and Bella. They both said what needed to be said, and that was that. At least, it was for now. Paul still hadn't told her about imprinting, but that was for her own good. Everything was tense right now, and he didn't want to force her into this situation and risk her running with Wyatt. If she decided to move away, he couldn't follow. Thanks to the curse that bound him to her, he was also bound to native land. He could leave, of course, but he could never stay away too long. He wondered what would happen - if it came to that. Would he hunt her down just to be rejected time and time again, or would he stay with his pack and fight until the absence of his soulmate inevitably crushed him?

Paul leaned on the old bucket sink Emily usually stood in front of to watch Bella and Wyatt play outside through the small, age worn window. She held his stuffed alligator – the one he refused to ever be without – making it talk in a horrible imitation of a man's voice. Wyatt laughed loudly, his deep eyes sparkling as he clenched his hands at his chest. As Bella tickled his neck with the toy, making chomping sounds, he laughed louder at that. It was... pure joy. Paul found himself smiling lightly at the scene. Bella still had a choice – she could run from the imprint, but Wyatt was his family. Nothing would change that. Now that he had his son in his life, he wouldn't let him go without a fight.

"It's a nice feeling, isn't it? To just watch them and know that they're happy and safe?" Sam asked from behind him. Turning, Paul crossed his arms over his chest and shrugged.

"I like it because I'm forced to. This is all because of the imprint. Maybe not Wyatt, but I don't have any connection to Bella." Even as he said them, he wanted to swallow the words. They felt like acid on his tongue. In the back of his mind, the wolf growled in protest. He was very possessive of her already.

"She's your imprint, Paul. And the mother of your child. You can't push her away without pushing Wyatt away." Sam watched him with careful eyes, mimicking his stance. He was always good at intimidating the younger members.

"She's been through enough supernatural shit. What happens if I tell her about the imprint and she bolts? What then Sam? How am I supposed to handle my imprint and my kid being ripped away from me?"

"I'm not saying that you should rush into telling her, but secrets are what caused this situation in the first place. I don't think any more will help." His voice turned kind. In a lot of ways, Sam stepped into the father role for many of the pack members, just as Emily filled the maternal void for them. They were – in their own way – a family all their own. He couldn't imagine a life away from his pack now that they had become such a significant part of his life.

"I'll tell her eventually. We've got enough shit on our plate." Paul spat, his nose scrunching in displeasure.

"Speaking of-" Sam sighed and looked almost guilty. "While tracking down Jacob, Quil and Seth came across a familiar scent trail. It seems a few of the Cullen's have been in the area. Whether or not they're setting things up to move back, we're not sure."

Paul could feel something akin to panic rising in his throat. At his side, his clenched fists shook. "Why now? The younger members just stopped phasing a year ago! They haven't been gone long enough, if they come back now, everyone will notice they haven't aged!"

Sam didn't say anything because he had drawn the same conclusion Paul had. Turning back to the window, Paul's hands clenched the sink so hard it groaned under his hold. They were back for her… for them. Paul watched as Bella laughed freely, her head tossed back in the bright and rare sunshine La Push had to offer. He would die before he let the bloodsuckers take his imprint or his son. At least she was on native land – where she was safe. Paul knew she had a day job in Forks, and he doubted telling her not to take it would go over well. They would just have to stay sharp – keep an eye on things.

"We're not going to mention this to Bella." He declared, having ultimate say over his imprint. "Not until we know for sure that they're staying… and that they're after her."

AN: Thank you so much to everyone that reviewed! I love reading each and every one of them. They really do mean so much to me!

So I kind of had a great idea for a Bella/Paul AU fic. If enough people are interested, I might work on it simultaneously with this one, if not, I might just wait until this one is complete. Here is the rough summary, so you guys can let me know what you think!

...

Bella Swan decides that she needs a change of scenery when her mother gets remarried. She decides to move in with her father Charlie, who owns a sizable Texas ranch. Clumsy and out of her element, Bella is thrown off guard when she seems to constantly be in the way of Paul Lahote, one of her father's farmhands. Fiery tempers and smoldering nights lead to an intimacy Bella hadn't been expecting. Bella/Paul AU