Seven

I… like you?…

What had she been thinking letting Paul paw at her like they were teenagers again? If not for Wyatt they would have… the thought alone made Bella blush ten shades of red. She dragged the sponge across the tiled countertop with renewed vigor. She wasn't some horny teen, and this wasn't a cheesy rom-com. Paul was the father of her son, and if she managed to mess things up with him, it would be Wyatt that suffered. Historically, Bella was horrible with men. Her first boyfriend was a vampire that didn't even want to touch her, and her first time was in the woods and resulted in a cliché teen pregnancy. Growling in frustration, she threw the sponge in the soap-filled sink. She would have to draw a line in the sand with Paul. They couldn't have casual sex – especially while she and Wyatt were living with him.

What was it about Paul Lahote that made Bella forget herself? It had to be more than his good looks. Edward had been good looking, and she had managed to keep her head about her with him… mostly. God! Was she really one of those girls that completely lost herself over a man? Well, she was Renee's daughter. It made sense. No – she decided, silently shaking her head as she drained the sink. Paul was… different. Even that night in the woods was overly intense. It was like every touch set her skin on fire. Like his physical closeness made her body hum and her heart beat just a little bit faster. She had felt fireworks where his lips had grazed her, and when she was kissing his neck, she bit him! Bella had never bitten anyone, and she decided to bite a werewolf! He didn't complain though. He had growled that deep, sexy growl that made Bella's knees weak.

She supposed she didn't really have experience with guys like Paul. Edward had been reserved and respectful – a classic gentleman removed from his time… but Paul. She nearly shivered as she thought of those bottomless eyes. Paul was wild. He was fire and anger, and damn it if she didn't want to burn! He spoke harshly and without thought, but she always knew what was on his mind because of that. But there were other times… times when he was beyond gentle. He would bathe Wyatt, carefully cupping a hand over his eyes so he wouldn't get shampoo in them. Times when he would lay on the couch watching infomercials for hours on end because Wyatt fell asleep on his chest, and the remote was across the room. There were times when he'd watch her - when he didn't think she was paying attention. There was such a softness to his expression when he did that, that she could almost imagine what it would be like to love him.

The door opening drew Bella from her thoughts with a startled yelp. Paul seemed amused by this, but his face ultimately settled back into the hard line she knew so well. He spoke of his father now and again, and it was clear he didn't have a good childhood. Just how bad was it, to have scared him into always wearing his mask? His words were like a bucket of ice water. Jacob was back? Bella wasn't sure how she felt about it. She missed her friend dearly, but at the same time, it was clear that Jacob still held a torch for her – one she couldn't seem to extinguish.

"Imprinting?" She asked with a raised eyebrow as he gestured for her to join him at the small kitchen table. In the other room, Wyatt had found the remote and had some kind of dancing blob teaching him shapes. "Like a baby duck?"

His face twisted in a way Bella would almost call cute. Almost. "Not really." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. It was getting longer now – shaggier. "It's a wolf thing." He offered, meeting her eyes with those onyx black holes that made her heart pound.

"More wolf things." She sighed dryly, her hands ducking inside the arms of her sweater. It was getting colder out, which meant snow. Wyatt loved the snow…

"Yeah, more wolf things." He smirked, but it almost looked painful. "When a wolf finds his… mate." He winced at the word. "I guess, like soulmate – he does this thing. Well, he doesn't do it, it just kind of happens." He sighed again, clearly having trouble with his words. "Shit, I'm no good at this. I should have had Sam and Emily explain it to you."

"You're doing fine." Bella offered, seeing the stress on his sharp features and wanting to ease it the best she could. Reaching out, she placed a hand over both of his that looked like they would weave themselves into painful knots. "Okay, so something happens when a wolf finds his soulmate. Imprinting?" She put the pieces together, not completely sure she wanted to know where this was going.

His shoulders relaxed a bit as he moved his hands to incase hers. It was so much smaller, it practically disappeared in the warm cavern they created. "Yeah. It's like… when we see her, time stops. Like, everything shifts to this one woman. She becomes our world. Any other girl might as well be faceless. We'd die for her… we live for her." Those deep eyes almost looked like a wounded puppy's as they found hers.

Bella's breath left her in a whoosh, as she leaned back in her chair, nearly missing the warmth of his hands. "And you imprinted on me." She guessed. He nodded once, mimicking her position. "So… you're saying that your forced to be my – my what? Body guard? My bound-in-chains soulmate?"

"No – it's more than that." His full lips pulled into a frown. "We'll be whatever the imprint needs and allows us to be. A friend… a partner… a mate."

"So you are forced to love me then?" She asked, ignoring the way her chest ached at the thought.

"No!" He nearly jumped. "The imprint doesn't force love or any other feelings. I thought it did too, but now that I feel it… it's like it's pushing me towards you. Like, no matter what, we have this… connection." He tried again and failed to be eloquent. "You probably feel something on your end too, but Emily would be better to talk to about that. She's Sam's imprint."

Bella chewed her bottom lip as she watched him. His explanation didn't make things any better, and she wasn't sure how she felt about the situation. He was bound to her, and she supposed, her to him. Though, wasn't that a given since they had Wyatt? She wasn't exactly looking for a husband, or even a boyfriend by coming back to La Push, and that still stood. She had been far too independent for far too long. And now… now she was bound and mated to a werewolf… because it just wouldn't be her life if she wasn't attracting some kind of supernatural creature.

"So… are you in love with me?" Her voice was guarded, her eyes skeptical. Paul stiffened, and she could have sworn a light blush dusted his tanned cheeks, not that he would ever admit it.

"I don't know how I feel about you." He offered after a moment with a shrug. "I like you, and I like what we have with Wyatt. I didn't really think about it beyond that…"

"I don't know how I feel either." Bella admitted with a sigh. "It's not like there's a forum for our situation, and even if I talked to Emily, she and Sam aren't exactly like us." The corner of her mouth lifted slightly as he snorted and mumbled something along the lines of 'you can say that again'. "I think I'll need some time… to digest this all. I don't really want to push anything right now, not when we're just finding our footing."

"I can understand that." He looked relieved – like a weight had been lifted off his chest. "I just have one favor to ask…" His hard mask was back, those deep eyes darkening further. "Don't date Jacob."

Before she could tell him that she had no intention of dating anyone, Wyatt ran in the room, his alligator tucked painfully into the crook of his arm. "Mommy! Daddy! I know what I want for Christmas!" He gave them a toothy smile, hugging Mr. Alligator to his cheek like he did when he was being mischievous.

"Oh yeah?" Paul asked, that mask melting away into a breath-taking smile that was so much like Wyatt's. "Let me guess-" his amused eyes flashed to Bella before landing on their son again "- a puppy?"

"No!" Wyatt giggles loudly. "A little brother!"

The dumbfounded look on Paul's face would have made Bella laugh, if she wasn't sure hers looked exactly the same…

Bella was so caught up in the book in her hands, she almost missed the light chime of the bell over the library door as it opened. The early onset of winter air swirled through the comfortable heat of the old building, but that wasn't what chilled her. What made Bella shiver were the bright butterscotch eyes that immediately sought her out.

"Alice." Bella forced a smile as she placed her book down, hating that she was once again alone with one of the Cullen's. Did they stake out the library? Were they purposefully getting her alone? "Here to look for some books?" She offered hopefully.

"Don't be silly, Bella!" Alice's bell-like voice just served to remind Bella how painfully ordinary she was. "You know I only read Cosmo." Her tinkling laughter followed. "I missed you. Edward said that he tried to talk to you, but you weren't interested." Her child-like face settled in a pout – one she used when she wanted to get her way.

"Considering I have a son, and a… well, I'm an imprint so…"

"Imprint!" Alice's eyes widened. "Oh no, Bella! Did they use their weird dog magic on you! They might be lying you know! You can't trust those mutts." Her frown deepened. "I can talk to Carlisle. I'm sure there's a way to get you away from those horrible –"

"Alice!" Bella cut her off, her chest nearly catching fire in anger. "It's not a lie, and I don't want to leave La Push. Wyatt deserves to know his father, and I like it there. I shouldn't have to keep justifying my life decisions with your family. Frankly, they're none of your business." She spoke slowly, as if speaking to a child. "I appreciate that you guys still care about me, but that chapter of my life is over…"

"But Bella!" Alice reached out to grab her hands. The shorter woman's hands were like ice, chilling Bella further. "I saw your future, remember? It can still be that way! You can bring Wyatt, and we can help you raise him! Imagine how much Rosalie would love that! And when he got old enough, we could turn him too! You could be together forever, Bella! You would never have to worry about him getting sick or hurt. We can still be a family…"

Bella hated that part of her liked the idea of never having to see Wyatt hurt. Of knowing that he would live forever, and never have to suffer death… but he would be dead… and so would she if she went with them. Bella might have wanted that life at one point, but that was a long time ago. "I have a family, Alice." Bella pulled her hands from the vampire's. "And if you talk about turning my son into a vampire again, I'll tell his father, and trust me, you don't want that…"

AN: Sorry this chapter was so late! RL got in the way – boo – hopefully it won't take so long for the next chapter! Thank you to everyone that reviewed. You guys are rock stars!