Paul woke to the pleasant feeling of soft curves pressed against his body, nuzzling tighter against his chest and into the side of his neck. His arms wrapped tighter around Anna as he absorbed the feel of her with him. It was so natural that he didn't even question it.
"Good morning." She whispered.
"Good morning." He repeated, his voice dry and gravelly from sleep. "Did you get enough sleep? I know you had nightmares."
She nodded. "You are so warm and comforting. I slept better than I had in a long time. Despite it all."
Paul smiled. There was a sense of pride in knowing that he comforted his imprint so much. His wolf preened under the accomplishment. "Well, it was a first for me." He chuckled.
Anna looked up at him.
"First time to actually sleep next to a girl, let alone wake up with one." He winked.
Her brows furrowed as she backed away. "Well that explains the pop tent then."
Paul looked down at his erection standing at full attention under his sweat pants. His cheeks quickly turned red under his russet skin. "Yeah, uh…"
She shook her head. "I am not naive. I know it is a normal thing for men in the morning. I am not offended."
"Still, awkward." He grumbled.
She smiled. "Thank you Paul."
He looked confused. "For morning wood?"
She laughed and shook her head. "For being here with me. You didn't have to do all of this. You only knew me as a high school friend for a few months, then I disappeared on you, for four years."
"Well, if you are kicking me out, I can take the hint." His voice was laced with heavy sarcasm.
"Jerk." She grinned.
He leaned down and placed a kiss on her forehead. "Seriously, I wouldn't be anywhere else. I love you Anna. I always have. I always will. You are one of my best friends. There is no way I would sit back and let you go through this alone."
The following few weeks fell into an easy routine for the two as they lived together out of a hotel room. Every day was spent at the hospital. Even when Anna was not getting injections or donating her stem cells, they would spend as much time with the Wilson family and Abbie as they could. The evenings were spent with Anna and Paul laughing and crying as they processed the days events and took some time to re-establish their friendship.
Paul worried over her as the injections and donation took their toll on her physically. Anna had headaches, nausea, and exhaustion from it all. She was so strong, but he was glad that she was not alone.
Anna finally opened up a little about her time away. She told him that she had worked in a used bookstore, continued with Karate and learned kickboxing. She grew in her love of music, went to concerts, learned to play guitar, and even got a tattoo of music notes over her heart. She also started writing and took up photography. She still wouldn't say where she was, but shared pieces of who she was. It was the first time that Anna had a chance to really explore the person that she was without as much fear or consequences.
Anna never dated. Not that Paul expected her to. Yet, he was relieved to hear it. And, her police contact checked on her often.
She couldn't attend college because she could not use her real name to enroll without risking her being found. Even her medical care and delivery of Abbie was all done under a different name. She had lived as Anna Marie Collins for four years. Only recently did she legally change her name to Annabell Jacobs.
The Wilson's had continued to call Anna by the alias name, even around the hospital as it was the name that matched the medical records that the doctors had. Though, they had known the truth. Paul eventually relaxed more as he got to know them. The Wilson's really were good people.
"Uncle Paul, can you tell us a story?" Jayden asked as he was visiting on a Saturday. The boy obviously missed his little sister during the week when he had school, as he jumped into the bed with her and played with her every minute that the adults would let him. He even fell asleep next to her as they both took naps.
Paul grinned. "I don't know many children's stories."
"What about the Quileute stories?" Anna suggested. "I think Jayden would enjoy the legends of the wolf warriors."
Jayden gasped. "Wolf warriors? Awesome!" Abbie giggled while Anna braided her long dark hair.
That made Paul light up. Both in a joy of telling the stories to the eager children, and in pride that his imprint had listened and paid attention to the stories. That would help him explain things to her later on.
Paul pulled up a chair and started to share the stories that he had heard so many times over the years. He was not as experienced at story telling as Old Quil, but he remembered enough to make the children happy.
"You will be a good father one day." Mrs. Wilson said after he finished and tucked the sleepy children in for their naps. Anna had already fallen asleep on the couch, still exhausted and not feeling well after her injections.
He shrugged. "We will see. I am not exactly the settle down type of guy."
"Yet, I hear that you tried to settle down to help Anna and Abbie. And, here you are to help them again." She smiled.
Paul blushed. "Do you have any friends that you love as family and would do anything for? You can't imagine your life without them?"
Mrs. Wilson nodded. "I have two childhood friends that I still see almost every day."
"Anna is like that to me."
Rebecca Wilson looked at Paul for a long time before she spoke. "Anna does not need physical love at this point in her life. You know that. She knows that. But, the love you two share is genuine. And deep. I hope that one day, she can heal enough to consider wanting more from you. You would be a wonderful husband and father when you realize that it is about sharing every part of your life with your best friend, not about the sex. The sex is just the spice that adds flavor to the true love and commitment between friends. It's not that you give up variety or who you are, rather, that person is everything you need and you are happy being yourself with them."
Paul smirked. "Is Brandon your best friend then?"
"More than the two childhood friends that I love like sisters." Then she walked away.
Paul leaned against the wall as he watched Anna sleep. He let Mrs. Wilson's words seep in. He thought about the others in the pack. Jared and Kim were very flirtatious and obviously had a lot of sex. But, they did more than that. They talked. They laughed. They watched movies and made plans together.
Sam and Emily were the same. They kept their personal relationship as private as possible so as to not upset Leah who had been dating Sam for a long time before he imprinted on Emily. It wasn't anyone's choice. But, he imprinted on his girlfriend's cousin. That seriously sucked. Then Leah shifted and became a wolf as well, there to witness. There to see into Sam's thoughts as they opened up to the pack mind. That just made things even harder. So, Sam tried to hold things back when Leah was around. Still, he let things go when it was just him and the boys occasionally. The couple were seriously cute. Sam talked to Emily about everything and she did the same with him.
They were all friends. Friends who loved each other. And, had sex.
But, the way things happened, it made it all seem forced. Quil imprinted with a child that he could have no attraction to. Sam, imprinted to his girlfriend's cousin, not the woman he was with. Even Jacob had crushed for years on the woman that would one day give birth to the girl he imprinted on. Seriously weird story there.
So, that is how everyone saw it... well, everyone that was not imprinted... That there was this magical draw that forced two people together, made them fall in love, and all of it was against the will or wishes of the person or people being affected.
But, now that Paul looked at it from the perspective of friendships… things shifted. Maybe it wasn't that the spirits were forcing the wolf to imprint on someone that they wouldn't have wanted otherwise. What if the imprint bond simply removed the human baggage enough to show them their true soulmate, the one that had been meant for them all along? The one they should have been with even without the wolf?
Jared and Kim liked each other before the wolf. They were just so shy. However, with Sam and Jake, things were different. If anyone asked them before the imprint, they both would have chosen other women. Jake would have picked Bella Swan. But, had he been given that choice, Renesme never would have been born. However, Jake was much happier with Renesme than he ever was with Bella. Sam as well. He would have chosen Leah. But in seeing their memories through the pack mind occasionally, Paul had noticed that Sam was trying to be better, to be someone that he wasn't. Just to make Leah happy. With Emily though, he didn't have to try. He was happy being himself and she loved him as he was.
That was how Paul felt around Anna. Like himself. Like he, Paul Lahote, mattered to her. And he was happy. It was like that before the wolf. It stayed that way four years later. There was no magic change in how he felt for her. The imprint only brought more clarity, more strength to the emotions. The epiphany warmed his very soul.
'Imprint' His wolf purred. 'Ours.'
Paul smiled. Maybe. One day. If she was ever ready. One day, he would try to see where things could go with Anna.
But, for now… she was alright with him still hooking up with others. Living his life as a young sexy man. And, he planned to take advantage of that. She gave him freedom to be himself and sort through his own baggage.
It fed his needs, fed his ego, and most importantly, it kept the walls up around his heart. Anna wasn't ready for anything. And, if he tried to open up to romance with her, he knew he would be the one to get hurt. She still hadn't decided if she was going to stay in La Push or leave again. Best to keep that locked away until she chose to show interest, to stay with him. He loved her deeply. But, only as a best friend. And, that was how it had to stay. For the time being.
By the last day in Seattle, Anna and Paul had felt included in the Wilson's family. The kids accepted them as their aunt and uncle and openly shared their lives with the two. Jayden had decided that Paul was definitely not the Hulk, or even Wolverine. Paul was a wolf warrior according to the six year old blonde. How could the man deny that?
Jayden and Abbie argued almost non-stop about what title to bestow on Anna. After all, Captain America (Jayden) and his sister Princess Sophia (Abbie) needed their defenders. The king and queen (Brandon and Becca Wilson) could not do that, they were the king and queen. And, a wolf warrior was not enough. However, since Uncle Paul was no longer the Hulk, it didn't make sense for Auntie Anna to be the Black Widow. Anna shook her head at any Frozen references. So, they finally settled on Pocahontas. Wrong tribe from the wrong side of the country, but the adults were not going to interfere with logic and facts.
"We will see you both again soon, right?" Jayden asked.
"They have to come back silly." Abbie scolded her brother. "They are our defenders. They must come back to defend us from trouble."
Jayden's eyes went wide. "Can you defend us from time-outs?"
Anna laughed as she wiped away tears. "I don't think that is one of our powers. We can't refuse the king and queen, can we?"
Jayden quickly slumped back down. "Fine. But, next time you come, can you bring chocolate?" Abbie jumped up and down at the suggestion. "Chocolate! Chocolate!"
"We will check with the king and queen and the royal doctors."
Then Abbie climbed into Anna's lap at the end of her bed. "I will miss you Auntie Anna."
"Me too sweetheart."
Anna barely held her tears back until she was down the hall.
Anna had not wanted to leave. She knew that Abbie was with a good family. But, still her heart broke at leaving the child she gave birth too. It was the source of many tears in the nights that lead up to their departure. However, Anna knew that she could not just intrude on the family that they had. She had to let them help the daughter that they raised.
Paul knew her pain. But, he didn't know any way to fix it. She could not stay. So, he stayed strong for her. As much as it hurt him to leave the beautiful girl with black hair and grey eyes behind, it had to be done. She was safe. She was loved. And, she had a wonderful older brother to protect her.
Paul lead Anna to the cafeteria so they could eat lunch before they headed back to La Push. Anna leaned into his arms through the whole meal. They made one last stop to use the restrooms and wash their faces from the tears and emotions before their long drive.
Walking out of the men's bathroom, Paul caught the familiar whiff of vampire. The sickly sweet scent burned his lungs as he bolted down the hall and around the corner to where the women's bathroom was.
His blood ran cold as he watched some blood sucking leech try to talk to his imprint. His inner wolf growled dangerously. The need to protect, the need to kill the creature in front of him was so potent, he could taste it.
'It's too public.' Paul tried to rationalize with the wolf.
'Imprint. Protect our imprint.' The response was feral.
"Are you sure that I can't be of any assistance to you my dear?" The pale man spoke smoothly. "You don't look like you are in any shape to be left alone. My name is Donovan. I am a volunteer here."
Anna was stiff. She would not look at the man. Something about him had triggered her fear. 'Good girl Anna. Stay scared of the leech.'
The man reached to touch Anna's arm. She jerked back as if he had burned her. "Don't touch me." She growled. "Try it again, I won't be held responsible for kicking your ass."
"Anna, let's go." Paul snarled from where he was in the hall. He had not approached further for fear of starting a very unnatural fight in the middle of the busy hospital hall. He shook from the rage and strength of not phasing into a wolf right then and there. Anna jumped and ran to Paul, burying herself in his chest. At the feel of her close to him, his rage simmered slightly. Enough to maintain control. She really was the Black Widow to his Hulk.
Donovan sneered. "I thought I smelled wet dog."
Without a word, Paul lead Anna out of the hospital and into his truck. It was time to get the hell away from that hospital. However, he was not going to let Donovan pray on Abbie or the Wilson family. So, before he pulled out, he called in a tip to the hospital security about a pale blonde man calling himself Donovan. Paul said that he was introducing himself as a hospital volunteer, however, told them that he had seen the man jacking off in the bathroom to pictures of child patients. Please let that result in him never getting through those doors again.
The drive home was quiet. Paul held Anna's hand or she cuddled into his side as much as possible. It was time to face the real world again. He had a job to get back to. Anna had a job to hunt for. And, Paul knew damn well that the pack would hit with a million questions.