Rating: M
Genre: Angst
Pairing: Paul/Bella
Word-count: 502
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. A thank you to jarms for help with the edits
He had no idea what he was doing. She left him and now he finds out she is pregnant.
He fucked up...that was certain.
The best thing to ever happen to him was broken and chipped from his countless trysts, and he had no idea how to make their union whole again.
He had no idea how to get her back.
Physically sick from being separated, he struggled day in and out just to get by. They told him she was suffering, too.
They told him. She did not.
There were numerous attempts to contact her—phone calls and texts—but each time it was the same. She turned him away at every avenue.
He knew he hurt her—shattered the last piece of her fractured heart—Bella's silent pain reflected in his unanswered calls. The cold isolation was slowly killing them both.
After all the rejection, he watched her from afar, regret like a bitter pill he swallowed constantly.
It was a need, even when they were apart and hurting, he still needed to protect his mate.
The first time he saw her, he could tell how troubled she was..her pain echoed in the dead caverns of her eyes.
The next time he managed to capture a glance, the pregnancy was showing on her body—her belly blossoming with his child.
That agonized him. It sent him to his fucking knees.
Each time he laid eyes on her, he reeled. His lungs burned like he was drowning...drowning in his own sufferings; the ones he wrought upon himself.
What had he done?
To her? To him? To the sacred imprint bond?
He was only beginning to realize what a treasure she was to him, how his hands—his indiscretions—had twisted their life into something unrecognizable and ugly.
The pain was unbearable. It was time for him to man up...even if it was too little, too late.
Paul needed her like the air they breathed. He was lost without her in his life.
The pack turned their back on him, shunning him for his actions.
The only man he could depend on, that would listen and give him a sound thrashing before helping him, was his dad.
Listening with a cool ear, he gave Paul direction—no holds barred, cut and dry. It was something both the man and wolf needed terribly. Not mincing words, he told his son to get his shit together, to be the father he never was.
At his dad's urging, Paul took a job at the sawmill—trying to get his life on track, trying to become the husband Bella deserved.