Chapter 13 - Played

Paul's Point Of View

You could hear a pin drop, with the quiet tension that invaded the room. The only random sound being heard, was the occasional rub of jeans as legs crossed and uncrossed.

I found it funny.

I was upset when she returned. Not at her, but at myself for provoking her enough to hit me. I wasn't pleased that Seth was able to weasel his way into her good graces either.

I tried to hide it. I couldn't visibly show any unease. I couldn't let her see how she was effecting me in any and everything she does.

I loved getting her going. The fire she had going on blazed brighter and stronger, when she was pissed. I'm not going to lie; it was a massive turn on. No one has ever put me in my place.

Ever!

Except her.

"You wouldn't, Bella." Jared said, as he shifted in his seat.

You'd think that the fucker would learn to shut the fuck up. Even I've learned up to this point, that when you tell her that she wouldn't or couldn't do something, she turned it into a challenge. Even if it really wasn't to begin with.

Jared has always been my closes friend. Lately, I was n the verge of beating the shit out of him though. I didn't like the way he spoke to her. I didn't like that he provoked her at every turn because he didn't think before he spoke.

I've learned lately, that it's extremely hard, biting my tongue when Jared was around. But, I know that Bella can handle it. And if I've learned anything up until this point, it was that I liked my balls right where they were. I sure as fuck, wasn't going to jump into the middle of it.

I was a bit surprised though, when they got back. She sat in the seat she was sitting in before she left. I'm not entirely sure that it has anything to do with the imprint, but I'm hoping that she, at least, subconsciously, feels the pull. Her actions implied that she simply forgot about the arguments that started the downward spiral between her and I, tonight.

If she was willing to put it away, then so was I.

"Try me." She said, glaring back at Jared.

Jared sealed his lips together and dropped his eyes to the floor.

Yea buddy, you did the right thing. Especially since she's already made it crystal clear that he was next on her shit list.

Sam cleared his throat. "Back on topic."

"What else needs to be said?" Angela said, as she sat up straighter in her seat. "You're all wolves. We get that."

"Well, there's still a few things."

"Like?" Kenda prodded.

This next part of this conversation, is going to lead us in one of two separate directions.

One, it was going to get us closer to the girls.

Or two, get the shit beat out of us.

Sam nodded towards Jake. "Jake, why don't you start."

Thank fuck he decided to have Jake lead.

Jake raked his hand through his hair, and sighed. "Ange," he said as he turned to look directly into her eyes. "The wolves do something called imprinting."

"Explain." She said, as she tucked her legs under herself and leaned forward.

"It's when... it's when the wolf finds their second half. Their perfect fit. Nothing really exists to the wolf, but this person. It's the wolfs way of finding his perfect mate."

"How do you know when you find this...second half?" Angela said, so quietly that I'm not sure if everyone in the room heard her.

"It just... happens." Jake replied as he reached for her hand. "It happens when you look into their eyes. The wolf automatically recognizes its mate."

"Why are you telling me this?" Angela asked, as she yanked her hand away from him.

"I imprinted on you." He said, dropping his hand into his lap and lowering his eyes to the floor.

"You're serious?"

"Yea." He whispered.

Angela sat there, staring at... nothing. You could tell that she was tring to pull it all together in her head. She didn't answer, and it didn't look like she would be saying anything, anytime soon.

"Embry." Sam demanded.

"No fucking way." Kenda said, jumping up from the couch. She turned to me and pointed. "That's why you said that he had a thing for me."

She didn't need to ask. She already knew. She huffed and dropped, heavily, back onto the cushion.

"No, no, no. This can't be fucking happening."

"What?" I asked as I leaned my head back to look at Bella.

"You imprinted. That's what you call it right? You imprinted on me, didn't you?" She asked, with panic evident in her tone.

"Sure as hell did, sweetheart." I said, relieved that I didn't have to break the news to her.

She pulled her leg up and nudged me in my back, hard enough to snap my head back into it's upright position.

"This can't be fucking happening to me." She whispered, as she shook her head back in forth.

"Why?" Sam asked, clearly confused on why she was taking this so hard.

"How in the hell, do the spirits see me and him compatible at all." She said, waving her hand back and forth between her and I. "He obviously can't stand me, and I thought I made it clear that the feeling was mutual."

That's where she got it all wrong, though. I liked her. Loved her? No. But, I could see myself in that position, in time.

"He'll be whatever it is you need him to be." Sam said.

"Wait." Bella said. "What do you mean, that he'll be what I need him to be?"

I could sense the wheels turning in her head, with the excitement that resonated in her tone.

"Would you care to explain, Paul?" Sam said, handing the reigns over to me.

I shook my head, no, allowing him to continue.

He sighed, but continued anyways. "He could be your lover, or friend. He can fill the roll as a big brother. It all really depends on you. What you need." He sat back and put arm up over the back of the chair. "The problem is, the imprinter would need to be in almost constant contact with the imprintee. Once the connection is recognized, it becomes almost painful for the imprinter to stay away. They need the contact."

"He'll be anything I need?" She asked.

"Essentially, yes."

"Do you know what I really need at the moment, Paul?" She said seductively as she nudged me lightly with her knee.

"What?"

"A mechanic." She said,as a smirk lifted the corner of her mouth. "The rust bucket out back needs some work."

Everyone erupted into laughter. Hell, even I thought it was funny. It only seemed to agitate her more.

"This isn't right." She yelled.

"Why is that?" I asked before I thought to keep my mouth shut.

"Because. You're just...well...you...and I'm well...me. There is no way in hell, that we'll ever see eye to eye." She stood up and began making her way to the hall. "You infuriate me to no end. It's getting late. Kenda, Ange, I'm going to bed. You all know where the door is. I trust you to use it." She finished as she turned and walked out of the room.

"That went pretty good." I said, as I stood up.

"How in the hell did you see that, as going good?" Kenda asked.

"She didn't try to punch me again." I said, smirking. "I'll see you all later. I'm going home."

I closed the door quietly behind me and started walking towards my house.

Mom was at work again, doing another double, so I knew she wouldn't be home until some time tomorrow. My bed was seriously calling my name.

The house was quiet when I entered, and I wasted to time, climbing the stairs. When I made it to my room, I walked in and began peeling my shorts off. Throwing them in the direction of the hamper, I climbed into my bed, clad only in my boxers, and began thinking about everything that happened in the last few hours. Bella was stubborn. Very stubborn. But, I had no doubt that I could eventually break right through her carefully constructed walls.

I just had to rethink everything now.

"Hey baby. I've been waiting for you."

How the fuck did I not notice she was here? I'm a wolf with all these extra senses and I didn't notice. Fuck!

"Jess," I yelled, as I sat back up. "What the fuck are you doing here?" I swung my legs over the side of the bed and stood up. I needed to get as far away from her as I could.

"I missed you. You haven't called." She said, crawling towards the edge of the bed. "You seemed really tense these last few days. I figured I'd come over and help relieve a little of that stress." She finished as she licked her lips, stood and walked towards me.

I think I'm going to be sick.

"Jess, you need to put some clothes on." I said, backing up. "Then you really need to get the fuck out of here."

"So, that's it then?" She screeched.

"You knew what this was, Jess. I never lied to you about anything. So, with that said. Get your clothes, and get the fuck out." I finished as I pointed to the door.

She walked around me quickly and picked her clothes up that were scattered everywhere.

"This isn't over Meraz." She said, as she stumbled near the door.

"You're right." I said, laughing. "It isn't. Because nothing ever fucking started."

"It's because of that new bitch, isn't it?" She said, stopping to stare at me. "That girl, Bella? I've seen how you look at her."

"This has nothing to do with her." I said, becoming more and more pissed as the minutes ticked by. "You knew all along that this wasn't going to last. So, if you don't fucking mind. Get the fuck out of my house." I said, in a low growl.

She didn't say anything else. She turned after a few minutes and walked towards the stairs. The slamming of the front door signaled her leave of the house.

"Good riddance." I yelled in afterthought as I climbed back into my bed. The darkness pulled me under quickly.

Two days later

School on Monday morning was a bit different then they were before. The girl's hadn't showed up yet, and I was getting a bit antsy to see them. Well, Bella. I didn't get the chance to see her yesterday, because she had a shift at the diner. I thought it would be good to give her some space to try and process the entire fucked up situation.

Jared though. Jared was funny as hell. It's comical to see how three tiny women, were able to make a bad ass wolf twitch with fear. That's all he's been doing. He's been looking over his shoulder, constantly. He doesn't know whats going to happen. None of us do. But, it doesn't stop the panic from seeping in.

"Cant you sit still for three fucking seconds?" I asked, laughing.

"Not fucking possible, man." He said, looking over his shoulder. "I have no idea what the hell they're up to, and I'm going to stay on guard until this whole fucked up situation is over."

"They're here." Embry said, jumping up from his perch on the bench.

I glanced over to where the girls usually park, and sure enough, there she was. And fuck, if she didn't get even more beautiful every time I see her. They all jumped out of Angela's truck and shared a quick glance at each other. They turned as one and started walking towards us. Smiling. Fuck, they're up to something.

"What do you think's going to happen?" Jared whispered from over my shoulder.

"Shut up." I said, as they finally reached us.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" Bella asked, stopping right in front of me.

"Sure." I said, a little unsure of where this was going. She was being nice. Too fucking nice.

"Somewhere where no one can hear us?" She asked, nodding towards the guys.

"Come on." I placed my hand on her lower back and led her away from the rest of the group. I would be lying if I said that I didn't feel the heat or the electrical current that ran through my hand, up my arm, then directly down my spine. I tried to ignore it.

When we got far enough away, I stopped, turned and nodded for her to start talking.

"Is this far enough?" She asked, glancing back to the group. "Can they hear us here?"

"They won't be able to hear us. What's going on?" I asked, as I leaned towards her.

"Just wondering." She said, as she placed her hand on my chest. "I've heard you guys talking about Jared's girlfriend before." She moved her index finger in a small circle. "Who is she?"

"Kim?" I asked, confused on where she was going with this.

But her ministrations felt nice. Really nice.

"Does she go here?" She said, as she moved her hand slightly to the right. Her finger grazed my nipple and I held back the groan that was threatening to leave my lips. "How come I've never seen her?"

"What's going on Bella?" I asked, rolling my eyes slightly. "Why... why are you asking all these questions?"

She moved in closer to me. Her breasts were lightly grazing my abs. "I just wanted to know." She said in a whisper, lifting her eyes to look into mine. "I kind of... just wanted to talk to another imprintee."

She moved her head in closer. The hair on the top of her head, tickled my chin with the small contact. "Please Paul." She begged.

I was fucking lost.

"She doesn't... she doesn't go to this school." I said, lifting my hand and resting it on her hip. Pulling her in a little more, I inhaled the intoxicating sent of her hair. "She's home schooled."

"Oh." She said, as she trailed her other hand up and down my biceps. "I just really wanted to talk to someone about this. Someone who was on the other side." She looked up and moved her lips closer to mine. "Someone like me."

"Fuck, Bella." I said, as I breathed her in. "There's no one like you."

Her eyes conveyed the sadness of not being able to talk to Kim at school. And I understood that she was upset, and wanted to talk to someone else that was in the same position that she was in. Sighing, I pulled away and reached into my pocket for a piece of paper and the pen that was usually there.

Scribbling quickly, I handed the paper to her, and then kissed her forehead. "Here." I said. "This is her address."

She grabbed the paper, and shoved it into her front pocket. "Thanks, Paul." She whispered. "We better get going before the bell rings." She said, as she turned and walked back towards everyone.

I followed her, like the lost puppy that I was, and when we made it back to are small group, she nodded to Kenda and Angela. Together, the three of them, turned and walked back towards Angela's truck.

"What the fuck is that all about?" Jake said, voicing my own thoughts.

The girls jumped in, started the engine, and took off out of the parking lot.

"Oh fuck." I said, as I dropped back down onto the picnic table.

"What?" Embry said, clapping a hand to my shoulder. "What's going on man?"

"I just got played." I said. The bell rang, and everyone reached for their bags.

"She's fucking good." I whispered to myself, as I stood and walked towards the front entrance of the school.