It had been a week since Paul had imprinted on Amelia, and within that time, they barely had time to themselves. The witch had shown them how she could track down the redhead, and with that, Sam inquired her to work with the pack to catch Victoria. So now, the only time the wolf got to see his mate was at a pack meeting around a table at night, Amelia spinning a crystal while one wolf spoke to another to try and find her scent and location. It was frustrating.
He wanted to be alone with her, he wanted to talk about how they wanted things to go, but she seemed like she was always busy herself before even thinking of them. Tonight though, the pack got the night off with Sams's command, and he was going to surprise her. So there he was, with his most excellent button-up shirt and the only pair of jeans he owned, walking up the driveway of the Cullens with a bouquet in his hands. Before Paul could even knock on the door, it opened, revealing his mate.
Amelia had asked for a night off from the pack, her magic needed to strengthen itself after constantly attempting to track Victoria. Tonight the witch finally got to wear her baggy sweatpants, a sports bra that read 'sexy' on the front, and bunny slippers while brownies baked in the oven and Mama Mia played on the television. Her usual flowy white curls were pinned up into rollers, and she was in the middle of biting into her homemade lasagna when the scent of Beach wood and cinnamon flowed through the door. It must have been an imprinting thing because without worrying about what she was wearing, Amelia found herself at the door, opening it to reveal standing there with a bouquet full of Sunflowers and a well-dressed Paul Lahote.
"Amelia?" Paul questioned, his eyes widening in awe at the woman in front of him. He had never seen her look so casual, and to him, it was like looking at the rarest jewel in the world. "You look beautiful," he smiled, handing her over the flowers as she looked stunned, holding them gently as he stood there waiting to be let in, seeing that she was still stunned, so he spoke up once more. "Do you mind if I come in?"
Amelia had never been one to take to surprises, a difficult thing to get used to since having Alice as her sister, and right now was not the best time for surprises as she stood in her pajamas in front of Paul. The embarrassment only grew when he called her beautiful, a blush growing on her cheeks as she ducked her head, her hand itching to pull out the rollers resting in her hair. When he had asked to come in, the witch looked up, nodding her head slowly, before leading him in, not knowing what to say as she went to place the flowers in a vase—trying her best to keep her calm. When she finally got her thoughts together, Amelia stepped back into the living room, arms over chest, trying to block out the wording on the sports bra as she looked over at Paul, who was now watching Mama Mia.
"What are you doing over here?" She asked, stepping over toward the couch as he turned his head, a small smile playing on his lips before seeing the uneasiness on her face. Was he making her uncomfortable? Did she not want him here? "I thought since we had the night off, I would finally like to try and spend time with my imprint," Paul told her, being completely honest as he tried to read her mind, wondering what was causing her so much worry. Then it dawned on him. "OH SHIT, YOU'RE IN A BRA, AND I'M...DAMMIT, YOU MUST THINK I'M A PERVERT!" he stood unbuttoning his top and throwing it around her shoulders as he turned away from her. "Please get dressed,"
Amelia stood there, a small laugh working its way in her chest as she buttoned the top, taking in the overwhelming scent of Beach wood and cinnamon, along with a cologne she couldn't quite place, but it was intoxicating. "I shouldn't have opened the door knowing how I looked; I guess I just got a little excited," she admitted before tapping his shoulder to turn around once she was done, seeing the goofy smile on his face. "Though, I know you didn't come over just to give me flowers,"
Paul chuckled, rubbing the back of his head as he nodded in agreement before explaining himself. "Well, I felt that since we imprint, we haven't gotten any time alone since you've been helping us hunt that...vampire girl..." he corrected himself, almost calling her a bloodsucker or leach, but he didn't want to offend Amelia. "So I thought we could spend the night, you know, getting to know each other and figuring this imprinting thing out," he felt like a teenager again, words just rolling off his tongue with silly meaning.
"So, like a date?" Amelia laughed, one hand on her hip as she grabbed her dinner, stepping to the side and bumping him out of the way before she plopped down on the couch. "Well, come and join me wolf-boy, the brownies will be done soon, so you might as well get comfortable," the witch smirked over at him, watching as he sat down next to her, his muscles flexing, causing her to nibble on her lip before stuffing her face trying to distract her attraction.
They spent most of the night in silence, watching the movie and eating dinner before the brownies were finally finished. Paul was nervous, but the warmth of her body near his helped calm most of his nerves as her hand inched toward his and her head leaned tiredly toward his shoulder. "Are you starting to get sleepy?" he whispered, her white hair brushing against his nose as she nodded slightly. "I've been using a bit more of my energy trying to find Victoria; I've also been putting up more wards around Bella's house to keep her protected while also keeping my normal wards up," the gray wolf didn't realize how much power she had and how much she pushed to keep everyone safe, no wonder she was trying to relax tonight.
"Well, how about we eat those brownies I smell, and then you get some rest?" He offered, looking over her head laid on his shoulders, her eyes closed, and she breathed slowly against him. A slight smirk played on his lips as he shifted his arm, wrapping it around her as her head fell to his chest. She was warm, skin soft against his as he just kept staring at her, wondering how he got so lucky to have his soulmate. Slowly he closed his eyes, breathing in her scent before falling asleep as well.
When morning came, Amelia awoke to the smell of bacon and the sound of someone humming in the kitchen. Confused, the witch looked around, noticing that she was wearing a button-up shirt, and then it hit her. She was on a date last night with Paul, and out of all the times to fall asleep, she had to do it last night. Getting up, the white-haired young woman slipped the rollers out of her hair and made her way into the kitchen where Paul was cooking shirtless and quite frankly making a mess in her kitchen.
Paul had woken up early, deciding to surprise Amelia with breakfast, but as soon as he began, he realized he wasn't the best cook. The bacon was burning while the muffins that had been placed in the oven were overflowing their tin. Not only that, but the disastrous cook had also left a mess; muffin mix splattered all over the kitchen island along with cracked eggs and a puddle of milk on the floor. He was trying to impress since they hadn't talked too much last night, and maybe waking her up for breakfast in bed could start a conversation. "What are you doing?" asked a voice causing the man to jump, bacon grease flying as it landed on, forcing him to cry out in pain, and the frying pan to go flying across the room.
It all happened so quickly, the bacon grease landing on Paul, the frying pan flying toward her as she ducked in time, and the fire alarm going off due to black smoke coming from the oven. "Dammit!" shouted the wolf as Amelia shook her head laughing, walking over as she picked up a slice of bacon taking a small bite. "Mmmmmmm," the witch faked a smile, trying her best to swallow the charred pork as she tried to stop herself from choking. "It's not that bad," she lied through her teeth, feeling gooey grease cling to her tongue.
"You don't have to spare my feelings; there's a reason why we always go to Emily's house for all our meals," Paul grimaced, shoulders sagging in defeat as he grabbed a paper towel to start cleaning everything up, only stopping when his imprint intertwined her fingers with his. "How about I clean up, and we go get some breakfast at the diner? My treat," she smiled, one of those Hollywood heartbreakers smiles as he blushed and nodded his head, handing over the towel, which she refused.
"Just watch," Amelia smiled, looking at the mess as she focused her energy, speaking low as she formed an incantation. The room twisted and turned its tone around her, the air shifting as the spell kicked in, leaving her imprint speechless. Before their own eyes, the dishes began washing while a broom and mop began to work around the floor. "Just a simple cleaning spell; I only use it for emergencies," the witch stopped to look around the room with a small laugh, "and I would consider this an emergency."
Soon the two were dressed, Paul back in his button-up and Amelia now in her black leggings and black "I love pizza" tee. They were just headed out the door when the witch's cell phone began to ring, looking down to see Bella calling. "Let me answer this, and I'll catch up with you," she smiled at Paul, handing him the keys to her Mercedes as she pressed the phone against her ear.
"Jacob is a werewolf!" The Auburn-haired girl practically screamed into the microphone, causing Amelia to pull the phone back, cringing. The human girl was panicked, rambling on about how she had a dream with Edward and how it led her to realize that Jacob was not human anymore. "I'm heading over there right now; I have to confront him, Amelia!" started Bella causing the white-haired witch to go into fight or flight mode, running toward Paul as he was just about to get into the car, practically dragging him by his shirt collar as she hissed under her breath.
"Bella, I don't think it's a good idea for you to go on the reservation; if Jacob is a shapeshifter, then it's not safe for you to be around him right now," Amelia warned, hoping that the stupid girl would listen. Still, she was already closing in on the Pack's land. "Bella, please just stay where you are, don't get out of the truck till I get there," without further explanation, she hung up the phone and pulled Paul up to his feet. "Our date has been canceled; go get Sam and the others and meet me at Jacobs house," the witch commanded, her mate not questioning her authority as he ducked into the woods, leaving her as she took a deep breath and headed toward the reservations where all hell was about to break loose.
Meanwhile, on the outskirts of Forks, Washington was nothing but dense heavy forest that coated itself around the small town as if a blanket of protection from the two twins that stood on its borders. Artemis and Apollo could feel their oldest sister's magic pulsing through the roots of the Olympic Peninsula, her powers enhanced by the vampire poison that flowed through her veins, along with her blood right of becoming the next Elder. "Remind me why we're here again, Missy," Apollo spoke, a small shudder escaping his lips as his sister rolled her matching green crystal eyes. "It's been fifty years of us hunting this bitch, and since we haven't been able to break through her wards I decided to come up with a plan to get our eldest sister exterminated," the redhead replied tartly, the hatred for her sister not passing on her birthright and deciding to keep it while living as a little leach fuel her disgust for the white-haired witch.
"So that's why I'm here," came a smooth high pitched voice, both the witch and warlock shooting their gaze up, seeing blood-red eyes staring back at them as a small smile pulled at Victoria's face. "When I found out the great witches of Salem were requesting my presence, a vampire out of all things," the woman let out a sharp laugh enjoying the irony as Artemis rolled her eyes, seeing the shock that played on her brother's face. "You summoned a vampire!?" Apollo asked flabbergasted, receiving a deadly glare from his sister as she stepped up, shoulders back as she began to speak.
"We have a proposition for you, something that'll move you ahead of killing the Cullen Coven and figuring out our problem as well," as she spoke, she pulled out a small stone, colors of black, white, yellow, and purple gleaming in the sunlight as the vampire fell from the sky, landing right in front of the witches palm. Her red eyes went between the twins as her diamond-encrusted fingers inched toward the pendant in curiosity, only to have Artemis close her fingers, a small smile playing on her lips. "Of course, you can have this only if you give us what we need,"
"And that is?" Whispered Victoria; her beauty enough could send mere mortals into war, but the witch had been watching closely and knew that the vampire wasn't just gathering humans for war; she was creating her army. "You can use this stone for protection from the white-haired freaks magic; anything she does between trying to find you or casting spells will be rejected if you use this," Artemis explained as she extended her hand, letting the woman gently take the stone, holding it close to her heart. "I've been watching you, and I know what your plan is; that's why you change that, Riley boy...I'm afraid I have to disagree with your methods, but if it plans through, then I would love helping you succeed in destroying that bastardized coven,"
Victoria oversaw the twins, flipping the stone between her fingers as she let the idea of working with witches sink in. "What would you want in return?" the redhead asked; it was apparent they wanted to destroy their sister, but the vampire couldn't figure out their end game. "Simple, we want you to make it known we are working with you; that way, Amelia will have no choice but to come out of her wards and fight us," the twin stated, her brothers face turning pale as he realized what she had planned all along behind not his back, but their covens as well. "You wouldn't want me to just kill her for you?" Victoria asked, surprised by the fierceness this witch had, seeing the fire of hatred in her eyes.
"The only way I can take place as Elder for my coven is killing my trader sister myself, my brother and I will assist you in your mission and keep you as safe as we can beyond these wards, but only if you spread the word to Amelia…" the witch stopped to think for a second, a sickening grin playing at her lips before continuing, "And of course, if you want to roughen her up in the process, do so as you please," Artemis made her intentions very clear, she was going to dominate her older sister, kill her and receive her reward of being the most successful and loved witch in her family. It was all coming to plan.
"Fine, you have a deal as long as you don't get in my way," Victoria stated, placing the stone in her pocket before turning and leaping into the forest before them. Both brother and sister stood in silence, Apollo shaking violently from fear of his sister's plan as Artemis turned her green-eyed gaze toward him. "You tell Mother or Father about our little plan; I will kill you as well," the twin threatened, turning on her heels and heading back to their car. No matter how many human lives had to be taken, the witch would take her rightful place as Elder, even if it meant destroying her own family in the process.