Paul
The day I imprinted on Rosalie was an absolute whirlwind. When I smelled a leech I didn't expect it to be a Cullen and I certainly didn't expect to imprint on her. The second I looked in to her eyes, I had a new purpose. For the first time since I phased, I was finally able to feel something other than this searing anger that had possessed me. I felt at peace. Imprinting wasn't anything like I had felt before, it was much more intense than Sam had described it. It felt like there was a tether connecting me to Rosalie, and I could feel how far she was from me. My elation was tainted by her confusion, and I was taken aback that I could feel her emotions. Once we started talking I could feel her anxiety ease, but the confusion stayed. I wonder if she could feel the way I was feeling too.
It felt strange for me not to hate the presence of a Cullen. I saw the way that the bastard Edward left Bella Swan alone in the woods, and they were the reason we were like this at all. I never liked Bella, but I hated what they did to her. I always thought she brought it on herself by associating with the leeches. Sam and I kept an eye on her for the first couple of weeks, until we both started having nightmares about her piercing screams every night and seeing her laying on the forest floor again the night they left her. I was glad when Chief Black told me that they had all left town, and nobody ever let us know that she had come back. I wondered if Carlisle had even told Billy or Sam what was going on. Rosalie couldn't be like the rest of them though. She had come back to make sure Bella was okay after all.
Bringing her to Sam's only reaffirmed how I felt, I knew that her and Emily would be great friends. The council might be a bit of an issue, and I assumed Jacob would be too once he phased since he hated the family of leeches but I didn't care. Rosalie was my future and what she was didn't matter to me. Being with her and the pack felt like I was on cloud nine. Jared and I left to go patrol and we had light conversation about how pretty Rosalie was, and that he hoped he'd find his imprint soon. He hadn't returned to school since phasing and neither had I. We hoped to go back for at least a few months in the Fall so we could graduate, and I was willing to bet he would meet his imprint there.
We had been keeping an eye on Jacob Black since he was so close to phasing. Today he was spending time with Bella and Embry Call on the beach. Jared and I watched from the trees as the three of them spent their day swimming, cliff diving, and laughing. They looked so happy and I hated knowing that Jacob's innocence would be taken from him so soon. Jared and I decided to phase out for and do some diving. We jumped from a much higher cliff than Jacob and Embry had, and I could feel their glares on us. They told Bella that we were part of Sam's gang and we were showing off. I wondered what she would think when Jacob joined us. Suddenly, Jared hit my arm and pointed in Jacob's direction. He and Embry were fighting and he was starting to shake. I saw Bella get between them and ran to them as fast as I could.
When I got to them, I grabbed Jacob and Jared grabbed Embry. "You guys need to calm down and come with us." I told them. "Bella, go to Jacob's house we will sort this out and he'll be back soon." Jacob jerked his arm from me and turned to stop her, but she had already taken off running down the beach. She looked so afraid when I spoke, as if she actually believed I was in a gang.
"Don't tell her what to do, Lahote! And get your damn hands off me." Jacob shoved me away. I looked at Jared and nodded before grabbing him and running to the woods. He was kicking and screaming the whole time. "PUT ME DOWN PAUL!" He shouted. I was worried about him drawing too much attention to us.
As soon as we were out of the public's line of sight, he swung at me. I noticed him shaking and I knew I needed to get him angrier to push him over the edge. There was no point in trying to stop the phase now. "What is it, Black? Upset that I took you away from your little paleface girlfriend?" He swung again, his fist cracking against my jaw this time. It hurt like hell, but I laughed at him. "Isn't she with Cullen anyway?" He growled and ran at me again. If I hadn't imprinted this morning, I would be losing my temper.
While I was trying to bait Jacob in to phasing, I noticed Jared coming in to the woods with Embry and he seemed to be doing the same thing. Embry Call was from the Makah reservation so it wouldn't make sense for him to be phasing, but he had all of the telltale signs that Jacob did.
"What was your fight over anyway? Is Bella in to Embry instead of you?" That was all that it took. Jacob screamed and started to run at me again, phasing this time and tackling me as his wolf. I phased too, and I wasn't sure if it was the shock of what happened or his fight with Jared that triggered Embry's phase but suddenly we were a pack of five.
Jared and I howled to let Sam know we needed him. It was only a few moments before he phased and we filled him in on what happened. Sam asked us to patrol while he filled the new wolves in on what had happened and what our role is in protecting the tribe. They talked about the cold ones and I could feel Jacob's anguish when he learned Bella had been with Edward even knowing what he was. I had hated the leech lover for a while for it, but I couldn't fault her now that I was with Rosalie. Or was I? We hadn't put a label on anything yet, but it felt like I'd known her forever. I couldn't wait to get back to her. The night was going smoothly and we were about to wrap up. Sam asked Jared and I to do one more lap around the perimeter of the res and meet him and the new wolves behind his house. We were almost done when Jared caught the scent of leeches. There were eight different scents and they were closing in on the reservation. They were coming here, closer to Rosalie and there weren't enough of us to stop them.
"Sam what the hell are we going to do? We are outnumbered and our imprints are at your house!" I was panicking at the thought of Rosalie and Emily being hurt. Jacob's thoughts turned to Bella and I growled at the thought of any of them being hurt.
Sam was by my side within what felt like seconds. "Paul, you need to remember that Rosalie isn't human. She can protect Emily, we just need to get a message to them to let them know somehow." I had forgotten for a moment what Rosalie was. I only hoped that she could keep Emily and herself safe.
"What do you mean she's not human? Rosalie the leech? She's a Cullen!" Jacob was searing and I couldn't blame him, but it pissed me off nonetheless.
"Why don't you mind your damn business, Black? She is going to keep our Alpha's mate safe, and she's been watching your precious paleface these last few months to keep her safe too." I felt my old anger returning having to defend her to him.
Jacob growled back at me. "Well, if she's trying to protect Bella she's doing a lousy damn job at it."
"Enough" Sam interrupted us. "The leeches are almost here and we still haven't let Rosalie and Emily know something is wrong." I could feel his anxiety, worry that Rosalie wouldn't be able to protect Emily or wouldn't know in time.
"I have an idea, Sam." Embry surprisingly spoke up this time. "We could all howl to let Emily know. If she knows what you three sound like, she will know there are two new wolves. She should also probably realize we wouldn't be communicating with each other that way since we have the pack mind. I don't mind to go tell them either, I'm really close to your house." It was true, he was slow and falling behind. I didn't give Sam a chance to consider, my howl piercing the night. The rest of them followed suit and I could feel Rosalie's anxiety building. Emily had gotten our hint.
Embry ran toward the house to let them know. We stressed to him that we needed them to be safe to fight to our fullest potential. When we came up on the small army of vampires that were waiting, our hands were full. Sam took two right away and his rage was not lost on the rest of us. He was terrified that something would happen to his mate and that made him a better fighter. I focused on one guy that seemed to be the biggest of their group. He kept trying to get past me and it was like we were playing a game of cat and mouse. As soon as I thought I had him, he'd get away from me. I finally was able to grab on to his arm, and he slung me into a tree. He took off toward Embry and before I could get to him, I was intercepted by a younger looking girl. I could tell she didn't want to be there, but she made her choices. It didn't take much for me to take her head off, and I seemed to really be doing her a favor.
In the middle of the fight, I could feel that Rosalie was leaving the reservation. Embry had shown us their conversation and I had hoped they were going to Alaska to meet her cousins. Once I knew they were a safe distance away, I felt comfortable enough to fight like myself again. The same guy I had been after earlier still hadn't been killed, it was like he was dancing around all of us. Like he was playing with all of us. I finally had enough, and I ran straight toward him. No matter how fast we went at him, he was faster. Jared almost had him and ran in to a tree. We were becoming tired, but he wasn't attacking any of us. There was a female vamp there too that was playing the same game with Sam and Jacob. Jared finally sank his teeth in to him and was thrown across the clearing.
He looked directly at me. "Your mate isn't far and I can smell a human with her. I bet she belongs to one of the others. I wonder how her blood will taste. But maybe your mate will be better equipped than you to stop me." He was laughing and I could feel my blood boiling. I knew he wanted to enrage me and I was trying not to let him see that it was working. I felt Rosalie getting closer to me and I was afraid for her.
He kept going. "So, Rosalie is your mate? Isn't she a little too hot to be slumming it with a pack of mutts?" He laughed at me again. Jared and I were circling him while he was talking. "A woman like Rosalie should be with someone of her own kind, like her husband Emmett." Husband? What the fuck was he talking about? How did he even know her? That was what sent me over the edge.
I ran at him again. He started to dodge me the way he had before, but I wasn't going to let him go that easily. I followed every step he took and snapped at him every chance I got, though I kept coming up a little too short. He darted in and out between the trees and I followed him until finally he tripped. I sunk my teeth in to his calf and started to tear the limb off when he shoved me backwards in to the tree. I started to run when I felt him grab me. Sam had always warned us that if they got their arms around us they could crush every bone in our bodies. I knew he had me and I didn't even try to run again. I told my pack mates I was sorry, and closed my eyes to wait for what I knew was going to happen next. He started to squeeze and I felt my ribs cracking when suddenly his grip loosened and I fell out of his arms. I turned around and saw Rosalie, with his head in her hands.
Rosalie disposed of him, and another vamp she brought with her helped Sam take care of the female. We needed information, and it was actually pretty entertaining to watch the three of them torture this bitch to get it. While they took care of her, Jared and I easily disposed of the rest of the bloodsuckers. I couldn't stop thinking about what the he said about Rosalie. Was she really married? Why the hell wouldn't she tell me that? I guess we hadn't really talked about any of that yet, but I think that is something pretty important to mention.
When we got to the Cullen's house, I tried to manage my anxiety for Sam's sake. Our dinner was uneventful, and it took my wolf the entire time to relax and realize that she was safe. Jasper seemed to be very close to her, but I worried about her family accepting our relationship. If there was going to be one that is. Sam seemed to tense up when Emmett was mentioned and I wondered if that was her husband. We had a lot to discuss later, and I knew the first thing would be what to do about Bella. She obviously couldn't spend the night with Jacob when he had just phased.
We said goodnight to Rosalie and Sam ordered us to keep our thoughts to ourselves unless we caught a scent. I hated the alpha orders, but I loved this one. We still thought of course, but our minds were closed off to the rest of the pack. After everything that had happened, he wanted a silent run. We split in to two groups to run the perimeter in each direction, he was running straight home to drop Emily off. I was with Embry and we had to run by Bella's house in Forks before we started on our half of the reservation. I didn't envy Jacob. He wouldn't take the news that he couldn't see or talk to Bella very well. I felt worse for her, having her heart broken a second time and for no good reason. She was probably worried sick about him right now after what she saw on the beach. I didn't feel as much contempt toward her as I did before I imprinted on Rosalie. I still hated Edward, but I couldn't understand how she was drawn to him. The rest of our run was uneventful and we quickly got back to Sam's place. We walked in to see Jared and Jacob already sitting at the table.
"Damnnnnn, it's about time you slow asses made it back." Jared slapped my back and laughed.
Embry huffed at him. "We had to go to forks, of course you made it back first."
Sam walked in with a plate of Emily's muffins and sat them on the table. She wasn't with him, she must have went on to bed. I looked at the clock and finally realized how late it was- about two AM. "How's everyone feeling?" He asked us. "Hell of a day you guys picked to phase, but we probably all would have died if you hadn't."
"Bella probably would have died too. Even if the Cullen bitch claims she was protecting her." Jacob said. I growled, and Jared held my arms down before I could jump from my seat. How dare this prick talk about her that way, he didn't even know her. He either didn't notice my reaction, or didn't care. "I don't care about the treaty Sam, we can't trust them."
Sam put his hands on my shoulders to force me into my seat. "I know you guys don't know much yet, but a word of advice. Rosalie is Paul's imprint, and Emily is mine. If you know what's good for you, you'll keep any comments about them to yourselves. A wolf's imprint is off limits, Cullen or not." He was handling this a lot better than I expected, but my rage hadn't subsided. "If that was Emily you were talking about, you'd already have went through that damn wall. The treaty has been in place for a long time and we will abide by it. Jasper did cross the line today, but we wouldn't have made it out of that situation without them. Do you or Embry have any questions for us? We didn't really get time to explain everything before we were ambushed."
Jacob looked weakly at Sam, and I tried to remember that he is still a kid. "Is Bella going to be okay? They said they're after her."
"Bella will be fine, Jacob." Sam told him. "We won't let anything happen to her, and Rosalie will be around to help us too." This was too much. Rosalie was not going to be volunteered for this.
I stood up and slammed my fist against the table. "She will not. Rosalie is not fighting alongside us, and I don't give a shit what any of you have to say about it. Would you ask Emily to face the redheaded leech?" I was on the verge of phasing.
"Emily is human, that's not the same thing and you know it. You would have died today if Rosalie didn't come in and save your ass, that tick had you." Jared had stood up to face me. "It's for the good of the tribe, get the hell over it. If Rosalie doesn't want to help, she will tell us that herself." I knew I couldn't swing at him without phasing so I ran out the door and he followed me, both of us phasing in Sam's backyard. "You can't talk for her Paul, she's a person too." I lunged at him and knocked him back into a tree behind us. I put my paw on his chest and growled in his face.
"She's MINE. I have to protect her, we aren't putting her at risk. I don't give a shit about the leech lover, she put herself in this mess when she started dating Edward." He pushed me off of him and stood in front of me.
"You can't be serious? You were just worried about Bella earlier today. I get why you're mad man, but we don't have enough numbers to be picky. We need Rosalie's help. To hell with Bella, what about the rest of the tribe? Emily? Our families? We have them to think about too!" He wasn't coming at me and I didn't know why, but what he said was making sense.
"If she volunteers we can talk about it, but we will not ask her. I'm not letting anyone make her feel obligated to do that!" I was trying to calm down but it wasn't working. The thought of Rosalie having to put herself in danger for us made my blood boil.
Sam had phased in while we were talking and I hadn't noticed. "Are you done acting like children?" He asked us. "Rosalie volunteered to help Bella already. She's been watching her for months. You know I would talk to her about it and she won't ever have to do anything she doesn't want to do, Paul. The imprint is going to be tough for the first few weeks. Can you both phase back or do I need to ask them to phase for us to finish talking?"
"I'm still too mad to phase back." I had to be honest with him. He phased out and before I knew it, Jacob and Embry were phased there with us.
"This is actually an easier way to finish out discussion. I'm going to tell you all everything I know about the Cullen family, the treaty, and imprinting. We can discuss specifics of being a wolf tomorrow and do some training, but for tonight I just want to give you basic information." He showed them things I didn't know, or maybe that I hadn't paid attention to. There were seven Cullens. Carlisle was the leader of the coven, and his mate Esme. Edward, that we already knew of because of Bella. Jasper and his mate Alice, and finally Rosalie and her husband Emmett. They certainly weren't mates or I wouldn't have been able to imprint on her.
Embry spoke next. "Paul, I'm so sorry. I didn't realize your imprint was married, that must be tough." It was nice of him to care, but I didn't appreciate the way he said it. Like she'd never chose me.
"Fuck off, Call." I growled.
Sam ignored us and turned to Jacob and Embry. "You boys need to stay away from anyone that isn't in on the secret for the first few weeks. Embry, Billy called your mom and told her you were doing some work for the tribe for the next few weeks and would be staying with him and Jacob. Your temper will be uncontrollable at first, and until you can learn to control your phasing you can't be around any humans."
Jacob instantly protested. "What about Bella? I can't leave her after what Cullen did. I promised her I wouldn't! And she's at my house right now, waiting for me!"
"She's not at your house Jacob, Billy sent her home when he found out you had phased. You can't see her, it's for her safety too." Sam was firm in his response. Jared and I had both been single when we phased, so we didn't have anyone to worry about leaving behind.
"She knows about the leeches Sam, we can trust her! I won't let you force me to abandon her." Jacob was adamant, and I knew he wouldn't take what Sam had to do very well.
Sam stood over him. "You will stay away from Bella Swan, Jacob. That's an order. In fact, all of you will. Nobody in this pack is to have any communication with her." I felt the weight of the alpha order. My sympathy for Bella grew. Jacob ran away from us, and Sam let him go. We knew where he was going, but he wouldn't be able to talk to her even if he tried to go in her house. We watched in the pack mind as he came up on the Swan residence. Bella was sleeping soundly, for probably the first time since Edward had left. She had Jacob to thank for that. We stayed silent for awhile until Sam spoke up again. "Jacob, you need to come back to my house. We are all going to sleep here tonight, we have to meet with Rosalie and Jasper in the morning."
Jacob didn't protest this time. He ran by Rosalie's house on the way back, and caught the scent of two more leeches but Sam assured us they were also Cullens. This could only mean that Emmett and Alice had come back early. I wondered what Rosalie would tell them, or if she would tell him about me at all. Maybe she would reconcile with him and forget about me. That would break me, but I would live with the pain if that was what she wanted. I phased out, not wanting to see any more. I went in the house and found my bed in Sam's spare bedroom. He had twin beds for me and Jared, and I imagined we would be adding beds for Jacob and Embry too. Emily had air mattresses laid out in the floor for both of them for tonight.
I laid in bed for an hour thinking about what had happened. My anguish quickly turned to anger. I had been dealt such a shitty hand, and now the spirits send me a leech for an imprint? A married one, at that. Rosalie didn't even tell me she was married when we had spoken earlier, but she had to know that Sam knew she was. She was chosen for me, and even she didn't love me. To hell with imprinting, and to hell with the Cullens. I had never been one for a serious relationship anyway, and I knew I could find solace inside of a rez whore tomorrow. I didn't need Rosalie, and I would make sure she knew it.