Author's Note: Hello my beautiful people. Here I am, once again, bringing a new chapter.
I wanted to take the opportunity to inform that this will be a slow burn — Paul and Bella won't jump into a relationship straightway, okay? I'm sorry if that's what some of you are expecting, but I just can't see them ignoring everything else and jumping into something when they don't even know each other first. So yeah, there's that. Don't worry, though, we'll get to it. Eventually.
Disclaimer: I'm not the owner of anything you see in here. Just messing around.
Paul rushed down the stairs, clenching the jacket tight in his hand. The fact that Bella couldn't seem to follow the basic command to wait for him made his wolf howl in displeasure, but Paul pushed it down. Not only was Bella unaware of her place as his soulmate but she was still getting to know the pack — getting to know him.
Paul could control himself, for now.
As he stepped into the living room, Paul saw her before she even noticed his presence. He wanted to learn all about her, every detail. So he watched, closely. Watched as she tried to move quietly around the room, seeing the big TV hanging on the wall; the books stacked neatly on three parallel shelves above it; the huge leather couch on the opposite side of the room; and finally, above it, the various pictures of his dysfunctional family — him, Jared, and Anabelle Cameron.
Bella took her time inspecting the photos, one by one, seeming to find them way more interesting than Paul knew them to be. They were just some damn photos.
Finally, when he could no longer hold back his curiosity, he asked from where he stood:
"What are you doing here?"
She jumped high into the air, startled by his voice.
"I'm–is this your house?" She asked, blushing as she fidgeted in her spot at his question. It was obvious she was embarrassed at being caught, but Paul could only focus on the blood rushing up to her neck, which made him curious to see just how far he could push it before her entire upper body became that red.
"Technically, is Anabelle's," Paul answered.
A shadow crossed her face quickly before she hid it.
"Anabelle?"
"Anabelle Cameron," Paul explained. "Jared's mom. She took me in as a child."
"Oh, I'm so sorry," she said, understanding right away. Bella took a deeper breath than needed before she opened her mouth and asked: "Can I ask what happened to your parents?"
Paul felt his fist clenching automatically as the usual anger ran through his body. His family wasn't a topic he ever felt like talking about and having Bella asking of them in their first time alone took him by surprise.
"Forget about it," she backtracked, blushing in embarrassment. "I shouldn't have pried like that. It's none of my business, anyway."
Only it was. Bella had a right to know all she wanted about him, no matter how painful or shameful it might be.
"It's fine," he reassured. And it was. "It's just not something I'm used to talking about. My mother was murdered, and my father is in jail for it."
"Oh my God," she muttered, stepping closer and raising her hand as if she was going to touch him before thinking better. "Paul, I'm so, so sorry I made you talk about this."
"It was a long time ago," he explained, feeling ridiculous for the disappointment at the missed opportunity of her touch.
"Time doesn't heal all wounds," she said, shaking her head and stepping even closer.
She was no longer talking about his parents, Paul could see that. Her wound was the one still opened after a long time.
"I was seven," he shared, once again surprised by how willing he was to talk about forbidden subjects with her. The damn bond wrapped around his middle seemed to release a warm feeling whenever he gave her what she wanted. "I had a long time to deal with it. Ana has been raising me as her own for many years now. It doesn't matter anymore."
The lie felt bitter on his tongue, and the bond tugged uncomfortably in punishment. Apparently, lying to your mate wasn't a good fucking idea. It also made Bella look somewhat angry.
"Don't you think it's a little rude to lie to my face like that?" She demanded, crossing her arms in front of her body.
It was insanity. One second she was stuttering apologies and starring at the ground, the next she's calling Paul on his bullshit right to his face. It only made the bond tug harder, however, reminding him that she had every right to demand the truth out of him.
It didn't mean Paul had to obey, though.
He raised his arm.
In his hand was his leather jacket. It was the only one he wore whenever he needed to leave the reservation and pretend to be human. Although it was uncomfortable to wear, that jacket was his favorite piece of fabric Paul owned — it had been a birthday present from Ana. Paul never allowed anyone else to wear it, not even Jared — no matter how persistent the fucker was.
The worn leather was shaped to his body and it had his scent in it. Paul didn't want anyone else using it, so why was he holding it towards Bella? It was ridiculous. He had plenty of old jackets and sweaters she could've borrowed. Hell, most of them she could keep if she wanted to.
So why had he grabbed it for her? Why was he holding it forward for her to wear? The dam bond was messing with his head.
Paul wanted to retract his arm, hide the jacket and forget the whole incident, but Bella reached for it before he could. She grabbed it and instantly put it on, getting swallowed by the big amount of fabric.
"Thanks," she said, pulling the sleeves up to have use of her hands.
"Don't mention it," he dismissed, trying to ignore the sign of his mate wearing his clothing. "Just don't ruin it."
She seemed embarrassed at that, biting her lip and gazing down.
"Is this an important jacket for you? Because perhaps you shouldn't lend it to me if it is, 'cause I'm kind of a klutz."
There, the perfect opening. Paul would ask for it back and give her some other random one. That would be fine.
"Stop being so pathetic, you can handle not getting fucked up for one night," he said instead.
Now that she wore it, there was no way Paul could ask for it back. Bella could — should — have anything she liked of his, and he could tell she liked the jacket.
"You certainly don't know much about me," Bella muttered, turning to face his pictures again.
The sentence made his wolf stir inside him once more. He wanted to know anything and everything about Bella.
"I know more than you think," he corrected, moving to stand behind her to see the pictures that called so much of her attention. "Jacob talks a lot."
"No!" she cried out, turning in her spot. It made them stand quite close to each other — almost close enough to touch. "Please don't tell me he has been talking about me to you guys."
"Not exactly," Paul explained. "The pack has a telepathic connection when we're in wolf form, so we can hear each other's thoughts. Let's just say little Jake has a lot to think about you."
Bella groaned and hid her face in her hands before muttering the muffled words.
"This is so embarrassing. Stupid wolf magic."
Paul couldn't help himself, he laughed. Bella looked so embarrassed — as though it was the worst thing ever that they knew of her moments with Jacob. What would she think of the stupid wolf magic that connected the two of them? The laughter died in his throat.
"You're okay with him being a wolf, but not okay with us knowing things about you?"
"It's different," she babied, grumbling into her hands still.
"How so?" he tried to understand.
"It doesn't matter to me what Jacob is, he's still my friend. But those moments — those conversations — are private. I don't want you seeing it."
"Me?" Paul asked, curious. "You don't want the pack to see them or you don't want me to see them?"
She blushed darkly but raised her head to face his stare.
"The pack," she clarified. "I don't want the pack to see them; I don't care about you."
It was a lie, Paul could tell. That she would lie to his face hurt, but he didn't expect anything different. It did sparkle a need to mark her and make her submit, to assert his control. Thankfully, Paul was used to ignoring his primal urges, so it only took some effort for him to shove those needs aside.
"Is that so?" he grunted. "We should get back, the elders must be there already."
Paul didn't wait for her to argue or start to walk, he turned and began to leave. She could close the door after herself. He was crossing the street when he heard her running steps coming after him.
"Wait!" she called.
Paul hated that his body halted instantly at her words.
"I'm sorry, that was rude," she apologized, catching up to him. "I didn't mean to offend you."
"Get off your high horse, you didn't offend me," he snapped, tired of his own internal conflicts. "Let's go."
They walked the rest of the way in silence. Paul pretended to enjoy it.
As the stories were told, Paul carefully watched Bella's reactions. She was sitting next to Jacob. Close enough that he could wrap his arm around her middle and hug her closer.
Paul watched them — discretely, of course. He wanted the opportunity to observe them and judge as objectively as possible.
Bella seemed happy in his hold, not moving to put distance between them at any moment. Perhaps she was still recovering from the weeks he had had to stay away from her, and so desired to stay as close as possible. Paul knew from Jacob's memories that Bella hadn't been that relaxed about the physical contact before his change.
Bella didn't seem to be paying attention to him, though. In fact, she appeared to be absorbed in the old tales Billy was telling. The man was convincing, Paul would give him that, but after so many years of listening to the same stories, he could remember almost word by word of them. His mate, however, had never heard any of his tribe tales and looked entranced at the words being spoken. Paul's wolf liked that. Liked that his mate was interested in his legacy, in his roots and traditions.
Paul pushed the wolf down, as he did so often. It wouldn't do to grow that attached to her — not when she was still hooked on the bloodsucker; not when he had given the go-ahead to Jacob. Bella was his imprint, that's all. He would protect her and keep her happy, the rest would fall into the hands of some other man who will have the patience to put up with all her needs.
Paul didn't allow his wolf to control any other aspect of his life, and he wouldn't allow it to decide this. If he ever decided to go monogamous, then it would be his choice and his choice alone.
Fuck fate. Paul would make his own path.
When Bill finally stopped talking, Paul breathed in relief. No one had said anything about the imprint. Finally a stroke of luck.
He got up and stretched, trying to decide if he was hungry enough to go bother Emily for some food. Bella was suddenly in front of him, however, still wrapped up in his jacket.
"I'm leaving, and just wanted to thank you again for the jacket. I'm going...I'm gonna sleep at Jake's," she said, looking as though she meant more by that than just a simple information. "I've already cleared it up with Charlie."
Knowing that Bella would stay at La Push, where the majority of the pack was, made Paul's wolf pur in satisfaction, knowing it would be easier to keep her safe there.
"Great," he couldn't help but say. "It's much safer for you here."
For some reason, that seemed to annoy her, and she only muttered a soft goodnight before turning away and going towards Jacob.
Leaving Bella while she was unhappy triggered an unpleasant feeling and Paul went home cursing women for being so complicated — already knowing he would be shifting in a few moments to go guard Jacob's house.
AN2: Don't forget to leave a review! XoXo
