As always, apologies that this has taken so long! I'm doing what I can to make sure that this fic doesn't die, I'm just struggling right now. I'm writing as much as I can, so hang on in there! Thank you for sticking with me on this, enjoy!
Snorting out a laugh around her mouthful of food, River shook her head as she swallowed. "Put something up his ass." She stated easily, watching through amused eyes as the wolves around her flinched in horror. Their faces were a picture, that was for sure. If nothing else, it seemed that she could trust them all to act as though she just suggested skinning someone whenever she suggested that they do the same very things they asked of their imprints. She wasn't going to go too deep into the double standards, just deep enough that they felt it.
Behind her, Paul's chest rumbled as he chuckled. Unlike the others, he could sense the intention of her words. She wanted to get a reaction and she'd gotten one.
"My ass?" Jared yelped, glancing around with wide eyes, desperate for one of the other guys to come to his aid.
Laughing, Kim comforted him softly with a hand on his arm.
Still chuckling, River leaned into Paul and shrugged. "So there is something you wouldn't do for her?" She asked carefully, watching Jared still. She'd gotten him there.
"Wait." He started, staring her down. He knew it was a joke, but it was also an attack on his bond with Kim. Not enough of an attack to poke the wolf, but enough to prod at the man. After all, she was sitting right there, he had to defend their love. "I would do anything for her, anything at all-"
"Then let her peg you, Jared." Leah told him, earning a snicker from River, a cackle from Emily and an amused smile from Kim.
To Jared's shock, it was Kim who spoke next. "Do you not love me enough to do that?" She asked sweetly. So very innocently as she stared into his eyes.
Backed into a corner, being watched by the entire pack and the imprints, Jared sputtered. "Babe..." He started, a blush under his russet skin.
Jared and Kim, to everyone's amusement, had tried again after their previous failed attempt at spicing things up. This time, Jared had been bragging in the pack mind. He hadn't been vulgar, nor had he been an asshole, but he hadn't noticed Leah in there. He hadn't noticed, not until she'd stated that she was going to tell Kim.
Naturally, once the girls all knew, that meant hell for the boys. So, as they all found themselves in the den, River realised she hadn't ever felt quite so at home.
There was something magical about being around them all, snuggled up with Paul on all the cushions. Would this be her forever? Fuck, she hoped so. She couldn't imagine anything more beautiful than this, more beautiful than this sense of belonging. Things still weren't all well at home, so it was especially nice to feel as though she belonged in what seemed to have become her new home.
It had only been a few days since the conversation with Alma, yet still no apology from Dick.
In all honest, River figured he was going to be petty. If she had to guess, he truly wouldn't apologise until she moved back home, not that she was going to do that any time soon.
She texted with Brooke throughout each day, learning that their father hadn't made an effort around her either, not even since he'd been home for a couple of nights. Apparently they all -the three of them- ate dinners together in relative silence, but other than that Dick always found something to be doing.
Brooke even reported that he'd brought the parts of River's bike home from wherever the hell they'd been. She wondered silently if his apology was going to come in the form of fixing her bike. As much as she would have loved to ride it again, she was firmly sticking to her guns as far as an apology went. She wanted a real one. A vocal one. One in which he specified where he'd gone wrong and showed willing to change.
One thing that she found amusing though? For all their talk of her being seventeen, telling her she had to come how, she was too young, all that crap... she realised how damn close it was to her birthday. Her freedom.
She'd spent hours awake at night, just thinking. She thought about her relationship with Paul, about her previous relationship with Skylar and other girls. Briefly, just for the sake of being thorough, she wondered if she'd have been acting this same way if she'd been dating anyone but him. Her conclusion was that, no, things wouldn't have happened in the same way. Whether it would have come down to her not wanting to impose on a possible partner's parents or something else, she at least decided that the bond between her and Paul was partly what had made her fight so firmly. After all, it was a literal magical bond that wanted them together. What the hell was she of all people to fight magic?
So, as she and the rest of the pack laughed at the expense of Jared, she tried not to feel too bad about the whole situation. She hated what she was putting her mother through, but she figured it was made slightly better by the fact that she knew her cause was right in every fibre of her being.
"River's the one with a fake dick! Maybe Paul's the one that should be doing butt stuff!" Jared's final defence of his own backside, it seemed, was one of his brothers. It was a desperate attempt, truly, but it worked slightly.
Brow raised a little as a few stray pairs of eyes turned to them, River moved carefully to look at Paul. "This guy?" She questioned, looking somewhat sceptically back toward Jared. "Only if he begged." She added with a shrug, aware of a few teasing noises sent Paul's way. "You know, I'm sure I've got an unused one somewhere, Jared. One I could gift to Kim."
"No!" The word escaped the boy like a yelp, leaving the room to laugh at his misfortune.
They all stayed in the den a little while longer, all until things got a little depressing. Things had been going well, but one things River was learning quickly was that Jacob Black was still obsessed with Bella. Even now she was married, a Cullen, in a family of vampires. Hell, the girl was on her honeymoon as far as River knew, yet their future chief was whining about it all.
There were rolled eyes when he found a way to bring her up yet again, but River felt something deeper coming from Paul. There was still an anger in him, but it didn't frighten her.
Ironically, she recognised it. It was similar to what she felt around Brooke occasionally, but feeling it through him was strange.
She still wasn't all too used to the magical components of their relationship like the feelings, the pull from the bond, all that stuff, but she was trying her best to actually tune into it now as opposed to ignoring it. It was difficult, but she figured it was the trying that counted. Well, it actually wasn't difficult, but she found it somewhat emotionally exhausting to be constantly reminding herself not to fight it all the time. She wondered briefly if Kim or Emily would have understood but silently dismissed the thought. After all, Paul had told her that they hadn't fought it like she had.
"They called Charlie this morning." Jacob stated glumly into the air of the den. "They're saying she's sick now." The disgust was clear on his voice.
Around River, Paul's arms turned to stone. There wasn't much else that changed in his posture or anything like that, but his arms were an iron cage around her as one of his hands balled into a fist in her lap. She drew her knees up toward her chest in an effort to hide it for him, seeing as he was seemingly trying to look calmer than this change of topic made him.
With a slight clear of his throat, Sam sat a little taller. "She made her choice, Jacob." There was a distinct silence among the others, one that River sure as hell wasn't going to break.
Paul had told her about Jacob's so-called love for Bella Cullen before but she hadn't actually witnessed it before now.
Watching him -just as they all were- made her curious. He seemed physically distressed over the whole thing, but why?
"Made her choice?" Jacob barked incredulously. "She's dying, Sam. He's killing her!"
Wait, what?
Silently, River glanced up at Paul, knowing damn well that the confusion would be clear on her face. He'd told her about the Cullens, sure, but hadn't he said they were some kind of safe?
She could ask him about it later, not right now. She didn't want to so much as breathe out of step now, not while Jacob was having his moment.
In response to her silent question, Paul simply drew her closer and planted a tiny kiss on her head, keeping his nose pressed into the couple of inches of hair on the side of her head. She noticed that Sam had also pulled Emily a little closer, as had Jared with Kim. It seemed that talking about the cold ones brought out some protective instinct in them all. Or it was possible that the other two were feeling as mad as Paul about the whole thing -something that she wanted to ask about later- an simply wanted to take some kind of comfort from even the scent or the skin of their imprint.
"Jacob," Sam's tone was warning, rumbling through his chest and making a few of the boys drop their heads. Submission, River could see. Paul's remained directly beside her own, breathing her in. "I told you, she's not our responsibility anymore. She knew what she was doing. We all know she's not coming back human-"
"Which voids the treaty!" The younger wolf snapped, clearly not willing to shy away, not even while everyone else was so clearly uncomfortable. Some of the others even flinched at his voice, squirming animalistically in their spots in some vein effort to shy away from the conflict around them. "The treaty say that-"
"No more. God, Jake, come on. They're not turning her on our land. And again, she chose this. Let it go-"
"Our reach extends past our land and you know it." Jacob spat, venomous in his tone, only now the venom was for Sam.
A few spots away, Leah rolled her eyes and huffed. "Give it a rest, Jacob-"
"Stay the hell out of this, Leah!" Jacob turned his glare on Leah for barely a second, but it was enough. Enough that she flinched for some reason. River didn't know what it was, but she figure it had something to do with the whole future-alpha thing that Paul had mentioned before.
From Leah, whether from anger or embarrassment, a low growl flowed from her, hanging on the air. "She chose him, Jacob. Accept it and move on." It was clear to anyone that this was coming from someone who'd felt wronged by a romance before, that she was coming from a place of understanding, but the anger was still evident.
"Jake, come on, man." Seth's voice, sweet and pained at the sight of his two favourite people at odds, came next. The desperation and pleading sent an ache into River's chest. He really was such a sweet kid. "I mean, you didn't imprint on her, right? There's someone out there for you-"
"Imprinting?" Jacob scoffed, immediately sending a dark prickling feeling into River, made worse again when his eyes scanned the room, stopping on her and the other two. "Right, because what I really need is for the spirits to tell me to fuck my girlfriend's cousin. Or to give the obsessed nerd in class a chance. Hey, maybe I bully some chick for being gay and then I fuck her in her car, right?"
Paul was shaking behind River before she even processed what the fuck Jacob had said.
"Outside, now!" Jared snapped from behind Kim, immediately drawing everyone's attention. He was shaking as badly as Paul, but his grip on Kim was gone as he stood, clearly ready to throw down. He stepped around her quickly, walking practically through her hand when she reached out in some desperate attempt to stop things.
Jacob simply scoffed and stood, stepping forward to square up to Jared. "Oh, did I get something wrong?" There was a foul, teasing note in his tone, practically giving Jared the finger.
As quickly as they were in one another's faces, Sam was up too. Just like Jared and Paul, he was shaking, but the look of stern control on his features showed his strength. As River looked at Paul, seeing the pain and anger muddled in his features as he desperately fought himself for control, Sam barely looked uncomfortable if not for the seemingly violent tremors.
Eyes trained on Jacob, Sam's hand came up slowly. He placed one on Jacob's shoulder and the other and Jared's. To Jared, he gave a firm shove back toward Kim, but Jacob? He gripped Jacob's shoulder stiffly in his hand and levelled him with a glare. "Go for a run, Jacob." He told the boy in a low, commanding voice.
Everyone was watching as Jacob looked across at Sam, his brother, his mentor. "She's going to die, Sam." His voice was somewhere between a whine and a growl.
Sighing, Sam nodded. "She is." He confirmed sadly. "They're off wherever the hell they are in the world, you couldn't stop it now. Just take comfort in the fact that she's finally happy, Jacob. Let's put this situation to bed."
Through it all, River couldn't help but feel almost sick. She still wasn't used to when the guys fought, be it verbally or otherwise. Seeing it, seeing evidence of the supernatural as they shook, as they talked of the magic, it was almost too much for her.
It was only a few seconds later before Jacob shrugged Sam's hand off and stormed out, but it felt as though the stand-off had lasted hours. Through it all, Paul never once let go of her.
They all tried to pick up conversation here and there afterward for a little while as the wolves all began to relax a little, but nothing stuck. Try as they might, the conversation just wouldn't flow thanks to Jacob's little yelling match.
River and Paul left a little later on, saying their farewells before hopping into her truck and driving off.
The air felt thick between them as River drove. It was uncomfortable. Still, when she placed her spare hand on Paul's thigh, he seemed more than happy to cover it with his own and give a small squeeze of encouragement. She figured that he didn't exactly like to be reminded of what they were before the imprint, just as she didn't. After all, they hadn't really ever worked through that, they hadn't navigated through their past behaviours together, instead having simply taken what may as well have been a huge leap. It was lucky that they'd landed in bliss together.
"You okay?" River finally asked once they'd parked up outside Paul's place.
He didn't reply for a second, seemingly taking a breath to steady himself before facing her. Looking back, she could see the anguish on his face as he thought back to how he had treated her before. "I'm good." His voice was a grumble like that of a petulant child. She almost laughed as he near enough began to pout. "I'm sorry." He added a moment later, sighing and raking a hand over his face.
Bringing their joined hands up, River laid a kiss on Paul's knuckles with a small smile. "We're past all that crap, okay?" She told him easily, genuinely meaning it. "You and me? We're good, Paul. Don't let him in your head. Sure, we started off a little rocky, but so what? Jacob's pining after a girl who just married a vampire, I think that trumps our levels of weird."
"It does, right?"
"It totally does." She confirmed easily with a tiny snort, half way between laughter and plain old disbelief. "Come on, let's go inside. We can make some cookies and cocoa if you like?"
This time it was Paul's turn to plaster disbelief on his face. "And risk Skylar beating my door down and killing me in the night when you snitch on me during your next session?" He reached across the truck's cabin, landing a playful punch on her leg, one that she quickly returned. They both smiled as he faked being knocked out -in spite of River's hit landing on his arm- and laid his head back against the back of the seat among the loose strands of the upholstery that didn't seem to have been cared for in at least a decade.
"Or you could just help me get some cardio in. You know, get a little sweaty together, work them off." River voiced, watching through amused eyes as Paul miraculously awoke from his previous state.
"Please tell me you're not talking about jumping rope." He muttered, eyeing her hungrily. He really did have a way of making her feel like some kind of goddess. "Although, maybe I'll watch you jump rope some time. Preferably shirtless."
She couldn't help but giggle at his words, watching a grin capture his entire face. "I'll let that slide, boobs are fun to watch." She ignored the fact that skipping rope without a shirt and sports bra would likely be painful. They didn't need reality ruining a perfectly fun moment.
"God you're hot." In spite of the gravel in his voice, there was still such a pure, undiluted love in his eyes.
When River replied, it was with the smallest of smiles on her face. "Then come inside and bend me over something." She watched a glaze hold him for a second, then they were both all but leaping from the truck, flinging belts from their bodies as they went.
River, nearer the house, practically fell backward into the front door, waiting for Paul. When he rounded the truck's hood, it was with the movements of a predator.
Her breath caught in her chest as she found herself locked in his sights. She'd always feared the more animalistic side of him, scared that it stole humanity from the man, but watching him stalk toward her made her certain of a few things. One, he absolutely wanted to devour her. Two, it truly was attractive as hell. Three, it absolutely didn't mean a lack of Paul, it simply meant that the wolf wanted to share the driving seat sometimes; something that she was growing to love.
With her back pressed firmly against the door, already damp from the ever-present rain, she felt so deliciously helpless as he finally reached her. This, she knew, was it. This was exactly what her heart had already known was coming all those weeks ago when she had first wondered in the safety of the gym's storage closet just what it would feel like to actually struggle in a lover's grasp.
Whether Paul found a way to read her mind or he simply knew what she wanted, he took her hands quickly, lurching forward. He smothered her in himself, engulfing her in his scent as he growled softly down at her.
She barely had a second to pant and yelp at being grabbed before his lips were coming down on her own, demanding. She rolled the length of her body against his, revelling in the way that his grip tightened as he pulled her hands upward, trapping them in his iron grip either side of her head.
Testing, she gave them a pull, moaning into his mouth as he simply growled into her and held her there.
It wasn't long before Paul was forcing the door open, backing her through it. With anyone else, she'd have worried that she'd have fallen while walking backward, but with him she was simply content to stumble with the knowledge that he would catch her.
The door stayed wide open, having not been shoved closed by either of them in their haste, leaving their noises to fall on the open air.
They ended up crashing into the arm of the couch, giving River the perfect opportunity to use it as leverage as she leaned into Paul's impossibly stiff hold on her. She trusted in their combined strength as she wrapped a leg around his waist, using momentum to swing the other up, locking her heels together behind him.
He immediately ground down into her as he had her trapped between himself and the couch's arm, eliciting a breathy whimper as she strained to feel as much of him against her wanting body as possible. That familiar, desperate heat was spreading through, leaving a heavy blush to consume her. The feeling of it inside her, snaking through her, turning her to nothing more than a pliable lump for him to mould was almost too much. It was almost enough to leave her whimpering and at his mercy, unable to so much as think.
Her breathing was coming quickly now as they kissed, as was his. Every other breath from at least one of them seemed to be some kind of noise of either delight or desperation, lost in one another as their tongues danced. His mouth was hot and firm, taking from her as she submitted easily to him.
When he finally dropped her hands in search of the hem of her shirt, she was quick to do the same. They fumbled with one another until neither of them had a shirt in the way, parting their lips only for as long as strictly necessary.
Quickly, desperately, River threaded her hands through the thick hair on the back of Paul's head as their kisses deepened, holding him as close as possible while his own hands gripped her sides, pawing at her.
It wasn't long before one of Paul's hands came up and laid itself gentle onto the soft flesh of River's throat, possessive in it's hold.
Their kiss ended as Paul used a single thumb on her jawline to push up just a little. She tilted her head back immediately, more than happy for him to do whatever the hell he wanted to.
The attention that he gave her exposed neck was immediate. His lips were insistent against her skin as he kissed and nipped, pulling noises from her chest that she would have been thoroughly ashamed of any other time. Everything about it was heaven, from the grip he had on her to the things his mouth was doing to her. She wanted more. She wanted him, all of him.
Try as she might, she couldn't muster enough breath to convey her thoughts to him, couldn't beg him for everything and more. Luckily, it seemed that either he was as tapped into her feelings she she was in his, or he could simply read her like a book. She didn't care which, not when the hand on her throat slipped around to the back of her head, holding him up as his other hand slid down between them and slid straight into her pants.
A gasp barely had time to leave her before she felt his fingers, strong and capable, promising pleasure as they gripped her firmly through her boxers. The entire time, his lips never once stopped their beautiful torture on all the sweet spots that her neck had to offer.
With her hands tangled in his hair, she could do little more than hold him close and writhe against him, grinding herself feverishly against his hand and allowing the sensations to course through her body. If there was one thing she wouldn't ever get over, it was the way that their bond intensified certain feelings. Namely, the fact that she already felt herself on the path to orgasm.
Any other time, with anyone else, she would have worried about him leaving a hickey. She'd have been thinking about other things, possibly about fighting, anything that her mind drifted to. There were no such thoughts now. No worries of hickies, no thoughts of fights or of the gym, no thoughts at all. Hell, she wouldn't have been able to say her own freaking name if someone had asked it in that moment.
"Shit." She panted grumpily when Paul eventually pulled away, taking his hands and his lips from her as quickly as the expletive had been expelled. Granted, his reason was sound as she noticed he was merely leaning back to unbutton his pants, but she cursed the distance between them.
The classic cocky smirk of Paul Lahote, resident asshole, was a welcome sight. "Problem?" He asked down at her from his position above. She had to admit, this side of him was really doing it for her. As if it wasn't obvious.
As the sensations began to fade ever so slightly, returning her mind from it's previous state, she couldn't help but chuckle and shove him lightly. "Shut up, Lahote." She grumbled, earning a laugh from him. "Get your freaking clothes off." She then ordered, watching a single brow raise. Oh, right, she wasn't in control right now. He was.
His hands stilled over his crotch, seemingly unwilling to follow her command. Fuck. Then, moving faster than she could comprehend, he was on her again, this time with both his hands grabbing hers. He trapped them above her head with next to no effort, smirking mercilessly down at her as she gasped beneath him. The wolf was very much out to play and she was caught in his sights. "Or what?" His voice was more a growl than anything when he finally spoke after watching her struggle in his grasp for a moment.
Full disclosure? She didn't even try to hide what his voice did to her. "Or you don't get sex, asshole." Okay, so she was going to poke the bear. Or, more accurately, the wolf.
Still smirking, he chuckled above her, leaning over her and lowering himself until their bodies were barely touching. "I think you want it almost more than I do." He mused, teasing her as he raised himself just as she desperately made to roll her body against his.
At that, she couldn't help but laugh and throw her head back petulantly, caught. He'd got her there.
Though she wanted to say something snarky, to shoot a comment back to him and keep their back and forth going, he was right. Fuck, she wanted him more than she wanted to one-up him. So, changing tactic, she stopped struggling. She stopped fighting him and raised her legs to cradle his hips, looking up at him with vulnerably large eyes. "Please, Paul." She begged softly, watching something in his features change. Something in her had put a new hunger in his eyes. For as much as he wanted to toy with her, he wanted to please his imprint more.
"Please what?" He demanded, though she could see him crumbling as his breaths became deeper. Beneath the surface, the man and the wolf fought for control. They both wanted her, but the man simply wanted to tease her and make her wait. The wolf wanted no such thing. The wolf wanted to dive into her face first and make her scream with glee as he devoured her, then find home in the mess he'd make until neither of them could breathe. Perhaps that was what he would do.
Panting, River groaned frustratedly. She wasn't used to being so powerless. Granted, she was fucking enjoying it. After all, the frustration was part of it all. "Please, Paul," She started again, making eye contact with him as she let that final wall fall down. If he wanted her to beg, then that what she'd do. "I want you to fuck me. Please fuck me-"
Their mouths were together before she could finish, groaning into one another with abandon as River's hands were freed, both of them hastily making to remove their clothes.
As quickly as her pants were gone though, shoved from her legs, tangled up with her boxers, so was he. "Paul!" She admonished quickly, desperately. She began to ask what he was doing, to demand answers when he grabbed her and pulled her up with him. Only, he didn't give her chance.
The second she was stood with him, his lips were on her again. She stumbled backward as he began to move, letting him guide her past the couch until her back smacked into the counter in the kitchen.
She moaned into his mouth at the contact only to have his lips ripped away yet again, this time as he spun her around. She had no time to protest the cold work surface against her lower stomach before a firm hand on the back of her neck was pushing, forcing her forward until she was bent entirely over the counter with her forehead resting against the top. His plans for her became clear in that very second, sending wave after wave of hot arousal through her. Holy fucking shit.
Indulging himself, he kept that hand on the back of her neck, pinning her firmly to the counter as he grabbed himself in his other hand. He ran himself harshly against where she wanted him most, hearing her desperate pleas as she begged for her pleasure.
He didn't make her wait. He dropped to his knees instantly, releasing her neck in favour of grabbing a single thigh in each hand. The muscle rippled beneath her skin at the contact, not that he gave her much time to react as he moved her legs apart and all but fell into her face first. He intended to have her screaming his name before he even fucked her, so he got to work. He lapped away at her just like he knew she liked, taking every ounce of strength in himself not to just stand and push into her when he allowed his tongue to delve into her depths.
Hands balled into fists beside her head as she squirmed, River cried out as he once again vanquished all thought from her mind.
Long gone were any thoughts of teasing, leaving only pleasure in their wake.
She couldn't get over how much she fucking loved him.
She was nearing her orgasm before she even knew it, thrashing between his devilish mouth and the harsh corners of the counter. That was when it happened.
A howl. It ripped through the air, even heard by her human ears.
Paul was gone in an instant. He was stumbling away, erection bobbing awkwardly as he faced the door.
Still panting, having been so fucking close, she all but fell from the counter. "Paul?" She panted, hearing the note of fear in her voice.
He was still as a statue, chest heaving as he stared off. Then he was moving. He was storming back to the couch, grabbing her clothes and practically throwing them at her as he growled deep in his chest. "Get in your truck. Drive to Em's right now." He snarled. His tone, she knew, wasn't for her, but it shocked her all the same.
"What's going on?" She asked dumbly, scared and confused as she began to wrestle her clothes back on. "Paul?" She prompted again as his eyes darted around just as another howl broke the silence.
"Now!" He snapped, near enough wrestling her pants onto her.
She found herself in her truck before she even knew it, ignition on as he snapped her belt over her. "Drive to Em's. Don't stop for anything." Paul's voice was all business as more howls joined the chorus, each one making him stiffer and sterner as he spoke. "I love you." He finally added as he forced her door closed.
"I-I love you!" She yelled, panicked as he turned immediately and began to run to the woods. Quickly, she wound down her window. "Paul, what's going on?" She called out, hearing how insane she sounded. After all, what the fuck was going on? Alas, she got no answer. Or, at least, not the one she wanted.
"Now, River!" He barked just as he disappeared into the treeline.
Fuck!
With his order loud in her ears, she drove. Fuck, she floored it.
The roads sped by and she was honestly amazed that she didn't hit something before she found herself skidding to a stop outside Sam and Emily's place.
Breathing frantically, she couldn't believe how quickly the evening had changed.
Still, there was no time to dwell. With the same worry on their features, Emily and Kim were outside the second she shut off her engine, guiding her inside as she babbled at them, questioning. "What the fuck's going on?" She asked, hysterical with panic.
"We don't know." Kim offered up, tears in her eyes as the three women found themselves huddled up together on one of the couches. "One of the boys howled and the others... Jared just ran."
A little calmer than the other two, Emily stroked Kim's hair softly. "It was Jake." She said in a small voice as the others looked at her. "I know it sounds crazy but I just know."
It took a little while for the three of them to calm down. Emily made some tea for them all and produced some food, but none of them could relax, not really. Even with the tv on, none of them could concentrate on anything.
Eventually, in a bid to relax even a little, River found herself asking if she could use their shower. "We were just about to have sex when it happened." She told them both, each of them laughing through their panic for a second. "I just feel all gross and... well, you know." She raked a hand roughly over her face. The worry wasn't subsiding at all, but she realised that not only was she still wet, she definitely didn't want the guys to smell that when they came back. She'd have just about died.
Thankfully, Emily nodded and showed her to the shower. The older woman gave her a towel and talked her through the knobs and such before returning to Kim with a soft smile.
As much as she wished she could have just had a nice, long, hot shower, she couldn't. For one, she didn't want to waste someone else's hot water. More than that though, she was emotionally exhausted. What the hell had Jacob gone and done? Or, worse, what threat had he run into? The thought made her blood run cold, more so when she thought about Paul running toward that imagined threat.
Under the hot water, she scrubbed herself. She scrubbed her skin raw with a little exfoliating soap, desperate to get the scent of arousal off of her. With little energy to do more than worry though, she didn't give herself long. At the end of the day, she figured that the guys knowing what they'd been up to was the least of her worries, especially if they'd just faced a freaking vampire out there.
God, she just wanted to see Paul and to know that he was safe.
Once she was out and dry, she dressed quickly, thankful that there wasn't any evidence of her previous state on her clothes.
She found herself back with Emily and Kim quickly, the three of them beneath a blanket on the couch just in time for more howls to ripple through the air.
"Sam."
"Jared."
"Paul."
They each breathed the names of their imprints out, knowing their howls whether they knew it or not.
"Was that all of them?" River asked worriedly.
Emily's hand was quickly on her shoulder, though she could see her own worry reflected in her eyes. "I'm sure they're okay. They've faced a lot together." River could hear the uncertainty in the older woman's voice side by side with her hope. She so clearly hoped beyond all else that her words were true, though she wasn't certain.
It felt like they were waiting forever. It felt as though an eternity of nothing passed before anything happened.
Sam was first back, Emily jumping up to greet him with excited tears and fearful kisses dotted on his face.
The others followed quickly, though none of them spoke, each looking for Sam. Wait, was that all of them? No, she couldn't see Paul. He hadn't come back. Had she been looking, she'd have noticed others missing, but her mind was on him only. "Where is he?" River demanded, panic rattling her as she watched Kim and Emily holding their men close. Where the fuck was Paul?
Just as her breathing began to change, Sam was the one to reach out with a smile and a hand on her shoulder. "He's okay. He's outside." He told her quickly. Her heart calmed some at that, but not enough. "It can take us a little while longer to turn back sometimes. He didn't want to scare you."
Didn't want to scare her? Christ, she'd been going out of her damn mind.
As quickly as her feet would allow, she was out of the door. No one made to stop her, nor did they try to follow her as she raced into the woods.
With her heart beating a mile a minute, she followed her instincts. She knew where he was. She could feel him. "Paul?" She called out as she ran, feeling as she closed in on him with each step.
She heard him before she saw him. She heard the harsh, heavy breaths falling from him along with frustrated growls. He was mad at something, hiding behind a cluster of trees as he desperately tried to find his way back into his human skin.
The noises stopped as she slowed to a walk, nothing but a few trees between them. "Paul..." Her voice, she knew, was fearful. Only, she wasn't scared of him. No. She was scared of what they had run into.
He didn't hide again as she cautiously rounded the trees, instead standing entirely still as she finally caught sight of him.
Oh.
For a moment, she almost felt as though the imprint had happened all over again. She felt transported back to the lockers that had changed her life, looking into his eyes and seeing that he was feeling the same very things as she was. "You're incredible." She breathed incredulously as she let her eyes scan over him.
He was enormous, larger than she remembered Seth being on the beach. Standing tall, he back was at least six feet, possibly more. He was covered head to toe in varying shades of grey fur, packed thick all over his body. There were some black hairs in the mix, some white too, but he mostly was grey. She hadn't ever seen anything so beautiful before in her entire life, she knew that immediately.
She hadn't even felt her feet moving toward him, nor had she meant to reach out, but when her hand came into contact with his thick fur, all of her previous worries melted away.
He was right there and everything was fine.
Releasing a huge sigh, he stepped a single step closer to her. She figured even that very morning she would have screamed and run away from him like this, but now? Well, she'd had less than an hour of fearing for his life and that had been enough. Nothing mattered other than him.
Neither of them were too sure how long they stayed there, simply staring at one another, but River felt entirely at ease around Paul in spite of his new form.
When he eventually changed back to stand before her on two feet, she found that she could do little more than smile and throw herself into his arms. "You're okay." She breathed out, inhaling the scent of her chest as she buried her nose in him.
Arms wrapped around her, nose in her hair, he did the same. He grumbled against her, holding her tightly. "I'm sorry for before." He spoke into her hair, not willing to let her go. "I know I scared you."
She shook her head lightly against his skin, smiling still. "It doesn't matter." She told him immediately. "You're okay. That's all that matters." She truly meant each word as she spoke, something that he seemed to know as he simply nodded and kissed the side of her head.
Together, they stood for another minute or two before Paul donned his shorts and they walked back to Sam's, hand in hand.
Alas, inside, it was not a happy place.
Jacob had left, followed by Seth and Leah. They were gone, at odds with the pack.
The one thing that none of them had seen coming had happened. Isabella Swan -now Cullen- was pregnant. What the fuck.
Not a super long one, I know, but I'm just trying to get things moving a little. I figured seeing all of this from River's side could be fun, especially as everything else is going on. I'm not planning to dwell on all of this too much, probably just a few more chapters, then I'm thinking about a little time jump to get into what their lives look like in the future.
Please let me know what thoughts you have on all this, I really love seeing them! Other than that, have a great day and I'll hopefully catch you again soon!
