Hello Hello! I am back! -What did you think of little ol' Jasper's POV? a bit darker than I expected, but he's harmless -same as Maria really. Nothing to worry about over there.

So, as promised, here comes another reverse harem fic. This time, Bella, Paul, and Sam.

I hope you enjoy this as much as you enjoyed The Locket :)

Stay tuned!

WARRIOR.

Chapter 1.

I have known about wolves for a few months now. Jake was the one to introduce me to that world even before he knew it truly existed. I had dated a vampire; it shouldn't have surprised me that werewolves were also real. But I got the shock of my life when Jake sneaked into my house through my window and drilled into my head that I already knew his secret. It was not my brightest moment, but I must admit it took me a while to figure out what he was talking about.

Ever since, Jake and I had been inseparable. We tried dating; we kissed and fooled around once, but it got so awkward afterward that we decided to stay friends.

I'd like to say that we were drunk, that we didn't know what we were doing, that we didn't know we were crossing a line. But we were stone-cold sober. We knew what we were doing. We were hormonal kids whose make-out session got out of control and decided to lose their virginities together.

We fucked. It was good. I can't deny it. We both orgasmed, and we kissed while we fucked. We kissed as if we were two lovers reconnecting after a long separation. The sex was good, the kisses were hot, and, like I said, we both enjoyed it. There was some awkwardness; after all, it was our first time, but since Jake and I had been friends for so long, the usual awkwardness of a relationship simply wasn't there. However, once the post-coital bliss ran out, we laughed like hyenas, got dressed, and simultaneously said, "Yeah, no."

We held no grudges; there were no longing looks from the distance. We mutually realized that even though the sex had been good, there was no romantic chemistry between us, and there was no interest in becoming fuck buddies. We were not against it but agreed that we wanted a deeper connection than casual sex.

That day, we laughed some more and talked about what happened. I opened up for the first time and told him I hated the Cullens for leaving. I hated Edward for breaking my heart. I hated Alice for not answering my messages. I hated Carlisle and Esme for making me think I had a home with them, only to rip them apart. It made me feel unloved and used. Jake listened quietly; even when the waterworks began, he hugged me and let me cry my heart out. It was cathartic.

I admitted to being over Edward and that I was genuinely sorry our crazy hormones had tricked us into thinking we could have become more. Jake was good to me, for me. But he said fate had other plans for us.

Even though Jake and I didn't develop any sort of relationship, our friendship did change, but for the better. It became more real. I had zero issues with calling him out, and he did the same to me. He became more than my best friend. In some ways, I think of Jake as my soulmate. This person who was put on the earth to be your other half, to complete you, understand you, and be there for you through thick and thin unconditionally, but that would not be your romantic partner. That was Jake for me. My soulmate, my kindred spirit.

I spent more time at the reservation than at my own home. Dad never cared as long as I updated him about my whereabouts. Through Jake, I met the rest of the pack, a group of rowdy, loud, obnoxious, hot, and damn loyal guys who would lay down their life for their pack brother. With time, I started thinking of them as my family. My chosen family. They gave me the same amount of crap they gave each other and Kim – Jared's mate and girlfriend.

At one point, the pack thought Jake and I were together. Jared drew the short stick and asked what everyone was thinking.

"B," Jared called for me.

I looked up from my food. He squirmed in his seat, uncomfortable.

"Are you and Jake together?"

Jake snorted, beating me to the answer, and said, "God no. We're not together."

Jared ignored him and looked at me, expecting some sort of reaction. "I wouldn't touch him with a ten-foot pole."

Jake stole the last muffin as revenge.

And that was the end of the conversation. Jake and I denied any relationship, and the guys took our word at face value.

As a result of Jake being more in my life, I opened up to more people. I reconnected with Angela from school, and we hung out a lot at the reservation.

She teased me a lot, saying I had ulterior motives to always hang out at the rez. I always denied any allegations. Not because they were untrue but because I refused to incriminate myself, at least not yet.

At some point, something undeniable happened between Jake and Angela, and the next thing I knew, they were together, almost attached at the hip. But I had never seen either of my friends as happy as I saw them when they were together. Angela asked me a million times if I was really okay with her dating Jake. She knew about my history with him and wanted to make sure I had no residual feelings. I had none, and I let her know so.

Jake broke down and told me the truth. Angela was his mate. I think he thought I was dumb and wouldn't realize what was right in front of me. I mean, he was the second guy in their group to find their mate, so it's not as if there was a pattern of behavior, but he acted with Angela exactly as Jared did with Kim.

Yeah, like I said, pretty obvious.

Edward, true to his word, never came back. And I got over the hurt and the emptiness. It hurt for a while, but there was no way I would stay down forever. He didn't give me a second thought and didn't deserve the same courtesy from me.

The wolves became my family while I finished high school and got over the asshole that broke my heart - because that's what Edward finally was, an asshole -.

My friends, my family were there every step of the way. I grew closer to Sam and Paul; it was like we were magnets or some shit like that, always gravitating towards each other. They became my biggest supporters when I applied for college in Seattle. They were there when I got drunk for the first time and didn't let me go home drunk to face the wrath of the chief of police. I crashed at Sam's place, occupying the master room while he got the guest room. I was too out of myself to notice.

But when I woke up, Paul was sprawled on the couch with a blanket pooling on his hips and snoring contentedly while Sam padded barefoot in the kitchen.

Sam swore that Paul didn't mind sleeping on the couch. "The guy can sleep standing if given the chance." It was clear that Paul was close with Sam. They ribbed each other and called each other names, but they knew each other like they knew the palm of their own hands.

Those memories always brought a smile to my face. While Jake was my best friend, something about Paul and Sam simply went beyond friendship. I was unsure what it was, but I knew I liked it.

When I graduated high school and finally left those prissy assholes behind, Paul and Sam were sitting with Charlie, Billy, and Jake. Between Ang and I, we had our own cheerleading squad in the stands. Mom couldn't come to the ceremony but sent me a semi-pro camera with the order to take tons of pictures.

On the eve of the anniversary of the Cullen's leaving, I packed my Chevy, ready to cruise to Seattle and start a new chapter in my life. I didn't want to be in Forks to mark the day. I knew the wolves would probably throw a bonfire in celebration, just like they had done the day they left. It was too much.

Jake hugged me and made me promise to call him when I got settled. He made Angela promise the same.

The day I left for college, Charlie gave me a big hug that almost made me cry. He murmured how proud he was of me and helped me get inside my car. Angela and I were leaving together from my house, having said goodbye to the wolves the day before. Paul had looked like he wanted to say something, but in the end, he only kissed my cheek, hugged me tightly, and left to patrol the reservation. I had turned to Sam for questions about his behavior, but Sam only said Paul would tell me when he was ready. But that only made me more suspicious, like he spoke more about himself than Paul.

Coming back to the present, I focused on Angela's car navigating the busy campus parking lot. Even though we arrived a week before classes started, and it was Monday noon, the school was busy. It seemed we were not the only ones with the idea to come early.

Finally, we found spots close to our dorm building entrance and parked. Angela hopped off her car and smiled brightly at me. "Are you ready to be a college girl?"

I snorted as if Angela and I would ever be typical college girls. "For whatever that entails, sure."

Angela only stuck out her tongue at me and settled for grabbing a few things from her car and walking to our building.

I sighed, grabbed my camera from the passenger's seat, and snapped a picture of my Chevy with the driver's door opened and my building in the background.

I took the same picture with my phone and sent it to mom with a quick message, 'made it safe and sound. Will call as soon as I have unpacked everything.'

I walked back to my car, started unloading my life, and walked it up three flights of stairs to the furthest apartment on the floor.

Yeap, for some reason, the dorms were being converted into small apartments. Ours had two bedrooms and a tiny living room connected to an open kitchen. It was far from luxurious, but it was a step up from a one-room two-bed dorm room.

I settled the first box in what would be my bedroom and sighed.

Here we go.

The next chapter.