A/N: Read the A/N at the end of the chapter.

No copyright infringement is intended. All recognizable characters are the property of Stephenie Meyer. I own the plot and mistakes.

ENJOY!

01/06/2024


Rear-view Town

Chapter 3


Paul's life in Chaumont wasn't all that bad. That was his opinion, though. From what he knew, up until recently, he was born and raised there. It had always been just him and his mom. He didn't have any siblings, and his mother was an only child. From what he was told, her parents had died when she was young, so she was raised in foster care until she turned 18.

When she was 19, she had met and married Paul's father. Their marriage was short lived because when she was just three months pregnant with Paul, his father had died during a training mission in the Air Force. These are the stories Nina had told Paul as he grew up, and he wondered how she felt as she told him. He wondered if she hated herself every time she told him something new.

As Paul's mind kept pondering about all the stories his mom told him, he cruised at a steady speed, staying with the posted limit signs as he crossed every state line on his way to his destination. He knew at the rate he was going, it would take, at least, a week to get to where he was headed. That gave him plenty of time to think about all his options, and the way his life had turned out. He couldn't help it when his mind continued to wander to his past. Most of all, his heart ached for his mother, but what he was aiming to do, eased the pain only momentarily. He hoped it would eventually take the pain away for good.

The few friends Paul had growing up, had supported him on his decision to leave. They encouraged him to find his true place in life. The few years leading up to his departure, he felt a pull and an emptiness within him that grew every single day. His true heritage, which he had recently learned about, is what solidified his choice to go. He had done things he regretted, especially towards his mother. She had been his backbone, his voice of reason, and the whole purpose of staying by her side.

Once Paul reached the state line of Washington, he found the first motel he could find. He needed food and a good night's sleep before he traveled the rest of his journey. He wanted to phase and get a good run in to release some of his pent-up energy, but he didn't know the area, and he was afraid someone would see him.

Paul wasn't sure when he wanted to make his trip to LaPush. He really wasn't in a hurry, so he chose a town called Port Angeles to temporarily call home. He found a nice, posh hotel and paid for a week up front. They normally only took credit cards, but when he flashed cash at them, they made an exception. His main concern was how he would approach his father, but he wouldn't be doing it anytime soon if his stomach kept acting up the way it was. He was afraid that he ate something that wasn't agreeing with him. He feared a night full of a shit fest was in his immediate future, so he made the decision to walk over to the closest drug store to get some meds, and plenty of electrolytes to drink.

Bella had already been checked in at the hotel for one day when she started having a weird feeling in her stomach. She wondered if she had caught a stomach bug, of all things, when all she wanted to do was relax and do some soul searching. There was no way she would be able to think straight if she ended up puking her brains out with a case of the screaming shits. When she looked for her bag with her meds in it, she realized it was probably still in her truck, so she grabbed her keys and the keycard to her room before heading outside. Who knew that everything was about to change for the rest of her life.

Paul noticed the cute little brunette walking towards him. She wasn't paying attention as she looked down at her keys. At the same time, they both looked at each other. They were distracted by the weird sensation and didn't realize they were headed straight for each other.

On impact, Bella felt like she had walked head-on into a brick wall, knocking her on her ass causing her keys to fall over the edge of the second-floor walkway. They were stunned stupid as they realized that the mysterious feelings, they were having, had come to a complete stop the moment they locked eyes with each other.

Paul felt like gravity was pulling him to this girl. His heart began to race and all he wanted to do was take her in his arms and protect her from anything and everything. Nothing else mattered to him anymore. More importantly, Bella had the same feelings wash over her. She couldn't take her eyes off of Paul.

"I'm sorry," Bella stuttered as she looked into the deep brown eyes that were locked on hers. "I wasn't watching where I was going."

Paul extended his hand to help her up. As soon as they touched, a wave of desire rolled through them. "What the hell," fell from Paul's lips.

Bella looked to their connected hands then back up at Paul. "Who are you?" Bella had to know who was making her heart feel like she had found her home.

Paul couldn't stop staring at her. "I'm Paul, and you are?"

Bella still had Paul's hand in hers. "I'm Isabella, but you can call me Bella." She stepped a little closer to him; the pull between the two was so strong that they couldn't help the need to touch each other.

Paul couldn't help it when he reached for her other hand. "Bella." He smiled a mile wide. "Please tell me you're feeling everything I'm feeling."

"Yes," Bella replied, stepping even closer to him. "This may sound really weird to you, but I think you imprinted on me."

Paul looked at her quizzically. "You know about imprinting?" He was surprised to say the least. He didn't know much about it; only the little bit his mom had explained to him in her letter.

Bella took another step closer. She could feel the heat coming from his body. "Yes. I know about all of it. My best friend explained it all to me."

"And how does she know?" Paul wondered if Bella knew anything about LaPush.

"She is actually a he." She tilted her head and looked at him a little better. "Are you from LaPush because I've never seen you there."

Paul's eyes grew wide. "Um...actually..." He glanced around to see if anyone was around. "Can we talk about this somewhere private? I don't want anyone overhearing us."

Bella turned to walk back towards her room. "Crap. I need to get my keys. They fell off the walkway."

Paul forced his eyes away from her and looked over the edge. "I'll get them."

It only took him a couple of minutes to run down the stairs and return to where Bella stood in front of her hotel room door. "We can talk in here."

Paul took Bella's hand again and she welcomed the touch. "Are you sure? I don't want you to be uncomfortable."

For some reason, Bella felt the urge to press her body to his, rise up on her tippy toes and place a light kiss upon his lips. "Oh, I'm sure."

Stunned stupid was putting it mildly as to what Paul was feeling, and when they entered the room, he noticed a huge suitcase laid open on one bed with a few books strewn across the dresser. "How long have you been here?"

"Just a day. I planned to stay a week. I'm actually here for some time to myself, doing some soul searching, but I'm pretty sure it found me instead."

Paul nodded, letting her know that he understood. He was still trying to recover from the light kiss she had given him.

After clearing some things away, Bella suggested that they sit at the small table. In reality, they just met for the first time, and even though she felt like she had known him her entire life, she knew they couldn't get comfortable on the bed.

Paul slouched down in his chair, after pulling his wallet and phone from his pocket, and glanced up at Bella. "So, tell me what you know," he suggested.

Bella smiled and took his hand across the table. She noticed quickly that his touch was very soothing to her. "I know you're a wolf."

It was as if the moment Bella mentioned the word wolf, she opened the door for them to talk non-stop for the next four hours. They practically held hands the entire time, and constantly touched each other's arms or occasionally Paul would reach up and touch her bottom lip with the pad of his thumb. Bella told him everything she knew about wolves and imprinting, and Paul told her what he knew in return. Edwards name never came up, and Bella knew she had to tell him. She just wanted a little more time before they crossed over into the heavy subjects.

Paul was beside himself. He was absolutely flabbergasted that he had imprinted so soon after reaching Washington. It was like his mother had set off the inevitable, sending him in the direction of her rear-view town. Fortunately, after he told Bella a little about where he was headed, she knew exactly who he was looking for, and that she was very close to them.

"So, I guess I need to tell you what else I know." She looked down at their joined hands. "First though, I just want to let you know that the man you're looking for is one of the best people I know. He's been like a father to me..."

"Wait," Paul said, interrupting her by putting his hand up. "You know William Black."

Bella smiled. "Sure do. He's my dad's best friend and his son Jake is my best friend."

Paul stood from the table. "You're saying that I have a brother?"

Bella's eyes grew wide. "You didn't say anything about Billy being your dad."

Paul shook his head as if to try and clear it. He took her hand, again, needing the contact between them to calm him. "I'm sorry; I guess I need to explain more."

"Please do because as far as I know, and have always known, Billy was only ever married to Cora. They have three kids together."

Paul's head dropped down to their joined hands. "This is insane."

"Tell me about it," Bella said. "And you imprinted on me, of all people. Jake is going to have a shit fit."

"Why?" Paul asked as he raised his head to look at her.

Bella shook her head. "No big deal. I'll explain later, but right now, I'll tell you more about Billy."

From that moment on, one heavy story after another poured out of them except Edward. She still hadn't mentioned him, but then Bella's stomach growled, bringing their explanations to a pause until they got food. They decided to walk down the street, hand in hand, to a small mom and pop hamburger joint. They sat across from each other in a corner booth and talked more. "Do you know what imprinting means?" Bella asked Paul.

"Not really, but I pretty much get the gist of it considering the feelings I've been having the moment I laid eyes on you." Paul knew he couldn't be without her, and Bella was feeling the same about him. "All I really know is, in an instant, you became my life."

Bella smiled over at him and nodded. "I don't know if it's possible, but I feel the same way." She shrugged her shoulders a little. "So, when do you plan to go see Billy?"

"I don't know how to approach him. He's my father, and I know nothing about him."

"Well, from what you've told me, he definitely knows about you, and I promise you he's not a bad guy at all." Bella couldn't help the sad face that appeared on her face. "There's one thing, though."

Paul could tell it wasn't good news. "He's in a wheelchair."

Paul's face fell with sympathy. "What happened?"

"It was about 10 years ago. It wasn't anything tragic, but he and his pack were phased and doing perimeter runs when he was caught off guard by a rogue vampire that had crossed over into their land. He got a hold of Billy and crushed his spine before the other wolves could get to him. He started healing before he could phase back to his human form. His spine fused over his spinal cord causing paralyses. He's had tons of x-rays at the hospital on the reservation and they say the only way he could fully walk again is if they broke his back to set it. Unfortunately, he hasn't been able to phase since then."

Paul smiled. "Well, maybe we should get that doctor on standby when I show up." He chuckled. "Who knows, it may take his long-lost son showing up out of the blue to get him to phase."

Unbeknownst to Bella, across the street from where her and Paul were having dinner, Edward sat watching them. He really couldn't hear what they were saying over the background music, but he could sure as hell hear what the dumbass wolf was thinking. He wanted to rush in there and grab Bella to take her away from him, but he wouldn't because he knew that would break Bella's trust. He had never seen that stupid wolf before, and that was one of the moments that he wished he could read Bella's mind. He just wanted her home so they could get ready for their wedding.

From what Edward could hear, Billy Black had a long-lost son and Bella just so happened to meet him in Port Angeles. It wasn't his story to tell, so after he realized Bella was okay, and safe, he decided to head back home. Even though the foul wolf was thinking very un-pure thoughts about his future wife, he trusted Bella not to stray.

Bella swore that saw Edward as her and Paul exited the restaurant. She hoped he wouldn't break her trust and watch her, although she was practically cheating on him. She had only given Paul a small kiss. It was nothing like the kiss her and Jacob shared moments before he left to fight an army of newborn vampires. It definitely made her toes curl, and she was lucky then that Edward couldn't read her mind. She had wished she could kiss Edward the same way, but after meeting Paul and their imprinting, she was sure she would never kiss Edward again.

When Paul and Bella made it back to the hotel, neither of them was ready to say goodnight. Paul wanted her to go back to his room and Bella felt the same, but neither of them wanted to speak up. "Can I ask you a personal question?" Paul wondered.

"You can ask me anything," Bella replied. "Within reason, though."

Paul understood all too well about not telling her everything all too soon. "This is stupid," he said as he pushed his fingers through his hair. "This whole imprint thing has my head all jumbled up and I really don't understand the whole concept of it and..."

"Paul," Bella said as she reached up to pull his hands from his hair. "You're rambling."

He immediately felt calm as she held his hands. "Shit, sorry." He took it upon himself to link their fingers together. "Is it supposed to feel like this? I don't..." He took a deep breath. "I don't want to be away from you."

The feeling Bella was having earlier had come back full force and felt like she couldn't be away from him either, but in the back of her mind, she knew Edward was waiting for her. If Paul stayed with her, she would have to make sure the emergency brake was on until she could talk to Edward. She knew she would break his heart, but he always reassured her that he would let her go if he wasn't what she wanted. Once the realization struck her, she knew what she needed to do. She needed to call off the wedding and end things with the person she swore she'd love for the rest of her life. This was proof that things in life can change at the drop of a dime.

Paul and Bella were standing closest to Paul's room when he pulled his key card from his back pocket and opened his door. "Will you come in for a bit?" He was feeling out of his element, but at that very moment, Bella had him completely by the balls. "We don't have to do anything. I just..."

Bella pulled Paul into his room and pushed the door closed. "I'll stay for a little while. Maybe we can watch a movie."

Paul loved the sound of that idea as Bella kicked her shoes off and pulled her hoodie over her head. Paul started to understand the whole imprint ordeal a little better. He would never look at another woman in a lustful way. There was only one woman he wanted, and his wolf was already in love with her.

They got comfortable on one of the beds. They sat up leaning against the headboard. They agreed on watching The Stand. It was over three hours long which was perfectly fine with each of them.

An hour and a half later, Paul and Bella had slipped down and were lying next to each other. Their hands were intertwined because they just couldn't stop touching each other.

Bella had eventually fallen asleep. Paul didn't mind, though. He just wanted to lay there and watch her. She was the most beautiful woman in the world to him. When he reached up to push a strand of hair from her face, he looked at her lips. He wanted to kiss her so bad that it was starting to eat him alive. He couldn't do that to her, though. He needed her to be awake the next time they kissed each other. Then she spoke. "You can't hurt him; he is who I want."

Bella's eyes were still closed and sound asleep. Paul couldn't help it when he ran his thumb across her bottom lip causing Bella to open her eyes. They stared at each other without speaking; their eyes telling each other what they wanted. Bella only hoped she could forgive herself for what she was about to do.

She moved closer to Paul until their bodies were pressed together. "Kiss me," she whispered.

Paul smiled and started by placing light kisses on each of her cheeks. The smallest bit of intimacy had Bella's heart fluttering in a very unfamiliar way. It was a welcomed feeling that she wanted so much more of. She had never had the feeling of warmth wash over her as Edward had held her in the past. She also knew that she could never compare her experience with Edward with the experience she was about to gain from Paul. It wasn't a game, but by the end of it all, there will only be one winner.

After leaving a trail of kisses around Bella's face, Paul had finally reached her lips. Ever so slowly, he eased his hand onto Bella's cheek. "We can't go back from this. I already feel like you're my life, and as soon as this happens, I'm gonna want more, so you need to be completely sure."

"I'm 1000% sure."

Paul pressed his lips to hers and everything exploded. His wolf wanted all of her that very moment, but Paul pushed his insistence back, and mentally told him that everything needed to be slow. That they needed to follow her lead.

Bella lost herself. She had never wanted someone so much in her entire life. Not Edward or even Jacob. Paul was making her entire body buzz. She knew she shouldn't take things further, and she wouldn't because she knew it was against her own rules. It was something every normal human being should abide by. There was something deep inside of her that was telling her that everything would be okay because Paul was now her future. She kept hearing, in her head that she needed to accept his imprint.

Bella's entire relationship with Edward was always with caution. She had tried countless times to move their intimacy further, but Edward always stopped. He was the one that was always afraid. He wanted her changed before he would attempt anything sexual with her. He wouldn't even touch her tits or go down on her.

Edward was set in his ways. Most of it was redundant, but Carlisle would never give Edward the okay to go further. Carlisle himself had never experienced a sexual relationship with a human. Even in all his three hundred plus years, he didn't have an answer for Edward, and that's why Edward refused to have a sexual relationship with Bella while she was human.

"I want you so bad," Paul whispered against her lips. "It's like my entire body is one giant fire ember ready to explode."

"I feel it, too," Bella said in reply. "I've never..." She couldn't finish her sentence. She wasn't sure how Paul would react. Hell, she wasn't even sure how old he was.

Paul pulled her closer against him. "It's okay."

"I have something to tell you," Bella whispered.

Paul moved back to look at her directly in her eyes. "Whatever it is, I'm not going anywhere."

Bella knew that with Paul's imprint, it was all about her, but what was causing her to have the same feelings? "You may look at me differently."

Regardless of what Bella needed to tell Paul, he was sure he wasn't going anywhere. No matter what, he would always be by her side.

They kept their eyes locked on each other as Bella built up her courage to speak. "I'm engaged to be married and the wedding is in a week and a half." The air around them became stale. Paul may have stopped breathing. "And he's a vampire."

Paul was up and off the bed in a matter of seconds. That was definitely not what he was expecting to hear her say as he began pacing and pulling at his hair. His wolf was ready to spring free and it was getting too hard to hold him inside. "I need to..." He pointed at the door.

Bella nodded, knowing exactly what he needed to do, but knowing what she knew, still didn't keep the pit in her stomach from forming. All the feelings she was having were nothing compared to when Edward had left her. This feeling was at the max of hurt. All she could do was pull her knees up and wrap her arms around her legs. She knew the tears were there. They were pressing against her eyes but thinking that Paul wouldn't come back broke the dam. A loud sob escaped her, and tears began to flow. She needed to go back to her room where she could be alone with her own stuff.

As Paul ran through the nearby woods, his chest ached. He was feeling Bella's pain. How could he not expect her to have a life before him? They hadn't even known each other a full 24 hours. He was feeling like he got the short end of the stick, and it was piercing through his heart. He couldn't leave her. He knew he already loved her. The pain he was feeling, he knew that was all from her. He was feeling it, too, and he could barely breathe.

The moment Alice had a vision of Bella crying, she was thankful Edward decided to tag along with Carlisle to the hospital. She couldn't let Edward see through her mind that Bella was struggling worse than she feared. There were moments, long moments, that she couldn't see her; everything had gone black and that only meat one thing. She knew that Bella was spending her time with a wolf. Alice knew it wasn't Jacob because she had seen him in wolf form only a half hour before her vision. He had been patrolling the treaty line while her and Jasper went out to hunt.

Bella's heart had changed. She cried for someone else and not Edward. Alice knew that Bella was hurting, and she knew it was worse than she'd ever seen her, but Alice couldn't interfere. She couldn't be the one to tell her brother that he no longer carried Bella's heart with him. Her and Jasper had to leave because she didn't trust herself to block her thoughts. She also had a small vision of a woman from her past, and the only person she could share that with, was Jasper.

He loved and trusted Alice with his entire life. She is his wife, after all. He would follow her to the ends of the earth if he had to. So, when Alice said she would explain when they were away from Forks, he just went with it. Alice didn't worry about clothes; they'd just buy new ones. They left under the guise of taking a short trip to Seattle for a few days. They needed to leave before Edward arrived home. They took Alice's Porsche and hightailed it out of Forks. They wouldn't be coming back until they were contacted with news of the canceled wedding.

Paul couldn't run anymore. He shouldn't have run in the first place. He should've stayed and told Bella his true feelings, so when he returned to his hotel room, Bella wasn't there. Thankfully she left a note and her extra room key for him. When he walked in, he found Bella curled up around a pillow and fast asleep. He knelt down in front of her and his heart broke. Her eyes were swollen and even in her sleep, the tears were still falling.

Paul moved her hair from her face and leaned forward to press his lips to her. "I'm sorry." Bella's eyes fluttered open, and more tears began to fall. "Please don't cry, Angel."

"I'm ending it," Bella said through her tears. "That's why I'm here in Port Angeles. I needed time to think away from everyone and then we literally ran into each other and then you imprinted on me. I felt it, too. I think I imprinted on you, too because I have never had such strong feelings for anything so quickly. Aside from the Cocoa Mocha from Dunkin Donuts, it feels like I can never be without you."

Paul laughed. "I'll keep that in mind, but in the meantime, please don't cry. I just needed a little time to think. I know you had a life before me 24 hours ago, and I can't change that. Yes, I imprinted on you, and I'll be whatever you need me to be. A friend, a brother..."

Bella sniffed. "How does any of that explain why I feel like I imprinted on you, too?" She sat up and crossed her legs. "I can't explain it." She reached over and pulled a tissue from the box to wipe her face before she used her pointer finger and shoved it up her nose. Paul was amused. "Sorry," she said in a nasally voice. "My nose is stuffed up on one side and it's starting to drip."

"You amaze me," Paul said as he moved to sit next to her.

"And you're sexy as hell and you make my skin buzz, and I get butterflies just thinking about you. I don't know what's wrong with me. My chest hurt when you were gone, and I feel like I never loved Edward." It was Bella's turn to ramble. She didn't know any other way to explain how she was feeling. Was an imprint supposed to have the feelings she was having?

Paul took Bella's hand. "Is this Edward your fiancé?"

"Yes, but not for long. I don't know how to tell him about you. Jake will definitely be happy that I'll no longer be getting married to Edward. He's been in love with me for a long time."

"Didn't you say that Jake is my brother?" Paul's brows were raised.

Bella nodded. "Yes. He's my best friend."

"I bet he won't like the fact that his brother imprinted on you." Paul adjusted himself on the bed so he could look at Bella better.

Bella chuckled. "You're probably right."

Paul sighed. "We need to figure out how and when we're going to take care of our issues."

"I know. I'm surprised Alice hasn't shown up here. When I'm around the wolves in LaPush, she can't see me." Bella shook her head. "I bet she already knows."

"Is she some kind of fortune teller?" Paul kicked his shoes off and turned back to face her. "And she's a vampire, too?"

"Yeah, she's great. Annoying sometimes, but I love her anyway."

Paul tucked a few hairs behind Bella's ear. "No matter what happens, I'm not going anywhere. If Billy rejects me, I'll still be here."

Bella looked up at him with sad eyes. "I'm so confused. I have no idea what to tell Edward."

"Just tell him the truth. There's no use in lying. My mother lied to me my whole life. If she hadn't..." Paul cleared his throat. It was hard to think about her dying. "If she hadn't died, I'm sure I'd still be in New York, and you would be on your way down the aisle to marry someone that isn't meant for you."

Bella closed her eyes and tried to think about never meeting Paul. It pulled at her stomach. "I can't imagine my life without you. I'm sorry your mom died, and I'm not sorry because she led you to me."

Paul couldn't help himself as he leaned forward to kiss her. When Bella initiated to deepen the kiss, he didn't refuse her. As he weaved his fingers through her hair, Bella moved to straddle his lap. She could feel how hard he was beneath her, and with his hands, now on her hips, he pulled her against him. Bella began to move over him, seeking the friction she'd longed for since she began her relationship with Edward. Paul wasn't afraid to touch her and kiss her the way she deserved. Vampire or not, Paul couldn't understand how he could go without.

Bella was so intoxicating to him. She wanted to be with him so bad that she could taste it. She had been so deprived for so long, but she needed to wait, and Paul understood that because she was still tied to someone else.

Paul slid his hands down her arms and took a hold of her left hand. He eased her engagement ring off her finger. "I don't want this on you while you're with me."

"It can stay off," Bella replied against his lips. "I'm going back to Forks tomorrow to end it."

"Good, and if you point me in the right direction, I'll go to LaPush, and see my father." He reached over to the small table and grabbed his phone. "If you need me for any reason at all, you call me, and I'll be there in a heartbeat."

Bella got up to get her phone from her purse. She had two missed calls and three text messages waiting for her. Charlie had called once and the second was from Alice.

The text from her dad said he saw Edward headed out of Forks and warned that he may be headed her way. Alice, on the other hand, two messages were from her. "Don't wait; do it now." Oddly enough, Bella knew what she meant. "It'll be okay," was her second.

Alice, as annoying as she was, is one of the six Cullens that wouldn't judge her. Bella also knew that Rosalie would feel like she won. She highly disagreed with Bella being changed. She wanted Bella to have babies and be happy away from the vampire world. In that very moment, the only thing Bella could think about was that Rosalie was getting her wish.

"I'll always need you," Bella told Paul. "In seconds you became my life, and I know I can't be without you. It hurts when you're away from me."

Paul pulled Bella against him. "I know, Angel. I felt it, too, when I left earlier."

"Maybe Billy can explain more about the whole imprint thing," Bella wondered.

Paul kissed the top of her head. "One step at a time." He then released her. "Do you know if any of the other wolves have imprinted?"

"Yeah. Sam, he's the pack alpha. He's imprinted. His fiancé, Emily, she's amazing."

Paul and Bella exchanged numbers and agreed to get some sleep before they leave later in the day. Bella planned to go home first and talk to Charlie. He knew all about the wolf stuff considering Billy is his best friend. They'd grown up together, after all. Bella wondered if he knew anything about Paul and his mom. He'd never mentioned anything about it. He may even know about vampires and that's why he was against her marrying Edward. He couldn't tell her what to do because she's an adult and forcing her to stay away was out of the question. He knew that being demanding would only push her away from him, and losing his daughter wasn't an option for him.

After a long, heated kiss, Paul and Bella wrapped themselves around each other and fell into a deep slumber.

As Bella fell asleep, she thought about Charlie's text. She had definitely seen Edward. She was afraid that he already knew. She wondered what the repercussions were going to be. She was afraid he would lose control. The only way she could tell him was on neutral ground with one of the wolves nearby. She would ask Sam because Jacob already had a big surprise coming his way.

When they finally woke up, Bella gathered her things and climbed into the shower. Paul had gone to his room and done the same. He made sure he wore the nicest clothes he owned. He wanted to make a good impression to his family that he didn't know. He worried that the wolf pack wouldn't accept him. Paul craved to be a part of something; anything that made him feel welcomed.

As they were getting ready to leave, Bella checked out of her room. She wouldn't be needing it anymore. Paul helped her carry her things to her truck then hugged her like they would never see each other again. When Paul kissed her as if his life depended on it, Bella's toes curled and parts of her body that wanted him most, ignited. They had to back away or they'd never leave.

Paul followed Bella and stayed on speaker phone the entire drive. They learned more about each other. Bella told Paul about all the shenanigans her and Jacob did when they were kids. Paul knew he was older than Jacob; just by 15 months and that he has twin sisters that are 14. Rachel and Regina are identical. Jake is kept on his toes working overtime to keep the boys away from them.

Paul had also learned that Bella's mom had died shortly after she was born. She was just six months old when Renee suddenly died from a brain aneurysm. Charlie made sure he kept pictures of Renee throughout the house and told Bella of every happy moment he could possibly think of. He felt it was important for her to know that Renee loved her more than anything in the world.

As soon as Bella saw the sign for Forks, she told Paul the best route to get to LaPush. "There's a sign that says you're entering LaPush." Bella's heart began to ache just thinking about being away from him. "Take the third left and follow the road all the way to the end. Their house is the only house out that road."

"Thank you. I'm sure I'll be able to find it."

"All right, I need to turn left coming up. You just stay on this road to get to LaPush. Don't speed out through there or my dad will give you a ticket if he catches you."

Paul wished he was in her truck with her so he could kiss her. "I won't. I can't afford to give your dad a reason not to like me." Both were reluctant to end their call. "Oh, and Angel, I'm already missing the hell out of you."

"I know. I can feel it, too. Please be careful and I'll text you as soon as my situation is taken care of."

"Okay, Angel. I'll see you in a little while."

They wished each other luck just as Bella took the turn she needed. She knew she didn't have an issue with her dad. She was only nervous about ending things with Edward.

Charlie's cruiser was parked along the sidewalk and his personal truck sat in the driveway. As soon as she put her truck in park, she called Sam. "Hey chick, what's up?"

Bella gave Sam the rundown as to why she needed his help. She never mentioned Paul. He'd know soon enough, as it was. She also requested that Jake not come.

Sam was more than happy to help her. He wasn't a big fan of the Cullens whatsoever and hoped they would leave the area all together. It seemed that trouble liked to follow them.

Bella didn't want to text Edward until the wolves made it to the treaty line because she knew he could be there in a matter of seconds. She needed to talk to her dad first. "Dad!" She yelled out as soon as she walked in the door.

"In here, kiddo." Bella figured he would be in the living room.

When she entered, she plopped down on the couch and sighed. "I need to talk to you."

Charlie's brows rose as he looked over to her then paused the game he was watching. "By your tone, this sounds serious."

"It is." Bella started picking at her cuticles and Charlie noticed she no longer had her engagement ring on. "I'm calling off the wedding. I'm also breaking up with Edward today."

Being stunned was an understatement because Charlie couldn't believe what he was hearing. Bella had been all about Edward for so long and wanted nothing more than to marry him. "What happened if you don't mind me asking?"

"Well, I would say you wouldn't understand, but you know all about the wolves. I met this guy yesterday, and he's a wolf like Jake, so believe it or not he just so happened to imprint on me." Bella chuckled at the expression on her dad's face. "I know, right? Me, of all people got imprinted on, and to top it off he's Billy's son."

"Jake?" Charlie was confused.

Bella shook her head. "No. His name is Paul. He was born in LaPush. Apparently, Billy imprinted on Cora. I didn't know Billy was married before Cora."

A sullen look crossed Charlie's face. "He wasn't, but I'm sure if he didn't imprint he would've married Malia."

"So, you know about her?" Bella made herself more comfortable as her dad began to explain.

Charlie sighed heavily. "Yeah. We chose not to talk about her and the baby around Cora. Billy loved her so much. He would've done anything for her, but when he imprinted..."

Bella sat patiently waiting for Charlie to finish explaining. "Dad, imprinting is a powerful thing. I'm finding out more and more about it. Jake had only told me the basics. It's so weird. It's like I never had any feelings for Edward at all."

Charlie nodded. "Yeah," he agreed. "It was rough on Billy for a few years after Malia disappeared. It's like she fell off the face of the planet. I investigated her for nearly four years. Billy finally told me to stop."

"Why?" Bella sounded irritated. "Paul could've known his dad."

"I know, honey, and I didn't want to stop." Charlie put the footrest of his recliner down. "I really didn't want to tell you this, but..."

Bella took a deep breath. "But what? Paul had to learn about phasing and all that crap on his own. He had no one to help him through any of it."

Charlie was stuck on his words. He really didn't want to tell her the next part. "Malia had help disappearing."

"I know that. Paul told me. He just found out a few months ago after his mom died."

Tears immediately formed in Charlie's eyes. "How?"

"A brain tumor. It was malignant and inoperable."

Charlie wiped his tears away. "I'm sorry, honey." He collected himself as he prepared to tell her the next part. "The Cullens helped her disappear. When I found out and told Billy, that's when he told me to stop looking. He figured they sold her off to a rouge coven."

Bella's eyes grew wide. "You know about them?"

"You bet your ass I do. I've trusted Dr. Cullen for many years, and when be brought those others into our town, that's when all the wolf pack started phasing. Jasper was the one who helped Malia leave."

Bella was taken by surprise. "What?!"

"Yeah. I guess Alice befriended her and no one knew. She'd leave the reservation every day, and I guess it was to meet up with Alice and Jasper. One day she didn't come back."

Bella didn't know what to say and she sure as hell wasn't going to confront Alice or Jasper about any of it. She also wondered if any of the other Cullens knew about Malia. She couldn't hold it against them because she probably would have done the same. "I'm not going to confront them about any of it, but there may be a day that Paul will ask you about her. I mean, how her and Billy were together." Bella stood up to go into the kitchen. "Do you know if Jake knows about him?"

"I honestly don't know." Charlie followed her into the kitchen. "I know that Billy loved that little boy with his whole heart. He's his first born, so I know I'll be getting a call from him later."

"Yeah, I told him how to get to their house. He should be there by now." Bella opened the fridge and pulled out the apple juice. "So, you think Billy's going to be happy that Paul found him?"

Charlie chuckled. "As much as he loved that boy, he's going to feel like he won the lottery."

"That's good. I just hope Jake accepts him. I already know he's going to give birth to his own puppies when he finds out his brother imprinted on me." Then something dawned on her. "Why didn't you fight harder to keep me away from Edward?"

"Believe me, I wasn't happy at all, but I talked to Dr. Cullen, and he assured me that you were safe with Edward. I didn't think that you two would last as long as you did and when you announced that you were getting married, I prayed every day that you would change your mind and today my prayers were finally answered."

Bella wrapped her arms around her father. "I know, daddy. I was going to call the whole thing off even if I didn't meet Paul." She released him and turned to finish pouring her juice. "I want babies and he wouldn't have been able to give me that except for adoption." She sat down at the table and looked out the window to their backyard. "Does that make me selfish?" She saw one of the wolves at the back of the shed. She held her hand up and waved to Jared.

"No, that's not selfish at all. If you married Edward, you would have always had that feeling. It would've eaten at you until the day you die." Charlie opened a beer and sat across from her. "Was he planning on changing you?"

Bella looked down at the table. She didn't have to verbally speak that answer. "I thought I wanted it. When he left me for months, to Lord knows where, all I wanted was for him to come back. I thought if I let him change me, I wouldn't lose him again, but Jake planted a seed in my head about babies and how I would live in all these different places because people would notice me not getting older. Plus, I lost my trust in Edward when he left. I just never got all that trust back and it was eating at me. That's not normal." She glanced up at her dad and shook her head. "Especially when you're supposed to be in love with the person. When he first came back, I was happy. That's why I agreed to marry him. No one should ever go into a marriage when there isn't complete trust."

Charlie stared at his daughter and wondered where his little girl went. "I'm proud of you."


FYI: Alice and Jasper aren't bad.

Thank you,

RTB