Chapter Nine

Out of all of the previous interactions that I've had with Paul, I would have never expected to find myself seated across from him at a table in a dimly lit restaurant surrounded by the quiet hum of light conversation. I would have expected even less to find myself enjoying the encounter, even after finding out that this was meant to be a date.

Paul was complicated.

This was complicated.

From across the table, I couldn't help but to watch him with a certain softness to my gaze. The Paul that watched me with a hard stare and furrowed brows was gone and seemingly replaced with a Paul that watched me with a gaze full of curiosity and… awe. It both terrified me and left my cheeks warm with flattery. I had to remind myself that it was okay to feel flattered by the thought that a handsome man finding me attractive and Paul was very much that, with his full muscles that insisted on making an appearance through his fitted shirt and his brown eyes that watched me as if I were the only woman in the room.

When my eyes began to trail his sharp jawline, I forced myself to look down at my food, moving my knife and fork to cut myself a bite-sized piece of my eggplant parmesan. We had been given our food all of twenty minutes ago and he had already finished his. "So, did you grow up in La Push?" I asked, trying to distract myself from my previous thoughts. Leave it to me to suddenly take interest in a guy simply because he was giving me attention.

"Yeah," He offered easily, leaning back in his chair while his hand moved to trace a pattern in the condensation on his glass of water. "Born and raised. Growing up in a small town is kind of boring but I guess it comes with a sense of family."

I nodded in understanding while he spoke, lifting food into my mouth, chewing and swallowing before I went in for another question. "I haven't heard you talk about about your family. Are you guys close?" I asked.

"Not really." He said, almost immediately before seemingly thinking better of it and trying again. He was obviously doing his best to not immediately end conversations even though I was admittedly prying. "It's just my mom and I at this point. I moved out when I was eighteen, I think I gave her enough of a hard time as a kid."

At this, I raised a curious brow. "A hard time?"

"I got in trouble a lot as a teenager. I think I was just frustrated by my parent's messy divorce." He explained after a long pause, as if he had been reflecting on the right way to go about what he wanted to say. My surprise by his honesty must have been written all over my face because in response, his lips curved into a smirk. "I don't know why you're so surprised, I don't think there is much about me that screams 'rule follower' or 'sweet boy'."

At that, I laughed. "Sweet boy? Yeah, I can't imagine hearing that in the same sentence as your name." The man narrowed his eyes at me playfully then, causing me to bite my lower lip to keep myself from smiling but I couldn't stop. That smile was there even as I looked down to my plate again, cutting off another piece of my food even though I was feeling full. "No siblings?"

"Nope. Just Jared and Sam who both bother me to no end like I'd imagine that siblings do." He said, not missing out on the chance to make mention of his seeming annoyance with Jared who he chose to spend his time with.

"I can't imagine that, not having siblings." I commented, resting my fork on my plate after finally coming to terms with the fact that I wouldn't be able to finish my meal. "Me and my brothers have always had one another and I can't imagine what life would have been like without them. I've spent my entirely life watching over them and worrying over them but I can't imagine life without that."

"What's the deal with that anyway?" He asked, raising a brow.

"My mom was um… sick. Like, mentally… I guess that's not her fault but she wasn't able to be a good mother." I explained, looking past him for a moment to another table where another couple was talking quietly so that I didn't have to watch any sort of pity move over his features.

"My dad wasn't much of a father." He commented, drawing my attention again as I watched him with surprise. I hadn't expected for him to open up to me in return. "I guess that sort of thing happens when you're more worried about where you'll get your next drink or one night stand from more than you're worried about your son and wife waiting for you at home."

"That's horrible Paul, I'm so sorry." I started but he was already shaking his head before I could finish.

"It's not your fault, its no one's really. Not even his. Addiction is addiction, I guess. I think that I still have the right to be upset with him for not trying to get help though." He commented and not for the first time lately, I was back to thinking of my mother again and considering her in a different light.

From the sound of it, Paul viewed his father as a victim of something horrible. It didn't sound like he thought of his father as being a horrible person. Was it possible that my mother too was a victim? It was strange to weigh out that my mother wasn't a bad person but instead, a person that suffered and never tried to do the right thing by trying to to get help before it destroyed our lives in turn but it was easier to consider than to consider that maybe she was trying to do the right thing by running away with us—a plan that ultimately failed her.

"You look like you're finished eating." He commented as he realized that our conversation had come to a lull.

With a soft blush, I nodded in agreement. "I am extremely full." I admitted with a soft smile. "I'm kind of worried that I'm going to be too uncomfortable walking around the city."

"That actually works out perfectly. If we do it all tonight then what's left for next time?" He asked, making me smile as he locked eyes with our waiter who came to visit our table with a bill that he swiftly paid for by Paul after fishing his wallet out of his pocket. "That was my subtle way of doing things the right way and asking for a second date." He announced when we reached his truck where he opened the passenger side door open for my to get inside of. He didn't wait for an answer to close the door, rounding the front of the car to get into the driver's side, tossing his phone and wallet into the middle seat from his back pocket and starting the engine.

"I actually had a really good time tonight." I mused, smiling over at him as he pulled out of the parking lot and steered the car back onto the highway in the direction of La Push.

"You aren't just saying that?" He asked and despite the sound of his question, his ego hinted through his demeanor in the form of a smirk as he watched the road.

I rolled my eyes playfully and folded my arms over my chest. Turning toward him in my seat, I was ready to accept the invitation to a second date however, an unfamiliar tone sounded through the car, drawing my attention down toward his phone that lit up the dark truck with a phone call. A phone call that Paul, glanced down at then casually declined without as much as a second thought.

Since he wasn't concerned by it, I wasn't either until his phone immediately lit up with another phone call. "You're not gonna answer that?" I asked, my eyes settling on him as he glanced over at me.

"It's probably just a scam caller." He said with a shrug, again, the phone stopped sounding just to immediately sound again.

Feeling annoyed by the sound, I picked up his phone to silence it but stopped short seeing the number at the top of the screen. "This is my brother's number." I said, confusion laced in my voice. Almost immediately, he reached out for his phone and silenced it, shoving it into his pocket.

Instinctively, I went into my bag, grabbing my phone and frowning at the lack of notifications. In a moment of near panic, I had assumed that my brother was calling Paul because he couldn't get a hold of me but then I had the realization that my brother and Paul had never even met before.

"Why was my brother calling you?" I asked, my brows furrowing in confusion.

"He wasn't, like I said, probably just a scam." He said, refusing to look at me now.

"I would know my brother's number anywhere, Paul. That was his phone number calling you. Why would he be calling you? How do you know him?" I asked, finding his efforts of brushing this off ridiculous.

"I don't!" He insisted, clearly becoming tense and defensive. "I fix cars, maybe he's looking into buying something used and having me work on it. I don't know, Aria."

"So, then you get phone calls often from numbers that you don't know. Why wouldn't you answer if it's a potential customer?" I asked, not believing any part of this story. I didn't know what it was that Paul did for a living but I didn't understand why my brother would be reaching out about a car, the kid didn't even have a job.

"Because, I'm on a date with you right now Aria." He argued.

"That's okay, you can call him back. Call him back, Paul." I insisted, causing for his jaw to clench as he stared ahead at the road.

"No." He said curtly. My eyes widened in response to his insistence on this at just about the same time that my stomach dropped at the sound of anger laced in his tone.

"No?" I asked incredulously. "What are you hiding?"

"I'm not hiding anything." He said through his teeth as his gripped tightened on the wheel, his knuckles turning white.

"Clearly, you are!" I snapped and immediately, he snapped back at me, loudly.

"Drop it!" He practically growled out at me, his voice sharp.

"That's my little brother Paul! I'm not going to drop it!" I argued.

"I said, drop it!" He barked, his voice booming through the truck and his breath becoming ragged. I was shocked into silence as I watched his body tense while his hands shook on the wheel, his shoulders as well and for just a moment, my anger faltered and concern filtered in.

It didn't make sense that my body seemed to respond to his, panic settling inside of me and my heart pounding inside of my chest as I watched him seem to physically struggle to contain his frustration. What had just happened? What was wrong with him? "Paul—"

"I'm fine." He said, seemingly already aware of the fact that I was growing panicked.

After seeing him like that, I suddenly had no interest in fighting with him. I simply wanted nothing more than to get home so that I could get out of the car and away from him. Even though he had shown me a different side of him tonight, I was quickly learning that this man was bad news. He'd openly admitted that he had often found himself in trouble in his teenage years but maybe that wasn't gone, maybe that had manifested itself into whatever angry man this was beside me.

As I stared out of the window, desperately watching trees pass and hugging myself as I counted down the familiar signs leading to home, my mind ran over the fact that my brother somehow was involved with this man or at least, he was trying to be. I didn't care if he was actually trying to talk about cars with Paul, I simply wanted for him to have nothing to do with Paul. I wanted nothing to do with Paul.

When the truck pulled up in front of my house, I was already unbuckling my seatbelt and opening the door before Paul had even come to a complete stop, desperate to escape the thick tension that I was drowning in while in the car. "Aria," He started but I immediately let myself out of the car, slamming the door and rushing to get inside of the house.

Paul

She slammed the door of my truck so hard that the movement shook the entire car, the sound of it reverberated in my head, frustrating me all over again after I'd finally managed to get myself to calm down. She was a stubborn woman, so much so that it would be the death of her as she pushed and pushed not realizing how close I was to losing it. A very tiny part of me was grateful that she put that space between us but when I came to the realization that her brother was in the front yard, my irritation grew again and my arms and legs were moving me out of the car before I could reason with myself to simply switch gears and remove myself from the property.

"Ben!" I barked out as my boots moved quickly over the gravel giving away to grass in their front yard.

"Paul?" He asked as something like relief spread over his features at the sight of me. That relief was momentarily tainted with confusion as the realization had dawned on him that his sister had stormed out of the truck and into the house a few seconds before. "Were you just—"

"We're not talking about that Ben. Why the hell are you blowing up my phone?" I said though gritted teeth, uncertain of whether or not I was more agitated that he had ruined my date or that I had given him my number in the first place.

"Is she mad because—"

"That's not an answer." I snapped, clearly growing more agitated by the second.

Ben flinched at my harsh tone, his gaze dropping down to the grass beneath his shoes. There was a moment where his mouth open and closed and I shifted in my own stance wondering if we would be here all night. "It was about my mom." He said, and his voice seemed to quiver at the mention of her making me instantly regret asking. By now, I knew enough about this family to know that their relationship with their mom was strained and there no fixing it because she was dead. Comforting people about their dead mothers wasn't a strong suit for me.

"Okay," I said, shifting and shoving my hands deep inside of pockets of pants. "What about her?"

Ben suddenly seemed uncomfortable with the conversation as well, his hands clenching into fists as he hesitated with his answer. "I was going through some of my things in my closet and I found a bracelet of hers—it must have accidentally got packed in with my things, and seeing it made me feel like I was going to snap. Like I was going to phase." He explained, his gaze moving from the ground up to meet mine as if he was searching for some answer to a silent question of whether or not something was wrong with him. "My mom wasn't the best… toward the end, she wanted nothing to do with me. She always shouted about how she wanted me to get out of her house. That something was starting and she could see it… Do you think that this was what she was talking about? Me shifting into a wolf? Do you think that's why she never really loved me?"

A heavy sigh left me at the weight of his words. Once again, I was reminded of the fact that Ben was just a kid at the end of day. A kid that came from a horrible family situation that carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. I wanted nothing more than to just go home, to be by myself while I wallowed in self pity about how horribly my first date with Aria had gone but instead, I ran my hand over my face then shook my head. "Let's go." I said, turning on my heel.

"Go where?" Ben questioned despite the fact that I could hear his footsteps following me to my truck, giving away his eagerness to simply be around me which both shocked and worried me.

"To Sam's" Was all that I offered but it wasn't the end of the questions that followed on our commute to the home.

By the time that I parked my car in front of Sam's house, I'd already given the kid a brief run down. I'd explained that Sam was our alpha and how he shouldn't spend too much time looking over Emily's scars if he knew what was best for himself. When we made our way up the steps of the home, Sam was pulling the door open before I'd even managed to knock.

"This must be Ben." Same said, taking in the sight of the teenager who came so close in height to us despite his age.

"It's nice to meet you, Sam." Ben offered, immediately after, I could hear Emily calling out for Sam to let us inside.

Sam wasn't one that liked to be bothered so late at night but he did just that, leading us into the living room where we were met by Emily standing from her seated position and to greet us. "Come in, you guys. Sit down, make yourself comfortable." She said as Sam rounded the coffee table to sit down on the couch, pulling her in by her hips to sit with him across from Ben and I. The small gesture of affection caused irritation to flicker from inside of me at the reminder of how horribly my own situation with my imprint was going.

"Hopefully, Paul explained phasing to you?" Sam asked Ben, a brow raising as he looked between both of us.

"He did." Ben admitted though he looked somewhat nervous. "He was there when it happened."

"I'm glad, it's important for you to know that you aren't alone in any of this. We're a pack, we look after each other. That's how Paul was able to be there when it happened in the first place." Sam explained. "It's not all fun and games either, Ben. We have a responsibility to uphold, protecting this land and the people living on it."

"From like… bears and things like that?" Ben asked, earning a smile from Emily.

"Not quite." I muttered, rolling my eyes at the thought of how ridiculous that sounded.

"Ben have you talked to your father about what happened between him and your mom?" Sam asked suddenly, Ben's body tensing slightly at the mention of his mother.

"No, I don't really like to think about all of that." He admitted.

Sam seemed to debate something internally then, likely of whether or not it was his place to tell the story. "Ben, this ability is genetic. Something passed down to you by your ancestors, by your father. The gene is triggered by the presence of cold ones—vampires." He explained. Ben's face contorted into an expression of shock and confusion but, maybe after realizing that it also seemed impossible that he turned into a massive wolf, he decided on hearing Sam out. "Ben, after your mother had you, she had an encounter with a vampire. In an effort to protect your mother, your father phased into a wolf in front of her and took it down. Tore it to shreds right in front of her. Even though he did the right thing, she was terrified of him. She took you and your sister and left." As Sam explained, I folded my arms across my chest, my gaze trailing out of the window near me. I hated being reminded of this story because I didn't know if I would have to live through something similar with Aria.

"She left because of this wolf stuff?" Ben repeated, nodding as he took in this information for the first time. "That explains why she always looked at me like she was afraid of me. She could see it in me."

"I say all of this to tell you that being a shapeshifter is an honor, Ben. It's not something that you should feel ashamed of nor afraid of. Your father would likely disagree. I don't that it's what he wanted for you, I know for a fact that he wouldn't want for your siblings to know about this. It also your responsibility to uphold our secret." Sam explained.

"I can keep a secret. Especially if it means not scaring my siblings." Ben agreed, I flinched at the second part of his agreement.

I'd imagine that Ben was quiet on the ride back to his house almost an hour later because his mind was swirling with the thoughts of what could have been between his parents. Maybe even the thoughts of if he would have had a more loving relationship with his mother had she been more accepting of what his father was. His distracted state was obvious when I parked in front of his house and he made no move to get out of the car. Instead of being pushy, I allowed for the two of us to sit in silence for a moment.

"Is Emily a shapeshifter too?" He asked seemingly out of the blue.

"No, she's not." I answered easily, uncertain of why he cared.

"Then she's not supposed to know the secret. Sam broke his own rule? Is that an alpha thing?" He asked and I shook my head with a sigh.

"It's an imprint thing." I explained.

"An imprint?" He asked, looking over at me curiously.

"Imprinting is a wolf thing." I said with a sigh, knowing that I had to navigate this carefully. "It's what happens when you see her and suddenly your perspective shifts, your entire world shifts and suddenly nothing else matters except for her. It's more than just being attracted to someone, it's…finding your purpose outside of yourself." I explained, clenching my jaw as I looked out of the window shield, directly toward Aria's bedroom window.

"Like a soulmate?" He asked but he went on without truly stopping for an answer. "Did my dad imprint on my mom?"

"No, he didn't. I think that it would have broken him if he had and she left. I guess in some way fate knew that it wouldn't have worked out between the two of them." I offered, my attention turning toward him again.

"Will I imprint?" He asked, looking over at me with a certain eagerness in his expression that I didn't feel like getting in to.

"I don't know. Supposedly, it's pretty rare." I said shortly, suddenly wishing that he would go inside as I already anticipated his next question.

"Have you imprinted?" He asked, and I couldn't hold his gaze, looking out toward the house again. I didn't want to have this conversation, not with him or anyone else right now. For the first time since I'd phased, I wished to have one night again where I wasn't a wolf.

"That's definitely a yes." He said, then he paused momentarily seemingly lost in thought which drew my attention toward him again. The realization moved over his expression almost instantly. "You were with my sister earlier… is it… you imprinted on my sister? So the two of you are dating now?"

"It's not that simple. She doesn't know. Obviously. She's clearly not affected by it like I am either—she can hardly stand being around me. She…tolerates me." I grunted, then scolded myself mentally for confessing any of this to a sixteen-year-old kid. "I've gotta get home." I announced eager to break this moment up.

"Okay." He said, proving himself to be different from his sister in the area of stubbornness. "I'll call you tomorrow." He called out to me as he hopped out of my truck, closing the door behind himself with a cheeky grin as he jogged toward his house.

"No you won't!" I called out after him and I meant it, even if I was unable to keep myself from grinning lightly as I drove away from the Lark residence.

A/n: Hope you enjoyed, let me know your thoughts!