Saturday

I had been cleaning my house for hours. It was a struggle now, finding things to clean. I didn't want any scent from other girls in my house. I was walking around, just sniffing everywhere, trying to suss out any lingering odors.

I heard a knock at the door.

"This better not be Anna again," I muttered to myself.

It was Jared. I was surprised to see daylight already. I must have been cleaning all night.

"What's up?"

"You have patrol," he stated patiently.

"Now? I thought my patrol was at 8:00."

"Yeah, that's now."

"Ok, ok, I'll get some shorts."

Jared followed me in. "Any company last night?"

"Very funny! I've been trying to get the smells out of all my stuff, everything smelled like gross girls in this house."

"Uh huh." He was giving me a knowing smile. "Sam says you only have to patrol for two hours if you go visit Isabella at work today."

A thrill ran up my spine at the idea. "Where does she work?" I asked.

"Newton's Sporting Goods." That was in Forks, but only a minute or two away by wolf.

"Did he say I have to talk to her or just stop by?"

"Just stop by."

"That's a no brainer then," I said readily. "Tell him it's a deal. Do you know when her shift starts?"

"Sam says she works from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm."

"Isn't that convenient? She starts when I get off patrol." Sam obviously planned it that way.

"It sounds like it'll be a while before you get off at the speed you're going."

"Ha ha," I said sarcastically. I put some cash in my shorts and tied them to my ankle. "I'm phasing now," I told Jared, shooing him out of my house.

I spent the next two hours running circles around the rez looking for vampire trails. I was hoping Sam would ease up on patrols now that the Cullens were gone, but that didn't seem to be the case.

At 10:00 am, I ran to Newton's Sporting Goods. A big old rusty truck was there. It had been in the driveway at the Swan's house last night. It must be her truck. Other than that there were three SUVs in the parking lot. So the store wouldn't be busy.

I pulled on my shorts and walked in.

A bell chimed over my head when I walked through the door, probably to alert the workers to my presence.

Isabella was at the register. She had cleaned up from last night. Her skin was still pale but in a creamy way that suited her. It was pretty. There was a puffiness under her eyes, like she was crying or maybe she couldn't sleep. Still, she was so beautiful. Her thick brown hair lay in waves over her shoulders. Her heart shaped lips let out a gasp when my eyes met hers.

Shit. She saw me.

I ducked into the closest aisle. It was filled with granola bars and trail mixes and weird pouches for carrying water for a hike.

I picked up a box of granola bars and pretended to read the ingredients. I glanced over at the register to see what she was doing now. She was gone!

I scanned the store looking for her but she was nowhere. Maybe she went to the back room for something. Still, I didn't need to talk to her, just come into the store. I could leave right now if I wanted to.

The alluring smell of strawberries and vanilla wafted toward me. I filled my lungs with it. "Can I help you find something?" The voice of an angel asked beside me. "Maybe a shirt? Or shoes?"

I laughed and looked down at my Isabella. "Most women are trying to get my clothes off. It's pretty rare to find one trying to put more clothes on me."

Her face turned red with fury.

Maybe I shouldn't be talking to her about other women. Shit! I knew I wasn't ready to talk to her yet. Why did I listen to Sam? I should have just kept the longer patrol.

She turned around and started to storm off. "Wait!" She froze in her tracks and slowly spun around, a giant, fake smile plastered on her face.

I said to her, "I do need help."

"How can I help you?" She asked slowly with a bittersweet undertone.

"Which one of these tastes the best?" I asked, gesturing to some granola bars.

"The apple one is good. Blueberry and strawberry are garbage," she answered quickly.

"You don't like berries?" I knew that could get her talking a little more. She smelled like strawberries so she had to like them.

"I love berries," she said, relaxing a bit. "Those just aren't berries. They're like what a robot would think berries taste like if you described them to it for hours."

I laughed. "Now I'm tempted to try it just to see what a robot thinks berries taste like."

"Be my guest." She gave me a half smile, a real one. "It tastes like garbage." She started to turn around, planning to walk away from me.

I couldn't have that. "Do you make a commission on sales?" I asked quickly, needing her to keep talking to me. "Is that why you wanted me to buy clothes?"

"No! We have a sign." She pointed to the door. "'No shoes, no shirt, no service.' I don't know why Mike hasn't kicked you out yet."

I looked over at the kid in the uniform, the only other worker in the store. He was pretending to stock shelves in the far corner of the store. "The blonde kid?" I asked, then turned back to her.

"Yeah," she said, not taking her eyes off of mine now. "He's the owner's son."

"He's terrified of me." I could smell his fear from here.

"Why would he be?" She stepped closer to me. Isabella looked me up and down, trying to find something scary about me. She seemed to be coming up short.

I looked down at her and smiled. She blushed deeply again, the crimson reaching her ears. This time she didn't seem mad. She was so beautiful when she did that. "Some people are afraid of me."

"Well, I'm not," she said and she meant it. "I saw you last night, helping my dad. It's a little embarrassing, all that happened. But I wanted to thank you."

"I'm not the one who found you," I told her, not sure how much she remembered.

"I know," she said a little shyly, "but your face is the only one I remember, so I'm thanking you for everyone, ok?"

I nodded. "I'll get these, Isabella, the apple flavor, like you recommended."

She smiled at me for real now. "Come on, I'll check you out." She grabbed my hand to pull me with her. When she touched me, it was kind of like static electricity but way more intense and wonderful.

She pulled me to the register. I had to wonder if she even felt it. She didn't seem to react to it at all.

When we got to the register, she let go of my hand. She let her hand dangle then she kind of shook it. Maybe she did feel the electricity between us too.

I handed her the granola bars, then the money.

"I don't need a bag," I said.

"What's your name?" She asked before I turned to leave. "You know mine but I don't know yours."

"Paul Lahote. Nice to meet you." I held out my hand for her to shake. She hesitated, then shook it. The same warm electric buzz flowed through us.

Our eyes locked. I felt like I knew her somehow, like she was someone to me, not just some girl I met yesterday. She was significant and it freaked me out a little. My stomach felt weightless, like it was floating freely in my abdomen. That can't be healthy.

I dropped her hand and backed away. "Nice to meet you, Isabella," I said again, then I bolted through the door.

I ran to the trees, fearing I would phase at the intensity of the encounter. I did not. I paced back and forth with the box of granola bars in my hand. Why did I buy these?

I went to her truck and put one granola bar on her seat. I closed up the box and wedged the rest under the seat in the truck's cab.

Then I went back into the woods. I sat, leaning against a tree for a long time. I was replaying the encounter in my mind trying to think of my next move.

I never had trouble talking to girls. Why was I so nervous now? Maybe because I wanted her to like me for more than an hour? Maybe because there was no backup.

She's it for me.

I fell asleep like that, leaning against the tree and thinking. It was probably because I hadn't slept last night.

I woke to Sam's booming voice. "How's it going Paul?" There was humor in his eyes and it pissed me off.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, not getting up.

"What are you doing here, Paul?" He crouched down next to me, looking me in the eye. "It's 3:00 pm."

"I fell asleep." He knew this. He was the one that woke me up.

He smirked. "How'd you sleep last night?"

"I had to clean the house," I said, still a little tired. "It smelled bad everywhere. There was no way I could sleep in that house with those smells."

Sam was nodding. "What did it smell like?"

I glared at him. "It smelled like other women. I think you know this."

"So how'd it go with Isabella?"

"I don't know. I said some things that I probably shouldn't. I said other things that landed well. I shouldn't have talked to her at all, though. I'm not ready."

"I was thinking I'd offer you this deal every day." Sam said it as though it was a really honorable thing to do. "I'll cut down your patrols to two hours if you visit her every day. You don't have to talk to her. She doesn't even have to see you. Hell, you could sleep under her window like a stalker. That would count. Then she'll be able to sleep too."

"I don't like it, Sam. I'll visit her every day. How could I not? And if she's not sleeping, I can try the trick you did, sleeping under her window or something, I guess. But I don't like the idea of there being an incentive attached. That doesn't feel good."

Sam laughed. "Deal. Patrols are two hours now anyway since the Cullens are gone. I just wanted you to get in the habit of seeing her, being near her so you'd feel the difference more when you're away."

"Fuck you!" He was trying to trick me into seeing her! What the fuck was wrong with him? "Are we done here?"

"Sure, Paul, you can go," he said smugly. "You know what? I'll go. You can stay or do whatever you want."

Sam ran into the forest. I knew he'd be phasing soon to get back to Emily on the rez. I didn't want to be in the pack mind with him so I decided to stay put for a little bit longer.

I got up and walked around. I didn't want to fall back asleep. Then I decided to climb a tree. It had been a while since I had climbed a tree but I was still good at it. I was actually way better at it than I had been as a kid. I used to spend hours in the woods, in the trees. Jared and I were both strong climbers and we used to have a great time climbing.

When I had played around long enough that Sam was probably out of the pack mind, I phased and ran home.

I felt restless at home. What was I supposed to be doing? It was Saturday. It was too early to go clubbing. Wait! I didn't even want to go clubbing.

I remembered earlier I had been cleaning. I decided to scour the house for more funky girl smells. I wanted the house to smell like me and pack only. Of course, Isabella was welcome to rub her strawberry scented body wherever she wanted. I was starting to picture it, starting to enjoy the idea.

Shit!

Why was I thinking this way?

I knew that if I didn't want other girls' scents in here, I'd have to lock the doors from now on. Some of my regular girls would let themselves in from time to time. I'd have to lock the windows, too. That meant I'd need to start carrying a key.

Or at least I'd have to have one outside that wasn't too obvious or accessible. I'd let the guys know where I put it. I went outside and looked all around the front porch for a spot. It couldn't be under the mat. That was too obvious. Anything too high could be found by someone watching us. It had to be discrete.

I found the perfect spot for the spare key! I hung it on a hook under the railing. It was too low to be seen easily. We could discreetly reach for it without being spotted. Genius.

After figuring that out, I sat on the couch. I felt uncomfortable, almost itchy. Was that the imprint somehow? I didn't know what to do about it. I had already decided to sleep in Forks tonight. I wanted to help her sleep, if I could. But why did I feel so uncomfortable in my own house?

Food. I should definitely eat before I go. I cleaned during breakfast and slept through lunch. I was probably starving. That was why I felt uncomfortable.

I made myself a huge meal and ate all of it. Somehow, I still felt uncomfortable.

I paced for a while. I threw a ball against a wall for a while. I tried to read my book but I just couldn't concentrate. I switched on the TV. I couldn't focus on a damn thing.

Was this how it was for Sam and Jared?

I didn't want to talk to Sam about it. He would be so goddamn smug. But I could always talk to Jared. I texted him, inviting him over. Even though he wasn't as much fun now that he had an imprint, he was still the best friend I ever had.

He texted back. He was bringing Kim. Groan.

Kim was a nice girl. She was one of those quiet reading types. I had less in common with her than I did Isabella, I was sure of it. But she was Jared's imprint so she probably had some insights, if she'd even say a word. Usually when she came to pack functions, she came with some cookies and a book. The books were not any I had ever read. The cookies were always good though.

The door knob jangled, followed by a knock.

I checked the peep hole just to make sure it wasn't some stinky girl coming to mess up my clean house. It was Jared and Kim.

I swung the door open for them. Kim looked so happy. I had never seen her this way before.

"So you're locking your door now?" Jared asked.

"I've gotta keep out the riff raff." I showed Jared where I kept the key. Then I stood to the side of the opened door, welcoming them in. They sat on the couch. I faced them in an armchair.

"You don't mind that I brought Kim, do you? She was really excited to talk to you."

"She was?" I raised an eyebrow at Kim.

"Bella's one of my best friends!" Kim's face was full of life and excitement. "Over the summer, we hung out at the Forks library a couple times a week. We're getting together again on Wednesday. I'm so excited that she's going to be pack!"

"Bella?" I asked. I had only heard her referred to as Isabella.

"That's what everyone calls her," Kim stated.

I looked at Jared. "Did you know they were friends?"

"I knew she hung out with some Forks girl at the library. I didn't know it was Isabella Swan, not until today."

"Kim, did you know that Isabella was dating a leech?" I asked.

"Not until today. She just called him Edward and I didn't make the connection that he was a Cullen."

"So I didn't really invite you here to talk about Isabella," I said.

"Bella," Kim corrected me.

"I called her Isabella and she didn't correct me so I'm going to assume that's her name until she tells me otherwise."

"Fine," Kim conceded with an eye roll. This was the most life I had ever seen from the girl.

"What do you want to talk about, if not her?" Jared asked.

"I don't know," I said, shrugging my shoulders. "It's the imprint or something. It's driving me crazy. I can't seem to focus on anything. I can't get anything done. I can't even watch TV without feeling stir crazy."

"Yeah, it's like that in the beginning. It gets a lot better when…" He looked down at Kim but didn't finish his sentence.

"When what, Jared?" I asked.

He hesitated, clearly trying to be delicate with his words. "When you, uh, make love with the imprint. The wolf, um, it calms down then. The wolf mates for life, so once you've…" Jared was uncomfortable talking about fucking his imprint with his imprint present.

"Fucked, yeah, go on."

"Yeah," he said, "once you've done that, the wolf is sure that you'll be with that girl forever and it doesn't have to keep pushing you two together."

"Forever?"

"You knew this, Paul," Jared said almost patronizingly. "The imprint is your soulmate. It's not a one night stand."

Kim was leaning into Jared's shoulder looking so content. Jared looked so content having her there. There was something peaceful about them that I hadn't truly noticed before.

"What about what she wants?" I asked. "She just got dumped by a vampire. I'm not sure she wants to be courted by a werewolf next."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Kim said, a sly smile on her lips. "Based on her reading preferences, I get the feeling she's into some freaky shit."

"Could you please elaborate?" That might have been a dumb thing for me to say. I already had a half chub from Kim's comment. I really wanted to know about this so-called 'freaky shit.'

Kim spoke quickly, excitedly. "She reads a lot of Gothic horror romance like Wuthering Heights and more modern bodice rippers, but with a twist, like beauty and the beast tropes. She's definitely a romantic like me, so I think she'll like the security and devotion of an imprint relationship. But I think there's something about the supernatural that she's really into as well."

"Wuthering Heights?" I asked, skeptically.

"Yeah," Kim explained, "where Heathcliff digs up his beloved's corpse because he can't get over her death."

"I remember it." How could I forget? "So she's fucked up? And I just have to seduce her and then the imprint will calm down. But she's kind of horny anyway so it might not be that hard to do." This was a task I could do, if I could build up the courage, which I was suddenly lacking.

"Paul," Jared sounded like he was running low on patience. "You don't want to seduce her like she's some ho from the club. She'll be your wife someday. You need to have a relationship."

"That's really not my thing," I said, leaning back. Jared knew me. I obviously wasn't going to get married. Ever.

"It wasn't my thing either," Jared said, "not until Kim. But not having a relationship, it feels wrong. I don't even know if it will satisfy the wolf, just seducing her."

"Kim, how did the imprint feel on your side?"

She blushed. "I already had a crush on Jared so it was pretty smooth for us. You should talk to Emily about that. She was dead set against being with Sam. Bella will fall between us, she'll probably be less eager than me but more willing than Emily."

"I'm not ready to talk to Sam and Emily about this yet. Sam is so fucking smug."

"That's not new," Jared said. "But he's just matching your level of cockiness from before the imprint. He'll be over it in a few days."

"Maybe I'll talk to him in a few days then. So in your early stages of the imprint, did you go nuts when there was a distance between you guys?"

"It wasn't an issue most of the time," Jared explained. "We go to the same school and live on the same street. The most distance we had was when one of us went to Forks or when I was patrolling the far side of the rez. And we fell in love so fast. That's the other thing with the imprint. They're your soulmate, so once you give them a chance, the relationship happens pretty quick. You two will just fit together, fall into place in each other's life."

"We'll be like Beauty and the Beast," I teased.

"Please don't tell her I told you about that," Kim begged, blushing again. "I think she'd be pretty embarrassed."

"Maybe we could all go to the library and I could see what she's reading myself," I suggested.

Kim looked way too excited about this idea. Jared was way less enthusiastic.

I tried to summarize the situation. "So my options for dealing with the imprint are: one, to stalk her like Sam stalked Emily or two, to seduce her. Am I understanding this correctly?"

"Not at all!" Jared said, shaking his head. "You want to get to know her, listen to her, woo her so that she likes you too. Spend time with her, yes. Maybe sleeping under her window or something is a good idea."

"How far away can you be and still get good sleep?" I asked.

"Kim lives five houses down from me," Jared said.

"So I could set up a tent in the woods behind Isabella's house?"

"Sure," Jared said, "or you could find a place that your wolf likes and sleep there. Then you won't have to maintain a separate residence, and your sleeping spot is less likely to be discovered."

"That right there is a fucking smart idea," I said, pointing to him.

"It's been known to happen," Jared said slyly.

"When does Sam patrol?" I asked. "I'm thinking of going to talk to Emily during his patrol."

"4:00 pm to 6:00 pm."

"So it's too late for me to talk to her today. Maybe I should head out to Isabella's and look for that spot in the woods."

I walked the happy couple to the door.

"Please," Kim pleaded, "don't tell her what I said about her reading choices, Paul. She's a really good friend. I just got over excited about the idea of her being pack, ok?"

"Sure, Kim, I've completely forgotten about Wuthering Heights and that Beauty and the Beast shit."

Jared was shaking his head in disapproval. It was his signature move.

When I shut the door behind them, I walked back to the couch, sniffing for signs of Kim. They were there but not offensive. Maybe it was fine because she was pack so I didn't mind having her scent in my home. Or maybe it was because I had never fucked her. Or maybe it was because I knew she wasn't trying to fuck me.

I ran into Forks as a wolf. The first thing I did was wander around the forest behind her house looking for a good sleeping spot. I found a clearing that was not too far from the house but still mostly hidden from view by the trees.

I could see her house easily from my spot. That was important. I think I needed to be near her when we slept because it was the only way I'd know she was safe. I knew that protection was a huge part of the imprint motivation.

I could see her truck parked in the driveway. She must be home from work now. Her dad's police cruiser was parked too. Part of me just needed to know that she was home safe.

In my wolf form, I stalked closer to the house. I creeped along the wall, trying not to trigger the motion sensor flood lights.

I could hear a football game and one heartbeat in the living room. On the other side of the house was a second heart beat and an occasional rustling of paper. Isabella was reading. After everything Kim told me, I was so curious about what she was reading.

I phased to man and pulled on my shorts. I climbed the tree next to her window for a better view. The tree reeked of leech. Had her leech boyfriend done this too? Well he left her. She was mine . The spirits said so.

I climbed a little higher so I could look into her window. She was laying on her bed, a book in one hand with the other hand down her pants.

Holy shit!

I tried to focus on the book cover, trying to read the title. It was definitely a bodice ripper, as Kim had called it. It had one of those couples on the cover. My eyes kept drifting to her unbuttoned pants. I could see her knuckles under her navy blue panties. Those fingers were working quickly. My eyes drifted to her boobs. The outline of braless tits was clearly visible through her tank top. Then I dragged my eyes back to the book. The book was at the wrong angle for me to see the words clearly. I couldn't read the title. I wouldn't be able to read it even if I wasn't getting distracted.

She set the book down.

I looked at her face to see what she was going to do next. She was looking right at me.

Shit!

I dropped out of the tree and ran to the woods. I turned around just in time to see her opening her window. She was looking down around the base of the tree.

"Paul! Are you okay?" She asked, looking for me. "Paul, was that you?" She waited for an answer, then muttered, "at least I know it wasn't Edward. I must have been imagining things."

Phew!

I was way out of line climbing into that tree. Shit. I felt pretty gross about it. Coming here, sleeping here, that I could justify. I was helping her sleep. But watching her touch herself… I had no fucking right!

I was pacing in the woods in human form, just beating myself up about it when I remembered the granola bars. Had she eaten the one I left for her? It was dark enough now. I could check it out without being caught.

I walked up to the truck and opened the front door. The granola bar was gone. There were crumbs on the seat! She had accepted my offering. I reached under the seat and pulled out the box. I put another granola bar on the seat and put the box away. Then I sniffed the seat. It smelled so fucking good!

What the fuck was wrong with me, sniffing her seat? I stepped back and shut the door. I ran back into the woods to my sleep spot. I would lie right in this spot until the sun rose.

That is exactly what I did. I lay down and stayed there. Eventually I slept.