Chapter Text
Paul Lahote is angry.
In this particular moment— and in general. It’s not something that embarrasses him. In fact, it’s sort of his thing. It makes him different from his pack brothers and the other youth their age. But he’s learned with time how to taper it down, although phasing is still a foreign thing for him.
That doesn’t make him angry though.
The concept of phasing, anyway, is kind of beautiful to him. He likes being raw power that unfurls into the earth. The connection of his paws into the earth is practically music.
However—
Being a protector takes away almost everything in life that he’s built up. It makes him irritationally angry, which takes away all the time he’d spent practicing on quelling the emotion. It takes away his friends from school, and school in general. It takes away women, sort of. Although he’s not much of a relationship sort of dude, it rids the option from him. He prefers to be alone, but on the off chance that there’s ever a woman to peak his interest, he’s not enough of an asshole to take a chance on someone else’s feelings. It’s one of three things that Paul Lahote hates.
His three hated things:
- Imprinting
- Vampires
- And now.. his imprint.
Except that isn’t possible anymore, either. The imprint takes away his natural feelings for the girl, until he feels a little more like a lovesick fool. It doesn’t feel as bad as Sam or Jared. At least he doesn’t think so. But he knows that he’s not supposed to be pouting over her being close friends with his pack brother. Which in turn, triggers that stupid, irrational anger that he’s still working on.
Paul is mostly angry because this wasn’t supposed to happen. He’s spent so much time and effort to avoid looking people in the eye. Except— fate is cruel and of course his imprint isn’t normal. He’d managed to not look at her either, keeping his eyes trained on the lower half of her face as he mocked her. Which should’ve given him more time to realize that she planned to smack the shit out of him; but he’s used to girls crying and running away. Or something similar.
(“Paul’s girl has got herself a temper,” Jared teased later that night, long after she’d returned with Jacob. “Just his luck, right?”)
So Paul hates Isabella Swan. A little bit.
Yet he’s so intrigued, that it makes his pathetic meter shoot right past Sam and Jared. At least they talk to their imprints. He spends the first couple of times that she’s around, avoiding the way that Jacob nudges her with his shoulder or sits close enough for their thighs to touch. And today is no different. Sam’s talking about their patrol and something to do with the redhead leech, but Paul can’t help but to notice that Jacob is whispering. Whatever he says makes Bella squirm, and she shoots him a dirty look before scooting closer to Embry.
“—around the school. Paul, that’s where you come in.” Sam’s looking at him with an amused quirk of his lips.
That’s exactly why Paul pretends to have heard everything.
“Of course,” he grumbles, shoving back against the cushions.
“Ouch,” Jared hisses. “Watch it, fucker.”
“Cool. Bella, if there’s any more information that you can give us, please.. you can talk to me alone if it’s more comfortable. Or relay a message through Jacob,” the alpha glances at Paul for a split second. “But really, I’d prefer you spoke to me directly.”
“Okay, Sam,” the girl easily agrees.
They’ve got a weird friendship that is partial to the fact that Sam had found her in the woods many nights ago. It doesn’t bother Paul— not as much as Jacob does. He cracks his neck and ignores Embry’s dark eyes from across the way. She’s still sitting closer to the shaggy haired boy.
“Are we ready for dinner?” Emily asks sweetly, getting up before anyone else. “I’ll cook up something quick.”
Bella stands too, following the other imprint wordlessly. That’s another little development that makes Paul’s head spin. He still hasn’t told her about the imprint, but she functions like it’s obvious to her. It kind of makes him feel bad for Jared. Kim’s so caught up with the boy, she hardly bonds outside of him and when she does—well, she has an awkward lack of filter that makes him wish she just wouldn’t.
As if sensing his train of thought, Jared shoves his shoulder right into Paul’s collarbone, feigning as if it was to help him sit upright.
“Quil, Paul,” Sam says, nodding towards the door. “Patrol. I want one on the far outs and one on the inside. Loop around through Forks. Four hours.”
Paul scowls at the curly haired boy. Another one of Jacob’s worshippers. He’s a lot more blatant about his adoration than Embry is. It’s annoying and loud— just like the boy himself.
He’s halfway out the door when Bella calls out.
“Paul? I’ll save you a plate.”
It makes him pause. She’s an angel.
And he’s a dick— so he slams the door in response.
“What’s your rash?” Quil asks as they set off towards the wooded area. “She’s cool. Bella.”
“You didn’t have to specify,” Paul grumbles, stripping his shorts off quickly. “She is my rash. An annoying itch that won’t leave.” He soothes a quick hand over his chest at the insult.
Whatever Quil says next is covered by his heartbeat in his ears as his body rips at the seams. It’s less painful the more that he does it and his anger sees that he does it at least once a day.
I’ll take the far out, he says as soon as Quil has also phased. Then he promptly shuts down the rest of his thoughts as they begin to flow.
Wait, Quil says after a moment. Why were you thinking of Bella? What was that emotion?
I told you. An annoying itch that I can’t get rid of.
*
In retrospect— he should have listened to what Sam was saying at the meeting. Or at least asked him to repeat it. It would’ve saved him this embarrassment.
“Wait, what?”
“You agreed,” Bella needlessly reminds him. “To take me to school..”
“No I did not,” Paul stubbornly argues. “You’re lying.”
She throws her hands up in exasperation. It’s endearing annoying. “Of all the things I could lie about, you taking me to school would never be one of them.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Paul asks, affronted by the tone of her voice.
“Paul,” she sighs. “I’m going to be late. If you’re not going to come with me, then forget it.”
He wants to take that and run far away, metaphorical—and real—tail tucked between his legs. But there’s still a leech out there that wants the girl. A few, much to his chagrin.
“Well. I already came this far,” he lies, throwing the truck door open.
It makes the little spitfire narrow her eyes. “Why did you come this far? If you didn’t know you were taking me to school.”
Ah.
That part, he hadn’t thought through. The truth was that Paul couldn’t settle with the distance between them, and he’d run to her house almost immediately after eating and a shower. And even more embarrassingly, he had slept in the woods near her house, before getting closer once Charlie left for work. She’d found him trying to slink off the porch.
“I know Sam said something to do with you,” he lies. “I just couldn’t remember what.”
Bella settles a little at that, finally starting her scrap metal. “Oh. You came to ask, then? You could’ve knocked, you know? Charlie isn’t home.”
There’s no way in hell that Paul is going to tell her that he already knows Charlie isn’t home because he listened to the man get ready for work and leave. He’s also a little concerned about how gullible she is. Maybe it isn’t so hard to believe that a vampire has charmed its way into her life before.
“Mm.”
He doesn’t speak for the rest of the ride and she doesn’t push it. At least that’s one thing about Bella Swan that he can come to enjoy. As feisty as her initial introduction had been, she seems to be pretty good at understanding social cues.
She only speeds a little bit on the bend near her house, and then follows the limit the rest of the way. The school rolls into view eventually. It’s ugly and old and there’s a concerning amount of pale faces that turn their attention towards the sound of her truck.
“Is it always like this?” He asks, glancing at her.
She turns to look at him with an uneasy smile. “At first. And then it stopped. It started up again once they left.”
Paul huffs as that familiar roll of anger settles across his skin. “They’re that special?”
Bella eyes him for a minute— like she can’t decide if a specific answer is going to anger him. “I think it’s more like.. my response. To them leaving,” she clarifies.
“Yeah,” he snorts. “That was dramatic as hell.”
He expects her to get mad, maybe even slap him again, but she only sinks down a little. “Sam and I have been talking about that,” is all she says before throwing the door open.
For once in his life, Paul fumbles a bit to get out of the truck. He kind of feels bad. And then he feels worse because he’s not wearing a shirt and people are staring.
“Hey,” he calls out, leaning against her truck. “I’ll be back when school’s over.”
She doesn’t look at him this time. “Okay.”
It doesn’t hurt. That’d be dumb.
Still— he watches as she makes her way towards a little huddle of people. There’s a girl there with a dumb bob that just looks bitchy. And familiar. Paul squints a little, but no name comes to mind. He wants to listen in to whatever they’re talking about, but another person catches his attention. It’s a guy this time, meeting his eyes with something that he registers as a challenge.
‘So, she’s got her own little fan base?’ He snorts to himself, crossing his arms over his chest.
There’s no way the guy stands a chance in comparison to Paul— but it’s hard not to think about how her last (and only boyfriend that he’s aware of) was also a white boy. His wolf snaps at the idea, but Paul ignores that too. It doesn’t make him any less confident. Bella belongs to him, whether he wants it or not.
*
They maintain a simple routine. Paul runs his patrols and tries hard to ignore the pull that leads him right under her window. Sometimes it’s the middle of the day when he’s out and he finds himself near the wooded areas of the school. She is surprisingly popular— though most of it comes from the male population. Even that’s a little surprising for him. She doesn’t do anything like other girls. Doesn’t throw herself at boys, or even really talk to them. That makes his wolf proud. Paul himself couldn’t care any less.
In the mornings, he meets her on the porch. He sits on the step and doesn’t knock. She greets him good morning and he grunts, and then they set off. Sometimes he asks her questions. Dumb ones that end up hurting her feelings eventually. He’s not trying to be an asshole in those moments; he genuinely wants to know her reasoning for things. After school, he accompanies her to work when she has it, or drops her off at home. Sam takes over from there. The distance pulls and tugs for the entire run back to La Push.
Aside from his alpha and Jared, Paul manages to keep the imprint a secret. It’s not something he’s willing to share with his pack brothers, especially an over enthusiastic, bright eyed one in particular. Jacob is still following the girl around like a pup on a chain. (“That should be you, you know?” Jared teases one day. “Gonna give her to him?”) Jared and him fight more often. It helps control the beast within him. If anyone is attentive to the slight shift in Paul’s demeanor, it’s Embry. He’s always been a little odd and highly receptive to all of their dynamics. Paul also suspects that Emily knows, but she’s good at keeping her mouth shut. He knows Kim doesn't know because she’s a thoughtless blabber mouth and he’s still a little bitter at his loss of a friend due to her presence. It’s easier not to hate Bella when he thinks of the fact that he still sort of has his freedom.
Minus the ability to explore other people. But that had been mostly taken away when he first phased anyway.
The weekends are when Paul gets the most time to breathe. Jacob keeps Bella occupied in his garage, and there’s no sense of urgency for him to close the distance between them. She’s in La Push and she’s safe. For the most part— because of course Jacob and her do dumb shit, and he would flip out if it weren’t for Sam already doing it.
“Are you dumb?” The alpha asks Jacob. “Whether you’re jumping with her or not, the water is choppy today. You’re from here, you know that! Even a split second of misjudgment could separate the two of you.”
And the two idiots are still shivering in their clothes. Well— it’s really just one idiot, because Jacob is rapidly drying his own clothes. She looks a bit like a drowned rat. Paul fights down the smirk that threatens to give away the fact that he’s paying attention.
“Sam,” she mumbles awkwardly. “I’m okay though.. it won’t happen again.”
“Of course it won’t,” Sam explodes, his hands flying up in the air before he wags a finger between the two of them. “Because you two are grounded from each other.”
“You can’t do that!” Jacob protests.
Paul’s practically shoving his own fist in his mouth at this point. Jared shoots him an equally amused look.
Bella shuffles a little away from the pup, like he’s a contagious virus that will find more trouble for her.
“I can and I will,” Sam grounds out.
“What gives you the right? She’s not yours!”
“She’s not yours either,” Sam snaps, signaling the end of the discussion. “You two are done for the day, Jacob. Go home. Bella— you need to get in the shower before you get sick.”
The two stare each other down. It’s a comedy movie for Paul, really. Currently, none of them are beating Sam. Destined alpha status or not. It’s only when Bella moves to stand up and Jacob’s hand roughly snaps forward to yank at her, that Paul finally snaps.
The growl he lets out puts everyone’s head on a swivel.
Jared quickly matches the sound with his own voice, louder. It’s a heavy blanket over Paul, and everyone watches the beta warily. “Don’t treat women like that,” he uses as an excuse.
Paul blinks twice as his brain takes a moment to catch up.
His friend is covering for him.
It’s genius and it also makes Paul a little happy.
Jacob huffs like the baby that he is— because he’s used to getting everything his way. Bella’s eyes stay on Paul though, curiosity dancing around those chocolate orbs. He’d be dumb to think she’s been fooled. Instead of meeting her gaze, he throws his feet up on the coffee table and jerks his head towards the hallway.
“Go ahead, Swan. Jakey will be here next weekend.”
*
“No good morning?” Paul asks on Monday.
Bella pauses at the edge of the porch, where she’s just walked past him. “You don’t ever respond,” she shrugs. “What’s the point?”
“I don’t like changes in routine,” he grumbles, standing up.
“You don’t like much of anything,” she adds as they climb into the truck.
Paul pauses in the middle of stretching out his long limbs.
It’s not unusual for him to hear smart remarks from Bella. She does it all the time to Jacob, Embry and even Jared. But not towards Paul— never towards Paul. It’s a development, his mind teases. Instead of answering her, he looks out the window and pretends to be intrigued by the sight of trees. The rest of their routine goes as planned. She drives to school, still obeying every sign and signal, and they sit in the cab for a little before she gets out to meet her friends. They’re still curious as to who he is and that little shit from last week is still staring.
Paul makes a show of stretching, despite the fact that he’s worn a thin hoodie today. The fabric catches a little as he pulls his arms upwards and he meets Bella’s gaze with a raised eyebrow. Then she’s turning and corralling the rest of her friends towards the school building.
He waits a few minutes longer until the last of the students enter their building— then he’s off.
Something’s off, Embry notes once he’s phased in.
Where? I don’t smell anything, Paul thought, lowering his nose to the forest floor.
No— I mean with you.
Paul shuts the connection off right there. He doesn’t need anyone—especially Embry—digging in his business. Instead he focuses on getting home and taking a shower. Sleeping in the woods is starting to take a toll on his self esteem. It’s embarrassing and just as pathetic as the other two that he’s constantly complaining about.
He has hours to kill before he needs to be back at Forks High School, so he takes time grooming himself. He even cuts the strands of hair that are growing long enough to fall towards his brow bone.
“Nice,” he compliments himself in the mirror.
As different as he feels, Paul is appreciative of the fact that his appearance remains the same. There are no dark circles that give him away (in fact, he sleeps pretty well) or any indication that something is taking a toll on him. And the imprint bond’s pull on him is almost a faint buzz— he’s gotten so used to ignoring it.
It’s comfortable enough that he decides a little after noon to take a nap.
Except he’s imprinted to Bella Swan, and nothing in life is comfortable.
His body jolts up at the same time that he feels her— closer than she should be.