Until Death- Paul Lahote

3

I hear the discussion going on outside but I don't get up. The pain in my chest from talking to them got worse and worse with time, making me almost throw up before I walked away. This stupid gag order thing was getting on my nerves. I wasn't going to do anything to them.

I hear two cars drive away before there's a knock at my door.
"It's just me. The others left" my brother says but I don't respond. I hear the door creek open before someone sits down next to me on my bed. He puts an arm around me and I lean into his arms.
"Woah, you're hot" he says and I chuckle.
"Yeah, ever since I've been sick I haven't stopped glowing" I say sarcastically and he laughs. We stay silent, my eyes closed.
"You really don't want to talk about it?" he asks and I shake my head. Sam hadn't said anything about being near them. Well, he had not, not explicitly. 
"Okay, can you at least start talking to us again? The others are missing you. I am missing you, Aria" he says. 
"It's difficult to explain but okay. I'll sit with you during lunch but I can't hang out after school" I say and watch as he smiles at me widely.
"Really?" he asks.
"I'll try, yeah" I say and he hugs me tightly. 
"You know I love you, right?" he asks me, breathing into my shoulder.
"I love you too" I say with a soft smile.

...

"What are we doing here?" I ask Sam as we walk towards a cliff. I walk to the edge to see the drop. It was pretty high to be honest. I watch as a wave collides with the rocks underneath me.
"Cliff diving" he says with a wide grin as I look at him with wide eyes. 
"Cliff diving?" I say quietly and he chuckles.
"It's safe. Don't worry. And if something happens, I'll come and get you" he says as he shoves me towards the edge. I watch as a car stops up the road, and as some boys jump out.
"No, no, no. Sam!" I say warningly but before I can react, I feel my body flying through the air as I swirl my hands around trying not to fall over or anything. I colide with the water beneath me, feeling the hard impact on my feet. I open my eyes to see the little bubbles that my jump had left, rise through the water. I push my hair out of my face before I break the surface and take a heavy breath.
"You asshole!" I shout loudly as I hear him laugh before I sense someone coming. I look over to my right to see Embry swimming over. 

"What are you doing here?" I ask him as I swim up to him. The water wasn't too cold for me with my bodytemperatures but for him definitely. 
"He pushed you off the cliff and you didn't come up. I was worried" he says wrapping his arms around me as we meet.
"Woah, I'm okay. We were just joking" I say, noticing his body-temperature was very low.
"Didn't look like it" he says as we both swim over to the shore. We both walk out of the water and I take his hand.
"Embry you're freezing" I say and he chuckles with his blue lips.
"Yeah and you aren't" he says a bit confused.
"What happened?" Quil asks. 
"Are you okay?" Jacob asks worried, as they both jogg over.
"I'm okay but Embry's really cold. Do you have a blanket in your car or something?" I ask Jared and he joggs up.
"What the hell happened?" Jacob asks, glaring at Sam, who was still standing on the cliff, listening in to our conversation.
"We were just joking and he pushed me off" I say and notice Embry's heavy shivering. Quickly,I take off my shorts and my wet shirt before I wrap my arms around him and hold him tight. He stiffens at first and holds his breath before he slowly relaxes. I smell the pheromones coming off of him but I shrug it off.
"What are you doing?" Quil asks wide-eyed.
"Clearly, he's freezing. I'm just trying to keep him warm" I say before Jared comes back with the blanket. He trows it at me and I pull it around both of us, leaning my head into Embry's shoulder. His pheromones were even worse there.

I pull my face up and look at him, my face an inch away from his.
"Could you try not to, you know..." I say, glancing down at his body before I look into his face. He blushes, hard, before I hug him again.Jared and Quil start laughing at my words as he puts his arms around my waist again, pulling me close.
"Too close, I can feel it" I say, pulling my waist a bit away again. His arms travel up a bit while Jared and Quil just laugh.
"Can't he just put his clothes on again?" Jacob asks annoyed.
"He should be okay now" I say before I pull away. I take the blanket off of us, pulling myself out from underneath it before I put it around him again, not fast enough for Jared and Quil to look though.
"Really, she just hugged you" Quil says, laughing heavily as Jared held onto his shoulder for balance.
"Leave him alone. I bet the same thing would happen with you two" I say, grinning at them as they look at me, both blushing a bit before Embry laughs. 

"Aren't you cold?" Jared asks, trying to change the subject.
"Nah, not really" I say, as Jacob hands Embry his clothes. He starts putting on his pants but stops as he wants to put on his shirt.
"Here" he says, holding his red shirt out to me.
"It's fine, really" I say but he insists.
"Please" he says and I take it with a smile before I pull it over my body. It reached until my mid-thighs, covering my ass just slightly, which had grown too since the transformation.
"Looks good on you" Embry says with a light smile, which I return.
"Thank you" I smile at him.
"Aria!" I hear Sam call out behind me. He stands by the forest, waiting for me with clenched fists.
"I have to leave but I'll see you on monday" I say before I go to walk away.
"So, you're Sam's little dog now?" Jared teases me but instead it pisses me off. Quickly, I turn around and stomp away towards Sam.
"What did I say about talking to them?" he asks angrily.
"I know but I had to. Did you see the way Embry was freezing. It was out fault he was in the water in the first place" I say, walking infront of him.

We spend the rest of the afternoon in the forest, looking for something before we decide to eat something. And since Emily's not home we decided on going to a restaurant at the border of Forks and La Push. I get home quickly, for me to get dressed again before we make our way there in his car.
"Table for two, please" Sam says to the waitress, who smiles at us before she leads the way. Sam and I sit a bit in a further corner, not near to anyone actually. 

"So how are you liking it so far?" Sam asks me with a smile. Sam was a nice guy. Doing everything he can for me.
"I actually really like it. Well, apart from the whole 'no friends' thing. But it's really cool" I say and he chuckles. 
"Okay, what would you like to drink?" I hear the waiter ask and look at Sam. He looks at the boy misteriously.
"Lemonade" 
"And you?" the boy ask and I feel him stiffen next to me. 
"Uhh, I'll just have water, please" I say with a smile before I look up at him, into his chocolate brown eyes.

Everything around me drowns out as I look at him. My smile fades as pictures start flashing infront of me.
Pictures of us.
Of him like a wolf.
Us together on patrol.
Us kissing.
Us having our wedding.
Us having kids.
And us growing old.

I blink a few times, and look at him. Quickly, I shut my mouth shut again before I smile at him. He looks at me confused and a bit angry, much to my disliking. I feel my body having the desire to go near him and touch him but I don't.
"You have really beautiful eyes, you know that?" I ask him with a grin as his cheeks heat up and his heart beats faster. 
"I, uh, thank you" he says, rubbing his neck nervously before he walks away.

"Really? You have beautiful eyes?" Sam asks me a bit annoyed but still a grin on his face.
"What was that?" I ask him.
"That, Aria, is so called imprinting" he says, making my heart stop.

What?

I had found my imprint. I never expected it as Sam told me it was very rare. Especially not with Paul. Of course I had known him for a long time now and flirted occasionaly but nothing else. And now he was supposed to be my soulmate?

"So that means..."
"Yes it does" he says. I look up to catch Paul looking at me, who turns his head around quickly. 
"Wow" I say, a smile creeping it's way onto my lips as I think of him.
"I won't be able to keep you away from him now, huh?" Sam asks and I slowly shake my head.

"Okay, we'll have a deal. You'll not talk to them unless there's lunch. We can't have you lash out on someone in the cafeteria. And as soon as one of the boys shifts, you won't sit with them anymore. The boys will be more agressive. More angry. You're different. You're a girl but they'll want to rip everyone's head of who just looks at them funny. Understood. It's your task to look after them and tell me when they shift. But you won't sit with them everytime at lunch. I don't want you to get too attached anymore" he says and stops just as Paul walks over with our drinks.

He puts them on the table infront of us, not even looking at me as he takes our orders before he walks away. I feel a sting in my chest and look after him sadly.
"Yup, the imprint's got you wrapped around his finger now" Sam says laughing. "Don't get into something serious though with him. You'll be whatever he needs right now. A friend, a lover, I don't know. But don't jump into it too fast. You have to keep in mind that he doesn't feel the same. At least not right now. He hasn't imprinted on you so he needs time"
"Sure. Everything he needs" I breathe out, catching him looking at me again. I smile at him before I continue my dinner with Sam as he tells me about imprints.