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TO SAY PAUL LAHOTE WAS STRESSED WAS AN UNDERSTATEMENT. Hailey had been giving him these looks. He knew what they meant, she wanted to know and no matter how much she persisted Paul would mumble later. Yet later never came, and Hailey resorted to blanking him.
It physically hurt him, but now wasn't the time. Hailey had been stuck to Emily's couch for three hours, a cold towel pressed to her forehead and covering her eyes. It felt like her head was about to explode. Suddenly, she yelled and her hand grasped her chest.
Paul shot up, immediately coming to sit behind Haileys back to keep her upright. "This hasn't happened before" she chocked out as she attempted to breathe. "This feels like a fucking heart attack" she mustered, feeling the feeling slowly disappearing as she fell back into Paul's chest.
Sam and the rest of the pack were over at the clearwater, he took a heart attack in the woods. The pack believed was a substitute of Victoria the resdheaded leech.
A howl rang out causing Paul's head to snap towards the woods, then another. The phone rang from beside the pair and he quickly answered it.
His face fell, "we'll be right over" he mumbled before the call ended.
Hailey took notice of his demeanor, as she sat up properly. "What's wrong?" She asked.
Paul sighed, "leah shifted, and Harry took another heart attack. He didn't make it, and Seth just shifted too" he informed the girl.
Haileys eyes became wet as she quickly pushed herself off the ouch, ignoring the headache that was slowly leaving her head. "Oh my god" she mumbled, clutching her chest. "It felt like a heart attack... that's what I said. How—" she paused her rambling as she looked at Paul with wide eyes. "could I have stopped this?"
Paul immediately placed his hands on her upper arms. "You couldn't have known" he protested, and as the girl shook her head he brought her into his arms. "You couldn't have know, baby" he whispered as he placed a delicate kiss atop of her head.
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
The days passing by went in a blur. Hailey had adopted some twisted sense of survivors guilt and had only left her bed for the service. The service, it was beautiful — many came to pay respects for Harry. He was a very cared for man, and being an Elder, a ceremonial bonfire was held in the late evening once the sun had set.
Since leah and Seth had both phased, Hailey was unable to visit the quaint house she considered a second home. Jessica Omega sent Hailey a text to give her sorrows to the Clearwater family and saying she was prolonging her trip.
Hailey didn't care though. The diner stayed closed, and people began to worry. Hailey sat on the couch staring forward, quickly she jumped up and slid her feet into her shoes. She didn't think, she just walked.
The woods were quiet, as if the animals knew they had lost someone. Suddenly, the crunch of wet sand brought her from the thoughts of death and the smell of earth and salt water comforted the girl.
Her eyes washed over the sea. 'It's not my fault' thought. No it wasn't, once death chooses a date, that path is set out for the rest of your life. Hailey allowed herself to lightly fall back on the sand. The cold breeze brushed through her thick hair. She looked ethereal as her hair blew behind her, even with the gash on her cheek and bags under her eyes.
A throat cleared behind her, and she lightly turned around. Leah stood with her freshly chopped bob and in cut off jeans. "Hey" she mumbled, her eyes carrying the same bags and shoulders slacked.
"Hey leah" Hailey sighed, nodding her over and returning her gaze to the crashing waves. Leah sat beside the girl. She gulped, "does it get better?" She asked softly. The wound of Harry's death was still raw and open for many, but watching your father die or dead — that's the wound that lasts forever.
Hailey sharply drew her gaze to the sand. "Not really, just easier to deal with" she shrugged, running a hand through her tussled hair. "I mean you'll never want to hear another 'he was a great man' or 'I'm sorry' again."
Leah chuckled slightly, blinking back tears that threatened to fall. "Yeah that sucks.. and being around them doesn't make it any better" the shifter replied with words filled with malice and hatred.
Hailey nodded, "it must make it ten times harder for you" she sympathised. Hailey did feel bad for leah, she had always liked the girl.
Leah nodded, "everyone's so happy with the fucking imprint, Jared has Kim — Sam has Emily and Paul has you, it's so fucking annoying. Like why does the ancestors pick who your soulmate is — I wouldn't want to be tied down to someone I couldn't even choose for myself. I'm even surprised you took Paul back even if he imprinted on you" the shifter rambled, her words spilling like hot molten lava.
Haileys eyes widened, "that's what imprinting is" she muttered, a tight ball of anxiety knitting in her stomach as a lump formed in her throat.
Leah snapped her head over, "you didn't know?" She asked, standing up she frantically ran her hands through her hair. "Oh my god I'm so sorry, Paul's gonna kill me. Oh my god what did I do!" She rambled incessantly as she paced back and forth.
Hailey pushed herself off the ground and grabbed Leah's shoulders. "Let me deal with Paul, it's not your fault. I deserved to know" Hailey spoke softly, feeling Leah's shoulders relax under her grip.
"No, Hailey you don't understand! Paul's supposed to be the one to tell you. He's gonna kill me" Leah mumbled with sunken shoulders as she swallows a harsh breath.
Hailey scoffed, "Paul wasn't going to tell me any time soon. I've been asking for weeks. You did me a favour— trust me" the girl spoke calmly, but inside their was a turmoil of masked emotions crashing against each other. Why was she chosen as Paul's imprint? What exactly is an imprint other than a life long companion.
Once Hailey had managed to calm leah down, she advised the girl not to shift until she talked to Paul — and with that she took out her phone.
to — PAUL LAHOTE (don't answer)
We need to talk. Now.
— RIN SPEAKS
Obviously this is very much a filler but I really wanted to begin diving into leah and Haileys friendship as they have such similarities and are both the only non mundane women in the pack life... ( Bella doesn't count )
