Bumps In The Road / Paul Lahote

18. Bonfire Drama

"Did you like them?" Paul asked once Billy had finished and there was a moment of silence as everyone released the breath they held. I was pulled back into reality from the magic of the legends and grinned at Paul. Never had I heard such a story and I doubted I would forget it anytime soon.

"I adored them! Never have I heard anything like it" I responded.

"Yeah, they're amazing. What do you think about the Third Wife story?" He wondered.

"Absolutely beautiful, how she sacrificed herself for her love and to save her family." What more that I loved about the Third Wife's story was that she wasn't supernatural, but a human woman, yet she still saved the tribe. She had no magical ability except that of her love. Her love was magical in itself. The courage it must have taken to put that knife to her stomach, I don't know if I could have done it. Considering she did it for the one she loved was what made the story more beautiful.

"How about we talk... alone?" Paul held a tone of nervousness in his voice. I frowned at this as Paul rarely seemed nervous.

"Sure" I nodded. We stood up from the log and left the group to find privacy, walking along towards the dark forest.

"Uh...well, there's something I want to tell you" Paul buried his hands in his pockets, which was unusual body language for him since he always radiated confidence. I frowned, not liking this feeling and seeing him so nervous. Paul was comfortably a confident person, so I wondered what was such a big deal to completely break his demeanour.

"You're not married are you?" I asked, my eyes narrowing in scrutiny. He grinned and shook his head looking down. "Kids?"

"No. I'm not married and definitely have no kids. Well, not yet." He smirked and sent me a wink. I scoffed at his playful joke and wished it lightened the tension, but it didn't in the slightest.

"Well, that's good" I muttered.

"You know that the legends are real, they are our ancestors and that the spirit warrior part is real." I nodded, my mind casting to the sight his mesmerising silver wolf. "Okay... well, the Thrid Wife part is also true. It's called Imprinting and it's something that a wolf does, funny fact it happens to average wolves as well just less...supernatural than in the way it occurs for us."

"Why have I heard that word before?" I muttered, remembering when I first came to La Push and they said stuff about Imprinting. The word was thrown around when I first met Paul and became ill for the day. I thought it was my mind being bombarded by Paul's rage, but was there another reason?

"Well, Imprinting is when a wolf finds his soul mate, the one that he will dedicate the rest of his life to, whether that be as a friend, a brother, a protector or lover. It's like gravity no longer holds them to the Earth, but her. It's like your entire world shifts and nothing becomes more important than that individual" Paul explained. I paused, processing his words.

"You say it as though you know the feeling."