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Paul's POV
Never before had I hated homework this much. I was stuck on the last problem on my Calc 3 assignment and it pissed me endlessly off. Why would that make me angry? Well, unfortunately I couldn't call Bella Swan until I had all of my homework done for the week. A man has to set a schedule and be rigorous, damn it, and I just will not budge on this. I personally blamed the curvy-ass number 5 on that problem. It brought to mind a curvy, wet body I had spotted a couple days ago. Her hair sleeked down her pale shoulders and over the red tank top that brought out the color of those plump lips, her gorgeous tattoos trailing down her arms and highlighting the gorgeous skin where her tank top had crept up like a brave scout. I salute you.
Distracted didn't even begin to describe me as Sam let me return to school as we were for sure down one leech. I couldn't listen in class without tapping my foot spastically and almost making an audible sound to the weak human ear. That didn't sound like much, but it meant I was really out of sorts. My favorite classmate, Cameron, shot me a weird look so it definitely wasn't just my imagination. The only good thing to come out of the last few days is that I caught up quickly and my grades didn't seem in jeopardy.
The pack mind was a war-zone right now, or I should say Black was infuriated at me and her. I hadn't leaked our conversation at First Beach or my plan to call her, but the rightful alpha seemed to almost sense it. He was mad at Bella for not admitting that she was hurting for the marks on her arms and that she needed him. Which indefinitely pissed me off because it was obvious Bella wanted to be strong and was taking steps to be more independent. Any sympathy I had previously possessed for Jake was now eradicated. He was, incredibly enough, angry at me for not being more worried for the rabbit.
I had made my mind up. I liked her and I was going to keep her. If she'd have me.
The last problem solved of the homework - I always make sure to finish before going back to the noisy pack - I stood up in the library and stretched. Due to my vow of not seeing Bella until school was sorted out, I was speeding deliberately through each assignment and hoping nobody noticed the dust in my tracks. The drive back to LaPush with the satisfyingly light homework load in my backpack soothed my frayed nerves, and Bella would probably be over at Emily's, playing with the pack. She'd announced that her strength was probably back up enough to show us all the tricks she knew about vamps soon.
The fighter in me was eager to learn.
I walked into Emily's house, backpack thrown over my shoulder, and immediately noticed the flowing laughter coming from the kitchen. Laughter I recognized from Emily, Jared, and Bella which created a relief in my bones that I always experience after leaving LaPush for any amount of time. My family was safe.
Baby, run! A million nightmares danced in my head and sweltered out into the open, but the others didn't notice. They never did.
Shaking off the shadow of a memory, it took considerable effort to plaster a cocky grin on my lips. "What's up, nerds?" I rhetorically asked as I plopped my bag down onto the counter and automatically began pulling textbooks out.
"You seem to be the nerdiest of nerds, Paul." Bella laughed, "I don't think I've seen books that big before."
I cocked an eyebrow at her and grinned, "Sorry sweetie, I promise to be gentle."
Bella rolled her eyes and seemed immune to the innuendos at this point. Emily and Jared groaned synchronously. "Spirits, Paul, you'll never get her at this point." Jared grounded out lightheartedly. I shot a warning glare at him.
Bella blushed, and she absently fiddled with her hands. Her hair seemed better kept than usual, and her gorgeous arms were on a proud display in front of the others. She still wrapped them before going home, but other than that she seemed to be taking the freedom to wear T-shirts around the pack for granted.
"So what were y'all chuckling about before I graced you with my presence?"
Jared ground out a big laugh and didn't seem to be in control of himself. "Jacob and Bells fought yesterday and Jake left her flowers here this morning."
I frowned. "How's that funny?" If anything, it was more appropriate than anything I would do after having a disagreement with someone.
"It was daisies. I actually have a slight allergic reaction to them." Bella confessed, and then she stood up, heading towards a vase on the counter. She grabbed a flower and headed towards me. "Watch carefully." She demanded.
I did. Bella pressed the head of the bloom against an untatted portion of her arm and a brilliant rash instantaneously bloomed on her skin. For as long as the bloom was on there. She moved the offender off and then her arm healed almost instantaneously.
"That was pretty cool. Does Jake not know?" There was no way he could.
A chuckle. "Nah, I'll show him later as a peace treaty. It's just funny that out of all flowers it was that one. It's a fun demonstration, used to crack my cousins up when we were younger. It seems to come from the human side Charlie gave me."
Curiosity at her life before Forks piqued, but I knew that it was as much as she could tell us without crossing the boundaries that had been established. I hoped that the silly happenstance would make Jacob lighten up and see that Bella was really happy. It was what my imprint wanted, so I couldn't help but want the same. It sucked cause my own desire was secretly to throttle Jake in an epic showdown.
There hadn't been a real fight in so long. Maybe my imprint would play fight with me, but I quickly canceled the idea. I had to take her on a date first and convince her to get to know me. Hopefully like me. My wolf, just as arrogant as myself, scoffed at the idea of rejection.
"Paul?" A pale, white hand touched my own and burned electricity through me in its intensity. Damn, but I could only imagine what she could do to me on purpose.
"Yes, rabbit?"
Bella blinked once at her nickname but her big browns peered trustingly into my own. "I'm gonna give Sam a rundown on vamps, could you stay here for that?"
Excitement coursed through my veins. More time with my mate and leech killing advice? It was like a birthday cake with a hooker inside of it, a nasty immature dream I had once aspired to. Bella seemed to notice my perking up and giggled. "Sure."
I sat down and started a rough draft on a paper while Bella continued in her bafoonry with Emily and Jared. They giggled together like little school girls as Jared described a prank a lone Quil was pulling on a guy at school. Seems as though the guy was finding ways to occupy himself without Dumb and Dumber around. I shuddered when I thought about how much productivity the pack would lose when that trio was united. Not being alpha was a blessing.
Forty-five minutes later, a long howl let us know that Jared was due for his shift. He wandered out, and five minutes later a haggard Sam meandered in. I suddenly felt guilty for the homework in my hand, but a shake of his head at my frown negated that. I knew that if the other guys wanted to take their homework seriously, Sam would gladly never take a break from patrolling.
I hated my need for the handout from the selfless fuck. I would have to pay him back someday.
"Sam, how's it going?" Bella had stood from the table respectfully, reminding me of stuff I had seen soldiers do on TV when a commanding officer walked into the room.
My alpha smiled at the girl, "Bella, what's got you all excited?"
The rabbit blushed and looked down at her black tennis shoes. "I've been looking at the situation that Forks and LaPush are in and want to help."
"Help physically or in what other way?"
"A-a little of both. I'm not as fast or as strong as you guys, but I can be an asset if placed properly. Only once you're comfortable with that, of course. You shouldn't place a potential enemy at your back. Information and strategy is what I suggest you consider from me regardless whether trust is an issue." The emotions flashing across Bella's face as she shyly murmured through her position were a combination of fear, sadness, and determination.
Sam smiled genuinely at her, "Sure, Bells, I'm all ears. We could use any help we could get."
"The redheaded vampire you're tracking has a gift at not getting caught."
"What?"
"Well, remember my ability of getting people to not notice me whenever I feel I'm in danger?"
Sam nodded slowly. "Vampires can have special abilities too?"
"Yes, the redhead calls herself Victoria and she has a feud with the Cullens for killing her mate, James. It was a very ... dangerous and annoying event. I was around for it." Bella grimaced, and it was easy to tell she hated talking about it.
"I have to ask, why the Cullens, Bella? I'd been meaning to ask you that the other night, but we were all so tired." My alpha voiced everything I and the pack had been wondering about.
The girl leaned on me, and my arms automatically went around her without a pause. She needed me too. Maybe this is why she asked me to be here for this.
"Well, this is all tied into the feud, so I guess it's good you asked. To put it off shortly, my mother's kind smell really, insanely good to vamps. It causes vamps to almost instantaneously lose it in bloodlust if given enough proximity. We are like a drug to them so to speak. Where I'm from, it's considered both a gift and a curse..." Bella's voice fell off for a second and picked back up, "As a half-breed, it naturally leans on the curse side. I am not quite as fast or strong as my family is, and so I've always been trained and coddled to the max by everyone but Renee. There are vampires who specifically go after half-breeds at times, but my abilities far outpace the majority of those like me." A blush hit her cheeks, and it was was easy to see that she was debating how much to say. "Unfortunately, at home, I was dishonored to live a protected life because of my lineage. An inherited dishonor I always yearned to overcome with hard work and skill." Bella's fingers ghosted over the more heavily scarred wrist.
Bella stuck her chin up and showed that bitch I love. I knew neither me or Sam could tear our eyes away. "I was tired of being treated like I was a child and only being brought to fight when only the real children were at risk..." A wild grief flowed over her features and my wolf cried out in a whimper in response to her pain. "Fights have never been something I desired or sought, but not being allowed to fight when others I loved did? I proved myself times over through the few fights I was allotted and luckily, Renee agreed that my talent was at waste due to politics."
"But even my mother's opinion isn't the ultimate authority at home, so I told Renee I wished to leave and to live with Charlie permanently if it was possible. An escort was never necessary when I visited him in Forks, and humans age and die so quickly - I wanted to get real time with my father and to not worry about any more of my loved ones dying without me being allowed to do the same. It was an ideal alternative to being allowed full rights, and Renee supported me. It was only then that the Cullens became involved."
Humans die so quickly? How long was my mate's lifespan? It was so much, too much information to absorb about my imprint. Sam looked as shocked at I felt, and Bella's words, tight and controlled, flowed over us methodically.
"Esme Cullen has ties to one of my family members. She is the great-great granddaughter of him, and she obviously didn't have enough of the blood to gain immunity to vamp venom. This tie may seem weak, but it was actually enough to where Esme knew of us and my family member kept in communication with her. It made the Cullens a resource, a single friendly tie to vamps. The blood drug we seem to bring to the table doesn't affect Esme, which helps ... helped immensely in the arrangement. My blood scent is actually my weakest trait inherited by my mother's people, and so the Cullens just found me to be a particularly tasty human." Bella paused, the fear creeping into her voice.
"Renee asked the Cullens to help keep Forks clear of other vamps and to protect me, essentially. Renee didn't really mean it in a strict sense, but it kept those... in charge satisfied that I would be safe. I didn't care as long as I was no longer living on spilled blood and could be looked upon as an equal. Unfortunately, as you can see, the agreement didn't really hold up." The fear was still in there, a quivering note that was almost imperceptible.
Sam was more curious. "Did the Cullens locate to Forks for you, Bella?"
Bella bit her lip and shook her head, "It was like it was fate, they were already at Forks for a couple of years before we asked them. From my understanding, it was a lucky coincidence." A faraway look in her eyes. "I thought they'd just keep their distance after declaring my blood safe, that they'd just do as Renee suggested and just stick around till I graduated high school. A coven that large just has to be in the same 50 miles to steer rogues away. No contact or patrols were needed. But of course he just couldn't let it be."
She was still omitting details, more than one. I growled, "Who?"
She flinched and turned into the wimpy Bells in Jake's wet dreams. "Edward."
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What do you guys think Bella's story?
Or Esme having some of the same blood as Bella? (I loooove Esme)
Please let me know what you think!
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-rednight73