𝖧 𝖮 𝖬 𝖤 ─ 𝗉𝖺𝗎𝗅 𝗅𝖺𝗁𝗈𝗍𝖾

| 𝟢𝟫

     IT DIDN'T TAKE LONG for us to reach our destination as we pulled up to a cozy-looking home surrounded by woods as the boys jumped out the bed of the truck making loud noises as Bella rolled down her window yelling about going back and checking on Jacob.

"I hope Paul sinks some teeth in him, serves him right for getting in the way of his-" Jared begins to say, before Embry shoves his shoulder to stop him from finishing his sentence.

I raise my eyebrow as the two glance in my direction, before continuing their conversation as they moved closer to the front porch of the house that had plenty of marigolds hanging inside the window boxes.

I took a deep breath of air, finding myself at ease as the smell of burning wood invaded my nostrils.

"Come on in, we won't bite!" Embry called out towards us, and I can't help but follow.

Jared laughed as he glanced back at us. "Speak for yourself."

Embry rolled his eyes and shoved Jared with a warning glare, though he seemed to know he was only joking around.

Bella finally gets out of the truck and follows us to the front porch before Embry stops us. "Hey, about Emily... don't stare, it bugs Sam."

Nodding my head, I follow them into the house as Bella tries to ask questions that only get ignored as everyone is hit with the warmth of the home and the smell of freshly baked muffins that made our mouth's water.

A beautiful woman with long black hair stands behind the counter, asking the boys if they're hungry before laughing to herself as she mumbled a sarcastic like I have to ask under her breath as she turned around to face us.

"Who's this?" She smiles kindly, and I can see the deep scars that draped down the side of her face. I make no comment on them, and return her smile as Bella just stares despite being asked not to.

Jared and Embry introduce Bella between bites of food, while Emily just shakes her head at them. "So, you're the vampire girl." Emily nods her head towards Bella, who recites something similar but replacing vampire with wolf as Emily chuckles and nods. "Well, I'm engaged to one."

Emily places the mass amount of muffins on the kitchen table, before glancing past Bella to look at me. I feel myself shrink away in embarrassment as all the attention is shifted to me, and take a step back.

I feel warmth radiating from behind me as I bump into a strong chest, a soft gasp escaping my lips as warm hands glide up my elbows to hold me steady as Sam makes his way over to Emily.

"Breathe," a familiar voice whispers against my ear as goosebumps rise up on my skin.

I gulp as Paul's hands linger on me for a bit longer, as everyone seems to look at us in amusement, besides Bella who just seemed confused.

"Everyone, this is Eloise." Jacob introduces me as he brushes past Paul and I to stand next to Bella.

Emily seems excited as she rushes over to pull me into a tight hug, causing Paul to roll his eyes behind my back as I'm taken away from him. "Welcome to the family, Eloise!"

I raise my eyebrow but can't help but melt into her soft hug as I watch the guys nudge each other as they looked behind me at Paul with amused facial expressions.

I glance over at Bella once Emily lets me go, and for a moment I swear she was glaring at me, but it quickly disappears as Jacob begins talking to her.

I feel warmth on my back once again as Emily lets me go, and glance back at Paul who refused to make eye contact with me despite wanting to press himself against me. I raise my eyebrow, before he finally glances down at me and clenches his jaw.

"Uhm, hi?" I whisper, moving slightly away from him as he clears his throat and watches my every movement.

He doesn't say anything, which causes me to grow nervous and more confused before he randomly grabs a muffin from off the table and hands it to me.

I hear Jared laughing loudly from his seat at the table, while Paul seems to growl and turns and leaves me standing there in confusion as I look down at the blueberry muffin that just so happened to be my favorite.

I pick at the muffin as I listen to everyone talk about werewolves and their abilities, finding it all interesting before Paul reappears as he sits down at the kitchen table next to the rest of the pack and apologizes to Bella with a smirk and for a brief moment I feel a weird sensation rush through me, seeing him so friendly with her.

I shake the feeling off, finding it weird as I gulp down the rest of the muffin and look away from them. Jared seems to catch my actions and clears his throat before kicking Paul's leg from underneath the table.

I jump at the sound of Paul groaning loudly, before everyone looks over at me.

I stand in the corner of the room, feeling slightly out of place for a moment before asking Emily where the bathroom is.

Following her directions, I make my way out of the kitchen and down the hall.

The hallway is small and cluttered with memories, causing me to stop and stare at all the photos lining the walls and can't help but smile at all the photos of Sam and Emily happily together. I keep moving down the hall, before stopping as I catch an image of what seems to be Paul and Sam.

The two of them looked different, smaller even, and I could only imagine that their transformation is what made them change so drastically. "Admiring the view?"

I jump and turn around, only to find myself pressed against the wall due to how tight the hallway was for the two of us.

My eyes stare up into Paul's dark ones as he looks down at me. "Do you get off on being a douchebag?" I barely whisper out, despite knowing nothing about him.

Paul's smirk disappears as he frowns, his eyes wide in surprise at my words. "I..I'm sorry."

Our chests rise and fall in sync against each other as his hardened face begins to soften as he watches me. The both of us confused at his change in behavior, before I take one more deep breath and place my hand firmly against his chest to push away from him. I freeze in place as he places his hand over my own and closes his eyes as if savoring the moment as he takes a deep breath.

"Am I interrupting something?" I yank my hand away from Paul's and shove him away as Embry stares at us in amusement, chewing on a muffin with a smirk on his face before Paul lets out a low growl.

I watch Embry run off without another word, and raise my eyebrow and bite my lip before flinching. I guess I didn't realize I had gotten cut up earlier.

Paul doesn't say a word as he guides me to the bathroom and pulls out a first aid kit.

"Stay still," he demands as he lifts me up by my hips and places me gently on the counter behind me. I gasp at how cold the counter is, but lean into Paul's warmth as he moves between my legs to get a closer look at my face.

He moves my head side to side as he seems to inspect everything, before his hand just lingers on the side of my face as his eyes travel all over my body as if memorizing every single detail. I part my lips as I watch him, finding myself captivated by the intensity within his eyes as he seems to take all of me in.

It was such a strange feeling.

"It doesn't look that bad." He lets go of my face and smirks at me. "A simple kiss should cure it."

I roll my eyes and groan as he gives me a cheeky grin, before shoving him backwards. Paul barely budges as he grips the vanity behind me, his fingers brushing against the outside of my thighs. Even through my jeans, I can feel the heat radiating from him like a furnace. "You're so obnoxious!"

A pained expression passes over his face, but as soon as he notices me looking at him he lets a smirk replace it as he leans forwards and places a gentle kiss upon my temple.

I sit frozen in place at the feeling of his lips on my temple, wondering if they were really as soft as they feel or if it was just my mind playing tricks on me. He smells of pine trees, I'm assuming from wrestling Jacob in the woods for some time. I breathe in his scent, capturing all the layers of the forest laced upon his flesh and the smell of firewood.

Paul seems to tense the more I lean into him, his lips falling forwards and parting as he tried to control his breathing. His thick eyelashes fluttering open and close as his eyes trailed over my body once again and back up to my lips.

There was this random desire coursing through me to grab his face and kiss him, to melt into him as if I belonged to him and him alone. My lips quivered beneath his gaze as I let out raspy breaths of air and tried to control myself and the new emotions that were beginning to overwhelm my senses.

He seemed to be raging a war within himself as his fingers moved to grip my thighs and his lips closer to my own. "I can't," I barely hear him whisper as his lips were just centimeters from my own.

I furrow my eyebrows in confusion, as if waking up from a dream, and push him away from me as I hopped off of the counter and left him leaning over the counter staring at his reflection in the mirror.

Raging gold eyes glared back at him as he tightened his hands on the sink and could feel part of the material breaking in his hands before Sam's voice broke through the raging beast inside him. "Paul, calm down."