Breathe In Union
by Laura Spudzmom
Chapter 07
~ Jambi ~
Shine on forever.
Shine on benevolent sun.
Shine on upon the severed.
Shine until the two become one.
Divided I'm withering away.
Divided I'm withering away.
Shine on upon the many, light our way
Benevolent sun.
~o0o~
Bella laid on her side, staring at the image of Paul's smiling face on her phone when the thing vibrated with a call, causing her to drop it as she startled. "Shit," she muttered as she picked it up and answered. "Hello?"
"Bella? It's Rudy."
"Rudy! Thank god! Have you heard anything? Where is he?!"
"Slow down B and I'll tell ya what I know, okay?"
She took a deep breath and let it out slowly with a nod. "Yeah, sorry."
"S'okay B, I understand. It's a freaky situation." She scoffed and he continued. "Yeah, so anyway, I managed to find out… they're driving him back to Washington."
She shot up into a sitting position. "Already? Jesus, couldn't they just wait until he flew back? Why Rudy? Did you find out why? Why they had to knock him out and abduct him for fucks sake?"
"B! Damn, never knew you could cuss so much girl! And no, I didn't find out why they took him the way they did." She heard him sigh. "Fuck, this is all so weird. I'd be shit-scared if this wasn't my mom and my Aunt we're talking about here. I mean, I can't see them doing anything to hurt him B."
"Yeah Rudy? Really? Could you see them doing what they've done so far?"
He groaned over the line. "Fuck… ya got me with that one B."
She ran a hand through her hair and tugged. "Okay, look, it's been almost two days since they took him. How long do you think before they make it to the rez if that's where they're taking him? I googled it, and it gave me an estimate of 25 hours."
"There's your answer B. Maybe more if they stop a lot, maybe less if they haul ass, but yeah, roughly two days if they stopped at night."
Her voice dropped in worry. "Rudy? He's a good fighter, right?"
She heard him scoff. "I've seen him fight plenty B and he's never lost, even against bigger guys. He's freaky fast and just that fucking good. Why?"
"Because I'm afraid they've kept him drugged this whole time, otherwise he would have fought. Or… god Rudy, you didn't see that guy that was with that Sue lady, but he was massive… What if he fought and they hurt him?!" She started to panic and Rudy must have heard it in her voice.
"Bella! Stop! You can't do this… you can't freak… it won't help, now let's just figure out what the hell we're gonna do now, all right?"
She slowed her breathing. "Thanks Rudy, you're right. Gotta keep a clear head and deal with what we know."
"Exactly, so now what B? What do you want to do?"
She looked around her room as she thought. "Well, I had already booked a flight for mid August so I could leave when he did… maybe I could see if I can change the date and leave early?"
"Okay, good. You check on that and call me back when you know. If you need a ride to the airport, I'm your man."
She smiled despite the situation. "Thanks Rudy. I'll talk to you in a bit."
She ended the call and sat at her desk to look up her flight information. When she had it pulled up, she looked up what she could do about changing it and sighed. It was one of those cheap fares with all the restrictions including being non-refundable. She hung her head and called Rudy.
"Yo."
"I'm screwed. It's non-refundable and non-anything else."
"Damn," he muttered. "You can't tell 'em somebody died and it's an emergency?"
"Sure, I could, but get this… you have to fucking prove it now, plus that's a creepy lie to tell and I'd be worried karma would bite me on the ass for it."
He laughed. "Seriously B?"
She rolled her eyes. "Kiss my lily white ass D. So I'm kinda superstitious, lots of people are."
"I'd take you up on that offer B, but frankly, Paul scares the fuck outta me, so…yeah. Don't tell him I told ya that though."
"Yeah," she sighed. "Your secret's safe with me… unless, ya know, I have use for it in the future." She smirked as she doodled on a paper on her desk.
"What's this? Sweet little B has a mean streak?"
"Damn straight, and the people who took Paul are gonna get a taste of it D. I'm scared for him and that pisses me off."
"Okay," she heard him blow out a deep breath. "Time to get serious. So, you gonna just wait until mid August and take that flight?"
She groaned and tugged at her hair. "Ya know, that's only two weeks away, and while that doesn't seem unreasonable in any normal situation… they fucking drugged him and took him without his consent D, and that screams 'weird and unusual' to me. Everything in me is telling me to get to him as soon as I can."
"So, what do you want to do B? I'll help you any way I can."
She turned back to her lap-top and began typing. "I'm gonna bite the bullet and get a flight out today. Renee's gone somewhere with Phil, but I'll take a cab if I have to."
"No Bella, I'll take you. I'll be there in twenty. Soon enough?"
She finished up booking the flight. "Yeah, that'd be great D. I'll pack and be ready to go when you get here. Thanks Rudy."
"Hey, it's the least I can do for my cousin's girl."
He ended the call and Bella got up and grabbed her carry-on sized case which she began to stuff with all the Forks-appropriate clothes she owned.
~o0o~
Muted light and foreign scents penetrated his fogged consciousness as he fought his way out of his drugged state. 'What the fuck happened to me?' he thought as his senses sharpened with every second that passed. His head felt like it weighed a hundred pounds and as he assessed everything else, he realized his whole body felt heavy and sluggish. He groaned and tried to move and it was then he heard footsteps and a door opening. "He's waking Sam," said an unfamiliar female voice and he struggled to open his eyes.
More steps approached and he heard a man's voice. "Emily, I want you and Kim to leave. Jared and I will handle this, but I don't want you two anywhere near when we do."
The woman's voice was sad when she answered. "I still don't understand why you had to do things this way. You should've explained things to him; given him a chance to come willingly…"
Sounds of a kiss met his ears as he struggled further from the fog.
"He had a girl he was involved with Em. His Aunt said they were getting serious. He never would have left willingly, knowing that he'd never get to see her again. It had to be done. Now go. His heart and breathing are almost at normal. He'll be fully awake soon."
As this Sam person's words registered in his mind, his heart rate spiked as one name came to the fore: 'Bella!'
'Shit!' he thought. 'I was with Bella! We'd just…' Memories of their first time together flooded his mind and he shot up into a sitting position, immediately grabbing his head as it pounded with the sudden change. Nausea rolled through his empty stomach and he swallowed heavily as he fought his way through it.
"Bella," he rasped, his throat hoarse from lack of use.
His memories continued and he struggled to make sense of what had happened.
He'd been at Bella's house, they'd made love and then… the doorbell! People there for him… Sue… a check up, and then Sue had given him a shot… that's where his memories ended. 'Like hell it was a nutrient shot…' he thought bitterly as his anger shot through the roof in an instant. He loosed a loud rumbling sound from his chest as he shot from the bed and snarled at the huge dude standing warily by the door.
He swayed a bit as he got his bearings but he never broke his gaze from that of the other male. "Who the fuck are you and why did you drug and take me?"
The male held up both hands, palms out. "I'm Sam Uley, a friend of Sue Clearwater and a Tribal Council member."
When he didn't say anymore, Paul sneered. "Congratu-fuckin'-lations Council Member Uley. I couldn't give a shit less. Why'd you fucking drug and abduct me?! Tell me now or I'll just kick your ass and then you can try to tell me, how's that?"
Sam smirked. "You think so pup? Let's take this outside. I don't wanna trash the house." He turned and walked down the hall and Paul followed.
When they got outside, Paul scowled as Sam kept walking. "Hey man, where the fuck are you going?" Sam didn't turn but kept walking into the trees.
"Well, come on pup," he said with a glance over his shoulder. "If you're gonna kick my ass, we're gonna do this away from the house." He kept walking until he entered a clearing where Jared sat on a fallen tree, waiting. Paul entered warily a moment later.
"You gonna answer my questions now or later?" he groused.
Sam faced him fully and crossed his arms over his chest. "We had very good reasons for doing what we did."
Paul's anger surged at the non-answer. "So tell me!"
Sam exchanged a look with Jared as they watched Paul shake. "Gettin' mad are ya pup?"
Paul scowled. "That's it asshole. I'm done. Let's go."
With that, he lunged, landing a solid fist to Sam's jaw and ducking the return blow as he landed another punch to Sam's side. Sam grunted as Jared laughed.
"Damn boss! Pup's fast!" Sam rolled his eyes and turned to face Paul, gesturing as he did so. "Bring it kid."
It was his intention to get a couple of hits in on the kid and piss him off enough to finally phase, but Jared was right, the pup was lightning fast. If he couldn't hit him, he'd have to change his tactics.
Paul lunged again and caught the kick that was aimed at his head, spinning away as he twisted and tossed Sam on his ass. "You're gonna have to do better than that asshole. Staying on your feet might help." He smirked and Sam growled as he hopped to his feet.
'Time for plan B,' the Alpha thought grimly.
As he circled Paul, he smirked. "So, I saw you were tapping a nice pale-faced piece of ass there in AZ. Too bad we couldn't bring her with. We could'a passed her around." He winked over at Jared as Paul's shaking increased.
"You shut your fuckin' mouth about her before I shut it for you asshole," Paul seethed with narrowed eyes.
Sam grinned maliciously as he continued to needle the volatile pup. "Maybe we could still go get her. You up for tapping some white strange Jared?" Jared glanced at Paul and noticed the heated amber glow to his eyes and the steady growl now coming from him as he caught on to what Sam was after and nodded. "Yeah man, I could do with some sweet, white pussy."
That did it, and as they watched, Paul screamed and exploded into a beautiful, sleek, silver wolf who immediately bared his teeth and lunged.
Sam phased instantly and clashed with the new wolf, now intent on damage control. He wanted to sigh in relief when he felt Jared phase in. "Paul!" the Alpha spoke sternly through their link. "Try to calm down! We only said those things to get you angry enough to phase!"
The silver wolf was beyond listening though and sank his teeth into Sam's side before twisting away as Sam tried to get a hold on his neck. The silver wolf was a bit smaller than the Alpha, but seemed to be twice as fast and Sam growled in frustration. "Jared! I need your help here. Let's both circle him and try to pin him. Maybe then I can get him to listen."
Together, they circled the enraged silver wolf who spun with them, watching them warily as he growled. Sam tried to talk him down again. "Paul, look at yourself… look at us… calm down and think about the situation."
Paul heard the voices in his head, but this was just too much… this couldn't be happening! 'What kind of drugs did they give me?!' he thought in pure panic as he continued to move with the circling wolves. 'What kind of fucked up nightmare is this?!'
A deep, resonating voice answered his thoughts.
"This is not a nightmare and it's not caused by drugs Paul. Think back… remember our legends told around the bonfire… they're all true Paul… We are the protectors… you are a protector. When you got angry enough, you phased into your wolf form. That's why we said the things we did, to get you angry enough to phase. With practice, you'll be able to phase at will. To phase back to your human form, just concentrate on doing human things—feel yourself as a human and you should phase back."
Sam and Jared watched as the silver wolf shook his head and whined before pinning them with that unique hazel/amber gaze. He stared for just a moment and promptly bolted into the forest.
They raced after him, but he had quite the lead and was way faster than both of them. "Damn it," Sam's voice hissed through the link. "He's headed for the treaty line. A few more minutes and he'll be in their territory."
Jared glanced at his Alpha as they ran. "Maybe you should go call their leader and let them know the situation."
"Yeah, you stay on his trail, even if he goes over the line. I'll let the Cullen's know what's going on and that they should stay clear from him until we can get him back here and calm." As he changed course back to his house he added, "I'm worried Jared. I don't hear him in the link."
~o0o~
Paul ran and ran without a clue where he was going. He just felt the need to run. He was…scared, freaked, pissed… god there was just too much racing through his mind and he had no idea how to deal with it all… so he ran.
'Is any of this real?' he questioned as he leapt over fallen logs and dodged under low-slung branches. 'Is it all some fucked up hallucination?' Icy dread gripped him as his thoughts took another turn. "Fuck, what if it's not?! What if this is real?! What then? I turn into a massive animal?! My life is over! All my dreams for the future, all I've worked toward…Bella…' Despair and hopelessness filled him and he skidded to a stop, tipped his head back and howled low and long in utter sorrow.
~o0o~
Bella sighed as she closed the dresser drawer after putting away the last of her things. It was now mid-day and after a quick morning nap she'd wasted no time settling herself in her room here at Charlie's.
She'd just made one of the last flights of the day to Seattle the day before and she'd traveled pretty much all night. First on the plane, then she'd taken a taxi from the airport to the ferry. From the ferry, she'd taken another taxi all the way to Charlie's house.
She'd called Renee from the airport and explained her early departure. Her mother hadn't been happy, but she'd understood Bella's need to do what she'd done and so, after a few tears and sniffles, Renee had agreed to pack and send her things and they'd ended the call.
Charlie she'd saved for a face to face meeting, but he'd been gone when she'd finally made it to the house, so after throwing a sheet on the new bed Charlie'd bought her, she'd collapsed and slept a few hours.
Now, here she was, awake, fully unpacked, and Charlie still wasn't home.
With a sigh, she headed down stairs to make a sandwich. Throwing together a quick ham and cheese, she leaned against the counter as she ate, wondering what she could do now to keep herself from going stir crazy.
There was a tightness in her chest and a feeling of unease and she felt the need to get out, get away… She clenched a fist as she threw her paper plate away and took a drink from her bottled water.
"A walk Bella," she muttered with a nod. "Yeah, I'll go for a walk before I go spare and start having full blown conversations with myself."
Trotting up the stairs, she grabbed her small bag and phone and headed back down and out the back door. If she remembered correctly, there was a trail leading into the woods just behind the house and she smiled as she spotted it.
She was just past the point where she could no longer see Charlie's house when the sound of a mournful howl reached her and she gasped. 'So much pain in that sound!' she thought as her eyes pricked with tears. The howls continued, interspersed with whines and she quickened her pace to reach it.
Consciously, she knew she should be frightened by the prospect of a wolf in the woods. Any normal person would be hauling ass back to Charlie's house with all haste—but her heart—the part that instantly connected with that sad, awful sound—had other ideas entirely, and so she continued on.
Eventually leaving the trail, she fought her way through the thickly blanketed forest floor, dodging low branches and stepping over fallen trees. So focused was she that when she heard the next howl, her heart lurched and her breath caught for there he was, not twenty feet away.
"Oh god," she said lowly as she clutched at her chest. "Even in such pain, you're beautiful."
The wolf slowly lowered his head and stared into her eyes and she covered her mouth as tears traced down her cheeks. She took a step forward but froze when the wolf whipped his head to the side and growled, baring his razor sharp teeth at something she couldn't see.
Just then, a very tall, obviously Quileute man dressed in nothing but cut-off shorts stepped into view as he held up a hand. He kept his eyes on the wary, growling wolf as he spoke to Bella. "You need to back away slowly miss and when you're out of sight, you need to run home as fast as you can." He glanced at her. "Understand? Back away and do not turn and run until you're out of sight. Go now."
The silver wolf snarled and snapped his jaws as he stepped toward the man and Bella frowned. "He doesn't seem to like you and he was calm with me. Maybe you should leave."
Jared clenched his jaw. Was this girl serious? "Look little girl, just do as I said!" he snapped and the wolf lunged at him.
"No! Stop!" Bella yelled and Jared's eyes widened when Paul stopped mid-lunge and turned to the girl with his head tilted and lowered.
A small smile curved Bella's lips as she stared at the silver wolf. She felt drawn to him—connected—bound, and it was this bond that gave her the certainty he wouldn't hurt her. Going with her instincts, she stepped closer as the Quileute man stepped back and watched with widened eyes.
She finally reached the wolf and without hesitation, she reached up and ran her hands through the luxurious fur of his neck. "He's mine," she said as she looked over at Jared. "Do you understand?" she asked with conviction. "He's my wolf." She stretched her arms around the wolf's chest and rubbed her cheek against his shoulder. "This is what the old lady meant," she muttered in sudden understanding.
Vibrations rumbled through the wolf's chest and she backed away to look in his eyes. As she stared for a moment an urge compelled her to sweep her hair off her neck and tilt her head.
As soon as she had, the wolf took a great huff of her scent there, tilted his head up and howled, but this one was anything but mournful and she waited on him patiently. When the howl ended, he bared his teeth, circled around behind her and gently clamped his fangs into the juncture between her neck and shoulder, drawing a gasp from her as her eyes closed.
When he loosed the bite, he licked over the punctures, healing them instantly and circled back around to face her. She opened her eyes slowly and met his gaze and as she watched, he shimmered and morphed into his human form. "Bella," he said, his voice choked with emotion as she threw herself into his arms.
He buried his face in her neck and she could feel wetness there from his tears. "Paul… baby, it's all right. Everything's gonna be all right. We'll get through this and anything else that comes our way, I promise you. I am yours and you are mine and together we'll face it all."
And he felt it. He felt everything she felt and said somewhere deep in his soul and for the first time since this madness struck, he had hope…
As long as he had Bella, he had hope.
~ Jambi ~
Shine on forever.
Shine on benevolent sun.
Shine on upon the severed.
Shine until the two become one.
Divided I'm withering away.
Divided I'm withering away.
Shine on upon the many, light our way
Benevolent sun.
~o0o~
Bella laid on her side, staring at the image of Paul's smiling face on her phone when the thing vibrated with a call, causing her to drop it as she startled. "Shit," she muttered as she picked it up and answered. "Hello?"
"Bella? It's Rudy."
"Rudy! Thank god! Have you heard anything? Where is he?!"
"Slow down B and I'll tell ya what I know, okay?"
She took a deep breath and let it out slowly with a nod. "Yeah, sorry."
"S'okay B, I understand. It's a freaky situation." She scoffed and he continued. "Yeah, so anyway, I managed to find out… they're driving him back to Washington."
She shot up into a sitting position. "Already? Jesus, couldn't they just wait until he flew back? Why Rudy? Did you find out why? Why they had to knock him out and abduct him for fucks sake?"
"B! Damn, never knew you could cuss so much girl! And no, I didn't find out why they took him the way they did." She heard him sigh. "Fuck, this is all so weird. I'd be shit-scared if this wasn't my mom and my Aunt we're talking about here. I mean, I can't see them doing anything to hurt him B."
"Yeah Rudy? Really? Could you see them doing what they've done so far?"
He groaned over the line. "Fuck… ya got me with that one B."
She ran a hand through her hair and tugged. "Okay, look, it's been almost two days since they took him. How long do you think before they make it to the rez if that's where they're taking him? I googled it, and it gave me an estimate of 25 hours."
"There's your answer B. Maybe more if they stop a lot, maybe less if they haul ass, but yeah, roughly two days if they stopped at night."
Her voice dropped in worry. "Rudy? He's a good fighter, right?"
She heard him scoff. "I've seen him fight plenty B and he's never lost, even against bigger guys. He's freaky fast and just that fucking good. Why?"
"Because I'm afraid they've kept him drugged this whole time, otherwise he would have fought. Or… god Rudy, you didn't see that guy that was with that Sue lady, but he was massive… What if he fought and they hurt him?!" She started to panic and Rudy must have heard it in her voice.
"Bella! Stop! You can't do this… you can't freak… it won't help, now let's just figure out what the hell we're gonna do now, all right?"
She slowed her breathing. "Thanks Rudy, you're right. Gotta keep a clear head and deal with what we know."
"Exactly, so now what B? What do you want to do?"
She looked around her room as she thought. "Well, I had already booked a flight for mid August so I could leave when he did… maybe I could see if I can change the date and leave early?"
"Okay, good. You check on that and call me back when you know. If you need a ride to the airport, I'm your man."
She smiled despite the situation. "Thanks Rudy. I'll talk to you in a bit."
She ended the call and sat at her desk to look up her flight information. When she had it pulled up, she looked up what she could do about changing it and sighed. It was one of those cheap fares with all the restrictions including being non-refundable. She hung her head and called Rudy.
"Yo."
"I'm screwed. It's non-refundable and non-anything else."
"Damn," he muttered. "You can't tell 'em somebody died and it's an emergency?"
"Sure, I could, but get this… you have to fucking prove it now, plus that's a creepy lie to tell and I'd be worried karma would bite me on the ass for it."
He laughed. "Seriously B?"
She rolled her eyes. "Kiss my lily white ass D. So I'm kinda superstitious, lots of people are."
"I'd take you up on that offer B, but frankly, Paul scares the fuck outta me, so…yeah. Don't tell him I told ya that though."
"Yeah," she sighed. "Your secret's safe with me… unless, ya know, I have use for it in the future." She smirked as she doodled on a paper on her desk.
"What's this? Sweet little B has a mean streak?"
"Damn straight, and the people who took Paul are gonna get a taste of it D. I'm scared for him and that pisses me off."
"Okay," she heard him blow out a deep breath. "Time to get serious. So, you gonna just wait until mid August and take that flight?"
She groaned and tugged at her hair. "Ya know, that's only two weeks away, and while that doesn't seem unreasonable in any normal situation… they fucking drugged him and took him without his consent D, and that screams 'weird and unusual' to me. Everything in me is telling me to get to him as soon as I can."
"So, what do you want to do B? I'll help you any way I can."
She turned back to her lap-top and began typing. "I'm gonna bite the bullet and get a flight out today. Renee's gone somewhere with Phil, but I'll take a cab if I have to."
"No Bella, I'll take you. I'll be there in twenty. Soon enough?"
She finished up booking the flight. "Yeah, that'd be great D. I'll pack and be ready to go when you get here. Thanks Rudy."
"Hey, it's the least I can do for my cousin's girl."
He ended the call and Bella got up and grabbed her carry-on sized case which she began to stuff with all the Forks-appropriate clothes she owned.
~o0o~
Muted light and foreign scents penetrated his fogged consciousness as he fought his way out of his drugged state. 'What the fuck happened to me?' he thought as his senses sharpened with every second that passed. His head felt like it weighed a hundred pounds and as he assessed everything else, he realized his whole body felt heavy and sluggish. He groaned and tried to move and it was then he heard footsteps and a door opening. "He's waking Sam," said an unfamiliar female voice and he struggled to open his eyes.
More steps approached and he heard a man's voice. "Emily, I want you and Kim to leave. Jared and I will handle this, but I don't want you two anywhere near when we do."
The woman's voice was sad when she answered. "I still don't understand why you had to do things this way. You should've explained things to him; given him a chance to come willingly…"
Sounds of a kiss met his ears as he struggled further from the fog.
"He had a girl he was involved with Em. His Aunt said they were getting serious. He never would have left willingly, knowing that he'd never get to see her again. It had to be done. Now go. His heart and breathing are almost at normal. He'll be fully awake soon."
As this Sam person's words registered in his mind, his heart rate spiked as one name came to the fore: 'Bella!'
'Shit!' he thought. 'I was with Bella! We'd just…' Memories of their first time together flooded his mind and he shot up into a sitting position, immediately grabbing his head as it pounded with the sudden change. Nausea rolled through his empty stomach and he swallowed heavily as he fought his way through it.
"Bella," he rasped, his throat hoarse from lack of use.
His memories continued and he struggled to make sense of what had happened.
He'd been at Bella's house, they'd made love and then… the doorbell! People there for him… Sue… a check up, and then Sue had given him a shot… that's where his memories ended. 'Like hell it was a nutrient shot…' he thought bitterly as his anger shot through the roof in an instant. He loosed a loud rumbling sound from his chest as he shot from the bed and snarled at the huge dude standing warily by the door.
He swayed a bit as he got his bearings but he never broke his gaze from that of the other male. "Who the fuck are you and why did you drug and take me?"
The male held up both hands, palms out. "I'm Sam Uley, a friend of Sue Clearwater and a Tribal Council member."
When he didn't say anymore, Paul sneered. "Congratu-fuckin'-lations Council Member Uley. I couldn't give a shit less. Why'd you fucking drug and abduct me?! Tell me now or I'll just kick your ass and then you can try to tell me, how's that?"
Sam smirked. "You think so pup? Let's take this outside. I don't wanna trash the house." He turned and walked down the hall and Paul followed.
When they got outside, Paul scowled as Sam kept walking. "Hey man, where the fuck are you going?" Sam didn't turn but kept walking into the trees.
"Well, come on pup," he said with a glance over his shoulder. "If you're gonna kick my ass, we're gonna do this away from the house." He kept walking until he entered a clearing where Jared sat on a fallen tree, waiting. Paul entered warily a moment later.
"You gonna answer my questions now or later?" he groused.
Sam faced him fully and crossed his arms over his chest. "We had very good reasons for doing what we did."
Paul's anger surged at the non-answer. "So tell me!"
Sam exchanged a look with Jared as they watched Paul shake. "Gettin' mad are ya pup?"
Paul scowled. "That's it asshole. I'm done. Let's go."
With that, he lunged, landing a solid fist to Sam's jaw and ducking the return blow as he landed another punch to Sam's side. Sam grunted as Jared laughed.
"Damn boss! Pup's fast!" Sam rolled his eyes and turned to face Paul, gesturing as he did so. "Bring it kid."
It was his intention to get a couple of hits in on the kid and piss him off enough to finally phase, but Jared was right, the pup was lightning fast. If he couldn't hit him, he'd have to change his tactics.
Paul lunged again and caught the kick that was aimed at his head, spinning away as he twisted and tossed Sam on his ass. "You're gonna have to do better than that asshole. Staying on your feet might help." He smirked and Sam growled as he hopped to his feet.
'Time for plan B,' the Alpha thought grimly.
As he circled Paul, he smirked. "So, I saw you were tapping a nice pale-faced piece of ass there in AZ. Too bad we couldn't bring her with. We could'a passed her around." He winked over at Jared as Paul's shaking increased.
"You shut your fuckin' mouth about her before I shut it for you asshole," Paul seethed with narrowed eyes.
Sam grinned maliciously as he continued to needle the volatile pup. "Maybe we could still go get her. You up for tapping some white strange Jared?" Jared glanced at Paul and noticed the heated amber glow to his eyes and the steady growl now coming from him as he caught on to what Sam was after and nodded. "Yeah man, I could do with some sweet, white pussy."
That did it, and as they watched, Paul screamed and exploded into a beautiful, sleek, silver wolf who immediately bared his teeth and lunged.
Sam phased instantly and clashed with the new wolf, now intent on damage control. He wanted to sigh in relief when he felt Jared phase in. "Paul!" the Alpha spoke sternly through their link. "Try to calm down! We only said those things to get you angry enough to phase!"
The silver wolf was beyond listening though and sank his teeth into Sam's side before twisting away as Sam tried to get a hold on his neck. The silver wolf was a bit smaller than the Alpha, but seemed to be twice as fast and Sam growled in frustration. "Jared! I need your help here. Let's both circle him and try to pin him. Maybe then I can get him to listen."
Together, they circled the enraged silver wolf who spun with them, watching them warily as he growled. Sam tried to talk him down again. "Paul, look at yourself… look at us… calm down and think about the situation."
Paul heard the voices in his head, but this was just too much… this couldn't be happening! 'What kind of drugs did they give me?!' he thought in pure panic as he continued to move with the circling wolves. 'What kind of fucked up nightmare is this?!'
A deep, resonating voice answered his thoughts.
"This is not a nightmare and it's not caused by drugs Paul. Think back… remember our legends told around the bonfire… they're all true Paul… We are the protectors… you are a protector. When you got angry enough, you phased into your wolf form. That's why we said the things we did, to get you angry enough to phase. With practice, you'll be able to phase at will. To phase back to your human form, just concentrate on doing human things—feel yourself as a human and you should phase back."
Sam and Jared watched as the silver wolf shook his head and whined before pinning them with that unique hazel/amber gaze. He stared for just a moment and promptly bolted into the forest.
They raced after him, but he had quite the lead and was way faster than both of them. "Damn it," Sam's voice hissed through the link. "He's headed for the treaty line. A few more minutes and he'll be in their territory."
Jared glanced at his Alpha as they ran. "Maybe you should go call their leader and let them know the situation."
"Yeah, you stay on his trail, even if he goes over the line. I'll let the Cullen's know what's going on and that they should stay clear from him until we can get him back here and calm." As he changed course back to his house he added, "I'm worried Jared. I don't hear him in the link."
~o0o~
Paul ran and ran without a clue where he was going. He just felt the need to run. He was…scared, freaked, pissed… god there was just too much racing through his mind and he had no idea how to deal with it all… so he ran.
'Is any of this real?' he questioned as he leapt over fallen logs and dodged under low-slung branches. 'Is it all some fucked up hallucination?' Icy dread gripped him as his thoughts took another turn. "Fuck, what if it's not?! What if this is real?! What then? I turn into a massive animal?! My life is over! All my dreams for the future, all I've worked toward…Bella…' Despair and hopelessness filled him and he skidded to a stop, tipped his head back and howled low and long in utter sorrow.
~o0o~
Bella sighed as she closed the dresser drawer after putting away the last of her things. It was now mid-day and after a quick morning nap she'd wasted no time settling herself in her room here at Charlie's.
She'd just made one of the last flights of the day to Seattle the day before and she'd traveled pretty much all night. First on the plane, then she'd taken a taxi from the airport to the ferry. From the ferry, she'd taken another taxi all the way to Charlie's house.
She'd called Renee from the airport and explained her early departure. Her mother hadn't been happy, but she'd understood Bella's need to do what she'd done and so, after a few tears and sniffles, Renee had agreed to pack and send her things and they'd ended the call.
Charlie she'd saved for a face to face meeting, but he'd been gone when she'd finally made it to the house, so after throwing a sheet on the new bed Charlie'd bought her, she'd collapsed and slept a few hours.
Now, here she was, awake, fully unpacked, and Charlie still wasn't home.
With a sigh, she headed down stairs to make a sandwich. Throwing together a quick ham and cheese, she leaned against the counter as she ate, wondering what she could do now to keep herself from going stir crazy.
There was a tightness in her chest and a feeling of unease and she felt the need to get out, get away… She clenched a fist as she threw her paper plate away and took a drink from her bottled water.
"A walk Bella," she muttered with a nod. "Yeah, I'll go for a walk before I go spare and start having full blown conversations with myself."
Trotting up the stairs, she grabbed her small bag and phone and headed back down and out the back door. If she remembered correctly, there was a trail leading into the woods just behind the house and she smiled as she spotted it.
She was just past the point where she could no longer see Charlie's house when the sound of a mournful howl reached her and she gasped. 'So much pain in that sound!' she thought as her eyes pricked with tears. The howls continued, interspersed with whines and she quickened her pace to reach it.
Consciously, she knew she should be frightened by the prospect of a wolf in the woods. Any normal person would be hauling ass back to Charlie's house with all haste—but her heart—the part that instantly connected with that sad, awful sound—had other ideas entirely, and so she continued on.
Eventually leaving the trail, she fought her way through the thickly blanketed forest floor, dodging low branches and stepping over fallen trees. So focused was she that when she heard the next howl, her heart lurched and her breath caught for there he was, not twenty feet away.
"Oh god," she said lowly as she clutched at her chest. "Even in such pain, you're beautiful."
The wolf slowly lowered his head and stared into her eyes and she covered her mouth as tears traced down her cheeks. She took a step forward but froze when the wolf whipped his head to the side and growled, baring his razor sharp teeth at something she couldn't see.
Just then, a very tall, obviously Quileute man dressed in nothing but cut-off shorts stepped into view as he held up a hand. He kept his eyes on the wary, growling wolf as he spoke to Bella. "You need to back away slowly miss and when you're out of sight, you need to run home as fast as you can." He glanced at her. "Understand? Back away and do not turn and run until you're out of sight. Go now."
The silver wolf snarled and snapped his jaws as he stepped toward the man and Bella frowned. "He doesn't seem to like you and he was calm with me. Maybe you should leave."
Jared clenched his jaw. Was this girl serious? "Look little girl, just do as I said!" he snapped and the wolf lunged at him.
"No! Stop!" Bella yelled and Jared's eyes widened when Paul stopped mid-lunge and turned to the girl with his head tilted and lowered.
A small smile curved Bella's lips as she stared at the silver wolf. She felt drawn to him—connected—bound, and it was this bond that gave her the certainty he wouldn't hurt her. Going with her instincts, she stepped closer as the Quileute man stepped back and watched with widened eyes.
She finally reached the wolf and without hesitation, she reached up and ran her hands through the luxurious fur of his neck. "He's mine," she said as she looked over at Jared. "Do you understand?" she asked with conviction. "He's my wolf." She stretched her arms around the wolf's chest and rubbed her cheek against his shoulder. "This is what the old lady meant," she muttered in sudden understanding.
Vibrations rumbled through the wolf's chest and she backed away to look in his eyes. As she stared for a moment an urge compelled her to sweep her hair off her neck and tilt her head.
As soon as she had, the wolf took a great huff of her scent there, tilted his head up and howled, but this one was anything but mournful and she waited on him patiently. When the howl ended, he bared his teeth, circled around behind her and gently clamped his fangs into the juncture between her neck and shoulder, drawing a gasp from her as her eyes closed.
When he loosed the bite, he licked over the punctures, healing them instantly and circled back around to face her. She opened her eyes slowly and met his gaze and as she watched, he shimmered and morphed into his human form. "Bella," he said, his voice choked with emotion as she threw herself into his arms.
He buried his face in her neck and she could feel wetness there from his tears. "Paul… baby, it's all right. Everything's gonna be all right. We'll get through this and anything else that comes our way, I promise you. I am yours and you are mine and together we'll face it all."
And he felt it. He felt everything she felt and said somewhere deep in his soul and for the first time since this madness struck, he had hope…
As long as he had Bella, he had hope.
DISCLAIMER: Twilight and its inclusive material is copyright to Stephenie Meyer. Original creation, including but not limited to plot and characters, is copyright to the respective authors of each story. No copyright infringement is intended.