The Heat of You
by Wizardtho
Chapter 01:
Bella POV:
It was a rainy afternoon a week after Edward had first asked me to marry him. I was hanging out at the Cullen house, waiting for Carlisle and Edward to return from their last-minute hunt while everyone else was off doing their own things. Edward wasn’t going to go, but I convinced him to by telling him gently, “Your eyes are starting to shadow. Go feed, Edward. You won’t be gone long.”
I went to go hang out in Edward’s room as they left, but found the engagement ring he presented me with practically glaring at me on his desk. I plopped on the bed and stared at it, still unsure why I couldn’t just tell him yes. Something deep inside me just wouldn’t let me; I felt off about the whole situation.
Edward must have sensed my hesitation. Before I could tell him no, he assured me that I could take as long as I needed to, to give him an answer. He asked me to think about it before answering him. It had been a week since then, and I was still no closer to an answer.
After an hour of them being gone, I looked at my watch and realized it was getting close to dinner time. Charlie was going to be getting home soon, and I still had at least 2 loads of laundry to do.
Thinking quickly, I grabbed the empty sheet of paper laying in front of the engagement ring and looked for a pen. Not finding one, I donned my jacket, slung my backpack on my shoulder, then made my way down to the second floor. Carlisle would undoubtedly have a pen I could use in his study.
Unfortunately, I didn’t find one on Carlisle’s desk either, but his desk did have drawers. “How hard does it need to be to find a simple pen?”
Paper clips, sticky notepads, a random button, and a bunch of rubberbands were in the top drawer, but no pen. In the second drawer, I gasped when I found not only a pen, but also a journal that read, “Experiment #53: Isabella Swan” on the cover.
My heart raced and my stomach knotted as I reached for the journal. I almost closed the drawer and walked away, but something wouldn’t let me. My hand shook as I finally picked up the journal and opened it.
Singer… control her with the lure… see how long it lasts… girl knows nothing of the truth… willing to see this through to the end, knowing eventually he will either bore of her and drain her, or the call of her blood will cause him to drain her. Either way, we will call this experiment a success. It only took me until the second page before I thought I was going to puke. I had to hurry… had to get out of here… and there was only one place I’d be safe.
I ran down the stairs as fast as my feet would take me, shoving the journal into the inside pocket of my jacket so it wouldn’t get ruined by the rain. I just had to hope I could reach the reservation before one of the Cullens returned.
My heart and mind both raced as I barreled down the slick roads as fast as I could, just praying I would make it to the turn-off. I knew Alice most likely would have seen me picking up the journal by now, which meant that if Carlisle and Edward were hunting anywhere nearby, both would be on my tail before long.
My mind was so lost in trying to evaluate all my time with the Cullens, that I was almost to the border before I looked in my rearview mirror. I couldn’t see anyone, so I let out a breath and hit the gas as I reached the gravel trail where the border was closest. I brought my attention back in front of me, only to slam on my brakes when a silver streak flew in front of my headlights.
I had made it across the border, just to possibly hit my only protection! “Fuck!”
I jammed the truck into park, then slid around in front of it, finding Paul in wolf form. I cried out and ran toward him when I saw him limp. He shook his leg out, then limped the final few feet to me, “Fuck, I’m sorry. Please I need your help. I have proof the Cullens have been using vampire lure to use and manipulate me. I have the journal in my jacket. I can’t break it on my own; they’ve pulled me in too deeply. Please Paul, they have to be close by now.”
Paul let out a long howl, then phased right in front of me. I was too scared of the Cullens getting me still to be nervous about a naked Paul at the moment, but he pulled on shorts just as Sam and Jake came to a stop near us in wolf form. They immediately took position in front of us, then crouched and let out menacing growls. I turned in time to see Carlisle and Edward stopping on the Forks side of the invisible border. Paul immediately pulled me into his arms and said in a bare breath against my ear, “Don’t look. No matter what, look at me, not them.”
I jolted when Edward called out calmly, “Come, Isabella. Let’s get you home. I’m sure Charlie will be looking for you soon, Love.”
Paul looked down at me just as my whole body trembled. I shook my head as I scratched at the scar on my wrist from Phoenix. My entire body wanted to follow Edward's suggestion, and it was taking every ounce of my will not to obey, even with the rain pelting down on both of us.
I whimpered as I looked up at Paul, still trembling. He tightened his arms around me, and I could see his wolf clearly in his eyes as he brought my wrist to his nose. He let out a growl, then called without looking away from me, “Nice try, bloodsucker, but she broke your hold.”
The problem was, I clearly hadn’t, and Paul knew it, too. His lips met my ear again, then he asked, “Do you trust me? Really trust me?”
He had never been anything but honest with me. Crass sometimes, snarky at others, but always honest. His eyes met mine, and still seeing his wolf in his eyes, I breathed, “Always.”
Before I knew what he was doing, Paul turned me around to face the Cullens, pulled my jacket and shirt away from my left shoulder, then bit down on the juncture of my neck and shoulder with a growl.
At the same time, Edward cried out, “NOOO!” and dashed toward us. Carlisle tackled him just before the border, and I looked down at my shoulder to see a small trail of blood making its way toward my bra.
That was the last thing I saw before blackness took over.
Paul POV:
I licked my mark with a hum, my wolf giving off a sense of satisfaction, then caught the suddenly unconscious Bella in my arms as she went lax.
Without a pause, I looked the head leech in the eyes and stated, “Your game is done. You. Are. Done. Here. Leave Washington and don’t come back.”
He scowled and adjusted his hold on the mind reader, then said, “The treaty has not been broken. Bella is unharmed by us, as is the rest of the town.”
I let out a dark chuckle, “Wrong. She gave me proof. Not only is it in her blood, which I just tasted, but she gave me a certain journal that she found. You broke the treaty, leech, and the only reason I’m not removing your head from your shoulders right this second is that she needs my attention. Rest assured, though, I will find you soon. When I do, it’s open season on any leech I come across. And another thing… if you try to come for her, know that she is now protected as the mate to a wolf. You will have not only my tribe, but every tribe that has the availability to shift out to see your head on a spike as your body burns.”
Right then, the emo leech showed up, the mind reader completely stopped all motion and sound, and the leader straightened himself out, offering, “Thank you, Jasper. Let’s get him back to the house.”
He turned to leave as the emo leech threw the mind reader over his shoulder, then stopped. Without turning around, he said in a resigned tone, “We will be gone before sunrise.”
Sam, still in wolf form, turned to me before jerking his head toward the rez, telling me to go. Fuck, he didn’t need to tell me twice. I turned and started running, knowing one of them would bring Bella’s truck.
I took her straight to my place. I only debated for half a second when choosing where to lay her down. The living room couch was out. I didn’t want a lot of people suffocating her. The 2 spare rooms were out; the sheets hadn’t been changed since pack members crashed here the other night. That left the bed in my -our- room. It was way more comfortable than the couch, and I didn't know how long she would be out.
Bella was soaked to the bone, so the next thing was to get her dry and under the covers. I pulled out a pair of boxers and a t-shirt from my drawers, placed them on the side of the bed, then lifted Bella’s upper half from the bed. I managed to maneuver her jacket off her, but when I tossed it toward the chair in the corner, I heard a thud. The scent of leech made my nose itch, so I placed Bella back down on the bed to see what it was.
The journal. Fuck, it stunk to high hell. It would have to wait until Bella was taken care of, though. Looking down on the female I’d just marked as my lifemate, I sighed, “Always getting your ass neck deep in shit, aren’t you, Swan? I really hope you don’t kill me for what I did to save you.”
Just as I got ready to change her, a loud knock sounded. Thinking it was Sam, I went to go open the door. I was wrong. As soon as the door opened, Billy wheeled himself purposefully over my foot and into the house, old man Quil and Sue right behind him. “Boy, you’d better tell me where my goddaughter is, and she’d better alright. What the hell made you think you should go MARKING her!”
I growled low in my throat, “My wolf, that’s what! You weren’t there, Billy, so don’t go judging me or my wolf. Sue, if you would, Bella is soaked and she passed out after I marked her. There are dry clothes on my bed ready to change her into. I was getting ready to do it myself, but with you here, at least she’ll have a female to change her.” Sue nodded, then dashed off toward my bedroom.
I plopped down on the couch, then rubbed my hands over my face and through my short hair. When I looked back up at Billy, he was silently waiting for my explanation. Old man Quil sat near the fireplace as I said, “I was patrolling. My wolf had been edgy for over 30 minutes before I heard her truck and smelled bloodsucker. She’d just made it across the line, and I was so focused on the strengthening leech smell, that she actually hit my right hindquarter with her truck. Of course, she jumped out and ran to me. After apologizing to my wolf, she begged me to keep her safe… said she had proof that the bloodsuckers were using her as some kind of experiment. The smell of her fear, panic, and revulsion were so strong, Billy. I howled for Sam, and as soon as he and Jake headed our way, I phased back. The second they arrived, the leader and the mind reader showed up. My wolf was screaming at me. I wrapped her in my arms and whispered for her to keep her eyes on me, not to look at them no matter what. Then the fucking mind reader spoke to her. I literally watched her try to fight the lure, to fight the hold his venom had on her. Fuck, she was fighting it so hard, but she was losing. My wolf could see it, too, and he could feel her starting to pull away. He wasn’t having that shit, and he growled in my mind that we’d lose her for good tonight if I didn’t do something.”
I ran my hands over my face again before looking straight at Billy, “They knew she found that journal. If I would have loosened my hold on her, she would have been dead by sunrise. I feel it in my bones, Billy. So yeah, I marked her as my mate. I did what had to be done. My wolf’s pretty fucking happy about it, too.”
Billy gasped, then asked, “But you never imprinted on her. How…”
Old man Quil said softly, “If she had cold one venom in her system the first time their eyes met, it could have stopped the imprint from happening. I will need to look her over.”
Just then, Sue came back out, offering, “She’s still out, but she’s dry and warming up slowly now. Paul, this was on the floor near her jacket.”
She handed me the journal, and I growled as I read the front cover, “Fuck. Here, Billy, take this. I can’t read it yet. I officially told the head leech that they broke the treaty, and it was open season on any leech I come across. I also told them that Bella was protected as my mate now, so she was off-limits. I can’t read that until I know she’s going to wake up, though.”
Billy nodded as he solemnly took the journal, “You know what this means, Paul. I have to call Charlie, and we have to explain everything. He’ll never go for her staying here unless he knows the truth.”
I nodded as I stood to pace in front of the fireplace. “I thought he shoulda been told the moment those bastards sucked her in. I’ll take whatever comes; you know I own up to every one of my actions. When I asked her if she trusted me, really trusted me to keep her safe from them, she looked deep into my eyes and told me, ‘Always.’ I knew it was the right decision then. I won’t go back on that now.”
Bella POV:
It was a rainy afternoon a week after Edward had first asked me to marry him. I was hanging out at the Cullen house, waiting for Carlisle and Edward to return from their last-minute hunt while everyone else was off doing their own things. Edward wasn’t going to go, but I convinced him to by telling him gently, “Your eyes are starting to shadow. Go feed, Edward. You won’t be gone long.”
I went to go hang out in Edward’s room as they left, but found the engagement ring he presented me with practically glaring at me on his desk. I plopped on the bed and stared at it, still unsure why I couldn’t just tell him yes. Something deep inside me just wouldn’t let me; I felt off about the whole situation.
Edward must have sensed my hesitation. Before I could tell him no, he assured me that I could take as long as I needed to, to give him an answer. He asked me to think about it before answering him. It had been a week since then, and I was still no closer to an answer.
After an hour of them being gone, I looked at my watch and realized it was getting close to dinner time. Charlie was going to be getting home soon, and I still had at least 2 loads of laundry to do.
Thinking quickly, I grabbed the empty sheet of paper laying in front of the engagement ring and looked for a pen. Not finding one, I donned my jacket, slung my backpack on my shoulder, then made my way down to the second floor. Carlisle would undoubtedly have a pen I could use in his study.
Unfortunately, I didn’t find one on Carlisle’s desk either, but his desk did have drawers. “How hard does it need to be to find a simple pen?”
Paper clips, sticky notepads, a random button, and a bunch of rubberbands were in the top drawer, but no pen. In the second drawer, I gasped when I found not only a pen, but also a journal that read, “Experiment #53: Isabella Swan” on the cover.
My heart raced and my stomach knotted as I reached for the journal. I almost closed the drawer and walked away, but something wouldn’t let me. My hand shook as I finally picked up the journal and opened it.
Singer… control her with the lure… see how long it lasts… girl knows nothing of the truth… willing to see this through to the end, knowing eventually he will either bore of her and drain her, or the call of her blood will cause him to drain her. Either way, we will call this experiment a success. It only took me until the second page before I thought I was going to puke. I had to hurry… had to get out of here… and there was only one place I’d be safe.
I ran down the stairs as fast as my feet would take me, shoving the journal into the inside pocket of my jacket so it wouldn’t get ruined by the rain. I just had to hope I could reach the reservation before one of the Cullens returned.
My heart and mind both raced as I barreled down the slick roads as fast as I could, just praying I would make it to the turn-off. I knew Alice most likely would have seen me picking up the journal by now, which meant that if Carlisle and Edward were hunting anywhere nearby, both would be on my tail before long.
My mind was so lost in trying to evaluate all my time with the Cullens, that I was almost to the border before I looked in my rearview mirror. I couldn’t see anyone, so I let out a breath and hit the gas as I reached the gravel trail where the border was closest. I brought my attention back in front of me, only to slam on my brakes when a silver streak flew in front of my headlights.
I had made it across the border, just to possibly hit my only protection! “Fuck!”
I jammed the truck into park, then slid around in front of it, finding Paul in wolf form. I cried out and ran toward him when I saw him limp. He shook his leg out, then limped the final few feet to me, “Fuck, I’m sorry. Please I need your help. I have proof the Cullens have been using vampire lure to use and manipulate me. I have the journal in my jacket. I can’t break it on my own; they’ve pulled me in too deeply. Please Paul, they have to be close by now.”
Paul let out a long howl, then phased right in front of me. I was too scared of the Cullens getting me still to be nervous about a naked Paul at the moment, but he pulled on shorts just as Sam and Jake came to a stop near us in wolf form. They immediately took position in front of us, then crouched and let out menacing growls. I turned in time to see Carlisle and Edward stopping on the Forks side of the invisible border. Paul immediately pulled me into his arms and said in a bare breath against my ear, “Don’t look. No matter what, look at me, not them.”
I jolted when Edward called out calmly, “Come, Isabella. Let’s get you home. I’m sure Charlie will be looking for you soon, Love.”
Paul looked down at me just as my whole body trembled. I shook my head as I scratched at the scar on my wrist from Phoenix. My entire body wanted to follow Edward's suggestion, and it was taking every ounce of my will not to obey, even with the rain pelting down on both of us.
I whimpered as I looked up at Paul, still trembling. He tightened his arms around me, and I could see his wolf clearly in his eyes as he brought my wrist to his nose. He let out a growl, then called without looking away from me, “Nice try, bloodsucker, but she broke your hold.”
The problem was, I clearly hadn’t, and Paul knew it, too. His lips met my ear again, then he asked, “Do you trust me? Really trust me?”
He had never been anything but honest with me. Crass sometimes, snarky at others, but always honest. His eyes met mine, and still seeing his wolf in his eyes, I breathed, “Always.”
Before I knew what he was doing, Paul turned me around to face the Cullens, pulled my jacket and shirt away from my left shoulder, then bit down on the juncture of my neck and shoulder with a growl.
At the same time, Edward cried out, “NOOO!” and dashed toward us. Carlisle tackled him just before the border, and I looked down at my shoulder to see a small trail of blood making its way toward my bra.
That was the last thing I saw before blackness took over.
Paul POV:
I licked my mark with a hum, my wolf giving off a sense of satisfaction, then caught the suddenly unconscious Bella in my arms as she went lax.
Without a pause, I looked the head leech in the eyes and stated, “Your game is done. You. Are. Done. Here. Leave Washington and don’t come back.”
He scowled and adjusted his hold on the mind reader, then said, “The treaty has not been broken. Bella is unharmed by us, as is the rest of the town.”
I let out a dark chuckle, “Wrong. She gave me proof. Not only is it in her blood, which I just tasted, but she gave me a certain journal that she found. You broke the treaty, leech, and the only reason I’m not removing your head from your shoulders right this second is that she needs my attention. Rest assured, though, I will find you soon. When I do, it’s open season on any leech I come across. And another thing… if you try to come for her, know that she is now protected as the mate to a wolf. You will have not only my tribe, but every tribe that has the availability to shift out to see your head on a spike as your body burns.”
Right then, the emo leech showed up, the mind reader completely stopped all motion and sound, and the leader straightened himself out, offering, “Thank you, Jasper. Let’s get him back to the house.”
He turned to leave as the emo leech threw the mind reader over his shoulder, then stopped. Without turning around, he said in a resigned tone, “We will be gone before sunrise.”
Sam, still in wolf form, turned to me before jerking his head toward the rez, telling me to go. Fuck, he didn’t need to tell me twice. I turned and started running, knowing one of them would bring Bella’s truck.
I took her straight to my place. I only debated for half a second when choosing where to lay her down. The living room couch was out. I didn’t want a lot of people suffocating her. The 2 spare rooms were out; the sheets hadn’t been changed since pack members crashed here the other night. That left the bed in my -our- room. It was way more comfortable than the couch, and I didn't know how long she would be out.
Bella was soaked to the bone, so the next thing was to get her dry and under the covers. I pulled out a pair of boxers and a t-shirt from my drawers, placed them on the side of the bed, then lifted Bella’s upper half from the bed. I managed to maneuver her jacket off her, but when I tossed it toward the chair in the corner, I heard a thud. The scent of leech made my nose itch, so I placed Bella back down on the bed to see what it was.
The journal. Fuck, it stunk to high hell. It would have to wait until Bella was taken care of, though. Looking down on the female I’d just marked as my lifemate, I sighed, “Always getting your ass neck deep in shit, aren’t you, Swan? I really hope you don’t kill me for what I did to save you.”
Just as I got ready to change her, a loud knock sounded. Thinking it was Sam, I went to go open the door. I was wrong. As soon as the door opened, Billy wheeled himself purposefully over my foot and into the house, old man Quil and Sue right behind him. “Boy, you’d better tell me where my goddaughter is, and she’d better alright. What the hell made you think you should go MARKING her!”
I growled low in my throat, “My wolf, that’s what! You weren’t there, Billy, so don’t go judging me or my wolf. Sue, if you would, Bella is soaked and she passed out after I marked her. There are dry clothes on my bed ready to change her into. I was getting ready to do it myself, but with you here, at least she’ll have a female to change her.” Sue nodded, then dashed off toward my bedroom.
I plopped down on the couch, then rubbed my hands over my face and through my short hair. When I looked back up at Billy, he was silently waiting for my explanation. Old man Quil sat near the fireplace as I said, “I was patrolling. My wolf had been edgy for over 30 minutes before I heard her truck and smelled bloodsucker. She’d just made it across the line, and I was so focused on the strengthening leech smell, that she actually hit my right hindquarter with her truck. Of course, she jumped out and ran to me. After apologizing to my wolf, she begged me to keep her safe… said she had proof that the bloodsuckers were using her as some kind of experiment. The smell of her fear, panic, and revulsion were so strong, Billy. I howled for Sam, and as soon as he and Jake headed our way, I phased back. The second they arrived, the leader and the mind reader showed up. My wolf was screaming at me. I wrapped her in my arms and whispered for her to keep her eyes on me, not to look at them no matter what. Then the fucking mind reader spoke to her. I literally watched her try to fight the lure, to fight the hold his venom had on her. Fuck, she was fighting it so hard, but she was losing. My wolf could see it, too, and he could feel her starting to pull away. He wasn’t having that shit, and he growled in my mind that we’d lose her for good tonight if I didn’t do something.”
I ran my hands over my face again before looking straight at Billy, “They knew she found that journal. If I would have loosened my hold on her, she would have been dead by sunrise. I feel it in my bones, Billy. So yeah, I marked her as my mate. I did what had to be done. My wolf’s pretty fucking happy about it, too.”
Billy gasped, then asked, “But you never imprinted on her. How…”
Old man Quil said softly, “If she had cold one venom in her system the first time their eyes met, it could have stopped the imprint from happening. I will need to look her over.”
Just then, Sue came back out, offering, “She’s still out, but she’s dry and warming up slowly now. Paul, this was on the floor near her jacket.”
She handed me the journal, and I growled as I read the front cover, “Fuck. Here, Billy, take this. I can’t read it yet. I officially told the head leech that they broke the treaty, and it was open season on any leech I come across. I also told them that Bella was protected as my mate now, so she was off-limits. I can’t read that until I know she’s going to wake up, though.”
Billy nodded as he solemnly took the journal, “You know what this means, Paul. I have to call Charlie, and we have to explain everything. He’ll never go for her staying here unless he knows the truth.”
I nodded as I stood to pace in front of the fireplace. “I thought he shoulda been told the moment those bastards sucked her in. I’ll take whatever comes; you know I own up to every one of my actions. When I asked her if she trusted me, really trusted me to keep her safe from them, she looked deep into my eyes and told me, ‘Always.’ I knew it was the right decision then. I won’t go back on that now.”