Chapter Text
With the way Jacob was acting, you would've thought he'd imprinted. He was worse than the actual imprinted wolves, mainly because Sam and Jared at least had a reason. Paul couldn't fathom why the kid was still desperately clinging to the leech girl. Even if she hadn't seen a vampire in who knows how long, she still reeked of death. He couldn't see the appeal of a pile of angst on two scrawny legs. Her right hook wouldn't have managed to hurt him even if he hadn't been a werewolf yet. Though, he did give her credit for throwing a punch in the first place. That took some balls.
Jake was silent as they continued through the end of the patrol. He couldn't quite put into words his irritation with Paul, but Paul definitely sensed it.
You think the rest of us aren't tired of hearing you bitch and moan about that leech-adjacent?
Her name is Bella.
Whatever, kid. Get over it. It's annoying and mopey.
Jake growled at him, snapping his jaws in Paul's direction. The silver wolf nimbly dodged the larger russet one.
I never thought I'd be asking for another one of us to imprint, but I actually think you'd be less annoying with one.
Are you trying to start a fight? Jacob snapped. I wouldn't mind tearing a chunk out of you. Jacob equated imprinting with brainwashing, and he wasn't trying to hide his opinion on that matter from anybody, even the imprinted wolves. He didn't direct the thoughts to Paul, but Jacob reminded himself that he was the Beta now over both Paul and Jared. He could take him.
You're Beta because you inherited it. It was handed to you when you got here, just for being a Black. It's not like you've done anything special, pup.
Jake was fuming. Go jump off a cliff, Paul. He let out a howl to let the others know they were ending their shifts. The sooner he could get out of dealing with Paul, the better.
They phased back and pulled on the shorts they had in a cache in the forest outside Emily's. From the commotion, they could tell there was a large gathering.
"Wonder if anyone's getting punched today, too," Jake commented. It had only been a few days since Bella had confronted the pack, punched Paul, and found out about the shapeshifters.
"Heard a rumor from Jared that the Clearwaters phased early this morning," Paul said.
"Both of them? Not just the brother?"
"Yup." He guffawed, clapping Jacob on the back as they emerged from the trees. "Hey, maybe you can distract yourself from Bella and get some pups out of it."
Jacob aggressively shrugged him off. "Go to hell."
Paul snarled. "The fuck you say to me?"
Emily's backyard was a hotspot right now — Sam, Jared, and Embry were all there with the newest additions. Wanting to avoid confrontation turning sour for the second time this week, Jacob headed straight for the newcomers, and Paul, shrugging over his annoyance with Jake, went over to Jared.
"Anything new?" Jared asked. He was due to take the next shift with Embry.
"Not a damn thing," Paul replied. "Same old trails, same old Jacob. What's going on here?"
"Naomi managed to bring us Leah, the second-newest member of our pack." He lowered his voice. "She was giving us some trouble with phasing back."
"Ah, yeah, the she-wolf." Leah. He had nothing against her yet, but he could tell her presence was about to shake things up, if her history with Sam was any indication. He wasn't surprised Leah hasn't gone easily with the Alpha, or with any of them.
It didn't surprise him, either, that Sam called Naomi for help in corralling her. Though he had never met her before, Paul knew Naomi well enough from exposure to Sam and Embry's thoughts, but especially from the days when Sam was keeping the secret from her. She had a way of reaching people, or so it seemed. He could hear Jacob talking to her now, surprising her with how he knew of her, too.
"Sam tends to worry," Jake said. "Embry, too, lately."
"At least it gives us a break from your obsession with the leech-lover," Paul called out, a dangerous grin crossing his face. He had zero qualms about getting into another brawl with the younger wolf, especially given the last few days.
Jacob growled. Paul raised an eyebrow challengingly at him, wondering how much harder it would be to goad him into phasing. Without thinking about it, his eyes flickered over from Jacob to the girl next to him, and he froze.
Everything fell away from focus except for her. Whatever the world looked or sounded like outside of her existence, he didn't care for it in that moment. As if a spotlight had just come on above her, she was illuminated in his vision and he found himself gravitating towards her. He wanted to figure her out, as if she was a new mystery or phenomenon. His brain started filling in the gaps slowly — this was Naomi, who he'd seen in passing memories here and there. Naomi Uley. Dark black hair, above average height, and dark eyes set into a kind face.
He vaguely registered Jared and Jake making commentary of some sort. His trance was broken as soon as Naomi left his line of sight.
A tall, angry female had pulled Naomi behind her and was glaring at him with a face of utmost revulsion. This was Leah Clearwater, Emily's cousin and Sam's ex-girlfriend. The new wolfgirl.
"Don't come any closer!" Leah snapped. He snarled back at her. Leah growled, blocking Paul's path. "Why are you being such a creep?"
Paul clenched his jaw and balled his fists, trying not to burst into wolf form to remove Leah standing in his path. He was sorely tempted, and it wouldn't have taken much push to do it, but he knew Sam would have his hide. Paul craned his neck, trying to catch a glimpse of his imprint while she cowered behind Leah's form.
"Calm down, guys," Jared said. "Paul, Leah just has no idea what happened...she hasn't been told everything yet. Leah, this is a good thing, don't worry, Naomi's fine. Paul's not going to hurt her."
"What are you talking about?" Leah insisted, even as Paul kept his fists clenched. He tried to meet Naomi's eyes again, but she wouldn't look at him from behind Leah. The wolfgirl began to shake, and felt his muscles tense. Everything in him was screaming that Leah was a danger to his imprint. "Naomi, what the hell does he mean?"
"Paul, stand down and calm down," Sam ordered, staring at him intensely. Paul's jaw tightened, but he took a few steps back from Leah and Naomi despite everything in him that wanted to protect her. Jared stood on the sidelines, keeping an eye on Paul. Leah's face was pinched in either anger or pain, or some combination of the two, as she awaited Sam's explanation. "Paul...imprinted on Naomi." A frown twisted his features.
"What does that mean?" From behind Leah, Naomi closed her eyes tightly. Paul could see the discomfort on her face, and it hurt to think it may have been because of him. Paul knew that Naomi knew about imprinting, and she didn't look one bit pleased about it.
"It's something that we can do after we've phased," Sam said. "The Elders aren't sure why it happens, but when it does, whoever you've imprinted on becomes the most important person to you. Everything is about keeping them safe and happy, and it is incredibly painful to be apart from them."
"Sounds like a curse," she spat. Her eyes narrowed. Leah opened her mouth to speak, but then shut it. She started shaking, just barely, and clenched her fists. "You imprinted, didn't you, you bastard?"
"Yes."
Leah began to shake in earnest. "Of course. And it didn't happen to be on my cousin, now would it?" Her breaths were shallow and coming out faster. "You just had to pick my cousin, didn't you, Sam?"
"That's not something you get to choose, believe me," he said. "Naomi, get inside."
Naomi was preoccupied with Sam and Leah, but Paul couldn't stop watching her. Fear and worry had marred her expression, and it made him angry. Leah was so close to her, shaking as if she were going to phase. Paul was having trouble keeping human form. Jake was still standing near Leah and Naomi, but he wasn't doing anything! Embry had pulled Seth inside the house and left Naomi behind. Paul's patience was running thin as Leah bared her teeth at him.
"If you harm her—" Paul's voice came out as a low snarl. He was shaking, fighting the urge to explode and rip out the young pup's throat. He was struggling to stay where his Alpha had commanded him, and his hands kept clenching and unclenching as he tried to stave off the transformation.
"Oh? Mr. Anger Management Issues thinks I can't handle myself around his consolation-prize girlfriend?" Leah mocked. Jared instantly grabbed Paul's arms before he could lunge at her.
Paul growled at her, seeing red. "I'm glad Sam imprinted on Emily instead of your bitchy ass," he spat.
Leah shrieked in anger. "At least I didn't need to imprint to convince someone to love me! Wonder how long it'll be before you rip her apart?"
Naomi seemed to have found her legs. She bolted for the door and disappeared inside the house. Once his imprint was clear, Paul ripped from Jared's hold and phased on the fly, nearly oblivious to the sound of ripping clothes. Leah exploded into a gray wolf, smaller and lankier than him. Paul charged at the she-wolf, and they snapped at each other, lunging with claws and teeth.
Before it could get much further, Jared and Sam phased, shoving both of them into the surrounding forest away from the house. Sam headbutted Paul so hard he was winded when he hit the ground.
Stand down, both of you. Sam's Alpha voice was clear, and Paul buckled under the weight of it. Jared stood tense near Leah, who held herself low to the ground.
Paul aimed a snarl at Leah, who was shouting insults at them all in her mind.
Enough, Sam said. The large black wolf turned his gaze on Leah, somewhat reluctantly, but Sam had gotten much better at shielding his thoughts. Leah, go home and cool off. Come back tomorrow at noon for patrol with Embry. He'll show you and Seth the ropes.
Leah did not want to come back for patrol, but she couldn't disobey him. She grumbled but headed in the direction of her home. Sam turned to face down Paul, much less reluctantly than he had Leah.
It was then that Paul realized with stunning clarity that his Alpha was also his imprint's brother. Sam bared his teeth at him, looking down on the silver wolf.
That's right, Sam said, pacing around the smaller wolf. He sounded more menacing than Paul had ever heard. Not that I'm not happy for you, but you need to cool it. If you can't get your temper under control, I will make sure to keep you away from Naomi. We don't need a repeat.
I wouldn't! The thought was there, reflexive, before Paul realized again who he was talking to. Sam's sarcastic chuckle made sure of it. Images of Emily came to their minds as they relived the events of several months ago. She had scars now, and though she was still beautiful, Sam sometimes could only see the fresh wounds.
Get yourself under control or keep your distance. You will not hurt her.
Sam left no room for argument, with or without an Alpha command. Paul wouldn't have argued anyway; he knew himself well enough. He wasn't as strong a man as Sam — not yet, anyway. He knew it would hurt to have to stay away, so he needed to reign it in, for both their sakes. Sam may have come out in full protective-brother mode, but he was not without his reasons.
Paul remembered how scared she looked, cowering behind Leah. She had seemed frozen with fear. In the moment, he had assumed that it was because of Leah. He didn't think so anymore. The thought of his imprint fearing him caused a sharp ache in his chest, and he let out a low whine. It was an unfamiliar and unwelcome sensation.
You'll get used to it, Sam said. It's worse now because you don't know each other. You don't know if she'll fear you forever, and that's all you're thinking of now. It was clear enough from Sam's thoughts that he didn't believe that was the case, which helped ease the ache.
Can you tell me about her? Paul could've done without the wolfish grin he received in response. On Sam, in his shadowy wolf form, it just looked evil.
Sorry, no time. You're picking up the first half of my patrol while I wrap up some things on the human side.
Paul snorted. Figures.
Sam phased back and disappeared into the house. It wasn't until Jared commented that Paul realized he'd forgotten he was even there.
That's rough, buddy.
Fuck off.