Wave of Heat (A Paul/Bella Fanfic)

Chapter 1: Despair

"You want me to do what?" The dark-haired man whined, his chiseled jaw and hard eyes belying his tone. The wolves were gathered at their usual meeting at Emily's house, baked goods and burgers piled high on top of the battered kitchen table. And they were all digging in slowly with half-hearted, exhausted enthusiasm.

Except for Sam, Jacob, and Paul. Storms danced across the current and future alphas' faces while the third man looked closer to throwing a hissy fit.

Jake growled and crossed his arms. "You cannot be serious, Sam. There's no way this asshole," he jerked his head to his fuming pack mate, "is qualified."

The alpha closed his eyes as if he couldn't bear to hold them open any longer. "I'm dead serious. You think that the Council hasn't considered this carefully? He was your father's best friend for fuck's sake."

"Even more reason for me to be the one to guard her!"

Paul snorted. "You couldn't guard a goal post."

Sharp claws bit their way through Jake's shaking fingertips, and the response was instant; Jared and Quil gripped either of his arms while Sam positioned himself to catch his eyes. "Wait to shift until you're outside, Jacob."The words were thick with just enough dominance to where the wolves managed to wrangle the larger boy out of the house.

Snarls and guttural groans from inhuman throats ensued before the slamming door muffled the chaos. Which left two disappointed wolves.

"Damn," Sam sighed, "I was hoping he would pass the test. He really does care for her."

Paul looked as if Christmas had been canceled. His dark brows drew together in a sharp V. "Fuck, I honestly do not want to babysit that girl. Can't Jared do it?"

"Jared's better at handling the newbies than you are, and apparently Jake can't even handle your ribbing without going wolf. Quil is still too impulsive. So yeah, Paul, you're going to have to keep an eye on Bella Swan."

A few terse moments passed by as the large wolf considered the situation. On one hand, guarding the girl would be less work than patrols, but on another it was a duty with a lot of sitting around. And a lot of staring at a girl whose entire life had taken a nosedive for the absolute worse. Overall, the assignment was a shitty deal.

But it wasn't like he could refuse his alpha.

"Fine," he groaned before plopping onto a tiny kitchen chair, "tell me exactly what you want me to do."

***

It was a weird feeling, being responsible for your father's death. Every morning since the "bear attack", I woke up expecting to hear him shuffling around for his coffee. To hear his gruff commentary on the news. To see him struggle to adjust to my presence, even after a year of living together.

He'd been alone for so long.

That was the part that got to me. All the years that I had held him at an arm's distance, unwilling to admit that he was the one true adult in my life. The only person to really give a damn about what happened to me. Maybe if I'd let him take care of me, Edward Cullen would've never been able to play me like a goddamn fiddle. Maybe I would've had the self-esteem to run away from the danger. Maybe.

But that was an alternate reality, and now Charlie was dead and I was planning his funeral. A process which was really just numbly pointing to coffins and flower arrangements in a catalog while Pastor John Webster nodded in solemn understanding.

Did he have a favorite color? It's probably the same as the yellow that Mom had left up in the kitchen.

Tears blurred the pages of the magazine and I couldn't help but sob. Two days had passed, and it still wasn't enough time to stop memories from punching me in the gut. It was frustrating.