Revenant Paul Lahote

Chapter 20

Dedicated to @honeysnbees whose comments always give me motivation to write. And she's probably my biggest hype woman lol  <3 

Sam and Emily's house had been rowdy, as usual of course. 

Emily was kind, and tried her best to make Caylee feel as comfortable as possible whilst  surrounded by so many people, making all the boys except Paul and Sam leave the house while they explained things to her. 

Paul on the other hand was impatient. 

Now that he was allowed to touch her, Paul wanted nothing more than to hold her close and shield her from everything, constantly sending glares and quiet growls towards any of the boys that dared look at his imprint. Though, her touch was quick to calm him down, soothing the flames that threatened to spill from his body whenever he became too frustrated with Sam's explanations. 

They sat outside now, a blanket Emily had given Caylee to keep her from the cold had been discarded as soon as Paul's warm body pulled her close to his side again. The stars shined down on them as they swung slowly back and forth on the porch swing, Paul practically pulling her onto his lap with how close he wanted them to be at all times. 

Truthfully, he felt terrified. Terrified that now that she knew the monster he was, a monster built off of the anger he had accumulated over the years, that she'd be scared off. Yet there she was, sitting there with the moonlight bouncing off her face making her look like some sort of angel. 

Caylee turned in his arms, her hand reaching up to gently trace her fingertips along the scar just under his brow. The scar his awful father had given him. She could tell by the way Paul's eyes closed that he could remember how it had felt when the harsh fist had greeted his face, the ring cutting into his skin. 

It had been many years since Paul had felt a touch as gentle as hers, just as it had been many years since she felt a touch as comfortable as his. 

"I've wanted to touch your scar since the moment I saw it," Caylee mumbled, swallowing the lump in her throat as she felt a deep sadness within her heart at how he got it. 

Paul reached up and grabbed her hand, flipping it over so her palm was facing upwards and he could graze over the scar on her hand as if to reciprocate the words. 

"It's not the same." 

"Isn't it?" Paul challenged. They both knew good and well what he was referring to. Ever since the moment they met all the two have wanted was to take care of the other; take their fears away. 

Every night that he would come by, a new bruise on his cheek or a black eye. Paul wasn't afraid to let his anger loose before he met Caylee. He would pummel any wall, mirror, or even person that dared cross his path while in a fit of anger. It was the only sense of control he had when it came to a fight, because if there was one fight he knew he would lose, it was the one his father would start. 

The night he had come into the diner and saw the way she glanced at his bloodied knuckles, he knew he'd have to stop. He was quickly becoming his father and he knew that if he continued down that path he'd become the very thing he hated most. The way Caylee had looked into his eyes that night at the diner, right before hurling a plate directly at his head, made his insides shift. He no longer wanted to be a fighter, he wanted to be a lover. And boy did he want to love her. 

But even so, there were many days when he'd arrive late at Caylee's house, and she'd have him sit on the toilet seat as she carefully tried to clean the cuts and bruises his father would decorate him with. 

"You don't give yourself enough credit," Caylee smiled up at him. "It takes so much strength to break out of a habit that man tried to install in you. Your scars are much different than mine." 

Paul sighed, watching as his best friend smirked in victory as she knew that he was far too relaxed to defend his point of view. 

It was then that Paul decided to tell her about the imprint, yet the further he recited the words to her, the more he watched her shrink away. 

"So the way you feel is because of the bond?" Caylee questioned quietly, looking down at her lap. 

"No I-" Paul was at a loss for words. As quickly as he had gotten her close to him, she once again closed off, the same sadness that had been in her eyes previously returned. 

Caylee didn't know how to think, so instead she stood up and began to walk in the direction of her home, well aware that Paul was following close behind her trying to retract any words from what he said that could've upset her. 

She was once afraid that she wouldn't be able to give him what he deserved, and now as she listened to him try to explain the imprint bond all she could think of was how he would only care for her because of it. She didn't want a fabricated love, and she most definitely didn't want a love he was forced into from his wolf side. 

Paul tugged on her arm, tugging her to a stop and pleading with her to look at him. "Please tell me what's wrong. I thought you'd be happy." 

Caylee bit her lip, struggling to find a way to voice the concerns she had. She wasn't sure if it stemmed purely from insecurities or if it was her genuine worry. "But you're stuck with me now." 

"You're the only person I want to be stuck with." 

"That's the imprint talking." 

Paul threw his head back in laughter, his whole body shaking as the laughs tumbled from his body, making the small girl in front of him grow frustrated. "Why are you laughing?" 

"B-because," Paul giggled again, "because you're so wrong." 

Caylee's face turned red in embarrassment, and she began walking again. 

"You really don't get it do you?" Paul questioned from behind her, before taking large steps closer to her. "This imprint did nothing but solidify what was already there, and I'm lucky because if it hadn't been you I don't know what I would have done." 

When she didn't respond, Paul sighed, bending down a little to look directly into her eyes. "Cay, you mean the world to me, and I've cared about you as more than a friend long before I imprinted. This is nothing but confirmation that my gut was right all along." 

"So I am asking you to please believe me when I say that I am completely and hopelessly in love with you; and have been ever since you threw that plate at my head." 

And then, he kissed her.