His Country Girl

Chapter 10

After getting settled in, mostly, and having dinner, Paul and I got into our pajamas and sat on the couch in his living room, talking.

"Paul, I need to know what the hell is goin' on," I begged him. "How and why do you turn into giant wolves? How do vampires exist? Why didn't my grandmother tell me what she was?"

"Slow down and breathe, Daisy." Paul grabbed my hand. "I will explain everything. Just calm down and relax. Please." I took a deep breath to calm my racing heart. "There we go."

"Please, just tell me," I asked again. He shifted on the couch, avoiding eye contact. "I can't deal with any more secrets. Especially from people I care about." Paul sighed.

"Alright. I'm gonna be very blunt about it, so," The boy grabbed my hand. "Just promise me that you'll listen to me before freaking out if that's what ends up happening." He squeezed my hand softly. I nodded my head, getting into a more comfortable position on the old couch. He breathed deeply, exhaling slowly. "Ok. As you've gathered, Jared, Embry, Jacob, Sam and I are all wolves. Not so much werewolves, but shapeshifters."

"Yeah, and as scary as it was," My words made Paul look down. "Your wolf is really pretty." This made him look up, a blush on his cheeks and a small smile on his face.

"Thanks." He shook his head and continued. "Anyway, because of a specific gene that certain members of the tribe have, the guys and I can turn into wolves. Only certain family bloodlines have the gene. Black, Ateara, and Uley." I opened my mouth but was quickly silenced. "I know that it's a bit confusing, but I'll explain that in a minute." I just nodded. "Good. Now, we only started shifting because the Cullens moved into Forks. As Jake's dad would put it, the magic in our blood awakened because we could sense when they were near."

Paul softly snorted and rolled his eyes. "The Cullens moved here a few years ago. Your grandma moved with them but decided to live on her own, and I don't know why. But, they are the reason why we started shifting. They've brought nothing but trouble ever since they moved here." He paused. "The only good thing they've done is give you a reason to move up here. And for that I'm grateful, but other than that, they can go fuck themselves." He squeezed my hand again. "As I said, they're the reason the guys and I shifted in the first place. Vampires trigger the shift and we have this treaty with the Cullens. They stay off our land and we leave them alone, but if they bite a human, the treaty is broken and we kill them without hesitation." He cleared his throat.

"Now, the three main bloodlines, Black, Ateara, and Uley, carry the gene. And I know that it's a bit confusing because not all of us have that last name. So, I'll explain that. So, for obvious reasons, Jacob and Sam got the gene. No surprise there." I nodded in agreement. "I am related to Sam, distantly, because of our great grandparents. My great-grandmother is Sam's great-grandfather's sister, so he's, like, my 3rd cousin or something. Jacob and Jared share a bloodline, I'm not sure how, so he's got the gene, and so does Collin Littlesea, but we aren't expecting him to phase because he's in middle school. Quil, I know you've met, also has the gene and we're expecting him soon."

"What about Embry?" I asked. "What bloodline does he share?" Paul froze momentarily before scoffing.

"That's a good question." He cleared his throat and elaborated, seeing the confusion on my face. "Nobody knows. Embry's dad isn't in the picture and his mom refuses to tell anyone who it is. The three main speculations are Billy Black, Quil Ateara IV, and Joshua Uley. Jake's dad, Quil's dad, and Sam's dad. Everyone's main guess is Joshua because he cheated on Allison, Sam's mom. He used to be La Pushes resident player and alcoholic." He sighed.

"Well then." I shifted in my seat. "That's some news."

"Yeah." He paused momentarily. "Anyway, you look like you're falling asleep. So we're gonna call it quits for the night."

"I can stay up for a bit longer," I said defiantly. "Tell me more."

"No, you're gonna take your ass to bed." He said sternly. I yawned before I could protest. "See, you're tired. It's time for bed for you." He got up and pulled me off of the couch, making me stand.

"Paul, I'm not tired." I whined.

"Yes you are and it would make me feel better knowing that you are safe inside, sleeping when I leave for patrol." The tall Quileute boy picked me up and threw me over his shoulder, walking toward his room.

"Boy, you better put me down this instant." I poked the middle of his back.

"And what if I don't?" He said playfully. I narrowed my eyes, though he couldn't see them, and poked the small of his back, making him straighten up quickly. "Hey, don't do that. I might drop you on your head." He walked into his room and set me down on the floor. "Bed, now."

"Who are you? My daddy?" I asked as I rolled my eyes.

"No, I'm your friend who's looking out for you. Bed." Paul gently shoved me onto the bed. "I'll stay here at the house until I know you're asleep. I don't have patrol for another..." he looked at his alarm clock that sat on his nightstand. "45 minutes."

"Alright." I got myself situated in bed and looked up at him. "Could you... maybe stay in here with me? I dunno if I'm gonna be able to get to sleep very easily tonight." Paul looked at me with a soft smile on his lips.

"You scared?" I looked away from him and burrowed deeper into his blankets. I heard him huff out a laugh. "Scoot over." I shifted toward the wall and he sat down on the bed next to me. "You don't need to be scared. The Cullens aren't allowed on the Res. They can't get you here."

"That's not why I'm scared." I pulled the blankets off of me and sat up. "What scares me is that I have been living with a vampire the whole time I've been in Washington and I'm somehow not dead!" I grabbed my stuffed cow and hugged it to my chest. "Why the hel- wait a minute." I thought for a moment before falling back onto the bed. "Nope. My brain hurts. That's too much thinking for one night."

"Daisy, are you ok?" Paul asked a hint of amusement in his voice.

"No." I groaned and reached for my phone. "And I have to call my friends to tell them goodnight." I flipped my phone open and looked for Austin's contact name.

"Is it mandatory?" Paul asked. I held up my hand to him as the phone began ringing.

"Hey, Petal!" Austin's voice came from the other side of the phone. "You're late. Did something happen?

"Hey, Jolly." I smiled at the sound of my friends' familiar voice. "Yeah, something happened. Is Peaches with you?"

"You damn right I am, Daisy-May! The hell happened? You were supposed to call us an hour ago!" I snorted at her reply.

"Hey, Georgia." I looked at Paul and rolled my eyes. "Long story short, Rose lied to me about something big and you know I don't do well with liars so I'm staying at a friend's house for now."

"Well damn!" Austin exclaimed.

"I'm sorry, sweet pea."

"It ain't y'all's fault. But, I just called to let y'all know and to say goodnight. So, I'm gonna go to bed. It's been a long day." I yawned. "I love y'all."

"We love you, too, Petal." Georgia blew a kiss into the phone.

"Get some sleep, now. We'll talk to you tomorrow." Austin said.

"G'night y'all."

"Night!" Austin hung up the phone and I set mine down after closing it.

"Go to sleep, Daisy." Paul tucked some hair behind my ear. "I want you asleep the whole time I'm gone so I know you won't try to wander around the Res in the middle of the night."

"Shut it, you," I grumbled tiredly as I pulled the blankets back over me and held the stuffed cow close to my chest. "When will you be back?"

"I'll be back before the sun rises." Paul said.

"Could we watch the sunrise together, then?" I asked. I grabbed Paul's hand and placed it on top of my head. I heard him chuckle.

"Yeah. Sure." I smiled and slowly began to fall asleep as he ran his fingers through my hair.

What a day?