Monsters Of Moonlight

Chapter Twelve

Am I Fucked or Not?

Paul Lahote

Oh shit.

Those two words reverberated through the temperamental shifters head in a condescending mantra.

Memories of the past serving as the fuel feeding the patronising flame that crackled in laughter as it diminished all excitement and relief he found in discovering Luna Sallow-Uley to be his imprint.

It was a dream he had lost the day Jacob came bounding into the pack house, his eyes impossibly more lovesick then they usually were as he proudly boasted about finally getting the girl hed loved for almost a decade.

There were only two things Paul had ever truly cared about in his life – three the day he became a protector of the tribe – the first being to avoid his abusive, alcoholic dick of a father and the other being a small, raven-haired beauty that had taken his heart with a single glance of her silver eyes when they were children.

The first time he'd ever met Luna was at a bon fire similar to this one, he had come with Jared and his family after his father had bailed on his son again in favour of the new pub opening up in Forks, not caring that his kid was ten and home alone while he got pissed and laid the easiest woman in the bar – father of the year award often came easily to Terrance Lahote.

As far as he was aware, it was one of the first few times that Luna had visited the reservation, being eight at the time and hiding behind a tall fourteen-year-old Sam Uley and clutching the hand of Billy Black.

She had stuck by them for most of the night, their large forms hiding her from him until Jacob decided to steal her away from them so that they could play together by the waves. To his memory, Quil and Embry had tried to join them but were quickly sent away by Jacob after startling Luna with their volume.

He wasn't entirely sure though, his entire life – up until his shift – he had only ever had one true friend, Jared not being deterred by his explosive, rude nature unlike the few that briefly attempted to interact with him throughout his life.

Naturally, he'd stayed with Jared and his family for most of the night before wandering off to the beach on his own, surprised when he found Jacob wrestling with his two friends in the dirt and an amused though skittish Luna having climbed an impressive height up one of the cliffsides boarding the beach, watching them all from above the stony pedestal she had claimed.

His memory of their first meeting was impossibly vivid, from the few single grains of sand clinging desperately to her raven curls to how perfectly the moon reflected off her startling silver eyes, the beautiful irises sparkling like pools of stars in the night as she stared cautiously down at him.

He remembered how spell bound he'd been, thinking an angel to be watching him from above before he started to climb up towards her.

Unfortunately, he lacked the grace and skill the task clearly provided and ended up slipping on the sodden rock, landing in a groaning heap on his back on the rocky sand.

He swore hed never been more humiliated in his life.

It did, however, seem to spark her attention, her silver eyes widening worriedly before she leaped for the rock ledge she had been perched on, landing in an inhumanly graceful crouch besides him.

Her touch had been gentle and hesitant, checking him over carefully before helping him stand up and guiding him back towards the group of adults by the fire. Jared's mother had clearly seen the incident and was quick to fuss over him, Luna staying at his side with an anxious expression as the older woman took her own exanimation.