Rayonnante - Paul Lahote

Chapter 17

The muffin really did end up helping. Lena didn't know if it was a placebo effect, or simply the delicious taste of blueberries and sugar, but she didn't feel queazy anymore. She also appreciated the fact that it gave her something to focus on, a way to ground herself to reality. She knew the rest of the people surrounding her at the kitchen table were beginning to worry for her sanity, with the way she'd been staring intensely at the dessert for the last few minutes. But since it was obvious that she was the only person here who'd just heard about the supernatural for the first time today, she hoped that they'd give her grace.

Emily was staring at Bella, still looking uncertain of the young girl's presence in her home. And it wasn't like Chief's Swan daughter was helping with the awkwardness, gazing silently at all of them while biting her lips. Lena didn't know how to feel about her. After all, she was the reason why she ended up at Billy's place, barging in, trying to find Jacob. She was the reason, according to Embry, that Paul transformed in front of them in the first place. While she was certain that Bella hadn't meant for any of that to happen, it didn't mean that she couldn't feel a bit of annoyance towards her.

"Leave it to Jacob to find a way around Sam's gag order"

Lena couldn't help but be curious at the way that Emily phrased her words. She wondered what it meant. Why would Jacob have to respect Sam's authority? Was there some form of hierarchy amongst them? Did it have to do with age? Sam was the oldest of them all, so maybe that made him their leader, or something. It was a dynamic she'd already kind of noticed between them when she'd had the chance to spend a bit of time with the guys. Even at Sam's house, the first time that she'd met Paul, everyone had seemed to stop talking every time he spoke, as if his words were more important.

"Um, he didn't say anything to me."

Embry perked up, happy to explain the reason behind Jacob's silence.

"That's a wolf thing. Alpha's orders get obeyed whether we want them to or not. Oh and check it out, we can hear it other's thoughts."

Why was it that every new piece of information coming out of their mouths managed to make Lena even more freaked out? What did they mean, they could hear each other's thoughts? She rewinded back to all of the more intimate moments she'd shared with Paul. Could they hear his every thought, then? Where they privy to it all? It felt a bit violating. And forget her, how did they feel about it? After all, most of the guys were still teenagers with raging hormones, how horrifying must it be to not be able to have any secrets?

For the first time since she'd arrived at Emily's house, Lena spoke up.

"Do you mean that you can hear each other's thoughts right now? Like, all of the time?"

Jared snorted, his mind obviously going into the same direction hers went. But it was Embry who decided to answer her, perking up at the thought of Paul's imprint finally regaining her ability to talk. He was beginning to be really worried about her, knowing that if Paul thought, for even a second, that they hadn't taken proper care of her during his fight with Jacob, they'd be dead. All of the guys had a temper, but it was nothing compared to him. He was vicious. From what he'd heard, even before meeting Lena, he'd been reading to snap at the drop of a hat. But now, when it concerned his imprint? God help anyone who stood in his way.

"Nah, that would be so embarrassing, right? We only hear each other's thoughts when we're in wolf form. We call it the pack link. It's our way to communicate when we obviously can't talk in a regular way. "

Lena blinked slowly, trying to picture a bunch of wolves barking at each other with very serious expressions. When Embry explained it like that, it almost made sense. She couldn't believe she was actually thinking about this logically, as if this was just a casual Tuesday. But at this point, she probably wouldn't have flinched if an actual angel had floated down into the room, or a leprechaun had started dancing under the table.