Running With Wolves

Chapter 4

As Bella finally came back to her senses, she realised she was in a very large vehicle, and that Charlotte was at the wheel. Remembering the fit Charlie had last month when Paul had driven her truck to Sam and Emily's house, she suspected that this was the behemoth her sister oh so lovingly named Dorothy.

Bella didn't know how or when or even why she was in her sister's beloved truck as she'd zoned out after she'd fallen to her knees, consumed by thoughts of Victoria and the wolf pack. She'd been swept up in the possibilities, the potential tragedies yet to unfold, and hadn't noticed when her sister scooped her up and carried her to the truck, and buckled Bella into the front passenger seat before walking over to the drivers side and climbing in for herself. Bella had been so out of it that she only just realised that Charlie was singing absently along to the song emanating from the speakers.

Charlotte noticed her sister tense up in the seat beside her, and though she didn't know what had caused it, she was also grateful that she seems to have come back from her panicked spiral. "We're almost at Sam's, Izzy." She said softly. Bella nodded tersely. Charlie sighed internally. She hated seeing her little sister like this, and she knew the boys did too. Looking at the clock on the dashboard, she nearly swore aloud. 1:34 am. This was gonna be a long night.

"I already called and told Sam why we're coming over." Bella nodded again, she was getting used to her elder sister's Blink-182 CD playing in the background once the initial shock of the music had worn off. She had stopped listening to her own music when the Cullens had left. It reminded her too much of him and that alone had hurt. She'd forgotten how diverse music was. Bella liked the way this music sounded, it was loud and in your face, but it was a complex mix of emotions too. It was a life lived fast, loud, rebellious. It was the exact opposite of Edward, and she was shocked to find that that was part of why she loved it. "Are the others going to be there too? If I'm going to explain all this vampire drama, I'd rather not have a repeat performance."

Charlie laughed boisterously at Bella's response. Her sister was finally back.

"The Cullen's killed James, and thought that was the end of it. Laurent proved them wrong when he'd shown up in the clearing that one day and told me about Victoria's plan to get revenge on Edward for killing her mate, before he decided to take that from her." Bella explained to a room full of silent wolves. No one had dared to even move since the girl had begun speaking.

"He'd come to scout for her, but decided he wanted to make me a meal instead. If the pack hadn't shown up, I would be dead by now." She breathed out shakily, "I don't think I ever thanked you for that, so um, thanks for saving my life." Paul puffed his chest out proudly. He'd been sure to tear the leech apart as much as he could before burning him to ash. No one touches the Swan family and gets away with it, not on his watch.

Paul had a soft spot for Charlie, and he knew how much her family meant to her. He still felt guilty over her moving in with him, though that Newton kid had had it coming for a long time. Charlotte had dragged Paul into the Newton's store with her to buy a pair of black steel toe combat boots that she'd had them order in for her, she'd fallen in love with them the instant she'd seen them, and was ecstatic to find they'd fit like they were made for her. They'd just purchased the boots and had been on their way out of the store when Mike walked in.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" The twerp drawled, "the whore of La Push. On a walk with her sugar daddy?" The boy laughed at his own joke. He didn't have much opportunity to enjoy his cruelty however. Because Charlotte retaliated, punching him in the nose. The rings on her fingers combined with the rage fueling the blow had managed to break the boy's nose, but that wasn't enough to satisfy Paul, so he punched the kid in the ear for good measure. Charlotte, believing that enough damage had already been done, had turned on her heel and punched Paul.

Unfortunately, that had resulted in a broken hand, which Chief Swan had blamed Paul for. It wasn't the most accurate statement, Paul hadn't broken Charlie's hand, Charlie had broken her hand on Paul. Nevertheless, Charlotte had a broken hand and a protective father. He'd told her she couldn't see Paul again, especially if it would lead to her getting hurt, and Paul had agreed with him. But Charlotte wasn't having it. She screamed and cried, begged and pleaded, argued and compromised, but Chief Swan wouldn't budge. A month went by without change, and that's when Charlie'd had enough. She packed up her belongings while her father was at work. She left a note on the kitchen table along with her key to the house before hopping in Dorothy.

Charlie Senior had called Billy after work that day and explained the situation to his friend. When Billy Black stood outside Paul's house, demanding to speak with Charlotte, Paul got so angry that he'd marched out the front door and yelled at the Elder before him about the fact that he'd agreed with Charlie, but he wasn't going to take away Charlotte's freedom over it. Paul would've been able to keep his cool if Charlotte hadn't rushed out in tears, begging Billy to let her stay in La Push. That had been the final straw for Paul, who had been shaking violently since Charlie had walked out the front door. He had enough sense to know something was happening and had barely made it past Billy and onto the driveway before he phased. That had been enough for Billy, apparently, because he'd left shortly after, calling Sam to help Paul phase back. They'd been living together ever since.

Once Bella had finished telling the pack about why one shouldn't run with vampires, Sam gathered the wolves in his kitchen to discuss strategy, with the exception of Paul, who was too busy making sure the Swans were okay to even notice that everyone else had vacated the living room. Sam was still at least half convinced that Paul had imprinted on Charlie, though he couldn't say for sure. He hadn't been close to either of them growing up, but Leah had been friends with Charlotte, and had told him plenty of times, before he'd phased, that the two of them had been mooning over each other since they first met, but were both too stubborn to realize that they liked one another. They danced around their feelings whenever the feelings popped up, explained it away as friendship, refusing to see what was right in front of them. Sometimes, Sam just wanted to shove their heads together and tell them to just kiss already. But he didn't, because as frustrating as they could be, he had no place in their relationship. They'd have to figure it out on their own.

Eventually.

Hopefully.