"I take back what I said the first time we met. I never could have been more wrong."
"Oh, and what would that be?"
"Every thing about you - every thing you do, or say, or even when you scrunch your nose when you don't really like something - just ma...
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I ARRIVED HOME TO A flustered looking father. "Dad?" I asked, "Is everything okay?"
"Josie, you're home," my father sighs out in relief. "What happened last night on the Reservation?" I blushed a little bit.
"I needed to cool off, and I didn't want you to see me like that," I mutter abashedly. "Paul and I... we got into a stupid fight last night."
"I know," my father immediately replies, no shock or worry written in his face.
"You know?"
"Yeah," he sighs, shifting his body so I can see Paul's hulking frame in the living area. I can't help clearing my throat awkwardly and scratching the back of my neck. In a moment's notice though, I was smirking. It was like watching in a mirror as my father did the exact same thing.
"Lahote, let's uh... Let's go outside for a minute."
"Yeah," Paul breathes out. As he walks towards me, I notice how his stiff stance has become unreasonably rigid. There's a faint grimace on his face mixed with anger.
"Oh, not this shit again," I groan, pushing him out the door with promises to my father of staying safe. "Forest. Now." I demand, pointing towards the tree cover. He huffs but complies. "Are you done with your temper tantrum?" I ask. I wasn't paying much mind to him as a coldness filled me slightly. It was only a sliver of the feeling that I had known and dreaded, but the feeling was still there. The danger that I dreaded was coming back.
"Oh please, I wasn't the only one who overreacted," he scoffs.
"You're right," I answer easily. "I was being a shit head, and I'm sorry for that. But I'm not a possession Paul."
"I know you're not," he sighs. "It was just me being an asshole and letting Jared get to me. I can't wait until that fucker's imprinted, and then I can tease the shit out of him as he does to us."
"I love how that's how you reason it," I laugh, stepping away from the tree I was mending and towards Paul.
"I really am sorry," Paul frowns slightly, meeting me halfway and beginning to trace small patterns on my forearms. I can't help smiling softly up at him. His nose flares lightly before letting out a small, animalistic growl. "Why the fuck do you smell like a leech?"
"Like what?" I ask, almost amused at the term. "Leech?"
"Vampire," he clarifies, grunting the word out like it's painful to say. Suddenly, with that one word, everything finally made sense to me. That's what they were. That's why I always felt a cold dread when they were near. It's why I knew that they were so unnatural; they were abominations. They felt like death, but I never knew why. Now I finally did.
"The Cullens," I whisper.
"They're back?" Paul asks, eyes wide with anger and nearly untraceable fear. I shake my head lightly.
"Only one: Emmett."
"And you saw him?" Paul was winding himself up again, starting with the slight tremor in his hands.
"Hey, hey, look at me," I begin, forcing him to face me. I stared at him unrelentingly. "I'm fine. I'm okay. He didn't even come 20 feet of me. So just breathe. Fucking breathe." He took in a few shuddering breaths before his posture began to relax again. "Last night I ran into a girl named Cassie," I explain. "I accidentally fell asleep on her couch, and in the morning, Emmett was there. Nothing more. Nothing less. I know for a fact that he's the only one around."
"Why? Why is he even here?"
"He's dating that girl Cassie," I shrug.
"Why?"
"If you ask me 'why' one more time, Lahote," I tease, bringing a shadow of a smile to his conflicted face. "I swear..."
"What?" he chuckles. "You swear what? Is that a threat, Swan?"
"Oh, you bet your ass it is," I giggle, punching his chest playfully.
"Good," he smirks, pulling me into his warm chest.
"Wait for a second..." I note, picking up something strange about Paul. I draw back and poke at his chest teasingly.
"What? What's wrong?" he asks, looking slightly frantic.
"You finally remembered how to put on a shirt!"
"Oh fuck off," he laughs. I watch in admiration as he throws his head back with a lightness in his eyes. It was a beautiful sight that I would never dare to forget.
<>
A few hours later, I was sitting in Billy Black's living area, cracking jokes with Art. We both held hot mugs of coffee in our hands, and we're teasing the shit out of one another. The front door slams open, and Jacob trudges in, sweat glistening from his brow. He had been out with Isabella and a few of her friends earlier in the night, and I could only assume what the current look on his face meant. "Art," I cut him off.
"Don't be fucking ru-"
"Call Billy and Sam," I note with wide eyes. Art finally turns around, his expression matching my own. "I'll take him outside and help him until the boys get here."
"Josie, I don't think-"
"Just do it," I cut him off before running after my best friend. I can just barely make out Art rushing into the kitchen to access the telephone. "Come on," I note gruffly, grabbing Jake and pulling him back out of the house.
"Don't fucking touch me!" he shouts as soon as we get outside. "You're a piece of shit! You're a terrible friend!" he continues to yell. I know these words are coming from the overwhelming anger that came with the shift; that didn't mean they didn't sting a little. "You and your fuck toy, Lahote," he growls out. Biting my lip, I decided to instigate him, hoping the shift will occur faster, and therefore, be done sooner.
"Oh yeah?" I cackle sarcastically, saying words I don't fully mean. "What about you, dickhead? My fucking sister?"
"Oh please, maybe if you would be a little nicer to her-"
"And you fucking DEFENDING her?" I roar, giving him one final shove. In an instant, Jake is gone and is replaced with a russet-colored wolf. He swipes at me like a rabid dog, getting a good hit before I can restrain him with roots. As he's wrangling with the vines that only seem to grow tighter around him, I lean against the nearest tree and watch as lavender and aloe vera grow around me. I fashion myself a small mixture before rubbing the concoction across the large gash. It traveled from my right hip bone to about half an inch above my knee. I used every ounce of concentration I had to keep the blood inside my body. I hardly noticed when the group of boys I had begun to affectionately call "The Band of Brothers" came up to Jake's house.
"Swan!" A voice yells, making me open my eyes and try to cover up the gash with as many leaves as I can.
"Hey Lahote," I smirk, looking up at him. I try to pay attention, but the more he talks, the fuzzier the sound gets. He crouches in front of me, pulling the leaves off of my leg before I can do much to stop him. Granted, I was a little too weak to anyways. The last thing I saw him mouthing the word 'FUCK' and slamming his hand onto the ground.
