Shocked but excited to have found his imprint (especially after seeing Sam and Emily), was not expecting it to be the town mean girl but when you two are together, your total sweetheart which throws off the guys except Paul (he's the same way)
Quil
Happy that's it someone he knows, even if you two haven't talked in a few years (he always knew you two were meant to be). The pack was happy when he finally quit his moping about how much he missed you and considered himself lucky to ask you out
Jared
Thrown off when it wasn't the one girl who showed an interest in him since freshman year but once he got to know you, he knew the fates never messed up and you two were meant to be together
Paul
Never wanted an imprint but when he heard you defending him and the pack, he knew you two were meant to be, kind of like the next generations Emily and Sam (Quil and Colin like to joke around and tell him when you're not around)
Jacob
Dude was downright flabbergasted when he imprinted a year after shifting and it wasn't on his favorite (person and human), Bella. Once he got to know you, he was happy he didn't end up with her (she comes with too much drama while you two are drama free)
Seth
Never admitted out loud but after watching Emily and Sam plus Jake and Renesme together, it really made him want to find his imprint and then he found you and he was so happy, everyone jokes and says he acted like an excited puppy
Leah
Never wanted an imprint especially after the whole thing with her cousin and ex but after almost dying because she denied the imprint and worked on getting to know you, she found herself wondering how she could ever be without you
Sam
Wasn't expecting to meet you so soon after he shifted and was introduced to the supernatural world (and came to believe in the legends he was told for so long), but thinks meeting you was a secret blessing because you can calm him
Brady
Didn't know what to expect after hearing brief details about imprints, but boy was he floored when he met you and then you asked him out, he nearly passed out on the spot (the pack doesn't let him forget about it)
Collin
Knew he was going to meet his imprint at some point but was not expecting it to happen while he was out getting groceries to replace what he and the pack had devoured from Emily's and then you wind up going to his alpha's place too, boy nearly lost his mind
the wolf pack timeline makes no sense (and here’s me trying to make sense of it/fixing it)
Things to remember:
After bella meets emily for the first time, Charlie claims emily was scarred more than a year ago (i don’t have a copy of new moon right now but i think bella met emily in early march??)
According to the twilight illustrated guide, jared and paul had already phased when emily was scarred
Jared and paul were heavily involved in the immediate aftermath of emily’s accident
Before collin and brady, seth was the youngest to phase (he was 14)
In new moon, paul is stated to be roughly 16
Jared and paul are in the same grade and they were born in 1990 like jacob, embry, and quil
Paul is explicitly stated in the illustrated guide to have phased in 2006
2003:
AUGUST
the cullens move to forks
2004:
MAY
Early May: sam uley phases in his senior year
It’s not stated when sam phased but for the sake of the timeline i’ll place it at the end of the school year
Mid May: two weeks later, sam shifts back to human
JUNE
Early June: sam graduates high school
Late June: jared cameron phases
Smeyer loves to use the phrase “not long after” which doesn’t leave much wiggle room 🙄
So i think jared phasing like 5-6 weeks after sam phased back to human aligns with that
this would make jared around 14 which doesn’t make sense bc seth was supposed to be the youngest
But the illutsrated guide and jared’s involvement in emily’s accident requires him to be phased at this point in time
Also it’s stated that jared and sam were casual friends despite not being in the same grade (i doubt an 18 year old and a 14 year old were hanging out that much considering they’re not related)
My proposition: let’s change jared’s age in new moon to 17-18, this would make him about 15-16 at this point in time which would flow better with canon
AUGUST
Mid August: paul lahote phases
It’s implied that paul and jared had already phased when sam and leah broke up
Smeyer says not too long after sam phased, jared and paul did too 🙄
However, paul is explicitly stated as roughly 16 in new moon and the illustrated guide says that he phased in 2006
But that’s not possible!! It’s the same issue with jared’s age, if paul is 14 when he phased then seth’s not the youngest but also if he phased in 2006 then he couldn’t have helped when emily had her accident
AND if he did phase in january 2006 then emily’s accident would have happened 2 months ago, which contradicts charlie’s statement of the accident occuring more than a year ago
AND how is paul phasing early january 2006 (bc he canonically phases before embry) shortly after sam phasing in 2004??
My proposition: change paul’s age in new moon to 17-18, which would make him about 15-16 when he first phased in 2004!!
Late August: emily visits and sam imprints on her, sam breaks up with leah
Smeyer says not long after sam shifted back to human, emily came to visit the clearwaters
However, she also says that was busy with school so she didn’t visit immediately after
So i think like 2-2 ½ months later makes sense, it should probably be closer together but i think there needs to be enough time between all these events
Emily’s age is also unclear so i think she would be in trade school/college or something atp but we’ll say she graduated about a year before sam (making her 19)
SEPTEMBER
Early September: jared imprints on kim
It’s said that kim sat next to jared in history class at school for a year and i think this makes sense if you consider how small the classes would be
so they sit next to each other sophomore year and then the first day of junior year they’re sitting next to each other again
Honestly this is a minor fuckup for me but considering that all the phasing stuff is more important, i think i can accept my explanation
Late September: emily gets scarred
OCTOBER
Early October: emily tells leah about her and sam but leah already knows bc of how obvious it was post accident
Emily canonically waited until she was more fully recovered to tell leah about her relationship with sam (and it’s one of her regrets)
2005:
JANUARY
Mid January: bella arrives in Forks
JUNE
Early June: leah clearwater graduates high school
In new moon, bella claims that leah is a senior like her but a year older
But this just makes no sense and is completely irrelevant to the story??
Canon states that sam phased when he was a senior and leah was a junior, making leah a senior in the 2004-2005 school year (when bella was a junior)…
So unless she was held back a year or started late when she was a kid, it’s just not possible
My proposition: let’s make leah a senior and have her graduate in june 2005, making her 18 at this point in time
SEPTEMBER
Mid September: the cullens leave forks
2006:
JANUARY
Mid January: embry call phases (i think, i can’t remember if he phased mid or later january)
FEBRUARY
Late February: sam and emily get engaged, jacob black phases
When embry drives bella to emily’s for the first time it’s implied that their engagement is recent
Bella visits around march 11, leading me to believe that the engagement happened around late february/early march
MARCH
Early-Mid March: quil ateara phases
Quil is cited as the 6th person to phase (illustrated guide)
This kinda doesn’t make sense tho…
Bella was hanging around the pack and at emily’s house before leah and seth phased and quil wasn’t there!!
Maybe the pack was just keeping it a secret, you know he phases, after a couple of days he transforms back and then sam sends him straight home bc quil’s grandfather is on the secret? Ig no one told bella/no one wanted to tell her
Like this technically fits in the timeline but it just annoys me, it feels like an afterthought when smeyer could’ve just had him phase between late march-may
But it’s not a glaring issue that NEEDS fixing so i’ll let it slide
Mid March: leah clearwater phases, harry clearwater dies from a heart attack, seth clearwater phases
Late March: the cullens move back to forks
APRIL
Early April: brady fuller phases
It’s stated somewhere that brady phases shortly after leah and seth so we’ll just place him here
MAY
Early May: Collin Littlesea phases
It’s stated that collin phases sometime after leah and seth, which to me implies that he phased after brady
The order could probably be switched but i don’t think it’s a super pressing issue
man stephenie like really trusts 13 year olds. collin and brady are protecting la push (tbf it is mostly to keep them safe) and then you got the two biggest government enforcers on the volturi being 12/13 year old twins like truly a middle schooler's power is unstoppable
request: “Hi!!! I love all of your work!!! Feel free to ignore but could I request a "reader finds out she's pregnant and she thinks that Paul's gonna be mad so she hides it"? I love the angst that ends with loving, passionate smut or just super sweet fluff at the end but only you know how Paul would react. Again, I LOVE your work, thanks for all you do!!!”
warnings: pregnancy???, smut, breeding kink-ish but reader is already pregnant, paul being… paul
notes: before any of you come for me - i firmly believe that paul would absolutely have an awful reason to reader being pregnant IF she wasn’t his imprint. i think the imprint bond would make it very difficult for him to be mad at reader for anything.
…
you and paul had been together for almost 3 years now. paul had imprinted on you during your senior year of high school and at first, you wouldn’t give him the time of day. it took him nearly 9 months to finally win you over and go on a date with him.
and obviously dating him wasn’t the easiest thing in the world due to his at times very unruly temper but the imprintee bond clearly affected you too and you rarely left his side after you had started dating. though, since word got out to the pack that bella was pregnant, you two had been separated more often than before.
about a week after bella’s pregnancy news broke, you found yourself sitting on the lid of your toilet seat in quite literally the exact situation.
you gripped the pregnancy test in your hand, tears streaming down your cheeks as you stared at the plus sign. you weren’t sure how this happened, you were on the pill and took it daily but you and paul had slipped up here and there by letting him finish in you. you never in a million years thought this would’ve happened.
you knew paul didn’t want kids. he made it very clear to you on multiple different occasions and you knew it was because he was terrified of becoming his father. you never argued with him about it even though being a mother was something you’ve always wanted, understanding where he was coming from but now that clearly came to bite you in the ass.
with paul out on patrol dealing with his protest against bella’s pregnancy, you went into a full-blown panic mode. you grabbed your phone, immediately looking up the nearest abortion clinic, and scheduled an appointment for the following week on their website.
you were pacing around the apartment, trying to figure out what to do until your phone lit up with a text from paul letting you know that he was on his way back from patrol and would see you soon.
you whimpered, heading back into the bathroom and throwing the pregnancy test out before turning on the shower to hopefully buy you some time and make you look less distraught.
it didn’t take long for paul to get home, he pretty quickly joined you in the bathroom after he realized you forgot to lock the door, sitting on the lid of the toilet while he told you about everything that was going on with bella and her supposed vampire baby.
you were washing your hair, thanking god paul couldn’t see you as you broke down crying when he told you they were planning on killing the baby. you thought you were being quiet until you let out a loud sob, legs shaky as you sat down on the floor of the shower and curled your legs up to your chest.
paul quickly pulled the curtain back, “what’s wrong?” he asked worriedly, immediately getting in the shower with you and pulling you into his lap, his clothes getting soaked by the warm water streaming down.
“hey, hey look at me-” paul cooed, curling his hand free under your chin to force you to look up at him. you shook your head, pressing your hands to his chest in a weak attempt to push yourself away from him.
he just shook his head, tightening his grip on your hip and releasing your jaw to pull you closer to his chest, “what’s going on?” he asked softly, pressing his lips to the crown of your head as he waited for you to calm yourself down.
you took in a shaky breath, shaking your head as you let out another loud whimper, “i can’t tell you.” you explained weakly, burying your face in the crook of his neck.
“what do you mean you can’t tell me? princess,” paul sighed, pressing his lips to the crown of your head again, “i can’t help you if you don’t tell me what’s wrong.” he explained, rocking you from side to side as you continued crying into his chest.
you tightened your fist on the thin fabric of his t-shirt, shaking your head again as he cupped his hand under your jaw, gently forcing you to look up at him, “hey,” he cooed, thumb rubbing circles on your jaw as he watched your worriedly.
“just tell me what happened and you’ll feel way better princess, i promise.” he cooed softly as tears continued to run down your cheeks, you hiccuped from the tears, bottom lip quivering as you shook your head again.
“you’ll hate me.” you whispered hoarsely, and he shook his head.
“princess,” paul sighed, “i couldn’t hate you if i tried. please tell me what’s going on.” you whimpered, taking a deep breath as you took his hand and pressed it to your lower abdomen.
paul looked from you, to your abdomen, and then back up to you again. you let out a loud sob, hiccuping again, “i’m so sorry i don’t know what happened.” you explained weakly, “i already booked an appointment at the clinic and i’ll deal with it but i just-” you paused as another sob racked through your body and you wrapped your arms around his neck, burying your face into the soaked fabric of his t-shirt as you sobbed.
it took paul a moment before you felt his arms slide up to wrap around you, holding you close to his chest, “shhhhh…” he cooed, pressing his lips to your hairline, “how far along are you?” he asked softly, gently rubbing his hands up and down your naked figure.
“i don’t know,” you whimpered, peeking up at him, “maybe a month? i’m sorry-” you started but he slid his hand under your jaw and pressed his lips to yours, stunning you for a moment.
after a moment he pulled away, resting his forehead against yours, “i want you to have him… or her - fuck - i’m so sorry princess” paul explained and you whimpered, sliding your hands up his chest to cup his face in your hands.
“you’re not angry?” you asked softly, and he shook his head, gently brushing the tears off your cheeks with his thumb.
“no,” paul sighed softly, “of course i’m not angry with you princess. how could i be mad at you for being pregnant?” he reassured, looking down to where both of your hands rested over your naked abdomen and let out a soft sigh.
“you can barely tell yet,” he started, sliding his other hand down from your jaw to the small of your back, “i was wondering why you’ve been so sensitive lately.”
“sensitive?” you asked softly, letting out a giggle as you sniffled, using the back of your hands to brush your tears away.
“physically i mean,” paul quickly explained, looking back up at you before adding, “sorry, didn’t mean that you’re emotional.”
you giggled again, “i’m a hot mess right now paul, i think it’s fine to call me emotional.” you sniffled, wiping away the tears that continued to fall down your cheeks.
the corner of his lip curled into a small smile, “i’m sorry, your clothes are all soaked now.” you murmured after a moment and he shook his head, sliding his hand up to the back of your neck to pull you in for a soft kiss.
“the clothes will be fine. why don’t we use the tub so you can relax?” he suggested and you nodded, both of you taking a deep breath together before he helped you up, turning off the shower and helping you sit down on the counter as he started the faucet on the tub.
“you like those bath bomb things right? wait can you use those now? i don’t know what pregnant people…” he trailed off and you giggled again, sniffling before responding.
“yes i can still use the bath bombs paul.” you answered softly, smiling up at him sheepishly and he chuckled, tossing one in the bath before peeling his soaked shift off and tossing it into the hamper.
you watched as he undid the zipper on his shorts, staring a little longer than you probably should’ve and paul quickly caught onto it, “sorry,” you murmured, cheeks heating up as you looked away from him, “these stupid hormones are messing with my head.”
you felt his pointer finger lifting your chin up so you could look at him as he used his other hand to part your thighs so he could step in between them, “nothing to be sorry about princess.” paul cooed, pressing a gentle kiss to your forehead.
you pulled your bottom lip between your teeth, gently gnawing on the skin and he released your chin, brushing your hair behind your ears, “good to go in the bath?” he asked softly and you nodded, wrapping your legs around his waist and arms around his neck so he could lift you up.
he stepped into the tub, lowing the both of you down into the warm water so you could straddle his lap. you let out a soft sigh as the pink warm water encompassed your body the smell of lavender from the bathbomb immediately relaxing you into paul. you rested your cheek against his shoulder as he rubbed his hand up and down your back, committed to calming yourself down.
“i meant what i said earlier,” paul started after a moment and you hummed softly, not sure what he meant before he continued, “about the baby i mean.” he clarified, “i want you to keep him.”
you pressed a soft kiss to his shoulder, “you want a baby?” you asked, threading your fingers through his hair.
“with you.” paul responded before clarifying, “i want a baby with you.” the corner of your lip curled into a smile at that, using your free hand to take his hand and press it to your abdomen, humming softly as he rubbed small circles against your skin.
“do you want to keep him?” paul asked softly, almost sounding… concerned which was unusual for him. you pressed another kiss to his shoulder before lifting your head up to look at him.
“of course i do,” you said softly before adding, “you know i want a baby… i just thought that you wouldn’t.” you murmured, looking up at paul anxiously as he let out a soft sigh of relief, his hand giving your hip a soft squeeze.
“i’m sorry i made you think that,” paul pressed another gentle kiss to your hairline, “i do want you to have him.” you pressed a soft kiss to his jaw, trying to hide the wave of tears that rolled down your cheeks at his comment.
he cupped your jaw with his hand, “why are you crying?” he asked softly, thumb brushing the tears away as you shook your head.
“‘m sorry it’s just these stupid hormones.” you murmured again, letting out a soft giggle as you tried to compose yourself and paul smiled, pressing a soft kiss to your lips.
you melted into him, quickly knotting your fingers into his hair as you pulled him closer to you. the water splashed a bit as you shifted to press yourself completely against him, your hips subconsciously rolling down in an attempt to create some friction.
paul pulled away for a moment to allow you to catch your breath, resting his forehead against yours, “can we…” you trailed off shyly.
he smiled, nodding as he ran his free hand over your thigh and inbetween your legs, “you tell me if it’s too much, okay? i don’t wanna stress you out.” he asked and you nodded.
the gentleness was so unlike him, something you’d only seen on a few occasions so having him touch you like this was intimate. he grazed his finger of your clit, eliciting a loud whimper out of you.
you whined, grinding your hips down against his finger and he chuckled, “sensitive little thing.” he murmured under his breath, pressing down on your clit to give you the friction you were craving.
“paul please-” you whimpered and normally he would’ve reprimanded you for not using your words but tonight he was committed to staying as gentle with you as possible. he nodded, dipping a finger into your heat as his thumb continued to rub gentle circles against your clit.
you mewled in his lap, tightening your fingers in his hair as he added a second finger, gently scissoring his fingers to stretch you out for him. he felt your breathing hitch as your walls tightened around him quicker than usual, “you gonna cum on my fingers princess?” he asked softly, using his free hand to rest against the small of your back and help stabilize you.
you nodded, letting out a loud whimper, “can i?” you asked breathlessly, grinding your hips down onto his fingers as he continued pumping his fingers in and out of your pussy.
he nodded, “go ahead then, cum on my fingers princess.” he cooed, watching in awe as you quickly met your orgasm with his approval, throwing your head back as a soft moan left your lips and your velvet walls throbbed around his fingers.
he allowed you to ride his fingers for a few more moments as you rode out your high before you leaned forward, relaxing your grip on his hair to wrap yourself around him, resting your head on his shoulder. he pressed a gentle kiss to your temple, rubbing his free hand up and down your back as he pulled his fingers out of you, cooing to you as you he whimpered at the emptiness.
“gonna fill you up in a second princess.” paul reassured, pumping his length in his hand and helping lift your hips up with his other hand.
you moaned softly when you felt the tip of his length press against your entrance, paul gently pulled your hips down so you sank onto his length, releasing your hip when he was fully seated inside of you so he could give you a moment to adjust to his size.
“fuck,” he groaned as he felt your walls flutter around him, “you have no idea how good you feel princess.” paul leaned back against the tub and cupped your breasts with his hands, rolling your nipples between his fingers. you meweled at the heightened pleasure, tightening your grip on his shoulders as he continued to play with your nipples while he waited for you to adjusto him.
you whimpered after a moment, pressing a kiss to the crook of his neck and ground your hips down against his letting him know you wanted him to move. normally you would’ve been reprimanded for not using your words but it seemed like paul was quite enjoying being softer with you tonight as he gripped your hips, and dragged you up and down his cock.
you sat up, grabbing his biceps to steady yourself as he continued to bounce you on his cock. “paul-” you groaned loudly, beginning to assist him with your movements as you rolled your hips down.
paul threw his head back at that movement, “fuck-” paul groaned, “you feel so fucking amazing.”
you mewled at his praise, bouncing up and down on his cock as you chased your second orgasm of the night, “atta girl,” paul encouraged, “my cock making you feel good?”
the slew of praise had you teetering on the edge of your second orgasm, you nodded, whimpering out an, “mhm,” as your eyes watered with tears as you tried not to cum on him right then and there, “can i cum on you? please-” you whined, desperate to come undone on your boyfriend.
“go ahead then, i’m right behind you,” paul encouraged, his grip tightening on your hips as he started fucking you on his cock at a pace that was more pleasurable for the both of you, “wanna see you make a mess on my cock.”
his encouragement was all you needed to cum on him, head falling back as you let out a loud moan, gripping him like a vice and sending him over the edge right after you. paul let out a low groan, pulling you down as far as you could go on his length as he came, releasing your hips to pull you closer to him as the two of you rode out your orgasms.
paul was the first to come back down from his high, pressing soft kisses to your hair as you came back to reality. “deep breaths princess,” paul cooed, rubbing his hand up and down your back.
you nodded, slowly sitting back up as you let out a yawn, “you tired?” he asked, threading his fingers through your hair to stroke your scalp.
“mhm,” you murmured, “can you stay with me tonight?” you asked softly, worried he’d have to leave for patrol again.
“obviously i’m staying with you tonight.” he reassured, “c’mon.” he cooed, helping you wrap yourself around him so he could pick the both of you up and get out of the tub.
you whimpered as he set you down on the counter and pulled himself out of you, quickly grabbing a towel and wrapping it around you and worked at drying you off. once he was satisfied that you were dry enough, he quickly dried himself off and threw on a pair of boxers and sweatpants before helping you into your pajamas.
he picked you up again, walking you into your shared bedroom and lying you down on the bed before getting under the covers with you, “you’re gonna look so pretty with that pregnant belly,” paul mused as he pulled you into a spooning position so he could rest his hand on your abdomen.
you giggled softly, “you think?” you murmured, peeking over your shoulder at him and he nodded, “absolutely positive.” he reassured, “now get some sleep, you need it.”
you smiled, wrapping his other arm around you so you were caged in his grip before drifting off.
I'm pretty sure that most of the pack members share a familial relationship with one another. So I studied the family trees (from the official guide) to figure it out.
Start with the easiest. Leah and Seth are brother and sister. Jacob and Collin Littesea are 1st cousins. Billy's sister is Collin's mother.
Jared is Jacob's and Collin's 4th cousin. They share 3x great grandparents.
Jacob and Quil are 2nd cousins as they share great grandparents.
Sam and Paul are 3rd cousins. They are also the 3rd cousins of Leah and Seth.
Jacob, Leah, and Seth are 4th cousins.
Brady Fuller and Quil are 3rd cousins.
Embry is the possible half brother of Quil, Jacob, or Sam.
A/N: a reader on Ao3 asked for more Brady and Collin but I wasn’t sure what to write for them (they aren't characters that I’ve thought too much about, to be honest) so I went for fluff prompts with a little summer song to set the vibe. I think it turned out pretty cute! I tried to think of some of my favorite books when I was 11-13, to try to get that middle school summer, first love sort of feeling to it. The book I mentioned in Collin’s version is actually one of my very favorite books from that era of my life, Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli.
I think that Emily would be like a big sister to the younger wolves imprints so I added that in here too.
I would like to add, it’s not that little Y/N’s parents don’t like Collin, it’s that they notice how devoted he is to her and, as they’re unaware of the whole wolf/imprint thing, they’re just a little confused by him. He’d a good kid and they’ll get that one day.
Pairings: Brady Fuller x Reader; Collin Littlesea x Reader.
Prompts: going in for a kiss and either bumping noses or foreheads + lying together in silence, one playing with the string of the hoodie on their lover's chest.
and…
Brushing their hair for them and smiling fondly as they just ramble about their day + one reading aloud as the other is lying on their shoulder, dozing off to the sound of their voice.
Song: Endless Skies by Taylor T.
August had come sweetly, with long, endless days of scorching sunlight that melted blissfully into gentle twilight, fireflies drifting through the air lazily. If happily ever after was a place, Brady thought that it ought be something just like this:
You and him on the beach, laying in the sand.
Resting against his chest, Brady smiled as you played with the strings of his hoodie. Some song played on the little radio he’d borrowed from his best friend, the soft melody melting with the sound of the ocean lapping against the shore. There was nothing to worry about anymore, no fear of monsters in the dark or threats of war. The Cullens had long since left Forks, taking their shadows with them and plunging his home into sunlight. It was as though the earth and sky had celebrated their leaving, everything so bright and sweet since that day. And it was within the sun that he’d first found you, laughter on your lips and sand in your hair, looking up at him with a smile that had stolen his heart.
And you had remained just like that ever since.
You and him on the beach, the others far away and no more than soft voices on the wind. Having wandered away together, you’d walked until you found a little spot to hide in, tall rocks hiding you from view and making this little place your own haven. Shifting in his embrace, you leaned over him with a smile, humming along with the music.
“What?” he laughed. “What is it?”
“Nothing, I’m...I’m just happy.”
So was Brady, marveling over the happiness you’d brought into his world. Smiling at you as though you were the sun and stars. Leaning closer at the same time, foreheads bumped together rather than lips, the both of you laughing.
“Love you,” he whispered softly. “I love you, Y/N.”
“I love you too.”
It was a little silly, wasn't it? You were only kids, as he was so often reminded by everyone else, how could either of truly you know what love was meant to be? Maybe there was some stuff he still needed to figure out, that much was to be certain, so much of life and its wonders still a mystery to him.
But Brady was pretty certain that this was what love was and would always be, you and him laying in the summer sun.
What else would love ever need to be?
Some part of him wished that this summer would last forever...just you and him, laying in the sunshine. But knowing that could never happen, that you’d both have to grow up one far away day, he made the most of this little bit of happiness and kissed you again and again and again.
~
Collin looked forward to moments like this.
Given how young you both were and how protective your parents were of you, the two of you didn’t get to hang out as much as he would have liked. You didn’t have the sort of freedom that the older pack members did, no car to speak (so one of you would have to beg and barter for a ride or he would shift and run there), not much money to do anything, and nowhere to really go.
Thank the stars and sun for Emily!
Your parents liked her so much that they allowed you, with a bit of begging, to spend a weekend or two a month at her house, even allowing Collin to come along. Sometimes, he got the idea that your parents didn’t like him too much.
But what did that matter?
Because he was with you again, tucked away in Emily’s cozy little house. Dinner was long since over, the two of you washing the dishes together (he always offered, just to repay Emily a little bit, and you always helped him) and playing Scrabble after dinner, Collin versus Sam, with you and Emily whispering suggestions over their shoulders. But now it was quiet, calm. Rain was tumbling sweetly over the earth, pattering against the roof. You sat on the couch and he was on the floor, cross legged and leaning close as you gently brushed his long, dark hair, Collin telling you everything you’d missed while apart. He caught sight of your smile in the window’s reflection, smiling a little himself.
“What’s got you smiling like that?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” you replied softly. “You.”
And he couldn’t stop himself, turning and rising up in one motion to kiss you. It was quick and sweet, a little scared of somebody walking in and catching him, but it was perfect...just like you.
The rest of it was routine.
Pulling out the couch into a bed, you lay together beneath mismatched sheets, your head resting on his heart. The house was dark and quiet, the once gentle rainfall having riled itself into a storm, winds screaming and thunder crashing with brief, brilliant flashes of violent light. Collin lay against the pillows with a flashlight in hand and hovering over the old, well-read paperback novel you were softly reading from, his voice no more than a gentle whisper beneath the song of wind and thunder.
“The desert seems to be a brown wasteland of dry, prickly scrub whose only purpose is to serve as a setting for the majestic saguaros. Then, little by little, the plants of the desert begin to identify themselves: the porcupiny yucca, the beaver tail and prickly pear and barrel cacti, buckhorn and stag-horn and devil's fingers, the tall, sky-reaching tendrils of the ocotillo…”
I was driving down the provincial roads of Washington, going towards La Push, where my friend, Nessie, and her family were waiting for me. “Immortale” by Måneskin was bursting through my rental car, which Nessie had arranged for me, as I was hitting the steering wheel in the rhythm of the song. I loved that song so much, I was singing it at the top of my lungs - at least, the parts I knew how to say.
(Y/N)’s POV
“Credimi, credimi, sono diventato immortale (Believe me, believe me, I became immortal).”
I was tired after flying for 20 hours and having to drive for another 4, but this song always brought my mood up. That, and the fact that I managed to sleep plenty of hours through the flights. I was counting down the hours until I reached La Push. It was Nessie’s birthday tomorrow, and she had invited me over to spend a few weeks with her and her family.
Nessie and I met when she came to my university as a study abroad student. At first, she only planned to stay here for a semester, but that turned into two semesters - the maximum time study abroad students were allowed to stay there. I was heartbroken when she had to go back home, but she had promised me she’ll do anything to meet again.
I didn’t know what it was with Nessie - or Renesmee, as she was officially named. She was such a fun person to be around. She made everyone feel welcome and happy, and she was probably the easiest person to get along with. She was up for anything, but she was also the most responsible out of everyone, kind of like the mom in our small group of her, me, and my four other friends.
I was getting more and more excited the closer I got to La Push, though I still had to drive within the required speed limits. It was really difficult to estimate the kilometers to miles, and thankfully the car was already in miles, but it was still difficult to keep up with the speed limits around here. The US was really strict with the speed limits, which I never experienced before, but better to be safe than sorry. I didn’t want to get deported or something, so I drove much slower than I usually did.
I liked driving fast, testing the car’s limits, as well as my own, and kind of brag about my driving to others. I liked driving fast, but I was also extremely cautious, and these two often clashed with each other. I would sometimes hate slow drivers, and other times I would wish other drivers drove more slowly. Unfortunately, I had terrible road rage in either case.
Fortunately, I was aware of where I could drive fast, and where I had better drive slowly and carefully. And these narrow, provincial roads were not made for speeding. They were steep from the constant rain, and they had too many turns to count - the very opposite of a road to speed on.
That, however, did not stop the asshole that was following me from almost bumping onto my car, speeding beyond my own comprehension, and almost colliding with the back of my car. Said asshole was flashing his car’s lights and honking at me as if any of these would actually make me go any faster. I was driving for over three and a half hours, just to come across this ass in the last 20 minutes of my driving.
The man kept honking and trying to scare me into speeding or moving over so he could run past me. I was a bigger asshole than he was and my anger rose rapidly as it usually did, so I stepped gently on my brakes, forcing him to step hard on his before he decided that enough was enough.
He stepped on his gas, and, with an abrupt movement, ran past me, before cutting me off and then speeding off like the ass he was. I sent a lovely open palm on his side, cursing him, and continued driving. My heart was beating fast all this time - a mix of fear and adrenaline, and I was slowly trying to calm myself down, but my hands were still shaking.
“Just a few more minutes, (Y/N). Just a few more minutes.”
I was trying to calm myself down, as I was known for getting too angry too quickly, and now, it was not the time for that. I had to remain calm and collected. It was Nessie’s birthday after all, and I didn’t want to ruin everything because of a random asshole. It would be the first time I met her family and friends, and I wanted to leave a good impression, not be the angry ass around here.
I reached the address she had given me after a few minutes. The house seemed small and old, slightly worn out by the rain and humidity, but the location, being slightly away from other houses around the area, offered peace and quiet. It wasn’t a place I would have imagined Nessie would be staying - she dressed too expensive, and spent a lot of money, at least when she was a study abroad.
“(Y/N)!” Ness ran up to me the second I walked out of my car. “I’m so happy you’re finally here! I missed you so much!” Nessie’s embrace was so tight and overwhelming, but warm and welcoming.
I took a step back to look at her. She hadn’t changed at all. She had the same sweet face, wavy curls, and bright smile as she always did.
“It’s nice to see you, too, Nessie. I missed you, too.” I answered back wholeheartedly, but the look on my face did not match my sincerity.
“Hey, boo, what happened? You don’t seem happy to be here.” Ness furrowed her eyebrows, looking at me worriedly.
“Well.. Can I vent to you a bit?”
“Of course, you can. Come on, let’s go inside and you can tell me everything.” She took my hand in hers, and she led me into the house.
The same house that looked old and worn out on the outside was nothing like its interior. It was so warm and welcoming, beautifully decorated with warm, earthly colors, and was actually much bigger than it looked from the outside. Ness sat me down on one of the couches in the living room.
“Now, tell me, what’s got you so upset?” She smiled encouragingly.
“Well, someone almost crashed on my car. I was driving slow, not just because of the police, but, you know, the roads were steep and I was scared. He came behind me. He was running really fast, and he kept honking and flashing his lights. And I got scared, but you know me, I wouldn’t just let this asshole do whatever he wants. So, I stepped on my brakes, he stepped on his. He was really mad, he moved past me, and cut me off. He almost sent me off-road! So, I just showed him my open palm as he drove away. I still feel the adrenaline and the fear run through me. It felt like a near-death experience.”
Ness was looking at me shocked. “Because it was! (Y/N), you have to be careful around here. Did you, at least, notice his face or anything? Do you remember his car, his car plate?”
“Well, I did notice him in my mirror. He was…handsome, but an asshole nonetheless.”
“I’m sorry for that, sweety. I hope you are better now. Would you like to meet the rest of my family?”
“I thought you said your actual family would be away for the week.”
“Well, yeah, but I mean my La Push family; Brady and his family and friends. We’ll have dinner at Emily and Sam’s place. They’re like our mom and dad, even though they do have their own kids.”
“Oh, do you go there often?”
“Well, pretty much every day. Or every other day. Emily is the sweetest and her cooking is amazing. Brady and the others are already there.”
“The others? How many more are there?”
“Well, apart from Brady, Sam, and Emily, there are Jared and Kim, Leah and Angela, Seth and Daniel, Quil and Claire, Embry and Laura, Collin and Diana, and Jacob and Christine. Oh, there is also Paul, but I’m not sure if he’ll come. Everyone told him to be there, but you never know with him.”
“So, there will be just couples?” That made me nervous. I was definitely going to be left out.
“Oh, no, don’t worry. Even if Paul, who’s the only single, won’t come, we’ll still stay together. You won’t be alone. And the girls are amazingly sweet. You’ll see. Now, go get changed and ready for dinner. I’ll be waiting right here.” Ness took me to - I assumed - a guest room and gently pushed me in, closing the door behind me.
She had left some underwear and a red, long-sleeved dress with a deep V-neck on the bed for me to wear. I sighed sadly; I hated wearing dresses, and Ness knew that, but she may have had a reason to do so. Without questioning her intentions further, I went into the small bathroom and got myself cleaned quickly. I came out 10 minutes later and got dressed and ready within a few minutes. I met Nessie back in the living room.
“Wow, (Y/N)! You should definitely wear dresses more often. It looks beautiful on you.”
I turned around to look at myself in the mirror. Sure, it looked good but it was not as comfortable as my jeans and t-shirt. “I’m just doing it for you, Ness.”
“Mmh, sure, hun. Let’s go. The others will start eating without us.”
We walked outside and got into Nessie’s Volvo SUV Hybrid. Now, that was a car I knew Nessie would drive, ‘cause I knew she loved luxury. Ness was way more comfortable speeding through the narrow roads than I was, and yet she never crossed the other lane once.
Within a few minutes, we were in front of a house similar to Nessie’s, though this one was a two-floor house and it was literally surrounded by trees and woods. There were ten other cars in front of the house, which I assumed belonged to the people waiting in the house for us. Ness parked behind a truck and we exited her car.
“Everyone seems to be here, except for Paul, but it’s okay. I’ll be by your side, so you don’t feel uncomfortable. But I’m sure you will quickly feel at home. Everyone is very welcoming and kind.”
Nessie’s smile encouraged me and calmed me down a bit. I didn’t know what to expect coming here to this new place, meeting these new people who were already a big family. We walked up the porch stairs to the house. Most people were sitting in the front living room, with the exception of a woman and a man walking around in the kitchen, still preparing food and setting up the table.
“Hey, guys! This is my friend, (Y/N), that I told you about. She’ll be staying with Brady and me for a few weeks. (Y/N), these are my friends that I told you about.”
I greeted every single one of them before Ness led me to the kitchen. “(Y/N), this is Emily and this is Sam. They kind of are like a mom and dad to me, so I usually call them my parents, though they’re not too much older than I am.”
“Hi, sweetheart.” Emily hugged me tightly, and I could feel all of my stress washing away. “How are you? I bet you had a long and tiring trip. Are you hungry? Dinner will be ready in a few minutes.”
“Yeah, well, it was long for sure. 20 hours flying, 4 hours driving. It was…something else. I am a bit hungry, thank you.” I chuckled.
“Nessie, get (Y/N) to sit down in the meantime. Everything will be ready in a few minutes.”
“Where are the kids, anyway?” Ness wondered, and I remembered she mentioned Sam and Emily having children.
“Oh, they're up in the Macah rez for a few days. It’s not often we have guests around, and the kids haven’t seen my parents for a while now, so I thought that it would be a good time for everyone. Go sit down now.” Emily gently pushed us towards the living room.
Ness went straight into her boyfriend’s, Brady, arms, and they leaned on each other. I went to sit nearby, looking around at all the happy couples, sitting in the living room, embracing one another. I felt like a fish out of water, being the only had around who had no one to hug and lay down next to or on. I felt awkward, to say the least.
Ness broke the silence. “So, where is Paul anyway?”
“He needed to break off some steam. Apparently, he got road rage again. But Sam told him he has to be here, so he will come eventually” A guy, I think his name was Embry, answered back.
“What’s new, really?” Another guy commented, and everyone around laughed.
I didn’t know who Paul was yet, but he sounded like an angry guy for sure. Looking at all the people around me, I didn’t know if I would like to cross paths with him. It wasn’t that I wasn’t someone who got angry too quickly for no reason, but at least, I didn’t want to have to deal with someone who acted the same way as I did. Calm people brought me calmness, and I preferred to be surrounded by them rather than people who were similar to me.
“Well, speaking of road rage, someone almost crashed into (Y/N) on her way here.”
“What? How? Who?” A girl asked upset.
“I don’t really know. Some guy. I was driving slow because I was scared, I didn’t know the roads, and I wasn’t going to drive too fast around here. And then this guy comes speeding behind me and he almost crashed into my car. I slowed the car and he got angrier, so he drove past me and almost threw me off the road.”
“That’s terrible, sweety. Are you okay now?” Emily asked concerned, now standing across from me.
“Yeah, don’t worry about it. Everything is fine now.” I smiled at her, slightly moved that she showed so much interest and cared for me.
The next few minutes went by with everyone talking, asking me questions, and commenting on my answers. Overall, they were really nice people, and I saw why Ness was so happy to be around them. They didn’t make me feel nervous or anxious; on the contrary, they made me feel very calm and I could easily open up to them, though there seemed to be something they hid from me, which I wouldn’t question them about, at least not yet.
The conversation was interrupted by a guy entering the house with heavy steps. He looked frustrated at something, as he went to sit alone at the dining table in the kitchen. Everyone turned to look at him, but no one dared to say anything, as if they knew better than to irritate him even more.
It was only when he turned around to ask why nobody had eaten yet that I recognized who he was. The man looked around everyone until his eyes fell on me. He looked at me shocked, almost as if he froze in his place, unable to say anything else.
I felt my eyes almost popping off, as I turned to Nessie and whispered. “Ness, that’s the one who almost threw me off the road earlier.”
I was literally fuming. I was driving towards Emily and Sam’s place for the dinner Emily was preparing for Nessie’s friend who would be arriving in town today. She would be staying at Nessie and Brady’s house for a few weeks, and Nessie asked us to be as discreet as we could about the shifting thing around her. Not that I would be around her or the others as much; I didn’t like these big gatherings anymore.
Everyone was hanging out with their imprints, and I would be the only one who had been and will be alone, so after some time, I started ditching all these meetings and dinners. I would have ditched tonight as well if it weren’t for Sam forcing me to come along. I was already angry, but I was trying to control my anger, so as to not risk exposing our secret to Nessie’s friend later.
But I was running late, and I was already pretty angry about it, thinking every complaint the others would make the second I arrived there. To add to my anger, there was a car in front of me driving so slow, it almost made me crawl out of my skin. The driver, a woman, was driving too slow for my liking as if she had never driven here before. I couldn’t help myself when she refused to speed up.
I started honking and flashing my car’s lights at her, hoping that she’d wake up and step on the gas a bit. She looked me through the mirror, angry but smirked a bit, before stepping on her brakes, forcing me to step on mine to not crash with her car. Not caring if Chief Swan or any camera caught me, I stepped on my gas, driving quickly past her car, and cutting her off by stepping on my brakes.
She looked at me angrily, shouting but I couldn’t hear her, before I sped up once again, leaving the bitch behind. My heart was beating fast with anger, and I couldn’t force myself to calm down, no matter how much I tried. I changed the course of my route, going to my house instead. I quickly sent a message to the pack group chat, letting them know what happened, before I ran towards the woods, bursting out of my clothes, and running.
I had been running for about half an hour before I decided that I was calm enough - not completely, but enough - to go by Emily and Sam’s for dinner. I quickly went back to my house, took a quick shower, threw some clean clothes on me, and hopped in my car, driving towards the house where everyone had been waiting for me.
Reaching the driveway, I parked beside the last car that was parked there, which happened to belong to Nessie. I stepped out of my car and jogged towards the house, stepping in with heavy steps. Everyone was already sitting in the front living room, talking with each other, until I stepped into the house which made everyone stop and turn to look towards me, as I walked towards the kitchen and sat on a chair at the dining table.
“Why hasn’t anyone eaten yet?” I looked around at the familiar faces before my eyes fell on the most beautiful creature I had ever met.
And then, the world around me stopped, and I could not focus on anything but her. It felt as if the whole world narrowed around me, and that girl was in the center of the new world that was created around me. I was looking at her bright eyes that shone under the sun, her perfect skin, her perfect face. I could see our whole life pass before me. I could hear her gurgling laugh, and see her eyes twinkle. It was the most beautiful and breathtaking spectacle I had ever seen in my whole life.
And then I came back to reality. Everyone was looking at me shocked, as the girl looked confused, being the only one around here who did not know what had just happened to me. Nessie, who looked shocked at first, quickly grew frustrated, leaving Brady’s side, as she came towards me and pushed me off of my chair.
“Are you serious, Paul? You almost threw her off-road, and now…this?!” Her eyes were popping, full of anger and disbelief.
I didn’t understand what she meant by that, until I looked back at the girl, letting Nessie’s word sink in. And then, I realized that it was the same girl I almost bumped into with the car; the same girl I was honking and flashing my lights at; the same girl I almost…killed? All because of the anger that took me over.
I stood up, walking slowly towards her, unsure of how she felt. “Hey. I’m… I’m really sorry. I have no idea what’s gotten into me at that moment. I’m really sorry for everything.”
I saw her gulping. “It’s okay.” Her voice was trembling.
“No, (Y/N), it’s not okay. He could have gotten you killed! For no reason!” Nessie spat.
So, her name was (Y/N). Her name flattered my insides and made me want to melt from all the attraction I was feeling for her right now.
“Nessie…” Brady silently begged his imprint to calm down.
“No, Brady, he should feel guilty. You almost killed her. My best friend!” Nessie looked at me. “Your imprint!” She barely whispered, so only the pack and I could hear.
“Nessie, please don’t give it any more time than it already has. It’s fine. I’m okay. Nothing happened. What’s done is done. Yelling and arguing about it won’t change anything, so just let it go.” (Y/N) tried to calm her friend down, but I could only hear her soft voice in my ears.
I felt incredible shame and guilt. Even if she wasn’t my imprint, I only now realized I could have actually killed a human because of my anger. I had never been like that. But my day was terrible - I had to stay longer at the mechanic shop I was working at, because of a customer arriving at the last minute, and I was already late for dinner. However, that was no excuse for my behavior.
I slowly walked towards (Y/N), feeling so guilty. I leaned in front of her and took her hand in my own hands. She looked at me shocked, and I could feel she was getting uncomfortable, but I had to do this.
“I’m really sorry, (Y/N), honestly. I don’t know what’s gotten into me and I acted like an asshole. I never meant to scare you or even dare to kill you. I would have never imagined you were so important to m…Nessie. I’m really sorry for my behavior. It was inexcusable. I hope you can forgive me and we can start over.” I let go of her hand, and stood up, extending my hand toward her. “Hey, nice to meet you. I’m Paul, Paul Lahote. The hothead around, and probably the biggest asshole you could ever meet.”
(Y/N)’s shocked face was immediately replaced by a smirk and a chuckle, as she shook my hand. “Hi, Paul. Nice to meet you, too. I’m (Y/N), (Y/N) (Y/L/N). As much as it doesn’t show right now, I’m the hothead around my own family, and probably a bigger asshole than you are.”
“I hope you can still forgive me.” I smile slightly at her, not knowing how she felt about me.
“That may take some time, Paul, but I can definitely try.”
I was going to work my ass off for (Y/N) to forget and prove to her that I can become the best man she had ever met.
