AN: I realized I messed up Paul's age, but canonically he's the same age as Jake. Which just seems wrong. But in this story I made him a little older than Bella so… my bad. Congrats Paul, you skipped a few years.

Chapter 18

This is why Leah thought participating in girl's night was pointless. Did she even count as a girl anymore? The constant dirt beneath her nails from running on four legs made a manicure seem ridiculous. Why bother doing her hair when she'll inevitably phase and ruin it? Her skin was flawless post-phase, so what was the point of a face mask? She never thought she'd begrudge her inability to get a pimple. Hell, she never thought she'd miss her period.

The only time she felt like a woman again was when Jake reminded her of all of the amazing things her feminine body could feel. When he pulled her under his body and reminded her that she could be tender. She could be soft where he was hard. Woman where he was all man.

Now wasn't the time. Leah strained her muscles, focusing on the stretch and burn of each motion until instinct took over. She focused until the frenetic pace of her paws across the mossy forest floor was the only sound in her mind. As her pack brothers succumbed to the leech's command one by one, her wolf zeroed in on their target. Paul's presence in their mental link was just a faint hum in the back of Leah's awareness. The wolf was in control now.

He had worked at controlling his mental shield in the pack mind ever since Leah discovered the side effects of Bella's mark. Paul didn't like when Leah belittled what he felt were superpowers in addition to their already enhanced abilities. Instead of worrying about the possible downsides like his Alpha pair, Paul perfected the raising and lowering of his mental walls.

After a week he could control when he blocked them from his mind. After two, he could easily flip it like a switch. After three weeks, Paul could effortlessly filter only his own thoughts from their shared mental space. He could still hear and see everything his pack sensed, but they wouldn't even know he was phased in and eavesdropping.

Leah was the only wolf that could sense Paul's presence when he blocked everyone else out. Not even Jacob could see through their beta's shield.

This was the exact situation Leah was concerned about. Paul was facing down a vampire alone and Leah couldn't see or hear a thing from him except the static of his shrouded presence in the pack mind. She loosely followed the Sol Duc River east, jumping over fallen logs and easily leaping bends in the winding river for a more direct course. Leah made short work of the miles between her and her prey.

When even the faint hum of Paul's mind disappeared completely, she feared the worst.

She didn't have time to worry about getting spotted. Paul chased a vampire down the fucking 101. There was no way they hadn't blown the secret already. She followed her nose along Laurent's path through the trees. She was close enough to the highway to see the people in each car she overtook. There's no way they were making it through the day without ending up in Area 51 in the cage next to E.T. with some creepy dude taking notes on a clipboard.

If she was lucky, Paul caught up with Laurent before either of them made it to the road. But Leah had shitty luck—just look at the rest of her life. The only good thing that had happened to her in the past couple of years was Jake and he was off chasing butterflies somewhere. Good thing he was an adorable idiot. She couldn't even be mad at him because at least this way he was safe.

Right now, Paul and Leah were a pack of two.

Actually, she might be alone here. Paul was completely absent from the pack mind, much to her concern, and Leah wasn't even in full control of herself at the moment. Her wolf took the reigns the second she realized there was a very real threat to face down. As soon as she phased in, Sam filled everyone in on the situation with Charlie and Laurent. At least this time she felt like one of her hands was also on the wheel. The incident where she got the leech's hand was back when she first phased. That was months ago and she had a much better handle on her wolf and it's instincts now.

As the thought crossed her mind, her feet carried her out of the trees and closer to the road a second before her mind processed the change in the trail. Laurent had run onto the highway here. He was nowhere in sight, but the deep grooves in the road confirmed what her nose already knew.

No Paul. No truck. No Charlie.

And no leech.

Laurent had relied on the direction of the wind to sneak up on Sam, but his advantage had also been his downfall. The vampire had been so focused on his target, he failed to notice just how close the wolf who could evade his order had gotten.

The disappointment on Laurent's face from realizing his failed mission had only a millisecond to morph into fear before Paul's jaws clamped around the vampire's head. The momentum of Paul's jump dragged both him and the vampire tumbling down the other side of the road right after Charlie's truck. They crashed through underbrush and flattened anything in their path.

With scrambling paws under him, Paul skidded to a stop with his jaws still holding the leech firm. Laurent only managed two glancing blows to Paul's muzzle before he clamped down hard enough to crush the his skull between his teeth. Paul was disgusted when even headless, the demon thrashed around underneath the weight of his paw pinning it to the ground.

The taste in his mouth set free something utterly primal. It had been months since they had taken down the red-headed leech and the taste of the enemy on his tongue was supremely satisfying to the animal that shared Paul's soul.

Tearing limb from limb, the vampire finally stopped fighting back when there were no pieces big enough to recognize that this creature was once a human being. The marble flesh crumbled in his jaws and limbs slashed to ribbons under his claws. He was feral. Wild. Savage.

Paul.

Leah's voice didn't filter through the determination of the wolf. She couldn't see his human mind buried deep underneath the protective rage of a wolf defending its imprint. An animal protecting its mate.

Paul.

A direct command wasn't necessary. The implication was enough. Paul's vision slowly faded from black into red and finally into his human awareness once again. His wolf was reveling in the destruction of it's enemy, but the sight of granite flesh littered all around him and under his paws made his stomach turn. There wasn't a piece left larger than an apple. A small apple.

Paul tried to back away from the carnage, but to his horror there was nowhere to step without feeling the smaller pieces of vamp squish between the pads of his feet. They were supposed to be rock hard, so what was wet? Laurent's last victim's rotting blood oozed out of the vampire's remaining flesh like stepping on a wet sponge.

The sick satisfaction he felt from his wolf was almost as sickening as the smell. Maybe if he phased back, it wouldn't be as strong. He needed to get away. Away from the stench that he was certain would never completely wash off of his skin.

Paul swayed on his paws, trying to remember his human skin. He couldn't remember being anything but the monster that had destroyed a once living creature with its teeth. It wasn't compassion he felt for the vampire. It was disgust for everything in this life that was supposed to stay in fairytales and nightmares. Paul wanted to help people. He wanted to protect others from monsters like his father, but was he any better?

He was a protector, but this thing had almost killed Charlie. Had killed countless people before today. Paul could smell the blood of Laurent's past meals mixed with the stoney flesh. Nobody had protected those people.

He couldn't draw air into his lungs quick enough.

Leah could feel her beta losing control quickly. He was swiftly falling into panic and straight through into full blown hysteria. She couldn't remember her first aid course, but she was pretty sure he was going into shock.

PAUL. Start a fire. You shredded him into confetti, but the job isn't done until he's ash. Focus.

At his Alpha's direction, Paul could at least focus his panic toward a task. He could do this. He was glad the other wolves were still zoned out so only Leah was here to witness his complete meltdown. He was supposed to be the pack's beta and most ferocious wolf. Here he was shaking like a leaf in the wind at a little gore.

Killing the redhead had been nothing compared to this. They ripped her into a couple of pieces and lit her on fire while she was still screaming threats. Paul looked around him and the only recognizable body part was a fingertip and a couple of scattered chunks of hair.

Burn it. He needed to burn it. He looked back to his hind leg for the lighter he kept in his shorts only to find a loose leather strap where his shorts were supposed to be. Fuck, he was a useless protector. He didn't even have a way to finish his kill.

Before he could make himself feel worse than he already did, Leah cut off his train of thought.

You really think our ancestors carried around bic lighters? How do you think Ephraim Black or Kaliso burned vamps?

She knew he was feeling a little better when Paul's only response was a goofy mental image of his wolf paws failing to flick open a zippo. Leah swiped her extended claws along a slab of exposed chert rock in the ground. Sparks flew in the wake of her paw, instantly lighting flame to the closest pieces of the highly flammable remains that Paul had left in place of Laurent. She explained when Paul's only response was awe and confusion.

Chert is a type of sedimentary rock commonly found in this region. It's used to make flints and fire starters. Our people used it for centuries before howkats invented zippos.

Paul didn't have words. He was still frozen on four paws watching the purple-tinted flames and musing once again how much better off the pack was with Leah at the helm. The overwhelming respect and near reverence Paul felt made the Alpha uncomfortable.

I'll make sure this is cleaned up before I go roundup our mutts. Get Charlie.

Paul didn't need to be told twice. He wasn't proud of his desperation to get away from the crime scene. Now that the threat to his mate was eliminated, there was room in his brain for everything else. As much as he had come to love Charlie, nothing would outrank the safety of his Princess.

When Paul had launched himself across the highway, he was sure there had been witnesses. The only bit of luck in this situation was that this stretch of the road was only a two lane highway. At noon on a Friday, traffic consisted of a handful of cars and the occasional trucker making their way north. Someone must have seen the giant animal leap onto the road and drag a person off by their head. Someone certainly had to have seen the old Chevy roll off the road.

So why did nobody stop? Paul hoped one of the careless drivers at least called 911 to report the accident. Someone needed to come help Charlie. Paul couldn't bear to think about the man that had become a father figure to him right now.

He followed the path of destruction back to the vehicle. Just as Leah said, Charlie's heartbeat was strong and his breathing was steady. He must be unconscious. As Paul approached the overturned truck he phased and pulled shorts on. If Charlie was okay, he would definitely have a heart attack if the first thing he saw after the accident was a very naked Paul.

Charlie was hanging limply by his seat belt in the cab of the truck. If his heartbeat wasn't clearly audible to supernatural ears, Paul would have assumed he was dead. All of the windows were broken and there was blood everywhere, including splatter on the steering wheel. The easiest way to get Charlie out was getting the truck upright again before anyone else was here to witness Paul single-handedly flip a two ton vehicle.

Getting a firm grip, Paul got the truck onto its side in one movement and back onto it's tires in another. A pained groan from the vehicle made Paul second guess his decision to right the truck before getting Charlie out. He ran back around to the driver's side to find Charlie slowly regaining consciousness.

"Sir? Sir, are you okay?" Paul tried to tell where the bleeding was coming from, but half of the man's face was a bruised and swollen mess. He tried to open the door, but instead just ripped the hinges right off when the damaged frame wouldn't budge. Charlie groaned again when he tried to reach for his seatbelt. Paul helped unbuckle him when he still hadn't spoken.

A sharp whistle startled Paul and he nearly phased from all of the adrenaline still pumping through his system. Leah caught his attention with a wave and spoke in a voice too low for Charlie to hear.

"An ambulance is coming, you just need to get him back up to the road. The leech has been taken care of. I'll call to have someone bring Bella to meet you at the hospital." She was gone in a flash before Paul could even open his mouth. His eyes snapped back to a confused Chief Swan.

"Paul? What the hell are you doing out here? What happened to that man on the road?" He held his head in his hands and winced when he touched a cut on his forehead.

Paul ignored all of the Chief's questions and followed orders instead. "We gotta get you back up to the road, sir." He leaned forward with the intention of lifting Charlie from the vehicle, but even in his state, the man had his pride.

"Get your damn hands off me, son." Stubbornly Charlie pushed passed the younger man and tried to stand from the vehicle. "I could have sworn this thing was upside down..." he trailed off, glazing over the obvious damage to the sides and roof of the vehicle. Paul once again ignored the man and supported nearly his full weight when Charlie stumbled almost immediately. Paul looked back to the Chevy one last time before turning toward the road with Charlie's good arm wrapped around Paul's shoulders to help him walk.

"Um," Paul stammered, trying to think of an explanation better than that crazy video on the internet where a mom lifts the car to save her baby. "It rolled, yeah, but you landed upright."

"Old truck is so sturdy, it practically has a built-in roll cage. Should probably thank Jake for fixin' this thing up proper," Charlie mused more to himself than to Paul.

Paul was too lost in his thoughts to register the words anyway. That could have been Bella. She was usually the one driving this awful thing and that could have been her rolling off of the road. She was just a human. A fragile, breakable human and Paul could lose her at the drop of a hat. No matter how strong he was or how good of a protector he was, he could still lose her in a number of different ways. People die from non-vampire related accidents every day.

What was the point in delaying or waiting for something if his world could be taken away by a freak accident. What was he doing sneaking around with Bella when he should be making the most of every day they had. She had vaguely talked about moving in with him sometime this summer and they had mentioned their future together in broad terms.

Seeing her truck bloodied and flipped on the side of the 101 set Paul into action. He settled Charlie leaning against the trunk of a tree by the shoulder of the road to wait for the ambulance. His brain to mouth filter must have been forgotten in the trauma of the day, because Paul blurted out what he was thinking before he realized this probably wasn't the best time for such a conversation.

"I want to marry Bella."

If someone had told Paul a year ago that he'd be considering marriage when he was barely out of his teen years, he would have laughed in their face. But now, he couldn't imagine a world where Bella Swan wasn't the center of his universe. Even in his state, Charlie wasn't surprised at all. The man was rather astute, even when minorly concussed.

"Having a realization about the fragility of human life, are we?" Charlie winced when he turned to try to get a better look at the man asking for his daughter's hand. Paul wanted to apologize for his poor timing and before he could backtrack and offer to discuss this another time, Charlie continued, "Isn't that a little different when you're not quite human?"

Paul swore at that moment his heart stopped.

"You're not so much as looking at my daughter again until I know the truth," Charlie squared his shoulders with determination and a wince, managing to make Paul feel like a child for the first time in years. Maybe ever. "What's going on, Paul? I deserve some answers."

The silence stretched out between them. When Charlie didn't back down or falter, Paul's resolve crumbled. It had been such an emotionally exhausting afternoon and he just couldn't do it anymore.

Paul told him everything. Wolves, vampires, and legends. He wanted to get it all out before the ambulance arrived. The last thing he needed was a couple of paramedics thinking he was crazy while they tend to Charlie. He finally heard the sirens approaching and knew their time was up. It would be a while before they were alone to speak freely again.

"Any questions before the ambulance gets here?"

Charlie debated asking to see his wolf form, but he didn't need proof. This story was too insane for Paul to be yanking his chain. He had plenty of questions for Billy to answer, but only one that he needed to ask Paul. "What's my daughter got to do with this?"

Paul didn't know how to answer that question in terms that a father might like. He had no ill-intentions for Bella, but the idea that a monster was eternally committed to his teenage daughter might be a little daunting to an overprotective parent like Chief Swan.

"Everything. She's everything," Paul spoke with such reverence, looking straight into the older man's eyes hoping to convey how deeply he truly meant those words. Bella was his world. The sun, the moon, the and stars.

Charlie knew there was more to it. He knew something about their relationship was just as unnatural as the other form Paul spoke of. But it wasn't the boy's answer that confirmed what Charlie already knew. It was the way Paul looked at his baby girl every time he saw them together.

Charlie didn't speak to Paul again while they loaded him into the ambulance. Not while they drove to Forks General Hospital. Not while he got admitted into the ER. Not while they rolled him all around the hospital from different types of imaging to exam rooms. Paul followed wherever the nurses would allow him to tag along. Bella wasn't here yet, but it was a much longer drive from the rez. Paul wanted to be able to give her the most recent information on her father's status when she got here.

A friendly nurse finally wheeled Charlie into a surprisingly luxurious private suite to wait for the doctors to review his various x-rays and scans. Paul mused that it must be nice being such a prominent member of the community as he sunk into an uncomfortable chair by the door. He wasn't sure if Charlie wanted him here still or if he should just go wait for Bella out front. They still hadn't spoken a word to each other.

Paul feared the worst. Charlie was going to forbid him from ever seeing his daughter again. Could he blame him? Paul would never be good enough for Bella. He didn't have a job right now and what could he do as a wolf anyway? Paul had nothing to offer but poverty, a short temper, and worst of all, his despicable selfishness for wanting her anyway. He couldn't give her up, even for her own good, and that was what he hated himself the most for.

Just as Paul was about to make an excuse to escape the uncomfortable silence, Charlie shifted on the bed with a wince before speaking.

"I want you to come work for me."

Paul dropped back into the seat, his jaw hanging slack and a crease forming between his brows while he tried to process the possible meaning of that statement.

"Wha-"

"At the station," Charlie cut him off before the boy could sound any dumber than he looked. "You've got a little longer before you're old enough to actually go through the academy and become a cadet, but you've only got a couple months before you're 20 and a half, right?"

Paul could only nod.

"From what you described of your extra senses, we could use that kind of manpower on the force. And if those animal attacks were really vampires," Charlie trailed off, shaking his head. He was still trying to wrap his mind around all of the secrets in the world around him. "We need to be better prepared for the kind of danger we're facing. I'd like to have a protector working for my side."

Charlie sat up more in his hospital bed to try to gain a little intimidation factor. Jabbing a finger towards Paul, he spoke again with hardened words, "And you, young man, need a real job if you're going to support my baby girl. If you want to marry her, you will take care of her."

"Yes, sir," Paul promised with every fiber of his being. "For the rest of my life."

Paul could hear a nurse directing another visitor to their room. He could feel the other half of his heart approaching before he heard her familiar heartbeat or could smell her delectable scent. The nurse began to open the door, but Bella burst through impatiently. Emily had driven her over as soon as Leah called with the good news about Laurent and the bad news about Charlie.

"Dad!" She nearly jumped to wrap her arms around him, but Paul was quick to hold her back. Too quick. Charlie was so pumped full of pain killers that he probably wouldn't have minded, but he was still sharp enough to notice how Paul moved so fast that his form blurred. The nurse had already left again, so Charlie spoke freely.

"I'm fine Bells. The doctor hasn't told me exactly what's broken yet, but they x-rayed and scanned just about every bit of me. I'd say you can thank your werewolf for getting me out of the truck, but I'm gonna blame this dingus for my concussion. I saw you flip that truck just as much as I felt it." Charlie rubbed the back of his head with the hand not confined to a sling.

It was Bella's turn to go into shock.

"Yeah, Princess," Paul stage whispered in her ear. "Secret's out."

Bella didn't have time to process the information. A doctor had entered the room to explain Charlie's injuries and the recovery plan. Bella vaguely heard about her father's dislocated shoulder and broken collar bone from the seat belt, a minor concussion, and a few stitches in his forehead where it split open on impact with the steering wheel. Her mind was too preoccupied cataloging all of the things Charlie would know about if he knew the truth. The full truth.

Her vampire ex-boyfriend. The trip to Phoenix and her subsequent injuries. Jake and the other wolves. The imprint. Billy lying to his best friend for years. The deaths Charlie couldn't explain. The real reason she was so withdrawn after Edward broke up with her. Her withdrawal.

She never got the chance to ask questions. There was always a nurse or doctor in the room, checking a machine or poking and prodding Charlie. Billy was going to be mad at her. Charlie was going to be mad at her. Charlie was going to be mad at Billy!

Bella reluctantly stumbled along when Jake showed up to take her home. Charlie was to stay the night to monitor his concussion, but he insisted Bella got some sleep in a real bed. Paul and Leah were going to take care of the truck because they already knew where it was. Even the loss of her beloved truck got pushed to the back burner in her anxious state. Maybe Charlie didn't know about all of it. Jake, Quil, Edward. Maybe he just knew about Paul. And her father still seemed fine with Paul being around her. Her shoulders finally relaxed at that realization. He wasn't going to demand she ended things with Paul and if that piece of her life was in tact, everything else was going to be okay.

She felt more like herself by the time Jake pulled into her driveway and opened the passenger door of the Rabbit for her.

"Charlie is fine, Bells," Jake reassured her. He guided her into the house and to a chair at the kitchen table before he began to dig through the fridge for leftovers. "Laurent is dead and unless you've got more vampires after you, it's over. You're safe."

"You're right," Bella slumped forward, thumping her forehead into the table. "I'm still processing this. I don't do well with change, you know. I'm relieved about Laurent, but Charlie knowing the secret is kind of ominous. And I feel bad about girl's night with Emily getting ruined."

"It's good that your dad knows. No more lies. And Emily understands about girl's night. Don't feel bad."

"Sure, sure," Bella pushed herself out of the chair and wandered to the stairs. "I need a shower. I can process in the shower."

She paused on the first step, turning back to her best friend.

"It's really over?"

"Yeah, Bells," he spoke through the biggest smile she'd seen on Jake's face in a long time. "It's really over."

It had been a long month since Bella found out Laurent was after her. She took every opportunity to berate the pack for keeping secrets from her. Quil was more blatant about his guard dog duties now that he didn't have to be sneaky. She knew they just wanted her safe so she didn't hold it against him. She had been spending as much time as possible on the rez to make their job as easy as possible. Jake hoped she still hung out at Emily's all the time. Bella had become an integral part of their little furry family.

By the time Jake heard the shower turn on upstairs, he had already finished a tupperware of some kind of stir-fry leftovers. He found some peanut butter and jelly, but was still looking for bread when the phone rang.

"Swan residence," Jake answered.

Paul's gruff voice confirmed the truck was being taken care of and any traces of the vamp were clear. He could hear Quil and Seth arguing about how to get it hooked onto the tow truck in the background. Quil's cousin had a garage and let him borrow the truck. Phone calls around the pack were difficult when everyone has extrasensory hearing. It was like being on speakerphone with a bunch of sugar-high toddlers. Before Jake could get a word in, Paul launched into a rambling speech about how the Chevy wasn't safe enough. Bella needed something with modern airbags and seat belts from this century.

While the Alpha agreed, he tried not to take it personally considering this was the truck he had rebuilt for Bella himself. He understood the lupine need to protect in every way possible. Leah spoke from the background, confirming patrols were covered and that Jake should stay with Bella.

Finally able to get a word in, Jake joked, "I'm surprised you don't want to come violate my best friend and your first opportunity, Paul." He held the phone up with the shoulder and began to assemble peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. He could easily have finished off whatever was in the fridge, but Charlie might need to eat when he gets home from the hospital.

"I uhh…" Paul uncharacteristically stammered. "I've got a thing to take care of."

Jake contemplated if Alpha commands would work over the phone, but Leah had apparently already worked an explanation out of their beta. She teased in a sing-song voice, "Paulie wants to go buy his girl a diamond!"

"What, really?" Jake wasn't surprised that this was going to happen. It was inevitable with the imprint, but Jake knew how Bella had felt about marriage in the past. But he trusted Paul to know what his imprint was ready for. It stung that Paul knew Bella better than Jake did these days. He'd never admit that he was jealous of Paul Lahote, but Jake missed his best friend.

Leah could be heard breaking up an escalating fight between Quil and Seth. Even when she was reprimanding pups, his mate's voice over the phone reminded Jake that both him and Bella had new best friends now. They would always have each other, but Leah was his everything now. Just as Paul was Bella's everything. They supported each other in new and arguably better ways now. They were pack. They were family.

"Yeah, man. Life's too short," Jake could hear the smile in Paul's voice. "I gotta make her mine. I still have my grandmother's ring. It just needs a good cleaning and to be sized. There's a jeweler on the rez that I'm going to take it to. Any chance you know Bella's ring size?"

"Small?" Jake guessed. "I didn't even know rings come in sizes."

Seth called from the background, "Leah's ring size is five and a half! She made sure I knew that." The smacking sound that followed was most likely Leah telling Seth to shut up. Tucking that information away for later, Jake was just happy to hear the kid joking around again. They were all breathing a little easier now that the freaky gifted leech was gone.

"Good luck, Paul," Jake nearly yelled into the phone to make sure to be heard over the siblings bickering and Paul's rambling, frantic questions about Bella's ring. He hung up the phone before Paul could squeeze another word in.

Taking a deep sigh, Jake sunk into a chair at the kitchen table and pulled his comically large plate of sandwiches in front of him. He could still hear the shower running upstairs and if he strained his hearing, he could hear Bella's wonderfully relaxed heartbeat under the sound of the water running.

Just when he lifted his first sandwich, he froze half way to his mouth when the phone rang again. If Paul couldn't figure out his own damn ring, maybe he wasn't ready to get engaged. Slapping the sandwich back to the plate and stalking to the phone hanging on the wall, Jake growled into the device, "What now?"

"Chief Swan?"

Jacob Black had only had the displeasure of meeting Edward Cullen on exactly one occasion. On an errand for his father, Jake had crashed Bella's disastrous misadventure of a prom night at Forks High the year before. He hadn't phased yet, so he was unaware of the demon he had spoken to at the time. But now? Now Jake would recognize the sickeningly musical lilt for what it really was. He hoped to never again hear that frigid prick's voice.

"He's still at the hospital," he informed the leech in a clipped tone. Jake didn't owe this asshole anything and he wasn't about to let him talk to Bella. Jake was certain she wouldn't want to talk to him. Not to say anything civil, anyway. He would just hang up, but he needed to make sure Edward stayed away.

"So it's true?" The vampire spoke in a low breathy tone like the words were physically paining him to speak. "Alice saw that awful vehicle upside down on the side of the road. I saw the vision. I saw her blood. That was the first vision of Bella in a month and now it's back to... to nothing again. Is Bella.. Is she?"

Carefully choosing to answer the first question and not the implied second, Jacob only said one word, "Yes."

The psychic vamp must have only seen the vehicle, not the driver and made some big assumptions. He had said a month. The timeline was too specific to be a coincidence. Alice's visions must be affected by the mark. Damn, that was some freaky powerful magic. The tribe should really know more about that. Maybe if Jake let Edward assume the worst, he'd have no reason to come back and disturb Bella's newfound peace and quiet. She deserved some peace.

Edward snarled, "I told her to be safe. I told her to do nothing reckless."

Jake scoffed at the presumptuous bastard. If he really cared about Bella's safety, he wouldn't have left her in the forest full of supposedly dangerous shape-shifters with a blood-thirsty coven seeking revenge hot on her trail. Now the leech was angry at her for supposedly dying? Like it had been her fault if she had gotten into a car accident? What a dick.

"Leave Charlie alone, bloodsucker. He's got enough to deal with right now as it is." It wasn't a lie.

"No. She cannot be. She cannot be dead." The vampire sounded angry more than upset. Like his words and will alone would make it not true. This jackass really had a complex.

Jake just hung up the phone without confirming or denying anything. If Edward had nothing to come back to in Forks then he would stay away. He would leave Bella alone to live her human life like he never existed. Just like he promised.

He would tell her about the call, just not today. Bella didn't deserve more secrets or lies from her pack, but as an Alpha wolf, Jake couldn't stand to let another vampire fuck up her peace of mind. Tomorrow was a celebration of Bella's accomplishments as a normal teenager. Graduating high school wasn't monumental in the grand scheme of things, but in their reality—in a world of monsters—they were all overdue for some normal life as a teenager. Jake was just happy his childhood best friend was still alive and human to receive her diploma tomorrow.

Bella had always wanted a big family. She didn't remember anything from when her parents were still together and from then on, it was Reene and Bella against the world. She wasn't surprised when Renee couldn't make it out to see her graduate, but she had learned to keep her expectations low to avoid disappointment. That was the sad reality of having to be the parent in their relationship.

Occasionally she got to visit Charlie and play pretend. His group of friends in La Push were closer than most families and Bella was supremely jealous growing up. It was hard to make friends when you moved every couple of years, but La Push had always been her constant. It was where she felt at most home during the couple weeks of peace she spent with Charlie. Fishing with Billy or playing with Jake, La Push was more of a home than any of the states she had lived in with Reene.

Bella used to feel like the most average girl in the world. Normally she'd feel right at home blending into the sea of anonymous yellow graduation robes, no different or more special than the next girl. Thanks to her bright purple cast, she stood out like a sore thumb. For probably the first time in her life, she was okay with that. She didn't feel awkward or different, she felt special. And not because she found a boy that fixed all of her problems, but because she had people around her that loved her and supported her while she figured out how to fix her own problems.

Well, she couldn't exactly kill Laurent herself, so the credit for fixing that problem was definitely due to the wolves. But she had come back from a devastating break up and built a much healthier life around her new family. A real family. Not a coven of vampires that played house.

While she waited for her name to be called, Bella turned in her chair and craned her neck. She didn't have to look very long to find her cheerleaders in the crowded gymnasium. Her eyes locked like magnets to the deep brown depths of Paul's eyes. He smiled back at her so big and full of pride that his eyes crinkled at the edges and his cheeks dimpled. God, she loved him. Paul shot her a wink, melting her insides like only he could.

He had been the glue holding her together for months, but it was her turn to hold him together. She wasn't sure yet what exactly happened the day before. Paul wasn't ready to talk about it, but something had shaken him to his core when he took down Laurent. When he was ready, he would share his burden with her and they would work through it together. Bella was pretty sure something had also happened between Paul and her father before she made it to the hospital, but neither of them had said anything to her about it yet. Charlie knew about the wolves, but he must be okay with it if he was willingly sitting amongst the pack.

When Bella and Paul had picked up Charlie from the hospital that morning, she could tell something had changed. Paul had always been very respectful of the Chief, but now Paul was more relaxed than ever around the older man. They chatted amicably around the kitchen table with Quil while Bella made breakfast.

Paul poured Charlie a cup of coffee and joked, "When you're back at work and Bella moves in with me, I'll make sure to bring her back around to cook for you every once in a while to make sure you don't starve."

Bella wasn't sure if she was more shocked that Charlie didn't even flinch at the idea of her living with Paul or the fact that Charlie was taking a break from work.

Charlie had already told his deputies he would take a couple of weeks off work after the car accident instead of toughing it out on desk duty. She was surprised at the decision initially. Charlie was the kind of guy that got to the precinct first and was often the last to leave at the end of the day. She wasn't sure what had changed, but she was glad to make the most of her time with him before she moved in with Paul. Charlie had the exact same reason in mind, now that he knew Paul's plan.

They still hadn't directly discussed the whole wolf thing. Billy had come by the hospital after Bella left to explain further and answer any questions. Unsurprisingly, Charlie only worried about his daughter. She was safe from vampires now, but was she safe with Paul? Billy had the utmost faith in the protectors, and was able to reassure him that Bella was in good hands. Understanding the depth of the imprint was the final push to accept Paul was a permanent part of his daughter's life. He could still do some serious damage with a shotgun if Paul steps out of line, and he would be sure to remind the young man of that whenever necessary.

And it's not like Charlie was going to be an empty-nester. He still had Quil. When Charlie made a comment to the younger wolf about taking him fishing more when it was just them in the house, Quil made the cutest face of utter confusion.

"What did you think, boy? That'd I'd just kick you out when Bells was gone?"

Quil's ears turned a shade of pink that was impressive for his dark coloring. "I.. I didn't know, sir."

"You're still too young to marry off, so Embry has to wait until you're a legal adult to make an honest man out of you. I'm sure your mother will be thrilled to plan a wedding, but you're stuck with me for now." Charlie thumped Quil on the back. Somehow knowing their secret made Charlie less intimidated by the boys from the rez that half a foot on him and nearly a hundred pounds of muscle.

Bella had come to think of Quil as a real brother, not just a pack brother, and it made her beyond happy to see the way Charlie had embraced him as family as well. She couldn't wait to meet Quil's mom when she drove down from Neah Bay tonight for the pack's celebratory dinner at Emily's.

Bella startled back to the present when her name was called from the loud speaker. She could hear Jake's infectious laugh when she turned back to the front of the room with a jump and stumbled to her feet to retrieve her diploma. Thankfully, she didn't trip up the stairs to the stage. She awkwardly took her diploma with her casted hand, shook the principal's hand, and as many of the other student's had done before her, she turned back to the audience for a wave with her hideously purple cast.

And she saw her family cheering for her.

Charlie awkwardly tried to clap with his arm in a sling, but his beaming smile made up for it. Next to her father was a cheering Paul, radiating so much pride and happiness that she felt it in her own chest. Jake was on his feet clapping overenthusiastically next to Billy, who was clapping with much more decorum like the Chief he was. Leah was trying to pull Jake back to his chair while clapping herself. Quil and Embry cat called and hollered. The rest of the pack sat in the next row, each one cheering louder than the next.

Making it back to her seat, she turned to smile at Paul and her family again. Maybe Bella Swan could settle back into some semblance of normalcy.

Maybe.

AN:

I had a hard time with this chapter because it was so dialogue heavy originally. Lots of writing and rewriting. Requested blackwater goodness next chapter! Love you all! Thank you for your patience and reviews.