~Paul~

"Just Sam. And now you, but we can't say anything. This is one of the tribe's best kept secrets."

I joke with Ara, knowing she can keep the secret, but it's always fun to make a good "outsider" joke. I raise my eyebrow at her, trying to keep a serious face, but as she lifts her head with a smirk on her lips, I make eye contact with her and I suddenly feel dizzy.

"Paul! Knock it off! You'll get us in trouble!" Ara whispers trying to keep her laughter down, as I jump on her bed, tickling her.

"Your Dad loves me, it'll be fine." I shrug planting a kiss on her nose.

"Yeah, but my sister isn't my biggest fan, and technically, my dad wouldn't be too thrilled to know you're in my bedroom." I simply wiggle my brows making her smack my chest playfully as we laugh some more.

"Belle?" I call, looking around the destroyed clearing for the familiar presence, hoping she's alright.

"Paul! Oh thank goodness!" I have just enough time to spin around before catching the racing body that has launched herself into my arms.

"I wasn't sure...I thought the wolves would..." She trails off as I try and calm her, not knowing what it is she's seen.

"It's alright Love. You're okay, we're okay. It's all over." I whisper as she pulls her head back, capturing my lips with hers.

"I love you."

"That's because I'm special, and you guys love me."

I'm snapped out of my trance by Ara's voice, her other words still lingering in my mind. Blinking a few times, I try to make sense of what it was I just saw and what it all means.

"True." Jared shrugs, as he stands walking across the room toward my meek movie collection.

I'm rooted in my spot beside Ara, still trying to process what I just witnessed, and the sudden feelings that have overwhelmed me. I can't really describe it...it's like, my life suddenly has more meaning than just miserably living on La Push for the rest of my life.

And it's Ara.

She's the reason I want to stay in this soggy little town, and I've got this strong urge to protect her from whatever is going on around us. I'm suddenly reminded of the legends we were told growing up, not only about us being wolves, but what comes with that.

I remember, the idea of something like "soul mates", but they always told us it was a rare phenomenon–more rare than shifting and that only some wolves experienced it. But I'm pretty sure this is it, this is what it's supposed to feel like..? Like Arabelle, is my world. She ties me to this Earth..everything I do, I wanna do for her.

"You guys wanna watch a movie? Since we don't have patrol today?" I hear Jared ask, and Ara looks to me in question and only then do I realize that I was subconsciously drifting closer to her side, and hadn't stopped staring...

"What?" She asks me quietly, and I rapidly blink snapping myself out of it.

"Um. It's nothing." I clear my throat, moving away from her, ignoring the pull to be closer.

"Yeah let's watch a movie." We get comfortable on the couch, but as hard as I try, I just cannot focus on the movie. My attention keeps drifting to the beautiful girl at my side. We've been friends for a few years now, how have I never noticed the freckles that dance across her nose...?

The movie was interrupted by the shrill ring of a cell phone, and the groan that followed. Jared and I snicker as I look to see Ara attempting to find her cell phone, rolling her eyes at the screen when she does.

"Hello." She says in frustration, rolling her eyes again, making Jared and I laugh again.

"I'm hanging out with my friends. What do you need?" She shakes her head in exasperation–like she's talking to a child, and we can tell it's her sister that called.

"Why didn't Dad just call me then? Ugh, fine. I'll be there when I can." Without giving her sister the chance to answer, she hangs up and lets out another groan of frustration.

"Lovely chat with your sister?" She just glares at Jared before rocking herself into a standing position.

"Something happened at the station today, and my dad wants to talk to us. She was being all snooty about it, and I'm already sick and tired of her." She runs a hand through her hair, sighing once more.

"I'll call you guys later, I probably won't stay home for any longer than necessary."

She smiles at us, and I walk her to my front door, not wanting her to leave, but knowing it would look weird if I suddenly acted on these feelings. Oh man...how am I gonna deal with these strange new feelings, or having to tell her the craziest part of the stories actually exist..? I feel like this whole imprint thing is going to be harder to understand than us being wolves...

And that's when my eyes widen.....what about Rachel?

*Hello! Sorry it's taken me so long to update! I've been trying to find a good way to write this, but I still feel like Paul's a bit out of character. Let me know what you think! Thanks for staying with me guys! :)