Undisclosed Desires

“There, that should do it,” said a soft voice from above you.

“Are you sure? It doesn’t look very sturdy. Maybe I-“

“Paul, sit down,” The voice urged, and there was a frustrated sigh in response.

“She’ll be fine as long as you don’t mess with the stitching.”

You heard someone move and sit down beside you, and then a warm, smooth hand grabbed a hold of yours. Though you were conscious, you didn’t feel like opening your eyes just yet.

“Thanks, Emily.” That was definitely Paul’s voice. The soft hand squeezed yours again.
Was that Paul’s hand?

“Tell me again what happened,” a gruff voice instructed from somewhere across the room.

“We’ve told you a hundred times!” Seth’s tired voice replied.

“Tell me again. Jacob hasn’t heard, either, so make it good.”

“We caught scent of the Makah wolf again, that same black-and-russet. I followed immediately, since I was alone at the time,” Paul reported. A gentle hand brushed your hair from your forehead. “Jared phased pretty soon after I was on the chase, and he went to get the others. I didn’t want to wait- Alex could have been seriously injured.”

“We came as soon as Jared told us,” Quil said. His voice was tight and he sounded angry. “We thought about tracking down the rest of the Makah’s, but we figured Paul would need backup.”

“We found her lying in a clearing. Her jeans were torn on her thigh, and blood was gushing. Her shirt was ripped up, and she had a ton of smaller scratches and stuff,” Paul’s hand tightened as he went on. “She was curled up, trying to get away. I just jumped in between her and the Makah wolf; it stopped him for a second, but when she whimpered, he lunged, so I stopped him.”

“Did you kill him?” Jacob asked.

“No. Just chased him off. I made sure he stayed well clear of us.”

“Good, well we can- Oh, she’s waking up!”

You slowly opened your eyes, and gave a few slow blinks as you adjusted to the light. You winced at the harsh glare, and closed your eyes again.

“Embry, get the lights,” Quil ordered. Shuffling sounds got closer to you as Quil moved over next to Paul; the lights snapped off overhead, and you opened your eyes easier.

You were lying in a living room, on a soft plush couch. Your head was resting on an overstuffed arm of the couch, and a warm blanket was draped over you. Paul was on the coffee table next to you, holding your hand. He gave you a warm smile, and you gave him a weak one.

Quil was standing next to him, arms crossed, looking very uneasy and angry. Seth was sitting on the other arm of the couch, at your feet, beaming at you. Leah was standing behind him, smiling as well. Over by the corner, Jared and Embry were standing together, talking to Sam, who was sitting in an armchair across from you. A very beautiful girl was seated on his lap, smiling warmly at you as well. One side of her face was scarred with deep slashes, but she still looked absolutely beautiful.

“Hey, how are you feeling?” That was Paul. You looked over at him, and felt a flush of embarrassment wash over you.

“Hey… I’m, well I’m better.” He squeezed your hand, and you squeezed back.

“Can you sit up?” Quil asked, looking over at you. His anger softened when your eyes met, and he gave you a tight smile.

“Yeah, I think- ow!” As you tried to pull yourself up, your leg shrieked in protest, and your
arms burned. “Guess not,” You said sheepishly.

“It’s okay, that’s perfectly fine,” Paul assured you. He ran his fingers through your hair again, and let his hand stay there on the back of your head.

“Does anything hurt too badly?” That was the beautiful girl on Sam’s lap; she stood up eagerly and hurried over to you. A low growl sounded off to the side of you, and you raised your eyebrows in surprise.

“Paul!” Sam commanded, getting to his feet. Paul ceased the growling, but kept his gaze on the girl. As she walked up next to Paul, she smacked his arm.

“You know I’m not going to hurt her, honestly Paul!”

“Oh he’s new to this, give him some slack,” Quil teased, resting a hand on Paul’s shoulder. But from where you were sitting, it looked almost more like a restraint.

The girl knelt down and pulled the blanket back. You were wearing your same jeans and shirt, but the jeans had been cut to shorts to reveal your thighs. For a moment you felt self conscious, but you got over it when you saw your leg.

“Oh my god,” you gasped, sucking in a deep breath. Paul was immediately on his feet, taking your hand with him.

“PAUL!” Sam barked, instantly rushing to get between him and the girl. She rolled her eyes at Paul and said,

“Hi, Alex. I’m Sam’s fiancé, Emily. I stitched up your leg and your side for you, I hope that was okay.”
“Hi Emily. Thank you so much… It still looks painful…”

“Does it hurt?” She and Paul asked at the same time.

“No, not really,” you lied. “It just looks bad.”

Emily smiled, and patted your knee softly.

“You’ll have some scars,” she said, standing up again. “But they won’t be too bad.” You smiled, and said,

“Paul, can you help me sit up?”

He was kneeling down next to you before you had finished the sentence. He slid his strong arm behind your shoulders, and the other one under your knees. He very gently lifted you up and then set you down so you were propped up against the arm of the couch now. Your side began to throb, and your leg was aching, but you kept quiet.

“Jake, if you don’t mind-“

“Go ahead, Quil. You too, Jared.” Jacob said, giving them a small smile.

“Don’t you want to go too?” Jacob shook his head and said,

“Nessie can wait. I’m sure she’s fine with-“ He cut off and his eyes flicked to you. “With her parents.”

Without another word, Quil and Jared took off out of the living room.

“Are you hungry at all?”

“A little, yeah,” You admitted, smiling up at Emily. She smiled back and asked,

“Do you feel well enough to walk, or do you want to rest?”

“Well, I want to walk, but I don’t know how well I can.”

“Do you want to try?”

“Yeah, sure.”

Paul put his arms back behind your shoulders, and helped you sit all the way up. You ever so slowly slid your legs off the couch, and gently tested the stability. Your right leg was shrieking in pain as you put pressure on it, but you blocked it out. Paul slowly helped you upright, and you let your full weight rest on your left leg. Tenderly, you put more pressure on your right leg. It was shrieking, but you thought you could manage. Weakly, you limped towards where Emily had disappeared. It hurt extremely bad, but you were doing it.

“Just tell me if it hurts, and I’ll carry you,” Paul assured you, staring worriedly at your face. You did your best to keep any traces of pain hidden. As you made it to the kitchen, you accidently
stumbled and bumped your leg. You drew in a sharp breath, and instantly you were swept off your feet. The pain began to ebb away, and you smiled gratefully up at Paul.

“Thanks…”

His cheeks flushed as he set you down in a chair at the table.

“No problem,” he said softly, smiling at you.

“Here, eat as much as you can,” Emily said, sliding a plate of food towards you. A cheeseburger, a huge portion of macaroni salad, a handful of chips and a helping of salad. Normally, you couldn’t eat that much. But at the moment, you were starving. As you began to wolf down the burger, Paul sat down next to you. Jacob sat across from you, and Emily sat on your other side, with Sam behind her. Embry, Leah and Seth joined you all, and Paul began to speak.

“Alex, I need to explain some things to you.”

You gave him a small nod, and took another bite. You saw a hand begin to slide towards your chips, and then heard Leah snap,

“Seth, that’s for Alex! Go get your own plate!”

You laughed and slid the plate towards Seth.

“It’s fine, I can’t eat all this anyways.”

“Alex,” Paul said, taking your hand. “I… I don’t really know how to say this. I tried... Tried
to tell you at the beach, but it just...”

You gently squeezed Paul’s hand and gave him an assuring smile.

“I’ll listen to anything you have to say, I promise.”

“It seems... Well it’s a little unbelievable.”

“I’ll listen.”

“Alex... I’m a... well, I’m a werewolf.”

The bite of cheeseburger seemed like lead as you tried to swallow it. You managed to
choke it down, and then took a big swig of water.

“Alex?” Paul asked, frowning in anxiety. Everyone seemed to be waiting for your response. A million things were swirling around in your head at once, and you closed your eyes to concentrate.

True, that silver wolf had your bracelet on his leg. But maybe... Maybe Paul had dropped it and the wolf picked it up... and fastened it to his leg...

Suddenly, Paul turned your hand over in his, and dropped something into your palm. You closed your fingers around it, and then opened your eyes in surprise.

Your charm bracelet was lying there, the same as you remembered seeing it in Pauls’ hand... and on the wolfs leg.

“Here,” Paul said, taking it gently in his large hands. He easily wrapped it around your slender wrist and hooked it together.

“The... the silver wolf was wearing this... and...” You trailed off and then looked up at Paul.

“Show me.”

“What?”

“Prove it to me that you’re a wolf. Show me.”

“You don’t think I’m crazy?”

“No. I think I’m crazy. But, if you show me you’re a wolf, well, then I have no choice
but to believe you.”

“Alex, I can’t-“

You felt a surge of anger wash over you, and you shoved back from the table. A jolt of
pain flew up your side. Paul jumped up to help you, but you put a hand out.

“You said the same thing to me on the beach, Paul. Either prove yourself right now, or
I’m done. We’re done. Forever.”

Paul let out a distressed moan, and turned to Jacob.

“What if I-“

“We’ll be right here, Paul. We’ll keep her safe. We wont let you loose control.”

Paul took a deep breath, and then nodded at you.

“Fine. I’ll show you. But please, stay next to Jacob, okay?”

“Alright,” you agreed, trying to stand up. Paul tried to lend a hand, but you pushed him
away.

“Not until you prove yourself.”

He nodded eagerly, and then turned and jogged out of the door. Jacob lifted you easily
off the ground, and carried you safely outside. He sat you down on a lawn chair, and then
stood next to you. Embry, Quil, Seth, Leah, Sam and Emily stood around you and Jacob in a
loose semi-circle. Jared followed Paul, and began talking eagerly with Paul. He then took a
few steps back, and Paul looked over to make sure you were watching. You gave him a
quick nod, and took in a deep breath.

Paul turned to you, and, in one quick instant accompanied by a horrible ripping sound, a
huge silver wolf seemed to explode from where Paul’s body had stood. You let out a huge
breath, and jolted back in your chair.

Paul had just turned into a wolf, right in front of your eyes. And he was walking towards
you, head down, tail wagging slightly.

Your heart began to race, and you said softly,

“Jake, help me onto the ground.”

Jacob tenderly lifted you out of the chair, and lowered you into an awkward sitting
position. Paul immediately stopped moving, so you held out your hand.

“He doesn’t want to scare you,” Jared said, walking up beside Paul.

“I’m not afraid of you,” You said, staring intently into the wolfs’ liquid brown eyes. You
pushed your hand out further. “I-I think it’s really, really just amazing!”

Paul’s head lifted as you said this, and he took a few tentative steps to close the gap.
He pushed his large, soft head into your hands, and you ran your fingers through his silver
fur. He took another step forward, and your hand slid down his neck and onto his back. You
began to scratch behind his ears as Jared said,

“Alex, all of us, well, all except Emily, are wolves. We’re a pack.”

“So, I guess Werewolves do exist,” you murmured absentmindedly, stroking Paul’s
back. He sat down and edged closer to you.

“Yes. Werewolves... and vampires.” As he paused and you looked up in shock, he
continued. “We’re forced to phase to protect humans from Vampires. We’re here because
they are. You need to know this, and understand this. The world isn’t what it seems.”

“Why do I need to know this?”

“Because, werewolves have a thing called ‘imprinting’. When a wolf finds a girl, or guy,
that they have the most chances of breeding with,” he added, catching Leah’s death glare.
“Well, they fall unconditionally in love. It can’t be helped. You don’t choose who it is. It may be
someone you just met, or even just saw for a moment, or it could be your best friend you’ve
known all your life.”

“What does that have to do with me?” You asked, wrapping an arm around Pauls neck
to lean on him.

“Paul’s imprinted on you, Alex,” Jared said, kneeling down next to you and Paul.

“He loves you.”