Brave This Storm

Mariana woke up not long after Jacob and Embry got her back to Paul’s house. Paul’s mom was out for the weekend, so it was easy for them to lay her down on the sofa without questions being asked. Jacob helped her sit upright as Embry raided the kitchen for first aid supplies.

“W-Where are we?” Mariana mumbled.

“We’re at Paul’s house. We’ll wait here until Paul comes back, okay?” Jacob soothed.

Tears filled Mariana’s eyes as the memories of the night flooded back to her, but she nodded. Embry returned with anti-bacterial cleaning wipes, some gauze and bandages, as well as a hot cup of tea for Mariana, and she sat silently as Jacob and Embry cleaned and bandaged the wounds on her toe and the back of her head.

“How long will they be?” Mariana asked softly, holding the mug in both hands.

“I don’t know,” Jacob replied.

“But they won’t be long,” Embry reassured.

Mariana just nodded and stared at the wall in front of her. All they could do now was wait.

*

It was almost midnight now. Embry had gone back into the woods to find out some news, leaving Jacob and Mariana sitting by the fire. Mariana had barely spoken, and it didn’t take Jacob long to realise that he wasn’t going to get much conversation out of her. When a loud series of knocks sounded on the door, Mariana jumped to her feet. Jacob was already walking to the door though. Mariana tried to listen to the hushed conversation, but she couldn’t understand it. Instead she put down her third mug of hot tea and just waited.

When Paul walked into the room, Mariana burst into tears. Paul being here meant that Juan was dead. Not that she wanted Paul to be dead, but the reality of Juan being gone for real this time hit her like a ton of bricks. Paul quickly ran over to her and pulled her into a tight hug, muffling her sobs with her chest.

“It’s okay baby. Everything will be okay,” he soothed, stroking her hair.

He let Mariana cry out her sadness, not stopping his soothing until she lifted her head.

“He’s gone, isn’t he?” she whispered.

Paul nodded gravely. “We had to pull apart his body and burn the pieces,”

Mariana’s bottom lip trembled but she nodded. She knew Juan had to either leave and never come back, or be killed. She just wished there had been another option.

“I, um, I saved something for you,” Paul said suddenly.

“W-What?” Mariana sniffed, raising her head to look at him.

“Juan had a ring on a chain around his neck and I thought you might like it to remember him by. I know he was your first true love, and I thought you might like it. So you can remember that good things about him, not the chaos of this evening,” Paul said softly.

Paul reached into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out that ring on a chain, and Mariana gasped.

“T-That’s his grand-daddy’s ring! Shit, Juan never took that off. It was one of his prized possessions! He always said he’d give it to Donovan when Donovan was 16…oh my gosh, thank you, Paul,” Mariana rambled.

Paul smiled slightly as Mariana slipped the chain over her neck, the ring disappearing just underneath her top. He took her hands in his, making Mariana a little confused, especially when she saw his serious expression.

“I can’t give you Juan’s ring with giving you mine too,” Paul said.

Uh, what? Paul smiled slightly at Mariana’s confused face, before taking a deep breath. It was now or never.

“I know we’ve had a lot of problems and still have a lot of problems. I know you’ve got responsibilities with Donovan and I’ve got responsibilities with the Pack. I know I’m not exactly the easiest person to deal with. And I know we haven’t even been together all that long. But…I also know that there is no-one else I want to spend the rest of my life with. I want you to be the last thing I see before I go to sleep and the first thing I see when I wake up. I want to give you the family you’ve always wanted, Mariana. I want you to be mine forever,”

Paul paused, and Mariana stayed confused as he pulled something out of his back pocket, but her jaw dropped as he went down on one knee. Oh my gosh!

“There’s no other way to say this. Mariana, will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?” Paul asked softly.

Tears filled Mariana’s eyes, and all she could do was nod, her hand flying up to her mouth to hide her grin. Paul felt tears sting at his own eyes and he stood up from the ground, gently taking the hand covering her mouth in his own, and slid the ring on. Perfect fit. It was a simple silver band with a small claw holding a small diamond. Perfect for Paul and perfect for Mariana.

“The ring was my mom’s engagement ring from my dad. I wanted to save up for a proper wedding ring so my mom offered us this. I hope you don’t mind,” Paul admitted sheepishly.

“You’re kidding, right? This ring is beautiful. Damn, I can’t believe this is actually happening!” Mariana sighed happily.

“I never thought I’d meet the woman that would make me want to settle down, but shit Mariana, I want to buy a house together! I want to be the father of your children! I want to grow old on the front porch together! I want everything I possibly can have with you,” Paul declared.

Mariana giggled, wiping away a stray tear from her cheek.

“How about we just get married first and deal with the rest of that later, hmm?” Mariana teased.

“Sounds like a plan,” Paul grinned.