𝖧 𝖮 𝖬 𝖤 ─ 𝗉𝖺𝗎𝗅 𝗅𝖺𝗁𝗈𝗍𝖾

| 𝟤𝟦

"WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED?" I exclaimed, before being immediately swooped up by Paul as he let out a protective snarl behind my back.

I could feel Paul's chest rising and falling erratically as he held me close to him, his nostrils flaring in anger. "You come any closer to her, and I'll kill you."

The rest of the pack created a protective circle around us, causing me to grow more confused before I peered behind me to see the majority of the Cullen's holding Jasper back as he seemed to be trying to fight the urge to lunge at me.

I quickly looked away, no longer able to stare at the hungry look in those normally innocent eyes.

Paul, realizing the pack was close and ready to attack if needed, took a moment to look down at me before using his warm hands to wipe the blood from my nose as much as he could.

It was in that moment I realized he was completely naked, my cheeks burning red as I fought the urge to look down.

Paul took in a sharp, almost painful breath, before checking me over once more and pulling me tighter to his chest as he began to lead us in the opposite direction of the Cullen's who had managed to pull Jasper into their home.

We seemed to be walking for quite some time before Paul let me go and quickly rushed behind one of the trees and didn't return until he was wearing the pair of pants and shoes he had on earlier.

"What the hell were you thinking?" He yelled, startling me.

My eyes grew wide, seeing the anger on his face as he moved closer to me, waving his arms around like he was trying to gesture at what the hell had just happened. "Do you have any idea how fucking dangerous that was?"

He continued to move around, pulling at his hair occasionally, his hands now shaking.

"I didn't-" I tried to speak, tears beginning to form in the corner of my eyes, seeing how disappointed and angry he was at me.

Why did it hurt so much?

Paul pointed at my face, his hands still shaking. "What? You didn't think? You just rushed into a dangerous place without thinking about it?"

He groaned, pulling at his hair once more before punching a hole into one the trees closest to us.

I flinched, moving back as the tears begin to fall from my face without my permission.

"What if I couldn't protect you?" He yelled, moving closer to me until he had me backed up against a fallen tree. "What if that bloodsucker got to you before I did?"

He seemed lost for a moment, part of his anger beginning to die down and be replaced with a grief I didn't quite understand.

"I don't need you to protect me!" I finally yelled back, shoving him away from me as much as I could.

Paul raised both of his arms, causing me to instinctively flinch and press myself further into the tree before he slowly moved back in front of me and gently cupped the sides of my face.

I watched him closely as he stared down at me, his fingers softly wiping my tears away.

"Then stop being so reckless!" He said sternly, but his façade began to crumble as his eyes softened and he leaned forward until our foreheads were touching. "I couldn't handle it if something were to happen to you, okay?"

I held his hands, my thoughts running a mile a minute as we just stared at each other.

"I don't understand what's going on between us, Paul," I sighed.

Paul nodded, before placing a soft kiss on my forehead.

"I'll explain everything, let's just head back to the reservation." I nodded, taking his outstretched hand and letting him lead us out of the woods.