Call of the Heart // Paul Lahote

VIII

     Elizabeth felt slightly guilty for teasing Paul and so she waited for him to come back while Sam and Emily went into town. Jared had gone home to catch up on some sleep so Elizabeth was left alone. She was using this time to do laundry and make a mental note to stop by her house and pick up a few things.

     She turned around to face the door when she heard the cracking of bones. Paul walked in, wearing a different pair of shorts and looked at Elizabeth curiously. Elizabeth grinned sheepishly and held out a plate of cookies towards him, shrugging innocently and Paul chuckled softly, grabbing the plate from her and sitting down at the table.

     Elizabeth sat down in front of him and held up his car keys for him. He glanced at them and took them from her, his fingers brushing against hers softly. Neither of them spoke up for a moment, until Paul cleared his throat.

     "You look like you're heading somewhere." He pointed out, gesturing towards her suitcase and she nodded, looking down at her hands before facing him.

     "I was waiting for Sam to get back. There's a few things I need from my house and I haven't been there alone since I found out that my dad died." She admitted, feeling weirdly comfortable telling Paul about it.

     "I can go with you, if you want me to." Paul suggested, his voice soft. Elizabeth was surprised by how genuine he sounded and she smiled at him, nodding.

     "Sure, that would be nice."

     They put away the cookies and Paul grabbed her suitcase for her. Elizabeth left a note for Sam and Emily, just in case they got back before she and Paul did.

     It wasn't a far drive, but the pair took the opportunity to get to know each other better, asking silly questions such as what their favorite color was and their favorite thing to do.

     "The boys and I go cliff diving sometimes. Besides shifting and running around freely, I think that's what I enjoy doing most." Paul told her and she chuckled, rolling her eyes.

     "Very masculine, Paula." She winked at him and he chuckled, nudging her shoulder playfully, careful not to hurt her.

     "Well what about you?" Paul asked her and she grinned at him, shrugging.

     "I'm into archery. That's one of the reasons I wanted to go to my house, I left my bow and arrows last time. I think apart from that, I enjoyed going to the beach with Jared the most. We used to go there all the time, but it's been months."

     "Archery, huh? Remind me to never piss you off." Paul joked, making Elizabeth laugh in amusement as they got out of his car.

     She noticed Jake and Bella, the pale girl, staring at her and Paul from Jake's shed. She wanted to wave at Jake, but the glare he was sending Paul stopped her from doing so. She frowned and felt her heart sink to her stomach when she faced her own front door.

     A warm hand grabbed hers softly and she smiled at Paul as he started leading her inside. She sighed, looking around the house and started running around, packing stuff as she went along, Paul following her around like a lost puppy, wanting to make sure she was alright at all times.

     When she'd packed almost everything, she went into the garage to grab her bow and arrows, handing them to Paul so he could put them with the rest of her stuff in the trunk of his truck.

     She glanced over at Jake one last time before getting in the truck with Paul again. She looked from her disappearing house to Paul and leaned back in her seat.

     "What do you think happens when we die?" She asked him and he looked at her, glancing over her features to try and figure her out.

     "According to legend, the spirit warriors pass on to some kind of a spirit realm when they die, where the tribe is reunited after death." Paul told her, trying to stay focused on the road but wanting to keep looking at her to make sure she was still okay. "I like to believe the legend's true."

     Elizabeth nodded and looked back at the road again, noticing the lights coming from Emily's as they got closer.

     "I like the idea of being reunited with the people you love." She told Paul, thinking about her parents and she felt his hand grab hers again, squeezing it softly to comfort her and she smiled at him.

     Paul Lahote was not at all what she expected him to be. He was so much better.

     They pulled into the drive way and shared a look when they noticed the whole pack sitting in the kitchen. Paul helped her bring her stuff inside and everyone turned to look at them, making them feel slightly uncomfortable. Paul scratched the back of his neck and Elizabeth started rubbing her arm unconsciously.

     The awkward moment quickly passed when all the boys jumped up to help her bring her two suitcases up to her room and Paul and Elizabeth broke out in amused laughter as Embry and Jared glared at each other over who should carry the second suitcase.

     Elizabeth grabbed her bow and arrows, sharing a look with Emily, who had been looking between the imprints with a knowing smile. Paul quickly followed Elizabeth up the stairs and helped her put everything away.

     Paul swung his arm around Elizabeth's shoulders as they made their way back downstairs, Elizabeth playfully pushing him away from her and laughing when he picked her up swiftly and spun her around as a response.

     The boys were all looking towards the stairs in amusement when Paul and Elizabeth appeared in their view, both laughing at the other.

     "Seems like you two are getting along just fine." Jared joked and Elizabeth stuck her tongue out at him childishly, making everyone laugh.

     They all settled down at the table, Emily had prepared a ton of food knowing that it would be a pack dinner and they all started eating and joking around. These were the moments that Elizabeth cherished the most, being with her family and having fun as if they didn't have anything to worry about. She loved these people with her entire being and when she watched her best friend and her imprint interact with each other like brothers, she couldn't have felt any happier.

     It had gotten to a point where Jared, Paul and Embry had texted their parents to let them know they'd be staying at Emily's. Sam told them they might as well stay over, seeing as they were supposed to come back to the house in the morning. Sam decided it would be nice for the pack to spend the day together, without worrying about going on patrols and redheaded vampires.

Sam and Emily went to bed not much later while the rest of the pack settled down on the couch. Elizabeth was sitting between Jared and Paul, her legs tucked in underneath her and Embry was sitting on the floor in front of her, leaning his head against her legs. They picked a movie to watch and Elizabeth rested her head on Paul's shoulder, who instinctively wrapped his arm around her, pulling her closer to him.

It was a strange feeling. Elizabeth and Paul had only known each other for just over a day and already they'd started feeling so comfortable around each other, wanting to be in each other's presence. The thought of even being with someone else made them feel disgusted and, although neither of them would ever admit it, that kinda scared them.

Elizabeth always grew attached to certain people quickly, she'd only known Jared for a couple of hours when she declared him her best friend and her statement still stands true as she was wrapped up in Paul's arms. So, while this undeniably strong pull was new for her, it wasn't all that weird getting so attached to someone she was apparently supposed to be with.

Paul, on the other hand, had always had a hard time letting people in and getting comfortable around them. His surprise was much bigger when it only took him a day to warm up to this extremely beautiful girl with a bubbly personality. But, he too, believed strongly in soulmates and he knew from experience, that being Sam and Emily, that imprints tended to get really close in a short amount of time and when he looked down at the girl in his arms, he embraced it. With one glance at her, he knew he would do anything he could to make her happy and to keep her safe.

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Okay so I definitely realize that Paul and Elizabeth's relationship is moving forward pretty fast but I kinda feel like because of the fact that they imprinted on each other and they both feel this supposedly extreme pull towards each other that it would be more natural for them to be around each other instead of having a slower development in their relationship like you'd normally have if that makes sense? Lol

Anyways ENJOY!
Let me know what you think! 😄