Howl • Paul Lahote

• 0.4 •

"Hey, I think we should go back and see if Jacob's okay," Bella commented as Jared and Embry jumped off the back of the truck. Ava nodded in agreement.

"And Paul," Ava added in making the boys laugh.

"Nah I hope Paul sinks some teeth in him. Serves him right, defending the girl that hurt his imprint." Jared said. Bella heard this and looked over at Ava with wide eyes.

"No way Jacob's a natural. You see him phase on the fly, I got five says Paul doesn't touch him."

"What?" Ava whispered to Bella. She just shook her head. Ava rolled her eyes and got out of the car.

Jared and Embry then looked back and smiled when they saw Ava had gotten out of the car. "Come on in Bella, we don't bite," Embry said waving her in.

"Speak for yourself," Jared said and walks inside.

"Oh hey, about Emily, Sam's fiance? Don't stare, it bugs Sam." Embry said quietly to the girls before walking inside.

"Why would we stare?" Bella said looking at Ava weirdly.

"Are you guys hungry? Like I have to ask." Emily said as the two girls walk in together. The two boys sit down at the small table eating fresh muffins. Emily looked up and was surprised when she saw the two girls. "Who's this?"

"Bella Swan and Ava Grayson, who else?" Embry said as if it were obvious.

"So you're the vampire girl," Emily said looking Bella up and down. "And you're the newest imprint." Smiling at Ava.

"So you're the wolf girl?" Bella said following Ava in.

Emily huffed,"Guess so. Well, I'm engaged to one." She said as she put a fresh batch of muffins in front of the boys. Ava sat down in a spare chair across from the boys. She looked over to Bella and made a head motion for her to sit down.

"Save some for your brothers. And ladies first, muffin?" Emily offered but Ava declined. She didn't think she could keep anything down.

"Leave it to Jacob to find a way around Sam's gag order." Emily turned back to the kitchen.

"Um, he didn't say anything to me, us," Bella answered for the two.

"That's a wolf thing. Alpha's orders get obeyed whether we want them to or not. And check it out, we can hear each other's thoughts." Ava sat staring at Embry whilst he said this. She couldn't imagine the small boy shifting into a giant wolf, but then again, he wasn't small anymore.

"Would you shut up? These are trade secrets. Damn it!" Jared said angrily to Embry,"This chick runs with vampires." Ava's head went up at the word. Vampires?

"With what now?" Bella sighed.

"Goddamnit Jared, she didn't know!" Ava just sat trying to take everything in.

"You can't really run with vampires." Emily laughed at this,"Because they're fast."

"Yeah? Well, we're faster." Jared answered back.

"Freaked out yet?"

"Yes!" Everyone's attention turned to Ava,"You're just throwing the words vampire and wolf around like it's nothing! I just saw a boy I've known nearly my whole life turn into a wolf!"

Ava stood up and started walking towards the door. "I think I need to go home and think or-" Ava was cut off when she ran into someone. Looking up she saw it was Paul.

"Hey, are you okay?" Ava didn't answer, she just flinched away and walked towards Bella.

This hurt Paul to not only see his imprint in pain but have her reject him.

"Ava, Bella? We need to talk." Sam said with Jacob staring at the latter of the two from behind him. Ava nodded and the two girls followed. They ended up in a small living room. Ava and Bella sat on a lounge across from the boys. A coffee table was between them and that's also where Jacob's feet sat. Sam sent him a small frown and after that, he lifted his feet off and sat up.

"So you're werewolves?" Bella broke the silence.

"Yeah, last time I checked I was," Paul said smirking at Ava who was too dazed to think anything of it.

"A few lucky members of the tribe have the gene. A vampire moves into town and the fever sets in." Jacob finished.

"Mono?" Bella asked looking at Jacob. He cracked a smile at this.

"Yeah, I wish." Ava was still processing.

"What the hell is a vampire?" Ava demanded.

"We'll get to that later babe," Paul answered. And everyone turned their attention back to Bella.

"Well can't you find a way to just stop? I mean it's wrong." Bella says.

"It's not a lifestyle choice Bella. We were born this way, we can't help it." Jacob stood up,"You're such a hypocrite. What, I'm not the right kind of monster for you?"

"It's not what you are. It's what you do, they never hurt anybody. You've killed people Jake." Ava looked at all three of them. They didn't look like killers. Jacob had a look of anger on his face like he could kill but they all looked pretty harmless.

"Bella we're not killing anyone." Sam finally pitched in.

Bella looked confusingly between the three."Then who is?"

"What we're trying to protect you from, the only thing we do kill. Vampires." Ava was almost done at this stage.

"Can someone please tell me about vampires." She begged. Bella looked from her back to Jacob.

"We will later Ava," Sam concluded for her. She nodded at him and gave him a small smile, finally someone answered her question.

"Wait, guys, you can't."

"Don't worry. We can't touch your little precious Cullens unless they violate the treaty." Paul said.

"That's not what I'm saying." Bella says,"You can't kill vampires, they'll kill you." This made Paul laugh.

"Really? We took out that leech with the dreads easy enough." Jacob says.

"Laurent?"

They all nod. "And his red-headed girlfriend is next."

"Victoria's here?"

"Was. We chased her all the way to the Canadian border the other night. She keeps coming back. We don't know what she's after."

"I do, me," Bella answered honestly.

"What? Who's Victoria and why is she after you?" And that's when they spilt the beans. In half an hour, Ava knew who and what the Cullens were, who Victoria was and all about vampires.

Shortly after that, the two girls left. Jacob drove Bella home and dropped Ava off on the way. She told her Aunty she was with Bella all day and went straight to her room. As she closed her blinds she saw the moon reflect off of two eyes in the bushes, then she saw a huge wolf step out of the forest.

"Who's that?" She looked closely at the colour of the fur and realised it was Paul.

"Paul?" She whisper-yelled, sticking her head out of her window. The wolf looked up and she knew it was him, it had the same eyes as the russet skinned boy. It nodded its head and laid down at the edge of the light. Ava smiled at the wolf and decided to keep her window open just in case, then she went to sleep.