Lemon Water // Paul Lahote

fifty eight

Serena

"You're not going to die, we'll make sure of it. Paul will make sure of it" Jared said, trying to calm my nerves.

"If he remembers me, and he got me to fly all the way to Canada, there's no way I'm not going to. Either that or he wants to turn me to. He was always saying how much he liked me and didn't ever want to leave me"

"Text Sam for me. About hosting a pack meeting as soon as we get there" he handed me and I scrolled to find Sam's contact, then I sent a quick message.

Pack meeting. Urgent Delivered 11:04 pm. Opened 11:06 pm.

On it. Delivered 11:06 pm

"He's making it happen" I told Jared, mid yawn.

"Why don't you get some sleep, we're going to be up pretty late tonight." He replied, turning the radio onto a low volume.

The next time I opened my eyes I was being shaken awake by Jared. "Renie, we're here and so is everybody else and they're waiting for us. Let's go"

I followed him into the house and was met with everyone but Quil and Leah, who were most likely on patrol. "What the hell were you thinking, Serena!" Sam growled at me and I took a step back.

"Hey! Lay off!" Paul growled back at Sam, coming to stand by my side.

"She could be dead right now!" Sam growled again

"And I'm not! So leave me alone! Do you want to know why you're all here or not!" I raised my voice, getting all of the anger to release from Sam.

We all sat around the table and I retold what happened this morning, about how I got a ride from Bailey to the airport and how everything was going good until Luke never showed up.

"He didn't show up? So why are we here?" Seth asked.

"He didn't show up to pick me up. He showed up before I boarded the flight back here. He's a vampire" I told them slowly, watching each of their faces to see their reaction.

Paul tensed beside me, grabbing my hand. "Perfect. That fucking perfect. He knows who you are still and invited you out there, just to send you back?" Embry exclaimed

"I think there are two possible reasons for him wanting to bring her out there. Either to turn her or to kill her, and neither of those things happened in between flights so there's got to be something holding him back" Jared added

"More like someone" Jake murmured

"Who?" Sam asked, "the one that's been circling around Bella the last few days?"

"Yes. Victoria" Jake said

"There's no way those two have been in contact. Think about it, she hasn't been on our land yet, how would she know about Serena and Luke?" Laken asked

"I don't know" I whispered, leaning into Paul.

"I'll talk to the Cullens tomorrow, to see if they know anything" Sam said, "you guys know tomorrows schedule, get to bed. Serena I'll bring you to the guest room"

I began to follow Sam down the hall, with Paul hot on my tail, but Sam stopped moving. "Paul, go home" Sam said, and Paul sighed.

I turned around to say goodbye to Paul, "I'll see you in the morning, ok?"

Paul nodded and went to kiss me, but he hesitated and instead kissed my forehead. After that, he turned and walked back down the hallway and out the front door.

"Really?" I asked, turning around to see Sam with a smirk on his face.

"My house, my rules" was all he said before he stopped at a closed door. He let me inside and placed my bag on my bed before leaving, wishing me Goodnight before he left.

I'm sure Emily is sleeping and the yelling at this meeting might have woken her up, so he was desperate go get back to his fiancé.

Fifteen minutes later I was crawling into bed, hand on the switch to turn the bedside lamp off when the window began to slide open. Paul slipped inside with ease and I was about to yell at him, but he put his finger to his lips, shushing me.

He gently closed the window and then crawled into bed next to me, pulling me into his arms. "If Sam hears we're both dead" he whispered into my ear and I nodded, a smile forming on my face.

I flipped the switch on the light, sorry ding is in darkness, and settled into Paul's arms, curling up into him. The full sized bed made it a lot easier for us to lay together compared to the twin bed I have at home, and Paul was able to stretch out completely.

"When Embry told me you went to Canada I lost it," he whispered, "but then when you called him and I got to hear your voice it calmed me down a lot."

"I'm sorry" I whispered, I just wanted to see my friend and escape from reality for a little bit. All this wolf stuff is stressing me out"

"I know, I probably would have done the same. Honestly I still would do the same, even as a part of the pack"

"How do you do it? Manage the stress I mean"

"Before I met you I had a ton of anger issues, and the only got worse when I phased. For the last year or so I was constantly exploding at people and it took me a long time to be able to control my wolf. The other guys took maybe two weeks but I took two months and it was really hard and emotionally draining. I'd like to think I have the issues because of the trauma I went through as a child when my parents divorced because neither of them really knew how to be parents together, so when you pull them apart it makes it worse. That and the fact that they didn't want kids.

After you came running into my house and I imprinted on you a bunch of things changed. Suddenly I got angry less often, and whenever I was around you it took a whole lot more to set me off, unless it was about you, like that one time in the junkyard.

When I first shifted I really, really wanted to leave the pack, and I tried to, multiple times. I kept running away with the thought of never coming back, but somehow, Sam always found me and reeled me back. I don't know how he did it either, maybe he used his alpha authority in me, but I really just think it was because I knew I needed help.

If I'm being completely honest with you, the amount of stress I go through is unbearable, but the pack, and now you, are making it so much easier for me to handle. I guess you're just my saving grace and kryptonite at the same time"