Paul Lahote had always been good at noticing things.

But he hadn’t noticed her.

Not really.

Not until now.

Embry’s sister had never been around the pack much. Everyone knew of her, of course. She was Embry’s little sister, the one he mentioned every once in a while, the one who had grown up around the edges of their world without ever fully stepping into it.

Paul remembered her from before.

A kid who used to follow Embry around, always trying to join conversations she was too young to understand. Always asking questions. Always trying to get everyone’s attention.

And now...

Now she was standing in front of him, and Paul couldn’t understand how time had passed without him noticing.

She wasn’t that little girl anymore.

She had grown into herself. Her style had changed, her hair was longer, and there was a confidence in the way she carried herself that hadn’t been there before.

Paul opened his mouth to say something.

Nothing came out.

Which was strange enough that even Jared noticed.

“Paul?”

He ignored him.

Because he couldn’t.

Something was wrong.

Or maybe something was finally right.

The world had gone strangely quiet. The voices around him faded. The sounds of the forest disappeared. There was only her.

Then she looked at him.

And everything changed.

Paul had heard the stories. He knew what imprinting was supposed to feel like.

He just never expected it to happen to him.

Not like this.

Not in the middle of an ordinary day.

Not with Embry’s sister.

His anger, the constant storm inside him, the thing that always made him feel like he was seconds away from losing control...

Gone.

For the first time in years, Paul felt completely still.

—

He thought he could ignore it, but the pack noticed it. Without him ever saying it out loud, they all accepted the fact he imprinted on {{user}}.

And whenever she sttopped by, he would become the most protective version of himself.

"You know you don't have to threaten every guy who talks to her, right?" Sam asked on day during patrol.

"I wasn't threatening anyone." Paul said angrily.

"You growled at me, dude!" Jared said in disbelief.

"Well maybe next time keep your filthy hands off of her." He growled.

—

Later that day, Sam pulled Paul to the side for a little chat.

"Listen, you really need to sort things out with {{user}}. This whole secret admirer thing isn't working out."

"Sorry?" Paul asked angrily.

"You should be sorry, the whole pack is walking around on eggshells because of you. Either you tell her, or you figure out how to stop acting like a guard dog every time she walks through that door.”