copy cat || paul lahote

fourteen

the rest of the pack filtered in slowly, but the tension in the air was thick. no one quite knew how to act around leah. as humans, she had never exactly been friendly with them, and now, as a wolf, her sharp edges only seemed to have gotten sharper. she met their wary glances with a glare of her own, daring anyone to say something. no one did.

nora sat beside her, a silent show of support. she wasn't blind to leah's faults—she knew leah could be difficult, but that didn't mean she deserved to be cast aside now. when paul muttered something under his breath, loud enough for the others to hear but not quite directed at anyone, nora turned on him immediately.

"shut the fuck up, paul," she snapped. "now is not the time, everyone's had a massive day."

paul scoffed, crossing his arms. "what, are you her bodyguard now?"

"if i have to be," nora shot back. "maybe if any of you had actually helped her, i wouldn't have to."

paul rolled his eyes. "you don't know what you're talking about."

"and you do?"

the argument escalated quickly, both of them standing, their voices rising. sam let out a warning growl, but neither of them paid him any mind. the rest of the pack shifted uncomfortably, glancing between them. seth looked like he wanted to intervene but wasn't sure how. leah stayed silent, her eyes dark and unreadable.

before either nora or paul could take things further, the door swung open, and jacob walked in. his face was tight with something—anger, frustration, maybe even guilt. everyone turned to him, expecting an explanation, and he didn't waste any time giving it.

"bella's on her way to italy," he said, exhaling sharply. "she's going after edward."

the room fell silent. another thing to worry about.

nora blinked. "what?"

jacob ran a hand through his hair. "the little cullen showed up. she thought bella was dead because she couldn't see her in any of her visions. edward thinks she's dead, too, and now he's trying to—"

"kill himself," nora finished, realisation dawning on her. "of course he is."

jacob looked at her. "yeah."

"you let her go?" her voice was dangerously low.

jacob hesitated. "nora—"

"you let her go?" she repeated, louder this time. "you just let her run off to another country to chase after some suicidal vampire?"

jacob didn't even get the chance to answer before nora got up and shoved him. hard.

the impact sent him flying backward, crashing into the treeline with a force that made the ground tremble. the entire pack froze.

nora took a step back, her hands shaking as she covered her mouth. "what the fuck," she whispered.

jacob groaned from where he landed, pushing himself up slowly. his eyes were wide with shock as he looked at her. the others stared, equally stunned.

jared let out a low whistle. "well, damn."

leah, for the first time that night, actually smirked.

sam narrowed his eyes at nora, stepping forward. "how did you do that?"

"i—i don't know," nora admitted, her heart pounding in her chest. she had pushed him, sure, but that? that wasn't normal.

jacob dusted himself off and stalked back toward her, his expression unreadable. "you wanna try that again?"

nora swallowed hard, unsure of herself but met his gaze. "don't tempt me."

nora's heart pounded in her ears, a sharp contrast to the stunned silence around her. jacob was already back on his feet, shaking off the hit like it was nothing, but the way he looked at her—cautious, almost wary—only fueled her anger.

she barely registered the gasps or the looks exchanged between the others. her fingers curled into fists at her sides as she stepped forward, still blinded by frustration.

jacob's jaw clenched, his own temper rising to match hers. "she made her choice, nora! what was i supposed to do? drag her back kicking and screaming?"

"yes!" she snapped, taking another step forward. "if she comes back dead, i swear to god."

jacob squared his shoulders, bracing himself. his hands twitched at his sides, like he was fighting the instinct to retaliate. the heat between them rose, the shift crawling just beneath their skin.

before it could escalate any further, sam's voice cut through the air like a whip.

"enough."

the command was absolute, alpha authority washing over them. jacob exhaled sharply, stepping back. nora felt her own muscles lock up, her body recognising an order even if she didn't want to.

a beat passed, heavy and thick. then—

jared muttered under his breath to paul, just loud enough for her to hear, "maybe you and her have more in common than i thought."

paul huffed a short laugh and shoved jared's shoulder, the tension breaking just slightly. nora's eyes snapped to them, puzzled, but neither elaborated.

she rolled her shoulders, exhaling sharply before turning back to the group. "i'll leave you guys to sort things out," she said flatly, shaking her head. "this is not a priority right now. i'm sorry for your loss."

without waiting for a response, she turned on her heel and strode off, leaving them standing in sam's house, still processing what had just happened.

her sister was walking into a death trap, her dad just lost his best friend, and nora apparently has super strength, what more?