? DISCONTINUED ? Between the Perennial Blooms || Paul Lahote

Twenty Eight | Gardenia

"Oh, come on, bro." Jared scoffed, eyes glinting with mischief. "It's not like I'm gonna do anything to her!"

Unconvinced, Paul's brow lifted while his arms crossed over his chest. "Uh-huh."

Indignantly, Jared threw a hand over his heart. "Excuse me, but I'll have you know that I am a perfect gentleman!"

A round of scoffs and words of disbelief echoed throughout the room and he huffed in response. "Okay, so? Not like the rest of you are little angels either..." his eyes then flitted to Bailey and he grinned. "Except for our Little Wrenning-bird, of course."

"You can shake her hand," Paul settled, fixing his pack brother with an unwavering gaze that to anyone else, would have sent them running for the hills as he opted to ignore his shameless words. "But that's it."

Chuckling, Jared nodded and turned to the girl of conversation. "Got yourself a brute for an Imprint, ey, Wrenny?"

"Don't call her that," Paul growled. He then yanked Bailey to his side when she made to take a step forward. "I've changed my mind now." He grumbled, shooting Jared a withering glare and rolling his eyes when the Cameron boy pouted at his next words. "You don't get to touch her at all."

"-what?!-"

"Go to Emily now," Bailey listened to Paul whisper against her ear as he spun her around and gave a gentle push on the small of her back. "I'll deal with this idiot while you say goodbye."

Shaking her head apologetically at Jared from over her shoulder, Bailey crutched over to the pretty Young girl with a dimple on both cheeks and a smile on her lips. "Bye, Em," Bailey murmured, stopping in front of the taller woman and slightly gasping as she engulfed her in a hug. "Thank you for inviting me today..." she continued, voiced slightly muffled against her shoulder. "And, y'know... for what you said e-earlier."

"All it takes is time," Emily reminded her, squeezing her smaller body tighter before releasing her with an affectionate caress of her cheek and a dismissive wave of her hand. "And you don't need to thank me. You come visit anytime you want, Little Wrenning-bird," she added. "Even if its just to get away for a little while."

"I will," Bailey promised, boldly pecking Emily's cheek as a wave of gratitude washed over her at the thought of visiting the newfound maternal figure she had found in her life that she had never quite managed to have before — apart from her Gran, of course. She next turned to face the Alpha standing beside said figure who had watched their interaction with a soft grin and smiled brightly up at him. "Bye, Sam."

"Little Wrenning-bird," he returned. Then, with a last shared smile between the two, Bailey turned to Embry.

"Don't stay away for too long, Bay," the present youngest of the Quileute pack requested as he pulled her into brief hug out of proximity of the others.

Nodding her head, Bailey pulled away and re-balanced herself on her crutches. "I'll try not to."

Looking behind them, she grinned as she and Embry watched Paul wrestle Jared into a headlock where he then began to run his knuckles roughly against his scalp in a harsh noogie that had the latter laughing and pleading for release.

"They're so silly," Bailey mumbled. However, when she received no immediate response from the boy to her right, she turned back only to be met with his face much closer than before. His eyes met hers urgently, and Bailey fought the oncoming gasp that threatened to escape her lips as a desperate sort of sadness blazed vividly in his orbs.