Pretty Boy: The Lost Chapters

Brad's Survival Arc: Part 11

Paul dodged an attack aimed at his ribcage by lunging forward at his opponent. He was successful in grazing hard flesh, the weight of his bite force being enough to break through skin. A sharp wince was followed by another attempted jab which was thwarted by a well-timed swipe of his claw. Both people jumped backward to give themselves a short chance to regroup before continuing a long, daunting battle.

Truth be told, Paul felt conflicted about the pack's decision of fighting to kill. It wasn't because he had an epiphany and suddenly changed sides or felt bad for the coven of leeches.

His hesitancy to engage had to do with his missing husband.

Marshall wasn't around to give his opinion on what should happen to the people he used to call family. Seeing as they were the ones who hurt, scarred, and betrayed him the most, it was only fair to allow him a final say in how their lives either continued or ended.

But he still hadn't shown up.

A part of Paul was actually worried Marshall might've been ambushed since the Cullens planned a distraction earlier to go hunt on Quileute land. Of course, Paul had complete faith in his imprint's ability to hold his own in a battle. Going against Carlisle and Esme, however, no matter how strained their relationship, would've been a difficult confrontation to deal with for Marshall in terms of personal attachments.

Because even though he swore up and down that his feelings for his old coven mates were all negative, Paul was observant.

He could tell Marshall still cared about his parental figures to a certain extent. It's just their decision to constantly throw him under the bus, coupled with choosing their other children over him, made hatred grow in the rotting traces of dying love. Any remnants in his heart which clung to a warped view of their father-mother-son dynamic constantly tried to blind him of all the wrong choices they made in the past. 

Marshall knew Esme and Carlisle were imperfect people. They were just as awful as the other Cullens. But his innermost desire was to, hopefully, see them turn a new leaf.

At least, that was all before Bella got pregnant.

Either way, Paul didn't think it was right to attack his in-laws when doing so could potentially hurt Marshall.

He would decide their fates when he showed up.

For now, the best course of action was to-

Paul let out a sharp cry as he was pushed to the ground. A long, burning gash had been torn into him while his mind was occupied. The scratch itself was thin, but blood was beginning to run down his fur from his shoulder, down his ribs, and stopped right above his hip. Fortunately, there weren't any teeth marks seen, so the injury didn't put him in danger of being poisoned.

Another whimper escaped him when a heavy foot stomped down on his side. Inhuman strength was used to give a silent threat: comply or be killed.

Edward looked down at his opponent with a smug grin.

His expression alone shed light on how he planned to make the next few minutes as torturous as possible. Simply because he felt like it.

Esme tried to intervene by walking forward. "Edward, don't! The wolves may be our enemies right now, but we can't kill them! They're just trying to protect the townspeople! They're following the rules put in place by the treaty- we can't just decide to go against it-"

"Who cares about the treaty?" Edward added more weight to his foot, Paul whining in protest. "It's not like it matters anymore. Everything's changed. We have other wolves guarding our family, you guys went hunting in their territory, I've already done what was necessary to try and save Bella. At the end of the day, a flimsy little sheet of paper and rule book isn't going to stop me from doing what I have to do. And if that means killing the wolves, so be it. They're just mere obstacles."