LENA COULD BARELY SEE IN FRONT OF HER. The blurred edges of her vision pulsated as she ran, the back of Jacob and the woods around her being her only directions. She followed him as he sprinted, and her head stabbed with pain when the multiple voices of the pack entered her mind.

"Jake!"

"Jake!"

"Lena!"

They were intangible, and she tried to push them out as they gathered together in an old scrap yard by the edge of the water. Piles of wood logs spread out around them, and the pack gathered in a group between them.

"Is it true?" She heard Paul ask, disbelief present in his voice.

"What is it?" Quil.

"It's growing fast."

"It's unnatural!"

"It's dangerous!"

"Monstrosity."

"An abomination."

"On our land."

"We can't allow it."

"We can't allow it."

"We can't allow it."

"We can't—"

"We have to protect the tribe!" Sam's voice—The Alpha—boomed through. He stood tall atop of a pile of logs, and the pack quietened down and looked up at him. "What they've bred, won't be able to control it's thirst. Every human will be in danger."

"We're ready." Jared replied.

"No time to waste." Leah agreed, and Lena felt her heart breaking.

Her friends. Her pack.

Bella.

"Now?" Jacob asked, even though he knew what they wanted to do.

"We must destroy it before its birth!" Sam shouted, and suddenly murmurs arose.

"You mean...kill Bella?" Seth—oh, Seth—asked.

"Her choice affects us all."

"Bella's human!" Lena tried, an attempt, "Our protection applies to her!"

"She's dying anyway!" Leah shouted at her, and Jacob lunged. Lena backed up, breathing heavy. She didn't know what to do.

Sam growled, stepping forward slowly as Leah and Jacob pulled apart, "We have real enemies to fight tonight."

"...Tonight?"

Sam's steps were dangerous as he made his way to him, "You will fight with us, Jake."

Lena cowered back as Sam got closer to Jake, growling in his face and standing tall. Jake bowed slightly with a whimper, and she thought for a minute that he might join them. But then he stood tall, glaring at Sam.

"I...will not!" He said, stepping forward at Sam, "I am the grandson of Ephraim Black. I am the grandson of a Chief! I wasn't born to follow you, or anyone else."

With a final lunge at Sam, Jacob ran off, leaving the pack behind in his wake. He stopped for a moment atop of a wood pile, glancing back at Lena and sending her a nod, which she returned, before leaving for good.

It was quiet, minus the scuffle of paws on ground, and then Sam turned to Lena. He looked at her, silently, then said, "So?"

She couldn't look at anyone else but him, avoiding the eyes of her friends, her boyfriend. Sam's expression was unreadable, and she couldn't focus on anything over the sound of her pounding heart. She needed to get out of there, the weight of their stares pushing on her. Without a word, she ran back into the forest, away from them.

She ran until she couldn't hear them anymore, she ran until she felt like she couldn't run any further. Then she collapsed, her human form coming back to her, curled up in a ball on the forest ground. She was naked and dirty, but she couldn't breathe. Her hand pressed hard on her chest as if it would will her heart to slow and her eyes were glued shut with the images of her fellow pack members flying through her vision like a slide show.

She was back there again. In the forest at her old town, willing the pain to go away and willing for someone to come and help her. Someone like her, a pack. Her pack. But nobody was coming, because she was alone.

"Lena?"

She jumped, pushing herself up on her hands and cowering back. Her eyes adjusted to the light until the figure of Paul came clear in front of her. His eyes were furrowed as he looked at her, and she stood up quickly. He took his shirt off and passed it to her, letting her cover up a little.

"Paul." She coughed, voice scratchy even though she hadn't used it during the meeting. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to talk to you." He replied, stepping closer. "About Bella. Lena...I'm sorry. If I knew—"

"No, I'm sorry." She interrupted, "I know I was distant and I know I lied, and I shouldn't have—"

"Lena, it's fine." Paul smiled, "You just wanted to spend some time with your friend before...well, you know...before we had to—"

"What?" Lena questioned, face dropping as well as her heart, "Paul, no. I was taking care of Bella because she is having a child soon. We aren't going to kill her, Paul. Are you hearing yourself?"

"Are you?" He replied, voice hard, "They've bred a monster, Lena. It has to die!"

"But Bella doesn't have to!" She fumed, stepping closer, "Why can't we wait—"

"It's dangerous, you know that! We have to kill it before it's born!" Paul hissed at her, "Do you know nothing about the history? The stories we are told?"

"Of course I know!" Came her angered reply "I—"

"No you don't." He said, eyes dangerous as he shook his head at her, "Because you were never taught. You weren't raised to know any of it, you don't know anything."

"And that's my fault?" She asked, insulted, "Paul, I know enough! It doesn't take away from the fact that you can't—"

Paul scoffed, looking away, "I should've known."

"What?"

"I should've known you would never change." He shook his head, pointing in her face, "You know nothing! You don't know what it means to be in a pack, what it means to be a Quileute."

"You can't say that." She shook her head, appalled, "Just because I want to protect my friend—"

"You are siding with the blood suckers!" He shouted, voice echoing through the trees.

"No i'm not!" She replied just as loudly. "I am siding with Bell—"

"You are betraying the pack!" He interrupted, getting right in her face. "Just like I knew you were going to."

"...What does that mean?" Even though she knew, she still asked.

Paul didn't hesitate, he didn't think, all he did was get closer and say to her, "You were never a member of our pack, Parkinson. We never should've trusted a stray."

Any rebuttal she might have had died on her tongue, and her eyes swelled. She backed up a step, waiting for him to say something. For his face to fill with a regret and guilt at what he'd said, for him to apologise because he didn't mean it. But he didn't. His face remained angry, his eyes hard and no longer filled with the love they used to have when he looked at her. Her heart felt cold as she looked into the same eyes she wished she'd never have to see from him ever again.

And then it all came back.

"No. I don't care if Sam says you're part of this pack. You might be to him, or Jared or Embry. But to me? You're nothing."

She thought she was okay with Paul hating her. She had the rest of them, right? Now what does she have?

She used to think she was okay with being a lone wolf, but then when she wasn't she never wanted to go back. Now she has to.

Now it's all gone. And for what?

For Bella. Because since her first day in Washington, Bella was the one that was there for her. Bella knew about the vampires and the wolves and the rivalry but she didn't let any of that stop her from being the best human friend Lena has ever had.

Why should Lena have to cater to someone who never respected her in the first place? Why should Lena have to put Paul—someone who had to teach himself how to be nice to her—over Bella, someone who was always nice to her no matter what side she was on?

To hell with Paul Lahote. To hell with them all if they were going to be like that.

Sure, Lena Parkinson was a lone wolf. Maybe she was always meant to be. But now? Now, she wasn't going to let that bother her. Because she didn't need to be part of a pack to be good, to be real. She didn't need anyone else but her uncle and herself.

If a lone wolf was forever her reputation, then a lone wolf she would be.

She was going to protect Bella Swan and her baby if it was the last thing she ever did. And nobody was going to stop her.

—mills speaks!

okay YES i know you're all angry and upset about the downfall of paulena but in all seriousness this story wasn't just about lena and paul falling in love, it was also about lena's development, and her learning that she doesn't need to depend on a pack to be her full self. she needed to learn how to be independent and how to respect herself before she could fully go in with paul and the pack.  and this is that era.

welcome to lena's rep era ladies, gents and non binary folk because it's going to be the ride of ur life

don't forget to vote and comment xxxx love you