Hi. This is the true story. Heat is a one shot pertaining to this story. Meet Joy. This is her story.
Italian words used:
Bambina - Baby girl.
Cara - Dear (Feminine)
Ti amo molto - I love you very much
Principessa - Princess
Zio - Uncle
innamorato - Lover
amare - Love (Feminine)
Bambino - Baby boy
bacca della regina - Berry Queen
Nipote - Niece
These are all according to google translate. I don't speak Italian, but I do know the foundation of languages.
Disclaimer: I don't own Bitten.
"Joy, look at me, Bambina. I need you to go into your room, grab your body spray and cover yourself in it. Then I need you to run. Run as fast as you can. Okay, cara?" Salvatore Bianchi cupped his daughter's chin and gave her one last smile. "I'll always be with you, Bambina."
He kissed her forehead and said one last time, "Ti amo molto, bambina."
Eight year old Joy knew something bad was happening. She didn't want to leave her Papa, but he pushed her toward her room.
"Go. And remember. I love you and I'll always be with you."
Joy looked over her shoulder one last time and ran for the cave in the woods her Papa had told her to go to if he ever told her to run. She arrived there and waited for her Papa. He said he would always be with her and now all she felt was alone.
After three days she began to worry.
At five she was starving. She didn't know how to hunt. Her Papa had always gone out alone and returned with a deer for dinner sometimes.
At nine days she started feeling feverish. She ached all over. Her bones started to contort and shift. "Papa!" She cried out.
She thought of a time when she had hurt herself. Her Papa had told her that she was a strong girl and strong girls got through everything.
She let the pain take her and she transformed at eight years old into her wolf.
As soon as she had transformed she took off into the woods searching for food. She took down two rabbits and one squirrel when she heard the calling. It sounded like her Uncle Antonio, her father's friend, but she wasn't sure.
She slinked off towards the voice to investigate.
Her fur was a cocoa brown that blended in with the surrounding forest perfectly, so she hid in some bushes to watch and wait.
She saw the person walking towards the cave. Right when they passed by her, she jumped out and crouched to attack.
"Hey! Easy, easy. Joy? Is that you Principessa?" Her Uncle Antonio stood before her looking shocked.
She fell to the ground and whimpered.
He crouched next to her and said, "I'm gonna help you, okay? I need you to take deep breaths and change back. Can you do that Principessa?"
His eyes were so warm that she nodded and did as he asked. When she was back to human he held out a dress to her. His back was already turned away from her.
"What happened, cara?" Antonio asked.
Joy sniffled. "Papa told me to go get my body spray and t-to pour it on me. H-he then t-told me to run. T-that he would come find me. He n-never came. Zio? Where is he? I want my Papa."
"Principessa, your Papa isn't coming back." Antonio sighed. He was upset that Salvatore was gone. He had found his body dumped in the house. It was gruesome. His body was torn limb from limb. It looked like he put up a good fight, but it wasn't enough. Before Antonio had come looking for Joy, he had cleaned up the house and buried Salvatore.
Antonio looked down at Joy. Her cocoa brown hair, and big watery green eyes looked up at him. Even at eight Joy knew that her Papa was never coming back.
"Where will I live Zio? Where can I go? Can I live with you and Nicky? I don't want to go anywhere else." She said wiping away her tears. She stood up straight. She was a Bianchi, and Bianchi's got things done.
Antonio nodded. "Of course, Principessa you can come live with us. Let's go get your things." He scooped her up and carried her back to the house.
2 years after her dad died
"Nicky, wait up!" Huffed ten year old Joy. Joy then got an idea. She smirked and shifted changing into her cocoa brown wolf. She took off after thirteen year old Nick.
"Foul! I call foul!" Nick yelled when she tackled him.
Joy and Nick were playing tag around the Sorrentino property.
Joy trotted behind a tree. She changed back and got dressed. "No rules, remember Nicky!" she taunted him. She ran back to the house. Nick hot on her heels.
She squealed when he tackled her, sat on her stomach, and started tickling her.
"No. No. Please. Stop." She laughed.
Nick loved to hear her laugh. That's why at every opportunity, he made her crack up.
"Nope. I think I won't." He smirked.
"I'll do your chores?" She offered. "I'll make your bed for a week?" The last part ended up high pitched as he got to a particularly ticklish spot.
She laughed so hard she snorted.
Nick started laughing too. He shook his head. "No deal."
"What do you want then?" She whined when he stopped for a minute.
He thought for a moment.
"Nicholas?" Antonio yelled out the back door. "Joy? Time for lunch!"
Nick hopped up off her stomach. He held out a hand for Joy. "This isn't over Bianchi."
"Wouldn't dream of it Sorrentino." She retorted as she took off for the house. Nick racing behind her.
4 years after her dad died
"It hurts dad." Fifteen year old Nick Sorrentino was in the process of changing for the first time.
The Sorrentino's were at Stonehaven for Jeremy's birthday when Nick started to change. What had set him off was the way Clay and Joy were together. When they had arrived at Stonehaven, Nick was expecting Joy to be with him the whole time. Instead she had hit it off with seventeen year old Clayton Danvers.
Whenever Nick had looked for her to show her something she would say that 'She has already seen it and that Clay was such a good friend for showing her.'
He wasn't jealous. He wasn't.
He had started to change right in the kitchen when he saw Joy giving Clay a hug. He felt such a surge of rage and possessiveness that he had collapsed with the change. Antonio and Jeremy had picked him up and placed him in the cage.
The adults had told the kids to leave Nick alone. That he would be alright. Joy didn't believe them. She had thought that it was all her fault. That if she had paid more attention to Nick, she might have noticed when he started to change.
That night she snuck down to the cage. The adults had all gone to sleep.
Nick was laying on the floor of the cage. She had pulled the door open and walked in. She closed and locked it behind her. She then tossed the key under the table in the room. She lay down next to Nick on the floor. He woke up when he felt her touch.
"What are you doing down here? I thought you were with Clay." Nick said bitterly.
Twelve year old Joy replied with, "He might be my friend, but he's not my best friend." She then proceeded to tell him about her change and how she did it.
The next morning Antonio found Joy and Nick, nick curled up as a wolf and Joy human, sleeping in the cage.
Time to start that root, then. He thought.
He remembered when he first had gotten the root. It was three weeks after he had brought Joy to live with them. He had opened the front door to a knock and found a package and a note. The note had simply stated that he would need it for Joy when either Nick or Joy started to love each other. It wasn't signed.
The next day, the Sorrentino's left Stonehaven. Antonio started the root that night.
8 years after her dad died
Sixteen year old Joy had started to get ready for school. When she was old enough for high school she had begged Antonio to let her go. She had used her full arsenal. Tears, puppy eyes, begging, the works. He relented, but the conditions for her going was that Nick had to go too.
Nick was angry that he was dragged into this. But when Joy pulled the same moves on him, he caved.
That was two years ago, Now she was a Junior and was going on a date. Nick had graduated last year and was out living in New York City.
When she got asked out for the first time after Nick had left she was excited. There was no one who would be there to scare off her dates.
Antonio seemed reluctant to have her go out. He knew how Nick felt. That what Joy thought as Nick being a big brother, was actually his wolf being jealous. Nick had left because he couldn't handle Joy not loving him. He knew that she didn't. She only saw him as a brother.
"Zio? Is he here yet?" Joy called out the door.
Antonio listened but there was no tires on the driveway.
"No principessa. He isn't."
Antonio didn't like this. He didn't want Nick hurt. Which was exactly what Joy was doing. She was hurting him. Before Nick had left, Joy and Nick had gotten into a fight. He still remembers it. Antonio thought back to that day about three months ago.
He had just walked in the house to hear them arguing.
"Why can't you see it? You're so stubborn-" Nick yelled.
"Oh. I'm stubborn. What about you? Every time I want to go out with someone you are always there ruining it! I hate it! Just get out of my life! I don't need your 'big brother' attitude. I don't need you! You graduated! Congratulations! Now move out and stop ruining my life!" Joy had screamed. She then put the final nail in Nick's coffin. "I hate you! Get out of my room!" Antonio heard a door slam and then another. He walked into the hallway between their rooms to see Nick come out of his with a bag.
"Where are you going, son?" Antonio asked.
"You heard her. She doesn't want me. I'm leaving. I'm moving to New York City. I can't be around her like this. I'll call you when I arrive." Nick took off out of the house. He got in his car and sped off.
Joy came out of her room thirty minutes later. "Where's Nick? I need to apologize. I didn't mean it. Where is he Zio?" She sobbed.
"He's gone, principessa. I don't think he will be back anytime soon."
Antonio sighed as he came out of the memory.
Since then, she had been going out with a lot of boys.
Antonio wasn't blind, he knew she was doing less than honorable things with them. He also knew Nick was doing the same thing. They were both hurting, so they both lashed out.
Christmas was in a month and he didn't know how that will go. Who is he kidding? He knows exactly how it will go. Nick will find out about her extracurricular activities, he will blow up, she will blow up, it will be one huge fight.
It turned out, Christmas didn't happen like that. That year they went to Stonehaven. Jeremy had invited them out and Antonio accepted gratefully. He knew that Nick wouldn't cause a scene there. He was wrong.
"Jocelyn." Nick greeted when he had arrived at Stonehaven.
"Nicholas." Joy responded just as bitterly. Over time her hurt had turned to anger. Anger at Nick for leaving her. Anger at Antonio for not stopping him. She lashed out in the only way she knew would hurt both of them. She slept around. She broke her promise to Antonio to not have boys over. She drank. She went to parties. She got arrested.
After that Christmas, Antonio sat her down. He gave her a stern talking to and helped her realize and identify her feelings. Antonio and Joy had reconnected over late night tea sessions.
Joy had turned her life around. She graduated top of her class at 18. She then immediately went to college to be a doctor. She figured it would help out the pack. She tried to reconnect with Nick, but he had changed his number and his email. She had deeply hurt him. It was when she turned 24 that she was finally able to see him again, though she couldn't fix things yet with him.
- Wolfy