Disclaimer : I am not Stephenie Meyer. I just love her characters and am playing with them a bit purely for my own (and hopefully other's) amusement. No disrespect or copyright infringement is intended.
CHAPTER ONE - BROKEN GIRL
"You're late." Sam admonished without raising his voice. A total of 7 young men and 1 young woman sitting around the dining room table all talking and eating pizza.
"Sorry, family emergency." Jake answered as he strolled through the door. He joined the other men and woman at the table, snagging a slice of pizza as he sat down.
"I'm hurt, Jake, I thought we were your family" his best friend Embry teased in a mock pout.
"Sure, Sure" Jake said as he flipped him off and shoved the slice of pizza in his mouth. There were laughs from the others as Embry shot a bird back at Jake, grinning.
It was rare for the La Push wolf shifter pack to hold their main pack meeting in Sam's dining room. They usually met in wolf form, communicating telepathically, in the clearing just a few hundred feet away from the house. After the meeting, they would have a meal prepared by Sam's fiancée, Emily. She was visiting her mother on the Makah reservation for the weekend, working on wedding plans. Sam was feeling the pain of their brief separation. The imprint leaving a deep ache in his chest. He had the pack meeting in the house to fill it with his pack's energy. It made it less lonely.
"Is there anything we can do? Is Billy alright?" Sam asked as Jake chewed. Jake's father was the chief of Quileute tribe. He was wheelchair bound and had medical issued that cropped up from time to time.
Jake shook his head and swallowed. "Dad's good. I need the okay to go out of town for a bit with him." He answered.
As Alpha of the pack, Sam was responsible for knowing where each member of the pack was. If anyone had to off the rez for more than a day or two, he needed to know. They didn't want to leave their tribal lands short of protectors.
"What's up?" Jared asked, interested. Billy rarely travelled way from the rez and Forks. He usually didn't go further than Port Angeles.
"Well, that is the other thing I needed to discuss tonight." Jake now had everyone's attention, all conversation ceasing. "My cousin is coming to live with us."
"Willow?" Embry and Quil asked simultaneously.
"Yup." Jake answered with his lips popping on the P.
"I didn't even know you had family off the rez. I always thought it was just you and Billy" Paul was shocked
"It's a sensitive subject. Aunt Joan is quite a bit younger than Dad. Big family drama when she got knocked up at 16 and ran away with some rich Irish guy. I never knew about them until after the accident. That's when I started visiting them. Dad and Joan still barely speak." Jake shook his head. "Anyway, Dad got a call and something went down and whatever it was it's bad. All Dad said is we have to get down to California ASAP and Willz is moving in with us. He said she needed our help and protection." He made air quotes with his fingers as he said the last 3 words.
Sam's brow furrowed. Having an outsider not only on the rez, but in a pack member's house was risky. Billy should have discussed this with the tribal council and him as the alpha of the pack. Sam knew Billy well enough to know that he didn't make the decision lightly and it must be a desperate situation for the girl.
Sam looked at Jake and nodded. "For Billy to do this it must be a desperate situation. Go, take care of your family business. But, Jake, be careful around this girl. We have no idea how much of our legends and histories she knows. She is basically an outsider."
Jake nodded. His cellphone buzzed so he pulled it out of his pocket and groaned as he read the text. "That's Dad. He said he managed to get us flight out tonight. We have to leave now to make it to the airport in time. Charlie is on his way to pick us up"
"Don't worry, Jake, I'll take your patrol tonight." Quil offered since it was his night off.
"Thanks, Bro." Jake said and bumped his friend's fist, He snagged another slice as he got up to leave. His cell buzzed again. "Sam, Dad said to tell you he will call you when we are on our way back. He has now idea how long we are going to be. He wants you at the house when we get there." Sam nodded as Jake jogged out the door.
"Billy going to Cali? I wonder what the drama is." Paul asked quirking an eyebrow.
"Me too." Sam agreed with his Beta.
It was a month before Billy called to say that they were on their way home. Jake had sent vague text updates as to the delays and to say they had a lot of loose ends to tie up before they could leave. 2 days after the call they were headed back Billy called Sam again.
"We should be home by 5 this evening. Can you and Paul go to the house and get the room ready for her?" Billy asked.
The third bedroom in the Black home was uninhabited and the door stayed closed. It had been the room of Jake's older sisters. The twins and their mother had been killed in an accident when Jacob was 5 years old. Sarah Black had been taking them to their 8-year-old check-up. Jacob was in school having just started kindergarten. In a grief driven, drunken rage, Billy had destroyed the room. Once sober, he cleaned out anything not destroyed and stored it in the attic. He shut the door and never opened it again. He couldn't bear to look in at the room and be reminded of all they had lost.
"Anything you need" Sam assured him
"Just clear out the dust and what not. We have most of her things." Billy clarified.
"I can get a couple more of the guys to help" Sam offered.
"Not necessary. I don't want a bunch of people at the house. Just you and Paul for now." There was a hesitancy in Bill's voice. Sam could hear people getting into the vehicle Billy must have been sitting in. He recognized Jake's voice.
"No problem." Sam assured him. He hung up and immediately called Paul to let him know. Sam had keys to the Black home. Both he and Billy believed in an open-door policy. All pack members and imprints were welcome in their homes anytime night or day.
By 5 pm the men had gotten rid years of dust and cleaned the carpet. They had the windows open to air it out in the late summer breeze. They were lounging in the living room watching TV when they heard the crunch of tires on the gravel driveway.
"They're heeere" Paul said in a sing-song voice, mimicking the kid from "The Poltergeist". Sam rolled his eyes at his Beta as he switched off the TV. They went out on to the porch in time to see Jake jump out of a lifted yellow jeep outfitted for off road use, towing a rental trailer.
Paul whistled, "Nice ride" he admired the jeep. Both Paul and Jake loved anything with a motor.
"It's hers." Jake said grinning as he headed to the back of the trailer. Paul followed to get Billy's chair.
"Thank you, boys" Billy said, cheerfully as Sam lifted him from the jeep and lowered him into his wheelchair. The girl stood in front of the jeep surveying her new surroundings. Paul finally got a look at her in profile. She was petite, he guessed around 5ft 3. She wore loose sweatpants and an over-sized hoodie with the hood pulled up as far as she could to hide her face. Wolf enhanced eyesight still saw the fading bruises on her face. She looked around, nervously picking at a cast on her right hand. "Sam, Paul this is my niece Willow Murphy. Willow this here is Sam Uley and Paul Lahote. They are very close family friends."
Willow glanced at the men when they were introduced, her gaze never reaching their faces as she mumbled "Hello"
Seeing those bruises, she was trying to hide with the hood and big sunglasses gave both shifters a knot in their stomach. They gave each other an uneasy look.
"Nice to meet you, Willow." Sam greeted her warmly. All his alpha sense and instinct were screaming to him FRAGILE, WOUNDED, PROTECT. PACK as he looked at the girl. He was startled by that last thought. Why would his wolf think of her as pack? He inhaled deeply, taking in her scent. She wasn't a shifter but his wolf liked her smell. He was attracted to it. Not as strong as Emily's scent. It was comforting, soothing, familiar, like family.
"I'm going to help Jake" Paul said quietly. He was struggling with sudden feelings he was not accustomed to. Feelings similar to Sam's. Like he need to protect her, that she was HIS and he wanted to kill who ever dared to touch her. He never had a reaction like that to any female before. His wolf was wanted to bury his snout in her neck un never move. He wanted to roll in her scent until he smelled like her. PROTECT, MATE, MINE his wolf was chanting. Wait..what the hell!The man thought as he shook his head to clear it.
Sam pushed Billy's wheelchair over the uneven ground and got him up on the porch as the girl followed. Paul went to the back of the trailer where Jake had been busy unloading boxes, bags and luggage as he attempted to get to the furniture.
"What the hell happened to her?" Paul hissed to Jake so only Sam would overhear.
Jake paused and ran his hands through his hair, agitated. "That's why Dad wanted you two here. You need to hear the story. It's un-fucking-believable, man."
"Shit" Paul muttered
"Yeah" Jake agreed. "Come on, help me get her stuff so we can try to make her feel at home." They each grabbed the pieces of her bed and carried them in.
Once Billy had entered the small red house with Sam and Willow, he asked Sam to give her the tour while he called in a dinner order. Sam showed her all the rooms including the one that was to be hers. She followed him silently, never removing her hood or glasses.
"Make a hole" Jake called as they came up behind where they were standing in the doorway of her room. They both moved out of the way and Sam felt her stiffen when she accidently brushed up against him. He could hear her heart race and smell the fear that rolled off her. He quickly stepped away giving her space.
It took the wolves about a half hour to unload everything, assemble her bed and configure her furniture according to her quiet instructions
Paul had just brought in the last of the boxes as Sam and Jacob were making her bed. She tried to argue that she could do it. Jake finally convinced her that she would be there all night trying to do it one handed. She relented and pointed out what box held her bedding.
"Food's here!" Billy called down the hall.
"Come on, Willz, I'm starving" Jake said taking her uninjured hand and towing her toward the kitchen with the other two trailing them.
There were take-out containers all over the table. Without prompting Sam and Paul collected dishes and cutlery while Jake took drink orders from the fridge.
"Sit, relax" Billy urged his niece with a smile. "Please, take off the hood and glasses. This is your home now and you are safe here." Her eyes darted from Billy to Jake.
"It's okay, we are all family here." He told her quietly, nodding.
She drew in a deep, steadying breath before removing the sunglasses and folding them beside her plate. She slowly lowered her hood and kept her eyes cast down at the table. Paul and Sam both cursed under their breath and wisely suppressed the growls of their wolves.
The entire right side of her face was discolored with overlapping, purple and green fading bruises. Broken blood vessels still hadn't healed in her right eye. There were recently healed cuts over her lip, eye and cheekbone. There were clear hand shaped bruises that were fading from around her throat that disappeared under the collar of her hoodie. Billy reached over and took her left and hand and gave it an encouraging squeeze. Since she was released from the hospital she rarely removed her hood or glasses.
"Honey, what happened to you?" Sam asked gently. Both he and Paul were fighting to contain their quivering to keep from scaring her.
She shook her head and whispered hoarsely "I can't..."
Billy squeezed her hand again. "May I tell them?" he asked.
She nodded as tears started to roll down her face. "I just want to go unpack a little. Please excuse me" she choked, getting up and retreating to her room. They men watched her go. As the door clicked shut, Billy heaved a deep sigh. He hated to see his niece suffering so much. After a few seconds, they heard music coming from the room.
Paul broke the silence. "What the actual FUCK!" he exclaimed, jumping out of his chair and pacing the kitchen. Paul was well known to have a terrible temper and quick fists but never EVER would he lay hands on a woman. Jake and Billy has been gone for a month. He couldn't imagine how bad the bruising had been if it still hadn't completely faded yet. It made him sick to his stomach thinking about it. He was not used to the reactions he was having. Anger was the only emotion he was used to feeling.
"Language, Paul" Billy warned him with a silencing look.
"Sorry" he mumbled but continued to pace.
"Seriously, Billy, what happened to that poor kid?" Sam asked, keeping his voice low.
"She survived hell." He answered.