AUTHOUR'S NOTE!!!!! THIS IS A REVAMP OF MY OTHER STORY THAT HAS BEEN DISCONTINUED ("Protecting the Family?") SO FOR THOSE OF U WHO WERE READING THAT ONE I DECIDED IT WAS GOING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION b/c I liked Sarah and Caleb together and I wanted to keep them in the story… so here is my new and improved story!!!!! PLEASE FORGIVE ME IF THIS IS NOT WHAT YOU WANTED!

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to the Covenant… not even Steven Strait :( so sad! I do however; own my characters and this story line, so please ask before you take any of my ideas!

Summary: A new girl comes to Spenser Academy in search of a fresh start, but with Ipswich being her original birthplace, family history will chase her down till she has no will to refuse it. It will take the four sons of Ipswich for her to find safety and to finally discover what she holds within her very being that has kept her in hiding for so long.

Takes place one month after the movie… Sarah and Chase are still together as are Pogue and Kate… Chase's body has yet to be found… and now the story begins…

PROLOGUE:

Delia raced her mother down the old spiral staircase, giggling as she tried to lengthen her strides to meet that of her mothers. Her long auburn hair swooped around her head as she inadvertently slipped on one of the wooden steps. The giggles stopped and Delia shrieked from the sudden change of momentum, "EEK!" The young voice took her mother by surprise and she stopped dead in her tracks in order to check on her daughter. Seeing the young girl of about seven years old sitting on the steps, her skirt hiked up in ruffles, and her hazel eyes rimmed with tears she walked up to her baby girl, her arms reaching to console Delia.

"Shhh… it's okay my little angel… it's okay…" Her mother cooed holding her daughter and rocking back and forth in a soothing rhythm. Delia sniffled and rubbed the tears from her eyes. She pouted in defiance and wiggled out of her mother's hold.

"I'm okay mummy! I'm big girl! Liam is not as strong! I stronger!" With that, Delia stomped her foot on the ground looking her mother in the eye. Her mother only smiled, shaking her head at her daughter's determination to show her father she was just as worthy as her older brother was. "Daddy says Liam is stronger because he a boy, but it don't matter to me! I think I deserve the gift daddy gave Liam! 'Cause I stronger than Liam!"

"I know you are baby girl… I do… but it's still okay to cry. Liam cries too."

"I don't care if Liam cry! I don't! I need to be stronger!" Huffing defiantly she stomped down the rest of the staircase to join her brother, Liam, in the study down the hall. She looked back at her mother only once, and gave her a quick smile of reassurance – not knowing that that would be the last time she ever saw her mother again…

4 years later…

Liam looked at his younger sister, fear written all over his face. He could not let this happen to her. She needed to be free of all the family history, but she needed to protect it too. He wanted to explain to her everything but there was no time for that… he was near his end. Struggling to sit up he looked over to his younger sister, and called out to her. "Delia." It was barely a whisper but she was holding him so close that she caught the raspy sound he emitted. Tears were pouring from her beautiful hazel eyes and her dark auburn hair was matted to her wet cheeks.

"Liam? What's going on, Liam? Who is that boy looking for us? Why did he hurt you?" She kept asking questions that he had no time to answer and it broke his heart to see her falling apart like this. She was trying so hard not to cry, but it was inevitable that the tears would not stop. She was always so strong and now she needed to be stronger to protect what his family had been cursed with.

"Shh… Delia, I have not much time to tell you this. Please let me speak." He looked up at her, helpless in all her beauty. She whimpered one last time, nodding in agreement for him to continue. "You must leave Ipswich now! I have to burden you with our gift, and I am sorry for that. I really am sorry my dear little Delia…"

"What gift? You mean the one papa gave you? I don't know what it is, or where it is. How am I supposed to get it if I don't know?"

"Delia, you will know… but leave now, before he comes back!"

"I can't leave you!" She cried desperately, holding him closer to her chest.

"You must! I need you to go as far away as possible. You need to protect the gift! You need to protect yourself from our families' mistakes." The pain was unbearable now and Liam shook in painful pulses. Reaching up one hand to wipe a tear from Delia's face he whispered into her ear, "Delia, you were always stronger, but you must know that Papa had no choice to treat me as he did… it was code… You were not meant to have it-"

"What are you-" Delia interrupted but was cut off by her brother's finger to her mouth.

"- I will you -" and with his last breaths he granted Delia the curse on which she had to protect alone… with no family left, Delia vowed to never lose that strength to carry on, running away from Ipswich, promising herself that she would return in good time to find the gift that she needed to protect…

6 years later…

Delia entered the old mansion she had not resided for over 5 years. She had missed every square inch of the rustic beauty, but it still held memories she would be branded with for all her life. The painful shrills of death, her mother, her father, her brother… nothing could rid her of the ache it bestowed upon her but she was tough and it never made her falter.

Placing her luggage on the cold marble floor she looked around her, determination on her stone-cold features. She was on one mission, and that was to fulfill her brother's last wishes…her list of duties were strenuous but she was determined to complete it without problems; senior year of high school at Spencer Academy (where her brother graduated), replenish her family's name and estate ('Hastings') to its former glory, and to find the gift her father bestowed upon her brother at birth…with only one year to do so, her heart was set to not let anything distract her… boy, was she in for a surprise…

CHAPTER #1: Home Again…

The female population of Spenser Academy worshipped the Sons of Ipswich. There was no written law to do so but to simply witness such gorgeousness and mystery would entice any girl to see them as Gods. Caleb Danvers, the serious, dark, broody gentleman; could be seen as the leader of the pack. Pogue Parry was the cute, jock-like, but sensitive type that girls swooned over because of his friendly demeanor. Reid Garwin was the troublemaker but his blonde, blue-eyed looks made girls weak at the knees with such a deadly combination. The youngest, Tyler Simms, baby-boy, loyal, and yet secretly mischievous one, seemed to fall behind the others, being over-looked by most. Spenser Academy could call the four teens royalty but that was only a hushed whisper among the students, because their lack of openness to their classmates made some find their façade as arrogant, rich boys, but the secrets they hid were for their own safety.

The only ones to break through their tight bond were romantically attached to the two oldest sons; Pogue and Caleb, and they could tell anyone that to be connected to the sons one must be truly willing to give up everything for them. Sarah and Kate knew this and they made it their own little pact to stick together in keeping the secrets of the covenant. Ironically enough, another girl will be able to break through the bond of the sons but will it be her downfall…

The halls of Spenser Academy were silent for only mere seconds as a loud ringing of the bell broke the peace; following with the sounds of teens, chattering as they rushed to their next class. Caleb Danvers walked out of his English class followed by none other than his three closest friends; Pogue, Reid, and Tyler. The four of them nodded in goodbyes as they split up to head to their respective classes. As Tyler headed off to Latin, Reid pounded him on the back signaling that he would be skipping the class for something he found 'more important.' Tyler sighed looking behind him to see that Caleb and Pogue had not seen Reid take off in the other direction. To his relief, the two older boys were walking in the opposite directions with their particular girlfriends in tow.

"Catch you later Reid." Tyler mumbled in utter annoyance, knowing full well that Reid was only asking for more trouble from Caleb. Generally he didn't care the least, and joined Reid on his little escapades but recently, with his ascension nearing, he was less than eager to find himself and Reid aging just because they wanted to have "a little fun."

"Your such a wimp, Tyler!" Reid exclaimed, and before Tyler had a chance to respond, Reid was gone. Shaking his head, Tyler turned down the halls walking at a comfortable pace as the bell rang, echoing through the boarding school halls.

Finally reaching the dreaded classroom, Tyler entered nonchalantly shrugging when the teacher gave him a look of annoyance at his blatant lateness. Tyler might have been the youngest within the sons but he sure as hell had the godly like presence to subdue any punishment from a teacher/authority figure. "Mr. Jenkins." Tyler greeted the teacher, smirking at him standing in front of the whiteboard.

"Mr. Simms, I do believe you're late to my class. I think you–" but before he could finish his attention was averted to the door behind him. "And who are you?" He asked the newest addition to the already tensed room.

Tyler turned his attention to the occupant at the door and was taken aback by what he saw. A girl of about 5'2" stood there, gripping some of her books to her chest, her eyes wide in fear. Her eyes are what caught his attention the most…such captivating eyes…he thought as those hazel eyes shot a quick glance his way.

"My name is Delia Hastings. I just transferred this week." She answered Mr. Jenkins in a pretty, slightly lower feminine voice than most girls he knew. She handed the teacher her schedule to prove that she was meant to be in the class, and after skimming over it Mr. Jenkins nodded in approval.

"Alright then, Miss Hastings, take a seat then. There's an empty one beside–" he started, looking around the room.

"Beside me!" Tyler interjected, holding out his arm to push Delia to move forward. The act was a simple but gentleman-like gesture and it made Delia blush slightly after she rolled her eyes at him.

"I guess she could sit beside you Mr. Simms, but make sure that when your ever so present friend, Mr. Garwin does show-up he will not distract Miss Hastings." Mr. Jenkins said pointedly at Tyler.

"Oh, don't you worry Mr. Jenkins. I doubt Reid will be a problem, that is if he does grace us with his presence." Tyler smirked, following Delia to the empty seat in the back row.

"Very funny Mr. Simms. Now if you don't mind, I believe it's time we continued on with our lesson, shall we?"

"Oh, we shall, we shall…" Tyler whispered for only Delia to hear, causing her to smile against her will. She looked at him briefly as she set her binder on her desk. His eyes were on her and it made her squirm. The attention was unwanted. She wanted to get through high school without anybody bugging her, or any distractions. Because she wanted to focus all her attention on the estate and fulfilling her brother's last request, and having boys on her mind would not suit her well at all. So without another ounce of energy spent on acknowledging the cute boy beside her, Delia focused on the lesson the teacher gave to her for the rest of the class, leaving immediately when the bell rang…

-

-

"Yo, Caleb!" Pogue shouted from across the hall. Caleb looked up and nodded in acknowledgement towards his friend, letting only a slight smile cross his mouth. Pogue continued over to his brooding 'brother' with his girlfriend in tow. "So, we missed you last night. Where were you man?"

"Home."

"Yea, we figured that much. Why didn't you come to the party?"

"Not up to it I guess." Caleb shrugged.

"Alright man, I'll catch you later." Pogue called out as he fled the tension with his arm slung over Kate's shoulders. Turning to continue on to his next class Caleb collided with a fairly sturdy force accompanied with a light girly squeak.

"Woah, sorry!" Caleb said in a deep voice. He wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone but he was never one to forget how to treat a girl.

"No, that's okay, I should've been watching where I was going." The girl said in a confident tone that took Caleb by surprise. She looked like a girl that could take care of herself but she was still a girl and her overbearing confidence was alarming. With the silence the girl looked up at him, only to be met with dark eyes she had never seen before in her life. The feeling he gave her scared the very core of her body and she looked away just as quickly, taking the initiative to step past him in retreat.

"Wait," Caleb grabbed her arm in urgency, "I didn't catch your name."

"That's because I didn't give it to you. Now, if you don't mind, I need to find my next class." Her voice wasn't close to the confident one she had surprised him with before, but instead it was weary and made him curious as to what she was hiding.

"Are you new here then?" With that she stopped and turned to him, finally holding his gaze with her hazel eyes. Sighing she nodded.

"Yea, but I grew up nearby. I've been away for awhile."

"Well, what class do you have next? Maybe I could help point you in the right direction." Caleb offered, finding it hard to keep his cool around her.

"Umm, History with Mr. Harrison."

"Really? Weird, cause that's where I'm headed now, do you want to come with me?"

"Umm, I guess so. Thanks."

"No problem." Caleb said, and against her better judgment Delia followed yet another boy trying to befriend her. This is just not my day…she thought…but then again, what would it hurt to have a few friends here and there…it's not like I'm leaving this time, I'm staying here to finish what my brother asked me too…the only problem is finding out what it is exactly… while she was in her own world Caleb had lead her to her next class. "So here it is." Caleb said, smiling and only leaving her when she gave him small thanks. She watched him ascend the stairs to his seat, with two other teens that greeted him warmly, and a blonde girl that kissed him on the cheek. Finally taking the time to look at the classroom, Delia was stunned to see how different it was from Latin.

"Woah, it's like a stadium in here. Amazing, I've never seen a classroom like this." Delia whispered to herself as she looked around her in awe, but was rudely interrupted by someone tapping her backside.

"Not as amazing as you sweets." A guy sneered from behind her. She whipped around pushing his hand away from her backside.

"Hey, what's your problem creep?!" She snapped at the undeniably cute, longhaired boy that had assaulted her. His cute looks, however didn't take away from the arrogant smirk he had plastered on his face. Her reaction didn't seem to faze him which didn't surprise her as she clenched her fist, ready to show him a piece of her mind if he pursued her. Lucky for Delia none other than Tyler pushed the guy roughly aside.

"You heard her Aaron, fuck off!" Tyler jousted with the now identified asshole. With the teacher calling the class to attention, Tyler grabbed Delia's arm lightly, searching her eyes for a quick moment. "You alright? That was Aaron Abbott, I'd advise you to avoid him at all costs."

"I'm fine, and thanks for the advice."

"No problem, why don't you join me yet again, and sit next to me?" Tyler offered and Delia nodded in agreement as he put his arm at the small of her back ushering her to their assigned seats. Delia laughed inwardly when she found they were situated within the confinements of Caleb and the three others she had seen earlier. Shaking her head she took the empty seat next to the blonde girl and in between her and Tyler.

"Hi! I'm Sarah!" The blonde said cheerfully, and Delia smiled back uncomfortably her plans for solitude quickly disappearing.

"I'm Delia."

"It's nice to meet you, I see you've already met Tyler. This cutie behind me–" Sarah pointed to Caleb behind her who just rolled his eyes letting the introduction continue for the sake of his girlfriend's excitement, "is Caleb, then this long-haired boy is Pogue, and the Blondie that you should know causes lots of trouble, is–"

"Reid Garwin!" the blonde haired boy interrupted Sarah, another cocky grin plastered on another cute boy's face. "Since you're new here, I could show you around."

"Oh, well that's okay, my roommate already offered, but thanks anyways." Delia politely declined the desperate Reid.

"But I could show you parts of Spenser Academy she could never show you." Reid suggested, winking at Delia, which only made Tyler hit him in the arm. "Hey, Baby boy! What was that for?" Reid yelled, looking at him with mock-hurt.

"Don't corrupt the newbie so soon Reid! Can't you ever give it a rest?" Caleb said answering for Tyler instead. Before Reid could respond the teacher coughed loudly, signaling for the six teens to silence themselves for the lesson they were interrupting. Sighing all six sat back, and focused on the lesson at hand. Delia looking around her a few times, catching Tyler staring at her with an expression she couldn't read. Oh great… now I've really screwed up, they're already trying to be my friends, and I want to be their friends… What am I going to do…

All right there it is, the first OFFICIAL chapter to my fanfiction! Please read and review!

I want to thank my reviewers from my original version of this story! You gave me the motivation to continue! THANKS AGAIN!