A/N: Yay! I'm so happy that I have so many people following and favorite-ing this story. Love you guys! You are my inspiration to continue this story. Still not as many reviews as I'd like, but it'll do for now. Please review! This chapter was named after the song Hero by Skillet.
"I need a hero, save me now
I need a hero to save my life
A hero will save me just in time"
~Hero by Skillet
Last time: Ariya watched his retreating form, fresh tears in her eyes as she went into hysterics. Sam was out of his mind in worry. He picked her up and took her back to the house.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters that are in this story, except Ariya. She is my own little creation.
When Paul and Sam went patrolling…
Paul POV
I walked over to the area where we usually meet up for patrolling orders. I was dreading it every second of the way there. I know Sam is just going to want to talk to me about his sister. 'Ariya. Even her name is the most beautiful one I've ever heard.' I shook my head. I was going to fight this, for her sake. She deserves so much more than I could ever give her. 'I am way too fucked up for her. I cannot love her like she wants… Right?' The thought of not being able to love her, made the swelling of my chest so unbearable I dropped to my knees wheezing. I took a couple of deep breaths and stood up. 'Come on, Paul. You can do this. You have to do this.
I saw Sam standing there glaring at me. "Hey Sam. Look. I really don't want to talk about it."
Surprisingly, all he said was "Fine. I wont bother you about it, but I cannot guarantee what my thoughts show you as a wolf."
I stopped. I turned to look at him. "Why? What's happened?"
Sam shook his head. "No, Paul. YOU didn't want to talk about it, remember?"
"You're right. I didn't." He shook his head again, and told me to go phase and to go run down the left side of the treaty line. I was nervous about what I'd see, but he already went to phase. I set my shorts down at the base of the tree, and phased.
Me- Alright, Paul. Just remember that this was your choice. YOU did this so that she could live a happy life.
Sam- Yes. Don't forget that Paul. Sam growled at me and the images started flowing.
I was whimpering in shock and pain as I was watching what my imprint went through these past 3 days. I let out a wolf howl as I saw the pain she was enduring, how badly her body was taking the imprint rejection. I couldn't help but collapse, my wolf body enduring the pain of hurting my imprint. I couldn't believe that it would hurt her this much. I growled as I saw that some of the guys were there comforting her along with Sam.
Sam- Hey! You cannot get upset at the guys for trying to fix the problem that YOU caused. Why won't you just accept the imprint? Why isn't my sister good enough for you?!
Me- That's not it! I'M not good enough for HER! (I collapsed and whispered) I'll never be good enough for her. I don't want to condemn her to being with me. She's so beautiful and sweet. And I'm just… Well… Me.
Sam- Paul. She was chosen as your imprint for a reason. I want you to understand that maybe you're going to be good for her. I mean, all you're doing right now, is causing her pain. Something's not right with her. When she came here, she was different. I think something happened to her that she's not telling me. Maybe you're here to help her out with that.
Me- What do you mean 'something happened'?! What's wrong with her?
Sam- Before she left, she was completely different. Some of the guys knew her back then. She was healthy. She wasn't this skinny; she was growing into a lovely young woman. She was so happy and alive and her eyes were always shining. She was confident and sure of herself, and she was always standing up for what she believed in. Now, she's so quiet and shy. Her eyes don't hold that same sparkle, and she's always apologizing. She seems so sad and she is so skinny I'm afraid for her. She's always putting some makeup on her face, but she doesn't need to; she's beautiful. But I believe that something happened to her. And she's always wearing baggy clothing. What is she hiding?
Me- What!? What do you think is going on? Wait. Why did she say she came back? What was her reason?
Sam- She didn't give one. You don't think that something happened back at her dad's house?
I growled. I don't know. But I'm going to fucking find out. If someone hurt her, I'll-
Sam cut him off. Oh, NOW you're going to accept that she's made for you?
Me- No. I didn't say that. I just want to… I mean… Oh fuck, Sam. Give me time. I sure as hell want to protect her from everything bad… And that includes ME.
Sam didn't have time to respond. We heard Emily yelling for us. "Sam! Come quick!"
Sam- She was supposed to be with Ariya. Something must've happened!
We ran back to her and phased, getting changed. Sam was the first to speak. "What happened, Emily? What's going on? I thought you were with Ariya?"
"I was. We were talking, and she said that maybe she should leave. She feels that she is causing everyone trouble because they are worrying about her. She really wants to leave!"
I didn't know what to do. "WHAT!? She CAN'T leave! She's not causing any trouble here. She's… I…" I fell down to my knees, whispering, "She can't leave me."
Sam was just mad. "Come on Paul! We have to get back to the house! Let's go! Thank you, Emily."
"STOP thanking me and GO!" Emily yelled.
Sam and I took off running as fast as our legs could take us. We were approaching the house when I saw a tiny figure running towards the woods. I felt my heart stop, but I kept running, now even faster. 'No. Please don't leave me.'
Sam was right with me running to catch up to her. He was screaming for her. "ARIYA!" She kept running. I felt my legs going faster, pushing me past Sam as he kept yelling for her. "PLEASE DON'T DO THIS!" I saw that she was trying to run faster, almost desperate to get away I could hear her heart rapidly beating, and it matched mine. I was terrified that she would run away. I knew that I would be following her and looking for her until end of time. I smelled the salty tears, and I knew that she wasn't the only one crying.
As soon as she was within my grasp, I grabbed her. She fought me as I turned her around. I looked into her eyes and I felt her go limp in my hold. I picked her up, crushing her to my chest as I held her. We stayed like that, crying. I needed to know that she didn't leave. I needed to feel that she was here in my arms. I felt all of the pain in my heart leave as soon as I touched her. My heart swelled with love and happiness as I felt her cling to me. But I couldn't be so selfish; I firmly believe that she will be so much better off without me. I let her go, immediately feeling the loss of her touch, and gave her to Sam who grabbed her in his own bone-crushing hug. I could see the fear and love in his eyes and we both knew that something was wrong. I took one last look at the beauty in Sam's arms and left. I felt the pain return as I walked away, but I needed some time to think.
Ariya POV
I felt so safe and warm inside of Paul's arms. I knew that this was where I belonged. I clung to him, needing to feel his arms around me. I felt all of the pain melt away the second he touched me. We were crying together. I felt a complete loss when Paul handed me over to Sam. I wanted to stay in his arms forever, but I know that Sam needed to hold me, just as much as I needed him to hold me. I didn't mean to hurt anyone, I just wanted to make sure that no one was worried or in need of watching over me. I felt the pain creep back up as I heard Paul's footsteps fading. 'No. Come back.'
Sam picked me up, grabbed my bag, and carried me to the house. I felt him put me down on the bed. He left for a minute and came back with a glass of water and a bunch of napkins. He handed me the glass and I drank it all. He wet the napkins with warm water and started washing my face. I froze. I didn't want him to see the bruises underneath the makeup. I was quick to push his hands away and protest.
I could see in his eyes that he knew something was up. He got up to make a quick phone call. He then came up to me and just looked at me. Less than a minute later, I heard the door slam and someone running up the stairs. I saw Paul run into my room. He looked worried. I really didn't want him to see what I was hiding. Sam whispered something to him and they both came on either side of me on the bed. Paul held me down while Sam gently washed my face. I could see shock on their faces as the makeup was removed and I knew that they wanted an explanation to why I had a still fresh black eye, a semi-healed one, and a bruise on my cheekbone and on my forehead. I saw anger forming in both of their faces.
Before anyone could say anything, Paul grabbed me in a hug and started crying. I watched Sam leave, only for him to come back minutes later with Emily and the rest of the guys. I heard Emily's gasp and the guys growling. I felt a bunch of warm arms encompass me in a giant group hug. I heard Sam tell Emily to quick give me a shower while the guys waited downstairs.
I felt her guide me to the bathroom and she started to undress me. I heard her scream for Sam as she got to my bra and underwear. The door slammed open and I heard a roar of anger coming from all of the guys as they looked at me. My body was filled with bruises, welts, and scars. I knew that my ribs were sticking out, and I felt completely ashamed of myself.
Tears started streaming down my face as I saw the look of horror and extreme fury on the faces of all of the guys. They were all shaking violently. Emily quickly told them to run off the anger while she showered me, and they left. I saw the look of love and rage on Paul's face and slowly backed out of the bathroom. Only the sound of me sobbing and Emily's cooing was coming from the bathroom as she showered me, making sure to take extra care of me. I was completely embarrassed and ashamed of how I looked. I knew that Paul could never want me now, seeing how damaged I was. Emily dressed me in a pair of Sam's t-shirts and boxers, took me downstairs and into the kitchen to get something to for me to eat while we waited for the guys to come back.
So there you have it. Chapter 3. Please review to let me know what you think. Ariya was put through years of abuse by her father and brothers. Next chapter will be an explanation of what's been going on. Until next time
~Ariya-angels
