Chapter Info

Title: The body in the woods.

Number: 21/?

Warnings: Language, mentions of violence, and my usual doses of angst here and there.

Author's Note: So firstly, I am sorry this update took so long. Wild hearts, kinda took over my life. And yeah no excuses. I suck, I'm sorry. But I hope this chapter makes up for it.

- ʚɞ -

- La Push, Washington -

- Noelle -

Her foot taps impatiently as she leans against the porch railing, her hazel eyes dragging to her watch every few seconds as she sighs in impatience to see only a minute has passed. She had been doing it for the last ten minutes and slowly but surely her patience was dripping away. And she was going to do something stupid, like dragging Daryl out the house, half-naked or not. Honestly how long does it take for a dude to get showered and dressed?

Right now he was taking longer than her.

Throwing her hands up as he finally leaves she walks over to his car, fingers wrenching open the passenger door as she throws herself within the leather seat. Daryl's laughter ringing out as she slams the door closed. She knew she looked slightly manic, or borderline impatient but she was. This bonfire was something that she had fretted over in the full week since she'd talked to Leah.

Jared had told her that it was Noelle's official introduction to the pack, and Daryl's too. But more than that, it would be the first true interaction between Leah and Daryl and she wanted to make sure that her two friends found common ground and didn't throw all walls and stubbornness in the way of what was happening.

It was also Daryl's first full interaction around the pack and she knew, with every fibre of her being that he would figure something out. He would take all the signs they were throwing around and put the pieces together - either the correct ones or ones of his own choosing. And it had her worried, a worry that was brewing deep in her veins leaving her agitated and burning with an energy she couldn't name.

As he settles into the seat beside him, she shoots him an impatient glance before looking out the window at the passing scenery. Her mind running through the various ways this night could go tragically wrong as well as all the other worries that were plaguing her mind. Ranging from Paul losing his temper, a wolf saying something wrong and Daryl exposing them all as liars.

It was going to be a long night indeed.

As she sees the imagery of third beach drawing every close, she begins to shift in her seat, her energy burning to uncontrollable heights. Hazel eyes scan those still gathered in the parking lot, thankful as she sees Sam leaning against his large truck as though waiting for the two of them.

Breathing in deeply she climbs from the car and is thankful as almost immediately, heated arms wrap around her and the scent of her brother cocoons her in his silent strength. Even if their relationship was still strained, right now she needed his strength to get through this night.

" It'll be okay 'Elle. We'll get through this. "

She pulls away and nods, her fingers running through her hair as she drags her breath in harshly. Steadying herself against the tension in her bones. Her arms wrapping around Emily in a hug as she watches how her brother and Daryl interacts, the two of them having found a common ground she wasn't aware of.

Walking towards the beach, she smiles Jared pulls her into a hug and then Kim does the same. Yet it was Leah that she strays too, Daryl following due to the fact he barely knew anyone and as she introduces the pair once more, she watches them steadily. Daryl striking up a conversation with ease that makes Noelle feel better, if only slightly about the night.

Edging away from them and giving them the privacy they deserve, she moves over to those she knew, catching up and relishing in tales of the years she'd missed. It easy to do, even if she still carried the weight of leaving deep on her shoulders, and yet no one holds it against her. All of them understand that she'd left for a reason, she left for school, she had gone and followed her dreams.

Leaning against the piece of dry-wood she'd found littering the sand, her eyes watch everyone. She had always been a people watcher, noting the way they acted, how they moved. She found that doing so told her far more about a person than they did with words. Like Jacob, he was all sunshine on the outside but she could see the tension pulling deep within him, that caused his steps to be set heavy.

" How's the little girl doing ? "

Paul's vice to her side has her smiling softly, his heat soon pooling beside her as his fingers hold out one of the two drinks in his hands. She takes it with a soft thank you as she continues to watch those gathered waiting for the fire to be lit and the stories to start.

" Haven't you been on night babysitting. I thought you'd know ? " she teases.

" You're right I do. I just figured it was a better greeting than kissing you senseless. "

Despite herself, soft chuckles drift off her lips and into the air between them. Mirth dancing in her eyes as she turns her gaze towards him. His own focused on the group she had just been watching but she could see the soft turn to his lips, he too amused by the words he had just spoken.

" Yeah, I can't say that fits into the whole friend's category too well. "

Even if she was realising that being friends with Paul was going to be one of the hardest things she'd ever done. How could you be friends with someone that was destined to be yours, and you'd once shared everything with. She was certain that it had never been done, and yet here she was attempting just that.

Pulling the conversation away, she instead tells Paul about the adoption plans. The first person she had spoken them too given she still wasn't sure if she was going through with it. She had voiced the words in a rush of emotion and yet every time she saw to Ellie she found herself falling under the little girls spell.

" What are you going to do ? " Paul asks softly and she shrugs.

" Honestly, I don't know. " fingers deftly lifting the cup to her mouth as she finishes the gulp of alcohol. " I mean, on one hand, it would protect her from anyone coming after her. But secondly, do I really want to go through with it. "

Internally she knew her answer - she would do it - but this wouldn't just affect her. She was forever tied to Paul and whilst they were friends now, there was no telling if it would stay that way. Meaning he would be in Ellie's life, just as he would be in Noelle's.

" Follow your heart 'Elle. You'll find the right answer in time. "

His hand weighs heavy on her shoulder before it disappears, her eyes tracking as he walks back towards the pack. A soft smile gracing her lips as she catches all the words he wasn't saying. In that simple exchange, he was solidifying that he would stand behind her every choice. That he would support them and be on her side.

It was all she needed.

All though is pushed aside as Billy calls for everyone to settle around the fire, she wanders over, settling on the sand and leaning her head back on the large log that Daryl and Paul were seated on. The way she did it made it look like a random decision but it was one she'd made on purpose. She was the bridge between the two men, she loved them both and whilst one was her forever, she wasn't about to shut the other one out of her life either. And thus, the decision made by her seating choice.

As she notes her brother nod softly in her direction, his hidden message is clear. She'd made the right choice.

It had been years since she heard the stories, the last time being when she was a petulant teenager who would rather do anything but listen to them. And yet she could remember the softness of Billy's voice, the way he lulled everyone into the tale. Her eyes are firm on the fire as he speaks and she finds that even now, at twenty-four years old, she was just as weak to the power in Billy's voice.

Yet with both an adult way of thinking and her new knowledge of the truth behind it. She finds that the magic felt different - as a child she'd laughed whenever the cold ones were mentioned. She was an Anne Rice fan growing up so it had amused her, but now, she can easily identify the truth and horror dancing within each spoken word.

Her full attention is drawn at the mention of the wolves, wanting to relive the words she'd forgotten. The side of the story she was now not only related too but also linked. Her head resting absentmindedly against Paul's knee as she pulls his heat into her chilled skin but also the comfort of him being close.

She snorts softly as she listens to Billy say it was impossible for an imprint and wolf to be separated, amusement colouring her features as she meets Jared's gaze. A soft chuckle behind her has her head turning to see Paul looking ahead, and yet his chest shaking from the laughter he was barely concealing. He too understanding what she was snorting at.

Facing forward again, she allows Billy to once more wrap her in the cocoon of his voice, her attention firmly set on reliving the stories that she had once thought were nothing more than a bedtime story. And yet now she knew they were real, and with every word Billy speaks, she is can call forth an image of what was being told.

It was magical, both in its delivery and the sounding of it. Which she guessed was why so many had ignored it, shuck it off as mere folklore. But now, she realised the true weight that settled behind each word. Boys were forced to grow up too fast and take on an enemy that was better left in the fiction they either read or watched. Not to be something they faced every day.

And as the stories continue it's a feeling she can't shake and she finds herself feeling tainted. What should be enjoyable only made her worry over those she knew, yes they may be cocky and believe they were untouchable. But it didn't help her worry. If anything it simply grew.

Her eyes drift over every wolf, watching their face as she sees the internal battles they were all battling. The stories washing over them and settling deep inside their chest as they knew the true weight. Bringing her hand up she wipes at the absent tear that was tracking its way down her cheek.

She hated this. When had her life truly gone from something normal to something that would be found in the deepest depths of a fiction novel ?

After the tales are told, Noelle watches as people start to bleed into different groups. Some discussing the legends and the weight of them, making jokes as though half of them didn't know they were real. Others talking about plans for the weekend and patrol schedules. But she drifts off closer to the shore, watching the way the moonlight danced across the waves creating a perfect picture of serenity.

" It's all true, isn't it. "

She turns as a voice cuts through the solitude and sees Daryl looking out at what she'd previously been watching. His face set in a look of admittance, admittance that what Billy had just spoken weren't just stories.

" Yeah, they are. " She sighs softly as she nods.

She looks back towards the fire to see Paul, Leah and Sam watching them intently, their supernatural hearing no doubt giving them the advantage of eavesdropping. Yet it was the look on their faces that belayed their worry - all three of them wondering what Daryl was going to do. For different reasons and the same all at once.

" And the imprinting ? " Daryl asks looking at her.

Again she nods in response and watches as resignation settles behind his eyes. " You and Paul. "

His words only just add to the fact he was far smarter than she had ever given him credit for. Where most people heard the legends and thought they were folklore, Daryl had heard them and put the pieces together. A scary concept in reality, but one that was very fitting for the male before her.

" Six years ago. When I still lived here. "

Daryl's soft laugh has her sinking her teeth into her bottom lip as her eyebrow raises in his direction. Right now he was confusing her beyond belief. She had expected him to be angry, to call her out on her lies and yet he was laughing at her. He was making her damn head spin.

" What's so funny ? "

" I wanted to hate him, Paul. I wanted to hate him for owning your heart for the last six years. " Despite his words, nothing but mirth danced in his words. " But you can't fight fate. "

Yeah, that wasn't what she expected him to say.

" No, I guess you can't. " She mutters as her eyes subconsciously drag back to Paul.

" You're trying aren't you ? " Daryl asks idly and Noelle looks back at him.

She doesn't answer, because truly she was. She was fighting the fact that every part of her wanted to forgive Paul, to ignore what she'd said about friends. And yet she was still carrying the pain of what he did, the fact that she wasn't sure she could let him in fully and trust that he would take her decisions into account. Or would just make ones he thought were best for her.

So yeah, she was fighting fate. She was fighting her own.

Movement catches her attention and she watches as a few of the pack take off into the woods, confusion blooming over her face as she watches it. But at the same time, she can feel a trickle of fear spread over her spine, the urgency with which they were moving making her worry that the vampire was close. Or that something else has happened.

" There's a reason I'm here isn't there ? " Daryl asks, firmly dragging her attention back to him.

It takes her a moment to register what it was he asked and as it settles in. She wonders just how far she could take this conversation. She had promised Leah that she wouldn't interfere, but that she would help. And she knew to tell Daryl about the imprint was crossing a big boundary that she had no right crossing.

" Yeah, there is. Just promise me you'll remember this conversation. About not being able to fight fate. "

He nods and pulls her into his side, his arm settling on her shoulder and she physically relaxes under his touch as he slowly rubs his hand up and down her arm in a soothing motion. And yet internally she was a god damn mess, anxiety and panic were running rampant. Her heart feeling as though it was slamming violently against her chest and at any moment was going to break free.

This imprint business was going to be bad for her health and sanity.

Her name being shouted has her turning as she sees Seth running over to her, barefoot, shirtless and idly fasting up his cut-offs.

" ''Elle we need you. " Seth pants, panic and fear settled within his dark eyes. " Daryl, you too. "

The two of them share a glance before they're moving after Seth. Noelle's feet carrying her almost robotically as she heads into the forest. Careful of the fallen branches and foliage, her eyes dance around wildly as though wondering just what the hell Seth needed them for.

Soon she gets her answer.

Walking through two large trees she watches as the scene gives way to a clearing, wolves gathered in a semi-circle but it was the body on the floor that catches her total attention. The smell of blood now drifting towards her on the air as she makes note of the deep slashes decorating the male's chest. He wasn't a part of the tribe, that much she knew.

It takes her a moment to react, Daryl having already moved from her side to kneel in the foliage and set to work. But for Noelle, her body freezes. The awareness that whoever attacked the male had been so close to the bonfire, causing fear to grip her heart. Her breath stuttering in her chest before she shoves it away, finally willing her body to move into action

She crashes to her knees next to Daryl, her hands immediately settling on the male's stomach to stench the flow of blood, Daryl's observations settling in her mind as she clocks the injuries too as well as goes through the motions of what they needed to do. It was a good five minutes from the beach to where they were, and moving him right now would result in him dying unless they did some sort of miracle in the next few moments.

Shifting to allow Daryl access to the wound, she walks closer to the large silver wolf stood off to her right side, reaching over towards the cord around his leg. Paul seeming to understand what she wanted, shifts to allow her to undo it, grabbing his shirt from the small bundle she shoots him a small smile before shifting back to the body.

The only sound that fills the small clearing is the sound of ripping material and medial words exchanged between Noelle and Daryl. The wolves were a steady presence behind them and idly, Noelle was praising Daryl in her mind. He was handling the wolf issue a bit better than she had. But she knew right now he was in medical mode and that trumped everything.

A curse tumbles off her lips as the man stops breathing and acting quickly she starts compressions, her fingers tilting the males head back as she breathes for him. Prayers ringing out in her mind that he lived, that he breathed as she continues to compress his chest and blow air into his lungs. Blood clings to the side of her face from listening to his chest, but she didn't care.

Turning her head wildly, she looks at her brother. " Tell Sue to prep an OR immediately, if by some miracle we can stabilise him, he's going to need immediate surgery. "

She is aware her words are almost a command, but as the large black head of her brother nods, she knows he wasn't going to hold that over her head. Smiling minutely she turns back, her hands moving in quick tandem with Daryl's. The two of them pushing everything else out of their minds as they do what they were trained for - saving a life.

The seconds seem to drag on as they work but soon enough he's stable enough and Noelle moves out the way as Daryl instructs Paul, Sam, Jared and Jacob in the best way to move the body and not undo the work they'd just done. Moving ahead of them she leads the way out of the forest, and towards the clinic. Her steps hurried and she also knew right now she probably looked like some messed up reject from a horror film.

Pushing open the doors to the clinic she moves out the way as the others come through, immediately falling into step as the male is placed on the gurney. Her fingers pressing against his pulse as she counts the beats, sighing in relief that he was still stable.

" Our surgeon isn't here. " Sue says apologetically as her eyes land on Noelle.

" Daryl – " she starts but she can see him already stripping off his bloody jacket and rolling up his shirt sleeves.

" I've got it. Noelle are you good to help me, Sue you too if you can. "

Noelle nods once at his words, she'd never truly done surgeries, she was stationed in the ER after all but at this moment she wasn't going to let anyone down. Daryl or the male that needed their help. She looks over at the wolves all gathered and then back at Daryl as he starts giving out orders, Sue and her falling into step right along behind him.

Who knew a simple bonfire would end in life-saving surgery.

- ʚɞ -

A / N : Reviews are love and highly appreciated- So how is this as a comeback chapter?. Is it good? let me know what you think. Pretty Please. And yeah i am completely aware it sucks. It's been a while since I wrote Noelle and Paul and it shows. But, I made it nice and long-ish as a plea of forgiveness for not updating for a while.

Also if you want a good dose of angst, do check out wild hearts (yes another shameless plug), as right now that ones filled to the brim with angst.