Hey all, here's another new but short chapter!
hope you all enjoy it.
sorry it there are a few run-on sentences or any grammatical or spelling errors.
I edited this chapter sorta fast and had wrote it at like 4 in the morning. HaHa
CHAPTER 26
Bella's P.O.V
Scars.
So many scars covered her upper body; different shapes and sizes, all at different stages of many dark bruises covered her body; hips, thighs, all along her sides, over her chest and shoulders and down her stomach. I silently hope they weren't from what I'm thought they're from. But judging by the tears streaming down Leah's face, I'm afraid they may very well have been. My heart clinched and ached at the sight of her, She looked so broken. She just looked so fragile. I didn't pity her, no. Never pity...I had at one time in my life -after my parents and before I got the job at the club- had gone as low as I possibly could and it had gotten me in a situation where it left me looking like Leah does right now.
So no. I didn't pity her. I admired her, for her strength, her bravery, her will to fight and try to keep going, knowing she may find a better life outside on the one that left these marks on her body.
"Leah. I-I mean...W-What I-" I couldn't seem to form a coherent sentence. I close my eyes, hanging my head. God, what she must have lived through?
Each one of her scars; still healing lacerations and the old and new bruises were all a different testament to how strong she really is. I was lucky that I only had one occurrence where I had ended up looking like Leah, But from the way she looks you knew it was long term torture she'd went through. Had I been in her place for that long, I don't know if I would still be standing, I can only imagine, she has been through more than I ever had.
The scary thing was, a big part of me couldn't help but wonder, had It been someone else that found me instead of Sam, would I have indeed ended up just like Leah or in a similar position I'd been in way back before Mike found me. I very well could have ended up in the wrong situation forced to do things that are way worse than just stripping for men. I could have...but I didn't and for that I am even more grateful that Sam was the one destined to be mated to me.
Out of the corner of my eye I can see Leah puts her shirt back on quickly and silence fills the space between us; Me being so deep in my own thoughts and I'm sure she was doing the same, only she was lost in her painful past.
A good 5 or 10 minutes pass before I clear my throat and turn my body to face back at her. "Sweetie, You need to know that Paul would never EVER hurt you. Leah, he is your mate, he wants to only ever love you and care for you and protect you. It would kill him if you ever got hurt again." She just shakes her head at my words. A sad expression on her face.
She snuffles then whips her nose with the back of her sleeve before speaking. "He'll reject me. I'm scarred, used and ugly. He deserves a much better mate than me." Her voice was laced with so much sadness, but before I can say anything, there's a soft knock on the door. Leah jumps, her whole body recoiling and turning in on herself. I watch her with sad eyes, I sigh and move to get up, standing there for a few seconds before kneeling down in front of her. Putting my hands softly on her knees, giving them a little reassuring squeeze. "It's probably just Paul with some fresh dinner for you. I asked him to get you something warm. Will you eat for me? Please?"
She looks up from hiding her face in her bent knees. Hesitation shining bright in her eyes but still nods mutely. I sigh, grateful she was showing me so much trust. I give her knees another little squeeze then move over to the door. I open the door slowly and Paul makes brief eye contact with me before they land on Leah sitting quietly, folded up on the couch. She had pulled the fuzzy throw blanket that was on the back of the couch, to wrap around her shoulders. As I watched Paul's face I swear I could almost see the cartoon hearts beating out of his eyes when he looked upon her.
"Bella!" Paul and I both jump and look towards the elevator doors when my name rings through the hallway.
Sam is speed walking towards us with a look that I could only describe as a cross between relief and anger. He stops a few feet away from us, his body instantly going rigid as his nose lifts into the air. Nostrils flaring. Paul must have realized what Sam was doing because he is quick to push past me and into the room. I just stand in the doorway confused. Sam's eyes meet mine and in a flash he is pulling me behind him as he turns his whole body to face Paul and Leah in the room.
I can almost feel Sam's confusion as he stares directly at Paul, who is standing protectively in front of Leah. Paul had one of his hands behind him, gently resting it on Leah's stomach. My guess was to reassure him she was there and okay.
"What's going on here?" Sam's voice sounded deeper and a lot more hostile than I was used to. Honestly, it was kinda scaring me. I'd never really seen him go all Alpha before and I wasn't sure if I liked it or not.
"Alpha, this is the rogue that I was telling you about earlier. She knows who is behind the attacks." Paul's voice was cautious as he shifted slightly to let Sam see Leah properly.
Leah had her head held down, tilted to the side in submission and respect. She never razed her eyes, keeping them down and looking at the floor. The expression on her face was making me frown, she looked downright terrified and for some reason it sparked something in me to protect her. Suddenly I felt like a Mamma wolf protecting her cub from the big mean scary growling beast . No pun intended.
"SAM! Can't you see their mates?! Calm down, your scaring her!" I snap out, stepping in front of Sam and give him a harsh smack up against the side of his head. He winces but his eyes shine with something that resembles pride when they meet mine. He smiles apologetically before kissing my forehead and pulls me back into his chest. He turns us both so that he was once again standing slightly before me. Must be an Alpha mate thing, to protect and defend their mate. But still.
Who's a big bad wolf now? I definitely got that boy whooped. I giggle internally as I relish in the feeling of him hugging me.
"Sam, this is Leah." Paul gestures between them. "Beautiful? This is the Alpha of our pack." I nearly swoon when Paul calls her beautiful, A bright big smile blossoms over my lips, but Sam just rolls his eyes; which of course earns him another harsh smack upside the his head from me. Sam turns his head and gives me a soft smile in return, grabbing my hand before walking us both more into the room and up towards Leah. I am momentarily startled when Paul lets out a ferocious growl, it came up from deep in his chest. As weird as it sounds- It reminded me of an Alligator growling. To me it did sound much like a Dog growl or wolf or any type of K9. But I knew all too well how possessive the wolves are with their mates around here. Sam seems unfazed though, as he pulls me into his side and gives Paul an easy going smile.
"Mine." Sam says while his arm that was wrapped around me squeezes tight around my waist before he points in the direction to Leah. "Yours."
"Hey!" I snap. I don't know if I should be offended by that or not. Leah doesn't seem to be offended in the least but in the back of my mind some 'girl power' words are flinging around.
"Well Leah, welcome to the La Push pack." At Sam's words Leah's head shoots up, surprise flooding her features. "Wait, your letting me join the pack?" Leah asks incredulously.
"Well, you are technically the beta female now. But first we need to know what you know about the attacks and make sure you aren't involved." Sam says diplomatically. I understood where he was coming from but Paul looked pissed.
"You think my mate has something to do with the attacks?!" Paul yells out. I watch with wide eyes as his body starts to shake a little and his eyes start to change color, his wolf coming out.
"Paul, it's just a precaution." Sam holds his hands up slightly, showing he doesn't want to fight, but Paul still looks at him murderously. What really surprises me is, I watch as Leah takes careful calculated steps towards Paul before placing her hand gently on his arm. His body then instantly relaxes under her touch and I couldn't help the cartoon image of Beauty and the beast to pop into my mind. The timid girl and the angry beast. I briefly wonder if that's what I look like when I am with Sam.
"Paul, it's okay. I understand." Leah says softly. Paul then pulls her into his arms so quickly that she doesn't have time to protest or pull away from him. He shoves his face into her neck and proceeds to take deep gulps of her scent. I see his arms flex around her torso and a small startled cry escapes from her lips as a look of pure terror mixed with pain crosses her face. I cringe. He didn't know about her fresh injuries.
Paul flinches back a little. His face pinches in panic and pain before asking. "Did I hurt you, Baby? I'm so sorry! Where does it hurt?" Paul moves away to hold her at arm's length. His eyes rapidly move over Leah's body inspecting her, but she just turns her head and looks at me with a terrified expression.
"Leah, I promise you're safe here." I tell her matter-of-factually and give her a reassuring smile. Paul's face changes to take on a sadness, He looks like a wounded puppy as his eyes and head turn to flick between me and Leah, trying to figure out what is going on.
"Leah?" Sam asks. I try to ignore the tone that Sam uses but still I shoot him a look that says, Be gentle or I will kill you. Leah releases a breath. She struggles to pull out of Paul's grip but manages and slowly walks over to sit on the couch. Paul follows her every move. When she's settled on the couch, she looks up, eyes moving over each of us but lingers on Paul for a moment longer and something unreadable flits across her expression before replaced with hopelessness.
"You didn't hurt me Paul, at least not intentionally. The person behind the attacks was the one that hurt me. Him and his followers." Her voice was but a whisper but she spits the last sentence out in disgust, eyes dropping to her folded hands in her lap.
"Who? What did they do to you?" Paul's voice was a growl and I knew it was because someone hurt his mate.
"His name is James and his followers think of him as royalty." The name meant nothing to me, but Paul and Sam immediately tense and give each other a serious long look at each other. Leah wipes at her cheeks silently as tears continuously fall from her eyes. Paul is the first to break the silent conversation and moves to sit beside her. He raises his hand and gently starts wiping the tears away with the pads of his thumbs, telling her it would be okay.
My curiosity just kept building and building. Both of there reactions were puzzling and I really wanted to know what the fuck was going on here.
"Sam, Who is James?" I ask quietly, tugging on his shirt sleeve. Sam doesn't move his head when he gives me a fleeting glance, hesitating before finally answering my question.
"James is the Alpha of this pack."