I pretty much put this in my profile page; But just a quick question to you readers, can anyone see my story in the listings page? Because I cant lol

Thanks for the reviews guys - appreciate the support. I actually wrote this story a few months ago as a compulsion to know Nick's character better, so the underlying story is already down... but I'm doing a hell of a lot of editing to it as some of it is a bit pants in places! lol, anyway - enjoy chapter 6!!!

6. Briefing

Jeremy set a cup of herbal tea down on the side table next to Belle, it was laced with a mild sedative – mainly to calm and relax her. She hadn't spoken any more than a couple of words since arriving. Jeremy had ordered everyone out of the study apart from Elena – this time thinking another female would help her keep calm. Elena sat on another set of furniture across from the room so as she could keep watch easily enough. Taking in her scent, Elena could tell Belle used unscented products on her skin, and had done so for some time. The skin around her eyes was red and puffy, looking dry in the corners indicating she had been crying so much the tears simply weren't coming now.

"So, you say your Son is Nick's child…?" Jeremy asked.

"Matthew. His name is Matthew." Belle replied, her voice raspy and choked.

Elena inwardly flinched, as an image of Matthew Hull sprang to the forefront of her mind - the man who came shockingly close to taking her babies from her two years ago. Shaking the fearsome memory from her mind, she concentrated on the conversation at hand.

"And yes he is Nick's son, because he's a Werewolf – just like all of you." She added glancing at Elena. Jeremy just continued to let her have her say. "If you don't believe me, take this…" She said handing out a red sweater she had been clutching, already foreseeing that they might need some convincing.

Jeremy flicked his eyes towards Elena who stood up and in one stride gently took the jumper from Belle's grasp and lifted it to her nose.

She took a few moments trying to get past Belle's sent to another underlying one. "She's telling the truth." Elena replied eventually handing it over to Jeremy.

He gave it the slightest sniff of contemplation, like someone would with a glass of wine, and nodded to himself before handing it back. "How long has it been since Matthews's first change?" He asked.

"A year and a half - There weren't any witnesses." She stated flatly. "A couple of years back I bought some land in Wisconsin - in the middle of nowhere - and I've been keeping him under strict guidelines to the rules of the Pack… or at least from what I'd learned from Nick anyway." She glanced up at Elena as Jeremy sat back in his chair waiting for the rest of the explanation.

"Two weeks ago, Matthew was jumped coming back from a football game at his school. Some guys were holding a grudge because he talked to one of their girlfriends. The incident forced a change – and to cut a long story short, two of them are still in hospital with serious injuries."

She continued. "I awoke the other night to noises in my house. I thought it was Matthew at first coming in from a run – but he normally goes straight to bed. I could hear him pacing up and down the hall… I remember leaving my room, and the next thing I know I'm waking up lying on the floor with a splitting headache." Instinctively she reached up to the back of her head. "It was early morning and Matthew was gone… someone's taken him."

"How do you know he hasn't just run away?" Elena asked. "After everything that had happened, how you can be sure-"

"I know my son – he wouldn't do that to me. I have always stuck by him, whatever trouble he got himself into." Belle snapped. "Matthew isn't one of those kids that throws a tantrum and just runs off." She ranted staring Elena down, unknowingly gaining some respect, as Jeremy's lips gave the barest twitch of a smile. It took a lot for Elena to back down first, if at all. The woman knew how to hold an argument.

The conversation lasted into the night, with Jeremy getting as much information out of Belle as she could possibly recall. It was about half past eleven when they finally decided to call it a night. Elena came from the room first and wasn't surprised to see Nick just getting to his feet from sitting on the floor. She was a little surprised however, to see Antonio and Clay keeping him company. Well, not so much with Clay – after all, he had been forced to leave his Alpha and his wife in a room with a potential threat.

"Belle…" Nick whispered placing a hand on the small of her back as she walked past. "I think we need to talk about this." He said leading her into the living room.

"Nick." Jeremy spoke stopping him mid stride. "What Belle needs now is rest. It's late, take her belongings up to the guest room."

Nick ducked his head, changing his direction leading the way up the stairs, with her bag firmly in his grasp.

*****

Sitting on the end of the bed she just stared off into space, as Nick remained equally silent. After several attempts to start a conversation, or to ask a question, but found he couldn't form the words, he waited patiently for her to talk to him, but after ten minutes gave up and opened the door to leave.

"I thought you'd take him away from me." She whispered stopping him mid stride.

Nick's pulse doubled as his stomach dropped. He let out a heavy sigh and closed the door. "I wouldn't have done that." He replied, keeping his back to her to her.

"Then tell me this Nicky… where's your mother? I sure as hell don't see her anywhere around here." She snapped bitterly. Glancing up and seeing the hurt in Nick's face as he spun angrily on his heel, she rubbed at her eyes with the back of her hand, exhaling a deep breath. "I'm sorry, you didn't deserve that… I guess I'm just tired. I haven't slept much the last couple of days." She apologised holding her head in her hands.

Shifting uncomfortably on his feet, he took a hesitant step forward. "Do you want me to stay for a while?" He asked slowly kneeling beside her, placing his hand over her own as she still held her Son's red sweater.

He hesitated for a second before deciding to take a seat in the armchair by the window, elbows on knees, waiting for her to speak.

She gave the barest of smiles, silence deafening the room until it was broken by a heaving sigh from her. "Could you pass me my bag…?" She asked weakly indicating the back pack laid by Nick's foot. He took it and came to sit beside her on the bed. "Do you want to know what he looks like?" She asked cautiously pulling out a miniature photo album, and laying it in her lap.

Nick looked up at her, unsure as to what to do. She looked down at her lap averting eye contact. "Nicky, I really am sorry– but you have to understand how scared I was when I found out I was pregnant."

"You should have called me." He whispered. The words leaving his mouth before he realised.

"And I would have done… but I couldn't bring myself to do it." She paused, thinking. "I can still remember those stories you told me about - when the Sons are taken away from their mothers at birth..." She shuddered. An awkward silence fell over the pair. "It's just – the pain I felt when I left your house that day, and every time before that! I couldn't do that to myself again Nick, it hurt so much for so long – I just wasn't strong enough… The baby was the only thing that got me through it."

"Do you think I wasn't hurting?" He asked, getting to his feet and crossed his arms as he looked out the window - his back to her once again. "Shit, I tried to call you a hundred times, even dropped by your work but security turned me away… a part of me has always loved you Belle."

His comment threw her; all she could then manage was to guiltily chew on her lower lip still not daring to look at him. Reaching into the book she pulled out a photograph and placed it beside her on the bed, face down.

"That was taken about a month ago." She said getting up off the bed and walking around to stretch her legs. "I'll be back in a minute." She stated leaving the room to use the toilet.

After pacing the room a couple of times and chewing half of his thumb nail away, his curiosity got the better of him and he snatched the photo up. His breath caught as he stared down at what could have been his own reflection.

"He looks like me…" He said startled by the resemblance as Belle reappeared.

Matthew had the same dark brown hair, only a shorter style than his own. The same olive toned skin and strong jaw, even going so far as to inherit the shadow of a beard under his bottom lip. Only, it was Belle's hazel eyes that stared out, giving his eyes the same animalistic transparency his mother held.

Belle's smile relaxed some. "He definitely gets his looks from you. That and more…" She said her words trailing off as she sat back down on the bed.

"The fact that he's a Werewolf you mean?" Nick asked stating the obvious.

Belle shook her head with a chortle. "He plays the guitar – pretty good too. In fact he was lead vocalist in his own band last year." She chirped in, remembering Nick's black bass resting against the wall of his bedroom from when they last met. "They do a pretty good cover of 'California Dreaming' actually." She added trying to lighten the conversation. She gave him a brief smile as he looked at her, but she couldn't help as the corners of her lips dropped, taking in a shuddering breath.

"We'll get him back Belle, don't worry." He said walking over to her, to wrap his arms around her.

"I'm so sorry Nicky." She sobbed into his chest. Nick comforted her and kissed the top of her head in a bid to help calm her down. However angry and hurt he was, Belle broke through all of his barriers – holding the key to all his emotions.

After trying to calm her down for another half hour, he made her another herbal tea with added sedatives and she eventually gave in to her exhaustion and fell asleep. Being too tired to change into her bed clothes, she still lay asleep fully dressed atop the covers, before Nick pulled a blanket over her.

******

The following morning after watching over her all night, Nick slipped out from the bed as the first rays of light touched the window. Antonio found him later on sitting in the study overlooking a book. His father recognised it as 'The Legacy' – the only hard evidence of the Pack's existence and heritage from the last couple of hundred years.

The younger Sorrentino was overlooking the pages of the family trees, examining his lineage. Antonio smirked at the furrowed brow of concentration on his sons face. "You know if the wind changes you'll stay like that." He commented. Nick smiled in response closing the book to pay attention to his dad.

"How's she doing?" Antonio asked, nodded skywards indicating the bedroom.

Nick rubbed the back of his neck and took a deep breath, stretching as he got to his feet. "Okay, I think – I thought it best to leave her asleep."

Antonio nodded in agreement. "She looked pretty beat." He paused contemplating his next question. "How are you doing?" He asked walking with Nick out into the hall, heading down to the kitchen where Elena and Clay were preparing fruit and the twin's cereal for breakfast. The growling of Nick's stomach reminded him he hadn't eaten since yesterday lunchtime.