"What? Ohh, it's okay, Sam knows I'm here."
"Young lady, get in this car if you know what is good for you," Harry said sternly.
Mason's instincts were again to run; but, then her instincts also told her if she ran it would just land her in a lot more trouble than she was already in. She hesitated but got in the truck. Harry made a U-turn and headed back to La Push.
Chapter 12
ByTwilightSelenaCullen
Selena and Seth had just reached the tree line. Selena crouched low and watched as Mason climb into a car. She quickly surveyed the situation before turning around and reporting it to the rest of the pack as they ran, "Sam get back quickly, Mason's on her way home. Mr. Clearwater picked her up but Chief Swan is with him. We need to be back in our human forms."
"Good job dad," Seth thought as they ran back to the house together.
"I'll race you," Seth said.
"Oh you're so on!" Selena agreed.
They both stopped quickly to make it fair.
"On my mark… get set…"
Selena crouched lower towards the ground, and then Seth called "Go!"
They took off in the direction of the house at full speed; but, by the time they got back Selena was a good seven feet in front of him. They changed back into their human forms and Selena smiled at him over her shoulder.
She took another step and then ran straight into her brother, "Oomph."
He looked down at her angrily and she looked back up at him fearfully. Before she could say a word he grabbed her arm and turned her sideways, quickly landing five sharp swats.
"Ow Jake what did I do?" She asked with innocent tear-filled eyes.
He gave her a dress, "A race really, at a time like this? They will be here any second, now put this on quickly and get your ass inside."
She pulled it on and gave him one last sad look before entering the house.
Jacob crooked a finger at a very scared looking Seth, "W-we're sorry, I'm sorry, it was my idea Sir."
"I know it was, we heard the whole thing, now come here," Jake ordered.
Seth hesitated, "Now Seth we don't have time for this!"
Seth walked towards him but they heard the vehicle coming off the main road, "Get inside I'll deal with you in a minute."
Sam came outside, "Go ahead; I've got this from here." Jacob caught up to Seth and grabbed him by the ear, "Ouch I'm sorry, please, ow."
Jake pulled him to the living room and swiftly bent him over the couch. After giving him ten swift smacks he let him up, "now get dressed, your father might want to see you before he goes fishing."
Seth nodded and Selena handed him some clothes, he winced as he slid his jeans on.
"Well we got off way easier than we normally do," Selena said with a half smile.
Jacob growled, "You're both very lucky this time, but I wouldn't advise pushing it."
"Yes sir," they both answered, before following Jacob out of the house.
Paul looked at them with pity and whispered, "Man I'm glad I didn't go with you two, I probably would have joined and done the same thing."
"Me too," Embry agreed.
Seth dried his eyes when he stepped outside. It wasn't a long punishment at all, but the force of it was enough for him to let a few tears escape.
Harry and Charlie both stepped out of the car. Harry looked at his son, "Always getting into trouble aren't you?"
"You know Seth, our little troublemaker," Leah agreed.
"And it seems like he's not the only one," Harry said glancing at Selena's red eyes. She looked away quickly.
"Yeah well Selena's always in trouble, and now we have another one just like her,"
Leah said glancing over at Mason who had just stepped out of the car. Mason glared right back. Sam ran forward and hugged his little sister tightly. Mason was surprised and stiffened at first, but then she relaxed. Sam pulled away from her but kept his hold on her arms while looking directly into her eyes.
"Don't you ever do that to me again! Do you understand me?"
Mason looked at him with tears in her eyes, "I…I'm sorry."
He rubbed her arm gently, "I know. We'll talk about this later."
Charlie looked around, "So um… what's going on, that brings you all here?"
Selena put on her best smile, "Search party Chief Swan, we were all very worried about Mason."
"Oh. Okay. That makes sense," he replied.
"Thank you so much for taking the time to bring her back, and I'm so sorry she's caused you trouble," Sam said.
"It's no problem at all, I'm just glad we were the first car to show up and give her a ride," Charlie said, "Hitchhiking is very dangerous, especially for a young girl like you."
"I'll keep that in mind," Mason answered stiffly.
Sam gave her a warning look and she continued with a more charming voice, "I'm sorry it won't happen again, and thanks for the ride home Chief Swan."
Charlie nodded.
"Well I guess we'll be off then," Harry said as he got into the car.
"Bye, and have fun fishing," Seth waved.
Sam waited for them to drive off before returning to his little sister, "We have a lot to discuss and this time you won't be getting a grace period. You have to realize the significance of the stunt you just pulled."
"I do Sammy," she tried.
"No you don't," Sam said, "What Selena just told Chief Swan was true, you had all of us worried sick. We care about you so much and we couldn't bare the thought of losing you Mason."
After seeing that Mason was taking in what he said he tried to lighten the mood by saying, "even Selena woke up Early."
"Hey," Selena growled, and then she shrugged, "Well yeah he's right there's not a lot of people I'd do that for."
She looked at Mason and the tears returned to her eyes, "Besides my family," She said as she walked over and gave her another hug, "You're like a sister to me, and I was so upset that you might be gone."
Mason hugged her back, "I'm sorry, I just didn't feel I was worthy of all of your love."
"Well you were wrong," Paul said, "you are and we love you very much!"
Selena smiled, "You don't count, everyone knows how much you care about her."
Mason giggled and Sam looked at Selena warningly, "What it's true, okay fine, I'm sorry Paul."
"I'm sorry too Paul," Mason said, "and everyone else."
Sam had his hand placed on the top of Mason's back and he nudged her towards the door. She looked up and Sam Emily standing there with teary eyes. Emily opened her arms and Mason jogged towards her and into her embrace. Emily let her tears fall freely as she clung on to Mason. She took a deep breath and stepped back.
"Please don't ever think about leaving us again… ever."
Mason nodded at her, "I'm sorry."
Emily smiled and wiped her eyes then looked over Mason's shoulder meaningfully. Mason turned around and saw Sam. He started speaking to the others, "I have to take care of this, but you all relax and come inside, Selena please help Emily with breakfast, we'll be down shortly."
Selena nodded, knowing better than to argue with Sam when he had his mind set on punishing someone. All that would do was get her punished too, and besides she enjoyed helping Emily cook.
"Yes Sir," She answered.
He gave her a questioning look and then left.
"What was that about?" Seth asked.
"Playing good girl for now, I don't want to test them, do you?" Selena asked.
Seth smirked, "It might be fun."
Jake smacked him upside the head, "What was that?"
"Um… I said helping Emily cook might be fun… I'm going to go find out," and with that he almost ran into the house, pulling a giggling Selena along with him.
Sam walked upstairs letting Mason follow. Every instinct once again told her to run but that's technically what got her into this mess in the first place; and she didn't know if she could stand seeing all of them hurt again. Sam thought about how he should deal with his sister this time. He knew he would never use a belt on her after seeing the images from earlier. She seemed to hate the hairbrush but he didn't know if it was working. He decided to use the hairbrush for a longer period of time then he usually does, and to put more force behind it. It was a tough decision but he knew his little sister, she was tough, and had wolf blood in her, she could take it.
"Get me the hairbrush and then come here."
She fidgeted with her hands, "Does it have to be with the brush Sammy? I'm really sorry, I promise."
"I know you are but that doesn't change the fact that you still did it, and worried us all. But since I know that I'm not going to lecture you but this will go way smoother if you cooperate, so go get it please," Sam said.
She slowly retrieved the brush and handed it to him giving him another sad look, and hoping that it would end soon.
He answered with a "Thank you," and then pulled her over his lap. He started her punishment on top of her jeans and gave her a firm twenty swats. She had tears streaming down her face when he lifted her up. She looked relieved but he shook his head, "I'm sorry but it isn't nearly over yet."
That brought on more tears but Sam steeled himself. He had to do this, it was for her own good, and maybe now she would think twice about her safety. He unbuttoned her jeans and pulled them down and then flipped her back over his lap. He gave her a second to adjust herself and then continued with the punishment. She squirmed a little but made no effort to struggle or fight against him which made the whole thing a lot easier. In the past he'd had to deal with a few fights from Selena and Seth but most of the time now they'd realize that there was no getting out of it and either give in right away or give up quickly. Mason started to cry harder and she began wondering if the smacks would ever end.
"S-sam please I'm s-sorry."
Sam knew that he could not let her off easy this time so he continued, and even picked up the pace. He wanted it to end almost as badly as she did. But he would not relent no matter how many times she tried.
"Ouch, Sammy…." He continued to bring the brush down, "It hurts…" over and over, "please… Sammy I'm sorry…" Sam continued, "S-so s-sorry."
Sam decided that she had almost had enough and brought the brush down hard ten more times on her sit spots. She whimpered, and even yelped a few times at the pain; but, she still just cried and didn't resist.
Sam knew it was his turn to talk and he put the brush down on the bed and pulled Mason up. She sat gently on his lap sobbing uncontrollably. Her hair fell down over her eyes and he ran his hand through it, brushing it behind her, and it fell onto her back. He looked down at her and cupped her chin, "Look at me."
She very slowly tilted her head up. She wanted to gain control of her emotions and Sam gave her a minute but there was no use. She had too many right now, and he knew it. He had been through it all before, and had to deal with another girl many, many times, "You don't have to hide from me; this is the part where you let everything out."
Her breath caught a few times as she tried to apologize once more but Sam shushed her and pulled her forward into his chest. She wrapped her arms around him and cried.
"Its okay baby girl let it all out. I'm here for you I promise, I'm not going anywhere."
She tried to speak but had difficulty between the sobs. "It's alright you can tell me in a minute, just take a few deep breaths, its okay."
She breathed in and out slowly until her breaths were whole and not broken, or shaken.
"There you go," he said brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear, "Now what did you want to tell me?"
"I'm not going anywhere either," she whispered.
He smiled and hugged her once more.
"Come on," he said picking her up.
He carried her to the bathroom down the hall and stood her up. He ran a washcloth under warm water and handed it to her, "Here, take as much time as you need. I'll be downstairs with the others."
She nodded and he kissed her gently on her forehead, "I love you little sister."
"I love you too big brother."
She grinned at him and continued to smile to herself after he left. She loved being able to say that.
"Breakfast is almost ready," Selena called hearing Sam descend the staircase.
"And did you help make any of it?" He asked.
Emily jumped in, "Yes she helped a lot."
"Good," Sam said.
But of course Selena couldn't leave it at that, "I actually enjoy helping Emily cook thank you very much."
"Watch your tone," Sam warned.
Selena rolled her eyes, and Sam got in her face, "I said watch it."
"Sorry," Selena said avoiding Sam's eyes, "Will she be joining us for breakfast?"
"Yes, but why is that any of your concern?" Sam asked.
"I was just going to set a plate out for her, that's all, I didn't mean anything by it honestly," Selena said.
Sam surprised her by hugging her, "I know, I'm sorry, I'm just kind of tired. I didn't mean to be so rude Selly."
Selena smiled, "I forgive you, wow I don't get to say that part very often, that feels weird. I don't like it."
Sam laughed and ruffled her hair. She growled at him and ran her fingers through it straightening it again.
"Excuse me but did you just growl at me young lady?" Sam asked.
The others eyes widened and Emily looked at Sam and sighed. There was nothing she could do to stop it. But none of them were expecting what happened next.
"Are you challenging me?" Sam asked playfully.
"Maybe I am," Selena answered.
Emily smiled, "You know the rules not in the house, and go on, get all that energy out before breakfast."
"Are you sure, you don't need me?" Selena asked.
Emily smiled, "No darling go on."
"I think she's just scared," Paul put in.
"Am not!"
Selena said running out into the yard. Sam followed and they faced each other.
"Come on, come at me you little spitfire," Sam said folding his hands and motioning for her to make the first move.
Mason ran downstairs and outside hearing the others chanting, "Fight."
"Five bucks on Selena," Seth said.
"Oh you are so on," Paul answered.
Selena ran toward him and leapt into the air trying to knock him over and pin him down. Sam caught her in mid air and speedily dropped her towards the ground. She squealed but he had his arm wrapped behind her and didn't let her hit the ground hard. Once he had her pinned with one arm he started tickling her with the other. She squealed and kicked and struggle but to no avail. He had her right where he wanted her.
"St-stop, Sammy! Stop it!"
"Jacob come help!" Sam said.
"No fair, n-no reinforcements!" Selena yelled between laughs.
"Overruled," Sam and Jacob said and Jacob joined it.
"No! Guys st-stop! S-stop it!"
"What's the magic word?" Jacob asked.
"Please!" She yelled.
They stopped for her to catch her breath before Jacob answered, "Actually no it was omelet but since you asked so nicely… hmm… no!"
They continued for another minute or so with Selena futile struggles before Emily mercifully called for them to come inside for breakfast.
Selena laid there for another moment catching her breath as the others went in, "You guys suck so much."
Mason came over and held out a hand. Selena took it gladly and smiled, "Thanks."
They walked inside together. Sam grabbed Selena just before she reached the door and started dusting her off, "Let's not give Emily a reason to be mad shall we?"
She smiled and glared at him at the same time, "It's your fault, I'd just blame it on you."
"You agreed, and you lost so it's your fault for not winning," Sam said.
"It would be both of your faults, I'd blame both of you," Emily said.
Sam smiled and after receiving a quick inspection and an approval from Emily that she was clean enough. Selena stepped in and around the two as they kissed, "Way to take up the whole doorway."
Sam glared at her playfully. Mason came up from behind Sam and snaked her arms around his waist. He lifted his arm and hooked it around the petite girl. He looked down and gave her a big loving smile.
"I was worried, I thought it was a real fight at first. I…I thought you were just really angry with me and taking it out on Selena."
Sam bent over for eye to eye contact.
"No, first off, no matter how upset I might get with something you do, I would never take my anger out on anyone, INCLUDING you, got it?"
Mason smiled, "got it."
"And for the record, if it WERE a real fight, who do you think would win that?" Sam asked with a smile.
"You of course!" Mason said then looked at her friend, "Sorry Selena, but ummm just look at those arms," she giggled for the first time in over a day.
"Yeah, yeah," said Selena, and shot back a smile as she was glad to see Mason looking happy again.
Sam and Mason walked in with Emily. Mason sat right next to Sam and appeared to be a bit clingy. Something she had never done before. Sam kissed her head and decided to just let Mason do what she felt she needed to do.
"Well I owe Paul five bucks because Selena didn't win this play fight," Seth said, "Thanks a lot babe."
Normally Selena would be happy that he bet on her but instead she replied with a "Well that's what you get for gambling" since she lost.
"I don't know she's been trained pretty well," Sam said looking at Selena, "She's a fiery little one."
"Lethal," Paul said, "If she'd ever need to be."
Selena smiled and looked at them innocently, "Well I learned from the best."
"Speaking of," said Sam, "we need to really get started with your training today. Now more than ever, I don't want to put it off. The quicker you learn to control your emotions, well, for the most part, the better we will all be, especially you."
"So ummm, does everyone know now what my step-brother did?" She asked meekly.
"Yes," Paul answered, "personally, I want to hunt him down and tear him from limb to limb!"
Mason found a spark and jolted, "Oooo, can we actually do that?"
"WOAH! Mason!" Sam snapped then took a deep breath, "Okay, believe me, I want to do the same as Paul but killing him won't make you feel better."
"Okay, we don't have to kill him. We can just really, really hurt him," said Mason.
Sam thought about it for a moment, "tell you what, we complete your training and get your emotions UNDER control. THEN and ONLY then will we pay a visit and teach that jerk a lesson; BUT, if you or anyone one here even THINKS of going off on your own to handle it, you will be TRULY sorry. Do I make myself clear!?"
Sam looked around the table and everyone nodded in agreement.
"Okay then good, let's finish eating."
Selena looked at the clock, "Wow I can't believe it's only like seven in the morning, it feels like the middle of the day, this is so weird."
"Yeah you all will sleep well tonight," Emily said.
"Especially after all the training we will be doing as a pack and for Mason," Sam added.
