A/N: PLEASE GUYS REVIEW I NEED TO KNOW IF THIS IS GOOD KISSES
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"Mom, he barely talks."
"I know. But if you want to help him, you have to start trying. I know it hurts to see him in pain, but if that boy needs help, you have to be the one to give it."
Leah Clearwater was worried sick.
It was December, and despite Leah's pleads with Isaac to wait until the spring to come to the park, his incessant begging led to her return to Deerhead Park every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
However, this particular weekend, Isaac hadn't shown up.
Leah wanted to believe he was just sick, or his family took a weekend trip. Maybe he was grounded, or he had a big spelling test to study for.
But something in the core of Leah's being knew that something was wrong with her imprint.
She had waited in the park Friday and Saturday until about 9pm, not wanting to leave in case he made a late appearance. But for those two days, there was not a single sign of Isaac. "Maybe he finally came to his senses about the weather." Seth had joked. But Leah didn't laugh, because she knew Isaac would never abruptly stop going. She would have seen it coming. Everything seemed to have been going well, she even gave Isaac a few pairs of Seth's old clothes to keep him warm. He was slowly becoming more talkative, saying a few words here and there.
It was around 8pm on Sunday, and Leah was unwilling to give up. She would stay until her usual time, despite Sue's insistence that she come home. She spun herself around in the swing as the time passed by.
From the corner of her eye, she saw a figure. Out of all the wolves in the pack, she had the keenest eyesight, and knew her eyes never betrayed her. As the figure drew closer, through the darkness, she could make out that the person was small, and walking oddly.
"Isaac?" Leah called out timidly. The figure looked up. It was her imprint.
"Isaac! Where have you been? I was so worried about you." She rushed worriedly, walking over to him. The boy stared at the ground, his fists clenching beside him. She delicately laid her hands on his shoulders as she bent down, and he flinched noticeably. "Isaac?" she whispered. He continued to stare at the ground, and Leah noticed a tear slid off of his face onto the ground. "I-Isaac what's the matter? Did something happen?" she tried. The boy refused to look at her. Gently, she jerked his chin so he would face her. Isaac winced.
A black eye.
Isaac's eye was completely swollen shut, and big ugly bruise wrapped around the perimeter of his eye, making him look like a raccoon. Leah gasped. "Who did this to you?!" she whisper-yelled, afraid what he would do if she raised her voice. Tears continued to slide down his reddened cheeks, and he shook his head. Leah fumed. Why wouldn't he tell her? Hadn't she proved that she cared about him? That she loved him? "Isaac, tell me who did this! I can help you, bud, I can, but you have to tell me-"
"I-I fell." He interrupted. He couldn't even look into her eyes as he said it, but there was a certain detached somberness about the way he said these words. She could tell he probably said excuses like this all the time. Leah had to hold back a growl.
"Isaac, falling and hurting yourself would not do this type of damage. Tell me who did this." She said carefully. He just continued to shake his head, his small fists opening and closing. "Is it your stepdad? Ron, right? That's his name?" she interrogated. The boy whimpered, and it was at that exact moment that Leah's biggest fears were confirmed. Leah did her best to restrain the wolfish roar attempting to escape her throat. "I'm going to kill him, I swear to God Isaac I' m going to slaughter-"
"No."
Leah stopped in her tracks. "What?" she questioned. Isaac continued to look at the ground. "L-Leah, I need y-you to promise m-me."
"Yes, anything."
"Y-You can't h-hurt him."
"Anything but that." How could he even ask her of that? Did he realize what seeing him like this did to her? The fact that somebody could hurt her little boy, someone who was so innocent and naïve and kind, what kind of disgusting piece of sh-
"L-Leah, please. Y-You can't. We n-need him. H-He takes care of u-us."
She was at a loss as to what to do. This idea that he needed this man was obviously drilled into his head by his weak, insecure mother. Did he not see that this was wrong? "Isaac. Good fathers, fathers that little boys like you need, don't hit. They don't hit their kids." She explained slowly and seriously.
Isaac had never shown much emotion, everything about his presence around the she-wolf was controlled and carefully displayed. He had wanted her to see a fraction of himself, not wanting to get any more attached than he already was. But the young boy clearly could not hold it in anymore, and collapsed into Leah's arms.
Gut wrenching sobs left the small child's body, and Leah felt tears in her own eyes. This poor kid had been harboring this all on his own for so long, and he wouldn't even let her do anything about it.
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Much to Leah's reluctance, Isaac went back to his broken home, claiming that he was alright and she shouldn't worry.
But it was too late for that.
When she arrived home, she was dead on her feet. Isaac's sobs had taken a huge toll on her emotionally, and she felt lost and confused. Should she try to tell someone about her imprint's stepfather? Or would it make it worse for the little boy?
About to drag herself to bed, she noticed Seth sitting at the kitchen table expectantly. Noticing the dried tears on his sister's face, he frowned sympathetically. "He's being abused, isn't he?" Seth said quietly.
Bursting into hysterics, Leah fell against the wall, sliding down as she ran her hands through her hair. "And there's nothing I can do, Seth. Nothing."