Is Twilight aggressively gay? No? Then I don't own it, unfortunately. Also proceed assuming this entire story has a trigger warning for sexual assault, as well as abuse. Please don't read if that topic triggers you.

Dreams

Pack links

Thoughts

Chapter 1: Bella

I woke with a start, covered in sweat and panting, trying to remind myself where I was. Home, with Kade. Not with them, not with her. I choked down a sob as I took in my surroundings, home. Well...as close as we could get to home these days anyway. I looked across the room and saw my brother sleeping, listened to his deep breathing to ground myself. I'm safe now, I'm safe. As quietly as I could I got up from the couch I'd been sleeping on and made my way outside, because I can go outside. As I breathed in the fresh air my panic finally dissipated, the dream was still fresh in my mind though. The memories of those men...of that woman. I shuddered again, taking a deeper breath.

"You okay Bells?" A warning growl left my throat as spun around to face the intruder, only stopping as I processed my brother standing in front of me. I winced as I saw him try to hide the hurt with an understanding smile. "Another nightmare?" As bad as I felt I couldn't help but scoff.

"Can you even call them nightmares if they're memories? I swear every time I close my eyes I'm back there...in my personal hell with those..." A growl cut me off, tinged with fear and anger as it tore its way through my chest.

"Bells, I'm not gonna let them get you again. I swear on my life that I won't!" He spoke with such conviction that I wanted to believe him, but his words just pissed me off.

"And how do you plan on stopping them? You couldn't do a damn thing the first time they got me so what would be different this time!" I shouted in his face, the anger too much as I lashed out. "All we can do is run away, we're both pathetic! I'm pathetic!" I snarled, he just stared at me with tears welling in his eyes.

"Bella-" He started but I cut him off.

"No. I-I just need some time...I'm sorry. I know it isn't your fault I just...fuck Kade I've never felt so weak." I was sobbing now, hyperventilating as my brother stood helpless by my side. And with an inhuman amount of will power I forced myself to stop, forced all my feelings to the back of my mind where I'd sort them out...later. "Sorry. Sorry I'm fine. Let's just go back to bed okay?" Without waiting for his response I went back inside, I couldn't deal with his 'time will heal' speech right now.

"Yea...sure thing, Isabella." I flinched at that and growled.

"Bella, don't call me that anymore." The door shut between us then, effectively ending the conversation. I opted to sleep in the bedroom this time, putting that much more space between my brother and I. I heard when he finally came back in, but he went straight to the couch he had been on. Good, we've got an early morning. We're here for a reason, so pull yourself together Swan. I fell into a fitful sleep after that, haunted by red eyes.

When I opened my eyes again soft sunlight was streaming into the room, I groaned as I forced myself up and out of bed.

"You up Bells?" I sighed and rubbed my neck before walking into the kitchen.

"Yea, you ready to go?" He looked like he wanted to talk about last night, but I continued on leaving no room. "We're only about a four hour run from that town uncle Charlie lived in and I would like to get there as soon as we can." I started gathering the few belongings I had and put them in a bag. "Sound good?"

"Bella...we gotta talk about it." He looked at me with kind eyes, but it didn't mean much to me.

"No Kade, we don't. We've already had this conversation a hundred times and it ends the same each one. I'm fucked up right now, I've only been free six months and we've only been back together for four of those. You have to stop telling me I'll be okay cuz right now I'm just not! You don't know what it was like...and I don't want you to. So drop it, when I'm ready I'll tell you but till then just fucking stop." I shook my head and walked outside waiting for him to get his things. Everything had been so messed up between us since I'd finally gotten back, I loved my brother but he just didn't understand my need to be alone lately. When I heard him come out I tied my bag to my leg and shifted without a word. As a human I was smaller in stature than my brother, I was only five foot eleven compared to his six foot five, but our muscles filled us out nearly exactly. His arms and legs were bigger while my stomach and shoulders were clearly more defined (he was always jealous of my seamless six pack because he struggled to maintain a four). However as wolves It was obvious who was the stronger, I stood easily seven feet at the shoulder and was wider by at least half his chest, my form was power by definition. That's not to say his wasn't impressive though, still far larger than any normal wolf he was five feet at the shoulder and easily four feet shoulder to shoulder. Ready? I questioned through our pack link, casting a glance at his copper form. Yea, let's go. With no further prompting we tore off through the Oregon woods, it was a quiet run as I had cut off my side of the link to keep my brother out of my head and three hours later we passed the sign Welcome to Washington, we're almost there Bells I gave a mental nod as my only response. Soon enough we would be face to face with our last living relative, if he was still here anyway. What if we came all this way for nothing? Doubt crept into my mind as my anxiety set in, after all we hadn't heard from our uncle in over fifteen years...he could have left the state. Could have left the country for all we know. There! Its faint but its there, I recognize it. That's Charlie! I let Kade take the lead as we closed in on a decently sized two story house on the edge of the woods, both stopping some twenty feet from the edge before shifting back.

"This is it, we finally made it." I scented the air, committing the musky smell to memory. "That's him?" I didn't clarify what I meant.

"Yep, been a long time since I smelled it but that's him for sure. C'mon." After changing into spare clothes from our bags we headed towards the front door of the house. My heart was hammering in my chest but I fought to keep my composure, this was what we came here for. With a relieved grin on his face Kade knocked on the door, I surveyed the area while we waited. There was a police cruiser in the driveway and I found myself worried that we were about to witness our estranged uncle being arrested, before I could go much further with that thought the door swung open to reveal a man in his mid to late thirties. A lush mustache graced his upper lip and his head was full of dark hair, but his eyes stopped me in my tracks. I'd stared into those eyes over a hundred times in my life, however they weren't surrounded by the smile lines that I so clearly remembered. These ones were softer, the fierce heart of an alpha was nowhere to be seen.

"Kade? What are you..." His brow furrowed in confusion and the differences continued, he didn't chew his lip or twitch his nose in the same way. I let out a breath I hadn't been aware I was holding as his eyes truly took me in. "No way... little Bells?" His eyes flashed between the two of us in disbelief before he shook his head. "H-here. C'mon in, come in." He stepped aside and extended and arm into his home. "Please." My brother and I shared a look before entering, and as I crossed the threshold I could feel that this was just the beginning.