Chapter 7: Heartbreak Doesn't End

A/N: Thank you to any readers who are still with me! Let me know what you guys are thinking so far.

T/W: Abuse. Please note, there is explicitly described abuse in this chapter from parent to child. I will make sure to be calling out any warnings at the beginning of each chapter so that you can know what to expect.

Sam's Point of View

It was official. Sam figured he was probably the worst human in the entire Pacific Northwest. First he crushes Leah's heart, practically on their anniversary. A girl he thought he was going to marry and spend the rest of his happy life with. A girl he dreamed of having children with, of loving every day and holding in his arms.

Then he imprints on Leah's best friend and cousin, only to shapeshift from self loathing and nearly kill said imprint. The chance of either girls ever talking to him, or looking at him without hatred or fear in their eyes was slim to none.

Maybe, just maybe, if he hadn't been so damn distracted by his own thoughts, he wouldn't have let Leah crash into him and cover her in his searing hot coffee. "Oh my god, Leah, are you okay?"

He could tell the question didn't register in her mind as she slammed her fists into his chest, tears streaming down her face. His heart broke seeing the pain she was in and he let her hit him, just as he had Sky the night before. He knew he deserved far worse. Regardless of the imprint, he would always love her. She just couldn't be the center of his universe anymore.

Calming his fear that something happened to Emily by listening for her steady heartbeat that he had already grown accustomed to, he was startled when Leah looked back up at him with an expressionless face. Eyes he didn't recognize even though he had stared into them for countless hours of his life. Her voice was even harder to bear, "Looks like she wants you."

The tears had stopped falling, and when she aggressively shook off his steadying hold on her arms from the collision, he let her. He stood there in stunned silence for a moment before he turned and yelled after her. She never turned around, or broke her run until she was well out of sight.

Defeated, yet slightly hopeful from the comment she made, he made his way inside the doors of the hospital. Sue and Harry were standing there, hands clenched together as they stared after their daughter.

As always the polite family, Sue spoke gently and rubbed her hands up and down Sam's arms. "I am so sorry about her, she is just hurting so much right now. I'm not even sure what happened. Emily is still asleep."

Clearing his throat Sam spoke, "She said Emily asked for me. I suppose she must have said something in her sleep." He looked between Harry and Sue. "Can we sit for a minute? I've wanted to speak with you both about everything that is going on. Outside of Council meetings as we all know this is more than just tribal business for us."

Harry nodded and offered a small smile. "Of course, son."

They made their way over to the small seating area that they had been in the night before. It was currently vacant. "I just... I wanted to take a moment to tell you how sorry I am about how it all played out. I love your daughter very much and honestly, I always thought I would settle down and marry her as soon as she was out of school. She was my world, but the Spirits had other ideas. And I... I am just... I am so sorry that I was the cause of Emily's suffering too. And that we had to rely on that nasty leech to bring her back to us. I just. I will never be able to apologize enough. I will never expect you both to forgive me."

Sam was taken aback when they both laughed. "Who are we to judge what our ancestors have designed to be fate?" Sue said simply.

Harry elaborated. "You did all the right things, in ending things with Leah to protect her. In explaining things to Emily. You are the first of our spirit warriors in such a long, long time and until you experience things, we don't know which parts of our legends hold the most truth. We are truly sorry you have to be the guinea pig for the rest of the tribe. The younger boys should thank you for suffering on your own and learning these lessons so that they do not have to. I pray my son does not get the honor and burden you have been blessed with, but I am proud to have you and proud to have you protecting our sweet Emily."

Sam cleared his throat, fighting back tears. "Can we, can we go see Emily now?" The imprint pull was calling to him.

They smiled knowingly and stood up to follow him down the hall.

When they got into the room, they saw Seth sitting beside Emily, holding her hand in Leah's absence.

The next 2 hours passed torturously slowly. The only movements occurred when Seth suddenly reached up to rub his cheek, followed about 5 minutes later by him rubbing his scalp as if someone had pulled his hair before a light hiss escaped him as he grabbed onto his back. Before Sam had the chance to ask if he was okay, Emily's eyelids were fluttering open. There was a collective inhale as everyone waited to see what would happen.

She looked around the room before her eyes rested on Sam, a contented feeling extending to Sam through the imprint bond, letting him know that she wasn't angry he was here. Seth's eyes were on Sam, scrutinizing him, but he could hardly even notice. Harry escorted everyone out of the room stating that Sam and Emily needed to discuss some things.

Sam lowered himself into the chair that Seth had been sitting in. He went to reach for Emily's hand before he lowered his own. Would she ever want him touching her again? After all the pain he had caused?

"What happened, Sam?" Emily's voice was scratchy from disuse but there was no malice. In fact, it only held gentleness and caring.

Sam never considered himself an overly emotional person. So when he burst into tears, it took both of them by surprise. "Not only did I break Leah's heart, but my soulmate is her best friend and cousin. I am hands down the worst person in the world." He buried his face in his hands, muffling the sobs.

Her good hand came to him and laced through his hair in a comforting way. She moved her hand to his cheek, encouraging him to look at her. "Shh, Sam it's okay. You didn't mean for this to happen, it's not your fault."

When he looked into her eyes, as she was commanding he do, and he would listen to her for the rest of his existence, he was mesmerized once again, and he knew she was the gravity holding him in place.

It felt like hours had passed where no words were exchanged. Sam spoke in a voice so vulnerable, afraid of what Emily's response would be. "I can't stay away from you, we're meant to be together. Our ancestors, the spirits, they have chosen me for you and you for me. I cannot imagine a life where we are not one. I will be whatever it is you need me to be, but please don't force me to stay away. That is the one thing I do not think I could bare."

Emily frowned, and Sam thought for a moment that she was going to send him away. "I know, I don't think I could stay away from you either. Not even if I wanted to. When she finds out, we are going to break her heart so badly." She paused for a moment. "Break it even more... Poor Lee Lee. We will need to tread carefully, maybe there will still be hope to remain in each other's lives. Maybe she won't hate me."

"About that," Sam began. "I think she knows. I think... well, I think you told her. Or said something in your sleep. She, uh, crashed into me as she ran out of here in tears. She said you asked for me." Seeing the small bit of hope be dashed in his imprint's eyes crushed him. "I will do whatever I can to make this right. She deserves to be happy."

A warm smile, a smile Sam wanted to see every day for the rest of his life graced Emily's face, before the visible half of her face scrunched in pain.

Sam let go of her hands that had made their way into his own and stepped away from her. "Can you... do you think you will ever be able to forgive me for what I have done? I never meant to hurt you." This, this was the moment of truth.

Emily rolled her eyes and motioned for him to step closer and retake his seat. When he did, she lightly bonked him on the head with her good hand. "It's going to take a lot more than this to keep me away from you, Sam Uley."

Just as he felt he could breathe for the first time, Sue came bursting in the door, fresh tear tracks down her face. Something about the way she glanced at him made him stand up, sending the chair flying backwards. "Is it Leah? Is someone hurt? What's wrong Sue?" His voice was rushed and frantic. He reminded himself that as Alpha of the pack, he needed to hold it together.

"It's Sky. Steve took Sky away. She's gone." Sam's eyes widened as he thought of his little cub, his baby sister. "He was strangling her, Sam." Sue whispered under her breath so as not to alert Emily in her fragile condition. He ran from the room as fast as he could, not caring to appear normal as he burst through the hospital doors and into the woods. Exploding into wolf form, he raced as fast as he could to make it back to the reservation to try and save his sister.

He wasn't the worst person in the Pacific Northwest, he reminded himself, not by far.

Sky's Point of View

The smashing of glass brought Sky out of her thoughts and she sat up in Seth's bed quickly. It was then that she heard the music blaring. It was so loud that she had to cover her ears. She was a little taken aback that she hadn't heard it sooner. She got up from the bed and walked towards the noise. Out in the hallway, it became clear that the noise was coming from Leah's room. This surprised Sky as she couldn't remember a single time she had heard Leah listen to music through her stereo.

Opening Leah's door, Sky stuck her head in to see what was going on. Leah was perked on the edge of the bed staring at the picture of her and Sam that resided on her bedside table. She held it gingerly in her hands for a moment before she whipped it at the wall and the glass and frame shattered on impact. Looking at the floor, she could tell this wasn't the first frame that suffered the same fate.

Aha! That was where the noise she had heard came from. How on earth did she hear it over this music?

Leah moved over to the mess and grabbed the picture from inside the broken glass. She threw it in a box that also contained the teddy bear that Sam had won her at a carnival last fall and threw it in too.

It was when she turned to throw the items into the box on her bed that Sky got her first look at Leah's face. Even though it had been less than a day since she had last seen her sister, she could hardly recognize her. Sure, all her features were the same, and her pretty long black hair still cascaded down her back, but something was off, something was wrong. In place of her old carefree smile, or even the frown that had been ever present since Sam disappeared, was a hard line that went across where her lips used to be. And instead of her shining brown eyes, the eyes she shared with Seth, were two black holes. Of course, they were still the same shade of brown, but all the life had been sucked right out of them.

Sky had noticed them changing in the weeks that Sam was gone, and of course they took a deep dip when he ended things with her. But even then, with her friends and family there for her, they still had life in them. Now, it was as if someone had killed her and left Sky with the body. What had happened? What had Sky missed?

Sky threw the door open and turned off Leah's music. "What did he do to you?" She asked in a voice so quiet, she wasn't sure her big sister could have heard it.

Leah didn't take a single second to glance up at the interruption. She answered with a voice that was almost as cold as her eyes. "Nothing. What makes you think something happened?" She continued flitting around the room and grabbing anything that reminded her of Sam.

Sky closed the distance between them and lowered Leah back onto the bed. She held her older sister's hands and spoke gently again. "Don't pretend I don't know you, sister." Leah's eyes never left their joined hands as she shrugged. "Please talk to me."

Leah's eyes glistened, but no tears fell. "Emily said Sam's name. That's all."

Sky's eyes scrunched together. "I don't understand. Do they know each other?"

Shrugging again, Leah responded. "To my knowledge, no they didn't. But you don't say someone's name like that unless you love them. I think... I think he broke up with me for her. Can I even hate her, when she is in the hospital suffering injuries from a bear attack?"

Sky felt her heart break yet again. "But... but she's your best friend other than Kim. She wouldn't do that. She loves you. And I think that you should talk to her before you decide you hate her. People you love deserve a chance to explain themselves, even when they do something wrong. You and mom taught me that." They were both silent for a minute, before Sky broke it yet again. "Oh! You know what this sounds like? Some weird version of that story the elders tell at bonfires. The one about the Third wife. Maybe it was a case of spiritual love at first sight and they had no choice. I mean, doesn't that make more sense then them canoodling behind your back this whole time? They just didn't have a choice, Leah. I am sure that is it."

Leah rolled her eyes and pulled Sky in for a big hug. "Of course, you, of all people, would try to find a silver lining. Unfortunately Baby Sky, this is real life and not a fairy tale. Everyone has a choice on who they love. And who are we to pick and choose which legends to believe are real. Next you are going to tell me that the men of our tribe can transform into wolves! And that the cold ones are coming for us."

Sky let out the breath she had been holding, the one that stopped her from telling Leah how much pain her hug was causing. "Okay so not all our stories are totally believable. But I for one do like to believe that the spirits of our people are protecting us from outsiders." If only they were protecting us from what is already within the bounds of our tribe, she thought. "And if that is true, why wouldn't soulmates chosen by our ancestors be believable as well."

Leah's lip quivered. "If that's the case, and I am saying huge IF, why wasn't I enough for him? Why didn't our ancestors choose me?"

"Sister, please. That just means that there is a man out there who has more to provide to you, and you to them, than Sam ever could. Maybe they compliment each other in a way that you can't understand until you have also been assigned to your soulmate as well." Lifting Leah's chin with her pointer finger, Sky spoke with more confidence now than ever before. "Leah Clearwater, you are more than enough for any man that walks this Earth. Perhaps, you are too much for a man such as Sam."

Leah's features melted, if only for a second, before her eyes took in the damage displayed so clearly on Sky's face. A wild spark ignited in her lifeless eyes. "What the hell happened to you? Was this your dad? I am going to kill him, I swear to the Spirits."

Sky raised her hands in mock surrender. "I fell and hit my eye on the table. Hurt like heck. I hate being so clumsy."

Leah's eyes took in the outfit Sky was wearing. "You're lying. If you were telling the truth you'd be wearing your own clothes. You only wear his when you are upset. Like really upset. And stop saying you are clumsy, I am your sister, I know better." She gestured with her hands for Sky to crawl into her lap. She did so without objection. "Come here Baby Sky. What really happened?"

The voices in Sky's head were at war. Please tell her, I can't handle this any more, whispered the voice that sounded like Sky. It was overcome by the voice of Steve warning her that Leah would be next. "That's the truth. I'm wearing Seth's clothes because I miss living here. Already." She let out a soft laugh, praying that she was believable.

Leah's mask was unreadable, but Sky could tell she wouldn't press further at the moment. "Hey Sky?"

"Yeah?"

"Want to help me burn this stuff?" Sky looked down at the box of stuff and grinned. With that, Leah grabbed Sky's hand with her left, and the box of burnables with her right. They walked down to the kitchen and Sky giggled as they walked right past the slice of cake without Leah noticing. The surprise was safe for tomorrow.

Leah ran into the garage to grab a lighter and some lighter fluid and practically skipped back to Sky who was busy gathering twigs and leaves to help start the fire. Sky begged to be able to use the lighter fluid to which Leah scoffed and patted her on the head.

The bear was first to go into the fire, and as the flames caught hold, Sky could make out how deep the hurt went in her older sister's eyes. As soon as she saw it, the lifelessness came back and she returned to the person Sky barely recognized.

Leah ushered Sky over and they took turns throwing letters and photographs and even some jewelry into the fire. The smoke was getting prominent in the air and Sky reminisced in the old days when they would sit by the fire roasting marshmallows and hot dogs, not teddy bears and pictures.

It was when the last of the box had caught fire that they heard heavy footsteps thundering around the side of the house. Sky would recognize those footsteps anywhere. Leah turned to look at Sky and saw the pure terror on her face before Steve's voice boomed.

"What the hell are you doing back here? There is too much fucking smoke! It's all I can smell in my damn house. Put that fire out!" Sky was paralyzed with fear as he rounded the corner and caught her eye. "What are you doing here? I didn't say you could leave the house!" He was shrinking the distance between them with long strides. Sky could see Leah begin to put herself between Sky and her father and knew she could never allow her sister to be hurt because of her.

When the familiar gleam caught his eye, telling her he was about to lunge, she stepped forward and shoved Leah out of the way. The way his hands closed around her throat told Sky that he didn't realize they had company. He choked her to the point of desperation for breath and laughed as he did so.

"What the hell, dude?" Leah came out of her own shock to yell at the grown man strangling her baby sister.

He straightened his back, trying to appear bigger than he already was compared to the two young girls. He wrapped a constricting arm around Sky and she let out a small whimper. "Baby girl, let's go home now." The anger was evident in his voice as he spoke through clenched teeth.

"She can stay here. I'm sure it's fine." Leah's voice wavered. "We'd love to have her."

"She's my whor- daughter. I WILL be taking her." As Leah stepped in his way, he shoved her to the ground. Sky's eyes were wide with fear, both for Leah and for the future that his words promised.

Leah kept trying to protest but it was too late. Sky was in Steve's house before she even realized what was happening.

He threw her haphazardly on the couch and started pacing right in front of it. "We'll have to move. They'll call someone and get you taken away. You are going to be worth a lot of money for me. My buddy Jack even said so. And he knows the market well. We'll go there to start. And then we will figure it out from there. Yeah. That will work." He turned his attention to Sky. "Pack your bags. We are leaving tonight." When Sky didn't move, he raised a hand and yelled, "Now!"

"Yes sir." She ran before she could be hit again. In the unsafe confines of her room she paced. She was leaving her family, without even the chance to say goodbye. She couldn't do that to any of them, especially not to Seth.

Her eyes scanned the room and she breathed a small sigh of relief that her backpack was there. She ripped out a piece of paper and grabbed a pencil. Scrawling on the paper she kept glancing at the door, afraid that he would come in and take the note away. When it was finished, she opened the window a crack and slipped the note through. She threw what little she had into her bag and sat on her bed, holding in her tears to the best of her ability.

Before long, she was being forced into the car and taken from the only thing she had to live for. She had one thought running through her mind the entire time, why me?