(~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~)

Chapter 12

(~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~)

(~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~)

Author's Note: I'm so very sorry that this took so long to write. A lot of things going on, plus a muse who refused to listen to my demands for Seth to be written…. Hopefully this isn't garbage and a few of you will still enjoy it. As always, I hope to hear from you- your thoughts, comments, questions and the like are always welcome. Thanks again for not throwing me into a snake pit to watch me suffer for the lack of new material.

-LK

(~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~)

Seth sighed and watched Bella sitting on the back porch. The holidays had passed without many setbacks; the only one the pack showed any concern over being the leech showing his face to Bella. He'd found an address in the hospital records, and had sent her one or two letters in the mail. What those letters had contained, none of them knew for sure. The pack along with Billy and Sarah had watched her shut down, folding in on herself before walking into her room and locking herself inside for the rest of the night. Not even Sarah had been able to break through the moat of depression and anxiety she'd encased around her mind.

The pack hating seeing her regress, but each of them were at a loss as to how to help. None of them had ever been what she'd been through save for Paul and they were all to wary to ask him what he thought. They'd all seen him melt down, and as it stood, his wolf would fight the next person who approached him. Seeing a girl he thought of as a sister tormented had him too on edge. Even Seth had become nearly unapproachable. He and Paul spent hours on patrol, running themselves to exhaustion to try and release some of the anger they held for Bella's tormenter.

"You know Sam's going to kill you if he finds out you're just sitting here, right?"

Seth huffed and butted his head against his friend's side as soon as he sat beside him. Brady had been the last wolf to phase causing some concern among the elders. They'd never seen a pack as big as the current one and it had them scratching their heads trying to figure out just why.

"I haven't been here that long, Brady. He'll find out about it if you say something. Besides, she's my imprint. I just want to make sure she's alright. She's been having nightmares a lot lately."

Brady sighed. "I'm sure she's fine. Listen. She's breathing fine and her heart rate is normal. Let's finish our patrol and get some sleep. You can talk to her in the morning, alright?"

"I can't argue with that. Sleep does sound good right now." Seth mused. He and Brady took off to finish their patrol leaving Bella to her dreams.

(~_~_~)

Bella looked around in confusion. How did she get back here? She'd left this hellhole the day her Uncle Billy flew with her to Washington. The floor lay bare at her feet, the hardwood freezing to the touch. She shivered as she scanned the barely furnished room with something akin to disdain in her eyes.

A lone mattress against the wall under a grimy window had been haphazardly made. Her bookshelf had seen better days; the shelves had started to fall apart within the already rickety frame. Her small collection of favored books had been read and re-read countless times and most of them had started coming apart at their seams. They had always been her favorite escapes from the torment of her day to day life- an outlet for the terror her abused mind encountered from her mother- someone meant to love and protect her- and which ever man happened to be in their house that week.

"Hey B."

Cautious brown eyes widened with shock. She knew that voice, but how could she hear it now?

"Courtney?"

"It's good to know I'm not that easy to forget!" Courtney grinned.

Bella offered her a small smile. "I could never forget you Courtney. I'm sorry I haven't been to see you… some things happened… And now"

"And now you're in a different state and you have a serious stalker problem and issues opening up to your family and new friends. I know. It's alright, B." Courtney told her before pulling her to sit with her on the bed.

Bella stared at her in shock. "How could you possible know that? You d-died before I left…. How are you even here? WHY are you even here!? How can I even touch you! You're dead!"

"Bella!" Courtney sighed in exasperation. "I made you a promise. I'll ALWAYS look out for you! You're still dreaming by the way. The mind is funny like that. I AM a ghost, but you needed someone you could trust."

Bella's eyes welled with tears. "I miss you so much. I'm so grateful for my aunt… she didn't have to take me in like she did... I just wish you were still here too! It hurts!"

"I'm sorry… I shouldn't have shot my mouth off to him… he went after my sister… I had to do something. But, B, you're strong too! You can do this! I'll always be here for you, but you can do this on your own! And I've seen you talking to Paul… and the cutie… Seth?" Courtney snickered.

"They're not you!" Bella snapped.

Courtney smiled fondly at her. "I'll be here and we can still talk. I'll stay for as long as you need me."

"I don't want to wake up then." Bella huffed. She'd ignored most everything else Courtney had told her. She knew it was true, but she didn't feel that strong at the moment.

Courtney grinned. "But you have to, goofy. Just… Bella… you should tell them… about him… the guy stalking you… they're smarter than they all look… and… you should trust them… they CAN help you! Talk to Seth… trust him, Bella. You already talk to Paul…. Talk to Seth too!"

"I don't understand. Courtney… how do I tell them that he's been following me since I was like seven?!" Bella's voice sounded quiet.

"You'll think of something. They'll understand. They love you, maybe more than I do."

Bella shook her head. "Never. You were -are- my best friend! Can't I just stay here? I don't want to wake up Courtney!"

"It's time to get up Bella. Talk to them!" Courtney giggled and waved.

Bella gasped and opened her eyes, startled by the weight on her bed. Her heart slowed when she saw her Aunt Sarah smiling at her. She sighed and sat up, wiping the sleep from her eyes. Her chin wobbled as she remembered seeing her best friend in her dream. Without saying a word she launched herself into her aunt's arms.

"Are you alright sweetheart? I heard you mumbling in your sleep. You yelled a name…" Sarah tried.

Bella nodded. "I… she… I was back…. There… in my old room."

"Who is Courtney?" She asked.

Bella wiped a few tears from her eyes. "She was my best friend. Her dad… he abused her too… and uh… other things…" She frowned, trying to find the right words to tell her aunt that her best friend had been assaulted and raped by her dads friends as well as her dad himself when he got too drunk.

Sarah's eyes closed. She could guess what her niece meant. "So what happened to her? Did someone help her?"

"No… sh- she's dead. She died last year… I had a dream about her." Bella whispered. "I dreamed that I could talk to her again… hug her…"

Sarah sighed. "Oh sweetheart…" She rocked Bella and smoothed down her hair.

Bella tensed. The action felt foreign to her. Her own mother had never done anything that loving for her in her life. Renee had given Bella plenty of bruises and sharp tongued, venom laced insults about her looks but she'd never given her unconditional love and comfort. The tears fell from her eyes as she clung to Sarah, trying to escape the all too real dream.

"You're safe here, Bella. I know it'll be a long time coming, but I hope one day you feel safe enough to talk to us and trust us." Sarah murmured.

Bella sighed and pulled away from Sarah. "I know… aunt Sarah, I do feel safe here. Courtney told me in my dream that I had to talk to you… that I was stronger than I thought I was… but… That… um… that man… the one we saw… I don't feel so strong anymore."

"Your friend sounds wise. Do you know that dreams can often be a gateway for spirits to talk to us? It's what we believe- the tribe I mean." Sarah told her with a smile.

She shook her head. "No, I didn't know that at all."

"Bella… who was that man? Can you tell me?" Sarah asked, her voice gentle.

She sighed and picked at her nails. She thought about her dream and closed her eyes. "He's…. I… when I was 7.… he's been following me… every new town I move to, he shows up a month or two later…"

"So he's been stalking you since you were seven?" Sarah sounded horrified. "Did you ever tell anyone?"

Bella shrugged. "A couple times I tried to tell Renee. She didn't like the attention though, so I learned to keep my head down and stay quiet."

Not for the first time, Sarah was grateful that Renee had been buried in another state. She felt sure she'd tried to resurrect the woman just to kill her again. What Bella must have gone through- it was a wonder to her that she'd not been put in a mental ward somewhere.

"Bella, I'm sorry. You don't have to talk about it. I'd never let anyone hurt you- anyone in this family included. I promise you that."

Tears welled in her eyes as she nodded. She trusted her aunt, and with Courtney's words floating in her head, she finally felt safe enough to let the older woman know what she'd kept locked in her head for so long now. "He didn't… he changed…the man…"

Sarah rubbed her back and offered her a kind smile. "What makes you say he's changed- other than growing older?"

"That's…. he… I don't think he has… he looks the same as when I saw him at seven… just his eyes are different. When I saw him in New York, they were this… like crystal blue color… and now they're just red… like he's wearing contacts…"

Sarah sighed and held her close. "Don't worry Bella, he'll never hurt you. He won't get close to you again. You're safe!"

Bella curled herself against her aunt, basking in the warmth and comfort the older woman sent to her. "Do you… do you think Seth and Jake would listen to me without getting mad? Paul does… he knows how it feels…"

"I think they would understand that you've been hurt deeply in the past, and I think it would be up to you if you told them anything or everything. However, I will say, that if you tell them, they won't judge you, Bella. They'll only love you more." The silence returned and lulled Bella into a state of semi peace, allowing her troubled mind to be calmed for the first time since she'd been a small girl.

"Bella?"

Sarah and Bella looked up to see Jacob standing in her doorway, shifting from foot to foot, with Seth and Paul behind him, watching her with open concern. Bella let out a shaky breath. "Hey guys…"

"I- we didn't mean to just… we uh…. We wanted to uh…." Jacob tried to find the right words to explain why he, Seth and Paul stood in her doorway.

Bella offered them a weak smile. She leaned in to her aunts side again seeking her comfort. Talking brought everything to the surface of her thoughts, and with her dream still fresh in her mind, it only added to that fear and confusion that had been blanketed by the woman's comforting presence. She'd have to let go of it all sooner or later.

"Bella? Do you want us to go?" Seth asked after a moment of silence passed.

"No… you can stay… I guess… um…" Bella sat up and scooted herself against her headboard.

Sarah grinned. "Why do I go make everyone something to eat. I'll be back in a few minutes."

"You ok Bella?" Seth asked sitting at the foot of the bed noticing the tears still on her cheeks.

She nodded. "I just had a weird dream. I told aunt Sarah about it…"

"You alright?" Jacob asked.

"Maybe… I think so."

Paul huffed. He eyed the girl for another minute before pulling out her desk chair and taking a seat beside his pack mates. "Talk later?"

"Now?" She asked, praying inside her head the Courtney had been right.

Seth and Jacob looked at each other, stunned that she'd be willing to talk to them. Paul gave her a small, encouraging nod. Something had changed and he could only thank the spirits that they'd given her the ability to see that they could help her.

Sarah watched from the doorway an hour later. She knew why they'd come over to see her. Seth had felt her anxiety through their shared bond, Jacob was her cousin and Paul would have been called by Seth because of his connection to the girl. They kept her distracted as she spoke, telling them for the first time things that she'd been through- from her mothers abuse, to losing Courtney, and now, to the man who had stalked her across the country for half of her life. She prayed to the spirits that things started to look up, she didn't know what would happen otherwise.

"Hey, so… you wanna hear some of our stories?" Her son's cheerful grin broke through another barrier inside of her niece.