Firstly, I need to apologise for how long have I have left this story for. I have been so busy with my new job, and my postgrad that I barely have time to write anything that isn't academic.

Just a reminder -

Seb, Samson and Sarah are Sam and Emily's children.

Madison belongs to Kim and Jared.

Silver is the daughter of Ava and Emrby.

Enjoy...

There was too much noise.

My eyes flickered to a Mom rocking a crying baby in her arms. Two teenagers were looking intently at a video playing on one of their phones. A nurse ran by me, her keys jingling in her pocket. In the corner a woman was sobbing, her whole body shaking.

It was too much. I needed silence. I needed a moment to process what was happening.

I dug my nails into the palm of my hand as my mind drifted to the previous two hours. The screaming, the crying, the sirens. It had all happened too quickly. My leg bounced up and down as I shut my eyes, I needed an escape. I needed my Mom, but she had been too afraid to come, as always.

"Here."

My eyes flashed open as Madison shoved a coffee towards me, her outstretched hand shaking, her pink nail polish chipped. I drank in her puffy eyes, and lack of make-up. She wore one of Samson's old sweaters over her dress. Unusually, she looked vulnerable and breakable standing infront of me.

"Are you going to take it?"

A part of me wanted to ignore her. A part of me wanted to blame her for everything, to give me something solid to cling onto. It wasn't her fault though, it was everyones. We had hurt the one person who looked out for us no matter what, who had been our rock in the previous weeks. We had destroyed the one good person in our family, the one person who deserved better. We were monsters.

"Thanks," I mumbled taking the coffee from Madison. She didn't speak as she slid down the wall to sit beside me. I could still smell Seb on her skin. A tear leaked out of the corner of my eye as she grasped my free hand in hers, her grip tight. She was just like me, looking for something to cling to.

"I'm so s-"

"Please dont." I couldnt listen to her apologies. I couldn't make chit chat and pretend everything was fine. It wouldn't be fine for a long time. We had torn our relationship apart bit by bit. However, we could sit together and be silent and wait together, as we had done many times in the past.

Sipping my coffee my eyes scanned the rest of our group. Brady, and Colin lay sleeping on nearby chairs. Kim looked haunted as she ran Claire's hair through her fingers, while Claire's own hands lay protectively over her tiny bump. Everyone was silent, everyone was waiting.

I felt like part of me missing. I kept waiting for Samson to walk through the door. How could it only have been a few hours previously that I had finally allowed myself to let him in, that I had finally allowed him to take my hand and lead me away from the chaos? It had been a brief moment of happiness.

It was as if the universe was personally punishing me for giving into the temptation, for turning my back on my best friends.

I was a horrible, selfish person.

My heart clenched tightly in my chest as the swinging doors opened beside us. Sam walked through the door, a tremor seemed to run through his entire body and I could see tears glistening in his eyes. Madison gripped my hand tighter, my coffee lay forgotten beside me as he walked towards us, each step seeming heavier than the last.

I had never seen Sam look so lost, so empty. For once in my life he looked small to me, a thought I never expected to have.

I held my breath as he collapsed into the empty seat beside Kim. Instantly, she wrapped her arms around him, holding him tight. He swallowed loudly as she let him go, her hand still laying gently on his arm for support. His eyes flickered around the group, they hardened slightly when they saw Madison and I. I wouldn't blame him if he hated us forever.

"S-she's stable," Sam managed to choke out as he placed his head in his hands, silent sobs taking over his body.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," Madison was whispering beside me, tears falling freely from her eyes.

"S-she's going to be," Sam was struggling as he spoke, his head still in his hands, "She's going to be p-permenantly scarred. The whole right side of her body, but," he took a shaky breath, "b-but not her face."

No.

Not Sarah. Not beautiful, talented Sarah.

I pressed my hand over my mouth as I thought of Emily's scars, the way they mangled her face, how they were the first thing anyone noticed. Sarah was going to be damaged for the rest of her life because of us. Her life would never be the same again.

"W-where are the boys?" Sam was speaking but I could hardly register him. My thoughts were consumed with images of Sarah lying in her hospital bed, her whole body covered in bandages. What had we done?

"They're trying to get Seb to turn back. He just keeps running, doesn't seem to be planning to stop any time soon," Brady's voice was careful as he told Sam, "All of the pack are out in the woods, even the retired ones."

Sam nodded, chewing on his bottom lip.

"Tell them to stop."

I froze. Everyone seemed to freeze around me. It was the first thing Sam had said without a quiver in his voice. He sounded so certain. He couldn't be serious? He couldn't abandon his own son, could he?

"Stop?" Kim's voice was small as if she was afraid to speak.

"H-he needs to run," Sam ran a hand through his hair as he gazed at the floor as if remembering a painful memory, "No one can stop him. No one," his eyes flashed to me as he said that, "B-besides I think it would be for the best right now. S-Seth isn't in the right frame of mind, and I can't say what he might do if Seb was around."

"Seth would never-" Madison began, but Sam just shook his head.

"You never know what a person will do to protect the one they love." Madison shrank back under the weight of Sam's words.

Everything was so utterly messed up.

More than anything I wanted to rewind to a time where we were all friends, when we were all happy. What had happened to us? Imprinting had destroyed everything that I had believed so firmly to be solid, to be unbreakable. I had been so wrong.

Shaking slightly I got to my feet. I couldn't phase, I couldn't listen to Seb's thoughts as he destroyed himself. I couldn't listen to Samson as he worried about me. I couldn't listen to any of it. Not for the first time I wished my thoughts were my own. I had never realised how sacred my own thoughts were until I had turned into a wolf. Nothing was ever my own.

"Where are you going?" Madison's voice was quiet, and I could feel Sam's eyes burning into the back of my head.

I couldn't answer as I turned and walked down the hallway. Truthfully, I didn't have an answer to her question. I couldn't go home because I couldn't look at my Mom's haunted expression, or answer Dee's endless questions. I couldn't go to the Uley's as I was unsure whether I would ever be welcome there again. I had nowhere. In these situations it had always been Sarah that would give me a refuge, but I had managed to royally fuck that up as well.

I felt like I walked for hours with no real destination in mind. The Diner was filled with people I knew vaguely from school; they were all laughing, enjoying their Summer. I could hardly remember what that felt like. All the lights were out in my Mum's shop. I almost headed back to the hospital, just to give my life some sort of direction, but I couldn't face the silence, I couldn't face the waiting.

Almost without thinking I ended up standing outside Seb's garage. For so many years it had been my happy place. Yet, it was now tainted by what I had witnessed between Seb and Madison. It was as if I wanted to feel more pain as I pushed open the door and snuck in.

"Seb?"

I would have recognised that worried tone anywhere. I stayed beside the door, suddenly shy as my eyes flickered over the overturned paint pots. The place was even messier than usual.

"No," I murmered, "It's just me."

For some strange reason I wasn't surprised to find Samson sitting on the paint splattered floor surrounded by his brother's things. He looked so completed deflated, all the light had disappeared from his eyes.

"I should go," I whispered.

It was completely inappropriate to even think about staying in the same room as Samson. It was our imprint that had started everything, our imprint had destroyed the lives of the people we loved.

"No," Samson's voice was no more than a whisper, "Please don't go."

"But Sarah-" Samson winced as I said her name, "Look at what we've done."

"I know," his voice cracked, "but I j-just need you."

My resolve broke as I saw a single tear trail down the length of his face. I took a shaky step towards him, my own sobs getting more anguished.

"It's not fair." I didn't look at him as I sat beside him, our arms touching briefly.

"I-I just wanted to wait here for him," Samson took a shaky breath, "He'll need someone, and I know we've grown apart but he's still my brother. I can't lose him, I can't."

My hand found his in the darkness.

"We can wait together," I squeezed his hand lightly.

"What if he never comes back?"

I couldn't answer that. The thought was just too unbearable.

"He will," I said instead, truly hoping for once in my life that I was right.

Thoughts?

Sorry it is so short, just trying to get into the swing of writing again :)