Protecting The Black Wolf's Mate  
by wizardtho

This story is rated MA for language, violence, and adult situations. Not Intended For Those Under 18.  Any Recognizable names, brands, ect. are the sole properties of their owners. This story is intended to be solely a work of fanfiction, never profit.



Chapter 1:

Bella's POV


Edward. To say I was shocked at his words to me would have been more than an understatement. I had been only a distraction to him... a plaything... and he was tired of pretending. He said I had risked the lifestyle of his family the night of my party, and that he no longer found I was worth the effort it was taking. 


I had tried to follow him, to do something to fix it, but my mere human fumbling was no match for his vampire speed. My heart clenched painfully in my chest as I let out a piercing scream, collapsing to the ground in a heap and curling in on myself... needing to just let the world fall away.


It started to pour as the light of day faded, but none of it was of any concern to me. The clenching pain in my chest was the only thing I could feel... not the cold, the rain, or the wet earth underneath my sob-wracked form. Eventually, my sobs died out in my chest as the forest around me faded to blackness, but I still could not bring myself to move. I let my eyes close and the world die away again.


It could have been minutes or days when I became aware of my surroundings again. I heard a small whimper and felt a warm nose burrow into the space where my arms were covering my face. I felt silky fur under my fingertips, so my fingers wove into it as I let out a shuddering breath. I couldn't make my eyes open, but the pain seemed to ease considerably as I inhaled and my fingers knotted into the silky fur.


The scent that registered with the fur was so soothing... a million times more enticing than his, causing the clench in my heart to ease greatly. It smelled like beach bonfires, fresh earth, and something erotic and spicy. 


As soon as the silky fur backed away, I lost contact, which drew a loud whimper from my throat. The pain in my chest flared, so I curled tighter into myself to block it out. I just wanted the warm nose and the silky fur back that went with the scent. It made the pain go away; I wanted it back.


I whimpered again, louder. Instantly my face was cradled by scorching, wonderful heat. The scent was back, the pain easing again. I let out a thankful sob. "Shh, Isabella. I need you to focus and listen to me. My name is Sam Uley. Your father has been looking for you with half the town for more than 11 hours. Are you hurt? Can you open your eyes for me?" 


I tried to sit up, but I realized my body was shaking uncontrollably. I managed to make my eyes open, but the sight that greeted me made me gasp. Shielding me from the rain with his body while cupping my cheek was a bronze god of a man.


I don't know how long we stared at each other before he spoke, but it seemed like the whole world fell away while he looked at me like that. When he did finally speak, he smiled down at me softly, whispering, "There we are. Can you tell me if you're hurt physically?" 


I tried to think and feel whether or not I had any broken bones or twisted ankles, but Sam was looking into my eyes and stroking my cheek, making me melt into his touch. I let out another shaky breath, whispering, "I... don't know. Got lost... collapsed." 


He looked at me knowingly, then his gaze softened as he asked, "May I check you over for any injuries before I move you?" 


I nodded slightly, our eyes still connected, so he gave me a tender smile. He moved his hands over me, checking for injuries, but it also seemed like he was looking for something. When he reached my wrist, his face screwed up as he whimpered, "Oh, God." 


His voice was broken when he whispered, "When were you bitten, Isabella? When did this happen, and do you have any more?" 


I shook my head, hating the broken sound of his voice. He knew about vampires, from his reaction, so I whispered, "Nomad... tracked me to Phoenix when I ran. Tortured me for thrill... bit me. Venom sucked out... won't change.  Only one... no more."


He let out a relieved breath, then continued his scan of my body quickly. Once he deemed me alright, he whispered as he stroked my cheek, "Let's get you home and dry." 


He lifted me bridal-style, keeping his eyes on mine, but began to walk us back out of the woods. As he carried me, I couldn't help but nuzzle into his chest. His warmth radiated around me, and I melted into his embrace. 


I realized something then, something about the story Jacob told me on the beach that day. I wanted to ask him if the warm nose and silky fur was him -if he was a wolf- but I figured now wasn't the time to ask. I whispered instead, "You're the one who goes fishing with Charlie and Billy once a month... one of the tribe elders, right?" 


He nodded, "I've known your dad since I was very young, and yes, I'm one of the Quileute elders."


My hands instinctively wrapped tighter around his neck as he whispered, "Rest, Isabella. You're safe with me." 


The funny thing was, I did feel safe with him, even if he could be a wolf. I tried to be discreet as I inhaled his scent deeply, but I knew I was caught when I felt his chest vibrate and heard the sexiest chuckle ever. The combination made me moan slightly, then I gasped when I felt his husky whisper in my ear, "There's no need to hide it, Isabella. If my scent calms you, bury your nose in the crook of my neck... let it surround you." 


I calmed at his words, then did exactly as he said. As I let his scent take over my senses, my body relaxed completely, causing me to let out a contented sigh.


We made it to the tree line soon after, then I felt Sam's chest vibrate as he said, "I've got her, Charlie. She was a ways out, past the search perimeter your boys set. She's shaken and really cold, but I don't think she has anything other than a few scrapes. Dr. Gerandy should take a look at her to be sure, though." 


I heard Charlie's rushing footsteps and frantic voice as he sobbed, "Oh, thank God. Bells... Oh, Bells, I'm so glad you're alright." 


I felt his hand come up to my cheek, but it was cold, so I involuntarily flinched. He stroked my hair while saying softly to Sam, "Let's get her up to her room so the doc can look her over. You got her?" 


I felt Sam moving again, then in no time, I was being gently laid on my bed.


As soon as he let go of me, I felt cold and alone. I faintly heard a gut-wrenching sob come from somewhere. I didn't want to be alone. I wanted to feel the warmth... smell the scent that was holding me together,  keeping me sane. The pain and betrayal from Edward flared dangerously in my chest, then all of a sudden it was gone. 


Warm hands cupped my face as Sam's husky voice whispered to me, "I'm right here, Isabella. Shh... open your eyes for me." 


I faintly heard Charlie's gasped question, "Sam... did... did you...?"


My eyes fluttered open to see Sam looking directly at me. He smiled softly as he whispered, "There we go. I need you to calm down for me, Isabella, before you hyperventilate. I'm right here. Match your breathing to mine, alright?" 


He placed my hand on his bare chest, whispering, "Focus on the movement, Slow and deep, Sweetheart." 


I looked deep into his light chocolate eyes as I concentrated on the movement of his chest under my hand. Soon he said, "Good. You’re doing really well. Now I need you to let the doc look over you, and you need to be changed out of these wet clothes. I'm going to step out of the room long enough for Sue to help you get changed, then I'll come back in when the doc looks over you. I'll only go right out into the hall, okay?"


My eyes widened as I whimpered, but Sam cupped my cheek, saying, "I need to talk to your Dad, and you need dry clothes. I won't leave, okay? I'll be right back." 


I whimpered again, but nodded and braced myself for him to not come back. 


Why would he? He only came to find me because of Charlie. He has his own life to go back to. 


He kissed my forehead and inhaled deeply, then let his warm breath settle over my face as he exhaled. He smiled as he backed away, but I felt the pain and betrayal by Edward flare in my heart again.


A female, I recognized her as Sue Clearwater, whispered as she came to me, "Let's get you out of those wet things, Dear." 


When I heard the door close, I whimpered slightly. It still felt like I could feel Sam near, so I let Sue help me change, then sat in the chair at my desk while she changed the wet sheets from my bed.



Sam's POV


I was just getting ready to order a pizza when the phone rang. I picked it up, hearing a frantic Billy Black, saying, "Sam, I need you and the boys to get over here to the Swan place. Chief's daughter has gone missing. We need to make sure it isn't Cullen related, and hopefully find Bella. It's already been a few hours since he started searching, but it's not looking good, Sam." 


My breath left me in a whoosh, "Shit. I'm on my way, Billy. I'll see you there." 


I was out my back door, stripped out of my shorts, and phased in under a minute and a half. I howled once, alerting the pack to phase. Less than two minutes later, Paul and Jared were phased, asking, "What's up, Boss?"


I mentally ran over my conversation with Billy, then said quickly through the mind link, "Run to my house, we'll head over there now. We're losing precious time to track her down if we're already a few hours in. I'd rather run straight there, but we can't risk being seen by the search party." 


I could feel their acknowledgment and fear for the girl, so I quickly phased to get ready to leave. After pulling my shorts and shoes on, I grabbed the keys to my truck before dashing out the front door. Paul and Jared were both coming out of the woods near the side of my house, running as fast as they could.


As we made our way to Chief Swan's house, I said, "We split up once we have a clear understanding of what the chief knows. He's never called on our help before, and we can't let him down. We all know how much Bella coming to live with him meant to him. Keep in contact, and keep your senses open. We don't know if this has to do with that Cullen, another leech at random, or if something else could have happened. Make sure you aren't seen by the locals that are also helping with the search." 


They both nodded, then minutes later we pulled up to the chief's house.


Charlie Swan has known for a long time about the legends of our tribe. When the Cullens strolled into town a couple of years ago, he knew something was off about them. He went to the Black's house that night to ask about his suspicions, and happened to find Billy in his backyard talking to me in my wolf form. We explained the truth behind the legends to him that night, so he's been pretty much an honorary tribe member ever since. We warn him if there's anything in the news or papers that seems suspicious, or if he comes across anything that needs our attention, he calls us.


Once we got out of my truck, we saw Charlie at the front of Bella's truck, pointing out spots on a map to a few volunteers. I loped over to him quickly, Jared and Paul following. Charlie let out a breath when he saw us. Billy was right next to him as Charlie said, "Oh, thank God, Sam. I hate to have to call on you like this, but it's already been a few hours, and there's been no progress yet." 


I nodded, "Not a problem, Chief. We'd want to be here to help, no matter what. What do we know?"


He went over how he came home from work like normal, but Bella wasn't in the kitchen where she usually was. He checked her room and found a note on her bed, which was odd because he said she always stuck her notes on the fridge. He showed it to us, but it smelled heavily of leech. It said she was just going for a quick walk in the woods and would be back in plenty of time to make dinner. 


Charlie got worried when she still didn't come home another hour later, so he called all of her friends, hoping she had run into one of them by the road somewhere. Having no luck with the friends, and Bella not answering her cell, he called the station to form a search party.


He showed us on the map where his deputies had set up a perimeter, where the volunteers were searching, then begged me, "Please, Sam. Please find my Bells. You and the boys are my last hope. Most of the volunteers are getting tired. They're logging out of the search to go home because of the time and the rain." 


I placed a hand on his shoulder, "We'll do everything we can, Chief. I swear. We need to get going, though, before the rain wipes everything away." He nodded, and the three of us were off.


As soon as we hit a safe spot, we stripped and phased. I instantly heard both of the boys' minds through the link. "What do you think, Boss?" 


I huffed, "I think I want to kill that mind-reading leech in the most violent way possible. His stench was all over that note that Bella supposedly wrote. I guarantee that if I went up to her room, his scent would be fresher than Bella's. She didn't write that note. He either took her and bit her, or he left her out here somewhere. We'll go in a circle outward. Each take a third of the circle but stay out of sight. We know her scent from Billy's house, so if someone catches it, make sure to alert the others. We can't afford for the locals to get suspicious. You know what to do if you smell leech. Split and go."


We all went our separate ways, but it seemed that the rain had already washed away the scents, making our job a lot harder. Several hours later, we still had yet to find any clues, so our hope of finding Bella alive was slowly dwindling. When I got to the perimeter, I had a hunch to go further out, so I said, "Keep going... out further... passed the perimeter. Something tells me not to stop looking, that she made it further than anyone thought." 


The boys brightened up at my hunch as we expanded our search area.


Less than an hour later, I caught her soothing scent. Paul and Jared immediately stopped in their tracks, while I followed the scent. When I heard the soft, slow thumping of a heartbeat, I knew I was close. My mind let out a relieved sigh that she was still alive... for the moment at least. There was no scent of leech, just the pure and untainted scent of Bella, so I sped up my pace.


As I came through the brush, the sight that met my eyes stopped me in my tracks. Isabella was curled into a tight ball and shaking like a leaf. The only sounds coming from her were tiny whimpers. 


Without a thought, I was drawn to her. My wolf mind didn't think about exposure, or anything else for that matter... just led me to crawl to her on my belly. She looked so small and fragile. As I got closer, I could tell that her temperature was low. She must be freezing out here.


I nuzzled my nose into where her arms covered her head, then almost let out a pleased rumble at the feel of her delicate fingers weaving into my fur. I couldn't get her to open her eyes or respond, other than her hand in my fur, so I backed away. 


As soon as she lost contact with me, she whimpered. I almost did, too, since I could feel the loss of her touch all the way to my bones. It was the weirdest sensation; neither my wolf nor my human side liked it one bit. I wanted to go back to her, just to have her bury her tiny little hand in my fur again.


Logically I knew I needed to phase back, so I rushed into the thick brush, then phased quickly after I told Jared and Paul to make a circuit before heading back to the rez. I pulled my shorts on, then heard her whimper again. It only took me four long strides to get back to her. I tried to block out some of the rain by kneeling over her as I cupped her cheek. She let out a sob as she registered the contact; I felt a strange ease at it, too. 


I had to focus, though. I had to get her out of these woods. "Shh, Isabella. I need you to focus and listen to me. My name is Sam Uley. Your father has been looking for you with half the town for more than 11 hours. Are you hurt? Can you open your eyes for me?" 


She was shaking like a leaf still, but after a minute, her eyes fluttered open.


When they made contact with mine, my whole world changed in an instant. I stared into those mint chocolate pools for God knows how long. It was like everything in the universe rearranged itself to revolve around this tiny female under me. 


My wolf rumbled in pleasure in the back of my mind, 'Mine... my imprint.’ I couldn't have agreed more. 


When I was finally able to speak again, I said softly, "There we are. Can you tell me if you're hurt physically?" 


She seemed to think for a minute before answering, "I... don't know. Got lost... collapsed." My gaze hardened for a second in response. 


Why is she still protecting that leech? 


Then I remembered that she didn't know about me being a wolf, so my gaze softened as I asked her if I could check her over for injuries before I moved her. She nodded, so I started scanning her for bite marks. I watched her reactions for pain while I touched her.


She didn't seem to have any bite marks on her neck or any visible spot, but as I reached her right wrist, I choked out, "Oh, God." 


It looked and smelled months old, but there was no way to be positive. I ran my nose up the inside of her arm, noted that the scent was pure Bella, then choked out, "When were you bitten, Isabella? When did this happen, and do you have any more?" 


She told me it happened several months back when she ran to Phoenix. I growled when she said a nomad had tortured her. That must have been all those injuries Charlie said she had in the hospital down there. I was relieved beyond belief when she said the venom was sucked out, that she wouldn't change, and most of all, that she did not have any more. 


I continued to quickly check her for injuries, then stroked her cheek while saying softly, "Let's get you home and dry."


I easily picked her up into my arms. Her tiny little hands wove around my neck as we continued to look at each other. I started toward Charlie's house, not bothering to break eye contact. 


When she nuzzled into my chest, my wolf practically purred in satisfaction. There really was no other word for it. She melted into me, her trembling relaxed some, then she asked me in an almost inaudible whisper if I was the one who went fishing with Charlie and Billy and was an elder. 


I confirmed it before offering softly, "Rest, Isabella. You're safe with me." 


I knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that there was no way on earth I would ever let harm come to her again.


She nuzzled deeper into me, then I had to stifle my wolf's satisfaction with a chuckle as I heard her inhaling my scent. She felt it too, which both myself and my wolf were very happy about. I heard her slight moan at my chuckle, smiled, then said, "There's no need to hide it, Isabella. If my scent calms you, bury your face in the crook of my neck... let it surround you."


She did just that as her little hands tightened further around my neck. By the time we reached the Swan house, her trembling was gone, and she could almost be mistaken for sleeping. Charlie ran to me as I called out that I had her, sobbing in relief that I found his Bells. She flinched when he touched her cheek, but didn't move away from him.


Once we got her up to her small room, I laid her on the bed, then released her to kneel by her head. She let out a gut-wrenching sob as soon as we lost physical contact. My heart clenched in my chest at the sound. Instantly, I leaned over her with both hands cupping her cheeks, my voice sounding thick as I said, "I'm right here, Isabella. Shh... open your eyes for me." 


I heard Charlie's gasped question, but I needed to focus on Isabella for a second. Her breathing was out of control. She would hyperventilate soon if I couldn't calm her down.


I got her to match her breathing to mine, then I was able to explain to her that the doc needed to look her over;  that she needed to get out of the wet clothes before she got sick. I told her I would be right outside with Charlie, and that I'd be back in when Doc looked her over. I kissed her forehead, inhaled her sweet clean scent, then let my breath fall over her face to keep her calm. 


I saw the look of defeat in her eyes as I released her, but the only way to make it go away would be to show her I wouldn't leave her. Sue told me she would call out to us once Isabella was ready for the doc to see her.

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Chapter 2