The Heat of You
by Wizardtho
TRIGGER WARNING: Please tread carefully during this chapter if degradation and sexual abuse are triggers for you. Our Bella has truly suffered at the hands of the Cullens, and more is revealed in this chapter. XOXO, Wiz
Chapter 07:
Paul POV:
Bella finally fell asleep in my arms, but only after I whispered that she was safe in my arms. She still looked so worn out, and I knew she couldn’t have gotten any real rest while in that nightmare state. I’d have to remember to talk to Old Quil about that and her time with Taha Aki.
After 10 minutes, I figured now would be a good time to grab a shower and some food, so I carried Bella into the bedroom. After pulling the covers back and placing her in the bed, I wrapped the covers back over her, added the heavier extra quilt, then looked down at her. She looked so small like this. I whispered as I shook my head, “Let’s hope you get some real sleep this time, Swan.”
Having the sudden urge to check in with the pack, I quietly closed the bedroom door, then went out to the back patio from the dining room. My house backed up to the cliff edge, so I had no worries about someone seeing me phase as I dropped my shorts at the edge of the patio.
Landing on 4 paws, I could hear both Sam and Jared letting out relieved sounds in the mind link. I thought as I dipped into a full body stretch, ‘What’s up?’
Jared answered, ‘Not much. Still quiet.’
Sam asked then, ‘How’s Bella? Anything new?’
I sighed, then thought about me telling her the whole truth of the marking, ‘She already knew, Sam. She saw Emily’s, I guess.’
They both saw the replay of her telling me she was broken, which they growled at, but when they saw me telling her I was kinda broken too, Jared actually said, ‘Dude… we keep telling you that you aren’t broken… but I can see how you might be right. Maybe your wolf knew you needed someone just as vulnerable as yourself, who would understand how much it really takes to give yourself to someone after that shit.’
Though Jared wasn’t usually the one for deep insight, I had to give him points for thinking that way. Didn’t mean I had to do it when he was aware of me doing it. I gave a non-committal mental shrug right before Sam asked, ‘Where is she now?’
I hummed, then turned and padded to the bedroom door that led to the patio. I looked through the glass, and all 3 of us saw Bella’s sleeping face peeking out of the mound of blankets surrounding her.
Sam’s tone was pleased as he thought, ‘Good. No offense, but she looked like hell when she first woke.’
I shook my head, 'No, I know. Believe me, I am very aware that she got no actual rest during that nightmare state she was in. She needs all the rest she can get right now. Anyway, I just wanted to check in and stretch my legs for a minute. I need to grab a shower and some food before Bella wakes. Then I think we might need to grocery shop before Charlie gets off work. She said something about making dinner for him.’
Sam asked seriously, ‘You 2 staying on the rez, or do you plan to head into Forks?’
I grunted, then promised, ‘She doesn’t need to be bombarded with people asking about those assholes right now, and we can get everything here on the rez, between the general store and the farmstands. Let’s give it a couple of weeks before we start dealing with that set of headaches.'
Sam agreed, so I told them I’d check back in later.
It took all of 40 minutes for me to shower and eat, then I was crawling back into bed. Bella automatically sought me out, rolling over to bury her face in my chest and wedge her leg between mine. I couldn’t help but smile as I rested my cheek against the top of her head.
I couldn’t have been asleep for more than an hour when I woke to an empty bed. That’s when I heard the shower running and Bella crying so hard she could barely breathe.
I was instantly out of bed and resting my forehead against the door, “Bella? Bella, talk to me.”
No answer.
I knocked, trying to talk to her again, but after a full 5 minutes of her not answering me, I swore, “Damnit, Bella, if you don’t say something, I swear I’m going to open this door.”
Still no answer.
I opened the door, only to see Bella roughly scrubbing her body raw. Without a thought, still in my shorts, I entered the shower. I grabbed the plastic poofy thing from her hand, then lifted her face to mine. She finally realized I was there, and completely broke down as she clutched at me to hold her. She was so desperate, her nails were digging into my back.
Lifting her by the backs of her thighs, she automatically wrapped her arms and legs around me before crying into my neck. After I adjusted the water to spray on her back, I just rocked her and rested my lips against my mate mark.
It took another 5 minutes before Bella finally calmed enough to choke out, “I was nude. They were… inspecting me… pawing at my breasts and spreading me open… like I was a slave at auction.”
I held her tighter, forcing down the growl that wanted to grate its way out of my chest, then she cried, “Every time someone said anything, it was that my breasts weren’t full enough, my legs and arms were too stubby, my ass wasn’t round enough, my nipples weren’t the right color pink, or my…”
She broke out in heavy sobs again, then shook her head and forced out in a hoarse whisper, “I can still feel his fingers inside me… so cold… rough and prodding… his voice disgusted as he said I’d never be able to handle a human, let alone any of them.”
I swore as I plopped down onto the bench with her still securely in my arms. I knew my eyes must have been black with how angry I was at her treatment, “Fucking Christ! Look at me, Bella.” When her red, tear-stained face finally met mine, I asked, “Did they rape you?”
As far as I was concerned, what she had just revealed to me was rape, but I needed to know if they had taken it further and forcefully penetrated her. Her bottom lip trembled as another tear fell from her eye, and she whispered, “I… I don’t know. I don’t remember.”
She got angry then, and the heat in her eyes made me wanna kiss her. God, she was gorgeous. “How? How in the fuck do I NOT remember that kind of thing, Paul?! Did I ask for it? I mean… what the fuck did I do to make them target me?!
Though her anger was beautiful, it was too soon for her to be getting this upset. I heard more than one stumbled heartbeat during her short rant. I pulled her to me, then breathed against my mate mark, hoping the contact would help calm her, “Unfortunately, you may never have that answer, unless it’s in the journal. None of that was your fault, though, Swan. Not a single fucking second of it. Do you wanna call your Dad? I’m sure if they did, it would be in that leech’s journal.”
She made a noise in the back of her throat, then let out a shuddered breath, “Let’s just ask him to bring it with him. I don’t know if I can read it, Paul.”
I kissed my mark, then said seriously, “No more tearing your skin up. Promise me. It won’t make you look better, and it won’t get rid of the feeling of being violated.”
She let out a heavy breath, then said, “Don’t be a dick, Paul. I’m kinda naked in your arms right now. The last thing I need to hear is that I look ugly.”
I reared back to see her full face, “Woah, back up, Swan. I never said you were ugly. I said that scrubbing your skin so raw that you bleed isn’t going to make you look better. It’s just going to be painful for you. And for your information, I don’t tend to hit on girls I don’t find attractive; I clearly remember hitting on you more than a few times in the last several months.”
Her shaky hands came up to wipe her tear-stained face, so I offered, “Let’s get your mind working on something else for a bit, hmm? Have you thought about what you want to make your dad for dinner?”
She blushed wildly, then said, “Sorry, I should have asked.”
I shook my head, “You might as well get used to this being our house, Swan. If you want to throw a party, throw a damn party. Just tell me you’re doing it. If you want your dad to come for dinner, then by all means, we will go shopping to get everything your heart desires to make dinner for him.”
She scowled, bit her lip, then asked, “We don’t have to go all the way into town, do we? I don’t want to go into Forks. Not... not yet.”
I let a breath out in relief, then said, “I’m pretty sure you can find anything you want in either the general store or at the farmstands. Why don’t I step out and dress while you finish up in here? Once you’re dressed, we’ll grab a week’s worth of food. You can plan for your dad to come as much or as little as you want.”
She nodded, so I stood with her in my arms, then gently let her down. Once on her own 2 feet, Bella turned to grab the shampoo, so I quickly left the shower and found a towel. Not seeing one out for her, I placed one on the hook just outside the shower, telling her it was there when she was ready to get out. She promised not to be more than 5 minutes more.
Chapter 07:
Paul POV:
Bella finally fell asleep in my arms, but only after I whispered that she was safe in my arms. She still looked so worn out, and I knew she couldn’t have gotten any real rest while in that nightmare state. I’d have to remember to talk to Old Quil about that and her time with Taha Aki.
After 10 minutes, I figured now would be a good time to grab a shower and some food, so I carried Bella into the bedroom. After pulling the covers back and placing her in the bed, I wrapped the covers back over her, added the heavier extra quilt, then looked down at her. She looked so small like this. I whispered as I shook my head, “Let’s hope you get some real sleep this time, Swan.”
Having the sudden urge to check in with the pack, I quietly closed the bedroom door, then went out to the back patio from the dining room. My house backed up to the cliff edge, so I had no worries about someone seeing me phase as I dropped my shorts at the edge of the patio.
Landing on 4 paws, I could hear both Sam and Jared letting out relieved sounds in the mind link. I thought as I dipped into a full body stretch, ‘What’s up?’
Jared answered, ‘Not much. Still quiet.’
Sam asked then, ‘How’s Bella? Anything new?’
I sighed, then thought about me telling her the whole truth of the marking, ‘She already knew, Sam. She saw Emily’s, I guess.’
They both saw the replay of her telling me she was broken, which they growled at, but when they saw me telling her I was kinda broken too, Jared actually said, ‘Dude… we keep telling you that you aren’t broken… but I can see how you might be right. Maybe your wolf knew you needed someone just as vulnerable as yourself, who would understand how much it really takes to give yourself to someone after that shit.’
Though Jared wasn’t usually the one for deep insight, I had to give him points for thinking that way. Didn’t mean I had to do it when he was aware of me doing it. I gave a non-committal mental shrug right before Sam asked, ‘Where is she now?’
I hummed, then turned and padded to the bedroom door that led to the patio. I looked through the glass, and all 3 of us saw Bella’s sleeping face peeking out of the mound of blankets surrounding her.
Sam’s tone was pleased as he thought, ‘Good. No offense, but she looked like hell when she first woke.’
I shook my head, 'No, I know. Believe me, I am very aware that she got no actual rest during that nightmare state she was in. She needs all the rest she can get right now. Anyway, I just wanted to check in and stretch my legs for a minute. I need to grab a shower and some food before Bella wakes. Then I think we might need to grocery shop before Charlie gets off work. She said something about making dinner for him.’
Sam asked seriously, ‘You 2 staying on the rez, or do you plan to head into Forks?’
I grunted, then promised, ‘She doesn’t need to be bombarded with people asking about those assholes right now, and we can get everything here on the rez, between the general store and the farmstands. Let’s give it a couple of weeks before we start dealing with that set of headaches.'
Sam agreed, so I told them I’d check back in later.
It took all of 40 minutes for me to shower and eat, then I was crawling back into bed. Bella automatically sought me out, rolling over to bury her face in my chest and wedge her leg between mine. I couldn’t help but smile as I rested my cheek against the top of her head.
I couldn’t have been asleep for more than an hour when I woke to an empty bed. That’s when I heard the shower running and Bella crying so hard she could barely breathe.
I was instantly out of bed and resting my forehead against the door, “Bella? Bella, talk to me.”
No answer.
I knocked, trying to talk to her again, but after a full 5 minutes of her not answering me, I swore, “Damnit, Bella, if you don’t say something, I swear I’m going to open this door.”
Still no answer.
I opened the door, only to see Bella roughly scrubbing her body raw. Without a thought, still in my shorts, I entered the shower. I grabbed the plastic poofy thing from her hand, then lifted her face to mine. She finally realized I was there, and completely broke down as she clutched at me to hold her. She was so desperate, her nails were digging into my back.
Lifting her by the backs of her thighs, she automatically wrapped her arms and legs around me before crying into my neck. After I adjusted the water to spray on her back, I just rocked her and rested my lips against my mate mark.
It took another 5 minutes before Bella finally calmed enough to choke out, “I was nude. They were… inspecting me… pawing at my breasts and spreading me open… like I was a slave at auction.”
I held her tighter, forcing down the growl that wanted to grate its way out of my chest, then she cried, “Every time someone said anything, it was that my breasts weren’t full enough, my legs and arms were too stubby, my ass wasn’t round enough, my nipples weren’t the right color pink, or my…”
She broke out in heavy sobs again, then shook her head and forced out in a hoarse whisper, “I can still feel his fingers inside me… so cold… rough and prodding… his voice disgusted as he said I’d never be able to handle a human, let alone any of them.”
I swore as I plopped down onto the bench with her still securely in my arms. I knew my eyes must have been black with how angry I was at her treatment, “Fucking Christ! Look at me, Bella.” When her red, tear-stained face finally met mine, I asked, “Did they rape you?”
As far as I was concerned, what she had just revealed to me was rape, but I needed to know if they had taken it further and forcefully penetrated her. Her bottom lip trembled as another tear fell from her eye, and she whispered, “I… I don’t know. I don’t remember.”
She got angry then, and the heat in her eyes made me wanna kiss her. God, she was gorgeous. “How? How in the fuck do I NOT remember that kind of thing, Paul?! Did I ask for it? I mean… what the fuck did I do to make them target me?!
Though her anger was beautiful, it was too soon for her to be getting this upset. I heard more than one stumbled heartbeat during her short rant. I pulled her to me, then breathed against my mate mark, hoping the contact would help calm her, “Unfortunately, you may never have that answer, unless it’s in the journal. None of that was your fault, though, Swan. Not a single fucking second of it. Do you wanna call your Dad? I’m sure if they did, it would be in that leech’s journal.”
She made a noise in the back of her throat, then let out a shuddered breath, “Let’s just ask him to bring it with him. I don’t know if I can read it, Paul.”
I kissed my mark, then said seriously, “No more tearing your skin up. Promise me. It won’t make you look better, and it won’t get rid of the feeling of being violated.”
She let out a heavy breath, then said, “Don’t be a dick, Paul. I’m kinda naked in your arms right now. The last thing I need to hear is that I look ugly.”
I reared back to see her full face, “Woah, back up, Swan. I never said you were ugly. I said that scrubbing your skin so raw that you bleed isn’t going to make you look better. It’s just going to be painful for you. And for your information, I don’t tend to hit on girls I don’t find attractive; I clearly remember hitting on you more than a few times in the last several months.”
Her shaky hands came up to wipe her tear-stained face, so I offered, “Let’s get your mind working on something else for a bit, hmm? Have you thought about what you want to make your dad for dinner?”
She blushed wildly, then said, “Sorry, I should have asked.”
I shook my head, “You might as well get used to this being our house, Swan. If you want to throw a party, throw a damn party. Just tell me you’re doing it. If you want your dad to come for dinner, then by all means, we will go shopping to get everything your heart desires to make dinner for him.”
She scowled, bit her lip, then asked, “We don’t have to go all the way into town, do we? I don’t want to go into Forks. Not... not yet.”
I let a breath out in relief, then said, “I’m pretty sure you can find anything you want in either the general store or at the farmstands. Why don’t I step out and dress while you finish up in here? Once you’re dressed, we’ll grab a week’s worth of food. You can plan for your dad to come as much or as little as you want.”
She nodded, so I stood with her in my arms, then gently let her down. Once on her own 2 feet, Bella turned to grab the shampoo, so I quickly left the shower and found a towel. Not seeing one out for her, I placed one on the hook just outside the shower, telling her it was there when she was ready to get out. She promised not to be more than 5 minutes more.