~Flashback~

My 14 year old self is sitting in the living room enjoying cartoons on a Saturday morning, when 18 year old Ashton comes through the front door looking really tired, but I don't think much of it because it's been happening for a while, but he just says he's staying at our god brother Colton's house.

"Hey Ash! Wanna watch some cartoons?" I smile at him, and a small, tired smile crosses his face and he comes and sits next to me.

"Where were you? At Colton's again?" He just nods. "You promise we'll always be this close right? The best of friends?" He looks at me surprised by my question.

"Oh course Ariel. We can get through anything." We both smile and he puts his head in my lap and I start to play with his hair and soon enough he's snoring.

It just passed Ashton's birthday and I'm 16, pretending to be asleep while reading in my room. I hear upset yelling coming from downstairs which is weird, no one in our family ever argues. We try to avoid our tempers...

So I get up and quietly creep down the stairs and I recognize that it's Dad and Ashton, and Ashton's upset for some reason. The stair creeks and I freeze hoping they didn't hear me, but they both look up at me. Dad gives Ash a look and smiles at me before he goes up to his and mom's room.

"Everything okay Ash? I heard yelling?" He sighs and runs a hand through his hair which seems to be the nervous habit of the family, and I'm worried.

"No sis, we need to talk.." I sit next to him on the sofa and he runs his hands again and doesn't look in my direction. "We can't be hanging out anymore.."

"What?" I barely squeak out. My brother and I have been connected at the hip for as long as I remember, why is he saying this?

"I can't be hanging out with my baby sister anymore." Ouch, I feel tears prick my eyes but I push them back.

"You're lying! You've told me a thousand times that you'll never leave my side! That we'll stick together no matter how hard life gets-"

"Yeah well things change Ariel!"

"You promised me! All those promises when we were younger! Do they mean nothing to you now?"

Tears have started to leak but I don't care, I stand in front of him, pissed and he just keeps his eyes trained on the floor.

"Yes! I don't care about stupid promises!! They were made for children! If you haven't noticed we aren't kids anymore!" He now jumped up as well and is looking down at me, shocking me with tears in his own eyes but anger as well.

"So you just don't care anymore? You're to cool to give a rats ass about your little sister? You just want to throw everything away?!" I yell at him and he just looks at me, showing that he doesn't care and I lose it. I start punching his chest more tears streaming.

"You are an ass Ashton Michael! To think I ever, ever looked up to you!!"

After that it was weird have you ever been so angry you're suddenly calm, yeah that's what happened..

"You know what, fine. If you want nothing to do with me, then I want nothing to do with your lying ass! But if you think I'm going to wait around for my old big brother to apologize, and save the day, you can forget it!"

I backed away from him to see if there was any reaction on his face, and of course there wasn't. My tears were now streaming like a waterfall and a couple slipped from his eyes as well, but again nothing.

"I hope you're happy." I say finally and turn around to head upstairs to my room, closing and locking the door behind me bursting into sobs, burying myself on my bed.

Days, I stayed up in my room not wanting to come down for anything, unless he was gone but even then I was never myself. I put on a smile around Quin, but he's a smart kid and knew something was wrong..

"Ariel, why aren't you and Ashton together anymore? Did you guys fight?" He asks one day as we walk along the beach and I sigh, wishing we could just not talk about this..

"Yeah bud, he just doesn't want me to hang around anymore." He looks up at me shocked at my summarization of our fight.

"Don't worry sis, he'll come around, I mean you guys have been like one person for so long, nothing can really break that." He says with a smile and I want to believe him, but I'm not sure it'll ever change.

~~~~~~~

Looking at my feet dangling off the cliff, seeing the waves crashing I come back from my painful memories...

I still wish to this day, what Quin told me that day on the beach was true, but this was the first time I've actually spoken to my older brother willingly and figures he bursts into a freaking wolf..

I'm not sure how long I've been here just staring at the ocean and reliving the terrible past, mixed in with what Jason did today, I just want to stay here forever.

*Ashton's p.o.v.*

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!!

Lets just not tell Ariel about our family being wolves, yeah Dad cuz that was a great fucking  plan!

First he and Sam make me break her heart into a thousand tiny pieces because apparently I wouldn't be able to 'control myself around her'... Bullshit I did it for two years just fine!

And the first time in years that she talks to me, granted we were arguing I couldn't keep my damn cool! I have to keep her face out of my mind, the guys would go crazy if they saw it, and I don't want to explain that.. but know this, if I see that son-of-a I will kill him..

I growl as I reach Sam's knowing the guys will hear me and sure shit Colt comes running out of the house followed by Quil, Seth, and Ben all looking shocked to see me, since it was my day off.

"Ash? What happened?" Colt asks and my dad and Sam come out with raised eyebrows. Shit...

I jerk my head to the side signaling Colton to follow me so we can talk. He phases and tilts his head to the side waiting and I just show him the argument, careful not to let him hear what it was about. His eyes widen when I show him the part of me um "exploding" in front of my sister.

Well, way to be subtle about it bro.

Not funny man. I have no clue where the hell she is...

Well that's an issue—

You don't say?!

Not the time Ash. I just roll my eyes at him.

We gotta let the other guys know so we can go and find her.

That's what I was planning, I remember we smelled something nasty a couple days ago and I don't want her in the woods. Knowing her that's probably where she is..

We howl alerting the guys that we have a problem, but not a vamp one.

What's going on?

What happened?

Embry, Quil, Seth and Ben (our cousin) all phased in to help.

Well Ash really fucked up.

I just glare at Colt as he replays my memory for the other boys, and Embry growls and glares at me slightly.

Way to go, so much for not scaring the shit out of her.

He snarls quietly, but soon he starts suggesting places since he is the oldest still in the pack–Dad doesn't really do much unless it's an emergency. We all head our separate ways and man do I hope we find her...

I really screwed up..

*Embry's p.o.v*

Thankfully I've had years at perfecting keeping my thoughts to myself, but still being able to hear the other boys, makes hiding the fact I imprinted on Ariel that much harder.

Yeah figured that out when she broke into my house.. and totally not ready to tell anyone especially Paul. He would kill me in a heart beat... Definitely since he tried so hard to keep her out of this, well the wolf's out of the bag now.. ha. ha.

I remember her talking about the woods and the beach, maybe she went to either of those places... wait! The cliffs are the best of both worlds I have a feeling she's there.

So with that I start making my way to the cliffs, and sure enough right before I break the tree line I see her fit figure curled into herself as her eyes stare blankly over the ocean with fresh tear tracks down her cheeks. I phase back after telling the guys I found her and I'll bring her back and sling my black basketball shorts on and head towards her.

"Ariel?" She doesn't even flinch just stares and I'm starting to worry.. I sit next to her and see she's still crying and she closes her eyes.

"Ashton saw... The first time we've spoken in ye-years a-and it's an a-argument." She cuts herself off and gently places her head on my shoulder and I feel water hit my shoulder.

I wrap her in a hug, pulling her into my lap not caring, as my heart breaks with her pain. She wraps her arms around my neck more tears drip onto my bare chest before she pulls her head away and sniffles. I notice that I miss her being so close already.

"I'm sorry. At least I didn't ruin your shirt again." She chuckles slightly making me laugh as well. I pull her chin up so I can see her eyes, inwardly flinching at the dark bruises covering her face.

"Don't worry about it. Do you want to tell me what happened?" I might as well play dumb, see what she tells me. She puts her face back into my chest as she decides, and my grip on her tightens slightly.

"I got home thinking I was alone, but my graceful self managed to fall through my window. Ash came in, saw my face and demanded to know what happened." She flinches slightly and squeezes her eyes tight, like she's fighting the memory..

"We started arguing, I said some things I probably shouldn't have, but they were the truth, and.. um it just got uh ugly and I decided to get out of the house." She shrugged weakly at the end. I didn't realize that my hand had been rubbing her back, subconsciously comforting my imprint.

"It'll be okay Ariel. You and your brother will work it out." She shakes her head rather fast I'm surprised she isn't dizzy.

"No... I don't know if we will ever be okay Embry... It seems we always fight now.."

I know she doesn't want to talk about her brother so I drop it, but I need to get her back home.. I pick her up while I stand and her arms tighten around me.

"Where are we going?" She mumbles.

"I'm going to take you to Sam's-"

"No! My family is there remember! They can't see me like this!" She tries to get out of my grip but I just keep my arms around her and she gives up.

"Emily could help your bruises-"

"They're just bruises Embry, the only way they go away is with time. Please can we just go home? I-I can't risk seeing my family right now.."

I have a feeling it isn't just her bruises she doesn't want to talk about, at least I know she'll keep the wolves a secret.. I agree and within seconds she's fallen asleep in my arms, and luckily no one is at her house when I get there. I lay her in her bed and just well sit.

I can't believe how much shit this beautiful girl, my imprint, has been through. She deserves to know the truth but with what happened I don't know when she'll want to know the truth..

I leave the house only to pull out my cell and call Scar. Telling her that I found Ariel and that she's at the house asleep. She thanks me with relief in her voice and I head home after ending the conversation.

I lay on my bed staring at the ceiling for who knows how long wondering what I'm gonna do about my imprint and about my whole being a wolf like her brother...