Prologue

Paul Asher Lahote was freaking out. After finally getting a moment of peace after the Jacob-Bella drama he could finally text his baby girl only to find out that not only the pull within his chest had turned into an increasingly painful ache, but he also had forty missed calls from her and a voicemail where she sounded absolutely terrified.
"Paul?" Sam questioned his Delta concerned, but Paul ignored his friend and Alpha as he looked around the packed kitchen of the Black family home where the entire pack, the elders and Charlie Swan had come to support Sue Clearwater after Harry had just died - especially as BOTH Leah and Seth had just shifted when they heard the news.

"Charlie!" Paul shouted desperately, pulling attention to himself as he shoved Jacob out of the way who snapped at him but Paul wasn't in the mood for him right now. If Jacob wasn't so hooked on Bella Bloody Swan and so out of control then they wouldn't have to constantly clean up his messes then Paul could have been there for his girlfriend, the love of his life and his Imprint. So yes; he did blame Jacob. Was it fair? Probably not, but right now he could care less.
"What is it son?" Charlie asked concerned, noticing the horrified and scared look on the young man's face - who he actually liked. Paul was good for Cali and both he and his brother Miles could agree and admit to that. Instead of answering Paul cast one last dark glare over at Jacob before he replayed the voicemail from a few hours ago and put it on speaker.

"P-Paul," Calliope's terrified voice whispered in between sobs. "Help. Help me. Please. Some-someone's here! Daddy.... They killed him, Paul... I think... I think they're going to...." Everyone's blood turned cold at that announcement when fear suddenly gripped their hearts in a vice-like grip squeezing ever tighter as tears poured down their cheeks only to become petrified when she let out a blood curdling terrified scream. "NOOOOO! LET ME GO!!! PLEASE! PLEASE, LET ME GO!!" Another scream, this one more pain-filled than the last, followed by her Banshee scream, before the line went dead. No one knew what to do.

"W-when did -?" Charlie trailed off; he couldn't bear the thought that his little brother was dead and he didn't want to even think about the possibility of his little Runa... but he knew she was strong and he could only hope.
"Two hours ago when I was dealing with the
Jacob-Bella drama." Paul growled, starting to shake but as soon as Charlie rested his hand on the young Wolf's shoulder - yes he knew, how could he not when both his sister-in-law and niece were Banshees and Kimberly was killed by vampires when Cali was three. At that moment they heard a car pull up outside and all hurried out to see another police car sat on the drive with a young African-American man with a deputy badge exiting the car.

"Chief, glad I caught you." Deputy Aaron Smith sighed in relief, although a nervous tone could be heard in his voice. "I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news after your friend died this afternoon, but Seattle PD and Seattle Hospital have got in touch. Your niece is in the ICU with a concussion, a shattered right ankle which they will need to operate on, a broken and dislocated left shoulder and wrist, and several fractured ribs. The apartment's landlord found her. There was a home invasion, Miles tried to protect her by the looks of it but," Aaron steeled himself only to be interrupted by Charlie.

"I... I know Aaron," Charlie stuttered. "My little Runa left a terrified voicemail on Paul's - her long standing boyfriend's - phone."
"Could we take a look at this voicemail and see if we can work out who did this?" Deputy Smith asked Paul. "I'll get your phone back to you as soon as possible."
"Of course. Just - just find who did this." Paul agreed, his voice tight. "Please." He added so he wasn't making demands.

"Of course. Charlie, take as long as you need, we will all cover for you and help Seattle as much as we can." Deputy Smith ordered.
"Thank you Aaron." Charlie said gratefully, as soon as the car was out of earshot he turned to Billy and Sue with an apologetic look but they were already waving him off.
"Enough of that old man." Billy admonished. "Go and be with Runa, give her our love and we shall pray to the ancestors for her speedy recovery. I'm sorry about Miles, Charlie." Billy mutters sadly, his heart breaking that he's lost two best friends in one day and the girl he saw like another daughter is in the ICU.

"Thank you Billy. Paul let's go." Charlie said to the teen, shocking him but he couldn't help but feel relieved that he was allowed to join. He and his wolf were already going mad over the separation despite only seeing her last weekend when they went on a date and had her apartment to themselves.
"Can we come? She's our best friend too!" Jared, Alyssa, Seth and Embry complained loudly, while Leah and Rebecca nodded in agreement.
"No." Emily and Sam said firmly.
"Go on Paul, keep us informed one way or another and Jacob and I will cover for you."
Sam reassured him.

"WHAT?! Why do I have to?" Jacob protested but shut up at the look from his Dad.
"Charlie, once they've finished in the apartment would you like us to box up all of Cali's, and Miles' belongings so you don't have to worry about it?" Sam asked just as Charlie was about to get in his police car. Knowing it would be no use to argue especially with the looks his friends were giving him Charlie couldn't help but gratefully agree.

He also had to admit that it was a relief off of his shoulders. Now all they had to do was wait for news on Calliope Runa Swan.
"Thanks Sam, I truly appreciate it. Nearly everything should be boxed up already as they were moving here due to the three of us wanting to be closer and due to the pain Cali and Paul suffered but M-Miles was waiting for his Superiors to sign off on the transfer to my station." Charlie's voice broke and he had to visually pull himself together before he and Paul got into his police car.

This day seems to be going from bad to worse. First Harry, then Bella just leaves him a flimsy note stating she was going to Italy with Alice to rescue Edward from something (not that Charlie really cared for the Cullens, least of all Edward and now Alice), and now his little brother was dead and his niece seriously injured. Whoever dared harm his family would soon rue the day they were born. After all he was a cop and knew how to hide a body.

* * *

The drive to Seattle was spent in anxious anticipation but thankfully didn't take as long as it was supposed to take due to Charlie going over the speed limit but right now he didn't care all he cared about was getting to Callie as soon as possible. Charlie had barely pulled the car into park before the pair of them jumped out racing into the hospital.
"Calliope Swan." Charlie said in a rush to the woman behind the welcome desk, worry and fear clear in his countenance. "She was brought in earlier this evening after a home invasion. I'm her uncle and now her next of kin, this is her boyfriend." He added, gesturing towards Paul with a flick of his wrist.
"I'm sorry for your loss, Sir. I'll have a nurse or a doctor come and see you shortly. She's in the operating theatre right now, but we will need you to identify her father."

At Charlie's sharp intake of air, Paul clasped Charlie's shoulder in comfort.
"Very well." Paul agreed for Charlie offering him a moment to collect himself. "Could you have someone take us there please and have us informed on Callie's condition."
"Of course. Just take a seat in the waiting room and I'll have someone come and get you." The woman agreed. Charlie and Paul didn't have to wait too long before they were taken to a side room in the Mortuary what they saw horrified them and broke Charlie's heart as he confirmed it was his brother who had been beaten to a pulp as well as having a strange wound on his neck that both of them knew all too well; a bite mark. After Charlie signed some paperwork and the Death Certificate they were led back to the waiting room to await Callie coming out of surgery. 

While they were in the different part of the hospital with the distinct smell of disinfectant, iodine and all sorts of medicine covering up the sickly clingy smell of a vampire went unnoticed by Paul's wolf senses allowing a curly red headed female vampire to follow in behind a male vampire with dirty blonde hair.
"Are you sure he's alive?" She hissed to her companion.
"Yes. The humans would've have barely noticed it and I've found out he's also the uncle of that Bella Swan you want to kill." The male replied, hoping to please the female who he was besotted with while also not mentioning that the man's daughter was currently several floors above them and had been able to destroy two newborns with a powerful scream.

He'd never admit it but that not only scared him but like with the young girl, Bree, he didn't wish this life on the young blonde so he kept quiet praying his indiscretion would never be found out by Victoria.
"Perfect." The woman, Victoria, hissed delighted before leaning close to the man's ear and whispering in his ear, "welcome to the army." Before she bit him over the bite he already had but this time injecting venom unlike what the useless newborn had done. While in Miles' mind he swore to himself he'd never attack his precious daughter, his brother or his niece (no matter how much he didn't like her for her treatment of Callie) if need be he'd find a way to escape and kill himself so he couldn't pose as a threat.

While this was happening to poor Miles, several floors above them Charlie and Paul were pacing around the waiting room, occasionally letting the Tribe and pack know they were still waiting and that Miles' body had been identified, the only break in this monotony was when one of them would go and get some coffee. Three hours after their arrival there was a knock on the door, revealing a middle aged Chinese woman dressed in doctor scrubs with her sheet of black hair tied in a tight bun at the back of her head, while her eyes held sympathy and compassion for the pair before her.
"Excuse me, are you Chief Charlie Swan?" She asked politely.

"I am." Charlie confirmed with a nod trying to seem composed but the fidgeting of his hands gave away his nervousness. "This is Paul Lahote, Callie's boyfriend." He added, knowing that some doctors wouldn't speak while strangers were around their patients' family.
"I'm Doctor Zahra Rhodes," she introduced kindly. "I've been operating on your niece for the last few hours. The operation itself went rather well, but she did lose a bit of blood so we had to do a transfusion during the operation.

She has a concussion, a shattered right fibula, tibia - which are the bones in her shin, and ankle, a broken and dislocated left shoulder and wrist, and several fractured ribs that are luckily not piercing her lungs, nor is there any internal bleeding. Her ankle and right leg needed plates and pins to hold the bone together as the fibula and tibia were completely shattered before we bound it in a cast. We've reset her left shoulder returning it to its socket and luckily none of the nerves were damaged in the dislocation. Her wrist, on the other hand, has had the bone reset and put in a cast before we put her arm in a sling to support her shoulder. She's in recovery at the moment but once she has come round and we've checked there's no side effects to the operation or the transfusion then you may see her."  She informed them, causing Charlie and Paul to slump into their chairs in relief.

"I must warn you however, that she will be very woozy when she comes around and might not make much sense as she'll be in a lot of pain and it'll be the effects of the blood loss and anaesthetic. But once we've checked her over we'll give her some pain medication, she should be coming round in about an hour."
"Thank you Doctor. Thank you." Charlie sighed with relief, shaking her hand in gratitude as tears rolled down his cheeks.
"How long will she be here for?" Paul questioned, feeling completely boneless and hollow as at the moment he couldn't feel her emotions but the bond was lighter which made it a little easier to breathe.

"It's hard to say. The next twenty-four hours are crucial and it will be a long recovery for her. She'll need a wheelchair for a while when she leaves and physiotherapy for both her leg and arm and eventually crutches, and an occupational therapist will need to speak to you and Callie before you leave as they may be able to offer you help for when she's home, but the main thing is she's out of surgery and doing well so far. I'll send a nurse for you when she's out of recovery and in a ward." She explained finally, before leaving Charlie and Paul to their thoughts as they filled everyone in who were crucially waiting for news.

Just as they had finished their phone calls an hour later, a nurse appeared to lead them to Callie who was on a ward, who was finally awake asking for Paul and her uncle. At once Charlie and Paul jumped from their seats as if they had been burned eager to see the blonde woman they loved. Up several floors they arrived on a ward and into a side room where a drowsy and banged up looking Callie lay propped up and staring at them with her gorgeous but unfocused blue eyes that had lost some of the brightness to them. The second Charlie and Paul laid eyes on her tears fell down their cheeks rapidly as they darted for the chairs on the left side of the bed - Callie's right - thanking the nurse absent minded.

"Callie!" Paul gasped carefully picking up her right uninjured hand carefully just in case as he kissed her knuckles sweetly.
A wave of relief passed through Paul and Charlie so strong that it almost made them feel boneless from the strength of it at seeing Callie awake. After seeing Miles in the morgue they had been fearing the worst.
"Paul. Uncle Charlie." Callie whispered hoarsely, causing Charlie to jump from his seat getting her a cup of water and a straw.
"Hey kiddo. Drink this slowly." Charlie whispered, a small smile on his lips as he offered the cup to his niece. "I'm so glad you're okay. Once you're well enough to come home we will protect you. Nothing and no one will ever hurt you again, alright kiddo?" Charlie asked once she'd had enough to drink.

"Thank you Uncle Charlie. But... I'm so sorry... I..." Callie whispered tearfully, tears slipping down her too-pale cheeks which Paul tenderly wiped away with his thumb.
"You have nothing to be sorry for Callie." Charlie told her firmly. "What happened is not your fault and your Dad wouldn't want you to blame yourself, would he? No." Charlie stated when Callie tearfully shook her head no.
"I promise, baby girl, that the pack and I will get them. They'll pay for even coming anywhere near your home, near your Dad and near you!" Paul swore, his voice firm and hard with his desire to protect his soulmate.

His wolf was beyond mad which battled against his overprotectiveness but he and his wolf both agreed that Callie: their heart, their soulmate was far more important than his need for revenge. If need be his other pack brothers and sisters could deal with them while he stayed with Callie.
"Okay." Callie whispered tiredly, trying to fight against her closing eyelids.
"Rest baby girl. We will be here when you wake up. I love you." Paul reassured her, kissing her lips softly.
"Love you too." Callie muttered drowsily as she finally gave into the fierce pull of slumber that had been trying to get her to sleep for the past ten minutes and slipped into a deep slumber.

The second time Callie woke up was due to the severe pain she had been in that had taken her breath away at its severity. Jared - who had been with her that time so Charlie and Paul could sleep (they refused to leave her) had called for a nurse who had quickly given her some pain meds; despite making her incredibly drowsy, she was able to stay awake a little while longer then the first time as she smiled at Jared who had been joined by Emily. The elder woman stared at her with tearful eyes before wrapping the blonde teen in a tight hug before Callie drifted back off to sleep. The third time that Callie had woken up she was much more alert then the previous two times which enabled Doctor Rhodes to come and check on her, run some tests and explain things.

The Doctor was with a man with sandy brown hair and blue eyes, his name badge stated his name was Sam Thompson. He was an occupational therapist who had been speaking with Charlie and getting everything ready for Callie at his home. He had worked rather quickly getting a proper ramp set up on the front and back porches, a railing attached to Callie's bed which just slotted under the mattress, a lift to aid her in and out of the bath which she would be able to operate alone, funding for a wheelchair and crutches, as well as setting up home physio therapy visits for the time being.
"When can I go home?" Callie asked later that evening, allowing Paul to help her sit up in bed, smiling at him gratefully as she kissed his cheek only to get a kiss to her knuckles in return.

"Tomorrow would be the earliest that I would be happy enough to allow you to leave." Doctor Rhodes smiled apologetically but still firm in her decision. "I'm prescribing you with some high dosage painkillers for the pain and have scheduled a home visit with your Uncle for the home physio team to start your appointments in two weeks on May 2nd. You will need to take it easy to not rip open your stitches, they're dissolvable but I'll have you come back to see me a week after your first physio. Good luck Callie, I'll see you in three weeks and I'm so sorry about your father." Doctor Rhodes apologised, feeling horrible for what the young girl had gone through.

"Also, here is a number for a grief counsellor you may find helpful." She added, passing a card over to Paul with all the details on it.
"Thank you Doctor." Paul nodded, slipping the card into his pocket for safe keeping. With a nod to their patient and her family the two doctors left, leaving Callie alone with her Uncle Charlie and her doting loveable boyfriend and Imprinter, Paul Lahote. Finally alone, Callie looked at them with eyes full of tears and a broken look in them that both Charlie and Paul hated; muttering the one word that Charlie, the pack and the tribe had been dreading.

"It was vampires, Uncle Charlie. Vampires killed Dad. If I hadn't used the Scream, I would be dead too. They were going to kill me. But... before I passed out I saw one of them leave, I recognised him, it was Riley Biers."
"It's okay sweetheart." Charlie soothed gathering Callie into his arms as she sobbed into his chest clutching tightly to Paul's hand as if he were the only lifeline in the vast stormy ocean of her grief, anguish, sadness and anger. "It's okay. You're safe now." He reassured her, kissing the top of her head while keeping his own tears at bay.

"No one will ever hurt you again, baby, I promise." Paul swore, kissing her knuckles and tucking a blonde strand behind her ear that had escaped the fishtail braid he did for her the other day. "I couldn't protect you and I hate it but I'll be damned if that ever happens again. If they think about it, they will seriously regret it. I love you so much."
"It's not your fault, Paul." Callie sniffled. "I love you too, so much."
"Get some rest, we're not going anywhere." Paul suggested, leaning forwards to kiss her cheek, while mentally planning to inform Sam and the others as soon as possible.

"Soon you'll be out of here and we can have a movie marathon watching all the Harry Potter movies."
"I'd like that." Callie smiled, a bright smile returning to her face at the thought washing her off to sleep while everyone made plans to protect her so nothing like this ever, ever happens again.

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Author's note: DO NOT ask me to update in any way shape or form. There are other ways of telling me what you thought of this.