Chapter 9

Forest's POV

I woke up to the sound of crying. Not just any one. My mate. She wasn't just crying though. She was wailing. Her room is across the corridor to mine but the sound of her weeping leaked into my very soul until I couldn't take it anymore.

I ran across the corridor and threw her door open, greeted by a pitiful sight. My mate, with tears streaming down her face.

She was curled up in the corner of her room with her eyes tightly closed. She kept banging her head on the wall and every so often she would pull at her hair. She kept shaking her head and crying.

I ran over to her, "Aria, what's the matter?" I looked closer at her. She was asleep. ""Aria, it's just a nightmare, wake up, it's ok."

Her eyes slowly cracked open, she looked disorientated and scared. "It's ok Aria, it was just a nightmare, what happened."

I handed her the note pad from her desk and a pencil and she slowly wrote out what happened.

Aria's dream POV

I was alone in a forest, it was dark, and I was trapped, every time I tried to get away I would end up back where I started.

Then from the darkness my dad and brother appeared. They were beating me, and I couldn't get away.

One by one everyone I ever knew appeared and they all joined it. My mum, every teacher and every pupil, last of all Forest and his family appeared.

I thought they might help me, but they just laughed and laughed and laughed. Watching my pain and finding it funny.

Then suddenly it all stopped, and I was alone again. This time it was a pack of wolves who came out the forest. They didn't look like wolves though. They were disfigured and brutal. Their eyes were red as blood and their fur was black as night.

They started attacking me. Biting me and tearing at my flesh with their teeth and claws. But then out of the woods came the brown wolf, the wolf from my dreams. The wolves ran off and the brown wolf walked over to me.

Forest's POV

I wished I could take all her pain away, I couldn't, it was impossible, but I could do the next best thing. Comfort her so she doesn't have to carry her pain alone and when the pain makes her feel broken I will be her glue.

I hugged her tight and whispered in her ear. "It's ok. It was a dream. You will never go through that again. I will keep you safe. I promise."

I held her for another few minutes, slowly rocking her side to side, comforting her in a way only I could, although she doesn't know that.

"Aria do you think you could go back to sleep? I promise the nightmares won't come back." I said, hesitantly. I didn't want to let her go but she had to sleep.

"Stay with me." She wrote. Wasting no time I pulled her up into my arms before laying in her bed, pulling her tight against me.

Loving the feel of her against me. Breathing in her scent my wolf rumbled in contentment. Before I knew it my eyes closed and I fell in to a deep sleep. Finally my mate was in my arms.

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I woke up after the best sleep of my life with the sun shining in my eyes and my mate still asleep in my arms. I smiled down at her and hugged her tighter. Mine my wolf growled, yes, she is ours, and we will keep her safe and protected until she is ready to know about our world. Then she will really be ours.

A few minutes later I felt her stir in my arms. I released her as she started to fidget and she slowly sat up.

Her face was a blaze she was blushing so hard and I was probably blushing too. "Shall we go get breakfast?" I asked to break the awkward silence that had settled upon us.

Aria smiled and climbed out of bed, nodding her head and we walked down stairs to the kitchen.

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After breakfast we headed into town to buy Aria some new clothes. I was appalled by the rags her father called clothes. I'd seen her brother wearing all the designer brands where as Aria was left in old charity shop tatters which she'd had for years.

My mum wanted to come but she had to look after some young pups in the pack while their parents were at work. Instead she gave me a long list of things to buy Aria, telling me if I didn't get them all I would have her to answer to.

we walked into the shopping centre and I held Aria tighter as she shook, scared by the noise and all the bustling people, going about their shopping.

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We spent the next few hours going from shop to shop, buying everything on the list and some things which weren't. After we visited the last shop we headed into a cafe to get some food.

As we sat there I saw someone approach us and smiled. "Hey Ash, over here!" My best friend Ash hurried over, his mate Skye following behind.

"Hey Forest, I haven't seen you in months!" Ash exclaimed sitting down opposite me. I felt Aria shake at the new additions to our table.

"Ash, Skye, this is my, um, 'friend' Aria. Aria this is my best friend Ash and his, um, 'girlfriend' Skye." I saw Ash's eyes widen at my choice of words and he glanced between me and Aria.

Finally, Skye broke the confused silence that was cloaking us, "Hi Aria, nice to meet you, I'm Skye. What's a nice girl like you hanging out with an ugly thing like Forest?" She asked with a sparkle in her eye.

"Hey. I'm not that bad!" I protested, and Aria quietly giggled beside me, I looked down at her smiling face and smiled. I loved her smile it was refreshing, like rain on a stuffy summer day.

Again, Ash looked between me and Aria, slowly piecing the pieces together. "WAIT!" He yelled, causing Aria to shake and hide in my side and me to growl at him.

"But she's your, you've found your." I clamped my hand over his mouth before he could finish. "I'll tell you later." I hissed before comforting Aria.

"But seriously, Aria, why are you hanging out with Forest, he said his new school was full of idiots." Ash asked, waiting for an answer I knew would never come.

Aria didn't have any paper to write on and she wouldn't speak so she just hung her head, picking at a hangnail and looking at the floor.

"She doesn't speak," I hissed before grabbing Aria's hand and giving it a light squeeze. My moron best friend just stared, lost for words for once in his life.

But of course he can't stay down for long so he just turned to me for the answer to his question. I sighed, "She's my best friend and she's staying at my house because she can't stay at home." I said, trying to answer his question without causing Aria any mental strain.

"Why?" Moron uttered and before I could shut him up I heard a loud sniff from next to me. Next thing I knew my mate was running from the table crying.

"Look what you've done now," I hissed before running after my mate. I used my wolf speed to catch up to her as she reached the car.

Aria had tears running down her cheeks and the sight broke my heart. I pulled her into a tight hug. Holding her close. "Shhh, it's ok Aria. He didn't mean it. That moron just doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut. Do you want to head back home now?"

Aria nodded her head. It was all getting a bit much for her. So many new things to do and see. I opened the car and got in the drivers side before driving home.

Some time during our ride home Aria fell asleep so I carried her into the house and up to her room.

I sat by her bed, wiping the tears off her cheeks. I kissed her forehead and made my way down stairs. Stopping by my dad's office to see if he needed any help with pack work.

"Where is your mate?" My dad asked, looking up form his desk.

"Sleeping, she fell asleep in the car from shopping." I stopped and sighed, "Ash turned up and asked why she was there, Aria freaked out and ran away, it all became too much and she fell asleep. What am I going to do Dad. She shouldn't have had to go through all she did. I should have been there sooner."

My father looked down at me with a small smile. "Don't blame your self. You couldn't have done any differently. Go back upstairs, spend time with your mate."

I was glad he felt that way. So long as my Alpha still believed in me, so long as my mate never left me, I would always be ok and I would always have everything I need to be happy.

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Later that day, after we had had tea I was sitting in my room when I heard a knock at the door. I opened it to see Aria on the other side, looking at the floor.

"Hello Aria, do you need anything?" I asked glancing at the note pad she had clasped in her hand.

"Please, I know it's a lot to ask but the nightmare didn't come back after you came. I haven't had a night without nightmare for years." After I read it I looked up to see Aria staring at the floor, her cheeks on fire.

Without saying anything I grabbed her hand pulling her into my room and onto my bed. I pulled the covers over us and pulled my mate close to me. Breathing in her scent, she instantly calmed me in a way no one else could.

I love my mate and will love her until the end of time. I just hope that when she knows who I really am she will still love me.