Eyes of Fire [Sam Uley]

THIRTEEN|Explanations

Olivia had managed by herself to clean the entire place up and she was carrying gifts to her room and she went up and down the stairs a few times, before she had gotten the last of them as she was shutting the door to her bedroom.

A knock came at her window and her head snapped around to look at it. Olivia reached under her bed for the new aluminum bat that she had gotten from Charlie, since he wanted her to be able to defend herself.

The knock came again and Olivia opened the window and a yell came from Sam, who had been hit in the head by the bat. "I come in peace! Ow!" He protested as she dropped the bat.

"I'm so sorry." Olivia said as she grabbed him by the arm as she was pulling him into her room and he was shaking his head to clear it. "Are you okay?" She asked and he looked at her, before the bump was already disappearing. "Whoa." She said as she was looking at it. "Did that just heal?" She asked quietly and Sam nodded.

"Wolf thing." He said and she was nodding at the words. "You said that I should give it to you, so..." Sam held it out to her and she was smiling a little, as she took the box and she was opening it quickly.

"The same symbol as your tattoo?" Olivia asked as she lifted the necklace up and Sam shrugged. "I can't tell if that's creepy or what." She admitted and he sighed.

"It was either this or a wolf one." Sam admitted and she glanced at him. "You're a loyal friend, despite what I threw at you. Do you want to hear why?" He asked and she nodded slightly. "It's a long story..."

"I have time, Sam. I have way too much of it on my hands now, actually." She admitted as he shut the window and he sighed.

"Now that you've said yes, where do I even begin?" He asked and she reached out and a moment later, she had caught his hand in hers. Immediately almost flinching away from the burning heat, but she didn't and he looked at her.

"Start from when you disappeared into the woods without a word." She suggested as he nodded and she let go of his hand, not wanting to make him feel uncomfortable but she was surprised to feel him gently grabbing hers back.

"After you had made a point of telling me that I felt like I was burning up, I stayed at home for two days and whenever I used the thermometer, it was off the charts from how hot it was. But I didn't feel sick, it was weird and I had no idea what was happening."

"Mom and Carmen had gone to the dinner party or whatever, I had stayed home and I was feeling suddenly, like I had to get out. I felt trapped in my room at the moment, I was almost like an animal in a cage. So, I just took off. I got out of my window and I was running. I don't even know how long I was running for, before I finally realized that something was off, it wasn't normal."

"How did you find out?" Olivia asked as he looked at her. "Was it First Beach?" She said quietly and he nodded.

"I had gone the long way around, I had run through the woods and I found myself along the beach. It was when the last hurricane was coming in, so of course, nobody would be stupid enough to go out in that. I was running along the beach and I caught it out of the corner of my eye, I saw myself in the surf. I saw the paw prints that followed me, I saw the eyes that weren't mine... I saw the black fur and it terrified me."

"I couldn't let anyone see me like this, and so, I ran through the surf and I was trying to keep anyone from being able to follow me anywhere. I was going back into the woods and I stayed in the caves."

"Until the search parties started." Olivia supplied and he glanced at her, before he was nodding.

"Until the search parties started. I was surprised that you weren't among the first ones out there..." He murmured.

"Leah didn't tell me. She didn't want my help, she threatened Quil that she would tell Old Quil and Mrs. Ateara that he was just like me if he told me that you were missing."

In the words, Sam's hands had started to quiver and she looked at him. "Sam, look at me." She said and he was turning away, and he gritted his teeth. "Sam, please." She said and he reluctantly turned around to look at her. "It's okay." She murmured and he shut his eyes, as she moved her arms around him and he was shuddering. "Take it easy." Olivia murmured as eventually, the quivering had stopped entirely.

"They probably would have found me if you'd be involved from the beginning." Sam murmured and she nodded. "Sorry." He said and she was shaking her head.

"Don't apologize for it Sammy. I honestly don't think that I could survive what you've been doing." Olivia said quietly and she was hugging him again, as Sam's arms moved around her again. "So, how exactly do I fit into all of this?" She asked quietly.

"After I was finally able to calm down enough to phase back, I was ignoring pretty much everybody. Old Quil happened to stop by one day and he noticed that something was off with me. I went to visit him and the other elders... Billy and Harry." Sam said as she looked up at him, attentively listening to his words. "They explained to me the legends again, that I had never believed until after it had physically happened to me."

"Your great-grandfather was one of the last ones, right?" Olivia asked as he looked down at her. "I did pay attention, Sam, I just never looked like I was paying attention." She said and he chuckled.

"Ephraim Black, Quil Ateara II and my ancestor, Levi Uley." He said and she said nothing. "They were the last pack, before I phased. Now I'm the Alpha, to Jared and Paul. But I'll get to the point, you look like you're falling asleep." Sam said and Olivia snapped awake again at the words.

"What? You're like a warm blanket." She said and he laughed a little. "Sorry, I'm just really tired. No filter, as you well know." She murmured.

"The elders explained that the ancient wolves had their "spirit partners" but the last pack, they called them "imprints" and as a rule, these were the only people outside of the pack and outside of the elders, that they could share the secret with." Sam explained and Olivia sat up, as she turned to look up at him.

"Me?" She asked quietly and he nodded a little. "All of those things that you said... You didn't mean any of it, did you?" She asked.

"No. I realized it when you and Carmen were out in the woods looking for me the first time, when you were telling her that you were sure that I would come home. You said it with such certainty and I knew that I had to find a way to get home. She was sobbing and crying, you were crying too but you knew that she needed your support and you gave it to her." He said and she lowered her head, remembering the day like it was a day before. "The elders told me that it was like the person was your anchor now. If you lost your anchor, your imprint, the pain was said to be unbelievable." He said as she was looking down. "I said those things, because I wanted you to be safe and away from me. If I had been better prepared, then I would've never gone that route."

"I was watching over you the whole time, Livvy. I was in the woods, I was watching over you as best as I could and if it wasn't me... Then it was Jared or Paul. I didn't want to hurt you, Olivia, but being around the pack... Being around me, it comes with risks." He said and she was looking at him.

"When I'm not baking, I fight for a living Sam." She said and he looked at her. "Don't try to leave me behind again." She said and he shook his head, as she moved her arms around him in silence and they were sitting together in a quiet way.

"I won't. I promise." He said and she squeezed his hand in one of hers, as he held her and she was silently staying there.