The mute girl

Chapter 4: Hurt

Sam's POV: It had been about an hour since Paul had imprinted on Alex and ran off. The rest of us sat around the fire and talked, except Alex. She looked lost in thought and just stared at the fire. Emily looked over at her then at me. I gave her a nod and she went to sit next to Alex.

Alex's POV: I was just staring at the fire, trying not to think about Paul. Emily had come to sit next to me but I didn't even look her way. "He'll come around." I looked at her, finally, with no expression. 'I don't even know what happened.....but I don't really care.' She looked at me, seeing right through my facade. "You know that's not true." I just looked back at the fire, not wanting to talk about it.

An hour later

No one had tried to talk to me after Emily had. They would look my way with sad looks but I just ignored them. It has been about 2 hours since Paul left and I still couldn't figure out what had happened. I started to feel a dull ache in my chest about half an hour ago but just ignored it. Then it got worse. I felt like my heart was being ripped out of my chest.

I had started to whimper and it caught everyone's attention. Before anyone knew what was happening I got up and ran into the woods, so angry I was shaking. I kept running and running until my bones started to crack loudly. I was in so much pain, I dropped to the ground and cried out.

Next thing I know, I'm no longer human. 'I just turned into a freaking wolf. What the hell?' As soon as the thought came out, I dropped to the ground whimpering again. But not because of phasing, because my chest ached more. A black wolf came out of the treeline and walked toward me, slowly. I knew it was Sam but at the moment I didn't care. All that mattered was the pain.

'I'm so sorry, Alex.' I finally looked up at him but couldn't stop my whimpers. 'What's happening?' I asked in between whimpers. He runs behind a tree, shifts back and comes out in cut off shorts. He has some clothes in his hand, most likely for me. He puts the clothes in front of me before backing away.

"Shift back then I'll explain everything. All you have to do is imagine yourself human again. I'm going to turn around so you can get dressed." With that, he turned away from me and I shifted back and threw the clothes on. I walked up behind him and he turned back around.

'Explain?' I projected. "Paul imprinted on you. And that basically means your soul mates but its more than that too. And that's why when he left and did whatever he did, it hurt you. He had to have slept with someone for it to be that painful. I don't know why you phased though. I'm sorry......" He said, trailing off at the end.

I thought about his words, growing angry with Paul. The more I thought about him, the angrier I was. I shifted again, ripping the clothes Sam had brought for me. 'I'm sorry about the clothes.....I think I know why I phased.' He just nodded, wanting me to continue. 'I copy others powers....usually mutants but I've copied vampire's abilities too. I must have been around you guys long enough that when I got angry I copied the magic within you and am now able to phase.......I need some time to think if that's ok....'

Sam looked at me for a second before turning around and running back towards the beach. I walked the opposite way, further into the woods. I found a nice spot, far enough away from everyone, and dropped to the ground. I lay there and whimpered for what felt like hours. I finally let out a sad howl that I had been keeping in. Knowing he heard it but feeling like he didn't care, I just laid my head down and fell into a nightmare filled sleep.
      ***************************************************
Paul's POV: I ran deep into the woods after imprinting on Alex. I felt kind of bad for running off but not enough to go back. I walked around for about an hour before I found myself in front of Brit's house. She had been a good friend before I shifted and she always had a crush on me. I was still friends with her but only at school and she was the only person I wanted to be with right now.

I started to throw pebbles at her window, hoping she was home. Finally she opened the window and looked out. "Oh, hey Paul. What's up?" She yelled down to me. I stared at her for a few seconds before answering. "Can I come in?" She nodded her head and held up a finger to tell me she'd be right down.

She opened the door and let me in. We walked to her room. "Don't worry my parents aren't home." We talked for awhile and it made me feel a little better. I couldn't tell her what happened but just talking like we used to made me happy.

Before I knew what I was doing, I leaned in and kissed her. My chest ached when I did, stupid imprint. We ended sweaty, out of breath, and naked under the covers. She seemed lost in blissful thought, while I lay there arguing with my wolf. This is my life, not his.

A little while later, we're cuddled up with each other and I hear a sad howl that breaks my heart. Alex phased. I caused her to phase. It's all my fault. I hear Brit's parents pull in and decide that I'm going to run patrol instead of facing Alex.

"Bye Paul," Brit whispered, half asleep. I jumped out the window and phased. The second I did I heard Alex still phased but sleeping. Having horrible nightmares about me. I run home instead. Before phasing back I tell sleeping Alex, 'I'm so sorry.'