Learning to Trust Ch. 02

(Hello all, this is the second section. Remember to leave comments and feedback. And let me know what you think, I'd like to say a big thanks to Max for editing and for those who are wondering, why Rose doesn't speak. That will become clear in section three.)

Rose screamed again as she bolted from the bed, looked around, and backed against the wall; her heart hammering as she tried to stop her shaking. It had been almost a week of pure bliss being with Nicholas, Samantha, Edward and Alexander. They were all so nice to her and she didn't want to see them hurt. Her brother was coming, she could feel it. He was close and the wait was driving her mad. Rose jumped when the door swung open to show Sam with a warm glass of milk in her hand.

"Another bad dream, deary?" Sam had grown used to Rose's nightmares and did her best to soothe her. Sam placed the milk on the side and sat down on the bed, knowing Rose still cringed away from touching anyone. "Want to write about it?"

Rose shook her head as she tried to keep calm. She hadn't changed since she had came here and her wolf was wanting out now, but she was scared to change back into her wolf form. She was always safer in her human form around her brother. Rose finally calmed down enough to sip the milk and wrote that she was ok and Sam should go back to bed. Reluctantly Sam went back to bed.

Rose couldn't get back to sleep; she was restless now, but unsure if it was her wolf or her brother that caused the restlessness. She walked to the window and slid it open. Taking her notepad, she slipped out of the window and walked deep into the forest. She liked to walk on her own; unfortunately Edward and Nicholas were not keen on the idea. Rose had yet to go near any of the pack members, they did not understand why she had kept her distance, but she had her own reasons for not getting too close to them. Mainly she was scared.

She sat by an old oak tree right by the lake. She couldn't swim, but she liked the calmness of the water. She had finally relaxed, but it was short lived. Rose pressed back against the tree, her heart picking up, as she heard the sound of running. She counted five people and saw three older females who all looked alike. Each had brown hair with hazel eyes; it was easy to tell they were sisters. They were all slender and appeared around the age of 25-30. They dived into the lake and were quickly joined by two boys. The boys were twins; six-pack abs, long black hair and deep green eyes. They appeared to be over 6' 4" and not too happy with the girls who were oblivious to the fact that the boys didn't appear too happy to be at the lake.

Just as Rose was about to leave one of the girls turned and growled pulling herself out of the lake. "Well, well, look who finally made an appearance." The girl sneered. "The mute finally comes out of hiding." Her sisters laughed, but the boys narrowed their eyes.

"What's the matter, mutt? Cat got your tongue?" Rose simply tilted her head as she watched them. The girls continued to snicker and mock her. Rose could sense their jealousy, but she didn't know why. "She doesn't even know when she is being insulted! She really is a retard!"

"You're all such asses!" one of the boys snarled. They both got out of the water in only their boxers and moved away from the girls who looked shocked and horrified. "She risked her life! Ran half the damn country and was near death when she got here and all you can do is insult her?" Shaking their heads, they walked toward Rose, who stepped back as if ready to bolt. The girls had gone quiet and were mumbling apologies, trying to appease the boys, but they weren't listening.

Rose bolted, running deeper into the forest and through the trees as fast as she could. She used her senses listening and her nose trying to keep out of the way of the boys. She came to a small platform of rocks that made a 30 foot ledge.

After listening for a while and not hearing anyone, she relaxed and sat on the edge of the platform. Below was a small clearing of grass.

"Hey!" Rose jumped and almost backed away until she realized she had sat right on the edge and there was no place to go. The twins each held up their hands and now wore two loose, silky, black tops. "I'm Shade and this is my brother Fury. Its hard to tell us apart, but our scents are slightly different." Shade smiled, "We mean you no harm. We just wanted to meet you."

Rose looked down at the grass area and considered jumping, but she had never tested her wolf's ability with things like jumping before.

As if sensing this, Shade's eyes went wide, "Please don't jump. We won't hurt you."

Fury stepped forward slowly his hands still held high, "Take it easy, Rose. Come away from the edge."

Rose's heart was beating frantically as she stood up looking between the fall and the two boys. She whimpered softly. Her emotions were confusing her. She had come here to be safe with a new pack, but she couldn't seem to shake the fear she held inside of her.

"Rose, come away from the edge. You could get hurt if you fell and we don't want that," Fury's voice was calm, but he kept edging closer to her. Just when Rose was about to jump he lunged and pulled her back from the edge. He wrapped his arms around her and held her firmly so she couldn't run off the edge or hurt him or herself; yet his arms were soft and didn't hurt her. Rose started to panic even more as she thrashed and tried to claw at him.

Shade came up and held Rose's head still. "Rose...Rose! We aren't going to hurt you, we only wanted to meet you, Please calm down." Shade frowned at Fury, "Put her down you're scaring her!"

"She was going to jump! What if she hurt herself! Do you want to be the one who has to tell the Alpha? Rose, calm down please!" Fury lifted Rose carefully, carrying her away from the edge before he let her down and slowly let go of her, stepping back. His hands were raised up again.

Rose backed away gasping for air as she fought against images from her past, of her brother and his friends. She looked at Shade and Fury as she tried to calm down. She sank to the grass and curled up trembling. She didn't care that the two of them were there. To her surprise they sat down near her and seemed content to just wait as she tried to sort out her emotions.

Shade and Fury both walked Rose back to the main manor where, upon coming out of the tree line, they where surrounded by Edward, Alex, Sam and Nicholas. Who all started asking questions almost instantly and looking extremely worried.

"Where have you been? Why didn't you tell someone you were going for a walk?" Alex's worried voice continued to mumble his tirade at her for not telling anyone where she was.

Nicholas came forward looking her over and making sure she was unharmed. "Rose, come to the living room and get warm I want to make sure you're not hurt, dear."

Edward and Alex both fired questions at Shade and Fury, but she couldn't do anything as Nicholas ushered her into the house.

Alex growled at the twins, "What happened out there?"

"Em, Jo and Trish had a go at her, we found her sitting by the lake. When she ran off we followed her. She was sitting on the east platform and almost jumped so we pulled her back to stop her, so she wouldn't hurt herself. Then she sat down and got a funny look on her face. We stayed close in case she needed any more help and, when she wanted to walk back, we followed, Sir." They bowed their heads respectfully.

Edward calmed Alex as he spoke to the boys, "You did the right thing. The east platform is about 30-35 feet. We don't know if the drop would have hurt her. Thank you both." Edward had an idea as a slight smile curved is lips. "She didn't run from you?" He looked at them both expectantly.

"No, Sir, well...at first she did, but then she was ok with us being near her...I think...she didn't try to run again."

Edward smiled even more, "I would like you both to stick close to her. She has shown a reluctance to be near the wider pack; with you two this could help her. Follow us inside and we will explain the things we know about Rose so you are better able to understand her and help her." He looked into their eyes, "Oh, and, boys, whatever you learn of her, you are both sworn to secrecy. Understand?" They nodded.

After Nicholas and Samantha had spent 20 minutes ensuring Rose was alright, they all sat together in the main living area, including Shade and Fury, who looked at Rose sympathetically. They were now fully aware of what their Alpha knew about Rose. Edward stood up and cleared his throat, "Rose, we don't want anyone walking alone for a while; it's not safe right now. Especially because of your brother. We would like you to take Shade and Fury with you if you go out anywhere. They will be staying close to you, alright?"

Rose nodded slowly as she stayed curled up by the fire, she had written out her apology several times, for making them worry, but she still felt bad about it. She wasn't used to people caring for her.

Over the next two days Rose did he best to avoid Shade and Fury, but they always seemed to find her. They were kind, caring and very friendly. They walked with her in the woods, ate meals with her, and were always poking fun at each other which amused Rose, often leaving her having to hide a smile or stifle a laugh. Why couldn't her family be like this? Shade and Fury had even taken to protecting her from other pack members, not allowing them near her. When she had looked shocked at him, he had just smiled at her and said, "You'll meet them when you're ready; until then they will not bother you."

Rose had slowly spent more and more time with the twins, she trusted them not to hurt her and they became almost inseparable with each others, where ever Rose went Shade and Fury where right beside her. She finally started to feel accepted.

To be continued....