Believer (Embry Call)

Singing From Heartache

From the pain...

Pulling up to Emily Young's cabin in the woods, Rikki angrily shut off her bike. "Danny! You Asshole! I know you can hear me, get out here. Now!"

Danny wasn't the only person that shuffled out, but Sam, Jake, and Jared all stood tall behind him, all being very cautious now that she was around. Danny approached her with a serious expression. When he was within reaching distance, he stretched his arms out and pushed her toward her bike, but got his hands slapped away in the process.

"Go home, Rikki."

With the best glare she could muster, Rikki reeled her arm back and sent it flying, punching Danny as hard as she could in the face. The force of the impact knocked him on the ground where he writhed and groaned loudly. Turning away from her brother's wriggling frame, she faced Sam who was staring at her in shock with the other two boys.

"Where's Emily?"

Sam straightened, a serious look falling onto his stony features. "Why?"

"I need a fucking hug."

~~~

After receiving her hug from Emily, Rikki went and sat on the porch steps letting her head fall into her hands as she breathed deeply. The surrounding forest made the air smell of pine and rain; something she found comforting. A few minutes later someone sat beside her, yet she didn't have to look to know it was Danny. Wordlessly she pulled the letter from her pocket and held it out to him, listening to the sounds of the forest as he read it.

"Where'd you find this?" He finally asked.

"Dad's room. It was in a box in his closet."

"I didn't know you went in there?" His tone was sad as he shifted to face her slightly.

"Today was the first time I went in there since he...but at least it gave me something to do while I was home alone," She finished bitterly. Danny rubbed his hands together nervously.

"Well, um... Sam's the alpha," He stated awkwardly.

"I figured," Rikki muttered. "What I really want to know is why the boys ignored me?"

Danny winced, choosing to give her the easier answer since she was already pissed at him. "When they faze for the first time, when the shift into their wolf, it's because of anger. When they have a hard time controlling their anger, they shift. If you're too close when they do, you could get hurt."

She thought about the new information for a moment as she sat silently. Rikki's mind wandered to Emily and the three long scars she had running down her face, but instead of inquiring about her she asked a different question. "But, they've all been shifters for a while, besides Seth, but he doesn't get angry often, so wouldn't they have control by now?"

"You would think," Danny grumbled to himself before sighing. It was now or never. "The wolves have to follow alpha's orders, Sam's orders. I asked him to tell the boys to stay away from you."

Rikki stood angrily, looking at the bruise forming around his right eye. "You what?!"

Compared to Rikki, Danny stood up calmly with a gentle look in his eyes. "Rikki, I did it because this world isn't safe. I wanted to keep you out of it for as long as possible. I did it to protect you!"

"I was part of this the moment I was born! You had no right!" She shouted back as angry tears streamed down her cheeks once again as she dug her hands into her short hair.

" I had ever right!" He yelled right back. "I promised Dad that I would keep you safe no matter what."

"Tell me," Rikki began softly, "how are you supposed to protect me when you aren't ever around!" She ended loudly.

Danny didn't have an answer for that one. Rikki felt a sick feeling of accomplishment and scoffed, turning away from him. "I just wanted you to be okay." His voice broke as he stated it, but it was something he felt he had to say.

"I'm not okay!" Rikki screamed, turning back to face him. "I haven't been okay since dad died! I haven't been okay since Sam and Leah broke up. You know why? I had to pick a side! And I couldn't because I love them both. I haven't been okay since my friends- the people I grew up with- started ignoring me, " She scoffed with a bitter smile. "All this time I thought it me, you know. It was my fault that everyone was leaving me. But it was your fault! I thought that maybe, maybe you would start to notice how not okay I was after I cut my hair off, but you weren't around enough to notice!" Her voice cracked and she chocked on a sob before continuing. "I needed you! I needed you the most and I needed Sam and Seth. I needed Embry, Leah, Jake, Quil, Paul, Jared. Hell, I needed Bella, you know why? Because you're all my family! I needed my family, but because of you had no one."

By the time she had finished, Danny had pulled her into his arms. She slammed her fists against his chest angrily trying to get away before sinking into his embrace. Only when she had silenced her cries did she notice that Danny was crying as well. They fell to the ground together, Danny being the one unable to hold his own weight. Utters of 'I'm sorry' kept tumbling past his lips as he held her to his chest. It was probably thirty minutes when his tears stopped and he pulled away from her trembling form.

"I didn't realize...God-I'm the worst brother ever. I only wanted to keep you safe. I never meant to-" Danny ran a hand through his matted curls with a sigh. "I didn't want this for you."

"I know," Rikki answered, wiping the tears from his face and flinching slightly when he winced as she put pressure near his bruised eye. "I'm sorry for punching you in the face."

Danny let out a watery chuckle, "I deserved it."

Rikki felt better, but knew that it would be a long while before she forgave him fully. "I'm still mad at you."

"I want you to be mad at me for-forever, Rikki," He said sincerely causing Rikki to shake her head lightly.

"Forever's to long to be mad at my big brother."