Save me!

Inside the warehouse -

Bella slowly opened her eyes, and groggily looked around. She couldn't see much, her vision blurred and her head felt like a dead weight. She would go in and out of consciousness.

Eventually, she started to wake up fully. Bella tried to move but found she couldn't. She looked down, her arms and legs were tied down with a thick rope. Suddenly, the night before flashed through her mind. She and Emily at the bar, bumping into Sam, finding out Paul had spied on her, going home, finding Angel there, Angel forcing her to leave with him, being forced into a car then lights out.

She stared around in a panic and that's when she saw him; Angel was pacing back and forth in front of her.

"What do I do? What do I do? Think!" he chanted over and over again.

He hadn't noticed Bella stir yet, so as quietly as she could she tried to free herself. She cried out in pain as the rope cut into her skin, blood coating the course rope.

Angel stopped pacing and looked at her. He glared at her as he went to a table she hadn't noticed before. On it was a small knife as well as more rope. He picked up the knife and approached Bella. Her eyes grew wide as he got closer.

"Keep quiet or else!" he warned.

Bella's heart hammered in her eyes as she looked from the knife to him. She knew shouldn't anger him; so she took a deep breath and nodded.

"Ok Angel, I won't scream I promise," she said as calmly as she could manage.

Angel seemed satisfied with her answer. So, he moved away and continued to pace. Bella tried to free herself again, but the pain became too much. A wave of nausea and dizziness hit her so she decided to stop. Hopefully, she hoped she would find a way to break free somehow.

Outside the warehouse -

Paul, Jared, and Sam approached the dark building. Paul could sense Bella inside; he could feel her pain. It was driving him insane. His wolf was begging for him to go get his mate. Paul wanted to do just that, but they had to be careful.

"I don't smell or hear anyone else inside except Angel and Bella," Sam said.

Jared nodded in agreement; Paul couldn't focus on anything but Bella. Jared grabbed his shoulders and forced him to look at him.

"Paul, I know you want to go to Bella, but you need to calm down. If you don't Bella could get hurt, ok!" he said firmly.

Paul focused on him and nodded; he willed his wolf to calm down too. Sam found an open door and the three of them slipped inside quietly. They followed Bella's scent until they reached the furthest room. It looked like a small storage room with a small windowed door. Paul almost exploded through the wall when he smelt Bella's blood.

"Calm down! She is trying to get free of the ropes," Sam whispered to him before he could rush in.

Angel was pacing as they watched. The room was too small for them to phase, if they did, they could kill Angel and hurt Bella. Instead, they had to figure out a way to subdue Angel.

"This is all your fault," Angel cried as he pointed a finger at Bella.

Paul growled; the sound caused Angel to freeze in panic. He peered through the window into the darkness. When nothing moved, he relaxed a little and turned back to Bella. They could see the fear and determination in her eyes.

"If only you hadn't continued to dig. I tried to give you many dead ends, and I tried to scare you. I'd hoped that you would give up, but you kept picking," he said angrily.

"That's my job Angel, it's why I was sent here! It's what I am best at and it takes more than what you did to stump or scare me! I always find out who is stealing the money!" Bella shouted with a glare.

Angel smirked at her.

"Well, you did just that! I was the one stealing from the business. The contractors would order the right materials and I would get the money needed. Then I would buy weaker materials and pocket the difference. It was the same with the labour, I hired cheap workers and pocketed the change. It was the perfect scam."

Bella had already figured that was happening. Paul, Sam and Jared were clenching their fists and jaws in an attempt to calm themselves down. Angel wasn't helping.

"I thought you would go back home after being attacked, but no! I don't know how you escaped, but this time I promise you, you won't. Then, I will go back to stealing from the company. It's not like the company will miss the money. Thanks to you, I can't do it this way anymore, but I'm smart enough to find another way," he moved closer to Bella as he spoke. "You see I've become accustomed to a certain way of life, and unfortunately you have become a threat to that. I'm sorry Bella, really, I am, but I can't let you go this time. If only you had left when you could," he said as he advanced with the knife in hand.

Without waiting any longer, Paul, Jared, and Sam rushed inside, startling Angel. Paul tackled Angel and pinned him down, he grabbed his throat and squeezed. He was seeing red, his wolf demanded death to the one that threatened his mate and Paul wasn't disagreeing much. Angel tried to break free, but Paul was too strong.

"Paul stop!" Bella cried as Sam and Jared untied her and helped her stand.

Paul quickly turned to Bella and she screamed in fear. A cold bucket of ice water couldn't have worked better to cool him down. He couldn't understand what she was afraid of, he took a step forward and she stepped back.

Jared came forward and stopped him. Paul looked at him confused, 'why is he stopping me from getting to my mate?' he thought.

"Calm down Paul, you are the reason she is scared. Look at your hands, you are close to shifting."

Paul looked at his hands and saw claws. He looked at his mate and could smell her fear aimed at him, she was scared of him. His wolf was restless and in pain, Paul looked helplessly at Jared.

"We will take care of her, go! Cool off! Don't worry she will be safe," he said.

Paul nodded and took one last sad look at Bella then ran off.

Bella stared wide-eyed at Sam and Jared. Her fear was evident on her face.

"Bella, I need you to calm down. We are not going to hurt you," Sam said as he slowly approached her.

Jared grabbed Angel by his arms and forced him out. Sam picked a frozen Bella up and carried her outside.

Whilst Sam took Bella to Paul's house Jared left with Angel. Sam called Kim on the way back to meet them at Paul's house. He had told her of Bella's injuries and told her to bring Sue Clearwater with her. A nurse that was familiar with their pack.

By the time they reached Paul's house, Bella had passed out. The blood loss, shock and fear had finally worn her down. Sam placed her in Paul's room and rushed out when Sue and Kim started to undress her.

Sue, with Kim's help, cleaned Bella up after taking photos of her injuries. Then she dressed Bella in one of Paul's shirts and a pair of his underwear before covering her with a blanket. Then they both left her to rest before going downstairs.

After Sue left Sam explained what had happened to Kim and instructed her to stay, so that she could talk with her when she woke up. Kim smiled and agreed. She knew how scary it could be, especially to find out like that. An hour later Paul came home, he raced inside frantically looking for Bella.

"Where is she?" he asked worriedly.

Sam stood and tried to calm him down.

"She's sleeping. Sue cleaned her up and took her upstairs," he said. "You need to calm down, Kim is going to talk with her when she wakes up."

Paul looked at Sam like he had grown two heads.

"Why? She is my mate I should be the one to explain," he insisted, feeling so lost.

"Think about it Paul, she needs to talk to someone that has gone through something similar. Remember when Kim first found out about us, she almost quit and moved away. She can understand more than anyone what Bella might be feeling right now," he explained.

Kim stood up and placed a comforting hand on his arm.

"Trust me, Paul, she needs you to be patient. She needs time and someone to talk to that understands the human side of things," she said with a small smile.

Paul collapsed into one of the chairs defeated. Jared walked in and gave Kim a hug.

"Our police have him, he is being charged with fraud and kidnapping as well as attempted murder. He will be going to jail for a long time," he said.

"Sue has taken the pictures of her injuries and will write up a report and send it to the police," Kim explained.

Paul nodded and put his head in his hands. Sam put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"Give her some time, she'll come around."

Paul nodded and headed upstairs. He opened the door to his room and walked to her side. He knelt on the floor next to her and watched her sleep. Gently, he caressed her face, moving a stray piece of hair.

"Please don't leave me!" he begged in a whisper.