Fate & Fur

@ BearGirl

Aiden smiled as he led her inside, glad to see that she was seemingly getting along with everyone he introduced her to. Some of them were still wary about her, just as she was still wary about a lot of them, but he knew that they supported him, and that they'd grow to love Bailey as much as he did.

Once in the living room, where pretty much everyone was gathered, he let Bailey sit in the chair he usually occupied before addressing his pack. "I've come here today to announce that I am placing a claim on Bailey here. She technically lives in Sandra's territory, and they have been insistent on trying to get her back, so I ask that you protect her." He asked, looking around at all of his pack mates as they nodded in agreement.

@ katahdin

Bailey smiled softly at Aiden before glancing out at the rest of the pack, smiling warmly at them as well. Even though she was still wary of wolves in general, Bailey did feel safe with Aiden's pack. And it certainly made her feel better knowing that she was protected by them against those who she used to call friends.

"Thank you, everyone," Bailey said. "I appreciate it greatly." She then glanced up at Aiden for a moment. "Though I do not believe anyone will come my way now that I am here." Her smile widened greatly. Her attention turned back to the rest of the pack, glancing over at them. When Aiden spoke to them, Bailey typically took a step back and stayed quiet. But since this was about her, she thought she should say something.

@ BearGirl

Aiden smiled widely at Bailey as she spoke up, wrapping an arm around her shoulders as he pressed a kiss to her forehead. He was so incredibly proud of her for speaking up in front of everyone, especially considering she had a good reason to be nervous around wolves, even if his pack wasn't the one who hurt her. From the back of the crowd James caught her eye and gave her two thumbs up, which only caused Aiden to laugh a bit when he noticed the young wolf's reaction.

Aiden quickly went over a few other things that the pack needed to be aware of, like important meetings and the big pack dinner that was coming up, but once that was finished he promised to help them with the chores around the house after he and Bailey called Sandra, something he wanted to do in private. Aiden led Bailey upstairs and to the little room that belonged to Aiden, shutting the door to give them some privacy before pressing a loving kiss to her lips. "You're so brave, my love. It means a lot to them, to me, that you're putting your trust in us." He explained, sitting down on the little twin bed before pulling her into his lap. "Do you want to call Sandra, or should I?"

@ katahdin

Bailey smiled over at James brightly before giving him a small wave. He was such a good kid. He was easiest the member of the pack that she was the closest to, besides Aiden of course. Though James was who Aiden typically sent her way when she needed something and he couldn't be there. Plus, she was rather pleased that James was coming to her for help with his college essay.

Once the pack meeting was over, Bailey followed Aiden upstairs to the room. She was quick to kiss him back as Aiden pressed his lips to her. A light giggle left her lips as he pulled her into his lap. Her arms wrapped around his neck before she leaned up and pressed a little kiss against his jaw. Bailey then pulled away from his face a bit so she could look Aiden in the eyes gently. "Are you sure it is not a bother to the pack? Having to protect me?" Bailey whispered softly. "I do really appreciate it, and I do trust you all. But I don't want to be a nuisance, especially since it seems unnecessary." Her fingers pressed against the pack of his neck lightly. Bailey did mean what she said. While she was still wary of it all, Bailey did feel safe with him and his pack.

She then let out a small little sigh before glancing to the side. "I would prefer it if you called her if that is okay."

@ BearGirl

"It's a hundred percent necessary, Bails." Aiden said, his hands resting on her waist to keep her on his lap, humming a little as she pressed a few kisses along his jaw. "If you become my mate one day, it will be their job to protect you, and if one day we have pups, they'll protect them too. They love you already, Bailey, you're their family, and we protect our family." He murmured, pressing another kiss to her lips, letting it linger for a few moments before pulling away with a sigh when it was time to call Sandra, nodding a little as she asked him to do it. "I'll put it on speaker, so you can hear and chime in if you want, but you don't have to say anything if you don't want to."

After pressing a kiss to her cheek he pulled out his phone and dialed Sandra's number, fingers gripping her hip a bit tighter as they waited for her to pick up the phone. When she finally did Aiden didn't give her much of a chance to speak, wanting to get straight to the point.

"Bailey has agreed to let me place a claim on her. I have informed my pack, and am calling as a courtesy to let you know. We want all of the other claims on her dismissed, as she's not interested in any of the others."

@ katahdin

Bailey let out a small hum in response to Aiden. She wasn't ready to think about their future yet, but Bailey also understood that it was kinda a wolf's M.O. to move fast. Though, knowing that it would always be the pack's job to protect her, calmed her down a bit. It sounded like this was normal and they weren't doing it just because of the other pack, who Bailey was determined to remove as a threat to her.

As Aiden started to dial the number, Bailey leaned forward and pressed her head against his chest. She tried to relax against him although she felt very tense about the situation.

--
Sandra let out a scoff at Aiden's words. "I am not going to take off the claims without hearing from Bailey myself. You don't have the authority to remove them on her behalf. Additionally, I already told her that they will be removed after she speaks with those involved. I am only asking for one conversation before I dismiss them."

Bailey wrinkled her nose a bit before letting out a shaky sigh. She then started to speak. "This is Bailey speaking. I would like you to remove the claims on me now. I refuse to speak to anyone involved, especially after I was consistently harassed and attacked by your pack. There is no reason to continue this."

Sandra's voice immediately softened, but there was some authority still in it. "Bailey, I understand that you do not wish to pursue the claims but they deserve closure. They used to be your friends, and some of these claims are very old."

@ BearGirl

Aiden pulled her closer, leaning back against the wall so he could keep her securely in his lap as they listened to Sandra, the alpha struggling not to roll his eyes. He opened his mouth to snap at her when Bailey spoke, eyes softening a bit as he looked at her, squeezing her hand so she knew that he supported her and wasn't going to let anyone hurt her again.

He frowned down at the phone when Sandra refused even after Bailey's request. "Sandra, you have to be kidding me. They ambushed her in the streets. She still has scars from where they harmed her, and she's only recently started leaving the apartment to go out without someone going with her. If they were her friends, they would have been more understanding, and they never would have hurt her. You can't just ask her to relive that trauma just so they can bully her again."

@ katahdin

"I promise it will be a safe encounter. And they already know that nothing is going to occur between them and Bailey. I am only asking for one conversation, that is not a big ask. And we can do it wherever Bailey feels most comfortable." Sandra told them. "But, I am not going to cancel these claims without it. And, Aiden, you know perfectly well that we will do anything for our packs. I would not be doing right by them by just letting it go."

Bailey let out a frustrated noise before she leaned forward, getting closer to the phone. "I will not speak to them. I refuse to see them, to even say a word to them. And since they already know that nothing will happen anymore, then it seems like they are already canceled in their minds. You just won't do it formally."

She turned her head back to Aiden, a deep frown on her face. "I don't want to talk to her anymore."

@ BearGirl

Aiden frowned as Bailey spoke to Sandra, pulling her against his chest as he pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead, cradling her in his arms as he nodded, setting the phone down on the bed beside him for a minute. "I know, Bails. You don't have to talk to her anymore, you've made your point." He reassured her, pressing one more kiss to her head before grabbing the phone, taking it off speakerphone before pressing it to his ear again to speak to Sandra.

"She makes a good point, Sandra. If they already know that nothing will happen, then there's no good reason to keep the claims anymore. You all made a big fuss about Bailey being a part of your pack, but when you refused to dismiss the claims and they attacked her, you basically spit in her face and told her she was worthless. You say you'll do anything for your pack, but you won't do this for Bailey. It's sick, Sandra, absolutely terrible." He said before hanging up, letting out a long sigh before tossing his phone onto the mattress and wrapping his arms around her tightly as he tucked her head into her shoulder.

"I'm sorry it didn't go well.."

@ katahdin

Bailey buried her face into Aiden's shoulder. Her body completely turned into him, holding onto the sides of his shirt tightly. The young woman closed her eyes tightly, taking a few moments to try and calm herself down. Though she was deeply upset about this. "I don't understand why she is so insistent. I just want those claims off of me, so why won't she do it? What does it matter if I go talk to any of them?"

Her grip on Aiden tightened a bit. "She knows, they all know that those claims are going to go nowhere so what even is the point of continuing to drag this out? Are they just trying to hurt me?" Bailey closed her eyes tightly before letting out a deep breath, trying to bring herself back down to normal but she could feel her heart beating so quickly. "Does this mean anything for us? Should I be worried?"

@ BearGirl

Aiden held her in his arms tightly, rubbing her back soothingly as he pressed a few small kisses to her shoulder. "It's ok, Bails, you're safe, I promise.." He reassured her, sighing as he pressed a kiss to her forehead as he smoothed her hair back away from her face. "I know it's frustrating, but eventually she'll drop it.. She'll have to drop it eventually." He sighed.

He looked up at her as she asked what it meant for them, shaking his head quickly. "It doesn't change anything. You can stay in my apartment for the rest of your life, and I'll keep you safe if any of them try to come speak to you. Their claims don't do anything to negate my claim, and they're not going to scare me off so easily." He promised with a little smile, pressing a gentle kiss to her lips.

@ katahdin

Bailey slowly started to calm down as Aiden explained it more. She let out a little sigh and nodded slowly. The young woman felt better knowing that they will have to drop it eventually. "I wish she would just drop it now but knowing that, at some point, it will have to be dissolved does make me feel better," Bailey whispered to him. Her grip started to relax. Instead of holding onto Aiden for dear life, she was just pressed against him now for comfort. "It's not the way I want things to be, but... I guess it will be okay. I have you, and the pack. And if their claim doesn't affect yours then I guess we'll be alright."

She pulled away from Aiden slightly, looking into his eyes. "Maybe it's foolish of me, but I really don't think they'll come to me unless I am in their territory. Otherwise, they would have already come, right?" Her hand reached up and her fingers pressed against his cheek lightly. "We will be okay, right?"

@ BearGirl

Aiden nodded a little as she spoke, continuing to rub her back soothingly even as she calmed down. "I know, I wish that too.." He murmured, pressing a kiss to her forehead as he laid down on the bed, pulling her with him as his arms tightened around her. "You'll always have me, and the pack. I swear." He reassured her, gently tucking her hair away from her face.

He shook his head as she asked if they'd come after her, his grip tightening on her a little. "No, they wouldn't dare. My pack knows to be on the lookout for any of them in this territory, and if I find out they're coming in and looking for you, I'll move you here, where you'll be safe." He promised, looking up at her as her fingers pressed against his cheeks.

@ katahdin

Bailey let Aiden pull her down into the bed with him. Her head rested against the pillows before she closed her eyes and pressed her forehead against his chest. As he tucked the hair away from her face, Bailey shifted to lean her face against his fingers slightly, wanting Aiden to continue to hold her and brush his fingers against her skin. As Aiden continued to reassure her, Bailey calmed even more. She was still upset about the conversation with Sandra, but she was feeling secure again in her safety and her decision to be with another group of wolves. Though, admittedly, Bailey didn't love the idea of being moved to the pack house. But she would rather be safe... "Thank you, sweetie. I really do feel so much safer with you."

Bailey pressed into Aiden a bit more before untensing her body and just relaxing against Aiden. She stayed silent as took a few more minutes to feel better about the situation Sandra was pushing her into. Though, her eyes slowly opened after a few minutes went by and she looked up to Aiden with tired eyes. "Is there anything else we need to do? I would like to head back to the apartment and rest a little... I just feel exhausted after that call."

@ BearGirl

Aiden smiled gently at her as she began to relax against him, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead as he rubbed her back gently. "I'm glad you feel safe here, my love.. It's all I want." He murmured softly. After a while he sat up with a little groan, stretching as he nodded, chuckling a bit when he accidentally hit his head against the wall. The room was cramped, to say the least.

"No, there's nothing else to do. You can rest here, if you want, but I think we're tearing down a wall to replace the insulation in the attic today, so it'll probably be much quieter back at the apartment." He smiled down at her, patting her leg before standing and offering a hand to her. "I think Anne made some brownies this morning, if you want to take a few home with you."

@ katahdin

Bailey let out a soft laugh as Aiden hit his head against the wall. Reaching out, she lightly ran her hand over the top of his head before leaning forward and pressing a kiss against his lips. After a few moments, she pulled away and stood up, listening to him speak as he did so. "I think I would rather rest at home, where you aren't doing construction," Bailey told him. Her fingers laced around his fingers lightly.

"But I will take a brownie to eat on the way home." She could definitely use some comfort food. So, Bailey followed Aiden down to the kitchen, taking a brownie before she headed towards the entrance of the house. Once she was there, Bailey accepted Aiden's help of putting on her jacket before she turned to him. Bailey pressed her hands against the side of his face before moving up on her toes and pressing a light kiss against his cheek. "Promise you won't be home too late."

@ BearGirl

Aiden chuckled as she ran her fingers through his hair, happily returning her kiss as he held her against him, reluctantly releasing her when she said she wanted a brownie before she headed home. "Of course, my love." He smiled as he led her down to the kitchen, chatting with Anne while Bailey picked out a brownie before following her out to the porch.

He helped her with her jacket, pressing a kiss to her forehead once he was finished, happily grinning down at her when she took his face in her hands and kissed his cheek. "I promise I won't be home too late. I'll be home well before dinner. I can stop at the grocery store on the way back, if you want something special for dinner."

@ katahdin

Once Bailey was able to convince Aiden to pick up whatever he wanted from the grocery store, she made her way to the apartment. It was a bit chilly so she was glad that Aiden convinced her to bring her jacket to the house. But she was only outside for a short while before she arrived at the apartment. And now, with her brownie eaten, she threw away the napkin she brought with her before heading up to their floor.

Bailey took some time fiddling with her keys before she was able to open up the door. Though the moment she stepped inside, the door was slammed behind her and she felt a hand press against her mouth and an arm wrap around her waist. Bailey bit down hard against the hand, but once she done so, she was slammed against the floor and multiple bodies jumped on her, quickly gagging Bailey and tying her hands together. Only once she was completely incapacitated, she was able to take in who was in the apartment, unable to do anything else but look around. She glanced around to see Sandra and members of her pack. People that she knew and used to care about, those she used to call friends.

Sandra crouched down, pulling Bailey's head up by her hair. "I tried to do this the nice way but you refused again and again. Now, I guess they'll get their closure not by your words but by your pain."

Tears were now streaming down Bailey's face as she frantically shook her head no. She tried to cry out through her gag. Though it seemed none of it mattered. They dragged Bailey by her hair into the middle of the room where they could all reach her and started to beat on Bailey. They kicked her, stepped on her and spat on Bailey. Though once they were bored of beating her up all at once, they each got a turn to make their own mark on her in their own way. As one of the guys was so delicately carving into her skin with his knife, they seemed to perk up suddenly, their noses in the air. Sandra was quick to move, telling them all to flee. They were quick to do so, running out of the apartment.

At this point, the apartment was trashed, Bailey was in mind-numbing pain and was falling in and out of consciousness. She tried her best to get out of the ropes, to crawl her way to the phone. Though, soon enough, Bailey completely passed out, her body unable to handle the pain and the loss of blood.

@ BearGirl

Aiden reluctantly agreed to get what he wanted from the grocery store, but after living with her for so many weeks, he knew what she liked, and planned to pick up some of her favorites on his way home. He spent about three hours at the pack house helping with the construction, and after a quick shower spent an hour or so at the grocery store before heading home, whistling to himself as he carried the grocery bags up the stairs. However, as he got to the landing of the floor below his he froze, nostrils flaring as he smelled Sandra and the other wolves, but more importantly, he smelled Bailey.

He dropped the bags and sprinted up the rest of the stairs, barreling through the door and quickly kneeling down at Bailey's side, carefully pulling her injured body into his arms as he looked down at her worriedly, pushing her hair away from her face as he undid the gag and restraints on her hands.

"Bailey? Bailey? Oh god, oh god, please be ok." He muttered worriedly as he looked down at her, his eyes wide and desperate as he cradled her in his arms. He was terrified that she wouldn't wake up, he was furious that Sandra had dared to not only sneak into his territory, but break into his apartment and attack his love, but overall he was furious that he hadn't been there to protect her, to keep these monsters from laying a finger on her. When he was finally convinced that she was breathing he pulled his phone out to call his pack, ordering them to go to Bailey's apartment and move her out while he took her to the hospital.

He lifted the poor girl into his arms, carrying her as gently as he could out to his car before speeding to the hospital, carefully scooping her into his arms again once he'd parked before carrying her inside, where a nurse took one look at her and promptly got her admitted to a room to be taken care of, while Aiden paced anxiously in the hallway.

@ katahdin

Hours had gone by before the doctor came out to speak to Aiden. The hospital had a strict rule about not releasing patient information for those who weren't close relatives, which a boyfriend was not. But the physician assured Aiden that Bailey was in stable condition but was not awake yet. And then proceeded to make it clear that any medical information, he would need to get from her herself. The physician then headed back to his duties before a nurse came out. While it was late into the night, and visiting hours were over, they allowed Aiden to go to the hospital room, knowing that he had been waiting to see her.

They nicely asked Aiden to not make too much noise as other patients were sleeping before heading out of the room, saying that they would be checking in once Bailey was awake. With that, the nurse left, leaving Aiden to get a look at Bailey. It was clear she was in a rather terrible condition. Her right eye was swollen and bruised and stitches were done along the top of her cheek and another one done along the side of her jaw. There was a large patch covering her right forearm. Her chest was wrapped up tightly, a cord coming from under the wrapping there. And her left leg was in a cast. It also seemed that she was bruised all over.

The young woman was fast asleep for another two hours before she slowly started to open her eyes. At first, it was small flutters of her eyelashes before the moment stopped. But after some time, Bailey's eyes opened fully for a few moments before she drifted back to sleep. But finally, Bailey's eyes opened fully. Much confusion and fear swirled up in her chest but she was now looking around the room. Though once her eyes landed on Aiden, recognition came over her face. Her hand opened up, her fingers reaching out to him slightly. But, as she did so, a whimper left her before she stopped moving. But another whimper let Bailey before she opened her lips, trying to speak but just a bit of air left her lips.