Bound Together

She couldn't be in the same room as him; her heart throbbed as she kept the distance between her imprint. Wasn't she loveable? First Sam Uley, and now Jacob Black—the funeral of her father and the shifting into a wolf. She didn't know which situation was worse...

This does not follow any of the books or movies but scenes may come from them. The Italic writing is either when Leah is dreaming or the mind connection between the pack. A prequel can be found on my profile, enjoy...

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Chapter 1

The last few days had been one hell of a ride; she could still feel the burn under her skin at the news of her father's heart attack. She wasn't sure who handled it better, Seth or herself? She supposed neither of them did as, in a blur the two siblings instantly turned wolf.

She dug her toes deeper into the sand as the water lapped at her feet in small waves. Her tears mixed with the ocean as her hands tightened on the black dress. The ocean made her feel calm for the first time in days as the sun started to disappear. She heard footsteps come to a standstill at the edge of the beach. She knew who it was, and she wasn't ready to come to terms. Seth enjoyed the shifting, the strength and other benefits while she felt uneasy about the pack. It seemed too soon; everything was rushing into one and she didn't know how to cope with the emotions running through her. Her senses were wired and uncontrolled while her heart did something she never thought was possible after the relationship with Sam. She knew it had something to do with being a wolf, but she hadn't given the guys a chance to explain It. All she knew was the problem was going to be fixed and she wouldn't have the commitment.

School was tomorrow. That was the last thing on her mind, though she knew reality was going to hit soon. She winced at the sound of them coming closer; a flow of relief ran through her as she heard the footsteps heading east towards the forest. She glanced up from between strands of hair and watched the group of guys—the pack move into the trees. Her eyes singled out Jacob. She swore under her breath at the reaction he caused in her after all these years of hating each other.

She turned her eyes back to the water and wiped the droplets away; she wasn't going to back down for anyone. She would stand her ground. She straightened her shoulders and smoothed her dress out, taking in a deep breath and turned, making her way back towards the house where everyone was gathered after the funeral.

Everywhere she looked she saw her dad. She didn't know if she could stand being in a house full of lost memories. She could hear the smallest sound made in the house as chairs were being pushed backwards on the wooden floor or the radio sounding in the background of voices. It pounded against her, making her feel tense as she tried to control it.

She curled her hand into a fist and breathed in the fresh air swirling around her.

In and out, in and out.

She jogged up the steps and opened the front door, quickly making her way up the stairs to her bedroom. She slammed her bedroom door, shutting it harder than needed. She relaxed against the door as her own scent made everything seem normal.

She unzipped the side of her dress and let it pool at the bottom of her feet before walking over to her bed. She fell back onto the single bed and stared at the cream-colored ceiling. The legends heard since she was a child flashed before her eyes. Myths had turned into reality: men turning into wolves, into protectors of the land from the Cold Ones. She shivered at the thought of meeting one with the red eyes and skin as cold as ice. It was now her turn to protect La Push with the rest of the pack. Everything normal seemed to slip away though she was sure school hadn't changed. She rolled onto her side and moved her attention to the window. As the wind blew its way into her room, she breathed in the scent of the forest and closed her eyes.

Taha Aki's descendants no longer turned into wolves when they reached manhood. Only when a Cold One was near would they return. Blood red eyes and cold skin, the Cold Ones always came in ones or twos so the pack stayed small with three wolves until a bigger coven came.

The leader of the coven spoke to Ephraim Black as if he were a man, and promised not to harm the Quileutes. His strange yellow eyes gave proof of this, and a treaty was offered to the tribe even though there was no need—they outnumbered the wolves and could have won easily if they fought. Ephraim accepted, and the coven's numbers forced a larger pack than before. Over the years, the coven left and returned to Forks, but always kept true to their word and did not harm the tribe. It was said that Carlisle Cullen was the one who talked to Ephraim and made the promise.

She sat up in bed trying to catch her breath as the images still ran through her mind. The Cullen's—Carlisle Cullen was a Doctor in Forks. She had even passed him a few times during the years. The yellow-gold eyes burned in her memory as a foul taste filled her mouth. She took a deep breath in to calm herself. "Leah, your turn in the shower." The loud knock sounded at her bedroom door as she heard Seth walk away to his bedroom. It seemed like every day-normal, but she couldn't kid herself after the dream still stirred in her mind.

She moved off the mattress and flipped up the sheets at the end of the bed to look half distant before grabbing her towel and making her way to the bathroom. She relaxed as the peach scent of shampoo filled her senses. She quickly washed it out and used the conditioner and soap. She wrapped her body in a towel after shutting the water off, wiping the steam from the mirror. She stared at herself, looking for the old Leah. Her fingers curled at her hair as the long strands had been cut off to below her chin. She felt strange without her shoulder length hair. It was just another change to her life.

Ephraim Black was the one to make the treaty, Jacobs grandfather. Jacob used to have the same long beautiful hair. Her heart sank heavy at the thought of the man; she closed her eyes and begged for the feeling to disappear.

Her hands tightened around the towel as she stared at the wardrobe of clothes futilely. As she had found out a couple of days ago, her clothes didn't happen to fit her anymore. She blew a strand of hair out of her face and slipped on the pair of underwear and bra that her mother had brought after her first phase. She needed to shop, which didn't send any excitement through her. Maybe she could talk Mom into shopping for her. She grabbed the pair of shorts and shirt from the chair at the end of her bed; it was better than nothing.

"Leah, I'm leaving." The front door slammed shut and Leah grabbed her backpack slipping her feet into runners until she realized—no socks. Exiting her bedroom she jogged down the stairs and into the utility room to the pile of washing. She grabbed a pair of odd socks and slipped them over her feet, then the runners. Putting the backpack over her shoulder, she grabbed an apple from a bowl of fruit and chucked it in her bag. She followed her brother's footsteps and left the house, making a run for school.

She winced at the sound of her runners squeaking on the empty corridor floor and made a line straight to her locker. She pulled out her English books before making her way to class. She could hear every sound made in the room. Taking a deep breath, she pushed the door open and instantly got a glare from their teacher, Mr. Scott. "Take your seat and stay behind after class, Miss Clearwater." She ducked her head down and took her usual seat trying to ignore the eyes staring at her. She knew Paul and Jared were following her every move. Building her confidence up, she sat straight and flipped her workbook open, giving her attention to Mr. Scott.

A headache was forming as she watched the hands of the clock. Tick, tick, tick. Shifting in her seat, she rested her head on her arms and glanced back at the two wolves in the room. A groan slipped from her mouth, catching Jared's attention. He raised an eyebrow at her in question and she shook her head, turning back to the worksheet in front of her. She was tempted to march to the front of the room and rip the clock apart. She was positive that she could jump high enough to reach the clock hanging high on the wall.

Jared and Paul shared a smile about the small she-wolf. It was only a matter of time before she would come looking for the pack—looking for Jacob.

She watched the hands on the clock, was out of her seat before the bell rang, and flew from the enclosed class room. Tomorrow she would deal with Mr. Scott, but at that moment she needed to escape. She dodged the people in the corridor and chucked her books into the back of her locker. She slammed it shut and came face to face with Mason. With all the mess, she had completely forgotten about Mason, the upcoming date, and her feelings—old feelings.

"Hey."

She winced as his eyes ran up her body, landing on her chest and hair.

"You look different, been working out the last couple of days?"

She wiped her sweaty palms on her shorts and shrugged in answer.

"The date still on for this weekend?"

The weekend was in three days time. She worked up the nerve to let him down, but he misunderstood her silence and cut her off before she could say anything.

"I gotta get to class; see you around, Lee." He moved closer and gave her a hug, making her hold her breath. A stab of pain hit her chest but she ignored it, giving him an awkward pat on the back.

With Mason out of sight, she grabbed the apple from her bag and headed for the tables outside. She caught Jacob's scent around the corner from her locker, and winced at the idea of him seeing the encounter with Mason. She almost growled at herself for thinking such things for a relationship that wasn't going to happen. There was no way she was getting with the one boy who used to tease her throughout her childhood.

The stress of the morning left her shoulders as she breathed in the clean air around her. She scanned over the area of the school and made her way towards the table closest to the forest. She could feel the fight and pain moving inside of her, as well as the mixture of emotions.

Mason ... her stomach twisted at even thinking of the upcoming date with the boy. She had already pushed herself into taking a step back into the dating world to completely get over Sam, but since the start of this week, many events had happened, and it seemed her heart decided to go after someone her head yelled at her to stay away from. Her skin suddenly felt too tight and ready to burn through her clothes. She needed to stretch—stretch in her wolf form. The words sounded strange even as she thought them, though she couldn't help the excitement that went through her body at the thought of running through the forest. She spun the apple between her fingers debating on the right choice. The fruit got faster and faster until she placed it on the table watching it spin around on the wood.

She stepped into the forest unsure about herself before making a jog deeper, slipping off her runners as her tank top soon followed along with her shorts. She took a steady breath in as the heat of excitement spread through her. She felt like a tiger pacing the cage, as she hadn't phased since her first time.

The apple slowly came to a stop while she sped off through the forest, her paws quietly thumping on the ground as the wind blew through her fur. Her heart pounded as she pushed harder away from the roads and people to the nature surrounding her—the green forest blurring and the sound of the stream flowing a few miles east. She could almost see the upside to being a shifter. The freedom running through her veins started to turn into an addiction, as the power of her strides willed her to take an adventure.

She shook her head from side to side as she realized for the first time, it was quiet. She winced at the memory of the packs voices running through her head at her first phase. She felt like she was going insane with the amount of voice swirling around her. She promised to give herself more alone time while running, maybe she could get used to her new life.

Her mouth got dry and she rolled out her tongue. Her ears twitched as she tried to pick up the stream she heard moments ago. She slowed to a jog before turning right after the next tree and headed south. She almost doubted herself when she finally reached the stream of crystal clear water. She headed down towards the water and stopped at her reflection; she had never seen it before. She blinked and the light grey wolf mirrored the action. Slowly she bent forward and lapped up the water, closing her eyes at the peaceful sensation.

Her ears became hyper alert as her body tensed. She reached for something to explain the nerves and dismissed it as she heard a deer move close in the woods. She bent back down to the water. "Now what do we have here?" She jerked away from the stream as her eyes took in the person standing in front of her; a growl forming in her chest. Taking a breath in, she almost choked on the air as it burned her nose, making her want to vomit up last night's dinner. "Oh Darlin', you must be a newbie." The growl escaped her mouth at the insult. Vampire—the word ran through her mind as she took in the inhuman clothes and the red eyes. "Mmm ... Ian, look what I've found." Leah watched as the female vampire crouched down swinging her hips. There was a flash of blue before another vampire showed next to his partner.

"Oh, I do feel like a bit of fun." A shiver ran through Leah's body as the two vampires talked lazily as if she wasn't present. "Ladies first, Dearest." A growl ripped through Leah's body as the female took a step closer. Panic rose inside of her as the wolf was telling her to attack when the rest of her felt frozen in her spot. A small yelp escaped her, then she let out her first howl. It was cut off as the vampire made a move, leaping at her. She stepped to the side missing the fingers of the creature before turning towards them again into a defensive position. A part of her was yelling at her to run, while the rest screamed murder at the thought of someone trying to kill her or others.

She took a swipe at the female vampire as she drew close again. She kept her back turned towards the trees as her eyes stayed trained on the two vampires in front of her.

Leah? She winced as a yell pounded through her skull though a rush of relief filled her at the sound of Jacob's voice.

What do I do? She tried to keep tabs on the vampires as well as keeping contact with Jake.

Don't do anything stupid. She snorted at that. I'm right behind you She could see him running through the forest as if she was doing it herself. She gasped at the feeling of the other wolves shifting, their minds filling hers.

The air was knocked out of her lungs as her attention to the vampires slipped. She lifted a paw to push the vampire away, but the male rammed into her side, throwing her against the trees behind her. Her head was swimming as she tried to keep her eyes open and on her attackers, though the voices running through her made her already adrenaline shot nerves worse as her mind raced to process everything happening. The female made a move closer to her, and in defense Leah went to stand, but pain shot up her front shoulder.

A brown blur knocked the vampire over as the rest of the wolves came into the clearing. She closed her eyes to keep the forest from spinning, though the sounds of the snarls and crunching didn't help with her imagination. She whined at the pain, she could feel her bones trying to knit back together.

Silence filled the air as her ears tried to pick up the action. She felt a nudge on her shoulder and came to face with a black wolf. She didn't recognize him, though she knew it wasn't Jacob. He nudged her again when she didn't move; she softly growled at him.

Leah. She flinched at hearing Sam's voice and growled louder at him, not wanting him to step any closer. As if reading her mind, Sam stepped back. The black wolf signaled for Jacob to step forward to Leah.

Without hesitation, the brown wolf walked forward and nudged the she-wolf up. She growled at him but he simply ignored her. I told you not to act stupid. Jacob nudged her stomach as she finally started standing on four legs.

Everything would have been fine if you hadn't talked to me. She whined at the pressure on her left front leg and tried to lie down again settling on her stomach.

Well I guess that's fine, because we never asked what you thought. Her head whipped around to the grey wolf, Paul. She would have blushed if it wasn't for the fur; she forgot about the pack link.

Leah you need help. She turned her attention back to Jacob as he made her sound weak and helpless. She shook her head as she stared in his eyes, challenging him. Without warning, Jacob shifted into a human. She instantly ducked her head, finding his feet the best place to look as he stood in his birthday suit. She heard the sound of fabric as he moved less than a foot away.

She yelped as she was collected against a chest. The scent of Jacob suddenly filled her senses as the heat from his body collided with her own. She debated on whether to make it hard for him and wiggle out of his grip, but then it would only inflict more pain on herself and ... She wasn't sure if she wanted to step away from Jacob, as the peaceful sensation flowed through her. She breathed in his scent to try to stop the thoughts of what the guys must be thinking. It almost made the back of her hair stand up at the thought of her being weak.

A sigh escaped her as Jacob's house came into sight. She would have to shift back— though she could remember the pain experienced the first time she tried phasing back into a human. Jacob laid her down curiously as if she might bite at him. "Jacob, Boys ... Leah." Her eyes travelled to the man in the wheel chair as he moved to the end of the ramp at the porch but no further.

"Right now would be a good time to shift, Leah." She growled at Embry, not making any move to start phasing.

"Where are your manners?" The guys looked around at each other at Billy's question. "Turn around for the lady." Paul snorted, and she was tempted to nip at him though she frowned at herself for thinking like an animal. She knew it was a matter of time before the guys saw her body; but she wasn't ready to share that experience with them yet.

As the guys and Billy turned away, she took a breath in summoning the phase. It seemed almost pain free except for the few misplaced bones in her arm. Her fingernails crawled into the dirt as the shock of pain ran through her. She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding, and stood up on her feet. Glancing around, Leah grabbed a white bed sheet on the clothes line, wrapping it around her body to cover the parts she didn't wish for them to see.

"Done." The simple word made them turn around. Paul let out a whistle while she caught Jacob taking her in. She was thankful for Sam's manners on keeping his eyes cast down.

"I'll call your mother." Billy took in the awkward angle that Leah was holding her arm and silently cursed his son for not taking better care of his imprint, though no doubt even Jacob probably couldn't stop the impossible. "Jacob, take her inside."

Leah followed Jacob into house with the others trailing behind them. He glanced over his shoulder a couple of times to make sure she was still following as he led the way to his bedroom. The room was filled with silence as they walked in. Jacob took in the injuries as another flash of anger spread through him. "You should really be more careful."

"What gives you the right to tell me what to do?" Leah regretted the words and covered her tracks as she knew the reason to his warnings.

"You have no right when you're bedding Swan." She took a deep breath and held onto it, as she couldn't handle the smell of her wolf and another woman's scent on the bed sheets. She stayed standing close to the door away from the mattress.

"Just leave." She could hear her mother's footsteps as she made her way down the hallway to Jacob's room. There was a knock at the door and a flash of something passed through Jacob's eyes. She wasn't sure what to make of it, but ignored it for her own safety.

The door opened and Sue stopped in the doorway as she could feel the tension storming around the bedroom between the two wolves. "I've got some clothes." She held up the bag and slightly nodded her head to the side asking Jacob to leave the room. As Jacob left, Sue turned her attention to her daughter as she watched the heated glare Leah was giving the mattress. "Give him a chance." Taking a step towards her she took the clothes out of the bag and started to help Leah get dressed.

Leah winced as they managed to put her left arm into the shirt hole. "Why should I? He's sleeping with Swan." She slipped her shorts on as she waved her mother away to do it herself.

"You have to remember he had a life before you phased." Leah didn't answer her mother. Whether her mother knew it or not, Jacob had had a week to say goodbye to Swan and the mattress smelt of a recent encounter.

She followed Sue into the living room where the guys were waiting. They already had the TV started and couple of bags of chips laid out on the table. "We need to reset your bones." The words registered to Leah as Sue waved one of the larger guys over. "Paul."

Paul took a step forward as Leah took one back. "It's either Paul or Sam." Without much persuasion, she stepped forward into Paul's personal space and turned around with her back facing him. There was no way in hell she was going to let Sam touch her if he didn't have to. Why couldn't Jacob do it? The question ran through her mind as she caught his eyes. She took in a deep breath as Paul's arms went around her. A crack ran through her body followed by a sharp pain. She saw Jacob wince at the sound as he sat in the living room with the rest of the guys watching the TV as if it was a normal day.