Temper, Temper – Chapter Thirty Five: I Love You

Alex launched the Clingfilm wrapped sandwich straight at Leah's face when Esme had returned back to her home and Jacob had given handed out the snack to her,

"Don't be so rude!" Alex shouted, watching Leah's face curl into a snarl and marching over to collect the weapon before peeling back the film and taking a huge bite. The blow to Leah's head hit with such force that the bread had squeezed together pleasantly. "Tasty" She added after swallowing, but Jacob didn't know if she was referring to the dent in Leah's pride or the cheese and ham combination.

The small pack of his was reasonably relaxed all things considering, it made keeping the peace between Alex and Leah harder though, what with their close proximity.

"They're gonna have to hunt soon" Seth said, hoping over a wiry branch that blocked his path, and he was right. The rest of their brother had them boxed in. The Cullen's couldn't exactly go into Fork's and suck on some neck in the local diner, much less would there be a mountain lion roaming the streets.

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it" Jacob said sullenly, his face was pale and the expression plastered over his face was sour. Alex didn't blame him for that though, her reaction was more candid when she pictured Bella's blood slushy being glugged down for the little devil child to live off. At least he had some restraint to put a mask on.

"How could you do it to him?" Leah said at Alex suddenly. The group hushed then, Jacob and Seth rolling their shoulders forward ready to spring into action when the undoubted temper of Alex's wolf reared its head.

Alex closed her fingers, merging the layers of ham, cheese and bread blur into one savoury sheet as she thought about Leah's words. But no angry tirade came. Instead the tightness in her shoulders released, slumping forward in unison as she sighed sadly.

"I did what was right, because there was no way, on this planet I could attack the vampires in that house. If it wasn't for them, I'd still be…where I was back then" Alex said, her voice changing into a commanding, firm tone at the end.

Eagerly she marched away, grumbling out "I'm taking the next circuit", before she made the sandwich and herself, disappear from that small little circle.

She ran laps around their perimeter until the next morning, enjoying the supernatural ability of not growing tired while keeping her mind busy on protecting their small community, and keeping her mind firmly off the topic of imprinting the silver wolf she loved.

Jacob didn't account for the bridge they had to cross being so soon. The Cullen's needed to hunt before Bella gave birth, it was as simple as that, and there was only one way for the plan to go down in Jacob Black's mind.

"I want Sam to take back Leah, Seth and Alex"

Behind the two siblings, Alex kept her head ducked and avoided eye contacting with Paul. He was volatile, all his motions were jarring and aggressive.

"What about you? You have nothing to say on this?"

Alex lifted her head and felt the familiar vice grip on her chest when she saw Paul, even with the blaze of anger in his eyes. Slowly she shook her head and bit the thick of her bottom lip, making the flesh go red as blood rushed to the surface under the pressure.

After she finally looked up, Alex noticed the two new additions to the Quileute pack who were standing at Paul's side like babies waiting for their mother's hand to be held out for them. She nudged in their direction when Paul didn't unlock eyes with her,

"Sam opening up a playgroup now?"

It was meant light heartedly but the way Paul's eyebrows crumpled with his expression clearly showed he took everything she was saying and doing as an injustice against where she truly belonged, at his side in La Push.

The words that were about to come from his mouth were suddenly lost, an echo of two or more wolf howls lit up the forest, bouncing off the tress, silencing him.

A flash on confusion lit up the faces of all the shifters, apart from Jacob's – he never for one minute intended on forcing Sam to take back the three wolves. At least the Cullen's can finally hunt now. Paul was every embodiment of an angry, hostile, werewolf when the confusion faded.

"You played us!" He darkly glared at Jacob, flickering his accusing stare at Alex's face before lashing around and pelting back into the woods to be confronted with the details of what raised the wolf howls.

The puppies followed.

Hours later, Alex began to pace. The itchy feeling was back into her bones and something, her senses were screaming at her, was about to happen. Her paws began weaving and pivoting in one spot while she searched and waited for that one momentary action that would trigger this forebode situation.

It was worse that she was the furthest away when she heard it, as clear as day through Seth and Leah's mind. Bella was giving birth, now.

Lashing around, Alex curled her legs under her and ran quickly to where Seth and Leah were positioned.

'What's happening?' She mentally bellowed.

'Bella…blood…giving birth' Leah said nonchalantly, as if new species of leech offspring came into the world at the drop of a hat. She snarled and continued running, Seth and Leah were standing tensely on the hill which had the perfect view of the Cullen home. Alex strained her eyes when she got close enough to just make out Seth's sandy wolf coat.

Then as soon as she saw them, they took off. Now the Quileute's were on route, on a mission to kill Bella's baby, whatever species it was. Alice and Jasper were running from the doors when Alex got there. As if choreographed, they funnelled a line together and met their once brothers head on.

Someone had latched onto Alex's back, painfully biting her skin until she managed to flip the attacker over and hastily bite their scruff so the force of her movements sent them in the other direction.

'Puppies' Alex said mentally,

Alice was a few yards ahead of her and the site of the overly friendly vampire being pinned down by Jared's gnashing teeth made her volt over to them, pushing all of her weight into his shoulder. Before she had the chance to check if Alice was ok, another wolf had come and hastily pinned Alex down with a large paw.

Alex would be damned if she didn't recognise the large silver mass of Paul as he snarled his canines over her throat, driving his weight onto her shoulder to keep her in place. This was a fight though, there was no time to pick or choose who your opponent was. She didn't want to fight him though, in a spring like manoeuvre she managed to roll away from him and easily sprint away, directly charging into another wolf that tried to pursue Edward.

She smelt Emmett then, 'Long hunt was it?' She mentally asked him, despite the fact he was not privy to the inner monologue of a werewolf. Paul saw the muscle bound vampire as well, and easily chased him until he got kicked away. Before Alex could intervene, for which species, she didn't know, Jacob had joined the fight.

'Holy Shit' was all Alex could think when the seams of all the material pulled together and Jake's imprint was found. Sam didn't back down immediately, of course not, but eventually the black alpha turned slowly on his heel and walked back into the woods.

As the Quileute's began to file away from the Cullen's and Jacob's pack, Alex walked a little to the bottom of the hill. Flickering her gaze from Jacob's eyes to the back of the silver wolf, who was the last to leave the fight and slowly return home. Jacob lowered his head in a curt nod to her direction, understanding.

Alex mentally said her thanks before turning to the hill. All the wolves were out of her view, but with one loud, pleading bark, the silver wolf slowly edged his way back, imposingly standing tall on the brow.

At first Alex slowly made her paws walk towards him, but as she reached his level, the power in the flanks kicked in, sending her crashing into his body. Recovering, the two wolves, side by side, walked back towards La Push. Back towards their home.

When his voice came slowly trickling back into her head, there was not a moment where she had been happier to tell someone,

'I love you', and hear them repeat it back.