"In fact, not forgiving is like drinking rat poison and then waiting for the rat to die." Anne Lamott, Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith (1999)

The pack had gathered in wolf form for a strategy meeting, and Leah was at it again. She closed her eyes, imagining Sam naked, on his back, his tumescent dick pointing skyward. The others tried to ignore the image projected through the pack mind as she licked her lips, leaning closer...

"That's it. I've had enough." Seth phased to human form, turning his back to the assembly as he pulled on his tattered cutoffs and then glared at his sister.

"Leah!" Sam's powerful voice held the dreaded Alpha timbre that never failed to get everyone's attention. "Stop it! Leave us - go home!"

The grey wolf whimpered, but there was no fighting it. She stood on shaky legs and turned from the beach, her tail swishing angrily. But she headed for home, powerless to override the Alpha command.

At least she was giving Embry a break today. For some reason, he had been the target of her ire for the past few days. Leah had pictured his mother, Tiffany, in compromising positions with Quil Sr., Joshua Uley, and even Billy Black - to Embry's embarrassment and the pack's discomfort. No one knew for sure who Embry's father was, but the others avoided the subject to spare his feelings. Not Leah. She seemed determined to make everyone as uncomfortable as possible, and it was getting old. Sam had tried to be understanding, since his imprint on her cousin was the obvious catalyst for her hateful behavior, but he could not allow her to usurp his authority.

The meeting finally broke up, and Seth took off into the deep woods for a run. He loved his sister, but he would have been more sympathetic if she wasn't so mean and hurtful.

Embry pulled on his shorts and headed to the Clearwater house at a slow jog. Leah was lying on the porch swing, knees bent, staring at the ceiling. He picked up her feet and slid under them, rocking the swing gently as he sat and rested his hands on her denim clad legs. "You okay?"

"Of course I'm okay," she snapped without looking at him. "What's it to you?"

She could hear the smile in his voice. "I have a theory. I think you need a friend, and I happen to like you."

She stared at him, incredulous. "Seriously, Embry? You want to be my fucking FRIEND?"

He laughed aloud. "Well, let's just start out with plain friend, and we'll see where it goes from there. I'm certainly not opposed to the idea of being your fucking friend."

Leah almost smiled, but she caught herself. Instead, she spoke softly. "Why is it so damn difficult to piss you off, Embry Call?"

His hands smoothed over her legs and she flinched but did not move them. "I guess I'm just a naturally happy guy, Leah. I don't really see the point in getting mad all the time...no offense. I've had my share of troubles, I suppose, but things could be so much worse. Look at Billy, for instance - do you see him bitching all the time? It must be awfully frustrating, depending on Jake for the simplest things. Nah, I'm pretty lucky."

Terrific. A stand-up philosopher. Leah swung her feet around and stood, escaping into the house with a slam of the screen door. Embry smiled and watched her go, admiring the way her worn jeans clung to her perfect ass and blissfully aware that she wasn't reading his mind at the moment.

The change was subtle, but eventually everybody noticed it. They were all afraid to mention Leah's good mood, perhaps superstitious that saying anything might jinx it. They didn't know what happened - hell, they didn't even care - but they breathed a collective sigh of relief when a week went by without a single tantrum.

Embry was waiting on the porch when Leah got home from patrol on Friday afternoon. "Hey," he smiled.

"Hey yourself." She didn't smile, but she didn't smack him in the head either. Baby steps. He shrugged and moved over on the step, making room for her. She sat.

Embry reached into his pocket and produced a pair of tickets. "The carnival is in town, over in Forks. Would you like to go?"

Her gaze shifted to the tickets, then to his face. "Is this a date?"

"Nope. Just friends."

"I don't do carnivals. And I don't have friends." His brown eyes bored into hers, and she sighed. "But I do need coffee. Want some?"

He nodded, smiling, and followed her into the house. Sue looked up from her newspaper, surprised that Leah was not alone. "Hi, Honey - and hello, Embry." She smiled and placed a warm loaf of cinnamon raisin bread on the table, retreating to the porch with her paper.

"Thanks, Mrs. C.," Embry muttered to her departing figure. He cut a couple of generous slices of the fragrant bread while Leah fussed with the coffee maker. She set two mugs on the table and took a seat across from Embry, wrapping her hands around the steaming brew.

"So. This friend thing. How does it work?" Leah stared at her hands.

Embry grinned, leaning back against his chair. "Nothing to it. We talk on the phone, braid each other's hair…" He laughed at her sour expression. "I'm kidding, Leah. Let's just make it up as we go, okay?"

Leah shrugged. "Well, I suppose I don't hate you as much as some of the others," she admitted grudgingly.

Embry shook his head slowly, a smile playing across his lips. "It's a start."

Without another word, Leah rinsed her coffee cup and headed upstairs. Embry reminded himself that he'd always known this wouldn't be easy. The screen banged as Seth came in the back door, sniffing audibly. "Embry, there better be some of that bread left…" He grinned when he saw half a loaf on the table. He picked it up, biting into it without slicing. He moaned appreciatively. "Muff vat?" he asked, pointing to the tickets with his mouth full.

"Carnival," Embry explained. "Wanna go?"

Seth looked at him, taking the time to chew and swallow before answering. "Why would you buy me a ticket to the carnival?"

"I didn't." Embry grinned. "I thought I had a date, but it got canceled. Do you want to go or not?"

"Hell yeah!" Seth chortled.

"I'll pick you up at eight," Embry tossed over his shoulder. He climbed into his red and white Ford F150 and lumbered off toward home, leaving the tickets lying on the kitchen table.