After my…er, transplant, from the sucky Warriors fandom, I decided to attempt a Twilight fanfiction. At first I was going to write it on Esme's life before vampirism, but I couldn't even get past the first chapter. So smart me decided to do an exercise in character development—I wrote something from Leah's point of view, something that unconsciously formed its own identity; something that later become the first chapter of this story.
Of course I couldn't just let it go after that. I formed a whole story around what was practically just Leah bitching for ten pages straight. I knew I had to write; to continue her story, not just because I was intrigued by her bitching, but because Leah is and always has been one of my favorite characters. Coming in to bitch at Bella in Breaking Dawn was freaking awesome.
So, basically, this story picks up right after the end of Breaking Dawn. I apologize if some things don't go according to the book; my source is Wikipedia, since I just skimmed Breaking Dawn, and they don't always get things right. It's just chronicling Leah's life after the series is over—the canon characters seem integral now, but they really aren't, later on. The story is slightly AU, so I apologize if Leah seems OC, which I'm sure she does. XD
Thanks to my beta, Demoiselle Kyota. You win at life. :D
So…enjoy chapter one.
I
JUST ONE OF THE DRAWBACKS OF BEING A FREAK OF NATURE
xxx
Life sucks, then you die: The most accurate saying in the world.
The fact that I was in fervent agreement with that adage was probably saying something.
If anyone had told me that they agreed with that, normally I would have thought one of two things. One would be that they were trying to get my sympathy for some unknown reason, or two: that they were as fucked as I was.
If anyone told me what they thought about me, it would probably be one of two things. One that I was a self-righteous bitch, or two: that they thought my life was a complete disaster.
Both options would be completely correct.
Leah Clearwater. A self-righteous, bitter harpy. I was living up to that description all too well.
I didn't know whose fault it was, but I blamed one person: Sam. I didn't care that he imprinted; that he didn't have a choice, still I blamed him for all of my suffering and misfortune.
It was pretty cool that he blamed himself, too. That made everything a bit more bearable.
Where was I now? Dwelling on the past, naturally. In an unhealthy, bitter place. But physically, I honestly didn't know. I knew it had been a mistake to wander too far from the bloodsuckers' house, but, as usual, I didn't listen to my warning premonition.
Knock, knock, who's there? Stupidity.
Here I was, in an open meadow too far from the place that I called home; or rather, the place that I'd been sleeping in for the past few months, as the late-afternoon sun beat down on me, making me pant and sweat. Why was I so fucking hot? It was almost November.
Oh yeah, because I'm a freak. A girlie-wolf.
Just when I'd thought my life was getting better, it took a turn for the worse. The only person that I'd thought understood me; who had suffered the same kind of hurt; had been instantaneously cured of all bitterness and remorse in a split second. How unfair.
I didn't know why I was still expecting life to be fair, but still, even now Jacob Black was a league ahead of me.
What right did he have to be so kind to that insufferable leech? I hated her more than I hated all those other leeches. Why? I didn't know. Maybe it was because she had him—the bloodsucker, Edward; the one who cared so much about her that he was willing to give up anything to make her happy. Maybe it was because she was hurting Jacob so much; hurting him by loving him but denying him. The familiar pain drove a stake into my heart—it felt so much like the love for Sam that still coursed through me; unrequited but undeniable.
And then he himself had imprinted—on the freak, the monster, the demon-spawn. The half-bloodsucker, half-human child. She was no more than a baby, and a freak, at that. How dare he imprint on such a disgrace…
But I had to admit, I was still jealous. He could imprint. He could forget all of the pain he'd gone through for Bella. I could not. Every time I saw, or even thought of Sam, a fresh burst of pain would suffocate my chest. It was almost unbearable, and even now that I was free of him, and his adoring thoughts about Emily, I could still remember. And the pain was just as fierce when I did.
I scuffed the dirt with my bare foot, scraping my toes through the pebbly earth. Soil was already clustered beneath my nails, and my feet were muddied and wet. That just reminded me that I hadn't washed or changed my clothes in days. I'd been too busy patrolling or hunting or whatever else Jacob had me do.
Jacob. Our Alpha. I snorted. No matter the contempt I felt for him, I knew grudgingly that he'd already been a better Alpha than Sam. He was more lenient, more lax with the rules, though his dedication to our new pack was strong, and his hard work made that dedication impossible to doubt.
Not that Sam had been uninvolved. He was extremely devoted and worked tirelessly to make sure that we all not only carried out our duties impeccably, but he also made sure that we were never overworked. The reverence of Sam was bitter and grudging, even in my own head.
That was the one benefit of my human form—the privacy. I could trash whomever I wanted to within the safe confines of my mind while staying human. The downside was that my emotions were so much stronger; so much harder to resist. When I was a wolf, I was more powerful than them. I could easily fight the bitter sorrow by keeping busy—patrol or hunting, whatever Jacob needed me to do, or whatever helped me keep busy enough to forget my suffering.
How nice, Leah, I thought sarcastically. Forgetting your sorrow and making Jacob happy. Multitasking. Huh.
Shut up, I snarled. Just shut up.
I hated arguing with myself—it was impossible to win and it was impossible to lose. I continued towards the forest, not knowing where I was going or what I would find. I didn't care much anymore—the only things that mattered to me now were my mother, Seth, and my new pack. And maybe, in the small, more insignificant part of my mind, Jacob. They were the only things stopping me from cutting myself out of the picture.
The wind picked up, whipping my black hair into my face. I glanced down at my wrist, where my collection of rubber bands usually was. But the only one that remained was frayed and stretched, hanging on by a single strand of elastic. I growled under my breath as I tried to tie my hair back, but the elastic snapped before I managed to get my dirty, matted hair into a controlled heap at the nape of my neck.
Forget it. Just forget it. I tossed the two pieces of the rubber band to the ground, where they lay on a pile of wet, auburn-colored fall leaves.
Suddenly, everything was driving me crazy. Like on those days when nothing seems to go your way—or at least it seems that way because you're so fucked from the beginning. The quiet trills of birdsongs seemed magnified a thousand times in my ears; the wet clothes that were sticking to my skin suddenly seemed unbearably uncomfortable, and the wind that whipped my hair into my face aggravated me much, much more than it should have.
It was one of those days. It was definitely one of those days.
I could no longer stand being human. I had to phase, to turn into a creature that could better handle these emotions.
I glanced around. The field was silent; the only noises that could be heard were the chirping, trilling birdsongs and the faints whisper of wind as it curled through the tendrils of grass. I was alone, but even so, I hated phasing out in the open. It made me feel exposed.
My pace quickened; the forest was only yards away. I was only yards away from the protection that the curving, leafy branches and the thick, weedy undergrowth provided. I ducked under a low-hanging branch, my jeans tearing on the briars that barred my path. Who cared if I ripped the bloodsucker's clothes? They had enough money to buy all those expensive cars; they could spring for a new pair of jeans and a tank top. I sure as hell didn't care. They absolutely reeked of vampire.
Once I felt safe and enclosed by the briars and ferns, I stripped, leaving the torn and dirty clothes discarded on the ground. Again, who cared if they got wet? If anything, it would clean them off. Maybe get rid of that disgusting smell.
The whole phasing thing was still fairly new to me—I had only recently been able to control my temper and not blast my clothes off my back when I got angry, so changing willingly was still a bit of a challenge. I crouched on the ground, tensing all of my muscles, trying to will myself to explode. It was harder than I'd anticipated, even with the extra annoyance. I clenched my jaw as I waited for the anger to boil over and take control.
The transformation was no longer painful. It didn't hurt anymore when my nails lengthened into claws, when my shoulders broadened and my face flattened, when my back curved into the shape of a tail and pale gray fur shot up across my entire body. The sensation was still strange, though—a sort of tickling that spread through any area that was in the process of changing.
The emotions were strange, too. When I was changing, I felt nothing but an angry confusion that made me snarl and growl. All my feelings mashed together—anger hate love sorrow pleasure excitement—before being ground into a pulp by the wolfish nature that gripped me, taking control.
But I was still in control after I phased. My new self, my new wolf body, was just a robot, a tool, that was controlled be the part of me that was still Leah. Unfortunately still Leah.
As soon as I managed to get that control back and sit up, I was taken over by the strong surge of awareness. I was suddenly conscious of everything—every leaf that fluttered to the ground, every blade of grass mussed by the breeze, every single separate heartbeat of all the sentient creatures within a mile radius. It was overwhelming, but I was used to it by now. I refused to let that exhilaration take control.
I sniffed the air, catching the scent of prey. I growled. It was close; probably only a hundred yards away. Close enough that I could creep up on the unsuspecting deer and skin my teeth into its throat in a matter of minutes. It wouldn't even know I was there until it felt the lifeblood pour from its neck.
That was little dark, even for me. My stomach growled. It was dark, but I was hungry.
I shifted into crouch mode, my belly fur brushing the ground as I crept forward, my paw steps as soft as leaves hitting the ground. I pressed my ears against my skull as the wind picked up and shifted direction, this time blowing towards me and flattening my fur against my body.
Great. The deer scampered, catching my scent, and fled into the undergrowth. I growled. No way was I going after it. I was hungry, but not that hungry. I wanted an easy meal, but it didn't look like I was going to get it anytime soon.
Leah? The annoying voice in the back of my head, so annoying it might as well have been my conscience. Leah?
What is it, Seth? I growled. I readjusted my tone; I hadn't meant to sound that harsh. What's up?
Where are you?
Um. I took a look at my surroundings, searching for any familiar scent. I'd wandered so far that I didn't even know where I was anymore. I craned my neck, and the scent of vampire was overwhelming and rancid. I wrinkled my nose. Two vampires, specifically. Edward and Bella, mixed with the strange, semisweet scent of their daughter, Renesmee. Near the bloodsuckers' house, about a mile away.
Okay. Jacob wants us to gather near the Cullen place. Something's going down, apparently. No one will tell me, he added in a whine.
Great. That was just what I needed. Renesmee probably lost a tooth and he wanted everyone to be there to see it. I snorted. He worried obsessively about the freaky little girl.
'Kay, I grumbled. I'll see you there in a few.
Okay. The connection was then dropped between us, like someone had hung up the phone. It was the weirdest form of communication. Weird even for werewolves. I tuned out the rest of his thoughts; they were all too trivial to interest me: indignant that no one had told him about the issue and excited to see the Cullens again.
I wasn't either of those.
My emotions were indistinct as I turned and began to run towards the Cullen house, which was only a few miles away. At first, I felt that familiar hint of smugness that I felt whenever I ran. Both packs knew that I was the fastest runner among them, and I took great pride in that. It was the only thing I had to be proud of, anyway.
The other emotions were not as easily deciphered. For some reason, I felt as though I'd swallowed a huge rock and it had settled in my stomach in the form of anxiety. Fear? I didn't know. Even if it was fear, what was I afraid of? Somehow that lump in my belly was familiar, but I didn't know how.
It took me awhile to pinpoint the source of familiarity, but I finally managed it. It was dread. I was dreading what was about to come. I didn't know why I'd blown it off earlier; dismissed it as one of Jacob's nervous reactions to any change regarding Renesmee. Why was that dark anticipation hitting me now?
Maybe I was just stupid. Yep, that was a definite possibility.
No matter how probable, I still managed, with a tiny fragment of my mind that managed to retain any feelings of self-respect, to doubt it. I didn't care what happened to the bloodsuckers. I didn't care if Renesmee had developed some sort of deteriorating disease. Frankly, I'd be glad to be rid of that freaky kid.
What was with the dread, then?
I tried to swallow it; tried to extinguish the flame of trepidation, but it was impossible. Why was I so emotional and stupid, even after everything that'd happened? Shouldn't have been stronger than this?
Guess not.
The white pillars of the Cullen house were in sight, and the disgusting scent clouded my lungs, burning my throat. A thought struck me—I'd left the clothes that Esme had given me curled up into a dirty ball on the forest floor. No chance that I could go back for them now, and no shot in hell I could burst into the house of prim, proper vampires completely naked. Entering in the form of a giant wolf seemed equally incongruous.
Why am I so damn stupid? I thought angrily. I neared the house, ignoring the burning soreness in the back of my throat. I glanced around, trying to think decide what to do. Then I saw it—my water bottle in the desert, my life preserver in an ocean storm—a bundle of clothes wrapped neatly with a red ribbon. Female clothes; I could tell from the lavender button-down shirt. The note that said 'Lea' tacked on it was also a dead giveaway. Someone had spelled my name wrong, probably on purpose, but I was too relieved to care.
I picked them up and carried them into the forest, ignoring the fumes that came off them in waves, and changed. I was sure I looked ridiculous. My hair was knotty and caked with dirt, and my face and ankles were streaked with mud. The disconcertingly nice clothes were so stupid looking on my dirty, bruised body that I wanted to sneer at myself.
I was suddenly grateful to Esme for laying them out for me, but the gratitude soon vanished. I swallowed, trying to cleanse my throat of the disgusting stink as I pulled open the fancy, white double-door and stepped inside.
The front room was so neat that I felt sort of embarrassed to be bringing my dirty self into it. But who cared if I messed up the bloodsuckers' house? They could afford a new one with the same size and splendor—perhaps multiple new ones. And it wouldn't kill them to see a little dirt for a change.
I heard the dull murmur of voices coming from the living room and I stepped inside. All the werewolves of my pack and the vampires were seated there, some on chairs or couches and some on the floor. Jacob, easily the most conspicuous person in the room, was seated on the floor, Renesmee in his lap, though still towering above most people sitting on couches or chairs. Carlisle was seated beside Esme on the couch, his arm wrapped in a gentle crook around her waist. I winced—I couldn't stand the look they had in their eyes when staring at each other.
It only got worse when I looked around. Bella was enveloped by Edward's arms, her hair flowing down her shoulders and onto his cheek. Rosalie was sitting on Emmett's lap, casually resting her head on his shoulder. And Jasper's head was resting in Alice's lap, and she stroked his blond hair with her tiny fingers.
I swallowed the sorrow that threatened to overcome me. There were no chairs left, so I strode over to where the majority of my pack was sitting and leaned against the wall, crossing my arms over my chest. Everyone in the room acknowledged me, dipping their head or patting any part of me they could reach as I passed. I did not acknowledge them.
"Now that you're here, Leah," began the blond vampire, Carlisle, adjusting his position beside Esme—she smiled warmly at me, and I returned the smile only because she had given me clothes, "we can begin."
Everyone shifted as well, trying to get a better look at Carlisle.
"You've all probably heard that Sam's pack as been increasing their patrols lately," he began, his tone slightly grave.
"I didn't know we'd been spying on him," said Embry, his brow furrowing.
"It shouldn't be called spying," interjected Carlisle, smiling wryly. "Edward's ability picks up the thoughts of anyone nearby, whether he wants to or not." He paused, and there was a slightly uneasy murmur from both Quil and Embry. I was pretty pissed about it, too. That meant I couldn't even have my privacy in human form. Stupid bloodsucker.
"He'd been picking up signs that Sam's been growing uneasy," he continued. "Running around the line much more frequently, increasing their patrols and perimeter checks."
"Why?" murmured Jacob, more to himself than to Carlisle. "I thought we'd made somewhat of a truce."
I'd thought so, too. Apparently, I'd been wrong. Definitely not a first.
"Obviously, he can't break the truce between us--" Carlisle gestured towards his coven "—but he seems to have no qualms about starting a war with your pack."
"What?" Every single werewolf in the room jumped to their feet. I could feel shock and slight anger—how could Sam do that to us? Even if he felt no more affection towards me, Quil and Jacob and Embry and Seth were his friends!
"He can't," said Seth bleakly, trying to convince himself more than the others, it seemed. "He wouldn't. Sam wouldn't do that to us, would he, guys?"
His question went unanswered. Embry and Quil were staring at each other in silent disbelief, and Jacob was looking at the ground, still cradling Renesmee in his arms, muttering angrily. I still couldn't believe it myself—Sam wouldn't, couldn't put us through that. Not Paul and Jared, who still considered us friends, not Collin and Brady, who hero-worshipped Jacob…
I couldn't speak. I waited for Carlisle to continue; for someone to say anything to break the shocked silence.
"We're still not sure if that's his plan," he said, trying to reassure us. "But it's good to know that he's capable of it."
"We have to be more careful," added Edward. "I don't think it's safe for anyone to go back to La Push now."
"What?" Quil was on his feet now, and I suppressed a flinch. I knew why he was suddenly so angry. "I have to go back to La Push!"
Jacob turned towards him and winced at the half outraged, half anguished look on his face. He looked apologetic at first, but then, glancing down at Renesmee, his eyes narrowed in agreement. "No, you're right, man," he said, shaking his head. "Sam can't keep us from seeing our family down there."
"Claire…" Quil trailed off, and he glanced anxiously towards the door. I didn't think he'd ever gone a day without seeing her. Though I could only imagine how difficult it would be, I couldn't keep from wincing at the look of anguished desperation on his face. It was the kind of concern I saw when Sam looked at Emily; the kind of concern that could easily start me aching again. I looked away.
Seth met my gaze for a moment then, and I looked back questioningly before I understood the concern in his eyes. Our mother must have been worried sick about us and shocked when we'd left. I hadn't told her anything, and I mentally kicked myself for being so stupid. Our father had already gone because of shock—shock that was my fault: my stupid transformation into this girlie-wolf had killed him, and I couldn't have her death because of me now, too. Then it would really be too much to bear.
"He can't," I snarled. "I'll fight him if I have to. I have to go back to La Push."
"It's not safe," repeated Edward. "If you go, even if it's just a few of you, we run the risk of antagonizing Sam into action."
"I don't care," I hissed. I lurched forward towards the bloodsucker, but Carlisle's words stopped me then.
"As I said, we're not sure if that's his plan yet," he said calmly. "He changes plans so quickly that Edward can't be sure. We just needed to make sure that everyone was aware of his increasing animosity."
I glanced around. Alice's tiny face was pinched in concentration, and her fists were clenched in Jasper's hair. He glanced up at Alice, looking worried. That damned concern again.
"I'm trying to see the wolves," she said. "But it's impossible."
"Don't strain yourself," said Esme, patting her hand reassuringly. "I'm sure we'll all be fine if we're just careful."
"He's not happy." Edward narrowed his eyes. "He's not pleased that his numbers are going down. The only thing stopping him from starting a fight is the difficulty it might bring Paul or Jared. He's afraid that they might make the snap decision to join your pack, Jacob."
Jacob groaned. "I can't believe we're actually calling this a pack."
"This is a pack," said Embry, grinning. "And a pretty cool one, at that."
"If anyone else joins, I'm calling it a circus and leaving. They need to stay in La Push."
"Aw, come on, man," he complained. "If you leave, Leah will be in charge. I sure as hell don't want a girl as Alpha…"
That did it. I could feel the heat rising to my cheeks, the anger pulsing through me. It took all the restraint I had not to phase right there, in the middle of the meeting. Instead I lunged forward, tackled Embry to the ground, and let my fist spring forward and collide with his cheek.
"Stop it, Leah," growled Jacob, grabbing me and pulling me off Embry, who winced and rubbed the side of his face. I righted myself and snatched my arm away from him. "And you too, Embry. Leah's our second-in-command, and if you can't live with that, then you'll have to get out. I mean it." He glared at him with narrowed black eyes.
The bloodsuckers were staring at us with wide eyes. I could tell that they were stunned by how uncivilized we were. I wanted to snap back at them and tell them that they could shove it, but I didn't. I waited for the anger to wear off, instead. The last thing I needed was more embarrassment. I'm the second-in-command; I shouldn't be disrespected like that, I grumbled under my breath. I guessed that was just one of the drawbacks of being a freak of nature.
"All right, all right," said Embry quickly. "Cool it, Leah, I didn't mean it."
"Shut up," I snarled. "Just shut the hell up, Embry."
"I think this meeting is over," muttered Rosalie, her golden eyes narrowed with contempt. I wanted to slug that dumb blond right in her stupid jaw. But I'd pretty much had it with the bloodsuckers, anyway.
"Good riddance," I snarled to myself. I turned and began to walk towards the door.
"Leah, wait," called Seth. "Don't go; we still have more stuff to talk about!"
I turned back. If it had been anyone but Seth, I would have just kept walking. But I could tell the kid was pretty freaked about the whole Sam thing, so I began to walk back, just for his benefit.
"Sorry, Leah," said Embry meekly. I glared at him, and he shut up.
"In response to Sam's behavior," said Carlisle, evidently trying to restore order and direct our attention back to him, "we should increase our patrols, as well. We don't want to be caught off guard or unprepared."
"There's no need for that," said Edward. "I'll be able to tell when he changes his mind."
"But we can't be sure," said Alice. Her tiny face was still pinched with concentration. She was probably still messed up about not being able to 'see' Sam. "Better to be over-prepared than under-prepared."
"We'll wear everyone out trying to keep up with Sam," argued Edward. "He changes plans so quickly."
"Enough," interjected Esme sternly.
"Yes," agreed Carlisle. "Both sides are adequate; however, I agree with Alice. We have enough for patrols and such; it wouldn't hurt to do some extra running. We'll know if Sam is really planning anything soon enough."
"But until then, we should have extra patrols," said Jacob. "My…pack doesn't mind doing more running."
"I'll run until I'm dead on my feet," vowed Quil fiercely.
"We all will," agreed Seth.
"Good." Carlisle nodded. "But we should organize the next weeks' worth of patrols now so that our schedules don't clash."
"Of course," said Jacob evenly. It really ticked me off that he was always being so agreeable with those leeches; it was like we weren't even enemies anymore. I tuned it out as Carlisle and Jacob discussed the next weeks' patrols.
There was a buzzing from beside me as Quil's cell phone rang. He quickly snatched it from his pocket and put it to his ear.
"Oh, hi, Claire!" he said. He sounded overjoyed, like a mother talking to their kid that they haven't seen in days. That's practically what he was. There was a pause. "No, not today, Claire…" I could hear Claire's high-pitched, squeaky protests on the other end, followed by her mother's reassurance that she would see Quil soon. Frankly, I thought it was pretty pathetic that Claire had her mom call Quil practically every other hour, but it was even more pathetic how psyched Quil was to talk to the three-year-old. In fact, the whole imprinting crap was pretty sad to begin with.
I ignored the rest of his conversation before his excitement could rouse that all-too-familiar sadness in my stomach, and turned to listen to Seth and Embry's conversation. Finally; two respectable people who hadn't imprinted…yet.
"We should go; I mean, it's not like Sam could take us or anything," said Embry excitedly. He seemed pretty jazzed to fight. I snorted.
"But what if Paul and Jared are there? What if we have to fight them?"
"They'll understand; it's not like they have a choice if Sam wants them to fight us."
I tried to tune them out, too. The whole Sam thing was getting pretty freaking annoying already, and everyone was already overreacting to it. What's the big deal if we fought? It's not like anyone cared about me, anyway, or like I had any friends left in the La Push pack.
Everyone had paired off into little groups to chat—Alice and Rosalie, Jasper and Emmett, Edward and Bella, Esme and Carlisle and Jacob, and Seth and Embry. Just more proof of how much of an outsider I was. I didn't belong here. I didn't know where I belonged anymore. Not in the La Push pack, where I was constantly plagued by Sam's adoring thoughts about Emily and his guilt that he had turned me into 'this bitter harpy.' Not here, with the bloodsuckers that I despised and all the imprinting nonsense.
And not alone. Alone there was no distraction from thoughts about Sam and Emily and the whole host of other problems I was confronted with. Being alone was almost harder than being with the bloodsuckers.
But here it was bad enough—every single one of the leeches had found their 'soul mates' and looking at any of them together was enough to re-open every single wound I'd been dealt by Sam. Even though vampires couldn't imprint, the look in the eyes of any of them when they stared at their soul mates was just as bad. It was as if they were the only things left in the world; like nothing else mattered at all except for them…
"Leah? Earth to Leah?" Seth waved his hand in front of my face. I snapped to attention and slapped it away.
"Jeez, relax," he said, recoiling slightly. "We're leaving. Jacob's going to tell us the plans for this week outside." He turned and began walking away. I still didn't move; I was still lost in my thoughts. He looked back at me. "You coming?"
"Yeah." I took one last look at the living room and then wished I hadn't. Bella and Edward were kissing, and their kisses were so soft and gentle and loving that it was almost too much to bear. I turned away and followed Seth outside.
"Seriously." I heard Embry pestering Jacob the minute the pack was outside. "We can take Sam; we're almost even with him and we're more experienced…"
"Be quiet, Embry. We're not going to fight Sam unless he makes the breach first. Let it be his fault, not ours."
"Really, Embry," said Seth, shaking his head and trying to act like the mature person that he wasn't. "Why should we attack him when we don't even have any proof that he was even going to attack us? Inviting hostility, that's what that is."
"Exactly." Jacob stopped a few yards from the porch, and the pack formed a huddle around him. "Carlisle thinks it would be smart to patrol four times a day—in the morning, the afternoon, the evening, and at night. I agree. Each patrol shouldn't last more than a couple hours. We'll alternate patrolling days. Leah and Quil, you two will make up the first patrol tonight, and then Seth and I will go around midnight. Okay?"
"All right." I was just relieved that I hadn't been paired with Embry; anything was better than having to listen to his nonsensical chatter for a few hours straight. It was bad enough that I had to live with it normally, but listening to him talk and act as if we were a team… I shuddered. Embry was probably the pack member that disliked me the most, and since I mirrored the emotion, I was perfectly fine with that.
Quil nodded. He was focused now, his eyes intent; willing to do anything that would speed up his reunion with Claire.
Jacob glanced up at the sky, and I mimicked him. The sun was setting above the treetops, illuminating their skeletal branches with a golden glow. Only a sliver of orange was left. The rest of the sky was a darker purplish-gray with occasional streaks of pale blue or yellow.
"It's almost twilight," he announced, like I couldn't see that for myself. "You and Quil should get going. Just do a quick perimeter check and then patrol around the border."
"Okay," agreed Quil, cheerful as always. "Let's go, Leah."
I turned towards him and nodded, my throat tightening for some indecipherable reason. We walked toward the forest together, waiting until we could both be sheltered by the leaves and thick undergrowth to phase.
All right, I thought bracingly to myself. Let's get this over with.
Then I prepared to phase into the freak of a girlie-wolf that I was, and it was a painful but expected blow that I was not able to leave myself behind when I did.
Apparently FFNet's spacing hates me, so sorry if the lines I made to separate the chapters didn't show up.
Yeah, I know it was boring. The next chapter isn't exactly what I'd like to call interesting, but… I promise it'll get better later on. :)
I also know that Sam wasn't feeling any animosity towards them, but I needed to have something not be perfect. Funny how Stephenie Meyer's 'omg perfect happy ending' worked out for everyone except Leah, huh? -.-
Constructive criticism appreciated.
-Breeze