A/N: So sorry this is so late! This chapter was particularly difficult to write. I'd love to hear what you think.

Thank you for your patience and, as always, for your wonderful reviews.

"I cannot believe we had to wait for you to do your hair," Leah teased, putting her hand against Embry's cheek and giving it a shove.

Embry laughed and let her move him, dancing sideways to keep his balance.

"Hey, just 'cause you don't care about looking pretty doesn't mean the rest of us can't."

"Oh yeah," Leah snorted, "maybe you could give me some tips on waxing my chest like you."

The trees thinnned out as they reached the edge of the woods, and Leah could just make out Jake's garage through the leaves and fog. Seth was walking a few yards ahead, and Leah thought she heard him mutter "finally" before he broke into a jog.

Leah didn't care. Things had been really good with Embry since the cookout with his mom. Seth could be as grumpy and little-brotherly as he wanted – nothing was bringing Leah down today. Not even the telltale whiff of leech that told her Thing was here when they were supposed to be having a pack meeting.

Leah and Embry entered the garage a few steps behind Seth. Jake was doing freelance work on some Forks real estate agent's convertable, and it was parked in the middle of the room with the top down and the hood up. Thing was stretched out in the backseat, reading a fashion magazine. She'd been grounded for a month for sneaking out and getting drunk at a high school party in June, and now that the vamps had let her out on parol, she was at La Push almost constantly.

"Hey, guys!" she chirped.

"Hey, sea monster," Seth said, giving her a high-five. "Improving your mind?"

"You bet. I've got to start thinking about colleges next year, you know. I figure if I read enough of these, I should be able to get into UDub." She made a show of biting her lip and crossing her fingers.

"Hey, that's low! UDub is more of a Cosmo school."

Leah raised her eyebrows. "I'm terrified you even know what that means."

"Shouldn't there be some kind of affirmative action for you, anyway?" Embry joked. "I mean, how many vampires apply to college?"

Nessie grinned. "Currently or on average?"

"Aw, that doesn't matter," Jake told them with a smirk. "Ness is only interested in party schools now."

"Shut up!" Nessie cried, but she was still grinning. "Jeez, you make one mistake and they never let you forget it."

"I think by the time I got to that party, you'd had about six 'mistakes.'"

"Hey." Nessie was suddenly stern. "Ten. I'm not a lightweight."

Seth's eyes went wide. "You had ten drinks?"

Nessie shrugged, looking pleased with herself. Jake didn't let that last long.

"Now tell them how many times you puked."

Nessie shot him a wounded look as Embry, Leah and Seth cracked up.

"I'm going to punch you in the kidney."

Jake laughed and reached into the car to give her a hand out.

"Oh, baby, you say the sweetest things."

Nessie didn't answer, but Leah thought she saw her blush as Jake helped her out of the car. Before Leah could decide for sure, they were all distracted by Billy's voice from the house.

"Jake! Becky's on the phone!" he called.

Jake frowned and headed out of the garage. "Be back in a sec."

"So, Seth," Nessie said as the four of them trailed after Jake, "when are we going to have that rematch?"

Seth tried to tweak Nessie's nose and she swatted him away with a grin.

"Aw, c'mon, Nessie," Seth teased. "I don't want to hurt a girl."

"Well, gosh - neither do I, Seth, but here we both are."

"Oh, burn!" Embry announced appreciatively, and Leah couldn't help laughing in spite of herself.

"Oh, that's how it is, huh, Cullen?" Seth grinned, bouncing from foot to foot like a boxer.

"That's how it is," Nessie agreed. Her eyes were sparkling, but she didn't move an inch.

Suddenly, Seth lunged and Nessie twirled away, smacking him lightly on the back.

Seth stumbed forward with a laugh, but he stopped goofing around and turned in a crouch, watching for an opening.

After a moment, he made a grab for Nessie's arms, but she dodged him and went low, sweeping a leg at his feet. Seth jumped, then turned it into a lunge that took Nessie to the ground. She managed to get one knee against his chest to propel him off of her, and then they were both crouching again, grinning at each other.

"Hey!"

Jake's voice made all of them straighten up immediately, even Nessie. He was striding down the lawn, his eyes narrowed. As he got closer and saw that Nessie was smiling, his face relaxed. Seth shot him an apologetic grin.

"Knock it off," Jake said lightly, wrapping an arm around Nessie's shoulders. "If you two kill each other, I'm not cleaning it up."

"Don't worry," Nessie said, sliding a wink at Seth. "I wouldn't have hurt him."

Seth made an indignant squawk, which everyone ignored.

"You've gotten pretty good," Leah told Nessie, a little surprised. After their freaky-ass mindmeld in the woods a few years back, Leah had never offerred to train Thing in self-defense again. She had sort of assumed Thing had gotten bored of the idea anyway. Apparently not.

Nessie shrugged, leaning into Jake. His arm tightened around her shoulders.

"Well, you know," she said with a modest smile, "I work out."

"What did Becky want?" Embry asked.

Jake sighed. "She's coming early." He was telling all of them, Leah guessed, but he was looking at Nessie, whose smile had frozen in place.

Embry frowned. "How early?"

"Tomorrow," Jake said. "She got this really good deal from some friend of hers who works for the airline. Apparently no one wants spend the Fourth of July on a plane."

"Just us natives, huh?" Seth joked, but it fell flat. They'd all caught the jittery feeling of Jake and Nessie's anxiety.

Three years ago, Becky had met Jake's sweet little eight-year-old pal Nessie. Now the sweet little freak was fifteen, and looked old for her age.

"I'm sure she won't remember you," Jake said, giving Nessie's shoulders an extra squeeze before he let her go.

"Sure," Nessie agreed. She shot him a reassuring smile. "Of course she won't."

Leah and Embry exchanged a look and Leah shook her head. There was no point suggesting Nessie just didn't come over while Becky was visiting. Oh, the magical pull of imprinting. Leah snorted. How ever did the rest of them survive without it?

Two days later, Leah was in the sweltering kitchen with her Mom, cooking like crazy for Becky's welcome back party. Even with all the doors and windows open, Leah's hair was plastered to her neck and forehead, and she could feel warm drops of sweat sliding between her shoulderblades and soaking her bra. She wished it was just a normal day so she could spend it in the water, like any sane person. But no – of course they all had to celebrate the return of the prodigal Becky Black. Like taking a six hour flight deserved a freaking medal.

By three o'clock, everything was more or less finished, and Leah switched off the oven with relief. Not that it made much difference. She was starting to think that it was just as hot outside as it was in this godforsaken kitchen.

"I'm going to shower before Charlie gets here with the car," Mom said. "I promise I'll be quick."

"Great," Leah muttered, too hot to put much effort into being sarcastic. "I'll just be here, melting quietly."

Their ancient window fan didn't do much besides look vintage, but Leah stood in front of it anyway, hoping to at least make her sweat a little cooler. All that did was plaster her clothes to her body. She bent over and held the collar of her tank top open so the fan blew down her shirt.

Her eyes drifted closed as she finally started to cool down. She sighed, twisting her head around to cool the back of her neck.

"Hot," Embry remarked as Leah bolted upright. He was standing in the back door, his face flushed and his bare chest shining with sweat.

"I mean in here," Embry elaborated with a smirk when Leah just stared at him.

"Obviously," she agreed, arching an eyebrow and trying to act like Embry hadn't just seen her flashing a window fan. Her stomach squirmed at the sight of his long, smooth muscles, and she tried not to stare at the curve of his hipbone where it disappeared into his cutoffs.

They stared at each other for a long moment, Embry's gaze pinning her in place. Leah felt herself start to sweat again. This fan was a piece of shit.

They both jumped at the sound of Mom's footsteps on the stairs, and Leah managed to drag her eyes away from Embry.

"Hey, Sue," Embry said, acting all casual as Mom appeared in the kitchen. Maybe Leah had imagined the tension between them. "Charlie got tied up running the grill. I said I'd drive over and help you guys carry this stuff."

"That's great, Embry, thanks."

Leah looked back at Embry, and then regretted it when she saw the way he was looking at her. She definitely hadn't been imagining the tension.

"I need a shower," Leah announced. Mom and Embry both stared at her. "I won't be long. You guys go ahead without me."

Leah tried to relax under the cool spray of the water. It was no big deal. The boys went shirtless all the time. She hardly noticed Jake or Quil's bodies at all, and obviously Seth, Brady and Collin had always just been little boys to her. But Embry... Embry was...

Distracting. That was all. It was too hot, she wasn't thinking straight, and Embry's body was distracting her from the doomed reality of any attempt at romance either of them was stupid enough to try. She needed to stop thinking about him.

Leah gave a firm nod as she shut off the shower. She wasn't some stupid, hormone-crazed, mindless love-slave. She had no imprint – she was in control. She wouldn't think about Embry anymore. End of story.

That was easier said than done. No sooner had Leah arrived at the Blacks' place than Embry bounded over, grinning and still shirtless, bringing her a cold soda. Leah tried to smile as she forced herself to look away from Embry's bare chest and surveyed the crowd.

"Where's Becky?"

"Inside with Rachel," Embry said. "I went in there earlier to put some stuff in the fridge, but I think there were having a family moment." He curled his fingers into air quotes around the last two words.

Anyone else might think that Embry meant the twins had been having a heart-to-heart. Leah knew Embry's definition of "family" a little better.

"What were they fighting about?"

Embry shrugged. "Beats me – they weren't talking, but it felt pretty awkward. Paul looked like he couldn't remember how to leave."

"Pretty sure that's just Paul's face."

Embry laughed, making his hair fall into his eyes, which were warm and bright and looking straight into hers.

Leah's heart throbbed against her ribs and she looked away, taking a deep breath.

"You okay?" Embry asked.

"Yeah, of course. Oh, hey, look, there's Seth."

She headed for her brother at what she hoped was a normal speed. Seth was standing by the food with Jake, Quil and Nessie, all four of them laughing at something that Leah could not have cared less about. She just needed to get away from Embry.

That might have been easier if he hadn't been following her. Leah pretended not to notice, sliding into the circle of the pack.

The Cullens had apparently done some big Fourth of July fireworks bonanza last night up near the Canadian border, and Nessie kept the boys in stitches with stories about her uncles' borderline pyromania.

Leah tried to focus on Nessie, but her eyes kept drifting to Embry. The bright flash of his smile, the way he flicked his hair out of his eyes when he finished laughing, the shadows that shifted around every muscle as the sun went down... Embry talked with his hands when he was excited, and as he told a story about him, Jake and Quil starting a fire inside an empty can of paint thinner when they were twelve, Leah watched his long, thin fingers paint shapes in the air. It felt like ages since he'd touched her.

Leah bit her lip, hard. He didn't touch her because she'd told him not to. She was acting as horny and pathetic as the imprinted boys.

As Leah dragged her eyes away from Embry's hands, she spotted Becky over his shoulder.

Leah blinked, startled by the expression on the older girl's face. She looked... worried, pained – maybe even... disgusted?

Shit. Rachel hadn't told her anything about the pack, had she? Of course not – it was as much her secret as theirs. And anyway, they would have discussed it in Council before anyone told Becky anything.

Leah glanced around their small group, trying to figure out what had upset Becky so much. The stories the guys were telling about past stunts were stupid, but not offensive. Even Nessie, who had been raised by old, prissy vampires, only looked a little grossed out by Quil's story about setting his farts on fire.

"Please tell me you've never done that," Leah heard Nessie murmur to Jake.

Jake scoffed. "Uh, of course not. And if I had, I definitely wouldn't have set my pants on fire."

Nessie elbowed him, then dodged away with a shriek when he tried to tickle her. Leah looked back at Becky in time to see her walk away.

The sun finally went down, taking some of the heat out of the air. This seemed to be the signal for the boys to start a bonfire down by the garage, but Leah hung back, wanting to stay cool a little while longer. She watched Embry help Jake arrange the logs and kindling while the other guys goofed around. Even in the dark, she could see the set of his jaw as he worked on something he was really good at. Or maybe she'd just seen it enough times to imagine it clearly.

The first big pops echoed up the lawn as the fire caught. After a few minutes, other people began wandering down the slope to the bonfire. Leah joined them, falling into step with Becky.

"Nice to be back?"

Becky looked surprised, but not upset like she had before.

"Oh, absolutely," she said with an insincere smile. "It's just like coming home."

Leah didn't miss her phrasing. It was 'like' coming home, but not really. "So, you're hating every second?" she guessed.

Becky frowned at Leah like she was trying to figure her out. Leah tried to look innocently interested.

"No," Becky said after a few seconds too long. "It's good to be back. It's just… it's hard, too, you know?"

They'd reached the edge of the fire. Leah looked around at everyone, trying to imagine what it would be like to leave and then come back to find her family and friends bonded in a way she couldn't understand. There had been a few years there when she'd envied Becky for getting away. Now she felt something that she thought was a lot like pity.

"I can imagine. A lot of things will never change around here. But a lot of things really do."

"Like that?" Becky muttered. Leah turned to see Becky glaring across the circle at the pack.

Not the pack, she realized. At Jacob and Nessie. They were sitting side by side, as usual, and Jake was whispering something in Nessie's ear that made her burst out laughing. She put her hand on his knee and Jacob slid his fingers between hers, tracing them.

Holy shit. When had that happened? Leah thought back to earlier – Jake and Nessie leaning into each other while they talked to the pack, Jake getting worked up about Nessie and Seth wrestling, Nessie and Jake bickering in the garage… But that was just normal for them – they were always like that.

Leah forced herself to snort like Becky had said something ridiculous. Whatever was going on, her priority now was damage control.

"They're not screwing, if that's what you're thinking," she said. She was definitely sure of that.

Becky winced, but held her ground. "You're telling me they act like that and they're not together?"

Leah's narrowed her eyes. "Jacob would never do that."

"How come you're so sure?"

Leah glanced back across the fire, where Nessie was tossing marshmallows high into the air and she and Jake were competing to catch them in their mouths.

"Because he's Jacob," Leah said, feeling relieved that for now, at least, it was true.

Without waiting for Becky's response, she stood up and walked around the edge of the fire, joining the pack on the other side. Jake and Nessie's marshmallow toss had gotten a little out of hand as Seth and Brady joined in, and there was a lot of shoving and laughing and marshmallows ending up on the ground. Leah kept her eyes on Jake and Nessie, trying to decide if there was any truth to what Becky thought she had seen.

It was kind of hard to tell. Jake had always mirrored Nessie's facial expressions, and Nessie had always hung on Jacob's every word. Leah could imagine how that would look to an outsider now that Nessie looked so much older than she really was.

But then Leah started to notice it, too. Subtle differences in the way Jake watched Nessie, and the way she looked at him. When Nessie leaned her head on Jake's shoulder, it wasn't because she was up past her bedtime. When he put his arm around her, it wasn't just to keep her warm. When he watched her mouth, he was no longer simply waiting for his cue to smile or frown.

Leah knew she should be disgusted, or at least angry about the new way the imprint was twisting Jake's free will. Instead, she just felt empty and alone. If she was angry at all – her stomach twisted as she realized – it was because what was growing between Jake and Nessie could never happen for her and Embry. It was so unbelievably, fucking unfair.

She let her eyes slide over to Embry where he sat between Quil and Jared. He was twisting a few blades of grass between his fingers, his head bowed as he listened to their conversation. Quil said something that Leah didn't register – it must have been a joke, because Embry laughed, the shadows on his back shivering across his smooth, brown skin. He glanced up at the others, flicking his hair out of his eyes, but Jared and Kim were kissing, and Paul and Rachel were, too, and Embry looked down again, his head bent over his hands. He kept twisting the blades of grass until, one by one, they all snapped in two.

The party started to break up around eleven as the non-pack members trickled away. Jake had gone at ten thirty to take Nessie home, and Leah had seen their fingers tangle together as they walked off into the darkness.

Leah had taken their seats in the circle, and with people coming and going and shuffling around, it hadn't been long before she'd found herself sitting next to Embry.

"Hey," he said, sliding over to her.

"Hey."

"Good night?"

Leah shrugged. "Weird night."

"Same."

She looked over to see him smiling, his eyes intent on her face. She smiled and looked away. They didn't say much after that – just sat in the middle of the chattering, laughing crowd, silent and oblivious to everything but the heat that was building between them.

Leah was sure Embry felt it too. She could hear his heartbeat as loud as her own, and when she shifted to let Emily get past, her leg brushed against Embry's and he didn't move away. She could feel her skin tingling along her calf where their legs touched. The tingling traveled up, across her thighs and into her stomach, over her breasts and into her head until she felt drunk with it.

When Paul pointed out that the fire was going down, Leah jumped up to get more firewood from the garage.

She knew immediately that Embry had followed her. Wolf senses made plausible deniability pretty tough. It was also hard to deny that she'd known why he was following her, or to pretend that she was surprised when he grabbed her hand, pulled her around to face him, and kissed her hard on the mouth.

She pulled him deeper into the garage and they stumbled over tools and boxes in the dark, laughing in breathless little bursts against each other's lips until Leah's back hit the workbench.

Embry pressed against her, his warm, rough hands sliding up and down her back, making her shirt ride up. Their mouths crashed together again and again, lips and tongues and teeth, as Leah twisted her fingers into Embry's hair to bring him closer.

Leah hopped up onto the workbench and wrapped her thighs around Embry's hips, pulling him against her. Embry groaned and buried his face in the crook of her neck.

"Leah," he sighed. "Leahleahleahleahleah…"

"Shut up and kiss me," she gasped, or maybe she just thought it – either way, Embry obeyed, nipping and licking his way up her neck until he reached the sensitive spot under her ear. Leah bit her lip to keep from moaning like a teenager.

Embry's mouth was back on hers. Leah nibbled his lip, then did it again when his fingers clenched convulsively on her thigh. She wriggled closer, trying to get him to move his hand further up, and Embry groaned again.

Leah ran her fingers down his back, tracing the contours of his shoulder blades, his muscles, the long, smooth furrow of his spine. Embry moved his hand over her hip and along her waist, going slowly like he thought she might pull away if he went too fast. Leah kissed him harder, trying to reassure him that there was nothing he could do right now that would make her pull away from this flood of sensation and bliss.

His hand hesitated at the base of her breast, and Leah almost laughed at the teenagerly sweetness of him not wanting to rush her into second base.

"Leah?" he mumbled against her mouth, the word so garbled that she hardly recognized her own name – she just knew it was a question, and that her answer was already yes.

"I love you."

Leah's back went rigid, yanking her away from Embry's warm, soft mouth as her eyes prickled with tears.

"Don't," she whispered, but it was too late. He'd already said it, and nothing either of them could do would take it back.

"I can't help it," Embry said, his voice rough and uneven. He took his hands off Leah's waist and stepped back. Leah could see the outline of his face even in the near-total darkness of the garage. She could hear his unsteady breathing. She was pretty sure she'd stopped breathing altogether.

Embry wasn't finished.

"When I go to the malls and the parks and look at girls," he said in a rush, "I don't look at them and think, 'damn, I hope one of them will make me feel like Paul feels or like Jared feels or, hell, even like Quil feels.' When I look at them, I just keep thinking, 'god, I wish one of them could make me feel like Leah does.'"

Leah's stomach felt hollowed out and dried up, like a Jack o' Lantern on Halloween. Trick or treat? Good question.

"What do you want me to say?"

Embry's fingers twitched like he wanted to touch her, but he didn't. When he spoke, his voice shook. "What you feel. The truth. I mean… do you feel something for me?"

Leah couldn't lift her gaze from the floor.

"I don't know."

"That's bullshit," Embry snapped. "You either feel something or you don't."

Leah's head jerked up and she gave him a furious glare. "Oh, so you've got it all figured out, huh? It's that easy?"

"It could be," Embry said, his voice turning sullen.

Leah straightened up to look him in the eye.

"Well, let me make it even simpler for you," she spat. "We get together. Maybe things are good for a while. Then you meet some random chick, and it's like I never even existed, and you get to move on, but I can't."

"I would never-"

"Don't say that!" Leah yelled, trying to smother the sob that hitched in her chest. "Don't lie! You know you would. And you could feel awful about it, but it wouldn't change anything. What you're asking me to do is keep you company while you wait. And my answer is no."

Before she could change her mind or break down completely, she strode out of the garage and into the woods.

She didn't phase. She just ran until her lungs wore out, then collapsed on the soft, wet earth and stared up at the leaves. She was too exhausted to cry, and there wasn't much point anyway. Crying had never done her any good.