"Leah!"

Ugh. The voice was too loud. Too close. Too annoying!

"Seth, this had better be important, for your own damn good!" I yelled, getting increasingly frustrated at the sudden interuption of my sleep.

I was immensely tired, Jacob having me patrol around the Cullen's house more than ever, giving me little time for rest. This was one of those rare moments where I got to take a break and relax, but clearly, the whole planet was intent on making my life as miserable and tiring as possible.

"Leah, come on!" Seth screamed, bursting into my room, not even bothering to knock. "This is seriously something majorly important!"

"Seth, you do realize that in one sentence you managed to stress the importance of a single subject about four different times?" I ask as I lazily get up from my bed, passing a very upset looking Seth. "So, can you please explain what the hell is going on?"

"There's another she-wolf."

Those simple words were enough to halt my furious stride towards the forest. I turned to face my brother, sure that I had misunderstood him.

"Excuse me, you were a little unclear, what with your mouth always being full of it, but did I just hear you say there's another she-wolf?"

Seth turned towards me and nodded silently. "Jacob told me to come get you. He and Sam are gathering both packs to discuss this."

"Well, isn't that just a ball of fun waiting to burst," I said, sarcasm clearly dripping into my voice.

Seth started towards the forest, and soon enough I was right behind him. Once in the forest I looked for a spot to strip, and in a matter of seconds I had phased. I became aware of the other thoughts in my head, knowing full well that none belonged to me. I pushed my paws as fast as they would go towards Seth and followed him towards our destination.

Hey Leah, looks like you're not the only freak in town.

If you value your privates Embry, I suggest you shut it.

Embry gave a mental snort. Ooooh, Leah, being a bitch kind of suits you.

And being an asshole suits you! Now shut it and get to where you're supposed to be!.

HEY! Shut it! Jacob's mental command rang through all of our minds. This is serious, now I expect all of you at the beach now. Phase back to human form before you arrive, both packs need to discuss this as one.

I, personally, didn't know what the big deal was. So there was another she-wolf? I know that my case was huge because I was the only one ever mentioned in Quilete history, but after me, I felt no need to make such huge dramatics.

Is that jealousy in your tone, big sis?

Seth, I love you, but if you plan on seeing mom again, don't comment on my thoughts. And no, that was not jealousy, it's just pure fact.

We reached the edge of the beach then, stopping all mental conversations as we phased back to human form. When I was fully dressed, I joined the rest of my pack and Sam's near the shore. Sam and Jake were having a private conversation which ended once they heard our approach.

Sam turned and smiled at me akwardly. A small smile reached my lips then, seeing that Sam was still as uncomfortable around me as ever. Everyone in his pack believed me to still be insanely obsessed with him and his imprintment to Emily. Truth be told, after joining Jacob's pack along with my brother, and not having his thoughts in my head, I got over Sam rather quickly. Only a couple of months have passed since this occured, but it was quick to get over him without his constant apologies and feelings of pity.

Pity can be very annoying at times.

"So big machos, where's the womb that's causing all this excitment?" I say when everyone was finally there.

My comment got many husky laughs from both packs, but the two Alphas just shook their heads and glared at me, although I thought I saw a hint of a smile in Jacob's lips.

"Okay," Sam started, bringing everyone into full business mode. "I assume most of you already know what this meeting is about, but just in case, there is another she-wolf."

I sighed, already knowing this, but the new members of Sam's pack looked uncertainly at each other, before glancing over at me. It was annoying, really. Any mention of she-wolfs, joking or not, was always followed by glances in my direction. Always.

"We don't know how this happened, seeing as there have been no vampires recently, and it is extremely nerve-wracking because this is the second she-wolf in Quilete history, Leah, of course being the first." At his words all eyes were on me.

Everything went quiet, and in true Leah fashion, I came up with the best way to break said silence.

"So, are we ever going to meet this second coming, or are we just gonna ponder for the rest of our lives as to who she is?"

Jake smiled at this and quickly said, "yeah, you'll meet her soon enough, but we just want to tell everyone of who she is. See, nobody here knows her. She was born somewhere in New York, but her parents were Quilete, meaning she has the wolf gene. She came here two weeks ago, after her parents moved back, but no one has seen her yet."

"Yeah I heard about them," Jared said roughly. "The old Laktiri family, right? Lawrence and Kimi."

"Yes, that's them. Their daughter is eighteen and she's on her way here now."

At his words, I heard shuffling in the nearby woods. All the boys turned to where the noise came from and immediatly I saw that this girl had quite a presence about her beacause all the males were open mouthed and gaping towards her, all except Sam and Jacob, who had probably went through this already.

I finally turned to face our new member, although kind of unwillingly. I froze once I saw her and was surprised by how beautiful she was. The girl that was walking towards us was tall and well muscled, like all the Quilete wolves, but she still had very feminine curves. She had long, jet-black hair running down her back and beautiful bronze skin that was a perfect match. Her eyes were as dark as her hair, her lips full and her nose a model of perfection. To say she was pretty was an understatement.

Damn, I thought, this girl is as hot as me!

She glanced nervously around the group of men, still gaping at her, and then locked me in her gaze. I had a strange feeling of warmth as soon as our eyes met, the reason to which I know not. She smiled at me after a minute and I returned her smile and walked over to her, arms extended.

"Hi, I'm Leah," I managed to say.

"I've heard a lot about you," her voice rang out a low and enticing sound that had the boys absolutely groveling at her feet. "My name is Kaya. Kaya Laktiri." She shook my hand.

Now, normally I am not one to make the first introductions, but seeing as the boys were a pile of useless crap about now, I made an exception. Being a bitch wasn't exactly helpful to a new shapeshifter, especially if she had my temper.

I looked around at the boys behind me, Kaya's hand still lock in mine and said to her, "Well, I congratulate you. You have managed to single-handedly turn a fearless werewolf pack into a bunch of wussies." I smiled at her, her laughter at my comment ringing through the forest. It was quite a wonderful sound, if truth be told, almost magical.

"Hey Jake," I yelled back, "I think Embry will be needing a new pair of pants soon!"

At this, the entire group bursted into laughter, Embry blushing furiously and glaring daggers at me.

"Leah, do you always have to be such a bitch?" he asked, clearly frustrated by my comment.

"Oh, come on! Bitchy and sarcastic is my style! You wouldn't want me any other way." My laughter joined in with the others.

I turned back to Kaya and gestured for her to follow me to where Sam and Jacob were still laughing at Embry. Sam was the first to recover from his fit of laughter, regaining his Alpha attitude. Jake followed suit, taking Kaya from under my wings and introducing her to both packs and soon enough, we were all immersed in the conversations and arguments that proceeded.

Throughout the proceedings, I sat back and quietly waiting for it to end. Everything from Kaya's gender to her pack choice was discussed, with little imput from Kaya herself. Kaya, in fact, seemed to utterly bored through the entire gathering. She smiled and answered questions when asked, but that was about it. I often caught her sneaking glances at me and averting her eyes elsewhere when I caught her doing it. The truth is that I found myself looking at her through the boys' dense bodies. There was just something about her that fascinated me, yet I didn't know what it was.

In the end, Kaya chose to belong to Jacob's pack, more importantly meaning my pack. For no apparent reason, a smile crossed my face at this bit of information. The group stayed after all was resolved to hang out like they usually did before all of the drama began. Vampires and near death experiences really tore us apart, and hanging out was quite a relief from everything going on in my life.

At one point, Kaya managed to get away from worshiping boys and snuck up on me at the shoreline, where I sat smoking a ciggarete.

"You know that stuff can kill you."

I smiled and said, "I'm a werewolf. I think my lungs can handle it."

She came and sat next to me, her long legs extending and revealing a bit more of the skin on her thigh. Don't ask me why I noticed so damned much, because I wouldn't be able to answer.

"So, how's the city girl liking the old school Indian reservation and their myths?" I joked.

"I think she's a little overwhelmed at the moment," she answered with a sigh.

I looked at her sad face for a moment before saying "hey, don't worry about it. This wolf thing will get easier over time. Besides, you've got me to help you, so you should be all set!"

"I thought you were supposed to be extremely anti-social, not my savior."

"Oh, trust me, I am. But today, normal Leah took a break to meet the new competiton," I said, earning a laugh from Kaya almost immediately.

"Hey Kaya!" screamed Seth. "Come on, we're all going to Sam's for lunch!"

"I'll be right there!" she said, standing from her spot next to me. When the boys were gone she turned back to me. "Aren't you coming? I bet it will be fun!"

"Yeah, watching Sam and Emily kiss all over the place. Whoo Hoo!" My arms swung up in mock excitement.

"Aw, come on Leah, I'll be there to distract you." She said this with a smile that I could have sworn had something more to it than friendliness.

I smiled back, not resisting her invitation and standing up. We walked to the edge of First Beach, where the sand met the forest trees.

"Let's just hope none of those boys lure you away into a closet during lunch," I said, my mood getting lighter by the minute.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that," she said, walking past me. Her hand gently came up to brush my arm, giving me goosebumps.

"And why not?"

"They aren't exactly my type."

With a mischievious smile and a wink thrown my way, she was headed off, following the noise of the boys. And I knew that this time I saw what was behind that sexy litlle smile of hers.

Oh, boy, I thought. This is going to be one hell lunch.