"Vanishing Moon"

(After Breaking Dawn of Meyer's Twilight Saga)

Chapter 1

Leah

I can't allow myself to shift and I'm alone now. Nothing drove that point home clearer than when I'd given in and shifted last night. Jacob was not in wolf form, nor was Seth. Seth should be integrated back into the original pack by now anyway. I alone hadn't gone back. I knew my mom and brother missed me and worried about me. But I couldn't go back. How could I face hearing Sam's thoughts again? But how could I bear to hear Jacob's thoughts either? He'd imprinted. Of course. The bitter mantra floated through my head that I didn't fit. The only female werewolf...walker...whatever the term was now. No family of my own and responsible for my own father's death. No one to imprint on. No ability to have children. That thought ripped at my gut and the urge to fall to my knees almost forced me to comply, despite the fact that I was standing on a street corner amid many onlookers.

I didn't even know where I was. I knew I was in Montana, but beyond that, I didn't have a clue. Running through the woods didn't lend much to location information. It was about time to settle somewhere and use what little money I had saved up for school to rent an apartment. I'll just have to find a job. Finally, walking into a gas station I saw a map on the wall near the restrooms pointing to our location. I was in the capital of Montana, Helena. Wow. Just what I needed. The most populated city in the state. At least I should find accommodations here. My clothes had become dirty and ragged from wearing them as long as I have and I needed a good bath. I was also hungry. Lord knows I couldn't eat in my wolf form often. Yuck. Jacob had helped me learn how to when I had to but I sure didn't choose to.

I went into the gas station bathroom and cleaned up as much as I could. Exiting, I bought a few toiletries and handbag, the bare basics, and looked for a board that would have rooms to rent hopefully pasted on it. I also wanted to start school, so I could swing by a local campus and see about anyone needing roommates. I tore off a few that looked hopeful, and that didn't live right in the city it seemed. And headed back out into the heat. Next stop: the campus. There I found a few more hopeful room mates, one on a ranch called HeartGrove. That sounded like the best opportunity and I made sure I would call and find out the information.

I found a payphone outside and dialed the number for the woman seeking a roommate who lives at HeartGrove and attends Helena Community College. Just when I thought that the answering machine would pick up, a girl answered in a rush.

"Hello?" the voice came out a tad shrill and rushed.

"Hi. My name is Leah. I'm looking for a place to stay and want to join Helena Community College as well. I was wondering if I could look at the room today if possible. If not, I can adjust my schedule, I just needed to find something before I find a job."

"Why sure, you can come by anytime. I'm rushing around cleaning, good thing too since I'll have company coming by. How about in an hour?" the perky voice asked.

"An hour sounds perfect. I'm currently at the campus, can you tell me how to get to your ranch?" Leah wrote the directions down on the back of the flyer as she listened intently to the perky woman, who she assumed just had to be a blond head. She rolled her eyes at the woman's perkiness and hoped maybe the woman was high on caffeine and not normally so bubbly.

"OK, I will see you then!" And with that they hung up the phone and Leah went to buy some clothes to wear to the meeting she was about to head out to. She found a T-shirt and shorts with the college's emblem on them back at the gas station bought them, along with some decently priced tennis shoes. She cleaned up, washing her pixie cut in the sink of the restroom and running her fingers through it, she changed. Her black hair was drying nicely as she left the gas station and went back to the payphone to look up a taxi service to request a drive out to the ranch. Thankfully she found one that coincided with the time she had promised the woman, who she'd forgotten to ask the name of. Grimacing, she waited for the taxi and reluctantly crawled in. It had been so long since she had ridden in a car that it felt strange. She had been on the run for over a month. Thankfully she had kept her license and bank card with her through the travels she had made. She had checked in with Jacob the other day, who ironically was urging her to come home, despite his own time away from home when he couldn't stand living at home. And let's stop that thought right there, before I get too angry and shift.

It took close to an hour to make it to HeartGrove. I gingerly stepped out of the car, slightly nauseated from the car ride and glad to be back on solid ground. The tennis shoes hugged my feet comfortably and the t-shirt and shorts felt good in this heat. Suddenly the door to the ranch house slammed open and a young lady, about twenty four, dressed in a pink velour set of shorts and short-sleeved jacket came running down the steps and hugged me as I just stood in the other woman's arms with my brows raised.

"Hi," I gruffly stated as I gently pulled away to shake the young woman's hand.

"Hi! My name is Tiffany, Leah. Would you like a tour of the house? I adore your hair by the way." I was trying to decide whether to laugh or cry at how animated Tiffany was. And of course, she was blonde.

"A tour would be lovely."

I surprisingly felt a sense of peace as Tiffany led me through the sedately decorated ranch house done in a South Western style. It appeared to be a working ranch.

"My mom used to run it then when she passed away, my brother and I began to run it then."

"I'm sorry to hear about your mother, my father passed away as well," I couldn't very well admit to Tiffany that the heart attack had been my fault for my father witnessing my first shift into a wolf.

"Well, we move on as we must, right? Well, we have something in common, maybe we'll be best buds!" came Tiffany's response to which I glared dumbfounded and nodded. "Your room is this way," Tiffany began toward a back room we had yet to enter. Tiffany opened the door to let me in. I was amazed. The room was just as spacious as the other rooms I had seen and I felt honored that a guests' room would be on par with Tiffany's.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course. Is something wrong with it?" Tiffany looked worried.

"No, I just felt it was too large for a guest."

"Nah, all our rooms are the same size, and it gets quite lonely with my rarely seen brother coming in and out of here all wily nilly."

"Okay then, I guess all we have to talk about is rent." I prompted as we sat in the den. Thankfully, the amount was something I could comfortably afford while hunting another barista job.

"The latest Starbucks, right across from the restaurant you called from has just started hiring, maybe you can find a job there.

"Great, I'll check it out."

"Where's all your luggage?" Tiffany queried. I paused for a second, not having thought that through. Better to stick closest to the truth when lying.

"Well, it was a spur of the moment trip so I wore the clothes on my back and brought my bankcard and license. I just bought these clothes at the gas station so I could be fresh."

As we settled everything and I made the first payment I decided it was time to shift so I could check my new territory. After all, you can never be too careful. Tiffany was thankfully going into town and her brother wasn't home so I had relatively free reign except for the workers.

...

Dirk

I have a secret to hide. A large one. I especially have to hide it from my constituents and voters. I was itching to remove my suit and get outside. It was hot, but that was normal for this time of year and I was eager to go outside for a run. I stood at the tinted window of my office, fifteen stories up, looking across the cityscape as the sun arced downward.

"Sir?" I ignored my assistant's voice, hoping she'd go away. She coughed. "Mr. Lanier, Sir?" Sighing, I turned to the woman who I felt a twinge for ignoring.

"Yes, Sheeree?" knowing my voice showed my strain.

"You have a conference call you scheduled earlier with the big wigs in Washington," she grimaced, knowing how much I disliked talking to them and I let out a smile to soften my earlier attitude.

"Thank you, Sheeree, I had let it slip my mind." No wonder with so much on my mind. What had possessed me to ever run for office anyway? Oh right, the family. I rolled my eyes, sitting down at my desk as Sheeree left, and picked up the call. "Yes, Mayor, Congressman, and Sherriff. How can I be of assistance today?"