Leah's Happily Ever After

by Deaana (deaana . livejournal . com)

It really annoyed me at the ending of Breaking Dawn when everybody had a happily ever after except Leah, and I know she had a happy ending, we just didn't read about it, it was overshadowed by the rest of the events. So, here it is.

Title: Leah's Happily Ever After

Author: deaana

Characters/Pairing: Leah/Nahuel, all others canon

Rating: M

Category: Romance

Spoilers: Up to Breaking Dawn

Summary: Leah finds love, she tries to fight it, but finds she's willing to fight to keep it. (Leah PoV)

Disclaimer: Twilight and all its related stuff belong to Stephenie Meyer and Summit Entertainment. Leah and all assorted characters are not mine, but I'll put them back when I'm done.

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Chapter 1

I did the only thing I could do, the only thing I was really good at, I ran.

The events of the day seemed to replay like a bad dream...waking up, knowing it would be my last day alive, and seeing the faces of my alpha, Jacob, my brother, Seth, and even Embry and Quil, all grim and determined, our thoughts all snarled with tension, but joined in purpose. Today we would stand with the Cullens to face the Volturi. I had tried to argue with Jacob, to get Seth to sit out, Jake had nodded understanding but he refused. I really couldn't be mad at him though, since Seth also refused. He was jazzed about the fight. I sighed. Typical.

It would have been great! Seth's thoughts suddenly interrupted my own and I growled my frustration.

Get lost. I thought, thinking in the back of my mind how close I'd come to losing everything today. Vaguely, I could hear Jacob's thoughts, thinking of Nessie, again, as if his thoughts were ever far from her. I groaned to myself and pushed harder on the ground, the trees flying by in a semi blur as I shot through the forest.

The 'almost fight' had been taxing on my nerves, I'd been chosen to be one of the key players by Jacob and Sam, who had set the plan up, the plan to surround the Cullens in a half circle of protection, the two packs dispersed among them. My job was to be a distraction. I was the bait, meant to lay limp in a vampire's jaws so the others could tear them apart. A sacrifice. But they weren't sadistic, no, they were planning on using my abilities...or rather, the abilities they'd assumed I had.

Ever since we'd become shapeshifters we'd assumed a certain amount of truth to the old legends, poking them and analyzing them for tactical advantages and clues, how to get better at killing the vampires. We'd become quite good at it. The one story that stood out to me, for obvious reasons, was the one story about the female werewolf. Yeah. That legend was assumed to be false, too, until I joined the pack, then suddenly, it was important.

The story, I could almost remember the exact wording, told of a female werewolf attacked by a vampire while she'd been hunting in the woods alone. He'd bitten her but she'd turned on him, sliced him with her teeth, separated his head and carried it back. Wounded but alive, she'd called her pack and they'd converged and burned the body and head separately to ashes. The werewolf lived with no ill effects. She was immune to vampire venom, it was assumed, because she was female. All the male werewolves who'd been bitten had died, horribly, and painfully. They don't say what happened to her after that, and that was the only story about it, so I had my doubts on how truthful it really was.

The pack, however, did not. I was to be used in the plan as if it were true, and I would do my part to the best of my ability. It should have bothered me that they were sending me to die, but it did not. I had lost my dad, my fiancee, even my alpha, Jacob was much more concerned with Nessie and the Cullens now than he was with me.

Now that's not fair... Jacob's thoughts interrupted mine.

Don't you have babysitting to get back to? a vampire to guard? something?

A brief chuckle went across the connection to me and I felt his 'voice' fade out as Jacob phased back to human. Now if only Seth would phase...

Okay, okay...Seth's voice echoed and I felt him phase out, too. Ahhh. Blessed silence. The trees were thinning as I ran, I was getting near the coast. My thoughts drifted back into memories.

The battle would have been fine, I knew it, but still, seeing Aro and the rest of the Volturi there had given me shivers of fear, not for me, but for Seth and especially Jake, for him to be so close to them!

We all heard the words exchanged, even if one of us had not been right there, our hearing was so tuned and our attention so focused, we heard the words as they said them, the threats, the death of Iriana. Sam and Jake, ever the leaders, had held us back, keeping our thoughts in check, our minds focused. I was doing great until Alice and Jasper showed up with their friends. Nahuel and Huilen had surprised us all, especially me.

I felt a jolt go through me as soon as Nahuel stepped into the clearing, my mind suddenly racing as I stared at him, taking in the ripple of his muscles, the warm teak color of his skin. I was fascinated. I think I took a step toward him and was embarrassed when Seth growled through the mind link for me to pay attention. With some difficulty I focused on the situation and got back into position, but I couldn't help staring at him.

For his part, he didn't see me, or even look at the wolves, his attention was on Edward and Bella and the Volturi, and for that I couldn't blame him.

After the situation was defused, the Volturi had fled, and everyone relaxed. Some of the vampires left immediately, but others started the trek back to the Cullen house, most of the wolves heading back to La Push. I followed behind the Cullens who were all touching Alice and Jasper, and smiles at Nahuel and Huilen, while they talked, rehashing the events that had occurred. I followed, too, watching Nahuel, watching the way his braid swung as he turned his head this way and that, responding to the vampires questions. I found myself staring at the curve of his jaw, thinking of how sexy it was.

As the thought occurred to me, I saw Edward turn toward him and roll his eyes. I made a face at him, which was hard since I was still in wolf form, but continued following. As the house came into view it occurred to me that I needed to meet Nahuel, see him, let him see me, the real me, not this wolf. He hadn't even looked at me yet, I knew, because I had been watching him from the moment he arrived. I thought about my ratty sweats waiting for me near the Cullen house and groaned internally. I hadn't showered in days, my hair would be a mess...it would be a disaster.

Edward eyed me briefly, then I heard him say to Nahuel, "Would you stay for a few days? I know a lot of the wolves haven't met you yet, and we'd certainly like to know more about your life."

Butterflies fluttered in my stomach as I waited for a response. "It would be my pleasure."

I seemed to melt at the words and just stared, still following, but just unable to get my brain to function.

"Maybe we could have a get together, tomorrow, " Edward's smooth voice continued.

I saw Alice's face light up with the promise of...decorating... and smiled to myself. Funny, I'd never smiled when I thought of the Cullens before.

It was at that point I lost my focus: I saw Jacob, Renesmee in his arms, he was laughing and smiling and suddenly I was bitter and angry again. Everybody had somebody, but not me. Rage bubbled up and Edward turned to me in alarm, but I was gone, running, running as fast as I could away. I tried to outrun the pain but it was still there, even now, running through the woods, to the ocean.

With a growl I returned to the present, found myself running along the cliffs, finally getting to the edge of a precipice and stopped, my heart barely pounding hard from the exertion. My paws gripped the edge as I stared into the sea, the waves pounding the rocks below.

Would it hurt badly if I threw myself off? Would I recover? or end this wretched existence once and for all. Let everyone else continue on their happy way. I was screwed. I'd never imprint. Never have children. Never die. At least not for a long time. I'd be in hell forever.

I gripped the edge tighter and stared down, contemplating.

Sometimes...fate gives you a reprieve, because in that instant, just as I was deciding what to do, I felt Seth phase, his mind instantly hooking up with mine.

I turned around hurriedly so he wouldn't see what I was seeing, the crashing waves and the rocks, instead I stared inland, to the woods. I tried to clear my mind of my suicidal thoughts.

Hey, Sis, Emmett and I are going into Port Angeles to get a grill and some food for our get together, tomorrow, anything you want? Jake says 'hi' and he misses you, My brothers' bubbly voice injected.

My brother. How could I leave him? I couldn't. Of course I couldn't. And Jake, he was counting on me.

Maybe some pringles... I thought. I could almost see him grinning in my mind's eye as he heard the thought.

You got it. Party at the Cullens! his voice faded away as he phased back.

The Cullens were inviting all the wolf pack to this party? And...going to grill for us? This I had to see, I broke into a wolfy grin and started for the trees, my paws scraping on the rock and I slipped. Suddenly I was slipping, falling, my back paws dangling off the side, my weight pulling me off the side to where I'd just decided I definitely did NOT want to go. My paws scraping uselessly on the rock, I concentrated and found my fingers as I phased back human, grabbed the crevices and pulled myself up. I rolled over and just stared at the sky, the dull gray a comfort since I wasn't looking at it from the sharp rocks below.

I phased back to wolf and carefully picked my way through the rocks and into the woods, turning towards La Push and home.

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Thanks for reading, next chapter up in a little bit.