Disclaimer. Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. This idea for the one-shot was sent to me, by, the very imaginative RVDLegsTrish. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on a cool premise RVDLegsTrish. Ivan the Ice Man is my idea, the plot development, and the tablet too. Other than that, I own nothing.
I've never thought that I would be having the opportunity to write about this book series, here goes nothing.
I would like to say that this fic could have not been complete without the help of Marc the Unruly. Thank you Marc for your precise work and your patience.
I want to thank God, for this fantastic opportunity, new friends, new challenges. Also, let's not forget the background cheerleaders My mom, my son, and Noppoh. Love you guys.
Rated M 18+ Mature language and situations.
Haters, trolls, malicious anonymous (guest) reviews. On the side, I just don't have time for your crap.
To everyone else, enjoy the read.
Warning. Angst ahead.
Leah's journey.
Leah Clearwater kept on walking on two legs. It was still morning, the terrain was uneven. As far as she could see, a canopy of trees and greenery extended. She couldn't change into a wolf anymore, the pregnancy was too far advanced, and the babies would suffer along with her. That's what the wise Woman had said and Leah believed her.
Now she had to walk faster, to try and get to higher ground, set camp, and hope she didn't encounter any grizzlies or black bears.
She hated invading their land, but she needed sanctuary. She sighed and wished she could forget her lost lover. It didn't matter anymore, but still her mind wandered back to him. He died a hero, defending their territory from the crazy sparkling leeches.
Now, she was a widow. Fate, it seemed, was a bitch who seemed keen on making her existence miserable. First being humiliated by Sam, when he chose Emily, then Jacob got imprinted to that strange child. Finally, she was going to be the bride of a young warrior, only to lose him in battle.
Her pregnancy had brought too many changes. One, in particular, made her yet again the centre of attention. Her scent was driving all the young cubs and available wolves into sudden bursts of anger. She was a widow, and her fertility cycle was complete. With no Alpha to claim her, that left bachelors who were moved to ruts and competition to become her mate. Leah was not interested and kept clear. Sam and Jacob tried keeping the peace, but Leah's fragrance, even at a distance, was driving the packs crazy.
The wise woman came to her and asked her to leave, telling Leah that she needed to find her own path. The wolf packs held too many sad memories for the young woman wolf, and babies needed to be born to love. She added that the forest of the Spirit Bear was a sanctuary, her babies would be safe and so would she.
Leah prepared herself for the journey and quietly left giving no hint of her destination.
To both Sam and Jacob, it was a great loss, but both understood that Leah had her own destiny and the Great Spirit would be guiding her. Those were the last messages sent to her.
Cresting a hill, she sensed a male. His smell was not unpleasant, but it wasn't young. There was something wrong… no wait, not wrong, different.
He was fighting, and using power, but not explosives or guns. No, the earth was shaking.
When she arrived at the scene, he was torching the bodies of two female vampires.
The firepits where unnaturally intense, after a moment, there was only ashes. At a distance, Leah noticed he was dressed as though he was a hunter from the Ice Age.
She got a bit closer to observe, but stayed at least a mile away.
He raised his eyes, Leah met a fierce stare of indigo eyes encased in kohl. The hunter had a staff, he tapped the earth and the fire ceased. Ah, he was a mage. Leah knew that men like those existed for a reason. Maybe he was an enforcer of the border of the Sanctuary of Bear Rainforest?
Leah raised her chin to test the air. Besides the smell of smoke, she scented the male. He narrowed his eyes, shook his head and gathering his backpack, he continued his journey parallel to Leah's path.
Leah tilted her head to the side. "How odd, the Ice Hunter has a modern backpack. What a weirdo."
As though the man could hear her, he started laughing, which in turn made Leah growl.
She decided to follow him, and found him fishing. It was the salmon season, after a while she too felt hungry.
'Well, it's a free river,' she thought. 'Now or never'. She got close and considered shifting to feed as a wolf despite the pain it would cause her and the baby.
The Ice mage turned and stared. Sighing, he said. "There is plenty of fish on the ground, take as many as you need."
"I-"
The mage brought a hand to stop her speech and shook his head. "You smell like you need to eat and so does your baby, please,"
"You don't have to do this," said Leah.
"No, I do not, but I choose to." The mage returned to his fishing.
Leah liked his deep voice, and the man was very tall and built like a line-backer.
She quietly sighed and agreed as her belly growled. The young mother moved away to gather wood and create a fire. Bartering worked, she could cook the fish and maybe share a few her spices, a meal and after she could continue her journey to meet the great Chieftainess of the Spirit Bear tribe.
-oo0oo-
Alice Cullen hated feeling broken-hearted. She had been traveling for what seemed like ages.
She sighed, every other decade, Jasper and she had a moment in which they took time off. On this occasion it was Jasper who asked for the time off. He added that he was having a tough time adjusting to Bella's vampire allure.
Alice was tired of not being able to read more on Jasper and herself in her visions.
Broken-hearted she decided to travel north. The wolves didn't make it any better, they were just unbearable. A crazy scuffle was going to take place, she didn't need a vision to hint that.
Bella had lost her appetite for mountain lion and started feasting on Forks naughty rest of the family followed.
Alice felt smothered, and needed a bigger playground, so she traveled north. She sighed again then she caught a scent. The fragrance was unusual, fire, ashes, honeysuckle and… milk? Not milk, orchids, what an odd combination.
Alice blinked and followed her nose. "Not milk, lactation," a curious smile marked her face.
"There's a wolf who's close to having babies, how sweet and yummy."
Alice knew that she would be breaking her oath on not killing mothers. But, at the moment, she was in a different country not to mention a different wavelength.
"I love playing follow my nose, haven't played this in a while." She said to herself.
She then came to the place where the ashes of the fallen vampires made small mounds.
"An execution? How very scandalous!" She laughed as she continued to follow the trail.
Alice kept in pursuit of the scent and every so often she stopped to make sure she was on the right track. She was close, she smiled as she realized there was a combination of two scents. One belonged to an elder, no, he was not a Vampire, but a magical. It seemed odd and the other scent was from a she wolf. Yes, she knew the particular smell, it belonged to Leah, Leah Clearwater.
Alice climbed the sturdiest tree and observed.
There was a hot spring, and the sulfur and flower beds seemed just like the perfect blend.
The elder was dressed as an Ice warrior, both he and Leah were breaking bread.
How mundane, thought Alice, she was never one to consider sharing a meal with a wolf and an elder.
A bit later the man got up and vacated the area. Leah was left alone.
It was then that Leah unpacked a tent and, after a while, she had set up her bed. The fire was still going as she undressed and with a small hiss lowered herself on to the hot spring below.
To Alice, there a set of mixed feelings seeing the beautiful she-wolf in her human guise, so vulnerable.
Tall and strong of limb, her copper skin now had flushed to a rosy tint from the heat of the water. Her long beautiful ebony hair had shifted with the weight of the water into an ebony veil crowning her head. Her face had turned into the face of nymph, by addition a goddess of the woods.
Her hips so full of life, and her generous breasts were slowly beading drops of milk.
At last Alice realized what the lactation was that she was smelling.
It was Leah Clearwater's milk.
It was then that she started panting, Leah was going to give birth, Alice smiled.
"No better time than the present."
"Actually, I disagree," said the Ice warrior. His staff swung, narrowly missing Alice.
"I was going to let you live, I just wanted the she wolf and the litter. But now you've got my attention Ice Man." She snarled.
-oo0oo-
Leah thought that giving birth would be easy, just push and the little larvae children came out, right? Well, no. First you get a stupid back pain. Next, if you try to walk, your feet swell even more than before when you were walking for days upon days.
Then you feel as though your body is about to shift into a wolf. But, no, it's not going to do a thing. Aside from shaking your bones and make it seem as you're spraining your inner tummy muscles.
Right, then the water breaks and you have to wait. Then a blob of blood is out. Next you find yourself on your knees praying for the Guiding Spirit to rip the little children out of your body by magic. The contractions get harder and harder and all you can do is pray that the children don't suffer. Then you feel how the head of the first tears your birth canal, but then again, you don't have time to think because as a wolf, you have multiple babies, so here comes baby two, three and four.
Leah, cleaned the babies as she waited for the placenta to emerge. After the babies were cleaned, her body shifted into wolf, without preamble. As a wolf it was easiest to dispose of the umbilical cords and placenta. After that, she rested and carefully gathered her cubs around her fur and they all fell asleep.
-oo0oo-
The Chieftainess of the village of the spirit bear, Mugs, was a werebear herself. She received interesting news in the early hours of the day. Her fellow tribesmen passed the scoop that
there was a fight taking place between an elder mage and a rogue vampire.
The tribesmen said that the elder was protecting a lone werewolf mother, as she was about to give birth to her first litter.
The were grizzly were concerned about the insane vampire, the were black bears were concerned about the business between an elder and a vampire being so close to the sacred spring. Mugs asked the question that was still pending in the air.
"What about the mother and children, are they well?"
Finding that there was no answer, all of them moved to check on the fight and the mother.
The sacred spring was close to the hidden village so it didn't take long to get there.
On arrival Mugs and her kinsmen saw the Vampire throw a punch which sent the Ice elder to the spring. The splash woke the still exhausted werewolf.
The were bears watched as the werewolf awoke from her slumber. Her snout rose in the air and her ears pricked up.
The young werewolf mother took a moment to study the damage to the Ice elder. The elder tried getting up and Alice smiled as she put her foot on his throat.
A low growl emerged from the werewolf. Alice turned around only to find a wolf jumping with an open jaw ready to rip her to shreds.
She blocked, but the wolf bit her. Once her mandible was set, Leah bit without mercy and shook Alice as though she was a rag doll, trying to separate her arm from her body.
The elder summoned his staff as the lone wolf woman used her claws to dig into the sparkly marbled vampire's skin.
Mugs reached out to the elder and stopped him from destroying the rogue vampire. She added. "No, not yet. Come your wounds need to be tended to." She directed him to an a tribal medicine woman. "Mother, please tend to the fallen warrior."
The elderly lady nodded. Mugs now got as close as the fight as she dared and said, "Let the vampire go, traveling wolf mother, your babies need you."
Leah had to fight her first instinct to growl, but she lowered her tail, then her snout and while still stifling a growl, she released Alice.
Alice, on the other hand, was lucky to still have her limbs attached. Mugs spoke while flanked by the were Grizzly and the were Black-bears.
"You can hunt for mountain lion, for elk, otter even, but you will not touch human, wolf or bear. Do it on the outskirts, this place is forbidden to you. All thanks to your greed. Now go."
Alice lowered her head in defeat, turned and started running, not daring to look behind.
She had an epiphany. Leah now had babies, and a new family. Alice would follow her example. She would create a new family. No Cullens, no Jasper, no more breaking her oath. She already had an idea of what would happen to her if she continued down her current path. All of a sudden a vision filled her. She was going to have all that and more… good. Not getting the milk wasn't bad, maybe this was exactly what she needed.
To Leah, it was a joy to see that her babies were awake. She got close and soon started feeding her little ones.
"Hello Leah, I'm the Chieftainess of the Village of the Spirit Bear, my name is Mugs," said the formidable white hair native. Leah perked her ears and Mugs continued. "Yes, we know who you are. Jacob Black is the grandson of my old boyfriend. So yes dear, I'm on Jacob's Facebook friend's list. I knew you were coming and I've see you met Ivan, our errant elder. I've got to say my dear, you have excellent taste. Ivan is quite the catch, but of course you're just here for the fish, right?" Mugs asked with a smile.
For the second day in a row, Leah tilted her head on the side, confused, and whined.
Mugs just added. "Feed your young, we'll talk after. Welcome to the Great Bear Rainforest dear."