Title: Glorious First of June(1)


Prologue

Breathe, breathe. In, out, in...move.

Keep moving.

It would all come to an end, eventually. There was only so much land to run on before she ran it out.


Chapter 1: You Can't Have Everything...Where Would You Put It?

The people of the Olympic Peninsula were enjoying a relatively pleasant day. There were clouds, always clouds but the temperature had risen above sixty-degrees and the humidity from the summer had eased. Fall had finally been accepted, though the students of the nearby schools would grumble and argue that point. The trees were inviting browns and oranges, their leaves still wet from an early morning shower.

A strange grouping of people gathered together for an afternoon. None of them looked alike, they couldn't be family. Some were tall and dark haired with copper skin, they were mixed with strange, pale beauties. But they all fit together, somehow. Most of the party was coupled, limbs wrapped around each other. They all offered each other sweet smiles freely, but certain looks were reserved for their lovers only.

Those single were all grouped together. Two males, all with rather uneven, butchered hair, as if they had done it themselves to just be done with the hassle. One was younger than the other, but not by much. They were both burly. They sat on either side of the one woman settled comfortably in the middle. The taller of the boys glanced at her every now and then, waiting for something. The younger was oblivious, happily munching on the chips in front of him.

The woman carried a stern look on her face, drooping her otherwise attractive face down. Dark eyebrows and a chiseled jaw made her position known: she was not to be trifled with and no one would be spared. Her body was hard and lean and she was by far the tallest and most commandeering of all the females.

She brought her foot to the bench and rested her chin on her knee. Rotating a chip between her fingers, she contemplated the forest, eyes searching it quickly – habit – before she popped the snack into her mouth, chewing slowly. One thing after another. Waking, eating, running, eating, sleeping, and repeat. Habits were the key.

Those not eating, nine in all, were focused on each other. The ones who did have an appetite were shoveling the barbecue in like it was the first they'd eaten in days. They all joked, conversed, and teased. It made her uninhibited side flinch, and she considered throwing a sarcastic remark to them, just to see how it would be accepted. But that would be a shame, she could admit to herself. She didn't want to ruin anything for the people she cared about. Especially not with the beautiful day surrounding them.

It wasn't so bad, really, she thought as she watched every one else around the long picnic table. Bearable was the right word. She wasn't going to internally combust from the strain of it; it just burned a little.

"Hey Leah, pass the Doritos."

"Hm." Leah agreed, tossing the bag easily to the boy on her left, her brother, Seth.

He caught them easily enough with his index finger and thumb, but his eyes narrowed and he tilted his head. She caught the look and raised her own eyebrows, as if asking, What?

His own answering shrug was nonchalant, only a concern. Just worried, it implied.

Leah sighed. If Seth was noticing, then everyone else certainly had. He was the most ignorant...No, that wasn't fair. He was her only ally, really, in the band of sickening couples around her.

Guilt, again...

One of the pale beauties turned his attention to her for just a moment.

She groaned internally. Stay out of my head, she warned, glaring daggers at him.

He simply looked back to Bella without so much as a raised eyebrow. Leah turned her eyes back down to the unfinished food on the plate in front of her. She half-heartedly moved the chips around with her index finger, but she felt an overwhelming loss of appetite. She was mooching the happiness from everyone, sucking it right out of the air around them.

Again, that pull. It twinged at the strangest of times, and today the guilt that it induced was making it more difficult than ever. Her jealousy, the simple word for the more complex feeling she was experiencing, was overactive today. Why couldn't it be like a light switch? Why was she wired this way?

"Lee, we're going for a run, wanna?" a deep male voice asked from her right, snapping her out of her brooding.

Leah looked around the man to her right, over at Quil, and a slow smile spread over her lips. "Ready to eat dirt again so soon?"

"I don't think he could eat much more, best take it easy on him." the boy said in his gentle tone patting Quil, his buddy, on the back.

Quil looked affronted and said, "Why, thanks, Em. You're a real encouragement."

Embry just smiled into the lid of his coke while he took a long, leisurely drink. Leah watched the liquid slide down his throat, seeing his adam apple pulse as it slid past. She turned her eyes away quickly before anyone could notice her attention had been kept.

"You coming Embry?" she asked him, friendly enough, though it seemed a bit forced.

"Uh...yeah, sure." He said nonchalantly.

Her eyes narrowed just a fraction but she shrugged and grinned at Quil. She slid from the bench, her knees bumping both men on either side of her. Because really, they were men. She could think of them as boys as long as she wanted, but things changed no matter what...

Leah didn't bother to apologize for kneeing either in the stomach and instead began to jog to the tree-line. Beneath her feet, soggy twigs groaned but refused to break. The leaves barely made a noise, almost disintegrating in their saturated form.

"Wait until I shift!"

She ran in human form until she was in the underbrush, throwing off her clothes, letting them fall where they would. Naked, she could feel the wet muck beneath her bare feet. It felt good, like home. Then, she felt the quick change, the sickening satisfaction of her bones and skin melding into something new. It took only a few seconds for her pack-mates, her brothers, to find her. They hadn't waited long before tearing after her. She could see their clothes already on the ground behind them.

She swayed back and forth, light on her feet as a wolf. She didn't wait long for them to become settled before she took off, always needing that first burst of speed, always needing to be first out of the gate. Leah moved so quickly her feet looked as though they weren't making contact with the ground.

We aren't racing! Quil's thoughts strained, as he tried to keep up with the wolf in front of him.

Leah's silent laugh ran through the group, the giddy anticipation that made it way up her spine quickly spread to them.

It's always a race with this one, thought Embry. She couldn't tell if he was being smart with her, or just trying to lighten the mood. Either way, the hair on the back of her neck bristled. Instead of snapping like her instincts begged her to, she simply scoffed.

You're all just a little too slow. And by a little, I mean lot.

With a rush of strength, Leah flew forward. She gasped as she landed and sped ahead, feeling the pounding paws behind her. Far behind. She was flying.


(1) Glorious First of June - Naval battle of June 1, 1795 between Britain and France. The British fleet defeated the French fleet, but French convoy got through. Both sides claimed victory.

A/N: *looks at the Brave Boy story guiltily* I know, I know! Ugh, I feel horrible. I have chapter completed but somehow my muse is kaput. Perhaps it will return. For now, here is a story I've had sitting in my computer for about a year. There will be more updates, I just don't know how long this will end up being.