A/N I'm still digging through the old stuff on my laptop, so some of these extra scenes and drabbles might be familiar to alot of you.

TIC Extra #1

Timeline: This extra scene is from TIC: B1, the end of chapter four, when Embry has to leave Sims at the beach so he can go with his Pack to Calgary.

Characters: Leah, Jake, Pack

Rating: T

Word Count: 3438

Warnings: Mild language, Jake being waaaaay too overconfident

"Flirt later, dipshit, we've gotta go!"

From Leah's left, Collin chuckled. The rangy young wolf was unsnapping his jeans, already shirtless and barefoot. They were far enough back in the tree line that no one would be able to see them, and most of the Pack had phased already. Embry had told Sims a little fib, because they weren't going to be driving to meet up with Jake at the 'job'. They would be running there as wolves. Not that Leah minded a road trip, but they had to make Calgary, Alberta before nine that night and it was well over six hundred miles as the crow flies…or the wolf runs. It was four now, which meant that they had just enough time to make the run and rest up before nine. They really didn't have the time to waste on Embry trying to get laid.

"It looks like Emb's back in the saddle, huh?" Brady joked as he waited before stripping completely. Leah rolled her eyes at the statement, tugging irritably at her sports bra strap.

"Please, like moron over there has a chance with that girl. She just doesn't know anybody around here. I hope she's got better sense than to get hung up on him," Leah added, belated realizing that her tugging had drawn Brady's attention. She bared her teeth at him and the younger wolf ducked his head apologetically, a smile on his handsome face.

"Sorry," he murmured, although he didn't sound like he meant it and his smile only grew when she growled lightly. "You smell good today," he shrugged, as if that explained it.

"Leah smells good every day," Collin threw a flirtatious grin at Leah from over Brady's shoulder, not bothering to wait for the remaining wolves to gather before stripping off his shorts.

Of them all, Collin had the least problem with casual nudity. Mix that in with an unhealthy interest in what wolf sex might be like, and the result was that there were very few days that went by where he didn't at least try to flirt with her. Leah sighed in irritation. Normally she would have either laughed at him or chewed on him in retaliation, but they needed to maintain their strength, and Leah was seasoned enough to know when mindless tussling was detrimental. She cast a look over at the sandy wolf to her right. Seth had that slightly glazed expression he sometimes had when deep in private discussion with Jake, but her annoyance was picked up by Sam, the last of them still un-phased. He didn't say anything, but the look he leveled both Collin and Brady made them hunker their shoulders. Collin finished undressing quickly and both wolves phased quickly.

Sam stood silently as they heard Embry running back, but by the crease across his brow Leah could tell something was bothering him.

"What?" Leah raised an eyebrow. Even after all these years, she could still read Sam like a book. A handsome, broody, ex-boyfriend book.

"They're right, Leah. You smell better than normal," Sam grunted as if it was a bad thing. "It's going to be dangerous for you tonight."

Leah smirked at that. "What's the matter, Sam?" she teased lightly. "You're not starting to get second thoughts, are you? You've already missed this train, buddy."

Sam rolled his eyes at her, a near perfect mimic of her own a few minutes ago, but her comment hadn't upset him the way it would have three years earlier. "You're not going into heat again, are you Leah?" he asked point blank, and Leah laughed.

"Because I have it timed, Sam, just like that," she said sarcastically. "I only have twice ever, so it's not like I can predict it. You would know better than I would."

It was true. The first time she had gone into heat, the wolf equivalent of getting her cycle, no one had seen it coming. They had thought that the lack of aging had stuck her in a state similar to menopause. All Leah had known that day was that she had been even angrier than normal, even more frustrated than normal, and that her skin had felt as if it was stretched too thin over her muscles. She had thought she was going to burst with built up aggravation. Leah had decided to take her mood out on Paul, who could always be counted on for a good rumble even if he had calmed down significantly from how he used to be. The last thing she had expected was to slice a deep gash down Paul's side from shoulder to hip when she attacked him, never thinking for a second that the male wolf would have chosen to not protect himself or fight back.

Even Paul had seemed confused as he had poured blood, but instead of screaming at her in her head, he had muttered an apology and sank to his belly. Leah had been even more shocked when Quil had showed up on the scene and Paul had attacked him, driving him off with snarling teeth despite the injury. The more of the Pack that had showed up, the worse the fighting had gotten between the male wolves, with only Seth unaffected by the insanity. He had been baffled, but he had sniffed Leah, asking her what had changed and what was wrong.

It wasn't until Jake had gotten there that the fighting had calmed down, basically because the Alpha had leaped over top of the confused and frightened she-wolf, his massive body nearly hiding her from view as he ordered them all to leave and phase back. They had never felt the Alpha command that strongly before and the Pack had slipped away, leaving just Leah and Jake alone.

Now that she knew better, Leah was thankful that the man inside the Alpha was a good one, because that day could have been a bad one for her. Instead of taking advantage of the situation, Jake had forced away any desire her changed scent had roused in him. It was a sign of his willpower, because that desire had been significant. The Alpha had stayed by Leah's side, and had spent nearly three days straight guarding her from herself and her own Pack mates, who singularly seemed to be able to handle being around her but whom could not handle it as a group. In those three days the Alpha had laid down the law of the land, making them learn control, and he hadn't gentle about it. By the time he was done, they could barely look at her.

Jake had been very clear about it: just because Leah was no longer a pup (the reason he had decided she hadn't come into heat earlier) meant nothing. It was Leah's choice which lovers she would or would not take, and she had the weight of her Alpha behind her in that. Jake had promised to rip the throat out of any of his Pack that took advantage of the situation, without exception. That had been a good thing, especially considering that by the second day Leah had been practically clawing down the walls trying to get laid. Since then Jake had let her have her fun, but even two years later all Leah had to do was a level a look that said she was over the attention and they would instantly back down.

That wasn't always the case with other male wolves.

"I'm not going to go into heat, at least not tonight," Leah reassured Sam, even though that wasn't necessarily true. She was just trying to make him feel better, and he knew it by his deepened frown. Embry had trotted up and was stripped down by now, his head cocked to the side as he caught the tail end of their conversation. He inhaled deeply, and then shook his head.

"She'll be fine, Sam," Embry said confidently. He winked at Leah, grinning. "She just smells good cause she's excited. You're itching for a fight, aren't you, Lee-Lee? Or maybe you're just itching to be around Jake again?"

"Shuddup, jerkwad," Leah retorted, embarrassed that he managed to pull a slight blush from her. "Go be too much of a pussy to kiss your girlfriend."

Embry laughed, but then he turned to Sam, distracted by the mention of Sims. Leah chose to ignore their conversation, knowing Embry was a fool if he thought Sam would let anything happen to her while Embry was gone. Leah pulled her bra off, feeling at least one pair of eyes linger briefly on her before turning away. She smiled and took a little longer than necessary to slide her shorts down her hips and strap her clothing to her leg. She did feel good. Her Alpha needed them with him. He needed her.

It was about damn time.

Her paws were digging into the dirt.

As he stood in the middle of the woods, on a boulder overlooking a deeply cut riverbed below, Jacob Black couldn't have said how he knew this. He didn't know how he felt the earth give between her toes as she ran towards him, but he did. This was the closest he had been to his Pack in too long, and their lack of physical presence had hurt him in more ways than one. Wolves weren't solitary creatures, they needed the Pack around them to be truly comfortable, and for an Alpha it was doubly so. An Alpha needed his wolves by his side, needed them so he could protect them, and needed them so he could guide them. He needed their worries and their fears and their petty squabbles. He needed the weight of their lives to burden his shoulders, because without them to center him, he was too vast, too wild, and too strong.

That was mostly Leah's fault.

Jake didn't know why his strength was tied so much into her. The first female wolf the tribe had heard of, but not the first one in truth. They were a rarity, and even after months of travel, Jake had only caught the faintest scent of a single other female. They were guarded safely away, a precious commodity that could not be lost. Jake didn't understand why, but he did know that the day Leah had slipped out of puppyhood was the day the wolf inside him had done the same. They were adolescents now, only beginning to experience the reality of being wolves and not yet able to comprehend the whys. All he knew was that his Pack made him strong, and Leah made him stronger, and together they were a match for even the most dangerous of Packs.

That was why he had called them. Alone he was confident in his chances against the Calgary Alpha, but Calgary's Pack was large and made up of older wolves. Jake wanted ones he could trust at his back.

Calgary was itching for a fight, which worried Jake. Not for himself, but for his Pack. This was the worst probable fight he had led them into so far and there wasn't even a vampire in sight. Jake wasn't interested in simply fighting for dominance, because Jake didn't want Calgary's Pack. All wolves were by nature tough, but these men were also mean, and their Alpha smart as hell. Jake was looking for alliances, not hostile takeovers, but a show of power was sometimes necessary to get someone's attention. Jake wanted to bring the scattered Packs together, bring his people together, not tear them all further apart.

They were running silent, the way he had taught them when in unknown territory, so there were no howls to warn him of their approach. Instead he felt it in his very bones. Jake lifted his face, letting the soft white moonlight slide over his flesh as he called them to him. No words were necessary. He wanted them, and he let that want roll through the Packmind.

They were coming.

She was coming faster.

Jake broke the silence with his quiet laughter, unable to stop the pleasure that curled through his belly at her smugness. His Beta's mind touched his briefly, something only the two of them could do when one or both were in human form and only with effort. Seth was ready, and he was strong tonight too. It will be a good fight, Alpha.

They would only fight if they had too, Jake decided, seeing through Seth's eyes the flash of grey and silver that were Embry and Paul. Courage and skill in equal amounts, Jake's teeth and claws, separated from his body. Brady and Collin running half a length behind: Jake's muscle, his endurance and power. Leah: his speed and his fire, his passionate fury. Seth: his honor and his hope, his trust. So much lay on his Beta's shoulders, too much, but Seth never complained. He loved them all so damn much.

Jake felt their pride at his assessment and then Seth slid away. He waited patiently, his powerful human body held poised. The jeans strapped to his thigh were the only thing that said he belonged anywhere else than the wooded world his brethren passed through. They were coming at a dead run, and he needed be ready. He could feel the beat of her paws as they dug into the earth, her scent heavy and good in his nostrils. His Pack, almost on top of him. His wolves. His power…

Fuck, he loved this shit.

The she-wolf was like a grey bullet streaking past him over the edge, her nose even with his thigh when Jacob flung himself forward off the boulder. It was only a twenty foot drop and Leah was the fastest of them all, able to run at nearly two hundred and twenty miles an hour when hard pressed. Brady had once worked that out to be over three hundred feet a second, which meant that she hit that riverbed in the blink of an eye. Jacob beat her there, his heavy russet paws slamming into the ground first.

Son of a bitch, Leah thought she had him this time, and the russet wolf bumped her shoulder in amusement. Trees and rocks blurred as the pair ran in tandem, silent ghosts streaking along the forest floor.

That was so cool, Embry wanted to be able to phase that fast. And he and Seth could barely keep up, even though they were digging in.

At least they could run that fast, Collin was grumbling, because they were blazing him and Brady out. Paul reluctantly agreed and Jake slowed, keeping Leah's pace with his because he wanted her there. Neck and neck, nose and nose, the two wolves were immediately flanked by the rest of the Pack. It was good to run with them, better to run with so many of them. Three were missing and Jake instinctively reached out across the distance, finding Jared and Sam and Quil. He stretched the Pack bond like it was a rubber band and snagged them inside the circle so that the Pack was one. They had stayed phased tonight and had waited in case Jake did just that. The three's thoughts slid through the Pack mind as if they were at the Pack's side. Quil was desperately worried about Claire, Sam wished he and Emily would stop arguing so much, and Jared hoped tonight would be taco night.

Thoughts continued to flow. Paul was on edge, not liking that both Jared and Sam weren't there. He was too used to having them get his back in a fight. Embry wanted Sims, wanted to be able to put her against something softer than a truck door, wanted to bury himself inside her and make her make those noises again, only louder. Collin wanted Embry to stop thinking about sex because he was already hard up for any action and that sucked enough without being reminded of it. Jared thought that sex was the only thing better than taco night, and Brady agreed because tacos were the shit, but sex was, well…sex. Who didn't like sex? Even Leah liked sex, and Leah never liked anything. Both Sam and Embry became quite smug at that and Leah laughed. What did they know? Sex was a whole lot better now that she'd slipped out of puppyhood, and both Sam and Embry were before that change.

Ouch.

Quil didn't know how anyone could be thinking about sex when somewhere out there a leech wanted to eat Claire, and Jared wanted to eat a taco really freaking badly. Embry didn't know enough about Sims to know if she liked tacos, but he wanted to take her out to dinner again. Was it weird that he felt this overwhelming compulsion to feed her?

Yes, it was unanimous from all sides. Collin agreed with Quil about Claire. And Jared about tacos. Brady had only seen Sims eat peanut butter sandwiches and apples and pizza, but any girl who traded school work for food wouldn't turn down dinner. Shit, Sam was going to be late for dinner. Paul wondered if he would have to live off of frozen dinners for the rest of his life, but he hated cooking and hated asking anyone to cook for him. The city of Calgary burned in Seth's sensitive nose, the best nose of them all. The scent of diesel fuel and exhaust overpowered the coalescing human and garbage smells, meaning they were approaching from the industrial side. Brady hated the cities, too many smells, it always made him nauseous.

Seth wanted everyone to focus, Jake was going to take a stronger control of the Pack. They did. Jake tightened down the rubber band, shifting the Pack eastwards as his mind slid over what he knew about the Calgary Pack. Jake had learned to override the thoughts of the other wolves, not silence them but dim them down beneath his own. Collin might still be thinking about food and Quil about Claire, but their thoughts were like white noise, nothing more than a buzz in the background behind Jake's thoughts. As one their minds focused on what Jake had to say.

Calgary's Alpha was an old wolf, not as old as Jack, but still old. Everything and everyone's scent changed as they aged. Unlike the heavy bitter scent of weakness and frailty that age brought to animals and humans, an older wolf carried with it a far more delicate scent. Power. The smell might be sweet and faint like a far off flower, but the weight of it would slam against them from every side. Without him with them, their Alpha would have only felt safe sending Seth to speak to Calgary, and he would never have chanced his Beta that way. The Calgary Alpha would have put the rest of the Pack on their knees the first time they met his eyes, and Calgary would have had no problems holding them there on strength alone as he tore their throats out.

The hell he would have, the she-wolf snorted derisively. Again amusement curled through Jake's belly. Everyone but Leah, he amended his thoughts.

The point was Calgary was strong. But Jake was strong, too, and he wanted allies. There was a chance Calgary would negotiate, and if so, tonight could be interesting.

Seth's thoughts were soft but certain. They would negotiate, they would have no reason not to.

Not necessarily. The Alpha thought that Calgary asking for this meeting could be a trick to get all of them together to take them all out at once, but Calgary had asked for a show of Pack power and Jake had agreed. Jake thought Calgary had something up his sleeve, something dangerous that they wouldn't see coming, but so did Jake.

Were they being foolish? Brady wondered, not with cowardice. Should they not go?

Jake barked out a laugh, his long strides slowing the wolves as they reached the outskirt of town. No, Jake was quite sure of himself and his Pack. Calgary might have age and, but Jake had something better. Jake had something the other Alpha couldn't and wouldn't have, and that made him extremely confident. The Alpha turned sideways and rested his muzzle on top of the she-wolf's back, his tongue lolling out as he grinned at his dubious Pack. Six hundred miles away Sam started cursing at his Alpha, even though Jared was laughing his ass off. The she-wolf merely smirked.

Jake had Leah. With her at his side, there was no way this could go wrong.