Hey Readers! The following story is set during Breaking Dawn. Obviously all the characters are copyrighted by Stephenie Meyer.
Leah
In my mind, mirrors weren't created so that you could just see your reflection.
No, in my mind they were instruments of torture.
Mirrors never lied. It was almost as though they magnified every single flaw on your entire body, so that you could stand there for hours scrutinising yourself and wishing that you were that beautiful girl, the "it" girl –the blonde, slightly tanned, blue eyed beauty with a big bust.
As I stood in the mirror today I seemed to look especially unattractive. I had just phased back into human form from last night and I had heavy, dark circles under my eyes.
My short, black hair was disgusting and oily. My nose wasn't the right shape to match my lips. My eyes slanted slightly upwards and were a dull shade of brown.
My eyes wandered down past my neck and my chest, which looked like more of a man's chest. In fact my whole body looked like a man's body – too big and bulky, not to mention my unusual height. And when was the last time I had actually shaved my legs?
Yuck. I was a mess.
How was I supposed to imprint on a guy without scaring him away with my appearance first? Was I ever going to imprint? Since when did girl werewolves imprint? More importantly, since when were girl werewolves meant to exist?
I sighed. Those were the questions I asked myself everyday. And I knew the answer to all three – I was a freak. Yes, I was a freak of nature.
Not only was I girl and a werewolf, I was also menopausal. Yes, menopausal in my twenties. And until I stopped phasing I would continue to be a genetic dud.
I decided that I'd had enough scrutinising for today. I walked towards my chest of drawers in my bedroom.
From one of the drawers I yanked out a summer dress, which was the easiest thing to change into after phasing and slipped it on. I quickly brushed my hair, well what was left of it and looked in the mirror again.
I didn't look as hideous as I did before but there was no way that I looked at all pretty. I looked plain. I shuddered at the word.
I crept past my mother, Sue's room without waking her and walked towards the back door of our small house.
Once I had made it outside I could finally relax. It was risky of me to visit my house at the moment, considering the current situation.
My mother probably isn't too pleased with me at the moment for ditching Sam's pack and running away to Jacob's pack.
But it's not like that had been my own choice. I couldn't let my little brother run off to Jacob by himself. I feel like I have a responsibility to take care of Seth, being his big sister and all.
Well, the truth is I did mostly agree with Jacob on the whole half-breed newborn issue. It seemed quite irrational to kill Bella since she was the one we were meant to be protecting from those bloodsucking leeches, who unfortunately my brother has befriended recently.
But seriously, it is quite disturbing to think how that half-sucker was conceived. It must be hard for Jake to think about that leech inside Bella. I shivered at the thought. Honestly, that was just sick. What kind of vampire took pleasure in doing that with a human?
Once I had run into the forest that surrounded La Push I took off my dress behind some trees and tied it to my ankle with some string, as Jacob did with his clothes.
Then, I let the heat from the centre of my body take over me. The next thing I knew I was a giant, grey wolf.
I sprinted towards the forest near the bloodsuckers' house, where I would find Jacob.
Immediately his thoughts filled my mind. Hey, Where have you been? Seth and I have been waiting for ages. Oh great, he was pissed off.
Yeah, yeah. Keep your fur on. I replied. I kind of needed a girl moment…
Umm, okay I don't exactly need to know about all your girl stuff, Leah. I sighed in my head. He was exactly like the boys in the other pack. They all ran away screaming when I mentioned or thought about anything feminine whatsoever. The point is we were going to run the border again today, just to check whether Sam's pack are edging any closer towards the Cullens'. And Leah I'm sure you wouldn't be too pleased if Seth and I started talking about when guys…
Fine! Fine! I retorted. I'll keep it to myself. So where are we headed today?
Well, Jacob thought in his Alpha voice. Seth will check the southern area around the border and you and I will head north. We'll meet back here in about an hour and a half.
Sounds good. Seth thought. I knew Seth enjoyed accomplishing things on his own with out being taken care of by his over protective sister. But sometimes I couldn't help myself.
Seth and Jacob and I all ran off in our different directions. It was quiet at first. Jacob and I were both concentrating on our mission.
Hey, are you okay? Jacob asked out of the blue.
Yeah, you know. Same as usual. I replied.
Oh, you just seem a little… depressed or something. Which is kind of weird for you.
Yeah, because you are always the only one with problems around here, right?
That's rich coming from the most selfish person I've ever met.
I scoffed in my head and retorted, Well, at least I'm actually attempting to get over Sam. You just can't seem to get enough of that leech lover.
Her name is Bella.
Yeah, whatever. But seriously Jake, you know she will never feel the way you feel about her. Build a bridge and get over it.
Wow, for once I thought you were going to be nice.
I laughed silently and said, Ha. Where did you get that idea from?
God knows. I really am an idiot, aren't I?
I never said you weren't.
Haha. Very funny.
There was silence for the rest of the way. Finally we made it back to the forest near the Cullens' house.
That took less time than I imagine, Jacob thought. I'm just going to go and phase. I'll be right back.
Oh come on Jake, I protested. I've seen you naked before. You don't have to be so secretive about it.
Uh, okay then. He sounded quite unsure, but as if I cared? It's not like I feel anything for him.
I tried looking away but curiosity ruled me for a moment.
Now that I thought about it, Jacob didn't look half bad. Quite a nice chest, well defined too. My eyes accidentally wandered further down than I should have. Oops, he caught me.
"Leah! Would you mind?" Jacob shouted at me while yanking on his jeans.
I whimpered and hung my head in mock shame. All of a sudden the heat in my body contained itself and next thing I knew I had changed too.
I suddenly remembered my nakedness and reached down to grab my dress from my ankle. I also realised that Jacob wasn't exactly containing his eyes from wandering.
"Now who's ogling?" I accused as I slipped my dress on.
"I wasn't ogling," he replied defensively.
"Whatever," I said. "Not that I have anything to ogle at anyway."
"Leah," Jacob moaned. "Don't be so hard on yourself."
"But it's true," I protested. "I'm ugly."
"No you're not!" he suddenly retorted sounding shocked at what I had said. He cleared his throat and said more quietly, "You're… not bad."
"Gee, thanks," I said sarcastically.
"You know that's not what I mean," he said annoyed. "You are sort of… beautiful, I guess. In a way." He was blushing now.
"Oh, er thanks?" I said but it sounded like more of a question.
"Don't mention it," he said looking away.
"But it's not true," I added.
"Okay, now you're fishing for compliments," he said as he started walking towards the opening outside the house.
"No," I replied. "Why would you say things just to make me feel better anyway?"
"I don't know," he grumbled. "Maybe because I sort of like you, Leah. You're not as annoying as I thought you were."
"Is that a compliment?" I asked with a smile appearing on my face.
"It depends whether you want to take it as one," Jacob replied mirroring my smile.
"I might as well take as many as I can get," I said with a sigh. Insulting each other was the way Jacob and I bonded. Of course we both knew we meant everything we said half-jokingly.
But for some reason I was letting his half-hearted comments get to me.
Next thing I knew I had tears welling up in my eyes. One accidentally escaped and Jacob spotted it.
"Oh, Leah don't cry," Jacob's voice soft and gentle now. He stopped walking and turned to face me. "You know I was only joking." Then he said in a composed voice, "But seriously, I really do like you Leah."
Unexpectedly, he stroked my cheek with his big, warm hand once, wiping away the tear.
He stared at me with much intensity. I didn't realise before how close his face was to mine. He leaned in a little further, covering the distance between us…
Suddenly a piercing screamed sounded from the Cullens' home.