Stupid imprints. Stupid boys. As if it's not enough that I can read their thoughts on football, fights and cars. With all these imprints in the pack, living a normal and preferably happy life is getting very nearly impossible. Of course, I was happy I could avoid Sam now that Jacob was my Alpha. Hearing his accidental thoughts of Emily was unbearable. I knew he was trying to hide his thoughts. But knowing that he only did that out of pity for me (pity!) made me murderous. However, he was not my leader anymore, and that meant I was also protected from his love, his love for someone else than me.
My new "family" consisted of Jake, Quill and Embry. Seth, my real family, was pretty much forced to join Sam's pack again. He was just too young to stay with us, unprotected by the reservation. Sam was a good and responsible leader who could keep Seth in line and protect him when needed, I'd give him that. Anyway, that left me with three boys, hardly mature but due to genetics looking like they were in their late twenties. Obviously, every one of them had plenty of attention from girls. It wasn't like the girls got lucky though. Both Quill and Jacob were obsessing over their infant imprints. Literally infant. Claire, Quills imprint, was just three years old. Renesmee (though Jake preferred to call her Nessie), Jacob's soul mate, was a few months old, but due to circumstances (in short she was a freak, a human-vampire hybrid) she both looked and behaved like she was a five year old. Embry was the only one that was still sane. He still hadn't found his other half and therefore spent his time flirting around with giggly girls.
Me? I was pretty much a mystery, as much a freak as Nessie. The first female werewolf in our history, the one that no one would imprint on. And the one that was no longer fertile, already menopausal. I could probably enjoy myself with some human boys, I used to be pretty and even though I conveniently cut my hair and wore sportive clothes, I still caught guys looking at me wherever I went. It didn't matter. I was still longing for Sam. I briefly wondered whether the hurt would ever stop. Thank god I was in my human shape. I didn't want any of my brothers to know about my aching, about my weakness.
As for now, I was indulging Jacob's wish to see Nessie, keeping him company on his way to her and her parents, damn blood suckers. Stupid imprints. She was all he could think of, it was exhausting. "Leah, you really don't have to do this, you know?" Jacob's voice got in my head. Not literally, luckily. In our human forms, we could just talk instead of read the other's mind. I must have gotten carried away and I had no idea for how long Jacob was talking to me. Regardless, I knew instantly what he was talking about. "Drop it, Jacob," I snorted. "Allies or not, I'm still not feeling comfortable leaving my Alpha face blood suckers at their place. Especially not when there are still unfamiliar blood suckers around. I don't trust them."
After our encounter with the Volturi, most of the so-called witnesses left back to where they came from. I couldn't be happier about it; every blood sucker near Forks was one too much. But two of the leeches decided to stay a bit longer. Well, one and a half more like it. A woman and a young guy. I believed she introduced herself as Hooliyan and he as Nawheel. It could also have been something different; I didn't really care about their names. Their story was sort of interesting though. He was a hybrid like Nessie, she was his biological aunt and a full vampire. Both of them traveled all the way from South America to help us. I only saw them from a distance in the field, but I had to be grateful to them for saving our lives. Nawheel was the one to provide certainty about Nessie's future by telling about his own. It was a certainty that could not be doubted and that gave the Volturi their escape option on the fight. Jacob explained later, that it was Bella, Nessie's mother, who they were really terrified of. The girl had mastered impressive shielding skills, protecting us from any mental attacks. Knowing that I also owed my life to her bugged me.
Anyway, it had been almost two days since the confrontation. Though Jake intended on going back to Nessie the day after the fight, he could not avoid the responsibilities of being one of the Alphas. Due to the Volturi's visit, a lot of kids gained their werewolf powers lately, and it was Jake's duty to comfort them after the horror of the vampire judges. Of course, Sam was on it too, which automatically meant I would spend my time somewhere else. Jake's father and sister also wanted to see him around a bit more and he had to refrain from going to the Cullens for one day. I spent the day in my wolf form, running around. I convinced Jacob I was still being paranoid and wanted to look out for potential blood suckers. But in reality I just really wanted to avoid the whole Sam and Emily wedding preparation thing that was going on lately. Plus, to be honest I sort of got used to my wolf shape, I even enjoyed the feeling of mud and gravel under my claws. Still, I was glad when Jacob finally got back. Even though this meant I would have to accompany him to Nessie and the other blood suckers.
When we advanced our destination, the large, old fashioned house where Nessie and her family lived, I asked Jake to wait for me. In several seconds I got behind a tree and let my shape shift. When I faced Jake again, I could see my reflection in his eyes: a big, grey skinny wolf with a slightly messy fur fit perfectly with the surrounding green of the forest. "This really wasn't necessary you know", Jacob sighed. I smirked, flashing my canines. Then I deliberately walked over to a large pine tree in front of the Cullens' house and lied down, putting my head on my front paws. Jake sighed once again and headed for the door.