Disclaimer: I don't own anything, they're not my characters I just play with them.

A/N: This is an Alternate Universe fan fic and is the Sequel to my previous story 'The Unexpected'. Although you might be able to keep up if your newly joining the story.

Chapter 1

In the late hours of a September evening, the sun had set and the air was crisp out at La Push beach. The breeze had begun to pick up and even the warmth that spread from the bonfire couldn't stop the chills that raced down my back. While I waited for the elders to gather around the fire, each taking their rightful place in the tribe, I sat in complete silence waiting for my impending judgment.

They all came and settled on the make shift benched of driftwood logs Sam and his pack members had placed by the fire encompassing the fire within it, creating a perfect circle for all to see and for all to be seen.

This was as tradition stated and was how it had been done for centuries, and how it would be done for centuries to come.

Within the group a divide had begun to form. The one between Sam's pack, and the small pack that Jacob, Seth and I shared. The side they took in this debate was clear. While Jake, Seth and I sat furthest away from the elders with our back to the water's edge, Sam and his growing pack huddled up to the council members, like their lap dogs ready to follow any decision they made, leaving a gap between them and us.

Tradition dictated that the tribe's wolf pack is to follow the ruling of the council members, whether they agreed with them or not. The council had the same hold over the pack as the Alpha command, forcing them to yield and tying them down to do the councils bidding. It was something I never questioned before – it seemed strange now – that although we were strong protectors of the tribe we were still under the control of the frail elders. Elders that clung to traditions and fought hard to uphold them and would never change.

These traditions were now being questioned. Uncertainty had come down on the tribe and this emergency meeting was to decide what would become of it. My future hung in the balance.

The sky darkened as clouds that loomed over us moved through the night sky forming a blanket that blocked out the light of the moon. The ocean behind us crept closer and closer as it brushed up against the shore. I sat in solitude opposite the elders awaiting my trial, as all hell broke loose around me. There were elders stood shouting over the crackling fire, their words entangled in the flames. "This cannot go on. Legends have taught us never to trust the cold ones." One of the council members spoke outrage scrawled across his face. There were pack members with ripples of anger running through their bodies as they tried hard not to phase during the council meeting.

Old Quil rose from his place in the circle and stood his ground, his weather-worn hands gripped tightly around the necklace that held the ashes of the red eyed cold one from Quileute tales, "Their teachings are clear, their warnings must be heeded, the cold ones cannot mix with the blood of the spirit warriors. This cannot go on".

Jacob and Seth sat by either side of me in an attempt to shield me from the words of the elders. However being held securely between the two people I trusted the most - my alpha and my brother – did nothing for the worry and anxiety that plagued me. Every day that I spent away from him threatened to end me threatened to tearmeapart inside. It was now nearing the end of September, and ever since September the 10th when I first saw him, my life had never been the same. Sleep evades me, hunger doesn't seem to register and my mind is in a constant haze every minute I try to spend away from him. In an instant my whole world shifted its alignment and found its center, but now I felt lost.

Voices of the elders raged on,

"Two moons have passed and the longer they are together the greater the damage, we must take action now and separate them now while it's still. Break the bond that risks bringing destruction to our tribe".

I could see where the decision was going and the iron cord that pulled me to him yanked harder in my chest. No one was fighting for me, no one was fighting for us, and my future seemed to be falling apart in front of me. The lump in my throat chocked the words that wanted to come out. I wanted to fight my corner but I was left without for I had no right to speak at a council meeting I was no council member, I was no elder; my words would not be heeded, my opinion falling on deaf ears.

I willed for someone to save me.

Silence fell over the bonfire extinguishing all sounds as the flames burned on, the last time it was this quiet was when I broke away from the pack, the one point since I became a wolf that I had truly felt alone. Seth heard my breath catch and his fingers squeezed a little tighter around mine.

"The sacred bond of imprinting is law, it is our most absolute law, and can never be broken. How can we justify keeping them apart, knowing full well that that the distance between them will kill her".

I turned and saw my mother standing up, head held high. My savior was my mother.

Since the death of my father, she was given the right to take his place on the council and now she stood taking my side and fighting for me. Her compassion and love filled the air, and reached my soul. I hoped my eyes would radiate the gratitude I felt for her as she stood up amongst the men of the tribe. The women in the Clearwater bloodline were always brave and my mother was a prime example. Seth held my hand and reassured me with a slight smile -for a slight moment I almost believed he was right.

Around the fire the imprinted pairs edged that little bit closer to each other; I dared to look at their faces just long enough to see their pain. Paul was gazing into Rachel's eyes, with a look that said 'I would follow you to the ends of the earth'. Quil had Claire on his lap and he wrapped his arms protectively around her as Sam and Emily's fingers were interlocked together.

They all understood the pain I was in. The turmoil caused just by the thought of being separated from their imprints. They were the lucky ones who were able to hold their loved ones close.

"We cannot start to question the imprinting imperative now" Billy Black in his place by the elders rose his voice and spoke up, he didn't sound like the usual Billy who would rant about the match last Tuesday, or how amazing my late father's fish bake used to taste. Instead his voice rang of the Ephraim Black bloodline; he spoke as a chief,

"The imperative has brought us this far." He waved a hand over the crowded bonfire and all those that sat around it. Billy's gaze stopped at Sam who protectively had his arm around Emily while her hand rested on her tummy. A shot of realization dawned on us all.

"We have never been a pack this strong. The imperative has blessed us with spirit warriors that protect our tribe and kept the bloodline of the great Taha Aki alive. Who are we to question if it is right or wrong?" Billy looked at me and tilted his head ever so slightly "The bond has been made". His words were final but whispering grew amongst the other council members.

The whispers that filled the air with words that were indiscernible even with my enhanced hearing. A cold breeze blew down my spine as it swirled in the air causing me to involuntarily shiver not from the cold but out of fear. The pain in my chest threatened to tear me open, the fear that the pleas for my sanity would not be enough pushed me to the edge of my seat and I found myself clamoring to get up. Before I knew it warm hands dragged me down breaking my line of thought before I could speak.

"Leah don't be stupid, you can't speak, not now" Jacob whispered to me, he was the only voice of reason that could stop me from making a grave mistake. His hand clamped onto my wrist keeping me grounded, while Seth stroked my arm trying to calm my frayed nerves. Emotions swirled in my body and I wondered if the person that tugged on the other end of the steel cord was feeling this too and wandered if he could feel the impending doom that seem to be creeping towards us threatening to tear us apart.

"The tribe has spoken and a decision has been made". Old Quil took the place of spokesperson for the council, he stood tall his voice boomed. The light that bounced off the bonfire and flickered on his face showed that his face was hard with no emotion. His voice echoed with a boom. His head held high he uttered the worlds,

"Leah Clearwater is forbidden to make contact with her imprint"

Everything came crashing down on me knocking the air out of my lings. The decision passed here tonight was final. Breaking the law was punishable by death or exile. In that current moment both punishments equated to the same thing. Exile from the pack, exile from your home, exile from your land was a punishment that rivaled death. I struggled to breathe.

Uproar broke loose around the fire. The imprinted couples were outraged each of them fighting my case, even Sam seemed to be part of the cause, his alpha voice booming. They each understood the pain this decision would lead to. I felt cold and noticed that Jake and Seth were no longer sitting by my side, they were now standing tall his outrage at the elders. I was the only person still glued to the driftwood frozen in place.

"Silence!"

Old Quil roared as his hand still gripped the pendant around his neck. "The decision is final. We have faced this before and we will not endanger the safety of our tribe for the sanity of one."

Faced this before? This made no sense, never have I heard of such stories, such tales that would lead to me being stripped away from my imprint - from my reason of being.

The clear shock and confusion lead to quiet falling upon La Push beach and all those who were stood around the bonfire began to take their seats again. Old Quil was the last to sit down on the driftwood log and he them began to tell the tale filled with warning and woe. He sounded like a true elder as he spoke.

"In a time where our lands spanned as far as the eye could see; where the people lived together in peace, living off the land and working as a community to raise our young in the ways taught by our ancestors. Trouble came and found us. We were not to know that the two travelling nomads would bring a danger we had never seen before."

An eerie wind blew across La Push and the fire danced sending crackling sparks to fly. The people around the fire were silent as the story came alive before their eyes. From the look on all the faces around the fire it was clear that I wasn't the only one who hadn't heard this story.

"They were passing through our lands in late spring, when the flowers had blossomed and summer was filling the air. The two nomads were on a journey to a settlement deep in the south that had offered them sanctuary. They wore the marks of a tribe deep in the mountains, and asked for shelter on their travels until they could move on. It was a mother and what we believed to be her child, their skin was just a shade lighter than ours with a slight shimmer that mesmerized all that saw them. They both had hair like the black of a raven's wing that cascaded down their backs. The tribe gave them shelter, gave them food and accepted them into the community. But our trust was misplaced."

All that sat around the fire were enthralled by the words uttered by old Quil,

"For these wanderers were not as they seemed, the daughter had skin that blushed the same as ours, her skin burned as hot as ours, but she was different. She had the thirst of demons."

Quil's grip on Claire tightened and I noticed from the corner of my eye that Sam rubbed Emily's back comforting her, almost reassuring her.

"The Nomads tried to keep to themselves, but the children of the tribe gravitated to the Nomad girl whose eyes were a mesmerizing gold unlike her mothers, which were a charcoal black. One day the Chief's wife chose to look over the children as they all played at the reservation, here on the beach. She was herself barren of children of her own, so she watched over them as they played by the rocks and laughed together, the young girl played with them too as any normal child would, but she wasn't normal, the demon thirst within her thirst took over."

A gasp broke my attention from story and I noticed it came from little Claire who was now burying her face in Quil's shoulder, she shuddered at the sudden change in temperature as whispered in her ear telling her it's just a story, that she was safe. Quil wrapped his arms around her comforting her. A small jolt of pain ran through me and I shrugged it off.

"One of the children fell from the rocks grazing his knee as he fell and the nomad girl we all thought was a mere child was none other than a half breed, for she was half child and half demon. She launched herself at young boy and the Chief's wife ran to his aid and paid the ultimate price for the tribe misplaces trust."

Silence filled the air and loved ones were held that little bit tighter,

"Her death was a great loss for the Chief and the people. The Nomads escaped off our lands as the pack were unable to catch them for they underestimated their speed. For you see, the mother was a cold one with the ability to create illusions, she tricked the tribe into believing they were humans. She scooped up the half breed child and ran off our lands never to be seen again. Our greatest weakness was our compassion and underestimating the devastation the unknown can cause. Our trust was misplaced and laws were passed to protect our tribe from the unknown. All others, outsiders, do not fall within our laws; they cannot enter our lands and cannot enter our tribe."

The cold from the driftwood I sat upon soaked right through me as the story came to an end a shudder ran down my back. My fate was now sealed and the lump in my throat threatened to choke me. Little did I know that there was still more torture to come my way. For it seemed that being stripped away from my imprint wasn't enough for the elders; they had a lot more in mind for me and my future.

I hadn't realized it why my knuckled burned a fierce white until I looked down and saw that my hands tightly gripped Seth and Jacob - who didn't seem to notice. I was afraid to let go of them fearing that without them there to anchor me that I would drift off into the darkness. The council members were in deep discussion. Someone I couldn't quite recognize leaned in to Old Quil and seemed to whisper something in his ear, Old Quil's face changed and he seemed to nod in agreement. I tried to listen in but to no use, I couldn't hear a word they said. All the blood rushed to my head and the thumping of my heart pounded in my ears. I could sense there was more to come and I was soon about to find out as Old Quil stood up and cleared his throat.

"The Cullen child will not be harmed, for he is the imprint of a pack member, but we cannot allow the union of a Quileute with a cold one. Their blood cannot mix with the bloodline of the great Taha Aki."

My lips threatened to let words of protest. They can't do this, this isn't right. But I was cut short,

"Leah shall be betrothed to the eldest son of Biyen Chetan"