A/N: Strap yourselves in, guys. You and I are in this together. I'm your host, Zojak, and this is where the adventure starts. Rest assured, there's no research you need to do to prepare for this story. The prologue and first few chapters are kiiinda canon-friendly; certainly nothing being blown out of the water. There'll likely be some small plotholes or lines in the book that contradict me, but just roll with it, Zojak is trying his best. It's mostly canon-friendly except for one detail; I removed Quil's imprint on Claire, partly because of my future plans for the story, and partly because I'm rather fond of Quil and rather un-fond of Claire.

Lastly, take the "canon research" with a grain of salt; although the books were heavily referred to during the writing and drafting process, I've only actually read "Eclipse" all the way through, and I've only seen four out of the five movies; and only half paying attention, not to mention. I have no intention to add OCs.

Remember
THE FIRST RED

『••✎••』『••✎••』『••✎••』

Something had woken Leah up.

She didn't know what, and after a few seconds, she decided it very well could've been nothing at all. She determined that nobody was in the room, which used to be a possibility before Seth grew out of coming into her room at ungodly hours of the night complaining of bad dreams. Her home was quiet, so there was no intruder to speak of. It could have been as simple as a forgettable dream that her brain immediately purged the records to upon waking. Whatever the cause, Leah was awake now, and she tilted her neck to check the time.

4:42

Far too late to do anything about it now. She'd been known to force herself back to sleep right up until 4:30 in the morning, but now the barrier had been crossed and there was no compromising it. There was no way Leah was getting back to sleep. Not then. She didn't quite want to get up yet, though. The idea of facing yet another day didn't exactly fill her with energy. Today least of all. Today was a day she was dreading ever since it was close enough for Sue to mark on the monthly calendar of August she laid out on the fridge.

August 13th. The day Bella Swan was set to become Bella Cullen.

The thought alone was enough for Leah to moan. She couldn't stand the idea of the Cullen Empire growing any bigger than it already was. Later that day, the Cullens would gain another member in name. Very soon, they would gain another member in species. Leah didn't even like Bella all too much and there was still pity for her choose. This was open betrayal of her own species. Perhaps her human friends and family would be none the wiser, but every supernatural being in the audience knew exactly what the ceremony was and what it stood for.

It meant that Bella was so madly in love with this leech, she will willingly desert her closest friends and family in order to be with him.

The idea appalled Leah. She couldn't even fathom the idea of leaving her family for good in favor of a man she met less than 2 years before, no matter how madly in love her hormones convinced her she was. You only get one family, and Leah was very satisfied with hers. She had a mother who gave her everything, sometimes at her own expense, and a brother who loved her almost unconditionally. She was lucky enough to share as much time as she did with a father like Harry. Even though she knew exceptionally little about the inner workings of the relationship shared between Bella and Charlie Swan, she could at the very least assume that it was strong enough to withstand something as absurd as this.

Leah was wrong about quite a few things, it seemed. In 12 hours, Bella would change her name and take off with her mind-reading husband, likely never to see her human friends and family again.

It would also be the moment she would officially, though unspoken, declare her allegiance to the bloodsuckers, now and forevermore. Leah had never been one to seek approval or validation from people, much less from the likes of Bella Swan, but there was no denying the sting she felt to see Bella take advantage of the wolf pack's hospitality and friendship, only to toss it out the nearest open window in favor of Edward Cullen, of all people. Or, beings, rather.

Sufficiently worked up over her train of thought, she figured it was a good a time as any to drag herself out of bed to burn off the extra energy she gained through thinking about things that angered her. She landed near silently on the ground and equally silently floated out of her room. She passed near every room in the house before arriving in the kitchen, opting to make some sort of nighttime beverage to tie her thirst over until a more reasonable hour to eat breakfast.

Leah grabbed a water bottle out of the fridge and unscrewed the cap, wondering what she could do with it. She poured some nearby food coloring in to it, so at the very least, she could pretend it was something that actually held flavor. She took a sip, noting how her efforts were in vain. Leah added a dash of salt into the water to make it less bland, wondering why the action of putting salt into water was distantly familiar.

Sam used to drink his water with salt in it, a faraway spot of Leah's mind called. Oh, right. Plain water was too boring for Sam, according to him. He always had to drink it with a touch of salt in it to make it easier to choke down. Plain water was too bland for him to drink, in his own words. Of course it was. That's so like him.

Leah shook her head violently, briefly upset that everything, even small and trivial stuff, still seemed to remind her of Sam. All it was was adding salt to water. Angrily, she takes a sip of it. The familiar taste brings back small waves of nostalgia to better times. Saltwater concoctions plagued the memories of her last few months with her holding the "Sam's girlfriend" position. They used to make it in her kitchen and drink them well after sunset on her porch, talking about whatever meaningless topic could come to mind.

Leah violently shook her head a second time, trying to rock the memories out of her head. Can't go back, Leah. Move on. It's just a drink to keep you awake.

"A little early to be up, eh?"

Leah spun around a hundred miles an hour.

"Only a bit earlier than when I usually do anywa- what're you doing up, mom?"

"You weren't exactly moving about quiet as a church mouse," Sue explained. "I heard you open the fridge and watched you make this.. thing. What exactly is it?"

"I'm not sure," Leah answered, keeping her voice down as not to risk waking Seth. "It's red spicy water. Want some?" There came a pause afterwards. Her mother seemed to be contemplating whether it would be wise to accept a mysterious drink her daughter may or may not have prepared angrily before 5 in the morning.

"Sure," her mother finally decided, smiling. Leah poured some of it out into a nearby glass, which Sue picked up and clinked against Leah's bottle. The sound was minuscule, but the gesture was accepted. "What brings you to my kitchen in the early hours of the morning?"

"Nothing better to do," Leah responded.

"Nothing at all?"

"Nothing at all."

"You'd rather stay up drinking spicy red water in the kitchen?"

"Apparently."

"It's not bad," Sue commented. She didn't quite know what to say to Leah.

"Better not be, I made it myself."

"Any reason you're up this early?"

"Woke up maybe 10 minutes ago."

"I see," Sue replied. The atmosphere was exceptionally awkward. Sue was the only one actively instigating a conversation, and it was hard to keep a conversation going with no fuel to go off of. "Are you going to the wedding tonight?"

"You wouldn't catch me dead at that wedding," Leah spat.

"Your brother and I will be there, and we'd appreciate your company."

"Well I hope you two are safe, going into a room full of our natural born enemies."

"We'll be fine, but we'd like you to be there, too."

"Why, exactly?"

"It'd just be nice to have you there, that's all," Sue shrugged.

"Don't count on it, alright mom? I'll be there in spirit."

"You better be," Sue mock threatened before laughing. "Wouldn't wanna risk waking Seth, now." She placed her cup in the sink and bound off into the other room, leaving Leah alone with her red spicy water. She turned towards the sink, noticing the plant they kept in the corner of the counter.

A young pine tree. The very same pine tree that had crumbled to the ground following Leah's anger. The tree had survived with water and fresh soil. Leah and Sue kept it indoors until it was old enough to be planted outside without getting flattened in the harsh rain and wind.

Leah topped off her bottle, recycling it and deciding to head outside to her porch to watch the sun rise over the trees. She knew it would be an hour or so until it happens, but she figured she had all the time in the world to waste, and she certainly had nowhere to be other than in her kitchen sharing red saltwater glasses with her mother.

The air was cold and crisp when she left the house, but that was alright with her. She propped up against her signature railing, watching the backyard.

The next thing Leah remembered was waking up, the Sun suddenly brighter, but only bright enough to illuminate the backyard, not bright enough to cast a decent shadow. Leah concludes that she must have fallen asleep despite promising her mother she wasn't tired. Leah wasn't sure where the sudden tiredness came from, but there was no denying that the Sun had rose a considerable bit, meaning that Leah had missed the sunrise over the trees, which had been her original mission to begin with. A little upset and annoyed, Leah picked up a nearby pebble and flung it across the porch bored, before getting up.

Traveling across her porch and opening the back door, she crashes into Seth while he was walking outside.

"Oops, sorry," Leah mumbled, dusting imaginary specks off his shoulder. She noticed then he was holding a plate with a hastily scrambled egg on it. It didn't look like much, and she assumed it was only one or two eggs total. He always had a problem with cracking eggs, and she figured if he tried to make any more, there'd be yolks and broken egg shells all over the kitchen floor and counter.

"I made this for you," Seth said.

"Thanks."

Leah took the egg from him, near dropping the fork when he faultily tried to hand it over. The egg didn't look very appetizing, she had to admit, but she didn't want to risk upsetting her brother by spitting out his gift right in front of him. She returned to her trademark sitting spot on the top of her steps, with Seth following and sliding down directly across from her on the other side. Slowly, she took a bite of what was on her plate and choked it down.

He ain't a great cook, but the heart was there.

Seth was wordlessly watching her.

"I can feel your eyes on me."

"Guilty," Seth replied, caught in the act. "Something's on your mind."

The kid had a supernatural sense for that, Leah swore. He didn't force her to say anything, but she can tell he really wanted her to. Leah finished the singular egg that Seth had prepared, setting the plate on the porch. She cast a quick glance up to check on Seth, only to notice that his eyes were still on her, watching her protectively. His eyes hinted that he was vaguely worried about her, more so because of her silence. Leah aimed her eyes back down, feeling guilty just looking at him. Before Leah was forced to give in to her brother's prodding eyes, his phone rang, with Leah assuming the obvious caller.

She never thought she'd see the day she was relieved to get a call from Bella Swan.

"Gotta take this," Seth grumbled. He wasn't angry, but his voice sounded like a low grumble regardless. Bella had started calling Seth directly on his wireless phone now. She used to send calls directly to the landline day after day, but stopped out of fear of Leah answering the phone, because Leah continuously tried to set her straight. Bella started avoiding the landline altogether, making sure that if she was going to do it at all, it had better be Seth who answered the phone.

Seth floated over to the middle of the lawn where he finally answered the phone after 2 and a half rings.

"Yello?" Seth greeted, his voice still laced with sleep. You could call Seth in the middle of the night and he would still answer in an amiable tone. "Yeah, it's only a little early, but nothing world-crumbling, earth-shattering." Seth smiled, even though he knew Bella couldn't see him. He was truly something else. Leah, only hearing one side of the conversation, still knew precisely what it's about.

"Yeah, it's been pretty quiet. Nothing for almost a week now."

Their missing werewolf friend. Jacob Black.

"Nothing coherent, anyways," Seth continued. "Nothing you'd be interested in, to correct," Seth rambled nervously. Leah could tell that Bella wasn't even speaking and yet Seth kept anxiously correcting himself by adding on sentence fragments. "Well, unless you're interested in the kinda primal things that runs through Jake's head while living with a new pack," Seth continued. Bella had hardly spoke one word before Seth continued on. "A new pack, I mean, different from the one I mentioned last week ago. Did I mention it last week? He bounces around a lot, like when -"

It seems Bella had finally cut his nervous tangent off. Seth's habit of nervous rambling was off the walls at times.

"I don't think he's coming back, Bella," Seth spoke quieter and solemner. Leah realized that she was actually quite engaged in a phone conversation she wasn't even taking part in. What was said between Seth and Bella over the phone wasn't particularly her business. "I hope so, too. We miss 'im." Leah wondered why she even cared. She wasn't going to the wedding and she didn't care for Jacob. "I'll see you at the wedding, yeahyeah! Thanks again for inviting us. That was cool of you. ... Alright, see you there. Bye!"

Seth waited for Bella to hang up the call. If someone ever got hung up on by Seth Clearwater, then it's about time to question who else was replaced by a clone, because Seth would never hang up first in a million years. Seth put his phone back in his pocket and bound back over to Leah.

"I can't believe I just said last week ago," Seth commented, scolding himself while sliding back down the railing to sit across from Leah again. "Anyways.. you were upset about something. Right?" Seth's voice came out as a statement. He knew something was bothering her. It was his sixth sense to tell exactly when those around him weren't feeling optimal. Leah sighed, knowing that there was no way she was gonna clear Detective Clearwater on this case.

"Yeah. Something is."

"D'you wanna talk about it?"

"Not exactly," Leah responded. Seth appeared a little sad to hear this. Leah promptly stood up and hugged him, messing his hair up a little. "Thanks for the offer, though. Would you mind throwing your egg plate out?"

"'Course not," Seth said, picking up the plate and vanishing into the house.

It wasn't exceptionally late into the morning, but it was late enough for it to be the normal time where Leah would start looking for something to do for the day, or for the hour, or even the minute. She glanced around her empty porch, seeing nothing of potential for an activity. She almost wished to be on patrol just to have something to do.

As if reading her wishes, a rustling in the shrubbery that connected her backyard to the forested areas could be heard. It was too large to be considered a mammal, large or small. The rustling sounded calculated, intelligent, purposeful. Human. Or, at least partially human.

A familiar face burst through the brush at the far edge of the Clearwater home in some sort of dramatic entrance. Leah was amused by the boy's entrance, and tried hard not to let the amusement show on the outside.

"And good morning to you too, Quil."

"Good morning, m'lady," Quil accentuated, tipping an imaginary hat on his head. "I come with a gift."

"Oh?" Leah questioned. "And pray tell, what may that gift be?"

"I have it right here," Quil started, dramatically. He dug his hand into his pocket, and slowly revealed something flat and white. Once Leah's vision was starting to focus on it, Quil moved it full force towards the sky in a swift motion. "S'just the patrol schedule."

"Come on, Quil," Leah said, rolling her eyes. The way Quil was playing it up, she expected him to pull the Holy Grail out of his pocket and hand it to her as a gift. The patrol schedule seemed to be hastily penciled on an index card. Leah snatched it from his hands after he was close enough. Quil only smiled.

"Sam could only be assed to write it once, so it's being passed around the entire pack," Quil explained, laughing lightly. It was then Leah noticed that it was slightly worn around the edges. She wondered how many pack members had handled the index card before it landed in her hands.

12am - 6am / Sam, Quil
6am - 9am / Embry, Collin
9am - 12pm / Embry, Brady
12pm - 6pm / Leah, Seth
6pm - 12am / Jared, Paul

"But really, I have an actual gift," Quil's voice broke through the air.

Leah's curiosity rose as Quil took out a muffin. There were blue dots in it and small translucent crystals were sprinkled over the top. A blueberry muffin, no doubt about it. Normally, Leah would have eaten it instantly.

"It's a muffin!" Quil announced excitedly, as if Leah was legally blind. Quil was the only boy she knew who could exclaim something as boring as that in a jumpy and excitable tone. As enthusiastic as Quil seemed about the blueberry muffin he was offering her, she knew there was only one possible chef that could have prepared it.

Emily Young, boyfriend-stealing extraordinaire, apprentice to the Muffin Man.

"Keep it, it's yours," Leah said, almost bitterly. There was no way Leah was going to consume anything prepared by Emily, no matter how contagious Quil's happiness and muffin enthusiasm seemed to be.

"Are you sure?" Quil asked. "It's a pretty good muffin."

"Positively sure. I already ate."

With that, Quil took a monstrously large bite off the top of the muffin, decapitating it.

"If you insist." Quil's smile was just as contagious as his enthusiasm, though both would be powerless against the iron Leah Clearwater. "I'll see ya later, then."

"See you."

Quil was still eating the muffin by the time he reached the edge of the property. He was simply ecstatic that he got to eat two of Emily's muffins that day. Before completely leaving earshot, he turned back to her, deciding he had something else to say.

"Lighten up a little, a'ight?"

"Yeah, whatever."

With that, Quil finished off the muffin and stuffed the wrapper into the pocket that cradled the patrol schedule minutes before. She wasn't sure if she was allowed to keep the patrol schedule or if Quil was being clumsy and forgetful by leaving it with her. She wouldn't put either past him. Long after Quil left the property, his words rang in her head.

Lighten up a little.

『••✎••』

Werewolf dynamics were strange and irrational things.

Who was the wise guy who thought it was practical for the wolves to share a mind? It made things much more awkward and taboo at all times. Sharing a pack mind was a quick and easy way for Leah to make sure she was annoying the hell out of Seth at all times. Leah's thoughts were always jagged and pointy, and couldn't have been pleasant for anyone to share for 6 continuous hours. Leah had been paired with every wolf in the pack at least once, sometimes twice, and every wolf without fail would go crying to Sam about how they couldn't stand to be in Leah's head for a second longer. Her thoughts were insufferable. Rage would fly out of nowhere and unannounced hatred would surface without warning. Any wolf who dared remind Leah that they were still there and listening would have all anger redirected to them, and make for an unpleasant time. Nobody could handle it except Leah's own flesh and blood.

Leah felt extraordinarily guilty for the way she drove her pack brothers to the brink of insanity, but nothing compared to the guilt she felt for putting Seth through the wringer day after day, with no reasonable escape. Seth was the only one equipped to handle Leah's mental state, and he was therefore her unofficially permanent partner. He was the person she had no other choice but to take all her mental anger out on, with him being the unlucky subject. Leah felt terrible for the way her thoughts treated him.

Patrol was almost over. Leah and Seth were in the home stretch now. There wasn't much left to do, and Leah wasn't sure they would even make two more circuits around before Jared and Paul would come in and let them go off duty. Seth had a wedding to prepare for, in any case, and he would need more time than Leah.

A distant grunt sounded through the pack mind. Quiet enough to fade into white noise but loud enough to hear and register. The periodic reminder that no wolves on patrol are ever really alone. There was always the gentle presence of a third pack member in the back of the pack mind. The gentle presence of Jacob Black.

Every so often, Seth would try to reach out to Jacob and ask him basic questions, like if he's there, if he's okay, if he's taking care of himself. Seeing his intentions through the pack mind, his questions were always intercepted and blocked by Leah.

Shh, leave him be, Seth.

Seth whined but quieted anyways. The cycle would repeat every 45 minutes.

Another grunt cut through the pack mind. The noises Jacob was making was coming through clearer. Much clearer than it had been the night before. They wondered if he had floated closer to Washington in between the day before and now. Jacob appeared to be running. Not only were his noises more clear, but his thoughts were more readable and less garbled. Less primal and more human. Less distant than they usually were. Odd to say the least, but nothing worthy of mention.

That is, until Leah noticed the distinct smell of wolf crossing her path. The scent was still faraway, probably farther from Leah than Leah was to Seth. It could've been twice the distance. After two minutes, Leah felt inclined to reach out to her brother to see if he also noticed it.

Seth, that you?

Is what me?

The.. wolf I smell.

It ain't me, sis. You and I are far enough apart. Besides, you know my scent like the back of your hand. There'd be no doubt to you. There came a small silence. Is someone else phased? I don't hear anyone in the pack mind..

No, it's just us. I can feel that much.

You don't think-?

It can't be. No.

Ah, but it is. The voice didn't belong to Leah or Seth. They almost didn't recognize it at first.

Jacob?

Jacob!

Hey, Leah, hey, kid.

『••✎••』『••✎••』『••✎••』

A/N: That's the first red in the bag. It's the shortest real chapter, to say the least. Chapter 2 is almost the length of the prologue and chapter 1 combined, so you have that to look forward to next week. Thanks for reading!

Deuces -
Zojak