~Visitor

7:45 AM time for work. I put on the usual, T-shirt and cut off jeans. Being a wolf didn't make the pressures of looking good any easier. It only added to the pile of reasons people didn't understand me. There was a reason that the only 'friend' on the outside I had was Theo. I ran to work, 8 AM on the dot. Perfect.

The place was already packed. The day shift cook and Theo were already busy working. Four other waitresses where working. Coreen came over as soon as she saw me. Her hair was in a tight bun and she had heels on, she would be cranky today, but otherwise she was a good person.

"Good you're here, take over your tables," she said, handing me the pad of paper we used for orders.

"Good to see you too, Coreen," I said, taking the pad with a step toward the register.

"Right, sorry," she said, forcing a smile, "Table 24 needs coffee."

As always, a smooth transition into yet another Sunday. While I was working my mind wandered as it always did to one topic. 'How many extra Sundays would I get?' there was no way to know. I could live forever I suppose, or at least a very long time. As long as I kept phasing, not that anyone had extensive knowledge on it. I thought maybe I would. We are supposed to stick around till we imprint, find the one person we are supposed to be destined to grow old with.

I was taking an order up to the rack when I froze in my tracks. Coreen was just behind me and her tray went into my back, I bearly felt it. My mind was focused on the sent that just filled my nose. The burning sickeningly sweet scent, the scent of my natural enemy. A vampire entered the dinner. He was dressed in all black, how typical of the parasite.

"I'm taking my break Coreen!" crossing the door in one stride.

I pushed my way out through the crowd of customers. I was shaking as I went around back. The anger was threatening to over take me. I wasn't sure if I could keep from phasing, but the cold air filling my lungs now led me to a clear mind. Then it started.

What was a vampire doing here? In the diner? In Vancouver! Why? What did he want? In all black! What could he possibly want? He can't be here for brunch, that's too conspicuous. Maybe he is scoping out his diner. I wouldn't let that happen anytime soon. But what could I do? I can't just phase and call the others, and storm into the diner as a giant wolf. Imagining that scenario made a small smile creep across my face, I could feel it erase the near permanent scowl. Of course it was followed by tearing the leech to pieces. Just then I could smell it again. The wind had brought the scent. I looked around the diner and saw the figure disappear into the distance. I thought to follow but I had already committed the sent to memory.

Technically Jacob was in-charge, but I was second in command. I could call one of the guys and send them after. I could ask Jacob if it was a friend of the Cullen's to see if I could go after him and kill him myself. But the truth was this, if he was looking for a snack, he had his chance. No one followed him. I figured I was just over reacting. But I would follow the scent after work just to be sure. But now was time for human work, not the time for human protection work. My break was almost up, but I guess I better call Jacob to find out if this was a friend or foe. The diner had a wall mounted phone, very public, I had to remind myself.

"Hello?"

"It's me, the Cullens expecting company?"

"No, why?" he said, sounding very alert now.

"I'll handle it," I said, hanging up the phone.

It wasn't our kind. 'friendlies' as I've come to call them. I'd finish the shift and take off after him. It wouldn't make a difference, and Quill would be on his way back now. If the leech came from the south or the west it was likely that Quill would cross paths anyway. There was only an hour and a half left of work for me to do anyway. I could wait. It was sensible to wait. Acting too quickly is always a mistake, I had gotten enough lectures on that when I tried to face a newborn on my own.

I finished the shift and phased. Quill and Jacob where already running.

'we lost him' Jacob thought.

'how?' I spit back at him

'I chased him west, Quill doubled back and was going to cut him off but he hit the water'

'damn! Has he come up yet?'

'nope, long gone.'

Quill was silent during this exchange. He was scanning the coast. I was already racing to meet him. I'd cover the northern half, he'd take the southern. I wondered where Jacob was now. Then his thoughts answered mine, he was on his way back to the city, back to Nessie.

After Jacob left Quill and I searched the coast. After 2 hours it was time to call it quits. I sent Quill home, and I fell back too, if the leech was going to come back this would be the best way to trap him. But after another hour I was starting to think I should be wearing a prom dress. The leech wasn't going to show again. Next time a leech walked in to the diner screw it! I'll quit on the spot and get him.

Quill wasn't in the apartment. It was Sunday, dinner at the Cullen's. How nice. The Cullen's didn't actually eat, but Annie our official cook, used their large kitchen to her advantage. They also had a large dinning room which we all gathered around. The pack with large plates of food, the Cullen's gathered in their pairs for strategic talk.

Normally some of the Cullen's where out hunting, and the room wasn't so full. But on a night like tonight, everyone was here. I sat with the pack. We had one half of the table, and the Cullen's had the other. Carlisle at the head with Esme to his right, then Jasper , Rosalie, Emmit and Bella on her right. On the left Alice, Edward, and Nessie followed by Jacob. Seth sat closest to Bella, and next to Seth sat Quill. I sat between Jacob and Embry. Amber and Annie brought out the last of the food and took their seats beside Embry and Seth.

"Have you told them already," I said, to Jacob.

"Yeah, Nessie passed it around, everyone's up to speed," he said, stuffing his face.

"Good. How should we proceed?" wow I sounded really formal, 'relax you don't want to kill the Cullen's remember.' I looked at my plate and started to eat, it would shut me up, for now.

Edward laughed no doubt due to my thought.

"He isn't one of ours, I'm not sure who it could have been," said Carlisle.

Everyone turned to Alice.

"I don't know, no one's looking for us," she said, with a shrug.

''Us' being the vampires,' I corrected to myself.

"What about the Volteri?" Bella asked, stiffening in her seat.

A wave of calm came over me, I'm guessing everyone, I looked to Jasper to confirm, and he was unreadable. Stupid vampire, I couldn't even be mad at him for doing it.

"I would have seen them decide to send someone out here," Alice again shrugging.

"Perhaps it was just by chance that he came. It is likely that he caught our sent, so entangled with yours that he followed the first strand into the diner." Carlisle trying to relax us all I'm sure.

"Are you suggesting that a – vampire – would come into a diner knowing that there where traces of a wolf there?" I spat, utterly discussed at this reasoning.

"It is possible he didn't know you would be in there, maybe he was just curious." There he went trying to be so reasonable again.

'Yeah right, your kind are not that suicidal, mostly…' I thought looking at Edward, then regretted it instantly.

Edward grimaced, "Your right Leah, we should be on high alert till we know more." His response to my unspoken thought.

"We'll wear down a path; if he is after us he'll be sorry!" Quill piped in at last, his plate was clean now, I could see why he hadn't said anything sooner.

"All right that settles it, now can we eat in peace?" Jacob said, mostly to me.

"Be my guest," I said, pushing myself away from the table and my food.

I walked to the kitchen; I needed a moment to clear my head. I knew in my gut that this guy was not some idiot suicidal vampire. I knew he was after something. The fact that he came in to the diner, meant he wasn't after the Cullens, but I couldn't work it out. My stomach was screaming at me to eat. Stupid wolf thing! Always being hungry, but at least I never gained a pound, that was nice. I joined the gathering and tried to put everything behind me.

In the past 10 years, I had learned to trust and tolerate the Cullens. The first 6 years I spent watching them, waiting for them to slip up. I still hated them for doing this to me. But at some point it occurred to me, if they hadn't of come at all, some leech would have simply passed through, and with my luck, I would have been the only wolf. I think the turning point for me was when Bella insisted that the Cullens never went back to forks. I didn't want anyone; no matter how many generations down they might be to have to deal with any of this. Bella agreed with me, and for a moment I didn't hate her. When the others accepted this without complaint I felt like there might actually be something decent about these vampires.

Then there was Carlisle. I had expressed my issues to him. Some things like my complete indifference to alcohol amused him, others fascinated him. I once took Carlisle to a bar to prove this. I bet the biggest guy in the place that I could out drink him. Two empty bottles of tequila and a 12 pack of beer later I was crowned the victor. Carlisle tested my blood. There was barely any in my system. He said because we wolves ran so hot we must burn through stuff much faster than humans. What would give a human alcohol poisoning might get me a little buzzed.

We talked about other things, like how I was frozen in time like the Cullens. Carlisle's best guess was that once I gave up being a wolf that I would start aging again and that everything would return to normal. I could some day have kids. I didn't want kids though, they just reminded me of my happily ever after I'd never get, the one with Sam in it. But it was good to have a theory to these kinds of things.