Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from the Twilight series. However, Ishmael and Giselle are of my own creation. Please ask before using them, thank you.
This story came up while I was listening to The Mortician's Daughter by Black Veil Brides. It's an amazing song, you should check it out. Oh, please review! Thank you.
To my reviewers:
Scorpiosue1102: Thank you for the interest and I hope the you keep reading. Ever since Leah came along, she became a quick favorite of mine and I wanted to see her happy. Then this came along, so, I hope you continue to enjoy this.
sailor alpha tomboy: Here's that update you wanted.
The Mortician's Daughter
Chapter Two
Morning had come and Leah awoke, but she wasn't under the tree she had fallen asleep beside the night before. Instead, she was resting outside the Cullen house near the edge of the forest. As she looked around, she saw that the members of the Cullen family were all outside. Jacob and Renesmee were chatting on the porch with Bella, Alice, and Edward. Carlisle and Esme were standing off to the side of the house, talking in hushed tones with smiles on their beautiful faces. Jasper and Emmett where wrestling in front of the house with Seth and Alexis watching intently, their faces full of wonder.
Had last night been a dream? Had she imagined the perfect man that she imprinted on? She couldn't have, the tugging on her heart was still there. She still felt the pain of seeing him with that beautiful woman who had called his name so tenderly. It wasn't a dream, she had imprinted the night before and she had seen him with that his mate. Her heart had broken again, but she found herself wanting to seek him out. She wanted to gaze upon his beautiful face once more, she wanted to reach out and touch him or hold him.
Rising, she retreated into the forest and phased into her human form before dressing herself quickly. Once she was fully clothed, she returned to the house and made her way to Seth and Alexis. Her brother met her gaze with an apologetic smile that she returned with a nod of her head. He went back to watching Emmett and Jasper wrestle as she ascended the porch steps and stopped beside the others.
Jacob lifted his eyes to her face and immediately rose to his feet at how broken she looked. "Leah, what happened?" he questioned, causing the others to turn and look at her as well. "What's wrong?"
Biting her bottom lip, she looked away for a moment before looking at him again. "Last night… I, well, I strayed past the boundary lines," she began, catching the attention of Seth and Alexis. "I saw someone, a vampire," she spoke; suddenly everyone stopped and focused their attention on her. "And I imprinted on him."
Seth hopped to his feet. "That's wonderful, Leah!" he exclaimed in excitement. "See, I told you last night that everyth–"
"Seth!" Jacob shouted, shutting him up instantly. "Go ahead and finish, Leah."
Leah felt the tears prickle at her eyes as she looked away and tried to be strong. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes tightly before lifting them to meet Jacob's intense gaze. "But he already had a mate," she breathed out, looking even more devastated then before.
Jacob's shoulders tensed and he shook his head. "Leah, you imprinted on him, that means that he feels the same pull you do," he said and his jaw tightened. "That means he can't ignore what he's feeling either, he knew it the moment he saw you."
But the black-haired girl shook her head, pursed her lips and turned away from her leader. Dropping to the porch, she sat cross-legged with her hands gripping ankle and her eyes trained on the grass. A sigh passed through Seth's lips before he approached her, kneeling in front of her and giving her a comforting smile. "What is it now, Seth?" she murmured, trying to be gruff but it came out a little more defeated then she would've liked. She had changed so much, she didn't even feel like the same girl anymore.
"It'll get better, I promise," he murmured before she shoved his hands away and quickly got to her feet.
Everyone seemed to be on their guard as they felt it too, but Leah was consumed with a giddy joy and a bitter sadness at the same time. Her face lit up like Christmas morning when he stepped through the trees only to crumble once more when she saw the beauty beside him. They stopped at the edge of the forest, the girl holding on to his arm like she had been before. But Leah noticed that the male's, Ishmael, eyes were trained onto her face. Once their eyes met, she felt a current of electricity run through her being and sighed in content.
Carlisle and Esme appeared from the side of the house, Esme joined the others on the porch while Carlisle approached the two nomads. "Hello," he greeted with a pleasant smile on his face, the wariness was evident beneath it. "Is there something that my family and I can do for you?"
Ishmael turned his gaze to Carlisle, seeming reluctant to look away from Leah. "I am Ishmael and this is Giselle," he spoke with a heavy accent, one of the most beautiful sounds that Leah had ever heard. The sound of his voice nearly caused her legs to buckle and she had to back up and lean against the wall of the house for support. "We were travelling when we came across the scent of others of our kind," he said while nodding his head in groups direction. "I was so intrigued that I had to seek you out."
Carlisle's worry didn't disappear but he nodded and motioned for them to follow after him. "We are a peaceful family here and we don't want trouble," he spoke as he came closer to the porch.
A ghost of a smile fell into place on Ishmael's lips, his eyes on Carlisle's back. "I assure you, we mean no harm," he said as they stopped infront of the porch, watching Carlisle join Esme. "You're family is lovely," he said, his eyes straying on the werewolves faces before stopping on Leah's. "Have we met before?"
Jacob seemed a bit smug as he looked over at Leah, but the girl was too focused with gazing at Ishmael intently. An internal debate was going on inside her head, she didn't know whether to tell him that they had met before or not. Shaking her head slightly, Leah mentally berated herself for acting so foolish in front of the male. He was her imprintee, there was no reason for her to act like such a schoolgirl. "No, I don't believe we have," she said while forcing herself to keep his intense gaze, seeing Giselle look at her curiously. It was then that she remembered Giselle was his mate, an intense jealous feeling took over her.
Her reply seemed to have displeased him. "My mistake then," he murmured before turning back towards Carlisle and Esme, a friendly smile on his lips. "We've travelled a long ways without finding any of our kind," he began as Giselle took his hand in hers, "it's nice to be in the company of those we can relate to."
Esme smiled kindly. "Well, we have a large home and don't mind sheltering you for a short while," she replied while looking over at Carlisle. "Our only request is that you maintain our diet."
"Diet?" Giselle inquired curiously, her eyebrows raising.
Carlisle nodded his head. "We feed only on animals," he said, a frown taking hold of his lips. "If you cannot commit to this then you cannot stay."
Ishmael nodded his head. "That is not a problem, my friend."
---
It was quite some time later and Leah was curled in a ball, huddled beneath a large oak tree with her muzzle underneath her paws. She had retreated from the Cullen home shortly after they had accepted the nomads in, needing space to think. She wasn't too far away, it would only take her ten or twenty minutes to get back if she was needed. But the close proximity with her imprintee was too much, only slightly more unbearable then being away from him.
It was amazing how she felt so strongly for him when they had only exchanged a sentence. But she yearned for him, to hear his voice and see his beautiful face. She wanted to be close to him right now, she wanted to know how his fingers felt as they ran through her hair. She wanted know what it felt like to be wrapped in his arms. Most of all, she just wanted to have with him what Giselle had.
Her heart yearned for him, called to him even. If by some chance that he could hear her, she wished he would answer. Hell, she wished he would just come to her. All she wanted now was some form of comfort. From the stories she had heard, when you imprinted, all the pain and love you used to feel was supposed to go away. Her love for Sam was gone as far as she knew, but all the pain and betrayal she had felt before was still there so strongly. It seemed that because what she felt for her imprintee wasn't returned, she'd hold onto this pain even stronger.
But she was sick of crying, she didn't want to hurt anymore. All she wanted now was her imprintee, her Ishmael. He was very much Giselle's, but she needed him so much more. What she wouldn't give to be the pretty brunette that was by his side, be in her shoes for just a moment.
She had always thought that the one you imprinted on was supposed to feel the same emotional attachment that you did. Apparently, she had been very wrong but that wouldn't have been the first time. She had been wrong about plenty of things before. She had been wrong about who she was going to spend the rest of her life with, about the fact that Emily would've never betrayed her, about how amazing being a werewolf would be, about being able to pass on the werewolf gene. Obviously, she would be wrong about plenty more things to come.
Of course, the miserable town of Forks had to make her mood worse and she sighed as rain began to fall again. Maybe she should've checked the forecast before she decided to wallow in self-pity the next time? Her pitiful sense of humor did nothing but depress her even more, a soft whine escaping her.
She jerked up when a familiar sugary, sweet smell reached her nostrils. Jumping to her paws, she was about to make a run for it when he pushed through the trees and stopped instantly. Ishmael gazed at her with an intense gaze, his body completely unmoving as he watched her. She felt frozen in time as she gazed at him, nothing else seemed to be going on around her as she stared into his honey-colored orbs.
He was the first to speak. "So, we have met then," he murmured as he moved closer to her. "Is it possible for you to return to your human self?"
Nodding slowly, she trotted off out of his view before phasing back and dressing herself in the soggy clothes that had been tied to her ankle. She returned to find that he wasn't anywhere around, until she heard a voice from above her. Looking up, she saw him perched on one of the branches of the large tree above her. Easily, she climbed up to the branch opposite him and nestled herself comfortably on it.
"I figured you were the wolf the moment I laid eyes on you," he said gently, his leg bending at the knee as his foot rested on the crook of the branch and a smaller one. "I felt it."
That sent her heart into overdrive and she avoided his gaze, staring at the forest floor beneath them. "Did you?" she murmured in what she hoped was a steady tone, picking at the bark beneath her leg.
"I did," he replied, amusement in his tone. "The farther you went, the stronger a tug I felt," he said before adding in a voice only slightly above a whisper, "I felt a loneliness as you left."
Her head snapped up, her damp hair sticking to her face as she looked at him with wide eyes. "What do you mean?" she questioned in a tentative voice, her teeth easily finding her bottom lip and biting into it.
A smile formed on his lips as he turned to look at her, droplets of water dripping from his curls. "I felt this inexplicable emptiness as you left," he said, turning to her, "but this intense joy when I saw you on the porch today."
Her heart had begun pounding wildly in her chest again. "You… you did?"
A nod. "I did."
She was quiet for a moment, staring into his eyes for what seemed like an eternity. Even though she had seen him before, his beauty astounded her once more. Water clung to his curls, some were plastered to the side of his angelic face. His olive skin seemed so inviting to the touch and she resisted the urge to run her fingers against it. But he was a complete enigma, she wished she could know what was going on inside the head of his. He seemed to be so deep in thought, she wondered if those thoughts were about her. She wondered if she caused him the same inner turmoil that he caused her.
"What are you thinking about?" she asked, startled by the sound of her own voice.
A smile caressed his lips as he lifted his gaze to her face. "You," he murmured and her heart fluttered again, she bit her lip. "I don't understand how you make me feel this way."
Guilt chewed at her. "It's not natural," she murmured, causing him to furrow his eyebrows in confusion. "It's not real."
"What do you mean?" he asked.
With a sigh, she closed her eyes and leaned against the tree. "With my… species, there's a process called imprinting," she murmured while letting her chocolate-colored eyes open again. "It's where you have this bond with someone… your soulmate, you could call them. The bond makes you want to do anything for this person, make them happy in any way that you can, never want to be away from them. You love them without even needing to think about it. Whether you love them as a friend, sibling, or a… lover is a different story altogether. You become exactly what they need."
He seemed thoughtful for a moment. "And the one you imprint on?"
"They feel it too, the overwhelming intoxication of it," she murmured. "It's slightly less then the werewolf, but it's there."
"So, you've imprinted on me?" he inquired in a soft voice.
A nod her head was his answer. "So, you see, it's not real," she murmured, "these feelings you have for me."
He smiled warmly and she felt heat rise to her cheeks. "But you're wrong," he said gently as he lifted her chin, causing her to look into his eyes. "'Soulmates' you said, right?" he asked and she nodded her head gently, causing him to smile at her. "Then, the feelings are real, Leah," he said, her name rolling off of his tongue and sending shivers down her spine. At the moment, she was too drunk on his presence to even care how he had learned her name. "My feelings for you, as sudden as they may be, are real and so are yours," he murmured, his hand cupping her cheek.
The coolness of his touch caused her to shiver and she bit onto her bottom lip, her eyelids fluttering closed. "Mmm," was her unintelligible reply as she leaned into his touch before sighing gently in content.
Effortlessly, he pulled her from the branch she had been sitting on into his lap and wrapped his arms around her frame protectively. She gasped, her hands resting on the hardened marble of his chest as he pulled her closer to him. She could feel his sweet breath on her face, smell the intoxicating, earthy smell that was all his own. In this close proximity, she could feel every muscle beneath his clothing and the coldness of his skin against her heated flesh. She shivered as his hand moved down her side and over her hip, resting on her thigh. His other hand was on the small of her back and she gasped lightly as he pulled her as close as he could. Being pressed flush against his chest had her body temperature rising considerably and her heart racing at the speed of light.
A chuckle passed through his lips as he looked down at her, his face barely inches away. "Be still your beating heart," he murmured, quoting Shakespeare and bringing an amused smile to her lips as she looked up at him through her thick lashes. "I won't hurt you, Leah," he murmured, his breath cold against her warm cheek. "I can't imagine ever doing so."
She bit her lip before he gently tugged it loose with his index finger, returning his hand to the crook between her knee and thigh. In one euphoric moment, his lips had pressed against hers with the gentlest of kisses, his hand holding her steady against him. A tiny whimper escaped her when he pulled away, her fingers clutching to the fabric of his shirt, only to be replaced with breathless mewls as he kissed along her neck.
For a moment, all she could think about was the sensation of his cold lips as they pressed along her skin. But she was struck with a thought, he was that close to her carotid artery yet he was controlling his thirst very easily. "How are yo–oh!–able t-to do that without–" she sighed, "– biting m-me?" she managed to murmur, causing him to pull his lips from her neck.
A gorgeous smile took hold of his lips. "Centuries of practice," he murmured before kissing along her jaw, his eyes trained on the blissful expression her face held.
"W-Wait," she murmured and pulled away from his lips, looking down at him with a frown. "Giselle."
It seemed that was all it took to ruin the mood and his face took on an expression of guilt as he looked away. Leah instantly felt bad that she had said anything at all, hating to see that look marring his perfect face. She nearly burst into tears at the heart wrenching look on his face, the pursing of his lips and slight tightening of his grip.
Then he sighed and lifted his gaze to her face. "I'm being terribly unfair, aren't I?" he asked, guilt evident in his eyes. "I can't have you both yet I can't make myself choose between the two of you," he said as he caressed her cheek with the pad of his thumb. "You should hate me."
A sudden feeling of déjà vu hit her, she suddenly understand how Jacob felt when Bella had chosen Edward. When she had been so conflicted with her love for both of them, but Leah was struck with another question. Would she be playing the part of Edward or Jacob? It seemed like cruel irony that Fate would play this joke on her. It would be completely unfair to be the werewolf and take on Jacob's role in the twisted love story that had just been weaved. She could only hope she walked out of this as Edward, having won instead of lost. Because after this, there would be no one else she could be with. No one would even come close to the connection that she felt with Ishmael right now. He was right, she should hate him. But she'd never be able to.
"I can't hate you," she murmured, her hands sliding up along his chest and neck to cradle his face. "I can never hate you."
His eyes filled with agony. "And that's what is going to make this so much harder to do."
Biting her bottom lip, she let him move her back onto the branch she had been occupying just minutes before. She knew where he was going, he knew that she knew. Back to Giselle, back to where he belonged. A part of Leah died inside as she watched him prepare to jump to the ground, his eyes lifting to meet her gaze. Lifting himself easily, he pressed his lips to hers in a soft caress, lingering slightly longer then he should have.
Then he was gone. The part of her that had died was suddenly joined by the rest of her and this time she didn't even try to hold back the tears, she let them erupt from her being. Ishmael looked back only once before he disappeared into the forest and raced towards the Cullen house.
That night, Ishmael returned to Giselle and lay wrapped in her arms, tortured by thoughts of Leah's anguished cries. Pretending that he was wrapped in her arms, inhaling her rustic scent, instead of beside the porcelain beauty that was his mate. He was ridden with anguish because he had promised that he would never hurt Leah, yet he had done so without a thought. But he hurt because he was also betraying Giselle, it was obvious that she knew exactly what had transpired between him and Leah. But she never wanted to lose him, so she held on tight and wasn't prepared to ever let go.
Well, chapter two is up and in the same day. Man, I'm feeling pretty inspired, tell me what you think. I also appreciate suggestions if you have any. Due credit is always given.
Twisted.
