Jacob was surprised to see Sam in the entrance of the garage. Sam's broad shoulders and hard footsteps didn't make him stealthy before phasing and after…well, he'd never be known for tiptoeing. Sue Clearwater had called him a "bull in a china closet" once and it was an accurate description. Still the chief's son had a way of getting lost in an engine, especially when something was on his mind or eating at him. They regarded each other stonily until Sam made the first move and held out his hand. Relief flooded Jake's eyes and he accepted the shake. Tension had been building for months between the two and it affected the whole pack. The confrontation had been a boiling point and now they could move forward, albeit messily.
"I think you know I'm not coming back to the pack," Jake said, tapping a wrench against his palm.
Jacob might not have been born to take orders, but neither had Sam. Jake was alpha by birthright, Sam by nature. Everything he had, he built and clawed for himself. Initially, he had every intention of handing the pack over when Jake was ready, but as time passed the idea of sitting under the younger man while he took over a pack he'd built….it left a bitter taste in his mouth. As much as the other boys loved and respected Jake, he knew they felt the same. Sam had been the one to step up and lead and give the guidance that he himself hadn't had. The Clearwaters though…they belonged with Jake.
"I just came from the Clearwaters. I talked with Seth." Sam swallowed. "I know you were planning on lone wolfing it, but we both know that you sticking around now. I need you to keep Seth and Leah."
Jake frowned. "Sam…"
"I can't be their alpha." There was too much history, and they needed a clean break. He'd spent too much time at Sue's table, on Seth's bedroom floor, and in Leah's bed to command them. "We both know things have been better this way."
Jake had to admit Sam was right. "So you want to stick me with the two renegades?" he joked, referencing the siblings' obvious disregard for orders.
Sam raised an eyebrow, wryly. "I believe they're all too willing to accept you. You're their alpha. I'm just Sam."
His last sentence was a little indignant, and Jake had to laugh. "You sound a little put out."
"A little," Sam admitted with an embarrassed smile. "I helped raise that kid, now he follows you and Cullen around like a puppy."
Jake laughed again. "Hero worship isn't the same as family. Seth projects some pretty lofty ideals on me that aren't exactly attainable. He's known you his entire life and loves you for everything you ever actually been to him."
That was part of the problem. Familiarity breeds dissention among the ranks. He went from fighting over the last Popsicle in the freezer with Seth, or rolling under the sheets with Leah, to practically beating them into submission. They'd never had any fear of him before. Seth had developed it and it killed him to see the younger boy cower now. Leah though…she was absolutely defiant. Their battles were epic.
Sam slumped. "Maybe so, but that's why they can't be in the pack. I'm not 'just Sam' anymore, and I'm not able to treat them like just another pack member."
He hadn't realized that immediately. He wasn't overly surprised when he found the Clearwaters gone. Resentment had been rolling off Seth in waves and when he split, he knew Leah would follow. It still hurt like hell though. The howl he'd released was one of pain as well as anger. He nearly gave chase before Jared tackled him.
"Let it go!" his friend told him.
"I can't let them go!"
"Why?" Paul piped up. "Because she didn't choose you? You can't have your cake and eat it too!"
Sam froze, and he glared incredulously at Paul who hovered over him. "What?"
Jared stood, dusting himself off without looking at him.
Paul squared his shoulders. "Look around, Sam. They're gone. I can't even hear them anymore. But that agony? That god awful turmoil that we feel like it's gnawing at our souls? It's still here."
Sam straightened and looked at the other wolves. They pawed at the ground nervously. He knew exactly what Paul was talking about. That intense pain that resonated through the entire pack wasn't just Leah's. It was Sam's as well. He looked at his best friend. "Jared?"
Jared never had much to say about it. Before he phased, he'd torn Sam a new one over Leah. After phasing, and imprinting, he understood. But he was still just…so sad for his friends. He'd only snapped at Leah once, on a particularly hard day, but he never berated her. He left her to her pain. Sam sometimes wondered if Jared thought he deserved Leah's focused rage, his loyalty to the old days still there, buried. Jared slumped, not wanting to betray Leah or Sam. "You two rip open each other's wounds just as they scab over."
Suddenly, Sam was furious. "Go get them back. I don't care what you have to do," he growled. "Get on your knees and beg if you have to. We are one pack."
Jared growled back in frustration, but did as he was told. Later, after the brief fight at the Cullens, he sat at Emily's table nursing a bite wound in his shoulder. Wounds from their own kind always took longer to heal. "Leah sends her regards," he muttered.
Much of Sam's anger had dissipated by then, a profound sadness in its place. "Here," he said, dipping a towel in the water in the bowl and dabbing at the wound. "Damn, she got you good."
Jared hissed in pain. "Well, she wasn't impressed with my speech earlier."
"Sorry."
"For this or everything else?"
"Both. I'd say taking a chunk out of your hide was as close as she was going to get to mine. She needed to hit something."
"You're not responsible for everything you know."
Sam sighed. "So I've been told." He threw the towel down. "Did you manage to see if they were okay?"
Jared rolled his eyes. "They jumped us, remember? They're fine."
Sam nodded and clapped his good shoulder on his way to the stairs. He knew Emily was waiting and he felt like he could sleep for a week.
"What would you have done?" Jared asked. "Had one of us ripped into them?"
Sam paused, but couldn't turn around. "I don't know."
Jared shook his head and knocked over the chair when he stood. He grabbed his shirt and headed for the door. "You better figure it out. And let them go. It's over."
"Are you going to be able to let them go?" Jake asked.
Sam blew out a haggard breath. He had to. He wanted them happy again. "Working on it. Just…take care of them for me."
