Of course, I couldn't just be Leah for more than a couple of minutes before something had to come and screw up my moment of happiness. That something came in the form of Jacob Black, walking through our front door.

"Hey Seth, Sam says he-" Jake stopped the moment he saw me.

"Hi Jacob," I said with a half-hearted wave. He didn't say anything. He was just staring at me with this look on his. Like he was seeing me for the first time.

"Hi Lee," he said after a quiet moment. Seth slapped him on the back of the head.

"Dude!" he said. "What the hell, it's Leah!"

I got the feeling I was missing something that Seth and Jake both knew. I looked over at my mom. Scratch that, that Seth and Jake and my mom all knew.

"Mommy, who's that?"

I picked up Samantha. "Sammy, this is Jacob Black. Jake, This is Samantha."

"Samantha?" he asked. Everyone seemed pretty quick to pick that one up.

"Yea," I said nodding. "No, he doesn't know. And he's not going to."

"What?" Jake asked at the same time Seth said, "How?" and my mom said, "Of course he is!"

"No, he isn't," I said calmly. Just you three will know. I'll tell everyone else that I met a guy in Portland.

"Her name is Samantha," Jake said.

"Very good, Jakey," I said sarcastically, "now you get a cookie!"

He rolled his eyes. "Don't you think he'll make the connection?"

"It's a perfectly normal name," I reasoned. "Maybe he'll make an assumption at first, but once I set him straight, he'll know that her name has nothing to do with him."

"But it does," Seth said.

"He doesn't have to know that," I said simply.

Seth looked at Jake, and I could tell they were both thinking the same thing. If only I knew what that thing was.

"He might, uh, find out, Leah," Jake said.

"The only way he would find out is if one of you told him," I said. "And if you do tell him, I'll kill you."

"But, Leah-" Seth began, but Jake cut him off.

"Seth, not now," he said.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to my old room to put Samantha to bed." Samantha had her head resting on my shoulder.

My room was almost exactly the same. "Were you guys expecting me to come back?" I asked, as everyone had followed me to the room.

"No," Mom said. "We didn't think you would."

"But we were hoping," Seth finished for her.

I threw my arms around my mom and brother. Even Jacob. Then I walked into my old room. I looked between the bed and the floor, sighed, and put Samantha lightly on the bed. When I turned around, everyone was staring at me.

"What?" I asked.

"That's just not something you would have done three years ago," Seth replied.

"Well, I'm a mom now. Samantha comes first. That's just how it's been these past three years. I couldn't bear the thought of being one of those single teen mothers who doesn't care about their kid, or works too much and leaves their kid at home. I didn't want anything to make me a bad mother."

"Oh, Sweetie, I think you're a great mother," Mom said, hugging me again.

"Thanks Mom," I said. "So are you."

-

-

"No."

"Leah, you have to."

"No. No, no, no, no!" I should my head vigorously, but Jake and Seth were intent on dragging me over to Sam and Emily's house.

"Why?" I asked, my voice high-pitched and whiny. "You guys know I cant handle it!"

"You need closure," Seth told me.

"Seth, have you been reading Cosmo again," Jake asked.

"Okay, that's not the real reason," Seth said. "But there's something we have to tell you, and Sam can help us know how to tell you."

"Tell me!" I begged. "You know me, I'm tough, I can handle anything."

"Then come."

"Anything except that," I said stubbornly.

"Leah, how the hell am I supposed to explain imprinting to you by myself!?" Jake fumed.

Seth and I just stared at him. "Way to go, Jake," Seth said.

"Imprinting?" I asked. "What the hell is that?"

"Oh, um, it's, uh, yeah, come one, let's go talk to Sam!"

"Jake, I swear, if you don't sit your ass down right now an tell me what the hell imprinting means, I will kick your ass!"

"Leah," Seth said, pleadingly. "You wouldn't believe us if we told you."

"Try me."

-

-

"Wow."

"Leah?" A hand waved in front of my face.

"Leah? I think she's in shock."

"Leah, snap out of it!"

I could hear them talking, but I couldn't believe what I had just seen.

"Leah!"

"Wait, I think…"

And then there was a pair of soft lips on my own.

"Whoa!" I snapped back to reality. "Get off me Black!"

"It worked," Seth said, impressed.

"So, let me make sure I got this right. You two-"

"And Sam and Paul and Jared and Quil and Embry and Collin and Brady."

"Yes, them too. But you guys are…wolves?"

"Pretty much, yeah," Jake said.

"And from the moment you saw me inside the house, you…fell in love with me?"

"Sort of, but it's kinda stronger than that. I need to be with you."

"Oh, ok then. Huh. I think I need some wine."

"Leah!"

"What, I'm legal now."

"Oh yeah. Still!"

"Whatever Black, I need some effing wine."

"Ok, whatever you need."

"So when Sam left me…for Emily?"

"Yeah, he imprinted on her."

"And he didn't imprint on me because…?"

"We don't really know. But, speaking of Emily, you should know something…"

I sighed. "What?"

"Well, when we first become wolves, it's hard to control…phasing, and if we get angry…well, Emily, she was close to Sam, and he…he got angry and phased…and she got hurt pretty badly."

"W-what?"

"She's fine now, it's been over three years, but she's pretty badly scarred."

"Oh…wow."

"Yeah. I just thought you should know before you saw her."

"Thanks…I guess."

"So will you come now?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"Yes…but if you chose wrong, we'll have to go to extreme measures."

"So, no?"

"Pretty much."

"Ok, I'll go."