Disclaimer: Characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.
A/N: Been a little longer than usual this one because I was at a charity night set up by my mum last night. We were fund-raising for When You Wish Upon A Star (terminally ill kids) and we raised £500...so yay!...and yawn.
Chapter Six
He wakes before her to the sound of rain beating at the window pane. The weather is horrible but it gives him an excuse to snuggle into his girl, so the morning is good. He tucks his hands under the covers, searching blindly for warm skin.
Her eyes open before he even makes contact and she yawns sleepily and burrows her face into his chest.
"Morning, Sunshine," he says, with a laugh and a stroke of her face.
"Morning," she replies, covering her mouth as she speaks. She exhales from behind her hand and grimaces. He pulls her into a kiss before she can disappear into the bathroom to start her morning routine.
The little things don't matter.
It doesn't take long for the day to turn sour. Leah returns from the store, slamming doors, and throwing bags on the table. He waits a moment before asking what is wrong because he's half afraid of her answer. She shoots him a look of blind fury that he knows isn't aimed at him.
"I just got stopped on the street by Georgie. Starts fucking ranting and raving at me in broad daylight, calling me a homewrecker. I had fucking grannies staring at me and pointing. It was so fucking humiliating."
Georgie is Georgina Young-Bailey. Emily's oldest sister. Claire's mother. "What did you do?" he asks, because Leah can't ignore a direct challenge, especially one from another woman.
"I told her to shut her fat fucking mouth." A soda glass breaks in her hand. "God, I was so angry, I could have phased right there."
He stands and moves towards her. He pulls her into a hug that is more to restrain her than comfort her. If he allows her to work herself up into a fury, then it's very likely that she will decide to hunt Georgie down and rip her head off. " Lee, don't listen to her. She's just trying to protect Emily."
He knows it's the wrong thing to say when she stiffens in his arms. She pulls away from him and starts putting away groceries. "I should have know you'd sympathise with her. I mean, there's nothing more important in the world than Emily, is there?"
"Are you gonna bring up this forever?"
"Are you gonna moon after her forever?" She snaps back, her voice a mocking lilt. He reminds himself that she is hurt and annoyed and that in a few hours, she will wheedle her way into his arms and apologise for taking it out on him.
"Those who are silent are said to agree," she spits and he decides that he can't wait for a few hours. He stalks out of the room, slamming the front door behind him. His muscles are trembling under the force of his own anger and he's never been more tempted to phase in the middle of the street than he is right now. He manages to control himself until he hits the woods.
His mind is assaulted with images of Rachel the moment he phases and he winces against the more graphic memories. Hey, Sam.
Paul He replies, tersely and he can hear the confusion in the other wolfs mind as he racks his brains to figure out what he's done to piss the alpha off. Sam sends him a mental picture of an angry Leah and a firm warning not to start. The other wolf consents but not before throwing in his own two cents.
I don't know how you do it, dude. Ray is stubborn enough but I think I'd go nuts if I had to put up with Leah. The words about his imprint are spoken with a lazy affection but his voice turns sour as he mentions Leah's name.
Sam can't help the low growl that escapes from his throat. Paul and Leah have always fought. Mentally, verbally...even physically. As a man, he knows it's because they dislike each other but the wolf zooms in on the smidgen of respect and admiration that the other has for his mate. He picks up on the intrinsic desire to dominate her. He knows that the sexual impulse is long buried beneath Paul's imprinting, but his animal brain doesn't rationalise things so easily. In his mind, Paul wants something that belongs to him.
The thought is fleeting, soon eroded by the self control he has near perfected, but it leaves him with a strong desire to claim his girl, put his mark on her so the others will know that she is off limits. He doesn't even say goodbye to Paul before he phases.
Leah is sitting at the kitchen table when he returns. She is rearranging the salt and pepper shakers, moving and realigning them until they sit dead centre. She looks up at him as he walks in.
"Hey," she says and he can her a slight tremble in her voice.
He nods because he's still too pissed to talk to her. He starts rifling through the cupboards, looking for something to eat. He can feel her eyes on his back.
"Quil called while you were out."
He stops at this because despite his anger, he still wants her to be part of his pack and Embry hasn't made his choice yet. She waits for him to turn around before she continues. "Georgie called him an hour ago. She's stopped him seeing Claire."
And then she does something he hasn't seen her do since he broke her heart. She cries. Really cries. His anger dissipates with the first teardrop, and he's across the room and she's in his arms before the next one falls.
"He's so pissed at me, Sam. I didn't get angry with him cause I know he can't help it but even when I said sorry, it didn't help. He was fucking crying." She can barely speak past her tears and her voice sounds thick and raw.
He's seen her cry before. He's seen her cry for the babies she'll never have and the future she can't give him but he's never seen her looking so completely lost and hopeless. Not since that day he told her that she had never been enough for him.
"Leah--," He stops before he says anything else. He wants to promise that Georgie will come around but he knows she might not.
Leah wipes her tears away and sets her jaw. He can see that she is struggling to hold her emotions back. "I'm going to talk to Emily. I have to talk to her. For Quil."
Because she would do anything for Quil. And for Embry, Seth and Jacob...as much as she would adamantly refuse to admit it. They are her brothers, the only ones brave enough to stick by her at a time when she was determined to push the world away. As their Beta, their physical and mental health are her greatest concern, but as their sister...she just wants them to be happy.
It's three hours before Leah returns. He sits by the phone, a thousand scenarios running through his head. What if Leah gets angry? What if she phases? What if Emily upsets her? And the scariest of all, what if this visit convinces her to break it off with him? He knows the guilt that still haunts her for hurting her cousin.
She doesn't speak when she comes home and she refuses to tell him what happened. She does let him know that things are 'sorted' and that everything is okay, but her mood belies her words. She answers only in short phrases and terse words and she seems snappier than usual.
She doesn't let him touch her for a week.