I was ripped from sleep by Jake, I slipped off the bed in an attempt to fight him off, after a brief struggle he managed to pull me to my feet. I grumbled, rubbing my eyes.
"I texted you hours ago to let you know there was a pack meeting at 6," Jake said flatly, I sighed.
"What time is it?" I asked groggily, he shook his head.
"6:30." He turned his back to me, making his way out of the room, "Just hurry up, Embry's waiting." My stomach rolled, much to my dismay. I groaned. I grabbed a pair of shorts and a tank top, throwing them on quickly. I didn't bother with shoes. My eyes stung, I just wanted to get back in bed.
Embry was leaning against the front door, his arms crossed, "Wow." He mumbled, a smile across his face, I could feel the heat rising in my face, I turned quickly to keep him from noticing.
"What?" I mumbled, willing the blush to fade as I pulled my tangled hair up into a bun. He walked towards me, his hand grasping my arm, he pulled me into the kitchen, stopping near the sink. He grabbed some paper towels, placing them briefly under the running faucet to wet them, "What are you doing?" I groaned as he brought the paper towels near my face.
"You've got a pound of makeup on your face," He chuckled, softly rubbing circles under my eyes, "Close your eyes." I huffed loudly but did as I was told. He brought his hand up to the back of my head, holding me still while he rubbed my right eye.
"Almost done," He mumbled, moving to the other eye. A few moments later I felt his hand slide down to my neck, "All done." I opened my eyes, he was leaned down, inches from my face, staring down at me. I bit the inside of my cheek, holding my breath.
"Let's get moving people." Jake's voice boomed suddenly, I jerked back quickly.
"Fuck!" Embry hollered back, shaking his head. I didn't look back at him as I headed for the door.
We gathered in Jake's backyard, I found a spot on the ground and planted myself there. I looked around and noticed we didn't have any cubs here, just the older guys, even Seth wasn't here. Embry sat down next to me, suddenly he looked so nervous. I raised an eyebrow but he wouldn't meet my eyes. My stomach knotted, I didn't feel very good about this.
"We've called this meeting to talk about a very important issue," Billy paused, turning to face me, "Leah, we've called this meeting to talk about you." All eyes moved to me, I tilted my head.
"Me, huh?" I looked over at Embry, his head was down, turning my head to the right I saw that Jake's was, too.
"We're concerned about the relationship you're developing with the blonde one." Someone cleared their throat.
"Jasper?" I asked, my eyebrows drawing together.
"Yes. We've discussed it," Billy gestured to the circle, "We just don't know that it's the safest decision for you to be making."
"Huh? So, Jake can spend all his time with the hybrid but I can't spend some time with one of them?" I scoffed, "Is it some special club only Jake can be a part of?" My mother watched quietly, I wondered why she would never stand up for me.
"She is a vampire hybrid, her thirst can be contained, Jasper, however, isn't. He also happens to be the weakest in the Cullen clan. You let him onto our land, Leah." I looked around, knowing they had all talked about me, judged me, but they kept it from me. Embry kept it from me. I started feeling crowded and hot, the anger starting to bubble up.
"Family." I spat, gritting my teeth.
"What was that?" Sue asked, finally speaking.
"They're a family." I rolled my eyes, "He may be the weakest, so I'd think that'd make it pretty great that I'm becoming friends with him, I can keep an eye on him since it's suddenly such an issue."
"Whatever they may be, it doesn't change the fact that we're not comfortable with it," Billy said, his voice tired.
"Well, it's a damn good thing I don't give a shit what makes you comfortable."
"Watch it, Leah." Sam growled, "We aren't comfortable with it, you need to end it, that's final."
I barked out a laugh, "As if!" I pushed myself up onto my feet, Sam followed.
"It's an order." He snarled, moving closer to me, his eyes blazing. I felt my hands shake, the anger bubbled over. I stepped closer to him.
"Last I checked you're not my alpha anymore. I don't go by what you say and I never will again." His face crumbling as he realized he didn't have a comeback, I swung around to face the crowd, everyone had come to their feet, worried about what would happen next, "You don't want him on your land? Fine. I won't be either." I turned back to Sam, shaking my head at him before I turned and walked away.
"Leah, you can't do this." He yelled after me, but I just kept going.
I slammed the door shut, wishing I had phased on the way here, I could feel my blood boiling at this point. Seth was on the couch, he yelped and jumped up.
"You okay, Lee?" He yelled out as I quickly made my way to my room.
"No, I'm leaving." I hollered back as I pulled a suitcase out of the closet in the hallway. I heard his heavy feet stomping down the hallway to my bedroom as I threw things into the suitcase.
"What did you just say to me?" He asked, holding a bag of plain chips in one hand, crumbs all over his shirt, "Cause it sounded like you're leaving, but that can't be right."
"Nope, it was right." I moved quickly around the room, hoping that my mom wouldn't get home before I was gone, I didn't need that argument in my life.
"Are.." He trailed off, wiping his mouth, "Are you ever coming back?" His voice was soft, sad.
"I don't know." I took a deep breath, looking up at him. He frowned deeply but nodded. I threw the last bit of stuff in and zipped it up, moving to stand in front of Seth.
I sighed, reaching out and pulling him into a hug, he squeezed me tightly, "I love you." He mumbled, I let go and pushed him away, laughing.
"Oh, stop." I rolled my eyes, "You're such a baby. I'll keep in touch, but I gotta go now." I smiled at him, he moved over and let me past.
"You better." He called after me as I shut the door behind me.
I stood in the Cullen's yard for half an hour, my legs ached, the sun was down, I just wanted to sit down but I didn't know if this was the place I should be. I didn't know what to do.
"You should go in." I heard a voice behind me, I jumped slightly, turning to face him, knowing before I'd fully turned that it was Edward. A sigh escaped my lips, "Really, it's alright." His tone was soft, sincere. I nodded slowly, turning to the home. I was almost to the door when he was suddenly in front of me, pushing the door open, knowing I wouldn't just go in.
Happy faces turned to confusion as I followed Edward into the home with a bag in tow. Bella was on the floor playing with Nessie, she glanced from me to Edward, her eyebrows knitted. Jasper was rigid, his eyes angry, Rosalie sat next to him, her beautiful face blank. I didn't even want to think of how disgusting I must look being in the same room as her.
"Are you okay?" Jasper asked through clenched teeth, it was kind of sweet, he had no idea what was going on, but he knew what I was feeling and just that was enough for him to be upset.
"Not really." I mumbled, setting my bag down next to my feet, "I just left La Push."
"You what?" Bella's head snapped up.
"I left." I threw my hands up, "The elders called a meeting, they said they didn't want me around Jasper, so I packed my bag and I left."
"Just like that?" Jasper butted in.
"Yeah, just like that."
"I don't understand," Bella shook her head.
"You know, I don't either, okay?" I barked out a laugh, "I don't know! I have nothing, no one, and nowhere, yet for whatever reason, I decided to pack my bags and leave my home like some child all because they told me I couldn't spend time with someone who's becoming my best friend." I spoke in a rush, my mouth was dry, I could feel tears threatening to rise. The room was quiet, everyone was just staring.
Rosalie stood up slowly, "Obviously you can stay with us." She offered a tiny smile, Jasper nodded his head quickly behind her.
"I don't know if I co-"
"You could." Rosalie cut me off, "And you will. You're not going to get out of it, Leah, just agree it and make it easier for everyone."
I nodded my head slowly, "Thank you." I said softly. She nodded, motioning for me to follow her. We walked past a few doors until we reached the end of a hall way and she opened a door. It was a simple room, blank walls, a full sized bed with black blankets.
"You can stay here," She stood in the doorway, "Of course, you can do whatever you want with it and stay as long as you like."
"You don't have to ask Carlisle or Esme?" I asked as I set my bag down on the bed.
"No." She laughed, shaking her head, "They're going to be fine with it. You're being here is going to be good, I think. I'll leave you alone now, to get settled."
"Wait," I called after her as she tried to close the door, "Am I stupid?"
"What?" She came into the room, closing the door behind her.
"Be honest, because, wow, do I feel like I am." I sat down on the bed, looking up at her.
"Does he make you happy?" She asked, sitting next to me. I sighed, looking around the room. She stared at me with her golden eyes, brushing her hair behind her shoulder.
"I mean, yeah, I think he does."
"Well, then no." She smiled, "From what I've heard there aren't many things that make you happy, if he does, even just a bit, then it's not wrong for you to want to hang on to that."
I nodded, "Yeah. I guess you're right." She reached her hand out, brushing a stray piece of hair out of my face, I flinched slightly and she pulled her hand away, placing both hands in her lap. "Why are you being so nice?"
She sighed, "Because I appreciate what you're doing for Jasper." She pursed her lips, "I know that you don't have a good history with any of us, there's no reason for you to be doing this. I know that he's hurting and I'm just glad that you want to be there for him."
"Thank you," I mumbled, rubbing my face.
"Now," She stood up, "I'm going to let you have some time alone, the shower is down the hall if you would like to use it, but just get some rest, Leah." She closed the door softly behind her.
I put my face into a pillow, groaning loudly. I couldn't work out if I'd made the right descision, maybe after a hot shower and some sleep I'll have a clearer head.