Seth's POV

I was exhausted. We'd spent the whole day trekking around the Forks border trying to see if we could locate the Shifter that's been hassling us. Jake had increased our efforts after we heard about the attack on the young girl, Bennett, but still we were as lost as ever. We hadn't found the smallest trace of the Shifter and according to Sam they'd lost the trail on their side of the border too.

Sam had come to the conclusion that the Shifter, Pippa, must had swam away from La Push, as there were no tracks to follow on land. It turned out that Bennett and Pippa were actually in a relationship when the attack had happened. Jake had suggested that maybe Pippa had imprinted on Bennett and I wasn't the only one who had reacted quite immaturely at the idea of a female Shifter imprinting on a human female.

Leah had been rather pissed off at me for my 'simple minded behaviour'. She liked Bennett, although Bennett seemed more than a little reserved around everyone. Not that anyone blamed her, both her mother and her girlfriend had betrayed her within the space of a month, it was natural that she wouldn't be very trusting.

Mum had called me to her place as they were about to call Bennett's mother and she wanted a member of each pack to be there when the call was made. I got the feeling that she really just wanted Leah and I there as support, because Charlie was working until late this evening and she was afraid that Bennett had not exaggerated her mother's actions. Mum thought that we should all know what the poor girl had been through so we didn't upset her with ill chosen words. She also hoped that Kathleen Diardi might be able to shed some light on the relationship between her daughter and Pippa.

Apparently the missing person's sign said that Bennett had run off with a man called Philip which had really confused us all, but Charlie had said that he'd seen it once before. When a parent was unable to accept their child's sexuality and so would refer to their son's or daughter's significant other by a name that made them sound straight. I couldn't believe that any parent could be so cruel as to insult their child with such behaviour.

Mum had put the phone on speaker so that everyone could hear what Kathleen Diardi, Bennett's mother, had to say about her daughter's disappearance. The number had been dialled and we were waiting for someone to answer the phone. We were about to give up and try again later when the phone stopped ringing. A male voice answered the call.

"Yo." he sounded quite young and I couldn't help but think that Mum would have smacked me upside the head for answering a phone call so casually.

Mum answered as politely as she could without scolding the boy for his telephone manners, "Hello, my name is Sue Clearwater and I was..."

"I'm sorry but we're not interested in any sort of discount on anything we own." the boy sounded annoyed at being disrupted.

Mum made sure to talk loudly so that he would hear her over his own grumbling, "No, I'm not trying to sell you anything. May I ask who you are?"

He huffed into the phone before answering, "Jesse." Charlie had told us that according to birth records, Bennett had a twin brother called Jesse. It surprised me that he would still be living there when their mother had supposedly chased off Bennett.

"And your mother is Kathleen Diardi?" Mum questioned as she looked at Leah with confusion written across her face.

There was silence for a moment and when Jesse responded he sounded cautious, "Yes... what do you want?"

A small smile twitched at the edges of Mum's lips as she answered him, "I need to talk to your mother about your sister, Bennett?"

Again there was silence but there was something in the silence that made me think that Jesse was worried about something. The next thing we heard was muffled yelling, "Mum! Mum, there's a call for you! It's about Benny!" I could tell from his tone that he was concerned and I hoped that the concern was for his sister, although I couldn't be sure. If his mother had kept him around then there was a chance that he agreed with her decision.

After a short kafuffle we got an unexpectedly polite answer, "Hello, this is Kathleen Diardi. How can I help you?"

I couldn't quite read the expression on my mother's face as she processed the words and the tone, "Well, firstly, your daughter is okay but she was involved in an accident."

"An accident, what sort of accident?" I couldn't help but feel that the worry this woman was showing was more than a little put on.

I could tell that Mum felt the same way, "She was attacked by an animal."

Everyone was shocked to hear Kathleen Diardi laugh at the sound of her daughter's trauma, "An animal attack? You say she's alright though."

"Um..." Mum was thrown by the reaction, "yes, her leg is broken but..."

Kathleen interrupted before Mum could finish, "She's fucking fine. The girl could use a little toughening up anyway."

Mum was outraged by the blatant disregard that this mother showed for her only daughter, "She's your daughter and she's in pain. Her leg is broken and her girlfriend is missing, she could really use a mother right now."

"Oh, fuck her leg." I couldn't believe that she was actually being so heartless, "And she left with her useless boyfriend, she does not have a girlfriend. She's an idiot but she'd never do that, she knows how unnatural that is."

Even if her mother hadn't sent her away, I wouldn't have blamed her for leaving. To tell your daughter that she was unnatural was beyond mean. It was entirely understandable that she would want to leave. I was thankful that I had a mother who would never treat me that way.

"Your daughter is not unnatural. She's injured and alone."

"You don't know my daughter. If you did, you'd know that she goes against all the laws of nature. Now, if you don't mind, I would like to end this call and never hear from you again." she sounded so cold and uncaring that I felt chills run down my spine.

Mum was almost in tears as she sighed, "Not even for your daughter."

"You know what, you busy body bitch? You can call me but unless it's to tell me that she's lying on a slab in the morgue, then I don't care."

And with that she hung up.

Everyone was silent. This woman didn't deserve to be a mother. Not when all she wanted to know was when her daughter was dead. What could Bennett have possibly done to warrant such horrific disgust from her mother? It was almost like Kathleen Diardi wasn't really Bennett's mother at all.

"What the hell was that?" Paul eventually gasped, he looked as appalled as I felt.

Mum was crying softly now and she sniffed hard before answering, "That is the worst mother in the world."

I moved from my seat to sit on the arm of my mother's chair, where I pulled her into a hug. She may have looked like a hard woman and often acted like a hard woman, but she was a loving mother and I knew that she was hurting for Bennett. Bennett needed someone who was going to support her and she had no one, not even her girlfriend.

Sam was shaking his head, staring at the carpet, "Why do you think she keeps Jesse around, though?"

That was a very good question. This woman sounded like there wasn't a maternal bone in her body, so why would she let her son stick around for any longer than she had to? Why was Bennett so easy to turn away, when she couldn't or wouldn't do the same to her son? Surely, a mother would have a better relationship with her daughter than with her son.

"I don't want to say it but... maybe there's something that Bennett isn't telling us?" Jake suggested and I noticed that Leah was glaring at him.

She snapped at our Alpha, "Like what?"

"Like why her mother is so angry. I'm not saying that Bennett is the one to blame but maybe she knows something that her mother doesn't want anyone knowing." Jake was smart enough to know when not to push on Leah's buttons, and this was one of those times.

Leah shook her head, "I think her mother might be a homophobe. I mean, we all heard her. Saying that her daughter was unnatural, suggesting that homosexuality was stupid. Her mother is a bigoted bitch, plain and simple."

Leah finished with authority and just as she did, the phone rang. Everyone jumped, especially me because I was just about sitting on the phone dock. I moved to kneel in front of the couch so Mum could answer the phone.

"Hello, Clearwater residence." Mum said with a slightly shaky voice.

"Mrs Clearwater, is it?" We were all surprised to hear Jesse's voice.

Mum gulped but I could see a smile growing on her lips, "Yes, Jesse."

Jesse sounded genuinely distressed, "Is Benny alright? What happened to her?"

There was a huge smile on Mum's face as she realised that there was someone that cared about Bennett after all, "Physically, she's fine. She was attacked by a bear and it broke her leg but otherwise there was no real damage."

"Physically?" It made me smile that Jesse would pick up on the qualifier, "What about emotionally?"

Mum sighed, "Pippa was there during the attack, but we haven't been able to locate her since."

Jesse was quiet, the only thing we heard from him were his slow and heavy breaths. It was nice to know that someone actually cared about Bennett's welfare and didn't hate her because she was attracted to another woman.

Jesse sighed, "Is Benny there; I'd like to talk to her?"

Mum adjusted her position so that she was facing the phone, as if she would be able to hear Jesse better if she was sitting in the right spot, "No, she's not. She didn't want to talk to your mother."

"Do you think she's dead? Pippa, that is." Jesse asked, and I figured his last question was a set up so that he didn't suggest that Pippa was dead in front of Bennett.

"We are still looking for her and we hold hope that she's just hiding somewhere." This was a lie but how do we tell him that Bennett's girlfriend was a Shifter that almost killed her. It was a part of this life, lying to people, bending the truth; we were all naturals at it now.

"Where are you?" Jesse's distress was strangely pleasing to hear, I couldn't get over how much it seemed to lighten the mood of the room; in an ironic sort of way.

Mum was glad to finally hear that someone genuinely cared, "La Push, Washington. She is safe here and welcome to stay as long as needed, but I felt that your family deserved to know."

"I would come see her but I... I can't but if you need anything then call me on this number. Also, could you remind Benny that I love her? She doesn't have the best interpersonal skills but she's a sweet girl, she doesn't deserve this."

"We know that. And it's nice to know that you've turned out all right, considering everything." I knew Mum was taking a cheap shot at Bennett and Jesse's mother, but I thought it was acceptable, given the circumstances.

Jesse sighed heavily, "Please, don't be like that. Bennett was well loved here, but my mother is a... high strung woman and they clashed. Dad's been around lately and that's been causing problems. She's actually a good mother, she fed us, clothed us and educated us. Bennett was never abused."

"Until three weeks ago." Leah snapped and then clapped a hand over her mouth.

"I don't know who that was but our mother never actually touched Bennett. Mum cares but... you wouldn't understand, but Mum does love Bennett. She just feels that Bennett is old enough to make her own way in life now." I was starting to lose some of my respect for Jesse. How can he defend his mother for what she's done?

"Well, let's just hope that you don't ever have to feel how Bennett is feeling now." Mum said, trying to diffuse this situation.

Jesse scoffed, "You think I don't have empathy for my sister? I wish that she never had to leave but there was nothing I could do, and she had Pippa. I promise that I'll be coming down to see her soon but don't think for a second that I don't feel for her."

"I'm not trying to question your love for your sister; it's obvious to me that you love her very much. We'll tell your sister that you are thinking of her and I'm sure she'll be happy to hear that you're planning on visiting." Mum was smiling broadly at the knowledge that Bennett did have someone.

There was silence for a second before Jesse sighed, "If anything happens, anything at all, you can call me on this number, Benny knows it off by heart. And could you please tell her to call me when she gets back. She owes me that at least."

"Of course I will, Jesse. And feel free to call us if you ever want to know anything or if you just want to talk to Bennett."

"Thank-you, Mrs Clearwater. I don't know if you realise how much it means to me, you helping my sister and all."

"It's our pleasure, Jesse. And I hope to see you soon."

Jesse took his time to reply, "Thank-you. I hope to be there soon."

And with that he hung up.

Mum sighed and turned away from the phone. She looked happier than she had when she got off the phone Bennett's mother. I knew that it was because she believed everyone deserved someone who loves them just for them; after everything she'd been through over the last few weeks, Bennett needed someone now more than ever. Mum was thankful that Jesse was a better brother than Kathleen was a mother.

"At least her brother's cool." Jake shrugged as he stood up, "I think it's time we got back on patrol, I'm sure Embry and Quil would like to be relieved."