After I get the vampire stink off me I change into some comfortable clothes and head for Sam's place with Seth, leaving my mom home with Emily. When we arrive the rest of the pack is already there lounging around Sam's kitchen. Quil, Embry, and Jacob smile at Seth and I as we grab two empty seats. Paul is glaring at me while Jared just looks bored and Sam's face is blank. Looking back I realize that when I slammed Paul's head into the lockers and he ran away it probably wasn't because he was a coward. He had been shaking so hard I thought he might be crying but now I am pretty sure that he was trembling in anger and he ran away to stop himself from phasing and mauling me. That day was probably the closest I've ever come to dying.
"Leah, did you get a chance to talk to Bella?"
I notice Quil and Embry exchange looks and smirk at each other when Sam says Bella's name. He must have told everyone about my imprint, though Quil also could have picked it up when I phased earlier today...I haven't quite figured out how much is transferred through the pack mind and how quickly. Maybe I'll look into that with Seth. Someone clears their throat and I realize everyone is staring at me and waiting for me to answer.
"Yeah. I told her about us and she already knew about the Cullens. Only Alice is here right now," I notice some of the members look confused so I clarify, "I believe she's the tiny dark-haired one. Bella says the rest are coming back soon though. I told her about the other bloodsucker and she said she'd pass it along. I mentioned you may want to talk to them once they're all here."
"You're right, I will. We need to make sure they are keeping an eye on Forks, we'll patrol our own land. For now you and Seth will shadow someone else from the pack. We will patrol in four hour shifts, someone out there at all times. Once I feel that you two are ready to patrol on your own everyone will have three hour shifts. So...who wants to adopt a pup?"
Sam smiles as he says asks and the rest of the pack chuckles. Embry stands and grabs Seth, pretending to look him over. Seth plays along, hoping up and down and panting.
"I guess I'll take this one," Embry says. "But only if he's house trained."
"I can help Leah out," Quil chimes in. I smile at him gratefully, for a second I was afraid no one would want to pair up with me and I would be stuck with Sam.
Quil and I take the early morning shift so we can be done before he goes to school, Seth and Embry get the evening shift. Jacob leaves immediately to start patrolling but the other boys stay where they are, starting to chat and joke around. Quil comes up to stand next to me and gives me a friendly grin.
"Usually there's also food at these things. Emily's been around since the beginning so she's used to cooking up enough to feed the pack. She has food ready for us almost all the time. You can pretty much come by here at any time and find a few of us hanging out."
"That's really cool. You all are like a big family."
"And we just adopted you and Seth. Welcome to the family."
While Quil and I are on patrol he teaches me a lot but we also spend time getting to know each other. I decide that I have to introduce him to Ben some time, I think they would both get along. Not only does he also like video games and comic books but he also has a similar sense of humour and he is just as sweet as Ben is. I find out from him that most of the other pack members are a bit wary of having a girl in the pack. I can understand that - I am a bit wary of being in the pack with all guys. Being naked after we phase plus the whole pack mind deal makes all of this pretty awkward.
Quil is pretty cool about it though and I am glad he is the person showing me the ropes. He does make fun of my fur and insist I come over to his place after our shift so his mom can cut my hair. I don't mind since I have been planning on getting it cut anyway and we both head over to his house after we hear Jared phase and tell us our shift is over. I have met his mom, Joy, a few times as La Push is not a very big place but this is the first time I have ever been to their house. She offers to cook us breakfast and although I decline she makes me a huge plate anyway and watches me to make sure I eat all of it. It seems all the women who have someone they care about in the pack have learned to make wolf-sized portions of food.
Quil asks her to cut my hair and then takes off for school. She sets up a chair for me in the living room, laying a sheet on the floor to catch the hair and bringing out a set of professional looking scissors. We chat pleasantly as she works and when she is finished the end result looks wonderful. My hair is short in the back barely reaching the top of my neck, but gets longer towards the front, with the hair framing my face falling a couple inches past my chin. It's perfect.
I thank her and help her clean up before heading back home where everyone is surprised by new hair but my mom assures me she likes it. I head to bed for a nap since I'm exhausted from the early morning patrol, and when I wake up I convince Seth to help me figure out some of the mysteries of the pack mind. By the time we head out to the backyard and phase it is Sam's shift and he chimes in every once in a while to answer our questions as he patrols. So far nobody has come across anything but he is going to keep us on high alert until he is sure the vampire is gone.
When Bella arrives Seth and I are still in wolf form, wrestling each other in the backyard. Seth is a tall, gangly wolf with fur the color of sand. It is an odd match-up because I am much more solid and muscular than him, I am assuming because he is so young. Although I have noticed that I am one of the biggest wolves in the pack, just barely smaller than Sam and Jacob. I also know that I am the fastest because Quil claims he was the fastest before I came along and I ran circles around him at patrol. When I notice she's on the back porch watching us I give an excited yelp, running over to her and rubbing my head against her legs in greeting. She laughs as the pats my head and then Seth's when he runs over to greet her as well. We both head to opposite sides of the forest where we each decided to hide clothes. By the time I get dressed and head back towards the porch Seth is already there. He just slipped on some shorts - I am jealous of the boys because all they have to worry about is shorts since they can walk around without shirts and no one says anything.
Bella smiles at me as I walk towards the two of them, giving me a hug when I get close enough. She doesn't have any vampire smell on her today and I smile as I breathe in her wonderful scent. When she pulls away she stays close as she runs her fingers through my shorter hair and it takes all my willpower not to pull her in and kiss her. She gently twirls a strand of my hair around her finger.
"I'm going to miss your beautiful long hair but this looks nice. And you certainly look a bit less silly as a wolf now, but still shaggy enough to be cute."
"What are you talking about? I am an absolutely vicious wolf."
I playfully snap at her finger with my teeth as I say this but she pulls it away and sticks her tongue out at me. I have the overwhelming urge to reach forward and capture that tongue with my mouth. I am beginning to wonder if I have the willpower to ignore this imprint after all but then I remember that I am doing this for Bella and I know I can resist for her sake. We head inside where my mom and Emily are working in the kitchen to prepare food. At some point this morning they both decided the pack could start hanging out here since Emily is staying with us for a while anyway and my mom would love to be kept busy by cooking for all the boys. Jared, Paul, Quil and Embry all walk in through the front door at the same time we come in from the back. They all greet Bella and I am relieved that none of them do anything to hint at the fact that I imprinted on her. As happy as I am that my mom has found something that will keep her busy I am not looking forward to my house being constantly filled with guests.
Seth joins the four of them while Bella and I head to my bedroom. She lets me know that she told Alice and that the rest of the Cullens are arriving later tonight and will want to meet with Sam sometime tomorrow night. After that we lay on my bed as she asks me to describe what it is like to be a wolf. I have a double bed so it is large enough for both of us lay comfortably without touching, but after I have been talking for a bit Bella shifts to stretch out and ends up throwing one of her legs over mine. I stumble over my words when I feel the weight of her leg on my thigh but recover quickly and continue talking. I know the gesture is innocent in Bella's mind, she probably just wanted to spread out a little and we are close enough that she didn't think I would care. When I am done telling her about being a wolf we both lay in silence while I gather the courage to ask her about Edward.
"So the rest of the Cullens coming back...how are you feeling about that?"
Bella sighs and moves to sit cross-legged next to me on the bed and I immediately miss the contact. I end up mirroring her position, watching her as she gathers her thoughts to answer my question.
"I am not sure. When they left all I wanted was for them to come back, I thought I couldn't live without them, without Edward. Thanks to you I realized that I didn't need Edward in my life. If I hadn't met you I don't know what I would have done." She grabs my hand as she says this, smiling at me gratefully. "When I saw Alice the other night I was so happy that she was back. I love Alice, she was one of my best friends. After I got over the initial joy though I felt pretty upset. Her and the others had abandoned me without even saying goodbye. At least Edward had the decency to break my heart in person."
"Bella we don't have to talk about this if it's too upsetting," I softly interject. Her voice has gotten louder and her face is reddening in anger. She just shakes her head and gives my hand a squeeze.
"No, it's okay. I want to tell you." She takes a few calming breaths before continuing. "I told Alice I was upset with her and she apologized. She told me none of them wanted to leave but Edward insisted. He told them it would be better for me if they left without saying anything. And he made Jasper feel so guilty about what had happened."
"What happened with Jasper?"
"Oh, it was silly really. I was at their house for a game night and we were playing charades. I got a paper cut from one of the slips of paper. Jaspers new to their diet and there was a scuffle. Edward tried to push me out of the way, only I ended up smashing into a mirror and cutting my arm even worse."
She releases my hand to pull up her sleeve and show me a few fresh scars on her arm, including one long jagged one that must have resulted from a deep cut. I feel myself start to get furious at the thought of my imprint being in that sort of danger and my hands start shaking as I try to calm my breathing. Bella notices how angry I am getting and gently rubs one of my shoulders, asking if I am okay. The contact and the sound of her voice help me calm down.
"Sorry," I say. "I just don't like the thought of you being in that sort of danger. Bleeding in a house full of vampires."
"Oh I was never in any danger," Bella remarks. Never in any danger? This girl has no regard for her own safety. "Edward made it worse by being so dramatic. Jasper wouldn't have done anything, and the rest of them could easily have stopped him if he tried. Anyway it was my fault for being so accident prone. After that Edward said it was too dangerous and I needed a chance at a normal human life. He told me he had made a mistake thinking he could ever be happy with a human and I would never hear from them again. Then I guess he forced everyone else to leave. So it's really just Edward that I am upset with, the rest of the Cullens I will be happy to see."
She leave soon after that conversation and I end up thinking about what she said all night. I am relieved that it is Edward she is upset with although I am still worried about her safety with the rest of the Cullens. Thinking about Edward leaving because he claimed to know what was best for her is what really gets me...Bella is her own person and can decide for herself what she thinks is best. As soon as I think that I realize that I have been acting a little like Edward myself and I resolve to fix that tomorrow. I am going to tell Bella about the imprint.
