"Seth?" I call through the house.

"What Leah?" He shouts back.

"Don't you dare leave this house." I round the corner and see him half way out the door. "You have school tomorrow."

"So what?" He sighs, stepping back into the house.

"So what?"

"Yeah, what's the big deal, I have the pack, I don't need school."

"Don't need school?"

"No Leah, I don't."

"Yes you do. Don't ever say that again."

He closes his eyes and lets out a long breath.

"I'm sorry Lee. I just... well... I'm sorry."

I lean back onto the kitchen table. He was right of course, he didn't need school, he would have the pack for his whole life. But I wouldn't. I'm the one who needed to find a way to move on and leave it behind me.

"Just don't, okay. I'll take your shift tonight, you need your rest."

"Lee, you can't do that, you have school too, and you need it. More than me at least."

"Seth, sit down and do your homework."

"Lee..." He sighs, "Please. Just get some sleep."

"I am fine."

"No Leah, you aren't." He says with a shake of his head. "When was the last time you got a full night's sleep?"

I set my jaw and shift my feet.

"Yeah. Just let me take the night shift. I'll still go to school tomorrow."

"Seth, you can't handle that."

"Yes I can Leah!" He shouts, "Please, just let me take the night shift Lee. You need your sleep too. I can do this, I'll make it to school and I'll make it work. Isn't that what you always say, if someone says that you can't do something, you stand up and tell them to their face, 'You watch me. I'll make it work.' How come when I try and do something and you tell me I can't, you lock me in my room and tell me to do school work." He voice cracks towards the end.

"Yeah, and you know what, you watch me, I'll make it work." I say softly into his ear as I pull him into a hug.

"Lee..."

"Seth, I'll make it work. It's fine, you go do your homework. Mom should be getting home soon, tell her dinner is in the fridge."

"Lee..." He repeats.

"It's fine Seth, I can do it."

"So can I."

"Seth, you're only fourteen."

"I know, but I'm still a guy. We both know you aren't in it for the long run, that you can't be. Please Lee, just go to school. I'm gonna' be fine."

"S-"

"Lee. Sit down, eat a real dinner, actually do your homework-"

"I do my homework." I grumble.

"But you get almost every question wrong."

"Do not."

"Lee, I've seen your grades. I've made excuses for you when teachers try and call mom about a parent teacher meeting. It matters. It matters a lot more for you than for me."

"You took that call?" I sigh, rubbing my temple.

"Yeah. I'll be fine, I can take the night shift. Besides, it's with Sam."

"I can take the same shift as Sam." I hiss.

"Yeah, but you can't take the night shift every other day. I only have it once every week or two, you're already taking two shifts on a normal week plus mine and you skip half of school two or three times a week to take the afternoon shift. And you take double shifts all the time. More than Sam, more than Jake, more than anyone. When you are out there you run faster, harder, and longer than anyone else. When you fight, you win. Every time. You don't take no for an answer. When you aren't with the pack you study. It doesn't help much at all, but you pass, which is more than I can say for most of the guys. You make dinner and take care of the house and do the grocery shopping and everything else. You've never had a drink and haven't touched a cigarette or joint in your life. Just do your homework and get some sleep."

I take a deep breath in and let it out slowly, buying myself some time.

"Fine. Take your night shift. Be back by sunup. It's easiest if you skip first period to get some more sleep, that way you actually retain what's going on in the other classes. Who do you ave first?"

"Wilson."

"I'll shoot her an email that says you had a temperature last night and I made you sleep in but it was gone this morning."

"That works?"

"Sometimes. I alternate out a few different excuses."

"Um... okay. Get something to eat."

"You too." I say, tossing him a sandwich.

"You're kidding me, right?" He says, looking at the sandwich.

"You don't want to run on a full stomach. Eat some more when you get back. If you want to you can bring a few more to eat during your shift."

"Sure. Thanks again Lee."

I force a smile and wrap him in a hug.

"I'll be fine Lee, I'm not a little kid anymore."

"Yes you are." I tease, tousling his hair.

He shows that lopsided grin of his and turns to leave, inhaling the sandwich in a few bites.

I sit down with my home work and flip through the pages of make-up work. He was right, I was way behind. At the beginning of the year I had held A+ averages in every class, but since I phased, my grades have plummeted. My earlier grades had kept me afloat for a while, but now I was sinking fast.

I skimmed the math and biology. I didn't even recognize most of it. When I flipped through the English and history I had the same reactions. I tried to work through a few of the math problems on my own but eventually dropped it all into my back pack and headed off for the library.

-0-

I sat at one of their computers and pulled out my work. It was ten or so miles from the reservation, and my house was about five miles into the reservation. It took about eight minutes, I could have been there faster if I had run hard, but I was already pretty wiped.

"Excuse me?" a sharp voice trills behind me.

I roll my eyes and turn to look at her. It was the librarian, of course.

"What are you wearing?"

"Uh..." I look down at myself. I was wearing a cut off icee tee and a pair of denims with the legs cut off into a pair of shorts.

"Do you even have a card here? Did you sign in? Did you log yourself for using the computer?"

"I do have a card here. What, you think 'cuz I'm from the reservation I don't care about school?"

She purses her lips and nods at he check out counter.

"You will need to sign into the log before you can use a computer, and you need to sign the book when you come into the library."

"I did." I say through gritted teeth.

"Then you may use the computer for half an hour."

"Why only thirty minutes?"

"Because, other people need to have a chance to use them too."

"There's no one else in the whole damn library!" I shout.

"Lower your voice." She hisses. "If you don't I will have to remove you from the library."

I roll my head back.

"For what?" I spit, a slightly lower tone.

She taps the toe of her black heel against the floor, letting the sound resonate around the room.

I stare at her for a moment before falling back into the seat at the computer.

She watches me over the shoulder for a few minutes then returns to the front desk. A few seconds later, a shadow passes by the shelves to my right. I glance up, but quickly turn back to the monitor, figuring that I was wrong, there had been someone else here. But a shortly after, a paper airplane sailed straight into the librarian.

She snapped her neck up and pinched her lips, scrunching her entire face up, save her eyes which were bulging.

She takes the signing in book and reads my name, then turns to the computer by the front desk and taps out a few things.

"You are no longer allowed to use this library." She hisses, jabbing a long, knobby finger at the door, "Leave."

"That wasn't me!"

"Then who was it?" She grins.

"I don't know, there's someone else in here."

"You said so yourself, you're the only one here. You're the only one who's signed in."

"There's someone else here!" I repeat.

She just swings her arm again, gesturing at the door.

I take a deep breath and grab my binder.

"Fine!"I shout, "I'll find somewhere else to study."

On my way out I see her smile and give herself a nod of approval.

"She's pretty bitchy, isn't she."

I spin around to see Embry leaning against the wall below an open window.

"That was you?" I shriek.

"Yeah."

"You got me kicked out!"

"And?"

"And now I don't have a computer to do homework."

"Yeah you do, just sneak in."

"And how do you suggest I do that?"

He nods up to the window.

"Yous sneak into the library through a window?"

"Yeah, I got banned in third grade. I needed a book for a report."

"So you just took it?"

"I was gonna' bring it back."

I glare at him for a moment then walk up to the window. I give a quick little jump and grab onto the window ledge, pulling myself in. When I drop onto the floor, I notice a heavy floral scent that isn't in the rest of the library and upon quick examination of the pink tiles and floral wallpaper I conclude on girl's bathroom. Of course, the toilet in the corner helped too. It was one of those small, single stall bathrooms that only one person could use at a time.

"Girls' bathroom? Seriously?"

"Yeah, the guy's is on an inside wall and I wasn't going to go directly into the library."

I roll my eyes again and crack the door to see if the librarian was there. The coast was clear. I let the door swing open the rest of the way and crept around the corner into a more secluded area where the other computer was.

"Whatcha' workin' on?" Embry asks.

"Everything. I've missed a lot of school."

"You passing?"

"Barely."

He flips through a few pages and looks at the web pages I'm scrolling through. He rips out a piece of blank paper and scratches out a number.

"Here, this is Parker's number. She's been helping me in school. She's been an honor student her whole life, always takes all AP classes. Makes it look easy. The only reason she is in regular classes this year is because she came in late and the other classes were all full."

"I'm fine. I don't need a tutor, I'll make it work."

"Leah, you do. Face it, you need help. Just admit it. I won't tell anyone, just text Parker, see if she can help you. Chances are she'll say yes, she doesn't do much outside of school."

I clench my jaw and turn back to the computer, scrolling through a page on plotting lines.

"Leah! No one denies the fact that you're the toughest one in the pack, will you just take some help though? Parker is the only reason I'm even passing."

"I don't need help."

I know that I sounded like a cocky, arrogant fool, but the last thing I was about to do is admit I need help. It seemed like a sort of defeat. I have always been a very independent person, since I was a kid. My parents were almost always at work so I basically took care of Seth his whole life. I have been responsible for the two of us for as long as I could remember, and asking for help from someone I hardly knew seemed like admitting I couldn't do it. Because, as Seth said earlier, I don't listen when people say I can't do something. I make it happen then watch their face when I'm done. That's why I take all the double shifts and the night border runs. I feel like the instant I stop, everyone will start saying I'm weak. And I'm not, I can do anything they can. They told me I couldn't take being a wolf, and I proved them wrong.

Embry pulls out his phone, presses a few buttons and puts it back into his pocket.

"What was that?"

"I just asked Parker if she had the time to tutor you."

"Embry!" I hiss between my teeth, hoping the librarian didn't notice.

"What? You weren't going to ask her yourself."

"Maybe because I don't want any help."

He glances at his phone again and reaches down for my bag. He swings it onto his shoulder and walks back to the woman's restroom.

"Embry! Give it back." I whisper, tugging at it.

Under normal circumstances, I would have no trouble at all getting it back, but I couldn't have the librarian finding us.

He shut the door behind us and threw the bag out the window.

"Embry!"

He continues to ignore me, hoisting himself up onto the windowsill. He extends a hand to me, which I take and use to pull him down.

He lurches forward, falling down on top of me, pinning me to the floor.

"Get off." I grumble, shoving at him.

He rolls off and rubs his shoulder.

"You're the one who pulled me down." He whispers under his breath.

I pull myself up and out of the window, dropping down next to my bag. He drops down after me.

"Parker can meet us now, in the dinner."

"What?" I shout, finally out of the library.

"You're getting tutoring. You like it or not."

"No, I'm not."

He grabbed my wrist and tried to pull me to his car.

I twist his arm and pull away.

"Leah, no one can deny that you've got balls, but you can't do everything yourself. If you were a guy, you would be Alpha, no doubt about it. So pull yourself together, get in the car, and come with me to the diner to get some help."

I grit my teeth but slid into the car.

This was going to be a train wreak.