I feel like I need to apologize for not updating in forever. I'm sorry for that. Bu t I can't thank you guys enough for your response out of the last chapter.

Now here's one thing I needed to clarify, since it was brought to my attention by some reviewers: you guys have just got to have confidence in me that I know what I'm writing. I've known where I was going with this fic since I started it, and aside from tedious details, it isn't changing. I know you all have your own speculations about me not doing something correctly or getting facts mized up, but believe me, I did my research –A LOT of it –before I wrote this. Your trust is all I ask from you.

And with that little speech, enjoy this chapter!

Book Two: Needed

Leah's POV

Chapter 10

I couldn't concentrate as I walked into my house, even if I tried. I could smell my mother's cooking once I entered, and could hear the laughs and voices from the dining room. I went into the room to investigate, and there, I found my mother, Charlie –go figure –and Billy Black sitting there, eating my mother's great cooking.

"Hello, Leah," my mother smiled, seeming to force her eyes away from Charlie for my benefit for only a brief moment.

"Hey," I smiled warmly. Not even my mother's relationship matters could bring me down from the high I was experiencing.

"A smile!" Billy laughed. I haven't seen one on that face of yours in ages, Leah!"

I smiled nervously, a little embarrassed that I couldn't hide my happiness from them about being with Vinnie and his –our cove.

"Oh, she's been in very high spirits lately," my mother winked at me.

Unfortunately, the gesture didn't go unnoticed by Billy, who chuckled. "Really? This wouldn't have anything to do with the yelling I heard at my house this morning, does it?" He raised an eyebrow.

So, here's what the morning exactly was for me:

After Seth and I ran to Jacob's house –in human form; I'm pretty fast on two legs, too –Jacob was visibly pretty frantic when I saw him. Next to him was Embry, and Quil was on the couch watching TV.

"Where the hell have you been, Leah?" he practically screamed in my face. It wasn't that he was completely pissed at me, though that was part of it; He sounded more worried than anything else.

"Sorry," I apologized.

"I hope you have a good reason for not showing up last night. Not only was it your turn to patrol, but the whole town was in darkness. People were frenzied. Sam had his guys make sure the elderly were alright. We couldn't manage to do much without you."

"Aww," I said in an effort to lighten the mood, "you guys needed me?"

"Leah, don't start being a smart ass. Where were you?" Now, he was angry.

"At my house."

He furrowed his brows. "Doing what?"

"Nothing," I said a little too quickly.

Embry chuckled. "Oh, I know exactly what she did: my brother."

I was about to go after him, but Seth held me back. I could have taken him down if I really wanted to, but I didn't feel like it.

"Embry's brother?" Jacob asked. "Vinnie? What's he got to do with this?"

"Nothing," I growled. "Let's go."

I stormed out the back door and phased quickly. Pretty soon, I could hear the rest of them catching up.

"Oh, God," I heard Embry, "you snuggled with him?"

"In my clothes?" Seth inquired.

Needless to say, it was a pretty hectic morning, especially if your alpha has to pull you off two other people because you were trying to rip off their tails.

"Uh… yeah," I said to Billy. "Sorry about that. I didn't realize you were there."

"Distracted lately, are we?" my mother raised an eyebrow.

I rolled my eyes. I knew we couldn't get too deep into this morning's events due to Charlie Swan sitting at the table; even if he did know about Jacob and probably speculated on the Cullen's breed of mythical creatures, it wasn't his business to know. "I need to go upstairs." I turned and left.

"We'll talk about this later, Leah," my mother commented as I headed up the stairs.

"Yeah, yeah," I muttered under my breath. I went into my room and shut the door hard in an effort to get the message "Leave me alone" across to everyone else in my house; I needed to be by myself for just a second. I hadn't been alone to myself since before Vinnie came over.

I couldn't help but have a smile spread across my face at the very thought of his name. Vinnie. The very thought of him –his beautiful eyes, his wonderful smile, his face when he's asleep, his touch, his lips…

A knock interrupted any further delving into my mind.

"What?" I groaned, more irritated.

The door opened revealing my mother.

"Mom," I said exhausted, "please go away." I loved my mother, but sometimes I just hated that she couldn't let me be for one moment in my life. She always worried about me too much, especially after the whole Sam breakup. And right now, I wasn't ready for her onslaught of questions. What was I supposed to tell her if she asks what I did today? "Oh, went to the beach in the freezing cold –not that I noticed much, since I was busy making out with Vinnie Call. It's been something I've been looking forward to doing the entire day. Oh, by the way, I hope you don't mind the fact that he slept over last night. Anything else, mother?"

I doubt that would go over well.

"Leah, please tell me."

"Tell you what?"

She crossed her arms. "How do you feel about Vincent, Leah?"

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. What did I feel for him? We had fully admitted each other that we wanted the other. He told me that he'd been feeling that since we were in high school together. He wanted me all this time –years, even –and yet he chose that moment to finally tell me.

And he seemed to think I didn't feel the same.

Granted, I hadn't really seen him in high school. I mean, literally, I saw him, talked to him every so often. But I didn't see him; I couldn't see anyone besides Sam.

Again with the whole blindness factor.

So, sure, I wanted him, but beyond that… What did I feel?

I started with the basics, the easy part. "I like him," I admitted.

My mother chuckled from the doorway. "That much is obvious. How much do you like him?"

"A lot, I guess."

"Leah," she said sternly.

"I don't know, Mom!" I said exasperated. "This is all kind of new for me. I didn't… I haven't really felt like this before."

"Since Sam, you mean."

"I shook my head. "No, I mean ever. This is… different."

And it was. With Sam, everything was in the moment: a passionate embrace out of nowhere, us sneaking out of classes just to see each other, him and me lying about our whereabouts to our parents so that they didn't figure out we were over each other's house some nights. What I felt for him was clearly defined: I loved him, with as much vigor as I could at age fifteen through seventeen.

Vinnie was different. Vinnie didn't rush anything. Vinnie was someone who seemed he'd wait eternity just to be sure I was ready. He always seemed to have the confidence that I would come around in my own time. We had our embraces, our kisses, out little moments. Bu they seemed so natural and damn perfect that they seemed like they needed to be cherished in that instant properly, without rushing, without going over any little detail.

"I don't have to try with him, Mom," I told her. "He just wants me no matter what, just like I want him." That seemed about right. Why else would someone want something that was broken when they could easily find something that was better, more quality to it? People did that in stores with bad merchandise, returning it back when its faults were discovered. Who was to say that there wasn't a parallel to dating?

"Oh," she said simply. I could tell that she wasn't expecting that answer.

"Anything else?" I asked her.

My mother shook her head quickly. "Just… you be careful, Leah."

I t was my turn to nod quickly. I have been careful, I wanted to say. I had my walls up. I built them so that they surrounded and incased everything of me; my mind, my body, my soul, my heart.

He was all I could think about.

He was all I wanted to be near.

He touched a corner of my spirit no one else had been able to reach.

And my heart…

The conclusion: There were no more walls to break. I was bare; I was vulnerable.

I was weak for him, and only him.

As my mother left my room and I once again was within my won thoughts, I couldn't help but think that for some reason, being weak in this sense wasn't so bad. Not if it was because of him

Tonight, it was supposed to be Embry and me doing patrol. I wasn't too excited about the whole predicament. No doubt he'd search my mind for any further ventures his brother and I had went into.

When I changed, however, I could only hear Seth.

"Where's Embry?" I asked him as I ran.

"I don't know. He texted me and asked if I could do patrol for him."

"I can't understand how Jake's letting him do that, but I can't even-"

"Oh, just chill, Leah. Let's go."

With that, we circled the territory.

Through the quiet stillness, I let my mind wander over again to thoughts of only one person. It seemed as if this feeling –carefree, appreciative… happy; that's that I was for once –couldn't slip from my grip.

I could hear Seth. "Jeez, Leah, you're not the only one here."

"Oh, sorry." I couldn't imagine what that must be like for Seth; having his previously heartbroken sister suddenly head over heels for his friend's brother.

I heard him mentally chuckle.

"What?" I asked confused.

"Since when do you try and see from other people's perspective? You usually aren't so considerate. Maybe you should be around Vince more often."

I growled at him, getting back to my normally defensive self to cover up the embarrassment I felt. I was a better person because of him. He brought the best out of me.

"Not to mention, you should be apologizing for having him wear my shirt. You know how weird that is?"

With that, I ran to go lunge at him.

I suppose Vinnie brought the worst out of me, too.

After an uneventful patrol –well, besides going after Seth to put him back in his place every half hour or so –I returned home and had a dream. I was in the familiar forests surrounding the Cullen's home when I heard a brush in the bushes. All at once, I saw a werewolf, one that I had never seen before. It stared at me, its eyes seeming bewildered. It had to be one of the newer ones in Sam's pack that I just didn't recognize. I reached a hand to touch the fur of the creature, its eyes pulling me in, when suddenly I was pulled from my dream.

It was the foreign sunlight that had woken me up. That, and the smell of my mother making breakfast.

I immediately got out of bed and went to the kitchen, leaning against the counter as I tried to become fully awake. I knew from experience that if I didn't come downstairs and stake my claim on means ASAP, Seth had no problem shoveling the entire contents into his mouth.

"Dang it," I heard him say as he came down the stairs and saw me, "I was hoping I exhausted you enough yesterday that I would be able to have your food."

"Nice try, but it didn't work."

My mother put the food on plates –massive serving ones, except for her average sized one-and we ate at the dining room table.

While I was eating, my phone went off.

Looking at the caller i.d., I answered it immediately.

"Hey, Vinnie."

"Hey, Leah." He sounded terrible, his voice thick and scratchy.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I came down with something. I think it was that cold weather yesterday." He chuckled, or at least tried to. "I'm sick."

"I'm sorry. I feel like this is my fault."

"Of course it's not your fault, Leah. Don't think I regret yesterday for a second."

I smiled at his words. "I don't, either."

"I just wanted to call and tell you, so that you didn't have to worry about me." He started coughing.

"Do you want me to come over? I could-"

"No," he said quickly. "My mom thinks it contagious."

"Oh, alright. Well, get better soon, okay?"

"I will, if only to see you again."

I laughed. "You're so corny sometimes, I swear."

"It's part of my charm. I'll talk to you later, alright?"

"Yeah, I will. See ya," I couldn't help but say the words with sadness.

"Goodbye, Leah."

I hung up the phone and went back to eating.

"Well?" Seth said.

I looked up and saw my mother and him staring at me. "What?"

"What's happened?" my mother asked.

"Vinnie's really sick."

"Oh, that's too bad."

I sighed. "Yeah, it is."

Oh, he's sick…. really? Hmm….

Please post your reviews and comments on the chapter. I know how excited you guys are for the next chapter with Vinnie, and a large response gets my fingers moving a bit quicker.

Cocoa