DISCLAIMER: SM OWNS ALL, NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED

A/N: Hey there! Thanks again for the great response to the last chapter. Here is the battle royale! Now I'm no good battle scriber, and I wasn't even going to pretend I was, so the battle is short and simple, but it's not like you guys really care about a big fight, you want Leah and Edward. Read and review as always! Thanks.

CHAPTER 10

Patrols, training with the Cullen's, avoiding eye contact with Edward.

Patrols, training, avoid. Patrols, training, avoid.

Avoid, avoid, avoid.

My life had become a cycle of events. There was no longer anything to look forward too. I was too busy being pissed off to be depressed. I knew that it was no coincident that we had begun to gather for training, this had Cullen mischievousness written all over it. Rose probably made the suggestion (to lengthen my life span), Edward probably agreed for selfish reasons, Carlisle and Jasper assumed that it was an idea out of the goodness of Rose's heart (shockingly), and Alice probably saw it as an opportunity to rub the golden couple in my face.

I was ready for this battle to be over so I could spend my time awaiting death. However dying slowly was still something I was trying to wrap my head around.

The pack was sparring again with Jasper; I wasn't participating and had completely cut myself off from the pack—much to Sam's annoyance.

He didn't want anyone to know his trick he shouldn't have taught Jake.

I lay counting the blades of grass that were in front of me, stopping at moments to watch the little insects that moved around. They had no worries and worked endlessly. They seemed so carefree—sans the worries of being squished.

Jesus Christ I'm going crazy.

I glanced back towards the group, glancing over everyone quickly. Jake was with Bella, who was stroking his fur, and Edward was nowhere in sight. At that moment I felt the air shift as he sat down next to me. My eyes immediately slid to Bella, she was talking to Jake not even paying attention to Edward and his whereabouts. At least not like Alice was.

I stood up to move over and made the mistake of looking in his direction.

"Please, don't go." He barely whispered and I had to strain to hear him. "I need… I need this."

I reluctantly sat down, refusing to assume my previous relaxed position.

"I will never truly be able to make amends for what I have done," he began, "but if you would just give me a chance. One chance, I will make it up to you, no matter how long it takes."

A small, barely detectable whimper crawled out from the depths of my despair. He heard and shifted closer to me.

"Please look at me." He painfully moaned in a whisper.

Oh God, I can't do this.

I got up and shot off into the forest, pushing my legs the hardest I could to put as much distance as possible between us. Once my house was in sight, I phased back, pulling on my dress with lightening speed. There were tears falling down my face as I blindly climbed up the stairs.

I tripped through the front door causing my mom to spring off the couch to see what the commotion was. She took one look at my face and wrapped me in her arms.

I had never cried so hard in my life.

The day of the battle had finally come. Practice time was over, and if things went according to plan and we came out the victors, it would be one of the last happy-ish moments I would have with my pack. I was going to run after this.

I remembered the pain, the weakness; I felt when I was less than sixty miles from him. The more miles, the more pain and maybe eventually that pain would kill me or I'd at least be able to live with it.

We were crouched low, hidden by the forest, waiting for the herd of newborns. There was a twinge of nervousness that fluttered deep in my belly, but at the first vibration of the ground it vanished.

They're coming.

I opened my mind to the pack so that we could be in sync, yet kept a hold on the things they couldn't know.

The surrounding forest became deathly still, the birds had ceased singing, and there wasn't even a breeze. The vibration beneath my paws steadily became stronger and the rhythmic sound of feet hitting the ground became clear.

This is it, Sam said. You know what you have to do, protect each other, watch one another's back. Make your family proud.

At the first sound of ripping flesh we sprinted from our hidden position and leaped into the fight. We were surrounded in a crowd of newborns salivating at the mouth. They were just as Jasper said, unprepared and too anxious for a fight.

They came at us wildly, not prepared to take on werewolves, and fought like children. It was too easy to sink my teeth into their flesh and rip them apart. We all worked in sync together, and it seemed that everything was falling into place.

I had an eye on Seth, but saw a vampire trying to creep up behind Emmett's back. I raced to his defense, tackling the newborn and locking my jaws on their neck. I threw the head in his direction and he nodded thanks, and I turned my attention to the next newborn in my view.

It was a male, and once we made eye contact he came running at me full speed. I sank low to the ground at the last minute causing him to trip over me. I turned and locked my jaws around his leg and began to pull. He growled helplessly and began to kick at me with his free leg.

I growled and tightened my grip making him howl as I yanked, throwing my head left and right harshly. Paul came to my aid, biting his arms, and together we pulled, ripping the vampire apart at his torso. We looked around and saw that the last of the newborns were being finished off and affectionately bumped heads with one another.

Nice work, he said.

I couldn't have gotten that last one without you, I told him honestly.

He bumped my shoulder, No problem.

I turned my head, searching for Seth. He caught my glance and trotted over to me, licking me across the face.

Gross, I complained.

He just grinned at me.

There's your boy, he said gesturing behind me.

I turned to see Edward; Bella was jumping down from his back. He went to his family to check in with everyone, just as the pack was doing.

I nudged Seth with my head and motioned that we should gather with the rest of the pack. We began to walk, towards the pack that had started to gather on the far end of the clearing. Sam wasn't with the group; he was over by the Cullen's—Edward probably translating for him.

When he saw that we were gathering, he began to jog over to us. He was about half way, when I saw something in the corner of my eye. Something was in the bushes, it was lurking—waiting for something. I began to move forward, but I was too late.

The newborn shot out of the trees and ran straight for Sam. This was the biggest of all the newborns we'd seen today, and as he collided with Sam a wounded howl flew from his lungs. I was moving before I could even command my body.

I threw my body harshly into his, making him lose his grip and drop Sam's limp body to the ground. The vampire skidded a few feet away, but bounced back with lightening speed. He was quicker than I anticipated and he locked his arms around my middle, throwing me to the ground. I gasped in pain, squirming with all my might trying to find any wiggle room to free myself. His grip tightened and a howl escaped my throat as I felt my bones crumble underneath his grip. I sagged in his arms as the pain took over and blinded all my senses. I registered a feral growl somewhere and then I felt the ground beneath me.

"Leah!" Someone shouted.

My eyes were open, but my vision was so blurry.

There were hands touching my skin.

Had I phased back?

Where was Sam?

Something was laid over me. A hand caressed my face.

"Leah, can you hear me."

I couldn't speak, I could barely even think.

"We need to move them," a voice far away said. "They're coming."

Them? Sam?

Who's coming?

I was being lifted into someone's arms. They were warm.

Pack… family.

There was a hand lingering in my hair.

"She'll be okay."

Jake's arms?

The air was whistling and leaves were being trampled on. My eyes started to close. I fought to keep them open, but I found myself slipping.

No not slipping, falling gracefully into an abyss.

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