On Saturday, I went to Jacob's house. He drove me to Sam and Emily's cabin again, and I got to know the pack more and more.
Everybody was really welcoming, even Paul. I don't think Leah would have, but she wasn't there. Probably avoiding my presence. What a wimp.
Emily sat with Sam, curled up on the couch, watching the television. Modern Family was on, and it was pretty funny. Even I cracked a smile every once in a while. I felt Jacob's snaking around my waist and I took no hesitation to give it a hard smack.
"Ouch," he hissed. His tan arm was turning into a bright red. "You know you're really strong too, and your light smack could be fatal to my arm?"
I rolled my eyes, but returned to watching the show.
Suddenly, someone burst through the door.
"Oh my Lord, Emily, are you cooking something up? Because I am starved-" Leah cut off when she saw me. "Oh, she's here."
"Leah," Jake said warningly.
"Hey, Leah, nice to see you too," I replied sarcastically. I was starting to get really annoyed by her immature behavior.
"Why is she here again?"
"I invited her," Sam said, standing up.
"Okay. Well, why?"
"Why not? She's Jacob's mate, she has every right to be here and not be questioned."
"This is where the pack hangs out. It's not a place where humans can barge in and do whatever they'd like." I felt my temper rising.
You had no idea how tempted I was to tell her that I was not human. But then I remembered that I hadn't told Jacob.
Then she turned to me. "We can all act like we want you here, but we really don't. So next time, before you waltz into our cabin, think twice."
Next to me, Jacob stiffened, and I knew he was going to jump up and do something he would regret to Leah. But not before I exploded.
"Shut up!" I yelled at her. She blinked, obviously taken aback by my little outburst. "I'm not welcome here? Personally, I think you're the only one that thinks so! You have such a sour attitude, and I am done with it."
"Oh yeah? Who's the one that's just coming and going as she likes? That sure as hell isn't me-"
"If you have a brain, Leah, you could see that I haven't left yet. I came here and I'm here to stay. So it's smart for you to just suck it up, because I'm not going anywhere-"
"My God, you're fucking annoying! I'm not going to "suck it up" because I was here first! If anyone has to suck it up, it's you, because you're going to leave and not come back-"
"Oh, cut the crap! Stop being so immature and going on and on about how you were here first and I'm the outsider!"
"I never said that, you said it yourself!"
I didn't realize how close we got while we were bickering until she took a swipe at me. Luckily, Sam pushed us apart before we did anything bad to each other, but she cut some skin on my left cheek.
I glared at her, and she glared at me.
"Both of you need to calm down. Leah, this behavior is inappropriate. Whenever we have a newcomer, especially if she is a mate of another member, you are to be welcoming, not to be pushing her away. I do not approve of the way you have acted towards Max, and I expect you to apologize."
"Like hell I will," Leah grunted, crossing her arms and not breaking eye contact with me.
"You little-" I started to throw another comment back, but Sam's strong arm stopped me.
"And Max, you cannot start to lose your temper whenever Leah says something to you. You should take it calmly, and let us deal with it."
"I'm not one to stand around and let some random chick say the nasty about me when she doesn't know me at all," I defended.
"I understand where you are coming from, Max, but nothing good will come out of constant retaliation."
My eye twitched, but I said nothing.
Now Sam turned to Leah. "Leah, apologize."
"I told you that I wouldn't."
Sam's voice turned dark and leader-like. "Are you ignoring a direct command of your alpha?"
"For something ridiculous like this?"
"Leah," Sam growled. For a brief second, Leah looked scared. But that look was gone in a blink.
She sighed loudly, making no attempt to hide her distaste, and looked at me.
"Sorry," she said insincerely. She didn't say anything else.
I raised my eyebrows for more. She copied my actions.
I turned away, since it was obvious that I wasn't going to get anything more out of that apology.
Jacob rubbed my back, and followed me as I went towards the kitchen. As we left, I heard Sam talking lowly to Leah.
"Hey, don't think about what Leah said to you, okay? She doesn't mean it." I looked at him. "Okay, well she doesn't know what she's saying. You're right, she doesn't know you, and you should just let it go."
"Jake, you know I'm not that kind of person. I'm not going to let Leah call me names and insult me while I stand around calmly like I'm freaking Dalai Lama."
"I know it'll take time, but," he put a hand on my shoulder. "I'll be there with you. And so will the rest of the pack. I can guarantee that Leah will come around."
I shrugged, but kept silent. Jake took this time to pull me into a sincere hug.
Eventually, Embry, Paul, and Seth came into the kitchen and patted my back.
"That's just how Leah is," they said. "Don't worry about it."
The thing was, I wasn't upset or worried. I was angry. Furious.
When Jacob decided to take me out of the kitchen and was going to take me home, we passed by the living room. Leah glared at me, but said nothing. I guess Sam said something to her that she didn't like.
Jake gave me a ride home, and dropped me off at my house. He leaned in to peck my lips, but I turned my head so he kissed my cheek.
I muttered a goodbye to him and went inside. I looked back and saw that he stood, half confused and half hurt. I had almost forgotten that he was still hung over Bella.
When I walked in, I kept my eyes down and walked up the stairs. I plopped onto my bed and told myself to take a nap, but my body just wouldn't work with me. So for 32 minutes and 17 seconds, I just laid there with my eyes closed.