Disclaimer- I do not own Twilight.
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Day 10: Farewell
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Jake awoke to droplets of rain falling on his forehead; not heavy rain, but enough that he couldn't ignore it any longer. He sat up with a happy sigh, brushing his hand through his hair. A smile slowly crept up onto his face as he recalled the events of last night. He was officially no longer a virgin, and god it was so great.
Technically it was your second time, but congrats kid. I've got to admit, I didn't think you could pull it off. I guess I've just gotten so used to you fucking everything up all the time.
Jake clenched his jaw tight, determined to not let his wolf ruin his good mood. They've been so rare lately. He turned his head to look for Leah, but she was nowhere to be found. Her scent had practically been branded into his memory at this point, especially after last night, but it was faint now; she had left a while ago.
He stood with a sigh and headed towards his house. He had no idea what time it was, since he still hadn't gotten a new phone, but he hoped his dad hadn't made it home yet. He had went to Charlie's to watch some game which meant that he would probably show up around noon with a headache and looking for food.
When he got there he saw his dad's truck in the driveway and sighed; he could feel a lecture coming.
It was a valiant attempt, but being 6'7 coupled with the creaky floor of the old black house did not make it easy for Jake to sneak to his bedroom.
"Jacob?" Jake thought about bolting out the door as he heard his dad wheeling into the living room, but he sighed and stayed put. "Where have you been?"
"I was on patrol. I left really early this morning, you weren't back yet."
"Don't lie to me boy! Your bed hasn't been slept in and I know you didn't make it before you left because the only time you do that is when I tell you to. You where out all night, admit it."
"Okay fine, I was, but so were you! You probably just got here. And I'mnot the one whose hungover on a Wednesday afternoon!"
"Hey, I'm an adult," Billy said, looking a bit embarrassed, "If I want to have a few drinks with a friend on occasion-"
"On occasion," Jake scoffs, "Sure, sure, so all those empty cans in the trash must have been left behind from the beer-fairy."
"Sit down," Billy said through gritted teeth. He was turning red.
"I'm gonna go take a shower-"
"SIT DOWN!"
Jake froze in his tracks as the sound reverberated throughout the small house. He couldn't remember the last time his father yelled at him.
He moved to sit on the couch, opposite of where his dad sat in his chair, and waited for him to speak.
"Look, I know there's a lot going on right now, but that's no reason for you to be disrespectful."
"I wasn't trying to be disrespectful, I just-" Jake paused, worried that saying what was on his mind would hurt his father's feelings. "Rachel and Rebecca took off and all of a sudden I had to do everything. I have to make sure there's food in the fridge and that the bills are paid because you always forget.
"I have to make sure you're eating right and that you're not drinking too much and that you get enough exercise and its exhausting! it's like all I do is take care of you, and now I have to take care of the pack and I have no idea what the hell I'm doing, which is why I didn't wanna be alpha in the first place!
"You were disappointed in me. Sure, you acted like it was no big deal but you hated that I turned down 'my birth right', as if I ever asked for any of this in the first place! there's just so much weight on my shoulders all the time i'm tired of it! I just wanna be a kid."
Jake felt about ten pounds lighter after his rant, but the weight of guilt made him feel even worse when he saw the look on his father's face.
Hurt.
"I never meant to burden you-"
"No, dad, that's not what I meant! I don't mind helping you with stuff, but you're not even trying to help yourself. It's like..." Jake's tongue felt heavy in his mouth. "It's like you don't even care if you live or die."
"Of course I care." Billy wheeled himself closer to his son and gently laid his hand on Jake's knee. Jake oculd feel tears start to build up that he quickly blinked away. He was alpha; he wasn't allowed to cry.
"It doesn't seem like it. Mom's gone, I'm not ready for you to be gone too."
Billy started to cry and that's when Jake lost it. He could count the number of times he'd seen his dad cry on one hand; when Rachel left for college, on Rebecca's wedding day, and the night of his mom's funeral.
Billy didn't cry during, or any time leading up to the funeral, and Jake remembered being mad about that. He loved his mother so much, knowing that she was gone forever brought tears to his eyes every time he thought about it. In his mind, his father not crying meant that he didn't care.
He had slept in Rachel and Rebecca's room that night; he didn't want to be alone, and they hadn't minded him being around for once, but he couldn't sleep. He had went to his parent's bedroom, hoping to sleep there, and what he saw shocked.
His father was sat up in his bed, clutching his mother's pillow to his chest and bawling his eyes out.
The house was old, even back then, so of course billy looked up when he heard the door creak open. He met Jake's eyes and his shoulders slumped in defeat. Without thinking, Jake climbed into bed with him and wrapped his little arms around his dad as far as they would go. that's when Jake realized , as his dad sobbed into is hair, that billy hadn't cried not because he didn't care, but because he wanted to be strong for his children.
Siting across from him as he cried now made Jake think of that memory and realize that as stressed as he was about being the "man" of the house, his father had been feeling that stress as well.
"I never meant to make you feel like everything was on you, son. it's just that when I got stuck in this damn chair," Billy pounded his fist against the arm of his wheelchair, "You really stepped up to take care of things around here. Lord knows the twins didn't; they were looking for the first tickets out of here."
Rachel and Rebecca had become somewhat of a sore topic in the black house. It hurt for them to be here after their mom, and Jake got that, but him and Billy were hurting too. He loved them, but jake would always hold a bit of resentment over them running off.
"I guess I was just...depressed," Billy continued, the words sounding strange, like he had never said them out loud before. "It was nice to not have to handle things so I took advantage and that was wrong of me. I'm the adult here and it's time I start acting like it."
They took a moment to collect themselves before Billy said, "So, I need you to keep me in the loop. No more staying out all not without me knowing where you are. If it's pack related that's fine, but a quick phone call wont kill you."
"Alright dad." It was an odd feeling being disciplined after doing whatever he wanted for so long. It was nice though; he knew his dad loved him, but he hadn't felt like he cared in such a long time.
"Good. So where where you last night?"
Jake sighed, "I was with Leah..." He waited for the excitement but it never came. "Well, is that it? You don't have anything to say."
Billy shrugged, "What do you want me to say? We don't need to have the sex talk again do we?"
"Definitely not," Jake answered quickly, "But I expected you to be a little more excited, I mean, you've been practically planning our wedding."
"Oh, that," Billy sighed, "Well since were being honest, I don't really care much for Leah; she was such a sweet girl, and she didn't deserve what happened to her, but it made her spiteful, and I don't think that's the best influence for you to be around. But, I thought she'd be a better target for your infatuation then Bella."
A month ago Jake would have insisted that Bella was his one true love, but now, infatuation seemed like a pretty good description of how he felt about her.
"But why? I thought you liked Bella."
"I do," he insisted, "Bella's almost like a daughter to me but trouble follows her like a moth to a flame. I don't want you wrapped up in it more than you have been already." He hesitated, choosing his words carefully. "And also I figured when the Cullen's finally take off again she would follow them, and you would follow her. I thought that if you were with Leah you would stick around a little longer."
"Dad i'm not going anywhere, ok? The Pack is here, you're here, this is my home. I don't want to leave, so you don't have to keep worrying about that."
"Alright, son," Billy sounded relieved, as he leaned over and to hug his son. "Now go put some clothes on; I've seen enough of you today."
"Don't be Jealous, old man," Jake laughed as he stood. "I'm gonna go grab a shower." he was feeling better than he had in a while and actually looking forward to spending some time with his dad."
"Alright. I already laid your suit out for you."
Jake stopped in his tracks. "My suit? For what?"
"For the funeral," Billy said slowly, "Sam's funeral. Don't tell me you forgot."
He did forget. How do you forget about the funeral of someone you've known your entire life? Someone you killed? He was a terrible person.
No one had heard from Emily or Sam's mom since they found out about his death. The two had been holed up at Sam and Emily's ever since, not answering the door or phone. Then yesterday, old Quil had let everyone know that they had scheduled the funeral for today. There was just so much going on with Leah that Jake guessed it had slipped his mind.
Just like, he just realized, he had forgotten to tell Leah.
"Ow mom, it's too tight! Why do I have to wear a tie anyway?"
"Because it's a funeral, Seth. Now stop fidgeting. I swear, you can run off to fight a vampire with no problem, but a tie has you whining like a baby..."
Leah tried to tune out the muffled voices of her family as she tried to collect herself. She wasn't doing a good job. Her hair was plastered to her forehead due to the cold sweats she had been experiencing every since her mother informed her about what was on the agenda for the day.
Chills ran down her spine at the thought of it.
Take some deep breaths, dear. Try to calm down.
Leah did as her wolf said, breathing in deeply through her nose, before slowly exhaling. She did this a few times until she started to feel a bit better.
Now, splash some water on your face. you'll be fine.
The cool water felt so great on her over heated skin that she decided to hop in the shower. Seth had been in here before her and had of course used up all the hot water, but Leah was glad for it; the icy spray helped to calm her down enough that she could think clearly.
She had made it home early morning, before the sun had come up, hoping to slip in unnoticed, but Seth had popped up at the sound of the front door opening. Him and her mother had fallen asleep on the couch waiting up for her.
Funny how they didn't tell her then…
They probably thought you would run off again if they did.
Leah sighed I can't wait until I don't have that looming over my head anymore.
Well it's only been a day. Just keep being consistent and they'll start to trust you again.
Leah took her time, making sure that every inch of her body was squeaky clean. When she had decided she'd wasted enough time and water, she got out. She grabbed her towel and started drying herself off, again, taking her time. After about a half an hour, her mother knocked on the door.
"Leah, are you almost ready? We have to leave soon."
Leah sighed, wrapping the towel around herself and opening the door. "I can't go."
"You can go honey, you just don't want to."
That sounded like the same thing to her. "Fine, I don't want to go. It just happened, mom, I can't see him again so soon."
"That's how I felt when your father died." Leah frowned; they don't talk about her dad often. "I didn't want to go either. The thought of seeing him laying there like that…" Sue paused a moment. "But I knew I had to. The situation was different, of course, because I had you kids to think about, but if I didn't? Who knows what I would have done."
She moved to wipe away a tear Leah hadn't realized had started to fall with her thumb. God, she was so fucking tired of crying. "I can't make you go, Leah, I wouldn't even if I could, but I think you'll look back on this day with regret if you don't."
Sue wrapped her daughter up in a tight hug before leaving. Leah sat down on the edge of the tub and lost herself in her thoughts. She held her breath as she listened to her mother herd Seth out the door and into the car.
"Where's Leah? Is she not coming?"
There was a moments pause before Leah heard her mother's sigh. "No, she isn't. Let's go, we don't want to be late."
She bit down hard on her lip as she listened to the car start up and pull out of the driveway. The taste of blood on her tongue helped her forget about the disappointment in her mother's voice.
Jake loosened his tie, feeling like his Adam's apple had swelled about three sizes. He had argued with his dad about wearing it, but the old man had put his foot down. Jake had a feeling he would start doing that a lot.
It wasn't just the tie though; it was the dress shoes that hurt his feet, the pants that stopped an inch above his ankles, the shirt that he was afraid to take a deep breath in out fear of popping a button. He hadn't worn a suit since his mother died, so everything save for his socks and underwear were his father's hand-me -downs. He was so uncomfortable. Jake wished he didn't have to wear this stuff.
He wished he wasn't here. He shouldn'tbe here.
They were at first beach; most large gatherings happened there. There wasn't a building big enough to accommodate everyone on the reservation. And everyone was here. That wasn't suprising though; everybody liked Sam. They were all mourning.
Jake sighed and looked up at the dark clouds looming overhead. They were the perfect backdrop for such a somber occasion. He was standing off by the edge of the ocean, watching the waves as they moved. It was definitely going to rain soon. He turned to look at crowd; everyone was looking a bit anxious. They had been here a while, a little over a half an hour, but Emily and Sam's mom hadn't shown up yet. They obviously couldn't start without them.
The sound of gravel crunching under tires made Jake look to where he saw the Clearwater's minivan pull up. He let out a disappointing sigh he didn't realize he was holding when he saw that Leah wasn't with them.
They made their way down the beach and Jake decided to meet them halfway. "Hey Seth… Mrs. Clearwater." Sue said nothing, just raised an eyebrow. Jake hadn't seen her since that night he found out about Leah's heat. "Um, I've been meaning to apologize for the way I acted before. There was a lot going on that night and I got a little heated, but that's no excuse to be disrespectful."
"You didn't disrespect me, Jacob, you disrespected my daughter. I felt like you weren't taking her feelings into account, and I lost my temper, so I'll accept your apology if you accept mine."
"Uh, yeah," Jake said, not expecting this to go so well, "apology accepted."
Sue smiled and patted his shoulder. "You were always a good kid Jacob, Sarah would be proud of the man you're becoming."
She walked away to where his dad and old Quil were, leaving Seth staring down at his feet awkwardly and Jake holding back tears.
Since when do they let little girls be alpha? You're pathetic.
"Where's Leah?" Jake ignored his wolf's taunting, which was getting harder and harder to do.
"At home," Seth shrugged, "She didn't wanna come. Can't really blame her though, I mean, it's Sam."
"Yeah..."
Seth's eyes widened comically. He might have laughed if the situation was different. "Dude, I didn't mean… I kinda forgot that you… you know."
"It's cool Seth, I know what you meant."
"About time," Jake heard old Quil mumble under his breath. He looked over his shoulder to see the old man hurrying over to meet Allison Uley and Emily as they made their way to the beach. His eyes zeroed in on urn Allison was carrying. Sam had been cremated, and they were supposed to sending his ashes out to sea. "Hey, I forgot something at home, I'll be back."
"But it's about to start," Seth called out after him.
"I'll be back in time." Jake took off at nearly a jog, yanking on his tie. He shouldn't be here. He had to go.
Pussy.
It had been thirty minutes, and Leah still hadn't left her spot on the edge of the tub. She didn't want to go. She shouldn't go, but she couldn't get over the feeling that she should. Her mother's warning about regretting the decision to skip the funeral was ringing in her ears; as if it was being yelled at her through a megaphone.
She stood and walked over to the sink, splashing some water on her face. A glance in the mirror showed that her hair was a frizzy mess from her recent shower. It was starting to get a little long; she'd have to cut it soon.
She looked the same as she usually did, save for the dark circles under her eyes. Sleep wasn't something that came to her easily these day and it was definitely showing.
Nothing a little concealer wont fix.
I don't have any… She had never been one for makeup; she just couldn't muster up the effort most day's. it's not like she had anyone to impress anyways. She remembered when her and Sam had first started dating; she had spent so much time obsessing over what she said, what she did, how she looked. Of course, he had just told her that he liked her the way she was.
He made her feel so strong and confidant. People thought she was, but it was all an act; Leah's just an insecure mess who's in over her head.
You are strong. You've made it through too much not to be. You didn't need Sam then, and you don't need him now. You just need to believe in yourself.
That was corny Leah snorted, but it made her feel better. She could do this. She took and deep breath and headed for her bedroom.
It was time to say goodbye.
"Sam was… he was my best friend, my brother. I just can't believe he's-"
Jake's hands flew up to cover his ears so that he couldn't hear Jared's eulogy. The funeral started shortly after Allison and Emily arrived, being that they had waited so long. Old Quil was officiating the ceremony, and had opened with a few words. This was only the third funeral Jake had attended, the other two being his mother's and Harry Clearwater's, and the old man had lead all of them. Jake wondered who would take on the job when old Quil died.
One by one people stood to say a few words about Sam, and Jake had listened to it all in increasing heartache from behind one of the larger pieces of driftwood on the beach. He had sneaked back around here right before they started, thinking it wouldn't be a good idea for Allison or Emily to see him and not wanting to see them. He had known these people his whole life, so Jake recognized every voice that spoke. The words of those of the reservation that Jake wasn't terribly close to stung a bit, but weren't too bad.
When the pack started to speak was when it really started to hurt.
Quil had tried to inject humor into the situation, cracking a joke about Sam's "black heart", but got serious when it fell flat. Quil was hardly ever serious; his somber tone really made the finality of Sam's death hit home with Jake, as if it hadn't already.
Embry went next, starting with how he had gotten closer to Sam in the last few months, and how he was sad that he wouldn't get to continue growing their bond. It was a sweet and simple enough speech on the surface, but people in the know realized that it ran deeper.
Though he tried his best not to, Sam's thoughts always betrayed how awkward he felt being around Embry due to the looming question of who Embry's dad was, and the general consensus that it was probably Sam's dad. With Joshua being one of the few things to set Sam off, Embry tended to keep his distance so that he wouldn't cause him any pain.
The whole thing was sad and made Jake want to give his old friend a hug.
Pussy.
Paul's speech had brought Jake out of his feelings a bit, because he and Jake had never really gotten along, but Paul speaking about his close friend while trying but ultimately failing to sound strong was still hard to hear.
But Jared's turn brought Jake right back to the overwhelming guilt he had been feeling up to this point. He squeezed his eyes shut so tightly that he started to get a headache, and waited for Jared to finish. A light touch to his shoulder caused him to nearly jump out of his skin.
Leah was there, dressed in her usual; cut-off jean shorts and a tank top. Her hair, which wasn't in its usual ponytail, was blowing lightly in the increasing wind.
The two stared at each other, her face seeming like the only thing in the world to him as Jared's voice faded out in the background. Jake's hands fell from his ears, moving to cup Leah's face gently. He was surprised that she let him.
They stayed that way for about a minute, which felt much longer, before Jake finally spoke. "I thought you weren't coming," he said in a hushed tone. The fact that they could still hear the funeral from as far away as they were meant that the pack would be able to hear them if they weren't quiet.
"So did I," she said, breaking eye contact to stare at the sand beneath their feet.
"What happened?"
Her gaze lifted and drifted over in the direction of the ceremony. "I realized that I would hate myself if I didn't. it's fucked up that this happened and we'll never stop feeling guilty about it, but we need closure, Jake. This is how we get it."
The level of strength that Leah held shouldn't have surprised him given how often she had shown it in the past, but it was still impressive. The only reason Jake wasn't at home wallowing in his self pity was because his dad had insisted. Despite the pain she knew it would cause her, she had come anyway. She was amazing.
Maybe you should let her be alpha, since you're so good at being a bitch.
"Shut the fuck up!" Jake's mouth snapped shut after the unintended outburst. There was a tense silence as the two listened for signs that they had been discovered, Jared's voice never paused.
"Your wolf?"
Jake nodded. "He keeps fucking taunting me. It's getting harder to tune him out."
"Sorry. Mine's annoying sometimes, but were starting to get a long pretty well, I guess. Does he ever leave you alone?"
"Yeah, sometimes." Usually when I'm with you, He finished in his head. He was saved from the snarky comment he could feel his wolf start to make by a new voice starting to speak.
"Sam was a good boy," Allison started, her voice shaky, as if she would start bawling at any second. Jake and Leah subconsciously moved out of cover to look at her. She was, understandably, a mess; her makeup was running and smeared, her hair frizzed, and her dress wrinkled, as if it had been picked up off the floor just before she left the house. Her arms were wrapped tightly around the urn. Leah stiffened next to him at the sight of it.
"He was a good man. He was so young, my baby was so young and he's gone! It's not fair!"
Allison broke down, falling to the ground in her grief, but never losing her hold on the urn. Everyone was frozen in their seats, seeming to not know what to do. Jake and Leah were equally stunned, until they saw someone in the front row move from their seat. Emily.
She moved to Allison, dropping to her knees when she got their and wrapping the women in her arms, their bodies shaking with the older woman's sobs. Jake noticed Leah's breathing getting heavier, realizing that this must have been the first time she's seen Emily since Sam died.
There was a strength to Emily's voice that stood out in stark contrast with Allison's before her. It was like she had done all her crying and was determined not to do it in front of all the people there.
"Sam was kind. Strong. Brave. He loved this reservation and the people of it so much that he would have gladly given his life to protect them. He was the man of my dreams, the man that would have been my husband, and he's gone now. He was taken."
Jake winced at that, and Leah seemed to stop breathing all together.
The wind was starting to get strong, the crashing of the waves causing a few people to turn their eyes to the ocean or the darkening sky. Emily continued undisturbed.
"He was devoted to being a protector, to making sure you people were safe, and what did it get him? It got him murdered. How is that fair, huh? How is that justice?"
"Emily!" Old Quil had gotten to his feet, the threat of their tribe's oldest and best kept secret being reveled snapping him out of his shock. The cover story for Sam's death was a cliff diving accident, the word "murder" had caused raised eyebrows and hushed questions.
"No," She hissed, "I'm not going to let this go! He should still be here, he should still be alive! I don't care about the fucking secret anymore, the secret got him killed and I'm not going to let them get away with it!"
Booming thunder punctuated her statement as heavy rain started to fall, thankfully distracting people from the spectacle in front of them as they rushed back up the beach to escape the storm and the rising tide. Emily's words rang in Jake's ears, and he was sure that he wouldn't be able to get the striking image of her hair whipping wildly in the wind out of his head.
He looked down at Leah, but her eyes were on something else. Following her line of sight, his stomach dropped. The wind had carried their, more importantly, her, scent down the beach. Quil, Paul, and Jared's hungry gaze was locked on her.
Mine, Jake's wolf growled. He could feel the wolves fighting against the order he had placed on them to stay away from Leah, but the more pressing issue was a livid Emily storming towards them.
"How dare you show up here," She demanded once she had made it to them, "after what you did? How fucking dare you?"
Jake had never heard Emily swear before, I took him off guard. "Emily please, let me explain-"
"No! there's nothing you can say to make this right. You were his friend, He trusted you-"
"It wasn't my fault," Jake rushed, "I swear I didn't want to-"
She reared her arm back and delivered a slap with so much force it had to have broken her hand, but she showed no indication of pain. Jake's moth snapped shut; he hadn't felt it, but it had hurt.
"Shut the hell up! Don't you dare say another word. You murdered him, nothing you say will ever make it OK. You robbed an innocent man of his life and I hope his memory eats you alive."
The words were like a punch in the gut, and they left Jake absolutely devastated. He didn't have any time to recover though as Emily turned her anger on Leah.
"And you," she spit, sounding disgusted, "This is your fault. I tried so hard not to hurt you, we both did, but we were happy and you hated that. We were getting married, we were going to start a family we were finally going to move past you but you had to ruin it by being a freak."
Jake heard Leah's breath hitch in her throat, but she didn't move or speak, she just stood there and took it. "You killed harry. You were never supposed to phase, and when you did it scared him into a heart attack. Then, you go and have this heat thing and it gets him killed. You killed your father and you killed Sam."
Emily leveled her with one final, hate filled glare before turning, stalking past an enraged Sue being held back by Seth. Jake watched her meet up with Allison, who had gotten herself together and had been been expressionlessly watching the exchange while absently stroking her Son's urn. The two made their way off of the beach, and out of site.
Leah was stuck. Voices fell on deaf ears, people buzzing about around her were barely noticed. She could only see her cousin's face, full of malice as she stared at her. She could only hear her word's, "You killed your father and you killed Sam", and the way they had been practically spit at her replayed in her mind over and over and over again.
But she felt nothing.
Leah was numb and she loved it, relished it, because she had felt so much in this last week. Too much. She didn't want to feel anything anymore.
But Embry's reassuring hand on her shoulder, her brother's tight hug, her mother cupping her face, staring into her eyes and saying that none of it was true and that no one blamed her and asking her again and again if she understood was like a bucket of ice water being dumped onto her head. Their reassurance, their love was making her feel, and she didn't want to.
So she turned to the only person who wasn't talking, wasn't trying to make her feel better, because he was stuck just like she was. "I need to get out of here."
"Lets go," He said simply, because he understood. He felt the same way she did and Leah could tell by the urgency in which he grabbed her hand and dragged her away.
She let him lead, following absentmindedly as they made their way through the Forrest. She was grateful that they hadn't phased; she was fighting so hard to keep her own thoughts stamped down, she couldn't handle his too. Soon, they made it to his place. He pulled her through the front door which wasn't locked because no one in la push ever locked their front doors, and into his bedroom.
The closing door seemed to force him back to his frozen state, and it forced Leah to think.
She was right, there was no use trying to deny it. It was supposed to be Seth that phased, not her. It had never happened before and it shouldn't have, but something in her messed up brain made her phase and it had shocked, and probably scared, her dad so badly that his heart couldn't take it. And sure, he was already having heart problems, but she was the final blow.
And Sam, he was her fault too. Her stupid heat had turned all their lives upside down and it was because of her. If she had just given in and let Sam claim her that first night none of this would have happened. It wouldn't have been real, and it would have hurt Emily, but he would be alive right now, and wouldn't that have been better?
Her eyes shot to Jake's hands, which had moved to cover his ears. His eyes were shut tight and he started to bang his head against the door he was leaning against for support.
His wolf. Help him. Leah realized that her wolf was trying to distract her from the damaging thoughts but she welcomed the distraction. She didn't want to think.
"Hey, "she said covering his hands with hers, "It'll be okay. Just ignore him. Ignore him and he cant hurt you."
That wasn't true; their wolves had the power to hurt them, and anyone else, as much as they wanted to, but she lied anyway and apparently, it worked. After about a minute or so, Jake's eyes opened slowly, his gaze boring into hers. The look was heavy. There was something in it that Leah couldn't place and she didn't want to.
Instead she kissed him. She kissed him long and hard and he kissed back. Then her hands were in his hair and his hands were on the small of her back. Then she was ripping open the tight shirt he had on, buttons flying every which way and his hands were cupping her butt, lifting her up where she wrapped her legs around his waist. Her back hit the soft mattress of his tiny bed and his weight settled on top of her and suddenly she felt again.
But these were good feelings, feelings she didn't mind, so she let her mind go blank and let herself feel.
He woke in the middle of the night to his wolf screaming angry, ugly, demoralizing things at him. Jake sat up, covering his ears and hoping that he would stop soon, but he didn't, he just got louder and louder to the point where Jake could do nothing but rock back and forth in agony, pleading with him to stop. It went on for longer than Jake could keep track of and when it was over he was dripping with sweat.
He fell into a restless sleep trying to will the lingering migraine away.
She had slipped out form under his arm, managing to not wake him in the process. She had grabbed the first thing she could find, one of his t-shirts on the floor, and pulled it on, slipping out of his window.
She was moving with a sense of urgency, needing to make it there before she lost her nerve. She couldn't think of what she would say when she got there, only of how she would react when she saw her. Would she be able to say anything at all? She doubted it, but she had to try. She couldn't leave it like they did; she needed closure.
Leah ran as fast as her two legs would carry her, ignoring her wolf's strong suggestion of turning around, and made her way to their home.
The first the Leah noticed was that the door was open, just a crack. She listened for sounds of movement but heard nothing. She made her way in, slowly now, but her heart racing a mile a minute. Nothing looked out of place, but everything felt wrong. Maybe it was being in the house in general, Leah had always felt out of place in it, but her gut told her that something else was wrong.
She pushed open the bedroom door to see that the bed had been stripped. She wrenched open one of the dresser drawers to see that it was empty. Two more proved to be the same. Frantically she ripped out every drawer she found and everyone of them was empty. Her brain supplied what she had felt in her gut all along.
Emily was gone.