Leah s PoV
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. - Anonymous
That little punk was going to get it. No one, and I mean no one, breaks Leah Clearwater s heart and gets away with it. And what is worse, he used me! I was a puppet in the Grayson family s master plan! And I fell for it.
The worse thing, out of everything else, is that I had feelings for the smelly fur-ball. I thought I had finally found my imprint. Before Louis came around, I thought the concept of an imprint was stupid. An easy way for shape-shifters to find their mate. That wasn t love at all. That was cheating!
But then I saw Louis Grayson in the shopping center in Forks, and I fell in love. He was one of most handsome boys I had ever laid eyes on. One of the most beautiful souls to ever walk this earth. Definitely a lot better looking than those smelly, immature adolescents in La Push. And what was better is that he actually liked me! He didn t see me as just a pretty face! He didn t see me for just my body. Not like those idiot pups in my pack. He really had feelings for me.
Or I thought he did.
I felt violated. To make it worse, I had almost given myself to him. Because I am a she-wolf, my female urges are heightened ten-fold. I felt giddy around Louis Grayson. Only a few more days, and I would have been all his. I would have been his girl. I would have done anything for him, and anything he asked me to.
Yuck.
After I had discovered what Louis Grayson really was, it didn t take very long to realize what was going on. And I didn t need Jacob Black: Alpha Pup screaming in my ear to realize it either. I didn t find Louis in that shopping center that very first fateful day. Louis found me. He made sure that I had seen him. He made sure that I would fall in love with him. My inner wolf had fallen for his inner wolf. We were connected.
And now the thought of it disgusted me.
The only happy thought, was that I realized that because of this, that perhaps Louis Grayson wasn t my imprint. Maybe I just thought he was, because I fell for him and had never had those feelings for another boy before. Never.
For weeks on end, I thought I was one of those girls who were attracted to the same gender. The idea alone disgusted me. That whole concept was basically forbidden in my tribe. Especially for a shape-shifter. Shape-shifters were meant to find a mate of the opposite gender to continue the line, and breed the next generation of shape-shifters. Yeah. My destiny in this world was to be the mother of the next generation of smelly, adolescent, immature pups. One way or the other, I was destined to be used.
Like a filthy, dirty washrag.
Why me? Huh? Why was I the only wolf in my pack to fall in love with another wolf? To make it worse, that wolf turned out to be a werewolf: a disgusting monster and the enemy of my tribe! Was it because I was the only she-wolf in the pack? Was I doomed to be different? Why couldn t I have fallen in love with a human? Why couldn t I be the one who would fall in love with someone who, in turn, would be so in love with me that they wouldn t care that I was some kind of freak? I would have even been fine if my imprint was currently a smelly little toddler and I d have to wait years for them to realize they were in love with me.
But no. I had to fall in love with a werewolf!
Quil s imprint was a toddler, and the only way he could spend time with Claire was if he played babysitter. He would have to wait years for Claire to grow up and fall in love with him.
Jacob Black s imprint was the spawn of a vampire and who knew what else! It was true, that little bloodsucker had grown on me, and not just in size. She was a cute little runt. But she was destined to be Jacob s no matter how her Daddy hated it. That love story was written before Nessie was even born. Because of Nessie s condition, she would reach her peak age in just a few years. Jacob wouldn t have to wait very long at all.
Lucky Jacob. Lucky Quil. Cursed Leah.
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After my little crying fit at Jacob Black s house, it was time for me to go home. Of course, I wasn t going to be alone on my little journey. Seth, my dear brother, would be escorting me home. But he wouldn t be the only one.
During my crying fit, Jacob had called his little bloodsucker friend and told her everything that had happened. He even had the nerve to call me a damn drama queen!
Remind me why I am still in this pack. Please?
Well, in the end, it seems Bella promised Jacob to make sure I wouldn t do anything foolish. Right. Thanks, Bella. You re a good friend.
And I m the queen of England.
Jacob escorted me and Seth home. He even came up with the dumb excuse of having to explain to my dear mother what had happened because his dear old dad made him promise. Right. I d like to tell his dear old dad what his brat thinks of him.
Quite a night, wasn t it? Seth asked, as he, Jacob and I made our way up the road, We ll be talking about this party for years. Too bad the Elders couldn t come.
Turned out better than I planned, Jacob said.
I stopped in my tracks. Hang on one moment. Something didn t smell right.
Wait, I said, What do you mean you planned this?
Oops, I heard Seth mutter.
You knew, I realized.
Leah, Seth said.
You knew Louis was a werewolf? I asked, Didn t you? Oh, my gosh. All these jokes about the weather and the moon pies.
In my defense, Jacob said, That was Paul who brought up the moon pies.
Billy s story, I said, It wasn t a damn coincidence that his story had to do with werewolves, was it, Jake?
I liked that story, Seth said.
Shut up, Seth, I said, staring at Jacob.
Everything made sense now.
It s your fault! I accused Jacob, my fury building up inside me.
It wasn t my fault the bloody beast transformed! Jacob said, I didn t plan on the moonlight showing up! Look, Leah, my plan was to scare Louis into telling you what he was. I didn t plan on him transforming!
You knew and you didn t tell me what he was! I screamed, Did you know, Seth? Huh?
I sort of knew, Seth said, in a small voice.
Oh, really? I said, And what if Louis didn t reveal his secret. Were you just going to let me hang around with him until he decided he was done with me?
No! Jacob said, I would have beat him to a bloody pulp before I let him touch you.
A disgusted expression formed on his face.
He -- err -- didn t touch you, did he? he asked.
Go to hell, Jacob Black, I growled.
Hey, Jacob said, Is that anyway to talk to the man who just saved you and your brother s life?
My fury exploded.
Man? I screamed, Man! You think you re a man, do you? You listen here, Black. You are an immature little pup! The only reason you re Alpha of this pack is because of your grandfather. Sam was right all along.
I could have punched Jacob then and there. But I owed Jacob. He was right about one thing. He did save me and Seth. Because of that, I owed him. I started walking off down the road.
Leah! Seth called after me, Wait up! Don t go alone! We re supposed to go home together!
I m not going home right now, Seth! I said, turning around, Don t follow me. That means you too, Jacob. I get one wrong sniff. Just one little inkling, and you will regret it!
I phased, feeling my clothes rip away from me as I turned into a wolf. I didn t care. I ran off into the woods, not caring where I went.
Leah? Seth s voice called out.
Go away, Seth! I growled.
Leah, I m sorry. Please don t do anything foolish.
Go home, Seth!
You ruined your favorite jeans, you know.
I don t care!
Silence. I thought Seth had broken the connection. Then
I ll see you later, then. Don t worry. I won t tell Mom where you went. I ll just tell her it s that time of the month, eh? She ll believe me. You always get moody around that time.
I growled and broke the connection with Seth. I was alone again, but I didn t care. I ran through the woods, ignoring my surroundings. It was just me and my thoughts. I grinned at the sounds of scampering rodents and screeching birds as they ran away from my fearsome strides. I felt free. I felt good. At that moment, I was queen of the forest. Most fearsome being to roam the land. No one out here to use me as their puppet. No one out here to taunt me. No one to try to make a move on me when they knew they didn t have a chance in the world.
And yet I wish I wasn t alone. I wish I felt loved again.
Not just parental love. My mother loved me because she had to. She loved me because she had nobody else in the world anymore besides me and my brother. She loved me because if she didn t, she knew she d go insane. And I loved her because I didn t want her to go insane. We needed to love each other. But that wasn t my kind of love.
I didn t want the love of a friend either. Especially not from friends who could betray me at any moment. Friends who felt they had to lie to me because I couldn t take it, or because it would make their plans in life work out for the best. Who needed friends if they were just going to hurt you?
I didn t.
I needed real love. The kind I could touch and could touch me back. The kind I had pleasant dreams and exciting fantasies about. I needed Louis. Or at least someone who was exactly like Louis in every similarity except one. The most obvious one. I needed someone who would treat me for who I was, and wouldn t turn out to be a monster, literally or figuratively.
At the thought of Louis, those big, black beady eyes came into my mind. I came to a screeching halt in the middle of that dark forest. Did I imagine those eyes. Or were they near? The thought scared me and excited me at the same time. Could Louis be near?
Suddenly, wonderful thoughts came into my mind. Perhaps this was all a dream. Perhaps I had dreamed the last few hours. Maybe Louis wasn t a werewolf. Maybe he was that same, extraordinary man I had fallen in love with. Because he definitely wasn t a boy. He may have looked like a boy in appearance, but every boy I knew was a immature, disgusting jerk. Louis was far from that. He was perfect. He couldn t have been a werewolf.
Because my perfect man wasn t a werewolf. He was a prince. He lived in a lovely castle, surrounded by beautiful trees and breathtaking landscape. My prince loved me, and cherished me. He made me feel like the most beautiful person in the world: a princess in a real-life fairytale. I was his beauty, and if he was a beast, it was only because of a curse. A curse I would break, and then we could live happily ever after.
I needed those eyes. Those beautiful blue eyes, so dark they were almost black. I needed them to pierce into my soul. I needed that warm embrace. Without that love, I didn t feel warm anymore. I felt cold. As cold as a bloodsucker. I needed to feel warm again. There only one feeling that would do it.
My feet took off, as if I didn t control them. They led me deeper into the forest and I realized I was miles from home. I was probably out of La Push by now. Closer to Forks.
Closer to him.
Suddenly, my feet stopped. They wouldn t move another inch. I was frozen. I didn t know whether it was because of fear, or something else.
Then I heard it. A few yards away, I heard the sound of bushes moving. Was it just a rabbit? Or was it something else? A different noise made my fur stand on end. It was a growl. Not a animalistic growl either. A human growl. Someone had found me. I cursed the fact that I didn t bring my clothes with me. If I phased back into my human self, I d be bare naked. Open to the elements, and whatever else this black pit of a forest I was in had in store for me.
I was about to run, but my feet wouldn t let me. Suddenly, I saw him.
My prince.
Louis emerged from behind a tree and was staring right at me. It was dark, but my wolfish eyes could see him clear as if we were standing in daylight.
Well, hello little friend, Louis said in his wonderful, soothing voice, Stray from your pack?
I couldn t believe it. He was talking to me like I was a baby. Or did he not realize who I actually was? Did he think he was talking to a wolf? Or was he trying to trick me, and he knew who I was. I growled at my feet, wishing they would let me run.
Oh, you re scared, Louis said, I m sorry. Don t worry, I m friendly. Let s just say I know what it s like to be you.
Ha. Nice way of saying you re a werewolf, Louis.
Though, I wish I didn t, Louis said.
Huh? Okay, now I was confused. I stared at him, while he sat up against a tree stump.
I upset a friend of mine tonight, Louis said, I didn t want to.
I realized he was talking about me.
I didn t even want to be her friend at first, Louis said, But I got close to her. It felt really nice to be around her. You know, I think I was almost in love with her.
This wasn t helping my broken heart. I whined at the pain.
Have you been in love before too, girl? Louis asked, Did the wolf of your dreams break your heart?
You could say that.
Look at me, Louis scoffed, I must be going crazy. I m talking to a wolf, expecting her to be able to respond. Must be the wolf inside me, I guess.
I growled. I wished he would stop talking about the wolf inside him. It angered me.
Yeah, girl, Louis said, You heard me right. I m a wolf. A werewolf. There I said it to someone. You aren t the girl I wanted to say it too, but I guess you ll do.
Louis stared at me.
You are a beautiful creature, he said, Aren t you?
I couldn t believe it! Louis was hitting on me!
You have pretty eyes, Louis said, They kind of look like --
Uh-oh. Come on, feet. Now is your time to move!
Wait a second, Louis said, slowly, Nah, it couldn t be.
I sighed.
Leah? Louis asked.
I whined. I was trapped. What was I going to do? I was too frightened to go anywhere. Maybe I could fight him off. He wasn t a werewolf at the moment. I looked up in the sky. The clouds had returned and were pretty thick. Maybe there was a chance. But I couldn t move. Unless
I gulped. It was the only way. Here goes nothing. I phased back into my human form and stood up. I was extremely aware that I was completely naked in front of my ex-boyfriend.
Leah! Louis said.
Surprised to see me? I asked.
Er yeah! Louis said, his face red with embarrassment.
If I was going to survive this, I had to make it sound like I was still in love with Louis. Which was pretty easy, now that I thought about it. Because I was still in love with him. A part of him. The part that didn t want to kill me. I decided to use that for my benefit. I was going to have to use my girlish figure this time.
What s wrong? I asked, in a flirty manner, Oh. Yeah. I forgot to bring my clothes with me. Sorry.
Happens to me a lot too, Louis said, Why didn t you tell me you were a werewolf?
Because I m not.
Why didn t you? I retorted.
I thought I just did, Louis said.
That doesn t count, I said, You thought I was a normal wolf. Or did you?
Wh-what do you mean? Louis stuttered.
I rolled my eyes.
Well, I said, For one, you called me by my name. I hadn t revealed myself yet, had I?
Right, Louis said.
You know all along I was a shape-shifter, I said, Didn t you?
No, Louis said, I mean, my Dad--
Don t lie, Louis, I said, I know exactly what you are, and what you are descendants of. I was there when Billy told the story too, remember?!
I m sorry, Louis said.
Sorry? I asked, How could you do this to me, Louis? I loved you! And you used me.
Wait, Louis said, You love me?
Loved, Louis, I growled, As in not any more!
Louis frowned.
You re the first boy I ve ever loved, I said, I thought you were different. I thought you were better than those boys in my tribe. But I was wrong. You re worse! They re saints compared to you!
Because I didn t tell you I m a werewolf? Louis asked, Come on, Leah. We re supposed to be enemies! You re Quileute. I m Remi Lunitari!
I didn t know about that story until tonight, I said, And I didn t know what you were!
I wanted to tell you! Louis said, I don t like what I am! You think I have a choice? You think I like being a -- a monster? You think I like the fact that my father, my mother and my brothers and sisters are monsters?
You re a murderer, I growled.
Louis narrowed his eyes.
I wish you hadn t said that, he said.
My instincts told me to phase, and I did. Louis came running toward me. Was he crazy? He knew he had no match against me. Especially when I was the one in wolf-form!
I ran at him, teeth bared, and pounced. He ducked and rolled out of the way, just before I landed. Damn! He was fast, even in his human form! I turned and ran at him.
I don t want to hurt you! he said.
Right. I wasn t going to believe that.
I jumped and Louis ducked again. Before I knew it, I hit head-first in a large oak tree. I fell to the ground, dazed. Through my blurred vision, I saw Louis walk over to me. He frowned and kicked me in the head. All I saw next was darkness.
-
When I came to, my head throbbed. It felt like a ton of boulders had fallen on me. I opened my eyes, and was blinded by a bright light. Was I unconscious all night? I shook my head to get my vision back and I quickly realized something was wrong. This light was too bright to be daylight. My eyesight came back to me completely, and I realized in horror I was in a small room. I was laying on a stone floor, and the walls around me were brick. As I got to my feet, I realized I was higher off the ground. I looked at myself, and realized I was back to my naked human-self again. Sometime during my unconsciousness, I had phased back.
I then tried to remember what had happened, and it all came back to me in a sudden wave. I had been roaming in the forest as a wolf when Louis had found me. At first he had realized I was a wolf, until he called me by my name, and I foolishly phased back into a human. I didn t run, like I should have, and instead talked to Louis. Maybe I had hoped to find a way to forgive him. Whatever happened, I realized he seemed threatened by me. I had phased back into a wolf and fought him. And I lost.
Louis must have carried me back to his house. That had to be where I was. Bile raised up my throat and I fought back the urge to vomit. What had I gotten myself into? Why didn t I stay with Louis and Seth? Why had I run off and gotten in this little predicament. No. A big predicament. Maybe Seth would realize I didn t come back and he would get the pack to search for me. When they couldn t find me, would they realize what must have happened.
I could picture Seth upset, wondering if I was dead or alive. I could imagine Jacob, and for one horrible moment, I could picture him worrying about me. Not as just a pack-mate, either. Before Jacob had found Nessie and imprinted on her, he was in love with Bella. But I also knew that he was in love with me as well. He just wouldn t admit it, because he was fawning over Bella, no matter how impossible his fantasy had become. For one horrible moment, I wanted to see Jacob come into this room and rescue me. I wanted to see him. If he rescued me at that moment, I would possibly proclaim my love for him.
Or not.
I looked around the room for a way out, and realized there was only one exit. A large metal door. I ran over to it, and tried to force it open but it wouldn t budge.
Trapped.
It was only then when I noticed there was something near the door. A pile of clothes and a plate of food. I wasn t hungry, at least for what my kidnappers had offered me. But I grabbed the clothes. There was everything from undergarments to a shirt and (I growled in disgust) a pink dress.
Yuck.
I started putting everything on. I definitely wasn t going to stand in this room naked. Who know what was going to come through that door? The bra was a little big for me, and the shirt was a bit too tight, but at least it was something. After a few moments of debating with myself, I put on the dress. Other than the color, it was pretty nice. It was only then that I hoped even Jacob wouldn t come through that door. He d never stop laughing at me if he did.
Suddenly, the door opened, and for a split second, a wonderful second, I thought Jacob had come to rescue me. It wasn t Jacob. It wasn t even Louis. It was Lyle Grayson. I d only met this guy once: a couple days ago at his party. Lyle shut the door and looked at me. I couldn t move again. Fear had won me over again.
Miss Clearwater, isn t it? Lyle said.
I didn t answer.
You and your friends upset my boy tonight, Lyle said.
So it was still sometime during the night.
Louis tells me that your friends joked around with him, Lyle said, Teased him.
Last time I checked, I said, Talking about the weather wasn t teasing.
She speaks! Lyle said, laughing.
I rolled my eyes.
Louis also tells me, Lyle said, That he actually had fun too. Your friend s father told him a story. Do you remember any of it?
I think you know exactly what the story was, I growled.
That s true, Lyle said, I do know.
I suppose you re going to tell me, I said, That everything Billy Black said was a lie.
Oh, it was the truth, Lyle said, Your descendants killed some of mine. That is very true.
I growled.
Get on with it! I said, What do you want with me?
Ah, yes, Lyle said, I was hoping you would help me with something. You see, I know how much you love your tribe. I know how much you don t want them to get hurt. I sympathize that. So, I promise I will leave your tribe alone if you tell me one thing.
Which is? I asked.
Where are the vampires currently residing? Lyle asked.
So that s what this is all about. The Vampires. I tried to keep my face straight.
Vampires? I asked, in a shocked tone, There s no such thing!
I assure you there is, Lyle said, And I think you knew that already. So I would like you to tell me where they are.
I don t know any vampires! I snorted.
Hmm, Lyle said, That wasn t exactly the answer I was looking for. I ll let you think about my question for a while. Then I ll be back, and for your sake, I hope your answer is different.
Lyle left with inhuman speed and shut the door before I could even move. I growled. I had to get out of here. I had to warn the vampires. But how? From where I was standing it looked like there wasn t any way out.
Why me?