Disclaimer: Characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.
A/N: Sorry this ones been so long coming but I wanted to get this ending just right. There's only the epilogue to go now but like I've already told some of you, I'm up for writing extras and oneshots based on this story and Split, so if there's anything you'd like to see--let me know:-D
CHAPTER ELEVEN
He doesn't go looking for Leah. He is still angry, and ashamed, that he lost his cool so much but her words about his mother are ringing in his ears.
It isn't until the next day, when Leah doesn't come home, that he begins to worry. After a quick check around the rest of the pack and the few friends she has, his worry turns to panic.
He makes his way to the forest. Perhaps she has phased and dozed off somewhere. It's a stretch, she's been missing for three days already, but he can't sit around doing nothing.
The ground is damp with last nights rain so he hooks his clothes over a tree and prepares to phase. His body begins the transformation, skin shimmering and within seconds the world turns grey around him and his nostrils flood with a thousand new scents.
Hey, Sam. Find anything?
He turns slightly at the sound and tries to calm the worried thoughts that are flashing through his mind.
Nothing. If she's been here it's not recently. He answers, a stab of disappointment settling in the pit of his stomach.
Unless she's resting somewhere and the rain has just washed away her tracks? Seth, ever hopeful.
The search the woods for hours as he calls out orders in a shaking voice but they find nothing.
*****************************************************
Sue is beside herself with worry. She calls around every person Leah might have talked to within the past year, she contacts distant relatives and old family friends but there is still no trace of her daughter.
"She's a hot head," he tries to calm her. "She's probably off plotting her revenge on me."
She turns on him, her face desperate and angry, and afraid. "I need her back." She says, voice deceptively quiet. He doesn't answer. He knows just how she feels.
She sinks onto the sofa, head in her hands and her shoulders heave as she lets out a weary sigh. "She's so angry. I don't know why she's so angry."
"I'm sorry," he whispers and she sighs once more and places a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"Sam, I've wished you out of existence more times than I can count. I watched you destroy my daughter's faith in love and happiness. Believe me, I would have no trouble picking away at every single fault and failure, but this isn't your fault."
"It is. I should have known how my mom would react. I should never have taken Leah there. She didn't want to go but I needed her there."
She runs a hand over his hair, like he has seen her do to Leah and Seth when they are particularly upset.
"I think you need to have a talk with your mother. She loves you and she worries about you. It's about time you told her the truth."
**********************************************************
Of course it's really not that simple. His mother doesn't take the 'truth' well---or at all. He manages to talk her out of drug tests and psychiatric appointments.
"So both you and Leah are---werewolves?" She asks, still regarding him with a wary eye.
He nods, ducks his head. Not out of shame for what he is but because he knows it's going to turen her world upside down. "Yeah."
"And Emily, too."
And here comes the hard part. "No, mom. Emily was just my---mate," he winces at the word. "She was---chosen for me I had to be with Emily but I wanted Leah. I've always wanted Leah."
His voice catches on her name. It's the truth, deep down he knows it's the truth. No matter what they do to each other, no matter what she does to him it will always be them. It has to be.
His mother seems to notice the change in his expression. She leans forward, takes his hand and he can see tears gleaming in her eyes. "Sam, I am so sorry. I didn't know. God, I didn't know."
"Mom--"
"No," she cuts him off with a raised palm. "All this time, I've been blaming you, and her, for something that wasn't your fault. I knew, I just knew that it wasn't drugs—that you weren't that kind of boy but I didn't know what else it could be."
She is crying now, tears trailing down her cheeks. He clasps her hand, still in his, and she raises her head. She looks him straight in the eye. "I swear to you, Sam. I'll do whatever I can to help you find Leah. I'm just so sorry, not just for last night but for everything."
"I know, mom. I don't blame you. Leah doesn't blame you, she's just angry at me. When she comes back, we'll sit down and we'll talk this through."
She gives his hand one more comforting squeeze before she stands. "You should be getting back," she says. "Sue will be worrying about you."
He nods, kisses her on the cheek and promises to visit the next day. "I love you, mom," he says before he leaves.
**********************************************************
He hadn't realised how long he's been at his mother's until he steps out into the dark. His walk back to Leah's seems longer than it probably is. He wonders if he will ever see her again, if she'll ever come back and then he vows that he will look for her if she doesn't. He'll go to the ends of the earth if he has to.
The house is in darkness when he returns. Over the past few days, Sue has gathered most of the pack to run night patrols through the forest. Her presence is not needed but they say nothing because they know she needs to be there.
He makes the decision to join them, stopping only to grab something to eat, but as soon as he steps through the door, the hairs on the back of his neck rise. There is someone in this house, someone who shouldn't be here---someone he wasn't expecting.
One deep inhalation puts a face to a scent and he quickly flicks on the light. Leah is sitting at the kitchen table, studying the chipped oak from when she and Seth fought over a bag of potato chips.
"Is it too much to hope that everyone is out looking for me?" an odd vulnerability in her tone. She bites her lip, and gestures to the chair opposite with a nod. "We should talk, Sammy."
She turns to face him and he can see something in her eyes that makes his stomach drop.
*********************************************************