Title: Scream Ferocity

Summary: "Those who hate most fervently must have once loved deeply. Those who want to deny the world must have once embraced what they have now set on fire" Leah finally snaps.

Disclaimer: Characters belong to Stephenie Meyer .This story is produced without profit. Quote taken from The Call of The Wild by Jack London.

Characters: Leah/Jacob/Ensemble

Genre: Angst/Hurt/Family

Rating: Older teen- Adult

Warnings: Dark themes. Non explicit violence, murder, sex.

Status: In Progress.

Archiving: Please PM me

Inspirations/Dedications: Dedicated to anyone who has ever had feelings.

Author's Notes: This is the edited version of this story.

~...there was about him a suggestion of lurking ferocity, as though the Wild still lingered in him and the wolf in him merely slept~

The Call

The mind of the beast is basic. It has to be to combat the erratic surroundings that hyper sensory capacity produces. There is always noise; from soft trickles of water or the low snuffle of a predator seeking prey. Humans would have you believe that at the root of it, there is one basic command. Survive.

They are quite wrong. Jacob has seen a bear sit and view the sunset with no discernible purpose beyond appreciation. He has watched a wolverine cleaning a baby bird after losing her young. Nature is far more complex than anyone can understand; even Jacob who stands with one foot in each world can't begin to comprehend some of the things that happen around him. There are moments, in between the patrols and battles, that Jacob stops cursing the world for his transformation and feels truly humbled that The Creator chose him for this role.

Humans have forgotten how to survive. They build homes and shelters to protect themselves from mother nature whilst never moving from the TV and stuffing their faces with factory produced food.

No one can ever know how the transformation alters you. Not an empath like Jasper or even Edward with his mind reading power. The change goes much deeper than that. Leah used to talk about it, about the instincts she found it hard to ignore.

"I feel like that painting-" she had told him once. "-the one where that guy's face is all re-arranged and in the wrong place. Except, I feel like that was the before, you know. And now all my features are in the right place, and I'm exactly how I was supposed to be and that's the part I fucking hate most because I should be able to feel wrong about it if I want to."

"That makes no sense, he had said. "If it feels right then why complain?"

She had given him a look, right then, that made him feel like a schoolboy asking the most obvious of questions and shook her head like she couldn't bear it. "Because who in their right mind would want to belong in our world?"

He hadn't really understood back then preferring to think that she was just being picky and complaining for the sake of it. Now he gets it.

Some people don't want to survive. Not forever anyway. It means more when it can be taken away so quickly. The beast cares first about survival but humans are stupid. They die for love, kill for love and throw themselves out of aeroplanes for fun. They take bullets for strangers and breathe without knowing the importance of it.

They are blissfully ignorant and all the better for it but Jacob wouldn't go back in an instant because Leah was right. "Nothing quite beats the feel of the wind through your fur as you run."

Sometimes he misses Leah so damn much. He wishes he had realised just how clued in she was to all this bullshit.

Edward makes his way through the clearing and offers him an awkward attempt at a comforting smile. "You've obviously never heard her arguing philosophy with Jasper."

Jacob huffs and snuffles the ground. There are rabbit tracks for miles in every direction and he has to actively resist the urge to hunt. The urge to kill Edward is just as strong. It is hard wired into him and still takes some effort to neutralise it when the Cullens are around but it is getting easier.

"I've heard her arguing with just about everyone else," he mutters telepathically.

Edward nods and resumes his standard expression of apathy. He is the only person that Jacob knows who can flit between emotional numbness and tortured angst at the tilt of a hat.

Jacob is pretty sure that he practises in the mirror.

Edward watches a feral kitten tumble from its nest. It hasn't seen enough of the world to be afraid of him yet. Jacob wonders if he is considering using it as an appetizer or cuddling it and telling it how special it is. Either one would be within his nature.

The vampire sets his jaw and refuses to answer on principle. He stands straight and proud, hands clasped behind his back. It gives away his age.

"It kinda makes you seem immature you know, an old man fighting with a teenager over a woman."

Edward rolls his eyes and after a moment of reflection he shrugs. "It was Bella."

Despite himself, Jacob can't help but think of the Volturi coming over the mountains, ready to lay waste to the entire town if need be.

"Yeah. It's always Bella," he thinks bitterly.

All Edward can do is ignore the truth.

...

For Bella, the leeches have gathered in hordes. Even a hundred years from now the memories of that smell will still turn his stomach. Seth greets him at the door, so moody and different than he used to be.

He knows automatically what is wrong.

"Sam is back."

Jacob only nods. Their brave and honorable leader has returned from stashing the imprints somewhere safe.

"He requires me to guard the west perimeter," Seth says sarcastically. He looks so much like his sister right now. "You know, with me being the youngest and all. Let's forget that I'm almost as tall as him...and only 20lbs lighter. Oh, and the fact that my sister made us complete her own version of boot camp before she'd even let us patrol. Hell, our pack is probably better trained than his but who cares about that? I'm younger so I can sit and twiddle my thumbs instead of doing my job."

Jacob takes a moment to digest Seth's rant. The kid has been on hair trigger for months now and he doesn't want to ignite a full scale blow out. "There's only one pack now, Seth. Sam's. We have to work together, it can't be a case of them vs us."

Seth looks disappointed if anything. "I knew you would agree with Sam. Leah might have had a bad temper but at least she was fair. She never would have sidelined any of us for stupid reasons. Maybe if Sam wasn't a sexist douchebag who believed a woman's place was in the kitchen, then she might not have left."

That's not fair and it's not true. Underneath all the hostility Seth probably knows that too but he has been pushing Sam to the limit ever since he realised that Leah wasn't coming back any time soon.

Jacob puts a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Sam sidelined your sister because even underneath the imprinting, he still loved her and didn't want to see her get hurt. Her being a woman was just an excuse."

Seth waters down the agreement that crosses his expression. "She was better than all of us," he half whispers. "She is better than all of us."

All Jacob can do is nod.

As Seth stalks off to call his mother, Jacob can't help but think of how much things have changed. Hearing the way Seth talks sometimes is like watching Leah a few years ago. There is so much bitterness there and he doesn't want that for Seth. He knows Leah wouldn't want that for Seth either, but how can you help someone who has lost nearly everything. Seth insists on taking so much more of the blame than he should. He always tried to be supportive of his sister during her worst moments even if he was quick to voice his disapproval of the way she treated her pack brothers.

One of the Denali sisters, Tanya he thinks though he always gets the two blondes mixed up, joins him and they both watch as Seth disappears down the hall. "He's a sweet boy. He was very kind to Esme before."

"He used to be sweeter," Jacob mutters.

"His sister was the tall girl who refused to come into the house last time we were here?" There is no anger or derision in her voice. She regards him with an elegantly arched eyebrow raised. Her head is tilted lightly as she awaits his answer.

"Yeah, that was Leah," he says, voice rough. Sometimes he resents all the pain her disappearance has caused and other times he wonders how she managed to last as long as she did without getting the hell away from them all. "She's gone now though."

Tanya stares past him thoughtfully. For a moment she seems lost in memory. "Kate ran away from us once. Or she ran away from mother at least. She was only gone for three months, and that is a long minute to a vampire's sense of time. Though once she came back she was happier and more content."

Jacob shakes his head. "Leah doesn't do happy or content."

Tanya doesn't argue or offer empty philosophical words about how everyone will find themselves someday. She smiles and nods and says, "Maybe one day." and then, "I have to talk to you about hunting. Vlad and Stefan are threatening to go out alone and I don't think they can be trusted enough to allow it."

"Fuck!" Jacob says, running his fingers through his hair. It feels dry and stringy. "If they break the treaty then my-uh, the pack will take them down, fight or no fight. That goes for any of you," he adds. He wants to leave no room for argument on the matter. He isn't going to stand back and watch Edward dole out cars for a more convenient killing experience this time.

Tanya taps the floor with a pointed foot and her blank expression shifts into a grimace. "Our presence makes your pack uncomfortable? I understand that. Do you think we like being asked to shake hands and fight alongside murderers. Last time, we were asked to close our eyes and say nothing as they returned reeking of fresh human blood." Her gaze flickers to the ceiling in a way that makes him wonder if she was ever religious in her human life.

Her speech renders Jacob silent for a moment. Most of the leeches are fancy with their words but for the first time, he feels it. "That won't be happening again," he says firmly.

It really won't .

With another smile, Tanya walks towards the door but not before turning around and giving Jacob one more thing to think about.

"Before she left, Kate told me that she had grown tired of our ways. When she disappeared, I imagined her running around drunk on blood and men. As it turned out, I was wrong."

Jacob takes the bait. "Where was she, what was she doing?"

"In England, protesting for the womens right to vote. She even marched alongside Barbara Bodichon," Tanya says proudly. "When she returned, I asked her why she had bothered. As far as I was concerned, vampires existed outside of human boundaries. We were more powerful than any human man. If we wanted something, we could take it. What did we need to protest for? She scolded me like a child. Told me that honoring humanity meant more than simply deciding not to eat humans. Besides, she told me, I'm still a woman and I should still have the same rights as men, even if I have no need of them."

Then she leaves and Jacob is left remembering his conversation with Leah.

Who in their right mind would want to belong in our world?

...