Epilogue

In an effort to truly be free from everything, Jacob and Leah moved out of the reservation. They rented a small house set far back from Forks and La Push and lived as roommates. Both began online college courses, and Jacob got a steady job at an auto shop in Forks.

Ultimately, he planned on opening his own auto repair shop. But the money was good, so Leah didn't give him too much crap about flaking out and working for a larger corporation.

Leah, because she hated the idea of being supported by anybody, began working as a waitress at one of the stupid little restaurants in Forks. She'd put on her apron, paste a fake smile on her face, and deal with needy customers for thirty hours a week. The money wasn't as good, but it was enough to pay for her share of rent and groceries.

They spent most of their time eating vast amounts of food, watching football games on their crappy TV, and bantering. Leah gave him shit about his grades, Jacob snapped that she was the messiest person he'd ever met. Together, they functioned.

Every night they would take wolf form and patrol the reservation and the town. Sometimes they ran separately, but most of the time they stayed together. They enjoyed each other.

When they ran into Sam or a member of his pack, they would ignore him. Sam was exiled from their pack of two, and they disliked dealing with a member of his brood. Only Seth was allowed to run with them.

Leah found herself settling into a pattern of comforting normalcy. She liked her classes, her goofy roommate, and her life. She loved that she had a friend she could count on. Her face no longer automatically adopted a bitter expression. Instead, she was frighteningly prone to smiling.

Ultimately, all of the Cullens returned to Forks except for Bella, Edward, and the spawn. Leah, surprisingly enough, didn't mind. They stayed out of her way and the Doc was good for the hospital.

Jacob asked the fortuneteller leech, once, why they hadn't stayed with the gruesome little family of three.

"They're honestly annoying," Alice wrinkled her nose, "I mean, we love them, but they need a century or two to adjust to each other before we can all live together again. Nessie is going through a rebellious phase, and Bella and Edward simply can't handle it like decent people."

Leah had roared with laughter at that one, and spent a good three weeks making fun of the situation with Jacob. Even Jacob was able to laugh about it, because he was finally over the pain of losing Nessie. He had accepted it.

"Poor Nahuel," he said once, shaking his head with a grin, "he'll be miserable for centuries."

Life was so normal for Leah, so easy, that she often couldn't remember how it had felt when she had survived only on the pain of losing a life she wanted more than anything. Only when she remembered her menopause, or heard Seth talking about his engagement with Amanda, would she occasionally feel a stab of loneliness.

One year after the Showdown, Leah and Jacob went cliff diving. It was their way of remembering the day they had helped each other break free. That day – which was unremarkable in every other way – had been a milestone. Since then neither the spawn nor Sam had tried to contact them.

Leah was so happy with Jacob, so exhilarated to be leaping off cliffs and diving into icy water, so content with her life, that she felt a wave of gooey joy sweep into her heart.

And when Jacob's large hands grabbed her cold, slippery waist and pulled her close, ignoring her drenched clothes and screeched protestations, she found she didn't care.

He searched her eyes, as if seeking approval, and then shrugged and kissed her anyway.

Really, Leah didn't mind.

So she kissed him back, and when he laughed and ruined it, pretended to be overwhelmed with joy.

But she had to get him back, because what kind of self-respecting female would she be if she let Jacob manhandle her, and get away with it?

So she pressed her palms flat against his chest and abruptly shoved him backwards. His body fell, with no grace whatsoever, and splashed into the ocean. Leah doubled over in laughter at the indignant look on his face when his head popped above the icy water.

Leah didn't need an imprint. She didn't need a formula on how to be a female werewolf.

All she needed was herself, her happiness, and her best friend Jacob.

So she leapt off the cliff, shrieked with joy, and let gravity carry her into the ocean.

End.