Chapter Twelve

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It hurts when you need me
And I can't break your fall

-Hurt, Thousand Foot Krutch

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"I dare you to jump," Seth grinned when he met Shiloh on the La Push cliffs. She looked at him incredulously before stalking past him. He followed after, taking her hand and letting her lead him.

"What'd your mom say?" She asked as they walked. She was referring to their conversation on the phone the night before. Seth had mentioned to her that his mom wanted to redo their first meeting. Shiloh had obliged and asked him to make plans for it with his mom.

"She says tonight is fine, if you're fine with it. Unless your training interferes." Shiloh stopped walking and frowned as she thought about this. After a few moments of she turned and looked at Seth.

"Will Leah be there?" He knew she was going to ask sooner or later. Leah made no secret that she wasn't a fan of Shiloh. She made it a point to leave whenever his imprint came to visit and was always rude to her. He was glad that Shiloh wasn't discouraged by it, though she did feel bad about it. She wanted Leah to like her, but Seth made sure she didn't worry too much over it. His sister would come around.

Eventually.

"Yes, Shi, she does live there. Our other two pack members will be there too. I told you about them, right?" Shiloh nodded. Quil and Embry didn't run with the pack as often as he and Leah did. Jacob gave them the freedom to come and go since both wanted to finish school, and Embry had recently imprinted with a girl he met in Port Angeles. He liked to visit her a lot, which usually got in the way of patrol.

"I guess I can be a little excited," Shiloh sighed before grinning, "For your sake."

Seth rolled his eyes before taking her hand and leading her through the forest. Everyone was waiting for them when they met at Angel's Field (Renesmee named it after Shiloh nearly decimated the place). Normally, Seth would have stuck around for Shiloh's training but he had to help his mom get ready for dinner that night. She was feeding five wolves and a Nephilim who gave them a run for their money in the eating department.

Giving Shiloh a quick kiss on the cheek, he phased and headed towards the reservation. He was greeted by Quil and Embry as he walked up to his house. Embry's imprint, Lily, was there as well. She smiled shyly at Seth as he passed. Walking into the kitchen, he found his mother and Leah already hard at work. Grabbing an oven mitt off the counter, he began to pitch in.

"Seth?" His mother asked when she saw him, "I thought you'd be with Shiloh."

Seth pulled a pan of steak out of the oven and replaced it with another one, "We don't have spend every second of the day together, mom. Besides, she's training."

"Ah, yes. Billy told that Jacob's been helping them with that. How's it going so far?" Sue took out three giant bags of lettuce and a big bowl.

"She's doing great, actually. Carlisle's been thinking about do some teamwork stuff, you know? He wants to know if she and I can fight together." A loud clang tore Seth's attention from his mother as Leah stalked past him. He noticed a crushed pot sitting on the counter where she had been standing once before. Casting his mother a worried glance, Sue waved him off.

"She's just jealous, Seth. You've imprinted and she hasn't. Don't think anything of it." His mother sighed as she put down her work and followed after Leah. Seth continued to work in silence, finishing the steak and the salad his mother had been preparing.

A little light-headed from breathing in so much hot air, Seth walked into the living room and collapsed on the couch.

"I haven't seen Leah that angry since she was in Sam's pack." Seth looked up to see Quil who was coming inside to give Embry and Lily some alone time.

"She just...she really doesn't like my imprint." Seth sighed. Though his mother told him it was because Leah was jealous, Seth knew it was more than just that. There was a another, a much deeper reason as to why Leah couldn't stand Shiloh.

"I heard about her, a Nephilim. Billy told Embry and I about her when we visited him a few days ago. And I thought Renesmee was cool."

Once he was feeling a little better, Seth left Quil to finish dinner. His mother joined him a few minutes later, but there was still no sign of Leah. Seth wondered if she'd skip dinner altogether.

After another hour, dinner was finally prepared and was spread across the dining room table. Seth made sure to save a seat beside him for Shiloh before going back into the kitchen to get drinks. As he was reaching inside the refrigerator, he heard the front door slam open and assumed Leah was back. Looking up, he saw a startled Embry and a concerned Jacob.

"You need to come outside, now." Jacob told him and Seth ran past him out the door and into the cool evening air.

Standing just a few yards away from the house was Leah. She had a scowl written across her face and she was glaring at something. Or, rather, someone. Not too far from Leah was Shiloh, and though her expression made her seem harmless, Seth could see the steely resolve in her cold, cobalt eyes.

"Dude...do something." Embry urged as he stood protectively in front of Lily, just in case.

As they stood in front of each other, with Quil and Embry behind him making bets, Seth wondered who would win? Sure, Shiloh had earth-shaking power under her belt but Leah fought dirty. They were more than equally matched and had the potential to absolutely destroy the place. They probably would unless someone stepped in. Someone like him, Seth sighed.

He really didn't want to get killed today.

"Leah, step off." Carefully, he stepped in between the two girls and held his arms out, "You too, Shiloh."

Leah ignored him as she took a step back, preparing to phase. Shiloh still didn't make a move but Seth could feel the air growing thick with energy. Her control was getting better, making her far more deadly than before. He was wrong earlier, Leah didn't stand a chance.

"I'll say it again, step off, both of you!" He all but shouted. Leah let out a snarl as she began to phase. Idiot, Seth thought, she was really going to attack.

Knowing there was no other option, Seth phased as well and stood protectively in front of Shiloh. As he stood beside her, he whined and nudged her shoulder softly. To his relief, Shiloh backed down and he could feel the air growing lighter. Growling, with the anger he had felt toward her before creeping back up, he dared Leah to attack. If she did, he wouldn't hold back. It was against the rules for a member of the pack to hurt or kill another member's imprint.

Leah roared as she charged at Seth, leaping into the air to take him down. Seth knocked Shiloh out of the way and took the brunt of the attack. Recovering quickly, he rounded on his sister and snapped viciously at her. Though he did want to hurt her, he'd do what ever it took to get her back down from Shiloh.

Breaking apart, the Clearwater siblings prepared themselves to attack again. Once more, Leah attacked first and this time, Seth easily dodged her. Her speed was better than his, though, and she recovered quickly enough to hit again. With a whine, Seth slammed to the ground and slid to a stop in front of Shiloh. He growled softly as he stood up, his eyes connecting with Shiloh's for a brief moment.

"Seth," She whispered, "Stop this. You're hurting her, a lot."

Seth whined softly, turning to face Leah. She was still ready to attack, but he was not. Feeling the anger fade away, Seth lay down at Shiloh's feet. She smiled softly as she knelt beside him and ran a hand through his fur. Looking at his sister, he met her eyes.

Stop this, Leah. I don't want to fight you.

Oh yea? That's not what you were saying a second ago. You were ready to rip me to shreds, your own sister, because you wanted to protect that thing! She's got you so wrapped around her finger and you don't even realize it. You're just so convinced that you love her. How? How Seth? How can you love something like her? Something so...unnatural.

Seth could hear the pain in her thoughts. Quil was right, it was like she was in Sam's pack all over again. That's when he realized it, why she was so angry.

Leah, listen to me. I'm sorry for not saying this before, but I'd never hurt you like Sam did. I'm your brother, not him. No matter who I imprint on, you'll always be my sister. I can't promise to always put you above everything. Sometimes Shiloh will come first, but I would never just cast you aside and forget about you. Never, Leah. I love you too much.

There was silence as Leah let Seth's words sink in. She let out a whine as she walked over to him and Shiloh. Her eyes softened slightly as she looked down at him before looking at Shiloh. The Nephilim smiled softly and her eyes offered an apology. Moving past them, Leah bounded off into the forest and disappeared. Once she was gone, Seth stood back up and ran in the opposite direction of his sister, catching a pair of sweatpants Jacob threw him in his mouth as he passed.

A few minutes later, the youngest Clearwater returned and joined the others for dinner. As they all sat down, Seth felt Shiloh take his hand.

"Do you think she'll come back?" His imprint spoke softly so only he would hear.

"Maybe." He told her, "But don't worry about it. She'll be alright."

He expected her to ask how he knew this. If she had, he would have told her that it was his brotherly intuition. It wouldn't have been a complete lie, because part of did just know that Leah would be fine. The other part knew because two words still echoed through his mind. They were the last two words Leah had said before running off and they served as confirmation that everything would turn out fine.

Thank you..

I don't particularly like this chapter. I feel like it serves no real purpose but at the same time, it does. Anyways, review and tell me what you think of it. Alright?

Next chapter:

"We'll call it a...spiritual journey. Dr. Cullen believes it will help with your training." Sue explained as she placed the beads around Shiloh's neck.

"I guess I can buy that. Now, tell me exactly what I'm doing?" Shiloh asked as she sat down in the chair Seth had placed in the middle of the room.

"Well, my dear, you'll be dreaming. Now close your eyes and focus." Shiloh did as she was told. For a few moments, nothing happened. She tried to open her eyes and tell Sue that the bead weren't working, but found herself unable to. Beginning to panic, she tried to stand but when she did, she was no longer standing in the Clearwater living room. Instead, she stood in the middle of Angel's Field.

And it was snowing. Weird.

~As the Rush Comes~