Chapter 13

Monday, November 13, 2006

"Sam changed the patrol shifts," Seth informed me as he walked into the kitchen, fully dressed, and sounding too chipper for my half-asleep ears.

I groaned at his news and then spooned another bite of cereal into my mouth. I'd never been very good with "change" especially when Sam was the cause of it.

"He's done honeymooning, huh?"

I shook my head and gave a dry laugh.

"Sam used to have more stamina then that."

Seth grimaced. I watched as a shudder went through him that shook the backpack that was slung over one shoulder. He was about to leave for school just like the rest of the morons in the pack would be. I stared down at my bowl of cereal, zoning out as I wondered if Jacob would come over after school, or, at the very least, call me?

"Anyway," Seth's voice started again, "I went to check-in with Sam while he was patrolling this morning and he told me to pass on the message…"

Seth rambled on about who had what shift, but I didn't listen. I thought about Jacob, wondering how he would survive school... Would those scheming jerks be able to come-up with just the right words to turn him against me? Or, had they already? I opened my mouth to ask Seth about it, but realized that he was still talking.

"Oh!" he said, holding a finger up as if he had just remembered something, "You're taking Sam's shift, starting tomorrow."

"WHAT?" I spat as my spoon fell from my hand and splashed into my bowl of cereal.

Sam patrolled alone! He never let any of us patrol alone—especially not while there was a cult of leeches out to get us! My eyes searched Seth's face, pressing him to explain and he blew out a frustrated breath of air.

"Yeah," he affirmed, nodding his head, "Sam said that he would be on standby, and that if you sense any vampires—all you have to do is howl."

My eyes narrowed into such thin, little slits that I could hardly see. They wanted me to patrol alone. Me. Just me. Not anyone else.

"This is about Jacob and I, isn't it?" I asked as I stood-up from the kitchen table, "It's because of Jared and the rest of those creeps!"

I kicked my chair back, causing it to squeal against the linoleum as I marched away from the table.

"Where are you going?" Seth called after me as I moved past him and then out of the kitchen.

"I'm going to have a little pow-wow with our pack brothers!"

"WAIT!" he yelled-out with such enthusiasm that I stopped walking and turned to face him.

"Don't you think it would be better if you waited until after school?" he asked before stopping to look me over, "Also, it'd probably be a good idea to get dressed. Mom'll bust a vein if she hears that you were at the school, wearing just a t-shirt."

I looked down to examine myself, and then, with a loud groan, I trudged-off to my room.

.

Several Hours Later

.

The tree across the street provided good cover as I stood underneath it, concealing myself in shadow as I watched the band of morons walk out of the school doors. There were 6 of them—minus the one girl who's shoulders served as an armrest for Jared—but none of them had spotted me yet. I crossed my arms over my chest as I glared at their carefree, smiling faces, but a sinister grin crept across my own face as I planned to ruin their mirth. They all thought that "school" was the one place they'd never have to worry about running into me again. I gave a dry laugh as I walked towards the school. They were wrong.

"Shit!" I heard one of them utter under their breath as I neared them, "Leah's here."

The ones who had their back to me, turned around, and then, I was assaulted by 6 pairs of eyes. I met each pair of narrowed eyes before taking-in my surroundings. Clustered around the school in small groups, were some of the other children—the normal-sized Quileute kids who looked like ants in comparison to these beefed-up jerks—and the normal-sized kids were careful to ignore us. I put my hands on my hips as I came to a stop in front my pack brothers. They were a hostile looking group, but my hostility trumped theirs.

"Goodbye, Kim."

My words were an order as my eyes raked over the dark glares I was getting. Jared's glare was darkest of all as Kim slid-out from underneath his arm.

"Be nice," she told him as she rose up on her toes to kiss his cheek but it didn't faze the glare he was giving me.

Kim flashed me a small smile before turning to leave and I smirked at Jared.

"See," I taunted him as I nodded my head in Kim's direction, "It sucks to be interrupted, doesn't it?"

Understanding registered on his face as if he hadn't known why I had come, and then, he looked me hard in the eyes.

"It's for your own good, Leah."

My arms dropped from my hips and a blaze of heat shot down my spine as my body started to shake. Keeping Jacob away from me is for MY own good? The shaking intensified and I watched as 6 pairs of eyes widened as they stared at me. My pack brothers stiffened for a moment until they recognized the possibility that I could phase—right then, right there—in public!

"Leah!" they all shouted my name in-panic as they crowded around me and then tried to push me in the direction of the trees.

I slapped their hands away so hard that they recoiled and my shaking calmed a little from being able to, at least, hit something.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU TO DECIDE WHAT'S GOOD FOR ME?" I shouted loud enough that the normal-sized kids—who were trying so hard to ignore us—gawked, "IT'S NONE OF YOUR DAMN BUSINESS WHO I CHOOSE TO BE WITH!"

They were silent as my eyes raked over them, but then, one of them made a move...

"That's what I'VE been telling them!" Quil defended himself as he shouldered past Paul and Jared to stand in front of me.

"Yeah," Embry agreed as he pushed Jared aside to stand next to Quil, "Jake has the right to date whoever he wants!"

I winced slightly at the word "date", but my angry shakes subsided as I looked between Jacob's two best friends and realized that, maybe, they weren't quite so moronic, after all.

"Shut-up!" Paul snarled at the two of them, "It doesn't change the fact that those were our orders!"

"Orders?" My eyebrows lowered as I repeated the word and then glanced at all of their faces.

"Dick!" Quil yelled as he roughly gave Paul a shove, and the rest of the boys spat similar slurs at him.

Even Brady and Colin were cussing under their breath at the mention of their "orders". Paul shoved Quil back then, and crossed his arms over his chest as he glared down at the grass.

"WHAT 'orders'?" I demanded to know as I glanced from Paul to Quil to Jared.

The entire pack averted their eyes to the ground as if they were afraid to say, or as if they had been "willed" not to say. I shook my head at them. Did they think I was stupid?

"What exactly did the Sam say?"

I crossed my arms over my chest as I glared at each and every one of their bent heads. They all seemed to sigh, simultaneously, as if they were one entity, and they kept staring downward.

"He said," Quil's voice spoke slowly as he raised his head to look at me, "That dating someone within the pack is an unnecessary distraction and it's unacceptable."

I winced at the word "dating", but the other words had my fists clenching tight under my cross-armed stance, so tight that my fingernails nearly broke through the skin on my palms. Sam told Jacob that our relationship was unacceptable... My eyes glanced between Quil and Embry then as I wondered if they knew how Jacob was taking it. I couldn't help but to think of Jacob and wonder—worry—if he had decided to follow Sam's orders.

"What—" my voice cracked and I cleared my throat before speaking again, "What did Jacob say about that? I mean, he didn't agree, did he? He argued, right? Or, did he—"

I stopped speaking when I noticed the amused expressions that were forming on each of their faces. I could almost imagine them chanting: "Leah and Jacob sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G…"

"Don't worry," Quil answered with an impish grin on his face, "It took an alpha command to make Jake stand down."

Heat trailed-up my spine at that news, and I had to work quickly to calm myself down, taking-in deep breaths. Sam had used an alpha command on Jacob! I ground my teeth together as I made a plan to use my anger for something more constructive than phasing in the schoolyard—something like breaking appendages. I opened my mouth to say as much, but through the corner of my eye I saw movement at the school doors. Jacob and Seth weren't aware of us yet as they exited the building, talking about something that made Jacob smile. The sight of him made me realize what I had to do then, and my eyes quickly flashed back to the boys in front of me.

"When I'm done with Sam," I spat as I gave then a sharp look, "The rest of you are going to butt-the-hell-out!"

With that, I ran back across the street and into the trees where I hoped I had been quick enough to go unnoticed by Jacob. I needed to speak with the Alpha...alone.

.

.

He was waiting on the porch before I even stepped foot onto his yard. It was a wolf thing, but I also knew that Sam could sense me coming from greater distances than he could the others. I suspected it had something to do with our past intimacy.

"Leah..." his voice was full of warning as he came down the porch steps and I advanced on him, marching forwards with long purposeful steps.

"Don't Leah-me!" I hissed as I pushed my arms out and shoved him backwards, "Don't say anything unless I ask you to!"

I could tell by the guilty look in his eyes that Sam knew just why I had come. He blew out a frustrated breath of air, then, and held his hands out as if he wanted to explain.

"Leah, it was—"

"WHAT DID I JUST SAY?" I shouted as I shoved him again, causing him to stumble backwards, "You think because you're the Alpha that you can give orders, but you don't know how to take them!"

Sam's chest was heaving as he glared at me, causing a scowl to form on his face that made him look much older, but he didn't say another word. I glared back at him and the anger and tension between us was so thick it could be cut with a knife.

"You have NO right to interfere in MY love life, Sam! What's going on between me and Jacob in none of your damn business!"

Sam shook his head in disagreement.

"It is my business!" he argued, "Those vampires could bring a fight to our doorsteps, any day! I need you and Jacob to have your heads in gear—not up in the clouds! How can I trust that the two of you will be alright to fight alongside one another when having a relationship with him is just too much of a distraction?"

My teeth ground together and my fists clenched tight at my sides as I felt this aching desire to swing one at his face.

"Our relationship is no more of a distraction than YOURS, or any of the other morons who imprinted! But, if this was all just about battle tactics, why didn't you call me to a pack meeting? HUH?" I demanded as I gave him a hard shove, sending him another step back towards his house, "Why did you have to send-in your cronies to get Jacob away from me?"

Sam raised-up a hand to bat mine away as I went to shove him again, and my eyes seared-over his face with such hatred that it felt like a fire was burning inside of my sockets. He held both of his hands raised-up in front of him to block anymore shoves I might give him, and I noticed, then, that we weren't alone. Emily stood behind the screen door with a worried look on her face, and the sight of her made my lip curl. I had as much right to be with someone as Sam did! I looked back to his face then, and his was worn with a new kind of hardness as he stared past me. I turned around to see what it was just as Jacob walked through the trees and came to a stop once our eyes met. I knew then that this wasn't just about "battle tactics"! I turned on Sam.

"You just can't stand it, CAN YOU?" I spat as I shoved his blocking hands away, "You can't stand to see me with someone else! You can't stand to see me NOT sulking over you! Admit it!"

I shoved at his hands, so hard, that he took another stumble back.

"Lee-Lee," he pleaded and the sound of the nickname caused angry flames to shoot-down my spine, "That's not true."

Emily moved onto the porch as my fists started to shake, but I didn't take my eyes off of Sam.

"He's not good for you, Leah!" he exclaimed and I huffed-out an angry breath as my body went into convulsions from my barely contained need to attack him.

"He can imprint at anytime!" he yelled, "He'll hurt you!"

A not so human growl escaped through my clenched teeth as I pulled my fist back and then sent it flying at Sam's face with enough force that I heard a crack!

"No," I hissed as I watched his hands cup his nose, "You're the only one who gets to do that!"

Emily rushed to Sam's side as I looked down at my own fist in wonder. I ignored the pain coming from my red knuckles as my shaking subsided and my anger was replaced by a powerful sense of pleasure. My chest swelled-up with an air of pride as Sam readjusted his nose and then wiped away the blood with the back of his hand. I felt the most incredible relief! A weight had been lifted, the clouds had parted, and for the first time I felt like I had finally got some justice. Why hadn't I punched Sam sooner?

"Leah," he said with a huff as his hand pinched the bridge of his nose, "You—"

"Shut UP, Sam!" I ordered him, feeling so empowered that I felt like I could rule the world, "You've ruined a lot of things for me, but you are NOT going to ruin this! Stay out of it, or I'll break something else!"

Sam let out a heavy sigh that sounded like one of defeat, while Emily looked at me as if she didn't know who she was looking at. I made a move to leave, but then, realized there was something I had nearly forgotten.

"Oh, and one more thing," I said and it caught Sam's attention, "You should tell the other morons not to change their patrolling schedule because I sure as hell will NOT be changing mine!"

With that, I took in a deep satisfying breath and then proudly turned my back on them. Adrenalin was still pumping through my veins from having punched Sam and as I walked towards Jacob my heart started pumping for other reasons. A grin broke-out across my face as my eyes met his and I saw in them that nothing anyone had said to him had changed his feelings. I found myself running—not walking—across the distance that separated us, and with the same spirit that had filled me after punching Sam, I leaped at Jacob with open arms. He caught me easily, wrapping his arms tight around me so that my feet were hanging above the ground, and then I kissed him. His lips turned into a smile underneath mine and I could feel a chuckle rumble inside of his chest.

"Wow." he said as he pulled away from me with a grin on his face, "It hasn't even been one-whole-day and you already missed me!"

I rolled my eyes at his words as he put me back on my feet.

"I've been worried," I admitted as stared-up at his face.

Jacob shook his head at that and then made tisking sounds, "I told you to stop worrying."

"I know," I said with a nod, "But, it's sort of hard not to worry when everyone's trying to sabotage us."

"Not everyone," Jacob replied as he looked off at something over my head, "Not anymore, at least. I think Sam values his bones too much to risk pissing you off again."

I turned around and looked to the last place where I had seen Sam, but he had moved. He was following Emily back up the porch steps that lead to their house, his posture was straight and his shoulders were rolled back as if having just been punched by his ex didn't affected his confidence. My eyes stayed on him as he opened the screen door, and as if he could feel them he turned around to meet my gaze. Sam nodded at me, then. It was a nod of acceptance, but I made no responding gesture and my expression didn't even flinch. I didn't need his approval. Sam disappeared inside of the house then, and I continued to stare at it until I felt a hot hand on my shoulder.

"How's your hand?" Jacob asked as I turned around to face him.

I glanced down at my knuckles. They were no longer red and the stinging sensation had gone away.

"Good," I replied with a smile as I thought of punching Sam, "Seriously, my fist has never felt this good!"

Jacob chuckled and threw an arm around my shoulders as he steered us away from the Uley's house.

"So, is it official, then?" he asked as we walked onward.

I raised an eyebrow as I stared at the side of his face and noticed the smug way his lips had curved-up.

"Is what official?"

Jacob's eyes looked down into mine as we walked-off in the direction towards my house, and his smug-smile turned into a grin.

"You and me," he replied, "I mean, do I get to call you my girlfriend, now?"

Jacob's eyes danced, teasingly, as if he knew how much I didn't like labeling things, and he didn't miss how the word "girlfriend" made me shudder. With a roll of my eyes, I reached-up my hand and held the one that he had hanging over my shoulder.

"No," I said as I squeezed his hand and flashed him a playful smile, "You get to call me Leah."