A/N: I'm not sure how everyone will react to the way I went with this one ... I just thought it was time to give poor Sam a break. I think he's been vilified alot in my writing but it was all leading up to this.

Also there is some hefty dialogue in this chapter ... but I wouldn't subject you all to it if it wasn't important info lol.

Jacob's POV

I stalked towards Sam, anger coursing through my veins. What the fuck was wrong with him? I was screaming at him in Quileute, he started off replying to me in English but eventually gave up when he realised I wasn't paying him any attention.

Why couldn't he see why his and Emily's behaviour was so wrong? Did he like seeing Leah hurt like that? Anyone that knows Leah knows how much that would have hurt her, once upon a time Sam claimed to know her the best.

Leah had had her whole life planned out, she wanted to go off and study medicine and come back here to open a clinic of her own. She wanted a red log house with a white picket fence, with white shutters to match and little raven haired children running around her front yard.

For her not being able to have children was just one more lost dream. One more sacrifice she had made when she became a protector of our tribe. "You think Leah needs to be reminded of what else has been taken away from her?"

I bellowed angrily at Sam, he seemed far too interested in how his little Emily was feeling. "Look Jacob I don't have time to be standing here arguing about Leah when Emily is most likely crying! You know what she's been through, the wolves so close to phasing near her like that would have dragged it all back up for her."

Sam went to walk around me, Adam, Zeke, Mathew and Emmanuel cut him off standing tall, chests puffed out in his way.

"What's going on in that head of yours Uley? There's no way the imprint has you this messed up. That you cant even see how your treating the pack, you didn't even bother to meet the new pups properly! You dismiss the way your girlfriend treats Leah and you went to those blood sucking leeches to try and drag me down! Why? Give me one reason I shouldn't drag your useless ass up for trail!"

I stood chest heaving from anger waiting for Sam to say something, he was shaking violently blurring at the edges. I stepped backwards mere seconds before he burst out of his clothes and landed in front of my on all floors snapping his jaws angrily at me.

The pups couldn't control it and phased right after Sam, shredding their shorts. Me, Seth, Quil, Jared, Brady and Collin took our time removing our shorts before phasing. Anger and hostility seeped from every corner of the mind link.

I blocked the others out and singled out Sam's thoughts, I came up against a steel wall around his mind. 'What are you hiding Uley? Been planning behind my back with those leeches again?'

I pushed against Sam's mental barriers as I circled him, his body physically bowed from the force I used. 'What happened to not forcing your will on others huh Black? You stepped down off that high horse of yours now have you?'

He was baiting me trying to get a reaction out of me. He wanted me to snap I could feel it, he may have blocked out his thoughts but he couldn't hide his feelings.

'Look Sam, this is ridiculous. Everyone phase out now.' The pups grumbled and growled but followed my orders straight away, it's the older wolves I had still looking at Sam eyes full of distrust.

'Guys I can handle him. Just phase out and keep the pups calm.'

Jared was the first to phase out, Seth and Quil still standing either side of me looking at me intently. 'Quil, Seth come on phase out.' Quil huffed one last time and phased throwing on his shorts.

'I'm staying Jake! This is my sister we are talking about!' Seth stood his ground refusing to phase. I sighed resigned to letting Seth stay phased.

'Look Sam you can hide your thoughts all you want. The fact is I know what's going on in your head. I can feel the turmoil in you. Your jealous and embarrassed and your not content with your imprint as you should be. Your wolf has started to reject Emily.'

Sam stepped towards me growling viciously, the pups all ready to phase. I motioned for Quil to keep them still.

'You don't know what your talking about Black! I love Emily! I would never leave her, that's not what I do! I don't make a habit of ruining girls lives! That's not me black!'

'Sam no one said you did, you may Love Emily I'm not saying you don't. I told you what only an Alpha can, your wolf is rejecting the imprint. I know you thought the imprint was final and it's all about the wolf's wants and needs but it's not. The imprint is to pacify the man that holds the wolf spirit, it's sort of a consolation prize for having to give up your whole world. Your handed a person to keep you occupied, keep your mind off of everything you are missing because of the wolf gene. I broke my imprint because I as a man don't need an imprint for a distraction, I'm guessing at some point the wolf in me thought I needed it because of Bella and all that. Quil imprinted on a child to ground the man in him and to mature him and focus his restless energy. There's nothing like a two year old to ground a man. Jared and Paul, La Push's biggest man whores going! The wolf needed to reign the man in stop them from spreading the wolf gene too far. You Sam you imprinted because the woman you were with wasn't meant for you.'

Sam cut me off flying for my face with his paws, I dodged him and pushed him to the ground my front paws on his chest. The pups burst from their skin once again landing on all fours, their loyalty shining through the pack link. Showing me that they would literally protect me with their lives.

The wolves formed a circle around us. 'You know nothing about me and Leah! Don't you dare talk about what we had!'

I could feel Sam's pain at the thought of his and Leah's failed relationship, his embarrassment at not being able to fight the imprint, his jealousy at me being able to overcome it and lastly his growing distance from Emily.

'Sam, I'm not trying to call you out. I'm here for you! I'm your Alpha you can talk to me anytime. I've imprinted I've fought it, I know what your going through right now. I believe you imprinted on Emily to keep you away from Leah, that doesn't mean you need to stay with Emily if your starting to see through the imprint to what she's really like. For what it's worth I've forgiven you for the Stunt with the leeches, I love you Sam your my brother.'

Seth piped up next to me walking closer to the two of us, 'we all love you Sam! You got a lot of us through our first phasing. You where all we had for a while, we miss you. We want our brother back.'

'Jake I... I didn't mean to betray you! I can't believe I went to those leeches. Emily just had this idea and before I knew it I was running off to do it. I don't deserve your forgiveness, I don't even know where my head is at right now! I'm so confused'

Sam phased back beneath me and I stepped back, he was crouched on the floor hands over his head crying. I felt the confusion and pity through the pack mind and shut that down immediately. 'Don't pity him! Pity is for the hopeless. Sam is not hopeless he is our brother and we will help him fix this.'

Paul and Embry burst through the tree line carry hoards of shorts in their mouths. They came to a stop dropping them on the forest floor before phasing out and throwing a pair on each. Every one grabbed shorts and I picked up a pair for Sam.

I threw them to him, he picked them up and pulled them on avoiding my eyes. "Come here. We are a pack you are not alone in this."

I pulled Sam roughly by the shoulder into a hug, not a man hug a proper hug. The rest of the wolves made their way over to us, huddling around us each touching one another in some way. Such a lupine characteristic, the need for physical contact as comfort.

I caught the scent of Vanilla and cocoa on the wind and raised my head to meet Leah's eyes. Her face still red and puffy from crying, Adam by her side holding her tiny hand in his.

"Sam" her voice was weak and tired, my heart broke seeing the pain in her eyes. I wouldn't allow myself to be angry at Sam. This wasn't his fault, his judgement was clouded. This was Emily's fault.

The wolves separated like the Red Sea leaving a path to me and Sam. Leah walked towards us slowly Adam by her side, literally taking my words to heart he hadn't left her side since I handed her off to him at the table.

Leah untangled her hand from Adam and thanked him softly, she carried on towards me and Sam. "I forgave you a long time ago Sam. I know it's hard for you to believe but I honestly did. I don't resent you, I don't hate you. I'm over it all, that may or may not be something you want to hear but I'm over you Sam. I love you unconditionally like a brother, just how I love Paul, and Jared and everyone else."

She came to a stop in front of us, Sam still hiding his face from her, embarrassed of his tears. I'm an emotional man, my feelings run deep so Sam's shame at his emotions confused me.

Every emotion I have is raw and potent so the concept of 'men don't cry' didn't make sense to me. Men not hugging each other or telling one another they love each other just didn't seem right to me. Billy raised me to embrace my emotions and so I did. I grew up telling my father I loved him everyday and he told me the same to this very day.

Leah reached out to Sam, moving my arms from around him she slipped in front of me and took ahold of Sam. Holding his face in her hands she lifted it till his eyes met hers.

"Sam, if you need our help we are here. You don't have to suffer alone, if you want to walk away from Emily we will help keep you together. Don't allow your wolf to be conflicted like this." She placed her open palm on his chest right above his heart.

"I can feel how conflicted you are in here. No one can tell you what the right thing for you is, only you can tell us that."

Sam looked deep into Leah's green eyes, "Leah im so sorry, I know I haven't said it before and I know that probably made it even harder to forgive me. I can't even begin to explain how sorry I am, shoving everything in your face the way Emily did it was wrong! I knew it was wrong and I allowed her to do it. Letting her make excuses that you would have to deal with it at some point, that we weren't doing anything wrong. It was destiny, that's just how the imprint bond made us. It was all bullshit. I'm ashamed of how I treated you."

Leah shushed Sam, "Its in the past Sam, I've forgiven you now let's get to the forgetting part. You can make it up to me by taking my patrol tonight."

Sam laughed and hugged Leah tightly one last time. He bent down and whispered something in her ear, not even with my enhanced hearing I couldn't hear it so it was clearly for her ears alone.

I clapped Sam on the back, I was starting to feel uncomfortable with how close he was to Leah. "come on now, let's get back before the elders think I killed Sam and buried him in the woods."

Everyone broke out laughing, stripping off their shorts they all phased in sync. I followed once Leah's silvery grey wolf emerged from the bushes. Leah came up on my right flanked by Embry and Paul, Seth on the left flanked by Quil and Jared.

All the rest of the wolves fell in behind us, 'let's do a quick circuit and then we will all head back. Sam your patrolling for Leah with Adam, Zeke and Brady. Good luck with that!'

The pack broke out into mental laughter as I took off leading the run. The pack mind was void of thought, just pure instinct running through our minds. The feel of the cool breeze in our fur and the soil beneath our paws centred us all.