Aaron managed to stay in Churchill a month. Didi was having a great time with Seth. She called once a week to let us know how she was doing. It was during her third call that she told me she'd met a nice boy named Joe on the reservation and was dating him. I didn't know Aaron was listening behind me until he let out a howl and started running.

"Is that what I think that is?" Didi asked, obviously unamused.

"Yep. I'm going to phase and talk to him, but I think you should probably tell Seth to expect him."

"Well, I got a few weeks worth of quiet time," she said with a chuckle. "Crap, he heard about Joe, didn't he? He really needs to stop breaking my boyfriends, Mom. It puts a serious crimp on my sex life."

I laughed aloud. "I don't doubt it. You just need to get a boy who can heal himself up."

"Oh, shut up," she complained, obviously not enjoying the joke as much as I did.

She had managed to have sex without Aaron killing her partner. The lucky boy had ended up in hospital for a week, but he was fine, nothing more than a few scars to show for it. Of course, Didi never got another date. By the time he was out of hospital, she was back in Churchill. It was probably for the best. Aaron was a jealous brother.

"I love you, Didi. Look after yourself, and warn the boy."

She growled. "I will. And I might have to find someone to rip Aaron apart for me. Jacob Black is Alpha, right?"

"Didi..." I warned. We hadn't been part of Jacob's pack; I didn't want to strain that relationship if I didn't have to.

"I know, I know. I'm just saying, if he gets out of control, and you're not here..."

"Yeah, Jake would be the man to see, I suppose. Just keep me in the loop. I can be there in a couple hours."

"Right. I will. Go try to stop him, please?"

I agreed and phased in the backyard.

Hey, mutt!

I'm not going to let some mangy human...

You know how bad that image comes across don't you? It was a man with dread-locked hair and a tangled beard. You don't really think your sister's taste is THAT bad, do you?

No. I'm not going to let some boy take her away from me.

Aaron, she's going to have boyfriends. This is one of the reasons she wants time away from you, do you get that? She's tired of you butting into every relationship she tries to make.

She just has to let me be part of them, too. The part that breaks their bones.

Aaron! I had told him on more than one occasion that he had no right to injure humans. He refused to obey me and my control of him only extended so far. It definitely didn't extend as far as La Push. I remembered her mention of Jacob.

The Alpha can control you in ways I can't. You be careful there. Mind your sister; don't push her. She has every right to call Jacob Black down on you.

He growled but couldn't disagree.

Marcus came out of the garage, covered in saw dust. Had I barked? I supposed I had. I phased back, unable to rein Aaron in this time.

"What's happening?" he asked.

"Your son has decided to defend his sister's honor, yet again."

Marcus wiped the dust from his face with a sigh. "Again. Are you going after him?"

"Not yet. I'll keep in touch with them at Seth's; go if they need me."

"Didyme has a new boyfriend?" he asked with a smile.

I smiled too. "Yes, high school senior, baseball player, doesn't sound like her type, but I don't know that she's dated enough to figure out what her type is." We were both happy to hear she was getting a chance to find happiness with someone other than family.

I kept in touch with the kids over the next month. I was surprised when Didyme told me a wolf had imprinted on her. I didn't know there were any in La Push aside from Jacob. Marcus and I were even more confused when she pointed out she was still dating Joe, and barely managing to keep Aaron off him.

What really got me was Didi's response to Marcus' desire to check that this was a true imprinting. He'll live? That wasn't like Didi. She was usually so considerate. Aaron must be pushing her to her limits.

Marcus was obviously stuck on the same thought. "I'm going," he declared. "I want to see it for myself. Do you want to come?"

I shook my head. "They need time away from us, learn to live on their own. Not that you shouldn't go," I amended immediately. "Just, don't stay?"

He smiled and nodded. "Absolutely. I want to push them out of the nest, too. I don't like sharing you when I don't have to." He kissed my temple. His cool touch was wonderful on a hot day like today.

"You going to leave tonight then?" It was clear and would be sunny until midnight or later. June was a terrible month for Marcus, just as December was for me.

"Unless you think I should wait?"

I sat down again in one of the lawn chairs, steepling my fingers. Marcus brought me a cup of coffee. I smiled at him and took a sip. "I'm not sure. Part of me wants to keep our hands right out of it, but I'm just as damned curious as you are."

"I know. If it is an imprint..."

"Why the other boy? If it's recent, maybe she just hasn't had a chance to break it off yet? That would be a reason to wait, give her time to do it her way."

"I suppose. All right. I'm going to start making love to you, and when you pass out I'm going." He grinned mercilessly.

I laughed loudly, calling his bluff. "So tonight then, why didn't you say so?"

He laughed too. "Well, what else am I supposed to do in all this damned sunshine?"

Fifty years and he still used that excuse. June was my favourite month. "Well, that could work. As long as you promise to let me rest when the sun does set." I smirked at him now.

"Oh, we're bargaining now, are we?" He was keen.

"Maybe..."

"Do I get to wake you at dawn?"

"Depends how you wake me." I started walking backwards, my hands unbuttoning his shirt.

"Coffee, iced?"

I nearly purred. Most men would never remember something like that. Vampires couldn't forget, they just had to make that small effort to bring the memory back.

I leaned back and took another sip of the dark brown, hot, elixir of wakefulness. Mmmm coffee.

"I think I'm becoming envious of that cup," Marcus said, watching me intently.

I laughed. "Really?" I quirked an eyebrow. Then I put my lips to the rim again, filled my mouth and rolled it with my tongue, closing my eyes. I could feel him watching me.

The cup was suddenly replaced by a cold hand and all the heat in my mouth was being sucked away by cold lips. His tongue was running along mine and the little coffee that remained underneath instantly chilled. Then he backed away. I took a deep breath when he did and opened my eyes again.

"I'm not a fan of iced coffee," I told him. "Well, I didn't used to be." I swallowed and reached out for my cup, which he still held.

"Are you planning to tempt me again?" he asked, moving to hover inches from my face.

I smiled and took another tantalizing sip. Again his mouth cooled the liquid in mine and I chuckled as I swallowed this time.

I kissed him and pulled myself up, wrapping my legs around him. "I think we have a deal."

"Excellent."

I managed to go practically without sleep for three days, but my days as a human limited how far my body could be pushed. I was still a puddle of goo when his cold kiss on my cheek roused me. "Morning already?"

He chuckled. "It wasn't night, Leah. I'm off. I'll be back in a day or two."

"Right. More sleep. Hurry back."

He snickered some more before plopping me into a tub he had run for me. "Now, no drowning," he warned. "You get out of there before you pass out again."

I chuckled sleepily. "I will." I slipped under the water. His cool lips met mine under the water and I laughed out the rest of my air. "Get going, or you'll miss the night." I swatted a wet hand at him.

"Okay. I'll be fast."

"You better be." It hurt like hell to be away from him, especially as far as this.

I slept the next fourteen hours. Chelsea woke me up with a cup of coffee. "Marcus is on the phone." She handed that to me after the coffee.

"Thank you," I croaked. I sipped the hot drink before speaking into the phone. "Hello?"

"You have no idea how good you sound."

I chuckled. "That's only because Chelsea told you I've been asleep since you left, isn't it? I sound like crap." I felt like crap. There was a nasty crick in my neck, and I needed to pee.

"That might have something to do with it." Dammit, he sounded smug.

"So, what's the word?"

"She's imprinted, all right. She expects Joe to move away at the start of summer and break things then. The boys are friends, as it turns out, so the wolf agreed to wait. Unfortunately, Joe still hasn't made his moving plans final, so they're hanging in limbo right now."

"And Aaron?"

"What do you think?"

I sighed. If I knew Aaron, he would have his back up twice as much now. "So, you're coming home?"

"Soon, yes. I'll stay through tomorrow so I can land in the dark. I'll call you tomorrow to let you know I've left."

"Okay. I'll make sure I'm rested enough for a homecoming."

He laughed loudly. "I think I like this carpe diem attitude you've adopted." I could hear a groan and chuckle in the background.

"Tell those boys to stuff it and hurry home."

"I will. It hurts to be away from you," he said quietly.

"Does it ever. Now I really gotta go." I was standing in the bathroom as I said it. He must have heard the echo because he laughed at me.

The next day came and went without a phone call. It might have been because my imprint was so far away, or it might have been because my house was empty, which was almost never the case. Either way, I had a very bad feeling when I woke the next morning and still hadn't gotten a call. I phoned up Seth. No one answered. I tried Didi's number, also nothing.

I bought a ticket for the next train to Winnipeg and didn't stop calling until an hour before it left. I never got through to anyone. I phased as soon as I was able. I wasn't sure Winnipeg was close enough to reach Jacob's pack, but Churchill was near the limit, so it should be.

Hello, boys. There were two wolves in the pack. One was familiar.

Mom!

Hey, mutt. How're you and your sister? She didn't call last night and Seth isn't answering the phone.

A third mind joined us.

Hello, who's that?

The mutt that imprinted on Didi. I saw Didi through this pup's eyes. Oh yeah, that was an imprint. No doubt about that.

Ah-ha. Just the man I was looking for. I knew I only had tenuous control over Aaron; I probably had none over this pup. He seemed surprised I would call him a man. I started to try to get to know him through his mind, size up who he was, if he was any good for my girl.

He was looking for the same information from me, including scent. Well that was a damn good idea. Why hadn't I ever thought to do that before? He had mine, Marcus' and the others' quickly. I learned that he was Jacob's son. Well that made sense. Why did he go wolf, though? And he had taken Alpha from him? That really surprised me. Of course, I wasn't staying in the pack, so who was Alpha didn't really bother me any.

That just left the third wolf. Older, but phased recently. Who is the puppy?

Joe is Claire and Quil's son. I saw the pair of them, well, I thought it was Quil... at their son's graduation from Forks High School.

Damn, Quil got old. Seth got old too didn't he? My son had the nerve to show off my human grey hairs. Stuff it, brat. You gave me the first one, you know that. It had been the first day he phased. I hadn't phased in several years before that, and I had started to age, but that first grey hair came immediately after the shock of finding a howling black wolf in my backyard.

Then I thought about the information I'd just been given - Joe was Quil and Claire's kid.

Joe... You're the boyfriend? This kid I also wanted to know. Unlike the first wolf, Ephraim, he didn't resist me. He showed me every detail of his relationship with Didi. She was happy. He was a great kid. It was a shame Aaron had shown up and ruined it. Well, Ephraim did a good job of ending it, too. It was pretty obvious when she put the brakes on Joe and his advances.

That was when she met you, wasn't it? Joe asked.

Yeah. Ephraim agreed.

Sorry, man.

You didn't do anything to apologize for. His thoughts turned to me and I felt his anger. Rather than upset, it made me want to laugh.

You better not be looking at me, pup. Marcus and I couldn't understand why she'd still be with one if she was imprinted on another. That's why he came. He wanted to be sure it was a real imprint.

Well it is. He snapped. He thought of me as a bitch. I growled. I didn't take that from anyone but myself. I was a little surprised Aaron was standing up to the Alpha for me.

Besides, Marcus agreed that it was an imprint. Ephraim showed me Marcus' arrival, his effect on the Joe when he came to propose. Damn, poor Didi, that would have been hard for her. Then Aaron attacking, completely out of control, and finally seeing Marcus and Nessie over Aaron's resurrected corpse.

He bit Aaron? He killed Aaron? How dare he? How dare he kill our son? I pointed my nose straight to La Push and started running. The bond between us gave me a perfect bead on where he was, how far away. The distance was shortening.

Uh-oh. Aaron mused.

What? What are you doing? Where are you going? Ephraim asked.

She's coming for Dad. Aaron's mind was fixed on his father. We have to warn him.

You do that, I thought. I want him afraid. I wanted him to know I was coming.

They all phased out and I was glad for the quiet. It let me mourn. How could he? How could he hurt our babies? Aaron had been out of control, but to bite him? That was like biting me! How could he do it? I suddenly felt as though he had bitten me. I was dying even as I was filled with burning life, running for all I was worth. I was glad I had rested so much since he left. I was going to run until I dropped. I hadn't even done that when he and I were leaving Seattle. I had never done this. I had never felt this.

This was what Jacob felt. It was like he was dead, or I was. I couldn't handle the grief, the hurt, so I let myself go to the bitch and ran.

Ephraim appeared a while later; the bitch was in full control of me, more than she had been ever before. I saw Marcus in his head, covering his face with his hands; he looked defeated.

Good, just the way I like him. What? Had the bitch really taken over that much? I didn't want him broken.

Are you really going to hurt him?

I gained a little control over her again. I couldn't phase back, so it was tenuous. A little. You'll understand when you're older. I thought about how he'd broken me, but never beaten me. I might tear him apart, but I never wanted him to lose the fight. I wanted to give and take. I wanted him to feel what his actions had meant to me. I wanted to understand why he did it.

Ephraim was confused, of course. Don't try, kid. Takes time, often a little heartbreak, to figure it out.

I'll take your word for it. I saw Jacob briefly through his eyes. He hadn't changed at all. I felt older again. I pushed harder, letting the bitch take over again. The small corner of my brain, where 'Leah, the woman' hid, was still thinking about Marcus, trying to fathom a situation so dire he would hurt his own son.

Ephraim phased in again, but he was fuzzy, out of focus. His thoughts didn't quite make sense. What did you do? I wondered.

I'm not a wolf, so you can't understand as well, different mind.

Ah. What are you doing? I could see through his eyes more clearly now. Didi was playing with the children outside at the school. It didn't look much different than when I had been there. I could see how happy she was, surrounded by the tiny smiling faces. Didi would be a natural mother, better than me. She found such peace among their chaos.

I was glad Didi hadn't had trouble finding a calling. Aaron was still so aimless. Marcus and I had each found jobs, tasks, that made us happy.

Why are you going to hurt him? It was easier to understand him when he addressed me. His idle thoughts were a colourful jumble I couldn't sort out.

It is hard to explain. I love him very much. I remembered imprinting on Marcus, keeping him to his diet. I remembered how I stopped him when he went after hikers in the parks, how he stopped me, or didn't, when the bitch took over. How we each had a demon and we each led the other.

Ephraim was focused on something specific. I got Didi out of it, but other than that, it was still that colourful blur.

You're confusing me, kid.

His next thoughts were much easier to decipher. He was looking at Didi the way Marcus looked at me. She was sharp and vibrant through his eyes.

Yep, you're in love. At least you're keeping her clothes on.

I head a hawk's cry from him and managed to make out Joe and Didi in his thoughts.

Holy crap, are you a bird? I mean, he'd said he was different, but, wow.

Yes.

He cried again in response to Didi.

She looks happy, I observed.

She is.

Ephraim focused on my running.

I haven't run like this in years. It feels fabulous. I bet I could go for twelve hours before I break. Probably put me in Alberta or Montana, depending how far south I swing. I'll be there tomorrow.

You're going to tear him apart? he asked me, picturing Marcus again.

I might. I remembered the last time he had done something that had made me snap like this, the last time the bitch had completely taken over. I whined slightly, remembering coming to myself to see the WeiHa I had recently given him on the tundra around his severed wrist. I fought even harder. That had been decades ago. I knew how to do this. I'm in control this time, I told myself. The bitch doesn't own me.

Then why do it?

He needs to understand. He needed to know how he hurt me. I wanted to know why he would do such a horrible thing. I wanted to purge the anger.

I saw Didi even more clearly through Ephraim's eyes. He was sitting with her now. Then he phased out. When he came back I could feel his pleasure even though his form didn't match my own.

Ah, young love. I mused. He wasn't with me long, and I had somewhere to be, someone to meet.

I didn't stop for plains, I didn't stop for cars. This stretch of country was barren enough, people would assume I was a coyote from a distance. They would need perspective to know how large I was. I would reach Marcus, and he would deal with me.

Someone asked about Aaron dying in a review. Obviously he isn't dead, he's talking to Leah through the pack mind. He did 'die' though. In Ephraim, he attacks Joe and Ephraim, resulting in fast action from Marcus and Nessie to stop him. Nessie, from previous experience (see On My Own), knew that venom could stop a hybrid heart. That was when Marcus bit Aaron, killing his body. Nessie used adrenalin to restart his heart right away, but not before he broke off his fight, returning to his body. For more information see Ephraim Chapter 13: Showdown.