Chapter 21

Baby Doll and I were driving to LaPush. Well, I was driving to LaPush, Baby Doll was changing radio stations. "I will never get used to the shitty music that Forks has to offer. I swear!" She grumbled. She cut the radio off and decided that silence would be better than trying to find a music station that she could enjoy. Personally, I didn't think that there was anything wrong with the music here, but then again, Samantha and I had different taste in music.

"So, how long do you think this whole thing is going to last?" she asked me. I shrugged. It could be anyone's guess. Sam had called a pack meeting, imprints included. Apparently there was turmoil within the pack and we had to settle everything. By turmoil he meant Chris. As far as I was concerned, that whole thing was over and done with. But I guess, it was better to get everything out in the open than for there to be some hidden emotions.

"I hope it doesn't take too long," Samantha commented. I laughed and quickly glanced at her. "Why? What have you got to do today?" I teased. She shrugged. "I have a life you know. My whole life doesn't surround this pack. Besides, Seth and I are going on a date."

"I thought you said that your whole life didn't revolve around the pack." She huffed next to me. "My life doesn't revolve around the pack. It just kind of revolves around Seth. God, that sounds really bad. When did I become Bella?" I laughed at her. "You became Bella when you fell in love." She ran a frustrated hand through her now straightened hair. "I'm not the only one. You're also in Bella with Paul." I had to think about what she said for a few seconds because it didn't make much sense.

"I'm in who with Paul?" "You Bella Paul so much. You know it," she teased. I shrugged. "Let's just stick with calling it love. Using Bella to replace love can become kind of tricky. For example when you say I'm IN her with Paul." It took a few seconds for realization to dawn on Baby Doll, but it finally ticked. "Yeah, that doesn't sound too good. I mean, unless you're into that." I rolled my eyes and became very happy once we pulled in front of Sam's house.

"I don't share." I stated simply. I put the car in park and hopped out of the driver's seat. Seth walked out of the house and immediately opened up Samantha's door and gave her a hug. They were so in love it made me sick. I knew that Paul would be getting off of patrol in 10 minutes, so I would have to wait until I got to hug my own wolfman.

I walked into Sam's house and the smell of Emily's baked goods hit me like a ton of bricks. It was really difficult to hate the girl when she was such an awesome baker. I walked into the kitchen and saw Leah sitting at the kitchen table… calmly… and not throwing anything around in anger. I raised an eyebrow at her. Could it be that Leah was actually doing what I told her to do? Was my best friend willing to forgive Emily for all of the shit that happened between them?

Leah gave me a small smile and I couldn't help the burst of happiness that was flowing through me. I sat down at the table next to Leah and patted her hand affectionately. "Proud of you," I whispered low enough that only she would be able to hear me. She rolled her eyes at me, but I could tell that she was happy that I was there to support her.

Emily walked away from the stove and wiped her hands on her apron. For someone that was only a few years older than me, she looked very domesticated. I wondered why. Was it because she wanted to? Was it because Sam was forcing her to? I, for the life of me, couldn't imagine Leah being so domesticated; cooking for a pack of wolves, keeping a spotless house, and still smiling about it.

"Hi, Kaitlyn! I didn't notice you were here," Emily greeted. "Hi, Emily. How are you?" She smiled and shrugged. "I'm a little nervous. I hope that everything can be resolved today." She looked at Leah who had her eyes on the table in front of her. "Fingers crossed," I supplied. Emily smiled at me and sat down at the table across from Leah.

"Paul and Jared here yet?" Emily asked. I shook my head. She looked between Kaitlyn and I nervously. I slowly nodded my head, willing her to continue. It was now or never.

"Well, they don't really need to be here for this do they?" Emily asked herself. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Leah, I love you. And I'm so sorry. There's nothing that I can do or say to make this better, I know, but I just want you to know that I didn't mean to hurt you. I would never aim for that."

Leah was silent but I could tell that her head was a crapstorm. I patted Leah on the hand and she shot me a quick glance. She finally looked at Emily and gave a humorless laugh. "For not aiming, you sure got a bull's eye." Emily flinched and moved her eyes to the table. "Leah, you were my best friend. You're my family. I was just as excited about you being with Sam as you were. I know that everything happened so fast and I'm sorry."

Leah was listening, but she wasn't really forgiving Emily. Leah was still holding on to her anger and I could see that this conversation wasn't going to go far.

"Did you know that I ask Sam to kiss me on the scarred side of my face?" Emily asked Leah, her eyes filling to the brim with tears. Leah shook her head no. "I ask him to do that as my own form of punishment," Emily elaborated. Tears started to stream down her face and she quickly wiped them away. "I deserved it. I deserved much worse. Everything was happening so quickly. Uncle Harry, you phasing, me and Sam. I wanted to be there for you, but I played a part in all of it." Leah wiped her eyes and my heart broke for her.

I pulled a Kleenex out of my purse and handed it to her. She thanked me and took a shaky breath.

Emily continued. "I hate what I did to you. I really do. Every time Sam kisses me, I'm reminded of it. I don't ever want to forget what I've done." Emily's face was drenched in tears, so I handed her a Kleenex as well. "I miss you so much, Leah."

Suddenly, Leah stood up from the table. She stared at Emily and I could see the fear in Emily's eyes. I'm sure that my eyes held the same look. I knew that when the time came for Leah and Emily to talk about everything, that it would be a very emotional experience. I had hoped that there would be other wolves present when this was happening. Luckily, there were.

Sam, Paul, and Seth walked into the kitchen, eyeing Leah like she was a wild animal. "Lee-Lee," Sam said, trying to calm Leah down. Instead of answering him and instead of hitting Emily, she walked past Sam and out of the house. We all sat in silence. A few seconds later, we heard the sound of a wolf howling. My heart broke again for Leah.

Apparently, my heart wasn't the only one being broken. Emily buried her face in her hands. Her shoulders were shaking as her body was racked with sobs. Sam immediately walked towards her, to console her. "I'm fine," she assured him. "I just, I need a minute." Paul's eyes met mine and I nodded my head slowly, letting him know that I was okay too.

"I'm going to go check on her," Seth volunteered. He started to take his shirt off as he walked out of the door that Leah did. Seth is probably the only wolf that Leah wouldn't threaten to kill if he phased at that moment… I take it back. Seth is probably the only wolf that Leah wouldn't follow through with her threat if he phased.

"She'll be fine," Sam assured her. "You know how Leah can be sometimes." I rolled my eyes at Sam. He could be so clueless sometimes. I hoped that he wasn't that stupid. I hoped that that was the imprint speaking. Emily shook her head. "I really hurt her, Sam. She can be as angry at me as she wants for as long as she wants." Emily's eyes met mine and I gave her an encouraging smile. "She just needs some time to process things. Look on the bright side, at least she didn't phase this time." Sam and Paul both shot me a glare and Emily laughed. "What? Too soon?" I asked Paul. "It will always be too soon," Paul grumbled.

"That would've been really bad," Emily commented, between giggles. "You're telling me! Whenever she's too close to someone to phase, I'm the idiot that's 2 inches away from her." Emily and I laughed. Sam and Paul didn't think that this was very funny at all.

"I wasn't talking about you. I was talking about the new kitchen table that she'd probably ruin," Emily teased back. I actually laughed until I cried at that one. Sam rolled his eyes at us, but there was a hint of a smile on his lips. Paul, on the other hand, was still glaring.

Baby Doll walked in the kitchen, seeing Emily and I laughing and Paul looking like someone had just kicked his puppy. "Where's Seth?" she asked me. "He went to check on Leah." Samantha opened her mouth like she was about to ask a follow-up question. Instead, she just shook her head and walked toward Emily's plate of freshly-baked muffins. She took one and took a huge bite.

"I don't want to know," she mumbled around a mouthful of food. "Sam, this better not take all damn day," she said, after her mouth was free of food. "I have a hot date tonight." Sam rolled his eyes. "Yeah, so I've heard." "Seth hasn't shut the fuck up about it," Paul supplied. "You're just jealous, Paul." Paul scoffed and took the muffin out of Samantha's hand. "No. Jealous of what? You and Seth? No." He handed me the muffin and Samantha flipped him off.

"Who else are we waiting on, Sam? I'd like to get this show on the road." "Quil, Jacob, Embry, and Christina. Collin and Brady are going to be patrolling. Jared went to get Kim. And now Seth and Leah are somewhere." I laughed at Sam. "You sure keep really good track of your pack of wolves, don't you Sam?"

As soon as I said that, the three musketeers and Christina showed up. I gave her a head nod and she gave me one back. "Ready to get this party started?" Quil asked in a loud voice. Jacob pushed him aside so he could get to the muffins. Jacob stuffed an entire one in his mouth. "Where's Leah and Seth?" Baby Doll shrugged. "You sure keep really good track of your one wolf, don't you Sam?" Sam repeated in a high-pitched voice.

Baby Doll flipped him off and grabbed another muffin. Mindless chatter like this continued until Seth and Leah showed up. Seth had his arm around Leah's shoulder, him smiling, and her with her head down.

"Finally!" Chris commented. Leah shot her a look of death and Chris shot her one back. A shiver went up Leah's spine and Paul quickly pulled me to his side. "I'm fine!" Leah grumbled.

"Maybe we should take this outside?" Jacob suggested.

Another update, in the bag!

What do you think will happen? What do you want to happen?

Is Leah too emotional? Not emotional enough? Will everyone get along with Chris?

Isn't Paul adorable?

Which chapter would you like to see in Paul's POV? Chapter 17 has 1 vote and Chapter 15 has 1 vote. All you have to do is review and let me know which chapter you'd like. The first one to 5 wins.

Please be sure to check out Embry's Oak, Jacob's Figure Skater, and Seth's Baby Doll