The pack was in chaos after Jacob's disappearance. Although Victoria was dead, no one felt any safer. Now their suspicions shifted from the nomad to the large coven that had infiltrated their community. Sam saw an opportunity to regain full control. Paul wondered if he had somehow orchestrated the whole thing, but he couldn't imagine how. Embry and Quil, who witnessed Jake's last moments in the pack, said that Sam hadn't kicked Jacob out. He had simply left.

No individual in the pack knew exactly what had happened, but after talking with Bella, they pieced together a timeline. She had been trying to see Edward, but he was avoiding her. She went to his house but wasn't allowed in. Jasper turned her away at the door. She panicked and reached out to her emotional crutch, Jacob, eventually reaching him at Quil's house where he was waiting for his cousin to phase. By then, Jacob's suspicions were at an all-time high. He had spent hours carefully exploring the forest for clues to explain what had happened to the dead hiker, and he confirmed that the only trails near the body belonged to Victoria and Edward. When Bella called, she gave him an excuse to find Edward himself and interrogate him.

Bella, as usual, insisted on placing herself in the most dangerous place possible. She accompanied Jacob on his search for Edward. They didn't know where he was, so Jacob tracked him by scent. They found him skulking outside the high school. They only caught the briefest glimpse of him before he took off, and were it not for Bella begging him to talk to her, he might have disappeared before anything else happened. But she pleaded with him, saying that the last time he left her, it nearly destroyed her, and she swore she would not survive if he disappeared again. He stopped running, but he would not face her. He kept his face hidden by a hood and turned his back to her. She tried to run to him, asking him why he didn't want to see her, but he moved away from her while professing his love and telling her she had done nothing wrong. It wasn't until Jacob forcibly held him in place and yanked the sunglasses from his face that she saw his blood-red eyes.

Bella was horrified, and Jacob was livid. Edward told them the same story that Carlisle had repeated: he interrupted Victoria as she attacked the hiker, but he was too late to save the man. Rather than chase her down, he stayed to try to drain the venom from his neck, but it had spread too far. He swore there was nothing else he could do.

Jacob didn't believe it for a second. He said Edward had killed him and violated the treaty, and he swore to kill him on the spot. Bella tried to pry them apart, which was the only thing that kept Jacob from phasing immediately. She defended Edward, saying that he had done the exact same thing for her. Jacob asked her if Edward's eyes had turned red after he drank her blood. She admitted that they had not; he had not ingested enough. But now his irises were crimson; he drank deeply of human blood. Jacob asked him why, if the man was too far gone, had Edward not simply taken him back to Carlisle before draining him? Hadn't most of the members of their coven been "saved" by being allowed to turn? Edward gave no answer. Instead he hissed and threw a punch at Jacob. Jacob pushed Bella out of the way and phased.

Quil and Embry witnessed everything else directly. Jacob and Edward fought, but neither could gain the upper hand because Bella kept trying to get between them, and neither of them wanted to hurt her. Embry began to run toward their location, and soon Sam phased in at Quil's urging. Edward used his mind-reading powers to see how badly he was outnumbered, and he sprinted away. Jacob went after him immediately. His focus was singular. When Sam urged caution and told him not to engage Edward before backup arrived, Jacob refused. Edward was fast, and he didn't want to let him get away. If he made it into a car or another vehicle, they would lose his trail. He disappeared from the pack mind. Embry tried to reach him, both mentally and physically, but he and Edward were too fast. They were gone, and Sam refused to allow anyone else to go after them, fearing retaliation from the rest of the coven and wanting to ensure the safety of the reservation.

With Jacob gone, Paul knew he needed to find another way to protect Leah from Sam. He was irrationally jealous, unstable, and downright dangerous. Paul wanted to beat him into submission, and he didn't doubt that he could best him in a fair fight. But Sam still had the power of the Alpha order, and he reveled in using it. Paul needed another way to get at him.

While Sue took Leah for an X-ray to check her leg, he went to Billy and recounted Leah's pursuit of Victoria and subsequent injury. The chief's eyes were open to the danger Sam posed. He agreed that something had to be done. He had hoped his son would be the one to restore order when he claimed his rightful title. Paul was frustrated at Jacob's abrupt departure. Billy countered that if Edward had killed a human, and he had admitted as much even if his motives were unclear, Jacob was right to pursue him. He was terrified for his son's safety, but he believed he had made a sound, moral decision. His only disagreement was with Sam, who made the decision not to send the rest of the pack to join in the pursuit. Paul then asked if there was any way to appoint a different Alpha in Jacob's absence. Billy confirmed what he had feared: their legends suggested an Alpha could only be deposed defeat in combat. While it was theoretically possible for any shifter to overthrow an Alpha and claim the title, Alpha orders made it nearly impossible. Those with stronger bloodlines had been known to defy such orders, just as Jacob had unwittingly done. Rarely, a sitting Alpha chose not to use the power to ensure a fair fight. They both knew Sam would never agree to such a thing. Billy urged patience. He insisted that Jacob would be back soon, willfully ignoring the possibility that Edward might kill his son. They would have to wait until his return, at which time Billy would urge him to fight Sam for the title.

Paul left, unsatisfied. He wasn't willing to wait. Directly challenging Sam would be foolish, but it couldn't be the only way to protect Leah. Sam had too many weaknesses. Leah herself was one of them. His obsession with her clouded his thinking. Moreover, he was far too arrogant and power-hungry for his own good. It kept him from listening to reason. But his biggest weakness had to be Emily. Paul witnessed the change he underwent when he imprinted. Before he looked into her eyes, he was a good leader. He was inexperienced, yes, naive and a little rigid in his thinking, but decent at heart and never dangerous. But Emily had changed him fundamentally. Now he was simply twisted, and Leah was the victim of his warped mind. Strong though she was, she was vulnerable, hampered by the traces of venom still infiltrating her body, her injuries, and by Sam's orders. Jacob's words had broken the constraints that kept her away from Paul, but they had not restored her memory.

Thankfully, Paul could speak to her, and the invisible barrier that kept them apart had dissolved, although she still had trouble expressing herself. Occasionally he could see that she was visibly struggling to find words, but by now he was very good at reading her. He could fill in the gaps based on context and what little she was able to say. Better yet, much of what she wanted to tell him could be communicated with a smile, mirthful or teasing glances, her soft hands, or the touch of her lips. He took advantage as best he could and hoped her injuries would heal quickly.

In the meantime, he had to ensure that Sam didn't ruin what they had managed to rebuild. Every minute he was away from her, he feared for her. He wasn't sure what Sam would do if no one was there to stop him. So Paul resolved not to leave her alone. She wouldn't like it, but frankly he didn't really care. She could be as irritated as she wanted, so long as she was safe. Her broken leg actually provided a good excuse. Paul stayed with her whenever possible, and he spoke with her mother and brother and outlined his concerns. They took him seriously, and Seth and Sue stayed home as much as they could. But inevitably, their schedules left gaps. Sue couldn't very well quit her job, and Seth couldn't miss any more days of school, and he still had to patrol. Paul wasn't sure what to do. Their other brothers were too busy to watch over her, nor did they understand the gravity of the situation. Billy was worried, but he was not in a position to assist with any of her physical needs. He certainly couldn't ask Emily or Kim. The only other person who was concerned at all was Rachel Black, because she had heard from her father that Leah had broken her leg. She planned to come home for summer break and was happy to lend a hand, but that was still a few weeks away, and in the meantime she and Leah spoke on the phone regularly. In the end, assistance came from the most unlikely place.

Two days later, Rosalie called the Clearwaters to say she was on her way to cast Leah's leg. Before Seth could respond, she hung up. He ran out the door, phased, and told Embry and Quil, who were patrolling, what was going on. They raced to the border and waited until a red BMW convertible arrived.

"Where's the doc?" Embry asked.

Rosalie peered at him over her sunglasses, wrinkling her nose at his musk. "At the hospital. The doctor who was supposed to take this shift had some kind of emergency, so he stayed to cover. He sent me to put Leah's leg in a cast."

Embry frowned. "Isn't she already in a cast?"

"No, she's in a splint. Unless her quick healing powers came back, she's going to need something stronger, otherwise it probably won't heal correctly."

Quil approached and quietly asked, "Does she have permission to be here?"

Rosalie rolled her eyes. Despite how quietly he had whispered, she heard every word. "If she doesn't want my help, I've got better things to do." She shifted her gear stick into reverse.

"No, wait," Seth stopped her and turned to his brothers. "I'm not asking Sam for permission. I'm not sure what he'd say. But she helped Leah before, and she seems to know what she's doing."

"Ask for forgiveness instead of permission, huh?" Embry noted.

Seth snorted. "I'm not asking for forgiveness. She's trying to help, and I'm staying with her the whole time to make sure everyone's safe."

Rosalie sniffed. "How many times do I have to tell you people? I don't drink humans. Ever. And I'm offended by the implication."

Seth clarified, "I said I'm going to make sure everyone's safe, and everyone includes you."

"Okay, then." She leaned over and opened the passenger door. "Are you going to show me where I'm going, or do I have to guess?"

Seth paused momentarily before getting in and showing her the way. Embry and Quil flanked them on either side, hidden by the trees. When they arrived at the house, she and Seth went inside while they stayed outside to fawn over her car.

Leah sat up from her position on the couch with a startled expression. Before she could say anything, Rosalie explained, "Carlisle is still at the hospital. You get me instead. How're you feeling?"

Leah knew it wasn't a social question and explained that she was feeling better. Rosalie told her that her fracture was stable and did not require surgery, which was a relief. They would never have been able to explain her elevated temperature to a surgeon. Rosalie conducted a brief exam, checked her stitches, and replaced her bandages. Seth hovered nearby, periodically looking out the window to make sure Quil and Embry were still there. As Rosalie laid out her supplies, Leah asked her, "So, you're a doctor, huh?"

Rosalie shrugged. "Kind of. Went to med school. Twice."

"I thought about doing that. But med school tuition isn't exactly affordable. Nursing school was doable, though."

"Oh. Do you work around here? Carlisle didn't tell me."

Leah shook her head. "Can't work it in with the patrol schedule. Maybe if the murders stop, the boys can go actually graduate from high school, you know, once," she said pointedly, "and I can go back to work and do my NP degree." Rosalie didn't look up at her, and her expression remained unchanged, so Leah settled on chitchat. "What's your specialty?"

Rosalie shook her head. "Never did a residency."

"How come? You don't like it?" Seth asked.

Leah smirked. "High school just so amazing you just need to do it again and again?"

"It's definitely not that," Rosalie denied. "Everyone else seems to like high school, especially my husband. I... tag along."

"That sounds horrible." Leah didn't understand. "Once, sure, but how many times have you gone?"

"Too many," Rosalie mumbled.

Seth was curious, and he pressed further. "Are you done, then? Going to find something else to do?"

Rosalie shrugged again. "I'll do what the others want to do. We get away sometimes, me and Emmett, but when they want to go back to school, we go with them."

"I don't get it," Seth said.

Rosalie gave him a hard look. "I have my reasons."

Leah wondered what those reasons were, but she didn't think she would find out by asking. She tried to segue, "So why not do a residency? Too much work? Although I guess you don't need a job. It's not like you guys need the money."

She unwrapped Leah's splint, the cold touch of her fingers causing Leah to shiver. She hesitated. "I just... it's not for me." When the entire leg was exposed, she pressed on it carefully, causing Leah to hiss in pain. "Sorry. I was kind of hoping your healing powers would have kicked in by now. But we definitely need to cast this."

"How long?"

"If you're healing like a normal human, which it kind of looks like you are, probably six weeks. Less if your healing powers return."

Leah sighed. "Ugh. This sucks. It's going to itch like crazy."

"Let me clean it up first. You won't be able to wash it for a while, so I may as well do it now," Rosalie stepped away to wet a cloth.

Leah whined, "I have no idea how I'll go that long without phasing. Nobody better piss me off."

Seth laughed out loud. "Fat chance. Everything pisses you off."

Leah glared at him. "That's not true. If Sam and Emily would stay out of my way for a little while, I'd be fine."

Rosalie returned and began to soap off Leah's leg. Her movements were surprisingly gentle. "Sam's the one in charge, right?"

"Something like that," Leah answered, wondering about the kind gesture. She hadn't expected the vampire to take the time to clean her up.

"Who's Emily?"

Leah was cautious in her answer. "His fiancee."

"You're not his girlfriend?" Rosalie clarified.

Leah examined her closely. How much did the vampire know about them, and why was she asking? "That's a long story, but no, not anymore."

As she rinsed off Leah's leg, she said, "Hey, I'm not here to judge," although her tone implied otherwise. "It's just that when I overheard you guys, I had to wonder."

"Excuse me?" Leah asked, annoyed and confused. "Have you been spying on us?"

Rosalie glared right back at her. "Hey, you were on our land, not the other way around. I was just going out for a hunt. I can't help it if I heard you. It's not like you guys were making any attempt to be quiet."

Now Leah was truly perplexed. "What on earth are you talking about?"

Rosalie rolled her eyes. "Come on. Give up the innocent act. You know I was there, I heard the two of you."

"The two of who? When? What are you talking about?" Leah demanded.

"That night we ran into each other. Come on, you must remember. I know we didn't talk or anything, but it's not every day that we see each other. You're the gray one, right?"

Leah insisted, "Yeah. We saw each other, but not Sam. He wasn't there."

Rosalie smirked. "Of course he was. You guys were all over each other. I thought you were going to go at it right there on the ground..."

"Who, Paul?"

Rosalie shook her head. "No, Sam. I don't think I know who Paul is. Was he the other guy that interrupted you?"

"What? No. I was alone that night. I saw Sam, but it was way earlier."

Rosalie scoffed. "Sure, whatever you say." She shook her head and patted Leah's leg dry, then slipped a thin, open-toed stocking over it. "Whatever, it's none of my business anyway."

"No, I'm not telling you because there's nothing to tell. I was alone at night, and so were you…" She reached back into the recesses of her memory, trying to recall the events of the evening. She had talked to Sam, and he had told her to leave him and Emily alone, but he was nowhere nearby when she spotted Rosalie clinging to the branches of the tree. She had had an uneventful patrol, and that night had decided to break up with Paul. Although she did have to admit that none of the reasons she wanted to end things with him seemed significant. She certainly no longer wanted to be apart from him. And truth be told, very little that happened since then made sense, and her inability to touch him or talk to him was bizarre. At least that was getting better. But was he right? Had Sam issued some order she couldn't remember? "Wait, I think something maybe did happen. Can you tell me what you heard?"

Rosalie opened a roll of soft padding and wrapped it in large swaths around Leah's leg. "Why. Want to know how kinky it sounded?"

"Just humor me."

Seth was concerned. "What's she talking about, Leah?"

"I don't know. Rosalie, I honestly don't know what happened. I need you to tell me. It's important."

Rosalie paused and looked Leah in the eye, trying to gauge how serious she was. "Is something wrong?"

"Maybe. Probably."

Rosalie looked wary, but she agreed. "Okay. Just let me do this first. It's going to take a few minutes to set up anyway. Can you put your foot like this... yeah... hold it like that. Seth, can you hold her leg here? Okay. You're getting a pink cast, because that's what Carlisle stole from the hospital."

"Fantastic," Leah said dryly. "Maybe we can draw some flowers and hearts on it."

"You can paint it black to match your mood." Rosalie soaked her casting material and methodically unrolled it around Leah's leg in multiple layers. When she was done, she began. "So, I was going on a hunt. I smelled you before I saw you, and I heard voices. You sounded kind of pissed, but I couldn't hear what you were saying. I came to check it out, and by the time I was close enough to tell, it was just Sam talking. You didn't say anything. He was kind of all over you, telling you how much he missed you, how sexy you are, that kind of thing."

Leah's heart started to pound, and she felt flushed. She worked to keep her face neutral while Seth asked, "Leah? Is that true?"

"I don't know... Go on," she instructed, keeping her eyes fixed on an innocuous spot on the wall over Rosalie's shoulder. "What did he do?"

Rosalie looked worried, but continued. "Um, he was touching you, and he was talking about how you'll always look like you do now. He said something about eternal life. Is that true?"

"We stop aging while we're still phasing," Seth explained. "When we stop phasing, we start aging again."

"But in theory," Rosalie clarified, "you could just keep phasing and live forever?"

Blankly, Leah answered, "If we don't get killed by vampires first."

"Oh. I've never heard that before. After I heard what Sam said, I thought I must have misinterpreted what he said. I was wondering why none of the last pack was still around. I remember them, you know?"

"What else happened?" Leah asked in a falsely steady voice.

"Well, it didn't make a lot of sense to me at the time. He said that he would be Alpha basically forever, and that you'd be his mate. He was talking about Emily, too. That's why I was wondering about her. It kind of sounded like an affair, but I wasn't sure who was the other woman. He said you'd be his mate, but he was talking about her too, and I didn't get it at the time. He said you'd be his 'first love and his last love'. I didn't know, I don't know... Are you okay?"

Leah thought she was going to be sick. She held her hands to her stomach, trying to will herself not to throw up. She didn't know how, but she was absolutely certain that everything Rosalie said was the truth. "We were engaged," she explained quietly. "We were together for years. Then he turned into the wolf. I didn't know; it was before I turned too. He looked at Emily and he imprinted, and that was it. We were over, just like that."

Rosalie looked back and forth between Leah and Seth, not understanding. "He imprinted? What does that mean?"

Seth told her, "It's this thing that happens to some of us, not everybody. You look into the eyes of this one person, the imprint, and they're like..." For Leah's sake, he was cautious not to use the overused term of "soulmate". "They're like gravity, that's what they say. They become the most important person, the center of the universe. You're bound to them for life, and you become whatever they want you to be. Sam imprinted on Emily, our cousin, and..."

"Wait, your cousin?" Rosalie interrupted. "That's fucked up!"

"No shit," Leah agreed. "She was my best friend too, or so I thought."

"Oh, wow," Rosalie murmured. She started to pace, carefully piecing together what she could remember of the night in question. "It makes sense now. He said he must have imprinted on her so she could have his children, but you two were still supposed to be together. He said you'd be together after she was gone, that he'd be Alpha forever, and you'd be by his side..."

"Please tell me I decked him," Leah interrupted, her teeth gritted together. "Please tell me I grabbed him by his god damned balls and crushed them in my fist."

"Uh, no. I don't think so."

"What the hell did he do to my sister? You said he was all over her." Seth demanded. Leah wasn't sure she even wanted to know. The thought of Sam touching her made her stomach churn. "What did he do?"

"I'm not sure, exactly," Rosalie said. "Honestly, I wasn't looking at most of it. I was passing through, trying to stay downwind so you wouldn't notice me. I didn't want you to see me, so I didn't get too close. I just looked just to make sure no one was in trouble, since at first I thought I heard arguing. But when I got close enough to see, you were just standing there, and he was holding you, touching you. You weren't saying anything, and he was trying to be seductive, I guess. You were just listening, and he was doing stuff, and I thought you were into it. You were moaning and stuff. I wasn't trying to be a peeping Tom or anything, so I backed off a little."

Leah denied vehemently, "I wasn't. I wasn't into it."

"You said he was doing stuff. Doing what stuff?" Seth pressed. He looked angrier than Leah had ever seen him.

"Do you remember it?" Seth asked. "Is it coming back to you now?"

Leah trembled and tried not to phase. She was so angry that she was sure she would explode and re-fracture her leg and destroy her cast and the chair upon which she sat. She had flashes of recollection that coincided with Rosalie's words. She felt Sam's hands creeping up her shirt, her fists groping at her breasts, his tongue on the shell of her ear. "Kind of. She's right. That's what happened."

Seth's voice rose in pitch as he became alarmed. "What'd he do, Leah? What did that asshole do?"

Leah looked at Rosalie with fury in her eyes. "Please, tell me. I can only remember when you remind me. How far did he get?"

"I'm not sure, but this other guy interrupted. I don't know his name, but he was the one who came to get us when you got hurt."

"Jared," Leah saw his face in her mind. She remembered wishing he had showed up a few minutes earlier. "Jared was there."

"Yeah. He said he was checking on you, and he said something about Emily. Then he took off. I don't get it. Do you remember now? Did you forget?"

"Yeah. He must have done something..."

Rosalie remembered something suddenly and stopped pacing. "Well, he said something. He did tell you to forget. He said you were going to break up with some other guy, and he that none of it had happened, kissing you, touching you, that kind of thing."

"Motherfucker," Leah spat.

"I'm gonna kill him!" Seth growled. "I'm gonna tear him apart!"

Leah gripped the armrests of her chair so hard that they splintered under her fingers. "Leave some pieces for me. That fucking bastard!"

"Wait." Rosalie was perplexed. "I don't understand. Why are you getting so mad now? If you wanted to hit him, why didn't you do it then? I mean, you're not exactly some damsel in distress. Why didn't you just tell him to go fuck himself?"

"It was an Alpha order." Now Leah remembered everything. Rosalie had unlocked a door that Sam had closed, that he had managed to hide from her, from Paul, from the rest of the pack, and from Emily. "He fucking Alpha ordered me to forget. He ordered me to break up with Paul, told me I couldn't touch him, couldn't talk to him about anything except pack business. Before then, he told me not to move. That's why I didn't do anything when he touched me. He told me not to talk, so I couldn't say anything."

Rosalie stopped pacing and kneeled beside the chair. She put her cold, hard hand on Leah's and looked directly into her eyes with genuine sympathy. "I don't understand. Help me understand. Why couldn't you say anything? Why couldn't you move?"

"He ordered me. The Alpha has this power to order the rest of the pack. They can issue instructions that are more than instructions. It's basically unbreakable if they give that kind of an order. Like, if they order you to run, your legs just carry you off whether you want to or not. I literally couldn't do anything. I couldn't say anything."

"I'm gonna kill him," Seth growled. He was shaking even more violently than Leah.

"Don't phase in here!" Leah yelled. It was keeping every ounce of energy she had not to explode, and she couldn't let Seth phase either. "Don't phase at all! I don't want him knowing that I know, not that way! Embry and Quil are out there guarding us, and I think they're both phased. They'll see everything if you phase, and then Sam will know that I know. Calm down!"

"So? He may as well know I'm coming for him. It won't make a difference! Besides, I want everyone to know what a perverted lowlife he really is!"

Leah reminded him, "Except he'd probably just order us all to forget. He'd figure out a way to squirm out of it. No, we can't just go running off telling the pack. We have to figure out what to do first."

Seth started to pace in the same path Rosalie had used moments before. "Okay. Okay, you're right. You're right. God damn it!"

Leah wasn't surprised at her own reaction of fury, nor her brother's, but Rosalie shocked her. She looked just as angry as Seth. "So Sam was going to rape you, is that it? Is that what I almost saw? He was going to rape you, and I didn't do a damn thing about it. I could have stopped him, but I didn't know. My god, I am so sorry. If I had known, I'd have castrated him for you."

"It wasn't your fault," Leah said. "You had no idea."

"But I do now," Rosalie said. "I didn't stop him then, and it's just pure luck that that other guy came along and interrupted. If it weren't for that… My god, I thought you were into it. But it's not too late. I'll do it, honestly I will. He can't order me around. He can't do anything to me. He can try to fight back. I hope he tries to fight back. It'll give me an excuse to hurt him. I'll rip his balls off and shove them down his damn throat."

Leah was taken aback. "You're serious, aren't you?"

"Dead serious."

"What... Why?"

"I meant it when I said I don't drink human blood," Rosalie vowed. "I have never, ever tasted human blood. I do not kill humans. My kind, we're monsters, pure and simple. I love my family, but I have no illusions about what we are. Human life is the most precious thing to me, do you understand? I was human, and I will never forget that. Being turned... Carlisle meant well. He was trying to save me when he turned me, and I will forever be grateful to him. But he turned me into a monster, a monster with a terrible thirst to kill. But the only humans I have ever killed were my murderers, my rapists. I killed them for what they did to me, but I did not spill a single drop of their blood. I have taken no other human lives. But I will hurt Sam for you, for what he did to you."

Leah and Seth stared at her in awe. "I... I don't know what to say."

"Just say yes. I'll do it if you want me to."

Leah considered her offer seriously, if only for a moment. But she knew what would happen if Rosalie attacked Sam. "I can't let you do that. I appreciate it, I really do, but it would start a war."

"He deserves it," Rosalie insisted.

"I know, and I don't disagree," said Leah. "But Jared is his second. He would retaliate. Some of the others might, too. Then your family would strike back, and people would die, probably on both sides."

"I can handle my family, and I can handle Jared," said Rosalie.

"Maybe you can handle Jared, maybe not. But your family?" Leah challenged. "You guys can't handle Edward. He killed that hiker, didn't he?"

Rosalie's face fell. "I don't know. I honestly don't."

"But you think he might have," Leah said quietly.

Rosalie looked at the floor. "He told me exactly what Carlisle told you, that he found Victoria after she already bit that man, and he tried to drain the venom. He did it for Bella, and it worked. But that man's bite was on his neck, and the venom was much closer to his heart..."

"Then why didn't he stop drinking as soon as he realized it was too late? " Seth asked. "If he had just stopped, that man would have turned into one of you, right? Or just left him alone in the first place and let him change? Isn't that what you guys do?"

"Carlisle. Carlisle does that. He did it for Edward first, then Esme, then me. He did it for my husband when I found him dying."

"You found your husband dying?" Seth asked.

"He had been attacked by a bear. Carlisle turned him for me."

"Why didn't you do it yourself?" Leah wanted to know.

Rosalie sighed. "I told you. I don't drink human blood. I was afraid I might not be able to stop in time, and honestly, it's important to me not to drink from humans. I might be a monster, but I have morals. I couldn't stand to have his death on my hands."

"Does the rest of your family feel so passionately about not killing?" Leah asked perceptively. "Edward? How does he feel? Has he ever killed anyone?" Rosalie's silence was enough of an answer. "He has, hasn't he?"

"I think they all have," Rosalie admitted softly. "Except Carlisle. He's only ever bitten us to turn us, to save us."

"But Edward?"

"Edward went through a phase when he quenched his thirst by killing those that he deemed unworthy of life. Criminals, murderers, rapists, that sort of thing."

"That's what he told you?" Leah pressed.

"Yes."

Leah asked, "Do you believe him? How do you know he didn't kill that hiker himself?"

"I don't," Rosalie admitted. "But I don't know that he killed him, either. What he said? It's really quite plausible. He might have tried to drain a lot of blood, because the venom was in the carotid or the jugular or both, and there was no way to it out without killing the man. He really might have been trying to help."

"Then why didn't you say so? Why didn't you tell Jared when he came to your house?"

Rosalie looked her in the eye again, and Leah felt she was telling the truth. "I didn't know what happened. Edward had gotten home just a little bit earlier, but I didn't see him. He was talking to Carlisle and Esme in the study, and I think he talked to Jasper and Alice too. I didn't know anything had happened. They were whispering really quietly, so quietly even I couldn't hear them. I did wonder why. Then Esme came out and went to the door, and that's when Jared showed up. But you know, if Edward hurt someone, he wouldn't tell me. None of them would, if they killed someone."

Leah asked, "Why not? In a house with a mind-reader and a psychic, what's the point of trying to keep secrets?"

Rosalie's voice was quiet but full of conviction. "Because they know I'll kill them if they ever hurt a human being."

"But they've all killed humans. You said so," Seth said.

"I think so, but they hide it from me. Jasper for sure. He was with a pretty brutal group before he found us. He changed his diet to stay with us. Carlisle didn't turn Alice. James, the one who attacked Bella, Victoria's mate, he turned Alice. She found us. Before she came to us she fed on humans. Esme's been with Carlisle since before I turned, and I've never seen evidence of her killing humans, but sometimes..."

"Sometimes?" Leah prompted.

"Every once in a while, one or two of us disappears without warning. Takes a last minute trip. I've always wondered why. I've had my suspicions, but I can't be sure of anything."

Leah pressed harder. "Even your husband? Even you?"

"Never me. Not ever. Not for that. My husband, he met two of his singers, and he couldn't stop himself." Her face crumpled as she admitted it.

But neither Seth nor Leah knew what she meant. Seth asked, "What's a singer?"

"Someone with irresistible blood. Their blood calls to you, sings to you. Someone you have no chance of resisting. Like Bella."

"Bella?" Seth asked.

Rosalie explained, "She's Edward's singer. He's managed to resist her so far, which is amazing. Incredible. We thought it was impossible."

"That's insane!" Leah yelled. "Does Bella know that?"

"She does. She thinks it's romantic. I've tried to tell her, but she won't listen."

"But now he's gone, right? She's out of danger?"

"For now." Rosalie nodded. "I told him to stay away from her. I told her to stay away from us. But she keeps coming back. I don't know how to stop her. I don't know how to help her, because she refuses to be helped."

"What'd you do when your husband killed his singers?" Seth asked. His tone was gentle, because he could see how conflicted Rosalie was.

She buried her face in her hands. "Nothing. I didn't do anything. I should, I know it. I should kill every vampire I find, everyone except Carlisle, maybe. But you don't understand. They're all I have. Everyone else really is a monster, but at least they're trying. And Emmett, he's the love of my life. I just can't do it. I should, but I just can't do it." She looked up. "I don't want to be this, do you understand? I don't want this. But I am, and I can't turn back time. I can be alone forever, for all of eternity, literally, or I can have my family. But they know how I feel. Carlisle hates it when anyone kills a human, but he understands. He's sympathetic. I'm not."

Perceptively, Leah guessed, "That's why you keep going to school with them, isn't it? To protect the kids in the school from your family? To make sure no one gets hurt?"

Rosalie nodded. "Yeah. I'd rather do what Carlisle does, but I have to make sure no one gets hurt."

"So Edward would never tell you if he killed that guy," Seth said.

Leah continued, "And he told you a plausible story, one you can't prove or disprove."

"But you think he killed the hiker." Rosalie knew. "Do you have any proof? Did he admit it to Jacob? Is that why they're both gone?"

"He didn't admit it in words, but he was way too defensive, and he threw the first punch. I'm pretty sure he did it." Leah gave her honest opinion. "If he had tried to save that guy, he'd asked Carlisle for help, right? Or told you all what happened as soon as he got back to the house?"

Rosalie was crestfallen. She and Edward didn't always get along, but she loved him like a brother. Quietly, she whispered, "This is going to tear the family apart."

"Jacob's not going to let him get away with it," Seth said firmly.

"What choice will he have?" Rosalie challenged. "Edward can read minds. He can see every move someone will make against him just before it happens. And he's the fastest vampire I've ever seen. If Jacob manages to catch up with him, he'll have to fight him and win, and Edward is very, very hard to beat."

"Jake can take care of himself!" Seth insisted.

They looked at each other in awkward silence until Rosalie changed the subject back to Sam. "So, I meant it when I said I'd hurt Sam for you. I feel terrible that I didn't stop him when I could have. I should have realized how creepy he was being, how off he was. What can I do to help?"

Leah started to say, "You've done plenty, thank you. I don't think..."

"No, wait," Seth held his hand out and stopped his sister. "If she wants to help, we should let her. Rosalie, one of us has been staying with Leah whenever we can in case Sam comes around, but we can't be here all the time. I thought it was okay for her to be by herself for a while, but now that we know just how low Sam will stoop..."

"Consider me your bodyguard," Rosalie grinned wickedly. "I just hope he comes around and gives me an excuse to strangle him."

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Thanks again to my beta, Babs81410.