Ok, so it's been a while and although I wanted to post this up tomorrow, I read all of you wonderful reviews and I just can't keep you guys waiting. So here it is! Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Happy readings!

Chapter 25

I arrived home much sooner than I'd wanted to and my watch confirmed it was only twenty minutes passed nine. I disputed with myself over entering or remaining outside for at least a month, but after I realised that they would eventually find me, I sighed and headed towards the house. I noticed the door was wide open and winced inwardly; I'd been deprived of those two seconds I needed to prepare myself.

"Leah?" I turned around to see Seth sprint towards me. As soon as he reached me, was engulfed in a warm hug. I still found it hard to believe how quickly Seth, my former midget brother, had grown.

"Lee-Lee, where have you been?" Seth paused and sniffed. He'd answered his own question.

"You were with the Cullens?" he asked, his eyes wide, shining with surprise and a glint of smugness.

"You went to see Edward didn't you?"

I frowned, "Not exactly, I'll explain things later. Where are the others?"

"They're inside, everyone's been freaking out Leah, Emily even called mom and told her that you were missing."

"What; why? I'm not missing, I'm here! Why are they making a big deal out of nothing, I could have just gone into town or something."

Seth looked down guiltily, "Well, I may have told them that you said you were going home…"

I groaned.

"But I would have covered for you if you'd told me you were going to the Cullens' place."

"Well I didn't exactly make plans to go visit them Seth. It was quite… unexpected."

Before Seth could respond, he was interrupted by a gasp at the front door; I turned around only to find a surprised Emily at the door. It was weird considering she was inside my house and yet I was standing outside as though I was the unwanted guest.

"Leah you're back! Oh thank goodness." She gushed, running up to me and holding her arms out for a hug. I sneered and walked passed her.

"Yes I'm back, not that I went very far." I said bored, walking into my house. Emily rushed outside, probably to find the others, but when I entered, I was immediately greeted by Sam and his kind words.

"What the fuck are you playing at Clearwater?"

I rolled my eyes

'Hello to you too.'

"Hey Sam, how's it going?" I said casually, side stepping past him.

I gasped as he seized my forearm and turned me around, forcing me to face him and stare at his livid face. Once I was facing him, he grabbed both of my arms and tightened his grip, as though he was trying to hold me down. My eyes widened and for a moment I remained utterly still with shock.

"You went to see him didn't you? And don't you dare try to deny it; I can smell his fucking stench all over you!"

I quickly snapped out of my shock then, growling with anger. I ripped my arms away from his hands.

"Don't you dare touch me! You have no right to question where I've been, you don't own me!"

Sam snarled, "I am your alpha, I banned you from seeing that parasite ever again!"

"And I specifically remember laughing in your face! You have no right to tell me who I can or can't see; I can do as I please. As I have already stated, you don't fucking own me!"

In the moment that it took me to blink, Sam's large hand grabbed onto my shoulder and griped onto it until I was pretty sure he was crushing my bones.

"Listen you slut, you will do as I tell you whether you like it or not. You're not to see that leech ever again, or I will make every day you live, a nightmare you'll never wake up from."

I growled, struggling out of his grasp.

"Fuck you."

Sam's arm lifted and his hand slapped my face. My neck clicked as it twisted against the force of his slap and there was a jolt of pain that surged through me.

But it didn't last long.

I was enraged, and I barely registered my own movements as I shoved Sam away from me. He hadn't expected the force of my push and so he stumbled on his feet. Unfortunately he didn't fall to the ground, but that only meant that I had the enjoyable task of making him fall. I wasted no time, and my clenched fist struck his face repeatedly at a speed that even I was surprised at. I punched his face, his chest and his throat, revelling in his grunts and cries. He tried to take hold of my arms once more, which only served to piss me off; so much so that I kicked him hard where the sun would never shine. I was definitely proud of my choice of footwear then, the Converses made all the difference.

Sam howled and fell to the floor, clutching his crotch, and it was only then that everyone came swarming in from the backyard, they were all worried and demanded to know what was going on. When they realised I was in the middle of murdering the Almighty Asshole, they quickly separated me from him. It was a while before everything cooled down, and it was only when my mother arrived home that everyone finally settled and my emotions slowly calmed down.

Later, I sat down on a nearby chair, holding a mug of hot chocolate and a cookie in my other hand.

'Hmm, hot chocolate.'

"Ok, what the hell happened?" Jacob turned to me accusingly, standing in the middle of me and Sam, who was slumped on the floor and leaning his back against the wall. He clutched an ice-pack in his hand which he placed on his crotch, and was mumbling to Emily, moaning like a big baby whilst his imprint stroked his hair affectionately. I sighed; what had I ever seen in that guy?

"As soon as I came in I was attacked by this idiot, who doesn't even have the right to be in my house." I said, glaring at Sam. I grinned inwardly at his worried face, and then sat back and sipped my hot coco.

"I didn't attack her; I only asked her where she'd been." Sam hissed, outraged.

I growled, "So if you didn't attack me, then why do I have these bruises?"

I pointed towards the harsh, red mark on my cheek where Sam had slapped me and the deep handprints on my arms where he'd held me down. Although the pain had subsided and was now barely noticeable, the bruises were still apparent and would probably take longer to heal.

Jacob frowned, walking towards me and took my arm, gently turning it to see the full extend of the bruises. I knew there were worst ones on my shoulder, and it wasn't long before he noticed them thanks to my dress' spaghetti straps. He stroked them gently, his frown deepening. I looked over at my mother who looked worried as she stared at the bruises on my arms.

She frowned also, but she looked angry rather than shocked.

"Sam I think it's time that you left." She stated calmly, slowly getting up from her seat beside me and heading towards the front door. She opened it and waited expectantly.

Sam looked gobsmacked, as did Emily. I just about held in a laugh.

"But, look at what she's caused! She disobeyed orders, she had no right to-,"

"Leave my house now Samuel Uley!" my mother demanded.

Slowly, Sam got up, a shocked expression still on his face as he walked through the short corridor and approached the front door where my mother stood with a frown on her face. He looked back, searching for his imprint, who had not moved from her place in the living room.

Sam frowned, "Let's go Em."

Emily turned to face him, but her eyes travelled from me to her boyfriend. She fiddled with her fingers, unsure of what to do. She seemed torn between staying with her cousin and leaving with the man she loved. I rolled my eyes; why was she acting like I wanted her there? Even if she wanted to stay, it wasn't her decision to make, because, as I'd already pointed out; it was my house.

I met her gaze with a glare, purposely focusing my eyes on the scars on her face. He'd been so cruel to her, was she really going to go after him now? I sighed as I watched her turn away from me and walk towards her beloved ass. Once she'd reached the door she paused and looked back,

"I'm sorry Leah." She whispered before taking Sam's abusive hand and letting him lead her into the dark night.

My mother firmly closed the door behind them and headed straight into the kitchen. She soon reappeared with two ice packs which I placed on my shoulder and my face. I shivered at the sudden cold contact on my warm skin, causing Jacob, who still kneeled beside me, to raise a brow.

"You should be used to it by now." He mumbled. I narrowed my eyes at him, not appreciating his snide comment, but my upcoming argument was interrupted by a knock on the door.

My heart skipped a beat when I heard it, but it only took a deep breath to know that it wasn't who'd I'd suspected it to be. Minutes later, Paul and Rachel came into the house hand in hand. As soon as Rachel laid eyes on the ice packs in my hands, she broke away from Paul and rushed over to me.

"Leah, are you OK?" she asked kneeling before me next to her brother.

"Did the bloodsuckers do this?" Paul asked. I glared at him, but then realised that it hadn't been a spiteful comment, he looked genuinely worried, even a little pissed off.

'Well well well, looks like today is full of surprises.'

Jacob answered before I did, "No, Sam did. He got pissed off when he realised…" Jacob trailed off, his eyes met mine and I could sense his discomfort.

Paul raised his eyebrows, surprised that his alpha could ever do this. Even Paul, one of the ultimate assholes in the entire pack did not approve of this. This surprised me, although I guessed Rachel had softened him up during her stay.

"He must have really hurt you if it hasn't healed." He said with a frown.

I shrugged, "I gladly returned the favour for him." I said smugly, rubbing the ice deeper into my arm.

Paul smirked, and Jacob chuckled, "I bet you did." They said simultaneously.

My mother tutted disapprovingly, but she could not refrain the grin that tugged on her lips. She'd rather her daughter fought back than stand there helplessly whilst being attacked.

"Right I think we should allow Leah to have some rest now." She declared, reaching out to stroke my hair.

It was strange to have her fuss over me; usually she wouldn't make such a commotion when I got hurt as she knew I was strong and would heal right before her eyes. However, the bruises on my arm seemed to act as a wake up call for her and she suddenly realised that although I was strong, I wasn't indestructible.

I swallowed, looking down at my own arms; I'd realised this also.

Gradually, the guys began to make their way out of my home until it was only Jacob, Paul, Embry and Seth that remained. Paul soon left also after Rachel announced that she'd be staying over, and despite his complaints, he left willingly and didn't have to be dragged out of the house.

I walked into the kitchen, in search of an ice pack to replace the melted one I held in my hand.

"So, did you have a good time with Cullen?"

I turned around to find Embry leaning against the doorway, his arms crossed and his eyes accusing.

I sighed, "Don't you start."

"Leah, do you have any idea what we've been through? You just disappeared, one minute you were at the beach and the next Seth was asking us if we'd seen you. We searched for you and we found their scent on our land…"

"And what do you think happened?" I interrupted, a little pissed off by his attitude. He was acting like Sam's shadow, it was unlike him; something that I would expect from Paul rather than Embry.

Embry's mouth opened, but then closed once more for lack of a response.

"Face it; you only worried because you thought I'd been seeing Edward, otherwise you would have smartly assumed I had gone out to a store or whatever. You wouldn't have jumped to immediate conclusions."

"Well we were right; weren't we? You did go see him; his scent is all over you."

"Yes Embry," I said exasperatedly, holding the new ice pack on my other arm.

"I did go see him. And I came back perfectly unscathed and joyful, until I reached here and got attacked by our so-called leader. What is it with this need to control everything I do? You think you know best and yet I seemed safer with them over there than here."

Embry frowned

"Well if that's how you feel, then I guess there's nothing more to say." And with that he left.

Woah, a whole bunch of feelings have been released there! Please don't hate Embry in this, I love him and it pained me to write the last part, but frankly I have to be realistic! Well as much as I can be with Twilight, lol. Please tell me what you think , share more of your wonderful reviews! Thanks for reading!