Chapter 25:

The Alpha has gone crazy

The rest of the pack didn't take very long to join us. Their thoughts were strangely quiet. Seth had let them in on our plan. None of them were surprised. In fact, some of them had placed bets on what Jacob was going to do once he found out his best friends-the bloodsuckers-were in danger. What they were surprised about was the way that Sam was reacting. It's as if our Alpha had been taken over by Mike Tyson. I'm sure he was going to do more than bite our ears off at this point.

Sam was ranting at Jacob.

You knew how I felt about the thing…

"The thing?" Jacob snickered, Really, Sam? You mean "the thing" that blows bubbles out of her nose and gnaws on the edge of the coffee table? He snorted out a few sarcastic barks.

She is NOT just a baby, Jacob! he yelled. I looked into some myths and legends about creatures like her. They are just as much of a threat as vampires. Sometimes even more-so because they LOOK more human. They are able to blend better than the vampires. That makes them very dangerous.

What about nature versus nurture? Seth spoke up. Look at the family she has. You can't honestly tell me that you think the Cullens will raise her as anything other than good?

There is still too much that we don't know.

She's half human, Sam. It's murder, Jacob growled. Technically, it was half-murder. I kept my mouth shut. Neither one of them was in any mood to hear my smart mouth.

Humans don't drink blood, Sam argued.

Weird ones do, I smirked. So much for keeping my mouth shut.

She eats human food, too. Jacob was desperate to win his argument.

And then she hurls it up all over everyone. I had to wonder if Nessie had ever actually eaten baby food and not vomited.

I saw Sam enter through the trees with an angry glare. He shook his head at me, disappointed.

Yeah, whatever. Glare at me all you want. Can I please get off the ground now? I grumbled.

He ignored me and sniffed the air. I felt queasy when I saw the plan in his head. He'd somehow found out that Nessie was going to be on an outing with some of her family members today. He was going to try and lure them across the border so the pack could make their move.

Have you lost your goddamn mind? I snapped. Words couldn't describe how wrong I felt that this was. He pushed me down to the ground harder. Oh yeah, make me bow to you, you jerk. I rolled my eyes.

Come on, man, let her up. Don't be an ass. Jacob was actually further behind Sam than I'd realized. Sam was pushing him to walk when Jacob really wanted to run. I could tell that Jacob wanted to reach my side, but that pissed Sam off, so he was being childish about it and was making him go at a snail's pace.

Collin, Paul. Set the trap. Collin, run the perimeter parallel to the border. When they cross, Renesmee is the first to go.

I could feel Collin's unwillingness to do it, but he didn't have a choice.

Jared, I need you with me. We're going to take care of Edward. Sam continued doling out the orders. We were doing this now? Damn, this sucked.

Got it. Jared sounded depressed about the orders.

Sam, stop! I exclaimed. Come on, call Collin off of the kid! You're going to get him killed!

Sam wasn't listening to a word that I said. So I called him a panty-wearing hooker and then told him he that had a toothpick for a dick. He continued to ignore me.

Embry, you and Quil will deal with Emmett. And once he's out of the way, I want you to move on to Jasper.

If you keep ignoring me, I'm going to have to hit you. I glanced at Sam.

Jacob, I know how hard this is going to be for you, so I'm putting you in charge of Rosalie. You seem to have the least attachment to her.

This is insanity, Jacob argued.

We just need them to step one foot over our bounds… I was surprised at Sam's callousness. Leah… He looked at me. I want you to focus on Alice and Esme.

He wanted to send me after the Rachel Ray homemaker leech and the midget? Well, that was just a waste of my fighting skills. I shook my head and fought back the urge to scream at myself. I needed to focus.

Brady and Seth can help you. Sam ordered my brother and Brady to help me kill the most defenseless vampires in the family.

I don't NEED any help. Because I'm not going to do it. I refused.

Yes, you will. It was an order this time, and I couldn't disobey. He let me off of the ground and my feet started carrying me to somewhere that I didn't want to go.

Jared, once you and I have finished with the mindreader, we'll move on to… He didn't say her name, but the picture appeared in his mind. I felt Jacob's pain and anger, and I couldn't help but echo it with my own. He loved Bella. And as much as I hated her, I couldn't ignore his love for her. I felt bad for Jake. Sam was being a crazy person, and he was going to suffer because of it.

I perked my head up. If I listened closely, I could hear voices on the other side of the border. I couldn't hear who it was, but I could hope that one of them could hear me.

Edward! I exclaimed. I bet calling him by his real name would get his attention. Usually, I was vulgar and made up goofy things to call him. But I needed him to hear this. Nessie is in danger. Get her out of here. NOW! God, I really hoped it was him out there. I shuddered thinking about how much I was hoping that a vampire could hear my warning. That was just incredibly wrong.

Leah! Sam snarled at me. He wasn't very far from where I was running. You will NOT endanger this mission.

This is a suicide mission anyway. Jacob was grateful for my outburst. We still didn't know if it was Edward, or even if he could hear us if it was, but Jacob started shouting too. Whatever happens, don't cross the border! Stay on your side, mindreader!

Run! Get out of here! Seth joined us in our warnings.

God damn it, Sam growled. Everyone fall back. I could feel the pack slowing down. And though none of them said anything, I could feel a wave of relief surging through them.

Seth was next to me a few minutes later and Jacob was on his way. If we were human, I'm sure we would be high fiving the crap out of each other.

Sam walked up behind us. What in the hell is wrong with you guys?

What's wrong with US? Jacob questioned. What's wrong with YOU? How could you lead such an unprovoked attack?

Sam was fuming. Have you forgotten why we exist?

Great. A history lesson. I couldn't help but be a smartass.

For parents to scare little children at bedtime? I could only image the stories that existed about werewolves that today's generation believed.

Quiet, Leah! Sam snapped. What an asshole. I was getting really sick of him using his command on me. He sighed, I guess we have no choice now but to let the vampires leave with the monster.

She's NOT a monster, Seth whimpered. The kid had a soft spot for demon children.

I'm not going to let you chase them off, Sam, Jacob disagreed. I felt the pack cower when they felt his sadness from this morning when he thought that he was going to lose Bella. He let the entire day replay in his head. Our make-out sessions included. Fantastic. I couldn't wait for this day to be over. Sam was pissed. What a surprise.

What do you think you're doing, Jacob? What's gotten into you? First you keep the vampires from leaving, keeping us from having a normal life. And then you make a move on Leah!? Sam's anger from earlier returned.

She's fair game. You left her, remember? Jacob snarled.

That doesn't mean that it's okay for you to stick your tongue down her throat! Sam growled. How had we gone from killing Nessie to talking about me again? Boys were fucking crazy.

Hello? Sitting right here! I snapped at Sam. He snapped back at me to shut me up. I snarled a growl at him.

Come on, cut it out before you kill each other. Seth tried to intervene.

Stay out of it, Seth. Sam warned him.

He has every right to vocalize his opinions…especially since yours are the WRONG ones, oh, mighty Alpha. I rolled my eyes.

Leah, I can't take this crap from you too. Sam let out an exhausted sigh.

Oh, but it's okay for YOU to treat HER like crap? Jacob questioned. I had a feeling that once he got here, we were going to be in for one hell of a fight.

Like she made it easy for me to be nice to her? Sam scowled at me.

That pissed Seth off. She had every right to be angry with you! he exclaimed.

I guess no one is going to let me speak for myself anymore, I said sarcastically.

Back off, Seth. Sam growled at him, but it wasn't a command.

No! I'm sick of everyone treating my sister like shit! He crouched towards Sam. He sat down in front of him and showed him his teeth.

Damn kid, I didn't know you cared so much. I laughed. Of course, I knew that a lot of it was probably pent up aggression from what he had witnessed today.

And I'm sick of your orders. In fact, I'm sick of your crap altogether. If I want to hang out with vampires, I'm not going to let you stop me. They're my friends, he admitted. He stuck his tongue out at Sam in what I was taking to be what a five-year-old might to do if someone pissed them off. And then he took off in a jog.

Sam followed him. Get back here. I curiously followed them. I could tell how irritated Sam was at Seth. He caught up to him quickly. Seth, I mean it! But it still wasn't a command. When Seth didn't listen, Sam leaped forward and grabbed his hind leg. Seth let out a shocked cry.

Get your teeth off of my brother. I lunged at Sam. I headbutted him and forced him to release his hold on Seth. My hit knocked Sam down a hill, and I went tumbling with him. When we reached the bottom, he turned his jaw around and snapped at me.

You gonna maim my face too, Sam? Is that how you like your women? Peppy and disfigured? It was a hell of shot, and I did feel a small amount of remorse. Then I saw Sam's big eyes staring at me, and all of that washed away.

What did you say? he snarled.

You heard me. I wasn't going to take it back. I know you only love my cousin because of what you did to her. Why did I have such a big mouth? None of that was true. I knew how wrong it was for me to shove Emily's accident in Sam's face. He felt guilty enough as it is, but I couldn't stop my stupid jaw from flapping. I couldn't control myself.

Apparently, neither could Sam. He lunged forward in anger. I felt his teeth cut into my leg. I kicked back with my other leg and caught him in the eye with one of my nails. He shook his head furiously and came after me again. As I fought with him, I could feel that Sam was gone. Right now, all that was left of him was a giant wolf filled with rage and fury.

The pack could see what was going on, but none of them were close enough to pry us apart. Jacob and Jared were fairly close, and Seth was at the top of the hill freaking out.

Hurt her and I will rip your head off. Jacob threatened him.

Sam, what the hell? Get a hold of yourself! Jared yelled.

Holy shit. He's going to kill her, Paul gasped. Leah, get the hell out of there.

Like I was going to listen to Paul? Besides, I never ran from a fight.

Sam, relax man. You've got to get control of your anger, Embry pleaded.

Sam ignored them and lunged for me again. I sidestepped his attack and sunk my teeth into his flank. He bucked and threw his large feet into me. It knocked me into a tree and I let out a loud snarl. I knew this fight was inevitable. And truth be told, I always pictured myself fighting with Sam to get out my aggression. But I never dreamed that he would actually fight back.

I snarled, It is so on, you fuckhole. I jumped forward. I knew that it was probably a mistake, but I couldn't see past my rage. I heard Seth scrambling from the top of the hill to try and reach us.

Sam! he yelled. She just healed from the last attack! Leave her alone!

But I knew Sam was gone. When we were dating, he always had a tendency to withdraw when we were fighting. I could see the fire inside engulf him. He became a completely different person. I could see that look today. And I could feel his dark ire glaring back at me. There was nothing behind his eyes but anger.

When he lunged for me, I snapped my jaw over his muzzle and locked down. Sam pulled back and reared up angrily. I did the same and then I crouched into a spring, ready to pounce and bite the crap out of him again.

Stop! He growled as he leaped for me. The asshole had used the alpha command to render me completely helpless. I was frozen in place as he let his anger completely consume him.

Sam! Jacob yelled. He was getting closer. I could feel his footfalls vibrating the ground.

That was a bitch move, Sam. I had no choice but to whimper at the dickhole and fall to the ground belly up.

Sam didn't respond to me. I was guessing that I'd gone a little too far with the whole "Emily" thing. I guess he felt like he was teaching me a lesson. His preachy, punishment attitude really pissed me off sometimes.

I felt his claw swipe my stomach. I let out a yelp. It hurt more than I was willing to admit. Through the pain, I could feel the entire pack's shock at what Sam had just done. No one would have expected him to do this, not even me.

Dude! Embry yelled, trying to talk Sam out of his rage. Stop it!

Jesus Christ, man. Snap out of it, Paul interjected.

You're hurting her! Seth cried.

I tensed my entire body, waiting for his next hit. He reared back again, snarling furiously and delivered a blow stronger than the last one. This time, I couldn't control my pain. I groaned out an anguished breath. But even with me lying on the ground, cringing in pain, Sam was still in his "must kill" trance. This must be what the vampire who'd attacked me on the cliff that day saw right before Sam had bitten his dick off.

As much as I wanted to fight back, Sam still hadn't released me from his hold. I knew that he wasn't in his right state of mind right now. I was screwed. Two more swipes and Sam would have me cut in half. I could feel the pack's panic. If I doubted that they cared about me before, all of that was gone now. They were stunned at Sam's attack. Hell, I was too.

I always knew you were an asshole. I winced out through the pain. Even when I was on the ground bleeding, I still had the world's biggest god damn mouth.

Sam growled again and reared back. This would be it for me…barring some kind of miracle. I'm not sure that even I could survive a werewolf who'd lost his mind. Amidst the panic in the pack, Seth and Jacob were the two I felt the strongest pain from. Seth's fear was indescribable. Jacob was running faster than he ever had. His thoughts were intense. I felt a break in the atmosphere and realized that something had just changed. But I couldn't tell what it was.

Enough, Sam! Jacob growled. There was more to Jacob's voice than just anger. I felt Sam cower at Jacob's snarls. Had he just commanded Sam to do something? Or was I just delirious from losing a bunch of blood?

Holy crap. What the hell? Quil also noticed the shift in the pack.

Sam shook his head and looked down at me with a confused look on his face. I felt his command over me drop completely. I pushed myself to stand up and stumbled back a few feet.

Jacob flew through the trees and plowed into Sam. You are going to stay the hell away from her! He pinned Sam to the ground. Sam rolled out from under him and let out a commanding snarl. Jacob ignored it and Sam gasped in shock.

Jacob, what are you doing? Sam asked.

Have you forgotten who our ancestors were? Jacob questioned. I'm the rightful Alpha to this pack. And I am ordering you to back the fuck off!

You gonna attack me too, Jake? he questioned.

You're out of control, jackass! Jacob exclaimed. Seth was next to me now. Jacob and Sam circled each other.

I collapsed on to the ground and let out a whimper. For the first time since our fight had broken out, Sam looked over at me. I felt his immediate remorse.

What the hell is the matter with you? Jacob growled at him. You fucking gutted her!

How bad is it? Seth questioned.

I pushed myself to stand up again. I had just gotten him and Jacob off of my case. I didn't need to play "Patient X" again.

You have gone mental, Sam. Jacob's hackles stood up. He snarled angrily at Sam. I could feel his anger heating up his body. He clawed at the ground and snorted at Sam. His growls echoed throughout the forest. He wanted to kill Sam.

Don't kill him, Jacob. I'm the one who provoked it. I couldn't believe that I'd just said that. But, I knew I needed to stop Jacob from doing something that he might regret...even if Sam did deserve to have him tear into his hide.

That doesn't give him the right to maim you! Jacob let out a vicious snarl at Sam. What the hell is your issue, man?

I felt Sam's regret. He'd let his anger get the better of him. He let out an apologetic cry.

Jesus. Leah, I'm so sorry.

Yeah, it's not like I've heard those words a thousand times before. I rolled my eyes and then winced in pain. The pack could feel the dull ache. As soon as I could, I was going to phase back so they wouldn't have to be subjected my agony. I had gotten really good at controlling my thoughts around them. It drove them nuts when I put my brain on "shuffle" and just thought of things that didn't make any sense. It was time to drive them crazy with my randomness.

A guy in a dolphin suit on a rollercoaster? Paul couldn't help but snicker.

Sam felt me twinge in pain. He gasped, God, what have I done? He took a step towards me to see if I was okay. Seth and Jacob both leaped in his path. I rolled my eyes at their protection.

You will STAY on the ground! Jacob snarled at Sam.

I just need to see that she's okay… Sam whimpered as he cowered at Jacob's command. Seeing him bowing to Jacob made me laugh.

I'm fine you boner-biting asshat, I snapped.

Jacob was trembling in anger as he towered over Sam. I'd had enough of all of this testosterone driven fighting. I saw Jacob show his teeth to Sam. Sam snarled back, but couldn't move because Jacob had him pinned with his command.

Damn dude, I didn't know you had it in you. Quil was surprised that Jacob had finally stepped up to claim his place as Alpha.

I don't want this responsibility. But someone like you shouldn't have it, Jacob snapped at Sam. He reared back to attack. Something inside of me begged for me to stop him.

Jacob, don't. If you do, then you're no better than him. Holding Sam down while he pummeled him wasn't any better than Sam commanding me to sit still while he cut open my stomach.

Jacob stopped and looked back at me. He sighed, After everything he's put you through, you don't think he deserves it?

Would you have someone do the same to Bella? I couldn't tell if the pain I had when I said that was emotional, or whether it was my throbbing gut. Jake, he's my cousin's fiancé. As much as I wanted Jacob to make Sam suffer, all I could see in my head right now was Emily. I grunted. Why the hell did I have to give a crap?

I'm not going to kill him. I'm only going to make him bleed a little… Jacob shrugged.

Sam pushed back at Jacob's command. He stood face to face with Jacob.

Admittedly, I lost control, he nodded.

No fucking duh, Jacob chuckled coolly.

We can talk about this…

NOW you want to talk? Jacob grumbled. I listened as the two of them argued about the Alpha position. Jacob didn't want it, but he didn't want Sam to have it either. Sam took it personally. He muttered something about them fighting for it, but Jacob declined, citing that he'd end up killing Sam. That pissed Sam off more. But Jacob didn't care.

I shifted one of my feet out from under me and I felt one of the gashes tugging on my skin uncomfortably. Ow. I watched as the guys fought. I started to drift away from them. I just wanted to go home now. My stomach was killing me.

As Sam and Jacob snarled at each other, I pushed myself to get away from the dust that was flying. My wounds hurt like hell. I sluggishly made my way through the forest. I could hear Seth behind me.

Leah? Are you okay?

No, little brother. My intestines are hanging out of my body right now.

Just a little sore, I sighed.

Let me see, Seth pleaded.

It'll just freak you out, you wuss. Ever since we were little, Seth had never been able to stand the sight of blood. He hated it. Since we'd become wolves, he'd gotten a lot less squeamish, but he still had a weak stomach when it came to mortal wounds.

I will go get Carlisle right now… He threatened me.

Fine. I rolled over to let Seth observe the damage that Sam had done. Thankfully, most of my hair around the wounds was matted and bloody. Seth couldn't see how bad it really was. And I was doing my best to not think about how bad it was. It's just a scratch. I assured him.

I can't see anything. Maybe you should phase back, Seth suggested.

In the middle of the woods? No. I don't think so. I shook my head.

He whined, That's a lot of blood.

This is nothing. You should see the other guy. I joked. I had gotten in a few good swipes at Sam. How's your leg?

Eh, he barely touched me. Seth played the tough guy. Thanks for having my back.

You always seem to have mine. Figured I would repay the favor. I stood up. Just try to keep a lid on your anger and use your brain a little more. I found it ironic that I was the one giving my brother advice on controlling his temper.

I started to walk away from Seth.

Where are you going? You're hurt. Seth walked after me.

It's no worse than anything else that's ever happened to me. I pushed myself to a trot. I could feel the gashes on my stomach pounding in pain. I gritted my teeth and continued anyway.

Leah, take it easy. Jacob broke away from his argument with Sam. God, he always knew when I was pushing myself too hard. And he wasn't afraid to call me on it. That was going to get old.

Jacob, where are you going? We're not finished talking about this.

Screw you, Uley, Jacob snapped.

I paused in my stride when I heard voices over the border. I guess when we were yelling our warnings earlier, the mindreader wasn't around. Great. All of this crap for nothing. I tried to ignore the searing pain in my gut.

"Leah's hurt again." I think I picked up on Jasper's voice.

"How can you tell it's her? I don't hear any foul language." The little shopaholic was with her other half, of course.

"The pain is pretty intense. But so is the anger. It's definitely her."

"Again?" Emmett was also with them. "Damn, who'd she piss off this time?"

"We should get Renesmee home." Another voice. It sounded like Rosalie.

Crap. The kid was out here.

"How badly is she hurt, Jasper?" Alice questioned.

"It's hard to tell. She's really angry, too."

He had that right.

"Where is she?" Alice asked.

"Just over the border."

"We can't help her then." Rosalie probably didn't really care.

"The entire pack is a mess. There's a lot of tension and anxiety," Jasper sounded exasperated. "Something odd is going on."

"Should we break the treaty to help?" Alice asked.

God, no! I yelled. That's exactly what Sam wanted. Even though I knew that Jacob wouldn't let anything happen to the Cullens now that he was challenging Sam for the top spot, there still wasn't any guarantee that Sam wouldn't do something else really stupid.

"Let's just get the baby home and then we can ask Carlisle what he thinks we should do," Rosalie said. "We told Edward and Bella that we wouldn't have her out long."

"Oh, please," Emmett laughed. "Those two are probably too busy breaking walls in their new house to even notice their daughter's absence."

"Emmett, watch what you say!" Rosalie hissed. I could just see the blonde trying to shelter the genius baby's ears.

I would kill to hear what was going on in Nessie's little baby brain right now...

"Oh, are mommy and daddy having sex again? I thought that they only did that when they thought I was asleep…" Yeah, that wouldn't scar the kid for life.

"We'll talk to Carlisle first," Jasper said surely.

Yes, please…STAY ON YOUR SIDE! I begged. Having them cross our border is just the thing that would give Sam a reason to attack. And I really wasn't feeling up to saving the vampires' asses right now.

I heard them disappear. I assume they had been out here hunting and heard the commotion. They must be heading home. That's exactly what I was going to do.