Chapter 26

Dead-End

The whole pack was making rounds, Seth and Kori on the inner part of the territory, Jake and Leah on the outer ring. Seth and Kori were unfortunately stuck listening in on Jake and Leah's conversation. They were mostly managing to tune them out, but one comment made them pay very close attention.

"I can see where she's coming from." Leah was talking about Rosalie keeping everyone from trying to kill the baby.

"WHAT?!"

"Just hear me out okay!"

"No. We are not talking about this."

"Jeez, overreact much? I'm just saying I get what she's going through!"

"Oh really? And what's that?" Jake asked, sarcasm dripping from his enraged voice.

"I'm talking about being a genetic dead-end!"

Everyone stumbled over their next step and Kori flat out slid to a stop, staring into the trees.

She didn't really pay anymore attention to what Leah was actually saying, she paid attention to her thought process.

Sure, Kori had noticed how she wasn't getting…her girl thing since she phased. It was pretty hard not to, but she never knew why Leah had been upset about it before. To Kori, it was the best thing in the world! No cramps, no out of whack emotions, no heat flashes, no red-stained underwear. Best thing ever! But looking into Leah's head at the moment…she started to see the down side.

She'd never have children.

Kori phased back on the spot, not wanting anyone in her head. Jake had to be feeling awkward having that talk with Leah, he didn't need it with his little sister, too. She grabbed the clothes she'd stashed under a bush nearby, Esme had given them to her. Out of all the Cullens, Esme was probably her favorite. She reminded her of her mom, or of what she could remember of her mom anyway.

Once dressed, Kori just sat there on the forest floor, not really knowing what to think. She'd never have children? She'd never really thought about that before, she was only fifteen! But…she would want that someday. Seth's children. That was definitely something she could see. Her and Seth sitting together on a back porch, a couple little dark-haired, tan-skinned children running around a backyard.

Perfect.

But…what if that couldn't happen?

Familiar, scorching hot arms wrapped around her stomach as he sat behind her, pulling her back into his chest. His face buried into her neck, his nose nuzzling her skin soothingly.

"What's wrong?" he whispered in concern.

Kori sniffed and wiped her face, finding a few tears on her cheeks.

"Nothing." she whispered, looking down at her hands, which were holding his to her stomach. She didn't want to bother him with what was on her mind, that subject would be just too awkward to have with her boyfriend, but she needed him. Or she'd fall apart.

"Don't lie to me, Kor. What happened?" Seth's desperate, heartbroken voice was like ice stabbing into her heart.

Kori ducked her head down, letting her short hair hide her face.

Seth scooped one arm under her legs, lifting her up enough to turn her sideways and set her in his lap. His arms came back around her, holding her close to his bare chest, his nose pressed to her wet cheek.

"Talk to me." he begged, pulling his face back only a few inches so he could watch her face.

Kori sucked in a shaky breath, leaning her head sideways to rest it on his shoulder.

"I just…What Leah was talking about…I've never thought about it that way before." she answered quietly, her voice choked up despite her efforts to calm herself down. Seth's hand rubbed her arm gently, calming her down a little.

"Never thought about what?" he asked gently.

Kori bit her lips together, feeling her face heat up with a blush. "I don't want to talk about it." she whispered, turning her face into his shoulder. The subject was simply too embarrassing. His hands came up to rub her back soothingly.

"Kori, whatever it is, you can tell me. I just want to help you." he whispered painfully.

She squinted her eyes tightly shut, her face pressed firmly to his bare shoulder. Finally, she sighed.

"I'm just like Leah, I'm a genetic dead end." she said quietly, knowing her voice would break if she talked much louder.

Seth stiffened beneath her before his grip on her tightened. "W-what are you talking about?" he asked quietly, denying what he already knew.

"Seth…I'm not getting my period either. I never knew why Leah found that bad before, but I get it now. Without it…I can't have kids. I never thought about it before, but…I want to. I want to have children with you, Seth. Not now, obviously, but when we're older. But now I realize that I can't." she breathed into his shoulder, the only reason he could hear her was his supernatural hearing.

Seth gulped audibly, pressing her so tightly to him that she almost couldn't breathe. "Kori, come on, you don't know that. We don't age while we phase. That's probably why you're…not getting your…period. When you stop phasing and start aging again, I'm sure it'll start back up." he spoke quietly into her ear, trying to reassure her.

"But what if you're wrong? What if I can never have children, Seth? I want that. So much. What if we can't have a family?" fresh tears trickled down Kori's cheeks as she thought about the kids she pictured earlier, mini copies of her and Seth, now growing farther away, out of her reach.

"And what if I'm right?" Seth countered. "What if, as soon as you stop phasing, you start getting…that again, and then we start a family? You and Leah don't know anything for certain, Kor. It'll take time before we get some of those answers. We'll just have to take things as they come. Okay?"

Kori buried her face more firmly against his shoulder before pulling away and nodding, looking at her hands, which were clutching his arms tightly. He pressed a lingering kiss to her forehead before he laid back on the forest floor, bringing her down with him, so they could curl up in each other's arms and sleep.

XXX

The next day around noon, Seth and Kori were sitting at the edge of the trees behind the Cullen house, eating some lunch that Esme cooked for them. They had finished their morning patrol and switched off with Jake and Leah.

"Um, I'd like to speak with Jake and the others."

Seth and Kori's heads snapped up in unison as they stared up into the glass walls of the house, trying to see the front door.

"They're out back." Edward's dead voice answered. There was a few moments of silence before he appeared at the back door, holding it open so Liz could walk out.

Seth and Kori clambered to their feet.

"Liz, what are you doing here? How did Embry even let you anywhere near here?" Kori asked in confusion as her friend walked down the porch steps, stopping a few feet from them, her arms crossed over her stomach. Kori knew she did that when she was upset or nervous about something.

She chewed her lip for a moment before she sucked in a sharp breath.

"How could you?" she finally demanded. Seth and Kori looked at each other before they both finally realized why she had come.

Kori looked back at her friend, her head tilted slightly. "Did you come on your own, or did Sam send you?"

Liz twisted her hands together awkwardly for a moment. Then, she sighed. "Well…when they told the imprints what happened, I got really upset and apparently mentioned coming over here to give you all a piece of my mind. Sam thought that wouldn't be a bad idea, Embry about phased on the spot when he said that. Finally, they agreed to let me go."

Seth and Kori looked doubtfully at each other, mentally noting the sound of their pack mates heading their way. Seth turned back to Liz with one eyebrow raised.

"Let me guess: at least a couple members of Sam's pack are waiting somewhere nearby."

Liz visibly flinched. "How can you say that so easily?" she whispered, making Kori flinch as well. "You were members of Sam's pack only a couple days ago. Is it really so easy to think of them as a completely separate pack?"

Kori looked at the ground, her bare foot scuffing the ground awkwardly.

"Liz…it's not like that, it's just that…" her mouth stayed open, but nothing came out. She had no idea what she could say to make it hurt less.

Liz narrowed her eyes at her friend. "Figured as much. How could you guys just abandon your family like that?! Vampires are supposed to be your enemies, yet you're picking them over your pack!"

"Liz, you don't understand-"

"What don't I understand?! When I first talked to the pack, when we first started to rebuild our friendship, Jared said, and I quote, 'Kori's like our baby sister,'. Paul's like your older brother. And you hate Bella! Why would you be willing to fight your family to protect her?!"

Kori had had just about enough.

"Abortion!" she screamed.

Liz looked beyond confused, her face scrunched up as she scanned her two friends. Even Seth had turned to look at his girlfriend in confusion.

"What?" Liz asked.

Kori crossed her arms and looked at her friend knowingly. "Tell me, Liz, what's your opinion on abortion?"

Liz blinked, still confused about what this had to do with anything, but at least understanding the question now. Kori knew very well how she felt about that certain subject.

"You know how I feel about that."

"Yeah, but I want to hear it."

Liz narrowed her eyes, not liking that she had to say something without knowing why.

"Alright, fine. I'm strongly against it. It's murder, like the equivalent to killing a toddler. What's your point?"

"That's what Bella's trying to prevent." Kori pointed out like it was obvious.

Liz looked even more confused. "What are you talking about?"

Now Seth and Kori were confused, glancing at each other. Kori looked back at Liz after a moment.

"Didn't Sam tell you why we left the pack?" she asked slowly.

Liz shrugged. "He said you left to protect Bella because her and the Cullens created a monster, and that, because of that, the Treaty was void. But as soon as Sam ordered an attack Jake, you guys, and Leah left the pack."

"Did he say how they created this 'monster'?" Kori asked, using air quotes on the word 'monster'.

Liz shook her head. "No, but I assumed they meant the Cullens bit a human and changed it."

"Well, they didn't. Bella and Edward…did the nasty on their honeymoon and Bella got pregnant with a half human, half vampire baby."

Liz's mouth fell open and it took her a few seconds to recover. "You're kidding, right?"

Both young wolves shook their heads as Seth spoke. "Nope. So Sam decided it would be best to destroy it before it's born. Meaning, kill Bella."

Liz gasped. "Kill Bella?! He wanted to do that?! Oh my God! Poor Jake."

Seth nodded solemnly, agreeing with her. "Yeah. So, he accepted his Alpha position and left the pack. Kori and I followed immediately, and Leah followed a few hours later."

Liz thought for a moment. "But…what happens if the pack comes to kill Bella?"

"It sounded like they weren't planning on it from what Jared said. Why? Did Sam say something?" Kori asked nervously, wondering if it really had been a distraction like they feared.

Liz shook her head sadly. "They don't discuss it in front of the imprints. All of us are pretty upset about it. Emily misses you and Leah, Seth. Kim feels bad. And Claire misses her Auntie Kori and Uncle Jay." she finished with a sad laugh, Seth and Kori joining in quietly.

"What about you?" Kori asked quietly.

Liz paused for a moment. "It's hard." she started, her voice choking up as her throat tightened. "Embry's really upset because Jake's gone, so I've been doing what I can to help him feel better, but that's hard to do when I'm so upset about losing my best friends." she looked up and met Kori's eyes, her own glistening.

Kori sniffed, on the verge of tears as she looked at the ground. Seth took her hand and squeezed it.

"So, I take it you didn't know about Bella being pregnant." Seth guessed, trying to change the subject.

Liz shook her head. "No, no one told me anything about that."

"But now do you understand why we did this?" Seth asked gently.

Liz sighed. "I guess I do. But…do you really have to?" she asked pleadingly. "Can't you see that you're hurting everyone?"

"Please don't!" Kori pleaded, covering her ears with her hands as she squeezed her eyes shut. "Jared already guilt tripped me earlier, please don't do that again!"

Seth pulled her to him by the waist, pressing her face to his warm chest.

Liz sighed in defeat. "Alright." she answered sadly. "I guess all we can do is…hope for the best."

Kori nodded into Seth chest before she pulled back to look at her friend. "You never know, maybe everything will work out good, and we'll be back home soon." she tried to be positive, but her tone was anything but.

"Yeah, maybe." Liz didn't sound like she believed her. After a moment she cleared her throat. "Well, I'd better get going, then. Before Embry 'storms the castle to rescue me'." she joked lightly, making Seth and Kori smile. Kori finally stepped out of her boyfriend's arms and hugged her best friend.

"Liz." Kori, Seth, and Liz looked over their shoulders to see Jake step out of the trees, only wearing a pair of dress pants the Cullens had lent him. "Could…could you say hi to Embry for me?" he asked quietly.

Liz smiled sadly and nodded. "Yeah, I'll tell him. Him and Quil really miss you, Jake."

Jake winced before forcing a pained smile. "I miss them, too."

"Well, I'd better get going." Liz finally announced as she headed towards the porch steps. "I guess I'll see you guys around."

"Bye." the three wolves chorused as they watched their friend leave.

When Liz was out of sight Kori went back to sit on the ground, leaning back on a tree trunk. Seth sat next to her, holding her close to his side.

XXX

"Would you chill out already? I'm sure she's fine. The Cullens won't actually hurt her." Jared said from the front passenger seat of Sam's car. Sam was sitting in the driver's seat while Embry was sitting in the back seat, his leg bouncing anxiously as he stared at the front door of the Cullens' home.

He glared up at Jared through the rearview mirror. "And I suppose you'd be singing kid songs and farting rainbows if Kim was in there, right?"

Jared narrowed his eyes back at his pack brother.

Embry felt the imprint bond shift and snapped his head back to look at the door.

The mind reader just escorted Liz out the front door, closing it behind her as she walked down the porch stairs. Instead of walking up to the car, Liz looked pointedly at the three wolves, meeting eyes with Embry, as she kept walking past the car down the long, winding driveway.

"Liz?" Embry murmured in confusion, his whole body turning in his seat as he watched her walk away. "Liz. Liz! Wait!" he called as he got out of the car and ran after her. He passed her and stopped in front of her, extending his arms in her direction. She stopped and pulled back slightly, glaring at his feet to avoid his eyes.

"Lizzy." he murmured, his hands stroking her arms gently.

Liz bit her lip, not wanting to forgive him quite yet. But he was making that difficult.

"Lizzy, what did they say? Did they hurt you? What happened?" Embry demanded, his voice growing louder. Liz stopped him by putting her fingers over his lips.

She finally looked up into his eyes seriously, shaking her head slowly.

"Why didn't you guys tell me? Why didn't you tell me what was going on?" she asked quietly. Embry looked at her in confusion. "Why didn't you tell me Bella's pregnant?"

Embry's eyes widened slightly in realization. He looked down, ashamed he'd kept the truth from her. He sucked in a breath before he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her tightly to him. Part of Liz wanted to push him away, but she didn't.

"I'm sorry. Sam didn't want you to be influenced by any of that. He hoped you could convince the others to come back. I'm sorry you had to go in there. I didn't want you to, Sam just figured you'd have the best shot to-"

"Em." Liz pulled her head away from his chest, looking deep into the dark brown eyes she loved. "Me going in there is the last thing you need to apologize for. But…what if it comes to a fight?"

She didn't need to elaborate on that. Embry knew exactly what she was talking about. He sighed and pulled her closer to him.

"I don't know."