"I would handcuff you to this bed if I didn't know you would just break out of it."
Leah smirked at Paul. "Ooh, kinky."
He sat down heavily on the edge of his childhood bed. They had finally tossed the rest of the pack out of his house, citing Leah's exhaustion, but she was still awake. She claimed she only said she was tired in order to get everyone to leave. He was thankful to have her alone at last, though they couldn't indulge in the sort of fun that she alluded to, because Seth and Sam refused to go farther than the woods behind the house. Normally it would have infuriated Paul that her ex wouldn't leave them alone, but tonight he felt safer knowing they were standing watch close by. "You know that's not what I meant," he grunted unhappily. "Every time you step out of this house, a monster tries to hurt you. You're a damn magnet for the crazies. You've gotten into more trouble than the rest of us combined. Obviously, you should just stay inside."
"Apparently I'm unkillable, though. If it was possible for a vampire to kill me, I'd be dead by now. Pretty sure that means I can just do whatever the hell I want to, and there are no consequences." She grinned up at him, but he couldn't return the smile.
"That's exactly the kind of shit that gets you into trouble in the first place. You're not invincible, so stop acting like you are."
She admitted, "Maybe I was a teeny bit foolish going after Victoria up that cliff..."
"...as a human," he added, poking his finger gently into her side. "A soft, squishy, human full of blood."
"But it worked, didn't it? She's dead, and I'm fine. Plus this time wasn't my fault. I wasn't looking for trouble. I was just on my way to your graduation. Ruined one of my favorite outfits in the process, too."
He pouted. "I know. Didn't stop trouble from finding you, though. I mean, what the Hell? There are ten of us now, but you see 90% of the action, and take 100% of the hits." He wanted to joke with her, to listen to her laugh and tell him everything would be better, but he was too worried. Emily and Riley were still out there, and he knew her cousin wouldn't just walk away. "What happened… You should be dead. You know that, don't you?"
"Yeah," she said softly. "But I'm not. And I was exaggerating about being invincible, but come on. This means something." She raised her arm, showing him the smooth, unlined skin where a gaping bite mark ought to be.
He thumbed the miraculously smooth skin, peeking at her neck, where his mark remained on top of Victoria's. "You really think you're immune to vampire venom now?" He asked, skeptical of Rosalie's theory as to why Emily's bite didn't kill Leah.
She shrugged, leaning up on her elbows. "How else do you explain it?"
"Maybe she bit you without injecting any venom. It happened underwater. Maybe the water washed it away before it could really get into your system."
She denied the possibility. "No, it's inside me. I can feel it." She didn't elaborate, not wanting to worry him, but her heart pumped the poison to every inch of her body with every beat. It was there, coursing through her veins with a hot, humming burn. She knew she ought to be dead. "As much of this shit that I have in me, well, I wouldn't be here talking to you if it was going to hurt me. Who knows if it will last forever, but for now, I really think I'm immune."
He lowered himself down beside her, talking her into his arms. "Let's not test that theory, okay?"
As much as she loved being with him in the relative peace and quiet, she couldn't help but want to chase Emily down and tear her apart once and for all. "I should be out there, Paul. I should be hunting her down and taking her out before she can hurt anyone else."
"And I want to lock you in this room, but we can't always do what we want, can we?"
"You can't tell me you don't want to tear her apart."
He squeezed her more tightly, fearing she would bolt out of bed at any second. "I want to do that tomorrow. Tomorrow, do you hear me?" After a moment of thought, he added, "By myself. I will tear her apart, and you can stay here, handcuffed to the bed."
She snorted. "Fat chance. You know you'll feel better if we're together when Emily and I find each other. Plus, I was in a perfectly safe spot, just a couple miles away in my car. I won't be safer here by myself. It's better to be with the rest of the pack."
A terrible vision appeared in his mind's eye: Leah's blood splattered across the walls of this very room. He grumbled under his breath, "I hate it when you're right."
She giggled, "You must be pretty miserable then, because I'm always right."
He sighed and yawned hugely, trying to sweep the disturbing images away and failing. Leah's continuing insistence on fighting their opponents wasn't helping. It had been an exhausting and terrifying day. And he hadn't even managed to pick up his diploma. His father hadn't gotten home yet; he was still at Billy Black's having everything explained to him. "Just be quiet now and go to sleep."
She protested, "But I'm not tired. We should just go look for her right now. We're wasting time."
Paul didn't want to have this argument again. He grabbed a spare pillow, planted it on his face, and growled into it in frustration. Jacob nearly had to issue an Alpha order to get her to rest. Paul lifted the pillow. "Go. To. Sleep. You almost died today, remember? Aren't you exhausted? I'm exhausted."
"I'm not tired at all," she lied. "I basically slept all evening long."
He rolled over so that he could properly glare at her. "You were unconscious, not taking a nap! For fuck's sake, give yourself a little time to heal, will you?"
"But I feel fine!" She lifted her shirt, baring her smooth stomach. Hours before, her skin gaped open with an ugly wound. It had already closed into a thin line. By the next day, it would be gone entirely. "I'm all healed up, see?"
"I know it looks like that, but it's not possible. It has to be some kind of trick. With the amount of venom in you, there's no way you should be healing this fast. Remember your broken bones?"
She smiled triumphantly. "Exactly! Seriously, I'm pretty sure I'm immune to vampire venom now. Surviving Victoria's bite gave my immune system the chance to figure out how to fight it off, like a vaccination or something. So who better than me to take out Emily and that other asshole?"
He pouted petulantly, dropping his head back down onto the bed. "Fine. But not until tomorrow. I'm going to sleep, and you're staying here with me, even if it means you just stare at the ceiling for the next eight hours."
She could live with that. "Deal." Within seconds, they were both asleep.
He woke a few hours later to the sensation of Leah thrashing in his arms. She was gasping and moaning in her sleep. A line furrowed her brow, and her breathing hitched. He placed his hand on her cheek and was relieved to find no fever. He gently traced the faint lines where Emily had tried to gift Leah with scars to match the ones Sam had given her. They, too, had nearly disappeared.
The airbag deployed, smacking into Leah's face and temporarily blinding her. The seatbelt dug into her chest as it restrained her. As the airbag deflated, the seatbelt yanked her back and slammed the back of her head against her seat, the figure leapt, landing on the roof of the car.
Leah tried to release herself from the seatbelt so she could get out of the car and phase, but the mechanism jammed. Before she could rip it free, the metal above her head began to tear, and she looked up to see a hand pulling back the roof like the lid of a tin can. She couldn't phase, restrained as she was.
She had just enough time to realize that the thing above her used to be Emily. Then her opponent slammed a stony fist into her head three times, sending pain lancing through her skull, and causing her to slip into unconsciousness. As she faded into blackness, she felt one cold arm wrap around her throat, choking her and yanking her up. Her legs smashed against the steering column, and her skin tore against the jagged remnants of her roof. Emily roughly yanked her through the hole she had made.
"It's okay, baby. It's okay. You're safe. I'm here, and you're safe." Strong arms held her still, but the voice did not grate on her ears, and no foul scent of death filled her nostrils.
She finally recognized the familiar, loving tone. "Paul?" She panted and opened her eyes, seeing the small dresser, open closet door, and bare walls of his room. His clock read 3:06 in red digital lights.
"It's me. It's just me." His arms, not Emily's, gently wound around her waist and shoulders, cradling her close. His body was warm, not cold. His touch was tender, not hurtful. His voice was soothing, not cruel. "You're safe. You're here with me. Nothing can hurt you now."
She felt her heart pounding in her chest, and she had to force herself to take deep, slow breaths in order to calm herself. She inhaled the warm, rich scent of his skin and twisted around to bury her face in his chest. "Okay, okay." She was a little embarrassed by how tightly she clung to him, but she knew he didn't mind. He just held her and stroked his open palm up and down her back.
"You're okay, baby. You're okay. Were you dreaming about what happened today?"
She nodded, the vivid images still flashing through her mind. She remembered the moments before Emily began to pummel her skull with minute detail, but after, she only had hazy sensations of lancing pain, fear, and desperate hunger for air. "The crash. It happened so fast. I couldn't phase. I was stuck in the car, and there was no room. I should have been able to protect myself..."
"It wasn't your fault," he insisted.
She shook her head angrily, accidentally bumping the crown of her head into his chin. If it caused him any discomfort, he didn't seem to notice. "I should be able to take care of myself. Otherwise, what's the point of shifting?"
He thought of all the times that she had put herself on the line. Too often she had come too close to death. He was joking when he threatened to cuff her to the bed, but he wished he had a way to keep her safe. Every one of her wounds scarred him, and he wished he could somehow carry the burden of her pain. He would trade just about anything to guarantee her safety. She, however, was inclined to do the opposite. Risking herself for the benefit of others was simply who she was. She would absorb any blow, suffer any injury, make any sacrifice on behalf of a fellow human being, no matter whether they were worthy or not. It terrified him, but he loved her for it. "The point is to keep people safe, and that's exactly what you do. Don't get me wrong. I think you were insane to go climbing that cliff after Victoria, but even I'll admit that if you hadn't done it, she'd still be out there murdering people. And as stupid as it was, it's not like you were by yourself. You pulled her down to the rest of us. You had backup, so it wasn't a completely idiotic move. And yeah, I'm still kind of pissed that you jumped in front of that dumb cunt Bella, seeing as she absolutely deserved to get her damn throat torn out." She opened her mouth to defend herself, but before she could say anything, he told her, "But I know you didn't do it for her. You did it for Jake, and for her dad, and for the people she'd have killed if she turned. So I get it."
"Any news about the leech lover? She still moping about the Cullens?"
"I guess she came around to Jake's, but she didn't apologize or anything. Seemed like she was waiting for an apology out of him. He didn't give it to her."
"Good." She was proud of her young Alpha. He was truly coming into his own. "He deserves better than that sniveling, selfish brat. I'm glad he realizes it. He's a catch, and I can't believe he hasn't gotten snatched up yet."
A primal surge of possessiveness rose in his chest. He didn't have any problems with Jacob, particularly since he had finally started to grow a backbone about Bella Swan. But the other wolf outranked him, and he knew that if the Alpha chose to do so, according to pack hierarchy, he could make a claim to the only female. "Should I be worried?"
It didn't even occur to her that he was talking about Jacob. She settled back into his embrace and said, "I know what I did was dumb, and if Seth ever did what I did, I'd kick his ass. But if I had to go back and do it all again, I wouldn't change anything."
"Anything?" he answered dryly.
After a pause, she clarified, "Okay, I'd have walked to graduation, maybe with one or two of our brothers, and ripped Emily to shreds when she came looking for me. I couldn't smell her in the car with the windows rolled up…"
"I would have happily skipped my graduation to tear that bitch apart."
She sighed quietly. "I'm really sorry I messed it up. I really wanted to be there. I wanted to watch you get your diploma."
"No worries. It's not like they're keeping me from graduating because of the ceremony. It's no big deal."
"Sure it is…" she protested.
He cut her off. "Seriously. The ceremony's for the parents. I just want to be done with high school, and I am."
"How's your dad handling everything?" she asked, listening for any sign that Allen had returned to the house.
Paul just shrugged. "Who knows. Either he's still at Billy's, or he freaked out after they talked to him, and he went back to his girlfriend's house."
She was quiet long enough that he thought she might be asleep, until very quietly, she whispered, "I'm sorry I scared you."
"Don't be sorry. Just stop scaring me like that."
Unfortunately, it wasn't up to her, just like it wasn't up to him. As long as Emily was still out there, she wasn't safe.
The next morning, she wanted to go hunting as early as possible, to take Emily out before she could hurt anyone else. Paul disagreed. He thought it was far too soon. Although Leah looked healthy on the outside, he knew there was still venom running through her veins, and he wanted her to heal fully before engaging in another battle. Better yet, he wanted her to stay out of the way while the others took care of the threat. He knew she would refuse, of course, as they had discussed the night before, but it didn't change his feelings on the subject.
Thankfully, when the pack met the next morning, Jacob had a compromise. He told Leah that she would be the bait.
It was Seth, not Paul, who protested. The day before had been particularly hard on him. Watching what happened to his sister was terrifying. Between the crash, the beatings, the strangling, the drowning, and the bite, she ought to have died half a dozen times over. Even if she thought she would survive another assault, he didn't think he could. Jacob pointed out that Emily wasn't going to leave her alone, no matter what they did, and their best bet was to trap her on their own terms. Moreover, he knew Leah wasn't ready to hunt, though she insisted otherwise. She was liable to do something completely stupid and reckless just to prove that she could. This way she would rest and heal for a little longer. "We only have two choices: go look for her, or wait for her to come to us. Jared and Quil already searched up and down the coast, and Embry and I looked everywhere we know of. We followed anything that even hinted at one of their trails. Nothing. We have no idea where they are. For all we know, she could still be sitting on the bottom of the ocean. It's not a matter of going farther or looking harder. She knows our limitations, knows what we can and can't do. And she's covered her tracks. The only thing we'd accomplish by running around out there is to exhaust ourselves, and either leave the entire reservation unprotected, or split up the pack. She'd take advantage of that somehow. I wouldn't put it past her to go after the pups, since they're totally inexperienced and not even fully grown."
"We don't know if she'll ever come back," Jared pointed out.
Jacob disagreed. "I don't think so. Emily hates Leah. She has it out for her. She isn't just going to walk away. She'll be back to hurt her, one way or another, and I say we make sure we're ready when that happens."
It was Sam, not Paul, who immediately began to argue. "You can't possibly be suggesting what I think you're suggesting, Jake. She's been through too much. She's…"
"I'll do it," Leah interrupted. "Whatever it is, I'll do it."
The argument continued, back and forth, until Jacob reminded them, "We really don't have a choice. They're moving to Pullman in, what, a month or two? They'll be all by themselves. You think Emily's going to forget about her between now and then? She isn't. She's just going to wait until Leah's not surrounded by the rest of the pack for protection, and then she'll go after her. Is that what you want?"
The only person who answered was Leah. "I don't know why we're still arguing about this. It's settled. I already agreed. It's a done deal…"
Paul sighed heavily, seeing no alternative. "What exactly did you have in mind, Jake?"
Jacob turned back to Leah and Seth. "Do you guys have any idea if she's been in contact with the rest of her family? Do they know that something's happened to her?"
Seth cleared his throat, wiping the angry tone from his voice. "They haven't seen her, obviously. But they don't think she's dead or anything. We'd have heard about it."
Leah suggested, "I'll bet she's still talking on the phone with her mom and sister."
Sam agreed. "She must be. If she hadn't checked in with them in a while, they'd be calling the cabin, and I haven't heard from either of them since she left."
Jacob was satisfied. "Then let's use them to send a message. Have your mom tell her mom that you're going camping with Paul. If she thinks you're off on your own, she won't be able to resist coming after you. Except, it won't just be the two of you. We'll all be there waiting for her."
Embry piped up. "You really think she'll fall for that? It seems kind of obvious. "
Jared added, "And she's not stupid. She may be out of her mind, but she's not an idiot. It's clearly a trap."
"You want to make sure she shows up?" Sam offered. "Spread the rumor that the two of them are breaking up, and we're getting back together, and that she's going camping with me. Like a romantic getaway to reconnect."
Paul stood up, ready to deck Sam. "Oh, give it up! You are so damn transparent. Get it through your thick skull. She's done with you."
Sam rolled his eyes. "Jackass, we're all going to be there anyway. It's a trap, remember? You all heard Emily. She's insanely jealous of Leah, and it sure as hell isn't because you guys got together. She can't stand that I care about Leah even after I imprinted. If she thinks we're back together, it will drive her crazy. You do want a guarantee that she'll actually show, right? Otherwise this is all just a big waste of time."
Embry was still skeptical. "I don't know. She might see through it."
"Why?" Sam asked. "Maybe before yesterday, when she still seemed to think I was imprinted on her. But now she knows we're over, and that I'm willing to kill her to keep Leah safe. She's got to be furious at both of us. She'll want to finish me off as badly as she wants to kill Leah."
Leah agreed with Sam. "Even if she thinks we can't have gotten back together, she won't be able to resist at least looking to see for herself."
"And we can make it look real," Sam added. "We'll head off together, and you guys will be following at a safe distance."
Jacob added, "We can do better than that. I don't like the idea of just the two of you out there, even if we are right behind you. A couple of us can go ahead to the campsite, and a couple of us can maybe flank you as you drive. Leah was vulnerable in the car, not being able to phase. We'll make sure she doesn't catch you on the road."
Paul didn't like any of it. It seemed like a terrible idea. "This is just a stupid ploy for you to get her alone, and we both know it," he accused. Then he turned back to Jacob. "It's bad enough dangling Leah out there for Emily to find. She doesn't want to just fuck her up, she wants to murder her. And you want to make this jealous, abusive asshole her bodyguard?" He pointed at Sam. "It's like you're trying to get her killed."
Quil pointed out, "He already faced Emily, so it's not like we have to wonder whose side he's on. He'll keep her safe, and we'll all be really close by anyway."
"Safe?" Paul snapped. "Emily bit her! She almost drowned! And he didn't do a damn thing about it except talk to Emily." He pointed accusingly at Sam. "You had her there, right in front of you, and you didn't do anything! You should have taken her out when you had the chance. Then we wouldn't be in this mess!"
Sam stood to defend himself. "You don't know what you're talking about! She was going to snap Leah's neck! Of course I wanted to rip her head off! I didn't make a move because I knew she would kill Leah before I got to her. So it's a damn good thing that I was there and you weren't, because if it had been you, you would never have been able to hold your temper. You'd have done something stupid, and Leah wouldn't be sitting here right now!"
The two angry men were nearly toe-to-toe, yelling in each other's faces. Jacob stepped between them and pushed them apart. "Calm down, both of you. Paul, I know why you're worried, but we are all here for the same thing: to take Emily out before she can hurt Leah or anybody else. This is the best way to do it, unless you have a better idea." When Paul said nothing, Jacob turned to Sam. "Stop antagonizing him. You're making things worse."
After hashing out a few more details, the meeting broke up.
Over the next month, they carefully watched their borders and waited. Leah waited impatiently for the plan to come to fruition. She wanted to act immediately, but Emily wouldn't believe she dumped Paul, reconnected with Sam, and planned a camping trip within a span of a few days. She forced herself to be patient.
Rachel went back to Pullman for her internship, though she came home on weekends to spend time with her brother, father, Leah, and Paul. The better he knew her, the more Paul liked her. She was funny, sarcastic, and smart, and quite a bit like Leah. Their imprint remained intact, but it didn't encroach on his relationship with Leah at all. No matter how friendly they became, Rachel's loyalty to Leah trumped any feelings she might have developed for him, and her desire to live her life freely and by her own terms kept her from thinking of their imprint in romantic terms. If anything, she was offended by the idea of being tied to him, especially after she learned what Emily done in the name of her imprint.
Rachel was surprised at the extent of Emily's betrayals, but she had known Emily for years and recognized her jealousy for what it was. Bella, on the other hand, was absolutely shocked. After avoiding her for weeks, Jacob finally went to see her at Charlie's insistence. She was quite fond of Emily and thought her relationship with Sam was a real life fairytale. In many ways, she felt that Emily's story paralleled the one she wanted for herself. She had never particularly liked Leah, finding her too brusque and intimidating. Since Emily and Sam were supposedly soulmates, Leah had no justification in her anger toward either of them. When Jacob told her that Emily asked to be turned, she sympathized. It wasn't fair that the Protectors received superhuman strength, rapid healing, immortality and eternal youth, while the imprints received nothing. Jacob could no longer stand her warped point of view. He snapped, reminding her that the obligation to hunt monsters was no gift, and she wouldn't say so if she had seen the terrible wounds inflicted on Leah. Their abilities did not serve the purpose of vanity or power; the Protectors put their lives on the line. Moreover, being chained to an imprint was a curse. He was deeply insulted that she claimed the imprints received nothing. Fate turned the wolves into their slaves. Finally, he reminded her that there was a price for the Cold Ones' immortality: life. But rather than pay with their own lives, they stole the lives of others. He described in vivid detail the state of the body he had found. Based on the bites on his body, his obviously broken bones, and the state of agony that froze on his face, he reconstructed the excruciating last minutes of the dying man. Emily had done that. And the fact that Bella had ever considered risking such a fate absolutely disgusted him. He left then, without any intention to go back.
Bella called him several times over the next few days, but he was too busy and too uninterested to answer. Once upon a time, he had wanted to save her. He had imagined himself as her knight in shining armor, rescuing her from the clutches of the seductive but villainous Edward. He even succeeded, albeit against her will. But now that the fantasy was gone, now that he understood who Bella actually was, and not who he had imagined her to be, he was no longer so enamored. Quite the opposite, in fact. So when she knocked on his door and said that she finally understood what it was that he had saved her from, he was surprised. He invited her in and asked why she had such a drastic change of heart. She explained that Charlie had shown her crime scene photos of the hiker that Edward had murdered. Reality was sobering. When she contritely apologized for the way she had treated him, Jacob was pleased, and he thought their friendship could be repaired. But when she asked him to hold her and he obligingly wrapped her in one of his signature bear hugs, he was surprised by his own reaction. The fluttering that used to erupt in his stomach when she looked at him was nowhere to be found, and his pulse didn't race when she smiled tentatively up at him. When she told him that she was able to envision a future without Edward, when she said that happiness had been right in front of her the entire time, and she had been blind not to see it, he knew she was talking about him. To his surprise, his heart sank instead of soaring as he expected. Before she could say anything more, he told her he was glad she could move on with her life. She deserved better than Edward, and he knew she would find what she was looking for someday. She stiffened and pulled away. She had obviously expected him to sweep her off her feet and declare his devotion, though she didn't say so out loud. Instead, he reminded her that he would always be her friend, and he would always be there for her. She left with a confused furrow on her brow.
Three days later, Bella announced that she was leaving for Florida, and he was truly happy for her. He did not mourn the loss of her presence. After all, he still had her friendship, which was still valuable to him despite everything that had happened. And he had saved her life, which was all he had ever really wanted.
While Jacob was content to see her go, Rosalie was practically giddy. She believed that life was a gift, and those who could not recognize it were blind and stupid. The same reasoning made her deeply angry at Emily. Although the remnants of her family awaited her in Alaska, she refused to leave Washington until Emily and Riley were dead. She offered to share patrol, reminding Jacob that she didn't need to sleep. She took over watch of the eastern border at night, though she was careful to stay on the other side of the old treaty line. Not all the wolves were comfortable around her, and the pups in particular had difficulty controlling the urge to phase when she was near, but they were all grateful for her help. During the day, she spent her time with Leah, appointing herself as a bodyguard. The two girls got along famously, alternating between bickering amicably and giggling like schoolgirls.
Leah enjoyed her company, and that of Rachel, Jacob, Seth, and the new pups. But she was eager to begin her new life with Paul. Her cousin's threat hung over her like a black cloud. Though she wouldn't admit it out loud, she was afraid, because once again, she had something to lose. Sam's recollection of Emily didn't reassure her in the least. Emily was strong, stronger than Victoria had been, stronger than Edward. Rosalie explained that newborn vampires were at the peak of their strength, which only worried her more. And though she didn't doubt the pack's ability to destroy her when the time came, she feared that someone would get hurt, or even die. Her own brushes with death were frightening enough, but the thought of losing someone that she cared about, Seth, Jacob, Paul, or even Sam, was more terrifying than anything. She wished she could spare them the risk, and if she had any realistic way of finding Emily by herself, she probably would have done so. Instead she waited impatiently until the day finally came.
She should have known it would not go according to plan.
X-x-x-x-X
A/N: Thanks again to Babs81410. The next chapter will go up later today. No more cliffhangers!