Chapter song: Vikingman by Rodrigo y Gabriela
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Leah stared at the little cottage in the woods as she slinked on all fours as quietly as possible. A tired fog reigned supreme in her head. It'd been several days since she'd slept and only a day had passed since she'd sensed that Bella wasn't actually dead. The revelation still sent tremors down her spine.
She was just been about to phase back to human when the annoyance of her life suddenly went wolf. Where the hell are you? Sam whined.
Fuck off. She sent the image of a middle finger to him to distract from her location and then phased. The she-wolf got dressed quickly with shaky hands and did her best to comb through her short, thick hair with her fingers. She wished that she'd had the forethought to bring a comb and deodorant, but the last couple of days had been far too unpredictable and hellish on her mind for that to be the case.
What would she be like now that she was a vampire? Ever since Leah sensed that Bella had been bitten, she'd found that the sickly sweet scent and disgust that she'd held for vampires had long dissipated. She didn't think that she'd ever be skipping and holding hands with just any vampire, but she'd be able to more than tolerate her imprint. Bella.
But that didn't mean that Leah didn't have her doubts.
Oh please let her be a vegetarian like the Cullens. She prayed. No matter the draw that she felt, there was no place in her heart for a murderer. Jasper had told the she-wolf plainly that her imprint would have urges, and that terrified her.
She didn't dare think about the Council or what her family would think about the situation. It was lucky that she had such a talent for hiding her thoughts and had the power of the Alpha command on her side or Sam would've already snitched. They all just thought that she was avoiding the male because of their past relationship.
Leah leaned against a tree and took a giant breath to calm her heart. She would hear it and there was no way in hell that she was going to make her imprint nervous.
Once she was fully in control of herself, she forced herself to walk almost robotically to the ornate, hand-painted door and knock. Within two seconds, the door opened to reveal a large, muscular chest, which was an odd view for Leah, who typically was as tall as any male.
A whistle assaulted her sensitive eardrums. "Well damn, Jazz really wasn't lying that a mutt would be visiting." Emmett Cullen grinned down at her as though his mortal enemy was just what he needed to shake up his undead existence.
Leah tensed, summoning all of her willpower not to snark back at the vampire who could stop her from seeing Bella. "Yeah, if it's not too much trouble." She refrained from spitting out the instinctive leech at the end of the sentence and did her damnedest to look relatively harmless. The imprint bond pulled at her in sadistic bouts of punishment at such close range and it caused her fists to clench. Hard enough that her fingernails caught into the skin.
The big vampire stared at Leah's hands for a moment, grinned, and raised his eyebrows. "You best stop that unless you want diced up by Bell's claws. She's refusing to feed and has been giving us a helluva lot of trouble over the past couple days." He stepped his massive body out of the doorway and beckoned the she-wolf inside.
The werewolf cautiously followed Emmett into the homey, airy cottage that actually didn't seem too dissimilar to her family's house at LaPush. If Sue Clearwater hit the lottery and decked the place out with only custom-made furniture and appliances. But it wasn't the decor that wrapped up Leah's attention as her imprint's frustrated voice rang down the hall.
"You can't just keep me prisoner here!" Her disgruntled voice, so different yet still familiar, now held the melodious undertones that all vampires possessed. It was also beyond obvious that the newborn was not happy.
Emmett and Leah rounded the corner to see the motherly Esme cross her arms and stare down at a scowling, brunette beauty with ruby eyes and snow-white skin. She was wearing a plain, tattered Metallica tank and black shorts. The outfit was very Bella and the odds that a vampire had broken into the Swan residence to steal some personal belongings seemed fairly high.
"Yes we can and we will." Esme spoke the words coolly and calmly. "How would you feel if you hurt someone, Bella?"
The brunette grasped her head in her hands and groaned in frustration. "Why can't I just stick to the blood bags, Esme? I'm starving and-" Bella froze as she suddenly realized that they weren't alone. Ruby eyes froze on Leah and an odd expression crossed her face. "Leah? Leah Clearwater?"
Emmett stepped up as though he was a referee for the newborn's outbursts. "Surprise, Bells! You have a visitor."
"Get her out of here before I drain her dry."
Leah bit her lip in trepidation as her imprint was abruptly up against the opposite wall, as far from her as possible. She was so absolutely still that she looked like a statue. "You can't really drink from me, Bella. Go on, breathe."
The girl shook her head while her jaw set into stubborn lines. She glanced at Esme with pleading eyes as though asking the vampire to somehow help get rid of Leah.
"It's true, Bella. Leah doesn't smell like a normal human and we are here. We won't let you hurt her." Esme did her best to sound soothing.
Bella slowly moved herself off the wall, her eyes never leaving the werewolf. Her eyebrows rose after a second. "You don't smell like anything special." Confusion went over her face and she continued to stare at the taller girl as if she were some puzzle to be unraveled.
A few awkward moments of silence passed.
"Well, squirt. If you want me to get rid of her just let me know." Em ruffled Bella's hair in a brotherly fashion before exiting the room with a smiling Esme.
They both looked very cheerful, as if babysitting a brooding newborn vampire wasn't all that it was cracked up to be.
Meanwhile, Leah was panicking. What in the hell do I say? 'Hey, I'm kind of in love with you and it's totally okay that you're a bloodsucker. By the way, I turn into a literal bitch and my family is soo going to hate you.' It was awkward and horrible and she felt so awfully overwhelmed that tears were in her eyes.
"Are you okay?" Her imprint asked. She'd finally taken several steps towards Leah as though she felt the connection too. Her hand reaching out for her. As if everything were normal and they were just two girls trying to figure everything out.
Bella was looking at her with such genuine concern that she huffed out a surprised laugh. "I should probably be asking you that."
Finally, the newborn vampire smiled and completely relaxed. She plopped onto the sofa in a sprawled mess. "I am so not okay. I hate drinking blood and I'm always thirsty and I'm a freak even by vampire-standards. I can't even pass out at night anymore to get away from it all. It. Blows. Charlie and Mom must be besides themselves. Edward's recovering here and now I'm going to have to be near that freak for the rest of eternity. I didn't even have enough time before I died to break up with my girlfriend. This is all so fucked up!" Bella's eyes narrowed at her. "And God, why don't I want to eat you? Why are you all 'in the know' about all of this?"
She chuckled and found herself gracefully folding onto the floor. "I'm kind of part of the whole supernatural thing, and I wanted to check on you. Jasper vouched for me to see you... It's probably for the best if that's all you know for now."
The smile vanished from Bella's face in an instant. "If you talked to Jasper... have you seen my sister?" She whispered quiet enough that the other vampires in the house wouldn't be able to eavesdrop. "They won't tell me anything."
Leah felt her stomach drop while a newfound fury took over her. Obviously, Jasper was so preoccupied with Mary that he was hardly focused on the girl he'd Changed. If Mary wasn't a complete amnesiac, then she would've torn the inconsiderate bastard's innards out herself. She'd spent enough time with the Swan sisters when they'd been kids to know the strength of their loyalty for one another. For the Cullens to decide to interfere with the sisters' ability to care for each other was wrong.
On that thought, Leah knew what she had to do; A wolf, after all, always became what her imprint needed.
"All I've heard at LaPush is that Mary is physically okay." Leah murmured quietly, aware that the vampires would hardly appreciate her interference. "No one knows how, but it seems like she is having problems remembering things. Charlie's taking care of her."
Bella jumped onto her feet, her beautiful face wild with worry. "What can she remember?"
She flinched, but she couldn't lie to her. "Nothing. Not even what your guys' mother looks like."
"Fuck." The young vampire grabbed Leah's hand and hauled her off the floor. The movement had such strength in it that their bodies smashed together and their faces were mere inches away from one another. "We need to go."
"Where?" Leah tried hard to focus over the pounding in her ears. She was so close. Her face was so pretty and if she just bent a little then they could-
"I need to rip a deer's throat out, drink, and then we need to go see my sister." Bella was already dragging the she-wolf around by the hand, not checking to see if her captive was willing.
But Leah followed her with a huge grin on her face anyway.
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Jasper was torn. Mary was happily humming while munching on cookies beside him, and he was in the horrific conundrum of his conscience.
She didn't know about vampires anymore. And a vision hadn't tormented her since her collapse. It made logical sense to flee Forks without breaking her heart or humanity or her pretty smile. In a cruel sacrificial swan dive, he could tear both his and Bella's hearts out and make sure that the light of his world didn't dim for another few decades or so.
He wasn't even sure Bella would be able to muster any control over her hunger in the next half-century. Would it be needlessly cruel to make Mary remember the sister that she could never hug again? Or could he work with his family to find a balance and keep everyone together?
And that was just the tip of the iceberg.
Of course, Maria had been so close and had left a trail of damn missing persons that practically screamed for the Volturi to visit. If the Guard were to come and evaluate the area, it was practically guaranteed that one of their talents would come sniffing around Forks.
Aro had a hard-on from Hell to get his pasty mitts on Edward.
"Jazz." Emerald eyes blinked up at him and suddenly any attempt of thought on his part evaporated.
"Yeah, darlin'?"
She swiped cookie crumbs off her face with the back of her hand before launching herself at him. Pretty, full-lips pressed against his own and Jasper couldn't of helped himself if he tried. He lifted the tiny human up by her waist and sat her on his lap. He would never be able to say no to her.
God knows he tried.
He could ignore the burning in his throat and all of the problems that were coming for him and his own as long as she always wanted him.
Because, amnesia or not, Mary was his.
He couldn't help a low moan in his throat as she rubbed herself against him and created a heat that threatened to eviscerate him. Careful, he had to be so careful not to squeeze her too hard. If there was one thing the girl remembered, it was how to kiss him. It was all the proof that he needed that she'd remember again.
It felt like agony when she pulled away from him with an adorable grin on her face. "Well, that was better than I thought it'd be."
Jasper felt his mouth quirk in a silly smug grin. "How'd you know that we were together, Alice? You remember anything, darling?" He couldn't help but feel hope that this was the time that Gabi had prophesied about.
"Nope." Her nose scrunched and she looked a bit sheepish. "I just thought it'd be fun."