-GUNNER-

Here's the thing about your sister going to Italy to stand trial with vampire overlords as judge, jury, and executioner, finding out she is something of a vampire herself, and becoming the adoptive mother of a one-fourth vampire baby:

You have to lie about part of it to your werewolf girlfriend.

Maisie begged me not to tell Leah about Jett. I only agreed because she made a good point. If Leah knew about it, there was too much of a chance that Sam would find out. When she was shifted into her wolf form, Sam—and the rest of the pack—could hear her thoughts. She could hear theirs, too, of course. But the dangerous part was the rest of the wolf pack finding out before Maisie was able to meet with Sam to tell him herself.

"I know Leah wouldn't mean it, but I don't want Carlisle and Esme in danger. They won't understand if they don't see."

I hated it. I didn't feel good about it. Leah was there at mine and Derrick's apartment when I got the call from Maisie that she was alive and okay…ish. She had given me the privacy to talk to my sister alone, so the lie was feasible though I hated to tell it at all. Or not tell it, I guess, since it would be a lie by omission.

"How did she sound?" Leah was in my room as soon as I hung up the phone, her dark eyes full of worries. "Was she okay?"

"Yes?" That was mostly the truth, but it came out as a question. Leah didn't seem to notice; she threw herself at me, wrapping her arms around my neck while I caught her at the waist. Sometimes Leah forgot how incredibly strong she is, until something happened like inadvertently popping my back.

"Oh, sorry, sorry." She punctuated her apology with a kiss on my neck. Then she put herself at arm's length, searching my face for more.

"She and Jasper are alive," I started, a leaden lump already forming somewhere between my throat and my chest, "safe in Alaska with the Cullens."

"Engaged?" Despite her natural distrust of vampires, Leah was still supportive of Maisie. She accepted the Cullens, but that was the only exception she was willing to make.

"Probably, but she didn't say. They're practically married already, anyway."

"What did she say?"

Okay. I could work with that. Maisie had given me all the dark details of her time in Italy. We could talk about that… and stop before I got to the parts that included Jett. Maisie had said to go ahead and tell Leah about her vampire-esque status. That had been Irina's doing; the Cullens couldn't be faulted for that. The treaty would still stand. So I led Leah to my bed, sitting beside her and pulling her hands into my lap.

"They made her stand a trial, these Volturi guys. But here's the thing, they decided she was innocent before she even got there. They made her go through their trial anyway just to mess with her."

"Are you serious?" This was the reason I was holding Leah's hands—how upset I knew she was going to get. Well, and because it helped steady me, but also so I could know when her hands began to shake. I squeezed her fingers, probably too hard for a normal person, but just enough to help ground her again.

I made her meet my eye, too, raising an eyebrow in silent question. "Sorry, sorry. I know I can't go to Italy and fight them, but what assholes."

"Yeah, they are assholes, but that's not even the worst part yet."

Leah took a deep, deep breath, her chest expanding with it. When she let it go, her exhale washed over my face, ruffling my hair. But her hands stayed steady in mine, so I kept going.

"Even though she was already judged innocent, they tried to trip her up and make her sell Jasper out. Dumb, huh? She didn't fall for it, but they did kind of trick her. Remember those 'hybrid' vampires they met when they went to Esme's island during the summer? They, um, didn't like that those vampires existed. The Volturi didn't like it, I mean. So they had them killed, but they made Maisie say that killing them was a trade."

"A trade for what?"

"Um, for me. And Bella and, um, and Emily, too. Three of them for us. Because we're humans who know about vampires and that's against their laws, to let humans know."

Leah was quiet for a few beats, face clouded over in thought. "Well, joke's on them. Maisie would have agreed to that on her own as soon as your name came up."

"Yeah. Yeah, she would. They made her watch."

I was telling the story all out of order, but I didn't want to lead with Maisie's new vampire status. Instead, I watched Leah's eyes go wide and her mouth drop open. Her hands started to shake again. I gripped them harder this time.

"They made her watch those vampires die?"

"Yes." I glanced down; her fingers were leaching color around where I was squeezing them, yet they were still shaking. Dropping my voice to a whisper, I pulled her to me so I could wrap my arms around her. "But it's over. We can't change any of this."

This was dangerous. I knew that. This was how Emily had ended up getting mauled by Sam when he phased too close to her, but I didn't care. I knew this was the only way to quell the earthquake tremors racking Leah's body. To surround her, consume her, remind her she was in a safe, solid place.

If this hadn't been such a common trait among all the Quileute wolves, I would have been more worried. Any volatile emotion could prompt a phase.

Leah's hands gripped my shoulders, hot and too hard. I would have bruises, I was sure, but I wasn't going to stop her. Instead, I counted her breaths, watching her back rise and fall as she calmed herself. She was getting better at this, gaining more control. Eventually, she raised her head to kiss me.

"Okay, keep going."

"Remember the night on the beach, when we played volleyball and that one vampire attacked us? Irina? Maisie drank her venom, remember?"

Leah nodded darkly. "It made her sick."

"Uh, well, I guess it made her more than sick. There's more kind of vampires than just the ones that drink human blood and the ones that drink animal blood. I didn't really understand, but I guess the Volturi killed off all the other kinds of vampires a long time ago? So that there were only vampires like them around."

"But what does that have to do with Maisie?"

I stared at her for a beat before realizing I had neglected to include the most important piece of information. "Oh! When Irina made her drink the venom, it didn't just make her sick. It made her into one of those other kinds of vampires, I guess?"

That gave Leah pause, tipping her head to the side. "I know, I don't really get it. Maisie doesn't understand it, either, but they made Jasper bite her arm to prove she's immune to venom now."

"So she is a vampire now?"

"More or less."

"Sam won't be happy, but it wasn't a Cullens' doing, so he won't be able to do anything about it at least." The twist of her full lips made it obvious Sam wasn't going to be the only one unhappy. I didn't much like the way Leah's eyes narrowed at the thought.

"She's still Maisie! Sounds the same and everything. I bet she'll look the same, too, when we see her this weekend. But, yeah, Sam won't be happy. Yeah, Maisie said Carlisle said the same thing. She's coming to Forks this weekend to talk to Sam about it."

Stupid rambling, I chided myself.

"Maisie is? Won't Carlisle do it when he gets back himself?"

"Um, Maisie wants to do it. You know how she is." I hoped that explanation would be enough, because the truth was choking me. It sat heavy in my throat so that it was painful to speak around it. But Leah's didn't notice I was strangled. Her mind was elsewhere.

"We've been waiting all this time for it to just happen, but now that she's…"

This feeling I knew we were both experiencing. It had been there since Maisie said the words, under the relief and happiness of her being alive. Under the confusion and shock over Jett. Under the anger that those Volturi assholes had used her against herself.

This feeling was not new, not for me or Leah. I had felt it before—when Jacob shifted in front of me and again when I saw Maria for the first time. Suddenly, the world doesn't make sense to you anymore. Suddenly, you're not altogether certain you have a place in it.

"Yeah." I hung my head, looking at our entwined hands in my lap. Leah's even looked warm, the russet tone in sharp contrast to my natural, ginger-induced paleness. I curled my hands into fists beneath Leah's palms, covering them with her warmth. "Yeah, I know."

Mom was thrilled when I told her I would be in Forks for the weekend. "You and Maisie both! Oh, Ava will be so happy. She alternates playing in each of your rooms every day, you know."

"Yeah, her fort was still up in mine last time I was home."

I always stayed at my parents' when I was in Forks. I liked Seth, and Sue was always more than welcoming when I was at the Clearwater house. Even Charlie Swan was fun to hang out with. Sometimes he would do a big fish fry and sit me and Seth down in front of the TV with him to watch sports. But I was never able to stomach La Push for long, not with the ever-present wolf pack.

Maybe it would have been different if they were nicer to Leah. I admit, sometimes she didn't make it easy, but I didn't blame her, either.

Maisie usually did, too, but I think that had more to do with the guilt trip Mom and Dad always gave her. You already live with Jasper, you can survive a few days without him around 24/7. This time would be different, though, but I knew that from Jasper, not Maisie.

His call came through as I was leaving my history class, phone buzzing against my leg in my pocket. I pulled it out as I was going down the stairs, heading for the front door.

"Gunner," he greeted me in his honey voice. "Maisie said you'll be in Forks this weekend as well."

"Yeah, I figured it would be a good idea if I was there to help take some of the heat off y'all." We were quiet for a beat. "You know, our parents aren't going to be happy."

I could hear Dad now, saying 'Maisie Daisy' in that reproachful tone of his. Mom would cry, probably assuming Maisie would drop out of college or something. There would be no adjustment period, either. It wasn't like Maisie was pregnant and there was nine months for them to warm up to the idea. Jett was already an actual baby and I knew our parents would see him as a roadblock first and foremost.

"Maisie thinks the same. I think it would be best for her and Jett to stay at my family's house during the visit."

I didn't tell Jasper about the blow-up I was imagining in my head. Next to Mom would be Ava, shaking her head in that disapproving way she was so good at. Dad would be confused, I was sure, trying to temper Mom while simultaneously trying to support Maisie even as he questioned her choice.

"Yeah, for sure. Uh, what're y'all gonna tell them?"

"As far as anyone outside of those privy will know, Jett is mine and Rose's nephew from a sister who was too old to be taken in by Esme and Carlisle. This fictional sister didn't want Jett and signed over rights, but with the caveat that either myself or Rose take him in. Since Rose is in medical school—which isn't a lie—the responsibility fell to me, and Maisie has graciously taken this situation on with me."

Not unreasonable. Mom's still gonna hate it, though. The air outside was heavy and thick with humidity. I wasn't sad at all to duck into my car, switching to speaker phone and turning the radio all the way down so I could still hear Jasper.

"And Sam? When will you tell him?"

"Immediately. Before we even make it to your parents' house. I trust Maisie has asked you to omit Jett from any conversations with Leah for the time being?"

There was that hunk of metal in my throat again, echoed with a heaviness in my center. I had to swallow—hard—to get any kind of reply out.

"Yeah." Maisie had described Jasper's 'gift' to me once. The way he was able to feel the moods of others, and even manipulate them when he wanted. From what I understood, his was a gift that only worked in close proximity, yet there was something calming about his reply.

"I know. And I'm sorry. The risk… if Sam were to learn about Jett prematurely, and act rashly, Maisie's ordeal would be for not."

"I know. It just… sucks." I didn't know any other way to frame it. "I'll see you this weekend, man."

"Actually, would you mind accompanying us? To La Push. Or the border, rather. Neither of us can cross, now." Because they were both vampires, now, and vampires were forbidden from the Quileute land.

"Yeah, yeah. I only have Friday morning classes. I can head down right after, stay with Leah that night? Make sure Sam meets y'all… when?"

"Saturday morning, at dawn." I groaned inwardly at that, but it made sense. Sam always took the patrol duties where the night bled into day.

"Oh! How's Maisie? Like, really. I know she sugarcoats. She isn't slick. Is she having nightmares again?"

Maria had left Maisie wracked by night terrors nearly every night. She never screamed, and our parents never knew, but I would hear her through our shared bedroom wall. She would get up in the night, move around her room. Probably sat in her window seat. Sometimes I could hear her talking to Jasper, low and slow, or crying.

"Ah, no nightmares… yet. She's pushing everything aside until this weekend, I think. I expect it will all come to a head after her business with Sam and your parents is finished."

"Take care of her, please, okay?"

"Always, Gunner. Always."

Saturday morning was frigid in the pre-dawn dark, even with Leah standing beside me. I pulled my beanie lower over my ears before shoving my hands back in my pockets. The trees were darker smudges in a gray world; I could hardly even make out the red of Leah's thin sweater as I followed her through the forest.

Show off, I thought, staring at her back. Just a sweater and jeans. No coat, no gloves, no hat. At home, here in La Push, Leah had no reason to hide her exceptional fortitude in cold weather. Leah, at least, tried to dress somewhat weather appropriate, unlike all the guys. I wasn't sure which of us looked more dramatic in contrast to the other.

"Hey, wait up!"

Seth, running easily through the trees, himself dressed in a t-shirt and shorts as if it were summer.

"What're you doing here?" Leah snapped at him. "Go back home. Mom's gonna freak if she wakes up and we're all gone."

"Nah, I left her a note that we went hiking. S'all good, Leah. I heard you guys talking last night, about Maisie… and stuff. I'm coming, too."

"You mean you were eavesdropping." Leah pulled some needles from an evergreen, flicking them in her brother's face. But she didn't argue any further with him, turning on her heel as Seth fell in step with me.

"Hey, man. I'm sorry 'bout your sister." Seth's hand is heavy and hot on my shoulder, burning his condolences into my skin. I haven't let myself think of the repercussions of Maisie's trip to Italy, but my eyes still prick at his words. The unshed tears burn in the cold air.

"It's all good." I shake my head to dispel the moisture in my eyes. "She's still Maisie."

There is a backroad that leads to La Push. We used it, the night Maria inflicted her terror upon us. It is out of the way in and not at all in good repair. Maisie's headlights bounced along with the potholes as she drew nearer. Behind us, there was rustling— Sam, emerging from the forest, bathed in the yellow light of Maisie's headlights. He only wore a pair of shorts, not even shoes, an obvious sign he had just phased.

Sam stopped beside us just as Maisie brought her car to a stop. Jasper got out first, walking around the back of the car to open her door for her, before leading her to the front of the car where they both paused. Maisie was picking at her jacket sleeve, chewing on her lip. I broke away from Leah, almost running to my sister.

She was warm when I hugged her, so the tremor in her shoulders had to have been shaking rather than shivers. Maisie clung to me, fists full of my hoodie. When I pulled back from her, I could see that her eyes were still blue and her cheeks were flushed red from the pre-dawn cold. At least on the surfaces, she hadn't changed at all.

"Maisie." Sam's voice cut through the morning before I could say anything to her. "Gunner said you needed to speak to me."

He nodded back toward the way we had come. "We can talk at my house, where it's warmer for you and Gunner."

But Maisie, of course, stayed rooted to her spot. She turned from me to meet Sam's eye and shook her head. "I, uh… can't anymore, Sam. I would be breaking the treaty."

That only gave Sam pause. Leah and I already knew, and Seth had pieced it together from what he had overheard the night before. I won't lie, it was satisfying watching Sam's mouth open and close as he fumbled for words.

"But… you don't smell like a vampire, and your heart…"

"Is still beating, yes," Jasper finished for him, "and will continue to beat long past a human's lifetime. I'm sure you recall Irina's trespassing a few months ago. When she forced Maisie to drink her venom, it wrought more severe consequences than we initially realized."

"So you are a vampire now?" Sam asked, still sounding unsure.

"Of a type, yeah." Maisie shrugged. "Surprise."

"Surprise…" Sam echoed her, glaring first at me and then Leah and Seth. Only the latter had the good sense to smile sheepishly. "But none of you look surprised."

"Very astute of you," Leah quipped. "We're not. Just listen to her."

Maisie took a deep, shaky breath, her exhale puffing in front of her face. Warm body, warm breath. Her eyes flicked to me, wide and exhausted. She grabbed my hand and squeezed it and I realized she must be so tired of re-telling this story.

I shook my head, turning to Sam.

"They went to Italy, not because they wanted to, but because they were summoned there by the Volturi. It's a group of vampires that make the laws for all other vampires to follow, like keeping the existence of vampires hidden from humans. Irina went to the Volturi before she came here, and told them the Cullens—specifically Jasper—had broken that law. She wanted revenge for Laurent dying at Rosalie and Emmett's wedding."

"Which is not to say the wolves were at any fault," Jasper interjected in my storytelling. "You acted within your right that night, Sam, and neither myself nor my family hold any blame against the pack."

"Right, but Irina didn't see it that way, so she decided she was going to go big and get that revenge. Maisie and Jasper had to go to Italy to stand trial before these Volturi guys, and they revealed that the whole fight with Irina had been a trick. They told her to make Maisie drink the venom, because they knew that would change her into a vampire, just a different kind. There's a reason that all those myths exist about vampires and they're all different, because there really were all those kinds of vampires at one point."

"But not anymore?" Sam asked.

"No," Maisie had found her voice again. "Think about it: I'm not as strong as Jasper, or any other vampire. I could fend off Irina for a while, but I would've died for sure if Leah and Seth hadn't been there to help me. I can walk in the sunshine without revealing myself. I can still eat food, and I do, because I like it, but I don't need to. I can blend in perfectly. The Volturi… I guess you could say they're 'purists' in that they didn't think any other kind of vampire should exist except for their kind. So they got rid of all the others and erased any evidence of them."

"How do you know they weren't lying to you? From what I can see, there's no change in you now than before Irina's venom, when you had only drank Maria's."

Maisie's smirk held no humor in it. She let go of my hand, rolling her sleeve up and turning her wrist toward Sam. "This is the only proof I've got to give you, unless you've got a time machine to go a few decades into the future and check if I've aged."

The sun had begun to rise by then, but the heavy clouds kept any rays from shining through. Dawn was dim, but not so dim that we could miss the silver bite-mark-shaped scar on her wrist. I sucked in a breath, grabbing my own wrist where Maria had left an identical scar.

"A vampire's bite. The Volturi proved it to me by forcing me to be bit, to show I'm immune to venom."

Still, Sam was wary. "Gunner has the same scar, but you drew the venom from his blood."

"Sam, shut up. Why would she refuse to cross the border if she could? What, do you think this is all some lengthy ploy so the Cullens can change her? She wouldn't be here, showing you her face, if that were the case." Leah had always been eerily good at reading Sam, even though years separated them from their relationship now. He glared at her again, crossing his arms across his broad chest.

Maisie paused for a beat, but Sam didn't speak again. She flicked her eyes at me, taking another deep breath.

"So, anyway… The Volturi knew a lot, more than I would have liked them to, but one of their leaders has a power a little like Edward's. He can see your thoughts—all of them, not just the ones currently in your head, but every thought and every memory you've ever had. Before we even landed in Italy, they knew pretty much everything. About y'all, about Gunner, Bella, and Emily being humans who knew the vampire secret, about the hybrid vampires we met in South America… all of it."

Only at Emily's name did Sam start, but Maisie raised her hand to stop him. "After proving to me that I was, indeed, already changed, they asked me to exchange a life for another. I agreed. So they killed Jennifer, Serena, and Maysun—the hybrid vampires—in exchange for Gunner, Bella, and Emily. There's an added stipulation that no further humans associated with the Quileute pack be informed, and if there already are, please don't ever tell me, because Aro will just see it in my head."

"You'll be seeing these assholes again?" Leah, this time, surprised. I swallowed against the lump in my throat again. I couldn't hide behind my sister to avoid this lie. Maisie turned to Jasper and nodded at the same time she gave me a gentle push back toward Leah.

"What's this about?" She whispered to me, but I only shook my head and took her hand.

"Just watch."

Maisie waited outside the car, eyes trained on Sam's face all the while. I watched Jasper lean into the passenger seat. When he withdrew, there was a small, blanketed bundle in his arms.

"Woah, you guys had a baby?!" Seth asked. At the same time, I felt Leah fix a hard stare on me, but I was too coward to meet it, so I kept watching Jasper as he adjusted the bundle that must be Jett, murmuring something too low for me to hear.

"No," Sam was already protesting.

"Yes," Maisie said, firmly. "He's not our child, not biologically. Jennifer was his mother. She was one of the hybrids that died that night. The Volturi took her child from her to be placed with us. He is unique, a child born of a half-vampire mother and a human father. He's only been spared because the Volturi are curious about how his genetics will develop later on, so they gave him to us to raise, but that means regular check-ins with the Volturi so they can keep tabs."

"No!" Sam yelled this time, "I won't allow it! There's no way to know what that 'child' will grow to be."

Leah was burning hot beside me. I think we were all surprised when she snapped, "You would kill a baby, Sam?"

"To protect our people, yes. He's harmless now, but what about the future? He could be uncontrollable, he could—"

But Maisie cut him off. "You won't touch him, Sam. If you think I would allow it, you're wrong. I know you don't care, because they were vampires, too, but people died and it's my fault. It is my fault that Jennifer will never know her child, and Jett will never know his true mother. I will carry that for the rest of my life, longer than you will be on this earth, Sam, and I certainly won't let you interfere. I won't. You think you're making the right decision, but have you even considered what it might mean if you harm him? Do you think the Volturi's wrath would be contained to myself, or the Cullen family? Do you think they give a damn about the treaty, or even the agreement I've already made for Gunner, Bella, and Emily? They wouldn't stop with those three, either. They would scour your land for generations until every person carrying the shapeshifting gene was massacred."

No one spoke to disagree with her, but Maisie didn't stop. "You don't understand. You haven't seen their numbers. They have hundreds of vampires in their coven, and most with gifts you couldn't even begin to contend with. They are not benevolent, Sam, and I'll be publicly dead soon, so think about it. Really think about it. Most of the Cullens have left already and Carlisle and Esme will soon. I won't be able to return, which means Jett won't, either. Are you really going to throw it all away, right now, because you're scared of a baby that can't even sit up yet?"

Sam was shaking. I was sure Maisie and Jasper could see it. Seth certainly could, because he tried to touch a trembling shoulder. "C'mon, man, I think she might have a point."

But Sam pushed him away, hard enough that Seth stumbled. "You don't speak to your alpha that way!"

"You don't speak to my brother that way!" Leah pushed me, too, but only so that I was out of her way when she phased. Unlike Seth, who caught his balance, I fell back and landed on my ass. Sam shifted at the same time, that otherworldly ripping sound taking over the early morning.

As the alpha, he was huge compared to Leah, of course, but she planted her feet and growled at him. He circled around her, snarling all the while. They must have been arguing in their thoughts. Sam took a swipe meant to chide her, but Leah reacted more violently, catching Sam's paw in her teeth and shaking her head. She swiped him away when he came for her again, turning her back on him and leaping the short distance to sit in front of Maisie and Jasper.

I pushed myself up, scrambling to get behind Leah myself.

"What's going on?" Maisie asked. She was pale, eyes wide. Sam stayed on his side of the territory line. When Seth tried to call out to Leah, he turned and snapped his massive jaws at him.

"She's leaving the pack." I wasn't sure how I knew it so certainly, but I did. Suddenly, a chorus of wolf calls erupted from the forest. Sam threw his head back and joined in. The sound of so many voices chilled me more than the cold morning air ever could have.

Leah followed us to the Cullen house. She stayed outside, in her wolf form, while Maisie and Jasper explained what had happened to Esme. Carlisle had already left for work. Esme gave me some of Rosalie's clothing for Leah, but I asked if I could wash them, first.

"She just, uh," I tried to explain, but Esme only smiled gently at me.

"I understand, Gunner. Of course you may. Our home is always open to you and Leah."

Maisie bounced down the stairs after putting Jett to bed. Somehow, he had slept through everything that happened at the border. I had only had glimpses of him so far—a little baby with blonde hair. No wonder they had decided to say he was Jasper's nephew.

She didn't stop to talk to any of us, instead making a beeline out the door. Through the huge windows that took up one whole wall of the Cullen's living room, I watched Maisie bounce onto her tiptoes to throw her arms around Leah's neck. Leah returned the hug, dipping her huge head over Maisie's shoulder. She stayed outside with Leah a long time, talking to her though Leah couldn't answer her verbally in her wolf form.

My sister only went in when I came out, pausing to hug me, too. We didn't say anything to each other, but we didn't need to, either. Her gratitude was written all over her face.

I followed Leah into the forest, so she could have some privacy to dress. The morning hadn't warmed at all, but Leah didn't seem to notice even though she stood naked before me.

"Why didn't you tell me?" She asked as she dressed. Her voice was dangerously low, anger rumbling along her words. I didn't have to ask her what she was talking about. "You obviously knew."

"Maisie and Jasper asked me not to. They didn't want Sam to do something rash, if he found out before Maisie was here to tell the whole story. I only agreed because I thought it would be protecting you, too, not to tell you about Jett."

When she was dressed fully in Rosalie's sweater and jeans, a pair of leather sneakers that I doubted ever saw much dirt on her feet, Leah crossed her arms and fixed me with a hard stare.

"You didn't think I could keep that from Sam? Or the others?"

"You saw how Sam reacted, babe. I couldn't risk you. If you had thought of it accidentally… I didn't want you getting stuck in the middle of it and getting hurt."

Her face softened a tiny bit at that. "But to lie?"

"I know." I dropped my gaze down to the forest floor, kicking at some fall leaves at my feet. "It was really shitty of me, I know. And I know you're mad, and you have every right to be."

I heard her sigh, but I didn't realize she had come close to me until her hands cupped my face and drew it upwards. She kissed me once, lightly and softly. A mercy I didn't deserve.

"Don't do it again." I knew she was still mad and hurt. I could see it in her face even as she gave me this forgiveness. I reached up, catching one of her hands in mine.

"Never. I promise."

A/N: Hello! I wanted to get something out before Christmas and the chapter where Maisie tells the rest of her family is just taking forever. I can't tell you how many times I have just erased the whole thing. This chapter was nearly finished, though, so I tweaked it a bit so I could change the order and have it come before telling her family.

Leah leaving the pack in Breaking Dawn never quite felt... authentic, I guess? Sure, she hated being in the pack and everything with Sam was hard on her, but I just never thought she would leave for Jacob (and, by extension, Bella and the Cullens). But for her imprint? Yeah, I could see that. Leaving for Gunner makes more sense, I think. I know you could argue that she leaves for Maisie and the Cullens in this situation as well, and you would be right, but choosing Gunner and his sister over the pack felt right for how I have developed her.

This doesn't mean she chose them over Seth, however. We will be seeing more of him, don't worry!