Chapter 24.3: Let Go of Leah, Sam

A woke up with a killer migraine from the amount of alcohol that I drank before. It was like Paul knew this was going to happen because when I woke up there was my migraine pills, a bottle of water, and my migraine hat right next to me with a note attached to it saying,

Emily told me that you drank a lot last night. I suspected you might not feel well in the morning. I went to patrol with Jared and Quil. Sam is coming over later to check on you. I be back in time for dinner.

Paul

Not sure how I feel about Emily telling Paul that, but I have a feeling that we are going to have a discussion soon, and I am not looking forward to that.

I got ready and I prepared red beans to cook, so that for dinner, we can eat simple rice, beans and grilled chicken. If there is any leftover, I could use it to make pupusas for dinner.

I was still sluggish from yesterday, so I made myself a cereal for breakfast. As I ate my breakfast, I took the time to check on my messages, and I was reminded to text Jasper, so I went and texted,

Hey Jasper. I got the documents. Thanks for sending them so quickly!

He replied instantly,

It is not a problem . I hope all is well on your side

I don't think it would be right to tell the Cullens everything that has happened since I last saw them, or else it might make the tension between them gets worse, so I texted,

Everything is okay here. Thanks for asking

I texted Rosalie,

Hey. How was everything..after I left your house?

She texted,

I have been waiting for you to text me. I was starting to think that you have forgotten about us to live your fairytale with that dog of yours. Tell Paul thanks for ripping Edward apart for me after what Bella and Edward did. That idiot deserved ever bit of it. It took Carlisle two hours to put Edward back to pieces because Emmett and I kept using his hand as a football to play around with. We got yelled at by Alice, but I didn't care. It was awesome.

I laughed when I read that, so I texted,

Is the family upset with me regarding how everything went down?

She replied instantly,

Only Edward, Alice and Bella. The rest of us actually like you better now. You were able to talk to some sense to Carlisle, Edward and Bella. After Edward was put back together, we all talked as a family, and we were able to get Carlisle to stop openly treating Edward as his personal favorite. It might take a while, but at least there was progress. IF Carlisle kept on behaving this way, me and Emmett were planning to leave the family for few decades, but we decided to give the family another chance.

I replied,

Oh I see. Did they tell you what I spoke them about?

She replied instantly,

Yes only because Bella wanted a family vote on the matter. We all were surprised. Alice and Edward were adamant to not get Bella pregnant, but as selfish she is, she made another house vote, and it came a close vote. 4 to 3, so Bella as always will get what she wants

I sighed. I was trying to make this a personal decision for Edward and Bella with Carlisle doctor's opinion, but sadly, they don't know how to communicate without having others coming in.

I paused, and texted,

Oh...What is the plan now?

Rosalie texted,

After the wedding, we all are going to move up north to one of our residences in Canada to exclude ourselves from the world. Carlisle has already ordered a large quantity of blood, equipments to help Bella through her fast pregnancy. Bella and Edward are planning to start trying immediately during their honeymoon.

Relieved that they are going to have a plan to do this secretly without anyone knowing, I texted back eagerly,

Thanks for letting me know Rosalie..Knowing that I am connected to the wolves and it could be wise to not speak to me, I am glad that you were willing to keep me updated

She texted back,

You gave me a chance to experience what it means to be a mother as the godmother of Bella's baby and to still keep my coven together as a family without getting into trouble with the Volturi and the Quileute pack. I have much to thank you and I don't care what Edward and Bella says about you. You are in my list of people that I can tolerate.

I smiled and texted,

Thanks Rosalie. If the family ever get caught, let me know. I have some information that can be highly useful to deal with the Volturi.

She didn't respond back, and I took the time to think more on this. What about Charlie? Do they have a plan on how to handle Charlie without making him suspicious and causing a scene that would eventually be found out by the pack?

With great reluctance, I texted Bella,

Hey.

She texted back,

Hey..Something you need?

Yep. I kind of expected that response, so I texted,

Rose gave me a brief summary of everything that happened, and I am happy to hear that you guys are having a plan on dealing with the pregnancy and becoming a vampire. One thing I am concerned about is how you guys are going to deal with Charlie?

She texted,

He is my dad. How is that your concern?

I texted back,

He is my concern because he is best friends with Billy. Depending on how you handle Charlie, Charlie is going to try find answers and seek support from Billy. If you don't want the wolves to get suspicious of what you guys are doing, then you guys need to think of a good, thorough façade to keep Charlie satisfied and the wolves off of your business. I am not saying this to be controlling, but to be looking out for you. I don't want the wolves and the Cullens to get into the fight. Please be mindful of how you are going to deal with Charlie and Renee. Don't hurt Charlie to get him back off either that is just going to get him to be more suspicious and demanding for answers.

I hope I am not gaslighting her, but she needs to see that her actions do hurt people, and the end is not justified of the terrible decisions that she makes along the way to the end. Seeing how she treated Charlie over the series, she kept on hurting him in order to get him back off from the supernatural things like the time that she was on a run from James. She didn't need to be so cold to Charlie. There were so many other ways of how she could have handled Charlie. She didn't have to make the situation look like she was running away from home due to a fight with Edward. She also didn't need to leave a shitty note to a grieving Charlie when she went to save Edward from committing suicide.

She texted back,

I told Edward and we will be careful, thanks. I have to go now, I have a wedding to plan.

Looking at that short of a message, it is cleared to me that she does not want my help whatsoever. I know that she hated planning the wedding, and left majority of the decisions to Alice, so I know that was just crap to get me off of her back. She is being very defensive and she probably still blames me for Jacob's disappearance and getting banished in the Rez, but I am not trying to control her or do things that she doesn't want. All I was doing was telling her to be careful. This is making me anxious and worried about the future, so I texted Rosalie,

Make sure that Bella and Edward have a decent plan with how they gonna handle Charlie when you guy gotta disappear for Bella's fast pregnancy and once she becomes a vampire, please. They..dont have a good track record with handling decisions.

She replied,

Oh, I will be on their ass any minute of the way. I won't let them cause us anymore problems.

I sighed in relief. Even though I trust Rosalie, I don't trust Edward and Bella. If anything, this doesn't make me feel any reassured. I was about to wallow into anxiety and stress when I heard a knock on the doo., I got up from my table and went to open the door. Then, there appear Sam.

Sam had a white crew shirt with shirts, and this is the most amount of clothing that I seen Sam in. He had both of his hands on his pocket. I smiled at Sam, "Hey."

He gave me a small smile, "Hey. Mind if I come in?"

I opened the door wider to let Sam in and pass though me. I said, "Sure. Uh, do you want anything to drink? Beer? Water?"

He replied, "Beer is fine."

He sat down on the couch as I opened a bottle for him and pass it him. He nodded in gratitude, and I sat down on the reclining chair.

Sam took a gulp, and asked, "How are you feeling?"

I said, "I am feeling better now. This morning was a bit rough, but good thing Paul had everything laid out for me, so I recovered a little faster than I normally would if I was on my own." I smiled on the thought that Paul is so attentive, and I love him for that.

He nodded.

There was a long silence between us.

I broke the silence and said, "You're not just here to check on me, aren't you?"

He went through his hair, and chucked nervously, "You're pretty intuitive. How did you know?"

I half-smiled, "Yeah..I saw it coming the moment Paul wrote it in a note this morning. So why are you really here Sam."

Sam said slowly, "Emily told me this morning what you told Leah, and Leah got out of the pack mind before I got more information on this."

I said, "How is this a problem?"

He said, "..Em has been trying to reconcile with Leah for awhile now, and she was giving her a chance by being a bridesmaid. When Leah accepted, we thought we finally got through to

I said, "..Didnt you hear what I told Emily? Leah would've been forced to accept it because you are her alpha, it's not like Leah wanted to be her bridesmaid, and it is still Leah's decision whether she wanted me a bridesmaid or not. You guys are acting like she isn't going to show up to the wedding at all. Either way, it is kind of hard to accept someone's olive branch when that person is refusing to admit their faults and ignoring their problems that fed into the disconnection between the two parties.

Sam said sternly, "What do you mean by that?"

I shifted my feet, and I said, "It is a pretty obvious that Emily took you away from Leah."

Sam tensed, frowningly said, "She didn't take me away. I imprinted on her, and I left Leah before I got together with Emily."

I looked him dumbfounded like is he for real? Is he being a guy and honestly clueless or he is being terco (stubborn).

I said, "Yeah, you did left Leah before you got together with Emily, so you had enough decency to do that. I know you were struggling a lot at that time and imprinting made it hard for you to stay away from Emily in the beginning, but you could've handled that better you know.. You could've told Leah the truth or at least a decent explanation, but no, you were being the council's doormat. I'm proud of you that you are not letting them get their way anymore, and it is better late than never but it should've been this way from the beginning Sam."

He said, "But it wasn't my fault that I imprinted on Emily, and it isn't Emily's fault either. It was the will of the spirits and you too were impacted by the Spirits, so you know it well that we can't defy them."

I said, "Yeah I get that, but as her imprint, you are anything that Emily wants you to be. Not all imprinting leads to a romantic relationship like the elders have been drilling it in your heads. Look at Quil's case, he is simply Claire's protector and friend. However, the moment Emily consciously start seeing you as a romantic partner, now that was Emily's fault. You couldn't help it because your wolf spirit is willing to go on another level of the connection with Emily. If Emily really loved Leah, she wouldn't have taken you in so quickly. I understand that attraction might eventually built especially living together alone, but because she took you in so quickly as a partner, it shows that Emily didn't even hesitate to sacrifice her relationship with Leah to have you as a romantic partner. If Emily had loved or even respected Leah enough, Emily wouldn't got together with you so soon after you dumped Leah. Also, it wasn't healthy for Emily to start a romantic relationship with you so soon after..the accident. .It just reeks of insecurity and desperation to be accepted by a guy.."

He replied, "You.. sound like you hate Emily, but you didn't get the chance to know her. It's a bit unfair to judge someone before you get to know someone, no?"

I sighed, "I don't hate Emily, I just don't like the decisions that she had made. I did get to know her yesterday, and you know, after you guys left to the beach and we were left alone, she asked me immediately why I told Leah that she has a decision to not be her bridesmaid. Then, Kim left me immediately alone with her, so I can't help but think that they teamed up to corner me to be questioned like that. Even though I appreciate the big party that you guys had, I didn't like that at all. "

He said, "..I admit, I could've treated Leah a little better when I first phased, but I have accepted the consequences for my actions. I let her yell and scream at me all she wants and I avoided her as much as I can, but I just want Emily to be happy again. "

I continued, "Yeah, you let her vent and avoided her, but it doesn't mean you accepted responsibility or willing to change. Also, how would Leah be okay with Emily if Emily refuses to accept that it was partially her fault that things between her and Leah fell through because she took you in as a romantic partner? No matter how much Emily wants things to go back how it used to be before you phased, it just can't. Things are different now. But in order to move forward, you and her need to accept the fault of how bad things have gotten with Leah. I know Leah haven't made things easier with you, but she is trying now. You guys should start trying as well."

He pulled back, looking away in anger as the beer exploded into shards from the strong grip that Sam had on it. I said a bit freaked out, "You also are not making things easier on Leah. We all know you still have feelings regarding Leah and that is making Leah uncomfortable and harder to move forward, and it is making Emily even insecure than she is now. I know imprinting helps keep the wolf grounded and Emily did an ok job handling you in a way that Leah wouldn't been able to when you first phased. But you gotta let go Leah, for not just Leah's sake but for all of your sake. I don't know if you still having some feelings regarding Leah makes you feel like a good guy who happened to be forced to do things since he wouldn't have due to outside forces, but you are not. No offense, it makes you look like douche who can't make up his mind. I know you know better, but because you are the TEMPORARY alpha, it doesn't mean no one can't call you out on your bullshit Sam. Either one or the other Sam, you can't keep Emily at home and have Leah as your backup plan as much as you can't live in the past while trying to live for the future. Leah deserves better, and she deserves better than you."

At the point, Sam was trembling, clearly offended and his eyes was glaring brightly silver at me, and it looked like his wolf spirit is fighting to be in control.

He growled at me, "so Jacob is your alpha then? Paul showed me that you submitted to Jacob before he left, but I didn't think you would be following him when I'm still alpha."

I scowled, "Get off of your high horse, Sam. This aint about you. This is about Leah. Yes, I have submitted to Jacob, but it doesn't mean that I am going to follow him now. ..If he does become then so be it, but even if he does become Alpha, I won't let him ordering me around..no matter how much both of y'all intimidate me. He better be working together with me"

Sam glared at me with his teeth slightly barring at me as he was trying to intimidate me to submit to him.

I looked away, spooked and sighed.

I said, "You can glare at me as much as you like but you know I am right. Hell, I think your wolf spirit knows I am right from the looks of your eyes. Sam leave now before you do anything that you are going to regret. I tried to say things carefully about you and Emily because you work together with Paul and I know how much you guys have suffered, but for you to come here and question me as if I'm the problem when I'm clearly not. You need to leave."

Shaking in anger and nervousness, I got up and went back to the kitchen, with my back facing him. I said, "You may be Paul's Alpha, but you are not my Alpha Sam. You can't control me like you do with Leah, and I won't be controlled. I'll respect and treat you with decency, but once you start pulling stuff like this right now, I will get on your ass."

I lowered the beans so that it won't start burning, and clearly trying to get my mind of an aggressive shapeshifter in my room, I started trying to marinate the chicken. Even then, my heart was pounding quickly on my chest, and my breath getting shallow with a potential panic attack rising.

Out of nowhere, Seth came in from the back, saying, "Hey! I am here for my meal of the wee- Oh..Hey Sam."

Seth came in with Sam trembling in the living room, and Sam had head in his hands trying to calm himself down.

Sam looked at Seth and snarled at him. Seth immediately barred his neck in submission to Sam. Seth stepped aside for Sam to walk away, and when I heard Sam's clothing ripped to shreds as he ran out and phase, I slid down the floor and gave a huge exhale in relief that things didn't get any worse. Seth kneeled down to me, checking me all over and asked me frantically, "Are you okay?"

I looked at him with color drained from my face and said, "Yeah..Sam and I just had an argument. Most likely you guys gonna find out later through the pack mind, and I said some stuff that Sam didn't like. Honestly, I was scared that Sam would've phased in front of me. So, I'm glad you came."

He hugged me and said, "I'm sorry Ale. We made you feel scared of us and that is the last thing we want you to feel. We are protectors, people should feel safe around us..Don't worry about Sam. Things are going to be alright. I know..whatever you said, it was because you did it out of a good heart."

Damn. Seth is just too precious. I don't deserve him, and I was lowkey regretting how blunt I got with Sam, so it was comforting that Seth trusts me when I at times don't trust myself. Most of the time, I don't even know If I am doing the right thing.

I looked at him tearfully and said "Okay.."

He gently lifted me off the ground and said, "Don't worry about cooking for now. I finish it for you. Just tell me what I need to do. Go and have a seat. I, uh warm you something to drink."

He guided me to the couch as I told him what to do. Since I already marinated the chicken, all he needed to do was cut the green bell peppers, onions, and the chicken into slices then grill it. He gave me hot black tea to calm my nerves down.

Once he was finished, I helped him set up the table. Honestly, I was surprised that Seth did so well with cooking, and I told him, "You did really well Seth and I'm proud of you". He beamed from the praise and digged in. We spent the entire lunch time, eating in silence as he was giving me space after everything that went down with Sam earlier.

Seth didn't let me wash the dishes and told me to go to bed and rest. I didn't hesitate on that; a nice nap sounds good about now. I trust Seth being around my house as I am sleeping. I don't know why, but it felt natural with him. I don't know if it is just me trying to run away from my problems by sleeping, but once I hit my head on the pillow, I blacked out.

I don't know how long I was asleep, but I woke up with a pair of arms wrapping me around the waist. I turned over, and I was looking at a worn-out Paul. He caressed me at the cheek, and said, "I'm not angry with you."

I murmured in shock, "You're not?"

He shook his head, and said, "Sam had it coming for awhile…and I agree what you have said to him, so now he is just pissed and took his anger out of you because he knows you're right. When I saw through Seth's memories of how it looked to you having a vibrating Sam in your living room, my wolf was so enraged that I fought with Sam. It took Quil and Jared to pull me off of Sam and not even the alpha command coulda stopped me because I felt my mate was in danger of my own alpha. I'm sorry that I didn't come any sooner." He snuggled me closer in his embrace, and I said hesitantly, "It's okay..you're here now. It was a good thing that you didn't come as soon as possible because I needed time to collect myself, and I wasn't sure if you are going to be on his side considering that you have been friends lot more longer with him than you have been my mate.. ."

He purred soothingly, "You don't have to worry about that. I'll always be by your side."

It was like a dam broke inside of me, and I just started sobbing softly into Paul's arms. He patted me on a back, trying to comfort me as he eventually purred me to deep sleep.

Author's Note:

Hiya, I know yesterday convo with Emily was okay, but I did that to have this to blow-up even bigger with Sam.

I forgot about Ale's update with the Cullens after Bella got banished, so that is why I must add these two chapters to the previous chapter to keep the plotlines connected as the story progresses.

Be on the lookout for Chapter 25 today later in the night or early morning tomorrow. After that, I would upload Chapter 26 sometime later in the week.

As always, reviews are very much appreciated.