SM owns Twilight. We just want to live in her world a bit longer.

Chapter 37

"You ready to do this?" Jacob asked Sam.

Sam nodded reluctantly; he needed to think about Emily. He had to do this for her. It was finally time to relinquish his alpha position.

After the dramatic reveal of Old Quil as Embry's father, the meeting had ended pretty quickly. Embry stood up silently and left the room without a backward glance at the father he grew up without.

Old Quil had tried to justify his actions to the people left in the room but was told to shove it by multiple people in the room. He needed to talk to Embry when Embry was ready to hear it.

Jacob had been holding his breath during the final moments before Embry found out. He was desperately hoping that it was not the final nail in the coffin regarding his relationship with his father. It would have been too much to forgive.

Sam, on the other hand, was actually disappointed that he hadn't gained a bother. He didn't hold his own father in high esteem, so it wouldn't have been too disappointing. Sam would have opened his arms to Embry and accepted him as family. Now, all Sam had left was Emily and their little cub growing in her womb. He had to do this for them.

After the meeting had ended, Billy had taken the two boys aside to discuss the transfer of power from one alpha to the other. According to legend, one simply had to yield to the other in wolf form.

This sounds easier said than done. While Jake and Sam could get along amicably when humans, theIr wolves, hated each other. The only time they could be phased together was when they were in a fight. Their instinct to fight their mortal enemy dominated the need to fight the threat for positional power.

But now, standing in the Black backyard, Sam's wolf was chopping at the bit. He knew what was coming, and he was not happy about it.

Jared and Quil were with them in human form, should there become a need to protect Billy. Sue was inside the house in case medical help was needed.

Sam could feel the power radiating off Jacob. The Black pack was now bigger than Uley's, and Jacob had grown again in height in preparation for the upcoming transfer.

Sam cracked his neck from side to side as he tried to focus his thoughts and reign in his wolf. "I'm ready," he finally conceded.

"Remember, your wolf just needs to submit to Jacob's. This doesn't have to be a fight," Billy commented for the umpteenth time. Sam resisted the urge to roll his eyes. They were trying to mend fences, but the elders still had no idea what it was like to live a dual nature.

Sam and Jacob both shucked their shirts off before stepping out of their shorts. Then, handing them to their offsiders.

Jacob was staring Sam down, and when Jake phased, it took a moment for Sam to get up the nerve to follow suit.

As soon as he felt the phase, he felt the reigns on his wolf start to slip. He had kept him under such control for so long, he was surprised that his wolf still had it in him.

Submit! Jacob commanded through their mental link.

Sam's wolf started growling at his equal. His massive paws clawed in the dirt, and his bushy tail flicked back and forth like an angry cat. He felt his muscles ripple as his wolf prepared to attack.

Sam… Jake warned.

Sam was vaguely aware of the humans yelling at him, but they were inconsequential. He blocked them out and focused his attention on the one who was threatening him. Sam lunged first, and Jacob met him with equal force. They growled and snapped at each other's neck, trying to get on top.

It wasn't long before they started knocking down small trees at the entrance to the forest.

SAM! Jacob tried to reach the man inside, but he had no control at this point.

Sam knew all of Jacob's moves and fighting techniques, he had taught them to him, and Sam had been doing them longer. He managed to take draw blood first when he nicked Jacob's shoulder.

His wolf tasted blood, and it incensed him further.

Jacob lashed out and managed to slice a paw through Sam's chest, exposing a few ribs.

Neither injury slowed them down as they carved a path of destruction through the forest undergrowth.

Sam was surprised that Jacob did know a few new tricks and managed to get a few more good swipes in. Jake was yelling at him to take control of his wolf and submit. But Sam had turned him out.

Jake managed to knock the wind out of Sam, and he was surprised by the force behind his movement. Sam was slowly losing the fight.

Emily! Sam heard in amongst the chaos around him. It was enough for Sam, the human, and the wolf to pause for just a split second. Think of Emily! Jake screamed at him.

You can fix your mistake, Jake said to his wolf. Sam's wolf loved Emily just as much as the human did.

Jake thrust images of Emily's scarred face through the mental link. It was enough to make the black wolf falter in his next step.

Sam used this momentary distraction to pull the reigns back slightly on his wolf. The fight had stopped, and both wolves were panting, facing each other. Staring into the eyes of the other.

Submit! Jacob commanded again.

Sam finally felt the full weight of the command. He felt like he was trying to wrestle his wolf with his bare hands. Every muscle was locked into place as he attempted to slowly lower his head. With each movement, the wolf tried to buck back, but the image of Emily's face was burned in his brain. He could do this for her.

When Sam's head was halfway to the ground, he blinked, and Jacob's was over his head. He felt a searing pain in the scruff of his neck as Jacob's teeth sunk through his pelt.

With his teeth locked in place, Jake shook his head. Submit! he commanded a final time before Sam felt the alpha power leave his wolf in a whoosh. He slumped to the ground in defeat as Jacob towered over him.

They both stayed utterly still for a minute to regain their breath.

Eventually, Jacob stepped backward away from Sam.

Sam immediately felt like he was naked. His thoughts were no longer guarded. Instead, every single thing that flitted through his mind was on display for everyone else.

Annoying, isn't it? Jacob commented sarcastically to Sam's thoughts.

Sam growled, and Jacob was back on top of him again, his jaws flexed around his neck again. Don't, Jacob warned.

Sorry… sorry, Sam conceded. It was going to take a while to get used to submitting to someone else.

Good, Jacob thought as he walked away through the forest. Jacob turned his back on Sam. He was no longer a threat.

Sam felt the command to stay submitted on the ground leave his body without an audible command from Jacob. He was already a more powerful alpha than Sam ever was. He shook out his pelt and limped his way back through the forest towards the Black house. His injuries had been a bit more severe than he had noticed during the fight.

He thought back through the fight from his perspective in half-speed to try and recall where he had suffered the injuries.

Something occurred to him during the replay that he hadn't noticed during the fight. Jacob was holding back. He didn't attack first; Sam did, repeatedly.

I didn't want to hurt you, Sam, Jacob admitted. I wanted you to see reason without it coming to blows. However, you are a stubborn mother fucker.

Sam saw the fight from Jacob's perspective as he gave Sam the chance to concede peacefully. However, when Jacob could not reason with him, he turned the tables and inflicted blow after blow. He was still holding back, though.

I didn't want to kill you! Jake growled.

Thank you, Sam conceded. My wolf took over. I couldn't control him.

They walked silently now, following their trail of destruction. A few minutes later, Jake cleared the trees first, followed by a limping Sam.

"Is it done?" Billy asked his son.

Jake nodded his head before phasing back. Quil threw him his clothes, and he quickly dressed. Sam noticed only one healing cut on Jake's shoulder. It was just a pink line now; it wasn't deep.

Sam took a few deep breaths before phasing back as well. He was ashamed that he didn't have better control of his wolf and that he had lost the fight. He kept his eyes fixated on the ground as Jared threw him his shorts. He stepped into them, ignoring the searing pain from his left ankle.

"Let's get you cleaned up," Billy offered to Sam.

Sam couldn't bring himself to go inside that house right now and make small talk.

"I'm gonna walk home," Sam stated.

"Come on, man," Jared encouraged him. "You don't want Emily to see you like that. You'll freak her out. Just rest for a few minutes and heal up."

Sam shook his head. "I'll heal as I walk. Thanks for the offer, Billy," he said politely before limping around the side of the house.

Letting go was a lot harder than he had predicted.

Leah gave Embry half-hour to himself before she set off to find him on foot. She followed his trail into the forest. He led a straight path over tree roots and threw scratchy bushes. There were damaged tree trunks and cracked rocks littering the invisible path he took.

Embry had gone into the Sol Doc River, and his scent had disappeared on the side immediately opposite his entry point. "Damn it, Embry," she muttered to herself.

Leah hated everything to do with imprinting. It had fucked her more than once now. However, one thing that it did have going for it at this moment was her inbuilt Embry detector.

She closed her eyes and pulled on the invisible cable that tied her to him. Once she had a hold of it, she knew which direction to walk.

Leah wanted to phase so that she could track him faster, but she knew Jacob and Sam would be in wolf form right now. Everyone else was told to stay out of it.

She picked up the pace, following her heart. She cursed herself at how mushy that sounded.

His trail picked up again further up the river and led her down one of the side tributaries. The steam became thinner, and soon she could hear the sounds of rushing water.

Up ahead was a small rocky outcrop, and there was a small waterfall cascading down its face. Fortunately, it was well off the beaten track, and human hikers would rarely see this beautiful waterfall.

"Em?" she called out a warning. She knew he was close and didn't want to surprise him with her arrival.

Leah walked around the small rock pool at the bottom of the waterfall and spotted Embry sitting on a rock. He didn't look up as she approached and sat down next to him. Instead, he was starring into the running water, with tears tracks showing his cheeks.

Embry was sitting with his legs propped up in front of him, his arms hugging them tightly. Leah sat next to him, snaked her arm around his, and placed her hand on top of his. She laid her head on his shoulder and sat in silence with him.

Eventually, he rested his cheek on her head, and she felt his body sag into hers. She could feel his heartbreak, and she was struggling to keep her own tears at bay.

Embry couldn't believe it. He had been prepared for a number of outcomes, but he had not seen that coming. Old Quil! What the fuck was his mom thinking?

"He's been here the whole time," he finally whispered, breaking the silence. "I always thought that my father didn't know that I existed, and that is why he never contacted me. He… I… I grew up around him. He was always in Quil's house. I was always in Quil's house… He is like a father to Quil. Why couldn't he have been a father to me too?" he sobbed.

"I don't know, Em. He's a fucking idiot... I can beat him up, if you like?"

Embry chuckled darkly and unwound his arms from around his legs. He put his arm around Leah's shoulders and pulled her in tighter towards his chest. She hugged him back and laid her head on his neck. She felt his body take deep, shuddering breaths as he tried to reign in his emotions.

With her body mounded around his, they stayed there, unmoving until it started raining. The sun had disappeared behind the grey clouds, and would likely not be seen again until tomorrow. The rain didn't bother either of them as it almost turned to steam after hitting their hot bodies.

The forest changed colors as twilight descended and eventually turned into night. The sun had set entirely, and the water in the rock pool turned pitch black, Embry slowly started to stir. He kissed Leah on the head, and they both stood up. She looked him in the eyes for the first time since arriving and was saddened by the agony in them.

"I'm sorry that you have to go through this," Leah told him honestly.

"Life has never been easy. Can't see why it should start now," he grumbled.

"We're a fucked up pair, aren't we?"

Embry cupped her face with his hands and kissed her. "I love you," he said quietly. He had never told her that before, but it was time. In fact, it was overdue.

Leah had known that she was in love with Embry for a long time. She had tried to bury it deep, but it kept coming to the surface. So she was glad that he took the step because she could never have admitted it first.

Admitting you loved someone is like holding your heart outside your chest and asking them to look after it for you. Leah had done that before when she was young and naïve. In return, her heart had been dropped and ground into the dirt. She used to think she would never recover, but Embry had healed her.

Initially, Leah got together with Embry to piss Sam off. Subconsciously she hoped he would find out and be jealous, but that never happened. He never even notice. That hurt.

For Embry, it was a physical need for release. They were both wolves, so he didn't have to worry about keeping his strength in check or a secret. Unfortunately, he had to keep the wolves a secret from his mom. That took enough of an emotional toll on him that he couldn't imagine trying to keep it from a girlfriend.

To everyone else, Embry was the shy, nice guy of the group, and Leah was the cold-hearted bitch. But when they were together, Embry dominated her, and she loved it. Leah and her wolf had struggled every single fucking day to submit to Sam. It had been forced on her, and she fought it with everything she had left in her. It was exhausting. But she chose Embry, and it was somewhat of a release for her to let go of the bitch attitude, even if it was for just a few minutes of fucking in the forest.

When Leah was in Sam's pack, she felt like she was underwater; each breath was shallow and painful. But when she joined Jake's, she felt the immediate release of his hold on her. It was liberating.

Then, the next fucking day, she imprinted on Embry.

They knew it was a fake imprint, but damn, it felt real. She felt loved, truly loved for the first time.

After she got over the initial freak out over the imprint, she embraced Embry. She enjoyed not having to hide their relationship. And it gave Embry status within the pack. He was fucking the alpha female of the group.

Ever since the imprint, the dynamics of their relationship had changed. Their rough edges had been worn down. They hung out more often, and it didn't have to be in the forest. She stayed at his place some nights when his mom wasn't home, and he came over for dinner at her place other times. Sue would never let him stay the night, although they had never actually asked.

Leah was never a hand holding, sitting in his lap, cuddle in the movies kinda girl; that never changed. But when they were alone, she enjoyed the non-sexual physical contact they shared - just like this evening, sitting by the waterfall.

"I love you, too," she whispered before kissing him tenderly.

A/N I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thanks for all the reviews. Can't believe this story has hit 200! I have read every single one of them and when I run out of motivation, I look at them again. Sad, I know.

I've read plenty of stories where the alpha handover is simple and easy. Hey, would you like the pack? Sure, that would be great. Thanks! I couldn't imagine it that happening like that. haha