Leah POV

6:25 PM

I had chosen to sleep at my place tonight, wanting to go back to the familiarity of my room. I missed sleeping in my own bed at night, alone. Seth, Jared and Paul were on patrol while Sam was resting at Emily's. I had ordered everyone not to disturb me unless there was something major going on.

Ever since the imprint, things had been quiet and we stuck to routine patrolling along the rez boarder. That made sense, since the Cullens were gone. Most of our nights were spent eating a bunch of hotdogs at bonfires, drinking some booze and singing songs off-key. The boys were often out cliff diving or surfing during the day - I only accompanied them half of the time as my other half of personal time was spent trying to fix one of the seaplanes scattered across the rez or, lately, thinking about Bella, and trying not to let it impact our patrols.

I heard someone throw rocks at my window and looked up to see Seth and Paul sporting somber expressions.

''What's up?''

''We found some dead bodies in Forks,'' Seth began, panting. He looked dishevelled, like he had been roughened up a bit.

''They were clearly killed by a leech, or should I say, leeches, because we picked up more than one scent,'' Paul spat. ''Could the Cullens-''

I didn't register the rest of his sentence. My rage was getting hard to contain all of a sudden and I felt my body vibrate, which meant I was going to phase soon. I threw myself out of the window before I destroyed my nightstand and as I leapt I transformed into my spirit form and fell back on four paws. Only one thing was on my mind now: I needed to see if Bella was alright. I bolted towards the forest, running towards Forks like my life depended on it.

I had only made it a mile before I heard Seth's voice in my mind from afar:

We already checked on her, Leah. She's at Emily's. She's safe.

I calmed down a bit, knowing that Seth was telling the truth, his expressive brown orbs staring deeply into mine as I turned back towards him, but I couldn't help but wonder why they hadn't reached out to me first. Bella was my imprint, and if the Cullens were back...

Sam ran into Bella and first, came the reply. He took over since... he trailed off, knowing that what he was going to say would likely anger me more. I didn't have the best control right now. I suggest you go get something to wear and we'll drive Paul's car.

He was right, I couldn't exactly greet Bella like this, unless I wanted to scare the living daylights out of her.

Before you phased, Paul wanted to say something else that wasn't about the Cullens, he stressed the last part. I think it's best if you see for yourself, he hastily added as he consciously made an effort to block out his thoughts, singing some rapper bullshit. The whole pack had figured out ways to keep one another's thoughts to themselves, and so far Seth was the second most annoying, only topped by Paul who had memorized over sixty digits of pi.

I wasn't in a mood to argue with him or force him to show me - my priority was getting to Bella and ensuring she was safe.

Let's go, I said and I phased back, urging Seth to go fetch me some decent clothes. He came back a couple of minutes later with a grey tank top, camo shorts and some of my mom's sandals.

''I'm the one driving,'' I said, leaving no room for arguments. ''Go get the keys, Paul.''

We drove 15 miles south of the treaty line, near Forks and Seth, who was sitting in the passenger's side, made me stop abruptly as he spotted a road sign indicating that the road was merging.

''He's near there,'' he said in a small voice, pointing at the forest to our right.

''Who's near there?''

Seth stepped up from the car, running towards the trees. Paul and I followed him, and we soon found what he had been talking about.

In between the trees, lying on a bed of leaves was Embry Call, naked in the fetal position. His ribcage appeared to be injured as he was clinging to it furiously while he moaned in pain. Jared was at his side, trying to reassure him. He was also butt naked except for a pair of ripped shorts.

Oh the joys of being a shifter, I mused internally. As soon as I got closer Jared spoke up, never detaching his gaze from Embry:

''We had cornered the leech at some point and then we heard cries in the forest. It was Embry. He had phased for the first time and he was helpless and confused. We tried to help him, but the leech got to him first and now he's injured, and probably more confused than ever and-''

''Slow down, Jared,'' I said in a commanding tone. ''Breathe. Who is this vamp you're talking about? Anyone we know?''

''I think we've encountered her briefly before, but it was our first time chasing her this far.''

''Thank you, Jared, for what you've done tonight. We need to get him to Emily's and quick.''

I kneeled down so I was next to Embry. His face was still contorted in pain but he had stopped moaning.

''Can you walk?'' I asked Embry softly, and deep down I already knew the answer.

''Barely,'' came the reply. His voice was hoarse.

''Okay, Paul, Jared, Seth, you take the car. I'll phase. We're meeting at Emily's.''

Bella POV

5:27 PM

I called Jake as soon as I was done with school. It was Friday night and I still needed his help to study for my Physics exam on Monday and on top of that I needed an excuse I could give Charlie to go to Leah's bonfire. It was raining hard outside, and I could hear the thunder in the distance. I was going slightly over the speed limit, enjoying the deep rumble of my car's engine as I sped up. I mentally made a note to ask Jake about it later.

As I turned left towards La Push, I nearly hit a shirtless guy that had deliberately thrown himself in my way. I breaked abruptly and rolled down my window.

''What the fuck?'' I yelled, not knowing what else to say. Jake's colorful vocabulary had definitely been robbing off on me, even though we had only spent a handful of hours together since... that night.

The shirtless guy looked sheepish and said in a soft voice:

''I'm a friend of Leah's. Do you trust her?''

That was a good question. I didn't know her, but there was something about her that... intrigued me, or pulled me towards her in some way. It definitely went beyond the physical aspect, and for the first time since he left, I felt hopeful that I might experience something other than emptiness again. Then I remembered that she had been there that night, rescuing me from the nightmares and hypothermia.

''This is gonna sound weird, but on some subconscious level, yeah, I do,'' I said hesitantly.

The guy gave me a knowing look. He was taller than me sitting in my Chevy and when I looked down at his feet I saw that he had no shoes on.

''I understand,'' he replied.

He cleared his throat.

''I'm Sam, Sam Uley, and I believe you're in danger.''

I was too starteled to do anything as he opened the passenger door and climbed in the car, droplets of water dripping all over the seat. He had a stern look about him.

''We need to go to my fiancé's place. I can't tell you here,'' he added cryptically.

Don't go, his ghost said as a warning, and his voice made me startle a bit. I wasn't sure if I was hallucinating or just tired, but he spoke to me as clear as day. You promised, Bella, it said.

That made me want to follow Sam even more. I wanted to prove to Edward that he was wrong and that I didn't need him to take care of myself. It was a quick ride to his fiancé's, no more than fifteen minutes. She lived in a small wooden house bordered by trees, on the reserve. There were lots of plants on the patio, and I saw that she cultivated things as well and kept logs stacked by the wall. A woman with long black hair was sitting on the porch, reading an old leather-bound book. She looked up to me and immediately smiled. Half of her face was covered in scars that looked like lightning bolts - it made her look fierce and beautiful.

''Hi Bella,'' she said warmly.

''Hi...''

''Emily,'' she supplied, eyeing me up and down. ''I've heard a lot about you.''

She had a piercing gaze. I was fidgeting with the hem of my shirt. I didn't know why but she made me nervous. I felt like she knew things about me that I didn't.

''Oh, hum... great,'' I said, unsure. She smiled.

''Come on in, there's a lot of things we need to talk about. We don't have much time. But Bella, if you need anything, just make yourself at home.''

I stepped inside her home and sat in one of the wooden chairs. Sam went to sit next to me and Emily stayed up.

''What do you know about the Quileute legends?'' she asked.

I hadn't been prepared for this kind of question at all.

''I remember long ago... Jacob told me one of them, I think, when we hung out on the beach. About the cold ones.''

It was how I first found out about the Cullens, about him. It had only confirmed some of my suspicions.

''Yes,'' she said. ''But there was something else in it, wasn't there? Something about wolves''

I shrugged. Admittedly it wasn't the part that I remembered most as I had mostly wanted to get more information regarding them.

''Wolves... and warriors?'' I asked after a while, Emily looking at me expectantly.

''Yes!'' she exclaimed triumphantly.

Sam cut in, a hint of impatience showing in his demeanor :

''I think it'd be easier if I told her. You can do the other part.''

They exchanged a silent look that was worth a thousand words and Emily nodded almost imperceptibly.

''We are shifters, that take on the wolf form to protect our tribe from our most sworn enemy, the cold ones.''

''Vampires,'' I said, and I was vaguely reminded of my first encounter with him in the forest. They both nodded.

''Those that possess the gene of shifting do so when our enemy is near. So far six of us have joined our ranks, and there may be more. In fact one of them joined us tonight.''

Emily interjected:

''We were glad when the Cullens left, because it meant less shifters... but we quickly found that it didn't come true - in fact it was the opposite.''

''When you say 'we', do you mean to say that you are a shifter too?'' I asked, pointing at Emily. I found the idea of the small woman transforming into a wolf quite amusing.

She laughed.

''No, I'm not but... we've got a female shifter, she's the Alpha of the pack,'' she said proudly. ''This has never been seen before in all of our tribe's history.''

I slowly nodded. This was a lot to take in. First vampires, then wolves... what was next?

''Tonight the pack followed the trail of two vampires, one redhead and a black male. They don't appear to work together.''

I shrieked, knowing exactly who they were talking about.

''Victoria and Laurent.''

Sam and Emily spoke at the same time.

''You know them?'' Sam asked, shocked.

''Are you friends with them?'' Emily inquired, and she didn't seem as surprised as her fiancé. She looked more curious than anything.

''I do know them and we are far from friends. Victoria's mate nearly killed me.''

I felt the need to cover my scar with my hand as I spoke, memories of that night spilling over my mind. Nearly a year later, it was still cold to the touch and paler than my skin tone.

''What is this, Bella?'' Emily asked, and I could sense a tinge of worry in her voice.

''Oh, it's nothing, just a scar I got when I tripped.'' That must not have fooled anyone, because Sam raised his eyebrow incredulously and Emily was snickering.

''Okay, you got me,'' I said as I removed my hand from the scar and showed it to them. ''Last year, when I was out playing baseball with the Cullens-''

Sam interrupted me:

''Since when do leeches play baseball?''

I shrugged.

''We met three nomads, James, Laurent and Victoria. Victoria and James were mates, a-and James bit me and tried to kill me. Ed-Edward sucked the venom out of me, saving me, and they killed him. I think the redhead, Victoria, is after me. A mate for a mate, you know.''

Emily looked at me like I had just sprouted a second head.

''So you're telling me you're a halfling now?''

''What are you on about?''

She took my hand in hers and silently asked for permission to touch my scar. I nodded. I felt an electrical discharge hit me as she brushed her fingertips where the bite mark was. I shivered. For a moment there I felt like I had been transported back to that night and tears were welling up in my eyes before I could stop them. Emily herself was clearly startled by what had just happened, and she plopped down on the sofa nearby.

''This explains a lot,'' she said simply. ''Leah will talk to you when she gets back, but first let me make you something to eat.''

I hadn't realized before but I was famished. She re-heated some spaghetti for me and I sat there in silence, eating the hot pasta. At some point I couldn't take it anymore and I asked, pointing to my scar: ''What does it mean?''

''When you get bitten by a vampire, there are always trace amounts of venom that stay in your bloodstream, even if your ex has sucked out most of it. You're probably not a true halfling, though, more like 1/16th vampire. Could you imagine there being a blood quantum for vampires?''

She laughed darkly, and for a moment she looked scary, her own scars gleaming in the dimly-lit room.

''Someone with trace amounts of venom won't be turned into a full-fledged vampire, of course,'' she went on. ''But it can sometimes come with some perks, like heightened senses and the like... and on a darker level, it can be used to our advantage.''

She got up and picked up the small leatherbound book on the table. She opened it and I saw that the pages were yellowed by time and had been written in a language I couldn't decipher. She turned to a page with an illustration of a creature that looked like the depiction of vampires I had seen on the Web last year - its head and limbs were being torn apart and set aflame.

''Your blood can help us localize vampires. You can help us defeat the vamps that are after you.''

At this point, nothing she could have said would have phazed me.

''Are shifters into voodoo or something?'' I snorted.

''Not really,'' she amended,''but having a witch on their side has its perks.''

Emily smiled.

Moments later, I heard some low rumble and the slam of two doors.

''EMILY,'' someone shouted. ''We need you! It's Embry!''

She got up franctically, opening the drawers and retrieving some dry herbs and a small bottle of a dark liquid. She went for the door and as she opened it I briefly saw an injured guy being hauled over by two others. He had leaves covering his left side and was moaning in pain.

''Stay here, Bella,'' Sam said, and I was suddenly reminded of his presence. He had been awfully quiet until now. I had gotten up at the same time as Emily, not really knowing why. I just felt like I had to.

The door opened again and this time, I saw Leah. She looked like she had seen a ghost, her face paler than ever. Without warning, I was being enveloped in her arms tightly.

''Leah!'' I exclaimed in surprise.

''Don't scare me like that,'' she whispered. ''I was so worried.''

The way she said it made me do a double take. Her voice was so soft and loving, and her embrace had been so warm and welcoming and it felt... almost too good. What the hell?

''Uh...'' I said, and suddenly I was feeling annoyed. ''Is there something else you need to tell me, because I've had my fair share of revelations for the night and I'd like to get done with it as soon as possible.''

''We should go for a walk,'' she replied. ''The bonfire can wait for tomorrow I think.''

She turned towards Sam.

''Please stay here and make sure Embry's alright. If they come back, you tell me.''