Author's Note: First of all, I would like to take a moment to appreciate everyone who is taking the time to read/review/favorite/follow this story! It really does mean a lot to me. It took a lot for me to get back into writing for this site again so all the support is really appreciated. On a secondary note, I'm considering changing the rating of this to M. There are just some suggestive themes and imagery and maybe other stuff that might come into play. Let me know what you all think about that. If it's a deal breaker let me know!

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, as we all well know, but hey, I'm covering my ass here. However, I do own my own thoughts, plots, and O/C's. So without further ado, please read and enjoy.

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Chapter Three

She wasn't about to chicken out now, but maybe she hadn't quite been up to par with the challenge. Though she had dove in from this spot countless of times, as she stared over the edge, the drop seemed a lot farther down than in her memory.

"We can go lower. I mean, this pretty high up for a human," Paul joked. He said it in a mocking voice but there was sincerity hidden there. He was giving her a chance to back out. Maybe that would have been the smart idea.

Leah Clearwater was many things, but a coward wasn't one of them.

So she stripped off her shirt and shimmied out of her shorts, sticking her tongue out at Paul, throwing him a, "Suck my ass, Lahote," in response. It was a nice day out, but the wind was still rough and it tossed her hair wildly about her head.

He eyed her up and down with a grin. "I'll gladly suck anything of yours, Clearwater." She blushed but didn't bother to hide her bathing suit clad body. Paul and the rest of the pack had seen it all and more.

She put her hands on her hips. "You're lucky I'm all peace and love now or I would totally kick your ass for saying that," she threatened.

He squinted at her. "What? So you're some sort of pacifist now?"

She shrugged. If it came down to it, Leah would fight to protect herself and her loved ones, but she was determined not to be the same girl who would go after someone just for looking at her the wrong way.

"I fought because I was angry and I was angry because I was sad. I don't want to be sad. I don't want to be angry. Not anymore. So I don't really want to fight, not unless I need to." He stared at her with his jaw locked and eyes narrowed, like he was figuring something out about her. She didn't really like how intense his gaze was set on her. "You look like you need to take a shit," she joked.

His face relaxed and he smiled. "Fuck you. I was just wondering what kind of happy pills you're on and where I can get some."

"Sorry, I don't share. That means less drugs for me." He rolled his eyes at her and she grinned. Turning her back to him, she took a deep breath trying to still her nerves. She stared out over the cliff into the dark, deep ocean. No one had ever drowned from cliff diving, but there had been some close calls. It was the payment for throwing caution so easily to the wind when it came to meddling in forces of nature.

She took one more deep breath. "Come on! Let's do this!" she yelled, running for the cliffside.

It was exhilarating as she launched into the air, nothing but the wind rushing in her ears to accompany her fall. She held firm for a smooth dive, angling to hit the water just right.

Adrenaline pumped full force into her veins and there was nothing but euphoria as she awaited her descent into the water.

It was warm outside, but the water was almost ice cold as she was swallowed up in it. It sent her into shock for a second and she almost let out her breath. Nonetheless, it was the icing on the cake as far as adrenaline chasing went.

She kicked upwards, the water rippling around her as another body entered.

She broke the surface to see waves and proof of Paul's disappearance to the water. He must have jumped in right after her.

She hollered loudly before letting out a string of wild giggles. There were so many things she loved about La Push and this was most definitely one of them.

Paul's head popped out of the water. He took a moment to catch his breath before grinning at her.

"I could hear your racket from under the water. You that happy to be home?"

She smiled. "Yeah." Leah tread water, tilting her head to peer around. The dark water crashed up against the cliff side with each push and pull of a wave and the sky was clear with birds flying high above. A salty breeze slapped at her cheeks, the beach to the left a blur of brown and green that was the sand and the trees. She took it all in as if it was her first time really seeing it. "Yeah, I'm really happy to be home."

They swam for shore and she flopped onto the sand. The warm sun was welcomed on her chilled skin. She didn't bother to move and was glad when Paul sat down beside her.

"Hey, can I ask you something?"

She raised her head to curiously stare at Paul. "Since when do you ask for permission?" she teased. He glared at her and she laughed. "But, yes, I shall grant you one question."

He rolled his eyes before turning away. She laid her head back down, staring up at the sky and waiting for words to meet her ears.

"What was it like? To finally leave La Push?"

She furrowed her brows. If there was anyone with less to lose by leaving than her, it was Paul. In fact, she was a little surprised he had stuck around until now. She knew from being in his head that he didn't exactly enjoy his life or the people in it. He constantly thought about getting out of here and leaving the Rez's small, boring life behind, but he was stopped by what most people were. This was what he knew. This was where he grew up. And well, if he couldn't be happy here, what would give him any idea that he could be happy anywhere else.

She realized she had been quiet for too long, but Paul didn't seem impatient with her for it. He just sat in silence, perhaps thinking the exact same things she was.

"It was... freeing, in a way. I didn't have anyone or anything tying me down. I didn't have the pack to answer to. I didn't have someone telling me what to do with my life and with my time." She bit her lip. "But my problems came with me. I left to get away from everything, not just Sam or Emily or the pack, but to get away from all that shit that was weighing me down. I'm sure you know. You were in my head. There was so much making me unhappy. But my problems followed me. All that emotional shit didn't just leave because I did." She sighed. "I don't know, Paul. If you're asking me for you, I'm not going to tell you anything you don't already know. Shit is the same everywhere. It's good to get out and to see life outside of the Rez, but in the end, this is our home. Whether we like it or not, we'll always feel a stronger tie to it than anywhere else. Maybe it because of our blood, our wolf. Maybe I'm just saying that because I've got my mom and Seth here and I always planned on coming back. I don't know. But I do know one thing, you have got to work through your shit or you'll always feel trapped, no matter where you go." He didn't answer and she really didn't expect him to. Paul wasn't a sharer and she was surprised he went so far as to even ask her that question. The waves washed against the shore, the sound of their movement the only thing breaking the silence. It felt tense as Leah waited outside the storm that was inside Paul. His face was tight and everything about him seemed angry and ready for a fight. She began to understand Paul a little more just then, about why he was so angry with everyone. About why he was angry with the world.

She didn't want him to be angry anymore than she wanted it for herself. There was so much pain in anger and even if their reasons were different for why they suffered, she couldn't help but relate to him in a way she couldn't anyone else.

"Hey," Leah blurted, trying to force a crook of a smile out. "Let's go back up. I wanna jump again."

Paul didn't seem like he was in the mood as he cast her a dark look. "Go do it yourself then."

His harsh words stung, but it wasn't the worst she had heard from Paul. It was like throwing a pebble at her when all she'd felt were stones.

"Fine... I was going to get naked for this one, but you probably don't want to see that anyway," she said nonchalantly, waving him off as she walked away.

She heard feet scuffling against the sand and Paul jogged to catch up with her. She had to stop herself from giggling, knowing that would send Paul back to the state he'd been in before.

"Oh yeah?"

She smirked. "Yeah, but only if you get naked too."

He sucked in a breath. "Damn, what's gotten into you," he said in a low, lusty voice.

Really she wasn't sure how to answer his questions. She was just trying to cheer him up, wasn't she? But Leah couldn't deny she was getting excited at the idea of the two of them naked together. Not that they hadn't been before, but that was a different time. A time where a man looked about as appealing to her as a vampire did.

"I guess you'll have to wait and see," she grinned.

Just then, there was an audible howl that echoed from the distance. It bounced off the trees and sent goosebumps all over her body. Without her consent, her body jerked forward and she stiffened. She had to fight every instinct to phase and answer the call. To come to the aid of whoever might have spotted a vampire or was in trouble or worse. The tips of her fingers trembled and her heart pounded.

"Shit," Paul growled. "Just at the fucking perfect time, of course. There hasn't been shit for months, and just as fucking soon as…" his words trailed off as he started jogging for the forest. "I'm taking a goddamn raincheck, don't you forget," he yelled out to her as he disappeared into the forest.

That made her relax a little and she let out a faint smile. Her heart was still pounding fast and hard in her chest, adrenaline rushing through her veins, but she breathed deeply. Leah reminded herself that she had been gone for years and no one had gotten hurt or killed. They didn't need her for this. And she needed to not be needed for this. This was what she wanted. No needed. She needed a normal life. The wolf in her begged to be let loose and go on the hunt, but the human part of her wasn't ready for that. She wasn't ready for the pack thoughts and Sam being a constant in every aspect of her life. She wanted her freedom and her sanity. She wanted to be okay. She didn't want to be her old self, returning to what had kept her from moving on in the first place.

It was better this way.

She climbed back up to the top of the cliff to retrieve her clothing. She wanted to be home as soon as possible. If her mother and Seth were there, she wanted to protect them. She may not have a responsibility to the tribe anymore, but she still had one to them. If she had to phase to protect them she would. If she had to phase to protect anyone, really, she would. But she was confident she wouldn't have to do that. After all, the pack could handle it. They had handled so much before she joined and after she had left.

Everything would be alright. It had to.

Still, she wondered if everything really was alright. If there was another threat as large as the ones they'd faced before or if it was just a stray vampire who happened to wander into the wrong area. She would have to be okay with not knowing. She would have to be okay with her brother's handling this one on her own. She slipped on her clothes with shaky hands. She took a deep breath before taking off in a sprint to her house. It would be fine.

Her brothers would protect La Push. In the meantime, she would protect her family.

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She frantically packed a bag. She couldn't go back to Sam's pack. She couldn't.

There had been a huge sigh of relief from everyone when everything with the Volturi was over. After all the stray vampires had left, she finally felt it was safe to go home again, hopefully never to return to the Cullen's putrid smelling land. When she finally felt that everything was going to be alright, that was when Jake had broken the news to her.

They were leaving.

He was dissolving the pack and taking off with the Cullen's and Nessie. She and Seth had nowhere to go but back to Sam. She had begged and pleaded to go with him. If he would please, please, just let her be his second in command. Only her. Seth would stay, he was too young.

But Jake had refused. He'd never wanted to be a leader. It may have been in his blood, but he had never wanted to be responsible for controlling or commanding anyone.

He wanted to be in his own head, without anyone there. He wanted to be free and be private with Nessie and her family. Leah understood, she really did. But she didn't want this. She was selfish. Leah wanted to have a choice. And he was selfish. He wanted to have one as well. But were either of them really? All they wanted was their freedom, unbound to anyone else. It really couldn't be selfish of them to simply want what every other person in the world did - to be free.

She hadn't cried, but it had been damn hard not too. Instead, she hugged him and wished him the best of luck with his life. She thanked him for her time with him. For being brothers in arms and fighting alongside one another. For giving her a brief escape from Sam and a chance to have some peace in the most unpeaceful time in their lives.

She had managed to come home without running into any wolves. As soon as she stepped foot into her home, memories of her parents and memories of Sam came crashing down on her.

So with tears streaming down her face, she packed a bag as quickly as she could. Before anyone knew she was here. Before Jake told Seth. Before anyone came to talk to her.

Before she had to go back to Sam.

She almost finished when someone entered the house.

She froze.

It was her mother.

She didn't know if she had the stomach for goodbyes. She didn't know if she could leave if Sue tried to stop her.

She ran down the stairs, a bag slung across her back. She stopped at the bottom of the steps, her mother staring at her in the foyer with the saddest look in her eyes she'd ever seen.

"I have to go." Leah's voice cracked.

Sue closed her eyes, taking a deep breath.

"I know."

Finally, a tear trailed down her cheek. She rushed to hug her mother. Tight, but not too tight. She knew she was strong, but she wanted to clutch onto Sue as hard as she could and try to remember what it felt like to be in her mother's embrace.

After they released each other, Sue walked into the kitchen. She reached up onto the top of the fridge and retrieved a small, well hidden, cardboard box. From it, she pulled out a large stack of cash.

She walked up to Leah.

"It's not much, but take it," she urged, holding out the money.

Leah shook her head. "I don't want any money, mom."

Sue was so strong, but she looked as if she might cry. "I know, honey. But take it. I want you to take it. I want you to be happy again."

Leah hesitantly took the money. She unzipped her bag and carefully put it in there.

She hugged her mother one last time.

"Now go, before Sam or the council knows your gone. I don't want them to stop you. Don't phase. Please, call me when you can, let me know you're safe."

Leah did her best to smile at her mom as she held back tears. "I love you."

"I love you too."

"Goodbye, mom." With those words, she left. Running as fast as her feet would take her.

Running far, far away from La Push.

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There will be some more backstories soon, explaining where Leah went and what she did while she was gone. There might also be a few chapters from Paul's perspective, but we'll see when I write that. I haven't quite gotten inside his head yet and I don't want to put anything out that I don't feel is my best effort.

What was the howl for? Who was it? What was it for?

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! And please, if you did, go ahead and favorite, follow, and/or review. Thanks for reading!