"Every now and then the stars align, boy and girl meet by the great design. Could it be you and me are the lucky ones this time?"

Lana del Rey, Lucky Ones

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Sue wiped the salt from her brow. Face flushed, hair tied at the nape of her neck, the nurse prepared a big hearty breakfast for her children. As usual Seth was up early that morning belting Whitney Houston's I Wanna Dance With Somebody at the top of his lungs as he showered. Not usual however, was Leah, awake and listening from her bedroom while she stared at the ceiling.

The she-wolf didn't usually rouse from sleep early on Thursday mornings, not since she'd been fired from the bowling ring for sleeping on the job. (Not since she'd started spending long nights on grueling and often futile patrols hunting vampires). But sleep had eluded her the night before. So grumbling, she dragged her feet down to breakfast not long after her brother.

She frowned when she reached the kitchen. Stacked to the ceiling like towers were crisp, golden pancakes sprinkled with cinnamon and surrounded by an assortment of other foods Leah hadn't seen since her father had passed. Her mother was drizzling a pan with oil as she took her place at the table. Seeing his sister, Seth's face broke into a wicked grin – just like it had the night before. Leah narrowed her eyes at him.

'Good morning.' Sue wiped her hands clean in two quick swipes down her apron. 'Sleep well?'

Leah grunted in response as Seth rolled up a pancake, a naughty grin crinkling up the corners of his dark, evil eyes. 'Oh I'm sure she did.'

Leah sighed. 'What's all this?'

'We haven't really had a meal as a family in a long time. I thought it would be nice to catch up.'

'As long as it doesn't turn into a therapy session,' Leah rolled her eyes. 'I'm all in.'

Sue said nothing, so Leah knew she'd caught onto the game quick enough. Baby. Baby. Baby. Why was everyone concerning themselves with what she thought about the baby? She didn't care anymore; she couldn't care anymore. The Sam/Emily/Leah painfest had drained her almost to a husk, there wasn't much to catch up otherwise.

At least, nothing she wanted to discuss right now.

'I'll start.' Sue shrugged as she turned to the bacon sizzling on the stove. 'I was thinking that since Charlie's been so lonely with Bella gone, that maybe… we should have him over for dinner more often.'

Seth shrugged. 'Whatever. He's here all the time anyways.'

'Yeah…' About that…' Leah frowned.

It's not that she didn't like Charlie, but Leah was grown now, and she had seen the way her dad had once looked at her mom, so she recognized the look on Charlie. It wasn't that she didn't want her mother to be happy, but it had only been four months. Four months since their dad had died and their lives had been turned upside down.

They were just starting to get their shit back together. Unlike with the Blacks, Calls and Uley's the Clearwaters' had somehow miraculously managed to not let the fiasco of the supernatural rip them apart. Yes, they were scarred. Dad had died, Sam had ruined her heart, She and Seth lived on the fringes of death and she knew her mother worried about it all the time, and of course there were things brothers and sisters did not need to know about each other - the hive mind was a humiliating invasion of privacy. But none of that mattered. They were all closer now, all on the same side. Leah was wary of anything new that might alter their bond.

'Charlie and I have become a bit closer recently.' Sue said nonchalantly. 'And we've been talking about what it would be like if maybe… he and I…'

Leah was really was trying to pay attention. This was important. But her darling brother Seth was grinning at her in an I-know-what-you-did-this-summer type of way. The boy slowly and meticulously picked a spoon up off the table and gazed at it with profound intensity. He then mushed the spoon to his lips in the most disturbing simulation of a kiss in kitchen utensil history. As Leah watched in mortification he closed his eyes and moaned, flicking his tongue over the unlucky instrument. Leah grimaced. She didn't know if he was referring to her and Embry or to Sue and Charlie and that made it so much worse.

'… I know it hasn't been a lot of time, but Charlie and I have known each other all of our lives. Since we were kids in fact, and he cares about the two of you so much.'

Sue turned around at the sound of a sharp whoosh and zing. Her eyes turned to her daughter first, Leah was quietly sipping her orange juice. And then they turned to her son, an angelic picture of innocence as he chewed slowly on a pancake. Seth sent her a saccharine smile. Narrowing her eyes suspiciously Sue turned back to her frying bacon.

The she wolf's eyes turned to spears sharper than the teeth of the fork she'd thrown into the wall. Sadly, she'd missed Seth's arm by centimeters. Her baby brother stuck out his tongue at her, chuckling silently, and their mother made her way over to the table, seemingly unaware of their shenanigans. She doled crisp bacon out onto their plates.

'So, what are you two up to today?'

'Meeting up with the girls. We'll probably spend the whole day at the beach after drinks.' The perfect distraction, Leah hoped, from the very moments Seth was forcing her to remember. But then again maybe not. Maybe the calm view of tranquil waves would only add to her longing for another reckless plummet into the ocean. Maybe the beach would only serve as a reminder of the deep-water submersion that had felt like a resurrection, and the fervent kiss afterwards that had seared her soul open.

'Is Sarah gonna be there?'

Seth's question had been casual enough, but Leah wasn't fooled. 'No boys allowed.'

'Okay.' Seth nodded. 'Just like in your bedroom, right sis?'

Leah narrowed her eyes at him.

Sue took a sip of her coffee. 'So, do you two think Monday will work?'

'For what?' The Clearwater siblings asked in perfect unison.

'F- for Charlie to come over. For dinner?'

Seth and Leah shot each other nervous, disconcerted expressions. Leah grimaced. 'Uh…'

'Of course mom.' Seth's voice was strained with forced optimism. 'Lee, Catch.'

Instinctively, Leah grasped the silver object flying towards her face. She gasped when she opened her palm. Her car keys! She'd forgotten them at the bartender's place in downtown Seattle and had been meaning to get them for the last week two weeks. But... so many things had happened. 'Thanks Seth.'

'Oh don't thank me.' Her younger brother said as a wicked grin grew on his face. His next words were pronounced with painstaking slowness. 'Thank Embry.'

Sue looked between them. 'Embry?'

'Yep.' Seth popped that 'p' for all it was worth. 'He gave it to me at Emily's after the pack meeting yesterday. No wonder he was so late. Must have thought it was real important getting it.'

'He was probably in the area or something.' Leah mumbled as she refilled her juice, ignoring their eyes as the blood rushed to her face. 'His mom works at UW.'

'Mhm' Seth hummed.

'He's such a thoughtful boy.' Sue said between sips of coffee. 'And he brought you home the other night didn't he? Leah, you should find some way to thank him.'

Seth nodded vigorously, eyes twinkling with mischief. 'Yeah, I mean there must be some way- agh!' Seth made a face as Leah's foot connected with his shin underneath the table.

Leah suppressed a smile, stretching her arms with an artificial yawn. 'You nincompoop! Cover your mouth. Don't you know yawns are contagious?'

As Seth's eyes watered Sue did no more than look disapprovingly between her two children. She'd learned a long time ago not to get involved. Especially when eating utensils were stuck in the walls.

Julie stretched her face towards the radiant sun and sighed. 'You love me.'

'What?'

Leah's attention snapped away from the hypnotic push-pull of the Pacific waves, her clear blue eyes darting up to the lively, cheerful smile on her best friend's face. 'I said you love me ladybird.'

She did. But Julie didn't need her head getting any bigger so Leah rearranged her red bikini strap in a display of indifference. 'And why's that?'

'Because who else could take your ridiculous excuse for photography and edit it just right enough to make Seattle's Fine Art's Museum consider putting your work up for display at their Brave Youth Showcase?'

'What?'

'I mean does everyone dream up hunkalicious mystery men? Sure, but do they then make glorious magical realism paintings about it…' Julie sunk back onto the blanket, singing her next words. 'I don't think so.'

Leah's brain was still a bit fuzzy. She wasn't sure she was actually making sense of the words coming out of her friend's mouth the way she was supposed to be doing. It didn't help that she'd been struggling against a random urge to phase for the last hour either. 'Wait what?'

With a melodramatic sigh Julietta flipped though her smartphone before tossed it at her best friend. Leah gazed at the screen for a few seconds, wide eyed to find what was obviously one of her paintings.

It was her style alright, her Prince. Kaheleha was a strong, regal presence with his hand on a bow, his wrist was decorated in a jewelled bracelet and his hair draped down in an ebony braid that fell over his shoulder. The hard planes of fierce power in his face were softened by the deep loveliness of tender green eyes, and touches of small white lilies glimmered like diamonds in the water around him. It was her style, her vision, her subject. But she didn't remember painting it.

Or sending it to Julie.

'I won't lie I thought you were totally blowing me off last week but when you sent these I was like... what the fuck?!'

Leah flipped through the pictures as her best friend spoke, finding her other paintings. Paintings she remembered painting and images she remembered sending. Her heart calmed some as Julie continued. 'Holy shit Lee, since when do you paint like this? It's like something out of a dream! That's what I put down on the program as the name of your collection btdubs – but you've got another week to finalise the details.'

It finally clicked. Leah's eyes went wide. 'You did what?!'

Julie's hands flew to her mouth in a rare show of embarrassment. She hadn't expected this reaction, her words tumbled out of her mouth.

'Shit Lee I'm sorry I didn't mean to overstep it's just I loved them so much I blabbed to my dad and next thing he asked if he could show them to a colleague and I was like yeah I mean they're amazing and before you know it I was getting a call from Seattle's Fine Arts Museum and they said they're having a showcase for young artists and they wanted your details and bio but Sue kept saying you weren't around so I just wrote some shit down and emailed it to them cause just because you and that dipshit ex of yours didn't work out doesn't mean you should give up on all the things you always wanted and Lee it's such a big opportunity you could meet and mingle with other artists from all over Washington and who knows what could hap-'

Leah's arms had wrapped around Julie's shoulders so speedily it was a few seconds before the smaller woman realized what had happened. Julie sighed in relief, and the two of them stared up at the big blue sky, just watching the fascinating contrast of oranges and blues right above the deep greys of sandy La Push lands. Harry had always said this was the most beautiful place on earth. Leah hadn't seen much of the world, but she couldn't imagine anything more captivating.

'So I'm not dead?'

'You are the furthest thing from dead possible.' Leah said softly. 'But no more identity theft Julie. I mean it.'

'Deal.' Julie's hands came up to squeeze Leah's forearm. 'You know for someone who's terrified of physical affection… you give like, the warmest hugs.'

Sarah chose that exact moment to drop onto the blanket, tossing two wrapped ice cream poppers at them while Julie's girlfriend Abigail rolled her eyes with a grin. 'Sorry we took so long, the weirdest creep wouldn't leave us alone.

'You know who was a creep?' Julie giggled.

Leah groaned. 'Don't.'

'Freddy Kruger Bartender!' Sarah and Julie blurted out together, laughing.

'Who's Freddie Kruger bartender?' Abigail asked, her innocent manner not at all reflected in the dark emo makeup and bleached hair she chose for presentation. Leah knew better than anyone how deceptive appearances could be. Watching them, people would assume that the towering Leah Clearwater and her unorthodox friends were troublesome kids who frequented derelict spots around town to smoke and destroy property.

Sure they looked like the kind of girls Lana del Rey sang about, and these days the rez gossip had gotten out of control, (Leah was now not only Fork's biggest bitch, but apparently also its most infamous slut. Being sighted more than once in the woods naked with your Kingpin ex and his closest drug pushin' boys was apparently bad for the rep), but Leah didn't care what they said. Sticks and stones just like with Paul. They could all yell 'whore' from the rooftops. She was a protector now; the reason they were all safe. Her father would have been proud.

Sarah's voice cut into her thoughts. '-and he was the dodgiest, dangiest, most disturbing manwhore-'

'With a really nice six pack.' Leah interjected.

'So of course she decided to order us a taxi and leave with him!' Julie said to Abby.

'You're the one who said have fun!'

'Yeah have fun not suck face with shadiest Ted Bundy personality you could find.' Julie rolled her eyes. 'And anyways you should know better than anyone not to listen to me by now.'

'What?' Leah blinked, and all four of them burst into laughter. It was the happiest Leah had been in almost a year.

But happiness was short lived these days. Leah knew that better than anyone, so she wasn't really surprised when the scent of four shapeshifters drifted towards her. Seth was all but dragging a downcast Quil to the beach while a drooling Colin trailed closely behind him, ogling all the older women bikinis. Leah ignored her disappointment that Quil's usual companion wasn't present.

'Hey sis!' Seth said too quickly, and Leah heard his heart rate speed up as he turned to seventeen-year-old Sarah. 'Hey Sar.'

'Hi Sethy.' Sarah blushed. When her heart rate sped up too Leah rolled her eyes and turned to Abby and Julie, hoping to be saved, but the two had their hands interlinked and were gazing into each other's eyes. Nope. No saving this.

Quil offered her a small smile. 'You're here.'

'Where else would I be?' Quil was used to her abrasive manners by now, so she frowned when his eyes dropped to the floor instead of glaring daggers at her cold response. She turned to the other cub, 'What happened to him?'

Colin shrugged. 'He can't see girls anymore.'

Leah was confused, but not interested enough to ask what the cub meant. She tossed her keys at her brother, and he caught them without looking away from Sarah.

'Take Sar and the others home would you? I wanna take a walk or something.' He wasn't old enough to drive yet, not for another two weeks, but people around the rez were informal about such things, and she didn't want to watch while all of them got cosy and disgustingly romantic.

'You should head to Sam's.' Colin said.

Leah glared daggers at him as her blood turned to ice. Did the cub just go around discussing Pack matters in front of civilians? 'Why the hell would I do that?'

It was Quil who answered this time. 'Leah… it came back.'

She'd told herself she wouldn't do this so soon. Officially, they didn't have patrol together until the next afternoon, and she'd wanted to take her time to think about what had happened before having to face him again. As it was the memory of his hot, honeyed skin had stayed with her throughout the day. She hadn't been able to get the feel of his demanding lips, pink and plump as raspberries, out of her system. And she could still feel his hands, rough and tender, where they'd left traces of magic over her skin.

It was far too dark to be walking the streets alone, whether the rez had a low crime rate or not, but Leah had done it anyway. Quil had offered, polite little pedophile that he was, to make sure she got home safely. Colin had offered too - though his intentions were not so pure. Fourteen years old and he was the lewdest, creepiest little shit Leah had ever met. She told herself she didn't want anyone to know where she was going because she didn't want their interest or concern and that was partly true. But maybe it was more because she needed time to decide for herself, away from their ears and eyes.

Did she want Embry Call, or did she want him to leave her the hell alone?

She would have knocked but the front door was open. Leah stepped inside the Call house and found him standing right in the middle of the kitchen; a place she associated with stories about forbidden romances and women who wanted things they that they shouldn't. His tall, lean form was almost menacing in the dim light, and with all those bruises on his face he had the look of a man who had just gotten out of a bar fight. Leah felt her heart quicken at the sight. She'd always liked a little bit of danger on a man, it added to the allure.

'I'm gonna smack you upside the head,' she said coolly, 'maybe it'll knock some sense into that thick, dense skull of yours.'

Embry's lips tilted up on one side. 'You sound like my mother.'

Clicking angrily with her tongue, Leah shut the door behind her. The black shirt he'd bunched up into a ball wasn't doing much to stop the flow of blood- there was a lot of it. She could scent Tiffany still, it couldn't have been long since his mother had left the house, and Leah wondered what Ms. Call had thought when she'd seen her son, how afraid she must have been for his life. Tiffany still thought Embry was involved in gang violence.

Leah opened the window and found the nearest clean cloth she could find. 'Sit down.'

With a slow and incredibly sexy smile, Embry did as he was told. Leah forced her eyes away as he dropped into the nearest kitchen chair, but she could still feel him watching her. The night before his eyes had been filled with so much intensity and passion that she hadn't been able to look away. Tonight she was worried about what she would find if she didn't.

Leah crossed the distance between them in two short steps, trying not to inhale too deeply. Blood had a way of intensifying scent; and even on good days she couldn't take in too much of his smell without getting lost in it.

Still avoiding his eyes, Leah inspected the wound more thoroughly. The cut was ugly and infected. The leech had dragged fingernails into his skin - she could still smell the rotten thing- and she hissed when she saw the jagged bone, protruding. That's why it wasn't healing, she realised.

'Why didn't you get someone to help with this?'

'I was too busy trying to convince Tiff not to call the police.' he said.

There was no gag order on him, Leah remembered. Jacob had convinced Sam that leaving Ms. Call out of the loop would be bad for the pack, and for Embry too, who was prone to depression. It was an astute observation, Baby Chief saw clearly everyone's strengths and weaknesses. But Sam had given Embry a choice, so naturally Call had said that he didn't mind his mother not knowing, safer for her and all. Leah understood his decision, if she could have kept Seth away from this nightmare she would have done it without hesitation. But it was clear to see that Embry was crumbling under the weight of having to navigate all of this alone. Wolves were Pack animals.

Embry just didn't like playing by anyone else's rules.

'I didn't expect her to drop by till later tonight, she was supposed to be on campus.'

'Where'd she go?'

His eyes darkened. 'Billy's.'

'You don't look like Billy.' Leah said without thinking. And then she added 'sorry,' because it was none of her business.

'Wouldn't matter if I did. She's still my mother, and he's still a giant prick.'

Suppressing a smile, Leah placed one hand behind his shoulder and pressed down over the bone with the other. Embry gritted his teeth as it moved back into place, and it was a few moments of pained breathing and teeth gritted in grimaces before she felt the bone snap back into place. More blood gushed out of the wound, running down his bare chest. After wiping most of it off, Leah turned to the sink and turned the tap, watching as his blood ran down the drain.

Embry ran a hand over his brow. 'Who told you?'

'Quil.'

'Figures. I can always count on Quil's endorsement.' Embry leaned back casually onto the chair, as if he wasn't in a world of pain. 'Seth is gonna be a little harder to win over, just like you. But I'm patient.'

Was he joking? Leah couldn't tell if he was joking. 'We're not talking about Seth right now.'

'No we're not.' He returned seriously. 'We're talking about us.'

Leah closed the tap. 'There is no us.'

'Liar.'

'Fine.' Tossing the washcloth into the sink, Leah spun on her heels. 'There is no winning Seth over and there is no winning me over. Ever. There has never been winning me over, and I don't know why you think this is a game worth playing. I'm not - I'm not some kind of prize you can win Embry. I'm broken. The system is rigged and I'm broken. I know it. You know it. So why the fuck would you do something as idiotic as kissing me?'

'I was-'

'That was rhetorical.' she sighed.

After wringing out the cloth she crossed the distance again and wiped away at the dried blood on his chest. It was quiet, too quiet now, and it did nothing to distract from his perfectly chiseled eight pack. Why in the hell did he have to have an eight pack?

It was a long beat before he spoke again. 'Would you have preferred an Imprint?'

Her heart constricted, pained. 'Fuck you.'

His hand came up to grab her wrist, and she turned the terror of her scowl onto him. But he wasn't intimidated by her. His eyes weren't guarded or angry anymore. What she found in them had no business being there.

'You're not broken Leah. You're a person, not a thing. And people don't break they heal. I know an Imprint would have been easier for you. I know you've spent more nights than you can count wishing you could Imprint, just so you could forget him. But have you ever thought about what it would mean? What it would be taking from you if you did? You've spent the last four months being owned by your ex - fighting him every step of the way. You really wanna spend the rest of your life being owned by someone else?'

'At least I'd be happy.'

'You'd be happier if you had a choice.' He insisted, his voice stern and sure. 'You'd be happy with me.'

'Don't.' she said, because she couldn't let herself believe it. Not even for a second.

When he stood she didn't look at his face but she could still hear his heartbeat, slow and steady. She could feel his familiar warmth too, enveloping her. Some part of her knew it would be easy with him. That it would be bliss. She felt alive just being around him. He challenged her, made her laugh, he made her feel seen and so wanted. Her wolf was always so content just being around him too, and it was proud that he had fought to protect her. But it had felt right before, with some other guy, and when he'd walked away from her he had taken everything with.

'What are you more afraid of Leah? That I'm gonna turn into him, or that I won't?'

When she didn't answer his hands trailed up to her arms, leaving open fires in their wake. It had been a mistake looking into his face. She could see now that it wasn't just desire that moved him, not just the intense passion she'd felt the night before either. She could see the adoration so clearly. Deep, fervent adulation. He loved her. But how could he love her? He was every girl's sweetest dream and she was the bitterest, angriest woman on the planet.

Leah's heart was beating so hard it was starting to cause an ache in her chest. 'It wouldn't work.' she said, not sure if she was telling him or herself. 'It wouldn't.'

'Answer my question.'

'No.' She said coldly, battling both him and her wolf this time. Her beast wanted him. It only made this harder.

'Leah, maybe wolves can't Imprint on each other.' He said, hands touching her neck. His eyes were so startling, they never failed to hold hers captive. 'I want you Leah. I've always wanted you. My wolf wants you.' His eyes ran laps between hers, searching. 'Tell me your wolf doesn't want me too. Tell me you don't want me, Leah Clearwater, and I promise I'll stop. I'll leave you, forever if it's what you want, and we can go back to ignoring each other. But don't run from this because of something that might never happen. Don't be afraid.'

Leah's heart was trying to break some kind of record, but his was still slow. Too slow. She couldn't find any safe ground with him. He didn't make sense, didn't work like anything or anyone else. And he was giving her a choice, for the first time in what felt like forever, someone was giving her a choice about something.

But she was frozen with uncertainty. All it would take to get rid of him, or to have him, was one word.

It won't work. Wolves belong to their Imprints. It's only going to hurt when it ends. And it will end, badly.

She'd already learned the hard way. Sam had been her teacher after all, him and her best friend. But her wolf! The damn beast was clawing at her, ripping up her insides. Chewing, growling, snapping it's teeth at her cowardice. Embry was what it wanted. Embry was what she wanted.

Without thinking Leah pressed a quick kiss to his chest. When she heard his sharp inhalation, she stood on her toes and brushed her lips against his, but his hands caught her face this time, refusing to let her go. He tasted like sunshine and heat this time, and her hands reached up to his shoulders, careful not to hurt him. When he turned her, so she was sitting on the table and straddling him, his lips followed a pleasure trail down her neck, hands becoming a gentle voyage underneath her dress. She was no virgin, but even something as simple as kissing felt different with him. Like they had centuries of knowledge of each other, like they were two pieces that had been kept apart for far too long, finally back where they belonged. No one had ever kissed her like he did.

'Don't stop.' She moaned, he stole the words into his open mouth. She dragged her hands into his thick, dark hair, and when his lips found hers again it was the perfect blend of gentility and passion, even a hint of violence. He still smelled of lakewater, of lilies, but he also smelled like the leech. Leah pulled away, half with a laugh, half-grimacing.

'Sorry.' his eyes filled with both amusement and concern. 'I got carried away.'

'You're real cute when you're being a gentleman skinny legs, but that's not it.' She pushed him away, standing. 'You need a shower. We're both still covered in blood, but you smell worse then the Cullens.'

Embry made a face. 'Ew.'

'Yup.' She said. 'But... I wouldn't mind a movie night. You know I still haven't watched Captain America.'

Embry kissed her cheek and grinned one of those unnecessarily sexy smiles. 'Say no more Clearwater. Let's go correct another grievous injustice.'