Chapter 248: It's About Leah Part 2

So, I told him that from my reality, he and Leah never broke up from high school. They continued to date. She witnessed the signs of him turning to a shapeshifter, and when I told him that when he phased and he disappeared for a month in the woods, I froze in the middle of my explanation.

Oh no. I didn't think about the fact that this is also tied with Emily. Damn, I definitely did not think this through. Aii, how do I bring this up? I can't not bring Emily up when it comes to Leah..

Sam asked slowly, "what happened next?"

I responded hesitantly while looking straight at Sam, "I..forgot to mention that in my reality, you imprinted someone else and that individual is tightly tied to how much Leah suffered..it also ties with you…do you want to know who..it was?"

I never thought that I had to tell Sam. In the beginning, I was very afraid of telling Sam. What if he comes to resent me for keeping him from who he was meant to be? But, what if he wouldn't care because he is imprinted with me, so he can't bring to resent me so much? What If the power of imprinting compels him to forgive me quickly?

Nevertheless…he has proven to me time and time again that he wants me and he is here for me..When I first met him, I was very reluctant to tell him, but..now that I got to know this Sam than the novel Sam, I trust this Sam to handle the news well. Maybe even better than the novel Sam. With a hopeful heart, I looked at Sam without any shame or guilt but with great anticipation.

Sam said in a matter of fact, "it was Emily, wasn't it?"

I took in a sharp breath. I didn't expect that response from him..He knew..but since when? I wondered, so I nodded as I responded unsurely, "yeah...how did you know?"

He said with a half-smile, "I remembered when we first met..you very shocked to hear that you were my imprint and I found it suspicious that you brought up Leah especially her cousin, Emily. I had a hunch, but I never..wanted to bring it up because I didn't want to know how I was with her in your reality…unless you think it was absolutely necessary but I didn't think it was. My wolf spirit agreed as well, so we never brought it up.." His eyes softened, "Either way, I am with you and that is all it matters. I didn't want to be overwhelmed with questions of "what if"."

I was speechless. He pulled me closer to his chest and he kissed my temple. I mumbled, "thank you.."

He asked gently, "what happened next?"

My face got pale knowing exactly what happened next, so I told him that he immediately broke up with Leah. Because the council told him that he can't share the secret to anyone unless it is their imprint, he broke up with Leah without giving her a proper reason. Sam's eyes widened in realization. I knew that he realized why I asked him specifically how he broke up with Leah to make sure she didn't suffer like the novel Leah. Since Sam didn't say anything regarding that, I took that as a sign to continue explaining what else happened to Leah and Emily.

I explained that Emily was rejecting his pursue on her since Emily and Leah were very close as friends. One day he had an argument with her, he couldn't control his temper and phased in front of her. I noticed that Sam started to tremble in distress. I could feel his distress coming waves, but I wasn't afraid of Sam phasing on me. Time and time again, he has proven to me that he won't lose it in front of me just because he is trembling. I can also feel his emotions, so if gets too overwhelming and he is trembling, then I would immediately move out the way.

I continued to explain to him that half of her face and part of her arm got mauled with claw marks from him. It took a very long time for Emily to heal and for Emily to eventually forgive and accept Sam. I also explained that the Sam from the novel, never forgave himself for what he did to Emily regardless the fact that Emily already forgave him. Because of this incident, he isolated all wolves from their loved ones to protect the wolves and their loved ones. As in for Leah, when she heard that Sam got together with Emily, she felt betrayed not only from Sam but also Emily. The council supported Sam and Emily's engagement and imprinting, so it only pushed Leah deep into suffering and probably depression. Thus, Leah became bitter. She wasn't the Leah that people knew her from high school.

Then, I tied it to Victoria, Seth, and Harry Clearwater. The pack was still on pursuit on Victoria during Bella's spring break. Bella went to go jump off the cliff since she couldn't wait for Jacob to take her and to satisfy her hallucinations from Edward. What led Harry from having a heart attack was seeing Leah phasing then Seth phased as well.

Sam inhaled a sharp breath and froze. I pulled myself away from Sam to get a better look on his expression. He was in shock, then with his eyebrows furrowed, he asked in an alarmed tone, "h-how is that possible? There hasn't been a female shapeshifter ever in history!"

I nodded, "Yeah. She is a first in history. Because of that, Leah suffered even more as a female spirit warrior. She felt like a freak of nature, and she never felt like she belonged in the pack. Then the other Sam as her Alpha. You all can see each other thoughts, so it was hard on Leah to see how happy Emily and the other Sam was. Even though she eventually was told the truth, it didn't bring her any comfort whatsoever. If anything, it made her more bitter that she was withheld the truth…From what I know, Emily and the other Sam tried to make amends with Leah and Emily want things to be how used to be with Leah, but it's..not that simple. With all the pressure to move on, Leah..just couldn't move on…"I trailed off as I felt even more sad about novel Leah's situation.

I continued, "She and Seth phased because of Victoria and the army that she was building. Why her specifically, I..don't know. What I do know is that all of the bitterness, unresolved feelings became a catalyst for her to go through slow physical changes until she lost her temper and phased for the first time. No one..ever thought she phased and even when Harry and Sue noticed the physical changes, they didn't think it was because she is becoming a spirit warrior. All the tempers and anger, they assumed it was because she is still trying to cope with her heartbreak and betrayal from people she loved.. "

Tears were starting to spill from eyes as I began to cry for Leah as I continued to say, "then, when her father died after that heart attack from seeing her phase into a wolf. She was very distraught..She felt like she killed her dad.."

Leah was very mistreated in the novel. I didn't like her story was left unfinished. Even though Leah was bitter and very sarcastic to the pack, it doesn't mean she deserved all the hate. Yes, she could've dealt with her problems better, but..she was like what 19? She was a teenager when all of this happened to her. It's a lot for anyone then feeling like you have no one to turned to..who wouldn't swirl into despair with no hope for the future especially being told you can't leave the reservation?

I swallowed thickly and I added slowly, "not only that…once Leah phased, she stopped having her menstrual cycle..it made Leah feel even more like a freak of nature..With all the changes in her body and the first female shapeshifter, it caused Leah to suffer even more..Even if she would wait until she stopped phasing to have her menstrual back, how certain is it that she would be able to have kids after?.."

Sam was wiping my tears with his thumb as he was looking at me with a sad and pained expression. Sam was about to say something until I shook my head and said with a sniffle, "..that-that's why, I feel like we need to keep Leah out of the reservation. As long as Bella is still in Forks, there is still a chance for vampires or the Cullens coming back, so there is still a possibility for Leah to phase since in my reality, she phased due to the presence of vampires...I know..it sounds very cruel to do towards Leah..to keep her away from her home. I feel like she deserves to be told the truth but I don't know if it's too much since Harry passed away….:"I trailed off.

I shifted uncomfortable and said hesitantly, "I.. never brought up Leah because you told me that she was away for college, so I hoped that she could remain gone until Bella leaves Forks..But with the passing of her dad and she has come back to the reservation, the distress of the passing of Harry and a presence of a vampire could trigger her to phase. However, she need to be showing signs to phase before she gets triggered by a vampire, so we need to ask Sue and Sue to see if she is showing signs to phase or not...then proceed whether to tell her the truth or no.."

Sam was deep in his thoughts for a long time, so Sam stayed silent. I could tell he was trying to absorb everything from what I was telling him while the occasional golden rims of his eyes coming forward here and there.

Sam finally said, "I..don't know what the other Sam was thinking..there might things I would've done differently unlike him...I can see why he had done what he had done..He did what he thought was right and as a new Alpha and barely an adult with all of these problems having to hold, he made a lot of mistakes that could've been prevented…I can see how not being told the secret has done more damage than good, so I understand why you argued with Harry to tell Seth and Quil the truth and let families being told of the secret. It was done to end the cycle of pain and suffering that you witnessed in your reality…I will investigate the archives to see if there is anything regarding female shapeshifters and consult with Old Quil about what you have told me…"

I was so relieved when I heard him say that. Instead of arguing with me, he took in what I told him maturely and he is going to act immediately even when..he is upset with Harry's death..I just hope he isn't running away from his feelings by occupying himself with work and pack duties. Maybe that is what he needs to cope with his death, so Imma keep an eye out on Sam. I do regret that I was being too negative of how Sam would react, but I am glad things turned out better than I feared.

Suddenly, his tone shifted and he said, "But there is one thing that has been bothering me.."

He asked with a hint of anger to his tone and distraught in his eyes, "I noticed there has been a pattern of comparing me with the other Sam..that one time you told Bella to get out of the house when I started to shake….how it took a long time for you to trust me that I do love you regardless of imprinting because you knew that the other Sam imprinted on Emily…Is that why you tried to kill yourself? You thought by killing yourself, you would like 'return' me to Emily?"

I said with a plea, "I..I know and I'm..so sorry for that Sam..Truly I am. Not because I got caught..When I first met you, all I could depend on is what I knew from my reality. Thus, I treated you as if I was dealing with the other Sam, and I am sorry for that Sam. It took some time for me to realize that you are different from that Sam. You are not like the other Sam, and I should have treated you as you…."

The next part was hard for to say, but I had to say this. Sam deserves the full truth, not the partial truth,so I said with trembling lips and hands, " Yes..When..I tried to commit suicide, I did it because I felt like I was stealing you away from Emily. I was upset that I was stuck in this world with a body from someone who didn't want to stay alive in this life. I thought I was doing a favor by killing myself, but when Alegria came to me through a dream. She rebuked me and made me realize that I was chosen for you not just as her replacement. The spirits and her wanted me to live and be with you. The spirits made sure you get the best, so I strongly believe they thought I was good enough for you and due to how pitiful I died.. they gave me another chance in life by being your mate.. "

I continued but this time with a softer tone. "I don't regret being your mate, Sam..I know I brought you a lot of heartache, but I have see nover time, how much you truly love me. I see your efforts and over time, it" I said with a small chuckle, "won me over. Being with you, I felt like I won a lottery with you. I never wanted to be in a relationship but being with you, I am so happy that it was you that I ended up with. I don't see myself with anyone else but you. I don't know if its due to the imprinting pull, but I honestly believe that I got what many people desired for. The security, trust, unconditional love from their partner, and I get that from you Sam."

I caressed his face gently and I leaned forward to give me a slow, passionate kiss on the lips. I kissed him all over his face to display my affection for him, and I could feel a small smile coming from him. Sam pulled me to a tight hug, and we stayed in that position for awhile. Just absorbing the moment. Letting everything that has been said settle in our minds.

Sam said abruptly, "it's interesting to see that the things happened in your reality, it became different in this reality. I..mauled Emily's face, and Embry almost mauled his mother's face in this life…Lot of things are different in this reality, but most of all, it was because you intervened to make sure everyone gets a different fate…"

I replied lifelessly, "yeahh.."

He added, "you helped Jacob, Embry, and Quil. Quil..got to reunite with his friends, told the secret so his transition became a lot more smoother than we had. Even though Seth was finally told the truth and made his transition to being a spirit warrior smoother, it was still..traumatizing for the young pup to be in the middle of destroying Victoria.."

He continued this time with a firmer and proud tone, "Harry..was given more time for him to witness his son to phase, so Seth won't blame himself for his heartache. We stopped Bella chasing after ..Edward in Italy and preventing the Cullens coming back earlier…so, don't worry about my reaction when you withheld information from what you know from your reality. I trust your judgement. You truly care for the pack and have all of us in your mind, and you even go out of your way to even help Bella Swan too. So, I'm not disappointed and upset with you. ..I'm no longer angry about how you compared me with the other Sam."

I said with a surprising tone, "really."

He purred, "yeah.."

I finally smiled for the first time today, and kissed him at his cheek with a praise, "oh, thank you. Thank you."

He chuckled and said, "..want to cook something together?"

Since he said together, I was more inclined to cook an actual late lunch for the both of us. We cooked a big meal with desserts. I went back to my work while Sam went out to talk to Old Quil and the council about everything that I told him about Leah. He will also talk to Seth and Sue on how to approach Leah.

I didn't realize so much time has passed when I casually looked outside after finishing my last case file for my job. It was already night-time. I need to get ready for bed. I should probably eat something light before heading to bed. I got ready for bed, head to the kitchen and made myself a small bowl of ramen. Sam was still out, so what he is doing is probably going to take much longer than anticipated. I decided to not wait for Sam and head to bed. The moment my head touched the pillow, I fell straight to a deep slumber.

Author's Note:

I caught COVID from my job. My symptoms are pretty mild thankfully. I don't know when I will update again. I will be quarantined home, so I might use this time to write the next chapter. My head is a bit fuzzy from the heavy meds, so sorry if this chapter seemed like it got cut short towards the end.

Hope you enjoy and stay safe everyone!

edit (1/26/2022 7pm): It was saved on my original document, but when I transferred it to Fanfiction, it didnt save the last few sentences. That's why it was cut off. I didnt knew what yall meant until the next chapter in a comment that I saw the missing part of the chapter. Thanks for the patience!