Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters. I am only putting my spin on Stephenie Meyer's already created world of the supernatural.

Warnings: Violence/Gore, mentions/attempt of suicide and character deaths


All the pain I'd shouldered for months, for years, melted and flowed away. It disappeared as the most comforting warmth I'd ever known filled every part of me. A sense of enlightenment enriched me down to what must've been my very soul—I knew now what my life had been missing.

But it wasn't my life anymore.

My sense of self melted and I didn't mind it. I melted, like ice that had been gently warmed back into a flowing river, and poured into an empty, dry, channel. A channel that had been thirsting for water in a drought that had lasted for an eternity until this moment. I was myself again, but different, and I belonged to someone else.

Everything inside of me, everything I would ever have or earn or become was his now. And I was drowning, my whole body reacting like I'd been plunged underwater. I was weightless and tethered to nothing, but I was safe. I knew I'd always be able to breathe again because he was there now and there was nothing I couldn't or wouldn't do for him. The longing I'd felt before to forget Sam, to forget Emily, paled and cowered. It didn't stand a chance next to the sensation that coursed through my veins, buzzing and humming. It was over, life as I knew it had ended.

Leah? Sam's voice faded back into my mind.

The senseless background buzzing came to the forefront of my mind again—the voices of the pack rushed in. They were all yelling over each other, asserting their opinions like it changed anything. It was chaos in my head. I could see the Cullens getting anxious as a few of the guys whined and growled from the line. But it happened, whether any of them like it or not.

I'd imprinted on a cold one.

YES! Jacob screamed over top of everyone, joy incarnate as he thought of how Bella would be free to be his. He envisioned himself with children that had her eyes. Yes, yes, yes!

I have to speak to him, I thought. In fact, that was the only thought that was mine in the mess that was in my head.

"I can hear you," he spoke, his eyes darting over to me from where they'd been glued to Sam.

I was pinned by gold. He was so beautiful.

Edward winced and said, "But I don't understand. How could this have happened?"

"Edward, please, tell me what's going on," Carlisle pleaded, flashing over to Edward to place a comforting hand on his shoulder.

But, no, Edward couldn't tell him—he just couldn't. The pack's reaction alone was enough to deal with, so he couldn't tell anyone else. For God's sake, he was still holding Bella's hand.

Edward glanced down at Bella as he murmured, "I'll tell you later, Carlisle. For now, let's continue."

You heard him. We will continue as planned and discuss this later. Focus! Sam ordered. No one had any choice but to do as he said.

Even as everyone focused and watched the demonstrations, there was discord. It was a rock in everyone's stomach, the fact that I'd gone and done something again. Except, it was worse this time. Unforgivable. That word circled around a few times before Sam would silence whoever threw it at me in a muted accusation.

It was surreal that Sam was defending me, using his power and authority to help me out. Usually, I was the one he used all that stuff against.

And Edward did an amazing job tuning the idiots out. He was amazing at fighting, too. Moved like—

Stop swooning over him, traitor! Paul's accusation cut me to my core.

Was that what I was now? I'd been rude, evil, cruel, unreasonable, annoying, unwanted… Undesired. And now, was I traitor? My father—oh, Dad, what had I done? I hadn't meant to.

I found myself backing out of the line.

Paul, do not speak! Sam ordered in his alpha voice. Leah, you should stay. I promise I'll help you sort all this out afterwards and you can leave if you want to, but you should try to stay.

I want to stay. I want to see how they fight. I needed to keep an edge on fighting, to learn with everyone else.

I tried to suppress it so hard, but it still seeped through. I needed to stay close to Edward. I couldn't stand the thought of leaving and it was even worse to think about staying.

Every single option was terrible. Every single one of my thoughts was mortifying. It was the fact that Edward knew what I was thinking that made it so much worse!

On second thought, go home. You're too distracting. Get some rest and I'll see if I can get them to meet with us later today, Sam thought, cutting me major slack. Why?

No, I didn't care. I just wanted to leave—and, oh, I needed to stay.

Jacob continued to celebrate and have random bursts of joy as I sprinted away, back home. I'd never moved so fast before. I was home in a handful of minutes and I didn't wait to phase back until I got inside.

My legs quivered and I missed the support of having four of them as I stumbled into my house. I fell onto my hands and knees in my living room and gasped, trying to breathe, trying to think, trying not to feel.

It was a while until I could stand again and I was still unsteady on my feet. Somehow, I'd expected the entire world to look different now that I'd imprinted. As far as I could tell, my house was the same and so was the world.

The stairs were the same as always, it was only me that'd changed any. I was the one having a difficult time walking because my legs were trembling like I'd been in a ten-hour earthquake. My head spun, my vision blurred with unshed tears, the stairs stayed the same.

When I got to the top of the unchanging stairwell, I stumbled into the bathroom. I wanted to scrub off my day, scrub off what I'd done—what I wouldn't have chosen to do in a million years. But, it didn't matter, did it? What I wanted never mattered and never would again because now, Edward was all that mattered. What he wanted, I would make happen, despite myself.

Thinking about it, it had to be payback. This all had to be payback for what I'd done to my dad. I'd tortured him before I killed him. Every day, we'd fight about nothing and I'd say the sharpest things I could think of. And even being a murderer, I still had it in myself to criticize others, to criticize Sam.

Now, after one morning, I was as bad as Emily, as bad as Sam? Bella was in love with my—no, with Edward. Just Edward. He couldn't be mine, he was hers. And while I couldn't stand the thought of taking him away, it was worse imagining leaving him with her. Everything was worse.

Everything always got worse.

I stood in the shower, the hot water doing nothing to my tensed muscles. At some point, when the skin of my fingertips started to scrunch up, I decided I wouldn't accept it. The next time I saw Edward Cullen, I wouldn't let myself feel anything—not that I was going to see him again anyway.

No, I needed to avoid him. And I was out of the pack, I had no doubt about that. Everyone had been looking for a reason, anything at all to get rid of me, and I just gave them their golden ticket—

But it didn't even make sense! No one had ever imprinted on someone who wasn't a part of a tribe or some distant relative of our ancient bloodlines. No shapeshifter had ever been a woman, either.

God, why me? Why me?

I got out of the shower, letting water pour off of me as I ran to my room. Deep in my closet, under piles of clothes I was too lazy to hang up, was my suitcase. There was nothing left to do but pack.

Seth would take care of Mom, Jacob would take care of Seth and I would move to Timbuktu. Or I'd backpack across Europe. I'd always thought that was stupid and pointless, but now I didn't have anything else to do or anywhere else to be. Plus, my savings weren't exactly astonishing and backpacking was cheap—

How had I imprinted on a cold one? Of all the terrible choices in the world, a cold one? How could I backpack across Europe knowing what I'd done?

I needed to jump off a high building, for real this time. Because now, there was no hope, no dream of a better future just around the bend. Imprinting, the one thing that should've saved me, screwed me over. It had been stupid of me to expect anything else, looking at the pattern in my life.

So, what was the highest building in Forks anyway? Wait, no, I wouldn't do it in Forks. I hated living there, why would I have wanted to die there? Writing a note was common decency, though, wasn't it?

No, no note. I sucked at writing and I had nothing to say. Plus, an apology from the grave always struck me as insincere. I was sure it wasn't for some, but it would've been for me. And to my mom, it would've been insult added to injury.

A will was useless. I only owned horror movie posters and plants and I was pretty much flat broke, so I didn't know. I guessed they could just put anything of mine they didn't want in the thrift store. I'd only been to a thrift store once or twice, but I'd found something I loved both times. I was sure someone would look at one of my things on a thrift store shelf someday and think that it was amazing. They would never know how it got there or look down on it because they knew who used to own it, they'd just treasure it. That was what I wanted for my things.

I left a note to put my stuff in the thrift store, Seth couldn't get depressed over such a short note. My mom could feel closure granting my last wish or whatever.

Abandoning the half-filled suitcase I'd been staring at on idle, I found that I wasn't nervous like the last time. The last time I was ready to die had been the day after my dad's funeral. That was the same day I learned how fast you healed after your first phase. So, it had to be a pretty freaking tall building.

I strode out of the front door, ready to drive out of town. There was only one decision. I didn't want to live a life like this, I never did.

"Leah," Sam's voice startled me and instead of unlocking my car, I put a hole through the door with my key.

I leaned down and rested my forehead against the window of my crappy van. "Say it. I'm out of the pack."

"You're not out of the pack." I didn't know if Sam saying that made me feel better or worse. But when I turned around to face him, I almost had a heart attack.

Edward was there. He was standing next to Carlisle, who was staring at me like I was the eighth wonder of the world. Both of them had changed into nicer clothes, the kind you saw CEOs wear on TV. I felt idiotic in my worn t-shirt and jeans, no shoes on since I hadn't thought I was going to need shoes.

After noticing the Cullens, I saw Jacob and Jared flanking Sam. Jacob was grinning from ear-to-ear. "Where do you think you're going? We haven't even started yet."

"We've come to discuss the situation," Sam added, solemn as I'd ever seen him.

I couldn't even imagine what Sam was thinking. The cold ones were back on our lands all because of me. God, even when I'd gone out of my way to try and hurt the pack, I never did something even close to this level of treasonous. But nothing felt better, nothing felt more right than having Edward standing there. Ancestors, forgive me, but he belonged here.

Edward turned his eyes away from me with his jaw clenched. My heart stuttered in my chest. I couldn't upset him, that was the last thing I wanted. I was sorry. I didn't want him to be angry.

"What's there to discuss?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"How about the fact that you imprinted on a bloodsucker?" Jacob asked, still reeking with glee.

"What are you smiling about, Jake? Even if you were the last guy on earth, Bella would choose a cactus over you just so she could lead you on some more." Edward winced at my barb. My heart plummeted. "I'm sorry, I—I mean, if that's what he wants, I'll do it. I'll…discuss."

Sam nodded, glancing at Edward. "We've all agreed that talking things out and using our heads would be best. They didn't want this happening any more than we did. And, Carlisle, being a doctor, has decided he's going to help us. It's sort of an equal exchange for us contributing with the newborns."

"Help us? Help us how?" I looked to the blonde vampire, not trusting the smile on his face.

Carlisle smelled sweet like all the other cold ones, but different. Like someone had coated a moldy honeybun in dry ice and stuck it up my nose. It wasn't the most pleasant, but it wasn't the least. Emmett had smelled the worst back in the clearing.

I shuddered, the unnatural sweetness mixing with the nature all around and wet soil. Carlisle's eyes didn't miss it before he answered, "Leah, I'm quite experienced in the medical field. I know much of a vampire's physiology and—"

"This would be better to discuss inside," Edward chimed in, his voice even more pleasant when he was so close. It was like the sound of it caressed my eardrums before reaching my mind. It was lovely.

He was lovely in general; golden eyes fixed above defined cheekbones, a sharp jawline that added to the angular beauty of his face. It was like the sharp edges were there on purpose, to remind me that beneath it all, he was more dangerous than any blade. His expression, though… Let's just say he didn't look enthused.

"Leah, may we continue this discussion inside?"

I'd been quiet for too long. My hands balled into fists as Jacob cackled, but the anger faded into the background when I met Edward's gaze. He was staring at me, expectant.

"Yeah, of course. Please, come inside." Jacob could go to hell and so could Jared, but the idea of Edward in my house was too tempting to pass up. I'd have to suffer the idiots.

Carlisle's face lit up at my invitation and Edward's stayed painfully blank, devoid of anything. Sam nodded towards my house and I caught it from the corner of my eye since I was still staring at Edward like a moron. I went back toward my house and led them inside.

We all ended up in the dining room, sat around the dinged up dining table. It felt like we were at a very strange business meeting and the only people dressed for it were the vampires.

"Sam spoke with us a little on our way over here. He informed me that imprinting on one of my kind is something that's never happened before. We exchanged theories on the reason why, but we'd like to hear what you think," Carlisle said with a smile.

And crap, what did I know? I hadn't even been phasing for a year yet.

I shrugged, my arms still tight across my chest. "Well, I'm the first girl shapeshifter, too. Maybe that has something to do with it."

Jacob displayed his grin, the one that I'd always wanted to punch off his face. "She's always been an overachiever, Doc."

"Don't talk to her, Jake," Jared barked.

I guessed, I didn't even deserve the ridicule anymore, in Jared's book.

The thing was, I was just waiting for Old Quil to come rain lightning and thunder down on me. He'd be the one to kick me out for the betrayal before I could even think to fall to my knees to beg. As long as Seth could stay after it was all said and done, I was good. He loved the pack, he deserved to stay and he deserved a better sister than me. A better life.

"You're a very special woman, Leah," Carlisle told me. Unlucky, my mind corrected. "And I think that, firstly, we should touch base on how the imprinting happened. After that, of course, tests must be run."

"Tests?" I looked over to Sam and it surprised me when I saw how tense he was.

Sam had made sure not to give me a corner of his heart, even for sympathy. I couldn't blame him, either. Even an inch of would have meant the world if he'd ever given it. I would've never given up on trying to win him back, despite knowing it would never happen. But now, I could see the concern on his face, I could tell he was worrying—not about me, but for me.

Oh, God, what was going to happen that had Sam feeling bad for me?

"There's nothing you should be concerned over, Leah," Carlisle tried to reassure me. The panic must've come through on my face. And was it just me or was he using my name way too much?

"Really? There's nothing I should be concerned about?" Somehow, I doubted that.

"We are going to do everything we can to try and understand this bond and then destroy it, if at all possible. I promise you that, Leah."

Destroy?

I'd found my one on all the earth and all that anyone wanted to do was take that away from me? I didn't know why that struck me like it was some kind of a surprise. No matter what I did or where I went—even if I couldn't control it—people rejected me. Unwanted, again. This was exactly why I needed to find the highest building and—

"That's not the answer to this problem," Edward interrupted my train of thought. It sounded like he was scolding someone.

My body reacted to the frustration in his voice by throwing another ton of stress down on my shoulders. What had upset him?

Oh, right. Mind-reader. Not the best time to think about committing suicide.

Jacob looked between me and Edward, he'd caught on to who Edward had replied to. That idiot was used to the mind-reading after chasing Bella around for the better part of a year.

After a moment, Jacob nodded and said, "You know, I see it, Sam."

"Jacob," Sam called, an unspoken warning to his voice.

Jacob didn't care. "These two make a perfect couple. The harpy and the bloodsucker, tale as old as time."

"Ok, why are you even here? Get the hell out of my house!" I stood up and so did Jacob, the two of us already shaking, ready to go.

He was pushing my buttons at the wrong time if he expected anything from me other than a black eye that'd last him a week. I was ready to tear him a new one—to literally tear him to pieces. Bet he couldn't heal from that.

"Don't fight. I can't imagine anything less warranted than a fight. That would be a waste of everyone's time and energy, of which we all have precious little," Edward said. In fact, that was the most he'd said since he got here.

"We're not gonna fight. But, just to be clear, that doesn't mean I agree with him being here. At all." I sat back down with enough force to make the wooden legs of my chair creak. Jacob fumed on his feet for a little while, asserting his pride before he sat back down, too.

Out of nowhere, I realized I was fighting back tears. I'd never cried in front of anyone except my mom and Seth, especially not in front of members of the pack. I wasn't even sure why I was tearing up now out of all the other worst days of my life. I couldn't help it, though. It all felt like some cruel joke, how I kept getting stuck in these situations. I didn't want this, didn't ask for this. I didn't ask for any of it, so why was I the traitor and the harpy?

I hated it.

"Excuse me for a second." I got up, my chair scraping across the floor as I did.

I left them at the table and rushed into the bathroom, closing and locking the door behind myself. I wasn't sure why I locked it, I just felt like I needed the lock. It was the same concept of pulling open your shower curtain even when you knew no one was there. Sometimes, you needed to lock the door even when you knew no one was going to force their way in.

God, I wanted to scream again.

I wanted to sing, to cry, to dance. I'd imprinted on the most perfect man who was my enemy and had a girlfriend. And out of all the things I wanted to do, including running away and never looking back, I only allowed myself one thing. I leaned over the sink and splashed my face with cold water. That was it. That was my fix, that was my way of trying to release the building pressure, the growing heat.

It didn't help.

"Sorry," I grumbled when I got back to the dining room. I plopped back down in my seat, slumping into it.

As much as I wanted to avoid him, my eyes wouldn't let me look at anyone other than Edward. He stiffened in his chair when my eyes landed on him.

Carlisle took it upon himself to continue the discussion. "We understand this must be very overwhelming. From what Edward's described to me, you've gone through something quite intense."

Edward had talked about me? Common sense kicked me in the head because, of course, he'd talked about me. How else could he and Carlisle have decided to come here with Sam? Still, what'd he say?

"Would you mind describing it in your own words?" Carlisle asked when I didn't say anything to his last remark.

"How it felt to imprint?" I clarified, sighing when the doctor nodded a soft affirmative. "Uh…I dunno. It happened, as usual, the way everyone always said it would happen and experienced it. But I think it was a little different. My mind automatically compared it to water."

"For me, it was like falling into quicksand," Sam commented, helping me out for some reason. "At first, it's the entire world-changing and gravity-shifting thing, but then it differs. My stomach dropped like I was falling, but I felt embraced, like my body had been enveloped in quicksand. There was no escaping, but I didn't want to, even when I did."

"Mine was kinda like that. It was a little different, though," I admitted, able to since Sam could look at me without any malice for it.

I still felt like myself when I talked to Sam, he still treated me like me. Jared wouldn't even look at me, though, and Jacob kept up his crap-eating grin.

I bit the inside of my cheek hard, pushing down the burning anger as Jacob cackled under his breath. "It was like water poured into a channel that had been carved for a river but hadn't gotten a drop 'til now. And I was the river, but I was also in the river and I ended and began at one place."

"And that place would be?" Carlisle asked.

He was really going to make me say it, wasn't he? Fine. "Edward."

Edward's pale pink lips twisted into another little frown that sent a pang of distress through my chest. "See? It's as I said."

"I needed to hear it in her words," Carlisle replied to Edward, not taking his eyes off of me for a second. "Tell me, did anything change after you imprinted on him? I know about the devotion, but I was wondering if there were any physical aspects to it."

"I couldn't walk very well, but I think I was just in shock or something. Otherwise, I'm still the same as always." Jacob snorted at my comment and I shot him a pointed glare.

"Other than the obvious influx of emotions you've experienced, have there been any changes to how you perceive Edward?"

Jacob crossed his arms, settling in with all the smugness he could manage. I guessed it was only fair he got to revel in my misery after how many times I embarrassed him in our races. For being of the alpha bloodline, he was really slow. And also, physically slow.

Edward chuckled, the sound like music, the sweetest song I'd been waiting to hear all my life. He liked making fun of Jacob, too—good to know.

"Before I imprinted, I saw him in Jacob's memories and thought he was nice. I didn't imprint, though." Jared scoffed from the end of the table, the farthest he could get away from me. "Problem?"

"Leah, don't," Sam chided, less of a bite to it than I would've expected.

"Edward expressed interest in meeting you. I reasoned that he was curious about the only female shapeshifter, but it may go deeper than that. This requires more investigation," Carlisle decided. Then, with a sweet smile, he asked me, "May I have something to write on, Leah?"

"Sure." I got up, grateful to leave the conversation for even a few seconds.

After I handed him a notepad and pen, he wrote and filled five pages with cursive. He asked while he was still scribbling, "Were there any other signs or precursors?"

"I'd smelled him before, in the wind. I didn't know it was him because I thought all you vampires smelled like disgusting, saccharine crap, but I'd been on his scent for a while. It's sweet, like candy, or maybe more like a pastry—or a baked good. I don't know. It's just really nice." Not what I expected a vampire to smell like, that was for sure. "And his voice was something that stuck out to me, even before I saw him."

Carlisle jotted down my words so fast his fingers blurred.

Edward sat forward, examining me with a more open expression on his face. "Now that she mentions it, she doesn't smell like the others to me. She smells nice."

"But she doesn't incite your thirst?" Carlisle inquired, pen pausing.

"No. She smells like what other vampires smell like to me, except a little more pleasant." A swell of pride went from my stomach up through my chest. It wasn't one-sided. "I don't feel anything towards her, though. She's a stranger to me."

Message received.

Carlisle finished with his writing and responded, "I'm not so sure about that. You were very eager to see her again and you could not focus during training."

"Only because I was surprised and I needed to know if it was a fluke."

"Possibly," Carlisle admitted. "But we would need further studies to prove any theories or hypotheses any of us have about this bond. However, I think this proves that those who are imprinted on by a pack member were not born with that purpose. It's probably more like an evolutionary bond as far as imprinting is concerned."

"Evolution!" Jacob exclaimed before he threw his head back and laughed.

"Jacob, act your age," Sam barked, angrier than I was.

The brat didn't care, though, holding his stomach as he continued to laugh and laugh. I was ready to attack when I caught Edward's pleading gaze. I sank lower into my seat instead.

"I'm sorry," Jacob said. And it was pretty clear that he, in fact, wasn't sorry, at all, as he wiped tears of laughter from his eyes. "It's just that it's so funny to me. The corpse and the woman who can't have kids are connected by a bond meant for evolution? Talk about a failure to deliver."

He might as well have stuck a hot poker through my chest. That would have hurt less.

"Well," I started weakly and cleared my throat. Carlisle was looking at me with pity. Pity, pity, pity. I didn't need his pity. "It's not a done deal that I can't have kids, someday. When I stop phasing."

"Oh, come on, Leah! Why even pretend? You're barren."

I stood up and walked out of the room. My speed picked up after I went out of the front door and before I knew it, I was sprinting away. But I only went so far before the pain of leaving Edward behind stopped me. I had to jog in place, give myself something to do as I took stock of where I could go that was close by.

I couldn't go to Old Quil's for guidance, or Billy's for a distraction. I thought about Charlie, how he comforted me during the funeral, how he might again. But I was sure that it would've been too far from Edward.

Bella would've probably been there anyway.

And, at some point, my jogging in place had stopped and I started running back to Edward. I only realized it when I stepped on some random glass on a backroad. My foot healed the glass into my foot and that stopped me well and good enough. I was lucky to be close to a row of retail stores. I hopped inside one that looked like a shoe shop and used my emergency credit card to buy a cheap pair of sneakers.

Not wanting to go back, I ended up stopping by a 24-hour diner nearby and eating. I ate my way through their entire menu before I started feeling better. Things started to get smaller, less important, and my heart focused on the positive.

Imprinting on Edward replayed over and over again in my head. Even if it was just for one moment in my sucky life, things had been perfect. I found where I belonged and how I fit into the world, with him. And he was going to do everything he could to destroy that. And I would help him, because it'd be what he wanted.

The waitress who'd taken my credit card came back to my booth and told me, "Your card's been declined."

And my day was crap again as I realized I'd left my phone back home. All I had in the pockets of my jeans were two paperclips and an old receipt from buying emergency tampons for a sorta friend who worked with me at the gift shop.

I was about to swallow my pride and ask to borrow someone's phone to call my mom when someone slipped into my booth with me. Edward.

I blinked a couple of times, rubbing my eyes before I accepted the fact that he was really there. I would've said something, but he beat me to the punch.

"I'll pay for you," he offered, straight to the point.

"Oh...thanks," I mumbled past my heart thrumming in my throat. It wasn't like I wanted to see Seth or my mom right then, so he was doing me a favor. "Did you follow me here?"

The question seemed to displease him and he frowned as he was pulling his wallet out from his pants' pocket. "I wanted to be sure you weren't going to throw yourself off of a cliff, the tallest building you could find, or a bridge." He slipped his own card into the billfold.

"I wasn't—"

"Lying is a waste of time with me."

The waitress came fast to take the billfold from his hands, simpering under his gaze. I watched her go, waiting until she went into the back before I looked back at Edward. It was almost painful to look at him, his beauty shining to my eyes even more clearly than any human's.

The question I meant to ask didn't leave my mouth before he answered, "Absolutely not. The last thing I want is for anyone to die. I would indeed like this to be resolved discreetly, but I am also aware of how important this discovery is. And, anyway, own desires may have to be sidelined until after the battle is over."

"Hey, you don't have to worry about any of it." He looked at me like I was crazy. Maybe I was for trying to comfort him, but I couldn't help it. "I just mean that no one thinks any different of you for this. You'll be ok, especially after I do what I'm about to."

He clenched his square jaw, a severe look in his eyes. "You don't have to do this."

"I do."

"Don't say you're doing this for my sake because this is not what I want." Then, that was the end of the discussion.

Edward leaned back in his seat, lips parted as he stared at me, examining me. When I focused, I could feel him listening to my thoughts. It wasn't that different from how it felt with the pack when I phased. It was just quiet...so faint that even breathing could distract me from it. I wondered what he was checking me for.

"I'm trying to decide whether you're being honest or not." It surprised me that he answered, but I was quick to react.

To ease his skepticism, I recalled Quil's dilemma of making Claire go to bed on time. "I can't do anything you don't want me to. It's not possible for me."

For a brief moment, he seemed amazed. "You'll simply do as I ask?"

"That's the way it works. The only reason I breathe, the only purpose to why I move, is to make you happy." But then he became uncomfortable again. I kept saying the wrong thing.

What exactly was the right thing to say in this situation?

"Say that you agree to break the bond."

"If that's what you want, that's what I want." But the bond couldn't be broken.

His neat eyebrows drew together, intensifying his frown. "Why do you think that?"

"I just do. I know it in my bones. The bond can't be broken, I'm yours until the day I die and that's just how it works." The waitress came jogging back over to our booth, interrupting the two of us.

I got ready to leave as the waitress tried her luck with Edward. Little did she know that he was already taken in every meaning of the word. She'd figure that out, though, after I was long gone.

Edward turned his head toward me and ordered in a clear voice, "Don't leave." He then resumed talking to the waitress like he hadn't said a word to me.

It was fine with me if all I had to do was stare at Edward, so I waited and watched him politely reject the woman. Edward informed her he had a girlfriend and that I was not the girlfriend, but a distant relative. Once she was gone, Edward rested his forearms on the table and leaned in close. The nearness of him caused my heart to jump in my chest and I found myself leaning in, too.

"Come live with us." The way he said it made it seem like an order. "It isn't, it's a heartfelt request," he whispered his correction.

"Ok. Then, yes."

A flash of irritation went across his delicate features. "Shouldn't you first let me explain why I want this?"

"There's no point. I'll do whatever you want me to—and, honestly, I don't really care."

"Don't be stubborn." He gave a forceful sigh, the sweet scent of his breath washing over me. I had to hold my breath so I didn't do something weird like try and take a whiff of it. "Carlisle and I want to do an in-depth study to see how this happened exactly and why."

"Ok," I agreed. Again. "For how long?"

"Weeks—possibly. A few months would be for the best, as a trial period." Months shouldn't be an issue. "And even if it does turn out to seem like too long a stay to you, try and think of it this way."

"I'm already—"

"It will give everyone a chance back home to get over the initial shock of hearing who exactly you've imprinted on. They may even begin to miss you." He leaned back into his seat, casting a glance out at the people. At least five women turned their heads the opposite way of him.

I smiled, leaning back in my seat, too. "Sold. You don't need to keep trying to convince me."

"Yes, well…" he trailed off, lips setting into a hard line as he examined me. What did he see when he looked at me? "I don't see why you shouldn't move in immediately then. When you get home, you should pack and get ready for Carlisle to pick you up."

"And it was Carlisle who suggested this whole living together thing, right?"

"Right." That was what I thought, but it didn't hurt to ask. "I'm in love with Bella, I always will be."

Wow. I didn't even have to ask him out to get rejected. "I imprinted, I didn't fall in love with you. This, what's going on between you and me, doesn't have to be romantic. It won't be unless you want it to be." He didn't seem convinced. He was a way harder sell than I was. "Look, Quil imprinted on a two-year-old cousin of mine. Don't you think I would've killed him already if they were even a little romantic?"

He was still as stone, fidgeting once I'd noticed. He also started to blink more, eyes flitting off as he murmured, "I apologize. I meant no offense."

"None taken—yet," I added a smile to my words, hoping it came off like the joke I meant it to be. Relief relaxed my shoulders when his lips twitched up into the ghost of a smile. "Anyway, thanks for paying."

"My pleasure. Can I trust that you'll be ready within an hour of returning home?" I was half-packed, I could be ready in thirty minutes. "Good."

An awkward moment passed where I wasn't sure if I should be talking or not and then he slipped out of the booth. He offered me a hand out of what seemed like instinct since when I made note of it in my head, he snatched it away.

I sighed. "This doesn't have to be horrible, you know. We can act like normal people around each other."

He made an expression like he didn't want to, but offered me a hand out again that I took without a second thought. The touch was weird, sending what felt like a tiny earthquake through me before everything settled back into a sense of rightness. The way he jerked away once I was up made me wonder if he'd felt it too, or if he was just overreacting to me feeling something.

Either way, I made a point to gloss over it. "You have food at your house, right?"

"Yes," he murmured, his voice a sweet, low sound that tumbled hesitantly through his lips. "I'll tell Carlisle you've agreed." He gestured for me to go first and I shrugged, heading out in front of him.

He opened the front door for me and I saw that he'd brought my car along with him. It was such a kind thing to do and I was especially thankful since I still had that glass in my foot.

"Carlisle should be able to get that out for you."

"That sounds good. Thanks for bringing my car." I limped for my crappy van and he trailed behind me. When I wondered about the keys, he dug them out of his pocket and gave them to me.

I unlocked the door, only for him to open it for me. I didn't get to physically react before he said, "Sorry," and closed the door again.

"You should try relaxing," I told him as I opened my door again.

"I am relaxed," he said, tensing when I glanced at him as I climbed into my car. "I have a lot on my mind right now. I'll be more relaxed later," he explained himself, even though he didn't have to. "I know, I don't have to. I want to."

"Ok, cool. By the way, if you ever need someone to watch Bella, I'm happy to do it for you. The other guys'll be jerks about it and Jake'll be too weird, so I'm more than happy to help. Victoria can just try and get to her while I'm there."

He smiled at me then, for the first time since we'd met. It was brilliant, dulling the sun that shone behind him. "Thank you. I'll keep that in mind."

"Ok." He dipped his head in an elegant nod and I gave a jerky wave back. "See ya later." I got into my car and he backed away so I could pull out of my spot and peel out.

The second I was away from him, everything was horrible again.

Seth was waiting for me when I got home and Sam was sitting beside him on the couch, alongside Emily. She still couldn't meet my eyes.

Seth spoke first, "You don't have to go, Leah. You can always stay here—I'll make sure no one in the pack gives you grief."

"Sorry, but looks like you'll be taking care of mom, after all." I sighed, tossing my keys onto the nearby side table. "But what are you two doing here?"

"Leah," Emily looked like she was on the verge of tears. Sam draped an arm around her that she shrugged off while casting a furtive glance at me. "I know you don't want to see me, but—"

"Oh, that. Yeah, I'm not mad anymore." I sucked my teeth, crossing my arms as she and Sam made little shocked faces. It wasn't like I was incapable of taking the high road. "Look, I get it, ok? I get it now in a way that I never got it before. You can't understand until it happens to you and it has and…" I trailed off, shrugging.

Emily twiddled her fingers as she asked, "You're not upset with me anymore?"

"Can we just not make this a big deal right now? I'm really tired and I need to pack."

"Of course." She nodded vigorously and Sam put his arm back around her. She didn't push it away that time, but she still looked nervous.

My mom's engine came into hearing distance, disrupting the uneasy calm in the room. Seth got up, spun around in a circle and then sat back down. Sam put Emily on his lap like a human shield as she looked at us, bewildered.

"Hey, Seth," I called, catching his attention as he stuffed an empty bag of chips between the couch cushions. "Really? Just throw it away."

"No time!"

"Sure. Anyway, let me break the news to Mom, ok?" His eyes darted away and my stomach dropped at the telltale guilty eyes he'd given since he was a toddler. "Seth?"

"I wish you'd said that earlier," he mumbled just before the front door slammed open.

I turned around and faced the full wrath of my mom's glare. She pointed at me. "You're not going anywhere near there!"

That's why Sam and Emily were there. Got it.


A/N: So, this one was pretty long! I took a lot of care in presenting Edward because I imagined he wouldn't be very pleased about Leah, still being with Bella and all. I guess you could say that this is going to be a slower burn, but I've got almost the entire story outlined and I promise that it'll be worth it. And if you find Edward a little unlikable, rest assured that he won't be this way throughout the entirety of my story.

I just want to say before we get going with the story that I intend to expand the universe a little and add in my own original characters, eventually. I won't put anything in that will take you out of the story and the tone of it so far. I'll only put in what I consider adds to the story and could have plausibly existed in the canon saga.

Thank you to everyone who left reviews, they were so encouraging and I read every single one of them a hundred times. I'm a little shy, so I don't respond, but they mean the world to me. Please, keep commenting and let me know what you think as we go along! Thank you, again!