Sebastián is nowhere to be seen. For the next few weeks, it's all anybody can think about. Where is he? When will he turn up next? The leads are little, and Alice's visions prove insufficient, much to the vampire's endless aggravation.
Even his scent has gone, fading and mingling with the lush forest until the constant rain washes it away entirely. Jasper had tracked it to the edge of the woods, the softer scent of Lycan overpowered by the overwhelming scent of the Quileute wolves. Even Ramona, who is unaffected by their scent, can't pick it apart from Sebastiáns.
It's terrifying, the idea that he could just slink away into the night. As the days pass, Kiera begins to wonder if he were even there to begin with.
But in his absence, Kiera remembers.
Bits and pieces of that night wink in and out of existence. The beast he'd become, two legged and towering like the trees, dashing her head against the ground. A prayer spilt between human lips only to end up garbled by a drooling, gaping maw. None of it stuck, as if her body were rejecting what her mind already knew. It's agony, trying to piece it all together in case she missed something that could come back to haunt her.
It was why she had announced she'd be moving into Rosalie's room.
She stood at the mouth of the den, her hands clasped tightly behind her back. The room goes quiet, Jasper flashing to her side in an instant. He reaches for her, his hand faltering and falling limp at his side.
"Pardon me if I've made you uncomfortable in any way." Jasper says in a low voice, leonine gaze studying her intently.
"You haven't. I just- Rosalie understands me, in a way I feel like I need right now. She can keep me from feeling like I'm going crazy, you know?"
His face pinches, something about it pained. It's wiped away a moment later, his face returning to it's usual stony expression. Rosalie slides up next to her, her cold hand grabbing ahold of Kiera's in a shocking show of tenderness. The statuesque blonde gives it a good squeeze, a soft smile on her ruby lips.
"Anything you need." She agrees.
"Not to be a downer, but where am I going to stay?" Emmett asked, leaning against the wall. "Not that I sleep. But you get it."
"You can bunk with Edward or Alice," Rosalie answers coolly. Seeing his pout, she smirks and presses a kiss to his cheek.
"You can be without your girlfriend for a few days," Kiera teased.
"Actually, she's my wife." Emmett's chest puffs up, undeniably proud to have earned the attention of someone like Rosalie.
"You're what?" Kiera's mouth gapes, opening and closing like a fish.
She knew Carlisle and Esme were married, and has seen the wedding rings on their fingers many times. But she'd only thought Rosalie and Emmett were dating, not married too!
"Wife. We are actually married, we just haven't corrected you. In fact, we've been married a few times over." Rosalie shrugs.
"Alice, you didn't secretly elope with Demetri, did you?" Kiera calls out, peering behind the chuckling couple.
Alice is sitting on her favorite armchair, legs swung over the arm and her feet kicking back and forth. She turns to look at Kiera with a spritely grin, the gleam in her eyes causing Kiera to groan. As if taking pity on Kiera, Alice slips off the chair and prances over to her, placing a hand on her shoulder to give it a few pats.
"There, there. And no, we will not elope." Alice huffs, turning her nose up. "Our wedding will be magnificent, I've already seen it."
Kiera could picture it now. The setting in her head was ostentatious and the clothing was obviously designer. She'd place money on it being a destination wedding, somewhere private where the sun can shine and dance across their skin and paint the sand with their glow. Alice would likely be a bridezilla, Kiera shuddered, and Demetri not much better.
"Yes, well, you still need to bring him around for the seal of approval," Esme jests. She and Carlisle were cuddling on the couch, an old but well-loved quilt wrapped around them both.
"You'll love him. He just needs some time," The edge to Alice's smile is sad, the unspoken words clear to everyone in the room. Demetri will just need a lot of time.
Demetri was an unlikely pair for the small pixie, at least in Kiera's opinion. But there was no denial of his feelings for her. Not a day goes by that they do not speak or that a bouquet of no less than twelve Shenzhen Nongke Orchids just as the old ones were about to decay. Kiera knew her fair share of flowers, and both the vampires in question had expensive taste. Her knowledge of both things hadn't stopped Kiera from raving about the flowers to a smug Alice for nearly an hour.
It must be terribly hard, to love somebody so far away. Even harder still, to be leashed to the Volturi the way Demetri was. How could they be together was beyond Kiera. But Alice knew things Kiera didn't, and if she saw herself living happily with him...then Kiera believed her.
"I'm sure we will," She says to her friend lightly. "Could you imagine the parties you two will throw?"
The word 'party' is enough to trigger Alice into the most warped conversation Kiera has had the pleasure of sitting in on. From the ideas Alice already had in mind, to Kiera's own Death Day party, Alice was a flurry of tangents and visions of grandeur Kiera had no doubt would come to fruition.
If she notices Jasper slip from the room with a pensive expression, Kiera doesn't let it show.
Rosalie guards Kiera like a bear would her cub. It's hard for anybody to get too close, even Bella and Alice have been asked to stay a certain amount of feet away. Watching Bella's face twist with the same kind of agony Kiera herself is feeling is one of the most heartbreaking things in the world, but for now, she lets Rosalie run the show.
She hasn't seen much of Jasper, which bothered her more than she thought it would. His silent but steady presence had left its roots to grow inside of her chest, the limbs of a young tree cultivated by their time together. The distance almost hurt, but for the life of her, she couldn't put a finger on why.
He was her friend, yes, but the kind of ache she felt without him felt so...final. Like it would hurt forever if he stopped talking to her. She thought of Paul and the incessant bond between them, the one that demanded more and more these days to pay him a visit or even just call to hear his voice. These two bonds pulled taut like ropes, catching the breath from her lungs and threatening to rip her in half.
It was easier to not think about them. Either of them, though pushing them away took a sort of effort that Kiera could admire from another person. With Rosalie, she could think of these feelings and not wonder if there was anything more to it. Rosalie didn't ask for a deeper meaning behind everything, like Bella. Or smile knowingly, like Alice would.
Rosalie just let her sit with her thoughts and figure it out herself.
"You done brooding over there?" Rosalie asked, pulling out from under one of her many cars.
Even dressed in a jumpsuit and covered in oil, Rosalie still looked frighteningly beautiful. Kiera sent her friend a small smile, jumping down from the work table she'd been resting on.
"Not brooding, just thinking some things through."
"You aren't going to have a breakdown, are you?" She asked, rubbing her icy hands with an old rag. The tiniest of twitches to her lips showed Kiera she wasn't being serious, but the concern in her ochre eyes said otherwise.
"I'm trying not to. There's just so much to think about. First, this bond thing with Paul, and now Sebastián showing up? And don't get me started on Jasper…" Kiera muttered, tugging at the end of her braids.
"What's wrong with Jasper?"
Kiera leveled her friend a look. "He's been avoiding me." She said flatly.
"Mmm." Rosalie kept her eyes carefully trained on Kiera, the weight of them too heavy for Kiera to keep standing straight.
"What?" She asked, slumping in her spot.
"You know what. You aren't dumb, Kiera."
The way Rosalie said it, her tone so serious and nearly patronizing, made the silent violence that's been floating around in the background of Kiera's mind shove its way forward.
"No, Rosalie, I don't fucking know what. Care to enlighten the rest of the class, or can I finally be at peace from your condensation?" Kiera snarled.
Rosalie stared back, nonplussed. "What do all these guys have in common with each other?"
"I don't know, being creatures of the night? Being weirdly attractive?"
"You. You're the common factor. And what kind of relationship do they all have with you?"
"See, that's where I'm really lost now, cause Seb did what he did and the other two-"
"The other two, and Seb in the past, have had some sort of connection with you."
"That's how friendships work, Rosalie." Kiera said tiredly.
She threw her hands up in the air, eyes looking at the ceiling like she was begging for help. A knock at the garage door alerted them to Esme's frowning face.
"Rose," She cautioned. "Jasper may be out of the house, but the rest of us are still very much here. Do you really think now is the right time?"
Kiera can see that it takes her friend all of her willpower to not scream out her frustrations. "Fine. You know what? Fine. If he wants to keep living like this, in pain, then that's fine with me. We will all just have to learn how to deal with it then I guess."
In typical dramatic Rosalie fashion, she threw her wrench down and stormed from the garage, her husband's figure joining her as they breach the mouth of the woods. Kiera watches with wide eyes, wondering what the hell is going on. It's Esme who takes Kiera's hand in her own, her face more drawn than she's ever seen it.
"Don't worry about Rosalie. Everybody has been on edge lately, and she truly thinks she's doing the right thing with this...conversation she just tried to have with you. Please don't hold it against her. And please, just focus on being well. Your body will thank you."
Esme patted her cheek and dropped her hands, running her long fingers through her caramel curls. She stares after her eldest daughter in exasperation, mouth opening only to close before another word can slip out.
"You have enough to worry about right now." Esme says as if to herself before turning around and walking back into the house.
If it's one thing Kiera's learned to hate, it's seizures.
Her muscles locked in place, her jaw clamping shut with an audible click. The book she had fell from her hands and clattered to the floor, the cold touch of Jasper's hand encompassing her elbow is all that grounds her now. But even that is ripped away with the sudden convulsions that overtake her.
Jasper lifts her with ease, his arms a safe harbor for her frail body. Kiera wishes she could cling to him, could speak her confusion. She's out of his arms at a moment's notice, laying on her side on the metal table in the part of the house she's come to hate the most- Carlisle's examination room. Only Jasper and Carlisle reside in the room, their arguing voices a distant buzz to her muffled ears.
It's Rosalie and Emmett who interrupts them, coming into the room and pushing Jasper out of it. Rose says something to Kiera that she can't quite piece together, but Kiera sends her silent gratitude regardless. Wetness seeps through her pants and Kiera is forced to come to terms with the loss of control of her body.
Carlisle is methodical, his every touch ginger enough that Kiera could scream that she's not breakable. But the humiliation that overtakes her silences any ire. This wasn't the first time that it's happened as her body slowly pulls itself apart, and she knows with such heartbreaking certainty that it won't be the last. She blessedly loses consciousness, comforted by Carlisle's soothing voice as he cleans her up.
When she awakens, entirely too soon if the resurfacing of her embarrassment had any say in the matter, she's once again face to face with Carlisle. He looks angelic under the glow of the fluorescent lights, the now-familiar planes of his angular face gentling.
"There she is," He murmurs, running a hand over her tangled dark waves. "Welcome back, Kiera."
"I'm sorry." She croaks out, relieved to find herself in unsoiled clothing.
"Hush now, there is no need to apologize. I'm a doctor, this is what I do."
"Well, Doc, what do you suggest is happening?"
"It's safe to say that your Death Day may be coming sooner than you'd thought." He admits, pursing his lips. "I believe your body is trying to acclimate to your other half, but in such a weak state, it's causing your body extra stress. When was the last time you kept any food down?"
"At dinner, last night. I held most of breakfast in, but I've been light headed all day." Kiera sighs. "It's just going to keep getting worse before it gets better."
"I'm afraid so. I wish there was more to compare you to, your cousin Ramona is only half an example."
"Maybe when my mother comes, you can look her over for your notes." She said dryly.
"I would need your father to get the most accurate conclusion." He says it apologetically, his handsome Hollywood-esque features set in an uncharacteristic frown.
His brows were furrowed and something about Carlisle looked aged. He was untouched physically, his face oddly smooth for a man his age, but his warm amber eyes shone with an age Kiera feels she's imposed on him. His concern touched her, though it also made her feel like a burden.
"Who needs that guy?" Kiera scoffs. "I've got all I need right here."
She patted the table, watching as her words sunk into his head. It was like watching a grenade go off in slow motion, the force of his rapidly blossoming happiness bringing a matching smile to her face. Carlisle looked at her like she'd rocked his entire world, eyes gleaming with venom that would never become tears.
"You and Esme are more like parents than my actual parents. It may help with my condition, but I don't need him. I have you guys." She continued, plucking at the thread of her sweater.
Carlisle places his hands upon her shoulder, his touch trembling. He looked struck like she'd given him a gift he could never repay. She wondered if he knew just how deep for his and his wife her affections went? She could admit she didn't have much of a comparison, but even in her wildest dreams she never would have thought up such loving people to care for her.
Hell, even Edward was growing on her, even if she wanted to hurl him into the sun more days than not.
"You'll never know how much your words mean to us, to this family. We've waited for so long, and to finally hear those words…" He shakes his head, giving her shoulders a squeeze. "It's incomparable."
"You knew I'd come to love you all one day?" Kiera's brow quirked. She was taken back to that day she'd met Alice, that place in time feeling eons away.
"We'd hoped." Carlisle says, finally dropping his hands down to his sides. "Alice can tell you she's only seen a handful of visions of you, but the future is always changing. With the pack becoming such a strong tie, we'd wondered…"
"Wondered if I would choose them over you?"
Carlisle only smiled. "Let's get you to your bed, shall we? You should rest for the rest of the day, doctor's orders."
The need to know what the Cullens had been thinking all this time burns at her. She'd gone along with the flow as much as she could, readily accepting though not agreeing with the bond that's been gifted to her through Paul. It struck her, then, that she'd been given two families to replace the lack of one she'd thought she'd be left to suffer through. The thought was jarring, overwhelming in its intensity.
Was this the universe's way to make up for all that it'd done?
But why would Carlisle ever think she'd have to choose between the two? Was it because they were mortal enemies?
Kiera couldn't fathom splitting permanently from either family. The mere thought brought her a searing pang of discomfort, then sharp pain, like a cluster of needles being shoved under her nails. She worried for a moment that it wasn't normal, to want something so deeply that it stung. But if it was the price for their acceptance, for their affections, Kiera would play the fool in this story.
It's Rosalie who breaks her from her growing despair, her friend's eyes uncharacteristically kind.
"How are you feeling?"
"Like I've been hit by a bus and told my crops are dying." Kiera says deadpan.
"Seems you're well enough if you can be snarky." Rosalie rolls her eyes, her tone going back to normal.
The incarnation of Aphrodite walks around the room, her fingertips grazing Carlisle's pristinely placed instruments of torture. Her gaze has turned far away, Rosalie's thoughts lost amongst the cluster of green trees she peers out at from the only window in the room. Kiera was content to let the silence wash over them both, an exhaustion older than herself settling beneath her skin. But it seems Rosalie has other plans.
"I'm sorry about earlier this week. I wasn't trying to make you uncomfortable, I just...hate seeing everyone fret and worry over things that can be fixed. We all worry about you, Jasper worries about you. I think you know more than you let on, but if you aren't ready to confront that, then you aren't ready."
As Kiera thought her words over, the irritation from that conversation reared its ugly head. It sat in the pits of her stomach, stewing and stirring in all of the pieces of her life that have been trash fires. The weight of a thousand unknowns settled across her shoulders, threatening to flatten her. Kiera droops in on herself, her hands gripping the edges of the table, barely hearing the low groan of it as it slowly begins to bend.
Ever since she came to Forks, it's been a non-stop shit show. She wondered if it would ever stop, if she'd ever have what Ramona promised her. The idea of a quiet life has long been washed away with the rain, but she'd hoped that together they could salvage what was left of it with the help of her new friends. But each day, the idea that it's all pointless has gained its teeth. It dug into her now, tears rushing to her eyes.
"I'm so sick and tired of everyone wanting something from me," Kiera whispered, the words gathering steam as she rushed on. "I came here for a new life. Another chance at getting back what Sebastián has stolen. But of course, I attach myself to the one person I should have avoided, and now I'm somebody's imprint and, what, the crush of a vampire?"
Kiera scoffed, jumping from the table onto unsteady feet. "I'm being stalked by my rapist, there's a vampire apparently still after Bella, and I'm dying with every breath I take. The least of my worries is if I'm hurting somebody's fucking feelings, Rosalie."
The force of her tone surprised even Kiera, the bite in her words harsher than she'd wished them to be. But beneath the minuscule amount of guilt she felt...Kiera felt immense relief.
"Do you care for my brother at all, Kiera?" The desperate tilt to Rosalie's question felt like a loaded gun.
"I do!" Kiera snapped. "Of course I do, but if what you're insinuating is true, I can't give that to him. I can't give him what he wants."
The mere idea of this conversation was ludicrous. There was no time to pour over every detail of her relationship with Jasper. It was heavy in her head, each thought chasing and swallowing the other in an endless tangle of chaos. The truth of the matter was that Kiera hadn't wanted to entertain the idea. She wasn't stupid.
She had a feeling that the way Jasper looked at her wasn't just friendly. His family has made it clear that there was something there, something more than simple affection. But Kiera was in a bind, and she couldn't handle another upheaval of her current world view.
Rosalie's face was crestfallen, the sight of it a million daggers to Kiera's chest. She didn't want to disappoint her, didn't want to hurt the coven or Jasper. It was easier to take the coward's way out, slinking out the door. Rosalie let her go without another word, the silence hanging between them strained.
The idea comes crashing in and Kiera sprints up the stairs, avoiding the family's pained expressions. She stumbles into Rosalie's room, shoving the first things her hands touched into an overnight bag. Kiera practically turned the room upside down looking for her phone charger, trying desperately to stifle her tears.
"Here." The one voice she hadn't wanted to hear at the moment said, the familiar drawl thick with tension.
Kiera cringed and turned around. Jasper stood in the doorway, his face perfectly devoid of emotion. He looked carved out of marble, an angelic statue of heartbreaking beauty peering at her in all her dying glory. Their hands brush as he passes her the charger, an accidental jolt of hurt zinging up her arm. Carefully, Jasper places his arms behind his back, his stance resembling a soldier.
"Thanks." Kiera whispers, blinking past her tears.
A crack in his exterior breaks and Jasper steps forward before stopping himself. "Kiera, I never wanted for this to happen. If all you'll ever want from me is my friendship, I'll gladly give that to you. You don't need to go."
"Thank you, J. But I think it's best to get some space from all of this. There's a lot of mess," She twists her hand around in the air. "In my head right now. I don't have time to think of relationships."
"Then don't," He rushes to say. "Stay, and I'll make sure nobody bothers you with that again."
Kiera offers him an awkward smile. "That's kind of you. But I'm missing Ramona anyway. I should go see her."
"You're going with the wolves, then?" A blind is let down, shielding the emotions in his eyes from her.
"Not forever. But for now, yes. I want some alone time to sort things out."
Jasper only nods stiffly, fleeing from the room the instant she blinks. The curtains trail along with the air currents, the newly opened window feeling like a pointed finger. She stomps her foot at the feeling, wishing it were easier to crush her feelings beneath it.
The living room is suspiciously empty, save for a silent Emmett. He gives her space as she makes her call to Paul, following her at a distance when she walks outside to wait out front. Though the pensive expression on his face feelings wrong, Kiera silently thanks him for his presence. Maybe it was his sheer size or her new wishes for an older brother, but Kiera appreciated it.
Paul answers on the first ring, his voice a gulp of fresh air that pulls the tension from her aching shoulders. "Finally bored of Cold Ones, Needles?"
Kiera rolled her eyes. "Something like that. Want to pick an old girl up?"
"Be there in twenty."
"Don't speed! Charlie is watching the roads today."
"Ugh, fine. Be there in twenty-five. Hang tight princess." Paul hung up, his words lingering awkwardly in the air.
"Cute names." Emmett smirks.
"Shut up, big bird."
"Big bird? Wow Pikachu, that really hurts."
Kiera didn't respond, choosing to lean against the porch column. Silence overtook them again, the quiet oddly comfortable. It was a moment of luck to spend her time waiting with Emmett. He didn't bother pushing her, simply pulled out the latest Nintendo DS. Its obnoxious orange color brought a smile to her face, one that Emmett pretended he didn't see. He smiled to himself, playing with his newest Nintendog.
He only leaves once Paul's fully in view, giving Kiera a mocking salute before taking off into the wooded area behind them. Paul's blinding white smirk greets her, the surprise of a sullen-looking Leah doing little to dampen Kiera's already drowning mood. A yearning to curl up against his warm skin and soak him in like a cat in a sunspot unfurls in her core. Kiera can't keep herself from walking forward before the truck is even fully parked, her hand at his door handle and retching it open.
"I should be away more often if this is how you greet me." Paul waggles his eyebrows, stepping out of his seat to grip Kiera in his arms.
He smelt like the forest, like freshly turned soil and sun-soaked hemlock leaves. The part that felt pulled in his direction soothed itself. Kiera brought a hand to her chest when he set her down, rubbing it in amazement.
In a perfect mimicry of her, Paul rubbed at his chest too, his dark eyes wide with bewilderment. "I knew that could happen, but it's so different feeling it first hand."
"We get it, you two are obsessed with each other. Now get inside the car." Leah sighed, running a hand through her long black locks.
"Don't pay attention to her, she's just jealous she hasn't imprinted yet." Paul winked, helping Kiera climb into the vehicle.
Leah turned to look out the window, a pained pinch to her mouth. She doesn't say much for the rest of the ride over the treaty line, but the silence feels almost neutral. It's the most Kiera could hope for, blatantly ignoring the she-wolf and unloading everything with Paul. She figures Leah would see it later anyway, so it shouldn't matter if she got a first-hand account of Kiera's personal hangups.
"I just feel like I'm being suffocated. And I don't know if you've noticed," Kiera said dryly, "But my first instinct when pressed is to run."
"Or light somebody up like the Fourth of July." Paul smirked.
"I'm being serious here."
"Kiera, I'm sure they are very aware of what you're going through at the moment. Especially Rosalie of all people. She's not trying to be insensitive to your hardships here."
"Then why focus so much on her brother?" Kiera muttered, crossing her arms.
"They worry for him." Paul shrugs, shifting gears. He doesn't explain it further, his lips tightly pressed together as if he had to physically stop himself from saying anything more.
"I doubt the leeches feel anything like 'worry'." Leah sneers, speaking up for the first time since Kiera got in the car.
"Leah." Kiera said evenly, her teeth grinding.
"They aren't like us. They don't have feelings, or whatever you and Bella have projected onto them. They are stone-cold killers, and they aren't sitting around worrying about each other."
"If that were true, then I wouldn't be under house arrest."
Leah rolled her eyes. "They don't think of you like family, Kiera. You're a pet. A toy. Whatever you are, you're a possession and not a person to them."
Turning to the she-wolf slowly, Kiera bristled under her condescending glare. "You don't know the first thing about them."
"I know more than you do. I know they shouldn't exist, that their presence ruins everybody's lives, and that they don't even care! God, how ignorant are you?"
"Shut the fuck up," Kiera snarled, her sharp teeth prickling blood to the surface of her lips. "Shut the fuck up, before I take your tongue from your head!"
Leah trembled, eyes ablaze with barely contained anger. "Your love for those bloodsuckers is going to get you and your dumb pale face friend killed! And at this point, you two will deserve it!"
A red haze overtakes Kiera's head, the feeling of being submerged in a world of water drowns out Paul's steadily growing concern. She slams herself into Leah, the car rocking with the force. It's an idiotic move, Kiera's decaying body easily crumbling beneath Leah's vigorous strength. Paul slams the car to a stop, the tires squealing against the asphalt.
His hand comes to grip the back of Kiera's sweater, pulling her from Leah's eager grasp. Kiera snaps her teeth at the fist that comes swinging, the tips of her fangs grinding against bone and she snarls into the mouthful of flesh. Leah's blood fills Kiera's mouth, the taste just as beautiful as Jacob's blood had been. It's an explosion of flavor, a single gulp setting off a deep-seated craving like a grenade.
Kiera steeled her jaw and forcibly pries her mouth away from Leah's hand. Leah's blood dripped down her chin, her bloodied teeth bared. "I said, shut the fuck up."
Leah is about to retort, her bloody hand already beginning to heal. A low growl reverberates through the truck, Paul's chest vibrating against Kiera's back. Leah sneers at them both and opens the passenger door, her long limbs easily allowing her to climb out, a sleek silver wolf taking her place as she dashes off into the forest.
Every breath she releases is heavy, her lungs desperately expanding and folding with short gasps. Silence permeates the truck, both Paul and Kiera's eyes trained on the tree line.
"Nice friend you've got there," Kiera pants.
"When the Cullens came back, it jump-started Sam's phasing. He could have never activated that gene if they hadn't come back to Forks. When one wolf shifts, the rest follow, it's just a pack thing."
"What does that have to do with Leah?"
"Leah was Sam's fiancee." Paul sighs, letting Kiera crawl from his lap back to her seat in the middle. "When he first phased, he disappeared. She looked everywhere for him, day and night, handing out signs and clogging up the phone lines trying to find any news about him. Then when he came back, her cousin was over...and he took one look at her and imprinted."
"Oh my God, he imprinted on Emily, who is her cousin?"
"For the longest time, Sam fought the bond. But it was too strong for them both, and he left Leah to be with Emily."
"But I thought it could be whatever they wanted it to be? Couldn't Emily have told Sam no?"
"In theory. There isn't much written down about these kinds of things. They are meant to be rare. Imprinting situations like ours are pretty much unheard of. Not too long ago, her brother Seth shifted in front of their dad and it set her off too. The shock at seeing his daughter phase got to his already weak heart and he passed away.
Now Leah's stuck in a pack led by her ex where she's forced to hear his thoughts on Emily all the time, and her father just died. To be honest, we weren't very kind to her when she first came. She was so bitter, so angry- it riled us up even more and made it so hard to share a headspace with her. But looking back on it lately, we've been pretty shitty."
"What happened to Sam's love for Leah? Is it just...gone?" Kiera whispered, finally wiping away the blood on her mouth.
"No, it's still there. He'll always love her, but you can love more than one person. He just chose Emily, that's all."
"Then how is that the Cullen's fault?"
"I think she feels like she wasn't enough for him," Paul said, laying his head against the seat's headrest.
"No wonder she's so angry." She muttered. "Her cousin and fiancee are shaking up together. "
"Imprinting is more complicated than that. Sam and Emily were meant to be together, fate made it happen. Leah was sadly the collateral damage."
"Why doesn't Sam just let her go? Let her heal away from all this mess?"
"He would, if the Cullens weren't back." The admission sounded bitter. "He's always going to be worried they will turn on the townspeople, and we need as many wolves as we can get if we are going to fight them. It takes everything in him to let us work with the coven. Without you or Bella, it simply wouldn't happen."
Paul starts up the car again, nodding at Kiera to close the still-open door.
"She'll come back when she cools off. Let's get you to the house and clean up the rest of that blood from your sweater before my mom thinks you've been hurt."
"Gladly."
They don't even make it a few feet before Leah comes sprinting back out of the woods, waving her arms above her head. She's as bare as the day she was born and Kiera flushes, snapping her head to the side to give Leah some semblance of privacy. Paul doesn't bat an eye, his expression only changing when he catches whatever it is she's shouting.
He rips open his door and rushes out to meet her, the words finally reaching Kiera's words from where Leah is still gesturing wildly.
"There's a body, some guy- he's torn apart!"
"Kiera, stay in the car!" Paul shouts, both he and Leah disappearing from view.
Kiera grips the dashboard, the world whirling around her. No no no no-! It's easy to slip out from Paul's side, her feet barely hitting the road before she's tearing off after them both. They aren't too far from the main road Leah's bare back a beacon for Kiera to follow. Branches pull at her hair and the forest sighs at her presence, a sense of fullness flooding her bones with every pound of her feet against the uneven forest floor.
It's Paul's arms she falls into, a stray tree root catching her up and bringing her falling down. She breathes heavily, watching with wide eyes as Leah inspects the body, a grimace on her pretty face.
"It's one of the Fork's kids," She says, no wrinkling. "Looks like he's been dead for a day or two."
Tufts of blonde hair litter the ground, a torn-up arm the only thing Kiera can see clearly. She pulls against Paul's grasp and the muscle in his jaw ticks.
"I'm not sure if you want to go over there, Needles. It's pretty bad."
She ignores him, pressing forward. He lets her go with a frustrated sigh, his steps shadowing hers. Her great pounds viciously in her chest, the sound of it a wild drum that echoes through every tree she touches on her way to the body.
"There's no fucking scent," Leah snarls, banging a fist onto the dirt. "It smells like any wolf!"
"Like one of us?" Paul asks cautiously.
"Like a normal wolf."
"Sebastán." Kiera whispers. "It's got to be him."
Everything in her screams to get out of the woods, to head back to the Cullens and tell them what's happened here. But Kiera can't help walking forward, her body moving on its own. More and more of the body slowly comes into view, the corpse's face blissfully turned in the opposite direction. His striped button-up is shredded, cruel bite marks covering every visible inch of flesh. A small baggie filled with what looks like flour rests beside him.
A shiver of despair races up Kiera's spine. She forces herself to walk past Leah and around to the other side, his still screaming face greeting her. Bile rises as she takes in a dangling eyeball, barely noticeable under the gore that covers the right side of his face. Kiera drops to her knees.
Mike Newton was dead, and it was all her fault.
AN: I know I know, I haven't updated in forever! Sorry guys, it's been kind of crazy lately. Some of you might not like this chapter, but I wanted to show more of the hard parts of having relationships. Even friendships are hard work, and arguments are bound to happen. Rosalie and Kiera are both flawed people, and I wanted to showcase that here.
Also, I've changed a lot about imprinting and about how the wolves have come to be. I already wrote a bit about it, but to make it clear: the wolves aren't descendants from wolf warriors, they simply just happen to also be wolves. I didn't like Meyer's version of the Quileute legends so I've refrained from doing that. I also thought that Carlisle and Esme wouldn't be okay with uprooting a bunch of young people's lives by making them shapeshift into creatures like in the original- it's cruel and selfish and Meyer painted them both as pretty much saints, so it contradicts her depiction of them.
The Cullen's DID jumpstart Sam's phasing, but it was going to happen to them all regardless. It's a genetic thing in this story. Leah is hurting and confused and is shifting most of the blame onto the easiest target-the vampires. I want to make these characters complex and complicated and that means some thoughts aren't going to be fair or easy to swallow.
Until next time!
