Thank you for all the favourites and followers! I really appreciate it. Please let me know what you think so far- I was not sure if I am moving forward too quickly or got the characters right (especially Esme!) Thank you so much, I am looking forward to reading from you :)

Leah

"I assure you, everything will be fine. I spoke to Esme and she emphasized again that she welcomes you to her house anytime. She wants to get to know you, Leah."

His voice was clear and calm, as always she envied him for his inner calm that could apparently survive anything. He sounded so sure and honest that she almost couldn't bring herself to question him any further.

"I'm sure she wants to get to know the other woman who destroyed her family and covered her carpet with fur."

There was a sigh on the other end of the phone and Leah could almost hear him running his hand through his blonde hair. Just the idea of it triggered a comforting feeling in her body. They hadn't seen each other for too long.

"You didn't destroy the fami- Leah. Please."

His voice was pleading now and Leah knew she couldn't say no.

Not to him. Especially not with that tone.

Did he know that? Had he already found out what power he had over her?

So she sighs.

"Okay."

She stood in front of the open door and desperately inhaled Carlisle's scent. Her whole body reacted instinctively to the presence of so many vampires and she felt the heat try to spread. A puff of air came towards her and carried out with it the stench. She carefully took a few shallow breaths and was surprised that she could actually stand it.

"It's nice to see you again."

Her focus shifted again to Esme and Leah felt the guilty conscience that was rumbling inside her. Esme looked no less beautiful than she had at the wedding and her open and friendly look was not clouded by any negative emotions.

"And of course it's nice to see you again, Seth."

Seth trudged past Leah and gave Esme - as always - a winning smile. He held out his hand to her and showed no movement as Esme's ice fingers wrapped around his bigger hand. How did he do it? Leah wondered.

"Thank you for the invitation, it's a very nice house."

Leah's voice sounded strange even to her and she tried to keep it calm and clear. Esme's face lit up and Leah immediately felt better. It was strange, despite everything, it seemed impossible for her not to like Esme. It wasn't hard to see why Carlisle had been married to her for so long.

Esme immediately took them in and, good hostess as she was, offered them drinks and food. Apparently Carlisle had mentioned that wolves were always hungry. Leah wasn't sure if she could eat something with the scent, but she couldn't refuse either.

As usual, Seth did not hesitate and shoveled the food into his mouth. In between he commented on the excellent taste with his mouth full and kept shoveling. Leah, on the other hand, poked around a little.

Across from her, the giant, Emmett, fell on the chair and looked at her with a look she couldn't really read.

"So. Wolf, huh? Cool."

His mouth twisted into a big grin and Leah was surprised at how youthful and harmless it made him look. It almost reminded her of Seth. At least until he gave Carlilse a mischievous wink.

Inwardly, Leah groaned that Emmett was no better than ... everyone else in the pack. Although he was presumably older than all of them, he had the maturity of a thirteen year old. Carlisle sighed softly and sat down next to Leah. The gesture seemed to release her tension and finally she tried the food. She had to admit it was really, really good.

"Very cool. You were the one who ripped the bloodsucker off me, weren't you?"

Leah grimaced at her choice of words, but apparently it hadn't been noticed, at least no one reacted to it. A smug grin spread across the young face before her and he folded his wide arms proud before his broad chest.

"Yup. That was me."

She had a feeling that she would get along well with him. In his gaze was somewhat a challange but it was more playful interest than anything else.

"Thanks."

Seth looked at her slightly puzzled, it didn't happen very often that she used that word. The bear seemed almost embarrassed and casually waved her gratitude off.

"No problem."

Although she found nothing with the behavior of the Cullen family, she sensed that something was wrong. It was an unspoken thing that apparently cast a shadow over them and that they tried to hide as best they could. The sight of Carlisle shocked Leah. He looked much older and more tired. She felt his gaze on her and looked into his okker-colored eyes. Her heartbeat stuttered again, and again she was sure that the whole house had probably heard it.

"Emmett, why don't you show Seth your new games and Carlisle, go and show Leah the rest of the house."

Esme's voice was clear and bright, it spoke to Emmett like a small child who had a friend over to play with. The effect was immediate, Emmett's eyebrows rose and he jumped eagerly from his chair. Leah only heard something from Call of Duty and Seth, who was immediately enthusiastic. Leah got up and was about to clear away the plates when she was stopped by Esme.

"Just let them be, please."

Carlisle was now closer to Leah and touched her shoulders to lead her out of the room. For a fraction of the time Leah saw a touch of sadness fill Esme's open gaze. She swallowed and immediately thought of Sam and Emily and how much better Esme was than she was then. Esme was truly one of a kind.

She nodded quickly and let Carlisle lead her to the stairs.

"That went well."

Carlisle's voice was soft and quiet as he closed the office door behind them. Leah just nodded and took in the large and bright room.

"Yes. Emmett is ..."

"Yes."

Carlisle interrupted her with a smile.

"And Esme is very .. nice."

He nodded and avoided her gaze.

She could see that the whole thing was still bothering him. She gently touched his hand and he let out a loud breath.

He pulled her to his body and buried his face on the back of her neck. This time there was no hesitation, no caution in his touch. It was like he was drowning and she was his saviour.

He clung to her and she felt his fingers dig into the muscles of her back. The contact triggered a wave of want in her and she closed her eyes. He must have suffered a lot lately and her heart ached at the thought of her not standing by him.

Carlisle

He squeezed his eyes shut and concentrated on the warmth that spread to his fingers and toes. It had been way too long since he'd last felt her and Carlisle wondered how he'd endured it for so long.

He took a deep breath and feasted on her earthy scent. He could hear the voices in the house, Emmett and Seth still playing their game, Rosalie fighting with Edward and Bella's gentle heartbeat.

And he heard Esme.

The guilty conscience was enough to cautiously detach himself from Leah, only his hand greedily grabbed her fingers. Leah took a deep breath, presumably to collect herself, and glanced behind him.

"Have you read them all?"

Carlisle turned around even though he knew exactly what she meant.

"Most of them, yes."

He noticed how her eyes widened and how proud he was all of a sudden of something like that. He followed her as she walked to the bookshelf and felt her fingers grip his larger ones tightly. The happiness he felt was more than inappropriate given the overall situation, but Carlisle found no strength to ignore it.

He knew she liked to read too, she had perhaps a less impressive collection of bookd than he, but more so than most of the people he knew. He remembered what she had told him when they first met. Eager for every new detail he learned from her, he asked tirelessly, not knowing what it would mean for him or what it had already meant. She told him that she had often felt trapped in the forests of the reserve and was hungry for the world, the places, the colors, the smells and the people. The buildings and plants and animals. The architecture, the culture.

She spoke with so much energy that Carlisle immediately had to ask what places she wanted to visit - if time and money wouldn't matter. Leah laughed and Carlisle had already felt the warmth that the noise caused in his stomach. She gave an arbitrary list of places, Paris, Svalbard, Oman, Rome, Bruges, Kansas City, Khao Sok, Carlisle couldn't figure out how they fit together, but he registered every single one of them and vowed to himself, that he would make that possible for her.

Now he had to laugh at his own naivete. How could he not have noticed how lost he already was back then.

She ran her free hand along various book spines and Carlisle was jealous. His eyes followed her finger and were only distracted by her lips, which read the book titles in silence. Not only had he missed her closeness, the monster in him was apparently only spurred on by the distance.

"Carlisle .. is that you?"

He was torn from his stupor when she pointed to a large and well-lit painting. She pulled on his hand and stood directly in front of it. She stared at the picture with her mouth open, and Carlilsle gave in to the thought that his image was causing the reaction.

"Yes."

His gaze searched her face and he only noticed incidentally how his body approached hers. Apparently she was so lost in the painting that she hadn't noticed how close he was to her.

He knew it was the wrong time and especially the wrong place, but he couldn't help it.

He watched his free hand slide over her neck and back, bathing himself in her elevated pulse. He felt the heat wandering to her face and when her gaze finally settled on him, he gasped from the emotions he found in it. Her hand came to rest on his face and he desperately pressed his lips into the palm of her hand. It was as if he was only now realizing how much the whole situation, the fear, the uncertainty, the distance to Leah and his guilt had him under control. Dragging him down into a hole he could not escape. Not without her.

Leah pressed her lips to his and he couldn't help but answer the intensity with full force. He greedily devoured her and everything she offered him. His hands hugged her tightly and he felt how perfectly her warm, soft body fit his.

For the first time in days he forgot the fear he had for his son and his family, he forgot the helplessness that plagued him and the terrible feeling that he would lose control of his existence. Leah was his anchor and at the same time his escape route. It grounded him, calmed him and at the same time gave him a way out.

The kiss ended way too soon when he heard Bella wake up.

Reluctantly, he pulled away from her and heard a pitiful whimper as he took his lips from hers. Not ready to break contact, he pressed his forehead to hers and stared into the almost black eyes. He took a deep breath and watched his cool breath disrupt a few strands of her jet-black hair.

"Edward and the others are already waiting downstairs."

His voice was nothing more than a whisper and Leah slowly nodded. He hoped she knew what she meant to him, what she triggered in him. He hoped she would understand what her closeness and absence made him feel. Even if he often didn't understand it himself. He had never thought that he could become so dependent on anything but blood.

When they entered the room, Rosalie immediately stood in front of Bella and Leah stopped. Carlisle felt the tension and noticed how his instinct set in immediately and he stood in front of Leah. He stared at Rosalie who looked at him in surprise. Only the soft voice of Esme calmed the situation and Rosalie took a step to the side.

Behind him he could hear the horrified breath Leah took in. He saw Edward squeeze his eyes contorted with pain and could imagine well enough what was going on in Leah's head. Bella looked terrible. Even he, who was actually used to the sight, was shocked every time.

"Hi."

Bella's voice was as weak as her whole appearance and Leah's breath got caught. Seth, on the other hand, strutted into the room with Emmett and greeted Bella as if there was nothing wrong.

"Sam knows?"

Edward's voice sounded forced and Leah nodded.

"He saw it in our mind."

Seth sounded like he was apologizing and Carlisle immediately grabbed his shoulder.

"Naturally." They had no other choice, the wolves heard, felt and saw everything, it was impossible to hide anything like that.

"He is... worried. Very worried."

Everyone in the room knew that Leah must have just uttered the understatement of the year.

"Are they going to attack us?"

Edward's voice was serious and Carlisle knew that he had seen something in the heads of the two Clearwaters that led him to believe that. At the same time he was pained when he thought of harming another creature - especially if it was Leah's pack.

"No." Leah shook her head vigorously and gave him a look. Seth continued in a serious voice that was not typical of the boy.

"He can't do anything while Carlisle is here. It's the top law, not even Sam can get around it."

Seth pronounced the last sentence as if he were going to remind himself again and glanced at Leah out of the corner of his eye. Carlisle wondered what the two were hiding.

Leah

Immediately she thought of the conversation with Sam and the rest of the pack. It didn't go well, to say the least. The anger and confusion still buzzed through her head.

The first plan was to kill the thing that called Jacob up. His pain echoed through our heads and Sam called everyone to be okay. Seth interjected that they couldn't fight the Cullens, after all, a contract was in place.

Sam's voice roared that such a monster posed a threat to the entire tribe and therefore the contract is void. Finally Leah stepped in. She had held back astonishingly and it was only when Carlisle's face appeared in the heads of the others that it was quiet. Eerily quiet. A frustrated rumble came from Sam's throat and he suddenly attacked Leah.

Immediately Seth and Jake jumped in between and when Sam realized what he had done, he sank to the ground. She felt his anger, his despair, the pressure that weighed on him and the jealousy that was not his due.

A thought clearly formed in his head. The protection was for Carlisle.

For Carlisle only.

"Where's Jake?"

Bella's voice rang out again, which was only a whisper and pulled Leah out of her thoughts. She saw her being eyed by Edward and remembered that her thoughts weren't just hers. Apparently he had heard everything because his eyes automatically flickered to Carlisle. Leah pleaded with him not to say anything and he gave her a confused expression. Even though Carlisle was under protection, she wasn't sure how long it would be.

Especially after what happened.

As she remembered, Edward gasped.

They had left the pack. You were alone.

"Jake is on the way."

Seth's voice sounded casual and a little perplexed, as if he didn't know what to say himself.

"I would like to see him."

"I don't think that's such a good idea."

Finally an opinion that she shared with a vampire. Leah looked at Edward as he gave her a sarcastic look.

"Please, I want to see him."

Leah wanted to hit her, accuse her of being the reason Jake was gone in the first place. That she was the cause of his pain and broken heart, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Maybe it was the pathetic sight Bella presented or Carlisle's presence- Leah just pressed her lips together and looked at Seth. Leaving the pack was one thing, getting Jake here was quite another.

Edward

The vampire eyed the young she-wolf with interest and followed her thoughts.

He was surprised.

He knew that Seth was of a sunny and good disposition, but Leah was of a different caliber. Edward remembered their meeting before the whole Carlisle business. He remembered her anger and the deep pain and hatred she felt. But now it was as if something had put out the fire. And that something was probably Carlisle.

Her thoughts were strangely good-natured, even to Esme.

She still harbored a deep dislike for Bella, but it wasn't difficult to see the cause. She compared herself to Jacob and he compared herself to Sam and Emily. An unrequited love and a broken heart, it was only natural that Bella was not one of her favorites.

What finally sealed his opinion of Leah, however, were her thoughts on Carlisle.

He loved his creator, his father. He emulated him, bathed in his trust and just adored his character. Carlisle's kindness was second to none and Leah's thoughts toward him were more than Edward could bear.

It wasn't just the imprint that spoke from her, this dependency into which she had fallen.

It was much more than that.

Leah recognized and cherished the true qualities of Carlisle. She valued her so much that she left her family, her tribe, just to be with him.

It was an interesting ghost, he had to admit that much. So versatile.

She was definitely a hothead when she thought of Sam, he could literally feel the heat spreading inside her and she thought more swear words than he probably knew, but she still pulled herself together.

To love him.

For the same reason Edward was who he was. She didn't want to disappoint Carlisle and not break the deep trust he had in her.

Even if Esme's pain broke his heart and he selfishly wished the wolves didn't exist - and not just because of Jacob - there was one thing he couldn't deny.

Carlisle was actually happy.

His thoughts in her presence were kind and bright, positive and sunny as they should be. A few slip-ups that no son wanted to know about his father were obviously part of it and at least he wasn't as pushy as Emmett and Rosalie.

Carlisle had loved Esme, he knew that. Edward was at least there when they got closer to each other. He was the help they needed and for several decades it seemed too good to be true. The difference between them and Rosalie and Emmett or Jasper and Alice had been tossed aside with excuses.

Until now.

The second Leah's eyes met Carlisles, she was anchored in his mind. He kept coming back to her, again and again his thoughts revolved around the woman he didn't know. To be honest, it was tiring for him.

At first he was angry, he didn't understand how Carlisle could do something like this to a woman like Esme.

A woman who was so motherly, so caring and good as he had never seen it before. But after a short while he found himself in Carlisle's mind.

He felt the same things with Bella and it was obvious that neither Carlisle nor Leah had chosen this.

Leah didn't mean any harm to them, she was still ashamed of what had happened and Edward found it very difficult not to like her. How could he, if she made Carlisle so lucky. Didn't he deserve it? After centuries of loneliness?

Edward knew how it would turn out, as did the others. He heard it in her mind and couldn't find the strength to lie. He knew that Bella would not survive the birth and no matter how hard Carlisle tried to encourage him, he heard his thoughts. He heard his fears. But at least Carlisle had Leah now. She would save him from the deepest pain when he left for Volterra, or so he hoped.

You'd think the pain was easing a bit, but he was amazed how much it still hurt to see Bella like that. Her thin, transparent skin, her cheekbones sticking out, and her weak voice. Only her eyes shone with the confidence that only an expectant mother could have.

He had spent years protecting her from the greatest calamity, from herself. And in the end it was he who had sealed her fate.