Leah was at home, enjoying a rare night since her mother was out. Football was on, she had several bags of chips waiting to be devoured, a couple pizzas in the oven for her and Seth once he got off of patrol, and life was good for her in this moment. Seth soon walked in and they started watching some comedy show, when Leah felt a spike lance through her heart. She jerked off the couch and landed hard on the floor, her body convulsed in reaction to the pain. She heard Seth shout in surprise and slide off next to her. Leah lay there, panting as if she'd just run a marathon, wondering what the fuck just happened to her.
"Leah! Leah! Are you okay?" Leah's eyes tried to focus on little brother, but it was impossible. Something was happening to her. The bond that tied her to Bella spiked again. She groaned, her hands tearing at her chest, trying to dig out the pain.
"My phone," she gasped, "Call Sam, it's the imprint. Something is happening." Leah twisted again as another sharp pain lanced through her. Is this what happened to someone who rejected their imprint, or their imprint reject them? Was she going to die? Would this be her punishment for treating her other half worse than she had treated anyone before? She realized with startling clarity, she didn't want to die. The imprint bond burned within her, oddly enough she knew where Bella was at this moment, could practically see her step out over the cliff, snow swirling through the air.
"No!" she screamed, and the bond burned incredibly bright with fury before it left her as easily as it came. Leah sagged on the floor, trying to catch her breath. The image of Bella falling burned into her head.
Seth ran back into the room, talking frantically with the other person on the line, hopefully Sam. Leah staggered up, latching onto her brother and taking the phone. "She was at the top of the cliffs, where we dive. I saw her jump. We have to get there! Get the whole pack there, she is in the water right now!" Leah hung up as soon as she heard Sam's agreement. She stumbled and fell before reaching the door.
"You can't go like this, stay here we will go." Seth was already shrugging out of his shirt and shoes.
"No, I'm going. I'm fine." Leah panted heavily as struggled upright again.
"Leah! You can barely stand." Seth argued.
"I'm going!" Leah shoved herself out of the house, forcing herself to shift. It was painful, incredibly so. Never in her entire time with the pack did it hurt her to shift. It felt as if her skin was on fire, her bones snapping. She could already feel the pack joining in, they winced in shared sympathy of the pain of her shift. She ran as fast as she could to the place she saw Bella last. All the while, the pack whispered confusion and questions were chanted in her head.
She couldn't feel her imprint. She couldn't feel her bond.
"She's dead.
She's probably dead.
This is what happens when you reject an imprint.
How tragic. Well, at least Leah finally got what she wanted.
She's dead.
The Sheriff is going to be a problem now, his daughter died on reservation land.
She's probably already drowned, how long can a human survive this cold? Maybe she's still alive.
Maybe we will have to take the body and put it in the forest to take off heat from the reservation.
I can't believe she pushed away her imprint.
If she can't feel the bond does that mean she's dead?"
Leah growled furiously at her pack mates thoughts invading her head. Enough! She growled. She's can't be dead. Find her, find her before she drowns!
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Bella was glad she was right, she was slipping away at an alarming rate. The current seemed to have sucked her in, pulling her faster than she thought possible. She had already given up on air, already let the sting of ocean water into her lungs. Her body screamed at her for her betrayal, at least at first. Now it was quiet, humming with the last promises of life. She was at peace, the calmest she had ever been. She wouldn't have to worry about anything else after these next few minutes. She was almost there- just a moment more, when a tug on her boot sent her flowing in the opposite direction.
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"I didn't think she'd actually do it."
"Neither did I, quick, hand me that bottle."
"If you don't want her to die, you need to make a decision soon." The mocking urgency of the Beta's voice coming through the phone seemed to grind on her last nerve.
"Shut up! I can't get her until the bond is completely dormant. Just be ready, it is almost there. It wasn't even strong to begin with, I don't know why it is taking this long."
The woman watched the bowl intently, waiting for something no one else in the room could see. "Now! Pull her now!" she spoke quickly, moving from the bowl to take the phone from her helper's hand.
The Beta stuffed the phone into his pocket before he launched into action diving off the cliff into the stormy water.
The people in the room held their breath as they listened to the sound of rushing water and the powerful strokes of the Beta.
After ten minutes of splashing, all they could hear was the exhausted grunts of the Beta as he carried the package ashore. After some rustling, the people in the room let out a cheer at the sound of his next works.
"Alpha, be advised. I have retrieved the package."
"We hear you Beta, are you able to reach the rendezvous point?"
"Negative, the locals are already crawling over the site. I'm going to the second meetup point. The package is breathing, if only just."
"Understood, we will be on standby when you get to the meetup. Be prepared to jump and go."
"Understood." Then silence.
The room was silent as well for a moment, before everyone exploded into action. "Wrap it up people! We are out of here in five minutes!" Most seemed overly eager with giddiness.
The woman smiled grimly. It had certainly taken long enough, but every single person they found made it worth it. She turned and opened the door, taking the bowl of water with her.
She raised the bowl to the sky before taking a sip, and throwing the rest into the sky to meet with the snow. "May you ease her journey." She whispered, a contemplative smile on her face.
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"Leah! Leah! Something is wrong with Bella! I think she is on the reservation somewhere, she doesn't sound right. It was like she was saying goodbye. Do you feel anything? Call me back as soon as you can."
"Answer the phone Leah, Bella is in trouble, she lied to me she never lies. She isn't at home. You need to find her."
Leah gripped her phone, listening to the messages Emily had left her. Eight hours of searching, and nothing. Not even a hair, or a body or any sign that Bella was there at all. Nothing but fresh snow covering any clue they could have possibly used. Eight hours later and the pack had collapsed in exhaustion after swimming in circles and fighting the current, diving as far down as they dared go. There was nothing. Eight hours to search, knowing she was probably dead, but continuing the search, for her.
Here she was, sitting in the middle of a snowstorm by the shore. Listening to a handful of messages that could have made her start the search early. If only she hadn't left her phone in her room, if she hadn't ignored the buzzing of what she assumed was calls from the pack. There was no imprint left to avoid, nothing to feel inside her body, nothing. Because she wanted to spend the evening alone with her brother, to pretend to be normal.
Would she die now, with her imprint gone? She saw Bella step out from that cliff, saw her plunge into the ocean. Could she have survived that? What to tell Charlie, what to tell anyone? Loss sparked in her gut.
A hand gripped her shoulder, and she turned to Sam. His face matched hers, a grim mockery of himself. "I can't feel her Sam, I think she's dea-"
"Don't say it." He cut her off, his voice deep and rough.
"Say what? That I killed her?! That she's dead, and I drove her too it?!"
Sam shook his head. "I won't lie to you Leah, you could have helped her. If she is dead, then the chances are there isn't much you could have done anyway. This is my fault to, I know how you are, I should have ordered you to-"
Leah stood up angrily. "You don't really believe that. You think that would've made it better? Forcing me to be around her. I told her to never come here. She should have listened. I should have paid more attention. And now- and now she's gone," she choked. "I pushed a girl over the edge, my own imprint. And for what?"
Sam just looked at her, his eyes a pit of despair.
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TheQuillDragon here. Please review if you like it. I'm sure you are all on pins and needles waiting to discover just exactly who this new group is. I'm afraid you will have to wait until the next chapter for that. Forgive me. Thanks for reading!