Chapter 7: Deal

A/N: I love Leah and Seth so much, they deserved better in the canon books. All the wolves deserved better than what they got in the canon books though. More and more things about Ben's life and past are being revealed and this poor boy has been through so much, I live for the drama and angst though so strap in. Big thank you to those of you who have favorited/followed my story. I find it really exciting and inspiring, y'all will be my fuel to finish this story. The songs that go with this chapter are for the part in the middle, you'll see what i mean lol.

Songs: Burnin' up by The Jonas Brothers AND Big Girls Don't Cry by Fergie

"It's because he thinks I'm fucking dead." The words hit Jacob hard as they were practically spat at him. He wanted to say more, ask more, but Ben turned and ran from him before his mouth could catch up with his brain. The howl in his soul caused his bones to vibrate painfully under his skin, the wolf wanted to chase him and drag him into protective paws and pelt. Paul's memory of Ben's terror dug into his heart like razor blades. What had happened to him? What had they done to him?

"It's best we leave him alone for now, if you keep pushing he'll only shut down." Leah's voice was brimming with agitation and spoken like a warning, he decided he'd take her advice for now. Jacob made his way to the chair Ben had been sitting in and lowered himself down. The smell of honeysuckle, vanilla, and something masculine swam around him and he tried to casually drink it into his lungs. If he got lucky, maybe he would drown in it.

Lacing his hands behind his neck he turned his attention to his wolves, "Paul, Sam, go run your patrols and then trade off with Jared and Embry. Seth, stay around the house with your sister." The three men nodded at him and then the two older wolves broke off and ran past him down the porch steps towards the surrounding forest. He could feel her eyes boring into the side of his head, she'd always been so protective of her own. "What happened to him?"

Leah's arms crossed over her chest, "It's not for me to tell you, Black." She sighed and brought one hand up to smooth down her hair, "He's a lot better though, things used to be really...really bad." His anger flared and he had to take a deep steadying breath, he focused on the heartbeat upstairs to keep him calm. "So you two have been together for a while?" Seth had mentioned little things about Leah and how she was doing, but he'd certainly never said anything about him moving in.

She stiffened, "We found each other about 4 years ago." He stood so fast that the chair crashed into the railing with a crunch of wood, he ignored it. "He's been with you in fucking Seattle for 4 years?" Seattle was a mere three hours from Forks, he'd been that close but had stayed away until now? The heartbeat upstairs sped up, emphasizing just how close he'd been but how far away he still was. He'd always been just out of Jacob's reach. "Seth, you told him where i was staying?" she turned to stare down her brother, "What? Pack mind doesn't exactly allow for secrets!" Seth crossed his arms, annoyance painting his face. "Which is probably why Ben didn't tell me who he used to be.." She let out a frustrated huff at his pouting, "It's what he wanted Seth, I wasn't going to out him."

"What are you two talking about?" He was growing frustrated, he wasn't used to not being in control of a situation. The alpha in him couldn't help letting out a growl. The siblings looked at each other and then at him, "Ben was living with me for so long that eventually Seth met him during one of our family phone calls. They became fast friends and the three of us started doing group calls. We'd just talk or play games online. He felt really bad keeping things from you bro, but he wanted to wait to tell you because he wasn't ready for all of Fork's and the rez to know that his marriage went up in flames. Oh, and that he's no longer who he was when he left."

Jacob ran a hand through his hair as he started pacing along the small deck, silence falling on the group for several minutes. The only noise was the rain steadily falling and that anxious heartbeat that pounded like music for every supernatural ear near the house.

"Seth." The wolf straightened at the sound of his alphas call, "Stay around the house, I'll send someone out to trade off later. I'm going to tell the council there's no threat." He turned his head up towards the ceiling, little footsteps calling him to the room upstairs. He'd seen the drawing in Ben's sketchbook and read the phrase he'd written under those haunted eyes. If only he hadn't been such a violent impulsive idiot, the stories said imprints could share dreams. Ben thought it was just a nightmare, how would he react if he knew it had really been him in his dream?

He turned to leave, fire lapping at his heels as he burned alive. "Jacob." Leah's voice broke through his ragging mind and he turned his head to catch her eyes. "You can't force this one, be gentle." They held each other's eyes for several moments and then he ran, leaving the shredded remnants of his shorts in his wake as he crashed through the trees.

Gentle? He wasn't even sure he knew how to be gentle anymore. If he wasn't careful, would he drag Ben down into the burning flames with him? Would he even allow himself to take that chance?

…

The brush raced across the canvas, black paint leaving void in its war path. When he was having a hard time Ben always turned to painting for help, and it always held his hand through processing his deepest fears and highest hopes. Today was filled with fears.

Gentle tapping sounded from his door and he wearily turned to it, "Who is it?" They'd left him alone for several hours but he figured it couldn't last much longer. "It's just Lee, can I come in?" Setting his pallet down he stood from his spot on the floor and crossed the room. Hand on the knob he took a deep breath and then unlocked it before pulling it open. She smiled at him on the other side, "Hey baby, how ya' doing?" He stepped back to let her in and then quietly shut the door.

"I'm doing better, a little tired." That was a complete understatement, he was absolutely exhausted. She gave him an understanding look and then turned her attention to his work in progress, studying it the way she did all his pieces. "Wow Bee, gorgeous and haunting as always." The painting was a mess of arms, all reaching and clawing out in different directions from a central point in the middle of the canvas. They were discolored, thin, and trickles of blood ran off their fingers. The black background sucking in all the light and making them look like an image straight out of a horror movie...or a nightmare.

"Thanks." He lowered himself on to the bed in the opposite corner of the room and she followed him. She tossed his blanket over both of them and found his hand, giving it a comforting squeeze. "It's going to be ok, eventually." Ben's fingers fiddled under his sweatshirt's sleeve until he found the charm bracelet. He ran his skin over the little wooden wolf like he'd done countless times over the years. Swallowing thickly he looked up at her, "Lee, I don't even know how to be around him anymore. I know dad and Seth said he'd changed, but I didn't realize…" She squeezed his hand again and nodded, "I know."

"I don't know what I thought would happen, I guess I was hoping he'd be happy to see me at least?" A dark humorless laugh crossed his lips, "Selfish as always."

"I could stay longer, another week maybe?" Lee was a good friend but he knew he needed time to get his own shit together without her holding his hand, and she needed time to take care of herself as well. "Don't be dumb, you have a huge show coming up next week and I'm not letting you miss it." She'd been asked to walk for a big name designer after several of her photos had gone viral on social media, if the gig went well she could be looking at a career changing opportunity.

"Bitch, if this show goes well I could be looking at opportunities with Vogue." She let out a laugh and then ruffled his hair, "Lets not forget that you also have a show coming up too though. My little artist is growing up!" He sighed, he'd been invited to display his work at a gallery in Seattle in a month. It would be his first show at a legit gallery, and he was excited for the opportunity but he'd been selling art and posting online as an alias. He'd needed to keep a low profile the last handful of years, he knew that he was no longer looking for him and that Alice wouldn't be looking for him in her visions but he didn't want to take any chances.

The gallery had agreed to keep his identity classified, he'd appreciated that. He would be attending the show but not as the artist, he just wanted to stand in the back and watch the people examine his work. Leah was going with him as his plus one and moral support.

"Hey.." She pulled him from his thoughts, she always knew when he was getting to in his head. "We've been cooped up for 2 weeks now, and I leave in just a couple of days. Seth's downstairs and has been ordered to keep an eye on us, how about we have some fun with it?" She gave him a sly smile, and he already knew what she was planning. "Lee, I don't know if he's ready to handle us." Leah stood and then pulled him up with her, "He fights vampires on the regular, wrestles his huge wolfy brothers, and has been juggling the safety of the tribe since he was 15...he was born ready!" Her cackling laugh echoed through the house as she threw open the bedroom door. "Hey little bro, come on we're going for a drive!"

...

"I'm slipping into the lava, and I'm trying to keep from going under! Baby you turn the temperature hotter cause I'm burnin' up, burnin' up for you baby!" The music blasted out of the open windows into the dark night, the noise only matched by their offkey singing and laughing. Seth sat in the driver's seat with a dorky smile on his face, low voice bellowing above his and Leah's with ease. During their many calls over the years Seth had heard Ben and Leah scream to old throwback music more than a handful of times, but he'd mentioned that the in person experience was much more entertaining.

They'd run to one of the small gas stations near town to stock up on snacks, Slurpees, and cheap lotto tickets. When Leah or Ben were in the dumps this had become like a ritual for them, they would stock up on simple pleasures and then drive around screaming throwback pop and emo music while eating junk until their throats and stomachs hurt. Then they'd go home and watch crappy horror movies until they drifted off to sleep on the couch together. They figured they could let Seth in on the fun too.

Ben was happy to finally not be hiding who he was from him, he'd become a pretty good friend over the past couple of years. He'd apologized to him earlier for not telling him, but like always Seth had taken everything with stride and told him that he understood why he had to keep his secret even if he'd been butt hurt about it at first. Then, he'd given Ben a big hug and a brilliant smile. He'd appreciated it, but it still stung a little.

He'd enjoyed the escape tonight, but in the back of his mind he could only think about how much it all made him miss Jacob. When they'd been best friends, they'd had nearly the same ritual and having Seth's big warm body sitting in the driver's seat only emphasized how much he wished it was Jake sitting there. Taking a long sip from his Slurpee he tried to let his thoughts fade back to the music and happiness surrounding him. He turned his head to Lee who sat next to him and she smiled at him, "Hey guess what time it is!" He rolled his eyes at her as he prepared for his friend's favorite.

"The smell of your skin lingers on me now.." Fergie's "Big girls don't cry" vibrated under his feet and he couldn't help but start belting the words. "I hope you know, I hope you know, this has nothing to do with you!" They reached across the seats and grabbed each other's hands, singing at each other dramatically as Seth laughed at them. "Fairy tales don't always have a happy ending, do they?" He let out a groan, "Fergie you have no idea!"

…

Ben tossed a blanket over Leah's sleeping body, she'd barely made it through the first movie before passing out cold. He sniffed a laugh and reached for the remote to flip off the TV. He was looking forward to crawling into his bed tonight, it had been a very long day.

"Ben." peering up he found Seth watching him with those eyes, their color was a near match to his sisters. "Your uh-.." He cleared his throat, sitting up a little in the chair he'd been lounging in. "I noticed your truck is in need of a tune up, you should bring it by the garage in a couple of days. Let me work on it for ya'." Ben stiffened as he searched the man's face, "You mean the garage on the rez?" In other words, Jacob's garage. Leah and Seth had mentioned that the pack had started a business as a way to keep everyone in the same place and raise money for their double lives.

"Yeah, you won't find better prices or better mechanics anywhere else." A smile grew across the wolf's face but it didn't quite reach his eyes. Seth was sweet, but there seemed to be an ulterior motive behind his invite. "I'll admit that she could probably use a checkup, but why do you really want me to come down to the garage?"

Seth feigned insult, grabbing his chest dramatically. "Ben, I'm hurt that you think I have a secret reason." He crossed his arms in front of his chest, looking him up and down in suspicion. He put his hands up defensively, "Ok, ok, I get that you don't believe me. Just trust me though, come down to the place and check it out."

Ben let out a huff of air, contemplating the request for a moment. He was still nervous about being around Jacob, and he wasn't sure about how he felt about being around the other wolves. He'd known most of them for a short time, but it had been so long and he was sure most of them still saw him as a traitor. Part of the reason he'd come back though was to try and earn back Jacob's trust and possibly even his friendship. Buck up Swan, "Ok, I'll come but I'm gonna bother you the whole time because your sister won't be there to keep me entertained."

The man let out a cheerful laugh, "It's a deal."