A/N: Here's the next chapter. Please enjoy it. WARNING(I've been meaning to include more of these): Violence, and blood loss.
Chapter 16: Washing That Man Out of My Fur
-()-
Leah woke up with the rarely seen sun peeking through the drapes. Somehow her, Jasper, and Alice had switched positions. Now Alice was spooning Leah, and Jasper was sitting up against the headboard. Alice released her when she felt the change in heart beat signifying her waking up. Then Leah's stomach growled, loudly. Alice chuckled, "Go get breakfast before Bella wakes up, adn all hell breaks loose."
"Yes ma'am," Leah replied with cheek. She leaned over and kissed Alice first. She needed to. Alice hummed happily against Leah's lips. They kissed for a moment before Leah's stomach growled again, and Alice pulled back, "Coco Puffs," then she bounced out of bed.
She saw Jacob sitting at the counter. He looked….haunted. Then he turned to where Leah was coming into the room. He looked surprised at seeing her, "Why do you smell like a leech?"
Leah pushed down the urge to growl at him then remembered, he didn't know about her or Seth, "I imprinted on Alice, and Seth imprinted on Emmett."
He looked shocked for a fraction of a second then he snorted, "I bet Sam loved that."
"Nearly killed me, and he doesn't know about Seth, I'd like to keep it that way."
He looked not that surprised by the information, "Alright, I won't tell. Now are you on blondie's side or the little one's."
"I believe Bella should have the right to choose, even if it isn't the wisest choice, so much of my life wasn't a choice. Everyone should get to choose as much as possible."
"Edward wants me to convince her to get rid of it, and have a kid with me, can you believe that."
"As long as she keeps breathing. I don't think he cares about much of anything as long as she is alive."
"You're probably right," he sighed and watched Leah make herself a bowl of cereal, "Can I have some?"
Leah took a bowl down, and passed the cereal, just as Seth came down. He was helping Bella down the stairs, probably at Rosalie's request.
"Jake, when did you get here," Bella said, and she sounded so pleased. Leah rolled her eyes. She had never liked the way Bella treated Jacob.
"Last night Bells, Leah said you had some news," he was trying to sound jovial, it fell kind of flat. Leah took another look at Bella, she seemed bigger in the middle, but the skin on her face seemed a little sunken in. Seth got her settled on the couch, and draped a blanket over her shoulders. Leah noticed her brother looked worried. He wandered over to the other two, and took the cereal from Jacob, when he only had two of the puffs in his bowl. Then he poured himself his own bowl before giving Jake back the cereal. Leah smiled at the entire exchange, and she heard Bella chuckle. Jake stood up, "Want some cereal Bells?"
"Please I'm starving."
Jake went about preparing a bowl of cereal for Bella, and Leah was honestly surprised that Rosalie wasn't hovering over the girl, and snarling at anyone that got too close. Then again Seth was here, and Seth would go along with what Emmett wanted, and Emmett wanted whatever Rosalie wanted, and everything was a clusterfuck.
Bella got exactly two bites into her coco puffs before Alice was there with a trash can, and thirty seconds after that Bell heaved the two bites into a trash can. Alice looked at her friend with a troubled expression, "I don't want to hear it," Bella said with a groan. Alice huffed and marched into the kitchen. She placed a kiss on the back of Leah's exposed neck, and Leah felt a full body shudder. She blushed, and her heart raced. Then she chanced a glance at Jacob, who wrinkled his nose in slight disgust. Leah just stuck her tongue out at him. Then Jasper came down the stairs and squeezed Leah's shoulder, and pecked Alice on the lips. Jacob left to sit next to Bella. Leah didn't want to overhear their conversation, so she focused on her brother instead, who was shoveling cereal into his mouth at an alarming rate, "If you choke I'm not doing the heimlich."
"Rosalie knows how."
"How to what?" Rosalie said coming in from outside she scowled at Jacob, and everyone in the kitchen except Seth.
"The heimlich."
"Everyone in the house learned when Bella started to hang around, Edward wouldn't let her choke to death," Rosalie explained. Emmett followed in after.
"How are the best two pairs of legs this side of the Mississippi," Emmett said with an absolute lecherous grin. Seth blushed mightily, and Rosalie just matched his grin.
"We're fine baby," they both went to seth, and pecked him on the cheek. Rosalie then walked back over to Bella, and glared at Jacob, who glared right back. Leah sighed, she was going to need coffee. Blessedly Alice slid a cup of it in front of her. She smiled at Alice, and took a sip. Then Leah noticed her gaze drift to Bella, who was talking quietly to Jacob.
"Bella please, you'll die," he pleaded, and Rosalie hissed at him. Leah stiffened ready to defend Jake if needed. Alice's hand found Leah's thigh and squeezed. Leah looked at her, and she shook her head, "I can't watch you die," Jacob says.
"Who says I'll die, I might not."
"Bella you're smart I mean you took biology, and this thing's genetics is half monster."
"I can handle this Jake I promise."
"What if you can't?" This came from Alice, her voice choked, and small. Leah's heart ached for her, and she pulled her hand in between both of hers.
"Then you'll have a part of me."
"We don't want a part of you, we want all of you, you're my best friend, and what about Edward this will break him."
"He's strong enough."
"I'm not, Bella please I need you, not this thing that's going to tear you into pieces," Edward said coming down the stairs. He was starting to look crazier by the second.
"It won't, Carlisle will find a way, and if all else fails he can turn me after getting him out."
Edward made a helpless noise in the back of his throat. Then sort of collapsed in the armchair next to Bella, and looking at her like she might explode.
"What about my blood idea, does that have any merit""
Carlisle must have been listening in because he and Esme came out of his office, just then, "I've been researching all night, and I'll need more blood from you and Bella to even make anything worth while, but I think we might have a solution. Now I don't want you to get your hopes up this had a less than ten percent chance of working, and there's a chance it might make things worse."
"We have to try though," this Came from Rosalie, who was perched on the back of the couch, her hand on Bella's shoulder.
"Yes and we will, but I need to do more research, and I need to do some tests on Bella."
"Whatever you need Carlisle, I'll help."
"Me too," Leah piped up.
"I still think this is crazy, Bells, please just think about this for a moment."
"I have thought Jake, and this is what I'm going to do."
"Fine, but I don't think I can be a part of it."
"Jake please just bear with us if I get worse then you can go, but I want you here," Bella said, and Leah knew he was going to give in, and that pissed Leah off, he should have a choice in watching her die or not. After all it's her choice to die or not, and from all the stories she's heard about Bella the girl tends to lean towards the big sleep. Edwards's head turns towards Leah. Crap she had forgotten he could read minds.
"Alright Bella I'll stay for now," Bella shot him a blinding smile, and Leah was pretty sure she saw Edward wince.
That night, after Carlisle took two vials of blood from each of the wolves, Esme ladened them down with cookies. They had had to do a patrol. They ran through the woods on a rare clear night in Forks. Leah could tell that Jacob was still feeling sad about Bella. Then they heard Sam's thought, 'Where you been Jake?'
'Hanging out with Leah and Seth, they invited me on their run since I missed last night,' he thought, trying to suppress any thoughts of Bella, and her…. situation.
'Come home after, you two as well.'
'Why?' Leah asked, changing a look at Seth who grumbled in confusion.
'Because I said so, this insubordination is getting old Leah.'
'At least you can always count on something,' Leah thought with sarcasm.
'Just be there,' he snarled.
'Yes oh fearless leader,' this came from Jacob, and Leah yelped happily at him. They just heard a groan from Sam.
Leah didn't want to see Sam, she had too many secrets that were hard to push out of mind and sight. She just wanted to curl up with Alice and Jasper. That past thought gave her a pause for a moment. She wanted to sleep next to Jasper. Jacob looked at her a moment, and he knew he'd seen that thought, and so did the rest of the pack. She heard her brother give reassurance. Leah shushed him, no one could know about him. They arrive at the end of the woods next to the Reservation. Leah shifts back and quickly puts on the clothes that were in the backpack attached at her ankle. Seth and Jake do the same. The rest of the pack is still shifted. Leah notices a few new pups.
Sam makes an aggravated noise. He writes 'shift back' in the dirt beneath his paw. The three of them look at one another, and shook their heads. "Why don't you shift back?"
Sam growled menacingly, and snapped his teeth in Seth's general direction. Leah felt her whole body ripple in rage, "Steady Leah," Jacob said gently. That stopped Leah's shaking, "Sam we're not you're puppets, and we're not going to shift so can make us puppets."
He just spelled 'outnumbered shift' then snapped his teeth at Seth again. Seth took a step back, and lowered his head.
"Enough Sam talk to us like people or we're leaving." Leah said her patience running thin.
He barked menacingly, and lunged at Seth. He knocked him down, and had him by the throat. His teeth weren't piercing his skin, but the warning was there shift or Seth could be seriously injured. Leah couldn't wait to tell Emmett about this. She exploded, she was glad she didn't like the clothing she had on, but she'd be damned before Sam saw her naked again. Jacob did the same thing. They both tried to keep their minds blank except for Leah thinking, 'Let him go asshat.' Sam released a satisfied grumble, and then let Seth go. He shifted immediately. Blocked all his thoughts.
Sam tsked, the voice inside their heads was the timbre of alpha, and Leah knew the next several moments in her life probably weren't going to be pleasant. 'Everything you've ever hidden from me spill, now,' Sam looked right at Leah when he said that, and pain shot through her skull as every secret she'd kept to herself spilled into her head for the whole pack to see. Things not even pertaining to the situation. Like her pregnancy scare that she had at eighteen. The time she cheated on her biology final. Her confusing thoughts on Jasper. The time she kissed Shelby McCormack in ninth grade. Then there was Seth imprinting on Emmett, and she howled in agony at the force that ripped through her brain, and her trying to stop it. Then Bella and the baby fell out of her head. Leah's legs were shaking, and she was panting. Then she heard a new alpha's voice, Jacob's, 'Enough stop hurting her.'
The pain in her brain eased, and she whined in relief. Sam looked surprised at Jacob. Then 'They're both traitors, why do you care, also we're going to have to neutralize whatever abomination growing in Bella.'
'Like hell, and they can't help it, who they imprinted on.'
'I order you to stand down.'
'No,' Jacob's voice took on a steel edge to it, and Sam looked shocked as he backed away, 'Leah Seth run, now we need to warn them.'
Not needing to be told twice Leah hightailed it out of there. Wolves right on her hide. She kept Seth in sight at all times. He was slightly slower. She wouldn't dare let anything happen to him. 'Seth get to the Cullens.'
'Duh,' he said, picking up the speed a little. Then she felt it, teeth digging into her hip. She yelped and kicked out shaking whoever it was off of her. Then she saw it. Home. Alice. Jasper. Seth was already at the door, and she saw Jacob on her other side. Leah just had to be a little faster. Then a body collided with hers. It was Sam. She couldn't hear his thoughts, she could hear Seth, and Jake's but not his. Relief flared in her heart. Even though her hip hurt, and she knew that she couldn't outrun him now. She never had to fucking listen to him again. Then Jasper was behind Sam, adn Leah felt safe, and she was pretty sure it wasn't the artificial stuff Jasper usually emitted.
"Hello please get off my property, and leave the lady be," his southern drawl sounded a tad dangerous. Sam just snarled at him. His fur bristled.
'Leah Alice said to come home,' Jacob's voice rang in her head. Leah shook it off. She wanted to see what Jasper was going to do. Sam sprang forward, and Jasper's arm shot out, and he caught him by the throat.
"Please Don't make me repeat myself. Now will you leave with that tail firmly between your legs, blink once for yes and twice for no."
Sam blinked once, and Leah fell over the relief, and blood loss making her feel a familiar dizziness. Jasper scooped her up, and sped to the house.
-()-
A/N: To the reviewer that suggested that Jasper stand up for Leah in some capacity, and that would help cement the bond. It was brilliant and I thank you. Also I want to once again thank all the followers and people who fav it. And of course my reviewers. I'm enjoying writing this as much as you all are reading it. Next chapter I shall make up more science about how maybe the healing blood of the shifters can help Bella.