A/N: Hello guys I am back, and I am so sorry for being gone for so long but life has really thrown me for a loop. I am going to work on this story as much as I can this week and make up for all the waiting, I have made you guys go through. Thanks for all the love and support and I hope to make something that you guys love.
Janet had been in a meeting with Sam for an hour before she noticed that Seth had not left her side. He made himself almost invisible, but he was adamantly listening to all that was being discussed. It made her heart clench to see someone so young being prepared for battle, life could be so unfair. How many times had she seen young boys in other countries trained to be warriors instead of being kids?
"Seth, where is Leah?" Janet asked when Sam called for a break, so he could make sure the change of patrol was done. Apparently sometimes the youngest pack members liked to skip their duties.
"She is at home spending time with our mom" Seth explained with a beaming smile that spoke of the specialty of the event.
"Oh, well that's good. How are you and your mom doing? Leah told me about your father passing?" Janet asked and sat across from Seth at the table as they waited for Sam to return.
"It's been rough, but it gets better as time goes on, I guess. Leah and mom have been really at odds since dad passed but I think they just need time to understand each other's pain." Seth explained as he looked at his hands, the hands that looked so much like his father's.
"And you? How are you doing?" Janet asked and took one of his hands to pull him out of his thoughts. He paused and furrowed his brows at the question, not many people had asked him how he was doing since he was always smiling and happy. Happiness drove away the sadness, right?
"I don't know sometimes, I miss him so much of course but I think that he wouldn't want me being anything but happy. He always said he could count on me to bring the smiles and the happy. I don't want to let him down by not smiling for him, you know?" Seth looked up into Janet's eyes with his tear-filled ones. He had kept the sorrow away so well, but the loss was still fresh that it still hurt to think about.
"I think he is proud of you no matter what and it's okay to miss him every day. You can cry if it hurts, the thing is to remember that he is worth your smiles as well as your tears." Janet wiped a tear that rolled down Seth's face as he silently cried for his lost hero.
Leah walked towards the border after talking with her mom all morning. It had been such a refreshing feeling to sit and talk to her mom when all they had been doing in the past was fight. The day was turning out to be a good day and this put Leah in the best mood she had been in in a long time.
As she was crossing the tree line to go towards the treaty line, she smelled Janet heading in the direction of Sam's house. This confused Leah since she didn't remember having planned on meeting Janet that day. On her way to Sam's she began to worry something had happened and Janet brought bad news to the pack.
"You know Leah used to say she would grow up to be just like my dad. I think that's why she tries to be so thick skinned about things. My dad didn't let anything phase him and always had a smile on his face." Seth's voice came from the house causing Leah to freeze in her tracks.
"I wish I could have met your father, he sounds like a great man." Janet said softly causing a warm, melancholy smile to appear on both Seth and Leah's faces.
"He was" Seth replied just as softly
Leah pulled her emotions under control when she heard the raw emotions in Seth's voice. They had been talking for a while and this pulled at Leah's heart in a way she wasn't familiar with. She tries to understand her heart as she continued walking up to the house and let the two hear her coming. It was a moment she didn't want to interrupt or ruin, so she decided she would pretend she didn't hear any of it.
"Hey," Leah greeted as she crossed the threshold and saw the two sitting in the living room. Seth was smiling as brightly as possible and Leah could see some weight had been lifted off him in the way his eyes relaxed a bit more. The talk with Janet had helped him in a grand way. Janet smiled lovingly and had a knowing glint in her eyes that told Leah she knew she had heard them.
"Hello love, how was your morning? I heard you had a talk with your mother" Janet asked as she stood and went to wrap her arms around Leah's neck in an embrace she needed very much. It had been insightful to talk to Seth about their loss and now she felt she knew her mate a little better. Though they did talk about their past, sometimes it was hard for them to share their emotions without feeling like drowning in the past.
"Yeah, it was what I needed actually. It has been a long time coming too. By the way, mom says she wants me to bring you over soon and introduce you properly." Leah filled Janet in after she tightened her hold on her and inhaled her mate's delicate scent that seemed to give her life sometimes.
"I'd be delighted to meet the woman who raised such a darling" Janet replied teasingly and took Leah by surprise when she pinched Leah's cheeks. Seth let out a laugh at the look on Leah's face and felt the mood of the previous half hour dissipate leaving love and humor.
"Why are you here, dork?" Leah asked while taking Janet's wrists to pull her hands away from her face.
"Janet had to talk to Sam and since I was covering your morning patrol shift, I brought her here." Seth answered when he saw Leah was talking to him
"I had to bring the plans for tomorrow to Sam in my father's place. He wants to make sure everything is set and understood. Sam went out to over see the change of shift and to make sure everyone knew there was to be a meeting tonight to go over the plans." Janet explained with a smile on her face as she noticed Leah held her hand as if it was second nature. It was such a small gesture, but it meant the world to Janet since it showed how much the two had grown in their relationship.
Who said love could not grow in a couple of days? Of course, they were mates and that created a different bond then between humans, but love was love.
"I'm gonna head home and eat since I missed breakfast, I'm starving. I'll see you both later" Seth could sense the need to be able to talk from both of them. It set his mind and heart at ease to know his sister finally had someone she could count on.
"Hey," Leah called to him as he reached the door causing him to turn and look at her, "Thanks" A smile bloomed on Seth's face that told Leah he understood why she was thanking him.
"You know I was waiting for you to introduce me to your mother." Janet teased with a smile as she swung their still joined hands.
"Come on let's take a walk" Leah chuckled at the faux innocent smile on her mate's face.
The girls walked on the shore of Long Beach where the pack usually gets together to hang out. It was pleasantly quiet and unoccupied as they walked hand in hand along the beach. There wasn't much to be said at the moment but a lot of time to be enjoyed for the two even with the impending battle.
"Are you going to be joining the rest of your family at school after the battle?" Leah asked Janet when they had come to a stop and began to allow the waves to crash against their bare feet.
"I don't know honestly, there really isn't a reason for me to go especially since I already have like ten degrees." Janet answered off handedly as she picked up rocks to begin skipping them. Leah on the other hand was so flabbergasted she couldn't form a response for a few seconds.
"You've had enough of school then" Leah finally commented as she stood and watched Janet skip rocks. It was such a mundane thing to do but Janet was able to make it a supernatural thing by making the rocks skip until they disappeared from view.
"Well It's nothing new and I wouldn't be able to go to school with you on the reserve anyway. My Father always said not to do something if all it was going to do was waste time, every moment is precious. Even though we live for such a long time, we begin to lose the memories of our human life and remember every second of our new life. If I have to live with memories so vivid I could almost touch, then I want them to all be worthwhile." Janet explained with her voice ending with a defeated tone as if she had already failed at her goal. She looked out towards the horizon with eyes that portrayed the decades she had lived.
Leah stood looking at the image her mate made, it was as if she was from another era and could not be reached. She stood as one would imagine Joan of Arc had stood after her many battle for France's freedom. A Knight with broken and battered armor who was ready to lay down her arms but knew she could not until her mission was complete. Pride the size of which Leah could not measure, grew inside her chest as she gazed at her love. Who else could say they had fallen in love with a true warrior?
The silence between the two stayed but was not tense or awkward and was only broken by the waves crashing against the shore. Leah walked up behind Janet and wrapped her arms around her waist and laid her forehead on Janet's shoulder blade. She could not accompany Janet on her walk down memory lane, but she could lend her support for when she returned. It was strange to know the one you love has had a life in full swing before you were even born.
"One day we will cross this ocean and start an adventure that neither of us will ever forget." Janet whispered the promise she made to herself years ago on the shores of south Texas, on the night she had realized she would never escape the war.
"I Promise" Leah gave Janet a gentle squeeze as she breathed the words.
Night came too soon for Janet and Leah as they walked the woods towards the border. Janet knew that the next time she saw her mate, it would be on a battlefield with the air of a fight surrounding them.
"Before I leave there is something you have to know about me." Janet broke the silence between them.
"Okay, what is it?" Leah asked as they stopped walking at the treaty line and faced each other.
"We are going into battle together tomorrow but there are somethings that will happen that you might not like or understand. But I need you to trust me and the way my father and I handle things." Janet tried to ease Leah into the information she was about to tell her.
"Just tell me Janet," Leah took Janet's hands in hers tenderly and smiled lovingly at her to ease her worries.
"I have been having what you call PTSD episodes. After my time in the southern wars I have been messed up pretty badly. When there is a threat or an overwhelming thrill for a fight, I slip into what my dad and I have labeled the beast. In that state I am not in control and my only instinct is to fight and…and-" Janet paused as she felt the shame of her weakness and confessing that weakness to her mate.
"Nothing you say will ever make me love you any less or shun you from my life." Leah kissed Janet on the cheek and just laid her cheek against hers for a moment longer in an affectionate gesture.
"I crave blood since my vampire instincts are so strong and I don't recognize anyone as an ally but my dad. He will have to control me if I get to be a danger to anyone or if I can't reign myself in. his methods are not going to be kind or gentle." Janet pulled back to stare at Leah in the eyes, so she was sure Leah was understanding everything that she was telling her.
"What are you getting at Janet?" Leah asked when she saw Janet was trying to convey a message of importance.
"You must not interfere with what my dad does to get control of me in that state of mind. Promise me, no matter what your instincts tell you that you will wait until my dad tells you I am not a danger. I would rather die then allow myself to harm you in anyway, shape or form. Please…" Janet had tears in her eyes as she pleaded with Leah as the defiance was in her whole being. The thought of having to let Janet face anything alone was so atrocious that she was ready to flat out refuse to promise. But the look in Janet's eyes stopped her in her tracks and made her analyze the situation.
This was going to be a new situation for both of them and if she jumped in rashly, she might end up hindering her mate in some way. Even if she didn't like the idea, she had to respect Janet's wishes in the things she didn't understand about her mate.
"I promise but just know I don't like it at all." Leah made her position known just so they were on the same page.
"I know and I will do everything in my power to keep from having you be put into the position where you have to keep your promise. It is just a possibility but not a guarantee." Janet sighed in relief and cupped Leah's cheeks with love in her eyes as she prepared to say goodnight to her mate.
"I love you" Leah found she was saying those words more often than she used to.
"I love you" Janet smiled like a lovesick schoolgirl as they leaned in to kiss each other.
Love had always been a concept to the two girls but now it was more real than anything else in the world. No matter what the future had in store for them, they knew they would face it together.