Chapter 10

The Wilderness

Demetri called Felix while they sat waiting for the plane to take off. The flight attendants watched him, in obvious distress over his disregard for the rules, but unwilling to chastise him. Leah shook her head and rolled her eyes. Humans were just as ridiculous as vampires, really.

Next, he called Carlisle. At that point, a flight attendant finally came over to tell him to put his phone away. He apologized and smiled at her requesting a water and a sandwich.

"What do you want food for?" Asked Leah.

"You. And Embry came around. He's conscious, but weak and can't phase."

Leah felt a mixture of relief and concern. Relief because Embry had woken, but now the question remained. Would they ever be able to phase again? Leah felt as though acid had spread throughout her core and she swallowed in attempt to ease the pain. She could not imagine her life as a normal human again. She had wanted that once, to stop phasing, but, now, it was a part of who she was.

Her hand was completely healed as were the bruises she had received from her fight with the halfy. That gave her hope that, eventually, she would be able to shape shift again, but nothing was certain. Maybe it would go the other way. Maybe, slowly, she would lose her healing ability, as well.

Demetri sent her a discerning look. "Relax," he said, "when we find Joham we'll sort everything out."

The plane took flight and Leah tried not to think about her predicament.

"Is Carlisle meeting us in Russia?" She asked.

"When Embry is ready to leave, yes."

"Everyone in Russia is doing ok?" It was really her inquiring about Seth, she didn't particular care about the others, well, Emmett, but she was sure Emmett could take care of himself.

"They are all fine. They've been following Joham's alleged partner around and some other new children."

"So I guess we're ditching the whole 'fair trial' thing, huh?"

He hesitated, "Only if he insists on attacking us again. We'll still offer them a peaceful solution."

Just then, her sandwich and water arrived. She hadn't realized how hungry she was until she saw the food.

"So that was Joham, huh?" She asked when she finished inhaling her food.

"Indeed," said Demetri, "he's been quite busy. Last year, we were informed he only had four children."

"Well, if you're right, he's enlisted some help." She paused and looked up at Demetri. "I feel sorry for them, the halfys. He's got them all brainwashed and we're going to end up killing a bunch." She shrugged, "They just never had a choice."

Demetri gazed at her thoughtfully, "Very few vampires had a choice. I, personally, only know two."

"Tia and Bella?" Leah guessed.

Demetri nodded. "Secrecy is extraordinarily important. It ensures our survival now that human technology has produced weapons that could eradicate us. Joham threatens our security with his experiments allowing these women to live and bear his children."

"They all die in the end," Said Leah, noting that Demetri's words sounded oddly scripted. She guessed Aro had drilled them into the Volturi guard. She switched her thought process from the Volturi back to Joham. She wondered how many women had died just as Huilen's mother, just as Bella nearly had. Yes, Joham had to be stopped.

"How far behind them are we?" She asked feeling, suddenly, anxious.

"Five or ten minutes. We may be able to catch them right when we arrive in Russia, depending."

"Depending on if I can phase."

"Exactly."

Leah closed her eyes tightly. She didn't want to think about it. She tried to go to sleep, but was too agitated. She wanted to rest her head on Demetri's shoulder, but couldn't bring herself to do it. She didn't want to make him uncomfortable, anyways.

She thought about the story of his sister and the pain in his voice and on his face when he told it to her. It was shocking to see a vampire, especially a member of the Volturi, exhibit so much emotion.

Her eyes darted to Demetri's current expression. It was the usual facade of vacancy. It was hard to imagine that the same face had exhibited as much emotion as it had earlier.

Leah wondered how life was at the reservation. She wondered if everyone was getting ready for the wedding. She wondered how her poor tribe could afford to purchase the plane tickets. She hoped Sue wasn't stressed. She felt a quick stab of guilt. She should have been there with Sue now, helping her prepare. Instead, she was chasing some crazy vampire around the Eastern Hemisphere.

The plane ride felt excruciatingly long. Leah began tapping her foot on the ground as they descended towards the runway. Her heart was pounding faster than she had imagined was possible. What if she couldn't phase?

She rushed out of the plane to the dismay of those seated in front of her. She sprinted through the crowd and found her way to the exit. She ran out into the street, jumped a guardrail and landed in the woods below. She closed her eyes. And nothing. She couldn't phase. Simply, she just couldn't.

Blood rushed to her head. She held onto a tree, afraid she would faint.

"Where is he?" She said, in a whisper. She knew Demetri would be there, behind her.

"Gone," Said Demetri. "We should start on our way to meet the others." He handed her a backpack and a jacket. "I packed you some supplies. They are quite some ways away. It may take us a couple days to reach them."

"You should just go without me, I'll only slow you guys down."

"And leave you alone to go up against any vampires that come your way? I don't think so, your pack would rip me to shreds if any harm came to you. Now, follow me. We are going to rent a car and drive it as far as we can before heading out on foot."

Leah grabbed the jacket, pulled it around her, and then placed the backpack over her shoulder. She attempted to appear calm, collected, but, on the inside, she was in a state of hysteria. What if the injection had no cure? What if she would never shape shift again?

Demetri led her back into the airport where he paid for a car rental. He led her out to the garage to a rather small subaru. Leah got in the passenger's side and rested her forehead against the window. Her throat felt tight, but she refused to cry. The movement of the car was comforting and she managed to fall asleep.

They drove for a good four hours north. Leah slept the whole time and only woke when the car rolled to a stop and the engine was turned off.

"You can sleep a while longer, if you need. We have a long walk ahead of us."

"I'm fine," said Leah opening her door and stepping out into the freezing air. Luckily, her body temperature was a good deal higher than normal humans and the cold hardly bothered her.

The Russian terrain consisted of frozen ground, tall trees, mostly pines and thick underbrush which ripped her jeans and left a collection of scratches on her shins. A thin, frozen sheet of ice covered the ground making the simplest task of walking perilous. Demetri offered to carry her, but she didn't like the feeling of being carried. It made her feel helpless and inadequate. Plus, she needed the physical work to distract her from her worries.

"How far are they?" Asked Leah after a couple hours of tripping and trudging through Russian brush.

"Approximately one hundred miles."

Leah looked towards the sky. It was beginning to get dark. They stopped to set up camp. Leah attempted to put up the tent while Demetri started a fire. The night grew uncomfortably cold, even for Leah.

She found gloves and a hat in the backpack and put them on. She sat beside Demetri, close to the fire.

"You're shivering," said Demetri. He pulled off his cloak. Leah didn't want to take it from him, a third time she realized, but she couldn't resist the promise of warmth. She wrapped it around her shoulders.

She looked at Demetri who laid on his back wearing only jeans, boots and a short sleeve white polo. He had one arm behind his head and one resting across his stomach. The flames cast shadows dancing across his face highlighting his cheekbones and jaw. She couldn't help, but let her eyes wander, taking in the perfection of his form. She noticed the beginning of a scar on his neck. She remembered noticing it in the alley with the immortal child.

"Where'd you get the scars?" She asked.

"You can see them?" He asked, surprised.

"Yeah, it's a wolf thing. We have better eyesight than normal humans."

He sat up next to her. "Well this one," he gestured toward the one visible on his collarbone, "that was a werewolf. It was my first fight as a part of the Volturi. Felix was in charge of training me for combat. He thought it would be most effective to throw me in a fight with a couple children of the moon and advance from there." He laughed, "I got my arm tore off and this, here, but I won."

"Do we resemble them when we're wolves?" Leah asked, curiously, referring to the werewolves.

Demetri shrugged, "Somewhat, but you don't behave like them. Werewolves have little control over their actions. Their instincts drive them to hunt and werewolves will eat anything; humans, animals, vampires, but, I suspect, they enjoy the fight with the vampire the most. They're extinct now, though. Caius made sure of that."

A sharp gust of wind blew and Leah felt the cold in her bones. She shuddered and edged closer to the fire. "We don't usually get cold easily," she said, "I haven't actually been cold since I started phasing."

"It's at least twenty degrees below freezing," said Demetri eying her with surprisingly genuine concern.

Concern? She was surprised he cared so much about her personal discomfort. She looked over at him and laughed.

"What's funny?" He asked, taken aback.

"Nothing, we're just a vampire and a shape-shifter sitting in the middle of the Russian wilderness talking about the weather." She laughed again.

Demetri cracked a smile and leaned in staring at the fire. After a few minutes, he laid on his back again. Leah reminisced of tribe campfires and celebrations. If Seth were here, he probably would have started singing or dancing the traditional tunes and dances.

She looked curiously towards Demetri. She wondered if he knew how to dance. She wondered, if she were to ask him to dance, what his response would be. She laughed softly at her own thoughts.

Demetri caught her stare with his eyes, still blue. "What are you thinking of now?" He smiled at the end.

Leah shook her head, and smiled to herself, "Nothing."

"Come on, tell me."

"I'm going to head to bed. I'll be in the tent." She stood and took her leave just as it began to snow. She looked back towards Demetri, tempted, once more to ask him to dance, but she didn't. She, Leah Clearwater, was not like Seth, she could not dance to no music. Nor, could she sing and create some herself. And she, certainly, couldn't ask a vampire to dance with her.

That night she dreamed that she had asked Demetri. And he said yes. They danced around the fire to her favorite tribe songs. She taught him all about the traditions of the tribe. Then, her tribe appeared around her. She was worried they would hurt her and Demetri for dancing together, but they gifted him with a dove and welcomed him. The winter turned into summer and they all danced together. Soon, the Cullens were there also and Tanya, Kate and Garret.

Leah could have remained in that dream forever, but she awoke to a high, powerful, screeching wind. She fell back asleep and, in the morning, could hardly remember the dream at all.

She got up the next morning, reapplied her layers of clothing, and left the tent to find Demetri. She wondered how he had faired spending the night out in the snow.

He stood by a tree holding his phone to his ear. He appeared to have just stood up and had snow on his shoulders, clothes and in his hair. Leah listened to him finish a conversation in Italian. He was frowning deeply and gritted his teeth in frustration.

"A few of Joham's children and a couple vampires ambushed Felix, Tanya, Emmett and Seth this morning. They got Seth with that stuff, but, don't worry, he seems ok. He can't phase, but, otherwise, he's fine."

Leah closed her eyes, briefly. She felt a mixture of relief, anger and worry. Relief, because Demetri promised Seth was fine, anger, because she hadn't been around to protect him and worry, because they still had no idea what this injection's long term effects were.

"We need to get moving." She said upon reopening her eyes.

"You should eat something, first."

"I'll eat on the way."

Leah took a couple granola bars out of her bag and began eating. She realized how hungry she was and started on an apple, afterwards.

She caught Demetri staring at her with envy.

"You haven't eaten in awhile," she remarked.

He shrugged, "I didn't think it would be a polite decision considering my company."

"But you need to eat and I wouldn't mind if it weren't humans."

Demetri wrinkled his nose, but then laughed. "They got Felix to eat a tiger the other day. Tried to convince him to eat a boar, but he refused to eat anything that wasn't strictly carnivorous."

Leah smiled, "Let's see you hunt a tiger, then."

Demetri smirked, "Shouldn't be difficult."

"Prove it."

He reached out and grabbed her arm. "Hold on for a second." He sniffed the air. "Follow, quietly."

Leah followed him a good couple of miles. He brought his finger to his lips as a reminder. He crouched down and Leah joined him. They crouched until her thighs were sore, but she remained motionless.

Sure enough, Leah heard the soft tread of paws stalking towards them. The Russian tiger moved at an excruciatingly slow pace. Meanwhile, Demetri made no movement. Leah almost feared he had petrified. The cold air remained immobile as well.

The tiger strode out in front of them only a couple of feet. Leah held her breath. The creature was at least four feet from paw to shoulder. Its head made it nearly five feet tall. It's body was muscular and lean. It walked with the instinctive confidence of a predator. It was beautiful, powerful, king of the forest. It reminded Leah of Demetri.

She didn't even see him move when he did. One second, he was there, and the next, wind rushed by her right side and Demetri had barreled into the tiger. The two hunters tumbled through the snow and bushes.

The tiger made a valiant attempt to claw at Demetri's head, but Demetri caught its leg and snapped it with a squeeze of his hand. He held it on the ground under his knee and grabbed its head with his other hand. He pulled its head forward and Leah heard a second snap. The creature fell limp and Demetri leaned over it. It had taken less than ten seconds.

"What the hell am I supposed to do with all this fur?"

Leah couldn't help, but laugh. "Stop delaying, Demetri." She teased.

He smiled a bit and shook his head before biting into the neck of the tiger. He stayed like that for about a minute. Then, sat up spitting. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

Leah laughed so hard she had to sit back on the ground. "So? Did you enjoy your meal?"

"Do I have fur in my teeth?" He asked, leaping down to where she sat on the ground so they were about a foot apart. He bared his teeth an inch from her face. They were white, straight and fur-free.

"You're clear," she said, giggling.

Did I just giggle?

"We should get going again," he said. Leah stared at his eyes. Blue.

"Take out the contacts," She said, curious.

He stood up and did as she asked. She stood too and looked up at his face. His eyes had turned a muddy brown. She figured it would take a couple more animal kills for them to turn the gold of the Cullens. If Demetri took any more animal kills. The thought made her strangely uncomfortable. She wished all vampires were like the Cullens, then, she wouldn't have to hate them.

"What color are they?" Demetri asked.

"Brown," said Leah turning away from him, her smile gone.

She began walking. How old was Demetri? Hundred and hundreds of years old. How many times had he hunted? How many humans dead at his hands, slaughtered, just like that tiger? How much innocent blood consumed? It had been so easy. So easy for him to overpower a 300lb tiger. No human would ever stand a chance.

She wouldn't stand a chance. Not like this. Not when she couldn't phase.

She shot Demetri a cautious glance, wondering, if he sensed where her line of thought had gone. He seemed to be mulling something over in his own mind.

He had said he use to hunt humans like those men she had fought off. Perverts, the cruel and overconfident, but that had stopped that when he joined the Volturi.

"What are you thinking of?" He asked, softly. He was staring at the ground as he walked.

"You could kill me now. Make it look like an accident."

"Why would I do that?"

"I don't know, you're the one who's part of the Volturi. You tell me why you would want me dead."

"I don't."

"You've killed plenty of humans before."

"Yes, I'm a vampire. That is what we eat. I can't change my nature."

"The Cullens did."

"I'm not a Cullen."

"Clearly."

He stepped in front of her so she walked right into his chest. Her heart jumped in surprise and he held her by her arms pulling her close to his face.

"Why do you do this to me, Leah? You hate me then you act like maybe we could be..."

"Friends?" Leah suggested with a derisive laugh, but immediately after felt badly for mocking him. "I forget what you are sometimes, but I always remember again, and, I don't know, our kinds are natural enemies."

"I'm a who not a what, Leah. I may be a vampire, but I still feel and think. We have hopes, dreams, things and places we like, things we don't like. I mean, I told you about my sister hoping it would help you understand me, trust me."

Leah looked away from him. A combination of emotions spun around inside her. Prominently, she felt guilt. He had brought up the story about his sister. Yes, she believed him, vampires could feel. Then, how come they could murder humans so effortlessly? But, she did trust Demetri. Somehow, she had come to trust him.

"I don't think I'll ever understand vampires, but I do trust you, to an extent."

He gazed into her face, lips slightly parted in surprise. The wind blew slightly, blowing snow into his hair and onto his eyelashes. His eyelashes were long and dark. They framed eyes that were perfectly shaped for his face. His cheekbones created dark shadows across his cheeks. His jaw was defined to the point it appeared as though it had been sculpted. Everything about him was perfection and, realizing just hoe handsome he was, she could hardly bear to look at him any longer. Her neck ached and she realized they had been standing there, eyes locked, for, well she didn't know how long, but a pretty long time. He still had her by the arms.

She cleared her throat and attempted to pull away from him. He released her and turned away, walking again.

"Sorry, I hope I didn't hurt you," He murmured.

Leah became aware of the pain in her upper arms, but it disappeared not a couple seconds later.

"I'm fine, I don't feel anything." She rolled her shoulders to prove it.

He nodded, but didn't smile or say anything else. Leah wished she hadn't ruined the easygoing atmosphere between them. She resolved to reinstate that ambience from earlier by the time they met up with the rest of the group.

Leah was extremely pleased with herself. It was a few hours past their argument. They had stopped by a large stream so Leah could boil some water to drink. She had been telling Demetri about meeting the vampires from around the world last year. She had made him laugh four times in counting.

His laugh was beginning to give her a warm, fuzzy feeling whenever she heard it. It had a sort of musical quality that only vampires could possess. She checked on her water which was at a steady boil. She poured it into a canteen and laid it in the snow to cool.

"Thanks for getting this soaked, Clearwater," Said Demetri holding his cloak over the fire.

She had given his cloak back to him for the day after she tripped probably a hundred times.

She laughed, "Oh, come on, you don't actually need it to stay warm anyways." She sat on her bag on the ground and watched the stream roll by. They were silent for a few minutes and Leah wished she could hear Demetri's laugh again. She closed her eyes and was surprised when she saw his face there burned in her mind with snowflakes in his hair and on his eyelashes. Her heart, unexpectedly, skipped a beat.

"Are you okay?" Asked Demetri, staring at her.

He must have heard her heart. Stupid vampires and their super hearing.

"Fine," Said Leah, grateful that, at least, he couldn't read minds.

"What were you thinking of?"

"None of your business, Leech."

Demetri stalked towards her. "Take that back, Clearwater, or you are going to regret it."

Leah rolled her eyes, "Well that was cute. You trying to threaten me, I mean."

Demetri sent her a wicked grin. "One more chance to apologize."

"Dream on."

She should have been expecting it, she was expecting it, but her heart still jumped in surprise when Demetri crossed the ground between them in one leap and grabbed her by her waist. He tossed her over his shoulder.

The next second, she was dangling backwards over the stream with her head only a couple inches above the water. She could feel her hair being pulled downstream. It was going to be soaked. Demetri had her arms pressed against her sides. He was straddling her, leaning forward so his face was closer to hers.

"Want to tell me what you were thinking about now?"

"Not at all, now let me up, my hair is going to be a giant popsicle."

"I warned you," said Demetri, "I'm holding you here until you agree to tell me what you were thinking of."

"You want to know that badly?"

"I want to know that badly."

"Fine, I was thinking about vampires."

"What about vampires?"

"Let me up."

Demetri got off of her and pulled her up onto the land again.

She twisted her hair and let the water drip out. It managed to get all over her jacket and jeans and she growled in annoyance. He couldn't have held her hair above the water, too? She sat by the fire.

"I was thinking about killing vampires. The process."

"There's a process?"

"I'll explain. First, it's the thrill of the chase. Choosing your target, smelling their scent. Then, it's the fight. Vampires are always one of two things; cocky or totally shocked. The cocky ones think they can win because they are vampires so they fight and the shocked ones are the runners. I prefer the chase, but I don't mind a fight."

"You're the fastest wolf of the packs, correct?" Asked Demetri.

Leah nodded, "Yeah, so I like the chase. I like the sound the wind makes in your ears and I like the thrill of slowly gaining, knowing, they can't escape, that I'll catch them. Once you get close enough, you jump with everything you have because you only have one chance or else you'll have to fight. You aim for their head, of course. If you don't rip it off and you only knock them to the ground, your own chances of failure increase. Your nails sink into their back for grip and you have to twist your neck to get a good hold with your teeth."

She paused, thinking. "You feel them moving underneath you, alive, cold, but alive. You can feel whatever organs you vampires have left working. You hear them intake breath, in surprise, because they realize they are going to die. By this time, your teeth have sunk all the way in and you pull backwards to rip their head off. Sometimes, they try to scream, and you feel that too. The vibrations go right through your teeth into your mind and the rest of your body. But, you already have your death grip and their head comes off and there's no more screaming."

She looked up at Demetri's face. He was watching her, intently. "The last thing you taste is blood. You realize it isn't their blood, it's the blood of whoever they killed last. That taste stays with you. You can turn back into a human, brush your teeth, wash out your mouth with soap, but that taste stays." She moved her gaze away from him and towards the forest.

"You were thinking about that?" Asked Demetri.

Leah laughed halfheartedly, "No, that's not what I was thinking of."

He didn't answer immediately, but stood and began pacing on the other side of the fire. "Emmett is on his way towards us. They must have heard us. He'll be here in not two minutes."

Leah felt strangely unsettled. He heart kicked up a couple notches. She felt like there was something she should say or do before Emmett got there.

"Did you really mean that, Leah, when you said you trusted me?" Demetri was on his knee in front of where she sat.

She looked into his brown eyes and they reflected the same urgency she felt.

"Yeah, I did, I do."

Demetri looked somewhat pleased with her statement and stood on his feet again. Leah wanted to pull him back down closer to her. Just then, something barreled into her from behind lifting her up off the ground.

Emmett spun her around while he hugged her, laughing. He placed her back on the ground. "I know how much you love being swept off your feet."

"Ha, Ha good one," Said Leah dryly, but she was glad to see Emmett.

"I would say it's time for you two to join back up with the rest of us, we are in serious need of a plan."

There it is chapter 10! Thank you so much for the reviews they really are awesome :) sadly, I have to add that none of this is mine! All the brilliant Stephanie Meyer's!