A/N: This started as a boring plot development chapter and then it switched on me. I think Embry has lost his damn mind but I'm keeping the craziness in because its so deliciously infuriating. Loved ur reviews as always. Normal ppl are boring and this story is not for normal ppl so ur all awesome :P Ok, back to the angsty drama.
EPOV:
She didn't say why she wouldn't come with me to see Billy but I walk in here and she's with him? I don't get it. He treats her like dirt, spends over a year ignoring her and the first thing I see when I walk past the door is her kissing his fucking neck! Was she just that self absorbed that she didn't care? All those times that I thought she was keeping me away to avoid a repeat of Sam, maybe she really was just a self-proclaimed bitch. He barks at her to sit in place and she does it. I ask her to come with me through one of the hardest parts of my life and she bails. No, I have to stop blaming myself now. This is her, all her, its always about her.
I watched her shift uncomfortably in her seat but only from the corner of my eye. I couldn't stand to look at her now. She seemed embarrassed and remorseful. Tough, she could ride this one out on her own. I wasn't going to console her just so she could feel better about casting me off so easily. There were more pressing issues to deal with anyway. I began to push Leah Clearwater the bottom of my priorities list, wishing it wasn't so hard, as I focused on the reason we were here..
The talk with Billy was shorter and more direct then I thought. I guess he'd had a lifetime to prepare it. According to him he was a young man dealing with the news that his wife had cheated on him with Joshua Uley, Sam's father. They fought and Billy threatened to kill him if he didn't leave town. He assumed Josh would move the whole family but he overestimated the coward who took off leaving a wife and a three year old son behind. Billy was devastated that he had destroyed one family while his own was crumbling around him. He turned to my mom, a good friend of Sarah's at the time, for support. He cut the story short, adding only "a few too many beers added to the youthful idea of revenge as a cure had me facing the repercussions nine months later".
This version of events was for my ears only. Jake and the twins would hear another one which left out the revelation of Sarah's infidelity. I admired him for protecting his late wife's reputation but requested he didn't lay any blame on my mom. He promised me and I was about to ask why his identity was kept from me when the front door burst open, almost flying free of its hinges. I jumped protectively in front of Billy in an instant. It was Seth, drained of colour and panting as he stood before us.
"What's wrong ?" I asked
"Both Colin and Brady have been activated. That means vamps, and a few of them if we need two new recruits"
"Have you seen them or crossed their scent?"
"No. This is just a guess. But what else could it be right?"
I felt the alpha part of me take over as I tried to form a battle strategy. I was never the war games type but my newly acquired leadership skills had me planning instinctively. My brain had already prioritised the steps required to reach the first stage of battle readiness. Step one: Reinforcements. It would be hard when I had no pack, but I had to rally the remaining ones under my authority somehow. They picked a good time to show up as half of the existing members were recovering from the damage incurred by Jacob. He was my strongest warrior, the obvious choice for beta. I needed him to fight at my side instead of trying to fight me. I would start with the easier recruits first before I tried converting him. I turned to Billy.
"We need to see Sam"
I sent Seth to run the La Push perimeter scanning for any signs of vamps we may have missed. Colin and Brady would have to wait. Training two recently activated wolves was not a task for one person. I grabbed the keys to Jakes car, the only one I had access to, and we floored it to the hospital. When we got in we found Sam, Quil, Paul and Rachel as they were packing up to leave.
"You shouldn't be here dad. You promised me..."
"Rach, this is important" The tone in Billy's voice enough to silence the room. Rachel moved towards Paul, wrapping her hands around his arm protectively. Billy looked at me to take over the conversation. My new found confidence was now apparent in my stance as well as my voice.
"Two more have been activated, both young. We have a few possible scenarios. The two most likely are also the most dangerous. Either the vampires have been close enough to the Res to activate new members or their numbers are large enough to warrant two young fighters from a distance." This was the nerve racking part but I continued in the same confident tone. " Either way I need to know who can fight and who will do it with me as their alpha."
The boys all huddled together and Rachel left the room. She was obviously distressed and didn't want to break down in front of us. We all moved closer as Sam began to speak
"Embry you're the rightful alpha, either you or Jake. Jared was only to be appointed by default, because Jacob wouldn't take it. Since you've accepted the pack is now yours." He said it in a congratulatory tone but I knew it had more to do with the burden he was now relinquished of.
"I'll stand behind you" Quil said encouragingly.
"So will I" Paul answered.
"And so will I. I guess I can fit in one last battle before I enter fatherhood" Sam smiled.
I was stunned. That was easier then I had thought. With no time to dwell on the significance of the moment I moved to the next stage of my plan. Getting them all back into fighting fit condition. Sam, Seth and Quil were still healing but our best fighter was up a few rooms up. As if reading my mind Billy questioned me now.
"What blood type are you Embry?" Billy asked
"B negative, why?"
"You're a match. Want to donate some blood?"
So here we were. Not two minutes ago my arm had been hooked up to a blood extracting machine. It was more painful then I realised as my skin constantly tried to heal around the needle sticking into me. I had to rotate it when the nurse wasn't looking so the skin would break off. The process was very rushed and highly unorthodox but Jakes doctor was an young Quileute and after a heated conversation with Billy he reluctantly complied. The aim was to use the blood like a booster shot for Jake helping his immune system to get back on track. Regardless of the tension between us I needed a strong beta. Now we stood together in Jake small room, door closed to confine the raised voices.
Billy had finished up his explanation of the affair. The version Jacob heard was just as Billy had explained. Sarah was the perfect mother to her girls and Billy had been unfaithful, hooking up with a stranger he met at a bar. Nine months later I turn up and Sarah was none the wiser. Jacob scoffed at the appalling version of a human Billy painted himself to be and I ground my teeth wanting to defend him . He was doing this for Jake who was acting like a two year old. But things took an even worse turn when Billy brought up the subject of the pint of blood currently sitting on the nurses tray outside the door. She was just waiting for permission to enter and she'd get it because this wasn't optional.
"You're seriously fucking deluded if you think I'm letting you put his tainted blood in me" Jacobs words sliced through me but for the sake of the pack I pretended not to notice. I had a duty to my people now and Jacob Black's attitude wasn't going to stop me. As I opened my mouth I could feel the alpha authority that coated the words.
"Look, you've had more then enough time to figure out that I've done nothing, NOTHING, to encourage the hate that you suddenly have for me. Its not my problem if you're so stubborn it takes you years to get over things that most of us move past in months." I knew that was a low blow but it was the only thing I thought would get through to him "Right now I have two new activee's to guide, a potentially large group of vampires in the area and the packs best fighter would rather kill me then some bloodsuckers who are probably killing innocents as we speak." Both Leah and Jacob's eyes grew wide as they sat up, Jacob clearly still in pain.
"So take the blood or fight at your weakest. Up to you. I'll make sure to take care of your funeral arrangements" I went a little too far with that comment. It was a show of man hood. Probably another part of being an alpha. That or the product of having my heart torn to pieces.
"I think that's enough Embry, he gets it" Billy said, shock in his voice at my harsh words.
"Do you hear yourself?" Leah spat as I turned to see her expression. She was appalled to hear these words coming from me. She's said and done worse to me I thought "You can see he's not up to fighting so you just lay into him like that? What is wrong with your…."
"Shut up Leah, no one is talking to you" I shot back. She was so quick to defend him that her words stung. My tone was aggressive to hide the pain that she unknowingly caused.
"Say what you want to me but watch your mouth when you speak to her" Jake said in a low even voice. Leah sent him a thank you with her eyes and I lost it. I opened the door and let the nurse in.
"Your taking the blood Jacob, then you're going to get over yourself and fight at my side. Are we clear?"
The nurse hesitated as she entered but Billy ushered her in. Jake was too weak to fight but Leah wasn't. She jumped up her face not two inches from mine.
"Over my dead body" She seethed through her teeth.
"I can arrange that" I said, kicking myself for how much I wanted to grab her head and crash her lips into mine.
"Lee, leave it" Jake called out as she span around in shock. "The jerk is right, I need my full strength back. I'll be sure he knows it when I'm fully healed."
He was ignoring me now, addressing only her. They had their own little private conversation going and were making a point of leaving me out. I was furious. Words hadn't worked so I did the only other thing that could hurt him, taking advantage of the fact that he was to weak to get up. I followed through on my previous thought as I grabbed Leah's head making her lips meet mine. I pushed my tongue in and made a show of it as she tried to break out of my hold. She didn't resist as much as she should and I swear she returned it slightly before she lifted her knee to my groan. I buckled over laughing as I looked up at the four sets of eyes all on me.
"Just reminding you of what you're missing Lee" I rarely called her Lee but this sudden cockiness I was experiencing had taken over and I felt like I was listening to the words only once they were out.
Leah wiped her mouth pretending to get the taste of me out of it. She liked it, I knew it and she knew it. She was still torn and if Jake thought he had some kind of claim to her he was joking. I wasn't going to make it easy for him. The colour in his skin started to return a little and I was worried about how much a bag of blood could do now. I hoped it wasn't enough for him to jump up and tear my head off which was what he wanted from the look on his face. I stood up straight, as if there wasn't a fire in my groan, and changed the subject quickly to something that would annoy him just as much.
"So you ready to be my beta little brother?" I smirked. To my surprise he smirked right back.
"Are you ready to be mine?" He said. I had no idea what he was talking about which was written all over my face. His smirk stayed in place as it was his turn to be cocky now.
"I said, are you ready to be my beta?" he asked me slowly, like I was stupid.
"What are you talking about your not an alpha, only I…"
And that's when I felt it. I had put the intense energy in the room down to the heated discussion between us. I saw why I was suddenly so arrogant, why it was so easy for me to speak down to Jacob when I had never spoken to anyone like that in my life. It all made sense.
"You fucking ass, really? Are you serious? How do you think segregating the pack under two alpha's is going to help anything? I've already rallied most of the guys anyway. Who is going to be in your pathetic pack?"
Both of our eyes moved to Leah now as she took a step back. Jake tried to make his tone carefree as he questioned her.
"So Lee, are you in?"
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A/N: Just a question, do you think these chapters are too long? Honest feedback appreciated : )