I do not own Twilight etc.
||= Finally My Turn =||
The other wolves were surprised to hear I'd imprinted on a female, and there was a large debate over how it was possible, how it would affect the pack and what it meant. Because I'd imprinted, it proved there was more to it than just breeding purposes, that there was something else we'd been missing. Embry was uneasy over the knowledge, suddenly worried there was a possibility he might imprint on another man, but Jacob believed that I was the exception to the rule of imprinting. Since I'm the only known female werewolf ever to belong to the Quileutes', Jacob believes that I may be the only one who was susceptible to imprinting on a member of the same sex.
I haven't concerned myself with their bickering anymore than necessary. I spent weeks trying to track the girl I'd imprinted on down, barely able to eat, sleep or focus long enough to complete a sentence. Her face was burned into my memory despite the brief glimpse, and her smell clung to the watch. But despite Forks being a small town, it still proved difficult to find her.
Hours after seeing her, I had finally come to my senses, running off without warning to find her. I'd nearly gone crazy that night, terrified that I'd never find her again, that she was an out-of-town visitor or something to that effect, to which Jacob vowed he would help me. He was the only other wolf I'd known who'd been as desperate to imprint as I was, and he understood my fear of losing the one person you belonged too. We all knew what Renesmee meant to him. Seth also volunteered to help, being my brother.
We searched for weeks, and those weeks turned into a month. I became a panicked and moody wreck, but Jacob never stopped searching with me, and for that I was grateful. We turned Forks and most of Seattle upside down searching, until they had her scent as committed to memory as I did. So as we searched Forks for the second time many days later, I was thinking hard about what imprinting on this girl meant. I had so many thoughts crawling through my brain there were too many to sort through and worry over in turn.
The girl was not from the Rez or some freak of nature vampire-human hybrid that grew a foot each day; she didn't know about our legends, about the wolves, about imprinting or anything else somehow connecting her to the pack. She'd think I was crazy if I waltzed right up to her and announced my undying love for her after knocking her to the floor in a theater. And what if she couldn't accept another woman in that way? Would I be the best friend always ready to take a step forward? I hadn't even been interested in other women before then. I'd never even considered having a girlfriend or wife before. And again, what would I do if she could never feel the same about me? How would I deal with it? I was so overly emotional I felt like breaking down and crying right in the middle of the store I was in.
The day proved unfruitful, and so did the next, and the day after that. Each night I trudged home, more miserable and hopeless than the night before, burying my face in my pillow and sobbing harder than when Sam left me, ten times more helpless and alone than I'd ever been. Unable to sleep, the bags beneath my eyes grew dark and heavy and my muscles and bones began to ache like I was ninety years older. But I still didn't give up looking; I never, ever would. If I imprinted on her, there had to be reason, and I had to find her to fulfill it. One more week of searching Forks and Seattle and I was leaving the state to continue searching. I'd turn the planet over looking if I had to.
So we spread out and continued looking once more. Seth and Jake didn't want me to go, but there was no stopping me if I had a chance at finding her. They reluctantly understood and accepted that fact, and thankfully Jacob refused to use his authority as an alpha to force me into staying. So once again, Seth and I returned back to the reservation to sleep later that night, and I pushed forward, running as hard and fast as I could to expel the frustration that was knotting the muscles in my legs and teasing my exhausted mind. Seth struggled to keep up as I bounded from between trees, branches snapping as I barreled through recklessly.
'Leah, wait up!' but I continued, going faster still until I saw the tree line approaching. I slow down and changed back, pulling on a T-shirt and shorts, my skin slick with perspiration and my chest rising and falling rapidly with the need for air. Seth skidded up beside me a short time later, tongue lolling from the side of his mouth as he panted heavily, legs trembling slightly beneath him from the strain of trying to stay with me. I wait for him as he caught his breath and changed back.
As we made our way into our beds, Seth was snoring in the other room as soon as he laid down, but I was wide awake, despite the heaviness of my limbs. My muscles were too sore to get up and move around, but my mind was wide awake with worry. I clutched the watch in my hand like a security blanket and I couldn't stop myself from replaying the minute long memory of our first meeting for the millionth time. Questions race through my mind as it ends; would I ever see her again? What was she like? What was her name? I tossed and turned in my bed uncomfortably until the sun began to rise and my eyes shut for a fraction of an hour.
When I woke up, I was ready to go out looking again when across the street I saw one of our neighbors standing outside talking with a woman I didn't recognize. Among them I spot the girl I'd imprinted on and the rush of adrenaline and excitement nearly knocks me on my ass, my breath catching in my throat mid exhale. There was no mistaking her face, and as I scrambled to get out of the house and outside to her, I drew more than a little attention to myself. The barest amount of self preservation forces me back, barely preventing me from scooping the stranger up and hugging the life out of her. I finger the crystal of the watch, tapping my foot on the ground and waiting impatiently for my moment.
She wanders off in her own direction eventually, and I follow eagerly, my legs stiff with anticipation, wanting to get closer all the time. She looks up and sees me, squints a little, and even in the distance I can see the barest of recognition don on her face. Dropping my caution and pushing my worries into another corner of my mind for the time being, I strolled up to her as calmly as I could manage and hoped to appear friendly.
"You dropped this at the movies." I say, extending the hand with the watch out to her. She reaches for it, and our fingers brush slightly, which causes a strange sense of heat to radiate through me. She begins to make an embarrassed attempt to step back and away, but I step forward again, stuffing my hands in the pockets of my shorts. No way was I losing her a second time!
"By the way, my name is Leah." I say, extending one hand outward to shake, eager to touch her again. Eyeing me warily she clasps my hand again, and the smell of her skin is rich as she leans in just slightly, better than I remembered.
"Nice to meet you; I'm Rebecca." She says quietly, and that was where the stone started rolling, though I had to nudge it several times on the way down. I watched her as she gingerly replaces the large watch around her wrist, the band so big the watch nearly fell to the ground as her hand dropped to her side. It's so strange how sometimes the things you look for the hardest find you instead, or people in this case.
As we talked, I found out she was seventeen, and just moved in with her mother, who'd lived in Forks for the last six years, but otherwise she was very careful not to let much else slip out. I talked a lot about myself, open as I could possibly be as I tried to make her more comfortable. Approximately two hours later her mother came back, calling her and looking me over curiously. My face fell as Rebecca gave an awkward wave goodbye and said "nice meeting you again" before she turned and walked back to her mother, shooting an curious look over her shoulder as I watched her depart.
I waited until their car was just out of view, then sprinted for the forest at top speed. No more then two steps into the forest there was a surge of heat and I was running on all fours. I stayed a cautious distance from the forest's edge so that I'm not seen by passing cars, but my eyes are glued to the silver van Rebecca's riding in. I nearly run into a tree I'm so focused on it, and I'm vaguely reminded of a pet dog chasing cars in the street. At one point she looks over, her eyes widen and for a moment I'm sure she's seen me running too close to the road. I veer off sharply to the left, panic gripping my chest briefly.
The van turns into a neighborhood a half hour later and the trees begin to thin out. I change back as quickly as I can, yanking my clothes loose from the string around my ankle and tugging them on breathlessly, barely able to button my shorts before I take off again. I can still see the silver paint as I hit top speed again, following despite the burning ache in my arms and legs as I continue pursuit. I finally slow down, chest heaving wildly as the van turns into a drive way on the far side of the neighborhood, two large oak trees sprouting on either side of the solid white house.
I circle the house curiously, looking for any sign of Rebecca in one of the windows. I wait a few minutes hidden in some shrubs near the right side looking in and waiting, then the door opened and in she walked, flopping onto her bed and flipping on the TV. She watched countless shows for hours, her bed in perfect view of her bedroom window. I wait till she closes her blinds for the night, and I'm pleased to know that no one else will have a view of her.
It's well after dark when I finally stood up from my crouching position, reluctant to go home. I trot slowly, feet sore and joints stiff, but the tension in my body had finally lessened. My muscles weren't coiled in knots anymore, and when I finally made it into my bed it'd never felt softer. I made up my mind to tell the pack that I had found her the following day, and despite the emptiness of not being around her, I felt more at peace than I ever had knowing exactly where she was.
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