Always Something

The wedding ceremony was finally over and we were all ushered into the reception tent. It was big enough to give a wide space between wolves and vamps, which helped ease some apprehension between us all. Not all wolves were able to make the wedding ceremony, but most that didn't were going to make it in time for the party in a little while. We were all pleasantly surprised when nothing too dramatic happened, other than the sizzling hot kiss my best friend and alpha shared at the end. The only odd thing that I noticed was that Embry Call, Jake's best man and pack mate, kept casting strange glances at Ness during the whole thing. I also saw that he kept rubbing the back of his neck, as if trying to alleviate tension there.

Thinking of it, I couldn't help but rub at my own neck and glance over at my giggling bestie, who was being twirled around by Jake on the dance floor. She looked so carefree and happy that the knot in my neck eased at the sight.

"Son," Edward called out with a slight smirk. A sarcastic grin curved my lips as I heard muffled laughs and snorts throughout the tent in response to the mind reader's choice of words.

Jake slowly took his love filled gaze from Ness and looked at his new father-in-law. The music the shifted to something slower; it was time for the Father/Daughter dance. As if on cue, Jake kissed Ness's cheek then stepped aside so that Edward could dance with her. Wrapping his frame around his daughter's, the Mind peeper swayed gracefully to the song, guiding Ness effortlessly.

Tears stung at my eyes and I could feel a few pairs of eyes focused on me. Right then, a warm hand rested on my shoulder and the arm the hand belonged to wrapped around me.

"I miss him too, sis," Seth said quietly. I looked up at him, blinking back my hot tears. He offered a lopsided smile that resembled Dad's, which only made my desire to cry increase.

"You have his smile," I said with a smile of my own as a few tears spilled from my eyes. He pulled me into one of his famous 'Seth hugs' and kissed the top of my head.

"You remind me a lot of him, Leah," he replied.

"What?" I asked incredulously. "Seth, you have his smile, his laugh, his humor, his hugs, his entire image and you even smell a little like him!"

"You're strong like he was, Lee. You refuse to back down, even if you're not sure you'll come out alive. You always put those you love before yourself; you never turn your back to people in need. You're one hell of a spit fire and your eyes, Lee, reflect his intensity. I swear if you were my brother I'd say you were his 'mini-me'. When you scowl, I see dad; when you roll your eyes, I see dad; when you fight, I see dad. Lee, you're more like him than I am. And haven't you heard? People constantly say that I look like a boy version of you. I've been told that if I were leaner, slightly shorter and had more feminine angles, I would look just like your twin. By the way, what are 'feminine angles'?"

I was speechless then before I knew it, the father/daughter dance was over and Ness was right beside me.

"Feminine angles are what beautiful females, such as your sister, have. And before you ask further, I do mean on the face and the rest of the body, Seth." She wrapped her arm around my waist and led me to the dance floor. My over emotionally muddled brain still couldn't get a solid grasp on my brother's words.

"I never met your dad," Ness began, as we began to sway to the smooth rhythm of the music. She wrapped her arms around my neck and I held her by the waist. I could feel everyone in the room stare at us strangely but I didn't care, I was dancing with my best friend. "But from what I've gathered, you are very much like him." Her words shattered any ounce of control I had over my tears. Burying my face in her hair, I began to quietly sob. Our hold on each other tightened as her and her child's scent enveloped me. She held me close, rocking from side to side, one hand stroking my hair slowly.

I was too lost in my grief, their scent and her touch, to notice that a wolf approached till his heat bombarded me.

"Sorry, Jake," I began as I slowly began to pull from Ness.

"Let go of her," was the growled response. My head snapped up only to see Embry, not Jake, glaring at me with his dark eyes full of fury. I carefully untangled myself from Ness, meeting his gaze with my own heated one.

"Who the hell are you to tell me what to do? I'm your pack's second, only below the alpha. I tell you what to do," I snarled. "You do not have any right to tell me that I have to let go of my best friend." My body quaked with outrage as he bared his teeth at me and growled.

"Embry! Leah!" Jake's voice boomed out, laced with the power of an alpha. I ground my teeth together but turned my attention away from Embry to Ness, who stared at him with eyes lit by equal parts anger and curiosity. As if she could feel my gaze, Ness looked up at me with a thin smile.

"Always has to be something, huh?" she said with a slight shake of her head.

I opened my mouth to answer her but was stopped by her wolf's voice.

"Leah, come on," he said. I turned to see Jake standing rigidly next to Embry, the alpha's jaw was clenched and his eyes were tight with suppressed rage. "I think we need to talk, all three of us, outside. Now."

Embry cast a fleeting look at Ness, which made both Jake and I growl, before turning on his heel and stalking to the tent's exit. I offered my best friend a small shrug, glanced at my alpha then made my way outside, to join Embry. I felt every gaze in the tent fall on me as I squared my shoulders and held my head up high. No one was going to see the satisfaction of embarrassment when it came to me.

"What the fucking hell," I growled, once he and I were out of earshot, wanting to keep my business from foreign leeches. Just because I was cool with the Cullens didn't mean that I had turned into some leech lover. I still felt a rush of amazing adrenaline course through my body each time I took out a red leech.

"I didn't like you all over her." His voice was hard and his back was turned to me, egging on my wolf to attack him and claim the respect I deserved. Who was he to say shit about me and my best friend?

"She's my best friend, Call. Plus, who are you to care? If it were really a problem Jacob would have done something. Jake is her wolf, not you."

"She's right," Jake said. Embry and I turned to see our alpha walking towards us, each step strong and smooth like the wolf he was. "What the fuck went on there, Embry?" His tone was even but as sharp and cold and deadly as a blade. I fought a wince.

"Like I told she-bitch, I didn't like her all over Nessie." Embry remained as still as a vampire, facing our alpha with open disrespect and animosity. The only word he didn't spit out was Ness's name, which I was sure Jake didn't miss.

I ground my teeth together and balled my hands into fists, fighting off the consuming heat around me that signaled a close phase. Embry was openly going against pack norm, challenging not only Jake, but me as well with his show of insolence. The wolf inside roared with indignation.

"I'm Nessie's wolf, Embry. If there was anything wrong with them dancing together and my Nessie comforting her best friend, I would have interceded. Now, tell me why exactly you thought it was appropriate to start things during my wedding reception while it was going all smoothly, I'm all ears." Jake coolly crossed his arms over his chest, making the sleeves of his shirt bulge, adding more menace to his already intimidating presence.

"Who was her first kiss, Jacob?" was his cold reply.

"What does that have to do with anything? You know who, so why are you asking?" Jake asked, stealing a glance in my direction.

"It has to do with my point, so just say it."

"She was," he sighed, jerking his chin in my direction. For a split second it was eerily quiet. There were not heartbeats, no birds, no wind, no breaths, and no noises whatsoever. A chill ran down my spine.

"That's my point!" Embry said, seemingly bringing back life to the world of noise.

I turned away from them both, letting their voices blur into the night as I looked at the sky, the memory of that kiss temporarily stealing me away from that moment…

"Leah, can I talk to you about something?" Ness asked quietly as she stood in my doorway. She fidgeted with her nightgown, facing down but looking at me through her eyelashes.

"You called me 'Leah' so this must be important," I said, pulling back the covers from my bed and inviting her to join me. She quickly got into bed with me as I turned the television off. "What's going on, Ness?"

"I'm… I…" she stammered. I remained quiet, patiently waiting for her to find her words. "I think… I like someone," she murmured after a few minutes of silence. A rosy tint settled on her fair cheeks as she averted her gaze from me.

"Really?" I asked, finally understanding why she came to me instead of her parents or her 'woof Jakey'. I fought a smirk as I imagined his eyes popping out of their sockets from her news.

"Yes," she breathed. I could hear her heart beating erratically beside me.

"Well whoever it is, is very lucky for catching your eye."

"You think so?" she asked, raising her eyes to meet mine. They were wide with vulnerability and innocence.

"Of course, Ness, you're a beautiful young woman," I smiled.

"Even if I'm only a five and a half year old," she huffed.

"Technically yes and technically no, you know that. You definitely don't look or act like one. In fact, if I was just some random stranger, I could swear that you're at least sixteen."Her big brown eyes twinkled as she smiled softly at me.

"You're the best, LeeLa."She cuddled into me, nuzzling her face into my shoulder.

"I already knew that. Anyway, is that all, or is there more?" I felt every muscle in her small body go stiff as she pulled her face away from me. "Hun, you know that I'm here for you, no matter what."

"I… I like…" she paused, meeting my gaze once more. There was a determination there that startled me. She gingerly placed her shaking hands on each side of my face, allowing images to pour from her mind into mine. The images that I saw were of me, in both human and wolf form, and I was beautiful. Seeing myself in the way that Ness did… it robbed me of breath, it shouldn't have been possible for someone to see me as divinely as she depicted. There were a few images of Jake in there, which made more sense than mine; after all, he was her wolf. Image after image whirred by, faster and faster, blending into each other when they all stopped on one.

"Ness," I gasped.

It was me, human and wolf, standing side by side, under the full moon, on a cliff similar to that in La Push where the pack used to jump off into the dark waters below. As a wolf I stood tall, puffing out my chest, eyes alight with strength and warmth as a soft wind tousled my soft silky fur. The air about my wolf-self was charged with power, a power that no normal wolf could radiate .As a human I was no less intimidating; no less amazing. My black hair was long and wavy, as silky as my fur; dark eyes like that of my wolf, fierce but gentle and loving; my exposed skin glowed as if the sun shone from inside of me and looked as soft as clouds. I wore a buckskin dress which reached down to mid-calf, the usual attire of a Quileute high priestess for special rituals. The top of it was cut in a wide V, front and back, so that it hung off my shoulders. It was a soft brown and decked out with feathers, small stones and shells and seemed to shine in the silvery moonlight every time the wind swirled around me. All over it was decorated with elaborate designs that were utterly stunning. We, I, smiled in unison, my wolf letting out a joyous howl while my girl laughed with carefree bliss.

"You're a beautiful young woman," she murmured, using the very words I told her seconds ago. I stared at her, reeling with the knowledge that my mind had finally comprehended. Ness liked-

Her lips were on mine before I finished the thought, igniting the fire that was my wolf's primal instinct. I molded my lips to hers, wrapping an arm around her, holding her firmly against me. I only came back to my senses when she ran her fingers through my hair, and quickly pulled away…

"Embry, she's my imprint!" Jake snarled loudly, jolting me back to the present.

"Exactly!" They were toe-to-toe, the towering alpha staring down at Embry with eyes so full of malice that I feared for Embry's life.

"And she's my wife." Embry jerked away, as if the alpha's words physically lashed out and slapped him across the face. "I trust her wholeheartedly. I also trust my beta."

"Jake," I began, "you're my best friend and alpha. Ness is your imprint and totally gaga over you. I love her, like a sister, and you, like a brother. I wouldn't do anything, anything at all, to jeopardize your fated happiness together, even more so after your marriage." I walked forward and wedged myself between the two testosterone driven males, placing a hand on each of their chests and pushing them apart.

"I know that, Leah," Jake responded. His stance relaxed and the tightness around his eyes and mouth eased. I withdrew my hands from both the wolves and gave Embry a hard glare.

"Renesmee is my best friend and my best friend's imprinted wife. They've been two major factors in my healing and moving forward from the shit-hitting-fan fest. Yes, I was her first kiss, but that doesn't mean that she would betray Jake with me. She had a crush on her best friend, it happens. Of all people you should know that. I remember Samantha what's-her-face, your best friend in 6th grade that you declared was your one true love because she was your first kiss. Is that true? Is she your one true love now?"

I was in his face, my nose brushing against his, chest pressing against him, our breaths and increased body heat mingling as I shot daggers at him with my glare. Our tension was palpable, igniting the air, surrounding us with dangerous electricity of a near phase. If we were part of some idiotic romance flick it would have been the moment where we kissed, instead all I could see happening was a phase and blood bath. I pushed against him, driving him backwards and asserting my strength.

"Things change," he gritted out, not once breaking his gaze from mine. The growl in his chest made his rage obvious but his words snapped me back into control over myself.

"You're damned straight." I willed my muscles to loosen, my heart rate to slow and my phasing heat to cool but didn't look away from his vicious stare. "I'm the beta for a reason, Embry Call. No matter how bitchy I've been, no matter how angry I've gotten, no matter how much I've hated imprinting, I've always remained loyal to the pack and will continue to do so. Never, and I mean never, question my respect and loyalty to my alpha, especially since he's my best friend's husband and my pack brother."

His dark eyes lost their ferocity only to be replaced by guilt, confusion and regret. Taking a few steps back, he opened and closed his mouth several times before looking away with slumped shoulders. I felt Jake amble up beside me, fidgeting where he stood.

"I… I'm sorry, to the both of you. I don't know what got into me," Embry mumbled. He glanced at us, sadness drawing out his facial features. Jake moved forward, his slow movements showing just how uncomfortable he felt.

"Look, just compose yourself so we can all make up and return to the party. I can practically feel my bestie's worry." As soon as the words left my mouth the three of us, in perfect sync, reached back and rubbed the back of our necks. The guys, being guys, must have not noticed and I was too focused on my desire to get back into the tent to really care.

"I really am sorry you guys. If you like, I could go."

"Shut up, man. I need my best man at my wedding party. Now let's do like the beta suggested and head back in with smiles. Let's show the vamps what party animals really are!" the Alpha whooped. The strain in both the wolves melted as they hugged each other briefly.

"How precious," I snickered. Each shot me a playful glare before we headed back to the party as a carefree group of rowdy 'party animals'.