Disclaimer: SM owns Twilight

Ch2:Fate Couldn't Be So Unkind

Leah placed the pillow over her head and tried to block out the noise. Someone kept playing the same six bars of a song over and over again. It was driving her insane but she refused to find out where it was coming from. Once she moved the pillow throwing it on the floor in frustration, it took her a few minutes to realize that it was her cell phone's ring tone that was disturbing her sleep. Leah was a light sleeper due to her great hearing that usually meant she kept her cell phone on silent she had no idea why it was on the loudest volume now.

She was at the Holiday Inn by Seattle-Tacoma International Airport because that was the only hotel with a vacancy. The upcoming holiday and some teachers' convention had the other local hotels filled to capacity.

The singer's voice and the song that used to be one of her favorites blared out again and Leah grabbed the phone not bothering to sit up. She already knew she wasn't going to get back to sleep anytime soon. If it was the cheating, no-good Paul, she was going to lose the little patience she had left and give him the verbal blasting he so richly deserved.

"What?" Leah snapped.

"Well, hello and morning to you too sis." Leah sat up at the sound of her younger brother's voice.

He was the only guy she felt she could trust. He would never turn on her. They literally made sacrifice after sacrifice to look after one another being the only few to protect their tribe against estrange vampires. Leah and Seth's father had passed some time before that due to health problems. That didn't deter Sue Clearwater at all in fact it made her more determined to help her children keep their secret as much as she could. Sue still didn't understand everything because she had never turned into a wolf herself but she tried to understand and Leah loved her mother dearly for that.

But at the end of the day her brother was always there for her.

Although Seth Clearwater would be the last person to expect any kind of gratitude for the things he had done to help Leah through the years, Leah felt the weight of her indebtedness to her brother. She would never be able to repay Seth for all that he had done for her.

However… all the appreciation didn't take away from the fact that it was super early on a Saturday morning and all Leah wanted to do was sleep.

"Morning, Peanut." She called her little brother by his family nickname still, and she was probably the only person in the world Seth allowed to do so, besides his imprint. "Can I call you back at a decent hour, say noon or so?" Leah flopped back down on the bed and curled into the fluffy down comforter.

"Sorry, no can do. Mom and I have been calling you all morning. We were worried sick about you. Ma said she called your condo number numerous of times. I finally found Paul's number and called him. He wasn't answering. Then I called his cell after I didn't get an answer to your cell. He said you broke up with him. He sounds horrible, by the way, really distraught. But you must have a good reason for breaking up with him, and I would never tell you to second guess yourself. But do you want to talk about it at all? What happened? Why did the two of you break up so suddenly?"

"She should have left that guy a long time ago! I never liked him. She should let me introduce her to someone worthy." Keilani's voice could be heard in the background. She must have been sitting, or, knowing the two of them, lying down in the bed right next to Seth.

Seth hushed her.

Leah stretched out her legs and curled them back up. "Tell my darling sister-in-law that, although I love her to death, the I-love-me-some-alpha-jerk-reformed-playboys gene skipped me. I can't fathom having anything in common with anyone she would introduce me to."

Seth echoed Leah word for word, and Keilani could be heard mumbling that Leah had bad taste in men. Then there came giggling from Keilani, and Leah didn't even want to think what her brother must have been doing to her sister in law to warrant all those girlish giggles. It was TMI and too dang early in the morning.

"That's cold sis in law! I thought we were better than that," Keilani joked in the background.

"Smooches," Leah made a kissing sound. "now, if that's all, I really—"

"Oh, no, that's not all. Mom and I have been thinking of what we can do to lift your spirits since you just lost that promotion… and now with everything that is going on with Paul… You still haven't told me exactly what happened by the way…" Seth let his words hang suggestively.

And I'm not going to, at least not yet.

"Neither of which would be a problem if she would just come and work for Harrington Enterprise and let me hook her up with a real guy instead of the wannabes she keeps dating." Keilani added her two cents, clearly getting Leah back for her previous dig.

"Kei!" Seth let out an exasperated sigh.

Leah laughed. Even if she really thought she had hurt her sister-in-law's feelings with her comment about the alpha-jerk-reformed-playboys, she still would have laughed. Because Seth's rich, stunningly gorgeous control freak imprint like her needed to be taken down a peg whenever possible, and her brother was too crazy in love to do a proper job of it.

She knew she could have easily taken a job at her sister-in-law's company, Harrington Enterprise. But she was serious about making a mark on her own. She had her family to thank for all the sacrifices they had made to ensure that Leah became the woman that she was. But she drew the line at favoritism and relying on family connections to get ahead in the business world.

"Anyway sis, mom and I figured all you girls could take a little shopping trip to California. We haven't been to the penthouse there in forever and the kids might even get to see some snow. You have the week off from work. It would be great."

"Huh?"

"Thanksgiving in California. A parade. Kids happy. Your mind off the stress in your life, shopping the Friday after Thanksgiving… in California…" Seth let his words trail in an enticing manner.

Leah thought about it. She truly loved her niece and nephews. Seth II was eleven and Harry was eight. They looked like their mother but had their father's calm and loving personality. Her little niece, Evelyn "Evie" Clearwater, was the spitting image of Seth, but she had Keilani's over-the-top, sometimes overbearing personality. Leah sometimes called her little niece the five-year—old terror. But she loved those kids. She loved the family her brother had been able to create. Because she knew she probably would never be able to have one of her own since her period no longer came. Phasing solved that problem.

She really wasn't in the holiday spirit. She would have been a killjoy for everyone. It was best if she stayed behind.

"No. You all can go without me. I'm not going." Leah sat up.

She had pretty much decided that she was going to spend the week away from people she knew. She had to do some self-reflection. Maybe a little wallowing in self-pity—just a little…

Then she would pick herself up and put the pieces back together again.

All she needed to do was spend the week digging into her psyche and keeping herself calm and she would be fine. She was her mother's child, after all, and that side of the family didn't believe in paying for therapy when a little tough love and keeping her well-guarded secret were way more important. Paul's betrayal had thrown her off track, but she could fix this and she would be as good as new.

"I'm sorry Peanut, but I'm not going to spend Thanksgiving with the family this year. I'm not going to Big bear in California."

"Now, sis, you know we have to celebrate Thanksgiving as a family. Mom is getting up there in years, and who knows how much longer we will have her around to celebrate the holidays with? We should be there with her if nothing else."

"Sorry, I have to pass this time Peanut. With everything that happened since yesterday, I really can't be around people right now. I love you and mom, but I need you guys to respect my wishes on this one…"

"Aww, come on, sis… Please consider it…" Seth's pleading voice was almost enough to make Leah reconsider.

After the passing of their father it made Seth re-evaluate life and how much he took their family for granted. So now every chance he could he was always big on getting the family together. Usually, Leah was willing to indulge her younger brother because she almost always gave into him. But she just couldn't work up the energy it would take to not be a drain on the family's holiday celebration.

"I'll have to pass baby bro. I'm boycotting Thanksgiving this year." Leah put her hand over her eyes for a second.

Leah could hear Keilani taking the phone from Seth, "Why?"

"Should I celebrate my jerk of a boss that fixed it so that I wouldn't be promoted out of his division? Or maybe I should celebrate the cheating boyfriend that I found banging someone else in my bed?" Leah let out a low hiss of disgust.

"Oh Leah, I'm so sorry that happened to you sweetie. You don't deserve that. I really hate to channel your mom right now but you could be thankful that you're alive. And now you can go find you a good man."

I am thankful for that. I just want a minute to myself to be in a funk. Is that too much to ask?

Leah sighed. "I'm going to be out of the country anyway, so I can't go."

Seth must have taken the phone back out of Keilani's hands because he was speaking now. "Stop lying sis. Where would you be going the week of Thanksgiving?"

"I'm taking an island vacation for a week to have some me time and to get my groove back. Sorry, I can't do the family thing this year."

"Well, think about it before you just write it off. We'll be flying out on the jet Monday morning…" Seth's voice trailed off. "Why would you want to be on some island by yourself when you could be with your family? Are you sure traveling by yourself in your state of mind is a good idea?"

She could just hear what her brother was implying but she really didn't want to get into it. So she held back the snarl that wanted to come out as she said. "Yep, the best idea I've had in a long time. Tell mom I love you and I wish I could be there with you guys, but I just can't,"

"Okay…" Seth seemed to be searching for another argument that would compel Leah to say yes.

"Anyway, Peanut, now that I'm up I have sooo many things to take care of before my trip. So many details…" Like actually planning a trip and booking one… I'm going straight to hell for being a big ole liar. "I think an island get away is just what I need right now." Maybe an island fling really will help me get my groove back. And who knows I might even imprint. "So I'll call you when I get back. I'll have you in my thoughts this week. You guys have a great Thanksgiving. Give my niece and nephews a big ole hug from Auntie Leah and tell them I'll see them when I get back."

"But—"

"Thanks Peanut! Love you Bye." Leah hung up the phone and turned it off.

She could have just stayed in the hotel and licked her wounds for the week. But the more she thought about a trip, the better it sounded. All she had to do now was make her fictional island getaway a reality.

The following day Leah found herself getting set up in first class as she waited for the flight to take off. She had her iPod in her lap preparing to at least drown out some of the sounds of what the people surrounding her would make. Being in closed spaces made her wolf antsy but she didn't mind it knowing that it would be over within a few hours.

"This must be my lucky day. If it isn't Leah Clearwater," came a deep, sexy and taunting male voice from above her.

Leah stared at the passenger waiting for her to move so that he could sit in the seat next to hers, and her heart stopped. She looked him up and down. Tall, russet brown, built like nobody's business with passionate, daring brown eyes and a mischievous dimpled smile—in a word, gorgeous. Looking exactly as she had remembered, down to the stupid smug smirk on his face.

Jacob Black.

It couldn't be. Fate isn't that unkind. The universe doesn't have that sick a sense of humor.

If it didn't seem too totally melodramatic, she would have thrown her head to the sky and cried out, "Why?"

A weak half smile flickered across her face, and she knew it must have looked like a cross between a grimace and a sneer. Yet she couldn't force her lips to give up a full, bright but very false form of greeting to save her life. The shock of seeing him of all people seemed too much. He knew her secret and she knew his but that still did nothing to help the situation.

Shouldn't she have been able to smell him?

Inhaling for a slight second she realized why she didn't, all the other people surrounding her took over her senses because she wasn't paying attention. But now that she was fully alert and he was in front of her she wanted to slap herself in the face, his scent was unique, powerful and strong.

There was no way that Leah could endure a three and a half hour flight sitting next to her arch nemesis from college after finding out that she didn't get the promotion she'd wanted and finding her boyfriend in bed with another woman.

The timing of it all sucked. No way in hell was her biggest rival supposed to be a part of her get-away-from-it-all soul searching trip to Blake Island!

Granted, she probably should be on Keilani's private jet with Seth and mom headed for the family's Thanksgiving celebration in California instead of taking a solo island vacation and looking for a fling to help her get her groove back, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. She only hoped that the family would understand that she had to get away. She needed some time alone to process and reevaluate everything in her life from her failed relationships to her obstructed work life. She refused to believe that she had really and truly peaked in college and there was nothing left for her to excel in.

Judging by the fact that she had ended up sitting next to Jacob Black—The Wolf, as he had been called in college—the universe wasn't forgiving about her blowing off Thanksgiving with the family.

The universe is soo freaking cruel!

Jacob Black. Seriously? What is Satan or a vampire too busy to sit next to me on a plane to Blake Island? That was the only thing she could think of that would be worse than Jacob, the devil himself. Or a vampire. She couldn't choose between the two.

She never thought she would see him in person again. Oh, she couldn't help seeing him in print. From the business pages to the society pages, The Wolf was kind of a media whore being well known for corporate takeovers, media fodder, love them and leave them. You name it, he did it. And the press wrote about it. As far as she could tell, she was the only person in the world who could actually say that she had beaten the kid at his own game.

That small victory had cost her a piece of her heart.

Shouldn't have sprung for the first class ticket, she thought as she eyed him wearily. The Wolf wouldn't be caught dead in coach!

Leah got up and let Jake get into his window seat. While standing, she glanced toward the back of the plane.

Packed.

Full.

No damn chance of changing seats.

Well damn.

She sat back down and fastened her seat belt, mentally preparing herself for what could only be a very long flight.

"So, little Leah Clearwater, what have you been up to since SPU?" he leaned back in his seat and glanced at her. A smug smirk spread across his face, showing more teeth than lip. And, oh, what perfect teeth they were.

Leah thought about just ignoring him. Really, just because the flight was full and she couldn't move to another seat, did not mean she had to talk to him.

She glanced at him sideways and expelled a deep breath to let him know that was going through great pains to speak. "After finishing my undergraduate degree I went on to get an MBA in finance. I work in finance." She crossed her arms and twisted her lips.

He squinted and opened and closed his mouth quickly. Staring at her for a second, he finally spoke. "Interesting. I would have thought that you would be somewhere running the city by now. You know given the way you blew into SPU, trying to run things."

Doing a double take, she tilted her head and thought. Trying to run things? Whatever!

She pursed her lips for a moment trying to keep her anger in order before she responded. "Well, given the fact that I was elected student government president in the second semester of my sophomore year and I beat a guy who was going to be a senior—a fancy frat boy, sports star, and all around Mr. Popular… oh wait…" she put her finger on her chin before pointing at him. "That was you, wasn't it?" she watched the smug expression disappear as she continued. "Anyway I think it's safe to say that I didn't try, I succeeded."

He arched his eyebrow as he observed her. "Modesty has never been your strong point Clearwater."

"Yours either Black."

"Touche." A predatory smile, which highlighted those perfect teeth, crossed his lips. The russet brown complexioned man with almond shaped eyes that made a woman long for the bedroom was infuriating. She w

"So what do you say, "he started and smiled at her before finishing, "we bury the legendary hatchet and let bygones be bygones?"

Leah pretended to consider his suggestion. There was no way she would do such a thing. Jake and his flunkies had run a horribly slanderous campaign and spread so many lies that people had still been whispering about her well into her senior year.

But the lies weren't the reason why she had vowed never to be nice to Jacob again. It was the truth that he let creep out that firmly placed him on her hate with a capital H list.

This time she found herself able to manage at least a fake smile. "Burying the hatchet would be the mature thing to do huh? I mean, why hold on to silly college grudges when we're both adults."

His smile didn't appear genuine to Leah either. "Right, I for one am over the fact that you and your sorority sisters stole that election from me and ruined the legacy that I was going to leave for SPU." He took a deep breath, looking all pompous. "I'm ready to forgive you."

Forgive me? Why you arrogant smug son of an asshole jerk! I'll show you forgive me, she thought as her right eyebrow arched slightly.

"You, know you might be on to something. I think it would be wonderful and very big of me to forgive you and your stupid fraternity brothers for running such a slanderous campaign. Especially since, even with all the lies you told, you still lost. Forgiving you for your lies…is…" She let out a long, exaggerated sigh before finishing. "the very least I could do. Especially since my winning the election and becoming student government association president was the beginning of the very rich legacy of dynamic leadership I left at SPU."

Jacob's eyes narrowed and he stared at her a full minute before his face moved and the hint of a smirk appeared.

The close quarters of the small first class cabin seemed to move in on her with that smile.

First class was supposed to be roomy.

Wasn't it?

Jacob and his overwhelmingly sexy, larger than life persona took up all the damn room. She steeled herself to his magnetism by remembering who and what he really was. An arrogant, self-serving wolf!

Leah sighed, making strategic use of the stylized attitude that she had perfected across the ages with just enough huff and a slight roll of the eyes for good measure.

"Well, I'm glad we can agree to let the past be the past. Forgive and forget." He smiled.

Forgive? The jury's still out.

Forget? Not even on a bet.

She offered a fake laugh, a "hahahaha" that was movie ready. "Yes. It was a silly college rivalry, after all. Life goes on. People change."

Except for people like you. I will never forgive you for tricking me into thinking you liked me, all the while scheming to get a picture of me kissing you to use as a part of your smear campaign. "See, even opponent Leah Clearwater has the hots for Jacob Black. Cast your vote for the candidate everyone wants!"

Clearing his throat, he asked, "So, Leah have you been to Blake before?"

Leah glanced at him. For a brief second she considered not responding.

Why are you still talking to me?

"Just briefly. I took my mom on a Caribbean cruise and Blake was one of the islands we visited. It was so beautiful that I always wanted to come back and spend a little more time there. So, I figured I would spend a week getting to know the island."

"Well, it's my home. I was born and raised there." Jacob gave her a smile that was sure he meant to charm with. It was all teeth. "So, please allow me to be your host and tour guide, for old times' sake."

"Yeah right." She sucked her teeth and shook her head. "I don't think so. I would like to find my way around on my own. I'm sure you have plenty of family and friends here to keep you busy."

He leaned in close, nostrils flared and eyes darkened considerably. If she didn't know any better she would think that he was on the prowl. "Yes, but it's not often I get a chance to catch up with an old friend such as yourself. What kind of frat brother would I be if I let one of my Delta sisters roam around my island home all alone?"

She rolled her eyes then. The guy was truly reaching trying to play the Delta and Omega connection.

"Now you know during the years we were at SPU we hardly brought into the brother-sister thing. The entire time I was there my girls couldn't stand you guys."

It was so bad that during her freshmen, sophomore and part of her junior years, the SPU chapters of those organizations might as well have been mortal enemies. The beef between them so intense the year she pledged that she wasn't required to meet any of the members of his fraternity. That had led to some very awkward moments for her, since she had several classes with Omegas and had to see them and not acknowledge them as fellow brothers on the yard.

As she remembered, she realized Jake had been in one of her classes. She remembered how he would sometimes stand in her way in an effort to make her acknowledge and greet him. She would simply walk around him and not say a word.

Leah had actually worked on building peace with the Omegas during her junior year. But Jake and his group of frat brothers had been long gone by then. The two chapters actually had a much better relationship now due to the work she had done to make peace. But she wasn't about to tell him that. It would just give him more reason to pursue whatever evil plot he had in that big head of his.

The smirk that came across his face let her know he wouldn't be giving up anytime soon. "Yes that may be true but historically our organizations have an unwritten brother and sister bond that I feel obligated to uphold. I just refuse to have one of my sorors wandering around Blake alone when I'm here to show her around."

Leah placed on her most innocent smile as she said. "I'll tell you what. If I feel the need for a tour guide, I'll let you suggest the name of a good one. But I really think the time we are spending on the flight right now is enough to last us a lifetime."

Just then, the flight attendant announced that passengers could now turn on authorized electronics, and Leah made a show of pulling out her iPod, hoping that Jake would get the hint. She figured some of the girl power singing groups would get her through the trip and deal with Jacob's annoying presence.

Leah let out a sigh of release as she sang along with the girl groups playing on her iPod. This should make the three and a half hour trip a little more bearable.

She hoped.

:D Already having fun with this...

I was thinking about breaking this into two separate chapters but I wanted some Jake and Leah time sooo here it is :)

Well part of it at least..

Anyways

Review lovies!