AN: Okay so year 12 is a little more hectic than I thought it would be and I've been kind of busy with my cart-load of homework lately, but here it is. This is definitely one of my favourite chapters so far and I'm quite proud of it- I hope you guys feel the same :)

Disclaimer: I do not own anything to do with the Twilight franchise.

Enjoy ^_^

CHAPTER 15

JACOB POV

After Jasper had successfully calmed Alice down- he didn't even have to use his powers, which surprised Jacob immensely- everyone relocated back to the Cullen's house and somehow it made Jacob feel closer to Seth, being in the room where he'd last laid eyes on his brother.

There was no awkward silence this time, as soon as everyone was seated in the living room Emmett spoke, "He imprinted on Alec? As in the Alec of Jane and Alec, evil witch twins of the Volturi? That Alec?"

His question was directed at Edward, who nodded. "Yes, that Alec. I felt it the moment the imprint happened."

"So did I," interrupted Jasper. "Although I didn't know what it was at the time. I also felt an almost heartbreaking sadness from Seth when the Volturi did leave, but he wouldn't tell me what was causing it."

"How is this even possible?" asked Bella, who was sitting on the couch with little Nessie on her lap. "I thought that imprinting only occurred between people of the opposite sex to make stronger wolves? It doesn't make sense that Seth would have imprinted on a boy. And Alec is a vampire, so even if he was female there's no way that he and Seth could actually have a child together."

Everyone fell silent thinking about her question and Jacob had to admit that that was the one thing that had been troubling him the most.

'Bella's right,' he thought. 'Even if by some weird-ass miracle Alec turned out to be a girl, he's still a vampire so there is absolutely no way he and Seth could have a kid, which means that either Seth didn't actually imprint or everything that we think we know about imprinting is wrong.'

With the first-hand evidence given by Seth and then Edward, Jacob was starting to think that the latter option was more likely. However, he was finding it hard to believe that something that had been taught to the Quileute wolves for generations was completely wrong, that hundreds of people had been living their lives by false information.

His frantic thoughts were interrupted by Carlisle, who said, "Technically we know very little about how and why the Quileute wolves' imprint. The theory that it occurs in order to produce a stronger generation of wolves is simply that, a theory. There is no evidence in effect to back up the assumption; it is simply the most plausible explanation for something that would otherwise seem completely random. Or it was the most plausible explanation until yesterday that is."

"Well, as far as I know Seth has never once lied to us- Maggie's testimony in the clearing yesterday pretty much proves that beyond a doubt- and I doubt that he has ever lied to any of the tribe either. In fact, I'm almost positive that boy is incapable of telling even the smallest fib to anyone," said Emmett, with everyone else in the room nodding in agreement.

"So we know for sure that this wasn't brought on by one of the Volturi's freak powers and that Seth isn't lying. Do you think that it's safe to assume that the pack knew this too?" He asked, again with everyone nodding.

"Well then, why the hell did they basically kick him out!" Yelled Emmett angrily, "If it wasn't some diabolical plan of the Volturi's and Seth didn't imprint on Alec on purpose then what right do the council think they have trying to make him stay away from Alec forever?" Emmett was so overcome with rage that he forgot his own strength and punched the chair arm so hard that it almost crumbled to dust.

Jacob noticed that everyone else in the room seemed to agree completely with Emmett. Some- like Carlisle and Jasper- were very good at hiding it- with only a slight tightening around their eyes giving away the extent of their anger- , while others- like Rosalie and Bella- weren't even trying to hide it, glaring and nodding their heads furiously at Emmett. Alice was so angry that she was almost quivering with pent-up rage and for the first time in almost a year, Jacob himself was so mad that he felt as though he was in danger of phasing right there in the living room.

"We don't know how they're feeling themselves," Said Esme rationally. "Remember, they didn't know that what they were making him do would cause Seth to run away."

"Well maybe they should have thought of that before condemning the nicest person anyone has ever met for something that isn't his fault," snapped Rosalie in return.

"I agree with Rose," said Jasper, much to the surprise of everyone.

The fact that even Jasper thought the Quileute's had made a very harsh and wrong decision helped Jacob make up his mind and he stood from his chair so abruptly that it tipped backwards onto the floor.

"Where are you going?" Asked Emmett as Jacob began walking towards the door.

"I think that it's about time I went and paid my dear tribe a visit, don't you?" Asked Jacob, his tone dangerous, "I would offer to take you all with me but with the current mind-set of the council I believe that having a group of angry vampires with me would do more harm than good.

Although it obviously pained him, Emmett's head actually won out over his heart and he nodded in agreement, seeing the logic of Jacob's argument, as did everyone else.

Although he wanted to get to La Push as fast as possible, Jacob didn't want to go through the hassle of phasing so he 'borrowed' Edward's car- sure that the vampire would know what he planned to do and that he would have said something if he had a problem with it.

As Jacob drove recklessly down the Cullen's extensive drive-way he pulled out his phone and speed-dialled his father. Billy picked up after two rings but before he could say so much as a 'hello', Jacob snapped at him, "Council meeting at our house. NOW!"

Again, before Billy could get even one word in Jacob hung up the phone and concentrated all of his effort on getting to the Rez at break-neck speed-without crashing the car and actually breaking his neck.

Judging by the amount of cars in the drive Jacob was the last of the pack/council to arrive at the Black house, despite his reckless driving.

'Good,' he thought. 'I doubt I would have been able to hold this in long enough to wait for anyone else to get here.'

Jacob exited the car, slamming the door viciously, and stormed up the path. He flung the front door open so hard that he barely had time to cross the threshold before it was rebounding off the wall and slamming shut loudly behind him.

Jacob stomped loudly down the narrow hallway and all but flung himself into the lounge room, glaring at the occupants seated on the rooms various surfaces.

The looks in the tribe's eyes varied from worry to shock at his loud and abrupt entrance. As usual, Billy was the first to speak, "What is wrong son?" He asked, "The way you were on the phone it sounded as though you were in some kind of trouble."

Jacob turned the full force of his glare on his wheelchair-bound father, who flinched.

"What did you do to Seth?" Jacob asked, actually surprised at how dangerously calm his voice sounded.

"What are you talking about Jacob? We didn't do anything to him." Said Sue, who was sitting next to Billy.

"Oh? You didn't do anything? Nothing at all?" Jacob asked her, barely keeping his rage in check.

"So you didn't out him to the entire pack and council then?" He asked, "You didn't completely ignore what he was thinking and feeling? You didn't threaten to disown him if he tried to follow Alec? You didn't make your sixteen year-old son choose between his family and his imprint?"

By now the calm in Jacob's voice had disappeared to be replaced with cold, hard fury. His rage was making him physically shake as he surveyed the room, looking at the equally upset and guilty occupants who he had once considered to be his family, Seth's family.

Sue was the first to retain her calm, "You're being unreasonable Jacob." She said, "Seth didn't imprint on the leech, it was clearly some kind of blood-sucker mind-trick. I am simply doing what I have to to protect my son."

"You are so dim," said Jacob scathingly. "Do you really think that the effects of imprinting can be duplicated? There is no way that any of the Volturi could reproduce that feeling and even if one of them could, it wouldn't be Alec- his mind trick, as you call it is to cut off feelings and emotions, not create them! Besides, it would be a trick of the mind and Seth was behind Bella's shield the entire time, there's no way anyone could have gotten to him!"

Sue looked shocked at this revelation, "But-".

She tried to say something but Jacob cut her off, "No, there are no buts. Jasper can sense feelings, Alice can see the future, Edward can read minds for god's sake and all of them love Seth like their own family. Don't you think that if something unnatural had occurred they would have told us, or at the very least Seth?"

The entire room had been stunned to silence and those who hadn't been considering it before now found themselves thinking that maybe, just maybe Seth's idea on imprinting hadn't been as far off the mark as they'd thought.

Billy spoke to Jacob for the first time since his outburst began, "Look son, all of this is very far-fetched and while you do put up some good arguments surely you can understand why we are wary to believe all of this... Speculation?"

He looked at Jacob- who simply stared blankly back at him- and continued. "Why don't you give Seth a call? He can come home and we can all discuss this rationally."

Jacob's shoulders slumped in despair, "I can't." He said.

"Why ever not? He should be back by now anyway," Said Sue. "The only reason he left in the first place was to say goodbye to your vampire friends."

Jacob felt the last of his anger dissipate and tears began building in his eyes again.

"Seth's gone." He said, voice breaking as he looked at the floor.

"What do you mean he's gone?" Asked Leah in a small voice, speaking for the first time since Jacob had entered the room.

"I mean exactly that, he's gone." Sighed Jacob, "He thought that none of you would ever love or accept him after he imprinted and he would never be able to choose anyone over Alec anyway, so he left to go find him- and he doesn't plan on coming back."

There was a stunned silence in the room- even Sue was at a loss for anything to say- then Leah started crying. Her outburst of loud sobs sent everyone into an even deeper state of shock, including Jacob- Leah never cried- she had always been considered too heartless for something as emotional as crying.

"This is m-y fault!" She sobbed, "I n-ever should have t-t-old, I sh-sh-ould have known something like this would hap-pen!"

"This isn't your fault Leah," Said Sam quietly. "How were we to know that Seth would do something like this? We were just trying to help."

There was a very loud and very sarcastic snort of laughter at Sam's comment and Jacob was shocked to see that it had come from Paul.

"You're kidding right?" he exclaimed, "You weren't trying to help Seth, you were trying to make him like all of you! The kid isn't stupid; thanks to us he knows exactly what imprinting feels like. If you really wanted to help Seth you would have believed him and supported him instead of giving him a choice that he never should have had to make."

"I don't want to hear anything else from any of you, brothers." Paul continued when it looked as though Embry and Jared were going to protest to the insult of their Alpha.

"I for one am going to look for Seth and give him the support that he really needs," He said and began walking for the door.

"I'm coming too," Said Quill, confidently following Paul out of the room.

Jacob paused to give the rest of the pack one last glare, "If any of you have the guts to realise that you were wrong and help us find Seth then you had better follow us soon or you might find that our little brother isn't as forgiving as you once thought."

He scanned the room one final time, gaze pausing momentarily on Leah's tear-stricken face before he left the house at a run and made for the woods in his back yard.

As soon as he passed the line of the trees Jacob phased (not even bothering to take his clothes off) and instantly he heard Quill and Paul's minds connect with his.

'What did you do?' Asked Jacob, 'You guys are in Sam's pack, I shouldn't be able to hear you!'

'Well,' thought Quill, 'We decided that we didn't want to be part of a pack where we are constantly going to be afraid of being kicked-out. What if they decide to reject my imprint on Claire because she's too young? No matter how much it hurt, I would never be able to pick the pack over her but I don't ever want to be forced to make that choice- and I know I won't have to with you.'

'Besides Jake,' Quill continued with a mental-smile, 'You're my best mate, I've actually been considering this for a while.'

Jake laughed at his friends reasoning as they ran to where he had found Seth's letters.

'What about you Paul?' He asked, genuinely curious for the answer he would receive from the older wolf.

'Same reasons as Quill,' Paul answered, with a mental-shrug. 'Except for the part where you're my friend.'

Jacob let out a mental belly laugh- running with Quill and Paul reminded him of running patrols with Leah and Seth back at the Cullen's house.

Thinking about Seth put an instant damper on the mood and the rest of the run was spent in silence until suddenly and shockingly Jacob felt another mind join theirs.

'Leah?' he asked, confused.

'What?' she thought back. 'You didn't seriously think that I'd bail on my little brother did you? Seth may be a pain in the arse most of the time but contrary to popular belief I do actually love him and so do the others, they're with me now.'

Now that she'd mentioned it, Jacob could hear what remained of Sam's pack catching up with them and he was secretly happy that they had accepted Seth, the kid definitely deserved it. This thought was met with vehement agreement from the rest of his (now significantly larger) pack, although most of their energy was focused on following Seth's scent.

Leah caught up with them just after they passed the tree where Jacob had found Seth's letters- everyone gave a mental wince as the memories of reading them came to surface in Jacob's mind- and Sam, Jared and Embry caught up not long after that.

They ran for what felt like hours and Jacob was right on the verge of giving up and taking a rest when suddenly Leah- who was in front- yelled back to them with her mind, 'His scent just got a lot stronger guys! I think me might be up ahead, just under that huge tree.'

At this news everyone got incredibly excited. Jacob forced himself to put on a final burst of speed and he reached the tree in record time.

He slowed down to a trot when he reached the tree and stiffed among the large roots where Seth's scent was the strongest.

'I don't understand,' he thought. 'I can smell him but I can't see or hear him.'

He was still pondering this question when his senses were suddenly overwhelmed by a horrible scent that burned his nose. It was only after a second that he realised he was smelling it through Leah, who was panicking.

'Oh no. No, no, no, no, NO!' She screamed, taking off into the trees.

Recognising the scent for himself, Jacob followed Leah as quickly as he could; worry gnawing at his mind as Seth's scent became fainter and fainter, gradually disappearing into the smell of vampire.

Finally Jacob and other wolves caught up to Leah at a small river in the forest. A very wet Leah was running up and down the opposite bank frantically, nose pressed to the ground, trying to find any sign of either her brother or the mysterious vampire he had disappeared with.

Finally Leah stopped running. Her shoulders slumped in defeat and for a moment Jacob was worried that she would collapse but instead she let out the most heart-wrenching howl Jacob had ever heard.

Jacob was suddenly assaulted with emotions of crushing grief on all sides as the packs realised that Seth's scent was gone. Their grief, coupled with his own was too much for Jacob to bear and he let out a howl of his own. Pouring his heart into that one grief-stricken noise, Jacob let out everything he was feeling- the sadness that this had happened to Seth of all people, the anger that he felt at the others for pushing him away, the knowledge that Seth could at this very moment be in the company of a dangerous vampire and most of all, the wrenching fear that he would never see his little brother again.

It was as though all of the light had been sucked out of his life with that one realisation and suddenly Jacob remembered his words from earlier and howled all the harder for realising that they had been true.

'Seth's gone. And he doesn't plan on coming back.'

A couple of hours earlier...

SETH POV

Seth looked up at Alec's offered hand and hesitated.

'Is this really what I want?' He thought, 'Am I actually willing to give up everything I've ever had for the slight chance that Alec might one day decide that he feels the same way I do?'

Seth thought back to the council meeting the day before, the look in his mother's eyes while she was talking about his imprint, the disgust in the eyes of the pack when they heard what had happened and he almost reached out to grasp Alec's hand in return, but then Seth remembered again.

He remembered all of the times that his mother and sister had been there for him, he remembered the feeling of being in a pack- where everyone knew exactly what you were thinking and feeling and accepted you regardless.

Seth remembered all the time he had spent with the Cullen's and how they had invited him into their home and accepted him despite the fact that he was a werewolf. Seth remembered all of the times where he had felt like part of a family.

'Is he worth it?' He thought.

Seth looked into the eyes of the vampire in front of him. They were the eyes of a killer, someone who would not hesitate to tear him apart if ordered to, someone who had contributed in the murder of hundreds-probably thousands- of innocent people.

Seth looked into Alec's eyes and realised that he knew exactly what his answer was.

He reached out and grasped Alec's slightly cooler hand in his own, allowing himself to be pulled to his feet. The thrill Seth felt at the skin-to-skin contact with his imprint simply re-enforced his decision and as he followed Alec into the woods Seth asked himself one last time, 'Is he worth it?'

'Yes.'

LEAH POV

Leah lay on her bed curled into a tight ball, looking at the envelope in her hand with eyes that were red and puffy from crying.

Jacob had given her the letter just before he had left for the Cullen's, saying that he couldn't stand to be in the house with his father- or any of the pack excluding Paul and Quill- for any period of time at the moment, but he had given her the letter regardless of what he thought of her.

'Because Seth wanted me to,' He had said before leaving.

Leah had been laying on her bed for hours, simply staring at the letter and trying to work up the courage to open it, to read her little brothers goodbye.

She felt the tears beginning to well up in her eyes again and quickly ripped the envelope open before they could fall.

Dearest Leah,

I understand why you did what you did. I know you thought it was the right thing to do and I want you to know that I don't blame you in the slightest for doing it either. I am sorry that I ever put you in the position where you felt you had to choose between me and Mom and I respect that you had the courage to do what I could not.

Leah, you are my sister. I love you so very much and nothing you do- no matter how bad- is ever going to change that for me. I'm sorry that I had to leave and I'm sorry that I didn't say goodbye but, like you I was faced with an impossible decision and I made the choice that I thought was best.

I want you to know that I think this is what I need- what will make me happy- and the only thing that I am going to regret is leaving you behind. I'm sorry that you're going to have to face life alone for a while now, but I know that there is someone out there for you too Leah and although I'm not there I want you to promise me that you won't give up hope. After all, if I can imprint on a guy vampire than anything's possible right?

Please pass on my love to Mom and tell her that I do not blame her for this either- I know you were both just trying to look out for me.

I love you both so, so much and I will miss you more than you will ever know.

Your annoying little brother,

Seth xoxo

Leah stared at the letter for a good minute before clutching it tightly to her chest and collapsing back on her bed, crying harder than she ever had in her life.

"I am so sorry," She whispered. "I'm so sorry that I made you choose Seth."

Leah cried herself to sleep that night and when she woke up she found her mother in a similar state sleeping next to her. Leah went back to sleep hoping that she would wake up and feel better, that her mother would be in her own bed just like she usually was and that Seth would be home safe and sound.

Leah hoped that she when she woke up everything would be right with the world again, but it wasn't. Her Mom was still puffy-eyed and sleeping next to her and her baby brother- the centre of Leah's entire universe- was still gone.

'I'm sorry.'

Okay guys, if there was ever a chapter that I wanted you to review, this is it. It took me a lot of time to write this and I really want to know if you enjoyed it as much as I did or if there's something you think I could have improved on.

Please Review!