AN: The chapter you've all been waiting for. My betas love it; but myself personally thought maybe some of you might be a little disappointed. Hopefully I'm wrong. Lol. Sam's rage is a key element in this chapter, and I hope you guys really feel for the guy after this. (not as much as you feel for Leah but yeah :p) Haha, and thanks like always for the amazing feedback :) I got a ton of PMs and reviews guys and they're actually amazing; but from this point on, enjoy; don't shit yourselves.

They breeched Cree territory in a matter of hours.

It was the fastest the pack had ever run; paws pounding across the forest floor like the very land they stepped on was slipping away and falling into nothing. Like if they didn't run their fastest, run their hardest... They might slip away into nothing too.

Technically, it was close to true. But with an ending in sight, finally after weeks of going on empty and searching for even the barest hint that finding Leah might be somewhere in their futures, the Cree pack made one vital screw-up. And that had given them the will to race harder than ever.

A member of their own pack.

Jacob growled as he thought about it. He actually snarled loud and clear through his teeth, his russet shoulder just a little behind Sam's black one as he ran tight, neck and neck with his friend. Perhaps Janice didn't mean to leave the necklace for him to find; maybe she put it down and forgot about it. Or it was a spur of the moment thing.. Maybe she figured they wouldn't remember Leah had had it when she went missing..?

Jake didn't know. 'But that chick putting it there for us to find seems just a little bit too out of place for me.' The proud second Alpha thought.

'You're definitely right,' Embry 'grrr'd, his spotted fur hardly a contrast to the speeding forest-winterland surroundings. 'Goddamn this snow! It's actually startin' to slow me down.' He grumbled.

Life wouldn't make it easy for them, would it? Of course not. The storm that had irritated and fucked up this situation from the very beginning was back and getting worse; snow had started falling a few hours before and as it began to stockpile on the forest floor and ice began to form, travelling became treacherous.

Quil had already tripped twice. The second time he took Paul down with him and both of the wolves were spittin' and yowling like geese as they struggled to get their footing back and shake the freezing white out of their fur.

(Emmett found it monumentally hilarious.)

Then about an hour after that, as they crossed a trench just about frozen over, poor Embry had to pick a spot where the ice was a little too dark and fell through into the freezing water below. It wasn't deep; he could feel the bottom of the riverbed but it still didn't help the fact that the shattered ice around him tore and ripped at his fur and the water permanently chilled him.

Even now running Embry was the last in line again, trying to get feeling back in his massive paws. And since he wasn't as quick on his feet anymore, everytime he ran through a snowdrift the piles would drag him down before the brother could get another paw to stand up straight on.

(Poor ol' Embry was having a rough go of it.)

Alice had taken to flitting along beside him, her hand as white as the snow itself sometimes grasping the fur on Embry's back and giving him a much needed pluck out of the cold white subterrain.

Noble, though, how the storm only slowed them; they never stopped. Their thoughts were still instigated on the exact same thing; finding Leah and making sure she was safe.

Sam was the head of these thoughts, and what ran through his head gave everyone hope- Especially Seth. Apparently, as they crossed the line into Cree territory over the Canadian border Sam's heart seemed to swell with this feeling; this.. This charisma that floated on the breeze and told him Leah was okay.

Well.. Alive, at least.

Because a discovery made about two hours later after that practically chilled everyone even worse than Embry's icicle-coated fur.

It was Edward and Sam that had stopped first, Sam prancing on his proud battered paws and sniffing this and that, random trees not completely buried and what appeared to be the remnants of other paw prints and footprints before the snow covered them.

'I can smell her!' Sam barked, high and urgent. The rest of the pack and the vampires slowed beside them and they too frantically began to scour their surroundings.

"But that's not all." Edward gulped, his icy exterior strangely rattled as he lifted his head to the sky, and felt a burning in his throat. Carlisle grit his diamond teeth and he sighed deeply.

"It's mixed with her blood."

Seth whimpered, Esme casting him a sad look and running her hands through the fur on his side, Leah's little brother distraught.

"She may be alive.. But she's seriously hurt." Jasper muttered, the white of winter around him doing nothing to hide the hundreds of scars that littered his handsome physique. "I suggest we hurry."

No more words were spoken from Sam, and he took off at an appalling speed through the blistering cold North.

Anger hot enough to boil his frozen blood returned and he swore he was going to tear into that whole pack, rip them limb from limb like an evil bloodsucker and maybe something worse just because they deserved it for hurting his LeeLee.

How dare they dilute her pure, bouquet passionflower and ocean breeze scent with the coppery tang of blood!? Sam would be sure to drown them in their own when he found those sons of bitches.

He heard the distant thumping of paws behind him; saw blurs every now and then as his vampire allies matched him sometimes stride for stride.

It was a race; Sam was sure of it now like he hadn't been before. His ex, the girl he could've fought himself to admit he loved was out here somewhere hurt and bleeding and Sam knew time was a major factor here.

Leah would be okay. Sam was going to make sure of it.

As Sam ran ahead of them, Paul and Jake pondered his changing personality in their thoughts.

'Isn't it funny how before he wanted to find Leah to bring himself, and the rest of us peace of mind? But now he just wants to find her because he simply.. Needs to, has to?' Paul noticed, his own dark grey paws beating the snow beneath.

'I know. I don't care what he says anymore. Man's in love. Always has been, I know it.' Jake said. 'I betcha that's why he's not going back to Emily. Hell I know that's why he's not going back to Emily. ..I don't really know whether to be happy er mad..?' Jake thought back.

Sam heard them; background noise in his fight to save the woman he loved and he didn't care in the slightest.

(Briefly he thought that to himself, Leah would always be a girl; young and beautiful and enough spirit to put Taha Aki to shame. ..Then hated himself for not noticing as that spirit faded away over the last year. Was then when she'd 'grown up'..?)

'You should be happy; I think..' Paul said, '..It means he's gonna bring her home or die trying.'

'Do yah think he imprinted..?' Jared asked, running to catch the middle gap between Jake and Paul as the russet Alpha fell back.

'Nah. I hope not.. Leah would hate that.' Seth chimed in. 'All I know is; I'll deal with them possibly getting back together after she's home safe. Because if he hurts her again I'll friggen kill 'im.'

The only bit of comedy they could've found in that dark hour.

Because when the boys stopped barking out laughter and set their eyes on the path ahead of them again all three of them nearly collided with Sam's backside.

'Sam what's goin' on man?????' Quil asked, frantic at the sudden stop. The way ahead of them, as wind blew snow down from a series of high cliffs and blurred their vision, seemed nearly untrekable in the harsh weather. The wind had kicked it up another notch. Now, the snow was falling wetter and lighter; like it might turn to rain.

'Wait for it.' Sam's voice was stoic as usual.

Then, like magic, the wind cleared the blowing snow and there it was; a little cottage; small cabin. Hidden under a cliff's ledge, two-story place. Smoke coming from the chimney.

Everyone stood stock still.

Eyes narrowed.

Teeth bared.

The storm blew harder.

The black wolf, striking and handsome in the winter weather, turned to Edward.

"I can hear her." Audible gasps, intakes of smells and there was more blood and more Leah; she was alive. "I'm getting.. Parts of thoughts, like they're not all there.. She's not well."

"What are the thoughts, Edward?" Rosalie asked, worry in her usually strong voice. Esme looked over with a spark of sadness in her eyes as well, and Carlisle's stance was tight.

"..She's thinking of Seth." The sandy wolf weaned again. Edward continued. "...From what I can gather, anyway. It's so.. Unclear. Her mind is hazy, unfocused.. Brain a million different places a second. ...She's wondering why."

No one bothered to question it.

Then Edward suddenly growled; inhuman and creepy. All heads shot to him.

"He's in there with her."

Sam took off like a bullet, phased outside the door, grabbed a pair of pants from Esme's backpack and then he was inside.

He stopped again though, when the scene in front of him registered in his frantic mind.

She was handcuffed; both wrists to a metal bedpost in the middle and stark naked; covered in blood and he didn't want to know what else.

That motherfucking son of a bitch was holding her hips; between her legs as she just lied there.

He didn't get time to move before Sam grabbed Karl by the back of the neck and slammed him into the cabin wall with such force the plaster cracked and fell away. As the others barged into the room, Sam was dimly sure Alice screamed. He heard frantic footsteps and curses but all he felt was the scared pulse of Karl's adams apple underneath his hot palm.

"I'm gonna kill you." was all Sam could say and then he found himself delivering punch after punch into Karl's face and the man gasped out each time, trying to push the smaller (Karl was HUGE) man back from him but it didn't work; he was frantic, a man gone wild with rage.

When blood was pouring from Karl's temples, nose and mouth and eyes black and blue Sam felt arms grasp his biceps, struggling to pull him back.

"SAM! SAM STOP IT!" Paul screamed. Sam elbowed him so hard in the gut that his brother fell backward to the floor, wide-eyed. More hands then. Jake's and Embry's and Emmett's and Jasper's, trying unsuccessfully to move Sam away from the target of his rage. Only one thing reached him.

Leah cried out in pain, an audible gasp crossed with a sob that shook Sam's very being and made him drop Karl to the floor. He turned fastly and pushed his packmates off him, even the vamps and he was at Carlisle's side.

Carlisle had just successfully shattered the handcuffs, and was tilting Leah's upper body off the bed, leaning her forward. Sam was there in seconds.

"Leah.." His broken voice drawed out, her eyes shut tight and non-reactive. As Carlisle tilted her more, plied a blood-stained sheet that was stuck to her back away, he gasped.

"She's been shot."

Esme gasped out a curse and Sam's blood ran cold; everyone's did. Heads turned towards the ceiling as frantic thumps were heard from above.

"The rest of his pack... Carlisle we've gotta go now!" Quil yelled. The blonde doctor pursed his lips.

"Let me take her!" Carlisle knew better than to argue and helped lift the hardly-breathing girl into Sam's hot arms. The man could barely stop his shaking enough to hold her still, bridal style to his chest as she wheezed and panted.

"Y.. You.... I... Kill.. You... Wait..." Heads snapped in his direction and Rosalie let out a deadly hiss, poised at the ready to slit his throat with Embry at her side. Karl had blood dripping down his face like sweat and his lips were twisted into a sneer. "..Wait.."

"No!" Edward roared as the two warriors enclosed Karl. "Leah comes first! She needs us all, we'll come back for them later! We need to get her home NOW!" Edward spat.

The duo backed off immediately (Rosalie and Embry were pissed though) and then everyone parted like the red sea as Sam and Carlisle rushed forward; Leah in Sam's arms.

Sam was through the door in again, under a second and stopped dead as the cold wind, and snow-turned violent rain slapped him in the face.

"....No.... Carlisle, we can't take her out into that!" He screamed.

"The caves we passed on our way here!" Jake yelled, just as loud. (To be heard over the wind alone, he had to yell.) "Take her there!"

Sam needed no more confirmation; he began a steady jog, a calm rhythm into the horrible storm outside and his friends and family followed him. Seth and Jake bordered him, and all eyes were in all directions as everyone looked around frantically for any rogue members of Karl's pack.

The lot of them would be dead soon; everyone was sure.

Twenty minutes of jogging and they were there; a large cave with sort of a hidden entrance (Quil found it when he fell down for the third time and practically stumbled inside), the wind blew right past the door to it and it hid the cave perfectly.

Sam and his gang ducked inside; immediate shelter from the hell that was the outdoors and suddenly all attention was LeahLeahLeah.

"Start a fire! Now!" The scared Alpha roared, moving in around one corner of the cave to a second chamber (swept away rocks and dirt with his foot) and placed her down on the ground as gently as he could with his trembling hands.

Esme and Quil rocketed themselves into starting that fire. Jared attacked the backpack she wore, grabbed a small blanket and raced around to Sam and Leah.

"Use this!" He said, Sam eagerly snatching the blanket out of Jared's hand and letting Leah lie on that instead. (Her back had enough damage.)

Finally; after about five minutes, the cave eased into a frightening calm. Carlisle knelt by Sam and Leah. And finally, everyone took in her condition.

Leah should've been dead. Her skin was a pale pallor; marred with scrapes and cuts big enough to need stitches and stains, one side of her face was black from abuse and her lips were cracked and split top to bottom.

Sam couldn't bear to look at her thighs, one hand that was all shades of purple and one leg that did not look well. Her back was worse again, and as he looked at his hands from holding her.. His heart stopped.

Blood. Leah's blood. He was soaked in it. Sam let out a sob with no tears, and took his LeeLee's face in his hands.

"Open your eyes, LeeLee. Please... Please!" He fought madly against the urge to shake her.

"Sis.." Seth whispered; voice scarily quiet and tear-choked.

"Don't touch her."

Seth turned his head to Sam.

"I'm sorry... Please Seth don't touch her." Now Sam was crying. Seth grit his teeth, remembered their fight in the living room and the last time he'd seen his sister cry. The first time. Remembered how much Sam and Leah loved one another.

The little guy backed up, sat with his back against the wall and watched. And cried some more.