AN: Hey guys I'm back with chapter 17 :) I'm just gonna say up front, that updates are gonna drastically slow down from here on out guys. The late chapters are majorly hardass to write and they take me forever, so I've gotta stretch out the update times to keep ahead of things. Sorry :/ Lol I'm sure you guys understand though. But NEVER FEAR; this story WILL be finished. Anyway hope this one breaks a few more hearts; enjoy! (PS; thanks to my gnarly betas.)
Sometimes the wind blew so hard it shook the cave; rattled the mountain.
Sometimes the never-ending rain leaked in through cracks in the rocks, fell on those inside and soaked them.
Sometimes the fire died.
And sometimes Leah coughed so hard and cried so much Sam was scared she'd fade away like the violent flames.
Day and night were inseparable and it was impossible to tell one apart from the other; The dark stormy night turning into a darker, stormy day. The weather outside rang true and hard like it had no intentions of letting up. But Sam clearly didn't either and he was the only one in the cave who kept a fighting spirit, holding faith in his heart that Leah would be okay.
However, as the hours went by, fear for Leah's dwindling life grew.
He hadn't left the detereorating girl in his arms, his arms encircled her, providing the comforting warmth he knew she loved because of the protection he offered. With the beautiful broken girl cradled in his lap, he held her head close to the warmth of his shirtless chest, next to his heart while his other arm hooked under her knees and kept her comfortable against him. Outside of Sam, Leah's only other source of warmth was the blazing fire about three meters away (to Sam it symbolized Leah's ardent spirit) and a thin tee-shirt draped over her flawless naked body.
She was so cold.
Hah; it was funny. The irony of their situation was painful. Days ago, Sam and his brothers could detail feeling the worst pain of their lives without her there, worrying about Leah day and night and fearing the worst.
They were so wrong.
That wasn't even close to how he felt now. How Sam felt. The unending ache in his body, the pulsating throb in his head and the physical pain of his heart being broken into smaller and smaller pieces. It was like there was no more reason to love in the world. No more color.
Leah, Sam's only bit of color in the black and white world was fading.
If Leah died there, feeling alone and hurt... Sam would never forgive himself. (Had he forgiven himself for hurting Emily and breaking Leah once before?)
No one would survive Leah's death.
Seth... Especially not Seth. The little guy looked up to Leah and his father like it was no one's business; ..If he lost her too, he'd lost everything. Minutes ago the youngest Clearwater had upped and left the cave-room he and Leah were in. Sam could only guess he couldn't watch his sister fight for her life like this..
It was so hard to be there. So hard.. So hard not to want to be, though. Sam knew he needed to be. He couldn't leave. He wouldn't. Never again.
Never.
The chamber they were in was silent; Sam took notice. (Except for the howls of the wind outside of course; crackling from the fading fire.)
For someone so hurt.. Leah barely made a sound. Sam could tell from the rise and fall of her chest that it was hard to breathe, she was struggling with pain and fading in and out of consciousness... But she never talked. Never moaned out in pain unless it was 'absolutely necessary' or something..
The last time she'd even made a sound was when Carlisle cauterized her bullet wound. Sam had a feeling he'd remember that scream for the rest of his life.
Inside his mind, he prayed. Prayed for the storm to end, for the rocks to just suddenly be gone and for another chance to rip apart the pricks who did this to her. ..Another chance to just start over; do things right from the beginning.
(He would've saved both girls then, wouldn't he?)
A tear rolled down his cheek. Sam looked at her and his eyes widened.
Leah's eyes were open.
Only halfway and god did she look out of it, but they were open; those gorgeous sapphire blues that Sam dreamt he could wake up and look into every morning for the rest of his life; see before he went to sleep at night. His angel, his love.
"..Lee.." He whispered, dipping his head and brushing his chapped lips across her forehead.
"..S'm..?" He pressed her harder to him and let out a sob.
"I'm here baby, I'm here. You're okay. You're gonna be okay." He kissed her cheek and forehead again. Leah blinked every five seconds or so, hazy, lazy blinks like someone half asleep could pull off; Sam knew she was close to being gone again and he buried his face ino her hair.
"....Please stay with me." He murmured.
-
He flipped another page in the book and Carlisle's eyes narrowed. Jesus those fuckers had everything; almost every answer to the questions Carlisle posed himself over the wolves every day, after every examination or meeting.
(Yes he'd thiefed the book.)
The things he read.. The articles, the answers and the all-around knowledge.. It was like discovering a cure for cancer or HIV.
It was new magic.
Carlisle was sitting beside Esme in the cave, next to the fire. He thought it best to give Sam some alone time. Seth had gone to search through the tunnels as well, since there were many and he sighted that Jasper and Quil would never be able to check them on all their own. (Everyone knew he just couldn't bear to watch.)
Turning yet another page, the words 'female shifters' caught his eye. Carlisle was immediately drawn in to the old, faded scribbled writing, the book having probably been passed down from generation to generation. The pages were stale and dusty smoke; the binding was chipping and bent.
The information was brand new.
Carlisle read how some of Taha Aki's sons had moved up north; they weren't heard from or seen again. But that is a theory on how other packs came to be. He read how female shapeshifters were totally uncommon, but not totally unheard of. They were rare; maybe one born and phased for every three hundred males. (And there weren't that many wolves.)
Carlisle skipped many pages in the book; then a heading drew his attention.
'Mating.'
The article made it clear that for actual 'mating' to occur, both participants had to be werewolves. Leah. The female 'went into heat' or estrus in the beginning of spring; and stayed in that condition till the end. Apparently in that condition all un-imprinted males would be drawn to her; for reproduction rights.
The dots began to connect in Carlisle's head.
Karl and his pack were interested in Leah for one thing and one thing only. Breeding.
He read on.
'Female wolves mature sexually at two or three years old.' This was close to Leah's third year phasing. 'When spring comes around at this time, a pheromon is exuded from the female; through fur, skin and blood. All un-imprinted males will be tempted to come and play. It has been noticed that offspring produced from homozygous shifter parents are usually larger, stronger, and phase earlier on in life then half-breed children. These offspring are called PureBloods; hybrids, if you will, and usually assume Alpha authority in any pack they start or join. Hybrid children are rare, however, and much sought after since the birth of one requires a shapeshifting female. They may be rare, but once found they are highly attainable; female wolves do not imprint.'
Leah was right in her beliefs all along. Well, except the one pertaining to her ability to conceive children...
'A female wolf is only fertile during the spring months, and is unable to conceive year-round. This is caused by the unchanging state in which shifters' bodies become accustomed to; it stops the feminine menstrual cycle and therefore eggs are not released for fertilization. Eggs are released however during springtime, during mating season.'
Karl was looking to use Leah as a fucking incubator; a powerless breeding machine so they could produce stronger, better wolves. They didn't care for her at all.
Carlisle thought to the date on the calendar when they'd left yesterday morning. It was the last of February; the twenty-eighth. Spring usually began in the middle of March. The intelligent doctor gritted his teeth and flipped some more pages.
They would not let Leah fall victim to him and his ruthlessness. They wouldn't let her become his slave.
Many more headers and a lot more text covered the aging pages and he was almost to the end of the book when one more title seemed to scream at him.
'BloodBinding.'
-
Sam kissed her pale cheek and reveled in the beautiful color of her open eyes.
They were clouded, though.. Clouded in a way Sam never thought he'd see again. So much pain...
Sam moaned. It felt so right.. He felt his lover, his forever writhing beneath him as he pounded into her and he knew such a thing could never be wrong. He was so lost in the black of Emily's soft hair that he barely noticed the door open; didn't see her standing there.
Emily gasped and that was when he looked up and his heart broke in two. Leah stood there; at his door, eyes transfixed on him and Emily on the couch. Naked, making love to eachother...
Sam had only broken up with Leah that day.
"..Lee-"
The door slammed with such ferocity as she ran out that it shook the small cottage and the two jumped up from their positions and hastily pulled on their clothes.
Fuck. He didn't want to hurt her this way, they didn't want her to know about them yet..!
Sam and Emily were out the door after Leah quickly. Sam couldn't get the image of her trembling fists out of his mind. It reminded him of the day her brother phased, a week ago. he anger at his father for throwing out one of Seth's favorite shirts finally tipped the scale and Seth was the sandy handsome wolf Sam knew him to be today.
...No. It wasn't possible...
Sam ran faster. "Stay here! Don't follow me!" He yelled to Emily, leaving the crying girl behind in the fog as he struggled to find his way to his ex's house. It would turn to rain soon; Sam could smell the moisture in the air as his feet pounded pavement to get to her in time.
He saw her back move fastly across the lawn, past a fire in the Clearwater yard soon to be doused, and the flames blew with her as she ran past. The ocean crashed in the distance; a loud, depressing roar.
Leah's back disappeared through the door just as Sam reached the steps and he called out her name, but she ignored him. Leah ran across the living room floor, snowglobe Sam's grandfather had given Harry falling to the floor and smashing into a million pieces. Leah ripped his necklace off from around her throat and threw the glittering blue heart to the floor.
Sam's soul died a little as he grabbed her by the wrist and turned her around; apologies spilling out like water from a floodgate. She tried uselessly to maneuver herself out of Sam's hard grip, bruising her wrist and to just get away because even Sam could feel the anger; but mostly the sadness, boiling up from inside of her as she realized why he'd left her.
"What's going on?" Harry burst into the living room, eyes narrowing when he saw Sam and his daughter in such a frantic situation and knew instantly Leah must've finally discovered the truth.
What surprised him, however, was the sweat beginning to bead on Leah's temple and the way heat radiated from her body.
..Oh dear jesus.
"You have to come outside! Come outside with me LeeLee PLEASE!" Sam pleaded; it was too late. Harry gripped his chest and fell to his knees as Leah let out a guttural, pain-filled scream and suddenly she was in Sam's arms and he all but forced her out the door as her skin grew hairy and her teeth and fingernails grew long.
The force of her phase threw Sam back from her, but luckily he was unharmed.
Harry, however, had not been so lucky.
An hour later saw all of them in an emergency room, police cars outside along with an ambulance and Seth crying into his mother's chest; Sam hadn't let Leah go even after she phased back to human and he locked himself to her; her fists were still flailing but most of all she cried; her eyes, so lost..
So dead.. So here lies the old Leah Clearwater; died alone; will not rest in peace.
Sam snapped himself out of the memory and thrust his attention back to the dying girl in his arms.
He would not let go this time either. It was time to resort to drastic measures.
"Leah... I know you'll hate me for this but I don't care; I command you, I order you to stay..! You are not allowed to die. Not allowed to let go and leave us here alone..!"
'..Even though that's what I did to you so long ago..'
Her eyes didn't change; they didn't tear up anymore than they were already and she didn't curse or yell or hit him; she closed her eyes and laid there, against Sam's chest like it was already too late.
No. No way in fucking hell. Sam refused to let this become a losing battle; he wouldn't fail Leah again.
"Sam."
The man in question looked up at the doctor quickly; damn vampires.. Sam hadn't even heard him come in.
"I think I know why they took her."
Sam's ears perked up at that, and he unknowingly pressed Leah's head a little tighter to his chest.
"Why?"
And then the long explanation began; once again that familiar sense of anger and dread flooded Sam's russet body, waves of heat extending through each limb till he, again, had to restrain himself so he wouldn't shake and phase. (And they thought he was the calm one.) Just to make sure he didn't phase, Sam held Leah even tighter. He knew, deep inside that he could never hurt her the way he'd hurt Emily. Not now. And Sam didn't know why but that feeling was one of the strongest he'd felt in a long time. Stronger than the need to be with Emily; stronger than the passion he felt when they made love and stronger than her kiss.
The need to keep Leah alive and well; right beside him as his partner for eternity overrode everything Sam could ever remember feeling.
"..I have an idea. I read the book the other pack kept in the room with her." Sam's eyes narrowed.
"It's called Blood Binding."
"Let's do it."
"Sam, you should let me explain-"
"No. I'll do it. Whatever it is, I'll do it."
The imprint was an epic fail with Emily. And no, Sam was positive the same thing had not happened with Leah.
Not an imprint; just true love.