Chapter 24

Jacob didn't like feeling sorry for me. I felt him shy away as I said those three words. Seth was feeling guilty for me too. Jake. . . You're not really going to send me away are you? Leah's not so bad. Really, I mean, with her here, we can push the perimeter out farther. And this puts Sam down to seven. There's no way he's going to mount an attack that outnumbered. It's probably a good thing . . .

You know I don't want to lead a pack, Seth. He replied glumly.

So don't lead us. I put simply.

Finally he thought something was funny! Sounds perfect to me. Run along home now.

Jake, Seth thought. I belong here. I do like vampires. Cullens, anyway. They're people to me, and I'm going to protect them, 'cause that's what we're supposed to do. My brother could be a speech writer.

Maybe you belong, kid, but your sister doesn't. And she's going to go wherever you are –

Jake saw what I had been keeping from him and he stopped short. I thought this was about Seth. He snapped.

I flinched at his lack of trust. Of course I'm here for Seth.

And to get away from Sam.

I clenched my jaw in frustration, crap. I don't have to explain myself to you. I just have to do what I'm told. I belong to your pack, Jacob. The end.

He walked away from me growling. I watched his mind as he calculated all of this. He finally understood that I wasn't going anywhere. That I'd rather move in with the Cullens as their lap dog than go through the hell of being in Sam's brain all the time.

I don't know if I'd go that far. I thought, putting an aggressive edge to my voice, showing I meant what I said. I'm sure I'd give killing myself a few good tries first.

Look, Leah. . .

No, you look, Jacob. Stop arguing with me, because it's not going to do any good. I'll stay out of your way, okay? I'll do anything you want. Except go back to Sam's pack and be the pathetic ex-girlfriend he can't get away from. If you want me to leave – I sat down like a stubborn two year old to prove my point. you're going to have to make me.

He let out a long snarl, baring his teeth. It wasn't really aggressive, just really annoyed. Seth, are you gonna get mad at me if I kill your sister?

Well. . . yeah probably. Yay little bro!!! I could hug him.

Okay, then, Ms. Do-Anything-I-Want. Why don't you make yourself useful by telling us what you know? What happened after we left last night?

Lots of howling. But you probably heard that part. Sam was . . . I felt them both mentally cringe at my image of Sam freaking out. I continued anyway. After that, it was clear pretty quick that we were going to have to rethink things. Sam was planning to talk to the other Elders first thing this morning. We were supposed to meet up and figure out a game plan. I could tell he wasn't going to mount another attack right away, though. Suicide at this point, with you and Seth AWOL and the bloodsuckers forewarned. I'm not sure what they'll do, but I wouldn't be wandering the forest alone if I was a leech. It's open season on vamps now.

You decided to skip the meeting this morning?

When we split up for patrols last night, I asked permission to go home, to tell my mother what happened –

Crap! You told Mom? Seth growled.

Seth, hold off the sibling stuff for a sec. Go on, Leah.

So once I was human, I took a minute to think things through. Well, actually, I took all night. I bet the others think I fell asleep. But the whole two-separate-packs, two-separate-minds thing gave me a lot to sift though. In the end, I weighed Seth's safety and the, er, other benefits against the ideas of turning traitor and sniffing vampire stink for who knows how long. You know what I decided. I left a note for my mom. I expect we'll hear it when Sam finds out. . .

I trailed off, cocking my ears in their direction. I couldn't help but hope they would be a little upset about my leaving.

Yeah, I expect we will. he agreed.

So that's everything. What do we do now?

I watched as Jacob reacted to his new authority. Seth and I waited for his command while he toyed with ideas.

I guess we just keep an eye out for now. That's all we can do. You should probably take a nap, Leah.

You've had as much sleep as I have. I said proudly.

I thought you were going to do as you were told?

Right. That's going to get old. I muttered and then yawned absentmindedly. Well, whatever. I don't care.

I'll run the border, Jake. I'm not tired at all. Seth thought happily. His front feet danced with excitement.

Sure, sure. I'm going to go check in with the Cullens.

Seth took off down a newly paved trail and I looked after him longingly. I couldn't resist a good run. Maybe a round or two before I crash. . . Hey Seth, wanna see how many times I can lap you?

No! He shouted back, but I dashed after him anyways, letting out a low laugh. I caught him quickly and sprayed dust in his face.

Hey! He sputtered, spitting on the ground. I didn't respond. All my joy with my new found life was coming out and I ran faster than I ever had. Things were finally starting to look up for me.