AN: As promised, here's the continuation of the story. I'm taking liberties with timelines and divergence from canon, but that's kinda been the point from the beginning lol. Hope you all enjoy! This story should hopefully conclude within around 5-6 chapters at most.
Leah was still riding high from finding her imprint when she got home to change into a fresh set of clothes. She couldn't wait to start her future with the beautiful brunette. She already knew her mother would accept her no matter what–she'd accepted Leah being bisexual years ago, having a woman as her imprint would only bring honor to their family. She would finally be able to say her father hadn't died in vain.
The thought of her father still caused a sharp ache in her heart. She hadn't understood then what she knew now, but whose fault was that really when the Elders kept the Pack such a well-hidden secret. She didn't want to blame her father, but she couldn't rightly deny his culpability in her rage that led to her first shift. But, of course, how were any of them to know she would shift in the first place? There were no known cases of a female shifter ever existing in their tribe's history, so in the end there really was only genetics to blame.
At least now she had a reason to exist beyond that all-encompassing hatred for vampires. Oh, she would still kill any red-eyes she came across with a vicious passion, just as they had done to that dreadlock asshole. But eventually she would figure out how to stop shifting so she could live out her life beside her imprint. She could already imagine sharing a home together, living side-by-side, doing whatever they wanted, being whatever they wanted. Their future was literally at their fingertips, and as soon as Bella returned to her arms, they could begin planning.
A sharp pain in her chest brought Leah up short, her heart pounding all of a sudden as panic immediately took over her thoughts. She knew without a shadow of a doubt that her imprint was in danger. But how? She only just left to go break up with that leech! There was no way he could have been anywhere near their lands to have known the two women had imprinted. So why did she have the sense that her dear Bella was being attacked?!
She was out the front door and into her wolf before her mother could blink or call her back. She loosed a baleful howl to alert the rest of the Pack as she put her paws to dirt with as much force as she could muster. She was blurring through the trees and past familiar neighborhoods without conscious thought. Her only concern was getting to her imprint, secrecy be damned.
She came upon Bella's wrecked truck, her mind a vortex of fear and rage as she scented the very vampire Bella was meant to be abandoning. She could also smell Bella's blood, but luckily nowhere near enough to be considered life-threatening. But what truly terrified her to her core was the fact that both human and vampire were missing.
It was at about that time she noticed the others entering the packmind. She immediately began projecting what she'd felt and what she had discovered so far. She also revealed her intentions to follow the trail immediately, but Sam stopped her dead in her tracks. "No, Leah! You will wait for the Pack! We do not fight alone!"
Her body was suddenly rooted in place by the force of his Alpha voice and she had never hated him more than she did in that moment. "What if it was Emily?! Would you wait?!"
There was no response, not that she expected one. He was a bastard who held himself to double-standards just because he was Alpha. She could see it in his thoughts that he would be on that trail without waiting for backup, but because she was a woman, because he considered her 'weaker', he thought it fair to command her compliance. She wondered if Emily was aware of how much of a chauvinist, misogynistic pig her wolf was. Leah would never dream of taking away Bella's autonomy!
She could feel Sam's self-loathing in his thoughts as he thought of just how much he had messed up as Alpha since he first shifted. He knew he wasn't meant for the role, and with Jacob now joining the Pack, the Black line held the real power. But until Jacob was mature enough and willing to take up the mantle, Sam would forge on, even if Leah hated him for how he chose to protect their people. She hated seeing that resolute will in his thoughts, knowing he would use it against her if she tried to fight him.
As soon as the rest of the Pack grew close, Leah felt her shackles loosen until she threw herself forward, senses working overtime as she began to track that bastard leech. There was no salvation for this leech, the treaty was broken and Leah didn't care if they had to wipe out the whole Cullen clan. Edward Cullen would die by her teeth and no one was going to stop her.
Unfortunately, Sam's delay had put her behind the vampire by several minutes and so by the time she reached the edge of their territory, it was far too late. The Cullen boy was gone, but what she found was a sight that would haunt her for the rest of her days. There was Bella Swan, Leah's precious imprint, writhing in agony as she screamed her lungs out. It was obvious by the fresh bite on her left wrist and the subtle scent of vampire venom in the air that Edward Cullen had purposefully bitten Bella with the intention of turning her.
Leah's heart broke as she slowly approached her imprint, tears soaking her fur as her imprint's pain washed over the wolf. She could only assume, but somehow the leech must have known that Bella was going to leave him for Leah, but rather than let her go, he chose to bite her to force them apart. Bella was to become the very thing Leah hated most in their world. She would become a vampire and there was nothing Leah could do to stop it short of killing her imprint to spare her the indignity.
Of course, she couldn't do it herself. Bella, no matter what she was becoming, was still the very essence of Leah's heart and soul. Until the moment her heart stopped beating, Leah wouldn't allow anyone to harm her imprint. She made sure this thought was loud and clear to every wolf entering the area as she curled her body around Bella's. There were some dissenting thoughts from Paul and Quil, but Sam silenced them as Leah's sorrow washed over them. "Leah is right," he decreed, "Isabella Swan is an imprint and will be afforded the same rights as Emily and Rachel. We will protect her and watch over her...until her heart beats its last."
Leah wanted to snarl and growl at the Pack, to lash out at the injustice of it all. She had found her imprint, but even before they could start their future together, their happily ever after had been snatched away by a fucking leech. She wanted so badly to kill that pathetic bloodsucker, but she knew she wouldn't leave her imprint until that last breath, that final beat that would lead to her imprint's final goodbye.
And so she sat there as the Pack left to hunt the leech, tracking him as far north as they could until they lost his scent around the Canadian border. Jacob stayed behind with her, too new to shifting to be of any use to the Pack if they were to actually catch the Cullen. With the Pack so far away, their connection was quiet, and so it was there in their private thoughts that Jacob would come to plant the seeds of rebellion in Leah.
"Who says she won't still be your imprint?"
He was young and naïve, but she also knew he cared for Bella. He fancied himself in love with her, a childhood crush at best but still, the feelings had been there and he didn't want to see Bella die any more than she did. "You don't understand! You haven't seen those monsters in action before! They are nothing but killers who prey on the weak and helpless!"
He chuffed before nudging Leah's side with his snout. "I've seen the dreadlock vamp plenty of times in the packmind since Sam began my training earlier, but I've also seen the other Cullens in Sam's thoughts when he met with them. They seemed civilized when they re-established the treaty. I think Bella would be like that. She's sweet and kind, how can you think she would become a murderous monster just because she became one of them?"
Leah had to bite back a growl, reminding herself that Jacob was young and stupid. "I don't know what she'll be, but she won't be my imprint anymore once she's turned. She'll be a vampire, Jake! How could I love the very thing I'm genetically driven to hate?!"
He sent Leah a confused look, which was pretty impressive in his wolf form. "How could you ever hate your imprint? I saw how immediate that connection formed, and as much as I hated it, as much as it confused me then, there is no denying the imprint bond."
As much as Leah wanted to argue, how could she when she was still curled up around her imprint 36 hours after the initial bite? She had assumed, like the rest of the Pack, that her imprint bond would cease to exist the moment Bella 'died'. But would it? Why would the Spirits bless them with a bond so precious and sacred if only to make it so fragile? And if it did cease to exist, what did that mean for Leah? She was certain she couldn't live on without her imprint. If they chose to kill Bella rather than let her return to the Cullens, they might as well tear her own throat out in the process. Leah's heart was already bleeding out on the forest floor, why not add her blood to the mix and make her eventual death literal.
"We have no records of what happens to a wolf who loses their imprint," intruded Sam's voice, oddly gentle as he and the rest of the Pack came within range of their conversation. "We will not make any decision on your fates until we have consulted the Elders. The Cullens have broken the treaty, and with the mind-reader out of the way, it will be easy to wipe out the remaining leeches."
"I won't leave her side," Leah immediately interrupted, glaring up at the massive black-furred form of her ex-fiance. "Until I feel the imprint bond die, I will be by her side until the end."
Sam gave Leah a long, considering look as he sifted his way through Leah and Jacob's conversation. Eventually he let out a long-suffering sigh before nodding. "If these are to be your final moments with your imprint, we will not impede you. We will delay our attack on the Cullens so that you may have your vengeance should you wish it. Come, Jacob, we're going to speak with the Elders."
Jacob looked as though he wanted to argue, but one glance at Leah's sorrowful thoughts was enough to have him begrudgingly following the Pack back towards La Push. Leah remained, stalwart guardian over her dying imprint. It seemed such a cruel way to let her love die, but she couldn't find it in her heart to put Bella out of her misery. Not after the conversation with Jacob had planted those seeds of 'what-ifs'. What would she do if the imprint bond didn't die with Bella's human life? What would Leah do if she looked into those undead eyes and saw her life go on forever rather than an imminent end? Could she accept that the love of her life would be a...vampire?
These thoughts kept circling in and around her mind until she felt she was going mad with grief and hope. It was around the 60 hour mark and over a day of agonizing contemplation that Leah decided she didn't give a fuck what Bella became. She chose to love her regardless, and to hell with the Pack and her entire tribe if they tried to take her imprint from her. She would kill every wolf who came too close to her imprint, she would die before letting them take her eternal love from her. Because what was this life worth without Bella? She wouldn't stop shifting until vampires were no longer a problem, and if Bella were to die, Leah would live out the rest of her existence for revenge against every goddamned bloodsucker in the world until they all burned or her body gave out, whichever came first.
But if Bella survived? If Bella became a leech and had to drink blood to live, could Leah deal with that? I'll fucking hunt a herd of deer daily for her if she needs it! She hoped Bella would be able to feed from animals like the Cullens, but she didn't know anything about vampires, especially newly turned ones. Would Bella remember her? Would Bella still feel the imprint connection? That would be Leah's first course of action when Bella's heart creased beating, to get those beautiful eyes open and staring deep into her own once again.
The Pack returned at 62 hours, her thoughts singularly focused on her plans to Sam's chagrin. "Leah," he began, voice full of patronizing sympathy, "The Elders have declared that should we choose to let Bella live, she will be banished from our lands just as the Cullens. She must be with her own kind, just as we must continue to protect ours."
Leah ignored him, her mind a solid wall of concentration. Jacob had been bringing her food off and on for the last 24 hours and at first she'd refused to eat, but once she'd made up her mind about remaining by Bella's side, she'd forced herself to eat and replenish her strength. She was going to need every bit of it for the battle ahead, whether it was to be a battle of wills or a fight to the death. And if Bella were banished, then Leah would go with her. She would follow her imprint to the ends of the earth and beyond.
"How is Charlie handling Bella's disappearance?" she wound up asking instead.
She felt the anger in Sam's thoughts before he growled, but rather than his irritation being aimed at her, she could feel his thoughts resting on Jacob. "Bella's father was read in on the Pack rather abruptly by Jacob the other day." Leah's head jerked up in surprise as she gazed wide-eyed at the toothy grin of Jacob Black's wolf. "Jacob took it upon himself to reveal his wolf to Charlie and told him that Bella was still alive. He then brought Charlie to the Elders and your imprint's father has now been informed of at least our secrets. Until we declare war upon the Cullens, we cannot reveal their kind to Charlie."
Leah was at a complete loss for words. This not only meant that Charlie would be able to be informed of Bella's transformation eventually, but that he could steer the investigation of her disappearance away from the supernatural.
"My thoughts exactly," Jacob exclaimed proudly, earning him a massive black paw across his snout. "Well, it worked out for the most part! He doesn't like that we're keeping Bella's whereabouts a secret but he at least knows he can't let the humans get involved. So he's sent his people on a wild goose chase up north, letting the state authorities come up with their own misconceptions."
"You stupid fucking wolf," Leah laughed into the packmind, "You're fucking brilliant! Thank you!"
"Are you forgetting that Bella's time is almost up? That if she were to come to with Charlie - or any human for that matter - nearby, that she would want to kill them?!"
She released her most feral growl yet, anger overtaking her mind as she imagined all the ways she'd like to tear Sam apart. "She will not be a monster! I'll hunt whatever animals she wants but I won't let her become one of those red-eyed things!"
Sam glared down at her but in the end he chose to walk away. He was hiding his thoughts well, she couldn't see what he might or might not do other than going to Charlie, but even if he somehow filled Charlie's head with delusions about his daughter needing to be put down, he wasn't part of the Elders and Bella was her imprint. The final choice was hers, and she would always choose their future together.
It was around the 67 hour mark that Bella's heart rate went off the charts, pounding so fast as if racing towards its end. This is it. This is my imprint's dying moments. And there came the Pack into their shared thoughts, soon the scent of the other wolves joining her as she let her body fall into its human form. She cradled her deathly cold imprint against her overheated flesh, turning her frozen body so that Bella was facing Leah as her heart began to stutter in its final struggles.
And suddenly all was silent save for the quiet breaths from the Pack around her. Bella wasn't breathing, no longer needed to breathe as far as they knew. She was far paler than she had been but still just as beautiful. It was as if every flawless bit of her humanity had been burned away, enhanced beyond measure until Leah could feel her own heart thundering in her chest. Bella was beyond perfect and Leah knew in her soul that the imprint bond still lived on inside her.
"Open your eyes and be with me...forever," she found herself whispering to her darling Bella. She ignored the anxious shifting of the wolves, every part of her mind, body, and soul focused on her imprint.
Bella's eyes flashed open almost as soon as the words left Leah's lips, leaving the Native woman gasping at what she saw there. Confusion, fear, uncertainty...and then a ruby-eyed intensity that Leah knew had nothing to do with her bloodlust and everything to do with her own bond forming. She hadn't thought of it until that moment, but vampires must have had a form of soulmates just like the wolves. Whatever it was called, Bella seemed to be experiencing it and the Pack needed to vacate the area immediately before one of the women lost control.
Unfortunately, Sam was a bastard and it wasn't until Bella drew in a sudden breath and her eyes went pure black that Leah realized it wasn't just the Pack there. Bella's gaze snapped to a point over Leah's shoulder, the wolf turning in time to glare at Sam as Charlie stepped from behind the line of wolves. "Bella? Is that really you?"
Bella was trembling in her arms, a deep growl rumbling from her chest as she eyed the human. "Sam, you fucking bastard!" Leah shouted, clenching her arms desperately around her imprint. "What the hell were you thinking bringing a human here?!"
A rustling from the other side of the clearing brought both Bella's and Leah's attention to see two of the wolves struggling to hold a buck by its large antlers. That's when the full impact of the situation hit her. This was a test, to see what was left of Bella's humanity versus the monster they all assumed she had become. Leah vowed then and there that should they make it out of there alive, she was leaving the Rez and the Pack for good.
Leah quickly cupped her imprint's face in her hands, drawing that onyx-hued gaze her way. Bella was shaking so hard that if Leah didn't know she was a vampire, she would assume her imprint was on the verge of shifting. "Bella, please be here with me. Remember who you are, who I am. I love you with every part of my being and whatever you choose, I will never judge you. Just know that I follow you now until I draw my last breath."
Her words, while meant to soothe and reach Bella, were also a statement to the Pack. If they chose to kill Bella, then she would not die alone. Leah would fight them all, especially Sam and his betrayal, and she would kill any wolf who got in their way.
Bella's gaze, which had been flickering between the two food sources finally settled on Leah. Then her nose was pressed into an overheated neck and breathing deeply, and the sweet smell of jasmine and lavender washed over Leah as Bella's vampire scent finally hit her. She didn't smell like death as the Cullens had, she smelled like life, like every breath Leah had yet to take. She smelled like love and freedom and Leah yearned for her.
"Is anyone going to explain why Leah Clearwater is holding my daughter butt-naked?" Leah nearly groaned at Charlie's timing, but she was pleasantly surprised when Bella's laughter rang out of her chest like the sound of bells and wind chimes. Leah was so mesmerized that she nearly choked when Bella finally spoke in her new vampiric voice.
"Dad, this would be the reason I left to go break up with Edward," she teased, pulling back to smirk at the nude wolf while eyeing her bare body. Her eyes were mostly back to that ruby color and Leah wondered if waking as a vampire was this easy for all vampires or if this was just unique to her imprint. "That being said, to the two wolves holding that deer, please let go and move very far away."
The wolves looked confused but one look at Sam had them releasing the poor deer and moving over to the rest of the Pack. As soon as the way was clear, Bella was out of Leah's arms and had given chase, only taking down the deer when she was deep into the woods where her father couldn't see. The man's heart-rate tripled when he realized his daughter had practically disappeared in the blink of an eye. Still, Leah didn't like her imprint being so far from her so she immediately threw herself into her fur, rushing after Bella. She would leave it to that asshole Alpha to explain to Charlie until Bella's hunger was satisfied.
She found Bella just as she was dropping the deer carcass to the forest floor. There was only the slightest bit of blood on her chin, though that was quickly wiped away as she licked her fingers clean. What should have been a disgusting act to Leah's kind was having the opposite effect of turning her on. Every move Bella made was gracefulness and sensuality personified, as if her very existence were made to tear apart Leah's equilibrium. And then those eyes were once again locked on the wolf's own and she felt her fur melt away as she rushed into her imprint's arms.
Their lips crashed and by the Spirits Leah was sure she now knew what nirvana tasted like. Bella's mouth was sweet and cool even with the metallic tang still lingering, their tongues dancing in a duet of fire and ice that had her groaning while pulling Bella's body against her own. She could feel Bella's fingers getting lost in her shorter hair, the sting of her strong motions only spurring them on. By the Spirits, she needed her, craved her like her next breath. But unfortunately, the Pack really had a death wish as literal wolf whistles could be heard through the trees, causing her to pull away with a snarl.
Bella's eyes had darkened, but not like the hungry beast from earlier. This was anger and need interrupted and Leah wasn't sure which of them would start a body count first. "Remember," she chided playfully, holding her imprint close, "they're just jealous I have the sexiest woman alive as my imprint." She paused in her taunting speech that she knew the Pack could hear, her voice lowering intimately as she cupped Bella's cheek. "I get to have you forever."
Bella's eyes, which had filled with mischief, now glistened with tears that never seemed to fall. When Leah went to swipe at her cheeks, Bella brought up her hand to cup hers in place. "Vampires can't cry," she explained, her voice still doing terrible things to Leah's self-control even as it wavered with emotion. "Protective lens coats the eye in venom, keeps them lubricated and safe from debris."
Smiling softly, Leah leaned down to kiss each of her imprint's eyelids before stealing a quick kiss from those velvet soft yet firm lips. "You can tell me everything you know about your new life in time. But for now, I don't know how long the Pack is going to wait before they come searching.
The sound of something fluttering through the air had Bella blurring around Leah, the sound of fabric hitting her hands following as she whirled to find Bella holding an old backpack. "There's clothes in there for both of you!" came Jacob's voice, and Leah was going to have to really thank that kid one of these days. Without his interference, she doubted she would have made it very long past Bella's dead heart.
Bella fished out a pair of jeans and a red flannel button-down, while tossing Leah the bag. What was left was a pair of her cutoff jean shorts and a sleeveless v-neck shirt that hugged her upper body. Bella seemed rather distracted as Leah clothed herself, which considering she'd been standing there naked the whole time was flattering in a strange sort of way. But then Bella was stripping out of her blood-stained clothing with casual ease and Leah suddenly felt her own heart beat out a staccato rhythm as she fought not to pounce her goddess of an imprint. By the Spirits, Bella had to know what she was doing to the wolf! The slow tearing away of her old clothing, the sensual way she dragged her pants up those pale thighs. She pulled on her flannel but left it unbuttoned in the front as she slowly approached the taller woman.
Her hands automatically went to Bella's waist, barely resisting the urge to explore all of that perfect, pale skin exposed to her ravenous gaze. "Help a girl out and button me up?" she asked, voice low and full of promise. "I can't really trust my strength right now, and I want you to be able to tear this off of me later."
Leah wouldn't lie, she whimpered as she brought her trembling fingers up to do as asked, the entire time Bella kept that bottom lip of hers caught between razor sharp teeth. Why was covering her imprint's glorious body almost as erotic as the thought of tearing the fabric to pieces?
Unfortunately, they could both hear the clearing of several throats, so they were pretty much out of time. "Let's go deal with the Paw Patrol," Bella growled, voice easily loud enough for the wolves to hear, drawing a laugh from Leah. "Then," she continued, eyes darkening as she turned those intense eyes up to Leah's, "we can find ourselves a nice secluded place where I can claim my mate in peace."
A rumbling growl worked its way up Leah's throat, vibrating her chest as her wolf urged them to finally consummate their bond. Alas, someone was suicidal enough to send a rock hurdling through the trees at them, and while Leah knew it wouldn't actually hurt either of them, she still wanted their balls on a chopping block. Bella, on the other hand, had much better reflexes than the human-form wolf did and had caught the projectile and sent it on a direct return path nearly instantly, a yelp that sounded suspiciously like Jacob quickly following.
Bella's arm snaked around Leah's waist, pulling her along as those dark eyes promised retribution. They had returned to the clearing where Bella had undergone her transformation, finding Jacob bent over with his hand rubbing furiously at his forehead. "Intentional or not," Bella's voice filled the clearing with intent, powerful and unyielding, "the next person who attempts to bring harm to my mate will have something very precious to them removed. Am I understood?"
Paul, Embry and Quil were still in wolf form, but Jacob and Sam were standing just in front of Charlie wearing nothing but shorts. "We do not take orders from lee-" Sam began, his voice cutting off beneath the avalanche of Leah's furious snarl.
"Watch your fucking tongue, Uley," she growled, voice deepening as her wolf rose to the surface. "Bella Swan remains my imprint beyond becoming a vampire. Our inherited hatred of vampires is unfounded now that we know the imprint bond crosses species. I love her just as much now as I did the moment our eyes locked the first time, and if you can't get your head out of your ass long enough to understand what this means for not only our tribe but our Pack then you don't deserve to be Alpha."
Sam's chest expanded as he drew up to his full height, no doubt willing to prove his own stupidity, when an unlikely voice cut him off. "Can you please shelve the posturing bullshit and let me see my daughter?!"
Bella's gaze snapped to her father from the corner of Leah's eye, but she didn't see a single flicker of change to her imprint's eye-color so she figured the vampire was okay for now. "Hello, Charlie," she murmured with a slight smile. "I'm sorry to say, but you were right about Edward."
Leah could see Charlie swallow hard as he took in his daughter's obviously changed state. It was hard not to notice her flawless skin and ruby-red eyes, luscious hair and plump lips. Or maybe that was just Leah's devotional gaze, but still, he was human and there was part of him that knew now, and in that knowing came a healthy dose of fear.
"I'll say," he eventually responded, voice shaking slightly as he tried to keep his tone light. "Y-You died."
Bella stared at Charlie for several moments, and with a sudden clarity Leah realized her imprint was struggling to hold her breath as much as possible. "Yes," she eventually responded, "my body has transformed into something new, and in the process your human daughter died along the way. I assume the wolves have been filling your head with all kinds of horror stories of what I am. Do I meet their expectations?"
It was Charlie's turn to stare, only his gaze kept shifting between Bella, Leah, and the few wolves still in their fur. "They told me you would be a monster, a killer who would murder any human you came close to. Other than Bambi out there, you seem like the only thing you've lost is your terrible coordination."
Bella smiled, and before any of them could react, she had blurred so quickly across the space separating them that none of them could have stopped her if they had wanted...only for her to appear behind Charlie facing away from him. "Make no mistake," she whispered, all of the wolves present whirling on her with snarls as both Sam and Jacob ripped into their furs. "I am not your daughter anymore. She died when her heart stopped beating. I am a vampire, and I live now for two reasons: my mate, Leah Clearwater, and the death of Edward Cullen and any others culpable to his treachery."
She blurred passed Sam and back to Leah's side, her speed nearly impossible to follow even to the Pack's trained eyes. "That being said, you all will be instrumental in navigating my new life, as I have only what the Cullens have told me of being a vampire. I can subsist off of animal blood, though as evidenced by your continued presence, I can only imagine human blood would sustain and satisfy my hunger much more."
All of the wolves had surrounded Leah and Bella by then, their growls constant as the vampire continued to show off her prowess to degrees far beyond theirs. "Sam Uley," she intoned, voice powerful and dominant as she stared down the Alpha with a small smirk, "I do not seek a war with your Pack. In fact, I think you and I could be powerful allies if you but allow Leah and I to exist peaceably. We want the same thing, after all." She paused, Sam's tense stance stilling as if he were considering Bella's words. "I want to bring to justice those who have wronged me and those I love. You wish to have the Cullens answer for Edward Cullen's actions, and if at all possible, an end to the unknown in your territory."
Sam remained still for several minutes, and Leah was tempted to shift herself just so she could hear what was going through their discourse in packmind. But even as curious as she was, Leah knew she would remain in my human form until her fur was required, because if Bella and she were to die in that moment, she would feel her imprint's cold skin beneath her fingers before her death.
Eventually Sam huffed before moving out of sight, the painful crunch and groan of rapid shifting following as he reappeared moments later, his genitals thankfully covered by a loosely held piece of fabric. "What did you have in mind, Swan?"
Bella's grin turned vicious as she eyed the man, the vampire in her showing itself as she chuckled darkly. "I'm assuming you haven't had any contact with the Cullens since my 'disappearance'?" she asked, a rumbling malice lacing her tone. When Sam shook his head, Bella continued on. "It took me a bit to piece the memories together, but from what I understand, Edward was waiting at the territory line with Alice for me to leave your influence. When I appeared in Alice's visions, Edward saw me breaking up with him to be with Leah. He wrecked my truck, bit me and dropped me here, thinking Leah would reject me and I would have no choice to return to him."
"Why didn't this Alice say something by now?" Leah had to ask, confused, as this was the first any of them were hearing of the events.
Bella's grip around her waist tightened, and it was just this side of painful as Leah felt Bella's anger wash over them. "Edward told me he took off Alice's head so she wouldn't be able to tell anyone else what she'd seen. I can only assume either she remains in pieces or he has burned her, either case makes him mine to end." Her voice was a low growl by the time she finished speaking, and Leah began to wonder just how close her imprint was to the pixie vampire as a low growl started in the back of her throat.
Bella's teeth at her neck suddenly had Leah's entire body clenching with desire as she held the wolf's vulnerable flesh beneath her razor sharp teeth. "Save your jealousy," she growled between her toothy grip. "Alice is the sweetest, most loving woman I've ever known and Edward doesn't deserve to have both my death and hers. If she is not still in this world, I will make him suffer the same as you would should someone take your brother from you."
Leah's body relaxed instantly beneath Bella's dominant actions, her words hitting home as she thought of how close Seth was to shifting. He was showing the signs slower than the rest of the Pack since he was younger than them, but the random fevers and growth spurts were already hitting him. If anyone ever brought harm to her dear brother, there would be no lengths she wouldn't go to in order to avenge him. "I get it, my love," she whispered, tilting her head in a submissive gesture that seemed to satisfy Bella's anger as she loosened her hold, licking and nibbling at the bared flesh before releasing Leah with a harsh breath. "We'll find your little pixie, and we'll take turns ripping Edward to pieces until both our vengeances are satisfied."
"I haven't agreed to anything yet," Sam grumbled, arms crossed over his massive chest. "Why should we trust this fledgling vampire not to side with her own kind the moment she sees them?"
Leah felt her wolf rise to the surface even as Bella's arms tightened almost painfully around her. "You really need to get your oversized head out of your ass, Samuel Uley," she practically snarled at the man she'd once considered level-headed. "Bella is my imprint, and for whatever it means to vampires, I'm her mate. We could no more betray each other than you could cheat on Emily."
The reminder of Sam's foolish handling of his own imprint bond alongside his relationship with Leah had the man flinching as if slapped. "You know that was different! Emily is a human!"
"So was Bella!" Leah screamed, her voice echoing around the agitated wolves. "The only difference between my imprint and yours is that she can heal from my claws! If you had been honest from the start, if you hadn't tried to see my cousin behind my back and instead told me about the Pack, I wouldn't have had that argument with my father. My dad would still be alive!"
Silence followed, every wolf stilling as the shared memory of those days no doubt filled their thoughts, just as it did Sam and Leah. It was, ironically, Charlie, who broke the introspective silence. "I thought Harry died of a heart attack."
Leah took a deep breath, drawing in the sweet, comforting scent of her imprint to calm herself before addressing Bella's father. "He did, only no one knows that the cause of that heart attack was his daughter turning into a giant wolf in front of him. Sam had left me for Emily, and no one would tell me why. When I confronted my dad about it, he said it was Sam's right to choose. We got into a pretty intense argument, and the next thing I know I'm stumbling around on four paws while my dad clutches his chest. He died in front of my eyes and I wasn't even supposed to exist!"
She suddenly found herself being pulled into Bella's arms, her face hidden against her imprint's shoulder as weeks worth of pain and self-loathing poured down her cheeks. She hadn't even realized how much guilt she'd been carrying around all that time, as none of the boys had once judged her for her father's death in the packmind. If there was anything they could all relate to, it was the unexpected and sudden change of becoming a wolf. Hell, she couldn't even really blame Sam now for the way he handled the Emily situation. She understood now how impossible it was to resist one's imprint. She'd had to make a choice that none of them should ever have to make for a loved one: whether to let her imprint die and become a potential monster, or to put her out of her misery. In the end, she'd made the right choice, but if she had believed more in the indoctrinated bullshit that the Elders tried to fill their heads with, she might very well have killed Bella rather than let her become a Cold One. Spirits, how close had she been to losing everything?
This time it was Sam's voice that interrupted their thoughts, his voice softer than she'd heard it in a while. "I can't apologize enough for what happened to Harry. I was so caught up in the Elders' dogma and let my ego guide me as Alpha. I thought I knew what was best-that is the responsibility they laid on my shoulders when I shifted first. But keeping you in the dark was wrong, even if we thought you wouldn't shift. Especially when I imprinted on Emily, I should have told you upfront what was really going on. I could have saved us all so much pain."
Leah found herself gaping at Sam by the end of his impromptu speech, his head hanging as he stared down at his free hand. He reminded her of the boy she'd once loved in that moment, and though that ship had sailed long ago, Leah felt like she was truly seeing the man behind the Alpha. She was still trying to figure out what to say in response when he shook himself, head lifting and that defiant look entering his gaze once again. That look never boded well for anyone and Leah feared he may just shove his foot right back down his gullet.
"That said, I think it is time I started making amends." He turned and stared Bella directly in her ruby-eyes gaze, not a flinch or tremble to indicate his former disgust. "I am sorry for the way I have acted. You are an imprint, and as such are protected within this tribe. Bringing your father here to test your resolve was one of many of my most shameful acts and I regret it with every fiber of my being. You not only proved to have better control than we ever considered, but you showed that you have better respect for human life than I do. I ask forgiveness, from all of you," his gaze swept Bella and her father, but also Leah and the gathered Pack. "You all deserve a leader who can think for himself. An Alpha who follows blindly is bound to be led astray. From here on out, we forge our own Pack and decide for ourselves what is to be true based on our experience rather than the expired teachings of old, jaded men."
The wolves each sounded off with joyful howls, Leah's own wolf shaking in its urge to join them, though she resisted for the time being. Only time would pan out the truth of Sam's convictions, and as much as Leah was willing to forgive, it had to be earned with actions. Which, surprisingly began as he once again addressed Bella directly. "So, you know them better than we do. How do you want to handle the Cullens?"
Bella seemed just as surprised as Leah felt, though she didn't allow it to affect her for long. "I'm assuming you have a means of contacting the Cullens for meetings?" When Sam nodded, she shot him a toothy grin that had Leah more than a little concerned, but mostly just aroused. "I say it's time to see what the Cullens have to say for themselves after Edward killed me. What do you guys think? Wanna break a few hearts?"
As she turned that same vicious grin to the rest of the Pack, she got a round of excited yips and barks in return. Leah never thought she'd live to see her Pack not only accepting her vampire imprint but endorsing her as one of them. Her heart suddenly felt lighter than ever before, and as she held close to the firm body of her other half, she knew that their lives together had only just begun. She couldn't wait to see what her darling vampire had in store for the Cullens, and if Edward happened to be present, then all the better.
It was time for the Pack to start a war.