Thanks so much for your patience! Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

Vinnie's POV

Chapter 19

Though it had only been a little more than three days since I had last seen Leah, I knew exactly what Sam was talking about when he asked me if it hurt to be away from her. I felt useless, as if I should be doing nothing but trying to figure out where she was so that I could explain things better to her than I had.

Three days after the incident, I was too tired and exhausted to get out of bed. I had gotten no sleep, even though it was not even my night to patrol. The few hours of rest that I did have were plagued with nightmares of Leah; never finding her, never being able to explain everything to her. The migraine that I had did not feel the need to let up, either, even when I woke up that morning.

Embry came into my room. "What's wrong with you?" he asked, pulling the covers off me. "It's almost noon. Why are you still in bed?"

"I think I'm sick or something," I told him.

He looked at me skeptically, then chuckled. "Wolves don't get sick, Vince," he had said. Before I could argue, he explained simply, "You're just lovesick. That's the best explanation of it. You need Leah."

I could have told him that.

"Now, come on, I think that we should go talk to Sam to get his input on how to find Leah."

I sat straight up. "What do you mean 'find her'? You were supposed to go talk to her last night."

He rolled his eyes. "I did. You were in bed before I got back. Seth nearly kicked my ass when he saw me. He would've shifted if his mother hadn't made him calm down. She told me that Leah left after she had talked to you."

"Leave?" I had asked him. "Where is she?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Who knows. Her mom's pretty sure she got as far as she could. Her car's there, though, so maybe she shifted or something. I think she might know more than she's telling me and just protecting her."

Protecting her? I felt offended by that. "I'm not going to hurt her."

"Yeah, I know that Vince."

"Did you tell Sue that I… you know, imprinted on her daughter?" I wasn't sure if the information would help or hinder finding her, but I still wanted to know the answer.

Embry shook his head. "I thought it would be better if you did the honors."

Maybe that was the better decision. If anything, I wanted to be the one to tell her that I had imprinted on her rather than through someone else.

Plus, it gave me even more motive to look for her.

"So, you have no idea where she could be?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Her mom may have been even lying. Maybe she was just out the house somewhere and didn't actually, you know, run away. But the way Seth was looking at me, screaming about how the next time he sees you, you're done…"

Great. I had done the one thing Seth told me not to do; I hurt Leah.

"But how-" I was cut off by a banging on the front door down stairs.

Both Embry and I looked up into the hallway. "Who the hell could that be?" he asked.

I followed him down the stairs, managing to drag myself out of bed. Embry got to the door first, swinging it open.

"Jacob?" he asked when he saw him. "What do you-"

"Where's your brother?" he interrupted.

"Uh, he's…" I think he was trying to think of a cover up story, seeing as how angry Jacob sounded.

Before he could think of anything, however, Jacob pushed him to the side and came into the house, his eyes finally finding me. He pointed at me, anger apparent in his eyes. "You," he said simply.

I just stood there in fear for my life. He scared me more than seeing Seth again; though there was no direct threat that Jacob had said to me where Leah was concerned, I knew that the bond between the two of them was just as deep as Seth and Leah's, especially since Jacob was her best friend.

"What did you do to her?" he asked me.

"I didn't do anything," I said defensively. I didn't like the fact that he thought I would ever purposefully hurt her. "I told her I was a wolf. All I did was tell her the truth."

He sighed and put his head in his hands. "Do you even understand what that did to her? Do you know what she's been through?"

"Yes, I do. Sam explained it to me."

"So you get that she'll never really trust you now, right?"

I was confused. "Why?"

"She'll just think you'll leave her. At any point, you could fall in love with some random girl."

"Jake-"

"Look, maybe no one has really explained imprinting to you. You can't fight it. There is no fighting it. You can love her, just like Sam loved her, but if you imprint-"

"I already have," I interrupted him loudly.

His eyes went wide. "You did?"

"Yeah."

"Crap. How am I going to explain that to her?" he said more to himself than anyone else.

"I'm going to tell her as soon as I find where she is."

"You can't tell her now!" he said loudly. "You didn't see her when she came to me. She was so… I can't let her go through that."

"I thought the whole point of this was that we were meant to be together," I said to him. "That's what Sam made it sound like."

"Well, yeah, you and the person you imprinted on."

"Yeah, I know."

He looked at me confused, than turned to Embry. "Am I missing something here?" he asked.

"He imprinted on Leah, Jake."

Jacob's eyes went wide again, but this time for a different reason. The anger that was previously present was gone and replaced by excitement. "Are you serious?" he asked me.

I nodded.

He smiled widely. "Well, that changes everything," he laughed. "Wow. That's… that's great."

"Do you know where she is?"

He nodded. "But it's not a place you can just prance in unannounced, especially if you're some random wolf."

"Oh man," Embry said. "She really couldn't think of another place to hide out?"

He laughed. "It was funny actually. Esme welcomed her right in, even though Rosalie tried to kick her out several times. She must not have realized how tough Leah is."

I was about to ask him who all these people were, but before I could, Embry said, "What about your girl? Does she like her?"

Jacob nodded. "They surprisingly get along great together. Ness is starting to idolize her like she's her big sister or something, and I think Leah just really enjoys the company of someone who's at least partly human."

Ness? "Wait, that little girl at Quil's birthday party?"

"Yep."

"You said 'your girl'. Do you mean…"

"I imprinted on her when she was born." When he saw what must have been a confused expression on my face, he continued. "I'm like her… big brother, nothing gross or anything. I'll be what ever she wants me to be. It's the same for Quil and the little girl Claire."

I remembered her from the party, too. I almost felt like taking pride in myself; I was suspicious of the secret of imprinting before I even knew werewolves existed.

"So," Embry said, "how are we going to get into the place?"

Jacob scratched his head for a second. "I don't know. Maybe…" His face suddenly lit up. "Carlisle is a doctor, and he's been around for over three hundred years. Maybe we could ask him for insight into what Vince really is." He looked back at me. "It's a win-win deal, if you think about it. You get to find out more about yourself and get to see your lover again." He laughed at the last statement.

Now, I was confused. Three hundred years old?

Oh, man.

"Wait, are these people… They wouldn't happen to be-"

"Yeah, they're bloodsuckers," Embry said.

I sighed. If I was willing to go up and talk to what is supposed to be my mortal enemy, I must have been deeply in love with this girl. No one else could give me motive to do this besides her.

"Do I really have to go in there?" I asked Jacob. I was currently standing on the front lawn of what was the Cullen house, or rather, mansion. I had never seen a house so big around here before.

He sighed frustrated. "Could you quit whining? I'm taking you to go see the girl you're in love with. A little bit of gratitude and willingness would be great."

"But what if they attack me?"

"I already told Carlisle about you. He's expecting for you to be there, in the house."

"Why can't we just ask Leah to come out here? I don't really have to get more information about me. I just want her."

He chuckled. "Are you really that afraid of vampires?"

"I've never met one before."

"Sure you have. Well, at least one that was half vampire."

I stared at him confused. Vampires were supposed to be pale white, ice cold, and be tremendously beautiful.

I could only think of one person who fit two of the three standards. "Renesmee?" I asked.

"See? You're not that stupid. Maybe those three years at college actually did something for you." He laughed. "You weren't afraid of that little girl, were you?"

"Well, no, but she's a toddler. I'm more afraid of that blond girl you said tried to kick Leah out."

"Blondie's bark is worse than her bite." He said. "Well, hopefully it is. She hasn't attacked me full on yet."

"Oh, that's makes me feel better," I muttered.

"C'mon," he said pulling on my arm.

The two of us –me practically being dragged –made our way to the front door. He turned the knob.

"Aren't you going to knock?" I whispered, scared that some vampire was going to jump out at me at any moment.

"Nah. I stopped doing that months ago. I'm a regular around here."

"But I'm not." But I could no longer reject anything. I was already inside.

The house was as elaborate as the exterior would suggest. A huge staircase was right in front of me, along with an array of other décor. I expected the mansion, but the interior surprised me. Weren't vampires supposed to be these cruel, living dead beings that fed on human's blood? Even though Jake and Embry assured me that the Cullen's were different –that they actually fed on animal blood so that they could stay in one area and live among humans peacefully –the stereotypes that both the movies and Sam suggested weren't something that I could easily forget about. They were the living dead, but the house looked like a home; like they lived there.

A blond man, looking about in his mid twenties, came from another room into the hallway where Jake and I were. I was assaulted by the harsh smell that he gave off, along with the rest of the house. His pale skin and too perfect features were enough to suggest what was obvious.

This was a vampire.

"Jacob, I'm glad you decided to come," he said with a smile. His tenor seemed friendly, but Sam had told me that their voices were meant to attract people so that they can more easily kill someone.

I wasn't convinced that this… thing really wasn't the enemy until Jacob shook his hand and said, "I keep my word, Doc."

The vampire looked at me. "And you must be Vincent Call. I'm Doctor Carlisle Cullen. It's a pleasure to meet you."

He reached out a hand to me, and I warily reached out for it. As soon as I touched it, however, my hand felt like it was touching ice. I drew it back quickly; I knew that they were "ice cold", but I took that statement to be more of an exaggeration rather than an actual fact.

The doctor's face went sad. "I apologize." He put his hand back to his side.

"Uh, sorry about that," Jacob said. "It's his first time being around vampires."

Carlisle nodded. "I completely understand. Maybe you'd feel more comfortable in my study where we can sit and talk."

I nodded, not sure what to say. I doubted that I would feel comfortable in a room with him under any circumstances, but maybe if we explored the house a little, I'd be able to find out where Leah was.

"Right this way." He led Jacob and me up the pristine stairs and down the hallway where a large, ancient looking crucifix stood on a wall.

When I looked to Jacob, all he muttered was "Don't ask."

Carlisle opened the door to the study and left it ajar after Jacob and I entered. I think he did that just for my own comfort, which was appreciated.

"Now," he began, walking to the opposite side of his desk where he sat and motioned us to do the same, "Jacob tells me that you somehow are a shape shifter, like his tribe, but are not from their family."

"Yes," I told him.

"Is there anything else?"

"Sam Uley said that he should be able to hear my thoughts when we're both wolves, but he isn't able to like he can with everyone else."

"Interesting. What about your father? Where is he from?"

"That is the million dollar question," Jacob said. "Embry, Sam, and him have been looking for weeks for where he is."

I cut in with my own information. "All I know for certain is that he was born in Mexico City and went to UCLA with my mom. He left her abruptly without any word and seems to just have disappeared. She thinks he went back to Mexico."

"Mexico?"

I nodded.

Carlisle looked like he was speculating a moment. "I have heard of strange things coming from that area."

"Things?" Jacob asked.

"Events that have taken place. I thought that they were only legends, though. When the Spanish came to Central and South America to make colonies, the natives were anything but welcoming. The animals even seemed to not want them there. There was rumor to even be a sort of war where huge coyotes came to the aid of the natives and attacked a village of Veracruz where Cortés and other Spaniards –and to no surprise, vampires –had settled. It was in an attempt to stop both the enslavement and feeding of their people.

"Even though millions were killed over the three hundred year period of Spanish occupation, the vampires were all but banished out of the area, moving more into the southern United States. Maybe one of the other vampires who lives here, Jasper, could tell you more about his experience. Maybe he could tell you more."

"So, it could have to do with something I learned in high school global?" I asked his quizzically.

He chuckled. "Yes, I suppose so. You'd be surprised by the effect vampires have actually had on the world without others even realizing it, though we do try our best to keep a low profile."

"Who-" but my breath caught as something familiar came to my senses. Something I needed more than anything at that moment.

Her voice.

"Nessie, I'm pretty sure I would beat you in a race," I heard Leah laugh from somewhere. "I'm a twenty year old shape shifter."

"Yes, but I'm part vampire."

"But a child."

"Well, I beat my Jacob when I raced him," the girl said confused.

"That's because your Jacob and my alpha couldn't beat little Claire at a race if he tried."

I heard Nessie go into a fit of little giggles as I tried to find the source of the sound. I had stood up abruptly, looking into the hallway. She wasn't there, but she sounded so close, like she was in the room with me.

Finally, I looked behind myself and saw that there was an open window. Looking out of it, I could see the woods in the distance, and next to the house in an open field, Leah and the little girl Nessie were sitting in the grass together.

I saw a woman with long and wavy brown hair go up to the two of them with glasses of some kind of drink. "Would either of you two like some lemonade?"

The girl's eyes sparkled with excitement. "Yes, please, Grandma." She got up from Leah's side and went to retrieve both the drinks.

"Thank you, Esme," Leah said.

"You're welcome, dear," the woman said kindly. She walked over to a nearby garden and tended to some plants.

Leah and Nessie had begun talking about something –I think whether or not Nessie really even drank lemonade –but I wasn't listening. All I saw was Leah out in the field of grass, Leah right outside…

Leah.

"Well," I heard Jacob say behind me, "are you going to your fair maiden or what?"

As fast as I could I ran down the stairs, trying to find where a back door was, and receiving strange looks of what must have been other tenants of the house. When I finally found it, I swung it open and ran until she was in sight.

The woman Esme looked up from her garden and stared at me. "Oh, you must be the wolf Carlisle was talking about." She came up to me and took off her garden gloves, reaching for my hand. "I'm Esme."

I didn't take her hand. Not to be rude to her in any regard, but all I could really see was the woman sitting just yards away from me who had yet to see I was there.

Nessie saw me first. "Oh. Hello, Vincent," she said sweetly.

Leah's eyes went wide, and finally came to rest on mine. The same experience happened like the last time I had seen her, but in a different way. Before, it was like I was drowning in everything that was her. Now, I was comforted with finally knowing she was truly safe and sound. A moment later, I felt like I was free falling, my stomach doing flip flops, just like the first time I had met her, but in a more permanent sense. I would forever be in love with her.

And that was completely okay.

"Leah?" I said quietly, but I knew she heard me.

She stood up, looking a little scared. My comforting sense left me. She was frightened. "Vinnie," she said simply.

So familiar to how the story began, is it not? I contemplated ending the story here, but I thought that would just be too cruel. The chapter was only supposed to go up to the part where Jacob comes over, but I thought that would've been mean, too. What an unselfish character I'm turning out to be...

Finally some Leah and Vinnie action next chapter. I for one can't wait!

Cocoa