Thanks so much for the reviews last chapter. And thanks to KzintiKiller for discussing with me all about the story. It means so much that people out there are enjoying this story so much.

Now I must warn you, this is a LONG chapter. I think it makes up for my rather short entries these past few chapters. But I didn't have the heart to half it, so I just put it all in here. I hope you enjoy it!

Vinnie's POV

Chapter 23

I first realized that I was somewhere I wasn't used to the minute I came into consciousness. I could feel the mattress under me, and the lack of springs digging into my back was enough to hint that this wasn't my bed.

The memories were slowly coming back to me as my eyes peaked open from my hooded lids. I recognized this room. I slept in this room with-

My thoughts were interrupted by a slight movement next to me. As I looked down, I saw what could only be described as an angel lying next to me, still fast asleep, her hand gripping onto the shirt that I was wearing and her cheek pressing against the indent between my neck and shoulder.

It was hard not to smile at the sight of seeing Leah lying with me. Once again, I realized that waking up to her face was something I wanted to do every morning.

I was surprised at first that I didn't immediately realize that she was laying next to me the moment I woke up. There wasn't anything about her that was forgettable, from her scent to the way it felt to be with her in my arms. I came to the conclusion that her being with me was nothing odd; it was us. Like Sam explained to me, the imprinting meant that we were soulmates. It only made sense that she and I sleeping next to each other would be one of the most natural things for us in the world.

A few minutes later, she stirred once more and swallowed, taking a deep breath and releasing a quiet and peaceful sigh that I had never heard come from her before. My grin spread as her hand left my shirt and reached lazily for my neck.

I made the mistake of chuckling at her. In response, her eyes slowly opened, blinking a few times to try and rid the sleep from her eyes. She looked confused a moment, but then smiled softly, and laid a kiss on my neck.

"Good morning, Leah," I said to her quietly.

"Hi," was all she responded with before she adjusted herself and laid completely on my chest, her hair tickling my nose.

"How was your sleep last night?" I asked as I ran my fingers through her short bob.

"Just peachy," she said softly. "Better than I have slept in awhile. You?"

"Wonderful."

There was a moment of comfortable silence –and a couple of stolen kisses here and there –before I asked her, "Do you want to go get something for breakfast?"

"Hmm. I guess. But that means I would have to move and I'm actually very comfortable right now."

I chuckled and kissed her forehead. "I think we have plenty of time to be comfortable, but we should go eat something. I doubt Jacob would like it if I starved his loyal… what does he call you?"

"Beta." She then proceeded to grumble something about Jacob sticking something up his ass, but even my new werewolf hearing couldn't exactly pinpoint the words as she put on a pale purple fleece robe and led the way downstairs to the kitchen.

I could see that the other vampires were already up and about, which honestly should not have surprised me that much if I had remembered that they didn't actually sleep, like Sam told me when I had first shifted. There appeared to be more than I had remembered living under the same roof. A man with curly brown hair and muscles that would put any football player to shame sat on the couch with the blond woman, Rosalie.

Nearing the kitchen, I could smell the sweet aroma of chocolate. As I entered the kitchen, I saw a man at the stove, his back to Leah and me as he cooked. At the table in the dining room that was visible, I could see little Nessie sitting there eagerly.

She smiled widely as we came in. "Hi, Leah. Hi, Vinnie," she said excitedly.

"Hi, Nessie," Leah and I said together.

"Daddy's making chocolate pancakes."

"Didn't you have that for breakfast yesterday?" Leah asked as she sat next to her at the table.

"Well, yeah, but I don't really like human food most of the time. I like sweets, though."

Leah turned to me and saw my confused expression. "She's half vampire. She usually drinks animal blood."

"Oh," I said silently. It was hard for me to picture the little sweet girl attacking some animal for its blood, but I didn't ask anything more about it.

"Would you like some pancakes, Leah?" A voice called out from the kitchen. I assumed it must have been the man who was cooking at the stove.

"Um, no," she said flatly.

"But you had some yesterday," Nessie said confused. "Esme made some for us, remember?"

"Yes, I remember," Leah said quietly.

The man came into the dining room with a platter of chocolate pancakes. Now that I could see his face, it seemed like he was more of a teenager than an adult, and could not have been older than twenty. The plate of food seemed to be enough to feed six people. But seeing as how both Leah and I had a massive diet, I assumed it was just enough.

"Leah," the man said, "I can promise you that I did not in fact poison these pancakes. Do you think I would serve them to my daughter otherwise?"

"Stay out of my head," Leah said to him, her voice sounding annoyed.

The man sighed, and looked over to me. "I'm sorry that I didn't properly introduce myself. I'm Renesmee's father, Edward." He seemed about to shake my hand, but thought better of it. I appreciated it. I didn't really enjoy the ice cold feeling on my skin too much.

"I'm Vincent Call."

"Nice to meet you. Would you like some pancakes for breakfast? I made so much that I'm not sure even Renesmee's appetite can fit it all."

"Daddy!" she said in horror.

"It's okay, Nessie," I said with a smile. "Us werewolves have a big appetite, too."

The smile went back on her face. "I know. Jacob ate a whole cake once. A big one, too. Did you know that?"

I chuckled. "No, I did not know that. I'll have to have him tell me that story sometime."

"Do you want some pancakes, Vincent?" Edward asked me again.

"Yes," I said without thinking. I didn't even want to begin going on about how much I enjoyed pancakes, chocolate ones at that. My mom used to make them for Embry and me every Saturday after her paycheck. When there wasn't a lot of money coming in, it was nice to look forward to what was one luxury in our little household.

Edward smiled and went back into the kitchen. He came back with berry and maple syrup and a butter dish, along with plates, forks, and knives. The berry syrup took me by surprise; it was what we used at my house when my mom could get some extra from the restaurant. My mother hated maple syrup, so she never felt the need to waste her money on it. I liked the berry one better, anyways.

"Thank you, Daddy," Nessie said happily.

"You're welcome, sweetheart." As he bent over and kissed her forehead in a touching gesture, it seemed nearly impossible for this man to actually be a killer creature, who was made to kill humans. I came to the realization that I had yet to encounter a vampire that I actually wanted to kill like I was supposed to. The closest that came to it was Rosalie, but I think that even if she was human, she'd be rude.

"Your mother and I are going to go hunting," he said to Nessie. "Alice wants to take you shopping today."

"Okay. I love you, Daddy."

"I love you, too, Nessie. I'll see you soon." With a little kiss on the cheek from Nessie, Edward stood up and smiled at me. "It was nice meeting you, Vincent."

"Thanks for the food," I said in response.

He chuckled. "You're welcome. Bye, Leah."

"Bye," she grumbled.

He left the room.

"You don't like my dad," Nessie said sadly, looking in Leah's direction.

Leah looked stunned for a moment, as I was. I forgot that the young girl didn't seem to have the regular characteristics as a seemingly three year old would have. It should not have surprised me that she was observant enough to notice the harsh tendencies Leah had toward Edward. "I don't not like your dad, Ness. It's… complicated. You know that normal shape shifters and vampires don't really enjoy each others company. It's just how we are."

Nessie nodded. "But… you like me, right? I'm okay?"

Leah smiled at the girl. "Yes, you're okay, Nessie."

She smiled widely in approval and reached for her pancakes, sitting on her knees to do it.

"Do you need-" I began before Nessie interrupted.

"I can do it," Nessie said. Somehow, she did manage to reach the platter, putting three pancakes on her plate.

I reached over and got some –maybe five to start out –and put butter and berry syrup on them. I didn't regret choosing to eat them, even if Leah decided to hold it against me later. They were delicious.

"I'll have to tell your dad how great these are, Nessie," I said in between bites.

"They are very yummy today especially," she said.

"Are you sure you don't want any, Leah?"

She looked over at me and glared. "No, I do not want any pancakes."

"There isn't a lot of breakfast food left," Nessie said. "Esme has to go back to the store. She hardly buys enough for when Jacob and Seth are over. Now that I have two more wolf friends, I don't know if even the store has enough for us," she giggled at her own joke.

"It's okay. I'll figure out something."

I tried to think of a way for Leah to be less stubborn about this. "You know, my mom, Embry and me used to eat these all the time."

"Really?" Leah asked in curiosity.

"Yeah. With the berry syrup, too. I'm surprised that he brought it out."

Leah chuckled dryly. "He probably got in your head and saw you remembering it."

"What do you mean?"

"My dad can read minds," Nessie said, cutting up some more food to eat.

"Oh." I forgot that vampires could have special abilities.

We ate silently, but Leah kept looking at the food with longing. I knew she had to be hungry, and chocolate wasn't something that a lot of people could resist.

"You trust me, right?" I asked her.

She looked at me. "Of course I trust you. What kind of question is that?"

"And you like Nessie, right?"

She glared. "Vinnie, where are you going with this?"

"If we're eating this, why won't you? They very good Leah, and I know you're hungry."

"It's about the food, it's about principle."

"What principle?"

She rolled her eyes like I was the biggest idiot in the world. "I only eat food at this house if Esme made it. I like her."

"I thought you liked Edward," I asked her.

"No, I don't not like him. I'm neutral with Edward."

I sighed. "Okay, if you're sure."I bit into a piece of the pancake. "Mmm," I said while I ate it. "It's so good, and chocolately, and sweet, and-"

"If I eat a pancake, will you shut up?" she said as Nessie giggled at my motions.

"Yes, I will."

She sighed unhappily and took the fork that was left at the table, digging into a pancake that was on my plate and eating it quickly.

"Well?" I asked her.

"They're not that bad. I'm neutral with them, too." But I could tell by the amount of five pancakes that she put on another plate of her own that she was more than neutral with them.

Nessie had left to get dressed soon after breakfast, and I went back into Jacob's room to look for some clothes I could wear. In his closet, I saw an array of nice clothes, all of them with the tag still on them. The prices were more than what I could ever afford, but I remembered what Leah had told me before.

"Alice bought him a whole wardrobe that he never uses," she had said on the way upstairs. "I'm sure neither one of them would mind if you used an outfit. At least it would be worn."

Trying not to pick anything too expensive, I went with a deep green button up and light jeans. After brushing my teeth with the spare I had found unopened in the bathroom, I knocked on Leah's door.

"Come in," she said. I opened the door, and saw her making the bed. She had changed into a green tee shirt that hugged her body beautifully and a denim mini skirt that seemed to make her perfect legs go on for miles.

She looked over at me and smiled. "We sort of coordinate," she laughed.

Looking down at my outfit –I couldn't remember what I had put on; I couldn't really remember anything with her standing there in that –I chuckled and happily put my eyes back on her. "You're right."

She walked over to me and pulled at my collar gently. "You look very nice in this. I'm glad you wore it instead of Jacob."

"Yeah?"

She looked up at me, smiling softly and putting a lose hair away from my face. "It makes your eyes look even more hypnotizing."

I smiled. I enjoyed the fact that we were apparently having the same reaction to each other. "I think I know the feeling," I said to her, lowering my head to get put my lips on hers. She kissed back immediately, her lips latching onto mine for dear life. On instinct, my hands went around her waist and held her to me as close as I could. I was only encouraged as her fingers tugged on my hair, just as she did the previous night. I gently shut the bedroom door with my foot and gently pushed her back onto it.

My lips made the circuit over to her ear and down her neck as far as her shirt allowed me, which was about two inches past her collarbone.

Her breathing hitched as my hands lowered down her waist and slowly onto the bare skin on her hips. She moaned when my hands went under her shirt, slowly making their way up her sides. She hooked a leg around my hips, and I quickly pulled the other one to join it, supporting all of her weight as I held her by her hips against the door behind her.

"Vinnie," she said softly. I looked back up to her, and saw a mischievous smile on her face. She leaned down and took my lips, kissing them with intense passion.

A knock, once again, was what interrupted us.

We both groaned simultaneously in frustration, as I set her down on her feet and pulled away so that she could open the door.

She took one look at Jacob who was standing outside, and I swear, she looked like steam was about to come out of her ears like in those Saturday morning cartoons I used to watch at home when I was a kid.

"What the hell do you want, Black?" she said angrily.

He only laughed. "I was starting to think that we had started getting on a first name basis before this point, Clearwater. I didn't realize you being sexually frustrated would get you so riled up."

The sound that escaped her could only be described as a growl as her arm shook. I knew that frustration.

I put a hand gently on her arm. She looked up at me at the touch, and her face was void of the anger. She nodded slightly, understanding that I was only trying to help her calm down.

"Wow." Jacob said in awe. "Vince actually posses the power to tame the shrew. This is amazing."

She looked back at him. "Unless you want me to sever a certain small body part of yours, Jacob, I suggest that you hurry up with whatever you want."

He laughed. "There's my beta. And you know I would not have interrupted whatever was happening on the other side of this door unless it was pretty important."

"What is it?"

His tone got more serious. "There's a tribal meeting. A big one."

She looked confused. "For what? Are they telling the legends or something?"

"No. All the old wolves have to come, the first ten anyways." He looked over to me. "It's all about you."

"Me?" I asked. "What do they want with me? Its not like they even accept me."

"I think that's the whole thing they'll be deliberating."

"But why does everyone have to come?" Leah asked worriedly.

Jacob shrugged. "I have no clue, but I think its important."

She sighed. "Well, when's the meeting?"

"Right now."

I admit that I was a little scared as I sat in the back of Jacob's car with Leah as he drove us to the reservation. I had no idea what they were going to do to me. Hopefully, I could just explain what happened yesterday with Anna and be done with that whole situation with my father, and just move on and try to be as normal. Well, as normal as I could get under the circumstances.

Leah laced her fingers with mine, which were taping anxiously on my knee. "You're going to be fine," she said to me. "They probably just want to talk to you."

I nodded my head, but I think we both knew that if everyone was coming, it was going to be a little more important than a little chat.

We pulled up to Sam's house. I expected there to be a bunch of cars parked outside, but I only saw a couple. I figured that everyone wasn't there yet.

The three of us walked up the sidewalk to the house, Jacob leading the way and opening the door. I could hear talking as soon as the door opened. When I entered the living room with Leah close to my side, the room seemed to go into an uncomfortable silence.

Everyone was there. I could see the elders sitting in chairs, Sue Clearwater sitting alongside them. Seth was on the floor, his back leaning against the couch where two other guys sat that I did not remember with Embry. Jared and Paul sat on opposite sides of a loveseat, and Sam stood in a corner, his arms folded and looking serious. Quil sat in the kitchen, drinking something that Emily had just finished pouring into his glass.

"Hey, Vince," Seth smiled.

"Hey." I tried my best to smile, but it was hard to do so under the stifling conditions. I was afraid to do anything with everyone staring at me.

"Vincent Call," Old Quil said, "we have called this meeting to discuss what has happened to you these past few months."

"Okay." That seemed simple enough. I quit school and came back to La Push, started dating Leah, morphed into a wolf, imprinted on Leah, and found some stuff about my dad. The end. I didn't see why there needed to be an entire congregation to discuss the story.

"You have lived here since you were born, although you do not possess and Quileute blood," he continued. "You left for college three years to return here to your mother and brother. You then proceeded to shift into a wolf, although you are not of the same blood as these brothers." He motioned to the rest of the wolves. "Is this true?"

"Yes."

"Have you been able to figure out anything about your father, Vincent?" Billy Black asked me.

I sighed. "Well, I talked to his wife yesterday on the phone. She says he's in Mexico with the rest of his family."

He nodded. "Did she tell you anything that might help us figure you out?"

"Not really."

He sighed. "I see."

"Vincent, you're sure there isn't anything more you know?" The way Sue said it startled me; she seemed desperate for a better answer from me.

But I didn't have one for her. "No, nothing."

Her face saddened as she looked away from me.

"Can I ask why I'm here?" I said. "I don't understand why everyone has to be here."

Old Quil answered. "Everyone of these real shape shifters are here because we don't have the slightest clue as to what you are. You being on this reservation affects everyone."

"In what way?"

"You're a mystery. No one knows what you are. There is no way that you could have the same magic as our Quileutes have. There is something wrong with what you are. It's possible that you could be a danger to this community. That's how it affects everyone."

"Dangerous?" Leah said. "How is he dangerous? He's been in Sam's pack the last few weeks. You act like he's some renegade wolf."

"No one can hear what he is thinking, so he very well may be having other things on his agenda than being here. And I suggest in the future that you respect your elders more, Leah Clearwater."

I heard her take a deep breath and look away from them, clinging to my arm.

"I don't have an agenda, sir," I said. "I'm here because this is my home. This is where I was raised. I may not have the blood in me, but I'm supposed to be here."

"There is no way you know that."

"With all do respect," Sam suddenly said, "he hasn't really been a problem. I tell him what to do before he shifts, and he does it. He can fight."

"But what if some vampires were to come into the reservation at a moments notice? How do you suggest that he contribute to a battle plan if he cannot hear everyone else?"

Sam seemed to be at a loss of words, and not able to contradict the statement.

"Maybe he could try being in my pack," Jacob spoke up. "I'll be his alpha."

"You setting up this new pack has been trouble enough. There's no need to add the foreigner to it."

I for one was starting to think that the little nickname they used for me was getting pretty old quick.

"I hope we're not arguing about that again," Jacob said with frustration. "We go through it every other month. I'm supposed to be an alpha. The rest of them came at their own free will. Leah and I are managing our boundaries and the rest of the pack just like Sam and Paul do."

"We know, son," Billy said. "We're not here to talk about that."

"Then what are we here to talk about?" Seth said.

"Seth-" his mother started.

He threw his hands up in defense. "All I'm saying is that it seems like we're going in circles instead of actually talking about anything. We should be patrolling soon."

"Don't lie," Old Quil, "you simply miss the bloodsucker's company."

"Yes, I do, but I would also like to know what's to come of my sister's boyfriend before the sun goes down."

The eyes all went back to Leah and me, standing there side by side, her hand still wrapped around mine.

"We aren't sure what is to come of him," Billy said sadly.

"What do you mean?" I asked. "What's the problem with leaving things the way they are? Everything is fine the way it is. I'm on Sam's pack, and I'm living here. What needs to change here."

"Both of those part seem to need to change," Old Quil said solemnly.

I didn't really understand what he was saying. I must've heard him wrong. It sounded like they were kicking me out of here. "I don't understand."

"We think that you, Vincent Call, can possibly be a danger to all in the community and because of that, we are asking that you leave."

The whole room seemed to go into a gasp.

"Leave?" was all I could manage in a small voice. I had to leave? They were kicking me out of my own home? Where I had lived for my entire childhood, where all of my best memories were…

Where Leah was?

This had to be some kind of twisted nightmare that I couldn't wake myself up from. That was the only explanation. But try as hard as I did, I was not waking up to the comfortable bed I had slept on with Leah next to me, sleeping and looking the angel she was.

That was possibly the last time I would see her sleep.

All of a sudden, Embry rose up from his counch in the living room and looked Old Quil in the eye. "You're honestly kicking my brother out of this rez?" he said angrily. "You can't do that."

"I think I can, Embry Call," Old Quil said, "and although you share the same last name as him, he is not your brother. Not like the rest of them."

Embry seemed about ready to pounce on Old Quil before Jacob walked over and grabbed his arm. "Calm down, Em," he said calmly.

"Calm down? He just said that Vincent –the boy who I share a mother with, the guy who protected my on the play ground from the bullies, the man who practically raised me as opposed to whoever the hell my father is –is not my brother. You cannot say that. He's half of the only family I have."

"We understand that," Billy said, "but he can't stay here anymore."

"There isn't any other way to solve this?" Jared asked. "I don't see what the problem is with him staying here. Even if he's just not allowed to shift or something. Why can't he stay here?"

"There is no way that we would know he would be able to do that," Old Quil said. "You know how hard it is not to shift, especially in the beginning. He can't stay here."

I felt Leah shaking. "He's not leaving," she said softly. I couldn't see her face, so I couldn't tell if her shaking was out of anger of something else.

"Leah, dear," her mother said in desperation, "this is for the best."

"How can you say that?" she said angrily. "You can't make him leave. I love him. I love him more than anyone. He's not leaving." I could finally see her face, and instead of the anger I imagined on it, I saw complete anguish as the tears fell from her eyes. It was pulling me to pieces.

Everyone seemed a little startled by her declaration. "You're only saying that because Sam is here," Old Quil said frankly. "You probably thought the same of him before he left you for Emily."

That was low. That was really, really low, and I almost couldn't believe he had just said that aloud. I don't think the rest of the room could, either, especially since Emily and Sam's eyes went wide.

But Leah seemed virtually unscratched from the remark. "No, I never loved Sam like this. I never felt like this for anyone." She sighed. "Didn't Sam tell you?"

"Tell us what?" Sue said curiously.

"Vinnie imprinted on me."

There was another universal gasp. I was beginning to feel like I was on some kind of sitcom where you could here everyone's reactions by the taped audience.

"That's impossible," Old Quil said simply.

"No, it's not," Sam spoke again. "He really did. I can't see inside of his head, but-"

"Then how can you be sure?"

"When he saw her for the first time after he shifted, he came to me, asking why he couldn't stop thinking about Leah. He felt everything –the pull, the endless devotion, the love –that everyone else has. He just didn't know the name for it. No one had told him about imprinting before. You told me not to explain too much of our legends with him. I never talked about anyone imprinting, and yet he did."

"That means he has to stay," Leah said. "We protect who we imprint on. That's why Renesmee is still alive. We protect her."

"Yes, but you did not imprint on him, as I understand it," Old Quil said. "He imprinted on you. You are allowed to stay here. We can protect you, but he must leave."

"You can't separate us!" she nearly screamed. "You would never make Sam leave Emily, or Jared leave Kim. You can't do this!"

"We may do as we please, Leah."

"I thought this was a discussion," Quil suddenly said, coming in from the kitchen. "It doesn't count as discussing if you've already decided everything."

"Quil, you should be quiet. When you become an elder, you're free to make whatever decisions you wish as long as they are in the interest of the community. That is all we're doing."

"But-"

"This discussion is over." He looked at me intensely. "Vincent Call, you must pack your things and leave as soon as you can tomorrow. Please get out of this house."

As hollow as I felt, I somehow managed the energy to turn around and walk out, walking quickly without looking back.

They were making me leave. I would be leaving everything I had ever known.

I had never hated my father so much in my entire life. Why couldn't he have been from this reservation instead of Mexico? Why couldn't I be like everyone else for once in my life?

Without thinking, I ran into the woods, quickly taking off my clothes and running as fast as I could to no where in particular. My anger, my frustration, my sadness; they all led me.

When I finally stopped running, I realized that I was actually at the cove. Our cove.

Well, it was on the reservation, so I guess it really wasn't mine anymore.

I shifted back to human form, only putting my jeans back on as I leaned my head against a rock, sitting cross legged on the sand.

To no surprise, I heard quiet footsteps on the sand, and someone sitting close to me. "What's going to happen, Vinnie?" she said softly.

"I don't know. Maybe I'll go to Mexico. Maybe if I can get answers, they'll let me come back here." I turned to look at her, and could see the tears still going down her face. I took put both of my hands on either side of her face and kissed her softly. I laid my forehead against hers. "I will come back for you."

"What do you mean?"

"I will come for you, Leah. I will do everything in my power to make sure that I can come back here to be with you."

"Vinnie, I'm coming with you."

I looked down at her. "What?"

"There's no way you're leaving without me."

"But what about Jacob's pack?"

She shrugged. "Seth will take my place. I need you, not the pack. I love them, but you are everything, Vinnie, like I am for you. I can't be without you."

"But-"

"I'm coming with you." She said it confidentially so that there was no room for argument.

I smiled. She was leaving her whole life –her pack, her family, her life –to be with me.

I pulled her face in for another kiss, one that showed how much I appreciated and loved her; one that explained the feeling that coursed through my veins and seemed to be the most appropriate phrase for the moment.

"I love you so much, Leah," I said against her lips.

"I love you, too," she said, "more than anything."

Even though the pain was still in me, it seemed to get smaller every time my lips came in contact with hers. Even though I would still have to leave everything, I wasn't leaving my everything.

She was coming with me.

Wow. So a lot has happened this chapter. Pancake eating, Edward Cullen, a make out session, and Old Quil being a major ass: that about sums it up.

There will be just one chapter left. But *surprise, surprise* there WILL be a sequel to this story. I promise you that. When more details come in, I'll be sure to tell you. I think that the adventures of Leah and Vinnie aren't anywhere near complete. I'd love to write about their mischief as it unfolds.

Please review.

Cocoa.

P.S. There's a soundtrack to this story that I posted on my profile that you're all welcomed to check out anytime. It's got a variety of songs, and I they all played a part in this story being made.