**All characters are © Stephenie Meyer. With the exception of Ethan Pelletier who is entirely my creation.

Chapter 11

"Cats and Dogs"

Rosalie stood facing Edward with her hands on her hips.

"I resent being summoned to a meeting of the dogs because you refuse to take the high road on a dead issue."

Edward glared dangerously at Rosalie.

"My daughter's well being is never a dead issue, Rosalie."

Rosalie rolled her eyes and berated, "Oh, come on, Edward. Everybody knows that Leah imprinted on some cop in Alaska. That makes the threat she made against Renesmee null and void because she is no longer in love with dog breath over there."

Jacob was so used to Rosalie's abuse, he didn't even look up from the game of Sorry that he, Renesmee, Alice, and Emmett were playing.

The Cullens had been hashing and rehashing their stand on the coming meeting with the pack concerning Leah's return to Forks for hours.

To everyone's surprise, Renesmee – who all had hoped was oblivious to the reason Leah had been exiled from Forks – had already voiced her opinion quite eloquently and was now bored with the whole situation.

"I know why you sent Leah away, Daddy. She was mad at me and wanted to kill me because she loved Jacob so much. But she loves Ethan now. I am not afraid of her, and I want her to come home. Having her so far away makes Seth and Nanna Sue sad."

Those words had been all Jacob needed to hear to change his mind. Renesmee's happiness was his number one priority, and if having Leah home was going to make her happy, then he would welcome Leah with open, yet somewhat suspicious until proven otherwise, arms.

The rest of the Cullens had followed suit after hearing Bella recount the conversations she'd had with Sue and Seth over the past few weeks.

"Even Dad says he can hear the difference in her attitude when she calls to speak with Sue. He says she sounds like a new person…happy and in love."

But, Edward remained unconvinced, stubbornly refusing to budge one inch.

Carlisle had managed to talk him into at least going to the meeting to hear what the wolves had to say – with a condition, of course.

"Son, it wouldn't hurt to go and hear them out. The whole pack loves Nessie very much and would never intentionally put her at risk. If even one of them is the least bit suspicious that Leah isn't wholeheartedly sincere, I will stand up against her return to Forks right alongside you…I promise."

"All right, Carlisle. I will go on one condition…Renesmee is to be kept at home and one of us must stay with her to ensure her safety."

Esme had volunteered quite happily –to Rosalie's dismay – to stay at home with Renesmee.

"I promised Nessie we would try a new chocolate chip recipe tonight, anyway."

So, it was decided that the Cullens, with the exception of Esme and Renesmee, would attend the council meeting in La Push that evening to discuss the possibility of allowing Leah Clearwater to return to Forks.


As Ethan and Leah crossed over the line onto the La Push Reservation, Leah thought she might actually hyperventilate. She began to try and calm her breathing by inhaling deeply and exhaling slowly through her nose. Ethan, holding her hand as he drove the fifty-six miles from Port Angeles to Forks, chuckled softly and smoothed her hair.

"Baby, it's going to be okay. They'll all come around eventually. Just give it a little time."

Ethan lifted Leah's hand to his lips and kissed it with a devious grin, his jade eyes sparkling so, that she had to start all over with her deep breathing exercises.

Her voice dripping with sarcasm, Leah muttered, "It's the eventually part that worries me."

It had been a full two weeks since the day in the Alaskan wilderness when things in her world had been turned completely upside down yet again. She had meant to sit Ethan down and calmly explain her being a werewolf and the imprinting phenomenon while on a relaxing hike through the forest. Things had not gone exactly as planned, however.

Leah couldn't help but cringe as she recalled the angry black bear that had planned to attack Ethan before she phased and leapt in to stop the mall. During the fight, the bear had broken a couple of her ribs and knocked her unconscious. But, right before lights out, Leah had seen a black panther with Ethan's emerald green eyes come to her rescue.

Leah still had a hard time believing that Ethan was a shape shifter. Even after hearing his story, it seemed impossible that this kind of life existed for anyone else anywhere else but Forks, Washington.

Ethan had insisted on taking Leah back to his place in Juneau to allow her ribs time to heal. During the two days that he would not permit her to leave the bed, she was a captive – albeit very willing – audience as Ethan recounted his life story.

Ethan Joseph Pelletier had been born in Glenallen, Alaska, near Anchorage. His mother, a full blooded Ahtena Indian from the Native Village of Cantwell, had met a white professional hockey player from Vancouver, Canada, while waitressing at a local all-night diner.

Ethan had been positively animated as he re-told his mother' tale.

"Mom was working the night shift when this hockey team from Vancouver waltzed into the diner in Glenallen at 3 am. Most of them were drunk and very obnoxious…all but one tall dark-haired cowboy with the greenest eyes she'd ever seen. Mom ended up talking to the man for the rest of the night and he followed her home when her shift was over. They were never apart for more than a day after that night. Mom always called it love at first sight, but I know now that she imprinted on Dad that night."

Ethan had laughed heartily as Leah had gasped with an open mouth at that statement.

"Yep. Mom was a shape shifter. The Ahtena legend says that the oldest child of each family will become the protector of the tribe against the evil of the cold ones. But, our story differs from yours in that we decide which form our bodies will take when we phase. Mom was like you…small in size and big in attitude. She chose the panther for its speed and agility. She decided on black because it made it easier for her to sneak up on the enemy at night when she hunted."

Ethan's eyes had clouded over at this point, and his face had twisted in anguish as he continued his story.

"Mom and Dad were very happy together for many years. Not long after I was born, they bought the diner and built a motel. I grew up in Glenallen with the typical small town stuff. I was a normal teenager… played high school sports, hunted and fished with my old man… Life was as good as it gets…until I was sixteen years old. My parents had never kept anything from me. I knew every tribal secret. I knew about vampires and shape shifters. I had attended Ahtena Tribal Warrior meetings my entire life. My mom was one of eight warriors and had been the chief warrior since my granddad died when I was a baby. I knew about epic battles that had taken place, and I knew that my mom had fought in a couple of them. To me, she was bigger than life, invincible. Even my dad – all six foot five inches of him – was in awe of her. When she was in panther form, she was a stealth warrior, unbeatable…so we thought.

One night after a string of mysterious break-ins and murders in and around town, the tribal warriors went in search of what they knew was a vampire. But, it wasn't just one vampire that night…not even two. The warriors faced seven vampires that night, a couple of which were newborns. Our tribe had never fought newborns before, and none of them had any idea just how lethal they can be. My mom and the others fought bravely, but they were overpowered. The tribe lost seven of its warriors that night, and I lost both my parents."

Tears had streamed down Ethan's face by this time, and Leah had held his face in her hands and brushed them away with her thumbs.

"I am so sorry, Ethan. Wait…both?... Your mom and your dad?... How?"

As Leah had asked the question, Ethan had stood to gaze out the bedroom window, wiping back tears angrily.

"You know how imprinting works, Leah. The connection between them was so strong he felt it the minute things started to go wrong. He went looking for her, thinking he could do something to help. By the time he got there, all he found was the mutilated bodies of the warriors that had been slain and seven thirsty vampires. They sucked him dry and left his lifeless body laying there with the others."

Emotionally spent, Ethan had sat down on the edge of the bed, his face in his hands.

Somehow, Leah had known the answer before she even asked the question, but she had to ask anyway.

"And the eighth warrior? What happened to him?"

Ethan had turned to face her, sadness replacing the usual joy in his beautiful green eyes.

"I am the eighth warrior. My chief gave me a direct order not to be at the fight. I couldn't disobey her, but I phased so I could watch my mom in action. I saw it all, and I was powerless to do anything about it. I've never forgiven myself for not being there that night. I should have disobeyed her order, but my body just wouldn't move. When the battle got to its worst point, I tried to run to them, but it was like my legs were bolted to the floor. All I could do was watch as one by one my mom and the others were murdered."

Leah had reached out and taken Ethan's hand in hers, saying nothing. No words had been necessary. Silence had said it all.

Now, as Ethan's black Hummer pulled into the drive of the Clearwater home, gravel crunching beneath the tires, Leah looked down at their hands clasped together and the simple gold band shining on her left ring finger.

No matter what this day had in store for her, she knew she could face it… she could face anything as long as she had her Ahtena Warrior by her side. Ethan squeezed her hand and gave her a wink before Leah slowly opened her door and jumped out of the truck, putting her feet on La Push soil for the first time since Edward had vowed to kill her if she ever returned.


Bella watched, half amused and half annoyed, as Edward pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and his forefinger. The decibel level in the Clearwater house had been at an all-time high for the last few minutes as the debate raged…everyone sharing his or her opinion on whether or not to allow Leah to return to Forks.

Oddly enough, Edward's had not been the only opposing opinion in the gathering. Quil and Embry were both against Leah's return home, mostly because of the friction she'd caused among the pack when she was around before. They had enjoyed the peace and quiet of the last several months and wanted to keep things just the way they were.

Their viewpoint, however understood by every wolf in the room, set off a firestorm of angry discussion between the two packs and Sue Clearwater as the Cullens sat in silence.

Finally, Billy Black cleared his throat loudly and shouted, "Enough!"

Every mouth closed and heads turned as Billy, the authoritative elder, crossed his arms in front of his chest and declared, "It's time we put it to a vote…majority rules. All in favor of allowing Leah to return home let it be known by raising your right hand."

Before the votes could be counted, three things happened simultaneously.

Bella heard a primal growl roll from Edward's throat and felt him stiffen beside her.

Alice stood and screamed, "Stop him!"

Edward vaulted out the front door, shattering it to bits in the process, and landed in the front yard, crouched in striking position in front of Leah.

Bella sprinted out the empty frame that was once the door with the rest of the assembly right behind her.

"Edward, no!" Bella pleaded as Edward lunged for Leah.

Before Edward could make contact, he was thrown to the ground by a mammoth black panther who catapulted himself over the hood of a black hummer – roaring and bearing his razor sharp teeth – and slammed into Edward with the force of a freight train.

"Ethan, no!" Leah yelled as Edward crossed his arms in front of his face to protect himself a second before Ethan snapped his powerful jaws shut just inches from Edward's neck.

In that instant, Ethan was hit from the side by a mass of sand-colored fur. As Seth and Ethan rolled panther over wolf all over the front yard, Emmett and Jasper grabbed hold of Edward to keep him off of Leah.

Suddenly, amidst the snarling and growling, a single gunshot rang out. Everyone froze and turned to see Sue Clearwater standing on her front porch holding a shot gun.

"Seth, get off of your sister's fiancé! Get back into human form and put some clothes on…both of you! Leah, you and Edward come into the house and talk this out before I call Chief Charlie Swan and make life a living hell for the whole Cullen family…sorry, Bella."

"She'll do it, Edward." Alice stood behind her brother with a wide-eyed expression. "She'll tell him everything, including how Bella became a vampire."

Bella could only stand and look at Sue with awestruck respect. She had to hand it to her…the woman had guts.

Leah moved timidly forward and held up her left hand, the gold wedding ring glistening in the rare Forks sunlight.

Clearing her throat nervously, Leah confessed, "Actually, Mom…Ethan is my husband. We got married last week before we left Juneau."

Stunned silence held the group frozen in place until Emmett doubled over in boisterous laughter.

"Well, I'll be damned! The cat fell in love with the dog!"

And with that, the whole entire gathering erupted in laughter, putting an end to the uncomfortable tension once and for all.