A/N: Ok, so it has been much too long since I have last updated, and I do apologise for that. However, I did warn you all that I had some epic stuff going on in real life (epic as in amazinging awesome) and writing really has been impossible for the past few weeks. I am not saying this to make excuses, because that is just how life gets sometimes, but I really want you to understand my delay in updating.
So, I want to thank you all for patience, and I hope that this absence hasn't pissed you off too much. And to continue with the thank yous (as always)- my wonderful readers for clicking on and reading my little baby. It still stuns me that people actually want to read my writing. And what completely blows me away is those who take the time to review. It is because of you that I have been feeling so guilty at not updating sooner. I feel like I am letting you down. Hopefully, now that things have calmed down, I can focus on a more regular update. But once again, thank you reviewers. You make me smile and give me a rea 'woo hoo' moment when I open my email and see your responses.
So, onto the story. Thnigs are really starting to build up now and I hope that you all stay along for the ride. Let me know what you think.
Music: Little Cloud- The Whitlams, I Me You- Jim Noir, Burn- Ray LaMontagne, Space They Cannot Touch- Kate Miller-Heidke.
Emily lifted the wooden spoon her mouth to taste the sauce. It was fine, and so she covered the saucepan with its lid and turned to place the pasta on the stove. A smile crossed her face when she heard the front door open and familiar footsteps making their way to the kitchen.
"Hey, how was..." she trailed off as she caught sight of Sam's strained expression. "What's wrong?"
"Billy called an emergency council meeting today," he responded, sitting at the table and running a hand through his hair. "And the topic of that meeting- the apparent relationship between Jacob Black and Leah Clearwater."
Emily stilled. "Oh," was her reply.
Sam looked up at her, reading her expression and his eyes widened slightly. "You knew?"
She nodded, sitting down next to him. "Yes."
"For how long?"
"Since the Ateara's thing. I might have...um," she coughed lightly, "caught them." She reached out, clasping Sam's hand. "I'm sorry that I kept this from you, but Leah asked me not to. She wanted the news to get out on their terms."
Sam's hand tightened around hers. "Em, you have nothing to apologise about. You were being a friend...and I'm assuming that things between you and Leah would be slightly less icy now."
Emily nodded. "The bridge is slowly being built," she replied and then cocked her head to one side as Sam's announcement truly registered. "But why were Leah and Jacob the topic of a council meeting?"
"We have all been instructed to ensure that the two of them stay away from one another."
Emily's brow furrowed. "What are you talking about?"
"A relationship between two wolves is forbidden- it has to do with carrying on the line. And given that Jacob is a Black, there are some major issues concerning him. They are freaking out about future generations without Black blood."
"No," Emily replied, forcefully, her tone shocking Sam slightly. "They-you- cannot do that. Leah is happy. She is moving on with her life. Sam, you should have heard her talk about Jacob. They are in love- you cannot mess with that."
Sam shook his head slowly. "Em, I'm not sure that I can—"
"Speak to Billy," she replied firmly. "You are an Alpha, surely that has to count for something."
Sam simply nodded. He didn't have the heart to remind Emily that Jacob was, in fact, the true Alpha, and not even he had a voice in this situation.
XXXXX
Prison. That is what the house had become to Jacob- a prison. Billy had taken to watching him like a hawk. And on top of that, members of the wolf pack had suddenly felt the need to be dropping around every single day, attempting to entice Jacob into a myriad of activities.
And every time he refused, they simply shrugged and remained in the house- obviously under directions to not leave him alone.
Jacob could see the intense curiousness in their eyes, but he said nothing, gave them nothing. He knew that they would be getting enough from the reservation grapevine. Of course, the majority of people had no idea about the wolf lore, but the news of his and Leah's relationship had spread. He could see it in people's eyes during the few times he left the house. With a babysitter, of course.
So, instead, he sat there, in stony silence, letting his fury build and build. Quil, Embry, Jarrod- all of them would have been told why they had to babysit him and they actually fucking did it. Whatever friendship there was between him and they was now gone. He would never forgive them, or his father, for this.
XXXXX
"Where are you going?"
Leah froze, her hand on the handle of the back door.
"For a walk," she snapped at her mother.
"Oh good," Sue replied brightly. "I'll come to. It's a gorgeous day outside."
Leah's hand dropped limply from the door and she felt the sharp prick of tears behind her eyes. She was tired and she was exhausted, and all she wanted was to feel Jacob's arms around her as she drifted off to sleep.
"Fine," she said, her voice quiet but edged with venom. "You go for a walk, but I will stay here."
Sue changed her path almost immediately, heading to the fridge. "We can have a girl's night in- come on, you can help me with dinner."
Leah let out an exasperated cry, and stalked out of the kitchen. The tears were threatening to spill over and she did not want Sue to see her cry.
"Leah- please—"
"Don't!" Leah just held up a hand as she walked past, refusing to look her mother. "Just don't. You have already done fucking enough."
"Leah, don't say that. I am just trying to do the right thing."
Leah whirled around. "The right thing?" She jabbed a finger at the tears that were now falling freely. "How the fuck is this the right thing, mother? Do you feel right about this? Is it right for you to watch your daughter like this?"
"No, it's not," Sue replied desperately. "But this is so much bigger than the two of us. Can you please try to understand how hard this is for me? I hate that I am doing this to you, Leah. I hate it."
"Then stop fucking doing it!" Leah screamed. "Let me live my life if it is so fucking hard!"
"Leah," Sue stepped forward, attempting to grasp Leah's arm, but she wrenched herself out of the way. "Sweetheart, I want to...I really want to..."
"Then please," Leah begged. "Please just let me go to him. Let me happy."
"Leah, honey, I—"
"Please mum," Leah choked out. "Please mum. Please- together we can make a stand. Please let me go."
"I want..." Sue trailed off, and then shook her head forcefully. "I am sorry, Leah, but I can't. This is too big and there are much better things planned for you. Your future cannot be with Jacob."
Leah's eyes narrowed. "My future," she hissed, "will be whatever I decide it to be. Not what some council decides it to be."
"Leah, your life is so much more than just you. You were made aware of that after you phased."
Leah was shaking her head at this. "No!" she yelled. "My life is my life! Mine! My future is with my own choices and decisions- not what is forced upon me without consideration. Fate and destiny does not decide who I am and what I do- I fucking do!"
"Leah—"
"Listen to me!" she screamed. "Why won't you listen to me? Why do you listen to everyone else but your own daughter?"
"I am doing what you father would have done, Leah," Sue replied. "I hate this and I know that it is hard on you, but it is what must be done."
Leah drew in a deep breath and looked her mother square in the eye. "I hate you," she said, softly. "And I will never forgive you for this."
XXXXX
Jacob could hear knocking at the front door, but chose to ignore it. It would only be another one of Billy's henchmen to keep him chained to the house. Rolling over, he pulled the blanket up over his head and closed his eyes. If he were lucky, he could fall back asleep and pass a few hours without having to feel anything.
Unfortunately, someone else had another idea, he realised, when he heard the front door open. Fuck, he must have forgotten to lock it.
"Jake," Sam's voice could be heard before he appeared in the doorway. "Jake- you need to get up."
"So are you now in on this, Sam? I should have figured. What did you do? Give them all an Alpha command to make sure that they all follow the prison guard orders?" Jacob replied bitterly, not even rolling over so that he could look Sam in the face.
"No, you ass," Sam spat back. "I have been doing all I can to convince Billy to drop this fucking intervention."
Now that got Jacob's attention. He sat up abruptly to face Sam, his jaw dropped slightly. "What the fuck are you talking about?"
"Leah had told everything to Em, and when all this shit hit the fan, she told me. She told me that I couldn't go along with this, and so I tried..."
Jacob took in the expression on Sam's face. "You tried?"
"Billy wouldn't have a bar of it," he replied. "I am so sorry, Jake. I really did try."
Jacob shrugged, trying to disguise the immense disappointment that coursing through him. "Thanks...I didn't think that...I wasn't sure..."
A slight grin crossed Sam's face. "Well, my first reaction was to come and rip off your limbs. Whatever shit has gone down between Leah and me, I am still damn protective of that girl."
"And what? That urge to maim has just disappeared?"
"With a little help from Emily," Sam said. "Now, you need to get up."
"I don't think so."
"Well, I do. I told Billy that I am taking you on patrol today."
"Oh no," Jacob shook his head. "You are not one of warden's. I am not going to play along with that shit."
Sam raised an eyebrow. "You don't want to get up? Ok then- but can I use your phone? I will need to call Em. She picked Leah up for a shopping trip about fifteen minutes ago..." he trailed off, the silence loaded with unsaid information.
Jacob felt a jolt in the pit of stomach. "You mean..."
Sam nodded. "Leah sent the message about your place- said you would know what she was talking about."
Jacob leapt out of the bed. "Sam, are you sure about this? If Billy finds out you are going to be in deep."
"I don't care- this is the right thing to do," Sam said. "But you should hurry. I don't know if we'll be able to get away with this a second time, so you do not want to waste this."
Jacob went to grab a t-shirt, but then paused. "Sam, how can I—"
"You do not need to do anything except go," he directed. "But Jake?"
"Yeah?"
"You treat her right or—"
"I'll be missing a few limbs?" Jacob finished with a grin.
Sam nodded. "Exactly," he said. "Now- go!"
XXXXX
Leah sat at the edge of the river bank in the clearing, trailing her toes in the water. She shivered, knowing that it had nothing to do with the frigid temperature, but with the fact Jacob would be here soon. A slow grin formed on her face. Sue had fallen for Emily's shopping story hook, line and sinker. Before she knew it, she was outside with hours of freedom to spend with the one person she had been longing to see for so many days.
She let out a small laugh and kicked her foot into the water, watching the droplets fly into the sky. She felt good, relaxed. She knew that feeling would dissipate as soon as she returned home, but she wasn't going to focus on that. She was going to enjoy herself.
"Leah."
At the sound of his voice, Leah turned her head to look over her shoulder, a wide smile spreading on her face. "Hey you."
He crossed the space between in a matter of seconds and pulled her up and wrapped his arms tightly around her. She inhaled deeply, taking in his scent. It was home and she had missed it.
"Oh fuck, I missed you," Jacob murmured into her hair, mirroring her thoughts.
"Me too," Leah replied, craning her neck up so that she look at him. "I thought that they were going to succeed- that we would never get to do this again." Her voice faltered slightly. "I thought I wasn't going to be able to see you, alone, again."
"Hey," Jacob's hands moved her upper arms. "They are not going to get away with this. They are not going to win." He dipped his head, pressing his lips into hers. "The only people who can keep us apart is us," he whispered against her. "That decision only gets to come from us."
Leah brought a hand up, fingering the collar of his t-shirt. "We are going to have to fight every step of the way...what is that going to do to us?" She rested her palm against his cheek. "I mean, I will fucking do anything to be with you...but in the long run, what is that constant struggle going to do to us?"
"Destroy us," Jacob replied and Leah blinked at the bluntness of his words. "And I think that is what they are counting on. That we will fight until we have nothing to fight for."
Leah took a step back. "We can't let them do this, Jake. We have to stand up; I can't have things end like that. I can't have them dictating my fucking life- our fucking life."
"I know," Jacob replied. "And I have an idea."
"What?"
"We leave," Jacob replied. "We leave the reservation and let all of them live the life they want, while we can have ours."
Leah had frozen in the spot, stunned, not at his suggestion, but at the fact that it had not occurred to her. "Where would we go?" she asked.
"Wherever the fuck we want to," Jacob replied. "We can do what we talked about. Pack a bag and see the world. Work where we want to work, see what we want to see, do what we want to do. Nothing ruling us, nothing challenging us except for our own selves."
Excitement was builing up in the pit of Leah's stomach. She took a step closer to him, hopeful for the first time in days. "Can we go somewhere warm first? Somewhere hot and dry, where there is no damp or moss or constant rain clouds." She paused, a smile forming slowly on her face. "Australia. The outback. That has got to be the opposite of this place."
"We can go wherever we want," Jacob grinned, pulling her in for a tight hug.
"I want to leave now," Leah murmured. "Shit."
Jacob pulled back slightly. "What is it?"
"I don't have a passport. Do you know how long that shit takes? And Sue will pick up on it if I start chasing up birth certificates...and they would find us. They would be able to trace us, names, credit cards...how are we going to pull this off?"
"Shhh," Jacob said, wrapping his arms around her and pressing his lips onto the top of her head. "I don't have a passport either...but trust me when I say we will do this, and we will do this soon."
XXXXX
Jacob paused outside the house and waited silently. Moments later a figure walked out the front door, a concerned expression written all over his face.
"Jacob- that what you are really going to do—"
Jacob held up a hand, stopping them. "You just got all the info, Edward, and it's all decided. It all just depends on whether you are going to help us or not."
