CHAPTER 15

Embry POV:

I had never run so fast! As I was running, thoughts of what we were doing right before we heard the call flashed through my mind. I tried to stop them, but I couldn't. Seeing her in that bikini, laying on the sand, her beautiful eyes so liquid black. How it felt to kiss her and touch her . . .

"For God's sake, Embry, stop! She's my sister. I want to fucking kill you right now!"

It was Seth. "Sorry, bro! I didn't mean to . . ."

I ran up to her. "Leah! Leah, baby, I'm here." I nuzzled her and tried to wake her up. "Please, Leah, wake up! What the hell happened, Jake?"

I could see the whole scene play out before me. "She picked up on the scent and took off. I just happened to see her flash by me and I saw that no one was with her. So I took off after her. You know how fast she is. It took me forever to catch up to her. By the time I did, this fucking leech had picked her up and was crushing her. I jumped on it from behind and it threw her. She hit her head on this rock. I got enough of the fucking thing to get it to back off then it ran. I didn't want to leave her here unprotected. Sam took off after it. Now that you're here, I'm going after him." Jake took off.

Seth showed up seconds later. "Leah! Is she OK? Oh God, Leah!" He pushed her with his nose. She wasn't responding to either of us.

I told him, "I'm taking her back to Emily's now. I'll try to get her to phase back. It will be easier to help her. Seth, get your mom and take her to Sam's. I'll meet you there."

Seth took off right away to get his mom. I decided the easiest way to get her to Sam's was to phase into human form and carry her that way.

I phased and pulled my shorts on. Then I carefully picked up Leah's front legs and put them up over my shoulder in a kind of fireman's carry. I stood up and started jogging, Jake right behind me.

"Don't worry, baby. Everything will be OK. It has to be OK," I said to her as I ran.

We made it to Emily's and she already had a bed ready for her. I filled Emily in as I very carefully laid Leah on the bed. Of course as a wolf, she was enormous, and she barely fit onto the bed. I put my head by her ear and started talking softly. "Leah, honey, you have to phase back. We need you to phase so we can take care of you. Come on, baby, you can do it for me." I laid my forehead on her furry one. "Please Leah. I love you. Don't leave me," I whispered. I felt her move, just a little. I pulled my head away and saw her eyelids flicker. "Yes! Come on, Leah. Please baby, phase back."

She was trying. A huge spasm ran through her body, and finally, she phased into human form. I couldn't help but see her naked body, and all of the horrible purple bruises around her rib cage and down her body. That thing had squeezed her so tight, she had to have ribs broken. There was also a big gash on her head where she hit the rock. It was really bleeding now. Emily quickly covered her with a blanket, then threw me a towel and said, "Here, hold this on that gash and try to stop the bleeding."

I put the towel up to her head and said softly, "Leah, can you hear me, baby? Leah!" Her eyes opened very slowly. "Hey," I smiled. "There you are."

"Em . . ." was all she got out.

"Hey, shhh. It's OK. Emily is here and Seth went to get your mom. They should be here any minute. You rest, OK? You got a nasty bump on your head, and I'm sure you have some broken ribs. Just stay still."

"K. Stay?" she said quietly.

"I'm not going anywhere, baby. I will be right here." I took a hold of her hand and squeezed it slightly. She closed her eyes and was still. Emily had gone out to get some water and things to clean up that wound on Leah's head. I pulled the towel back and folded it over to get a clean side. It was bleeding pretty good now.

I heard Seth and Sue come into the house and Emily directed them back to the bedroom. Sue came hurrying in and over to the bed. "Leah? Oh honey!" She had a medical bag with her and she set in on the table by the bed. She took out a stethoscope and asked, "Did she wake up at all?"

"Yea, just for a few seconds then she closed her eyes again," I answered.

She listened to her heart and took her pulse. She said to me, "Pull back the towel and let me see. Wow! That might need stitches. I know you heal fast, but . . . I don't know how fast." She put the towel back on the gash and said to me, "Here hold this again. I think I'll clean it up first then decide. I want to look at her other injuries real quick." Sue lifted the blanked then realized that Leah was naked, so she said to me, "Um, Embry, I need to take a look at her. Can you and Seth wait outside please?"

"I promised her I would stay," I said quietly as I looked down at her beautiful sleeping face.

She stood up and said sternly, "I understand, but I need to examine her. You can come right back when I'm finished."

I nodded and placed a very soft kiss on her forehead. "I'll be right back, baby." I got up and walked out of the room into the hall. Seth came out to stand beside me. Emily went in with a basin of water and a washcloth and towel. She closed the door behind her. I leaned my head back on the wall and closed my eyes. I felt physically sick, like I could puke at any minute.

Seth must have noticed because he said, "You don't look so good, dude."

"I feel like hell, Seth." I put my head up and looked at him. "I just realized how much I love your sister. I hope you can live with that."

He smiled. "Yea, but I can't be around you in wolf form, dude. That was brutal."

"Yea, sorry about that. I didn't do it on purpose. It just . . . happened."

Just then, Jared and Quil came in carrying Paul. They had gotten him to phase back and Emily was directing them to a room in the back. We walked by us and it looked like Paul was still out. They took him into the room down the hall. I looked at Seth and shook my head. I couldn't believe how strong those fucking things were! Stronger than normal vampires.

We waited for what seemed like forever. Finally the door opened and Sue came out. "Well, she has three broken ribs on one side, but as far as I can tell, none of them went through her lungs. She seems to be breathing fine. Her right arm is broken. I reset it and it should heal alright. I went ahead and put a couple of stitches in that gash to make sure it healed properly, and it will protect against infection. Her concussion concerns me the most now. We need to stay with her through the night and keep an eye on her. I know that you all heal unbelievably fast, so I am hoping that by morning, she will be much better."

Seth and I nodded. She looked at me and said, "You can go back in now. We put one of Emily's nightgowns on her." She winked at me.

Emily stuck her head out of the door down the hall and called, "Sue? Can you come and take a look at Paul? We think he may have some broken bones."

"Sure, be right there." She turned to Seth and said, "Come with me. I may need your help holding him while I reset the bones."

Seth gave me a grin and said, "Sure, Mom. Love to!" I laughed at him. What was it about us that we enjoyed seeing Paul in pain? I guess cause he was such a smart ass, we liked to see him get what was coming to him. I watched Seth follow his mom down the hall then I turned and went into Leah.

I walked into the room and pulled a chair up to the bed. I sat down and very carefully took her hand. "Hey, Leah. I'm back. And I'm staying." I leaned down and put a gentle kiss on her lips. "I love you," I whispered.

A few minutes later, Sue walked in and touched Leah on the cheek then she looked at me. "I have a feeling that you're in love with my daughter. Am I right?"

I looked up at her and said quietly, "Yes."

"Does she know that?" she asked.

"Not yet. But I plan on telling her as soon as she wakes up," I told her.

She smiled. "I know she has feelings for you, Embry. That's pretty obvious. But she's afraid."

"I know, but she seemed different today. Like she finally came to terms with it or something. I'm not sure."

"Well, all I want is for my daughter to be happy."

"I will do everything in my power to make sure she is. I promise." I meant that.

"I better get back to Paul. Seth and Emily were going to clean him up a little then I am going to look him over. Let me know if she wakes up again, OK?" I nodded and she walked out.

I sat there keeping watch over her, holding her hand and touching her cheek. I was so engrossed in Leah that I jumped when I heard, "Hey, mind if I come in?" I looked up to see Bella standing at the door.

I smiled and said, "No, come on in."

Just then we heard Paul scream out a long list of obscenities. Bella looked at me and I laughed. "Paul has some bones that needed resetting. I guess he woke up at the wrong time." I smiled to think of Seth holding him down. I hope he was strong enough!

She nodded and walked over to my side of the room and pulled the footstool that matched the chair over beside me. She sat down on it and leaned over so her head was touching my shoulder. "How is she?"

"Sue says that she should be better tomorrow. She has a few broken ribs, a broken arm, but the worst is a concussion."

Then Bella sat up, looked at me and asked, "But how are you?"

I turned to look at her. "Me? Crazy with worry."

"I remember that feeling well. Sitting all night with Jake when he was hurt was one of the longest nights of my life. I knew that I loved him before that, but I had no idea how much until I almost lost him. It's a scary feeling, isn't it?" Bella gave me a small smile.

I looked at her and smiled. I remembered that night. And the next morning when I walked into Jake's and was surprised to still see her there! "Yea, it is. I really love this girl, Bella. I just realized how much. But she doesn't want me to. Although, right before Sam called us together, we were on the beach and we were . . . well, it was getting pretty hot, you know? She told me she had feelings for me and she was tired of being scared. So maybe . . . I don't know. I guess I don't want to get my hopes up."

She nodded and laid her head back on my shoulder. "Is it OK if I stay here with you? I hate it when Jake is out there. . ." I sighed and said, "Sure, Bella."

And so, there we sat. Both of us waiting for the ones that we loved most in the world to come back to us.

A couple of hours later, Jake came to the door. Bella got up and went to him. He folded her into his arms so naturally. Then he bent his head and kissed her. He smiled at her as she fussed over him. It made my heart ache to watch them. I wanted that so badly with Leah. Bella's right. I hadn't realized how much until now.

"Hey, bro. How is she?" Jake asked.

"The same," I answered. "Did you guys get the fucking blooksucker that did this to her?"

Jake looked at me and said quietly, "No. We ran the whole reservation and beyond. Some of the Cullens joined in, but we lost the trail. I'm so sorry. We'll keep looking."

"Damnit!" Damn it all to hell! I felt the rage start through me, but instantly tried to calm myself. This was the last thing that Leah needed right now. I took her hand and held it.

"Sam asked me to come back and get a report on Leah and Paul. I'm going to get some water then I'll go back out. Seth joined us a little while ago," Jake told me.

I nodded. "Thanks, bro. For going after her. I can't believe I left her like that. I guess I thought she would follow me and Quil. I can't understand why she didn't."

"Hey, this is not your fault, Embry. Don't even go there!" Jake said.

"Yea, whatever," I answered.

Bella walked over and kissed me on the forehead. "Try to sleep Embry. That way, when she wakes up, you can tell her anything you might want to tell her, OK?" She smiled.

I smiled back and said, "OK." They left and I settled back into the chair. I laid my head back, closed my eyes and thought about what almost happened on the beach. Damn bloodsuckers! Talk about rotten timing. God, how I wanted to make love to Leah. I wanted to show her how I really feel about her. How much I love her. And I was hoping it would make her realize how she felt about me. I couldn't stay away from her anymore. I knew that. I opened my eyes and looked at her. She was sleeping so peacefully. All I wanted to do was hold her and never let anything hurt her ever again.

Leah POV:

What is that? Snoring? I tried to open my eyes. Oh, man, my head! I had a killer headache! I opened my eyes and looked over to see Embry sitting in a chair beside the bed. He had his head back and his mouth open, and he was snoring softly. I smiled. It was kind of cute, really.

I looked around and tried to figure out where I was. Sam and Emily's? I kind of remembered something about being here. It was dark in the room, but the bedroom door was open and there was light coming through. I looked over at Embry again. "Embry?" I whispered.

He snored again. "Embry!" I said a little louder. Damn! My head! I tried to move my right arm, but I couldn't. So I put my left arm up and put my hand on my head.

"Huh? What?" Then he looked at me. "Leah? Hey baby!" He leaned forward and took my hand from my head. "How do you feel?"

"I have the worst fucking headache! " I whispered.

He smiled and said, "Yea, you have a concussion. Your mom is here. She examined you and said that you have some broken ribs and a broken arm."

I could feel the pain in my arm, and my ribs. I told Embry that. "What happened to me?"

"You don't remember?" he asked. I shook my head. "You took off after one of the bloodsuckers , Leah. On your own. Jake followed you, then Sam, but they got there just as the fucking thing picked you up and held you in a vice grip. Then it tossed you to the ground and you hit your head on a rock."

I nodded. I kind of remembered that now. "I'm really thirsty."

Embry stood up and went to the table on the other side of the bed. There was a pitcher of ice water and a cup sitting there. He poured a cup and helped hold my head up so I could drink. I took a few sips and laid back. "Thanks. How are you, Embry? Are you OK?"

"Yea, I'm good." He walked back to the chair and sat down. "Just worried about you."

I smiled. "I'll be OK. I promise." I closed my eyes. I was having a hard time keeping them open. It hurt too much.

He leaned forward so his face was very close to mine. He took my hand and said softly, "Well you better be. Because I love you, Leah. I love you so much. And maybe you don't want to hear it, but that's too damn bad."

What? Did he just say . . . I opened my eyes and just looked at him.

"I won't push you, Leah. I just needed to say it." He leaned over and kissed me softly on the lips. "Hey, can you move over?"

I nodded and very slowly slid over. He laid down beside facing me. "This is much better," he said.

I forced my eyes open again and whispered, "I'm really sleepy." My eyes closed and I felt sleep calling me again.

"Me, too," he whispered back.

And so we slept.