Wow, you guys are amazing. Incredible. I seriously just want to say 'screw school' and stay home and write for you all day and night.

So there was a question, a GREAT question, about the chapter where Jake and Billy are talking about imprinting. It was brought up, as I hoped it would be, that Sam was with Leah when he imprinted on Emily. This is very, very true, and I never forgot about that. The problem here is that the imprintEE (ie Bella) is with someone else. If a wolf imprints on someone while they're with someone else, it's ok because that wolf's feelings change with the imprint. Gravity shifts, blah blah blah.

But with Bella, if the imprinting had decided to happen while Bella was still in love with Edward, it might have caused Bella to DENY Jake. We all know what would happen (in our hearts) if an imprintee denies their imprinter. The imprinter (jake) would fall to pieces and probably die. Therefore, the imprinting works when the wolf is in a relationship with someone else, but not when the imprintee is in a relationship with someone else. The imprinting won't risk the case of denial.

If you have ANY more questions about this topic and don't understand, I can try to explain it further. Just leave me a review or message. Thank you, to this brilliant reviewer, who I shall call Anonymous. Haha.

I'm SO sorry this note is so long, but I'll bless you all with two chapters. This one now, and then another one as soon as I finish it up. I won't do ANYTHING ELSE until they're both done. Work with me!

No further ado!

The belated Chapter 19 – Leeches and Fleabags

Rose's POV

Emmett's arms were wrapped around me, tightly. I think he was the only one brave enough to try and come between Edward and me. I was still thrashing in his arms.

"Rose, chill out, he's already gone-"

"What the HELL were you two thinking?!" Esme raised her voice, catching everyone's attention. She was stalking towards me and Emmett let me go. I think I almost fell to the floor. In all the time we'd been with our 'mother,' I'd never heard her yell as loud as now; never seen her eyes filled with such venomous fury. I almost backed away.

"What will Edward do if he loses Bella, Rose? You know what's at risk here, and you're throwing him to the wolves! Literally!" Esme said, right in front of me. I couldn't help but take a step back. Was she on Alice's side too?

"Esme, I'm sorry-"

"No, Rose, don't apologize," Emmett said, taking a step in front of me to get Esme's attention. "We did the right thing. In the end, you all know that. Bella no longer wants to be here, she's terrified of Edward. Honestly, he's a pretty frightful, idiotic leech right now. And I never thought I'd say that about my brother."

Esme looked caught between agreeing with Emmett and attacking him. When she didn't seem to find any words for either of us, she turned on Alice and Jasper. They were standing in the doorway to their room. I noticed Jasper's death grip on Alice. He better keep her safe, because if I heard her say one more thing about Bella's future…

"Alice, I think we need to stop interfering. I can't say anything, I can't make you do anything, but you must think of Bella's safety now…" Esme glanced back to me. She looked upset, wrinkles at the corners of her eyes. "And for God's sake, I hope he doesn't break that treaty. I don't know if I want him to get to Bella in time anymore…"

There was a puzzled, threatening silence. It seemed to engulf us. Esme broke it, brushing past Emmett and myself.

"I'm just glad Carlisle isn't home to see this. It's a good thing they called him into the hospital early," she muttered, climbing the stairs. Even though we all knew she'd hear us no matter where she was in the house, we stayed silent until we knew she had found herself in the kitchen. Jasper tucked Alice behind him then and glared at Emmett.

"You got me out of the house on purpose, just so Rose could attack Alice. No wonder I felt anxiety rolling off you before we left the house," he spat, spearing Emmett with his eyes. Alice's small hand rested on his shoulder, trying to calm him.

"Jasper, don't… I should have seen Rosalie interfering, but I had spent so much time concentrating on Bella," she said. He glanced back at her and she eased herself around to step towards me. I crossed my arms over my chest and watched her, carefully.

"Rose, you're right. In the back of my head, I knew you were right the whole time… But Edward is unstable right now, and all I want is Bella to share our home with us, our life-"

"She doesn't want it anymore, Alice! She's fallen in love with a werewolf and he can give her everything. Everything we can never have! You need to realize that," I said. I felt emotions jerk through me that I hadn't felt in too long. Regret, remorse. Anger, at who I was. What I had become. Alice was looking at the floor. I could sense Jasper's anguish at having her so near to me. Did he honestly think I would attack her again?

"I do realize it. While you were on me, keeping me quiet, I realized how badly this is affecting all of us, not only Bella and Edward. I can't let this break us apart as a family," Alice said, glancing at all of us. My arms came down to my side and I wanted to strangle her.

"Then why did you yell for Edward?!" I cried, running my hands through my hair. I was so frustrated. Jealousy gnawed at my every corner. I wanted what Bella had. I didn't want anyone taking it from her, like it had been stripped from me. Alice's eyes turned to mine, utterly lost for the first time I'd ever seen.

"I don't know… I don't know what made me do it. I'm looking back and I don't know why I didn't stay quiet," she said. Jasper's hands were around her, pulling her away from me then. I knew he was using his powers to calm her down. Her pain had to be unbearable for him to feel. I think it was why Alice was always so happy. So he never had to experience her pain.

Emmett stepped towards me, resting his hand on my hip. I glanced up at him and he indicated we should leave. Alice's door was already clicking shut. I turned and went up the stairs, Emmett following. I didn't speak until he closed the door to our room.

"What if he reaches her? What if he's turning her right now, Em?" I asked, waiting for him to face me. His hand came up to the door and he rested his forehead on his arm. I knew he was taking my new found interest in Bella's life in stride. He was shaking his head now.

"I don't think he can make it. It takes too long to get to La Push from here. He would have had to leave within minutes of Alice's sight," he said, turning around. He walked over to me and wrapped his arms around my shoulders. I leaned into him for comfort.

"I really wish you would have put a faster engine in her truck," I whispered, nuzzling my nose into his chest. I breathed in the smell of peppermint and fresh cinnamon. I wanted to forget about Bella and the whole situation now. I felt like a horrible person for not going after Edward and making sure Bella was ok.

"She'll be alright, Rose. Stop worrying," he said, pulling back and tilting my chin up. He placed a kiss on my lips and took my breath away. Just as he did every other time we kissed. "If there's one thing I feel sure about right now, it's that that smelly dog isn't going to let anything happen to Bella."

I leaned up a little and took his lips in mine, my hands snaking around his neck. His arms went around my waist, pulling me closer to him.

"Let's hope you're right…" I said. His lips were travelling around my neck now. My eyes were shut.

"Edward's acting fucking crazy. Did you see his eyes?" Emmett asked, his hands working their way under my shirt. All thoughts of running and helping Bella were slowly filtering out of my head. I hated how Emmett could always distract me like this. I raked my nails across his shoulders and he hissed.

"He's going to get himself killed, and we're going to get ran out of the state," I breathed. He was pushing me backwards. My back came into contact with the wall before he reached around and pulled me up onto him. I wrapped my arms and legs around him as he caught me between his body and the wall.

"Stop worrying about it," he muttered, his teeth catching my neck. I gasped out and closed my eyes. "I bet you Bella's in that filthy mutt's paws right now, getting dowsed in werewolf pheromones." The thought had me smiling. It was the last thought I had about Bella before Emmett began to take over my senses.

A/N : Sorry about the Em and Rose smut, guys, but I try to stay as true to SM's portrayal of the characters as I can, and they're horn dogs. I think it ended well. Continue reading!

Emily's POV

I grabbed the last off the muffins off the still hot tray that I'd just pulled out of the oven. I placed the muffin with its friends on a plate and then took it out to the living room. The pack had congregated at Sam and I's home. I was used to this, and always had food cooking.

I placed the tray on the living room table and several hands dove in for the first pick.

"I still don't understand why we don't just go over to Bella's and tell her about Jake. You know she'll come running back-" Embry started, his mouth full of muffin. Specks fell to the ground. I leaned against the wall and watched them. The only one who wasn't eating was my mate, my Sam. He had his hand over his eyes, leaning on the couch.

Jake's problems had taken the biggest toll on him. I knew he felt as though he was failing as alpha of the pack. He thought he was letting a pack member suffer death.

"We can't," I interrupted Embry. His gaze turned to me, along with a few of the others. I waved them off. "Jake doesn't want Bella to come back because he's dy-… being affected too much by Bella's decision."

I averted my eyes as Sam's had popped up to look at me as I'd almost said dying. I knew he'd say to hell with the treaty if he thought his pack mate was truly in danger of death. When I'd left last night, around two in the morning, Jake had seemed a lot better. I didn't know what he would be like today. I hoped he would be better.

"Jake doesn't want to break the treaty, and he doesn't want to force Bella into his arms," Sam said, looking around at the group of werewolves. They had all stopped eating, staring at him. He got to his feet and I stepped forward. I didn't like not being so close to him.

"I say to hell with all this bull shit. Let's eat us some vamps!" Paul cheered, raising his muffin into the air. There were a few scattered agreements but Sam overruled them, with just a look.

"Why is Bella doing this in the first place? It's so aggravating. Obviously she loves him, otherwise, Jake wouldn't have imprinted," Quil said. I bit on my tongue. I knew she loved him. Everything in her eyes that night told me she did. Quil was thinking the same thing I was. Was she truly jerking Jake around, at the Cullen's request? I couldn't bring myself to think further on the possibility. Neither could anyone else.

"I'm sure it's nothing like that. Maybe she's just afraid," Embry said. I smiled at him. Ever the one to be optimistic about the JBE triangle. I had abbreviated it in my head. It was better than the mouthful.

"Why wouldn't she have at least called? She's ridiculous. I think we need to run the Cullen's out of town. I'm tired of the treaty, and the smell of vamps everywhere," Paul huffed, shoving the last bite of his muffin into his mouth. He chewed and swallowed. No one spoke. So I did.

"I've talked to Bella, alright? The night Jake imprinted, she was planning on breaking it off with Edward. Something must have happened. He must have done or said something to make her change her mind," I said, glaring at Paul, then at the rest of the boys. I wouldn't let them all turn on her again. I hated what Bella was doing to Jake, but they needed to accept that without Bella in Jake's life, he wouldn't have a life to live.

The thought made my eyes fall back on Sam's. He was assessing me, trying to figure out if I'd told him everything I knew. Everything I thought. I gave him a look that said I'd never keep anything from you.

"The treaty stands. At least for a few more days. We'll reassess the situation tomorrow night," Sam said, breaking his eyes away from mine to glance around at the pack. Quil tossed his muffin onto the tray and stood up. Sam stepped forward, ready to grab him.

"This is fucking outrageous! Our pack mate, our friend, is dying and we're still thinking about what's best for the Cullen's, what's best for Bella. I can't stand being here, listening to you all talk like he's just caught the flu. He's my best friend, and I'M not going to just sit around and let them get away with this," he said, stalking out the front door. I put my hand over my mouth, feeling sick to my stomach. I'm sure we all felt that way. He had just smacked us in the face with truth.

I went over to Sam. His arms wrapped around me, heavily.

"This is an order; none of you, I repeat, not one, will break this treaty. We stay on our land and we do NOT attack the vampires until they attack first. It's what Jake wants," Sam said, loud enough that Quil could still hear. Embry was on his feet, ready to follow after Quil. Sam shook his head.

"He's going to take Jared's patrol. He won't do anything. He can't," Sam said. I buried my face, already feeling the worry flushing my face. How could this still be going on? Where the hell was Bella? Our pack was going to fall to pieces.

Quil's POV

Right outside of the house, I phased. I couldn't help it, after hearing Sam's order. I felt like we were rolling over and playing dead for the damn leeches. The frustration was just too much to deal with.

Jared, I'm taking over. Get back to the house, I thought, bounding into the forest. He didn't even respond. Just disappeared. I'm sure the anger he felt rolling off me wasn't making it convenient to shift back into our human form. I ran through the forest, refusing to think. All I could do was put my nose to the ground, to the trees, to the air and smell. I wanted to hunt. I wanted one excuse to run after any vampire in the forest.

What I wouldn't give for a red head right now.

No one shifted to try and talk to me. No one tried to calm me down, or check on what I was doing. No doubt because Sam put us all under direct order not to interfere. No one was worried about what I would do. I came to the edge of the forest and started dragging my paws. I couldn't get much closer to Bella's house without crossing into the forest around Forks. It was only a 15 second run to her house now. We had all timed it. We had all assured Jake that if anything sounded like it was going on, we could make it there in time.

I wasn't so sure anymore. I paced the ground, tuning out all the sounds of the forest around me. Jared had just been here, maybe ten minutes ago. I focused on my thoughts of Bella. My hatred radiated like nothing else. I had liked her, in the beginning. She made Jake laugh, made him have a good time.

But ever since that leech came back, she had been dragging him through the mud. I couldn't stand her any more. I felt guilty, whenever Jake had shifted into a wolf and felt these emotions raging through me. He tried to ignore them, but there had been a rift between us lately. It just continued to grow. I know Paul wasn't fond of her, and Jared was just tired of patrolling all the time. Sam would do anything Jake wanted, and Embry, for whatever reason in hell, wanted Bella to become a part of our lives. I couldn't make the thought come to life in my head.

She would never be one of us. It was all I could think about. She was a leech lover. She would never come back, she would stay with the leech, and Jacob would die. There was no way he could survive the denial of the one he imprinted on. It was like a direct lethal injection to the heart. The only reason he'd survived this long was because she hadn't straight out denied him. For all Jake knew, she still planned on breaking the blood sucker's heart.

I felt a leap of joy press through me at that thought. If only it were possible…

I quieted my thoughts and searched for any sound coming from Bella's home. There was nothing. Was she still sleeping? I found myself regretful that Jared hadn't stayed long enough to tell me what was going on with her. Since he didn't say anything, she must have been asleep. I glanced over the imaginary line of Forks forest to La Push forest. I wanted so badly to just step over the line. I got to my feet and walked towards it. Reached out my paw.

And fell to the ground, my legs giving way. I let out a growl of frustration.

We stay on our land, Sam's words rang through my head. This was just as bad as the gag order. I strained my ears, trying to pick up Bella's breathing from this far away. I didn't know if she wasn't there or if she was just sleeping silently. There was nothing on in her house. No shower, no radio, nothing. My heart started pounding in my ears.

Where the hell was she? If Jake found out I had lost her, didn't know where she was for even half a minute… If he ever thought I didn't know where she was, he would tear my throat out. I felt my skin crawling now. Panic started stretching through my limbs. I made a u-turn and started running for Sam's. I let out a howl, hoping someone would hear me. I was far from the house. I didn't think they would.

I didn't care so much about Bella as much as what Jake would think if he found out I didn't know where she was. My heart was skimping around in my chest. I ran as fast as I could. I came to the edge of the forest and continued running along the trees, sending out my senses for anything. I was almost to the res after another ten minutes or so. I slowed my intense run to a walk, searching frantically.

Was I just paranoid? Was she still lying in her bed at home? God, I wish I could talk to Jared. Had HE been able to hear her breathing while she slept? I used to be able to, if I strained well enough. It was easier mid night, because she would talk in her sleep. Even easier during the day, because she would be talking to Edward. We'd check in on her every once in a while, straining our senses to make sure nothing was wrong.

Jake hadn't wanted us to interfere in her privacy.

I said screw privacy.

There was a screech of tires and a loud crash. The sound of gravel, dirt and rocks sputtered around. My ears perked up as I turned my head towards the sound. I stepped out of the forest and glanced around. I saw Bella then. She was running down the road. I heard her heart racing, her breath coming in jagged gasps. My ears flattened.

How dare she freak me out like this! What the hell was she doing? I growled and bounded out of the forest, running toward her. I stopped as my paws started getting heavier on the ground.

Shit, the line. I stopped suddenly, knowing Sam's order wouldn't let me go any further. I took in a breath to growl at her again, but was smacked in the face by vampire gag odor. I wanted to roll my nose in the dirt. My eyes found Bella's, noticing for the first time that she was terrified. My eyes found Edward bounding out of a mist of dirt from the distance.

A/N : … *peaks out from the cloud of dirt* Heeeey, guys. Hope you don't mind another cliff hanger…

Give me lots of reviews. Continue my writing spreeeeeee!

I can't wait til you read the next chapter! *bounces*