The Twilight Series belongs to S. Meyer, no copyright infringement is intended. I'm just playing with the characters.

AN: I only planned on writing for at least 45 minutes, thinking I'd get half of this done. Instead my muse was good to me and I finished this chap, so I've stayed up past my bedtime to post. That being said, I'm choosing to quick beta but chances are I will miss something, so I apologize in advance. I'll fix it later.

Seth's words settled the matter. Leah could feel the truth behind them. The thrumming which she recognized as Sopiya grew stronger. It was just another thing she would have to remember to ask her later.

Old Quil re-told the story of their ancestor though this time he had more details. He sheepishly confessed that he had felt uncomfortable sharing everything their grandfather Peter had told him with the entire pack. Considering the revelations which had come with Seth's phasing, she didn't blame him. It gave the two of them time to process everything.

They stayed late at Old Quil's and when they finally left, it was long past sunset. Not that sunset was late by any means at this time of the year, but it meant that as much as she wanted to make Seth figure out how to reverse the order he had given—it wasn't the time. They needed to get home and make something to eat and then pick up the house a bit. Their mom didn't need anything more on her plate than she already had.

Sadly, Old Quil wasn't sure how to break an imprint. It was as he said; no one had ever tried before. And Leah wasn't sure it would be enough for to choose Jared. Perhaps had she done so before he imprinted, but it had been at least six weeks. According to what the journals offered and how the pack had described it to the elders, the bond strengthened over time.

It was during the drive home that she thought about it more. The elders believed that an imprint was meant to ground the man and the wolf. A helpmate, a friend, a lover—it ensured the wolf remembered he was a man and that the man remembered what he was fighting for. If what they believed was true—wouldn't someone whose blood was tainted be wrong as an imprint?

Then there was the fact none of them noticed the lingering scent of death which cloaked Bella. How was it possible? It couldn't be just because she and Seth were special because once she had spat Bella's blood onto the table; they all recognized the venom which lingered there. So, how did Jared manage to imprint?

They hadn't had time to talk about it. Those few moments they had yesterday hadn't given her much information. She knew he didn't want it, but was it because it was wrong? That wasn't the way she had understood it—she thought he didn't want it because he wanted her. The two ideas were polar opposite of each other.

As they pulled into the driveway of their home, she glanced over at Seth. He had been quiet the entire ride home. Normally, she would be grateful for the silence, but not today. Even if he was taller and bigger than her—he would always be her little brother.

"You okay," she asked.

"Yeah, I guess. This is pretty messed up, isn't it?"

She shrugged, "Not much we can do about it. It's like a tree trying to fight a hurricane. The ones that bend with the wind survive."

"Huh, I guess I never thought of that. I think I'm going to lie down for a while."

She nodded, "That sounds good. I was exhausted yesterday after everything. I'll make something for dinner and wake you up when it's done."

It was after they ate that she had an epiphany. She wasn't looking in the right place for the answers. While Jared could explain more about his thoughts or feelings of the imprint—it wouldn't solve how or why it happened. While she could go to Bella's and talk to her; she doubted she would be welcome. And she didn't know what she would do if Bella was less than honest with her.

There had to be someone who knew Bella and about what happened. Which brought her to the Cullens—they had to know. If Bella wasn't a vampire—someone intervened. Someone who wouldn't be infected by the venom and that could only be another vampire.

She grabbed her laptop and began to search. She didn't know any of their names, but they had lived in the area for a few years before leaving. There had to be some trace of them somewhere.

The search gave her more questions than answers. It was as though they had vanished into thin air. She couldn't find anything. Google was a bust—not even bringing up a single social networking site, email address, or phone number. She looked at the Forks' Hospital website for Dr. Cullen—nothing. The school website brought up nothing. Even her limited experience with computers and the internet was that no matter how well you thought you deleted or removed something—there was always a trail.

In frustration, she growled, slamming her laptop closed. How was she to find someone who didn't want to be found? Laying her head on the table, she closed her eyes and tried to think of another way to solve the problem.

When the solution finally came to her, she was astounded that she hadn't thought of it before. Rachel Black. The biggest nerd of La Push, who had spent more time shut in her room playing weird online games, Witchcraft, or something like similar than she had in the real world. While Leah and Rebecca had always known where the best party was, the latest fashion trend, and all the rez gossip—Rachel had been practically a shut-in. The summer between her junior and senior years, Billy had disconnected the family's internet access just so Rachel could get some sun and have some fun with real people.

Leah grabbed her cell phone and headed outside to her car. Climbing in, she found Rachel's number and dialed it. Cradling the phone between her ear and shoulder, she nervously chewed at her nails while waiting for Rachel to pick up.

"Hello."

"Rachel? It's Leah. I have a favor to ask."

"Umm, sure."

Leah listened as Rachel spoke to someone else in the background. 'Where are you going? Are you serious? Seth…alright whatever."

"Sorry about that, Leah. Embry had to go…I guess. Something about Seth and an order. What's that about?"

"It's a long story. I'm hoping Seth will fix it tomorrow. But that's not why I called. You still pretty good at finding info that people don't want found?"

"I guess."

"Are you at home? Is your brother there?"

"Yeah, I'm home. I think Jake's still at Sam's or patrolling."

"Good. I'll be over in ten," she replied, hanging up the phone.

She debated on telling Seth she was leaving, but he had nearly fallen asleep in the spaghetti she had made, so he was probably out for a while. And she was taking her phone with her so he could always call if he was concerned. That's what he would have done a day ago—hopefully that was one thing which remained the same.

The drive took less than the ten minutes she had promised Rachel. She was just about to knock on the door when Rachel opened it. A bemused expression on her face as she asked, "So what's this about, Leah?"

"I need you to do something for me. Let's go to your room," she suggested. Her enhanced hearing told her Billy was snoring away in his room, but she didn't want him to know what she was up to. Until they had things sorted out, she had to be careful who knew what she was doing.

The two of them walked up the narrow set of stairs to the twin's bedroom. Not much had changed since Leah had been in it two summers ago. The only difference was instead of the bunk beds, there was a full size bed. The footboard wasn't connected and sat in the corner of the room. Obviously Rachel wasn't the only one who sometimes slept in the bed.

Leah closed the door before turning back to Rachel. "I need you to tell me everything you know about the Cullens."

"Why?"

"I'm trying to figure out something and I think I might need to talk to them—or one of them."

"Is this about Bella?"

Leah nodded and Rachel continued, "I overheard Jake and Embry talking about it. Is it true? That she had venom in her?"

"Yeah, and that's why I think there's something wrong with the imprint. It doesn't seem right. If vampires are our enemies—they how could one of use be mated to one?"

"I only know bits and pieces of it. Bella doesn't talk much about them, so what I have is secondhand information."

"Anything is better than nothing."

Rachel proceeded to share what she knew about the Cullens. She wasn't sure of all their names, but she remembered the doctor and his wife, Carlisle and Esme. Edward was another that was easy to remember because he had been the one who Bella had dated. Lastly, she remembered Angela talking about a girl named Rosalie. There were two more males and a female, but their names had never been mentioned or if they had she had forgotten them.

"Well, it's a starting point," Leah surmised. "Edward will be a 'no' and I'm not sure about the doc and his wife. Maybe the best one to try is Rosalie."

"Huh?"

"I need you to find me some way to contact Rosalie. I think the only way to get the answer about Bella and the bite, the venom, and maybe figure out how to break the imprint is to talk to one of the Cullens. I already tried, but my search came up empty."

"You want me to find a vampire? Jesus, Leah! The pack will kill me," she cried out incredulously.

"No one will know it was you. I don't plan on telling them that I spoke to one of them unless it's necessary."

"What's in it for me?"

"My gratitude."

Rachel scoffed, "How about you owe me a favor and I can call it in anytime for anything?"

"Fine."

The two girls shook hands to seal their agreement. Rachel pulled out her desk chair and got to work while Leah sat on the edge of the bed and waited patiently. In less time than Leah had spent earlier, Rachel found something.

"I'm not sure, but this might be her. It's a phone number and address for a Rosalie Hale McCarthy. The date of birth would be correct if she was pretending to be around our age. It looks like the address is Hamilton, Montana."

Leah got off the bed and ventured over to the desk to look over Rachel's shoulder. She watched as Rachel pulled up a map of the area. It was surrounded by several forests, Bitterroot, Clearwater, and Lolo National Forests which meant there would be plenty of nearby places for them to hunt undetected by humans.

"That has to be her," Leah agreed. "While the weather isn't as rainy as here, it's a big state with lots of small towns. It would be easy to have a home among humans and you wouldn't worry they would think you weren't normal."

"Are you sure about this? If the pack finds out…" Rachel trailed off, her eyes meeting Leah's in concern.

"It's the only way. I can't ask Jared about it—he can't even be near me. Bella's out of the picture. I don't know if she'd tell me the truth or not and if she didn't—I don't know how I'd react."

"Who are you doing this for? Him or you?"

"Both of us," she swore. "You weren't there when Sam disappeared. I know it doesn't seem like it would be possible or that it happened so quickly—but look at you and Embry. You came home to visit and I bet leaving hasn't even crossed your mind."

"No, but I'm it for him. I don't know what would happen if I left or even if I could."

"That's the way I feel. I've been lost, drifting for months and it has nothing to do with Sam. It was so hard to accept that Sam wasn't coming back and Jared helped me through it. And in those two weeks, I realized what I thought I wanted and what I needed were two different things."

"But what if you imprint? Then it will be for nothing."

Leah bit her tongue, holding her retort inside. It was another thing she couldn't share at the moment. So, instead she deflected the question with one of her own, "And what if I don't? We'll figure it out when and if we need to."

"I guess. Don't say I didn't try to warn you," Rachel replied, dangling the piece of paper she had written the phone number down on.

"Thank you," Leah said as she took the paper from Rachel.

Leah walked on leaden feet over to the bed again. Her fingers shaking as she dialed the number that may help answer the questions which continued to mount. When Rachel came to sit next to her and draped an arm over Leah's shoulders, Leah leaned into her friend's embrace; taking the comfort it offered.

"McCarthy residence, this is Rose," a bell-like voice answered moments later. The sound grated on Leah's ears. It was unnaturally pitched, the tenor having inflections which human ears wouldn't notice.

She took a deep breath before replying, "You don't know me, but I need to ask you something. Can you promise to stay on the line until I'm done?"

"Who is this?"

"Like I said, you don't know me. My name's Leah…umm…Clearwater. The last name probably means nothing to you, but where I live might—I live in La Push."

The silence on the other end of the line was nerve-wracking, but she hadn't heard the line click which would signal the call had ended.

"Your family lived in the area until a few months ago. Only you had a different name—Cullen. Your…umm…brother dated a girl in Forks, Isabella Swan…"

"You're telling me things I already know. So, why don't you get to the point," Rosalie responded snidely.

"Sorry. I'm just not sure how to explain why I'm calling," Leah frowned as she paused for a moment to gather her thoughts. "Isabella—she has a scar on her right forearm. It's not a normal scar and there was venom in her tissues. We don't understand how that could be possible. How she could still be human after being bitten, but that's not all. I have other questions and I think it'd be best if we met somewhere."

"What has Bella done now?"

"It's hard to explain over the phone. That's why it'd be better to meet in person."

"You're not afraid of me?"

"No, I can take care of myself."

"Tomorrow, in Seattle at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse be there at 1 pm."

The telltale click signaled the call was over. Leah pulled the phone away from her ear and stared at it. What exactly was she doing? Her musing was interrupted by Rachel shaking her.

"What did she say? What's going on?"

"I'm meeting her tomorrow."

"Alone?"

"Yes, there's no one that I can take. If I tell Paul or Quil, they'll tell and then I'll be forbidden. Plus they need to stay here so they can help Seth remove the order."

"Well, I'm coming with," Rachel uttered fiercely. Leah recognized her tone; it was the same one Leah used on her younger brother. And though they weren't siblings, they had grown up together and Rachel and Rebecca had been honorary older sisters to her. Together they had figured out the mysteries of womanhood, with some help from Sue.

"They'll kill me if you get hurt," she remarked, her tone as stern as she could manage.

"Good thing I'll have you to protect me. I'll be over at seven tomorrow morning."

FF_8756144_32 02/04/13 11:52PM