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

AN: So...no Rosalie quite yet, but people were missing Jared, so I did find a way to get him in here. I'm hoping to get another chap up on Wednesday or *fingers crossed* earlier.

Seth was still sleeping when she arrived home. She had yet to figure out a way to dodge Rachel. If she left too early in the morning, Seth would be suspicious and even though Rachel promised to keep her mouth shut—there wasn't a guarantee she would if Leah left her behind. So it looked like for better or worse, she was stuck with Rachel.

It was barely nine, but she got ready for bed anyway. She thought she would get up early and make Seth breakfast to soften him up a bit before she told him to work with the pack until he broke the order. Maybe she could order him to do it. She shook her head at that idea—orders were what got them into trouble in the first place.

As she lay there in bed, attempting to quell the anxiety churning her gut, she heard a faint whimper. Within seconds she was out of bed; she knew without a doubt who the sound had come from. She raced to her bedroom window and the faint glow of his eyes flashed for a moment before disappearing.

"Wait," she cried out as she opened her window up.

She heard his steps pause and felt as he tried to resist Seth's order. He took a few more shuffling steps away from her. His mind and body controlled by the order. Wasting no time, she climbed out her window.

Once her feet touched the ground, she grasped her nightgown and threw it over her head; not caring where it landed. Her body trembled and shimmered; the heat ran along her limbs to center on her spine. Once again she transformed into her wolf, her front paws hit the ground with a soft thud.

Wait, she pleaded softly. I think I know a way around this.

His anguish and pain, a combination of being banned to think, speak, or see her and the struggle to remain in place, rushed through her. Her fur stood on end and she swallowed the mournful howl which threatened to rise from her throat.

She called to Sopiya, asking for her help. It was the only thing she could think of. Her wolf was her, but not as Old Quil had ineloquently pointed out. It wasn't the same for the rest of the pack. They were their wolves and their wolves were them. If she was more Sopiya than Leah—it might work.

I…can't…I'm sorry… his words uttered softly, yet forcefully. Invisible bands wrapped around his jaw, locking it closed. His steps once again moved away from her.

Please, Sopiya, I'm begging you. Until the order is gone this may be all we have. I know I get a choice—he's my choice.

'If it is what you desire, I will do as you ask, but you must understand that I will be in full control. Otherwise it will be for naught—the order is strong and he can't fight it. None of them would be able to.'

I understand, she replied; once again allowing herself to fall into the void.

Sopiya walked forward, her steps lithe, gliding over the forest floor with ease. From Leah's memories she knew the brown wolf moving away was Jared. Her steps quickened to catch up with him; her voice calling his name.

Jared.

He stopped and turned. The small grey wolf in front of him was familiar, but not. Just like the other day and the debacle with Bella at Old Quil's. His head tilted to the side as he stared at the wolf in shock. How was he able to stay in her presence? Hadn't Seth's order ensured that it was impossible?

It is only because I am not the one you are forbidden from. The words rolled off her tongue with ease. The language was one she had learned out of necessity many years ago.

But how? I don't understand.

How does the sun know to rise each day? The seasons know when it's time to change? I am no more than the spirit of her wolf. She and her brother both are lucky to have spirits such as us to guide them.

Is that how he was able to do it?

Perhaps, but it was really more about a boy protecting his sister from harm. The words and actions of others forced his hand and he felt cornered. He acted rashly, but he is young yet and will learn his way.

I didn't mean it…or I guess I did. I would never hurt… he trailed off, grimacing internally as he struggled to find a pronoun that he could use. He has to understand that.

And he shall, but until things are set right—you must try not to rouse his protective instincts.

Can I… he began softly.

Sopiya watched the play of his thoughts and felt Leah's soft pleas. The two of them were of a similar mind. She moved closer to him, waiting and watching as he circled a few times, stamping the remnants of foliage down. Then he lowered his larger frame to the ground and she followed suit. It didn't matter that Sopiya was in Leah; it was still Leah's body—Leah's wolf. Therefore it was Leah's scent which he breathed in and filled his lungs with.

Will you show me more about the pale one?

Bella?

Yes, what I've seen in her memories—it doesn't make sense. It hardly seems possible and the more I understand, the more that I can help her and thus you.

It was as Sopiya thought—the imprint was abnormal. Each memory he shared validated her beliefs. It seemed to come from the girl versus the boy or his wolf. Even though she hadn't imprinted herself—she knew what it looked and felt like. She had been witness to the memories of the first imprint—that of her father on her mother.

She lowered her head further, resting it on her paws and closing her eyes. While she was wide awake, Leah and her body were tired. Jared's scent combined with his slow and steady breathing, the soft thumping of his heart lulled her into slumber. On the vestiges of sleep, she barely heard his last words and wasn't sure whether she responded back or not.

Thank you for this.

Leah woke in her wolf form, cold and alone. The moon hung low in the sky signaling the night was almost through. She pushed herself up and shook out her fur. As she started to take a step forward, she noticed a hastily scratched message in the dirt.

One word, sorry.

It was unbelievable how one word could be so confusing. Was he saying sorry for leaving? For what happened with Seth? For Bella? For her? It could be any one of half a dozen reasons.

Maybe it would be better to go for a run—it could clear her head and perhaps, she could try the speaking with Sopiya again. She rocked back and forth, stretching her limbs before darting forward.

She kept her pace slow until her muscles warmed up and then added some speed. The wind which had felt cold to her minutes ago actually felt good as it rushed through her fur, cooling her down. She wasn't sure how long or how far she had run before she stopped, but instinctively she knew she was still on La Push land.

She heard the sound of running water and walked over toward the sound. Once she arrived at the small stream, she leaned over and got her first look through her own eyes of her wolf form. Pale grey fur with some darker markings on her ears; in the dim light she wasn't sure of the color, but they appeared to be brown. Overall, she didn't think she was too bad looking for a wolf.

Lapping up some water, she began to go over all the facts from the past few days. The information she had gleamed from Old Quil, Jared, and hers and her brother's wolf spirits. She hoped the information she would get from Rosalie would be helpful too.

'It was as you said it was. As I've seen in your memories,' Sopiya's voice interrupted her thoughts.

So, it's not right?

'Not at all. I think it's the girl. You have a plan?'

Yes, of a sort. Bella knew and was close to the Cullens when they lived here. I'm meeting with one today and I'm hoping she'll be able to help me.

'Hmm…not something I'd recommend, but these are the ones who refrain from taking human life?'

Yes. How will I get Seth to remove the order? If they anger him—what's to stop him from doing it again?

'I think you must appeal to the love he has for you. Show him the strength of yours and Jared's connection and the conviction you have to find a way to make it work. I think they will be wary of upsetting your brother—his power surprised and terrified them.'

It was the first time she had seen the memory replayed in its entirety. So far, she had only gotten a glimpse here or there. Paul and Quil had been outsiders and even they weren't sure of what occurred; Quil because he had been at the hospital with her and Paul because he had been human.

The memory was a living nightmare. Her body trembled in fear and pain as she felt the emotions of each of them. Somehow it seemed everything was magnified—the intensity too much to bear. She cried out, begging Sopiya to stop the replay.

'You must see it to understand. It will help you be true in how you tell your brother why it must be removed. It will also help you as you lead him to his destiny. The others will be too afraid to share this memory with him—too afraid of the consequences, but you mustn't be. He needs to know that orders are not to be used lightly. Taking one's will away from them is the worst crime you can commit on your fellow man.'

Leah squeezed her eyes shut, her ears flattened against her skull. Her actions did nothing to stop the assault on her senses. By the end of the replay, she was curled into a ball on the forest floor, whimpering.

She couldn't come up with any words to express how she felt. Her mind and body frozen in a state of shock; had it not been for the urging of Sopiya, she may have laid there until the sun rose.

'Come. We must go home. It will be soon enough that your brother will rise and you will have to convince him that he must spend the day with the pack and also remove the order.'

Her strength was sapped from her body, so she willingly allowed Sopiya to control their movements. This time they ran at a sedate pace until they reached the backyard of her home. Just as she was about to phase back, she remembered her struggles with her hair.

'Braid it. It will help much more than it does to leave it loose.'

Thank you, she whispered before sliding into her human body.

The nightgown that she had thrown on the ground hours earlier was still there and she tugged it over her head before climbing into her window. As she adjusted to the differences between outside and inside; between being in her wolf form and human again, she listened to the sounds of the house. Seth's soft and relaxed snores drifted to her ears.

The clock on her nightstand read 5:45 AM. Time was running out. She had things to do before Rachel showed up on their front porch. Shower first, and then she would make breakfast for Seth, and the rest she would play by ear. Something had to work out for her—just this once would be nice.

Seth eagerly dug into the breakfast she had prepared. At first, she had picked at hers until hunger overpowered her nerves. By the time she was finished with her first helping, Seth was on his third. If his appetite remained this large, he would have to get a job just to help out with the grocery bills.

"So, when are we going to see dad?"

"Later. We've, well you have some things to do first," she began.

"Huh? What're you talking about?"

"First off, you need to figure out how to remove the order you placed on the pack. Then, you need to spend some time with them learning wolfy things."

"So do you," he huffed.

"Sure I do, but I can't do that until you remove the order."

"Whatever. You could come with and wait for me to do that and then we could work with them together."

"We could, but I don't think that will work. It's going to be hard enough for you to stay focused to do it and for them to stay calm. Face it, it's better if I'm not there."

A knock at the door interrupted their conversation. Without answering it, Leah knew it was Rachel and she wasn't alone. Who she had with her, Leah wasn't sure, but what the hell—did Rachel think they were going on a play date?

Before she could answer the door, Seth did. His cheeks were stuffed full of pancake, some of which didn't stay in his mouth when he greeted them.

Rachel squealed, "Eww! Gross, Seth! Why is the moment you find out you can turn into an animal that all normal behavior goes out the window?"

Rachel pushed past Seth while Rachel's guest stopped and introduced herself to Seth, "Hi, my name's Angela. It's nice to meet you."

Leah watched in amazement as the tall, bespectacled brunette held her hand out toward Seth. Seth eagerly grasped her hand and shook it. He managed to choke the pancake down, so this time his greeting didn't include food. As Angela went to pull her hand from Seth's, she encountered a bit of difficulty. The stinky residue of syrup on Seth's hand had transferred to hers.

"Seth! Really?!" Rachel cried out, grabbing Angela's non-syrupy hand and pulling her into the kitchen. Under her breath, the two siblings heard Rachel mutter, "I feel sorry for the girl who ends up with him."

"Rach, that's not nice," Angela scolded. "He's just a boy. He kinda reminds me of an overgrown puppy. I think he's adorable."

"You are such a freak. And people think I'm weird, but you take the cake. Not only are you in love with my brother, but if I didn't know better—I'd think you had a crush on Seth too."

Angela and Rachel returned a few moments later and Leah opened her mouth to say something, but Rachel's next words kept it tightly shut. She wanted to protest that it was bad enough Rachel was coming along and knew what was going on. But thanks to Rachel's big mouth, she would bet Angela knew too.

"So Leah, are you almost ready? Angela's so excited that you're coming with to help her pick out a dress for the winter formal at Forks High. And of course, with you coming along there's no reason for the boys to protest. It would just ruin the surprise if one of the guys saw her dress and showed it to Jake."

"That's why you can't do wolf training 101," Seth remarked. "You're going shopping?"

Rachel rolled her eyes at Seth, retorting, "Obviously, your sister has to come with. The only dresses I wore were ones either she or Becks picked out for me. I'd feel horrible if my future sister-in-law wasn't the prettiest girl there."

It was Leah's turn to roll her eyes. Lay it on a little thicker why don't you, Rachel, she thought with disgust. She bit her lip which gave her a moment to compose herself.

"Almost. I've just got to show Seth one thing and then I'll be ready to go."

"Good. We're taking your car, right? Dad won't let me drive his truck and Angela doesn't have a car, so we drove Jake's rabbit over."

"Yeah, why don't you grab my purse and keys and I'll meet you out there."

Within twenty minutes they were on the road. Leah had done what Sopiya had suggested. First, she shared with her brother exactly what Jared meant to her and how they loved each other. She was glad Sopiya had suggested it, so she was able to prepare memories that weren't too racy which would raise her brother's ire, but ones that showed the depth of their feelings.

Then she shared the memory of the order Seth had given. He confessed he remembered bits and pieces of it, but he didn't understand what it meant. He didn't realize when he had spoken those words and the power which coursed through his body was him exercising his right.

Seth, until things are all sorted out—until dad's home—we have to maintain things the way they are. I think they suspect, but they believe it's our bond which makes you able to do it. You and I know that's not the case.

So…what are you saying?

For now, just do what you must to remove the order then learn everything you can. Later, we'll figure out the rest.

What they felt…is it always like that?

Yes, when you do that—you take away their will. You turn them into puppets and you are their puppet master. Imagine being unable to think, speak, or look at mom or dad?

What about…Taha Aki, he asked, the final words uttered so softly, had she not seen what he was trying to ask, she would have missed it.

He knows and understands. He is only there to guide you should you run into trouble. I promise Jared will not hurt me, not purposely. The imprint is wrong.

She pushed the recollections of Bella from the past few days. Some were hers, but most were the others. She felt as he recoiled at the sight of her teeth sinking into Bella's arm; the glimmer of silver in stark contrast to the bright red blood.

But how?

I don't know, but together Jared and I can figure it out. Apart—it will be an impossible task.

Okay, I'll try.

Do better than try. I know you'll be able to do it.

FF_8756144_33 02/10/13 10:49PM