Thanks for the reviews on the last chapter, guys! This one took a lot of thinking. I wanted to write some things...But then they sounded all stupid...And then I finally found something to put in! There's really no point in this chapter. It's just a lot of insight into some of my characters. Mainly Aecia. I'm actually starting to like her! At first, I wasn't sure why I added her in...

Anyway, here's Chapter 47!

~SashaFierce12.0

P.S. More drama and action to come!

Chapter 47

Leah's P.o.V.

"I am freaking out, Leah! FAH-REAKING. OUT!" Rebecca screeched, barging inside the house. Rachael, Kim, Emily, and I jumped when she slammed the door. Kim ran and shut it, rubbing her hands up and down her arms. I didn't blame her. It wasn't snowing, but it felt like the freaking arctic out there. "Ohmigosh, ohmigosh, ohmigosh, ohmigosh!" she repeated. She ran her hands through her hair multiple times and paced the room.

"What's going on?" Emily asked. Rebecca kept murmuring to herself and biting her nails.

"Becks, calm down," I stood up and shook her. "Start from the beginning."

"Darren and I were hanging out because Adam was at work. So we were walking and I got kind of cold so Darren pulled me close to him and I got warmer and looked up at his face. Which, by the way, is so gorgeous. So, anyway, he leaned in and I leaned in and then suddenly we were-" She screamed and covered her face.

"You guys kissed?" Rachael sat up, making Aiden whimper. She hushed him and started bouncing him around. Rebecca peaked out from between her fingers and grimaced.

"...Yes...?" Kim and Emily squealed. But they were nervous squeals and they started in on questions. I hushed them.

"But it was nothing. Nothing. Right, Becca? Your last taste of freedom as an unmarried woman?" I rubbed Rebecca's back and she looked at me. She was going to be getting married in a month. January the third, a Saturday. Cullen's house. A strict friends and family guest list.

"That's the thing! I liked it! I liked it!" She gasped again and tugged on her hair. "I. Liked. It! I'm not supposed to like it! I might as well just be branded forever as a slut! I'm a cheater!"

"How good was it?" Emily groaned.

"A Ryan Reynolds-sex-fantasy-kind-of-good," Rebecca groaned. The rest of us gasped simultaneously and stared at her. Kim bit her lip.

"That's good..." she breathed, looking down with another gasp.

"I know," Rebecca pulled her hood on and covered her face.

"But Adam doesn't have to find out, right?" Rachael patted Aiden's back and at the same time tried to soothe her twin sister.

"But I don't want to keep things from him! That's the whole point of wedding vows. You can't lie. What kind of person would I be if I did that?"

"Hello, loophole," Aecia said, walking in.

"Aren't you supposed to be at school?" I asked. Aecia was a new wolf and I was still trying to figure her out. Sometimes she could be nice, but other times she could be kind of, well...Bitchy.

In some ways, she actually reminded me of me.

Uhh...Is it wrong to be proud about that?

"Yeah, but I bailed. The boys are being jerks and the teachers were getting on my nerves." She ran her fingers through her hair and sighed. "Now. I hear that you've got yourself a boy problem." She pointed at Rebecca who nodded. "In my opinion, just don't tell him. Rachael's right. Don't. Besides, you're not married yet. Vows don't count." Aecia sat down between Emily and Kim and fixed her hair in the reflection of her handheld mirror. "I think I've seen this Adam guy..."

"You probably have," Rachael nodded.

"Wait. First I gotta' justify this. Black hair?" Rebecca nodded. "Brown eyes? Dimples? Kind of tall, kind of not; right in the middle? Kind of skinny? Fair skinned...?" Rebecca nodded at all of these. "Oh. I've seen him. Sorry, hon. I got a big reading on my gaydar. Did he come out, yet?"

Rebecca scoffed, "He's marrying me!"

"Oh. So he's trying to hide it..." Aecia looked up in deep thought and Rebecca burst into tears.

"I can't marry someone who'll probably leave me for some dude!" she cried. "That'd be terrible!"

"Way to go. You just made everything ten times worse than it already is," I sighed.

"Thanks. I've actually been told that I should win a medal for that," Aecia retorted. It took all of my power not to laugh.

I was beginning to like her.

"Aww..." Aecia's face softened as she looked at Arielle in Emily's hands.

"You wanna' hold her?" Emily asked. Aecia's face hardened and she turned away.

"No." She stood up. "You don't have to listen to me, y'know. I'm just a mega hot sophomore that has, like, forty guys busting down her door every weekend. Of course I don't have any experience." Aecia sighed and slid on a pair of sunglasses. "I should be going to see if my moms needs me. I'll probably catch ya'll t'morrow. If not, tonight. I got some kinda patrol or something that Jacob wants me to do." She flipped her hair and grabbed her bag. "If you're ever in need of my services, call me up." She left.

"She's going to take some getting used to," Kim said with her face scrunched up. I recognized her look as the one that she gave all people she didn't like too much. I patted her shoulder.

"It's okay. I actually kind of like her." Kim stared at me and then shook her head.

"Yeah. Sure."

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"What'd you do?" I screamed out the porch. Brady, Collin, Brandon, and Athena all came running up the porch steps laughing and yelling.

"Run!"

"She's coming!"

Out of the trees, a whole group of birds flew up in fear as a piercing shriek sounded out of the trees.

"Whoa! That was like a sonic boom!" Athena said, covering her ears. "Oh, crap! There she is!" From the trees emerged Aecia, wearing nothing but a large t-shirt. She was covered in...Was that syrup? Oh, and pink feathers. I gawked at her. They did that?

She stalked towards us, her eyes full of fire. She was shaking and shivering. Aecia was practically on fire, and she sucked in a breath and let out another shriek. She walked forward some more, snow sticking to her.

"I am going to kill you guys. You bet your sorry asses I will," she hissed, sticking up both her middle fingers at the group behind me.

"How'd you...? What'd you...?" I turned to the guys behind me and crossed my arms. They stopped laughing and paled. "Bathrooms. For the next week. And I know how much you guys like chili." Athena gagged and the rest of them groaned. "Zip it! Inside. All of you." I pointed at the door and they filed slowly into the house. I turned back to Aecia, who had her arms crossed and was still shaking. "If you're going to phase, do it now."

"No. I'm good."

"Let's get you cleaned up, okay?"

An hour later, Aecia sat on my bed, digging in her ear.

"Eww...I think they got syrup in my ear..." she said. She shook off her finger and brushed back her wet hair.

"What'd they do?"

"Seth told me that he'd make my life a living hell," she mumbled and looked down. "Guess I deserve it. I should've never tried to make him imprint on me."

"W-what?"

"At school that one day. I didn't know that he had imprinted on Jazz until I saw the way that they were after I'd made them hate each other's guts. Then I knew that he'd already done it."

"How'd you know about it before?" I'm beyond confused right now. Aecia looked at me, her face softer than I'd ever seen it. From what the guys had told me, Aecia was the type of girl with two emotions: bitchy and flirty. Around here, the only emotion that she showed was the first one.

"My dad left us because of imprinting a couple of years ago. He was a wolf. I always used to look up to him and everything because he saved us from vampires, and stuff." I smiled. That was kind of like my dad. Sure, he never told me about it until I phased, but I always looked up to him. "And I used to hear the legends about imprinting...But he promised that he never would. He promised that he wouldn't leave us. But here comes Miss Prissy and he looks at her all funny. Then he kisses her. In front of me. In front of Mom. He left with her that night and I was always mad at him. I hate him. She left her five months pregnant with my little brother. He doesn't even pay child support. I haven't heard from him in over six years.

"But then here come you guys and I can tell that you're werewolves. The way you all hung out together and the way you guys were all so big. I didn't hate the guys...Even though now, I kinda do. I just don't like the girls that they imprinted on. A girl somewhere was probably heartbroken just so that the guys could be with them. So, I tried to get one of the guys to imprint on me...I just wanted to be happy. Sure, I had a big group of friends - none as hot as me, of course - and I always had guys after me left and right, but I never really was happy with my life. I had always been the bitch. The girl with no father and the sorry excuse for a moms. But I hadn't realized that Seth had imprinted until I saw the way that he was when I kissed him. Truthfully, I actually felt a little guilty; like I was betraying someone. I didn't know who though, and shook it off. But then in class that one day I really got it. He didn't want to deal with me. And I've never had that happen before. I have the phone number of practically every hot guy in Washington written in my notebook. I mean, who doesn't want to hang out with Aecia Southbrooke?" She scoffed and crossed her arms, her face becoming hard again. All signs of emotion were gone. She stood up and ran her fingers through her hair, checking herself in my vanity mirror. She started walking out the door, but stopped. "Two things: what happened here, stays here. I don't even know why the heck I even spilled my soul out to you, anyway...And two, it's Ace. And I don't let just anyone call me that." She crossed her arms and gave me a grim smile. Then she left.

I couldn't help but smile. Aecia had let me see a side of her that she probably didn't let other people see too much. Most likely not at all.

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Jacob's P.o.V.

Outside is covered with a thick layer of fog, but I still walked along the beach anyway. Sometimes I did this before dinner. To clear my mind. I didn't expect to see another person here, though. Especially on a day like this. The person was sitting on a log, facing the water. Even with my wolf sight, it was still unclear. But I could see how the waves crashed onto the shore and then back out again.

As I walked closer to the person, I started to get a feeling of who it was. And standing five feet behind him made my hunch real.

"Hey, Kid." I walked up behind Seth and he turned towards me. I noticed tear streaks on his face and he kind of looked down. "Mind if I sit?" Seth shrugged and I sat. We stared ahead at the crashing of the waves. The snow had melted a bit, and the beach had little snow clumps here and there. It was cold, but not cold enough that the water would freeze over. The beach was deserted. In other words, it was perfect for a person like Leah's little brother to come and think. I actually feel kind of bad that I barged in on him. He just looked like he could use somebody.

I picked up a rock and threw it as far as it could go. It landed with a small plop inside the water. I sat back and looked again at Seth. He'd grown a lot over the past few years. A lot different. Before, it wouldn't take a lot to make him happy. He was practically a ticking time bomb of happiness, ready to explode at any time. Nowadays, it took a lot more. It actually kind of got me thinking if he had always been depressed to begin with. If it was only just a matter of time.

"Mind if I ask what you're thinking about?" I tried. Seth didn't answer. He stared straight ahead and looked at the water. I studied him carefully, wondering if he was thinking about killing himself again. I mean, he wasn't talking. That was never a good sign.

He looked dangerously sick, and I contemplated on whether or not to talk to Carlisle. He was thin and he looked almost zombie-like. I got worried and sat up.

"When was the last time you ate?" I asked. Seth shrugged and looked at me. "You need to, you know that." He scrunched up his face and turned again. "Man, don't make me go all Alpha on you. But you know I'll do it." Seth kind of chuckled and I smiled, happy that I'd gotten a laugh out of him.

"I ate a banana last night," he whispered after a while and shrugged. "At least...Half of it. That good enough for ya', Dude?"

"No." Seth sighed.

"I just...Can't eat when I know that her stomach will always be empty. I think about it all the time, and then I lose my appetite."

"Bro, we're werewolves. We're not supposed to lose our appetites." Seth smiled a bit and was quiet again. I could tell that something else was bothering him, but I waited to see if he would bring it up himself.

We were quiet for a while more and I got to thinking again. Something was telling me - nagging at me, even - to look at his arms. Should I? What if I was just overreacting? I tended to do that a lot nowadays; especially with Jayah and the new baby on the way.

I thought about it some more. I was actually kind of scared at what I would find. Then again, I was scared to find out what would happen if I didn't look, too.

I'm going to do it.

"Let me see your arms," I whispered, almost inaudibly. He could hear me, though. I knew that he could. Noticing that he kind of tucked his arms deeper into himself, my worried level went to an all-time high. "Show me your arms," I finally commanded. He couldn't disobey me.

Slowly, Seth took off the jacket that he was wearing then held out his arm for me to see. I only saw the top, and it was covered with scars. But they were last year's scars. I took his arm into my hands, scared at what I would see if I turned it over. Quickly, I turned it over. Same thing. Last year's scars.

"You done? I'm feeling a little violated," Seth said sarcastically. I let go of his arm and he quickly put back on his jacket and tucked his arms into his body again. "What was that for?"

"Why did you hesitate when I asked you to let me see your arms?"

"'Cause I don't like people seeing them. When was the last time that you saw them?"

"On-"

"I mean really saw them? I hate myself for even doing that to begin with. It makes me sick to look at it." I looked at his arms again, covered by the gray jacket he was wearing. We were quiet for a bit. "Do you think that Jazz will be like Leah?" he asked suddenly. "Remember when the doc told her that she wouldn't be able to have kids?" I swallowed, remembering that moment well. "And then she leaves. But when she comes back, she has your daughter. And now she has another one coming.

"You wouldn't believe how happy I was for her when she told me. I prayed every night for her and the baby; that nothing would happen to them. Nothing did. Jayah's healthy. And the most beautiful little girl that I've ever seen. I thank God every day for her." He shrugged and a small smile appeared on his face.

I grinned at Seth's little speech. I actually didn't know that he had thought about it that way.

I patted his shoulder.

"Things will get better for you two. I know they will, Kid." The smile on Seth's face fell and he sighed.

"Funny. That's the same thing Leah said. It actually makes me wonder if they actually will...Or if you're just saying that."

"Bud, I'm not. I believe it. You gotta' believe it, too." I elbowed him with my arm and he sat up and laughed.

And it wasn't fake.

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Leah's P.o.V.

"It's time for a bath, Jewel," I cooed to my daughter. She giggled from her place next to Kyle inside the playpen and hugged her teddy bear close to her. "You'll have to play with Rocky later, Jay. It's bath time." I pulled her out of her playpen and took her upstairs, nodding as Syanne told me that she'd wipe down the counters.

I laughed as Jayah picked up a handful of white foam and then tried to taste it. When it touched her nose she scrunched it up and sneezed, sending the foam in all directions. Some landed on me, too. Jayah giggled and I made a face at her before lifting up her arms to wash between them. Then I squeezed water over her head. She laughed again. That was her favorite part of bath time.

"You're gonna' be a swimmer when you grow up, aren't you?" I asked. Jayah held up her pink rubber duck and cocked her head. I squeezed it. "Quack, quack," I said, tickling her with the washrag. She laughed and I rinsed her off one more time before grabbing a towel. I reached in and took her out, wrapping her in it and carrying her into her room. There, I put her into a fresh diaper and her pajamas, lotioned her up and then brushed her hair. It was long; falling right above her shoulders. It curled naturally at the ends and I found myself brushing it more and more.

"Hey," someone said from the door, snapping me out of my thoughts. I looked up and smiled when I saw Aecia. "Is Jacob in? We got patrol."

"He went on ahead. He said to send you when you got here." Aecia's head snapped up when she heard a howl.

"Crap, he's probably mad at me. I'm late." She rolled her eyes. "See you later, Leah." She darted down the stairs and I heard the door slam.

I turned back to Jayah. She smiled at me and stuck her fist into her mouth. I picked up her bear, Rocky, and held it out to her. She grinned wider and took him from me, hugging him close. Rocky was a gift from Seth. He'd given it to her a few weeks ago. I always put her to sleep with it, and I'd give it to her if she was crying. Jay's blanket phase was gone. Sure, she still slept with that, too, but she loved Rocky more.

'Cause she loved her uncle.

Which is kind of a coincidence that I should be thinking about him because he walked in at that moment and reached his hands out for his niece. Jayah dropped Rocky and Seth picked her up.

"Hey, Baby Jay," he cooed, kissing her cheek. "Can I take her home with me, Leah? Please?"

"No! She's mine," I laughed.

"But she loves her Uncle Seth," my brother retorted, looking back at Jayah. "Don't 'ya, Cutie?" He tickled under her chin and Jayah giggled uncontrollably.

"Thanks for keeping her awake, Baby Bro. I was about to put her to sleep."

"I'll sing to her. That always makes her tired," he said with an eye roll. "Even though I actually like people to be awake when I sing, but then again, who cares about Seth's needs anymore?"

"I'll stay awake for you. I haven't heard you sing in a while." My brother sat down on the rocking chair and held Jayah in the crook of his arm. He hummed a little, then started singing a lullaby.

"The waves roll low, and the waves roll high..." He sighed and smiled at Jay. "And...So it goes. Under the bright, blue, endless sky. The waves try to measure the things that we treasure. Wave hello and wave goodbye." Jayah wasn't asleep, but her eyes started to droop. Seth stood up, still humming the song, and set her in her crib. He picked up Rocky and set it next to her and rubbed her hair. I came up beside him and tucked her blanket in around her, then I kissed her head softly. The two of us looked down at her, watching as she finally drifted off to sleep; her fist (of course) in her mouth.

Seth was still humming and singing softly, and I couldn't help but notice how inhumanly beautiful it sounded. I knew that he was happiest when he sang, and it showed in the smile on his face. I leaned onto his shoulder.

"How's the other one doing?" he asked.

"Who?"

"You know who I'm talking about, Leah," he chuckled lightly and glanced at my stomach.

"Oh. Surprisingly, I'm not getting as sick as I did with Jewel. He just chooses to attack me in the weirdest places. When I'm washing clothes, cooking, talking...Weird."

"You're doing okay, right?"

"Yeah. So far so good," I replied. "This is so weird." Seth looked at me in confusion. "I shouldn't have Jayah right now. I should be the one depressed that I can't have kids. Not her. She deserves children. I don't."

"Truth is, none of us do. But we're blessed enough to have them, anyway. Leah, really. We're getting better. And...We're actually thinking about adopting."

"Seth. You're fifteen. How can you think about that?"

"It's great to start early. So that way we know what we have time to actually know if we want to do it. But I really want to. I mean, right now, all we know is we're not going to be able to have children. Actual children from Jazmyn and me. But think about it, there's some little kid out there without a mom or a dad to care for 'em. I want to find that kid, Lee." I smiled at him and pulled him close.

"You always did have a soft spot for children, Seth." I ruffled his hair. "You big softie!" Seth laughed and pulled away, fixing his hair. He kissed my cheek.

"See you later."

"See ya', Baby Bro."

"Oh, and one more thing."

"What?"

"Paper," he grinned and then walked out of the room. I frowned and crossed my arms.

I still thought it was plastic.

Review. That's all.

~SashaFierce12.0